William Rockefeller Sr.

William Rockefeller Sr.
Born	William Avery Rockefeller (1810-11-13)November 13, 1810 Ancram, New York, U.S.
Died	May 11, 1906(1906-05-11) (aged 95) Freeport, Illinois, U.S.
Burial place	Oakland Cemetery (Buried as William Levingston)
Other names	Dr. William Levingston
Occupation(s)	Businessman, Lumberman, Herbalist, "Snake Oil" Salesman
Spouse(s)	Eliza Davison (m. 1837–1889; her death, separated c. 1855) Margaret Allen (m. 1856–1906; his death)
Partner	Nancy Brown
Children	Lucy, Clorinda, John, Cornelia, William Jr., Mary, Franklin, and Frances
Parent(s)	Godfrey Lewis Rockefeller Lucy Avery
Relatives	See Rockefeller family

William Avery "Devil Bill" Rockefeller Sr. (November 13, 1810 – May 11, 1906) was an American businessman, lumberman, herbalist, salesman, and con artist who went by the alias of Dr. William Levingston. He worked as a lumberman and then a traveling salesman who identified himself as a "botanic physician" and sold elixirs.^[1] He was known to buy and sell horses, and was also known at one point to have bought a barge-load of salt in Syracuse. Land speculation was another type of his business, and the selling of elixirs served to keep him with cash and aided in his scouting of land deals. He loaned money to farmers at twelve percent, but tried to lend to farmers who could not pay so as to foreclose and take the farms.^[2] Two of his sons were Standard Oil co-founders John Davison Rockefeller Sr. and William Avery Rockefeller Jr.