John Gerard Coster

John Gerard Coster (August 1762 – August 8, 1844) was a Dutch-American merchant who served as president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company.

Early life Coster was born in August 1762 in Haarlem, Holland. He was a son of John Henry Coster (d. 1776) and Anna Catherine (née Vienecke).

He was educated to be a medical doctor under the tutelage of his brother Haro who was a well-known medical doctor in the British Navy.

Career Washington Hall 1809-1844After briefly living in Demerara in South America, Coster came to the United States from Haarlem in the Netherlands shortly after the Revolutionary War and founded the family fortune with his brother through the mercantile firm, "Henry A. & John G. Coster".

Personal life Coster was married to Catherine Margaret Holsman (–1847). They were the parents of twelve children, many of whom married into many prominent families including the Schermerhorns and Heckshers.

John Henry Coster, who married Adeline Boardman. Gerard Holsman Coster (b. 1808), who married Matilda Prime, a daughter of banker Nathaniel Prime. George Washington Coster, who married Elizabeth Oakey, a daughter of merchant Daniel Oakey. Henry Arnold Coster (b. 1820)

Descendants Through his son Daniel, he was a grandfather of Harry Coster, an American clubman who was prominent in New York Society during the Gilded Age.

Through his daughter Julia, he was a grandfather of Henrietta Reubell (–1924), who was a prominent figure in Paris society known for hosting a lively salon at her apartment at 42 avenue Gabriel, including James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, Edith Wharton, and Henry James.