Simeon Griswold

{{short description|American politician}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Simeon Griswold

| image =

| caption =

| office = Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives

| term = 1805–1807, 1809, 1814

| predecessor = Caleb Wadhams

| successor = John Dickinson

| predecessor4 = Timothy Childs

| successor4 = Joshua Danforth

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1752|05|16}}

| birth_place = Bolton, Connecticut

| death_date = {{Death date|1843|12|07}}

| death_place = Nassau, New York

| nationality = American

| other_names =

| occupation = Politician, Merchant

| known_for =

| parents = Seth Griswold
Susanna Shurtleff

| spouse = {{marriage|Ann Hutchinson|May 7, 1778||reason=}}

| children =

| relations = John Augustus Griswold (grandson)

}}

Simeon Griswold (May 16, 1752 – December 7, 1843) was a Massachusetts Representative from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and a member of the political Griswold Family.

Early life

Griswold was born in Bolton, Connecticut, on May 16, 1752. He was one of three children born to Seth Griswold (1723–1810) and Susanna (née Shurtleff) Griswold (1732–1757),{{cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=Nathaniel Bradstreet |title=Descendants of William Shurtleff of Plymouth and Marshfield, Massachusetts |date=1912 |page=[https://archive.org/details/descendantswill00shurgoog/page/n73 38] |url=https://archive.org/details/descendantswill00shurgoog |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}} who married in 1751 in Bolton.{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Chaim M. |title=Yankee Colonies across America: Cities upon the Hills |date=2015 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9781498519847 |page=20 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LSBUCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}}

His paternal grandparents were Daniel Griswold and Sarah (née White) Griswold.{{cite book |last1=Townsend |first1=Edna Waugh |last2=Townsend |first2=Charles Delmar |title=The Griswold Family, England-America: Edward of Windsor, Connecticut, Matthew of Lyme, Connecticut, Michael of Wethersfield, Connecticut |date=1935 |publisher=Griswold Family Association of America |page=116 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EkNPAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}} His maternal grandparents were John Shurtleff and Sarah Carver Lucas (herself the daughter of Benoni Lucas and Repentance Harlow).{{cite book |last1=Shurtleff |first1=William |title=The Shurtleff and Lawton Families: Genealogy and History |date=2005 |publisher=Pine Hill Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/shurtlefflawtonf00shur/page/15 15] |isbn=9780942515107 |url=https://archive.org/details/shurtlefflawtonf00shur |url-access=registration |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}}

Career

At the age of 22, he volunteered to serve in the Connecticut Line during the American Revolution,{{cite book |last=Allen |first=William|date= |title=An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary |url= |location=Boston|publisher=John Jewett and Company |page= |isbn= |access-date= }} after which he moved to Pittsfield and opened the Pittsfield Hotel as a meeting a lodging place for members of opposing political parties.{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Joseph|date=1876 |title=History of Pittsfield, Volume II |url= |location=Springfield |publisher=CW Bryan and Co |page= |isbn= |access-date= }}

=Public office=

Griswold was elected to the Massachusetts State Legislature from the town of Pittsfield five times, serving from 1805 to 1807, 1809, 1814.{{cite book |last=Field |first=David Dudley |title=A History of Pittsfield, in Berkshire County, Massachusetts |year=1844 |url=https://archive.org/details/ahistorytownpit00fielgoog |location=Hartford |publisher=Case, Tiffany, and Burnham |page= [https://archive.org/details/ahistorytownpit00fielgoog/page/n87 77]|isbn= |access-date=June 13, 2018 }} Griswold died in Nassau, New York.{{cite book |last=Allen |first=William|date= 1844|title=An American Biographical and Historical Dictionary |url= |location=Boston|publisher=John Jewett and Company |page= |isbn= |access-date= }}{{cite book |title=The History of Pittsfield (Berkshire County), Massachusetts: From the year 1800 to the year 1876 |date=1876 |publisher=Lee and Shepard |page=184 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xKkaqbyW8ZwC&pg=PA184 |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}}

Personal life

On May 7, 1778, Griswold was married to Ann Hutchinson (1755–1836).{{cite book |last1=Sergeant William Harlow Family Association |title=Harlow family: descendants of Sgt. William Harlow (1624/5-1691) of Plymouth, Massachusetts |date=1997 |publisher=Gateway Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xLNRAAAAMAAJ |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}} Together, they were the parents of:

  • Justin Griswold (1779–1841)
  • Chester Griswold (1781–1860), a New York representative who married Abby Moulton, daughter of Howard and Mary (née White) Moulton of Troy, on June 23, 1813.{{cite book |last1=Hughes |first1=Thomas Patrick |last2=Munsell |first2=Frank |title=American Ancestry: Giving Name and Descent, in the Male Line, of Americans Whose Ancestors Settled in the United States Previous to the Declaration of Independence, A |date=1889 |publisher=Munsell |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanancestr02munsgoog/page/n217 213] |url=https://archive.org/details/americanancestr02munsgoog |accessdate=13 June 2018 |language=en}}

He died on December 7, 1843, in Nassau, New York.

=Descendants=

Through his son Chester, he was the grandfather of U.S. Congressman John Augustus Griswold (1818–1872).{{cite book |last=Hough|first=Frank|date=1875 |title=American Biographical Notes |url=https://archive.org/details/americanbiograph00houg|location=Boston|publisher= |page= |isbn= |access-date= }}

References