Henry Augustus Smythe (1817-1884)
President of the Central National Bank & Collector of Customs at New York
He was a merchant in Boston before moving to New York where he co-founded and became President of the Central National Bank. As a Union Republican under U.S. President Andrew Johnson, he was appointed Collector of Customs in New York, serving from 1866 to 1869. He was nominated by Ulysses S. Grant to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Russia, but his nomination was rejected by the Senate. He then became President of the New York State Trust & Loan Company and was instrumental in the construction of the Southern Maryland Railroad. He had a home in New York and another in Prince George's County, Maryland. He married Mary Fitch Franklin and they were the parents of "the three handsome Smythe girls" prominent in New York society.
