John Dustin Archbold (July 26, 1848 – December 6, 1916) was an American businessman and one of the United States' earliest oil refiners. His small oil company was bought out by John D. Rockefeller's

Standard Oil Company Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

. Archbold rose rapidly at Standard Oil, handling many of the complex secret negotiations over the years. By 1882, he was Rockefeller's closest associate, and typically acted as the company's primary spokesman. Rockefeller, after 1896, left business matters to Archbold while he pursued his philanthropy; as vice president, Archbold effectively ran Standard Oil until his death in 1916. Inspired by Rockefeller's policies, Archbold's main goals were stabilization, efficiency, and minimizing waste in refining and distributing petroleum products. When the company was broken up by the Supreme Court in 1911 into 34 smaller operations, Archbold became president of the largest one, Standard Oil of New Jersey.

Personal life

Archbold was born to

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

minister Reverend Israel Archbold and Frances Foster Dana (Archbold) in Leesburg, Ohio. After being educated in public schools, he moved to

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, Ma ...

by 1864.The Archbold Collection
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Accessed: March 9, 2014. On February 20, 1870, Archbold married Annie Eliza Mills, "daughter of Samuel Myers Mills of Titusville and Lavinia Jenkins." The couple had four children: * Mary Lavina Archbold (b 1871) *

Anne Mills Archbold Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

(b 1873), mother of John Dana ArchboldJohn D. Archbold Papers
Clemson University. Accessed: March 9, 2014. * Frances Dana Archbold (b 1875) * John Foster Archbold (b 1877–1930), father of zoologist

Richard Archbold Richard Archbold (April 9, 1907 – August 1, 1976) was an American zoologist and philanthropist. He was independently wealthy, being the grandson of the capitalist John Dustin Archbold. He was educated at private schools, and later attended cla ...

In 1885, Archbold purchased a large mansion in

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a village in the town of Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, approximately north of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by a stop on the Metro-Nort ...

. The estate, called ''Cedar Cliff'', was located at 279 S. Broadway just across from the

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

Transfiguration Church.Steiner, Henry,
The Other Oil Tycoon
', River Journal Online, retrieved 20 July 2011: Cedar Cliff was demolished in 1980, and is now a condominium development known as ''The Quay''; the old stone pillars marking the entrance to the estate are still visible.

Professional life

Standard Oil Company

In 1864, Archbold went to the north-west

oil fields and spent 11 years in the oil industry there. When John D. Rockefeller's

began buying up refiners in this oil-rich region, many independent refiners felt squeezed out, and Archbold was among Standard's harshest and loudest critics. In 1885, after becoming skeptical of reports of oil discoveries in Oklahoma, he sold-out at a loss, saying "I'll drink every gallon produced west of the Mississippi!" Archbold was subsequently recruited by Rockefeller to Standard Oil, where he became a director and served as its vice-president and president until its dissolution in 1911. Between 1911 and 1916, Archbold was president of the

Standard Oil Company of New Jersey ExxonMobil, an American multinational oil and gas corporation presently based out of Texas, has had one of the longest histories of any company in its industry. A direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, the company traces its roo ...

. Archbold once made a $250,000 donation to the National Kindergarten Association,"Miss Bessie Locke of Kindergartens"
- ''New York Times'', April 11, 1952 to whose board of directors his wife was elected in 1911.

The Hepburn Committee

A. Barton Hepburn Alonzo Barton Hepburn (July 24, 1846 – January 25, 1922) was an American politician from New York (state), New York, famed for being the Chairman of the New York State Legislature's eponymous The Hepburn Committee, Hepburn Committee of 1879 th ...

was directed by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an officia ...

in 1879 to investigate the railroads' practice of giving rebates within the state. Merchants without ties to the oil industry had pressed for the hearings. Prior to the committee's investigation, few knew of the size of

Standard Oil Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...

's control and influence on seemingly unaffiliated oil refineries and pipelines - Hawke (1980) cites that only a dozen or so within Standard Oil knew the extent of company operations. The committee counsel, Simon Sterne, questioned representatives from the

Erie Railroad The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the northeastern United States, originally connecting New York City — more specifically Jersey City, New Jersey, where Erie's Pavonia Terminal, long demolished, used to stand — with Lake ...

and the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

and discovered that at least half of their long-haul traffic granted rebates, and that much of this traffic came from Standard Oil. The committee then shifted focus to Standard Oil's operations. John Dustin Archbold, as president of Acme Oil Company, denied that Acme was associated with Standard Oil. He then admitted to being a director of Standard Oil. The committee's final report scolded the railroads for their rebate policies and cited Standard Oil as an example. This scolding was largely moot to Standard Oil's interests since long-distance oil pipelines were now their preferred method of transportation. Syracuse-university Archbold

Syracuse University

In 1886, Archbold became a member of the board of trustees of

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

, and was the board's president from 1893 until his death in 1916. From 1893 to 1914, he contributed nearly $6,000,000 for eight buildings, including the full cost of

Archbold Stadium Archbold Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Syracuse, New York. It opened in 1907 and was home to the Syracuse Orangemen football team prior to the opening of the Carrier Dome in 1980. History After organizing athletics events at variou ...

