The Harriman Family

Oliver Harriman

Oliver Harriman (1820-1904) began his business career in the dry goods commission house of McCurdy, Aldrich & Spencer, with the father of Richard A. McCurdy. When they retired, he formed Low, Harriman & Co., with James Low (~1809-1898) as the senior partner. He married Low's daughter, Laura. He was a director of the Guaranty Trust in the 1890s, and a trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company [between 1879 and 1900] and the Bank of America. He was survived by five sons and three daughters. His oldest daughter, Emeline, married William Earl Dodge, the son of William E. Dodge Jr., and grandson of William E. Dodge of Phelps, Dodge & Co. His second daughter, Anne, married William K. Vanderbilt in 1903. His daughter, Lillie, married William R. Travers Jr., then Frederick C. Havemeyer, an heir of the Sugar Trust. His sons were James Low Harriman; Oliver Harriman Jr., who married Grace Carley of Louisville; J. Borden Harriman, who married Florence Jaffray Hurst, Joseph Harriman, and Herbert M. Harriman. Oliver Harriman was the uncle of Edward H. Harriman, who joined the board of the Guaranty Trust circa 1899. (Death of Oliver Harriman. New York Times, Mar. 13, 1904. p. 7) The United States Trust Co. was an executor of his will. (Oliver Harriman's Estate $20,000,000. New York Times, Apr. 10, 1904.) Harriman was on the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society until 1889. (Distributing the Bible. New York Times, May 10, 1889 p. 5.) Mrs. Oliver Harriman was a member of the campaign committee to raise money for the United Hospital Fund in 1919. (Hospitals Seek $1,000,000. New York Times, Oct. 25, 1919.) Oliver Harriman's son, James Low Harriman, married Elizabeth Templeton Bishop, whose father, Heber Reginald Bishop, was a founder of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. (Mrs. J.L. Harriman Dies In Baltimore. New York Times, Mar 6, 1934.) Another nephew, Frederic C. Harriman, was an assistant treasurer of the Guaranty Trust.

Low, Harriman & Co. was an agent for the Borden Mills in Fall River, Mass., a town controlled by the Borden and Durfee familes, and George B. Durfee was a partner until 1867. James C. Atwater and T.M. Prentiss were partners, with Prentiss leaving in 1862. John W. Bigelow was a partner from 1866, and James Low's son, Joseph T. Low, joined them in 1867. (Classified Ad 11. New York Times, Jul. 14, 1862 p. 7; Copartnership Notices. New York Times, Jan. 4, 1867 p. 6.)

Edward H. Harriman

Edward Henry Harriman (1848-1909) has traditionally been marketed to the public as "a small man... with no money, no powerful friends, [and] no big financial backing" (Chapter XI. The Life Work of Edward H. Harriman. In: The Railroad Builders - A Chronicle of the Welding of the States. By John Moody. Yale University Press, 1919.) - obviously all lies. His uncle, Oliver Harriman, was a director of the Mutual Life Insurance Company, the Bank of America, and the New York Guaranty and Indemnity Co./Guaranty Trust. When he was 21, his uncle lent him the money to buy his seat on the Stock Exchange. His father, Rev. Orlando Harriman, was an Episcopalian minister at Hempstead, Long Island. (Harriman, By C.M. Keys. In: The World's Work. By Walter Hines Page, Arthur W. Page, 1907 p. 8460; E.H. Harriman, Railroad Czar. By George Frost Kennan. Beard Books, 1999.)

E.H. Harriman was the son of Rev. Dr. Orlando and Cornelia Neilson Harriman. His brother, William McCurdy Harriman, and his cousins, Oliver Harriman Jr. and J. Borden Harriman, and a nephew, Joseph W. Harriman, were all partners of E.H. Harriman & Co. He opened his first brokerage office in 1872, and founded the banking firm of E.H. Harriman & Co. in 1872, with James and Lewis Livingston of Rhinebeck as partners. (The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, v. XIV. James T. White & Co., 1910, p. 196.) His father "spent the latter part of his life as a bookkeeper in the old Bank of Commerce in New York..." In 1863, E.H. Harriman went to work in Wall Street as office boy for a broker named Dewitt C. Hays. "While there he met Lewis Livingston, a member of one of the oldest New York families, and became very intimate with him. In 1870, while cashier of the Hays business, at $2,000 a year, young Harriman bought a Stock Exchange seat, costing about $3,000 at that time, and went into business with James Livingston, Lewis' son, who was about the same age as Harriman, then twenty-two years old." Stuyvesant Fish was another client of Hays. Harriman and Fish became directors of the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain Railroad, and Harriman married the daughter of its president. (Masters of Capital in America. By John Moody and George Kibbe Turner. McClure's Magazine, 1911, Vol. 36, p. 335.) He was a director of the Guaranty Trust from 1899 to 1940.

