For anyone who has ever lost a parent, life can be a bit of a struggle. It was even harder in the 19th century, especially if you lost your father, who was likely to be the bread winner. In May of 1811, an explosion occurred at the brewery that belonged to the Vassar family. John Guy Vassar Sr. was about 22 years old when he went to check the damage and ended up suffocating to death from the carbonic acid fumes. About a month later, his namesake was born and John Guy Vassar Jr. would manage to live a successful life while always looking out for those who suffered.
Though his father died, John and his older brother, Matthew Jr., had the good fortune (quite literally) of being raised by their uncle, Matthew Vassar, who later established the college. He saw to their education and when they came of age in 1832, he involved them in the family business of brewing. In 1836, John was working at the family’s newly constructed brewery, which was located on the river’s edge near where Waryas Park is today. The problem for young John was that his health would prevent him from doing any real manual labor. The papers referred to his early health problems as being a “bronchial affliction.” He stopped working for the brewery by the end of the 1830s. His doctors suggested that traveling would be the best thing for his health, and he took that remedy quite seriously. He began his travels in 1839 by taking a boat to Havana, and as a newspaper in 1875 put it, “has been constantly on the go during the intervening 35 years returning home every year or two.”
Vassar visited all of Europe, Africa, and Asia, and then ventured into the western United States and into the “Indian Territories.” He wrote home to both Matthew and the local newspapers who happily published his tales for their readers. Given the fact that he believed he had traveled more of the world than any other man at the time, he decided to publish his stories in book form in 1862. Twenty Years Around the World is a uniquely personal account of Vassar’s explorations, reflecting his fascination with the world and its various societies. The book didn’t make him wealthy, but his continued share in the family’s brewery and his smart investments in railroads allowed him to continue his travels in style.
By the time he reached his early 70s, he decided it was best to come home and settle. He never showed any desire to be married or have children, but instead stayed close to Matthew. Together they worked on several philanthropic endeavors that would bear their names. The first established a hospital for the city, which began in earnest in November of 1872 with the two of them pledging $100,000. They gave money to Vassar College for the construction of the laboratory. The Vassar Home for Aged Men was laid out in 1880, followed by the Vassar Institute for Science, Arts, and Literature in 1882. When his brother died in 1881, John decided to consider another charitable outlet to take on by himself, an orphanage.
On October 18, 1886, a mention appeared in the Poughkeepsie Eagle that the building and land on top of College Hill had finally been purchased by local architect J.A. Wood, but that he had purchased it on behalf of somebody else! But who? When word got around that it was none other than John Guy Vassar, suddenly everyone had ideas for what he should do with the property. Vassar had begun planning for the property to become an “asylum for orphans,” which makes sense since his father had died a month before he was born. However, he never got a chance to see his vision through. As early as August of 1887, John’s obituary was appearing in newspapers across the country! The problem was he hadn’t actually died yet. He could read about his life and inevitable death in the Glens Falls newspaper The Post Star and countless others. The Altoona Tribune actually marked him as dead on August 16, 1887. They were a little over a year off.
Sadly, death did eventually come for John on October 27, 1888. He was 77. Before his passing, he made it quite clear in his will that he wanted the plans to move forward on the orphanage and that $181,000 was to be taken from his estate in order to complete it. This all sounded good in theory but it didn’t sound good to many of his cousins and distant relatives who were only getting $500 to $1000 each. So they took his will to the Supreme Court here in Poughkeepsie and it took a couple of years and many lawyers, but by 1891, the heirs were able to make the claim that the creation of the orphanage was invalid and they were therefore entitled to that money. In the end, John had certainly meant well and he had definitely lived a good life, but there is only so much you can control about what people do or say once you’re dead (or close to death, in John’s case).
References:
Poughkeepsie Journal/Eagle- 22 Aug 1832, 23 Dec 1848, 13 Nov 1852, 21 Jan 1862, 15 Apr 1872, 27 Nov 1872, 25 June 1879, 20 Mar 1881, 18 Oct 1886, 12 Nov 1886, 5 Nov 1888, 24 Nov 1889
The Post Star- 17 Aug 1887
Chicago Tribune- 16 Aug 1887
The Altoona Tribune- 5 Jan 1888
Daily Sentinel- 24 May 1888
The New York Times-24 May 1888
B-Vassar - Local History Collection - John Guy Vassar Will and trial records
Images:
DailySentinel-1888 - Clipping of a newspaper article proclaiming that John Guy Vassar could read his own obituaries.
ThePostStar-1887 - Clipping of a newspaper article claiming that John Guy Vassar’s death was expected soon.
44LD23 - Photograph of the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, located on College Hill. Where John Guy Vassar wanted his new orphanage.