Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman Rockefeller (September 9, 1839 – March 12, 1915) was an American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

, school teacher, and prominent member of the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

. Her husband was

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

co-founder

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

Spelman College Spelman College is a Private college, private, Historically black colleges and universities, historically black, Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial were named for her.

Early life

Laura Celestia Spelman was born in Wadsworth, Ohio to Puritan descendant Harvey Buell Spelman (1811–1881) and Lucy Henry (1818–1897), Yankees who had moved to

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. Laura's maternal step-grandmother, as well as her two aunts, were members of the Yale family, relatives of inventor Caroline Ardelia Yale. Laura's father Harvey was an

who was active in the Congregationalist Church, the Underground Railroad, and in politics. The Spelmans eventually moved to

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. Laura had an elder adopted sister, Lucy Maria "Lute" Spelman (c. 1837–1920). Laura was the valedictorian of her graduating class at Central High School in Cleveland at the age of 14.

Personal life and career

In Cleveland, Lute and Laura Spelman met John Davison Rockefeller while attending accounting classes together. He was the eldest son of William Avery "Bill" Rockefeller (1810–1906) and Eliza Davison (1813–1889). Laura Spelman later attended Oread Institute in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

and planned to become a schoolteacher. After moving to Ohio to teach, she married John Rockefeller in 1864. After the wedding, Spelman remained active in the church (she joined Rockefeller's congregation, the Northern Baptists) and with her family. As the family business, Standard Oil, began to thrive, she further devoted her time to philanthropy and her children. They were the parents of five children: * Elizabeth ("Bessie") (August 23, 1866 – November 14, 1906), * Alice (July 14, 1869 – August 20, 1870), * Alta (April 12, 1871 – June 21, 1962), * Edith (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932), and * John Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960). Throughout their lives, the Rockefeller family continued to donate ten percent of their income to charity, including substantial donations to

, founded to educate Black women. Laura Spelman Rockefeller died on March 12, 1915, at 75 of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, at the family estate Kykuit in Pocantico Hills, New York near the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

Legacy

John D. Rockefeller established the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund. He donated large amounts to the fund and charitable organizations then shifted his focus to giving to social sciences. Spelman College was named after Laura Spelman Rockefeller due to her significant financial contribution to the institution. Throughout her life, she was dedicated to social and educational causes, particularly for women and African Americans.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockefeller, Laura Spelman 1839 births 1915 deaths Rockefeller family Yale family American abolitionists American philanthropists Educators from Cleveland History of Cleveland People from Wadsworth, Ohio 19th-century American educators Schoolteachers from Ohio Baptists from New York (state) 19th-century American women educators

Early life

Personal life and career

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links