Catherine Hershey

Catherine Hershey
Born	(1871-07-06)July 6, 1871 Jamestown, New York, US
Died	March 25, 1915(1915-03-25) (aged 43) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Resting place	Hershey Cemetery
Spouse	Milton S. Hershey ​ ​ (m. 1898⁠–⁠1915)​

Catherine Elizabeth "Kitty" Sweeney Hershey (July 6, 1871 – March 25, 1915) was an American philanthropist, who was known for her talent for landscape and interior design. She was the wife of entrepreneur and chocolatier Milton S. Hershey

Early life

Hershey was born in 1871, in Jamestown, New York, near the Pennsylvania border, to Catherine Elizabeth Maloney and Michael William Sweeney, Irish immigrant parents. The town was situated north of Pennsylvania's lumber region which facilitated a massive boom in Jamestown's commerce around the time of Sweeney's birth. "Catherine was born at the beginning of Jamestown’s renaissance" as one historical association described.

Her family was not wealthy. Sweeney attended Jamestown High School but dropped out in 1888, her final year, to work. She worked most hours of the day for six days a week in retail. One of the stores she was hired at was a local jeweler. Her main job was to be a salesperson.

Marriage to Milton Hershey

In the 1890s, Milton Hershey operated a caramel and confectionary shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. On business, he was traveling through southern New York when he stopped in Jamestown. Here, he visited A.D. Work's Confectionary in town, a local hub, and place frequented by Sweeney. It was here in 1897 that the two met and struck up a friendship. Jamestown became a regular stop on Hershey's travels.

Sweeney eventually moved to New York City. There she worked at Altman's Department Store selling ribbons. Her employment was short lived, however, as Hershey proposed, and the two decided to marry. They married on May 25, 1898. The wedding posed a slight issue, however. Hershey was raised Mennonite, and Sweeney was an Irish Catholic. When they were wed in New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, they did so in the rectory. When the two moved in together back in Lancaster, immediate problems arose between Sweeney and Hershey's mother.

This photo shows Milton Hershey (back) with Catherine (left) in the gardens of High Point Mansion. Catherine Sweeney Hershey was a known gardener and designed the gardens at her homes and the Milton Hershey School.

Regardless of this, their marriage was seen as a successful and happy one. Especially when Hershey purchased a nearby home for his mother to move into (a tactic he would also employ when they moved to, and settled the town of Hershey.) During this time, Sweeney was "described as a beautiful woman with a quick wit, breath-taking smile, and warm personality, she brought joy and beauty to his life as well as companionship and a shared sense of purpose."

Catherine Sweeney was as much a figure as Hershey was in their lives. Milton spoke often of her, and Catherine had been well liked by many of his friends and others. She "was expected to both entertain her husband’s personal acquaintances and business associates as well as supervise the domestic side of their lives." It was observed that Hershey deeply cared for her and always was trying to "swoon" her and charm her.

Philanthropy

Catherine Sweeney Hershey was an active philanthropist and inspired her husband to be an active philanthropist himself. His first gift of $5,000 to Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster is credited to his wife. When the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg was starting construction of the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in the commonwealth's capital, Sweeney Hershey made a sizable donation. The Diocese recognized her contribution by putting the name "Mrs. M.S. Hershey" in an inscription just inside the church's entrance. She is listed in the first two annual reports of Lancaster Charity Society as a member. This society helped the cities poor and needy families.

Upon their relocation to the new Hershey Chocolate factory in Hershey, Pennsylvania, she and her husband worked to found the Milton Hershey School. She worked closely with Prudence Copenhaver, wife of the school's first superintendent, where she assisted "in planning the home life program – including menus, clothing, social skills" and more. She signed the Deed of Trust to the school alongside Milton Hershey which suggests she was directly involved as partner in the business, planning, administration, and operation of the school.

Illness and death

Sometime in the early 1900s, Catherine became ill. Her disease was debilitative, but not named by sources, leaving most historians and writers to speculate what it exactly was, but commonly stated that it affected her nervous system. The disease would cause a numbness in her limbs. By 1915, she was hospitalized in Philadelphia. When Hershey arrived, his wife greeted him briefly and asked for a glass of champagne. Her husband went to get her what she asked for, but upon his return, she had passed away. Hershey carried a photo of his wife with him everyday until his death: he never remarried.

Catherine Sweeney Hershey was interred for four years at the West Laurel Hill Cemetery receiving vault in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but later moved to the Hershey Cemetery after it was established. On the day of the funeral, March 27, 1915, "Milton Hershey gave his employees the day off and provided a free train ticket to Philadelphia so they could attend the service."