Crosman, Charles F.–(1802-1865)–Rochester,
New York–Crosman was born in Vermont in 1802 and moved to New York in 1818
and settled in a Shaker settlement. Crosman was a peddler of seed
grown in a Shaker community in Columbia County, New York. The Crosman
Company was established in 1838. Crosman then became a partner with
Michael Bateham in his seed business. They developed a “seed
garden” but a year later the partners severed their relations. Crosman
took the garden and Bateham took the seed store. In November 1842,
Bateham sold the store to Crosman. In 1852, C. F. Crosman was listed
a the owner of American Seed Store in Moore’s Rural New Yorker.
At his death in 1865, his two sons, George and Charles, took over the business.
By 1880 the Crosman firm had become one of the largest seed houses in the
world. Their original seed plots had expanded to 1,200 acres.
The firm became known as the Crosman Brothers and in 1901 received a gold
medal at the Pan-American Exposition.
Sources: Naylor/RHS;
NYPA;
Parks