Edward Shearson (August 3, 1864 - October 30, 1950) was a

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, millionaire and founder of Shearson, Hammill & Co., which was among the largest

brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

and

investment banking Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated wit ...

firms in the United States.Harrison, Mitchell C. ed.
Prominent and progressive Americans: an encyclopædia of Contemporaneous Biography
Vol II. New York Tribune, 1904. (Edward Shearson, p.200)

Biography

Shearson was born in Galt, in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada, August 3, 1864 to William A. and Marion W. Shearson. At the age of 17, he left school to pursue work. Shearson traveled West and took up farming and stock-raising for a brief time. At 19, he was an office boy for the Accounting Department of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. Shearson advanced through the company, occupying several positions, until he relocated to Milwaukee in 1887. There, he served as chief clerk of the Accounts Department of the Wisconsin Central Railroad. After a year, he was promoted to Auditor of Disbursements. In 1890, Shearson returned to Chicago, where he eventually retired from railroad service and entered the steel industry in 1898. Before forming Shearson, Hammill & Co. with

Caleb Wild Hammill Caleb Wild Hammill (1863-1921) was one of the founders of the stockbrokerage and banking investment firm of Shearson, Hammill & Co., founded in 1902 by Mr. Hammill & Edward Shearson. It was in existence from 1902 to 1974 under that original name. ...

in 1902, Shearson had served as comptroller of

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

and of

Federal Steel Company Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

. Shearson was also an active member of New York society. Shearson, Hammill merged with Hayden, Stone & Co. in 1974 and the combined firm was named

Shearson Hayden Stone Shearson was the name of a series of investment banking and retail brokerage firms from 1902 until 1994, named for Edward ShearsonPrimerica Primerica, Inc. (NYSE: PRI) is a company that provides insurance, investment and financial services to middle income families in the United States and Canada. Primerica is the parent company of National Benefit Life Insurance Company, Prime ...

's acquisition of Shearson from

American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...

. Although initially Primerica had intended to brand its retail brokerage business as Smith Barney Shearson, the Shearson name was dropped. Shearson married Flora Josephine Shea on November 14, 1903. The couple resided on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and kept a house in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

.WEDDINGS OF A DAY.; Shearson--Shea
New York Times, November 15, 1903 He died on October 30, 1950.

Biography

See also