The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1876-04-20
Wisrenatreons.
4. Y. sTEwART.
The Career of a Merchant
Prince.
TFrom the Americana

OF TIE QeaJ0 IN new Ork yesterday
afternoon of Alexander Turacy
Stewart, equally well known in Eu-
rope as in this country, as the great
dry goods prince of the age. His
illness was an affection of the bow
els, somewhat similar to that which
brought Charles O'Conor to DEATHS
door-a few months ago, and there
was a similarly premature rumor of
his death, on the correction of which
it was thought the crisis had passed,
and to-day's news is a surprise. For
man of Mr.. Stewards physique,
healthy, active habits, he dies young,
at the age of seventy-three, com
pared with the Astors, Coopers and
Vanderbilts, with whom he is asso-
ciated in the common. mind. Death
found him in the incipieney of a
gigantic and patriotic enterprise,
which it is to be hoped other minds
may prove competent to finish. He
had begun the erection of vast mills
at Glenham, near Fishkill, having
conceived the idea of substituting
domestic fabrics for large line of
foreign goods now necessarily i'm
ported. His life long familiarity
with the best qualities of imported
stuhfs, and his knowledge of Ameri-
can tastes, peculiarly adapted him
for success in this great enterprise,
and if he had lived to put his new
factories in operation, he would in
a few years have been able to offer
the trade and public cheaper, better
and more enduring fabrics than any
imported of the same description.
A. T. Stewart was born in the
neighborhood of Belfast, Ireland,
in the year 1903, was educated at
Trinity College, Dublin, and emf
grated to New York in 1928, at the
age of twenty. He taught classi-
cal school for short time, and then
opened a small dry goods store on
the west side of broadway, opposite
the Park. At that time John Jacob
Astor was already worth millions,
while Corn elius Vanderbilt. as a
Captain for Thomas Gibbons, had
been some six years in the steam
boat business. Stewart was the
last of the three to enter the race
for wealth. but he had over his com
petitors the advantage of a college
education. His wonderful execu
tive and administrative talent, com.
bined with exceptional commercial
sagacity and sleepless activity, soon
placed him at the head of the dry
goods trade. In 1S47 he was al
ready so wealthy, and liberal withal,
that be chartered a vessel and load
ed it with provisions as a gift to his
fellow countrymen during the Irish
famine. In 1S4S he built the large
marble store on Broadway and
Chambers street, a marvel of the
time, and then spoken of universal
ly as "Stewart's palace" 1t acted
as an advertisement through the
length and breadth of the land
His business grew rapidly, and grad
ually assumed the most colossal
proportions. In some branches be
had almost monopoly. Buying in
large quantities, and always fol
cash, he enjoyed great advantages
and for a long time the English
French and German manufactures.
made to him concessions which nc
other American house could obtain
He foresaw and prepared for tht
up town movement of the New York
trade center, by buying the land
bounded by Ninth and Tentl
streets, Broadway and Fourth
avenue. On these lots, covering al
area of about p acres, he bull
the six-story iron building
which now occupies it. The tota
investment, land and buildings
may be roughly estimated at $3.50,
0OO To this establishment in 1862
he moved his retail business, an,
from that time-the downtown stor'
was devoted almost entirely t
Wholesale trade.
Stewards Teneh-street store i
the largest establishment of the kin'
in the world. There is nothing o
, the sort in London or Paris whicl
: at all approaches it. There ar
eight foor-two below and 81,
above ground, each covering an are
of two and one-quartei acres-thu
e making a total Of eighteen acres, de
: voted to retail dry goods purpose
1t requires 250-horse power to hea
s the building, run the elevators, an
e work the sewing machines, whlc
1 are all placed in a row on the fourt
0 floor. There are about two thou
e sand employees under pay. Tn
e disbursements forrunning expense
:, are over million Of dollars per al
+ nun. The wholesale and reta
e establishments combined, have sol
I as high as S5O,OOO,00o in one yea
e At present they probably run in th
It neighborhood of s33, ,0O0, 600 per al
e mum.
d He owned also the Grand UnioI
i the largest summer hotel at Sarat,
e ga. He built up and owned a cit
e on Long Island, known as Garde
City, and connected it with Ne
York by railroad running to Hui
ters Point ferry, East River Til
Garden City was one Of his pl
.l,o,,,.s. sf (. incraaefuo IN size an