Sarah Cordelia Mellon Scaife (December 10, 1903 – December 28, 1965) was an American heiress and Republican Party donor.

Early life

Sarah was born on December 10, 1903. She was the daughter of Jennie Taylor Mellon (1870–1938; née King) and Richard B. Mellon, a noted banker, industrialist, and philanthropist. Her paternal grandfather was Judge

Thomas Mellon Thomas Mellon (February 3, 1813 – February 3, 1908) was an American entrepreneur, lawyer, and judge, best known as the founder of Mellon Bank and patriarch of the Mellon family of Pittsburgh. Early life Mellon was born to farmers Andrew Mell ...

and her uncle was

Andrew W. Mellon Andrew William Mellon (; March 24, 1855 – August 26, 1937), sometimes A. W. Mellon, was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector, and politician. From the wealthy Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...

, a

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

during the Great Depression and U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St. James'. She was one of the heirs to the Mellon fortune, including

Mellon Bank Mellon Financial Corporation was an investment firm which was once one of the world's largest money management firms. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it was in the business of institutional and high-net-worth individual asset management, incl ...

and major investments in

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies. Prior to its merger ...

and Alcoa. Her maternal grandparents were merchant Alexander King and Sarah Cordelia (née Smith) King. In 1957, when '' Fortune'' prepared its first list of the wealthiest Americans, it estimated that Sarah Mellon, her brother

Richard King Mellon Richard King Mellon (June 19, 1899 – June 3, 1970), commonly known as R.K., was an American financier, general, and philanthropist from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and part of the Mellon family. Biography The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of ...

, and her cousins

Ailsa Mellon-Bruce Ailsa Mellon Bruce (June 28, 1901 – August 25, 1969) was a prominent American socialite and philanthropist who established the Avalon Foundation. Early life Ailsa was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 28, 1901. She was the daughter of t ...

and Paul Mellon were all amongst the richest eight people in the United States, with fortunes of between $400 and $700 million each.

Personal life

In 1927, Sarah was married to Alan Magee Scaife (1900–1958), an industrialist who was president chairman of the Scaife Company. Together, they were the parents of: * Cordelia Mellon Scaife (1928–2005), a philanthropist. She was married for six months to Herbert Arthur May Jr. (1919–1969) before their divorce. In 1973 she married

Allegheny County District Attorney The Allegheny County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of Pennsylvania commonwealth laws. (Federal law violations are p ...

Robert Duggan (1926–1974). *

Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. In 2005, Scaife was n ...

(1932–2014), who was the owner–publisher of the '' Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. Sarah's husband died in 1958, and she died at West Penn Hospital on December 28, 1965. After a funeral at the East Liberty Presbyterian Church (built with funds from her family), she was buried at

Allegheny Cemetery Allegheny Cemetery is one of the largest and oldest burial grounds in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a historic rural cemetery. The non-sectarian, wooded hillside park is located at 4734 Butler Street in the Lawrenceville neighborhood, and bou ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

. After her death, her collection of furniture and art was sold by the Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York while her jewelry was sold by William J. Fischer.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mellon, Sarah 1903 births 1965 deaths Mellon family People from Pittsburgh Presbyterians from Pennsylvania American people of Scotch-Irish descent Burials at Allegheny Cemetery