Charles Wilkes (30 August 1764 – 28 August 1833) was a British born American banker.
Charles Wilkes | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Wilkes, by Gilbert Stuart, c. 1794 | |
| President of the Bank of New York | |
| In office 1825–1832 | |
| Preceded by | Matthew Clarkson |
| Succeeded by | Cornelius Heyer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 August 1764 London, England |
| Died | 28 August 1833 (aged 68) New York City, New York, USA |
| Spouse |
Janet Shaw
(m. 1787; died 1833) |
| Relations | John Wilkes (uncle) Mary Hayley (aunt) Charles Wilkes (nephew) |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent(s) | Israel Wilkes III Elizabeth de Ponthieu |
Early life
editWilkes was the son of Israel Wilkes III (1722–1805) and Elizabeth de Ponthieu (1726–1802).[1] His siblings were John de Ponthieu Wilkes (who married Mary Seton, sister of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton)[2] and Frances Wilkes (who married Lewis Simond in New York in 1809). His father was a member of the firm De Ponthieu and Wilkes, together with Josias, Henry and John de Ponthieu.[3]
His paternal grandparents were distiller Israel Wilkes Jr. and Sarah (née Heaton) Wilkes. His uncle was the John Wilkes, the radical journalist who served as MP for Aylesbury and Middlesex, High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire, Sheriff of London, and Lord Mayor of London. Through his brother John, he was uncle to Admiral Charles Wilkes and Eliza Wilkes (wife of John Vernon Henry). His aunt was Mary Wilkes Hayley (wife of George Hayley, an MP and merchant who served as President of Lloyd's of London). His maternal grandfather was the Huguenot merchant Josias de Ponthieu (son of Charles de Ponthieu, a refugee officer from Saintonge, and Marguerite de La Rochefoucauld).[4] Through his uncle Henry de Ponthieu, he was a first cousin of John de Ponthieu, MP for Helston and Westbury.[4]
Career
editHe emigrated from England to America in c. 1782, reportedly "in company with John Jacob Astor on his return from a visit to Europe".[5] Two years after arriving in the United States, he was among the organizers, amongst Alexander Hamilton, of the Bank of New York, in 1784, serving as it's first teller. He succeeded William Seton as Cashier of the Bank in 1794. He served as Cashier in the New York branch of the Bank of the United States. Upon the resignation of General Matthew Clarkson, he was elected president of the Bank of New York in 1825, a position he held until 1832.[5][6]
Wilkes was a trustee of the New York Society Library from 1793 to 1794 and, again, from 1798 to 1824. He was also the first treasurer of the New-York Historical Society, serving from 1805 to 1818.[7]
Personal life
edit
In 1787 Wilkes was married to Janet Shaw (1762–1851), the daughter of David Shaw, Esq., a Scotch gentleman.[9] Wilkes and his wife were friends of James Fenimore Cooper.[10] Together, they were the parents of:
- Charlotte Wilkes (1791–1850), who married, as his second wife, Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey, MP for Perth Burghs, Malton, and Edinburgh, in 1813.[11][a]
- Frances Wilkes (1796–1877), who married David Cadwallader Colden, only son of Mayor and U.S. Representative Cadwallader David Colden and Maria (née Provoost) Colden.[14][15][16]
- Ann Wilkes (1800–1890), who never married.[10]
- Dr. George Wilkes (1801–1876), who married Harriet King, a daughter of U.S. Representative James Gore King and Sarah Rogers (née Gracie) King, in 1836.[17]
Wilkes died on 1833 and was buried at Trinity Church Cemetery.[18]
Notes
edit- ^ Francis Jeffrey (1773–1850), who became Lord Advocate in 1830, was the nephew of Scottish merchant Patrick Jeffrey, (c. 1748–1812), who had married Charlotte's wealthy great-aunt, Mary Wilkes Hayley (1728–1808), as her third husband, in Boston in 1786.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ "Wilkes, John (1725–1797), politician". www.oxforddnb.com. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-29410. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ "John De Ponthieu Wilkes". www.albanyinstitute.org. Albany Institute of History & Art. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ "Summary of Individual | Israel Wilkes". www.ucl.ac.uk. Legacies of British Slavery. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ a b Thorne, R. G. "DE PONTHIEU, John (1765-1813), of 43 Portland Place, Mdx. and Esher, Surr". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Bank Statistics". The Bankers Magazine and Statistical Register. Wm. Crosby: 853. 1853. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Scoville, Joseph Alfred (1864). The Old Merchants of New York City. Carleton. p. 273. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ The Charter and By-laws of the New York Historical Society. 19 April 2024. ISBN 978-3-385-42308-4. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Caldwell, John; Roque, Oswaldo Rodriguez; Johnson, Dale T. (1 March 1994). American Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1: A Catalogue of Works by Artists Born by 1815. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 397. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ The Medical Register of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut ...: Pub. Under the Supervision of the New York Medico-historical Society ... 1862. p. 209. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ a b Cooper, James Fenimore (1968). Letters and Journals: Edited by James Franklin Beard. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. p. 46. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Fisher, David R. "JEFFREY, Francis (1773-1850), of 24 Moray Place and Craigcrook, Costorphine, Edinburgh". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ "Married". Leeds, England: The Leeds Intelligencer and Yorkshire General Advertiser. 8 August 1786. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Percy Hetherington (1888). The life and times of John Wilkes, M. P., Lord Mayor of London, and Chamberlain. London, England: Ward and Downey. OCLC 834184408.
- ^ Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1880). The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Valentine's Manual of Old New York. Valentine's manual, Incorporated. 1916. p. 228. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
- ^ Gardner, Albert Ten Eyck; Feld, Stuart P. (1965). American Paintings: A Catalogue of the Collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Vol. 1, Painters Born by 1815. Metropolitan Museum of Art. p. 206. Retrieved December 3, 2017.
- ^ "The King Family". Americana: (American Historical Magazine). American Historical Company, Incorporated: 402. 1907. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
- ^ Domett, Henry Williams (1884). A History of the Bank of New York, 1784-1884. G. P. Putman's Sons. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
