Johnston CORNISH, Congress, NJ (1858-1920)

1858-1920

CORNISH, Johnston, a Representative from New Jersey; born in Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon County, N.J., June 13, 1858; attended the common schools; moved with his parents to Washington, N.J., in 1870; was graduated from the Easton (Pa.) Business College; engaged in the manufacture of pianos and organs; elected mayor of Washington, N.J., in 1884, and reelected in 1885 and 1886; declined renomination in 1887 and in 1888; member of the State senate 1891-1893; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-third Congress (March 4, 1893-March 3, 1895); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894; again a member of the State senate 1900-1902 and 1906-1911; president of the Cornish Piano Co. in 1910; member of the Democratic State Committee; president of the First National Bank, the Washington Water Co., and the Warren County Bankers’ Association at the time of his death in Washington, N.J., June 26, 1920; interment in the Cornish family plot in Washington Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present