History of Scipio, (Cayuga County) New York United States of America

Our database does not include an historic photo for Scipio, (Cayuga County) New York, do you have one you would like to contribute? Contact Us!

Henry Farnam, engineer, was born in Scipio, N.Y., Nov. 9, 1803; son of Jeffrey A. and Mercy (Tracy) Farnam. He attended and afterward taught the district school and prepared himself for the profession of civil engineer. In 1821 he was one of a party making surveys for the western portions of the Erie canal. He removed to Connecticut in 1825 to become assistant engineer on the Farmington canal, and was made chief engineer in 1827, holding the position as long as the canal was in operation. In 1847-50 he built the canal railroad which was substituted for the Farmington waterway, and in 1850, with Joseph E. Sheffield, he contracted to build the unfinished portion of the Michigan southern railroad from Hillsdale to Chicago, completing in 1852 the first line entering Chicago from the east. In 1852-54 they built the Chicago & Rock Island railroad, of which Mr. Farnam was president until 1863. He also constructed the Peoria & Bureau Valley railroad and in 1855 finished the construction of the Rock Island bridge, the first bridge to span the Mississippi river. He spent the years 1863-68 in foreign travel, and on his return to the United States made New Haven, Conn., his home. He was married in 1839 to Ann Sophia Whitman of Farmington, Conn. He gave Farnam Hall to Yale college, to which institution he also bequeathed his residence for a president's house, after the death of his immediate heirs. He died in New Haven, Oct. 4, 1883.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Scipio, (Cayuga County) New York

Biographies: