Samuel Reading Bertron
Samuel Reading Bertron Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Port Gibson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 1938 (aged 73) Cove Neck, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, lawyer |
| Known for | American financier; involvement in diplomatic peace talks and Root commission to Russia |
Samuel Reading Bertron Jr. (February 26, 1865 – June 30, 1938) was a prominent American financier.
Biography
Born in Port Gibson, Mississippi, Bertron Jr. was the son of Samuel Reading Bertron Sr., a Presbyterian clergyman educated at Princeton University, and Ottilie Mueler, who emigrated from Germany. His father, having relocated to Mississippi in 1835, married three times and fathered five children; Bertron Jr. was the sole offspring from the third union. The elder Bertron passed away during the yellow fever outbreak of 1878.
Bertron Jr. completed his studies at Yale University in 1885, where he participated in football and was affiliated with the Skull and Bones society. The McIlhenny family reportedly financed his education under the condition that he would return to Port Gibson to work on their behalf. Upon graduation, he gained admission to the Mississippi bar in 1886 and began practicing law locally before moving to the East Coast. In 1889, he joined the Boston office of Equitable Mortgage Company and later transferred to its New York City branch in 1892, where he also qualified for the New York bar. By 1894, Bertron had left both his legal career and Equitable to become involved with an investment firm that ultimately evolved into his own enterprise.
In 1888, he wed Caroline Maury Harding; together they had a daughter, Elizabeth Maury Bertron, who married Snowden Andrews Fahnestock in 1910.
While residing in New York, Bertron participated in diplomatic activities, including aiding peace talks between Italy and Turkey in 1912 and serving on the Root commission to Russia in 1917. Additionally, he provided testimony before the Federal Electric Railways Commission.
Bertron passed away on June 30, 1938, at his home in Cove Neck, New York and was interred at Wintergreen Cemetery located in Port Gibson.