Louise Whitfield: Her Husband’s Trusted Confidant

By Linda Harris Sittig

It seems that several Strong Women of History were married to famous men and became their husbands’ confidants. I’m thinking of Abigail Smith Adams, who was married to President John Adams, and Edith Bolling Wilson, the wife of President Woodrow Wilson.

Then, I read about Louise Whitfield, a name I had never heard before, who had a tremendous impact on American history and philanthropy.

Her husband, a titan industrialist, readily admitted that he consulted with her frequently about his business ideas. She became not only his confidant but also his intellectual partner.

However, the conversation that would change history was when he asked Louise her opinion on what he should do with his vast wealth. At that time, he was the richest man in America; by 1901, he would become the richest man in the world.

I think her answer went somewhat along these lines, “You should build libraries, Andrew.”

Louise Whitfield Becomes Mrs. Andrew Carnegie

By now, you know that Louise Whitfield became Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, and yes, she suggested he start his philanthropic endeavor by building free libraries all over America.

And together, they did just that.

Church libraries and subscription libraries had existed since the colonial period, but they were not accessible to all Americans. By the mid-1800s, approximately 1500 libraries, mostly in cities, existed in America.

In 1888, Andrew and Louise set out to build libraries that all Americans could enjoy.

Louise grew up in New York City in a family of means, but Andrew grew up poor, working as a bobbin boy in a textile factory outside of Pittsburgh, PA. There was a local library, but the subscription cost was $2.00, something Andrew could not afford. Perhaps this memory spurred him to follow Louise’s suggestion of building free public libraries.

The Carnegie Libraries

When Andrew was the President of Carnegie Steel, and after he sold it to J.P. Morgan, he and Louise oversaw the building of 2,509 libraries in the U.S. and across the world. Louise advocated for educational equality and worked with Andrew to ensure that all the libraries would be built with open stacks to encourage browsing – a practice today we may have assumed always existed.

The last library was built in 1919. Carnegie’s only stipulation was that each town receiving the library commit to its upkeep and operation.

Over three decades, Andrew and Louise gave $60 million of their fortune to the building of the Carnegie Libraries. During their marriage, they gave over $350 million to philanthropic causes.

Their Story

Louise first met Andrew through her father, a successful textile merchant in New York. She was 23, and Andrew Carnegie was 45, rich and famous. They became acquaintances and then friends, sharing their mutual enjoyment of riding horses.

Louise told Andrew she had no intention of marrying a wealthy man; instead, she wanted to marry a man she could help become successful.

Seven years later, they married.

Despite their available wealth, they chose a small private ceremony with family and friends in her father’s home. Unusual for the time, Louise signed a pre-nuptial agreement renouncing any claims to Andrew’s fortune. In return, he gifted her stocks and bonds that would allow her an independent income.

Almost from the start, Andrew looked to Louise for inspiration. On their honeymoon, she talked with him about setting up a great music hall in New York City that would be available for all New Yorkers to enjoy.

That became the impetus for Carnegie Hall, and Andrew would be its sole financial supporter until he died in 1919.

They built libraries, supported charities, and set up the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the first philanthropic organization of its kind. This became an incentive for other millionaires to fund philanthropic organizations.

After Andrew died, Louise continued to serve on the board of the Carnegie Corporation, helping to oversee its fund distribution.

Andrew Carnegie might have been the wealthiest man in the world, giving away almost 7 billion dollars in today’s money. Still, it was his wife, Louise, of whom he said, “I can’t imagine myself without Lou’s guardianship.”

Her opinions were so significant that she wound up helping oversee one of the most enormous fortunes in America, but making sure the wealth benefited others.

The Libraries That Were Not Open to All

Before I conclude this story, I want to point out that although the Carnegies intended for their libraries to be open to all Americans, it did not happen exactly that way.

During the Jim Crow period of American history, starting in the 1870s and lasting into the 1960s, many libraries in southern states, including Carnegie Libraries, became designated for whites only. It would take the Civil Rights Movement and the bravery of several African Americans to challenge the segregation of American libraries.

If you would like to read about the young woman whose courage helped to force the desegregation of public libraries in Virginia, please check out my book Opening Closed Doors: The Story of Josie Murray. I think you will be surprised by Josie’s story and find yourself cheering for her integrity.

~ Linda

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