LeGrand Lockwood (c. 1820 – February 24, 1872), was a businessman and financier in New York City in the late 19th century. He built the Lockwood–Mathews Mansion in

Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The city, part of the New York metropolitan area, New York Metropolitan Area, is the List of municipalities of Connecticut by population, sixth-most populous city in Connecticut ...

Biography

Lockwood was born in Norwalk. He began his career on Wall Street as a clerk for Shipman, Coming & Co. and later worked for T. Ketchum & Co. In 1843 he became junior partner at Genin & LockwoodObituary, ''New York Times'', February 25, 1872 before founding Lockwood & Company, one of Wall Street's leading brokerage houses, and was a longtime rival of

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

.Ackerman, Kenneth D.
''The Gold Ring: Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, and Black Friday, 1869''
Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2005, via Google Books, retrieved December 22, 2008 Lockwood was a director of the New York Central Railroad and treasurer of the New York Stock Exchange. In the summer of 1869,

Jay Gould Jason Gould (; May 27, 1836 – December 2, 1892) was an American railroad magnate and financial speculator who founded the Gould family, Gould business dynasty. He is generally identified as one of the Robber baron (industrialist), robber bar ...

, attempting to create a railroad empire with a connection from New York City to the Pacific coast, negotiated with Lockwood, the treasurer and, according to author Kenneth D. Ackerman, the "dominant figure" 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 ...

. "After hours of haggling over a dinner of oysters, wine and steak at

Delmonico's Delmonico's is a series of restaurants that have operated in New York City, and Greenwich, Connecticut, with the present version located at 56 Beaver Street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Manhattan. The origin ...

late one August night", Ackerman wrote, Gould came to an agreement with Lockwood that Gould's railroad would build a line into New York City for the narrow-gauge cars used by Lockwood's company in return for westward connections. Lockwood agreed to the deal despite opposition from Vanderbilt, who was simultaneously trying to gain control of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern by electing proxies to the board of directors. Learning of the deal, Vanderbilt launched a raid on Lakeshore's stock, which sunk the price from $120 a share to $95 and put Lockwood in danger of

personal bankruptcy Personal bankruptcy law allows, in certain jurisdictions, an individual to be declared bankrupt. Virtually every country with a modern legal system features some form of debt relief for individuals. Personal bankruptcy is distinguished from corpora ...

. Lockwood began making plans to scuttle the deal with Gould. He managed to sell his shares in Lakeshore to Vanderbilt for the bargain price of $10 million, turning over control of the company to him. NorwalkCTLockwoodMansionSoSide09032007

In 1867, Lockwood commissioned

Albert Bierstadt Albert Bierstadt (January 7, 1830 – February 18, 1902) was a German American painter best known for his lavish, sweeping landscapes of the American West. He joined several journeys of the Westward Expansion to paint the scenes. He was no ...

's ''The Domes of the Yosemite'', the artist's second great, monumental Yosemite work, for $25,000. It was the artist's largest canvas and sparked a critical debate when it first appeared at the

Tenth Street Studio Building The Tenth Street Studio Building, constructed in New York City in 1857, was the first modern facility designed solely to serve the needs of artists. It became the center of the New York art world for the remainder of the 19th century. Situated a ...

in New York. Lockwood hung the painting in the octagonal rotunda of his Norwalk, Connecticut, mansion. After Lockwood's death in 1872, the painting sold at auction for $5,100. Lockwood also bought works by

Frederic Church Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 – April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters, best known for painting large landscapes, ...

, William Bradford, and Asher B. Durand.Charles, Eleanor
"The Guide"
"A Tycoon's Taste", notice of an art exhibit at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', February 24, 1991, retrieved December 22, 20087 Lockwood died in his

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. The avenue runs south from 143rd Street (Manhattan), West 143rd Street in Harlem to Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village. The se ...

home in New York City on February 24, 1872. At his death he was a director of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company and the principal owner of the

Danbury and Norwalk Railroad The Danbury and Norwalk Railroad, chartered in 1836 as the Fairfield County Railroad, was an independent United States, American railroad that operated between the cities of Danbury, Connecticut, Danbury and Norwalk, Connecticut from 1852 until i ...

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lockwood, LeGrand 1820s births 1872 deaths People from Norwalk, Connecticut 19th-century American businesspeople