Ransom Halloway Thomas (August 9, 1852 – October 19, 1922) was an American banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange during the

Panic of 1907 The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic or Knickerbocker Crisis, was a financial crisis that took place in the United States over a three-week period starting in mid-October, when the New York Stock Exchange suddenly fell almost ...

Early life

Thomas was born on August 9, 1852, and named after Ransom Halloway, a former

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

from

New York's 8th congressional district New York's 8th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives is in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is currently represented by Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the House Minority L ...

Career

In 1885, he was a member of the banking firm of Titus & Thomas located at 4 Broad Street. Thomas established the firm of R. H. Thomas & Son, which was located at 100 Broadway. Shortly before his death, he sold his seat as a board member of the Exchange after nearly fifty years of membership (having acquired his seat on November 5, 1874). Throughout his time with the Exchange, he was associated with the chief committees of the Exchange and was President of the Stock Exchange Building Company at the time of his death. In 1903, Thomas succeeded Rudolph Keppler as president of the New York Stock Exchange. He served as president of the Exchange during the

. Through Thomas' efforts,

J. Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

and 14 bank presidents pledged $23.6 million to keep the stock exchange afloat. In addition to his banking career, Thomas was an avid golfer and served as president of the

United States Golf Association The United States Golf Association (USGA) is the United States national association of golf courses, clubs and facilities and the governing body of golf for the U.S. and Mexico. Together with The R&A, the USGA produces and interprets the rule ...

from 1905 to 1906. He was a member of the

Morris County Golf Club The Morris County Golf Club (MCGC) is a private, members-only golf club located on in the upscale Convent Station section of Morris Township, New Jersey, a suburb northwest of New York City in Morris County. It is one of the 10 founding memb ...

in Convent, New Jersey, and was a former member of the executive committee of the United States Golf Association.

Personal life

In 1880, Thomas was married to Susan Reed "Susie" Herrick (1857–1942), a daughter of merchant John J. Herrick and Jane Eliza (née Van Buskerck) Herrick. Susie's father moved to

Tarrytown, New York Tarrytown is a administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in the administrative divisions of New York#Town, town of Greenburgh, New York, Greenburgh in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, Unit ...

, in 1859 where "he had built one of the largest and finest castellated residences in America." The house known as Ericstan, was designed by

Alexander Jackson Davis Alexander Jackson Davis (July 24, 1803 – January 14, 1892) was an American architect known particularly for his association with the Gothic Revival style. Education Davis was born in New York City and studied at the American Academ ...

and demolished in 1944. Together, they were the parents of: * Ransom Hallaway Thomas Jr. (1882–1939), a graduate of

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, who married pilot Anna Ward (1907–1959). * Frederick Herrick Thomas (1884–1940), a

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

graduate. He died on the golf course in 1940. * DeWitt Van Buskerck Thomas. He was listed on the New York

Social Register The ''Social Register'' is a semi-annual publication in the United States that indexes the members of American high society. First published in the 1880s by newspaper columnist Louis Keller, it was later acquired by Malcolm Forbes. Since 2014, ...

in 1923. After his brother's death in 1939, he married his widow Anna. * Elizabeth Herrick Thomas (1894–1911), who died aged 16. In September 1901, Thomas purchased fellow enthusiast William K. Vanderbilt Jr.'s famous

Daimler Daimler is a German surname. It may refer to: People * Gottlieb Daimler (1834–1900), German inventor, industrialist and namesake of a series of automobile companies * Adolf Daimler (1871–1913), engineer and son of Gottlieb Daimler * Paul Da ...

Phoenix automobile known as the "White Ghost." Vanderbilt had purchased the 23-hp car, the first four-cylinder road car, in Germany in 1900. Thomas later sold the car to John B. Drake of Chicago. Following a three week illness, Thomas died of a throat ailment at the Memorial Hospital in New York City. He had been living at the Morristown Inn in

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a Town (New Jersey), town in and the county seat of Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, for the last six years. After services at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, he was buried at

Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York, is the cemetery, final resting place of numerous famous figures, including Washington Irving, whose 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" is set in the adjacent burying ground of the ...

in Tarrytown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ransom H. 1852 births 1921 deaths Presidents of the New York Stock Exchange American bankers Burials at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery Businesspeople from Morristown, New Jersey