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David Leavitt (August 29, 1791 – December 30, 1879) was an early
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
banker and financier. As president of the American Exchange Bank of New York during the Financial
Panic of 1837 The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression, which lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down, westward expansion was stalled, unemployment went up, and pessimism abound ...
he represented bondholders of the nascent Illinois and Michigan Canal, allowing completion of the historic canal linking the Midwest with the East Coast. For his role in helping prevent the collapse of the canal scheme, Chicago authorities named Leavitt Street after the financier. Leavitt was also an early art collector, and many of the artist
Emanuel Leutze Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816July 18, 1868) was a German-American history painter best known for his 1851 painting '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Leutze was born ...
's paintings, including that of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
at
Valley Forge Valley Forge functioned as the third of eight winter encampments for the Continental Army's main body, commanded by General George Washington, during the American Revolutionary War. In September 1777, Congress fled Philadelphia to escape the ...
, were initially in Leavitt's collection housed at his
Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...
estate.


Biography

David Leavitt was born in
Bethlehem, Connecticut Bethlehem is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,385 at the 2020 census, down from 3,607 at the 2010 census. The town center is a historic district and a census-designated place (CDP). The town's name h ...
on August 29, 1791, to merchant and Connecticut legislator David Leavitt Sr. and his wife Lucy (Clark) Leavitt. The ambitious David Leavitt Jr. left rural Connecticut in 1813 at age 22 for
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where he began his career as a clerk in a produce and commission house. Three years later Leavitt's father died and, after inheriting a share of the elder Leavitt's estate, the son David Leavitt set himself up as a New York merchant and financier. By 1815, Leavitt had gone into business with David Lee at 133 Front Street in Manhattan in the firm of Leavitt & Lee, wholesalers in the grocery business. By 1820 Leavitt & Lee had moved to 127 Front Street, and shortly afterwards the two partners dissolved their business. Leavitt left the grocery business and decided to set himself up as a financier. He decided to go it alone. In one of Leavitt's first transactions, he bought an entire cargo of tea which the merchant John Jacob Astor had imported. When the German immigrant Astor inquired of Leavitt how he intended to pay for the cargo, Leavitt produced from his pocket a handful of notes written by Astor on his account, which Leavitt had bought up on the street.David Leavitt, obituary, ''The New York Times'', December 31, 1879
/ref> In his next large transactions, the 25-year-old Leavitt again demonstrated his business acumen. The government of
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the ...
, facing a conflict at home, had paid a group of New York merchants to build a warship and equip it with armaments for use by the
South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
nation. Ultimately, those building the vessel were unable to complete the transaction, and Leavitt stepped in, paying for the ship's construction, and assuring that the United States government would help arm it with munitions. Leavitt then took command of the vessel, sailing it to South America, where the Colombian government paid him $100,000 in Colombian currency, and an additional $100,000 in a London
bank draft A banker's draft (also called a bank cheque, bank draft in Canada or, in the US, a teller's check) is a cheque (or check) provided to a customer of a bank or acquired from a bank for remittance purposes, that is drawn by the bank, and drawn on a ...
. On his way home, Leavitt stopped in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
, where he converted the Colombian currency into Spanish
doubloon The doubloon (from Spanish ''doblón'', or "double", i.e. ''double escudo'') was a two-''escudo'' gold coin worth approximately $4 (four Spanish dollars) or 32 '' reales'', and weighing 6.766 grams (0.218 troy ounce) of 22-karat gold (or 0.917 fi ...
s, which he converted back into dollars when demand for doubloons soared. The London bank draft finally cleared in its entirety after several years' delay, during which Leavitt bided his time instead of selling the draft at a discount. The entire transaction had netted Leavitt a tidy profit, which he invested in other ventures. In 1823, a local businessman had established a
manufactory A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
for white lead in the emerging city of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. Acting as a lender to the business from its inception, Leavitt stepped in to take control in 1825 and founded the Brooklyn White Lead Company, later Dutch Boy Paint. Much of Leavitt's wealth derived from his early investment in lead manufacturing and importing. Leavitt had already had a home built in Brooklyn, where he took up residence with his wife Maria Clarissa (Lewis), a native of
Goshen, Connecticut Goshen is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,150 at the 2020 census. Geography Goshen is in central Litchfield County and is bordered to the east by the city of Torrington. According to the United Sta ...
. At the time of Leavitt's move to Brooklyn, there were only three homes visible from his own, and the New York merchant later bought up large tracts of Brooklyn real estate, and became a trustee of the village of Brooklyn Heights.Portrait Gallery of the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, Catalogue and Biographical Sketches, George Wilson (compiler), Press of the Chamber of Commerce, New York, 1890
/ref> Leavitt also owned and operated the Fulton Street Ferry, until popular sentiment against Leavitt's large monopolies put an end to his ownership. In 1843, Leavitt financed construction of an elegant mansion in
Brooklyn Heights Brooklyn Heights is a residential neighborhood within the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Old Fulton Street near the Brooklyn Bridge on the north, Cadman Plaza West on the east, Atlantic Avenue on the south, ...
