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PORTRAIT GALLERY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
NEW-YORK
Go 974.702 N421con 1722311
BEYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3 1833 01126 3776
GENEALOGY 974.702 N421con
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/portraitgalleryo00wils_0
PORTRAIT GALLERY
OF THE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
OF THE
STATE OF NEW-YORK. C
CATALOGUE AND BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
COMPILED BY GEORGE WILSON, SECRETARY.
NEW - YORK : PRESS OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 1890.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1890, by the SECRETARY OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE OF THE STATE OF NEW-YORK, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.
1.
1722311
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
THE collection of portraits possessed by the Chamber of Com- merce has increased to such an extent within the last three years as to warrant the publication of a catalogue, together with a brief biographical sketch of each subject.
The first portrait in the collection was painted for the Chamber one hundred and eighteen years ago. It is a full length life size of Lieutenant-Governor CADWALLADER COLDEN, then Acting Governor of the Colony of New-York. The Chamber of Com- merce was organized by twenty-four merchants April 5th, 1768, and incorporated March 13th, 1770, by GEORGE THE THIRD, through the kindly offices of Lieutenant-Governor COLDEN. It was for this act of friendship in obtaining the Charter as well as for the interest he had manifested in the affairs of the Chamber, that the portrait was painted.
In 1792 a companion portrait, that of ALEXANDER HAMILTON, then Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, also full length and life size, was painted by JOHN TRUMBULL, for the merchants of New-York, admirers of that great statesman, and by them presented to the Chamber of Commerce.
These two portraits, which formed the nucleus of the collection, have passed through many vicissitudes. That of COLDEN originally hung in the great room of the Exchange, which stood at the lower end of Broad Street, where the Chamber held its sessions from 1769 to 1775. At the close of the Revolution it was found in the possession of the family of Lieutenant-Governor COLDEN, and, by them restored to the Chamber in May, 1793. It was then placed
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INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
on the walls of the room used by the Chamber in the Merchants Coffee House, on the southeast corner of Wall and Water Streets, and was afterwards removed to the rooms occupied by the Chamber in the Tontine Coffee House, on the northwest corner of Wall and Water Streets. On April 15th, 1817, the portraits of COLDEN and HAMILTON were loaned to the Academy of Fine Arts, and, for many years, made a part of the exhibition of the Academy.
On May Ist, 1827, the Chamber of Commerce having taken rooms in the Merchants' Exchange, then standing on the site of the present Custom House, the portraits were again in its posses- sion, and remained until the great fire of December 16th, 1835. On the morning of the second day of the conflagration which con- sumed the Exchange, the portraits were removed and deposited for safe keeping in the loft of a building at the lower end of Wall Street, where they remained unrecognized for eight years. On their recovery they were hung in the Directors' room of the Merchants' Bank until February 6th, 1844, when they were de- posited with the New-York Historical Society. October Ist, 1868, they were again reclaimed by the Chamber, and now, in a good state of preservation, find a permanent place in its hall on Nassau Street.
It was not until 1865 that measures were taken to procure portraits of the Presidents of the Association, and there now remain but four of the earlier and five of those of later years to be obtained to complete the full number of twenty-six who have filled that office since its organization.
The rule confining the collection to the Presidents of the Chamber was relaxed several years ago, and the gallery now contains eighty portraits and four bronze and marble busts, embracing those of men of national and even world-wide reputation ; great mer- chants who led the Colonies in their opposition to the tyrannical acts of the British Parliament, whose names are inseparable from the history of the Republic ; statesmen, whose fame is known in every land ; financiers, who met a Nation's emergencies with unparalleled skill and success ; patriots, whose fidelity to
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INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
their country was never doubted ; philanthropists, who conse- crated their wealth to the elevation of their fellow men, and others who originated or were identified with many of the great enterprises of the nineteenth century.
Of the portraits painted for or purchased by the Chamber, there are two, besides those of COLDEN and HAMILTON, which deserve special notice, both for the great personal worth of the subjects and their relation to the State and the Nation. One of these is that of DE WITT CLINTON, who, to his great merit as Mayor of this City, and thrice Governor of the State, added that far more enduring title of founder and creator of the Canal system of New-York, which gave to our City her great commercial supremacy. The other, that of JOHN SHERMAN, who, as Secretary of the Treasury, in the second great epoch of the Nation's financial history, became "the restorer of the public credit, and the success- ful funder of the national debt." The resumption of specie pay- ments, without disaster or financial disturbance, also accomplished by him, was an act worthy of the Nation's gratitude.
