Henry Flagler

Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 Hopewell, NY - May 20, 1913 West Palm Beach, FL)

Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil. He was also a key figure in the development of the eastern coast of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and was founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida and also founded Palm Beach, Florida.

Buried in St. Augustine with his first wife and daughters.

Railroad Tycoon, Merchant, Hotel Builder & Entrepreneur. Flagler was the son of Reverend Isaac and Elizabeth Caldwell Harkness Flagler. He grew up in New York, until at the age of 14, he moved to Bellevue, OH where he worked in a grain store.

On Nov. 9, 1852, he married Mary Harkness whose weak health brought them on a visit to Jacksonville, Florida. The Flaglers had three children, Jennie Louise, Carrie and Harry Harkness Flagler. Unfortunately, Mary passed away May 18, 1881, and in 1883, he married Ida Alice Shourds. They traveled to St. Augustine where Flagler saw the potential for development in Florida. He built the Ponce de Leon Hotel and purchased his first railroad, the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax Railroad, which later became the Florida East Coast Railroad.. Ida was later institutionalized for mental illness and they divorced. He married his third wife Mary Lily Kenan August 24, 1901, and they moved into her wedding present, Whitehall, a West Palm Beach 55-room estate located on a mere 60,000 acres. At the age of 84, Flagler fell down the stairs and died of his injuries.

It would be impossible to summarize Flagler's life in a small paragraph, but his importance to Broward County is indisputable, for the Florida East Coast Railroad is what started the growth of Fort Lauderdale in 1896. For more information on Flagler, see the Flagler Museum of Palm Beach, Florida.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Flagler

(January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil.

He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami, Florida, and founded the city of Palm Beach.

Resources

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Flagler https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/AA/00/06/27/04/00001/flaglerstorym... https://www.floridasmart.com/articles/story-henry-flagler-one-flori... https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7254612/henry-morrison-flagler