James Corrigan

James C. Corrigan (May 1, 1846 – December 24, 1908) was a Canadian-American businessman active in the shipping, petroleum refining, iron ore mining and selling, and steel manufacturing industries. He made and lost fortunes in the shipping and refining industries, and was known as "one of the group of men who made Cleveland".

Emigrating to the United States from Canada as a boy, he became a sailor on the Great Lakes. After sailing a boat that shipped refined petroleum, he became involved in petroleum refining in Cleveland, Ohio, and became wealthy. His early years in sailing led him into the shipping industry as an adult, moving iron ore, grain, timber, and other goods. He sued John D. Rockefeller after Rockefeller seized his Standard Oil stock in repayment for mortgages on his vessels, co-founded the Lake Carriers Association, and won a lawsuit which successfully voided a common vessel insurance clause.

He was an early investor in iron mines on the Mesabi, Gogebic, Marquette, Menominee, and Vermilion iron ranges. A small investment in an iron ore dealing businesses, taken in exchange for freight charges, was turned into Corrigan, McKinney & Co., one of the largest independent dealers in iron ore in the United States. He began vertically integrating the company, investing in five different iron smelting businesses before founding the steel firm Corrigan, McKinney Steel shortly before his death.

An avid yachtsman, Corrigan lost nearly all his family when his luxury yacht, the Idler, sank in a storm off Cleveland in 1900. His Ohio country house became the Nagirroc farm, one of the historic country estates in Lake County, Ohio. His New York country house on Dry Island was a regional landmark. A multimillionaire at the time of his death, he left his wealth to family members.

Although he founded five Great Lakes shipping firms and owned the largest independent iron ore mining company in the Midwest, he is best known as the founder of the Corrigan, McKinney Steel company.

Early life James Corrigan was born May 1, 1846, in Morrisburg, Ontario, Canada, to Johnson C. and Jane ( Anderson) Corrigan.

His father, a laborer, emigrated to Dundas County, Ontario, Canada, from County Mayo, Ireland, in the late 1830s. His mother also emigrated to Canada from Ireland about the same time. The couple married in 1838. James was the second of eight children. His siblings included John (born 1843), Johnson Jr. (born 1848), Murry (born 1850), Mary (born 1854), Robert (born 1856), Margaret (born 1858), Richard (born 1858), and William (born 1860). James's uncle, Robert Corrigan, was a somewhat prosperous farmer in Dundas County. James's father, on the other hand, was nearly destitute. In the 1850s, his father owned no land and no livestock, and worked as a hired hand and casual laborer. The family lived in a shanty, whereas most farmers in the area lived in houses. Johnson Corrigan Sr. managed to build his family a log cabin by 1861.

When James was still young, his father worked for a time filling an elevated water tank for the Grand Trunk Railway east of Morrisburg. The tank was filled with a hand pump, and it took hard work and several hours to fill it. Trains stopped to rewater at the tank several times a day. Johnson Corrigan often delegated this task to his sons, John and James, who would work the pump together.

The family was somewhat itinerant, living in several villages in Ontario and for eight years in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. The Corrigans later moved to Minnesota, where they had a farm in the Red River Valley (later inherited or purchased by James), before returning to Ontario.

James C. Corrigan's mother, Jane, died on January 31, 1861. His father later married Sarah Wood, and they had two children, Matilda and Henry.

Emigration to the United States Johnson Corrigan was a stern father, emigrating to Ogdensburg, New York, in the United States. When James turned 17, he became a sailor on a schooner on the Great Lakes. He remained a sailor for six years.

In 1867 or 1868, James began sailing the sloop Trial for owner Martin Golden, transporting refined petroleum products during the summer months from Cleveland across Lake Erie to Port Stanley, Ontario. In April 1869, James purchased the Trial from Golden. Great Lakes historian John Brandt Mansfield says that the first year Corrigan owned the Trial, a sailor was washed overboard in a storm. Corrigan leapt into a lifeboat and rescued him. The two spent 14 hours on Lake Erie before being rescued by another vessel.

