USA > New York > New York City > Leslie's history of the greater New York, Volume III, Pt. 1 > Part 9
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
SCHIEFFELIN, WILLIAM JAY, who became head of the notable wholesale drug and chemical house of Schieffelin & Company upon the death in 1895 of his father, the late William Henry Schieffelin, is also Vice-President of the Cereals Manufacturing Company. In 1896 Mayor Strong appointed him a member of the Civil-service Commis- sion. He has been an active member of the Chamber of Commerce, has been a member of its Committee on Finance, a member of the Executive Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Co-oper- ation with kindred organizations and on the formation of sound mon- ey clubs. He is a member of the Century, City, and Church clubs, the St. Nicholas Society, the Huguenot Society, the Society of Colonial 'Wars, the Military Order of the Loyal Legion, the American Chemical Society, and the Society of Chemical Industry. He was born in New York City in 1866, in 1887 was graduated from Columbia College, took a post-graduate course in chemistry at the University of Munich, and in 1889 received its degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He entered the firm of W. H. Schieffelin & Company, which, upon his father's
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death, became Schieffelin & Company. Hemarried in 1891 Marie Louisa, daughter of the late Colonel Elliott F. Shepard and grand- daughter of William II. Vanderbilt, and has two sons and two daugh- ters, the elder son being William Jay Schieffelin, Jr.
DYER, ELISHA, JR., was bred to the law in Rhode Island, but instead of following his profession, established himself in this city as a banker, and is actively connected with various railroad interests. For some time he has been Secretary and Treasurer of the Brooklyn Elevated Railroad Company. He is also President of the Popp Cont- pressed Air and Electric Power Company, and is a director of the Sea- side and Brooklyn Bridge Elevated Railroad. He is a member of the Metropolitan and Knickerbocker clubs and the Brown University Alumni Association. He was born in Providence, R. I., in 1862, at- tended St. Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and was graduated from Brown University. In 1891 he married Sidney (Turner) Swan, of Newport, R. I., a descendant of the Turners of Virginia and the Pat- tersons of Maryland, and granddaughter of a brother of Madame Jerome Bonaparte. Me. Dyer is himself the son of General Elisha Dyer, of Newport, a graduate of the University of Giessen, Germany. who, in addition to other military and civil honors, was elected Gov- ernor of Rhode Island in 1896; is grandson of General Elisha Dver, who was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 1857, having previously served five terms as Adjutant-General of the State, and is descended from both Edward and George Dyer, brothers who came from Eng- land to Massachusetts prior to 1629, as he is also from William Dyer, son of one of them and nephew and son-in-law of the other, who was one of the seventeen purchasers of Rhode Island from the Indians in 163S.
CARROLL, ROYAL PHELPS, is well known as a leading yachts- man. In addition to his activity in these waters, in 1894 his famous vacht Navahoe participated in the important European regattas, and in the race for the Brenton Reef Cup defeated the celebrated Britan- nia, of the Prince of Wales. He is a member of the Union, Knicker- bocker, Racquet, New York Yacht, Larchmont Yacht, Seawanhaka- Corinthian Yacht, and Eastern Yacht clubs. His summer residence is at Newport. In 1891 he married Marion, daughter of Eugene Lang- don and Harriet Lowndes, and has a daughter. He was born in this city October 29, 1862, attended French and English schools, and was graduated from Harvard in 1885. The son of Governor John Lee Car- roll of Maryland, and the only daughter of the late Royal Phelps, famous merchant and banker of this city, he is fifth in descent from the renowned Charles Carroll, of Carrollton, and seventh from Charles Carroll, founder of the famous Maryland family.
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WINTHROP, BUCHANAN, was born in New York in 1841, in 1862 was graduated from Yale, two years later was graduated from Columbia College Law School, and since 1864 has been engaged in the practice of law in this city. He is a trustee of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, and has long been Treasurer of the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. He was elected a Fellow of Yale University by the Ahmini in 1891, and was re-elected in 1895. He is a member of the Union, Metropolitan, Tuxedo, Century, City, University, Riding, and New York Yacht clubs, the Patriarchs, the Downtown Association, the City Bar Association, the New England Society, and the Yale Alumni Association. He married in 1872 Sarah Helen, daughter of Isaac Townsend, and has a daughter and a son-Henry Rogers Win- throp. He is himself the son of the late Henry Rogers Winthrop, a well-known lawyer of this city, and Margaret, daughter of Thomas Hicks of Long Island; is the grandson of John Still Winthrop, a New York merchant, and Harriet, danghter of Fitch Rogers, and descends from Governor John Winthrop, of Massachusetts, and his son, Governor John Winthrop, of Connecticut, as well as from Governor Joseph Dudley and Governor Thomas Fitch. Another ancestor was Major-General Wait Still Winthrop, Chief Justice of Massachusetts.
