Roland Ray Conklin (February 1, 1858 – January 2, 1938) was an American financier and real estate mogul from Illinois. After graduating from the University of Illinois, Conklin formed a real estate partnership with Samuel M. Jarvis. The Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage and Trust Company developed neighborhoods in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Cleveland, and

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

. After dissolving following the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

, Conklin re-organized the company into the North American Trust Company. The new company was appointed the official bank of the United States in Cuba. Conklin founded several corporations there. He donated the funds for the '' Alma Mater'' at the University of Illinois in the 1910s.

Biography

Roland Ray Conklin was born in Urbana, Illinois, on February 1, 1858. He attended schools there, then graduated from the University of Illinois in 1880. He joined a real estate firm

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, in 1880, which incorporated in 1886 as the Jarvis-Conklin Mortgage and Trust Company. The firm became very successful and is credited with developing the

Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...

and Rowland Park neighborhoods of Kansas City. They also founded the neighborhoods of Roland Park in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, and Euclid Park in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

. They became the first bank to establish an international branch when they opened one in London in 1889. In 1893, the company moved its headquarters to New York City, but dissolved only months later following the

. Conklin reorganized the business as the

North American Trust Company The North American Trust Company was a trust company based in New York City. It was organized in early 1896. At the start of 1898, the company was located in the American Surety Building at 100 Broadway. On April 3, 1900, the directors of the Int ...

(NATC). In 1896, the North American Trust Company was named the fiscal agent for the United States consul in Cuba. Conklin oversaw many operations in his new country: he founded the National Bank of Cuba, the Havana Telephone Company, the Cuban Telephone Company, and several publishing houses. Conklin was also named a vice president of the Jucaro & Moron Railway Company and co-founded the National Railways Company of Cuba. By May 1899, vice presidents

Samuel M. Jarvis Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

and Conklin were the primary stockholders of the North American Trust Company, also serving on the board. Conklin later returned to the United States, purchasing the vast Rosemary Farm in Lloyd Harbor, New York. He served as president of the Chicago Motorbus Company. In the 1910s, he provided the capital for the '' Alma Mater'' at the University of Illinois, designed by classmate Lorado Taft. In 1915, Conklin designed a motorhome and drove it to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, California. NATC was merged into the Chase Manhattan Bank. Conklin was a member of the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inter ...

New York Botanical Gardens The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

, and the

National Arts Club The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...

. He married Mary MacFadden on May 4, 1898. They had three children: Julia Cecilia, Roland Hunt, and Rosemary. He died in New York City on January 2, 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conklin, Roland R. 1858 births 1938 deaths American bank presidents American financiers Businesspeople from Illinois Businesspeople from New York City American expatriates in Cuba People from Urbana, Illinois People from Huntington, New York University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni North American Trust Company people