Daniel Drew
| Daniel Drew | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
July 29, 1797 Carmel, New York |
| Died | September 18, 1879 (aged 82) New York City |
| Occupation | Finance |
| Years active | 1840–1875 |
| Known for | Stock market speculation and manipulation |
| Spouse(s) | Roxanna Mead |
Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797 – September 18, 1879) was an American businessman, steamship and railroad developer, and financier. Summarizing his life, Henry Clews wrote: "Of all the great operators of Wall Street ... Daniel Drew furnishes the most remarkable instance of immense and long-continued success, followed by utter failure and hopeless bankruptcy".
Drew was born in Carmel, New York in the family of Gilbert Drew and Catherine Muckleworth. He was poorly educated and saw hardship after his father, who owned a small cattle farm, died when Daniel was fifteen years old. Drew enlisted and drilled, though did not see face to face combat in the War of 1812. After the war, he spent some time with a traveling zoo and then built a successful cattle-droving business.
In 1820, he moved to New York City, where he established himself at the Bull's Head Tavern in the Bowery, a place frequented by drovers and butchers doing business in the city. While running the tavern, he formed a partnership with two other drovers, buying cattle from neighboring counties and bringing them to New York for sale. In 1823, he married Roxanna Mead.
In 1834, he entered the steamboat business, purchasing a share of a boat operating on the Hudson River. Competing with Cornelius Vanderbilt, he ran numerous profitable lines outside of New York City.
Around this time, Drew began to speculate in stocks. He founded the brokerage firm of Drew, Robinson & Company in 1844, which dissolved a decade later with the death of his partner. After the firm’s dissolution, he continued to work in the brokerage business as an independent operator. In 1857, Drew became a member of the board of directors of the Erie Railroad and used his position to manipulate the railroad stock price. He joined forces with Vanderbilt to rescue the Erie from bankruptcy, and also became a director of the New York and Harlem Railroad, where he collaborated again with Vanderbilt to prop up that company's finances.
In 1864, Drew once again struggled with Vanderbilt, speculating on the stock of the New York and Harlem. Drew was selling the stock short, but Vanderbilt and his associates bought every share he sold, ultimately causing the stock price to rise from 90 to 285 in five months. Drew lost $500,000.
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