In 1836, Mr. Drew entered the banking business in Wall Street, and in
1840 established the widely-known firm of Drew, Robinson & Co. This
house engaged largely in the financial operations of the day, and became
known as one of the most uniformly successful in its dealings of any in
the city. Mr. Drew remained at the head of it for thirteen years, but in
1855 withdrew to make room for his son-in-law, Mr. Kelley. This
gentleman died soon after his connection with the firm, and Mr. Drew
resumed his old place.
Having succeeded so well in all his ventures, Mr. Drew now determined to
enter another field. Railroad stocks were very profitable, and might be
made to yield him an immense return for his investments, and he decided
to invest a considerable part of his fortune in them. In 1855, he
endorsed the acceptances of the Erie Railroad Company for five hundred
thousand dollars. This was the first decided evidence the public had
received of his immense wealth, and in 1857 another was given by his
endorsement of a fresh lot of Erie acceptances amounting to a million
and a half of dollars. This last indorsement was made in the midst of
the great financial panic of 1857, and occasioned no little comment.
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