Stephen Merrell Clement
| Stephen Merrell Clement | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 3, 1859 Fredonia, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 26, 1913 (aged 53) Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Spouse(s) | Carolyn Jewett Tripp (m. 1884; his death 1913) |
| Children | 6 |
| Parent(s) | Stephen Mallory Clement Sarah Elizabeth Leonard |
Stephen Merrell Clement or S. M. Clement, Jr. (November 4, 1859 – March 26, 1913) was an American banker, businessman and industrialist in Buffalo, New York.
Clement was born on November 4, 1859 in Fredonia, New York to Stephen Mallory Clement (1825–1892) Sarah Elizabeth Leonard (1824–1891). His brother was Henry Clay Clement. His father founded the Fredonia Bank in 1855 and was president of the bank until 1869 when he moved the family to Buffalo to become Cashier of The Marine Bank.
He was a descendant of Col. Giles Jackson of Berkshire County and Capt. Caleb B. Merrell, of Herkimer Co., who both fought in the American Revolutionary War.
Clement attended the State Normal School and then Yale University, where he was a member of Scroll & Key and where he graduated from in 1882. Following his graduation from Yale, he traveled around Europe with friends visiting Persia.
In 1883, he returned to Buffalo and within two years, was made Cashier at The Marine Bank. By 1895, three years after the death of his father, he became president of the Bank. He spearheaded the construction of the Bank's headquarters, the Marine Trust Building, designed by his friend, Edward Brodhead Green (1855–1950), a prominent Buffalo architect. In 1902, he oversaw the merger of The Buffalo Commercial Bank, which had capital of $250,000, and the Marine National Bank, which had capital of $200,000 and surplus $1,000,000.
After a heart attack slowed him down in 1911, he decided to divest his 30% share of to Marine Bank, selling in 1913 shortly before his death, to Seymour H. Knox I, a founder of the F. W. Woolworth Company.
He was an organizer of the Buffalo Clearing House and served as chairman from 1892 until 1912. He was also an organizer of the Power City Bank, in Niagara Falls that assisted in financing Hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls. He served as president of the Merchant's National Bank of Dunkirk, was a director of the Ontario Power Company, the Niagara, Lockport & Ontario Transmission Company, the International Railway Company, and the Buffalo Abstract & Title Company. He also served as president of the Buffalo & Susquehanna Steamship Company and was vice-president of the Rogers, Brown Iron Company alongside Edmund B. Hayes.
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