Charles Linn
Encyclopedia
Charles Linn born Carl Erik Engelbrekt Sjödahl (June 13, 1814 - died 1882) was a sailor
, wholesaler, banker and industrialist. He was one of the founders of Birmingham, Alabama
.
(Swedish: Pojo) in the Uusimaa
region of Finland
. Pojo was then subject to the crown of Sweden
. His family were Swedish-speaking Finns. Linn was the son of the manager of an ironworks owned by the ancient company of Billnäs Bruk. He was attending the Royal Academy of Turku
when the city burned in the Great Fire of Turku
. He joined a sailing crew and became an accomplished seafarer, crossing the Atlantic Ocean
53 times and circumnavigating the globe thrice before immigrating to the United States
. He settled in Montgomery, Alabama
in 1838 and opened a mercantile store.
and returned to the seas as a Captain in the Confederate States Navy
, charged with running ships laden with Southern cotton
to Liverpool
to raise war funds. His ship, the CSS Kate Dale was captured on July 14, 1863 by the USS R. R. Cuyler
off the Florida Keys
. Linn and his son were captured, and taken to Washington D. C. where they were quickly pardoned. Linn resumed the mercantile business with a wholesale grocery warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana
, importing dozens of his countrymen from Finland to work in his company.
Linn sold off his New Orleans business and retired to Montgomery
, where a group of businessmen which included James R. Powell interested him in the idea of opening a bank in the newly-founded City of Birmingham
. He agreed and launched the National Bank of Birmingham (now Regions Financial
) in 1872 with $50,000 in gold. Later that year, Linn erected the monumental 3-story National Bank of Birmingham building on the corner of 1st Avenue North and 20th Street at a time when the city's future was doubtful. The building became known as "Linn's Folly", and it was there that Linn hosted the legendary New Year's Eve "Calico Ball" that signaled the city's emergence from a cholera
epidemic.
Linn extended his investments from banking to industry, organizing two of the city's first such ventures, the Linn Iron Works and the Birmingham Car and Foundry Company with skilled workers brought in from Cleveland
and Cincinnati, Ohio
. Linn purchased some of his equipment from the Confederate Iron Works
in Selma, Alabama
. Linn died in Birmingham, Alabama
. He is entombed in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery
.
, was re-named "Linn Park" in the 1980s. The Linn-Henley Research Library
is also named in honor of Linn and his descendants. In 2005 Linn was inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame.
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
, wholesaler, banker and industrialist. He was one of the founders of Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
.
Background
Carl Erik Engelbrekt Sjödahl was born in PohjaPohja
Pohja is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Ekenäs and Karis to form the new town of Raseborg in 2009.It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The municipality had a population of 4,936 and covered a land area of...
(Swedish: Pojo) in the Uusimaa
Uusimaa
Uusimaa, or Nyland in Swedish, is a region in Finland. It borders the regions Finland Proper, Tavastia Proper, Päijänne Tavastia and Kymenlaakso...
region of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. Pojo was then subject to the crown of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. His family were Swedish-speaking Finns. Linn was the son of the manager of an ironworks owned by the ancient company of Billnäs Bruk. He was attending the Royal Academy of Turku
The Royal Academy of Turku
The Royal Academy of Turku was the first university in Finland, and the only university in present-day Finland to be founded when it was still a part of Sweden. In 1809, after Finland became a Grand Duchy under the suzerainty of the Russian Tzar, it was renamed the Imperial Academy of Turku...
when the city burned in the Great Fire of Turku
Great Fire of Turku
The Great Fire of Turku was a conflagration that is still the largest urban fire in the history of Finland and the Nordic countries. The fires started burning on 4 September 1827 in Burgher Hellman’s house on Aninkaistenmäki slightly before 9 p.m...
. He joined a sailing crew and became an accomplished seafarer, crossing the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
53 times and circumnavigating the globe thrice before immigrating to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He settled in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
in 1838 and opened a mercantile store.
Career
Linn prospered in Montgomery and added a farming spread to his holdings. He sold his business at the start of the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and returned to the seas as a Captain in the Confederate States Navy
Confederate States Navy
The Confederate States Navy was the naval branch of the Confederate States armed forces established by an act of the Confederate Congress on February 21, 1861. It was responsible for Confederate naval operations during the American Civil War...
, charged with running ships laden with Southern cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
to Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
to raise war funds. His ship, the CSS Kate Dale was captured on July 14, 1863 by the USS R. R. Cuyler
USS R. R. Cuyler (1860)
USS R. R. Cuyler was a steamer in the United States Navy during the American Civil War. She was outfitted by the Union Navy as a gunboat and was assigned to the Union blockade of the Confederate States of America....
off the Florida Keys
Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are a small group of islands, located at the end of the Florida Keys, USA, about west of Key West, and west of the Marquesas Keys, the closest islands. Still further west is the Tortugas Bank, which is completely submerged. The first Europeans to discover the islands were the...
. Linn and his son were captured, and taken to Washington D. C. where they were quickly pardoned. Linn resumed the mercantile business with a wholesale grocery warehouse in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, importing dozens of his countrymen from Finland to work in his company.
Linn sold off his New Orleans business and retired to Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, where a group of businessmen which included James R. Powell interested him in the idea of opening a bank in the newly-founded City of Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. He agreed and launched the National Bank of Birmingham (now Regions Financial
Regions Financial
Regions Financial Corporation is a publicly held company based in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, with the corporate headquarters at the Regions Center...
) in 1872 with $50,000 in gold. Later that year, Linn erected the monumental 3-story National Bank of Birmingham building on the corner of 1st Avenue North and 20th Street at a time when the city's future was doubtful. The building became known as "Linn's Folly", and it was there that Linn hosted the legendary New Year's Eve "Calico Ball" that signaled the city's emergence from a cholera
Cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...
epidemic.
Linn extended his investments from banking to industry, organizing two of the city's first such ventures, the Linn Iron Works and the Birmingham Car and Foundry Company with skilled workers brought in from Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. Linn purchased some of his equipment from the Confederate Iron Works
Selma, Alabama, in the Civil War
Selma, Alabama, during the American Civil War was one of the South's main military manufacturing centers, producing tons of supplies and munitions, and turning out Confederate warships. The Selma Ordnance and Naval Foundry complex included a naval foundry, shipyard, army arsenal, and gunpowder...
in Selma, Alabama
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Alabama, United States, located on the banks of the Alabama River. The population was 20,512 at the 2000 census....
. Linn died in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. He is entombed in Birmingham's Oak Hill Cemetery
Oak Hill Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama)
Oak Hill Cemetery, located just north of downtown, is Birmingham, Alabama's oldest cemetery. Originally on the estate of James M. Ware, it was already a burial ground by April 1869 when it served as the resting place for the infant daughter of future mayor Robert H. Henley...
.
Legacy
Birmingham's most prominent park, formerly named for Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, was re-named "Linn Park" in the 1980s. The Linn-Henley Research Library
Birmingham Public Library
For the main library in Birmingham, England see, Birmingham Central Library.The Birmingham Public Library, a well-respected and one of the largest library systems in the southeastern United States, consists of 19 branches and a main or central library located in downtown Birmingham, Alabama...
is also named in honor of Linn and his descendants. In 2005 Linn was inducted into the Birmingham Business Hall of Fame.
Other sources
- Corley, Robert G. and Marvin Yeomans Whiting, editors (July 1979) Dedication. Journal of the Birmingham Historical Society. Vol. 6, No. 2
- Charles Linn at Bhamwiki.com accessed December 12, 2007
- "Admiral Bailey's Official Report" (November 10, 1863) The New York Times.