BRONSON, FREDERIC, one of the prominent lawyers of New York City, where he has been engaged in practice for more than twenty years, is a director or trustee of several important corporations. He stands in this relation to the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, the Institution for Savings of Merchants Clerks, the Amer- ican Horse Exchange, the National Horse Show Association, and the New York Cab Company. Since 1897 he has been President of the Coaching Club, succeeding Colonel William Jay. He had previously been its Vice-President and long one of its most prominent members, being well known as one of the most skillful whips in the city. He is also a member of the Union, Metropolitan, Knickerbocker, City, Racquet, Country, Riding, New York Yacht, and Delta Phi clubs, the Downtown Association, and the Columbia Alumni Association. He was born in this city, the son of the late Frederic Bronson and Char- lotte Brinckerhoff, and grandson of the famous Dr. Isaac Bronson, notable physician, Revolutionary soldier, and New York banker, who married Maria, daughter of Colonel James B. Murray. The first pater- nal ancestor in this country. John Bronson, was one of the founders of Hartford under Dr. Thomas Hooker, and subsequently served in the Pequot war. Mr. Bronson was graduated from Columbia College in 1871, and later attended the Columbia College Law School. He mar- ried Sarah Gracie, daughter of the late Archibald Gracie King, and has one daughter.
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DIX, JOHN ADAMS, was born in Boscawen, N. II., July 24, 1798, and died in New York City, April 21, 1879. He was the son of Major Timothy Dix, of the United States Army, and participated in the campaign against Canada in the War of 1812, being made Second Lieutenant at sixteen years of age. After the war he resigned his commission as Captain in the United States Army, studied law, and began practice at Cooperstown, N. Y. In 1826 he was sent on a special mission to the Court of Denmark. In 1830, Governor Throop ap- pointed him Adjutant-General of the State of New York, while he was also elected a Regent of the State University. From 1833 to 1839 he was Secretary of State for New York. In 1840 he was State Super- intendent of Schools. In 1841 he was elected to the Assembly from Albany County. He subsequently visited Europe, and upon his re- turn was elected United States Senator from New York, in 1845. Three years later he was the unsuccessful Free-Soil candidate for Governor of New York. He became Assistant Treasurer of the United States at New York City by appointment of President Pierce. In the spring of 1860, President Buchanan appointed him Postmaster at New York City. In January, 1861, he entered Buchanan's Cabinet as Secretary of the Treasury, and made a bold stand against those who were plotting treason. To the commander of a revenue cutter at New Orleans he gave his celebrated order: " If any one attempts to hanl down the American flag shoot him on the spot." When the Civil War broke out he was one of the four Major-Generals in charge of the troops of the State of New York. In 1862 he was transferred to For- tress Monroe. From 1863 to the end of the war he commanded the Department of the East, with headquarters at New York City. Sub- sequently he was appointed Naval Officer of the Port of New York. In September, 1866, he succeeded John Bigelow as United States Min- ister to France, and served between two and three years. In 1872 he was elected Governor of New York as the candidate of the Republican party, but two years later was defeated as a candidate for re-election by Samuel J. Tilden. He instituted some important economies in administration while Governor. His oldest son, Dr. J. Morgan Dix, has long been rector of Trinity Parish, New York City.
