Pierre Abraham Lorillard (1742 – 1776) was a French-American tobacconist who founded the business which developed into the

Lorillard Tobacco Company Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport (cigarette), Newport, Maverick (cigarette), Maverick, Old Gold (cigarette), Old Gold, Kent (cigarette), Kent, True (cigarette), True, ...

, which claimed to be the oldest tobacco firm in the United States and in the world. His name is also sometimes given as Peter Abraham Lorillard,Ross, Harold
"American Snuff" (abstract)
from 'The Talk of the Town', in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' dated September 22, 1934, () Peter Lorillard and Pierre Lorillard I.

Early life

Pierre Abraham Lorillard was born in

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

(France) in 1742, the son of Jean Lorillard (b. 1707) and Anne Catherine Rossel. He had five brothers, Jean George, George David, Charles Christophe, Jean Abraham, and Leopold Frederick, and a sister, Anne Marguerite. The

naturalization Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

recorded in New York on April 21, 1762, of 'Peter Louillard', a

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpar ...

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

and French

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

, is probably that of Lorillard. This followed the naturalization on October 27, 1760, of John George Lorillard, described as a French Protestant

yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of Serfdom, servants in an Peerage of England, English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in Kingdom of England, mid-1 ...

of New York City.

Career

Lorillard set out in business in about 1760 with a snuff-grinding factory in a rented house on Chatham Street, now Park Row, in

Lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan, also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York City, is the southernmost part of the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The neighborhood is History of New York City, the historical birthplace o ...

.Belmont Playground

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

, accessed July 21, 2008.Lorillard and Tobacco 200th Anniversary P. Lorillard Company 1760-1960
at tobaccodocuments.org: "In 1885, the Lorillards brought a suit in the U. S. Circuit Court for the Northern District of Illinois for infringement of their 'Defiance Plug' Lorillard tin tags, used on plug tobacco, deposing that 'They are now, and for many years have been extensively engaged in the production and sale of manufactured tobacco; that their business was established upward of a century ago, to wit, about the year 1760, in the city of New York, and that from said date until the present time the business so established has been successfully carried on without interruption or substantial change, and is now a source of great profit." He was the first man to make snuff in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

. According to Maxwell Fox's ''The Lorillard Story'' (1947), Lorillard adopted the

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

of a Native American smoking a

pipe Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circular ...

, standing beside a

hogshead A hogshead (abbreviated "hhd", plural "hhds") is a large Barrel (storage), cask of liquid (or, less often, of a food commercial Product (business), product) for manufacturing and sale. It refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

, which "later became the best known trademark in the world".Fox, Maxwell,
The Lorillard Story
' (1947), online at tobaccodocuments.org, accessed 21 July 2008 Lorillard's sons George and Peter (or Pierre) took over his business in 1792, while his son Jacob became a

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

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

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 ...

. According to author Rex Burns, "Jacob Lorillard was justified in his wealth, first because he rose from being an obscure tobacconist's

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

by his own integrity, industry, perseverance, and love of books, and secondly, because when he was a millionaire, his moral pursuit of wealth led him to exhibit benevolence and generosity."Burns, Rex, ''Success in America: The Yeoman Dream and the Industrial Revolution'' (Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1976, ) p. 59

Personal life

Lorillard married Catherine Moore, sister of Blazius Moore, and they lived at Hackensack,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. Lorillard and Moore obtained a

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictions ...

on August 19, 1763, when another marriage license was granted to John Lorillard and Hannah Moore, suggesting that Hannah and Catherine may have been sisters. The register of the French church of New York City gives the date of Lorillard's marriage, as well as that of Jean (John) and Anne Moore: "August 23, 1763 married by license Pierre l'Oreillard and Catherine Moore in presence of the families l'Aureillard and Moore. The same day married by license in the house of M. Parptre in the Bowery rented by Sieur Moore Jean l'Aurellard and Anne Moore in the presence of the families l'Aurellard and Moore. Lorillard and Moore had at least five children: * Pierre "Peter" Lorillard II, (born September 7, 1764, according to another source b. July 11, 1768) *J. George Lorillard (b. December 25, 1766, d. 1832) *Blazius Lorillard (b. June 7, 1769) *Johann Jacob Lorillard (b. January 19, 1772 *Jacob Lorillard (b. May 22, 1774, d. 1836) Married Anna Margaretta Kunze and had ten children including: Emily who married Lewis G. Morris and Eliza, who married

Nathaniel Platt Bailey Nathaniel Platt Bailey (June 7, 1809 – October 12, 1891) was an American merchant and philanthropist. Early life Bailey was born on June 7, 1809, at Chateangay near Plattsburgh, New York. He was the son of William Bailey (1763–1840) and hi ...

Death

Lorillard died in 1776, during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, killed by Hessian

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

of the British during the British occupation of New York City. After his death, his business was carried on by his descendants and grew into the

. In 1960, the company issued a Bicentennial Report, in which it was able to boast proudly that "P. Lorillard Company is older than the

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 ...

, taking its origin in the Colonial days of 1760 when British kings ruled the land... Lorillard is the oldest tobacco company in the world". After Lorillard's death, his widow married a man named either John Holsman or Daniel Holtzman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorillard, Pierre Abraham 1742 births 1776 deaths Lorillard family American tobacco industry executives People from Hackensack, New Jersey People from Montbéliard French emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies American Revolutionary War deaths