Stephen Girard
Encyclopedia
Stephen Girard was a French
-born, naturalized American
, philanthropist
and banker. He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during the War of 1812
, and became one of the wealthiest men in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP. Childless, he devoted much of his fortune to philanthropy, particularly the education and welfare of orphans. His legacy is still felt in his adopted home of Philadelphia.
, a Philadelphia native and nine years his junior. They married soon afterwards and Girard purchased a home at 211 Mill Street in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
. She was the daughter of a shipbuilder, who, two years later, after Girard's becoming a citizen of Pennsylvania (1778), built for him the “Water Witch,” the first of a trading fleet — most of Girard's ships being named after his favorite French authors, such as “Rousseau,” “Voltaire,” “Helvétius” and “Montesquieu.” By 1785, Mary had started to succumb to sudden, erratic emotional outbursts. Mental instability and violent rages led to a diagnosis of mental instability that was not curable. Although Girard was at first devastated, by 1787 he took a mistress, Sally Bickham. In August 1790, Girard committed his wife to the Pennsylvania Hospital (today part of the University of Pennsylvania
) as an incurable lunatic. After he gave her every luxury for comfort, she gave birth to a stillborn
child whose sire is not entirely certain. Girard spent the rest of his life with mistresses.
in Philadelphia. Although many other well-to-do citizens chose to leave the city, Girard stayed to care for the sick and dying. He supervised the conversion of a mansion outside the city limits into a hospital and recruited volunteers to nurse victims, and personally cared for patients. For his efforts, Girard was feted as a hero by the City Hall after the outbreak subsided. Again during the yellow fever epidemic of 1797-1798 he took the lead in relieving the poor and caring for the sick.
expired in 1811, Girard purchased most of its stock as well as the building and its furnishings on South Third Street in Philadelphia and opened his own bank, variously known as “Girard’s Bank,” or as “Girard Bank.” or also as “Stephen Girard’s Bank” or even the “Bank of Stephen Girard.” Girard was the sole proprietor of his bank, and thus avoided the Pennsylvania state law which prohibited an unincorporated association of persons from establishing a bank, and required a charter from the legislature for a banking corporation.
Girard hired George Simpson, the cashier of the First Bank, as cashier of the new bank, and with seven other employees, opened for business on May 18, 1812. He allowed the Trustees of the First Bank of the United States to use some offices and space in the vaults to continue the process of winding down the affairs of the closed bank at a very nominal rent.
Girard's Bank was a principal source of government credit during the War of 1812
. Towards the end of the war, when the financial credit of the U.S. government was at its lowest, Girard placed nearly all of his resources at the disposal of the government and underwrote up to 95 percent of the war loan issue, which enabled the United States to carry on the war. After the war, he became a large stockholder in and one of the directors of the Second Bank of the United States
. Girard's bank became the Girard Trust Company, and later Girard Bank
. It merged with Mellon Bank in 1983, and was largely sold to Citizens Bank
two decades later. Its monumental headquarters building still stands at Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia.
in the Western Church. He was buried in the vault he built for his nephew in the Holy Trinity Catholic cemetery, then at Sixth and Spruce Streets. Twenty years later, his remains were reinterred in the Founder's Hall vestibule at Girard College behind a statue by Nicholas Gevelot, a French sculptor living in Philadelphia.
At the time of his death, Girard was the wealthiest man in America
and he bequeathed nearly his entire fortune to charitable and municipal institutions of Philadelphia and New Orleans, including an endowment for establishing a boarding school for "poor, white, male" orphans in Philadelphia, primarily those who were the children of coal miners, which opened as the Girard College
in 1848. Girard's will was contested by his family in France
, however, but was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark case, Vidal et al. vs Girard's Executors, 43 U.S. 127 (1844). Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther, in their book The Wealthy 100, posit that, with adjustment for inflation, Girard was the fourth-wealthiest American of all time, behind John D. Rockefeller
, Cornelius Vanderbilt
and John Jacob Astor
.
