Benjamin Bakewell Atterbury Explained

Benjamin Bakewell Atterbury (August 15, 1815 – May 2, 1900) was an American businessman and philanthropist.

Early life

Atterbury was born on August 15, 1815, in Newark, New Jersey. He was one of eight siblings born to Lewis Atterbury (1779–1872) and Catharine (Boudinot) Atterbury (1781–1877). Among his siblings were John Guest Atterbury, Julia Maria Atterbury (wife of Henry Clark Stimson), and the Rev. William Wallace Atterbury. His father, who was born at Castle Donington, in Leicestershire, England, emigrated to the U.S. with his uncle Benjamin Bakewell, founder of Bakewell Glass.^[1]

His paternal grandparents were Job Atterbury and Sarah (Bakewell) Atterbury. His maternal grandparents were Catharine (Smith) Boudinot (daughter of William Peartree Smith, a founder of Princeton University)^[2] and Elisha Boudinot, a Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court who was the brother of Elias Boudinot, 2nd President of the Confederation Congress. Through his sister Julia, he was an uncle to prominent surgeon Lewis Atterbury Stimson and through his brother John, he was an uncle to Brig.-Gen. William Wallace Atterbury, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad.^[3]

Career

At an early age, he went to New York City and engaged in business. He went into partnership with Amos Sawyer Thornton, Edward Johnson Cole Atterbury in the business of Commission Agents in Manchester.^[4] He retired in 1850 and then devoted most of his time to religious and philanthropic work. He was one of the founders of the Murray Hill Presbyterian Church. For fifty years, he was an officer of the House of Refuge on Randall's Island.

Personal life

On April 21, 1847, Atterbury was married to Olivia Eggleston Phelps (1821–1894), a daughter of Olivia Egleston and Anson Green Phelps.^[5] Among her siblings were Elizabeth Woodbridge Phelps (wife of Daniel James), Melissa Phelps (wife of William E. Dodge), and Caroline Phelps (wife of James Boulter Stokes).^[6] Together, they were the parents of:

• Olivia Phelps Atterbury (1848–1923), who married Capt. Kiliaen Van Rensselaer (1845–1905), a son of William Paterson Van Rensselaer (son of Stephen Van Rensselaer).^[7]
• Boudinot Currie Atterbury (1852–1930), a doctor who became a missionary in China.^[8]
• Anson Greene Phelps Atterbury (1854–1931), a pastor of the 86th Street Methodist Church who married Catharine Goodhue Van Rensselaer, a daughter of William Paterson Van Rensselaer, in 1891.^[9]
• Melissa Dodge Atterbury (–1933), a member of the Colonial Dames of America.^[10]

His wife died on March 30, 1894.^[11] Atterbury died at his residence in The Dakota on Central Park West in Manhattan on May 2, 1900.^[12]

Notes and References

1. Book: The Family Book of Bakewell, Page, Campbell: Being Some Account of the Descendants of John Bakewell, of Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England, Born in 1638. Benjamin Page, Born in 1765, at Norwich, England. William Campbell, Born July 1, 1766, at Mauchline, Ayrshire, Scotland. John Harding, of Leicester . 1896 . Wm. G. Johnston & Company, Printers and Stationers . 25 March 2022 . en.
2. Web site: Smith, William Peartree . collections.dartmouth.edu . . March 25, 2022.
3. Book: Treese . Lorett . Railroads of Pennsylvania: Fragments of the Past in the Keystone Landscape . 2003 . Stackpole Books . 978-0-8117-2622-1 . 24 . 25 March 2022 . en.
4. Book: The London Gazette . 1846 . T. Neuman . . 833 . 25 March 2022 . en.
5. Book: Goodwin . Nathaniel . Olcott . Henry Steel . The Descendants of Thomas Olcott : One of the First Settlers of Hartford, Connecticut . 1874 . J. Munsell . . 9 April 2019.
6. Book: Tombstone of Daniel and Elizabeth (Phelps) James. January 2013. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. 45. Volume 144 Number 1.
7. Book: Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History Volume 16 North America, South-East Asia, China, Japan, and Australasia (1800-1914) . 29 June 2020 . BRILL . 978-90-04-42990-1 . 357 . 25 March 2022 . en.
8. News: Times . Special to The New York . DR. B.C. ATTERBURY DEAD IN FLORIDA; New Yorker One of First Medical Men in China--Honored by Dowager Empress. . 25 March 2022 . . 22 May 1930.
9. News: ANTI-VICE SOCIETY GETS $5,000 LEGACY; Sister and 16 Nephews and Nieces to Share Residue of $100,000 Estate of Dr. Atterbury. . 25 March 2022 . . 15 January 1931.
10. Book: Browning . Charles Henry . Americans of Royal Descent: Collection of Genealogies Showing the Lineal Descent from Kings of Some American Families ... . 1969 . Genealogical Publishing Com . 978-0-8063-0054-2 . 267 . 25 March 2022 . en.
11. News: DIED -- ATTERBURY . 25 March 2022 . . 31 March 1894.
12. News: DEATH LIST OF A DAY.; Benjamin Bakewell Atterbury. . 25 March 2022 . . 5 May 1900.