John McDonogh

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John McDonogh
John McDonogh

John McDonogh (29 December 1779–26 October 1850) was a United States entrepreneur and philanthropist, described as miserly, controversial, and eccentric. He is most famous for endowing public education in two major American cities—New Orleans, Louisiana and Baltimore, Maryland.

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[edit] Life and career

McDonogh was born in Baltimore and entered the shipping business there. In 1800 his employers sent him as supercargo on a ship to Liverpool, England, to procure a cargo of goods for the Louisiana trade. He was successful, and after a second such voyage decided to make his home in New Orleans. Establishing a store and engaging in the "commission and shipping business," he prospered there.[1]

In 1818, he was a candidate for the U.S. Senate. After he lost that election, he left New Orleans and settled across the Mississippi River, establishing the town of McDonoghville, now called McDonogh, which is in present-day Algiers and Gretna.[2]

The young McDonogh was mentioned as having unsuccessfully courted Micaela Almonester, who went on to become the Baroness Pontalba, one of the most important figures in New Orleans history. He was also rebuffed in courtship later in life.[1] A failure to marry and the loss of the Senate race may have contributed to a life which has been described as reclusive. William H. Seymour, a local and near-contemporary chronicler, described him in 1896 as having been an "eccentric philanthropist" who "for twenty-two long years toiled" within the walls of his "somber dwelling."[3]

[edit] Slaveholding and manumission

McDonogh was a slaveholder. In 1822 he devised a manumission scheme by which his slaves could buy their freedom. The process took about 15 years; thus he was able to profit from their labor before he set them free.[4] McDonogh was also active in, and contributed to, the American Colonization Society, which enabled freed black slaves to emigrate back to Africa.[2][4] McDonogh used the Society to provide passage to Liberia for many of his former slaves.[5]

[edit] Legacy

Although during his life McDonogh was an infamous miser,[6] he left the bulk of his fortune—close to $2 million[7]—to the cities of Baltimore and New Orleans for the purpose of building public schools for poor children—specifically, white and freed black children. This was unprecedented, and proved controversial. His heirs contested the will, and the case, McDonogh's Executors v. Murdoch, went to the U.S. Supreme Court.[8] This delayed execution of the will until 1858,[4] with New Orleans receiving a settlement of $704,440.[2]

Baltimore already had a substantial public school system, but McDonogh's will also stipulated the creation of a "school farm" for underprivileged boys outside of the city. McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, founded in 1873, was the result.

The New Orleans public school system had been established in 1841,[9] but the McDonogh Fund facilitated major expansion. Eventually over 30 schools were built, most emblazoned with his name and a number. By the early 1970s there were 20 McDonogh schools remaining in New Orleans.[9] In the 1980s and 1990s, many of those were renamed in a movement to remove the names of slaveholders from New Orleans' public schools. The following John McDonogh schools are still in operation, post-Katrina: McDonogh Senior High School, #7, #15, #28, #32, #35, #42.[6]

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ a b Biography of McDonogh, John, Orleans Parish, Louisiana (submitted by Mike Miller, September 2000). LAGenWeb Archives. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
  2. ^ a b c McDonogh Neighborhood Snapshot. Greater New Orleans Community Data Center. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
  3. ^ Seymour, William H. (1896). The story of Algiers, now Fifth District of New Orleans, 1718-1896. The past and the present., Limited ed., Algiers, LA: Algiers Democrat Publishing Company. LCCN 48041591. 
  4. ^ a b c Grailhe, Alexandre (1852(?)). Mémoire à plaider devant la cour suprème de Louisiane, pour les villes de la Nouvelle-Orléans et de Baltimore, dans le procès sur le testament de M. McDonogh (cited in International League of Antiquarian Booksellers on-line catalogue). Retrieved on 2006-04-29. 
  5. ^ McDonogh, John (1898). in James T. Edwards: Some interesting papers of John McDonogh, chiefly concerning the Louisiana purchase and the Liberian colonization. McDonogh, MD: Printed by boys of McDonogh School. LCCN 12012540. 
  6. ^ a b Blake Pontchartrain, New Orleans Know-It-All. Gambit Weekly. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
  7. ^ The amount of $2 million in the year 1850 adjusted for inflation to the year 2000 would be equivalent to approximately $40 million based on the Consumer Price Index, or more than $7 billion in terms of relative share of the Gross Domestic Product. – What Is Its Relative Value in US Dollars? (calculator). Economic History Services. Retrieved on 2006-05-14.
  8. ^ McDonogh's Ex'rs v. Murdoch, 56 U.S. 367 (1853). Justia.com / US Supreme Court Center. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
  9. ^ a b History of New Orleans Public Schools. New Orleans Public Schools. Retrieved on 2006-04-29.

[edit] Further reading

  • Devore, Donald E.; Joseph Logsdon (1991). Crescent City Schools: Public Education in New Orleans 1841-1991. Lafayette LA: Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana. LCCN 91070562. 
  • Ciravolo, G. Leighton (2002). The legacy of John McDonogh. Lafayette LA: Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette. ISBN 1-887366-48-2. 
  • Meyer, Robert (1975). Names over New Orleans public schools. New Orleans: Namesake Press. LCCN 75314596. 

[edit] See also