San Francisco County
Biographies
WILLIAM HOWE KENNEDY
KENNEDY, WILLIAM HOWE, Stocks and Bonds, Vice President
Pierce-Kennedy Brokerage Co., Los Angeles and San
Francisco, Cal., was born in
Des Moines, Iowa, February 12, 1872, the son of Doctor Josiah Forest Kennedy
and Mary Catherine (Reigart) Kennedy. He married Mary Adelle
Satterlee at Dunlap, Iowa,
June 16, 1897, and to them has been born two sons, Donald Satterlee
Kennedy and William Howe Kennedy, Jr.
Mr.
Kennedy is of Scotch and Irish ancestry, both sides having been represented by
men notable in the history of the two countries. One of the early members of the family was
James Kennedy, Bishop of St. Andrews’, in Scotland
during the reign of James II. A later
member of the family, his great-great grandfather was William Kennedy, a noted
Scotchman, who married a sister of Lord North, Prime Minister of England before
and during the Revolutionary War. Lord
North was one of the most prominent men in the reign of King George the III, and
was credited with having more influence with his King than any man in public
life at that time. After a notably
brilliant career he retired as the Earl of Guilford. For five years before his death he was
totally blind. During the Civil War, Mr.
Kennedy’s father, Dr. Josiah Forest Kennedy was a surgeon in the regular army,
receiving his appointment direct from Abraham Lincoln. While in service he was surgeon of the
Officers’ Hospital at Washington, D. C. Later removing to Des Moines
he was elected Secretary and treasurer of the State Board of Medical Examiners
and held these positions for twenty-three consecutive years, the longest record
ever held by any public official in the State of Iowa,
with the exception of the late United States Senator William Alison.
Mr.
Kennedy’s wife is a member of the family of which the late Bishop Saterlee of Washington, D. C. was a notable representative.
Mr.
Kennedy received his primary education in the public schools of Des
Moines and later completed his studies at Highland
Park College and the Baptist
College of the same city. Leaving college in 1892 Mr. Kennedy traveled
for two years, and during that time visited many parts of the United
States and Mexico. Returning to Des Moines
in 1894 he passed a civil service examination for position in the United States
Postoffice there, but remained in the Government
employ only a short time. In 1896 Mr.
Kennedy entered the employ of the Northwestern Life and Savings Company of Des
Moines, as a special representative, and there began the career in which he has
earned a name for himself as one of the expert sales managers of the United
States. From the position of special
representative of this institution he was soon elected to the position of
Manager of Agents and Director of the Company.
As Manager of Agents he had charge of one of the largest agency forces
in the United States, including some
1500 men scattered over all parts of the Union. He held this position for seven years. His dexterous management of the agents
employed and his ability to influence men of large affairs, resulted in the
sale of millions of dollars of bonds for that institution throughout the
country. In 1912 Mr. Kennedy resigned
his position and went to Philadelphia, Pa.,
as General Eastern Manager of the National Life & Trust Co., and remained
there for the next two years. At the end
of that period he accepted a position as Superintendent of Agents of the
selling branch of the Middlesex Banking Company with headquarters in New
York City, and organized a selling force of about two
hundred and fifty agents. He is credited
with having directed the sale of $2,700,000 of bonds in the last fourteen
months of his connection with that company.
Of this amount he personally disposed of over $300,000 worth. In 1906, Mr. Kennedy decided to go into
business for himself, and opened brokerage offices in New York
and Philadelphia. During the next five years he was unusually
active in the sale of timber lands and listed and unlisted securities, meeting
with splendid success.
In
October, 1911, he gave up his business in the East and moved, with his family,
to Los Angeles, where he has since
been located.
In
company with Dr. V. Mott Pierce, the proprietary medicine manufacturer of Buffalo,
N. Y., W. O. Stratton, banker and beet sugar manufacturer of Los
Angeles, and Karl K. Kennedy, a brother, Mr. Kennedy organized the
Pierce-Kennedy Brokerage Company, and opened offices in Los Angeles
and San Francisco.
This
company operates extensively in listed and unlisted securities. Since the organization of the business the
company has handled several important issues of stock with startling success,
it has been stated, and has taken a front rank among the active stock and bond
concerns of the Pacific Coast.
Mr.
Kennedy, who takes little interest in politics or outside interests, enjoys an
unusually high standing in stock and bond circles as manager and salesman and
has been declared in various letters from bankers and others, to be one of the
most capable men in the United States in these lines. He is a member of the Sierra Madre Club of Los
Angeles.
Transcribed by Betty Vickroy.
Source: Press Reference
Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page
428, International News
Service, New
York,
Chicago, San
Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2007 Betty Vickroy.
California Biography Project
San Francisco County
California Statewide
Golden Nugget Library