Theodorus Bailey Myers (December 13, 1821 – June 16, 1888), was an American lawyer, philanthropist, served as a

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the U.S. Military, and a collector of books and historical manuscripts.

Biography

Myers was born to Major

Mordecai Myers Mordecai Myers (November 9, 1794 – February 21, 1865) was an American politician and landowner in Savannah, Georgia, in the 19th century. Life and career Named for his paternal grandfather, Myers was born in South Carolina to physician Dr. Le ...

(who received his title during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

) and Charlotte Bailey, niece of politician Theodorus Bailey and sister of naval officer Theodorus Bailey. His father was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Myers was likely named for these two familial influences. He studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Kinderhook Academy Kinderhook is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in the northern part of Columbia County, New York, Columbia County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,330 at the 2020 census, making it the most populous ...

and was conferred his degree in 1842. Myers was involved with many scientific and social organizations. He was a founding fellow of the

American Geographical Society The American Geographical Society (AGS) is an organization of professional geographers, founded in 1851 in New York City. Most fellows of the society are Americans, but among them have always been a significant number of fellows from around the ...

, member of the

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

, Century Club,

Union Club of the City of New York The Union Club of the City of New York (commonly known as the Union Club) is a private social club in New York City that was founded in 1836. The clubhouse is located at 101 East 69th Street on the corner of Park Avenue, in a landmark building de ...

, and a Commissioner of the New York City Fire Department. He also served on the Boards of Managers for the

New York Institution for the Blind The New York Institute for Special Education is a private nonprofit school in New York City. The school was founded in 1831 as a school for blind children by Samuel Wood, a Quaker philanthropist, Samuel Akerly, a physician, and John Dennison Russ ...

and the

Women's Hospital Women's Hospital was a 134-bed maternity and women's care hospital in Greensboro, North Carolina. It was North Carolina's first free-standing hospital dedicated to women. In 1977, Humana opened Greensboro Hospital, the city's first for-profit ho ...

, where he developed a friendship with fellow collector of Americana, Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, who would posthumously organize Myers' manuscripts. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Myers served as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

of the ''

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages * Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originati ...

'' with the New York 12th Regiment. He also served on the military staff of General Butler and later, General Wool. He died on June 16, 1888 and was interred at

Green-Wood Cemetery Green-Wood Cemetery is a cemetery in the western portion of Brooklyn, New York City. The cemetery is located between South Slope/ Greenwood Heights, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, Borough Park, Kensington, and Sunset Park, and lies several bl ...

Legacy

During his lifetime, Colonel Myers wrote many brochures on topics of American history. Among his collection is a complete set of autographs of the signers of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

, the letters of which he published as a special issue of ''Historical magazine''. Upon his death, Myers had amassed a library of about 1600 documents, 3000 printed books, and 1600 pamphlets. His collection was donated to

The New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

by his widow, daughter, and daughter-in-law, in 1899. Colonel Myers' collection of weapons, as well as that of his son,

Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason Theodorus Bailey Myers Mason (May 8, 1848 – October 15, 1899) was the founder and first head of the United States Office of Naval Intelligence, with the post of Chief Intelligence Officer (prior to it being redesignated as Director of Naval Int ...

were donated to the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

."Arms for National Museum." ''New York Times''. Sep 28, 1912. Page 8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Theodorus Bailey 1821 births 1888 deaths 19th-century American lawyers Jewish American attorneys United States Army officers Burials at Green-Wood Cemetery People of New York (state) in the American Civil War New York (state) lawyers Members of the New York Yacht Club Commissioners of the New York City Fire Department American Geographical Society