W. R. Vermilye
President of the New York Stock Exchange
In office
1861–1862
Preceded byWilliam H. Neilson
Succeeded byAbraham B. Baylis
Personal details
Born
Washington Romeyn Vermilye

(1810-09-29)September 29, 1810
New York City, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 23, 1876(1876-12-23) (aged 66)
Englewood, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Elizabeth Dwight Lathrop
​
​
(m. 1833; died 1874)​
RelationsWilliam Montgomery Vermilye (brother)
Children6
Parent(s)William W. Vermilye
Mary Montgomery Vermilye
Military service
AllegianceUnited States of America
Union
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Union Army
Rank Colonel
Unit7th New York Militia

Col. Washington Romeyn Vermilye (September 29, 1810 – December 23, 1876) was an American banker who served as president of the New York Stock Exchange.

Early life

Vermilye was born in Harlem in New York City on September 29, 1810.[1] He was a son of Mary (née Montgomery) Vermilye (1782–1847), who was of Irish Montgomery lineage, and William W. Vermilye (1780–1849),[2] a venerated elder in the Presbyterian Church.[3] Among his siblings were bankers William Montgomery Vermilye[4] and Jacob Dykeman Vermilye (husband of Mary Cornelia Lathrop),[5] and prominent clergyman, the Rev. Drs. Thomas E. Vermilye and Robert G. Vermilye.[1]

Vermilye, who was of Huguenot ancestry, was "a descendant of one of the oldest families of New-York, the original founder of the family, Mr. John Vermilye, having immigrated to this country from England in 1690."[4]

Career

On November 8, 1830, Vermilye began his association with the Seventh Regiment (formerly the 27th Artillery) of the National Guard.[6] In 1832, he was elected first lieutenant, followed by captain in 1833, major in 1840, lieutenant colonel in 1843, and lastly, promoted to colonel in November 1845. After years of service in the regiment he continued his interest, being colonel of the veterans, and was actively involved in the building of new armory.[6]

Vermilye was a Republican in politics and was involved as one of the commissioners of the New York Public School System. In 1863, W.R. and his brother William declined, along with President Abraham Lincoln, Robert B. Roosevelt, John J. Astor Jr. and Nathaniel Sands, to endorse John Adams Dix for mayor of New York City.[7] In 1873, he wrote to President Ulysses S. Grant regarding the suspension of General Thomas B. Van Buren from his position as U.S. Commissioner to the Vienna Exhibition.[8]

Banking career

In 1849, along with his eldest brother William Montgomery Vermilye and George Carpenter, he founded the firm of Carpenter & Vermilye, which became one of the most prominent banking houses in New York City and was known for selling war bonds during the U.S. Civil War.[4] After Carpenter's retirement in 1858, the firm was renamed Vermilye & Co. His brother retired in 1868.[lower-alpha 1] After his death,[14] his son took over his interest in W.R. Vermilye & Co.[15][16]

A member of the New York Stock Exchange and its board of governors, he served as president of the Exchange from 1861 to 1862 during the Civil War.[6]

Personal life

On October 2, 1833, Vermilye was married to Elizabeth Dwight Lathrop (1812–1874) in West Springfield, Massachusetts. Elizabeth was a daughter of Mary (née McCrackan) Lathrop and U.S. Representative Samuel Lathrop.[17] Elizabeth's sister, Mary Lathrop, was married to Rev. William Buell Sprague and both were granddaughters of the Rev. Joseph Lathrop, one of the most distinguished clergymen the country.[18] Together, W.R. and Elizabeth were the parents of six children, including:[17]

  • Mary Elizabeth Vermilye (1834–1836), who died young.[17]
  • Washington Romeyn Vermilye Jr. (1837–1909),[19] a banker and civil engineer who married Hattie Amelye Comstock in 1861.[20]
  • Samuel Lathrop Vermilye (b. 1839), who died young.[17]
  • George Smith Vermilye (b. 1841), who died young.[17]
  • Emily Augusta Vermilye (1846–1921), who married Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff, president of Merchants' National Bank and a Mayor of Englewood.[21]
  • Arthur Montgomery Vermilye (1849–1853), who died young.[17]

He was a member of the board of managers of the American Bible Society, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions, and a director of the Lenox Hospital, among other benevolent associations.[6]

