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Joseph Emory Sirrine

Joseph Emory Sirrine. Aaron, Matthew, Anna. J.E. Sirrine. He was born in Sumter County, Georgia, on December 9, 1872. He was educated in public schools in Greenville until 1888 and graduated from Furman University. He was married to Jane Henry, and had no children.

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Joseph Emory Sirrine

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  1. Joseph Emory Sirrine Aaron, Matthew, Anna

  2. J.E. Sirrine • He was born in Sumter County, Georgia, on December 9, 1872. • He was educated in public schools in Greenville until 1888 and graduated from Furman University. • He was married to Jane Henry, and had no children. • His work as an engineer in the early years of Greenville helped to develop the town’s business and industry.

  3. J.E. Sirrine • He started working in 1890, as a rodman on a railroad. • He then spend five years working as a civil and mill engineer. • In 1894, a typhoid outbreak occurred in Greenville, and he founded the Greenville Hospital System with the Mackay, Goldsmith, Furman, and Ansel families.

  4. J.E. Sirrine • Through his work with Lockwood, Greene, and Company Engineers, he worked in the Southern branch attempting to develop the manufacturing of cotton in the South to increase industrial power. • In 1902, he organized the engineering firm of J.E. Sirrine and Company. This served as the foundation for industrial development in Greenville.

  5. J.E. Sirrine • He designed the company store for Mills Mill, which is now renovated for apartments. • He was the director of many textile plants, such as the Slater plant. • By 1902, he had designed sixty-four mills and twenty-two major mill additions, as well as public buildings, sewer systems, and, during WWI, Camp Sevier and Fort Bragg. • He also helped construct Sirrine Stadium, the old Greenville High School, and buildings at both North Carolina State and the Citadel.

  6. J.E. Sirrine • From the end of WWI through WWII, he was noted as the single most influential person in Greenville. • He served as the director of The Greenville News, First National Bank of Greenville, and banks in Richmond, Virginia and Atlanta. • He was the president of the Chamber of Commerce, member of the board of the state hospital, and life trustee of Clemson University. • He was a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and American Institute of Electrical Engineers. • He died August 7, 1947.

  7. J.E. Sirrine • J.E. Sirrine had a deep commitment to education, and donated a lot of his time and money to charitable and philanthropic organizations. • The statement “the income to be noted for assistance of deserving students on Greenville City Schools in completing their education.” • This resulted in the J.E. Sirrine Scholarship Fund. • A building at Clemson University is named after him. • Greenville High’s football stadium is named after him.

  8. J.E. Sirrine Scholarship • The J.E. Sirrine Scholarship Program was established in 1973, at the death of his niece. • Since that time, awards have been made to 2,545 grads of Greenville High School for a total amount of $7,738,615.

  9. E-Mail Interview with Lillian Simpson, former head of the Sirrine Scholarship Foundation • Q: What was your connection to Sirrine, other than being head of the Sirrine Scholarship Foundation?

  10. Ms. Simpson: Well, my father designed the original Greenville High School. He also designed Sirrine’s last home, behind the Poinsett Club. I remember it had an elevator, because his wife was an invalid and couldn’t get up and down the stairs without one. That home has now been torn down for a parking lot. I remember Mr. and Mrs. Sirrine when they used to live on Main Street about where the Daniel Building is, near the Hyatt.

  11. Q: How was he a philanthropist?

  12. Ms. Simpson: Well, the main thing he did was helped young boys. I’m not sure how many girls he helped, but he helped a lot of boys while he was alive. He was always interested in helping boys in the community to get to college. He also left money in his will for this. The Sirrine Foundation was started after his death, with this money, because of his interest in helping kids in the community. At first it was only intended for Greenville High graduates. This was back when Greenville was smaller, and Parker and Greenville were the only two high schools. But this decision to only help Greenville High graduates was tested by the South Carolina Supreme Court, when Knox White, the current mayor, protested it. This decision made the Sirrine Scholarship apply to all high schools in Greenville County. Recently, charter schools, such as Greenville Tech Charter, have been added to this list of schools where graduates can apply for the scholarship. However, the number of graduates that are granted the scholarship has dropped recently, because of the depression we are currently in. The scholarship fund has lost over five million dollars because of it. In the 2008-2009 school year, 588 graduates were granted the scholarship. This number will, unfortunately, probably drop next year because of the loss of money.

  13. Sources • Wall of Fame Plaque • Hemphill, James Calvin. Men of Mark in South Carolina. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing Company , 2008. Online. • Cooper, Nancy Ashmore. Greenville: Woven From the Past . Sun Valley, CA: American Historical Press, 2000. • Interview with Ms. Lillian Simpson

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