Francis William Jones Hurst (1840 - 1902)

Born 13 Feb 1840 in St. John, Antigua and Barbuda

Husband of Caroline Eloise (Jaffray) Hurst — married 2 Jun 1868 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 21 Jul 1902 at age 62 in New York City, New York, United States

Biography

Francis William Jones Hurst (February 13, 1840 – July 21, 1902), a native of the British West Indies, was a major figure in the cross-Atlantic shipping business in the 19th century. During the American Civil War, he captained ships that ran the Union blockade of Confederate ports. From the War's end to his death, he was the New York-based manager for the National Steam-Ship Company (also known as the National Line).

Francis William Jones Hurst was born in St. John's, Antigua (then in the British West Indies) on February 13, 1840. Hurst completed his education in Bermuda, and relocated to London, where in 1856 he began his mercantile career.

On June 2, 1868, Hurst married Caroline Eliza Jaffray, daughter of wealthy New York dry-goods merchant Edward Sommerville Jaffray. Two years later, Caroline gave birth to their first daughter, Florence. She would be known as “Daisy” before undertaking a long career in social work and public and political service. In 1873, however, after the birth of second and third daughters, Caroline Hurst died at age 29. Caroline's parents then assisted Hurst to raise his three daughters, namely:

1. Florence Jaffray Hurst (1870–1967), who married J. Borden Harriman (1864–1914) in 1889.
2. Ethel Wentworth Hurst (b. 1871), who lived in Hamilton, Bermuda.
3. Caroline Elise Hurst (1873–1961), who married banker and teacher George Hope Mairs (1866–1933) of New Jersey, in April 1894.

Hurst and his daughters would spend their winters in a Fifth Avenue mansion, while spending their summers in an Irvington, New York estate. In July 1902, he suffered an attack of appendicitis, at a point when he was already weakened by intestinal problems. He died soon thereafter, on July 21, 1902.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F._W._J._Hurst