Thomas Mellon and His Times [Hardcover]

Thomas Mellon (Author), Mary Louise Briscoe (Editor), David McCullough (Foreword), Paul Mellon (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1995

Publicly available for the first time, Pittsburgh entrepreneur, judge, and banker Thomas Mellon’s autobiography includes maps and rarely seen photographs.  The preface by his grandson Paul Mellon and the foreword by David McCullough, along with the introduction, notes, and afterword by University of Pittsburgh professor Mary Briscoe, provide a historical and social context.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Although his sons, particularly Andrew Mellon, are better known to the general public, it was Thomas Mellon who laid the basis for one of the great fortunes of the early-twentieth-century U.S. He was born in 1813 in Ireland's Ulster province and immigrated with his family to America at the age of five. When he was 17, he rejected his father's plans to set him up as a yeoman farmer and launched his own plans, which led to his brilliant career as a jurist, banker, and businessman. In 1885 Mellon published his autobiography, primarily for the benefit of his progeny rather than for the general public. Until this reissuance by the University of Pittsburgh Press, the complete text was not readily available. Mellon lived through the massive territorial and economic expansion of America, as well as the Civil War, and yet provides few insights into the great events that swirled around him. In his personal observations, he often comes across as a poster boy for the politically incorrect: Indians are lazy and untrustworthy, and the poor deserve their poverty because they won't work to escape it. However, as a memoir of one man's personal journey from the Old World to the New and from an agrarian to an industrial society, Mellon's story is compelling, often surprisingly touching, and a valuable piece of Americana. Jay Freeman

From Kirkus Reviews

A vastly engrossing 19th-century rags-to-riches autobiography by the somewhat priggish, but shrewd and observant, founder of the Mellon family fortune. Thomas Mellon (18131908) wrote this 1885 memoir solely as a ``memento of affection'' for his descendants, anticipating ``that it will not be for sale in bookstores, nor any new edition published.'' Mellon was born in Ireland to farmers of modest means who emigrated to Poverty Point, near Pittsburgh, when he was five years old. He recounts a happy, if Spartan, upbringing there on his father's farm. A visit to Pittsburgh impressed the nine-year-old Mellon with the magnificence of the city, and at the age of 17, deciding against farming in favor of getting an education, Mellon suddenly stopped his father from purchasing a farm for him. Interspersing college attendance with teaching and farm chores, Mellon attended Western University in Pittsburgh, read law with a prominent Pittsburgh attorney, and became a member of the bar in 1838. He married in 1843 and had eight children; became an eminent lawyer and judge and a successful investor; and founded a predecessor of the Mellon Bank in 1870. Mellon's narrative of his happy family life and prominent, though not terribly eventful, career forms the backdrop for a wide variety of opinions and observations, sage and otherwise: on the importance of marrying for discretion rather than love; on the heavy responsibilities of a judge; on the Great Panic of 1873; on the declining work ethic and increased crime rate Mellon saw around him in newly industrialized America; and on the (not always positive) transformative effects of new inventions created in his lifetime. A charming memoir with some surprisingly meditative reflections, by an entrepreneurial leader of the time, on the bewildering changes wrought by 19th-century industrialism. (Photos and maps) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 478 pages
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press; 2nd edition (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0822937778
• ISBN-13: 978-0822937777
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,157,783 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Role Model, October 12, 2003

By 

John P. Gordon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Thomas Mellon And His Times (Calvin Center Series) (Paperback)

I enjoyed reading this very interesting book. It along with the autobiographies of Ben Franklin and Andrew Carnegie give many insights on how to raise yourself up from poverty and contribute to society.

His insights on the court system based on his 10 years as a judge I think are useful today. Read this before hiring an attorney or going to court.

Most tantelizing are his descriptions on how he raised and related to his children and helped them to become successful. He clearly was a stern, strict Presbyterian. But at the same time he was a warm loving parent. His insights on how to raise children to be both successful and close to their parents are more useful than most current child rearing books.

And of course for many the most useful part of this book is his description of how he raised himself up from a poor immigrant farmer to the founder of one of America's most wealthy families.

