John Lloyd Aspinwall (December 12, 1834 – September 4, 1886) was an American lawyer and soldier who served in the
U.S. 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 th ...
, achieving the rank of
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the U.S. National Guard.
Early life
![William Henry Aspinwall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/William_Henry_Aspinwall.jpg)
Lloyd, as he was commonly known, was born on December 12, 1834, 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 ...
. He was the second child and oldest son of five children born to
William Henry Aspinwall (1807–1875)
and Anna Lloyd (
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 ...
Breck) Aspinwall (1812–1885). His siblings included Anna Lloyd Aspinwall (1831–1880), who married architect
James Renwick Jr.
James Renwick Jr. (born November 11, 1818, Bloomingdale, in Upper Manhattan, New York City – June 23, 1895, New York City) was an American architect in the 19th century. ''The Encyclopedia of American Architecture'' calls him "one of the most ...
(1818–1895),
Rev. John Abel Aspinwall (1840–1913), who married Julia Titus and Bessie Mary Reed, Louisa Aspinwall (1843–1913), who married John Wendell Minturn, son of merchant
Robert Bowne Minturn
Robert Bowne Minturn (November 16, 1805 – January 9, 1866) was one of the most prominent American merchants and shippers of the mid-19th century. Today, he is probably best known as being one of the owners of the famous clipper ship, '' Flyi ...
, and Katharine Aspinwall (1847–1924), who married Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland, the son of
New York Mayor
The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...
Ambrose Kingsland
Ambrose Cornelius Kingsland (May 24, 1804 – October 13, 1878) was a wealthy sperm oil merchant who served as the 71st mayor of New York City from 1851 to 1853. In 1851, he initiated the legislation that eventually led to the construction of Ce ...
. His father was a prominent merchant with the
Howland & Aspinwall Howland & Aspinwall was a merchant firm based in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s. It specialized in the Pacific Ocean trade, especially the importing of goods from China. It is best known for taking a pioneering role in the financing of clipp ...
and was also a co-founder of both the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848, as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants. Incorporators included William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett (American consul ...
and
Panama Canal Railway, companies which revolutionized the migration of goods and people to the Western Coast of the United States.
His maternal grandparents were Catherine Douce (née Israel) Breck (1789–1864)
and George Breck (1784–1869), the brother 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 ...
s
Samuel Breck and
Daniel Breck
Daniel Breck (February 12, 1788 – February 4, 1871) was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky.
Daniel Breck (brother of Samuel Breck (politician), Samuel Breck) was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from Dart ...
.
His uncle was Rev.
James Lloyd Breck
James Lloyd Breck (June 27, 1818 – April 2, 1876) was a priest, educator, and missionary of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
Breck is commemorated on April 2 on the Episcopal calendar of saints.
Early life and education
B ...
, an Episcopal missionary,
and his aunt was Jane Breck, who married paternal uncle John Lloyd Aspinwall.
His paternal grandparents were John Aspinwall (1774–1847), a dry goods merchant firm of Gilbert & Aspinwall,
and Susan Howland (1779–1852).
The Howland family was descended from
John Howland
John Howland (February 23, 1673) accompanied the English Separatists and other passengers when they left England on the to settle in Plymouth Colony. He was an indentured servant and in later years an executive assistant and personal secretary ...
, a signor of the ''
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact, originally titled Agreement Between the Settlers of New Plymouth, was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the men aboard the ''Mayflower,'' consisting of separatist Puritans, adventurers, an ...
''
and the Aspinwall family was descended from
William Aspinwall
William Aspinwall (1605 – c. 1662) was an Englishman who emigrated to Boston with the ''Winthrop Fleet'' in 1630. He played an integral part in the early religious controversies of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Life
Aspinwall as most of th ...
, who was among the first settlers of New England.
His aunt, Mary Rebecca Aspinwall (1809–1886) was married to
Isaac Roosevelt, the grandfather of
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
.
His great-aunt, Harriet Howland, was the third wife of Isaac's father,
New York State Assembly
The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits.
