Eleazar LordEleazar Lord (September 9, 1788 – June 3, 1871) was an American author, educator, first president of the Erie Railroad, and deacon of the First Protestant Dutch Church. Lord was a banker; he founded and served as president of the Manhattan Insurance ompany from 1821 to 1834; he was the first president of the Erie Railroad Company; he was a close friend of the New York University; and he helped to establish theological seminaries in East Windsor, Connecticut, and Auburn, New York. His major publications include Principles of Currency, Geological Cosmogony, and an expanded edition of Lempriere's Biographical Dictionary. Eleazar Lord was born in Franklin, Connecticut, on September 9, 1788. His early childhood was spent in the calm scenes of that even-tenored rural vicinage, where he received his elementary education in the district schools. at 1804, at the age of sixteen, he left home and began working as a clerk at a business in Norwich. In 1808, he returned home to prepare for college under the supervision of the Rev. Dr. Lee of Lisbon, a member of whose church (Presbyterian) he joined in 1809. Read More Read Less