The McIlhenny family name was known to the people of the South after the Civil War ended. While the Southern states faced economic depression from the war, John J. McIlhenny came to Georgia from Philadelphia to revise the city of Columbus. His namesake son stayed in Philadelphia and became successful in art curation at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
John McIlhenny and the South
It all began with John James McIlhenny (1831-1916) who immigrated from Ireland to Philadelphia. His father died with John was only seven years, leaving him, his wife, and his other three sons. John's mother believed her boys could have a better future in America than in Ireland. With that, his mother took him and his brothers to America.
When reaching manhood, John trained himself to be an engineer, and became an expert in the use of gas for illumination. He became the inventor of the gas meter. He worked for the firm Perdicaris & Hoy in Philadelphia and constructed several gas works in the South. During the Civil War, he became a manager of the gas plant in Columbus, Georgia.
After the war, he was involved in public service, and ran for mayor. With his "sterling character," he was elected mayor of Columbus from 1869 to 1876. After his term as mayor, he returned to Philadelphia. After he left, he became someone who was useful during the devastating Reconstruction era in the South.
"A short while after the close of the Civil War, Mr. McIllhenny, who had become prominent in public affairs, and who commanded the highest respect of all political parties and classes, was centered upon as a suitable man for mayor of the city. He filled a place at this place juncture in the affairs of Columbus which in the end proved a blessing to her people. The time 'were out of joint,' corruption in government, tyranny of the republican party then in power over a prostrate people, domination of ignorance, and evil in shameful form was found on every side. While Mr. McIllhenny was what was termed politically a union man he was in full sympathy with our people and he and his family numbered among their warm personal friends many of the most prominent and influential people of the community. Under all the circumstances it seemed providential that he was chosen mayor of the city. He had the ear and the confidence of all political parties, and he discharged the duties of the office and guided affairs so well that he was retained for several terms."
As mayor, he cleaned up the corruption and gave the local government an inspiration to the people "a renewal of hope and confidence in the South." He organized an efficient fire department, installed an adequate high pressure water system, and organized a system of sanitation. During the 1873 yellow fever epidemic, John cleaned and disinfected the city and welcomed refugees to Columbus for care.
His most notable work as mayor was establishing a public school system. He and his wife Bernice were concerned about the welfare and education of the children who had lost their parents and cultural identity. That was when they both planned it out and John introduced the resolution to the city council in 1866. As the city was bankrupted, John made sure to collect sufficient funds to buy an unused church so it could be used as the first public school in Columbus.
Fun Fact #1: In 1914, the "McIlhenny School" was named in honor of John and his wife.
In Philadelphia, John established the gas meter-manufacturing firm with William Helme. He was involved in religious and civic services. With other people involved, he organized the National Scotch-Irish Society in 1889. It was organized to heal the estrangements and prejudices that lead to become a national service in reunifying the country. John then founded the Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish Society.
John Dexter McIlhenny and a Passion for Art
His son John Dexter McIllhenny (1865-1925) joined his father's firm at a young age. By the time of his father's retirement, John became the president of the company. The passion for art came from his father John. With his great passion for art, John "pressed politically and financially" for a new art museum in Philadelphia.
His wealth began to grow when he married art connoisseur Frances Galbraith Plumer. In 1908, John hired the architecture firm Duhring, Okie & Ziegler to design a new mansion for his family. His mansion was named "Parkgate." Some time after his home was built and settling down with family, he had a summer home built in Gwynedd Valley. According to the 1916 map, his brother Francis has a home next to his.
According to letters and correspondences between 1938 and 1939, Landscape Contractors from Narberth, F.D. Moore & Sons, were taking care of the plants and trees around the home, and they informed his wife Frances about their progress while she was living in the Parkgate home.
John served as the President of the Philadelphia Museum of Art from 1918 to 1925, while Frances served as the museum's Trustee and at the Associate Committee of Women until 1943.
The Children of John Dexter McIlhenny
The passion of art continued within the family to Henry P. McIlhenny (1910-1986). Henry was educated at Milton Academy and attended Harvard University, graduated magna cum laude in Fine Arts. At a young age, he began collecting and purchasing art. For example, at age 15, he purchased a few bronze statuettes while on vacation in Egypt. He worked with his mother to collect a painting by Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin called "Still Life with a Hare."
Fun Fact #3: While at Harvard, Henry studied under Paul Sachs.
