Op-Ed
Love Me, Love Me Not
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Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day!
Recently, Juicy Campus has become a controversial outlet for bored Cornell students to discuss happenings in the lives of those “far above Cayuga’s waters.” In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, perhaps we should concentrate on acting like the Ivy Leaguers that we are and take a break from slandering our peers. To fill the void, I’ll tell you a “juicy” story that promises not to hurt its subjects’ reputation because, well, they’re dead.
Indeed, the most scandalous romance at Cornell may have taken place over a century ago. Upon his death in 1877, John McGraw, one of 10 men who incorporated Cornell, left the majority of his fortune to his daughter Jennie. After coming into her inheritance, many men began to vie for the hand of the 36-year-old, tuberculosis stricken Miss McGraw. One such man — and the ultimate victor in this quest — was University Librarian Willard Fiske.
In 1879, Fiske took a leave of absence from Cornell and traveled to Europe where Jennie McGraw was also residing. While abroad, Fiske met with then-Cornell President A.D. White and also borrowed money from him. Many people speculated that White was funding Fiske’s extended stay in Europe so he could court and marry McGraw. A Fiske-McGraw marriage, people assumed, would secure McGraw’s fortune for Cornell. (In Fiske’s defense, he did write a letter to White explaining the sincerity of his love for Jennie.)
In July of 1880, with McGraw’s death impending, the two Ithacans married in Berlin. As McGraw’s condition worsened, the couple returned to Ithaca in September of 1881. Two weeks later, Jennie McGraw was dead and no one could find her will.
Ultimately, at the suggestion of her maid, the will was found in a secret pocket of McGraw’s purse. The will stipulated that $300,000 go to Fiske, $550,000 to McGraw’s brother Joseph and his children, $200,000 to Cornell for a library, $50,000 to the University for the development of McGraw Hall, and $40,000 to Cornell for a student hospital. The small remainder and McGraw’s home also went to Cornell to be used however the University saw fit.
But the story does not end here. The University Charter at the time of McGraw’s death prevented Cornell from holding real and personal property worth over $3 million; accepting McGraw’s house and monetary gift would put the University over this limit. However, shortly after Jennie McGraw’s death, the New York State legislature quietly revised this section of Cornell’s charter to eliminate the $3 million ceiling and allow the University to receive the bequest. After learning of this change, Fiske sued Cornell for the McGraw money, claiming the University Charter prohibited receiving it at the time of McGraw’s death. The court case became known as the Great Will Case and was covered by newspapers nation-wide. The case traveled all the way to the United States Supreme Court and in May of 1890, the Court sided with Fiske.
In the meantime, Henry Sage, a friend of the McGraws, built a library to carry out one of Jennie McGraw’s wishes. University Library, better known today as Uris, opened in 1891. To spite Willard Fiske, Sage had the following words inscribed on the porch of University Library:
The good she tired to do shall stand as if ’twere done/GOD finishes the work by noble souls begun./In loving memory of Jenny McGraw Fiske whose purpose to/Found a great library for Cornell University has been defeated/This house is built and endowed by her friend/HENRY W. SAGE
(In more recent years, people have observed that it appears Henry Sage was likening himself to God.)
The fallout from the Great Will Case continued into the 20th century. In 1904, Willard Fiske died and was entombed next to his wife in the mortuary of Sage Chapel. According to the late Cornell Historian Morris Bishop, all surviving Sages severed ties with Cornell.
In the end, the University didn’t really lose out; Fiske bequeathed most of McGraw’s fortune to the University and Cornell did end up with a new library, albeit from Henry Sage. Perhaps all’s well that ends well.
While the Great Will Case provides a scandalous love story, it’s not necessarily a happy one. As yesterday was Valentine’s Day, I should point out that many Cornell relationships have fared better than the one between Willard Fiske and Jennie McGraw. In fact, according to “Dear Uncle Ezra,” upwards of ten percent of Cornellians marry another Cornellian (and almost none of them die of tuberculosis). But seniors, if you haven’t found “the one,” don’t worry: many of these folks met and married years after they graduated. Two Cornell alums once told me how they met and dated during their freshman year before parting ways — only to find out that the spark was still there at their 50-year class reunion. Soon after, they wed!
Sarah Olesiuk is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be contacted at solesiuk@cornellsun.com. Archive This! appears alternate Fridays.