WELLINGTON C.

CORNELL

Wellington C. Cornell was born in I836 in Clear Creek Township

near Waynesville.

He was the son of Samuel and Susannah Cornell.

Wellington's grandfather was Daniel "Cornwell" born in 1758 in

Dutchess County, New York.

Daniel was the descendant of one of

four CORNWELL/CORNELL brothers who came to the United States from

Wales in 1698.
Daniel Cornwell married in New York and after his marriage about

1778 moved to Chemung, New York on the Susquehannah River where they
were living in 1790.
In 1792, Daniel moved the family to Waterloo,
Ontario Canada where Samuel was born on iaayo2, 1798.
Daniel was a

soldier in the American Revolution.

to Clear Creek, Warren County, Ohio in 1809.

He moved his family

In 1819, he first

applied for a Revolutionary War service pension but was refused

because he had no proof of service, the documents having been destroyed
with many of his personal possession in a flood along the Susquehanna

River.

He was finally able to get the pension in 1829 when some men

from Clear Creek

swore in writing that they had known Daniel for 20

years.
The family records hint at some kind of disloyalty to the
American colonies during the Revolution since Daniel had later moved
to Canada and was afraid the move had been Iquestioned the first time

and cost him his pension the first time he made application.
Daniel and wife and Samuel and Susannah are a l l buried in a

small

early cemetery on the East side of State Route 48 near Ridgeville.

Samuel and Susannah both died in October of 1846.

Wellington and Samuel were farmers just like Daniel. They farmed
and also owned and operated The Cornell House Hotel in Waynesville.
They operated what had originally been a stagecoach inn under the name
of Samuel Cornell and Son.

The Cornell House which was originally

The Miami House was a two story brick inn built in I826 on the
Northeast corner of Main and North Streets (the site since 1955 of

former restaurant called The Stagecoach Stop).

He bought a farm on Ohio Route 42 three miles north of Waynesville

in 1868. He became the proprietor of the Rogers House about I869. By
1870, Wellington and his father purchased The Rogers House and
changed the name to The Cornell House.

WELLINGTON C. CORNELL Page 2

An item in the May 25, 1870 edition of Waynesville^s newspaper,

The Miami Gazette stated:

"Mr. Well. C. Cornell has put a new pump into his wall opposite

the Rogers House-cleaned and repaired the walls,relaid the sidewalk,

and otherwise fixed up.
He has also had a new sign painted, which
glistens in the sunbeams like gold leaf."

In 1880, Wellington retired from farming and Samuel, his father,

retired from their Cornell House partnership.

Wellington built his Victorian residence on North Main Street in

1881. The home remained the Cornell residence while the Cornell House
Hotel operated.

Wellington Cornell was a civic leader in Waynesville.

1873 he helped organize the Waynesville Brass Band.
made a charter member and band president on May 26.

On May 14,

He was officially

By 1900, The Cornell House was closed and sold to John Keys.
Wellington retired from all business and moved to Dayton, Ohio where
he

died.

- oho lottcr JLo ot U.o ol'l

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no obnnip. It lo In good oondltlon, Uio popor boinf-^/of u very

povobr-riivh* . .

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It 13 in

red ond oil I cc^l noko Out .lo what oppoor;'* to ba AFIl dnd^n olnglo muabisr holow. .

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- there .io .or<^a fodad virrllilrig on tho bonk.(tho'eddrmio ond ino.ldo oro not f^3ded at all)
the loot lino v^jada "in tbo yoay of our lovd^ tho roat oannot bo.modO out.
the lottor itGol.f foil own;, i/ith no odd.ltiono or ocvreotlons 05:o??pt to put in poT.'.-i.i
..r.ero I om not.sure of a word, ..X.hovo put o .quoation mark e.ftor .In brookota.

Konared father

with pleenuro

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" Ro'yoovillo#'Daoambor 27th# 1829.

I reult to you

nonared fothor with plccnuro I remit to you thooo fow liana to iofom
you Vns
WG are oil well at tliio tiniQ. hoping theeo few lione will find you in the oama
sti-to of health, wo have rooelved your tv/o lettero oloo the one written by my brothers
cni oiotsra which gave ua much notiafnotion to horo from you and our relatlono in that
placo. we roceived your loot letter in oixtoen doyo from the time it was dntcd. it wvi
truly ootiofsctory to ua to loorna of your afo orrivol In that country ao -ijo Vioord eftotyour departure frooj horo bad raporto of the Doorbourn t'onsily. I felt affraid that ho
would micuco you. wc heard from you oevoral tides before we got your firot letter, the

lost was by Thompo Deorbourn who atopcd and lot (?) ua he oow y (?) go on board of the
steam boat at Portlondo

in thia piece,

you wanted ma to otnte pertlculorily about your cons and daughter

it hao not boon long oinco x'''hoord from Hell and Denial and .fcrnlieo, thoy

were all well ond doing vorry wolX. the mat of ua are doing bout like we wore when y-*
left here, as for my port X hove hod rnthor bod luok in looolng coo of my horcco. he
makes her homo with mo ond I work about oonaldorable portlculorlly at henry Keevoro.
there he? no doctho hopncd hore oinoa your dopnrturo nor aickneoe only myoolC I Vjovo bo'.jn

vorry irfirm this foil. X hur?; my loma leg which lay mo up for oomc timn ond I hove been
werkXy bu: X .er tolarablo str.ort at thia timo. You wnntad mo to atoto what hsd occurrod
here. I will o'cf te ho you that Doniel Crone woo ro-electcd, juotloe of t\\Q peoce by renrly

four votes to one. huzxa for our side,

hove
note
f-r.
ye r
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give mo trua-h^U-3 (^71) Republicone yet.