The Assem ...
man
James Roosevelt
James Roosevelt II (December 23, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American businessman, Marine, activist, and Democratic Party politician. The eldest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt, he served as an official Secret ...
.
His paternal great-grandfather, Captain John Aspinwall, was one of the most prominent shipmasters of the New York
merchant marine before the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
Career
Aspinwall, a New York attorney,
succeeded his father in the firm of
Howland & Aspinwall Howland & Aspinwall was a merchant firm based in New York City in the 1830s and 1840s. It specialized in the Pacific Ocean trade, especially the importing of goods from China. It is best known for taking a pioneering role in the financing of clipp ...
,
and was said to have "entered into the business full of enthusiasm and business energy. He had only fairly started upon a business career when the war began."
He also served as a trustee of the New York and Brooklyn Bridge, which built the
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
from 1869 to 1883.
He was a staunch
Republican, although he never held elected office. He was encouraged to seek the
Mayorship of New York in 1880, considered it, but declined to seek the nomination and
William Russell Grace
William Russell Grace (May 10, 1832 – March 21, 1904) was an Irish-American politician, the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City, and the founder of W. R. Grace and Company.
Early life
Grace was born in Ireland in Riverstown near the C ...
, an anti-
Tammany Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
won election following the term of
Edward Cooper.
U.S. Civil War
During the
U.S. 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 th ...
, he served as a
Union Army
During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
officer in the
22nd New York State Militia, which he helped organize as the "Minor Grays"
and included
John E. Parsons
John Edward Parsons (October 24, 1829 – January 16, 1915) was an American lawyer in New York City. He was president of the New York City Bar Association from 1900 to 1901 and the president of the Cooper Union from 1905 to 1915.
Early life
Par ...
, George deForest Lord and
Benjamin F. Butler
Benjamin Franklin Butler (November 5, 1818 – January 11, 1893) was an American major general of the Union Army, politician, lawyer, and businessman from Massachusetts. Born in New Hampshire and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Butler is best ...
.
Beginning in 1854, Aspinwall had trained for eight years with the New York state troops,
rising from the ranks to the staff of the Fourth Artillery.
On May 28, 1862, he enlisted in New York City as a
lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and was commissioned into Field & Staff New York 22nd Infantry. After mustering out on September 5, 1862, he was again commissioned, on June 18, 1863 into the Field & Staff New York 22nd Infantry, only to muster out on July 24, 1863. He also served as an aide to General
Ambrose Burnside before the
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was fought December 11–15, 1862, in and around Fredericksburg, Virginia, in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. The combat, between the Union Army of the Potomac commanded by Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnsi ...
,
and was sent to give President
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
the first report of the battle.
After the war ended in 1865, Aspinwall returned to business, but stayed close to the military. He served in, and was later promoted to
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
of the 4th Brigade,
in the
U.S. National Guard
The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.[Army and Navy Club
The Army and Navy Club in London is a private members club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag.][Alonzo B. Cornell
Alonzo Barton Cornell (January 22, 1832 – October 15, 1904) was a New York politician and businessman who was the 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882.
Early years
Cornell was born in Ithaca, New York, on January 22, 1832. He was ...]
appointed him Engineer-in-Chief on his military staff, which he held until Cornell's term as governor ended on December 31, 1882.
Society life
He was a founding member of the
Jekyll Island Club in
Jekyll Island, Georgia.
He was supposed to serve as the club's first president, however, he died unexpectedly on September 4, 1886, more than a year before the club would officially open.
He was a member of the
Union Club of New York.
His father, who was a co-founder of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, owned works by
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contemporar ...
,
Antonio da Correggio
Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Italian Renaissance, who was responsible for some of the most vigorous and sens ...
,
Diego Velázquez
Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptized June 6, 1599August 6, 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the court of King Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He was an individualistic artist of th ...
,
Bartholomeus van der Helst,
Teniers Teniers is a Dutch language surname. It may refer to:
*Abraham Teniers (1629–1670), Flemish painter
*David Teniers the Elder
David Teniers the Elder (158229 July 1649), Flemish painter, was born at Antwerp.
