Edwin A. McAlpin

Infobox Person
name = Edwin A. McAlpin


image_size =
caption = General McAlpin portrait circa 1895
birth_name =
birth_date =
birth_place = Ossining, New York
death_date =
death_place = Ossining, NY
death_cause = Cerebral Hemmorage
resting_place =
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nationality =
other_names =
known_for = Commander of the 71st Regiment of the New York Milita, (Later the New York Guard), Adjutant General of the State of New York, CEO of D.H. McAlpin & Co a large tobacco manufacturer in New York City, real estate owner in New York City. Mayor of Ossining, NY.
education = Phillips Academy
alma_mater =
employer = D.H. McAlpin & Co
occupation =
home_town = Ossining, NY
title = General
salary =
networth =
height =
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term =
predecessor =
successor =
party =
boards = D.H. McAlpin & CoCanal Street Building CorpGreat Eastern Casualty Co.Hudson Trust Co.John J. Cooke Co.

religion =
spouse = Anne Brandreth McAlpin
partner =
children = Benjamin Brandreth McAlpin Edwin A. McAlpin

parents = David Hunter McAlpin & Adelaide Rose McAlpin
relations =


website =
footnotes = General Edwin A. McAlpin (1848-1917) was a prominent and successful businessman in the 19th and early 20th century. He was the president of the D.H. McAlpin & Co tobacco company, built the Hotel McAlpin, at the time the largest hotel in the world in New York City. He had an active military career in the New York National Guard and was appointed Adjutant General of the New York Guard by the Governor. He was President of the Boy Scouts of America

Biography

Military career

General McAlpin was born on June 9. 1848, the son of David Hunter McAlpin, a prominent owner of a tobacco manufacturer in New York City, and Adelaide Rose McAlpin, in Ossining, New York. McAlpin attended public school for a time, then graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover Massachusetts in 1861. Following his graduation, McAlpin joined his father’s company, D. H. McAlpin & Co. With the outbreak of hostilities, McAlpin enlisted in the Civil War as a drummer boy but his father recinded the action due to his youth at age 17 [cite book
last = Colby
first = Frank
title = The New International Yearbook
publisher = Dodd Mead & Co
location = New York
date = 1918
pages = 424.] After the end of the war he was old enough to enlist in his own right and in 1869 joined the 7th Regiment of the New York Militia, (later the New York Guard) with the rank of Private.McAlpin attained the rank of First Lieutenant in the 71st Infantry Regiment (New York) where he was promoted in 1885 to Colonel . After retiring from the service he was appointed Adjutant General of the State by Governor Levi P. Morton, in 1885 with the rank of Major General. In this role he deployed his units to suppress several disorders in the New York City vicinity, but saw no formal combat.

Personal life

On 27 October 1870 he married Anne Brandreth, daughter of Benjamin Brandreth proprietor of the then-famous “Brandreth Vegetable Universal Pills” from which he amassed a large fortune. The wedding took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Ossining and was officiated by Rev. Clarence Buel. Also in that year he was admitted as a partner in his father's firm, the D.H. McAlpin & Co tobacco company.

In 1895 the couple celebrated their silver wedding anniversary at their house in Ossining, NY, dubbed “Hillside House”. As befitted a prominent person in the day, the couple chartered a train to bring guests from New York City and return them at the end of the evening. [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Gen. and Mrs. Edwin A. McAlpin Celebrate Their Silver Wedding
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 30 October 1895
url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9902E6D6113DE433A25753C3A9669D94649ED7CF ]

Political activities

He was an active worker in the Republican Party and ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1884. For many years he was treasurer of the Republican Campaign Committee. He was a potential Vice Presidental candidate alongside William McKinleyin the 1896 election. From 1889-1892 he was President of the Republican League of New York. He held several local offices in his home at Ossining, including:

* Village trustee from 1886-98,
* Village President 1889
* Postmaster 1889-1893

Business life

General McAlpin owned several large tracts of real estate in Manhattan, inherited from his father. One tract on 34th Street and Broadway was developed into the Hotel McAlpin which was named after the General. In the lobby of the hotel stood a wooden Indian which once stood outside the family’s tobacco store on Catherine Street in Manhattan; the predecessor to the large tobacco concern which eventually became the D.H. McAlpin & Co. tobacco company.

McAlpin was active in several businesses during his life including: [cite book |title=The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=1910 |publisher=James T White & Co |location=New York |isbn= |pages=297-298 |url= http://books.google.com/books?id=i-cDAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA298&lpg=RA1-PA298&dq=american+republican+college+league+mcalpin&source=web&ots=jDX7OEbVdB&sig=FxvNVO76rLRk9RfttvovivkiB3I&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PRA1-PA298,M1]

* President D.H. McAlpin & Co (tobacco)
* President Manhattan Hotel Co
* Vice-President Eleventh Ward Bank
* Vice-president Standard Gaslight Co of New York
* Director, Mutual Bank
* Director Morton Trust Co.
* Trustee Board of Trade and Transportation
* Member Chamber of Commerce

Civic involvement

McAlpin was active in a number of civic organizations including:
* President, Ossining Hospital and Dispensary
* President, YMCA
* Trustee First Presbyterian Church in Ossining

On 12 August 1911 Gen. McAlpin was elected President and Chief Scout of the Boy Scouts of America. [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Gen. McAlpin Chief Scout
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 13 August 1911
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D0DEEDF123AE633A25750C1A96E9C946096D6CF
accessdate = 8 June 2008]

Death and children

General McAlpin died at 2:00 p.m. on 1 2 April 1917 at his home in Ossining of a cerebral hemorrhage. [cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Gen. E.A. M’Alpin (sic) Dies at Ossining
work =
pages =
language =
publisher = New York Times
date = 13 April 1917
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D01E3DD153AE433A25750C1A9629C946696D6CF
accessdate = 9 June 2008]

General McAlpin left five sons:

* Colonel Benjamin Brandreth McAlpin
* Reverend Edwin A. McAlpin
* J. Roderick McAlpin
* Kenneth R. McAlpin
* David Hunter McAlpin 2nd

References