Petroleum refining 1881 map of Walworth Run in Cleveland, Ohio. The Corrigan oil refining works are at lower left. During the winter months, when the Great Lakes were ice-bound, James Corrigan began making experiments in petroleum refining on his own, aided by a German immigrant professor of chemistry who taught in Cleveland.

James began oil refining on Walworth Run, a stream on Cleveland's west side, in 1871, doing business as Corrigan & Wells.Efn|Some sources place the establishment of this refinery in 1868 or 1869. There is no James Corrigan listed in the 1860 Cleveland Leader Annual City Directory, although John Corrigan is listed as an "oil refiner". John is listed as either a dealer or refiner of coal oil in the 1870 Wiggins & Weaver's Directory of the City of Cleveland, but there is no listing for James. The first newspaper article to mention John Corrigan as an oil refiner is in 1870, but there is no mention of James. making it one of the largest refineries in Cleveland. In 1872, the firm was known as Corrigan & Timmins. The company named became Corrigan & Co. in 1873, indicating James had become the majority partner in the firm.

Corrigan & Co.'s oil works were also located on Walworth Run. The original works were on the south side of the street at about what is now 2258 Train Avenue. Corrigan called his refinery the Excelsior Oil Works.

James took his brother John into the business in 1874, and changed the company name to Corrigan Brothers. By at least 1875, Corrigan's Excelsior Oil Works had expanded into a second building east of the Pearl Street bridge over Walworth Run, more than doubling the refinery's capacity to a day.

James Corrigan invented a refining process that allowed him to crack specialty oils from crude petroleum. He was able to produce mineral seal oil, cylinder oil, and paraffin wax. Standard Oil of Ohio later leased the process from him.

Corrigan also invested in other refineries as early as 1872. At their peak, the Corrigans were earning $300,000 a year from petroleum refining.

Corrigan leased his oil refinery to Standard Oil in 1879, having established in 1878 a new company, the Ohio Nut & Bolt Co. The factory was located on Division Street.

Corrigan likely sold Ohio Nut & Bolt in April 1879 and moved to the region of Galicia, then part of Austria-Hungary, where he leased oil fields from Prince Alexandru B. Știrbei and built oil refineries near the cities of Grybów and Kolomyia. Standard Oil invested $32,000 in Corrigan's refinery , which cost $40,000 to build . The oil fields proved to be not very productive, generating less than 100,000 barrels by 1880, and of an inferior quality that was difficult to refine.

While in Galicia, Corrigan sold his Cleveland refinery in 1881 to Standard Oil in exchange for stock in Standard Oil. Efn|John Corrigan took cash in the transaction. By January 1883, he was operating a new oil refinery on Walworth Run between Pearl and Mill streets.

Corrigan continued to operate a refinery in 1884 and 1885, although no firm name was specified. In 1886, he was named president of the newly organized Dangler Naphtha Refining Company, a new specialty refinery organized by David A. Dangler, president of the Crystal Carbon Company (a firm that manufactured carbon points for arc lights). (Standard Oil was an investor in Dangler Naphtha Refining Co.)

James Corrigan exited the petroleum refining industry in 1887 in favor of shipping, although Dangler Naphtha continued in operation.

Shipping "Corrigan fleet" and Corrigan, Huntington and Co.

According to The Plain Dealer newspaper, Corrigan established five different shipping companies in his lifetime. Until the establishment of the first two firms in 1893, he personally owned these vessels, and they were generally known as the "Corrigan fleet" during this time. He obtained inexpensive boats, ran them hard, and insured them heavily. Corrigan steamers could be identified by their black hulls and stacks, and their reddish-brown cabins.

Corrigan became interested in shipping in the spring of 1872, but it wasn't until March 1877 that he began to form a shipping fleet. His first vessel was a schooner co-owned with his brother John, and named the Hippogriff. Likely purchased at auction in March 1877, it sank on September 28, 1877, after a collision. and Richards (for $8,000 []) in 1883.