Biography
Having received his fi ...
,
Peter Paul Rubens
Sir Peter Paul Rubens (; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque traditio ...
,
Philips Wouwerman
Philips Wouwerman (also Wouwermans) (24 May 1619 (baptized) – 19 May 1668) was a Dutch painter of hunting, landscape and battle scenes.
Life and work
Philips Wouwerman was one of the most versatile and prolific artists of the Dutch Golden ...
,
Cuyp The surname Cuyp (sometimes spelled Kuyp) is shared by three painters who lived during the Dutch Golden Age:
* Jacob Gerritsz. Cuyp (1594–1651 or 1652)
* his half-brother Benjamin Gerritsz Cuyp (1612–1652)
* Jacob's son Aelbert Cuyp
...
,
Ary Scheffer
Ary Scheffer (10 February 179515 June 1858) was a Dutch-French Romantic painter. He was known mostly for his works based on literature, with paintings based on the works of Dante, Goethe, and Lord Byron, as well as religious subjects. He was als ...
, Gerard, Dow,
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem,
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
,
Adriaen Brouwer,
Gerard ter Borch
Gerard ter Borch (; December 1617 – 8 December 1681), also known as Gerard Terburg (), was a Dutch genre painter who lived in the Dutch Golden Age. He influenced fellow Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu, Gerrit Dou, Eglon van der Neer and Johanne ...
,
Paul Veronese
Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...
,
Mieris Mieris is the name of a family of artists who practised painting at Leiden for three generations in the 17th and 18th centuries.
*Frans van Mieris the Elder (1635–1681)
* Jan van Mieris (1660–1690), son of Frans
*Willem van Mieris (1662–1747) ...
, and
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...
,
Romney,
Jean-Baptiste Greuze, and
Jean-Baptiste Madou
Jean-Baptiste Madou (3 February 1796 – 31 March 1877) was a Belgian painter and lithographer.
Life
Madou was born in Brussels. He studied at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts and was a pupil of Pierre Joseph Célestin François. While ...
. He inherited several of the paintings.
Personal life
On April 16, 1856,
Aspinwall was married to Harriette Prescott D'Wolf (1835–1888) in
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England.
The population of B ...
.
She was the daughter of William Bradford D'Wolf (1810–1852) and Mary (née Russell) D'Wolf (1805–1881),
and a granddaughter of
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 ...
and
Representative
Representative may refer to:
Politics
*Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people
*House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities
*Legislator, someon ...
from Rhode Island
James DeWolf
James DeWolf (March 18, 1764December 21, 1837) was a slave trader, a privateer during the War of 1812, and a state and national politician. He served as a state legislator for a total of nearly 25 years, and in the 1820s as a United States senat ...
.
Together, Lloyd and Harriette were the parents of:
* William H. Aspinwall (1857–1910), married to Anna Lloyd Breck.
* Lloyd Aspinwall, Jr. (1862–1899),
who married Cornelia Georgiana Sutton (1862–1897),
daughter of merchant Cornelius Kingsland Sutton.
* Russell D'Wolf Aspinwall (1871–1874), who died young.
Aspinwall died unexpectedly of
apoplexy on September 4, 1886 in
Bristol, Rhode Island
Bristol is a town in Bristol County, Rhode Island, US as well as the historic county seat. The town is built on the traditional territories of the Pokanoket Wampanoag. It is a deep water seaport named after Bristol, England.
The population of B ...
.
He was buried at
Green-Wood Cemetery in
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 ...
,
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
* '' ...
.
Descendants
Through his son Lloyd, who died of
Bright's disease at the age of 37, he was the grandfather of Lloyd Aspinwall (1883–1952), a member of the Amateur Comedy Club in
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
,
and Beatrice Aspinwall (1889–1897), who died a few days after her mother's death in 1897.
References
External links
*
Article entitled "Servant and Civil War Officer"at
Green-Wood Cemetery
1861 Photograph of Col. Aspinwall's servantat the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinwall, Lloyd
1834 births
1886 deaths
American merchants
Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery
19th-century American philanthropists
19th-century American businesspeople