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'''Louis Henry Severance''' (August 1, 1838 – June 25, 1913) was an American [[oilman]] and [[philanthropist]] who was a founding member of the [[Standard Oil Trust]], the first [[treasurer]] of [[Standard Oil]],<ref name="liz">{{cite web | url=http://esprentissfoundation.org/history.htm | title=The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation - History | date=2010 |accessdate=2010-05-28 }} ([[Charitable foundation]] established by Louis Severance's daughter.)</ref> and a sulfur [[Business magnate|magnate]].
'''Louis Henry Severance''' (August 1, 1838 – June 25, 1913) was an American [[oilman]] and [[philanthropist]] who was a founding member of the [[Standard Oil Trust]], the first [[treasurer]] of [[Standard Oil]],<ref name="liz">{{cite web | url=http://esprentissfoundation.org/history.htm | title=The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation - History | date=2010 |access-date=2010-05-28 }} ([[Charitable foundation]] established by Louis Severance's daughter.)</ref> and a sulfur [[Business magnate|magnate]].


== Early life==
== Early life==
Severance was born in [[Cleveland]] on August 1, 1838.<ref name= "family">{{cite book |title= Family |last= Frazier |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Frazier |year= 2002 |publisher= Picador |isbn= 978-0-312-42059-8 |page= 159 }}</ref> He was the second son of Mary Helen ([[née]] Long) Severance (1816–1902) and Solomon Lewis Severance (1812–1838), who died in July of 1838, a month before his birth.<ref name="Miss">{{cite book |title= Missionary review of the world |volume=36 |last= White |first= S. |year= 1913 |page= 896 }}</ref> He and his older brother Solon were raised by his widowed mother,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genealogybug.net/oh_biographies/severance.shtml |title= Solon Severance |publisher=www.genealogybug.net |accessdate=2010-05-30 }}</ref> in the Cleveland home of their maternal grandparents,<ref name= "FannyBenedict">{{cite web |url=http://www.genealowiki.com/bin/view.cgi/Benedict/FannyBBenedict1840#The_Life_of_Fanny_Benedict |title= Fanny B Benedict |publisher=www.genealowiki.com |accessdate=2010-05-30 |last= Barton |first= Dave}}</ref> Juliana (née Walworth) Long and Dr. David Long, who was Cleveland's first [[physician]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=M4 |title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: MEDICINE |publisher=ech.cwru.edu |accessdate=2010-05-30 }}</ref>
Severance was born in [[Cleveland]] on August 1, 1838.<ref name= "family">{{cite book |title= Family |last= Frazier |first= Ian |author-link= Ian Frazier |year= 2002 |publisher= Picador |isbn= 978-0-312-42059-8 |page= 159 }}</ref> He was the second son of Mary Helen ([[née]] Long) Severance (1816–1902) and Solomon Lewis Severance (1812–1838), who died in July of 1838, a month before his birth.<ref name="Miss">{{cite book |title= Missionary review of the world |volume=36 |last= White |first= S. |year= 1913 |page= 896 }}</ref> He and his older brother Solon were raised by his widowed mother,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.genealogybug.net/oh_biographies/severance.shtml |title= Solon Severance |publisher=www.genealogybug.net |access-date=2010-05-30 }}</ref> in the Cleveland home of their maternal grandparents,<ref name= "FannyBenedict">{{cite web |url=http://www.genealowiki.com/bin/view.cgi/Benedict/FannyBBenedict1840#The_Life_of_Fanny_Benedict |title= Fanny B Benedict |publisher=www.genealowiki.com |access-date=2010-05-30 |last= Barton |first= Dave}}</ref> Juliana (née Walworth) Long and Dr. David Long, who was Cleveland's first [[physician]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=M4 |title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: MEDICINE |publisher=ech.cwru.edu |access-date=2010-05-30 }}</ref>


Louis picked up his mother's commitment to the [[Presbyterian]] mission and [[American Anti-Slavery Society|the anti-slavery cause]]. His father had been one of Cleveland's dry goods merchants who went into partnership as Cutter & Severance. Solomon was also the secretary of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery Society, and treasurer of the Cuyahoga County Anti-Slavery society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/elroy-mckendree-avery/a-history-of-cleveland-and-its-environs-the-heart-of-new-connecticut-volume-2-rev/page-65-a-history-of-cleveland-and-its-environs-the-heart-of-new-connecticut-volume-2-rev.shtml
Louis picked up his mother's commitment to the [[Presbyterian]] mission and [[American Anti-Slavery Society|the anti-slavery cause]]. His father had been one of Cleveland's dry goods merchants who went into partnership as Cutter & Severance. Solomon was also the secretary of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery Society, and treasurer of the Cuyahoga County Anti-Slavery society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ebooksread.com/authors-eng/elroy-mckendree-avery/a-history-of-cleveland-and-its-environs-the-heart-of-new-connecticut-volume-2-rev/page-65-a-history-of-cleveland-and-its-environs-the-heart-of-new-connecticut-volume-2-rev.shtml
|title= A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut (Volume 2) |publisher=www.ebooksread.com
|title= A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut (Volume 2) |publisher=www.ebooksread.com
|accessdate=2010-05-31 |page= 323 |quote= The home of Mrs. Severance was a center for some of the agitation and work done in Cleveland in the anti-slavery cause. |last= Avery |first= E. M. }}</ref>
|access-date=2010-05-31 |page= 323 |quote= The home of Mrs. Severance was a center for some of the agitation and work done in Cleveland in the anti-slavery cause. |last= Avery |first= E. M. }}</ref>


