James Ben Ali Haggin
Encyclopedia
James Ben Ali Haggin was an Turkish American
attorney
, ranch
er, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred
horse racing
. Haggin made a fortune in the after-math of the gold rush
and was a multi-millionaire by 1880.
, Mercer County
, Kentucky
, a descendant of one of the state's pioneer families who had settled there in 1775 and a descendant of Ibrahim Ben Ali
, who was an early American settler of Turkish
origin. He graduated from Centre College
at Danville, Kentucky
then entered the practice of law.
On December 28, 1846, James Ben ali Haggin married Eliza Jane Sanders of Natchez, Mississippi
with whom he had five children. She died in 1893 and on December 30, 1897 the seventy-five-year-old Haggin married twenty-eight-year-old Margaret Pearl Voorhies at her stepfather's residence in Versailles, Kentucky
. Miss Voorhies was a niece of his first wife.
In October 1850 he joined a recent acquaintance, Lloyd Tevis
, in opening a law office in Sacramento. They moved to San Francisco in 1853. He built a large and impressive Nob Hill mansion on the east side of Taylor Street between Clay and Washington Streets, which stood for until the earthquake and fire of 1906. Haggin and Tevis married sisters, daughters of Colonel Lewis Sanders, a Kentuckian who had emigrated to California. Haggin and Tevis acquired the Rancho Del Paso
land grant near Sacramento. The two invested in the mining business with George Hearst
as one of their partners. Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co.
became one of the largest mining companies in the United States whose operations included the Anaconda Copper Mine in Montana
, the Ontario Silver Mine in Park City, Utah, and the Homestake Mine
in South Dakota
.
which he stopped using as a horse breeding
farm in 1905 and concentrated his breeding efforts at Elmendorf Farm
in Lexington, Kentucky. Haggin acquired Elmendorf in 1897 and until his death in 1914, he undertook to develop it into the largest horse breeding operation in the United States of its era.
He is the namesake of the Ben Ali Stakes
.
, a Turkish army officer.
In 1846 Haggin married Eliza Jane Sanders; they had two sons and three daughters.
In 1897 Haggin married Margaret (“Pearl”) Voorchies of Versailles, Kentucky.
Haggin died September 12, 1914, at his Newport, Rhode Island, residence and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.
Turkish American
Turkish Americans are people who have Turkish ancestry and are citizens of the United States.-History:Early Turkish immigrants to the United States were predominantly from Turkey's rural community. They settled in large, industrial cities and found employment as unskilled laborers...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, ranch
Ranch
A ranch is an area of landscape, including various structures, given primarily to the practice of ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle or sheep for meat or wool. The word most often applies to livestock-raising operations in the western United States and Canada, though...
er, investor and a major owner/breeder in the sport of Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
. Haggin made a fortune in the after-math of the gold rush
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
and was a multi-millionaire by 1880.
Life
Haggin was born in HarrodsburgHarrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...
, Mercer County
Mercer County, Kentucky
Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 20,817. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county is named for General Hugh Mercer...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, a descendant of one of the state's pioneer families who had settled there in 1775 and a descendant of Ibrahim Ben Ali
Ibrahim Ben Ali
Ibrahim Ben Ali was a soldier, physician and one of the earliest American settlers of Turkish origin.- Youth and antecedents :Ibrahim Ben Ali was born in 1756 near Istanbul. His father, Ali Ben Mustafa, was a man of wealth and prominence and his estate, situated about six miles from that city, was...
, who was an early American settler of Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
origin. He graduated from Centre College
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, USA, a community of approximately 16,000 in Boyle County south of Lexington, KY. Centre is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution. Centre was founded by Presbyterian leaders, with whom it maintains a loose...
at Danville, Kentucky
Danville, Kentucky
Danville is a city in and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 16,218 at the 2010 census.Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Boyle and Lincoln counties....
then entered the practice of law.
