USA > New York > Portrait gallery of the Chamber of Commerce of the state of New-York : catalogue and biographical sketches > Part 12
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BECKFORD, of Charlestown, under the style of BECKFORD & BATES, but, owing to complications arising out of the war of 1812, the business was not successful, and, at the end of three years, the copartnership was dissolved. Lieut. Gov. WILLIAM GRAY, father of WILLIAM R. GRAY, a great shipping merchant of Salem, had removed to Boston some years before, and in 1816 sent young BATES to Europe, as his agent. He conducted his business there very successfully, traveling over the continent extensively, and forming the acquaintance of the great commercial houses of Holland, France and Italy. From 1820 to 1826 he resided in London, and conducted negotiations with the great merchants of London, in behalf of the GRAYS and other American houses, and so great was the confidence he inspired, that when he was about to enter into part- nership with Mr. JOHN BARING, January 1, 1826, one of the most eminent of these merchants, Mr. LABOUCHERE, voluntarily tendered him the capital he needed for the partnership. Two years later, in 1828, both Mr. BARING and Mr. BATES joined the great banking house of BARING BROTHERS & COMPANY, of which in a short time he became the active manager in all American and foreign affairs, and, on the retirement of Sir ALEXANDER BARING, (Lord ASHBURTON, ) the. senior partner. His thorough business abilities, his great knowledge of commercial affairs in all parts of the world, and his admirable tact and genial manners, made him a model banker. In the settlement of all American questions he was the supreme authority. He cultivated the most amicable relations with all the leading American bankers. While he never forgot for a moment his allegiance to his native country, and was always proud of his American citizenship, his relations were so cordial with the Governors of the Bank of England and the great London bankers, that he could obtain greater favors from them, than were accorded to any other banking house. He was always ready to render a service to America, and his first great opportunity to do so was not neglected. Mr. SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, long an honored member of the New-York Chamber of Commerce,
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thus stated Mr. BATES' services to New-York City and the country in 1838, in a speech before the Chamber, October 20th, 1864, called to take action on the occasion of his death. (We omit some passages, not necessary to the understanding of the subject.) At the time of the great financial panic in 1837, the Legislature of the State of New-York passed an act practically permitting the banks of the State to suspend specie payments for one year from May 16, 1837. Mr. RUGGLES was elected a member of the State Assembly in November of that year, and made Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, in that body. It was a part of his duty to examine carefully the resources of the banks, and especially their ability to resume specie payments in May, 1838. He was thus brought into communication with many of the most eminent bankers and financiers of the City and country. Among them, none possessed sounder financial knowledge, or clearer and more far- sighted judgment and integrity, than the late JAMES GORE KING, soon after President of the Chamber of Commerce, and. the head of the great banking house of PRIME, WARD & KING, who were most intimately asso- ciated with the house of BARING BROTHERS & Co. Mr. KING was hostile to the act of suspension passed by the previous Legislature, and was determined to spare no effort to bring about the prompt resumption of specie payments in May, 1838. Meanwhile, Mr. NICHOLAS BIDDLE, then President of the "Pennsylvania Bank of the United States," (resuscitated from the old Bank of the United States,) and regarded in many quarters as a high authority in matters of finance, wrote to Mr. RUGGLES, earnestly advising the prolongation of the suspension of specie payments, and asserting the inability of the banks to redeem their obligations in coin. The Com- mittee of Ways and Means disapproved of Mr. BIDDLE's view, and consulted Mr. KING on the best means of bringing about resumption. He was so earnest in his belief in its necessity, that he went to Europe in the early winter of 1838, to aid in its accomplishment. How he
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succeeded is told in the following letter, addressed to Mr. RUGGLES :
LONDON, March 15, 1838.
DEAR SIR :
I hasten to inform you that I have concluded an arrange- ment on the part of BARING BROTHERS & Co., and PRIME, WARD & KING, with the Bank of England, for the ship- ment of one million of sovereigns, (in gold, of course, ) by the four or five first ships for New-York, from London and Liverpool, and I trust and hope that upon their arrival our banks, and those of the Atlantic Cities, will resume and maintain specie payments, toward which result my thoughts and efforts have been unceasingly devoted for the last month. The service which I have thus had an oppor- tunity to afford my own City and State, by aiding it in taking the initiative in this great and wholesome measure, affords me a satisfaction, in which I know that you and my other friends will fully participate. This arrangement was only concluded definitely this morning, but I com- municate it with all dispatch.
