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.[1]
William Goodsell Rockefeller | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 21, 1870 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | November 30, 1922 (aged 52) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Spouse | Elsie Stillman |
| Children | 5 |
| Parent(s) | William Rockefeller Almira Geraldine Goodsell |
| Relatives | See Rockefeller family |
Early life
editHe was born on May 21, 1870, in Manhattan, New York City. He was the third child of Standard Oil co-founder William Avery Rockefeller Jr. and Almira Geraldine Goodsell, who married in 1864. His uncle was John D. Rockefeller and his paternal grandfather was William Rockefeller Sr.[2]
Rockefeller attended Yale University, where he was a member of Alpha Delta Phi, and graduated in 1892.[1]
Career
editAlthough he was predicted by Thomas W. Lawson to be the future head of Standard Oil, the prediction did not prove true. Following his graduation from Yale, he suffered a serious attack of typhoid fever before entering 26 Broadway.[1] Rockefeller was treasurer of the Standard Oil Company of New York for several years until his retirement in 1911.[1]
He served as a director of the Brooklyn Union Gas Company (of which he was also vice-president), the Inspiration Consolidated Copper Company, the New York Mutual Gas Light Company, the Oregon Short Line Railroad, the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company, the Union Pacific Railroad, and the Consolidated Textile Company, of which he had only been elected a director shortly before his death in 1922.[1]
Personal life
editOn November 21, 1895, Rockefeller married Sarah Elizabeth "Elsie" Stillman, daughter of National City Bank president James Jewett Stillman and Sarah Elizabeth Rumrill.[3] Rockefeller's father had become a large shareholder of the National City Bank and his alliance with the Stillman family was sealed by the marriage of his two sons with two Stillman daughters. Rockefeller's brother, Percy Avery Rockefeller, married Elsie's sister, Isabel Goodrich Stillman.[1] Together, William and Elsie were the parents of four sons and a daughter:[4]
- William Avery Rockefeller III (1896–1973),[5] who married Florence Lincoln (1897–1998), sister of Frederic W. Lincoln IV, in 1918.[6]
- Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller (1899–1983), who married Helen Gratz, brother-in-law of Edward H. Watson.[7]
- James Stillman Rockefeller (1902–2004),[8] who married Nancy Carnegie (1900–1994), a grandniece of Andrew Carnegie.[9]
- John Sterling Rockefeller (1904–1988), who married Paula Watjen.[10][11]
- Almira Geraldine Rockefeller (1907–1997),[12] who married M. Roy Jackson in 1929.[13] After his death in 1944, she remarried in 1945 to Samuel Weston Scott.[14]
He was a member of the Union Club of the City of New York, the Union League Club, the Metropolitan Club, and the University Club.[1]
William Goodsell Rockefeller died of "double pneumonia" at his home, 292 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, on November 30, 1922, five months after his father.[1] He was interred at the Rockefeller Mausoleum at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "W. G. Rockefeller Dies of Pneumonia. Nephew of John D., Stricken on Monday, Suffered Relapse Wednesday. In Many Corporations. Elected Only Last Tuesday a Director of the Consolidated Textile Company" (PDF). New York Times. December 1, 1922. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ^ "WM. ROCKEFELLER DIES OF PNEUMONIA; ILL ONLY A WEEK; A Founder of Standard Oil Company, Brother of John D., Succumbs at Tarrytown. CAUGHT COLD IN THE RAIN Exposure as He Left His Office Recently Led to Death at the Age of 81. WORKED ALMOST TO LAST Active in Varied Affairs Which Brought Him a Fortune Estimated at $150,000,000" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 June 1922. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "MRS. ROCKEFELLER DIES IN GREENWICH; Widow of William Goodsel Rockefeller Daughter of Late James Stillman" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 May 1935. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "The Rockefeller family, one of the most powerful families in the history of the United States". Agent4Stars. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ "Governor's Cousin Apparent Suicide" (PDF). The New York Times. 15 October 1973. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "Paid Notice: Deaths FARR, FLORENCE LINCOLN". The New York Times. 29 May 1998. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "Godfrey S. Rockefeller, Dies; Executive in Textiles Was 83". The New York Times. 25 February 1983. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ "James S. Rockefeller, 102, Dies; Was a Banker and a '24 Olympian". New York Times. August 11, 2004. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
James Stillman Rockefeller, who helped capture an Olympic rowing title for the United States before a banking career with a company that eventually become Citigroup, died yesterday at his home in Greenwich, Conn., his family announced. He was 102. ...
- ^ "Nancy Rockefeller, 93, Community Volunteer". The New York Times. January 23, 1994. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "J.S. Rockefeller engaged to marry". The New York Times. March 4, 1931. p. 36.
- ^ "Rockefeller, Paula Watjen". The New York Times. August 3, 2000. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
- ^ "Almira Scott Of Edgemont, 89". The New York Times. June 14, 1997. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
Almira R. Scott, 89, of Kirkwood Farm, Edgemont, a horsewoman, died Wednesday of heart failure at the medical care facility at Dunwoody Village. ...
- ^ "ALMIRA ROCKEFELLER WEDS M.R. JACKSON; Grandniece of John D. Becomes the Bride of Westchester Clubman" (PDF). The New York Times. 13 January 1929. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "MRS. A.R. JACKSON WED TO S.W. SCOTT; Daughter of Late William G. Rockefeller of Standard Oil Married in Bryn Mawr" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 October 1945. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- ^ "MRS. ROCKEFELLER BURIED; Hundreds Prominent In Business and Social Circles at Funeral" (PDF). The New York Times. 21 May 1935. Retrieved 4 April 2019.