History of Dryden, (Tompkins County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Biographical Sketch of John McGraw

John McGraw, philanthropist, was born in Dryden, N.Y., May 22, 1815. He removed to New Hudson, Mich., in 1840, and was a lumber merchant in Michigan, Wisconsin and Iowa. He removed to New York city in 1850 and to Ithaca, N.Y., in 1861. He was a trustee of Cornell university, 1865-77, and in 1869-70 caused to be erected at a cost of $150,000 a building for a library and museum, which he presented to the university, and it became the McGraw Building. He was married to Rhoda Charlotte, daughter of John Southworth, and after her death to her sister, Nancy Amelia Southworth. His daughter Jennie was married to Prof. Daniel Willard Fiske , and at her death in 1881 she bequeathed to Cornell as a library fund the bulk of her property amounting to about $1,300,000. Her will was contested by her husband, who recovered most of the bequest. John McGraw died in Ithaca, N.Y., May 4, 1877.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor