Occupation Businessman Died 5 April 1880 | Spouse(s) Gertrude Mercer Lee Children Richard Aldrich McCurdy | |
Parents Ursula Griswold, Richard McCurdy |
Robert Henry McCurdy (1800 – April 5, 1880) was an American businessman and political candidate. He amassed great wealth with partner Herman D. Aldrich as the co-founder of McCurdy and Aldrich, a commission firm which traded Southern cotton and other dry goods prior to the Panic of 1857. He lost his bid for Congress as a Whig in the late 1850s, and served as Commissary-General for the State of New York during the American Civil War.
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Early life
Robert Henry McCurdy was born in 1800 in Lyme, Connecticut. He was of Scotch Irish descent on his paternal side; as early as 1503, King James VI leased the vast majority of the Isle of Bute to the MacKurerdy family (later McCurdy). His paternal grandfather, John McCurdy, emigrated to the United States from Ireland prior to the Declaration of Independence. His father, Richard McCurdy, served in the Connecticut House of Representatives. His mother, Ursula Griswold, was of English descent. His maternal great-grandfather, Matthew Griswold, served as the 17th Governor of Connecticut from 1784 to 1786.
His brother, Charles J. McCurdy, went on to serve as the United States Chargé to the Austrian Empire from 1850 to 1852.
Career
McCurdy moved to New York City in 1814, and started working for Stephen Lockwood, a merchant. Shortly after, he was sent for work for Lockwood in Petersburg, Virginia, where he purchased cotton on commission. In 1820, McCurdy co-founded McCurdy and Aldrich, a dry goods commission firm, with Herman D. Aldrich. It later became known as McCurdy, Aldrich and Spencer. They retired with great wealth prior to the Panic of 1857.
McCurdy ran for the 35th United States Congress as a Whig in 1857, but he lost to Democratic politician John Cochrane. During the American Civil War, he was a staunch supporter of the Union, and he served as Commissary-General for the State of New York. Additionally, McCurdy made contributions to the Union Defense Committee of New York. It was also during the war that he became a founding member of the Union League Club of New York.
McCurdy was a co-founder of the Continental Fire Insurance Company. He was also a founding trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Merchants Exchange Bank and the American Exchange National Bank.
Personal life
McCurdy married Gertrude Mercer Lee. They had a son, Richard Aldrich McCurdy.
Death
McCurdy died on April 5, 1880. His funeral was held as a joint ceremony with Herman D. Aldrich, who died on the same day, at the Calvary Church. The funeral was attended by Peter Cooper, William E. Dodge, Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen, James Watson Webb, Thurlow Weed, etc. His sermon was given by George L. Prentiss, a Presbyterian pastor of the Union Theological Seminary. He was buried at the Green-Wood Cemetery next to Aldrich.
McCurdy's portrait was commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York in 1886.