Morris Ketchum (February 5, 1796 – January 1, 1880) was an American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

financier An investor is a person who allocates financial capital with the expectation of a future return (profit) or to gain an advantage (interest). Through this allocated capital the investor usually purchases some species of property. Types of in ...

of the 19th century.

Early life

Ketchum was born on February 5, 1796, at

Waterford Waterford ( ) is a City status in Ireland, city in County Waterford in the South-East Region, Ireland, south-east of Ireland. It is located within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster. The city is situated at the head of Waterford H ...

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 United States census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, ...

. He was the fourth child of Amos Ketchum (1765–1835) and Arabella (

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 ...

Landon) Ketchum. Among his siblings were Mary Ketchum (wife of Dr.

Samuel Akerly Samuel Akerly (May – ) was an American physician, superintendent of the New York Institution for the Deaf from 1821 to 1831, and co-founder and president of the New York Institute for the Education of the Blind from 1831 to 1842. Early life ...

who founded the New York Institute for Special Education in 1831) and Hiram Ketchum.

Career

In 1832 he partnered with Thomas Rogers and Jasper Grosvenor to form the manufacturing firm of Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor; this firm eventually grew into Rogers Locomotive Works, the second most popular

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

manufacturing company in

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. Ketchum was also a director of the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

. During his time on the board, he was able to funnel many of that railroad's locomotive orders to Rogers. In the 1860s, he partnered with

Peter Cooper Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the ''Tom Thumb (locomotive), Tom Thumb'', founded the Cooper Union ...

, John Jacob Astor Jr.,

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 ...

and others to form a new committee, the Special Council of Hygiene and Public Health. Joseph Smith served as president and Dr.

Willard Parker Willard Parker (born Worster Van Eps; February 5, 1912 - December 4, 1996) was an American film and television actor. He starred in the TV series ''Tales of the Texas Rangers'' (1955–1958). Biography Parker was born in New York City. Some so ...

was vice-president. Morris Ketchum, with his son Edward B. Ketchum, led the financial firm of Ketchum, Son and Company in

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 ...

. His son Edward was later found to have embezzled nearly $2.5 million to cover his losses in the 1860s; it was Morris's good reputation that kept the public from suspecting Edward of embezzlement for a time. Morris had to resign as president of the Fourth National Bank of New York.

Later career

After giving up his fortune to make good on his sons forgeries in 1865, Ketchum moved south and became interested in the Savannah Banking and Trust Company of

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, and the Central Railroad.

Personal life

Ketchum was married three times. His later marriage was to Margaret Miller (1807–1893), a daughter of Judge Sylvanus Miller 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 ...

. He was the father of three sons and two daughters that survived him, including: * Charles Jessup Ketchum (1839–1893) * Landon Ketchum (1842–1910), who married Ann Augusta Burritt (1842–1867), a daughter of Francis Burritt. After her death, he married Isabella Landon Jones (1838–1903). * Miller Ketchum (1842–1892), who married Mary W. Coffin in 1868. * Margaret Ketchum (1847–1929), who married Dr. Willard Parker Jr., a son of surgeon

Ketchum died at his home, 19 Washington Square in New York City, on January 1, 1880. He was buried at Willowbrook Cemetery in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ketchum, Morris 1796 births 1880 deaths American people in rail transportation American railway entrepreneurs 19th-century American businesspeople