Bech Family Homepage.xml
Media
Part of Marist College History: Bech Family History
content
9/8/21, 12:21 PM
Bech Family Homepage
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/bechfamily/bechfamilyhomepage.html
1/2
Bech Family History
Edward Bech was born May 4, 1812 in Denmark. His father,
Jorgen, a friend of Crown Prince Frederik, was a successful
merchant. Edward was educated at the University of
Copenhagen and later went to the Hanseatic city of Lubeck
for a commercial education. He arrived in New York in 1838.
After working for others he formed his own trading firm in
1842 which continued for 47 years until the death of his son
George. Also in 1838 he became the Danish Consul in New
York, a position that he held until 1858. He was knighted by
the Danish king on Oct. 5, 1854.
In addition to his own funds he inherited large sums of money
from his father. He moved to Poughkeepsie in 1851 and lived
at 57 Market St., Poughkeepsie, for about 10 years. He
became involved with the "pig iron" trade and started the
Tuckerman and Bech Iron Company, a thriving riverfront
industry that prospered with the advent of the Delaware and
Hudson Canal and Railroad. He was also a partner in the
Cunard Steamship Company.
In 1863 Bech purchased Hickory Grove, a 65 acre farm along
the Hudson River which he named "Rosenlund." He hired
Detlef, Lienau a prominent architect and fellow countryman,
to design the estate. The "Hickory Grove" main house was
still useable so Lienau drew up the plans for a mansion, barn,
carriage house and gatehouse. The service buildings had been
constructed when Bech died in 1873 terminating the project.
The mansion was never built, but the drawings, displayed in
the architectural drawing section of this web site, are part of
the Avery Collection at Columbia University. At his death
Edward Beck left an estate valued at $1,837,342. His son
George continued managing his businesses until his death in
1890. His widow kept Rosenlund until her death in 1900. In
1908 the property was sold to the Marist Brothers who later
founded Marist College.
The three service buildings now known as Greystone, St.
Peter's and the Kieran Gate House were listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Edward Bech's contribution was his vision of building up the
iron industry in the city of Poughkeepsie. He saw
Poughkeepsie as the center, the hub of a four spoked industry
9/8/21, 12:21 PM
Bech Family Homepage
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/bechfamily/bechfamilyhomepage.html
2/2
with coal coming in from the West, iron ore from the North,
both economically transported via water, with the processing
done in New York, Brooklyn, New England and Boston. It was
to accomplish this dream that a great railroad bridge was built
in Poughkeepsie. The bridge has not been used since 1974
when it was badly damaged by fire.
*click on any image to enlarge*
Home
|
Marist College
|
Library Home Page
last updated on June 10, 2004
9/8/21, 12:53 PM
Acknowledgment Page
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/acknowledgment.html
1/2
Project Directors
Dr. Brian Henry Desilets
Dr. Linus Richard Foy
John Patrick Noone
From the beginning, Marist Heritage has been a collaborative effort.
We appreciate the contributions of the Marist Brothers and the Marists All
community, who by supplying information and personal memories, have given vitality,
scope and depth to this project
Under the guidance and direction of Dr. Brian Henry Desilets, the initial web pages
were designed and created by the following Marist College students: Michele van
Brero (Hermitage, St. Peter's, Kieran Gate House, Greystone, Marist Brothers
Builders, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel).....Tage Haun (Bech Homestead, Marian,
Donnelly).....Fang Fang Xu (Boat House, Byrne House, Kirk House).....Courtney Gutt
(Bech Family History).....Vij lyer (Cemetery).....Rahkee Chopra (Fontaine Hall).
All the final Marist Heritage web pages were either created, revised, rewritten
and/or reshaped by John Patrick Noone, who is solely responsible for any errors
contained therein.
We thank Richard Branigan for proofreading the Marist Heritage web pages.
We recognize the contributions of our consultants: John Ansley for his input on the
format and contents of the various web pages. Also Victor VanCarpels for his
frequent consultations and guidance in the graphics included in this CD. His
patience and dedication while working with us made the overall results more
professional.
We are grateful to Barbara McMullen for the use of the Ecommerce facility at Marist
College.
We are indebted to the McCann Foundation which provided the funds necessary to make
this project a reality.
