The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. The family includes

Andrew Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), known also as A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. The son of Mellon family patriarch Thomas Mellon ...

, one of the longest serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, while other members worked in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions. Other notable figures include the prominent banker R.B. Mellon and his son R.K. Mellon, who provided funding and leadership for the first Pittsburgh Renaissance.

History

The American branch of the Mellon family traces its origins to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In 1816, Archibald Mellon emigrated from Northern Ireland to the United States and set up residence in

Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania Westmoreland County is a county in the state of Pennsylvania, United States, in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census the population was 354,663. The county seat is Greensburg and the most populous community is ...

. Two years later, Archibald was joined by his son, Andrew, and his family. The family's wealth originated with Mellon Bank, founded in 1869 by Archibald's grandson, Thomas Mellon. Under the direction of Thomas's son, Andrew William Mellon, the Mellons became principal investors and majority owners of

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the Seven Sisters (oil companies), Seven Sisters oil companies. ...

(which merged with

Chevron Corporation Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation predominantly specializing in oil and gas. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened t ...

in 1985),

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

(since 1886), '' The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'' (since 1970), Koppers (since 1912), New York Shipbuilding (1899–1968) and Carborundum Corporation, as well as their major financial and ownership influence on Westinghouse Electric, H.J. Heinz Company, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', U.S. Steel, First Boston Corporation and

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

. The family bank later became part of

BNY Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

. The family also founded the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

in Washington, D.C., donating both art works and funds, and is a patron to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, and with art the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, and its Mellon College of Science, is named in honor of the family, as well as for its founder,

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

, who was a close associate of the Mellons. The family's founding patriarch was Judge Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), the son of Andrew Mellon and Rebecca Wauchob, who were Scotch-Irish farmers from Camp Hill Cottage, in Lower Castletown,

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, Ireland, and emigrated to what is now the Pittsburgh suburb of north-central

. The family can be divided into four branches: the descendants of Thomas Alexander Mellon Jr, of James Ross Mellon, of Andrew William Mellon, and of Richard Beatty Mellon. The Mellon family are members of the Episcopal Church.

Prominent members

* Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), judge and founder of the Mellon Bank; married Sarah Jane Negley of Pittsburgh. As a boy he decided to abandon his parents' farming lifestyle for law and banking in the city after reading

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

's autobiography. * Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937), banker, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury secretaries in history; namesake of the Andrew Mellon Building and Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, both in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

* Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933), banker, industrialist and philanthropist; married Jennie Taylor King * William Larimer Mellon, Sr. (1868–1949), a founder of the Gulf Oil Corporation * Matthew T. Mellon 1897—1992, scholar of history and literature, Nazi Party supporter, and Colby College trustee * Richard King Mellon (1899–1970), financier, general, and philanthropist; married Constance Prosser McCaulley * Sarah Mellon (1903–1965), heiress of investments in Mellon Bank,

and

; her husband was Alan Magee Scaife *

Paul Mellon Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 2, 1999) was an American philanthropist and a horse breeding, breeder of thoroughbred horse racing, racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the National Muse ...

(1907–1999), American philanthropist and an owner/

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorses. He was married to Rachel Lambert Mellon. * William Larimer Mellon, Jr. (1910–1989), founder of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti * Cordelia Scaife May (1928–2005), recluse and funder of multiple anti-immigration organizations *

Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon family, Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. In 2005 ...

(1932–2014), the chief sponsor of

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

and publisher of the ''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib", is the second-largest daily newspaper serving the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area of Western Pennsylvania. It transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, but rema ...

'' since 1970; first marriage was to Frances L. Gilmore (born December 2, 1934), second marriage was to Margaret "Ritchie" Battle (1947–2005) * Timothy Mellon (b. 1942), chairman and majority owner of

Pan Am Systems Pan Am Systems was a privately held Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based Florida corporation composed of rail transport, manufacturing and energy, transportation related brands, and real estate divisions. It formerly held a now-defunct airline divis ...