E.H. Harriman married Mary Williamson Averell in 1870. His father-in-law, William John Averell, was president of the Ogdensburg Bank and the Ogdensburg & Lake Champlain railroad. His brother-in-law was William Holt Averell, Yale 1872, and William Holt Averell Jr., Yale 1900, was a nephew. (Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1900-1910, p. 459.) William H. was employed with the Great Northern Railway, the Southern Pacific, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroads; the Merchant Shipbuilding Company; and was the founder, president and chairman of Seaboard Shipping Corp., 1919-1946. (Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1946-1947, p. 54.) Their daughter, Carol Harriman, was an attendant of Marguerite E. Walker, daughter of Joseph Walker Jr., to Rae Rogers. (Miss Walker Weds. New York Times, Oct. 13, 1908.) Mrs. Mary W. Harriman was a large stockholder in the National Bank of Commerce.

His wife's first cousin was married to George C. Clark, who was the first president of the American Society for the Control of Cancer in 1913. "During his first years as a stockbroker, Harriman developed working relationships and friendships with a number of young men prominent on Wall Street and in the social circles of New York. Included in this group were August Belmont Jr., Stuyvesant Fish, William Bayard Cutting, R. Fulton Cutting, James B. Livingston, Dr. E.L. Trudeau, and George C. Clark. Several of these men played important roles in his later career." "Clark and Harriman met frequently between 1870 and 1875, often at Clark's house. The influence of the Clark family led Harriman to take an interest in social betterment work on the East Side." (E.H. Harriman, Master Railroader. By Lloyd J. Mercer. Beard Books, 2003, pp. 10 and 3.)

During 1898, the bulk of the common and preferred shares of the Chicago & Alton Railway were purchased by the Harriman Syndicate. (Chicago & Alton Railway. In: Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri. Howard L. Conard, ed. Southern History Company, 1901.) Harriman was president, chairman of the board, or a member of the executive committee from 1899 to 1907. (Ch. 8. A Curse of Bigness. Other Peoples' Money. By Louis D. Brandeis.)

Timothy Beach Blackstone (1829-1900), who was president of the Chicago & Alton from 1864 to 1899, was one of the financial supporters of his cousin, William Eugene Blackstone (1841-), of Blackstone Memorial fame. Marvin Hughitt, President of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, Milton Stewart and his brother, Lyman Stewart, of the Union Oil Company of California, were other financial supporters. Hughitt replaced Harriman on three directorates when Harriman died.

E.H. Harriman was a director of the International Banking Corporation in 1902. It was established by a special act of the Connecticut legislature in June 1901, which exempted it from state inspection and supervision. It was later acquired by the National City Bank and became a major part of its international banking network. He was also a director of the Equitable Life Assurance Society in 1902-04, and of the National City Bank, 1902-09.

William V.S. Thorne, Yale 1885, an assistant to E.H. Harriman, was a manager and treasurer of the Presbyterian Hospital from 1899 to 1920.

E.H. Harriman's financial adviser, Willard Dickerman Straight, married William C. Whitney's daughter, Dorothy. Her brother, Payne Whitney, had deposits at W.A. Harriman & Co. John Hay Whitney's close associate of 30 years, Walter N. Thayer, was a member of Averell Harriman's mission to England from 1942 to 1945.

Charles Dewar Simons

E.H. Harriman's sister, Cornelia Neilson Harriman, married Charles Dewar Simons. His family came from Charleston, South Carolina, and he began his career at Brown Brothers at the age of 15. He was head of the foreign exchange department until retiring in 1912. Their children, who added an extra "m" to the name, were E.H.H. Simmons, president of the New York Stock Exchange, and Harriman N. Simmons, with the coffee importing firm of Bleecker & Simmons. Mrs. Simons died nine days before her husband. Her mother, Cornelia Neilson, was the daughter of John Neilson and Abigail Bleecker. (Charles D. Simons, Banker, Dies at 79. New York Times, Sep. 25, 1926.) Charles Dewar Simons was the son of Thomas Corbett Simons and Mary Elizabeth Bacot. (Died. New York Times, Sep. 26, 1926.) E. Henry H. Simmons was a partner of Rutter & Gross. He became a governor of the Stock Exchange in 1909, was vice president from 1921 to 1924, and president until 1930. (Henry Simmons, Headed Exchange. New York Times, May 22, 1955.)

