Moses Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Moses Taylor
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| President of National City Bank | |
| In office 1855–1882 |
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| Preceded by | Gorham A. Worth |
| Succeeded by | Percy Pyne |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 11, 1806 |
| Died | May 23, 1882 (aged 76) |
| Spouses |
Catharine Anne Wilson
( |
| Relations | Moses Taylor Pyne (grandson) Hamilton Fish Kean (grandson) |
| Children | 5 |
| Parents | Jacob B. Taylor Martha Brant Taylor |
Moses Taylor (born January 11, 1806 – died May 23, 1882) was a very rich and powerful New York businessman and banker in the 1800s. When he passed away, his wealth was about $70 million. That's like $2.1 billion in today's money!
He was in charge of important companies like the National City Bank of New York (which later became Citibank). He also controlled the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad and his own import business, Moses Taylor & Co. He had many other investments in railroads and different industries.
Contents
Moses Taylor's Early Life
Moses Taylor was born on January 11, 1806. His parents were Jacob B. Taylor and Martha Brant Taylor. His father worked closely with John Jacob Astor, who was another very rich businessman. Astor's connection with the Taylor family helped Moses get a good start in life.
Moses Taylor's Career and Businesses
When Moses was 15, he started working at a shipping company called J. D. Brown. Soon after, he moved to another shipping and import company, G. G. & S. Howland Company of New York. This company traded goods with countries in South America.
By 1832, when he was 26, Moses had enough money to leave the Howland company and start his own business. He became a sugar broker. As a sugar broker, Moses worked with Cuban sugar growers. He helped them find buyers for their sugar, exchanged money for them, and gave them advice on their investments. He built strong relationships with these growers, who often needed loans and investments to run their large farms. Moses never went to Cuba himself, but his friend Henry Augustus Coit, who spoke Spanish, helped him trade with the Cuban growers.
Moses soon learned that giving loans and making investments could earn him as much, or even more, money than just selling sugar. However, the sugar trade remained a main source of his income. By the 1840s, most of his money came from interest on loans and his investments. By 1847, Moses Taylor was known as one of New York City's 25 millionaires.
Banking and Smart Investments
When a financial crisis called the Panic of 1837 happened, John Jacob Astor took over what was then called City Bank of New York (now Citibank). Astor chose Moses Taylor to be a director at the bank. Moses had actually doubled his own money during this crisis. He brought his many financial connections to the bank. He bought shares in the bank and, in 1855, he became its president. He ran the bank mostly to support his own businesses and investments, and those of his friends.
In the 1850s, Moses started investing in iron and coal. He also began buying shares in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad. When another financial crisis, the Panic of 1857, almost caused the railroad to go bankrupt, Moses took control. He bought its shares for only $5 each. Just seven years later, those same shares were worth $240! The D. L. & W became one of the best railroads in the country. By 1865, Moses owned 20,000 shares, which were worth almost $50 million.
Moses also owned part of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company. This company was started by Cyrus West Field in 1854. At first, their attempts to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean didn't work. But they finally succeeded, and in 1866, it became the first company to send messages across the Atlantic by cable.
Taylor also had control over the two largest of Manhattan's seven gas companies. After his death, these companies merged in 1884 to form the Consolidated Gas Company, which eventually became Consolidated Edison. Taylor's companies made up 45% of the new Consolidated Gas company. His family continued to be some of the biggest individual shareholders of Consolidated Edison for a long time.
Moses Taylor and New York Politics
After the Civil War, Moses Taylor continued to invest in iron, railroads, and real estate in New York. During the war, he had helped the Union by providing money for the war effort. His real estate holdings in New York brought him close to Boss Tweed, who was a powerful political leader in New York's Tammany Hall group. In 1871, Moses was part of a committee of New York's most important businessmen. He signed a report that praised Tweed's financial manager for being honest. This report was later seen as trying to cover up problems.
Moses Taylor's Family Life
Moses Taylor was married to Catharine Anne Wilson (1810–1892). They had five children together:
- Albertina Shelton Taylor (1833–1900), who married Percy Rivington Pyne (1820–1895) in 1855. Percy Pyne worked for Moses and became president of City Bank after Moses died.
- Mary Taylor (1837–1907), who married George Lewis (1833–1888).
- George Campbell Taylor (1837–1907).
- Katherine Wilson Taylor (1839–1925), who married Robert Winthrop.
- Henry Augustus Coit Taylor (1841–1921), who married Charlotte Talbot Fearing (1845–1899) in 1868. After she died, he married Josephine Whitney Johnson (1849–1927) in 1903. Henry left $50 million when he died in 1921.
Moses Taylor died in 1882. Even though he owned a family burial vault in the New York City Marble Cemetery, he was buried in Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York City. Moses left his large fortune to his wife and children. Many of his descendants became important members of New York society, and several famous families today owe a lot of their wealth to the money they inherited from Moses Taylor.
Moses Taylor's Descendants
Through his daughter Albertina, the Pyne family became a long line of bankers that continues today. Percy's son, Moses Taylor Pyne, was a generous supporter of Princeton University. He helped it grow from a college into a major university and left $100 million when he died in 1921.
Through his daughter Katherine, Moses Taylor was the grandfather of Hamilton Fish Kean (1862–1941). Hamilton Fish Kean is an ancestor of the political Kean family, which includes the former governor of New Jersey, Thomas Kean.
Moses Taylor's Legacy
Moses Taylor was not known for giving a lot of money to charity during his life. However, near the end of his life in 1882, he donated $250,000 to build a hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This hospital was meant to help his iron and coal workers, and also the workers of the D. L. & W railroad. The Moses Taylor hospital is still open and helping people today.
See also
In Spanish: Moses Taylor para niños
