Nancy Fowler McCormick

Nancy Maria "Nettie" Fowler McCormick (February 8, 1835 – July 5, 1923) was an American philanthropist. She was also a prominent member of the McCormick family

Nancy Fowler McCormick
Born	Nancy Maria Fowler February 8, 1835 Brownsville, New York, U.S.
Died	July 5, 1923 (aged 88) Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.
Education	Emma Willard School
Spouse(s)	Cyrus Hall McCormick ​ ​ (m. 1858; died 1884)​
Children	7
Relatives	See McCormick family

Early life

Nettie was born on February 8, 1835 in Brownsville in Ontario County, New York. She was the daughter of Melzer Fowler (1803–1835), a prosperous farmer who died a month before her birth, and Clarissa (née Spicer) Fowler (1805–1842), who died when she was seven years old. She was raised by her grandmother in Clayton, New York and attended Emma Willard School in Troy, New York.[1]

Personal life

In 1857, while visiting friends in Chicago, Nettie met Cyrus Hall McCormick (1809–1884), the Shenandoah Valley born eldest son of Robert McCormick, an inventor, and Mary Ann "Polly" (née Hall) McCormick. Cyrus and Nettie were married in 1858 and, together, were the parents of seven children:

• Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr. (1859–1936), who married Harriet Bradley Hammond in 1889.[2]
• Mary Virginia McCormick (1861–1941), who suffered from schizophrenia.[3]
• Robert Hall McCormick (1863–1865), who died young.
• Anita Eugenie McCormick (1866–1954), who married Emmons Blaine, son of the U.S. Secretary of State James G. Blaine, in 1889.[4]
• Alice McCormick (1870–1871), who died young.
• Harold Fowler McCormick (1872–1941), who married Edith Rockefeller, youngest daughter of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller and Laura Spelman Rockefeller.[5][6]
• Stanley Robert McCormick (1874–1947), who married Katharine Dexter.[7] Stanley also suffered from schizophrenia,[3] and his life inspired the 1998 novel Riven Rock by T. Coraghessan Boyle.[8]

Her husband died at their home in Chicago on May 13, 1884.[9] After a week's illness, Nettie died at her home in Lake Forest in Lake County, Illinois on July 5, 1923.[1] She was buried alongside her husband at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[10][11]

Career and philanthropy

While Cyrus was working out a controversy involving his patent of the reaper they lived in Washington, DC. She had a keen business sense and became a great asset to her husband. Nettie became his financial counselor and oversaw many of the business affairs. She toured expositions in McCormick's interest making contacts for the company. In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. But, despite Cyrus' thoughts of retirement afterward, Nettie insisted on rebuilding even larger than before.[12]

The McCormicks provided $100,000 to bring the Hanover Seminary to Chicago.[13] The school was renamed McCormick Theological Seminary soon after Cyrus's death in 1884. Nettie continued to fund buildings, endowing professorships, and scholarships at the seminary even after his death.[14] Nettie donated to over forty schools and colleges.[15] She was said to have given more money to the Presbyterian Church than any other "citizen of the United States."[1] At the time of her death she left more than $1 million to be divided among various institutions. At Tusculum College, one of the many colleges Nettie supported, every September 13 observes Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day. On this day students perform community service in her honor.[16]

References

1. "MRS. M'CORMICK DIES AT CHICAGO: INVENTOR'S WIFE -- Mother of Cyrus and Harold". The Des Moines Register. July 6, 1923. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
2. "NUPTIALS". Oakland Tribune. 6 Jun 1936. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
3. Miriam Kleiman (Summer 2007). "Rich, famous, and questionably sane: when a wealthy heir's family sought help from a hospital for the insane". Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration. 39 (2): 38–47.
4. "Emmons Blaine Married; His Wedding with Miss Anita M'Cormick; Many Distinguished Guests Witnessed the Ceremony at Richfield Springs Yesterday" (PDF). The New York Times. September 27, 1889. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
5. "MRS. H. F. M'CORMICK OBTAINS DIVORCE IN FIFTY MINUTES; John D. Rockefeller's Daughter Gains Decree for Desertion, Which Husband Admits. SHE TESTIFIES IN COURT He Is Absent and Makes No Defense, Although Represented by Counsel. ALIMONY NOT MENTIONEDUnderstanding Is That Both WillContinue to Aid GrandOpera Lavishly" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 December 1921. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
6. "MRS. McCORMICK'S CAREER.; Her Leadership of Chicago Society Unchallenged to the End". The New York Times. 26 August 1932. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
7. Leander J. McCormick (1896). Family record and biography. L.J. McCormick. pp. 303–304.
8. T. Coraghessan Boyle. "Riven Rock". author's web page. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
9. "Cyrus H. McCormick Dead" (PDF). The New York Times. May 14, 1884. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
10. Hutchinson 1935 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHutchinson1935 (help).
11. "Bankers Join Workmen At Mrs. McCormick's Bier -- Simplest of Services Mark Funeral Of Woman Noted for Unostentatious Charity". The Baltimore Sun. July 10, 1923. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
12. "American Experience - Chicago: City of the Century - People & Events". Pbs.org. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
13. The Philanthropy Hall of Fame, Nettie Fowler McCormick
14. "McCormick Theological Seminary - Cross-Cultural Urban Reformed Ecumenical". Mccormick.edu. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
15. "A421 List of People". Iupui.edu. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
16. "TUSCULUM COLLEGE - News for Alumni, Parents and Friends". Tusculum.edu. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2014.

External links

• Nancy Fowler McCormick at Find a Grave
• Graceland Cemetery
• Mrs. McCormick
• National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. "Mrs. Cyrus Hall McCormick." National Cyclopaedia of American Biography 31 (1931): 80–81.