Morris Adler
Morris Adler (born April 4, 1855 in Jonesboro, Tennessee; died December 23, 1932 in Birmingham) was a grocer, coal operator and real estate developera.
Morris was the son of Joseph and Sophie Kahn Adler of Tennessee. He was educated in public schools, with one year of private school in Richmond, Virginia. He apprenticed at a wholesaler of notions in New York City before joining his father in the wholesale grocery business in Baltimore, Maryland. He married the former Mary Hartman in Baltimore on December 23, 1884. They had two sons, Leon and Julian.
He came to Birmingham in 1886 to pursue that trade. After three years he joined J. W. Worthington & Co. and began learning the mining, quarrying and railroad business. From there he moved to the Tutwiler Coal, Coke & Iron Co. and was involved in the establishment of the Bessemer Rolling Mills and Bessemer Land Co.
Adler engaged architect Charles Wheelock to design a home at 2147 Highland Avenue in 1887.
In the 1890s, Adler assumed the presidency of the Corona Coal Company. He subsequently formed Morris Adler & Co. to hold and manage his business and real estate interests. Morris Adler & Co. was appointed as receiver of the bankrupt Birmingham Brewing Company in 1893 and oversaw its sale to the Alabama Brewing Company in 1897.
Morris was joined by his brother, Edgar in business 1894. In 1909 he was one of the founders of the Birmingham Fuel Company at Townley, which later merged into Corona. Adler served as vice president of Temple Emanu-El and was involved in the development of its 1914 synagogue on Highland Avenue. He was also a member of B'nai B'rith and the Phoenix Club.
Both of the Adler's sons were commissioned as lieutenants for service in World War I. In 1922 Adler merged his Corona Coal Company with the Empire Coal Company and DeBardeleben Coal Company to form the DeBardeleben Coal Corp., of which he became a director. The Allendale Land Company subsidiary of Morris Adler & Co. began developing the new city of Midfield in 1926.
In the 1920s Adler moved to 3190 Cliff Road. He died there on his 48th wedding anniversary in 1932. He was buried at Cemetery Emanu-El.
References
- Cruikshank, George H. (1920) History of Birmingham and Its Environs: A Narrative Account of Their Historical Progress, Their People, and Their Principal Interests 2 volumes. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. - via Birmingham Public Library Digital Collections
External links
- Morris Adler at Findagrave.com