William Robertson Coe
| William Robertson Coe | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 8, 1869 Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England |
| Died |
March 15, 1955 (aged 85) Palm Beach, Florida |
| Resting place | Laurel Hollow, New York |
| Occupation | Business executive, philanthropist |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Hutchinson Falligant Mai Rogers Caroline Graham Slaughter |
| Children |
William Rogers Coe Robert Douglas Coe Henry Huttleston Rogers Coe Natalie Mai Coe |
| Parent(s) |
Frederick Augustus Coe Margaret Robertson |
| Relatives |
Henry Huttleston Rogers (second father-in-law) Abbie Gifford Rogers (second mother-in-law) |
William Robertson Coe (June 8, 1869 – March 15, 1955) was an insurance, railroad and business executive, as well as a collector of Americana and an important philanthropist for the academic discipline of American Studies.
William Coe was born in Kingswinford, Staffordshire, England. His father, Frederick Augustus Coe, was then cashier in a local iron works, but later became manager. His mother, Margaret Robertson, was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland. Coe received his early schooling at Albion Academy in Cardiff, Wales. At the start of the 1880s, his family resided in Gloucester, where Coe was confirmed at the local cathedral. In 1883, his parents and their ten children (William was fifth of the ten) emigrated to the United States and settled in New Jersey across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
At the age of 15, William began working as an office boy for a Philadelphia insurance broker. The brokerage was acquired by Johnson and Higgins Insurance Co., and Coe rose to become a manager of the adjusting (claims) department in the New York City office of the maritime insurer. As a young widower following the death of his first wife, during a cruise to England in 1900, he met Mai Rogers, the youngest daughter of industrialist Henry Huttleston Rogers, a key man in Standard Oil.
This marriage brought connections with Standard Oil that expanded Johnson and Higgins' business immensely, while it opened personal business opportunities for Coe. By 1910, Coe had become president of Johnson and Higgins and was involved in insuring the "unsinkable" hull of the RMS Titanic, which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. Notwithstanding his involvement with the Titanic disaster, Coe rose to chairman of the board of Johnson and Higgins by 1916.
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