His brother, James Dewar Simons, head of Simons & Chew and James D. Simons & Co., was also a member of the New York Stock Exchange. (Obituary Notes. New York Times, Jul. 27, 1911; Died. New York Times, Jul. 26, 1911.) His partner from 1870 to 1887 was Beverly Chew. (The Commercial & Financial Chronicle and Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, Volume 44, Apr. 9, 1887, p. 459.) He was a member for more than 30 years. He posted his seat for transfer to Eugene Hale, Jr. (Told 'Round the Ticker. New York Times, Feb. 12, 1905.) Another brother, E. Harleston Simons, a wealthy New York bachelor, jumped off the White Star liner Baltic. He lived with their unmarried sister, Mary Eugenia Simons. (E.H. Simons Lost From Ship at Sea. New York Times, Jun. 28, 1914.)

Thomas Corbett Simons's sister, Mary Moncrieff Simons, married Horatio Allen (1834-1889) of New York. (The Early Families of the South Carolina Low County.) Horatio Allen graduated from Columbia about 1820, and became a civil engineer with the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. In 1828, he purchased three locomotives from England, one of which was named the Stourbridge Lion, which Allen drove at Honesdale, Penn. in 1829. Later the same year, he went to Charleston, S.C., as chief engineer of the South Carolina Railroad. There, he married the daughter of Rev. James Dewar Simons. When they returned to New York, he became president of the Novelty Iron Works, which built many of the steamers of the Collins and Pacific Mail lines. He "retained a lively interest in railroad and other engineering matters up to the time of his death." (Obituary. New York Times, Jan. 2, 1890; Allen Family Papers, 1818-1925.) He was also Chief Engineer of the Croton Water Works (City Intelligence. New York Daily Tribune, Sep. 13, 1842); a director of the Erie Railroad, along with James Brown (By the Pilot Line of Last Night. Philadelphia, The North American and Daily Advertiser, Oct. 6, 1843), and the Southern Pacific Railroad until 1857 (Southern Pacific Railroad. Charleston Mercury, Apr. 1, 1857).

Mary Elizabeth Bacot was the daughter of Peter Bacot (1788-1836) and Mary Eugenia Cochran (1791-1847). (The Early Families of the South Carolina Low County.) Peter Bacot was cashier of the Morris Canal branch bank in New York for several years. He shot himself in the head and left a note. (Suicide. From the Journal of Commere. Washington Globe, Sep. 5, 1836.) Peter Bacot was cashier of the Branch Bank of the United States at Charleston "from its establishment in that city to its termination, during the administration of Gen. Jackson." The Cochran side came from Massachusetts. Their son, Robert Cochran Bacot, a civil engineer, "was engaged in railroad explorations in New Hampshire, and subsequently in the Carolinas, Tennessee and Kentucky, surveying and laying out the contemplated extension of the South Carolina Railroad to the Ohio River." He was a vice president of the Provident Institution for Savings in Jersey City, where the Bacot family lived since 1838. (History of Essex and Hudson Counties, New Jersey, Vol. 2, 1884, p. 628. By William H. Shaw.)

His son, John Vacher Bacot married Lizzie Carter, a daughter of New York banker Oliver S. Carter. (Marriage in Orange Society. New York Times, Dec. 15, 1894.) He was a developer of the East Jersey Water Company, and organized the Consolidated Water Company of Utica, N.Y., and the West Canada Water Company. "He was associated with Garrett A. Hobart, late Vice President of the United States." (John V. Bacot Dies. New York Times, Oct. 31, 1921.) Oliver S. Carter was President of the Bank of the Republic of New York, and a member of Carter, Macy & Co., importers, with George H. Macy. He left a personal estate of $2,697,806. (Oliver S. Carter's Estate. New York Times, Oct. 15, 1903.) His grandson, John Carter Bacot of Utica, was with the Bank of New York. (Bacot-Schou. New York Times, Nov. 27, 1960.) He was born in Utica in 1933 and graduated from Hamilton College in 1955, and Cornell Law School in 1958. He joined the Bank of New York in 1960 and at various times was the head of the bank's investment research and personal trust departments. He was named vice chairman of the holding company in 1975 and president in 1979; chairman and chief executive from 1982 to 1998, and a director until 2003. (J.C. Bacot, 72, Bank Chief Who Recast His Company, Dies. New York Times, Apr. 9, 2005.) J. Carter Bacot beneficially owned 1,758,052 shares of common stock of the Bank of New York. He was a director of the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, a trustee of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance Companies, a Life Trustee of Hamilton College, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and Economic Club of New York. (Bank of New York 2002 DEF 14A. Securities and Exchange Commission.)

