Robert Goelet Sr. (September 19, 1809 – September 22, 1879) was an American businessman and co-founder of the

Chemical Bank of New York Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United Stat ...

Early life

Goelet was born on September 19, 1809, to "one of the oldest and most respected amiliesin the City." He was the youngest of four children born to Almy (

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 ...

Buchanan) Goelet (1768–1848) and

Peter P. Goelet Peter P. Goelet (August 18, 1764 – October 23, 1828), was an American merchant and real estate investor. Early life Goelet was born on August 18, 1764, in New York City. He was the second son of Peter Goelet (1727–1811) and, his first wife, E ...

(1764–1828). His siblings were Peter Goelet, who was named after their grandfather Peter Goelet; Jean Buchanan Goelet; and Hannah Green Goelet, who married

Thomas Russell Gerry Thomas Russell Gerry (December 8, 1794 – October 8, 1848) was an American sailor who was active in the Sons of the American Revolution and was a son of the fifth U.S. Vice President Elbridge Gerry. Early life Gerry was born on December 8, 1794 ...

, son of U.S. Vice President

Elbridge Gerry Elbridge Gerry ( ; July 17, 1744 – November 23, 1814) was an American Founding Father, merchant, politician, and diplomat who served as the fifth vice president of the United States under President James Madison from 1813 until his death i ...

and parents to

Elbridge Thomas Gerry Elbridge Thomas Gerry (December 25, 1837 – February 18, 1927), usually called "Commodore" Gerry due to the office he held with the New York Yacht Club from 1886 to 1892, was an American lawyer and reformer. His paternal grandfather was U.S. ...

. His father, a hardware merchant based at 48 Hanover Square (later known as 113 and 115 Pearl Streets), was a large land-owner, including the "Goelet farm" which Robert's elder brother Peter inherited at

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 ...

and 19th Street. His maternal grandparents were Almy (née Townsend) Buchanan and Thomas Buchanan, a merchant with Thomas Buchanan & Son at 44

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

. Goelet's maternal aunt, Margaret Buchanan, was married to his paternal uncle, Robert Ratsey Goelet. His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Ratsey) Goelet and Peter Goelet, a prominent merchant and landowner who was a descendant of

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

from

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, who escaped to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

.Lyman Horace Weeks, ''Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City'', New York: The Historical Company, 189

/ref> During the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, his grandfather was a member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It p ...

, the

Committee of Correspondence The committees of correspondence were a collection of American political organizations that sought to coordinate opposition to British Parliament and, later, support for American independence during the American Revolution. The brainchild of S ...

, and the Committee of One Hundred. He graduated from Columbia College in 1828.

Career

Goelet was a prominent landowner and landlord in New York and generally followed his brothers real estate rule, which was to "never to part with a foot of land the title of which had been once vested in the Goelet family." Robert, along with his brother, were instrumental in founding the

Chemical Bank and Trust Company Chemical Bank, headquartered in New York City, was the principal operating subsidiary of Chemical Banking Corporation, a bank holding company. In 1996, it acquired Chase Bank, adopted the Chase name, and became the largest bank in the United Stat ...

. While neither of them were directors (Robert's son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

became a director in 1878), both Robert and Peter were among the largest stockholders of the bank when it was rechartered as a state bank in 1844. Today, through various mergers, the bank is known as

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. (stylized as JPMorganChase) is an American multinational financial services, finance corporation headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. It is List of largest banks in the United States, the largest ba ...

Personal life

On October 16, 1839, Goelet was married to Sarah Ogden (1809–1888), a daughter of Jonathan Ogden and Charlotte Eliza (née Walton) Ogden. Together, they lived at 5 State Street in Manhattan, overlooking the

Battery Battery or batterie most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source * Battery indicator, a device whic ...

and were the parents of: *

Robert Goelet Robert Goelet Jr. (September 29, 1841 – April 27, 1899) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. Early life Goelet was born on September 29, 1841, in Manhattan, New York City, to Sarah Ogden ...

(1841–1899) who married Harriette Louise Warren (1854–1912), sister of George H., Whitney and Lloyd Warren, in April 1879. * Helen Goelet (1843–1844), who died in infancy. *

Ogden Goelet Ogden Goelet (June 11, 1851 New York City – August 27, 1897 Cowes, Isle of Wight) was an American heir, businessman and yachtsman from New York City during the Gilded Age. With his wife, he built Ochre Court in Newport, Rhode Island, his so ...

(1851–1897), who married Mary Rita Wilson (1855–1929), daughter of Richard Thornton Wilson. Goelet died on September 22, 1879, at 857 Broadway, his residence in New York City. After a funeral at St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church, he was buried in the Ogden family vault at the

New York Marble Cemetery The New York Marble Cemetery is a burial ground established in 1830 in what is now the East Village of Manhattan. It occupies the interior of the block bounded by 2nd Street, Second Avenue, 3rd Street, and the Bowery. ...

. In his will, he left his wife "all his jewelry, plate, ornaments, horses, carriages, furniture, and paintings, and an annuity of $40,000 in lieu of dower, payable in quarterly installments." The remainder of his estate, which in total was estimated at from $6,000,000 to $10,000,000, was left to his two sons in "equal shares." Two months after Robert's death, his brother Peter, who never married and was known for his many eccentricities, also died. Aside from $500,000 left to his nephew

, the rest of Peter's estate went to Robert's sons.

Descendants

Through his eldest son Robert, he was a grandfather of

Robert Walton Goelet Robert Walton Goelet (March 19, 1880 – May 2, 1941) was an American financier and real estate developer in New York City. He was one of the largest property owners in the city by the time of his death. Early life Robert Walton Goelet, nickn ...

, a financier and real estate developer, and Beatrice Goelet, who died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

at age 17 in 1902 and was painted as a child by

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 15, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era, Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil ...

. Through his son Ogden, he was a grandfather of

Mary Goelet Mary "May" Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe ( Goelet; October 6, 1878 – April 26, 1937) was an American-born heiress and socialite who married into Scottish nobility. Early life Mary Goelet was born in 1878. Her parents were Mary Wilson Goel ...

, the wife of

Henry Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe Henry John Innes-Ker, 8th Duke of Roxburghe (25 July 1876 – 29 September 1932) was a Scottish peer and courtier. Early life Henry John Innes-Ker was born on 25 July 1876. He was the son of James Henry Robert Innes-Ker, 7th Duke of Roxburgh ...

, and Robert Wilson Goelet, the original owner of Glenmere mansion.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goelet, Robert 1809 births 1879 deaths Goelet family Businesspeople from New York City American businesspeople in real estate American landlords Columbia College (New York) alumni Burials at New York Marble Cemetery