Orrin Henry Ingram Sr. (June 26, 1904 – April 25, 1963) was an American heir and businessman.

Early life

Orrin Henry Ingram Sr. was born on June 26, 1904, in

Eau Claire, Wisconsin Eau Claire (; ) (French for "clear water") is a city mostly located in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, of which it is the county seat, and with a small portion in Chippewa County, Wisconsin. It had a population of 69,421 in 2020, making it the stat ...

. His father, Erskine B. Ingram, was a lumber heir."Inside a $15 Billion Dynasty"
''Bloomberg Business'', September 28, 1997 His mother was Harriet Coggshall. His parents were members of the

Congregational Church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. His paternal grandfather three times removed, David Ingram, had immigrated from

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

, England, in 1780.Ingram Chronicles
''Forbes'', 9/06/1999 His paternal grandfather, Orrin Henry Ingram, was a lumber baron in Wisconsin. His great-uncle,

Julius Ingram Julius G. Ingram (May 31, 1832 – May 13, 1917) was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. Early life Julius Ingram was born on May 31, 1832, in Saratoga County, New York. His brother, Orrin Henry Ingram, was a lumber baron. Career Ingram ...

, was a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

Career

In 1928, Ingram ran a

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

firm in

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

owned by his wife's family.Bill Carey
"A place for a damned fool or an Eskimo"
''

Nashville Post ''NashvillePost.com'' is an online news service covering business, politics and sports in the Nashville metropolitan area. It is locally owned and available by subscription. ''NashvillePost.com'' competes with other daily news media in the Middl ...

'', March 22, 2000 He relocated it to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

. By 1937, at the time of the textile strike, he sold half his investment and acquired Wood River Oil and Refining, an oil company based in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. He was the owner of Ingram Oil & Refining, a chain of 240 gas stations headquartered in

Meraux, Louisiana Meraux is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,804 in 2020. It is part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. History In 2005, the town was d ...

, just outside

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

.Murphy Oil Corp.: A Century of Exploration
/ref> In 1961, he sold the company to

Murphy Oil Murphy Oil Corporation is a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company is ranked 625th on the Fortune 500 and 1860th on the Forbes Global 2000. As of December 31, 2020, the company had of estimate ...

Philanthropy

Ingram served as the Vice President of the Board of Trust of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

in Nashville from 1952 to 1963.Princine Lewis
"New Commons residence halls named for former vice chancellor, BOT member"
''Vanderbilt Register'', 12/04/06

William H. Honan William Holmes Honan (May 11, 1930 – April 28, 2014) was an American journalist and author who directed coverage of the arts at ''The New York Times'' as its culture editor in the 1980s. Honan held senior editorial positions at the ''New York Tim ...

"Vanderbilt U. Receives a Gift of $300 Million"
''The New York Times'', December 1, 1998

Personal life

Ingram married Hortense Bigelow, the daughter of the president of the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. (later known as

The Travelers Companies The Travelers Companies, Inc., commonly known as Travelers, is an American insurance company. It is the second-largest writer of U.S. commercial property casualty insurance, and the sixth-largest writer of U.S. personal insurance through indepen ...

). They resided in

White Bear Lake, Minnesota White Bear Lake is a city in Ramsey County in the state of Minnesota, United States. A small portion of the city also extends into Washington County. The population was 23,769 at the 2010 census. The city is located on White Bear Lake, one o ...

Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...

, and Nashville, Tennessee. They had two sons, E. Bronson Ingram II and Frederic B. Ingram, and a daughter, Alice, who married Henry William Hooker.

Death and legacy

He died of a heart attack on April 25, 1963, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. The Hank Ingram House on the campus of Vanderbilt University was named in his honor in 2006.Vanderbilt University Office of Housing & Residential Education: Hank Ingram House
/ref>

References

External links

* (Nashville grave) * (Eau Claire cenotaph) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, Orrin Henry Sr. 1904 births 1963 deaths People from Eau Claire, Wisconsin People from Nashville, Tennessee People from Hobe Sound, Florida American people of English descent American company founders Businesspeople from Tennessee American businesspeople in the oil industry Vanderbilt University people Ingram family 20th-century American businesspeople People from White Bear Lake, Minnesota