John J. Mitchell
Born(1853-11-03)November 3, 1853
Alton, Illinois, US
DiedOctober 29, 1927(1927-10-29) (aged 73)
Libertyville, Illinois, US
Burial placeGraceland Cemetery
OccupationBanker
Spouse
Mary Louise Jewett
​
(m. 1890)​
Children5, including Jack Mitchell
Signature

John James Mitchell (1853–1927) was an American banker, president of the Illinois Trust and Savings Bank and Illinois Merchants Trust Company.

Biography

John J. Mitchell was born in Alton, Illinois, on November 3, 1853, the son of fellow banker William Hamilton Mitchell (1817–1910), and his first wife Lydia.[1] He joined his father's Trust & Savings Bank as a messenger boy in 1873, and was president from 1880 to 1923, then president of its successor, the Illinois Merchants Trust Company, from 1923 until his death in 1927.

He married Mary Louise Jewett in 1890, and they had five children. His eldest son, William Hamilton Mitchell [wd], succeeded him at the helm of the Continental Illinois National Bank and later became the director of Texaco, one of the largest and most successful oil companies of the era.[2] In 1918, William married Chicago socialite Ginevra King—the first love of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald—and inspired the character of Tom Buchanan in The Great Gatsby.[3][4][5]

His younger son, the banker John J. "Jack" Mitchell, married J. Ogden Armour's daughter Lolita in 1920 at the family's estate in the upper-class enclave of Lake Forest, Illinois.[1][6] By 1926, the extended Mitchell family had amassed in excess of $120 million (equivalent to $1,983,609,023 in 2022).[7]

His half-sister Hortense Lenore Mitchell (1871–1962) married the British architect, art dealer and collector Arthur Acton (1873–1953).[8][9]

John J. Mitchell died in Libertyville, Illinois on October 29, 1927, from injuries suffered in a car accident which also claimed the life of his wife. He was buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago.[10]

Mitchell's grave

References

  1. 1 2 "Bank President at 26". The Kansas City Star. Chicago. Associated Press. October 29, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Obituaries: William H. Mitchell, 92, Banker, Philanthropist". Chicago Tribune. March 25, 1987. p. 30. Retrieved February 12, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ Bruccoli, Matthew J. (2002) [1981]. Some Sort of Epic Grandeur: The Life of F. Scott Fitzgerald (2nd rev. ed.). Columbia, South Carolina: University of South Carolina Press. p. 86. ISBN 978-1-57003-455-8 – via Internet Archive.
  4. ↑ West, James L. W. (2005). The Perfect Hour: The Romance of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ginevra King, His First Love. New York: Random House. pp. 60–70. ISBN 978-1-4000-6308-6 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ↑ "Genevra King to Wed Ensign Mitchell". Chicago Tribune. July 16, 1918. p. 15. Retrieved February 12, 2023. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Garfield King of Lake Forest announced yesterday the engagement of their daughter, Ginevra, to William H. Mitchell, eldest song of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Mitchell of Chicago. Young Mr. Mitchell is an sign in naval aviation, stationed at Key West.
  6. ↑ Dreier, Peter; Mollenkopf, John; Swanstrom, Todd (2004). Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-first Century (2nd rev. ed.). University Press of Kansas. p. 37. ISBN 0-7006-1364-1 – via Google Books. Lacking the outward signs of high status that the landed nobility of Europe once enjoyed, wealthy American families have long maintained social distance from the 'common people' by withdrawing into upper-class enclaves. Often located on forested hills far from the stench and noise of the industrial distracts, places like Greenwich, Connecticut; Lake Forest, Illinois; and Palm Beach, Florida, are 'clear material statement[s] of status, power, and privilege.'
  7. ↑ "John J. Mitchell, Co-Founder of United Airlines, Dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. April 9, 1985. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  8. ↑ Porcelli, Victor (August 24, 2019). "Italian Princess Sues NYU For Billion-Dollar Art Collection". Washington Square News. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  9. ↑ Bohlen, Celestine (June 9, 1996). "A Tale of Love, Art and Money;A Collector, His Secretary, Their Children, and More". New York Times. Retrieved June 21, 2021.
  10. ↑ "J. J. Mitchell, Sr., Killed". The Kansas City Star. Chicago. Associated Press. October 29, 1927. p. 1. Retrieved November 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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