- James Ellsworth
James Ellsworth (
Hudson, Ohio ,October 13 ,1849 –June 2 ,1925 at Villa Palmieri inFlorence, Italy ) was an American coal mine owner and banker.Early life
He attended the Western Reserve College and Preparatory School (now known as
Western Reserve Academy ) and, upon graduation in 1868, he took a job working as a clerk for a wholesale drug company inCleveland, Ohio .The building of a fortune
In 1869 he joined the coal mining firm
Ames & Co. of which he acquired ownership interest in 1873. The newly renamedJames W. Ellsworth & Co. enjoyed enormous success with mines operating inOhio ,Pennsylvania , andWest Virginia and offices inChicago ,New York City and
Pittsburgh.He served as the president of the
Union National Bank of Chicago from 1896 to 1898 during which time he was a signatory ofNational Bank notes.Ellsworth owned a number of residences including ones in
Chicago ,New York City ,Hudson, Ohio ,Switzerland andFlorence, Italy .The Ellsworth family
He married
Eva Frances Butler on November 4, 1874. He had one son,Lincoln Ellsworth (1880-1951), who was born inChicago . Lincoln later made contributions to aviation in theArctic andAntarctica , flying across the continent ofAntarctica withHerbert Hollick-Kenyon in 1935.James Ellsworth was vitally interested in polar exploration and donated vast sums of money toRoald Amundsen 's expedition to theNorth Pole in 1925, in which Lincoln was a pilot. He also had a daughter named Clare.Membership in the Numismatic Society
Ellsworth joined the American
Numismatic and Archaeological Society in 1893, reflecting his lifelong passion of coin collecting. Over his lifetime he amassed an incredible 2,000-piece collection including:* (2) 1804 dollars
* the finest known 1787 Brasher doubloon
* the largest collection of 1792 pattern coins
* many copper coins, including fine centsHis collection of copper coins were eventually sold to
George Clapp in 1923 who donated the coins to the American Numismatic and Archaeological Society and were the centerpiece of the"Sheldon scandal" in the 1890s.His Hudson legacy
Ellsworth returned to Hudson in 1907 to find the town in disarray. A series of fires at the turn of the century had destroyed many buildings downtown and his beloved
Western Reserve Academy had closed its doors in 1903 due to financial problems. Ellsworth vowed to restore the town to its former glory by reconstructing downtown, overhauling utilities, re-opening Western Reserve Academy (as an all-boys institution) and beginning construction of new academic and dormitories on campus (including 'Ellsworth Hall'). Ellsworth's strong belief inprohibition led to rather unusual arrangements with the city, such as a 50-year ban on alcohol sales, for which he agreed to upgrade the sewer system throughout the city.Ellsworth is buried in
Hudson, Ohio at the Markillie-St Mary's Cemetery. His grave-marker has the following inscription "His life was like a star....and dwelt apart."
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