Gardiner Greene Howland (September 4, 1787 – November 9, 1851) was a prominent American businessman who was a founding partner in the merchant firm of
Howland & Aspinwall and a co-founder of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company.
Early life
Howland was born on September 4, 1787, in New York City. He was a son of Joseph Howland (1750–1836) and Lydia (
née Bill) Howland (1753–1838), who married in
Norwich, Connecticut, in 1772.[1] Among his siblings was Lydia Howland, wife of Levi Coit; Jane Abigail Howland, wife of George Muirson Woolsey (uncle to
Theodore Dwight Woolsey), Harriet Howland, the third wife of
New York State AssemblymanJames Roosevelt;[2] Susan Howland,[3] who married dry goods merchant John Aspinwall (a descendant of settler
William Aspinwall[4]); and
Samuel Shaw Howland.[5]
Howland and his brother Samuel found the merchant firm of
G.G. & S.S. Howland,[2] which imported high-status goods such as
porcelain,
silk, and
tea from China, and sold them to Americans of means.[2] In 1832, his son William Edgar Howland and nephew
William Henry Aspinwall became partners in Howland & Aspinwall.[8] Aspinwall assumed the presidency in 1835 and expanded trade to South America, China, Europe, the Mediterranean, and the East and West Indies. Howland & Aspinwall owned some of the most famous
clipper ships ever built.[9]
In 1845, while the firm owned the Ann McKim which was regarded as the fastest ship afloat, it built the Rainbow, which was even faster. The Rainbow was the high-tech racehorse of its day, and is considered to be the first of the extreme clippers. Instead of the bluff bow that was customary on ships up until that time, the Rainbow had a sharp bow, prompting on-lookers to joke that maybe she would sail better backwards. The next year, Howland & Aspinwall had the Sea Witch built, which set a speed record from China to New York which still stands.[10] The firm and its profits made the Howlands and Aspinwalls very wealthy,[11]
In 1840s, Aspinwall's younger brother John Lloyd Aspinwall succeeded William Henry Aspinwall as president of Howland & Aspinwall.[2] In 1848, Howland, along with William Henry Aspinwall and Henry Chauncey, founded the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, to provide service to California.[12] This turned out to be a rather good year in which to start a steamship line to California, since the
Gold Rush started the next year. Howland & Aspinwall were also the recipients of a federal government subsidy to operate their trans-oceanic steamship line, against which they were forced to compete with the unsubsidized line owned by
Cornelius Vanderbilt.[13] The company's first vessel to make the trip was packed with passengers. Pacific Mail eventually became
American President Lines,[14] which is now part of
Neptune Orient Lines.[15]
Personal life
Howland was twice married. His first marriage was to Louisa Edgar (1789–1826) on December 14, 1812. Louisa was the daughter of William Edgar. Together, they were the parents of five children, including:[16]
William Edgar Howland (1813–1885), who married Ann Walter Cogswell.[17] After her death, he married Hortense La Periene.[16]
Annabella Edgar Howland (1816–1899), who married Rufus Leavitt (1794–1867).[16]
Abby Woolsey Howland (1817–1851), who married Frederick Henry Wolcott Sr. in 1838.[16]
Marie Louisa Howland (b. 1823), who married James Brown (1823–1847).[16]
After the death of his first wife in 1826, he remarried to Louisa Sophia Meredith (1810–1888) on July 7, 1829. She was the daughter of
Jonathan Meredith. They were the parents of:
^
abWhittelsey, Charles Barney (1902).
The Roosevelt Genealogy, 1649-1902. Hartford, Connecticut: Press of J.B. Burr & Company. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
^"Roosevelt Genealogy". fdrlibrary.marist.edu. Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Archived from
the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 18 October 2016.