He attended [[Cleveland Metropolitan School District|public school]]s in Cleveland before entering the workforce at age eighteen.<ref name= "FannyBenedict"/>
He attended [[Cleveland Metropolitan School District|public school]]s in Cleveland before entering the workforce at age eighteen.<ref name= "FannyBenedict"/>


==Career==
==Career==
In 1856, Severance joined the [[Commercial National Bank]].<ref name="Miss"/> In 1863, Severance became a [[Hundred Days Men|100-day Union army volunteer]],<ref name="familyPapers"> {{cite web |url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=SLH |title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: SEVERANCE, LOUIS HENRY |publisher= Case Western Reserve University |quote= Severance Family Papers, [http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WRHS WRHS] [source] |accessdate=2010-05-30 |date= 1997-05-22 }}</ref> in the defense of [[Washington D.C.]] during the [[U.S. Civil War]].<ref name="FannyBenedict"/>
In 1856, Severance joined the [[Commercial National Bank]].<ref name="Miss"/> In 1863, Severance became a [[Hundred Days Men|100-day Union army volunteer]],<ref name="familyPapers"> {{cite web |url=http://ech.cwru.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=SLH |title=Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: SEVERANCE, LOUIS HENRY |publisher= Case Western Reserve University |quote= Severance Family Papers, [http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=WRHS WRHS] [source] |access-date=2010-05-30 |date= 1997-05-22 }}</ref> in the defense of [[Washington D.C.]] during the [[U.S. Civil War]].<ref name="FannyBenedict"/>


His bank lent to [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s oil business, and, in 1864, Severance started an [[oil exploration]],<ref name="liz"/><ref name="FannyBenedict"/> and [[Oil refinery#Oil refining in the United States|refinery]] business himself, in the [[Boomtown|oil boom town]] of [[Titusville, Pennsylvania]].<ref name= "Frazier"/> In 1872, after the stillborn birth of his fourth child, he returned to Cleveland,<ref name="Avery1918">{{cite web | year=1918|publisher= The Lewis Publishing Company |location= Chicago, New York |oclc= 455335602 |url= http://fig.lib.harvard.edu/fig/?bib=003928762 | title=II Biography}}</ref> where the children's uncle, Solon, raised them with his own three children.<ref name="liz"/> Severance later supported his nephew, Allen; funding his lifelong study of [[theology]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.case.edu/artsci/hsty/hsty3.html |title={{fixcaps|ORIGINS AND /EARLY /DEVELOPMENT}} |publisher=Case Western Reserve University - Department of History |accessdate=2010-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611043809/http://www.case.edu/artsci/hsty/hsty3.html |archive-date=2011-06-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
His bank lent to [[John D. Rockefeller]]'s oil business, and, in 1864, Severance started an [[oil exploration]],<ref name="liz"/><ref name="FannyBenedict"/> and [[Oil refinery#Oil refining in the United States|refinery]] business himself, in the [[Boomtown|oil boom town]] of [[Titusville, Pennsylvania]].<ref name= "Frazier"/> In 1872, after the stillborn birth of his fourth child, he returned to Cleveland,<ref name="Avery1918">{{cite web | year=1918|publisher= The Lewis Publishing Company |location= Chicago, New York |oclc= 455335602 |url= http://fig.lib.harvard.edu/fig/?bib=003928762 | title=II Biography}}</ref> where the children's uncle, Solon, raised them with his own three children.<ref name="liz"/> Severance later supported his nephew, Allen; funding his lifelong study of [[theology]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.case.edu/artsci/hsty/hsty3.html |title={{fixcaps|ORIGINS AND /EARLY /DEVELOPMENT}} |publisher=Case Western Reserve University - Department of History |access-date=2010-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611043809/http://www.case.edu/artsci/hsty/hsty3.html |archive-date=2011-06-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


