Charles Frederick Berwind (April 1, 1846 – December 4, 1890) was a founder of the

Berwind-White Coal Mining Company Berwind Corporation (previously also known as Berwind-White Coal Mining Company) is a large privately held American corporation historically involved in the coal industry. Today it is a diversified company involved in property leasing and owner ...

, serving as its first president.

Early life

Berwind was born on April 1, 1846 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. He was the eldest of five sons born to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

immigrants Augusta ( née Guldenferring) Berwind (1821–1904) and John Berwind (1813–1893). Among his siblings was Edward Julius Berwind, and sister Julia A. Berwind, a

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

activist.

Career

After receiving an education in the public schools, he entered the office of R. H. Powel & Co. as an office boy in 1861. He was rapidly promoted and, in 1863, when Powelton Coal and Iron Company was formed, he was made assistant to the president before being promoted to vice-president upon reaching the age of majority. In 1869, he formed Berwin & Bradley, taking over the coal business of the Powelton company. In 1874, Berwind joined White & Lingle. In 1886, Berwind went into business with his younger brother, Edward, and Judge

Allison White Allison White (December 21, 1816 – April 5, 1886) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Early life and education White was born in Pine Township, near Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania. He attended the ...

; co-founding Berwind, White & Company, which was incorporated as Berwind-White. The Berwinds worked closely with

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age. As the head of the banking firm that ultimately became known ...

in the consolidation, reorganization, integration, and expansion of his coal mining operations. After his death in 1890, his brother Edward became sole manager of the company. Berwind served as president of the Pennsylvania and Northwestern Railroad Company, a director of the Girard Life Insurance Company, of the Girard National Bank and of various coal and lumber companies.

Personal life

Berwind was married to Anita Hickman (1852–1922), the daughter of Cheyney Hickman, a government director of the Bank of the United States. Anita was born in Río Cuarto,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, where her family fled after her father committed financial fraud. Together, they were the parents of four daughters, two of whom married into the European aristocracy: * Anita Berwind (1875–1942), who married Robert Early Strawbridge Sr., chairman of Strawbridge & Clothier, in 1895. * Edith Berwind (1879–1963), who married Baron

von Kleist The House of Kleist is the name of an old and distinguished Pomeranian Prussian noble family, whose members obtained many important military positions within the Kingdom of Prussia and later in the German Empire. Notable members * Henning Alex ...

Geneva, Switzerland Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

. * Gertrude Berwind (1881–1929), who married Ruprecht, Baron Boecklin von Boecklinsau in 1900. They divorced in 1920 and she was "the first American woman to renounce a foreign marriage after the

World War A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

." * Frederica Vesta Berwind (1884–1954), who married Charles Gilpin III (1878–1950) in 1903. They divorced in January 1911 and she married banker Henry Herman Harjes in 1911. After his death in 1926, she married Seton Porter. Berwind died of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied ...

at his residence in Philadelphia on December 4, 1890. His widow died at the home of their youngest daughter Frederica in Paris in April 1922.

Estate and descendants

In 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Alien Property Custodian A. Mitchell Palmer took over the property and trust funds of American women who had married Germans and Austrians and that of the German and Austrian heirs of such former American women. At the time, Gertrude, Baroness von Boecklin of

Rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO( ...

, Ringsheim in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

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, had her assets seized, which included the more than $300,000 in property that was placed in trust from her father's estate. Through his daughter Edith, he was a grandfather of Alta von Kleist (d. 1967), who first married Count James de Martino of Rome in 1933. Asta later married Jean Paul-Boncour (the French Ambassador to Argentina and Thailand whose brother, Joseph Paul-Boncour, was the Prime Minister of France). Through his daughter Gertrude, he was a grandfather of Baron Ruprecht von Boecklin of

277 Park Avenue 277 Park Avenue is an office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It stands on the east side of Park Avenue between East 47th and 48th Streets, and is tall, with 50 floors. It is tied with two other buildings, 55 Wa ...

, who inherited the Baroness' estate upon her death. Through his daughter Anita, he was a grandfather of Anita Strawbridge (wife of Lt. Cmdr. Hon. Theodore P. Grosvenor), and Robert Early Strawbridge Jr. (1896–1986), a polo champion and chairman of the

United States Polo Association The United States Polo Association (USPA) is the national governing body for the sport of polo in the United States. Introduction Established in 1890, by David Grubbs the USPA provides resources to over 4,500 individual members and 250 polo club ...

References

External links

*
Copy Print Photograph of Anita Hickman Berwind
, at the

Preservation Society of Newport County The Preservation Society of Newport County is a private, non-profit organization based in Newport, Rhode Island. It is Rhode Island's largest and most-visited cultural organization. The organization protects the architectural heritage of Newpor ...