The Crary Family Story
Collectively, the Crary Family represented 22 businesses and four multi-million dollar fortunes. Their interests lay in such diverse fields as tanneries, mercantile stores, lumber mills, sheep ranches, rail roads, gas and oil wells. Several of the siblings helped start a leather company that became an original member company of the Dow Industrial Average. The brother wearing the top hat invented a new form of the typewriter. Each of the six brothers, farm-raised in upstate New York, knew how to swing an axe.
Their interests and passions were just as varied: One couple would sail around the world twice—cruising for the first time in 1909. They ended up visiting every state in America and every province in Canada. One son marched in the Civil War. One had the first bathtub north of New York City. Still another was an inveterate genealogist and author in his spare time. And yet again, they shared something in common: an obligation to their fellow man: they underwrote many a public good or philanthropic kindness on behalf of their houses of worship.
But ask any of the twelve what their most prized accolade or legacy was, and without hesitation they’d answer: Family. (And yes, those gals had as much a hand in their success as any of the fellas.) Eliza’s grandchildren numbered 35.
The Crary family letters, telegrams, published works, journals, and oral histories, which have passed down from generation to generation and finally to the family of our founding partner David Smyth, attest to that. They worked hard and played hard, all for – and with – family.
And that’s why, today, that same philosophy of success for the sake of family serves to guide both the business principles and moral compass of our firm. When we say we are dedicated to helping grow wealth for generations for your family and ours, we mean it. Long-tested and time-proven, ours can be a successful approach that spans generations.
