John Cox Stevens (1785-1857)

He was the first Commodore of the New York Yacht Club and a member of the American syndicate that in 1851 won the trophy that would become the America's Cup. In 1994, Stevens was inducted into the America's Cup Hall of Fame and he is also remembered for introducing cricket to the U.S. and co-founding the Union Club, of which he served as the 2nd President, succeeding Samuel Jones, and succeeded by John Alsop King. Aside from yachting, Stevens was also passionate about thoroughbred racehorses and he was elected President of The Jockey Club. At Blithewood (then called Mill Hill), he built a complex of stables as well as a racecourse, the upper curve of which was the point on which the chapel now stands. He died without children.