Los Angeles County
Biographies
HARRISON IRWIN DRUMMOND
DRUMMOND, HARRISON IRWIN, Banker, Pasadena, California, and St. Louis, Missouri, was born in Alton, Illinois, December 14, 1869, the son of James T. Drummond and Bethia (Randle) Drummond. He married Mary W. Prickett at St. Louis, Missouri, November 22, 1892, and to them were born twin children, Harrison and Georgianna Drummond. Mr. Drummond is descended from an illustrious Southern family, its original local in Virginia, where for generations the plantation was the scene of those beautiful hospitalities which were characteristic of the old South.
Mr. Drummond in 1906 transferred his home to Southern California, where he has taken his place among the substantial business and social leaders of that section. He spent the greater part of his life in the middle West. Born to riches, he had the advantage of culture and a splendid education, but withal, has the democratic distinction of having won his own way in the business world. He received the primary part of his education in the German Lutheran School at Alton, later attending Wyman Institute at Upper Alton, Illinois. From there he went to the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut, situated at Cheshire, that State, and there prepared for his university course. He was graduated from the academy in 1887, and the following year became a student in Sheffield Scientific School (Yale University), from which he was graduated in the class of 1890, after having studied there two years.
For generations the Drummonds had been tobacco raisers and at the time of Mr. Drummond’s graduation his father’s company was conducting one of the greatest tobacco industries in the world. In his youth he had learned much about the business of his ancestors, but it was the desire of his father, the controlling spirit in the Drummond Tobacco Company, that the son should ultimately succeed to the management of this great enterprise, and so started his in at the bottom to learn the business in its every department.
Beginning in one of the smallest positions in the factory, he worked through the various grades and at the end of two years was appointed Assistant Superintendent of the plant in St. Louis. In this position his responsibilities were largely increased and he discharged his duties with the same conscientiousness and zeal he would have displayed had he not been the owner’s son. In due time he was promoted to the position of Superintendent of the company and held this position for approximately six years. During this period he had full charge of the manufacturing branch of the business and carried a large part of the very great responsibility of management.
Having qualified as a practical tobacco manufacturer, Mr. Drummond was elected by the board of directors to the Presidency of the Drummond Tobacco Company, succeeding his father, who was called by death about this time. From that time forward Mr. Drummond was one of the leading figures in the tobacco industry in the United States. He retained the office of President until his company, like many others, was taken in as part of the Continental Tobacco Company, thus forming one of the most gigantic business enterprises in the world. The new corporation was capitalized at one hundred million dollars, of which Mr. Drummond held a large part, and he, being recognized as one of the great tobacco experts of the world at the time, was elected First Vice President and Director of the Continental Company, also holding a place on the Board of Directors of the American Tobacco Company, the parent organization.
His new offices necessitated the removal of Mr. Drummond from St. Louis to New York, and during the next two yeas he was one of the chief factors, with James V. Duke, in the direction of the combine’s affairs. In 1901, however, his contracts with the tobacco companies expired and he resigned his offices, determined to retire from the business for all times.
Upon severing his connection with the American Tobacco Company Mr. Drummond returned to St. Louis, where he still retained large interests, principally banking, and determined upon devoting himself to their direction. In 1894, when he was still a young man, he had been elected Director of the Merchants-Laclede National Bank of St. Louis, and five years later became a director and member of the executive board of the Mississippi Valley Trust Company of the same city. He applied himself almost exclusively to the banking business for the first few yeas after his return to St. Louis, but also took an active interest in the public affairs of the city. When the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was organized he was chosen as one of the directors of the enterprise and proved one of the most active factors in the success of the World’s Fair, held at St. Louis in 1904. Besides serving as one of the executive board, he also was Chairman of the Committee on Police and a member of the Committee on Concessions. These were two of the most important sections of the great undertaking and his responsibilities were such that he devoted most of his time to them, with the result that at the close of the exposition he was declared one of the factors to whom the success of it was very largely due.
For the next two years following the close of the exposition Mr. Drummond confined himself to his banking interests and a few movements of a civic nature, but in 1906 resigned his offices in the banks and most of his other corporations and decided to transfer his home to California. It was his original intention to locate in Santa Barbara, but on his way there he halted for a brief visit at Pasadena and was so impressed with the beauties of the Crown City that he decided to remain there permanently. He purchased a beautiful home within a short time after his arrival and for the first few years spent his time in travel and recreation, not engaging actively in any business. In the early pat of 1912, however, he took part in the formation of the Security National Bank of Pasadena, now one of the important financial organizations of the city.
