William R. Coe
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William Robertson Coe (June 8, 1869-March 15, 1955) was an insurance company, railroad, and business executive, and philanthropist.
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[edit] Youth, education
William Coe was born in Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England. His father, Frederick Augustus Coe worked at an iron works. His mother, Margaret Robertson, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland.
He received his early schooling at Albion Academy in Cardiff, Wales. In 1883, his parents and their ten children (young William was fifth of the ten) emigrated to the United States and settled in New Jersey across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
[edit] Career: Insurance, Titanic, Virginian Railway
At the age of 15, William began working as an office boy for a Philadelphia insurance broker. The brokerage was acquired by Johnson and Higgins Insurance Co., and Coe rose to become a manager of the adjusting (claims) department in the New York City office of the maritime insurer.
By 1910, Coe had become president of Johnson and Higgins and was involved in insuring the "unsinkable" hull of the RMS Titanic which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. Notwithstanding his involvement with the Titanic disaster, Coe rose to Chairman of the Board of Johnson and Higgins by 1916.
William Robertson Coe was also on the Board of Directors of The Virginian Railway Company from 1910 until his death in 1955, and headed the company for a brief period during World War II. He was also a director of Loup Creek Colliery and the Wyoming Land Company. One of his sons, William Rogers Coe, led the financial management of the Virginian Railway for many years as Vice-President and Treasurer, with offices in New York City.
[edit] Family
On June 4, 1900, he married Mary (Mai) Huttleston Rogers, the youngest daughter of Abbie Palmer (née Gifford) Rogers and industrialist millionaire Henry Huttleston Rogers who was a principal of Standard Oil. Both Mai and William had had an earlier marriage. Coe had met Mai during a transatlantic crossing by ocean liner. Between 1900 and 1910 they had four children, William Rogers Coe (1901-1971), Robert Douglas Coe (1902-1985), Henry Huttleston Rogers Coe (1907-1966), and Natalie Mai (née Coe) Vitetti (1910-1987).
[edit] American West and philanthropy
Coe was a fan of the American West. He purchased Col. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody's ranch in Wyoming. For forty-five years, he collected memorabilia pertaining to the West, gathering original diaries, manuscripts, letters and photographs depicting the struggles of the pioneer settlers. In 1948, the William Robertson Coe Collection was presented to Yale University.
Mr. Coe's interest in Americana led him to establish programs in American Studies at forty colleges and universities, with continuing funding through the Coe Foundation. He also endowed professorships at Yale, Stanford, and the University of Wyoming. At the latter school, The William Robertson Coe Library and School of American Studies represent a substantial contribution of private funds to public higher education in Wyoming. The building was completed in 1958 and dedicated to the promotion of American ideals and free enterprise according to his wishes.
[edit] Planting Fields
Planting Fields, the former estate of Mai and William Coe in Oyster Bay, New York, was built around 1911 on the famous Gold Coast of Long Island. The manor house was named Coe Hall. A premier example of the Tudor-Revival style, it was designed by the firm of Walker and Gillette and was completed in 1921.
William and Mai Coe's interest in rare species of trees and plant collections made the estate a botanical marvel. The 353 acre estate was deeded to the State of New York in 1949 during Mr. Coe's lifetime. Today, operated by a foundation, Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park is a popular attraction. The historic gates, built in 1712 in Sussex, England (which Coe had imported) have been used as a setting for numerous motion pictures.
[edit] Thoroughbred horse racing and breeding
William R. Coe liked horses and was a thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast. He built a riding stable on his "Planting Fields" estate and put together a racing stable based at the Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Coe's filly Black Maria won the Kentucky Oaks in 1926, the Metropolitan Handicap in 1927, and the first running of the Whitney Handicap in 1928. Black Maria was voted the U.S. Champion Older Female Horse for 1927 and 1928. Among his stables' other notable horses was Cleopatra, the 1920 U.S. Chamnpion 3-year-old Filly, and Ladysman who won the 1932 Hopeful Stakes.
Coe had six of his horses compete in the Kentucky Derby. His best finish came in 1937 when Pompoon finished 2nd to War Admiral. William R. Coe established Shoshone Stud, and in 1923 he paid $110,000 for the The Finn, a then record price for a sire. Unfortunately, The Finn died just two years later. Coe's colt Pompey won the 1926 Wood Memorial Stakes and as a successful sire, part of his offspring includes Secretariat.
[edit] Tugboat W.R. Coe
When Coe died unexpectedly of an asthma attack at his new home in Palm Beach, Florida on March 15, 1955, he was buried at Locust Valley on Long Island.
Two years after his death, in 1957, the Virginian Railway named its new tugboat W. R. Coe in his memory. After the VGN merger with the Norfolk and Western in 1959, it was renamed R.B. Claytor (for the N&W leader, Robert B. Claytor). As of 2003, the tugboat was serving the harbor of Boston as the Karen B. Tibbetts.
