Robert Goelet Sr.

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Robert Goelet
Born(1809-09-19)September 19, 1809
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 22, 1879(1879-09-22) (aged 70)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materColumbia College
Spouse
Sarah Ogden
​
​
(m. 1839)​
ChildrenRobert Goelet
Helen Goelet
Ogden Goelet
Parent(s)Peter P. Goelet
Almy Buchanan Goelet
RelativesSee Goelet family

Robert Goelet Sr. (September 19, 1809 – September 22, 1879) was an American businessman and co-founder of the Chemical Bank of New York.

Early life[edit]

Goelet was born on September 19, 1809, to "one of the oldest and most respected [families] in the City." He was the youngest of four children born to Almy (née Buchanan) Goelet (1768–1848) and Peter P. Goelet (1764–1828).[1] His siblings were Peter Goelet, who was named after their grandfather Peter Goelet;[2] Jean Buchanan Goelet;[3] and Hannah Green Goelet, who married Thomas Russell Gerry, son of U.S. Vice President Elbridge Gerry and parents to Elbridge Thomas Gerry.[4] His father, a hardware merchant based at 48 Hanover Square (later known as 113 and 115 Pearl Streets), was a large land-owner, including the "Goelet farm" which Robert's elder brother Peter inherited at Broadway and 19th Street.[5][6]

His maternal grandparents were Almy (née Townsend) Buchanan and Thomas Buchanan, a merchant with Thomas Buchanan & Son at 44 Wall Street.[7] Goelet's maternal aunt, Margaret Buchanan, was married to his paternal uncle, Robert Ratsey Goelet.[7] His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Ratsey) Goelet and Peter Goelet,[8] a prominent merchant and landowner who was a descendant of Huguenots from La Rochelle in France, who escaped to Amsterdam.[9] During the Revolutionary War, his grandfather was a member of the Sons of Liberty, the Committee of Correspondence, and the Committee of One Hundred.[1]

He graduated from Columbia College in 1828.[10]

Career[edit]

Goelet was a prominent landowner and landlord in New York and generally followed his brothers real estate rule, which was to "never to part with a foot of land the title of which had been once vested in the Goelet family."[2]

Robert, along with his brother, were instrumental in founding the Chemical Bank and Trust Company.[1] While neither of them were directors (Robert's son Robert became a director in 1878), both Robert and Peter were among the largest stockholders of the bank when it was rechartered as a state bank in 1844.[11] Today, through various mergers, the bank is known as JPMorgan Chase.[12]

Personal life[edit]

On October 16, 1839, Goelet was married to Sarah Ogden (1809–1888), a daughter of Jonathan Ogden and Charlotte Eliza (née Walton) Ogden.[13] Together, they lived at 5 State Street in Manhattan, overlooking the Battery and were the parents of:[14]

Goelet died on September 22, 1879, at 857 Broadway, his residence in New York City.[5] After a funeral at St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, he was buried in the Ogden family vault at the New York Marble Cemetery.[22] In his will, he left his wife "all his jewelry, plate, ornaments, horses, carriages, furniture, and paintings, and an annuity of $40,000 in lieu of dower, payable in quarterly installments."[23] The remainder of his estate, which in total was estimated at from $6,000,000 to $10,000,000, was left to his two sons in "equal shares."[23] Two months after Robert's death, his brother Peter, who never married and was known for his many eccentricities, also died.[2][24] Aside from $500,000 left to his nephew Elbridge Gerry, the rest of Peter's estate went to Robert's sons.[25]

Descendants[edit]

Main article: Goelet family

Through his eldest son Robert, he was a grandfather of Robert Walton Goelet, a financier and real estate developer,[26] and Beatrice Goelet, who died of pneumonia at age 17 in 1902 and was painted as a child by John Singer Sargent.[27]

