In 1877, Flagler and his family moved to New York City, which was becoming the center of commerce in the U.S.. They were rightfully concerned about allowing a wildly wealthy individual to have that much control over the public works of St. Augustine. He was connected with government officials and industry elites. Flagler's second wife, the former Ida Alice Shourds, was declared insane[50] by Flagler's friend Dr. Anderson in 1896 and was institutionalized on and off starting that year. Immediately, she began taking advantage of the fortune she had married into like any budding socialite, she loved gowns, jewelry, and yachts. Henry Flagler, who was considered the "brain" Rockefeller "Standard Oil," better known perhaps as the creator of the "American Riviera" in Florida (Standiford, pp. [26] Its share of world oil refining topped out above 90% but slowly dropped to about 80% for the rest of the century. 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. It had become the richest, biggest, most feared business in the world, seemingly immune to the boom and bust of the business cycle, consistently racking up profits year after year. [13] Eventually, even former antagonists Pratt and Rogers saw the futility of continuing to compete against Standard Oil: in 1874, they made a secret agreement with their old nemesis to be acquired. During the early 1880s, Flagler outsourced the care of young Harry to his half-sister Carrie and daughter Jennie Louise. Tail tucked in shame, the destitute Flagler family moved back to Ohio in January of 1866. University Press of Florida. By 1896, Flagler's railroad, the Florida East Coast Railway, reached Biscayne Bay. Ralph, Julian. However, many other officials were wary of Henry Flagler. Eldest daughter Jennie Louise died when she was a young woman (more on her later). He is known as the father of St. Augustine, Mia Pennzoil and Chevron have remained separate companies. Through this business, Flagler became acquainted with John D. Rockefeller, who worked as a commission agent with Hewitt and Tuttle for the Harkness Grain Company. Though a hard worker, Flagler was widely recognized as a ruthless businessman. Louis Comfort Tiffany (who was about ten years into his monumental career) was hired to decorate the hotel and craft its windows. [32] More threatening to Standard's power was the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, originally used to control unions, but later central to the breakup of the Standard Oil trust. 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. He found that salt mining required more technical knowledge than he had and struggled in the industry during the Civil War. Henry is originated from United States. Henry Flagler's daughter, Jennie Louise Benedict, had a baby girl on February 9, 1889. 1888: The Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, 1888: The Casa Monica/ Cordova Hotel in St. Augustine, 1894: The Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach (on Lake Worth), 1897: The Royal Palm Hotel on the banks of the Miami River, 1901: The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach (on the Atlantic Coast). He was 83 years old. She lived the rest of her life in New York, under strict supervision by her guardians (who were chosen by Flagler, of course). My 4th great-grandmother, Elizabeth Howes, married (1) William Jones (my ancestor) and (2nd) Colonel Henry Ostrom, of Pleasant Valley & Patterson, Dutchess County, NY. In 1913, Henry Flagler passed away after breaking his hip falling down a staircase at Whitehall. Mary Lily Kenan Flagler Bingham was an American philanthropist and heiress who became notorious when she married one of the richest men of the Gilded Age. MLA: VisitStAugustine.com. At last in 1911, the Supreme Court of the United States found Standard Oil Company of New Jersey in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Only his son Harry Harkness Flagler survived of the three children by his first marriage in 1853 to Mary Harkness. 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. Hotel Ponce de Leon: The Architecture & Decoration. She was the daughter of Lamon G. Harkness and Julia Follet. When he was a toddler, his two older half-sisters moved to New York to live with family, and Caroline ('Carrie') and Dan were Henry's constant companions. In 1885, Standard Oil moved its corporate headquarters to New York City to the iconic 26 Broadway location. However, this building's history is tragic and short. Control of the Flagler fortune largely passed into the hands of Mary Lily Kenan's family of sisters and brother, who survived into the 1960s. He himself is located to the side of them. The year was 1885, the month was April and things were just getting started. "[63], Miami's main east-west street is named Flagler Street and is the main shopping street in Downtown Miami. Henry Flagler passed away May 20, 1913, and the construction of the "Over-Sea" road served as an example of his substantial impact on the state. Henry married Nancy Flagler in month 1861, at age 25 at marriage place, Michigan. In February of 1885, the couple took a delayed honeymoon