Corrigan rapidly built his shipping fleet. In December 1885, he purchased the steamer Raleigh for $40,000 and her consort Lucerne for $20,000 . The following year, he bought a two-ninths interest in the schooner James Couch for $6,222 , With oil magnate John Huntington, he purchased the steamer and the schooner Polynesia for $160,000 .

1886 saw Corrigan create his first shipping business. In October of that year, he, John Huntington, and Huntington's son, William R. Huntington, formed a stock company worth $200,000 named "James Corrigan, Huntington & Co.". Ownership of the Australasia, Polynesia, Niagara, and Raleigh were transferred to the new firm,

Corrigan became a member of the Cleveland Vessel Owners' Association (CVOA) in April 1886. This organization, established in March 1868, was highly influential in establishing inland waterway navigation rules, improving shipping channels, lobbying for the removal of waterway obstacles, winning the improvement of port operations, and more. Corrigan was highly active in the CVOA, which usually met in his offices in the Perry-Payne Building in Cleveland. James and his brother, John, then jointly purchased the schooners George W. Adams and David Dows (for a total of $125,000 []). With Harkness as president and Corrigan as vice-president, the firm leased the Iron Belt Mine on section 11 of the Gogebic Range (near Iron Belt, Wisconsin) for 20 years. With Nat D. Moore, Standard Oil co-founder Daniel M. Harkness, Standard Oil executive John L. Severance, gas stove manufacturer David A. Dangler, and several others, he formed a syndicate (the Eureka Iron Mining Company) to purchase the Portage Lake Mine near Hurley, Wisconsin. The Portage Lake Mine was renamed the Dangler Mine, and a major ore strike made there in September 1889.

His third mining investment came in November 1887, when he, Cleveland railroad magnate Stevenson Burke, and merchant Franklin T. Ives founded the Aurora Mining Company. With Burke as president and Corrigan as a director, it purchased the Aurora Mine, located on the Gogebic Range near Ironwood, Michigan, from Nat D. Moore, Henry S. Benjamin, and Francis A. Bates. Corrigan was elected vice-president of the firm in January 1889.

He became a member of the Western Iron Ore Association, an organization of iron ore producers west of the Allegheny Mountains, and by 1892 Corrigan's mining interests on the Gogebic Range were called "immense" by the Duluth News Tribune. a famously productive mine which had opened in 1887. The two then visited the Franklin and New England mines on the Mesabi Range of Minnesota in April 1893. Their interest piqued, they inspected the Franklin, Iron King, and New England mines in October. The two purchased an interest Efn|Probably one-third, as W.C. Yawkey owned two-thirds. and the Franklin Mine the first week of November 1893. Efn|The Franklin was adjacent to the Commodore. W.C. Yawkey owned a large interest in the Franklin Mine as well. and Corrigan (along with Franklin T. Ives, Stevenson Burke, Price McKinney, and Ernest T. Laydon) incorporated the Commodore Mining Co. to run the Commodore Mine. The same year, the Franklin Iron Mining Co. obtained a short-term lease on the Bessemer Mine, east of the Franklin Mine.Efn|The lease on the Bessemer Mine was turned over to the Oliver Mining Co. in April 1898.

Corrigan and Rockefeller obtained options on section 25, township 59 north, range 17 west and section 35, township 58 north, range 17 west from W.C. Yawkey, the Detroit businessman who owned the Bessemer mine. They began exploring these of land in June 1895, The two men sought to lease the Sibley and Berringer lands which adjoined the Zenith Mine, but were not successful.

Ore dealing Dalliba, Hussey and Co.

