William Gaston Hamilton

William Gaston Hamilton, a grandson of Alexander Hamilton, was prominent for half a century in the social, business, and philanthropic world of New York. On his mother’s side, he came of distinguished Dutch stock. He was an eminent engineer and a sagacious man of business. He early distinguished himself as the designer of the steamship Henry Clay, and he ended his active career as president of Breese, Kneeland & Co., of the Jersey City Locomotive Works, and as the general manager and engineer of the Atlantic & Great Western Railway. After his retirement in 1886, he devoted his abilities to the poor and the unfortunate. He was vice-president and manager of the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, a manager of the House of Refuge on Randall’s Island, of the New York Blind Asylum, and of a number of hospitals.

Henry Osborn Taylor
1914 Century Association Yearbook