The Van Rensselaers

E.H. Harriman's sister, Anna Ingland Harriman, married James Fleming Van Rensselaer, a son of Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, and a grandson of Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer and Cornelia de Peyster. He was a Royal descendant of Henry the Fowler, Emperor of Germany and Duke of Saxony, via the ubiquitous Livingstons. (Americans of Royal Descent. By Charles Henry Browning, 1891, p. 395.) Jacob Rutsen Van Rensselaer (1767-1835) of Claverack, Columbia County, New York graduated from Yale in 1786. He was a member of the New York State Assembly between 1800 and 1819, and in 1815 he introduced the bill which provided for the construction of the Erie Canal. (Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College Vol. IV., July 1778 - June, 1792, p. 516.)

Jeremiah Van Rensselaer's brother, Robert Schuyler Van Rensselaer, was superintendent of the Camden and Amboy Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. His son, Robert Schuyler Van Rensselaer (1847-1919) graduated from Yale in 1869. He was an engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad on the northern branch, from Bellwood across the Allegheny Mountains to the Berwind and White coal regions. Later, he was a surveyor for the Rochester & Pittsburgh Coal & Iron Company at Punxsutawney, Pa. (Obituary Record of Yale Graduates, 1918-1919, p. 1135 (306).)

The J.F. Van Rensselaers lived in Philadelphia for 20 years. He died in New Jersey in 1900, while she later moved to Dallas, Texas, and Los Angeles. (Died. New York Times, Jan. 5, 1900; New York Times, Dec. 16, 1920.)

Their son, James F. Van Rensselaer Jr., was traveling freight and passenger agent for the Illinois Central Railroad at Denver, then general agent for the South Pacific-Union Pacific Lines in Atlanta. (General Agent Van Rensselaer Here. Atlanta Constitution, May 17, 1907.) E.H. Harriman visited his family shortly before his death. Van Rensselaer resigned his position in 1910 to become president of the Railway Services Equipment Company. (James F. Van Rensselaer Heads Equipment Company. Atlanta Constitution, Apr. 11, 1910.)

Their daughter, Anna Harriman Van Rensselaer, married Louis C. Masten in 1903. He held some positions in banking and railroads for a few years, then went into real estate management in San Diego, Cal. (City of San Diego and San Diego County, Vol. 2. By Clarence Alan McGrew, 1922, p. 351.)

Frederick C. Harriman

Frederick C. Harriman (~1872-1958) was a cousin of William Averell Harriman. After serving in the Spanish-American War, he joined the Guaranty Trust and was an Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary from 1902 until 1917 (?). Afterwards, he was a corporate bond dealer, and then a Prohibition agent in New York. (F.C. Harriman Dies. New York Times, May 14, 1958.) He married Harriette Bradford Hitchcock, the daughter of Commander Roswell D. Hitchcock, U.S. Navy, in 1897. William Harriman was an usher. (Harriman - Hitchcock. New York Times, Nov. 18, 1897 p. 7.) Admiral Dewey and Col. George Dyer were godfathers of Frederick Harriman Jr., and Dyer's mother, Mrs. Elisha Dyer, wife of the governor of Rhode Island, was the godmother. They were old friends of the Hitchcock family. (Dewey at a Christening. Washington Times, Nov. 13, 1899.)

His father, Frederick Harriman, married Julia Mellon, daughter of Thomas Mellon of Philadelphia. (Mrs. Julia Mellon Harriman. New York Times, Dec. 16, 1921.) Thomas Mellon (1789-1866), born in Ireland, was the uncle of Judge Thomas Mellon (1813-1907) of Pittsburgh, who was the father of Andrew W. Mellon. The senior Thomas Mellon was "one of the chief promoters of the Pennsylvania railroad, and an active director of that company for twelve years." Charles H. Mellon was one of her brothers. (Thomas Mellon and His Times. By Thomas Mellon, 1996, pp. 424, 426 and 473; Sale of the Main Line—Application for an Injunction. Philadelphia, North American and United States Gazette, Jun. 11, 1857; Railway Matters. Cleveland Herald, Mar. 8, 1860.)

