Anthony Lispenard Bleecker

Anthony Lispenard Bleecker (June 13, 1741 – April 26, 1816) was a prominent banker, merchant and auctioneer, and one of the richest men in New York.[1] He worked as well as a vestryman and churchwarden for Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. He is the namesake for Bleecker Street and Lispenard Street in lower Manhattan.[2]

Anthony Lispenard Bleecker
BornJune 13, 1741
New Rochelle, New York, US
DiedApril 26, 1816(1816-04-26) (aged 74)
New York City, New York City
Occupation(s)Banker, businessman
Known forBleecker Street, Lispenard Street
Spouse
Mary Noel
​
​
(after 1763)​
ChildrenAnthony Bleecker
Parent(s)Jacobus Bleecker
Abigail Lispenard
RelativesRutger Jansen Bleecker (grandfather)
James W. Bleecker (nephew)

Early life

Bleecker was born in the town of New Rochelle, in Westchester County, New York, to Jacobus Rutger Bleecker (b. 1716) and Abigail Lispenard (1718–1807).[3] His mother was the daughter of Anthony Lispenard and granddaughter of Antoine L'Espinard[4] aka Lispenard (1643–1696), La Rochelle-born prominent Huguenot resident of the early years of the English colony of New York.[4]

His brother was Major General Leonard Bleecker, a personal friend of George Washington, and one of the founders of the New York Stock Exchange, through the Buttonwood Agreement.[5][6][7]

His maternal uncle was the New York City merchant, politician and landowner Colonel Leonard Lispenard (1714–1790), whose family married with Benjamin Franklin's family (Bache), the Roosevelts and Van Cortlandts.

His paternal grandparents were Albany Mayor Rutger Jansen Bleecker (1675–1756) and Catalina (née Schuyler) Bleecker (1678–1747), of the Schuyler family.

His nephew, James W. Bleecker, became the 4th President of the New York Stock Exchange and 1st Treasurer of the Board.[4]

Career

He worked as a shipping merchant and real estate auctioneer in New York City, eventually becoming one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in 18th century New York.[8] He was a Major in the 1st Regiment Provincials under Col. Henry Jackson in 1775.[9]

During the British occupation of New York City, the family lived in New Jersey. When General George Washington returned to Manhattan after the British evacuation in 1783, Bleecker was on the committee to officially welcome him back.[9]

Upon his own return to New York City, Bleecker started the family real estate and auctioning business. By 1792, 'Anthony L. Bleecker and Sons' were listed as stock brokers, and by 1818, members of the Bleecker family occupied 4 of the 28 seats on the New York Stock Exchange. His signature appears on the original list of subscribers of the capital stock for the Manhattan Company, later the Bank of Manhattan Trust Company. The list dates from April 1799.[10]

Bleecker was also involved in New York's historic Trinity Episcopal Church, situated across from Wall Street. He became a vestryman there in 1785. He served until 1807 when he became a warden for five years.[11] He purchased the family vault in its churchyard in 1790 where Bleecker family burials took place well into the 20th century.[12] He was by far the most powerful Bleecker in New York City history.[8]

Property

He owned the farm where the present-day Bleecker Street in Manhattan lies. His residence was 74 Broadway, across from Rector Street, where the Bleecker family lived for many years. The New York Times obituary of his grandson, Anthony J. Bleecker, (d. 1884) recalled the story of Bleecker coming into his house one day to announce he had bought 160 acres "out in the country" and that his friends laughed at him for wasting his money.[13] That land would eventually become the present day Greenwich Village where Bleecker Street runs today.[14][15]

The size of his land, and his political and business influence is well documented. However, it is probably the quality of his descendants in the 19th century, and the families they married into, which shows the respect he had. Among the names: Roosevelt, Neilson and Harriman.[16]

Personal life

On May 4, 1763, Bleecker married Mary Noel (1743–1828).[4] Mary, who was born in Cádiz, Spain, was the daughter of Garrat Noel, a member of a distinguished English family that was related to the Earls of Gainsborough, and Frances Matilda (née Jayme) Noel. Together, they were the parents of:[4]

  • James Noel Bleecker (1764–1842),[4][9] married Elizabeth Garland Bache (1762–1795), daughter of Theophylact Bache, Benjamin Franklin's family, along with the Roosevelts and Van Cortlandts
  • Frances Bleecker (1766–1839)
  • Garret Noel Bleecker (1768–1841)[9]
  • Anthony Bleecker (1770–1827)[4]
  • Mary Bleecker (1771–1858)[4]
  • Alexander Noel Bleecker (1775–1844)[4]
  • Abigail Bleecker (1779–1861)[10]
  • Elizaberth DeHart Bleeker McDonald (1781–1864)[4]
  • Alice Bleecker (1783–1842)[4]
  • Jospha Matilda Bleecker (1786–1854)[4]

He left a will on November 3, 1814. He died April 26, 1816, and was buried the following day at Trinity Church Cemetery.[4][17] His will was proven on May 8, 1816, leaving everything to his wife Mary and mentioned sons James, Garrat and Anthony as executors. He and 25 other members of the Bleecker family remain interred in a private vault under Trinity Church.[2]

Bleecker family

Members of the Bleecker family include :

References
  1. Pessen, Edward (2017). Riches, Class, and Power: United States Before the Civil War. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 9781351492935. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  2. Boulden, Jim (February 12, 2017). "Restoring centuries-old treasure below the streets of Manhattan". CNN. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  3. Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Totten, John Reynolds; Mott, Hopper Striker; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1892). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 103. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  4. Bergen, Tunis Garret (1915). Genealogies of the State of New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation. Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 750. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  5. Wyckoff, Peter (1972). Wall Street and the stock markets: A chronology (1644-1971). Chilton Book Co. p. 145. ISBN 0-8019-5708-7.
  6. National Park Service, Leonard Bleeker, Fort Stanwix National Monument, Yorktown Battlefield Part of Colonial National Historical Park
  7. Murphy, William D. (1858). Biographical Sketches of the State Officers and Members of the Legislature of the State of New York, in 1858. Albany: J. Munsell. pp. 150–151.
  8. Pessen, Edward (2017). Riches, Class, and Power: United States Before the Civil War. Routledge. p. 136. ISBN 9781351492935. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  9. Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York (1905). Genealogical Record of the Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York. The Society. p. 19. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  10. The Family Of Mary Noel And Anthony Lispenard Bleecker
  11. "Where Bleecker Street Really Ends". trinitywallstreet.org. Trinity Church. July 23, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  12. "Buried Under Trinity Church". The New York Times. 1884. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  13. "An Old New-Yorker Gone – The Sudden Death of Anthony J. Bleecker – The Life of the Nestor Among Real Estate Brokers – His Decease Caused by a Paralytic Stroke". The New York Times. January 8, 1884. p. 8. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  14. When Greenwich Village was Farmland
  15. Forgotten New York – Bleecker Street
  16. Gideon Tucker, 'Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York Previous to 1784,' (Albany, 1860), p.33.3.
  17. Mines, John Flavel (1903). Walks in our Churchyards. Jazzybee Verlag. p. 13. ISBN 9783849681418. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
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