Charles Augustus Peabody, Jr. (April 11, 1849 – April 26, 1931) was an American politician, lawyer, and prominent figure in New York banking and insurance.

Early life

Peabody was born on April 11, 1849, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was one of four children of Judge Charles Augustus Peabody (1814–1901) and, his first wife, Julia Caroline (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

) Peabody (1816–1878) who married at Trinity Church in 1846. Among his siblings was brother Dr. George Livingston Peabody (who married Jane de Peyster Huggins), Philip Glendower Peabody and Julia Livingston Peabody (the wife of Charles J. Nourse). After his mother's death in 1878, his father remarried to Mary Eliza Hamilton. Mary was a cousin of

Mrs. Astor Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn Astor (September 22, 1830 – October 30, 1908) was a prominent American socialite of the second half of the 19th century who led the The Four Hundred (1892), Four Hundred. Famous for being referred to later ...

, a daughter of

John Church Hamilton John Church Hamilton (August 22, 1792 − July 25, 1882) was a historian, biographer, and lawyer. He was a son of Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Early life Hamilton was born on August 22, 1792, in Philade ...

and granddaughter of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

, one of the

Founding Fathers of the United States The Founding Fathers of the United States, known simply as the Founding Fathers or Founders, were a group of late-18th-century American Revolution, American revolutionary leaders who United Colonies, united the Thirteen Colonies, oversaw the Am ...

. His father served one term on the

Supreme Court of New York The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

and was appointed a Provisional Judge in the District of New Orleans by President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. After Mary's death in 1887, he married for a third time to Athenia Livingston (née Bowen), the widow of James Bowen (his "old-time warm friend and associate") and daughter of Anthony Rutgers Livingston (brother to

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Robert Le Roy Livingston Robert Le Roy Livingston (October 10, 1778April 14, 1836) was a United States representative from New York. Early life Robert Le Roy Livingston was born on October 10, 1778 in Claverack, Columbia County to John Livingston (1749–1822) and ...

). A

Boston Brahmin The Boston Brahmins or Boston elite are members of Boston's traditional upper class. They are often associated with Harvard University; Anglicanism; and traditional Anglo-American customs and clothing. Descendants of the earliest English colonis ...

, his paternal grandparents were Samuel Peabody (son of Capt. Richard Peabody of the Revolutionary War who commanded a Company at

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...

and Lake George) and Abigail (née Wood) Peabody. Her maternal grandparents were James Duane Livingston and Sarah (née Swift) Livingston. Among his maternal family, all descendants of Robert Livingston, the 3rd Lord of

Livingston Manor Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. History Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the colonial Province of New York granted ...

, was aunt Alice Craufurd Livingston (wife of John Howard Tillotson), uncle Charles James Livingston (husband of Charlotte Lucia Merry) and aunt Louisa Livingston (wife of Oliver Hewlett Jones). Peabody attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he played on the college's

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and was a member of the Fraternity of Delta Psi (

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the Calendar of saints, feast day of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony the Great. The frater ...

), graduating with the class of 1869, before attending

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

, where he graduated in 1871.

Career

After his admission to the bar in the 1870s, Peabody became a member of his father's firm, Peabody, Baker & Peabody, a law office at 2

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

in downtown Manhattan. In 1875, Peabody was elected to represent

New York County 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 original counties of the U.S. state ...

's 11th district in the

99th New York State Legislature The 99th New York State Legislature, consisting of the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly, met from January 4 to May 3, 1876, during the second year of Samuel J. Tilden's governorship, in Albany. Background Under the provisi ...

, serving from January 1 until December 31, 1876, when he was succeeded by Elliot C. Cowdin. His father ran for

Surrogate A surrogate is a substitute or deputy for another person in a specific role and may refer to: Relationships * Surrogacy, an arrangement where a woman agrees to carry and give birth to a child for another person who will become its parent at bi ...

in 1876. After his father's death in 1901, the firm continued under the name Baker & Peabody with Fisher Ames Baker as senior partner. Baker was the uncle of

George Fisher Baker George Fisher Baker (March 27, 1840 – May 2, 1931) was an American financier and philanthropist. Known as the "Dean of American Banking", he was also known for his taciturnity. Baker made a fortune after the Civil War in railroads and banking, ...

, former president of

Astor National Bank The Astor Trust Company was a historic American banking organization. The firm merged with Bankers Trust in 1917. History The Astor National Bank of New York was authorized to begin business on February 9, 1898, with initial capital of $300,000. ...

, of which Peabody served as the first vice-president upon its formation in 1898. From 1893, until shortly before his death, Peabody was a trustee of the estate of the first

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...

, and was associated with

William Waldorf Astor William Waldorf "Willy" Astor, 1st Viscount Astor (31 March 1848 – 18 October 1919) was an American-British attorney, politician, businessman (hotels and newspapers), and philanthropist. Astor was a scion of the very wealthy Astor family of ...

for many years as his representative in the United States after Astor moved to England. Peabody also assisted with the creation of the Harriman State Park in 1910, through

Mary Williamson Harriman Mary Williamson Averell Harriman (July 22, 1851 – November 7, 1932) was an American philanthropist and the wife of railroad executive E. H. Harriman. Born in New York to a successful family, Averell married Harriman in 1879. Averell's father i ...

