Henry B Bolster
Encyclopedia
Henry B Bolster was a politically active entrepreneur in Manhattan
New York
during the early to mid 19th century. He was born in New Hampshire
to an American family with roots back to the 17th century. His father was a Revolutionary War and The War of 1812
Veteran
rising to the rank of Captain. Henry served as the Superintendent of Paving for the City of New York as well as was elected in two different Wards of Manhattan to the office of Assistant Alderman therefore served on the Common Council. Henry also was the original founder of a stage coach line that made him a wealthy man. Because of his wealth, he was an investor in several other business adventures including Insurance and Banking.
Henry moved to New Haven CT. There he served in the War of 1812 and rose to the rank of Captain.
He then moved to New York City around 1815.
in 1818.
He then married Sarah Maria Chilson, daughter of Asaph Chilson and Hestor Cornell on Feb 28, 1822 in New York City. He lived at 39 W 43rd Street, Manhattan Map.
Henry was an active member of the Whig Party. An article that appeared on June 6, 1839 in the Hudson River Chronicle discusses the Loco-Focoism as Henry was fired as Superintendent of Pavements for the City of New York as a result of a shift of the political power in charge.
Another article appeared in The Hudson River Chronicle, December 17, 1839 that discusses the Whig General Committee's approval of their delegates to the Convention and states Henry was approved as one of several Vice-Presidents of the Whigs.
Bolster, Henry B. (Grocer), Assistant Alderman, Eleventh Ward, 1827. Assistant Alderman, Sixteenth Ward, 1851.
Henry was a Trustee for the Knickerbocker Savings Bank in 1852 and a Director for the St Nicholas Insurance Company in 1853.
Henry B. Bolster, along with his son Henry Clay Bolster, and his son-in-law, Samuel Wakeman Andrews, started his Stage Coach business in 1846. In the 1850 census, the Bolsters are both listed as Stage Proprietors. It looks like Samuel didn't work for the business directly until the early 1850s (according to his obit and the 1850 census that lists his occupation as Dry Goods
). Henry Clay Bolster died in 1854. The business was called Bolster & Andrews and referred to as the Empire Line. A short New York Times story about an accident with a Empire Line Omnibus in 1853. The name Bolster & Andrews was found in a New York Times article that documented proceedings from a government meeting.
Simeon Mace Andrews returned from San Francisco after obtaining a small fortune from the gold rush
in the 1850s (according to this obit). He bought into the business along with his two other brothers Benjamin Clark Andrews and Charles Simeon Andrews and the business was called Bolster, Andrews, & McDonald.
After Henry Bolster's death in 1859, the firm was called S.W. & S.M. Andrews & McDonald. Simeon and Samuel Andrews were the majority owners along with Grant McDonald (New York City Directory, 1869: McDonald John Grant, stages, 23 W. 43d, h 41 W. 42d). Grant McDonald dies in the 1871 and the name of the business was then S.W. & S.M. Andrews. In the 1880 census, all four Andrews brothers occupations were listed as Stage Proprietors.
On Ancestry.com, the following was documented about this stage line:
Hostlers on Strike.
The business and stables were located at 23 west 43rd Street, Manhattan. Map
The business was sold in 1885 to the Broadway Surface Railroad Company as were all of the stage lines in New York City. Here is a story from the New York Times July 11, 1885 telling of the auctioning of the old equipment:
After this business was sold, another enterprise was started by unrelated individuals that was called the Fifth Avenue Stage Line which was a corporation. This business was eventually taken over by the City of New York.
According to the article on transportation written in 1925 , their route lay from Sixth Avenue and Fourteenth Street, through Ninth to and down Broadway.
Interesting lawsuit filed by Andrews.: The Broadway & Stage Company v. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals case.
On The EarlyRepublic.net website, a reference to this business was written as follows - which documents the initial purchase of the stage line by Samuel Andrews and "another" (Chapter XXVII: Website):
Hester Ann Bolster (1824-abt 1905) married James Andrews (?-1848) in 1844. She then married a Robert H. Shannon. Robert was friends with Ulysses S. Grant
. Hester was living with her son in NJ in the 1900 census.
Eliza Jean Bolster (1825–1920) married Henry H Butler (1814–1888) in 1844. Henry H Butler was born on Staten Island to Capt. Henry Butler (1791–1864) and Magdalena Ellis (1791–1814). He was 2nd Cousin to Cornelius Vanderbilt
from his mother's side. Eliza and Henry and most of their family members are buried in Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island.
Henry Clay Bolster (1827–1854) married Mary Jane Whitting in 1853. Henry died not to long after his marriage and didn't have any children.
Naomi Maria Bolster (1829–1897) married Samuel Wakeman Andrews, Sr. (1823–1897) in 1848.
Daniel Webster Bolster (1832–1836).
Mary Ellen Bolster (1836–1903) married Simeon Mace Andrews (1825–1891) in 1857.
George Washington Bolster (1833–1891) married Levantia S Carpenter (1859–1879). He was a Civil War veteran.
William Seward Bolster (1839–1842).
Francis Augusta Bolster (1842–1908) married Thomas A Smith in 1867. She was a school teacher in New York.
Sarah Emily Bolster (1845) "Sick and baptized at the residence of the parents".
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
during the early to mid 19th century. He was born in New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
to an American family with roots back to the 17th century. His father was a Revolutionary War and The War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
Veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
rising to the rank of Captain. Henry served as the Superintendent of Paving for the City of New York as well as was elected in two different Wards of Manhattan to the office of Assistant Alderman therefore served on the Common Council. Henry also was the original founder of a stage coach line that made him a wealthy man. Because of his wealth, he was an investor in several other business adventures including Insurance and Banking.
Birth and early years
He was born on 8 June 1792 at Stoddard, Cheshire Co., NH. He was the son of Baruch Bolster and Anna Loveland.Henry moved to New Haven CT. There he served in the War of 1812 and rose to the rank of Captain.
He then moved to New York City around 1815.
Name Issues
Most early records and documentation refer to Henry B Bolster as Baruch (or Barack, Barck, etc.) Bolster. There are numerous errors with the spelling his unusual first name. Henry B Bolster may have been born Baruch Bolster, Jr and later added the Henry to his name to be Henry Baruch Bolster. All references made to Baruch Bolster born 1792 is the same person who later became known as Henry B Bolster. The evidence is overwhelming.New York City
Henry first married Elizabeth Newhall in 1815. She was from New Haven. She died of Typhoid FeverTyphoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
in 1818.
He then married Sarah Maria Chilson, daughter of Asaph Chilson and Hestor Cornell on Feb 28, 1822 in New York City. He lived at 39 W 43rd Street, Manhattan Map.
Politics
In 1835, he was a Grocer.Henry was an active member of the Whig Party. An article that appeared on June 6, 1839 in the Hudson River Chronicle discusses the Loco-Focoism as Henry was fired as Superintendent of Pavements for the City of New York as a result of a shift of the political power in charge.
Another article appeared in The Hudson River Chronicle, December 17, 1839 that discusses the Whig General Committee's approval of their delegates to the Convention and states Henry was approved as one of several Vice-Presidents of the Whigs.
Bolster, Henry B. (Grocer), Assistant Alderman, Eleventh Ward, 1827. Assistant Alderman, Sixteenth Ward, 1851.
Henry was a Trustee for the Knickerbocker Savings Bank in 1852 and a Director for the St Nicholas Insurance Company in 1853.
Stage Coach/Omnibus Business
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
). Henry Clay Bolster died in 1854. The business was called Bolster & Andrews and referred to as the Empire Line. A short New York Times story about an accident with a Empire Line Omnibus in 1853. The name Bolster & Andrews was found in a New York Times article that documented proceedings from a government meeting.
Simeon Mace Andrews returned from San Francisco after obtaining a small fortune from the gold rush
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
in the 1850s (according to this obit). He bought into the business along with his two other brothers Benjamin Clark Andrews and Charles Simeon Andrews and the business was called Bolster, Andrews, & McDonald.
After Henry Bolster's death in 1859, the firm was called S.W. & S.M. Andrews & McDonald. Simeon and Samuel Andrews were the majority owners along with Grant McDonald (New York City Directory, 1869: McDonald John Grant, stages, 23 W. 43d, h 41 W. 42d). Grant McDonald dies in the 1871 and the name of the business was then S.W. & S.M. Andrews. In the 1880 census, all four Andrews brothers occupations were listed as Stage Proprietors.
On Ancestry.com, the following was documented about this stage line:
Henry Bolster business is Omnibus business @ 23 W. 43rd St N.Y. Route from there to Fulton Ferry. Omnibus firm in 1852 was Bolster, Andrews & McDonald, changed to S.W. & S.M. Andrews & McDonald, latter died in 1871 leaving it S.W. & S.M. Andrews. They had 450 horses on this line.
Hostlers on Strike.
The business and stables were located at 23 west 43rd Street, Manhattan. Map
The business was sold in 1885 to the Broadway Surface Railroad Company as were all of the stage lines in New York City. Here is a story from the New York Times July 11, 1885 telling of the auctioning of the old equipment:
After this business was sold, another enterprise was started by unrelated individuals that was called the Fifth Avenue Stage Line which was a corporation. This business was eventually taken over by the City of New York.
According to the article on transportation written in 1925 , their route lay from Sixth Avenue and Fourteenth Street, through Ninth to and down Broadway.
