Erastus Cole Knight (March 1, 1857 in Buffalo, Erie County, New York – September 3, 1923 in New York City) was an American businessman and politician.

Life

He attended Public School 16 and 14, and graduated from

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in Buffalo. Afterwards, he worked for the Bell Brothers wholesale produce house, and went on the road as a salesman for them. The produce business interested Knight and he founded Knight, Lennox & Co. with William C. Lennox in 1880. On May 14, 1881, he married Mary Elizabeth Cowles, and their daughter was Gertrude Knight who married Assemblyman Herbert B. Shonk (1881–1930). After dissolving the partnership with Lennox in 1887, Knight established a real estate and insurance business. In 1892 he formed with Oliver A. Jenkins the construction company of Jenkins & Knight. Knight was also a partner in the firm Sloan, Cowles & Co., proprietors of excursion steamers and summer resorts. He entered politics as a Republican and was a supervisor of Buffalo from 1889 to 1894, and was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors in the latter year. He was Buffalo City Comptroller from 1895 to 1900, re-elected in 1898 on the Democratic ticket. He was New York State Comptroller in 1901, elected after the incumbent William J. Morgan, who had been re-nominated at the Republican state convention, died unexpectedly and Knight was substituted on the ticket. As sitting State Comptroller he ran for

Mayor of Buffalo The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of Buffalo in the U.S. state of New York. List of mayors Number of mayors by party affiliation History In 1853, the charter of the city was amended to include the town ...

in November 1900, and was elected, serving from 1902 to 1905. He was an alternate delegate to the

1904 Republican National Convention The 1904 Republican National Convention was held in the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on June 21 to June 23, 1904. The popular President Theodore Roosevelt had easily ensured himself of the nomination; a threat had come fro ...

. He did not seek re-election and returned to his private business. In 1903 he had opened a coal company with his brother George, the E. C. & G. L. Knight Company. In 1905, he organized the Isle of Pines Company, a fruit exporting business, and became its president. In 1920 he moved to New York City. In August 1923 he fell and broke his hip. He never fully recovered from it, and although surgery was tried, it was unsuccessful. On September 3, 1923, Knight died at his home in the Hotel Pennsylvania, and was buried in

Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo Forest Lawn Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Buffalo, New York, founded in 1849 by Charles E. Clarke. It covers over and over 152,000 are buried there, including U.S. President Millard Fillmore, First Lady Abigail Fillmore, singer Rick J ...

Sources

The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Knight
at politicalgraveyard.com Political Graveyard

Buffalo election, in NYT on November 6, 1901

His resignation as Comptroller, in NYT on December 29, 1901
The Mayor's of Buffalo, New York -Erastus C. Knight
at www.buffalonian.com Mayors of Buffalo, at ''The Buffalonian'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Erastus Cole 1857 births 1923 deaths New York State Comptrollers Mayors of Buffalo, New York Burials at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Buffalo) New York (state) Republicans Bryant and Stratton College alumni