Nicholas Gouverneur
Nicholas Gouverneur was an American merchant with Gouverneur & Kemble and banker who served as the president of the Bank of New York.
Early life
Gouverneur was born in 1753. He was the son of Samuel Gouverneur, a merchant, and Experience Gouverneur. Among his siblings were Gertrude Gouverneur, and Margaret Gouverneur, Hannah Gouverneur, and Mary Gouverneur. Margaret, Hannah, and Mary all married brothers, direct descendants of colonist John Ogden.His paternal grandparents were Isaac Gouverneur and Sarah Gouverneur. Among his extended family was uncle Nicolas Gouverneur, and aunt Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden, through whom he was a first cousin of Abraham Ogden and Samuel Ogden. Through his sister, Gertrude Gouverneur Kemble, he was uncle to U.S. Representative Gouverneur Kemble and Gertrude Kemble.
Career
Like his father and grandfather before him, Gouverneur was a prominent merchant. Their firm, Gouverneur & Kemble, conducted trade in the West Indies, Europe and China. It had been founded by his grandfather, Isaac Gouverneur and Peter Kemble, who "were among the foremost merchants in New York".After the death of Gulian Verplanck in 1799, he was elected to succeed Verplanck as the president of the Bank of New York. Gouverneur served as president until his own death in July 1802.
Personal life
On February 25, 1790, Gouverneur was married to Hester Kortright, a daughter of wealthy merchant Lawrence Kortright and Hannah Kortright. Among her siblings was the future First Lady Elizabeth Kortright Monroe. Together, they were the parents of three sons and three daughters:- Nicholas Gouverneur II, who died without issue.
- Isaac Gouverneur, who was killed in a duel by lawyer William Homer Maxwell.
- Louisa Augusta Gouverneur, who married David Johnston Verplanck, editor of the New York American who was the son of Gulian Verplanck, Speaker of the New York Assembly.
- Emily Caroline Gouverneur, who married Robert Livingston Tillotson, New York's secretary of state who was the son of Dr. Thomas Tillotson and Margaret Tillotson.
- Samuel Laurence Gouverneur, a member of the New York State Assembly who married Maria Hester Monroe, youngest daughter of U.S. president James Monroe.
- Maria Charlotte Gouverneur, who married Gen. Thomas McCall Cadwalader, a son of U.S. representative Lambert Cadwalader.