Bessie Morse Bellingrath

Born January 1, 1878, in Mobile, AL

Bessie Morse Bellingrath (1878-1943) was one of nine children born to Sewell and Alice Morse of Mobile. Her father was skilled as a ship's carpenter, and, although a native of Maine, he had adopted Mobile as home in 1853. Although Mrs. Bellingrath's early interest was in the arts, practicality led her to be a stenographer. Her last job was with the Mobile Coca-Cola Company. She married its owner, Walter Bellingrath, in November of 1906. Mrs. Bellingrath's love of gardens developed quickly, and the couple's South Ann Street home was long admired for its extensive gardens and became the basis for Mobile's famous Azalea Trail in 1929. It was her idea to start planting azaleas at "Belle Camp," an otherwise rustic fishing camp, and her husband always credited her genius for the creation of Bellingrath Gardens, which opened to the public in the spring of 1932.

As the economic Depression worsened, friends quietly kept Mrs. Bellingrath aware of families in need. She would appear, checkbook in hand, and beg for an azalea, camellia or whatever bloom she saw in the family yard. She would convince the stunned homeowner that Bellingrath Gardens had been unable to locate one and then offer hundreds of dollars in an era when the U.S. government declared that $25 per week was a comfortable income. She told a flower shop owner that her crocheted afghans were the most handsome she had seen and offered her $100 each for a dozen, knowing the money would put the woman's niece in college, which it did. Mrs. Bellingrath had a keen interest in antiques and collected from New Orleans to New York. She always was ready to purchase an item brought to her porch in a car laden with children, paying top dollar for the family "treasure." After her sudden death in 1943 at the age of 64, the Catholic Bishop called to console Mr. Bellingrath and ask permission for a group of nuns to say a prayer as a way of thanks for all that she had done for them. As the couple had been Presbyterians this surprised Bellingrath who asked, "How?" Without his knowledge she had been sending flowers to the Catholic Providence Infirmary every week. The staff had been instructed to place fresh flowers in anyone's room who did not have flowers sent by family or friends.