Seward Prosser (March 1, 1871 – October 1, 1942) was an American banker and philanthropist who served as the head of

Bankers Trust Bankers Trust was a historic American banking organization. The bank merged with Alex. Brown & Sons in 1997 before being acquired by Deutsche Bank in 1999. Deutsche Bank sold the Trust and Custody division of Bankers Trust to State Street Corpo ...

Early life

Prosser was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

on March 1, 1871. He was a son of Henry Wilbur Prosser and Anna (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Fay) Prosser. Among his siblings was Mason Fay Prosser, an attorney in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

. His family later moved to Brooklyn, where he was educated in the public schools before attending the Englewood School for Boys in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from po ...

Career

Prosser began his career with

Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States Equitable Holdings, Inc. (formerly The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States and AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company, and also known as The Equitable) is an American financial services and insurance company that was founded in 1 ...

. He later became a member Prosser & Homans, representing Equitable Life. From 1907 to 1912, he served as vice president of the

Astor Trust Company The Astor Trust Company was a historic American banking organization. The firm merged with Bankers Trust in 1917. History The Astor National Bank of New York was authorized to begin business on February 9, 1898, with initial capital of $300,000. ...

. Beginning in 1912, he served as president

Liberty National Bank Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society f ...

until 1914 when he became president of

.'The bankers Trust Company of New York: Seward Prosser succeeds Benjamin Strong, Jr. as President'
Banking Law Journal, Jan-Dec 1914. He served as president until 1923 when he relinquished the presidency but continued to serve as a director, Chairman of the board of trustees, and a member of the Executive Committee. Prosser also served as a director of many prominent companies, including the

General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...

, the

, Tobacco Products Corporation, the

American Surety Company American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

, the Bankers Safe Deposit Company, the

International Nickel Company of Canada Vale Canada Limited (formerly Vale Inco, CVRD Inco and Inco Limited; for corporate branding purposes simply known as "Vale" and pronounced in English) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Brazilian mining company Vale. Vale's nickel mining and ...

, the

Kennecott Copper Corporation Kennicott or Kennecott may refer to: * Kennecott, Alaska, an abandoned mining camp, United States * Benjamin Kennicott (1718-1783), English churchman and Hebrew scholar * Robert Kennicott (1835-1866), American naturalist and pioneer Alaska explore ...

, the Graphite Metallizing Corporation, the

Braden Copper Company Braden Copper Company was an American company that controlled the El Teniente copper mine in Chile until 1967 when its copper holdings were nationalized. History Braden Copper Company was founded on 18 June 1904 by E.W. Nash, Barton Sewell, Willi ...

, and the

Utah Copper Company Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to ...

, among others.

Personal life

On October 25, 1902, Prosser was married to the English-born Constance Barber. Together, they lived in Englewood, New Jersey and in

Woods Hole, Massachusetts Woods Hole is a census-designated place in the town of Falmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. It lies at the extreme southwest corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 781 ...

(on

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mon ...

), were the parents of: * Barbara Prosser (1903–1984), who married John Archer Gifford (1900–1989), an attorney. * Anna Fay Prosser (1907–1973), who married Dan Platt Caulkins in 1927. They divorced and she later married Leighton Hale Stevens (1903–1969). in 1939. * Constance Mary Prosser (1910–1980), who married Vance McCaulley in 1929. After his death in 1935, she married

Richard King Mellon Richard King Mellon (June 19, 1899 – June 3, 1970), commonly known as R.K., was an American financier, general, and philanthropist from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and part of the Mellon family. Biography The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of ...

, president of Pittsburgh's Mellon National Bank, in 1936. After his death in 1970, she married the director of

the National Stud The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker (later Lord Wavertree) of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm ...

, Peter Eustace Burrell,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, a son of Sir Merrik Burrell, 7th Baronet. He was a member of the

Union League Club The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray H ...

and the

University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a private social club at 1 West 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebrate the union of social duty and intellect ...

. Prosser died at his home in Woods Hole on October 1, 1942. His funeral was held at the

First Presbyterian Church of Englewood Brookside Cemetery is a historical cemetery in Englewood, New Jersey. History It was started in May 1876, by a group of Englewood residents who purchased of land for a cemetery. The property sits on the East side of Engle Street adjacent to Ten ...

, and more than 1,000 persons attended with more than 40 friends and associates noted as honorary pallbearers. His widow died in July 1948.

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was a grandfather of

Prosser Gifford Prosser Gifford was a historian, author, and academic administrator. He held various positions at notable academic institutions including the position of first Dean of Faculty at Amherst College. He is probably best known for his work as Director ...

, a Director for the Office of Scholarly Programs in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The librar ...

who wrote a series on British and German colonialism in Africa.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prosser, Seward 1871 births 1942 deaths People from Buffalo, New York People from Englewood, New Jersey American bankers Businesspeople from New York City Burials at Brookside Cemetery (Englewood, New Jersey)