Through his son Ogden, he was a grandfather of Mary Goelet,[28] the wife of Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe,[29][30] and Robert Wilson Goelet, the original owner of Glenmere mansion.[31][32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c N.Y.), Chemical Bank and Trust Company (New York (1913). History of the Chemical Bank, 1823-1913. Country Life Press. pp. 101–104. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "An Eccentric Man Gone; Death of Peter Goelet, in His Eightieth Year. Yielding to the Advance of Old Age-- Peculiarities of Mr. Goelet's Career --Economy Without Meanness--Tenacious Hold of Real Estate" (PDF). The New York Times. 22 November 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  3. ^ Van Pelt, Daniel (1898). Leslie's History of the Greater New York: Encyclopedia of New York biography and genealogy. Arkell Publishing Company. pp. 16, 34, 35. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  4. ^ Association, New York University Alumni (1894). Biographical Catalogue of the Chancellors: Professors and Graduates of the Department of Arts and Science of the University of the City of New York ... Alumni Association. p. 96. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Death of Robert Goelet" (PDF). The New York Times. 23 September 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  6. ^ Beach, Moses Yale (1846). The Wealth and Biography of the Wealthy Citizens of the City of New York: Being an Alphabetical Arrangement of the Most Prominent Capitalist ... : Also, a Valuable Table of Statistics Concerning the Wealth of the City of New York. Sun Office. p. 13.
  7. ^ a b Scoville, Joseph Alfred (1968). The Old Merchants of New York City. Greenwood Press. p. 46. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  8. ^ The World Almanac and Encyclopedia. Press Publishing Company (The New York World). 1916. p. 626. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  9. ^ Lyman Horace Weeks, Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City, New York: The Historical Company, 1897 [1]
  10. ^ Catalogus collegii Columbiani, Neo-Eboracensis: complectens nomina eorum, qui aliquo gradu fuerunt ornati : et eorum, qui in eo auctotitatem [sic] qualemcunque exercuerunt, nomine rectorum, seu moderatorum, seu coratorum : nec non senatus academici : ab origine, ad annum 1814, inclusum. Typis Petrus Van Pelt. 1815. p. 55.
  11. ^ "The Chemical Bank's President; His Sudden Death on New Year's Night a Sketch of His Career History of the Great Institution Over Which He Presided" (PDF). The New York Times. 3 January 1878. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  12. ^ "GOELET BUILDING (now SWISS CENTER BUILDING)" (PDF). s-media.nyc.gov. Landmarks Preservation Commission. January 14, 1992. p. 2. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  13. ^ Hone, Philip (2009). The Diary of Philip Hone. Applewood Books. p. 384. ISBN 9781429021166. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  14. ^ Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. New York City: Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1902. p. 28. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  15. ^ "DEATH OF ROBERT GOELET | Heart Disease Causes the End Unexpectedly at Naples. | CAREER OF THE MILLIONAIRE | His Public Spirit and Benevolence Were of Material Benefit to New York and Newport" (PDF). The New York Times. April 28, 1899. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  16. ^ "MRS. ROBERT GOELET DIES IN PARIS HOME Prominent American Hostess's Death Follows an Operation for Cancer. | BODY TO BE BROUGHT HERE | Entertained German Emperor on Her Yacht Nahma--History of Goelet Real Estate Fortune" (PDF). The New York Times. December 5, 1912. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  17. ^ "The Goelet-Warren Wedding" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 April 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  18. ^ Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 509. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  19. ^ "DEATH OF OGDEN GOELET; American Millionaire Expires on His Yacht, Mayflower, at Anchor in Cowes Roads. | ILL FOR ABOUT TWO MONTHS | He Worried over Family Affairs, Particularly the Proposed Marriage of His Daughter to the Duke of Manchester". The New York Times. 28 August 1897. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  20. ^ "MRS. OGDEN GOELET DIES OF PNEUMONIA; Duchess of Roxburghe's Mother Long Noted for Her Lavish Entertaining. WAS HOSTESS TO ROYALTY Edward VII, as Prince of Wales, Among Guests--Sister of Mrs. Cornellus Vanderbilt and R.T. Wilson. Her Hospitality. Duchess of Roxburghe Daughter". The New York Times. 24 February 1929. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  21. ^ Broderick, Mosette (2010). Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White: Art, Architecture, Scandal, and Class in America's Gilded Age. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 167. ISBN 9780307594273. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  22. ^ "Funeral of Robert Goelet" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 September 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  23. ^ a b "Robert Goelets Will" (PDF). The New York Times. 22 October 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  24. ^ "Miscellaneous City News; Peter Goelet's Funeral. the Interment in a Vault in St. Mark's Church-Yard" (PDF). The New York Times. 25 November 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Peter Goelet's Will; Dividing an Estate That May Be Worth Twenty Millions" (PDF). The New York Times. 6 December 1879. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  26. ^ "ROBERT W. GOELET DIES IN HOME AT 61. Corporation Director, Owner of Large Realty Holdings Here, Succumbs to Heart Attack. He Inherited $60,000,000. Sportsman, a Leader in Social Circles in Newport and New York, Kin of Early Settlers" (PDF). New York Times. May 3, 1941. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  27. ^ "MISS BEATRICE GOELET DEAD. Only Daughter of the Late Robert Goelet Succumbs to Attack of Pneumonia" (PDF). The New York Times. February 12, 1902. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  28. ^ Times, Wireless To The New York (27 April 1937). "DOWAGER DUCHESS OF ROXBURGHE DIES; New York Heiress Was a Close Friend of King George V and Queen Mary". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  29. ^ "Marriage Announcement". New York Times. September 3, 1903.
  30. ^ Times, Wireless To The New York (7 August 1929). "DUCHESS INHERITS FORTUNE; Former Miss Goelet Receives $3,000,000 From Mother's Estate". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  31. ^ "Chester Mansion Restored to Glory. A Battle over Frogs". Times Herald-Record. February 7, 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-26. Built by real-estate magnate Robert Goelet, whose family helped found Chemical Bank, the building had been reincarnated as an upscale hotel that ran aground in the 1960s and as a wedding banquet hall that was shuttered in 2007, among other efforts.
  32. ^ Foreman, John (14 November 2012). "Big Old Houses: A Better Fate Than Many". New York Social Diary. Retrieved 29 November 2016.

External links[edit]

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