Col. Henry George Stebbins (September 15, 1811 – December 9, 1881) was a U.S. Representative from New York, serving one term during the latter half of the American Civil War.[1]
Early life
Stebbins was born in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to Mary Largin (1783–1874) and John Stebbins (1783–1834), a president of the North River Bank.[2] The sculptor Emma Stebbins was his sister. Another sister, Mary Stebbins Garland, documented her sister's life posthumously in a biography and a scrapbook, entitled Notes on the Art Life of Emma Stebbins (1888). In the scrapbook, Garland arranged images of Stebbins' works created between 1857 and 1870.[3]
Career
In 1833, Stebbins became a member of the New York Stock Exchange representing the firm S. Jaudan & Co. He was the President of the Exchange for three periods: 1851–52, 1858–59 and 1863–64.[4] In 1859, he founded the brokerage firm Henry G. Stebbins & Son. In September 1847, he was elected colonel of the Twelfth Regiment, a commission he didn't accept until May 15, 1848.[5]: 88–89 He was commander of the regiment when it figured prominently in the Astor Place Riot and resigned in 1855.[5]: 92, 95
While in Congress, he stated that he "favored a vigorous prosecution of the war, until the authority of the Government should be reestablished over every part of the United States."[6]
In 1871, he took an active part in the movement to oust Boss Tweed from power and was made Chairman of the Committee of Seventy.[10] He held this position for a few months until he resigned to accept an appointment as Commissioner of Department of Public Parks.[2][11]
In 1872, he temporarily resigned as Commissioner of the Department of Public Parks so he could travel to England on urgent private business. He was temporarily succeeded by Frederick Law Olmsted.[12][13] He fully resigned from the presidency again in 1873.[14] In 1877, again put up for Park Commissioner,[15] he was rejected by Tammany in favor of Henry D. Purroy.[16]
He was involved in the proposed World's Fair of 1883 and served as Vice-president of the United States International Commission until March 1881 when Gen. Ulysses S. Grant resigned,[17] then Stebbin became the president.[2]
Personal life
After moving to New York he married Sarah Augusta Weston (1808–1893) on October 8, 1831. They had five children:
Henry Gerald Stebbins (1832–1832), who died as an infant
Fanny Juliet Stebbins (1834–1907), who married Timothy Fitzgerald Noble (b. 1827)
Mary Emma Stebbins (1837–1865), who married Charles Alfred Grymes (1829–1905), son of John Randolph Grymes (1786–1854)
Cora Stebbins (b. 1839), who married William Pickering Talboys (b. 1829), son of David Alphonso Talboys (c. 1790–1840)
Charles Henry Stebbins (b. 1841), who married Minerva Cook Vail (b. 1846), the daughter of Henry F. Vail (1812–1881), president of the National Bank of Commerce.[18][19]
Death and burial
On December 9, 1881, Stebbins died at his residence, No. 2 West 16th Street in New York City,[2] and was later interred in Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York.[1][20] At the time of his death, he was the oldest member on the roll of the Stock Exchange.[2]
Descendants
His grandson, Henry George Stebbins Noble (1859–1946), was also president of the New York Stock Exchange from 1914 to 1919.[21]
His grandson, Rowland Stebbins (1882–1948), was a stockbroker and stage producer who won a Pulitzer Prize for The Green Pastures, which he reportedly made $500,000 off of. He married Marion Lyman in 1907 and had three children, Rowland Stebbins, Jr., H. Lyman Stebbins, and Marion Stebbins (Heidt).[22]
^Milroy, Elizabeth (1993). "The Public Career of Emma Stebbins: Work in Marble". Archives of American Art Journal. 33 (3). The Smithsonian Institution: 2–12. doi:10.1086/aaa.33.3.1557502. JSTOR1557502. S2CID190566567.
^Gold currency and funded debt: A letter to the Hon. Henry G. Stebbins, M. C., of Committee of Ways and Means (New York:Mohun, Ebbs & Hough, 1864), p. 3
^Henry V. Poor, Manual of the Railroads of the United States for 1868-1869 (New York:1868), p. 406.
^Berkey, William Augustus (1876). The Money Question. Grand Rapids, Michigan: W.W. Hart, Steam Book and Job Printer. ISBN9781329149328. Retrieved February 13, 2017.