Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 122

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 122

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It was while with his uncle that young Corning formed his political opinions, favoring the Demo- cratic party. These opinions were strengthened by his own convictions as he advanced in years, and to which he firmly adhered during life, rendering him a power in the political field, ever acting boldly

and conscientiously up to his convictions. With him the Jeffersonian creed, "Is he honest? Is he capable ?" were the cardinal principles he demanded in office holders.

When the war of 1812 broke out, the firm of Hart & Smith was dissolved, Mr. Hart continuing the business, young Corning remaining with him. At length, desiring a larger sphere of action, more commensurate with his abilities, in 1822 he dis- solved his relations with Mr. Hart and accepted the position of confidential clerk in the large hard- ware firm of John A. Spencer & Co., of Albany, N. Y. The confidence and esteem of the firm in young Corning increased, and at the end of two years he was admitted as a member of the firm. Then came his first real business responsibilities: the competitions of trade; the exercise of energies bringing substantial rewards; the contest for greater success, while holding securely those already at- tained, resulting in the control and power which made him a recognized leader, not only in his adopted city, but in the great State he loved so well, and whose interest he so strongly subserved. Few young men ever assimilated themselves so easily to the details of business as did Mr. Corning ; few were more evenly balanced, under the sudden emergencies and vicissitudes of the commercial world than he; if the tide was against him, he breasted it courageously and hopefully ; if in his favor, he was calm and complacent.

Erastus Corning did not drift into commercial success and high positions ; he earned them by the exercise of extraordinary ability and energetic exertions. His history, therefore, presents an im- pressive example of what unaided efforts may ob- tain in this country, so full of rivalry and personal achievements. When he became a resident of AI- bany it was a comparatively small town, though even then the center which radiated much influence throughout the State, and somewhat great and commanding influences throughout the nation. In plainer language, it was just the place for him, and he was just the man for the place. Here, where legislators, statesmen and jurists assembled and reasoned; here, where legislative and executive wisdom and judicial learning showed its influence, was the place for the vigorous, athletic, original mind of Corning to apply itself to the commercial, financial and business development of the city. There was, therefore, a reciprocity of interest be- tween the city and himself.

Before Mr. Corning's death the city had more than double its population, and had become the center of large commercial interests, of extensive railroad facilities and other great public improve- ments, largely the result of his enterprise and in- fluence. Is it not natural, then, that Albany should venerate the memory of her large-hearted, energetic and gifted citizen, always a watchful guardian of her interests ? Is it not also natural that the State itself, whose interests were advanced and enlarged by him, should share in this veneration ?

It would, perhaps, be the work of supererogation to describe in detail his extended and varied career ; but justice demands that we give some attention to it.

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ERASTUS CORNING, SR.

Mr. Corning remained in the hardware and iron business for nearly half a century. During that time he had several partners ; among these was Mr. John T. Norton, with whom he purchased the rolling mill at Troy, N. Y., a successful adventure, its success being accelerated by the lapse of time. At the expiration of four years Mr. Norton retired from the firm. The succeeding members of this firm were James Horner, Gilbert C. Davidson, John F. Winslow and his son, Erastus Corning, Jr.

Through all the changes of succeeding partners the firm bore the name of Corning & Company. After rivaling in importance all other establish- ments in the country, it rose by the extent of its transactions and its wealth superior to all others. Though all its business was under the supervision of Mr. Corning, the details of it were attended to by his partners and clerks. One of the strong features in the character of Mr. Corning was the keen sagacity with which he read men and balanced their capacity and characteristics. This he applied successfully in his selections of partners and his subordinates ; in this manner all his great business enterprises moved on without friction, without those jealousies and personal conceits which too often mar and interrupt the operations of extensive busi- ness affairs. In a word, Mr. Corning knew the men he called about him, and he knew how to place each man in his natural and appropriate sphere. This gave him opportunity for the exer- tion of his abilities in other important enterprises, which soon extended not only in various parts of this State, but into other States.

