Born: September 19, 1821
Died: December 12, 1884
Married: Christina Lake (d. 1856),Mary Steers Hogg (d. 1862), Frances Emma Steers
Children: With Christina, Mary Louisa Thompson & another child who predeceased him; with Mary, George G. S. Lake; with Frances, James R. S. Lake, Frances E. Lake, Henry S. Lake and another who predeceased him (presumably Lewis Graham Lake, October 19, 1864 to May 16 1883).
George Graham Lake was a businessman. He is memorialized in the 1897 Tiffany window of Baker Chapel that depicts Christ.
America's Successful Men of Affairs: The city of New York, Henry Hall, ed., New York Tribune, 1895, p.379
GEORGE GRAHAM LAKE, merchant, born in Brookfield, Conn., Sept. 19, 1821, died in New York city, Dec. 21, 1884. He began life as an errand boy in this city, later as clerk for Ubsdell & Pierson, dry goods merchants. His salary was so small that for a time he slept on a counter in the store, his food being exceedingly frugal. The firm soon discovered his ability, and at the age of nineteen they made him head salesman in the silk department under a contract to serve for four years at a salary of $18 a week. When a large importing house offered him a salary for four years, increasing annually from $1,000 the first year to $4,000 the fourth year, he remained loyal to Ubsdell & Pierson and at the end of the four years his firm offered him $10,000 a year for ten years, which he accepted. In 1853, he became a partner, and when in 1863 the firm dissolved, Mr. Lake associated himself with James McCreery as Lake & McCreery and succeeded to the business. In 1869 Mr. Lake retired. Thereafter, he was engaged in various important enterprises. He reorganized The Harlem Gas Co., and became a director of The Williamsburg Gas Co, and was largely interested in New York surface railroads. Mr. Lake helped found The Home for the Aged and Infirm, and subscribed liberally to the musical education of Emma Abbott. From his first marriage, there were two children, one of whom, a daughter, Mrs. Mary Louisa Thompson, survived him. His second wife, who died in 1862, was the widow of George Steers. Their son, George G. S. Lake, survived his father but has since died. In 1863, he married Frances E., daughter of James R. Steers. Of their four children, three survived him, James R. S., Frances E., and Henry S. Lake.
