Margaret Carnegie

Margaret Carnegie Miller
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Born Margaret Carnegie
March 30, 1897
New York City
Died April 11, 1990 (aged 93)
Fairfield, Connecticut
Religion Presbyterian
Spouse(s) Roswell Miller
Children Louise Carnegie Miller
Roswell III Miller
Barbara Miller
Margaret Miller
Parents Andrew Carnegie
Louise Whitfield
Margaret Carnegie Miller (March 30, 1897 – April 11, 1990) was the only child of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and heiress to the Carnegie fortune.[1]

 

Biography[edit]
Margaret Cameron Carnegie was born March 30, 1897 in New York City to Carnegie and Louise Whitfield, whom Carnegie married when he was 51 years old. Andrew Carnegie died in 1919.

 

Margaret Carnegie married Roswell Miller, Jr., at the Carnegie family home at 2 East 91st Street in New York on April 22, 1919 where she was given away by her father. Officiating at the wedding were Rev. William Pierson Merril, pastor of the Brick Presbyterian Church (New York City), where Margaret and Mrs. Carnegie were members, and Rev. Henry Sloane Coffin, pastor of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church where Mr. Carnegie was a member.[2]

 

From 1934 to 1973 Margaret was a trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a grant-making foundation. The foundation was established by her father in 1911. From 1973 until her death she was an honorary lifetime trustee.

 

Margaret Carnegie’s marriage to Roswell Miller ended in divorce. Miller had four children (Louise, Roswell III, Barbara, and Margaret). She died on April 11, 1990, at her home in Fairfield, Connecticut, at the age of 93.

 

References[edit]
Jump up ^ “Margaret Carnegie Miller, Philanthropist, 93”. The New York Times. April 21, 1990. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
Jump up ^ “Bagpipe tunes at Carnegie wedding”. The New York Times. November 29, 1918. Retrieved 2012-02-22.

Andrew Carnegie

 

Many modern philanthropists credit industrialist Andrew Carnegie with inspiring their thinking. He’s the author of the oft-quoted statements “The man who dies rich dies in disgrace” and “The parent who leaves his son enormous wealth generally deadens the talents and energies of the son.” Enormous wealth was something that Carnegie knew well. In 1901, he sold U.S. Steel for $492 million, a massive sum in 2012, but a mind-blowing figure (more like $12.4 billion today) back then. Throughout his life, he gave most of his money away, handing over millions to libraries, teachers, and schools, among other causes. His one daughter, Margaret Carnegie Miller, did not end up poor, by any measure, but the sum she received was less than 10 percent of his fortune. Here, Andrew takes a stroll with his wife Louise Whitfield Carnegie, sister-in-law Estelle (Stella) Whitfield, and daughter Margaret, in 1911.

Microsoft Word – The Carnegies at Home II.doc

Margaret Carnegie was allowed to entertain her classmates from time to time. In February 1916 she held a luncheon for her Spence School senior classmates. The next day, she wrote an account of the event to her mother, who was with her husband in Florida:

“My darling Mother,

…and now I must tell you about the great party yesterday…there were bunches of daffodils in the drawing room, and a big bunch of forsythia in the high silver vase, tulips in the yellow room and a vase of roses in the big dining room. The coat racks were put in the library, and it looked very well, with the table arranged with the mirror, etc., and a few daffodils at each side. I wore my fawn Sunday dress, with the pink on the waist. We looked at the cerise voile, but it seemed very brilliant and I was so afraid of being conspicuous…the luncheon was a triumph! So hot, delicious and quickly served. It could not have been better and I am so appreciative of all the good planning and hard work which made it go off without the slightest hitch…you ought to have heard the clapping when I told them of the plan of writing their names on the tablecloth! Mother dear, it was the hit of the party…”

 

 

 

Left: Margaret Carnegie, age 15. www.gutenberg.org Right: Margaret’s sitting room. Courtesy the Museum of the City of New York.