Robert Kermit

Robert Kermit (September 4, 1794 – March 13, 1855) was an American shipowner and owner of the Red Star Line (also called the Kermit Line).

Early life Kermit was the son of Captain Henry Kermit and Elizabeth (Ferguson) Kermit. His father had been master of the brig Morning Star (which traded to the West Indies) for many years. This was the beginning of the Saint Line. Despite making some very profitable deals, Kermit, Prime, and Whitney could not keep the Saint Line solvent. In 1837, Kermit became a director of the Mutual Insurance Company and in 1847 director of the Knickerbocker Fire Insurance Company.

Unlike other operators, Kermit owned shares in all the ships of the line, while the rest of them were owned mainly by various ship builders and ship captains. With Kermit's management, several misadventures and shipwrecks occurred, but due to the quality of the ships and their speed and regularity, the performance of Red Star Line was better than it had been.

In the pressure of competition, packet schedules were abbreviated when reorganizing sailings due to disasters, new launchings, etc. In 1844-1848, several ships made three-month round trips instead of the traditional four months, measured from one Liverpool departure to the next one. West Point, Waterloo, and especially Virginian were among the fastest of the North Atlantic route. Virginian also was one of the most susceptible ships and often ended in reporting problems and misadventures.

For many years, Kermit operated the line in his own name (it was often called Kermit Line). In 1850, Kermit's father-in-law, Isaac Quentin Carow, died. Kermit never had children of his own;

Personal life On December 4, 1832, Kermit married Ann Eliza Carow, eldest daughter of his business partner Isaac Quentin Carow and Eliza Mowatt.

Kermit died at his residence, 50 East 14th Street, age 60.