Cornelius P. Comegys - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Cornelius Parsons Comegys (January 15, 1780 – January 27, 1851) was an American farmer and politician from Dover Hundred, in Kent County, Delaware, near Little Creek. He was a veteran of the War of 1812, a member of the Federalist Party, and then later the Whig Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware.

Early life and family

Comegys was born in Kent County, Maryland, near Chestertown

Chestertown, Maryland

Chestertown is a town in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,746 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Kent County. The ZIP code is 21620 and the area codes are 410 and 443...

, the son of Cornelius and Hannah Parsons Comegys. His ancestors settled on the Chester River in the 17th century and his father served in Caldwell's Company of John Haslet

John Haslet

John Haslet was an American clergyman and soldier from Milford, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a veteran of the French and Indian War and an officer of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, serving as the first Colonel of the 1st Delaware Regiment...

's Regiment in the American Revolution. Comegys grew up and went to school in Baltimore, Maryland and moved to Little Creek

Little Creek, Delaware

Little Creek is a town in Kent County, Delaware, United States. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 224 at the 2010 census...

about 1800. There he married Ann Blackiston who died within the year, probably in childbirth. On February 16, 1804, he married secondly, Ruhamah Marim, and they had twelve children, Sally Ann, John Marim, William Henry, Susan Marim, Hannah, Henri Marim, Joseph Parsons, Cornelius George W., Benjamin Bartus, Mary Elizabeth, Maria, and John Marim. They inherited the Marim farm, Cherbourg, now in East Dover Hundred

East Dover Hundred

East Dover Hundred in the U.S. state of Delaware was originally part of St. Jones Hundred, which was renamed Dover Hundred in 1823, which was then divided in 1877 into two hundreds: East Dover Hundred and West Dover Hundred.-External links:...

, near Little Creek, and made it their residence. They were members of the Methodist Church.

Professional career

During the War of 1812 Comegys joined the Delaware State Militia and attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. While farming at Cherbourg, he entered into several other business ventures. As an agent for Brandywine Creek millers he brokered a wheat deal that fell through and nearly ruined him. But he continued to pursue shipping and other mercantile business. For a time he was a director of the Commercial Bank at Smyrna and also Cashier of the Dover Farmers bank in 1818.

Political career

Comegys served in the State House from the 1811 session through the 1815 session, and again in the 1830 session. During the sessions from 1811 through 1814 he was the Speaker. He also served for 13 years as State Treasurer

Treasurer

A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...

. He was elected Governor in 1836 defeating Smyrna surveyor, Nehemiah Clark, the Democratic candidate. He served as Governor of Delaware from January 17, 1837 until January 19, 1841 and was the first person to serve a full four year term as Governor.

Like other Governors of his era, he was primarily concerned with improvements to public education and reformation of the penal code. As told by Carol Hoffecker in Democracy in Delaware, Comegys "a man otherwise noted for his reluctance to tamper with the legal code, told the Assembly in 1839, 'I cannot believe that the whipping post and pillory are consistent with the genius of the age.' The governor failed to persuade a majority of the legislature to alter the law, but he used his power of pardon to delete the whipping portion from the sentences of several men convicted of petty thefts. His leniency aroused the ire, not the admiration, of the General Assembly, some of whose members introduced a resolution to restrict the governor's power to pardon on the grounds that 'the frequent exercise of the pardon power is...a great public evil, which threatens seriously to interfere with the due and regular administration of justice. " Two years later he tried again by appealing to public opinion saying to the General Assembly, "The criminal enactments on your statute books are, in the estimation of the people, a mere bug-bear.' He challenged the General Assembly to remove 'the taint of cruelty and barbarism' from the state's criminal code." No laws were changed then and it was only in 1972 that whipping post was eliminated form the legal code. Delaware actually continued to use the whipping post until 1952.

During his term the last link of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad

The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...

was opened, establishing it as the primary transportation route between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Among other things, this route went through Wilmington and by-passed New Castle, further establishing the dominance of the former city.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly
Delaware General Assembly
The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(sessions while Governor)
|-
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!Senate Majority
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|1837–1838
|59th

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

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| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...

| |Presley Spruance

Presley Spruance

Presley Spruance was an American merchant and politician from Smyrna, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist and later the Whig Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly and as U.S...

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| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |William D. Waples
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|1839–1840
|60th

Delaware General Assembly

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| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Democratic Party (United States)

| |John P. Brinckloe
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Death and legacy

Comegys died at Dover and is buried there in the Old Methodist or Whatcoat Cemetery. His son, Benjamin, was President of the National Bank in Philadelphia, and another son, Joseph P. Comegys

Joseph P. Comegys

Joseph Parsons Comegys was a lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Whig Party and later the Democratic Party, who served in the Delaware General Assembly, as a U.S...

, was Chief Justice of Delaware and a U.S. Senator. Comegys is described "as a man of profuse hospitality...generous to a fault, he aided all who made demands on his charity."

Almanac

Elections were held the first Tuesday of October until 1831, and since they have been held on the first Tuesday after November 1. Members of the Delaware General Assembly took office the first Tuesday of January. State Representatives had a one year term. The Governor takes office the third Tuesday of January and since 1831 has had a four year term.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

The Delaware House of Representatives is the lower house of the Delaware General Assembly; the state legislature of the U.S. State of Delaware. It is composed of 41 Representatives from an equal amount of constituencies, each of whom is elected to a two year term. The Delaware General Assembly...

|Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Treasurer

|Executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|1813
|1821
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|State Treasurer

Treasurer

|Executive

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|1824
|January 5, 1830
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|State Representative

Delaware House of Representatives

|Legislature

Legislature

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 17, 1837
|January 19, 1841
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{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
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!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly service
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! Majority
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|1811
|35th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...

|Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet was an American planter and politician from Cedar Creek Village in Cedar Creek Hundred, Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, who served twice as Governor of Delaware....

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

Kent County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is coextensive with the Dover, Delaware, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010 the population was 162,310, a 28.1% increase over the previous decade. The county seat is Dover, the state capital...

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|1812
|36th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

|-
|1813
|37th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Joseph Haslet

Joseph Haslet

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

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|1814
|38th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney was an American merchant and politician from Lewes, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Federalist Party, and later the National Republican Party, who served as Governor of Delaware, U. S. Representative from Delaware and U.S...

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

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|1815
|39th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney

|Speaker

Speaker (politics)

|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

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|1816
|40th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|Federalist

Federalist Party (United States)

|Daniel Rodney

Daniel Rodney

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|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

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|1830
|54th

Delaware General Assembly

|State House

Delaware House of Representatives

|National Republican

National Republican Party (United States)

The National Republicans were a political party in the United States. During the administration of John Quincy Adams , the president's supporters were referred to as Adams Men or Anti-Jackson. When Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States in 1828, this group went into opposition...

|David Hazzard

David Hazzard

David Hazzard was an American merchant and politician from Milton, in Sussex County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, then the National Republican Party, and finally the Whig Party...

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|Kent at-large

Kent County, Delaware

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1836
|Governor
|
| |Cornelius P. Comegys
| |Whig

Whig Party (United States)

| |4,693
| |52%
|
| |Nehemiah Clark
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |4,276
| |48%

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.