Mellon family

The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions, as well as a famous recluse, Cordelia Scaife May, who funded multiple anti-immigration organizations.

Portrait photograph of Andrew Mellon, 1924

History

The family fortune originated with Mellon Bank, founded 1869. They became principal investors and majority owners of Gulf Oil (founded 1901 becoming Chevron Corporation in 1985), Alcoa (since 1886), The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (since 1970), Koppers (since 1912), New York Shipbuilding (1899–1968) and Carborundum Corporation,[1] as well as their major financial and ownership influence on Westinghouse,[2] H. J. Heinz, Newsweek, U.S. Steel, Credit Suisse First Boston and General Motors.

The family also founded the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., donating both art works and funds, and is a patron to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, and with art the University of Virginia. Carnegie Mellon University, and its Mellon College of Science, is named in honor of the family, as well as for its founder, Andrew Carnegie, who was a close associate of the Mellons. The family's founding patriarch was Judge Thomas Mellon (1813–1908),[3] the son of Andrew Mellon and Rebecca Wauchob, who were Scotch-Irish farmers from Camp Hill Cottage, Lower Castletown, parish of Cappagh, County Tyrone, Ireland and emigrated to what is now the Pittsburgh suburb of north-central Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. 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.

Prominent members

• Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), a judge and founder of the Mellon Bank who 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's autobiography.
• Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937), one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury secretaries in history and also the namesake of Washington, D.C.'s Andrew Mellon Building and Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.
• Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933), a banker, industrialist and philanthropist, who married Jennie Taylor King
• William Larimer Mellon, Sr. (1868–1949), a founder of the Gulf Oil Corporation
• Richard King Mellon (1899–1970), a financier, general, and philanthropist, who married Constance Prosser McCaulley
• Sarah Mellon (1903–1965), a including Mellon Bank and major investments in Gulf Oil and Alcoa, her husband is Alan Magee Scaife
• William Larimer Mellon, Jr. (1910–1989), founder of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti
• Cordelia Scaife May (1928–2005), a famous recluse and funder of multiple anti-immigration organizations.[4]
• Richard Mellon Scaife (1932–2014), the chief sponsor of the Heritage Foundation and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review since 1970.[5] 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, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based transportation holding company.
• James Ross ("Jay") Mellon II (b. 1942), an author of books about Abraham Lincoln, Slavery in America and his family's founding patriarch, Thomas Mellon. According to an interview with the Swiss weekly newspaper, "SonntagsZeitung", he travels permanently in order to legally minimize taxes.[6]
• Christopher Mellon (b. 1958), the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Clinton and Bush Administrations; former minority staff director of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, adjunct professor at Georgetown University; private equity investor; and former National Security Affairs Advisor at To The Stars Academy.
• Matthew Taylor Mellon II (1964–2018), who was a chairman of the Republican Party Finance of New York and served as a regent director of finance for the Republican National Committee. Mr. Mellon founded or participated in multiple start ups such as Jimmy Choo, Harrys of London, Hanley Mellon, Marquis Jets, Arrival Aviation and Challenge Capital Partners.

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[7]
    • Thomas Alexander Mellon, III (1873–1948) ∞ Helen McLanahan Wightman (1871–1961)
      • Edward Purcell Mellon, II ∞ Louise Grubbs
        • Thomas Alexander Mellon, IV[8]
      • Helen S. Mellon (1914–2007) ∞ 1936: Adolph William Schmidt (1904–2000)[9]
        • Helen Schmidt ∞ unk. Claire
        • Thomas Mellon Schmidt (b. 1940)
    • Edward Purcell Mellon (1875–1953) ∞ Ethel Churchill Humphrey (1880–1938)[10]
      • 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 Laban Abernethy, Jr. (1913–1990), the son of Charles Laban Abernethy
      • Cynthia Mellon McClung (1921–1991) ∞ Stephen Stone, Jr. (1915–1962)
  • James Ross Mellon (1846–1934) ∞ Rachel Hughley 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[11]
        • Karl Negley Mellon (1938–1983) ∞ Anne Stokes Bright
          • Christopher Mellon (b. 1958)
            • Hunter Mellon (b. 2001)
            • Aiden Mellon (b. 2004)
          • Matthew Taylor Mellon, II (1964–2018) ∞ 2000: (div. 2005) Tamara Yeardye (b. 1967) ∞ Nicole Hanley Mellon
            • 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 Mellon (1899–2006)[12] ∞ 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 (b. 1930) ∞ Ellen Carroll[13]
          • James Mellon Walton Jr. ∞ Elizabeth Andrews Orr [14]
      • Margaret Mellon Hitchcock (1901–1998) ∞ (1) Alexander Laughlin ∞ (2) Tommy Hitchcock, Jr. (1900–1944)[15]
        • 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.[16]
        • William Larimer Mellon, III (1933–1963) ∞ LeGrand Council[17]
    • S. Lucille Mellon (1887–1968) ∞ (1) Sidney J. Holloway ∞ (2) Alexander Grange ∞ (3) George S. Hasbrouck
  • 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[18]
        • Lavinia Currier ∞ Joel McCleary[19]
        • Michael Stephen Currier (1961–1998) ∞ Karin Griscom
    • Paul Mellon (1907–1999) ∞ (1) 1935: Mary Conover Brown (1904–1946) ∞ (2) 1948: Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon (1910–2014), the former wife of Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr
      • Timothy Mellon (b. 1943)
      • Catherine Conover Mellon ∞ 1957: (div. 1973) John William Warner, III (b. 1927)
        • 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 Prosser McCaulley
      • Richard Prosser Mellon (1939–2020) ∞ (1) Gertrude Adams (1939–2003)[20] (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)[21] ∞ 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)
      • Richard Mellon Scaife (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)

References

1. "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
2. "The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
3. Fitzpatrick, Dan (July 1, 2007). "Mellon family's legacy lives on". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
4. Tanfani, Joseph (25 July 2013). "Late heiress' anti-immigration efforts live on". Los Angeles Times.
5. "Obituary: Richard M. Scaife / Ideologue, philanthropist, newspaper publisher".
6. Imbach, Florian. "Der Mann ohne Heimat". Retrieved 5 May 2013.
7. "Mellons in Pittsburgh" (PDF). Old Post Gazette. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
8. "Beaver County Times - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
9. "Helen Mellon Schmidt obituary". St. Augustine Record. September 27, 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
10. "Mrs. Edward P. Mellon's obituary". New York Times. September 6, 1938. Retrieved 7 August 2016.
11. "Matthew T. Mellon '22". paw.princeton.edu. Princeton Alumni Weekly. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
12. "Paid Notice: Deaths WALTON, RACHEL MELLON". The New York Times. 14 March 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
13. "The Heinz Endowments : Board of Directors". Retrieved 31 May 2017.
14. "Miss Orr Marries James Walton Jr". Retrieved 22 July 2020.
15. McNulty, Timothy. "′Throwback′ to the golden age of wealth and power in the city". Retrieved 31 May 2013.
16. Pace, Eric (2 December 2000). "Gwen Grant Mellon, 89, Dies; Founder of a Haitian Hospital". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
17. http://www.woodvorwerk.com/wood/g23/p23737.htm. Missing or empty |title= (help)
18. "Anna Burke, Justin Patterson". The New York Times. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
19. Grove, Lloyd (July 8, 1998). "Child of Fortune, Take 2". The Washington Post. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
20. Vondas, Jerry (August 5, 2003). "Renowned decorator also respected for generosity". TribLIVE.com. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
21. "Constance Barber Mellon, 41, Prominent Patron of the Arts". The New York Times. 4 January 1983. Retrieved 31 May 2017.