Mellon family

The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with famous members in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions. Other notable figures include the prominent banker, R.B. Mellon, and his son R.K. Mellon, who provided funding and leadership for the first Pittsburgh Renaissance.

History


The American branch of the Mellon family traces its origins to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In 1816, Archibald Mellon emigrated from Northern Ireland to the United States and set up residence in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Archibald was joined by his son, Andrew, and his family.

The family's wealth originated with Mellon Bank, founded in 1869 by Archibald's grandson, Thomas Mellon. Under the direction of Thomas's son, Andrew William Mellon, the Mellons became principal investors and majority owners of Gulf Oil (which merged with Chevron Corporation in 1985), Alcoa (since 1886), The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (since 1970), Koppers (since 1912), New York Shipbuilding (1899–1968) and Carborundum Corporation, as well as their major financial and ownership influence on Westinghouse Electric, H.J. Heinz Company, Newsweek, U.S. Steel, Credit Suisse First Boston and General Motors. The family bank later became part of BNY Mellon.

The family also founded the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., donating both art works and funds, and is a patron to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, and with art the University of Virginia. Carnegie Mellon University, and its Mellon College of Science, is named in honor of the family, as well as for its founder, Andrew Carnegie, who was a close associate of the Mellons. The family's founding patriarch was Judge Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), the son of Andrew Mellon and Rebecca Wauchob, who were Scotch-Irish farmers from Camp Hill Cottage, in Lower Castletown, County Tyrone, Ireland, and emigrated to what is now the Pittsburgh suburb of north-central Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The family can be divided into four branches: the descendants of Thomas Alexander Mellon Jr, of James Ross Mellon, of Andrew William Mellon, and of Richard Beatty Mellon. The Mellon family are members of the Episcopal Church.

Prominent members

 * Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), judge and founder of the Mellon Bank; married Sarah Jane Negley of Pittsburgh. As a boy he decided to abandon his parents' farming lifestyle for law and banking in the city after reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography.
 * Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937), banker, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury secretaries in history; namesake of the Andrew Mellon Building and Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, both in Washington, D.C.
 * Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933), banker, industrialist and philanthropist; married Jennie Taylor King
 * William Larimer Mellon, Sr. (1868–1949), a founder of the Gulf Oil Corporation
 * Richard King Mellon (1899–1970), financier, general, and philanthropist; married Constance Prosser McCaulley
 * Sarah Mellon (1903–1965), heiress of investments in Mellon Bank, Gulf Oil and Alcoa; her husband was Alan Magee Scaife
 * Paul Mellon (1907–1999), American philanthropist and an owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.
 * William Larimer Mellon, Jr. (1910–1989), founder of the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti
 * Cordelia Scaife May (1928–2005), famous recluse and funder of multiple anti-immigration organizations
 * Richard Mellon Scaife (1932–2014), the chief sponsor of The Heritage Foundation and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review since 1970; first marriage was to Frances L. Gilmore (born December 2, 1934), second marriage was to Margaret "Ritchie" Battle (1947–2005)
 * Timothy Mellon (b. 1942), chairman and majority owner of Pan Am Systems, a transportation holding company that was based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and was subsequently sold to CSX Transportation.
 * James Ross ("Jay") Mellon II (b. 1942), author of books about Abraham Lincoln, slavery in America, and his family's founding patriarch, Thomas Mellon; he travels permanently in order to legally minimize taxes
 * Christopher Mellon (b. 1958), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in the Clinton and Bush Administrations; former minority staff director of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, adjunct professor at Georgetown University; private equity investor; and former National Security Affairs Advisor at To the Stars Academy
 * Matthew Taylor Mellon II (1964–2018), a chairman of the Republican Party Finance of New York and served as a regent director of finance for the Republican National Committee; founded or participated in multiple start-ups such as Jimmy Choo, Harrys of London, Hanley Mellon, Marquis Jets, Arrival Aviation and Challenge Capital Partners
 * Mike Monroney (1902–1980), United States Senator from Oklahoma who wrote and sponsored legislation such as the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 and the Automobile Information Disclosure Act of 1958, the latter of which made him the namesake of the Monroney sticker; married to Mary Ellen Mellon of the Mellon family
 * John Warner (1927–2021) American lawyer and politician who served as the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1972 to 1974 and as a five-term Republican U.S. Senator from Virginia from 1979 to 2009; was married to Catherine Mellon, of the Mellon family from 1957 to 1973.