JAMES G. KING.
To SAMUEL B. RUGGLES, Esq., Chairman Committee of Ways and Means, Albany, N. Y.
It was not till after Mr. KING's return to New-York that it was learned that Mr. BATES had not only readily responded to Mr. KING's proposition, which, without his powerful aid and co-operation, could not have been ac- complished, but mindful of the difficulties attending re- sumption, had insisted upon having another million of sovereigns, ($5,000,000,) placed at the disposal of the American bankers, if it should be required. In 1839 Mr. BATES, solicitous for the rescue of the monied institutions of his native land from embarrassment and dishonor, offered, on behalf of BARING BROTHERS & Co., to advance a large sum on State stocks, (which were not then readily marketable in England,) for account of several banking
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institutions of New-York City, and thus relieve them. This credit, though but partially used, contributed largely to maintain public confidence.
The result of the negotiations of 1838, so honorable alike to Mr. KING and to Mr. BATES, is now a matter of history. The first million of sovereigns, ($5,000,000,) with so much more in prospect, proved amply sufficient. The New- York banks all resumed early in May. Their example was generally followed throughout the Union, except in the case of Mr. BIDDLE's Bank, which, after a vain attempt to carry an oppressive load of interior State stocks, finally went down and disappeared from the financial world.
But Mr. BATES' manifestation of the highest love for his country did not stop with these acts. When, in 1846, Great Britain and the United States were nearly ready to go to war on the Northwestern Boundary question, the British Government claiming, on very weak grounds, that the boundary line should be the 45th degree of north latitude, while the United States Government demanded the parallel of 54° 40'; Mr. BATES, who had studied the whole subject very thoroughly, circulated among the members of Parlia- ment, and his English friends, the very candid and able pam- phlet of Mr. WILLIAM STURGIS, of Boston, who had devoted some years to the investigation of the question, and had explored the Northwest region in person. When Commis- sioners were appointed by the two countries, to settle the controversy and formulate a treaty, Mr. BATES was, at their joint request, appointed umpire, and his decision was accepted without hesitation and incorporated in the treaty. To his wise action we owe our possession of the Columbia River in all its course, and the magnificent territory of Washington, soon to be a State.
In the Northeastern Boundary question, settled by the ASHIBURTON treaty of August 9, 1842, Lord ASHBURTON, formerly a member of the house of BARING BROTHERS & Co., was the leading Commissioner on one side, and DANIEL WEBSTER, then Secretary of State, on the other ; both were warm personal friends of Mr. BATES, (as was our then Minister, the Hon. ABBOTT LAWRENCE, ) and all
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came to him for the history and geography of the boun- dary, which he understood better than any one else, and their final agreement was on the lines he had marked out.
In relation to his friendly action to us in the time of our civil war, the conclusion of which he did not live to see, we cannot express more fully the greatness of our obligations to him, than by quoting two of the eloquent resolutions adopted unanimously by the Chamber of Commerce, at the meeting on the occasion of his death; these resolutions were offered by JOHN A. STEVENS, and seconded by JAMES BROWN :
Resolved, That this Chamber recognizes with cheerful- ness, the long and able services given as fiscal agents of the United States, by the firm of which Mr. BATES was a mem- ber, and especially acknowledges the liberal, timely and valuable aid rendered to the Government, in its large transactions during the present rebellion, to all of which Mr. BATES, as senior partner, gave his personal assistance and influence.
Resolved, further, That not alone, or chiefly for what is already set forth, will the name of JOSHUA BATES be held in dear and grateful remembrance by all loyal Americans, but for that, in this our mortal struggle for national life, he has stood forth, with few around him, unwavering, un- shaken, steadfast in his fidelity to his native country, un- changed and unseduced by aristocratic associations, or the blandishments of great wealth and power ; a true supporter always of the integrity of the United States, and faithful to the cause of human liberty and progress among all nations.
