Stephen A. Halsey (1798–1875) was an American

fur trader The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

who bought much of the lands along the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, called the ''"Hallet Cove"''. It was the area where Halsey established Astoria, which was named for the fur trader

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor. Astor made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by exporting History of opiu ...

. Halsey chose this namesake because he wanted to encourage Astor to live there, however, there was no known record that Astor chose to stay. Astor's only contribution to Astoria was $500 donation to a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. Halsey was generally regarded as the "

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

of Astoria", and provided much to develop the community such as planning city infrastructure and organization, he created public institutions like churches, stores, schools and modern factories, as well as encouraging settlers to move into the community.

Present

Currently there is much speculation over where Halsey's grave lies. A discovery at the First Reformed Church of Astoria by congregational members of an

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

with an inscription sparked renewed interest in the search for Halsey's grave. However, despite this major discovery there is much hesitation in unearthing this

as there is no way to confirm if it was Halsey's grave and concerns over causing damages to the church's yard.

References

1798 births 1875 deaths Date of death missing American fur traders People from Astoria, Queens {{US-bio-stub