William Thaw Sr.

William Thaw
Born (1818-10-12)October 12, 1818
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died August 17, 1889(1889-08-17) (aged 70)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Net worth US $12 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1040th of US GNP)[1]
Spouse(s)
Eliza Burd Blair
(m. 1841; her death 1863)

Mary Sibbet Copley
(m. 1867; his death 1889)
Children Benjamin Thaw Sr.
Harry Kendall Thaw
Alice Cornelia Thaw
Parent(s) John Thaw
Elizabeth Thomas
Relatives Russell William Thaw (grandson)
William Thaw II (grandson)

William Thaw Sr. (October 12, 1818 – August 17, 1889) was an American businessman who made his fortune in transportation and banking.

Early life

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 12, 1818, to John Thaw and his wife Elizabeth Thomas.

Career

He worked as a clerk in his father's United States Bank of Philadelphia in Pittsburgh. He later switched to McKee, Clark and Co.

By 1842, he and his brother-in-law Thomas Shields Clarke owned steam canal boats, particularly the Pennsylvania and Ohio line. Their company added canal, portage railroad and other steamboat lines.

With the rise of the railroad, Thaw divested the canal business and invested in the new Pennsylvania Company, which managed interests of the Pennsylvania Railroad, in which he was a large shareholder.

Philanthropy

Thaw endowed science fellowships at Harvard University and Princeton University and bestowed lavish gifts on art and education. He underwrote the building of the Allegheny Observatory for John Brashear, considered at the time one of the ten best in the world.

Personal life

"Lyndhurst", the Thaw mansion in Pittsburgh, built 1887-89.
William Thaw monument in Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh.

In 1841, William Thaw married Eliza Burd Blair (died 1863). They had five children that survived childhood:

  • Eliza Thaw, who married George B. Edwards
  • William Thaw Jr.
  • Mary Thaw, who married William R. Thompson
  • Benjamin Thaw Sr. (1859–1933), who married Elma Ellsworth Dows
  • Alexander Blair Thaw (1860–1937)

In 1863, after the death of his first wife, he married Mary Sibbet Copley (1843–1929).[2][3] They had five children that survived childhood:

In 1887, he commissioned architect Theophilus P. Chandler Jr. to build him a home. The home, which was completed in 1889, was located at 1165 Beechwood Boulevard in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh was demolished around 1942.

Thaw died on August 17, 1889.

Legacy

He is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.[1] He was the father of Harry Kendall Thaw, whose 1906 murder of noted architect Stanford White resulted in a sensational trial and aftermath.

References

  1. 1 2 Klepper, Michael; Gunther, Michael (1996), The Wealthy 100: From Benjamin Franklin to Bill Gates—A Ranking of the Richest Americans, Past and Present, Secaucus, New Jersey: Carol Publishing Group, p. xiii, ISBN 978-0-8065-1800-8, OCLC 33818143
  2. ↑ "Mary C. Thaw Dies; A Philanthropist; Mother of Harry K. Thaw Succumbs to Pneumonia in Her 87th Year. Lifetime Gifts $6,000,000. Widow of a Pittsburgher Who Figured Largely in Development of Pennsylvania Railroad. Her Father a Pioneer Editor". New York Times. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  3. ↑ "Mrs. Thaw, 86 Dead At Home In Pittsburgh. Mother of Harry K. Thaw, Widely Known For Many Philanthropies, Victim of Pneumonia". Associated Press in the Hartford Courant. June 10, 1929. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  4. ↑ "Harry K. Thaw is Dead in Florida. Coronary Thrombosis Fatal to Former 'Playboy' Who Shot Stanford White in 1906". New York Times. February 22, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  5. ↑ "Harry K. Thaw, Ex-Millionaire Playboy, Is Dead". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 1947. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  6. ↑ "Died". Time. March 3, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  7. ↑ "Harry Thaw Will Leaves $10,000 To Evelyn Nesbit". Associated Press. March 30, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23.
  8. ↑ "Countess De Perigny, Harry Thaws Sister. Widow of George L. Carnegie, Nephew of Steel Magnate". The New York Times. January 10, 1942. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  9. ↑ "Count Roger De Perigny. British East Africa Rancher Married Carnegie Kin". New York Times. November 8, 1945. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  10. ↑ "Countess Perigny Sued For Alienation. Newark Woman Says Sister of Harry Thaw Stole Husband, an Auto Salesman". New York Times. February 10, 1924. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  11. ↑ "Mrs. Geoffrey Whitney, Broker's Widow And Member of Thaw Family, Dies at 75". The New York Times. May 10, 1955. Retrieved 2010-10-09.
  12. ↑ "Former Countess of Yarmouth to Marry Boston Broker in Spring". New York Times. December 19, 1912. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
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