Richard Mortimer (1791-1882)
Real Estate Magnate, of 20 East 23rd Street, New York City
He was born in England at Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire. He came to America in 1816 as agent to his brother-in-law, William Yates, whose family business as cloth manufacturers and woollen staplers had been running for an hundred years. In 1834, he retired on account of ill-health and went to Europe for several years. On his return to New York, he invested in real estate which made him very wealthy. Among his more valuable properties were the Mortimer Building at 11 Wall Street and 935 Broadway (pictured) at the corner of 22nd and Fifth Avenue that still stands and was an early home of the American Institute of Architects. He was a director of the Standard Fire Insurance Company and the Sixth Avenue Railroad. In 1821, he married Harriette, daughter of William A. Thompson, of New Haven. For many years they lived in the large granite house at 825 Broadway before retiring to 20 East 23rd Street, New York City, where he died leaving a fortune estimated between $3-4-million. They had three children.
