Charles H. Sabin

Charles H. Sabin
President of Guaranty Trust Company of New York
In office
1915–1921
Preceded byAlexander J. Hemphill
Succeeded byWilliam C. Potter
Personal details
Born(1868-08-24)August 24, 1868
Williamstown, Massachusetts
DiedOctober 11, 1933(1933-10-11) (aged 65)
Southampton, New York
Spouse(s)
Mabel Whitney
​
​
(m. 1897; div. 1916)​

​
​
(m. 1916; died 1933)​
ChildrenCharles H. Sabin Jr.

Charles Hamilton Sabin (August 24, 1868 – October 11, 1933) was an American banker who served as president of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York.

Early life

Sabin was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts on August 24, 1868. He was the son of Thomas Sabin and Cordelia Harriett (née Eldridge) Sabin (a daughter of Reuben Eldridge). He had a sister, Caroline W. Sabin of Saratoga Springs, New York.[1]

He was educated at the Greylock Institute in Williamstown, graduating in 1885. Reportedly, family finances did not allow for college, so he went to work as a flour salesman in nearby Albany, New York. He later received an honorary degree from Williams College in 1915.[1]

Career

In 1887, Sabin began his career in banking at the National Commercial Bank of Albany. From 1891 to 1898, he worked for the Park Bank at Albany before working for the Albany City National Bank. A "run-down" bank, he turned it around and four years later it merged with the National Commercial Bank. He remained there until 1907 when he came to New York City to become vice-president of the National Copper Bank. In 1910, the National Copper Bank merged with the Mechanics National Bank to form Mechanics and Metals National Bank, serving as vice president from 1910 to 1915 when he was appointed president, and then served as chairman of the board from 1921 to 1929.[1]

Concurrently, he joined the Guaranty Trust Company of New York as a vice president in 1910, later becoming president in 1915, succeeding Alexander J. Hemphill who became chairman of the board in place of Levi P. Morton.[2] He became vice chairman in 1929 and, after six years as president, Sabin was elected chairman of the board in 1930, and his brother-in-law, William Chapman Potter, was elected president.[3] He remained chairman of the board of the Guaranty Trust Company until his death in 1933.[1]

Both Sabin and his second wife, Pauline, were ardently opposed to prohibition, and served as treasurer of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. Sabin was a Democrat who supported Alfred E. Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt and led the Democratic Victory Campaign in New York in 1931. Pauline, however, was a prominent Republican.[1]

Personal life

On December 29, 1897, Sabin was married to Mabel Whitney (1874–1968), a daughter of merchant William Minot Whitney, head of the dry goods firm of W. M. Whitney & Co., and Amelia (née Cook) Whitney of Albany.[4] Before their divorce in 1916, they were the parents of son:[5]

  • Charles Hamilton Sabin Jr. (1902–1986), who married Ruth Ogden, a daughter of Henry Day Ogden of Chatham, NJ, in 1927. They divorced in 1931 and he married Dorothy (née Layman) Ransdell of Washington, D.C., a daughter of Charles A. Layman and the former wife of Dr. Robert C. Ransdell, in August 1931.[6]

After their divorce, Mabel married stockbroker Dexter Blagden in April 1918.[7] Mabel, a founder of the Birth Control League and member of the executive committee of the Margaret Sanger Institute, died at 93 years old at her home overlooking the Shrewsbury River in Middletown Township, New Jersey (a Georgian mansion designed by New York architect Arthur C. Jackson)[8] in 1968.[9]

Second marriage

On December 28, 1916, he married Pauline (née Morton) Smith. The divorced wife of James H. Smith Jr., Pauline was a daughter of Charlotte (née Goodridge) Morton and Paul Morton, the former vice president of the Santa Fe Railroad who served as Secretary of the Navy under President Theodore Roosevelt. Her sister, Caroline, was the wife of William Chapman Potter and Harry F. Guggenheim.[10] Caroline and Pauline were nieces of Joy Morton, founder of Morton Salt, and granddaughters of Julius Sterling Morton, who had served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland.[11] In 1918, they built Bayberry Land, a 314-acre Arts and Crafts style country estate in the Shinnecock Hills of Southampton, New York.[12] The house was designed by architects Cross & Cross and the grounds were designed by Marian Cruger Coffin.[13][a] They were known for entertaining at their homes.[15][16][17] They also had an apartment in New York City at One Sutton Place South, and a 1,961-acre plantation, The Oaks, in Goose Creek, South Carolina.

