NameCharles Michael Schwab
BirthFeb 18, 1862, Williamsburg, Pa.
DeathSep 18, 1939, New York City, NY
BurialSt. Michael's Church Cemetery, Loretto, Pa.
FatherJohn Anthony Schwab (1839-1924)
MotherPauline Farabaugh (1843-1936)
Spouses
BirthSep 12, 1859, West Penn Township, Carbon County, Pa.
DeathJan 12, 1939, New York City, NY
BurialWoodlawn Cemetery, New York City, NY
FatherReuben Dinkey (1819-1871)
MotherMary Elizabeth Horn (1836-1908)
MarriageMay 1, 1883, Weatherly, Pa.
Notes for Charles Michael Schwab
The life and times of Charlie Schwab are already well-documented, but a thumbnail sketch of the steel magnate is in order.
Schwab was born in Williamsburg, Pa. His parents moved the family to their birthplace, Loretto. At seventeen, Charlie left home for Braddock, Pa., where he worked in a general store. Capt. Bill Jones of the Edgar Thomson Steel Company (a subsidiary of Carnegie Steel), who bought cigars at the store, saw promise in the lad and hired him away. Charlie had a near-photographic memory and caught on fast. Without a college degree, he spent long hours mastering the basics of metallurgy, chemistry, management and finance, and became chief engineer in just six months. His mentor, Andrew Carnegie, made him superintendent of the Homestead Steel Works in 1886, and then super of Edgar Thomson in 1889. After the bloody Homestead Strike of 1892, Charlie returned there as general superintendent, induced by a small ownership interest. He soon became enbroiled in a controversy over an armor plate contract with the Navy, and Carnegie Steel was heavily fined after disputed findings of misrepresentation. Schwab was not personally charged. In 1897, he became president of Carnegie Steel at the age of 35. Profits soared from $7 million in 1897 to $40 million in 1900.
Schwab was thrust into the national spotlight as a result of a New York City party in his honor in 1900. He delivered an impassioned discourse on the future of steel that held the attention of industrialist J. P. Morgan. This led to the negotiation of a mass merger that included Morgan and Carnegie, and the nation's first billion dollar corporation was formed -- U. S. Steel. Schwab was named president. The holding company reaped enormous profits, and accounted for nearly half of the nation's steel producing capacity.
In 1901, construction began on Riverside, a multi-million dollar mansion that spanned a full city block in N. Y. C. When completed the mansion had ornate furnishings, a power plant, a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a gym, a two story art gallery, and a huge pipe organ. Schwab provided for private music recitals, and was an accomplished musician himself. He lived lavishly, hobnobbing with the crowned heads of Europe, opera stars (such as Caruso), and countless other dignataries. He toured the country in his private railroad car, "The Loretto."
But notoriety quickly followed fame. His business reputation suffered from libelous exaggerations of gambling exploits in Monte Carlo, clashes with directors at U. S. Steel, and a major scandal over the acquisition of the U. S. Shipbuilding Company. Schwab elected to step down as president in 1903.
His greatest years followed when he became controlling owner and president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Through expansion (including the acquisition of the Cambria Steel Works in Johnstown, Pa.), diversification, cost reduction, and the production of a seamless steel construct called the Grey Beam, the corporation grew to rival U. S. Steel (which later became USX Corp., in about 1986). Bethlehem also became an international enterprise, supplying rails for the Trans-Siberian Railroad, munitions for Argentina, and submarines for Great Britain. Gross earnings peaked at over $61 million in 1916.
After the U. S. entered W. W. I, Schwab was persuaded by President Wilson to head the Emergency Fleet Corporation. Despite potential conflicts of interest, Schwab skillfully coordinated the nation's shipbuilding effort. He won high praise for his patriotism, although there was some criticism (and unsuccessful litigation) when Bethlehem turned a profit on wartime contracts with the E.F.C.
