View source for Ira G. Rawn

{{Short description|American rail executive (1855–1910)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name        = Ira G. Rawn
| image       = Ira Griffith Rawn.png
| alt         =
| caption     =
| birth_name  =
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1855|08|20}}
| birth_place = [[Delaware, Ohio]], US
| death_date  = {{Death date and age|1910|07|20|1855|08|20}}
| death_place = [[Winnetka, Illinois]], US
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation  = Railroad executive
| known_for   =
}}
'''Ira Griffith Rawn''' (August 20, 1855 &ndash; July 20, 1910)<ref name="CookDeaths" /> was General Manager of [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]] from 1904 to 1907, vice president of [[Illinois Central Railroad]] from 1907 to 1909 and president of [[Monon Railroad]] from November 1909 until his death.<ref name="NYT-obit" /><ref name="SFCall-obit" /><ref name="NYTrib-obit" /><ref name="MononPres" />
== Early life and career ==
Ira G. Rawn was born on August 20, 1855, in [[Delaware, Ohio]],<ref name="CookDeaths" /><ref name="NYT-obit" /> the son of Peter and Sarah Rawn.<ref name="1870census" />
By 1870, at age 15, Ira Rawn was listed in the 1870 U.S. census as a telegraph operator.<ref name="1870census" /> Rawn began his railway career with the [[Big Four Railroad]] in 1880 as a [[telegraph operator]] and was subsequently promoted to trainmaster. In 1887 he took the position of Master of Transportation for [[Kentucky Central Railroad]]. In 1889 he became the Division Superintendent and Superintendent of Transportation for [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]], then became General Superintendent of [[Baltimore and Ohio Railroad]]'s (B&O) Southwestern division in 1890. In 1904 Rawn was appointed General Manager of the B&O. He left the B&O to become the Vice President of Operations for [[Illinois Central Railroad]] in 1907, then was elected president of the [[Monon Railroad]] in 1909.<ref name="NYT-obit" /><ref name="RyW" /> His term as president of the Monon began on November 1, 1909, and ended with his death on July 20, 1910.<ref name="Monon-report" />
=== Car repair contract scandal ===
The Illinois Central filed suit in Chicago Circuit Court on June 6, 1910, alleging that when it closed its own car repair shops in 1906, several executives of the railroad conspired to defraud it of large amounts of money through overcharging on repair contracts. Rawn's involvement was alleged to be the executive who approved the contracts while knowing that the contractors were deliberately overcharging.<ref name="NYT-obit" /> Other reports indicate that Rawn may have been bribed to approve the contracts.<ref name="NYT-bribe" />
== Death and inquest ==
Rawn died from a gunshot on July 20, 1910, at his home in [[Winnetka, Illinois|Winnetka]], a suburb of [[Chicago]].<ref name="NYT-obit" /><ref name="SCOMo" /><ref name="BDR" /> Reports at the time note that the injury may have been self-inflicted as legal proceedings had implicated Rawn as responsible for corrupt railway car repair contracts with the [[Illinois Central Railroad]] from which the railroad lost more than [[United States dollar|$]]1&nbsp;million.<ref name="NYT-obit" /><ref name="SFCall-obit" /> He had been called to the witness stand several times in the weeks leading up to his death but had only answered a few questions and had been permitted to leave for various reasons several times.<ref name="NYT-obit" />
Although his family members claimed that the wound was incurred in self-defense from a burglar, investigating police at the scene disputed this assertion.<ref name="NYTrib-obit" /> [[Pinkerton Government Services|Pinkertons]] also investigated into Rawn's death and found evidence to support the family's claim of self-defense.<ref name="Bourbon" /> Reports surfaced that a second bullet was found in the fireplace ashes near his body,<ref name="GDI" /><ref name="BET" /> and on July 22, coroner Peter Hoffman announced that he had received a letter identifying a black man by name as the burglar but Hoffman would not divulge the name that was in the letter except to police investigating the case.<ref name="BET" /><ref name="PghP" /> But a subsequent inquest into his death ruled after lengthy deliberation on July 29 in favor of the opinion that Rawn was killed by a shot from his own weapon that was fired by his own hand. The inquest did not, however, affirm whether it was a suicide attempt or an accident; the jurors worded the verdict in such a way as not to jeopardize the family's claims on Rawn's life insurance policies,<ref name="DH-inquest" /> which were valued in excess of $100,000.<ref name="BET" />