not seen s riything of your wife oir.oo you wont nwoy the laot oocount X honrd elio wns
v-rry well. Bho io flt.Ul in I'idletown. wo hove hod a cold foil and warm winter so
tf.e pDstureo nnd vheot t.hlo doy looko eo green ond hondoomo oo in the npring of tho
end mud o plenty wo truly hove got. we gothrad ae great oropc of corn this foil as
vn>3 gothored from nlxty .to one hundred bunhola to the noro. oorn lo wov^h at t'nln

; e 1'3 cbo per buahol. pork (?) hon token o fall worth two .Onllera ond 25 oto per hundrnd
c'. t.

whet lo worth 50 cto per buehol.

wo eholl ol.l bo gl=>d to cc ycu 0;j:e bock

It :-:"s aeer.od very lonesome Hinoo you wont woy.

I or.r 11 take it to biro next tuefiday#

th<D I'^tter .you eunt to 8. Kluling (?)

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By: Dennis E. Dalton

Everyone's home is that per

the tilt out of the Leaning Tower of

son's castle and while there are no

Piza.

castles technically in the village by

any stretch of definition or the
imagination there are those build
ings that do rank right up there with

restoring the shutters, which com

plete the fine historic residences
original look.

them in historical integrity.

One of the gems of Victorian
architecture is the Wellington

A tip of the hat to Bruce for

The interior of the house has

some interesting Victorian wood

Cornell home at 142 North Main

work which was for many years pre

served by Mary Stansberry Crane.

Street.

So often tlie woodwork inside hous

It is truly an asset to the

property values of the residences

es of this vintage is often painted

around it.

(several coats).

Bruce and Jan Jameyson, for the

Wellington Cornell built the

house for a home when he was co-

owner and manager of The Cornell

House down Main Street. The his

toric Cornell Hoiise, a hotel, was

located on the southeast corner of
Main and North Streets.
The Cornell House Hotel was

originally named The Miami House

and was built in 1826.

The Little

Miami
Railroad,
Waynesville
National
Bank
and
Wayne

Township Public Library all got

their starts there at various times

throughout the building's history.

The Wellington Cornell house, now
owned by Bruce and Jan Jameyson is one
ofthe historic gems of North Main Street
in Wdynesville

Samuel Cornell, Wellington's

father, bought the Miami House

about 1879 when it was called The

Roger's House.

It was operated

under the firm of Samuel Cornell

past several years have owned and

preserved the one and a half story

and Son until after 1900.

wrought iron fence and louvered

Wellington Cornell had a fasci

nating family tree. His father,
Samuel, was bom May 2, 1798 at
Chemung, New York along the

shutters have been retained.

Susquehanna

I have been chiding Bruce for

the past several years to replace the
original shutters which were

"Cornwell" (notice the change in

spelling - Cornwell was the original
spelling when three Cornwell broth

removed when the house's exterior

ers came to the United States from

was painted. Until about two

months ago he'd carefully stored
them in the garage. To help prod
Bruce along I enlisted help from Jan
and I gleefully harped on the subject

Wales about 1698), Samuel's father,

Daniel moved to Canada, for politi

whenever we could find the oppor

tunity and prodded Bruce with a lot

family including Samuel.

of good natured heckling.

Finally all the griping, prodding

the early 1800's he moved with his

wife and family to Clear Creek

and heckling paid off and Bruce

replaced the shutters. I missed the
grand restoration.
Bruce thought I was full of

Township in Warren County, Ohio.

The Comells were prosperous

frame dwelling which was built in

1881. Thanks to them its original

organic fertilizer when 1 claimed

that a historic building's architectur
al appurtenances enhance its value,
integrity and magnetism. To me
stripping an elegant historical build
ing of its accessories when they are
all original and intact is like taking

River.

Daniel

was born in Dutchess County, New

York and was a soldier in the

American Revolution.

In 1792,

cal reasons, farmed and reared a

farmers.

During

When Samuel retired to

Waynesville, he entered the hotel

business with his son, Wellington.
Waynesville's Cornells had a
prominent New York cousin, Ezra
Cornell, who was a descendant of
one of the three Welsh immigrants.

Ezra founded Cornell University at

Ithica, New York.

school Mike plans on attending either 1

where he will major in Engineering Ma

before

that.

Amos

Hartsock,

The figures "1829/; written in grandfather of the present owner

Special to Tlic Joiiriiat
WAYNESVILVE, O., July 25. steel in the ancient, bu,t sturdy and pioneer resident of the

One of the oldest homes in the wails, attract the . attention of Waynesville vicinity, lived in it for
Miami valley is that occupied by many motorists, who often stop to many years.^ith.
exception of
W. E. Cornell, who lives three
a spacious fspfttAcross the, front,
inquire
about
the
house.
^
miles nortP^of WaynesvlUe on
The residence is on a^ 120-acre the house looks much as it did
route 42. The dwelling, although
[when built more than a century
modernized, is 107 years old, hav farm purchased by Mr. Cornell in lago^

ing been btiiit in 1829

1868, but in'hia family for;'years