Charles D. Barney
Charles D. Barney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Sandusky, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 1945 (aged 101) |
| Occupation | Stockbroker |
| Known for | Founder of Charles D. Barney & Co. |
Charles Dennis Barney (July 9, 1844 – October 24, 1945) was a prominent American stockbroker and the founder of Charles D. Barney & Co., which later became part of the brokerage firm Smith Barney.
Early life
Born in Sandusky, Ohio, Barney was the son of grain trader Charles D. Barney (1812–1849) and Elizabeth Caldwell (née Dennis) Barney (1820–1908). After his father succumbed to a cholera epidemic in 1849, his mother remarried Rev. Moses Kieffer, who had previously served as president of Heidelberg College in Tiffin, Ohio.
His paternal lineage included Throop Barney and Sarah Richmond (née Danforth) Barney, while his maternal grandparents, Eben Jacob Dennis and Amanda Gilmore (née Caldwell) Dennis, hailed from a well-established New York family.
Barney began studies at the University of Michigan as the American Civil War erupted. Following the death of his elder brother Henry Caldwell Barney, he enlisted in late 1862 as a corporal with Company B of the 145th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry. His military duties involved guarding fortifications along the Potomac River, defending Washington against cavalry raids led by Gen. Jubal Early.
Career
Post-war, Barney briefly served as a bank clerk in Sandusky before relocating to Philadelphia. There he married Laura Elmina Cooke, daughter of financier Jay Cooke, and joined Jay Cooke & Company. After the collapse of his father-in-law’s banking firm in 1873, Barney restructured the business into Chas. D. Barney & Co., with his brother-in-law Jay Cooke, Jr. holding a minority stake.
Although Barney stepped back from day-to-day management in 1907, he stayed engaged with the company into the 1930s. Key figures in leadership included Henry E. Butler, his son-in-law J. Horace Harding, Jay Cooke III, and Charles S. Phillips. In 1938, Charles D. Barney & Co. merged with Edward B. Smith & Co., creating the entity known as Smith Barney & Co.
Personal life
In 1868, Barney wed Laura Elmina Cooke (1849–1919), daughter of Philadelphia financier Jay Cooke. The couple appeared in the Social Register and had six daughters:
- Dorothea Elizabeth Allen Barney (1871–1935), who married financier James Horace Harding in 1898.
- Elizabeth Barney (1872–1953), who became wife to John Hammann Whittaker.
- Catherine Cooke Barney (1873–1942), who wed Joseph Shallgrass Bunting.
- Emily Bronaugh Barney (1876–1961), who married German nobleman Baron Johann Friedrich Hiller von Gaertringen.
- Laura Barney (1878–1950), who was married to Henry Miller Watts, son of diplomat Ethelbert Watts.
- Carlotta Doris Barney (1885–1954), who married Archibald Blair Hubard.
Barney held a directorship at the Union League of Philadelphia.
Celebrating his 100th birthday in 1944 at his estate Eildon in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, surrounded by family and caregivers, he had expressed a wish to outlive John D. Rockefeller Sr. He passed away at age 101 on October 24, 1945, at Eildon near Philadelphia and was recognized as one of the oldest surviving American Civil War veterans at that time.
Descendants
Barney's lineage includes his daughter Dorothea, through whom he became the grandfather of actress Laura Barney Harding, known for her close friendship with Katharine Hepburn. He was also grandfather to bankers William Barclay Harding (1907–1967) and Charles Barney Harding (1899–1979), the latter of whom married Marion Choate, thereby connecting the family to influential individuals such as Ambassador Joseph Hodges Choate. Additionally, through his daughter Laura, Barney was the great-grandfather of inventor Nick DeWolf.
Residence
In 1878, Barney and his spouse purchased "Eildon," a farmhouse adjacent to the Ogontz estate located in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The initial building, which had formerly served as Miss Carr's Ladies Seminary, was destroyed by fire soon after the acquisition. By 1881, they had commissioned a distinguished Queen Anne-style residence designed by Isaac Harding Hobbs, recognized as one of Chelten Hills' most exceptional homes. This stone mansion was eventually torn down in 1947, and the Elkins Park House apartments were later erected on the property in 1956.
References
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