Guide to the Papers of the Thaw Family, 1792-1981

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Papers of the Thaw Family,
Creator
Thaw family
Collection Number
MSS#29
Extent
5.0 cubic feet (10 boxes)
Date
1792 - 1981
Abstract
In 1804, John Thaw moved to Pittsburgh (Pa.) to help establish a branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania. John Thaw remained in Pittsburgh and he and his children became prominent in the business, industry, and philanthropy of Pittsburgh. The papers primarily consist of correspondence and financial and business records while the personal correspondence is comprehensive and details the lives and social activities of several Thaw family members.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by: Historical Society Staff. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Spring, 1999.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

Biographical Sketch of the Thaw Family

The Thaw Family came to the American colonies in the early 18th century and settled in Philadelphia (Pa.). In 1804, John Thaw moved to Pittsburgh (Pa.) to help establish a branch of the Bank of Pennsylvania. John Thaw remained in Pittsburgh and he and his children became prominent in the business, industry, and philanthropy of Pittsburgh.

John Thaw (1779-1866)

John Thaw, son of Benjamin Thaw and Hannah Engle, was born in Philadelphia and as a young man became an apprentice to a shipping merchant. In 1799, John Thaw entered the shipping business as a merchant and shipped manufactured goods from Philadelphia to various ports in the West Indies. He purchased several schooners for this work including the Schooners: Bee, Barque America, and Ocean, some of which he co-owned with Captain John Dove. He left this business, however, around 1802 when one of his captains supposedly robbed him of all his profits on a voyage to Africa. John Thaw then found a position with the Bank of Pennsylvania. In 1804, the Bank of Pennsylvania began work to establish a Pittsburgh branch which would be the first bank west of the Allegheny Mountains. John Thaw was offered the position of Teller in that bank and in August, 1804, he, his wife, Elizabeth Thomas, and their daughter, Eliza, moved west to Pittsburgh. The Bank prospered and helped to establish business and industry in the growing "frontier" city of Pittsburgh. The charter for the Bank of Pennsylvania was suspended, however, in 1818 and John Thaw moved to the Pittsburgh branch of the second Bank of the United States which had been approved by Congress in 1816. Adamson Tannehill served as President of this branch as it became one of the nation's strongest banking offices. By the 1830's, the bank entered the political agendas of national politicians who argued the constitutionality of a federal bank. President Andrew Jackson soon removed all federal deposits from the Bank and the branch office was reorganized under the state and renamed the Pennsylvania Bank of the United States. John Thaw remained at this bank until the suspension of its charter in 1841. Thaw continued to work with other banks in Pittsburgh, but was also appointed Notary Public from 1812 to 1833. After the Pittsburgh Fire of 1845, John Thaw who had lost his own house to the fire served as Treasurer to the Monogahela Bridge Company (1845) which built a suspension bridge over the Monogahela River to replace one that was destroyed by the fire. John Thaw also helped to organize and distribute relief funds for the many victims of the fire. John Thaw and Elizabeth Thomas had eleven children and lived at the corner of Third and Wood Street in Pittsburgh until their house was burned and then moved to a location on Smithfield Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue where John Thaw lived until his death in 1866.

