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35-546: Ithaca's first public library was founded by Ezra Cornell as the Cornell Free Library and chartered by the New York State Legislature in 1864. Circulation began on March 4, 1867. It stood at the southeast corner of Seneca and Tioga streets from 1864 to 1960. Early classes and commencement of Cornell University took place in the library. In 1967 the library was re-designated as the county's library when

70-630: A Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782; Bill Gates ; Presidents Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon ; First Ladies Elizabeth Monroe and Frances Folsom Cleveland ; Senator Bob Graham ; Secretary of State John Kerry ; Amelia Earhart ; Stockton Rush ; Josh Rosen , NFL player; neuroscientist and self-described psychopath James H. Fallon ; and accused axe murderer Lizzie Borden , by way of Thomas Cornell (Jr.)'s daughter, Innocent, born to his second wife, Sarah Earle Cornell, after his execution. Thomas Cornell (Jr.) fourth-great-grandson of

105-565: A companion for life was a very important affair and that my happiness or misery in this life depended on the choice." He died in 1874. Cornell is interred in Sage Chapel on Cornell's campus along with Daniel Willard Fiske and Jennie McGraw . Cornell was originally laid to rest in Ithaca City Cemetery in Ithaca and later then moved to Sage Chapel. His eldest son, Alonzo B. Cornell ,

140-406: A follower of Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson before finally embracing Quakerism , the religion of Thomas Cornell's descendants. 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. Cornell

175-515: A major share. The line was completed in 1849 and Cornell was made president of the company. In 1848, Cornell's sister, Phoebe, married Martin B. Wood and moved to Albion, Michigan . Cornell gave Wood a job constructing new lines and made Phoebe his telegraph operator, the first woman operator in the U.S. Cornell earned a substantial fortune when the Erie and Michigan line was consolidated with Hiram Sibley and his New York and Mississippi Company formed

210-480: A pair of tan silk socks worn by Ezra Cornell on his wedding day in 1831. Thomas Cornell (settler) Thomas Cornell Sr (c. 1595 – c. 1655) was one of the earliest settlers of Boston (1638), Rhode Island (1643) and the Bronx , and a contemporary of Roger Williams and the family of Anne Hutchinson . He is the ancestor of a number of North Americans prominent in business, politics, and education. Cornell

245-625: A politician and university founder. Cornell University has made the approximately 30,000 letters in the Cornell Correspondence available online. Ezra Cornell was a birthright Quaker , but was later disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying outside the faith to a "world's woman", Mary Ann Wood, a Methodist , on March 19, 1831. On February 24, 1832, Cornell wrote the following response to his expulsion from The Society of Friends due to his marriage: "I have always considered that choosing

280-712: A teen center and renovations to the interior. Part of the Campaign for a 21st Century Library is the LEGO Library, which was led by Peter and Andrew McCracken. It features a 6' by 6' model of the library post-renovation. Support from the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library is funded by the Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library Booksale. One of the largest events of its type in

315-506: The Delta Phi fraternity , which occupies it to this day; Forest Park, Cornell's farmhouse, was sold to Cornell University's Delta Tau Delta fraternity chapter but was later demolished. A prolific letter writer, Cornell corresponded with a great many people and would write dozens of letters each week. This was due partly to his wide traveling and also to the many business associates he maintained during his years as an entrepreneur and later as

350-730: The Ithaca Commons . In November 2010 the library celebrated ten years in the current building. The Library began celebration for its Sesquicentennial in 2014. As part of that celebration, a mural of founder Ezra Cornell was hung on the exterior wall of the library building in October 2016. The Library serves as the Central Library of the five-county Finger Lakes Library System and provides free and equal access to residents of Tompkins , Cayuga, Cortland, Seneca, Schuyler and Tioga counties. TCPL hosts nearly one million visitors each year, making it

385-493: The Tompkins County Public Library Foundation and The Friends of the Tompkins County Public Library. In November 2014, The Tompkins County Public Library Foundation announced a $ 2.75 million Campaign for a 21st Century Library in support of the construction of a digital literacy lab, a teen center , collection expansion and endowment building. Another $ 1.4 million was granted in 2016 for the creation of

