Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-28
Uil Men Who Sequester a Few Dollars
Outside the Standard.
LONG LIST OF RICH PRODUCERS.
John McKeown's Income Was Once More
Than $4,000 Every Month.
ESTATES THAT SURPRISE EVERYBODY
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIspATcH.I

prise 10 tne people OF the OIL country WHEN
they learned that the estate of the late Peter
Kennedy, of Bradford, would aggregate
nearly 81 ,0G0, 900. Kennedy was one of the
Executive Board of the p. P. A., q producer
we'll known all over the oil country and uni
versallv respected. 1 have known him
many years. more or less intimately, and
like most other people supposed him to be
worth from S175. 900 to $3.50, 900. The latter
figure, think, is as high as anyone rated
him. But now that the executors of his es-
tate have found 1t to be worth about 81 ,000,-
000the surprise is very pleasant one to all
his friends.''
Mr.. Kennedy was man who made all
his money in the business of producing oil,
entirely independent of and outside of the
Standard Oil Company, and the remarks OF
Mr.. McLaurin led to my recalling other
men, well-known in the oil business, who had
been equally successful without the aid of
the Standard. The notion obtains too gen.
orally that the Standard people are the only
rich men in the oil country, while all the
rest are poor. This opinion is SO often ac-
cepted as correct that an injury and injus.
tice is done the producers as class.
Baltimore Estimate of McKeown.
There may not be many oil men whose
actual wealth is much greater than it is sup
posed to be, as is found in the case of Peter
Kennedy, but there are hundreds of pro-
ducers who are rich beyond common EePute.
This was subject of talk among some of the
oil crowd in the New York Stock Exchange
the other day, when a member remarked
that the estate of John McKeown, TOR in
cto hohl
as the largest estimate ever placed upon it
by any of his friends. If this is true it
makes Mr.. McKeown q very rich man.
General George f. d'Utassv, of Balti-
more, where Mr.. McKeown owns consider
able property, says he has heard him esti-
mated in that city as being worth S., 100000.
He has been rated as high as that by oil
men in Pennsylvania, and if the Stock Ex-
change man is right, Mr.. McKeown ranks
among some of the Standard people.
McKeown has made his fortune since Brad
ford. This is not many years for man to
have piled UP such big stock of money as
even the smallest estimates give to him.
A Fellow Emigrant.
Peter Mulholland came to this country in
the same vessel with MIR. McKeown. He
is small truck farmer on Long Island.
He likes to ask about McKeown, who he
has not seen since they landed in this coun-
try, and is gradually getting over the sus-
picion that all the talk of his great wealth
WIS nothing but fairy tale. Mr.. Mulhol-
laniahasstsslp--ststsy 10 the sbusi.A
ness of truck farming in Long Island and
in New Jersey, and is not particularly we'll
posted on the rapidityt with which some
folks make money in the oil country. He
had heard of the Standard Oil Company, as
one of his sons had worked for the company
q while at Hunters Point, but outside of
this his knowledge of oil affairs is not pro-
found.
While on the subject of Mr.. McKeown, it
may be Of interest to say that at the time
when his Washington wells were attracting
the most attention his income was figured
out as being more per month than the pay
of the President of the United States is for a
year. In other words, his wells were then
believed to be yielding him S56, 900 month.
This calculation was made by persons
familiar with his operations in the Wash
iugton, Butler and Bradford fields. He
was credited then with premium of 25
cents a barrel in the lower fields, which he
does not receive now. At that time he had
nest OF phenomenal wells in the Washing
ton district W hich were attracting much at
tention.
LHreo OOlU Vu1n0S.
On the Knox farm alone, he had three
wells the aggregate income from which was
for some time between 81, 500 and 81 800
per day. Oil was then averaging
about 81 16 a barrel, including the
tainly all that could be reasonably
expected from these wells on the same farm.
1t would be interesting to the oil trade, as
well as to the public generally, to know just
how much this Knox farm yielded in oil.
THE DISPATCH recently had reference TO
McKeown's Martin farm well, which was
credited with a production OF 800, 900 bar
rels of oil, and was still producing so barrels
day. From this well alone Mr. McKeown
has realized fortune.
His first money as a producer was made
in Butler county after the excitement tray
eled up Bear creek from Parker's Landing.
He bought or leased small tract near Mar
tinsburg that, I think, was originally a
Knox farm, but not the same family as the
Washington land owners. This tract proved
to be very productive, and gave him good
start along the road to riches.
Other Rich Independents.
McKeown is always an interesting topic
and cannot be dismissed with line. He has
taken up almost the limit of this dispatch.
and can but briefly refer to some other oil
men who have made great deal of money
outside of the Standard. The list will be
very incomplete and can be greatly extend
ed by anyone at all familiar with affairs in
the oil country. The Mckinney Bros.
of Titusville, and 7. W. Phillips, of New
Castle, have sold large producing interests
to the Standard, but everybody in the oil
country knows they made their money en-
tireiy outside of this corporation. Mckinney
Bros. are said to have received 81 300, 900
for their interests sold to the Standard. 1t
was property accumulated BY them as inde-
pendent producers. Mr.. Phillips interests
were perhaps greater than this, and Mr..
Phillips was never suspected of being in
any way associated with the Standard. On
the contrary, he has often been very much
opposed to them.
Noah Clark and Geo. E. Foster, of Oil
City, are believed to have realized some-
thing like S1.0OO.0O0 for their producing
The figures have been placed as
low as $780, They were independent
producers.
The estate of Captain ]. T. Jones of James
town, NY may be as great surprise as was
that of his friend Peter Kennedy. Captain
Jones has made all his money as producer.
He began in a small way about the time
that Bradford was opened up.
Big Winners of Titusville.
Colonel j. j. Carter, of Titusville, is rich
oil producer. The late Dr. Shamburg, was
another Independent oil producer of large
means. Titusville, although it has num-
Der of Standard men of wealth, the oil pro-
ducers outnumber them. Ex-Mayor Fertig
and his brother are both rich oil producers.
E. B. and J. L. Grandin, of TiGiouts, are
among the early operators who are very rich.
''The Grandins" are pretty well known
there is any information about oil,