Grosvenor Family Genealogy: Papers of Sardis L. Crissey Family, circa 1837-1945, undated

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

[Description and dates], Box/folder number, Grosvenor Family Genealogy: Papers of the Sardis L. Crissey Family, Central Library: Rare Book Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.

Acquisition Information

Collection acquisition is unclear; although it appears to have been on deposit or gifted to the Grosvenor Library. Grosvenor Librarian Augustus Shearer wrote to Mabel Crissey in 1940 regarding acquisition of the collection [letter in folder 4.2].

Processing Information

Collection processed by: Amy Vilz, January 2008

Finding aid encoded by: Amy Vilz, October 2010

Note: Previously, this collection existed in two parts. An initial portion of this collection was partially processed and cataloged as the [Genealogy of the Mighill Cressey [i.e. Crissey] family and other families]. The catalog record for this collection, as well as a brief inventory, was retained. At a later date, a separate box of materials from this collection was discovered. This box, along with the initial materials, was re-established as one collection, Grosvenor Family Genealogy: Papers of the Sardis L. Crissey Family.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The Grosvenor Family Genealogy: Papers of the Sardis L. Crissey Family collection is open for research.

Use Restrictions

See librarian for information on reproducing materials from this collection, including photocopies, digital camera images, or digital scans, as well as copyright restrictions that may pertain to these materials.

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Biographical History

About the Sardis Crissey family

Sardis Little Crissey was born April 5, 1840 in Stockton, New York. A member of the Grosvenor family (via Leicester Grosvenor), he was also a descendent of John Davenport, Roger Williams, and Anan Winsor.[1] He fought in the 49th regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, including the battles of Williamsburg, Mechanicsville, and Yorktown. After the war, he worked for the General Land Office in Washington, DC and later earned degrees in both medicine and law.

Sardis married Hannah Maria Morse on December 18, 1867. The materials of this collection were gathered by Maria as she researched the genealogy of the Crissey family. Eventually, her study focused on the Grosvenor line. Through correspondence with family members, photographs and information on the various Grosvenor branches were assembled into the Grosvenor family genealogy. After Sardis' death in 1906 and Maria's death in 1912, the manuscript was continued and maintained by their daughter Mabel Edith Crissey. Ultimately, the genealogy manuscript was acquired by the Grosvenor Library, a precursor to the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.[2]

About the Grosvenor family

The Grosvenor (pronounced Grove-ner) family first came to America in 1680, when John and Esther Grosvenor emigrated form Cheshire, England to Roxbury, Massachusetts.[3] In her book, The Grosvenor Library and its Times, Margaret Richmond Fess states:

Genealogical records show that members of the Grosvenor family were military and community leaders. Their names were linked with the building of schools and churches. In their homes were entertained guests of national importance, such as Alexander Hamilton and Martin Van Buren. During the Revolutionary War, a number of Grosvenors served as officers in George Washington's army.[4]

Abel Grosvenor and Reuben Heacock were the first of the Grosvenor family to arrive in Buffalo at the turn of the nineteenth century. They made their living as merchants. At Abel's death in 1813, his brother Seth Grosvenor came to Buffalo to settle the estate.[5] Seth himself would also prove to be a successful merchant, and lived in Buffalo from 1813-1815.

The Grosvenor Room at the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library takes its name from Seth Grosvenor. After the British burned the village of Buffalo in the War of 1812, Grosvenor played a prominent role in helping to rebuild the devastated community. Although Grosvenor took his expert business skills to New York City, at his death in 1857, he bequeathed $40,000 to the City of Buffalo to establish a public reference library. The Grosvenor Library opened its doors to the public in March 1871.

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Scope and Contents

Organized into four series, this collection details the genealogy of the Grosvenor Family as assembled by Sardis, Hannah, and Mabel Crissey. It is comprised of an unpublished manuscript, ancestral charts, correspondence, and photographs documenting the Grosvenors and various family branches. The first three series concern the Grosvenor family genealogy records.

Series I

This series encompasses the bulk of the collection, and contains Grosvenor family genealogies, ancestral charts, and family history manuscript.

Series II

Series II contains correspondence of the Crissey family, namely Sardis L., Hannah Maria, and Mabel Edith and mainly relates Grosvenor family history. Five glass plate negatives with images of an unknown document in Spanish are also included in this series. The document, seemingly correspondence, is dated 1794 with visible signatures of Esteban Miró, governor of the Louisiana territory and Florida. The relationship of these documents to the Crissey or Grosvenor families is unclear.

Series III

Photographs are organized in this series, and consist of portraits, grave markers, and homes.

Series IV

Sardis, Hannah, and Mabel also compiled records on the Crissey family history and genealogy. Consisting mainly of notebooks, these records are located in Series IV as Notes on the Crissey family.

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Arrangement

The collection is organized in four series.

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Subject Headings

Persons

Corporate Bodies

Subjects

Genres and Forms

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Inventory

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