Dudley Persse (abt. 1807 - 1864)

Born about 1807 in Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Margaretta (Boyd) Persse — married [date unknown] in United States

Died 5 Feb 1864 at about age 57 in Manhattan, New York County, New York, United States

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Biography

Dudley Persse, the son of Henry Stratford Persse and Anne Sadleir, was born about 1807. Year of birth from death record.

In 1821 at age 18, he was sent by his father to America to engage in farming. He eventually established a successful paper manufacturing business, Persse and Brooks, located on the banks of the Conneticut River at Windsor Locks, Conneticut.
AMERICAN NEWS.
THE PAPER MILLS OF PRESSE AND BROOKES.
— The new mills of this firm at Windsor Locks, Connecticut, are the most extensive in the United States. They are the work of two years, and cost 175,000 dollars. The excellent quality and finish of paper that is turned out of these mills at a reasonable price is highly creditable to the enterprise of the manufacturers. The senior member of the firm, Mr Dudley Persse, is an Irishman long resident in this country, and devoted to its republican institutions.^{[1] [2]}
However, "The Panic of 1857", in which an eminent New York City bank collapsed, led to an econonmic crisis that bankrupted many businesses, including Persse and Brooks.
A HEAVY FAILURE.
—We notice the suspension of Persse & Brooks, paper manufacturers, who have failed for a large amount. This house, we understand, owes J. G. Bennett of The Herald $70,000—they being his bankers, and have been for some time past. New York News.^[3]

He married Margaretta Boyd in 1836.
MARRIAGES.
Dudley Persse, Esq., of New York, fifth son of the late Henry S. Persse, of Galway, to Margaretta, daughter of W. Boyd, Esq., of Fort Breda.^[4]

Fashionable Intelligence.
Dudley Persse, Esq., of New York, brother of T. M. Persse, Esq., J.P., of Galway, who with Mrs. Persse and family, has been on a visit for some time back to his friends on this side of the water, left for New York on Saturday last in the Circassian.^[5]

Dudley Persse died on 5 February 1864 at Manhattan, New York, United States.^[6]
DIED.
PERSSE.—On Friday, Feb.5, Dudley S. Persse, in the 57th year of his age.
The friends and relatives of the family are respectfully invited to attend the funeral from St. Bartholomew’s Church, corner of Lafayette place and Great Jones street, on Sunday, the 7th inst., at 2 o‘clock.^[7]

Obituary.
DUDLEY S. PERSSE, ESQ.
Dudley S. Persse, Esq., for many years an eminent merchant and paper manufacturer in this city, connected with the firm of Persse and Brooks, died yesterday morning at three o’clock, at his residence, in thirty-eighth street. Mr. Persse was in his fifty-seventh year. He was a native of the city of Galway, Ireland, but had been a citizen of New York and was identified with its commercial progress, and highly esteemed in the mercantile community for a quarter of a century. The funeral ceremonies will be conducted at the Church of St. Bartholomew, corner of Lafayette place and Great Jones street, on tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, at two o’clock, after which the remains will be conveyed to Greenwood Cemetery for interment. The demise of Mr. Persse will be sincerely regretted by a large number of our citizens, to whom he was well known and by whom he was much esteemed.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ "Age" (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 - 1954), Friday 22 June 1855 page 7 column 4 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/154893017?searchTerm=William%20Dudley%20Persse#
2. ↑ For a description of the mill, see Persse and Brooks Paper Manufactory “The New York Herald” (New York N.Y. 1840-1920) Saturday 30 August 1845 page 1 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1845-08-30/ed-1/seq-1/
3. ↑ “The Charlotteville Democrat” (Charlotte, N.C.) Tuesday 29 September 1857 page 3 column 5 https://newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn84020712/1857-09-29/ed-1/seq-3/#words=Persse
4. ↑ “The Pilot” Friday 23 December 1836 page 1 column 1 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
5. ↑ "Irish Times” Monday 21 November 1859 page 3 column 1 https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
6. ↑ DUDLEY PERSSE Age 57 years Estimated birth year 1807 "New York, New York City Municipal Deaths, 1795-1949", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2WHC-8Q4 : 3 June 2020), Dudley Persse, 1864
7. ↑ “New York Daily Tribune: (New York, N. Y., 1842-1866) Saturday 06 February 1864 page 5 column 2 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030213/1864-02-06/ed-1/seq-5/
8. ↑ “New York Herald” (New York, N. Y., 1840-1920) Saturday 06 February 1864 page 1 column 6 https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030313/1864-02-06/ed-1/seq-1/

See also:

• Irish entrepreneur built nation's biggest paper mill in Windsor Locks Connecticut Irish-American Historical Society "The Shanachie" Vol XXIV No 4 2012 https://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=shanachie Accessed online 01 April 2022