Phoebe Elizabeth (Apperson) Hearst (1842 - 1919)

Born 3 Dec 1842 in St. Clair, Franklin, Missouri, United States

Ancestors

Wife of George F. Hearst — married 15 Jun 1862 in Steelville, Crawford, Missouri, United States

Descendants

Died 13 Apr 1919 at age 76 in Pleasanton, Alameda, California, United States

Biography

She was born on 03 Dec 1842 in Franklin Township, Carroll, Stone, Missouri, USA. She was raised a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian faith in the 1840s. ^[1]

Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson married on 15 Jun 1862 in Steelville, Crawford, Missouri to George Hearst. ^[2]

On 15 June 1862 the couple moved to San Francisco, California, where Phoebe gave birth to their only child, William Randolph Hearst on 29 April 1863. Her husband George Hearst later became a U.S. Senator from California.

She was an American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist. ^[3] In the 1880s she became a major benefactor and director of the Golden Gate Kindergarten Association ^[4] and the first president of the Century Club of California. ^[5] She was a major benefactor of the University of California, Berkeley and its first woman Regent, serving on the board from 1897 until her death. Also in 1897, she contributed to the establishment of the National Congress of Mothers, which evolved eventually into the National Parent-Teacher Association. In 1900, she co-founded the National Cathedral School in Washington, DC. A public elementary school near the National Cathedral School bears her name. ^[6]

In 1901 Phoebe Hearst founded the "University of California Lowie Museum of Anthropology" which was renamed "Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology" in 1992, in celebration of the museum's ninth decade. The original collection was founded with about 230,000 objects representing cultures and civilizations throughout history. The museum now contains about 3.8 million objects. Throughout her lifetime, and as denoted in her Will, Phoebe Hearst donated over 60,000 objects to the Museum. She also funded archaeological and anthropological expeditions such as the Pepper-Hearst Expedition (1895-1897) on the coast of Florida, near Tarpon Springs. The purpose of these expeditions was to enable anthropologists and archaeologists to study and collect cultural objects. Most notable are the 1899 expeditions in Egypt by American archaeologist George A. Reisner and in Peru by German archaeologist Max Uhle. These expeditions, among others, found numerous, well-documented objects now in the museum's collection. Among these are approximately 20,000 ancient Egyptian artifacts, the largest Egyptian collection west of Chicago. Phoebe Hearst also realized the importance of such a museum in preserving Native Californian culture, which was rapidly disappearing. With her support, anthropologist Alfred L. Kroeber and his students, including Robert F. Heizer, documented Native Californian culture in the form of photographs, audio recordings, texts, and artifacts. This research helped to preserve approximately 250,000 Native Californian artifacts, the most extensive in the world. The museum collection is available to students and researchers for examination. A gallery located on the University of California Berkeley campus is available for public view.

In 1898 she funded the Hearst Library in Anaconda Montana and maintained the library until 1904. ^[7]

In 1898 she converted to the Bahá'í Faith, and helped play a key role in the spread of the religion in the United States.^[8] In November 1898 Hearst, with Lua Getsinger and others, stopped off in Paris briefly on their way to Palestine and was shocked to see May Bolles (later Maxwell), a well known American member of the Bahá'í Faith, bedridden with the chronic malady with which she had been afflicted. ^[9] She invited Bolles to travel to Palestine with her, believing that the change of air would be conducive to her health. Getsinger also disclosed to Bolles the purpose of the journey: a pilgrimage to visit the then head of the Bahá’í Faith, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. ^[10] The group travelled to Akka and Haifa in Israel on pilgrimage, arriving on 14 Dec 1889. ^{[11] [12] [13] [14]} She later wrote, "Those three days were the most memorable days of my life". ^{[15] [16]}

In October 1912 she invited 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was travelling throughout the United States, to stay at her home for a long weekend, even though at that time she had become estranged from the Bahá'í Faith. During his stay 'Abdu'l-Bahá mentioned that anyone who tried to extort money or goods from others should not be considered a true Bahá'í. Mrs. Hearst had been a victim of such an incident, which had caused her estrangement from the Faith. ^[17]

During the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918-1919, she died on 13 April 1919 ^{[18] [19] [20]} at her home in Pleasanton, California at age 76 and was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma, San Mateo County, California.

Sources

1. ↑ "Sons of Frontiersmen: History & Genealogy of Rowland, Whitmire and Associated Families" p62 by Billie Louise Owens and Robert James in 1976.
2. ↑ Crawford County, Missouri Marriage Book, volume B, p139
3. ↑ "Phoebe Apperson Hearst's 'Gospel of Wealth' 1883-1901" by Alexandra Nickliss & Pacific Historical Review in Nov 2002; 71: 525–605.
4. ↑ "Notable American Women" 1607-1950 v2 p171 edited by Edward T. James & Belknap Press of Harvard University Press in in 1971.
5. ↑ "Century Club of California" in 1893; Historical Sketch.
6. ↑ http://www.hearstdc.org/contact.htm
7. ↑ http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch
8. ↑ Whitehead, O.Z. Some Early Baha'is of the West (George Ronald, Oxford : 1976)
9. ↑ "Lighting the Western Sky: The Hearst Pilgrimage & Establishment of the Baha'i Faith in the West" p60 by Kathryn J. Hogenson in 2010; isb#978-0-85398-543-3.
10. ↑ "Maxwells of Montreal" p52,70 by Violette Nakhjavani in 1996; isb#978-0-85398-551-8.
11. ↑ "Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America" p777 by Rosemary Skinner Keller & Rosemary Radford Ruether & Marie Cantlon & Indiana University Press in 2006; isb#0-253-34685-1.
12. ↑ "The Hearsts" p 311–312 by Judith Robinson & University of Delaware Press in 1991; isb#0-87413-383-1.
13. ↑ "The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion" p52–53 by W. S. Hatcher & J. D. Martin in 1998 & Harper & Row of San Francisco, CA, USA; isb#0-87743-264-3.
14. ↑ "Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada 1898-1948" p17,36 by Will C. VanDenHoonaard & Wilfrid Laurier University Press in 1996; isb#0-88920-272-9.
15. ↑ "Persia by a Persian: Personal Experiences, Manners, Customs, Habits, Religious and Social Life in Persia" p489 by Isaac Adams in 1906.
16. ↑ "God Passes By" by Shoghi Effendi & Bahá'í Pub. Trust of Wilmette in 1974; isb#0-87743-020-9.
17. ↑ "Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh" p308–309 by H. M. Balyuzi in 2001; isb#0-85398-043-8.
18. ↑ Phoebe Apperson Hearst (1842-1919), Hearst Castle, retrieved 2007-06-18
19. ↑ "Mrs. Phoebe Hearst Dies in California. Her Son, W. R. Hearst, at Her Bedside When the End Came. Lived on the Frontier. Gave Millions to University of California and Cathedral School for Girls. Her Gifts to Art and Education. A Leader in Washington" published in the New York Times on 24 April 1929, retrieved 2007-06-21.
20. ↑ "Mrs. Phoebe Apperson Hearst, widow of George Hearst, who was United States Senator from California, and mother of William Randolph Hearst, the publisher, died at her home here today, after an illness of several weeks" published on 24 April 1929 Pleasanton, California, USA.

• 1870 USA Census of California
• 1880 USA Census of San Francisco, San Francisco County, California
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebe_Hearst
• "Family Tree" database, FamilySearch (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:221Y-98Q : modified 19 Oct 2017); contributed by various users; entry for Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson.