Henry Casimir de Rham

Henry Casimir de Rham (; ; July 15, 1785 – November 6, 1873) colloquially also known by his initials H.C. de Rham was a Swiss-born American merchant, banker and diplomat who served as one of the first consuls of Switzerland to the U.S. from 1822 to 1847. De Rham arrived in New York City in 1803, opening a subsidiary (or less likely his own firm), for a European textile firm.

Through additional participations, namely de Rham, Iselin & Moore (later known as de Rham & Moore, a textile and merchant banking firm, he among others of Swiss nobility rose up to the most prominent in the social circles of New York City. Since 1835, De Rham owned the DeRham Farm, in Philipstown, New York, where he spent summers and weekends. He was the patriarch of the American branch of the De Rham family.

Early life and education De Rham was born 15 July 1785 in Giez, Switzerland, one of two sons, to Wilhelm de Rham, originally of Braunschweig, Saxony, and Anne de Rham (née Kinloch; 1742–1813), of peerage of Scotland. His older brother, Jacques de Rham, married Adélaïde Doxat, whose family owned the Château de Champvent.

His maternal grandfather was Sir James Kinloch, Bt. of Scotland. He attended the military school in Munich, Bavaria. After the War of 1812 he entered business relationship with Isaac Iselin Roulet.

In July 1822 de Rham was appointed to be one of the first two Swiss consuls to the United States Together, they had four children:

Henry Casimir de Rham Jr. (1817–1840), who was a naturalist and specimen collector. After his death, his collection (including fossils, minerals and fish) was donated to the University of the State of New York's Cabinet of Natural History. He is honored in the name of the Garnet-throated hummingbird. Julia Antoinette de Rham (1821–1894) Charles de Rham (1822–1909), who married Laura Friedrich Schmidt, daughter of Eliza Ann (née Bache) Schmidt and John William Schmidt, who served more than fifty years as Consul-General in New York for Prussia, Saxony, and Baden. Her paternal grandfather, Dr. Georg Schmidt, was court physician to Queen Louise of Prussia, and her maternal grandfather, William Bache, was a son of Theophylact Bache. who married Anna Tayloe Warren and Georgina Louise Berryman; and William de Rham (1857–1881).