| John McDonogh | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1779 |
| Died | October 26, 1850 (aged 70) |
| Occupation | Trader, real estate speculator |
| Net worth | USD $2 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1278 of US GNP)[1] |
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 and Baltimore.
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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.[2][3]
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][4] The site of his McDonoghville home has long since been eroded into the Mississippi River.
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; however, there are no documented sources of this rumor. He was also rebuffed in courtship later in life.[3] 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."[5]
McDonogh was a workaholic and worked long hours almost until the time of his death administering his vast land holdings, which were believed the be the largest of any private individual in the world in 1850 when he died. His land holdings entirely surrounded the rapidly growing city of New Orleans and elsewhere in southeast Louisiana.[2]
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.[6] McDonogh was also active in, and contributed to, the American Colonization Society, which enabled freed black slaves to emigrate back to Africa.[4][6] McDonogh used the Society to provide passage to Liberia for many of his former slaves.[7]
Although during his life McDonogh was an infamous miser,[8] he left the bulk of his fortune—close to $2 million[9]—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.[10] This delayed execution of the will until 1858,[6] with New Orleans receiving a settlement of $704,440.[4]
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,[11] 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.[11] 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: John McDonogh High School, #7, #15, #26, #28, #32, #35, #42.[8]
McDonogh's will proved difficult to administer because of the large number of properties involved, many of which were rented. Also, McDonogh had stipulated the properties to be a perpetual trust and that no properties could ever be sold. The trustees eventually got a court ruling allowing them to sell off the property. Money from the trust funded schools for about 100 years, although because of population growth the estate was not sufficient to cover the entire school systems expenses.[2][12] [13]
In return for his legacy, all he asked was that students place flowers around his grave annually. McDonogh No. 26 School is the last school in New Orleans still honoring this tradition. McDonogh School in Baltimore honors McDonogh's wish each year during the founders day assembly.[14] McDonogh's first burial was in the McDonogh Cemetery, alongside his slaves. His body was exhumed and reburied in Baltimore.
That a biography of such a wealthy philanthropist was not written until many years after his death when there was almost no one living who knew him remains a great mystery.