James Jewett Stillman (June 9, 1850 – March 15, 1918) was an American businessman who invested in land, banking, and railroads in New York, Texas, and Mexico. He was

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

of the board of directors of the National City Bank. He forged alliances with the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family ( ) is an American Industrial sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company was a Trust (business), corporate trust in the petroleum industry that existed from 1882 to 1911. The origins of the trust lay in the operations of the Standard Oil of Ohio, Standard Oil Company (Ohio), which had been founde ...

and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. to lay a foundation that made it, arguably, "the greatest bank in the Western Hemisphere." He engaged in an expansion policy that made National City the largest bank in the United States by 1894, the first to open foreign branches, and a leader in foreign exchange. By 1902, the bank was able to pay any sum of money to any city in the world within 24 hours. He was worth approximately $77 million at the time of his death, making him one of the wealthiest people in the country at the time.

Biography

Stillman was born on June 9, 1850, to

Charles Stillman Charles Stillman (November 4, 1810 – December 18, 1875) was the founder of Brownsville, Texas, and was part owner of a successful river boat company on the Rio Grande. Early life He was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, United States, ...

(1810–1875) and Elizabeth Pamela Goodrich in

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Cameron County, Texas, Cameron County, located on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border, border with Matamoros, Tamaulipas ...

, a town founded by his father. Both of his parents were born in

Wethersfield, Connecticut Wethersfield ( ) is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located immediately south of Hartford along the Connecticut River. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The population was 27,298 at the time ...

. Charles Stillman had significant business interests which James acquired in 1872. He expanded those to control of sixteen Texas banks and a significant land holdings in the

Rio Grande Valley Lower Rio Grande Valley (), often referred to as the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) of South Texas, is a region located in the southernmost part of Texas, along the northern bank of the Rio Grande. It is also known locally as the Valley or the 956 (the ...

, particularly Corpus Christi and

Kerrville, Texas Kerrville is a city in Texas, and the county seat of Kerr County, Texas, United States. The population of Kerrville was 24,278 at the 2020 census. Kerrville is named after James Kerr, a major in the Texas Revolution, and friend of settler-fo ...

. Stillman was an investor in a Fractional Warrant of the

Baltimore & Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 until 1987, when it was merged into the Chessie ...

. Along with

Edward Henry Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergym ...

, Jacob Henry Schiff and

William Rockefeller William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also a part owner of Anaconda Co ...

, he controlled the most important Texas railroads (including the

Texas and Pacific Railway The Texas and Pacific Railway Company (known as the T&P) was created by federal charter in 1871 with the purpose of building a southern transcontinental railroad between Marshall, Texas, and San Diego, California. However its lines never went we ...

, the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

, the International-Great Northern Railroad, the Union Pacific Southern Railway, the

St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway Chartered on June 6, 1903, the St. Louis, Brownsville & Mexico Railway (also known as the ''Brownie'') was a 200-mile (321 km) U.S. railroad that operated from Brownsville, Texas, to Gulf Coast Junction in Houston, Texas. It served numerous t ...

, and the

Mexican National Railroad Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

). In 1876, Stillman supported

Porfirio Díaz José de la Cruz Porfirio Díaz Mori (; ; 15 September 1830 – 2 July 1915) was a General (Mexico), Mexican general and politician who was the dictator of Mexico from 1876 until Mexican Revolution, his overthrow in 1911 seizing power in a Plan ...

's overthrow of the government of Mexico by the Revolution of Tuxtepec. He was

of the board of directors of the National City Bank and retired in 1908. He died on March 15, 1918, at his home at 9 East 72nd St (also called The Henry T Sloane House) His funeral was at

St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York St. Bartholomew's Church, commonly known as St. Bart's, is a historic Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal parish founded in January 1835, and located on the east side of Park Avenue between 50th and 51st Street (Manhatt ...