to St. Augustine Ida Alice was thirty-seven and Henry Flagler was fifty-five. Chandler, David Leon. There is also a monument to him on Flagler Monument Island in Biscayne Bay in Miami; Flagler College and Flagler Hospital are named after him in St. Augustine. When the city was incorporated in 1896, its citizens wanted to honor the man responsible for its growth by naming it "Flagler". [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. Despite her frail health, though, she was the only one of Henry Flagler's three wives to bear him any children. The couple traveled to St. Augustine, Florida, which they . It was due largely to the efforts of Henry M. Flagler and John D. Sets with similar terms swee1122 At the age of 14, after completing the eighth grade, Flagler moved to Bellevue, Ohio where he found work with his cousins in the grain store of L.G. [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. She is next to her mother and Flagler's first wife, Marjorie Mary Harkness Flagler. [31], Standard Oil moved its headquarters to New York City, at 26 Broadway, and Flagler and Rockefeller became central figures in the city's business community. Col Henry Ostrom & Elizabeth Flagler? Finally, Dan Harkness (7 perhaps Henry's favorite sibling), was Henry's mother's son from her first husband. He never recovered and died in Palm Beach of his injuries on May 20, 1913 at 83 years of age. In 1853 Mary married Henry Morrison Flagler and together they were parents of three children. The public and the media in Florida exploded with the scandal of it all. A large portion of his estate was designated for a "niece" who was said actually to be a child born out of wedlock. This field trip will walk you through the life of Henry Morrison Flagler and the great impact he made on South Florida. Timeline Sources cited Graham, T. (2014) Mr. Flagler's St. Augustine (A Florida Quincentennial Book). So, Henry was the youngest of a large mixed family. "[55], Flagler allegedly used convicts leased from Florida prison camps, the majority of them African-American, to clear land for the Royal Palm Hotel in Miami and to build the Florida East Coast Railway from West Palm Beach to Miami and the rail extension to Key West. 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. "Our Own Riviera," Harper's New Monthly Magazine. 101 - 123). After construction for the Ponce de Leon and the Alcazar were underway in St. Augustine, Flagler's railroad properties started to expand southwards. That year he reportedly gave her more than $1 million in jewelry. It was first established in Ohio. However, this kindly nickname does not do justice to the full story of Flagler, who was nearly fifty years old when he first set foot in Florida in 1878. Standard Oil grew to become one of the largest shippers of oil and kerosene in the country. In less than four months in 1872, in what was later known as "The Cleveland Conquest" or "The Cleveland Massacre", Standard Oil had absorbed 22 of its 26 Cleveland competitors. He was a founder of Standard Oil. When son Harry Harkness Flagler was born in December of 1870, Mary's frail health was greatly weakened by giving birth. He later joined Daniel in a grain business started with his uncle Lamon in Bellevue, Ohio. The Bingham-Flagler marriage (and questions about her death or possible murder) figured prominently in several books that appeared in the 1980s, when the Bingham family sold the newspaper in the midst of great acrimony. I do not believe any one else would develop it if I do not, but I do hope to live long enough to prove I am a good business man by getting a dividend on my investment. Asylum Hospital for crazy people. We correct them as soon as they come to our knowledge. As success quickly mounted for the young corporation, Flagler began to better provide for his family, moving them to Euclid Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. He became president of the Symphony Society of New York in 1914 . It seemed a new leaf was turning for the little family of the Robber Baron. The Flagler family, originally spelled Flegler, hailed from the southwestern corner of Germany known as the Palatinate region. The Zorayda's poured coquina and concrete structure, Spanish architecture, and lavish interior inspired Flagler, who actually tried to buy the building, but was denied. Thus began an era of Flagler's life that he never spoke about to the press one of scrimping and scraping. Along with that, Henry Flagler being referred to as a 'Robber Baron' alongside businessmen like Carnegie and Rockefeller is no exaggeration. In an overall calculation of America's oil refineries' assets and capital, Standard Oil surpassed all. July, 1975. pg. After a time, Flagler began to turn over some of his duties at Standard Oil to younger blood. They had two daughters, Jennie Louise and Carrie. For many of the competitors, Flagler and Rockefeller had merely to show them the books so they could see what they were up against and make them a decent offer. His body was sent to St. Augustine on May 23 where he was laid to rest along side of his his first wife Mary Harkness in the Memorial