line of steamboats on Cayuga lake, and from 1864 till 1869 was cashier and vice-president of the First national bank of Ithaca. He was a supervisor of the town of Ithaca in 1864-'5. From 1858 till 1866 he served as chairman of the Tompkins county Republican committee, and in 1866-'7 was a member of the Republican state committee. He was one of the first commissioners for the erection of the new state capitol at Albany from 1868 till 1871. He has been a director of the Western union telegraph company continuously since 1868, and was its vice-president from 1870 till 1876. At the Republican state convention in 1868 he was nominated for lieutenant-governor, but was defeated in the election. President Grant in 1869 appointed Mr. Cornell surveyor of customs at New York, which office he resigned to become a member of the New York state assembly in 1873. Although a new member, he was nominated for speaker by acclamation in the Republican caucus, and won high repute as a successful presiding officer. In June, 1870, he was nominated as assistant treasurer of the United States at New York; but he declined the appointment. From 1870 till 1878 he was chairman of the Republican state committee, and became noted as a political organizer of remarkable tact and efficiency. Mr. Cornell was a delegate at large to the Republican national convention at Cincinnati in 1876, and was the leader of the New York delegation. Through his influence nearly the entire delegation was finally recorded for Gov. Hayes, of Ohio, thus insuring his nomination for the presidency. In the canvass Mr. Cornell served as chairman of the state committee, and also as a member of the national executive committee, and devoted himself to the work with great energy. In January following he was appointed naval officer for the port of New York by President Grant. Soon after his accession, President Hayes directed the treasury department to notify Mr. Cornell that he must resign from the state and national committees as a condition of remaining naval officer. Regarding this as an invasion of his civil and political rights, he declined to obey the mandate; whereupon a successor was nominated, but was rejected by the senate. After the adjournment of the senate in July, 1878, the president suspended both the collector (Chester A. Arthur) and the naval officer, and their successors were finally confirmed. At the subsequent elections Mr. Cornell was chosen governor of New York and Gen. Arthur became vice-president of the United States. Gov. Cornell was inaugurated, 1 Jan., 1880, and served three years. His administration was noted for economy in public expenditures, and his vetoes of appropriation bills were beyond all precedent, but gave much satisfaction to the people. Upon his recommendation a state board of health and the state railroad commission were created, women were made eligible for school-officers, a reformatory for women established, and the usury laws were modified. The resignation of the New York senators from the U. S. senate in 1881 provoked a bitter contest for the succession, by which the Republican party was divided into hostile factions. At the convention in 1882, Gov. Cornell was earnestly supported for renomination, but he was opposed by many active politicians, and was finally defeated. So much dissatisfaction was aroused among the Republican masses that the nominees of the party were overwhelmed at the polls by a majority of nearly 200,000, and this result led to the defeat of the Republican party in the following presidential election. On his retirement, Gov. Cornell resumed his residence in New York city.
CORNELL, John Henry, musician, b. in New
York city, 8 May, 1828 ; d. there, 1 March, 1894. He
was appointed organist of St. John's chapel in his
native city, where he had until that time pursued
his musical studies, especially harmony and com-
position. Within a year he resigned and went to
England, where he visited the chief cathedral cities.
At York he united with the Roman Catholic
church, and, returning to the United States, en-
tered a religious order in Baltimore. He withdrew
from the order and made a tour of England, Hol-
land, and Germany. From 1868 till 1877 he was
organist of St. Paul's chapel (Trinity parish), New
York city, and subsequently for five years organ-
ist of the Brick church. His chief works are a
" Primer of Modern Musical Tonality," " Practice
of Sight-Singing," " Theory and Practice of Musi-
cal Form," adapted from the German of Ludwig
Bussler, "Easy Method of Modulation," "A Man-
ual of Roman Chant " (Baltimore), and a " Con-
gregational Tune-Book " (New York, 1872).
CORNELL, William Maison, phvsician, b. in
Berkley, Mass., 16 Oct., 1802 ; d. in Boston, 14 April,
1895. He was graduated at Brown, studied theol-
ogy, was ordained, and became pastor of a Congre-
gational church at Woodstock, Conn., in 1832-'4,
and then at Quincy, Mass., until 1839, when he left
the ministry on account of failing health. Pie then
studied medicine, took his degree in 1844 at the
Berkshire medical school, began practice in Bos-
ton, edited the "Journal of Health" in 1846-'9,
and afterward " Pastor and People " and the
" Guardian of Health," and contributed largely to
periodicals. He also compiled a " Medical Dic-
tionary." and subsequently filled the chair of an-
atomy and physiology in the Western university.
CORNELL, William W., manufacturer, b."on
Long Island, 1 Jan., 1823 ; d. at Fort Washington,
New York city, 17 March, 1870. He established
an extensive business as an iron-founder in New
York city, was a liberal giver to benevolent ob-
jects, especially for the erection of churches for
the Methodist denominations, and founded Cornell
college at Mount Vernon, Iowa. — His brother, John
Black, inventor, b. about 1825 ; d. in New York, 26
Oct., 1887. In 1847, after serving an apprenticeship
of six years, he entered business with his brother,
W. W. Cornell, at first employing only one man
and a boy. On 12 Sept., 1854, J. B. Cornell pa-
tented an improved method of uniting the sheet-
metal slats of revolving shutters for store-fronts,
and in 1856 a new plaster-supporting metallic sur-
face for fire-proof partitions ; and these inventions
gave a great impetus to the use of iron for build-
ing. The works of the Messrs. Cornell are now
among the largest in the country, and they have
erected many iron fire-proof buildings, including
that of the New York Stock Exchange.
CORNING, Erastus, merchant, b. in Norwich,
Conn., 14 Dec., 1794; d. in Albany, N. Y., 9 April,
1872. At the age of thirteen he settled in Troy,
where he served as a clerk in the hardware store of
his uncle, Benjamin Smith. In 1814 he removed
to Albany and entered the business house of James
Spencer, becoming later a member of the firm.
After inheriting the greater portion of his uncle's
property, he became head of the extensive hardware
house of Erastus Corning & Co. He also
acquired a large interest in the Albany iron-works,
which, under his management, became one of the
largest industrial establishments in the United
States. His attention was then directed to banking,
a business which he followed for many years
with success. His greatest work was in connection
with the development of the railroad system of
