Dominick Lynch (1754 in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland – 5 June 1825) was an Irish born American general merchant and

wine merchant A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by winery, wineries or :Wine companies, wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulture, viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grap ...

who made his fortune in Bruges, Austrian Netherlands (then in the Holy Roman Empire) and then

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, founding what is today

Rome, New York Rome is a city in Oneida County, New York, United States, located in the central part of the state. The population was 32,127 at the 2020 census. Rome is one of two principal cities in the Utica–Rome Metropolitan Statistical Area, which lie ...

originally referred to as Lynchville.

Life

Lynch was a member of the Lynch family, one of the Tribes of Galway with his descendants including many Mayors of Galway. He was born to a Catholic family, the son of James Lynch and Anastatia Joyce and was said to have received an excellent education. He married his cousin Jane Lynch of Dublin on the 31st of August 1780. She was the daughter of Anthony Lynch and Margaret Power. Shortly after marrying he went to reside at Bruges to manage a branch of his father's business there.Meehan, Thomas F., ''Historical Records and Studies'', Volume 4, United States Catholic Historical Society, 1906, p. 285ff.
/ref> The business was successful while mainly being engaged in purchasing and selling flax seed to Ireland. He had thirteen children. His first three children including his eldest son James were born in Bruges, Belgium. His other children included Anastatia, Anthony, Dominick, Alexander, Margaret, Jasper, Jane, Henry, Harriet, Louisa, Edward and William.

Daniel Carroll Daniel Carroll Jr. (July 22, 1730May 7, 1796) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a Maryland politician, and a plantation owner. He supported the American Revolution, served in the Confederation Congress, was a delegate to ...

was godfather to Margaret. Lynch and his family lived for a number of years in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

before ultimately coming to reside in

from 1785. In his first year in New York Lynch was instrumental in raising and donating funds for the construction of the first iteration of St. Peter's Church. He was one of the church's first trustees. He was for a period a partner in the firm of Lynch and Stoughton. His sister Catherine married Thomas Stoughton. The firm was ultimately dissolved in July 1785 due to disagreements between the partners with both partners later suing each other. Lynch was later represented by

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...

. In 1786 he purchased about 700 acres in the vicinity of the abandoned Fort Stanwix in upstate New York. He later increased his holdings to about 2,000 acres, and in 1796 laid out plans for a village, originally called Lynchville. Lynch built woolen and cotton mills, and a sawmill. The streets were named after his children. He and his wife were among some three hundred people invited to attend

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

's inauguration ball in 1789. He purchased a large estate in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The c ...

in 1797 and later built a large stone house in the Flemish style there. It later became the Academy of the Sacred Heart for Boys, a school run by the Christian Brothers. His eldest son James was a lawyer and maintained an office at 5 Wall Street Court. He represented

Oneida County, New York Oneida County ( ) is a county in the state of New York, United States. As of February 26, 2024, the population was 226,654. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, one of the Five Nations of the Iroquois League or '' ...

in the New York legislature for a number of years and later became a judge.Barrett, Walter. ''The Old Merchants of New York City'', Carleton, 1864, p. 169ff.
/ref> Lynch's son, Dominic Lynch II, often noted as his fourth and favourite child, was instrumental in introducing

Bordeaux wine Bordeaux wine (; ) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city, the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the broad estuary called the Gironde; the Gi ...

from the Château Margaux to the United States market. His store was initially on William Street, and later on Pine Street. He is credited with having brought

Grand Opera Grand opera is a genre of 19th-century opera generally in four or five acts, characterized by large-scale casts and Orchestra, orchestras. The original productions consisted of spectacular design and stage effects with plots normally based on o ...

to the nation. In 1825 he engaged Manuel García and his company to stage opera performances at the Park Theatre. He was said to be a gifted vocalist and a well-known socialite. He made a great deal of money, but spent it freely and died poor. The younger Lynch was a friend of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

. Henry Lynch was active on Wall Street. Dominick Lynch and several members of his family, including Dominic II (1786–1857), are buried in the

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

at the Old St. Patrick's Cathedral in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

in New York City. He died at his mansion in Westchester County on 5 June 1825 with his widow Jane long surviving him and dying on the 2nd of July 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Dominick 1754 births 1824 deaths Expatriates in the Holy Roman Empire People from Galway (city) Irish emigrants to the United States 18th-century American merchants American wine merchants