Trenor W. Park | |
|---|---|
 From 1893'sAmerican Encyclopaedia of Biography | |
| Member of theRepublican National Committee from Vermont | |
| In office 1868–1870 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham B. Gardner |
| Succeeded by | Luke P. Poland |
| Member of theVermont House of Representatives fromBennington | |
| In office 1865–1869 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham B. Gardner |
| Succeeded by | Luther R. Graves |
| Chair of theCalifornia Republican State Central Committee | |
| In office 1856–1860 | |
| Preceded by | New position |
| Succeeded by | William Sherman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1823-12-08)December 8, 1823 |
| Died | December 13, 1882(1882-12-13) (aged 59) Aboard shipSan Blas between New York City andAspinwall, Panama |
| Resting place | Old Bennington Cemetery, Bennington, Vermont |
| Political party | Whig (Before 1856) Republican (From 1856) |
| Spouse | Laura Van Der Spiegle Hall (m. 1846–1875, her death) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Hiland Hall (father in law) John G. McCullough (son in law) Julia Hunt Catlin (daughter in law) |
| Occupation | Attorney Businessman Politician |
| Signature | .png) |
Trenor William Park (December 8, 1823 – December 13, 1882) was an American lawyer, political figure, and businessman. He was most notable as a founder of theRepublican Party inCalifornia, and for his Republican leadership roles in Vermont, including member of theRepublican National Committee and theVermont House of Representatives.
Born inWoodford, Vermont, Park studied law as a teenager, and attained admission to the bar at age 21, as soon as he was legally eligible. He practiced inBennington until 1852. Park was also a businessman, and invested in lumbering and other ventures. In 1846 he married Laura Van Der Spiegle Hall, whose fatherHiland Hall had served as aCongressman andGovernor of Vermont. In 1851, Hall was named Chairman of theU.S. Land Commission that settled Mexican land titles after the annexation of California. He relocated to San Francisco, and Park went with him.
In California, Park practiced law and was a founder of theHalleck, Peachy, Billings & Park firm. He continued to pursue business opportunities, including real estate and mining, and became the manager ofJohn C. Frémont'sRancho Las Mariposas gold mine. Park faced temporary financial setbacks during thePanic of 1857, but recovered and became very wealthy. When the Republican Party was organized in the mid-1850s, Park won election as the first Chairman of the state party's Central Committee.
Park returned to Vermont in 1864, and continued to practice law and pursue investments in a variety of businesses while also maintaining a residence in New York City. He also served as a member of theVermont House of Representatives and Vermont's member of theRepublican National Committee. Park was a candidate for the 1874 Republican nomination for Governor but withdrew in favor ofAsahel Peck, who went on to win the general election.
A noted civic activist and philanthropist, Park's donations included Bennington's public library, the building and land for the Vermont Soldiers' Home, and theUniversity of Vermont's Park Gallery of Art, which later became part of the university'sRobert Hull Fleming Museum. Park died at sea in 1882, and was buried first atBrooklyn,New York'sGreen-Wood Cemetery, and later at Bennington's Old Cemetery.
