Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2013, All Rights Reserved U.S. Data Repository Please read U.S. Data Repository Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the US Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= U.S. Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ========================================================================= Formatted by U.S. Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Memorial and Family History of Erie County, New York Vol. I, Biographical and Genealogical The Genealogical Publishing Co., Buffalo; 1906-8 [29-31] ANDREW JACKSON RICH was born in Attica, N. Y., September 21, 1823. In the spring of 1841 he came to Buffalo, entering the dry goods store of MARVIN & BENNETT. The following year he left their employ and entered the Bank of Attica. Here he served first as clerk, later as cashier, and on the death of his father succeeded the latter as Presi- dent, an office which he administered with signal ability till his death, which took place in New York City, December 15, 1870. Mr. RICH was married in Buffalo, August 12, 1846, to MARY WINSLOW TOWNSEND. The children of this marriage were CHARLES TOWNSEND, born November 23, 1847; GAIUS BARRETT, born May 5, 1849; ALFRED STONE, born December 10, 1851, and ANDREW JEROME, born July 26, 1854. Alfred Stone died September 12, 1853. CHARLES TOWNSEND died May 1, 1878. GAIUS BARRETT RICH, the second of the name, was the second son of ANDREW J. RICH, and was born in Buffalo, May 5, 1849. His early edu- cation was gained in this city, where he graduated June 28, 1867, from the old Buffalo Classical School. The years 1863 and 1867 were spent in foreign tours and study, Mr. RICH'S journeyings including not only Europe but Egypt and the Holy Land. On his return from his second European tour, the young man resolved to obtain a knowledge of banking in all its details and entered the Bank of Attica as a messenger. He exhibited great natural aptitude for the business and during several years successively filled different offices in the institution. At the annual meeting of the Board of Directors in July, 1879, Mr. Rich was elected President, thus becoming the head of the oldest bank in Western New York. In this capacity he succeeded, with a few years' interregnum, his father, ANDREW J. RICH. Thenceforward for many years, GEN. RICH'S business career was identi- fied with the prosperity of the Bank of Attica, and of its Buffalo successor, the Commercial Bank, as well as with other important bank- ing enterprises. He was one of the incorporators of the Commonwealth Trust Company, of which he has ever since been a director, and is also a prominent trustee of the Erie County Savings Bank. In 1892, when the Bank of Attica was succeeded by the Buffalo Commercial Bank, GEN. RICH was elected President of the latter, and continued in that office till his retirement in 1896. Since that date he has found ample occupation in attending to his numerous and extensive banking and investment interests. On the 1st of November, 1871, began GEN. RICH'S connection with the National Guard of the State of New York, he at that time entering the Thirty-first Brigade as First Lieutenant and Aide-de-Camp. June 15, 1872, he was commissioned Captain and Quartermaster, and March 21, 1873, was made Major and Engineer, August 4, 1875, he was promoted Lieutenant Colonel and Ordnance Officer of the Eighth Division, being made an officer of the staff of General Rogers; and on the 1st of January, 1883, was appointed by GOVERNOR CLEVELAND, Brigadier General and Paymaster General, which important and responsible commission he continued to hold till January 1st, 1886, serving on the staffs of both GOVERNOR CLEVELAND and GOVERNOR HILL. For many years GEN. RICH was a member of the Executive Committee of the Buffalo Public Library, and has held numerous positions of trust and responsibility on the various committees. He is also a life member of the Y. M. C. A., and a trustee of the North Presbyterian Church. Since 1871 he has been a member of the Masonic fraternity, in which order he has held many high positions. He is a Mason of the 32d Degree, and is connected with Ancient Landmarks Lodge, 441. GEN. RICH is also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, the Sons of the American Revolution, and of the Buffalo Club, of which organization he was President during the Pan-American year, which was a notable epoch in the club's history. On the 1st of October, 1873, GEN. RICH married CORNELIA PERRINE, daughter of the late HENRY E. PERRINE, a prominent Buffalonian who died in 1901. Their children were Gaius Barrett and HAROLD PERRINE, the latter of whom died in 1894, at the age of 16. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access the more of our information about Erie County, N.Y., by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ny/erie/ ===========================================================================