MacVeagh, Franklin (1837-1934)

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Julius Rosenwald to Jane Addams, May 11, 1908

Thomas Wentworth Higginson to Jane Addams, [1910]

Franklin MacVeagh to Jane Addams, May 7, 1908

Jane Addams et al. to Bryan Lathrop, December 15, 1905

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Birth Date

1837-11-22

Death Date

1934-07-06

Birthplace

Phoenixville, PA

Biographical Text

Franklin MacVeagh graduated from Yale University in 1858, where he was a member of Skull and Bones, and in 1864 he graduated from Columbia Law School. He then worked as a wholesale grocer and lawyer, and later he became the director of the Commercial National Bank of Chicago. In 1909, President William Howard Taft appointed him to be Secretary of the Treasury. As Secretary of the Treasury, MacVeagh increased the efficiency and progressiveness of the Treasury Department, abolishing 450 unnecessary positions, introducing electric automatic weighing devices, and accepting certified checks instead of currency for customs and internal revenue payments. He was also involved in the creation of the Buffalo nickel.

MacVeagh married Emily Eames in 1868. They had five children together: Mary, Eames, Edith, Donald, and Frederick. MacVeagh died in 1934.