Nathaniel Thayer II (11 September 1808 in

Lancaster, Massachusetts Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the town population ...

– 7 March 1883 in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

) was an American financier, philanthropist, and the father of John Eliot Thayer II, an amateur

ornithologist Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of birds. Several aspects of ornithology differ from related discip ...

Early life

He was the son of Nathaniel Thayer I (1769–1840), a Unitarian congregational minister of

, and Sarah Parker Toppan, daughter of Christopher Toppan and Sarah Parker.

Banking

His brother John Eliot Thayer I had been operating a successful banking firm in Boston. When he needed more people, he asked Nathaniel Thayer II to be his business partner, now calling the firm John E. Thayer and Brother. The firm was active in the development of railroads in the western United States, several of which Thayer was a director. The firm was also involved with other enterprises such as manufacturing which required large amounts of capital. Thayer became senior director of the firm on the death of his brother in 1857. He gradually acquired a large fortune. He was known as the “honest banker” because he sold money at the legal rate unlike most, for the time. In 1865 Nathaniel Thayer II retired, sold his business to his partners and lived primarily in The Homestead for “he preferred the woods and fields to the streets and crowds”. He then lived in Lancaster with his wife Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer until his death in 1883.

Philanthropy

He was a fellow of

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

in 1868-1875, and one of its largest benefactors. He contributed to a commons hall, erected

Thayer Hall This is a list of dormitories at Harvard College. Only freshmen live in these dormitories, which are located in and around Harvard Yard. Sophomores, juniors and seniors live in the House system. Apley Court South of Harvard Yard on Holyoke Stre ...

in 1870 as a memorial of his father and brother, bore the expenses of

Louis Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he recei ...

's 1865-66 expedition to South America (known as the

Thayer Expedition The Thayer Expedition was an American scientific expedition to Brazil, sponsored by Boston businessman Nathaniel Thayer Jr. It was a biological and geological expedition undertaken by multiple scientists, several based at Harvard University, betw ...

; which his son Stephen Van Rensselaer Thayer also joined as a research assistant), built a fire-proof

herbarium A herbarium (plural: herbaria) is a collection of preserved plant biological specimen, specimens and associated data used for scientific study. The specimens may be whole plants or plant parts; these will usually be in dried form mounted on a sh ...

at the botanic garden, and gave much in aid of poor students of the college. He was one of the most generous citizens of Boston.

Personal life

He married Cornelia Paterson Van Rensselaer (1823–1897), daughter of

Stephen Van Rensselaer IV Stephen Van Rensselaer (March 29, 1789 – May 28, 1868), known as the "Young Patroon" and sometimes the "last of the patroons" was the last patroon of Rensselaerswyck. Early life Van Rensselaer was born on March 29, 1789, in Albany, New York. ...

, in 1846. Together, they had seven children: * Stephen Van Rensselaer Thayer (1847–1871), who married Alice Robeson, a daughter of Andrew Robeson Jr. * Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (1849–1903), who married

J. Hampden Robb James Hampden Robb (October 27, 1846 – January 21, 1911) was an American merchant and politician from New York (state), New York. Life Robb was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 27, 1846. He was the son of James Robb (banker), J ...

(1846–1911) in 1868. *

Nathaniel Thayer III Nathaniel Thayer (June 13, 1851 – March 21, 1911) was an American banker and railroad executive. Early life Thayer was born on June 13, 1851, in Boston, Massachusetts. He was the son of Nathaniel Thayer Jr. (1808–1883) and Cornelia Paterson ...

(1851–1911) * Harriet Van Rensselaer Thayer (1853–1891) * Eugene Van Rensselaer Thayer (1855–1907) * Bayard Thayer (1862–1916), a yachtsman and horticulturalist who married Ruth Simpkins (1864–1941). *

John Eliot Thayer John Eliot Thayer (April 3, 1862 – July 29, 1933) was an American amateur ornithologist. Early life Thayer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on April 3, 1862. He was a son of Cornelia Paterson (née Van Rensselaer) Thayer (1823–1897) and ...

(1862–1933), an amateur

who married Evelyn Duncan Forbes. Although Nathaniel Thayer II lived in Boston for many years, he always regarded himself as belonging to Lancaster. He is quoted as saying "Lancaster is my greatest monument."

Descendants

His granddaughter, Cornelia Van Rensselaer Thayer (b. 1881) married Danish Count

Carl Moltke Count Carl Poul Oscar Moltke (2 January 1869 – 5 September 1935) was the Danish minister to the United States in 1908 and the Foreign Minister of Denmark 1924–1926. Early life Carl Poul Oscar Moltke was born on 2 January 1869 in Denmark. ...

(1869–1935) in 1907. The family lived in that house along with their other two houses, one in Boston and the other in Newport RI called The Edgemere.

Honors and memberships

Elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

in 1866.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref>

References

;Notes ;Sources * *