Victorian Ink about the artist

Frederick Reid Cornwall

1872 - 1923

Frederick R. Cornwall, patent attorney of St. Louis, was born in Washington, D.C., February 23, 1872. His father, the late James G. Cornwall, was a native of Virginia, where his ancestors, who were of Scotch-Welsh lineage, lived for many generations, the family having been founded in America by William Cornwall, who was one of the first settlers in the Virginian colony.

James G. Cornwall (Frederick's father) was a blacksmith by trade and a Civil war veteran, defending the interests of the Union in the contest between the north and the south. He was with the United States navy at Washington and during the latter years of his life resided in the national capital, there passing away in 1880. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Frances Reid, was born at Langley, Fairfax county, Virginia, where her ancestors had settled in pioneer times. She passed away in 1878, at the age of forty years, survived by all three of her children, two sons and a daughter, all of whom are yet living.

Frederick R. Cornwall, the youngest of the family, was educated in the public schools of Washington and afterward attended the National University Law School in the capital city, being there graduated with the LL. B. degree in 1891 and the LL. M. degree in 1892. Prior to his graduation he was employed in the agricultural department in Washington and following the completion of his law course entered upon the private practice of his profession in that city but in 1892 removed to St. Louis, where he arrived on the 22d of June. He then entered the office of Paul Bakewerl and in 1897 was admitted to a partnership under the firm style of Bakewell & Cornwall, a connection that was maintained until December, 1908. Since that time Mr. Cornwall has engaged in private practice on his own account and has been very successful in his chosen field of labor. He has become well known as a patent attorney, having intimate knowledge of the branch of the profession which has to do with patent law. He is also the vice president of the Moon-Hopkins Billing Machine Company.

In Washington, D. C., on the 23d of December, 1893, Mr. Cornwall was married to Miss May Bushall, a native of North Carolina and a daughter of William J. and Annie M. Bushall. Six children have been born to them: May Bushall, now the wife. of William T. Langton, a resident of Chicago, Illinois; Frederick R.; Paul Bakewell; Virginia Lee; Ward Leacraft; and Richard Randolph.

Mr. Cornwall has always found great interest in stamp collecting and is an ex-president of the American Philately Society, having served from 1907 until 1913. In politics he has always maintained an independent course. Fraternally he is connected with Tuscan Lodge, No. 360, A. F. & A. M.; Oriental Chapter, R. A. M.; Ascalon Commandery, No. 16, K. T.; Missouri Consistory, No. 1, A. A. S. R.; and Moolah Temple of the Mystic Shrine. He belongs to the Episcopal church and in these associations are indicated the high principles which guide him in every relation of life. That he is also appreciative of the social amenities of life is indicated in his membership in the St. Louis, Racquet and Noonday Clubs.

"Newspaper Row, Washington, D.C." Engraving from "Harper's New Monthly Magazine" (Jan. 1874). National Archives and Records Admin.

The Saint Louis waterfront crowded with steamboats , Oct. 1909. National Archives and Records Administration

The son of a blacksmith, orphaned at the age of 8, Frederick Cornwall grew up in Washington, D.C. After graduating from law school, he moved to Saint Louis in 1892 and found work as a patent lawyer. He married a North Carolinian named May Bushall the following year and together they raised six children. He never lost his love of stamp collecting, and from 1907 - 1913 he was the president of the American Philately Society.

Frederick Cornwall died of tuberculosis on April 28, 1923 at the age of 51.

All of the drawings on this website are from Frederick's stamp album - except the public domain crown over the title. I used Photoshop to whiten some of the backgrounds and three of the images. Otherwise it is all his original work.

The following biography is extracted from "The Centennial History of Missouri: (the center state) one hundred years in the Union, 1820-1921" - which is basically a list of prominent Missourians of the time. It was published two years before his death.

Stevens, Walter Barlow, " Centennial History of Missouri: (the Center State) One Hundred Years in the Union, 1820-1921" St. Louis, Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company, 1921.