Charles Henry Mellon married Lorain Williamson Roberts, daughter of Percival Roberts, in Philadelphia. "Quite a number of relatives and friends came over from New York to grace the occasion, among them Mr. and Mrs. James Harriman, Miss Alice Harriman, Mr. J. Arden Harriman, Mrs. Frederick Harriman, Miss Julia Harriman, Mr. J. Barclay Fassett." Miss Clara Mellon, Mrs. Frederick Fotterall, and Mrs. Clayton McMichael also attended. (The Two Are Now One. Philadelphia North American, Apr. 25, 1890.) Clayton McMichael was publisher and editor of The Philadelphia North American. (Clayton McMichael Dead. New York Times, Apr. 18, 1906.) James Harriman was Frederick Harriman Sr.'s brother. He married Alice Fotterall of Philadelphia, and their children were Alice and James Arden Harriman. (James Harriman. New York Times, May 15, 1912.) Mrs. James Harriman and Mrs. Clayton McMichael were sisters. (In Society's Realm. Philadelphia North American, Mar. 21, 1896.) Percival Roberts was president of the A. & P. Roberts Company, which operated the Pencoyd Iron Works. He was a cousin of George B. Roberts of the Pennsylvania Railroad. (Death of Percival Roberts, Philadelphia North American, Mar. 3, 1898.) His son, Percival Roberts, was president of the American Bridge Company, which took over his father's operations and numerous others. In 1901, it became a subsidiary of United States Steel, of which he was a director and member of the finance committee. (The National Cyclopædia of American Biography. By George Derby, James Terry White, 1921, p. 382.)

Charles H. Mellon was an officer of several land companies in Virginia, including the Clinch Valley Railroad and the Clinch Valley Coal and Iron Company (Clinch Valley News, April 22, 1887), the Southwest Virginia Real Estate and Investment Company (Roanoke Times, Nov. 21, 1889), and the West Roanoke Land Company (Another Land Company. Roanoke Times, May 28, 1890.) He was Assistant to the President of the Norfolk and Western Railroad. Alexander J. Hemphill was Secretary. (Annual report of the Board of Directors of the Norfolk & Western Raiload, 1892, p.1.) In 1893, he was assistant treasurer of the Norfolk & Western, and a director of the Shenandoah Valley Railroad. (Meetings of Corporations. Roanoke Times, May 4, 1893.) He moved to Morristown, N.J. around 1896. He died on a vacation at Murray Bay, Canada. (Obituary. New York Tribune, Sep. 8, 1906.)

His son, Charles Henry Mellon, married Sarah Remsen Manice, daughter of William Manice [Yale 1851] and sister of William de Forest Manice. His best man was Schuyler Parsons, and his sister, Eleanor Mellon, was her attendant. (Miss Sarah Manice Weds. New York Times, Apr. 15, 1914; Miss Sarah Manice Weds C.H. Mellon. New York Sun, Apr. 15, 1914; Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1900-1910, p. 318.) He was a stockbroker at Morgan Davis & Co. (Stock Exchange News. New York Times, Apr. 24, 1921.) Sarah Manice's sisters married Henry Martyn Alexander and E. Hayward Ferry.

W. Averell Harriman, Skull & Bones 1913

Averell Harriman (1891-1986) was a director of the Guaranty Trust from 1916 to 1941. During the 1930s, the Harrimans had a financial interest in the Union Banking Corporation, which was controlled by a Dutch bank, the Bank voor Handel en Scheepvaart N.V., which was a front for Hitler's financier, August Thyssen, in which President George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush, was also involved. (Chapter 7. Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler. By Antony C. Sutton; How Bush's grandfather helped Hitler's rise to power. By Ben Aris and Duncan Campbell. The Guardian, Sep. 25, 2004.) In 1937, Harriman was on the first board of trustees of President Roosevelt's National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis. In 1948, he was chief administrator of the Marshall Plan. The first Mrs. Averell Harriman was the granddaughter of Central Trust trustee Charles Lanier. Their daughter, Kathleen Lanier Harriman (Mrs. Stanley Grafton Mortimer) was a roommate at Bennington College of Pamela Digby Churchill, daughter-in-law of Prime Minster Winston Churchill, who later became Averell Harriman's third wife. She accompanied her father to Lodon and Russia, and was a reporter for the International News Service and Newsweek. (Kathleen Mortimer, Rich and Adventurous, Dies at 93. By Margalit Fox. New York Times, Feb. 19, 2011.) Allen Wardwell, Scroll & Key 1895, also accompanied Harriman on his mission to Moscow in 1941.

He was a correspondent of Frank Altschul, the first president of General American Investors, founded in 1928. Spencer Davidson, President and CEO of GAI, was formerly with Brown Brothers Harriman.

