Robert Lenox Kennedy

Robert Lenox Kennedy (November 24, 1822 – September 14, 1887), was an American banker and philanthropist who served as president of the National Bank of Commerce in New York and the Lenox Library. Early life Kennedy was born in New York City on November 24, 1822. He was the eldest child of David S. Kennedy (1791–1853) and Rachel Carmer (née Lenox) Kennedy (1792–1875), who were first cousins. He had three siblings, a brother, James Lenox Kennedy (who married Cornelia Van Rensselaer, a daughter of Henry Bell Van Rensselaer); and two sisters, Rachel Lenox Kennedy, who founded the Presbyterian Rest for Convalescents, and Mary Lenox Kennedy, who both died unmarried. His father was a Scottish-American merchant and banker with Maitland & Kennedy who served as president of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York. His maternal grandparents were Robert Lenox, a Scottish-American merchant, and Rachel (née Carmer) Lenox. His maternal uncle was bibliophile and philanthropist James Lenox, from whom Kennedy inherited a portion of his estate. His paternal grandparents were Capt. John Kennedy and Mary (née Lenox) Kennedy (the sister of his maternal grandfather). Kennedy attended and graduated from Columbia College in 1840 before studying law. He never practiced, however, and succeeded to his father's business and "assumed the various positions of trust occupied by him."