DANIEL DREW.
The name of DANIEL DREW has so long been familiar in the financial
circles of the country, that it is surprising that the history of his
life is not more generally known.
He was born at Carmel, in Putnam County, New York, on the 29th of July,
1797. His father was a small farmer, with limited means, and had to work
hard to provide his family with food and clothing. Young Daniel was
brought up to work on the farm, and at such times as he could be spared
from this work, was sent to the country school in the neighborhood,
where he acquired but a meager stock of learning. When he was fifteen
years old, his father died, leaving his family in an almost helpless
condition. Young Daniel remained on the farm three years longer, and in
1815, being then eighteen years old, stared out to try and earn a living
for himself.
He came to New York in search of employment, but the country, just then,
was in too depressed a condition to afford him a chance in any regular
business. After looking around for awhile, he at length became a cattle
drover. He spent five years in driving cattle from Putnam County to New
York for sale, but failed to make any money at the business.
In 1820, he removed to New York, and established his headquarters at
the famous Bull's Head Tavern, in the Bowery, which was the great resort
of the butchers and drovers doing business in the city. He kept this
tavern a part of the time, and found it quite a profitable investment.
He soon formed a partnership with two other drovers, and commenced
buying cattle in the adjoining counties and bringing them to New York
for sale.
[Illustration: FOUNDING A GREAT FORTUNE]
These ventures were so successful that the operations of the firm were
extended into Pennsylvania, and finally into Ohio and the other States
of the great West. Mr. Drew and his partners brought over the mountains
the first drove of cattle that ever came from the West into New York
city. The cattle, two thousand in number, were collected into droves of
one hundred each, and were driven by experienced and careful men. The
journey occupied two months, and the total cost of the purchase and trip
was twenty-four dollars per head. The profit on the venture was very
large.
Mr. Drew continued in this business for fourteen years, slowly and
carefully laying the foundations of that immense fortune which has made
him so conspicuous, an example to others who have entered upon the
life-struggle since then.
In 1834, an event occurred which changed the whole tenor of his career.
In that year, the steamer "General Jackson," owned by Jacob Vanderbilt
(a brother of the famous Commodore), and plying between New York and
Peekskill, blew up at Grassy Point. A friend of Mr. Drew at once put a
boat called the "Water Witch" in her place, and Mr. Drew, to oblige his
friend, advanced one thousand dollars toward the enterprise. Commodore
Vanderbilt was not willing that any rival should contest the river trade
with him, and built a steamer called the "Cinderella," with which he ran
a sharp opposition to Mr. Drew. The contest was so sharp that fares and
freights were lowered to a ridiculous figure, and both parties lost
heavily. At the end of the season, the owner of the "Water Witch" found
himself ten thousand dollars in debt, and sold his boat to Drew, Kelly &
Richards for twenty thousand dollars.
Finding that Mr. Drew was not frightened off by his opposition,
Commodore Vanderbilt urged him to withdraw from his attempt, telling him
he knew nothing of the management of steamboats. Mr. Drew refused to be
intimidated; however, and continued his efforts. Since then, there have
been fifty attempts to run him off the river, but all alike have failed
of success.
In 1836, the "Water Witch" was replaced by a fine steamer called the
"Westchester," which was subsequently run as a day boat to Hartford,
Connecticut. The "Westchester" was run against the Hudson River Line,
from New York to Albany. The Hudson River Line at that time owned the
"De Witt Clinton," the "North America," and others--the finest
steamboats then afloat--and it seemed at first foolhardiness for any
one to attempt to oppose so popular a company. Mr. Drew and his
partners bought the "Bright Emerald," for which they gave twenty-six
thousand dollars, and ran her as a night boat between New York and
Albany, reducing the fare from three dollars to one dollar. During the
season, they bought the "Rochester" for fifty thousand dollars, and also
bought out the Hudson River Line, after which they restored the fare to
three dollars.
