Jabez A. Bostwick

Jabez Abel Bostwick (September 23, 1830 – August 16, 1892) was an American businessman who was a founding partner of Standard Oil.

Jabez A. Bostwick
Bostwick, c.1890
Born
Jabez Abel Bostwick

(1830-09-23)September 23, 1830
Delhi, New York, U.S.
DiedAugust 16, 1892(1892-08-16) (aged 61)
Mamaroneck, New York, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
Known forCo-founder of Standard Oil
SpouseHelen Celia Ford
Children3
RelativesJoe Carstairs (granddaughter)

Early life

Bostwick was born in Delhi, New York on September 23, 1830. He was a son of Abel Bostwick (1798–1861) and Sally (née Fitch) Bostwick (1797–1869). While still a boy, his family moved to a farm in Ohio. As a young man, Jabez Bostwick first worked in a hardware store then opened his own.

Career
Share of the Standard Oil Trust dated April 5 1882, signed by Jabez A. Bostwick as Treasurer

He next ventured into the cotton brokerage business in Cincinnati but soon moved to New York City where he became involved in the production side of the oil business through his firm, Tilford & Bostwick established in 1866. He bought out Tilford and in 1878 went into successful partnership with Henry Flagler and the Rockefeller brothers, John and William. Jabez Bostwick served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Standard Oil Trust.

Jabez Bostwick was also a major shareholder and President of the New York and New England Railroad, a substantial shareholder in the Housatonic Railroad, a member of the New York Cotton Exchange, and who sat on numerous other corporate boards. In spite of the enormous wealth he obtained, Bostwick was known as a modest man of exemplary character who was a devout member of the Baptist Church. He donated money to his church and to educational institutions such as Wake Forest College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Richmond College in Richmond, Virginia.

Personal life

Bostwick was married to Helen Celia Ford (1848–1920). Helen was the daughter of Smith Reed Ford and Frances Lee (née Fox) Ford. Together, they were the parents of:

  • Nellie Ford Bostwick (1868–1906), who married Francis Lee Morrell (1863–1893) in 1887. After his death, she remarried to Hamilton Wilkes Cary (1862–1917) in 1895.
  • Frances Evelyn "Fannie" Bostwick (1872–1921),[1] who married Capt. Albert J. Carstairs (1862–1927) in 1895.[2] They divorced and she married Francis Francis (1853–1928), son of English writer Francis Francis, in 1903. They also divorced and she married Count Roger Marie Felix Symon de Perigny (1875–1945) in 1915. They also divorced and she married Dr. Serge Abrahamovitch Voronoff (1866–1951) in 1919.[1]
  • Albert Carlton Bostwick (1878–1911), who married Marie Lillian Stokes (1877–1962). After his death, Marie remarried to Fitch Gilbert.

On August 16, 1892, Bostwick died in a freak stable fire at Friedheim, his summer residence in Mamaroneck in Westchester County.[3] During the fire he tried to save his horses and carriages. As he and the stable hands pushed a coach from the carriage house he got overrun by a Private Coach weighing 2000/3000 lbs. His widow, Helen C. Bostwick, upon her death on April 27, 1920 left an estate per public record that was valued at $29,264,181.00, including nearly $20 million of Standard Oil stock.[4]

Descendants

Through his daughter Fannie, he was the grandfather of Marion Barbara "Joe" Carstairs (1900–1993), a power boat racer known for her speed and her eccentric lifestyle, and Francis Francis (1906–1982), a pilot.

Through his son Albert, he was the grandfather of five grandchildren, including: Dorothy Stokes Bostwick (1899–2001), a philanthropist and the first woman to hold a helicopter pilot's license;[5] Albert C. Bostwick Jr. (1901–1980), a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder whose horse Mate won the 1931 Preakness Stakes;[6] Lillian Bostwick Phipps (1906–1987), an owner of Thoroughbred steeplechase racehorses who won the American Grand National eight times and who married Ogden Phipps;[7] Dunbar Wright Bostwick (1908–2006), the chairman of the Aviation Instrument Manufacturing Corp. who was a standardbred horse breeder;[8] and George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick (1909–1982), a Hall of Fame polo player, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame steeplechase jockey and horse trainer.[9]

See also

References
  1. "Mme. Frances E.B. Voronoff" (PDF). The New York Times. March 6, 1921. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  2. "AN AMERICAN GIRL ENGAGED. MISS FANNY BOSTWICK TO MARRY CAPT. ALBERT CARSTAIRS" (PDF). The New York Times. May 2, 1892. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  3. "JABEZ A. BOSTWICK'S DEATH THREE LIVES LOST AT THE BURNING OF HIS STABLES. THE MILLIONAIRE BREATHES HIS LAST AFTER HELPING TO SATE HIS PROP- ERTY AT HIS COUNTRY PLACE — TWO STABLE HANDS IN THE RUINS — A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS CAREER" (PDF). The New York Times. August 18, 1892. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  4. "$29,264,181 TO HEIRS OF MRS. BOSTWICK; Widow of the Standard Oil Man Gives Practically All to Her Own Family. $350,000 GEM COLLECTION $20,000,000 in Standard Stock, $2,000,000 in Liberty Bonds--Fortune in Paintings and Furniture". The New York Times. 5 November 1921. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  5. MISS BOSTWICK WED TO SAMPSON SMITH; Daughter of Mrs. Fitch Gilbert Jr - Article Preview - The New York Times
  6. "A.C. Bostwick, 79, Racing Figure Who Won the Preakness in 1931". The New York Times. 1980-09-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-09-26.
  7. Times, Special To The New York (19 September 1937). "R. V. M'KIM OBTAINS A DIVORCE AT RENO; Other Decrees to Mrs. G. E. Du Charme, Mrs. F. B. Alexander and Mrs. L. C. Madeira 3d". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  8. New York Times January 28, 2006 article titled "Dunbar W. Bostwick, Harness Racing Innovator, Dies at 98 Retrieved December 19, 2016
  9. George H. (Pete) Bostwick; Trained Steeplechase Horses – New York Times
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