Elliott Cresson
Encyclopedia
Elliott Cresson was an American
philanthropist
who gave money to a number of causes after a brief career in the mercantile business
. He established the Elliott Cresson Medal
of the Franklin Institute
in 1848, and helped found and manage the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, today's Moore College of Art and Design
. Cresson was a member of the Religious Society of Friends
(Quakers) and a strong supporter of the Philadelphia branch of the American Colonization Society
, a group fighting slavery
that relocated former slaves and free African American
s to colonies in Liberia
. Cresson was called "the most belligerent Friend
the Society
ever had."
on March 2, 1796, the first child of John Elliott Cresson and Mary Warder Cresson. The infant Cresson represented the seventh generation of Cressons born in New England
and the United States
. John Elliott Cresson died in 1814, and Elliott Cresson continued to reside, unmarried, at 730 Sansom Street with his widowed mother until his death.
In 1818, Cresson's uncle Caleb Cresson, Jr. gave him control of the very prosperous mercantile business he had built up. In 1824, Cresson left the business to pursue philanthropic goals.
. Cresson felt that ex-slaves, surrounded as they were by white people of greater means, found it too difficult to lift themselves up. His belief was that new circumstances among a primarily black culture would effect a beneficial change in character for the former slaves. Cresson joined the Philadelphia organization known as the Young Men's Colonization Society, a branch of the American Colonization Society
, and soon became its strongest, most active member. Beginning in 1830, Cresson saw in the national organization's finances a lack of accountability and rising debts, and he warned them against such fiscal folly.
In 1832–1833, Cresson traveled to England
and Liberia
to promote the cause. He joined in an effort by the Philadelphia and the New York City auxiliaries to act more independently. The Philadelphia group founded Port Cresson (today Buchanan, Liberia
) with the intent that the newly-established black settlers would control the Saint John River
and thereby stop the flow of some 1200 slaves per month. Cresson traveled to Liberia in early 1833 to help establish the colony, sent on his way by a poem from Lydia Sigourney
which finished with:
By 1833, Garrison was decrying the efforts of the American Colonization Society
, saying it was just a perpetuation of slavery. Cresson worked to stop the damage caused by Garrison's reversal, and wrote Garrison directly on two occasions. In spite of his efforts, Cresson was partly blamed for the withdrawal of some Southern state auxiliaries from the national organization.
The Port Cresson colony was attacked in 1835 by Bassa
tribesmen who were incited by Spanish slave traders. All the buildings were destroyed, 20 of 126 colonists were killed, and the rest escaped to the nearby colony of Edina
. A month later, a new colony was established at Bassa Cove.
By the efforts of Cresson and his New York counterpart, the American Colonization Society went through a reorganization, with fiscal responsibility first on the list of changes. Cresson traveled the South in the late 1830s to promote colonization of Liberia, and wrote in 1840 that the whole region, particularly Kentucky
, seemed ready to send its slaves to Liberia. Emancipation
of slaves was seen to be wholly contingent upon their removal from the United States. Slaveholders expected compensation for losing workers.
, becoming a life member. In 1846, he announced his intention to create a Medal fund. In 1848, Cresson gave $1,000 to establish the Elliott Cresson Medal
, a gold medal awarded "for some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship." The medal was first awarded in 1875, to six firms or persons.
Silver medals were proposed by Cresson in 1850, to be awarded in 1851 to the largest producers in the Pennsylvania colonies of Liberia of coffee, sugar, palm oil, and cotton. The Franklin Institute adopted the award, but no such medals were ever given out.
wrote to the Franklin Institute about her drawing class of some 20 young women becoming a "co-operative, but separate branch" of the Institute. The Franklin Institute established and supervised the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1850 to 1853. A group of 17 men were designated the incorporators of the school in 1853. Cresson was among these 17 directors, and was elected president at the first meeting. Cresson's enthusiastic work on behalf of the school was cut short by his death. The school flourished and was renamed Moore College of Art and Design
in 1989.
in 1829 to ask a favor. The ex-president, 79 years old and the last of the Founding Fathers
, wrote back to comply with the request for a "sample of my handwriting" and to supply Cresson an autograph
each of George Washington
and Thomas Jefferson
.
