Louis Severance
Encyclopedia
Louis Henry Severance Oilman and philanthropist
was a founding member of the Standard Oil Trust, the first treasurer
of Standard Oil
, and a sulfur magnate
.
). Louis picked up his mother's commitment to the Presbyterian mission and the anti-slavery cause
.
He attended public school, and at 18 (in 1856) joined the Commercial National Bank
. The following year a friend from his church introduced Severance to the Norwalk
belle Fanny Benedict; they married in 1862, producing John Severance in May 1863. That year Severance became a 100-day Union army volunteer
, in the defense of Washington D.C.
His bank lent to John D. Rockefeller's oil business, and in 1864 Severance started an oil exploration
, and refinery business himself, in the oil boom town
of Titusville, Pennsylvania
. The family prospered; Elizabeth was born in 1865, and Anne Belle in 1868. In 1872 their last child was stillborn, and Fanny died in 1874. After this, he returned to Cleveland, where the children's uncle, Solon, raised them with his own three children. (Louis Severance later supported his nephew, Allen; funding his lifelong study of theology
.)
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.
He retired in 1894, a very wealthy man, and married the equally rich Florence Severance (only daughter of the Standard Oil millionaires Stephen
and Anna Harkness
). Florence Severance died within a year of the marriage. Her estate increased his fortune further, and in 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, and donated $50,000-$100,000 annually directly to the church. 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."
Dying suddenly, and intestate, his estate was divided between his two surviving children (Annie Belle having died in 1896). His heirs were: John L. Severance (a businessman, who became an important patron of the arts in Ohio) and Elizabeth S. Allen (a philanthropist, who became Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, and established the public health charitable foundation of that name).
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
was a founding member of the Standard Oil Trust, the first treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
, and a sulfur magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
.
Biography
Louis H. Severance was born in Cleveland on August 1, 1838; his father, Solomon, having died that July. He and his brother Solon were raised by the widow Mary Severance, in the Cleveland home of her father, David Long (Cleveland's first physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
). Louis picked up his mother's commitment to the Presbyterian mission and the anti-slavery cause
American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society and often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was another freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had...
.
He attended public school, and at 18 (in 1856) joined the Commercial National Bank
Commercial National Bank
Commercial National Bank was a bank formed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1874, which was a predecessor to the American Commercial Bank which then helped form North Carolina National Bank. NCNB changed their name to NationsBank in 1991 and then again to Bank of America in 1999 through a series of...
. The following year a friend from his church introduced Severance to the Norwalk
Norwalk, Ohio
At the 2000 census, there were 16,238 people, 6,377 households and 4,234 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,950.3 per square mile . There were 6,687 housing units at an average density of 803.1 per square mile...
belle Fanny Benedict; they married in 1862, producing John Severance in May 1863. That year Severance became a 100-day Union army volunteer
Hundred Days Men
The Hundred Days Men was the nickname applied to a series of volunteer regiments raised in 1864 for 100-days service in the Union Army during the height of the American Civil War...
, in the defense of Washington D.C.
His bank lent to John D. Rockefeller's oil business, and in 1864 Severance started an oil exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
, and refinery business himself, in the oil boom town
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
of Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville, Pennsylvania
Titusville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,146 at the 2000 census. In 1859, oil was successfully drilled in Titusville, resulting in the birth of the modern oil industry.-History:...
. The family prospered; Elizabeth was born in 1865, and Anne Belle in 1868. In 1872 their last child was stillborn, and Fanny died in 1874. After this, he returned to Cleveland, where the children's uncle, Solon, raised them with his own three children. (Louis Severance later supported his nephew, Allen; funding his lifelong study of theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
.)
By 1876 Rockefeller's Standard Oil had a near industry monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
and Severance joined as the Ohio company's treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
. While at Standard, he founded another company, mining sulfur
Sulfur
Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...
, and because it held the patent on the Frasch process
Frasch process
The Frasch process is a method to extract sulfur from underground deposits. It is the only economic method of recovering sulfur from elemental deposits...
it too monopolized a profitable industry.
He retired in 1894, a very wealthy man, and married the equally rich Florence Severance (only daughter of the Standard Oil millionaires Stephen
Stephen V. Harkness
Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness was an American businessman from Cleveland, Ohio, who invested as a silent partner with oil titan John D. Rockefeller, Sr. in the founding of Standard Oil.-Biography:...
and Anna Harkness
Anna M. Harkness
Anna M. Richardson was an American philanthropist.She married Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness, a harnessmaker of Cleveland, in 1851. They were parents of Charles William Harkness and Edward Stephen Harkness. Harkness senior invested with John D. Rockefeller and became the second-largest shareholder...
). Florence Severance died within a year of the marriage. Her estate increased his fortune further, and in retirement he was a leading sponsor of Ohio education, the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, and overseas Presbyterian missions
Mission (Christian)
Christian missionary activities often involve sending individuals and groups , to foreign countries and to places in their own homeland. This has frequently involved not only evangelization , but also humanitarian work, especially among the poor and disadvantaged...
. 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, and donated $50,000-$100,000 annually directly to the church. 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."
Dying suddenly, and intestate, his estate was divided between his two surviving children (Annie Belle having died in 1896). His heirs were: John L. Severance (a businessman, who became an important patron of the arts in Ohio) and Elizabeth S. Allen (a philanthropist, who became Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, and established the public health charitable foundation of that name).
Established
- L.H. Severance Scholarship: annual undergraduate academic scholarshipScholarshipA scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
at Lincoln University, PennsylvaniaLincoln University (Pennsylvania)Lincoln University is the United States' first degree-granting historically black university. It is located near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university also hosts a Center for Graduate Studies in the City of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides... - L.H. Severance Gymnasium (1912): at the University of Wooster. —He largely funded the rebuilding of the entire university after it burned down in 1901, including a new Severance Library. He had sufficient influence to have Wooster fraternities and sororitiesStudent social organizations at the College of WoosterThe College of Wooster, an Ohio school, has 4 active, chartered fraternities, known at Wooster as Sections, and 5 active, chartered sororities, known as Clubs, as of Summer 2006...
banned in 1902 (on the grounds that they were un-Christian). - Severance HospitalSeverance HospitalThe Severance Hospital of the Yonsei University Health System is a hospital located in Sinchon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, South Korea. It is the second biggest university hospital in Korea just behind Seoul National University Hospital. It has 3,700 beds, approximately 3,000,000 outpatients and 1,000,000...
, Seoul (opened in 1904 as the first Western-style hospital building in Korea after a large 1900 donation from Severance to support the missionary care there). - The Severance chemical laboratory (1901), Oberlin CollegeOberlin CollegeOberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
.