Charles D. Norton
Norton while Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, 1910
Secretary to the President
In office
1910–1911
PresidentWilliam Howard Taft
Preceded byFred W. Carpenter
Succeeded byCharles D. Hilles
United States Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
In office
1909–1910
Preceded byLouis A. Coolidge
Succeeded byA. Piatt Andrew
Personal details
Born
Charles Dyer Norton

(1871-03-12)March 12, 1871
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
DiedMarch 6, 1923(1923-03-06) (aged 51)
New York City, New York
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Katherine McKim Garrison
​
​
(m. 1897)​
Children3
Parent(s)Franklin Burroughs Norton
Harriet Arvilla Dyer
Alma materAmherst College

Charles Dyer Norton (March 12, 1871 – March 6, 1923) was an American banker who served as the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary to President William Howard Taft.

Early life

Norton was born on March 12, 1871, in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.[1] He was a son of the Rev. Franklin Burroughs Norton (1833–1895)[2] and Harriet Arvilla (née Dyer) Norton (1846–1921).[3] Through his mother, he was a direct descendant of Mary Dyer, the Quaker martyr, and of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island.[3]

He graduated from Amherst College with the class of 1893.[1] His father had graduated from Amherst in 1856.[2]

Career

Norton working at his desk, 1910

Norton spent several years with Scribner's Magazine before becoming associated with the Northwest Mutual Life Insurance Company, eventually becoming general agent for the company in Chicago. He stayed with Northwest Mutual until 1909 when he became Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Taft's Secretary Franklin MacVeagh, replacing Louis A. Coolidge who served under President Roosevelt's Secretary George B. Cortelyou.[4] In 1910, Norton left the Treasury Department (and was succeeded by A. Piatt Andrew)[5] to become Secretary to President William Howard Taft, where he "organized the Commission on Economy and Efficiency which prepared the Government estimates on a budge basis for the first time." He worked for Taft for one year and was succeeded by fellow former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, Charles D. Hilles.[1][6]

In 1911, he left the White House to become Vice President of the First National Bank of New York (which later became Citibank).[7] He replaced Thomas W. Lamont, who left to become a partner at J. P. Morgan & Co.[7] In 1918, Norton retired as vice president of the Bank, and became president of the First Security Company, an affiliated institution, succeeding George Fisher Baker who became chairman of the board.[8]

Norton was president of the Coal and Coke Railway Company, the New Gauley Coal Corporation and a vice president of the West Virginia Coal and Coke Company. He was a trustee of the Adams Express Company and a director of the American Railway Express Company, the First National Bank, Equitable Life Assurance Society, Montgomery Ward & Co., Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Coal Co., American Telephone and Telegraph Company among others.[1]

Philanthropy and volunteer efforts

Norton at a Red Cross Luncheon on General Scott's Lawn, 1917

While at the Treasury, Norton became a member of the Executive Committee and Treasurer of the American Red Cross as well as a trustee. In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him one of the five members of the Red Cross War Council, which assumed the management of the Red Cross in its war work. He also served as a trustee of the Russell Sage Foundation and was chairman of the Special Committee on Plan of New York and its Environs as well as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Academy in Rome, and a trustee and treasurer of the American Federation of Arts.[1]

Personal life

In 1897, Norton was married to Katherine McKim Garrison (1873–1948) of Llewellyn Park in West Orange, New Jersey. She was a daughter of prominent editor and author Wendell Phillips Garrison and the poet Lucy (née McKim) Garrison. Katherine's grandfather was the prominent abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison and among her family were aunt Fanny Garrison Villard (wife of railroad tycoon Henry Villard) and maternal uncle Charles Follen McKim, the prominent New York architect. They were the parents of three children:

Norton died of complications from influenza on March 6, 1923, at 4 East 66th Street, his home in New York City.[1][14] At the time of his death, his eldest son was a senior at Harvard, his daughter was a senior at Smith, and his younger son was at Groton.[1] He was buried at Rosedale Cemetery in New Jersey. His widow, who never remarried, died in New York on February 8, 1948.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Charles D. Norton, Banker, Dies at 53; Succumbs to Complications Following an Attack of Influenza. Active in Civic Work; Once Assistant Secretary of Treasury and Secretary to President Taft". The New York Times. March 7, 1923. p. 15. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 "Franklin Burroughs Norton". Burlington Free Press. April 17, 1895. p. 3. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 "Mrs. Norton Passes to Beyond; Beloved Resident of City Leaves Host of Friends Here". The Pasadena Post. May 28, 1921. p. 9. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Times, Special to The New York (March 20, 1909). "Quits $50,000 Job for $4,500 Office; C.B. Norton of Chicago to be Second Assistant Secretary of Treasury. Studied Banks in Europe; Hillis Prepares to Take a Place Under MacVeagh -- Reynolds Not Likely to be Disturbed". The New York Times. Washington. p. 1. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Hilles to Succeed Norton.; Will Go from the Treasury to be Taft's Secretary". The New York Times. Washington. February 26, 1911. p. 9. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Taft, William H. (March 10, 1923). "Charles D. Norton.; Chief Justice Taft Pays a Tribute to His Friend". The New York Times. p. 12. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  7. 1 2 "Charles D. Norton in First National; Taft's Secretary to be Made Vice President as Soon as He Is Ready to Go to Work". The New York Times. March 2, 1911. p. 5. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Few Changes in Bank Directorates; James A. Stillman Made General Executive Manager of National City. Walter H. Tappen Cashier; John P. Stevens Made Director of Hanover National;-Charles D. Norton Heads First Security Co". The New York Times. January 9, 1918. p. 18. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Pace, Eric (September 11, 1995). "Garrison Norton, 94, Assistant Secretary Of State and Navy". The New York Times. p. D13. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Miss Lucia Norton to Wed on Thursday; Her Marriage to Alan C. Valentine Is to Take Place in Grace Church. Leila Morange's plans; Ceremony With Leland S. Hanson on April 19, With Reception at Bronxville Field Club". The New York Times. March 9, 1928. p. S23. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Lucia Norton Weds Alan C. Valentine; Ceremony in Grace Church Is Performed by the Rev. Sherrard Billings. Miss Betty Peters Bride; Wed to Kenneth S. Lindsay by the Rev. Dr. Norwood in St. Bartholomew's--Other Marriages". The New York Times. March 16, 1928. p. S25. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  12. ↑ Pace, Eric (May 11, 1991). "C. McKim Norton, 84, Ex-Leader Of Regional Plan Group, Is Dead". The New York Times. p. 10. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Paul Woodruff Weds Lucia Norton". The New York Times. January 1, 1974. p. 15. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Charles D. Norton". The New York Times. March 7, 1923. p. 14. Retrieved February 13, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
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