Caleb Ogden Halsted (June 13, 1792 – October 7, 1860) was an American merchant and banker.
Early life
Halsted was born in
Elizabeth, New Jersey on June 13, 1792. He was the third son of Maj. Matthias Halsted (1759–1824) and Nancy (née Norris) Halsted. His elder brother was Nathaniel Norris Halsted, who married Lucretia Perrine.[1] As his brother died young, Caleb adopted his nephew, Nathaniel Norris Halsted Jr. (later a
Civil War General),[2] and raised him.[3] His father served as Brigade Major on the staff of Gen. Winds,
aide-de-camp to Gen.
Philemon Dickinson, and
quartermaster in the
Continental Army during the
American Revolution.[4]
Halsted began his career as a cloth merchant. In 1847, however, he was made president of the
Bank of the Manhattan Company,[7][8] succeeding
Jonathan Thompson, who had been made president in 1840. In 1853, the Manhattan Company became one of the original 52 members of the
New York Clearing House Association and Halsted became its first president.[4] Halsted served as president until his death in October 1860. Later that year, the board of directors promoted
James M. Morrison as president of the bank to succeed Halsted.[9]
Personal life
In December 1823, Halsted was married to Caroline Louisa Pitney (1796–1879), a daughter of Dr. Aaron Pitney and Anna Bowne (née Proovost) Pitney.[4][10] Together, they were the parents of five children, three of whom died in infancy, including:[4]
Pitney Halsted (1824–1825), who died in infancy.[4]
^Cutter, William Richard (1919).
American Biography: A New Cyclopedia. Pub. under the direction of the American Historical Society. pp. 56–57. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
^Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Pitman, Harold Minot; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1880).
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society. p. 75. Retrieved 3 April 2018.