William Thaw and Family

William Thaw (1818-1889) was the seventh child of John and Elizabeth Thaw. He attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh, and worked as a clerk in his father's bank. In 1841 he married Eliza Burd Blair (1822-1863) from Washington, Pa., who was a graduate of Dickinson College and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1842, William Thaw went into business with his brother-in-law, Thomas Shields Clarke, and established Clarke and Thaw, a transport line of canal boats and steamships known as the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line. Clarke and Thaw entered the railroad industry in the 1850's by handling shipments of consigned goods over two or more railroad lines for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Thaw soon developed a freight transport service called the Star Union Line which he directed until 1873. In 1868, William Thaw and George W. Cass formed the Continental Improvement Company which helped to complete the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. Around the same time, Thaw was involved in the Western Transportation Company which organized the building and operation of the Pittsburgh and Stuebenville Railroad. In 1870, The Pennsylvania Company was formed to manage and operate all western routes of the Pennsylvania Railroad and William Thaw served as its first Vice President. Thaw also served as Vice President of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad and was Director for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company from 1881 to 1889. In 1873, Thaw developed and served as President of the first steamship line between the United States and Europe known as the Red Star Line. In addition to his varied business interests, William Thaw was dedicated to many civic projects and contributed significantly to the Western University and helped to build the Allegheny Observatory in 1860. Thaw was also an active member and contributor to the Third Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. William Thaw died in Paris in 1889. William Thaw had five children by his first wife, Eliza Burd Blair, and five by his second wife, Mary Copley Sibbett, who Thaw married in 1867. His children were: Eliza, William, Mary, Benjamin, Alexander Blair, Henry (Harry) Kendall, Edward, Josiah Copley, Margaret, and Alice Cornelia. After William Thaw's death in 1889, Mary Copley Thaw moved to "Lyndhurst", a mansion in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood. Eliza Thaw Edwards (1843-1912), the oldest of William Thaw's children, married George Breed Edwards in 1864. George Breed Edwards (1842-1887) worked for William Thaw as a manager for the Star Union Line and later as a freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Benjamin Thaw (1859-1934), son of William and Eliza Burd Thaw, graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1878. He worked as a railroad clerk and later entered the coke manufacturing business with his brother, William Thaw (1853-1892). Benjamin and William, along with the Darsie Brothers, owned the Hecla Coke Company which was absorbed by the Frick Coke Company in 1905. Benjamin Thaw then managed his father's estate and became involved with several business endeavors and philanthropic organizations. Benjamin married Elma Ellsworth Dows in 1886 and they had four children: Benjamin, Henrietta, William, and Alexander Blair. Benjamin, Jr., entered the foreign service and worked as a diplomat in Paris, Brussels, and South America. Two of their sons, William and Alexander Blair, served as pilots during World War I in the French Foreign Legion. Alexander Blair Thaw (1896-c1916) died in a plane crash during that time. William Thaw (1893-1933) flew fighter planes with a volunteer squadron known as the Lafayette Espadrille. He then enlisted with the United States Army in 1918 where he earned the rank of colonel. William Thaw died in Pittsburgh of pneumonia in 1933. Henry (Harry) Kendall Thaw (1871-1946), son of William and Mary Copley Thaw, married actress, Evelyn Nesbit in 1905. The relationship between Harry K. Thaw and the actress was a tumultuous one and the Thaw family, in particular Mary Copley Thaw, questioned his bride's social standing due to her reputation for leading a promiscuous lifestyle. Harry K. Thaw committed murder in June, 1906, when he fatally shot Evelyn Nesbit's former companion, architect, Stanford White, at New York's Madison Square Garden. Thaw was determined insane by the courts and sentenced to a mental institution. With support from his mother he spent the next several years in and out of jail and mental institutions appealing his case and attempting to prove his sanity. Thaw and Evelyn Nesbit divorced in 1913 and Harry K. Thaw was finally released from confinement in 1924. Thaw spent the remainder of his life travelling and died in Miami Beach, Fl., in 1946. Mary Thaw Thompson (1856-) graduated from Vassar College in 1877 and married William Reed Thompson in 1879. Mary Thaw Thompson devoted much of her life to philanthropic endeavors. She was an active alumnae to Vassar College and served as the first President to the Young Women's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). She was responsible for donating the Thaw Mansion at 120 Fifth Street (now Stanwix Street) in 1895 to the Y.W.C.A. which the organization occupied until 1910. Mary Thaw Thompson was a member of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and was responsible for collecting and preserving many of the family records. William Reed Thompson (1845-1906) served in the Civil War and in the 1870's he became Cashier and President of the Mechanics National Bank on Fourth Avenue (Pittsburgh, Pa.). He then bought interest in a Banking House and operated under the firm of William R. Thompson and Company where he helped to manage the estate William Thaw. He served as Treasurer to the Johnstown Flood Relief in 1889 and helped to administer several other philanthropic and relief organizations.

