Description:

John J. Astor III
New York, NY, April 1, 1877
Signed on Verso by FDR's Namesake Beautifully Engraved Mortgage Bond for New York City Railroad
Partially printed DS
[JOHN J. ASTOR III.] Wilson G. Hunt, Partially Printed Document Signed, The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad Company Mortgage Bond for $5,000 to Franklin H. Delano, John Carey Jr. William W. Astor, and Charles F Southmayd, as Trustees for John J. Astor, April 1, 1877, New York, NY. Also signed by William Burroughs as Treasurer, and [Roswell G. Rolston?], President of the Farmers Loan & Trust Co. as Trustee of the mortgage. Includes elaborate engraving of a train. 2 pp., 12.75" x 9". Five cancellation punches; includes embossed seal of the railroad; light toning on edges; some edge tears and one small hole in decorative border.

Excerpt

"For Value received the Hudson River and Portchester Rail Road Company promises to pay to Franklin H. Delano, John Carey Jr. William W. Astor & Charles F. Southmayd Trustees for John J Astor New York or Assigns the sum of Five Thousand Dollars on the first day of October in the year One thousand nine hundred and three and interest from the First day of April 1877, inclusive, at the rate of Seven percent per annum payable half yearly on the first days of April and October in each year at the Office of the New York New Haven and Hartford Rail Road Company in the City of New York, until said principal sum becomes due. This Bond is transferrable on the books of the Company at the Office of the New York New Haven and Hartford Rail Road Company in the City of New York."

"This Bond is one of a series issued and to be issued to an aggregate amount not exceeding Two Millions of Dollars and is secured by a First Mortgage upon the whole of its Rail Road from the Harlem River in the town of Morrisania in the County of Westchester in the State of New York to its junction with the Railway of the New York New Haven and Hartford Rail Road Company in the town of New Rochelle in said County and State."

The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad Company (1866-1927) was chartered in 1866 as a branch line railroad between the Harlem River in New York City and Port Chester, New York, 20 miles to the northeast near the border with Connecticut. The line from the Harlem River to New Rochelle (approximately 11.5 miles) was opened in 1873, and the northern portion was never completed. The railroad was part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, which had been created by a merger of the New York and New Haven Railroad and the Hartford and New Haven Railroad in 1872. In 1927, the Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad merged into the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1927 as the Harlem River Branch. The larger railroad merged into Penn Central in 1969, and Penn Central became part of Conrail in 1976. The Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad was ultimately sold to Amtrak and became part of its Northeast Corridor.

Wilson G. Hunt (1804-1892) was born in New Jersey and started his career as a dry goods clerk in New York. He became a partner in the firm, but it was destroyed by the Panic of 1837. He became a wholesale dry goods merchant. He served as a director of several businesses, including the United States Trust Co., the National Park Bank, the Consolidated Gas Co., the Eagle Fire Insurance Co., the New York Life Insurance & Trust Co., the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, the Globe Fire Insurance Co., the Washington Life Insurance Co., the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad, and other corporations.

Franklin H. Delano (1813-1893) was born in Massachusetts to a sea captain and his wife. His grand-nephew and namesake Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States. Delano was involved in several financial and shipping ventures with his brothers. In 1839, he became a partner in the shipping firm of Grinnell, Minturn & Company. From 1840 to 1851, he served as U.S. Consul for Chile in New York. In 1844, he married Laura Eugenia Astor (a favorite granddaughter of John Jacob Astor) and joined his father-in-law in the Astor family business.

John Jacob Astor III (1822-1890) was the eldest son of William Backhouse Astor Sr. and grandson of merchant-trader John Jacob Astor (1763-1848). He graduated from Columbia College in 1839 and studied at the University of Gottingen before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1842. He practiced law for a year before turning to managing his family's huge estate, half of which descended to him, including extensive real estate holdings in New York City. He became a noted philanthropist and was one of the wealthiest men of his generation.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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  • Dimensions: 12.75" x 9"
  • Medium: Partially printed DS

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