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Presidents in Buffalo

1) The Forest Lawn Connection 

 

Millard Fillmore: Resided in Buffalo from 1820-1874. State Assemblyman (3 terms) 1829-1831; U.S. Congressman (4 terms) 1833-35; 1837-43; State Comptroller 1848; Vice-President to Zachary Taylor 1849-1850; 13th President 1850-1853. He campaigned unsuccessfully for President in 1856, and after was an acclaimed attorney, civic servant and philanthropist until his death in 1874. Buried in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. 

 

Shirley Chisholm: Living in Brooklyn, she was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly from 1965 to 1968, sitting in the 175th, 176th and 177th New York State Legislatures. In August 1968, she was elected as the Democratic National Committeewoman from New York State. With her campaign slogan, "Unbought and Unbossed,” she thus became the first black woman elected to Congress, where she served from 1969-1983. She was also a 1972 Democratic Hopeful Candidate for President. After leaving Congress, Chisholm made her home in Williamsville, New York and resumed her career in education. She is buried in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery.

 

1-a) The Buffalo Resident-Elected Presidents 

 

Millard Fillmore: Resided in Buffalo from 1820-1874. State Assemblyman (3 terms) 1829-1831; U.S. Congressman (4 terms) 1833-35; 1837-43; State Comptroller 1848; Vice-President to Zachary Taylor 1849-1850; 13th President 1850-1853. He campaigned unsuccessfully for President in 1856 and after was an acclaimed attorney, civic servant and philanthropist until his death in 1874. Buried in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. 

 

Grover Cleveland: Moved to Buffalo 1857; Passed bar 1859; Erie County Sheriff 1871-73; Buffalo Mayor 1882 ; NYS Governor 1883-85; Elected 22nd President 1885-89; Lost re-election campaign in 1888 to Benjamin Harrison; Elected 24th President 1893-97; Last known visit to Buffalo 10/9/03 to serve as honorary pallbearer for his friend Wilson Bissell. This was Cleveland’s first visit to Buffalo in “11 or 12 years,” according to the Buffalo Morning Express. It was also his final visit to Buffalo. Retired to Princeton, NJ in 1897 until his death in 1908.

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Millard Fillmore Statue,

City Hall, Buffalo., New York

Home

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Grover Cleveland Statue,

City Hall, Buffalo., New York

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Theodore Roosevelt Statue,

Roosevelt Inaugural Site, Buffalo.

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Abraham Lincoln Statue,

History Museum, Buffalo., New York

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George Washington Statue,

Old County Hall, Buffalo., New York

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Young Lincoln Statue,

Delaware Park, Buffalo., New York

6) Other Buffalo Notables Visits

Belva Lockwood: American attorney, politician, educator, author and the first woman to argue a case before the Supreme Court in 1880. She visited the Pan Am Expo on July 12, 1901 and the Buffalo News noted she was no stranger to the city having made the trip from home town, Royalton, many times starting when she was a child. Lockwood was the Equal Rights Party and first woman candidate for President in both 1884 and 1888. 

Shirley Chisholm: Living in Brooklyn, she was a Democratic member of the New York State Assembly from 1965 to 1968, sitting in the 175th, 176th and 177th New York State Legislatures. In August 1968, she was elected as the Democratic National Committeewoman from New York State. With her campaign slogan, "Unbought and Unbossed,” she thus became the first black woman elected to Congress, where she served from 1969-1983. She was also an unsuccessful Democratic Hopeful Candidate for President in 1972. After leaving Congress, Chisholm made her home in Williamsville, New York and resumed her career in education. She is buried in Buffalo’s Forest Lawn Cemetery. Credits and appreciation to CYNTHIA VAN NESS at the Buffalo History Museum's Research Library. 
 

 

 

Check this link:

https://buffalohistory.org/Contact%20Card/research-library/

 

A special thanks and credits to MARTIN NOWAK, Author of Buffalo & its Presidents. Visits to Buffalo includes those to the WNY region, like the Chautauqua Institute, Lockport, and Niagara Falls 

Those Presidents NOT KNOWN to have visited Buffalo: Washington, J. Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, Polk, Pierce, Buchanan ( 8 for sure). Still in question: Hayes

 

*9 Presidents visited nearby Chautauqua Institute in Chautauqua County, New York, (T.R., FDR, and Clinton on several occasions). Thanks to Jon Schmitz, Archivist and Historian at the Chautauqua Institution.

 

**Does not include Fillmore, Cleveland, McKinley and T. Roosevelt 
 

This list is in-progress, so contributions with dates and sources are welcomed to bpricesr@aol.com 
Information still in question. Changes made on July 8, 2022

Historic Figures

These historic figures have connections

to Buffalo and Western New York and are the focus of

Buffalo Presidential Center programs and exhibits.

 

Millard Fillmore:  Jan. 7, 1800 – March 8, 1874

13th President of the United States

 

Abigail Fillmore:  March 13, 1798 – March 30, 1883

First Lady

 

Caroline Carmichael McIntosh Fillmore: October 21, 1813 –

August 11, 1881; second wife of Millard Fillmore

 

S. Grover Cleveland:  March 18, 1837 – June 24, 1908

22nd and 24th President of the United States

 

Frances Folsom Cleveland:  July 21, 1864 – October 29, 1947

First Lady; the only Buffalo native to occupy the White House

 

Abraham Lincoln:  February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865

16th President of the United States

 

William McKinley:  January 29, 1843 – September 14, 1901

25th President of the United States, assassinated in Buffalo in 1901

 

Theodore Roosevelt:  October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919

26th President of the United States, inaugurated in Buffalo in 1901

 

Shirley A. Chisholm:  November 30, 1924 – January 1, 2005

First African-American woman elected to Congress; 7-term Member of Congress; first African-American candidate to seek a major party’s presidential nomination (1972)

 

Belva Ann Lockwood:  October 24, 1830 – May 17, 1917

Suffragist; first female attorney to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court; first female presidential candidate (of the National Equal Rights Party, 1884 and 1888)

 

Jack F. Kemp:  July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009

Buffalo Bills championship quarterback; 9-term Member of Congress; Secretary of HUD; 1996 Republican vice presidential nominee

 

William E. Miller:  March 22, 1914 – June 24, 1983

Prosecuting attorney at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials; 7-term Member of Congress; 1964 Republican vice presidential nominee.

 

Barber Conable:  November 2, 1922 – November 30, 2003

New York State Senator; 10-term Member of Congress; President of the World Bank

 

William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan:  January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959

Recipient of Medal of Honor for service in World War I; U.S. Attorney; New York gubernatorial candidate; director of the World War II Office of Strategic Services and considered the “Father of U.S. Intelligence.

 

Robert H. Jackson:  February 13, 1892 – October 9, 1954

U.S. Attorney General; Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; Chief U.S. Prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials

 

John G. Roberts:  born January 27, 1955

Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals; currently 17th Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court

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