Cresson subscribed to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
, a special library collection. He bought stock in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
. Cresson bequeathed to the city of Philadelphia a trust fund designated for planting and renewing shade tree
s, "excluding such foreign trash as the Lombardy Poplar
, Ailanthus
, paper Mulberry
& similar Exotics
."
in Philadelphia. The city Cresson, Pennsylvania
was named in his honor.
Cresson gave artist Thomas Sully
$500 in his will
; Sully had painted two portrait
s of Cresson, one in 1824 and another in 1849. Sully painted a copy of the 1849 portrait one year after Cresson's death. Another beneficiary in Cresson's will was William Bacon Stevens
, the rector of St. Andrew's Church in Philadelphia, and the former state historian of Georgia
. Others in the will included three sons of Cresson's sister Sara, and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
The Franklin Institute continued awarding the Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, for distinguished work in science until 1998 when they reorganized their endowed awards under one umbrella, The Benjamin Franklin Medals. A total of 268 people or groups were given the award during its lifetime.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
who gave money to a number of causes after a brief career in the mercantile business
Merchant
A merchant is a businessperson who trades in commodities that were produced by others, in order to earn a profit.Merchants can be one of two types:# A wholesale merchant operates in the chain between producer and retail merchant...
. He established the Elliott Cresson Medal
Elliott Cresson Medal
The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848...
of the Franklin Institute
Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
in 1848, and helped found and manage the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, today's Moore College of Art and Design
Moore College of Art and Design
Moore College of Art & Design educates students for careers in the visual arts. Moore is an independent college of art and design. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Moore is the first and only women's visual arts college in the nation, and one of only two in the world...
. Cresson was a member of the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
(Quakers) and a strong supporter of the Philadelphia branch of the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, a group fighting slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
that relocated former slaves and free African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s to colonies in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. Cresson was called "the most belligerent Friend
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
the Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
ever had."
Early career
Cresson was born in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on March 2, 1796, the first child of John Elliott Cresson and Mary Warder Cresson. The infant Cresson represented the seventh generation of Cressons born in New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. John Elliott Cresson died in 1814, and Elliott Cresson continued to reside, unmarried, at 730 Sansom Street with his widowed mother until his death.
In 1818, Cresson's uncle Caleb Cresson, Jr. gave him control of the very prosperous mercantile business he had built up. In 1824, Cresson left the business to pursue philanthropic goals.
Liberia
Cresson was interested in the idea of moving freed slaves and African-American citizens to Africa, an idea shared for a few years in the late 1820s by Boston abolitionist and Quaker William Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
. Cresson felt that ex-slaves, surrounded as they were by white people of greater means, found it too difficult to lift themselves up. His belief was that new circumstances among a primarily black culture would effect a beneficial change in character for the former slaves. Cresson joined the Philadelphia organization known as the Young Men's Colonization Society, a branch of the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, and soon became its strongest, most active member. Beginning in 1830, Cresson saw in the national organization's finances a lack of accountability and rising debts, and he warned them against such fiscal folly.
In 1832–1833, Cresson traveled to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
to promote the cause. He joined in an effort by the Philadelphia and the New York City auxiliaries to act more independently. The Philadelphia group founded Port Cresson (today Buchanan, Liberia
Buchanan, Liberia
Buchanan is the third largest city in Liberia, lying on Waterhouse Bay, part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is referred to as Gbezohn in the local Bassa language. As of the 2008 census, Buchanan has a population of 34,270. Of this, 16,984 were male and 17,286 female....