A month after his death, there was an attempt to steal papers related to the scandal from the home of his daughter and son-in-law while they were out of town, but the theft was interrupted by a watchman.<ref name="NYT-theft" />
Ira Rawn was buried in [[Rosehill Cemetery]] on July 22, 1910.<ref name="CookDeaths" />
== Family details ==
Ira Rawn married Florence Willis on October 5, 1880, in Delaware, Ohio,<ref name="SCOMo" /><ref name="OhioMarr" /><ref name="OurFamily" /><ref name="MarrLic" /> and together they had three daughters: Sarah Elizabeth, Katherine (Coburn) and Florence.<ref name="OurFamily" /><ref name="1900census" /><ref name="RawnCoburnmarr" /> He was survived by his wife, Florence.<ref name="SCOMo" />
== References ==
{{reflist|2| refs=
<ref name="SCOMo">{{cite book| title=Reports of Cases Determined by the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri Between December 23, 1911, and February 6, 1912| last=Rader| first=Perry S.| volume=239| location=Columbia, Missouri| publisher=E. W. Stephens| year=1912| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEsyAQAAMAAJ| pages=146–149| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="SFCall-obit">{{cite news| title=Ira G. Rawn Died on Eve of Exposure| newspaper=San Francisco Call| date=July 22, 1910| url=http://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SFC19100722.2.26#| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT-obit">{{cite news| title=I. G. Rawn Shot Dead; Suicide Suspected| newspaper=New York Times| date=July 21, 1910| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0912FA395417738DDDA80A94DF405B808DF1D3| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT-theft">{{cite news| title=Attempt to Steal Papers| newspaper=New York Times| date=August 15, 1910| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B16F6395417738DDDAC0994D0405B808DF1D3| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="NYT-bribe">{{cite news| title=Said Rawn was Bribed| newspaper=New York Times| date=August 27, 1910| url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50A17F6355D16738DDDAE0A94D0405B808DF1D3| accessdate=November 22, 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="NYTrib-obit">{{cite news| title=Ira G. Rawn Said to be a Suicide| newspaper=New York Tribune| date=July 21, 1910| volume=LXX| issue=23,258| url=http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1910-07-21/ed-1/seq-1.pdf| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Bourbon">{{cite news| title=Pinkertons Claim Murder| newspaper=The Bourbon News| location=Paris, Kentucky| date=July 26, 1910 }} [http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/cutenews/obit_2.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1249050729&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3& Article transcription] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918135946/http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/cutenews/obit_2.php?subaction=showcomments&id=1249050729&archive=&start_from=&ucat=3& |date=September 18, 2016 }} at [http://genealogytrails.com/ill/cook/ Cook County, Illinois, Genealogy Trails], accessed November 22, 2013.</ref>
<ref name="MononPres">{{cite web| url=http://www.monon.org/history2.html| title=Presidents, Receivers and Trustees| author=Monon Railroad Historical and Technical Society| year=2004–2006| accessdate=November 22, 2013| archive-date=July 19, 2018| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719024413/http://www.monon.org/history2.html| url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="DH-inquest">{{cite news| url=https://archive.org/stream/july1191005dulu#page/n0/mode/2up| newspaper=Duluth Herald| title=Inquest Verdict Favors Theory of Rawn's Suicide| date=July 29, 1910| pages=1 and 3| volume=XXVIII| issue=96| accessdate=November 22, 2013}}</ref>