, a transportation holding company that was based in

Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on ...

and was subsequently sold to CSX Transportation. * Matthew Taylor Mellon II (1964–2018), a chairman of the Republican Party Finance of New York and served as a regent director of finance for the Republican National Committee; founded or participated in multiple start-ups such as Jimmy Choo, Harrys of London, Hanley Mellon, Marquis Jets, Arrival Aviation and Challenge Capital Partners * Mike Monroney (1902–1980), United States Senator from Oklahoma who wrote and sponsored legislation such as the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the Automobile Information Disclosure Act of 1958, the latter of which made him the namesake of the Monroney sticker; married to Mary Ellen Mellon of the Mellon family *

John Warner John William Warner III (February 18, 1927 – May 25, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term United States Republican Party, Republican United Stat ...

(1927–2021) American lawyer and politician who served as the

United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the United States Department of the Navy, Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On Mar ...

from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

from 1979 to 2009; was married to Catherine Mellon, of the Mellon family from 1957 to 1973.

Members

* Thomas Mellon (1813–1908) ∞ 1843: Sarah Jane Negley (1817–1909) **Thomas Alexander Mellon, Jr., (1844–1899) ∞ Mary C. Caldwell (1847–1902), the sister of

Alexander Caldwell Alexander Caldwell (March 1, 1830May 19, 1917) was a U.S. Senator from Kansas. Early years Born in Drakes Ferry, Pennsylvania, he attended public schools, and in 1847 enlisted as a private to serve in the Mexican–American War. He moved to ...

***Thomas Alexander Mellon, III (1873–1948) ∞ Helen McLanahan Wightman (1871–1961) ****Edward Purcell Mellon, II ∞ Louise Grubbs *****Thomas Alexander Mellon, IV ****Helen S. Mellon (1914–2007) ∞ 1936: Adolph William Schmidt (1904–2000) *****Helen Schmidt ∞ unk. Claire *****Thomas Mellon Schmidt (b. 1940) *** Edward Purcell Mellon (1875–1953) ∞ Ethel Churchill Humphrey (1880–1938) ****Jane Caldwell Mellon (1917–2013) ∞ (1) Craigh Leonard ∞ (2) Robinson Simonds (1906–2000) *****Edward M. Leonard *****Craigh Leonard, Jr. *****Stephanie Leonard ***Mary Caldwell Mellon (1884–1975) ∞ (1) John Herman Kampmann (1880–1957) ∞ (2) Samuel Alfred McClung (1880–1945) ****John Herman Kampmann, Jr. (1907–1940) ****Mary Mellon Kampmann (1908–1995) ∞ Lawrence Deen Schwartz (1909–1957) ****Samuel Alfred McClung, III (1918–2015) ∞ Adelaide "Adie" Smith (1919–2000) ****Isabel Edith McClung (1920–1967) ∞ Charles Newton Abernethy, Jr. (1913–1990) ****Cynthia Mellon McClung (1921–1991) ∞ Stephen Stone, Jr. (1915–1962) **James Ross Mellon (1846–1934) ∞ Rachel Hughey Larimer (1847–1919), the daughter of William Larimer *** William Larimer Mellon (1868–1949) ∞ Mary Hill Taylor **** Matthew Taylor Mellon (1897–1992) ∞ (1) 1931: (div.) Gertrud Altegoer (1909–2005) ∞ (2) Jane Bartrum ***** Karl Negley Mellon (1938–1983) ∞ Anne Stokes Bright ****** Christopher Mellon (b. 1957) Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. *******Hunter Mellon (b. 2001) *******Aiden Mellon (b. 2004) ****** Matthew Taylor Mellon, II (1964–2018) ∞ (1) 2000: (div. 2005) Tamara Yeardye (b. 1967) ∞ (2) Nicole Hanley *******Araminta Mellon (b. 2002) *******Force Mellon (b. 2011) *******Olympia Mellon (b. 2013) ***** James Ross Mellon, II (b. 1942) ∞ Vivian Ruesch, the daughter of Hans Ruesch **** Rachel Larimer Mellon (1899–2006) ∞ John Fawcett Walton, Jr. (1893–1974) ***** Farley Walton ∞ Joshua Clyde Whetzel, Jr. (1921–2012) ******Joshua Clyde Whetzel, III ∞ Marion Plunkett ******Rachel Walton Whetzel ∞ Richard Casselman ******Thomas Porter Whetzel ******William Mellon Whetzel ∞ (1) 1978: (div.) Patricia Joan McGarey ∞ (2) Camilla F. *****Mary Walton ∞ Walter J. P. Curley, Jr. *****John Fawcett Walton, III ∞ Phyllis Walton *****James Mellon Walton (1930–2022) ∞ Ellen Carroll ******James Mellon Walton, Jr. ∞ Elizabeth Andrews Orr ****Margaret Lederle Mellon (1901–1998) ∞ (1) 1924: Alexander Laughlin (d. 1926) ∞ (2) 1928: Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. (1900–1944) *****Alexander Mellon Laughlin (b. 1925) *****Louise Eustis Hitchcock *****Margaret Mellon Hitchcock *****Thomas Hitchcock, III *****William Mellon Hitchcock **** William Larimer Mellon, Jr. (1910–1989) ∞ (1) 1930: (div. 1938) Grace Rowley ∞ (2) 1946: Gwen Grant Mellon (née Rawson; 1911–2000), former wife of John de Groot Rawson *****William Larimer Mellon, III (1933–1963) ∞ Katherine LeGrand Council ***Sarah Lucille Mellon (1887–1968) ∞ (1) Alexander Grange ∞ (2) George S. Hasbrouck ∞ (3) Sidney J. Holloway **Sarah Emma Mellon, who died in childhood **Annie Rebecca Mellon, who died in childhood **Samuel Selwyn Mellon, who died 1862, at age 9 ** Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937) ∞ 1900: (div. 1912) Nora Mary McMullen (1879–1973) *** Ailsa Mellon Bruce (1901–1969) ∞ 1926: (div. 1945) David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898–1977) ****Audrey Mellon Bruce (1934–1967) ∞ 1955: Stephen Currier (d. 1967), son of Mary Warburg *****Andrea Bruce Currier (b. 1956) ∞ 1980: Donald Wright Patterson, Jr. (1939) ******Justin Bruce Patterson ∞ 2013: Anna Elizabeth Burke *****Lavinia Currier ∞ Joel McCleary *****Michael Stephen Currier (1961–1998) ∞ Karin Griscom ***

