Griswold family


The Griswold family 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.

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.
The first members of the family to arrive in America were the 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. In 1646, Matthew married Anna Wolcott and moved to Old Saybrook, Connecticut and 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. 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, of whom Congressman John Augustus Griswold is descended from.

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.

Industry

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. 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. 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.' George Griswold Jr operated clipper ships to China and amassed a great fortune; setting up residence on Fifth Avenue. John Griswold, brother of George Jr., was responsible for building the John N. A. Griswold House in Newport, Rhode Island.
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. 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

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