Emerson McMillin
| Emerson McMillin | |
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| Born | April 16, 1844 Ewington, Ohio |
| Died | May 30, 1922 Mahwah, New Jersey |
| Residence | New York City |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Head of Emerson McMillin bank |
Emerson McMillin (April 16, 1844 - May 30, 1922) was the head of the banking house of Emerson McMillin. McMillin won a commission through "gallant conduct under fire" fighting for the Union Army in the Civil War, before moving to the Ohio Valley to work in the iron works and steel industries.
He founded American Light and Traction in 1900 and became president.
He was born on April 16, 1844 in Ewington, Ohio. His family was of Scottish heritage, and had initially settled in Virginia. He was the twelfth of fourteen children, and went to school several months a year until the age of ten. His father was the manager of an iron furnace and Emerson worked as an iron furnace apprentice for four years starting at age 12, in 1856. He acquired a good education with hard study after-hours, with a particular interest in scientific research. The Times writes that he "made a practice of thoroughly examining the application of the scientific principles of the iron and gas industries."
Devoutly anti-slavery unlike his father, he attempted to sign up for the American Civil War at the age of seventeen. Rejected for his age, when he turned 18 he signed up for the 18th Ohio. He served in the Union Army starting in 1862. He was wounded three times in the war, while other sources say he was wounded five times. He served in 38 battles. In the war McMillin and his brothers were known as the "fighting McMillins," Of his five brothers, three were killed in the conflict. McMillin himself won a commission through "gallant conduct under fire."
He worked for ten years in the Ohio Valley in iron works and steel mills. In Ohio, he became manager or president of several institutions, and afterwards focused his energies on gas properties and their consolidation and growth. In 1891 he started a commercial bank involved in mergers and acquisitions in the industry. The Times writes that the bank's focus was "of a sort then rather new in banking circles," because of its focus on the purchase and merging of gas interests. He believed in consolidating competitors as a business strategy, for example causing the merger in St. Louis of four gas companies, increasing their net profit significantly.
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