GRINNELL, HENRY. 



GRISOOM, JOHN II. 



yielded such immense wealth to the aasoeia- 

 tinn; was an ellicii-nt otHeer of the town ami 



u uty hoards, mayor of tho young city for 



ree successive terms, member of Congress 

 1847 to 1849, strongly pressed for I'nit.-d 

 ;.)r, and \\at.-r Commissioner, Bank 

 isaionor, president of tho first savings- 

 of Jersey City, director at one time in 

 different railway companies, including all 



at had tin-in termini in Jersey City; and 

 a bountiful giver to churches of all denomina- 

 tion-, public schools, city parks, and all other 

 institutions and enterprises intended to benefit 

 his fellow-citizens. No man was better or 

 more favorably known to all the citizens of his 



opted city. About 1851 or 1852 Mr. Gregory 

 e an extended tour in Europe, and greatly 

 enjoyed the contrast between the more quiet 

 lite of the Old World and the bustle, enterprise, 

 and push of the New. 



UUINNELL, HENRY, an eminent American 

 merchant and philanthropist, long connected 

 with arctic explorations, born in New Bed- 

 ford, Mass., in 1800 ; died in New York City, 

 Juno 80, 1874. He was of Huguenot ances- 

 try, and the name is still preserved in a street, 

 a square, and an artesian well in Paris, though 

 with what was the original spelling Gre- 

 nelle. Mr. Grinnell's early education was very 

 thorough; the New Bedford Academy, from 

 which he graduated in 1818, being one of the 

 best schools of that time. The same year he 

 came to New York and became a clerk with 

 Messrs. H. D. & E. B. Sewell, a large com- 

 mission-house in Pine Street, with whom he 

 remained until 1820, when, a change occurring 

 in the firm of Fish & Grinnell, in which his 

 elder brother, Joseph Grinnell, had been a 

 partner since 1810, he and another brother, 

 Moses H., joined the firm, and two years later, 

 Joseph Grinnell retiring, Robert B. Minturn, 

 Sen., entered it. The great shipping-house of 

 Grinnell, Minturn & Co., thus formed, trans- 

 acted a safe and prosperous shipping business 

 for more than thirty years, never engaging in 

 any speculation nor departing in any way from 

 their legitimate department of trade. Their 

 credit was never for a moment in doubt, and 

 their business was conducted with such mod- 

 eration as to leave the partners ample time for 

 such intellectual pursuits as they desired. 

 Henry Grinnell was specially interested in 

 geographical studies, and had always been oc- 

 cupied and charmed with explorations in 

 arctic seas, though we believe none of the 

 large fleet of the firm were engaged in the 

 whale or seal fisheries. Sir John Franklin 

 was one of his heroes, and when in 1850 five 

 years had passed since any tidings had been 

 received from him, Mr. Grinnell, at his own 

 expense, fitted out an expedition to go in search 

 of the lost navigator. This was the expedition 

 which sailed from New York in May, 1860, 

 under command of Lieutenant E. J. De Haven, 

 and in which Dr. E. K. Kane went as surgeon 

 and naturalist. The unknown land discovered 

 VOL. xiv. 25 A 



in latitude 75 24' 21" by this expedition wu 

 rightly named Grinnell Land, and Kn/lish and 

 !i explorers and geographer* have united 

 with our own in conferring that name upon it. 

 Mr. ( irinnell'H zeal was not cooled by the want 

 of success which at tended this first expedition. 

 In 1858, in conjunction with George Peabody, 

 he expended $50,000 in fitting oat the second 

 Franklin Expedition, which was placed in 

 charge of Dr. Kane, the Government bearing 

 the expense of manning and victualing tho 

 Advance and Rescue, and supplying the ex- 

 plorers with apparatus. He gave, besides 

 money, his valuable time and his unwearied 

 efforts to the proper equipment of the expedi- 

 tion. He was greatly gratified with what it 

 accomplished, though it was less than he had 

 hoped. The Hayes Expedition also found in 

 him a liberal patron, as did the last sad but 

 not wholly unproductive expedition of Captain 

 Hall. He had great faith in Captain Hall, to 

 whom he believed the public were indebted 

 for most of what was known in regard to the 

 fate of Sir John Franklin and his companions. 

 So anxious was he for the success of the Po- 

 laris Expedition that with his approval one of 

 his sons came from Australia to go out in her; 

 but, learning from actual observation how 

 poorly the vessel was prepared for the work 

 it proposed to undertake, he pursuaded his son 

 to abandon the voyage. In 1852 Henry Grin- 

 nell retired from the firm of Grinnell, Minturn 

 & Co., and spent a considerable time in the 

 easy enjoyment of the fruits of his mercantile 

 career. After an interval of leisure he became 

 engaged in insurance, and since 1859 had been 

 connected with the Liverpool and London In- 

 surance Company, and was for a considerable 

 time at the head of its interests in this coun- 

 try. His name has not been conspicuous in 

 the public eye of late years, for he took no 

 active part in the movements of the day out- 

 side of his favorite field. For a few years 

 previous to his retirement from the firm of 

 Grinnell, Minturn & Co., he was much inter- 

 ested in politics, and in 1848 was a very ear- 

 nest opponent of slavery. His political opinions 

 afterward underwent considerable modifica- 

 tion, and he took no part in party struggles. 

 A noteworthy element in his character, which 

 has made his name less prominent of recent 

 years than it would otherwise have been, was 

 his marked inclination for privacy and retire- 

 ment. He deprecated the mention of his 

 name in public prints, and courteously de- 

 clined to give aid in the way of information 

 to any who desired to make mention of his 

 life and services in the cause of arctic explo- 

 ration in books. His decision of character and 

 strength of will were softened by a liberal dis- 

 position and a ready courtesy of manner. 



GRISCOM, JOHX HOSKINS, M. D., an emi- 

 nent American physician, humanitarian, and 

 author, born in New York City, August 14, 

 1809 ; died there, of disease of the brain, April 

 28, 1874. He was a son of the late Prof. John 



