William Bard (April 4, 1778 – October 17, 1853) was a lawyer and pioneer inlife insurance who founded theNew York Life Insurance and Trust Company.

Bard was born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, on April 4, 1778. He was the son of cousins, Mary (née Bard) Bard andSamuel Bard, a prominent doctor who was a founder ofColumbia University'smedical school andphysician toGeorge Washington.^[1] His younger sister, Eliza, was the wife of John McVickar, the First Rector ofSt. James Church in Hyde Park and professor atColumbia University.^[2]

His paternal grandparents were Suzanne (née Valleau) Bard,^[3] a granddaughter and heiress of Pierre Fauconnier, and John Bard, a friend of George Washington andBenjamin Franklin who had invested inHyde Park, then a 3,600 acre plantation.^[4]

William graduated fromColumbia College, in 1798 and began the study of law under JudgeMaturin Livingston, the formerRecorder of New York City.^[1]

After his marriage in 1820, they moved to Hyde Park where his father had transferred a large portion of his estate, together with a considerable fortune that his wife received from her grandmother, Madame du Nully of San Croix. Around 1826, Bard sold their estate in Hyde Park toDavid Hosack (the doctor who tended to the fatal injuries ofAlexander Hamilton afterhis duel withAaron Burr in July 1804) and moved to Manhattan, before eventually settling inStaten Island where he purchased a large piece of property becoming the first of his family to reside on Staten Island. There he built a large house inWest New Brighton, located on the north shore of the island, at Bard Ave. (which was named for him) and Delafield Place. He was offered the position ofpresident of Columbia College, but declined the offer.^[5]

He later founded theNew York Life Insurance and Trust Company, which was the first insurance company in New York,^[6] and served as its first president.^[7] After his retirement in 1847, he was succeeded byMorris Franklin, who served as president from 1848 until his death in 1885.^[8]

On October 7, 1802, Bard was married to Catherine Cruger (1781–1868) atTrinity Church in Manhattan.^[9] Catherine was the daughter of Ann (née du Nully) Cruger and Nicholas Cruger (brother ofHenry Cruger),^[10] a slave-trader inSt. Croix,West Indies.^[4] Together, they were the parents of fourteen children,^[a] eight of whom lived to adulthood:^[5]

• Samuel Bard (1803–1883), who died unmarried.^[5]
• Anne Bard (1804–1834), who marriedEdward Prime (1801–1883),^[11] son ofNathaniel Prime, in 1827.^[5]
• Caroline Bard (1806–1883), who died unmarried.^[5]
• Susan Bard (1812–1838), who marriedFerdinand Sands (1806–1839),^[12] a grandson ofComfort Sands.^[13][14]
• Eliza Bard (1813–1902), who marriedRufus King Delafield (1802–1874), brother of merchantsRichard Delafield andEdward Delafield.^[15]
• William Henry Bard (1815–1834), who died unmarried.^[5]
• John Bard (1819–1899), who foundedBard College with his wife, Margaret Taylor Johnston (1825–1875), daughter of merchantJohn Johnston and sister ofJohn Taylor Johnston, founder of theMetropolitan Museum of Art.^[5]
• Mary Bard (1821–1847), who married Arthur B. Morris.^[5]

Bard died on October 17, 1853, at his home onStaten Island. He was buried in the family vault inSt. Mark's Church in-the-Bowery. His widow, Catherine, died on October 14, 1868, also in Staten Island. Their Staten Island estate in theLivingston neighborhood, which was later owned by their daughter Eliza, became theStaten Island Cricket Club.

Notes

Sources

• William Bard atFind a Grave

• 1778 births
• 1853 deaths
• Lawyers from Philadelphia
• New York Life Insurance Company
• 19th-century American lawyers
• Lawyers from New York City
• Columbia College, Columbia University alumni
• People from Livingston, Staten Island

• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata