John Augustus Griswold Nassau

Nassau (town), New York

Nassau is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 4,818 at the 2000 census.The Town of Nassau is at the southern border of the county.- History :The region was first settled around 1760....

, Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...

 - October 31, 1872 Troy

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

, Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County, New York

Rensselaer County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 159,429. Its name is in honor of the family of Kiliaen van Rensselaer, the original Dutch owner of the land in the area. Its county seat is Troy...

) was an American businessman and politician from New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

. His father the Hon. Chester Griswold filled several positions of public trust, serving a number of years as supervisor of Nassau, and was for three years (1823, 1831 and 1835) one of the members of the New York State Assembly, representing the County of Rensselaer.

Life

He was married to Miss Elizabeth Hart, daughter of Richard P. Hart, Esq., at Troy, on the 14th day of September 1843. They had six children: three sons and three daughters. Of his father's family, he was the only son, and his only sister was married to Isaac B. Hart, Esq., of the firm of Hart, Lesley & Warren, Troy, N. Y. Mrs. Hart resides in that city, where her husband died some years since.

He engaged in mercantile pursuits and in steel manufacture. He was Mayor of Troy, New York

Troy, New York

Troy is a city in the US State of New York and the seat of Rensselaer County. Troy is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany and Schenectady, forming a region popularly called the Capital...

 in 1855. He engaged in banking and was President of the Troy and Lansingburgh Railroad, of the Troy and Cohoes Railroad and of the New Orleans, Mobile and Texas Railroad.

Griswold was elected as a Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 to the 38th

38th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members...

 and as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the 39th

39th United States Congress

The Thirty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of...

 and 40th United States Congress

40th United States Congress

The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth...

es, and served from March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1869. In 1868, he was the Republican candidate for Governor of New York, but was defeated by Democrat John Thompson Hoffman.

Griswold was elected a Regent of the University of the State of New York

University of the State of New York

The University of the State of New York is the State of New York's governmental umbrella organization responsible for most institutions and people in any way connected with formal educational functions, public and private, in New York State...

 on April 29, 1869.

He was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery in Troy.