We may add, what is not, perhaps, generally known, that to his influence over NAPOLEON III., who was under great personal obligations to him and his house, is due the abandonment of NAPOLEON's intention of declaring war against us in 1862. The Emperor had three grievances against us : our refusal to recognize MAXIMILIAN, our cap-
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ture of the Confederate Commissioners, and the placing of the Count DE PARIS upon General MCCLELLAN's staff ; and it required all Mr. BATES' skill and influence, to dis- suade him from hostile action, but he succeeded.
It was natural that Boston, the place of his early busi- ness training, and Massachusetts, the State of his birth, should receive special gifts, as evidences of his affection ; and so we find him founding the Boston Public Library by the gift of $100,000 in money and choice books, and in many other ways manifesting his regard for that city ; but his heart was too large, and his philanthropy and patriotism too deep and broad, to be confined within State lines. His career was marked by comparatively few afflictions ; he lost his only son, a young man of great promise, in 1834, by the accidental discharge of a fowling piece ; and the death of his wife, to whom he was most tenderly attached, which occurred nearly thirty years later, was thought by his friends to have hastened his own. He died September 24th, 1864, at New Lodge, near London, England, in the 76th year of his age. Only one child, a daughter, survived him.
PETER COOPER.
TIIs distinguished inventor, merchant and philanthropist, so well known throughout the land, was born February 12th, 1791, in what was then called Little Dock-street, now Water-street, near Coenties Slip, in this city. His mother was born on the site where St. Paul's Church now stands, at the junction of Broadway and Vesey-street. Both parents were devout people, and belonged to the Methodist Church. His maternal grandfather was Deputy Quartermaster- General in the War of the Revolution, and his own father was a Lieutenant in the Army at that time. The early education of PETER COOPER was very unlike that which his liberality has provided for many young men of to-day. At the close of the war his father began the manufacture
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of hats in this city, and succeeded in amassing a small fortune. Before PETER was eight years of age the father moved to Peekskill, where he established a hat-factory and small store. This business he sold soon afterwards, and then engaged in the brewing of ale. From this he took to brick-making at Catskill, but as this proved unsuccessful, he removed his family to Brooklyn, where a brewery was again tried, but without success, and the family once more started for the shores of the Hudson, where, at Newburg, the father soon established another brewery, which, owing chiefly to the exertions of PETER, was made a partial success. PETER was then 16 years old. In 1808 he left his father's roof for New-York, intending to begin business as a brewer. Lack of funds prevented him from carrying out his plans, and he, therefore, apprenticed himself to JOHN WOOD- WARD, a carriage-maker. For five years, the term for which he was bound, he received $25 per year and board. He was a close student, while other apprentices neglected their opportunities. When, therefore, his apprenticeship expired he was a very proficient workman, and the appreciation of his master was manifested by an offer to fit up a shop on the Bowery for him, and permit him to pay for it when he was able. This offer Mr. COOPER declined, on the ground that he did not like to begin life by bur- dening himself with debt. He, therefore, left the coach- making business, went to Hempstead, Long Island, and there worked at $1.50 a day for a man who was making a machine for shearing cloth. This was in 1812. In 1813 he married Miss SARAII BEDELL. At this time he had saved sufficient funds to enable him to purchase the right to manufacture a patent cloth-shearing machine. In this he was successful. His inventive power and his close ap- plication now began to produce results ; for at this period he perfected a very important improvement in this ma- chine. Commerce with England was stopped for some time by the war, and Mr. COOPER realized a large profit in his business; but when the war closed the demand for his machine ceased, and he sold the patent to MATTHEW VASSAR, the founder of Vassar College.
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Mr. COOPER at this time made his first important venture in real estate in this city, by securing a twenty- years' lease of two houses and six lots, where the Bible House now stands (opposite the Cooper Union); and here he began the grocery business, and built four large wooden dwelling-houses. Shortly after, he purchased a glue-factory, with all its buildings and stock, and a leasehold right of twenty-one years of the site upon which it stood, in the old Middle Road, now Fourth Avenue, between 31st and 34th streets. This proved to be the foundation of the large fortune which PETER COOPER so honestly earned, and a large portion of which he so philanthropically spent. "COOPER's glue" soon became famous, and was of better quality than the imported product. He also manufactured whiting, prepared chalk and isinglass. When his lease expired, Mr. COOPER was considered a wealthy man. He built a commodious factory on Maspeth Avenue, Brooklyn, and there con- tinued the manufacture of glue, until he reached his eightieth year.
