"You have everything in your favor; you are young, the world is large and God is good”
Stewart was vice-president and Hardison was treasurer. Later Stewart succeeded Bard as presi dent of the company, a position he held until his advanced age took him out of the active opera tion of the company. He then continued as chair man of the board of directors until his death at the age of 83 in 1923. Long before Stewart’s death his Union Oil Com pany was one of the leading industries of the West. And from the very start of his work in California he became a systematic tither of his income. Early in his career he had been active in the Presbyterian church of Titusville, Pa. In that church he had been a member of the Session and had been very active in its program of evangelism. At this time he was also a tither. The Lord pros pered him and in his first six years of business after the Civil War he averaged $ 1,000 a week over and above expenses. During this time he had many opportunities for what seemed to him very attractive investments and he began invest ing faster than his income would warrant. He invested so fast he started neglecting his tithe. In order to quiet his conscience he kept telling him self, "If I make this investment I will have so much more to give to the Lord’s work.” And as he stated it, "My judgment was taken away.” That was the time he lost everything and had to go to work for someone else to support his family. During this interval of extreme discouragement Stewart met an old friend who said to him, "You have everything in your favor; you are young, the world is large and God is good.” This state ment seemed to have had a tonic effect on Stewart’s spirit and to have been a turning point in his business career. It was here Hardison came into his life to begin a friendship and business association that was to last for many years. Stewart’s support of Christian work in Cali fornia was widely diversified. In Los Angeles he was a faithful supporter of the Immanuel Pres byterian Church of which he was a member. In addition to his church, one of the earliest activities in which he became engaged was the work of the YMCA. He served as president of the local asso ciation and for three years devoted a large part of his time endeavoring to provide a home for its facilities. Over a period of years he contributed a
in California they would have to attract big money. The richest man in the county was Thomas R. Bard who had come to California to drill wells on a vast acreage owned by some friends. When the drilling failed to produce oil in quantity, Bard had turned to buying up the distressed properties for a stock syndicate. This had proved highly profitable and Bard himself was already a millionaire. His only oil interest at the time was the little company known as the Mission Transfer Company which owned several thousand acres of land in Ventura County, with tanks, pipe lines and a small refinery. The com pany did a thriving business transporting and marketing other producers’ oil. Bard had sold a half interest in the Mission Transfer Company to the Pacific Coast Oil Com pany, the big competitor of Hardison and Stewart. Much to their surprise, he agreed to sell the other half interest to them. He was receptive to their idea of launching a new company to drill in Sespe Canyon on proved oil lands which Hardi son and Stewart controlled through leases. This was the beginning of the Sespe Oil Company with Bard as President, although most of the stock was owned by Hardison and Stewart. Soon after this deal was consummated, Hardison and Stewart bought the other half of the Mission Transfer Company and Bard served as president of this company also. In December, 1886, the Hardison and Stewart partnership was terminated. The partners con cluded that they were getting into such involved financing that it would be better if handled by a corporation, so the Hardison and Stewart Oil Company was incorporated with a capital of $ 1 , 000 , 000 . Lyman Stewart was president, and Wallace Hardison was vice-president and general manager. Among the other incorporators was Thomas R. Bard. In 1888 things began, to look better for the company. Their Adams Canyon No. Sixteen came in as a gusher — the first gusher ever struck in California. This partially compensated for some of their more dismal failures in Adams Canyon. Their holdings mushroomed to such propor tions that they decided on October 7, 1890 to consolidate them into one corporation: the Union Oil Company of California. Bard was president,
Made with FlippingBook HTML5