James Powell Kernochan (October 22, 1831 – March 6, 1897)[1] was an American businessman and clubman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.

[2] His father, who was born in Scotland and came to America in 1790 as a baby, was a dry goods merchant and banker and a founder of the University Club of New York.

His paternal grandparents were William and Esther Kernochan, Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who had a farm in Orange County, and his maternal grandparents were William Seymour and Eliza (née Powell) Seymour, an English family who lived in Brooklyn.

[1] At the time of his death, was a trustee of the Lorillard, Spencer, and Marshall estates, as well as a director of the New York Life Insurance and Trust Company.

[9] They owned a residence in New York City at 824 Fifth Avenue and a home in Newport, Rhode Island.