Richmond Dean ( Grandpa to me)was born during the civil war of not prosperous parents. He married Katherine Finn and produced 5 kids , Jack, Dorcas, Tad ,Tom and Amy.Upon her death he married Luise Daily and had Charles and Philip. All are deceased but many cousins and 2nd cousins are still alive.
Thanks to Noni Dean and Steve Darst for some of the anecdotal items presented here.
He joined the Pullman Co. and quickly advanced to General Manager, CEO, President, and Chairman of the board. The Pullman Co, in those days, was one of the pre-eminent industrial companies in the US. During World War I Woodrow Wilson temporarily nationalized the railroads and Grandpa faced him and argued acrimoniously. They hated each other and after the war Wilsoln very reluctantly returned Pullman to it's rightful owners calling Grandpa a hot head.
He was indeed a hot head. He was also a brilliant, hard drinking person .
My favorite anecdote : When he retired he went to Florida where he hob nobbed with with
Henry Ford, Harvey Firstone, Pew(Of Sunoco), and Thomas Edison. What a remarkable group of friends !
I only met Grandpa a few times when I was very young, maybe 6 or 8. We visited him in Highland Park, an upscale suburb of Chicago where he had his mansion. He left me with a lasting impression. I still remember him well.
There is much more to tell but I am still gathering information which I may include in a subsequent blog.
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2 comments:
Wonderful post! I would like to know more - thanks for writing this and look forward to the next installments.
I concur. I would very much like to hear more.
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