Charles Frederick Berwind (April 1, 1846 – December 4, 1890) was a founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company, serving as its first president.

Early life

Berwind was born on April 1, 1846 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the eldest of five sons born to German immigrants Augusta (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Guldenferring) Berwind (1821–1904) and John Berwind (1813–1893). Among his siblings was

Edward Julius Berwind Edward Julius Berwind (June 17, 1848 – August 18, 1936) was the founder of the Berwind-White Coal Mining Company. He was head of the company from 1886 until 1930. Early life Berwind was born on June 17, 1848 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He w ...

, and sister

Julia A. Berwind Julia A. Berwind (1864- May 18, 1961) was a Newport, Rhode Island socialite, and a social welfare activist. Biography She was born in Philadelphia, the sister of coal magnates Edward Julius Berwind and Charles Frederick Berwind. She was the owner ...

, a social welfare activist.

Career

After receiving an education in the public schools, he entered the office of R. H. Powel & Co. as an office boy in 1861. He was rapidly promoted and, in 1863, when Powelton Coal and Iron Company was formed, he was made assistant to the president before being promoted to vice-president upon reaching the age of majority. In 1869, he formed Berwin & Bradley, taking over the coal business of the Powelton company. In 1874, Berwind joined White & Lingle. In 1886, Berwind went into business with his younger brother, Edward, and Judge Allison White; co-founding Berwind, White & Company, which was incorporated as Berwind-White. The Berwinds worked closely with J. P. Morgan in the consolidation, reorganization, integration, and expansion of his coal mining operations. After his death in 1890, his brother Edward became sole manager of the company. Berwind served as president of the Pennsylvania and Northwestern Railroad Company, a director of the Girard Life Insurance Company, of the Girard National Bank and of various coal and lumber companies.

Personal life

Berwind was married to Anita Hickman (1852–1922), the daughter of Cheyney Hickman, a government director of the Bank of the United States. Anita was born in Río Cuarto, Argentina, where her family fled after her father committed financial fraud. Together, they were the parents of four daughters, two of whom married into the European aristocracy: * Anita Berwind (1875–1942), who married Robert Early Strawbridge Sr., chairman of

Strawbridge & Clothier Strawbridge's, formerly Strawbridge & Clothier, was a department store in the northeastern United States, with stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. The Center City Philadelphia flagship store was, in its day, a gracious urban emporiu ...

, in 1895. * Edith Berwind (1879–1963), who married Baron von Kleist of Geneva, Switzerland. * Gertrude Berwind (1881–1929), who married Ruprecht, Baron Boecklin von Boecklinsau in 1900. They divorced in 1920 and she was "the first American woman to renounce a foreign marriage after the World War." * Frederica Vesta Berwind (1884–1954), who married Charles Gilpin III (1878–1950) in 1903. They divorced in January 1911 and she married banker

Henry Herman Harjes Henry Herman Harjes (20 February 1875 – 20 August 1926) was a French born American polo player and banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co. Early life Harjes was born on 20 February 1875 in Paris, France. He was a son of John Henry Harjes (1829–1914 ...

in 1911. After his death in 1926, she married Seton Porter. Berwind died of Bright's disease at his residence in Philadelphia on December 4, 1890. His widow died at the home of their youngest daughter Frederica in Paris in April 1922.

Estate and descendants

In 1918, during World War I, Alien Property Custodian A. Mitchell Palmer took over the property and trust funds of American women who had married Germans and Austrians and that of the German and Austrian heirs of such former American women. At the time, Gertrude, Baroness von Boecklin of Rust,

Ringsheim Ringsheim ( gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Ringsä) is a village in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most pop ...

in Baden, Germany, had her assets seized, which included the more than $300,000 in property that was placed in trust from her father's estate. Through his daughter Edith, he was a grandfather of Alta von Kleist (d. 1967), who first married Count James de Martino of Rome in 1933. Asta later married Jean Paul-Boncour (the French Ambassador to Argentina and Thailand whose brother,

Joseph Paul-Boncour Augustin Alfred Joseph Paul-Boncour (; 4 August 1873 – 28 March 1972) was a French politician and diplomat of the Third Republic. He was a member of the Republican-Socialist Party (PRS) and served as Prime Minister of France from December 193 ...

, was the

Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...

). Through his daughter Gertrude, he was a grandfather of Baron Ruprecht von Boecklin of

277 Park Avenue 277 Park Avenue is an office building in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It stands on the east side of Park Avenue between East 47th and 48th Streets, and is tall, with 50 floors. It is tied with two other buildings, 55 Wat ...

, who inherited the Baroness' estate upon her death. Through his daughter Anita, he was a grandfather of Anita Strawbridge (wife of Lt. Cmdr. Hon. Theodore P. Grosvenor), and Robert Early Strawbridge Jr. (1896–1986), a polo champion and chairman of the United States Polo Association.

References

External links