Clement Acton Griscom by artist Fedor Encke

Clement Acton Griscom (March 15, 1841 – November 10, 1912) was an American shipping magnate and financier. Griscom was "without question, the key figure in American transatlantic shipping" by 1900.

Biography

Griscom was born in 1841 to a long-established and prominent

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

family.Navin, Thomas R., and Marian V. Sears. “A Study in Merger: Formation of the International Mercantile Marine Company.” The Business History Review, vol. 28, no. 4, 1954, pp. 291–328. His father was Dr John D Griscom, a well-known local physician, and his mother was Margaret Acton Lloyd, a direct descendant of Thomas Lloyd.State And Regional: A Biographical Album Of Prominent Pennsylvanians Non Multa, Sed Multum Add to My Folder Vol. 3. Philadelphia : The American Biographical Publishing Company, 1888. 481 pp. He attended local Quaker schools, as well as Central High School.Wright, Edward Needles. “THE STORY OF PETER WRIGHT & SONS PHILADELPHIA QUAKER SHIPPING FIRM 1818-1911.” Quaker History, vol. 56, no. 2, 1967, pp. 67–89. In 1857, aged 16, he went to work as a clerk at Peter Wright and Sons, a Quaker shipping firm in Philadelphia. He became a partner in the business in 1863. In 1872 he became vice-president of the International Navigation Co., which operated three ships.Philadelphia Inquirer, 11 Nov 1912 Eventually the

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgi ...

was absorbed into the business. In 1888 he was promoted to president of the International Navigation Co. Griscom was "without question, the key figure in American transatlantic shipping" by 1900. By 1901 he was described in the press as a millionaire. In 1902, with financing from

J. Pierpont Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

, the companies were merged into the

International Mercantile Marine The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magna ...

shipping

trust company A trust company is a corporation that acts as a fiduciary, trustee or agent of trusts and agencies. A professional trust company may be independently owned or owned by, for example, a bank or a law firm, and which specializes in being a trust ...

, which operated 136 vessels over five transatlantic lines. Griscom served as president of IMM from 1902 until 1904, when he retired due to ill health.Daily Telegraph. "Resignation of Mr. C. A. Griscom." New York Herald uropean Edition 25 Feb. 1904 He remained as chairman, but was succeeded as president by J Bruce Ismay, who immediately removed headquarters to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and reduced staffing levels. Griscom also served on the board of directors of the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad ( reporting mark PRR), legal name as the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy," was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At its ...

and

United States Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

Dolobran Dolobran is a Shingle style architecture, Shingle Style house at 231 Laurel Lane in Haverford, Pennsylvania. It was designed by architect Frank Furness for shipping magnate Clement Griscom in 1881, and was expanded at least twice by Furness. The ...

(1881), his country house in

Haverford, Pennsylvania Haverford is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community located in both Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, and Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merio ...

, is one of architect

Frank Furness Frank Heyling Furness (November 12, 1839 – June 27, 1912) was an American architect of the Victorian era. He designed more than 600 buildings, most in the Philadelphia area, and is remembered for his diverse, muscular, often inordinately scaled ...

's most significant houses. Furness also designed interiors for two of Griscom's American Line steamships, the S.S. ''St. Louis'' (1894–95) and the S.S. ''St. Paul'' (1894–95). Griscom established and owned a private hunting plantation north of

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

called Horseshoe Plantation.

Death and legacy

Griscom died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

at the age of 71. In 1914 his widow erected a fountain in his memory in the Watch Hill section of

Westerly, Rhode Island Westerly is a New England town, town on the Coast, southwestern coastline of Washington County, Rhode Island, Washington County, Rhode Island, United States, first settled by English colonists in 1661, and incorporated as a List of municipalitie ...

. It featured a bronze statue of the

Niantic Niantic may refer to: * Niantic people, tribe of American Indians * Niantic, Inc., mobile app developer known for the mobile games ''Ingress'' and ''Pokémon Go'' * Niantic Correctional Institution, now known as York Correctional Institution ...

chief

Ninigret Ninigret (also known as Juanemo according to Roger Williams) (c. 1610 This source confirms 1662 as the date of his land sales.-1677 This source suggests a date of 1667 for his land sales and a 1647 war against the Mohegans.) was a sachem of the ea ...

by the sculptor

Enid Yandell Enid Yandell (October 6, 1869 – June 12, 1934) was an American Sculpture, sculptor from Louisville, Kentucky, who studied with Auguste Rodin in Paris, Philip Martiny in New York City, and Frederick William Macmonnies, Frederick William MacMonn ...

Family

Griscom married Frances Canby Biddle (1840-1923), from a prominent Philadelphia Quaker family, in 1862, and they had six children: *John Acton Griscom (1863-1865). *Helen Biddle Griscom (1866-1950), married (1889) Samuel Bettle. *Clement Acton Griscom Jr. (1868-1918), shipping executive, married (1889) Genevieve Sprigg Ludlow. Their children were

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, Joyce, and Acton. *Rodman Ellison Griscom (1870-1944), stockbroker, married (1897) Anne Starr. *

Lloyd Carpenter Griscom Lloyd Carpenter Griscom (November 4, 1872 – February 8, 1959) was an American lawyer, diplomat, and newspaper publisher. Early life Lloyd Griscom was born on November 4, 1872, at Riverton, New Jersey. He was the son of shipping magnate Clement ...

(1872-1959), diplomat, married (1901) Elizabeth Duer Bronson. * Frances C. "Pansy" Griscom (1879-1974), champion golfer.

Gallery

File:Clement A Griscom.jpg, Clement Griscom, 1890s. File:Mother and Daughter Cecilia Beaux 1898 PAFA.jpg, ''Mother and Daughter'' (Mrs. Clement Griscom and Frances C. Griscom) (1898) by

Cecilia Beaux Eliza Cecilia Beaux (May 1, 1855 – September 17, 1942) was an American artist and the first woman to teach art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Known for her elegant and sensitive portraits of friends, relatives, and Gilded Age p ...

. File:Helen Biddle Griscom by Cecilia Beaux 1893.jpeg, ''Helen Biddle Griscom'' (1893) by

. File:Dolobran Montco PA 03.JPG,

(1881),

, architect. File:Horseshoe Plantation rc19240.jpg, " Horseshoe Plantation," Leon County, Florida.

References

External links

New York Times obituary, November 11, 1912New York Tribune obituary, November 11, 1912Norway Heritage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Griscom, Clement American businesspeople in shipping Businesspeople from Philadelphia American Quakers 1841 births 1912 deaths People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania Members of the Philadelphia Club Central High School (Philadelphia) alumni 19th-century American businesspeople