Joseph Sampson
Joseph Sampson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Plympton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 21, 1872 (aged 77) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, merchant |
| Known for | Original shareholder of Chemical Bank |
Joseph Sampson (October 16, 1794 – May 21, 1872) was a prominent American entrepreneur and merchant of the 19th century, recognized as one of the original shareholders who helped establish Chemical Bank in 1823.
Early life
Sampson was born in Plympton, Massachusetts to Reverend Ezra Sampson and Mary (née Bourne) Sampson. His father, an alumnus of Yale College class of 1773, served as a clergyman. Joseph traced his lineage back to Abraham Sampson of Plymouth Colony and was connected by ancestry to the early Pilgrims, including Miles Standish and John Alden.
Career
Beginning his professional journey in New York, Sampson apprenticed at the auction firm Boggs & Livingston. This enterprise transformed into Thompson & Sampson by 1820 and subsequently became Joseph Sampson & Co. around 1830. The company continued operations under various titles well into the 20th century. As an original investor in Chemical Bank, he acquired one-tenth of its initial capital stock but did not take on a directorship because of his commitments at the Bank of Commerce. Nevertheless, he played an influential role as an advisor and provided daily counsel to Chemical Bank’s executives.
Although he retired early from hands-on business activities, Sampson maintained positions as a director and significant shareholder in several organizations, such as New York Life Insurance and Trust Company, the Bank of Commerce, New York Gas Light Company, and Eagle Fire Company, until his passing in 1872.
In 1840, he acquired a residence constructed by banker Samuel Ward III located at Broadway and Bond Street for $70,000—a sum that astonished contemporaries like John Jacob Astor due to its unusually high valuation for a New York property at that time.
Personal life
On June 25, 1831, Sampson wed Adele Caroline Livingston (born between 1810 and 1813; died 1841), daughter of Julia Adel Broome and John Walter Livingston, who was a great-grandson of Philip Livingston. Adele’s maternal grandfather was John Broome, who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1804 to 1810. Adele’s sister was married to Reverend Henry Philip Tappan. Tragically, Adele passed away roughly one week after delivering their daughter:
- Adele Livingston Sampson (1841–1912), who initially married Frederic W. Stevens (1839–1928). After divorcing Stevens in 1887, she remarried Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1843–1917), the fourth Duke of Dino, thereby becoming Duchess of Dino; this marriage ended in divorce in 1903.
Joseph Sampson died on May 21, 1872, at his Manhattan home located at 2 Bond Street.
Descendants
Through his daughter Adele, Sampson was grandfather to:
- Joseph Stevens, who served as a Rough Rider;
- Mabel Ledyard Stevens (1872–1959), who became the wife of Count Micislas Orlowski, a member of Polish nobility;
- Frances Stevens, who married first Count de Gallifet and later Count Maurice des Monstiers de Mérinville;
- Adele Livingston "Daisy" Stevens (1864–1939), who wed Frederick Hobbes Allen (1858–1937), an international attorney and son of Elisha Hunt Allen—former U.S. Representative from Maine and U.S. Minister to the Kingdom of Hawaii—and grandson of Senator Samuel Clesson Allen.
External links
- (Related to Sampson’s wife)