Laura Spelman Rockefeller

Laura Celestia "Cettie" Spelman Rockefeller (September 9, 1839 – March 12, 1915)[1] was an American abolitionist, philanthropist, school teacher, and prominent member of the Rockefeller family. Her husband was Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial were named for her.[2]

Laura Spelman Rockefeller
Born
Laura Celestia Spelman

(1839-09-09)September 9, 1839
Wadsworth, Ohio, U.S.
DiedMarch 12, 1915(1915-03-12) (aged 75)
Pocantico Hills, New York, U.S.
Resting placeLake View Cemetery
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1864)​
ChildrenElizabeth, Alice, Alta, Edith, and John Jr.
RelativesSee Rockefeller family

Early life

Laura Celestia Spelman was born in Wadsworth, Ohio, to Puritan descendant Harvey Buell Spelman (1811–1881) and Lucy Henry (1818–1897), Yankees who had moved to Ohio from Massachusetts. Harvey was an abolitionist who was active in the Congregationalist Church, the Underground Railroad, and in politics. The Spelmans eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Spelman had an elder adopted sister, Lucy Maria "Lute" Spelman (c. 1837–1920).[3]

Personal life and career

In Cleveland, Lute and Spelman met John Davison Rockefeller while attending accounting classes together. He was the eldest son of William Avery "Bill" Rockefeller (1810–1906) and Eliza Davison (1813–1889).[4]

She later returned to New England to attend Oread Institute, with plans to become a schoolteacher. After returning to Ohio to teach, she married John in 1864. Following her wedding, Spelman remained active in the church (she joined Rockefeller's congregation, the Northern Baptists) and with her family. Once the family business, Standard Oil, began to take off, she further devoted her time to philanthropy and her children.[5]

Together, they were the parents of five children;

  • Elizabeth ("Bessie") (August 23, 1866 – November 14, 1906),
  • Alice (July 14, 1869 – August 20, 1870),
  • Alta (April 12, 1871 – June 21, 1962),
  • Edith (August 31, 1872 – August 25, 1932), and
  • John Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960).[6]

Throughout their lives, the Rockefeller family continued to donate ten percent of their income to charity, including substantial donations to Spelman College, founded to educate Black women.[2] Laura Spelman Rockefeller died on March 12, 1915, at age 75 of a heart attack, at the family estate Kykuit in Pocantico Hills, New York.[1][7]

Legacy

John D. Rockefeller established the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial Fund. He donated large amounts to it and it funded charitable organizations and then shifted focus to social sciences funding.[8] Spelman College was named after Laura Spelman due to her significant financial contribution to the institution. Throughout her life, Laura Spelman was dedicated to social and educational causes, particularly for women and African Americans.

See also

References
  1. "Mrs. Rockefeller Dies at Pocantico: Succumbs to Heart Attack After Taking a Glass of Milk from Her Nurse. Mr. Rockefeller in South: Expected to Arrive Here Today with Son – Oil Man Attributed His Success to Wife" (PDF). The New York Times. March 13, 1915. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  2. Klein, Maury (April 11, 2003). The Change Makers: From Carnegie to Gates, How the Great Entrepreneurs Transformed Ideas Into Industries. Macmillan. p. 248. ISBN 9780805069143. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via Google Books.
  3. "Lucy Maria Spelman | Sister-in-Law of John D. Rockefeller Dies at Pocantico Hills" (PDF). The New York Times. February 9, 1920. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  4. Segall, Grant (February 8, 2001). John D. Rockefeller: Anointed with Oil. Oxford University Press. p. 13. ISBN 9780195121476. Retrieved March 3, 2020 – via Google Books.
  5. Stasz, Clarice. The Rockefeller Women: Dynasty of Piety, Privacy, and Service. New York: St. Martin's Press. (1995).
  6. "J.D. Rockefeller Jr. Dead at Age of 86; Philanthropist Who Made Career of Giving Millions Succumbs in Tucson" (PDF). The New York Times. May 12, 1960. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  7. "Mrs. Rockefeller Leaves $1,500,000 Will Bequeathes $450,000 to Relatives and Remainder to Seven Institutions. Many Legacies of Jewels Husband, Son, and Daughter, as Trustees and Executors, to Apportion Gifts to Charity" (PDF). The New York Times. April 18, 1915. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  8. "Legitimizing the Social Sciences: The Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial in the 1920s".

Further reading
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