{"id":1708,"date":"2013-06-10T10:01:12","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T10:01:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/?p=1708"},"modified":"2015-01-08T17:50:01","modified_gmt":"2015-01-08T22:50:01","slug":"the-shocking-and-romantic-life-of-mary-schenley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/06\/10\/the-shocking-and-romantic-life-of-mary-schenley\/","title":{"rendered":"The shocking and romantic life of Mary Schenley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Captain <\/a>
Captain Edward W. Harrington Schenley. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"A <\/a>
A newspaper sketch of young Mary Schenley. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Schenley <\/a>
Schenley Park in July 2011. (Post-Gazette photo by Michael Henninger) <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Portrait <\/a>
Portrait of Mary Schenley by George E. Hicks, from Carnegie Museum of Art. <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n
Mary Elizabeth Schenley, the well-dressed Pittsburgh heiress in this portrait, appears to be the soul of Victorian propriety.<\/div>\n
\n

How Mary Elizabeth Croghan became Mary Schenley and one of the city\u2019s greatest benefactors is a romantic, shocking tale from 1842.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when the 15-year-old teenager eloped from a New York girls\u2019 boarding school with Captain Edward W. Harrington Schenley, a 43-year-old British army officer who was a veteran of the 1815 battle of Waterloo and twice a widower.<\/p>\n

The couple sailed first to a Caribbean island and later to England, scandalizing the nation and prompting the bride\u2019s father, Colonel William Croghan Jr., to suffer a slight stroke.<\/p>\n

Col. Croghan denounced Capt. Schenley as a fortune hunter. To prevent the officer from getting hold of his daughter\u2019s money, most of which was tied up in real estate, he persuaded the Pennsylvania Legislature to pass legislation that put all of her property in his name. For years, Queen Victoria would not allow the couple to be presented at court because of the scandal.<\/p>\n

Several years later, Col. Croghan visited his daughter and son-in-law in England and the family reconciled. Mary Schenley remained in England with her husband and the couple raised six daughters and one son.<\/p>\n

In 1889, she \u00a0gave 300 acres to Pittsburgh for a park on the condition that it bear her name and the land could never be sold. The city bought an additional 125 acres from her for $125,000.<\/p>\n

Andrew Carnegie was thrilled with Mary Schenley\u2019s gift of land because it cleared the way for construction of his Carnegie Institute, a complex with a large library, two museums, a music hall and lecture hall. \u00a0Carnegie, one of the trustees of Mary Schenley\u2019s fortune, often visited her at Mont Fleury, her villa in Cannes in the south of France.<\/p>\n

In 1895, she gave the Fort Pitt Blockhouse at Point State Park to the Daughters of the American Revolution. The blockhouse is the oldest structure standing in Downtown Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

Mary Schenley died in London\u2019s Hyde Park neighborhood in 1903.<\/p>\n

Today, Schenley Park, a 425-acre oasis in the heart of Oakland, is filled with visitors who stretch out on the grass to read, work on their sun tan or listen to live music. Gleeful children ride the carousel. People walk their dogs or play tennis. Friends gather at outdoor tables for coffee. Hikers commune with nature during long walks on winding trails. And, of course, lovers of all ages stroll hand in hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How Mary Elizabeth Croghan became Mary Schenley and one of the city\u2019s greatest benefactors is a tale from 1842.<\/p>\n

Look at the picturesThe shocking and romantic life of Mary Schenley<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1066],"tags":[955,989,1035],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/tumblr_mo1c5xCCyM1rr5swxo1_1280.jpg?fit=824%2C936&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1891,"url":"https:\/\/newsinteractive.post-gazette.com\/thedigs\/2013\/04\/10\/park-schenley-restaurant-pittsburghs-21-club\/","url_meta":{"origin":1708,"position":0},"title":"Park Schenley Restaurant \u2014 Pittsburgh\u2019s 21 Club","date":"April 10, 2013","format":"gallery","excerpt":"The Park Schenley was more than just a 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