Curtis Lampson, Born 1806
fur trading and transatlantic cables
Sir Curtis Lampson Bt was born in Vermont, the tenth of twelve children. He moved to New York to seek his fortune, where he was introduced to the fur trading business by John Jacob Astor - who went on to build a huge fur trading business as well as a vast property empire. Lampson took his fur trading business to London, where he prospered. He is notable for having financially backed, with great energy and determination, the laying of the first transatlantic cable by Cyrus Field. Another backer was the great businessman and philanthropist George Peabody. This life story, written his great great grandson James Trelawny Day, sets Lampson’s life in the context of three equally remarkable members of his extended family.
Source: Contributed to Lives Retold in 2021 by the author, James Trelawny Day, the great great grandson of Sir Curtis Lampson. The article previously appeared in the Genealogist’s Magazine, and is archived here with acknowledgement and thanks.