Lewis G. Harriman

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Buffalo bankers before the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Left to right: Perry E. Wurst, Executive Vice-President of the Manufactures & Traders Trust Co.; Lewis G. Harriman, Pres. of the M.& T. Trust Co.; and Frank C. Trubee, Jr., President of the Manufactures and Traders Securities Corp.

Lewis Gildersleeve Harriman (March 24, 1889 – January 7, 1973) was an American banker.

Early life[edit]

Harriman was born in Windsor, Connecticut on March 24, 1889.[1] He was a son of the Rev. Frederick William Harriman (1852–1931) and Cora Elizabeth (née Jarvis) Harriman (1854–1932).[2][3]

His paternal grandparents were Frederick D. Harriman and Mary (née Bostwick) Harriman.[2] Through his great-grandmother, Sophia (née Hilton) Harriman, he was a descendant of Moral Hilton, who fought in the Revolutionary War as a Sergeant under Capt. Benjamin Lemont.[2]

He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford with a B.S. degree in 1909 and an M.S. degree in 1917.[1]

Career[edit]

From 1909 to 1911, he worked for the Creosoting Company in Louisville. From 1912 to 1915, he was an electrical engineer with the American Real Estate Company in New York City after which he worked for Coggeshell & Hicks, and the Merrill, Lynch & Company. He became assistant trust officer and investment trust officer Guaranty Trust Company in New York City, until 1919 when he joined the Fidelity Trust Company of Buffalo, New York as vice president. In 1924, he became president and the following year, Fidelity Trust merged with the Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company to create a $100 million company that was headed by the 36-year-old Harriman. Harriman and a group of investors including A. H. Schoellkopf, from the founding family of the Niagara Mohawk power company, and James V. Forrestal, who would become the first U.S. Secretary of Defense, owned enough shares to control both Fidelity and M&T.[4][5] In 1961, Delmer F. Hubbell Jr. succeeded Harriman as President of M&T Discount Corporation, its principal dealer in bankers' acceptances in New York City. Harriman then became chairman of the board.[6] He served as president of the parent company, M&T Bank, from 1925 to 1954, after which he became chairman of the board. In 1964, Charles W. Millard succeeded Harriman as chairman of M&T and became honorary chairman.[4]

In 1929, he was elected a director of the American Founders' Corporation to succeed George Rea.[7] In 1943, he was elected to the board of Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company.[8] In 1945, he was elected to the board of the Sterling Engine Company.[9] In 1951, he was appointed a director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Buffalo Branch succeeding George G. Kleindinst of the Liberty Bank of Buffalo.[10]

Personal life[edit]

On June 24, 1915, Harriman was married to Grace Bastine. Before their divorce in 1939, they were the parents of five children: Lewis Gildersleeve Harriman Jr, Wiliam Bradford Harriman,[11] John Howland Harriman (1920–2012), Thomas Harriman, and Elizabeth Harriman (b. 1923), who married Charles Palmer Bean, son of Barton A. Bean Jr., in 1947.[12][13]

After his divorce, he married Louise Ely (1899–1975) on October 11, 1939.[14] He adopted Louise’s daughters, Joan (1928) and Ann (1930), but was actually Ann’s paternal father.

Harriman died in Miami-Dade County, Florida on January 7, 1973. After a service at Trinity Episcopal Church, he was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b World Biography. Institute for Research in Biography. 1948. p. 2167. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Revolution, Daughters of the American (1917). Lineage Book. The Society. p. 67. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  3. ^ Papers and Reports Presented to the Connecticut Historical Society at the Annual Meeting. Connecticut Historical Society. 1918. p. 34. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b "M&T Bank Celebrates 150 Years". ir.mtb.com. Buffalo, New York: M&T Bank. August 24, 2006. Retrieved 18 January 2023.
  5. ^ "RESERVE BANK MAY BUY BUILDING IN BUFFALO; Manufacturers and Traders' Structure Involved in Proposed Deal -- Price Is $600,000". The New York Times. 26 January 1926. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  6. ^ "President Is Chosen By M. & T. Discount". The New York Times. 10 January 1961. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  7. ^ "L.G. Harriman on Founders Board". The New York Times. 21 November 1929. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Elected to the Board Of D., L. & W. Managers". The New York Times. 31 December 1943. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  9. ^ "On Sterling Engine's Board". The New York Times. 23 September 1945. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  10. ^ "In Reserve Bank Post". The New York Times. 28 December 1951. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  11. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (30 March 1939). "Divorces Lewis G. Harriman". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ^ Times, Special to the New York (30 August 1947). "ELIZABETH HARRIMAN FIANCEE OF C. P. BEAN". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  13. ^ Condren, Dave (October 5, 1996). "CHARLES BEAN, PROFESSOR, DIES; WAS SUPERCONDUCTIVITY SPECIALIST". Buffalo News. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Lewis G. Harriman Dies; Banker Achieved Fame for Innovative Ideas". The Buffalo News. 8 January 1973. p. 15. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
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