John Reid (October 14, 1840 – October 7, 1916) was a Scottish-American businessman who has been called "The Father of Golf" in the United States.

Early life

Reid was born on October 14, 1840, in Dunfermline,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He was the son of Helen (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Arnot) Reid and Andrew Reid and received his early education in Scotland.

Career

In 1866, Reid emigrated to the United States, and within a few months of his arrival, began working for J. L. Mott Iron Works, which was founded by Jordan L. Mott in 1828. Reid was eventually promoted to General Manager, which he held for thirty-nine years. He also served as a trustee of the J. L. Mott Iron Works and a director of the Central Foundry Company, the Central Iron & Coal Company and the Trenton Fire Clay & Porcelain Company. Upon Jordan L. Mott Jr.'s death in 1915, Reid served as executor of his estate. He was a member of the Engineers' Club, the Fulton Club, the Society of British Schools and Universities and the Burns Society. He was also elected a member of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, of which he served as the 38th President from 1898 to 1899, when he was succeeded by

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 ...

as president.

Interest in golf

Around 1887, he introduced and played the " Royal Scottish Game" on an improvised course near his home and was the leader of the Apple Tree Gang. On November 14, 1888, at a dinner at his house, he founded and, served as the first president of Saint Andrew's Golf Club located in

Hastings-on-Hudson, New York Hastings-on-Hudson is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County located in the southwestern part of the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in the state of New Yo ...

. Reid's portrait by Frank Fowler hangs in the dining room. Today, the club is the oldest golf club in the United States.

Personal life

On October 28, 1873, Reid was married to Elizabeth Eddy "Lizzie" Mudge (1854–1925) at Volcano, Virginia. Lizzie was the daughter of Daniel C. Mudge and Ellen (née Carr) Mudge. Together, they resided at 408 Palisades Avenue in Yonkers and were the parents of: * Andrew Reid (1874–1876), who died in infancy. * Ellen M. Reid (1876–1962), who married lawyer Alexander Brown Halliday in 1899. * John Reid Jr. (1878–1925), also a golfer, who helped found the Yale University Golf Club in 1896. He married Jeanette Bull. * Jean Arnot Reid (1882–1955), a painter. * Archibald M. Reid (1884–1967), who was a member of the 1902 Yale intercollegiate champion team and captain in 1904. He was a partner in Carlisle & Jacquelin, and a former president of the United States Golf Association. After a lingering illness, Reid died on October 7, 1916, at his residence in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, John 1840 births 1916 deaths People from Dunfermline Businesspeople from New York City Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York Scottish emigrants to the United States 19th-century American businesspeople