Biographies C
Lorraine Baker Cornette
On July 25, 1945, one of Christian County's most prominent citizens, Mr. L.B. Cornette passed from the scene of his life's activities. A tobacconist, financier and civic minded citizen his death leaves a void in the business and cultural life of Hopkinsville.
Back in 1914 and 1915, the tobacco market in Hopkinsville was in a very stagnant condition. Crops had been good and the market had been poor for several years, and tobacco had accumulated in the warehouses. L.B. Cornette, the owner and operator of the tobacco firm of L.B. Cornette & Company, decided that the remedy for this unsatisfactory condition lay in improved foreign exports, and in January, 1915, he made a trip visiting Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Denmark and Sweden in the interests of his company and the Hopkinsville Tobacco Market. This trip resulted in excellent business connections, and much of the tobacco which had been glutting the market and depressing prices moved into foreign trade during the following two-year period. Until the outbreak of World War I, a large part of the business of L.B. Cornette & Company consisted of exports to foreign countires; a list of customers of the company would include firms in Germany, Holland, France, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, South America, Indo China and the Canary Islands. L.B. Cornette & Company was owned and operated by L.B. Cornette, who was also a director of the First City Bank & Trust Company, president of the Hopkinsville Milling Company, and a partner in the first of “Cornette's,” which is now operating two stores in Hopkinsville under the management of his son, Russell Cornette.
L.B. Cornette was the son of William C. and Anne Davis Cornette of Virginia and Kentucky. His grandparents on the paternal side were Rev. William L. and Harriet Ward Cornette of virginia, who came to Kentucky and settled in Jessamine County in 1842. His maternal grandparents were Captain Arthur N. Davis and Eliza Davis of North Carolina and Kentucky.
Mr. Cornette was only nine years old when his father died and he came to Greenville, Kentucky, to live with his grandparents. The boy had already lived in two states. Born in Belleville, Illinois, on May 15, 1876, he had moved to Douglas, Kansas, with his parents in 1882. After coming to Greenville in 1885, L.B. Cornette remained there with his grandparents until 1894. He had reached the age of eighteen at that time, and was big enough to take a man's part on the farm. He went to Warren County, Kentucky, and worked on the farm of his uncle, W.S. McCormick, for the next three years.
In March, 1897, L.B. Cornette came to Hopkinsville to work as receiver and bookkepper for P.E. West & Company in a tobacco rehandling factory. His next position was that of buyer and factory manager for the American Snuff Company; he entered on his duties with that company in 1901. Three years later, in 1904, he entered the employ of the Italian Regie contractors, Tandy & Farleigh, in the same capacity. His connection with this company came to a spectacular end; in December, 1907, night riders burned the factory and warehouse of Tandy & Farleigh, which put the concern out of business.
L.B. Cornette had now had ten years of experience in the tobacco business, and having accumulated some capital as well, he believed that he was now ready to establish his own business. The tobacco firm of L.B. Cornette & Company was organized in 1908, and that concern was owned and operated by L.B. Cornette. Although the large export trade of the company haas been almost entirely stopped since the outbreak of the war, the company still operates at capacity. The firm of Cornette's, Incorporated, which was organized in 1925. The corporation was dissolved in 1944 and it is now operating two stores as a partnership. One store is located at 708 Main Street and the other at 702 Main Street in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. L.B. Cornette and his son, Russell Cornette, composed the partnership.
The abilities of L.B. Cornette in business organization and management found further scope in his participation in the operation of several other concerns in Hopkinsville. He was elected as a director of the First National Bank in 1925. when the First National Bank, the City Bank & Trust Company and the Bank of Hopkinsville were consolidated, Mr. Cornette continued to serve on the board of directors of the First city Bank & Trust Company, which was formed from the consolidation of these institutions. Mr. Cornette was also elected as a director of the Hopkinsville Milling Company in 1924, and became president of that company. His connection as a stockholder in the Elk Brand Shirt & Overall Company was of nearly twenty years' duration. He was a member of the Tobacco Board of Trade from 1908, when he first organzied the concern of L.B. Cornette & Company, and was president of the Tobacco Board of Trade for eight years. He was largely instrumental in the organization of the present Hopkinsville Board of Trade, and was on the Board of Directors of the Hopkinsville Board of Trade for five years, and President of that organization for two years.
L.B. Cornette was a public-spirited man, interested in any organization or movement which would aid in the present or future welfare of Hopkinsville. He was a large contributor of both time and money to the work of the Associated Charities, and was a member of the Hopkinsville Industrial Foundation; he participated actively in the work of the Rotary Club. Mr. Cornette was a member of the Board of Education of Hopkinsville for seven years, and he administered the funds bequeathed in the will of the late W.A. Wilgus for playgrounds for the white children of Hopkinsville. Mr. Cornette was Chairman of the Building and Grounds Committee at the time the Wilgus Play Grounds were built. The $32,000 fund financed the building of three playgrounds, and under the supervision of Mr. Cornette, no detail was overlooked which might in any way have increased the value of the playgrounds to the children, both as a source of enjoyment and as a means of improving health and vigor.
On November 27, 1900, he was married to Miss Geneva Shifflett of Logan County, Kentucky, near South Union, Kentucky. Her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Bryant Shifflett were prominent among the early settlers of Logan County. Mr. and Mrs. Cornette had only one child, a son, Phillip Russell Cornette, who is now associated with, and is general manager of Cornette's two stores.
Fraternal organizations in which Mr. Cornette was interested included the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Woodmen of the World. Fishing was one of his favorite recreations; Mr. Cornette was a member of the Isaac Walton League and the Hopkinsville Hunting and Fishing Club. His membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church dated back to 1896, and he was a Ruling Elder in the Hopkinsville Congregation.
Related: Phillip Russell Cornette
Source: Wallis, Frederick A., and Hambleton Tapp, eds. A Sesqui-Centennial History of Kentucky. Vol. 4. Hopkinsville, KY: Historical Record Association, 1945. Pages 1814-1816.
Updated July 6, 2018