USA > New York > Tompkins County > Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York : including a history of Cornell University > Part 77
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121
29
BIOGRAPHICAL.
An occasion of unusual political excitement throughout the State of New York occurred in the second year of Governor Cornell's administration, in consequence of political differences between the president of the United States and the two senators representing this State, which resulted in their resignations. This action precipi- tated an angry controversy, under which the Republican majority in both branches of the Legislature was divided into bitter partisan factions. This unhappy condition continued two months and thus prolonged the legislative session of 1881 beyond all precedent. It is not surprising that this remarkable experience resulted in the return, at the ensuing election, of a Legislature of opposite political complexion in both houses.
Despite the natural embarrassments proceeding from the disturbed condition of Republican politics, Governor Cornell's administration had given such satisfaction to the people that he was strongly supported by them for renomination at the Republi- can State Convention called to select a candidate as his successor. Ilis renomina- tion was, however, bitterly opposed by active friends of the federal administra- tion and a coterie of disappointed politicians who had failed to secure satisfactory recognition from the governor during his official term. It is an undisputed fact that a decided majority of delegates to the Saratoga Convention of 1882 were elected in favor of his renomination, but the minority faction, led by unscrupulous men, were enabled by various discreditable means, including both bribery and forgery, to so manipulate the State Committee as to secure control of the temporary organiza- tion of the convention adverse to the governor's friends. Using this point of advan- tage they arbitrarily unseated nearly forty regularly elected delegates and thrust into their places bogus contestants, thus fraudulently reversing the true complexion of the convention as originally elected.
By such forbidden and abhorent ineans, the deliberately expressed choice of a large majority of the true hearted Republicans throughout the State was ignored, and the renomination of Governor Cornell, which had been so confidently expected, was de- feated by a small majority and the rival candidate was formally nominated.
These extraordinary proceedings of the State Convention aroused the deepest indignation among Republicans throughout the State to such an extent that the successful candidate, although of eminent personal respectability, was repudiated at the election by a majority of 192,000, and the Republican party was plunged into an abyss of degradation from which it required years of patient labor to redeem it.
Retiring from the gubernatorial office at the age of fifty, Governor Cornell re- sumed his residence in the city of New York and devoted himself to business pursuits, having extensive interests in various electrical, railway and insurance corporations.
In his domestic life Governor Cornell has been peculiarly fortunate. He was mar- ried November 9, 1852, to Elen Augusta, daughter of Deacon George Covert, of Ithaca. Four boys resulted from this union, of whom one died in infancy and one met with an accidental death at the age of eight, while two have grown to mature life and are happily married. Mrs. Cornell was a lady of superior accomplishments, and her home was always the seat of cordial and refined hospitality. As a presiding genius of the Executive Mansion at Albany Mrs. Cornell will long be remembered as one of the most charming and agreeable ladies known to public life. After a long and painful illness she was called to her rest May 11, 1893, lamented by a wide and devoted circle of friends. The following year the governor was again married to a younger sister of his first wife.
30
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
FRANCIS M. FINCH.
HON. FRANCIS M. FINCH, associate judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, was born at Ithaca, N. Y., June 9, 1827. His parents were of New England extraction. His father, Miles Finch, was appointed surrogate of Tompkins county, March 27, 1823, but afterwards engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he continued until a short time before his death. Even in his youth Mr. Finch mani- fested a remarkable literary talent, which he still retains, though he stoutly avers that "the practice of law has chastened and choked it down." If he had followed his own strong inclinations, he would doubtless have drifted entirely into literature and become, perhaps, one of those who "care not to make the laws of a nation so long as they can make its songs." He was one of the editors of the Yale Literary Magazine during his senior year, and took an oration at Commencement. At that time, and in fact throughout his life, he has been peculiarly felicitous in making impromptu speeches. His college songs, "Gather ye Smiles," "Smoking Song," "Nathan Hale," "Linonia," and later "The Blue and the Gray," with others, thrown off in his moments of relaxation, have, to use the language of another, "been crystallized and set with the classic gems of the recognized poets of the country," while many of his graver poems will live long after he has passed away. But young Mr. Finch early forsaw that literature was a precarious vocation, and the promptings of a sense of sterner duty compelled him to turn regretfully from its inviting paths and plunge into the law with all his native vigor and earnestness. He studied his profession in Ithaca, and was admitted to the bar in little over a year. Mr. Finch's practice was of rapid growth ; he was a gentleman of fine scholarship, a hard stu- dent, a clear and persuasive reasoner, a wise, reliable counsellor, conscientious in a marked degree in the fulfillment of his relations to his clients, and tenacious in the advocacy of their rights, and he soon took a commanding position among the ablest lawyers of the Sixth District. The most important cases were confided to him, and his opinions upon legal questions were eagerly sought by the most eminent of his brethren at the bar. Early in General Grant's first presidential term he was ap- pointed collector of internal revenue for the Twenty-sixth District, New York, which office he resigned after holding it for four years. At the organization of Cornell University, Mr. Finch became warmly interested in the institution, was one of its trustees, and its counsel and friendly adviser through its early troubles. In May, 1880, Mr. Finch was appointed judge of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York to fill a vacancy of six months. In 1881 he was reappointed to fill a vacancy of one year. In the fall of 1881 he was elected to a full term of fourteen years, which will expire December 31, 1895. Mr. Finch possesses a natural mental grasp which seems able to take in the manifold bearings of a subject, to perceive its resemblances and harmonies, as well as its inconsistences, almost at a glance; he has a judicial tem- perment without bias. In speech he is methodical, correct, rounded and concise ; his critical analysis of a subject, or résumé of a case, covers all its points and leaves no gaps to fill. His opinions have been always characterized by the utmost fairness of spirit, depth of learning, and thorough research. In short it may be truly said that he possesses all the elements necessary for the high judicial position which he has so ably filled. He is approachable, genial, and affable; and while he possesses large perceptive faculties and keen discrimination, he is almost philosophically tolerant.
31
BIOGRAPHICAL.
His chief relaxation is his large and well selected library, to which he turns with delight from his arduous legal and judicial labors.
On the death of Hon. Douglass Boardman in the year 1891, and the consequent vacancy in the deanship in the School of Law in Cornell University, Judge Finch was unanimously elected by the trustees of that institution as dean of the Law School. Since his election he has found time outside of his duties on the bench to give much time and thought to the development of the school, and to prepare and deliver before the law students a series of lectures, which are masterpieces in their literary style and legal acumen. Judge Finch has always taken a warm interest in all things relating to the progress of his native place, and has identified himself with various business enterprises of local prominence. He is now vice-president of the Ithaca Trust Company and a director of the First National Bank of Ithaca. Mr. Finch was married May 25, 1853, to Elizabeth A., daughter of Robert May Brooke, of Philadelphia. She died on March 28, 1892. He has three children: a son, Robert Brooke, and two daughters, Mary Sibley and Helen Elizabeth.
MILO GOODRICH.
MILO GOODRICH was born at East Homer, N. Y., January 3, 1815. His parents, Philander and Almira (Swift) Goodrich, were in humble but respectable circuin- stances, and had then recently emigrated from their native place at Sharon, Conn. Soon afterwards they purchased a farm near the Marl Ponds, in the town of Cort- landville, where the childhood of the subject of this sketch was spent, and where his education was commenced.
Hc early manifested a great fondness for books, and at the age of sixteen com- menced to teach the district school, where his education up to that time had been obtained. For the succeeding few years he pursued his studies, first at Homer Academy and afterwards at the Oberlin Institute, then a new institution in Ohio, designated to enable students to sustain themselves while completing their educa- tion ; but he found it necessary to teach school during the winter months, and never fully succeeded in completing the course of study which he had designed for him- self. In 1838 he commenced his law studies at the office of Judge Barton, of Wor- cester, Mass., where he was admitted to practice law in the ycar 1840.
He then seems to have anticipated the advice afterwards given by Horace Greeley and went West to what was then the Territory of Wisconsin, where he remained two years practicing law at Beloit, at the expiration of which time he returned to his native county.
