Nancy Maria "Nettie" McCormick (née Fowler; February 8, 1835 – July 5, 1923) was an American philanthropist.

[10][11] While Cyrus was working out a controversy involving his patent of the reaper, they lived in Washington, DC].

In 1871, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company.

However, despite Cyrus' thoughts of retirement afterward, Nettie insisted on rebuilding even larger than before.

Nettie continued to fund buildings, endowing professorships and scholarships at the seminary even after his death.