William Larimer Mellon Sr. Explained

William Larimer Mellon Sr.
Office:Chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania
Term Start:June 15, 1926[1]
Term End:May 12, 1928[2]
Predecessor:Harry Baker
Successor:Edward Martin
Birth Date:1868 6, mf=yes
Birth Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Death Place:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Party:Republican Party
Spouse:Mary Hill Taylor
Children:Matthew Taylor Mellon I
Rachel Mellon Walton
Margaret Mellon Hitchcock
William Larimer Mellon Jr.
Occupation:Businessman

William Larimer Mellon Sr. (June 1, 1868 – October 9, 1949),[3] [4] sometimes referred to as W. L., was an American businessman who was active in Republican Party politics. A co-founder of Gulf Oil, he was a member of the prominent Mellon family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.[5]

According to The Miami News, "Politically, Mellon was known as the 'field marshal' for the Mellon political forces in the days preceding the New Deal.[6]

Formative years and family

Born as William Larimer Mellon in Pittsburgh on June 1, 1868, William L. Mellon was a son of James Ross Mellon and Rachel Larimer. His father was the second son of Judge Thomas Mellon, and his mother was a daughter of railroad and land baron William Larimer Jr.[7]

After spending part of his childhood in the West with his uncle Andrew Mellon, who deeply influenced him, William L. Mellon married Mary Hill Taylor. They had four children: Matthew Taylor Mellon I, PhD (1897-1992), who was an American Studies professor at the University of Freiburg from 1928 to 1939;[8] [9] Rachel Mellon Walton (1899-2006), a philanthropist who became the longest serving board member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra;[10] [11] [12] Margaret Mellon Hitchcock (1901-1998), and William Larimer Mellon Jr., MD (1910-1989), a physician and humanitarian who established a medical mission in Haiti.[13] [14]

During the early 1900s, William Mellon purchased the Vagabondia,[15] which was described by multiple news outlets as a "houseboat"[16] and by The Miami News as a "sleek black yacht." During one of his trips on the yacht in 1913, he engaged in alligator hunting.[17] [18] [19] The yacht later became a subject of frequent news reports when William's uncle Andrew W. Mellon and family began using it while Andrew was serving as the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.[20] [21]

Business and political career

During the 1880s, William L. Mellon developed an interest in the burgeoning petroleum industry in Pennsylvania,[22] but he switched his business interests to the construction and operation of railway systems before the end of the decade when his nascent oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil in 1895.[23]

Still involved in railway construction when the Mellon family invested in an oil well in Spindletop, Texas after oil was discovered there in 1901, Mellon resumed his interest in the oil industry in 1902 when he was sent to Texas by the family to investigate why that well had begun to decline. He then took on a progressively larger role in management.

In January 1907, Mellon helped established the Gulf Oil Corporation,[24] which proceeded to build a pipeline from Oklahoma to Port Arthur, Texas; it was shipping Oklahoma crude oil to port by September.[25] Gulf Oil expanded steadily thereafter, becoming one of the largest oil companies in the United States.[26] William L. Mellon later became involved in Republican Party politics. During the fall of 1924, his name was in the news frequently as he testified during United States Senate hearings about potential political corruption. Known at the time as the Borah Committee hearings, these sessions were held to investigate expenditures of more than $3,451,000 that had allegedly been made by the Republican Party to influence voter opinions regarding various issues being debated at the federal level.[27] Mellon subsequently served as chairman of the Republican State Committee of Pennsylvania from 1926 to 1928.

He retired from Gulf Oil in 1948.[28]

Philanthropy and legacy

In 1939, William L. Mellon Sr. established The W. L. and May T. Mellon Foundation. Ten years later, in 1949, Mellon donated six million dollars to establish the graduate school of industrial administration at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh,[29] which is today the David A. Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.[30]

In 1997, the W.L. Mellon Society was established in Mellon's honor within the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University. Its mission is to encourage both individual and corporate matching gift donations to support the school's operations.[31]

Death, funeral and interment

Pre-deceased by his wife, Mary (Taylor) Mellon, William L. Mellon, Sr. died at home at the age of 81 at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 9, 1949.[32] Funeral services were held at his family's home on Darlington Road in Pittsburgh. He was interred in the Homewood Cemetery.[33] [34] [35] [36]

