Robert Lenox Kennedy (November 24, 1822 – September 14, 1887), was an American banker and philanthropist who served as president of the

National Bank of Commerce in New York The National Bank of Commerce in New York was a national bank headquartered in New York City that merged into the Guaranty Trust Company of New York (which later became the Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, predecessor to J.P. Morgan & Co.). Histo ...

and the Lenox Library.

Early life

Kennedy was born in New York City on November 24, 1822. He was the eldest child of David S. Kennedy (1791–1853) and Rachel Carmer (

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 ...

Lenox) Kennedy (1792–1875), who were first cousins. He had three siblings, a brother, James Lenox Kennedy (who married Cornelia Van Rensselaer, a daughter of

Henry Bell Van Rensselaer Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (May 14, 1810 – March 23, 1864) was an American military officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War, and a politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of ...

); and two sisters, Rachel Lenox Kennedy, who founded the Presbyterian Rest for Convalescents, and Mary Lenox Kennedy, who both died unmarried. His father was a Scottish-American merchant and banker with Maitland & Kennedy who served as president of the

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community with the motto Charity, Fello ...

. His maternal grandparents were Robert Lenox, a Scottish-American merchant, and Rachel (née Carmer) Lenox. His maternal uncle was bibliophile and philanthropist

James Lenox James Lenox (August 19, 1800 – February 17, 1880) was an American bibliophile and philanthropist. His collection of paintings and books eventually became known as the Lenox Library and in 1895 became part of the New York Public Library. He in ...

, from whom Kennedy inherited a portion of his estate. His paternal grandparents were Capt. John Kennedy and Mary (née Lenox) Kennedy (the sister of his maternal grandfather). Kennedy attended and graduated from Columbia College in 1840 before studying law. He never practiced, however, and succeeded to his father's business and "assumed the various positions of trust occupied by him."

Career

In 1859, Kennedy was elected a director of the National Bank of Commerce in New York and was associated with the bank until his death. At the time of the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 1864, the Bank of Commerce was the largest bank in the country. In 1868, he began serving as the bank's fourth president. The first president of the bank was Samuel Ward, followed by

John Austin Stevens John Austin Stevens Jr. (January 21, 1827 – June 16, 1910) was a leader of business, an adviser of government and a student of the American Revolution. While he was born to a prominent banking family with political connections, it was his inte ...

and

Charles Handy Russell Charles Handy Russell (September 13, 1796 – January 21, 1884) was a prominent American merchant and banker with the National Bank of Commerce in New York. Early life Russell was born on September 13, 1796, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was the ...

(who was also a dry goods merchant with Charles H. Russell & Co.). He retired from the presidency in 1878 but remained involved as vice-president of the Bank under his successor Henry F. Vail (who had previously founded the Bank of the Republic with Gazaway Bugg Lamar). In 1929, the bank merged into the Guaranty Trust Company of New York (which later became the

Morgan Guaranty Trust Company J.P. Morgan & Co. is an American financial institution specialized in investment banking, asset management and private banking founded by financier J. P. Morgan in 1871. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company is now a subsidi ...

, predecessor to J.P. Morgan & Co.). He served as a director of many important New York institutions, including the

Chemical Bank 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 ...

, the Bleecker Street Bank for Savings, the New-York Life and Trust Company, the

Farmers' Loan and Trust Company The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company was a national bank headquartered in New York City that later became Citibank. History On February 28, 1822, the New York State Legislature granted a charter to the Farmers' Fire Insurance and Loan Company w ...

, the

Union Trust Company Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Union ...

, the Equitable Life Assurance Society, the Louisville, New Albany, and Chicago Railway, the United Railroads of New Jersey, the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company ch ...

. In 1880, Kennedy replaced Edward Minturn of

Grinnell, Minturn & Co Grinnell, Minturn & Co. was one of the leading transatlantic shipping companies in the middle 19th century. It is probably best known today as being the owner and operator of the '' Flying Cloud'', arguably the greatest of the clipper ships. His ...

. on the executive committee of the board of directors of the

. He was also a trustee of the

New York Society Library The New York Society Library (NYSL) is the oldest cultural institution in New York City. It was founded in 1754 by the New York Society as a subscription library. During the time when New York was the capital of the United States, it was the de ...

