Cornelius P. Comegys

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Cornelius Parsons Comegys (January 15, 1780 – January 27, 1881), was an American farmer and politician from Dover Hundred, Delaware, near Little Creek.

He served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware, being a soldier of the War of 1812, a member of the Federalist Party and then the Whig Party.

Early life and family

Comegys was born in Kent County, Maryland, near Chestertown, Maryland, son of Cornelius and Hannah Parsons Comegys. His ancestors settled on the Chester River in the 17th century, and his father served in Caldwell's Company of John Haslet's Regiment during the American Revolution. About 1800, the Comegys grew up and went to school in Baltimore, Maryland, before moving to Little Creek, Maryland. Ann Blackiston died within the year, most likely in childbirth. He married secondly, Ruhamah Marim, William Henry, Hannah, Henri Marim, Joseph Parsons, Cornelius George W., Benjamin Bartus, Mary Elizabeth, Maria, and John Marim on February 16, 1804. They inherited the Cherbourg farm, now in East Dover Hundred, near Little Creek, and made it their home. They were members of the Methodist Church.

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Professional career

Comegys joined the Delaware State Militia and rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel during the War of 1812--Colonel. He began assisting with other entrepreneurial ventures when farming in Cherbourg. He broke a wheat deal that fell through and nearly killed him as an agent for Brandywine Creek millers. However, he continued to focus on shipping and other mercantile sectors. He served as a director of the Commercial Bank at Smyrna and later as the Dover Farmers bank's Cashier for a time in 1818.

Political career

Comegys have been in the state House from the 1811 session to the 1815 session, and then in the 1830 session. He was the Speaker during the sessions from 1811 to 1814. He also served as the State Treasurer for 13 years. He was elected governor in 1836, defeating Nehemiah Clark, the Democratic candidate, in Smyrna. He served as governor of Delaware from January 17, 1837 to January 19, 1841, becoming the first person to serve a complete four-year term as governor.

He was most concerned with changes to public education and the rewriting of the criminal code, like other governors of his period. "I cannot believe that the whipping post and pillory are consistent with the age's genius," Comegys "a man who was previously mentioned for his reluctance to tamper with the legal code told the Assembly in 1839.' The governor was unable to persuade a majority of the legislature to amend the legislation, but he used pardon to erase the whipping portion from some men convicted of felony theft convictions. His leniency anger provoked the ire, not admiration, of the General Assembly, among whose members introduced a motion to limit the governor's power to pardon on the grounds that "the regular exercise of the pardon power is... a serious public danger" and threatens to impede with the due and regular administration of justice." "The criminal enactments on your statute books, according to the people, are, in the estimation of the individuals, a mere bug-bear." He pleaded with the General Assembly to remove "the taint of cruelty and barbarism" from the state's criminal statutes. No regulations were changed back then, and whipping posts were only banned from the legislative code in 1972. The whipping post was actually used in Delaware until 1952.

During his term as the main transportation route between Baltimore and Philadelphia, the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad was first connected, establishing it as the primary transportation route between Baltimore and Philadelphia. Among other things, this route went through Wilmington and by-passed New Castle, establishing the city's renown.

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