Two other portraits in the gallery are also entitled to special notice here, as showing the breadth of the Chamber's sympathies ; they are those of RICHARD COBDEN, the friend of the United States and the great apostle of the English system of free trade, and of JOHN BRIGHT, the advocate and defender of the Union in our civil war, who fought single handed in our behalf, against the nobility, gentry and Parliament of Great Britain, and won a moral victory.
To one of the bronze busts, presented in connection with the recent Centennial of the Inauguration of the First President of the United States, in this City, that of GEORGE WASHINGTON, by BARBEDIENNE, the Chamber feels that special attention should also be called. It was a graceful and appropriate act on the part of the donor thus to connect the memory of WASHINGTON with an Institution, several of the officers and prominent members of which were his steadfast and loyal friends, who aided him by their fortunes and by personal service in achieving the Nation's liberty and independence.
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INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
The purpose of this collection has not been so much to gather fine specimens of the art of portraiture in painting or sculpture; although many of the works were executed by some of the most eminent artists of their time, but to preserve the lineaments of those men who for more than a century have illustrated the commerce of New-York. In their features they show those types of enterprise and judgment which have raised the character of the New-York merchant to its high standard, and carried their fame to the uttermost ends of the earth.
In the preparation of the biographical sketches printed in this volume the Secretary has availed himself of the authentic and valuable information contained in the records of the Chamber of Commerce. He has also consulted, as far as practicable, the families or near relatives of the subjects in reference to matters within their personal knowledge. By this method great accuracy is believed to have been secured. The sketches, though neces- sarily brief, embody, with few exceptions, all the important events of each life.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE,
NEW-YORK, March 15th, 1890.
CATALOGUE
CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 1.
JONIN CRUGER, First President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1768-1770. Painted in 1865, by THOMAS HICKS, after an original in miniature. Biographical Sketch, page 17.
PORTRAIT No. 2.
HENRY WHITE, Fourth President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1772-1773. Painted in 1867, by HENRY PETERS GRAY, after an original, by JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY. Biographical Sketch, page 20.
PORTRAIT No. 3.
THEOPHYLACT BACHE, Fifth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1773-1774. A crayon drawing executed in 1867, by VINCENT COLYER, after an original drawing by ST. MEMIN. Biographical Sketch, page 24.
PORTRAIT No. 4.
WILLIAM WALTON, Sixth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1774-1775. Painted in 1868, by HENRY PETERS GRAY, after an original, by an unknown artist. Biographical Sketch, page 28.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 5.
JOHN ALSOP, Eighth President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1784-1785. Painted in 1865, by THOMAS HICKS, after an original, by an unknown artist. Biographical Sketch, page 30.
PORTRAIT No. 6.
JOHN BROOME, Ninth President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1785-1794. Painted in 1889, by CHARLES C. MARKHAM. Presented by his great grandson, GEORGE COCHRAN BROOME. Biographical Sketch, page 225.
PORTRAIT No. 8.
COMFORT SANDS, Tenth President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1794-1798. Painted in 1890, by THOMAS W. WOOD, after a pastel, by an unknown artist. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 193.
PORTRAIT No. S.
JOHN MURRAY, Eleventh President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1798-1806. Painted in 1865, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON, after an original, by JOHN TRUMBULL. Biographical Sketch, page 33.
PORTRAIT No. 9.
CORNELIUS RAY, Twelfth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1806-1819. Painted in 1889, by OLIVER LAY, after a miniature. Presented by his granddaughter, Mrs. N. E. BAYLIES. Biographical Sketch, page 177.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 10.
ROBERT LENOX, Fourteenth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1827-1840. Painted in 1865, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON, after an original, by JOHN WESLEY JARVIS. Presented by his son, JAMES LENOX. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 34.
PORTRAIT No. 11.
