Page 179 - John Anderson
P. 179
-RKQ$QGHUVRQ±+LV/LIHDQG7LPHVLQ2UPRQG)ORULGD
On January 10, 1870, the Rockefeller, Andrews and Flagler
partnership emerged as a joint-stock corporation named Standard Oil
Company and by 1872 Standard Oil led the American oil refining
industry, producing over 10,000 barrels per day. Five years later
Standard Oil moved its headquarters to New York City, and the
Flagler’s moved to their new home at 509 Fifth Avenue in New York
City.
Henry visited Jacksonville, Florida, in 1878 with his first wife, Mary
Harkness. Mary had always struggled with health problems and on
advice from Mary's physician, she and Flagler visited Jacksonville for
the winter. Mary's illness grew worse over the next few years, and she
died on May 18, 1881, at age 47. Two years after Mary's death,
Flagler married Ida Alice Shourds and honeymooned in Jacksonville,
visited St Augustine, and travelled up and down the St Johns River by
steamboat. Soon after their wedding, the couple returned to St.
Augustine, Florida, and found the city charming, but the hotel
facilities and transportation systems inadequate.
167
