William Earl Dodge
| William E. Dodge | |
|---|---|
Businessman, industrialist, Congressman, founding member of Young Men's Christian Association
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| Born |
William Earl Dodge September 4, 1805 Hartford, Connecticut |
| Died | February 9, 1883 (aged 77) New York City, New York |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Cemetery |
| Residence | 225 Madison Ave., Manhattan |
| Occupation | Industrialist, Congressman |
| Known for | Co-founder Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Melissa Phelps (died 1903) |
| Children |
William Earl Dodge Jr. Anson G. P. Dodge Reverend David Stuart Dodge General Charles C. Dodge Norman White Dodge George E. Dodge Arthur M. Dodge |
William Earl Dodge Sr. (September 4, 1805 – February 9, 1883) was a New York businessman, referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Dodge saw slavery as an evil to be peaceably removed, but not to be interfered with where it existed. He was a Native American rights activist and served as the president of the National Temperance Society from 1865 to 1883. Dodge represented New York's 8th congressional district in the United States Congress for a portion of the 39th United States Congress in 1866-1867 and was a founding member of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). His son, Charles Cleveland Dodge, was one of the youngest brigadier generals in the Union Army during the Civil War at the age of twenty-one.
William Earl Dodge was born in Hartford, Connecticut, the second son of David Low Dodge, founder of the New York Peace Society, and his wife Sarah Cleveland, the daughter of minister Aaron Cleveland. He married Melissa Phelps (1809–1903), a daughter of Anson Green Phelps and Olivia Egleston. The couple had seven sons. In 1833, Dodge and his father-in-law founded the trading firm Phelps, Dodge and Company. In 1908 they became one of Americas largest mining companies Phelps Dodge Corporation.
Dodge is the namesake of Dodge County, Georgia. A consortium of businessmen led by Dodge purchased large tracts of timberland in this area following the Civil War. The Dodge Land Company laid claim to over 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land through questionable land deeds. The consortium's ownership of these lands led to land wars which resulted in nearly fifty years of court cases.
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