Theodore P. Shonts
President of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company
In office
March 1907 – September 1919
Personal details
Born
Theodore Perry Shonts

(1855-05-05)May 5, 1855
Crawford County, Pennsylvania
DiedSeptember 21, 1919(1919-09-21) (aged 64)
New York City, New York
Spouse
Harriet Amelia Drake
​
​
(m. 1881)​
RelationsFather-in-law: Gen. Francis M. Drake, Iowa Governor 1896–1898.
ChildrenTheodora d'Albert, Duchess of Chaulnes
Marguerite Shonts Bingham
Parent(s)Dr. Henry Daniels Shonts
Margaret Nevin Marshall
Alma materMonmouth College

Theodore Perry Shonts (May 5, 1855 – September 21, 1919) was an American lawyer and industrialist who served as chairman of the Panama Canal Commission and president of a number of important railways, including the Interborough Rapid Transit Company of New York City and the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad.

Early life

Shonts was born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, on May 5, 1855.[1] He was the son of Dr. Henry Daniels Shonts (1823–1910),[2] and Margaret Nevin (née Marshall) Shonts (1825–1915).[1] His maternal grandparents were H. David Marshall and Jane (née Waid) Marshall.[3] His father was a well known pioneer doctor who practiced in Erie, Pennsylvania, before moving to Centerville, Iowa, in 1861.[2]

Shonts attended Monmouth College in Illinois where he studied civil engineering,[4] and from where he graduated in 1876.[1] In 1914, he was awarded an honorary doctor of laws degree from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio.[5]

Career

Shonts seated at his desk, 1907.

After graduation from Monmouth College, he became an accountant and was employed by national banks in Iowa to standardize and simplify methods of bookkeeping before studying law and practicing for a short time in Centerville. He became associated with General Francis Marion Drake, who had large financial and railroad interests, and who placed much of the management and construction into Shonts' hands. With associates, he secured control of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad, commonly known as the Clover Leaf Road, which he rehabilitated and made successful.[1]

In 1905, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed Shonts chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission, working closely with newly appointed chief engineer John Frank Stevens on the construction of the Panama Canal. Stevens was appointed to improve the work of the commission after the original chief engineer, John Findley Wallace, had resigned due to lack of support from the commission.[6] Shonts served in this role on the commission until February 1907, when he was elected the president of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company where he assumed his duties on March 4, 1907, and served until his death in 1919.[7]

He also served as president of the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad (from 1904 to 1912), the Chicago and Alton Railroad (from 1907 to 1912), and the Iowa Central and Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway (from 1909 to 1911).[8]

Personal life

The Duke of Manchester (who married the American heiress Helena Zimmerman) with Shonts and his wife Millie, 1900.
His daughter, Theodora d'Albert, Duchess of Chaulnes in 1900, before she married Emmanuel d'Albert de Luynes, Duke of Chaulnes.

In 1881, Shonts was married to Harriet Amelia "Millie" Drake (1856–1929). She was the daughter of Mary Jane (née Lord) Drake and Gen. Francis Marion Drake, the Governor of Iowa from 1896 to 1898.[9] Shonts later served as chairman of the board of Drake University in Iowa (founded by his father-in-law in 1881).[8] Together, they were the parents of two daughters:

In 1906, the family began occupying the home at 1526 New Hampshire Avenue in Washington, D.C.[10] When Shonts moved to New York City to begin working with the Transit Company, he stayed at the Metropolitan Club while his family remained in Washington. When they visited New York City, they all stayed at the St. Regis.[7]

After his separation, he lived at the Hotel Beresford on the Upper West Side of Manhattan,[18] before moving to 930 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side.[19] He also had a summer home at Long Beach.[20]

After suffering a breakdown from overwork,[20][21][22][23][24] Shonts died on September 21, 1919, at 930 Park Avenue, his home in Manhattan.[25] After a funeral at the Brick Presbyterian Church on Fifth Avenue, he was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx.[26] In his will, he left the majority of his estate not to his wife and children, but to his "friend" Mrs. Amanda Thomas, which led his wife to file a $1,000,000 suit against Mrs. Thomas "for alienation of affection".[9][27] His widow who was "destitute" at the time of her death, was buried at Oakland Cemetery in Centerville, Iowa.[28]

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter Theodora,[29][30] he was a grandfather of Emmanuel Théodore Bernard Marie II d'Albert de Luynes (1908–1980), Duke of Chaulnes and Picquigny.[31]