We have said it was a fortunate circumstance for him and for Albany that he made that city his home. As the house of Corning & Company was growing in importance and wealth, the day of rail- roads began to dawn over the country. These im- provements found in the strong, adventurous pub- lic spirit of Erastus Corning a powerful assistant, and he embarked largely in their construction and management. He invested his means largely in them and became an extensive stockholder and director in a number of the leading lines in the country.

In 1831, when railroad projects were considered little more than "the stuff which dreams are made of," he was one of the projectors of the Mohawk and Hudson River road, completed three years later.

The connection of Erastus Corning with the railroad interest of the country may be briefly stated as follows :

He was one of the commissioners for organizing the Utica and Schenectady Railroad Company ; its President from its organization till 1854, when it was consolidated with the roads between Albany and Buffalo. This arrangement was effected with great difficulty and against much opposition ; but the rapidly increasing business of the railroads demanded it, and it found in Mr. Corning a warm and able advocate.

When the Erie Railway was completed to Lake Erie, and the Pennsylvania Central had finished its track, it was apparent that the several companies

which afterward composed the New York Central, and which were operating under district organiza- tions, could not successfully compete with those great lines, unless they were consolidated and managed by one controlling mind. Hence a con- solidation was effected in 1854, under the name of the New York Central, and it found in Erastus Corning a controlling mind. On its consolidation he was elected President of the road, discharging the duties of that important position until 1865, when he resigned. In the meantime, Mr. Corn- ing had gained a national fame as a railroad man- ager. When the project of constructing the famous St. Marie Ship Canal, now connecting Lake Supe- rior with the great chain of lakes, terminating with Ontario, was committed to a company and the contract for constructing it awarded, Mr. Corning became President of the Company. Associated with him in this enterprise was J. W. Brooks, then Superintendent of the Michigan Central Railroad, one of the ablest and most distinguished railroad men of the time.

The work which involved the construction of a Canal around the Falls of the River St. Marie was rapidly pushed to a successful completion, proving an important auxiliary to the commerce of the lakes, aiding largely in the development of the rich mining interests of Lake Superior. It was to the ample resources and comprehensive mind of Mr. Corning that the early completion of the Mich- igan Central Railroad was principally due. This road, one of the most important links in the great line of railways connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific, was undertaken by the State of Michigan, but when completed as far as Kalamazoo, was brought to a standstill for want of means.

At this juncture Mr. Corning, with Mr. D. D. Williams, of the Farmers' Loan and Trust Com- pany, and his former business associate, J. W. Brooks, took an assignment of the road from the State and completed it with great rapidity. Mr. Corning became a large stockholder in this road, and one of its Directors. He was also a Director of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail- road, of which he was one of the originators.

We have thus seen that he may, without affecta- tion, in its literal sense be called a railroad mag- nate.

We have already referred to Mr. Corning's polit- ical sentiments, and to his connection with the Democratic party.

It would be impossible for a man situated as he was during his active business career, to avoid the political arena. He was never the mere politi- cian, the man of present or ephemeral policy; a mere party manager, using the platitudes of the partisan for his own ambitious desires. The same enlightened, far-seeing qualities that governed his business relations was the motor of his political life.

He believed in the necessity of vigorous polit- ical action, and the necessity of organized parties; he felt that skill in party organization was an acquirement dangerous to the public will, unless accompanied by a high sense of honor and an

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unselfish devotion to the welfare of the country. Though inflexibly devoted to his party, he never wavered in his hostility to an institution or to measures which, in his view, were violations of human rights of honor and probity. He never permitted himself to cherish any bitterness of feel- ings, even when party strife was the highest and most bitter; when high and great principles were at stake, he forgot the politician and the partisan in the remembrance that he was a citizen of a republic, a man and a Christian. So it happened that when he came to die, he left no personal or political enemy, but was at peace with all man- kind.

