Charles W. Harkness
- Don Schueler
- May 31, 2023
- 4 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Charles William Harkness (December 17, 1860 – May 1, 1916) was the son of Stephen V. Harkness. Charles was born in Monroeville, Ohio. His parents were Stephen V. Harkness (1818–1888) and the former Anna Marie Richardson (1837–1926), his father's second wife. He was the brother of Edward Harkness, a noted philanthropist, and half-brother of Lamon V. Harkness. He was a cousin of William L. Harkness.
His early education was in Cleveland at The Brooks Military Academy. He earned a B.A. from Yale College with the Class of 1883. While at Yale, he was described as "carefree, happy, irresponsible as the rest of us."
Career
Upon his father's death in 1888, Charles inherited stock in Standard Oil amounting to the second largest holding in the company, surpassed only by that of the Rockefeller family. Harkness became a director at Standard Oil and was a director of the Southern Pacific Railway Company, the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and the Tilden Iron Mining Company, and managed his father's immense holdings.
Personal life
On May 27, 1896, Charles married Miss Mary Warden in Philadelphia, PA. Mary was the daughter of William G. Warden, who was an early Standard Oil partner, and the granddaughter of industrialist Daniel Bushnell who was also connected to Standard Oil since his firm was also bought by Standard Oil.
CW's Bachelor Party and credit book entries from the Union Club of Cleveland
C.W. enjoyed yachting, golf, and travel. He had inherited the Peerless yacht from his father as well as the Agawa.
The Peerless (black hull) and Agawa (white hull). More about Agawa here: Agawa
Charles and Mary often toured the traditional haunts like Bar Harbor and Newport.
Mary's sister Elizabeth Bushnell Warden Ketterlinus and her husband John Ketterlinus had a summer home called Bide-a-While in Bar Harbor and Charles and Mary visited them there in 1902. Bide-a-While is a beatiful estate in a beautiful location and still exists today. You can see the rental HERE.
They also visited Newport with the Agawa along with cousin William L. Harkess. You can see more about that visit HERE.
Final Rest
Charles fell seriously ill in the fall of 1915. After spending part of winter in St.Augustine at his wife's family home at Warden Castle, he returned home to New York, where he died May 1, 1916. Charles was initially interred at Woodlawn, Bronx, NY in the LV Harkness Mausoleum and then upon his wife Mary's passing, he was moved to West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania
Since he had no children, a large portion of his Standard Oil stock was left to his brother Edward S. Harkness. One-half his residual estate, his home in New York at 2 West 54th Street, and his country home in Madison, NJ (designed by James Gamble Rogers who designed many Harkness buildings) were bequeathed to his wife Mary.
He left $100,000 as a token of affection and esteem to his brother Lamon V. Harkness although Lamon had already died a year before Charles' death. Lamon had been quite wealthy in his own right from his inheritance from their father Stephen V. Harkness.
Unfortunately, Charles' wife Mary Warden Harkness only lived a short while longer, passing Dec 8, 1916.
With Mary's passing, she and Charles were then moved to the Warden family mausoleum
along with Mary at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
The Warden Mausoleum at West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.
Legacy
Harkness Tower at Yale is named after Charles W. Harkness. Anna Harkness, his mother, donated $3,000,000 to build the Memorial Quadrangle of dormitories in his memory. Harkness Tower contains the Yale Memorial Carillon, a carillon of 54 bells, the largest of which is inscribed "In Memory of Charles W. Harkness, Class of 1883, Yale College."
The Cleveland Museum of Art has a $100,000 permanent endowment known as the Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund, which was created through a donation from his widow, Mary Warden Harkness.
Real Estate
Harkness purchased the Henry Flagler townhouse at 685 Fifth Ave, New York, and also owned a home in Madison, NJ, and a winter home in St. Augustine, FL called Warden Castle.
Madison NJ, home
More about Giralda Farms
Giralda Farms was next door to the CW Harkness estate in Madison,NJ. After Charles passed away, Geraldine bought the adjoining 80-acre estate to enlarge her estate.
Giralda Farms, the fabled estate of the late Geraldine Rockefeller Dodge, is located in Madison. The mansion was built in 1893 by the architectural firm of Clinton and Russell for the Daniel Willis James family. The 240-acre estate, then called “Onunda” was in an area designated “Millionaires’ Row”. This five-mile stretch between Madison and Morristown was comprised of the magnificent country homes of some of the wealthiest families in the nation. In 1911, the estate was purchased by Marcellus Hartley Dodge, president of Remington Arms, and his wife, the former Ethel Geraldine Rockefeller. Under Mrs. Dodge’s supervision, Giralda Farms became a wildlife preserve with deer roaming freely and wild geese migrating to the Giralda pond. Mrs. Dodge originated the famed Morris & Essex Dog Show in 1927 and founded St. Hubert’s Giralda in 1939 as an animal shelter. She later had a special staircase constructed to let her numerous dogs out directly from her bedroom. The Dodge estate’s 304 acres were crisscrossed with over 15 acres of bridle paths. During its peak years a staff of 40 to 50 men maintained the formal gardens, seven acres of vegetable gardens and the many rare specimens of unusual trees and shrubs. Giralda was the site of the Mansion in May 1976. The mansion was razed in conjunction with the construction of Giralda Farms, a 175-acre planned office development and headquarters for several large international corporations.
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