Archibald Gracie (June 25, 1755 – April 11, 1829) was a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

businessman and merchant in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

whose spacious home,

Gracie Mansion Archibald Gracie Mansion (commonly called Gracie Mansion) is the official residence of the Mayor of New York City. Built in 1799, it is located in Carl Schurz Park, at East End Avenue and 88th Street in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan. ...

, now serves as the residence of the Mayor of New York City.

Early life

Archibald Gracie was born June 25, 1755 in Dumfries,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He was the son of a weaver named William Gracie. In 1776, Gracie moved to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

and clerked for a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

shipping firm. He used his earnings to purchase a part interest in a merchant ship.

Career

In April 1784, he sailed to America with a cargo of goods that were his own profit stock. He used the proceeds to invest in a mercantile company in New York City. He later moved to

Petersburg, Virginia Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458. The Bureau of Econ ...

, and engaged in the export of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

.''American Heritage'' magazine
Retrieved 2008-11-14. In 1793, he moved back to New York and became a commissary merchant and shipowner (Archibald Gracie and Sons, East India Merchants). Gracie was a business partner of Alexander Hamilton and a friend of

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the f ...

.Morrison, p. 91. Gracie was a member of the

Tontine Association A tontine () is an investment linked to a living person which provides an income for as long as that person is alive. Such schemes originated as plans for governments to raise capital in the 17th century and became relatively widespread in the 18 ...

, which supervised the trading of stocks. Gracie expanded his interests and became active in the banking and insurance industries. He was a director of New York's earliest savings bank

New York Bank for Savings The New York Savings Bank is a historic bank building in Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City. It was built in 1896 by Robert Henderson Robertson with George Provot, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 7, 2000. The ...

. He was an incorporator of the Eagle Fire Insurance Company and vice president of the New York Insurance Company, a director of the United States Bank and of the Bank of America. He served as Vice-President of the New York Chamber of Commerce from 1800 to 1825 and the 18th president of the St. Andrew's Society of New York, serving from 1818 to 1823.

Gracie Mansion

In 1798, Gracie purchased a large tract of land on Horn's Hook near the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

, where the following year he constructed a large two-story wooden mansion on the crest of a hill. Used primarily as his country home, the mansion quickly became a hub of the New York city social scene. Gracie's distinguished guests at the mansion included Hamilton (who founded the ''

New-York Evening Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', now the ''New York Post'', there), future United States president

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

, and future

French king France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the firs ...

Louis Phillippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

. In 1823, Gracie sold the estate to pay off debts. It was acquired by New York City in 1891 and now serves as the residence of the Mayor of the city.

Personal life

In 1784, he married Esther "Hetitia" Rogers (1757–1833), a daughter of Nehemiah Rogers (1718–1760) and Elizabeth Fitch (1723–1812). Rogers was the granddaughter of

Samuel Fitch Samuel Fitch (July 1701 – 1787) was a member of the House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the ...

(1701–1787), a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

of the

Colony of Connecticut The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

who was the brother of Thomas Fitch (1699–1774), former governor of the Connecticut Colony.Morrison, p. 91. Together, they had several children, including: * Eliza Gracie (1790–1825), who married Charles King (1789–1867), the president of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, and the second son of U.S. Senator Rufus King * Sarah Gracie (1791–1878), who married James Gore King (1791–1853), a

U.S. congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, and the third son of Rufus King * Archibald Gracie II (1795–1865), who married Elizabeth Davidson Bethune (d. 1863) * Esther Rogers Gracie (1801–1857), who married William Beach Lawrence (1800–1881), Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island * Mary Ann Gracie (1805–1876), who married Judge Michael Ulshoeffer (1793–1881). After the death of his wife, Gracie married Elizabeth Fitch. His marriage yielded ten children.

Descendants

Gracie's grandson,

Archibald Gracie III Archibald Gracie III (December 1, 1832 – December 2, 1864) was a career United States Army officer, businessman, and a graduate of West Point. He is well known for being a Confederate brigadier general during the American Civil War and for his ...

(1832–1864), a general in the Confederate Army, was killed at the

Siege of Petersburg The Richmond–Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia, fought from June 9, 1864, to March 25, 1865, during the American Civil War. Although it is more popularly known as the Siege of Petersburg, it was not a cla ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

. Another grandson, and Archibald Gracie III's younger brother, James King Gracie (1840–1903), was married to Anna Louisa Bulloch (1833–1893), daughter of

James Stephens Bulloch James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(1793–1849) and the sister of

Martha Bulloch Martha Stewart "Mittie" Roosevelt ( Bulloch; July 8, 1835 – February 14, 1884) was an American socialite. She was the mother of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt and the paternal grandmother of Eleanor Roosevelt. She was a great-granddaughter o ...

(1835–1884), who married Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. (1831–1878). His granddaughter, Emily Sophia King (1823–1853), married Stephen Van Rensselaer Paterson (1817–1872), grandson of William Paterson (1745–1806), a

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

and

Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest-ranking judicial body in the United States. Its membership, as set by the Judiciary Act of 1869, consists of the chief justice of the United States and eight associate justices, any six of ...

. Gracie's great-grandson,

Archibald Gracie IV Archibald Gracie IV (January 15, 1858 – December 4, 1912) was an American writer, soldier, amateur historian, real estate investor, and survivor of the sinking of RMS ''Titanic''. Gracie survived the sinking by climbing aboard an overturned ...

(1858–1912), was a military officer and writer who survived the sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'' in 1912. Coincidentally, one of Gracie IV's fellow travellers on the ''Titanic'' was

John Jacob Astor IV John Jacob Astor IV (July 13, 1864 – April 15, 1912) was an American business magnate, real estate developer, investor, writer, lieutenant colonel in the Spanish–American War, and a prominent member of the Astor family. He died in the sink ...

, great-grandson of frequent Gracie Mansion visitor, and personal friend of Gracie I,

John Jacob Astor John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by History of opium in China, smuggl ...

.''Twenty-fifth Annual Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society, 1920'', Albany: J. B. Lyon, p. 156.

References

;Notes ;Sources * Morrison Jr., George Austin, ''History of Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, 1756–1906''. New York: 1906.
''American Heritage'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gracie, Archibald Scottish emigrants to the United States People from Dumfries Businesspeople from New York City American transportation businesspeople Gracie-King family 1755 births 1829 deaths Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York