Seymour H. Knox I

Seymour Horace Knox I
Born	Template:Birth date Russell, St. Lawrence County, New York, U.S.
Died	May 17, 1915(1915-05-17) (aged 54) Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Businessman
Known for	Co-founder of F. W. Woolworth Company; pioneer of five-and-dime retail stores

Seymour Horace Knox I (April 11, 1861 – May 17, 1915) was a prominent businessman from Buffalo, New York, who amassed his wealth through his involvement in five-and-dime retail stores. He consolidated his chain of over 100 outlets with those owned by his first cousins, Frank Winfield Woolworth and Charles Sumner Woolworth, leading to the creation of the F. W. Woolworth Company. Following the merger, Knox held key leadership roles within the company as well as at Marine Trust Co. He was the patriarch of a family that included Seymour H. Knox II and grandsons Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup Knox, who co-founded the Buffalo Sabres hockey team in the National Hockey League.

Early life

Born on April 11, 1861, in Russell, located in St. Lawrence County, New York, Seymour was the son of James Horace Knox, a farmer, and Jane E. McBrier. His paternal lineage included an ancestor who fought in the American Revolution. The Knox family originally emigrated from Belfast, Ireland to Massachusetts in 1737 through William Knox.

Seymour’s education took place at the local Russell district school. Despite never attending high school, by age fifteen he began working as a schoolteacher.

Career

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Knox (center) alongside Frank and Charles Woolworth

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Early urban five-and-dime store in Detroit

At seventeen, Knox relocated to Hart, Michigan, where he spent several years employed as a sales clerk. He then moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, entering into a business partnership with his first cousins. In Reading, he contributed to the community by funding the Knox Memorial Central School Building, dedicated on July 30, 1913; this facility served until it merged with other local schools. His initial collaboration with the Woolworth cousins began with opening a Woolworth & Knox store in Reading on September 20, 1884, investing all his savings into the venture. Although sales were initially slow during opening hours, once local factory workers were released with their paychecks at lunchtime, business surged dramatically. While his second store in Newark, New Jersey was short-lived, the partnership flourished overall. Their third store in Erie, Pennsylvania allowed them to terminate the Newark lease. Alongside Frank Woolworth, Knox inaugurated Buffalo’s first store at 409 Main Street on October 13, 1888.

By 1889, Knox had acquired full ownership by buying out his cousins’ shares. Despite this buyout, he maintained amicable commercial relations with them—purchasing merchandise wholesale from Woolworth and occasionally competing against them. Between 1889 and 1895, he briefly partnered with rival retailer Earle Perry Charlton of E. P. Charlton & Company, establishing his own "S.H. Knox Co." five-and-ten-cent store in Buffalo in 1890. That same year marked the founding of his Buffalo headquarters. Sources vary regarding subsequent store openings; one states that a second Buffalo location opened at 549 William Street on June 20, 1891, while another indicates a second store launched on December 18, 1893 at 519 Main Street—just days after the original at 409 Main Street was destroyed by fire. The replacement store at 519 Main Street was established following the December 14, 1893 fire and relocated to 395 Main Street in 1895. Throughout this period, Knox expanded his S.H. Knox Co. five-and-dime empire significantly. By the time of the F.W. Woolworth Company’s incorporation in 1911, he ranked as the second largest operator among six chains with a total of ninety-eight U.S. and thirteen Canadian outlets. When the $65 million merger took place in 1912, Knox received $12 million from the proceeds and was appointed Director and Senior Vice-Principal of the corporation. He is recognized for pioneering downtown urban five-and-dime stores; notably, his Detroit location was among the first outside rural or small-town markets. His approach influenced many competitors within Woolworth’s network.

In 1913, Knox acquired Stephen Merrell Clement’s holdings in Marine National Bank.</ref> At his passing, he served as Vice President of F.W. Woolworth Company and Chairman of Marine Trust Co., becoming the first of three generations of his family to chair that institution.

Personal life

In 1890, Seymour entered into marriage with Grace Millard (1862–1936), daughter of Charles Abram Millard and Sarah Amelia (née Avery) Millard. Together, the couple had four children, although one tragically passed away during infancy:

• Grace Knox (1893–1895), who died as an infant.
• Marjorie Knox (1900–1971), who in 1927 wed Joseph Hazard Campbell from Providence, Rhode Island. Following Campbell's death in a small plane crash in 1938, Marjorie remarried Benjamin Klopp in 1948.
• Dorothy Virginia Knox (1896–1980), who married Frank Henry Goodyear Jr. in 1915. After Frank Goodyear Jr.'s fatal car accident in 1930, Dorothy later married New York widower Edmund Pendleton Rogers in 1931.
• Seymour H. Knox II (1898–1990), who was married to Helen Northrup.

Seymour Knox passed away on May 17, 1915, in Buffalo, New York. Following his death, his widow commissioned a new residence on Delaware Avenue, designed by New York City architect C. P. H. Gilbert. This mansion, constructed for her and their children, is presently recognized as the Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House.

Descendants

Among his grandchildren were Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox, who served as the founding principal proprietors of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Grace was responsible for creating The University at Buffalo's inaugural endowment fund in 1916 through a donation of $250,000. Knox was also known for breeding award-winning trotters and pacers, as well as being an avid polo player.

See also

• F. W. Woolworth Company
• Knox Farm State Park

References

General sources

External links

• Knox Family of Buffalo, NY
• Woolworth Virtual Museum
• Friends of Knox Farm State Park