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Henry G. Stebbins

Col. Henry George Stebbins (September 15, 1811 – December 9, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from New York, serving one term during the latter half of the American Civil War.[1]

Col. Henry G. Stebbins
Col. Stebbins in 1863
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 1st district
In office
March 4, 1863 – October 24, 1864
Preceded byEdward H. Smith
Succeeded byDwight Townsend
Personal details
Born(1811-09-15)September 15, 1811
Ridgefield, Connecticut
DiedDecember 9, 1881(1881-12-09) (aged 70)
Manhattan, New York City, New York
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Sarah Augusta Weston
​
​
(m. 1831)​
Children5
Parent(s)John Stebbins
Mary Largin
RelativesEmma Stebbins
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Branch/serviceNew York (state) New York State Militia
RankColonel

Early life

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Stebbins was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Mary Largin (1783–1874) and John Stebbins (1783–1834), a president of the North River Bank.[2] The sculptor Emma Stebbins was his sister. Another sister, Mary Stebbins Garland, documented her sister's life posthumously in a biography and a scrapbook, entitled Notes on the Art Life of Emma Stebbins (1888). In the scrapbook, Garland arranged images of Stebbins' works created between 1857 and 1870.[3]

Career

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Portrait of Henry G. Stebbins by Henry Inman in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1838

In 1833, Stebbins became a member of the New York Stock Exchange representing the firm S. Jaudan & Co. He was the President of the Exchange for three periods: 1851–52, 1858–59 and 1863–64.[4] In 1859, he founded the brokerage firm Henry G. Stebbins & Son. In September 1847, he was elected colonel of the Twelfth Regiment, a commission he didn't accept until May 15, 1848.[5]: 88–89  He was commander of the regiment when it figured prominently in the Astor Place Riot and resigned in 1855.[5]: 92, 95 

United States Congress

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Stebbins was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served from March 4, 1863, until his resignation on October 24, 1864.[1][6][7] He was a member of the Ways and Means Committee.[8]

While in Congress, he stated that he "favored a vigorous prosecution of the war, until the authority of the Government should be reestablished over every part of the United States."[6]

Later career

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On January 7, 1868, he was elected president of the Atlantic and Great Western Railway.[9] He was at one time vice president of the Texas Pacific Railroad. At the time of his death, he was a Director, and the real estate agent, of the New York, Lake Erie and Western Railroads.

In 1871, he took an active part in the movement to oust Boss Tweed from power and was made Chairman of the Committee of Seventy.[10] He held this position for a few months until he resigned to accept an appointment as Commissioner of Department of Public Parks.[2][11]

In 1872, he temporarily resigned as Commissioner of the Department of Public Parks so he could travel to England on urgent private business. He was temporarily succeeded by Frederick Law Olmsted.[12][13] He fully resigned from the presidency again in 1873.[14] In 1877, again put up for Park Commissioner,[15] he was rejected by Tammany in favor of Henry D. Purroy.[16]

He was involved in the proposed World's Fair of 1883 and served as Vice-president of the United States International Commission until March 1881 when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant resigned,[17] then Stebbin became the president.[2]

Personal life

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After moving to New York he married Sarah Augusta Weston (1808–1893) on October 8, 1831. They had five children:

  • Henry Gerald Stebbins (1832–1832), who died as an infant
  • Fanny Juliet Stebbins (1834–1907), who married Timothy Fitzgerald Noble (b. 1827)
  • Mary Emma Stebbins (1837–1865), who married Charles Alfred Grymes (1829–1905), son of John Randolph Grymes (1786–1854)
  • Cora Stebbins (b. 1839), who married William Pickering Talboys (b. 1829), son of David Alphonso Talboys (c. 1790–1840)
  • Charles Henry Stebbins (b. 1841), who married Minerva Cook Vail (b. 1846), the daughter of Henry F. Vail (1812–1881), president of the National Bank of Commerce.[18][19]

Death and burial

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On December 9, 1881, Stebbins died at his residence, No. 2 West 16th Street in New York City,[2] and was later interred in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.[1][20] At the time of his death, he was the oldest member on the roll of the Stock Exchange.[2]

Descendants

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His grandson, Henry George Stebbins Noble (1859–1946), was also president of the New York Stock Exchange from 1914 to 1919.[21]

His grandson, Rowland Stebbins (1882–1948), was a stockbroker and stage producer who won a Pulitzer Prize for The Green Pastures, which he reportedly made $500,000 off of. He married Marion Lyman in 1907 and had three children, Rowland Stebbins, Jr., H. Lyman Stebbins, and Marion Stebbins (Heidt).[22]