Resolution of his estate

Following Mellon's death, his children were mentioned repeatedly in multiple newspapers across the United States, in both reports about his death and in reports of the probate of his multi-million-dollar estate, which was ultimately divided equally between the four children.[37] In addition to ensuring that trust funds would be set up for each of his children in equal amounts after the payment of estate taxes, Mellon directed that $100,000 be given to the husband of his daughter, Rachel, and also arranged for $75,000 to be distributed among staff who were employed personally by Mellon at the time of his death.[38] [39] By the time that Mellon's $23,186,736 estate was finally settled during the summer of 1954, his four children were awarded just $246,317 each because the estate's final value had been reduced to $6,149,922 net, following the payment of taxes and estate administration costs.[40]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: $596,405 for Vare Brings the Primary Total to $1,837,700. January 9, 2012. The New York Times. June 15, 1926.
  2. News: Armstrong. Robert B.. Mellon to Get Keystone Vote. https://web.archive.org/web/20120412140154/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/465453432.html?dids=465453432:465453432&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=May+12%2C+1928&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=MELLON+TO+GET+KEYSTONE+VOTE&pqatl=google. dead. April 12, 2012. January 9, 2012. Los Angeles Times. May 12, 1928.
  3. "William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies." Washington, D.C.: Evening Star, October 9, 1949, p. 32 (subscription required).
  4. News: W.L. Mellon, Last Of Family's Generation, Dies In Pittsburgh. https://archive.today/20130131141503/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1679924962.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Oct+09,+1949&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=W.L.+Mellon,+Last+Of+Family's+Generation,+Dies+In+Pittsburgh&pqatl=google. dead. January 31, 2013. January 9, 2012. The Sun. October 9, 1949.
  5. "W. L. Mellon, Oil Leader, Is Dead at 81." Fort Worth, Texas: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 9, 1949, p. 6 (subscription required).
  6. "Wm. L. Mellon, Financier, Dies." Miami, Florida: The Miami News, October 9, 1949, p. 26 (subscription required).
  7. William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies," Evening Star, October 9, 1949.
  8. "Dr. Mellon Lauds Zep" (article with photo). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, May 21, 1936, front page (subscription required).
  9. "M. T. Mellon To Wed." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 30, 1931, p. 2 (subscription required).
  10. Pitz, Marylynne. "Obituary: Rachel Mellon Walton/Longtime volunteer and philanthropist." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, March 3, 2006 (cached version of obituary, retrieved online in 2007: https://old.post-gazette.com/pg/06063/665068-122.stm).
  11. "Rachel Mellon Walton Fund." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Foundation, retrieved online December 4, 2022.
  12. Vondas, Jerry. "Woman leaves legacy of care." Tarentum, Pennsylvania: TribLive, March 4, 2006.
  13. "W. L. Mellon, Humanitarian, Is Dead at 79." New York, New York: The New York Times, August 5, 1989.
  14. "William Larimer Mellon Jr., MD (Posthumous)," in "Global Medical Missions Hall of Fame: 2005 Inductees and Award Recipients." Toledo, Ohio: The University of Toledo, retrieved online December 4, 2022.
  15. "Pittsburghers' Yachts Sail In 'Picnic Cruise': Annual 'Glorified Outing' to Cocolobo Island, Near Miami, To Find W. L. Mellon's Vagabondia and Craft of Dr. O. M. Edwards, Jr., in Flotilla." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, March 8, 1934, p. 22 (subscription required).
  16. "W. L. Mellon's New Power Houseboat: The Vagabondia Has Been Launched." Palatka, Florida: The Palatka News and Advertiser, September 29, 1916, front page (subscription required).
  17. "Palatial Are The Appointments Of New Vagabondia." Miami, Florida: The Miami News, December 15, 1916, p. 8 (subscription required).
  18. "Wm. L. Mellon, Financier, Dies," The Miami News, October 19, 1949.
  19. Vagabondia, in "Local Mention." Miami, Florida: Miami Morning News-Record, February 22, 1908, p. 8 (subscription required).
  20. "Mellon Continues Trip: Yacht Leaves Porto Rico with Secretary's Family Aboard." Indianapolis, Indiana: The Indianapolis Times: December 24, 1929, p. 9 (subscription required).
  21. "Vagabondia Is Secretary Mellon's Week End Home" (photo with caption). Caddo, Oklahoma: The Caddo Herald, August 11, 1922, p. 7 (subscription required).
  22. William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies," Evening Star, October 9, 1949.
  23. "W. L. Mellon, Oil Leader, Is Dead at 81," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 9, 1949, p. 6 (subscription required).
  24. "Gulf Oil Corporation," in Handbook of Texas. Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association, retrieved online December 4, 2022.
  25. William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies," Evening Star, October 9, 1949.
  26. Reeves, Amy, "Oilman Mellon Struck It Bigger," Investor's Business Daily, March 8, 2006.
  27. https://www.newspapers.com/image/373377757/?terms=%22William%20L.%20Mellon%22%20and%20Borah&match=1 G.O.P Expenditures Exceed $3,451,000: Frank P. Walsh Calls Attention To Figures At Hearing Before Borah Committee, W. L. Mellon, Nephew of Secretary, Tells of Amounts Contributed in Pittsburgh District
  28. William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies," Evening Star, October 9, 1949.
  29. "6 Million Gift by W. L. Mellon Launches New School of Tech." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, January 17, 1949, front page (subscription required).
  30. "Fund to Endow New School, Erect Building: Course Only One of Kind in U.S." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, January 17, 1949, front page (subscription required).
  31. "The W.L. Mellon Society." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University, retrieved online December 4, 2022.
  32. "W. L. Mellon, Oil Leader, Is Dead at 81," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, October 9, 1949.
  33. "William L. Mellon, 81, Retired Chairman of Gulf Oil Corp., Dies," Evening Star, October 9, 1949.
  34. "Mellon" (death notice). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: The Pittsburgh Press, October 9, 1949, p. 46 (subscription required).
  35. "Mellon" (death notice). Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, October 9, 1949, p. 38 (subscription required).
  36. "Obituary: William Larimer Mellon." Ligonier, Pennsylvania: The Ligonier Echo, October 14, 1949, p. 8 (subscription required).
  37. "Mellon's Estate Goes To Four Children." Berwick, Pennsylvania: Berwick Enterprise, October 13, 1949, p. 15 (subscription required).
  38. "Children to Share Estate of Mellon." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 12, 1949, p. (subscription required).
  39. "W. L. Mellon Estate Left to Children: Four to Get Bulk of Big Fortune Not Estimated in Will." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 12, 1949, p. 15 (subscription required).
  40. "W. L. Mellon Estate Given Final Division: Almost Million Held In Trust For Four Children." Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 7, 1954, p. 13 (subscription required).

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