Bronson Case Rumsey, 1828-1902, was appointed as a member of the Buffalo Board of Park Commissioners in 1881, a position his younger brother Dexter also held.
Bronson Rumsey was born on August 1st, 1823 in Warsaw, New York. His father, Aaron Rumsey and family moved first to Westfield, New York, and then to Buffalo, while Bronson was still a young man. His father began a tanning business in Buffalo, which was quite successful. Bronson and his brother Dexter entered that business as clerks, and then later became partners with their father. After the death of their father, the two brothers maintained the firm for many years.
In 1886 Bronson and Dexter Rumsey offered to the city twelve acres of wooded land at the south edge of Delaware park with the price to be set at whatever value three independent appraisers would set upon the parcel. That parcel became what is known as the “Rumsey Woods” section of the park.
Bronson Rumsey’s wealth derived from the tanning business begun by his father, and which he and his brother Dexter had inherited. The brothers sold their interest in that business in 1893. He and his brother also had very extensive real estate holdings in Buffalo, as well as in nearby counties, and elsewhere. He also was heavily invested in railroad stocks. Bronson was also a founder of the M&T Bank.
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