Richard Aldrich McCurdy (January 29, 1835,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

– March 6, 1916,

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

) was an American attorney, business executive and banker during the

Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and West ...

. He served as the President of the Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1885 to 1906, when he retired in the wake of a corporate scandal.

Early life

Richard Aldrich McCurdy was born on January 29, 1835, in

. His father, Robert Henry McCurdy, was a prominent New York City businessman. His mother, Gertrude Mercer Lee, was the niece of

Theodore Frelinghuysen Theodore Frelinghuysen (March 28, 1787April 12, 1862) was an American politician who represented New Jersey in the United States Senate. He was the Whig vice presidential nominee in the election of 1844, running on a ticket with Henry Clay. Bo ...

, a United States Senator and former vice presidential candidate. McCurdy was of Scotch Irish descent on his paternal side; as early as 1503, King

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

leased the vast majority of the

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent is ...

to the MacKurerdy family (later McCurdy). His paternal great-grandfather, John McCurdy, emigrated to the United States from Ireland prior to the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

. His paternal uncle, Charles J. McCurdy, served as the United States Chargé to the Austrian Empire from 1850 to 1852. McCurdy received a law degree from the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class i ...

in 1856.

Career

McCurdy was practised law with William Betts Jr., and

Lucius Robinson Lucius Robinson (November 4, 1810March 23, 1891) was an American lawyer and politician. He was the 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879. Life He graduated from Delaware Academy in Delhi, New York. Afterwards he studied law in the office ...

, who served as the 26th Governor of New York from 1877 to 1879. McCurdy became legal counsel to the Mutual Life Insurance Company from 1860 to 1865. He became its vice president in 1865. He served as its President from 1885 to 1906. Under his leadership, the Mutual Life Insurance Company Building was built in Manhattan; according to John N. Ingham, "it was at that time the largest office structure in the world." Moreover, "the assets of Mutual Life grew from $103,627,812 to $476,861,165" from 1883 to 1903. However, McCurdy and other Mutual Life executives were accused of misappropriation of the company assets. By 1905, McCurdy was questioned over the salary his son received from the company. He retired in this midst of the scandal, in 1906. When the newly formed

Mutual Alliance Trust Company The Mutual Alliance Trust Company was a trust company formed in New York City in 1902, with founders such as Cornelius Vanderbilt and William Rockefeller. On January 14, 1915, the company was acquired by Chatham-Phenix National and Alliance Trust ...

opened for business in New York on the Tuesday after June 29, 1902, there were 13 directors, including

Emanuel Lehman Emanuel Lehman (born Mendel Lehmann; February 15, 1827 – January 10, 1907) was a German-born American banker. The younger brother of Henry Lehman, he was a co-founder of Lehman Brothers. Biography Emanuel Lehman was born in Rimpar, Bavaria o ...

William Rockefeller William Avery Rockefeller Jr. (May 31, 1841 – June 24, 1922) was an American businessman and financier. Rockefeller was a co-founder of Standard Oil along with his elder brother John Davison Rockefeller. He was also part owner of the Anaconda ...

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

, and McCurdy. Additionally, McCurdy served as the President of the

Bell Telephone Company The Bell Telephone Company, a common law joint stock company, was organized in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 9, 1877, by Alexander Graham Bell's father-in-law Gardiner Greene Hubbard, who also helped organize a sister company – the New Engla ...

. He also served as vice president and director of the Western National Bank of the United States in New York. Moreover, he served on the board of directors of the United States Mortgage & Trust Company.

Personal life

McCurdy married Sarah Ellen Little, daughter of

Charles Coffin Little Charles Coffin Little (July 25, 1799 – August 11, 1869) was a U.S. publisher. He is best known for co-founding Little, Brown and Company with James Brown. Early life Charles Coffin Little was born on July 25, 1799, in Kennebunk, Maine. Career L ...

, on 22 October 1856. They had two children, Robert H. McCurdy (who married Mary Suckley), and Gertrude Lee McCurdy (who married Louis A. Thebaud). They resided on lower

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping stre ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of counties in New York, origin ...

, New York City, until they moved to a mansion

Morris Plains, New Jersey Morris Plains is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 5,532,Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. McCurdy's sister Gertrude married

Gardiner Greene Hubbard Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822 – December 11, 1897) was an American lawyer, financier, and community leader. He was a founder and first president of the National Geographic Society; a founder and the first president of the Bell Telep ...

, the first president of the Bell Telephone Company and a founder of the National Geographic Society. McCurdy was thus the uncle of their daughter, Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, who married

Alexander Graham Bell Alexander Graham Bell (, born Alexander Bell; March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish-born inventor, scientist and engineer who is credited with patenting the first practical telephone. He also co-founded the American Telephone and T ...

. McCurdy was a member of the

Metropolitan Club The Metropolitan Club of New York is a private social club on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded as a gentlemen's club in 1891 for men only, but it was one of the first major clubs in New York to admit women, t ...

, the

Union League Club of New York The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...

, the Manhattan Club, the

Manhattan Club (social club) The Manhattan Club was a social club in Manhattan, New York founded in 1865 and dissolved around 1979. History Designed to be the Democratic answer to the Union Club, its prominent members included Samuel J. Tilden, August Belmont, Grover Cleve ...

and the Lawyer's Club. He was also a member of the

New England Society of New York The New England Society in the City of New York (NES) is one of several lineage organizations in the United States and one of the oldest charitable societies in the country. It was founded in 1805 to promote “friendship, charity and mutual a ...

and the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 inte ...

Death

McCurdy died on March 6, 1916, in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. He was eighty-one years old. His portrait, painted by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and mor ...

in 1890, is in the collection of the

Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, a museum noted for its ''art nouveau'' collection, houses the most comprehensive collection of the works of Louis Comfort Tiffany found anywhere, a major collection of American art pottery, and fin ...

Winter Park, Florida Winter Park is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. The population was 30,183 according to the 2022 census population estimate. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winter Park was f ...

. His photograph, taken by Ira W. Martin in 1890, is in the collection of the

Frick Collection The Frick Collection is an art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection (normally at the Henry Clay Frick House, currently at the Frick Madison) features Old Master paintings and European fine and decorative arts, including works by ...

on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

of New York City.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCurdy, Richard Aldrich 1835 births 1916 deaths People from Manhattan People from Morris Plains, New Jersey People from Morristown, New Jersey American people of Scotch-Irish descent Harvard Law School alumni Businesspeople from New York (state) American businesspeople in insurance American corporate directors American bankers Mutual Alliance Trust Company people 19th-century American businesspeople