Religion Episcopalian | Name Peter Brown Role Businessman | |
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Born November 13, 1834 ( 1834-11-13 ) Occupation Businessman, art collector, philanthropist Spouse(s) Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836-1896) Parent(s) Johannes & Sarah Fulmer Widener Children Joseph E. Widener, George Dunton Widener Grandchildren Harry Elkins Widener, George D. Widener, Jr. Similar People George Dunton Widener, Harry Elkins Widener, William Lukens Elkins, Eleanor Elkins Widener | ||
Peter Arrell Browne Widener (November 13, 1834 – November 6, 1915) was an American art collector, businessman, and head of the Widener family of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Early life
Widener was born on November 13, 1834 to Johannes Widener and Sarah Fulmer. Widener was named after Peter Arrell Browne (1782-1860), a noted lawyer in 19th-century Philadelphia.
Career
A merchant who supplied meat to the Union Army during the United States Civil War, Widener grew to prominence in the city and by 1871 had become Philadelphia City Treasurer. In 1883, he became very successful as a result of his investing in trolley cars and public transit systems as a founding partner of Philadelphia Traction Company, which expanded to other major cities in the United States.
He and his Philadelphia business partner William L. Elkins invested in public transit systems in other major cities with businessmen such as Charles Tyson Yerkes, the streetcar czar of Chicago. Widener used the great wealth accumulated from that business to become a founding organizer of U.S. Steel and the American Tobacco Company as well as to acquire substantial holdings in Standard Oil. He is considered to have been among the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.
Personal life
In 1858, he married Hannah Josephine Dunton (1836–1896), and they had three sons:
Widener died at Lynnewood Hall at the age of 80 on November 6, 1915, after having suffered from poor health for three years.
After his death, his estate was valued at $31,589,353. By 1945, the accumulated income plus the current value of the real and personal property totaled $98,368,058.
Descendants
Widener's grandchildren include: Harry Elkins Widener (1885-1912), George D. Widener Jr. (1889-1971), Eleanor Widener Dixon (1891-1953), Peter Arrell Browne Widener II (1895-1948), and Josephine "Fifi" Widener Leidy Holden Wichfeld Bigelow (1902-1961).
Among his great-grandchildren were: Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr. (1923-2006), Joan Leidy Ray (b. 1923), Peter Arrell Browne Widener III (1925-1999), and Ella Widener Wetherill (1928-1986).
Residences
In 1887 he built an ornate Philadelphia mansion at the northwest corner of Broad Street and Girard Avenue, although he vacated it 13 years later and donated it to the Free Library of Philadelphia as a memorial to his late wife. In 1900 he completed Lynnewood Hall in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, a 110-room Georgian-style mansion designed by Horace Trumbauer. Widener was an avid art collector, with a collection that included more than a dozen paintings by Rembrandt as well as works by then-new artists Édouard Manet and Auguste Renoir.