TOWN OF BATH. 



189 



5, 1868, and was buried in Glenwood Cemetery, in the plat 

 of ground which he had provided and tastefully improved 

 for his family burial-place. 



John Magee was an honest man. He could not abide 

 trickery. He never stooped to any meanness in all his 

 varied and gigantic transactions. He always did business 

 in a direct, honest, straightforward way. He wanted every 

 one to come right to the point, for he was already there 

 himself There was no double-dealing with him. He 

 hated shams of all kinds, pretensions, and superficial seem- 



ings. 



He was an original and marked man. He constitutes a 

 notable specimen of the American growth which starts from 

 poverty and develops into wealth, statesmanship, wide per- 

 sonal influence, and financial control. 



In his intercourse with the people of all classes Mr. 

 Magee was courteous and affable, and always ready to do a 

 kindness. He had a strong sympathy with young men 

 who, like himself, were obliged to struggle with privations 

 and to surmount obstacles in the commencement of their 

 career. Many instances of his generous assistance to such 

 persons are remembered with gratitude. Industry, economy, 

 and self-reliance he commended, and was ready to aid ; 

 while idleness, wastefulness, and any lack of honesty, in- 

 tegrity, or of straightforward diligence and thrift, met from 

 him only the most severe reprehension. If actual misfor- 

 tune had overtaken a man, if the real wants of the widow 

 or the orphan reached his knowledge, his heart was ready 

 to respond and his hand prompt to offer relief 



A statesman, second to none in the republic, writes of 

 him as follows : 



" To me he was an attractive man. He was a strong 

 man upon those points where I feel my own weakness, and 

 it always gave me pleasure to talk with him. Beyond any 

 one I have known he was quick in his perceptions of char- 

 acter, keen in seeing through the facts of matters with 

 which he had to deal, and prompt in his action. While 

 he was resolute in his purposes, firm in demanding his 

 ri^rhts, he had, what is rare with men of his cast of char- 

 acter, great charity for the weaknesses of others, and a 

 kindly generosity in helping those who made mistakes or 

 who fell into trouble from want of wisdom or skill. I never 

 knew another whose sharp questionings, stern probings, and 

 close scrutinies always ended in such liberal and generous 

 conclusions. I have known more or less of the leading men 

 of our country during the last thirty years. Not one of 

 them made more marked and deep impressions upon me 

 than John Magee." 



And one of the first judges of the land says of him 

 that " He was one of those sterling and able men whose 

 names we are accustomed to associate with the stability and 

 prosperity of the state, and whose weight of character far 

 transcends the dignity of mere ofiicial position." 



HON. CONSTANT COOK. 



The life of this prominent citizen of Bath serves admir- 

 ably to illustrate the success that attends upon habits of 

 industry, self-denial, and genuine economy, — habits which 



were his only capital when, sixty years since, in the first 

 flush of his manhood, he became a resident of this county, 

 and step by step placed himself among the most widely 

 known business men of Western New York. It will be 

 seen that he did not stumble upon a colossal fortune ; that 

 it was by no mere luck or chance that he became a million- 

 aire. His was an example from which we may all learn 

 to conquer fortune and deserve success. 



Constant Cook, the son of Philip and Clarissa (Hatch) 

 Cook, was born in Warren, Herkimer Co , N. Y., on the 

 10th day of November, 1797, and there with his father 

 passed his earlier years in the work of the farm. On Christ- 

 mas-day, 1819, he was married at Bichfield, Otsego Co., 

 to Maria Whitney, daughter of Nathan and Hannah Whit- 

 ney, formerly of Fairfield Co., Conn. 



Mrs. Cook, now a " widow of about fourscore years," still 

 survives, active and unwearied still in those works of piety 

 and beneficence which have greatly endeared her name to all 

 who know her. It was an auspicious day to Mr. Cook and 

 his fortunes that found him united to one who so nearly 

 realized the divine ideal* of the excellent woman. So, at 

 least, thought and felt all they who fifty years later assem- 

 bled to celebrate the golden wedding in Bath. 



In April, 1820, about three months after his marriage, Mr. 

 Cook removed to Cohocton, in Steuben Co., where he re- 

 sumed the business of farming ; but soon became interested 

 with John Magee, late of Watkins, but formerly of Bath, in 

 numerous passenger and mail routes, by the efficient man- 

 agement of which they gave great satisfaction to the 

 public, and laid the foundation of the fortunes which they 

 subsequently built up. About the year 1840, while still 

 residing at Cohocton, Mr. Cook was appointed one of the 

 judges of the county, an office which he filled for the term 

 of three years. 



In 1843, Judge Cook removed to Bath, and engaged in 

 commercial pursuits with Mr. Magee ; but their attention 

 was soon drawn to that great work, the construction of 

 the Erie Railway, and, in company with J. S. T. Strana- 

 han, of Buffalo; John H. Chedell, of Auburn; John 

 Arnot, of Elmira ; and Charles Cook, of Havana, they 

 took the contract for the building of the road from Bing- 

 hamton to Corning. The general management of this 

 work was intrusted by his associates to Judge Cook, who 

 prosecuted it with such vigor and success as to win for him 

 very substantial tokens of satisfaction from all concerned. 

 Subsequently, with the Hon. John Magee, he projected 

 and built the Buffalo, New York and Corning Road, from 

 Corning to Buffalo, by way of Batavia and Attica. Still 

 later he projected the Bloss Coal Company, located at 

 Arnot, near Blossburgh, Pa. 



During the last twenty years of his life. Judge Cook 

 became widely known for his banking-house at Bath, which, 

 early in the war, was converted into a national bank, and 

 soon took rank with the soundest and most successful insti- 

 tutions of the kind in the State. The last great and crown- 

 ing enterprise of his life was one of special interest to the 

 congregation of St. Thomas' Church, Bath, who learned one 

 day, about six years before his decease, that he had pro- 



•i- Proverbs xxxi. 10-31. 



