The grand marble building was named by the final Mrs. Flagler herself: "Whitehall." Flagler was entombed in the Flagler family mausoleum at Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine alongside his first wife, Mary Harkness; daughter, Jenny Louise; and granddaughter, Marjorie. After Mary died Henry married her nurse-caregiver, Ida Alice Shourds. Flagler originally intended West Palm Beach to be the terminus of his railroad system, but in 1894 and 1895, severe freezes hit the area, causing Flagler to reconsider. Dazzled by the prospect of tremendous wealth and supported by his father-in-law, Flagler followed the smell of money to Michigan. Perhaps Henry Flagler already planned that he would need a physician to confirm his wife suffered from insanity. In general, government officials (especially Andrew Anderson) permitted Flagler to widen the roads and to dredge marshes to establish neighborhoods. [25] The "trust" was a corporation of corporations, and the entity's size and wealth drew much attention. HENRY FLAGLER "Father of Florida" American Industrialist Early Days was born on January 2, 1830 in Hopewell, New York, raised in a. Henry Flagler's first visit to Florida was in the winter of 1878-9. Les Standiford (Goodreads Author) (shelved 3 times as henry-flagler) avg rating 4.08 3,518 ratings published 2002. [10] It was that shrewd attitude that caught the eye of one John D. Rockefeller. What kind of a man was Henry Flagler and why do you think this? The land owners were Julia Tuttle, whom he had met in Cleveland, Ohio, and William Brickell, who ran a trading post on the Miami River. Flagler was eighteen years older than his 35-year-old bride. [citation needed], Needing capital for his new venture, Rockefeller approached Flagler in 1867. FLORIDA KEYS Henry Morrison Flagler never lived in the Florida Keys, but he left a more lasting and valuable mark on the island chain than many lifelong residents. [39] According to Allan Nevins, in John D. Rockefeller (p 292), "Standard Oil was born as a big enterprise, it had cut its teeth as a partnership and was now ready to plunge forward into a period of greater expansion and development. Indeed, there was a legal loophole provided to affluent Americans they were allowed to pay $300 to the government and hire a substitute to serve in their place. For the train, see, Alleged use of convict leasing and debt peonage, Martin, p. 56, quoting Edwin Lefevre, in "Flagler and Florida" from, Joe Knetsch, "The Peonage Controversy and the Florida East Coast Railway,", University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Madoff scandal stuns Palm Beach Jewish community", "292: Colonel Joseph D. Potts Leader in the Pennsylvania on LiveAuctioneers", "The Story of Convict Leasing in Florida", "Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes: Online Sunshine", "Slavery Revisited: Peonage in the South", "How slave labor built the state of Florida decades after the Civil War", "Abstracts of Reports of the Immigration Commission, Vol II", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Henry_Flagler&oldid=1125174074, Jennie Louise (March 18, 1855 March 25, 1889), Knetsch, Joe. "[38] Flagler and Rockefeller worked hard for their company to achieve such prominence. Flager and his lawyers defeated all legal challenges and neither the company or its employees were ever convicted in court. . Flagler County, Florida, Flagler Beach, Florida and Flagler, Colorado are also named for him. She had been en route to St. Augustine from Charleston, South Carolina on the schooner Oneida. Henry and Mary had two Carrie died at age three. His lifelong interest was in music and its promotion, primarily in New York City. University Press of Florida. 1-17. Flagler also pioneered in the development of Florida as a U.S. vacation centre. Knetsch concludes that "Flagler in fact provided health care for his employees and was a far better employer than the press alleged. She lived the rest of her life in New York, under strict supervision by her guardians (who were chosen by Flagler, of course). It was initially intended to house entertainment amenities for the Ponce de Leon guests but was soon reimagined as its own hotel. Flagler is quoted to have responded thusly: "There was once a good church member who had always lived a correct life until well advanced in years. At the time, Key West was Florida's most populous city, with a population of 20,000, and it was also the United States' deep water port closest to the canal that the U.S. government proposed to build in Panama. The future "founder" of Florida found St. Augustine to be dirty, depressing, and worst of all boring. Education He was born on January 2, 1830 and his birthplace is Hopewell, NY. However, many other officials were wary of Henry Flagler. His half-brother Daniel had left Hopewell to live and work with his paternal uncle Lamon G. Harkness, who had a store in Republic, Ohio. The swamplands south of Savannah were thought of as a dangerous land of rugged enchantment where alligators lurked in the shadows and strange miasme was thought to carry diseases like yellow fever through the damp air. His grandson Solomon changed the spelling of the surname to Flagler and passed it on to his 11 children. Henry had 3 siblings: Melacinda Flagler and 2 other siblings. The company expanded into the grain and distillery businesses, and the latter was sold after making considerable money. It kept oil prices low to stave off competitors, made its products affordable to the average household, and, to increase market penetration, sometimes sold below cost if necessary. Ida Alice Shourds became Ida Alice Shourds Flagler in June of 1883 and moved into the Flagler family home the day after their wedding. And even Thomas Edison