Joseph William Drexel

Joseph William Drexel (January 24, 1833 – March 25, 1888) was a banker, philanthropist, and book collector.

Early life and education Drexel was the son of Francis Martin Drexel (1792–1863) and Catherine Hookey (1795–1870). His siblings were Anthony Joseph Drexel (1826–1893) and Francis Anthony Drexel (1824–1885). Through his brother Francis, he was the uncle of Saint Katharine Drexel (1858–1955).

Drexel attended the Central High School in Philadelphia, and traveled through Spain, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and Greece. trustee of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and director of the Metropolitan Opera house.

Collections

Drexel was an avid collector of music, eventually amassing a collection of over 6,000 items. Upon his death, the Drexel Collection was accepted by the Lenox Library.

Mount McGregor In 1881, Drexel acquired title to Mount McGregor near Saratoga Springs, New York. He constructed the Hotel Balmoral at the summit and built the Saratoga, Mount McGregor and Lake George Railroad narrow-gauge railway from Saratoga Springs. In 1885, Drexel loaned his private summer cottage on Mount McGregor to ex-president Ulysses S. Grant. Grant lived there for six weeks until his death and completed his memoirs. The cottage is now the Grant Cottage State Historic Site.

Personal life He married Lucy Wharton (1841–1912), the daughter of Thomas Lloyd Wharton (1799–1869) and Sarah Ann Smith (b. 1800) and great-granddaughter of Thomas Wharton Jr. Together, they had four children:

Katherine Drexel (1866–1918), who married Dr. Charles Bingham Penrose (1862–1925), the brother of U.S. Senator Boies Penrose, Spencer Penrose, Richard A. F. Penrose Jr. and the grandson of Charles B. Penrose, Solicitor of the United States Treasury, in 1892. They had two children. who married Eric Bernard Dahlgren Sr. (1866–1922), a son of John A. Dahlgren, and had eight children. Elizabeth Wharton Drexel (1868–1944), who married John Vinton Dahlgren (1869–1899), another son of John A. Dahlgren, in 1889, with whom she had one son who survived infancy. After his death, she married New York Society leader Harry Lehr (1869–1929). After Lehr's death, she married John Beresford, 5th Baron Decies (1866–1944) and thereafter was known as Lady Decies. Josephine Wharton Drexel (1878-1966), who married Dr. John Duncan Emmet (1857–1923), the great-grandson of prominent physician, Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, in 1904. They divorced in 1914 and in 1915, she married Seton Henry (d. 1946), the son of Gen. Guy Vernor Henry and brother of Guy Henry Jr., with whom she had children. She was the maternal grandmother of actor Matthew Cowles.

Drexel died at his home, 103 Madison Avenue in New York City, on March 25, 1888. He had been suffering from Bright's Disease for a year and a half before then.