William Richardson Belknap (March 28, 1849 – June 2, 1914), for 28 years was president of the

Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company Belknap Hardware and Manufacturing Company, also known as Belknap Hardware Company or simply Belknap Hardware, located in Louisville, Kentucky, was at one time a leading American manufacturer of hardware goods and a major wholesale competitor of r ...

''The Cincinnati Enquirer'', June 2, 1914, p. 2. based in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, one of the largest hardware American manufacturing companies and wholesale hardware companies of its time.

Early life

William Richardson Belknap was born in Louisville on March 28, 1849 to William Burke Belknap and Mary Richardson. His younger brother was Morris B. Belknap. He graduated from

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

Sheffield Scientific School Sheffield Scientific School was founded in 1847 as a school of Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, for instruction in science and engineering. Originally named the Yale Scientific School, it was renamed in 1861 in honor of Joseph E. Sheffiel ...

in 1869, and in 1873 he spent a year traveling in Europe with his younger brother Morris.

Career

In 1880, following the death of his father, founder of the Belknap company, he became its president. After his retirement as president of Belknap Hardware, he became the company's Chairman of the Board. Belknap was a member of the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

. The William R. Belknap School in the Belknap neighborhood of Louisville was named for him. He was a charter member of the

Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership roster ...

and served for three years as its secretary. He was a trustee of

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every a ...

, and the namesake and founder of the William R. Belknap Prizes awarded for excellence in the fields of geology and biology in Yale's

Personal life

In 1874, Belknap married Alice Trumbull Silliman (1846–1890), the daughter of Benjamin Silliman Jr., a professor of chemistry at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

who was instrumental in developing the oil industry. They had a son, William Burke Belknap, and four daughters; the eldest, Eleanor, married Kentucky newspaper editor Lewis Craig Humphrey; the second, Alice, married the physician and surgeon Forbes Hawkes. After his wife's death in 1890, he married Juliet Rathbone Davison (1862–1948) in 1894. Belknap died on June 2, 1914 in Jefferson County, Kentucky. At his death in 1914, and after building Lincliff in 1911, his estate was estimated at $3,000,000 to $5,000,000. He is buried in the Belknap family plot at

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

, Louisville.

Residences

In 1911, Belknap built his house, Lincliff. The

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law O ...

were hired by Belknap to create plans for the estate grounds. Lincliff was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1983. Lincliff is currently owned by Stephen F. Humphrey, widower of the mystery writer the late Sue Grafton. Together they worked on restoration of the building and grounds.

References

External links