Even during the Great Depression, Henry became successful in purchasing masterpieces by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Corot, Renoir, Degas and Delacroix. Paul Sachs was a great influence to Henry that he remembered Sachs's advice:
"It is better not to buy 'higgledy piggledy all over the map,' but rather to collect in one field."
He began associating with the art museum in 1933 after graduation as an Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts under the directorship of Fiske Kimball, who was hired by Henry's father before he died. He was later promoted to Associate Curator and then as the Curator of Decorative Arts. As curator, Henry organized many exhibitions of international art pieces by Degas and Daumier as well as pieces by William Blake and acknowledging Philadelphia wares and craftsmen by Henry Connelly and Ephraim Haines, Philadelphia silver, and Tucker china.
In 1938, Henry purchased Glenveagh from the widow of Harvard art and architecture historian A. Kingsley Porter. His country estate was a 19th century, 23-bedroom castle. The location of the castle was not too far from his grandfather's birthplace. In the 1970s, he sold most of his land to the Republic of Ireland for the creation of a national park.
During World War II, he was drafted into the war, and received his commission as Lieutenant, Junior Grade, in the Aviation Volunteer Special Class of the United States Naval Reserve.
In 1947, Henry received a leave of absence at the art museum to spend time in Rome as the Resident Art Historian at the American Academy.
Henry sold his family home Parkgate to Fredric Mann after moving into his new home in Rittenhouse Square. In 1954, the School District of Philadelphia bought the property from Mann and later built the Anna Lingelbach Elementary School next to the home.
From 1964 to 1968, Henry resigned his position as curator to join the board of trustees while his sister Bernice served as the museum's President. He later became the Vice President from 1968 to 1976, and then as Chairman of the Board. He served as chairman until his death.
While his brother and sister were involved in the arts, John Dexter McIlhenny Jr. (1899-1936) was involved in sports and dog breeding. He was the oldest son of John D. and Frances McIlhenny, and grew up in the Park Gate mansion with his siblings.
Some time around the 1930s, John Jr. lived in Gwynedd Valley and owned a kennel on his property. He was known to take care of and bred Siberian huskies. Seven of his huskies were part of the Northern Light Bloodline. He had been sled racing for five years.
Fun Fact #4: John Jr.'s team won the championship in the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid and at Quebec and the New England region.
Bibliography
Bragg, J. Jeffrey. "The Message of Bayou of Foxstand." Seppala Kennels. 2005. https://www.seppalakennels.com/articles/bayous_message.htm.
"Expansion and Growth in the Columbus Public School System (1880 - 1920)." Historic Columbus (blog). August 13, 2021. https://www.historiccolumbus.com/post/expansion-and-growth-in-the-columbus-public-school-system-1880-1920.
F. D. Moore Sons [Pennsylvania]. Invoices re: Chestnut Hill residence. Including correspondence re: Gwynedd Valley property, 1936-1944, Box 105, Folder 32, Henry P. McIlhenny Papers (HPM), Philadelphia Museum of Art, Library and Archives. https://pmalibrary.libraryhost.com/repositories/3/archival_objects/107551.
Franklin Survey Co. Atlas: Montgomery County 1934 Vol A, Plate 15 & 16, 1934.
"John McIllhenny Home." The Historical Marker Database. Last modified November 17, 2019. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=22799.
"McIlhenny, Henry P." Philadelphia Museum of Art Archives. Accessed November 27, 2021. https://pmalibrary.libraryhost.com/agents/people/909.
Mueller, A. H. Atlas of the North Penn Section of Montgomery County, Pa., Plate 29, 1916.
Poxon, Marita Krivda. Irish Philadelphia. (Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2012): 114.
Stirr, Thomas. "Glenveagh Castle Ireland." Small Sensor Photography by Thomas Stirr. Last modified March 9, 2020. https://smallsensorphotography.com/glenveagh-castle.
Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting and Dinner of the Pennsylvania Scotch-Irish Society. (Philadelphia: Press of Allen, Lane & Scott, 1916).
Webster, J.P. Vanishing Philadelphia: Ruins of the Quaker City. (Charleston: The History Press, 2014).
"Wissahickon Valley Public Library's Ambler Gazette Collection." POWER Library: Pennsylvania's Electronic Library. Accessed September 29, 2021. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/wivp-gazett.
Woodall, Peter. "The Other McIlhenny Mansion." Hidden City. Last modified April 9, 2013. https://hiddencityphila.org/2013/04/the-other-mcilhenny-mansion/.
Comments