William Thaw Sr.

William Thaw
Born (1818-10-12)October 12, 1818
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Died August 17, 1889(1889-08-17) (aged 70)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Net worth US$12 million at the time of his death (approximately 1/1040th of US GNP)[1]
Spouse(s) Eliza Burd Blair (m. 1841–63) ended in her death
Mary Sibbet Copley (m. 1867–89) ended in his death
Children Benjamin Thaw Sr. (1859–1933)
Harry Kendall Thaw (1871–1947)
Alice Cornelia Thaw (1880-1955)
Parent(s) John Thaw
Relatives Russell William Thaw, grandson
William Thaw II, grandson
Reverend Stephen Thaw, grandson

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

Biography

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on October 12, 1818, to John Thaw and his wife Elizabeth Thomas. He worked as a clerk in his father's United States Bank of Philadelphia in Pittsburgh. He later switched to McKee, Clark and Co.

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

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.

In 1863 after the death of his first wife, he married Mary Sibbet Copley.[3][4] They had five children that survived childhood:

He died on August 17, 1889.

Philanthropy

William 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.

Legacy

He is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune. 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. ↑ 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 and Eliza B Thaw, (1st gen) 1st daughter Eliza married George B.Edwards, (2nd gen) their daughter Burd Blair married Charles E. Dickson, (3rd gen.) their daughter Burd Blair married Frederick J. Stevenson Sr., (4th gen) their son Frederick J Stevenson Jr. married Sally Wheat, (5th gen) their son Frederick J. Stevenson III married Elizabeth Tarasi,Esq., (6th gen) they had two sons, Frederick J Stevenson IV (5/18/1990)and Benjamin Wheat Stevenson(12/2/1992).
  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 2010-10-09. Mrs. Mary Copley Thaw, philanthropist, head of one of Pittsburgh's most prominent families and mother of Harry Kendall Thaw, died at 5:20 A.M. today of pneumonia, after a few days' illness. She was within five days of her eighty seventh birthday.
  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 2010-10-09. Mrs. Mary Copley Thaw, widow of William Thaw, Pittsburgh capitalist and mother of Harry K. Thaw, died at her home here today following a brief illness with pneumonia. Mrs. Thaw, who was widely known for her philanthropy was 86 years, old.
  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 2008-07-23. Harry K. Thaw, 76, died at his Miami Beach home about 8 P.M. tonight. His family physician said that the attack of coronary ...
  6. ↑ "Harry K. Thaw, Ex-Millionaire Playboy, Is Dead". Chicago Tribune. February 22, 1947. Retrieved 2010-10-09. Harry K. Thaw, 76, former multimillionaire playboy, died in his home here tonight of coronary thrombosis.
  7. ↑ "Died". Time (magazine). March 3, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23. Harry Kendall Thaw, 76, multimillionaire turn-of-the-century playboy whose murder of famed Architect Stanford White over Evelyn Nesbit in 1906 was the granddaddy of all tabloid sensations; of coronary thrombosis; in Miami Beach. Eccentric girl-chaser Thaw put three bullets in White at a Manhattan roof garden for the alleged seduction, before Thaw had married her, of ex-Florodora girl Evelyn.
  8. ↑ "Harry Thaw Will Leaves $10,000 To Evelyn Nesbit". Associated Press. March 30, 1947. Retrieved 2008-07-23. Harry K. Thaw, multi-millionaire playboy who died at his Miami Beach home Feb. 22 at 76, bequeathed $10000 to the wife ...
  9. ↑ "Mrs. Geoffrey Whitney, Broker's Widow And Member of Thaw Family, Dies at 75". New York Times. May 10, 1955. Retrieved 2010-10-09. Alice Cornelia Thaw Whitney, the widow of Geoffrey G. Whitney, Boston stockbroker, and sister of the late Harry K. Thaw, died here yesterday in her home of ...
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