John G. McCaskey
Encyclopedia
John Gruard McCaskey was an American
oil businessman
.
on July 3, 1874, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma and Texas. By his early 30s McCaskey was President of The National Sauerkraut Association, had become a self made millionaire
and won for himself the cognomen of “the Sauerkraut King” after his friend E. W. Marland
arranged for a contract with the farmers of Dutchess County, New York, giving McCaskey an option for the annual cabbage crop. From this he had built an extensive commercial enterprise, owning a large number of factories making sauerkraut in Ohio, Pennsylvania (the SnowFloss brand) and New York (the Seneca Kraut and Pickling Company). Controlling two-thirds of the U.S. market for this product, it was the largest in America. It was from this base that he chose to engage in the new oil business on a large scale, founding a number of oil companies in Oklahoma and Texas.
. In 1908 McCaskey became an investor and a director of the 101 Ranch Oil Company
of Ponca City founded by Marland to explore for Oklahoma oil. By 1910 however, the company was on the verge of failure having run out of money and only having found natural gas. McCaskey reorganized the company, was elected President and associating his activities with Pittsburgh capital he raised funds from W. H. McFadden
, a retired Carnegie Steel executive, who was elected Vice President, General Manager and J. M. Weaver, who was elected Treasurer. A drilling lease was obtained on the Willie Cry Ponca Indian allotment and on June 11, 1911 the well “Willy-Cries-For-War” struck oil, bringing wealth to the company and its investors. The company’s 1911 oil discovery in North Eastern Oklahoma opened up oil development in a great region from Eastern Oklahoma west to Mervine, Newkirk, Blackwell, Billings and Garber and led to the founding of the Marland Oil Company
, later renamed the Continental Oil Company, or Conoco
.
McCaskey quickly moved on to other opportunities, organizing the Southwestern Oil Company of Ponca City and took into this new venture Lewis Haines Wentz
, a former sauerkraut salesman in his brokerage company and J. J. McGraw, a Ponca City Banker. In this capacity he promoted the Newkirk, Blackwell
, Billings, Graber and the Tonkawa
Three Sands Field, one of the best know oil fields of its day, producing income of over one million dollars per day in the 1920s. During this time he also formed and was President of a number of companies in the area including the Kay County Gas Company, The Kiowa, and the Peoples Fuel and Supply Company.
About 1917, in exchange for cash and company stock, McCaskey sold his interests to the Marland Refining Company (later Incorporated in Delaware, January 3, 1921 as the Marland Oil Company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The company was renamed the Continental Oil Company on June 26, 1929. He then associated himself with Lewis Haines Wentz
under the McCaskey/Wentz Corporation (later the Wentz Corporation). From its start the company prospered and brought wealth to both McCaskey and Wentz. Leaving Wentz in charge of the Ponca City operations McCaskey moved his family to Fort Worth acquiring a home that had been deserted by the German Consulate at the beginning of World War I, 1316 Pennsylvania Avenue; later the clubhouse for the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth. He then formed and was President of the Duquesne Oil Corporation, States Oil Corporation, West Texas Oil Corporation and others. By 1920 he and his partners were reported to control about 10 percent of the world’s oil production.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
oil businessman
Petroleum industry
The petroleum industry includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transporting , and marketing petroleum products. The largest volume products of the industry are fuel oil and gasoline...
.
Early life
John Gruard McCaskey born in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
on July 3, 1874, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma and Texas. By his early 30s McCaskey was President of The National Sauerkraut Association, had become a self made millionaire
Millionaire
A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account...
and won for himself the cognomen of “the Sauerkraut King” after his friend E. W. Marland
E. W. Marland
Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
arranged for a contract with the farmers of Dutchess County, New York, giving McCaskey an option for the annual cabbage crop. From this he had built an extensive commercial enterprise, owning a large number of factories making sauerkraut in Ohio, Pennsylvania (the SnowFloss brand) and New York (the Seneca Kraut and Pickling Company). Controlling two-thirds of the U.S. market for this product, it was the largest in America. It was from this base that he chose to engage in the new oil business on a large scale, founding a number of oil companies in Oklahoma and Texas.
Oil business ventures
His initial oil venture started with a young manhood friend, E. W. MarlandE. W. Marland
Ernest Whitworth Marland was an American lawyer, oil businessman, and politician who served as the tenth Governor of Oklahoma.-Career as an Oilman:...
