Benjamin Thaw Sr.

1859 - 1934

BiographyBenjamin Thaw, son of William and Eliza Burd Thaw, graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1878. He worked as a railroad clerk and later entered the coke manufacturing business with his brother, William Thaw (1853-1892). Benjamin and William, along with the Darsie Brothers, owned the Hecla Coke Company, which was absorbed by the Frick Coke Company in 1905. Benjamin Thaw then managed his father's estate and became involved with several business endeavors and philanthropic organizations.

Benjamin married Elma Ellsworth Dows in 1886 and they had four children: Benjamin, Henrietta, William, and Alexander Blair. Benjamin, Jr., entered the foreign service and worked as a diplomat in Paris, Brussels, and South America. Two of their sons, William and Alexander Blair, served as pilots during World War I in the French Foreign Legion. Alexander Blair Thaw (1896-c1916) died in a plane crash during that time. William Thaw (1893-1933) flew fighter planes with a volunteer squadron known as the Lafayette Escadrille. He then enlisted with the United States Army in 1918 where he earned the rank of colonel. William Thaw died in Pittsburgh of pneumonia in 1933.