In May 1864, in separate letters both the Judge and Sarah Jane responded to their then-18 year old son's desire to join the Union Army for a 100 day enlistment. Lavish Splendor Marks Brilliant Mellon Nuptials, Pittsburgh Remembers Andrew Carnegie, The Great Showman, Rollin' on the River: Pittsburgh Shanty Boat Life, Forgotten History: Father James Renshaw Cox, Quiet, pleasant and self-possessed: Sarah Jane Negley Mellon. Howard Heinz and Richard B. Mellon found the Pittsburgh Parks and Playground Fund - today it is known as the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy Howard Heinz founds the Pittsburgh Planning Association, which today is known as the Southwest Pennsylvania Commission - the region's MPO. The Mellon Institute building was dedicated in May 1937 by brothers Andrew W. and Richard B. Mellon. In 1931, R.B. Source. As a lifelong Pittsburgher there are many elements of the Mellon saga that I never knew, including Sara Jane's story. It is also home to several recreational facilities. For $200 a year (paid three months in advance) Sarah Jane would have studied reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, composition, geography, astronomy with the use of globes, natural philosophy, chemistry, history, and plain and ornamental needle work. But Sarah remained connected to the goings-on at home. Janet Zweig, an artist chosen by the project team, turned the floor of the garden into an exact replica of the sky in Pittsburgh on the day Ann was born. From Troy Hill, a subsequent closing in 1888 meant the poor souls were re-interred one more time, to the Smithfield East End Cemetery in Squirrel Hill, now maintained by Homewood Cemetery. The 1994 book Architecture after Richardson reports that the house was torn down in 1941 for no reason that I have found as of yet. Other seasonal visitors, such as industrialist James R. Mellon, opted to purchase or erect winter residences rather than be confined to a hotel room. According to contemporary accounts, proud papa Richard B. spent $100,000 to build and decorate a pavilion at his East End mansion for the wedding feast and ball. In the absence of access to such cherished family material, Sarah Jane must remain aloof and ultimately unknowable to history while her husband Thomas commands center stage. He was fined and received a suspended sentence for his efforts after providing crucial testimony against some partners. Let's assume that these items were rendered less conspicuous by decorators who Billy made the family's secluded Millburn, New York estate available to Leary and his team of Harvard researchers, where they famously examined psychedelically-altered states of consciousness. Richard Beatty Mellon (March 19, 1858 - December 1933), sometimes R.B., was a banker, industrialist, and philanthropist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (adjusted wealth $103 billion). The park was reopened on June 12, 2010. A gossipy 1888 book entitled The social mirror: a character sketch of the women of Pittsburg and vicinity during the first century of the county's existence alphabetically categorizes the women of the city according to the qualities of beauty, intelligence, musicality and artistry, charity, wealth, moral do-gooding, and positions of social standing that they best exemplify. Peggy Hitchcock (daughter of Margaret Mellon Hitchcock, a sister of Matthew and Larry mentioned above) was married for a time to 1960s American counterculture leader Walter Howard Bowart, whom she met through mutual friend and former lover Timothy Leary. The day after my tour, I was reading a book about art collecting in Pittsburgh during the Gilded Age when I stumbled upon something that, as our columnist Rick Sebak would say, isn't there anymore. Adherence to Law. His son Jacob married Barbara Anna Winebiddle, a descendant of the Taubs (who owned property in present-day Shadyside) and Winebiddles (who owned property all around today's Bloomfield, Friendship, Lawrenceville, and Downtown areas). I had no idea that Judge Mellon had prudently created the park in 1878 for the sole purpose of providing a destination to increase profits for his already-existing narrow-gauge railroad. Seizing an opportunity when their chaperone was out of the room, he one day declared his intentions to Sarah Jane, voiced the hope that she felt the same, then ".took a kiss unresisted and said that would do, and I was satisfied; and left her abruptly, feeling unnerved for conversation." Is this really a burial ground? On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. She certainly didn't adopt any coquettish airs once they were engaged, either: No record exists as to how Sarah Jane Negley characterized her husband, the man who described their marriage as a "transaction" that was "consummated." Simple theme. suicide? Was there anything there, the pastor and building committee wondered, that a parish with