Jonathan Sturges: Merchant of Old New York

Striking out from his home in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1822, Sturges obtained a clerk position in a merchant firm in New York City and rose to become the lead partner of the largest coffee and tea trading house in New York. For five decades he rode the American wave of growth and ingenuity from the opening of the Erie Canal, through the Civil War, to the dawning of the Gilded Age–when robber barons such as his son-in-law, J.P. Morgan, were taking main stage. His intimate circle of friends and associates were a who’s who of national politicians, generals, businessmen and the arts. Jonathan’s efforts during the Civil War to shore up the Union military efforts and support it financially and spiritually, while at the same time relieving the suffering of beleaguered African-Americans that were victims of the Draft Riots of 1863 is legendary. His philanthropic legacy includes New York institutions such as, the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York Presbyterian Hospital, physical activity oriented YMCA’s, Union League Club, Hudson River Valley School of Art, Century Club, the American Red Cross and the Community Services Society of New York. This meticulously researched book is a quintessential American success story. Open the book and you’ll open the door into the extraordinary life and times of Jonathan Sturges.