Members

 * Thomas Mellon (1813–1908) ∞ 1843: Sarah Jane Negley (1817–1909)
 * Thomas Alexander Mellon, Jr., (1844–1899) ∞ Mary C. Caldwell (1847–1902), the sister of Alexander Caldwell
 * Thomas Alexander Mellon, III (1873–1948) ∞ Helen McLanahan Wightman (1871–1961)
 * Edward Purcell Mellon, II ∞ Louise Grubbs
 * Thomas Alexander Mellon, IV
 * Helen S. Mellon (1914–2007) ∞ 1936: Adolph William Schmidt (1904–2000)
 * Helen Schmidt ∞ unk. Claire
 * Thomas Mellon Schmidt (b. 1940)
 * Edward Purcell Mellon (1875–1953) ∞ Ethel Churchill Humphrey (1880–1938)
 * Jane Caldwell Mellon (1917–2013) ∞ (1) Craigh Leonard ∞ (2) Robinson Simonds (1906–2000)
 * Edward M. Leonard
 * Craigh Leonard, Jr.
 * Stephanie Leonard
 * Mary Caldwell Mellon (1884–1975) ∞ (1) John Herman Kampmann (1880–1957) ∞ (2) Samuel Alfred McClung (1880–1945)
 * John Herman Kampmann, Jr. (1907–1940)
 * Mary Mellon Kampmann (1908–1995) ∞ Lawrence Deen Schwartz (1909–1957)
 * Samuel Alfred McClung, III (1918–2015) ∞ Adelaide "Adie" Smith (1919–2000)
 * Isabel Edith McClung (1920–1967) ∞ Charles Newton Abernethy, Jr. (1913–1990)
 * Cynthia Mellon McClung (1921–1991) ∞ Stephen Stone, Jr. (1915–1962)
 * James Ross Mellon (1846–1934) ∞ Rachel Hughey Larimer (1847–1919), the daughter of William Larimer
 * William Larimer Mellon (1868–1949) ∞ Mary Hill Taylor
 * Matthew Taylor Mellon (1897–1992) ∞ (1) 1931: (div.) Gertrud Altegoer (1909–2005) ∞ (2) Jane Bartrum
 * Karl Negley Mellon (1938–1983) ∞ Anne Stokes Bright
 * Christopher Mellon (b. 1958)
 * Hunter Mellon (b. 2001)
 * Aiden Mellon (b. 2004)
 * Matthew Taylor Mellon, II (1964–2018) ∞ (1) 2000: (div. 2005) Tamara Yeardye (b. 1967) ∞ (2) Nicole Hanley
 * Anders L. Mellon (b. 1992)
 * Thomas W. Mellon (b. 1992)
 * Araminta Mellon (b. 2002)
 * Force Mellon (b. 2011)
 * Olympia Mellon (b. 2013)
 * James Ross Mellon, II (b. 1942) ∞ Vivian Ruesch, the daughter of Hans Ruesch
 * Rachel Larimer Mellon (1899–2006) ∞ John Fawcett Walton, Jr. (1893–1974)
 * Farley Walton ∞ Joshua Clyde Whetzel, Jr. (1921–2012)
 * Joshua Clyde Whetzel, III ∞ Marion Plunkett
 * Rachel Walton Whetzel ∞ Richard Casselman
 * Thomas Porter Whetzel
 * William Mellon Whetzel ∞ (1) 1978: (div.) Patricia Joan McGarey ∞ (2) Camilla F.
 * Mary Walton ∞ Walter J. P. Curley, Jr.
 * John Fawcett Walton, III ∞ Phyllis Walton
 * James Mellon Walton (1930–2022) ∞ Ellen Carroll
 * James Mellon Walton, Jr. ∞ Elizabeth Andrews Orr
 * Margaret Lederle Mellon (1901–1998) ∞ (1) 1924: Alexander Laughlin (d. 1926) ∞ (2) 1928: Thomas Hitchcock, Jr. (1900–1944)
 * Alexander Mellon Laughlin (b. 1925)
 * Louise Eustis Hitchcock
 * Margaret Mellon Hitchcock
 * Thomas Hitchcock, III
 * William Mellon Hitchcock
 * William Larimer Mellon, Jr. (1910–1989) ∞ (1) 1930: (div. 1938) Grace Rowley ∞ (2) 1946: Gwen Grant Mellon (née Rawson; 1911–2000), former wife of John de Groot Rawson
 * William Larimer Mellon, III (1933–1963) ∞ Katherine LeGrand Council
 * Sarah Lucille Mellon (1887–1968) ∞ (1) Alexander Grange ∞ (2) George S. Hasbrouck ∞ (3) Sidney J. Holloway
 * Sarah Emma Mellon, who died in childhood
 * Annie Rebecca Mellon, who died in childhood
 * Samuel Selwyn Mellon, who died 1862, at age 9
 * Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937) ∞ 1900: (div. 1912) Nora Mary McMullen (1879–1973)
 * Ailsa Mellon Bruce (1901–1969) ∞ 1926: (div. 1945) David Kirkpatrick Este Bruce (1898–1977)
 * Audrey Mellon Bruce (1934–1967) ∞ 1955: Stephen Currier (d. 1967), son of Mary Warburg
 * Andrea Bruce Currier (b. 1956) ∞ 1980: Donald Wright Patterson, Jr. (1939)
 * Justin Bruce Patterson ∞ 2013: Anna Elizabeth Burke
 * Lavinia Currier ∞ Joel McCleary
 * Michael Stephen Currier (1961–1998) ∞ Karin Griscom
 * Paul Mellon (1907–1999) ∞ (1) 1935: Mary Conover Brown (1904–1946) ∞ (2) 1948: Rachel Lambert Mellon (1910–2014), former wife of Stacy Barcroft Lloyd Jr
 * Timothy Mellon (b. 1943)
 * Catherine Conover Mellon ∞ 1957: (div. 1973) John W. Warner III (1927-2021)
 * Virginia Warner
 * John William Warner, IV (b. 1962) ∞ Shannon Ford Hamm (b. 1965)
 * Mary Warner
 * Richard Beatty Mellon (1858–1933) ∞ Jennie King (d. 1938)
 * Richard King Mellon (1899–1970) ∞ 1936: Constance Mary ( Prosser) McCaulley (later Burrell; 1910-1980)
 * Richard Prosser Mellon (1939–2020) ∞ (1) Gertrude Adams (1939–2003) (2) Kathryn Dybdal
 * Richard Adams Mellon ∞ Alex Mellon
 * Armour Negley Mellon ∞ Sophie Mellon
 * Cassandra King Mellon (b. 1940) ∞ (1) George M. Henderson ∞ (2) 1979: Edwin Van Rensselaer Milbury
 * Christina Mellon Henderson ∞ 1996: Scott Robert McBroom
 * Bruce King Mellon Henderson
 * Constance Barber Mellon (1941–1983) ∞ William Russell Grace Byers (d. 1999) (brother in law of Joseph Verner Reed Jr.) ∞ (2) 1971: (div. 1973) J. Carter Brown (1934–2002)
 * William Russell Grace Byers, Jr. (b. 1965)
 * Alison Mellon Byers (b. 1967)
 * Seward Prosser Mellon (b. 1942)
 * Sarah Cordelia Mellon (1903–1965) ∞ Alan Magee Scaife (1900–1958)
 * Cordelia Scaife May (1928–2005) ∞ (1) 1949: (div. 1950) (1) Herbert A. May, Jr. ∞ (2) 1973: Robert Duggan (1926/7–1974)
 * Richard Mellon Scaife (1932–2014) ∞ (1) 1956: (div. 1991) Frances L. Gilmore (b. 1934) ∞ (2) 1991: (div. 2012) Margaret "Ritchie" Battle (b. 1947)
 * Jennie K. Scaife (1963–2018)
 * Mary M. Ferri (b.1915)
 * David N. Scaife (b. 1966)
 * George Negley Mellon (1860–1887)