(1907–1999) ∞ (1) 1935: Mary Conover Brown (1904–1946) ∞ (2) 1948: Rachel Lambert Mellon (1910–2014), former wife of Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr **** Timothy Mellon (b. 1943) ****Catherine Conover Mellon ∞ 1957: (div. 1973) John W. Warner III (1927-2021) *****Virginia Warner *****John William Warner, IV (b. 1962) ∞ Shannon Ford Hamm (b. 1965) *****Mary Warner ** Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933) ∞ Jennie King (d. 1938) *** Richard King Mellon (1899–1970) ∞ 1936: Constance Mary ( Prosser) McCaulley (later Burrell; 1910-1980) ****Richard Prosser Mellon (1939–2020) ∞ (1) Gertrude Adams (1939–2003) (2) Kathryn Dybdal *****Richard Adams Mellon ∞ Alex Mellon *****Armour Negley Mellon ∞ Sophie Mellon ****Cassandra King Mellon (b. 1940) ∞ (1) George M. Henderson ∞ (2) 1979: Edwin Van Rensselaer Milbury *****Christina Mellon Henderson ∞ 1996: Scott Robert McBroom *****Bruce King Mellon Henderson ****Constance Barber Mellon (1941–1983) ∞ William Russell Grace Byers (d. 1999) (brother in law of Joseph Verner Reed Jr.) ∞ (2) 1971: (div. 1973) J. Carter Brown (1934–2002) *****William Russell Grace Byers, Jr. (b. 1965) *****Alison Mellon Byers (b. 1967) ****Seward Prosser Mellon (b. 1942) *** Sarah Cordelia Mellon (1903–1965) ∞ Alan Magee Scaife (1900–1958) **** Cordelia Scaife May (1928–2005) ∞ (1) 1949: (div. 1950) (1) Herbert A. May, Jr. ∞ (2) 1973: Robert Duggan (1926/7–1974) ****

(1932–2014) ∞ (1) 1956: (div. 1991) Frances L. Gilmore (b. 1934) ∞ (2) 1991: (div. 2012) Margaret "Ritchie" Battle (b. 1947) *****Jennie K. Scaife (1963–2018) ******Mary M. Ferri (b.1915) *****David N. Scaife (b. 1966) **George Negley Mellon (1860–1887)

Network

Associates

The following is a list of figures closely aligned with or subordinate to the Mellon family. *

Edward Goodrich Acheson Edward Goodrich Acheson (March 9, 1856 – July 6, 1931) was an American chemist. Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, he was the inventor of the Acheson process, which is still used to make silicon carbide (carborundum). Acheson founded the Carbor ...

