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FAMILY
BACKGROUND
One wonders what William Avery Rockefeller and Eliza Davison
Rockefeller thought when their son was born on July 8, 1839. Whatever it was, their
prophecy would have proved wrong. John was born on a farm at Richford in Tioga County, New
York. His father, William Rockefeller was some sort of a ‘conman’. He
claimed to have a cure for cancer and charged upto $25 for the treatment. When John was
about 10 years old, William was indicted in a rape, forcing the family to move to Moravia
and later to Owego, New York from Richford. John attended the Owego Academy. He was
excellent in mental arithmetic, the first of his many talents that made him successful. He
had the capacity to solve difficult arithmetic problems in his head. Otherwise, he was an
average student. In 1853, the Rockefellers moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where they bought a
house. John D (as he liked to sign his essays) attended Central High School in Cleveland.
He was on the debating team and learned to drive home his point with conviction.
SHAPING YEARS
| By the time he was 16 years old, he had left high school to take a six-month course at Folsom Mercantile College (also known as Folsom’s Commercial College). He did the course in three months, learning single and double entry, bookkeeping, penmanship, commercial history, mercantile customs, banking and exchange. His father, William, taught him to draw notes and other business papers. He also taught him how to be meticulous in business matters, a useful quality for a businessman. His search for a job ended when he got a job as an assistant bookkeeper with Hewitt and Tuttle, commission merchants and produce shippers. |
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FAST PROGRESS
John got his first pay after working for three months – $ 50, which came to about $
3.57 a week. But this meager salary did not prevent him from being very serious and
diligent at work. He was exacting and honest. He was very pleasant, but persistent when he
went to collect amounts from overdue accounts. His salary was increased to $ 25 a month
and a few months later he became the cashier and bookkeeper. Within a span of three years,
John was handling complicated transportation deals. He also began to indulge in trading
ventures on his own, but not without proper planning. Once he was sure of the course of
action to be taken, he would follow it through very quickly and very boldly, ensuring
success in the venture. He had the right balance of caution and boldness, which soon
enabled him to earn the respect of the business community of Cleveland.
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