William B. Coster
William Bay Coster | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1867 New York, U.S. |
| Died | 1918-12-19 Bournemouth, England |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, stockbroker |
| Years active | 1893–1907 (stockbroker) |
| Known for | Prominent New York financier and member of high society during the Gilded Age; partner at Morgan Drexel; aide de camp in New York National Guard |
William Bay Coster (1867 – December 19, 1918) was a notable American financier recognized within New York's high society throughout the Gilded Age.
Early life
Born in New York, Coster resided in an expansive residence located at 103 East 71st Street. He was among four offspring of Charles Robert Coster (1839–1888) and Marie Bay (née James) Coster (1841–1904), who were wed in 1864. His siblings included Charles Coster, who married Helen Louise Anthon, and Elizabeth Mary Coster, who became the wife of Alfred Egmont Schermerhorn, a real estate businessman connected to the distinguished Schermerhorn family. His father gained recognition as a military officer and public servant, notably for leading a brigade during the Battle of Gettysburg.
On his mother's side, his grandfather was Augustus J. James from Albany, sibling to theologian Henry James Sr., which made William's mother Marie a first cousin to author Henry James, psychologist William James, and diarist Alice James. His paternal lineage traced back to John H. Coster and Sarah Adeline (née Boardman) Coster, linking him with fellow New York socialite Harry Coster. John H. Coster, his grandfather, was known both as a businessman and a socialite playboy, part of twelve siblings who married into influential families. The family fortune originated from his great-grandfather, John Gerard Coster, who emigrated from Haarlem in the Netherlands post-Revolutionary War and founded the mercantile enterprise "Henry A. & John G. Coster".
Career
Coster embarked on a career as a stockbroker, establishing an office alongside his brother Charles and John M. Knapp in 1893. In 1907, he transferred his seat to Knapp and stepped down from the firm. Subsequently, he became a partner with Morgan Drexel. He was reputed for his brisk walking pace between the New York Athletic Club and the stock exchange.
In 1908, following his brother Charles’ suicide after being exposed for defrauding clients of millions, William faced allegations due to their shared workplace but was ultimately exonerated by the New York Stock Exchange.
Additionally, Coster served in the New York National Guard as aide de camp to the First Brigade, achieving the rank of captain by 1896.
Society life
In 1892, as a well-known unmarried clubman, Coster was listed among Ward McAllister’s "Four Hundred," a compilation of New York’s most elite families published in The New York Times. This roster matched the maximum capacity of Mrs. Astor’s ballroom. He also held membership in the Union Club of New York.
Personal life
On October 1, 1900, Coster wed Maria "Minnie" Griswold Gray (1868–1947) at St. Saviour's Episcopal Church in Bar Harbor, Maine. Minnie was closely acquainted with etiquette authority Emily Post and was the daughter of Henry Winthrop Gray and Mary Travers Gray; she descended from William R. Travers. Through subsequent marriages within her family, she was connected to U.S. Senator Reverdy Johnson and Secretary of State Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen.
The couple maintained residences in both New York and Paris and had three children:
- Matilda Gray Coster (1901–1962), who married Stanley Yates Mortimer Jr., related to Eleanor Roosevelt, in 1925; they divorced three years later. She remarried Luis Martínez de las Rivas in 1932 and eventually settled in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
- Mary Griswold Coster (1903–1918), who passed away from pneumonia at age fifteen.
- William Bay Coster Jr. (1908–1945), an Oxford Pembroke College rower who also served as an air-raid warden during World War II in London.
After dividing his time between New York and Paris for many years, Coster died following a lengthy illness in Bournemouth, England, on December 19, 1918. His widow passed away at her Manhattan residence in July 1947 at age seventy-nine.
Descendants
His lineage continued through his daughter Matilda, who became the grandmother of Mathilda Coster Mortimer (1925–1997), known as the Duchess of Argyll. Mathilda's first marriage was to Clemens Heller, the founder of the Salzburg Global Seminar in Austria. Following their divorce in 1962, she wed Ian Campbell, the 11th Duke of Argyll, in 1963, shortly after his widely publicized divorce. The couple had a daughter, Lady Elspeth Campbell, who tragically passed away soon after birth in 1967. The Duke and Duchess remained united until his passing in 1973.
References
- Notes
- Sources
External links
- Portrait of Mathilda Coster Campbell, Duchess of Argyll, captured by Madame Yevonde during the mid-1960s, housed at the National Portrait Gallery.