Standard Oil Trust issued to and signed by D.M. Harkness, E.D. and W.L. Harkness, H. M. Flagler, J. D. Rockefeller and J.A. Bostwick - 1883 dated Autograph Stock Certificate

Stock issued to D. M. Harkness and signed at back. Also signed by H.M. Flagler tas secretary, J.D. Rockefeller as president and J.A. Bostwick as treasurer. Also signed on back by W.L. Harkness and E.D. Harkness. Further research needed on E.D. Remarkable stock!

Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of the Florida East Coast Railway, much of which he built through convict leasing. He is known as the father of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. 

John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937) was an influential industrialist and philanthropist. At the age of 30, he established the first oil trust, and within a decade, he had monopolized 85% of the oil industry, becoming the world's first billionaire. Known for his disdain for waste and inefficiency, Rockefeller focused on eliminating poorly managed sectors of the industry, often driving competitors out of business or acquiring them. This aggressive approach made him one of the most reviled figures in the nation, necessitating the presence of a bodyguard at all times. Throughout his life, he contributed approximately $750 million to science and education. In a pioneering public relations effort, he would distribute shiny new dimes to those he encountered. Alongside Henry M. Flagler, a prominent capitalist and promoter, Rockefeller acknowledged in court that Flagler was “the brains behind the Standard Oil Trust.” Flagler played a significant role in transforming Florida’s previously overlooked beaches and swamplands into one of the world's most opulent recreational destinations.

Daniel M. Harkness (September 26, 1822 – August 5, 1896) was an American merchant andbusinessman in Ohio. He played a 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 one of the wealthiest individuals of his day.

William Lamon Harkness (August 8, 1858 – May 10, 1919) was an American businessman and inheritor of a large share of Standard Oil. William Lamon Harkness was born in Bellevue, Ohio, the son of Daniel M. Harkness, who was the half-brother of both Henry Flagler and Stephen V. Harkness, both founders of Standard Oil, and his wife Isabella Harkness. Upon his father Daniel's death in 1896, he inherited a large share in Standard Oil, a company in which his father had been an early shareholder. He is also a cousin of noted philanthropist Edward Harkness who also benefited from his father's involvement with Standard Oil. Will attended Bellevue Public Schools in Bellevue, Ohioand The Brooks Military School in Cleveland. In 1881, Harkness graduated from Yale University.

In 1896, he moved from Cleveland, Ohio to a home at 12 East 53rd Street in New York City. He also owned a country home, Dosoris, at Glen Cove on Long Island. A yachtsman and sportsman, he was a member of The Union Club of Cleveland, the New York Yacht Club, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club and Piping Rock Club.In August 1911 while in command of his steam yacht Gunilda on Lake Superior he ran her aground, due to his failure in recognizing a requirement for a pilot and then compounding the matter by not hiring tugs at the appropriate time. She would sink in days. He put in a claim against the ship's insurer, Lloyds of London for about $132,000 dollars, and received $100,000 compensation. Shortly before his death, Harkness donated $400,000 to Yale University. The William L. Harkness Hall at Yale University was completed in 1927 as the gift of Mr. W.L. Harkness, B.A. 1881, and his family. It is a Collegiate Gothic building of Aquia sandstone with Ohio sandstone trim and contains offices and lecture & recitation rooms for the French, German, and Music departments. William Adams Delano was the architect.

Jabez Abel Bostwick (September 23, 1830 – August 16, 1892) was an American businessman who was a founding partner of Standard Oil.

Bostwick was born in Delhi, New York on September 23, 1830. He was a son of Abel Bostwick (1798–1861) and Sally (née Fitch) Bostwick (1797–1869). While still a boy, his family moved to a farm in Ohio. As a young man, Jabez Bostwick first worked in a hardware store then opened his own.

He next ventured into the cotton brokerage business in Cincinnati but soon moved to New York City where he became involved in the production side of the oil business through his firm, Tilford & Bostwick established in 1866. He bought out Tilford and in 1878 went into successful partnership with Henry Flagler and the Rockefeller brothers, John and William. Jabez Bostwick served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Standard Oil Trust.

Jabez Bostwick was also a major shareholder and President of the New York and New England Railroad, a substantial shareholder in the Housatonic Railroad, a member of the New York Cotton Exchange, and who sat on numerous other corporate boards. In spite of the enormous wealth he obtained, Bostwick was known as a modest man of exemplary character who was a devout member of the Baptist Church. He donated money to his church and to educational institutions such as Wake Forest College in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and Richmond College in Richmond, Virginia.

Bostwick was married to Helen Celia Ford (1848–1920). Helen was the daughter of Smith Reed Ford and Frances Lee (née Fox) Ford. Together, they were the parents of:

• Nellie Ford Bostwick (1868–1906), who married Francis Lee Morrell (1863–1893) in 1887. After his death, she remarried to Hamilton Wilkes Cary (1862–1917) in 1895.
• Frances Evelyn "Fannie" Bostwick (1872–1921), who married Capt. Albert J. Carstairs (1862–1927) in 1895. They divorced and she married Francis Francis (1853–1928), son of English writer Francis Francis, in 1903. They also divorced and she married Count Roger Marie Felix Symon de Perigny (1875–1945) in 1915. They also divorced and she married Dr. Serge Abrahamovitch Voronoff (1866–1951) in 1919.
• Albert Carlton Bostwick (1878–1911), who married Marie Lillian Stokes (1877–1962). After his death, Marie remarried to Fitch Gilbert.

On August 16, 1892, Bostwick died in a freak stable fire at Friedheim, his summer residence in Mamaroneck in Westchester County. During the fire he tried to save his horses and carriages. As he and the stable hands pushed a coach from the carriage house he got overrun by a Private Coach weighing 2000/3000 lbs. His widow, Helen C. Bostwick, upon her death on April 27, 1920 left an estate per public record that was valued at $29,264,181.00, including nearly $20 million of Standard Oil stock.

Through his daughter Fannie, he was the grandfather of Marion Barbara "Joe" Carstairs(1900–1993), a power boat racer known for her speed and her eccentric lifestyle, and Francis Francis (1906–1982), a pilot.

Through his son Albert, he was the grandfather of five grandchildren, including: Dorothy Stokes Bostwick (1899–2001), a philanthropist and the first woman to hold a helicopter pilot's license; Albert C. Bostwick Jr. (1901–1980), a thoroughbred racehorse owner and breeder whose horse Mate won the 1931 Preakness Stakes; Lillian Bostwick Phipps(1906–1987), an owner of Thoroughbred steeplechase racehorses who won the American Grand National eight times and who married Ogden Phipps; Dunbar Wright Bostwick(1908–2006), the chairman of the Aviation Instrument Manufacturing Corp. who was a standardbred horse breeder; and George Herbert "Pete" Bostwick (1909–1982), a Hall of Fame polo player, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame steeplechase jockey and horse trainer.

Read More

Read Less