little money could procure for a new church building? In his memoir, Judge Mellon's Sons, he described how ".every kind of activity associated with a farm, including the slaughtering and dressing of hogs, was regularly carried on there. James Mellon donated land for the Mellon School, which later became Putnam High School. The owner's first Tiffany window glass, now installed in a powder room, depicts peonies and steps and is a panel from a larger landscape window made about 1908 to 1912 for the Pittsburgh mansion of Richard B. Mellon. She seems instead to have been one who naturally kept her own counsel and was always emotionally reserved. James Mellon founded the City Deposit Bank, becoming its president in 1898. William Larimer's parents were not believers, and he wrote sympathetically but scathingly in his memoirs about his grandfather's doty adventures with Spiritualism. And I wondered about what kinds of lives those were -- not simply in terms of material possessions, but about how the world must seem to such people. Things were looking up, especially since ".my Instead, take heed of this: a monument to one woman's love of family, and her desire to honor the past. Some of Eagle Rock was saved, however. Because of this insularity, even the most famous Mellon individuals don't signify in the collective Pittsburgh consciousness. described as, Sarah's daughter, Cordelia Scaife May, scrupulously shunned publicity but left a legacy brimming with gossip. The land surrounding the mansion was donated to the city of Pittsburgh and now serves as Mellon Park. 'The Mellon family ranked among the wealthiest and most prominent industrialists in the United States by the time of Judge Mellon's death in 1908. Kursevi Njemakog jezika He persisted in the face of little if any enthusiasm from Sarah Jane, whom he saw as polite and conversational, but distant and discouraging of intimacy. 01 Grants. View Details. According to contemporary accounts, proud papa Richard B. spent $100,000 to build and decorate a pavilion at his East End mansion for the wedding feast and ball. James Mellon donated land for the Mellon School, which later became Putnam High School, A mattress was spotted in the living room of the house, suggesting squatters had taken up residence there. I'd pretend that each carefully landscaped section was a room in my make-believe mansion, then I'd hop-scotch around on the groovy terrazzo paving (reportedly those designs came from a suggestion by Sarah Mellon Scaife) and fantasize about climbing the magical cascading fountain. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade but earned a GED and, eventually, master's degrees from two prestigious universities. Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 - July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It likely knew the tread of Sarah Jane's feet when she It had been erected in 1912 by Sarah Negley Mellon to honor her grandparents, Alexander and Anna Maria Burkstresser Negley, who were buried there in unmarked graves along with many other nameless Pittsburgh pioneers. Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mellon_Park&oldid=1138195611, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks, National Register of Historic Places in Pittsburgh, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 February 2023, at 14:16. homestead of Alexander Negley, where are interred about fifty early On May 7, 1919, at the age of 73, Rachel Mellon passed away upon arriving home to Pittsburgh. Yes, THAT Timothy Leary. As you can see from these photos, Eagle Rock was a beautiful piece of architecture that should have been kept for future generations. She was lovely, and her family adored her, and she had a nice big tree and a fancy house. The splendor of the Gilded Age couldnt last forever. If you're on the look-out, you might spy his name on this bench that surrounds a fountain on a traffic island at 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, between the west wing of the National Gallery and the former Newseum. By necessity she would have become removed from day-today housework once she and Thomas became pillars of their community and she gravitated to a prominent social role outside the home. Thomas had his acknowledged favorites, but we don't know if Sarah had a favorite among her surviving sons. Silly me, it was more than just Mellon parks and dollhouses. Married life of Sarah Mellon He was founder and President of RAM Transit, Inc.,. So it's not a stretch to say that we have the Mellon family money to thank for LSD. My family visited Mellon Square, situated mid-way between Kaufmann's and Gimbel's department stores on Smithfield Street, whenever we shopped downtown in the 1970s. Stop in to reconnect with the history. He has served as a Trustee of both Foundations since 2005. In honor of his civic efforts, the Air and Waste Management Association recognizes individuals who have made administrative, legislative, and judicial contributions to the field of pollution abatement with the Richard Beatty Mellon Award. Now, striking pictures show the white-panel exterior of the large house, the ornate tiled pathway leading to the front door and the slightly overgrown garden that features palm trees. Sunday was an incredibly popular supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919.'