William Edward "Doc" Grisso

I hope my readers are not tired of reading about "Doc" Grisso.  I have covered our trip to see the mansion in Seminole, Oklahoma in the following posts. Click on any blue title to catch-up or re-read.

Crossroads
Seminole, Oklahoma
Grisso Mansion
The tour goes on...
A Few More Pictures of the Grisso Mansion



The next few posts will be about Mr. Grisso himself.  This information is taken from The Grisso Family book. It was written in 1970 by Susan Garland, a granddaughter of W.E. Grisso, while a student at East Central State College.

Summary

She discusses the heritage of pioneers who impacted Oklahoma.

State Senator Allen G. Nichols says, "Doc was the best all-around citizen I have ever known.  He was a great individual and a very special friend."

Doc was interested in and a promoter of good roads, effective land conservation, cattle ranching, the improvement of pecan trees, the field of medicine, the oil business, the field of education, local and state government.

He was born in Vidette, Arkansas, on January 8, 1874. His father, Jacob, died when he was nine.

Even though the family was a poor farming family, three of five children became teachers, including Doc.

to be continued.......











         

 

A few more pictures of Grisso Mansion

My favorite room, of course



Main living room being set up for a reception. Maybe we should have a Grisso Reunion here.

I

Grand Staircase



Imported Tile

Minstrel Balconies

Another view of party room

Beautiful Carpet

 

Touring this house was definitely something to check off the bucket list.

And the tour goes on.....

The newspaper article which I consulted said...The Grisso mansion was completed in 1928 when Seminole City was still a boom town.  It was planned as the dream home of Grisso's wife, Margaret. 

The newspaper article was written in 1977 when Margaret was age 90 and still lived in the house.

We heard from our guide that Margaret, Maggie, was Doc Grisso's third wife. His first wife died as did his second.  Maggie had actually been attracted to Doc when they were kids back in Vidette, Arkansas. When he left that area, Maggie was only fourteen and unsuited (according to her parents) for marriage because of her age.  Years later when she was older, she traveled to Seminole and went to work at the post office. 

She came to Seminole to find him.  It looks like it worked. I also enjoyed the stories about the gas stoves.  She had carried all the wood she wanted. The contrast between growing up in the hills of the Ozarks and living in such a mansion in their life time is almost too hard to contemplate.

Back to the house. Let's go upstairs.

Four full bathrooms and three half-baths adjoin second floor bedrooms, with the master bedroom having its own sitting room, bath and dressing room.

Master Bedroom sitting area



Looking carefully at the pink wall behind the door, one can see the design of the bedroom walls. The backside of the door matches this pink design. The wood side or outside of the door matches the hallway. All the doors are like this.  They match the wall when closed.

The next post will continue with pictures of the mansion.  The beginning of this article which I have been referencing began as follows.

W.E. "Doc" Grisso , who made millions from Greater Seminole Oil Field productions in the 1920's put his money where his faith was, the future of Oklahoma.

His money and energy went into land - "the only real wealth," in his view - road building, education and some $750,000 into the home still known as the Grisso mansion.



 

The Grisso Mansion

I wonder why we are enamored with famous or wealthy relatives. I imagine we have as many horse thieves or convicts as we do rich and famous. Horse thieves might be fun to discover when they are from a hundred years ago, but recent day felons are not a topic for a genealogy blog. So, we stick with the rich and famous.

We learned many interesting tidbits while touring the mansion with the general manager. She told us she had dreamed of working in this house since she was a young girl. The Grisso Mansion was the talk and envy of several generations of Seminole citizens.

The backside of the mansion with the greenhouse on the right side of the photo.

The front side of this Italian designed mansion.

After returning home, I checked the pages of The Grisso Family book and found an article written in 1977 by someone named Mayme Moore. I do not know from which newspaper this was taken.  I will be using information (that in italics) from this article to describe this elegant 26 room house which was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites by the Department of the Interior in 1976.

