John Noble Alsop Griswold (May 29, 1822 – September 18, 1909)
was an American
China trade
The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old ...
merchant, industrialist, and diplomat.
Early life
Griswold was born in New York City on May 29, 1822. He was the son of George Griswold (1777–1859), who invested heavily in land speculation, and his second wife, Maria Matilda (
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Cumming) Griswold (1792–1880).
Among his siblings was brother George Griswold Jr. (father of
Frank Gray Griswold and
Mariana Griswold Van Rensselaer
Mariana Alley Griswold Van Rensselaer (February 21, 1851 – January 20, 1934), usually known as Mrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer or M. G. Van Rensselaer, was an American author focusing on architectural criticism.
Early life
Mariana Alley Griswo ...
), and four sisters, Maria Griswold (who married George Winthrop Gray), Sarah Helen Griswold (who married
Russell & Co. partner
John Cleve Green), Cornelia Woodhull Griswold (who married Joseph Woodward Haven, grandfather of
George G. Haven Jr.),
and Matilda Elizabeth Griswold (who married
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen
Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817May 20, 1885) was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur.
Early life and e ...
, a
U.S. Senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
who became the
Secretary of State).
His paternal grandfather was Nathaniel Griswold, a member of the Connecticut branch of the
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 fr ...
who moved to New York City in 1796. His paternal aunt, Catherine Anne Griswold, was married to
Pierre Lorillard III
Pierre Lorillard III (October 20, 1796 – December 23, 1867) was the grandson of Pierre Abraham Lorillard, the founder of P. Lorillard and Company. Heir to a great tobacco fortune, Lorillard owned no less than of undeveloped land in New York's ...
, making
Pierre Lorillard IV
Pierre J. Lorillard IV (October 13, 1833 – July 7, 1901) was an American tobacco manufacturer and Thoroughbred race horse owner.
Early life
Born in Westchester, New York, he was the son of Pierre Lorillard III (1796–1867) and Catherine Gris ...
,
Catherine Lorillard Kernochan
James Powell Kernochan (October 22, 1831 – March 6, 1897) was an American businessman and clubman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Kernochan was born on October 22, 1831 in New York City in a house at 8th ...
,
Mary Lorillard Barbey
Mary Lorillard Barbey (April 17, 1841 – April 10, 1926) was a prominent American member of New York Society during the Gilded Age. She was a daughter of Pierre Lorillard III of the Lorillard Tobacco Company.
Early life
Mary Lorillard was b ...
,
George Lyndes Lorillard, and
Eva Lorillard Kip
Lawrence Kip (September 17, 1836 – November 17, 1899) was an American soldier, author, and sportsman who was prominent in New York society during the Gilded Age.
Early life
Kip was born on September 17, 1836 in Morristown, New Jersey. He was th ...
his first cousins.
Career
His father and uncle, Nathaniel Lynde Griswold, founded the N.L. & G. Griswold Company to import sugar and rum from the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
on clipper ships.
Eventually, they expanded to the
China Trade
The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old ...
, capturing a large share of the 19th century tea market.
The firm was referred to as "the great New York mercantile house of N.L. & G. Griswold, known to their rivals as "No Loss and Great Gain Griswold," importers of rum, sugar, and tea."
In 1847, Griswold traveled to the Far East and, within a year, was appointed
United States consul at
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, serving in that role until 1854.
Upon his return to America, he helped develop several prominent railroads, serving as president of the
Illinois Central Railroad
The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...
and chairman of the board of directors of the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
.
He was a Vice President in China of the Medical Missionary Society.
After moving to Newport, Griswold used his influence to encourage local development of land and businesses including the
Newport and Wickford Steamboat and Railroad Company, and the
Newport Casino
The Newport Casino is an athletic complex and recreation center located at 180-200 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island in the Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District. Built in 1879–1881 by ''New York Herald'' publisher James Gordon ...
.
He acquired commercial wharves, large holdings on Coggeshall and
Bellevue Avenue
The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer vaca ...
s, and the Berkeley Block.