By 1876, Rockefeller's Standard Oil had a near industry [[monopoly]] and Severance joined as the Ohio company's [[treasurer]]. While at Standard, he founded another company, mining [[sulfur]], and because it held the patent on the [[Frasch process]] it too monopolized a profitable industry.<ref name="Frazier"/>
By 1876, Rockefeller's Standard Oil had a near industry [[monopoly]] and Severance joined as the Ohio company's [[treasurer]]. While at Standard, he founded another company, mining [[sulfur]], and because it held the patent on the [[Frasch process]] it too monopolized a profitable industry.<ref name="Frazier"/>


===Later life===
===Later life===
In 1894,<ref name="retirement">The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History gives 1894 as the year Severance retired both from Standard Oil and the Union Sulphur company. These are based on the Severance Family Papers and give the year he stopped working. Other sources — like White, S. (1913) & Avery, E. M. (1918) — give the official retirement year: 1895</ref> by then a very wealthy man, Severance retired from active management of business.<ref name="Frazier">{{cite book |title= Family |last= Frazier |first= Ian |authorlink= Ian Frazier |year= 2002 |publisher= Picador |isbn= 978-0-312-42059-8 |pages= 160–163 |quote= He added millions from sulphur to the $8 million he already had from oil. }}</ref> In his retirement, he was a leading sponsor of Ohio education, the [[YMCA]], and overseas Presbyterian [[Mission (Christian)|missions]]. He was a church elder and in 1904 [[List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)|the vice moderator]] of its General Assembly; he paid for chapels in Cleveland, as well as missions, colleges, and hospitals in Asia.<ref name="Avery"/>
In 1894,<ref name="retirement">The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History gives 1894 as the year Severance retired both from Standard Oil and the Union Sulphur company. These are based on the Severance Family Papers and give the year he stopped working. Other sources — like White, S. (1913) & Avery, E. M. (1918) — give the official retirement year: 1895</ref> by then a very wealthy man, Severance retired from active management of business.<ref name="Frazier">{{cite book |title= Family |last= Frazier |first= Ian |author-link= Ian Frazier |year= 2002 |publisher= Picador |isbn= 978-0-312-42059-8 |pages= 160–163 |quote= He added millions from sulphur to the $8 million he already had from oil. }}</ref> In his retirement, he was a leading sponsor of Ohio education, the [[YMCA]], and overseas Presbyterian [[Mission (Christian)|missions]]. He was a church elder and in 1904 [[List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)|the vice moderator]] of its General Assembly; he paid for chapels in Cleveland, as well as missions, colleges, and hospitals in Asia.<ref name="Avery"/>


[[Severance Hospital]] in [[Seoul]] is named in his honor. He donated $50,000 to $100,000 annually directly to the church.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/29/104804145.pdf |title= Presbyterians Vote Against Domination of Executive Affairs by Few Men. CREATE NEW COMMISSION From Which Paid Agents of Church Boards and Permanent Officers of the Assembly Are Excluded |work= The New York Times |date= 1908-05-29 }}</ref> His son-in-law wrote "''While his philanthropies were very broad and he responded to appeals of every sort, he seems to have been dominated by one fundamental idea,—the building up of the Christian church.''"<ref>{{Cite journal |journal= Oberlin Alumni Magazine |date=October 1913|first= Dr. D. P. |last= Allen}}</ref>
[[Severance Hospital]] in [[Seoul]] is named in his honor. He donated $50,000 to $100,000 annually directly to the church.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1908/05/29/104804145.pdf |title= Presbyterians Vote Against Domination of Executive Affairs by Few Men. CREATE NEW COMMISSION From Which Paid Agents of Church Boards and Permanent Officers of the Assembly Are Excluded |work= The New York Times |date= 1908-05-29 }}</ref> His son-in-law wrote "''While his philanthropies were very broad and he responded to appeals of every sort, he seems to have been dominated by one fundamental idea,—the building up of the Christian church.''"<ref>{{Cite journal |journal= Oberlin Alumni Magazine |date=October 1913|first= Dr. D. P. |last= Allen}}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
The year after he joined the Commercial National Bank, a friend from his church introduced Severance to the [[Norwalk, Ohio|Norwalk]] ''[[wiktionary:belle|belle]]'' Fannie Buckingham Benedict (1839–1874).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://firelands.wordpress.com/sufferers-land/ch-15-life-in-norwalk-in-the-1850s-a-new-generation/ |title=Ch. 15: Life in Norwalk in the 1850s, A New Generation |quote=[Fanny's brother, Dave Benedict] took Louis to Norwalk to visit his family, and introduced him to his sister Fanny. Fanny was seventeen at the time, and liked the looks of this young bank employee from Cleveland. The feeling was mutual, and Louis started to court her. |accessdate=2010-06-01 |last=Barton |first=D. W. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611172057/http://firelands.wordpress.com/sufferers-land/ch-15-life-in-norwalk-in-the-1850s-a-new-generation/ |archive-date=2010-06-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Wickham |first1= Captain William S. |title= The Firelands pioneer |volume= XX |date= 1918-12-25 |origyear= 1901 |publisher= The Firelands Historical Society |location= [[Norwalk, Ohio]] |oclc= 2446934 |page= 2085 |chapter= Norwalk, Its Men and Women, and Some of the Girls I Have Met |chapterurl= https://books.google.com/books?id=lqI-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2071&lpg=PA2071 |quote= The most beautiful of all the pretty girls—and there have been many first and last—who ever left Norwalk as a bride was Fanny Benedict. She was the undisputed belle of the town. She married Mr L. H. Severance }} </ref> They married in 1862 and together, Fannie and Louis were the parents of:<ref name="FannyBenedict"/>
The year after he joined the Commercial National Bank, a friend from his church introduced Severance to the [[Norwalk, Ohio|Norwalk]] ''[[wiktionary:belle|belle]]'' Fannie Buckingham Benedict (1839–1874).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://firelands.wordpress.com/sufferers-land/ch-15-life-in-norwalk-in-the-1850s-a-new-generation/ |title=Ch. 15: Life in Norwalk in the 1850s, A New Generation |quote=[Fanny's brother, Dave Benedict] took Louis to Norwalk to visit his family, and introduced him to his sister Fanny. Fanny was seventeen at the time, and liked the looks of this young bank employee from Cleveland. The feeling was mutual, and Louis started to court her. |access-date=2010-06-01 |last=Barton |first=D. W. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611172057/http://firelands.wordpress.com/sufferers-land/ch-15-life-in-norwalk-in-the-1850s-a-new-generation/ |archive-date=2010-06-11 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1= Wickham |first1= Captain William S. |title= The Firelands pioneer |volume= XX |date= 1918-12-25 |orig-year= 1901 |publisher= The Firelands Historical Society |location= [[Norwalk, Ohio]] |oclc= 2446934 |page= 2085 |chapter= Norwalk, Its Men and Women, and Some of the Girls I Have Met |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lqI-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA2071&lpg=PA2071 |quote= The most beautiful of all the pretty girls—and there have been many first and last—who ever left Norwalk as a bride was Fanny Benedict. She was the undisputed belle of the town. She married Mr L. H. Severance }} </ref> They married in 1862 and together, Fannie and Louis were the parents of:<ref name="FannyBenedict"/>


