John Wolfe Ambrose's older brother, James, immigrated on his own to America and went on to become a distinguished police constable in Staten Island, New York.

A short time later, Ambrose became associated with a noted contractor, John Brown, who was responsible for the city's street cleaning.

He also laid the first eight miles (13 km) of pneumatic tubes in the United States under New York streets for Western Union Telegraph Company.

Ambrose also hoped someday to construct six immense steamship piers, of varying lengths from 900 to 2,200 feet (670 m), to attract ocean liners to Brooklyn.

Although his scheme was never completely realized, as a consequence of his waterfront development in Brooklyn, large areas of farmland became a populous city neighborhood.

Because of his great scheme, Ambrose made his first trip to Washington, D.C., in 1881, to lobby Congress for money to dredge New York Harbor's inner channels, as well as deepen Sandy Hook Bar.

Over the next fifteen years, Ambrose succeeded in obtaining $1,478,000 from Congress for improving the Bay Ridge and Red Hook channels.

The couple had five children: Katharine (Kate) Wolfe Shrady (1862–1945), John Fremont (1864–1933), Ida Virginia (1867–1933), Thomas Jefferson (1869–1926), and Mary (1872–1934).

However, in recognition of his efforts, the New York State Legislature in 1900 officially expressed gratitude for Ambrose and named the channel and its lightship after him.

However, in late 2017, the City Parks Department finally recreated a new bust and restored the monument, perhaps even surpassing its original beauty.