Editing Andrew Mellon (section)

==Early life==
{{see also|Mellon family}}

Mellon's paternal grandparents, both of whom were [[Ulster Scots people|Ulster Scots]], migrated to the United States from [[County Tyrone]], Ireland, in 1818.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 3–4</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Andrew Mellon {{!}} Biography & Facts {{!}} Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Andrew-Mellon|access-date=December 11, 2021|website=www.britannica.com|language=en}}</ref> With their son, [[Thomas Mellon]], they settled in [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 9</ref> Thomas Mellon established a successful legal practice in [[Pittsburgh]], and in 1843 he married Sarah Jane Negley, an heiress descended from some of the first settlers of Pittsburgh.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 12, 17, 19</ref> Thomas became a wealthy landowner and real estate speculator, and he and his wife had eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Andrew Mellon, the fourth son and sixth child of Thomas and Sarah, was born in 1855.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 20–28</ref> Thomas Mellon became a prominent member of the local [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], and in 1859 he won election to a position on the [[Pennsylvania courts of common pleas|Pennsylvania court of common pleas]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 30–31</ref> Because Thomas was suspicious of both private and public schools, he built a schoolhouse for his children and hired a teacher; Andrew attended this school beginning at age five.<ref name="npsjtown">{{cite web |title=Andrew William Mellon (1855–1937) |url=https://www.nps.gov/jofl/learn/historyculture/andrew-william-mellon.htm |website=Johnstown Flood |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=August 14, 2018}}</ref>

In 1869, after leaving his judicial position, Thomas Mellon established T. Mellon & Sons, a bank located in Pittsburgh. Andrew joined his father at the bank, quickly becoming a valued employee despite being in his early teens. Andrew also attended the Western University of Pennsylvania (which was later renamed the [[University of Pittsburgh]]), but he never graduated.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 44–48</ref> After leaving Western University, Andrew briefly worked at a lumber and coal business before joining T. Mellon & Sons as a full-time employee in 1873. That same year, the [[Panic of 1873]] devastated the local and national economy, wiping out a portion of the Mellon fortune.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 53–56</ref> With Andrew taking a leading role at T. Mellon & Sons, the bank quickly recovered, and by late 1874 the bank's deposits had reached the level they had been at before the onset of the Panic.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 61–64</ref>