Phoebe Apperson Hearst

American socialite and philanthropist

• Born: December 3, 1842
• Birthplace: Franklin County, Missouri
• Died: April 3, 1919
• Place of death: Pleasanton, California

Upon the death of her husband George Hearst, Phoebe Apperson Hearst took control of his fortune, becoming a strong businesswoman and generous benefactor of cultural and educational pursuits. She endowed the University of California with scholarships for women, buildings, and research funds.

Source of wealth: Marriage

Bequeathal of wealth: Children; charity; educational institution

Early Life

Phoebe Apperson Hearst was born Phoebe Elizabeth Apperson on December 3, 1842, in Franklin County, Missouri. She was the third child of Randolph and Drusilla Apperson. While living in Franklin County, the middle-class Apperson family had become friends with the Hearst family and named Phoebe after Elizabeth Hearst, who would eventually become Phoebe’s mother-in-law. Phoebe was a quiet child who socialized mainly with her own family and the Hearsts. Well educated, she became a schoolteacher at a young age.

At seventeen, she fell in love with George Hearst, who had left the family home to make his fortune and returned to care for his dying mother. Hearst was twenty-two years older than Phoebe, and her parents were not happy with their daughter’s choice, so the couple eloped on June 15, 1862, when Phoebe was nineteen. They moved to San Francisco, California, where a year later, on April 29, 1863, William Randolph Hearst, their only child, was born.

First Ventures

Phoebe Hearst began her cultural leadership in the early years of her marriage, as husband George worked on creating his place in the business world through mining ventures. George earned the family’s wealth through investments in mines throughout the United States and Peru, including silver mining in the Comstock Lode in Nevada and gold mining in the Homestake Mine in South Dakota. While her husband built their wealth, one of Phoebe’s first projects was a trip to Europe with her young son. While touring Europe, Phoebe began a lifelong appreciation of the arts, which would later influence the direction of her philanthropy. Upon returning home, she took her place as a leading socialite in San Francisco, throwing generous parties and donating to a number of charities.

On March 4, 1887, George Hearst began his national political career as a U.S. senator, and the family relocated to Washington, D.C. During her years in the nation’s capital, Phoebe was involved in many philanthropic activities, including the building of the Washington National Cathedral and financing the Washington Cathedral School for girls. She was also involved in the implementation of free kindergarten programs for all children and in founding the Congress for Mothers, which later became the National Parent Teacher Association. Her work continued until George’s unexpected death on February 28, 1891. When George Hearst died, he left a fortune approximated at $20 million.

Mature Wealth

Becoming a widow at forty-eight years of age, Phoebe would learn to control her family’s wealth. She moved back to California and fell ill from the pressures of handling all of the operations George had controlled. Once she recovered her health, she returned to her former interests in art and education. In 1891, she established a scholarship for female students at the University of California, Berkeley; this led to additional gifts to the university, totaling an estimated $1.5 million. On October 22, 1896, she told the university regents that she would fund a contest to select an architectural design for the campus. She later paid for the Hearst Mining Building, honoring her late husband. She would also become one of the first women regents, serving from 1897 until 1919.

Hearst’s personal expenses in the last part of the nineteenth century included the remodeling and design of George’s hunting lodge in Pleasanton, California. She hired the architectJulia Morgan in 1891 to rebuild the estate into a large hacienda. She moved into the home in 1899. The residence was an art showcase in its design and contents. Here, Hearst would continue to promote cultural events as she hosted entertainment performances in the music room.

In 1895, Hearst suffered a heart attack and was treated by William Pepper, who was also provost of the University of Pennsylvania and head of the university’s archaeology museum. This relationship started her interest in archaeology, anthropology, and ethnology. Through this newfound pursuit, Hearst met and studied with prominent people in these fields, such as Frank Hamilton Cushing, Philip M. Jones, Alfred Kroeber, and George Reisner. She first encouraged and supported the study of Native American artifacts in Florida and California, and she especially promoted collections of basketry and textiles. Later, as a result of having toured Egypt in 1899 with her son, she became fascinated with ancient Egyptian culture. She even traveled to Egypt to observe and participate in an archaeological dig under Reisner’s leadership in 1905.

