Henry G. Stebbins

Col. Henry George Stebbins (September 15, 1811 – December 9, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from New York 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 by	Edward H. Smith
Succeeded by	Dwight Townsend
Personal details
Born	(1811-09-15)September 15, 1811 Ridgefield, Connecticut
Died	December 9, 1881(1881-12-09) (aged 70) Manhattan, New York City, New York
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Sarah Augusta Weston ​ ( m. 1831; his death 1881)
Children	5
Parents	John Stebbins Mary Largin
Relatives	Emma Stebbins
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	New York State Militia
Rank	Colonel

Early life

Henry George 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 sculptress 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

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

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

On 7 January 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

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]

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

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

Stebbins was appointed president of the Central Park Commission and served as Commodore of the New York Yacht Club from 1863 to 1870. He was also a trustee of the American Museum of Natural History[23] and president of the Arcadian Club,[24] the Dramatic Fund Association and the Academy of Music. He was a member of the Union Club, Union League, and Manhattan Club.[2]

References

Notes

1. "STEBBINS, Henry George - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
2. "THE DEATH-LIST OF A DAY; SUDDEN DEATH OF COL. HENRY G. STEBBINS". The New York Times. 11 December 1881. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
3. Milroy, Elizabeth (1993). "The Public Career of Emma Stebbins: Work in Marble". Archives of American Art Journal. The Smithsonian Institution. 33 (3). JSTOR 1557502.
4. "Presidents of the Stock Exchange" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-21. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
5. Souvenir of the Annual Reunion, 1894, with Historical Sketch of the Twelfth Regiment, etc. (1894).
6. "The Resignation of Hon. Henry G. Stebbins, M.C." The New York Times. 26 October 1864. Retrieved 13 February 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. 8 June 1863. Retrieved 13 February 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. 3 November 1871. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
11. "Further Resignations and Appointments". The New York Times. 23 November 1871. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
12. "Article 4 -- No Title". The New York Times. 30 May 1872. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
13. "Resignation of the President of the Department of Parks Appointment of his Successor". The New York Times. 30 May 1872. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
14. "THE PARK COMMISSION.; BUSINESS TRANSACTED YESTERDAY RESIGNATION OF THE PRESIDENT". The New York Times. 1 August 1873. Retrieved 13 February 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. 31 October 1877. Retrieved 13 February 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. 14 November 1877. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
17. "WORLD'S FAIR COMMISSION.; GEN. GRANT TENDERS HIS RESIGNATION AS PRESIDENT". The New York Times. 24 March 1881. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
18. "Obituary -- HENRY F. VAIL". The New York Times. September 23, 1881. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
19. Berkey, William Augustus (1876). The Money Question. Grand Rapids, Michigan: W.W. Hart, Steam Book and Job Printer. ISBN 9781329149328. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
20. "FUNERAL OF COL. STEBBINS". The New York Times. 13 December 1881. Retrieved 13 February 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 2015-01-07.
22. "R. STEBBINS DEAD; STAGE PRODUCER; Stockbroker Who Presented 'Green Pastures,' Winner of Pulitzer Prize, Was 66". The New York Times. 13 December 1948. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
23. The First Annual Report of the American Museum of Natural History (New York:1870), p. xiv.
24. The Reception of Peter Cooper by the Arcadian Club on his Eighty-fourth Birthday (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1874), p. 3.

Sources

• United States Congress. "Henry G. Stebbins (id: S000825)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2009-04-24
• familysearch.org Accessed January 22, 2009
• Death of Henry G. Stebbins Accessed January 23, 2009

External links

• "Henry G. Stebbins". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2009-04-24.

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Edward H. Smith	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 1st congressional district March 4, 1863 - October 24, 1864	Succeeded by Dwight Townsend

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress website http://bioguide.congress.gov.