Dean Richmond (ship)
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Dean Richmond (1804–1866) was
Batavia, New York Batavia is a city in and the county seat of Genesee County, New York, United States. It is located near the center of the county, surrounded by the Town of Batavia, which is a separate municipality. Batavia's population, as of the 2020 census, ...
's railroad magnate, director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company, First Vice President of the
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
, and from 1864 to 1866, president of the New York Central. He was born in the town of
Barnard, Vermont Barnard is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 992 at the 2020 census. The town has two unincorporated villages: Barnard and East Barnard, along with the hamlets of Newcombsville, Mountain Meadows, and Fort De ...
, on March 31, 1804, and was a son of Hathaway and Rachel Dean Richmond. His father moved the family to
Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
, where he was engaged in the early
salt industry In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as ro ...
. His father died when Dean was only fourteen years of age. Richmond became involved with the passenger steamship business on the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
in 1834, and was a member of the Hudson River Steamboat Association, a
cartel A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...
which sought a monopoly on passenger traffic between
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 ...
and Albany. He expanded the salt business and, in 1842, he moved to
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...
, where he established a commission and transportation business. With these businesses, he became one of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
region. He became a director in the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company and with the completion of the direct line to Batavia, he took up his residence there. With the establishment of the New York Central Railroad Company in 1853, he was chosen the first vice-president of the company, and held that position until 1864, when he was elected president upon the retirement of
Erastus Corning Erastus Corning (December 14, 1794 – April 9, 1872) was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he was most notable for his service as mayor of Albany, New York, mayor of Alba ...
. He was also elected president of the
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinoi ...
. He served as chairman of the Democratic State Committee from 1857 to his death in 1866. In the summer of 1866, after attending the State convention at Saratoga, he accompanied Samuel J. Tilden on a trip to Washington and Philadelphia. After returning to New York, on August 19, 1866, he was stricken with illness and died on August 27, 1866. He was buried in
Batavia Cemetery Batavia Cemetery is located on Harvester Avenue in Batavia, New York, United States. It opened in 1823 and contains over 8,000 graves, mostly from the 19th century. In 2002 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the first of t ...
. The Richmond Memorial Library, in Batavia, was a gift of Mrs. Mary E. Richmond, in memory of her son, Dean Richmond Jr., who died in 1865. In 1861, as President-Elect
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
made his way to Washington, D.C., the engine that pulled the train was ''The Dean Richmond''. In a gesture of bipartisanship, Richmond, as chairman of the Democratic State Committee, boarded the train and had lunch with the Lincoln family as the train roared past Syracuse. On the leg of the journey from Albany to Buffalo the same engine that brought Lincoln to his inauguration pulled his funeral train. A
Great Lakes freighter Lake freighters, or lakers, are bulk carriers operating on the Great Lakes of North America. These vessels are traditionally called boats, although classified as ships. Freighters typically have a long, narrow hull, a raised pilothouse, and the ...
was also named after him. The freighter itself became famous when it sank in Lake Erie near the town of
Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk ...
, in the early morning of October 14, 1893.


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Mr. Lincoln and New York: Dean Richmond (1804-1866)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, Dean 1804 births 1866 deaths New York (state) Democrats New York Central Railroad People from Windsor County, Vermont 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American businesspeople