Ezra Cornell
Encyclopedia
Ezra Cornell was an American
businessman and education administrator. He was a founder of Western Union
and a co-founder of Cornell University
. He also served as President of the New York Agriculture Society and as a state Senator.
, the son of a potter
, Elijah Cornell, and was raised near DeRuyter, New York
. He was a first cousin, five times removed of Benjamin Franklin
on his maternal grandmother's side. He was also a cousin of Paul Cornell, the founder of Chicago
's Hyde Park neighborhood. Having traveled extensively as a carpenter in New York State, Ezra, upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake
and Ithaca
, decided Ithaca would be his future home.
. Colonel Beebe took notice of the industrious young man and made him the manager of his mill at Fall Creek.
Ezra Cornell was a birthright Quaker
, but was later disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying outside of the faith to a "world's woman," a Methodist
by the name of Mary Ann Wood. Ezra and Mary Ann were married March 19, 1831, in Dryden, New York
.
On February 24, 1832, Ezra Cornell wrote the following response to his expulsion from The Society of Friends due to his marriage to Mary Ann Wood:
The young and growing family needed more income than could be earned as manager of Beebe's Mills. So, having purchased rights in a patent for a new type of plow, Ezra began what would be decades of travelling away from Ithaca. His territories for sales of the plow were the states of Maine
and Georgia
. His plan was to sell in Maine in the summer and the milder Georgia in the winter. With limited means, what transported Ezra between the two states were his own two feet.
held by Samuel F.B. Morse, and was attempting to devise a way of burying the telegraph lines in the ground in lead
pipe. Ezra's knowledge of plows was put to the test and Ezra devised a special kind of plow that would dig a 2½ foot ditch, lay the pipe and telegraph wire in the ditch and cover it back up as it went. Later it was found that condensation in the pipes and poor insulation
of the wires impeded the electrical current
on the wires and so hanging the wire from telegraph poles became the accepted method.
Ezra made his fortune in the telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse, having gained his trust by constructing and stringing the telegraph poles between Washington, D.C.
and Baltimore, Maryland, as the first ever telegraph line of substance in the U.S. To address the problem of telegraph lines shorting out to the ground, Cornell invented the idea of using glass insulators at the point where telegraph lines are connected to supporting poles. After joining with Morse, Cornell supervised the erection of many telegraph lines, including the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company connecting Buffalo to Milwaukee. He earned a substantial fortune as a founder of the Western Union
company.
Cornell was a Republican member of both the New York State Senate and Assembly
.
. He endowed the Cornell Library, a public library
for the citizens of Ithaca. A lifelong enthusiast of science
and agriculture
, he saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
to found a university
that would teach practical subjects on an equal basis with the classics favored by more traditional institutions. Andrew Dickson White
helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land grant university, and Cornell University
was granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.
Ezra Cornell entered the railroad business, but fared poorly due to the Panic of 1873
. He began construction of a palatial Ithaca mansion, Llenroc
(Cornell spelled in reverse) to replace his farmhouse, Forest Home, but died before it was completed. Llenroc was maintained by Cornell's heirs for several decades until being sold to the local chapter of the Delta Phi
fraternity
, which occupies it to this day; Forest Home was sold to the Delta Tau Delta
chapter and later demolished. Cornell is interred in Sage Chapel
on Cornell's
campus, along with Daniel Willard Fiske and Jennie McGraw
.
A prolific letter writer, Ezra corresponded with a great many people and would write dozens of letters each week. This was due partly to his wide travelling, and also to the many business associates he maintained during his years as an entrepreneur and later as a politician and university founder. Cornell University has made the approximately 30,000 letters in the Cornell Correspondence available online.
His eldest son, Alonzo B. Cornell
, was later governor of New York
. Since its founding, the University's charter specified that the eldest lineal descendent of Cornell is granted a life seat on Cornell University's Board of Trustees, currently Ezra Cornell IV. (Since Ezra Cornell IV took the post on November 17, 1969, the law was amended from specifying the "eldest male lineal descendent.")
In 1990, G. David Low
, graduate of Cornell University and Space Shuttle
astronaut, took with him into outer space a pair of tan silk
socks worn by Ezra Cornell on his wedding day in 1831.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businessman and education administrator. He was a founder of Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
and a co-founder of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He also served as President of the New York Agriculture Society and as a state Senator.