In the year 1844 he married Eunice Eastman in the town of Groton, N. Y., and soon afterwards removed to the adjoining town of Dryden, which was his liome for the succeeding thirty years, and where by untiring energy, united with great natural strength of mind and a vigorous physical constitution, he rose from the lowest to the highest grade of his profession. His business was at first confined to the local courts, where his success as a lawyer first developed, but he soon became a prominent figure at the circuits of Tompkins and adjoining counties, where his power as an ad-
32
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
1
vocate before juries will long be remembered. He loved his chosen profession and practiced it for the success which he attained in it, rather than for pecuniary com- pensation for his efforts, which was, with him, a secondary consideration. He was common and unobtrusive in his manners, generous with his means, and exemplary in his habits.
He early took a serious and active interest in public affairs; held the appointment as postmaster at Dryden in 1849; served as superintendent of schools soon after, and was subsequently elected a member of the House of Representatives of the Forty-second Congress. He was also elected a delegate to the Constitutional Con- vention of the State of New York in 1867, where, as a member of the Judiciary Com- · mittee, he alone submitted a minority report favoring on elective judiciary with a term of fourteen years, which was subsequently adopted.
In the year 1875 he removed to Auburn, N. Y., where he continued his practice in the higher State and United States Courts until near the time of his death, which occurred April 15, 1881. His wife and three children survived him, the former of whom now resides near her early home in the town of Groton, and the latter consist of George E. Goodrich, who still occupies the old home of his father at Dryden; Frank P. Goodrich, who was until recently an instructor in Yale University, but has just accepted a position of Professor of German in Williams College, Mass., and Fannie Schweinfurth, who now resides at San Francisco, Cal.
It would be useless for the writer of this brief sketch to attempt to convey to a stranger to Milo Goodrich an adequate conception of his magnetic power as a speaker, or his native ability and commendable attributes as a man. He was self-made so far as his early advantages were concerned, and had certain original qualities which impressed themselves upon those who came in contact with him, and which causes his memory to be cherished by those who knew him.
JEREMIAH W. DWIGHT.
JEREMIAH WILBUR DWIGHT was born in the village of Cincinnatus, Cortland county, N. Y., on the 17th day of April, 1819. He was the eldest son of Elijah and Olive Standish Dwight. A sister, Mrs. E. S. Farnham, of Owego, N. Y., and a brother, R. R. Dwight, of Harford, N. Y., survive him.
In 1830 his parents moved into the town of Caroline, Tompkins county, N. Y., where as a boy he attended school, worked on a farm and assisted his father in his blacksmith shop. In 1836 he moved with his parents into the town of Dryden, where for two years he worked on a farm and in his father's shop summers, attending school during the winter. In 1838 he entered the store of A. Benjamin, in Dryden village, as a clerk; later with A. L. Bushnell, with whom he became a business partner ultimately, forming a business partnership known as Dwight & Ferguson, which continued for many years. In 1852 he erected a stone store which is now in the village of Dryden, which was operated for some years under the old firm name. He then organized the firm of J. W. Dwight & Co., of which he was the head, his store becoming the business center of the eastern portion of Tompkins county.
,
33
BIOGRAPHICAL.
In his business life in Dryden he won the respect of all, and was soon chosen to places of trust. He was one of the incorporators of Dryden village; was also one of the organizers and incorporators of the Southern Central Railroad, of which he was always a director and vice-president. He was also trustee and president of the Southworth Library Association.
Mr. Dwight showed an early interest in politics, and was one of the charter mem- bers of the Republican party. In 1857 and 1858 he represented his town in the Board of Supervisors of Tompkins county, being chairman of that board both years. His services were so acceptable in that capacity that in 1859 he received the Republican nomination for member of assembly, and was a member of that body for two years.
At the breaking out of the war he became greatly interested in the organization of the various regiments raised in this part of the State, being appointed a member of the War Committee for his senatorial district by Gov. E. D. Morgan. In 1868 he was a delegate to the Chicago Republican Convention, voting for the nomination of General Grant for the presidency.
In 1876 Mr. Dwight was elected to the Forty-fifth Congress; was re-elected to the Forty-sixth and Forty-seventh Congresses, retiring March 4, 1881 being the only member in the history of his district sent for three successive terms. In 1884 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, held at Chicago, and was among the supporters of James G. Blaine for president. Mr. Dwight, as a politician, was noted for his loyalty to principle and for his utility of resources; always a stalwart Republican, putting forth his earnest efforts for party unity and advancing the cause of Republicanism.
