William Maxwell (railroad executive)

William Maxwell
William Maxwell, president of Erie Railroad, 1842–1843
Born	February 11, 1794 Athens, Pennsylvania
Died	November 22, 1856 (aged 62) Elmira, New York
Occupation	Railroad executive

William Maxwell (February 11, 1794 – November 22, 1856) was an American business executive and politician, president of Erie Railroad from 1842 to 1843.

Biography

Maxwell family

Guy Maxwell was the father and founder of the Maxwell family of which William Maxwell was a scion - a name itself that savours rather of mediaeval romance than of one who managed banks, dug canals, and was adopted as a chief into a tribe of the Seneca Indians.^[1]

Guy Maxwell's father, Alexander Maxwell, and his mother, Jane McBrantuey, belonging to the Clan McPherson, left Glasgow, Scotland, in 1770, to come to this country. The ship was driven on the coast of Ireland by a storm. There, in the County Down, Guy Maxwell was born. Two years passed before the Maxwells at last reached America. They settled near Martinsburg, New York. From Martinsburg had gone, some years before, into the Susquehanna Valley, settling at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, a man of the name of Matthias Hollenback. He was a banker, a farmer, a merchant, and a fighter. He later won the title of colonel in the Revolutionary War.^[1]

Susquehanna River in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.

He became the biggest man of his time in Northern Pennsylvania and Southern New York. His operations extended up the Susquehanna and Chemung rivers, and at every "point" or trading post, all along the valley, he had a store. He opened up the country with his push and his accumulated capital. His was a heroic figure of that time and locality.^[1]

When Guy Maxwell was about eighteen years of age, Colonel Hollenback was down in Martinsburg and met him, and was so pleased with him that he invited the young man to return with him to what is now Elmira, New York, and take charge of the Hollenback enterprise there. Young Maxwell seized the opportunity, and went. It was the making of him and of the locality to which he emigrated. Two years later he returned to Martinsburg and married a relative of Colonel Hollenback, taking her with him to the new country.^[1]

Maxwell was the first Internal Revenue Officer of that region, a very important office in those days. He was also sheriff of Tioga County, when to lie a sheriff was indeed an honor and a dignity in the estimation of the people. He achieved much local distinction in many other ways. In the War of 1812, the "embargo" brought disaster to main- of his undertakings. He died less than forty-four years of age, in 1814.^[1]

Youth

William Maxwell, Guy Maxwell's third son, was one of the strongest men of his day, politically, financially, and socially, in his own locality and in the State. He was born at Tioga Point, now Athens, Pennsylvania, February 11, 1794. His parents n moved that year to Newtown Point, now Elmira. He was educated in the schools of that neighborhood, and studied law in the office of Fletcher Mathews, a distinguished member of the bar at that time.^[1]

Chemung Canal Bank Building, chartered in July 1833.

District Attorney of Tioga County

In 1822 he was the District Attorney of Tioga County, of which Chemung County was then a part; in 1829 he was the surrogate of the county, and was a member of the Assembly in 183S and in 1847. He was a delegate from the county to the State Constitutional Convention of 1846. He was always prominent in the public affairs of the town and county, and was connected with the formation of the Chemung Canal Bank, one of the earliest enterprises of the kind in the Southern Tier.^[1]

At one time most of the land in the Third and Seventh Wards of the city of Elmira, and reaching beyond for two or three miles toward Horseheads, stood in his name. He was a power in the Democratic party in those times in that region, and what he said became the order of things. It was largely through his push and influence that the Chemung Canal mstrui ted, and his enterprise and money helped on most of the railroad enterprises centring in Elmira.^[1]

New York and Erie Railroad

He early became interested in the project of the New York and Erie Railroad, and was an influential delegate to several of the conventions held to adopt measures looking to the furthering of the prospects of that undertaking.^[1]

Map of New York & Erie Rail Road constructions, 1844

It was the part he took at a convention held at Owego in the spring of 1842 that brought him into the prominence in Erie affairs that resulted in his being made president in the fall of that year.^[1]

Family

He married Zerwiah Baldwin, September 15, 1814, a daughter of William and Azubah Baldwin, pioneers of the Chemung Valley. ( )ne son was born to Mr. Maxwell, but died in infancy. They adopted as their daughter a niece of Mrs. Maxwell, Azubah McQuhae, who survives. Mr. Maxwell died at Maxwell Park, Elmira, November 22, 1856. An old-time at of Elmira ^[2] pays this tribute to William Maxwell:^[1]

"I remember him ever since I can remember anything. He lived in one of the most beautiful spots in the valley, a big brick house, with a great lawn, and lots of trees, that must have belonged to the original forest there. He was very fond of children, and I have played for hours in and about his house. He was fitted by intellect and education to fill any position in the country, from President down."^[1]

References

This article incorporates public domain material from Edward Harold Mott Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. Collins, 1899. p. 461-62; ; and other public domain material from books and websites, see article history'

1. Edward Harold Mott Between the Ocean and the Lakes: The Story of Erie. Collins, 1899. p. 461-62
2. Ausburn Towner, of Washington, D. C, to whom Edward Harold Mott declared himself indebted for his sketch