Birth and early life
He was born in Westchester County, New YorkWestchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
, the son of a potter
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, Elijah Cornell, and was raised near DeRuyter, New York
DeRuyter, New York
DeRuyter, New York may refer to either:*DeRuyter , New York, located in Madison County*DeRuyter , New York, located within the Town of DeRuyter...
. He was a first cousin, five times removed of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
on his maternal grandmother's side. He was also a cousin of Paul Cornell, the founder of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Hyde Park neighborhood. Having traveled extensively as a carpenter in New York State, Ezra, upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area and second largest in volume. It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is at its widest point near Aurora...
and Ithaca
Ithaca, New York
The city of Ithaca, is a city in upstate New York and the county seat of Tompkins County, as well as the largest community in the Ithaca-Tompkins County metropolitan area...
, decided Ithaca would be his future home.
Marriage and early career
After settling in at Ithaca, Ezra quickly went to work proving himself as a carpenterCarpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
. Colonel Beebe took notice of the industrious young man and made him the manager of his mill at Fall Creek.
Ezra Cornell was a birthright Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, but was later disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying outside of the faith to a "world's woman," a Methodist
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
by the name of Mary Ann Wood. Ezra and Mary Ann were married March 19, 1831, in Dryden, New York
Dryden (village), New York
Dryden is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,832 at the 2000 census. The name was assigned by a clerk interested in the classics to honor John Dryden, poet and playwright....
.
On February 24, 1832, Ezra Cornell wrote the following response to his expulsion from The Society of Friends due to his marriage to Mary Ann Wood:
- I have always considered that choosing a companion for life was a very important affair and that my happiness or misery in this life depended on the choice…
The young and growing family needed more income than could be earned as manager of Beebe's Mills. So, having purchased rights in a patent for a new type of plow, Ezra began what would be decades of travelling away from Ithaca. His territories for sales of the plow were the states of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. His plan was to sell in Maine in the summer and the milder Georgia in the winter. With limited means, what transported Ezra between the two states were his own two feet.
Telegraph
Happening into the offices of the Maine Farmer in 1842, Ezra saw an acquaintance of his, one F.O.J. Smith, bent over some plans for a "scraper" as Smith called it. Smith had purchased a share of the telegraph patentPatent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
held by Samuel F.B. Morse, and was attempting to devise a way of burying the telegraph lines in the ground in lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
pipe. Ezra's knowledge of plows was put to the test and Ezra devised a special kind of plow that would dig a 2½ foot ditch, lay the pipe and telegraph wire in the ditch and cover it back up as it went. Later it was found that condensation in the pipes and poor insulation
Electrical insulation
thumb|250px|[[Coaxial Cable]] with dielectric insulator supporting a central coreThis article refers to electrical insulation. For insulation of heat, see Thermal insulation...
of the wires impeded the electrical current
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
on the wires and so hanging the wire from telegraph poles became the accepted method.
Ezra made his fortune in the telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse, having gained his trust by constructing and stringing the telegraph poles between Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Baltimore, Maryland, as the first ever telegraph line of substance in the U.S. To address the problem of telegraph lines shorting out to the ground, Cornell invented the idea of using glass insulators at the point where telegraph lines are connected to supporting poles. After joining with Morse, Cornell supervised the erection of many telegraph lines, including the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company connecting Buffalo to Milwaukee. He earned a substantial fortune as a founder of the Western Union
Western Union
The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
company.
Cornell was a Republican member of both the New York State Senate and Assembly
New York Legislature
The New York State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York. The New York Constitution does not designate an official term for the two houses together...
.
Cornell University
Cornell retired from Western Union and turned his attention to philanthropyPhilanthropy
Philanthropy etymologically means "the love of humanity"—love in the sense of caring for, nourishing, developing, or enhancing; humanity in the sense of "what it is to be human," or "human potential." In modern practical terms, it is "private initiatives for public good, focusing on quality of...
. He endowed the Cornell Library, a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
for the citizens of Ithaca. A lifelong enthusiast of science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, he saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges, including the Morrill Act of 1862 and the Morrill Act of 1890 -Passage of original bill:...
to found a university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
that would teach practical subjects on an equal basis with the classics favored by more traditional institutions. Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White
Andrew Dickson White was a U.S. diplomat, historian, and educator, who was the co-founder of Cornell University.-Family and personal life:...
helped secure the new institution's status as New York's land grant university, and Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
was granted a charter through their efforts in 1865.
Later life
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
. He began construction of a palatial Ithaca mansion, Llenroc
Llenroc
Llenroc is the house constructed for Ezra Cornell just below the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, United States. It now houses the Cornell chapter of the Delta Phi fraternity.- The House :...
