Anna M. Harkness

Anna Maria Richardson Harkness (October 25, 1837 – March 27, 1926) was an American philanthropist. Early life She was born on October 25, 1837, in Dalton, Ohio, and was the daughter of James Richardson and Anna (née Ranck) Richardson. Not much is known about her early life. Married life On February 13, 1854, then sixteen-year-old Anna was married to the 34-year-old Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness, an early investor with John D. Rockefeller who became the second-largest shareholder in Standard Oil before his death in March 1888. Stephen had previously been married to Laura Osborne, who died in August 1852, and with whom he had three children, only one of whom, Lamon V. Harkness, was living at the time of their marriage. Together, Anna and Stephen lived at his estate on Euclid Avenue in Cleveland (known as Millionaires' Row) and were the parents of four more children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Jennie A. Harkness (1856–1864), who died young. Charles William Harkness (1860–1916), who married Mary Warden (1864–1916) in 1896; both died of influenza in 1916. Florence Harkness (1864–1895), who married the widower Louis Henry Severance (1838–1913). Edward Stephen Harkness (1874–1940), who married Mary Stillman (1874–1950), daughter of New York attorney Thomas Stillman, in 1904.