John H. Corley Obituary

Through ancestry.com, I found this information and obituary of John H. Corley, brother of Mary Corley. He died in 1913. I tried to find the source for him being a Major, but have not found anything to date. I also do not have the newspaper source for the obituary.


Major John H. Corley Born July 7th, 1844, at Skaneatoles, New York, where he resided for twenty years. He was educated at Eldridge Institute. In 1870 he came to Texas coming to Terrell in 1874. Since his residence in this city he has been engaged in the banking business, being the junior member of the firm of Bivins & Corley. In financial circles Major Corley is a Paladin, being considered one of the most expert accounts in the State. He is certainly a valuable citizen, thoroughly in harmony with all progressive ideas and in his social relations is really captivating.

Obituary

"JOHN H. CORLEY. Among the able financiers of Kaufman county, Texas, none has commanded greater respect than John H. Corley, and his death in 1913 was a blow not only to his many personal friends, but also to many who depended upon him for advice and direction in
business affairs. Mr. Corley was identified with financial and banking matters during the greater portion of his career, and while amassing a considerable fortune for himself, his management brought wealth and prosperity to many others. He was a clear thinker and an earnest and sincere man, trusted by all. He had the gift of rare foresight and an analysis of men and conditions that gave him unusual power and success in the manipulation of affairs, and it is greatly to his credit that he used this power not for himself alone, but for others also. John H. Corley was born in New York, on the 7th of July, 1844. He was a son of Thomas Corley, who was a manufacturer of furniture in Skaneateles, New York, and of Elizabeth (Smith) Corley, a native of England. Thomas Corley and his wife are both dead. They had three children, as follows: Mary, who married a Mr. Crider and spent her life in Troy, Missouri; John H., who was the only one of the family to come to Texas, and Katherine, who became the wife of Claud Kimler and made her home at Troy, Missouri. John H. Corley received his education in the schools of Onondaga county, New York, where he grew up. He was still a boy when the Civil war broke out, but he was eager to enlist. He was finally allowed to do so and became a member of one of the New York regiments that formed a part of the Army of the Potomac. He took part in the battles of Gettysburg, Spottsylvania and in other important engagements fought on Virginia soil. After the war was over he determined to come South to settle, and in this determination showed considerable courage, for at this time and during the terrible reconstruction period the South did not feel kindly toward her conquerors. However, he settled in Texas, and his real character was shown in the next few years. To him the events of the four years of warfare were as a closed book. He identified himself thoroughly with the interests of the section of the South in which he located and bent every endeavor towards the development of the country and the prosperity of its citizens. It was towards the end of the cowboy era that he located in Kaufman county,TEXAS and the manners and customs of the times were at utter variance to what he had been accustomed, but he made himself one with his new neighbors, though always preserving those individual characteristics that made him a marked man. During the first year which he spent in the state he became a drover, handling cattle for the Kansas markets, this being from 1871 to 1872. He made this year a profitable one and used the money he earned to make his entry in the banking business. He consequently located in Kaufman and became the cashier of the bank of Waters and DaShiell. In his experience in the cattle business he had been associated with the original Dougherty, and his abrupt change from what was apparently a prosperous business to what was at least a hazardous one was regarded with interest by the men of the vicinity. He, however, was intended by nature for a financier. Some months after becoming cashier of the above bank he formed one of a company that opened a bank in Terrell, towards which the Texas & Pacific Railroad was at that time being built. This institution was opened as Waters, Bivins & Corley, and the latter was made cashier and manager of the concern. After a time this firm was succeeded by Holt, Bivins & Corley, and later Bivins and Corley became sole owners. The institution prospered and was finally purchased by the Harris interests and then became known as the Harris Bank, and afterwards nationalized. Mr. Corley took an active part in the organization of the Harris National Bank. Out of this the American National Bank grew and Mr. Corley was the president of the latter from 1897 until his death, his regime being marked by a steady growth in the prosperity of the bank. While Mr. Corley was more deeply interested in his banking business than in any of his other interests.

yet he had a prominent part in the successful development of other business endeavors. His advice and council was eagerly sought by friends and acquaintances, and by those who had the public welfare in their hands, for his disinterested attitude and wisdom made him trusted.
In politics Mr. Corley believed in the principles of the Republican party, but like most Republicans who reside in a state with a large negro population, he was a Republican with reservations. He served Terrell as an alderman, but did not care to participate in politics.
In religious matters Mr. Corley was a member of the Christian church, and was an elder of this church, being generous in his gifts to his church. He was not a member of any fraternal order, preferring to spend his leisure with his family in the beautiful home which he built on Griffith avenue. He was always abreast of the times and knew what the leading thinkers of the world
were doing. He died at his home on April 29, 1913. Mr. Corley married on the 31st of March, 1872, Miss Martha P. Kuykendall, the ceremony taking place in Kaufman, Texas. Mrs. Corley was a daughter of Jesse Young and Nancy A. Kuykendall, who came to Texas as pioneers from Jackson county, Tennessee. He died during the sixties at the age of fifty-nine.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Corley, all of whom received high school educations. The elder daughters completed their education in Gardners School in New York City. Mr. Corley was closely identified with the commercial life of Terrell,TEXAS and his sons are showing the same keen interest which he displayed. His eldest son, Thomas E., is auditor and treasurer of the Texas Midland Railroad - being vice-president of the institution and a director of the American National Bank of Terrell. Robert lives in Beaumont, Texas, where he has numerous interests, being a director in the Gulf National Bank of Beaumont, Texas, and has real estate and oil lands, also agricultural interests. Eugene of Dallas, Texas, is a member of the Murray Gin Company. Earnest died in childhood. Grace became Mrs. G. W. Cartwright, of Terrell. Ethel married W. A.
Davis and resides at Hugo, Oklahoma. Henry married Miss Ethel Lochhead and is assistant chief cashier of the American National Bank of Terrell TEXAS. Herbert is connected with the accounting department in the auditor's office of the Texas Midland Railroad, and the' two younger daughters, Ruth and Helen, are attending college."