Wikipedia

Grant B. Schley

Grant Barney Schley (February 25, 1845 – November 22, 1917) was an American financier and clubman who was a founder of Moore & Schley.

Grant B. Schley
Born
Grant Barney Schley

(1845-02-25)February 25, 1845
Chapinsville, Ontario County, New York, US
DiedNovember 22, 1917(1917-11-22) (aged 72)
Far Hills, New Jersey, US
Burial placeKensico Cemetery
EducationCanandaigua Academy
OccupationBusinessman
Spouse
Martha Elizabeth Baker
​
​
(m. 1879)​
Signature

Early life edit

Schley was born on February 25, 1845, in Chapinsville in Ontario County, New York.[1] He was a son of Evander Schley (1807–1898) and Olive (née Higby) Schley (1809–1888). Among his siblings were older brothers Evander Higby Schley (an agent of the American Express Co. in Geneva) and William T. Schley (a prominent lawyer who was great-grandfather of New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman).[2][3][4]

He attended the Canandaigua Academy, before becoming a clerk in the express office of Wells, Butterfield & Co. at Syracuse at the age of sixteen in 1861. Five years later, when the Adams Express Company was formed by the consolidation of various companies, Schley went to New York City to run the money order department of the firm.[5]

Career edit

In 1874, Schley became clerk in the First National Bank. After six years with First National, he resigned as head of the foreign exchange department to form a brokerage business under the firm name of Groesbeck & Schley with Ernest Groesbeck. In 1885, John Godfrey Moore of the Mutual Telegraph Company entered the brokerage business and Schley became one of his partners in a firm known as Moore and Schley. For many years, he was active on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, counting among his clientele many of the most prominent men in the country, including Henry Huttleston Rogers, William C. Whitney, William Rockefeller, Oliver Hazard Payne, and John Warne Gates.[5]

Schley served as a director of the American Smelting and Refining Co., the Chihuahua Mining Co., the Coal Creek Mining & Manufacturing Co., the Electric Storage Battery Co., the Elliott-Fisher Co., the Northern Pacific Railway, the Pittsburgh Coal Company, and the Republic Iron and Steel Company.[5]

Personal life edit

In 1879 Schley was married to Martha Elizabeth Baker (1842–1910), a daughter of New York Assemblyman George Ellis Baker and the former Eveline Stevens.[6] Martha's brother was financier George Fisher Baker, who was known as the "Dean of American Banking" and served as president of First National Bank of New York.[7] Together, they had a townhouse at 845 Fifth Avenue (across the street from the Mrs. William B. Astor House) and a country estate in Far Hills, New Jersey, were the parents of:

  • Chaloner Baker Schley (1878–1917),[8] who married Edith Maria Turner (1875–1928).[9]
  • Grant Barney Schley Jr. (1881–1936),[10] who married Jane Seney Plummer in 1902. They divorced in 1922,[11] the same year he married Jeanne Marie de Croix (1898–1969)[12] in France.[10]
  • Kenneth Baker Schley (1881–1944),[13] who married Ellen Habersham Rogers (1889–1965), a daughter of Col. Archibald Rogers,[14] in 1912.[15]
  • Evander "Van" Baker Schley (1883–1952), who married Sophie Beverly Duer, a granddaughter of U.S. Representative William Duer, in 1931.[16][17]
  • Evelyn Baker Schley (1885–1919),[18] who married Max Howell Behr (1884–1955), brother to Karl Behr, in 1906.[19]

He was a member of the Union League Club, Metropolitan Club, New York Yacht Club, Jekyll Island Club, Automobile Club of America, Peary Arctic Club, the France-America Society, Essex Fox Hounds, Somerset Hills Country Club. Schley was also a member of the Agricultural Association, the Academy of Political Science, the Economic Club, and the Archeological Society.[5]

Schley died on November 22, 1917, at his home in Far Hills, New Jersey.[5] He left a gross estate worth $9,210,146 which was reduced to $5,894,715 after payments of debts and expenses.[20]

Descendants edit

Through his son Chaloner, he was a grandfather of Grant Barney Schley (1907–1943), who was one of four airmen killed in the crash of the bomber at Yakohl Valley,[21] and Chaloner Baker Schley (1911–1936).[22]

Through his son Grant, he was a grandfather of Grant Barney Schley (c. 1923–1959),[23] and Jeanne Marie Schley (1925–1969),[24] who married Thomas Jackson Oakley Rhinelander (grandson of T. J. Oakley Rhinelander)[25] in 1947.[26]

