Standard Oil Trust signed by John D. Rockefeller & Henry M. Flagler - 1880's dated Autograph Stock Certificate

Stock signed on the front by J.D. Rockefeller and H.M. Flagler. John Davison Rockefeller (1839-1937) Founder and one of the original partners of Standard Oil; Oil industry pioneer; Capitalist. At one time reputedly the world's richest man, Rockefeller began his career in Cleveland, Ohio as a successful merchant, prior to the Civil War. In 1863, he and his partners built a refinery which grew into a business that eventually absorbed many other Cleveland refineries and expanded into Pennsylvania oil fields to become the world's largest refining concern. During this time, he was able to expand his operations while others were failing due the talented people with whom he had surrounded himself, to the efficiency of his operations, and to a variety of what are now considered unscrupulous business practices for which he became famous.

In 1870, Rockefeller organized the Standard Oil Company of Ohio in order to improve the efficiency with which his operations were being run. In 1882, in part to streamline operations, and in part to avoid state controls, Rockefeller took a step which had a profound significance for American business by creating the Standard Oil Trust. Under this arrangement, a board of trustees took the stock of both the Standard Oil Company of Ohio and of all of its subsidiaries, and ran the combination through the board's executive committee. By this time, public criticism of Rockefeller and his methods was running at near-fever pitch and, in 1892, the Trust was dissolved by the Ohio Supreme Court. The Trust was divided into some 18-later over 30-corporations before being folded into another holding company, Standard Oil of New Jersey (1899).

In 1911, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered this latter company dissolved, declaring that it was "a monopoly in restraint of trade," and thus illegal under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. By this time Rockefeller had almost completely removed himself from business concerns, and was concentrating solely on his philanthropic projects. While the extent of his philanthropies are too numerous to list, among the most prominent are his founding of the University of Chicago (1889), the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1901), the General Education Board (1902) and the Rockefeller Foundation (1913). It is estimated that Rockefeller gave away some $550 million during his lifetime.

Very Rare! Portrait and biography included with stock.

Some of the old headlines read “Rockefeller Indicted Again”, “Standard Oil Before the Bar”, “Standard Oil Magnates Dodge Subpoenas”, “Rockefeller Faces Justice”, Later headlines changed dramatically in tone including “Rockefeller Gives Another Million to Unemployment Fund”, “Rockefeller Foundation Fights Pellagra in Georgia”, and “John D. Gives Dimes to Children”. Some speculate that his habit of giving dimes to people he met was based on the advice of Ivy Ledbetter Lee in 1914 who was hired to help manage the Rockefeller Empire’s image. Lee is considered the leading pioneer of today’s public relations industry, working first for J.P. Morgan, then for Rockefeller.

John D. Rockefeller soon engaged in the practice of carrying around a bag of dimes, handing one to everyone he met. Many people feel that this was John D Rockefeller’s way of getting closer to the public. It is said that he used to do it with relish, and so when someone approached him he would hand him a shiny dime in order to start a conversation. Late in life Rockefeller became known as "The Man Who Gave Away Shiny New Dimes". He reportedly gave away about $10,000 worth of dimes before his death, 100,000 Mercury dimes! A quote from Golf Digest-2002… “By 1920 Rockefeller already had become famous for handing out dimes to street urchins whom he thought deserving of spiritual encouragement or moral reward, and in Florida one winter he bestowed a dime on Harvey Firestone, president of the tire and rubber company, for having made a long and treacherous downhill putt.”

An additional quote from the biography “John D. Rockefeller” by Barnie F. Winkelman states “The shiny dimes that the aging Rockefeller handed out were a symbol and a sermon. The symbol was frequently misunderstood and the moral of the sermon quite generally distorted. The little gift was a token and a good-luck piece. In a broad sense it emphasized thrift, but not as a sure road to wealth, rather as a way and a habit of life.” Winkelman further offers a quote by Rockefeller “It is the duty of a man to get all the money he honestly can and to give all he can. This is the basis of progress. In this way morality and religion move forward and civilization is advanced.”

John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist, widely regarded as the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Born into a large family in upstate New York, Rockefeller's family moved several times before settling in Cleveland, Ohio. At the age of 16, he began working as an assistant bookkeeper and entered various business partnerships starting at age 20, focusing on oil refining. In 1870, Rockefeller founded the Standard Oil Company, which he managed until 1897 while remaining its largest shareholder.

Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a co-founder of Standard Oil, originally based in Ohio. Flagler played a pivotal role in developing the Atlantic coast of Florida and founded the Florida East Coast Railway, which was significantly built through convict leasing. He is often referred to as the father of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida.

Standard Oil Trust

In response to state laws that restricted the scale of companies, Rockefeller and his associates devised innovative organizational strategies to manage their rapidly expanding enterprise. On January 2, 1882, they consolidated their various companies, which were spread across multiple states, under a single trust. In a confidential arrangement, the 37 existing stockholders transferred their shares "in trust" to nine trustees: John and William Rockefeller, Oliver H. Payne, Charles Pratt, Henry Flagler, John D. Archbold, William G. Warden, Jabez Bostwick, and Benjamin Brewster.

State legislatures had imposed various restrictions on out-of-state corporations, such as special taxes or prohibitions on holding stock in companies based elsewhere, aiming to encourage successful companies to incorporate—and thus pay taxes—in their own state. The trust structure adopted by Standard Oil proved so effective that other major enterprises soon followed suit.

By 1882, John Dustin Archbold, one of Rockefeller's key aides, was left in charge as Rockefeller shifted his focus to philanthropy after 1896. Notable figures associated with the company included Henry Flagler, who developed the Florida East Coast Railway and resort cities, and Henry H. Rogers, who built the Virginian Railway. In 1885, Standard Oil of Ohio relocated its headquarters from Cleveland to 26 Broadway in New York City. Simultaneously, the trustees chartered the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey (SOCNJ) to leverage New Jersey’s more favorable corporate stock ownership laws.

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