This video is a short summary of Frederick McKee's short life as the founder of McKee Glass, husband to Melissa P. McKee and father to Frederick W. McKee and Melissa Stewart McKee Carnahan.
Although the McKee family was focused on glass manufacturing, the family also includes ties to the Carnahan boot and shoe business, the National Casket Company, many mills in the Winfield area (Butler PA) and many civic appointments.
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Transcript
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Hi, this is Melanie from Artifact and Landmark. Today's episode is about Frederick McKee, a founder of McKee Glass. He's also the son of Thomas McKee, a founder of S McKee & Co, a window and bottle glassworks of the same city, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Although he had a short life passing at the age of only 37, he made a mark with a business that would last over 100 years.
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He also left behind a wife, Melissa Patterson Stewart, and two children, Frederick and Melissa, who would go on to create their own legacies. His son, Frederick W McKee, would marry Bertha Chadwick. Bertha is the daughter of Samuel Chadwick and Mary Stattenfield, who owned a dairy farm at the corner of what is Lincoln and Lemington Avenues and Pittsburgh. His son Frederick would also have four children Frederick C, Mary, Herbert, and Wallace.
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You can see the children in this picture from 1902 as a holiday at Chautauqua, which was and is still a popular destination for Pittsburghers. Frederick and Melissa would also have a daughter, Melissa. She will go on to marry William Erwin Carnahan who is the son of Jay Wilson Carnahan and Malvina Schmertz. His father, J.W. Carnahan, establishes a boot and shoe business at 413 Market Street in about 1856, which his son joined in about 1871 and ran until the 1900s.
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He then becomes a director of a National Casket company. They did not have children. We will come back to these two, Frederick & Melissa, after we run through the milestones of their father's life.
So Frederick was born August 2nd, 1827, and he died on March 24th, 1865. He marries Melissa Patterson Stewart in about 1856, and she was born on July 2nd, 1837, and she dies July 5th, 1905.
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In 1850, Frederick and his brother James partner with the Bryce brothers, including James, John and Robert Bryce, to form a glass house partnership but this would not last long. They styled themselves first as Bryce & McKee, and when Frederick leaves it, the company becomes Bryce, McKee & Co. and then James leaves in 1854. In 1853, Frederick establishes a new glassworks with his brother and it will operate as F. & J.
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McKee. Unfortunately, in 1855, his brother James passes at the very young age at 26, and so he's left to run the business with his father. In 1856, Frederick will marry Melissa Patterson Stewart. Melissa is the daughter of William Stewart, an iron master and farmer in Butler, PA, and her mother was Margaret Sullivan. After her mother passes,
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her father, William spends his time between Melissa and her sister Amanda Foltz’ homes. So in 1856, his brother William also joins the glassworks business. In 1857, his first child, Frederick W McKee, is born. In 1863, Henry Sellers joins as a clerk, a bookkeeper, and we see the company change its name to McKee and Brothers. We also see a new addition to Frederick's family.
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His daughter Melissa is born on April 2nd, 1862. The next year, the glass partnership expands once again, and they invite their final sibling, Stewart McKee, to the business shortly before his death in 1865. We see Frederick purchasing a home for the family at 2127 Carson Street, just a short distance from the factory. Since Frederick dies at the age of 37, leaving behind a significant estate to his wife and infant children
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he sees it fit to call on his brothers, Sellers McKee, to serve as executor and guardian. The children will remain on the South Side making 2127 Carson Street their home until approximately 1885. In 1878, we see, Frederick W graduate from Western Pennsylvania University, now known as the University of Pittsburgh, and he earns a Bachelors in philosophy.
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He then pursues further studies at Harvard Law School before joining a legal practice in Pittsburgh. In 1881, he and his sister petitioned the court for control over their inheritance. The court finds in their favor despite their Uncle Seller's objections. The estate is estimated to be worth about $200,000. Their grandmother and Melissa's mother, Margaret Sullivan Stewart, passes away in 1884.
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The following year, in 1885, the family moved to a new home at the corner of Fifth and Highland, and we have a short description from the social mirror that describes, Melissa, the matriarch, Mrs. Melissa McKee, the widow of the glass manufacturer of that name, has built one of the finest houses on the East End on the corner of Highland and Fifth avenues.
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$100,000 is reported was the cost of construction. Mrs. McKee is a plain, modest and lovable woman. From half to three fourths of a million was the bequest Mrs. McKee received from her husband.
Now Melissa's father, William Stewart, passes away in 1888 at the residence of his daughter, Melissa’s sister, Amanda Foltz in Newcastle. The background of William Stewart and the property he owned will become important to Frederick McKee, his grandson, since he had owned many furnaces, such as the Hickory Furnaces with C.C. Sullivan as well as operated the Winfield furnaces in Butler
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and the Will-Roy works in Rose Point. He retired in 1865 but still had significant land in the area of Winfield. This location will become important to Frederick W. and his sons.
So Frederick W gets married in 1890. He marries Bertha Chadwick, the daughter of Samuel Chadwick, and they had several children Frederick Chadwick McKee, Mary Stewart McKee, Herbert William McKee, and Wallace Bruce McKee.
