James Pierce (1810-1874)
"The General" Industrialist & Banker, of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania
He was born in Swanzey, New Hampshire. His great-great-grandfather, James Pierce, was the brother of Stephen Pierce who was the great-great-grandfather of U.S. President Franklin Pierce. After working on the family farm, he went into business with another cousin trading cotton, horses, clocks and stoves between New Hampshire and Erie, Pennsylvania. Next, they expanded into mining which precipitated his move to Sharpsville, near the Ohio border. He opened a coal mine near Hickory Township and built furnaces in Mount Hickory with William Lawrence Scott. He led the syndicate that built the Sharpsville & Oakland Railroad and founded the Iron Banking Company which would become the First National Bank of Sharpsville.
He was referred to locally as "the General," a nod to his role in the town rather than a military title. He spent $110,000 on his 30-room mansion (see images) that dominated Sharpsville, but was killed in Baltimore shopping for furniture with which to decorate it, when he tripped and fell down a staircase. When he died in 1874 he was worth $1.5 million, but his sons did not inherit his business prowess and the fortune unravelled very quickly. By the time his grandchildren were adults, there wasn't a dime left. He and his wife had five sons, and he is the great-great-grandfather of First Lady Barbara (Pierce) Bush.
He was referred to locally as "the General," a nod to his role in the town rather than a military title. He spent $110,000 on his 30-room mansion (see images) that dominated Sharpsville, but was killed in Baltimore shopping for furniture with which to decorate it, when he tripped and fell down a staircase. When he died in 1874 he was worth $1.5 million, but his sons did not inherit his business prowess and the fortune unravelled very quickly. By the time his grandchildren were adults, there wasn't a dime left. He and his wife had five sons, and he is the great-great-grandfather of First Lady Barbara (Pierce) Bush.