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420-684: The Western Union company. Cornell received $ 2 million in Western Union stock. Cornell was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly representing Tompkins County in 1862 and 1863 and a member of the New York State Senate from 1864 to 1867, where he served in the 87th , 88th , 89th , and 90th New York State Legislatures . Cornell retired from Western Union and turned his attention to philanthropy. He endowed

455-441: The 150th anniversary of his gift, a mural of Ezra Cornell was hung on the exterior wall of the current Tompkins County Public Library in October, 2016. A lifelong enthusiast of science and agriculture, he saw great opportunity in the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Acts to found a university that would teach practical subjects on an equal basis with the classics favored by more traditional institutions. Andrew Dickson White helped secure

490-541: The Cornell Free Library, the first public library for the citizens of Ithaca . The library was incorporated on April 5, 1864, and was formally presented to the town on December 20, 1866. The original library building stood at the corner of Tioga and Seneca street until it was demolished in 1960. The library evolved over time to serve the county as the Tompkins County Public Library . To honor

525-497: The United States, the booksale draws thousands to an Esty Street warehouse each year in search of books, records, CDs and DVDs provided through community donations. The Tompkins County Public Library is a part of the eight-site Ithaca Discovery Trail . Ezra Cornell Ezra Cornell ( / k ɔːr ˈ n ɛ l / ; January 11, 1807 – December 9, 1874) was an American businessman, politician, academic, and philanthropist. He

560-512: The county paid for the construction of a new $ 1.7 million building. This new building opened at 312 North Cayuga Street in February 1969. By the 1990s, the library had outgrown the space at North Cayuga Street. In November 2000, the library moved to a renovated former Woolworths department store , which was double the size of the old building. This current building is located at the corner of Cayuga and Green Street ( New York Route 79 ) just south of

595-585: The development of many telegraph lines, including a portion of the New York, Albany & Buffalo line in 1846 and the Erie and Michigan Telegraph Company , which connected Buffalo to Milwaukee along with his partners John James Speed and Francis Ormand Jonathan Smith . Cornell, Speed, and Smith also built the New York and Erie line , which competed with and paralleled the New York, Albany and Buffalo line in which Morse had

630-473: 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

665-426: The ground in lead pipe. Cornell devised a special kind of plow that would dig a 2 feet 6 inches (76 cm) ditch, lay the pipe and telegraph wire in the ditch, and cover it back up. It was later learned that condensation in the pipes and poor insulation of the wires impeded the electric current on the wires, so hanging the wire from telegraph poles became the accepted method. Cornell made his fortune in

700-406: The new institution's status as New York's land-grant university , and Cornell University was founded and granted a charter through their efforts in 1865. Cornell University derived far greater revenues than earlier land grant colleges, largely from real estate transactions directed by Ezra Cornell. Under the land-grant program, the federal government issued the colleges scrip, documents granting

735-612: The original Thomas, donated the original endowment for Cornell University, which is named after another descendant of Thomas. That man was Ezra Cornell (1807-1874), son of Elijah, born 1771, son of Elijah, born 1730, son of Stephen, who married Ruth Pierce, son of Stephen, born 1656, son of Thomas-the-executed and his first wife, Elizabeth Fiscock. Cornell is also connected to distant Canadian lines, who settled north into Upper Canada , notably in Scarborough, Ontario and Markham, Ontario via William Cornell (1766-1860) from Rhode Island . He

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770-508: The right to select a parcel of land. These colleges generally promptly sold their scrip. Ezra Cornell, however, held most of the scrip, anticipating it would increase in price. He also redeemed some scrip for promising land or for rights in timber, including pine forest in Wisconsin . While the first land-grant colleges received around half a dollar per acre, Cornell netted an average of over $ 5 per acre in 1905. Because of these timber holdings,

805-481: The single, largest driver of traffic to downtown Ithaca. The library provides access to digital resources, including wireless internet access, databases and eBooks, as well as an extensive print collection. It also serves as the cultural hub of Tompkins County, providing museum quality art exhibits, opportunities for civic engagement and programs for children, teens and adults. The library's primary budget allocation comes from Tompkins County, with additional support from

840-456: The summer and the milder Georgia in the winter. In 1842, Cornell happened into the offices of the Maine Farmer , where he saw an acquaintance, F.O.J. Smith, bent over some plans for a "scraper" as Smith called it. For services rendered, Smith had been granted a one-quarter share of the telegraph patent held by Samuel Morse , and was attempting to devise a way of burying the telegraph lines in

