Background
James Boorman was born in 1783 in the county of Kent, England, of Scotch ancestry, the son of John and Mary (Colgate) Boorman. He came with his parents to New York in 1795.
(Title: Trinity Church : a letter from Mr. James Boorman t...)
Title: Trinity Church : a letter from Mr. James Boorman to the rector, church wardens and vestrymen of Trinity Church in the city of New-York. Author: James Boorman Publisher: Gale, Sabin Americana Description: Based on Joseph Sabin's famed bibliography, Bibliotheca Americana, Sabin Americana, 1500--1926 contains a collection of books, pamphlets, serials and other works about the Americas, from the time of their discovery to the early 1900s. Sabin Americana is rich in original accounts of discovery and exploration, pioneering and westward expansion, the U.S. Civil War and other military actions, Native Americans, slavery and abolition, religious history and more. Sabin Americana offers an up-close perspective on life in the western hemisphere, encompassing the arrival of the Europeans on the shores of North America in the late 15th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Covering a span of over 400 years in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, this collection highlights the society, politics, religious beliefs, culture, contemporary opinions and momentous events of the time. It provides access to documents from an assortment of genres, sermons, political tracts, newspapers, books, pamphlets, maps, legislation, literature and more. Now for the first time, these high-quality digital scans of original works are available via print-on-demand, making them readily accessible to libraries, students, independent scholars, and readers of all ages. ++++ The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ SourceLibrary: Huntington Library DocumentID: SABCP03953900 CollectionID: CTRG02-B325 PublicationDate: 18550101 SourceBibCitation: Selected Americana from Sabin's Dictionary of books relating to America Notes: "February, 1855." Collation: 32 p. ; 22 cm
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James Boorman was born in 1783 in the county of Kent, England, of Scotch ancestry, the son of John and Mary (Colgate) Boorman. He came with his parents to New York in 1795.
James Boorman was apprenticed to Divie Bethune, and entered into partnership with him in 1805. In March 1813 he joined with a fellow Scot, John Johnston, in forming the New York mercantile house of Boorman & Johnston, which became successively Boorman, Johnston & Company, and Boorman, Johnston, Ayres & Company. Adam Norrie became a partner in 1828. A subsequent department of the business was conducted as Boorman & Clark. At first Boorman sold Scotch cloths from Dundee, and Virginia tobacco, handling virtually all of the latter that came from the Richmond market. Later the firm did an enormous business in iron from Sweden and England. From South St. the house moved to Greenwich St. The business became so large that the partners had to relinquish a part of it. They were the largest importers of Madeira wines, and they received large consignments from Italy. Their counting-room was over the Bank of the Republic. In 1835 he received from Sweden a consignment of immense iron pillars, and the entire trade was much amused by Boorman's valiant effort to sell what no one wanted. Undaunted, he tore out the front of his store, put the pillars under the front wall, and with this increased support added several stories to the building.
Aside from his own business Boorman was made chief of every corporation with which he connected himself. He was the originator of the Hudson River Railroad, and as a director he led the board in bringing about the removal of Hon. Azariah C. Flagg as president of that road. He himself succeeded Flagg. At this time he wrote to the directors: "It will, I hope, not be deemed impertinent for me to add that my services to you as president are gratuitous. .. ." He was chairman of a committee of the road that awarded a contract to Peter Cooper for rails to extend his road to Albany, was a large owner in the Troy & Schenectady Railroad, and was a founder of the Bank of Commerce. He retired in 1855.
No New York merchant was more liberal in benevolence. He gave with great liberality to the Institution for the Blind, the Protestant Half-Orphan Asylum, the Southern Aid Society, the Union Theological Seminary, and Trinity Church, of which latter he was long an officer. His town house was at Waverly Place and Washington Square. He also owned No. 1 Fifth Ave. , the fine home that was later the residence of the Duncans, and he possessed a country estate at Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York.
(Title: Trinity Church : a letter from Mr. James Boorman t...)
Boorman was inclined to be headstrong, he had little patience with incompetency, and none at all with shams; his integrity was of that rare sort that is never questioned.
James Boorman married Mary Wells Davenport on November 10, 1810, and they later adopted a daughter.