John Odenheimer Deshong (September 6, 1807 – May 28, 1881) was an American businessman and banker in

Chester, Pennsylvania Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...

. He came from a wealthy family including his father Peter Deshong and son Alfred O. Deshong.

Early life

Deshong was born in Chester, Pennsylvania to Peter Deshong and Mary Odenheimer Deshong. He was the eldest of three children and was educated in a private school in the borough.

Career

As a young adult, Deshong established a general store at Fourth and Market Street. In 1842, he withdrew from general merchandising and entered the lumber business. His success in the lumber business allowed him to retire from active business in 1849. Deshong turned his attention to financial affairs, using his capital as a dealer in commercial paper. Deshong inherited the Odenheimer quarry in Ridley township and also owned a quarry on

Crum Creek Crum Creek (from the Dutch, meaning "crooked creek") is a creek in Delaware County and Chester County, Pennsylvania, flowing approximately , generally in a southward direction and draining into the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. It ...

known as "Island Field". Deshong was a director in the

Delaware County National Bank Delaware County National Bank is a historic bank building in Chester, Pennsylvania, located at the southwest corner of 3rd Street and Avenue of the States (formerly Market Square) adjacent to the Old St. Paul's Church burial ground. It was built ...

at various times from 1841 to 1881. Deshong was a director of the Chester Gas Company and one of the largest owner of its stock.

Deshong Mansion

Grounds and Entrance of the Alfred O Deshong Memorial

The Deshong mansion was built in 1850 on 22 acres off Edgemont Avenue in the Greek Revival

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style . It was willed to the people of Chester after his son Alfred O. Deshong's death. The land was turned into a public park named Deshong Park and an art museum was built on the property, however, the mansion and art museum fell into disrepair in the 1980s. The trust was dissolved and the property was taken over by the Delaware County Industrial Development Authority. The mansion suffered a partial collapse in 2013 and was demolished in 2014.

Personal life

On Dec. 6,1826, Deshong married Emmeline L. Terrill and together they had seven children. Their son Alfred O. Deshong became a noted industrialist, philanthropist and art collector. Their daughter, Louise was a pioneer in photography by women and married the shipbuilder and naval architect

Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge (January 16, 1844 – May 21, 1935) was an American shipbuilder and naval architect from Richmond, Virginia. He served in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War and was one of the Virginia Military Institut ...

. He died on May 28, 1881, and is interred at

Chester Rural Cemetery Chester Rural Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery founded in March 1863 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Some of the first burials were Civil War soldiers, both Union and Confederate, who died at the government hospital located at the nearby building w ...

in Chester, Pennsylvania. John Deshong grave

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshong, John O. 1807 births 1881 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople American bankers Burials at Chester Rural Cemetery Businesspeople in wood products People from Chester, Pennsylvania