FRANCIS EMORY FITCH
September 15, 1850 – September 27, 1910
Francis Emory Fitch was a New York financial printer and publisher whose work helped shape the information infrastructure of Wall Street during the Gilded Age and early twentieth century. As proprietor of the financial-printing business operated under the name Francis E. Fitch at 47 Broad Street in Manhattan, Fitch specialized in the production and rapid distribution of market information for the New York investment community, including stock lists for the New York Stock Exchange.
From Banking Clerk to Wall Street Publisher
Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Fitch came from an established New England family and began his business life in banking before entering New York publishing and printing. After working at the City National Bank of Bridgeport and later in the wholesale flour-and-feed business, he moved to New York City in 1881. With $1,000 in borrowed capital, he acquiring an interest in a trade publication known as The Dry Goods Bulletin. After becoming dissatisfied with the company’s direction, he sold his interest, and subsequently purchased a small printing plant, developing it into the Exchange Printing Company. Fitch later acquired full control of the company, dissolved it, and continued the business as sole proprietor under his own name.
Financial Publishing in the Age of Wall Street Expansion
Fitch’s business occupied a practical but important position in the daily mechanics of Wall Street. His firm specialized in financial printing and, according to the Fitch family history, had published the stock lists of the New York Stock Exchange for more than forty years by 1929. Later trade accounts describe the early Fitch operation as collecting, formatting, printing, and delivering stock-trade information to subscribers before the next day’s opening bell.
Financial Backing for Christian Ministry
In middle life, Fitch became deeply involved in evangelical Bible work. The Fitch family history records that he was dedicated to the study of Scripture and devoted time and significant finances to religious publishing, Bible conferences, and the distribution of biblical literature. Fitch was also the founder of the magazine The Bible Scholar.
From Financial Communications to Evangelical Influence
Francis Emory Fitch’s career reflects the growing importance of rapid financial communications during the rise of modern American finance. Through financial printing, market-data publishing, and evangelical sponsorship, he occupied a distinctive position at the intersection of Wall Street commerce and early twentieth-century Protestant publishing.
© 2026 Scofield-Files.com