Jennie McGraw
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Jennie McGraw, also Jennie McGraw Fiske (September 14, 1840 – September 30, 1881), was a millionaire philanthropist to
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
along with her parents
John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...
and Rhoda Charlotte Southworth. In 1868, she gave the university a set of chimes. The first tune played at any Cornell Chimes concert is the "Cornell Changes", also known as the "Jennie McGraw Rag". They continue to be played every day from
McGraw Tower McGraw Tower is a masonry clock tower located on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The tower was known as Library Tower when it was first built but was renamed in 1961 in honor of either John McGraw, one of Cornell's original d ...
on the campus. She was also the founder of the Southworth Library in
Dryden, New York Dryden is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 14,435 at the 2010 census. The town administers an area that includes two villages, one also named Dryden and one named Freeville, as well as a number of hamlets ...
. Upon her death, she left a significant bequest to Cornell University. Her will designated monies for a library, McGraw Hall, a student health center, and additional monies to be used as the university wished. She was married when she was 39 to professor and librarian
Willard Fiske Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. He was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1895. Biography Fiske s ...
, but lived less than two years following the wedding ceremony.


Early life

McGraw was born September 14, 1840, in
Dryden, New York Dryden is a town in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 14,435 at the 2010 census. The town administers an area that includes two villages, one also named Dryden and one named Freeville, as well as a number of hamlets ...
to Rhoda Southworth and John McGraw a self-made industrialist and millionaire. She was born in a house near the Southworth estate of her maternal grandfather, John Southworth, who was a farmer and millionaire. Rhoda McGraw died of
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
in 1847. By the time she was 10 years old, John father moved them from Dryden. He married a second time to Nancy Amelia Southworth, Rhoda's sister, and the family lived in
Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...
. Nancy died of tuberculosis, like her sister, in 1857. The McGraws moved to Ithaca in 1862 and John married a widow, Jane P. Turner Bates. McGraw was educated at
Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...
, and, at about 18 years of age, at Pelham Priory in
New Rochelle New Rochelle ( ; in ) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately from Midtown Manhattan. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the 7th-largest city and 2 ...
in Westchester County. She studied standard subjects as well as French composition, Latin, "social science", singing, and music. She could dance and play the spinet. Jane McGraw co-founded the Ladies' Union Benevolent Society. Jennie helped run a home for women over the age of 65. One wing of McGraw House continues the mission to provide housing for women who cannot afford to provide their own house.


Early adulthood

When she was 22, McGraw made her debut into Ithaca's society. She was sent on her first Grand Tour of Europe in 1859 by her father, who desired that she receive a classical education. She went on two other major trips to Europe. She gave Cornell its set of
chimes Chimes are a percussion instrument, sets of bells in varying pitches. These include: * Chime (bell instrument), an array of large bells, typically housed in a tower and played from a keyboard * Cymbalum or cymbala, word from which chimes derives, ...
which have been rung daily since the University's opening ceremony on October 7, 1868. They were first installed in a temporary wooden structure and later in the McGraw Tower. Every morning concert includes a playing of the "Jennie McGraw Rag", also known as "Cornell Changes". Her father discouraged suitors.
Willard Fiske Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. He was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1895. Biography Fiske s ...
met Jennie in 1869 and secretly wrote love poems about her. John McGraw died on May 4, 1877. The ''History of Dryden'' states that her step-mother received $2 million from his will, while the ''History of Cornell University'' and ''Ithaca Times'' state that McGraw inherited most of her father's estate. McGraw inherited a trust of $500,000. When her grandfather Southworth died, she also inherited the money that would have otherwise have gone to her mother. She hired architect William Henry Miller to build a mansion in 1878. Two years later, construction began on what had been Cornell University land between Fall River and University Avenue in Ithaca. The house had Gothic architectural details like
bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging turret projecting from the walls of late-medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th c ...
s,
turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...
s, and donjon keeps. Like her father, who did not have the benefit of a good education, McGraw believed in the importance of the creating a "world-class university library". She was the founder of the Southworth Library in Dryden. It opened in an existing building in 1884 and in a building constructed for the library in 1894.


Marriage and death

She took her last trip to Europe in 1878, in the hopes that the more temperate climate there would help her recuperate from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
; since she was a young girl, McGraw had "weak lungs". During her trip, she purchased art and furniture for the new mansion, but her health deteriorated significantly during her travels. She met up with a friend,
Willard Fiske Daniel Willard Fiske (November 11, 1831 – September 17, 1904) was an American librarian and scholar, born on November 11, 1831, at Ellisburg, New York. He was awarded American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1895. Biography Fiske s ...
, in Venice, whom she married in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in August 1880 or on July 14, 1880. Fiske was a professor of north European languages and a librarian. He had been in love with her for some time, but was reticent to express his feelings for fear of being considered a fortune hunter. Before the wedding ceremony, Fiske signed away any rights to her property. After they were married, the couple traveled up the Nile in November 1880 and McGraw became seriously ill. They went to France in June 1881, where she was told that she only had a few weeks to live. The Fiskes returned to the United States in early September. Quite ill, she was taken to Fiske's house, but was driven by her mansion and she was pleased to see how it had been completed. She died on September 30, 1881 and was interred in the Memorial Antechapel of the
Sage Chapel Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State which serves as the burial ground for many contributors to Cornell's history, including the founders of the university: Ezra Cornell and A ...
at Cornell University. At her death, she had $2 million in property and $250,000 remaining in her trust. Ten years after her death, Willard Fisk sold the mansion and had the furniture and household furnishings auctioned. The house was later purchased by Edward and Clarence Wyckoff for the
Chi Psi Chi Psi () is a fraternities and sororities, fraternity consisting of active chapters at 34 American colleges and universities. Chi Psi was founded in 1841 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. It was the first Greek-letter organization to b ...
fraternity. It was destroyed in 1906 during a fire that also took the lives of seven people.


Legacy

In her will, she gave away $300,000 (equivalent to $ million in ) to her husband, $550,000 ($ million) to her brother Joseph and his children, $200,000 ($ million) to Cornell for a library, $50,000 ($ million) for construction of McGraw Hall, $40,000 ($ million) for a student hospital, and the remainder of her property to the University, estimated at at least $1 million ($ million), for whatever use it saw fit. The University's charter limited its property holdings to $3 million, but a New York State law on May 12, 1882, removed the limit. Another state law disallowed more than one half of a woman's estate go to charity if she was married when she died. Fiske became quite angry when he learned of the law and that it had not been mentioned to him by the executor of the estate. Fiske launched a legal assault to reacquire the money that the university could not accept, known as
The Great Will Case The history of Cornell University begins when its two founders, Andrew Dickson White of Syracuse and Ezra Cornell of Ithaca, met in the New York State Senate in January 1864. Together, they established Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in ...
.Cornell Loses a Legacy: Decision Against the University in the Fisk Suit. The Highest Court Holds that it Cannot Receive the Gift – A Big Fee For David B. Hill.
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' May 20, 1890.
The case went to the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. Once the case was settled, Fiske received about $500,000, the McGraws received about $1 million, and the university had the rest of the estate. When he died in 1904, Fiske left most of his estate, including his personal library, to the university. Today, McGraw's name graces numerous places and things on Cornell's campus. The central tower in McGraw Hall was constructed in order to house the chimes donated by McGraw; they now reside in McGraw Tower next to Uris Library.


References


Further reading

*


External links


'Behind the McGraw Tower chimes is a story of love and legal wrangling' by Susan Lang, Cornell News Service




{{DEFAULTSORT:McGraw, Jennie Cornell University people 1840 births 1881 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) People from Dryden, New York Burials at Sage Chapel