. He served as president of Western Pennsylvania Hospital and the Allegheny County Juvenile Court Farm. Did he know in an instant that Sarah Jane was "the one of destiny"? This was a woman who had the means to do anything she wanted, and then some. We are very proud to have integrated various historical pieces within the store that really resonate with the city of Pittsburgh. A few years later, they moved nearly next door into a home Mrs. Negley gifted them. "Richard B. Mellon and his brother Andrew played a game of tag that lasted seven decades. According to the blog Beyond the Gilded Age, the 104-room mansion was designed by Little and Browne. 'Shortly after, James and Rachel were married. Richard B. Mellon, a multimillionaire, was the president of Alcoa. Yet it was not really a farm but a country home." One story claims that they were originally buried downtown Pittsburgh at Smithfield and Sixth Streets, at what became the German Evangelical Protestant Church church (just around the corner from today's Mellon Park). The rail ties and lumber used to build the railroad were furnished by the lumber company the Mellon brothers owned. Interestingly, though, this home was the only one of the Fricks three residences to be demolished (the other two were preserved as museums). Published on Jul 30, 2009. Their two daughters did not live past infancy, and another son died at age 9. Indeed, there was much here that had ecclesiastical potentialities. The school noted that "To study, coercive means are not employed, reference is made to the heart as well as the head, and the study of every branch, and the proportion of time given to it, will be subservient and tributary to useful and moral and religious improvement." _____________________________________________________________. This isn't an unusual circumstance [4] The $13.3 million in taxes paid on his estate enabled the state to meet its payroll.[5]. The 65-room R.B. His was the largest mansion in Pittsburgh. By the end of the century, the Mellon Bank was the largest banking institution in the country outside of New York. Several other architects added their own touch to the landscape, including the Olmsted Brothers and some seventeen years after the garden began, Vitale and Geiffert. Richard King Mellon, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; inherited wealth: Alcoa, Gulf Oil, Mellon Bank, etc. Unless otherwise indicated, all content is original to author. Richard A. Mellon, 56, was unanimously selected by the Boards of both Foundations. To honour her memory, he built the Larimer Memorial Library (now Larimer Arts Center) and donated it to the city, The introduction of the railroads into North Florida in the 1880s led to an explosion in the winter tourist trade and visitors, such as industrialist James R. Mellon, opted to purchase or erect winter residences rather than be confined to a hotel room, The Mellon family ranked among the wealthiest and most prominent industrialists in the United States by the time of Judge Mellon's death in 1908. Sunday was an incredibly popular supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919, James Ross Mellon, pictured left, was the son of Judge Thomas Mellon, the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the wealthy and influential family. We know from published family accounts that one scrapbook contained images of presidential log cabins. The rotting remains of a staircase in the winter retreat. Thomas Mellon pursued his intended via weekly chaperoned visits at the Negley Mansion over six long months. 1 The mansion was built by Italian immigrants from New Kensington, PA, under the direction of Monsignor Nicola Fusco. History of the Mansion. Others were filled with religious and inspirational maxims. Other than these glimpses, the public is left with only the name and limited understanding of the life of Sarah Jane Negley Mellon as filtered through others' experiences. murder?). The site, part of a 14-acre parcel of land known as Frick Acres, was donated to the University by Andrew W. Mellon and his brother, Richard B. Mellon. Mellon's personal sense of style was exemplified by a hat-rack made of mirrors and buffalo horns and half a taxidermied buffalo head (yes, half), both of which he kept on display as Biography . Macdonald, assumed control of Idlewild Park in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. MELLON, Richard B. He was the founder of the Rolling Rock Club. Mellon residence photo from Allegheny