had his hand in this project, having been responsible for wiring the entirety of the Hotel Ponce de Leon with electricity. [1] The Royal Poinciana Hotel was at the time the largest wooden structure in the world. His project to connect the east coast of the United States from top to bottom was completed when the first Florida East Coast Railway car pulled into Key West in 1912. According to historian David Leon Chandler, Henry Flagler is believed to either have bought a deferment in 1862 or provided the government supplies instead of service. Flagler believed that he had learned a valuable lesson: invest in a business only after thorough investigation. You see, demand for salt had risen with the beginning of the war it was necessary for the preservation of food for the troops. When asked by the president of Rollins College in Winter Park about his philanthropic efforts, Flagler reportedly replied, "I believe this state is the easiest place for many men to gain a living. There, they were both given work by Lamon Harkness, who was the brother of Dan's late father. As elated as the couple was to meet their first and only son, her condition made planning for Harry's future feel disturbingly somber. Henry Flagler didn't leave the sanitarium wanting, however, as Alice's estate (to which only her Flagler-hired guardians had direct access) was full of Standard Oil stocks. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida, and founded the city of Palm Beach. During this trip, they went to St. Augustine and the city intrigued Flagler. University Press of Florida. Having bought land for the hotel, Flagler's goal was to build a pleasure palace and turn St. Augustine, Florida, into a 'Winter Newport'. Volume 86, Number 514, 1893. [51] In 1901, Flagler bribed the Florida Legislature and Governor to pass a law that made incurable insanity grounds for divorce, opening the way for Flagler to remarry. [52] A spouse's mental incapacity was later restored by the legislature as a grounds for dissolution of marriage, and remains the law of Florida today. Birth Name: Henry Flagler Occupation: Entrepreneur Place Of Birth: NY Date Of Birth: January 2, 1830 Date Of Death: May 20, 1913 Cause Of Death: N/A Ethnicity: Unknown Nationality: American Henry Flagler was born on the 2nd of January, 1830. Even more critical, the invention of the light bulb gradually began to erode the dominance of kerosene for illumination. Perhaps because of the economic success that Flagler's industries had delivered to the state or perhaps because of direct funding being delivered to individual senators, Flagler was able to convince the legislature to pass a little bill for him in April of 1901. [60][61] At 3 p.m. on the day of the funeral, May 23, 1913, every engine on the Florida East Coast Railway stopped wherever it was for ten minutes as a tribute to Flagler. Flagler's wife died shortly after the partnership was formed. However, Henry Flagler did not join his half-brother. [22] Despite improving the quality and availability of kerosene products while greatly reducing their cost to the public (the price of kerosene dropped by nearly 80% over the life of the company), Standard Oil's business practices created intense controversy. Flagler also worked as a grain merchant. A Second Wife and a Second Career. [2] Flagler's mother was Elizabeth Caldwell Harkness Flagler, Isaac's third wife and a widow who had a stepson, Stephen V. Harkness, and a son, Daniel M. Harkness, from her marriage to deceased widower David Harkness of Milan, Ohio. Standard's most potent weapons against competitors were underselling, differential pricing, and secret transportation rebates. He returned to St. Augustine in 1885 and made Smith an offer. You see, during the Gilded Age [and for far too long after it], women could be sent to a mental institution for just about anything. Flagler controlled a vast fortune, which he earned by buying out small oil refineries and creating a monopoly with Standard Oil. [16] The railroad, seeing Standard's incursion into the transportation and pipeline fields, struck back and formed a subsidiary to buy and build oil refineries and pipelines. Many people were curious about Henry Flagler's decision to launch a new business venture during his twilight years. [citation needed], The Overseas Railroad, also known as the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway, was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935. She endured three more frigid northern winters until in 1881, when at the age of forty-eight, Mary Harkness Flagler died. Henry M. Flagler, in full Henry Morrison Flagler, (born January 2, 1830, Hopewell, New York, U.S.died May 20, 1913, West Palm Beach, Florida), American financier and partner of John D. Rockefeller, Sr., in establishing the Standard Oil Company. To learn more about the history of those buildings, visit the Alcazar Hotel Historical Place profile or the Casa Monica Hotel Historical Place profile on our website. By then the trust still had a 70% market share of the refined oil market but only 14% of the U.S. crude oil supply. Mary Harkness had been frail since childhood and her father often sent to a boarding school Savannah, Georgia as a means of sparing her from harsh northern winters. Henry is also best known as, Entrepreneur best known as the founder of Standard Oil and for helping to develop what came to be known as the Florida East Coast Railway. [citation needed], One of the most effective attacks on Flagler and Rockefeller and their firm was the 1905 publication of The History of the Standard Oil Company, by Ida Tarbell, a leading muckraker. A large portion of his estate was designated for a "niece" who was said actually to be a child born out of wedlock. (2022). Originally published