In both these places he exercised
hospitality without ostentation. He bought a large library and many oil
paintings which are now preserved in a memorial room at the Hospital.
Nevertheless, his pursuits were wholly mercantile, and his time and
strength were chiefly devoted to the business in which he was
engaged,--first as a wholesale grocer, and afterwards as a capitalist
interested in many and diverse financial undertakings. More than once,
in time of commercial panic, he lent his credit to the support of
individuals and firms with a liberality which entitled him to general
gratitude. He died in Baltimore, December 24, 1873, at the age of
seventy-nine years. He had never married. After providing for his near
relations, he gave the principal part of his estate to the two
institutions which bear his name, the Johns Hopkins University and the
Johns Hopkins Hospital. Each of them received property estimated in
round numbers at three and a half million dollars. The gift to the
University included his estate of Clifton (three hundred and thirty
acres of land), fifteen thousand shares of the common stock of the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and other securities which were valued at
seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars.
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