Nathaniel Platt Bailey (June 7, 1809 – October 12, 1891) was an American merchant and philanthropist.

Early life

Bailey was born on June 7, 1809, at Chateangay near Plattsburgh, New York. He was the son of William Bailey (1763–1840) and his second wife, Phoebe ( née Platt) Bailey (1779–1859). His father's first wife was Hannah Hagaman, who died in 1798. Among his siblings was Phebe Altie Bailey, and Theodorus Bailey, John William Bailey, and Mary Elizabeth Bailey. His father was a pioneer settler and surveyor in Clinton and Franklin Counties who later became a Judge. His paternal grandparents were Altje (née Van Wyck) Bailey and Col. John Bailey. His uncle was Theodorus Bailey, a

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 ...

and U.S. Senator from New York. His maternal grandparents were Phebe (née Smith) Platt and Capt. Nathaniel Platt (brother of

Zephaniah Platt Zephaniah Platt (May 27, 1735 – September 12, 1807) was an American politician and lawyer, and founder of the U.S. town of Plattsburgh, New York. Early life Platt was born in Huntington, Province of New York, to Zephaniah Platt (1705-1778). ...

and uncle to Judge

Jonas Platt Jonas Platt (June 30, 1769 – February 22, 1834) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives. Early life Platt was born on June 30, 1769, in Poughkeepsie, Province of New Yor ...

and New York State Treasurer

Charles Z. Platt Charles Zephaniah Platt (July 22, 1773 – April 14, 1822) was an American politician. Life Platt was born on July 22, 1773, in Poughkeepsie, New York. He was one of twelve children born to Mary Van Wyck Platt (1743–1809) and Zephaniah Platt ...

Career

In 1824, Bailey came to New York and entered into business as a merchant, retiring when he was thirty-five years old. He was a Vestryman of Trinity Church served as a senior Governor of New York Hospital. Bailey also owned in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, part of what is now called West Fordham (formerly the site of Fort No. 6 during the Revolutionary War, extending from Fordham Road to Kingsbridge Road and from Bailey Avenue to University Avenue. There, Bailey built a large mansion that overlooked the

Harlem River The Harlem River is an tidal strait in New York, United States, flowing between the Hudson River and the East River and separating the island of Manhattan from the Bronx on the New York mainland. The northern stretch, also called the Spuyt ...

, and, reportedly, the

New Jersey Palisades The Palisades, also called the New Jersey Palisades or the Hudson River Palisades, are a line of steep cliffs along the west side of the lower Hudson River in Northeastern New Jersey and Southeastern New York in the United States. The cliffs s ...

to the west. Upon his death, the estate was subdivided into streets and avenues and the bulk of the property became the grounds of the current U.S. Veterans Medical Center. Bailey was a member of the Union League Club, the Union Club, the Century Club and the

Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York is a charitable organization in New York City of men who are descended from early inhabitants of the State of New York. Charles R. Mackenzie is the current president. The organization preserves ...

, for which he served one term as president the 26th President in 1884, succeeding Abraham Riker Lawrence. He previously served as third vice-president in 1879, second vice-president in 1880 to 1881, and first vice-president from 1882 to 1883.

Personal life

On July 26, 1836, Bailey was married to Eliza Meier Lorillard (1815–1900). Eliza was a daughter of Jacob Lorillard Jr., a wealthy leather merchant, and a granddaughter of Jacob Lorillard (son of

Pierre Abraham Lorillard Pierre Abraham Lorillard (1742 – 1776) was a French-American tobacconist who founded the business which developed into the Lorillard Tobacco Company, which claimed to be the oldest tobacco firm in the United States and in the world. His name is ...

, founder of the

Lorillard Tobacco Company Lorillard Tobacco Company was an American tobacco company that marketed cigarettes under the brand names Newport, Maverick, Old Gold, Kent, True, Satin, and Max. The company had two operating segments: cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. Th ...

). Her sister Emily Lorillard married Lewis G. Morris. Together, they were the parents of three children, including: * Ann Mary Bailey (1837–1864), who married her second cousin, Theodorus Bailey Woolsey (1839–1907), a grandson of Theodorus Bailey. * Lorillard Bailey (1839–1860), a twin who died aged 21, unmarried. * James Muhlenberg Bailey (1839–1897), a twin who married Alletta Remsen Lynch (1870–1930), a daughter of Edward Livingston Lynch and a descendant of Robert Livingston, first Lord of Livingston Manor, and

Robert R. Livingston Robert Robert Livingston (November 27, 1746 (Old Style November 16) – February 26, 1813) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat from New York, as well as a Founding Father of the United States. He was known as "The Chancellor", afte ...

of Clermont. Bailey died at his country residence in Fordham Heights in New York City on October 12, 1891. After a funeral at Trinity Chapel on West 25th Street, he was buried alongside his family in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery in

Poughkeepsie, New York Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...

.New York Surrogate's Court Book of Wills 31 December 1891. Liber 466, Page 64. In 1899, his Bronx estate was sold to the

Sisters of Charity Many religious communities have the term Sisters of Charity in their name. Some ''Sisters of Charity'' communities refer to the Vincentian tradition, or in America to the tradition of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, but others are unrelated. The ...

for $290,000 (equivalent to $ today) and was used to operate the Roman Catholic

Orphan Asylum An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or a ...

Descendants and legacy

Through his son James, he was a grandfather of Alletta Nathalie Lorillard Bailey (1883–1935), an amateur architectural historian and photographer, who married Lewis Gouverneur Morris II (1882–1967) in 1908. After Alletta's death, Morris remarried to Anita de Braganza, widow of Prince Miguel, Duke of Viseu. Bailey is the namesake of a playground known as Bailey Playground and bounding Bailey Avenue in

Kingsbridge, Bronx Kingsbridge is a residential neighborhood in the northwest portion of the Bronx, New York City. Kingsbridge's boundaries are Manhattan College Parkway to the north, the Major Deegan Expressway or Bailey Avenue to the east, West 230th Street to th ...

References

External links

Portrait of Nathaniel Platt Bailey
by Henry Inman, , at the

New-York Historical Society The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library in New York City, along Central Park West between 76th and 77th Streets, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The society was founded in 1804 as New York's first museum ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Nathaniel Platt 1809 births 1891 deaths American philanthropists Lorillard family Fordham, Bronx Presidents of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York