James C. Colgate (1863-1944)

Description

James Colby Colgate was born on May 23, 1863 in Yonkers, NY. James Colby Colgate was the son of James Boorman Colgate and Susan Farnum Colby Colgate. James received a degree from Colgate University in 1884, and he later received another degree from Columbia University. He practiced law in New York City from 1887 - 1890. In 1891 he joined James B. Colgate & Company (his father’s stockbrokerage firm). In 1904 he became a senior member. He was a trustee of Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the New York. Trust Co. He was also the secretary of the Board of Trustees of Colgate University from 1892 – 1921, and the President from 1921 to 1935. He also gave a piece of land and a building on that land to Colby Academy, stipulating that the real-estate had to be used for educational purposes and the school had to stay out of debt. If either of these conditions were not met, the property would revert back to the Colgate family. James was married in Bennington, VT on June 4, 1890 to Hope Hubbell Conkling, with whom he had four children. He died in 1944.