Alexander Turney Stewart (1803-1876)
A.T. Stewart, of New York "Merchant Prince of America"
He was born in Northern Ireland. His father died before his birth and his teenage mother then remarried and emigrated to New York, leaving Alexander in the care of her father. He received a good classical education and was left $50 by his cultured and hard-working grandfather, John Turney, who died in 1815. He served an unhappy apprenticeship in the linen trade before emigrating to New York to join his estranged mother and stepfather. There, he used his inheritance and prior experience to enter the linen trade in New York, forming A.T. Stewart & Co. As a retailer, he was the first to put fixed price tags on his merchandise and he invented the concept of the "sale" to get rid of old stock. He built one of the first white marble mansions in New York, the A.T. Stewart Mansion, and bought "Woodcliff" (see images) as his country home off Washington Avenue from the estate of Boss Tweed in 1876, but died in the same year.
His wife, Cornelia, was the aunt of Mrs John Lawrence Smith, mother-in-law of the famous architect Stanford White. They built one of the first white marble mansions in New York, the A.T. Stewart Mansion, and bought "Woodcliff" (see images) as their country home off Washington Avenue from the estate of Boss Tweed in 1876, but Stewart died in the same year and his widow sold it to her late husband's business partner, William Libbey. They were the parents of two children, both of whom died in infancy.
In 1867, an article appeared in the Galaxy listing the ten wealthiest men in New York. He came third on the list with a fortune estimated at $6,091,000, behind William C. Rhinelander in second place and ahead of the brothers Peter and Robert Goelet in fourth place. When he died, he left a fortune of $50 million, making him the 8th richest man in America, ranking him alongside the likes of Billy Vanderbilt and William B. Astor.
His wife, Cornelia, was the aunt of Mrs John Lawrence Smith, mother-in-law of the famous architect Stanford White. They built one of the first white marble mansions in New York, the A.T. Stewart Mansion, and bought "Woodcliff" (see images) as their country home off Washington Avenue from the estate of Boss Tweed in 1876, but Stewart died in the same year and his widow sold it to her late husband's business partner, William Libbey. They were the parents of two children, both of whom died in infancy.
In 1867, an article appeared in the Galaxy listing the ten wealthiest men in New York. He came third on the list with a fortune estimated at $6,091,000, behind William C. Rhinelander in second place and ahead of the brothers Peter and Robert Goelet in fourth place. When he died, he left a fortune of $50 million, making him the 8th richest man in America, ranking him alongside the likes of Billy Vanderbilt and William B. Astor.