Dalliba, Hussey & Co. was founded in January 1887 by James H. Dalliba (a veteran mine operator), Horace P. Hussey (of the stock brokerage firm Hussey, Hoyt & Co.), and the firm of Moore, Benjamin & Co. (a developer of iron mines on the Gogebic Range).Efn|James H. Dalliba was also a partner in Moore, Benjamin & Co. All the mines were controlled by Moore, Benjamin & Co.

Dalliba, Hussey often advanced sums of money, sometimes quite large, to buyers of ore. This put a financial strain on the company, and in summer 1887 Nat D. Moore of Moore, Benjamin & Co. suggested that Dalliba, Hussey seek an investor who could add capital to the firm. for $30,000 . Corrigan joined the firm as partner on August 12, 1887. The new partnership was to use the same name as the old, last for three years, and assume all assets and liabilities of the old firm. and Dalliba, Hussey & Co. went into liquidation in February 1888. Stevenson Burke was an investor in the new partnership, which by agreement also lasted three years.

Dalliba, Corrigan & Co. dissolved in 1891, and James Corrigan formed a new iron dealership with Franklin T. Ives under the name Corrigan, Ives & Co. James Dalliba worked as a salesman for Corrigan, Ives until January 1, 1892.

The Ohio Court of Common Pleas heard Corrigan's suit, The judge found that James Corrigan had discovered the irregularity in the books in November 1887. There was a four-year statute of limitations for the firm to recover the funds, and Corrigan had filed his lawsuit too late. The court also held that representations about Dalliba, Hussey & Co.'s financial viability were all made by the firm of Moore, Benjamin & Co. — not by Dalliba or Hussey, or their corporations.

James Corrigan filed an appeal in July 1892, but a state appellate court affirmed the lower court ruling in December 1892.

James H. Dalliba and Horace P. Hussey each sued James Corrigan for $50,000 in damages . Corrigan had obtained a preliminary attachment on the property and cash of both men, and a garnishment on Dalliba's wages. Dalliba also sued Corrigan, Ives & Co. to recover $2,250 in garnished wages. and Hussey and Corrigan settled out of court in June 1894.

Standard Ore Standard Ore was a mine operating company established in Duluth in August 1892 by Henry W. Oliver, Chester A. Congdon, Francis A. Bates, and others. It operated the Cincinnati Mine near Biwabik, Minnesota, and the Missabe Mountain Mine near Virginia, Minnesota, In October 1892, Stevenson Burke was elected president of the company.

By April 1893, James Corrigan was a stockholder in Standard Ore.

Corrigan, Ives and Co. James Corrigan founded the firm of Corrigan, Ives & Co. in January 1891. Iron ore dealer H.P. Lillibridge was also a partner, but he withdrew from the firm shortly after it was created.

Corrigan, Ives & Co. marketed ore from the Aurora, Atlantic, Crystal Falls, Buffalo, Cambria, Commodore, Dunn, Eureka, Lallie, Mansfield, Sunday Lake, Millie, Pearce, Peninsula, Sterling, It quickly became one of the nation's leading iron ore and pig iron dealers,

The Panic of 1893 began in February 1893, and bankrupted Corrigan, Ives & Co. The company had sold large amounts of iron ore to iron foundries and blast furnaces, but when the panic hit these companies failed to pay for the ore. The company tried to stay afloat by issuing more than $1 million in notes, which were purchased by Ferdinand Schlesinger, a Milwaukee businessman who owned numerous mines. Efn|Schlesinger owned the Aragon, Armenia, Buffalo, Chapin, Claire, Dunn, Prince of Wales, Queen, and Sunday mines as well as the York Iron Co. receiver on July 8.

Corrigan apparently tried to bring Corrigan, Ives & Co. out of receivership almost immediately. In mid-July, he traveled to Milwaukee, where several banks had issued loans to Corrigan, Ives & Co. He asked the banks to settle the debts for 75 cents on the dollar, but none of the banks were willing to do so. Schlesinger had not paid the company back, causing Corrigan, Ives significant liquidity problems. The partnership suffered some financial difficulties during this time. A riot occurred at the Franklin Mine when Corrigan, Ives failed to pay wages on time there, and it closed the Commodore and Franklin mines in August 1893.

