Famous Givers and Their GiftsBolton, Sarah Knowles
History
Famous Givers and Their Gifts
Bolton, Sarah Knowles
Philanthropists
The other important gift to Cambridge from Mr. Rindge is a manual
training-school for boys. Ground was broken for this school in the
middle of July, 1888, and pupils were received in September. The boys
work in wood, iron, blacksmithing, drawing, etc. The system is similar
to that adopted by Professor Woodward at St. Louis. The boys, to protect
their clothes, wear outer suits of dark brown and black duck, and round
paper caps.
The fire-drill is especially interesting to strangers. Hose-carriages
and ladders are kept in the building, and the boys can put streams of
water to the top in a very brief time. Mr. Rindge supports the school.
_The instruction is free_, and is a part of the public-school work. The
pupils may take in the English High School a course of pure head-work,
or part head-work and part hand-work. If they elect the latter, they
drop one study, and in its place take three hours a day in manual
training. The course covers three years.
Mr. Rindge inherited his wealth largely from his father. He made these
gifts when he was twenty-nine years of age. Being an earnest Christian,
he made it a condition of his gifts that verses of Scripture and maxims
of conduct should be inscribed upon the walls of the various buildings.
These are found on the library building; and the inscription on the City
Hall reads as follows: "God has given commandments unto men. From these
commandments men have framed laws by which to be governed. It is
honorable and praiseworthy to faithfully serve the people by helping to
administer these laws. If the laws are not enforced, the people are not
well governed."
ANTHONY J. DREXEL
AND HIS INSTITUTE.
The Drexel family, like a majority of the successful and useful families
in this country, began poor. Anthony J. Drexel's father, Francis Martin
Drexel, was born at Dornbirn, in the Austrian Tyrol, April 7, 1792. When
he was eleven years old, his father, a merchant, sent him to a school
near Milan. Later, when there was a war with France, he was obliged to
go to Switzerland to avoid conscription.
He earned a scanty living at whatever he could find to do, but his chief
work and pleasure was in portrait painting. When he was twenty-five, in
1817, he determined to try his fortune in the New World, and reached the
United States after a voyage of seventy-two days.
He settled in Philadelphia as an artist, with probably little
expectation of any future wealth. After nine years of work he went to
Peru, Chili, and Mexico, and seems to have had good success in painting
the portraits of noted people, General Simon Bolivar among them.
Returning to Philadelphia, he surprised his acquaintances by starting a
bank in 1837. There were fears of failure from what seemed an inadequate
capital and lack of knowledge of business; but Mr. Drexel was
economical, strictly honest, energetic, and devoted to his work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account