Moses Taylor

Moses Taylor
Born	Template:Birth date
Died	May 23, 1882(1882-05-23) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)	Merchant, banker, investor
Known for	Leadership of National City Bank of New York, control of Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, Moses Taylor & Co.

Moses Taylor (January 11, 1806 – May 23, 1882) was a leading merchant and banker in 19th-century New York, recognized as one of the wealthiest individuals of his time. At the time of his passing, his fortune was appraised at $70 million, which would be roughly equivalent to $1 billion in today’s terms. He held significant control over the National City Bank of New York (which later became Citibank), the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, and Moses Taylor & Co., an import enterprise, along with extensive holdings in railroads and industrial ventures.

Early life

Moses was born to Jacob B. Taylor and Martha (née Brant) Taylor. His early business opportunities were greatly enhanced by his father's close ties to John Jacob Astor, who employed Jacob as an agent to discreetly acquire New York real estate. This relationship afforded Moses considerable commercial advantages from a young age.

Career

Taylor started his professional journey at age 15 with J. D. Brown shippers before securing a clerkship at G. G. & S. Howland Company, a New York-based shipping and import firm engaged in trade with South America.

By 1832, when he was 26, Taylor had amassed sufficient capital to leave Howland and establish his own sugar brokerage business. His primary dealings involved Cuban sugar producers—handling sales, currency conversions, investment counsel, and extending loans that supported plantation operations. Although he never traveled to Cuba himself, his collaboration with Henry Augustus Coit, a trader fluent in Spanish, facilitated smooth commercial relations. Taylor soon recognized that lending and investment returns were on par with or better than profits from sugar trading; by the 1840s, most of his revenues stemmed from interest income and investments. By 1847, he was recorded among New York City's top 25 millionaires.

Banking and investments

In the aftermath of the Panic of 1837, Astor assumed control of City Bank of New York (now Citibank) and appointed Taylor as a director. During this financial crisis, Taylor doubled his wealth and utilized his banking connections to purchase shares in the institution, eventually becoming its president in 1855. Under his leadership, the bank supported both his personal enterprises and those of his business associates.

Throughout the 1850s, Taylor diversified into iron and coal industries while progressively acquiring stock in the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad. When the Panic of 1857 brought the railroad close to bankruptcy, Taylor secured control by buying shares at $5 apiece; within seven years, their value soared to $240 per share. By 1865, he owned approximately 20,000 shares worth nearly $50 million.

Taylor also backed the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company founded by Cyrus West Field in 1854. Despite several setbacks, this company succeeded in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable in 1866.

He controlled two major gas companies in Manhattan that merged after his death in 1884 to form Consolidated Gas Company—later known as Consolidated Edison. His Manhattan Gas Company and New York Gas Light Company comprised 45% of this merged entity, with his heirs continuing as significant shareholders.

Tammany Hall

Following the Civil War, during which he contributed financing for Union war bonds, Taylor expanded his investments across iron production, railroads, and New York real estate. His property holdings connected him with influential political figure Boss Tweed of New York's Tammany Hall. In 1871, Taylor joined a group of prominent businessmen who endorsed Tweed’s controller for integrity—a report widely viewed as an exoneration.

Personal life

Taylor was united in marriage with Catharine Anne Wilson (1810–1892). Their offspring comprised:

• Albertina Shelton Taylor (1833–1900), who wed Percy Rivington Pyne (1820–1895) in 1855. Pyne, initially Moses Taylor’s aide, succeeded him as president of City Bank following Moses’s demise.
• Mary Taylor (1837–1907), who became the spouse of George Lewis (1833–1888)
• George Campbell Taylor (1837–1907)
• Katherine Wilson Taylor (1839–1925), who married the banker Robert Winthrop
• Henry Augustus Coit Taylor (1841–1921), who first married Charlotte Talbot Fearing in 1868 and subsequently Josephine Whitney Johnson in 1903. Upon his death, he left behind an estate valued at $50 million, shortly before the passing of his nephew Moses Taylor Pyne.

Taylor passed away in 1882 and was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, despite having a family vault at New York City Marble Cemetery. His wealth was bequeathed to his widow and children. Numerous descendants of the Taylor family rose to prominence within New York and Newport social circles, with several early 20th-century fortunes tracing back to their inheritance.

Descendants

The Pyne banking legacy was established through daughter Albertina. Percy’s son, Moses Taylor Pyne, became a significant benefactor of Princeton University, contributing to its transformation from college to university and leaving an estate valued at $100 million in 1921.

From daughter Katherine came Hamilton Fish Kean (1862–1941), a forebear of the political Kean family, which includes former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean.

Legacy

Although Taylor was not notably philanthropic during most of his life, he contributed $250,000 near its conclusion in 1882 to fund a hospital in Scranton, Pennsylvania. This institution served employees of his iron and coal enterprises as well as the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The Moses Taylor Hospital continues to operate today.