Grant Barney Schley (February 25, 1845 – November 22, 1917) was an American financier and clubman who was a founder of Moore & Schley.
Early life
Schley was born on February 25, 1845, in Chapinsville in
Ontario County, New York
Ontario County is a county in the U.S. State of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 112,458. The county seat is Canandaigua.
Ontario County is part of the Rochester, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In 2006, ''Progressive ...
. He was a son of Evander Schley (1807–1898) and Olive ( Higby) Schley (1809–1888). Among his siblings were older brothers Evander Higby Schley (an agent of the American Express Co. in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
) and William T. Schley (a prominent lawyer who was great-grandfather of New Jersey Governor
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Temple Whitman (née Todd; born September 26, 1946) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration o ...
).
He attended the
Canandaigua Academy
Canandaigua Academy is a high school (grades 9-12) in Canandaigua, New York, United States. It is part of the Canandaigua City School District. The school was named a national Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the U.S. Department of Education ...
, before becoming a clerk in the express office of
Wells
Wells most commonly refers to:
* Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England
* Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground
* Wells (name)
Wells may also refer to:
Places Canada
*Wells, British Columbia
England
* Wells ...
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
*Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
*Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
**North Syracuse, New York
*Syracuse, Indiana
* Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, Miss ...
at the age of sixteen in 1861. Five years later, when the Adams Express Company was formed by the consolidation of various companies, Schley went to New York City to run the
money order
A money order is a directive to pay a pre-specified amount of money from prepaid funds, making it a more trusted method of payment than a cheque.
History
The money order system was established by a private firm in Great Britain in 1792 and was ...
department of the firm.
Career
In 1874, Schley became clerk in the First National Bank. After six years with First National, he resigned as head of the foreign exchange department to form a brokerage business under the firm name of Groesbeck & Schley with Ernest Groesbeck. In 1885,
John Godfrey Moore
John Godfrey Moore (July 7, 1847 – June 24, 1899) was an American businessman, financier and Wall Street stock market promoter during the Gilded Age. He gained fame by successfully suing the United States government in 1893, on constitutional ...
of the Mutual Telegraph Company entered the brokerage business and Schley became one of his partners in a firm known as Moore and Schley. For many years, he was active on the floor of the
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...
, counting among his clientele many of the most prominent men in the country, including
Henry Huttleston Rogers
Henry Huttleston Rogers (January 29, 1840 – May 19, 1909) was an American industrialist and financier. He made his fortune in the oil refining business, becoming a leader at Standard Oil. He also played a major role in numerous corporations a ...
,
William C. Whitney
William Collins Whitney (July 5, 1841February 2, 1904) was an American political leader and financier and a prominent descendant of the John Whitney family. He served as Secretary of the Navy in the first administration of President Grover Clev ...
John Warne Gates
John Warne Gates (May 18, 1855 – August 9, 1911), also known as "Bet-a-Million" Gates, was an American Gilded Age industrialist and gambler. He was a pioneer promoter of barbed wire. He was born and raised in what is now West Chicago, Illinois ...
Northern Pacific Railway
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...
In 1879 Schley was married to Martha Elizabeth Baker (1842–1910), a daughter of New York Assemblyman
George Ellis Baker
George Ellis Baker (March 16, 1816 – October 2, 1887) was an American merchant, town clerk and state legislator.
Early life
Baker was born on March 16, 1816 in Dedham, Massachusetts. He was the eldest son of six children born to John Baker (1 ...
and the former Eveline Stevens. Martha's brother was financier George Fisher Baker, who was known as the "Dean of American Banking" and served as president of
First National Bank of New York
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City Ba ...
. Together, they had a townhouse at 845 Fifth Avenue (across the street from the
Mrs. William B. Astor House
The Mrs. William B. Astor House was a mansion on Fifth Avenue in the Upper East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was located at 840 and 841 Fifth Avenue, on the northeast corner of 65th Street, completed in 1896 and demolished a ...
) and a country estate in
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 919, who married Edith Maria Turner (1875–1928).
* Grant Barney Schley Jr. (1881–1936), who married Jane Seney Plummer in 1902. They divorced in 1922, the same year he married Jeanne Marie de Croix (1898–1969) in France.
* Kenneth Baker Schley (1881–1944), who married Ellen Habersham Rogers (1889–1965), a daughter of Col. Archibald Rogers, in 1912.
* Evander "Van" Baker Schley (1883–1952), who married Sophie Beverly Duer, a granddaughter of
U.S. Representative
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 c ...
William Duer, in 1931.
* Evelyn Baker Schley (1885–1919), who married Max Howell Behr (1884–1955), brother to Karl Behr, in 1906.
He was a member of the
Union League Club
The Union League Club is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1863 in affiliation with the Union League. Its fourth and current clubhouse is located at 38 East 37th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in the Murray Hill ...
Automobile Club of America
The Automobile Club of America was the first automobile club formed in America in 1899. The club was dissolved in 1932 following the Great Depression and declining membership.
History
On June 7, 1899, a group of gentlemen auto racers met at the W ...
,
Peary Arctic Club
The Peary Arctic Club was an American-based club with the goal of promoting the Arctic expeditions of Robert Peary (1856–1920).
This association of influential persons was able to overcome the opposition of the U.S. Navy Department to grant th ...
, the France-America Society, Essex Fox Hounds, Somerset Hills Country Club. Schley was also a member of the Agricultural Association, the Academy of Political Science, the Economic Club, and the Archeological Society.
Schley died on November 22, 1917, at his home in
Far Hills, New Jersey
Far Hills is a borough in Somerset County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the population was 919, He left a gross estate worth $9,210,146 which was reduced to $5,894,715 after payments of debts and expenses.
Descendants
Through his son Chaloner, he was a grandfather of Grant Barney Schley (1907–1943), who was one of four airmen killed in the crash of the bomber at Yakohl Valley, and Chaloner Baker Schley (1911–1936).
Through his son Grant, he was a grandfather of Grant Barney Schley (–1959), and Jeanne Marie Schley (1925–1969), who married Thomas Jackson Oakley Rhinelander (grandson of T. J. Oakley Rhinelander) in 1947.
Through his son Kenneth, he was a grandfather of Anne Caroline ( Schley) Stradling (1913–1992) and aviator Kenneth Baker Schley Jr. (1917–2001).