Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1879-10-02
MisrrIlanfous.
Uncle Dan'l.
The Grea, Hear OF wall street


Daniel DFvS was born AT Carmel. Put
nam county. New York, July -. 1877. lie
va. thr"c wears yOuuger than the late Cor
ne.lg, Vanderbilt. and. like him, was 4
farmers soL. His father was OF English
, descent; h. mother had Scotch blood In
her ycius The farm was very small; the
homestead was very plain; the family never
pro-pcred. There was another child-a
younger brother. The two boys went TO
school irregulArly during the winter
months. but after their fathers death, ln
lsla. the sChooi-house door was closed
upon them. The family was left In strait
eued circumSArees, and the older brother
resolved to shin for himself He was atsll,
stalwart lad. Older To looks than in years.
lie was Ia his seventeenth year-the same
age At which Cornelius Vanderbilt borrow
eG sloU of his mother. bought boat and
began TO ferry msrkeimen from Staten Is
land 10 the Battery. Daniel Drew did not
borrow bis small capital, he earned d, by
enlI,tlng as a substitute in the State militia.
which had been called Into service. The
regiment ~ss called 10 Fort Causeyoort or
the Hudson rver opposite New York.
About three months after his enlistment
hOstiiities Ceased between the United States
aud Great Britain, and the regiment Was
mustered out.
tbtcskAAS
said he, one morning after his return 10 the
, farm. IL am going TO buy cattle and Sell
them in New York.
Are you sure you will not lose money
by it:' Mrs. Drew was as ssgac!ous and
cautious as the mother whom Commodore
Vanderbilt delighted TO honor all his lie
long.
II am sure shall make money
lie did make money from the start, bot
| he had 10 work terribly hard for it. He
was In the saddle day and night, purchss-
| lug cattle in Putnam and Dutchess couu-
/ ties, and driving them 10 the city after
| nigh,iall. lie WAS an excellent judge OF
cattle and q shrewd buyer. When his CON-
/ petitors began 10 multiply and cut down
I his profits, be enlarged his field Of opera
! tons by making Ohio base OF supply. He
needed capital, and be had no securities 10
offer for loans. lie went to Henry Astor.
| John jacob Astor's brother. the Fulton
| market butcher, who had recently retired
| from business IN take the risk" said
the capitalist, alter the plan had been un-
! folded II seemed TO be IA ioolhardy. crack
| ed-brained scheme Ii took nearly Sixty
days TO drive cattle from Ohio across the
| Alleghany mountains TO New York. Out
of drove OF eight hundred head. two or
three hundred would frequently be lost on
| the way Ia the forests and mountain last
| ne,ses. Cattle, however, were exceedingly
| cheap in the Ohio valley, and Drew's pro-
| fits we're 50 large that he was able in few
! year, to repay the borrowed money and 10
extend his operstioa- 10 Kentucky aud llli-
| nois He is said TO have been the first man
| TO drive cattle over the Allegheny noun
taius The perils and hardships OF the bus
mess were very great. Once he narrowly
escaped death during a terrible thunder
| storm. The tree under which he had taken
refuge was shivered by n thunderbOlt. his
horse Was killed. aud he himself was hurl-
ed senseless from the saddle.
In 1929 Mr.. Drew made New York his
permanent place of residence, and opened
a cattle yard At Third Ave and Twenty
fourth ST. The principal cattle yard 10 the
city had been for years in the BOwery
Theatre. The new yard was out OF town,
aud there was q large wheat field close by.
Fifteen hundred cattle could be driven into
the ward, and in the Bulls Head Tavern
there were excellent accommodations for
droyers. Under Mr.. Drew's management
this public house became the dr0vers
headquarters and exchange. he remained
there nine years and accumulated . large
fortune.
In 1884 Mr.. Drew went into the steam
boat business. in which his great rival
Commodore Vanderbilt. hsd already beer
engaged tor seventeen years. Mr.. Drew
was late on the river, bu, his energy and
shrewdness were soon manifest He begar
with the steamboats, Westchester aud Elm
. erald. running bet weeD New York and Al
bany, in opposition to the Vanderbilt Line
! He put down the fare from % to q. anC
made a tremendous reduction in freights
He added new STEAMBOATS, TO his line; b.
built The Knickerbocker and bought tn,
Oregon OF George Law; the Isaac Newton
} aud the New World came next; compeu