William Evarts Benjamin (1859 – 1940) was a prominent
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
and collector in
Boston, Massachusetts.
Biography
William E. Benjamin was born in 1859. His most well-known work was the printing and extensive promotion of
Edmund Clarence Stedman's ''A Library of American Literature from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time'', which his company published in 1894.
His father was Park Benjamin (1809-1864) and his mother was Mary Brower Western. Mary's father, Henry M. Western (Esq.), was a well known lawyer in New York City. (One of Henry M. Western's brothers, Thomas Gehot Western, was the Superintendent of Indian Affairs under Sam Houston in Texas.) Henry M Western's wife, Hannah Romaine, was the daughter of a well known Revolutionary War veteran, Benjamin Romaine.
William's wife was Anne Engle Rogers (1865-1924), whose father, Henry H. Rogers (1840-1909), along with
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...
, founded
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-f ...
.
Friend
Helen Keller dedicated to Henry H. Rogers, a benefactor, the book ''The World I Live In'', with the inscription, ''"To Henry H. Rogers, my Dear Friend of Many Years."'' On the fly leaf of Rogers' copy, she also wrote, ''"To Mrs Rogers, The best of the world I live in is the kindness of friends like you and Mr Rogers."''
Benjamin married
Anne Engle Rogers, eldest daughter of
Abbie Palmer (née Gifford) Rogers and
Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
, each of Mayflower lineage. Her father was an industrialist millionaire who was a principal 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-f ...
. They had two children, Beatrice Benjamin Cartwright and Henry Rogers Benjamin.
After 1900, when
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...
went bankrupt investing in the
Paige Compositor, Benjamin and his father-in-law assisted him financially by taking control of his accounts and real estate.
[Hill, Hamlin. ''Mark Twain: God's Fool''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1973: 10. ]
Benjamin died in 1940 and is buried at
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery
Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground at the Old Dutch C ...
in New York.
References
Archival Sources
Finding aid to Preston Gibson papers, including correspondence with William E. Benjamin, at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin, William E.
1859 births
1940 deaths