John McGraw (May 22, 1815 - May 4, 1877) was a wealthy

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

merchant, philanthropist, early benefactor and

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

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 ...

Early years

John McGraw was born 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 ...

, on May 22, 1815, to Joseph McGraw and Jane Nelson McGraw, both natives of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Career

He and his business partner,

Henry W. Sage Henry Williams Sage (January 31, 1814 – September 18, 1897) was a wealthy New York State businessman, philanthropist, and early benefactor and trustee of Cornell University.Murray Edward PoolA story historical of Cornell University with biograp ...

, together made a great deal of money selling lumber from forests in New York,

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, and operating a large lumber mill in

Wenona, Michigan Wenona was a historical settlement in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in what is now Bay City at . The village was founded in 1863 by Henry W. Sage (1814-1897), a merchant and philanthropist, who along with John McGraw also founded the Sage ...

, now part of

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 32,661 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is located just upriver from the Saginaw Bay on the Saginaw River. It is the princip ...

. They also co-founded the town of Wenona.

Family

He married Rhoda Charlotte Southworth in Dryden. She was born September 19, 1819, also in Dryden, the daughter of John Southworth of Salisbury, New York, and Nancy Ellis Southworth of Dryden. She gave birth to his only daughter, Jennie McGraw. After Rhoda's death in 1847, he married her sister, Nancy Amelia Southworth in 1849. Nancy died on 29 February 1856 at the age of 30. John later married Jane P. Bates Turner in Ithaca, Tompkins, New York, in 1861. She died in Ithaca in 1904 at the age of 84.

Death

John died May 4, 1877, in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

. His daughter, Jennie inherited his large fortune. She died Sep. 30, 1881. Both John and his daughter, Jennie are buried in the crypt at Sage Chapel, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Jennie's gift to Cornell

Upon Jennie's death, some of this fortune was bequeathed to Cornell. A dispute over this gift led to the Great Will Case, ultimately decided by the

United States Supreme Court 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 U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

against Cornell in Cornell Univ. v. Fiske et al. (1890). His former business partner, Henry Sage, made a large donation to Cornell in the name of Jennie to replace the lost funds.

Legacy

The McGraw name graces the principal clock tower of Cornell.''The Quad on the Hill: An Account of the First Buildings at Cornell'' by Kermit C Parsons ''Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'' Vol 22 Num 4 pp. 214 (Dec 1963) Additionally, McGraw Hall is one of the buildings on the main arts quad of Cornell University. Among other uses, it was the first home of Cornell's business school, now known as the

Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management The Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. Established in 1946, Johnson is one of six List of Ivy League business schools ...

and located in

Sage Hall Sage Hall was built in 1875 at Cornell University's Ithaca, New York, Ithaca, New York (state), New York campus. Originally designed as a residential building, it currently houses the Johnson Graduate School of Management. Conception Although w ...

References

Sources

Dryden History Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGraw, John 1815 births 1877 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American merchants 19th-century American philanthropists Burials at Sage Chapel Cornell University people American businesspeople in timber American people of Irish descent People from Dryden, New York People from Ithaca, New York Philanthropists from New York (state)