Robert Henry McCurdy
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Robert Henry McCurdy | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 14, 1800 Lyme, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | April 5, 1880 (aged 79) |
| Resting place | Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Political party | Whig Party |
| Spouse | Gertrude Mercer Lee |
| Children | 5, including Richard Aldrich McCurdy |
| Parent(s) | Richard McCurdy Ursula Wolcott Griswold |
| Relatives | Charles J. McCurdy (brother) Matthew Griswold (great-grandfather) |
Robert Henry McCurdy (April 14, 1800 – April 5, 1880)[1] was an American businessman and political candidate. He amassed great wealth with partner Herman D. Aldrich as the co-founder of McCurdy and Aldrich, a commission firm which traded Southern cotton and other dry goods prior to the Panic of 1857. He lost his bid for Congress as a Whig in the late 1850s, and served as Commissary-General for the State of New York during the American Civil War.
Robert Henry McCurdy was born in 1800 in Lyme, Connecticut.[2] He was the son of Ursula Wolcott (née Griswold) McCurdy and Richard McCurdy, a Yale graduate who served in the Connecticut House of Representatives.[2] His older brother, Charles Johnson McCurdy (1797–1891), went on to serve as Lt. Governor of Connecticut as well as the United States Chargé to the Austrian Empire from 1850 to 1852.[3]
He was of Scotch Irish descent on his paternal side; as early as 1503, King James VI leased the vast majority of the Isle of Bute to the MacKurerdy family (later McCurdy). His paternal grandfather, John McCurdy, emigrated to the United States from Ireland in 1745 prior to the Declaration of Independence.[2] His mother's family was of English descent and his maternal great-grandfather, Matthew Griswold, served as the 17th Governor of Connecticut from 1784 to 1786.[2]
Career
In 1814, McCurdy moved to New York City and started working for Stephen Lockwood, a merchant.[4] Shortly after, he was sent for work for Lockwood in Petersburg, Virginia, where he purchased cotton on commission.[4] In 1820, along with Herman D. Aldrich, McCurdy co-founded McCurdy & Aldrich, a dry goods commission firm.[5] It later became known as McCurdy, Aldrich and Spencer.[5] They retired with great wealth prior to the Panic of 1857.[4][6]
In 1857, McCurdy ran for the 35th United States Congress as a Whig, but he lost to Democratic politician John Cochrane.[4] During the American Civil War, he was a staunch supporter of the Union,[2] and he served as Commissary-General for the State of New York.[2] Additionally, McCurdy made contributions to the Union Defense Committee of New York.[2] It was also during the war that he became a founding member of the Union League Club of New York.[2]
McCurdy was a co-founder of the Continental Fire Insurance Company.[2] He was also a founding trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company.[4] He also served on the board of directors of the Merchants Exchange Bank and the American Exchange National Bank.[2]
