Joseph F. Cronin, sculptor, manufacturer of granite and marble monuments, granite statues, etc., is president of the Kilkenny Granite Company, which has one of the finest and largest quarries in the United States, located at Lancaster, N. H., with his place of business at Nos. 639 and 641 Gilbert avenue. He was born in Cincinnati January 1, 1859, and is the sixth of eleven children born to William Garde and Mary Elizabeth (Griffin) Cronin, natives of County Cork, Ireland. She was a niece of Gerald Griffin, the poet. The father of our subject came to the United States about 1850, and resided up to the time of his death between Cincinnati and Newport, Ky.; his wife, Mary Elizabeth, died in 1881, and both are buried in St. Joseph’s Cemetery, Price Hill. They were married in Cork, Ireland.

The subject of our sketch received his education in the public and general schools of Cincinnati, Newport and Campbell county, Ky., and also attended the McMicken Academy, where he received a silver medal for the most meritorious work in sculpture. Mr. Cronin has been engaged in business for over five years, and employs a number of men. Although a comparatively young wan he is at the head of his profession and one of the best sculptors in the city. Possessing true genius, his love for the picturesque and beautiful exhibits itself in every detail of his work, and his fidelity to detail, brilliancy of stroke, and symmetry of outline stamp him a. genuine artist. Mr. Cronin is unmarried.²