ISAAC CAROW, Fifteenth President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1840-1842. Painted in 1865, by HENRY PETERS GRAY, after a miniature. Biographical Sketch, page 36.
PORTRAIT No. 12.
JAMES GORE KING, Seventeenth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1845-1847 and 1848-1849. Painted in 1865, by THOMAS P. ROSSITER. Biographical Sketch, page 37.
PORTRAIT No. 13.
MOSES H. GRINNELL, Eighteenth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1847-1848 and 1849-1852. Painted in 1864, by J. O. EATON. Presented by his son, IRVING GRINNELL. Biographical Sketch, page 44.
PORTRAIT No. 14.
ELIAS HICKS, Nineteenth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1852-1853. Painted in 1867. Replica by THOMAS HICKS. Biographical Sketch, page 47.
PORTRAIT No. 15.
PELATIALI PERIT, Twentieth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1853-1863. Painted in 1864. Replica by THOMAS HICKS. Biographical Sketch, page 48.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 16.
WILLIAM E. DODGE, Twenty-Second President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1867-1875. Painted in 1884, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 53.
PORTRAIT No. 17.
GEORGE W. LANE, Twenty-Fourth President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1882-1883. Painted in 1887, by E. WOOD PERRY. Presented by his daughters. Biographical Sketch, page 57.
PORTRAIT No. 18.
JAMES BOORMAN, Vice-President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1839-1841. Painted in 1856, by THOMAS P. ROSSITER. Presented by HENRY F. SPAULDING. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 198.
PORTRAIT No. 19.
JONATIIAN STURGES, Second Vice-President of the Cham- ber of Commerce, 1863-1867. Painted in 1889, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his son, FRED- ERICK STURGES. Biographical Sketch, page 59.
PORTRAIT No. 20.
GEORGE OPDYKE, Vice-President of the Chamber of Com- merce, 1867-1875. Painted in 1886, by HARRIET C. LANE, after an original, by CHARLES L. ELLIOTT. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 60.
PORTRAIT No. 21.
SIMEON B. CHITTENDEN, Second Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1867-1869. Painted in 1890, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his son, SIMEON B. CHITTENDEN. Biographical Sketch, page 212.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 22.
WILLIAM H. FOGG, Second Vice-President of the Chamber of Commerce, 1882-1884. Painted in 1887, by EAST- MAN JOHNSON. Presented by his widow, Mrs. WIL- LIAM H. FOGG. Biographical Sketch, page 64.
PORTRAIT No. 23.
MATTHEW MAURY, Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, 1849-1853. Painted in 1885, by JULIAN SCOTT. Pre- sented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 66.
PORTRAIT No. 25.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, American Statesman and the first Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. Painted in 1792, by JOHN TRUMBULL. Biographical Sketch, page 69.
PORTRAIT No. 26.
JOHN SHERMAN, American Statesman and Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, 1877-1881. Painted in 1880, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Biographical Sketch, page 76.
PORTRAIT No. 27.
DE WITT CLINTON, American Statesman and Governor of New-York , 1817-1823 and 1825-1828. Painted in 1807, by JOHN TRUMBULL. Biographical Sketch, page 83.
PORTRAIT No. 28.
DE WITT CLINTON. Painted in 1843, by HENRY INMAN. Presented by SAMUEL B. RUGGLES.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 29.
JOHN A. KING, American Statesman and Governor of New-York, 1857-1859. Painted in 1889, by ROBERT HINCKLEY. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 90.
PORTRAIT No. 30.
EDWIN D. MORGAN, American Statesman and Governor of New-York, 1859-1863. Painted in 1882, by . G. P. A. HEALY. Presented by his grandson, EDWIN D. MOR- GAN. Biographical Sketch, page 95.
PORTRAIT No. 31.
CADWALLADER COLDEN, Lieut .- Governor of the Colony of New-York, 1761-75. Painted in 1772, by MATTHEW PRATT. Biographical Sketch, page 99.
PORTRAIT No. 32.
FRANCIS EGERTON, Duke of Bridgewater. Painted in England in 1844, by HENRY INMAN, after original authorities. Presented by SAMUEL B. RUGGLES. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 100.
PORTRAIT No. 33.