) with the intent that the newly-established black settlers would control the Saint John River
Saint John River (Liberia)
The Saint John River is one of the six main rivers in the West African nation of Liberia. With its headwaters in neighboring Guinea, the river flows generally southwest through Liberia and empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Bassa Cove near Edina in Grand Bassa County...
and thereby stop the flow of some 1200 slaves per month. Cresson traveled to Liberia in early 1833 to help establish the colony, sent on his way by a poem from Lydia Sigourney
Lydia Sigourney
Lydia Huntley Sigourney , née Lydia Howard Huntley, was a popular American poet during the early and mid 19th century. She was commonly known as the "Sweet Singer of Hartford". Most of her works were published with just her married name Mrs. Sigourney.-Early life:Mrs...
which finished with:
By 1833, Garrison was decrying the efforts of the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, saying it was just a perpetuation of slavery. Cresson worked to stop the damage caused by Garrison's reversal, and wrote Garrison directly on two occasions. In spite of his efforts, Cresson was partly blamed for the withdrawal of some Southern state auxiliaries from the national organization.
The Port Cresson colony was attacked in 1835 by Bassa
Bassa (Liberia)
The Bassa are a people of Liberia, living in Grand Bassa, Rivercess,Margibi and Montserrado counties, who speak the Bassa language, a Kru language. They number about 350,000 . They have their own writing system, called "Bassa" or "Vah," which was developed around 1900. There are also about 5000...
tribesmen who were incited by Spanish slave traders. All the buildings were destroyed, 20 of 126 colonists were killed, and the rest escaped to the nearby colony of Edina
Edina, Liberia
Edina is a town in District 1 of Grand Bassa County, Liberia. Located on the central portion of the Atlantic Coast of Liberia on the north shore of the mouth of the St. John River, it is about north of Grand Bassa’s capitol of Buchanan. Settled in 1832, the current mayor of Edina is Etweda Cooper...
. A month later, a new colony was established at Bassa Cove.
By the efforts of Cresson and his New York counterpart, the American Colonization Society went through a reorganization, with fiscal responsibility first on the list of changes. Cresson traveled the South in the late 1830s to promote colonization of Liberia, and wrote in 1840 that the whole region, particularly Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, seemed ready to send its slaves to Liberia. Emancipation
Emancipation
Emancipation means the act of setting an individual or social group free or making equal to citizens in a political society.Emancipation may also refer to:* Emancipation , a champion Australian thoroughbred racehorse foaled in 1979...
of slaves was seen to be wholly contingent upon their removal from the United States. Slaveholders expected compensation for losing workers.
Franklin Institute
In late 1824, Cresson was nominated and elected to the Franklin InstituteFranklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States, dating to 1824. The Institute also houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial.-History:On February 5, 1824, Samuel Vaughn Merrick and...
, becoming a life member. In 1846, he announced his intention to create a Medal fund. In 1848, Cresson gave $1,000 to establish the Elliott Cresson Medal
Elliott Cresson Medal
The Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, was the highest award given by the Franklin Institute. The award was established by Elliott Cresson, life member of the Franklin Institute, with $1,000 granted in 1848...
, a gold medal awarded "for some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship." The medal was first awarded in 1875, to six firms or persons.
Silver medals were proposed by Cresson in 1850, to be awarded in 1851 to the largest producers in the Pennsylvania colonies of Liberia of coffee, sugar, palm oil, and cotton. The Franklin Institute adopted the award, but no such medals were ever given out.
Women's college
In 1850, Sarah Worthington King PeterSarah Peter
Sarah Anne Worthington King Peter was an American philanthropist.-Life:Her father, Thomas Worthington, was Governor of Ohio, 1814–18, and also served in the United States Senate...
wrote to the Franklin Institute about her drawing class of some 20 young women becoming a "co-operative, but separate branch" of the Institute. The Franklin Institute established and supervised the Philadelphia School of Design for Women from 1850 to 1853. A group of 17 men were designated the incorporators of the school in 1853. Cresson was among these 17 directors, and was elected president at the first meeting. Cresson's enthusiastic work on behalf of the school was cut short by his death. The school flourished and was renamed Moore College of Art and Design
Moore College of Art and Design
Moore College of Art & Design educates students for careers in the visual arts. Moore is an independent college of art and design. Located in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Moore is the first and only women's visual arts college in the nation, and one of only two in the world...
in 1989.
