Roswell Lyman Colt (1779-1856) was an American businessman who made a fortune in the shipping industry, served for decades as governor of the Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures, and was an early railroad executive. Colt's parents were Peter Colt (1744-1824) and Sarah Lyman. (Peter's brother was Benjamin Colt (1740-1781), whose son Christopher Colt (1780–1850) had a son who became famous for being the gunmaker/inventor

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of revolvers commercially viable. Col ...

(1814-1862).) A graduate of

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, Peter founded a shipping business that traded with the West Indies, served in the Revolutionary War, served as

Connecticut State Treasurer The Connecticut State Treasurer serves the office of treasurer for the state of Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachus ...

from 1790 to 1794, and went on to help found

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Pierre L'Enfant Pierre "Peter" Charles L'Enfant (; August 2, 1754June 14, 1825) was a French-American artist, professor, and military engineer. In 1791, L'Enfant designed the baroque-styled plan for the development of Washington, D.C., after it was designated ...

, and later settled in Paterson. Roswell Colt was born on July 20, 1779. In 1811, Roswell married Margaret Oliver (1790-1856), herself the heiress to a shipping fortune. In 1814, he took the post that was once his father's — governor of the S.U.M. — a job he would hold until 1850. He was a director of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the oldest railroads in North America, oldest railroad in the United States and the first steam engine, steam-operated common carrier. Construction of the line began in 1828, and it operated as B&O from 1830 ...

and, after he bought 3,000 shares of the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad in 1835, a director of the B&PD as well. In 1838, the B&PD merged with three other railroads to create the first rail link from Philadelphia to Baltimore. (This main line survives today as part of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

.) Colt's service as a railroad executive is noted on the 1839

Newkirk Viaduct Monument The Newkirk Viaduct Monument (also, Newkirk Monument) is a white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was installed in 1839 to mark the completion of the Newkirk Viaduct, the first permanent rai ...

in Philadelphia. Roswell and Margaret had 13 children: Robert Oliver Colt (1812-1885), John Oliver Colt (1813-1858), James Craig Colt (1815-1865), Elizabeth Sarah Colt (1816-1823), Mary Devereux Colt (1817-1884), Roswell Lyman Colt (1821-Unknown), John Craig Colt (1822-1848), Emily Oliver Colt (1825-1830), Morgan Gibbs Colt (1826-1894), Thomas Oliver Colt (1829-1869), Margaret Oliver Colt (1830-1871), Ellen Craig Colt (1831-Unknown), and Julia Colt (1835-1909). He died in Paterson on November 22, 1856. Morgan Colt was his grandson, through his son Morgan.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Colt, Roswell L. 1779 births 1856 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople Colt family American businesspeople in shipping People from Paterson, New Jersey Businesspeople from Connecticut Businesspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey