Thomas Poynton Ives (April 9, 1769 – April 30, 1835) was an American merchant and banker from Rhode Island.

Early life

Ives was born on April 9, 1769 in Beverly in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in what was then British America, and was baptized on June 4, 1769. He was the son of Sarah ( Bray) Ives and Captain Robert Hale Ives, a master-mariner who was one of the original eighteen members of the Salem Marine Society. When Ives was just four years old, his father died. Ives was raised by relatives in Boston who sent him to public school.

Career

At the age of thirteen, Ives began as a clerk for Nicholas Brown Sr. in his mercantile trade firm of Brown & Benson. After Brown's death in 1791, Ives went into partnership with Brown's son, Nicholas Brown II, founding the firm of Brown & Ives. Ives also served as president of Providence Bank for twenty-four years and president of the Providence Institution for Savings for fifteen years. He also served as a trustee of Brown University, named in honor of his wife's family, for forty-three years, and in 1829, he presented the college with a philosophical apparatus.

Personal life

On March 5, 1792, Ives was married to Hope Brown (1773–1855), the sister of his partner in Brown & Ives and the only surviving daughter of Nicholas Brown Sr. and his first wife, Rhoda (née Jenckes) Brown. Together, they were the parents of: * Charlotte Rhoda Ives (1792–1881), who married Professor William Giles Goddard in 1821. * Moses Brown Ives (1794–1857), who married Annie Allen Dorr (sister of

Thomas Wilson Dorr Thomas Wilson Dorr (November 5, 1805December 27, 1854), was an American politician and reformer in Rhode Island, best known for leading the Dorr Rebellion. Early life, family, and education Thomas Wilson Dorr was born in Providence, Rhode Isla ...

) in 1833. * Elizabeth Ives (1796–1813), who died unmarried at age 16. * Robert Hale Ives Sr. (1798–1875), who married Harriet Bowen Amory in 1827 and helped establish both the

Butler Hospital Butler Hospital is a private, non-profit, psychiatric and substance abuse hospital for adolescents, adults, and seniors, located at 345 Blackstone Boulevard in Providence, Rhode Island. The hospital is affiliated with the Warren Alpert Medical Sch ...

and

Rhode Island Hospital Rhode Island Hospital is a private, not-for-profit hospital located in the Upper South Providence neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the largest academic medical center in the region, affiliated with Brown University since 1959. As ...

. * Hope Brown Ives (1802–1837), who died unmarried at age 34. * Thomas Poynton Ives Jr. (1804–1804), who died in infancy. Ives died on April 30, 1835 in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

Descendants

Through his eldest daughter, he was the grandfather of banker, industrialist, U.S. Army officer, state senator and philanthropist Robert Hale Ives Goddard. Through his son Moses, he was the grandfather of

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 t ...

Captain Thomas Poynton Ives (1834–1865) and Hope Brown Ives (1839–1909), who married Henry Grinnell Russell, one of the wealthiest men in Rhode Island. Shortly before his early death while at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

, France, his grandson married Elizabeth Cabot Motley, daughter of U.S. Minister to the United Kingdom

John Lothrop Motley John Lothrop Motley (April 15, 1814 – May 29, 1877) was an American author and diplomat. As a popular historian, he is best known for his works on the Netherlands, the three volume work ''The Rise of the Dutch Republic'' and four volume ''His ...

. After his death, his widow, who inherited his fortune, remarried to British statesman Sir William Harcourt and became the mother of MP Robert Harcourt. Thomas_P

Residence

Between 1803 and 1806, Ives hired Caleb Ormsbee to build him a family home at 66 Power Street in the College Hill in

. The 3-1/2 story brick house, remained in the hands of the Ives family until 1910. At that time it was sold to Brown University, retaining a lifetime occupancy right for owners. In 1970, the residence was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

. Ives' desk-and-bookcase is currently in a private collection. It was made by the cabinetmaker James Halyburton in Providence.

Awards and honors

Ives was awarded an honorary degree from Brown University in 1864.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ives, Thomas Poynton 1769 births 1835 deaths Brown family Colonial American merchants People of colonial Rhode Island People from Beverly, Massachusetts People of colonial Massachusetts Burials in Rhode Island