Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff

Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff, Sr. (November 29, 1838 – March 23, 1913) was the Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey and the founder of Brinckerhoff, Turner and Company. He was president of Merchants' National Bank and president of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City and vice president of the American Bible Society.[1][2]

Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff
Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey
In office
1899–1901
Succeeded byJ.C. Anderson
Personal details
BornNovember 29, 1838
Jamaica, Queens, New York
DiedMarch 23, 1913(1913-03-23) (aged 74)
Englewood, New Jersey
Spouse(s)
Emily Augusta Vermilye
​
​
(m. 1869; his death 1913)​
RelationsRobert Adrain (grandfather)
Children7
Signature

Early life

He was born on November 29, 1838, in Jamaica, Queens, New York. He was a son of Mary (née Adrain) Brinckeroff and John N. Brinckeroff, principal of Union Hall Academy in Jamaica.[3] He was a grandson of Irish-American mathematician Robert Adrain,[2] who is chiefly remembered for his formulation of the method of least squares.[4][5]

Career

In 1854, at age 16, he traveled to San Francisco aboard the Adelaide and he took a job with Wells Fargo where he delivered the first pony express package from San Francisco to Sacramento. He later joined the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance during the presidency of William Coleman. He returned to New York City in 1860.[1]

In New York City, he became associated with Fox & Polhemus, cotton manufacturers and brokers, where he later became an owner. He later became senior member of the firm and it was renamed Brinckerhoff, Turner & Co. For many years, he also served as president of the Merchants' National Bank,[3] president of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, vice president of the American Bible Society and a director of the Harriman National Bank.[1]

He was elected Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey in 1899 and recommended an increase in the police force from seven police officers to nine police officers. He also recommended the building of the city hall.[6][7]

Personal life

He moved to Englewood, New Jersey in 1867. On April 22, 1869, he was married to Emily Augusta Vermilye (1846–1921), a daughter of Col. Washington Romeyn Vermilye, a banker. They were the parents of one son and six daughters, including:[1][8]

  • Emily Vermilye Brinckerhoff (1870–1945), who married Frederick Smyth Duncan (1868–1953).[9]
  • Mary Elizabeth Brinckerhoff (1871–1931), who married James Douglas Armstrong (1866–1939) in 1894.[10]
  • Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff Jr. (1874–1943), who married Edna Connor (1874–1938).[11]
  • Elizabeth Lathrop Brinckerhoff (1876–1950), who married William Bushnell Chapin (1875–1914) in 1901.[12] After his death, she married widower Lt. Col. Frederick Butterfield Ryons (1877–1946) in 1923.[13]
  • Helen M. Brinckerhoff (1881–1953), who married Maxwell Van Buskirk (1871–1952).[14]

He died in Englewood on March 23, 1913 and was buried in Brookside Cemetery there.[1]

References
  1. "E,.A. BRINCKERHOFF, BANK PRESIDENT, DIES; Head of Merchants' Bank Rode the First Pony Express in This Country TWICE MAYOR OF ENGLEWOOD Member of the Vigilance Committee In California Under Coleman In Pioneer Days" (PDF). The New York Times. March 24, 1913. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  2. Philip Gengembre Hubert (1903). The Merchants' National Bank of the City of New York. Retrieved October 21, 2011. Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff, vice-president, was born in Jamaica, NY, on November 29, 1838, and is the son of John N. Brinckerhoff, principal of Union Hall ...
  3. The Merchants' National Bank of the City of New York: A History of Its First Century. 1903. p. 174. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  4. Hall, Henry (ed.) America's successful men of affairs: An encyclopedia of contemporaneous biography, Vol. I, p. 111 (1895)
  5. "Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff". The National cyclopædia of American biography. 1916. p. 249. Retrieved November 12, 2011. Brinckerhoff, Elbert Adrain, merchant and banker, was born at Jamaica, L. I., Nov. 29, 1838, son of John N. and Mary (Adrain) Brinckerhoff. His maternal grandfather was Robert Adrain, LL.D.,a noted mathematician. His father was the principal of the Union Hall Academy at Jamaica, L. I., during 1837-65. Union Hall Academy furnished his preliminary education and he was about to enter college when he was offered the opportunity of a voyage around the world on a clipper ship, which he accepted. Upon reaching San Francisco he decided to stay in California, and entering a commercial house, became identified with the affairs of San Francisco. He was an active member of the second Vigilance Committee ...
  6. "Three Large Projects Nearing Completion for Occupancy Early This Fall". The New York Times. September 25, 1938. Retrieved October 19, 2011. E. A. Brinckerhoff; Mayor of Englewood in 1899. ...
  7. Adaline Wheelock Sterling (1922). The book of Englewood. Mayor of Englewood, New Jersey. p. 189. In his first message, Mayor Brinckerhoff recommended an increase in the police force from seven to nine and ...
  8. Decennial record of the class of 1896, Yale College, p. 659 (1907) "Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff, Jr., was born June 6th, 1874, at Englewood, NJ. He is the only son of Elbert Adrain Brinckerhoff and Emily A. Vermilye, ...
  9. TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (October 4, 1945). "Mrs. F.S. Duncan, 75, Civic Affairs Figure" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  10. "ARMSTRONG--BRINCKERHOFF" (PDF). The New York Times. November 8, 1894. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  11. "Deaths" (PDF). The New York Times. March 29, 1938. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  12. Times, Special to The New York (April 18, 1901). "Chapin -- Brinckerhoff" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  13. Hilkert, David E. (2004). Chiefs of the Army Reserve: Biographical Sketches of the United States Army Reserve's Senior Officers. Office of Army Reserve History, U.S. Army Reserve Command. p. 55. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  14. "Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide". F. W. Dodge Corporation. 1889: 1202. Retrieved January 10, 2020. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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