Pierrepont, Hezekiah Beer, 1768-1838

Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont (1790-1838) established a prosperous mercantile firm engaged in international trade and commerce. After dissolving the firm, he turned to the acquisition and exploitation of land, buying up large tracts of land, one of which became most of Brooklyn Heights and Boerum Hill in New York City. He also acquired large tracts of land in Saint Lawrence and Franklin counties in northern New York State. Upon his death much of his property was bequeathed to his son, Henry Evelyn Pierepont (1808-1888).

Hezekiah Beers Pierrepont (November 3, 1768 – August 11, 1838)[1] was a merchant, farmer, landowner and land developer in Brooklyn and New York state. He restored the spelling of the family surname from "Pierpont" to "Pierrepont", its original French spelling.[1] Pierrepont was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1768 to a long-established New England family.[1] He was one of ten children, only four of whom survived to adulthood. His parents were John Pierpont and Sarah (née Beers) Pierpont.[2]

His maternal grandparents were Nathan Beers and Hannah (née Nichols) Beers. His paternal grandparents were Lydia (née Hemingway) Pierpont (a daughter of Rev. Jacob Hemingway who married Capt. Theophilus Morgan after his grandfather's death) and Hezekiah Pierpont, a son of the Rev. James Pierpont, a founder of Yale University.[3] After making some money by speculating on the national debt,[3] in 1793, Pierrepont, then 25 years old, launched a career as a merchant-adventurer. He relocated to Paris and, with his cousin, began to import goods to France, later expanding the company's scope to India and China. However, the business came to an end when his ship, the Confederacy, was captured in the China Sea by privateers in 1797, while he was on board. Having made a small fortune, he was now bankrupt, and returned to the United States.[1][3][4] He settled in Brooklyn in 1802.[1]

He bought 60 acres (24 ha) – part of the Livingston estate, plus the Benson, De Bevoise and Remsen farms,[4] – on what was then called "Clover Hill", now Brooklyn Heights, and built a mansion there.[1][3] Pierrepont purchased and expanded Philip Livingston's gin distillery on the East River at what is now Joralemon Street, where he produced Anchor Gin. Although very popular, competition from other distillers cut into his profits, and he left the business in 1819.[3] Along with streets came sidewalks, water pumps, and the institution of a watch.[3] By 1823, Pierrepoint was advertising and selling lots to New York City merchant and bankers, lauding the ease of transportation by ferry as opposed to by land from Upper Manhattan,[5] and the special and select quality of the neighborhood.[3][6] Brooklyn Heights soon became the "first commuter suburb",[6] and Pierrepont the "first important suburban developer".[1] On January 21, 1802, Pierrepont was married to Anna Marie Constable (1783–1859) by Bishop Provost. Anna came from a prominent New York City merchant and landowning family. As a wedding present from her father, William Constable, a partner of Alexander Macomb, received a half a million acres of land, becoming a major property owner in Upstate New York; the town of Pierrepont, New York is named after him.[8] Together, they were the parents of:[9]

William Constable Pierrepont (1803–1885), who married Cornelia Ann Butler, a daughter of Dr. Benjamin Butler, in 1830.[10]
Anna Constable Pierrepont (1805–1839), who married Gerrit Gansevoort Van Wagenen.[2]
Henry Evelyn Pierrepont (1808–1888),[11] who married Anna Maria Jay, a daughter of Peter Augustus Jay and granddaughter of Founding Father John Jay.[12]
Emily Constable Pierrepont (1810–1881), who married Joseph Alfred Perry.[2]
Frances Matilda Pierrepont (1812–1892), who married the Rev. Frederick Slocum Wiley.[2]
Harriet Constable Pierrepont (1820–1855), who married Edgar John Bartow.[2]
Maria Theresa Pierrepont (1823–1874), who married Joseph Inglis Bicknell.[2]
Julia Evelyn Pierrepont (1825–1898), who married John Constable.[2]
Ellen Josephine Pierrepont (1828–1879), who married James Monroe Minor.[2]
Pierrepont died in 1838 in Brooklyn.[1] Hezekiah and his wife Anna are memorialized in the Pierrepont Family Memorial, a Gothic Revival pavilion designed by Richard Upjohn.[13]