Robert Bowne Minturn Jr. (February 21, 1836 – December 15, 1889) was an American

shipping magnate 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 ...

of the mid to late 19th century.

Early life and career

Robert Bowne Minturn Jr. was born 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 ...

to Robert Bowne Minturn Sr. and Anna Mary Wendell. He graduated from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1856, and joined his father's shipping firm,

Grinnell, Minturn & Co Grinnell, Minturn & Co. was one of the leading transatlantic shipping companies in the middle 19th century. It is probably best known today as being the owner and operator of the '' Flying Cloud'', arguably the greatest of the clipper ships. His ...

, which is best known as being the owners of the clipper ship '' Flying Cloud''. He was the author of ''New York to Delhi: by way of Rio de Janeiro, Australia and China'' (New York, 1858), an account of his voyage in connection with his work. Minturn was also the vice president of the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

that founded the town of

Minturn, Colorado Minturn is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,027 at the 2010 United States Census. Geography Minturn is located in southeastern Eagle County on the Eagle River between the resort commun ...

, which is named for him.

Personal life

Minturn married Susanna Shaw (1839–1926), the sister of

Robert Gould Shaw Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863) was an American officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born into a prominent Boston Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist family, he accepted command of the firs ...

, in 1861. They had seven children: # Robert Shaw Minturn was born in New York, August 21, 1863. He married

Howard Potter Howard Potter (July 8, 1826 – March 24, 1897) was an American industrialist, investment banker, diplomat and philanthropist, and a partner in Brown Bros. & Co. Early life Potter was born in Schenectady, New York on July 8, 1826. He was the sec ...

's daughter Bertha Howard Potter on January 22, 1906. He died in 1918. # Sarah Minturn, who was known as May, was born on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

on September 3, 1865. On November 7, 1895, she married Henry Dwight Sedgwick III of the

New England Dwight family The Dwight family of New England had many members who were military leaders, educators, jurists, authors, businessmen and clergy. Around 1634, John Dwight came with his wife Hannah, daughter Hannah, and sons Timothy (1629–1718) and John (d. 163 ...

. She died of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on January 26, 1914, and is buried in the

Sedgwick Pie The "Sedgwick Pie" is a cemetery plot in the United States. It is the family burial plot of the Sedgwick family in Stockbridge Cemetery, Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and gets its nickname from its shape and layout. Description The burial sites ar ...

. # Edith Minturn was born on Staten Island in 1867; she married

Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes (April 11, 1867 – December 18, 1944) was an American architect. Stokes was a pioneer in social housing who co-authored the 1901 New York tenement house law. For twenty years he worked on ''The Iconography of Manhatt ...

in 1895. She died on June 12, 1937. # Francis Minturn was born in 1871. He died in 1878 of

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

. # Gertrude Minturn was born in New York on June 25, 1872. She married

Amos Pinchot Amos Richards Eno Pinchot (December 6, 1873 – February 18, 1944) was an American lawyer and reformist. He never held public office but managed to exert considerable influence in reformist circles and did much to keep Progressivism, progres ...

in 1900. They divorced in 1918. She died in 1939. # Mildred Minturn was born in New York on November 19, 1875. She married Arthur Hugh Scott on October 30, 1906. She died of cancer on May 17, 1922 in Geneva, Switzerland. # Hugh Minturn was born in

Elberon, New Jersey Elberon is an unincorporated community that is part of Long Branch in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 07740. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population for ZIP ...

, on September 20, 1882. He died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on February 9, 1915.

Death

Minturn died of a

on December 15, 1889. He is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery and Mausoleum in

References

External links

Sedgwick-Shaw-Minturn 4 generations portrait
at

Flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professional ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Minturn, Robert Bowne 1836 births 1889 deaths 19th-century American businesspeople American non-fiction writers American people of English descent Columbia University alumni Businesspeople from New York City Burials at Trinity Church Cemetery Winthrop family