It was not till 1828 that Mr. Corning entered public life. He was that year, with great unanim- ity, elected a member of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Albany, being re-elected to that office for several years. In 1834 he was chosen Mayor of the City by the Common Council, serving by re- election till 1837. The manner in which Mr. Corning discharged the duties of Chief Magistrate of the City of Albany has passed into history, which enrolls his name honorably on the long list of the honored names who have presided in the ex- ecutive chair of this ancient city. His address on as- suming the duties of his office, January 1, 1836, was particularly distinguished for its elevated and states- manlike views in regard to the railroad interests of the city; and in regard to the duties of the co-or- dinate branches of the city government, it was especially comprehensive and practical. Finally, the whole message written to meet the particular exigencies of the times, was regarded as a business- like, able and dignified document.

In 1833 he was elected a Regent of the University, and subsequently Vice-Chancellor of the Board.

In the fall of 1841, Mr. Corning was elected to the State Senate from the Third Senatorial District, which consisted of the Counties of Albany, Co- lumbia, Greene, Schenectady, Schoharie and Dela- ware. His district colleagues were Alonzo C. Paige, of Schenectady; Erastus Root, of Delaware, and Henry W. Strong, of Troy. During all his senatorial career his colleagues were the ablest men in the district, and the history of that career ranks him as the peer not only of his colleagues, but of the most distinguished member in the Senate. The differences in men are rarely to be measured by their differences in purely intellectual endowments; they consist more commonly in the differences in zeal, physical and mental energy, perseverance, devotion to duty to friends and country, pride of success, love of honor, self- respect, and a desire to do good. That Mr. Corn- ing, in the discharge of his legislative duties, possessed most, if not all, these endowments, is exhibited indubitably by the records of the parlia- mentary body in which he served.

He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions held in Baltimore in 1848 and 1852. At the latter he was President of the New York delegation.

It needs no other comment upon the estimate which the public placed upon his public services

than the fact that they opened the way for his nom- ination and election in the fall of 1856, as a repre- sentative in Congress from the Fourteenth Con- gressional District of the State. He took his seat December 7, 1857, serving until the close of the 35th Congress, March 3, 1859. During this term he rendered important services as a member of the Committee on Claims, and on Naval Affairs. In 1861 he was returned to Congress, and. was re- elected the following term, thus serving in the 35th, 37th and 38th Congresses. The two last were known as the "War Congresses."

He was a delegate to the Peace Convention held in Washington, February, 1861. His experience in legislative bodies, his high reputation for sound sense and discrimination, gave him a prominent position in this body. With other eminent members he was in favor of making honorable concessions to the South; but, when another policy prevailed, he gave his influence, his means, and his every exertion to the task of preserving the Union.

He was a Democrat-every inch a Democrat- and yet the words of the great expounder of the Constitution, "The Union now and forever; one and inseparable," guided him in his congressional career, and he gave his voice and influence in sus- taining the authority of the Constitution and the supremacy of the law. He saw that Constitution and those laws vindicated; he saw those "who rashly took the sword punished by the sword; he saw the nation filled with the largest views of in- tense nationality, and rejoiced that the heart of the nation beat and throbbed in a united body politic."

On February 5, 1833, Mr. Corning was ap- pointed a Regent of the University, a position he held until his death. On April 21, 1870, he was elected Vice-Chancellor of the Board of Regents. It will be seen that he served on the Board of Regents for the period of thirty-nine years.

In his second and third terms in Congress, he served on the Committee of Ways and Means. "The great problem before the country at that time, the solution of which devolved upon this committee, was to provide a circulating medium equal to the financial necessities of the country." Mr. Corning's experience in monetary affairs had not been extensive, but they had been intimate. In 1833 he was elected Vice-President of the New York State Bank, but retired from that position the following year to accept the presidency of the Albany City Bank, which he retained through life. He was, therefore, well acquainted with finance, and brought to the deliberations of the Ways and Means Committee a mature judgment which largely aided in the solution of the difficulties presented, providing a circulating medium for the country.

