John Crerar (industrialist)

John Chippewa Crerar (8 March 1827 – 19 October 1889) was a wealthy American industrialist and businessman from Chicago whose investments were primarily in the railroad industry. Although he had a successful business career he is most well known for his philanthropic efforts, his activism in the Presbyterian Church, and his investment in the John Crerar Library.

John Chippewa Crerar born in New York on March 8, 1827 to John Crerar (christened 2 July 1792 Dull, Perthshire, Scotland; died 23 July 1827 New York) and Agnes Smeallie (born 1 April 1797 Kirkliston, Scotland; died 28 March 1873 New York). Agnes was the daughter of Andrew Smeall, born in 1748. She had independently come to New York in the 1820s, where she met John, who had left his native land for the fortunes of America. It is probable that they met each other through the Presbyterian Church to which they both belonged. John died on July 23, 1827 when John was an infant. After John’s death, Agnes married John Boyd, the head of the New York branch of a British iron and steel company. John and his brother Peter Crerar (1821–1883) were thus able to receive a comfortable upbringing and good education in New York.

He started at the New York branch office managed by his stepfather, advancing gradually until being sent to the Boston branch to serve as a bookkeeper. His stint in Boston would last for just over a year, at which time he returned to New York, determined to be independent of his stepfather. He joined a rival large iron firm, working there until the age of 29, always vigilant for a viable escape into an independent business life.

Crerar’s luck changed when he met Morris K. Jesup, two years his junior, but already having established in 1853 a railroad supply company. Jesup was already a man renowned for his wealth and philanthropy, and he was Crerar's business partner for the rest of his life. In 1856, after several successful years, Jesup sought a new bookkeeper and turned to his new acquaintance John Crerar.

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