Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Frederick Holbrook - VP of American International Corporation

I guess civil engineering is in my blood. My great grandfather, Frederick Holbrook, was a civil engineer and a contractor. My great granduncle, William Brooks Cabot was a civil engineer as well and was a partner in Frederick Holbrook's firm, Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins. My dad was also a civil engineer and land surveyor, and now I am carrying on the civil engineering family tradition. Here is a brief article about Frederick Holbrook that was printed in the American International Corporation Argosy in 1919.

FREDERICK HOLBROOK has been a Vice-President of American International Corporation since August 31, 1916. He was placed in charge of the Russian affairs of the corporation and sailed for Petrograd in September of that year to represent A.I.C. in the investigation of Russian propositions, remaining there until August, 1817. Mr. Holbrook is President of Grace American International Corporation, formed earlier this year to engage in Russian business. He is also a Director of American International Steel Corporation and of Allied Machinery Company of America, and from March until December, 1918, was President of American International Shipbuilding Corporation.
     Mr. Holbrook was born in Lynn, Massachusetts, July 20, 1861, and his business life has been spent in engineering and contracting work in the United States and Mexico, and for the year before his coming with American International, in Russia. For this work he formed the Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins Corporation some twenty years ago.



Source: American International Corporation. "The American International Corporation Argosy", November 1919, Volume 1, Number 7, page 2. 120 Broadway, New York.

© 2011, copyright William C. Haskell

5 comments:

  1. Funny. I just googled the Holbrook, Cabot & Rollins Corp after someone sent me a picture of the Harvard Bridge, which apparently built by that firm. Found this post. I'm a Holbrook, but I'm not sure what my relation is. I've noticed many more Holbrooks on the east coast than on the west coast. There are a bunch that settled in Utah/Wyoming area. If you don't mind, I'd like to source some of your research in my project. Thanks for the post!

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    1. Joseph Holbrook - the Mormon that settled in Utah, is a descendant of the Original Thomas Holbrook that came on the Marygold ship - the first Holbrook to settle in Massachusetts, or in the USA too.

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  2. Thank you for the comment. You are more than welcome to use my blog as a source. Here is a link to a book on Google books that you may be interested in: http://books.google.com/books?id=42EOAAAAYAAJ&dq=heavy%20construction&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

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  3. Thanks for posting. I am currently researching my own genealogy and found a draft registration card of my great grandfather's that listed his place of work as "Hol Cabot Rollins" (Boston) and I googled to see if I could find more information and I found this- thanks!

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  4. I was reading the book, "Russia From the American Embassy" by Ambassador David Francis. I'm looking for info on my wife's ancestor, Robert Grosvenor Hutchins who met with the Ambassador in July 1917 at the peak of the Anarchist/Bolshevik rioting in Petrograd known as the "July Days". In the narrative, just when I'm hoping Hutchins is referenced, instead on page 137 Francis reports: On July 17, 1917 "I received a telephone call from Frederick Holbrook, of Holbrook, Cabot and Rollins, of Boston, saying that there was going to be trouble in the city and that he was coming to the Embassy." If anyone knows more about R. G. Hutchins or about Frederick Holbrook's role in the events of that time, I would really appreciate hearing about it. Thanks, Jeff Barden

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