, which he sold a decade later to Henry C. Bowen. (The Leavitt-Bowen Mansion was demolished in 1904). During this time, Brooklyn Heights was the residence of increasing numbers of New York City's most prominent merchants. Seeking to find uses for his accumulated capital, Leavitt entered into several banking ventures. He was elected president of the Fulton Bank of New York City. Later, in 1838, he became president of the American Exchange Bank, a large lending institution headquartered in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, with which he served for 16 years. During his tenure at American Exchange, there was a financial panic, during which European bondholders of the
State of Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
declared their intention to foreclose on the bonds issuer. "Grave fears were entertained that the bonds would not be paid", wrote ''The New York Times'', "and several financiers had failed in placing them in the European market, but by pledging his own credit, Mr. Leavitt succeeded in creating a degree of confidence in the scheme, and it was a source of pride to him in after years that all the holders of the bonds eventually received both principal and interest." To reassure the bondholders, Leavitt not only advanced his own funds, but traveled to England to meet jittery European stakeholders. For his role in averting the bond collapse, and allowing construction of the Illinois and Michigan Canal to the growing city of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
, city elders ultimately named Leavitt Street after the New York financier. At the opening of the canal in April 1848, Leavitt – and the only other trustee of the canal's bondholders who had personally intervened to float the $1.6 million loan to complete the project – were feted at the opening ceremonies. Leavitt acted as financier through the decades for other banks and financing packages. He served as Receiver of the North American Trust and Banking Company. In 1857, during another financial panic which swept the markets, Leavitt took to the steps of the American Exchange Bank building, where he addressed depositors, assuring them the institution would meet its obligations and stemming a run on the bank. By 1861, when ''The Merchants' and Bankers' Almanac'' was published by ''Bankers' Magazine'', the portrait of David Leavitt, along with those of
George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry g ...
,
Albert Gallatin Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan–American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years o ...
,
Erastus Corning Erastus Corning (December 14, 1794 – April 9, 1872) was an American businessman and politician from Albany, New York. A Democrat, he was most notable for his service as mayor of Albany from 1834 to 1837, in the New York State Senate from 1842 ...
, and
Stephen Girard Stephen Girard (May 20, 1750 – December 26, 1831; born Étienne Girard) was a naturalized American citizen, philanthropist, and banker of French origin. He singularly saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812 ...
, graced the periodical's cover. Leavitt later built a estate called ''Brookside'' in the Massachusetts
Berkshires The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
at
Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...
, where he established a gallery for his growing art collection, especially the works of
Emanuel Leutze Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816July 18, 1868) was a German-American history painter best known for his 1851 painting '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Leutze was born ...
, from whom Leavitt had commissioned ''The Battle of Monmouth''. Leavitt was also painted in a portrait during his lifetime by the artist
Francis Bicknell Carpenter Francis Bicknell Carpenter (August 6, 1830 – May 23, 1900) was an American painter born in Homer, New York. Carpenter is best known for his painting '' First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation of President Lincoln'', which is hanging in ...
. During his time in Massachusetts, Leavitt was chosen president of the
Housatonic Railroad The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, an ...
. At the outbreak of the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, Leavitt was named permanent chairman of Great Barrington's committee to aid the Union effort. At the meeting, chairman Leavitt "proclaimed himself willing to contribute his means and, if necessary, his person, to the holy cause." Leavitt built, in
Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style, an enormous three-story 'cascade barn', measuring -by-, on his estate. The building received extensive write-ups in the following years, including one by
Horace Greeley Horace Greeley (February 3, 1811 – November 29, 1872) was an American newspaper editor and publisher who was the founder and editor of the '' New-York Tribune''. Long active in politics, he served briefly as a congressman from New York ...
, for its mechanical ingenuity and devices, but nothing apart from the foundations remains today following an 1885 fire. David Leavitt died at the home of his son Edward in
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
on December 30, 1879, at age 88. His wife predeceased him, dying in 1867 at age 76 at the couple's Great Barrington estate. Leavitt was a longtime member of the First
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
Church of Brooklyn, where he had worshipped for a half-century. While in Great Barrington, Leavitt attended the First Congregational Church of Great Barrington. David Leavitt and his wife had an only daughter, Elizabeth Leavitt Howe, whose son and grandson became New Jersey bankers and lived at ''Fieldhead'', the family estate in
Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of w ...
, as well as three sons, Edward, Henry and David Jr. David Leavitt, Jr., moved to
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, where daughter Louise Walcott Leavitt married Baron Franz Oswald Trützschler von Falkenstein. Her sister Helen Hudson Leavitt married Baron Adolf von Strahlenheim. Hugh Toler Leavitt, brother of the Baronesses, became a
German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...
officer. David Leavitt's nephew David Leavitt Hough, a lawyer educated at
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all 5 ...
, settled at
LaSalle, Illinois LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over , the city's boundaries have grown ...
, where he acted as an attorney for the Trustees of the Illinois and Michigan Canal.Brief Memoirs of the Class Graduated at Yale College in September, 1802, David D. Field, Printed for Private Distribution, 1863
/ref>