John Thaw (1779-1866)

John Thaw, son of Benjamin Thaw and Hannah Engle, was born in Philadelphia and as a young man became an apprentice to a shipping merchant. In 1799, John Thaw entered the shipping business as a merchant and shipped manufactured goods from Philadelphia to various ports in the West Indies. He purchased several schooners for this work including the Schooners: Bee, Barque America, and Ocean, some of which he co-owned with Captain John Dove. He left this business, however, around 1802 when one of his captains supposedly robbed him of all his profits on a voyage to Africa. John Thaw then found a position with the Bank of Pennsylvania. In 1804, the Bank of Pennsylvania began work to establish a Pittsburgh branch which would be the first bank west of the Allegheny Mountains. John Thaw was offered the position of Teller in that bank and in August, 1804, he, his wife, Elizabeth Thomas, and their daughter, Eliza, moved west to Pittsburgh.

The Bank prospered and helped to establish business and industry in the growing "frontier" city of Pittsburgh. The charter for the Bank of Pennsylvania was suspended, however, in 1818 and John Thaw moved to the Pittsburgh branch of the second Bank of the United States which had been approved by Congress in 1816. Adamson Tannehill served as President of this branch as it became one of the nation's strongest banking offices. By the 1830's, the bank entered the political agendas of national politicians who argued the constitutionality of a federal bank. President Andrew Jackson soon removed all federal deposits from the Bank and the branch office was reorganized under the state and renamed the Pennsylvania Bank of the United States. John Thaw remained at this bank until the suspension of its charter in 1841. Thaw continued to work with other banks in Pittsburgh, but was also appointed Notary Public from 1812 to 1833. After the Pittsburgh Fire of 1845, John Thaw who had lost his own house to the fire served as Treasurer to the Monogahela Bridge Company (1845) which built a suspension bridge over the Monogahela River to replace one that was destroyed by the fire. John Thaw also helped to organize and distribute relief funds for the many victims of the fire.

John Thaw and Elizabeth Thomas had eleven children and lived at the corner of Third and Wood Street in Pittsburgh until their house was burned and then moved to a location on Smithfield Street between 1st and 2nd Avenue where John Thaw lived until his death in 1866.

William Thaw and Family

William Thaw (1818-1889) was the seventh child of John and Elizabeth Thaw. He attended the Western University of Pennsylvania, now the University of Pittsburgh, and worked as a clerk in his father's bank. In 1841 he married Eliza Burd Blair (1822-1863) from Washington, Pa., who was a graduate of Dickinson College and the University of Pennsylvania. In 1842, William Thaw went into business with his brother-in-law, Thomas Shields Clarke, and established Clarke and Thaw, a transport line of canal boats and steamships known as the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Packet Line. Clarke and Thaw entered the railroad industry in the 1850's by handling shipments of consigned goods over two or more railroad lines for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Thaw soon developed a freight transport service called the Star Union Line which he directed until 1873. In 1868, William Thaw and George W. Cass formed the Continental Improvement Company which helped to complete the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. Around the same time, Thaw was involved in the Western Transportation Company which organized the building and operation of the Pittsburgh and Stuebenville Railroad. In 1870, The Pennsylvania Company was formed to manage and operate all western routes of the Pennsylvania Railroad and William Thaw served as its first Vice President. Thaw also served as Vice President of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis Railroad and was Director for the Pennsylvania Railroad Company from 1881 to 1889. In 1873, Thaw developed and served as President of the first steamship line between the United States and Europe known as the Red Star Line. In addition to his varied business interests, William Thaw was dedicated to many civic projects and contributed significantly to the Western University and helped to build the Allegheny Observatory in 1860. Thaw was also an active member and contributor to the Third Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh. William Thaw died in Paris in 1889.

William Thaw had five children by his first wife, Eliza Burd Blair, and five by his second wife, Mary Copley Sibbett, who Thaw married in 1867. His children were: Eliza, William, Mary, Benjamin, Alexander Blair, Henry (Harry) Kendall, Edward, Josiah Copley, Margaret, and Alice Cornelia. After William Thaw's death in 1889, Mary Copley Thaw moved to "Lyndhurst", a mansion in Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill neighborhood.

