American Pocket Library of Useful Knowledge/Girard’s Will
The Girard College for Orphans.
Stephen Girard was born in Bordeaux, France, in 1746, arrived at New York as cabin-boy in 1775, settled in Philadelphia in 1779, "a poor man, dealing in old iron, old rigging," &c. He became a banker in 1812, and after, as shipper, merchant, builder, farmer and banker, amassing a fortune estimated at more than seven million dollars, he died in 1831. After bequeathing to his brother, sister and nieces various sums, amounting to one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and other legacies to public and private purposes, the Will proceeds:–
"XXI. And so far as regards the residue of my personal estate, in trust, as to two millions of dollars, part thereof to apply and expend so much of that sum as may be necessary–in erecting, as soon as practicably may be, a permanent College, with suitable out-buildings, sufficiently spacious for the residence and accommodation of at least three hundred scholars, and the requisite teachers and other persons necessary in such an institution as I direct to be established: and in supplying the said College and out-buildings with decent and suitable furniture, as well as books and all things needful to carry into effect my general design.
"The said College shall be constructed with the most durable materials, and in the most permanent manner, avoiding needless ornament, and attending chiefly to the strength, convenience, and neatness of the whole: It shall be at least one hundred and ten feet east and west, and one hundred and sixty feet north and south: It shall be three stories in height, each story at least fifteen feet high in the clear from the floor to the cornice: It shall be fire-proof inside and outside. The floors and the roof to be formed of solid materials, on arches turned on proper centres, so that no wood may be used, except for doors, windows, and shutters: There shall be in each story four rooms, each room not less than fifty feet square in the clear; the four rooms on each floor to occupy the whole space east and west on such floor or story, and the middle of the building north and south; so that in the north of the building, and in the south thereof, there may remain a space of equal dimensions, for an entry or hall in each, for stairs and landings: In the north-east and in the north-west corners of the northern entry or hall on the first floor, stairs shall be made so as to form a double staircase, which shall be carried up through the several stories; and, in like manner, in the south-east and south-west corners of the southern entry or hall, stairs shall be made, on the first floor, so as to form a double staircase, to be carried up through the several stories; the steps of the stairs to be made of smooth white marble: The outside walls shall be faced with slabs or blocks of marble or granite, not less than two feel thick, and fastened together with clamps securely sunk therein,–they shall be carried up flush from the recess of one foot formed at the first floor where the foundation outside wall is reduced to two feet: The floors and landings as well as the roof shall be covered with marble slabs, securely laid in mortar; the slabs on the roof to be twice as thick as those on the floors. In minute particulars, not here noticed, utility and good taste should determine. There should be at least four out-buildings, detached from the main edifice and from each other, and in such positions as shall at once answer the purposes of the institution, and be consistent with the symmetry of the whole establishment: each building should be, as far as practicable, devoted to a distinct purpose; in that one or more of those buildings, in which they may be most useful, I direct my executors to place my plate and furniture of every sort.
"When the College and appurtenances shall have been constructed, and supplied with plain and suitable furniture and books, philosophical and experimental instruments and apparatus, and all other matters needful to carry my general design into execution; the income, issues and profits of so much of the said sum of two millions of dollars as shall remain unexpended, shall be applied to maintain the said College according to my directions.
"If the income, arising from that part of the said sum of two millions of dollars, remaining after the construction and furnishing of the College and outbuildings, shall, owing to the increase of the number of orphans applying for admission, or other cause, be inadequate to the construction of new buildings, or the maintenance and education of as many orphans as may apply for admission, then such further sum as may be necessary for the construction of new buildings and the maintenance and education of such further number of orphans, as can be maintained and instructed within such buildings as the said square of ground shall be adequate to, shall be taken from the final residuary fund hereinafter expressly referred to for the purpose, comprehending the income of my real estate in the City and County of Philadelphia, and the dividends of my stock in the Schuylkill Navigation Company–my design and desire being, that the benefits of said institution shall be extended to as great a number of orphans as the limits of the said square and buildings therein can accommodate."
At a subsequent period having purchased 45 acres of land, in the suburbs of the city, he says, I "direct that the Orphan establishment, provided for in my said Will, instead of being built as therein directed upon my square of ground between High and Chestnut and Eleventh and Twelfth Streets, in the City of Philadelphia, shall be built upon the estate so purchased from Mr. W. Parker; and I hereby devote the said estate to that purpose, exclusively, in the same manner as I had devoted the said square, here directing that all the improvements and arrangements for the said Orphan establishment, prescribed by my said Will as to said square, shall be made and executed upon the said estate, just as if I had in my Will devoted the said estate to said purpose."
Other Legacies.–To Philada. and N. Orleans his Louisiana estates; for improving Philada. 500,000 dollars, and Penna. 300,000: to his brother Etienne and niece in France a house in Bordeaux and 5,000, and his brother's six children 5,000 each; to his nieces in Philada. Mrs. Hemphill 60,000, Mrs. Haslam 10,000, and Mrs. Clark 10,000, and her daughter 20,000. To his Captains 1,500 each; his apprentices 500 each–to widow of Jared Iogersoll an annuity of 1,000, and in annuities to Mrs. C. Girard 400, his two housekeepers 500 each, and their sisters 300 each, to different charitable institutions of Philadelphia 116,000 dollars.