Seymour H. Knox I
Seymour H. Knox I | |
|---|---|
 Seymour H. Knox I | |
| Born | April 11, 1861 Russell, New York, U.S. |
| Died | May 17, 1915 (aged 54) Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Spouse | Gracia Millard Knox |
| Children | 4, including Seymour H. Knox II[1] |
| Relatives | Seymour H. Knox III (grandson) Northrup R. Knox (grandson) Frank Winfield Woolworth (cousin) Charles Sumner Woolworth (cousin) |
Seymour Horace Knox I (April 11, 1861 – May 17, 1915), was a businessman from
Early life
He was born on April 11, 1861 in Russell, St. Lawrence County, New York.[2] His father was James Horace Knox, a farmer married to Jane E. McBrier. James' grandfather had fought in the American Revolution.[4] William Knox was the first of this line of Knoxes to come to Massachusetts from Belfast, Ireland, in 1737.[4]
Seymour attended the Russell district school and at fifteen, though he had never gone to high school, began to teach in school himself.[4]
Career
At seventeen, he moved to Hart, Michigan, where for a few years he worked as a salesclerk. Then he left for Reading, Pennsylvania, where he entered into a partnership with his first cousins.[4] He later donated the Knox Memorial Central School Building (dedicated on July 30, 1913) that served the town until the Knox Memorial School and Edwards Central School merged. He initially became a partner with the Woolworths by jointly opening a Woolworth & Knox store with them in Reading on September 20, 1884, using his entire life savings.[3] The Reading store's first several hours had no sales. However, after the partners took a lunchtime walk, they returned at 1:30 to find the local factory workers had been let out at 1:00—with their paychecks. Sales were brisk, and the partners never looked back.[3] His second store, in Newark, New Jersey, was short lived, but his partnership thrived nonetheless.[3] The third venture, in Erie, Pennsylvania, enabled them to buy out the Newark lease. He partnered with Frank to open the first Buffalo store, at 409 Main Street, on October 13, 1888.
By 1889, he was able to buy out his cousins.
In 1913, he purchased Stephen Merrell Clement's interests in Marine National.[4] At his death, Seymour was Vice President of the Woolworth Co. and Chairman of the Board of the Marine Trust Co. He was the first of three generations of the family to serve as Chairman.
Personal life
In 1890, Seymour was married to
- Grace Knox (1893–1895), who died in infancy.[9]
- Marjorie Knox (1900–1971), who married Joseph Hazard Campbell of Providence, Rhode Island in 1927. After Campbell was killed in a small plane accident in 1938, Marjorie remarried to Benjamin Klopp in 1948.[10][11]
- Dorothy Virginia Knox (1896–1980), who married Frank Henry Goodyear Jr. in 1915. After Goodyear was killed in a car accident in 1930, Dorothy remarried to Edmund Pendleton Rogers, a widower from New York, in 1931.
- Seymour H. Knox II (1898–1990),[12] who married Helen Northrup.[13]
Knox died on May 17, 1915, in Buffalo, New York.[2] After his death, his wife built a new mansion on Delaware Avenue for her and their children, designed by New York City architect C. P. H. Gilbert, known today as the Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House.[14]
Descendants
Among his grandchildren were
See also
References
- ^ "U.S. Supreme Court Helvering v. Campbell". FindLaw. 1941. Retrieved March 17, 2007., (313 U.S. 15 (1941))
- ^ New York Times. May 17, 1915. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
Seymour H. Knox, one of the leading bankers in the East, who amassed a fortune estimated at $10,000,000 through a chain of 5 and 10 cent stores, died at his home here this afternoon. ...
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Seymour Horace Knox". Archived from the original on March 24, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Dunn, Edward T. (2003). "Bios – Knox Family of Buffalo". Buffalo's Delaware Avenue: Mansions and Families. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ F.W. Woolworth Co., Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society (2000). "Historic Markers, Monuments and Memorials of Buffalo, New York: S.H. Knox & Co". Chris Andrle. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ Brown, p. 120.
- ^ "History – Grace Millard Knox House / Computer Task Group Building". 2002. Retrieved March 31, 2007.
- ^ Brown, p. 121.
- ^ a b "MRS. SEYMOUR KNOX, PHILANTHROPIST, DIES; Buffalo Social Leader Was the Widow of One of Early Woolworth Partners". The New York Times. August 31, 1936. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Ross, Donna (September 26, 2008). "The East Aurora Hunt: Gone But Not Forgotten". The Chronicle of the Horse. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "BUFFALO MARRIAGE FOR VIRGINIA KLOPP; She Wears Antique Italian Silk Taffeta at Wedding to Hazard Knox Campbell of Navy". The New York Times. April 27, 1952. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ Glueck, Grace (September 28, 1990). "Seymour H. Knox Is Dead at 92; Buffalo Banker Was Art Patron". The New York Times. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "MRS. SEYMOUR KNOX". The New York Times. December 11, 1971. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ LaChiusa, Chuck. "Knox House". buffaloah.com. Buffalo Architecture and History. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
- ^ "Seymour Knox 3d, 70, N.H.L. Team Owner". The New York Times. May 23, 1996. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
- ^ "Grace Millard Knox Lecture Hall". University Archives, State University of New York at Buffalo. July 10, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
- ^ "Knox Lecture Hall (KNOX)". University at Buffalo. July 10, 2006. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
- ^ "Obituaries: Northrup R. Knox, 69, banker, sportsman, community leader". University at Buffalo Reporter. August 27, 1998. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
- General sources
- Brown, Richard C. and Bob Watson (illustrators) (1981). Buffalo: Lake City In Niagara Land: An Illustrated History. Windsor Publications, Inc.
External links