Antoine Borel
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Antoine Borel | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 29, 1840 Neuchâtel, Switzerland |
| Died | March 26, 1915 (aged 74) Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Citizenship | American and Swiss |
| Occupations | Banker, director |
| Known for | Ran the San-Francisco based commercial bank Borel & Co. |
| Spouse |
Grace Canitrot (m. 1871) |
| Children | 7 |
Antoine Borel (December 29, 1840 – March 26, 1915) was a Swiss-American banker who ran the eponymous Borel & Co., headquartered in San Francisco, California.
He was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland and emigrated to the United States in 1862, where he joined his brother's bank and served as a Swiss consul and director for several companies, including the Spring Valley Water Company, the California Street Cable Company, and the Bankers' Investment Company. He died following an operation in Switzerland, to where he had returned in July 1914 for health issues.
Career
Alfred Borel founded Borel & Co. in 1852; Antoine joined him in 1862, and the business was turned over to Antoine when Alfred returned to Europe in 1898.[3]: 81 [4]: 57–59 Antoine was appointed the vice-consul of Switzerland to California and Nevada when he was 21, ascending to consul-general in 1885, a position he held until 1913.[1] During this period, Antoine also served on the board of several companies, including the Spring Valley Water Company, the California Street Cable Company, the Wells Fargo Express Company, and the Bank of California Company.[5]
Borel was a prominent philanthropist in San Mateo, California, where he had established a summer home in 1874 on the advice of their family's doctors. After a fire in 1883 which destroyed the city's public library,[6] Borel donated land for a new library building,[7] which subsequently was destroyed in another fire in 1887.[3]: 86–87 [8] Borel also built a chapel on the edge of his property, later known as Geneva or Grace Chapel, in 1892; it later was turned over to Saint Matthews Episcopal Church in 1902, and then to the Hillbarn Theatre, a community theater organization, in 1937.[3]: 117
Personal life
Antoine Borel and his wife, Grace (née Canitrot, 1849–1923), were married in 1871[9] and had seven children,[1] six of which were living at the time of his death:[10] five daughters and one son.[2]
Borel's children and [their spouses]:[11][12]
- Chonita S. "Nita" Borel (1872–1958)
- Sophie Grace Borel (1874–1953) [John Mellgren Lewis (1907)],[13] [Aylett R. Cotton, Jr. (1937)]
- Grace Eleanor Borel (1876–1958) [Louis A. Bovet (1901)][14]
- Alice Borel (1877–1936) [Aylett R. Cotton, Jr. (1907)][13][15]
- Antoine Alfred Borel, Jr. (1879–1958) [Mary Elizabeth "Mardie" McMahon (1909)][16][17]
- Alfred August Borel (1880–1884)[18]
- Guadalupe Henriette "Lupita" Borel (1882–1949)
Borel died on March 26, 1915,[19] in Lausanne, Switzerland, following an intestinal operation. He had returned to Switzerland in July 1914 with members of his family for health reasons,[2] and took up residence there after being stranded by World War I.[20]
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