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{{Short description|American philanthropist (1835–1923)}}
{{redirect|Nettie Fowler|the musical character|Carousel (musical)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Nancy Fowler McCormick
| image = Nettie Fowler McCormick bust.jpg
| caption = A bust of McCormick by [[Erastus Dow Palmer]]
| birth_name = Nancy Maria Fowler
| birth_date = {{birth date|1835|02|08}}
| birth_place = [[Brownsville, New York]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1923|07|05|1835|02|08}}
| death_place = [[Lake Forest, Illinois]], U.S.
| education = [[Emma Willard School]]
| parents =
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Cyrus McCormick|Cyrus Hall McCormick]]|1858|May 13, 1884|reason=his death}}
| children = 7
| relations = [[McCormick family]]
}}

'''Nancy Maria''' "'''Nettie'''" '''McCormick''' ({{née|'''Fowler'''}}; February 8, 1835 – July 5, 1923) was an American philanthropist. Through marriage, she became a member of the prominent [[McCormick family]].

==Early life==
Nettie was born on February 8, 1835, at [[Brownsville, New York|Brownsville]] in [[Ontario County, New York]]. She was the daughter of Melzer Fowler (1803–1835), a prosperous farmer who died a month before her birth, and Clarissa Fowler (née Spicer; 1805–1842), who died when she was seven years old. She was raised by her grandmother in [[Clayton, New York]], and attended [[Emma Willard School]] in [[Troy, New York]].<ref name="MrsMcCormickObit1923"/>

==Marriage and children==
In 1857, while visiting friends in [[Chicago]], Nettie met [[Cyrus McCormick|Cyrus Hall McCormick]] (1809–1884), the eldest son of inventor [[Robert McCormick (Virginia inventor)|Robert McCormick]] and Mary Ann "Polly" McCormick (née Hall). Cyrus and Nettie were married in 1858.

Together, they were the parents of seven children:
* [[Cyrus McCormick Jr.|Cyrus Hall McCormick Jr.]] (1859–1936), who married Harriet Bradley Hammond in 1889.<ref name="1936Nuptials">{{cite news |title=Nuptials |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31237117/nuptials/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |newspaper=[[Oakland Tribune]] |date=6 Jun 1936 |language=en |page=15 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
* [[Mary Virginia McCormick]] (1861–1941), who suffered from [[schizophrenia]].<ref name="Kleiman2007">{{cite journal |author= Miriam Kleiman |title= Rich, famous, and questionably sane: when a wealthy heir's family sought help from a hospital for the insane |journal= Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration |date= Summer 2007 |volume= 39 |number = 2 |pages= 38–47 |url= https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2007/summer/mccormick.html }}</ref>
* Robert McCormick III (1863–1865), who died young.
* [[Anita McCormick Blaine|Anita Eugenie McCormick]] (1866–1954), who married Emmons Blaine, son of the [[U.S. Secretary of State]] [[James G. Blaine]], in 1889.<ref>{{cite news |title= Emmons Blaine Married; His Wedding with Miss Anita M'Cormick; Many Distinguished Guests Witnessed the Ceremony at Richfield Springs Yesterday |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1889/09/27/109322838.pdf |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date= September 27, 1889 | access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref>
* Alice McCormick (1870–1871), who died young.
* [[Harold Fowler McCormick]] (1872–1941), who married [[Edith Rockefeller McCormick|Edith Rockefeller]], youngest daughter of [[Standard Oil]] co-founder [[John D. Rockefeller]] and [[Laura Spelman Rockefeller]].<ref name="1921Divorce">{{cite news |title=Mrs. H. F. M'Cormick Obtains Divorce in Fifty Minutes; John D. Rockefeller's Daughter Gains Decree for Desertion, Which Husband Admits. She Testifies in Court; He Is Absent and Makes No Defense, Although Represented by Counsel. Alimony Not Mentioned; Understanding Is That Both Will Continue to Aid Grand Opera Lavishly. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1921/12/29/98779570.pdf |access-date=2023-02-05 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=29 December 1921}}</ref><ref name="1932Career">{{cite news |title=Mrs. McCormick's Career.; Her Leadership of Chicago Society Unchallenged to the End. |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1932/08/26/100845356.html?pageNumber=17 |access-date=4 May 2019 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=26 August 1932 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* Stanley Robert McCormick (1874–1947), who married [[Katharine McCormick|Katharine Dexter]].<ref name="family">{{cite book |title= Family record and biography |publisher= L.J. McCormick |author= Leander J. McCormick |author-link= Leander J. McCormick |year= 1896 |pages= [https://archive.org/details/familyrecordand00mccogoog/page/n16 303]–304 |url= https://archive.org/details/familyrecordand00mccogoog }}</ref> Stanley also suffered from schizophrenia,<ref name="Kleiman2007"/> and his life inspired the 1998 novel ''[[Riven Rock]]'' by [[T. Coraghessan Boyle]].<ref>{{cite web |title= Riven Rock |author= T. Coraghessan Boyle |author-link= T. Coraghessan Boyle |work= author's web page |url= http://www.tcboyle.com/page2.html?2,11 |access-date= December 29, 2010 }}</ref>

