When Jennie (Bertram) Emmerton died in August 1912, her obituary read: “She was the richest woman in Salem, well known for her charitable disposition and ever ready to extend a helping hand to those who were desirous of helping themselves, and to those who were unable to help themselves.” Her estate was valued at $1 million dollars, much of it bequeathed to local charitable organizations. Yet few know the name of this influential Salemite.
Mary Jane “Jennie” Bertram was born in Salem on March 27, 1837, to Mary (Smith) and John Bertram. Her mother died due to complications following her birth and her father quickly remarried to widow Clarissa McIntire Millet, who would suffer the same fate while birthing Jennie’s brother, a decade later. John Bertram married for the final time in 1848 to Mary Ropes. He had at least six children between his three marriages, stepchildren, and adoptions. Jennie was one of four whom survived to adulthood, along with her half-sister, Annie, and stepsiblings Clara and Joseph Millet.
Her father was well-known for his philanthropy, as he aided and established many of Salem’s charitable institutions including the Salem Hospital, Plummer Farm for Boys, Home for Aged Women, and Bertram Home for Aged Men. Jennie was equally active in the Salem community, focusing her efforts primarily on helping women. She supported the Salem Society for Higher Education for Women, Woman's Friend Society, Salem Female Charitable Society, and the Home for Aged Women, among others.
Jennie Bertram married prominent merchant, George Robinson Emmerton in 1863. Prior to their marriage, Emmerton had served as an officer for the Union Army during the Civil War and later acted as a city alderman. Together, the couple had two daughters, Caroline in 1866 and Annie in 1868. Caroline would later become known for establishing The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association, which assists newly arrived immigrants and is supported by funds from the historic house museum based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel.
In 1885, the Emmerton family purchased the stately Pickman-Loring mansion at 328 Essex Street for $15,000 and promptly hired architect Arthur Little to preserve and enhance the home’s architecture and interiors. It was Little who added the mansion’s recognizable columns and port-cochere.
Following John Bertram’s death in 1882, Jennie along with her sister Annie and stepmother Mary donated
their family’s Italianate mansion on upper Essex Street to the city for use as the Salem Public Library. As Bertram’s oldest surviving child, Jennie took charge of her father’s philanthropic endeavors, including donating half of the John Fenno House on Elm Street (now Hawthorne Boulevard) to the Woman’s Friend Society, as promised prior to his death.
Jennie was one of the Woman’s Friend Society’s earliest directors and was especially involved in the Committee on Needlework, which taught sewing lessons and handed out supplies. This enabled women to sell garments and linens out of their homes while tending to their families. After receiving the deed, the Woman’s Friend Society began raising money to purchase the other half of the John Fenno House but were initially met with resistance by the owners who asked for an unattainable sum. Jennie and her stepmother, Mary donated $1,500 towards its purchase, the campaign’s largest donations. In 1950, the society voted to name the building the Emmerton House in honor of Jennie.
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