Louis Severance

Louis Henry Severance (August 1, 1838 – June 25, 1913) was an American oilman and philanthropist who was a founding member of the Standard Oil Trust, the first treasurer of Standard Oil, and a sulfur magnate. Early life Severance was born in Cleveland on August 1, 1838. He was the second son of Mary Helen (née Long) Severance (1816–1902) and Solomon Lewis Severance (1812–1838), who died in July 1838, a month before his birth. He and his older brother Solon were raised by his widowed mother, in the Cleveland home of their maternal grandparents, Juliana (née Walworth) Long and Dr. David Long, who was Cleveland's first physician. Severance picked up his mother's commitment to the Presbyterian mission and the anti-slavery cause. His father had been one of Cleveland's dry goods merchants who went into partnership as Cutter & Severance. Solomon was also the secretary of the Cleveland Anti-Slavery Society, and treasurer of the Cuyahoga County Anti-Slavery society. He attended public schools in Cleveland before entering the workforce at age eighteen.