* [[John L. Severance|John Long Severance]] (1863–1936), who became a businessman,<ref name="Avery">{{cite book |last1= Avery |first1= E. M. |title= A history of Cleveland and its environs: Biography |pages= 324, 325, 326 |year= 1918 |publisher= The Lewis Publishing Company |volume= II |quote= Cleveland Linseed Oil Company [treasurer...] president of the Colonial [[Salt]] Company [...] treasurer of the Linde Air Products Company [...] Cleveland Steel Company vice president}}</ref> and an important [[patron of the arts]] in Ohio.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932074,00.html |title= Art: Final Severance |work = Time |date= 1942-06-06
* [[John L. Severance|John Long Severance]] (1863–1936), who became a businessman,<ref name="Avery">{{cite book |last1= Avery |first1= E. M. |title= A history of Cleveland and its environs: Biography |pages= 324, 325, 326 |year= 1918 |publisher= The Lewis Publishing Company |volume= II |quote= Cleveland Linseed Oil Company [treasurer...] president of the Colonial [[Salt]] Company [...] treasurer of the Linde Air Products Company [...] Cleveland Steel Company vice president}}</ref> and an important [[patron of the arts]] in Ohio.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932074,00.html |title= Art: Final Severance |work = Time |date= 1942-06-06
|accessdate=2010-05-30 }}</ref> He married Elisabeth Huntington DeWitt (1865–1929) in 1891.
|access-date=2010-05-30 }}</ref> He married Elisabeth Huntington DeWitt (1865–1929) in 1891.
* [[Elisabeth Severance Prentiss|Elisabeth Severance]] (1865–1944),<ref name="amc"/> a philanthropist who established the public health [[charitable foundation]] in her name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrhs.org/html/philanthropictimeline/1929to1945.htm |title=History of Philanthropy in Cleveland, Ohio |publisher=WRHS |accessdate=2010-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725180202/http://www.wrhs.org/html/philanthropictimeline/1929to1945.htm |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Elisabeth Severance Prentiss|Elisabeth Severance]] (1865–1944),<ref name="amc"/> a philanthropist who established the public health [[charitable foundation]] in her name.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wrhs.org/html/philanthropictimeline/1929to1945.htm |title=History of Philanthropy in Cleveland, Ohio |publisher=WRHS |access-date=2010-05-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725180202/http://www.wrhs.org/html/philanthropictimeline/1929to1945.htm |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Anne Belle Severance (1868–1896),<ref name="Annie">{{cite book |title=Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=326 |author=Avery, E. M. |year=1918 | page=326}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The children's birth names are recorded in ''A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut'', but, by 1881, Severance's youngest daughter was registered both as "Anne Belle" and "[[Annie (given name)|Annie]] Belle" in the [[Oberlin College]] calendar (p.&nbsp;78), and appears as Annie B. Severance in the 1880 Cleveland [[census]]. Her life is recorded in the book ''In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance'' (1896).<ref>{{cite book |title= In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance, April 24th, 1868, September 25th, 1896 |year = 1896 |oclc=46919160 }}</ref>}} who died on the [[Isle of Wight]], aged 28.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=iMynhcXdY1U3aKsioPr2oA&scan=1|title=Index entry |publisher=Freebmd.org.uk |accessdate= }}</ref>
* Anne Belle Severance (1868–1896),<ref name="Annie">{{cite book |title=Book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_xUVAAAAYAAJ&pg=326 |author=Avery, E. M. |year=1918 | page=326}}</ref>{{refn|group=lower-alpha|The children's birth names are recorded in ''A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut'', but, by 1881, Severance's youngest daughter was registered both as "Anne Belle" and "[[Annie (given name)|Annie]] Belle" in the [[Oberlin College]] calendar (p.&nbsp;78), and appears as Annie B. Severance in the 1880 Cleveland [[census]]. Her life is recorded in the book ''In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance'' (1896).<ref>{{cite book |title= In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance, April 24th, 1868, September 25th, 1896 |year = 1896 |oclc=46919160 }}</ref>}} who died on the [[Isle of Wight]], aged 28.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=iMynhcXdY1U3aKsioPr2oA&scan=1|title=Index entry |publisher=Freebmd.org.uk }}</ref>
* Fanny Severance (1872–1872), who was [[stillborn]].
* Fanny Severance (1872–1872), who was [[stillborn]].


