Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 August 1869 — The Death of Henry Keep. [ARTICLE]

The Death of Henry Keep.

1 From the Western Railroad Gazette. The announcement of the death on Friday of last week of Henry Keep, the President of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway Company, was received with surprise and regret here in Chicago, where it was not generally known that he hod been ill. But the sorrow for his loss is much more marked in New York where he is so much better known. It is about a year ago when the struggles and successes of Mr. Keep’s early life were firstmade known to the bublic in the columns of the Railroad Gazette. Otr readers will remember how he, an orphan from infancy, became a public charge, was bound out to a hard master at the age of 12, found his home unendurable and ran away at 17, earned his firstwages as a teamster at $7 a month, soon discovered and used his talent for finance, and while yet a very young man established and conducted bapkmg institutions. He soon became wealthy, and about 1854 came to New York, where his operations in railroad stocks, and his success in the financial management of railroads soon made him famous and a millionaire. We give below a history of his railroad experience, as given in the financial columns of the New York

Express. The announcement of the death of Mr. Henry Keep was received with regret on 1 the street to-day, although it was not entirely unexpected, as he lias been rapidly failing of late. At the first call of the Stock Exchange the fiag on the building wits displayed at half-mast and business was suspended. Mr. & ,V.JW[hite delivered an eulogy on Mr. Mr/ Reap/ and a Committee, consisting of 8. V. White, Rufus Hatch pad R. S. Muntoe, was appointed to drift suitable resolutions, and, tit?, 'Board. adjourned until Monday; out or respect 'td hi! memory. The career oft Mr. Keep in • Wall street has been an eventful one, and ho has displayed great sagacity in,managing Ufa different railways at times Under his cohtrol, and his stock operations, which were carried to a successful termination by boldness and persistency, have been on a remarkable scale of magnitude. His connection with the railroads of the country ufay be said to have eoianiei*eed in 1850, when he took hold of the Michigan Soutliern, the stock of which compapy was sell: ing at 5' cents on the dollar. * He carried the roud through all its financial difficulties, brought the stock at one time up to 122, and finally made it a regular 8 per cent stock. In 1861 he took hold of thsCleveland & Toledo road, then «Befling at i,6ccnts on the dollar, and also brought this company out of its trouble. The road,, under Mr. Kioplseontrul, paid all Ufa way 1 from .JB, to 46, ,per, <*mt dj-vkledds, -4nd tlie stock, at one period, touched 106. sci 1861 Mr. Keep obtained control of tlte Nqw York Central; after a severe anti animated contest, and was made Presided of the Company. Mr. Keep put the road in splendid condition and then resigned, after which Mr. Vanderbilt came lnjo possession and lias retained control ever since. In 1867 Mr. Keep, after another trying contest, obtained control of the Cfiicago & Northwestern Company, anil here was the great achievement of his life. The common stock was selling at 40 and the preferred at 65. To bring this road out of its difficulties and obscurity, and inhke it a regular dividend paying concern, was the great aim and ambitipn of Mr. Keep’s latter days. He accomplished his ‘work well, having made the road a 10 per cent, dividend paying concern on both classes of stock. The earnings at the commencement' of Mr. Keep's management were $10,000,000 per amnun, and Tor the present year they arc estimated at $15,000,000. The stock has been as high as 100 for the common and 107 for the preferred. Mr. Keep thought so well of the road that he has left $2,000,000 of the stock to his family to be held us a permanent investment.- : The Chicago & Alton road at one time was ruh under the advice of management of Mr. Keep, and tills stock has risen from 19 to 170, and paid about 300 per cent, in cash and stock dividends. As an operator ill Wall street, he has fought some great liattles, and, we believe, almost invariably came off ,vic-, torious. In 1863 Mr. Addison Jerome : then one of the shining fights of the stock market, got up a bull clique in Michigan Southern, and a sharp “ corner ” was engineered on Mr. Keep and his friends, who were sliort of the stock. The day finally arrived for the “corner" to culminate and enrich the bull clique, but by the issue of new sjOok in some way, we believe by the conversion of bonds, the “corner” was broken, which brought rain and disaster to all the “bulls” of Wall street. Again in 1866 there was another “ corner ” in Michigan Southern, but this timo Mr. Keep was on the bull side, and squeezed the “ bears " badly, there Ixiing at fine time a difference of 15 per cent, between cash anil regular, stock. This is still fresh in the minds of Wall street speculators who suffered on this occasion, especially Mr. Daniel Drew, Who got an injunction against the Stock Exchange to prevent the buying in under the rule of the stock which* liu was short of. Mr, Keep, in his day, represented, by his railway investments and speculations, more miles of road than any other man in the United States. Wall Street for some years past has had three railway kings. 'I hese were formerly Daniel Drew, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Henry Keep, Latterly Mr. Drew lost all his influence, and Mr, Jay Gould took his place, mftfeiftg the trio Vanderbilt, Keep and Gould, M*. Keep has now passed from this lint, And the field is left hr Vanderbilt and Gould.. Who is to fill Mr. Keep’s place? Wftll street awaits the coming, man.

~ The heat in the ijast Indies during the ipresewt SUnkncT k reported tobe very mfand the natives, and many villages haVe been entirely depopulated.