Edith Rockefeller McCormick (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932) was an American socialite, daughter of
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
co-founder
John D. Rockefeller.
She and her husband Harold Fowler McCormick were prominent in Chicago society, supporting many causes, including the city’s first opera company. After being treated for depression by
Jung
Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, philo ...
, she became a successful Jungian psycho-analyst herself. She also studied astrology and reincarnation.
Early life
Edith was born on August 31, 1872 at her parents' home in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. She was the fourth daughter of schoolteacher
Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman (1839–1915) and
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
co-founder
John Davison Rockefeller. Her brother was
John Davison Rockefeller Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in Mi ...
(1874–1960). Her three elder sisters were
Elizabeth (Bessie) (1866–1906), Alice (1869–1870), and
Alta
Alta or ALTA may refer to:
Acronyms
* Alt-A, short for Alternative A-paper, is a type of U.S. mortgage
* American Land Title Association, a national trade association representing the land title industry
* American Literary Translators Associatio ...
(1871–1962).
Edith and her father had an often stormy relationship, where her extravagance would often conflict with his frugality. She was educated at home by private tutors and, unlike other women of means at the time, did not attend
finishing school
A finishing school focuses on teaching young women social graces and upper-class cultural rites as a preparation for entry into society. The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the education, wit ...
.
Personal life
On November 26, 1895, she married
Harold Fowler McCormick
Harold Fowler McCormick (May 2, 1872 – October 16, 1941) was an American businessman. He was chairman of the board of International Harvester Company and a member of the McCormick family. In 1948 he was awarded the Henry Laurence Gantt Medal b ...
from Chicago, a son of
Nancy Fowler and
Cyrus Hall McCormick
Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...
, the inventor of the mechanical
reaper. The married couple spent their first two years living in
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. The city is the most populous in Southwest Iowa, and is the third largest and a primary city of the Omaha–Council Bluffs ...
, where Harold managed a branch of his father's business. They later moved to
Chicago. In 1912, they hired prominent architect
Charles A. Platt
Charles Adams Platt (October 16, 1861 – September 12, 1933) was a prominent American architect, garden designer, and artist of the "American Renaissance" movement. His garden designs complemented his domestic architecture.
Early career Pai ...
to build a mansion on their large country estate, located directly on
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...
in
Lake Forest,
Illinois, which they named Villa Turicum, and which had extensive architecturally landscaped gardens. Together, Harold and Edith were the parents of five children, three of whom survived to adulthood:
* John Rockefeller McCormick (1897–1901), who died young from
Scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
.
* Editha McCormick (1903–1904), who also died young.
* Harold Fowler McCormick Jr. (1898–1973), who married Anne Urquhart Brown "Fifi" (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Potter) Stillman (1879–1969), who had previously been married to
James A. Stillman
James Alexander Stillman (August 18, 1873 – January 13, 1944) was a president of Citigroup, National City Bank.
Biography
James Alexander Stillman was born on August 18, 1873, in New York City to James Jewett Stillman (1850–1918) and Sara ...
, and was the daughter of James Brown Potter and
Mary Cora Urquhart.
* Muriel McCormick (1903–1959), who married Elisha Dyer Hubbard (1878-1936), a nephew of
Elisha Dyer Jr.
Elisha Dyer Jr. (November 29, 1839November 29, 1906) was a Rhode Island politician who was 45th Governor of Rhode Island from 1897 to 1900. He was the son of Elisha Dyer, Governor of Rhode Island from 1857 to 1859.
Early life
Dyer was born in ...
and grandson of
Elisha Dyer (both
Rhode Island governor
The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and serves as commander-in-chief of the state's Army National Guard and Air National Guard. The current governor is Democrat Dan McKee. In their capacity ...
s), in 1931.
* Mathilde McCormick (1905–1947),
who married Wilheim Max Oser (1877–1942), a Swiss riding instructor, in April 1923.
A famous story about McCormick involves an evening in 1901 during a party. News arrived that Edith and Harold's elder son, John Rockefeller McCormick, had died of
scarlet fever
Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by ''Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects childr ...
. It was rumored that when this was whispered to her at the dinner table, she proceeded to merely nod her head and allowed the party to continue without incident. A biographer of her father, however, makes it clear that this could not have been true: at the time of her son's death, Edith was with him at the family estate,
Kykuit, at
Pocantico Hills, New York. A year later, she and her husband established the John McCormick Institution of Infectious Diseases in Chicago, a source of funding for the
researchers who later isolated the bacterium responsible for the disease.
Philanthropy and support of Jung
As wealthy socialites, with two family fortunes available, the McCormicks were prominent in Chicago social and cultural circles, donating large amounts of money and time to causes.
