Eleanor Widener Dixon (April 10, 1891February 12, 1966) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, on April 10, 1891, into the wealthy

Widener family The Widener family is an American family from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded by Peter Arrell Browne Widener (1834–1915) and his wife, Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), it was once one of the wealthiest families in the Unite ...

as the daughter of

George Dunton Widener George Dunton Widener (June 16, 1861 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman who died in the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic''. Early life Widener was born in Philadelphia on June 16, 1861. He was the eldest son of Hannah Josephine Du ...

and

Eleanor Elkins Widener Eleanor Elkins Widener (September 21, 1861 - July 13, 1937) née Eleanore Elkins, also known as Eleanor Elkins Widener Rice was an American heiress, socialite, philanthropist, and adventuress. She was the daughter of wealthy businessman Will ...

. She married Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. in 1912. The wedding was held at

Lynnewood Hall Lynnewood Hall is a 110-room Neoclassical Revival mansion in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Horace Trumbauer for industrialist Peter Arrell Brown Widener, Peter A. B. Widener and built between 1897 and 1899. Lynnewood H ...

two weeks after her father and brother

Harry Elkins Widener Harry Elkins Widener (January 3, 1885 – April 15, 1912) was an American businessman and bibliophile, and a member of the Widener family. His mother built Harvard University's Widener Memorial Library in his memory, after his death on the foun ...

died in the

sinking of the Titanic Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' sank on 15 April 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, ''Titanic'' was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, USA with ...

. Her wedding dress purchased by her parents in Paris was lost in the sinking. They lived together in a mansion on a 114-acre estate named Ronaele (her name spelled backward) which was built by

Horace Trumbauer Horace Trumbauer (December 28, 1868 – September 18, 1938) was a prominent American architect of the Gilded Age, known for designing residential manors for the wealthy. Later in his career he also designed hotels, office buildings, and much of t ...

between 1923 and 1925 on the former estate of

Jay Cooke Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier who helped finance the Union war effort during the American Civil War and the postwar development of railroads in the northwestern United States. He is generally acknowle ...

. They had a daughter, also named Eleanor Widener Dixon, and a son Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. but divorced in 1936. In 1942, she donated her $350,000 yacht, also named Ronaele, to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

for service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as the USS Alabaster. In 1949, she purchased "Homewood", a mansion in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia and again hired Horace Trumbauer to update the residence. In 1969, her son donated the home to

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

for use as a lodge for attendees of the Albert M. Greenfield Conference Center. In 1956, she sold the Ronaele estate to the

De La Salle Brothers The De La Salle Brothers, officially named the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (; ; ) abbreviated FSC, is a Catholic lay religious congregation of pontifical right for men founded in France by Jean-Baptiste de La Salle ( ...

which used it as student housing for

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC; zh, t=喇沙書院, j=laa3 saa1 syu1 jyun2) is a boys' secondary school located in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic re ...

. In 1973, the estate was sold to developers and demolished in 1974. Several of the interior art features were donated to the

La Salle University Art Museum The La Salle University Art Museum is located in the basement of Olney Hall at La Salle University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The museum features six galleries. Collections include European and American art from the Renaissance to the present ...

. She donated money to support

Abington Memorial Hospital Jefferson Abington Hospital is the flagship hospital of Jefferson Health–Abington (part of Jefferson Health), located in Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, in the northern suburbs of Philadelphia. The hospital was formerly kno ...

. She spent her summers in

Winter Harbor, Maine Winter Harbor is a town on the Schoodic Peninsula in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 461 at the 2020 census. The town is located just outside the Schoodic Peninsula portion of Acadia National Park and is due east of th ...

, and in August 1961, Widener donated $50,000 to build the Eleanor Widener Dixon Memorial Clinic in

Gouldsboro, Maine Gouldsboro is a town and municipality in Hancock County, Maine, United States on the Schoodic Peninsula. The town was named for Robert Gould, a landholder in the town. The town has many historically separate fishing villages, summer colonies an ...

. The clinic closed in 2024. She died on February 12, 1966, and was interred at

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery, also called Laurel Hill East to distinguish it from the affiliated West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, Bala Cynwyd, is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls, Philadelphia, East Falls neighborhood ...

in Philadelphia.

References

Citations Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Eleanor Widener 1891 births 1966 deaths American philanthropists Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) People from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Socialites from Philadelphia Widener family