The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1884-11-06
WEALTHY Cl,ANkS.
spy QUEER pnllAnrHnoplsrs
r.hine rhiiiips, iloberi and James Lsnbs
~ a',-The Charities Passion Tor
Collecting Hook.-iiow They
Employed Their lime,

acted the attention Of the oldest fAmi.
- In the city, not because OF his per
nal importance, hut because his father
td been pastor Of the LonoN family
,hen William W, Phillips preached In
"a Wall Street church, Robert LouuN
Us ruling elder, aud James leuuN
AS s.udiouS young man of reclusJ
abits who sat IN the family pew, The
enoS's lived In Broadway, below NAL
rect, ami well | ne uHmber their large
rass door plato which then was FASH
liable, How strange Ia thluk ct
lurch in Wall street, Tat
'memhcr II well. IL stood near
roadway, and tho site which
zen was worth Sjl,CDl would now hc
cap AZ thirty times thal sum- llu-N
aNwell and llTockhuls, lLNlngstu
ere among the leading members.
,mes leuuuN, rcclusc, was Keen
lough Ia torosoc the Importance of the
p-town moN cmcnl, and he favored the
moval of the church 10 the Fiuh ave.
10 site, hich was then out of town,
he church when thus removed was
- iartheSt up town, hut now u i 50
r down lawn that n second removal
Ill soon take place, Er~kin9 Phillips
as one of the small number that knew
gmes LeuoN, and his death limits this
George II. Moore, John BOoruIn uul
.arriet LuNON. Tho first at talS trio
sisted luuuN in the formation or his
prarV, ana il now the manager o1 the
.rnoN Institute. The sccOud was tor
tirty years A,uON'S agent and book
reper, " lJ was OF use IN administering
iHritiv-, uunI the third TX the sole sur
.vOr oil the Lemon family. Her brother
qu"WN,t his estate tu hcr, ana she
,rries out the same system of philan-
.iropy, and retains John Buurinau in
= long accustomed duties.
james LcnoN has been dead three
ears, and yet the public has seen as
ruch Of him during this interval rs II
Il before. lie was the hidden man ot
sew York, and though there is great
.riosilN concerning his habits, vSppci-
ly his inner life,it will never he graft.
ed. Ihe man IN the iron mask was Il
reat mystery, and 50 was the hidden
AN OF Filth avenue. lie was hidde
the sense of being inaccessible To
iaintauce. True, he always appear. /
church and often in the street, but he
oke To- no one, and his house was
rred against all visitors except his
lysiciau, his pastor and his iavortc
rphew, all of whom knew enough to
ep away. The front.d door bell ever
81 as answered an it probably
Is muilled. The small privileged num-
rr probably entered through the base
ent, where John BoOrman had his of
&c. This seclusiOn was maintained for
4 entire lifetime. James LenoX never
I'D crony or n bosom friend;
aver had even a visitor.
re never made New Years
Ills or any other visits, never attended
party, was never seen in "A theater, Op-
"a or even picture gallery, nor indeed
i any other public meeting unless il
vas of religion, character. With this
reception, indeed, he might as well have
used his lie on Il desert island. To
is it may be added that he never
rote Il line for publication and sue
,'eded in keeping his name out of print.
Two instances OF this aversion are as
blows: The Evening Post at one time
ave sketches of the private libraries of
ne city, which proved highly interest
,g, but the LenoX collection was con-
picuous by its absense. Some years
,terward, when the rebellion took place,
ne finest private galleries in the city
ere exhibited in behalf of the sanitary
nmmisson. The Lenox collection,
pwever, was an exception, but the
Yner accompanied his refusal with n
neck for $4,000. The question has been
-ked whether such a man was ever
unely. If so, he never showed it. He
:, as uniformly cheerful, and, indeed,
vas rather of happy frame. He was a
ard worker, his chief business being
le gathering of that immense collec-
lon of books which now renders
20 LenoX library so attractive.
lie and John Boorman were
, riting letters TO foreign book dealers,
nd then they were constantly recciv-
,,g cases of books which needed assert
ng. During the latter years of his life
e. had the assistance of George III. |
Il GORE, whose experience as librarian of
10 historical society was highly val |
able. TO this work was added the |
luty of benaficcnce. He had list of
"gular charities to which his checks |
rere sent without solicitation, and then |
here were the begging letters, which |
, ere carefully read and in many i'll |
tances answered. The management of
he estate also afforded occupation.
'treets were opened through the farm.
iouses were to be erected, leases TO be
yned, and in this manner the hidden |
uan was kept hard at work until the
nd. When this took place he slipped |
mt of existence in the same quiet man
%. and never was a rich mans funeral |
simple and uno 5tentatious. No
UlneuJ or even sab bears his name,
ii is oven Withheld from his picture
ne catalogue of paintings, where it is
~ mentioned as "the portrait of
.ntlemau." Such was the h, dden man
no passed eighty years in this city
I'd never varied from this seclusion.
Old John Jacob Aston had been for
ANY years acquainted with James
.enox's father, and as he saw the
,mily wealth devoted to beneticence, it
doubt had its effect upon him. He
Jew that James Lenox was collecting
brarv, which would eventually be
Iblic benefaction, and he determined
, forestall it, which he did by founding
10 Aston library. The original endow-
ent was 100000 but the family has in
reased it in very liberal manner.
ter Cooper was the next man to win
ublic admiration by philanthrophy,an
,,ars been a boon of highest value to
ie public. The entire Investment was
'out S600,000. 1t is said, however, that
lmes LenoX gave away $i,000,0O0 dur
g the course of a long life, which,
ough hidden, was intensely
tive. Among other promi {
mt benefactions, which have !
lowed is the Roosevelt hospital, j
unded by the invalid bachelor, James
osevelt. lie inherited large estate, ,
1t it did him but little good, since i'll {
9th rendered life miserable. Perhaps f
was this diseased condition which led !
IN to endow an institution for other e
flerers. EX-Gov. Morgan, on the ?
ner hand, made a theological seminary i
. leading beneficiary of his postum l
Gus charity, while Commodore Van =
rbilt, under the influence of his sec
d wife, who is from the south, gave :.
illion TO Ma hville university. Will Il
I'm III. Vanderbilt has admirably con n
iued this muniticent generosity, for 3
not only gave us the obeisk and 7
ded a large gift to Nashville univer- fl
y, but has "a shown an an appreciation ; Of
a half million To the college of medi- |.
10 and surgery. 1t is also said that f,
intends to make his splendid pic Ii
h; Ia,