Personal life & family

James Stillman was married to Sarah Elizabeth Rumrill from 1855 to 1925. Together they had: * Sarah Elizabeth "Elsie" Stillman (1872–1935), who married

William Goodsell Rockefeller William Goodsell Rockefeller (May 21, 1870 – November 30, 1922) was a director of the Consolidated Textile Company and a member of the prominent Rockefeller family. Early life Rockefeller was born on May 21, 1870, in Manhattan, New York City. He ...

(1870–1922), a son of

senior executive

* James Alexander Stillman (1873–1944), who married Anne Urquhart Potter. He also served as president of

National City Bank of New York Citibank, N.A. ("N. A." stands for "National bank (United States), National Association"; stylized as citibank) is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of Citigroup, a financial services multinational corporation, multinational corporation. Ci ...

* Isabel Goodrich Stillman (1876–1935), who married

Percy Avery Rockefeller Percy Avery Rockefeller (February 27, 1878 — September 25, 1934) was a board director who founded and was vice president of Owenoke Corporation. He was a son of American Businessman William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and a nephew of Standard Oil co ...

(1878–1934) in 1901. Percy was another son of William Rockefeller * Charles Chauncey Stillman (1877–1926), who died aboard the RMS ''Aquitania'' and who married Mary E. White (1870–1925). * Ernest Goodrich Stillman (1884–1949), who created

Black Rock Forest Black Rock Forest is a forest and biological field station maintained by Black Rock Forest Consortium. It is located in the western Hudson Highlands region of the U.S. state of New York, in Orange County, mostly in the town of Cornwall, with t ...

and married Mildred Margaret Whitney (1890–1950) Stillman was an intimate friend of both

James O. Bloss James O. Bloss (September 30, 1847 – December 15, 1918) was the president of the New York Cotton Exchange and domestic partner of John William Sterling, founding partner of Shearman & Sterling LLP and major benefactor to Yale University. Biogra ...

and

John William Sterling John William Sterling (May 12, 1844 – July 5, 1918) was a founding partner of Shearman & Sterling LLP and major benefactor to Yale University. Early life and career John William Sterling was born in Stratford, Connecticut, the son of Ca ...

. After the death of

James Gordon Bennett Jr. James Gordon Bennett Jr. (May 10, 1841May 14, 1918) was an American publisher. He was the publisher of the ''New York Herald'', founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett Sr. (1795–1872), who emigrated from Scotland. He was generally known as ...

, it was learned by the administrators of his estate that he had appointed Stillman one of the administrators and trustees. Stillman had little or no opportunity to act under the authority of Bennett's will, as he died a few weeks after Bennett's death. Stillman named Sterling one of his executors. Sterling could hardly have begun his duties under Stillman's will when he too died suddenly. The Bennett estate, the Stillman estate and the Sterling estate totaled about $76,000,000. After Sterling's death it was learned that he had appointed his long time intimate companion, Bloss, one of the executors. And a few weeks after Sterling's death, Bloss died.

Descendants

His grandchildren included

Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller (May 1, 1899 – February 23, 1983) was an American financier and chairman of Cranston Print Works, a Rockefeller-owned textile company. Early life Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller was born on May 1, 1899, and was the sec ...

(1899–1983), a financier, and

James Stillman Rockefeller James Stillman Rockefeller (June 8, 1902 – August 10, 2004) was a member of the prominent U.S. Rockefeller family. He won an Olympic rowing title for the United States, then became president of what eventually became Citigroup. He was a ...

(1902–2004), who married Nancy Carnegie (died 1994), grandniece of

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

. James also served as president of National City from 1952 to 1959 and was chairman from 1959 to 1967. His great-grandson is the director, and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

nominee,

Whit Stillman John Whitney Stillman (born January 25, 1952) is an American writer-director and actor known for his 1990 film '' Metropolitan'', which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is also known for his other f ...

(born 1952).

Legacy

In 1928, the was named in his honor. At the time, it was the largest

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

in the World. Stillman is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune.

References

External links