Samuel Reading Bertron Jr. (February 26, 1865 – June 30, 1938) was an American banker.

Biography

Bertron was born on February 26, 1865, in

Port Gibson, Mississippi Port Gibson is a city in Claiborne County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,567 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Port Gibson is the county seat of Claiborne County, which is bordered on the west by the Mississippi Ri ...

. His father was

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

-born and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

-educated Presbyterian minister, Samuel Reading Bertron Sr. (1806–1878), and his mother was German immigrant, Ottilie Mueler (1830–1903). Rev. S.R. Berton moved to

, in 1835, where he preached in a variety of churches and institutions. The senior Bertron had three wives and five children. Rev. Bertron's wives were Caroline Christie (March 25, 1818 – April 13, 1839]), Catherine McRae Crane, widow of Alfred Thomas Barnes (died 1849), and Ottilie Mueler. The first two wives died in childbirth. Bertron Jr. had three sisters and a brother. Rev. Bertron's five children from the three wives were: Mary, Clara, Annie, Francis, and Samuel Jr. The last was the only child of Rev. Bertron and his third wife, whom he married in 1857. Rev. Bertron died in the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. Bertron Jr. was educated at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. While at Yale, he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

and played for the

Yale Bulldogs football The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing ...

team in 1883 and 1884. According to family stories, Bertron's education was paid for by the McIlhenny family on the proviso he return to

, after his graduation in 1885 and work for them. According to the Quarter-centenary Record of the Class of 1885, of Yale University, Bertron did return to Port Gibson on graduating. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

for Mississippi in 1886. Bertron Jr.'s rise in business was meteoric. He was transferred to the East Coast Branch of the Equitable Mortgage Company in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

in 1889. He was then transferred to the New York City office in 1892. There he

for New York. Bertron gave up his law practice and left Equitable in 1894 to work for an investment company. In time, the company became his. Bertron met his wife, Caroline Maury Harding, in Port Gibson. They were married in 1888. Their one child, a daughter, Elizabeth Maury Bertron, married Snowden Andrews Fahnestock in 1910. She was his first wife. Two more followed after her. While in New York, Bertron was active as a part-time diplomat. In 1912, he helped peace negotiations between Italy and Turkey. In 1917, he was appointed to join the Root commission to Russia, led by

Elihu Root Elihu Root (; February 15, 1845February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the early twentieth century. He also served as United States Senator from N ...

. He appeared before the

Federal Electric Railways Commission The Federal Electric Railways Commission was a United States agency established by President Woodrow Wilson in June 1919. The commission was charged with investigating the financial problems of the streetcar and interurban railway industry in the ...

. Bertron died on June 30, 1938, in

Cove Neck, New York Cove Neck is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 286 at the 2010 census. History Cove Neck incorporated as a village in 1927. Cove Neck is the sit ...

. He was buried at Wintergreen Cemetery in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bertron, Samuel Reading 1865 births 1938 deaths American bankers Yale Bulldogs football players People from Port Gibson, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi Lawyers from Boston Lawyers from New York City