Through his son Kenneth, he was a grandfather of Anne Caroline (née Schley) Stradling (1913–1992) and aviator Kenneth Baker Schley Jr. (1917–2001).[27]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Hall, Henry, ed. (1895). America's Successful Men of Affairs: An Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography. Vol. I. The New York Tribune Company. p. 577. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "Died: Schley". The New York Times. July 2, 1912. p. 11. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.
  3. ^ "Eleanor Schley Engaged to Wed; Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Reeve Schley of Far Hills Be- trothed to Webster B. Todd. Made Her Debut in 1929 Bride-to-Be Now Is a Student at BarnarduHer Fiance Studied Here and Abroad". The New York Times. June 1, 1933. p. 16. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  4. ^ Cook, Joan (January 2, 1991). "Eleanor S. Todd, 79, A Longtime Leader In New Jersey G.O.P." The New York Times. p. D16. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Grant B. Schley, Financier, Dead; Head of Firm of Moore & Schley and Member of Stock Exchange for 36 Years". The New York Times. November 23, 1917. Retrieved May 17, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Died". The New York Times. February 14, 1910. p. 9. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via NewspaperArchive.
  7. ^ "George F. Baker, 91, Dies Suddenly of Pneumonia; Dean of Nation's Bankers; Stricken on Thursday; Financier Succumbs in His Madison Av. Home With Family at Side. Smiles to Them at End; Complained After Board Session and His Illness Became Grave in a Few Hours. Long Active Despite Age; Director of Steel Corporation and Head of First National, He Gave Millions to Public". The New York Times. May 3, 1931. p. 1. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  8. ^ "Obituary Notes: Chaloner B. Schley". The New York Times. February 18, 1917. p. 17. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Obituary Notes: Chaloner B. Schley". The New York Times. April 5, 1928. p. 27. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "Grant B. Schley, 56, Stock Broker, Dies; Partner in New York Firm Was Nephew of George F. Baker -- Stricken in France. Had Been Active in Sport; Former Member of Exchange Had Lived Abroad for 10 Years -- Estate a Show Place". The New York Times. January 12, 1936. p. N11. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  11. ^ "Divorces Grant B. Schley.; Wife of New York Banker Gets Decree in Paris". The New York Times. August 21, 1922. p. 13. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Mrs. J. F. Byers". The New York Times. September 10, 1969. p. 47. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  13. ^ "Kenneth B. Schley, Stock Broker, Dies; Partner-in Moore & Schley Host to Windsors in 1941 --Director of Several Firms". The New York Times. June 13, 1944. p. 19. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  14. ^ "Mrs. Kenneth Schley". The New York Times. August 12, 1965. p. 27. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  15. ^ "Miss Ellen Rogers Engaged.; Mr. and Mrs. Archibald Rogers's Daughter to Wed Kenneth B. Schley". The New York Times. April 19, 1912. p. 15. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Other Weddings --- Schley--Duer". The New York Times. March 31, 1931. p. S32. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  17. ^ "Mrs. Evander B. Schley; Banker's Wife Aided Several Philanthropic Causes". The New York Times. August 16, 1950. p. 29. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "Obituary: Mrs. Evelyn Schley". Bernardsville News. January 16, 1919. p. 8. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "A Day's Weddings: Behr-Schley". The New York Times. March 21, 1906. p. 9. Retrieved December 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Grant B. Schley Left $5,894,715 Net; Estate, Most of Which Is in Securities, to Be Divided Among Family". The New York Times. November 26, 1924. p. 11. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  21. ^ "Grant Schley Dies in Plane Crash". Santa Maria Times. May 10, 1943. p. 2. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  22. ^ "C.B. Schley Dies of Hurts; Baltimore Man Sucoumbs After Crash in Which Wife Lost Life". The New York Times. Atchison, Kansas. AP. January 14, 1936. p. 17. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  23. ^ "Stockbroker a Suicide; Grant B. Schley Found Dead on Locust Valley Estate". The New York Times. April 26, 1959. p. 67. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  24. ^ "Deaths: rhinelander". The New York Times. July 9, 1969. p. 43. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  25. ^ "Thomas Rhinelander, Real-Estate Broker, 69". The New York Times. December 5, 1989. p. D24. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "Miss Schley Plans Marriage Sept. 6; Will Be Bride in Southampton of T. J. Oakley Rhinelander in Home Ceremony". The New York Times. August 13, 1947. p. 26. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  27. ^ "Kenneth Baker Schley, Jr". New Jersey Hills Media Group. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
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