His wife Fannie died in 1874.<ref name="FannyBenedict"/> In 1894, he married the equally rich Florence Severance (1857–1895), the only surviving daughter of Standard Oil millionaires [[Stephen V. Harkness|Stephen]] and his second wife, [[Anna M. Harkness|Anna Harkness]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://music.case.edu/facilities/harkness_chapel.php |title=Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel |publisher= [[Case Western Reserve University]] |accessdate=2010-05-30 }} </ref> Florence died within a year of the marriage and her considerable estate increased his fortune further.<ref name="liz"/>
His wife Fannie died in 1874.<ref name="FannyBenedict"/> In 1894, he married the equally rich Florence Severance (1857–1895), the only surviving daughter of Standard Oil millionaires [[Stephen V. Harkness|Stephen]] and his second wife, [[Anna M. Harkness|Anna Harkness]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://music.case.edu/facilities/harkness_chapel.php |title=Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel |publisher= [[Case Western Reserve University]] |access-date=2010-05-30 }} </ref> Florence died within a year of the marriage and her considerable estate increased his fortune further.<ref name="liz"/>


On June 25, 1913, Severance died suddenly,<ref name="Miss"/> in his daughter Elisabeth's home, in the care of his son in law, Dr Dudley P. Allen, after being taken suddenly ill.<ref>See: White (1913).</ref> As he died [[intestate]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/11/27/100578423.pdf |title=SEVERANCE ESTATE WORTH $14,508,984 |work= [[The New York Times]]|accessdate=2010-06-01 |date= 1913-11-27}}</ref> his estate was divided between his two surviving children.<ref name="Annie"/>
On June 25, 1913, Severance died suddenly,<ref name="Miss"/> in his daughter Elisabeth's home, in the care of his son in law, Dr Dudley P. Allen, after being taken suddenly ill.<ref>See: White (1913).</ref> As he died [[intestate]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/11/27/100578423.pdf |title=SEVERANCE ESTATE WORTH $14,508,984 |work= [[The New York Times]]|access-date=2010-06-01 |date= 1913-11-27}}</ref> his estate was divided between his two surviving children.<ref name="Annie"/>


