Mary Sibbet Copley

Mary Sibbet Copley Thaw (June 19, 1843 – June 9, 1929) was an American philanthropist and charity worker.[1]

Mary Sibbet Copley
Copley circa 1920
Born	June 19, 1843 Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, US
Died	June 6, 1929 (aged 85) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US
Resting place	Allegheny Cemetery
Occupation	Philanthropist
Spouse(s)	William Thaw, Sr. ​ ​ (m. 1867⁠–⁠1889)​
Children	5, including Harry, Margaret, Alice
Relatives	Russell William Thaw (grandson)

Early life

"Lyndhurst", the Thaw mansion in Pittsburgh, built 1887-89.

Mary was born at Appleby Manor near Kittanning, Pennsylvania in Armstrong County on June 19, 1843.[2][3] She was the daughter of Margaret and Josiah Copley,[4] a pioneer editor who was well known in the community.[5]

Personal life

In 1867, she married William Thaw, Sr. (1818–1889) after the death of his first wife.[6][7] Together, they had five children that survived childhood:

• Harry Kendall Thaw (1871–1947), who would later murder Stanford White [8][9][10] In his will, he left $10,000, less than 1% of his fortune, to wife Evelyn Nesbit.[11]
• Edward Thaw (1873–1924), who married Jane Olmsted (1880–1958)
• Josiah Copley Thaw (1874–1944), who married Mary Harrington Thomson (1881–1947)
• Margaret Copley Thaw (1877–1942),[12] who first married George Lauder Carnegie (1876–1921), nephew of Andrew Carnegie. After his death, she married Roger, Comte de Périgny and became Countess de Périgny.[13][14]
• Alice Cornelia Thaw (1880–1955), who married George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford (1871–1940).[15] They divorced and she married Geoffrey George Whitney, Sr. in 1913.[16]

She died, a few days before her 87th birthday, on June 9, 1929, of pneumonia.[17] She was buried in Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh.[18][19][20]

Philanthropy

After her husband's death in 1889, she used the wealth she inherited to fund archaeology research, including funds for prominent women archaeologists including Alice Fletcher and Zelia Nuttall.[21] Thaw also funded the Thaw Fellowship at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard College.[3]

Thaw was also the primary philanthropist supporting the Omaha Presbyterian Theological Seminary. After her initial contribution of the Cozzens Hotel in downtown Omaha in 1902, she made regular donations, practically underwriting the institution. In 1929, she left a bequest of $150,000 to the seminary.[22]

References

1. "Died". Time magazine. June 17, 1929. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
2. Buchholtz, George John (1995). Backgrounds and lineages of some Copley and Buchholtz families. Gateway Press. pp. 71, 72, 130. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
3. Browman, David L. (2013). Cultural Negotiations: The Role of Women in the Founding of Americanist Archaeology. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 65–66. ISBN 9780803243811. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
4. Encyclopedia of Pennsylvania Biography: Illustrated. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1915. p. 1353. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
5. Thaw, Mary Sibbet (1891). In Memoriam, William Thaw. J. Eichbaum. p. 10. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
6. "Mary C. Thaw Dies; A Philanthropist; Mother of Harry K. Thaw Succumbs to Pneumonia in Her 87th Year. Lifetime Gifts $6,000,000. Widow of a Pittsburgher Who Figured Largely in Development of Pennsylvania Railroad. Her Father a Pioneer Editor". New York Times. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
7. "Mrs. Thaw, 86 Dead At Home In Pittsburgh. Mother of Harry K. Thaw, Widely Known For Many Philanthropies, Victim of Pneumonia". Associated Press in the Hartford Courant. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
8. "Harry K. Thaw is Dead in Florida. Coronary Thrombosis Fatal to Former 'Playboy' Who Shot Stanford White in 1906". New York Times. February 22, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
9. "Harry K. Thaw, Ex-Millionaire Playboy, Is Dead". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 1947. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
10. "Died". Time. March 3, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
11. "Harry Thaw Will Leaves $10,000 To Evelyn Nesbit". Associated Press. March 30, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
12. "Countess De Perigny, Harry Thaws Sister. Widow of George L. Carnegie, Nephew of Steel Magnate". The New York Times. January 10, 1942. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
13. "Count Roger De Perigny. British East Africa Rancher Married Carnegie Kin". New York Times. November 8, 1945. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
14. "Countess Perigny Sued For Alienation. Newark Woman Says Sister of Harry Thaw Stole Husband, an Auto Salesman". New York Times. February 10, 1924. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
15. "Mrs. Geoffrey Whitney, Broker's Widow And Member of Thaw Family, Dies at 75". The New York Times. May 10, 1955. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
16. "Former Countess of Yarmouth to Marry Boston Broker in Spring". New York Times. December 19, 1912. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
17. "Harry Thaws Mother Dies of Pneumonia". Associated Press. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
18. "Mary C. Thaw Dies; A Philanthropist; Mother of Harry K. Thaw Succumbs to Pneumonia in Her 87th Year. Lifetime Gifts $6,000,000. Widow of a Pittsburgher Who Figured Largely in Development of Pennsylvania Railroad. Her Father a Pioneer Editor". New York Times. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
19. "Mrs. Thaw, 86 Dead At Home In Pittsburgh. Mother of Harry K. Thaw, Widely Known For Many Philanthropies, Victim of Pneumonia". Associated Press in the Hartford Courant. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
20. Speranza, Lisa; Foley, Nancy (2016). Allegheny Cemetery. Arcadia Publishing. p. 104. ISBN 9781467117388. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
21. 1998, Gordon R. Willey Biennial Symposium on the History of Archaeology (2002). New Perspectives on the Origins of Americanist Archaeology. University of Alabama Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780817311285. Retrieved 20 April 2018.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
22. Hawley, Charles A. (1941) Fifty Years on the Nebraska Frontier: The history of the Presbyterian Theological Seminary at Omaha. Omaha, NE: Ralph Printing Co.

External links

• Mary Sibbet Copley at Find a Grave