875-466: The telegraph business as an associate of Samuel Morse. Cornell constructed and strung the poles for the Baltimore–Washington telegraph line , the first telegraph line of substance in the U.S. To address the problem of telegraph lines shorting out, Cornell invented using glass insulators at the point where telegraph lines are connected to supporting poles. After joining with Morse, Cornell supervised

910-473: The town of Cornell, Wisconsin , is named for Cornell. Cornell entered the railroad business, but fared poorly due to the Panic of 1873 . He began construction of a palatial Ithaca mansion, Llenroc , whose name was Cornell spelled in reverse, to replace his farmhouse, but died before it was completed. Llenroc was maintained by Cornell's heirs for several decades until being sold to Cornell University 's chapter of

945-631: The village of Westchester north of New Amsterdam (later New York City) in 1643. He returned to Rhode Island in 1644 and obtained a land grant for 100 acres in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on Aquidneck Island which became the Cornell homestead. His neighbor was Edward Hutchison , a son of Anne Hutchinson from the Antinomian Controversy. In 1646, Cornell was granted a patent on an area of about four square miles that later became part of The Bronx . It

980-665: Was an innkeeper in Boston who was part of the Peripheral Group in the Antinomian Controversy , a religious and political conflict in the Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1636 to 1638. Cornell sold his inn in 1643 and left for Rhode Island, where others from the Antinomian Controversy had settled in 1638 after being ordered to leave the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Cornell became friends with Roger Williams and co-founded

1015-716: Was born and christened 24 March 1591–92 in Saffron Walden , Essex , England, and died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island , on 8 February 1654–55. He married Rebecca Briggs, born in 1600, on 9 June 1620 at St Mary The Virgin, Saffron Walden . First two sons were Richard Cornell (1624–1694) and William Cornell (1627–1673). Their son named Thomas Cornell (Jr.) was born October 1627 in Saffron Walden. Thomas Cornell and his family immigrated from England to Boston in 1638, when their son Thomas Cornell (Jr.) would have been age 11. Thomas Cornell

1050-615: Was bounded by Westchester Creek , the Bronx River , village of Westchester and the East River and was called Cornell's Neck. The area is now known as Clason Point . Thomas' son Thomas Cornell (Jr.) was accused, tried, convicted and hanged for the alleged murder of his mother, Rebecca Cornell, in Portsmouth in 1673. He was convicted using circumstantial evidence as well as spectral evidence , where witnesses recounted dreams involving ghosts pointing to his alleged guilt. American jurisprudence

1085-421: Was hired as a mechanic by Otis Eddy to work at his cotton mill on Cascadilla Creek . On Eddy's recommendation, Jeremiah S. Beebe then hired Cornell to repair and overhaul his plaster and flour mills on Fall Creek . During Cornell's long association with Beebe, he designed and built a tunnel for a new mill race on Fall Creek, a stone dam on Fall Creek (which formed Beebe Lake), and a new flour mill. By 1832, Cornell

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1120-410: Was later governor of New York. Since its founding, the university's charter specified that the eldest lineal descendant of Cornell is granted a life seat on Cornell University's board of trustees, currently Charles Ezra Cornell. (Charles Ezra Cornell took the post on November 17, 1969.) In 1990, G. David Low , graduate of Cornell University and Space Shuttle astronaut, took with him into outer space

1155-493: Was later modernized to exclude the use of apparitions and dreams as evidence in trials. This case and its history has been chronicled in the book Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell (2002) by Elaine Forman Crane. Thomas Cornell is an ancestor to a number of prominent and notorious Americans: Ezra Cornell , founder of Cornell University ; William Ellery , signer of the Declaration of Independence ; Ezekiel Cornell ,

1190-532: Was placed in charge of all Beebe's concerns at Fall Creek. In 1831, Cornell married Mary Ann Wood in Dryden, New York . The young and growing family needed more income than he could earn as manager of Beebe's mills, so Cornell purchased rights in a patent for a new type of plow and began decades of traveling away from Ithaca. His territories for sales of the plow included the states of Maine and Georgia . He sold in Maine in

1225-660: 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. 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 ,

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