Bernard Francis Saul (January 16, 1872 – February 1, 1931) was an American banker and businessman. He was the founder of Washington D.C.'s first mortgage bank, the B. F. Saul Company.

Biography

Bernard Francis Saul was born in 1872. His father, John Hennessy Saul, was a

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

and

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, born in

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Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and emigrating to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1851 to take over planning and development of the

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Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

His mother, Rosina Mary Lawley, was born in

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Tree Culture or a Sketch of Nurseries in the District of Columbia by John Saul
Columbia Historical Society Records, Volume 10 (Washington, D.C.) - April 9, 1906 and his parents had married in a

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ceremony in Bath in 1850. In 1890, he took a job as a clerk with the National Bank of the Republic. In 1891, he handled the sale of his father's botanical nurseries, taking accepting promissory notes from buyers which he resold to the public and in doing so, he formed Washington D.C.'s first significant mortgage bank, the B. F. Saul Company. In 1899, Saul founded a retail bank, the Home Savings Bank, which provided financing to several of Washington D.C.'s prominent businessmen including Malcolm Gibbs, the founder of

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, and real estate developer

Harry Wardman Harry Wardman (April 11, 1872 – March 18, 1938) was a real estate developer in Washington, D.C. during the early 20th century whose developments included landmark hotels, luxury apartment buildings, and many rowhouses. When he died in 1938, one- ...

. In 1919, he merged Home Savings Bank and its commercial banking capabilities, with the trust operations of American Security & Trust, whose president, Charles J. Bell (and cousin of

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (; born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born Canadian Americans, Canadian-American inventor, scientist, and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He als ...

), was a close personal friend. As payment, Saul received a large block of American Security and Trust stock and became chairman of its executive committee. Being a minority owner in American Security & Trust, Saul then focused his attention on his mortgage bank, the B.F. Saul Company, expanding its operations into property management, leasing, development, and insurance. This diversification soon proved beneficial and is the primary reason his bank survived the Stock market crash of 1929 and the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

becoming, at the time, the largest financial services company in Washington D.C.

Personal life

In 1898, he married Frances E. Maguire in

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. She was the daughter of Andrew and Frances Willoughby Maguire. The Sauls lived on 13th St in NW DC. They had six children: John M. Saul; Bernard Francis Saul Jr. (died 1954); Frances M. Saul (died 1930); Rose Saul; Andrew M. Saul (died 1985); and Teresa Saul. Saul's grandson, Bernard Francis Saul II, is the president of the B. F. Saul Company which employs over 3,000 people and services in over $2.5 billion in mortgages for institutional investors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saul, Bernard Francis 1872 births 1931 deaths American Roman Catholics American bankers American people of Irish descent American people of Anglo-Irish descent Bernard Francis