Seymour H. Knox I

Seymour Horace Knox I (April 11, 1861 – May 17, 1915) was an American businessman from Buffalo, New York, who made his fortune in five-and-dime stores. He went on to hold prominent positions in the merged company as well as Marine Trust Co. In 1890, he made established headquarters in the Buffalo store. Sources disagree on the chronology of later stores. One source says that the second Buffalo store was opened at 549 William Street on June 20, 1891. The 519 Main Street store replaced the 409 Main Street after the fire on December 14, 1893, and moved to 395 Main Street in 1895. He continued to build his S.H. Knox Co. 5 and 10 Cent Store empire. By the time of the 1911 incorporation of F. W. Woolworth Company, Knox was the second largest of six store operators with 98 U.S. and 13 Canadian locations. In 1912, he received $12 million of the $65 million merger proceeds and was appointed Director and Senior Vice-Principal of the Corporation. At his death, Seymour was Vice President of the Woolworth Co. and Chairman of the Board of the Marine Trust Co. He was the first of three generations of the family to serve as Chairman.

Personal life In 1890, Seymour was married to Grace Millard (1862–1936), a daughter of Charles Abram Millard and Sarah Amelia (née Avery) Millard. Together, they had four children, one of whom died in infancy: Dorothy Virginia Knox (1896–1980), who married Frank Henry Goodyear Jr. in 1915. After Goodyear was killed in a car accident in 1930, Dorothy remarried to Edmund Pendleton Rogers, a widower from New York, in 1931. Seymour H. Knox II (1898–1990), who married Helen Northrup.

Knox died on May 17, 1915, in Buffalo, New York. After his death, his wife built a new mansion on Delaware Avenue for her and their children, designed by New York City architect C. P. H. Gilbert, known today as the Mrs. Seymour H. Knox House.

Descendants Among his grandchildren were Seymour H. Knox III and Northrup R. Knox, the original principal owners of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. Grace established The University at Buffalo's first endowment fund in 1916 when she donated $250,000. Knox bred champion trotters and pacers and was a polo enthusiast.