James Alexander Stillman
| James A. Stillman | |
|---|---|
| President of National City Bank | |
|
In office 1919–1921 |
|
| Preceded by | Frank A. Vanderlip |
| Succeeded by | Charles Edwin Mitchell |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
James Alexander Stillman August 18, 1873 New York City |
| Died | January 13, 1944 (aged 70) New York City |
| Spouse(s) | Anne Urquhart Potter (m. 1901; div. 1931) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parents |
James Jewett Stillman Sarah Elizabeth Rumrill |
| Relatives | Charles Stillman (grandfather) |
| Education | Harvard University (1896) |
| Occupation | Chairman of National City Bank of New York |
James Alexander Stillman (August 18, 1873 – January 13, 1944) was a president of National City Bank.
James Alexander Stillman was born on August 18, 1873 in New York City to James Jewett Stillman (1850–1918) and Sarah Elizabeth Rumrill. His paternal grandfather was Charles Stillman (1810–1875), the founder of Brownsville, Texas. He graduated Harvard University in 1896.
In 1918, his father who was chairman of National City Bank of New York died and the younger Stillman engaged in a fight with Frank A. Vanderlip to control the company. Eventually in 1919, Vanderlip quit and Stillman became chairman. His father's estate was estimated at $45,000,000. While he was chairman, he urged temperate speech and urged people not to do or say anything that causes excitement while discussing general conditions of the country.
He served as chairman for three years until personal issues relating to a divorce with his wife caused him to resign. In 1921, Stillman sold 5,000 city lots in Brownsville, Texas that were part of his grandfather's estate, with estimates putting their value upwards of $1,500,000.
In 1901, he married Anne "Fifi" Urquhart Potter at Grace Church in Manhattan. She was the daughter of James Brown Potter. Together they had:
In 1921, he filed for divorce saying that his wife's youngest child was the daughter of a half-blood Indian guide from Quebec. His wife denied the charges and accused him of fathering two illegitimate children with chorus girl Florence H. Leeds. Stillman later acknowledged his son with Leeds in 1926 by agreeing to give $20,000 a year in trust to their son until he was 21. At that point, he was to receive $150,000. The son was:
After five years, the court refused the divorce saying that he had misbehaved. His wife then filed for divorce but withdrew the contest after receiving a $500,000 necklace. They sailed to Europe to receive counseling from Carl Jung. He eventually acknowledged he was the father of Guy and the court case ended up costing him more than $1 million but they reconciled in 1926. Fifi eventually divorced Stillman in 1931 and married Fowler McCormick, a man twenty years younger than her and a friend of their son, Bud.
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