Forgotten facts about the great brokerage titans
How he made it: After his brother was killed in the Civil War, Barney enlisted in the Army. He survived the great conflict, then moved to Philadelphia and married Laura Cooke, the daughter of financier Jay Cooke, who made a fortune selling Treasury notes during the war. After the demise of Cooke's firm in the Panic of 1873, Barney reorganized the company as Chas. D. Barney & Co. He ceased being involved in the daily operations of the brokerage in 1906. In 1938, Charles D. Barney and Co. and Edward B. Smith & Co merged -- and Smith Barney was born.
Forgotten facts: Barney died in 1945 at the age of 101. At the time, he was one of the oldest living veterans of the Civil War.