Archibald Gracie

Archibald Gracie (June 25, 1755 – April 11, 1829) was a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early American businessman and merchant in New York City and Virginia whose spacious home, Gracie Mansion, now serves as the residence of the Mayor of New York City.[1]

For other uses, see Archibald Gracie (disambiguation).
Archibald Gracie
BornJune 25, 1755
Dumfries, Scotland
DiedApril 11, 1829 (aged 73)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeWoodlawn Cemetery
OccupationMerchant
Spouse(s)
Esther Rogers
​
​
(m. after 1784)​

Elizabeth Fitch
ChildrenEliza Gracie
Sarah Gracie
Archibald Gracie II
Esther Rogers Gracie
Parent(s)William Gracie
RelativesArchibald Gracie III (grandson)
Charles King (son-in-law)
James Gore King (son-in-law)
William Lawrence (son-in-law)

Early life

Archibald Gracie was born June 25, 1755 in Dumfries, Scotland. He was the son of a weaver named William Gracie. In 1776, Gracie moved to Liverpool and clerked for a London shipping firm. He used his earnings to purchase a part interest in a merchant ship.

Career

In April 1784, he sailed to America with a cargo of goods that were his own profit stock. He used the proceeds to invest in a mercantile company in New York City. He later moved to Petersburg, Virginia, and engaged in the export of tobacco to Great Britain.[2] In 1793, he moved back to New York and became a commissary merchant and shipowner (Archibald Gracie and Sons, East India Merchants). Gracie was a business partner of Alexander Hamilton and a friend of John Jay.[3]

Gracie was a member of the Tontine Association, which supervised the trading of stocks. Gracie expanded his interests and became active in the banking and insurance industries. He was a director of New York's earliest savings bank New York Bank for Savings.[4] He was an incorporator of the Eagle Fire Insurance Company and vice president of the New York Insurance Company, a director of the United States Bank and of the Bank of America.[3]

He served as Vice-President of the New York Chamber of Commerce from 1800 to 1825 and the 18th president of the St. Andrew's Society of New York, serving from 1818 to 1823.[3]

Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion

In 1798, Gracie purchased a large tract of land on Horn's Hook near the East River, where the following year he constructed a large two-story wooden mansion on the crest of a hill. Used primarily as his country home, the mansion quickly became a hub of the New York city social scene. Gracie's distinguished guests at the mansion included Hamilton (who founded the New-York Evening Post, now the New York Post, there), future United States president John Quincy Adams, and future French king Louis Phillippe.[2]

In 1823, Gracie sold the estate to pay off debts. It was acquired by New York City in 1891 and now serves as the residence of the Mayor of the city.[2]

Personal life
The grave of Archibald Gracie in Woodlawn Cemetery

In 1784, he married Esther "Hetitia" Rogers (1757–1833), a daughter of Nehemiah Rogers (1718–1760) and Elizabeth Fitch (1723–1812). Rogers was the granddaughter of Samuel Fitch (1701–1787), a Connecticut House of Representatives of the Colony of Connecticut who was the brother of Thomas Fitch (1699–1774), former governor of the Connecticut Colony.[3] Together, they had several children, including:[1]

After the death of his wife, Gracie married Elizabeth Fitch. His two marriages yielded ten children.[3]

Descendants

Gracie's grandson, Archibald Gracie III (1832–1864), a general in the Confederate Army, was killed at the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. Another grandson, and Archibald Gracie III's younger brother, James King Gracie (1840–1903), was married to Anna Louisa Bulloch (1833–1893), daughter of James Stephens Bulloch (1793–1849) and the sister of Martha Bulloch (1835–1884), who married Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (1831–1878).[10][11]

His granddaughter, Emily Sophia King (1823–1853), married Stephen Van Rensselaer Paterson (1817–1872),[12] grandson of William Paterson (1745–1806), a U.S. Senator, Governor of New Jersey and Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[13]

Gracie's great-grandson, Archibald Gracie IV (1858–1912), was a military officer and writer who survived the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912. Coincidentally, one of Gracie IV's fellow travellers on the Titanic was John Jacob Astor IV, great-grandson of frequent Gracie Mansion visitor, and personal friend of Gracie I, John Jacob Astor.[14]

References
Notes
  1. "Archibald Gracie (1755–1829)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  2. American Heritage magazine Archived 2008-12-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2008-11-14.
  3. Morrison, p. 91.
  4. Knowles, Charles, "History of the Bank for Savings in the City of New York," 1936.
  5. "The Sackett Family Association – Hon James Gore King". www.sackettfamily.info. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  6. "William Beach Lawrence (1800–1881)". www.nyhistory.org. New-York Historical Society. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  7. The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. "William Beach Lawrence facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about William Beach Lawrence". www.encyclopedia.com. The Columbia University Press. Retrieved 20 February 2017.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  8. "Litchfield Ledger – Student". www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org. Litchfield Historical Society. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  9. Brooks, James Wilton (1896). History of the Court of Common Pleas of the City and County of New York: With Full Reports of All Important Proceedings. p. 64. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  10. "LEGACY TO MR. ROOSEVELT; President Inherits $30,000 from James King Gracie. Kermit and Ethel Receive $5,000 Each – Estate of $500,000 Is Disposed Of, Partly to Charity". The New York Times. December 4, 1903. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  11. "TR Center – Last will and testament of James King Gracie". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  12. Herringshaw, Thomas William (1 January 1914). Paterson, Stephen Van Rensselaer. OCLC 163664761.
  13. Myers, Gustavus (1912). History of the Supreme Court of the United States. C. H. Kerr. p. 149. Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  14. Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, 1920, Albany: J. B. Lyon, p. 156.
Sources
  • Morrison Jr., George Austin, History of Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, 1756–1906. New York: 1906.
  • American Heritage magazine
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