Anson Phelps Stokes was a wealthy American merchant, property developer, banker, genealogist and philanthropist. Born in New York City, he was the son of James Boulter Stokes and wife Caroline. His paternal grandfather was London merchant Thomas Stokes, one of the 13 founders of the London Missionary Society. His maternal grandfather, Anson Greene Phelps, was a New York merchant, born in Connecticut and descended from an old Connecticut family.

Anson Green Phelps was an American entrepreneur and business man from Connecticut. Beginning with a saddlery business, he founded Phelps, Dodge & Co. in 1833 as an export-import business with his sons-in-law as partners, William E. Dodge in NYC and Daniel James based in Liverpool, England. His third son-in-law, James Boulter Stokes, became a partner some years later.