(widow of railroad executive

E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...

, with whom Peabody worked extensively with) and Governor

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes Sr. (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American statesman, politician and jurist who served as the 11th Chief Justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the ...

. After the "sensational insurance investigations by the Armstrong committee," Peabody was appointed president of the Mutual Life Insurance Company on January 1, 1906, and worked from 32 Nassau Street. When asked for an autobiography at the time of his appointment, he replied:

"I am a lawyer and have practiced in this city for about thirty years. There is nothing very exciting about my professional career. The only break in it was a short period during which I served in the State Legislature. The story of my life is just like that of a hundred other lawyers who work all the time at their profession and take an occasional day off on which to play."

By the time of his retirement from Mutual Life on September 1, 1927, he was "recognized as a leader in the advance of life insurance in America," and "in increasing the soundness of its foundations and in raising the esteem in which the business is held by the public." Peabody was succeeded as president by David F. Houston, the former

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

and

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

(under President

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

). At various times throughout his life, he served on the board of directors, or trustees, of

City Bank-Farmers Trust Company The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company was a national bank headquartered in New York City that later became Citibank. History On February 28, 1822, the New York State Legislature granted a charter to the Farmers' Fire Insurance and Loan Company wi ...

, Mutual Life Insurance Company, Wells Fargo & Co., the

Astor Trust Company The Astor Trust Company was a historic American banking organization. The firm merged with Bankers Trust in 1917. History The Astor National Bank of New York was authorized to begin business on February 9, 1898, with initial capital of $300,000. ...

Oregon Short Line Railroad The Oregon Short Line Railroad was a railroad in Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Montana and Oregon in the United States. The line was organized as the Oregon Short Line Railway in 1881 as a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railway. The Union Pacific int ...

Central of Georgia Railway The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

, Church Pension Fund,

Delaware and Hudson Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP operates D&H ...

(where he was a member of the board of managers), the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

Personal life

On January 27, 1880, Peabody was married to Charlotte Anita Damon (1842–1912), the daughter of Anita (née Fales) Damon and John Wade Damon. Together, they lived at 224

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stre ...

in New York and had a country place at

Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 5,070. History Cold Spri ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. Charlotte and Charles were the parents of two boys and one girl, including: * Julian Livingston Peabody (1881–1935), an architect who married Celestine Eustis Hitchcock, daughter of

Thomas Hitchcock Sr. Thomas Hitchcock (23 November 1860 – 29 September 1941) was one of the leading American polo players during the latter part of the 19th century and a Hall of Fame horse trainer and owner known as the father of American steeplechase hor ...

and niece of

William Corcoran Eustis William Corcoran Eustis (July 20, 1862 – November 24, 1921) was a captain in the United States Army and the personal assistant to General John J. Pershing during World War I. He was chairman of the inauguration committee for the first inaug ...

. Both Julian and his wife died in the marine disaster, the sinking of the SS ''Mohawk'' off the coast of New Jersey in January 1935. * John Damon Peabody (1883–1944), a 1906

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

graduate who married Mary Cunningham Bishop, daughter of James Cunningham Bishop. * Anita Livingston Peabody (1884–1960), who married polo player Hamilton Haddon (1885–1963), the son of J. E. Smith Hadden, in 1913. Peabody was a member of the University Club, 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

Piping Rock Club Piping Rock Club is a country club in Matinecock, New York. It falls within the ZIP Code boundaries of Locust Valley, New York. History The Piping Rock clubhouse was designed by American designer Guy Lowell and built in 1911. Lowell based his ...

, the

Tuxedo Club The Tuxedo Club is a private member-owned country club located on West Lake Road in the village of Tuxedo Park, New York, in the Ramapo Mountains. Founded in 1886 by Pierre Lorillard IV, its facilities now include an 18-hole golf course, lawn ten ...

, and was a member of the

Sons of the Revolution Sons of the Revolution is a hereditary society which was founded in 1876 and educates the public about the American Revolution. The General Society Sons of the Revolution headquarters is a Pennsylvania non-profit corporation located at Willia ...

. His wife died at their Madison Avenue home in New York City on February 3, 1912. After his wife's death, Peabody moved to 635

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a wide New York City boulevard which carries north and southbound traffic in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the west and Lexington Avenu ...

on Manhattan's

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 ...

, where he died on April 26, 1931. After a funeral at the Church of the Resurrection at 119

East 74th Street 74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...

, he was buried alongside his wife at

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

Descendants

Through his eldest son, he was a grandfather of Julian Livingston Peabody Jr. (1914–2014), a lawyer with LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby, and Daphne Peabody, who married Edward Eugene Murray, a

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

graduate who was the son of the Democratic

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

from Montana,

James E. Murray James Edward Murray (May 3, 1876March 23, 1961) was an American politician and United States Senator from Montana, and a liberal leader of the Democratic Party. He served in the United States Senate from 1934 until 1961. Background Born on a f ...

, in 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peabody, Charles A. 1849 births 1931 deaths Livingston family Columbia Law School alumni Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly 19th-century American politicians Columbia College (New York) alumni Peabody family St. Anthony Hall