Mr. COOPER's surplus capital was invested in various ways. He could command almost unlimited credit. Everybody knew him, and had confidence in his ability, enterprise and integrity. In 1828, with others, who after- wards proved to be irresponsible, Mr. COOPER purchased three thousand acres of land within the limits of the City of Baltimore. All the purchase-money was found by Mr. COOPER. By this transaction he secured the whole of the shore-line of Baltimore, from Fell's Point Dock, for a distance of three miles. The manufacture of charcoal iron then began to engage his attention, and he erected a number of large kilns and a forge of novel design and construction. This property he sold to a Boston firm, and the Canton Land Company was then established, Mr. COOPER taking a large portion of his pay in stock. The stock of the Company appreciated in value so rapidly that Mr. COOPER was enabled to sell his portion ; so that his Baltimore invest- ment, after all, proved a paying one.
He built an iron-mill in 34th-street, in this city, but
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in 1850 removed his business to Trenton, N. J., at which place he erected what was, at that time, one of the largest rolling-mills in America. Here he first introduced the manufacture of iron beams for fire-proof buildings. He was the first to apply anthracite coal to iron-puddling. Blast-furnaces were also built by him at Phillipsburg, New-Jersey, and rolling mills, and wire-works, connected with mining operations in other parts of Pennsylvania and New-Jersey.
Mr. COOPER's inventive mind was continually at work. In 1830 he built a locomotive to demonstrate the feasi- bility of running trains round objectionable curves, and before this had invented an endless chain for the towing of boats on the canals. For nearly a quarter of a century PETER COOPER was a member of the Chamber of Com- merce, and was honored by all his associates in the Chamber as a successful merchant and philanthropic citizen. For twenty years he was President of the American Tele- graph Company, and was at its head when it controlled more than half of all the lines in the country. He also owned a large amount of stock in, and was President of, the New-York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company. His money and influence were also at the command of the promoters of the laying of the Atlantic Cable. CYRUS W. FIELD, the prime mover in this great project, was ably supported by Mr. COOPER during all the trying vicissitudes of that great enterprise.
The benevolent schemes of PETER COOPER have been so fully recorded that a passing reference to them will suffice here. The Cooper Union-that grand legacy to the students of science and art-is one of his great gifts, which will make his name known to future generations. Denied of educational privileges himself, he was determined to devote the savings of his life, if necessary, to the establish- ment of an Institute which should give to the poor an opportunity of securing that scientific knowledge which in after years they could put into practical use. The Cooper Union was begun in 1855, and in 1857 the building was transferred by its founder to the Trustees. The Institute
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cost $630,226. In 1882 another story was added, at a cost of over $100,000, and Mr. COOPER also made a special en- dowment of $250,000 for the support and increase of the free reading room and library. It is unnecessary here to explain the advantages this noble institution offers, beyond stating that its scope has been so enlarged as to provide for free courses in. Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, English Literature, Rhetoric and Elocution, and many other useful branches of learning, including Art Schools for men and women.
In 1876 PETER COOPER was the nominee of the National Independent party for President of the United States, and conditionally accepted the nomination. He was also a promoter of anti-monopoly measures. His views on the currency question are well known. They were never very popular. His opinions on many economic subjects were collated just prior to his death and issued in book form. Mr. COOPER died in this City, April 4th, 1883, in the 93d year of his age, universally and sincerely mourned by all. His wife died in December, 1869. Six children were born to them, but four died early in life. The Hon. EDWARD COOPER, Ex-Mayor of the City, and SARAH AMELIA, the wife of the Hon. ABRAM S. HEWITT, are the two surviving members of the family.
JOHN DAVID WOLFE.