*Diamond Jim Brady *

*Arthur Vining Davis *William Donner *Joseph Duveen *David E. Finley Jr. *Henry Clay Frick *James M. Guffey *Joseph R. Grundy *Jack Heinz, Henry John Heinz II *Philander C. Knox *Henry W. Oliver * David A. Reed * Adolph W. Schmidt * Arthur Sixsmith * John W. Warner III * Cyrus Woods

Businesses

The following is a list of companies in which the Mellon family have held a controlling or otherwise significant interest. *

Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a United States, U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. It was chartered in 1835, and became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the e ...

* Brooklyn Union Gas Company *Carborundum Corporation * Crane Company *Crucible Steel Company *

Delaware and Hudson Railway The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP, which would it ...

* First Boston Corporation * General Reinsurance Corporation *

* H.K. Porter, Inc. * Idlewild Park * Koppers * Ligonier Valley Railroad *McClintic-Marshall Construction Company *

Maine Central Railroad The Maine Central Railroad was a United States, U. S. class 1 railroad in central and southern Maine. It was chartered in 1856 and began operations in 1862. By 1884, Maine Central was the longest railroad in New England. Maine Central had expand ...

*Medusa Corporation * Mellon National Bank *Mellon Suncoast Properties, Inc. * Monongahela River Coal Company *''

'' *

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

* Old Overholt * Pan American Airways (1998–2004) *Perma Treat * Pittsburgh Coal Company *

* Rokeby Stables * Sacramento Union * Standard Steel Car Company * Texas Gulf Sulphur Company *

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

Westinghouse Electric Corporation The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...

Philanthropy and nonprofit institutions

The following is a list of philanthropies and other non-profit institutions which were founded by or have otherwise been closely tied to the Mellon family. *Allegheny Foundation * Andrew W. Mellon Foundation *

Bollingen Foundation The Bollingen Foundation was an educational foundation set up along the lines of a university press in 1945. It was named after Bollingen Tower, Carl Jung's country home in Bollingen, Switzerland. Funding was provided by Paul Mellon and his ...

*Carthage Foundation * Center for Immigration Studies * Colcom Foundation * Ezra Stiles College *

Federation for American Immigration Reform The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is a nonprofit, anti-immigration organization in the United States. The group publishes position papers, organizes events, and runs campaigns in order to advocate for changes in U.S. immigr ...

* Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti * Jacqueline Kennedy Garden * KQV * Laurel Foundation * Mellon Trust * Morse College *

* National Legal and Policy Center * National Portrait Gallery (United States) * NumbersUSA * Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art *Rachel Mellon Walton Fund * Richard King Mellon Foundation * Rolling Rock Club *Scaife Family Foundation * Sarah Scaife Foundation *

* Yale Center for British Art

Buildings, estates, and historic sites

* Andrew Mellon Building * Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium * Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve * Cape Hatteras National Seashore *

Cathedral of Learning The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story skyscraper that serves as the centerpiece of the University of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh's (Pitt) main campus in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Stan ...

*''Dune House'' * East Liberty Market * East Liberty Presbyterian Church *

Gulf Tower The Gulf Tower is a 44-story, Art Deco skyscraper in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The tower is one of the major distinctive and recognizable features of the city and is named for the Gulf Oil, Gulf Oil Corporation. Built as the headquar ...

* Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area * Mellon National Bank Building * Mellon Park * Mellon Square *''Oak Spring Garden'' *''Penguin Court'' *''Scallop Path'' * Sky Meadows State Park * White House Rose Garden

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * *

External links

* {{Banking families American families of Scotch-Irish ancestry Banking families Business families of the United States Episcopalian families Political families of the United States