DEAN RICHMOND

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DEAN RICHMOND A SUMMARY OUTLINE OF HIS LIFE

GENEALOGY He was born March 31, 1804 in Barnard (or Woodstock?), Vermont. Parents: Hathaway and Rachel Dean Richmond Name: Dean Richmond was named after his maternal Grandfather-ELKANAH DEAN who lived in Massachusetts. Elkanah Dean Richmond was always called Dean. Family Place: Youngest of three children, having two older sisters, Betsy & Trindey

EARLY CHILDHOOD At the age of 12, his family relocated to Salina, New York which today is a part of the City of traffic and at the towns that sprung upon the canal banks. His father was engaged in the early salt industry near Syracuse, but unfortunately was not able to make a profit. He died at the age of 45 leaving his widow in debt and without means of support, with two daughters and a 14-year old son, Dean Richmond. One year later Rachel Richmond died. Dean inherited nothing from previous generations but the honored family name. His educational opportunities had been limited which he regretted later in life. He was almost illiterate and left no personal or business papers. Dean Richmond apparently had a tremendous mind and abilities which were never polished by a formal education.

FIRST OCCUPATION At the age of 15 he assumed his father s business and paid off the debts. The market for salt had been limited, but Richmond pushed sales into new districts and soon he had a satisfactory business of his own. Through his energetic perseverance he was able to succeed where his father had failed and found a market for his salt in the North and East. His high sense of integrity and personal honor helped him to prosper.

MARRIED & PERSONALITY At the age of 29, Dean Richmond married 20 year old Mary Elizabeth Mead of Troy, New York in 1833. He has been described as a burly giant, six feet tall, who wore a winning smile. He was a shrewd businessman who demonstrated an iron will. He was warm hearted, outgoing and generous. He was considered by his friends as cheerful, frank, outspoken, earnest, had deep convictions, an unclouded judgment, quick perceptions, a sense of justice, truth and honor. He was also an artful poker player.

BUSINESS ADVENTURES With the funds he amassed from his salt business, Dean Richmond relocated to Buffalo in 1842 and became involved with transporting commodities in the Great Lakes trade. A year later he moved his family back to the Syracuse area as the climate of Buffalo had an adverse effect on his wife s health. He continued to live in Buffalo as it was the center of his business dealings. He traveled back and forth from his business to his family which would become his regular pattern. He built the Richmond Elevator at the Old Buffalo Dock and gradually became the wealthiest businessman in the Lake Country. He founded the Buffalo Board of Trade and had business offices in New York City, Cleveland, Detroit, Milwaukee and Chicago. By the 1850 s the Canal packet boats and stage coaches were being replaced with railroads. Dean Richmond was interested in the development of the railroads. He became the director of the Utica and Buffalo Railroad Company and later the Rochester and Buffalo Railway which was the successor to the Pioneer Tonawanda Railroad. Richmond moved his family from Syracuse to Attica in 1848 and eventually followed the railroad to Batavia in 1852. Several small competing railroads stretched across New York State from Albany to Buffalo. The consolidation of these lines ended a duplication of services and saved money. Richmond created with driving the New York Central Railroad bill which had strong opposition, through the State Legislature. He became the first vice president of the NYC line and in 1864, at the death of Erastus Corning the first NYC President, Richmond became President of the NYC.

LIFE IN BATAVIA In 1852 Richmond established his home in Batavia and purchased a mansion that graced East Main Street. As the director of the New York Central Railroad, he insisted that all trains stop in Batavia. Although Buffalo remained his business headquarters, Richmond spent two days a week in Batavia. The 14 years which Dean Richmond spent in Batavia were during the peak of his career.

NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD Possibly one of Richmond s greatest accomplishments was the completion of the Railroad Bridge over the Hudson River between Albany and Troy in 1866. Bridge construction began in 1864 and followed the curve of the river forming an S shape. It included a revolving draw span of 110 feet on each side of the central pier, so than when it opened two steamboats could pass through simultaneously. The bridge company charged tolls, including a $3.00 charge for a carload of cattle and 2 cents for pedestrian crossings. As President of the NYC, Richmond was responsible for double tracking the system and for introducing the use of steel rails to replace the old iron ones. He is credited for being the first American to advocate the use of steel rails.