RICHARD COBDEN, British Statesman. Painted in 1860, by J. FAGNANI. Presented by MORRIS KETCHUM. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 102.
PORTRAIT No. 34.
JOHN BRIGHT, British Statesman. Painted in 1865, by J. FAGNANI. Presented by SIMEON B. CHITTENDEN. Biographical Sketch, page 105.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 35.
GIDEON LEE. Painted in 1832, by GEORGE W. TWIBILL, JR. Presented by his son, W. CREIGHTON LEE. Biographical Sketch, page 110.
PORTRAIT No. 36.
AMBROSE C. KINGSLAND. Painted in 1887. Replica by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 114.
PORTRAIT No. 37.
ANSON G. PHELPS. Painted in 1835, by WALDO & JEWETT. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. WILLIAM E. DODGE. Biographical Sketch, page 116.
PORTRAIT No. 38.
GEORGE T. HOPE. Painted in 1870, by HENRY PETERS GRAY. Presented by HIRAM H. LAMPORT. Biograph- ical Sketch, page 119.
PORTRAIT No. 39.
JEREMIAHI P. ROBINSON. Painted in 18SS, by MORGAN RHEES. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 122.
PORTRAIT No. 40.
THOMAS B. CODDINGTON. Painted in 1886, by EASTMAN JOHNSON. Presented by his daughters. Biographical Sketch, page 125.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 41.
GEORGE W. BLUNT. Painted in 1878, by his daughter, Mrs. MARY S. RATHBONE. Presented by the Board of Commissioners of Pilots. Biographical Sketch, page 127.
PORTRAIT No. 42.
WALTER R. JONES. Painted in 1885, by GEORGE H. STORY, after an original, by JAMES BOGLE. Presented by JOHN D. JONES. Biographical Sketch, page 134.
PORTRAIT No. 43.
LORING ANDREWS. Painted in 1886, by ROBERT GORDON HARDIE. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 137.
PORTRAIT No. 44.
JOSHUA BATES. Painted in 1865, by HENRY PETERS GRAY, after an original, by E. U. EDDIS. Biographical Sketch, page 140.
PORTRAIT No. 45.
PETER COOPER. Painted in 1886, by HENRY A. LOOP. Presented by his son, EDWARD COOPER. Biographical Sketch, page 146.
PORTRAIT No. 46.
JOHN DAVID WOLFE. Painted in 1886. Replica by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his daughter, CATHARINE LORILLARD WOLFE. Biographical Sketch, page 150.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 47.
BENJAMIN B. SHERMAN. Painted in 1886, by FRANK B. CARPENTER. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 153.
PORTRAIT No. 48.
PRESERVED FISH. Painted in 1886, by JULIAN SCOTT, after a daguerreotype. Biographical Sketch, page 155.
PORTRAIT No. 49.
DAVID LEAVITT. Painted in 1887, by VIRGINIA TUCKER, after an original, by JARED B. FLAGG. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 156.
PORTRAIT No. 50.
FRANCIS SKIDDY. Painted in 1887, by EASTMAN JOHNSON. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. CHARLES P. FISCHER. Biographical Sketch, page 158.
PORTRAIT No. 51.
GUSTAV SCHWAB. Painted in 1889, by JULIUS GEERTZ. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 159.
PORTRAIT No. 52.
ELLIOT C. COWDIN. Painted in 1886, by J. W. ALEXANDER. Presented by his widow, Mrs. ELLIOT C. COWDIN. Biographical Sketch, page 162.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 53.
KINLOCH STUART. Painted in 1840, by A. B. DURAND. Presented by Mrs. ROBERT L. STUART. Biographical Sketch, page 166.
PORTRAIT No. 54.
ROBERT L. STUART. Painted in 1886, by SEYMOUR J. GUY. Presented by his widow, Mrs. ROBERT L. STUART. Biographical Sketch, page 167.
PORTRAIT No. 55.
ROBERT McCREA. Painted in 1835, by WALDO & JEWETT. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. ROBERT L. STUART. Biographical Sketch, page 169.
PORTRAIT No. 56.
JOHN JACOB ASTOR. Painted in 1890, by JACOB H. LAZARUS, after an original, by GILBERT STUART. Presented by his grandson, JOHN JACOB ASTOR. Biographical Sketch, page 170.
