David Sinton (26 June 1808 – 31 August 1900) was an Irish-born American pig-iron industrialist, born in
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...
, Ireland, who became one of the wealthiest people in America.
Early life
Sinton was the son of linen manufacturer John Sinton, of Unshinagh, a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
(he was a cousin of Irish Quaker industrialist brothers
Thomas Sinton
Thomas Sinton, JP (February 1826 – 20 August 1887) was an Irish industrialist and magistrate. Sinton made a significant impact upon the Irish linen trade; not least establishing the village of Laurelvale, County Armagh.
Thomas Sinton was born ...
and
John Sinton), and Mary McDonnell.
In 1811, the family came to America, from Ireland, and settled at
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
when he was three years of age. Sinton had one brother (Dr. William Sinton, a physician) and two sisters (Isabella Eliza - never left Ireland and Sarah, married John Sparks - a banker).
Career
In the 1830s, Sinton was a manager of the ironworks at Hanging Rock, Ohio. In 1846, he managed to become the owner and made his headquarters in Cincinnati.
A man of "irregular education",
[Hess, Stephen, ''America's Political Dynasties'', P. 306] his business interests centered on the manufacture of iron; the location of his furnaces was
Lawrence County, Ohio
Lawrence County is the southernmost county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,240. Its county seat is Ironton. The county was created in 1815 and later organized in 1817. It is named for James Lawr ...
.
[Historical Collections of Ohio: Pages 843-847](_blank)
/ref> Much of his fortune was made by stockpiling
A stockpile is a pile or storage location for bulk materials, forming part of the bulk material handling process.
Stockpiles are used in many different areas, such as in a port, refinery or manufacturing facility. The stockpile is normally cre ...
pig iron
Pig iron, also known as crude iron, is an intermediate product of the iron industry in the production of steel which is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. Pig iron has a high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silic ...
, waiting for the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
and the selling that iron on at inflated prices. He eventually acquired the majority of stock in the Eureka Company and, at the time that Oxmoor merged with the DeBardeleben Coal and Iron Company, he owned most of Oxmoor.
He was described as "a large, strong person with strong common sense, and therefore moves solely on the solid foundation of facts." His residence, at Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, was the old Longworth mansion on Pike Street, built by Martin Baum
Martin Baum (15 June 1765 – 14 December 1831) was an American businessman and politician.
The son of German immigrants Jacob Baum and Magdalena Elizabeth Kershner, Baum fought with General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
After ...
early in the 19th century. Mr. Sinton's only surviving child, Annie, was the wife of Charles Phelps Taft
Charles Phelps Taft (December 21, 1843 – December 31, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as editor of the ''Cincinnati Times-Star'' and owned both the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs baseball teams. From 1895 to 189 ...
, editor of the ''Times-Star'' and brother of William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
; Sinton money was said to have financed the presidential bid.
Personal life
Sinton married Jane Ellison (1826–1853), a daughter of John Ellison (1779–1829), at Union Landing, Ohio
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
. They had two children:
* Edward Sinton (1848-1869)
* Anna Sinton (1850-1931), who married U.S. Representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
Charles Phelps Taft
Charles Phelps Taft (December 21, 1843 – December 31, 1929) was an American lawyer and politician who served as editor of the ''Cincinnati Times-Star'' and owned both the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs baseball teams. From 1895 to 189 ...
(1843–1929), the older brother of William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
, the 27th President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
and 10th Chief Justice of the United States.
Sinton died on August 31, 1900 in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. Upon his death, he left $20,000,000 (the 2011 equivalent of this is about $500,000,000) to his daughter, he was Ohio's richest man at the time. His home is now the Taft Museum of Art
The Taft Museum of Art is a fine art collection in Cincinnati, Ohio. It occupies the 200-year-old historic house at 316 Pike Street. The house – the oldest domestic wooden structure in downtown Cincinnati – was built about 1820 and housed ...
.
Descendants
Through his daughter Anna, he was the grandfather of Jane Taft Ingalls (1874–1962), David Sinton Taft (1876–1891), Anna Louise Taft Semple (1879–1961), and Charles Howard Taft (1885–1931). He was the great-grandfather of First World War flying ace David Sinton Ingalls
David Sinton Ingalls (January 28, 1899 – April 26, 1985) was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in U. S. Navy history.
Early life
Ingalls was born on January 28, 1899, in Cle ...
.
Legacy
During his lifetime, Sinton was philanthropic in his donations to the arts and the Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church, yet his own father's grave was not marked with a headstone; "but David Sinton is wiser in his generation than they who seek to stab his character in such a paragraph s_erecting_an_ornate_sepulcher.html" ;"title="sepulcher.html" ;"title="s erecting an ornate sepulcher">s erecting an ornate sepulcher">sepulcher.html" ;"title="s erecting an ornate sepulcher">s erecting an ornate sepulcher He is one of God's noblemen."
The town of Sinton, Texas is named in his honor (given that he was the majority stock holder in Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinton, David
People from County Armagh
1808 births
1900 deaths
American Civil War industrialists
Irish philanthropists
Irish Quakers
Businesspeople from Cincinnati
Taft family
Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)
19th-century American politicians
19th-century American philanthropists