Born in the USA

The 28th Patriarch

Charles Wesley Erskine was born in Riverdale, NY, on August 27, 1859, and passed away on December 7, 1923, at the age of 64. A graduate of the College of the City of New York in 1879, he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and the college Debate Team. Charles partnered with his brothers in John Erskine & Company, operating the Orcilla Silk Mill in Union Hill, NJ, and the Norwich Silk Manufacturing Company in Norwich, NY. Around 1900, he joined Dester, Lambert & Company in Patterson, NJ, and later became Treasurer and a Director at Rogers Pyatt Shellac Company, with factories in Jersey City, NJ, and Rhinebeck, NY. He married Josephine Lucy Gillespie on February 21, 1893, and they resided in Morristown, NJ, and later at 131 and 155 Riverside Drive, New York, with a summer home in Bayshore, Long Island.

The 29th Patriarch

Louis Gillespie Erskine "Grandad" was born on June 7, 1896, at 7 East 63rd Street in NYC, and died on January 24, 1980, at age 84 in Scarsdale, NY. A graduate of Newark Academy, he attended Princeton University, Class of 1918, and was a member of the Elm Club and the Varsity Track team. He served in the US Navy and Army during World War I. In 1919, he joined Rogers Pyatt Shellac Company, later becoming an Industrial Consultant and President/Chairman of US Radiator Corp. He was a financial consultant to numerous institutions and corporations and a guest lecturer at Columbia University. He married Miriam Wilkes Birks on May 18, 1920, and authored our family history book [[family history book name]] published in [[year published]].