On the whole, though, Corrigan, Ives & Co. was making money during the receivership. It purchased the leases on the Buffalo Mine and Queen Mine on Michigan's Marquette Iron Range for $400,000 in January 1894, and purchased the Sunday Lake Mine in February 1894. Corrigan, McKinney & Co. assumed ownership of the Buffalo Mining Co., reorganized it, and assigned it as the operator of the Buffalo Mine.

By August 1893, most of the Milwaukee creditors had come to an agreement on settling the company's debts. On August 16, the Wisconsin Marine & Fire Insurance Bank agreed to accept a shipment of iron ore to redeem $164,925 in loans the firm had obtained from it.

The Commercial Bank of Milwaukee claimed it had loaned Corrigan, Ives & Co. $134,894 . McKinney denied owing the bank any money. The Commercial Bank sued, and in April 1896 won in a local Minnesota court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the ruling and ordered the case dismissed in February 1897.

Gold and silver mines In April 1895, bankrupt Wisconsin mine owner Ferdinand Schlesinger was forced to sell most of his properties. He sold his El Concheno gold and silver mine in the Mexican state of Chihuahua to James Corrigan, Stevenson Burke, and Price McKinney. Corrigan funded the construction of a railroad spur to the mine, and added crushers and a mill. He sold the mine in December 1906 for $1,000,000 ($ in dollars).

Corrigan, McKinney and Co.

Corrigan, Ives & Co. was reorganized as Corrigan, McKinney & Co. on March 15, 1894. Franklin T. Ives left the firm, and Price McKinney joined as a partner. The five also incorporated the Queen Iron Mining Co., with a capital of $500,000, to operate the Queen, Buffalo, South Buffalo, and Prince of Wales mines on behalf of Corrigan, McKinney.

In September 1895, the company leased the Bessemer, Commodore, and Victoria mines from James Corrigan and Franklin Rockefeller.

In January 1898, Ferdinand Schlesinger agreed to stop operating the Crystal Falls Mine in favor of a new corporation. This was the Crystal Falls Iron Mining Co., whose primary investors were James Corrigan, Stevenson Burke, Price McKinney, and S.C. Bennett. Two months later, Corrigan initiated a campaign to have railroads in Minnesota lower their freight charges for ore. The fees, he claimed, were so high that most of his mines were losing money, and he would shut them down if rates did not fall. Subsequently, in April Corrigan sold his interest in the Franklin Mine. about August 10. The River Furnace had an annual capacity of about a day.

James Corrigan, Stevenson Burke, Earnest T. Laundon, C.W. Marsh, and Price McKinney incorporated the River Furnace and Dock Co. to operate the River Furnace on March 6, 1895.

The River Furnace and Dock Co. and Corrigan, McKinney & Co. relinquished the lease on the River Furnace in August 1907.

Charlotte Furnace Corrigan, McKinney & Co. obtained its second blast furnace in 1895.

The Charlotte Furnace was built in Scottdale, Pennsylvania, in 1872 and 1873 by the National Pipe and Foundry Co. (later known as United States Cast Iron Pipe Co.). for five years. The furnace was blown in on July 16. The Charlotte Furnace was blown outEfn|To "blow out" a blast furnace is to shut it down. The Charlotte Furnace was blown in again in July 1896 with a new annual capacity of .

The Charlotte Furnace was shut down in December 1907. Corrigan, McKinney razed the existing structure, and built a new furnace capable of producing annually. The new furnace began production in 1911, three years after James Corrigan died.

Douglas Furnace Corrigan, McKinney & Co. obtained its third blast furnace in 1896.

