Daniel Willis James

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Daniel Willis James (1832 - 1907) was born in Liverpool the son of a merchant who moved from Liverpool to Baltimore, Maryland and New York. His maternal grandfather was Anson G. Phelps, of Phelps, Dodge, and Company. James attended Amherst College and wed Ellen S. Curtiss, with whom he had the son Arthur Curtis James.

James headed the Phelps, Dodge and Company, and served on the board of other large US companies, including the Northern Pacific Railroad Company, the Arizona, El Paso and Southwestern Mining Company, and the Ansonia Clock Company. He also served as vice president and director of the Copper Queen Consolidated Mining Company in Bisbee, Arizona.

Williston, North Dakota was named for him by his friend and owner of the Northern Pacific Railroad, James J. Hill.

He donated the Union Square drinking fountain in New York.

He is considered to have been one of the 100 wealthiest Americans, having left an enormous fortune. [1]