William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.

Early life

Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the Cove of Cork to James Grace and Eleanor May Russell (

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 ...

Ellen) while the family was away from home, and raised on Grace property at Ballylinan in Queens (now Laois) County near the town of

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...

. He was a member of a prominent and well-to-do family who lived for a period at Brooklawn House on Love Lane (now Donore Avenue). In 1846, Grace sailed for New York against the wishes of his father, and worked as a printer's devil and a shoemaker's helper before returning to Ireland in 1848. For a period he attended

Belvedere College Belvedere College S.J. (sometimes St Francis Xavier's College) is a voluntary secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school has numerous alumni in the arts, politics, sports, science, and business. History Belvedere owes its origin ...

before again leaving school. His nephew,

Cecil Grace Cecil Stanley Grace (1880 – 22 December 1910) was a pioneer aviator who went missing on a flight across the English Channel in 1910. Family Grace was born in Chile, the son of John William Grace of New York. His uncle was W. R. Grace, a ...

, attempted a crossing of the English Channel in December 1910 in an airplane, flying from Dover to Calais. However, in coming back he became

disoriented Orientation is a function of the mind involving awareness of three dimensions: time, place and person. Problems with orientation lead to ''dis''orientation, and can be due to various conditions, from delirium to intoxication. Typically, disorienta ...

and over Dover flew northeast over the Goodwin Sands toward the North Sea and was lost.

Career

William and his father, James Grace, traveled to Callao, Peru, in 1851, seeking to establish an Irish agricultural community. James returned home but William remained, where he began work with the firm of John Bryce and Co., as a ship chandler. In 1854, the company was renamed Bryce, Grace & Company, in 1865, to Grace Brothers & Co., and then W. R. Grace and Company.

Reform politics

Opposing the famous Tammany Hall, Grace was elected as the first Irish American Catholic mayor of New York City in 1880. He conducted a reform administration attacking police scandals, patronage and organized vice; reduced the tax rate, and broke up the Louisiana Lottery. Defeated in the following election, he was re-elected in 1884 on an Independent ticket but lost again the following time. During his second term, Grace received the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...

as a gift from France.

Philanthropy

Grace was a renowned philanthropist and humanitarian, at one point contributing a quarter of the aid delivered to Ireland aboard the

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

''Constellation'' during the Irish Famine of 1879. In 1897, he and his brother,

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, founded the

Grace Institute The nonprofit Grace Institute provides education and training in business and administrative skills to economically disadvantaged women. Founding In 1897, William R. Grace, twice Mayor of New York City, and his brother, Michael P. Grace, with t ...

for the education of women, especially immigrants.

Personal life

On September 11, 1859, William was married to Lillius Gilchrist (1839–1922), the daughter of George W. Gilchrist, a prominent ship builder of Thomaston, Maine, and Mary Jane (née Smalley) Gilchrest. Together, William and Lillius had eleven children, including: * Alice Gertrude Grace (born in South America, June 11, 1860), who married the New York architect

Albert D'Oench Albert F. D'Oench (December 25, 1852 – July 20, 1918) was an architect of office buildings and Superintendent of Buildings in New York City. During his career, he had two partnerships, first D'Oench and Simon with Bernhard Simon. Later in h ...

in 1901. * Florence F. Grace (born in South America, September 20, 1861; died September 27, 1861). * Lilius Clemintina Grace (born in South America, October 24, 1864; died in Ireland, June 26, 1866). * Agnes Isadora Grace (born in Brooklyn, N.Y., April 4, 1867; died in New York City, March 8, 1884). * Mary Augusta Grace (born in Brooklyn, September 2, 1868; died there February 16, 1870). * Lilius Annie Grace (born in Brooklyn, September 1, 1870; died there August 30, 1871). * Joseph Peter Grace (born at Great Neck, N.Y., June 29, 1872; died there July 15, 1950). * Lilias Juanita Grace (born in New York City, March 30, 1874), who married George Edward Kent on July 12, 1898. * Louisa Nathalie Grace (born in New York City, December 23, 1875). * William Russell Grace, Jr. (born April 11, 1878; died in Aiken, South Carolina, March 31, 1943). * Caroline S. Grace (born April 22, 1879; died April 21, 1882). Grace died on March 21, 1904 at his residence, 31 East 79th Street, in New York City. His funeral was held at the Church of St. Francis Xavier on West 16th Street and he was buried at the

Holy Cross Cemetery Holy Cross Cemetery may refer to: United States California *Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California) *Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California * Holy Cross Cemetery (Menlo Park, California) * Holy Cross Cemetery (Pomona, California) *Holy C ...

in Brooklyn. His estate was valued at $25,000,000.

References

External links

*
William R. Grace
at the Catholic Encyclopedia. *Clayton, Lawrence A

in ''Irish Migration Studies in Latin America'' 4:4 October 2006 (www.irlandeses.org).

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grace, William R. 1832 births 1904 deaths American manufacturing businesspeople American Roman Catholics Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) Mayors of New York City Politicians from County Laois Deaths from pneumonia in New York City 19th-century American businesspeople People educated at Belvedere College