Sabin died in Southampton on October 11, 1933.[1] After a service at St. George's Episcopal Church in Stuyvesant Square, he was buried at Southampton Cemetery.[18][b] In his will, he left $50,000 to the Boys Club of Manhattan.[19] After his death, his widow married Dwight F. Davis in 1936. Davis was the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition and had previously served as the Assistant Secretary of War and Secretary of War.[20]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Bayberry Land was sold to The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local No. 3 in 1949 to serve as a convalescent home for electrical workers. In 2001, the IBEW sold the property to Michael C. Pascucci of Sebonac Neck Holdings, LLC, to be developed into an 18-hole golf course, today known as Sebonack Golf Club. The house was demolished in May 2004.[14]
  2. ^ At his funeral, the honorary bearers were Reeve Schley, Frank L. Polk, Sheppard Homans, William Chapman Potter, John Walter Cross, Dr. J. I. Russell, Cornelius F. Kelley, D. E. Pomeroy, Charles Blair Macdonald, Henry M. Sage, Edward Shearson and Joseph R. Swan. The ushers were Charles C. Auchincloss, Courtlandt Nicoll, Eugene W. Stetson, Merrel P. Callaway, Harold Stanley and W. H. Barnum. The funeral was attended by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, James W. Gerard, John J. Raskob, Thomas W. Lamont, Percy Lamont, Richard Whitney, George Whitney Jr., Cornelius N. Bliss, Mrs. Daniel Guggenheim, Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Wiggin, Myron C. Taylor, George F. Baker, Charles E. Mitchell, Marshall Field. P. A. S. Franklin, Mrs. H. P. Davison, Louis Wiley, Henry deForest, Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Watrous, James J. Hawkins, Mrs. H. B. Claflin, William H. Chadbourne, John C. King, Herbert L. Pratt, Mr. and Mrs. G. Hermann Kinnicutt, Louis Clark, Frederick Straus, John W. Davis, Morgan J. O'Brien, Clarence Mackay and Anna Case Mackay, John Mackay.[18]

Sources

  1. ^ a b c d e f "CHARLES H. SABIN, BANKER, DIES AT 65; Executive of Guaranty Trust Stricken at Dinner Table in Long island Home. BEGAN IN $5-A-WEEK JOB Skill as Ball Player Won Him a Place in Banking--Mourned by Financial Leaders". The New York Times. October 12, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  2. ^ "SABIN SUCCEEDS HEMPHILL.; Guaranty Trust Elects Him President and Latter Chairman". The New York Times. January 21, 1915. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  3. ^ "W.C. POTTER HEAD OF GUARANTY TRUST; Elected Chairman of the Board to Succeed the Late Alexander J. Hemphill.SABIN REMAINS PRESIDENT New Officer to Quit Guggenheim Brothers After a Long Service". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  4. ^ Reynolds, Cuyler (1911). Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs: A Record of Achievements of the People of the Hudson and Mohawk Valleys in New York State, Included Within the Present Counties of Albany, Rensselaer, Washington, Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Schenectady, Columbia and Greene. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 61. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  5. ^ "WIFE GETS DIVORCE FROM C. M. SABIN; Decree Granted at Kingston, N. Y., Surprise to the Banker's Friends. HOAX IN STORY OF PEACE? Wall Street Hears Report That Associates "Put One Over" on Guaranty Trust President". The New York Times. October 11, 1916. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  6. ^ "CHARLES H. SABIN JR. WEDS MRS. RANSDELL; New York Banker's Son Marries Former Wife of Washington Physician in Gloucester". The New York Times. August 5, 1931. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  7. ^ "Mrs. Mabel Sabin Weds". The New York Times. April 2, 1918. p. 13. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  8. ^ Saretzk, Gary D., ed. (October 2018). "Dexter Blagden House, Middletow" (PDF). BUILDINGS In Monmouth: Stories & Styles. Manalapan, NJ: Monmouth County Archives. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  9. ^ "MRS. DEXTER BLAGDEN". The New York Times. July 16, 1968. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  10. ^ "WILLIAM POTTER, RETIRED BANKER; President and Chairman of Guaranty Trust Is Dead-- Was Active in Mining Former Mining Engineer Worked for Railroad Federal Reserve Director". The New York Times. January 3, 1957. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  11. ^ "MRS. POTTER WEDS H. F. GUGGENHEIM; Daughter of Late Paul Morton Married to Son of Head of Mining Interests". The New York Times. 4 February 1923. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
  12. ^ Euler, Laura (16 October 2019). "Lost Mansions of the Hamptons". Behind the Hedges. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  13. ^ "Bayberry Land, Sebonac Road, Southampton, Suffolk County, NY". www.loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  14. ^ "Demolition hall of shame". 27 East. 24 May 2010. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  15. ^ "HOLIDAY PARTIES AT SOUTHAMPTON; Kermit Roosevelts and John Magees Are Guests at the Ellsworth Home. CHARLES H. SABINS HOSTS They Give a Farewell Luncheon at Bayberry Land Before Salling for Europe on Monday". The New York Times. July 1, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  16. ^ "CHARLES H. SABINS HOSTS AT DINNER; Entertain in Southampton in honor of Mrs. William B. Scaife, Their Guest. LUNCHEON AT RAM ISLAND Mrs. Averell Dougherty Has Guests -- The Arthur N. McGeochs Jr. Entertain". The New York Times. September 4, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  17. ^ "CHARLES H. SABINS HOSTS AT DINNER; Entertain in Honor of House Guests at Southampton -- Clarkson Potters Hosts". The New York Times. August 20, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  18. ^ a b "C.H.SABIN MOURNED BY MANY NOTABLES -- 1,000 Attend Funeral Service for Banker and Civic Leader at St. George's Church. DR. REILAND OFFICIATES Delegation From Albany County Society at Impressive Rites- Burial at Southampton". The New York Times. October 14, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  19. ^ "SABIN LEFT $50,000 TO BOYS' CLUB HERE; Will of Banker Provides for Organization He Headed at Time of His Death". The New York Times. October 27, 1933. Retrieved 5 September 2025.
  20. ^ "Dwight F. Davis". Olympedia. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
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