Stephen V. Harkness
| Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | November 18, 1818 Fayette, New York |
| Died | March 6, 1888 (aged 69) at sea off Punta Gorda, Florida |
| Resting place | Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland |
| Residence | Cleveland, Ohio New York City |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse(s) | 1) Laura Osborne 2) Anna M. Richardson |
| Children | w/Laura: Isabella (1845-1845) David (1848-1848) Lamon V. (1850-1915) w/Anna: Charles W. (1860-1919) Florence (1864-1895) Edward S. (1874-1940) |
| Parent(s) | Dr. David M. Harkness, Martha Cook Harkness |
Stephen Vanderburgh Harkness (November 18, 1818 – March 6, 1888) was an American businessman from Cleveland, Ohio, who invested as a silent partner with oil titan John D. Rockefeller, Sr. in the founding of Standard Oil. He was a director of Standard Oil until his death.
Stephen Harkness was born on November 18, 1818, in Fayette, New York, to David M. Harkness and Martha Cook. His mother died before he turned two, and his father moved the family to the Western Reserve region of Northeast Ohio. They settled in Milan, where David married Elizabeth Ann Caldwell Morrison, who bore a son, Daniel M. Harkness. After David died in 1825, Elizabeth and the family returned to Seneca County, New York, where she married Isaac Flagler, a Presbyterian minister in Milton, and had another son, Henry Flagler.
In 1842, Stephen Harkness married Laura Osborne. They had three children; two died very young, while the third, Lamon, lived to 65. Laura died on Aug. 24, 1852, and was buried in Bellevue, Ohio. Two years later, Stephen married Anna M. Richardson. They had three children: Charles W. Harkness, Florence Harkness and Edward S. Harkness.
Stephen and Anna Harkness are buried in Cleveland's Lake View Cemetery near J.D. Rockefeller.
At age twenty-one, after finishing his apprenticeship as a harnessmaker, Stephen Harkness moved to Bellevue, Ohio with his uncle Lamon. Stephen worked for a time in harnessmaking but in 1855 he set up a distillery in Monroeville, Ohio that was a success. In 1864 Stephen formed a partnership with Wm. Halsey Doan to provide crude oil to refineries and that made him quite wealthy.
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Wikipedia