The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1913-05-20

company and became enormously rlch
with the growth of that gigantic cor
poration. His father was poor Pres
byterian preacher in Canandaigua.
New York. who found it rather diff
ficult task to provide the necessaries
of life for himself and family on an
annual salary of s400. In that little
village south of Rochester Henry M.
Flagler was born in 1880.
He went to school in Canadaigua
until he had reached his fourteenth
year, when he decided to earn his own
living in order to relieve the stress OF
poverty for his mother and his sister.
With few dollars in his pocket and
a carpet bag containing his other be-
longings in his hand, Henry NJ. Flag
Ter started from his home and walked
nine miles to Medina. where he OBJ
tanned passage to Buffalo on a freight
boat via the Erie canal. During the
long journey he subsisted on the lunch
which his mother had packed in his
bag. In Buffalo he took a vessel for
Sandusky, which he reached after a
stormy passage Of three days, almos,
worn out by seasickness.
From Sandusky young Flagler push
ed on to the little Ohio village Of Re-
public. When he arrived there he
had five franc piece. a French gold
coin equivalent to about one American
dollar. five cents in silver and four
copper pennies. The five franc piece
he never spent 1t is one of the most
treasured relics of his early career
which he left to his heirs.
Worked For SIS and Board.
At Republic he obtained work in a
country store for SIS a month and his
board. In ten months his pay was in-
0~n cal ,lo
cents a week. He worked hard and
saved his money, gradually working
his way UP until he earned about S40O
a year. After he had accumulated a
little money he moved to Bellevue, a
small place in the adjoining county
and went into the grain business
John D. Rockefeller was then a COM
mission merchant in Cleveland and
Flagler sent him many car loads of
wheat which Rockefeller sold for
him. Flagler also acquired an inter-
est in a distillery. which gave him an
outlet for considerable quantity OF
grain. When he left Bellevue Flag
Ter had accumulated fortune of $780,
900,
Next he went to Saginaw and tried
to manufacture salt. At the end of
three years he had lost his small for
tune and owed $50.0O0 to the men
VINO had been working in his salt fac
tory. The relatives of his first wife,
who died about thirty years ago. leav-
ing him a little boy. and a half BROTH
er. loaned him enough money at ten
per cent interest. to pay his debts. and
he removed to Cleveland and engaged
In the grain and products commission
business
Early Work With Rockefeller.
John D. and William Rockefeller
and Samuel Andrews had started
small oil refinery in Cleveland on the
side Of q hill. When the second re-
finery was built in 1867. Stephen
Harkness. who was related to Mr..
Flagler by marriage, backed him for
100000 In a partnership with Mr..
and his associates Other
little ref1neries had sprung up and the
associates bought them up as fast as
their means permitted. Their business
developed rapidly and in 1870 they
closed their partnership and organized
the Standard Oil company. At frst
1t was capitalized at $1,000.000, but
after the company had bought out a
few large concerns. 1t increased its
capital stock to $3,500,0O0. Later IL
was increased to $70.000.000.
With his steadily increasing wealth
Mr.. Flagler's business activity ex.
panded and reached into other fields.
He became interested In railroads,
mines and banks. bought large
M ) r e -