Frederick Ferris Thompson
Thompson in 1899
Born(1836-06-14)June 14, 1836
New York City, New York, US
DiedApril 10, 1899(1899-04-10) (aged 62)
New York City, New York, US
EducationWilliams College
Occupation(s)Banker, railroad executive
EmployerFirst National Bank of the City of New York
Spouse
​
(m. 1857)​
ParentJohn Thompson
Signature

Frederick Ferris Thompson (June 14, 1836 – April 10, 1899) was a prominent American banker and railroad president who co-founded the First National Bank and what is now Citibank.[1][2] He was also an early amateur photographer and a noted philanthropist.[3][1]

Early life

View of clocktower, Lasell Gymnasium, Williams College
Thompson Library Annex, Vassar College, 1896
Thompson Library, Vassar College
Sonnenberg Mansion
Hall, Thompson's Manhattan home, 1883
Drawing-room, Thompson's Manhattan home, 1883
Library in Thompson's Manhattan home, 1883
Dining room in Thompson's Manhattan home, 1883
"High Bridge from south end showing the great water pipe" by Thompson, Amateur Photographic Exchange Club, 1863

Thompson was born in New York City.[2] He was the son of Electa Ferris and John Thompson, a banker and publisher of Thompson's Bank Note Reporter.[2][4][5]

Thompson attended Peacham Academy in Peacham, Vermont.[1] Next, he went to Columbia College where he joined the Fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).[1][6]

He then attended Williams College from 1852 to 1854.[2] While there, he founded the Lambda chapter of the Fraternity of Delta Psi.[2] He left Williams after his sophomore year to go to Europe on business at his father's request in 1854.[6][1] However, he did return to college, but did not graduate.[2][7] He wrote, "I was only a quondam member of ’56, of two years’ presence in college, and a thorn in the side of the faculty of that day. Good old President Mark Hopkins gave me a special graduation certificate afterward, just to show that I was not kicked out of college..."[1]

Career

Thompson, his father, and his older brother Samuel C. Thompson founded their first bank called Thompson Brothers in 1857.[2][8] In 1863, the trio opened their third bank, called the First National Bank of the City of New York—this was the first national bank under a new federal system.[9][5] Thompson served as its vice-president and the bank grew to be the second largest in New York City.[10][11] This bank survives as Citibank.[12]

In 1873, John and Samuel Thompson left the First National Bank to form the Chase National Bank, named after their friend and the US Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase.[8] As a result, Thompson became president of First National Bank.[13]

In May 1884, First National Bank was drawn into a financial scandal, causing the Marine National Bank to fail. Grant, Ward & Co., who owed $77,000 to the Marine Bank, wrote three checks totaling $210,000 on a non-existent account from First National; the Clearing House for processing checks had cleared the checks, leaving Thompson with a $210,000 shortfall.[14] This is nearly $6.2 million in today's money.[15] First National went to court for a resolution as the check were processed the day the Marine Bank closed.[16]

Thompson also founded and was president of the National Currency Bank of New York and started the First National Bank of Detroit, and the Columbia Bank in Chatham, New York.[2][9][10]

On September 3, 1885, he was one of three incorporators of The Graphic Mining & Smelting Company in Chicago Illinois with $300,000 capital stock.[17] That same year, he was a founding trustee of the American Electric Railway Company of New York.[18] The company had $1 million in capital to build locomotive engines and cars.[18]

In January 1888, Thompson was one of four investors who bailed out the failing Montgomery & Florida Railway (aka the Alabama & Florida Railroad).[11] In August 1888, when the New York Elevated Railroad merged with the Manhattan Railway Company, Thompson was elected president of the new corporation.[19]

In May 1894, Thompson was also elected to the board of the Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua which was involved with the Nicaragua Canal project.[13][20][21] The company had sold more than $22 million in stock in 1894.[20] He became chairman of the company in 1898.[22] Despite being incorporated by Congress, the Maritime Canal Company received no federal funding and ultimately defaulted on the project in 1899 because of lacking funds and the instability of Nicaragua.[23]

Philanthropy

Thompson and his wife donated large sums of money to numerous organizations, including the American Geographical Society, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Union League, and the Williams College Alumni Association.[2][24] He was key to the construction of the Ontario Orphan Asylum and buildings for the Teachers College, Columbia University.[2][24]

