Susan Mount: A Legacy of Faith and Generosity
The Church of St. Michael & St. George stands today in large part because of the extraordinary generosity of Miss Susan Mount, an Episcopal laywoman from New York whose gifts over a century ago helped shape the spiritual landscape of two American cities — Salt Lake City, Utah, and St. Louis, Missouri — without her ever having set foot in either place.
Early Life and Family
Susan Mount was one of ten children born to a New York merchant who sold and manufactured brushes and bellows. The Mount family lived during a time of tremendous growth and change in New York City. Though not part of the city’s elite, they were industrious and devoutly Episcopal. Over time, their success and prudent financial management allowed them to accumulate a modest fortune, likely enhanced through real estate investments and careful stewardship of family assets.
As her siblings passed away, Susan became the administratrix of several of their estates, consolidating a significant portion of the family’s wealth. The Mounts’ strong Episcopal faith deeply influenced the ways in which they chose to share their blessings — often through gifts to the Church.
The Mount Sisters and St. Paul’s, Salt Lake City
The Mount family’s first major act of generosity to the Episcopal Church came in the 1870s, through Susan and her sisters Maria Charlotte and Jane Mount. Their gifts, along with a bequest from their sister Jane, helped Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle, the first Episcopal Bishop of Utah, establish St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City in 1878.
Bishop Tuttle, who had preached his first sermon after consecration at St. Paul’s on Broadway in New York City, had longstanding connections there — the same parish the Mount sisters attended. Out of this friendship grew a partnership in mission: the Mounts contributed substantial funds to help build a new Episcopal church in Salt Lake City, a “daughter” church of St. Mark’s Cathedral.
By 1880, St. Paul’s Chapel stood completed at Fourth South and Main Street, Salt Lake City — a tangible result of the Mount family’s faith and generosity.
The Legal Case of Maria B. Mount’s Will
When another sister, Maria B. Mount, died in 1899, she left in her will a generous bequest to Bishop Tuttle:
“As a thank offering to Almighty God for all His benefits to me, I give, devise and bequeath unto the Reverend Daniel S. Tuttle, Bishop of Utah… the sum of twenty thousand dollars… to erect therewith… a Protestant Episcopal church building to God’s glory, and the further sum of five thousand dollars… to erect therewith… a rectory.”
This act of charity led to a legal proceeding — Mount v. Tuttle (1903) — brought by Susan Mount, acting as administratrix of her sister’s estate, along with other family members. The case was not adversarial but procedural, seeking judicial clarification on how to properly distribute and apply the bequest within the Episcopal Church’s trust framework.
Ultimately, the court upheld Maria B. Mount’s charitable intent, enabling Bishop Tuttle to receive and use the funds for the building of new churches in his jurisdiction.
The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, St. Louis
Nearly a decade later, Bishop Tuttle’s partnership with the Mount family bore fruit once more — this time in St. Louis.
In 1911, Susan Mount, by then an elderly woman still living in New York, gave Bishop Tuttle $50,000 to establish a new Episcopal church in the fast-growing city. In today’s dollars, that would amount to approximately $1.56 million. Later, she added another $9,776 (worth about $203,000 today) to complete the construction of the parish hall.
Her gifts made possible the creation of The Church of St. Michael and All Angels, one of the predecessor parishes that later became The Church of St. Michael & St. George (CSMSG). Remarkably, Miss Mount never visited St. Louis, never worshiped in the building she funded, and yet gave freely and faithfully for the sake of the Gospel — answering Bishop Tuttle’s request to help plant a church in a growing urban mission field.
A Legacy That Endures
Susan Mount’s generosity represents one of the most remarkable examples of faithful stewardship in the history of our parish. Her giving was rooted not in proximity or personal recognition, but in deep conviction — a belief that God could use her resources to build communities of faith far beyond her own reach.
More than a century later, her legacy continues to shape the life of The Church of St. Michael & St. George. The various ministries and CSL’s Special Gifts honor her name and carry forward her vision by supporting the education and formation of young people in our parish.
Today, her story reminds us that the fruits of generosity often outlive the giver. Her life bears witness to what can happen when faith, friendship, and stewardship come together in service to God’s glory.
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