Estate valued at $7,114,298.92
Unmarried in1899
Founded Phelps, Dodge & Co.
Hon. WM. E. Dodge - At a special meeting of the Directory of the Union Theological Seminary, held Feb. 10, (1883), the following minute was adopted unanimously:Minute - The Directors of the Union Theological Seminary embalm today the precious memory of one of their oldest and most eminent associates. The Hon. William Earle Dodge was born near Hartford, Conn., Sept. 4, 1805; came to New York when he was 13 years of age; 15 years later became identified with the firm-which in now historic-of Phelps, Dodge & Co.: advanced rapidly in fame and fortune; was elected a Representative to the Thirty-ninth National Congress; took high ground on all religious and moral questions; came to the front in all critical emergencies of Church and State, and was Known and loved and honored in every part of Christendom as one of the foremost philanthropists in our time.
In 1856 he was elected to membership in this board, and in all these 27 years the seminary has had no better friend. Broad in his sympathies, wise in counsel, prompt, liberal, and untiring in his contributions, the institution owes him a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. His sudden death on Friday morning, Feb. 9, (1883), to him a swift and blessed translation, for which he was wholly ripe, is to us who survive him a bitter bereavement and an irreparable loss. To Mrs. Dodge and her seven sons, and to their children, we tender the tribute of osur profoundest and most fervent sympathy. May it comfort them to be reminded that not they only, but the city, the country, and this whole generation, are afflicted by his departure, and yet enriched by his example. E.M. Kingsley, Sec'y Chas. Butler, Pres't
Official Congressional Biography follows:
DODGE, William Earle, a Representative from New York; born in Hartford, Conn., September 4, 1805; completed preparatory studies; moved to New York City in 1818; became a clerk; in 1826 established the house of Phelps, Dodge & Co., of which he was the head for forty years; delegate to the peace convention of 1861 held in Washington, D.C., in an effort to devise means to prevent the impending war; successfully contested as a Republican the election of James Brooks to the Thirty-ninth Congress and served from April 7, 1866, to March 3, 1867; declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1866; resumed business interests; died in New York City February 9, 1883; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery.
Bibliography: Lowitt, Richard. A Merchant Prince of the Nineteenth Century: William E. Dodge. New York: Columbia University Press, 1954.
Four children and nine grandchildren
Educated Portsmouth Priority School, Portsmouth, RI, and Harvard College. Pre-war, employed Embassy Newsreel Theatres, Broadway, NYC.Entered Army, May 1941, as unqualified Private ($21.00 a month), separated Mar. 1946 as Major. With 12th AD, Exec./Off, B Bat, 493rd AFA Bn; S-2 Bn; I & E Off, Divarty. Overseas, back as S-2, Bn; then Asst G-3 Div and Liason Off with two
French Div and three American Corps. After combat, Senior Aide and 1st AD.After War, employed Colgate, Palmolive Peet, NY Journal of Commerce, NY Herald Tribune (both as Financial Columnist) and Doremus & Co. as Vice Pres and Senior Account Exec. Retired ans was Chairman Thousand Islands Shipyard Museum. Retired after seven yrs. for good. Lives half the year in Riverdale overlooking the Hudson River and the other half on an island in the St. Lawrence River, two of the most beautiful rivers in the world.
Last known address:
18 Dodge Ln
Bronx, New York 10400
0f 135 Highland Dr., Rye, NY
of Windway, Garrison, NY
Cleveland E. Dodge Jr. H’96, Springfield College trustee emeritus, died Jan. 28, 2007(this appears to be a misprint). Dodge was a member of the College’s board of trustees from 1976 to 1994, at which time he was designated an emeritus trustee. He served on the buildings and grounds committee, the business affairs committee, the investment committee, and the institutional advancement committee. Dodge was a generous benefactor and an enthusiastic advocate for Springfield College. He cherished the historic relationship between his family and Springfield College, which began in the late 1800s with his grandfather, Cleveland Hoadley Dodge. The Dodges have been valued advisors and supporters of Springfield College since the earliest years of the College, and Clee Dodge enhanced that bond with great vigor and personal commitment. Gifts from Mr. Dodge and the Dodge Foundation, as well as other foundations that he was associated with, have supported new and renovated facilities, seeded innovative programs, and provided student financial aid. The Cleveland E. Dodge Jr. Award at Springfield College is given annually to a student who best exemplifies spiritual principles in the conduct of their daily lives. The award continues a family tradition of providing a fund “devoted to the promotion of spiritual objectives,” begun in 1853 by family patriarch Anson Phelps. In 1996, the College awarded him the Honorary Doctor of Humanics degree. Dodge, who graduated from the Princeton University School of Engineering in 1942 and later was commander of a PT boat in Honolulu, Hawaii, during World War II, worked at General Electric’s rocket turbine plant in Schenectady, N.Y., before joining the Warren Wire Company. He established Dodge Fibers Corporation in 1955, and then Dodge Machine Company. In 1982, Dodge became president of the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation, which was established by his grandfather in 1917, and was chairman of the foundation’s board until his death. In addition to his many years of service to the Springfield College Board, Dodge served as director on numerous charitable boards across the country, including the Bennington Museum and the YMCA Retirement Fund, as well as the corporate boards of Phelps Dodge Corporation and Atlantic Mutual Life Insurance.
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