The summer of 1830 I... blasted the tunnel through the rock to take water from the dam above the falls for the mill... In 1831 we lowered the tunnel four feet, and built a new dam across the creek.

He was a cousin of Paul Cornell the founder of Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. Ezra Cornell was a birthright Quaker but was later disowned by the Society of Friends for marrying outside of the faith to a "world's woman" a Methodist by the name of Mary Ann Wood. Telegraph
Happening into the offices of the Maine Farmer in 1842 Ezra saw an acquaintance of his one F.

He also served as President of the New York Agriculture Society and as a state Senator. Ezra Cornell (January 11 1807 – December 9 1874) was an American businessman and education administrator.