Presbyterian Church mausoleum built for his daughter Jennie Louise. It was during these early years of employment that young Henry Flagler cut his teeth in business one step closer to the shark he would become. [citation needed], Needing capital for his new venture, Rockefeller approached Flagler in 1867. Due to the harsh working and living conditions in the railway construction camps, many workers became victims of debt slavery. . He married his second wife, Miss Ida Shrouds, the daughter of a Philadelphia minister, in 1883. His mother, the widowed Elizabeth Caldwell (Morrison) Harkness, had brought two sons to the marriage with Flagler from her previous marriage to widower Dr. David Harkness of Milan, Ohio. While many tourists were satisfied with the charms of rural Florida, the appeal quickly wore off for the Flaglers, Henry specifically. He was the baby of the household, being born several years after the youngest of his siblings. Flagler and Rockefeller saw themselves as the industry's saviors, "an angel of mercy" absorbing the weak and making the industry as a whole stronger, more efficient, and more competitive. "1892-A Year of Crucial Decisions in Florida", This page was last edited on 2 December 2022, at 15:49. 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. Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway, Boynton station Nathan Boynton's winter home - later the Hotel Boynton While Murray and other laborers constructed the two-story wooden structure, the Murray family lived in a canvas tent on the west side of the canal (known today at the inland or Intracoastal Waterway). St. Augustine, FL: The St. Augustine Historical Society. 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. She was the mother of his three children. If Smith could raise $50,000, Flagler would invest $150,000 and they would build a hotel together. As elated as the couple was to meet their first and only son, her condition made planning for Harry's future feel disturbingly somber. Education 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. Day 2 - Flagler Legacy Tour - Flagler's Churches - St. Augustine Distillery - Dinner at Ice Plant Bar This morning after breakfast, meet your local guide for a Flagler Legacy Tour. Seven years later he became a senior salesman with a salary of $ 400 per year. The Venetian Renaissance style of the church is reflected in the pointed arches and Byzantine dome. This was the case for many wealthy men during the Civil War, including Henry's future business partner, John D. Rockefeller. To get a more in-depth narrative of the life of that building complex, visit The Ponce de Leon Hotel's Historical Place profile on our website. His parents were very poor and struggled to feed their family. From various newspapers, 1887 - 1895. If you stroll through the area of St. Augustine immediately west of downtown, you will experience the extraordinary influence of New Yorker Henry Morrison . [36] The court ruled that the trust originated in illegal monopoly practices and ordered it to be broken up into 34 new companies. He served as a vice president through 1908 and was part of ownership until 1911. Together, the three set their sights on opening a distillery that would serve nearby railroad workers. Last Train to Paradise. He is also known as a founder of the cities of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. [7] The partnership eventually grew into the Standard Oil Corporation. But in the aftermath of that battle, in 1879 the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania indicted Flagler and Rockefeller on charges of monopolizing the oil trade, starting an avalanche of similar court proceedings in other states and making a national issue of Standard Oil's business practices. [46], Realizing the need for a sound transportation system to support his hotel ventures, Flagler purchased short line railroads in what would later become known as the Florida East Coast Railway. The Standard Guide to St. Augustine. [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. [17]This subsidiary, the Empire Transportation Company, which Joseph D. Potts created in 1865 and also ran, owned other assets including a small fleet of ships on the Great Lakes. "How Slave Labor Built the State of Florida Decades After the Civil War." Mary's health was poor throughout her life, although she and Henry had three children: Jenny Louise, Carrie, and Harry Harkness. [citation needed][66], "Henry M. Flagler" redirects here. See more ideas about flagler, key west, florida. After finishing the eighth grade at fourteen, Henry followed his half-brother Dan to Ohio. [3], Flagler attended local schools through eighth grade. 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. 63 ], Flagler attended local schools through eighth grade at fourteen, Henry was baby... Than $ 1 million in jewelry Dan to Ohio see more ideas about,..., originally spelled Flegler, hailed from the southwestern corner of Germany known as a ruthless businessman Decades... Trip will walk you through the life of Henry Flagler & # x27 ; first... 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