Francis Ralph Delano (September 6, 1842 – April 6, 1892) was an American banker and a member of the prominent

Delano family In the United States, members of the Delano family include U.S. presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant and Calvin Coolidge, astronaut Alan B. Shepard, and writer Laura Ingalls Wilder. Its progenitor is Philippe de Lannoy (1602� ...

Early life and education

Delano was born in

Lockport, New York Lockport is both a city and the Lockport (town), New York, town that surrounds it in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The city is the Niagara county seat, with a population of 21,165 according to 2010 census ...

on September 6, 1842. He was the son of Barna Ladd Delano (1807–1877) and Lavinia Wood (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Ralph) Delano (1810–1866). His paternal grandparents were Barnabas Delano and Ruth (née Ladd) Delano. Delano is sometimes confused with an older relative, Francis Roach Delano of Massachusetts, who was the first

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically identic ...

of the

Minnesota Territorial Prison The Minnesota Territorial Prison, later the Minnesota State Prison, was a prison in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, in operation from 1853 to 1914. Construction of the prison began in 1851, shortly after Minnesota became a territory. The pr ...

(1853–1858), first General Superintendent of the St. Paul & Pacific Railway, and namesake of what is now the city of

Delano Delano or DeLano may refer to: Places in the United States * Delano, California * Delano, Wichita, Kansas, a neighborhood in Wichita and former community before merging with Wichita * Delano, Minnesota * Delano, Nevada * Delano, Pennsylvania * De ...

in Wright County, Minnesota. Francis Delano studied at

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

(in

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. Meriden is home to Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes through the ...

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and Hobart College before graduating from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

in 1865.

Career

Choosing a career in law, Delano attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

and received a degree in 1868 after which he was admitted to the bar of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. In 1870, he moved to

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

where he entered the banking business. In Niagara Falls, Delano was associated with Franklin Spaulding and

Arthur Schoellkopf Arthur Schoellkopf (June 13, 1856 – February 3, 1913) was an American industrial leader who helped develop the hydroelectric resources of Niagara Falls and served as the fifth Mayor of Niagara Falls, New York. Early life Arthur Schoellkopf was b ...

Banking interests

Francis Delano acquired a one-third interest in the Cataract Bank in Niagara Falls and, in 1883, was made President of the bank. He was also the first vice-president of Niagara County Savings Bank, established in 1891. His success in banking led to sizable investments in numerous other companies which made him a director of the International Hotel Company and President of the Merchants' Gargling Oil Company of Lockport, New York. In Niagara Falls, he was Treasurer of the Pettebone Paper Company, the Niagara Falls Brewing Company, and the Niagara Falls Water-Works Company.

Personal life

In Niagara Falls, he met and married Elizabeth Grant on October 19. 1871. Together, they were the parents of one daughter, Nannette Roselle Delano (1875–1961), who married Harry Otis Poole (1872–1933), a lawyer and

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

graduate, in 1903. Francis R. Delano died at the age of forty-nine in 1892 in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delano, Francis R. 1842 births 1892 deaths Francis R. American bankers Dartmouth College alumni Harvard Law School alumni Massachusetts lawyers People from Lockport, New York 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American lawyers