Orrin Henry Ingram Sr.

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Orrin Henry Ingram Sr.
Born(1904-06-26)June 26, 1904
DiedApril 25, 1963(1963-04-25) (aged 58)
OccupationBusinessman
SpouseHortense Bigelow
ChildrenE. Bronson Ingram II
Frederic B. Ingram
Alice Hooker
Parent(s)Erskine B. Ingram
Harriet Coggshall
RelativesOrrin Henry Ingram (paternal grandfather)
Julius Ingram (paternal great-uncle)
Martha Rivers Ingram (daughter-in-law)
Ingrid Goude (daughter-in-law)

Orrin Henry Ingram Sr. (June 26, 1904 – April 25, 1963) was an American heir and businessman.

Early life[edit]

Orrin Henry Ingram Sr. was born on June 26, 1904, in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. His father, Erskine B. Ingram, was a lumber heir.[1] His mother was Harriet Coggshall. His parents were members of the Congregational Church.

His paternal grandfather three times removed, David Ingram, had immigrated from Leeds, England, in 1780.[2] His paternal grandfather, Orrin Henry Ingram, was a lumber baron in Wisconsin.[1][2][3] His great-uncle, Julius Ingram, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly.

Career[edit]

In 1928, Ingram ran a textile firm in Tennessee owned by his wife's family.[1][4] He relocated it to Nashville, Tennessee.[1] By 1937, at the time of the textile strike, he sold half his investment and acquired Wood River Oil and Refining, an oil company based in St. Louis, Missouri.[4]

He was the owner of Ingram Oil & Refining, a chain of 240 gas stations headquartered in Meraux, Louisiana, just outside New Orleans.[1][5] In 1961, he sold the company to Murphy Oil.[1][5]

Philanthropy[edit]

Ingram served as the Vice President of the Board of Trust of Vanderbilt University in Nashville from 1952 to 1963.[6][7]

Personal life[edit]

Ingram married Hortense Bigelow, the daughter of the president of the St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co. (later known as The Travelers Companies).[4] They resided in White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Hobe Sound, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee.[3][4] They had two sons, E. Bronson Ingram II and Frederic B. Ingram, and a daughter, Alice, who married Henry William Hooker.[8]

Death and legacy[edit]

He died of a heart attack on April 25, 1963, in Nashville, Tennessee.[3][9][10] He was buried at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.

The Hank Ingram House on the campus of Vanderbilt University was named in his honor in 2006.[6][11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Inside a $15 Billion Dynasty", Bloomberg Business, September 28, 1997
  2. ^ a b Ingram Chronicles, Forbes, 9/06/1999
  3. ^ a b c "Oil Executive Dies; Family Was From State". The Racine Journal-Times Sunday Bulletin. 28 April 1963. p. 13. Retrieved July 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ a b c d Bill Carey, "A place for a damned fool or an Eskimo", Nashville Post, March 22, 2000
  5. ^ a b Murphy Oil Corp.: A Century of Exploration
  6. ^ a b Princine Lewis, "New Commons residence halls named for former vice chancellor, BOT member", Vanderbilt Register, 12/04/06
  7. ^ William H. Honan, "Vanderbilt U. Receives a Gift of $300 Million", The New York Times, December 1, 1998
  8. ^ "Alice Ingram To Be Married". The Daily Telegram. 1 October 1955. p. 5. Retrieved July 7, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Funeral Service Set". The Holland Evening Sentinel. 27 April 1963. p. 5. Retrieved July 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "National Obituaries". Eureka Humboldt Standard. 27 April 1963. p. 11. Retrieved July 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Vanderbilt University Office of Housing & Residential Education: Hank Ingram House

External links[edit]