Abby Rockefeller Mauzé
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Abigail Aldrich Rockefeller (November 9, 1903 – May 27, 1976) was an American philanthropist and the daughter of American financier
John D. 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 M ...
and a granddaughter of Standard Oil co-founder
John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
.


Family background

Abigail was the first child and only daughter of philanthropists John Davison Rockefeller Jr. and Abigail Greene "Abby" Aldrich. She was commonly referred to as "Babs" to avoid confusion with her mother. She attended both the Chapin School and the
Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9 ...
in New York City.


Philanthropy

She and her five brothers carried on the
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brot ...
tradition of philanthropy stemming back to their paternal grandparents, Standard Oil co-founder John Davison Rockefeller Sr. and schoolteacher Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman. Unlike her famous brothers, she always remained out of the public eye. Among the many positions she held were: membership of the Board of Trustees of the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...
, set up by her and her brothers in 1940; advisory member of the Board of Trustees of the
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute ...
, (a chief benefactor of the Center along with her brother,
Laurance Laurance is a surname or given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * John Laurance (1750–1810), American lawyer and politician from New York * William F. Laurance (born 1957), American-Australian biology professor * Bill Laurance ...
, she received its Medal of Appreciation in 1965); and honorary trustee of the Rockefeller Family Fund, founded by various family members in 1967. She was also a benefactor of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, the
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
, New York Hospital, the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
(of which her mother was a founder, and in whose affairs her brothers
Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
played a major role); the New York Zoological Society (which was a major interest of her brother Laurance); and the Asia Society, which was established by another brother,
John D. Rockefeller III John Davison Rockefeller III (March 21, 1906 – July 10, 1978) was an American philanthropist. Rockefeller was the eldest son and second child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller as well as a grandson of Standard Oil co-found ...
. In 1968 she created the Greenacre Foundation, of which she was president, in order to maintain and operate parks in New York State for the benefit of the public. She also made cash and stock contributions to East Woods School,
The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...
, New York Hospital, the
Population Council The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The Council conducts research in biomedicine, social science, and public health and helps build research capacities in developing countries. One-third of its res ...
, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the American Red Cross.


Personal life

Rockefeller married three times and had two children. Her first marriage took place on May 14, 1925, to David M. Milton (1900–1976), a lawyer and banker. Before their divorce in 1943, they had two daughters: *Abigail Rockefeller Milton (1928–2017), who married George Dorr O'Neill *Marilyn Ellen Milton (1931–1980), who married
William Kelly Simpson William Kelly Simpson (January 3, 1928 – March 24, 2017) was an American professor of Egyptology, Archaeology, Ancient Egyptian literature, and Afro-Asiatic languages at Yale University.The Cambridge University Catalogue. (2009)The Great Pyramid ...
(1928–2017), son of
Kenneth F. Simpson Kenneth Farrand Simpson (May 4, 1895 – January 25, 1941) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Biography Simpson was born in New York City on May 4, 1895, the son of Dr. William Kelly Simpson, a ...
, a Republican member of the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
from New York. ** Laura Knickerbacker Simpson (1954–2012), who married Grover O'Neill III in 1974. ** Abigail Rockefeller Simpson (b. 1958), who married Todd Mydland. In 1946, she began her second marriage, to Dr.
Irving H. Pardee Irving Hotchkiss Pardee (January 26, 1892 – April 10, 1949) was an American neurologist. Biography Pardee came from a long line of physicians. He was born to Dr. Ensign Bennet Pardee on January 26, 1892, and his brother was the cardiologist ...
(1892–1949), a neurologist and brother of cardiologist
Harold E. B. Pardee Harold Ensign Bennet Pardee (December 11, 1886 – February 28, 1973) was an American cardiologist and pioneer in electrocardiogram research. Biography Pardee was born on December 11, 1886, to Ensign Bennet Pardee, a physician. He was a grandnep ...
. After his death in 1949, she married Jean Mauzé (1903–1974), a banker, on April 23, 1953. They remained married until his death in January 1974. Rockefeller owned property in Bermuda, the Roman Corporation at One Beekman Place in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and at the Pocantico family estate
Kykuit Kykuit ( ), known also as the John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room historic house museum in Pocantico Hills, a hamlet in the town of Mount Pleasant, New York 25 miles north of New York City. The house was built for oil tycoon and Rockefelle ...
in Westchester County, New York. She died on May 27, 1976, at her apartment in New York City.


See also

*
Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brot ...


Further reading


Rockefeller Archive Center: Brief biography
*''Memoirs'', David Rockefeller, New York: Random House, 2002.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauze, Abby Rockefeller Rockefeller family Winthrop family Philanthropists from New York (state) 1903 births 1976 deaths Chapin School (Manhattan) alumni People from Manhattan Brearley School alumni