At Williams College, he donated a clock tower to Lasell Gymnasium in 1886.[1] He donated the forty-acre Tallmade Farm to Williams College in 1887.[1][25] In June 1888, he gave a challenge gift of $25,000 to construct a $100,000 memorial to Dr. Mark Hopkins, provided alumni donated the balance needed.[26][27] The resulting Mark Hopkins Memorial building contained a library, art gallery, offices, and a room for lectures and recitations.[26][27] In 1891, he offered to build a new library at his own expense.[28] In 1895, he donated $175,000 for the construction of the Thompson Laboratories.[1][25] In 1895, he donated $5,000 toward the construction of a new infirmary.[25] He also supported scholarships, the Thompson Fund for lectures, and the annual Thompson Entertainments.[1][7][9] At the time of his death, he was the most generous donor in the history of Williams College.[29]

in 1898, the New York Times noted that "Mr. Thompson is a veritable fairy godfather to [Vassar] college."[30] In 1887, Thompson donated $20,000 toward Vassar College's goal of a $200,000 endowment.[31] When Vassar's new gymnasium opened in 1894, it had marble-lined, heated swimming pool, provided by Thompson.[32] At the time, this was the largest swimming pool at any college gym in the country.[32] He also donated $200,000 for a new library addition which was designed by Francis R. Allen.[24][9][30] Opened in 1893, this three-story brick building featured Warsaw stone trim and a Tennessee marble staircase.[33] Officially named the Frederick Ferris Thompson Annex Library, was also called "Uncle Fred's Nose."[24][34]

He was affectionally known as "Uncle Fred" to the Vassar students, not just for these large gifts, but for making gifts that added to the students' comforts and learning experiences.[35][30] In 1890, he donated $1,500 to set up an emergency fund to provide short-term, interest-free loans for Vassar students.[36] He donated funds for the annual senior picnic each June.[30] He provided a rocking chair for each girl's room, along with nice furnishing for the college's infirmary.[30] He also sponsored the annual outing to Lake Mohonk for Vassar's freshmen and seniors—about 300 students in total—providing transportation, hotel accommodations, and meals.[37][35][30] The freshmen from the class of 1902 sent him a thank you telegram saying: "Frederick F. Thompson, New York: Mohonk is grand and so are you: Accept the thanks of nineteen-two."[37] He also gave each graduating student a silver spoon "as a symbol of his hope that she will be fortunate in the world."[30]

Thompson served on the board of Williams College, Vassar College, Teachers College Columbia University, the New York Dispensary, the Ontario Orphan Asylum, and the Women's Hospital.[2][38] He also served on the central council of the Charity Organization Society of the City of New York.[39][40] The society distributed more than $22 million in 1887.[39]

In June 1898 when Clara Barton sent an appeal to the newspaper to help the American National Red Cross' hospital ships serving the Americas in the Spanish-American War, Thompson was one the nine to become an immediate donor, giving $500.[41]

Honors

Personal life

On June 17, 1857, Thompson married Mary Lee Clark in Canandaigua, New York.[12] She was the daughter Myron H. Clark, the governor of New York.[2] Thompson met her when she was in Albany, New York with her father.[12] The couple did not have any children.[12]

Their main home was at 283 Madison Avenue in New York City.[49] It was featured in Artistic Homes magazine in 1883.[49] The house had a hidden staircase, a thirty-square-foot library, and eight stained glass windows depicting The Pilgrim's Progress.[49] Their drawing room had a red wall and red cherry woodwork, and a matching cherrywood grand piano, with bronze reliefs of lilies and sunflowers on the ceiling.[49] The drawing room also featured paintings by John Bunyan Bristol, Sanford Robinson Gifford, William Hart, John Frederick Kensett, Emanuel Leutze, and Alexander Helwig Wyant.[49] The dining room had ten-foot tall paneled mahogany wainscotting and a barreled ceiling.[49] The house also had a billiard room and bowling alley.[49] It was lit by gas, but had electric starters.[49] The house also had a steam elevator, placing it amongst an elite group of New York City homes owned by Jabez A. Bostick, E.N. Dickinson, J. P. Morgan, Frederic W. Stevens, and William Kissam. Vanderbilt.[50]