Eliza Thaw Edwards (1843-1912), the oldest of William Thaw's children, married George Breed Edwards in 1864. George Breed Edwards (1842-1887) worked for William Thaw as a manager for the Star Union Line and later as a freight agent for the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Benjamin Thaw (1859-1934), son of William and Eliza Burd Thaw, graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1878. He worked as a railroad clerk and later entered the coke manufacturing business with his brother, William Thaw (1853-1892). Benjamin and William, along with the Darsie Brothers, owned the Hecla Coke Company which was absorbed by the Frick Coke Company in 1905. Benjamin Thaw then managed his father's estate and became involved with several business endeavors and philanthropic organizations. Benjamin married Elma Ellsworth Dows in 1886 and they had four children: Benjamin, Henrietta, William, and Alexander Blair. Benjamin, Jr., entered the foreign service and worked as a diplomat in Paris, Brussels, and South America. Two of their sons, William and Alexander Blair, served as pilots during World War I in the French Foreign Legion. Alexander Blair Thaw (1896-c1916) died in a plane crash during that time. William Thaw (1893-1933) flew fighter planes with a volunteer squadron known as the Lafayette Espadrille. He then enlisted with the United States Army in 1918 where he earned the rank of colonel. William Thaw died in Pittsburgh of pneumonia in 1933.

Henry (Harry) Kendall Thaw (1871-1946), son of William and Mary Copley Thaw, married actress, Evelyn Nesbit in 1905. The relationship between Harry K. Thaw and the actress was a tumultuous one and the Thaw family, in particular Mary Copley Thaw, questioned his bride's social standing due to her reputation for leading a promiscuous lifestyle. Harry K. Thaw committed murder in June, 1906, when he fatally shot Evelyn Nesbit's former companion, architect, Stanford White, at New York's Madison Square Garden. Thaw was determined insane by the courts and sentenced to a mental institution. With support from his mother he spent the next several years in and out of jail and mental institutions appealing his case and attempting to prove his sanity. Thaw and Evelyn Nesbit divorced in 1913 and Harry K. Thaw was finally released from confinement in 1924. Thaw spent the remainder of his life travelling and died in Miami Beach, Fl., in 1946.

Mary Thaw Thompson (1856-) graduated from Vassar College in 1877 and married William Reed Thompson in 1879. Mary Thaw Thompson devoted much of her life to philanthropic endeavors. She was an active alumnae to Vassar College and served as the first President to the Young Women's Christian Association (Y.M.C.A.). She was responsible for donating the Thaw Mansion at 120 Fifth Street (now Stanwix Street) in 1895 to the Y.W.C.A. which the organization occupied until 1910. Mary Thaw Thompson was a member of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania and was responsible for collecting and preserving many of the family records.

William Reed Thompson (1845-1906) served in the Civil War and in the 1870's he became Cashier and President of the Mechanics National Bank on Fourth Avenue (Pittsburgh, Pa.). He then bought interest in a Banking House and operated under the firm of William R. Thompson and Company where he helped to manage the estate William Thaw. He served as Treasurer to the Johnstown Flood Relief in 1889 and helped to administer several other philanthropic and relief organizations.

Scope and Content Notes

The papers primarily consist of correspondence and financial and business records relating to the banking career of John Thaw and the freight and transportation businesses of William Thaw. The personal correspondence is comprehensive and details the lives and social activities of several Thaw family members. These papers also include genealogical materials, scrapbooks, publications and newspapers clippings.

Arrangement

Series have been designated for the papers of John Thaw,the papers of William Thaw and his family which have been arranged into sub-series, and general Thaw Family materials.

The Thaw Family Papers are housed in ten archival boxes and are arranged into four series. These papers have been arranged alphabetically by folder title with the papers of John Thaw and William Thaw divided into Personal and Non-Personal Material.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Papers of the Thaw Family, 1792-1981, MSS# 29, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania

Processing Information

This collection was processed by HSWP Staff.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Kate Colligan in February 1999.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Other Subjects

    • Bankers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Banks and banking -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Banks and banking -- Government ownership-- Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh
    • Banks and banking -- Records and correspondence -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Banks and banking -- Records and correspondence -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Coke industry -- Pennsylvania -- Connelsville
    • Crimes of passion -- New York -- New York
    • Domestic relations -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Elections -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Philanthropists -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Philadelphia (Pa.)-- Social life and customs
    • Elections -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.) -- Social Life and Customs
    • Ship captains -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia
    • Shipment of goods -- Pennsylvania
    • Shipping -- United States
    • Railroad companies -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Railroads -- Finances -- Law and legislation
    • Railroads -- Freight
    • Railroads -- Records and correspondence
    • Railroads -- United States
    • Real estate business -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • World War, 1914-1918
    • Women -- Charities -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh

Container List