, the Presbyterian Hospital and the

New York Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center (; previously known as New York Hospital, Old New York Hospital, and City Hospital) is a research hospital in New York City. It is the teaching hospital for Cornell University's medical school and is part of NewYork-P ...

, having been president of the latter, and was an active member of the Foreign and Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church. He was one of the organizers of the Union League Club and, during the

U.S. Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded fr ...

he was a "strong Unionist and Republican, though he afterward took no part in politics." In 1854, Kennedy became a Fellow of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are United States, Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows f ...

and a member of its Council in 1884. He also served as the fourth president of the

American Sunday School Union InFaith has its roots in the First Day Society (founded 1790). InFaith officially formed in 1817 as the “Sunday and Adult School Union.” In 1824, the organization changed its name to American Sunday School Union (ASSU). Then, in 1974, the ASSU ...

from 1873 to 1882. Following his uncle's death in 1880, he succeeded Lenox as president of the board of trustees of the Lenox Library. Kennedy had previously donated

Mihály Munkácsy Mihály Munkácsy (20 February 1844 – 1 May 1900) was a Hungarian painter. He earned international reputation with his genre pictures and large-scale biblical paintings. Early years Munkácsy was born as ''Mihály Leó Lieb'' () to Mi ...

's 1878 historical genre picture ''The Blind Milton Dictating

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

to his Daughters'' (which he bought from art dealer

Charles Sedelmeyer Charles Sedelmeyer (30 April 1837, Vienna – 9 August 1925, Paris) was an Austrian and French art dealer, collector, and publisher active in Paris from 1866, with premises at 6 rue de la Rochefoucauld. He is credited with popularising the Dutc ...

) to the Library in 1879.

Personal life

Kennedy was twice married. His first marriage was in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

on October 19, 1852 to Louisa Vanuxem Wurts, a daughter of Mary (née Vanuxem) Wurts and

Charles Stewart Wurts Charles Stewart Wurts (August 8, 1790 – June 26, 1859) was an American businessman who co-founded the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company with his three brothers to mine anthracite and transport it to New York. Biography He was born in Flanders, ...

, a founder of the

Delaware and Hudson Canal Company The Delaware and Hudson Railway (D&H) is a railroad that operates in the Northeastern United States. In 1991, after more than 150 years as an independent railroad, the D&H was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CP). CP, which would it ...

. After Louisa's death on April 26, 1877, he married Sophia Heatly Dulles, a daughter of Joseph Heatly Dulles and Margaret (née Welsh) Dulles, in Philadelphia on February 10, 1879. Sophia's brother was the Presbyterian minister and author

John Welsh Dulles John Welsh Dulles (November 4, 1823 – April 13, 1887) was an American Presbyterian minister and author. He was the grandfather of John Foster Dulles and Allen Welsh Dulles. Early life Dulles was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on November 4, ...

(the grandfather of Secretary of State

John Foster Dulles John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...

and

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...

Allen Welsh Dulles Allen Welsh Dulles ( ; April 7, 1893 – January 29, 1969) was an American lawyer who was the first civilian director of central intelligence (DCI), and its longest serving director. As head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) during the e ...

). The couple did not have any children. On his return voyage following a four-month sojourn to Europe in hopes of improving his health, Kennedy died aboard the

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

steamship ''

Trave The Trave () is a river in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is approximately long, running from its source near the village of Gießelrade in Ostholstein to Travemünde, where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It passes through Bad Segeberg, Bad Old ...

'' on September 14, 1887. His funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church on

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 ...

and 12th Street in Manhattan. In 1889, his personal library which included many rare works like " Aldine first editions of the classics,

incunable An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentially arbitrary, but the ...

vellum Vellum is prepared animal skin or membrane, typically used as writing material. It is often distinguished from parchment, either by being made from calfskin (rather than the skin of other animals), or simply by being of a higher quality. Vellu ...

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

, historical and beautiful bindings, Americana, and other rarities" was sold at the Fifth-Avenue Art Galleries.

References

External links

Portrait of Robert Lenox Kennedy
by Daniel Huntington,
Robert Lenox Kennedy, 1822-1887.
at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

Robert Lenox Kennedy history notebook, 1838
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Robert Lenox 1822 births 1887 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni American bankers American Geographical Society Presidents of the New York Public Library 19th-century American businesspeople