In 1880 he organized the corporation known as the Dwight Farm & Land Co., of which he was the president until his death. This company purchased over 60,000 acres of land in the Red River valley, in North Dakota, 10,000 of which was put under cultivation, and was known as one of the largest wheat farms in that section of the country. He was also a partner of John McGraw, of Ithaca, N. Y., in exten- sive pine land operations in the State of Wisconsin. They were also largely inter- ested in real estate in Jersey City, N. J.
He was gifted with keen commercial faculties, able judgment, sterling integrity, and a high moral character. He was also known in a quiet and unostentatious way to be a generous benefactor, ever ready to proffer the hand of aid and the voice of sympathy to his fellow men, and particularly to the soldiers of the late war. Ile accepted the christian faith, and was a devout listener to the gospel when presented according to the laws of love and reason.
Mr. Dwight married Rebecca A. Cady, daughter of Hon. Elias W. Cady, who survives him, with four daughters and one son. Mr. Dwight's death occurred No- vember 25, 1885. He was laid at rest in Greenhill Cemetery in Dryden village.
E. C. VAN KIRK.
E. C. VAN KIRK, the present recorder of the city of Ithaca, was born in the town of Enfield on the 23d of June, 1836. He is a son of Enoch Van Kirk, a respected
E
34
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
farmer of that town and a member of the Van Kirk family, who have been prominent in the history of Tompkins county. Enoch Van Kirk was born on the homestead, where he still lives, on the 22d of January, 1809. His wife was Sophia Curry, of the town of Ulysses. Besides the subject of this sketch they had one son, F. C. Van Kirk, who now occupies the homestead with his father.
E. C. Van Kirk received his education in the district schools and the Ithaca Acad- emy, which he left when he was about seventeen years old to begin teaching in the common schools of the county. This vocation he followed nine winters, working at home most of the summers. On the 11th of August, 1862, he enlisted in Company G, 109th Reginient N. Y. Vols., and served honorably to the close of the war. In the battle of Spottsylvania he received a peculiar slight wound across the bridge of his nose. Soon thereafter he was taken from the ranks to secure his services as a clerk and accountant on the quartermaster's and adjutant's reports and accounts. This deprived him of opportunity to gain promotion, and his service in the clerical work mentioned was of such value that he was not again permitted to return to the ranks.
Returning at the close of the war, Mr. Van Kirk purchased a farm in Enfield. Before entering the army he had married Henrietta, daughter of David Purdy, of Ith- aca, and they took up the labor of the farm in expectation of continuing it indefi- nitely. But he remained on the farm only from April 1, 1866, to the 1st of January following; this course was adopted on account of his receiving, in the fall of 1866, the nomination for sheriff, followed by his election to the office. The nomination was made wholly without the knowledge or consent of Mr. Van Kirk; it was, how- ever, none the less acceptable, and he entered upon its duties with a determination to so perform them as to win the approbation of his fellow citizens. He sold his farm and removed to Ithaca, where he has since resided. At the close of his term of three years as sheriff, and an interval of three years, he was again elected sheriff, serving down to 1877. Mr. Van Kirk showed special qualifications to fit him for this responsible office, and his two administrations were marked by active and careful watchfulness of the interests of the county.
In 1877 he was appointed deputy postmaster in Ithaca, serving thus until 1882, when he received the appointment of postmaster from President Arthur, holding the office until the regular appointment of his successor. During the following year and a half he conducted the Tompkins House in Ithaca, after which he spent a portion of the years 1887-8 in California and Mexico. After a short period of business engage- ments, he was appointed in the summer of 1889 as special inspector of customs at Platts- burg under President Harrison. This position he filled to the entire satisfaction of those to whom he was responsible until June, 1893. Mr. Van Kirk has correspondence and certificates from persons high in office in connection with the customs department, testifying to his ability, integrity, and courtesy while in the office of inspector, of which he feels modestly proud. He was retired by Secretary Carlisle for political reasons. Returning to Ithaca, Mr. Van Kirk was tendered the nomination for the office of recorder of the city of Ithaca, and was elected in March, 1894. In the various stations to which Mr. Van Kirk has been called, it is his due to state that he has never betrayed a trust. He is a member of the Unitarian church; is a Mason, a Knight Templar, and member of St. Augustine Commandery .. He is recognized as a prominent factor in the Republican party in the county and served in one cam- paign as delegate to the State Convention.
