The McCann family were prominent figures in history of Elmira Heights and Chemung County

If one stands at Mark Twain’s grave in Woodlawn Cemetery and looks east, down the hill, an enormous boulder stands among the gravestones on the road below.

It marks the burial site of George and Crete McCann. It was placed there on Jan. 17, 1881 after being hauled from the east side of the Chemung Canal, over a specially built bridge.

According to Erin Doane, former curator at the Chemung Valley History Museum, “Nine teams of horses and six yoke of oxen were used to move the immense stone. George wanted the boulder to mark his final resting place because he thought ‘an object formed by nature’ was far more suitable as a monument for the dead than ‘a costly and ornate monument made by man.”

The McCann family were early settlers in the Chemung Valley. Their origin can be traced to Valentine and Betsy Sufferin McCann in Ireland. Of their four children, their son John, born in 1782, found his way to Elmira in 1808. The Biographical Record of 1902 describes John “as one of the pioneer residents of Chemung County, he took a very active part in its early development and contributed in a large measure to its substantial improvements. His life was quietly passed, yet his sterling worth enabled him to command the respect and confidence of all with whom he was associated.”

John McCann was a farmer and stock raiser. He built his first home near 2001 Davis St. After fire destroyed his home, he built a large residence at 130 Oakwood Ave. in 1833. It is next to the current Way Center on the south side.

One thing the McCanns were accomplished in was buying and selling land. A series of land grants had been given to men to encourage settlement in what is now Elmira Heights. The first settler of what became Elmira Heights was Thomas Whitney, who was granted 320 acres in 1792. When John McCann arrived in this area, he purchased land from Whitney and others. According to former county historian Tom Byrne, “during his lifetime he continued to buy land until, at his death in 1852, he owned 550 acres on one farm and 250 acres in other parcels.”

John had married Susan N. Schoonover, and upon his death, he left five children — Elizabeth, Susan, John Jr., James and George. One child, Valentine, had died in infancy. His property was left to his three sons.

At this point in the McCann family tree, things can get confusing. In response to an inquiry on Jan. 18, 1958, former county historian Clark Wilcox wrote, “There were so many of these McCanns, and so many times they gave the same first name to cousins, that only a member of the family could easily untangle the yarn. There were at least two Georges, three Johns and three James.”

John’s son George S. (1823-1900), whose boulder monument has been described, became a prominent farmer and public figure. He married Crete Kingsbury in 1864. They had three children — Hattie, Crete and James II. George was a founder of the Farmer’s Club, a member of the Grange and a Mason. After his wife died in 1872, he became active in politics, being elected to the county Board of Supervisors from the Town of Elmira in 1874, 1875, 1876, 1882 and 1883. He had been chairman of the board in 1882, according to his March 4, 1900 obituary.

Like his father, George S. engaged in land dealings. In 1864, he purchased what is today Grove Park from William Hoffman for $2,353.75. Twenty-two years later, in 1886, he sold it to the City of Elmira for $17,150.

George and his brother James had previously sold land to New York state for construction of the Elmira Reformatory (the current Elmira Correctional Facility) after legislation was passed creating it. In 1870, George sold 140.5 acres for $18,444 and James sold 120 acres for $12,056.50 to the state from the land left to them by their father. In 1872, George sold 11 acres to Chemung County for $13,632 and James sold 31 acres for $13,004.47 to the county for road expansion.

More Elmira history:Alexander Diven led effort to bring railroad to Elmira and was an abolitionist in Congress

More Elmira history:For 134 years, Chemung County housed its disadvantaged people at a poorhouse in Breesport

Four years after George died, his older brother James (1820-1904) passed. In the McCann tradition, he had “added to his land until at the present time the McCann possessions are known to be some of the finest in the county” (Star-Gazette, May 24, 1904). Like his brother, he had been elected supervisor of the Town of Elmira. He had been president of the Elmira Farmers Club and the New York State Agricultural Society. The newspaper noted that “Mr. McCann was one of the last of that noble group of early pioneers who did so much to develop Chemung County, in the early days of its history.”

James had married Helen Neish, and they had three sons — George, James D. and John. There were also three daughters who died in their youth.

George (1868-1932) was a prominent public figure for most of his life. He served on the Elmira Board of Education from 1894 to 1902, two of those years as president. From 1903 to 1914, he was county judge and Surrogate Court judge of Chemung County. He was elected to the state Supreme Court in 1913 and was designated to the Appellate Division in 1923, resigning in 1929. Like all of the McCanns, he was very active in organizations civic and social.

James (1868-1940) was one of the organizers of the Elmira Foundry in 1904. He had been secretary, treasurer and general manager until shortly before is passing in 1940. He had been a prime mover in the creation of the Village of Elmira Heights. Elected the first village treasurer in 1896, he served as president of the village from 1897 to 1802. He was 28 at the time.

Brother John (1860-1928) was a prominent farmer and owned a large tract of land in the Elmira Heights area. One hundred and thirty-one acres (more or less) of that farm was sold to the City of Elmira in 1937 for $11,000 as plans for the Mark Twain Golf Course were taking shape. John served as supervisor for the Town of Horseheads from 1900 to 1923.

In response to the question “What is best for Elmira?" Judge George McCann responded, according to the Star-Gazette, “Remember that peace and happiness are worthwhile and that in all probability we and our children are destined to live in Elmira; therefore, let everyone lend every effort in every cause which will tend to help to unite us as citizens of Elmira.” It seems like the McCanns did that.

Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: In Chemung County and Elmira Heights, McCann family was prominent