Mr. Corning resigned his seat in the House at the opening of the Second Session of the 38th Congress, determined to withdraw from public life; but he was induced to accept the position as a del- egate to the Constitutional Convention, which met at Albany, June, 1867. His colleagues were Wm. Cassidy, Amasa J. Parker, and James Roy. His legislative experience, his mastery of public affairs, and well-tried capacity rendered him one of the

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most valuable members of that body. In private life, those who knew Mr. Corning best felt for him the sincerest affection.

At the age of twenty-five he was united in mar- riage to Miss Harriet Weld, of Roxbury, Mass. The family of this lady was one of the oldest and most eminent in that State, tracing their genealogy far back in English history. She was a woman of culture and intelligence, in every sense qualified to be the wife of a man like Erastus Corning. There- fore in his domestic relations he was happy and fortunate.

We have thus traced the public career of Mr. Corning. A discriminating writer has said, love of business and a capacity to conduct business stand next to affluence. In tracing the life of Mr. Corn- ing from his youth to the great successes of his man- hood, the truth of these words is fully demonstrat- ed, for he possessed these qualities in a large degree. They were the talisman which brought his success.

His long career terminated by death on April 9, 1872.

He did the work of his maturer years with the same good faith, the same steady energy and self- reliance with which he filled out the tasks of his youth and early manhood. It is no affectation to say that his was an exemplary life; a character profitable to study; one which was its own eulogy, and of which no just description can be given with- out the use of some eulogistic language. In using it, however, we are but speaking the words of truth and soberness, and not undue panegyric.

Mr. Corning's moral and intellectual qualities were in harmony ; his principles commanded the respect and confidence of the legislative, commer- cial and business circles in which he moved. In private life he gained affection and esteem. He was modest, claimed no merit, assumed no undue importance, accomplislied his purpose not so much by reason of his great wealth, as by the strength, manliness and probity of his character. And thus, while his influence was almost unbounded, the people for whom he labored so long and effect- ually unite in the plaudit of "good and faithful servant " as they look back upon his long and use- ful career, feeling that "it is well " with any peo- ple when from its institutions, modes of life and thought, can spring a character like that of Erastus Corning's.

ERASTUS CORNING.

In the biography of Erastus Corning, Sr., we have seen with what ability, determination and success he established himself one of the chief mer- cantile, manufacturing and public-spirited men of the State, and perhaps in the nation.

We have seen that, subservient to his broad prac- tical business policy, he developed the growth of railroads and other internal improvements, and be- came the founder of one of the greatest iron in- dustries of the country. We have seen how, in all his great public and private enterprises, signal suc- cess attend him, and that he closed his life an emi-

nently fortunate man. But amid all the fortunate circumstances of his life, not one could have been more gratifying to him than that which gave him a son who inherited those qualifications by which he had worked out his own success in life. A son, who, when he himself was past the period of his activity, and when called to leave the things of earth, would take his place and successfully carry forward his great designs and business projects, and give additional fame to the name of Corning.

Having sketched the life of the father, it becomes our pleasant duty to trace the career of the son from his birth to the present conspicuous place he now occupies in the community.

Erastus Corning was born at Albany, June 16, 1827. He was the third son of his parents. He first went to school in Greenbush in the house now occupied by Collender, the old fort; from there to College Hill, Poughkeepsie, and completed it at Union College. In his studies he was thorough and practical, and they were peculiarly adapted to the course of life that lay before him, with all its responsibilities.

On leaving college he entered a vast business school, under the tutorship of his father, where he received a training which, it is not too much to say, could not have been elsewhere acquired in this country. Two requisites for success in life are in- dispensable, neither of which can be counted on prior to experiment. The first is opportunity; the second is aptitude to turn it to the best account. Both of these requisites Mr. Corning possessed. At an early period he was brought into close com- panionship with the most accomplished and culti- vated financiers, manufacturers, legislators, and statesmen. Hence he learned much from associa- tion of this kind. These circumstances, favorably turned by his own exertions and energy, soon placed him in the front rank of manufacturers and financiers, in which he displayed the useful charac- teristics which marked the career of his father.

