Helen Marcellus Cossitt
We know that Frederick Henry Cossitt (1811 - 1887) endowed the first
public Library in Memphis, Tennessee and Granby, Connecticut.
He is the subject of two of our prior Family
Stories.
Frederick
and his wife Catherine Andrus Cossitt had four children.
The oldest was Helen Marcellus Cossitt who
on February 6, 1877 married Augustus D. Juilliard.
Augustus, like his father-in-law, were
self-made men who made immense wealth in the dry good business as
well as banking and insurance.
By 1895 Augustus was one of New York City’s
most prominent and wealthy citizens. In 1903
Helen and Augustus purchased the mansion at 11 West 57th
St. in New York City from the estate of Elizabeth Auchincloss for
$215,000.
In today’s dollars that would be more than
$5 million.
Since Helen and Augustus were living across
the street from this new purchase, they decided to have their new
purchase
torn down and a new
mansion built for them.
The construction of their new mansion was
under way by mid-1905 at an estimated cost of $70,000 ($1.75 million
in today’s dollars).
Helen and
Augustus never had any children and in addition to extensive
traveling, Helen was a well-known philanthropist.
Helen died in their mansion on April 2, 1916
and Augustus continued to live in the mansion until his death at the
age of 83 in 1919.
Helen left
an estate worth $5 million of which charities and educational
institutions benefited greatly.
Augustus left an estate worth $15 million
(over $215 million on today's dollars) of
which the majority went to “The advancement of music in the United
States” and the formation of the Julliard Foundation and in 1920 The
Julliard School of Music.
Both Helen
and Augustus are entombed in the Julliard Mausoleum in Woodlawn
Cemetery in Ne
w York.