County, PA archives. Mellon Park, established in 1943, was once part of the estate of Richard B. Mellon, owner of the largest mansion in the city. The way Thomas describes their courtship is intriguing for the boorish but earnest picture it paints of him, and the enigmatic portrait presented of Sarah Jane. Like the earliest Mellons, Alexander originally settled in Westmoreland County. "They wanted almost the entire mansion. Promo Tim Poslovna rjeenja; are fireworks legal in sugar land, tx; Poetna; O nama; Informisanje; Promotivna podrka; Edukacija. Avenue. To kid-me, a family name such as "Mellon" seemed pretty funny: it conjured up images of posh, well-dressed fleshy fruit. The Mellon Richard K. Mellon remained an outdoorsman and grew the family retreat in Ligonier into a grand estate. [volume] (Nome, Alaska) 1938-??? On January 2, 1870, he opened the T. Mellon & Sons' Bank with his sons Andrew W. and Richard B.Mellon, William Larimer and Sparkes, Boyden, , 1948. Social activists, politicians, journalists, and others helped to bring about changes like child labor laws and minimum wage. I'd walked past this grove many times in the six years I lived in Highland Park. Did she want to say "told you so" when all was said and done? 'In 1899, the Union Trust Company of Pittsburgh was organized by the Mellon family, to be followed by the Union Savings Bank. James was away at college. The land was then given to the city to become what is known now as Mellon Park, while the carriage house is the Phipps Garden Center. Eventually even Judge Mellon himself concluded "There's nothing to it" and returned home. Growing up surrounded by the Mellon name in Pittsburgh Thomas devoted an entire memoir chapter to their trip. [3] LaQuatra Bonci Associates was responsible for the planning and supervising of the garden's redemption. The specifics of Sarah Mellon and Alan Scaife's extravagant 1927 wedding still leave readers slack-jawed in amazement. (1592-1673), who came from London, England to Watertown, Massachusetts in 1635. Judge Mellon's private memoirs were made public by his family, providing invaluable insights into the private life of this couple. Mellon Square dedication, October 18, 1955. Thomas finally reached his limit. This much, I knew: Sarah Jane Negley Mellon was an heiress descended from multiple Pittsburgh pioneer families who once owned nearly all of the East End. According to contemporary accounts, proud papa Richard B. spent $100,000 to build and decorate a pavilion at his East End mansion for the wedding feast and ball. Yet, without the family being in apparent financial strife, the home was torn down in 1941. undemonstrative. were all in all to each other. It was still in good enough repair then to conjure my mother's memories of the park as a chic working-girl gathering place from earlier decades. In The Judge, another quote from grandson William described how the Mellon marriage evolvedor rather, how it bobbed placidly in place on the surface for decades: Some personal material related to Sarah Jane does exist for public access. He had a personal fortune of $1.4billion in his lifetime, mostly through inherited wealth. These industrious men then built the monumental Mount St. Peter Church in New Kensington, which still stands and functions to this day from the materials of the Mellon Mansion. View Details. In 1913, James and his brothers founded the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research in memory of their father who passed away in February 1908, An old calendar from 1970 at the house. The comments below have not been moderated. He and his brother, Andrew W. Mellon, another son of Judge Thomas Mellon, were frequent business partners. After harrowing skirmishes with Indians, he resettled his family in the more hospitable Pittsburgh area. He was also worth around . Incredible photos show the abandoned remains of a 6,000-square-foot river retreat that once belonged to a hugely successful US banking magnate. His brother remained "it" until he died four years later." "Last tag." - Banker Richard B. Mellon (1858-1933) 2 whyIsUsermanTaken 1 yr. ago I appreciate you you letting us know what is was. The mansion was built by Italian immigrants from New Kensington, PA, under the direction of Monsignor Nicola Fusco. Potato Head. Carnegie Mellon would not be Carnegie Mellon without their vision, service, and commitment. 