John McGraw (merchant)
Encyclopedia
Lumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
merchant, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, early benefactor and trustee
Trustee
Trustee is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, can refer to any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the benefit of another...
of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Early years
John McGraw was born in Dryden, NYDryden (town), New York
Dryden is a town in Tompkins County, New York, USA. The population was 13,532 at the 2000 census. The town contains two villages: one also named Dryden and one named Freeville...
in the year 1815 to Joseph McGraw and Jane Nelson McGraw, both natives of Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
Career
He and his business partner, Henry W. SageHenry W. Sage
Henry W. Sage was a wealthy New York State businessman, philanthropist, and early benefactor and trustee of Cornell University....
, together made a great deal of money selling lumber from forests in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, and operating a large lumber mill in Wenona, Michigan
Wenona, Michigan
Wenona was a historical settlement in the U.S. state of Michigan, located in what is now Bay City at .The village was founded in 1863 by Henry W. Sage , a merchant and philanthropist, who along with John McGraw also founded the Sage, McGraw & Company sawmill on the west bank of the Saginaw River...
, now part of Bay City, Michigan
Bay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
. They also co-founded the town of Wenona.
Family
He married Rhoda Charlotte Southworth in Dryden. She was born September 19, 1819, also in Dryden, the daughter of John Southworth of Salisbury, New YorkSalisbury, New York
Salisbury is the name of some places in the U.S. state of New York:*Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York, a town*Salisbury, Nassau County, New York, a census-designated place...
and Nancy Ellis Southworth of Dryden. She gave birth to his only daughter, Jennie McGraw
Jennie McGraw
Jennie McGraw was born in Dryden, NY in 1840 and died in Ithaca, New York on September 30, 1881. She was the daughter of John McGraw, millionaire philanthropist to Cornell. After her father's death in 1877, McGraw inherited his large fortune...
. After Rhoda's death in 1847, he married her sister, Nancy Amelia Southworth in 1849. Nancy died on 29 February, 1856 at the age of 30. John later married Jane P. Bates Turner in Ithaca, Tompkins, New York, in 1861. She died in Ithaca in 1904 at the age of 84.
Death
John died May 4, 1877 in Ithaca, New YorkIthaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
. His daughter, Jennie inherited his large fortune. She died 30 Sep 1881. Both John and his daughter, Jennie are buried in the crypt at Sage Chapel, Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Jennie's gift to Cornell
Upon Jennie's death, some of this fortune was bequeathed to Cornell. A dispute over this gift led to the Great Will Case, ultimately decided by the United States Supreme Court against Cornell in Cornell Univ. v. Fiske et al. (1890). His former business partner, Henry Sage, made a large donation to Cornell in the name of Jennie to replace the lost funds.Legacy
Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management
The Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management is the graduate business school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York. It was founded in 1946 and renamed in 1984 after Samuel Curtis Johnson, founder of S.C...
and located in Sage Hall
Sage Residential College
Sage Hall was built in 1875 at Cornell University's Ithaca, New York campus. It was originally designed to be a residential building, however, currently it houses the Johnson Graduate School of Management...
.