Pierre Abraham Lorillard II or Peter Abraham Lorillard II (September 7, 1764 – May 23, 1843), also known as Peter Lorillard, Jr., was an American tobacco manufacturer, industrialist, banker, businessman, and real estate
tycoon
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
.
Early life
Lorillard was born on September 7, 1764 in
Manhattan, New York City
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
.
He was the eldest son of at least five children born to
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 ...
(1742–1776), who founded 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.
The ...
, and Catherine (née Moore) Lorillard. His paternal grandparents were Jean Lorillard (b. 1707) and Anne Catherine Rossel.
Career
Lorillard's father, also known as 'Pierre Lorillard I', was the 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.
The ...
.
Lorillard's father made the first American tobacco fortune by developing a tobacco firm that he started in 1760.
Originally the business was a snuff-grinding factory located in a rented house in lower Manhattan. It was called ''Lorillard's Snuff and Tobacco'' company and sometimes the name was abbreviated as ''J. Lorillard''.
Later the firm moved to a better location on the
Bronx River
The Bronx River (), approximately long, flows through southeast New York in the United States and drains an area of . It is named after colonial settler Jonas Bronck. Besides the Hutchinson River, the Bronx River is the only fresh water river i ...
. Lorillard II took over and continued to manage and operate the family business after his father's death in 1776.
Social clubs
Lorillard II was a member of several social clubs including the
Meadow Brook Hunt Country Club (a fox hunting club) and the
Narragansett Gun Club. He often is associated with
Tuxedo Park since between 1802 and 1812 he purchased the first tracts of land upon which it later would be developed. The village and the surrounding area were developed in 1886 by his grandson Pierre Lorillard IV as a resort for the socially prominent.
Personal life
In 1788, Lorillard married Maria Dorothea Schultz (1770–1834). They lived at 521 Broadway 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 ...
.
Together, they had five children:
* Maria Dorothea Lorillard (1790–1848), who married Thomas Alexander Ronalds (1788–1835), a New York merchant.
* Catherine Lorillard (1794–1882), who married her younger sister's widower, William Augustus Spencer (1792–1854).
*
Pierre Lorillard III
Pierre Lorillard III (October 20, 1796 – December 23, 1867) was the grandson of Pierre Abraham Lorillard, the founder of P. Lorillard and Company. Heir to a great tobacco fortune, Lorillard owned no less than of undeveloped land in New York's ...
(1796–1867), who married Catherine Anne Griswold (1809–1856), whose family owned "the great New York mercantile house of N. L. & G. Griswold, known to their rivals as "No Loss and Great Gain Griswold," importers of rum, sugar, and tea."
* Dorothea Anne Lorillard (1798–1866), who married
John David Wolfe
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
(1792–1872), a real estate developer.
* Eleanora Eliza Lorillard (1801–1843), who was also married to William Augustus Spencer (1792–1854), son 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 ...
Ambrose Spencer
Ambrose Spencer (December 13, 1765March 13, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician.
Early life
Ambrose Spencer was born on December 13, 1765 in Salisbury in the Connecticut Colony. He was the son of Philip Spencer and Mary (née Moore) Spe ...
and brother of
John Canfield Spencer
John Canfield Spencer (January 8, 1788May 17, 1855) was an American lawyer, politician, judge and United States Cabinet secretary in the administration of President John Tyler.
Early life
John Canfield Spencer was born on January 8, 1788, in H ...
, the
United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
and
Treasury
A treasury is either
*A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry.
*A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or in p ...
, in 1823.
Death and legacy
On May 23rd, 1843 Lorillard died at the age of 78, outliving his brothers George and Jacob.
He was buried at the
New York Marble Cemetery
The New York Marble Cemetery is a burial ground established in 1830 in what is now the East Village of Manhattan. It occupies the interior of the block bounded by 2nd Street, Second Avenue, 3rd Street, and the Bowery. I ...
. A newspaper reporter writing his obituary tried to describe an extremely wealthy American and used the relatively new word, ''"millionaire"''.
While the word "millionaire" had been in use in the United Kingdom since at least 1816, apparently it was used for the first time in the United States in 1843 when it was used to describe Lorillard, although he was not the first American to own one million dollars' worth of property.
While he was one of the wealthiest men in America, he was not the richest at the time, that being
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor (born Johann Jakob Astor; July 17, 1763 – March 29, 1848) was a German-American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul, and investor who made his fortune mainly in a fur trade monopoly, by smuggling opium into China, and ...
.
Lorillard just happened to have been the first to be called a ''millionaire'' in newspapers.
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist. He originally was known for writing a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions an ...
incorrectly reports that it was in Lorillard's 1843 obituary that the first use of the word ''"millionaire"'' appeared in print anywhere.
