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Date: | Wed, 18 Jun 2025 22:31:03 -0700 |
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I've become intrigued by Rogers' private secretary. My Twain's
Geography project doesn't deal much with people but she has much
underlying significance in Twain's life. David Fears' Day By Day has
104 references to her, as counted in his indices. It appears that she
was responsible for much of the "heavy lifting" for Rogers in dealing
with Twain's finances. My google searches for her have only turned up
two references of any detail. I became interested because when Twain
and Paine went to the Standard Oil offices looking for assistance with
Ashcroft's records, she wasn't there. Instead another secretary, who
was sympathetic to Lyons was assigned the case.
What I did find out was first from The Atlanta Georgian, Friday January
17, 1913: she was apparent avoiding subpoenas from the Pujo
Committee. The second reference was in The Daily Ledger, Tacoma,
Washington, Sunday, February 2, 1913. Mention of her was a small part
of an article about women in business.
"Miss Katherine Harrison; who was the private secretary of the late H.
H. Rogers. was the forerunner of her sex in this important division of
the world of business. Miss Harrison, who was credited with knowing all
the secrets of Standard Oil, became a figure of national importance
during the former investigation of Standard Oil, and when put on the
witness stand proved herself exceedingly expert in a the difficult
science of answering politely without telling anything. After Mr.
Rogers’ death Miss Harrison retired to private life. She is believed to
have amassed a considerable fortune while in the employment of Mr.
Rogers, and her home in Dean street, Brooklyn, is a handsome and
attractive residence."
Just curious if anyone has done any research on this enigmatic
individual. I'm aware of the brief description Twain provides in his
autobiography , as part of the section on Rogers.
--
/*Unaffiliated Geographer and Twain aficionado*/
Visit B. Scott Holmes <https://bscottholmes.com>
Twain's Geography <https://twainsgeography.com>
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