Henry C. Mercer

Henry Chapman Mercer (June 24, 1856 – March 9, 1930) was an American archeologist, collector and tile-maker, who was the designer of three distinctive poured concrete structures: Fonthill, his home; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works; and the Mercer Museum.

Family and early life

Henry Mercer was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on June 24, 1856, to Mary Rebecca Chapman Mercer and William Mercer. The Mercer family was wealthy and locally prominent; his father, a grandson of Founding Father John Francis Mercer, was a former naval officer who became a judge and gentleman farmer, and his mother was a daughter of congressman Henry Chapman. Mercer's travels, education, and business pursuits would be largely financed by his wealthy maternal aunt Elizabeth, the widow of Timothy Bigelow Lawrence (son of industrialist Abbott Lawrence).

Mercer had two siblings: William (1858–1939) and Elizabeth (1858–1919). His brother also was an artist, training in sculpture at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and marrying into the wealthy Dana family. He lived near his brother in Doylestown and erected Aldie mansion, a source of conflict between the brothers. His sister married the Austrian Baron Hubert Fidler von Isarborn and spent the rest of her life in Europe.

Career

Mercer first traveled to Europe in 1870 with his aunt. He attended Harvard University between 1875 and 1879, obtaining a liberal arts degree. Mercer went on to study law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School between 1880 and 1881, and he read law with the firm of Freedley and Hollingsworth. The same year he began studying at the University of Pennsylvania, he became a founding member of the Bucks County Historical Society.