Caleb O. Halsted
Caleb Ogden Halsted was an American merchant and banker.
Early life
Halsted was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey on June 13, 1792. He was the third son of Maj. Matthias Halsted and Nancy Halsted. His elder brother was Nathaniel Norris Halsted, who married Lucretia Perrine. As his brother died young, Caleb adopted his nephew, Nathaniel Norris Halsted Jr., and raised him. His father served as Brigade Major on the staff of Gen. Winds, aide-de-camp to Gen. Philemon Dickinson, and quartermaster in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.The patriarch of the Halsted family was Timothy Halsted, who emigrated from England to America as early as 1660 and settled in Hempstead, New York before relocating to Elizabethtown. His paternal grandparents were Caleb Halsted Jr. and Rebecca Halsted. His grandmother was a daughter of Robert Ogden who was a grandson of colonist John Ogden, an original patentee of the Elizabethtown Purchase, "the first English settlement in the Colony of New Jersey." His mother was, therefore, a first cousin of U.S. Senator and Governor of New Jersey Aaron Ogden and Col. Matthias Ogden.
Career
Halsted began his career as a cloth merchant. In 1847, however, he was made president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company, succeeding Jonathan Thompson, who had been made president in 1840. In 1853, the Manhattan Company became one of the original 52 members of the New York Clearing House Association and Halsted became its first president. Halsted served as president until his death in October 1860. Later that year, the board of directors promoted James M. Morrison as president of the bank to succeed Halsted.Personal life
In December 1823, Halsted was married to Caroline Louisa Pitney, a daughter of Dr. Aaron Pitney and Anna Bowne Pitney. Together, they were the parents of five children, three of whom died in infancy, including:- Pitney Halsted, who died in infancy.
- Lucinetta "Lucy" Halsted, who married Col. John Kean, son of Peter Philip James Kean and Sarah Sabina Morris, in 1847.
- Caroline Halsted, who married William Henry Morris, a son of [James Lewis Morris|Morris (sheriff)|James Morris] and Helen Van Cortlandt, in 1846.
- Edwin Halsted, who died in infancy.
- Theodore Halsted, who died in infancy.