In 1935, Mr. and Mrs. Averell Harriman were in the First Division Cardiac Clinic of Bellevue Hospital benefit dinner party of Mr. and Mrs. William Galey Lord [S&B 1922], along with Mr. and Mrs. Oswald Bates Lord [S&B 1926], Mr. and Mrs. Ward Cheney [S&B 1922], Mr. and Mrs. Artemus L. Gates [S&B 1918] and Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Douglas. Mrs. Howard Dean also held a dinner. (Cabaret Benefit Assists Hospital. New York Times, May 16, 1935.) Lewis Douglas was the grandson of James Douglas, the benefactor of James Ewing of the American Society for the Control of Cancer. Others who had guests at the benefit included Mrs. Howard Dean, an ancester of Presidential candidate Howard Dean.

In 1946, Harriman was a sponsor of the New York Heart Association fund raising campaign. Other sponsors included Mrs. William Randolph Hearst, Sr.; Mrs. Albert D. Lasker; James S. Adams; Harold L. Bache, the nephew of Jules S. Bache; Leona Baumgartner; Devereux C. Josephs; Ralph T. Reed; Frank Stanton; and Thomas J. Watson Sr. Hugh Cullman and Emerson Foote were chairmen of Commerce and Industry committees. (Display Ad 46. New York Times, Jan. 31, 1946 p. 12.) Harriman appointed Langbourne M. Williams Jr. a member of his staff at the Paris headquarters of the ECA. W.A. Harriman contributed $1000 to William Benton's Congressional re-election campaign. ($142, 901 Expended For Benton Drive. New York Times, Nov. 20, 1952.)

Averell Harriman was a correspondent of Florence Mahoney between 1947 and 1971. One of her granddaughters, Helen Stephenson Mahoney, married Edward Devon Pardoe 3d, a deputy manager of financial institutions banking at Brown Brothers, Harriman & Company. (E. D. Pardoe 3d, Helen Mahoney Exchange Vows. New York Times, Apr. 27, 1986.)

He donated Arden House, officially the Harriman Campus of Columbia University, which was used for study and discussion groups among persons who were later appointed to Washington posts in the Eisenhower Administration. (Arden House Aids in Guiding Nation. By Charles Grutzner. Sep. 7, 1953.) Averell Harriman was Ambassador at Large in the Kennedy administration from January to November 1961, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs until April 1963, and Undersecretary of State until March 1965, when he was again Ambassador at Large through the Johnson administration. Frank C. Carlucci was expelled from Congo and Zanzibar for subversive activities during this period.

W.A. Harriman & Co.

Founding directors of W.A. Harriman & Company included Guaranty Trust directors W. Averell Harriman, President, Eugene G. Grace, William C. Potter and Eugene W. Stetson; Skull & Bones members W.A. and E. Roland Harriman (1913 & 1917), Frederick B. Adams and Percy A. Rockefeller (both S&B 1900), Harold Stanley (S&B 1908) and Joseph R. Swan (S&B 1902); also Wilbur F. Holt, Secretary and Treasurer; Elton Hoyt 2d; Henry Lockhart Jr.; Samuel F. Pryor; R.H.M. Robinson; J.D. Sawyer, Vice President; Joseph E. Uihlein; and G.H. Walker, President. W.J. Sturgis was Vice President. (Display Ad 106. New York Times, Dec. 29, 1920 p. 23.) Harriman & Co. was a large stockholder of the American Tobacco Company in 1920, with 7500 shares of common stock. George Herbert Walker, the father-in-law of Prescott S. Bush, was president of W.A. Harriman & Co. from 1920 to 1931.

W.A. Harriman began his association with Fritz Thyssen in 1925. He and various members of Harriman & Co. and its successor, Brown Brothers Harriman, were directors of Thyssen's Union Banking Corporation, which maintained accounts with the Guaranty Trust, the Chase National Bank, and the National City Bank. (Thyssen Has $3,000,000 Cash in NewYork Vaults. New York Herald Tribune, Jul. 31, 1941.)

Dr. Harvey Cushing, Scroll & Key 1891, was a correspondent of Brown, Shipley & Company and its successor, Brown Brothers Harriman, between 1920 and 1939.

Elton Hoyt 2d, Scroll & Key 1910

Elton Hoyt 2d was a senior partner of Pickands, Mather & Co., president of Mather Iron Co. and the Interlake Steamship Co., a director of Youngstown Steel Door Co. and the Interlake Iron Corp.; chairman of the Yale University Alumni Board 1931-1934, and a trustee of University Hospital, Cleveland. (Elton Hoyt 2d, 67, An Industrialist. New York Times, Mar. 17, 1955.) He was best man at the marriage of Cleveland oil refinery president Fred G. Clark to Mrs. Sibyl Young Hine, the widow of Lyman Northrop Hine. (Other Weddings. New York Times, Jan. 17, 1932.) His sister married Amasa Stone Mather, Yale 1907, son of Samuel Mather. After he died, she married John W. Cross, Skull & Bones 1900. (Mrs. Amasa Mather Wed. New York Times, Jun. 4, 1932.)