JOHN DAVID WOLFE was born in this City, July 24th, 1792. His grandfather, bearing the same name, was a native of Saxony, and emigrated to this country in the early part of the eighteenth century, and died here in 1759, leaving four children, the eldest of whom was DAVID WOLFE, the father of the subject of this sketch. DAVID WOLFE passed nearly the whole of his long life of eighty-eight years, on Fair-street, (now known as Fulton- street,) between William and Nassau streets, until the widening of that thoroughfare caused his removal to
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another section of the City. DAVID WOLFE took an active part in the entire War of the Revolution, and at the outbreak he was appointed by the Committee of Safety, under authority of the Provincial Congress, Captain of the militia company of foot in the City of New- York, on beat described by the City Committee as "beat Number 13," and served for several years as Assistant- Quartermaster of WASHINGTON's army. He was noted for the earnestness and promptness in the discharge of his duties, for which qualities he was highly complimented by General TIMOTHY PICKERING, his superior officer. After the close of the war, DAVID WOLFE engaged in the hard- ware trade. After a successful career he retired from busi- ness in 1816, and was succeeded by his son, JOHN DAVID WOLFE, who for a short time was in partnership with his cousin, under the firm name of C. & J. D. WOLFE ; after- wards, until the close of his business career, was asso- ciated with JAPHET BISHOP, who married Mr. WOLFE'S sister. The firm then was known as WOLFE & BISHOP, and their place of business was at the corner of Maiden Lane and Gold-street. Mr. WOLFE was one of the founders of the Chemical Bank and always a Director in that institution. He was also one of the earliest Di- rectors of the Hudson River Railroad Company.
Mr. WOLFE retired from active business in 1842, having acquired a large fortune, which was afterwards augmented by judicious investments in real estate in this City. His life was thereafter devoted to charitable and philanthropic enterprises, to which he gave largely of his means, and aided by personal labor to make them a success. He was a devoted member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and for several years a Vestryman of Trinity Church, afterwards a Vestryman, and, at the time of his death, Senior Warden of Grace Church.
He was President of the Prison Association of New- York, Vice-President of the Society of the New-York Hospital, Vice-President of the New-York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, Vice-President of the Society for the Relief of the Ruptured and Crippled,
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and an officer in other associations and societies having for their object the moral and religious elevation of the people.
JOHN DAVID WOLFE was a man of great benevolence, and his benefactions were as free from ostentation as they were far-reaching in their results. He never did anything penuriously. If he had pet charities, they did not shut out the claims of others upon his benevolence. Childhood in particular received from him personal attention. Several of the great cities of the West are largely indebted to him for their early educational advantages.
Mr. WOLFE was a patron of the various libraries and institutions of fine arts of this City. He was one of the founders, and a generous contributor to the American Museum of Natural History, and was its President at the time of his death. The Historical Society was his special beneficiary, and he always took an active interest in its affairs.
Mr. WOLFE was for many years a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He died in this City, May 17th, 1872, in the eightieth year of his age.
He left but one child, Miss CATHARINE LORILLARD WOLFE, recently deceased, who inherited not only his entire fortune, but his generous impulses, as her large and numerous charities abundantly prove. Her munificent gift to the Metropolitan Museum of Art of her entire col- lection of modern paintings has placed within the reach of all our citizens, art treasures that will for ages preserve the memory of the donor.
With this noble gift, Miss WOLFE set apart the sum of two hundred thousand dollars, the income of which is to be expended by the Board of Trustees for the care and preservation of the collection, and for making such addi- tions thereto, from time to time, as the Trustees should deem appropriate.
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BENJAMIN B. SHERMAN.
BENJAMIN BORDEN SHERMAN was born in Shrewsbury- town, Monmouth County, New-Jersey, November 8th, 1810. His boyhood was spent at Eatontown, to which place his parents removed a year after young SHERMAN's birth. He attended the Quaker school near that town, and was brought up in the Quaker faith. At the age of thirteen he commenced to study medicine, but ill health led to the abandonment of his studies.
In 1828, when eighteen years old, Mr. SHERMAN came to New-York, and found employment as clerk with CHARLES & OWEN WARDELL, wholesale grocers, at 45 and 47 Front- street. In 1833 he formed a partnership with CORNELIUS McCoON, and in 1842 GEORGE C. COLLINS was admitted to the firm. In 1847 Mr. McCoor retired, and in 1861 Mr. COLLINS also withdrew, when Mr. SHERMAN took three of his clerks into partnership, and the firm of SHERMAN, TALLMAN & Co. was formed. In 1864 Mr. SHERMAN retired from the wholesale grocery business, after an experience of thirty-six years. His high standing and ripe experience often led merchants to call upon him to decide disputed matters, and act as referee.
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