General Notes

Custom Field:<_FA#> One source has him dyingin New York@@S726784@@Date of Import: Jul 31, 2003
[coosa1.ged]
Appointed to USNA at Annapolis, and graduated in the 1880s. See the
Mitchell letters, op. cit. "The next son Sidney Zollicoffer M. was given
a splendid education by his two brothers Reuben & John Mitchell and
having passed a very trying and exhaustive examination before an
examining Board with manly and Honorable competitors for the appointment
in the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. He was successful, was appointed
(a midshipman), and remained 8 yrs graduated in 188_ with honor to
himself and family, received his appointment in U. S. Service and is now
in Egypt. Has now traveled nearly over the American Continent - He speaks
and writes fluently in the German and Spanish language, a noble soldier -
and a good man. "
In Lizzie's autograph book, op. cit., he writes:
Sidney Z. Mitchell, U.S.N.  U.S.S. Trenton Sept 7, 1883
His birthday is 17 March. (See Lizzie's bible)
Meredith Clapper obtained the following: "Of the Mitchell's Sidney
was definitely the heavyweight. He was not just head of Alabama Power Co
but was head of Electric Bond and Share which was a holding co that
controlled a major portion of the Power Cos in the US and I believe many
foreign as well. Their engineering co designed and built the plants and
distribution system as well. The trust busters broke up the trust co and
the Southern Co was a part. The Southern Co was the holding co for Ga
Power, Ala Power, Louisiana Power and Light and Miss Power as I recall.
There were other groups broken up in the same fashion as Standard Oil's
breakup. One breakoff was EBASCO which was the engineering co and it
ruled the roost as it did the engineering for all of the old parts. Much
of this has now faded away but my interest was that I was an electrical
engineer with Westinghouse involved in the power business part. Anyway as
you will see in the article Sidney was considered the richest man in the
world on paper before the 1929 crash. Look up Electric Bond and Share in
some history source. It should be interesting."
Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration, The
University of Alabama, the Alabama Business hall of Fame: "Sidney
Zollicoffer Mitchell was born in Dadeville in Tallapoosa County. Mitchell
and the electric industry grew up together. Before entering the electric
industry, Mitchell graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and served on
the U.S.S. Trenton, the first battleship in the world to have
incandescent lights which Mitchell helped to install and operate.
Intrigued about an opportunity to organize electric light companies,
Mitchell went to see Thomas A. Edison. Impressed with Mitchell’s
enthusiasm, Edison sent him to learn about generators. In 1885, the
agency for Edison products in the Northwest became available, and
Mitchell applied for and obtained the rights as exclusive agent. He and
Frederick H. Sparling set out to create a market for incandescent lamps
in Seattle. In order to finance an electric plant, the two obtained
contracts for the sale of the lamps and used the contracts to build a
waterfront generating plant, the first center station electric light
plant west of the Rocky Mountains. They took in an additional partner and
incorporated themselves as the Northwest Supply & Construction Co. By
1888, they had organized lighting companies in 13 other cities in the
territory. The Edison General Electric Co. initiated unification of all
its agencies and purchased Northwest Supply & Construction Co. before
merging with Thomson-Houston Co. to form General Electric Company. In
1893, Mitchell met and married Alice P. Bell. Mitchell assisted in
organizing General Bond and Share Company, which under Mitchell's
leadership as president and later chairman of the board, grew to one of
the largest holding companies in the world. In 1927, he at