City Readers Digital Historic Collections at the New York Society Library

John Aspinwall, a commission merchant, importer of dry goods, and ship owner, was born on February 10, 1774, in New York City (Aspinwall 74). He was in partnership with his older brother Gilbert at the firm of Gilbert & John Aspinwall from 1794 until around 1812 when they separated to carry on their own businesses (Aspinwall 74). The two brothers owned several ships and traded with St. Petersburg, Liverpool, and other European ports (Homberger 11). 

Aspinwall married Susan Howland on November 27, 1803; they had seven children, including William Henry Aspinwall, an industrialist and one of the founders of the Metropolitan Museum of Art ("Aspinwall, William Henry, 1807-1875"). 

John Aspinwall died on October 6, 1847.