by E.H. Reynolds in St. Augustine Florida, 1892. [9], By 1869, there was three times more kerosene refining capacity than needed to supply the market, and the capacity remained in excess for many years. (2022) "Historical Person Profile: Henry Flagler." Nothing major just language that "[made] incurable insanity a ground for divorce.". After the death of Flagler's eldest daughter he made it his goal to create the magnificent sanctuary. [64], On February 24, 2006, a statue of Flagler was unveiled in Key West near the spot where the Over-Sea Railroad once terminated. In June 1870, Flagler and Rockefeller formed Standard Oil of Ohio, which rapidly became the most profitable refiner in Ohio. I was willing that they should combine and grow as big and wealthy as they could, but only by legitimate means. In 1901, U.S. Steel, now controlled by J. Pierpont Morgan, having bought Andrew Carnegie's steel assets, offered to buy Standard's iron interests as well. It soon was doing one tenth of all the petroleum business in the United States. Flagler went on to build the Memorial Presbyterian Church for Jennie and her baby daughter Margery in St. Augustine. [33] Ohio was especially vigorous in applying its state anti-trust laws, and finally forced a separation of Standard Oil of Ohio from the rest of the company in 1892, the first step in the dissolution of the trust. The couple traveled to St. Augustine, Florida, which they . At age 23, Flagler married the daughter of the owner, Mary Harkness (Wright . Standard Oil had gained an aura of invincibility, always prevailing against competitors, critics, and political enemies. APA: VisitStAugustine.com. Dr. Shelton had attended Flagler's daughter Jennie Benedict when she died from complications after childbirth in 1889. The judge instructed the jury to find them not guilty because the "prosecution had failed to prove 'an agreement of minds with evil intent to conspire'. "[27] Over time foreign competition and new finds abroad eroded his dominance. Who was Henry Flagler? Flagler engaged Thomas Hastings and Jean Carrere of the Carrere & Hastings architectural firm to design the hotel. Please disable your ad blocker to view the video content. His next project was the Ponce de Leon Hotel, now part of Flagler College. Although not much is known about Ida Alice Flagler, many sources claim she became fond of opulent parties and leisurely pursuits that were available to the fabulously wealthy. Her husband, Henry Morrison Flagler, was fifty-one years old. Despite her frail health, though, she was the only one of Henry Flagler's three wives to bear him any children. Flagler completed the 1,100-room Royal Poinciana Hotel on the shores of Lake Worth in Palm Beach and extended his railroad to its service town, West Palm Beach, by 1894, founding Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. This touched off a firestorm of protest from independent oil well owners, including boycotts and vandalism, which eventually led to the discovery of Standard Oil's part in the deal. As we know, Flagler's business activity in Florida had earned him the attention of the public as well as state officials. There is also a kitchen, equipped with a dishwasher, oven and microwave. Now, imagine two hundred-plus years have passed. Flagler went on to build the Memorial Presbyterian Church for Jennie and her baby daughter Margery in St. Augustine. Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 - May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was instrumental in stopping an Al-Qaeda attack on the USS Seahawk battlegroup (which the Watertown was a part of). Hello students! "[39] Not only did Flagler and Rockefeller's Standard Oil company become well known in Ohio, they expanded to other states, as well as gained additional capital in purchasing smaller oil refining companies across the nation. After her husband died, Julia and her children returned to Ft. Dallas and purchased 640 acres on the north shore of the Miami River. The railroads were fighting fiercely for traffic and, in an attempt to create a cartel to control freight rates, formed the South Improvement Company in collusion with Standard and other oil men outside the main oil centers. His personal dedication to the state of Florida was demonstrated when he began construction on his private residence, Kirkside, in St. Augustine. [citation needed][66], "Henry M. Flagler" redirects here. Flagler and Rockefeller had envisioned the use of pipelines as an alternative transport system for oil and began a campaign to build and acquire them. Finally, Dan Harkness (7 perhaps Henry's favorite sibling), was Henry's mother's son from her first husband. Ida Alice (ne Shourds) Flagler had been a caregiver for Mary. Melbert Cary died in 1941, and after his death Mary continued to divide her. Those first two seasons during which Flagler hosted an innumerable amount of parties, electric light displays, and opulent dinners (all of which were accompanied by music from the best musicians of the time) were met with eager approval by guests and the press. In the kerosene industry, Standard Oil replaced the old distribution system with its own vertical system. She married Frederick L. Tuttle 1867-1886), and they had two children, Frances Emeline 1868 and Henry 1870. Son of the late Henry M. Flagler, but never interested himself in his father's railroad and development projects in Florida, nor in the Standard Oil Co. through his mother, the former Mary Harkness. Flagler gave them the honored center positions in the mausoleum. If you ask the same question in Florida, most people will have known someone who lives on Flagler Blvd., in Flagler County, or down the road from the Flagler Museum. 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