Samuel B. Sneath

Samuel Baugher Sneath (December 19, 1828 – January 7, 1915) was an American businessman involved in banking, railroading, and manufacturing.”[1] He was considered among the "founders, builders, and defenders" of the United States.[2] Sneath and his wife Laura were also philanthropists, and the Samuel B. Sneath Memorial Publication Fund was established by Mrs. Sneath with a gift to the Divinity School of Yale University on October 19, 1922.[3]

Samuel B. Sneath
Samuel B. Sneath
Born(1828-12-19)December 19, 1828
Tiffin, OH
Died(1915-01-07)January 7, 1915
Pass Christian, MS
NationalityAmerican
OccupationCapitalist
Known forBanker, railroad owner, manufacturer
Spouse(s)Mary L. Davis (died 1868)
Laura A. Stephenson
ChildrenFrances Sneath Niles, Ralph Davis Sneath, Marian Sneath Wilson, Richard W. Sneath
Signature

Sneath was born, raised, and educated in Tiffin, Ohio. He was 13 years old when his father died, and soon began working at the family fanning mill. His early business ventures included a dry goods store and a grain firm.[1] Later he became involved with businesses as diverse as the Sneath Glass Company, National Exchange Bank of Tiffin, and the Tiffin, Fostoria, and Eastern Electric Railway.[4]

Sneath's brother Richard G. Sneath and cousin A. G. Sneath were also involved in banking, as was Sneath's son Ralph Davis Sneath.[Note 1] Most of the Sneath siblings moved to California, but Samuel and son Ralph remained in Ohio for much of their lives. The Sneath family became some of the most prominent bankers in the United States by the beginning of the 20th century, and continued to be notable until the 1960s.[8]

Identity and origins

Samuel Sneath's grandfather, George Sneath, was a Scotsman who emigrated to the North American Province of Pennsylvania prior to the American Revolutionary War.[1] The family settled in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and the Sneath family home was in a cross roads village that became known as “Sneath’s Corner”.[Note 2] (Sneath's Corner is now part of Brookhaven, Pennsylvania). Years later, George's son Richard moved to Maryland, and married Catherine Baugher. In 1826, the couple moved from Frederick County, Maryland, to Tiffin, Ohio.[9] Their family included three small children at that time, and son Richard George Sneath eventually became involved in banking. Richard and Catherine had more children after moving to Tiffin, including Samuel Baugher Sneath.

Richard Sneath (Samuel's father) was a successful businessman who owned a tavern. He also built a fanning mill, which was used to clean and sort coarse grains—and would provide valuable experience for his son Samuel.[10] The mill was successful enough to enable Sneath to invest profits in a hotel. Samuel Sneath was only 13 years old when his father died. By the age of 15, Sneath was employed at the family's fanning mill.

Businesses
  • Shriver & Sneath – dry goods began 1853
  • grain
  • National Exchange Bank of Tiffin – began 1865
  • Tiffin Woolen Mills – formed in 1867 by a group of investors that included S.B. Sneath and A.G. Sneath.[11]
  • Commercial Bank of Tiffin – began 1876
  • Interstate Trust and Banking Co.
  • Mortgage Securities Co. of New Orleans
  • Western Pottery Co.
  • National Machinery Co.
  • Sneath Glass Company
  • Tiffin Fostoria & Eastern Electric Railway
  • Tiffin City Railway
  • Tiffin, Fostoria, and Eastern Railroad
  • Riverview Park
  • Webster Manufacturing plant

Organizations and philanthropy

Oakley Park – land donated by Warren P. Noble, Samuel B. Sneath, and J. W. Shaufelberger in 1888.

Notes and references
  1. A. G. Sneath started the Bank of Tiffin in 1858.[5] Both A. G. Sneath and S. B. Sneath were incorporators of the National Exchange Bank of Tiffin in 1865.[5] Richard G. Sneath was involved with the Anglo-California bank in San Francisco.[6] Ralph Davis Sneath was a bank president who also became president of the Ohio Bankers Association.[7]
  2. At least one source says George Sneath and his children were from Delaware—possibly confusing Delaware County, Pennsylvania, with the nearby state of Delaware.[9] Because Sneath's Corner is located in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania location mentioned by another source is more likely to be the site of the family home and birthplace of the Sneath children.[1]
References
  1. Unlisted (National Cyclopaedia) 1920, p. 22
  2. Unlisted (National Cyclopaedia) 1920, p. cover page
  3. "Full text of "A history of religious education in Connecticut to the middle of the nineteenth century [microform]"". Internet Archive. Retrieved 2012-06-29. The present volume is the first work published by the Yale University Press on the Samuel B. Sneath Memorial Publication Fund. This Foundation was established on October 19, 1922, by a gift to the Divinity School of Yale University from Mrs. Laura S. Sneath, of Tiffin, Ohio, in memory of her husband, Samuel B. Sneath. He was born on December 19, 1828, in Tiffin, where he resided until his death on January 7, 1915. As merchant, manufacturer, banker, and organizer of public utilities he made, throughout a long and public-spirited life, a substantial contribution to the development of his native state.
  4. Unlisted (National Cyclopaedia) 1920, pp. 22–23
  5. Baughman 1911, p. 372
  6. Unlisted (The Bay of San Francisco...) 1892, p. 428
  7. Shimansky 1914, p. 34
  8. Barnes 1982, p. 35
  9. Barnes 1982, p. 34
  10. "Webster's Online Dictionary". Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913). Retrieved 2012-07-28.
  11. Barnes 1982, p. 100
Cited works
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