HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Charles Macalester (February 17, 1798 – December 9, 1873) was an American businessman, banker and philanthropist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served as a government director for the
Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ac ...
and an advisor and friend to several U.S. presidents. His brokerage and financing activities made him one of the wealthiest people in the United States at the time. He bequested a former hotel property to a failing Presbyterian secondary school in Minneapolis, Minnesota that became
Macalester College Macalester College () is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 2,174 students in the fall of 2018 from 50 U.S. states, four U.S te ...
and was named in his honor. His Glengarry estate in the
Torresdale Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Northeast Philadelphia, Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, Bensalem ...
neighborhood of Philadelphia was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1979.


Early life and education

Macalester was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
on February 17, 1798, to immigrant parents from
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. His father was a ship-master who sailed often to the East Indies and Europe. Macalester was educated at Grey & Wylie's school and the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
. While at university, he led a company of forty students to assist in the construction of a fort on the west bank of the
Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...
during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.


Career

From 1821 to 1827, he worked as a merchant in
Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, before returning to Philadelphia. On August 24, 1832, his father died and Macalester inherited a large estate. Macalester retired as a merchant in 1849, but continued buying and selling securities and real estate. He worked for the stock brokerage firm Gaw, Macalester & Co., was an agent for the American-British financier
George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...
, a director of the Fidelity Insurance, Trust & Safe Deposit Co., a director of the Girard National Bank and a director of the Camden & Amboy Railroad Company. He made real estate investments, especially in Chicago, and was one of the wealthiest people in the United States. In the 1830s, he was appointed as government director for the
Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ac ...
by
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
and served in that capacity when the bank charter expired. He was an advisor and friend to several U.S. Presidents including
James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...
,
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
,
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
,
Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...
,
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
,
Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. He was a northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to the nation's unity ...
,
James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...
and
Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party (Uni ...
. He was offered a cabinet post several times but never accepted. In 1850, Macalester purchased 84 acres of land in the Torresdale neighborhood of Philadelphia and built a grand country estate that he named Glengarry.


Philanthropy

In the 1870s, Rev. Dr.
Edward Duffield Neill Edward Duffield Neill (1823 – 1893) was an American author and educator. Neill was born in Philadelphia. After studying at the University of Pennsylvania for some time, he enrolled at Amherst College and graduated from Amherst in 1842, then stu ...
asked Macalester for sponsorship for the failing Baldwin College in Minnesota.J. Macalester bequested the Winslow House, a summer hotel in Minneapolis which overlooked Saint Anthonys Falls. Neill agreed to rename the school Macalester College in honor of the gift and the college was chartered in 1874. In 1885, the college sold the Winslow House property for $40,000 and moved to its present location, on
Snelling Avenue Minnesota State Highway 51 (MN 51) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 5 (W. 7th Street) in Saint Paul and continues north to its northern terminus at its interchange with Interstate 694 / U.S. Highwa ...
at Grand Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was a trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital of Philadelphia, the
Jefferson Medical College Thomas Jefferson University is a private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. To signify its heritage, the univer ...
and the Peabody Southern Education Fund. He served as president of the
St. Andrew's Society Saint Andrew's Society refers to one of many independent organizations celebrating Scottish heritage which can be found all over the world. Some Saint Andrew's Societies limit membership to people born in Scotland or their descendants. Some sti ...
.


Personal life

He was first married in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1824 to Eliza A. Lyttle and together they had two children. He was married again in 1841 to Susan Wallace.


Death and legacy

He died at his Glengarry estate in the
Torresdale Torresdale, also formerly known as Torrisdale, is a neighborhood in the Northeast Philadelphia, Far Northeast section of Philadelphia. Torresdale is located along the Delaware River between Holmesburg and Bensalem Township, Pennsylvania, Bensalem ...
neighborhood of Philadelphia on December 9, 1873. He was interred in a mausoleum at
Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...
, Philadelphia, in Section 10, Lot 45. In his will, he bequeathed $5,000 for Presbyterian missions, $5,000 for the Presbyterian Board of Education, and $5,000 for the Fund for Disabled Ministers of the Presbyterian church. The name of Baldwin College was changed to Macalester College in honor of his donation of the Winslow Hotel which founded the school. He also left other charitable bequests. The Charles Macalester Society at Macalester College was named in his honor and set up to recognize individuals whose lifetime donations to the school have exceeded $1 million. His Glengarry estate in the Torresdale neighborhood of Philadelphia was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.


References

Citations Sources * *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macalester, Charles 1798 births 1873 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American railroad executives American bankers American Presbyterians Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Businesspeople from Philadelphia Macalester College University and college founders University of Pennsylvania alumni