. In 1908 McCaskey became an investor and a director of the 101 Ranch Oil Company
101 Ranch Oil Company
Founded in 1908 by oil exploration pioneer E. W. Marland, The 101 Ranch Oil Company was located on the famous Miller Brothers 101 Ranch and headquartered in Ponca City, Oklahoma...
of Ponca City founded by Marland to explore for Oklahoma oil. By 1910 however, the company was on the verge of failure having run out of money and only having found natural gas. McCaskey reorganized the company, was elected President and associating his activities with Pittsburgh capital he raised funds from W. H. McFadden
W. H. McFadden
-Early life:William H. McFadden, born in Moundsville, West Virginia on June 11, 1869, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma...
, a retired Carnegie Steel executive, who was elected Vice President, General Manager and J. M. Weaver, who was elected Treasurer. A drilling lease was obtained on the Willie Cry Ponca Indian allotment and on June 11, 1911 the well “Willy-Cries-For-War” struck oil, bringing wealth to the company and its investors. The company’s 1911 oil discovery in North Eastern Oklahoma opened up oil development in a great region from Eastern Oklahoma west to Mervine, Newkirk, Blackwell, Billings and Garber and led to the founding of the Marland Oil Company
Marland Oil Company
Marland Oil Company was an American oil company founded in 1917, by Ponca City, Oklahoma oil exploration pioneer E. W. Marland when he assembled his various holdings including the 101 Ranch Oil Company into one unit, forming Marland Oil Company...
, later renamed the Continental Oil Company, or Conoco
Conoco Inc.
Conoco Inc. was an American oil company founded in 1875 as the Continental Oil and Transportation Company. It is now a brand of gasoline and service station in the United States which belongs to the ConocoPhillips Company...
.
McCaskey quickly moved on to other opportunities, organizing the Southwestern Oil Company of Ponca City and took into this new venture Lewis Haines Wentz
Lewis Haines Wentz
Lewis Haines Wentz was an American oil businessman.-Early life:Lewis Haines Wentz, born in Tama, Iowa on November 10, 1877, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma...
, a former sauerkraut salesman in his brokerage company and J. J. McGraw, a Ponca City Banker. In this capacity he promoted the Newkirk, Blackwell
Blackwell, Oklahoma
Blackwell is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 177 and State Highway 11 along Interstate 35. The population was 7,668 at the 2000 census. Blackwell was established following the September 16, 1893 Cherokee Outlet land run by A. J. Blackwell...
, Billings, Graber and the Tonkawa
Tonkawa, Oklahoma
Tonkawa is a city in Kay County, Oklahoma, United States, along the Salt Fork Arkansas River. The population was 3,299 at the 2000 census.-History:...
Three Sands Field, one of the best know oil fields of its day, producing income of over one million dollars per day in the 1920s. During this time he also formed and was President of a number of companies in the area including the Kay County Gas Company, The Kiowa, and the Peoples Fuel and Supply Company.
Ventures in Fort Worth
Lewis Haines Wentz
Lewis Haines Wentz was an American oil businessman.-Early life:Lewis Haines Wentz, born in Tama, Iowa on November 10, 1877, was an essential factor in opening up the oil fields of Oklahoma...
under the McCaskey/Wentz Corporation (later the Wentz Corporation). From its start the company prospered and brought wealth to both McCaskey and Wentz. Leaving Wentz in charge of the Ponca City operations McCaskey moved his family to Fort Worth acquiring a home that had been deserted by the German Consulate at the beginning of World War I, 1316 Pennsylvania Avenue; later the clubhouse for the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth. He then formed and was President of the Duquesne Oil Corporation, States Oil Corporation, West Texas Oil Corporation and others. By 1920 he and his partners were reported to control about 10 percent of the world’s oil production.
Death and philanthropic activities
The remarkable achievements of McCaskey were compressed into the short span of forty-nine years, for he died in Pittsburgh, January 12, 1924, leaving five orphaned children, only a few years after his wife died, July 11, 1921 in an automobile accident while motoring to their summer home on Lake Erie. This ended her extensive philanthropic activities in Fort Worth to include active membership on the board of All Saints Hospital of Fort Worth (since 2001 the Baylor All Saints Hospital of Fort Worth), President of the Woman’s Service league of Trinity Episcopal Church of Fort Worth, and her funding a summer camp for Fort Worth’s 75 newsboys.The John G. McCaskey Trust, 1924
In 1927 the Pennsylvania Orphans Court removed Wentz as trustee of the J. G. McCaskey Trust that benefited McCaskey’s five orphaned children. The court had discovered that since the trust could not fund the oil properties’ development, Wentz had purchased the oil and gas properties from the estate without a competitive bid (an egregious violation of his fiduciary duties) and had paid for the properties with his personal unsecured note. The family choose to honor the purchase. By 1927 these properties were earning a million dollars per month.Images
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