Stephen Birch (1872 - 1940)

Born 24 Mar 1872 in New York City, New York, USA

Died 29 Dec 1940 at age 68 in New York City, New York, USA

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Biography

Stephen Birch is Notable.

Stephen Birch (1872–1940) was the President of the Kennecott Copper Company and one of the most revered business men of his time. “Stephen Birch was one of the thousands who came north in 1898 seeking their fortunes. He found his high in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska. Most sought wealth in gold; Birch found it in copper. Birch succeeded while others failed because he had assets that many prospectors lacked- a technical education, wealthy friends and remarkable tenacity." Under his direction, the Kennecott Corporation became the largest copper producer in America and the second largest fabricator of copper.

Birch was born in 1872 in New York. He was the second son out of six children. His father was a Union Army sergeant who died when Stephen was only ten years old. Three years after her husband’s death, Stephen’s mother moved her six children from Brooklyn to Mahwah, New Jersey to be near relatives. The young Birches quickly became friends with the children of their neighbors, Theodore Havemeyer, the vice-president of American Sugar Refining Company, and his wife Lillie. “Mrs. Havemeyer took a special interest in young Stephen providing financial assistance for his education at Trinity School, New York University, and Columbia School of Mines.”

At his death, Kennecott held nearly 15 percent of the world's known copper resources and was the largest copper producer in the United States. At that time he was Chairman of Kennecott and the Braden Copper Company, President of the Alaska Steamship Company and the Copper River & Northwestern Railroad Company, and a Director of Utah Copper Company, Bankers Trust Company and five railroads.

His 730-acre farm near Mahwah, New Jersey was sold to the state and his house, a state historic site, is now the administration building for Ramapo College.

In 1938 he founded the Stephen and Mary Birch Foundation, Inc. to support health service, hospitals and civic organizations. It provided major funding for the Stephen Birch Aquarium-Museum at the University of California, San Diego.

Parents were Stephen Birch and Emily Marshall; wife was Mary C. Rand.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Birch

"New York, New York City Births, 1846-1909," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:27BX-HZ5 : 11 February 2018), Birch, 24 Mar 1872; citing Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, reference cn 85449 New York Municipal Archives, New Yor...

"United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZNX-CQ1 : 13 September 2017), Stephen Birch in household of Stephen Birch, Peekskill, Westchester, New York, United States; citing enumeration district ED 90, sheet 110A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 0945; FHL microfilm 1,254,945.

"United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9NJ-4K7 : accessed 19 July 2018), Stephen Birch in household of Emily Birch, Hohokus Township, Bergen, New Jersey, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 23, sheet 6B, family 139, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,955.

"United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV5B-FVWY : 16 March 2018), Stephen Birch, 1919; citing Passport Application, New York, United States, source certificate #57769, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 678, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WRZ-335 : 10 February 2018), Stephen Birch, 29 Dec 1940; citing Death, Manhattan, New York, New York, United States, New York Municipal Archives, New York; FHL microfilm 2,129,812.

https://alaskamininghalloffame.org/inductees/birch.php