Countess Annie Leary
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Annie Leary, Countess of the Holy Roman Church (1832 – April 26, 1919) was an American Papal countess, prominent society figure, and philanthropist in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century
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.


Early life

Annie was born in 1832 in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. She was the daughter of Catharine Leary (1803–1879) and James Leary (1792–1862), a hatter who was a childhood friend of William Backhouse Astor Sr. James later bought many beaver pelts from William's father,
John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...
, and operated a shop in the basement of the original
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Hotel across from
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. She had three brothers:
Arthur Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...
, Daniel and George, who made a fortune in shipping during the U.S. Civil War. Arthur was a bachelor who Annie accompanied to society functions in New York City as well as
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. It has been suggested that James's friendship with the Astors is what led to Arthur, and in turn Annie, being the only Catholics to be included on Mrs. Astor's "The 400". When Arthur died she inherited his fortune as well as his social prominence. Her maternal ancestors were Dutch immigrants and her paternal grandfather came from Ireland to the United States while he was a boy.


Philanthropy

After inheriting vast wealth, Annie Leary soon became an ardent philanthropist. Among her first projects was a predominantly Italian church in the Sullivan Street neighborhood where she taught a sewing class and increased the size of the congregation. She gave altars to a large number of churches, both in the United States and abroad. She built and outfitted several churches and brought an order of priests (the Order of the Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament) to the St. Jean Baptiste Church, and an order of sisters (the Sisters of the Order of the Reparation) to the U.S. to carry out her work. She also donated the statue of
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in
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. Among her notable bequests was $1 million for the construction of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at
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, the first Catholic chapel at Bellevue, which was donated in 1893 and dedicated in memory of her late brother Arthur in 1897. The Chapel was razed in 1938 in order to make way for a Bellevue administration building that encompassed a new chapel where the original stained glass panels including nine made in
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remain today. In 1903,
Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the Ap ...
created her a Papal Countess, the first such title to have been bestowed upon a woman in the United States.


Personal life

Her closest friend was the
businesswoman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...
and
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Hetty Green Henrietta "Hetty" Howland Robinson Green (November 21, 1834 – July 3, 1916) was an American businesswoman and financier known as "the richest woman in America" during the Gilded Age. Those who knew her well referred to her admiringly as th ...
, who was known as "the richest woman in America" during the
Gilded Age In History of the United States, United States history, the Gilded Age is the period from about the late 1870s to the late 1890s, which occurred between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was named by 1920s historians after Mar ...
. Leary, who did not marry, died at her home, 1032
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in New York City, on April 26, 1919. Her funeral was held at St. Ignatius Loyola Church on East 84th Street and
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.


Estate

In her will, she allotted $200,000 to the
Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encomp ...
for the erection of a
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christianity, Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is us ...
for New York City's new St. Patrick's Cathedral as well as a vault for eight (the Countess and her family) to be placed beneath the altar. It turned out however that the management of her will was delegated to a niece of hers who was not fond of the departed philanthropist and the money was never given to the aforementioned clergyman. Legal action therefore followed, and by the time the will was resolved in 1926 there was no money left to pay for the vault. Consequently, the Countess's final resting place is in the catacombs of the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leary, Annie 1832 births 1919 deaths 19th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century Roman Catholics American women philanthropists American people of Dutch descent American people of Irish descent American socialites Catholics from New York (state) Papal countesses Socialites from New York City