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So the next year, in 1891, we see Frederick's sister Melissa marry William Erwin Carnahan at the McKee's residence at Fifth and Highland. This house will serve not only as their mother's home for the rest of her life, but also their home throughout their marriage. So at the time of the wedding, as we mentioned before, William W.E. Carnahan worked for the family’s footwear business, J. W. Carnahan & Son, located at 413 Market Street.
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So as Melissa is settling into her married life, her brother Frederick relocated his family to a residence at 6204 Alder Street. During this time, his life experiences a significant lift when he takes the role of treasurer at Winfield Mineral Company. So we know his grandfather had some land in the area and we know, when his mother passes, that she had, a significant investment in that area as well.
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So in 1897, Frederick also appears to be settling into his family life by buying a summer getaway in Chautauqua, New York, which is again the popular, popular vacation spot for the wealthy families of Pittsburgh. So in 1901, Frederick takes on the role of President at the Winfield Railroad Company and relocates to 6106 Walnut Street and then 6104 House Street and then in 1903, he becomes President of the Duquesne Fireproofing Company, located again in Winfield.
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Fortunately, by the time Frederick, both Frederick and Melissa was settled into their lives, their mother Melissa passed away in 1905. Both children, Frederick W and Melissa, are named as heirs, and we get to see, a glimpse of her holdings through the well. So at her death, we find out that Frederick and his mother have partnered in the following: the Winfield Furnace property, the Windsor Mill Company, and the Winfield Branch or the Western Pennsylvania Railroad.
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And on April 7th, 1906, about a year after her mother's passing, Melissa and her husband journey to San Francisco to visit some cousins. They would soon find themselves witness to the catastrophic Great San Francisco earthquake and fire, which registered a magnitude 7.9 although physically unscathed. The ordeal compelled Melissa to document her experience in a book that was published in 1908.
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And they're filled with her photographs, and we can see some pages here from her book. Unfortunately, in 1912 Frederick W, her brother passes away, leaving a wife and kids. Following the death of his father, and after graduating from Princeton, Frederick C., his son, steps into the family business. His entry occurs during the tumultuous times of World War I and the outbreak of the Spanish flu.
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Fred C adjust to his new responsibilities from his offices located at Liberty and Ninth Street in Pittsburgh. We witness his growing ambitions in both the political sphere and within his businesses. In 1917, he becomes associated with the Winfield Coal Company, subsequently the Winfield Sand Company. By this time, his mother Bertha and her children are residing at 1291 Shady Avenue, which later becomes known as 1353 shady.
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The residence at this address was constructed in 1901 and still exists today. In 1919, Wallace, Fred's brother, holds the position of treasurer at the Winfield Railroad. Around 1921, their other brother, Herbert, comes on board as a clerk, seemingly joining a new initiative called the Winfield Limestone Company. In 1926. We see Fred C step into the role of VP, a Western pen cement company, suggesting that Fred's other businesses may have been sold off.
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In approximately 1928, Fred's transitioned into a new position as assistant treasurer at the National Casket Company, working with his uncle, W.E. Carnahan. Sadly, in 1936, Fred's aunt Melissa passes away, leaving her husband, William E Carnahan.
We learn about a major shift in Fred’s life in 1937 from the letter dated 1961 Between the Reizensteins the well known Glass Retailers and Designers, and James G. Fulton, a U.S. House of representative from Pennsylvania.
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So we learned that, largely influenced by Japan's invasion of China in 1937, he began shifting his focus from his driven business career and to a more civic career. In the letter, he noted that this act of aggression profoundly affected him, prompting a lifetime commitment to opposing authoritarian regimes, whether in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Communist Russia or Communist China.
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He also takes on the role of family representative when, on May 31st, 1938, Frederick C delivers a speech at the unveiling of the McKee Memorial Cottage in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. This cottage was a bequest of his great aunt, Virginia McKee, who was married to Stewart McKee, the brother of Frederick's father. The following year, in 1939, his uncle W.E. Carnahan, passes.
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He leaves no children. He does leave a trust, the Melissa McKee Carnahan Trust which still exists today. Following the passing of his uncle, he remains committed to his role at the National Casket Company as well as his community service. In 1946, he was appointed to the Civic Unity Council by Mayor David L. Lawrence. By 1948, he had advanced to the position of President at the National Casket Company.
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In 1953, he took on the role of chairman for the Pittsburgh Fair Employment Practice Commission. On August 22nd, 1960, Mayor Joseph M. Barr honored McKee for his years of dedication of service after he announced his retirement due to health reasons. In 1961, we see him succumbing to cancer. At the time of his death, he resided at 234 Hunt Road in Fox Chapel and was laid to rest in the Thomas McKee family plot at the Allegheny Cemetery.
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As a last note, consider Ernest Gibson’s remark, the former Governor of Vermont, about McKee:
“If he isn’t widely recognized in Pittsburgh, I assure you his name resonates throughout Washington and Downing Street.”