In 1868, after living in New York City for most of his life, he moved to Englewood, New Jersey. He died unexpectedly, after a short and painful illness, at his home in Englewood on December 23, 1876. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx alongside his wife, who had died in St. Augustine, Florida on April 11, 1874. Woodlawn was near Kingsbridge, where the Vermilye family had an extensive farm and mansion since the early settlement of New York.[6] In his will, he left significant funds to charities and created trusts for the benefit of his siblings and their children. He also set aside $200,000 "for the continuation of the banking business of Vermilye & Co., on Nassau street."[22] His son, who became a special partner in the banking house, inherited his house and grounds in Englewood, and the remainder of his property, valued at $1,000,000, was to be equally divided between his surviving son and daughter.[22]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ In 1905, Carpenter & Vermilye was renamed after its principal partner, William A. Read.[9][10] In 1921, the firm was again renamed as Dillon, Read & Co. to include partner Clarence Dillon.[11] In 1991, it was acquired by Barings Bank[12] and, in 1997, it was acquired by Swiss Bank Corporation, which was in turn acquired by UBS in 1998.[13]
Sources
  1. 1 2 Riker, James (1881). Harlem (city of New York): Its Origin and Early Annals: Prefaced by Home Scenes in the Fatherlands; Or, Notices of Its Founders Before Emigration. Also, Sketches of Numerous Families, and the Recovered History of the Land-titles. Riker. pp. 546–550. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  2. ↑ Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. 1905. p. 176. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  3. ↑ History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Everts & Peck. 1882. p. 266. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Obituary; William M. Vermilye" (PDF). The New York Times. 19 June 1878. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Greeley, Horace; Benjamin, Park (1840). The New-Yorker. H. Greeley & Company. p. 47. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Nelson, William (1882). History of Bergen and Passaic Counties, New Jersey: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia: Everts & Peck. pp. 269–270. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  7. ↑ "Lincoln, Abraham (1809-1865) to Robert B. Roosevelt, John J. Astor Jr., and Nathaniel Sands". www.gilderlehrman.org. Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  8. ↑ Grant, Ulysses Simpson (2000). The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant: 1873. SIU Press. p. 155. ISBN 978-0-8093-2277-0. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  9. ↑ The Encyclopedia of New York City: Second Edition. Yale University Press. December 1, 2010. ISBN 978-0300182576.
  10. ↑ "VERMILYE FIRM'S OFFSHOOTS.; Old Partners Are Now Mackay & Co. and William. A. Read & Co" (PDF). The New York Times. 1 April 1905. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  11. ↑ "BANKING FIRM CHANGES.; William A. Read & Co. Dissolves and Dillon, Read & Co. is Formed". The New York Times. January 14, 1921.
  12. ↑ EICHENWALD, KURT (November 13, 1991). "Travelers Is Selling Dillon Firm". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ Swardson, Anne (December 9, 1997). "SWISS BANKING GIANTS SBC, UBS TO MERGE". The Washington Post.
  14. ↑ "CITY BOND CONTROVERSY; Justice Cohen Hears Arguments in Vermilye & Co.'s Suit Against Mr. Coler. HIS DECISION NOT GIVEN The Whole Question Alleged to Hinge on the Validity of Vermilye & Co.'s Conditional Bid for the $12,000,000 Issue" (PDF). The New York Times. 24 August 1898. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  15. ↑ "W.R. VERMILYE & CO. ASSIGN.; Liabilities Given as $20,000 and Nominal Assets Triple That Amount" (PDF). The New York Times. 29 October 1901. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  16. ↑ Supreme Court Appellate Term New York County. p. 170. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dwight, Benjamin Woodbridge (1874). The History of the Descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass. J. F. Trow & son, printers and bookbinders. p. 876. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Riker, James (1970). Harlem: Its Origins and Early Annals. Ardent Media. p. 652. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  19. ↑ "Died" (PDF). The New York Times. 4 May 1909. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  20. ↑ Ellis, William Arba (1911). Norwich University, 1819-1911; Her History, Her Graduates, Her Roll of Honor. Capitol City Press. pp. 572–573. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
  21. ↑ "Brinckerhoff, Bank President, Dies. Head of Merchants Bank. Rode the First Pony Express in This Country. Member of the Vigilance Committee In California Under Coleman in Pioneer Days". The New York Times. March 24, 1913. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  22. 1 2 "The Will of Col. W.R. Vermilye" (PDF). The New York Times. 8 January 1877. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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