James Boulter Stokes
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James Boulter Stokes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 31, 1804 |
| Died | August 1, 1881 (aged 77) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Employer | Phelps, Dodge & Co. |
| Spouse |
Caroline Olivia Phelps
(m. 1837; died 1881) |
| Children | 10 |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Stokes Elizabeth Boulter Stokes |
| Relatives | Edward Stiles Stokes (nephew) |
James Boulter Stokes (January 31, 1804 – August 1, 1881) was an American businessman. He was the third son-in-law of Anson Greene Phelps to become a partner in the mercantile business of Phelps, Dodge & Co.
Stokes's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (née Boulter) Stokes, emigrated from England to America in 1798. They settled in an area north of New York on the Hudson River near Sing Sing. Financial difficulties forced them to move to New York, where Thomas started businesses importing fine woolen cloth, selling coal and investing in property. Thomas was a religious man and joined the New York Peace Society and the New York Tract Society, becoming acquainted with Anson Greene Phelps and David Low Dodge. He died in 1832 at which time James and his brother Edward Halesworth Stokes took over the businesses.[1]
Career
In 1833, James Boulter Stokes travelled to England and met his maternal grandfather, James Boulter, for the first time. He found the gentleman to be so objectionable that he immediately removed the name Boulter from his own signature and from that time forward was known simply as James Stokes.[2]
Stokes's younger brother, Josiah, worked for Anson Greene Phelps as a confidential clerk. Josiah was betrothed to Phelps's daughter, Caroline, and the intention was for him to become a partner in the business. On May 4, 1832, Josiah was killed when the warehouse he was working in collapsed due to structural failure. Five years later, James married Caroline.[3]
Stokes provided funding for his father-in-law's Phelps, Dodge & Co. business during the 1837 financial crisis when the banks had suspended payments. In 1839, he was in business with the firm of Stokes, Shapter & Walton, importing cloth, and living in England before returning to New York in 1841. In 1847, he was invited to join Phelps, Dodge & Co., holding a 15% share in 1853 and by 1858, a 20% share. He became the first president of the Ansonia Brass & Copper Company, the Ansonia Clock Company, and the Ansonia Land & Water Company. Later two of his sons, Anson Phelps Stokes and Thomas Stokes, joined Phelps, Dodge & Co. Stokes had business interests outside of Phelps, Dodge including the ownership of 38,000 acres of pine land in Michigan.
Phelps, Stokes & Co.
In 1878, the Stokes family left Phelps, Dodge & Co. and entered a banking business on January 1, 1879.[4] The bank they formed was Phelps, Stokes & Co., 45 Wall Street. The partners were James Stokes, his eldest son Anson Phelps Stokes and Anson's father-in-law Isaac Newton Phelps. Their business included issuing credits on the Union Bank of London and on Melville, Evans & Co., London.
His son closed the banking business after his death in 1881, partly due to the litigation surrounding the elder Stokes' will, and partly because his own health became jeopardized when his eyesight started to fail. He was appointed temporary administrator of his father's estate until the court actions were finally settled.