Trenor William Park was born inWoodford, Vermont on December 8, 1823, the son of Luther and Cynthia (Pratt) Park.[1] Park was named for Thomas Trenor, who fled Ireland after taking part in the failedIrish Rebellion of 1798 and became a prominentBennington businessman and friend of Luther Park. Trenor Park was raised in Bennington and began working at an early age, including selling candy and carrying letters to and from the Bennington post office.[2]
At age 15 Park became the proprietor of a candy store on Bennington's North Street, and at age 16 he began tostudy law withBennington CountyState's Attorney Alanson P. Lyman, attainingadmission to the bar as soon as he was legally eligible in 1844.[2] Park began a practice in Bennington, and maintained it until 1852, also becoming active in lumbering and other business ventures. On December 15, 1846, he married Laura Van Der Spiegle Hall, the daughter ofCongressman andGovernorHiland Hall. They had three children Eliza, Laura and Trenor Luther Park.[3][4]
In 1851 Hall was appointed Chairman of theU.S. Land Commission empowered to settle Mexican land titles after the annexation of California, and Park traveled to San Francisco with him.[2] He practiced law successfully, soon becoming a partner in the state's leading firm,Halleck, Peachy, Billings & Park.[5] In 1855 Park played a key role in San Francisco's political reform movement by establishing theSan Francisco Bulletin newspaper.[6] He also became active in several commercial enterprises, including real estate and mining, and managed theRancho Las Mariposas gold mine owned byJohn C. Frémont.[6] Park lost some of his investments in thePanic of 1857, but eventually became very wealthy.[7][8]
Originally aWhig, at the founding of theRepublican Party, Park became an active member, serving as a delegate to several state conventions. When the state party was organized in 1856, Park was selected as the first Chairman of California's Republican State Central Committee.[9][10] He served until 1860, when he was succeeded by William Sherman.[11] In 1863 he was a Unionist candidate for theU.S. Senate, narrowly losing election in the California legislature.[12] In 1864 he was a California delegate to theUnion National Convention that nominated Republican PresidentAbraham Lincoln for reelection and DemocratAndrew Johnson for vice president.[13]
In 1864 Park returned to Vermont, where he incorporated the First National Bank of North Bennington, was an original investor in theCentral Vermont Railroad, and again speculated in several successful business ventures, including timber and mines.[14] He also established a second residence in New York City. He served in theVermont House of Representatives from 1865 to 1869.[15] In 1868 he was a Vermont delegate to theRepublican National Convention that nominatedUlysses S. Grant for president andSchuyler Colfax for vice president.[16] The same year, he was elected as Vermont's member of the Republican National Committee, serving until 1870.[17][18]
In 1870 he was one of the founders ofRutland, Vermont's Baxter National Bank, and he often continued to invest in partnership with the bank's president,Horace Henry Baxter.[19] In 1871 Park's daughter Eliza marriedJohn G. McCullough, former Attorney General of California, who became active in several of Park's business ventures and later served as Governor of Vermont.[20][21] Also in 1871, Park was an owner and promoter of the supposedly depletedUtahEmma Silver Mine.[22] English citizens invested millions ofpounds, and in 1876 and 1877 his partners and he were accused of defrauding the group that purchased the mine.[22] Park and his associates were acquitted in a nationally publicized April 1877 trial.[22]
Park was a candidate for the 1874 Republican nomination for Governor, but withdrew in favor of the eventual nominee and general election winner, stateSupreme Court JusticeAsahel Peck.[23] The same year, Park purchased controlling interest in thePanama Railway and was elected its president, succeedingRussell Sage.[24] During the rest of the 1870s he engaged in a well-publicized contest with rival financierJay Gould for control ofPacific Mail, the company that shipped cargo between the eastern and western United States by moving it overland across theIsthmus of Panama.[25] In 1881, Park sold his stock in the Panama railroad for $7 million (over $200 million in 2022).[26]
Active in civic affairs, Park was a member of the committee that oversaw design and construction of the Bennington Battle Monument,[27] and was a trustee of theUniversity of Vermont.[28] His philanthropic donations included the Bennington Free Library (with Seth B. Hunt),[29] and the building and land for the Vermont Soldiers' Home (again in conjunction with the Hunt family).[30][31] He also donated the University of Vermont's Park Gallery of Art, the exhibits of which were later incorporated into the university'sRobert Hull Fleming Museum.[32]
Trenor Park died on December 13, 1882, while aboard the shipSan Blas between New York andAspinwall, Panama whileen route to San Francisco.[33] His funeral took place at New York City's Collegiate Reformed Church, and he was buried in Brooklyn'sGreen-Wood Cemetery.[34] Park was later re-interred at Bennington's Old Cemetery.[35]
His Bennington home, thePark-McCullough House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and is open to the public.[36]
Trenor Luther Park (1861–1907) studied atHarvard University and was a successful businessman, yachtsman and golfer. He was married toJulia Hunt Catlin (1864–1947). Trenor L. Park died during surgery for an intestinal ailment, and his friends and family believed his decline had been hastened by despondence over the death of his nine-year-old daughter Elliot, who had been killed in an accident earlier that year.[37][38]
Laura Hall Park (1858–1939) married Frederic Beach Jennings (1853–1920), a Bennington and New York City lawyer and businessman. They donated the site of their Vermont home to become the location ofBennington College.[39]
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