Courtesy of the Greenwich Historical Society
The yacht Oneida at Indian Harbor in Greenwich , Connecticut .
give the North a crushing advantage over Robert E . Lee and his men ,” said Wood . “ I would guess that my great grandfather , always a leader in technology , probably invested in Colt revolvers made in Connecticut .”
Benedict ’ s firm was located at 24 New Street , where his partner from 1871-1875 was Roswell Flower , who later became governor of New York . The business was called Benedict , Flower & Company during this period . Then , in 1876 , the Flower portion of the company name was removed , and the firm emerged with a new name ( E . C . Benedict and Company ), a new location ( 18 New Street ) and a new partner ( Benedict ’ s brother , Henry ). Henry was president of the Gold Exchange Bank , which he and Corny organized following the gold speculation in 1873 .
Benedict earned the bulk of his fortune as a handler of public utilities and gas stocks . He saw considerable success and was eventually reported to be worth $ 3 million . This may not sound like an enormous fortune today , but in the late 1800s it was amply sufficient to provide for his wife and four children , including as many servants as needed to attend them ,
and plenty of champagne for entertaining numerous , notable guests .
According to Wood , Benedict had some significant business and investing successes , as well as his share of failures . For instance , he was president of Commercial Acetylene , a gas company , at a time when electricity was yet to be harnessed . It was an era when lamplighters walked the streets every night with their torches to light the gas lamps . Gas was a solid investment — indeed the only game in town — until electricity became commercially available at the turn of the century .
Later , Benedict was heavily involved in backing the invention of the naphtha marine engine using alcohol . All the vapor engines were doomed , however , and the long struggle to devise a practical internal combustion engine for maritime purposes ultimately ceased .
The Oneida
Benedict was highly entrepreneurial as a broker , and he took chances on new and untested ideas . Perhaps a primary reason for his financial success was his spirit for adventure . However , it should be noted that his adventurous spirit was not what drew him to yachting later in life . Rather , he pursued this activity on doctor ’ s orders , as he needed a way to offset the stress of Wall Street .
“ I took up yachting because I had reached such a state that my physician said I would have to do something of that kind to save my life ,” Benedict wrote . Characteristically , he took up yachting with exuberance . Other people might have started with a 40-foot ketch or a dignified schooner , but not Benedict . Instead , he acquired a 138-foot steam yacht that carried a crew of 18 . He named his yacht Oneida , in honor of his former home town and his memorable race against the telegraph .
Aboard his yacht , Benedict not only commuted to Wall Street , but he also led sailing expeditions deep into the Amazon River to explore rubber plantations in regions that were largely uncharted at the time .
The Oneida enjoyed much attention from the press , likely for two reasons . Not only was she among the largest steam yachts of the 1890s , but she kept particularly distinguished company . The yacht ’ s log book contained the signatures of such
32 FINANCIAL HISTORY | Spring 2016 | www . MoAF . org