Other interests
Cresson wrote to James MadisonJames Madison
James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...
in 1829 to ask a favor. The ex-president, 79 years old and the last of the Founding Fathers
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
, wrote back to comply with the request for a "sample of my handwriting" and to supply Cresson an autograph
Autograph
An autograph is a document transcribed entirely in the handwriting of its author, as opposed to a typeset document or one written by an amanuensis or a copyist; the meaning overlaps with that of the word holograph.Autograph also refers to a person's artistic signature...
each of George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
and Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
.
Cresson subscribed to the Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a special collections library founded in 1814 to collect materials "connected with the history and antiquities of America, and the useful arts, and generally to disseminate useful knowledge" for public benefit...
, a special library collection. He bought stock in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
. Cresson bequeathed to the city of Philadelphia a trust fund designated for planting and renewing shade tree
Shade tree
A shade tree is any tree grown specifically for its shade. This term usually applies to large trees with spreading canopies. Shade trees are effective in reducing the energy used in cooling homes....
s, "excluding such foreign trash as the Lombardy Poplar
Black Poplar
Populus nigra, the black poplar, is a species of cottonwood poplar, the type species of section Aigeiros of the genus Populus, native to Europe, southwest and central Asia, and northwest Africa....
, Ailanthus
Ailanthus
Ailanthus is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales . The genus is native from east Asia south to northern Australasia....
, paper Mulberry
Paper Mulberry
The Paper Mulberry is a tree in the family Moraceae, native to eastern Asia. Other names include Dak, Halibun, Kalivon, Kozo, and Tapacloth tree.It is a deciduous tree growing to tall...
& similar Exotics
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
."
Legacy
Cresson died at age 58 in Philadelphia on February 20, 1854, of gangrene. He was buried at The Woodlands CemeteryThe Woodlands Cemetery
The Woodlands is a National Historic Landmark District on the western banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It includes a magnificent federal style mansion, a matching carriage house and stable, and a garden landscape that in 1840 was transformed into a Victorian rural...
in Philadelphia. The city Cresson, Pennsylvania
Cresson, Pennsylvania
Cresson is a borough in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, east of Pittsburgh. Cresson is an elevated place known for its beauty. Mineral springs add to its attractions. It is above 2,000 feet in elevation. Lumber, coal, and coke yards were industries that had supported the population which numbered...
was named in his honor.
Cresson gave artist Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully
Thomas Sully was an American painter, mostly of portraits.-Early life:Sully was born in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, England, to the actors Matthew and Sarah Sully. In March 1792 the Sullys and their nine children immigrated to Richmond, Virginia, where Thomas’s uncle managed a theater...
$500 in his will
Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his/her estate and provides for the transfer of his/her property at death...
; Sully had painted two portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s of Cresson, one in 1824 and another in 1849. Sully painted a copy of the 1849 portrait one year after Cresson's death. Another beneficiary in Cresson's will was William Bacon Stevens
William Bacon Stevens
The Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens was the fourth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. Born on July 13, 1815, Stevens was educated at Phillips Academy, Andover and later studied medicine at Dartmouth College and the Medical College of South Carolina...
, the rector of St. Andrew's Church in Philadelphia, and the former state historian of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Others in the will included three sons of Cresson's sister Sara, and the Athenaeum of Philadelphia.
The Franklin Institute continued awarding the Elliott Cresson Medal, also known as the Elliott Cresson Gold Medal, for distinguished work in science until 1998 when they reorganized their endowed awards under one umbrella, The Benjamin Franklin Medals. A total of 268 people or groups were given the award during its lifetime.