Robert Goelet Sr. Explained

Robert Goelet
Birth Date:19 September 1809
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma Mater:Columbia College
Children:Robert Goelet
Helen Goelet
Ogden Goelet
Parents:Peter P. Goelet
Almy Buchanan Goelet
Relatives:See 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

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; Jean Buchanan Goelet;[2] and Hannah Green Goelet, who married Thomas Russell Gerry, son of U.S. Vice President Elbridge Gerry and parents to Elbridge Thomas Gerry.[3] 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.[4]

His maternal grandparents were Almy (née Townsend) Buchanan and Thomas Buchanan, a merchant with Thomas Buchanan & Son at 44 Wall Street. Goelet's maternal aunt, Margaret Buchanan, was married to his paternal uncle, Robert Ratsey Goelet.[5] His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Ratsey) Goelet and Peter Goelet,[6] a prominent merchant and landowner who was a descendant of Huguenots from La Rochelle in France, who escaped to Amsterdam.[7] 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.[8]

Career

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."

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.[9] Today, through various mergers, the bank is known as JPMorgan Chase.[10]

Personal life

On October 16, 1839, Goelet was married to Sarah Ogden (1809–1888), a daughter of Jonathan Ogden and Charlotte Eliza (née Walton) Ogden.[11] Together, they lived at 5 State Street in Manhattan, overlooking the Battery and were the parents of:[12]

Goelet died on September 22, 1879, at 857 Broadway, his residence in New York City.[20] After a funeral at St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, he was buried in the Ogden family vault at the New York Marble Cemetery.[21] 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." 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."[22] Two months after Robert's death, his brother Peter, who never married and was known for his many eccentricities, also died.[23] [24] Aside from $500,000 left to his nephew Elbridge Gerry, the rest of Peter's estate went to Robert's sons.[25]

Descendants

See 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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: N.Y.) . Chemical Bank and Trust Company (New York . History of the Chemical Bank, 1823-1913 . 1913 . Country Life Press . 101–104 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  2. Book: Van Pelt . Daniel . Leslie's History of the Greater New York: Encyclopedia of New York biography and genealogy . 1898 . Arkell Publishing Company . 16, 34, 35 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  3. Book: Association . New York University Alumni . Biographical Catalogue of the Chancellors: Professors and Graduates of the Department of Arts and Science of the University of the City of New York ... . 1894 . Alumni Association . 96 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  4. Book: Beach, Moses Yale . 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 . 1846 . Sun Office . 13 . en. Moses Yale Beach .
  5. Book: Scoville . Joseph Alfred . The Old Merchants of New York City . 1968 . Greenwood Press . 46 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  6. Book: The World Almanac and Encyclopedia . 1916 . Press Publishing Company (The New York World) . 626 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  7. 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 http://www.mocavo.com/Prominent-Families-of-New-York/277631/233
  8. Book: 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]. 1815. Typis Petrus Van Pelt. 55. en.
  9. News: 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. . 19 August 2019 . . 3 January 1878.
  10. Web site: GOELET BUILDING (now SWISS CENTER BUILDING) . s-media.nyc.gov . . 19 August 2019 . 2 . January 14, 1992.
  11. Book: Hone, Philip . The Diary of Philip Hone . 2009 . Applewood Books . 9781429021166 . 384 . 19 August 2019 . en. Philip Hone .
  12. Book: Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society: Advanced Sheets, First Series. 1902. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. New York City. 28. 29 November 2016. en.
  13. News: 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. . 19 September 2018 . . April 28, 1899.
  14. News: 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 . 19 September 2018 . . December 5, 1912.
  15. News: The Goelet-Warren Wedding. . 19 August 2019 . . 18 April 1879.
  16. Book: Bergen . Tunis Garret . 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 . 1915 . Lewis Historical Publishing Company . 509 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  17. News: 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.. 29 November 2016. The New York Times. 28 August 1897.
  18. News: 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.. 29 November 2016. The New York Times. 24 February 1929.
  19. Book: Broderick . Mosette . Triumvirate: McKim, Mead & White: Art, Architecture, Scandal, and Class in America's Gilded Age . 2010 . . 9780307594273 . 167 . 19 August 2019 . en.
  20. News: Death of Robert Goelet. . 19 August 2019 . . 23 September 1879.
  21. News: Funeral of Robert Goelet. . 19 August 2019 . . 27 September 1879.
  22. News: Robert Goelets Will. . 19 August 2019 . . 22 October 1879.
  23. News: 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. . 19 August 2019 . . 22 November 1879.
  24. News: Miscellaneous City News; Peter Goelet's Funeral. the Interment in a Vault in St. Mark's Church-Yard. . 19 August 2019 . . 25 November 1879.
  25. News: Peter Goelet's Will; Dividing an Estate That May Be Worth Twenty Millions. . 19 August 2019 . . 6 December 1879.
  26. News: 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 . . May 3, 1941 . 2010-07-26 .
  27. News: MISS BEATRICE GOELET DEAD. Only Daughter of the Late Robert Goelet Succumbs to Attack of Pneumonia. . 19 September 2018 . . February 12, 1902.
  28. News: Times. Wireless To The New York. DOWAGER DUCHESS OF ROXBURGHE DIES; New York Heiress Was a Close Friend of King George V and Queen Mary. 13 April 2017. The New York Times. 27 April 1937.
  29. News: Marriage Announcement. New York Times. September 3, 1903.
  30. News: Times. Wireless To The New York. DUCHESS INHERITS FORTUNE; Former Miss Goelet Receives $3,000,000 From Mother's Estate.. 28 November 2016. The New York Times. 7 August 1929.
  31. News: Chester Mansion Restored to Glory. A Battle over Frogs . 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. . . February 7, 2010 . 2010-07-26 .
  32. Web site: Foreman. John. Big Old Houses: A Better Fate Than Many. New York Social Diary. 29 November 2016. 14 November 2012.

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