Albert Carleton Simmonds Jr. (August 15, 1902 – June 21, 1963) was an American banker.

Early life

Simmonds was born on June 21, 1963, at

Simmesport Simmesport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,161 at the 2010 census. It is the northernmost town on the Atchafalaya River, located near the Old River which connects the Red and Atchafalaya rivers with ...

Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana Avoyelles () is a parish located in central eastern Louisiana on the Red River where it effectively becomes the Atchafalaya River and meets the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,693. The parish seat is Marksvi ...

. He was the eldest child of Albert Carleton Simmonds (1871–1930) and Nonie Adela ( Butler) Simmonds (1875–1963). His paternal grandparents were Henry Simmonds and Mary Eliza ( Reily) Simmonds. His maternal grandparents were

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

soldier Thomas Callaham Butler and, his first wife, Jane ( Robinette) Butler. After graduating from Bolton High School in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

in 1917, Simmonds attended

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, graduating in 1922. He taught history for a year at the high school in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,881 in 2020. The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a histor ...

before attending

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he graduated with a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

in 1925.

Career

After Harvard, Simmonds joined the Texas and Pacific Railway Company in New York City. In 1930, he joined the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

and after subsequent stints as assistant treasurer, assistant vice president and vice president, he was elected to succeed

John C. Traphagen John Conselyea Traphagen (October 20, 1889 – October 2, 1979) was an American banker. Early life Traphagen was born in Nyack, New York on October 20, 1889 into a family long associated with politics and business. He was a son of Caroline Ross ( ...

as President of the Bank of New York in 1948. In 1957, he became chief executive officer and chairman of the bank, serving until his death in 1963. In 1960 and 1961, he was president of the New York State Bankers Association. Simmonds also served as a trustee, or director, of the Greenwich Savings Bank, the North American Reassurance Company, the Celotex Corporation, the American Casualty Insurance Company, North American Reinsurance Corporation, the

Borden Company Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in C ...

, the Valley Forge Life Insurance Company, and the Valley Forge Insurance Company.

Personal life

On February 28, 1931, in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Simmonds married Mary Adelaide Harding (1904–1994), a daughter of lawyer Victor M. Harding of Hubbard Woods, Illinois. They lived together at Indian Trail in

Harrison, New York Harrison is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town and Administrative divisions of New York (state), village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of New York Cit ...

and were the parents of: * Albert Carleton Simmonds III, who graduated from

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 ...

in 1959 and served as vice president of the Wyatt Company, an actuarial consulting company in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; he married Barbara Smith. * Diane Deblois Simmonds (1934–1934), who died in infancy. Simmonds died at the Presbyterian Hospital 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 ...

on August 15, 1902, and was buried at Greenwood Union Cemetery in

Rye, New York Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the most recent such charter in the state. Its area of ...

. After his death, his widow married insurance executive Duncan M. Findlay of

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

, in 1964.

Notes

References

External links

Letter from Isaac H. Kempner to Albert C. Simmonds, Jr., April 12, 1963
at the

Digital Public Library of America The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is a US project aimed at providing public access to digital holdings in order to create a large-scale public digital library. It officially launched on April 18, 2013, after two-and-a-half years of dev ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simmonds, Albert C. 1902 births 1963 deaths Vanderbilt University alumni Harvard University alumni American bank presidents People from Alexandria, Louisiana