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S
 G
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Stephen Girard was born in Bordeaux, France, May 24th, 1750. He lived
in an age when avenues of business were utilized by the rich. A poor boy
had little chance of being other than a poor man. Not only was the subject
of this sketch born to poverty, but he also inherited a deformity which made
him the butt of ridicule among his vulgar companions. His childhood was
made up of neglect which developed a cold, distant nature. He is generally
described as a loveless old man, but his biographers seem to forget the
influences that surrounded his childhood. Such were the opportunities
enjoyed by Girard; such the chance offered to him, but he held that a man's
best capital was "industry," and this seemed to have been his main idea to
the last; as he willed but little property to his relatives, and but little to any
one individual.
He sailed as cabin boy at the age of twelve, and by following a line of
fidelity, industry and temperance, gained the esteem and confidence of the
captain who gradually learned to call him "My Stephen," and at his death
placed him in command of a small vessel. He became a resident of
Philadelphia, and owned a farm a short distance out of the city. When he
visited this farm he rode in an old gig drawn by a scrawny horse; when he
arrived he fell to work like any common hand, and labored as though his
very subsistence depended on it. This is an illustration showing the secret of
his success in life. He was familiar with every detail, in every department of
his business; no matter what part of his business he went to oversee he was
no novice.
With Stephen Girard nothing came by chance. He was a self-taught man,
having but little education so far as books go; but in the great school of
actual business he received a diploma, and to this was afterwards added
several complimentary degrees earned after his graduation. He never ceased
to be a progressive man. A large range of stores were for sale in the city of
Philadelphia at a great sacrifice; these Girard would have been glad to buy

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but he lacked sufficient funds; seeing it beyond his means to buy safely, he
leased them for a term of years and then sublet them at an immense profit.
How few young men have the necessary enterprise to gain for themselves
success. Girard had both enterprise and energy; it is not at all surprising that
he succeeded. And this was not all; of whatever he undertook he had
thoroughly mastered the details, hence was prepared for success and made
money; that money he saved. Ah! that is three-fourths of the secret. Most
young men earn enough but foolishly throw it away on unnecessaries.
If Girard owed a man a cent he could rest assured that he would get it; if a
man owed him there was much trouble in the way for that man if he
attempted to evade the payment. He was just to all men and just to himself
and family. There is another feature in the history of Girard that is worthy
of imitation; that is he kept abreast, yea, ahead of the times,—he made a
study of the various problems of his day.
He saw that the United States Bank was daily growing less popular, and
he saw that it must go down in the near future. He had prospered in his
shipping business, and seeing here a grand opportunity he began to study up
on banking preparatory to taking the bank. Reader, think of this kind of
enterprise. His friends might think such a thing visionary; the best financier
might pass the opportunity by, but this man knew that the United States
Bank had a vast patronage, and he also knew that the man who stepped into
its business would have every reason to expect success. He at once set
about to buy a controlling interest in the stock. When the bank was
discontinued it was found that he had not only secured a controlling interest
in the stock, but had gained possession of the bank building itself. While his
friends were predicting his ruin he had bought $1,200,000 worth of stock
and, by so doing, had stepped into the largest banking business of the
Republic.
Does one of my readers for one moment allow himself to believe that
Stephen Girard was a lucky man? Was it 'good luck' that placed Girard at
one move at the head of American financiers? As is well known a great
panic followed Jackson's administration, and, of a whole nation, Stephen
Girard seems to have been the only prosperous man. His capital stock soon

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became $4,000,000. In this capacity he was enabled to aid his Government
much, in fact to save it from ruin in the terrible crash of 1837.
Stephen Girard was bent upon getting rich and yet, while he is generally
regarded as a cold money-getter, still he had a heart, a tender heart, locked
up within that cold exterior. While the terrible plague, yellow fever, raged in
Philadelphia with a violence never before known in American history, and
while many others fled the city, Stephen Girard remained and nursed the
dying,—performing with his own hands the most loathesome duties, and
giving most liberally of his wealth toward the fund for the suppression of
the disease.
A young man, who was a protege of Girard, was one day called to the
private office of that gentleman, when the following dialogue took place:
"Well, you are now twenty-one, and should begin to think of a life-work."
The young man who thought perhaps Girard was going to set him up in
some business, said, "What would you do if in my place, Mr. Girard?"
Imagine his astonishment when Mr. Girard replied, "I should learn some
trade." The young man, who was built of the right material, said, "Very
well, I will learn the cooper's trade." In the course of a few years he
received a letter from Mr. Girard ordering the best barrel that he could make
with his own hands. When done it was delivered. The young man was
thunderstruck when, after a thorough inspection by Girard, he received a
check for $20,000; the reader can draw the moral.
Time fled, the 26th of December, 1831, came, and with it the death of this
man. At his death he possessed about $9,000,000, not a large fortune
compared with those of the rich men of our day, but a colossal sum for his
day. For all practical purposes it is just as great and useful as one hundred
millions.
When his will was read it was found that he had left to the Pennsylvania
institute for deaf and dumb, $20,000; to the Orphan Asylum of
Philadelphia, $10,000; for fuel for the poor of Philadelphia, $10,000; to the
Philadelphia Public Schools, $10,000; to the Society for the Relief of the
Distressed Masters of Ships, $10,000; to the Masonic Loan, $20,000; to the
city of Philadelphia, $500,000; and to the State of Pennsylvania, $300,000.

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There were other bequests, the largest of which was $2,000,000, with which
to found a college for orphan boys who were to be taken between the ages
of fourteen and eighteen. He left minute directions pertaining to the
construction and other details, showing even at this time that carefulness,
which characterized his life's history. The main building is said to be the
finest specimen of Grecian architecture in the world,—it surely is the finest
in America. "Contemplating the humility of his origin, and contrasting
therewith the variety and extent of his works and wealth, the mind is filled
with admiration of the man."

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