Moses Rogers (1750-1825)

He was born in Connecticut, and came to New York City as a merchant. He was a brother-in-law of Archibald Gracie. Whereas his own brothers (Fitch, Henry and Nehemiah) went into business with one another, Moses went into business with his wife's brother, William W. Woolsey. In 1798, he retired from this very profitable partnership in favor of his son and then went into the sugar refining business (in which another brother-in-law, George M. Woolsey, had been so successful) for which he purchased the refinery on Liberty Street that served as a prison during the Revolution and is a more usually associated with the Rhinelanders. He was a member of the Marine Society; the Society for Distressed Prisoners; and, was one of the most active members of the Society for the Manumission of Slaves. He was Governor of the New York Hospital (1792 to 1799) and Manager and Treasurer of the City Dispensary. He was a director of the U.S Branch Bank at New York; the Mutual Insurance Company; and, co-founded Grace Church in Manhattan where there is a tablet to his memory. Moses lived for several years at 272 Pearl Street. From 1806 until his death, he lived at 7 State Street, and he kept a country estate at Shippan Point, Connecticut. He was married and had five children.