Career
He and a sister, Mary, opened a dry goods store on North Second Street in Philadelphia. The business and subsequent ones thrived, and he expanded his reach as far as New Orleans.[4]
From 1821, he formed a partnership with William Heberton. The firm Newkirk and Heberton conducted wholesale and retail trade at 95 Market Street until 1824. The following year, he formed a mercantile partnership with Charles S. Olden, who would later become governor of New Jersey.
In 1832, he bought the resort hotel at Brandywine Springs, six miles west of Wilmington, Delaware, where he owned a vacation cottage; he spent sums to improve the building and its grounds.[5]
In 1839, he retired from his mercantile business. His friend Nicholas Biddle convinced him to become a director of the second United States Bank,[6] where he managed the deposits of Daniel Webster and others.
He was elected to the Select Council, the predecessor body to the Philadelphia City Council that chose the city's mayors until 1839 and appointed city officers until 1885.[6]
In 1835, Newkirk bought a vacant lot at 13th and Arch Streets in downtown Philadelphia and built a mansion.[7][8][9] Designed by Thomas Ustick Walter, it was built of marble and featured a fresco by Italian artist Nicola Monachesi.[10]
That same year, Newkirk bought 3,000 shares in the Wilmington and Susquehanna Railroad[11] and 3,587 shares in the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad.[12] He would spend much of the 1830s on further efforts to raise money for and build a rail line from Philadelphia south to the cities of Wilmington, Delaware, and Baltimore. Four railroads were ultimately chartered by the various states; Newkirk funded and directed the building of the W&S and the B&PD, then orchestrated its merger with the other two. In 1838, the merged PW&B began direct rail service between the cities, broken only by a ferry across the Susquehanna River. Much of its right-of-way is still in use today by Amtrak's Northeast Corridor.
Among the railroad's achievements was the first permanent bridge across the Schuylkill River south of Market Street, which the PW&B's directors named for Newkirk.[1] They also presented their president with a silver service that included a large soup tureen, two tall pitchers, and an engraved tray; the tray alone was worth $1,000 ($0 today).[13] In 1896, the service was sold by a Philadelphia pawn shop to a New York City dealer.[14]
Newkirk also had financial interest in Pennsylvania coal mining and was involved in the Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company. In 1854, Newkirk invested in Cambria Iron Company in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. He was also invested in real estate. He owned property in 11 states and at one time was the largest landlord in the city of Philadelphia.
He was close friends with Henry Clay and would host and entertain Clay on his frequent trips to Philadelphia.[16] A deeply religious man, Newkirk served for 34 years as an elder of Philadelphia's Central Presbyterian Church.[6]