The Douglas Furnace of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, was built in 1870 and blown in about March 1871. It was built by investors James Pierce, Jonas J. Pierce, Wallace Pierce, and George D. Kelly Efn|James and Wallace Pierce, along with George Kelly, organized the firm of Pierce, Kelly & Co. and transferred their ownership shares to this company. Jonas J. Pierce remained an individual co-owner of the furnace. The furnace was leased to Forsythe, Hyde & Co. of Chicago, Illinois, in August 1892.

In 1893, Forsythe, Hyde & Co. failed. That July, Corrigan, Ives & Co. secured a judgement against the Douglas Furnace in the amount of $105,000 ($ in dollars). The Commercial Bank of Milwaukee also secured an attachment against the Douglas Furnace, and a court awarded it $130,000 ($ in dollars) worth of pig iron produced by Forsythe, Hyde & Co. The sheriff of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, ignored the attachment, seized the pig iron, and it was sold. This caused the Commercial Bank of Milwaukee to fail. Corrigan, Ives & Co. went into receivership, and was sued by the Commercial Bank. In lieu of payment, Corrigan, Ives & Co. (reorganized as Corrigan, McKinney & Co.) took over the lease on the Douglas Furnace, and began operating it on May 1, 1896.

The owners of the Douglas Furnace immediately sued Corrigan, McKinney & Co. in federal district court. They argued that the Cleveland firm had to pay rent on the furnace, as required by the lease. It had not, and they demanded $16,000 ($ in dollars) in rent. The owners won their suit in May 1897.

The Carnegie Steel Company purchased the Douglas Furnace in 1895. When Corrigan, McKinney's lease expired on May 7, 1898, Carnegie Steel declined to renew it and took over the Douglas Furnace itself. About $100,000 ($ in dollars) was spent relining the furnace and erecting new stoves to increase the Charlotte's production to per day. The company also purchased a limestone quarry near Le Roy, New York,

The Genesee Furnace Company shut the property down in early December 1903 to reline the furnace, install four new boilers, a fan engine (an engine with cylinders arranged radially) to power the injection of air, and new trestles for the dumping of coke and limestone. The improvements increased the furnace's capacity from to per day. The company also purchased two new locomotives to shift coke, limestone, and ore around the property. The cost of these improvements was $175,000 ($ in dollars).

The Genesee Furnace Company shut the property down again on April 1, 1908. The old boilers were replaced with new, tube boilers. A new feed water heater and pumps were installed, and the furnaces relined. A new hoist, with more powerful engines designed by the Otis Elevator Co. of Chicago, was also erected. One of the stoves was converted into a three-pass "McClure" stove. The changes meant a 30 percent increase in daily capacity, to per day. The Genesee Furnace was blown in again on August 9.

Josephine Furnace

Difficulties in obtaining a reliable supply of coke for its furnace led Corrigan, McKinney to set up its own coking facility. In February 1903, it purchased between to of coal-bearing land in Pennsylvania.

Arthur Gould Yates, president of the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railway (BR&P), persuaded James Corrigan and Price McKinney to locate its new coking facility on near the tiny village of Bell's Mills in Indiana County, Pennsylvania.

The Josephine Furnace was the first modern, coke-fired blast furnace in Western Pennsylvania. The Josephine Furnace Co. was incorporated by James Corrigan, Price McKinney, and five other investors in October 1905 to run the blast furnace and coking facility.

Corrigan and McKinney were so happy with the location that they announced construction of a second blast furnace, to cost $1 million ($ in dollars), in April 1907. Corrigan did not live to see it completed. The furnace was finished in June 1910, and began operation in March 1911.

Corrigan, McKinney Steel The lease held by Corrigan, McKinney & Co. on Cleveland's River Furnace expired in August 1907. The company made public its decision not to renew it in December 1906. The state leased only at an annual cost of $1,221.60 ($ in dollars), so Corrigan, McKinney purchased another south of the state land in February 1907.

Some time later in 1907, Corrigan, McKinney & Co. executives decided that a simple pig iron blast furnace was not enough.

