decided the place would be an ideal summer home. The mansion's owner was ex-Confederate General William George MacKay Davis, a first cousin of Confederate President Jefferson Davis who bought the plantation from its creditors in 1879. Carnegie offered to buy Dungeness on August 25, 1880, for $25,000 but his offer was rejected. But after the death of Gen. Davis' son and grandson at the property, Davis desired to leave the place which had brought him such grief and Carnegie offered and Davis accepted a price of $35,000. The sale for the property (which included orange and olive groves, gardens, several cottages, and outbuildings) was final on November 17, 1881. Over the next four months, the burned-out mansion was demolished and noted Pittsburgh architect Andrew Peebles designed a massive Queen Anne Style mansion with wraparound verandas, high ceilings, several porches, many turrets, and a high tower. In April 1882, Carnegie and his cousin, Leander Morris, jointly purchased an adjoining property. The cornerstone for the new Dungeness was laid on February 26, 1884, and the $285,000, mansion (fully furnished) completed on January 1, 1885. There was even a landing for Thomas Carnegie's steam-powered yacht, the Missoe. The Carnegies visited Dungeness irregularly over the next year, traveling to Georgia in a private railroad car. With the purchase of his Cumberland Island estate, Thomas resolved to retire from business and spend more time in Georgia. The stress of working for his brother had left him exhausted. Social life Both Andrew and Thomas Carnegie had been members of the South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club, a highly exclusive wealthy businessman's club which operated a mountaintop retreat overlooking Lake Conemaugh, one of the largest man-made lakes of the day. Lake Conemaugh was formed by the construction of the South Fork Dam in 1853, but had been drained and abandoned prior to its purchase by the South Fork organization. The club, which formed in 1879, restored the South Fork Dam and refilled the reservoir. Andrew and Thomas built a cottage near the clubhouse, and often stayed there. The South Fork Dam failed on May 31, 1889, resulting in the disastrous Johnstown Flood. Personal life In June 1866, Carnegie married Lucy Ackerman Coleman (1847–1916), the daughter of Pittsburgh iron manufacturing magnate William Coleman. Their marriage was followed by a honeymoon around Europe. They had been courting since 1864. By 1881, the couple had nine children: William Coleman Carnegie