Jesse Peterson (October 1, 1850 - October 22, 1921), was an American
industrialist
A business magnate, also known as a tycoon, is a person who has achieved immense wealth through the ownership of multiple lines of enterprise. The term characteristically refers to a powerful entrepreneur or investor who controls, through perso ...
and politician from
Lockport, New York. In 1886, Jesse Peterson, along with Henry G. Cordley, and Charles E. Folger, started the United Indurated Fibre Company. By 1893 the company was incorporated under New Jersey laws, with the factory and general office in Lockport. About 300 hands are employed in the manufacture of household articles from the indurated fibre, the basis of which is wood pulp. In addition to the United Indurated Fibre Company, Jesse Peterson was the President of the Buffalo Warehouse & Distributing Company, Owner of the Cascade Pulp Mills, Director and Vice President of the Lockport Water & Electric Company and an associate of Peterson & Sons.
At one point, Jesse Peterson, and his wife Arabella A. Peterson, daughter of former Lockport mayor Albert Field Brown, moved into the Italianate mansion located at 414 Locust St. in Lockport. Arabella's obituary from 1929 states that “she had long been prominent in the social and musical circles of the city” and that funeral services were held at the home.
Peterson was an influential
Bourbon Democrat and in 1892 he was a
Presidential Elector
The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
in support of
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...
, the party faction's sole Presidential success. He served for a time as Police Commissioner and Railroad Commissioner before being nominated as
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of Lockport.
[McGuire, James K., and Martin W. Littleton. The Democratic Party of the State of New York: A History of the Origin, Growth, and Achievements of the Democratic Party of the State of New York, Including a History of Tammany Hall in Its Relation to State Politics. ew York United States History Co, 1905.]
Peterson was born in
Belfast, New York
Belfast (/ˈbɛl.fæst/ or /bəlˈfɑːst/) is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The town is in what is called the Southern Tier of the state. Its population was 1,656 at the 2020 census. It was named in 1825 after the city of ...
and attended
Bryant & Stratton College
Bryant & Stratton College (BSC) is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online campus. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree programs at all campuses and bachelor's ...
in
Buffalo. He was the son of
Gilbert Peterson, brother of
Charles Gilbert Peterson and the great-uncle of
Charles Sterling Bunnell.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Jesse
1850 births
1921 deaths
1892 United States presidential electors
American manufacturing businesspeople
Bryant and Stratton College alumni