(opened 1907, demolished 1978; the

Carrier Dome The JMA Wireless Dome, originally the Carrier Dome (1980–2022) and colloquially called "The Dome," or more recently "The JMA Dome," is a domed sports stadium in Syracuse, New York. Located on the campus of Syracuse University in the Universit ...

was built on this site), Sims Hall (men's dormitory, 1907), Archbold Gymnasium (1908, nearly destroyed by fire in 1947, but still in use), and the oval athletic field. Hey-John-Give-Us-a-Tow

Theodore Roosevelt scandal

Archbold was involved in a scandalous affair involving monetary gifts to the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

. In 1912, he was called to testify before a committee which was investigating political contributions made by the

to the campaign funds of political parties. He claimed that President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

was aware of the $125,000 contribution made by Standard Oil Company to the 1904 campaign fund of the Republican Party, but Roosevelt produced letters written by him which directed his campaign managers to return such monetary contributions if they were offered.

Assassination attempt

In 1915, an attempt was made by

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...

and

Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies", is an international labor union that was founded in Chicago in 1905. The origin of the nickname "Wobblies" is uncertain. IWW ideology combines gener ...

radicals to assassinate Archbold at ''Cedar Cliff'' by planting a large dynamite bomb at the entrance to the estate.Steiner, Henry, ''The Other Oil Tycoon'', River Journal Online, retrieved 20 July 2011 The bomb, which failed to go off, was discovered by Archbold's gardener. Police suspected that the attempted bombing was precipitated by the execution by firing squad of 'Joe Hill', alias

Joseph Hillstrom Joe Hill may refer to: * Joe Hill (activist) (18791915), Swedish-American labor activist and songwriter * Joe Hills (18971969), English cricketer and umpire * Joe Hill (alias of Joseph Graves Olney, 18491884), American rancher and outlaw * Blind Jo ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, the day before. Hill was an IWW member, songwriter and labor organizer who had been convicted of murder. John Dustin Archbold Gravesite

Death

Archbold died of complications from

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a r ...

, on December 6, 1916, aged 68. He is buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in

Sleepy Hollow, New York Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant, in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is located on the east bank of the Hudson River, about north of New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on ...

Legacy

* In 1914, the "John Dustin Archbold College of Liberal Arts" at Syracuse University was renamed in his honor. The entrance to the university's Hall of Languages remains inscribed with this name. * The John D. Archbold Memorial Hospital, now the Archbold Medical Center, in Thomasville, Georgia, was established in 1925, through a donation by his son, John Foster Archbold. * His grandson, John Dana Archbold, was a member of the Board of Trustees of Syracuse University from 1976 to 1993. * The John Dana Archbold Theatre at Syracuse Stage (Central New York's only professional theater) is named after his grandson. *Another heir, grandson

, established Archbold Biological Station in 1941 on Lake Placid, Florida, land donated by John A. Roebling II. * Namesake of the tanker vessel John Dustin Archbold (1914). *His grandson, John Dana Archbold (Choate '29), is the namesake of Archbold House, a dormitory and the admissions building of

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall (often known as Choate; ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Choate is currently ...

. It also houses the Head of School and Associate Head of School's offices. The building was built in 1928 using funds donated by J. Dustin's daughter and J. Dana's mother Anne Saunders Archbold, and it originally served as an infirmary.

References

Notes

External links

"Archbold, John Dustin,"
''Cyclopaedia of American Biography'', 1918, pp. 20–22

''Syracuse University Magazine'' 30(3)

Venus, Florida
Archbold Mausoleum
Mausoleums.com

Syracuse University
''The New York Times'' (1916, December 6). "J.D. Archbold Dies; Mourned by Many."

''River Journal'', Tarrytown, New York {{DEFAULTSORT:Archbold, John Dustin Presidency of Theodore Roosevelt Standard Oil 1848 births 1916 deaths American businesspeople in the oil industry Philanthropists from New York (state) Syracuse University trustees People from Highland County, Ohio People from Tarrytown, New York Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery New York (state) Republicans 19th-century American businesspeople