Catherine Eddy Beveridge (June 29, 1881 – May 28, 1970) was a socialite and philanthropist who came from a prominent

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, family.

Early life

Catherine was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 29, 1881. She was the only daughter of Augustus Newlands Eddy (1846–1921) and Abby Louisa ( née Spencer) Eddy. Her older brother, Spencer F. Eddy, was a diplomat. Her father made his fortune as a businessman and his mother was a member of a family who ran a successful hardware business. His paternal grandparents were the Rev. Thomas Mears Eddy and Anna (née White) Eddy. His maternal grandparents were Rachel (née Macomber) Spencer and Franklin Fayette Spencer, a founder of Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. Like many wealthy young women at the time, Catherine received an education in the humanities and traveled extensively. In the winter of 1902, she debuted at the court of Russian Tsar Nicholas II, after which fresh asparagus was served to the 1,500 dinner guests.

Personal life

In 1907 much to the chagrin of her role models and mentors, her mother Abby Eddy and her aunt Delia Caton Field, Catherine married

Albert J. Beveridge Albert Jeremiah Beveridge (October 6, 1862 – April 27, 1927) was an American historian and US senator from Indiana. He was an intellectual leader of the Progressive Era and a biographer of Chief Justice John Marshall and President Abraham Linco ...

(1862–1927), the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

senator from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, who served from 1899 to 1911. The couple raised two children in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, and

Beverly Farms Beverly Farms is a neighborhood comprising the eastern part of the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, in Massachusetts's North Shore region, about 20 miles north of Boston. Beverly Farms is an oceanfront community with a population of about 3,500, ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, and also spent substantial time in Washington, D.C. The couple had a passionate marriage, and according to their grandson, about the only thing that they ever fought about was his smoking, which she did not like. Their children were: * Albert Jeremiah Beveridge Jr. (1908–1965), who married Elizabeth Scaife (1910–1998) in 1933. * Abby Beveridge, who predeceased her mother. After her husband's 1927 death, Beveridge became a prolific philanthropist of the arts, donating to institutions throughout the country, including the National Gallery of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Art Institute of Indianapolis. She helped establish the

Albert J. Beveridge Award The Albert J. Beveridge Award is awarded by the American Historical Association (AHA) for the best English-language book on American history (United States, Canada, or Latin America) from 1492 to the present. It was established on a biennial basis ...

for American historians in 1939. Beveridge died on May 28, 1970, at her home in

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. She was memorialized in the 2005 book ''The Chronicle of Catherine Eddy Beveridge: An American Girl Travels into the Twentieth Century'', by her grandson Albert J. Beveridge III and Chicago writer Susan Radomsky.

References

External links

Catherine Eddy Beveridge Papers
at Newberry Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Beveridge, Catherine Eddy 1881 births 1970 deaths People from Chicago American socialites Philanthropists from Illinois American women philanthropists 20th-century American philanthropists 20th-century women philanthropists