See also

* Illinois and Michigan Canal *
Emanuel Leutze Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze (May 24, 1816July 18, 1868) was a German-American history painter best known for his 1851 painting '' Washington Crossing the Delaware''. He is associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. Biography Leutze was born ...


References


Further reading

* ''My Early and Later Days: Their Story for My Children and Grandchildren'', unpublished manuscript, 1898, Elizabeth Leavitt Howe, Fisher-Howe Family Papers, The New York Historical Society
The Illinois and Michigan Canal, 1827-1911, Illinois State Archives


External links


David Leavitt, obituary, ''The New York Times'', December 31, 1879

"Received March 16, 1853, from David Leavitt, Treasurer, for the Board of Trustees of the Illinois & Michigan Canal, by the hands of William Gooding, Secretary, the sum of Twenty Five dollars for opposing before a Committee of the House Mr. Haven's Bill to prevent diverting water from the Des Plains river at Joliet, A. Lincoln, I hereby certify the above to be correct", Illinois and Michigan Canal Receipts, Northern Illinois University


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927095711/http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/i%26mpack/i%26mdoc31.html Letter from Robert Stuart to David Leavitt Concerning an Upcoming Land Sale, Illinois and Michigan Canal, Document Package, Illinois State Archives]
Letter from Robert Stuart to David Leavitt Concerning Accounts and the Canal's Opening, Illinois and Michigan Canal, Document Package, Illinois State Archives


* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110927095730/http://www.sos.state.il.us/departments/archives/i%26mpack/i%26mdoc19.html Letter from Jeremiah Crotty to David Leavitt Concerning Pending Loan Subscription Payments, Illinois and Michigan Canal, Document Package, Illinois State Archives]
Letter from William Gooding to David Leavitt Concerning Canal Expenditures and the Severe Winter, Illinois and Michigan Canal, Document Package, Illinois State Archives

Letter from Robert Stuart to David Leavitt Concerning an Upcoming Land Sale, Illinois State Archives, Northern Illinois University Archives

Selected Papers of Edward Leavitt Howe, Manuscripts Division, Princeton University Library

Maria Clarissa Leavitt, wife of David Leavitt, Brooklyn Museum

David Leavitt, Portrait, Brooklyn Museum

Leavitt Howe, Princeton, N. J., New York Public Library Digital Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, David 1791 births 1879 deaths People from Bethlehem, Connecticut Leavitt family People from Brooklyn Heights People from Great Barrington, Massachusetts American Civil War industrialists Philanthropists from New York (state) American art collectors American bankers American Congregationalists 19th-century American railroad executives American railway entrepreneurs American financiers People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War American Presbyterians