== Legacy ==
== Legacy ==
* L.H. Severance Scholarship: annual undergraduate [[Scholarship|academic scholarship]] at [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University, Pennsylvania]]
* L.H. Severance Scholarship: annual undergraduate [[Scholarship|academic scholarship]] at [[Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)|Lincoln University, Pennsylvania]]
* L.H. Severance Gymnasium (1912): at the [[College of Wooster]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal = New York Observer |title= The New Gymnasium at Wooster |last= Dunn |first= W. H. |authorlink= Ian Frazier |date= 1912-05-30 |page= 691 |quote= born in Cleveland in 1838 }}</ref> —He largely funded the rebuilding of the entire university after it [[College of Wooster#History|burned down in 1901]],<ref name="Avery"/> including a new ''Severance Library''.<ref name="Miss"/> He had sufficient influence to have [[Student social organizations at the College of Wooster|Wooster fraternities and sororities]] banned in 1912<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.franbecque.com/2015/02/13/college-wooster-glo-situation-february-13-1913/ | title=The College of Wooster GLO Situation, February 13, 1913 | access-date=March 19, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321051911/http://www.franbecque.com/2015/02/13/college-wooster-glo-situation-february-13-1913/ | archive-date=March 21, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> (on the grounds that they were un-Christian).<ref name="Frazier"/>
* L.H. Severance Gymnasium (1912): at the [[College of Wooster]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal = New York Observer |title= The New Gymnasium at Wooster |last= Dunn |first= W. H. |author-link= Ian Frazier |date= 1912-05-30 |page= 691 |quote= born in Cleveland in 1838 }}</ref> —He largely funded the rebuilding of the entire university after it [[College of Wooster#History|burned down in 1901]],<ref name="Avery"/> including a new ''Severance Library''.<ref name="Miss"/> He had sufficient influence to have [[Student social organizations at the College of Wooster|Wooster fraternities and sororities]] banned in 1912<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.franbecque.com/2015/02/13/college-wooster-glo-situation-february-13-1913/ | title=The College of Wooster GLO Situation, February 13, 1913 | access-date=March 19, 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321051911/http://www.franbecque.com/2015/02/13/college-wooster-glo-situation-february-13-1913/ | archive-date=March 21, 2015 | url-status=dead }}</ref> (on the grounds that they were un-Christian).<ref name="Frazier"/>
* [[Severance Hospital]], [[Seoul]] (opened in 1904 as the first Western-style hospital building in Korea<ref>{{cite book |chapter = History of Stereotactic Surgery in Korea |chapterurl= https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-540-69960-6_13 |title= Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery |doi= 10.1007/978-3-540-69960-6 |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-3-540-69959-0 |page= 171 |first= S. S. |last= Chung}}</ref> after a large 1900 donation from Severance to support the missionary care there).
* [[Severance Hospital]], [[Seoul]] (opened in 1904 as the first Western-style hospital building in Korea<ref>{{cite book |chapter = History of Stereotactic Surgery in Korea |chapter-url= https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-540-69960-6_13 |title= Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery |doi= 10.1007/978-3-540-69960-6 |year= 2009 |isbn= 978-3-540-69959-0 |page= 171 |first= S. S. |last= Chung}}</ref> after a large 1900 donation from Severance to support the missionary care there).
* The Severance Chemical Laboratory (1901),<ref name="scl">{{cite web |url= http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/resources/photoguide/severance_laboratory.html |title= Severance Chemical Laboratory (1901- ) |publisher= Oberlin College |accessdate= 2010-06-19 |date= 2009-11-16 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002032814/http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/resources/photoguide/severance_laboratory.html |archivedate= 2012-10-02 }}</ref> at [[Oberlin College]].<ref name="amc">{{cite web |url= http://www.amc-foundation.org/history2.html |title= History of the Hospital, the Allen Family, & Elisabeth Severance |publisher= The Allen Community Hospital Foundation |accessdate= 2010-06-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060226112125/http://www.amc-foundation.org/history2.html |archive-date= 2006-02-26 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="postCard">{{cite web |url= http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cdm4/cml_item_viewer.php?cobj=1&CISOROOT=/postcard&CISOPTR=21754&REC=8 |title= Severance Chemical Laboratory, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. |quote= [A postcard] of the Severance Chemical Laboratory, a gift of Mr. Louis H. Severance |accessdate= 2010-06-19}}</ref>
* The Severance Chemical Laboratory (1901),<ref name="scl">{{cite web |url= http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/resources/photoguide/severance_laboratory.html |title= Severance Chemical Laboratory (1901- ) |publisher= Oberlin College |access-date= 2010-06-19 |date= 2009-11-16 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121002032814/http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/resources/photoguide/severance_laboratory.html |archive-date= 2012-10-02 }}</ref> at [[Oberlin College]].<ref name="amc">{{cite web |url= http://www.amc-foundation.org/history2.html |title= History of the Hospital, the Allen Family, & Elisabeth Severance |publisher= The Allen Community Hospital Foundation |access-date= 2010-06-19 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060226112125/http://www.amc-foundation.org/history2.html |archive-date= 2006-02-26 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="postCard">{{cite web |url= http://digital-collections.columbuslibrary.org/cdm4/cml_item_viewer.php?cobj=1&CISOROOT=/postcard&CISOPTR=21754&REC=8 |title= Severance Chemical Laboratory, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio. |quote= [A postcard] of the Severance Chemical Laboratory, a gift of Mr. Louis H. Severance |access-date= 2010-06-19}}</ref>