In 1863, the Thompsons purchased a 300-acre farm near Canandaigua Lake in Canandaigua, New York for their summer home.[47] They called it Sonnenberg which is German for “sunny hill."[48] Around 1887, they built Sonnenberg Mansion on the site.[47] This Queen Anne style mansion had forty rooms.[48] The site also included nine gardens, aviaries, the Palm House, and the 13,000-square-foot greenhouse complex.[48]

Starting in the early 1860s through the 1880s, Thompson was an avid photographer.[3] At that time, this hobby took time, money, a knowledge of chemistry, and the ability to transport heavy and bulky equipment.[3] Thompson used a dry process, as opposed to the dominant wet condition.[3] He believed this provided more flexibility in processing landscape photographs.[3] He was one of three founding member of the Amateur Photographic Exchange Club in 1861.[3] Thompson was the club secretary, writing and printing a newsletter on his hand printing press.[3] However, this club ended in 1863 because of the Civil War.[3]

He was the secretary of the American Photographical Society in the 1860s.[3] This organization included both leading professional and amateur photographers of New York. He also was a judge for the Anthony Prize Pitcher awards.[3] He also wrote articles for photographic journals, sometimes signed “The Straggling Amateur.”[3]

During the Civil War, Thompson organized and drilled members of the US Colored Troops.[2] he hoped that they would be allowed to fight for the Union.[9] He was also a caption in the 37th New York Artillery.[2][9] However, he did not see any battlefield action.[1] Thompson said his regiment "never saw a battle, and neither fought, bled, nor died."[1]

He belonged to the American Institute, the American Geographical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Archaeological Institute of America—New York chapter, the City of Auburn Society, the Folk-Lore Society, the Microscopical Society, and the New York Historical Society.[9][2][51] He was also a member and board member of the New England Society of New York.[52] He was a member of the American Fine Arts Society, the American Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[9] He belonged to the Barnard Club, the Groiler Club, the Red Jacket Club of Canandaigua, the St. Anthony Club of New York, and the Union League Club.[9]

In February 1888, he was one of the many vice presidents of Citizen's in Favor of High License and Restrictions of the Liquor Traffic.[53]

