Joseph Newton Pew

Who was Joseph Newton Pew?

Joseph Newton Pew was the founder of Sun Oil Company and a prominent philanthropist.

Joseph N. Pew was born in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, to John Pew and Nancy Glenn. He worked on the family's farm as a child. Pew attended public schools in Mercer and graduated from Edinboro Normal School. Pew taught school for two years and then became a real estate broker. Eventually, he invested in Pennsylvania oil fields. With several partners, he began piping natural gas. Pew founded several petroleum-related companies and, in 1880, incorporated Sun Oil Company. Pew donated to various charities and sat on the Board of Directors of Grove City College, Grove City, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church and the Republican Party. Pew's sons, J. Howard Pew and Joseph N. Pew, Jr., took over management of the company after their father's death in 1912 and later, with their sisters, founded The Pew Charitable Trusts.