Ernest H. May, one of the best known financiers in the West, is President of the bank, which has $100,000 capital and a splendid building, while Mr. Drummond is Vice President and Director. As in his previous banking ventures, Mr. Drummond has given to this all of his time ad energy, and, with Mr. May, has placed the bank among the most substantial financial institutions in Southern California.
Mr. Drummond is a prominent figure in the affairs of the Pasadena Rose Tournament Association, under the auspices of which the Crown City’s annual floral carnival is held, and had the distinction, in 1913, of being chosen first “King of Arcady,” the highest honor of the celebration. The choice of Mr. Drummond for this honor was a splendid tribute to his personal popularity, owning to the fact that it was the first time a “King” had been named to rule over the carnival since the origin of the fete, nearly a quarter of a century before.
In the work of the Rose Tournament Association, Mr. Drummond has been one of its most enthusiastic members. This carnival, which began in a small way in 1889, is unique among public celebrations of the world in that it is held on New Year’s Day and only natural flowers are used in the decorations. The sight of thousands of fresh blooms when most other parts of the country are buried in snow, and fresh flowers are a luxury, serves to draw thousands of tourists to Pasadena each New Year’s Day, and in 1913 the visitors to the city were estimated at 200,000 in number,
Realizing that the Rose Tournament is one of the City’s greatest assets, the progressive business men of Pasadena, of whom Mr. Drummond is one, spare neither time nor money in preparing for the event. They are among the most practical workers for the advancement of the city’s interests.
The Drummonds have taken their place among the leaders of the exclusive society for which Pasadena is noted, their affairs during the Winter season being among the most notable given there. In years past Mr. Drummond was a prominent figure in the social life of St. Louis and the Eastern resorts and was celebrated as a yachtsman. He spent part of each year at Bar Harbor, occupying the Steepways or some other fashionable cottage, and also indulged himself in his favorite recreation, his big steam yacht, “White Heather,” being one of the most magnificent private vessels on the Atlantic coast. Mr. Drummond has taken many notable voyages in the “White Heather,” cruising to many parts of the world.
While in the East Mr. Drummond belonged to a number of fashionable clubs and was an enthusiastic amateur golfer. This sport he still indulges in in various parts of the country, holding memberships in several of the most noted country clubs of the United States.
Born of ancestry famous for its hospitality, Mr. Drummond has always been a splendid host, and during his visits to the family home in Alton, Illinois, entertains on a lavish scale.
Although he makes his home for the greater part of the year in Pasadena, Mr. Drummond is interested is the Western Hardwood Company, a California institution, of which he is a director.
Mr. Drummond is a Democrat in his political affiliations and during his residence in St. Louis was an important figure in the party’s affairs. He received the Democratic nomination for Congress in the Eleventh district of St. Louis in 1896, but, although he was quite a young man to receive such an honor, he declined it. Later he was chosen a member of the staff of Governor Lon V. Stephens of Missouri, and served, for four years as Quartermaster General. He was also appointed by Governor Stephens to the office of Police Commissioner of St. Louis, but resigned it after serving a few months, his private affairs compelling him to relinquish the post. Mr. Drummond still is an enthusiastic supporter of the Democratic party, but has taken no active part in politics since his removal to California.
Endowed with an unusual amount of energy, Mr. Drummond has been a worker and has done his share to develop the industries and resources of the country, and even though he determined to retire from active business life the interests retained by him were such as to keep him in touch with various important enterprises. Also he has applied himself to various movements for the betterment of civic conditions in Pasadena and is generally regarded as one of the enthusiastic citizens of the Southern California social capital.
Mr. Drummond is a member of clubs in various parts of the United States, his memberships including the Pasadena Country Club, Midwick Country Club of the same place, the University Club of New York, the St. Louis Club and the Mount Deseret Country Club of Bar Harbor, being a life member of the latter two. He also belongs to the New York Yacht Club and the Larchmont Yacht Club, and formerly was member of the Ardsley Club, one of the fashionable organizations near Dobbs’ Ferry, on the Hudson.
Transcribed
by Joyce Rugeroni.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 439,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2010 Joyce
Rugeroni.
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