Leavitt, David

Born: 1791-08-29 Litchfield County, Connecticut

Died: 1879-12-30 New York, New York

Born in Bethlehem, Connecticut, David Leavitt was a clerk, merchant, financier, businessman, and a Presbyterian. He relocated to New York City in 1813, where he worked as a clerk for several years. After his father's death left him with an inheritance of $10,000, he entered the business world as a merchant. He reportedly made a $100,000 profit off an international business deal when he was just twenty-five years old and had a reputation as a man who was patient with his investments. In 1814, he married Maria Clarissa Lewis, with whom he had four children. In 1824, he built a house in Brooklyn, and, in 1825, became manager of the Brooklyn White Lead Company, a business he invested in and incorporated. Around the same time, he was elected president of Fulton Bank, and, in 1838, the American Exchange Bank. He invested heavily in transportation industries and real estate, and held leadership positions with the Housatonic Railroad and the Illinois & Michigan Canal's Board of Trustees. Born into wealth, his financial success and comfort only increased over the course of his life. In 1850, he owned real estate valued at $120,000. By 1860, he had a personal estate valued at $5,000, real estate valued at $135,000, and listed his occupation as "gentleman."

A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago (Chicago: A. T. Andreas, 1884), 1:172; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Ward 1, Brooklyn, Kings County, NY, 69; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Great Barrington, Berkshire County, MA, 47; The New-York Times (New York), 31 December 1879, 5:6; Gravestone, Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY.