Will County IL Archives Biographies.....Van Horne, Cornelius C 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com November 10, 2007, 1:51 pm

Author: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County

CORNELIUS C. VAN HORNE, one of the first settlers of this county, descended 
from a family of Hollanders who settled in the Mohawk Valley in 1635 and from 
there scattered throughout the country. He was born in Whitehouse, N. J., a 
son of Abraham Van Horne. It was the hope of his parents to fit him for the 
ministry. One of his ancestors, it is said, was the first pastor of Trinity 
Church in New York and was buried in the cemetery there. However, his talents 
did not seem to lie in the line of the ministry and he studied for the bar, to 
which he was admitted in New Jersey. In 1832 he came west to what is now New 
Lenox Township, this county. Two years later he moved to Frankfort Township, 
where he was a pioneer farmer and lawyer. He was the first postmaster ever 
appointed in Will County, serving as such both at New Lenox and Frankfort, and 
he also served as justice of the peace. In February, 1852, he established his 
law office in Joliet. A year later, on the incorporation of the city, he was 
elected the first mayor, aud was serving in that office at the time of his 
death, July 7, 1854. Had not his career been so suddenly terminated, he would 
undoubtedly have attained great success at the bar of Joliet and in the 
political life of the city and state, for he was a man of fine talents and 
broad knowledge. The Democratic party received his support and its candidates 
his vote. In religious faith he was a Universalist. Mr. Van Horne was twice 
married. His first wife, whom he married in Indiana, was born in Ohio and died 
in Montreal, Canada. Of the children of his first marriage, five were sons and 
one a daughter. One of the sons, Simon, yet lives in California, and another, 
Abram, in Nebraska. Five children were born of his second marriage, namely: 
William; Augustus C.; Mrs. Elizabeth Leffler, of Missouri; Theodore, a 
telegraph operator for the Chicago & Alton Railroad at Bloomington, Ill.; and 
Mary, who lives in Montreal. The most distinguished member of the family is 
the oldest son, Sir William Van Horne, of Montreal. When a boy he learned 
telegraphy in Joliet, and afterward worked his way up in the railroad 
business. For many years he was with the Chicago & Alton Railroad and later 
with other roads. As general manager he took the contract for the building of 
the western end of the Canadian Pacific road from Winnipeg to the coast, which 
work, had it not been for his efforts, would not have been completed for many 
years, or perhaps never. On the completion of the road he was elected to 
succeed Sir John Stephenson as president of the Canadian Pacific Railroad 
Company, of which he is still the head. He was afterward knighted by Queen 
Victoria in London, England, for services rendered in the completion of the 
Canadian Pacific Railroad, and the development and opening up to civilization 
of British Columbia.

Additional Comments:
Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing 
Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical 
Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900

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