Girard Avenue
, a major east-west thoroughfare of North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia
and the location of Girard College, is named for him, as is the borough of Girardville
, Schuylkill County, located roughly 110 miles northwest of Philadelphia, which is bordered by many acres of land still connected to the Girard Estate.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
-born, naturalized American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
and banker. He personally saved the U.S. government from financial collapse during 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...
, and became one of the wealthiest men in America, estimated to have been the fourth richest American of all time, based on the ratio of his fortune to contemporary GDP. Childless, he devoted much of his fortune to philanthropy, particularly the education and welfare of orphans. His legacy is still felt in his adopted home of Philadelphia.
Early life
Girard was born in Bordeaux, France. He lost the sight of his right eye at the age of eight and had little education. His father was a sea captain, and the son cruised to the Caribbean and back, was licensed captain in 1773, visited California in 1774, and thence with the assistance of a New York merchant began to trade to and from New Orleans and Port au Prince. In May 1776 he was driven into the port of Philadelphia by a British fleet and settled there as a merchant.Marriage
In 1776, Girard met Mary LumMary Lum
Mary Lum Girard Mary Lum is known for being the wife of banker, philanthropist and merchant millionaire Stephen Girard....
, a Philadelphia native and nine years his junior. They married soon afterwards and Girard purchased a home at 211 Mill Street in Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township, New Jersey
Mount Holly Township is a township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States as well as an eastern suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2000 United States Census, the township population was 10,728. It is the county seat of Burlington County....
. She was the daughter of a shipbuilder, who, two years later, after Girard's becoming a citizen of Pennsylvania (1778), built for him the “Water Witch,” the first of a trading fleet — most of Girard's ships being named after his favorite French authors, such as “Rousseau,” “Voltaire,” “Helvétius” and “Montesquieu.” By 1785, Mary had started to succumb to sudden, erratic emotional outbursts. Mental instability and violent rages led to a diagnosis of mental instability that was not curable. Although Girard was at first devastated, by 1787 he took a mistress, Sally Bickham. In August 1790, Girard committed his wife to the Pennsylvania Hospital (today part of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
) as an incurable lunatic. After he gave her every luxury for comfort, she gave birth to a stillborn
Stillbirth
A stillbirth occurs when a fetus has died in the uterus. The Australian definition specifies that fetal death is termed a stillbirth after 20 weeks gestation or the fetus weighs more than . Once the fetus has died the mother still has contractions and remains undelivered. The term is often used in...
child whose sire is not entirely certain. Girard spent the rest of his life with mistresses.
Yellow fever
In 1793, there was an outbreak of yellow feverYellow Fever Epidemic of 1793
The Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 is believed to have killed several thousand people in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.-Beginnings:...
in Philadelphia. Although many other well-to-do citizens chose to leave the city, Girard stayed to care for the sick and dying. He supervised the conversion of a mansion outside the city limits into a hospital and recruited volunteers to nurse victims, and personally cared for patients. For his efforts, Girard was feted as a hero by the City Hall after the outbreak subsided. Again during the yellow fever epidemic of 1797-1798 he took the lead in relieving the poor and caring for the sick.
Girard's Bank
After the charter for the First Bank of the United StatesFirst Bank of the United States
The First Bank of the United States is a National Historic Landmark located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania within Independence National Historical Park.-Banking History:...
expired in 1811, Girard purchased most of its stock as well as the building and its furnishings on South Third Street in Philadelphia and opened his own bank, variously known as “Girard’s Bank,” or as “Girard Bank.” or also as “Stephen Girard’s Bank” or even the “Bank of Stephen Girard.” Girard was the sole proprietor of his bank, and thus avoided the Pennsylvania state law which prohibited an unincorporated association of persons from establishing a bank, and required a charter from the legislature for a banking corporation.
Girard hired George Simpson, the cashier of the First Bank, as cashier of the new bank, and with seven other employees, opened for business on May 18, 1812. He allowed the Trustees of the First Bank of the United States to use some offices and space in the vaults to continue the process of winding down the affairs of the closed bank at a very nominal rent.
