Ethnicity English | Current region United States, England | |
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Place of origin Solihull, England, United Kingdom Members Matthew Griswold, Roger Griswold, John Augustus Griswold Connected families Wolcott, Forbes, Bradford Estate Malvern Hall, Blackhall, John N. A. Griswold House | ||
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.
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Family origins
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.
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. 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, grandson of governor Roger Griswold, founded the Griswold Manufacturing Company of Erie, Pennsylvania.
China trade and shipping
Members of the Connecticut branch of the family moved to New York City around the turn of the 19th Century and engaged with the China Trade. 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.
Noted as businessmen
Noted as politicians and activists
Many Griswold family members were influential in politics in the states of Connecticut and New York.