William Rockefeller Sr.
American con artist (1810–1906) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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William Avery "Devil Bill" Rockefeller Sr. (November 13, 1810 – May 11, 1906) was an American businessman, lumberman, herbalist, salesman, and con artist who went by the alias of Dr. William Levingston. He worked as a lumberman and then a traveling salesman who identified himself as a "botanic physician" and sold elixirs.[1] He was known to buy and sell horses, and was also known at one point to have bought a barge-load of salt in Syracuse. Land speculation was another type of his business, and the selling of elixirs served to keep him with cash and aided in his scouting of land deals. He loaned money to farmers at twelve percent, but tried to lend to farmers who could not pay so as to foreclose and take the farms.[2] Two of his sons were Standard Oil co-founders John Davison Rockefeller Sr. and William Avery Rockefeller Jr.
William Rockefeller Sr. | |
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| Born | William Avery Rockefeller (1810-11-13)November 13, 1810 Ancram, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 1906(1906-05-11) (aged 95) Freeport, Illinois, U.S. |
| Burial place | Oakland Cemetery (Buried as William Levingston) |
| Other names | Dr. William Levingston |
| Occupation(s) | Businessman, Lumberman, Herbalist, "Snake Oil" Salesman |
| Spouse(s) | Eliza Davison (m. 1837–1889; her death, separated c. 1855) Margaret Allen (m. 1856–1906; his death) |
| Partner | Nancy Brown |
| Children | Lucy, Clorinda, John, Cornelia, William Jr., Mary, Franklin, and Frances |
| Parent(s) | Godfrey Lewis Rockefeller Lucy Avery |
| Relatives | See Rockefeller family |