Francis Anthony Drexel
Encyclopedia
Francis Anthony Drexel was a Philadelphia banker.
. He had two brothers, Anthony Joseph Drexel and Joseph William Drexel
.
He married Hannah J. Langstroth and they had two children: Elizabeth Drexel, who married Walter George Smith of Philadelphia and died on September 26, 1890; and Katherine Drexel, who became a nun
, founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, and was made a Catholic saint. Langstroth died five weeks after Katherine's birth.
His second wife, Emma Bouvier, was the daughter of Michel Bouvier, a French cabinetmaker and real estate speculator as well as the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis née Bouvier
. They had one child: Louise Bouvier Drexel, who married Edward de Veaux Morrell
. Emma also died before Francis.
He died on February 15, 1885.
Francis A. Drexel library is named in his honor. His daughters Elizabeth and Louise founded the St. Francis Industrial School at Eddington, Pennsylvania. They also endowed the Francis A. Drexel Chair of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America.
Biography
He was born on June 20, 1824 to Francis Martin DrexelFrancis Martin Drexel
Francis Martin Drexel was a Philadelphia banker and artist. He was the father of Anthony Joseph Drexel, the founder of Drexel University and the grandfather of Saint Katherine Drexel....
. He had two brothers, Anthony Joseph Drexel and Joseph William Drexel
Joseph William Drexel
Joseph William Drexel was a banker, philanthropist, and partner of Baring Brothers in London and Rothschild et fils in Paris.-Biography:...
.
He married Hannah J. Langstroth and they had two children: Elizabeth Drexel, who married Walter George Smith of Philadelphia and died on September 26, 1890; and Katherine Drexel, who became a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
, founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People, and was made a Catholic saint. Langstroth died five weeks after Katherine's birth.
His second wife, Emma Bouvier, was the daughter of Michel Bouvier, a French cabinetmaker and real estate speculator as well as the paternal great-great-grandfather of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis née Bouvier
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Bouvier "Jackie" Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady of the United States during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. Five years later she married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle...
. They had one child: Louise Bouvier Drexel, who married Edward de Veaux Morrell
Edward de Veaux Morrell
Edward de Veaux Morrell was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Morrell was born in Newport, Rhode Island. He attended private schools and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia, where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, in 1885...
. Emma also died before Francis.
He died on February 15, 1885.
Legacy
The Saint Joseph's UniversitySaint Joseph's University
Saint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...
Francis A. Drexel library is named in his honor. His daughters Elizabeth and Louise founded the St. Francis Industrial School at Eddington, Pennsylvania. They also endowed the Francis A. Drexel Chair of Moral Theology at the Catholic University of America.