Emily Jordan Folger

Emily Jordan Folger, born Emily Clara Jordan (May 15, 1858 – February 21, 1936), was the wife of Henry Clay Folger and the co-founder of the Folger Shakespeare Library. During her husband's lifetime, she assisted him in building the world's largest collection of Shakespeare materials. After his death in 1930, she funded the completion of the Folger Shakespeare Library to house the collection, remaining involved with its administration until her death in 1936.

Early Life and Career

Emily Jordan was born in Ironton, Ohio. Her father Edward Jordan served as Solicitor of the Treasury Department under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, and her family lived in Washington, D.C., for that part of her childhood. Emily Jordan attended Vassar College, where she belonged to literary clubs and was the president of her class. After graduating from Vassar in 1879, she worked in Brooklyn for six years as an instructor in the college-prep section of a private girls' school, Miss Hotchkiss's Nassau Institute. [Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan," "American National Biography," Jon Garty and Mark Carnes (editors). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, volume 8, pages 167-168. Also see [http://www.folger.edu/template.cfm?cid=811 "Emily Jordan Folger"] on Folger website.]

Marriage and Shakespeare Collecting

In October 1885, Emily Jordan married Henry Clay Folger, an Amherst College graduate, lawyer, and young oil-company executive who later became the president and then the chairman of Standard Oil of New York. The Folgers had no children. For many years, they lived in rented homes in Brooklyn. They ultimately purchased an estate in Glen Cove, Long Island, and they often stayed at The Homestead resort in Hot Springs, Virginia. [Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan," "American National Biography," Jon Garty and Mark Carnes (editors). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, volume 8, pages 167-168. Also see Ferington, Esther (ed.), "Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library". Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library (distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle), 2001, pages 12-16.]

During their marriage, Henry Folger's interest in the works of Shakespeare led him to gather the world's largest private Shakespeare collection. Emily Folger helped to catalog the acquisitions, traveled with her husband on many transatlantic collecting trips, researched possible acquisitions, and often advised him on purchases. She earned an M.A. from Vassar in 1896 for a thesis on "The True Text of Shakespeare," a survey of current scholarship on the subject. She also corresponded with Horace Howard Furness, a leading American Shakespeare editor. [Ziegler, Georgianna, "Duty and Enjoyment: The Folgers as Shakespeare Collectors in the Gilded Age," "Shakespeare in American Life," Virginia and Alden Vaughan (eds.). Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library, 2007, pages 102 and 105, and Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan," "American National Biography," Jon Garty and Mark Carnes (editors). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, volume 8, pages 167-168.]

Folger Shakespeare Library

By about 1918, the Folgers began planning for a library to house the collection. The project and its chosen site in Washington became public in 1928, after the land had been assembled. Henry Folger retired from Standard Oil to devote himself to the project, but he died unexpectedly in 1930 during a hospital stay. At the time, construction had just started. Because of the 1929 stock-market crash, Henry Folger's estate was greatly reduced and could not cover the full cost of building and opening the library. Emily Folger, who served as executor of her husband's estate, donated millions of dollars of her own funds to finish construction and operate the library. She received an honorary doctorate in 1932 from Amherst College for her role in making the library possible. [Ferington, Esther (ed.), "Infinite Variety: Exploring the Folger Shakespeare Library". Washington, DC: Folger Shakespeare Library (distributed by University of Washington Press, Seattle), 2001, pages 16-17.]

At an opening ceremony in April 1932, Emily Folger turned over the key to the Folger Shakespeare Library to its trustees, saying that she did so for her husband and herself. She remained active in the library's administration for the rest of her life. Emily Folger died on February 21, 1936, at her estate in Glen Cove, Long Island. [Lynch, Kathleen, "Folger, Emily Jordan," "American National Biography," Jon Garty and Mark Carnes (editors). New York: Oxford University Press, 1999, volume 8, page 168.]

References

Further References

"Emily C. Folger Funeral Rites Set for Today: Widow of Standard Oil Leader Helped Found Shakespeare Library," "Washington Post," February 23, 1936.

"Folger Shakespeare Library," "New Encyclopedia Britannica," Chicago: Micropedia, 15th edition, 2007, Volume 4.

King, Stanley. "Recollections of the Folger Shakespeare Library." 1950.

"Mrs. H.C. Folger Dies at 77: Widow of Donor of 80,000 Volumes for a Shakespeare Memorial in Capital: She Built the Library: Building Cost $2,000,000 and Has $10,000,000 Endowment--Mr. Folger Head of Standard Oil," "New York Times," February 22, 1936.

[http://www.folger.edu/html/exhibitions/shared_passion/passionintro.htm "A Shared Passion: Henry Clay Folger, Jr. and Emily Jordan Folger as Collectors"] , exhibition page from Folger website.