Who is Margaret Marsh St John

Margaret's life seemed to be quite privileged yet she was touched by tragedy throughout her life beginning with the death of her mother when she was only 9 years old.

Margaret graduated from Willoughby Elementary School in 1860.
She then attended Willoughby Seminary 1861-1863
Then Finishing School in New York 1863-1865

According to "The Pioneer Families of Cleveland" it states Margaret being the only daughter of Dr. St. John "was a beautiful woman in person and in character".

On February 7, 1867 Margaret St. John (age 21) married Wallace Corydon Andrews (age 34) a wealthy Standard Oil man.

They lived on Euclid Ave. for several years before moving to the Card-St. John homestead on the corner of Erie and Vine Streets in Willoughby.

In 1879 Mr. and Mrs. Andrews moved to New York City where Mr. Andrews promoted various entrepreneurial endeavors, including the New York Steam Company, a pioneering enterprise for heating the buildings of Manhattan Island by steam conducted in iron pipes under the streets of the City.

Margaret & Wallace's 25th Wedding Anniversary was quite and event. The anniversary party was held in their elaborately furnished 5 story new home at 854 Fifth Ave. in New York City. They celebrated with family and several distinguished guests.

In 1899 Mr. and Mrs. Andrews and ten other persons tragically perished in a fire in their home due to a gas explosion.

From 1899 to 1909 there were a series of legal battles through the Surrogate, the United States Court of Appeal, and, finally, the Supreme Court of the United States before the provisions of the Andrew's wills could be executed. The first contention was issued by the Andrews' next of kin and based on a New York law of 1860 that stated that no person with immediate living relatives could leave more then half of his estate to a charitable or benevolent enterprise. The second was by the Smithsonian Institution based on the provision in the wills stating if for some reason the plans for the school for girls should fail or be termed illegal, the money earmarked for the school should go to the Smithsonian.

In March of 1902 the Ohio Assembly passed the Enabling Act to provide for the administration of a charitable trust such as the one indicated in the Andrews' wills. Based in this authorization, the School was incorporated on May 13. The Smithsonian Institution then contested the wills, claiming that the Ohio Enabling Act was unconstitutional.

In 1908 Justice Chase of the United States Court of Appeals, in October, ruled that Mr. and Mrs. Andrews had perished together in the fire and therefore the trustees of The Andrews Institute for Girls were entitled to the gift outlined in the Andrews' wills.

U.S. Supreme Court - Smithsonian Institution v. St. John, 214 U.S. 19 (1909)

Ground was broken on the Margaret St. John Building in 1922. The cornerstone was laid November 28. The Building was dedicated in 1924.

1927 Photo Credit - Andrews Institute for Girls in Willoughby, Ohio from Herbert J. Rose, January 18, 1927. "The Cleveland Press Collection".

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