Product Details
Intricately engraved antique stock certificate from the Ulster and Delaware Railroad Company dating back to the 1870's. This document, which is signed by the company President (Thomas Cornell) and Secretary, was printed by Henry Seibert & Bros. and measures approximately 10 1/4" (w) by 6 3/4" (h).
The vignette features a train crossing a bridge as it leaves a town.
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You will receive the exact certificate pictured.
Historical Context
The Ulster and Delaware Railroad Company (U&D) was a Class I railroad located in New York State, headquartered in Rondout and founded in 1866. It was often advertised as "The Only All-Rail Route To the Catskill Mountains." At its greatest extent, the U&D ran from Kingston Point, on the Hudson River, through the heart of the Catskill Mountains to its western terminus at Oneonta, passing through four counties (Ulster, Delaware, Schoharie and Otsego), with branches to Kaaterskill and Hunter in Greene County. The U&D connected with six other railroads: the West Shore, Wallkill, and O&W in Kingston, the D&N in Arkville, the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley in West Davenport, and the D&H in Oneonta.
Although a small railroad, it was big in stature, as it went through many favored tourist hot-spots. Many elegant hotels kept business going, some of which were sponsored or built by the railroad. Besides the passenger business, there were also plenty of farms and creameries (most of them in Delaware County) as well as businesses shipping coal, stone, ice and various wood products.
One of the few downfalls were the many grades, some as steep as 4.4% (the line was affectionately known as the Up and Down by locals.) A train took almost four hours to get from Kingston Point to Oneonta, running at an average speed of only 30miles per hour, although some sections permitted running at 60 miles per hour or more. When roads improved and automobiles became more widely available, the advantages of train travel were nil.
Thomas Cornell
Thomas Cornell's Signature
Thomas Cornell was born in White Plains, New York on January 27, 1814 to Peter Cornell (1780–1860) and Margaret Gedney (1786–1829). He was a descendant and namesake of Thomas Cornell, the progenitor of the Cornell family in North America.
After attending public schools, Cornell was drawn to Rondout, New York by his uncle, Thomas W. Cornell, Peter's brother. Thomas W. came to the Rondout area in 1822 and opened a general store in New Salem. When the Delaware and Hudson canal opened in 1828 his business grew rapidly.
In the 1830s, Thomas C. Cornell worked for David P. Mapes of Coxsackie, NY. Mapes' enterprises foreshadowed Cornell's business success. Mapes owned the sidewheeler General Jackson which had the contract to haul barges for the D&H Canal Company and he also owned a stage line running from Rondout into the Catskills.
In 1837, with his own sloop, Cornell started what was to become the Cornell Steamboat Company. In 1850, he obtained the contract for towing D&H Canal Company barges. Following the Civil War, the Cornell Steamboat Line virtually monopolized freight traffic on the Hudson River, dominating the towing of barges well into the 1900s. While the Steamboat Company was the heart of his empire, Cornell engaged in many other related enterprises.
In 1866, he incorporated what was to become the Ulster and Delaware Railroad (U&D). He was involved in the construction and operation of several other railroads including the Wallkill Valley and the Rhinebeck and Connecticut Railroad.
In 1868, along with other business leaders in Rondout, he founded the Rondout Savings Bank. He is also reported to have been a founder of a commercial bank.
Cornell at one time owned the Grand Hotel, a luxurious hotel set on the border between Ulster and Delaware counties. The Grand Hotel had its own station, Grand Hotel Station (today known as Highmount) on the Ulster and Delaware Railroad.
During the American Civil War, he was commissioned as a major in the New York Militia. He served two terms in Congress running on the Republican Party line, first from 1867 to 1869, and again from 1881 to 1883.
He died in Kingston, New York on March 30, 1890 and was interred at the Montrepose Cemetery.
