Edward Prime (December 10, 1801 – August 21, 1883) was a New York 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 of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...
.
Early life
Prime was born on December 10, 1801 at 54
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 ...
in
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 U ...
. 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, h ...
(1768–1840) and Cornelia (
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 ...
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 Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858.
Life
John Alsop King was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on January 3, 1788, to U.S. Senator Rufus King ...
), Emily Prime (wife of
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Capt. William Seton and son of
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person bo ...
), 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 New York Yacht Club. He was the grandson of Founding Father John Jay.
Early life and edu ...
, a son of
Peter A. Jay
Peter Augustus Jay (January 24, 1776 – February 20, 1843) was a prominent New York lawyer, politician and the eldest son of Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice John Jay.
Early life
Peter Augustus Jay was born at Liberty ...
and grandson of
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the fir ...
).
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 legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
man, and Elizabeth (née Cornell) Sands. His paternal grandparents were Joshua Prime and Bridget (
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 ...
Hammond) Prime.
Prime was educated at McCulluck's boarding school in
Morristown, New Jersey
Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.
Career
Five years before his birth, his father organized "
Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker
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 ...
" 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, still a young man, 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
William Bard (April 4, 1778 – October 17, 1853) was a lawyer and pioneer in life insurance who founded the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company.
Early life
Bard was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 4, 1778. He was the son o ...
Ferdinand Sands
Ferdinand Sands (May 26, 1806 – December 7, 1839) was an American lawyer and heir.
Early life and career
Sands was born on May 26, 1806, in New York City. He was the son of Joseph Sands (1772–1825), a banker with Prime, Ward & King, and Ma ...
, both being grandsons of
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 ...
. 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 (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-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
A foxhound is a type of large hunting hound bred for strong hunting instincts, a keen sense of smell, and their bark, energy, drive, and speed. In fox hunting, the foxhound's namesake, packs of foxhounds track quarry, followed—usually on horse ...
s to the United States, where he used to "hunt the fox in the woods of Long Island."
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/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several ...