Corrigan, McKinney began negotiating with landowners on the west side of the Cuyahoga River between Houston Street on the north and Clark Avenue on the south,

On July 31, 1908, the company announced that it would build a much larger facility consisting of at least two pig iron blast furnaces capable of producing a year.

Among the many pleasure craft he owned at times were the schooner yacht Jane Anderson in 1878, the schooner yacht Flora in 1883, and the schooner yacht Wasp in 1892. Once, the Jane Anderson broke its anchor chain in a storm while anchored near the Canadian shoreline. Corrigan sailed the ship across Lake Erie in winds. He arrived at Cleveland with the yacht on its beam end (side), but made it into the Cuyahoga River and safety to the astonishment of a large crowd.

Corrigan and local banker John P. Huntington jointly purchased the steam-powered propeller yacht Nautilus in 1888, and poured $15,000 ($ in dollars) worth of improvements into her. Although Corrigan used the Nautilus extensively, he sold his interest in her in 1892 for $22,000 ($ in dollars).

In late 1888, Corrigan purchased a catamaran which he named Cyclone. Catamarans were extremely rare on Lake Erie, and he drew much attention for this craft. Corrigan docked the craft at Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, where he was a member of the Put-in-Bay Yacht Club. The Cyclone sank on July 14, 1889, after it sprung a leak off Cleveland. Corrigan cut loose part of a sail to signal a passing fishing tug. The two men were waist-deep in water before they were picked up.

Idler sinking

On October 5, 1899, Corrigan purchased the luxury schooner yacht Idler for about $12,000 ($ in dollars). Idler was a long ocean-going racing vessel. When Corrigan purchased her, she was rotting and decrepit. Corrigan spent $8,000 ($ in dollars) rebuilding and refurbishing the yacht. and the ship painted white. Her new interior accommodations were extremely comfortable. hit the ship, and she almost went over on her beam ends. The storm came on suddenly, and Corrigan himself helped lower the mainsail. The rope slid through his fingers, injuring him. Aboard were James Corrigan; his 46-year-old wife, Ida Belle; his 22-year-old daughter Jane; and his 15-year-old daughter Ida May. Traveling with them was James's eldest married daughter, 24-year-old Nettie Corrigan Rieley Viola Gilbert accompanied him so that she might attend a friend's bridal shower in Cleveland. John Corrigan also left the Idler to take a train to Buffalo, New York, where he had a business meeting. About 1:45 PM, the sky was very threatening and it was growing darker. mate Samuel Biggam asked Captain Charles J. Holmes if they should take the sails down.

Just before 2 PM, with the Idler about northwest of Cleveland, Capt. Holmes ordered the crew to furl several sails.

The Idler dead. Clockwise from upper left: Etta Corrigan, Ida May Corrigan, Nettie Corrigan Rieley, and Jane Corrigan. Center: Ida Belle Corrigan. Not shown: Infant Mary Rieley. Two or three minutes later, The Idler lay on her side for approximately three minutes, All passengers except Mary Corrigan drowned. The captain, mate, and all crew members survived.

Corrigan blamed Holmes for the disaster. "I consider negligence on the part of Captain Holmes as being the cause of the disaster. When we arrived at the scene of the accident, we saw the mainsail and foresail in a position indicating that they had not been taken in, as they should have been under the circumstances."

Captain Holmes was arrested on July 18, 1990, and charged with manslaughter under federal law. The judge nolled the case at request of the U.S. Attorney on February 19.

Immediately after the disaster, James Corrigan said he wanted to blow the Idler apart with dynamite. He changed his mind on July 10, and turned title to the boat over to his friend, Albert R. Rumsey.

Politics In April 1887, James Corrigan ran as the Republican candidate for treasurer of the city of Cleveland. He lost to Democratic candidate Thomas Axworthy, 59.6 percent to 39.3 percent.

Corrigan was one of the co-founders of the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce in April 1893.