* [[Severance Hall]] is named for John L. Severance and his wife Elisabeth.<ref>http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/severance-hall/</ref>
* [[Severance Hall]] is named for John L. Severance and his wife Elisabeth.<ref>http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/severance-hall/</ref>

Revision as of 21:03, 16 December 2020

Louis Henry Severance
Born(1838-08-01)August 1, 1838
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
DiedJune 25, 1913(1913-06-25) (aged 74)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Treasurer of Standard Oil Company; investor; philanthropist
Employer(s)Standard Oil Company, Commercial National Bank
MovementAnti-Slavery
Spouse(s)
Fannie Buckingham Benedict
​
​
(m. 1862; died 1874)​

Florence Severance
​
​
(m. 1894; died 1895)​
ChildrenJohn, Elisabeth, Anne Belle, Fanny
Parent(s)Solomon Severance
Mary Long Severance

Louis Henry Severance (August 1, 1838 – June 25, 1913) was an American oilman and philanthropist who was a founding member of the Standard Oil Trust, the first treasurer of Standard Oil,[2] and a sulfur magnate.

Early life

Severance was born in Cleveland on August 1, 1838.[3] He was the second son of Mary Helen (née Long) Severance (1816–1902) and Solomon Lewis Severance (1812–1838), who died in July of 1838, a month before his birth.[4] He and his older brother Solon were raised by his widowed mother,[5] in the Cleveland home of their maternal grandparents,[6] Juliana (née Walworth) Long and Dr. David Long, who was Cleveland's first physician.[7]

Louis picked up his mother's commitment to the Presbyterian mission and the anti-slavery cause. His father had been one of Cleveland's dry goods merchants who went into partnership as Cutter & Severance. Solomon was also the secretary of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery Society, and treasurer of the Cuyahoga County Anti-Slavery society.[8]

He attended public schools in Cleveland before entering the workforce at age eighteen.[6]

Career

In 1856, Severance joined the Commercial National Bank.[4] In 1863, Severance became a 100-day Union army volunteer,[9] in the defense of Washington D.C. during the U.S. Civil War.[6]

His bank lent to John D. Rockefeller's oil business, and, in 1864, Severance started an oil exploration,[2][6] and refinery business himself, in the oil boom town of Titusville, Pennsylvania.[10] In 1872, after the stillborn birth of his fourth child, he returned to Cleveland,[11] where the children's uncle, Solon, raised them with his own three children.[2] Severance later supported his nephew, Allen; funding his lifelong study of theology.[12]

By 1876, Rockefeller's Standard Oil had a near industry monopoly and Severance joined as the Ohio company's treasurer. While at Standard, he founded another company, mining sulfur, and because it held the patent on the Frasch process it too monopolized a profitable industry.[10]

Later life

In 1894,[13] by then a very wealthy man, Severance retired from active management of business.[10] In his retirement, he was a leading sponsor of Ohio education, the YMCA, and overseas Presbyterian missions. He was a church elder and in 1904 the vice moderator of its General Assembly; he paid for chapels in Cleveland, as well as missions, colleges, and hospitals in Asia.[14]

Severance Hospital in Seoul is named in his honor. He donated $50,000 to $100,000 annually directly to the church.[15] His son-in-law wrote "While his philanthropies were very broad and he responded to appeals of every sort, he seems to have been dominated by one fundamental idea,—the building up of the Christian church."[16]

Personal life

The year after he joined the Commercial National Bank, a friend from his church introduced Severance to the Norwalk belle Fannie Buckingham Benedict (1839–1874).[17][18] They married in 1862 and together, Fannie and Louis were the parents of:[6]

His wife Fannie died in 1874.[6] In 1894, he married the equally rich Florence Severance (1857–1895), the only surviving daughter of Standard Oil millionaires Stephen and his second wife, Anna Harkness.[25] Florence died within a year of the marriage and her considerable estate increased his fortune further.[2]

On June 25, 1913, Severance died suddenly,[4] in his daughter Elisabeth's home, in the care of his son in law, Dr Dudley P. Allen, after being taken suddenly ill.[26] As he died intestate,[27] his estate was divided between his two surviving children.[22]

