Alexander Stewart Webb (banker)
Alexander Stewart Webb Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age New York City, U.S. |
| Died | 22 January 1948 (aged 77) Mineola, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, philanthropist |
| Known for | Banking career; President of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (1937–1947) |
Alexander Stewart Webb Jr. (February 5, 1870 – January 22, 1948) was a distinguished American banker and philanthropist who held a notable position within New York's high society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Webb was born in New York City as the second child among eight siblings to Alexander Stewart Webb and Anna Elizabeth Remsen. His brothers and sisters included Helen Lispenard Webb (wife of John Ernest Alexandre), Elizabeth Remsen Webb (spouse of George Burrington Parsons), Anne Remsen Webb and Caroline LeRoy Webb (both never married), William Remsen Webb (unmarried), and Louise de Peyster Webb, who married William John Wadsworth.
On his mother's side, his grandparents were Henry Rutgers Remsen and Elizabeth Waldron (née Phoenix) Remsen. His paternal heritage traced back to Helen Lispenard Stewart and James Watson Webb, who was a former regular army officer, proprietor of a newspaper, and served as U.S. Minister to Brazil in 1861. Following the passing of his grandmother, his grandfather remarried Laura Virginia Cram; their offspring included financier William Seward Webb, married to Eliza Osgood Vanderbilt (a granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt), as well as railroad executive Henry Walter Webb.
His ancestry further includes Samuel Blatchley Webb, an aide on George Washington's staff during the American Revolutionary War, and Sarah Amelia (née Lispenard) Stewart, a descendant of merchant Leonard Lispenard and connected to the Roosevelt family.
Career
Webb embarked on his banking career in 1889, starting as a messenger at Lincoln National Bank. He subsequently joined Metropolitan National Bank, where he advanced to secretary by 1900; this institution merged with First Chicago Bank in 1902. That same year, he became secretary of the New York Trust Company and was promoted to vice-president in 1904 under president Otto T. Bannard. The New York Trust Company was a leading trust and wholesale banking institution that later merged into Chemical Bank (today part of JPMorgan Chase) after the Panic of 1907.
In 1908, Webb resumed leadership at Lincoln National Bank as president until it was absorbed by the Mechanics and Metals National Bank. Starting in 1922, he served as vice-president of Mechanics and Metals National Bank, which held investments in the Bank of Central and South America. This bank merged with Chase National Bank in 1926.
By 1927, Webb assumed the presidency of Seward National Bank, which was eventually incorporated into the Bank of Manhattan Trust Company. From 1932 onward, he held the position of vice-president at the Bank of Manhattan Trust Company before retiring from his financial career in 1935.
Philanthropy
Webb dedicated thirty-five years to serving on the board of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) starting in 1915. He acted as treasurer beginning in 1924 and later as president from 1937 until 1947. Additionally, he held board roles with the American Humane Association and was instrumental as a founder, trustee, and treasurer of New York’s Tuberculosis Preventorium for Children.
Society life
In 1892, Webb was named among Ward McAllister’s "Four Hundred," an exclusive list representing New York’s most prominent families. His affiliations included membership in elite organizations such as the Saint Nicholas Society, Empire States Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, New York Society of Colonial Wars, Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati, and New York Commandery of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States. He was also associated with distinguished clubs including the Piping Rock Club, Meadowbrook Polo Club, Union Club of the City of New York, Knickerbocker Club, and Manhattan Club.
Personal life
On May 10, 1916, Webb entered into marriage with Florence (née Sands) Russell (1871–1941), who was the widow of architect William Hamilton Russell. Florence was the daughter of James W. Sands and, at the time of their union, was mother to William Hamilton Russell Jr., then a student at Harvard. Webb maintained his residence in New York City and possessed the estate known as "The Oaks" located in Roslyn, New York.
William, Florence's son, married Marie Johnson, thereby connecting Webb’s family to prominent financier Bradish Johnson and industrialist Bradish Johnson. Following Florence’s passing in September 1941, Webb took up residence with his sister Caroline at the Garden City Hotel in Garden City, New York. He passed away on January 22, 1948, at Nassau Hospital in Mineola, New York.