Personal life James Corrigan was a strong, broad-shouldered man. At the time of Corrigan's death, one of his friends said: "The great things were his courage, his intensity, his fairness and his sterling integrity, and with these his loyalty to friends and the right. ... It was not known, except to his intimates, that this lion hearted man had always the heart and softness and sympathy of a child." James Corrigan married Ida Belle Allen, The couple had three daughters: Jane (born 1877), Jeanette (nicknamed Nettie, born 1878), and Ida May (born 1885). In April 1906, James was living in San Francisco, California, when the famous earthquake struck the city. For days, James Corrigan had no idea if his son was dead or alive. James Jr. was Corrigan's only child not to die during the sinking of the Idler.

In July 1901, Letha House of Lafayette Township, Medina County, Ohio, contacted Corrigan. She had been raised by George W. Morse in the village of Whittlesey. After she turned 21, she was told that her real last name was Brewster. She discovered that her mother was Margaret Corrigan Brewster, and that she was still alive and living in Tacoma, Washington. By accident, Letha read about James Corrigan in the newspaper and contacted him. James confirmed to her that she was his niece.

Homes 1340 Willson Avenue in Cleveland, James Corrigan's home from 1887 to 1907. James Corrigan owned homes in Cleveland at 271 Clinton Avenue in 1883 and 1884, and at home: 364 Franklin Avenue in 1885 and 1886. Corrigan purchased a newly-built home in 1887 located at 1340 Willson Avenue. Corrigan still lived there at the time of the Idler disaster.

The year before his death, James Corrigan purchased the residence of Cleveland Electrical Manufacturing executive A.B. Foster, located at 8114 Euclid Avenue, for $25,000 . The local architectural firm of Searles, Hirsh & Gavin designed numerous, expensive renovations to the two-and-a-half story brick home. The structure was expanded from 10 to 19 rooms and given four bathrooms. The cost of the remodeling was $10,000 .

James Corrigan's home was in Cleveland, but he had a second residence, Nagirroc, (often referred to as his "summer house") in Wickliffe, Ohio. Ida Belle Corrigan purchased the that became Narirroc in April 1891. About 1892, James C. Corrigan constructed a large vernacular home on the property. In front of the house were large, formal gardens featuring popular flowers, while the rear featured a lawn and a small pond surrounded by exotic plants. James Corrigan added to the site in May 1904, and made extensive alterations to the house in the fall of 1906 at a cost of $10,000 ($ in dollars).

In the summer of 1901, Corrigan visited the Morrisburg, Ontario, area and became enamored of Dry Island, a island in the St. Lawrence River. to summer 1905. It was three stories high, had 38 rooms, and was appointed with heavy, luxury furniture with the rest of the island's improvements coming in at another $580,000 . He was ill off and on in 1906, 1907, and the first half of 1908, which prevented him from traveling.

On September 10, 1908, His condition worsened swiftly, and four doctors were called in on September 14 to consult on the case. He came close to death on September 15, but rallied the next day He returned to work in mid October.

In late December 1908, Corrigan was diagnosed with appendicitis. He underwent an appendectomy on December 24, but there were complications from the surgery Rev. J.D. Williamson, a close friend and former pastor of Beckwith Memorial Presbyterian Church, officiated. He was interred in the family plot at Lake View Cemetery.

Accolades At the time of his death, James Corrigan was a nationally known industrialist.

In September 1907, the Frontier Steamship Co. of Tonawanda, New York, announced the construction of a large new lake freighter to be named for James Corrigan. was long, had a beam of , and drew of water. She could carry , on May 16, 1908.

James Corrigan's impact on the city of Cleveland was considered immense. The Plain Dealer called him "one of the group of men who made Cleveland, who saw the opportunities of its location... and out of them founded a great city." Corrigan was "one of the best known vessel and mine owners on the lakes". In 1908, his fleet was the largest independent shipping concern in the country. It was not the biggest fleet on the Great Lakes, but it was one of the most important. In 1908, he was still one of the largest independent iron mine operators in the United States.