Nicholas Gouverneur

Nicholas Gouverneur was born in 1753. He was the son of Samuel Gouverneur, a merchant born in 1720, and Experience (née Johnson) Gouverneur, who was born in 1720 and died in 1788. Gouverneur had several siblings, including Gertrude Gouverneur, who was married to Peter Kemble Jr.; Margaret Gouverneur, married to Lewis Ogden; Hannah Gouverneur, married to Charles Ogden; and Mary Gouverneur, married to Uzal Ogden. Margaret, Hannah, and Mary all married brothers who were descendants of the colonial settler John Ogden.

His paternal grandparents were Isaac Gouverneur and Sarah (née Staats) Gouverneur. Isaac was a brother of Abraham Gouverneur, who served as Speaker of the New York Assembly. Sarah was the daughter of Dr. Samuel Staats and the granddaughter of Abraham Staats. Nicolas Gouverneur's extended family included his uncle Nicolas Gouverneur and his aunt Gertrude Gouverneur Ogden, wife of jurist David Ogden. Through his aunt Gertrude, he was a first cousin to Abraham Ogden and Samuel Ogden.

Gouverneur's maternal family connections included a link to Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, his future wife, through her siblings. Elizabeth Monroe would later become the first Lady of the United States upon her husband's presidency.

In his career, Nicholas Gouverneur was a prominent merchant. His family firm, Gouverneur & Kemble, engaged in trade across the West Indies, Europe, and China. This firm was established by his grandfather Isaac Gouverneur and Peter Kemble, both recognized as leading merchants in New York.

In 1799, after the death of Gulian Verplanck, Gouverneur was elected to succeed him as president of the Bank of New York, a financial institution founded by Alexander Hamilton. Gouverneur served as president until his death in July 1802.

On February 25, 1790, Nicholas Gouverneur married Hester Kortright, who was born in 1770 and died in 1842. She was the daughter of wealthy merchant Lawrence Kortright and Hannah Aspinwall Kortright. Hester’s siblings included Elizabeth Kortright Monroe, who later married James Monroe, the future President of the United States.

Together, Nicholas and Hester Gouverneur had six children:

- Nicholas Gouverneur II (1792–1854), who died childless.

- Isaac Gouverneur (circa 1794–1815), who was killed in a duel by lawyer William Homer Maxwell.

- Louisa Augusta Gouverneur (1795–1860), who married David Johnston Verplanck, editor of the New York American and son of Gulian Verplanck.

- Emily Caroline Gouverneur (1798–1833), who married Robert Livingston Tillotson, New York's secretary of state and son of Dr. Thomas Tillotson and Margaret Livingston.

- Samuel Laurence Gouverneur (1798–1865), a member of the New York State Assembly who married Maria Hester Monroe, daughter of President James Monroe.

- Maria Charlotte Gouverneur (1801–1867), who married General Thomas McCall Cadwalader, son of U.S. Representative Lambert Cadwalader.

Nicholas Gouverneur died on July 12, 1802, in New York. His estate was divided among his surviving children.