Robert Goelet Sr.

Robert Goelet Sr. (September 19, 1809 – September 22, 1879) was an American businessman and co-founder of the Chemical Bank of New York. Early life Goelet was born on September 19, 1809, to "one of the oldest and most respected [families] in the City." He was the youngest of four children born to Almy (née Buchanan) Goelet (1768–1848) and Peter P. Goelet (1764–1828). His siblings were Peter Goelet, who was named after their grandfather Peter Goelet; Jean Buchanan Goelet; and Hannah Green Goelet, who married Thomas Russell Gerry, son of U.S. Vice President Elbridge Gerry and parents to Elbridge Thomas Gerry. His father, a hardware merchant based at 48 Hanover Square (later known as 113 and 115 Pearl Streets), was a large land-owner, including the "Goelet farm" which Robert's elder brother Peter inherited at Broadway and 19th Street. His maternal grandparents were Almy (née Townsend) Buchanan and Thomas Buchanan, a merchant with Thomas Buchanan & Son at 44 Wall Street. Goelet's maternal aunt, Margaret Buchanan, was married to his paternal uncle, Robert Ratsey Goelet. His paternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Ratsey) Goelet and Peter Goelet, a prominent merchant and landowner who was a descendant of Huguenots from La Rochelle in France, who escaped to Amsterdam. During the Revolutionary War, his grandfather was a member of the Sons of Liberty, the Committee of Correspondence, and the Committee of One Hundred. He graduated from Columbia College in 1828.