DIX, JOHN MORGAN, long Rector of Trinity Parish, New York City, is the son of the late General John A. Dix and a daughter of the late John Jordan Morgan. He was born in this city, November 1, 1827, resided at Albany from 1830 to 1812, subsequently traveled in Madeira, Spain, and Italy, and was graduated from Columbia College in 1848. He began the study of law, but soon abandoned it and entered the General Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in 1852. He was ordained a deacou the same year and was
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admitted to priesthood in 1854. He served as Assistant Rector of St. Mark's, Philadelphia, visited Europe, and upon his return was elected Assistant Minister of Trin- ity Parish in this city. In 1862 he became Assistant Rector, and subsequently succeeded Dr. Ber- rian as Rector. He has been active in promoting sisterhoods and in improving church music. He has been a delegate to many general conventions, and President of the . House of Deputies in. several. Since 1869 he has been President of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of New York, and a trus- tee of Columbia. College, Sailors' Snug Harbor, the Leake and Watts Orphan House, the General Theological Seminary (being Chairman of its Standing. Com- mittee), the House of Mercy, the REV. J. MORGAN DIX, D.D. Society for Promoting Religion and Learning, and the Church Orphan House. He is Vice-President of the New York Protestant Episcopal Public School, and of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He has published commentaries on " Romans " (1864), and " Galatians and Colossians" (1865), " Lectures on Pantheism " (1865), " Lectures on the Two Estates, the Wedded in the Lord, and the Single for the Lord's Sake " (1872), "Sermons Doctrinal and Practical " (1878), and " Memoirs of John A. Dix " (2 vols., 1883).
WETMORE, GEORGE PEABODY, is a director of the Metropolitan Opera House and Real Estate Company, the National Horse Show As- sociation, the American Horse Exchange ( Limited), and the New York Cab Company. He is a member of the Union, Metropolitan, Union League, Knickerbocker, Century, University, Riding, and other clubs of New York; the Newport Reading Room, Casino, and Golf clubs; the Hope Club of Providence, the Somerset Club of Boston, the Metropolitan Club of Washington, and many other clubs. He was Governor of Rhode Island in 1883-86 and 1886-87, being defeated for a third term, although then receiving more votes than in either elec- tion in which he was successful. In 1889, he was a prominent can- didate before the Legislature for United States. Senator from Rhode Island, being defeated on the eighth ballot. On June 13, 1894, he was elected to the United States Senate, receiving the unanimous vote of both houses of the Legislature. He was first Presidential Elector for Rhode Island on the Republican ticket in 1880, as he was
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again in 1884. He was a member of the committee to build a new -State House for Rhode Island. He was a member of the committee to receive the representatives of France on the occasion of their visit to Rhode Island in 1886. He was graduated from Yale in 1867, and from the Law School of Columbia University in 1869, the same year being admitted to the New York and Rhode Island bars. He de- clined the nomination as Fellow of Yale University in 1888. He is a trustee of the Peabody Museum of Natural History in Yale University and is a trustee of the Peabody Educational Fund. Born in London, England, August 2, 1846, during a visit of his parents in Europe, he is the son of William Shepard Wetmore and Austiss Derby, daughter of John W. Rogers and Austiss Derby Pickman, of Salem, Mass. He is a grandson of Hon. Sethi Wetmore, of St. Albans, Vt., as he is of General William Shepard, of Westfieldl, Mass. Mr. Wetmore married, in 1869, Edith Malvin, daughter of Engene Keteltas, of New York City, and has two daughters and two sons-William Shepard Keteltas Wetmore and Rogers Pickman Derby Keteltas Wetmore.
