Ransom H. Thomas

Ransom Halloway Thomas (August 9, 1852 – October 19, 1922) was an American banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange during the Panic of 1907.

Ransom H. Thomas
President of the New York Stock Exchange
In office
1907–1912
Preceded byHenry K. Pomroy
Succeeded byJames B. Mabon
In office
1903–1904
Preceded byRudolph Keppler
Succeeded byHenry K. Pomroy
Personal details
Born
Ransom Halloway Thomas

(1852-08-09)August 9, 1852
DiedOctober 19, 1922(1922-10-19) (aged 70)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting placeSleepy Hollow Cemetery
Spouse(s)
Susan Reed Herrick
​
(
m. 1880; his death 1922)
ChildrenRansom Halloway Thomas Jr.
Frederick Herrick Thomas
DeWitt Van Buskerck Thomas
Elizabeth Herrick Thomas

Early life

Thomas was born on August 9, 1852 and named after Ransom Halloway, a former U.S. Representative from New York's 8th congressional district.[1]

Career
Floor of the New York Stock Exchange (pictured in 1908)

In 1885, he was a member of the banking firm of Titus & Thomas located at 4 Broad Street.[2] Thomas established the firm of R. H. Thomas & Son, which was located at 100 Broadway. Shortly before his death, he sold his seat as a board member of the Exchange after nearly fifty years of membership (having acquired his seat on November 5, 1874). Throughout his time with the Exchange, he was associated with the chief committees of the Exchange and was President of the Stock Exchange Building Company at the time of his death.[3]

In 1903, Thomas succeeded Rudolph Keppler as president of the New York Stock Exchange.[4] He served as president of the Exchange during the Panic of 1907.[5][6] Through Thomas' efforts, J. Pierpont Morgan and 14 bank presidents pledged $23.6 million to keep the stock exchange afloat.[7]

In addition to his banking career,[8] Thomas was an avid golfer and served as president of the United States Golf Association from 1905 to 1906.[9] He was a member of the Morris County Golf Club in Convent, New Jersey and was a former member of the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association.[10]

Personal life
Ericstan, the country residence of Thomas' father-in-law.

In 1880, Thomas was married to Susan Reed "Susie" Herrick (1857–1942),[11] a daughter of merchant John J. Herrick and Jane Eliza (née Van Buskerck) Herrick.[2] Susie's father moved to Tarrytown, New York in 1859 where "he had built one of the largest and finest castellated residences in America."[2] The house known as Ericstan, was designed by Alexander Jackson Davis and demolished in 1944.[12] Together, they were the parents of:

  • Ransom Hallaway Thomas Jr. (1882–1939), a graduate of Harvard University,[13] who married pilot Anna Ward (1907–1959).[14]
  • Frederick Herrick Thomas (1884–1940),[15] a Yale University graduate.[16] He died on the golf course in 1940.[17]
  • DeWitt Van Buskerck Thomas.[15] He was listed on the New York Social Register in 1923.[18] After his brother's death in 1939, he married his widow Anna.[14]
  • Elizabeth Herrick Thomas (1894–1911), who died aged 16.[19]

In September 1901, Thomas purchased fellow enthusiast William K. Vanderbilt Jr.'s famous Daimler Phoenix automobile known as the "White Ghost."[20] Vanderbilt had purchased the 23-hp car, the first four-cylinder road car, in Germany in 1900.[20][21] Thomas later sold the car to John B. Drake of Chicago.[22]

Following a three week illness, Thomas died of a throat ailment at the Memorial Hospital in New York City. He had been living at the Morristown Inn in Morristown, New Jersey for the last six years.[15] After services at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Morristown, he was buried at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Tarrytown.[23]

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References
  1. "HALLOWAY, Ransom (1793c-1851)". bioguideretro.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  2. Herrick, Jedediah (1885). Herrick Genealogy: A Genealogical Register of the Name and Family of Herrick from the Settlement of Henerie Hericke, in Salem, Massachusetts, 1629 to 1846, with a Concise Notice of Their English Ancestry. Priv. print. p. 421. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. Polk's (Trow's) New York Copartnership and Corporation Directory, Boroughs of Manhattan and Bronx. 1910. p. 600. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  4. "STOCK EXCHANGE OFFICERS.; R.H. Thomas Named to Succeed President Keppler, Who Has Served Three Terms" (PDF). The New York Times. 31 March 1903. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  5. Bruner, Robert F.; Carr, Sean D. (2008). The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned from the Market's Perfect Storm. John Wiley & Sons. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-470-44517-4. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  6. Wolraich, Michael (2014). Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-137-43808-9. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  7. Kaul, Vivek (2013). Easy Money: Evolution of Money from Robinson Crusoe to the First World War. SAGE Publications India. p. 201. ISBN 978-81-321-1784-1. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  8. "BIG MEN ON GOLF LINKS.; President Thomas of Stock Exchange Beaten In Team Match" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 May 1907. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  9. United States Golf Association: Year-Book. United States Golf Association. 1910. p. 13. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  10. Death of Mr. Ransom H. Thomas (PDF). UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION. December 16, 1922. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  11. "Mrs. Ransom H. Thomas" (PDF). The New York Times. 14 April 1942. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  12. "Ericstan, for John J. Herrick, Tarrytown, New York (perspective)". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  13. Quinquennial Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates. Harvard University. 1920. p. 437. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  14. "Mrs. Dewitt Thomas" (PDF). The New York Times. 18 October 1959. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  15. "Ransom H. Thomas, Head Of Brokerage Firm, Dies. | Served Six Terms as President of Stock Exchange; Fifty Years a Member". New-York Tribune. 21 October 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Yale University ... Yale University. 1910. p. 232. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  17. "FREDERICK H. THOMAS". Daily News. 15 September 1940. p. 36. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  18. Social Register, New York. Social Register Association. 1923. p. 735. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  19. "Died. THOMAS" (PDF). The New York Times. 28 March 1911. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  20. "VANDERBILT SELLS AUTO. Ransom Thomas New York Broker, Purchases the "White Ghost."". The Topeka State Journal. 9 September 1901. p. 7. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  21. "Vanderbilt Cup Races - Blog - Willie K.'s Cars #1: The 1900 23-HP Daimler "White Ghost"". www.vanderbiltcupraces.com. September 2, 2010. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  22. Automobile Topics. E.E. Schwarzkopf. 1902. p. 78. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  23. "FUNERAL SERVICES FOR R. H. THOMAS TOMORROW. Will Be in St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Morristown". New York Herald. 21 October 1922. p. 9. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
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