Edward G. Faile

File:West Farms and Morrisania 1872 Map Faile Crop.jpg

Edward George Faile was born on February 9, 1799, to George and Joan Hall Faile, in Semiston, Roxburghshire, Scotland. Joan descended from the Burrell family of Northumberland, England. The family moved to the United States in 1801, settling in the town of East Chester. A brother, Thomas, was born there in 1803. In the 1830s, the family acquired land in Hunt's Point and relocated there.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924072688090|title=America's Successful Men of Affairs: An Encyclopedia of Contemporaneous Biography, Vol. 1.|publisher=The New York Tribune|year=1895|editor=Hall|editor-first=Henry|page=229|lccn=05034051|access-date=September 17, 2020|via=Internet Archive}}{{Cite book|last=Conger|first=A. B.|url=http://hdl.handle.net/2027/yale.39002072587232|title=Memorial address on the character and public services of the late Edward G. Faile, ex-president of the New York State Agricultural Society, delivered before the Society at the close of its annual exhibition at Rochester.|date=September 23, 1874|location=Albany, NY |publisher=Charles van Benthuysen |hdl=2027/yale.39002072587232|via=HathiTrust Digital Library}}

Faile was educated in Westchester. At the age of 17, he went to work at the wholesale grocery business of Abram Valentine. He married Valentine's daughter, Ann Delia, on December 8, 1821. The couple had nine children: Ann D., Edward, Thomas H., Charles V., Henry, Samuel, Mary E., Harriet, and Caroline.

Edward Faile was a member, and his brother Thomas a governor, of The Society of the New York Hospital.{{Cite book|url=http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/digital/collections/cul/texts/ldpd_6499364_000/ldpd_6499364_000.pdf|title=Charter of the Society of The New York Hospital|publisher=D. Van Nostrand|year=1872|location=New York|pages=81, 102}} They were both also members of the Supply Engine Company, a volunteer fire department in New York.{{Cite book|last=Sheldon|first=George William|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tMM1AQAAMAAJ&q=%22edward+G.+Faile%22+firemens+insurance&pg=PA406|title=The Story of the Volunteer Fire Department of the City of New York|publisher=Harper & Brothers|year=1882|location=New York|page=406|language=en}}

File:GENERAL VIEW - South Street Seaport Museum, 236 Front Street, 236 Front Street, New York, New York County, NY HABS NY,31-NEYO,138-1.tif

In 1821, Faile opened a wholesale grocery in an existing building at 236 Front Street in downtown Manhattan.{{Cite web|title=Thomas H. Faile and Annie D. Brown papers (1856-1882, bulk 1856-1857)|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/f/findaid/findaid-idx?cc=clementsead;c=clementsead;idno=umich-wcl-M-3357.1fai;didno=umich-wcl-M-3357.1fai;view=text|access-date=September 22, 2020|website=Clements Library, University of Michigan|at=Biography}} In 1827{{En dash}}1828, Faile built a new building at the same location, larger than the original. In 1828, the building was assessed at $10,000 for tax purposes. As of 1973, this building was vacant and leased to the South Street Seaport Museum.{{Cite book|url=https://memory.loc.gov/master/pnp/habshaer/ny/ny0900/ny0902/data/ny0902data.pdf|title=Edward G Faile Building, Photograph Written Historical and Descriptive Data|publisher=Historic American Buildings Survey, National Park Service|location=Washington, DC|id=HABS No. NY-5680}} Faile brought his brother Thomas into the business in 1825, under the name of E. G. Faile & Co. In 1839 or 1840 (sources differ), he bought buildings at 165 John Street and 181 Front Street.{{Cite book|url=http://home2.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SOUTH_STREET_SEAPORT_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf|title=South Street Seaport Historic District Designation Report|publisher=NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission|year=1877|page=24|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929173119/http://home2.nyc.gov/html/lpc/downloads/pdf/reports/SOUTH_STREET_SEAPORT_HISTORIC_DISTRICT.pdf|url-status=dead}} The business moved to the later location, where he remained for thirteen years. In 1845, Faile built two new buildings, at 179 and 180 West Street, which he rented out. The {{Convert|23|ft|adj=on}} wide buildings were "not fancy – plain brick with granite lintels, granite storefront framing and a modest cornice".{{Cite news|last=Gray|first=Christopher|date=May 27, 1990|title=Streetscapes: 179 West Street. A Lonely Reminder of the Days of Waterfront Glory.|at=Section 10, Page 5|work=The New York Times|url=https://nyti.ms/3mEbSHr|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}

