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 Corp ...

Early life

Prosser was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

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

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 ...

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

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. 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. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

Career

Prosser began his career with Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. He later became a member Prosser & Homans, representing Equitable Life. From 1907 to 1912, he served as vice president of the

Astor Trust Company 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. Jo ...

. Beginning in 1912, he served as president Liberty National Bank 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 Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...

, the

, Tobacco Products Corporation, the American Surety Company, 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 Kennecott, also known as Kennicott and Kennecott Mines, is an abandoned mining camp in the Copper River Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska that was the center of activity for seve ...

, 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 landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the ...

, 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 southwestern corner of Cape Cod, near Martha's Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands. The population was 78 ...

(on

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

), 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 Thoroughbred stud farm in Newmarket which is owned by the Jockey Club. As well as commercial breeding services, it undertakes education and training activities and allows the public to visit the working stud on organised ...

, Peter Eustace Burrell,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two 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 Hi ...

and the

University Club of New York The University Club of New York (also known as University Club) is a gentlemen's club, private social club at 1 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street and Fifth Avenue in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Founded to celebra ...

. Prosser died at his home in Woods Hole on October 1, 1942. His funeral was held at the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, 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 a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

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

References

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