John Gerard Coster

John Gerard Coster (August 1762 – August 8, 1844) was a Dutch-American merchant who served as president of the Bank of the Manhattan Company. Early life Coster was born in August 1762 in Haarlem, Holland. He was a son of John Henry Coster (d. 1776) and Anna Catherine (née Vienecke). He was educated to be a physician under the tutelage of his brother Haro who was a well-know physician in the British Navy. Career After briefly living in Demerara in the West Indies, Coster came to the United States from Haarlem in the Netherlands shortly after the Revolutionary War and founded the family fortune with his brother through the mercantile firm, "Henry A. & John G. Coster". They became owners of numerous vessels and traded with the East and West Indies, and exported American commodities to Europe.