I come from a very poor family and now own my own business. I have adult children who I have a good relationship with. I have read this book 3 times over the last 10 years. Each time I get more insights on how to lead a better more successful life.

I have probably read 200 books in the last 10 years. I think this is one of the best. And one I enjoyingly return to every 2 to 5 years.

4.0 out of 5 stars A true who done it lies in these pages, April 24, 2011

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a reader in the U.S. - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Thomas Mellon And His Times (Calvin Center Series) (Paperback)

I agree that Thomas Mellon is a very, very good writer. I also enjoyed the book a few times. It is hard for me to understand how someone could come away with the "work ethic only", or "Horatio Alger" story when it comes to this book. The Judge pretty much makes no bones about the fact that he set his sights on marrying into a family (the Negleys) whose property he then flipped into what would become Mellon Bank. We are not treated to that part of the story here. Don't misunderstand - I don't begrudge the Judge, but History is not well served in some instances. It is the Judge's account, though. The "Mystery" I speak of is the identity of "A" in the 'Vexatious Litigation' chapter. This is complicated, but we have 2 biographers, both excellent writers and reaserchers, coming to different conclusions as to who this person is while studying and having access to the same material. The Judge lays it out bare in his account (so bare that it was deleted from the second printing back when). Burton Hersh, in his book "The Mellons: A Fortune In History" (1978) relates the story and names J.B. Corey as the nemesis. David Cannadine, in his recent book "Mellon: An American Life" (2006) - mainly about Andrew W. Mellon - names Felix C. Negley as the culprit. Let me briefly quote book and sources: TMT: "...the litigation commenced in 1876 and ended in 1880, but its roots reached as far back as 1859...I entered into a parnership with him ('A') in September of 1959...according to our arrangement I furnished the money to purchase valuble coal works at Braddocks [and] Sandy Creek...in July 1864, our partnership ended by mutual consent." (Notes: Chapter XVI, pgs. 182-204: "A" is PROBABLY [my upper case] J.B. Corey with whom Mellon did business in coal until 1863 [sic]..." BJH: "...functioning unnoticed as the 'capitalist' behind J.B. Corey and Co....for perhaps 20 years the Judge's association with Corey undertunneled his investments...Corey ran the works; Mellon supplied the cash. Corey directed Mellon's capital into mines at Braddock and Sandy Creek." (Notes: TMT as source from book). DC: [in 1859, Mellon]...ventured more deeply into the coal business, and went into partnership with his wife's cousin, Felix Casper Negley. He financed the purchase of coal works at Braddock and Sandy Creek, but despite kinship...Mellon was later obliged to resort to 'vexatious litigation'. Much more successful was his partnership with J.B. Corey...who became a lifelong friend." (Notes: TM's property dealings 1855-1869 are itemized in the indexes held in Pittsburgh by the Recorder of Deeds.) Now, if you follow those sources it leads to the inevitable conundrum - which is hard to fathom since the case of "A" is a substantial part of the Judge's frustration, invective, and Chapter. Ironically, the only item that I have that was passed down through my family with regard to Felix C. Negley (he is my great-great grandfather) is a letter to him written by his "faithful substitute" in the Civil War, dated early 1865, addressed to him, describing events at Petersburg. A strange heirloom at best, but even stranger when one considers that the Judge states that the partnership was dissolved in July, 1864, when, as he says, ['A'] caught the military fever..." The only way that this can be solved is to actually go to the Recorder of Deeds in Pittsburgh and find out, but what does this say for the accuracy or even veracity of anything in ANY of these books? Yes, it was a long time ago...but not that long ago and somebody did not do their research homework too well. Very frustrating.

5.0 out of 5 stars Even if you aren't a Mellon, you will enjoy this book., August 22, 2010

By 

D. Kogel "Logical Person" (Redlands) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thomas Mellon And His Times (Calvin Center Series) (Paperback)

Judge Mellon is a very talented writer. It is following a Scotch Irish family from their home in Northern Ireland to their life in Pittsburg. I love this book. The Judge's brother, Samuel, is my great-great grandfather and it was enjoyable reading about him.