Leonor F. Loree

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Leonor Fresnel Loree (April 23, 1858 – September 6, 1940) was an executive of many railroads in the United States.

• Baltimore and Ohio Railroad: president 1901 - 1904
• Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad president - 1904
• Kansas City Southern Railway: president 1918 - 1920^[1]
• Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad: chairman 1926 - 1928
• Delaware and Hudson Railroad: president 1907 - 1938

Loree was born on April 23, 1858, at Fulton City, Ill. the son of William Mulford and Sarah Elizabeth Marsh Loree. He died Sept. 6, 1940, at West Orange, N.J. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers College in 1877, a Master of Science from Rutgers in 1880, Civil Engineering degree from Rutgers in 1896 and a Doctor of Law degree from Rutgers in 1917. He also obtained a Doctor of Engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1933. He was President of the Delaware & Hudson Railroad; had interests in Kansas City Southern, Baltimore and Ohio, New York Central, and the Rock Island Railroads. Was a Trustee at Rutgers University from 1909-1940 and was Chairman of the Rutgers Board of Trustees Committee on New Jersey College for Women (now Douglass College) until 1938. He was the donor of the New Jersey College for Women Athletic Field (which is now Antilles Field). Rutgers has a building named after Leonor Fresnel Loree. The Loree Building was erected in 1963 and is on the Cook/Douglass campus. More information about Loree including a picture can be found in the book "New Jersey - A History" Volume 5 which is available in the Rutgers University Special Collections and University Archives. There is also information on Loree in the book "Who's Who in New Jersey" from 1939. This information was provided to me, a living descendant of Leonor F. Loree, by Rutgers University. If there are any further questions, please feel free to contact me at: aqualynaz@yahoo.com

In 1923, Loree was a principal founder of The Newcomen Society in North America, a learned society promoting engineering, technology and free enterprise.

HISTORICAL CONTRIBUTIONS

The New Jersey College For Women- There is quite the history behind this particular college. To fully explain the pivotal role my great great Grandfather played in the creation of the New Jersey College For Women, I need to begin with World War One. At the outbreak of World War One many wealthy Americans were stranded in Europe with no way home, including L. F. Loree. Without hesitation, he chartered a ship named Antilles in order to bring back the desperate Americans who now found themselves without safe passage back to the United States. Thinking only of the others' comfort he slept in one of the hammocks on the voyage home, to ensure they all had a bed to sleep in. After their safe return, the wealthy passengers, at a banquet thrown in his honor at the Waldorf Astoria, presented him with a silver bowl designed by Black and Frost with over 160 hours of proud labor put into it and was named after the ship that carried them home. He, without a second thought, refused to accept the bowl until it was filled with checks by each guest to contribute to the founding of the New Jersey College for Women. With that, he handed the bowl back to the crowd and each and every one of them instantly wrote sizable checks to ensure he would accept the gift to honor his bravery. And even to this day, stands Antilles field at the college in honor of that historical voyage.

[edit] Memorials

• The Loree Building at Rutgers University is named after him.
• There was a coal colliery named after him in Larksville, PA.
• There were several locomotives named after him.

[edit] References

Preceded by David Wilcox	President of Delaware and Hudson Railway 1907 – 1938	Succeeded by Joseph H. Nuelle
Preceded by Job A. Edson	President of Kansas City Southern Railway 1918 – 1920	Succeeded by Job A. Edson