We have seen that at an early date the elder Corning, in connection with John T. Norton, pur- chased the rolling mills at Troy, which subsequent- ly developed into the Albany Iron-works.

In nothing, perhaps, is the transforming power of manufacturing industry-its ability to give to crude ore entirely new forms and new qualities- more strikingly evident than in the various ways in which iron ore is molded into forms of usefulness.

It is impossible to exaggerate the utility or the beauty of the materials thus wrought from it. In pausing to consider them, the intellect is almost staggered at their immensity, the vast variety of their usefulness, the subtlety into which they enter into almost everything which tends to the comfort and happiness of men.

It was reflections, doubtless, something like these that prompted the elder Corning to enter the great business of iron manufacture, and induced the son to become equally enthusiastic in carrying them forward to a state of perfection and success al- most unrivaled. After several partners had suc- ceeded Mr. Norton, and left the firm, Erastus Corn- ing, Jr., became a partner in the concern, and the

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firm was known as Erastus. Corning & Company. In the meantime the transactions of the house be- came more extended and important than those of any other in the iron trade in America. The rela- tions of Erastus Corning, Jr., with the firm con- tinued until the death of his father, in 1872, when he succeeded to the ownership of these iron-works.

Possessing a vigorous constitution, with corre- sponding mental powers, and much experience, he was eminently prepared for the great responsibilities which now rested upon him.

In writing a biography, it is in relating what a man has done and achieved in life, rather than in pleasing panegyrics, which places the reader in possession of his true character and career.

" Permit me," said a great Athenian statesman,. "to have my name carved on the public edifices that ornament the city which I have aided in erect- ing, and I will ask no other biography of myself." But the request was denied him.

In preparing our sketch of Erastus Corning, a plain and truthful description of the various great enterprises he has conducted will be the best pane- gyric that could be given any man; indeed, in looking over the wide extent of the enterprises which bear his name, we feel, as did the Athenian, that they are a sufficient biography without the in- terposition of our pen; but as "history is philos- ophy, teaching by example," and as biography is but the other side of history, we shall make a descrip- tion of the manufacturing and other interests in which Mr. Corning is engaged, the material for his biography.

We shall begin with a description of the great ALBANY IRON AND STEEL MANUFACTORIES.

From a very early period, to use the language of another, the waters of the Wynantskill were utilized as motive power by the Dutch settlers. In 1789 David De Forest erected a fulling mill at the foot of the falls in what is now the Sixth Ward of the City of Troy, but this was taken down to make way for the nail factory of John Brinkerhoff, who, in 1807, built a rolling-mill in the same glen. The opera- tions of this little wooden rolling-mill were con- fined to converting Russian and Swedish bar-iron into plates, which were slit into narrow strips, cut to the required length and made into nails headed by hand. In 1826 Brinkerhoff's nail factory was put up at auction and bought by Erastus Corning, Sr., who gave it the name of the Albany Nail Factory. In order to follow the history of these iron-works, which must be interesting to all our readers, we must repeat some instances which appear in the biog- raphy of Erastus Corning, Sr.

Not long after purchasing the nail factory, Mr. Corning, Sr., formed his partnership with Mr. Norton, under the name and style of Norton & Corning. In 1830 the establishment had increased to such an extent that thirty-five persons were employed, with an annual production of 825 tons of rolled-iron, about half of which was cut into nails. That year Mr. Norton withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Corn- ing found an admirable partner in James Horner. Slowly, but surely, the business increased, and in a

few years its daily production was six and one-half tons of iron, a large portion of which was con- verted into nails. Thus it continued till 1838, when the firm was enlarged by the addition of John F. Winslow, taking the firm name of Corn- ing, Horner & Winslow, while the establishment was called the Albany Iron-works. During the following year the first puddling or making of wrought-iron from pig iron in this city was done at these works. The only other establishment in the State where this process of manufacture was carried on, was at the Ulster Works, in Ulster County. In 1849 the steam mill was built and put in operation.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 122

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452