Wolfe, Catharine L. (1828–1887)

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Wolfe, Catharine L. (1828–1887)

American philanthropist. Name variations: Catherine L. Wolfe. Born Catharine Lorillard Wolfe in New York, NY, May 8, 1828; died in New York, NY, April 4, 1887; dau. of John David Wolfe (hardware mogul) and Dorothea Ann (Lorillard) Wolfe (tobacco heir); 1st cousin of Catherine Wolfe Bruce (patron of astronomy); never married; no children.

Inherited a large fortune and devoted her life to works of charity; besides giving generous sums to Grace Church, Union College, the American School at Athens, and St. Luke's Hospital in New York City, founded a newsboys' lodging and a home for incurables; also supplied the funds for Dr. William It. Ward's archaeological expedition to Asia Minor (1884), and gave a valuable collection of paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with an endowment of $200,000, for its preservation and enlargement.