Girard's Bank was a principal source of government credit during 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...
. Towards the end of the war, when the financial credit of the U.S. government was at its lowest, Girard placed nearly all of his resources at the disposal of the government and underwrote up to 95 percent of the war loan issue, which enabled the United States to carry on the war. After the war, he became a large stockholder in and one of the directors of the Second Bank of the United States
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816, five years after the First Bank of the United States lost its own charter. The Second Bank of the United States was initially headquartered in Carpenters' Hall, Philadelphia, the same as the First Bank, and had branches throughout the...
. Girard's bank became the Girard Trust Company, and later Girard Bank
Girard Bank
Girard Bank was a Philadelphia based bank, founded by Stephen Girard in 1811. The bank was acquired by Mellon Bank in 1983 and then two decades later by Citizens Bank....
. It merged with Mellon Bank in 1983, and was largely sold to Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank
Citizens Bank may refer to:Financial institutions:*Citizens Bank of Canada, a virtual bank headquartered in British Columbia*Citizens Bank International Ltd., a bank in Nepal...
two decades later. Its monumental headquarters building still stands at Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philadelphia.
Death and will
On December 22, 1830, Stephen Girard was seriously injured while crossing the street near Second and Market Streets in Philadelphia. He was knocked down by a horse and wagon, whose wheel actually ran over the left side of his face, lacerating his cheek and ear, as well as damaging his good (left) eye. Despite his age (81), he got up unassisted and returned to his nearby home, where a doctor dressed his wound. He threw himself back into his banking business, although he remained out of sight for two months. Nevertheless, he never fully recovered and he died on December 26, 1831, coincidentally the Feast of St. Etienne--St. Stephen's DaySt. Stephen's Day
St. Stephen's Day, or the Feast of St. Stephen, is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December in the Eastern Church. Many Eastern Orthodox churches adhere to the Julian calendar and mark St. Stephen's Day on 27 December according to that calendar, which...
in the Western Church. He was buried in the vault he built for his nephew in the Holy Trinity Catholic cemetery, then at Sixth and Spruce Streets. Twenty years later, his remains were reinterred in the Founder's Hall vestibule at Girard College behind a statue by Nicholas Gevelot, a French sculptor living in Philadelphia.
At the time of his death, Girard was the wealthiest man in America
and he bequeathed nearly his entire fortune to charitable and municipal institutions of Philadelphia and New Orleans, including an endowment for establishing a boarding school for "poor, white, male" orphans in Philadelphia, primarily those who were the children of coal miners, which opened as the Girard College
Girard College
Girard College is an independent boarding school on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States.Girard is for academically capable students, grades one through 12, and awards a full scholarship with a yearly value of approximately $42,000 to every child admitted to the...
in 1848. Girard's will was contested by his family in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, however, but was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark case, Vidal et al. vs Girard's Executors, 43 U.S. 127 (1844). Michael Klepper and Robert Gunther, in their book The Wealthy 100, posit that, with adjustment for inflation, Girard was the fourth-wealthiest American of all time, behind John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, 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...
and John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor , born Johann Jakob Astor, was a German-American business magnate and investor who was the first prominent member of the Astor family and the first multi-millionaire in the United States...
.
Girard Avenue
Girard Avenue
Girard Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Philadelphia that forms sections of U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 30 and is named for Franco-American financier Stephen Girard. It stretches through several major neighborhoods of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, Fishtown, Kensington, and...
, a major east-west thoroughfare of North Philadelphia and West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Though there is no official definition of its boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Line Avenue to the northwest, Cobbs Creek to the southwest, and...
and the location of Girard College, is named for him, as is the borough of Girardville
Girardville, Pennsylvania
Girardville is a borough in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, northwest of Reading. Anthracite coal deposits are in the region. Coal-mining provided employment and incomes for many of the 3,666 people who lived there in 1900. In 1910, 4,396 individuals called it home. The population was 1,742 at...
, Schuylkill County, located roughly 110 miles northwest of Philadelphia, which is bordered by many acres of land still connected to the Girard Estate.