Stillman Witt
Stillman Witt was an American railroad and steel industry executive best known for building the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad, Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad, and the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad. Through his banking activities, he played a significant role in the early years of the Standard Oil company. He was also one of the founding investors in the Cleveland Rolling Mill, a major steel firm in the United States.
Early life
Witt was born January 4, 1808, in Worcester, Massachusetts, to John and Hannah Witt. His family was poor, and he had little education.The Witts moved to Troy, New York, when Stillman was 13 years old. John Witt ran a tavern on the halfway point between Troy and Albany, New York. Stillman obtained a job earning $10 a month paddling a skiff ferry across the Hudson River. Canvass White, an engineer and inventor, frequently rode the ferry, and became impressed with Stillman's attentiveness, attitude, and drive. After obtaining John Witt's permission, White apprenticed the boy as an engineer and accountant. To augment his apprenticeship, he took lessons at night in accounting and bookkeeping.
Early career
About 1826, White sent Witt to work for the Cohoes Company in Cohoes, New York. White and others founded the firm in 1826. In 1831, the Cohoes Company built a wooden dam across the Mohawk River above Cohoes Falls and later would construct six canals to provide hydropower to various mills, factories, and foundries in Cohoes. Witt went to work as paymaster for the Cohoes Company, although the date of his arrival is not known. Some sources claim that Witt helped to construct the dam and the six power canals, as well as platted the emerging village of Cohoes. If he did so, then it was under the supervision of Hugh White, the brother of Canvass. Canvass White turned over operation of the Cohoes Company to Hugh White in 1830, before work on the dam began. Canvass White died in 1834, before work on the power canals began.Witt then went to work as a paymaster and engineer for the Juniata Bridge Company on the Clark's Ferry Bridge in Duncannon, Pennsylvania. Work began on the bridge, which spanned the Juniata River just before its confluence with the Susquehanna River, in 1939 and was completed later that year.
Unclear work history
Witt then traveled to Kentucky, where he was to work on the Louisville and Portland Canal. Sources vary considerably as to the next sequence of events. Two sources say Witt spent 18 months there, but did not finish the work and so returned to Albany. Maurice Joblin, however, says he fell ill shortly after arriving in Kentucky, and returned to Albany for 13 months of recuperation. The New York Times said Witt completed work on the canal and then returned to Albany. If Witt worked on the canal, it seems unlikely that he spent much time there. The canal had been completed in December 1830, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers records almost no work done on the canal between 1830 and 1848.The next sequence of events is even cloudier. According to business biographer James W. Campbell, Witt next became an agent for the Hudson River Steamboat Association. Railway Age claimed he was a manager, while The New York Times said he went to work for the People's Line. Joblin, however, says that Witt first captained the James Farley, a steamboat on the Erie Canal, for an unspecified period of time. Witt then captained the Hudson River steamboat Novelty for two or three years, before being hired as a manager by the Hudson River Steamboat Association. Joblin claims he remained with the group until it dissolved in 1841.
Early railroading
About 1840 or 1841, Witt took a managerial position with the Western Railroad. Witt's position has been variously reported as "general manager", "manager", "general freight agent", and "agent". The Western Railroad itself referred to Witt as a "superintendent" in April 1842, and as an "agent" in 1849. Whatever the scope of his duties, sources agree that Witt was stationed at Albany, and during his tenure oversaw the construction of the depot at East Greenbush. According to Joblin, Witt spent seven-and-a-half years working for the railroad.Career in Cleveland
Cleveland, Columbus & Cincinnati Railroad
By the late 1840s, Stillman Witt was well known as a manager and railroad builder. From 1840 to 1843, Frederick Harbach had worked as an assistant engineer on the Western Railroad, and the two men became acquainted. Witt also worked with Amasa Stone, who at that time was active constructing railroad bridges throughout New England. Stone, too, became acquainted with Harbach.The three men became involved with the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. The CC&C was chartered in 1836, but for various reasons did not begin construction on the road for more than a decade. In 1847, Harbach left Massachusetts to accept an appointment at the CC&C as chief surveyor of the road. In November 1848, the company finally issued a request for proposals to build the first leg of its line from Cleveland to Columbus, Ohio. Alfred Kelley, an attorney and former state legislator, canal commissioner, banker, and railroad builder, was president of the railway, and he, too, knew Stone well from his railroading days in the east. Kelley and the CC&C managers reached out to Harbach, Stone, and Witt, and asked them to bid on the project. The three men formed a company in late 1848 to bid on the contract, which they then won. Construction began on the line in November 1849, and the final spike was driven on February 18, 1851. Harbach, Stone, and Witt agreed to take a portion of their pay in the form of stock in the railroad. The stock soared in value as soon as the spur was completed, making the three men very wealthy.