Interesting lawsuit filed by Andrews.: The Broadway & Stage Company v. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals case.
On The EarlyRepublic.net website, a reference to this business was written as follows - which documents the initial purchase of the stage line by Samuel Andrews and "another" (Chapter XXVII: Website):
Before closing these "Reminiscences," it is pertinent to them to put on record a few illustrations of the passenger street travel of the preceding period. In connection, then, with the notices of the primitive stage routes given in the early chapters, the following are added: In 1830 there was established an irregular line of stages (omnibuses) between Bleecker Street and the Bowling Green, and occasionally a passenger could have himself carried some distance above Bleecker Street. In like manner, so late as 1836, Asa Hall and Kipp & Brown, of the Greenwich lines, had small stages ("carryalls" they were termed), in which passengers were transferred from Charles Street to their destination within the limit of Twentythird Street and Seventh Avenue. In 1845 this Broadway line was purchased by John Marshall, who extended the service from Corporal Thompson's (Twentythird Street and Fifth Avenue) through Fifth Avenue to Thirteenth Street, thence through University Place to Eleventh Street, then to Broadway, through Broadway to Fulton Street, and then to the Brooklyn Ferry. 'In 1846 Samuel NV.[sic.] Andrews, in company with another, bought the line, consisting of less than twenty stages, increased soon after to thirty.'
Family
Henry and Sarah Bolster had 10 children in all. They were:Hester Ann Bolster (1824-abt 1905) married James Andrews (?-1848) in 1844. She then married a Robert H. Shannon. Robert was friends with Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
. Hester was living with her son in NJ in the 1900 census.
Children
- Charles Wilmot Shannon (1853-1861)
- Harry C Shannon (1856- ) married Daisy Talcott Coolidge
- Nellie Andrews Shannon (1858-1861)
- Robert I Shannon (1862-1890)
- Herbert H Shannon (1864- ) married Mary N Morris
Eliza Jean Bolster (1825–1920) married Henry H Butler (1814–1888) in 1844. Henry H Butler was born on Staten Island to Capt. Henry Butler (1791–1864) and Magdalena Ellis (1791–1814). He was 2nd Cousin to Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Cornelius Vanderbilt , also known by the sobriquet Commodore, was an American entrepreneur who built his wealth in shipping and railroads. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history...
from his mother's side. Eliza and Henry and most of their family members are buried in Moravian Cemetery at New Dorp on Staten Island.
Children
- Cornelia J Butler (1845-1929) married John H Burgher
- James Henry Butler (1847- )
- Sarah Maria Butler (1849-1917) married George A Burgher
- George Washington Butler (1851-1934)
- Ella Frances Butler (1853-1888) married George Henry Prier
- Emilie Augusta Butler (1856-1920) married Alexander C Bragaw
- Simeon Andrews Butler (1858-1943) married Ella Gertrude Brown
- Fanny Butler (1866-1875)
Henry Clay Bolster (1827–1854) married Mary Jane Whitting in 1853. Henry died not to long after his marriage and didn't have any children.
Naomi Maria Bolster (1829–1897) married Samuel Wakeman Andrews, Sr. (1823–1897) in 1848.
Children
- Alica Maria Andrews (1854-1907) married Milton L Williams
- Julia Bolster Andrews (1857-1893) married William Edgar Johnson
- Samuel Wakeman Andrews (1866-1935) married Harriet Hammond
Daniel Webster Bolster (1832–1836).
Mary Ellen Bolster (1836–1903) married Simeon Mace Andrews (1825–1891) in 1857.
Children
- Ella Bolster Andrews (1864- ) married Everett W Little
- Grace Andrews (1871-1873)
George Washington Bolster (1833–1891) married Levantia S Carpenter (1859–1879). He was a Civil War veteran.
Children
- Samuel A Bolster (1875-1886)
- George W Bolster (1877- )
William Seward Bolster (1839–1842).
Francis Augusta Bolster (1842–1908) married Thomas A Smith in 1867. She was a school teacher in New York.
Sarah Emily Bolster (1845) "Sick and baptized at the residence of the parents".
Obituary
Brooklyn Papers please copy;
Bolster- In this city on Thursday evening, July 21, Henry B. Bolster, Ex Assistant Alderman of the XIth and XVIth Wards, aged 67 years, 1 month and 13 days. The funeral will take place on Sunday the 24th inst at 1 o'clock PM from his late residence, No 33 West 43d St. His remains will be taken to GreenwoodGreen-Wood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
Cemetery. His friends and those of his son George W. Bolster and his sons in law, Samuel W. Andrews, Simeon M. Andrews, Henry H. Butler, and Robert H. Shannon are respectfully invited to attend without further notice.