Through his daughter Marguerite, he was a grandfather of Theodore Rutherford Glenn Bingham (1919–1944), who was born in Cuba and was declared Missing in Action in February 1944 in Ii, Finland, aged 24, during World War II;[32] he married Ardath Crane "Noni" Smith in 1943, a daughter of millionaire Clifford Warren Smith (who later married actress Claire Luce).[33][34] Bingham's widow was murdered in 1953 while married to her eighth husband, Joe Glen Kuykendall, who was tried and acquitted for her murder.[35]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Conant, Charles Arthur (1913). The Progress of the Empire State: A Work Devoted to the Historical, Financial, Industrial, and Literary Development of New York. Progress of the Empire State Company. p. 164. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Theodore P. Shonts's Father Dead". The New York Times. 11 January 1910. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  3. ↑ District of Columbia: Concise Biographies of Its Prominent and Representative Contemporary Citizens, and Valuable Statistical Data ... Potomac Press. 1908. p. 427. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  4. ↑ "THEODORE P. SHONTS". The New York Times. 22 September 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  5. ↑ "Degrees for Shonts and Colby". The New York Times. 29 May 1914. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  6. ↑ Parker, Matthew (2008). Hell's Gorge:The Battle to Build the Panama Canal (1st ed.). Arrow. pp. 251–252.
  7. 1 2 "How Theodore P. Shonts Works". The New York Times. 5 May 1907. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  8. 1 2 Yearbook of the Pennsylvania Society of New York. The Pennsylvania Society of New York. 1920. p. 99. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Want Mrs. Shonts's Suit Dropped". The New York Times. 21 September 1920. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  10. 1 2 Cablegram, Special (28 November 1906). "MISS THEODORA SHONTS WILL BE A DUCHESS; Her Engagement to Duc de Chaulnes Announced. ROMANCE BEGAN IN FRANCE The Bride-to-Be Is the Youngest Daughter of the President of the Panama Canal Commission". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  11. ↑ "SHONTS WEDDING PLANS.; Miss Shonts's Marriage to the Duc de Chaulnes to Take Place at Noon Feb. 15". The New York Times. 1 February 1908. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  12. ↑ "MISS SHONTS BRIDE OF DUC DE CHAULNES; Marriage Ceremony Performed After the French Fashion Before Hundreds of Guests. ONE UNTOWARD INCIDENT Party of Wedding Guests Held Up Between Floors for Fifteen Minutes In the Elevator. MISS SHONTS BRIDE OF DUC DE CHAULNES". The New York Times. 16 February 1908. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  13. ↑ Times, Special to The New York (25 March 1907). "MISS SHONTS MAY WED FRENCH DUKE; Her Father Might Consent to Arrange the Customary Settlement. A QUESTION Of HAPPINESS Miss Shonts and Her Mother Show Favor to Titled Suitor – Duchess May Visit Them". The New York Times. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. ↑ "Plenty of Romance in the Story of the Next American Duchess; Long Ago Miss Shonts Predicted What is to Happen, While the Duc de Chaulnes Is Rapidly Becoming an American". The New York Times. 24 November 1907. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  15. ↑ "Duc de Chaulnes Buried". The New York Times. 29 April 1908. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  16. ↑ "DINNER FOR MISS SHONTS.; Second of Two Given at the Plaza by Her Father, Theodore P. Shonts". The New York Times. 11 May 1909. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  17. 1 2 "MISS JANE MORGAN WED TO GEO. NICHOLS; Elder Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J.P. Morgan Married in St. John's, Lattingtown, L.I. MARGUERITE SHONTS WEDS The Bride of Rutherfurd Bingham in St. Thomas's--Nuptials of Miss Johns and L.S. Kirtland. Bride Walks with Her Father. Bingham-Shonts. Miss Aileen Sedgwick Weds. Lieut. Commander Dowell Marries. Bride of L.S. Kirtland. Miss Finn Weds Ignace Panzer. Walters--Dauer. Lieutenant Gillespie Weds Miss Burne. Franklin-Kenyon. Mrs. Aphie James Weds. Swan-Pells". The New York Times. 15 November 1917. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  18. ↑ "Theodore P. Shonts Slightly Better". The New York Times. 30 April 1918. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  19. ↑ "Theodore P. Shonts Slightly Better". The New York Times. 26 June 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  20. 1 2 "SHONTS UNDERGOES SEVERE OPERATION; Interborough President Suffers Breakdown as Result of Overwork". The New York Times. 12 June 1918. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  21. ↑ "Theodore P. Shonts Still Improving". The New York Times. 2 July 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  22. ↑ "Theodore P. Shonts Slightly Better". The New York Times. 4 July 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  23. ↑ "Theodore P. Shonts Still Gains". The New York Times. 30 July 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  24. ↑ "SHONTS NOT NEAR DEATH.; Interborough President Seriously III, but in No Immediate Danger". The New York Times. 20 September 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  25. ↑ "Obituary 4". The New York Times. 23 September 1919. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  26. ↑ "SHONTS FUNERAL TO BE TOMORROW; Interborough President Will Be Buried in Woodlawn Cemetery. NO CHOICE OF SUCCESSOR Annual Meeting of Interborough Stockholders to Elect Directors Will Be Held Wednesday". The New York Times. 22 September 1919. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  27. ↑ "SHONTS WILL PROBATED.; Testament Similar to That Admitted Here Accepted in Chicago". The New York Times. 3 September 1921. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  28. ↑ "Daughter of Late Governor Drake of Iowa Declared Destitute, Penniless, Nar Death Milla D. Shonts, Otherwise Known as Harriett Amelia Drake, Seeks to Collect $149,545 From Broker". Des Moines Tribune. 9 March 1929. p. 1. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "HEIR TO DUC DE CHAULNES; Son Born to Widowed Duchess, Daughter of Theodore Shonts". The New York Times. 17 November 1908. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  30. ↑ TIMES, Special Cable to THE NEW YORK (18 November 1908). "SHONTS OVERJOYED AT BIRTH OF DUKE; Dances About with Duchesse d'Uzes – French Relations in Nobility Are Also Happy. BOY IS NAMED FOR FATHER Eleven Members of the Shonts Family in Paris – Every Courtesy Shown by de Chaulnes's Relatives". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  31. ↑ "Maison d'Albert de Luynes". www.europeanheraldry.org. European Heraldry. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  32. ↑ "World War II Memorial". memorialchurch.harvard.edu. Harvard University. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  33. ↑ "Clifford Warren Smith, New York Clubman, Marries Claire Luce, Former 'Follies' Dancer". The New York Times. 13 July 1928. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  34. ↑ "CLIFFORD W. SMITH; Former Husband of Claire Luce, Actress, Dead at 39". The New York Times. 15 July 1940. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  35. ↑ "Arizonan Charged In Heiress Death". Arizona Republic. 21 June 1953. p. 1. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
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