[[File:Grave of Nancy Fowler McCormick (1835–1923) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago.jpg|thumb|right|150px|McCormick's grave at Graceland Cemetery]]

On May 13, 1884, her husband died at their home in Chicago.<ref>{{cite news |title= Cyrus H. McCormick Dead |url= https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1884/05/14/106278925.pdf | newspaper=The New York Times | date= May 14, 1884 | access-date=2023-02-05}}</ref> On July 5, 1923, after a week's illness, Nettie died at her home in [[Lake Forest, Illinois|Lake Forest]] in [[Lake County, Illinois]].<ref name="MrsMcCormickObit1923">{{cite news |title=Mrs. M'Cormick Dies at Chicago: Inventor's Wife -- Mother of Cyrus and Harold |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31236793/mrs_mcormick_dies_at_chicago/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |work=[[The Des Moines Register]] |date=July 6, 1923 |language=en |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> She was buried alongside her husband at [[Graceland Cemetery]] in Chicago.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hutchinson |first=William Thomas |year=1935 |title=Cyrus Hall McCormick: Harvest, 1856-1884 |volume=2 |location=New York |publisher=D. Appleton, The Century Company |url=https://archive.org/details/cyrushallmccormi000264mbp |postscript=.}}</ref><ref name="1923Burial">{{cite news |title=Bankers Join Workmen At Mrs. McCormick's Bier -- Simplest of Services Mark Funeral Of Woman Noted for Unostentatious Charity. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31236982/the_baltimore_sun/ |access-date=2023-02-05 |work=[[The Baltimore Sun]] |date=July 10, 1923 |language=en |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>
==Business and philanthropy==
While Cyrus was working out a controversy involving his patent of the reaper, they lived in Washington, DC]. She had a keen business sense and became a great asset to her husband. Nettie became his financial counselor and oversaw many of the business affairs. She toured expositions in McCormick's interest, making contacts for the company. In 1871, the [[Great Chicago Fire]] destroyed the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company. However, despite Cyrus' thoughts of retirement afterward, Nettie insisted on rebuilding even larger than before.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/chicago-cyrus-mccormick-1809-1884/|title=American Experience - Chicago: City of the Century - People & Events|publisher=Pbs.org|access-date=30 October 2014}}</ref>

The McCormicks provided $100,000 to bring the Hanover Seminary to Chicago.<ref>The Philanthropy Hall of Fame, [http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/hall_of_fame/nettie_fowler_mccormick Nettie Fowler McCormick] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117071817/http://www.philanthropyroundtable.org/almanac/hall_of_fame/nettie_fowler_mccormick |date=January 17, 2018 }}</ref> The school was renamed [[McCormick Theological Seminary]] soon after Cyrus's death in 1884. Nettie continued to fund buildings, endowing professorships and scholarships at the seminary even after his death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mccormick.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=30|title=McCormick Theological Seminary - Cross-Cultural Urban Reformed Ecumenical|publisher=Mccormick.edu|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=February 24, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070224094209/http://www.mccormick.edu/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=75&Itemid=30|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nettie donated to over forty schools and colleges.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iupui.edu/~history/classes/2000/spring/a421list.htm|title=A421 List of People|publisher=Iupui.edu|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=January 5, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200105203909/http://www.iupui.edu/~history/classes/2000/spring/a421list.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was said to have given more money to the [[Presbyterian Church (USA)|Presbyterian Church]] than any other "citizen of the United States."<ref name="MrsMcCormickObit1923"/> At the time of her death, she left more than $1 million to be divided among various institutions. At [[Tusculum College]], one of the many colleges Nettie supported, every September 13 observes Nettie Fowler McCormick Service Day. On this day, students perform community service in her honor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.tusculum.edu/news/?m=200709|title=TUSCULUM COLLEGE - News for Alumni, Parents and Friends|publisher=Tusculum.edu|access-date=30 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421023303/http://www2.tusculum.edu/news/?m=200709|archive-date=21 April 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[McCormick reaper]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.gracelandcemetery.org Graceland Cemetery]
* [http://www.christianhistorytimeline.com/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses2/glimpses189.shtml Mrs. McCormick]
* National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. "Mrs. Cyrus Hall McCormick." National Cyclopaedia of American Biography 31 (1931): 80–81.

{{McCormick family|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Nancy Fowler}}
[[Category:1835 births]]
[[Category:1923 deaths]]
[[Category:McCormick family]]
[[Category:Philanthropists from Chicago]]
[[Category:People from Virginia]]
[[Category:American Presbyterians]]
[[Category:Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago)]]
[[Category:People from Clayton, New York]]
[[Category:Emma Willard School alumni]]

Nancy Fowler McCormick - Revision history

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