Maria Bissell Hotchkiss

Maria (Harrison) Bissell Hotchkiss (August 14, 1827 – November 10, 1901) was an American educator, heiress, and philanthropist. She was married to wealthy munitions maker Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, though long estranged. Upon receiving his inheritance she founded The Hotchkiss School, a private boarding school in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1891.

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss
Born(1827-08-14)August 14, 1827
Salisbury, Connecticut
DiedNovember 10, 1901(1901-11-10) (aged 74)
New York City
Resting placeTown Hill Cemetery, Lakeville, Connecticut
EducationAmenia Academy
OccupationEducator
Spouse(s)Benjamin B. Hotchkiss
Parent(s)William Bissell
Eliza Ann Loveland

Early life

Maria Harrison Bissell was born on August 14, 1827 in Salisbury, Connecticut.[1][2] Her father was William Bissell (1794-1869), and her mother was Eliza Ann Loveland (1800-1841). She grew up of slender means on a farm in Salisbury named "Tory Hill" with her two brothers, William Loveland Bissell (1833-1922) and Charles H. Bissell (1829-1928). The family was related to Presidents William Henry Harrison and Benjamin Harrison.[1] Educated at Amenia Academy in Amenia, New York,[1] she went on to work as a teacher there.[1]

Marriage

In 1850 she married Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, a Connecticut born gun maker.[3] By the time of the American Civil War he had become a noted munitions developer. Hotchkiss patented a line of projectiles for rifled artillery that was used extensively during that conflict.[4][5][6]

When the U.S. government showed little interest in funding new weapons after the war Hotchkiss moved to France in 1867 - without Maria. There he set up a munitions factory, Hotchkiss et Cie, which went on to develop the renowned revolving barrel artillery piece known as the Hotchkiss gun.

Inheritance

Benjamin Hotchkiss died young, at 58, in February 1885. Upon receiving her husband's inheritance, Maria considered macadamizing the streets of Salisbury and Sharon, Connecticut for use by automobiles.[1] However, the idea was rejected by both towns, which thought the upkeep would be too expensive.[1] Instead, she was convinced by Timothy Dwight V, the President of Yale University, to start a preparatory school.[1] In 1891 she donated the land, buildings, and the endowment[7] to found the Hotchkiss School, a private boarding school in Lakeville.[8][7] The school purchased "Tory Hill," the farm where Mrs. Hotchkiss was born and spent her childhood, in 2010.[9]

In 1893, she founded the Hotchkiss Library in Sharon, Connecticut,[10][11] helping to choose its architectural design.[11]

Personal life

Maria married Benjamin B. Hotchkiss on 27 May 1850.[3] However, he permanently moved to France in 1867, subsequently marrying a Miss Cunningham from New York in a French civil ceremony without first divorcing.[1] Later, Maria resided at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.[7]

She died on November 10, 1901, in New York City.[12] She was buried in Lakeville with her Bissell relatives in the Town Hill Cemetery, which lies within the campus of The Hotchkiss School.[7][1]

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References
  1. Birmingham, Stephen (1992). "What Made Maria Do It?". In Kolowrat, Ernest (ed.). Hotchkiss: A Chronicle of an American School. New York: New Amsterdam Books. pp. 1–12. ISBN 1-56131-058-1.
  2. "Maria Bissell Hotchkiss: The First Lady of Town Hill". Hotchkiss Magazine (Fall 2016). Lakeville, CT: The Hotchkiss School. 15 December 2016. p. 15. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
  3. "Maria Bissell-Hotchkiss". Musee de Chevau. Musee de Chevau. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. Ripley 1984, pp. 296–297.
  5. Light Hotchkiss projectiles at CivilWarArtillery.com
  6. Heavy Hotchkiss projectiles at CivilWarArtillery.com
  7. The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Macropaedia : Knowledge in depth, Encyclopædia Britannica, 1975, p. 93
  8. Lael Tucker Wertenbaker, Maude Hill Basserman, The Hotchkiss School: A Portrait, Hotchkiss School, 1966, p. 1
  9. "Hotchkiss Buys Property". The Litchfield County Times. Digital First Media. 8 July 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  10. Hotchkiss Library website
  11. Sharon Historical Society, Sharon, Arcadia Publishing, 2014, p. 47
  12. The American and English Annotated Cases: Containing the Important Cases Selected from the Current American, Canadian, and English Reports. 13. Edward Thompson Co. 1909. p. 861. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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