Edward Coleman Delafield
Edward Coleman Delafield | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Westhampton, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 21, 1976 (aged 97) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Banker, military officer |
| Known for | President of Bank of America |
Edward Coleman Delafield (July 10, 1878 – April 21, 1976) was a prominent American banker and military officer who held the position of president at the Bank of America.
Early life
Born in Westhampton, New York, Delafield was the son of Maturin Livingston Delafield (1836–1917) and Mary Coleman (née Livingston) Delafield (1847–1922). His brothers and sisters included Maturin Livingston Delafield Jr., Joseph Livingston Delafield, John Ross Delafield—who married Violetta White Delafield—Julia Livingston (née Delafield) Longfellow, Mary Livingston (née Delafield) Finch, Harriet Coleman (née Delafield) Carter, and Eugene Livingston Delafield.
On his father's side, his grandparents were Maj. Joseph Delafield and Julia (née Livingston) Delafield. His maternal lineage traced back to Eugene Augustus Livingston and Harriet (née Coleman) Livingston.
Delafield completed his studies at Princeton University, graduating in 1899.
Career
Following his graduation from Princeton, Delafield embarked on a career in banking. By 1914, he had become vice president of Franklin Trust Company and ascended to its presidency in 1916. In 1920, Franklin Trust merged into Bank of America. A decade later, in 1930, Bank of America divested the charter and name of its California branch to the Bank of Italy, under the leadership of founder Amadeo P. Giannini. The subsequent year, 1931, saw the merger of Delafield’s trust company with City Bank Farmers Trust Company.
In 1937, he established Delafield & Delafield, an investment advisory firm and brokerage member of the New York Stock Exchange. Although he entrusted daily operations to relatives initially, he resumed active management in 1968 before retiring two years later in 1970.
Philanthropy
Between 1946 and 1968, Delafield held the roles of Treasurer and trustee at Memorial Hospital for the Treatment of Cancer and Allied Diseases, which later became known as the Sloan-Kettering Institute.
In 1965, he gifted a 13-acre tract named Fieldston Hill in Riverdale to Columbia University, which subsequently named it the Delafield Botanical Garden. This parcel was originally part of a larger 256-acre estate acquired by his grandfather Maj. Joseph Delafield in 1829, situated along the Hudson River near Yonkers.
Personal life
Delafield was married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage occurred in 1900 to Margaretta Stockton Beasley (1878–1952), who was a niece of Moses Taylor Pyne and hailed from a family affiliated with National City Bank. Together they had three children:
- Maturin Livingston Delafield (1901–1945), who pursued a career as a stockbroker and married Mary Pierce Lyon.
- Margaretta Stockton "Rita" Delafield (1904–1990), who wed William Bergh Kip III in 1926.
- Mary Delafield (1912–1993), who married Albert Ludlow Kramer Jr. in 1931; their marriage ended in divorce by 1935.
In 1928, he entered into a second marriage with Clelia C. Benjamin (1903–1995), daughter of Baroness Rachele Maria Carolina Benjamin and publisher Walter Romeyn Benjamin. Clelia’s family connections linked her to several distinguished lineages.
Delafield passed away at his residence in Sarasota, Florida on April 21, 1976.
Descendants
His son Maturin fathered Mary Lyon (née Delafield) Hoddick (1931–2005) and Maturin Livingston Delafield (1933–2007).
Through his daughter Mary, he was grandfather to Albert Ludlow Kramer III, who held office as Secretary of State of Washington from 1965 until 1975.