The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential American family from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The family includes Andrew Mellon, one of the longest-serving U.S. Treasury Secretaries, along with prominent members in the judicial, banking, financial, business, and political professions, as well as a famous recluse, Cordelia Scaife May. History The American branch of the Mellon family traces its origins to County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. In 1816, Archibald Mellon emigrated from Northern Ireland to the United States and set up residence in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Two years later, Archibald was joined by his son, Andrew, and his family. The family's wealth originated with Mellon Bank, founded in 1869 by Archibald's grandson. Thomas Mellon. Under the direction of Thomas's son, Andrew William Mellon, the Mellons became principal investors and majority owners of Gulf Oil (which merged with Chevron Corporation in 1985), Alcoa (since 1886), The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (since 1970), Koppers (since 1912), New York Shipbuilding (1899–1968) and Carborundum Corporation, as well as their major financial and ownership influence on Westinghouse, H. J. Heinz, Newsweek, U.S. Steel, Credit Suisse First Boston and General Motors. The family bank would go on to merge with the Bank of New York to become BNY Mellon The family also founded the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., donating both art works and funds, and is a patron to the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, the Hôpital Albert Schweitzer in Haiti, and with art the University of Virginia. Carnegie Mellon University, and its Mellon College of Science, is named in honor of the family, as well as for its founder, Andrew Carnegie, who was a close associate of the Mellons. The family's founding patriarch was Judge Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), the son of Andrew Mellon and Rebecca Wauchob, who were Scotch-Irish farmers from Camp Hill Cottage, in Lower Castletown, County Tyrone, Ireland, and emigrated to what is now the Pittsburgh suburb of north-central Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The family can be divided into four branches: the descendants of Thomas Alexander Mellon Jr, of James Ross Mellon, of Andrew William Mellon, and of Richard Beatty Mellon. The Mellon family are members of the Episcopal Church. Prominent members Thomas Mellon (1813–1908), judge and founder of the Mellon Bank; married Sarah Jane Negley of Pittsburgh. As a boy he decided to abandon his parents' farming lifestyle for law and banking in the city after reading Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. Andrew William