ASTOR, JOHN JACOB, founder of the fortunes of this well-known New York family, was born in Walldorf, Germany, a village near Heidelberg, July 17, 1763, and died in the City of New York, March 29, 1848. He was the youngest son of a German farmer, and was educated in the village school. At the age of seventeen he went to London, where an elder brother and an unele were engaged in busi- ness. The brother. George Peter Astor, was a member of the London firm of Astor & Broadwood, manufacturers of musical instruments, of which the unele was the head. During the four years from 1779 to 1783, John Jacob Astor remained with this firm in London, while as their agent he landed in Baltimore, Md., in March, 1784, with a consignment of goods. Another brother, Henry Astor, was already in New York, whither the young man went. The conversation of offi- cers of the Hudson Bay Company during the voyage over, who were fellow-passengers of Astor, had interested him in the fur trade, and, having disposed of his goods, he entered the employ of a New York fur dealer named Wilson. Subsequently he was employed by Robert Bowne, after which he established himself in the for business in New York. In 1785 he arranged for the shipping of furs to London, while at the same time organizing a New York branch house of the piano finn of Astor & Broadwood. But his great success was in the fur business, and at the end of six years he had amassed a fortune of a quarter of a million dollars, which he mainly invested in real estate just beyond the limits of the thickly populated portion of New York City. He continned this policy throughout life, and thus obtained large returns from the capital accumulated in commerce. He person- ally traveled in Northern New York, buying peltries from the Indians and arranging for their purchase. In partnership with the father of
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Gerrit Smith, he established agencies at the frontier military posts, ineluding Oswego and Detroit. He soon chartered vessels to carry his skins to Europe, and organized the American Fur Company, which became a formidable rival of the Hudson Bay Company and the Brit- ish Northwest Company. He attempted to control the fur trade west of the Rocky Mountains, and formulated a gigantie scheme for trade with Siberia and China. He failed to enlist the Government interest which he had hoped to do, but conducted such a trade on his own account. Astoria, a post at the mouth of the Columbia River, was founded by a band of pioneers sent out by him, although the place was captured by the British in the War of 1812. In his " Astoria," Wash- ington Irving records the facts connected with this project. Astor's' enterprise in the Northwest laid the foundation for claims of territory by the United States which were subsequently recognized in treaty with Great Britain. Astor became the largest owner of real estate in New York City and the richest man in America. He was the founder of the Astor Library, now merged in the New York Publie Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden foundations, bequeathing $400,000 for this purpose. He also endowed the German Society of New York, the Home for Aged Ladies, the Asylum for the Blind, the Half-orphan Asylum, the German Reformed Congregation, and other institutions. He also established a fund for the poor of his native village of Walldorf. He was a patron of several literary men. Washington Irving was an intimate friend, and one of the administrators of his estate, while he is said to have suggested the founding of the Astor Library. Fitz-Greene Halleck was for many years Astor's private secretary, and was a beneficiary under his will. Dr. Cogswell, an- other literary friend, was designated as the first superintendent of Astor Library. Mr. Astor married, in 1786, Sarah Todd, and had three sous and four daughters. The eldest son. William B. Astor, was residuary legatee under his father's will. The other two, Henry and John Jacob Astor, died without issue. One of the daughters also died unmarried. The eldest, Magdalen, married, first, the Danish Governor of the Island of Santa Cruz, Governor Bentzen, and, second, Rev. John Bristed. by whom she had a son, Charles Astor Bristed, Sr., the well-known author and poet. Dorothea married Walter Lang- don, of New Hampshire. Eliza married Count Vincent Rumpff, of Switzerland.
ASTOR, WILLIAM BACKHOUSE, who inherited the greater part of his father's enormous fortune, was born in New York City. Sep- tember 19, 1792, and died November 24, 1875. He attended the pub- lie schools of New York, spent two years at Heidelberg University, and also for a time attended the University of Göttingen. He trav- eled through Europe in 1810, with the famous Baron Bunsen as his tutor. At the age of twenty-three he engaged in business with his
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father, and soon manifested good executive ability. From 1815 to 1827 he was his father's partner in the notable commercial house of John Jacob Astor & Son. In 1827 he became the first President of the American Fur Company, but subsequently withdrew from the fur business and confined himself exclusively to the large real estate in- terests of the family. He inherited his father's fortune at the age of fifty-six, having already inherited the fortune of his uncle, Heury Astor, who also became a millionaire in New York. He was inter- ested in the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company and various other corporations. He gave more than half a million dollars to the Astor Library, which his father had established. He also endowed St. Luke's Hospital. He married the daughter of General John Arin- strong and Alida Livingston. Her father served in the Revolution on the staff of General Gates, served in the War of 1$12, published the " Newburgh Letters " and a " History of the War of 1812," was Secretary of State and Adjutant-General of Pennsylvania, United States Senator from the same State, Secretary of War, and United States Minister to France. He was the son of General John Arm- strong, of the French and Indian War and the Revolution. His wife was a niece of Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, and the daughter of a grandson of the first Lord of Livingston Mauor, by his wife Mar- garet, daughter of Colonel Henry Beekman, of Dutchess County. William B. Astor had three sons, the late John Jacob, William, and Henry Astor, and three daughters-Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Carey, and Mrs. Delano. The main part of his large estate was evenly divided be- tween his two older sons.
