Griswold family explained

Griswold Family
Ethnicity:English, Possibly Germany
Region:United States, England
Origin:Solihull, England, United Kingdom
Members:Matthew Griswold, Roger Griswold, John Augustus Griswold
Otherfamilies:Wolcott, Forbes, Bradford, Gardiner
Estate:Malvern Hall, Griswold Point, John N. A. Griswold House

The Griswold family [1] is an American political family from Connecticut and New York of English descent. The family's fortune originates from the 19th Century industrial and merchant pursuits. They tend to be Republican, but a few of them support the Democratic Party.

Family origins

The Griswold family originates from Solihull, England, where they lived for centuries as greyhound breeders, which were a favorite of King Edward I of England.[2] [3] [4]

The first members of the family to arrive in America were the Puritan half-brothers Edward and Matthew Griswold, landing initially at Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1639 and continuing on as part of the group of colonists settling Windsor, Connecticut.[3] In 1646, Matthew married Anna Wolcott and moved to Old Saybrook, Connecticut. He was later Deputy and Commissioner of Lyme, Connecticut, quickly amassing thousands of acres of land and become one of the richest men in the colony.[5] Edward Griswold remained in Windsor and played pivotal roles in the early politics of the colony. Many of his descendants moved west to New York following the American Revolution and founded the New York branch of the family, from whom Congressman John Augustus Griswold is descended.

Legacy and accumulation of wealth

Politics

Many members of the family were influential in state and national politics. During the colonial era, the Griswolds were one of a roughly half-dozen families which governed Connecticut state politics. In 1801, the Hartford Courant called "Griswold" one of the most "revered and ancient families" of Connecticut.[6]

Industry

John Augustus Griswold of the New York branch of the family made a considerable fortune in the iron and steel industry, forming the Albany and Rensselaer Iron and Steel Works of Troy, New York. During the American Civil War, Griswold financed at his personal expense the USS Monitor and later engaged his iron business in the production of other Monitor class ironclad ships.[7] Griswold later become president of the Troy and Lansingburgh Railroad, of the Troy and Cohoes Railroad and of the New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad.

Matthew Griswold VII, grandson of governor Roger Griswold, founded the Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania, manufacturers of the Griswold cast-iron products.

Samuel Griswold, a descendant of settler Edward Griswold, moved to Georgia and was notable for producing weapons for the Confederate Army.

China trade and shipping

Members of the Connecticut branch of the family moved to New York City in 1796 and engaged in trade. Brothers Nathaniel Lynde Griswold and George Griswold founded the N.L & G. Griswold Company to import sugar and rum from the Caribbean on clipper ships.[8] They expanded to the China Trade, capturing a large share of the 19th century tea market. It was noted that "I do not suppose that there is a country store, however insignificant, in the entire United States that has not seen a large or small package of tea marked 'N.L & G.G.' [9] George Griswold Jr operated clipper ships to China and amassed a great fortune; setting up residence on Fifth Avenue.[10] John Griswold, brother of George Jr., was responsible for building the John N. A. Griswold House in Newport, Rhode Island.[10]

Another member of the family, John Griswold, founded the Black X Line of packet clippers that shipped supplies between the United States and Great Britain. Robert Harper Griswold, a man whom Herman Melville called "a man of much reading .. elegant manner and great personal beauty," greatly expanded the line and amassed his own wealth.[11] His wealth enabled him to buy what is now the home that now houses the Florence Griswold Museum, named after his daughter.

Notable family members

Noted as business-people

Noted as politicians and activists

Many Griswold family members were influential in politics in the states of Connecticut and New York.

U.S. Representative from New York and drafter of the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Member of the New York State Assembly, Supervisor of Nassau, New York.

Art and culture

American art historian and noted director of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Science and Academia

Griswold family tree

Places

named for Governor Roger Griswold.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.dictionary.com/browse/griswold "Griswold"
  2. Book: Griswold, Wick . 2014 . Griswold Point: History From the Mouth of the Connecticut River . Charleston . The History Press. 16 . 978-1-62619-571-4 .
  3. Book: Salisbury, Edward . 1892 . The Griswold Family of Connecticut . New Haven . Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor.
  4. Book: French, Esther Griswold & Robert Lewis. 1990 . The Griswold Family: The First Five Generations in America . The Griswold Family Association.
  5. Book: Salisbury, Edward . 1892 . The Griswold Family of Connecticut . New Haven . Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor. 132 .
  6. Web site: The Standing Order: Connecticut's Ruling Aristocracy, 1639–1818. Connecticut Explored. Connecticut Explored. May 7, 2019.
  7. Web site: John A. Griswold Papers, 1848–1894. New York State Library web site. New York State Library. October 7, 2014. JAGfa.
  8. Book: Griswold, Wyck . 2014 . Griswold Point: History From the Mouth of the Connecticut River . Charleston . The History Press. 65 . 978-1-62619-571-4 .
  9. Book: Barrett, Walter . 1885. The Old Merchants of New York City . New York . Thomas R. Knox & Co. .
  10. Book: Major, Judith . 2013 . Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer: A Landscape Critic in the Gilded Age . Charlottesville . University of Virginia Press.
  11. Book: Griswold, Wick . 2014 . Griswold Point: History From the Mouth of the Connecticut River . Charleston . The History Press. 73–74 . 978-1-62619-571-4 .
  12. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000619 HILLHOUSE, William – Biographical Information
  13. http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000618 HILLHOUSE, James – Biographical Information
  14. News: Frederick Frelinghuysen. Ex-President of Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company Dies . Frelinghuysen was President of the Benefit Life Insurance Company in Newark for ... to become President of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company. ... . . January 2, 1924 . May 30, 2007.
  15. News: Frederick Frelinghuysen's Engagement. January 30, 2018. The New York Times. July 7, 1902.
  16. News: Roselyne deViry Frelinghuysen . July 2, 2019 . . March 12, 2014.
  17. News: OBTAINS DECREE IN RENO; Former Anne de Smolianinof Divorces G. G. Frelinghuysen . July 2, 2019 . . June 7, 1938.
  18. News: G.G. FRELINGHUYSEN DIES AT AGE OF 84; Son of Arthur's Secretary Of State Was Lawyer Here for Half century. KIN OF NOTED GENERAL Parent, Great-Uncle, Cousin All Served New Jersey in the United States Senate.. January 30, 2018. The New York Times. April 22, 1936. en.
  19. News: G.G. Frelinghuysen Dies. Son of Arthur's Secretary Of State Was Lawyer . . April 22, 1936 .
  20. News: MRS. S.H. M'CAWLEY, WASHINGTON HOSTESS; Grandmother of Senator Lodge Dies in Home at Capital. January 30, 2018. The New York Times. February 20, 1939.
  21. News: Beatrice Lodge, '56 Debutante, To Wed in July; Daughter of Envoy to Spain Is Betrothed to Antonio de Oyarzabal . May 18, 2019 . . December 9, 1960.
  22. Web site: Mrs. George Griswold, Jr. (ca. 1860–1905) . www.nyhistory.org/ . . July 2, 2019.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Griswold family".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.