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The Oilman's Daughter By Norman M. and Dorothy Karasick  $24.95 |
The Oilman's Daughter
by
Norman M. and Dorothy Karasick
Hardcover, 268 pages, dustjacket
From The Publisher
The little town of Barnsdall, Oklahoma home of Petrolite’s Bareco
Wax Factory, developed around the Barnsdall Oil Company refinery at
Bigheart, Oklahoma. In fact, in 1922, the name of the town was
changed to Barnsdall in memory and honor of T. N. Barnsdall, the
world’s first truly independent oilman.
After T. N. Barnsdall’s death in 1918, his fortune went to his two
daughters, Aline and Frances. Each daughter received the equivalent
of $3 million as their share. Aline converted her fortune to cash
and invested mainly in tax free municipal bonds and lived off of and
invested the interest in revenue. Frances married Robert Law, an
official in the Barnsdall Oil Company.
Aline Barnsdall (1822–1946), was theatrical producer, political
consultant, and advertising genius. She is quoted as saying years
ago, "I haven’t that old fashioned thing called ‘women’s
weaknesses’. There is a new kind of woman in the world today." That
was before the day of feminism and "Women’s Lib."
Many gifted and famous people impacted Aline Barnsdall’s life. When
others shunned him, she supported Frank Lloyd Wright with
commissions and purchased from his art collection. Though Los
Angeles accepted her gift of Hollyhock House, objections from the
American Legion and the political establishment prevented the city
from accepting all of Olive Hill in the center of downtown Los
Angeles.
Aline Barnsdall was a product of an innovative and tumultuous age
that witnessed the development of the railroad, telephone,
automobile, motion pictures, radio, airplane, women’s suffrage,
labor battles, depressions, and wars. She defied the Los Angeles
establishment by using billboards on Olive Hill to inform and
educate the public with news and views that the local newspapers
would not publish. The authors are presently working on a biography
of Aline’s father, T.N. Barnsdall, well known in the early day
Oklahoma oilfields, especially in Osage County.