Robert Curtis Ogden was born at Philadelphia, July 20th, 1836, and is
the son of the late Jonathan Curtis Ogden. He was educated in private
schools in the city of his birth. On March 1st, 1860, he married Ellen
Elizabeth Lewis, of Brooklyn. Since 1885 he has been a partner in
the firm of John Wanamaker. His business acumen, as well as his bent
toward philanthropic and religious work, has eminently fitted him to
hold the responsible position which he occupies in the firm’s affairs.
In spite of the many commercial duties which are part and portion of
Mr. Ogden’s every-day life, he nevertheless finds time to attend to
the many philanthropic enterprises in which he is interested. In 1889
he acted as a member of the State Johnstown Flood Relief Commission,
which accomplished much in the way of relieving the sufferers from
the disaster in question. He is also a director of the Union Hill
Theological seminary, trustee of the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama
and is first vice-president of the Pennsylvania Society of New York.
Mr. Ogden takes an active part in church matters and is the author
of several books and pamphlets, including “Pew Rentals and the New
Testament—Can They Be Reconciled?” “Sunday School Teaching,” etc. As a
contributor to the magazines, he is well known, some of the articles
from his pen which have attracted much attention being “Getting and
Keeping a Business Position” and “Ethics of Modern Retailing.” Mr.
Ogden takes an active interest in the welfare of the young people
employed by him and his partners.