David Hunter McAlpin

David Hunter McAlpin (1816–1901) was a prominent industrialist and real estate owner in New York City. He owned the D.H. McAlpin Tobacco Company. Among his children were a Civil War General and a prominent physician. Early life David Hunter McAlpin was born on November 8, 1816, in Pleasant Valley, New York to James and Jane Hunter McAlpin. His father had immigrated from Ireland in 1811, only five years before his birth after participating in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. In 1836 McAlpin moved to New York City where he opened a tobacco store at 84 Catherine Street in partnership with William H. Hughes. Over the next few years they opened additional stores in the city and the partnership dissolved in 1839 after which McAlpin continued the business alone. D.H. McAlpin & Co. Tobacco Company In 1857 McAlpin became a partner in the firm of John Cornish & Co., tobacco manufacturers. In 1860 he bought out his partner upon his retirement taking sole control of the company and renamed it D.H. McAlpin & Co. His company was the first to introduce Virginia tobacco to the New York market branding it Virgin Leaf which contributed to the firm's growth. In 1868 as the firm grew, McAlpin bought two entire blocks and built a large manufacturing facility at 150 Ave D (and 10th street) in Manhattan. After McAlpin's death, the D.H. McAlpin & Co was sold on November 23, 1901, to Consolidated Tobacco Co. for a reported price of $2,500,000. Directorships At the time of his death, McAlpin was a director of: D.H. McAlpin & Co Eleventh Ward Bank German-American Real Estate Title and Guarantee Co Home Insurance Company Manhattan Life Insurance Company National Bank of the Republic Standard Gas Light Company Union Trust Co