Ezra Cornell

Ezra Cornell (; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the 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 New York State Senator. Early life Cornell was born in Westchester Landing at what is now 1515 Williamsbridge Road in The Bronx in New York City to Elijah Cornell and Eunice (Barnard), a potter. He was raised near DeRuyter, New York. He was a cousin of Paul Cornell, the founder of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. He was also related to Ezekiel Cornell, a Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the Second Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782, and was a distant relative of William Cornell, who was an early settler from Rhode Island. Cornell's earliest American patrilineal ancestor, Thomas Cornell (1595–1655), was a Puritan and a follower of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson before finally embracing Quakerism, the religion of Thomas Cornell's descendants. Career Cornell initially pursued a career in carpentry and traveled extensively throughout New York state in the profession. Upon first setting eyes on Cayuga Lake and Ithaca, New York in the spring of 1828, he decided that Ithaca would be his future home.