POLITICS Richmond was a lifelong Democrat and became active in politics while looking after the New York Central s interests at the state capital. From 1850 until his death in 1866, Richmond was chairman of the Democratic state committee and led the state delegation to the national convention. (The two choices for president were Stephen Douglas (Dem.) and Abraham Lincoln (Rep.) Richmond also founded the National Union Party and served as president of the Western Insurance Co. During the Civil War years Richmond kept his state chairmanship and controlled the Democratic Party. He persuaded Horatio Seymour to run for Governor in 1862 and he was elected. In 1864 Richmond headed the New York delegation to the Democratic national convention. During the convention Richmond was considered by the Democrats as a Presidential candidate but he firmly and persistently refused. The Party that year nominated General McClellan for the Presidency and he ran against Abraham Lincoln. In 1866 he managed the state convention of the conservative Republican-Democratic coalition at Saratoga and caught a severe cold at the meeting.

DEATH A week later he left Batavia for the national convention of the splinter party at Philadelphia an in the midst of the session was stricken gravely ill. He was taken to a friend s residence in New York City where he died on August 18, 1866. He was only 62 years old and the doctors stated that he had overtaxed his strength. The cause of death given was Brights Disease , or heart disease.

The Batavia Republican Advocate newspaper stated on September 4, 1866 there is not a man in Batavia whose death would be so great a blow to the Village. Twenty men were appointed to escort his remains to Batavia for burial. The locomotive and coaches of the special train that took his body back to Batavia were draped in black, as were the shops, engines and cars of the New York Central lines. His funeral was the biggest in Batavia s history. St. James Episcopal Church, which had often been the recipient of his bounty, was crowed. Among those who attended was former President Millard Fillmore, Governor Horatio Seymour, presidential candidate Samuel J. Tilden, and Republican Party boss Thurlow Weed. After the service, hundreds of mourners, marched four abreast, followed the horse drawn hearse, to the Old Batavia Cemetery. At his death it was believed that Dean Richmond s estate was valued at 1.75 million dollars. Within a few months of Dean Richmond s death, Cornelius Vanderbilt, a long time competitor with the New York Central, was able to take over the line.

NOTABLE TALES Possibly the only funny story told about Dean Richmond was a tale about an annoying gentleman who plagued Richmond s office, begging for a pass on the railroad. Finally Richmond gave the man a pass. The pass was a one-way ticket to a faraway destination. His trait of bringing home a keg of oysters after a week away from home was remembered fondly by those living at the time in Batavia. Once, while returning home by train of which he was the chief executive, he neglected to reserve a seat in the drawing room car and had to sit in an ordinary coach. The man sitting behind him closed the window Richmond had opened. Richmond opened it. A second time the man reached forward and closed it. Richmond then took his cane and thrusting through the glass, bellowed Now close it, if you can . While returning home one cold day from the train station, Richmond came upon a poor shivering man. Richmond took the man to the clothes store, bought himself a new coat and gave his old coat to the man.

RICHMOND MANSION The home of Dean and Mary Richmond was built by Colonel William Davis around 1838. The parlors reportedly had thick yellow carpets and yellow damasked walls. A grape leaf pattern molding was found around the main floor ceilings and the fireplaces were made from white marble. At the back was located a large gambol roof barn that housed the elegant carriages and sleighs. The spacious grounds were enclosed by an ornamental iron fence. After Dean Richmond died the mansion was occupied by his widow, Mary Richmond until her death. After

Mary Richmond died her daughter, Adelaide lived there and after her death, Mrs. Adelaide Richmond Thomas, a niece inhabited the mansion. After the death the Genesee County Children s Home used the property until 1967 when it closed. The mansion was demolished in June of 1970.

