John James Mitchell (1853–1927) was an American banker, president of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank and Illinois Merchants Trust Company.

Biography

John J. Mitchell was born in Alton, Illinois on November 3, 1853, the son of fellow banker William Hamilton Mitchell (1817–1910), and his first wife Lydia. He joined his father's Trust & Savings Bank as a messenger boy in 1873, and was president from 1880 to 1923, then president of its successor, the Illinois Merchants Trust Company, from 1923 until his death in 1927. He married Mary Louise Jewett in 1890, and they had five children. His eldest son, , succeeded him at the helm of the

Continental Illinois National Bank The Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company was at one time the seventh-largest commercial bank in the United States as measured by deposits, with approximately $40 billion in assets. In 1984, Continental Illinois became the largest ...

and later became the director of Texaco, one of the largest and most successful oil companies of the era. In 1918, William married Chicago socialite

Ginevra King Ginevra King Pirie (November 30, 1898 – December 13, 1980) was an American socialite and heiress. As one of Chicago's " Big Four" debutantes during World , she inspired many characters in the novels and stories of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald ...

—the first love of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald—and inspired the character of Tom Buchanan in '' The Great Gatsby''. His younger son, the banker John J. "Jack" Mitchell, married

J. Ogden Armour Jonathan Ogden Armour (November 11, 1863 – August 16, 1927) was an American meat packing industry, meatpacking business magnate, magnate and only surviving son of American Civil War, Civil War–era industrialist Philip Danforth Armour. He beca ...

's daughter Lolita in 1920 at the family's estate in the upper-class enclave of

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest ...

. By 1926, the extended Mitchell family had amassed in excess of $120 million (). His half-sister Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871–1962) married the British architect, art dealer and collector Arthur Acton (1873–1953). John J. Mitchell died in

Libertyville, Illinois Libertyville is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a northern suburb of Chicago. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2020 census population was 20,579. It is part of Libertyville Township, Lake ...

on October 29, 1927, from injuries suffered in a car accident which also claimed the life of his wife. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Grave of John James Mitchell (1853–1927) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago 2

Grave of John James Mitchell (1853–1927) at Graceland Cemetery, Chicago 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John James 1853 births 1927 deaths American bankers Burials at Graceland Cemetery (Chicago) People from Chicago Road incident deaths in Illinois