Steuben County Hall of Fame

Class of 1993

James S. Drake, Thomas G. Hawkes, James R. Houghton

James S. Drake

James Samuel Drake, Jr. was born on Purdy Street in Bath on December 29, 1896, the third child of the six children of James and Lennie Ireland Drake. His mother was a cook and his father was a mason. When Jim was a young boy, he helped his parents provide heat for their house by gathering coal, spilled along the tracks from railcars.

He went to Haverling School where he participated in public speaking activities and won the Willis Prize. Jim graduated from high school with honors, and with the sponsorship of a local attorney, he enrolled in Union College. But after one year there, he interrupted his college work to enlist in the army as a private. He saw action in France, and was later given a field commission of second lieutenant.

Following the war he entered Albany law School and graduated in 1922. In 1927 he was appointed assistant county attorney; in 1930 he was elected to be Steuben County attorney, an office he held until his death 33 years later.

James Drake soon became a recognized authority on local laws, and in the early 1950s, as chief counsel for the New York State Committee for the Recodification of County Laws, he wrote the body of county and town laws in use today.

In addition to writing legal opinions, he wrote many papers on Steuben County history. Jim Drake was a frequent public speaker and is especially remembered for his talks about Abe Lincoln.

James Drake married Blanche Jansen from Ithaca and they had three children, Dorothy, James III, and Barbara. His son and daughter, Barbara, and grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren survive.

Thomas G. Hawkes

Thomas Gibbons Hawkes was born at Surmount, Ireland, on September 25, 1846. His father was Quayle Welsted Hawkes; his mother had been Jane Gibbons from Dublin. She had nine sons and four daughters.

Thomas went two years to Queen's College in Cork, and then halted his course in civil engineering to visit the United States. Unable to find a job in New York he was ready to return to Ireland when he met John Hoare of the glass-cutting firm of Dailey and Hoare who did business in connection with the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company. He was hired as a draughtsman by Mr. Hoare.

Hawkes familiarized himself with all the operations of the glass-cutting business, and remained with the company when it moved to Corning in 1868. He continued with Hoare until 1880, when he became proprietor of his own glass-cutting works in Corning. In fifteen years his company expanded from fewer than 20 employees to nearly 250 men.

At the 1889 Paris Exposition his firm's exhibit won the grand prize for glass wares. Other pieces of Hawkes glassware received acclaim in Europe, and the name, T. G. Hawkes, became a worldwide standard of quality.

Thomas Hawkes was active in business and community affairs; for two years he was chief engineer for the fire department in Corning.

He married Charlotte Isidore Bissell of Corning in June, 1876. They had three children, Samuel, Charlotte Jane, and Alice Luella. In later life he made yearly visits to his birthplace at Surmount, and eventually bought Inniscarra House and its lands for a residence in Ireland.

James R. Houghton

James R. Houghton was born in Corning on April 6, 1936. His mother was formerly Laura Richardson, and his father was Amory Houghton, ambassador to France.

James received his primary education in Corning schools. He graduated from Harvard College in 1958, and he received a Master's Degree from the Harvard Business School in 1962. That year he joined Corning Incorporated, and served in production, financial and sales positions until 1965. He was then named European Area Manager and a vice president of Corning Glass International, and for three years lived in Zurich and in Brussels.

When he returned to the United States in 1968, he was appointed a vice president of the company. He was elected a director in 1969, became vice chairman with responsibilities for the company's international operations in 1971, and was named chairman in 1983.

As Chief Executive Officer of Corning Incorporated, he has undertaken the construction of the firm's international headquarters office complex in Corning, and presented a new river-front park to the city, as well as continuing the company's support of Corning Enterprises, and the Ceramic Corridor, and the annual Ladies Professional Golf Association tournament that provides financial benefits to area hospitals.

James Houghton is a trustee of the Corning Museum of Glass, the Corning Incorporated Foundation, and he is also a supporter of many civic activities in Corning.

He married May Kinnicutt and they have two children. They live in Corning.