The Marland Family History
Ernest
Whitworth "E.W." Marland (1874 - 1941)
The Early Years
E.W.
Marland was born May 8, 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
He studied to be an attorney, graduating from University of Michigan
Law School at the age of nineteen. Marland’s years of practicing
law led him to an interest in geology and a career in the oil
industry. He prospered in the oil business, making his first fortune
in the oil fields of West Virginia, only to lose it all in the
panic of 1907. In 1908, Marland came to Oklahoma with not much
more than belief in himself and a letter of credit. Mr. and Mrs.
Marland made their home at the Arcade Hotel, and E.W. set out
to explore for oil. (Right: Virginia Marland)
First Oil
The first gusher of Oklahoma oil came in for Marland in 1911,
on land he had leased from a Ponca Indian. Soon after, he discovered
two more wells and then it seemed he found oil everywhere he looked.
By 1922, E.W. Marland controlled one tenth of the world’s oil,
and more than a third of the city’s population were employed by
Marland Oil Company.
Marland's First Mansion
E.W. and Virginia Marland built a lovely house at Tenth and Grand,
near the downtown area. That house had 22 rooms, but what it became
known for was the eight acres of formal, terraced gardens. It
was acclaimed to be the most beautiful collection of shrubs, flowers,
and foliage this side of the Mississippi.
Marland Family
Mr. and Mrs. Marland had no children of their own so they invited
two of her sister’s children to come from Pennsylvania for a visit,
and they stayed. The nephew, George, and the niece,
Lydie, shared
in the wealth of their aunt and uncle, being sent to the finest
private schools and enjoying lavish parties with their friends
in the home on Grand Avenue. Eventually, E.W. and Virginia adopted
George and Lydie. (Pictured here clockwise from left - George
Roberts Marland, Mrs. Sam Collins - Virginia's mother, Virginia
Marland, Neighbor, E.W. Marland, and Lydie Roberts Marland.)
Construction of the "Palace on the Prairie"
Marland traveled extensively, and on one of his many trips he
discovered the Davanzati Palace in Florence, Italy. He was quite
taken with it and dreamed of having his own “Palace on the Prairie.”
He hired architect John Duncan Forsyth, construction began in
1925 and it took three years to finish.
In 1926, Virginia Marland
died after a long illness, so she never lived in the new mansion.
New Mrs. Marland
In 1928, the same year the mansion was finished, E.W. and his
adopted daughter, Lydie, traveled in his private railway coach
to Flourtown, Pennsylvania where he had her adoption annulled
and married her. So, the girl who was first his niece by marriage,
and then his adopted daughter, became his wife, the second Mrs.
Marland and the “first lady” of the new Marland Estate Mansion.
They went on an extended honeymoon and in September 1928, they
moved into their new home, E.W.’s gift to his bride.
Marland's Resignation
The grandiose lifestyle that welcomed the Marland’s to their new
home did not last long. On November 1, 1928, E.W. Marland resigned
as president of his oil company. He was the victim of what could
be referred to as a hostile takeover. J.P. Morgan & Co. had gained
control of the Marland Oil Board of Directors and their influence
on the executive committee left E.W. powerless to carry out his
business plans and defenseless against their takeover. They offered
to let him stay on as chairman of the board but even E.W. knew
he would be just a figurehead with little or no input. They also
suggested that he would need to move from Ponca City. They were
afraid Marland would start a new oil company, and many of his
loyal employees would follow.
E.W. Marland was an employer who was ahead of his time, particularly
with employee benefits. He pioneered employer paid insurance,
paid eye care and dental bills, and even built over 400 homes
for his employees. He did attempt to start a new oil company,
believing he could recreate his previous successes in the industry.
Had he been successful, many of his employees would have left
the old Marland Oil Company to join with him.
Artist Studio
Within two years after they moved into the mansion, the Marlands
were unable to afford the utility bills, so they moved into the
artist studio, a smaller building on the grounds of the estate. They had lived in the mansion less time than it took to build
it.
Marland in Politics
Frustrated and embittered by the so-called “money trust," Marland
went into politics. His political speeches gave him an opportunity
to warn his constituents of the powerful money hungry bankers
from back East. In 1932, E.W. was elected to the U.S. House of
Representatives and he and Lydie moved to Washington D.C. In 1934,
E.W. was elected as the 10th Governor of the state of Oklahoma
and he and Lydie moved to Oklahoma City. E.W. continued his interest
in oil, and one of his personal victories as Governor was the
successful leasing of state property at the capital for oil production.
While he was still governor, E.W. ran twice for the U.S. Senate,
losing both times.
Return to Ponca City
When the Marlands returned to Ponca City in 1939, they moved back
into the artist studio for a short while. John Duncan Forsyth,
the original architect on the mansion, oversaw the remodeling
of the chauffeur’s house to provide suitable living quarters for
the Marlands and they moved in there.
The End of a Dream
In 1941, E.W. finally had to do the one thing he didn’t want to
do: sell the mansion. The house that had been built and furnished
at a cost of $5.5 million dollars was sold to the Carmelite Fathers
for $66,000. Mr. Marland died of a heart ailment six months later
in the cottage where he and Lydie lived.
Lydie Marland (1900 - 1987)
After
Mr. Marland’s death in 1941, Lydie continued to live in her
cottage. She lived a quiet, reclusive life and some people even
thought she had died. Then, in 1953, she loaded her Studebaker
with paintings and tapestries and left Ponca City, not to be seen
again locally for 22 years. For most of that time, very few people
knew where she was and once again, some even thought she had died.
The Saturday Evening Post ran an article entitled “Where is Lyde
Marland?” However, while she was gone, she was in touch with her
attorney and continued to pay taxes on the little cottage and
property that Marland had left to her in his will. She lived on
the west coast for a while and in New York City near Central Park.
In the 1960’s, during the unrest that surround the Vietnamese
War and civil rights, she participated in peace marches in
Washington, D.C.
In
1975, when the Felician Sisters announced that they were planning
to sell the mansion, Lydie was contacted by her local attorney who
asked her to come home, so she did. She wrote a letter to the
editor of the Ponca City News, asking the citizens of Ponca City
to support the purchase of the mansion and to save this wonderful
treasure.
Following her return to the city in 1975, Lydie moved back into
her cottage on the estate grounds, and she lived there until her
death in 1987. Again, she lived a very reclusive life and was very
shy when people approached her. She only went into the mansion, or
the “big house” as she called it, a few times.
Above: Mrs. Marland as Oklahoma's First Lady.
Right: Young Lydie Roberts with one of her favorite horses.
George Marland
(1897 - 1957)
George Marland was
E.W.’s adopted son and Lydie’s brother. He grew up in Ponca
City, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and Yale.
After military service in World War I, he returned to Ponca City
to join his father’s oil company. He was an excellent polo
player and a member of the Ponca City polo team. (George is
pictured here to the far left.)
George resigned from Marland Oil in 1928 when E.W. did, but kept an office at
the gatehouse of the Marland Estate. He also purchased the Buick
agency in 1928, and ran it for four years till he re-entered the
oil business with his father.
He and his wife, Laverne, were married in 1930 and moved to a
house that E.W. had built for them. They had three children, a
son, Larry, and two daughters, Ann and Margo.
In 1941, after E.W.’s death, George and his family moved to
Tulsa where he became an independent oil lease broker. He died
of a heart attack in 1957.
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