Valentine Everit Macy (March 23, 1871 – March 21, 1930) was an American

industrialist A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, involved in local government. In the 1910s and 1920s, he served in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

, as commissioner of the Department of Charities and Corrections, the Commissioner of Public Welfare, and as Commissioner of Parks.

Biography

Early years and education

Macy was born in 1871 to Josiah Macy Jr. and Louisa Everett. His father was an officer in

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 ...

. He was named for his maternal grandfather, a

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

leather merchant. His great-grandfather Josiah Macy had been a prominent shipping magnate on

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. The Macy family had founded an oil company which built the State of New York's first

oil refinery An oil refinery or petroleum refinery is an industrial process plant where petroleum (crude oil) is transformed and refined into useful products such as gasoline (petrol), diesel fuel, asphalt base, fuel oils, heating oil, kerosene, lique ...

near

Long Island City Long Island City (LIC) is a residential and commercial neighborhood on the extreme western tip of Queens, a borough in New York City. It is bordered by Astoria to the north; the East River to the west; New Calvary Cemetery in Sunnyside to the ...

. Everit's father, Josiah Macy Jr., sold out to the

trust and served on that company's board. His mother, Caroline Macy, was a benefactor of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, donating the funds to build Macy Hall. His sister was

Kate Macy Ladd Catherine Everit Macy Ladd (April 6, 1863 – August 27, 1945), known as Kate Macy Ladd, was an American philanthropist who founded and endowed the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation in honor of her father. Biography Kate was born in New York City, a des ...

, a prominent philanthropist. At the death of his father in 1876, the five-year-old V. Everit Macy inherited over $20 million (approximately $ today). He was interested in design and architecture from an early age, and studied architecture at

, though he never practiced. He received his undergraduate degree from the

Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) is the architecture school of Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. It is regarded as an important and highly prestigious architecture school.

with the class of 1893.

Public service and philanthropy

Macy served as the commissioner of the

, Department of Charities and Corrections from 1913–19, as Commissioner of Public Welfare in 1925, and as Commissioner of Parks from 1926-30. He also served as president of the

National Civic Federation The National Civic Federation (NCF) was an American economic organization founded in 1900 which brought together chosen representatives of big business and organized labor, as well as consumer advocates in an attempt to ameliorate labor disputes. I ...

. He would later serve on the board at Teachers College, Columbia and would also serve as its president. He was a major benefactor of Teachers College, donating funds to build the

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningside ...

building that houses the

Horace Mann School , motto_translation = Great is the truth and it prevails , address = 231 West 246th Street , city = The Bronx , state = New York , zipcode = 10471 , count ...

. In 1925, Macy gave land in memory of his wife for the construction of the Girl Scouts' Camp Edith Macy.

Personal life

Macy's wife, the former Edith Wiseman Carpenter, was a prominent member of the

Girl Scout Girl Guides (known as Girl Scouts in the United States and some other countries) is a worldwide movement, originally and largely still designed for girls and women only. The movement began in 1909 when girls requested to join the then-grassroot ...

National Board of Directors and a founding member of New York's Cosmopolitan Club. Macy and his wife had two sons and a daughter, Josiah Noel Macy, Valentine E. Macy Jr., and Edytha Carpenter Macy. Macy died in a

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

hotel on March 21, 1930, two days before his 59th birthday.

Legacy

His home at

Tannersville, New York Tannersville is a village in Greene County, New York, United States. The village is in the north-central part of the town of Hunter on Route 23A. The population was 539 at the 2010 census, up from 448 in 2000. History The village was founded ar ...

, known as Hathaway, was listed on 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 2008. A 172-acre public park in

, was named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macy, V. Everit 1871 births 1930 deaths 20th-century American philanthropists Businesspeople from New York City Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation alumni People from Briarcliff Manor, New York Philanthropists from New York (state) Politicians from New York City Politicians from Westchester County, New York