On December 28, 1846, James Ben ali Haggin married Eliza Jane Sanders of Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
with whom he had five children. She died in 1893 and on December 30, 1897 the seventy-five-year-old Haggin married twenty-eight-year-old Margaret Pearl Voorhies at her stepfather's residence in Versailles, Kentucky
Versailles, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,511 people, 3,160 households, and 2,110 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 3,330 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.18% White, 8.67% African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.35%...
. Miss Voorhies was a niece of his first wife.
In October 1850 he joined a recent acquaintance, Lloyd Tevis
Lloyd Tevis
Lloyd Tevis was a banker and capitalist who served as president of Wells Fargo & Company from 1872 to 1892.-Early life:...
, in opening a law office in Sacramento. They moved to San Francisco in 1853. He built a large and impressive Nob Hill mansion on the east side of Taylor Street between Clay and Washington Streets, which stood for until the earthquake and fire of 1906. Haggin and Tevis married sisters, daughters of Colonel Lewis Sanders, a Kentuckian who had emigrated to California. Haggin and Tevis acquired the Rancho Del Paso
Rancho Del Paso
Rancho Del Paso was a Mexican land grant in present day Sacramento County, California given in 1844 by Governor Manuel Micheltorena to Eliab Grimes. The grant extended along the north bank of the American River and was bounded roughly by today’s Northgate Boulevard, Manzanita Avenue, and Elkhorn...
land grant near Sacramento. The two invested in the mining business with George Hearst
George Hearst
George Hearst was a wealthy American businessman and United States Senator, and the father of newspaperman William Randolph Hearst.-Early life and education:...
as one of their partners. Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co.
Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co.
Hearst, Haggin, Tevis and Co., a company started in California in the 1850s and headed by San Francisco lawyer James Ben Ali Haggin with Lloyd Tevis and George Hearst, grew to be the largest private firm of mine-owners in the United States...
became one of the largest mining companies in the United States whose operations included the Anaconda Copper Mine in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, the Ontario Silver Mine in Park City, Utah, and the Homestake Mine
Homestake Mine (South Dakota)
The Homestake Mine was a deep underground gold mine located in Lead, South Dakota. Until it closed in 2002 it was the largest and deepest gold mine in North America, producing more than 40 million ounces of gold. The Homestake Mine is famous in scientific circles for being the site at which the...
in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
Thoroughbred racing
James B. A. Haggin owned the Rancho Del Paso horse farm near Sacramento, CaliforniaSacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
which he stopped using as a horse breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
farm in 1905 and concentrated his breeding efforts at Elmendorf Farm
Elmendorf Farm
Elmendorf Farm is a Kentucky Thoroughbred horse farm in Fayette County, Kentucky, and has been involved with horse racing since the early 19th century...
in Lexington, Kentucky. Haggin acquired Elmendorf in 1897 and until his death in 1914, he undertook to develop it into the largest horse breeding operation in the United States of its era.
He is the namesake of the Ben Ali Stakes
Ben Ali Stakes
The Ben Ali Stakes is an American race for thoroughbred horses run in the Spring of each year at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. For 4-year-olds and up, it is a Grade III event set at a distance of one mile and one eighth mile on the dirt...
.
Personal life
Haggin was the eldest of eight children of Terah Temple and Adeline (Ben Ali) Haggin, the daughter of Ibrahim Ben AliIbrahim Ben Ali
Ibrahim Ben Ali was a soldier, physician and one of the earliest American settlers of Turkish origin.- Youth and antecedents :Ibrahim Ben Ali was born in 1756 near Istanbul. His father, Ali Ben Mustafa, was a man of wealth and prominence and his estate, situated about six miles from that city, was...
, a Turkish army officer.
In 1846 Haggin married Eliza Jane Sanders; they had two sons and three daughters.
In 1897 Haggin married Margaret (“Pearl”) Voorchies of Versailles, Kentucky.
Haggin died September 12, 1914, at his Newport, Rhode Island, residence and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in New York.