Edward Prime (December 10, 1801 – August 21, 1883) was an American banker who served as president of the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

Early life

Prime was born on December 10, 1801, at 54

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

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 ...

. He was the eldest son of

Nathaniel Prime Nathaniel Prime (January 30, 1768 – November 26, 1840) was a New York broker and banker. Early life Prime was born in Rowley, Massachusetts on January 30, 1768. He was the son of Joshua Prime and Bridget Hammond Prime. In his early years, he ...

(1768–1840) and Cornelia (

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

Sands) Prime (1773–1852), who married in 1797. Among his sisters was Cornelia Prime (wife of Robert Ray, a brother-in-law of New York Gov.

John Alsop King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was the twentieth governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. He was the 1st Republican governor of New York. Life King was born in the area now encompassed by New York C ...

), Emily Prime (wife of

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

Capt. William Seton and son of

Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was an American Catholic Church, Catholic religious and educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. Born in New York and reared as an Episcopalian, she ...

), Matilda Prime (wife of Gerard Holsman Coster), and Laura Prime (wife of

John Clarkson Jay John Clarkson Jay (September 11, 1808 – November 15, 1891) was an American physician and notable conchologist as well as one of the original founders of the New York Yacht Club. He was the grandson of Founding Father John Jay. Early life and ...

, a son of Peter A. Jay and grandson of

John Jay John Jay (, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, diplomat, signatory of the Treaty of Paris (1783), Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served from 1789 to 1795 as the first chief justice of the United ...

). His maternal grandparents were

Comfort Sands Comfort Sands (February 26, 1748 – September 22, 1834) was an American merchant, banker and politician. Life Comfort Sands was born in Cow Neck, Long Island on February 26, 1748. He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) ...

, the merchant, banker and

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

man, and Elizabeth (née Cornell) Sands. His paternal grandparents were Joshua Prime and Bridget (

Hammond) Prime. Prime was educated at McCulluck's boarding school in

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

, where his father and other family members were educated.

Career

Five years before his birth, his father organized " Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" which made money buying and selling bank stocks before he opened his own private bank where he allowed customers to deposit money and then loaned it out. In 1808, his father brought Samuel Ward III in as a partner and the firm was renamed Prime & Ward, followed by his uncle Joseph Sands in 1816 when the firm became Prime, Ward & Sands. In 1824, the firm was again reorganized as Prime, Ward, Sands & King when James Gore King became a partner upon his return from England. After Sand's death in 1826, the firm became

Prime, Ward & King Prime, Ward & King was a prominent American investment bank in the 18th and 19th Century based in New York City. History In 1796, Nathaniel Prime organized "Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" at 42 Wall Street where he bought and sold b ...

. In 1826, Prime entered the firm and was made a partner of Prime, Ward & Co. upon his father's retirement in 1832. His father, in ill health, committed suicide on November 26, 1840, by cutting his throat. The firm collapsed in 1847, and Prime established the firm of Prime & Co., which consisted of him and his four sons, where he worked until his retirement in 1867, at which point his sons also retired.

Philanthropy

Prime was one of the founders of the New York Eye and Ear Dispensary. He was also a vestryman in St. Philip's Church in Manhattan and a warden of Christ Church in Riverdale.

Personal life

On September 18, 1827, he was married to Anne Bard (1804–1834). Anne was the daughter of William Bard, a lawyer who founded the

New York Life Insurance and Trust Company 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 ...

. Anne's younger sister, Susan Bard, was the wife of Edward's first cousin, Ferdinand Sands, both being grandsons of

. Before his first wife's death in 1834, they were the parents of four children: * Cornelia Prime (1829–1869), who married

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

-born August Ahrens (1818–1869) in 1850. * Nathaniel Prime (1830–1885), a Brevet Lieutenant Colonel who died unmarried. * William Bard Prime (1832–1836), who died in infancy. * Edward Prime (b. 1833), who married Annie Rhodes Gilbert (1856–1941), the widow of his younger half-brother in 1889. After the death of his first wife in New York City on October 27, 1834, he married Charlotte Wilkins Hoffman (1808–1892) in 1836. * William Hoffman Prime (1837–1881), who married Anne Rhodes Gilbert in 1879. *Charlotte Prime (1838-1923), who married Leonard J. Wyeth in 1858. * Mary Catherine Prime (b. 1841), who married James A. Scrimper in 1868. * Henry Prime (1847–1914). An avid sportsman, he was said to have been the first to bring a pack of

fox hound Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

s to the United States, where he used to "hunt the fox in the woods of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

". Prime died on August 21, 1883, in Riverdale-on-Hudson, New York. After a funeral at Christ Church in Riverdale, he was buried at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope, Brooklyn, South Slope/Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn, Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, Win ...

in Brooklyn.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prime, Edward 1801 births 1883 deaths 19th-century people from New York (state) American bankers Presidents of the New York Stock Exchange 19th-century American businesspeople Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People from Riverdale, Bronx