<ref name="GDI">{{cite news| url=http://www.gcdigital.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/GTNP02/id/3640/rec/9| title=Rawn Feared Exposure| newspaper=The Georgetown Daily Item| location=Georgetown, South Carolina| date=July 22, 1910| volume=4| issue=965| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="BDR">{{cite news| url=http://adnp.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/sn84024827/id/7409| title=Suicide Say Police When Man Is Shot| newspaper=Bisbee Daily Review| location=Bisbee, Arizona| date=July 21, 2013| volume=13| issue=60| page=1| accessdate=November 22, 2013| archive-date=November 22, 2013| archive-url=https://archive.today/20131122184946/http://adnp.azlibrary.gov/cdm/ref/collection/sn84024827/id/7409| url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="PghP">{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19100722&id=NSwbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2EgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3744,4636881| title=Rawn Caught in Dragnet of Fraud Probe?| newspaper=The Pittsburg Press| date=July 22, 1910| page=24| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="BET">{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2249&dat=19100722&id=6Lk-AAAAIBAJ&sjid=BFoMAAAAIBAJ&pg=4074,2141483| title=Rawn Victim of Revenge?| newspaper=Boston Evening Transcript| date=July 22, 1910| page=3| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="RyW">{{cite journal| title=Rawn to Head the Monon| journal=Railway World| date=October 15, 1909| page=850| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v5FRAAAAYAAJ| location=Philadelphia| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="OurFamily">{{cite web| url=http://katiegatesfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2013/09/37-ira-griffiths-rawn.html| title=Ira Griffiths Rawn| date=September 16, 2013| author=Gates, Katie E.| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="Monon-report">{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GxUwAQAAMAAJ| title=Thirteenth Annual Report of the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville Railway Company| year=1910| location=Chicago| publisher=Stromberg, Allen & Co.| author=Harrison, Fairfax| accessdate=November 22, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="CookDeaths">{{cite web| series="Illinois, Cook County Deaths, 1878-1922," index| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N7JC-ZQB| accessdate=November 22, 2013| title=Ira G. Rawn, 20 Jul 1910}}</ref>
<ref name="OhioMarr">{{cite web| series="Ohio, Marriages, 1800-1958," index| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XDKK-8QX| accessdate=November 22, 2013| title=Ira G. Rawn and Florence Willis, 05 Oct 1880}}</ref>
<ref name="1870census">{{cite web| series=1870 U.S. census| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M6KY-SP5| accessdate=November 24, 2013| title=Ohio, United States; citing p. 46, family 332, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000552695}}</ref>
<ref name="1900census">{{cite web| series=1900 U.S. census| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MM8K-Q46| accessdate=November 24, 2013| title=ED 271 Precinct C Cincinnati City Ward 31, Hamilton, Ohio, United States; citing sheet 16A, family 292, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241281}}</ref>
<ref name="MarrLic">{{cite web| series="Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-1994" index and images| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XZZK-TQP| title=Ira G. Rawn and Florence Willis, 05 Oct 1880; citing Delaware, Ohio, United States, reference p39; FHL microfilm 391398| accessdate=November 24, 2013 }}</ref>
<ref name="RawnCoburnmarr">{{cite web| series="Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871-1920," index| website=FamilySearch| url=https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N7HW-WYL| title=Ralph G Coburn and Katherine Rawn, 06 Apr 1907| accessdate=November 24, 2013 }}</ref>
}}
== External links ==
* [http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/cdn:@field%28SUBJ+@od1%28Rawn,+Ira+G++%29%29 Photo of Ira G. Rawn from the ''Chicago Daily News'' collection]
{{S-start}}
{{s-bus}}
{{Succession box
| title  = President of [[Monon Railroad]]
| years  = 1909 &ndash; 1910
| with   =
| before = [[W. H. McDoel]]
| after  = [[Fairfax Harrison]]
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawn, Ira G.}}
[[Category:1855 births]]
[[Category:1910 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American railroad executives]]
[[Category:20th-century American railroad executives]]
[[Category:Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway]]
[[Category:Illinois Central Railroad people]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm in Illinois]]
[[Category:Burials at Rosehill Cemetery]]
[[Category:People from Delaware, Ohio]]
[[Category:1910 suicides]]