Edward G. Faile
Edward G. Faile | |
---|---|
Born | February 9, 1799 Semiston, Roxboroughshire, Scotland |
Died | April 20, 1864 Hunt's Point, Westchester, New York, US | (aged 65)
Resting place | Saint Paul's Church, Mount Vernon, New York, US |
Occupation(s) | Wholesale grocer, merchant |
Edward George Faile (February 9, 1799 – April 20, 1864) was an American merchant. Born in Scotland, his family moved to the United States when he was an infant, settling in
Early life and family
Edward George Faile was born on February 9, 1799, to George and Joan Hall Faile, in Semiston, Roxboroughshire,
Faile was educated in Westchester. At the age of 17, he went to work at the wholesale grocery business of Abram Valentine. He married Valentine's daughter, Ann Delia, on December 8, 1821. The couple had nine children: Ann D., Edward, Thomas H., Charles V., Henry, Samuel, Mary E., Harriet, and Caroline.[1]
Edward Faile was a member, and his brother Thomas a governor, of The Society of the New York Hospital.[3] They were both also members of the Supply Engine Company, a volunteer fire department in New York.[4]
Businesses
In 1821, Faile opened a wholesale grocery in an existing building at 236
In 1843, Faile joined with several other sugar merchants in New York in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury John Spencer, complaining of excessive import duties imposed on brown sugar.[9]
Edward and his brother Thomas both retired in 1853, handing the firm over to their sons and to Richard Williams, changing the firm name to Faile, Williams, & Co.[1] The business was eventually taken over by Charles V. Faile, as a sole proprietorship, located at 130 Water Street.[10] The business ran into financial troubles starting in 1879, when it made a large purchase of tea stocks at the peak of the market. On November 25, 1882, the business failed due to losses from falling tea prices and fluctuations in the money market. At the time, the business had about $344,000 (equivalent to $10.86 million in 2023) in liabilities. Prior to the failure of the business, the company was one of the largest and oldest tea distributors in New York City.[10]
Faile was a director of both the
Woodside
The Faile family estate, known as Woodside, was in what is now the Hunts Point section of The Bronx. In 1831, George Faile (Edward's father) purchased a tract of land from Barnard Bayley.[14] The estate was further expanded between 1832 (when the mansion was built) and 1842, at a cost of $15,000.[15] The estate occupied 85 acres, stretching from the Bronx River to beyond what is now Southern Boulevard. The mansion was described in Valentine's Manual of Old New York, as having an "imposing array of Doric columns", and as being "surrounded by a glorious forest".[16] Furnishings included a pair of wooden armchairs whose provenance is traced to the 1620 landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock; these belonged to Charles V. and adorned his library.[17]
The estate included a working farm with Devon cattle, which Faile imported and bred.[18] Several of his cattle won first prize at shows, including Cayuga, Huron, and Queen Ann.[19]
In 1898, a lawsuit was brought by Henry J. Crawford, claiming that Faile's deed to the estate was invalid. The issue was whether John Fleetwood Marsh properly conveyed title to Barnard Bayley, from whom George Faile purchased the property. The court found that the title was valid.[14]
In 1904, the estate, comprising 1299 lots, was sold to the
Personal life
Faile was an acquaintance of Richard March Hoe, who had an estate near his in Hunts Point. Hoe invented a machine for stamping and dating tickets, based on a suggestion made by Faile.[1] Hoe and Faile were both vestrymen at St. Ann's Protestant Episcopal Church of Morrisania.[18][24]
In 1863, he was president of the New York State Agricultural Society.[1][25] His son, Thomas H., later became vice president and another son, Henry, was a life member of the society.[26] Faile died of pneumonia in his home on April 20, 1864. Funeral services were held at St. Ann's Church, and he was buried in the cemetery at Saint Paul's Church, (known at the time as East Chester Church) in Mount Vernon, New York.[27] After his death, his family continued to reside at the estate.[28]
References
- ^ LCCN 05034051. Retrieved September 17, 2020 – via Internet Archive.
- – via HathiTrust Digital Library.
- ^ Charter of the Society of The New York Hospital (PDF). New York: D. Van Nostrand. 1872. pp. 81, 102.
- ^ Sheldon, George William (1882). The Story of the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York. New York: Harper & Brothers. p. 406.
- ^ "Thomas H. Faile and Annie D. Brown papers (1856-1882, bulk 1856-1857)". Clements Library, University of Michigan. Biography. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ Edward G Faile Building, Photograph Written Historical and Descriptive Data (PDF). Washington, DC: Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service. HABS No. NY-5680.
- ^ South Street Seaport Historic District Designation Report (PDF). NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. 1877. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ^ 28th Congress, 2d Session: Report of The Secretary of the Treasury. U.S. Government Printing Office. June 15, 1844. Page 29 (Letter to the Hon. John C. Spencer from Spofford, Tileston & Co; Grinnell Minturn & Co; Goodhue & Co; Chastelain & Ponvert; Moses Taylor; P. Harmoney's Nephew & Co; Daniel Curtis Jr; Edward G. Faile & Co).
- ^ a b "Failure in the Tea Trade: Charles V. Faile, a Leading Merchant of New York, Makes an Assignment". The Times. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. November 25, 1882. p. 1. Retrieved September 20, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harlow, Alvin F. (1947). The Road of the Century (Chapter V). New York: Creative Age Press. p. 112.
- ^ "Edward G Faile Fireman's Insurance". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. July 1, 1851. p. 1 (advertisement, column 6). Retrieved September 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Metropolitan Bank". New-York Tribune. April 12, 1852. p. 3. Retrieved September 18, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Faile v. Crawford, 30 App. Div. 536 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide. F. W. Dodge Corporation. October 22, 1904. p. 842. Retrieved February 5, 2018 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b Brown, Henry Collins, ed. (1920). Valentine's Manual of Old New York (No 4, New Series). New York: Valentine's Manual Inc. p. 445. Retrieved February 1, 2018 – via Google Books.
- LCCN 14001375. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023 – via Library of Congress.
- ^ a b Scharf, John Thomas (1886). History of Westchester County, New York including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms which have been annexed to New York City. Vol. 1 (part 2). Philadelphia: L. E. Preston & Co. p. 806.
- ^ Davy, John Tanner (1891). Davy's Devon Herd Book Containing the Ages and Pedigrees of Pure Bred Devon Cattle with Supplemental Register and Dual-purpose Section. Devon Cattle Breeders' Society. pp. 6, 17, 120.
- ^ Engineering News. November 26, 1908. p. 191. Retrieved February 3, 2018 – via Google Books.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
- ^ Henry Collins Brown (ed.). "Bronx: Barretto Street - Lafayette Avenue". NYPL Digital Collections. Valentine's Manual Inc. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ Garcia, Sandra E. "The Rich History of Hunts Point". The Bronx Journal. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
- ISSN 0362-4331.
- ^ Faile, Edward G. (February 11, 1864). Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society. Albany: New York State Agricultural Society.
- ^ Proceedings ... New York State Agricultural Society. 1862.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- ISBN 9781600080623. Retrieved February 5, 2018 – via Google Books.
External links
- "Death of Edward G. Faile". The Cultivator. 12 (6). Albany, NY: Luther Tucker & Son: 173. June 1964.