Background
William Russell Grace was a highly successful pioneer in economic imperialism. He came from a good family in Queenstown, Ireland, being the son of Janies and Ellen Mary (Russell) Grace.
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William Russell Grace was a highly successful pioneer in economic imperialism. He came from a good family in Queenstown, Ireland, being the son of Janies and Ellen Mary (Russell) Grace.
Grace's boyhood ambition was to gain a commission in the Royal Navy but this was blocked by his father, who had risked life and fortune supporting Venezuela’s struggle for independence.
William ran away to sea and roved about the world for two years, then his father bought him an interest in a Liverpool firm of ship chandlers. Bored with that, he went to Callao, Peru, where his father helped to place him in a similar firm.
His brother, Michael P. Grace, joined him and the firm evolved from Bryce & Company, through Bryce, Grace & Company to Grace Brothers & Company.
Their fortunes and their influence in Peru increased steadily. Shortly after 1860, William was forced, on account of his health, to give up his residence in Peru, but he left Michael to attend to the family interest there.
For a while, he drifted around Ireland and other countries, but in 1865, he settled in New York City where he organized W. R. Grace & Company. It was originally formed to serve as correspondent for Grace Brothers & Company of Callao.
When Peru built its railway system under Meiggs auspices, the Grace concerns secured contracts for practically all the supplies. Grace became a confidential adviser to the Peruvian government, and between 1875 and 1879, he handled the business of arming and equipping the Peruvian army.
Through his efforts, also, a large part of the navy was purchased. The firm furnished Peru with most of its munitions and secured additional ships during the war with Chile in 1879.
The unsuccessful outcome of the war left Peru with an unstable government and a debt of some $250, 000, 000. The bondholders, especially in England, grew restive, and this gave Grace a chance for his master stroke.
By the Grace-Donoughmore Contract of 1890, he practically secured a mortgage on the nation, taking over the national debt and receiving tremendous concessions in return.
The Peruvian Corporation, Ltd. , formed to manage the concessions, was nominally directed by Lord Donoughmore and a board composed largely of British bondholders, but Grace was the power behind the scenes.
In return for assuming two bond issues, the company received outright the valuable silver mines of Cerro de Pasco; the entire output of the guano deposits; five million acres of land containing valuable oil and mineral deposits; as well as the lease of two railways for sixty-six years, and the right to build and hold in perpetuity another road, with generous land grants for construction.
In exploiting these concessions the company did much to develop the country’s resources, but Grace did not limit his attention to Peru. In 1895, the Grace companies united under a Virginia charter as William R. Grace & Company.
The firm opened offices in practically every country of Latin America and in importing, exporting, and banking it established world-wide contacts. Extending into Chile, the company developed nitrate properties, cotton and sugar mills, and traction, light, and power companies.
Grace had already, in 1891, organized the New York & Pacific Steamship Company, and later the Grace Steamship Company. In 1880, the “Pirate of Peru” became the first Roman Catholic mayor of New York City.
Opposing Tammany, he conducted a reform administration, attacking patronage, police scandals, and organized vice, breaking up the Louisiana Lottery in New York and reducing the tax rate. He was elected for a second term in 1884, on an independent ticket.
In 1897, he founded the Grace Institute to give women and girls a practical education in stenography, dressmaking, and the domestic arts.
He died in 1904, survived by his wife, two sons and three daughters.
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On September 11, 1859, Grace had married Lillius Gilchrist, daughter of a Thomaston, Maine, shipbuilder.
13 July 1839 - 24 October 1922
30 March 1874 - 23 December 1954
4 April 1867 - 8 March 1884
Born on 23 December 1875.
20 September 1861 - 27 September 1861
Born on 30 March 1874.
Born on 11 June 1860.
1 September 1870 - 30 August 1871
2 September 1868 - 16 February 1870
24 October 1864 - 26 June 1866
22 April 1879 - 21 April 1882
Born on 29 June 1872.
11 April 1878 - 31 March 1943
