Eleanor Widener Dixon
Eleanor Widener Dixon | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 10, 1891 |
| Died | February 12, 1966 (aged 74) |
| Resting place | Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Eleanor Widener Dixon (April 10, 1891–February 12, 1966) was an American socialite and philanthropist. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 10, 1891,[1] into the wealthy Widener family as the daughter of George Dunton Widener and Eleanor Elkins Widener.[2]
She married Fitz Eugene Dixon Sr. in 1912. The wedding was held at Lynnewood Hall two weeks after her father and brother Harry Elkins Widener died in the sinking of the Titanic.[3] Her wedding dress purchased by her parents in Paris[4] was lost in the sinking.[5] They lived together in a mansion on a 114-acre estate named Ronaele (her name spelled backward) which was built by Horace Trumbauer between 1923 and 1925 on the former estate of Jay Cooke.[3] They had a daughter, also named Eleanor Widener Dixon, and a son Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr.[2] but divorced in 1936.[6]
In 1942, she donated her $350,000 yacht,[1] also named Ronaele, to the United States Navy for service during World War II[7] as the USS Alabaster.[8]
In 1949, she purchased "Homewood", a mansion in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia and again hired Horace Trumbauer to update the residence.[9] In 1969, her son donated the home to Temple University for use as a lodge for attendees of the Albert M. Greenfield Conference Center.[10]
In 1956, she sold the Ronaele estate to the De La Salle Brothers which used it as student housing for La Salle College. In 1973, the estate was sold to developers and demolished in 1974. Several of the interior art features were donated to the La Salle University Art Museum.[3]
She donated money to support Abington Memorial Hospital.[1] She spent her summers in Winter Harbor, Maine,[11] and in August 1961, Widener donated $50,000[12] to build the Eleanor Widener Dixon Memorial Clinic in Gouldsboro, Maine.[13][14] The clinic closed in 2024.[12]
She died on February 12, 1966,[2] and was interred at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[15]
References
[edit]Citations
- ^ a b c "The Wideners: An American Family" (PDF). www.encyclopedia-titanica.org. Encyclopedia Titanica. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b c "MRS. WIDENER DIXON, PHILANTHROPIST, 74". The New York Times. January 14, 1966. p. 39.
- ^ a b c Hildebrandt, Rachel (2009). The Philadelphia Area Architecture of Horace Trumbauer. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7385-6297-1. Retrieved 17 February 2025.
- ^ Difulgo 2014, p. 48.
- ^ Difulgo 2014, pp. 51–52.
- ^ "MARRIES AFTER DIVORCE; Mrs. H. W. Road (sic) Weds Fitz E. Dixon in Reno". The New York Times. March 28, 1937. p. 15.
- ^ "PHILADELPHIA YACHTS GO INTO NAVY SERVICE; Mrs. Eleanor Widener Dixon and H.L. Adams Turn Over Boats". www.nytimes.com. The New York Times. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Alabaster". www.history.navy.mil. Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "203 Architectural Hall of Fame". chconservancy.org. Chestnut Hill Conservancy. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Hilty, James W. (2010). Temple University - 125 Years of Service to Philadelphia, the Nation, and the World. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 113. ISBN 9781439900215. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Walsh, Tom. "Winter Harbor summer resident still wears emerald ring with Titanic ties". www.bangordailynews.com. Bangor Publishing Company. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ a b Jones, Carrie. "MDI residents frustrated by closures of clinic and coastal road". www.bangordailynews.com. Bangor Publishing Company. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Weaver, Jacqueline. "Dixon Clinic Celebrates 50th Anniversary". www.ellsworthamerican.com. The Ellsworth American. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ Smith, Mac (2024). Plain Madeleine - Mrs. John Jacob Astor in Bar Harbor. Lanham, Maryland: Down East Books. p. 106. ISBN 9781684752218. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
- ^ "Eleanor Widener Dixon". remembermyjourney.com. webCemeteries. Retrieved 15 February 2025.
Sources
- Difulgo, J. Robert (2014). Titanic's Resurrected Secret - HEW. iUniverse LLC. ISBN 978-1-4917-2270-1.