Daniel Drew

Daniel Drew (July 29, 1797 – September 18, 1879) was an American businessman, steamship and railroad developer, and financier. Summarizing his life, Henry Clews wrote: "Of all the great operators of Wall Street ... Daniel Drew furnishes the most remarkable instance of immense and long-continued success, followed by utter failure and hopeless bankruptcy".

Drew was born in Carmel, New York in the family of Gilbert Drew and Catherine Muckleworth. He was poorly educated and saw hardship after his father, who owned a small cattle farm, died when Daniel was fifteen years old. Drew enlisted and drilled, though did not see face to face combat in the War of 1812. After the war, he spent some time with a traveling zoo and then built a successful cattle-droving business.

In 1820, he moved to New York City, where he established himself at the Bull's Head Tavern in the Bowery, a place frequented by drovers and butchers doing business in the city. While running the tavern, he formed a partnership with two other drovers, buying cattle from neighboring counties and bringing them to New York for sale. In 1823, he married Roxanna Mead.