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The Renwick-Smedberg Connection

  • Charles Augustus Smedberg (1781-1845) (shown here at age 45) was born in Sweden. His family were prominent bankers and merchants. He came to New York in 1812 as a representative of the Bank of England. 
  • While in New York City, he met and married Isabella Renwick and like many enterprising young men became an importer or merchant of goods from overseas. The family lived among other leading merchants along Beech Street in what is now lower Manhattan. 
  • In the 1840s, he purchased a summer home for the family called Devasego as well as a tannery and a mill in Prattsville, Greene County, New York. 
  • The couple had thirteen children, eleven boys and two daughters, including Jane Renwick Smedberg  (1827-1913) whom the family called “Jeanie.” By 1841, only eight of the children were still living. 
  • Sadly, Charles Smedberg died unexpectedly in the summer of 1845. His death left the family in a precarious financial situation.