Associates

 * Edward Goodrich Acheson
 * Diamond Jim Brady
 * Alexander Caldwell
 * Arthur Vining Davis
 * William Donner
 * Joseph Duveen
 * David E. Finley Jr.
 * Henry Clay Frick
 * James M. Guffey
 * Joseph R. Grundy
 * Henry John Heinz II
 * Philander C. Knox
 * Henry W. Oliver
 * David A. Reed
 * Adolph W. Schmidt
 * Arthur Sixsmith
 * John W. Warner III
 * Cyrus Woods

Businesses

 * Alcoa
 * Brooklyn Union Gas Company
 * Carborundum Corporation
 * Crane Company
 * Crucible Steel Company
 * Delaware and Hudson Railway
 * First Boston Corporation
 * General Reinsurance Corporation
 * Gulf Oil
 * H.K. Porter, Inc.
 * Idlewild Park
 * Koppers
 * Ligonier Valley Railroad
 * McClintic-Marshall Construction Company
 * Maine Central Railroad
 * Medusa Corporation
 * Mellon National Bank
 * Mellon Suncoast Properties, Inc.
 * Monongahela River Coal Company*
 * Newsweek
 * New York Shipbuilding Corporation
 * Old Overholt
 * Perma Treat
 * Pittsburgh Coal Company
 * Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
 * Rokeby Stables
 * Sacramento Union
 * Standard Steel Car Company
 * Texas Gulf Sulphur Company
 * Virginian Railway
 * Westinghouse Electric Corporation

Philanthropy & miscellaneous nonprofits

 * Allegheny Foundation
 * Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
 * Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve
 * Bollingen Foundation
 * Cape Hatteras National Seashore
 * Carnegie Mellon University
 * Colcom Foundation
 * Carthage Foundation
 * Ezra Stiles College
 * Hôpital Albert Schweitzer Haiti
 * Jacqueline Kennedy Garden
 * KQV
 * Laurel Foundation
 * Maurepas Swamp Wildlife Management Area
 * Mellon Trust
 * Morse College
 * National Gallery of Art
 * National Legal and Policy Center
 * Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art
 * Rachel Mellon Walton Fund
 * Richard King Mellon Foundation
 * Sky Meadows State Park
 * University of Pittsburgh
 * White House Rose Garden

Buildings, estates & historic sites

 * Andrew Mellon Building
 * Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium
 * Cathedral of Learning
 * Dune House
 * East Liberty Market
 * East Liberty Presbyterian Church
 * Mellon Carriage House
 * Mellon National Bank Building
 * Mellon Park
 * Mellon Square
 * National Portrait Gallery
 * Oak Spring Garden
 * Penguin Court
 * Rolling Rock Club
 * Scallop Path