Ray Morris, Skull & Bones 1901

Ray Morris was a partner of White, Weld & Co. from 1911 to 1920, and a partner of Brown Brothers and Brown Brothers Harriman from 1921 until his retirement in 1956. He was a director of numerous companies. (Ray Morris, 82, Retired Banker. New York Times, May 20, 1951.) His wife was Katharine Grinnell, daughter of the E. Morgan Grinnells, and her sister married Alexander Forbes. (Miss Grinnell A Bride. New York Times, Jun. 10, 1910.) He was a trustee of Vassar College and Sarah Lawrence College (Barnes A Vassar Trustee. New York Times, Feb. 23, 1922; R.B. Fosdick Elected At Lawrence College. New York Times, May 29, 1930.)

The Standard Investing Corporation, of which Ray Morris was president, held 1000 shares of P. Lorillard Company Common in 1928. (American Investment Trusts. By John Francis Fowler. Ayer Publishing, 1975.) Directors in 1936 were Thatcher M. Brown, John Foster Dulles, Henry R. Hayes, J.F.B. Mitchell, Ray Morris, George Murnane and W. Lane Rehm. (Standard Investing Re-Elects Old Board. New York Times, Mar. 5, 1936.)

Mrs. Morris helped with fund raising for the Presbyterian Hospital (other fund-raisers whose husbands bore the names of Bonesmen included Mrs. Artemus L. Gates, Mrs. John Ellsworth (S&B 1905), Mrs. Stephen H. Philbin (S&B 1910), Mrs. Dean Sage (S&B 1897), Mrs. John Sloane (S&B 1905), and Mrs. Henry Sage Fennimore Cooper (S&B 1917). (Hospital to Begin Fund Drive Today. New York Times, Aug. 29, 1925), and for the American Society for the Control of Cancer (Ball to Help Medical Work. New York Times, Feb. 27, 1927.)

Ray Morris was the third son of Luzon Burritt Morris, Skull & Bones 1854, who was Governor of Connecticut from 1893 to 1895. His sister, Helen Harrison Morris, was the wife of Dr. Arthur Twining Hadley, S&B 1876. (Emily Morris Weds Hamilton Hadley. New York Times, Jul. 14, 1929; Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale, 1890-1900, p. 388.)

Joseph Walker Wear, Scroll & Key 1899

Joseph Walker Wear (1876-1941) was a brother-in-law of George Herbert Walker, who married his sister, Lucretia. He was a vice president in charge of the Philadelphia branch of W.A. Harriman & Co, 1921-1930.

W.A. Harriman & Co. merged with Brown Brothers & Co. in 1931. James Brown (1863-1935) was the head of Brown Brothers. His daughter, Adele Quartley Brown, married Robert Abercrombie Lovett, Skull & Bones 1918, and a general partner of Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co. (Old Wall St. Firm Flies A New Flag. New York Times, May 11, 1958 - list of partners.)

Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co.

Brown Brothers, Harriman & Co. was part of a banking syndicate which enabled William S. Paley to reacquire the Paramount-Publix Corporation's 50 percent share of CBS. The others involved were Field, Glore & Co., the Lehman Corporation, and Herbert Bayard Swope, former executive editor of the New York World. (Paley Completes Radio Chain Deal. New York Times, Mar. 9, 1932.)

In the 1940's, Ray Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis Roberts helped Brown Brothers, Harriman to evaluate the oil resoures of companies.

Adlai Stevenson's financial correspondence with Brown Brothers Harriman dates from 1942 to 1965.

Ellery Sedgwick James, Skull & Bones 1917

[William] Ellery Sedgwick James was a son of Henry Ammon James, S&B 1874. He was associated with Brown Brothers & Company since 1919, and was a partner since 1925, and a partner of Brown Brothers Harriman from 1931. "[A]mong his partners at the time of his death were Thatcher M. Brown, '97, Moreau Delano, '98, Ray Morris, [S&B] '01, W. Averell Harriman, [S&B] '13, Laurence G. Tighe, [S&B] '16, Prescott S. Bush [S&B], E. Roland Harriman {S&B], and Knight Wooley [S&B], all 1917, and Robert A. Lovett, [S&B] '18; director of National Shawmut Bank of Boston 1928-1931, Union Banking Company of New York since 1931, International European Investing Company since 1931, Holland American Trading Corporation of New York since 1931, National Radiator Company of New York 1927-1930, A.C. James Company (railroad development) of New York since 1929, People's Light and Power Company of New York since 1929, General Realty & Utilities Company of New York since 1929, Utility Equities Corporation since 1928, Swiss-American Electric Company of Zurich since 1928, Sharpe & Dohm, Inc. of Philadelphia 1932, and Hamilton Watch Company of Lancaster, Pa., 1932." He was a member of the council of Yale-in-China since 1923. His wife, Louise Russell Hoadley, was the grandniece of Charles Holland Wesson, S&B 1863, and a granddaughter of Frederic H. Betts, Yale 1864. (Bulletin of Yale University, Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale University Deceased during the Year 1932-1933, pp. 133-135.) His uncle, Dr. Walter Belknap James, S&B 1879, was a member of the Council and a trustee of Columbia University and the Academy of Medicine.