Personal life
On February 29, 1860, Griswold was married to Jane Louisa Emmet (1832–1909)
at St. Mark's Church in New York City. Jane, who grew up at
Morea
The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, was the daughter of Mary Byrd (née Tucker) Emmet and John Patten Emmet, the first professor of natural history at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
who was a son of
Thomas Addis Emmet
Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. He was a senior member of the revolutionary Irish republican group United Irishmen in the 1790s. He served as Attorney General of New York from ...
and nephew of
Robert Emmet
Robert Emmet (4 March 177820 September 1803) was an Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader. Following the suppression of the United Irish uprising in 1798, he sought to organise a renewed attempt to overthrow the British Crown and Protes ...
, the advocate for Irish independence.
[ an]
''Accompanying photo''
/ref> Her brother was Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet
Thomas Addis Emmet (24 April 176414 November 1827) was an Irish and American lawyer and politician. He was a senior member of the revolutionary Irish republican group United Irishmen in the 1790s. He served as Attorney General of New York from ...
, a prominent gynecological surgeon and author, and William Jenkins Emmet, father of painter Lydia Field Emmet
Lydia Field Emmet (January 23, 1866 – August 16, 1952) was an American artist best known for her work as a portraitist. She studied with, among others, prominent artists such as William Merritt Chase, Harry Siddons Mowbray, Kenyon Cox and Tony ...
. Together, they were the parents of:
* Minnie Griswold (1861–), who married John Murray Forbes Jr. (1844–1921), brother of Francis Blackwell Forbes
Francis Blackwell Forbes (August 11, 1839 – May 2, 1908) was an American botanist with expertise in Chinese seed-producing plants who also worked as a merchant and opium trader in Asia.
Early life
Francis Blackwell Forbes was born in New York ...
, in 1882.
* Richard Alsop Griswold (1863–1864), who died young.
* John Noble "Jack" Griswold (1865–1895), a well known clubman who died in Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
.
* Florence Temple Griswold (1867–1937), who married Major Horatio Robert Odo Cross, a surgeon in the British Grenadier Guards
"Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it."
, colors =
, colors_label =
, march = Slow: " Scipio"
, mascot =
, equipment =
, equipment ...
, on April 30, 1892.
* George Griswold II (1870–1902), a Harvard lawyer who committed suicide in 1902.
In 1863, the Griswold's moved to Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
where he commissioned what is today known as the John N. A. Griswold House, located at 76 Bellevue Avenue
The Bellevue Avenue Historic District is located along and around Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of the Gilded Age mansions built by affluent summer vaca ...
. It has served as the home of the Newport Art Museum
The Newport Art Museum, founded in 1912 as the Art Association of Newport, is located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The museum operates a gallery in the John N. A. Griswold House, a National Historic Landmark that is one of th ...
since the early 1960s. Griswold had purchased the lot from Rowland R. Hazard Jr. and Margaret E. Hazard of Newport on November 25, 1862. While the home was being built, they lived at Kingscote (the home's owner, George Noble Jones, went south during the U.S. Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
). The Griswold home was designed by Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa ...
and is one of the earliest American Stick style buildings.
His wife died at 129 West 59th Street, their New York residence, on January 19, 1909. Griswold died several months later at his home in Newport on September 18, 1909. He was buried at Island Cemetery
The Common Burying Ground and Island Cemetery are a pair of separate cemeteries on Farewell and Warner Street in Newport, Rhode Island. Together they contain over 5,000 graves, including a colonial-era slave cemetery and Jewish graves. The pair ...
in Newport. His estate was reportedly valued in excess of $25,000,000.
Descendants
Through his eldest daughter, he was the grandfather of Gordon Forbes (b. 1883), John Griswold Forbes (1885–1887), Janet Forbes (b. 1888), Howell Forbes (b. 1891), and John Murray Forbes (b. 1893).
References
;Notes
;Sources
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griswold, John N. A.
1822 births
1909 deaths
Emmet family
Businesspeople from New York City
19th-century American diplomats
American consuls
Consuls General of the United States in Shanghai