PORTRAIT No. 57.
SAMUEL B. RUGGLES. Painted in 1882, by DANIEL HUNT- INGTON. Biographical Sketch, page 174.
PORTRAIT No. 58.
ROBERT RAY. Painted in 1886, by OLIVER LAY, after an original, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. N. E. BAYLIES. Biographical Sketch, page 178.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 59.
JOHN C. GREEN. Painted in 1878, by DANIEL HUNTING- TON. Presented by his widow, Mrs. SARAH H. GREEN. Biographical Sketch, page 179.
PORTRAIT No. 60.
CHARLES H. MARSHALL. Painted in 1864, by RICHARD J. NAGLE. Biographical Sketch, page 183.
PORTRAIT No. 61.
JAMES STOKES. Painted in 1884. Replica by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his son, ANSON PHELPS STOKES. Biographical Sketch, page 187.
PORTRAIT No. 62.
PAUL SPOFFORD. Painted in 1890, by THOMAS W. WOOD, Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 189.
PORTRAIT No. 63.
THOMAS TILESTON. Painted in 1865, by THOMAS HICKS. Biographical Sketch, page 191.
PORTRAIT No. 64.
JOHN J. PHELPS. Painted in 1885, by HENRY ULKE, after an original, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his son, WILLIAM WALTER PHELPS. Biographical Sketch, page 200.
PORTRAIT No. 65.
MARSHALL O. ROBERTS. Painted in 1872, by THOMAS HICKS. Presented by his widow, Mrs. SUSAN L. ROBERTS. Biographical Sketch, page 203.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 66.
RUFUS PRIME. Painted in 1886, by OLIVER LAY, after an original, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his daughter, CORNELIA PRIME. Biographical Sketch, page 205.
PORTRAIT No. 67.
GEORGE T. TRIMBLE. Painted in 1887, by W. SERGEANT KENDALL, after an original, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his son, MERRITT TRIMBLE. Biographi- cal Sketch, page 206.
PORTRAIT No. 68.
ISAAC SHERMAN. Painted in 1863, by THOMAS HICKS. Presented by his widow, Mrs. ISAAC SHERMAN. Bio- graphical Sketch, page 209.
PORTRAIT No. 69.
HORACE B. CLAFLIN. Painted in 1880, by A. A. ANDERSON. Presented by his son, JOHN CLAFLIN. Biographical Sketch, page 217.
PORTRAIT No. 70.
JEREMIAH MILBANK. Painted in 1889, by J. W. ALEX- ANDER. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 224.
PORTRAIT No. 71.
ROBERT H. MCCURDY. Painted in 1885, after an original, by an unknown artist. Presented by his son, RICHARD A. MCCURDY. Biographical Sketch, page 227.
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CATALOGUE.
PORTRAIT No. 72.
JOHN CASWELL. Painted in 1890, by THOMAS W. WOOD, after an original, by EASTMAN JOHNSON. Presented by CHARLES S. SMITH. Biographical Sketch, page 229.
PORTRAIT No. 73.
JACOB BARKER. Painted in 1885, by H. DIEGENDESCH, after an original, by HENRY INMAN. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 232.
PORTRAIT No. 74.
DANIEL DRAKE-SMITHI. Painted in 1889, by JARED B. FLAGG. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 231.
PORTRAIT No. 75.
ALFRED S. BARNES. Painted in 1889, by GEORGE W. MAYNARD. Presented by his family. Biographical Sketch, page 235.
PORTRAIT No. 76.
JAMES BROWN. Painted in 1856, by THOMAS P. ROSSITER. Presented by HENRY F. SPAULDING. Biographical Sketch, page 238.
PORTRAIT No. 17.
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT. Painted in 1887. Replica by JARED B. FLAGG, Presented by his grandson, COR- . NELIUS VANDERBILT. Biographical Sketch, page 242.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
PORTRAIT No. 78.
WILLIAM H. VANDERBILT. Painted in 1887. Replica by EASTMAN JOHNSON. Presented by his son, CORNELIUS VANDERBILT. Biographical Sketch, page 245.
PORTRAIT No. 29.
