Wealth Passed Down from Mother to Child

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Not long after Ray and I moved to Jackson County, Tennessee, we learned about a man who had left money in his will to the Jackson County Historical Society. He also left money to the United States government. The man was a Polish Jew who was grateful to Jackson Countian and federal judge John Gore and to Judge Gore’s friend, Secretary of State Cordell Hull, for helping him escape the Nazis. He was also grateful to the United States for the free, safe, and prosperous life he was able to live here for the rest of his life. This man is the only person I have ever heard about leaving money to the United States except for one British scientist who passed away in 1829.

You may have noticed that I often include photos of art that is in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution. I also include photos of artifacts from the Smithsonian in the curriculum I write. I am grateful for that British scientist. He is who gave me the opportunity to do that.

In 1826 James Smithson prepared his last will and testament. He left most of his estate to his nephew. He added the stipulation that if his nephew died with no heirs, the estate would then go to the United States of America. Smithson required that the United States use the money to found an institution to “increase and diffuse knowledge among men.”

Smithson stated that this institution should be called the Smithsonian Institution. No one knows why James Smithson made the decision to leave money to the United States. He never visited the United States, and no record exists that he ever even wrote a letter to anyone in America.

James Smithson died just three years after he wrote his will. After he died, the contents of his will became news in both America and Europe. Six years later Smithson’s nephew died leaving no heirs.

Who Was James Smithson?

Smithson was born in France in 1765. His mother had royal blood. Smithson inherited his great wealth from her estate. His English father became the first Duke of Northumberland. Smithson graduated from Pembroke College, a part of Oxford University, where he had studied mineralogy and chemistry. Smithson was a diligent student and researcher. He published many scientific papers on chemistry, geology, and mineralogy. One was about the chemical structure of a lady’s tear; another was about a better way to make coffee.

America Receives the Bequest

The year that James Smithson’s nephew died, President Andrew Jackson announced Smithson’s bequest to Congress. Jackson was unsure whether the Constitution gave him authority to accept this present, so he asked Congress to pass a law allowing him to do so. The idea caused controversy. Senator John C. Calhoun thought it was beneath the dignity of America to accept gifts. However, in 1836 Congress agreed to accept Smithson’s generous gift.

President Jackson chose diplomat and lawyer Richard Rush to go to Great Britain to receive the bequest. Rush had to fight for it in the British Court of Chancery because Smithson’s nephew’s mother tried to claim it. However, America won the case and Rush proceeded to sell Smithson’s properties and convert his assets into British sovereigns.

Of course, transferring large sums of money from one bank to another electronically was not possible in July of 1838. Rush boarded a ship bound for America. With him were 11 boxes. Inside were 104,960 gold sovereigns, eight shillings, and seven pence. Rush also brought Smithson’s personal library of 213 volumes, his mineral collection, his scientific notes, and his personal belongings.

After a voyage of six weeks, Rush arrived in New York. He sent a request to the U.S. secretary of state, asking that he be allowed to rest after his long voyage before coming to Washington.
Rush deposited the gold sovereigns in the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia. When melted down, they yielded a value of $508,318.46. Other items in Smithson’s estate became part of the Smithsonian Institution’s collection.

What Should America Do With the Money?

With Smithson’s gift safely in hand, America’s leaders had to decide what to do with it. Congressmen, senators, educators, and everyday citizens offered suggestions. Ideas included a national university, a teacher training college, and a school to promote better living conditions through science. A professor from the University of Virginia thought the Smithsonian Institution should teach chemistry, geology, and mineralogy, since those were subjects Smithson himself had studied. The president of Brown University wanted a university that would teach only the classics, since people often used science and technology to make war. Alexander Dallas Bache, great-grandson of Benjamin Franklin, wanted the Institution to support scientific research, believing such an institution could do that better than universities could.

Because the Library of Congress was small at that time, one Massachusetts senator wanted the Smithsonian to be a national library. Congressman John Quincy Adams introduced a bill that would establish the Smithsonian Institution as a national observatory where people could study astronomy. In 1840 a group of politicians began to talk about a national museum which would house objects from America’s history, show America’s technology, and tell about America’s natural resources.

Founding of the Smithsonian Institution

After ten years of debate, Congress passed An Act to Establish the Smithsonian Institution in 1846. They dropped the idea of a national university, but the bill combined many of the other ideas people had suggested. The bill stated that the Institution must be faithful to Smithson’s desire for it to increase and diffuse knowledge. Congress declared that it should have an art gallery, lecture hall, library, chemical laboratory, natural history laboratory, and science museum. President James K. Polk signed the bill into law on August 10, 1846. The vision Smithson had before he died became a reality.

A Smithsonian building committee oversaw construction of a building to house the Smithsonian Institution. The committee worked with architect James Renwick Jr. Renwick chose a medieval style, similar to the architecture of universities in England. The design was asymmetrical. One end was rectangular and the other looked like a chapel. Renwick designed nine turrets, each with a distinct style. The red sandstone building stands on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Renwick’s building has been nicknamed the Castle. When it was completed in 1855, it housed all of the Smithsonian museums. Today Smithsonian collections are housed in several separate museums.

When Congress created the Smithsonian Institution, it appointed a Board of Regents to manage it. This board includes the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the vice president of the United States, three senators, three members of the House of Representatives, and nine private citizens. The Smithsonian Board of Regents meets at least four times a year. The Board selects its secretary, who is responsible for leading the Institution. The original Smithsonian building included an apartment for the secretary and his family. The first secretary was Joseph Henry, who served for 31 years. Benjamin Franklin’s great-grandson, Alexander Dallas Bache, was a member of the first Board of Regents.

The Smithsonian showcases amazing things that God has created.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes,
His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen,
being understood through what has been made . . . .
Romans 1:20

It also showcases what people made in God’s image have created. What a privilege you have each day to train young human beings created in the image of our marvelous Creator.

So God created man in His own image,
in the image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27

James Smithson received great material wealth from his mother. You have the daily opportunity to pass on a wealth of much more value to your children. As Paul wrote to Timothy:

For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you,
which first dwelled in your grandmother Lois
and your mother Eunice,
and I am sure that it is in you as well.
2 Timothy 1:5

 

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