Erastus Corning - Erastus Corning &, Railroads, Civil War politics, Later years

Businessman and US representative, born in Norwich, Connecticut, USA. He moved to Albany, NY (1814), where he began to manufacture iron. He bought a foundry and formed a partnership with metallurgy expert John F Winslow, their products becoming renowned throughout the USA. He promoted an extension of the Mohawk & Hudson Railroad and became president of the Utica and Schenectady Railroad (1833–53). Taking the lead in consolidating the various New York railroad lines into the New York Central, he served as its first president (1853–64), and in 1853 founded the Corning Land Co. He served four terms as the mayor of Albany (1834–7), and later served in the New York state senate (1842–5) and in the US House of Representatives (Democrat, New York, 1857–9, 1861–3).

Erastus Corning
Portrait of Erastus Corning by Mathew Brady, ca. 1860
Born	December 14, 1794 Norwich, Connecticut
Died	April 9, 1872 Albany, New York

Erastus Corning (December 14, 1794 – April 9, 1872), American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; After some time at Spencer's firm, Corning became a partner, and eventually the senior partner upon Spencer's death in 1824. Corning combined the Spencer firm with holdings he inherited from his uncle to form Erastus Corning &

Erastus Corning &

Erastus Corning & Corning bought and sold all manner of iron products, not merely tools and nails as one would expect but also stoves, farming equipment, and, eventually, rails and railroad iron parts and products. The company had a wharf and warehouse on the Hudson River in Albany, and the store itself served not only Albany and the surrounding towns, but hundreds of large customers from the west who visited Albany only two or three times a year to buy and sell products, restock their own supplies, and see what new was for sale. Corning's hardware store soon became one of the most significant businesses in Albany.

Corning was not content to run a hardware store, however, no matter how big the store might be. The Albany Nail Factory eventually became the Rensselaer Iron Works, which, under Corning's guidance, installed the first Bessemer converter in the United States.

By the time he was 40, Corning had helped found the Albany State Bank (he would serve as president until his death), been named to the board of the University of the State of New York, begun speculating on land in western New York (including the townsite that bears his name), and had gotten himself elected mayor of Albany.

Railroads

Erastus Corning's most lasting contribution to history may have been his dealings with railroads. Schenectady Railroad was chartered in 1833, Corning got himself a seat on the board and became a major investor, and was soon president of the road. Hudson Railroad of which Corning was also a shareholder) to Utica in the west.

Corning was not satisfied with just his railroad, banking, insurance, land speculation, and iron works interests, however. Schenectady, Corning organized in 1851 a convention of the owners and presidents of the other eight operating railroads, which combined roughly connected the cities of Albany and Buffalo, New York. The convention agreed on a framework for consolidation of the eight roads (as well as two paper roads, which had not yet been built but were planned), and Corning took the convention's application to the state Legislature. Corning became the main lobbyist for the proposal in the legislature, and despite being a Democrat made a personal appeal to Thurlow Weed, leader of the Whigs, who controlled state government at the time.

Corning had a lot riding on the legislature's decision. Once the legislature passed the Consolidation Act on April 2, 1853, Corning found himself in possession of the majority of shares in the new company, and so at the first meeting of the New York Central's shareholders in 1853, Corning got himself elected president of the company. He remained in that role for twelve years, during which time the New York Central made connections and struck deals that gave the road access to Cleveland, Boston, New York City, and Chicago, and made it one of the country's most important railroads.

Corning amassed a significant fortune, and used it to invest in land schemes as far west as Wisconsin and Iowa.

Civil War politics

In 1856, shortly after finishing the St. Mary's River project, Corning was nominated for and won a seat in the United States Congress from New York.

Back home in Albany, Corning organized a public meeting on the war, which resulted in a formal letter sent to Abraham Lincoln under Corning's hand offering support for maintaining the integrity of the Union, but censuring the administration for certain tactics it was employing in the war, most notably the making of military arrests of civilians in New York accused of avoiding service.

Despite his disagreements with Lincoln's handling of the war, Corning fully supported the effort to maintain the Union. The United States Navy contracted with Corning's iron works to manufacture parts and materials for the USS Monitor, the Navy's first ironclad warship.

Later years

Corning's personal papers make little reference to the nature of his ill health, but from his retirement on, Corning slowly began reducing his commitments and public activities. In 1867, Corning was a delegate to the New York State Constitutional Convention.

By 1871, Corning had passed control of his business interests on to his sons and close associates, and at one point passed up the opportunity to buy a share in a new land deal in Nebraska, saying that "I find that my health is such that it will not do for me to take hold of any new undertaking." He remained on the board of the Albany State Bank, and also continued as vice chancellor of the board of regents of the University of the State of New York, positions he had held by that time for over 30 years.

Corning's grandsons Edwin and Parker Corning both held various political positions in the state of New York in the early 1900s. His great-grandson, Erastus Corning II, was mayor of Albany for over 40 years, from 1941 to 1983.