Francis Martin Drexel Explained

Francis Martin Drexel
Birth Date:7 April 1792
Birth Place:Dornbirn, Vorarlberg, Holy Roman Empire
Death Place:Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation:Banker
Children:Mary Johanna Drexel
Francis Anthony Drexel
Anthony Joseph Drexel
Joseph William Drexel
Heloise Drexel
Caroline Drexel

Francis Martin Drexel (April 7, 1792 – June 5, 1863) was an American banker and artist. He was the father of Anthony Joseph Drexel, the founder of Drexel University, and the grandfather of Katharine Drexel.[1]

Early life

Drexel was born April 7, 1792, the eldest son of Franz Josef Drexel and Magdalena Wilhelm, in Dornbirn, in Vorarlberg, Holy Roman Empire, not far from the Switzerland border. His father was a successful merchant with business associates in both Switzerland and Italy. In 1803, Francis was sent to study Italian and French at a Catholic convent school In Italy. Drexel eventually became conversant in five languages. He returned two years later and was apprenticed to a painter in a nearby village. When Napoleon invaded Austria, in order to escape conscription, and with help from his father, he crossed the Rhine River into Switzerland, where he remained for about five years, painting portraits, houses, and signs to support himself.[2] In 1812, he returned to the Tyrol incognito. Conscription was still in force, so he went to Bern and continued his study of painting.

Career

In May 1817, Drexel took a ship from Amsterdam on the John of Baltimore, headed for Philadelphia,[3] where he opened a studio and found work as an art instructor at Bazeley's Female Academy. A popular portrait painter, his work was frequently shown at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts annual exhibitions in Philadelphia.[4]

A law suit for libel against his brother-in-law, Bernard Gallagher, was settled out of court as damages would have bankrupted the latter. Although Gallagher acknowledged the false statements, nonetheless, commissions for paintings decreased and Drexel lost his position at Bazeley's. He then left his wife and two children in Philadelphia, to travel to Peru and Chile, painting portraits, including one of General Simón Bolívar.[5] Drexel visited South America twice as well as Mexico.

Drexel & Co.

In 1837, after his permanent settlement in Philadelphia, he founded the banking house of Drexel & Co. which became one of the largest banks in the United States. The original business of Drexel & Co. was discounting privately issued bank notes, the value of which was largely dependent on the character of the principal officers of the issuing bank. The exposure to the principals gained from portrait painting is said to have given Drexel inside knowledge.

After his death in 1860, the Paris firm, Drexel, Harjes & Co., was founded in 1868, and the New York firm, Drexel, Morgan & Co., was founded in 1871.[6]

Children

Drexel married Catherine Hookey (1795–1870) at the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church at Sixth and Spruce streets on April 23, 1821. They had the following children:[7]

Drexel died in 1863, a result of injuries suffered in a train accident,[14] and was buried in The Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Descendants

Through his eldest son, Francis Anthony Drexel, he was the paternal grandfather of Saint Katharine Drexel (1858–1955).[15] Through his son, Joseph William Drexel, he was the paternal grandfather of Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (1868–1944), a prominent socialite who married John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944).[16]

Death and legacy

He died on June 5, 1863.

A sculpture of Drexel stands atop the Francis M. Drexel Memorial Fountain in Drexel Square in Chicago. Drexel donated the land that came to be known as Drexel Boulevard. One of the oldest public sculptures in Chicago, it was commissioned by his sons Francis A. and Anthony J. Drexel.[17]

Drexel Park, located on S. Damen St. in Chicago is named after Drexel Blvd. Drexel presented another large tract – one further east – to the South Park Commission for use as parkland.[18]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Loughlin, John. Francis Anthony Drexel. www.newadvent.org. Catholic Encyclopedia. 23 February 2017.
  2. Jones . Elsa Loacker . Francis Martin Drexel's Years in America . Records of the American Catholic Historical Society of Philadelphia . 1974 . 85 . 3/4 . 129–140 . 44210857.
  3. Web site: Knowles . Scott . In the Footsteps of Francis Martin Drexel: A Field Trip to Dornbirn, Austria . DrexelNow . en . October 16, 2018.
  4. Book: Hughes, Cheryl C. D.. Katharine Drexel: The Riches-to-Rags Life Story of an American Catholic Saint. 2014. William B. Eerdmans Publishing. 978-1-4674-4216-9. 18.
  5. Web site: Francis Martin Drexel, Journal of a Trip to South America The PACSCL Diaries Project. Drexel University Archives. 23 February 2017. October 9, 2015.
  6. Web site: Stiefel. Jay Robert. Francis Martin Drexel (1792-1863), Artist Turned Financier. librarycompany.org. Maine Antique Digest. 23 February 2017.
  7. Book: Rottenberg, Dan . The Man who Made Wall Street: Anthony J. Drexel and the Rise of Modern Finance . University of Pennsylvania Press . 2001 . Philadelphia . 185 . 9780812236262.
  8. News: Paulsen. Frederik. JOHN D. LANKENAU.. 23 February 2017. The New York Times. 1 September 1901.
  9. News: JOHN D. LANKENAU DEAD.. 23 February 2017. The New York Times. 31 August 1901.
  10. Web site: Larkin, Tara Elizabeth. "Drexel, St. Katharine Mary", Pennsylvania State University, Fall, 2006 . 2017-02-23 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141017035017/http://pabook.libraries.psu.edu/palitmap/bios/Drexel__St_Katharine.html . 2014-10-17 . dead .
  11. Book: Rottenberg. Dan. The Man Who Made Wall Street: Anthony J. Drexel and the Rise of Modern Finance. May 22, 2006. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia. 081221966X. 23 February 2017. en.
  12. News: John G. Watmough.. 23 February 2017. The New York Times. 12 October 1913.
  13. News: WATMOUGH WILL PROBATED.; Maid to Get $100,000, Friends $400,000 and Kinsmen Nothing.. 23 February 2017. The New York Times. 4 January 1914.
  14. Web site: Schwarz Gallery - Francis Martin Drexel. www.schwarzgallery.com. 23 February 2017.
  15. http://www.katharinedrexel.org/Katharine_Drexel.html Katherine Drexel profile
  16. News: Lady Decies, Widow of Irish Peer, Dies; Former Elizabeth Drexel of Philadelphia Was Once the Wife of Harry Lehr . . June 14, 1944 . 2007-07-21 .
  17. https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/media/washington-park-drexel-fountain "Drexel Fountain" at Washington Park, Chicago Park District
  18. https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/parks-facilities/drexel-francis-park "Drexel (Francis) Park", Chicago Park District