Detailed Life Events
Dan Harkness played a pivotal role in the formation of Standard Oil in Ohio.
His older half-brother Stephen V. Harkness and younger half-brother Henry M. Flagler became two of the original five founding partners of Standard Oil, along with John D. Rockefeller. Daniel Harkness had persuaded Henry Flagler to move to Ohio when young and join him in his uncle's business. There, Flagler met Stephen V. Harkness and John D. Rockefeller. Daniel Harkness became a major stockholder in Standard Oil and was one of the wealthiest individuals of his day.
Family
Daniel was the son of Dr. David M. Harkness and his second wife, Elizabeth Morrison (Caldwell). His father had been widowed and had a son, Stephen V. Harkness from his first marriage. His father David died when Daniel was just 3 years old.
The newly widowed Elizabeth Harkness took her two sons and returned to upstate New York to her mother-in-law's home. She met and married Isaac Flagler, a Presbyterian minister in Hopewell, New York. They had a son, Henry Flagler, Daniel was his half-brother. Daniel and Henry share the name Morrison as their middle name, which is the last name of their mother's first husband.
Early days & Standard Oil
In 1837, when the Isaac Flagler family moved to Toledo, Ohio, Dan Harkness instead decided to move to Bellevue, Ohio to live with his paternal uncle Lamon G. (LG) Harkness. He initially worked with Willam K. Harkness, his uncle W.G. Harkness’ son in Butternut Ridge in Ohio which is outside of Green Springs, OH. He later moved on to work in the Harkness store in Republic, Ohio. 1840 he went to Lansingburgh, NY to try out an apprenticeship as a printer.
He returned a year later to Republic, Ohio (14 miles away) to work in the Harkness store there. Later, Dan encouraged his younger half-brother, Henry Flagler, to leave Hopewell and join him in Republic, which Henry did in 1844. The two worked for a while in Republic and then moved to Bellevue, Ohio to become more involved in the grain and distillery business.
During Bellevue's early growth period, two individuals played a significant role in its development: Daniel M. Harkness and H.C. Stahl. Their contributions can be simplified as follows:
Daniel M. Harkness worked with Amos Woodward and politician Charles Foster to influence the Nickel Plate Railroad officials in 1881 to establish their line through Bellevue. This decision resulted in the creation of numerous job opportunities, contributing to the town's growth and prosperity.
H.C. Stahl, on the other hand, started manufacturing riding cultivators in Fremont during the early 1870s. Initially known as the Fremont Cultivator Works, his company gained momentum and received a capital infusion of $10,000 in 1882. Eventually, it became the Ohio Cultivator Company in 1890. The company's name change was driven by the practicality of redirecting shipments and mail to Bellevue instead of Fremont.
During a meeting at the Harkness home after a Sunday service, Dan Harkness encouraged Stahl to invest in the Standard Oil Company. Harkness had amassed considerable wealth by investing in this company, which was co-founded by John D. Rockefeller and Henry M. Flagler, Harkness' half-brother. Stahl, however, decided to reinvest all his earnings into his own company, demonstrating his dedication to its success. Hindsight is perfect....
Lifes Little Detours
Dan married his Uncle L.G.'s daughter Isabella in 1849 and Henry married her sister Mary.
The two young men did very well in Bellevue. Civil War
Then the Civil War started in 1861. Daniel Harkness enlisted and was a regimental quartermaster for the Union in the Civil War from 1861 to 1863. In 1862, Henry Flagler decided to go into the salt business in Michigan since the war effort would need large amounts of salt.
After Daniel served, The Enrollment Act of 1863 was passed which provided that a draftee could pay a “substitute” enrollee the sum of $300 (about $5,000 in today’s terms) in order to enlist in his place. Henry Flagler was busy helping the war effort with salt production and JD Rockefeller was busy supporting the grain industry so they both took this option.
The Civil War ended in 1862 and Henry found he did not have sufficient technical knowledge to weather changes in the markets as a result. The business failed. When Flagler returned from Michigan having lost a substantial salt mine investment, Daniel helped bail him out by lending him money. Flagler then moved to Cleveland in 1866, thinking he would have better opportunities in a larger city. He had an office in the same building as John D. Rockefeller and the story goes on from there.
Dan Harkness and his family remained primarily in Bellevue, taking over the home that Henry Flagler had built there, known as "The Gingerbread House". After Daniel's death, it was donated to Bellevue for use as the YMCA by his son William Lamon Harkness. Many people in Bellevue still remember the "YMCA", but few know the full details of the two families who lived there. The Carriage House is still standing in Bellevue.
Dan and Isabella had 5 children together, but only William survived into adulthood. Isabella died in 1864. Dan later donated the funds to build Harkness Memorial First Congregational Church next door to his home in her honor; it was completed in 1887. He stipulated that the church must not have a bell because he did not want to be disturbed by one. The church is still standing in Bellevue to this day.
Dan was appointed as a trustee of Standard Oil. When he died in 1896 his estate, estimated to be $35 million and mostly in Standard Oil stock, was left to his only surviving child, William L. Harkness. This $35 million would equate to approximately $1 billion in 2013.
Final Rest
Daniel M. Harkness is interred at Bellevue Cemetery in the Harkness plot and has a very plain and simple headstone.
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