Historical records matching William Robert Bucknell
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About William Robert Bucknell
Bucknell was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania to English immigrants. His father was a Lincolnshire farmer, carpenter, and early settler of Delaware County, Pennsylvania.[2] He had intermittent schooling and was trained as a wood carver.
Bucknell began his career as a wood carver, acquired some savings from that trade and set himself up in business. After his first marriage, Bucknell began conducting real estate transactions with the purchase of suburban lands and the erection of buildings.
Bucknell invested in laying gas lines in the city of Chester, Pennsylvania. He founded the Chester Gas Company in 1856. Bucknell became a director in the United Gas Improvement Company of Philadelphia. Bucknell was also a director in the Buffalo Gas Light Company.
In his later year, Bucknell ran a brokerage business in Philadelphia trading in securities and real estate. Bucknell had a large ownership in The Cleveland & Pittsburgh Railroad, The Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, The United Railroads of New Jersey and various coal and iron mines.
Bucknell built an Italianate brownstone mansion at the corner of 17th and Walnut Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania circa 1860.[9]The building was demolished in 1907 and replaced with the Latham Hotel.
In 1882 Bucknell donated $50,000 to the University at Lewisburg when it was in trouble financially. In 1886 the university changed its name from the University at Lewisburg to Bucknell University in his honor.
Bucknell was a generous donor to the Upland Baptist Church in Upland, Pennsylvania. He was also a member and major contributor to the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia Bucknell helped fund the erection of The Baptist Publication House in Philadelphia. He also established the Rangoon Mission in India and paid the expenses of ten missionaries in India for several years.
Pearl Hall Library of Crozer Theological Seminary Bucknell sponsored the building of Pearl Hall, a serpentine stone library built on the campus of the Crozer Theological Seminary, in memory of his late wife, Margaret Crozer, daughter of textile manufacturer John Price Crozer. In addition to the $30,000 cost of the building, Bucknell also gave $25,000 for the cost of books and $10,000 for an endowment fund. Pearl Hall formally opened on June 4, 1871.Pearl Hall is currently part of the campus of the Crozer-Chester Medical Center.
Bucknell married Harriet Burr Ashton (1815-1851), in 1836 and had five children, Lavinia Louisa (b. 1840), William Ashton (b. 1842), William Rufus Babcock (b. 1847), Sarah (b. 1849) and Harriet (b. 1851).
After the death of his first wife, he married Margaret Knowles Crozer (1827-1870). After Margaret's death in 1870 he married for a third time, to Emma Eliza Ward (1852-1927) in 1871. They would have four children, Howard (1874-1962), Margaret Crozer (1876-1963 later Mrs. (Countess) Daniele Pecorini), Gertrude (1877-1936, later Mrs. Jay Gould Day) and Edith Louise (1880-1944, later Mrs. Samuel Price Wetherill, Jr.).
Bucknell's widow, Emma, was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912.
Bucknell is interred at the Woodlands Cemetery in Philadelphia
Financier. Philanthropist. Though he came to Philadelphia to become a wood carver, he made his fortune as a broker and dealer in securities and real estate development. Bucknell owned coal and iron mines, railroad stock, and real estate. He was the founder of Philadelphia's Fidelity Trust Company. Later he marketed gas and water utilities in various cities; the Buffalo Gas Works in New York was one of them. In 1836 Bucknell married Harriet M. Ashton. When she later died, he married Margaret Crozer, daughter of his friend and fellow Baptist, John Price Crozer. After Margaret's death, he married Emma Eliza Ward. He was a Baptist who tithed to various charities; his lifetime of tithing amounted to over $1 million; he was a benefactor of the American Baptist Missionary Society. Bucknell was an original trustee of the University at Lewisburg. When the University fell into financial trouble, the trustees turned to Bucknell for help. He gave $165,000 towards the endowment of the university, and $20,000 in scholarships, providing twenty of the fifty scholarships to the school. He also provided an astronomical observatory which opened in 1887. Throughout his life, Bucknell continued supporting the school. Trustees unanimously voted to rename the school Bucknell University in recognition of his generosity.
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jun 9 2019, 22:47:27 UTC
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William Robert Bucknell's Timeline
| 1811 |
April 1, 1811
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Marcus Hook, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1847 |
March 18, 1847
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| 1848 |
July 4, 1848
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Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1874 |
May 12, 1874
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Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1876 |
May 29, 1876
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1877 |
July 26, 1877
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1880 |
February 15, 1880
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
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| 1890 |
March 5, 1890
Age 78
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Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States
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