Several years later, Isaac Newton, who was largely interested in the
towing business of the Hudson, built two splendid passenger steamers
called the "North America" and the "South America." In 1840, Mr. Drew
formed a partnership with Mr. Newton, and the celebrated "People's Line"
was organized, which purchased all the passenger steamers owned by Drew
and Newton. Mr. Drew was the largest stockholder in this company, which,
to-day, after a lapse of nearly thirty years, still owns the most
magnificent and popular steamers in the world. Soon after its
organization, the company built the "Isaac Newton," the first of those
floating palaces for which the Hudson is famed. Since then, it has built
the "New World," the "St. John," the "Dean Richmond," and the "Drew,"
the last two of which cost over seven' hundred thousand dollars each.
Repeated efforts have been made to drive this line from the river, but
it has been conducted so judiciously and energetically, that, for nearly
thirty years, it has held the first place in the public favor.
In 1847, George Law and Daniel Drew formed a partnership, and
established a line of steamers between New York and Stonington, for the
purpose of connecting with the railroad from the latter place to Boston.
The "Oregon" and the "Knickerbocker" were placed on the route, and the
enterprise proved a success. Mr. Drew and Commodore Vanderbilt secured a
sufficient amount of stock in the railroad to give them a controlling
interest in it, and by the year 1850 the Stonington Steamboat Line was
firmly established.
When the Hudson River Railroad was opened, in 1852, it was confidently
expected that the steamboat trade on the river would be destroyed, and
the friends and enemies of Mr. Drew alike declared that he might as well
lay up his boats, as he would find it impossible to compete with the
faster time of the railroad. He was not dismayed, however, for he was
satisfied that the land route could not afford to carry freight and
passengers as cheap as they could be transported by water. He knew that
it would only be necessary to reduce his passenger and freight rates
below those of the railroad, to continue in the enjoyment of his immense
business, and his faith in the steady expansion of the trade of the city
induced him to believe that the time was close at hand when railroad and
steamers would all have as much as they could do to accommodate it. His
views were well founded, and his hopes have been more than realized. The
river trade has steadily increased, while the Hudson River Railroad is
taxed to its utmost capacity to accommodate its immense traffic.
In 1849, Mr. Drew, in connection with other parties, bought out the
Champlain Transportation Company. This corporation had a capital of one
hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and ran a line of five steamers from
White Hall to the Canada end of the lake. The new proprietors ran the
line seven years, and in 1856 sold out to the Saratoga and White Hall
Railroad Company.
As a steamboat manager, Daniel Drew has few equals and no superiors. His
ventures on the water have all been crowned with success, a result due
entirely to his judicious and liberal management His employés are chosen
with the greatest care, and generally remain with him during their
lives. He is very liberal in his dealings with those who serve him
faithfully, but will not tolerate a single careless or incompetent man,
however unimportant may be his position. The steamers owned by him are
almost entirely free from accidents, and such misfortunes as have
befallen them have been those against which no skill or foresight could
guard. He refuses to insure his boats, holding that care and prudence
are the best safeguards against accidents, and thus saves half a million
dollars. When the "Dean Richmond" was run down by the "Vanderbilt," a
year or two ago, he lost nearly three hundred thousand dollars. He paid
every claim presented by shippers and passengers, as soon as made,
without submitting one of them to the adjudication of the courts.
In 1836, Mr. Drew entered the banking business in Wall Street, and in
1840 established the widely-known firm of Drew, Robinson & Co. This
house engaged largely in the financial operations of the day, and became
known as one of the most uniformly successful in its dealings of any in
the city. Mr. Drew remained at the head of it for thirteen years, but in
1855 withdrew to make room for his son-in-law, Mr. Kelley. This
gentleman died soon after his connection with the firm, and Mr. Drew
resumed his old place.