In 1843, Faile joined with several other sugar merchants in New York in a letter to Secretary of the Treasury John Spencer, complaining of excessive import duties imposed on brown sugar.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CjgLAAAAYAAJ&q=faile|title=28th Congress, 2d Session: Report of The Secretary of the Treasury|date=June 15, 1844|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|at=Page 29 (Letter to the Hon. John C. Spencer from Spofford, Tileston & Co; Grinnell Minturn & Co; Goodhue & Co; Chastelain & Ponvert; Moses Taylor; P. Harmoney's Nephew & Co; Daniel Curtis Jr; Edward G. Faile & Co)|language=en}}

Edward and his brother Thomas both retired in 1853, handing the firm over to their sons and to Richard Williams, changing the firm name to Faile, Williams, & Co. The business was eventually taken over by Charles V. Faile, as a sole proprietorship, located at 130 Water Street. The business ran into financial troubles starting in 1879, when it made a large purchase of tea stocks at the peak of the market. On November 25, 1882, the business failed due to losses from falling tea prices and fluctuations in the money market. At the time, the business had about $344,000 (equivalent to ${{Inflation|index=US|value=0.344000|start_year=1882|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}) in liabilities. Prior to the failure of the business, the company was one of the largest and oldest tea distributors in New York City.{{Cite news|date=November 25, 1882|title=Failure in the Tea Trade: Charles V. Faile, a Leading Merchant of New York, Makes an Assignment.|page=1|work=The Times|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|url=https://newspapers.com/clip/59680316/charles-v-faile-tea-trade-failure/|access-date=September 20, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}

Faile was a director of both the New York & Harlem Railroad and the New York Central Railroad. In 1863, he campaigned to be president of the New York Central, attempting to take the position from Erastus Corning. Faile lost the election, receiving 60,039 votes to Corning's 124,802.{{Cite book|last=Harlow|first=Alvin F.|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/America/United_States/_Topics/history/_Texts/HARROC/5*.html|title=The Road of the Century (Chapter V)|publisher=Creative Age Press|year=1947|location=New York|pages=112}} Faile was also a director of the Firemen's Insurance Company and the Metropolitan Bank.{{Cite news|date=July 1, 1851|title=Edward G Faile Fireman's Insurance|page=1 (advertisement, column 6)|work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59469874/edward-g-faile-firemans-insurance/|access-date=September 17, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news|date=April 12, 1852|title=Metropolitan Bank|language=en|page=3|website=New-York Tribune|url=http://newspapers.com/clip/59499619/edward-faile-metropolitan-bank/|access-date=September 18, 2020|via=Newspapers.com}}

File:Faile Mansion.jpg

The Faile family estate, known as Woodside, was in what is now the Hunts Point section of The Bronx. In 1831, George Faile (Edward's father) purchased a tract of land from Barnard Bayley.{{Cite web|title=Faile v. Crawford, 30 App. Div. 536 {{!}} Casetext Search + Citator|url=https://casetext.com/case/faile-v-crawford-1|access-date=September 22, 2020|website=casetext.com}} The estate was further expanded between 1832 (when the mansion was built) and 1842, at a cost of $15,000.{{cite book |title=Real Estate Record and Builders' Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oJ5RAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA842 |publisher=F. W. Dodge Corporation |page = 842 |date= October 22, 1904 |access-date = February 5, 2018 |via=Google Books}} The estate occupied 85 acres, stretching from the Bronx River to beyond what is now Southern Boulevard. The mansion was described in Valentine's Manual of Old New York, as having an "imposing array of Doric columns", and as being "surrounded by a glorious forest". Furnishings included a pair of wooden armchairs whose provenance is traced to the 1620 landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock; these belonged to Charles V. and adorned his library.{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Harry T. |last2=Kaplan |first2=Nathan J. |year=1913 |title=The Borough of the Bronx 1639–1913 |publisher=Self-published |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/14001375/ |location=New York |lccn=14001375 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230531050614/https://www.loc.gov/item/14001375/ |archive-date=May 31, 2023 |via=Library of Congress |access-date=September 18, 2023 |url-status=live}}

The estate included a working farm with Devon cattle, which Faile imported and bred.{{Cite book|last=Scharf|first=John Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkgVAAAAYAAJ&q=faile|title=History of Westchester County, New York including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms which have been annexed to New York City.|publisher=L. E. Preston & Co.|year=1886|volume=1 (part 2)|location=Philadelphia|page=806}} Several of his cattle won first prize at shows, including Cayuga, Huron, and Queen Ann.{{Cite book|last=Davy|first=John Tanner|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R6BOAAAAYAAJ&q=Edward+G.+Faile&pg=PA6|title=Davy's Devon Herd Book Containing the Ages and Pedigrees of Pure Bred Devon Cattle with Supplemental Register and Dual-purpose Section|publisher=Devon Cattle Breeders' Society|year=1891|pages=6, 17, 120|language=en}}

In 1898, a lawsuit was brought by Henry J. Crawford, claiming that Faile's deed to the estate was invalid. The issue was whether John Fleetwood Marsh properly conveyed title to Barnard Bayley, from whom George Faile purchased the property. The court found that the title was valid.