In 1899, Thompson died at his home in New York City.[9] His funeral was held at his house on Madison Avenue.[54] He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Canandaigua, New York.[54]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Frederick Ferris Thompson (1836-1899) Special Collections. Williams College Archives.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. VI. James T. White & Company. 1896. p. 141. Retrieved November 27, 2020 – via Google Books.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 vintagephotosjohnson. "Frederic Ferris Thompson". vintagephotosjohnson. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  4. ↑ "Mrs. Electa F. Thompson". The Los Angeles Times. September 17, 1902. p. 4. Retrieved June 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 "Death of John Thompson". Poughkeepsie Eagle News (Poughkeepsie, New York). April 21, 1891. p. 5. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 Catalogue of the Members of the Fraternity of Delta Psi. New York: Fraternity of Delta Psi, 1889 via Google Books
  7. 1 2 "Williams Benefactor Dead". North Adams Transcript. April 11, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved November 27, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. 1 2 "Sudden Death". The Baltimore Sun. April 12, 1888. p. 4. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Frederick K. Thompson Dead". The New York Times. April 11, 1899. p. 3. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 "City Bank". Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota). October 13, 1873. p. 4. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 "The M. & F. Railway". The Weekly Advertiser (Montgomery, Alabama). January 19, 1888. p. 4. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 "Mary Clark Thompson". Sonneberg.org. December 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 12, 2004. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. 1 2 King, Moses. Notable New Yorkers of 1869-1899: A Companion Volume to King's Handbook of New York City. United States, Moses King, 1899. via Google Books. p. 217.
  14. ↑ "Millions Gone". The Brooklyn Union (Brooklyn, New York). May 9, 1884. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "$210,000 in 1884 → 2022 | Inflation Calculator". www.in2013dollars.com. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Suits of the First National" (PDF). The New York Times. August 2, 1884. p. 8. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  17. ↑ "The Secretary of State". Chicago Tribune. September 9, 1885. p. 3. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. 1 2 "A New Railway Company". The Philadelphia Inquirer. February 9, 1885. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Elevated Railroads Consolidated". Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York). August 2, 1884. p. 1. Retrieved June 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. 1 2 "Transacted General Business". Altoona Tribune (Altoona, Pennsylvania). May 4, 1894. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Nicaragua Canal". Hartford Courant (Hartford, Connecticut). February 28, 1888. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ "Meetings and Elections". The New York Times. February 28, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ Leonard, Thomas M. "Maritime Canal Company of Nicaragua". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Frederick Ferris Thompson Annex - Vassar College Encyclopedia - Vassar College". www.vassar.edu. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  25. 1 2 3 "Williamstown". The Pittsfield Sun (Pittsfield, Massachusetts). April 13, 1899. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. 1 2 "Frederick F. Thompson". Boston Evening Transcript. January 3, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. 1 2 "Mark Hopkins Memorial". The Boston Globe. December 28, 1887. p. 2. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ "At Vassar". Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, New York). June 11, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. 1 2 3 4 "Frederick Ferris and Mary Clark Thompson | Gift Planning | Giving to Williams". giftplanning.williams.edu. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  30. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Vassar's Fall Picnic". The New York Times. October 16, 1898. p. 5. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ↑ "Vassar College". The Commercial Buffalo. June 8, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. 1 2 "Vassar Girl Gymnasts". The Indianapolis News (Indianapolis, Indiana). January 20, 1894. p. 10. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ↑ Senior Class of Vassar College. "Vassar's Progress." The Vassarion. [New York, Vassar College, 1893, p. 129. via Hathi Trust.
  34. ↑ Cohen, Frances, and Bessie Eliza Boyd Lawton. Vassar: a College Souvenir. [New York: The Chasmar press], 1896. p. 16. via Hathi Trust.
  35. 1 2 "The second excursion to Lake Mohonk". The Sun (New York, New York). October 19, 1895. p. 6. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  36. ↑ "Additions and Improvements at Vassar College". Poughkeepsie Eagle News (Poughkeepsie, New York). June 4, 1890. p. 6. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. 1 2 "A Treat to the Vassar Girls". The Kansas City Stars (Kansas City, Missouri). November 3, 1898. p. 4. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ↑ "Board of Governors." Woman's Hospital in the State of New York. Annual Report. vol. 41, (1896): 5. via Hathi Trust.
  39. 1 2 "Supervising the Charities". The New York Times. June 5, 1888. p. 2. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ↑ "Charity Organization Officier". The New York Times. January 11, 1895. p. 8. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ↑ "Letter from Clara Barton". The Sun (New York, New York). July 13, 1898. p. 3. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  42. ↑ "An Honorary Dinner". The Boston Globe. April 30, 1893. p. 7. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ↑ 100 Years of History - Thompson Health Canandaiogua New York, 2004.
  44. ↑ "Frederick Ferris Thompson". npg.si.edu. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  45. ↑ "Frederick Ferris Thompson, c.1886–99 (Hills no. 31.1.203) | Catalogue entry | Eastman Johnson Catalogue Raisonné". www.eastmanjohnson.org. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  46. ↑ "Come On In, The Water's Fine". Teachers College - Columbia University. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
  47. 1 2 3 "Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion State Historic Park | New York Heritage". nyheritage.org. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  48. 1 2 3 4 5 Wemett, Laurel C. (April 1, 2017). "Mrs. Thompson's Conservatory". Life in the Finger Lakes. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
  49. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sheldon, George William (1883). "Mr. Frederick F. Thompson's House". Artistic Houses. 1 (1): 47 –. doi:10.5479/sil.424398.39088007140114 – via Smithsonian Libraries.
  50. ↑ "Building High and Deep". The Clinton New Era (Clinton, Ontario, Canada). September 22, 1881. p. 3. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  51. ↑ Archaeological Institute of America. Annual Report. Boston: Damrell and Upham, 1885. p. 15. via Hathi Trust.
  52. ↑ "The New England Society". Boston Post. December 17, 1875. p. 2. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  53. ↑ "Meetings". The New York Times. February 5, 1888. p. 6. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  54. 1 2 "Thompson". The New York Times. April 12, 1899. p. 7. Retrieved June 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
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