Robert Maclay (1834–1898) was an American merchant, business executive, and civic activist. He engaged in real estate and banking 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 ...

and was appointed to various posts having to do with urban development.

Biography

Robert Maclay was a graduate of Judson College, Mount Palatine, Illinois. He engaged in real estate and banking in

and was appointed to various posts related to urban development. Upon the death of his father-in-law, Alfred Barmore, he became president of Knickerbocker Ice Company, the largest ice company in the country. On April 14, 1892, Maclay was appointed as a member of the Rapid Transit Commission. From 1891 until his death in 1898, he served as Chairman of the Building Commission for the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

. He presided as Chairman of the Building Commission when the American architect Charles B. J. Snyder was elected

Superintendent of School Buildings The Superintendent of Schools Buildings was a position assigned by the School Building Commission of the New York City Board of Education. BOE Superintendents of School Buildings Brooklyn Board of Education (until 1898) *1859-1879 — Samuel ...

in 1891. Maclay was a Director of Bowery Savings Bank and a trustee of the Northern Dispensary. He was a trustee of the Madison Avenue Baptist Church and The Manhattan Club and was one of the incorporators of the

New York Botanical Garden The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...

. He was a member of New York Historical Society, the New York Athletic Club, the Metropolitan Club, the

Grolier Club The Grolier Club is a private club and society of bibliophiles in New York City. Founded in January 1884, it is the oldest existing bibliophilic club in North America. The club is named after Jean Grolier de Servières, Viscount d'Aguisy, T ...

, the Down Town Association, the Brown Society of Glasgow, and the Advisory Committee of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Family

Robert Maclay was born in New York City June 11, 1834, to the marriage of Robert Haldane Maclay, MD, and Eliza Maclay (née Labatut). On May 18, 1868, he married Georgiana Barmore, daughter of Alfred Barmore, former president of the Knickerbocker Ice Company. Robert and Georgiana had two children: * Alfred Barmore Maclay (1871–1944), the namesake of the Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park in Florida. * Robert Maclay (born 1877). The younger Robert Maclay joined the board of the Consolidated National Bank on October 31, 1905. The elder Robert Maclay died in Elberon, New Jersey July 28, 1898. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclay, Robert 1834 births 1898 deaths Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) New York University people Ice trade 19th-century American businesspeople