HANSON K. CORNING. Painted in 1889, by CARL L. BRANDT. Presented by his children. Biographical Sketch, page 248.
PORTRAIT No. 80.
MOSES TAYLOR. Painted in 1888, by DANIEL HUNTINGTON. Presented by his widow, Mrs. CATHARINE A. TAYLOR. Biographical Sketch, page 261.
SCULPTURE.
GEORGE WASHINGTON. Bronze bust, executed in Paris in 1889, by BARBEDIENNE, after an original made by HOUDON at Mount Vernon in 1785. Presented by CHARLES S. SMITHI. Biographical Sketch, page 250.
JONATHAN GOODHUE. Marble bust, executed in 1849, by HENRY K. BROWN. Biographical Sketch, page 129.
GEORGE GRISWOLD. Marble bust, executed in 1844, by
J. BATTIN. Presented by his daughter, Mrs. SARAII H. GREEN. Biographical Sketch, page 132.
ROBERT B. POTTER. Bronze bust, executed in 1888, by W. C. NOBLE. Biographical Sketch, page 263.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 1
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN CRUGER.
AN eminent American merchant and patriot, born of English parents in this City, July 18, 1710. JOHN CRUGER belonged to a family of successful and enterprising merchants. He and his brother, HENRY, were owners of a number of ships engaged in general trade, principally with Bristol, England, and the West India Islands. Their place of business was on CRUGERS' Wharf, on the east side of Whitehall Slip, on the East River. The great fire of 1776 broke out there, and the buildings belonging to the CRUGERS were wholly destroyed. JOIIN CRUGER Was honored in his day with positions of the highest trust in the gift of his fellow-citizens, having been Mayor of the City and Speaker of the General Assembly of the Colony. In all his public career, covering many years, he never forfeited the respect and confidence of the people, and his administration of the various offices he held was charac- terized by the highest ability and integrity.
In 1765, when the odious Stamp Act was imposed upon the Colonies, the merchants of New-York were among the first to oppose its enforcement, and it was mainly due to the influence of JOHN CRUGER, then Mayor of the City, that the revolt which the Stamp Act engendered did not result in bloodshed. The protests of the people against its enforcement did not avail. The merchants thereupon resolved upon the more effective measure of non-importation from Great Britain, and it was this determined opposition that compelled the British Parliament to repeal the Act.
It was during this exciting period that JOHN CRUGER
2
.
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PORTRAIT GALLERY.
and a few of the leading merchants met at BOLTON & SIGELE'S Tavern, (yet standing on the corner of Broad and Pearl streets, and now known as WASHINGTON'S Headquarters,) on the 5th day of April, 1768, and there or- ganized the New-York Chamber of Commerce. Mr. CRUGER was the first named of its founders, and was elected its Presi- dent. On the 2d of May, 1769, he was again unanimously chosen, and at that time, while serving as Speaker of the General Assembly, he was charged by that body to convey to the merchants of this City and Colony "the thanks of the House for their repeated disinterested, public spirited and patriotic conduct in declining the importation of goods from Great Britain until such Acts of Parliament as the General Assembly had declared unconstitutional and sub- versive of the rights and liberties of the people of this Colony should be repealed." Thus, in the infancy of this me- tropolis, the patriotic devotion of its merchants to the cause of popular rights was clearly recognized and upheld. And it is a source of just pride to- day that the Chamber of Commerce, the merchants' representative body, has lost none of its ancient spirit, as its records from 1861 to 1865 will abundantly show. JOHN CRUGER retained the office of President of the Chamber until it had received its charter from the Crown and its permanent existence fully assured. In May, 1770, he declined a re-election.
In all the early difficulties which the Chamber had to encounter, resulting from differences of opinion in regard to measures affecting the trade of the Colony, Mr. CRUGER stood steadfastly by the Chamber and earnestly contended for its interests.
JOHN CRUGER exercised great influence with his fellow- citizens, and did much to moderate their passions and har- monize the conflicting opinions of the opposing parties which existed at that time. His course during the eventful period of 1775, when patriotic blood boiled at fever heat on receipt of the news of the Lexington outrage, was marked by a calm, dignified courage and self-reliance ; and while he did not take an active part in the beginning of the contest, from conscientious scruples which his official
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