Having succeeded so well in all his ventures, Mr. Drew now determined to
enter another field. Railroad stocks were very profitable, and might be
made to yield him an immense return for his investments, and he decided
to invest a considerable part of his fortune in them. In 1855, he
endorsed the acceptances of the Erie Railroad Company for five hundred
thousand dollars. This was the first decided evidence the public had
received of his immense wealth, and in 1857 another was given by his
endorsement of a fresh lot of Erie acceptances amounting to a million
and a half of dollars. This last indorsement was made in the midst of
the great financial panic of 1857, and occasioned no little comment. Men
could admire, though they could not understand, the sublime confidence
which enabled Mr. Drew to risk a million and a half of dollars in the
midst of such a terrible crisis. Some one asked him if he could sleep
quietly at night with such large interests at stake. "Sir," he replied,
calmly, "I have never lost a night's rest on account of business in my
life."
In 1857, Mr. Drew was elected a director of the Erie Railroad Company, a
position he held until recently. He was subsequently elected treasurer
of the company, and is one of the principal holders of Erie stock. He is
also one of the principal creditors of the company. The recent
proceedings in the New York courts to prevent the Erie Road from issuing
the new stock necessary to complete its broad-gauge connections with the
West, are too fresh in the mind of the reader to need a recital of them
here. It was proposed to issue ten millions of dollars worth of new
stock, and Mr. Drew was to guarantee the bonds. After a tedious and
costly suit, in which the New York Central Road endeavored to prevent
the issue of the stock, in the hope of keeping the Erie Road from
forming through connections with the West, the New York Legislature
legalized the new issue, and a compromise was effected between Mr. Drew,
in behalf of the Erie Road, and Commodore Vanderbilt, who represented
the New York Central.
Mr. Drew still continues his operations in Wall Street, where he is
known as one of the boldest and most extensive, as well as one of the
most successful, of all the operators in railroad stocks. Though losing
heavily at times, he has nevertheless been one of fortune's favorites.
His efforts have not been confined to the Erie Road. He owns stock in
other roads, and, together with Commodore Vanderbilt, took up the
floating debt of over half a million of dollars which weighed down the
Harlem Road, and placed it in its present prosperous condition.
He owns a fine grazing farm on the Harlem Railroad, about fifty miles
from New York. It is situated in Carmel, in Putnam County; is nearly one
thousand acres in extent, and includes the old farm on which he was
born. He has made it one of the finest and most profitable in the State,
and, it is said, values it above all his other possessions. He has
improved and beautified it upon an extensive scale, and near the old
grave-yard, where his parents lie sleeping, he has built one of the most
beautiful churches in the land.
In 1811, Mr. Drew became a member of the Methodist Church, but for
twenty-five years this connection was merely nominal. During all the
years of his drover's life he kept himself free from the sins of
intemperance and swearing. Once while riding out in a buggy with a
friend, to look at some cattle, a thunder-storm came on, and his horse
was killed in the shafts by lightning. This narrow escape from death
made a deep impression on his mind, and in 1841 he united with the
Mulberry Street Methodist Church, of which he became an active member
and a trustee. The elegant marble structure now standing at the corner
of Fourth Avenue and Twenty-second Street attests his liberality to this
congregation. He is a trustee in the Wesleyan University, and has
largely endowed that institution; and within the past few years has
contributed several hundred thousand dollars for the endowment of the
Drew Theological Seminary, which has been established at Madison, New
Jersey, for the education of candidates for the Methodist ministry. He
gives largely in aid of missionary work, and is one of the most liberal
men in his denomination. It is said that he gives away at least one
hundred thousand dollars annually in private charities, besides the
large donations with which the public are familiar. He selects his own
charities, and refuses promptly to aid those which do not commend
themselves to him.
His property is estimated at twenty millions of dollars, and he is said
to earn at least half a million of dollars every year. He has two
children, a son and a daughter, the latter of whom is the wife of a
clergyman of the Baptist Church.
Mr. Drew is about five feet ten inches high, and slenderly made. He is
very active and vigorous for his age, and looks a much younger man than
he is. His expression is firm, but withal pleasant. His features are
regular, but dark and deeply marked, while his black hair is still
unstreaked with gray. He is courteous and friendly in his intercourse,
and is very much liked by his acquaintances.