Nicholas Devereux
Nicholas Devereux (June 7, 1791 – December 29, 1855) was an Irish-American financier and banker, and one of the major early landowners in western New York state.
Originally of Norman French extraction, they were wealthy and well connected, and lived at ease on their handsome estate, "The Leap", at Davidstown, near Enniscorthy.
They sympathized warmly with and took an aggressive part in the agitations preceding the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and on the defeat of the patriots or rebels the family was ruined.
[2] In 1806, at the age of fifteen, Nicholas Devereux emigrated to join his brother John, who had previously settled in Utica, New York.
On the first Sunday following his arrival he attended Mass in St. Peter's, Barclay Street, and put on the plate one of his last three gold coins,[1] The sexton thought it as an offering of thanks for his safe trip to America.
James had emigrated from Bailieborough, County Cavan, Ireland around 1789, and amassed a vast fortune from business dealings in upstate New York, primarily in Albany real estate, money lending, and his involvement with the building of the Erie Canal.
In 1821 Nicholas and his brother, John purchased the land above the canal between Genesee and Hotel streets, where they erected a large store and warehouse.
At first the bank was operated from Nicholas Devereux's office, a vacant shop where the corporation secretary, Stalham Williams would receive deposits.
On the wall was a gauge for measuring height for the purposes of identification, and a detailed physical description of each depositor was maintained in a memorandum book.
In the interest of the New York Life and Trust Company he spent some time in Albany and while there took an active part in the organization of the Utica and Schenectady Railroad, of which he became a director.
While it appears that the members of the Devereux household survived, the attending physician, Dr. Alexander Coventry succumbed to the illness, leaving behind seven sons and four daughters.
In 1843, the Devereux brothers were among the founding trustees of St. John's Orphan Asylum, staffed by the Daughters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Happening to be at Hartford one Sunday in 1829, he learned that owing to the bigotry and Know Nothing sentiment in the town, it was impossible for the parishioners to obtain a certain piece of property for their church, as they were too few and too poor to provide the ready cash demanded.
Devereux, though a stranger, did not need to be appealed to, he immediately advanced the required sum of $10,000, without asking or receiving any assurance that the money would ever be returned to him, though the grateful pioneer Catholics did in fact repay him later.
With John Timon, the Bishop of Buffalo, he was instrumental in inviting a group of Franciscan brothers from Italy, to minister to the growing Catholic population of Western New York and to teach at the new university.
He visited Rome in 1854 accompanied by his wife, his daughter Mary, and Michael Clarke, and returned with six Franciscan Fathers and gave them $5,000 towards building the friary.
On his return from Italy he wrote a letter to the New York "Freeman's Journal" offering to be one of one hundred persons who would each give $1,000 towards founding a seminary at Rome, for the education of American priests.
