Essex County NJ Archives Biographies.....Allan Lee BASSETT, 1827 - 1892 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/nj/njfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00001.html#0000031 November 9, 2008, 5:19 pm Author: Rev. Joseph F. Folsom BASSETT, Allan Lee, Soldier, Editor, Underwriter. Allan Lee Bassett was born on the family farm in New Haven county, near Derby, Connecticut, on February 28, 1827. His ancestors were of old Puritan stock. John Bassett, the first of his paternal line in this country, came to New Haven from England in 1642, and many of his descendants were prominent in the colonial life of New England, being landowners, farmers, educators, legislators and soldiers. His maternal ancestors were no less distinguished. His mother, Nancy Lee, was a descendant in the sixth generation of John Eliot, the Apostle, who emigrated in 1631 from England to Massachusetts, where he made himself famous not only for his learning but for his labors and sufferings as a missionary among the Indians. The parents of Allan desired to educate him for a professional career, as in the case of his brothers, Eliot and Benjamin, who were graduates of Yale College; one becoming a clergyman and the other a physician. Accordingly young Allan was sent to Hopkins Grammar School in New Haven, where he received sound preparation for college. His enterprising spirit and eager desire to take part in the busy scenes of life could not, however, brook the delay incident to a college course, and at the age of eighteen he went to New York City to enter the commercial house of his uncle, Benjamin Franklin Lee, as a clerk. During the succeeding twenty years he was actively engaged in commercial affairs, organized and successfully conducted the firm of Bassett & Mace, manufacturers and wholesale dealers in twine and hardware. When the Civil War broke out he organized a military company known as the Brooklyn Greys, of which he was made captain. It was attached under the name of Company D to the Twenty-third Regiment, National Guard of the State of New York, and took part in quelling the New York riots and in the battle of Gettysburg. He remained at the head of the company until the close of the war, when he returned to his home in Brooklyn, disposed of his business, resigned his commission in the regiment, and with his family removed to Irvington, New Jersey. In May, 1866, he established the "Northern Monthly and New Jersey Magazine," of which he was editor and sole proprietor. Its editorial department furnishes evidence of Captain Bassett's good judgment and literary taste as a writer. Two years of close application in this editorial work induced him to sell "The Magazine" to the Putnams of New York, and it was thereafter published as "Putnam's Magazine and Northern Monthly." Soon after abandoning the editorial chair in 1870, he engaged in the real estate business. The financial panic which took place during the following two years drove all land speculators from the market and with them went his occupation as well as a large share of his earnings. On the return of better times in 1875, he organized the Prudential Insurance Company, now one of the most important institutions of its kind in the country. He became its first president, and largely through his efforts the company was placed upon the basis which made possible the wonderful success which has followed. But differences of opinion arising in the conduct of its affairs, he withdrew in 1879 an^ associated himself with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company of New York, and continued throughout the remainder of his life to occupy a position as superintendent in New Jersey, making Newark his residence. Captain Bassett was a staunch Republican, and for several years chairman of the Essex County Republican Committee. He was always among the foremost in enterprises whose aim was the welfare of the community in which he lived. He was a prominent and influential member of the Board of Trade of the city of Newark, and was elected as its president for four terms, an honor without precedent in that organization. He was also a member of the Washington Association, which was established for the purpose of purchasing and preserving Washington's Headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey. In the New Jersey Historical Society he also manifested much interest, and labored zealously to secure a fireproof building for its valuable collections. From early life he was an earnest, consistent Christian, active in every good work. His genial nature endeared him to every one who knew him, and his wonderful energy and executive abilities gave him prominence in every movement, public or private, in which he took part. In December, 1853, Captain Bassett married Caroline, daughter of John Phillips, M. D., of Bristol, Pennsylvania. Six children were born to them, four of whom and their mother died during his residence in Brooklyn. Captain Bassett died at his home in Newark, New Jersey, on December 14, 1892. He is survived by a daughter, Allena, wife of Rev. John Balcom Shaw, D. D., LL. D., president of Elmira College, New York; and a son, Carroll P. Bassett, of Summit, New Jersey. Additional Comments: Extracted from: MEMORIAL CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY UNDER THE EDITORIAL SUPERVISION OF MARY DEPUE OGDEN VOLUME III MEMORIAL HISTORY COMPANY NEWARK, NEW JERSEY 1917 Photo: http://www.usgwarchives.net/nj/essex/bios/bassett-al.jpg This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/njfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb This file is located at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/nj/essex/bios/bassett-al.txt