Witt was first named a director of the CC&C in 1856, a position he held until 1868. He was elected vice president of the firm as well in June 1863, a position he also held until 1868.
On May 16, 1868, the CC&C merged with the Bellefontaine Railway to form the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway. Witt was elected a director and vice president of the new company, a position he held until his death in 1875.
Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad
Witt next became involved with the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad. On February 18, 1848, the CP&A received a state charter to build a line from Cleveland to join the Franklin Canal Railroad, whose line ran from Erie, Pennsylvania, to the Ohio border. Alfred Kelley was a director of the CP&A, and on July 26, 1850, the CP&A awarded a contract to build its line to the firm of Harbach, Stone, and Witt. The line was completed in autumn 1852. Once more Witt and his partners took a large portion of their pay in the form of stock, which made them very rich.Witt was first elected a director of the CP&A in 1853, a position he held until 1869. He was elected vice president of the company as well in 1859, and held that position 1868.
The CP&A had a close working relationship with the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railway, and in 1860 Witt was elected to the Michigan Southern's board of directors. He held this position at least through 1864.
The CP&A merged with the Michigan Southern & Northern Indiana Railroad in May 1869 to form the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. Witt was elected a director of the new company, a position he held until his death in 1875.
Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad
In 1849, Harbach, Stone, and Witt won a contract to build the Bellefontaine and Indiana Railroad. The Indiana portion of the line was finished in 1852, and the Ohio portion in July 1853. Witt was elected a director of the B&I in July 1853, a position he held until 1865. He was named to the board's executive committee in 1861 and 1862.Witt was elected a director of the Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Railroad in 1856 after the B&I's sister railroad in Indiana, the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad, entered into a joint operating agreement with the IPCR on March 14, 1856.
John Brough, a newspaper publisher and president of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, was elected the B&I's president in 1862. Witt encouraged Brough to run for Governor of Ohio in 1864. Knowing that Brough could not afford the large reduction in pay, Witt agreed to become president of the B&I and forward his salary to Brough. Brough gave his assent, and continued to receive the income from Witt until Brough's death on August 29, 1865. Brough became one of the greatest "war governors" of the American Civil War.
Witt was elected president of the B&I after Brough died in September 1865, and held that position until the B&I merged with the CCC&I on May 16, 1868.
Other railroads
Frederick Harbach died of a heart attack in February 1851, but Stone and Witt kept the construction firm going.In December 1853, Stone and Witt won a contract from the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad to build a line from Chicago to the Illinois-Wisconsin border. This work consisted of two contracts. The first was to clear and grade the line, and the second was to build the track. This latter work was not finished until 1858. Once more, both men took a significant portion of their pay in stock, and when the stock rose in value they became wealthy. Stone and Witt actually managed operations on a portion of the Chicago & Milwaukee for some time, and Witt was elected to the road's board of directors in 1867.
In 1868, Witt, Stone, and Cleveland businessmen Hiram Garrettson and Jeptha Wade invested in and constructed the Cleveland and Newburgh Railroad. This steam streetcar line cost $68,000 to build, and ran for down Willson Avenue and then Kinsman Road to the Village of Newburgh. Witt was a director of the line in 1874.
In 1868, Witt was elected a director of both the Cleveland and Pittsburgh Railroad and the Indianapolis and St. Louis Railroad.
Witt was elected president of the Valley Railway in 1874, and was still serving in this position at the time of his death the following year. That same year, he was elected a director of the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo Railroad, and was holding that position in 1875 when he died.