William Welsh Harrison

William Welsh Harrison (May 5, 1850 – March 4, 1927) was an American businessman best known for building Grey Towers Castle.

Early life

Harrison was born on May 5, 1850, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a son of George Leib Harrison (1811–1885) and Sarah Ann (née Waples) Harrison (1816–1850).[1] Among his siblings were Harriet Morgan Harrison (wife of William W. Frazier),[2] Charles Custis Harrison, and Alfred Craven Harrison.[3] From his father's second marriage to Letitia Henry Mitchell (a sister of Dr. Silas Weir Mitchell,[4] he had a younger half-brother, Mitchell Harrison.[5]

Through his uncle, Thomas Harrison, he was a first cousin of chemical manufacturer George Lieb Harrison, who married Emily McMichael (a daughter of Mayor Morton McMichael).[6] His grandfather, John Harrison, started a chemical firm that was taken over by his cousins John Skelton Harrison and Thomas Skelton Harrison (and later sold to E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company).[6]

He was educated at the Germantown Academy and the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1869.[7]

Career

Harrison joined his elder brothers in business with Harrison, Havemeyer and Co. at the Franklin Sugar Refinery, the largest refinery in Philadelphia of which his father had been proprietor. In 1892, they sold their stock to H. O. Havemeyer and the American Sugar Refinery.[8]

Shortly before his death, Harrison sued his broker, Francis Ralston Welsh, charging that Welsh defrauded him of $239,000 over a ten-year period.[9]

Personal life

Harrison was married to Bertha Marie White (1857–1933). In 1903, their houseman robbed Bertha of $17,000 worth of jewels from their Glenside home while the family was eating Thanksgiving dinner.[10] He was later arrested and the jewels were returned.[11] Together, they were the parents of:[12]

  • Geraldine Dorothy Harrison (1880–1903), who married John Childe Anderson (1867–1941), a son of Adna Anderson, in 1902.[13]
  • William Welsh Harrison Jr. (1881–1965),[14] a financial supporter of Abington Hospital.[15]

Harrison was a member of the Philadelphia Country Club, the University Club and the Rittenhouse Club.[9] He died at his home in Glenside, Pennsylvania, on March 4, 1927.[9] In his will, he dictated that his bachelor son must wed to keep a $1,000,000 bequest within the family.[16] His widow died at her home in Oak Lane, Philadelphia in August 1933.[17]

Grey Towers

Grey Towers Castle
Further information: Grey Towers Castle

In 1881, 31-year-old Harrison purchased Rosedale Hall Glenside, Pennsylvania, from J. Thomas Audenreid and expanded the estate to 138 acres by 1891. He hired architect Horace Trumbauer to build new stables and a gate house, completed in 1892.[18] In 1893, Rosedale Hall burned to the ground and Harrison again hired Trumbauer, in what is considered his first major commission, to build a new home on the site. Trumbauer designed an imposing 40-room mansion, inspired by Alnwick Castle, the medieval seat of the Dukes of Northumberland.[15] The house cost an estimated $250,000 and was completed five years in 1898. After his death in 1927, his widow sold Grey Towers in 1929 to Beaver College (now Arcadia University), for $712,500 equal to $12,642,733 today.[19]

References

  1. ^ Harrison, William Welsh (1910). Harrison, Waples and Allied Families: Being the Ancestry of George Leib Harrison of Philadelphia and of His Wife Sarah Ann Waples. private circulation only. p. 88. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (26 August 1939). "W.W. FRAZIER JR., RETIRED EXECUTIVE; Vice President and General Manager of the Franklin Sugar Refinery Co. Dies". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  3. ^ "ALFRED CRAVEN HARRISON; Wealthy Retired Sugar Dealer of Philadelphia Dies at Age of 81". The New York Times. 31 July 1927. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  4. ^ Times, Special to The New York (31 December 1914). "Mrs. Letitia Mitchell Harrison". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  5. ^ "MITCHELL HARRISON INJURED.; Millionaire Representative of J.P. Morgan in Railroad Wreck with His Physician and Valet". The New York Times. 17 March 1902. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b "G.L. HARRISON, 99, DIES; WAS CHEMICAL MAKER; Ex-Philadelphia Manufacturer Sold Products to Government Throughout the Civil War". The New York Times. 7 March 1935. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  7. ^ "William Welsh Harrison (1850-1927)". househistree.com. HouseHistree. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  8. ^ Zerbe, Richard (1969). "The American Sugar Refinery Company, 1887-1914: The Story of a Monopoly". The Journal of Law & Economics. 12 (2): 339–375. doi:10.1086/466672. ISSN 0022-2186. JSTOR 724757. S2CID 154995370.
  9. ^ a b c Times, Special to The New York (5 March 1927). "WILLIAM W . HARRISON DIES.; Retired Sugar Refiner Was Socially Prominent in Philadelphia". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ^ Times, Special to The New York (28 November 1903). "JEWELS WORTH $17,000 STOLEN; William Welsh Harrison's Home, Near Philadelphia, Scene of Robbery". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  11. ^ "JEWEL THIEF ARRESTED; Gems Valued at $20,000 Found on Man Caught in This City. Admits He Is Alfred Waltz, Who Disappeared from Country House Near Philadelphia at Same Time as Ornaments". The New York Times. 30 November 1903. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ Harrison, William Welsh; Mervine, Ed. by, William M. (1914). The Royal Ancestry of George Leib Harrison of Philadelphia. Privately printed. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  13. ^ "NO LEGAL AIRING. | Domestic Affairs of Millionaires Will Not Go to Court". Evening Star. 4 September 1903. p. 8. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  14. ^ "Harrison family papers 3103". www2.hsp.org. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Grey Towers". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2008-07-02.
  16. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (13 March 1927). "BACHELOR MUST WED TO HOLD $1,000,000; Father of W.W. Harrison of Philadelphia Provided for Its Division if Son Had No Heirs". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  17. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (18 August 1933). "MRS. W. W. HARRISON". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  18. ^ "The Story of Grey Towers Castle". www.arcadia.edu. Arcadia University. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  19. ^ Grey Towers Castle at Arcadia.edu Archived 2006-09-01 at the Wayback Machine