FAMILY Mary Elizabeth (Mead) Richmond was born in 1813. Her father was a ship chandler and for many years navigated the Hudson River. Her mother died when she was 9 years old and her father died three years later, leaving her an orphan. At the age of 12 she lived with her grandparents when not attending Mrs. Willard s Academy. She met Dean Richmond while visiting her sister and they married on February 19, 1833. They had nine children: 1. Alfred William-who died in New York in 1881 2. Harriet-who died at 10 months of age 3. Henry Augustus-studied law and became the head of the Richmond Lithographic Co., Buffalo 4. Charles-died in infancy 5. Adelaide R.-was the found of the former Batavia Hospital and a two-term member of the Board of Education. She donated money and land for the rectory of the St. James Church and willed the church $100,000. She married Dr. William J.C. Kenny of New York City 6. William Eugene-loved horses 7. Edward Gould-graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1878, was elected mayor of Batavia in 1883 and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1890, where he became the wealthiest man in that city. 8. Edgar-twin of Edward, died when he was eleven months old 9. Dean Jr.-died in 1885 at the age of 32

Mary Richmond was a large stockholder in the Johnson Harvester Company and had financial interest in the Wiard Plow Company, The Baker Gun Company and the E.N. Rowell paper Box Factory. She was known as one of the most charitable women in Batavia, thrifty and down-toearth despite the fact that she had entertained some of the country s most influential men. She was the first president of the Holland Purchase Historical Society in 1885 and aided in the Holland Land Office becoming a museum. She continued to live in the mansion until her death on April 6, 1895. She was 82 years old when she died and her estimated wealth was several million dollars.

HOTEL RICHMOND The Hotel Richmond occupied a site that for more than 130 years had been the location of hotel buildings. On the corner of Main and Court Streets the famous Old Eagle Tavern stood. It opened on February 1, 1823 and was destroyed by a fire on May 30, 1834. The second Eagle Tavern was constructed by a stock company and it opened its doors December 25, 1935 under the management of Erastus Smith. In 1869 Albert G. Collins, Andrew J. Andrews and James H. White purchased the Eagle Hotel property and renamed it Hotel Richmond. Numerous residents of Batavia protested the name change, believing that it had too strong a political significance for those days and the owners changed the name to the St. James Hotel. This hotel was destroyed by a fire on January 8, 1886. The Hotel Richmond, which was said to be one of the finest hotels of its class in the country, was built in 1889 by a stock concern known was the Hotel Richmond Company. On June 22, 1889 the company, in which Mary Richmond the widow of Dean Richmond was a heavy stockholder, executed a ten-year mortgage for $40,000. In January of 1896, in default of payment of interest, an action of foreclosure began by the executors of the Richmond estate against the Hotel Company. In March 9, 1896 the Hotel Richmond property was purchased by the executors of the Richmond estate and was operated under the management of Benjamin R. Wood. In 1905, the Hotel Richmond was sold to William C. and George W. Watson, attorneys in Batavia. The hotel remained in the Watson family until 1959 and was demolished in 1961 to make way for modern development. In its prime the Hotel Richmond was the leading hotel between Buffalo and Rochester and was considered the Astor of the West . When the Hotel Richmond was destroyed Batavia lost its great down-town hotel.

RICHMOND MEMORIAL LIBRARY The Richmond Library was built by Mary Richmond as a memorial to her son, Dean Richmond Jr. one of the nine Richmond children. Dean was the only one born in Batavia. The style of architecture is Romanesque and cost approximately $35,000. It was completed and presented to the Village of Batavia on March 12, 1889.

RICHMAND MAUSOLEUM The mausoleum was built in 1869 and is located in the Old Batavia Cemetery, on Harvester Avenue. It was constructed by the Batterson, Canfield & Company of Hartford Conn., at a cost of $28,000. It was composed of granite block and had to be rebuilt in 1886 due to structural damage caused by water getting into the seams and freezing. The Smith Granite Company of Westerly, RI was contracted to repair and enlarge the mausoleum at a cost of $12,000. One Hundred and Fifty tons of new granite blocks were brought from Rhode Island. The blocks of granite used for the flooring are 10 inches thick, 6 feet wide and 16 feet long. They weigh

about 10 tons each. There are two roof blocks that weigh approximately 20 tons each and measure 22 feet long, 7 feet wide and 12 inches thick.

OTHER COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENTS There is a Street named for the Richmond s-Richmond Avenue. Dean Richmond was generous to local churches, the YMCA and the Richmond Hose Company which was one of the fire companies located within the Village of Batavia. It is said that Dean Richmond supplied one third of the funds necessary for the location of the New York State School for the Blind in Batavia.

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