William Thaw Sr.

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

William Thaw
Born(1818-10-12)October 12, 1818
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 17, 1889(1889-08-17) (aged 70)
Paris, France
Net worthUS $12 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1040th of US GNP)[1]
Spouse(s)
Children
Parent(s)John Thaw
Elizabeth Thomas
RelativesRussell William Thaw (grandson)
William Thaw II (grandson)
Signature

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 1887–1889
William Thaw monument in Allegheny Cemetery, Pittsburgh

In 1841, William Thaw married Eliza Burd Blair (1822-1863). They had five children that survived childhood:[2]

  • Eliza Thaw (1843–1912), who married George Breed Edwards (1842-1887)
  • William Thaw Jr. (1853-1892), who married Elizabeth Dohrman (1854-1948)
  • Mary Thaw (1856-1944), who in 1879 married William Reed Thompson (1845-1906)
  • Benjamin Thaw Sr. (1859–1933), who married Elma Ellsworth Dows (1861-1931)
  • Alexander Blair Thaw (1860–1937), who in 1886 married Florence Dow (1864-1940)

In 1867, after the death of his first wife, he married Mary Sibbet Copley (1843–1929).[3][4] They had five children that survived childhood:

  • Harry Kendall Thaw (1871–1947), who would later shoot and kill the prominent architect Stanford White in front of hundreds of witnesses and be ruled insane and confined to a mental institution[5][6][7] In his will, he left $10,000, less than 1% of his fortune, to his estranged wife, the film actress and former model Evelyn Nesbit.[8]
  • Edward Thaw (1873-1924), who married Jane Olmsted (1880-1958)
  • Josiah Copley Thaw (1874-1944), who in 1903 married Mary Harrington Thomson (1881-1947)
  • Margaret Copley Thaw (1877–1942),[9] who first married George Lauder Carnegie (1876–1921), nephew of Andrew Carnegie. After his death, she married Roger, Comte de Périgny and became Countess de Périgny.[10][11]
  • Alice Cornelia Thaw (1880–1955), who married George Seymour, 7th Marquess of Hertford (1871–1940).[12] They divorced and she married Geoffrey George Whitney Sr. in 1913.[13]

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

Thaw died in Paris on August 17, 1889.[14][15]

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 killing of noted architect Stanford White resulted in a sensational "trial of the century" and aftermath.

A small town in East Central Illinois is named Thawville in honor of William Thaw Sr. William K. Thaw owned a controlling interest in the GCS and Thawville was platted in November 1871. The GCS went into receivership during the panic of 1873 and was later taken over by the Illinois Central Company. William K. Thaw visited the town only once—in February 1874 or 1875. At that time he was snowbound in town for two or three days. Taylor John owned the land now included in Thawville as far east as Wood St. and as far north as County Road (State Aid Road). Although an attempt to incorporate Thawville failed in 1897, another attempt was successful in 1903. The town is still there.

A plaque is on the front 304 Wood Street in Downtown Pittsburgh, commemorating his birthplace.

References
  1. 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. "William Thaw, Sr". FindAGrave. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  3. "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 October 9, 2010.
  4. "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 October 9, 2010.
  5. "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 July 23, 2008.
  6. "Harry K. Thaw, Ex-Millionaire Playboy, Is Dead". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 1947. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  7. "Died". Time. March 3, 1947. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  8. "Harry Thaw Will Leaves $10,000 To Evelyn Nesbit". Associated Press. March 30, 1947. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  9. "Countess De Perigny, Harry Thaws Sister. Widow of George L. Carnegie, Nephew of Steel Magnate". The New York Times. January 10, 1942. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  10. "Count Roger De Perigny. British East Africa Rancher Married Carnegie Kin". New York Times. November 8, 1945. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  11. "Countess Perigny Sued For Alienation. Newark Woman Says Sister of Harry Thaw Stole Husband, an Auto Salesman". New York Times. February 10, 1924. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  12. "Mrs. Geoffrey Whitney, Broker's Widow And Member of Thaw Family, Dies at 75". The New York Times. May 10, 1955. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  13. "Former Countess of Yarmouth to Marry Boston Broker in Spring". New York Times. December 19, 1912. Retrieved December 29, 2010.
  14. "Death of William Thaw". The Yonkers Statesman. Paris. August 17, 1889. p. 1. Retrieved January 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Obituary" (PDF). The New York Times. August 18, 1889. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
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