John Gerard Coster

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John Gerard Coster (August 1762 – August 8, 1844) was a Dutch-American merchant who served as president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company.

Early life[]

Coster was born in August 1762 in Haarlem, Holland. He was a son of John Henry Coster (d. 1776) and Anna Catherine (née Vienecke).[1]

He was educated to be a physician and served in the Dutch Navy.[2]

Career[]

Coster came to the United States from Haarlem in the Netherlands shortly after the Revolutionary War and founded the family fortune with his brother through the mercantile firm, "Henry A. & John G. Coster".[2] They became owners of numerous vessels and traded with the East and West Indies, and exported American commodities to Europe.[2]

In 1813, he was made a director of Bank of the Manhattan Company, which had been founded by Aaron Burr in 1799.[2] In 1825, Coster was made president of the Manhattan Company, succeeding upon his death. Coster was also a director of the Phoenix Insurance Company for many years.[3]

Personal life[]

Coster was married to Catherine Margaret Holsman (c. 1778–1847).[1] Together, they lived in a house which he built on Broadway, north of Canal Street, which was considered "one of the finest residences in New York."[2] They were the parents of twelve children, many of whom married into many prominent families including the Schermerhorns and Heckshers.,[2] including:[4]

  • John Henry Coster, who married Adeline Boardman.[1]
  • Maria Margaret Coster (1798–1835), who married Edwin Upshur Berryman.[1]
  • Gerard Holsman Coster (b. 1808), who married Matilda Prime, a daughter of banker Nathaniel Prime.[1]
  • Henrietta Taletta Coster[1]
  • Daniel Joachim Coster, who married Julia DeLancey (1806–1890), a daughter of Oliver Delancey.[5]
  • Georgiana Louisa Coster (1815–1890), who married Charles August Heckscher.[2]
  • Julia Christiana Coster (b. 1816), who married Jérôme Napoléon Frédéric Reubell (1809–1874),[1] a son of Gen. Jean-Jacques Reubell and grandson of Louis Pascault, Marquis de Poleon, in 1840.[6]
  • George Washington Coster, who married Elizabeth Oakey, a daughter of merchant Daniel Oakey.[7]
  • Henry Arnold Coster (b. 1820)[1]
  • Charles Robert Coster[1]
  • Alfred Jacob Coster[1]
  • Rutgers Eugene Coster[1]

Coster died on August 8, 1844.[2]

Descendants[]

Through his son Daniel, he was a grandfather of Harry Coster, an American clubman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age.[8]

Through his daughter Julia, he was a grandfather of Henrietta Reubell (c. 1849–1924),[9] who was a prominent figure in Paris society known for hosting a lively salon at her apartment at 42 avenue Gabriel, including James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Edith Wharton, and Henry James.[10]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Townsend, Annette (1932). The Auchmuty family of Scotland and America. New York: The Grafton Press. pp. 257–260. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Mann, Conklin; Maynard, Arthur S. (1919). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 305. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  3. ^ Lamb, Martha Joanna (1883). Wall Street in History. New York: Funk and Wagnalls. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-59605-087-7. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  4. ^ Weeks, Lyman Horace (1897). Prominent Families of New York; being an account in biographical form of individuals and families distinguished as representatives of the social, professional and civic life of New York city. New York: The Historical company. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  5. ^ "DIED" (PDF). The New York Times. October 3, 1890. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  6. ^ "CONBEYANCES. New York City" (PDF). Record and Guide. Vol. XLV, No. 1144: 229, 251. February 18, 1890. Retrieved 29 October 2021. |volume= has extra text (help)
  7. ^ "THE COSTER FAMILY SET OF SEVEN CLASSICAL CARVED MAHOGANY CURULE-BASE DINING CHAIRS , ATTRIBUTED TO DUNCAN PHYFE (1768-1854), NEW YORK, 1810-1820". www.christies.com. Christie's. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
  8. ^ McAllister, Ward (16 February 1892). "THE ONLY FOUR HUNDRED | WARD M'ALLISTER GIVES OUT THE OFFICIAL LIST. HERE ARE THE NAMES, DON'T YOU KNOW, ON THE AUTHORITY OF THEIR GREAT LEADER, YOU UNDER- STAND, AND THEREFORE GENUINE, YOU SEE" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Henrietta Reubell ca. 1884–85". www.metmuseum.org. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  10. ^ Fisher, Paul (2012). ""Her Smoking Was the Least of Her Freedoms": Henrietta Reubell, Miss Barrace, and the Queer Milieu of Henry James's Paris". muse.jhu.edu/. The Henry James Review. pp. 247–254. doi:10.1353/hjr.2012.0027. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
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