James Bertram Collection

James Bertram (1872-1934) served as confidential secretary to Andrew Carnegie from 1897-1914 and as Secretary for the Carnegie Corporation of New York from 1911-1934.

Mr. Bertram was born in Corstorphine, Scotland (four miles west of Edinburgh). He attended the Corstorphine parish school and graduated from Daniel Stewart's College, Edinburgh in 1888. He first went to work for the Great Northern and Northeastern Railway Company in Edinburgh in 1888. In August 1890, he began a position in the passenger department of the Natal Government Railways in Durban, South Africa. Mr. Bertram went on to work as station managers at Bellair and then at Harrismith in the Orange Free State, staying with the Natal Government Railways for five years. In December 1895, Mr. Bertram was hired as the secretary for S. Neumann and Company in Johannesburg, South Africa. Mr. Bertram would also work as Mine Secretary of the Van Ryn Gold Mines Estate Limited and the night secretary to the British forces in Johannesburg before returning to Scotland in June 1897 due to a severe fever.

Mr. Bertram applied for the position of personal secretary to Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919), through Dr. Hew Morrison, Chief Librarian of the Edinburgh Public Library, Dr. Morrison having been commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to hire a secretary on his behalf. Mr. Bertram began as Mr. Carnegie's Confidential Secretary on December 1, 1897 at Skibo Castle, Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland. Mr. Bertram served as Mr. Carnegie's Confidential Secretary from 1897 to 1914. Mr. Bertram was also the Secretary of the Carnegie Corporation of New York from its incorporation in 1911 to his death in 1934. All together Mr. Bertram served Mr. Carnegie and the Carnegie Corporation for thirty-seven years. As Confidential Secretary, Mr. Bertram carried out personal assignments made by Mr. Carnegie and assisted Carnegie in the distribution of his wealth. Mr. Bertram took it upon himself to organize and formalize donations of church organs and library buildings, the two types of donations for which Mr. Carnegie was most famous. Mr. Bertram saw himself as a buffer between the applicants and Mr. Carnegie, essentially deciding upon all requests for donations of church organs and library buildings himself. The consideration of applications for donations of both church organs and library buildings ceased in 1917.

The Carnegie Corporation of New York was incorporated in 1911 to "promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding among the people of the United States and the British Dominions and Canada." Mr. Bertram traveled on behalf of the Carnegie Corporation of New York in the United States, Canada, the British Dominions, including British Guiana, and parts of Africa in support of this mission. Mr. Bertram was voted the Secretary of the Corporation, was made a life trustee and served on its executive committee. Mr. Bertram's influence on the decisions on broad policies of the Corporation grew over time. He provided his services to the Board until his sudden death on October 23, 1934. After his death, the Board commissioned Dr. Frank Pierce Hill to write a biography of Mr. Bertram.

Apart from his professional duties, Mr. Bertram was a husband and father. In 1904 he married Janet Tod Ewing (d1949). The marriage produced one daughter, Jean Ewing Bertram. Miss Bertram would later wed Mr. James L. Burke. When not traveling, the Bertrams lived in New York. Mrs. Bertram and Mr. and Mrs. Burke would later live in New Rochelle, New York.