John Patrick Noone, editor
November 15, 2002
*this page is printer ready
Home
|
Marist College
|
Library Home Page
Bech Family Homepage
Acknowledgment Page.pdf
Acknowledgment Page
Bech Family Homepage
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/bechfamily/bechfamilyhomepage.html
1/2
Bech Family History
Edward Bech was born May 4, 1812 in Denmark. His father,
Jorgen, a friend of Crown Prince Frederik, was a successful
merchant. Edward was educated at the University of
Copenhagen and later went to the Hanseatic city of Lubeck
for a commercial education. He arrived in New York in 1838.
After working for others he formed his own trading firm in
1842 which continued for 47 years until the death of his son
George. Also in 1838 he became the Danish Consul in New
York, a position that he held until 1858. He was knighted by
the Danish king on Oct. 5, 1854.
In addition to his own funds he inherited large sums of money
from his father. He moved to Poughkeepsie in 1851 and lived
at 57 Market St., Poughkeepsie, for about 10 years. He
became involved with the "pig iron" trade and started the
Tuckerman and Bech Iron Company, a thriving riverfront
industry that prospered with the advent of the Delaware and
Hudson Canal and Railroad. He was also a partner in the
Cunard Steamship Company.
In 1863 Bech purchased Hickory Grove, a 65 acre farm along
the Hudson River which he named "Rosenlund." He hired
Detlef, Lienau a prominent architect and fellow countryman,
to design the estate. The "Hickory Grove" main house was
still useable so Lienau drew up the plans for a mansion, barn,
carriage house and gatehouse. The service buildings had been
constructed when Bech died in 1873 terminating the project.
The mansion was never built, but the drawings, displayed in
the architectural drawing section of this web site, are part of
the Avery Collection at Columbia University. At his death
Edward Beck left an estate valued at $1,837,342. His son
George continued managing his businesses until his death in
1890. His widow kept Rosenlund until her death in 1900. In
1908 the property was sold to the Marist Brothers who later
founded Marist College.
The three service buildings now known as Greystone, St.
Peter's and the Kieran Gate House were listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1991.
Edward Bech's contribution was his vision of building up the
iron industry in the city of Poughkeepsie. He saw
Poughkeepsie as the center, the hub of a four spoked industry
9/8/21, 12:21 PM
Bech Family Homepage
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/bechfamily/bechfamilyhomepage.html
2/2
with coal coming in from the West, iron ore from the North,
both economically transported via water, with the processing
done in New York, Brooklyn, New England and Boston. It was
to accomplish this dream that a great railroad bridge was built
in Poughkeepsie. The bridge has not been used since 1974
when it was badly damaged by fire.
*click on any image to enlarge*
Home
|
Marist College
|
Library Home Page
last updated on June 10, 2004
9/8/21, 12:53 PM
Acknowledgment Page
https://dev.lb.marist.edu/archives/MHP/acknowledgment.html
1/2
Project Directors
Dr. Brian Henry Desilets
Dr. Linus Richard Foy
John Patrick Noone
From the beginning, Marist Heritage has been a collaborative effort.
We appreciate the contributions of the Marist Brothers and the Marists All
community, who by supplying information and personal memories, have given vitality,
scope and depth to this project
Under the guidance and direction of Dr. Brian Henry Desilets, the initial web pages
were designed and created by the following Marist College students: Michele van
Brero (Hermitage, St. Peter's, Kieran Gate House, Greystone, Marist Brothers
Builders, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel).....Tage Haun (Bech Homestead, Marian,
Donnelly).....Fang Fang Xu (Boat House, Byrne House, Kirk House).....Courtney Gutt
(Bech Family History).....Vij lyer (Cemetery).....Rahkee Chopra (Fontaine Hall).
All the final Marist Heritage web pages were either created, revised, rewritten
and/or reshaped by John Patrick Noone, who is solely responsible for any errors
contained therein.
We thank Richard Branigan for proofreading the Marist Heritage web pages.
We recognize the contributions of our consultants: John Ansley for his input on the
format and contents of the various web pages. Also Victor VanCarpels for his
frequent consultations and guidance in the graphics included in this CD. His
patience and dedication while working with us made the overall results more
professional.
We are grateful to Barbara McMullen for the use of the Ecommerce facility at Marist
College.
We are indebted to the McCann Foundation which provided the funds necessary to make
this project a reality.
John Patrick Noone, editor
November 15, 2002
*this page is printer ready
Home
|
Marist College
|
Library Home Page
Bech Family Homepage
Acknowledgment Page.pdf
Acknowledgment Page