Philip Hone
Philip Hone (October 25, 1780 – May 5, 1851) was Mayor of New York City from 1826 to 1827.Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 1784-1831. Volume XV, November 10, 1825 to December 25, 1826'. New York: City of New York, 1917. p. ...
, one-time mayor of New York, wrote about Lorillard in his famous diary,
Descendants
Through his eldest daughter Maria, he was the grandfather of Mary, Margaret and Dorothea Ann Ronalds, none of whom married; Catherine Ronalds (1820–1885), who married
Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the Under Secretary of State, under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the Under Secret ...
John Addison Thomas
John Addison Thomas (May 28, 1810 – March 26, 1858) was an American engineer and military officer who served in the United States Army, and later served as United States Assistant Secretary of State.
Early life
Thomas was born in Cabarrus C ...
(1811–1858), Eleanora Lorillard Ronalds (1825–1879), who married
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 ...
Frederick A. Conkling
Frederick Augustus Conkling (August 22, 1816 – September 18, 1891) was a United States representative from New York during the American Civil War. He was also a postbellum banker, insurance company executive, and writer.
Early life
Freder ...
(1816–1891) (brother 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 ...
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling (October 30, 1829April 18, 1888) was an American lawyer and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Se ...
), Julia Ronalds, who died young, Thomas Alexander Ronalds (d. 1872), who married Adeline Freeman (b. 1824) (daughter of Dr. Freeman), Peter Lorillard Ronalds (1826–1905), who married
Mary Frances Carter (1839–1916), and George Lorillard Ronalds (1833–1875), who married Pauline Antoinette Witthaus,
daughter of R.A. Witthaus, Esq. in 1863.
Through his daughter Dorothea, he was the grandfather of Mary Lorillard Wolfe (1823–1847), who was married to William Bayard Hoffman (d. 1880) before her early death, David Lorillard Wolfe (1825–1829), who died young, and
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe
Catharine Lorillard Wolfe (8 March 1828 – 4 April 1887) was an American philanthropist and art collector. Though she gave large amounts of money to institutions such as Grace Episcopal Church and Union College, her most significant gifts wer ...
(1828–1887), the philanthropist and art collector who gave large amounts of money to institutions such as
Grace Episcopal Church and
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
, and 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 ...
in New York City.
Through his daughter Eleonora, he was the grandfather of Lorillard Spencer (1827–1888),
who was married to Sarah Johnson Griswold (1827–1905). They were the parents of Eleanor Spencer (b. 1851), who married Don Virginius Cenci, 6th Prince of Vicovaro (b. 1840),
in 1870,
and Lorillard Spencer (1860–1912), who was married to
Caroline Berryman Spencer
Caroline Suydam Berryman Spencer (December 28, 1861 – April 6, 1948) was a New York City and Newport, Rhode Island, socialite and the editor of ''Illustrated American''.
Early life
She was born as Caroline Suydam Berryman on December 28, 1861 ...
(1861–1948),
and were the parents of
Lorillard Spencer
Lorillard Suydam Spencer Sr. (July 4, 1883 - June 9, 1939) was president of Atlantic Aircraft and was prominent in Newport, Rhode Island society. He served as the military secretary to Charles Seymour Whitman, the New York Governor.
Biography
...
(1883–1939), who was president of
Atlantic Aircraft
Atlantic Aircraft Corporation, also known as Fokker-America and Atlantic-Fokker, was a US subsidiary of the Dutch Fokker company, responsible for sales and information about Fokker imports, and eventually constructing various Fokker designs."The ...
and was married to
Katherine Emmons Force
Katherine Emmons Force Spencer (March 12, 1891 – September 8, 1956) was an American real estate investor and socialite. She was a member of the zoning board for Newport, Rhode Island.
Early life
Katherine Emmons Force was born on March 12, 189 ...
(1891–1956), both of whom were prominent in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
society.
References
;Notes
;Sources
* Baltzell, Edward Digby, ''Philadelphia Gentlemen: The Making of a National Upper Class'', Transaction Publishers 1989,
* Hall, Henry et al., ''The Tribune Book of Open-air Sports'', The Tribune Association 1887, Original from the New York Public Library
* Larrabee, Eric et al., ''Mass Leisure'', Free Press 1958
* Myers, Gustavus, ''History of the Great American Fortunes'', C.H. Kerr & Company 1909.
*
Wecter, Dixon, ''The Saga of American Society: A Record of Social Aspiration, 1607–1937'', C. Scribner's Sons 1937, Original from the University of Michigan
* Wein, George et al.,''Myself Among Others: A Life in Music'', Da Capo Press 2004,
* Whitney, Caspar et al., ''Outing; Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction'', W. B. Holland 1902, Original from the University of Michigan
External links
Company website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lorillard, Pierre, II
1764 births
1843 deaths
Lorillard family
American tobacco industry executives
People from the Bronx
Burials at New York Marble Cemetery