My Genealogy Hound

DUDLEY G. CORWIN for over twenty years past has, in the capacity of a contractor and builder, done much to make the village of Cortland what it is to-day — a city of fine residences and substantial business blocks. True, a builder is somewhat limited by the means placed at his disposal, but the way he handles the materials at hand, and the taste and judgment which he possesses, and which is always relied on by the contracting party, have much to do with the work when it is completed. Mr. Corwin has, without a shadow of a doubt, erected more fine residences, more business blocks, and more factory buildings than any other two builders in Cortland.

Mr. Corwin has been in his line practically all his life. When a lad of fifteen, he began learning the trade of a carpenter, and at twenty one he was a skillful journeyman. At twenty-five he was a contractor and builder with a reputation already made for care, skill and reliability. This reputation has never since, in a single case, been allowed to suffer. Such structures as the Squires Block, the Keator Block, the First and the Second National Bank Buildings, the manufacturing building of the Cortland Wagon Works, which, by the way, is one of the best built examples of brick work in the United States, the building at Brantford, Ontario, for the same people, the heavy structure at 81st and Wallace streets, Chicago, owned by the same company, a building that is recognized as one of the heaviest and best built structures in the Western Metropolis, the Top and Rail factory, the E. H. Brewer factory, and the Miller Block, are all standing witnesses for the kind of work Mr. Corwin is in the habit of putting up. To this list might easily be added a hundred other eloquent examples, each as good in its way as are any of the above. Mr. Corwin is himself an architect of no mean ability, and he makes plans that never go awry. He is, besides being a builder, quite an extensive owner of real estate and dwellings, owning, at times, as many as a score of houses. His own fine residence is a specimen of what he can do in the dwelling line.

Mr. Corwin was born at Charleston, Montgomery County, N. Y., November 1, 1849. He is a son of Polydore B. Corwin, and grandson of Ezra Corwin. The latter was a son of Samuel Corwin, and came into life September 27, 1759, at Mattituck, Long Island. He came up into Orange County as a farmer, and began buying up land claims from Revolutionary soldiers. He finally located in Cortland County at a point near Blodgett’s Mills. Here he cleared an extensive tract of land, which comprised some 300 acres, on which he built the usual log home. This is the place on which Allen Freeman now resides. Ezra Corwin was twice married, first to Dorothy Tuttle, who died young, leaving no children, and next to Hannah Cook, who was born in 1771, and died in 1847. Mr. Ezra Corwin departed this life in 1840, having resided in Cortland County some thirty-eight years. His children by name were: Baldwin, Ebenezer, Erasmus, Polydore B., Dorothy F., Mary, Samuel, Cortland E., and Julia N.

Polydore B. Corwin, the father of our subject, first saw the light of day at Ipswich, Long Island, in 1801. He was brought, a child in arms, into the Cortland region, and was reared on the home farm, to one-third of which he eventually fell heir. He, in 1826, built a hotel or tavern on the site of the old log house, which he called Corwin’s Tavern. Here he prospered well, and was soon the owner of three hundred acres of land, the cultivation of which he managed, besides attending to his hostlery. He happened to be called away from the house one day, when his clerk took it upon himself to ply his master’s son with liquor until the lad became intoxicated. When the father returned and saw his boy’s plight, he forthwith tore down his tavern sign, and abandoned the business forever. Soon after this he sold his farming interests, and for several years lived in New York City, serving on the police force and running a grocery store; in 1854 he moved to the village of Cortland, where he began business as a contractor and builder. He had already had much experience in this line at Blodgett’s Mills. It is a matter of record that he moved the old Baptist Church from the site that is now occupied by W. S Copeland’s residence, also built by our subject, to Blodgett’s Mills, and rebuilt it into a church, that was used by the Methodists. This church was the first one built in that region, and it is still standing, but is now used by the Baptists again. Mr. Corwin, in 1893, ended a life that was exceedingly useful to all, and one that was so lived that it bore him not only worldly prosperity but gained him the respect and regard of the whole community. He was, during his career, three times married. The first time he wedded Sarah Thompson, who died leaving him five children: Almeron, De Forest, Ezra, Theresa, and Sarah R. The second marriage was with Phebe Kendal, who was the mother of two: Isabelle and Marion. His final union was with Catherine Palmatier, the daughter of Henry H. Palmatier of Cobleskill, N. Y. She bore him three children: Harriet, Dudley G., and Philistia, of whom only Dudley G., the subject of our sketch, is living. The honored mother is still alive and makes her home with her worthy son.

Dudley G. Corwin has twice entered the matrimonial state. His first wife, whom he wedded in 1874, was Mary Stevens, a daughter of Wilbur Stevens of Freetown. She died in 1887, at the age of thirty-eight, leaving four children: Wilber S.; Jennie L.; Charles D.; and Merton P. Mr. Corwin’s second wife was Miss Antoinette Briggs, a native of Trumansburg, Tompkins County, N. Y. She was a teacher of prominence, and her father, Samuel Briggs, is a well-known retired farmer of that county. One child, Mary C., has come to bless their union.

Mr. Corwin is a very active citizen as well as a heavy contractor. In political lines he has always been a Republican, and has refrained from accepting official position. In business, he is careful, shrewd, and trustworthy. Enjoying the best of business connections, he is prepared to handle at any time a contract, either large or small, with equal facility and despatch. His work is always done on time, and it is done in a way that will stand the closest scrutiny. There is hardly a detail in the whole range of building but what he could take hold of, and with his own hands perform with as much accuracy as his most skilled workman. When a contract passes under his expert and trained eye, it is sure to be done right. On a page in proximity to this appears an excellent likeness of Mr. Corwin, taken from a recent photograph.*

*An engraving was included in the original printed volume.