Legacy

References

Notes
  1. ^ The children's birth names are recorded in A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut, but, by 1881, Severance's youngest daughter was registered both as "Anne Belle" and "Annie Belle" in the Oberlin College calendar (p. 78), and appears as Annie B. Severance in the 1880 Cleveland census. Her life is recorded in the book In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance (1896).[23]
Sources
  1. ^ With 1,923% price inflation his final estate (reported by the NY Times) had a purchasing power equivalent to $305 million in 2006.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Foundation - History". 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-28. (Charitable foundation established by Louis Severance's daughter.)
  3. ^ Frazier, Ian (2002). Family. Picador. p. 159. ISBN 978-0-312-42059-8.
  4. ^ a b c d White, S. (1913). Missionary review of the world. Vol. 36. p. 896.
  5. ^ "Solon Severance". www.genealogybug.net. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Barton, Dave. "Fanny B Benedict". www.genealowiki.com. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  7. ^ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: MEDICINE". ech.cwru.edu. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  8. ^ Avery, E. M. "A history of Cleveland and its environs; the heart of new Connecticut (Volume 2)". www.ebooksread.com. p. 323. Retrieved 2010-05-31. The home of Mrs. Severance was a center for some of the agitation and work done in Cleveland in the anti-slavery cause.
  9. ^ "Encyclopedia of Cleveland History: SEVERANCE, LOUIS HENRY". Case Western Reserve University. 1997-05-22. Retrieved 2010-05-30. Severance Family Papers, WRHS [source] {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  10. ^ a b c d Frazier, Ian (2002). Family. Picador. pp. 160–163. ISBN 978-0-312-42059-8. He added millions from sulphur to the $8 million he already had from oil.
  11. ^ "II Biography". Chicago, New York: The Lewis Publishing Company. 1918. OCLC 455335602.
  12. ^ "[[:Template:Fixcaps]]". Case Western Reserve University - Department of History. Archived from the original on 2011-06-11. Retrieved 2010-05-30. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  13. ^ The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History gives 1894 as the year Severance retired both from Standard Oil and the Union Sulphur company. These are based on the Severance Family Papers and give the year he stopped working. Other sources — like White, S. (1913) & Avery, E. M. (1918) — give the official retirement year: 1895
  14. ^ a b c Avery, E. M. (1918). A history of Cleveland and its environs: Biography. Vol. II. The Lewis Publishing Company. pp. 324, 325, 326. Cleveland Linseed Oil Company [treasurer...] president of the Colonial Salt Company [...] treasurer of the Linde Air Products Company [...] Cleveland Steel Company vice president
  15. ^ "Presbyterians Vote Against Domination of Executive Affairs by Few Men. CREATE NEW COMMISSION From Which Paid Agents of Church Boards and Permanent Officers of the Assembly Are Excluded" (PDF). The New York Times. 1908-05-29.
  16. ^ Allen, Dr. D. P. (October 1913). Oberlin Alumni Magazine. {{cite journal}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  17. ^ Barton, D. W. "Ch. 15: Life in Norwalk in the 1850s, A New Generation". Archived from the original on 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2010-06-01. [Fanny's brother, Dave Benedict] took Louis to Norwalk to visit his family, and introduced him to his sister Fanny. Fanny was seventeen at the time, and liked the looks of this young bank employee from Cleveland. The feeling was mutual, and Louis started to court her.
  18. ^ Wickham, Captain William S. (1918-12-25) [1901]. "Norwalk, Its Men and Women, and Some of the Girls I Have Met". The Firelands pioneer. Vol. XX. Norwalk, Ohio: The Firelands Historical Society. p. 2085. OCLC 2446934. The most beautiful of all the pretty girls—and there have been many first and last—who ever left Norwalk as a bride was Fanny Benedict. She was the undisputed belle of the town. She married Mr L. H. Severance
  19. ^ "Art: Final Severance". Time. 1942-06-06. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  20. ^ a b "History of the Hospital, the Allen Family, & Elisabeth Severance". The Allen Community Hospital Foundation. Archived from the original on 2006-02-26. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  21. ^ "History of Philanthropy in Cleveland, Ohio". WRHS. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  22. ^ a b Avery, E. M. (1918). Book. p. 326.
  23. ^ In memoriam: Annie Belle Severance, April 24th, 1868, September 25th, 1896. 1896. OCLC 46919160.
  24. ^ "Index entry". Freebmd.org.uk. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  25. ^ "Florence Harkness Memorial Chapel". Case Western Reserve University. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  26. ^ See: White (1913).
  27. ^ "SEVERANCE ESTATE WORTH $14,508,984" (PDF). The New York Times. 1913-11-27. Retrieved 2010-06-01.
  28. ^ Dunn, W. H. (1912-05-30). "The New Gymnasium at Wooster". New York Observer: 691. born in Cleveland in 1838
  29. ^ "The College of Wooster GLO Situation, February 13, 1913". Archived from the original on March 21, 2015. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  30. ^ Chung, S. S. (2009). "History of Stereotactic Surgery in Korea". Textbook of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. p. 171. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-69960-6. ISBN 978-3-540-69959-0.
  31. ^ "Severance Chemical Laboratory (1901- )". Oberlin College. 2009-11-16. Archived from the original on 2012-10-02. Retrieved 2010-06-19.
  32. ^ "Severance Chemical Laboratory, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio". Retrieved 2010-06-19. [A postcard] of the Severance Chemical Laboratory, a gift of Mr. Louis H. Severance
  33. ^ http://www.clevelandorchestra.com/plan-your-visit/severance-hall/

External links


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