I am researching the Mills building. It was apparently made as offices for a Darius Ogden Mills. I have found that he was wealthy from the gold rush and invested to become a major rich guy at the turn of the century. He was noted as a philanthropist. Does anyone know any more info on this man. What did he contribute to, what was his business, marriage stuff anything at all really. Thanks

-- Nancy Lozupone (nel106@psu.edu), November 21, 1999

Answers

Darius ogden Mills was one of the founders of the Bank of California. He gives his name to the Millbrae area around SF International Airport. Indeed the airport lands were purchased from the Mills heirs.

-- kurt iversen (iversenk@aol.com), November 25, 1999.

D. O. Mills was wealthy from the Gold Rush and was founding president of the Bank of California. He was, I believe also asst. secty. of the US Treasury. His son Ogden L. Mills may have been in the US Treasury as well. It was the son who executed the lease of 150 acres of cow pasture on the Mills Estate to the City and County of San Francisco for three years at $1,500 a year to build a municipal airport. The lease was signed March 15, 1927, and on May 7 the airfield was dedicated and officially named Mills Field Municipal Air Port of San Francisco. It remained Mills Field, officially, until 1931 when it was changed to San Francisco Airport. However, there are plenty of old-timers around who still call it Mlls Field. The 150 acres was eventually purchased by the City and it is still part of SFO today. The Mills family was reluctant to lease the land as D. O. Mills saw the future of the S. F. Peninsula in industry. He was of course talking about heavy industry and manufacturing. No one had put the words "aviation" and "industry" together at that time, in fact Mills Field was dedicated two weeks before Lindbergh flew the Atlantic. D. O. would no doubt be tickled by the fact that just 73 years later SFO generates $15 billion annually in directly related business. Who knew?

-- John H. Hill (fogline@pacbell.net), February 24, 2001.

I believe that my wife is related to this line of Mills. Ogden Mills and my wifes Grandmother were seeing eachother in the 40's.

-- J. Patton (gravity@tri-lakes.net), April 07, 2001.

whitelaw reid married daruis ogden mills daughter. whitelaw reid is my great grandfather. he was the embassador to england in 1908 and ran for vp. with benjiman harrison in 1892. whitelaw reid had two sons named whitelaw and ogden mills reid. whitelaw became the editor and owner of the herald tribune and ogden was in congress. anyways this probably doesn't help you much but i thought it was interesting because my name is brittany mills reid, the mills comming from darius ogden mills.

-- Britt Reid (bmreid21@aol.com), September 13, 2001.

D O Mills son Ogden married a Livingston in N Y state. Their estate, a gilded age mansion, eventually became a state park. D.O. Mills grandson Ogden Livingston Mills was secretary of Treasury in the Hoover era. The Mills family has a history of intermarriage with others of affluence: the Reids (N Y Herald Tribune), the Livingstons (N Y real estate) the Phipps family (USSteel, old Phipps was Carnegie's partner). I don't know what of the Mills family actually stayed in California......

-- Eric Llaneza (sverigesf@cs.com), November 23, 2001.

Amazing. I knew one of the Livingstons but I had no idea he was related to the Mills family. I knew that my friend's ancestors was one of the signers of the constitution. Other than that, I never talked to him about his family background. There must be hundreds of people married into that Livingston family.

-- Harry Murphy (harrymurphy@my-deja.com*), November 24, 2001.

I don't have much information. I am also looking for leads. My husbands great uncle went from England at the turn of the century to New York. I have only just discovered that he worked for Ogden Mills as a coachman at 2, East 69 Street. We presumed it must have just been some sort of business address not a grand home. This web site has given me soome insight into what happened to him and maybe I can find out when and where he died.

-- Jan Taylor (ticker_dee_boo@hotmail.com), October 16, 2002.

Further family history of Darius O Mills. His grandaughter, Jean Templeton Reid married the Honourable John Hubert Ward (younger brother to the 2nd Earl of Dudley, England). The Hon John Ward married Miss Reid in 1908. He was Equerry to King Edward VII, George V & VI, Dowager Queen Alexandra and Edward VIII.

-- Mrs Ruth Butler (ruthbutler.10@btopenworld.com), January 04, 2003.

EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT. NIGERIAN KEEP OFF.

-- BEN OZOR ANAKU (MUGU@MUGU.COM), February 10, 2003.

i am wondering if ogden rogers reid is still alive and what descendants are there of the reid family? i did an honors history report on whitelaw reid back when i was in high school in the early 80s. i know that the current u.s. senator mark dewine of ohio owns the whitelaw reid home outside of xenia in cedarville and has an ice cream social open to the public every july but i have yet to go.

-- tony m. sanders (paronge@hotmail.com), August 16, 2003.

D. O. Mills was wealthy from the Gold Rush and was founding president of the Bank of California. He was, I believe also asst. secty. of the US Treasury. His son Ogden L. Mills may have been in the US Treasury as well. It was the son who executed the lease of 150 acres of cow pasture on the Mills Estate to the City and County of San Francisco for three years at $1,500 a year to build a municipal airport. The lease was signed March 15, 1927, and on May 7 the airfield was dedicated and officially named Mills Field Municipal Air Port of San Francisco. It remained Mills Field, officially, until 1931when it was changed to San Francisco Airport. However, there are plenty of old-timers around who still call it Mlls Field. The 150 acres was eventually purchased by the City and it is still part of SFO today. The Mills family was reluctant to lease the land as D. O. Mills saw the future of the S. F. Peninsula in industry. He was of course talking about heavy industry and manufacturing. No one had put the words "aviation" and "industry" together at that time, in fact Mills Field was dedicated two weeks before Lindbergh flew the Atlantic. D. O. would no doubt be tickled by the fact that just 73 years later SFO generates $15 billion annually in directly related business.In fact He's such a multy billionair I've ever heard of i'm wondering if he is still alive

-- Magnus Koomson (makom5@hotmail.com), September 22, 2003.

I am researching the Mills building. It was apparently made as offices for a Darius Ogden Mills. I have found that he was wealthy from the gold rush and invested to become a major rich guy at the turn of the century. He was noted as a philanthropist. Does anyone know any more info on this man. What did he contribute to, what was his business, marriage stuff anything at all really. Thanks

-- sunday akandde (meetsnurise@yahoo.com), September 26, 2003.