In 1904, the estate, comprising 1299 lots, was sold to the Central Realty Bond & Trust Co for about $1,000,000. The property was described as "bounded by Dongan st, Intervale av, Southern Boulevard, Longwood av, Lafayette av, Hunt's Point road, Gilbert pl, and the Bronx River". By 1908, the estate had passed into the hands of George F. Johnson.{{Cite book | title = Engineering News | page = 191 | via = Google Books | date = November 26, 1908 | access-date = February 3, 2018 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Lek1AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA191 }}{{Cite web|date=May 23, 1909|title=Competing Plans for Immense Plant of American Bank Note Company|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1909/05/23/106718233.html?pageNumber=14|access-date=February 3, 2018|work=New York Times|issn=0362-4331}} In 1908, part of the estate was purchased by the American Bank Note Company. Woodside was razed in 1909 to clear the lot for construction of the company's new printing plant.{{Cite web|editor=Henry Collins Brown|title=Bronx: Barretto Street - Lafayette Avenue|url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dc-a411-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99|access-date=February 1, 2018|work=NYPL Digital Collections|publisher=Valentine's Manual Inc}}{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjNDAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA445|title=Valentine's Manual of Old New York (No 4, New Series)|publisher=Valentine's Manual Inc|year=1920|editor-last=Brown|editor-first=Henry Collins|location=New York|page=445|access-date=February 1, 2018|via=Google Books}} Faile Street runs through the area.{{Cite news|last=Garcia|first=Sandra E.|title=The Rich History of Hunts Point|work=The Bronx Journal|url=http://bronxjournal.com/?p=7383|access-date=September 21, 2020}}

File:Edward G Faile Gravesite.jpg

Faile was an acquaintance of Richard March Hoe, who had an estate near his in Hunts Point. Hoe invented a machine for stamping and dating tickets, based on a suggestion made by Faile. Hoe and Faile were both vestrymen at St. Ann's Protestant Episcopal Church of Morrisania.{{Cite news |date=October 27, 1941 |title=Col. Hoe Honored for Rotary Press; Tablet Unveiled at St. Ann's Church, the Bronx, Where he Served as Vestryman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1941/10/27/archives/col-hoe-honored-for-rotary-press-tablet-unveiled-at-st-anns-church.html |url-access=subscription |work=The New York Times |pages=17 |issn=0362-4331}}

In 1863, he was president of the New York State Agricultural Society.{{Cite book|last=Faile|first=Edward G.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OLVWAAAAcAAJ|title=Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the N. Y. State Agricultural Society.|date=February 11, 1864|publisher=New York State Agricultural Society|location=Albany|language=en}} His son, Thomas H., later became vice president and another son, Henry, was a life member of the society.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AMtFAAAAYAAJ&q=cornell|title=Proceedings ...|date=1862|publisher=New York State Agricultural Society|language=en}} Faile died of pneumonia in his home on April 20, 1864. Funeral services were held at St. Ann's Church, and he was buried in the cemetery at Saint Paul's Church, (known at the time as East Chester Church) in Mount Vernon, New York.{{Cite news|date=April 21, 1864|title=Died: Faile|language=en-US|page=8|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1864/04/21/archives/died.html|access-date=September 22, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} After his death, his family continued to reside at the estate.{{cite book |last1=Twomey |first1=Bill |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WeVTP3GyFH0C&pg=PA175 |title=The Bronx, in Bits and Pieces |date=2007 |publisher=Rooftop Publishing |isbn=9781600080623 |page=175 |access-date=February 5, 2018 |via=Google Books}}{{Clear}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Cite journal |title=Death of Edward G. Faile |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z9BCAQAAMAAJ&q=DEATH+OF+EDWARD+G.+FAILE+the+cultivator&pg=PA173 |journal=The Cultivator |volume=12 |issue=6 |location=Albany, NY |publisher=Luther Tucker & Son |date=June 1964 |page=173}}
• {{Cite web |author= |date=8 April 2016 |title=An early visitor to Lawrence University |url=https://aaronwmarrs.com/blog/2016/4/6/an-early-visitor-to-lawrence-university |access-date=26 December 2024 |work=Frederick Jackson Turner Overdrive |quote=}}

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Category:1799 births

Category:1864 deaths

Category:19th-century American merchants

Category:Businesspeople from New York City

Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City

Category:Farmers from New York (state)

Category:History of the Bronx

Category:People from Roxburgh

Category:Scottish emigrants to the United States