Its 26 rooms, built around a courtyard-solarium, include 11,000 square feet of floor space.  Downstairs rooms include the entry hall with its cathedral ceiling, minstrel balconies and a grand staircase; living room, music room, a dining room 30 feet long and 20  feet wide, a breakfast room twice as large as an average kitchen, utility and storage.

One of our favorite stories told by the guide was about breakfast with the Grisso family.  The two youngest children were still at home when the family moved into the mansion.  At breakfast, the children were expected to be seated at the table by 7:00 a.m., completely groomed for the day, and ready to discuss the information in the daily newspaper which they would have already been expected to read.

Such details as marble window sills-except for those of ceramic tile in the bathrooms and kitchen- elaborate plumbing fixtures, an early type shower and heated towel rods give an idea of the quality of plannings.

Furnishings were personally chosen in New York City by Mrs. Grisso with guidance from her decorator.  Woods are dark and polished, the general style massive and elaborate, fabrics exquisite.  The living room carpet was hand-loomed in England.

This house tour is far from over.  We will continue in the next post.  Our guide told us that over the years, they are able to hear great stories from locals who have come to tour the home since it opened to the public. One fellow said he had worked for the Grisso's as one of the many groundskeepers for 20 years, yet he had never been in the house. 

Crossroads

Here I am at that crossroads. You know the one. It is that genealogy crossroads that has signs pointed toward the Wrights, the Tolsdorfs, the Grissos, the Bordens, etc. Recently, I have been consumed with the DeHarts. This worked out well because I could share a journal written by my aunt in 1988. The reason this worked so well was because I could schedule posts while on the road moving from winter residence to summer residence. Once I am settled back down, which way will I go?

Let's talk Grissos today.  This is my mother's father's side of the family. Mother, Mary Louise Grisso Wright. Her father, Bert Roscoe Grisso.


As I have mentioned before, my interest in family history was originally piqued by my Great Grandma Estella Smith. Then, came a special day in about 1972 when her son-in-law, my grandfather, spent an afternoon telling me about his heritage. After that day with Bert Grisso, I wanted to learn more about these ancestors who everyone thought came from Italy. Through my own family research and many others interested in the Grisso name, we have learned that the Grissos did not come from Italy, but some cousins just refuse to let that go. What is true is that three Grisso brothers left Virginia along with their wives, who were all Grubb sisters. They settled for a time in Tennessee, but eventually made their way to northern Arkansas around 1842-1844.  Most of the Grisso brother's siblings stayed in Virginia. (There is much to be written on the Grisso line in the future.)

In the 1970's, one of my dearest Grisso cousins read about a place in Seminole, Oklahoma called The Grisso Mansion. She was always curious about the place. Who were these Grissos? Were they relatives? Are we rich?

Sometime in the past 10 years or so, another aunt passed on to me part of a document written and complied by a couple of Grisso descendants of Mathias Grisso. This was not the whole document just part of it. It took me many long hours to decipher and understand these pages.  It might have been easier if I would have had the whole document.  It might have been much easier if every generation didn't need to name their Grisso sons, George or William. I know this is a common complaint among genealogists. I wish I could trade a George for a Henry or a William for a Charles. What names would you like to trade? Oops, digressing.

I have been on the trail of that completed volume of The Grisso Family book for many years. I have come close to finding it a few times. I exchanged emails with one of the authors who said there were no more good copies. I exchanged emails with a very gifted Grisso genealogist who had the book on C.D. Unfortunately, I did not receive the C.D. due to his untimely death. Somewhere through the years, I have learned that copies of this book exist in several libraries where Grissos have lived. There is a copy in Salt Lake City as well as libraries in Virginia, Ohio, Arkansas, and Seminole, Oklahoma.

Now, Seminole, Oklahoma is where the Grisso Mansion is located.  AND there is a copy of The Grisso Family in the local library. This definitely has to be a stop on our summer migration route. It really isn't too far out of the way.