Samuel Bradhurst Schieffelin (February 24, 1811 – September 13, 1900), was an American businessman and author.
Early life
Schieffelin was born on February 24, 1811, in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
. He was the son of
Henry Hamilton Schieffelin
Henry Hamilton Schieffelin ( Detroit, June 20, 1783 – New York City, October 14, 1865) was an American businessman and lawyer.
Early life
Henry Hamilton Schieffelin was the second son of Jacob Schieffelin and Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin. ...
(1783–1865), named in honor of Governor
Henry Hamilton for whom his father Jacob, who was a
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
who served as secretary for 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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of ...
,
and Maria Theresa Bradhurst (1786–1872),
who married in 1806.
Among his siblings was brother
Bradhurst Schieffelin Bradhurst Schieffelin (New York City, 21 September 1824 – Staten Island, 9 March 1909) was a United States druggist and activist.
He was the son of Henry Hamilton Schieffelin and Maria Teresa (Bradhurst) Schieffelin, and was educated in New ...
(1824–1909), who entered politics and supported the
People's Party.
His paternal grandparents were
Jacob Schieffelin
Jacob Schieffelin ( Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 24, 1757 – New York City, April 16, 1835) was an American loyalist, merchant, landowner and philanthropist.
Early life
Jacob Schieffelin was the first son of Jacob Schieffelin and Regina ...
(1757–1835) and
Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin
Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin ( New York City, Province of New York July 8, 1758 – New York City, October 3, 1838) was an American political poet in Revolutionary America and during the early United States.
Early life
Hannah Lawrence was a da ...
(1758–1838), she a descendant of
Elizabeth Fones
Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett (21 January 1610 – c. 1673) was an early settler in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1640 Fones, with her then-husband Robert Feake, were founders of Greenwich, Connecticut. Wolfe (2012)
She married her ...
and Quaker religious freedom pioneer
John Bowne
John Bowne (1627–1695), the progenitor of the Bowne family in America, was a Quaker and an English immigrant residing in the Dutch colony of New Netherland. He is historically significant for his struggle for religious liberty.
Background
Born ...
.
His maternal grandfather was Dr. Samuel Bradhurst (d. 1872)
The Schieffelin family was one of the oldest families in Manhattan.
Career
He was educated in private schools, and early turned his attention to business, but contributed largely to the religious press. After his father retired from business in 1849, he and his brothers managed the family drug company that their father had founded, Schieffelin Brothers & Co., where Samuel was the president, until 1865, when his son, William, succeeded him.
Following his own retirement, he focused on his literature, writing ''The Foundations of History'' and other books, most of which were religious.
Personal life

In 1835, Schieffelin was married to Lucretia Hazard (1816–1899).
Together, they were the parents of three children:
*
William Henry Schieffelin
William Henry Schieffelin ( New York City, August 20, 1836 – June 21, 1895), was an American businessman and Union Army cavalry officer in the American Civil War.
Early life
William Henry Schieffelin was the first son of Samuel Bradhurst Schi ...
(1836–1895), who married Mary B. Jay (1846–1916), daughter of
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the fir ...
, the
U.S. Minister to Austria-Hungary, and great-granddaughter
John Jay
John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the fir ...
, the first
Chief Justice of the United States
* Alice Holmes Schieffelin (1838–1913), who married Russell Stebbins (1835–1894).
* Mary Theresa Bradhurst Schieffelin (1840–1910), who married
Brig. Gen.
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed t ...
Charles Cleveland Dodge
Charles Cleveland Dodge (September 16, 1841 – November 4, 1910) was a brigadier general in the American Civil War and one of the youngest in history, receiving his commission at the age of twenty-one. He was the son of "Merchant Prince" and ...
(1841–1910), who served in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by state ...
and was the son of Congressman
William Earle Dodge
William Earl Dodge Sr. (September 4, 1805 – February 9, 1883) was an American businessman, politician, and activist. He was referred to as one of the "Merchant Princes" of Wall Street in the years leading up to the American Civil War. Dodge ...
.
Schieffelin died at his home, 938
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, United States, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd St ...
,
on September 13, 1900, in New York.
Descendants
Through his son William, he was the grandfather of Eleanor Jay Schiefflin (1864–1929),
who married Theodore Munger Taft (1865–1945),
and Dr.
William Jay Schieffelin
William Jay Schieffelin ( New York City, April 14, 1866 – April 29, 1955), was an American businessman, philanthropist, and president of the Citizens Union (New York City).
Early life
William Jay Schieffelin was the first son of William Henr ...
(1866–1955),
who married Maria Louise Shepard (1870–1948),
the daughter of
Elliot Fitch Shepard
Elliott Fitch Shepard (July 25, 1833 – March 24, 1893) was a New York lawyer, banker, and owner of the '' Mail and Express'' newspaper, as well as a founder and president of the New York State Bar Association. Shepard was married to Marga ...
and
Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt
Margaret Louisa Vanderbilt Shepard (New Dorp, Staten Island, New Dorp, July 23, 1845 – Manhattan, March 3, 1924) was an American heiress and a member of the prominent Vanderbilt family. As a philanthropist, she funded the YMCA, helping create a ...
, and granddaughter of
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...
.
Through his daughter Alice, he was the grandfather of Grace Stebbins (1860–1908),
who married
Alfred Clark Chapin
Alfred Clark Chapin (March 8, 1848 – October 2, 1936) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Brooklyn and for one year as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1891 to 1892.
Early life
Chapi ...
(1848–1936), former
Mayor of Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behin ...
,
Samuel Schieffelin Stebbins (1872–1912), a stockbroker,
and Russell Hazard Schieffelin (1874–1892).
The Chapin's daughter, Samuel's great-granddaughter, Grace Chapin (1885–1960),
was married to
Hamilton Fish III
Hamilton Fish III (born Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish and also known as Hamilton Fish Jr.; December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991) was an American soldier and politician from New York State. Born into a family long active in the state, he served in t ...
(1888–1991), member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...
.
Works
His works include:
* ''Message to Ruling Elders, their Office and their Duties'' (New York, 1859);
* ''The Foundations of History: a Series of First Things'' (1863);
* ''Milk for Babes: a Bible Catechism'' (1874);
* ''Children's Bread: a Bible Catechism'' (1874);
* ''Words to Christian Teachers'' (1877);
* ''Music in our Churches'' (1881);
* ''The Church in Ephesus and the Presbyterian and Reformed Churches'' (1884);
* ''People's Hymn-Book'' (Philadelphia, 1887).
References
Notes
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schieffelin, Samuel
American male writers
1811 births
1900 deaths
Winthrop family
Schieffelin family