(Cornell spelled in reverse) to replace his farmhouse, Forest Home, but died before it was completed. Llenroc was maintained by Cornell's heirs for several decades until being sold to the local chapter of the Delta Phi
Delta Phi
Delta Phi is a fraternity founded in 1827 at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Founded as part of the Union Triad, along with the Kappa Alpha Society and Sigma Phi Society, Delta Phi was the third and last member of the Triad...
fraternity
Fraternities and sororities
Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...
, which occupies it to this day; Forest Home was sold to the Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta
Delta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
chapter and later demolished. Cornell is interred in Sage Chapel
Sage Chapel
Sage Chapel is the non-denominational chapel on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York State and serves as the final resting place of the university's founders, Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, and their wives...
on Cornell's
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
campus, along with Daniel Willard Fiske and Jennie McGraw
Jennie McGraw
Jennie McGraw was born in Dryden, NY in 1840 and died in Ithaca, New York on September 30, 1881. She was the daughter of John McGraw, millionaire philanthropist to Cornell. After her father's death in 1877, McGraw inherited his large fortune...
.
A prolific letter writer, Ezra corresponded with a great many people and would write dozens of letters each week. This was due partly to his wide travelling, and also to the many business associates he maintained during his years as an entrepreneur and later as a politician and university founder. Cornell University has made the approximately 30,000 letters in the Cornell Correspondence available online.
His eldest son, Alonzo B. Cornell
Alonzo B. Cornell
Alonzo Barton Cornell was a New York politician and businessman who served as 27th Governor of New York from 1880 to 1882.-Early years:...
, was later governor of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. Since its founding, the University's charter specified that the eldest lineal descendent of Cornell is granted a life seat on Cornell University's Board of Trustees, currently Ezra Cornell IV. (Since Ezra Cornell IV took the post on November 17, 1969, the law was amended from specifying the "eldest male lineal descendent.")
In 1990, G. David Low
G. David Low
George David Low was an American aerospace executive and a NASA astronaut.- Personal :Low was born February 19, 1956, in Cleveland, Ohio and was active in the Boy Scouts of America where he achieved its second highest rank, Life Scout. He was married to the former JoAnn Andochick of Weirton, West...
, graduate of Cornell University and Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
astronaut, took with him into outer space a pair of tan silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
socks worn by Ezra Cornell on his wedding day in 1831.
See also
- Mary MorrillMary MorrillMary Morrill was the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin, American printer, journalist, publisher, author, philanthropist, abolitionist, public servant, scientist, librarian, diplomat, statesman and inventor.Mary immigrated to Massachusetts Bay Colony as an indentured servant probably belonging to...
- Ezra's 4th great-grandmother and Benjamin Franklin's grandmother - Cornell, OntarioCornell, OntarioCornell is a new community being developed in northeast Markham, Ontario and bounded by Highway 407, 16th Avenue, Ninth Line, and the Don Cousens Parkway.-History:...
- a planned community named after Cornell's distant relative William Cornell - Flushing RemonstranceFlushing RemonstranceThe Flushing Remonstrance was a 1657 petition to Director-General of New Netherland Peter Stuyvesant, in which several citizens requested an exemption to his ban on Quaker worship. It is considered a precursor to the United States Constitution's provision on freedom of religion in the Bill of...
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/27/opinion/27jackson.html New York Times Op-ed "A Colony With a Conscience" December 27, 2007
Further reading
- Dorf, Philip (1952). The Builder, A Biography of Ezra Cornell. New York: The Macmillan Co.
External links
- Ezra Cornell, Andrew Dickson White and the Establishment of Cornell University
- "I Would Found an Institution": The Ezra Cornell Bicentennial
- Guide to the Ezra Cornell Papers, 1746–1888. Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections, Cornell University Library.
- Alonzo Barton Cornell. “True and Firm”: Biography of Ezra Cornell, Founder of the Cornell University. New York: A. S. Barnes & Co., 1884.
- John Cornell. Genealogy of the Cornell Family. Being an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, R. I. New York: Press of T. A. Wright, 1902.
- The Ezra Files. Cornell University Chronicle Online.
- The Story of Telecommunications, George P. OslinGeorge P. OslinGeorge P. Oslin was a reporter, executive at Western Union and author on the history of telecommunication.Oslin graduated from Mercer University and the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. He was a reporter for the Newark Star-Ledger and the Newark Evening News...
, 1992; ch. 5.