William Shakespeare Caldwell (February 11, 1821 – May 23, 1874) was an American philanthropist.
Early life
Caldwell was born on February 11, 1821, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He was the eldest son of English-born American James H. Caldwell and Maria Carter (née Hall) Wormeley Caldwell (1784–1859).[1] His mother was the widow of Warner Wormeley of Rose Gill. From that marriage, he had an elder half-brother, Dr. Carter Warner Wormeley. His father was a theatre actor and entrepreneur who owned the New Orleans Gas Light Company.[1]
Mr. and Mrs. William Shakespeare Caldwell, The Catholic World Vol. LVI, No. 334, January 1893
Caldwell is considered "one of Louisville's first multimillionaires", he used his inheritance to acquire several large tracts of land in Louisville, including at Brook and Breckinridge Streets as well as parts of downtown Louisville and the land that became Bowman Field, Seneca Park and part of Cherokee Park.[4] After the U.S. Civil War, Caldwell and his wife moved to New York City. At the same time, they bought an Italianate style cottage in Newport, Rhode Island on the southeast corner of Kay and Ayrault Streets that formerly belonged to Boston merchant Caleb Chace.[5][6][7]
A devout Roman Catholic, he used his wealth, under the guidance of Cardinal James Gibbons, to establish the home for the charitable Catholic order Little Sisters of the Poor in Richmond, Virginia.[1] In honor of his wife, who died in 1867, he funded the construction of the Sisters Mary and Elizabeth Hospital Louisville, which opened in 1874 shortly before his death.[8]
Through his daughter Lina, he was a grandfather of Baron Waldemar von Zedtwitz, a bridge champion who never married.[18][19] In 1931, he sold the family's Newport mansion, which was torn down to make room for residential development. The John La Fargestained glass widows in the house which had been commissioned by the Caldwell sisters, were saved by Bishop James Edwin Cassidy for installation in the convent of St. Patrick's Church at Fall River. When the convent was demolished in 2004, the windows were acquired by Salve Regina University and returned to Newport.[5]
^"Religious Communities of Women". The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X. Catholic Editing Company: 101. 1914. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
