Nathaniel Prime (January 30, 1768 – November 26, 1840) was a

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broker and banker.

Early life

Prime was born in

Rowley, Massachusetts Rowley is a New England town, town in Essex County, Massachusetts, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,161 at the 2020 census. Part of the town comprises the census-designated place of Rowley (CDP), Massachusetts, Row ...

on January 30, 1768. He was the son of Joshua Prime and Bridget Hammond Prime. In his early years, he was a coachman to a Boston merchant and moved to New York in 1795.

Career

In 1796, Prime organized " Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" at 42

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 ...

. He made great wealth buying and selling bank stocks. After opening his own private bank, he allowed customers to deposit money and then loaned it out. In 1808, he brought in Samuel Ward III as a partner and the firm was renamed Prime & Ward. In 1816, Joseph Sands, Prime's brother-in-law, was made a partner and the firm became Prime, Ward & Sands. In 1824, the firm was again reorganized as Prime, Ward, Sands & King when James Gore King became a partner upon his return from England. King, a son 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 ...

Rufus King Rufus King (March 24, 1755April 29, 1827) was an American Founding Father, lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He was a delegate for Massachusetts to the Continental Congress and the Philadelphia Convention and was one of the signers of the Unit ...

, had previously been affiliated with the firm of King & Gracie, founded in 1818 in

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

by King and his brother-in-law, Archibald Gracie Jr. (the son of

Archibald Gracie Archibald Gracie (June 25, 1755 – April 11, 1829) was a Scottish-born shipping magnate and early American businessman and merchant in New York City and Virginia whose spacious home, Gracie Mansion, now serves as the residence of the Mayor of N ...

). In 1826, after Joseph died the firm became

Prime, Ward & King Prime, Ward & King was a prominent American investment bank in the 18th and 19th Century based in New York City. History In 1796, Nathaniel Prime organized " Nathaniel Prime, Stock and Commission Broker" at 42 Wall Street where he bought and sold ...

Residence

In 1807, Prime purchased the Nathaniel Prime Mansion in

Hell Gate, New York Hell Gate is a narrow tidal strait in the East River in New York City. It separates Astoria, Queens, from Randall's and Wards Islands. Etymology The name "Hell Gate" is a corruption of the Dutch phrase ''Hellegat'' (it first appeared on ...

near Yorkville, New York. The building stood on the block between First Avenue and

York Avenue York Avenue and Sutton Place are the names of a relatively short north-south thoroughfare in the Yorkville, Manhattan, Yorkville, Lenox Hill, and Sutton Place neighborhoods of the East Side (Manhattan), East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. ...

and 89th and 90th streets. John Frazee did a sculpture of Prime.

Personal life

On June 7, 1797, Prime was married to Cornelia Sands (1773–1852), the daughter of

Comfort Sands Comfort Sands (February 26, 1748 – September 22, 1834) was an American merchant, banker and politician. Life Comfort Sands was born in Cow Neck, Long Island on February 26, 1748. He was one of eight children born to John Sands (1708–1760) ...

(d. 1835), the celebrated merchant, banker and

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

man, and Elizabeth (

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 ...

Cornell) Sands. Together, they were the parents of: * Cornelia Prime (1800–1874), who married Robert Ray (1794–1879), a brother-in-law of New York Gov.

John Alsop King John Alsop King (January 3, 1788July 7, 1867) was an American politician who was Governor of New York from 1857 to 1858. Life John Alsop King was born in the area now encompassed by New York City on January 3, 1788, to U.S. Senator Rufus King ...

. * Edward Prime (1801–1883), a banker with Prime, Ward & King who married Charlotte Wilkins Hoffman (1808–1892). * Emily Prime (1804–1854), who married William Seton (1796–1868), a

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captain and son of

Elizabeth Ann Seton Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was a Catholic religious sister in the United States and an educator, known as a founder of the country's parochial school system. After her death, she became the first person bo ...

, in 1832. * Frederick Prime (1807–1887), who married Lydia Hare (1815–1883), a daughter of Robert Hare. * Matilda Prime (1810–1849), who married Gerard Holsman Coster (1808–1880) in 1831. * Laura Prime (1812–1887), who married John Clarkson Jay (1808–1891), the son of

Peter A. Jay Peter Augustus Jay (January 24, 1776 – February 20, 1843) was a prominent New York lawyer, politician and the eldest son of Founding Father and first United States Chief Justice John Jay. Early life Peter Augustus Jay was born at Liberty ...

and grandson of

John Jay John Jay (December 12, 1745 – May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first ...

. Prime committed suicide on November 26, 1840, by cutting his throat. William H. Aspinwall served on the coroner's jury, and Edgar Howland informed diarist

George Templeton Strong George Templeton Strong (January 26, 1820 – July 21, 1875) was an American lawyer, musician and diarist. His 2,250-page diary, discovered in the 1930s, provides a striking personal account of life in the 19th century, especially during the eve ...

that:

"Prime went to his room at two o'clock and appears to have taken up and read his prayer book, then went before the glass, cut his throat coolly and steadily from ear to ear, replaced the razor in its case, and then walked into the next room, and there fell. The jury found "insanity." He had been dyspeptic and nervous for some time; he was retired from active life and his mind, I suppose, preyed on itself for want of occupation ..."

He is buried at the cemetery of Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site in

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

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.Nathaniel Prime
Find a Grave

Descendants

Through his daughter Cornelia, he was the grandfather of Cornelia Ray (1829–1867), who married Gen.

Schuyler Hamilton Schuyler Hamilton (July 22, 1822 – March 18, 1903) was an American soldier, farmer, engineer, and a grandson of Alexander Hamilton. Early life Hamilton was born on July 22, 1822 in New York City. He was the fifth of 14 children born to John Ch ...

(1822–1903), a grandson of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

; Robert Ray (1832–1860), and Nathalie Elizabeth Ray (1837–1912), who married Edmund Lincoln Baylies (1829–1869), the parents of Edmund L. Baylies Jr. Through his daughter Emily, he was the grandfather of author, novelist and popular science writer William Seton III (1835–1905), Robert Seton (1839–1927), a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and

titular archbishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Heliopolis. Through his son Edward, he was the grandfather of William Hoffman Prime (1837–1881), who married Annie Rhodes Gilbert in 1879; Mary Catherine Prime (b. 1841), who married James A. Scrimper in 1868; and Henry Prime (b. 1847). William's children included Charlotte Hoffman Prime (1881–1969), who married William Massena Benjamin (1874–1928), the son of Samuel Nicholl Benjamin; and Charlotte Prime (b. 1838), who married Leonard J. Wyeth in 1858.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prime, Nathaniel 1768 births 1840 deaths People from Yorkville, Manhattan People from Rowley, Massachusetts American stockbrokers American bankers Businesspeople from New York City Businesspeople from Massachusetts 18th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople American investment bankers Suicides by sharp instrument in the United States Suicides in New York (state) 1840s suicides