Daniel Willis James
Encyclopedia
Daniel Willis James was born in Liverpool
, England
, the son of a merchant who moved from Liverpool to Baltimore, Maryland, and eventually settled in New York City
. His maternal grandfather was Anson Greene Phelps
, of Phelps, Dodge, and Company. James attended Amherst College
and wed Ellen S. Curtiss, with whom he had a son, Arthur Curtiss James.
James headed the Phelps, Dodge and Company, and served on the board of other large U.S. companies, including the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the Arizona, El Paso and Southwestern Mining Company, and the Ansonia Clock Company
. He also served as vice president and director of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company
in Bisbee, Arizona
.
Williston, North Dakota
, was named for him by his friend, Northern Pacific Railway
owner James J. Hill
.
According to one historian, James was "a genuinely good man of impeccable character, a secret philanthropist, whom Charles Parkhurst
said loved everything in the universe 'from God down to the newsboy.'" He donated the Union Square
drinking fountain in New York.
James died in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
in September 1907, one of the hundred wealthiest Americans, having left a large fortune estimated at $977,497 (more than $26 million in inflation-adjusted 2008 U.S. dollars).
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, the son of a merchant who moved from Liverpool to Baltimore, Maryland, and eventually settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. His maternal grandfather was Anson Greene Phelps
Anson Greene Phelps
Anson Greene Phelps was a co-founder of mining company Phelps Dodge, which he founded in 1833 along with his son-in-law William E. Dodge.-Early life:...
, of Phelps, Dodge, and Company. James attended Amherst College
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
and wed Ellen S. Curtiss, with whom he had a son, Arthur Curtiss James.
James headed the Phelps, Dodge and Company, and served on the board of other large U.S. companies, including the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the Arizona, El Paso and Southwestern Mining Company, and the Ansonia Clock Company
Ansonia Clock Company
Ansonia Clocks were made by a clock manufacturing business which started in Ansonia, Connecticut, in 1851 and which moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1878...
. He also served as vice president and director of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company
Copper Queen Mine
The Copper Queen Mine was the copper mine in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, that gave birth to the surrounding town of Bisbee. In the early 1900s it was the most productive copper mine in Arizona.- History :...
in Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee, Arizona
Bisbee is a city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, 82 miles southeast of Tucson. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 6,177...
.
Williston, North Dakota
Williston, North Dakota
-Demographics:Preliminary data from a 2010 housing study indicates that population has grown by nearly 22 percent over the past decade; the actual increase might be much higher. Williston is in western North Dakota's booming oil patch, and adequate, affordable housing has become a concern. The...
, was named for him by his friend, Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a railway that operated in the west along the Canadian border of the United States. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in...
owner James J. Hill
James J. Hill
James Jerome Hill , was a Canadian-American railroad executive. He was the chief executive officer of a family of lines headed by the Great Northern Railway, which served a substantial area of the Upper Midwest, the northern Great Plains, and Pacific Northwest...
.
According to one historian, James was "a genuinely good man of impeccable character, a secret philanthropist, whom Charles Parkhurst
Charles Henry Parkhurst
Charles Henry Parkhurst was an American clergyman and social reformer, born in Framingham, Massachusetts. Although scholarly and reserved, he preached two sermons in 1892 in which he attacked the political corruption of New York City government...
said loved everything in the universe 'from God down to the newsboy.'" He donated the Union Square
Union Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
drinking fountain in New York.
James died in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, USA, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities...
in September 1907, one of the hundred wealthiest Americans, having left a large fortune estimated at $977,497 (more than $26 million in inflation-adjusted 2008 U.S. dollars).
External links
- James Library Building at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts—This building was donated by D. Willis James.
- Union Square Drinking Fountain (James Fountain), New York City