Drew, Daniel

born July 29, 1797, Carmel, N.Y., U.S.

died Sept. 18, 1879, New York, N.Y.

U.S. railway financier.

In 1844 he founded the Wall Street brokerage firm of Drew, Robinson, and Co., which became one of the principal traders in railroad stocks in the U.S. The "Erie War" of 1866–68, in which Drew joined Jay Gould and James Fisk against Cornelius Vanderbilt in a struggle for control of the Erie Railroad Co., eventually led to his ruin, and he filed for bankruptcy in 1876.

* * *

▪ American financier

born July 29, 1797, Carmel, N.Y., U.S.

died Sept. 18, 1879, New York, N.Y.

 American railway financier of the 19th-century “robber baron” era.

      After a successful career as a cattle trader, Drew bought an interest in a New York-to-Peekskill steamboat in 1834 and six years later established the People's Line. He also bought control of the Stonington Line on Long Island Sound and operated a steamship service on Lake Champlain. His growing capital enabled him in 1844 to open the Wall Street brokerage firm of Drew, Robinson, and Company, which became one of the principal traders in railroad stocks in the United States. Drew's association with the Erie Railroad (Erie Railroad Company) began in 1853. The “Erie War” of 1866–68, in which Drew joined Jay Gould and James Fisk in opposing Cornelius Vanderbilt (Vanderbilt, Cornelius), who sought to buy control of the Erie Railroad, eventually led to his ruin.

      In the panic of 1873 his losses were considerable, and in March 1876 he filed for bankruptcy. An avowed Methodist, Drew had contributed some of his earlier wealth to the founding of Drew Theological Seminary at Madison, N.J., and a smaller women's seminary at his birthplace.

* * *