Lewis S. Cornell was raised in and around Chicago, Ill. As a young man in May 1885 he took a hobo trip on a boxcar to visit friends in Leavenworth, KS. This trip extended for a few years traveling throughout the Midwest by jumping boxcars and experiencing the hobo lifestyle. By 1904, he was married and working in Chicago for the American Express Co. as a clerk of the Superintendent's office. He was transferred to Texas where he bought 540 acres near San Antonio, TX with the intent to raise goats. This hadn't worked out for him and by 1914 or 1915 he had sold the farm. He wrote and sold five one reel stories to the movie industry. By 1916 he had been transferred to Salt Lake City and this is where he and his family lived for 17 years. In 1937, he retired. He went to visit his daughter in Seattle, WA and then he went to Newark, N.J. where his wife was visiting relatives. They lived in Newark until his wife passed away in 1960. By 1966 Cornell was living in Washington State. He lived on and off with his granddaughter and her family. It is unclear when and where he passed away.
From the description of Washington State Library's collection of selected manuscripts of Lewis S. Cornell, circa 1966. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 294909110
