Mary Telfair (January 28, 1791 – June 2, 1875)Mary Telfair
–

New Georgia Encyclopedia The ''New Georgia Encyclopedia'' (NGE) is a web-based encyclopedia containing over 2,000 articles about the state of Georgia. It is a program of Georgia Humanities (GH), in partnership with the University of Georgia Press, the University System ...

was an art collector, philanthropist and prominent citizen of

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, Georgia, United States. She

bequeath A devise is the act of giving real property by will, traditionally referring to real property. A bequest is the act of giving property by will, usually referring to personal property. Today, the two words are often used interchangeably due to thei ...

ed the foundation of the city's

Telfair Museums Telfair Museums, in the historic district of Savannah, Georgia, was the first public art museum in the Southern United States. Founded through the bequest of Mary Telfair (1791–1875), a prominent local citizen, and operated by the Georgia His ...

, the first art museum of the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...

, which has been in operation since 1886.Mary Telfair (1791-1875)
–

It is housed in her former

Regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

-style home in Savannah's Telfair Square.

Early life

Telfair was born in Augusta,

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, on January 28, 1791, the daughter of

Edward Telfair Edward Telfair (1735 – September 17, 1807) was a Scottish-born American Founding Father, politician and slave trader who served as the governor of Georgia from 1786 to 1787 and again from 1790 to 1793. He was a member of the Continental Congre ...

, a Scot, who, at the age of 40, married 16-year-old Sarah Gibbons at her family's

Sharon Plantation Sharon Plantation was a plantation originally founded in colonial Savannah, Province of Georgia. It covered around , on land bounded by Old Louisville Road and the Ogeechee Canal governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

at the time of Mary's birth. They had eight other children, Mary being their first daughter. Telfair's sister, Margaret, later married William B. Hodgson.Hodgson Hall
–

Georgia Historical Society The Georgia Historical Society (GHS) is a statewide historical society in Georgia, United States. Headquartered in Savannah, Georgia, GHS is one of the oldest historical organizations in the United States. Since 1839, the society has collected, ex ...

She was schooled in New York from the age of ten, quickly becoming a "voracious reader" of writers such as

Hannah More Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet, and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at ...

and

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

. Between 1799 and the early years of the 19th century, her family endured the deaths of her father and brothers Edward, Josiah and Thomas. Her inheritance from her father permitted her to travel, particularly and regularly to Europe, where she visited many museums, gardens, churches and universities.

Art

Telfair began to collect art in her home in what was then called St. James Square in Savannah. Following her death, an inventory of her estate revealed that her collections numbered over 200 pieces, including paintings, prints, statues and plaster casts.

Philanthropy

As the last of the Telfair family, she shared her wealth with the City of Savannah. Her will stated that funds be used to complete W. B. Hodgson Hall (built in 1876 and named for her brother-in-law, who died five years previously) for the

to use as their home. She also endowed the Savannah Widow's Society and founded the Mary Telfair Hospital for Women (now part of Candler Hospital). Her most well-known legacy, however, is the

Telfair Academy The Telfair Academy is a historic mansion at 121 Barnard Street in Savannah, Georgia. It was designed by William Jay (architect), William Jay and built in 1818, and is one of a small number of Jay's surviving works. It is one of three sites ow ...

(located in her former home, designed by noted architect William Jay), which opened to the public in 1886.

Personal life

Telfair never married, largely as it was not a financial necessity as it was for many women of her era.

Death

Telfair died on June 2, 1875, aged 84."Time Travel: Mary Telfair and her charitable nature"
– ''

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'', June 20, 2014 She is buried in Savannah's

Bonaventure Cemetery Bonaventure Cemetery is a rural cemetery located on a scenic bluff of the Wilmington River, southeast of downtown Savannah, Georgia. The cemetery's prominence grew when it was featured in the 1994 novel '' Midnight in the Garden of Good and Ev ...

, although her plot is separate from her family due to "family rifts"."Beauty, history make you feel better off dead in Bonaventure Cemetery"
– ''Savannah Morning News'', July 15, 2006

References

;Specific ;General *Charles J. Johnson Jr., ''Mary Telfair: The Life and Legacy of a Nineteenth-Century Woman'' (Savannah, Ga.: Frederic C. Beil, 2002).

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Telfair, Mary 1791 births 1875 deaths People from Savannah, Georgia American women philanthropists American art collectors Burials at Bonaventure Cemetery