Nathalie Schenck Laimbeer (December 4, 1882 – October 25, 1929)[1] was an American banker, philanthropist, and socialite.
Nathalie Schenck Laimbeer | |
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![]() Nathalie S. Laimbeer, from the Bain Newspaper Collection, Library of Congress | |
Born | Nathalie Pendleton Cutting Schenck December 4, 1882 New York City |
Died | October 25, 1929 New York City |
Other names | Nathalie S. Colins (during first marriage) |
Occupation(s) | Banker, educator, philanthropist |
Relatives | Nathanael G. Pendleton (great-grandfather), John M. Schiff (son-in-law), Bill Laimbeer (great grandson) |
Early life
editNathalie Pendleton Cutting Schenck was born in New York City, the daughter of Spotswood Dandridge Schenck and Effie Morgan Schenck.[2] Congressman Nathanael G. Pendleton was her great-grandfather. At age 15, she raised $25,000 for the American Red Cross during the Spanish–American War, with a chain letter scheme asking friends to send dimes.[3][4]
Career
editLaimbeer was best known as a socialite when she took a job with the Food Administration during World War I.[5] After the war, she was manager of the Home Economics bureau of New York Edison, demonstrating kitchen applications of electricity,[2] and in 1919 went into banking, as manager of the women's department of United States Mortgage and Trust Company.[6][7] "The women's department makes it easier for women to do their banking business themselves, rather than have it done for them by men," she explained in a 1920 article.[8] She was the first woman officer at National City Bank, where she was assistant cashier and head of the women's department from 1925 to 1926,[9][10] when she retired for health reasons.[2]
Laimbeer was president of the National Association of Bank Women,[11][12] and was the first woman banker to address the American Bankers Association.[2] She wrote articles on society topics for Harper's Bazaar,[13][14] and on banking for The Delineator and New York World. She was active in the Child Study Association and supported the visiting nurse program at the Henry Street Settlement.[2]
Personal life
editNathalie Schenck married twice. She married Charles Glen Collins, of the British Army, in 1904;[15] they had a son, George, before they divorced.[9][16] She married stock broker William Laimbeer, widower of actress Clara Bloodgood, in 1909, and they had two daughters, Nathalie Lee Laimbeer Cornell[17] and Josephine Laimbeer Schiff (wife of John M. Schiff). He died in an automobile accident in 1913.[18][19] Nathalie Schenck Laimbeer was injured in the same accident,[20][21] and had lingering health issues;[22] she died at home in late October 1929, from heart disease, aged 46 years.[2] She left over $125,000 to her children.[23] She is the great grandmother of Bill Laimbeer.
References
edit- ^ Ingham, John N. (1983). Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 749–750. ISBN 978-0-313-23908-3.
- ^ a b c d e f "Mrs. N.S. Laimbeer, Noted Banker, Dies". The New York Times. 1929-10-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "The End, at Last, of the Famous 'Endless Chain'". New York Journal and Advertiser. p. 16. Retrieved June 29, 2021 – via Chronicling America, Library of Congress.
- ^ "RED CROSS ENDLESS CHAIN". The New York Times. 1898-07-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "Society as a Stepping Stone to a Business Career". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1921-05-22. p. 72. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "They Have Won Offices in Banks". Journal of the American Bankers Association. 14: 447. December 1921.
- ^ "U.S. Mortgage & Trust Company Elections". Trusts and Estates. 31: 73. July 1920.
- ^ "The Women's Department in a Trust Company". Trust Companies. 31: 451–452. November 1920.
- ^ a b "Society Matron Named Official of National City Bank". The Boston Globe. 1925-02-13. p. 28. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fergusson, Polly (1925-10-04). "Are Women More Saving than Men?". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 64. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. William Laimbeer". The Courier-News. 1924-09-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ McCommon, Katharan (1925-01-18). "Qualifications of the Woman Banker". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 111. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Infants' and Children's Frocks". The Corset and Underwear Review. 5: 47. June 1915.
- ^ "Advertisement". Printers' Ink: 61. September 8, 1921.
- ^ "MISS NATHALIE SCHENCK WEDS.; Quietly Married in California to Capt. Glen Colins of the British Army". The New York Times. 1904-04-08. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "Business Training for Women? Surely". Daily News. 1925-07-12. p. 174. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Long Island Society". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1932-12-09. p. 23. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "S. OSGOOD PELL, N.Y. MILLIONAIRE, KILLED IN CRASH". The Inter Ocean. 1913-08-04. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "LAIMBEER'S WIDOW DRAMATIC ON STAND; Re-enacts How She Threw Arms Around Husband Just Before Train Hit Auto. W. K. VANDERBILT, JR., HEARD Asserts in Mrs. Pell's Suit Against Railroad That View at Crossing Was Unobstructed". The New York Times. 1915-06-16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "Accidents". Information Quarterly. 1. July 1915.
- ^ "Society Beauty Hurt in Motor Car Crash". The Shreveport Journal. 1913-08-08. p. 8. Retrieved 2021-06-30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "MRS. LAIMBEER PENNILESS.; Broker's Widow Has $250,000 Suit Against Railroad Advanced". The New York Times. 1914-05-05. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "MRS. LAIMBEER LEFT $127,927 TO FAMILY; Pioneer Woman Banker's Estate to Be Divided Among Her Son and Two Daughters". The New York Times. 1931-04-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-06-30.