Edith helped fund the juvenile probation program of Chicago's pioneering Juvenile Court system when it was revealed that, although legislation set up the system, there was no provision to fund the probation officers. Edith began support of the Art Institute in 1909 as a charter member and supported it with monetary contributions and loans from her extensive personal art collection. She and Harold, along with other wealthy patrons, founded the Grand Opera Company, the first in Chicago, in 1909.
In 1913, she travelled to
Zurich to be treated for
depression by
Carl Gustav Jung, and contributed generously to the Zürich Psychological Society. After extended analysis and intense study, Edith became a Jungian analyst, with a full-time practice of more than fifty patients. She would continue her practice after her return to America, attracting many socialite patients from around the United States. In order to disseminate Jung's ideas, Edith paid to have his writings translated into English. In 1919. McCormick donated land she had received from her father as a wedding gift to the Forest Preserve of Cook County, to be developed as a zoological garden, later to become Chicago's
Brookfield Zoo
Brookfield Zoo, also known as the Chicago Zoological Park, is a zoo located in the Chicago suburb of Brookfield, Illinois. It houses around 450 species of animals in an area of . It opened on July 1, 1934, and quickly gained international recogni ...
. Edith later explained that her donation was motivated by a fascination with animal psychology. She returned to America in 1921 after an eight year stay.
Divorce and later life
Edith and Harold were divorced in December 1921.
He was given custody of their youngest daughter Mathilde so that she could marry Max Oser, a Swiss riding instructor. Mathilde and Max were married in London in April 1923. Meanwhile, Harold married
Ganna Walska, a Polish opera singer in August 1922, becoming her fourth husband. Within days of Harold's remarriage, Edith announced plans to marry Edward Krenn, a 28 year old Austrian architect. The plan fell through for undisclosed reasons in December 1922. In 1927, she was mentioned in a newspaper article about Chicago's wealthy unmarried, divorced, and widowed wealthy women. The article noted that she was "glad to be rid of the gay Harold McCormick, but hasn't succeeded in convincing her friends she will never marry again." Over the next few years, Edith and Harold frequently found themselves in court in lawsuits over the divorce agreement.
In February 1923, she received some minor press for claiming to be the reincarnation of the wife of
King Tutankhamen, whose tomb had just been explored and was a popular topic. She was quoted as saying, "I married King Tutankhamen when I was only sixteen years old. I was his first wife. Only the other day, while glancing through an illustrated paper, I saw a picture of a chair removed from the King's chamber. Like a flash I recognized that chair. I had sat in it many times." She followed up in
Time magazine by stating "My interest in reincarnation is of many years' standing." She was also said to be interested in
astrology and to celebrate Christmas on December 15.
Woman's World's Fair
In 1925, she and other wealthy Chicago women including Miss Helen M. Bennett, Mrs. John V. Farwell, Mrs. Silas Strawn, Mrs. John Alden Carpenter, Mrs. B.F. Langworthy, Mrs.
Florence Fifer Bohrer
Florence Fifer Bohrer (January 24, 1877 in Bloomington, Illinois – July 20, 1960) was an American activist and politician in Illinois. She was the daughter of former Illinois governor Joseph W. Fifer and was the first female senator in the ...
, and Mrs. Medill McCormick sponsored an international exposition to celebrate the progress and achievements of American women – The first
Woman's World's Fair, which was held at the
American Exposition Palace on Lake Michigan in April 1925, and was held again each year in Chicago in April or May from 1926 to 1928. A local paper noted, of the first fair, that "One feature of the exhibit will be a collection of newspaper and magazine clippings, from various countries during the last 200 years emphasizing the storm of protest which greeted every suggestion for a freer social status for women." Newspaper articles mention organizing troubles that caused it to be cancelled in 1929. It was not held thereafter.
Death and burial
In 1930, Edith had a growth removed from her breast and died of cancer two years later on August 25, 1932,
surrounded by her family.
She and two of her children, John and Editha, are buried in
Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. At the time of her death, her estate, through the Edith Rockefeller McCormick Trust set up by her father in 1923, consisted mostly of real estate and no longer held much Standard Oil stock.
See also
*
Rockefeller family
*
John D. Rockefeller
References
Further reading
* Stasz, Clarice. "The Rockefeller Women." New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995.
*
Noll, Richard. ''The Aryan Christ: The Secret Life of Carl Jung'' New York: Random House, 1997
ontains the first published photographs of Edith and her family. And entire chapter is devoted to her time in Zurich.* Chernow, Ron. ''Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller Sr.'' London: Warner Books, 1998.
* Bair, Deirdre, "Jung - A Biography" London: Time-Warner Books UK, 2004
External links
Edith Rockefeller McCormick Trust recordsat
The Newberry
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Edith Rockefeller
Rockefeller family
1872 births
1937 deaths
American socialites
McCormick family