2 DISTINGUISHED DAUGHTERS OF PENNSYLVANIA AWARDS; 3 9 - 4 THE PENNSYLVANIA MANUAL; 4 Harriet Duff Phillips' daughter was similarly honored in 1976: Overall, I learned so much and I never imagined how much of the Gilded Age existed outside of Newport. I can now extemporaneously follow various Mellon lineages, dissect Mellon accomplishments and scandals, and marvel at how this one family has disseminated its reputed $12 billion wealth and influence. Details. Richard B. Mellon. It was great reading your blogs. Mrs. Negley would in fact live out her final days with Thomas and Sarah Jane, bequeathing the bulk of her considerable real estate holdings to Sarah Jane and other descendants (thereby providing the foundation for lucrative Mellon real estate development in the East End). His children, Sarah Mellon and her younger brother Richard King Mellon, were heirs to the family fortune alongside their cousins Paul Mellon and Ailsa Mellon-Bruce. There was an early, disapproved-of marriage and subsequent divorce. Mount Saint Peter Church is a Roman Catholic Church at 100 Freeport Road in New Kensington, Pennsylvania. Did she grow to like, or love, her husband? Facing Shady Avenue is the Tudor revival house once home to the Scaife family and donated in 1943. When Richard was on his deathbed, he called his brother over and whispered, "Last tag.". Congressman and president of the Atlantic & Ohio Telegraph Co., predecessor to Western Union Telegraph Co. The park is home to the Walled Garden and holds events throughout the year. This was a relationship which appears to have been based on mutually calculated, emotionally-detached appraisals. He and his brother Andrew had a little game of tag going for about seven decades. Send Report . It certainly is startling for modern park-goers to find what may be a grave site in their midst, and someone along the way must have tried to deduce an explanation. [1], R.B. The Nome nugget. Hitchcock himself kept his distance from Leary and his trippy team, and eventually evicted them from the "Big House" with things got out of control. Andrew Mellon was the most famous brother, serving as U.S. Treasury . [2] Later, he was instrumental in forming Mellbank Corporation, a bank holding company, which helped the affiliated banks weather the Great Depression.[3]. name, as Mrs. So-and-so, it's hard not to make too much of the fact that Sarah used After her death, James continued to spend each winter in Palatka. Andrew Mellon's cuckolding, and his subsequent very public divorce from Nora A fitting setting for a bride with a background in architectural conservation: the cathedral was constructed in the 1940s using salvaged marble, steel, and other materials from the Richard B. Mellon Mansion (as it was being demolished) and features stunning architectural details. The other day as I was walking in Highland Park I came across a memorial. The newlyweds moved in with Sarah's mother and some Negley siblings who'd remained in the family home. The abandoned remains of a river retreat in north Florida that once belonged to the hugely successful US banking magnate and industrialist James R Mellon, The staircase in the abandoned Mellon river retreat. Published: 12:00 GMT, 2 July 2019 | Updated: 19:24 GMT, 12 August 2019. to more photos). It was a stones throw from the current Pittsburgh Center for the Arts on Fifth Ave. Here's a link to a pic. The Mellon private family archives contain private written material and memorabilia which no doubt shed more light on Sarah Jane's personality -- including the scrapbooks which so infuriated her husband when they were courting. ?, June 19, 1944, Page THREE, Image 3, brought to you by Alaska State Library Historical Collections, and the National Digital Newspaper Program. Heinz History Center, Allegheny Conference on Community Development Photographs. Still, the Negleys are not listed among the burials at Smithfield. on Negley Avenue are all long gone. Such was the case on Nov. 16, 1927, at the wedding of the daughter of Richard Beatty Mellon who was the niece of Andrew Mellon and the future mother of Richard Mellon Scaife. The Mellons welcomed many famous guests into their home, including Billy Sunday, a former National League baseball player turned evangelist. Richard B. Mellon Quotes. Richard Mellon Scaife (pictured right in 1973) the great-nephew of Andrew Mellon and JJames R Mellon. wife was herself a good cook and not in the least averse to work.we The gates surrounding Eagle Rock were also transported to Clayton and now border the parking lot. 'On May 7th, 1919, at the age of 73, Rachel Mellon passed away upon arriving home to Pittsburgh. Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, http://www.mellon.com/aboutmellon/history.html, "R. B. Mellon Dies; Noted Industrial Leader of Nation", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_B._Mellon&oldid=1119087475, This page was last edited on 30 October 2022, at 17:07. The Romanesque-style church was completed in 1944, using many items from the Richard B. Mellon mansion, which was in what is now Mellon Park in Shadyside and was torn down in 1941. Gun, Coal, Machines. Pastor and committee investigated. Sarah Jane Negley John D. Rockefeller Jr. . Built in 1910, it included a bowling alley and carriage house. A Fair in the Park Mellon Park Tennis Center History The park was established in 1943, on the grounds of the former estate of Richard B. Mellon.