Interests

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Stebbins was appointed president of the Central Park Commission and served as Commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1863 to 1870. He owned the schooner-yacht Phantom when he was Commodore of the New York Yacht Club. Since 1870, Stebbins was succeeded by James Gordon Bennett Jr.[23] Stebbins was also a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History[24] and president of the Arcadian Club,[25] the Dramatic Fund Association and the Academy of Music. He was a member of the Union Club, Union League, and Manhattan Club.[2]

References

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Notes
  1. ^ a b c "STEBBINS, Henry George - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "THE DEATH-LIST OF A DAY; SUDDEN DEATH OF COL. HENRY G. STEBBINS". The New York Times. December 11, 1881. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  3. ^ Milroy, Elizabeth (1993). "The Public Career of Emma Stebbins: Work in Marble". Archives of American Art Journal. 33 (3). The Smithsonian Institution: 2–12. doi:10.1086/aaa.33.3.1557502. JSTOR 1557502. S2CID 190566567.
  4. ^ "Presidents of the Stock Exchange" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Souvenir of the Annual Reunion, 1894, with Historical Sketch of the Twelfth Regiment, etc. (1894).
  6. ^ a b "The Resignation of Hon. Henry G. Stebbins, M.C." The New York Times. October 26, 1864. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "NEWS FROM WASHINGTON.; OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON DISPATCHES. A FALSE REPORT. The Billiard Tournament. Note from Hon. H.G. Stebbins". The New York Times. June 8, 1863. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  8. ^ Gold currency and funded debt: A letter to the Hon. Henry G. Stebbins, M. C., of Committee of Ways and Means (New York:Mohun, Ebbs & Hough, 1864), p. 3
  9. ^ Henry V. Poor, Manual of the Railroads of the United States for 1868-1869 (New York:1868), p. 406.
  10. ^ "THE WORK OF THE SEVENTY | Final Report of the Subcommittees to the People Last Night | How the Tax-Payers' Representatives Fulfilled Their Trust. | Interesting Review of the Labors of the Past Two Months. | Words of Wisdom for Every One to Consider. | The Speedy Punishment of the Thieves Demanded. | How the Work of Purification is to be Accomplished. | Address of the Committee of Seventy, Through Its Chairman, Henry G. Stebbins". The New York Times. November 3, 1871. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "Further Resignations and Appointments". The New York Times. November 23, 1871. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. ^ "Article 4 -- No Title". The New York Times. May 30, 1872. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  13. ^ "Resignation of the President of the Department of Parks Appointment of his Successor". The New York Times. May 30, 1872. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  14. ^ "THE PARK COMMISSION.; BUSINESS TRANSACTED YESTERDAY RESIGNATION OF THE PRESIDENT". The New York Times. August 1, 1873. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  15. ^ "MISCELLANEOUS CITY NEWS; THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. DEMOCRATIC OPPOSITION TO THE RENOMINATION OF PARK COMMISSIONER STEBBINS THE TAMMANY MEMBERS OPPOSE MR.COWING'S MOTION FOR RETRENCHMENT IN OFFICIAL SALARIES". The New York Times. October 31, 1877. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  16. ^ "THE AFFAIRS OF THE CITY. | THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN. | MR. STEBBINS REJECTED FOR THE POSITION OF PARK COMMISSIONER-PURROY AS A DEFENDER OF JOHN KELLY-MR. SAMUEL CONOVER NOMINATED INSTEAD OF MR. STEBBINS-CONSIDERING THE ESTIMATES FOR NEXT YEAR". The New York Times. November 14, 1877. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  17. ^ "WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSION.; GEN. GRANT TENDERS HIS RESIGNATION AS PRESIDENT". The New York Times. March 24, 1881. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  18. ^ "Obituary -- HENRY F. VAIL". The New York Times. September 23, 1881. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  19. ^ Berkey, William Augustus (1876). The Money Question. Grand Rapids, Michigan: W.W. Hart, Steam Book and Job Printer. ISBN 9781329149328. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  20. ^ "FUNERAL OF COL. STEBBINS". The New York Times. December 13, 1881. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  21. ^ "Henry Noble Dead. Leader In Wall Street. Stock Exchange Head During First World War. A Member 56 Years Before Retiring". New York Times. February 7, 1946. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  22. ^ "R. STEBBINS DEAD; STAGE PRODUCER; Stockbroker Who Presented 'Green Pastures,' Winner of Pulitzer Prize, Was 66". The New York Times. December 13, 1948. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  23. ^ "The Yacht Phantom". Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. May 13, 1879. p. 2. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  24. ^ The First Annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History (New York:1870), p. xiv.
  25. ^ The Reception of Peter Cooper by the Arcadian Club on his Eighty-fourth Birthday (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1874), p. 3.
Sources
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 1st congressional district
March 4, 1863 - October 24, 1864 		Succeeded by

Public Domain  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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