James E. Booth was born in New York City in 1826 to Peter and Phebe (maiden name Cooper) Booth. He worked as a partner in a boiler-manufacturing business (Booth and Company) in Rochester before he became the president of the Monroe County Savings bank in 1891. He also served as a board member for the Fidelity Trust Company of Rochester and as a trustee to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) during the 1890s. Booth married Esther Woodbury in 1857. A hard-worker, he was still serving as president of the bank when he died in 1919 at the age of 93.The Booths had three children: Estelle, Quentin, and Irving. Quentin graduated from Cornell University in 1881. Soon after, he opened a shoe machinery business with his brother (Booth Brothers) in the Rochester area. In 1893, Quentin was granted a patent for a turning machine. Like his brother, Irving Booth graduated from Cornell University in 1883. Booth Brothers was presumably a successful business enterprise since Irving contributed nearly $600,000 to RIT during his lifetime. This made him one of RIT's largest benefactors at the time. One project that he financed was the construction of James E. Booth Hall, named after his father. Irving was married twice and widowed both times. He had no children.
From the description of Booth family collection, circa 1876-1950 (RIT Library). WorldCat record id: 758988412