In 1906, she spent time with her family. She traveled to Europe to further her study of art and architecture, this time with her niece Anne Drusilla Apperson. She was in Europe during the earthquake that devastated much of San Francisco, including her son’s publishing building, which she would later rebuild. This same year brought the birth of her first grandchild, George.

In 1912, Hearst’s attention to women’s needs directed her to volunteer her home for a benefit to raise money for the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). She not only allowed the association to host a camp on her property but also provided the tents, furniture, and sanitary systems necessary to run the camp. She also promoted small businesses by ordering all of the camp’s provisions from local vendors. Her participation in this YWCA project was a result of her strong interest in promoting the healthful benefits of exercise for women.

As Hearst aged, her interests in women’s topics became stronger. Although she did not support suffrage in its early stages, she had begun to see the reasoning behind it in relation to a woman’s political power, especially after she took over the handling of her family fortune. As always, her first priority was motherhood, so when political issues in California began affecting women and children in negative ways, she became a supporter of women’s equality, aiding in the campaign to gain women the right to vote in California a number of years before the national right was granted to women.

World fairs were a place to air topics of interest to many groups, and Hearst’s pet subjects of women’s roles in the home and work world were often showcased in this venue. In an effort to continue to promote women’s involvement in cultural events, Hearst petitioned Congress to select San Francisco as the location for the Panama Pacific International Exposition of 1915. She used her role as honorary president of the women’s board for this exposition to create a showcase of women’s progress in education, culture, and service.

Hearst traveled to New York in 1919. While there, the seventy-six-year-old woman contracted the Spanish influenza during the epidemic of 1918 to 1919. She died in Pleasanton, California, on April 12, 1919.

Legacy

Phoebe Apperson Hearst’s legacy can be seen in many ways. She left her wealth to her son, grandsons, niece, and various charitable organizations. She had spent her life promoting culture and education, and took a strong role in women’s rights issues late in her life. Her interest in family led to her advancement of causes that would promote the well-being of women and children, including the YWCA and women’s suffrage. Her interest in women’s intelligence can be seen in the endowments she provided to the University of California, Berkeley; in her hiring and promotion of women professionals; in her founding programs, such as the Congress for Mothers; and in her participation in and financial support of charities, such as the Girl’s Training Home in San Francisco, the California Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a free kindergarten program in Washington, D.C., and the Hearst Free Library. She also founded the Lowie Museum of Anthropology at the University of California, which was renamed in her honor in 1991.

Bibliography

Bonfils, Winifred Black. The Life and Personality of Phoebe Apperson Hearst. Reprint. San Simeon: Friends of Hearst Castle, 1991. Reprint of the 1928 biography by Bonfils, but published under the pseudonym Annie Laurie. Includes a prefatory note by grandson William Randolph Hearst, Jr. Language and images are sentimentalized, but important contemporary information is provided.

Brown, John W. Missouri Legends: Famous People from the Show Me State. St. Louis, Mo.: Reedy Press, 2008. Biographical anthology about 125 famous people from Missouri, including entertainers, businesspeople, politicians, and inventors. Contains a chapter on George and Phoebe Hearst.

Howe, Denise. Phoebe Apperson Hearst: The Pleasanton Years. Pleasanton, Calif.: Amador-Livermore Valley Historical Society, 1986. Simple and brief book providing an overview of Hearst’s life. Gives basic information about her childhood, marriage, and philanthropy. Includes pictures, a list of charities, and a bibliography.

Macleod, Dianne Sachko. Enchanted Lives, Enchanted Objects: American Women Collectors and the Making of Culture, 1800-1940. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008. Covers thirty-eight women who were influential in the art world during their lifetimes, including Phoebe Hearst.

Sullivan, Joan. Castle Chronicles: Sketching Around Hearst Castle. 3d ed. Los Osos, Calif.: Bay News, 2007. Collection of historical articles that were originally printed in the Bay News. Includes photographs and a number of pen-and-ink sketches of items and places relevant to the Hearst family and their home.