Herman LeRoy (January 16, 1758 – March 31, 1841) was an American merchant, shipowner and banker.

Early life

He was born on January 16, 1758, in New York City in what was then the

Province of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to ...

, a part of

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the son of Jacob LeRoy (1727–1793) and Cornelia ( Rutgers) LeRoy (1736–1765). Among his siblings were Mary Ann LeRoy (who married John Livingston), Jacob Leroy (who married Martha Banyer), Robert Leroy (who married Catherine

Cuyler Cuyler is a surname that has several origins, such as Dutch for "victory of the people" or Gaelic for "chapel". Kyler is an alternate spelling. People with the surname * Abraham Cuyler (1742–1810), American businessman and mayor of Albany * S ...

) and Elizabeth (who married Julian McEvers). His father, who was born in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, was a merchant and alderman of New York City. His paternal grandparents were Daniel Leroy and Ingenatia (

van den Bergh Van den Bergh, Van Den Bergh is a Dutch surname, a variant of Van den Berg. Notable people with the surname include: *Arnold van den Bergh, Arnold van den Bergh (notary) (1886‒1950), Amsterdam civil law notary *Dave van den Bergh (born 1976), Dut ...

) Le Roy. His maternal grandparents were Hermanus Rutgers III and Elizabeth ( Benson) Rutgers. His mother was a first cousin of

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Ass ...

man

Henry Rutgers Henry Rutgers (October 7, 1745 – February 17, 1830) was a United States Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist from New York City. Rutgers University was named after him, and he donated a bond which placed the college on sound financial f ...

and

Samuel Provoost Samuel Provoost (March 11, 1742 – September 6, 1815) was an American clergyman. He was the first chaplain of the United States Senate and the first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, as well as the third Presiding Bishop of the Ep ...

, the first

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of New York The Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing three New York City boroughs and seven New York state counties.

, among others.

Career

In 1786, he was

consul-general A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

for Holland. In 1788, he went into business with his wife's brother-in-law, William Bayard Jr., and founded LeRoy, Bayard & Co. which later became LeRoy, Bayard & McEvers when he introduced his brother-in-law, Julian McEvers. It again became LeRoy, Bayard & Co. after McEver's death. The firm was one the largest commercial house in New York City, shipping goods and trading product throughout the world. By 1792, LeRoy and Bayard represented the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam,Kirby, C.D. (1976). ''The Early History of Gowanda and The Beautiful Land of the Cattaraugus''. Gowanda, NY: Niagara Frontier Publishing Company ...

, which owned roughly 3 million acres of land in

Western New York Western New York (WNY) is the westernmost region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The eastern boundary of the region is not consistently defined by state agencies or those who call themselves "Western New Yorkers". Almost all so ...

, and between the two of them, they owned 300,000-acres. In 1813, he founded the town of LeRoy in Genesee County which was incorporated in 1834. A director of the Bank of the United States, following the death of Nicholas Gouverneur, he was elected president of 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 ...

in 1802, a position he held until 1804.

Personal life

On October 19, 1786, LeRoy was married to Hannah Cornell (1760–1818), a daughter of Susannah ( Mabson) Cornell and

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

Samuel Cornell, a descendant of settler Thomas Cornell. Hannah's father died in 1781 in British-controlled

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, having moved there from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

after 1777 after refusing to take the

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...

to the new

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Her sister, Elizabeth Cornell, was the wife of William Bayard Jr. They lived at 4

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

before moving to 7

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

where he built a white marble house. He also owned a country home in

Pelham, New York Pelham is a suburban town in Westchester County, approximately 10 miles northeast of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 13,078, an increase from the 2010 census.United States Census Bureau, 2020 Report, Pelham to ...

, where his daughter, Caroline, married

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

. He was one of only 15-New Yorkers who then owned a carriage. Together, they were the parents of had ten children who survived to adulthood, including: * Cornelia LeRoy (1787–1860), who married William Edgar, only son of William Edgar. * Catharine Augusta LeRoy (1790–1835), who married Thomas Haines Newbold, a son of Caleb Newbold and Sarah ( Haines) Newbold. * Herman LeRoy Jr. (1791–1869), who married Juliet Edgar, a daughter of William Edgar, in 1813. * Susan LeRoy (1793–1832), who married Judge David Samuel Jones, a son of

Comptroller A comptroller (pronounced either the same as ''controller'' or as ) is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accountancy, accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior- ...

Samuel Jones and Cornelia ( Haring) Jones, and brother to Chancellor Samuel Jones. * Jacob Rutgers LeRoy (1794–1868), who built Le Roy House and married Charlotte Downes Otis, a daughter of Thomas Otis. * William Henry LeRoy (1795–1888), who married Elizabeth Emmet, a daughter of

Attorney General of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and head of the Department of Law of the government of New York (state), state government. The office has existed in various forms since ...

Thomas Addis Emmet Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. In Ireland, in the 1790s, he was a senior member of the Society of United Irishmen as it planned for an insurrection against the British Crown ...

and Jane ( Patten) Emmet, in 1819. *

Caroline LeRoy Caroline LeRoy Webster (September 28, 1797 – February 26, 1882) was the second wife of 19th century statesman Daniel Webster. Early life She was a daughter of Hannah (née Cornell) LeRoy and Herman LeRoy. Her father was once head of the comme ...

(1797–1882), who married, as his second wife,

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, the son of Abigail (née Eastman) and Ebenezer Webster, in 1829. * Daniel LeRoy (1799–1885), who married Susan Fish, a daughter of Adjutant General

Nicholas Fish Nicholas Fish (August 28, 1758 – June 20, 1833) was an American Revolutionary War soldier. He was the first Adjutant General of New York. Early life Fish was born on August 28, 1758, into a wealthy New York City family. He was the son of Jo ...

and Elizabeth Stuyvesant, and sister to

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

Hamilton Fish Hamilton Fish (August 3, 1808September 7, 1893) was an American statesman who served as the sixteenth governor of New York from 1849 to 1850, a United States senator from New York from 1851 to 1857, and the 26th U.S. secretary of state from ...

, in 1826. * Mary LeRoy (1800–1828), who died unmarried. * Edward Augustus LeRoy (1804–1865), who married Sarah Louisa Morris, a daughter of James Morris of

Morrisania Morrisania ( ) is a residential neighborhood in the southwestern Bronx, New York City, New York. Its boundaries are the Cross-Bronx Expressway to the north, Crotona-Prospect Avenue to the east, East 163rd Street to the south, and Webster Avenu ...

and Helen Van Cortlandt. LeRoy died on March 31, 1841, in New York City.

Descendants

Through his daughter Catharine, he was a grandfather of Thomas Haines Newbold (who married Mary Elizabeth Rhinelander) and great-grandfather of

New York State Senator The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

Thomas Newbold (who married Sarah Lawrence Coolidge, a direct descendant of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (, 1743July 4, 1826) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the United States Declaration of Indepe ...

). Through his son Jacob, he was a grandfather of Charlotte LeRoy (who married Henry Louis De Koven) and great-grandfather of music critic

Reginald De Koven Henry Louis Reginald De Koven (April 3, 1859January 16, 1920) was an American music critic and prolific composer, particularly of comic operas. Biography De Koven was born in Middletown, Connecticut, and moved to Europe in 1870, where he receive ...

(who married Anna Farwell, a daughter of

Charles B. Farwell).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:LeRoy, Herman 1758 births 1841 deaths 18th-century American merchants LeRoy