Anson Greene Phelps
| Anson Green Phelps | |
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Anson Green Phelps, industrialist and philanthropist
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| Born |
March 24, 1781 Simsbury, Connecticut |
| Died | November 30, 1853 (aged 72) New York City, New York |
| Resting place | New York Marble Cemetery, re-interred, Green-Wood Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Founder Phelps Dodge Mining Corporation |
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Anson Green Phelps (March 24, 1781 – November 30, 1853) was an American entrepreneur and business man from Connecticut. Beginning with a saddlery business, he founded Phelps, Dodge & Co. in 1833 as an export-import business with his sons-in-laws William E. Dodge and Daniel James based as partners in Liverpool, England. His third son-in-law, James Boulter Stokes, became a partner some years later.
Later in the 19th century after the senior Phelps' death, Phelps Dodge acquired mining interests and companies in the American West, and became known primarily as a mining company.
Anson Green Phelps was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1781; his mother died when he was 12 years old. Afterward, he was raised in the house of the Congregational minister of Simsbury. Phelps was descended from the early American colonial governors Thomas Dudley, John Haynes and George Wyllys. On 13 October 1799, he chose a relative, Thomas Woodbridge Phelps, as his guardian.
On 5 May 1799, Thomas Woodbridge Phelps and Anson Green Phelps were admitted to the Congregational Church in South Canton, Connecticut, which was led by Reverend Jeremiah Hallock. In his early adulthood, Anson Phelps left Simsbury and settled in Hartford, Connecticut.
After moving to Hartford, Phelps began manufacturing saddles and shipping them to the South. His business grew rapidly. He had a large brick building constructed on North Main street, which became known as the "Phelps Block." In 1812 he moved to New York City and began doing business with Elisha Peck under the firm name of Phelps, Peck & Co. in the United States. In Liverpool, England, where Peck managed it, the firm was known as Peck, Phelps & Co. They dealt in metal imports from England including tin, tin plate, iron, and brass; and exported cotton from the South to the textile mills in England. Such cotton trade was highly important to England and contributed to its considering support for the Confederacy during the American Civil War.
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