William Robert Bucknell Jr. (1811 - 1890)

Born 1 Apr 1811 in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Descendants

Died 5 Mar 1890 at age 78 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Peter Wetherill [send private message]

Biography

William was born on 1 April 1811 in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, United States of America. He was the son of William Bucknell and Sarah (Walker) Bucknell.

William died at the age of 78 on 5 March 1890 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

Research Notes

William Bucknell was born on April 1, 1811, at Marcus Hook, in Delaware County in Pennsylvania. At the age of sixteen he went to Philadelphia where he learned the wood carving trade. He later became aprosperous real estate dealer and agent. In h
is middle age he was a promoter of gas and water utilities in various cities. He was a Baptist who tithed to various charities. Mr. Bucknell was one of the original trustees named in the charter establishing the University at Lewisburg, which was
signed by the Governor of Pennsylvania on February 5, 1846. He subscribed ,000.00 to the fun d to establish the University, and he was a member of the Trustee Committee which appointedthe first President of the University, Howard Malcolm.
In 1856, John P. Crozer, who was a trustee of the university as well as the father of William Bucknell's second wife, proposed that he would donate ,000.00 to the university if it weremoved to Chester in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Mr. Buc
knell was one of the four trustees who voted, unsuccessfully, to "remove" the University from Lewisburg. After the vote, both Bucknell and Crozer withdrew from the building committee, which was in theprocess of raising funds to pay for the unive
rsity building. In March, 1863, Bucknell resigned from the Board of Trustees Crozer resigned three months later. Both men withdrew all support from the institution.
In 1881, at a time of financial crisis for the University, President David Jayne Hill approached William Bucknell for a renewal of financial support. At Hill's urging, Bucknell signed a pledge to give,000.00 to the University if certain condi
tions were met, including the reorganization of the governance of the University and the raising of additional capital. This action saved the institution from extinction. Between 1882, when he rejoined the Board of Trustees and his death in 1890
on March 5, Mr. Bucknell provided most of the money for the support of the university and for improving facilities: purchasing books for both the College and Institute libraries endowingtwenty scholarships for men in the C ollege endowing prize
s for women in the Institute gifting to the endowment fund and gifting for the improvement of existing buildings and the erection of new ones. In 1889, Bucknell attended his last commencement at the time of his death in 1890, he had given Bucknel
l University more than 8, 000.00.

Sources

Acknowledgments

• Profile Bucknell-39 was created through the import of Smaller.GED on Jun 26, 2014 by Peter Wetherill.