Ellery Sedgwick James' son, Dr. William E.S. James, Elihu 1942, married a daughter of James Mansfield Symington. His brother-in-law, Dr. Joseph Ford, was best man. The ushers were John W. Sinclair, James McKim Symington, Lieuts. Arthur Thomas Keefe and William Campbell Felch, Merrill Chapin Krech, Frank Parsons Shepard and Jeremiah Milbank of New York; William T. Helmuth of East Hampton, Edwin Corning of Albany, Charles Meredith Boyce of Baltimore and Lieut. Arthur E. Mittnacht. (Sarah Syminton Married Up-State. New York Times, Jun. 23, 1946.) He was an usher at Jeremiah Milbank Jr.'s wedding, along with most of the same ushers. (Jeremiah Milbank Jr. Marries Miss Andrea Hunter in St. Paul. New York Times, Jul. 20, 1947.) James was on the staff of Crile Veterans Memorial Hospital in Cleveland. His next wife was a daughter of Herbert Preston Ladds of Shaker Heights. (Miss Mary Ladds Is Married in Ohio. New York Times, Nov. 19, 1950.)

William L. McLennan, Yale 1945

William L. McLennan, Yale 1945, was an assistant manager and manager at Brown Brothers Harriman. (Display Ad. New York Times, Jan. 4, 1966 p. 39; Display Ad. New York Times, Jul. 7, 1971, P. 57.) He retired from Brown Brothers Harriman in 1989 and moved to Tryon, N.C. about 1992. He was on the board and executive committee of the Alzheimer's Association and the First National Bank of Lake Forest, and was president of the board of the Lake Forest Country Day School for several years. (William L. McLennan. Chicago Tribune, Mar. 8, 1998; and May 21, 1998. [He had two obits.]) His son, Rev. William L. McLennan Jr., Yale 1970, is dean for religious life at Stanford University. He was a classmate of Garry Trudeau, who based his "Doonesbury" cartoon character, Rev. Scott Sloan, on McLennan, and named for McLennan's mentor, Rev. William Sloane Coffin Jr. (Skull & Bones 1949.) (University chaplain at Tufts named Stanford's dean for religious life; interim dean to take post at Goucher College. Stanford University News Release, Jun. 19, 2000.) He was a brother of Donald R. McLennan Jr., Scroll & Key 1931.

Their father, Donald Roderick McLennan, was a cofounder of Marsh & McLennan, the international insurance brokers. He was a director of the American Sugar Refining Company, the Evergreen Mines Company, Armour & Co., the First National Bank of Lake Forest, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Peoples Gas, Light and Coke Company; the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company; the Pullman Company; Pullman, Inc.; the Chicago Corporation, and the Empire Securities Company. In 1933, he was a director of 99 companies. (D.R. M'Lennan, Insurance Man, Dies At Age 71. Chicago Tribune, Oct. 15, 1944; D. M'Lennan Dead; Insurance Leader. New York Times, Oct. 15, 1944.) McLennan Sr. was elected a director andmember of the executive committee of Montgomery Ward & Co. in 1916. (News of the Financial World. Chicago Daily Tribune. Jul. 7, 1916.) His wife was the daughter of George H. Noyes, general counsel of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company in Milwaukee.

Laurence G. Tighe, Skull & Bones 1916

Laurence G. Tighe was a partner of Brown Brothers and of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. (Brown Brothers and Harriman in Merger. Bankers Magazine 1931 Jan;122(1):124.) He was an assistant treasurer of Yale University from 1938 to 1953, and was succeeded by Charles Stafford Gage, S&B 1925. (Tighe to Join Yale Staff. New York Times, Feb. 23, 1938; Gage Named Treasurer of Yale U. New York Times, May 7, 1954.) Laurence Gotzian Tighe was a son of Ambrose Tighe, S&B 1879, of the Mutual Life Insurance Company.

cast 01-18-12