William Edgar (1739-1820)
Fur Trader & Shipping Merchant, of New York City
He was born in Northern Ireland to a Protestant family. In 1759, he arrived in Albany, New York, and relocated to Detroit the following year as the British army's financial agent there. He moved to Montreal soon afterwards and entered the fur trade between there and Detroit. In 1772, he went into business with "his close friend," Simon McTavish. In 1779, he partnered with the brothers William and Alexander Macomb in what would quickly become, "Detroit's most successful (largest and wealthiest) merchant house". In just four years they billed Governor Haldimand for £200,000, supplying provisions to the (British) garrison, goods to the India department, and acting as Paymaster for post personnel, militia, volunteers, and interpreters.
In 1783, Edgar came to New York City with his share from the business, £48,000. In 1785, the year after he married the sister of Mrs William Kerin Constable, Edgar joined New York's East India shipping trade and became a silent partner in Constable's business. Their business became one of the largest shipping concerns in the city and encouraged by Edgar's friend Alexander Henry, they successfully traded fur with China. Edgar's fortune grew and he became, "prominent in everything that was going on for many years".
Among other positions, he was Treasurer of the Mutual Insurance Company; Director of the Bank of New York; and, Vice-President of the St. Patrick's Society. In 1797, he lived with his family at 7 Wall Street and afterwards at, "the white marble palace" at 7 Greenwich Street. Edgar Street off Battery Park is named for him and at 63-feet it's considered among the shortest streets in Manhattan. It is thought to have originally been a driveway leading to Edgar's home. In 1784, at New York City, he married Isabella White. In 1793, he married Ann Van Horne, whose siblings were married to many of the city's leading merchants. By his first wife, he had five children including Mrs Gardiner Greene Howland and Mrs Herman LeRoy. Edgar raised the necessary capital for his son-in-law to start his own shipping line that became the immense Howland & Aspinwall line.
In 1783, Edgar came to New York City with his share from the business, £48,000. In 1785, the year after he married the sister of Mrs William Kerin Constable, Edgar joined New York's East India shipping trade and became a silent partner in Constable's business. Their business became one of the largest shipping concerns in the city and encouraged by Edgar's friend Alexander Henry, they successfully traded fur with China. Edgar's fortune grew and he became, "prominent in everything that was going on for many years".
Among other positions, he was Treasurer of the Mutual Insurance Company; Director of the Bank of New York; and, Vice-President of the St. Patrick's Society. In 1797, he lived with his family at 7 Wall Street and afterwards at, "the white marble palace" at 7 Greenwich Street. Edgar Street off Battery Park is named for him and at 63-feet it's considered among the shortest streets in Manhattan. It is thought to have originally been a driveway leading to Edgar's home. In 1784, at New York City, he married Isabella White. In 1793, he married Ann Van Horne, whose siblings were married to many of the city's leading merchants. By his first wife, he had five children including Mrs Gardiner Greene Howland and Mrs Herman LeRoy. Edgar raised the necessary capital for his son-in-law to start his own shipping line that became the immense Howland & Aspinwall line.
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Contributed by Mark Meredith on 08/04/2020 and last updated on 27/01/2024.
Actors of Globalization: New York Merchants in Global Trade, 1784-1812 (2018) by Lisa Sturm-Lind; The Old Merchants of New York City (1864) by Walter Barrett; The Laird of Fort William: William McGillivray and the North West Company (2013), by Irene Ternier Gordon; Frontier Seaport: Detroit's Transformation into an Atlantic Entrepôt (2014), by Catherine Cangany; Portrait of an Opportunist: The Life of Alexander Macomb, by David B. Dill Jr.