During the war, Schwab put the finishing touches on his thousand acre estate in Loretto, which he named Immergrün. It featured stone gatehouses; a spacious sunken garden with waterfall; a sixty acre replica of a French farming village; garages for his fleet of cars; chicken coops; greenhouses; a stable; and a golf course favoring left-handed players. His mother's home (built in 1898 and later known as St. Bonaventure Hall) on Mount Alvernia was moved a few hundred yards over treetops to make space for a 44 room mansion, which the family occupied during the summer months. Several townsfolk were employed to maintain the estate. Schwab also built a reservoir for Loretto in the shape of a medieval castle. He owned three local banks and also organized the Cambria County Fair in Ebensburg, which opened in 1924.
In the 1920's, Schwab developed diabetes and became less active in business affairs at Bethlehem. His capable manager, E. G. Grace, became president. Schwab continued to espouse his views on the state of industry, and became president of the American Iron and Steel Institute in 1927. He remained involved in some of the tariff and labor controversies that affected Bethlehem during this period.
Schwab's optimistic expansionist policies were a great success during economic recessions in 1893-7, 1907-8, and 1913-4, but not during the Great Depression of the 1930's. His advanced age may have affected his business judgment, for he heavily invested in hopeless ventures and suffered staggering losses. Although he was a staunch Republican, he selectively endorsed President Roosevelt's New Deal programs. Not surprisingly, he favored the proposal for the National Recovery Administration insofar as it suspended antitrust laws and permitted price-fixing and market sharing agreements.
Schwab was a philanthropist throughout his remarkable career. He established the Eurana Schwab Home as a hospital for poor children in New York City. He sent monthly allowances to dozens of friends and relatives, cosigned many loans, and other loans were merely disguised gifts. His creative generosity continued during the 1930's despite his financial reverses. After he died in 1939, a final accounting revealed that his estate was $338,349 in the red. Riverside was razed and Immergrün sold to the trustees of St. Francis College. Charles Schwab lies in a modest mausoleum in the Loretto cemetery.
Charles Schwab's Will was offered to probate in Surrogates Court, County of New York, New York. An ancillary probate was opened in Cambria County, Pa., by Petition of his brother Edward, on September 25, 1939, but no distributions are evident, consistent with the final accounting's deficit.
Charles' final illness began at the Savoy Hotel in London, on August 9, 1939. He was taken home severely ill on the US liner Washington, the last ship to leave Hamburg before war efforts disrupted shipping. It arrived in the U.S. on August 31. The passengers included the mother of Pres. Roosevelt and the actor, Edward G. Robinson.
Notes for Emma Eurania (Spouse 1)
Rayna (pronounced Ray-nee) in her youth lived on a small farm in Weatherly, and then a large but modest home along railroad racks in Braddock, Pa., following the death of her father Reuben. Rayna started a small business making and selling hats, at the time Charlie Schwab became a boarder in the Dinkey household. Their friendship and courtship spanned 3 1/2 years. When Charlie broached the subject of marriage, Rayna replied, “Why do you want to marry an old lady like me, lad?” Thereafter they frequently referred to each other as Old Lady and Lad.

The long marriage of Charles and Rayna has often been viewed as a partnership. Rayna enjoyed reading, sewing, jigsaw puzzles, music and dance, but rarely accompanied Charles in his public life and squirrelled away his gifts of valuable jewelry, preferring to keep to the mansions as her husband continued his rise to wealth and fame. She maintained her Presbyterian faith while Charles always identfied Catholic. They had no children. She grew increasing self-conscious about her appearance and suffered from rheumatism. She tolerated Charlie’s infidelity (which produced a girl by a nurse), and tried to scuttle efforts to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

Rayna was consulted on the great opportunity to accept $50 million to buy out the Schwab half ownership of Bethlehem Steel. “We wouldn’t sell for five times that much,” she told Charlie while turning the offer down. “What would I do with the money and what would you do without your work?” One of Rayna’s obituaries outlined her role as “a great but unostentatious philanthropist.” She arranged for the construction of a church in Braddock dedicated to her mother, a public school in Weatherly named after her, and an orphanage in Staten Island.
Last Modified Nov 1, 2021Created Sep 1, 2022 using Reunion for Macintosh