ASTOR, JOIIN JACOB, eldest son of the late William B. Astor, and grandson of the original John Jacob Astor, was born in New York City, and died February 22, 1890, in his sixty-eighth year. Up- on the death of his father he came into a life interest in one-half of the immense residuary estate left by his parent, his brother, the late Will- iam Astor, enjoying a similar interest, while the estate itself was to descend in two equal portions to the children of the two brothers, and be administered for them by trustees. Mr. Astor was educated at Columbia College and traveled extensively abroad. He was an officer in many important financial corporations, a trustee of many philan- thropic institutions, and was active in many public movements. He was one of the incorporators of the New York Society for the Preveu- tion of Cruelty to Animals. He was also one of the most active sup- porters of the Federal Government during the Civil War. He was a Vice-President of the Union Square " Mass Convention " of April 20, 1861, and was an original member of the Union Defense Commit- tee, organized April 22, 1861. During 1862 he also served in the field with the Army of the Potomac. Between 1879 and 1881 he added a large wing to the Astor Library building, on Lafayette Place, pur-
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chasing three lots for the purpose, and added a story to the central building, at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars. The second printed catalogue of the library was likewise prepared and issued at his expense, the work costing about $40.000. He married Charlotte Augusta Gibbes, of the old South Carolina family of that name, and had a son, William Waldorf Astor.
ASTOR, WILLIAM, son of the late William B. Astor, and his heir, . jointly with his elder brother, the late Jolin Jacob Astor, was born in New York City, July 12, 1829, and died April 25, 1892. He was graduated from Columbia College in 1849, and then traveled in Eu -. rope and the Orient. He explored the coast of Florida in his yacht in 1873, and became interested in the affairs of that State. He ac- cepted the position of aid on the staff of its Governor, and organized a gun squad which served against the Indians in the Everglades. He built a railroad from St. Augustine to Palatka, and for this and other services received large grants of lands from the State. The post- offices of Astor and Armstrong. with Lake Schermerhorn, were named in his honor. He refused the proposition to make him United States Senator from Florida. He was a prominent member of Trinity Church, and gave $100,000 toward the erection of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. He was an officer of many of the principal financial and philanthropic corporations of New York City, and a member of the leading clubs. He married Caroline Webster Schermerhorn, of the old New York family of that name. She survives him, with four of their five children-the present John Jacob Astor. the only son, and three daughters-Mrs. J. Roosevelt Roosevelt, Mrs. J. Coleman Dray- ton, and Mrs. Orme Wilson. Another daughter, Mrs. Van Allen, died prior to the death of her father. Mrs. William Astor has long been recognized as the most prominent leader of New York fashionable society.
ASTOR, WILLIAM WALDORF, only son and heir of the late John Jacob Astor, inherited one-half of the residuary estate left by his grandfather, William B. Astor. He was born in New York City, March 31, 1818, and received his early education under private tutors. one of whom was a Professor from the University of Marburg. He entered the office of the Astor estate at the age of twenty-three, serv- ing in each clerical department. In 1875 he was graduated from Co- lumbia College Law School, while he served one year with the well- known law firm of Lord, Day & Lord. He was an executor of his grandfather's estate, and managed his father's estate under power of attorney. He became active in the Republican party in this city, and served two terms in the New York Assembly and one in the New York Senate. He was then a candidate for Congress, but failed of election. By appointment of President Arthur, he was United States Minister
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to Italy from 1882 to 1885. During his residence at Rome he made a study of Italian medieval life, the fruit of this being seen in his two historical novels, " Valentino " and "Sforza," which attracted con- siderable attention and were favorably received. In recent years he has resided in England, and for some years has been the proprietor of the Pall Mall Gazette, and the proprietor, as he was the founder, of the Pall Mall Gazette, which is conducted on the plan of the leading illus- trated literary magazines in America. He is a trustee of the United States Trust Company and of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, is a member of the Board of Managers of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company, and is a director of the Gallatin National Bank, the stor National Bank, the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, and the United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Companies. He is a member of the Patriarchs, the Union, Metropoli- tan, Union League, Tuxedo, Country, and other clubs. He married, in 1878, Mary Dahlgren Paul, of Philadelphia, by whom he has sons, Waldorf and John Jacob Astor, and a daughter, Pauline. Mrs. Astor died a few years ago.
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