century association biographical archive

Earliest Members of the Century Association

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James King Gracie

Broker (Cotton)/Philanthropist

Centurion, 1889–1903

Born 15 June 1840 in New York (Manhattan), New York

Died 23 November 1903 in New York (Manhattan), New York

Buried Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

Proposed by James J. Higginson and Gustavus Tuckerman

Elected 6 April 1889 at age forty-eight

Archivist’s Note: Brother of Charles King Gracie; cousin of Edward King

Century Memorial

James King Gracie was descended from and connected with notable families in the business history of New York. His ancestor, Archibald Gracie, was the founder of the house which bore his name, which was afterwards merged in the house of Prime, Ward & King, and the affairs of which, later, passed to the Ogdens. Mr. Gracie in early life had charge of his father’s cotton interests in Alabama, then formed a connection with Mr. Edward King and finally established the house of J. K. Gracie & Westervelt, from which he retired ten years since, devoting much of his time to various charities. He was an officer of the Church of the Holy Communion, one of the founders of the Newsboys’ Home in 32d Street, a Trustee and Treasurer of the New York Orthopædic Hospital, and active in the Children’s Aid Society. He was connected also with the Museum of Natural History and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Edward Cary
1904 Century Association Yearbook