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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York published by John M. Gresham & Co. in 1891.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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DANIEL GRISWOLD, president of the Chautauqua County National Bank, and a member of the lumbering firm of Griswold & Townsend, is a son of Daniel, Sr., and Mary (Hills) Griswold, and was born in what was then Genesee (now Wyoming) county. New York, February 18, 1830. His paternal grandfather, Daniel Griswold, was a descendant of the Connecticut Griswold family, but lived in Washington county, this State, where he died of small-pox in 1795, while his maternal grandfather, Moses Hills, was a native and life-long resident of Massachusetts. His father, Daniel Griswold, Sr., was born in Washington county, September 28, 1788, and went in early life to Bennington, Vt., where he was engaged for a time in manufacturing. He then removed to Genesee county, this State, and about 1831 or 1832 came to the town of Poland and settled on lot 24, on the Ellington town line. He followed farming and lumbering until his death in 1854. He was an old-line whig and held several town offices. In Burlington, Vt., on May 25, 1815, he married Mary Hills, who was born at Upton, Mass., November 25, 1795, and died in the town of Poland, September 24, 1844. After her death he married a Mrs. Bentley. By his first wife he had two sons and four daughters: Mary L., Hiram H., Sarah, Fanny, Alvira and Daniel.

Daniel Griswold was fourteen years of age when his mother died, and soon after her death commenced life for himself. He had obtained a good common school education, and working for some time on a farm he engaged in the business of buying up at Jamestown, scythe snaths, window-sashes, doors and other manufactured articles. He loaded his purchases during the winter on “Yankee notion boats,” which in the spring he ran down the Allegheny and Ohio rivers, and by the time of his arrival at Memphis, Tennessee, had generally disposed of his cargoes at the different towns along the rivers. He was very successfully engaged in this line of business until the late war broke out, when he disposed of his last cargo to the Union army. He then turned his attention to lumbering, which he has followed with his usual good success until the present time. He is now a member of the well-known lumbering firm of Griswold & Townsend, of Kiantone. He is a republican in politics, was a supervisor of the town of Poland from 1865 to 1869, was supervisor of the town of Ellicott for two years (1884-1885), and supervisor one year (1886) of the south side of the city of Jamestown, N. Y., and is now a member of the board of public works of Jamestown. In 1881 Mr. Griswold became a director of the Chautauqua County National Bank, of which he was elected president, May 8, 1890. He succeeded Robert Newland, who had served in that capacity for many years. He removed from the town of Poland in 1871, to Salamanca, Cattaraugus county, and two years later came to Jamestown where he has resided ever since.

On November 18, 1868, he married Martha Townsend, daughter of the late John Townsend, of the town of Carroll. They have two children living: Martha Townsend and Harry. They had three children who died: Grace, Hugh and Daniel T. Mrs. Griswold is a lineal descendant of the old Townsend family of England. Three members of this family, who were brothers, came from Rumney Marsh to New England. A descendant of one of these brothers was Rev. Jonathan Townsend (the great-great-grandfather of Mrs. Griswold), who was pastor of the Congregationalist church at Needham, Mass., from March 23, 1719, until his death September 30, 1762. He was a graduate of Harvard college and married Mary, daughter of Capt. Gregory Sugars, of Boston, by whom he had seven children, one of whom, Samuel, was born in Needham May 15, 1729, and died in Tyringham, Mass., September 11, 1822. He was married to Ruth Tolman in 1757. One of their eight children was William Townsend (grandfather), who was born December 11, 1765, and married Rhoda Hall, by whom he had four sons and one daughter. One of their sons was John Townsend (the father of Mrs. Griswold), who was born January 28, 1796, came to near Kennedy in 1817, and afterwards purchased a farm in Carroll on which he died in 1860. He was a whig and republican, followed farming and lumbering and married Adelia Hitchcock, who was born May 4, 1810, a member of the old Hitchcock family which came into the county about 1817, by whom he had four sons and six daughters. Two of the sons died early in life and one of the daughters is Mrs. Martha T. Griswold.

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This family biography is one of 658 biographies included in Biographical and Portrait Cyclopedia of Chautauqua County, New York published in 1891. 

View additional Chautauqua County, New York family biographies here: Chautauqua County, New York Biographies

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