35
BIOGRAPHICAL.
The children of Mr. and Mrs. Van Kirk are Ida A., Mary S., Anna, George H., Lucy H., and Nellie P.
FRANK J. ENZ.
Tms prominent business man of the city of Ithaca was born in Wurtemburg, Ger- many, on the 10th of April, 1839. His father was a respected citizen of that country, engaged in the baking and hotel business, and died there in 1869. During his later years and down to the time of his death he served as chief magistrate of his native village. The boyhood of Frank J. Enz was spent in his native place, where he attended school until he was fifteen years old, when his early ambition to better his position led him to join the great tide of emigration that is constantly flowing from Europe to America. Without means other than sufficient to defray his travel- ing expenses, the boy left his fatherland in 1854, alone as far as any relative was con- cerned, and without influential friends, to seek his fortune in a strange land.
Arriving in New York city in the spring, he found temporary employment in a bakery for about nine months, where he was found by Luther Lewis, a farmer in what is now the town of Ithaca, on West Hill. Mr. Lewis was in need of help for his farm, and had the good judgment to foresee the value to him of the faithful Ger- man boy. Young Enz came home with the farmer and worked faithfully for him from 1855 to 1860. To Mr. and Mrs. Lewis, who became almost foster parents, Mr. Enz is wont to ascribe the foundation of his later success and his rapid cducation as an American citizen. He became naturalized in 1860, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln.
The young man had now reached his majority, and at once sought for a wider field of effort, which resulted in his beginning a period of service for the firm of An- drua, McChain & Co, of Ithaca, extending over a period of eighteen years. That firm, as is well known in this part of the State, were large dealers in school books, paper supplies, etc., and before most of the railroads were built in this section, kept several peddlers' teams on the road selling their goods. One of these was placed in charge of Mr Enz, and it need scarcely be said that he conducted the business of his employers with the same energy and determination, the same good judgment and the same integrity that has for many years characterized his methods in his own business affairs.
During the last two years of his service for Andrus, McChain & Co. Mr. Enz trav- eled on the railroads. The confidence reposed in him by his employers, and his own devotion to their interests rendered this long business connection mutually satisfac- tory.
In 1878 Mr. Enz, who had accumulated some means, and a fund of business knowledge and experience, became associated with Thomas G. Miller, in Ithaca, in a similar line to that in which he had been engaged-wholesale paper, e.c. The firm has been successful in every sense and stands high in the business community. In 1886 they purchased one of the Ithaca paper mills, formerly owned by Andrus & MeChain, and now turn out large quantities of brown paper.
36
LANDMARKS OF TOMPKINS COUNTY.
Mr. Enz is a Republican in politics, uncompromising, and devoted to the interests of that party. He, moreover, is possessed of a natural talent for the innumerable phases of practical political work, and his fellow citizens long ago learned that fact. In 1885 the local party was considerably disorganized, if not demoralized. The County Committee was considerably in debt and no one seemed to be able to find a way out of the difficulty. It was a happy thought that led to the effort which resulted in placing Mr. Enz in the responsible position of chairman of the committee. He finally accepted it, and in a year he had cleared away the debt and had the local forces splendidly organized. It seemed easy enough for him to do this; he simply ap- plied his sturdy common sense and sagacious judgment, and his large experience as a business man, to the situation, and promptly accomplished his purpose.
His party rewarded him by the nomination by acclamation for the Assembly in 1887. He was elected by a remarkable majority, and the succeeding year was again placed in nomination by acclamation and returned to the Legislature by a majority increased over that of the previous year. These honors were worthily bestowed, and the people of the district never had the shadow of cause for regret at their choice. Mr. Enz was placed upon the important Ways and Means Committee during both terms; on the Committee on Trade and Manufactures, of which he was chairman, in he first year, on the Committee on Printing of which he was chairman in the second year.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.