Gurdon Saltonstall Mumford (January 29, 1764 – April 30, 1831) was a

United States 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 ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Early life

Mumford was born in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

on January 29, 1764, and named in honor of his maternal grandfather. He was the second son of David Mumford Sr., a descendant of Thomas Mumford (one of the earliest settlers in Rhode Island), and Rebecca Winthrop Mumford (

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 ...

Saltonstall), a granddaughter of

Gurdon Saltonstall Gurdon Saltonstall (27 March 1666 – 20 September 1724) was governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1708 to 1724. Born into a distinguished family, Saltonstall became an accomplished and eminent Connecticut pastor. A close associate of Gover ...

, the 25th Governor of Connecticut Colony. He attended the common schools.

Career

Through the influence of his uncle, U.S. Envoy to France

Silas Deane Silas Deane (September 23, 1789) was an American merchant, politician, and diplomat, and a supporter of American independence. Deane served as a delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, and then became the ...

(the husband of his mother's younger sister, Elizabeth Saltonstall), he was a private secretary to

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

during the latter part of his official residence in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1785, he returned to America with Franklin and settled in

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 became associated with his brothers in the commission business in 1791. In 1805, he was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

to the Ninth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Representative-elect

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

. Among his colleagues in Congress from New York were

George Clinton Jr. George Clinton Jr. (June 6, 1771 – September 16, 1809) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from New York from 1805 to 1809. Early life He was born in New York City on June 6, 1771, the son of Mary De Witt ...

, Henry W. Livingston, Uri Tracy,

Philip Van Cortlandt Philip Van Cortlandt (September 1, 1749 – November 5, 1831) was an American surveyor, landowner, and politician from Westchester County, New York. Van Cortlandt was the son of Pierre Van Cortlandt and brother of Pierre Van Cortlandt, Jr. He ...

, and

Killian K. Van Rensselaer Killian Killian Van Rensselaer (June 9, 1763 – June 18, 1845) was an American lawyer and Federalist politician who served in the United States Congress as a Representative from the state of New York. Early life Killian Killian Van Ren ...

. He was reelected to the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses and served from March 4, 1805 to March 3, 1811. While in the House, he was chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Manufactures during the Ninth Congress. Mumford was a

presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...

1812 Events January–March * January 1 – The ''Allgemeines bürgerliches Gesetzbuch'' (the Austrian civil code) enters into force in the Austrian Empire. * January 19 – Peninsular War: The French-held fortress of Ciudad Rodrigo Siege of ...

and voted for

Dewitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

and

Jared Ingersoll Jared Ingersoll (October 24, 1749 – October 31, 1822) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Constitution. He serv ...

Later career

After retiring from active political life, he was elected director of the

Bank of New York The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY Mellon, is an American investment banking services holding company headquartered in New York City. BNY Mellon was formed from the merger of The Bank of New York and the Mellon Financ ...

in 1812, and opened a

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

's office in

Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...

in 1813. Mumford was one of the original founders 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 ...

. From 1818 to 1824, he served as the second

president of the New York Stock Exchange This is a list of presidents of the New York Stock Exchange. References {{reflist, 30em External linksPresidents and Chairmen of the New York Stock Exchange(PDF) New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Bi ...

, succeeding Anthony Stockholm. Mumford was also a member of the Société Française de Bienfaisance de New-York (also known as the French Benevolent Society of New York), which was established to help needy French and Swiss immigrants in 1806. In addition to its philanthropy, it was also a social club for its members.

Personal life

On November 2, 1793, Mumford was married to Anna Van Zandt in the Reformed Dutch Church. Together, they were the parents of: * Benjamin Franklin Mumford (1796–1817) * Tobias Van Zandt Mumford (1796–1875), who married Mary Oliver Manwaring of Philadelphia. After her death, he married Catherine Brooks of New York. After the death of his first wife, he remarried to Letitia Van Toren in 1810. Together, they lived at 23

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and were the parents of: * Gurdon Saltonstall Mumford Jr. (1811–1870), who married Catherine A. Snow (b. 1819) in 1866. * George Clinton Mumford (b. 1812), who died in infancy. * Anne Letitia Mumford (b. 1812), who married John Osgood. * Emma Letitia Mumford (1814–1879), who died unmarried. * George Washington Mumford (b. 1814), who died in infancy. * George Lafayette Mumford, who died in infancy. * Mary Margarita Mumford (1826–1888), who married Aaron Price Ransom (1825–1893) in 1846. * Cornelia Matilda Mumford, who married George Warren Geer. He died from a lingering illness in New York City on Saturday, April 30, 1831 and was interred in the Old Collegiate Dutch Church Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumford, Gurdon 1764 births 1831 deaths Politicians from New London, Connecticut Benjamin Franklin Presidents of the New York Stock Exchange 1812 United States presidential electors BNY Mellon Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) People of colonial Connecticut Burials in New York (state)