Alexander D. Henderson, Sr.
Alexander D. Henderson started as a bookkeeper for David H. McConnell in May 30, 1895. By 1896, Mr. Henderson had become Vice-President and Treasurer of the California Perfume Company.
In 1916, Mr. Henderson invested $25,000 in the CPC. Mr. Henderson’s capital as well as his business partnership with Mr. McConnell must have been vital to the business at that time, as Mr. Henderson acquired one-quarter of the entire stock of the company; and both men, and their families, prospered.
The CPC was a family company and there is no doubt that Mr. McConnell and Mr. Henderson were the architects of it. Mr. Henderson helped to shape its policies and assist in its growth. He was an intensely upright and honest man, and he and Mr. McConnell knew they could trust each other.
Mr. Henderson and his son Alex followed a daily routine. They were driven in Mr. Henderson’s car with his chauffeur after an early breakfast, first to the plant or laboratory in Suffern where Mr. Henderson was on personal terms with virtually everyone, the management group in the office and the employees in the laboratory. He took great pride in his products and a real interest and concern for the employees who worked to make them. Then Mr. Henderson and Alex were driven on to the station to take the train to the New York offices.
When Mr. Henderson died in January 25, 1925, a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors and the officers of the California Perfume Company, attested to the invaluable work done by Alexander Dawson Henderson.
(Article contributed by Greg Henderson, great-grandson of Alexander D. Henderson)
For more information about Alexander D.
Henderson and the Henderson family,
please visit:
http://www.hendersonfamilytree.com