Portrait and biographical record of Christian County, Illinois : containing biographical sketches of prominent and   representative citizens, together with biographies of all the Governors of the state, and of the Presidents of the United States.  Chicago, Ill. : Lake City Pub. Co., 1893.  Transcribed and annotated by Judy Rosella Edwards, 2007.

DANIEL K. CORNELL, M. D., has been continuously engaged in the practice of the medical profession in Taylorville since the spring of 1877, and is recognized as one of the leading and successful practitioners of the county, his ability being attested by the liberal patronage which he receives. The Doctor comes from the far East. He was born in Providence, R. I., on the 18th of January, 1840, and the Cornell family traces its ancestors back two hundred years. His parents, Serril and Eliza (Hopkins) Cornell, were also natives of Rhode Island, and the mother was a direct descendant of Stephen Hopkins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1858 the family came to Illinois, locating in Bloomington, and two years later removed to Centralia, where the mother is still living, at the advanced age of eighty-three years. The father, who was born in 1812, was called to his final rest November 23, 1889. He was a tanner by trade, and established a tannery in Centralia. Almost up to the day of his death he carried on business, his last illness covering only a week. In the city of his birth, Dr. Cornell spent the days of his boyhood and youth, and at the age of eighteen was graduated from the High School of Providence. He then came with his parents to the West, and at the age of nineteen began teaching, following that profession through the winter season. His choice of a life work falling upon the practice of medicine, he began reading in the office of Dr. D. H. McCord, in Centralia, Ill., and subsequently, in order to further perfect himself, entered the St. Louis Medical College [ed., probably Saint Louis University School of Medicine], from which institution he was graduated in 1866, with the degree of M. D. In October, 1861, he had enlisted in the late war as a musician in the Twenty-seventh Illinois Infantry, becoming cornetist in the band of that regiment, but as the full number of musicians was not secured, he was discharged, after being stationed at Cairo for three months. Dr. Cornell began practice in Centralia, as a partner of Dr. McCord, his old preceptor, and for three years the connection was continued. He then removed to St. Anne, Kankakee County, Ill., where he spent the succeeding seven years of his life, after which he came to Taylorville. Dr. Kitzmiller and Dr. Fiery are the only physicians now in practice who were here on his arrival. Having ever been a close student of his profession, the Doctor is abreast with all the discoveries and theories connected with the science, and his skill and ability have gained him an excellent reputation. On coming to Taylorville, he was made surgeon of the Ohio & Mississippi Railroad Company, and served as such until the 1st of January, 1893. On the llth of June, 1870, in Centralia, Dr. Cornell and Miss Mary Hay were married. The lady is a native of Illinois. By their union were born three children. Lynn, who studied dentistry with Dr. Bonbrake, was graduated from the Illinois College at Jacksonville in 1892, with the degree of B. A. He has spent the summer of 1893 as express messenger on the Northern Pacific Railroad, but in the autumn he expects to enter the Cincinnati Dental College [ed., probably Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati]. Margaret is now a student of elocution in St. Paul, Minn.; and Cora is still at home. For some years the Doctor has been a member of the Board of Health, and is a member of the Central District Medical Society [ed., Illinois State Medical Society]. He also belongs to the Grand Army of the Republic, and he and his wife hold membership with the Presbyterian Church, in which he serves as Elder. He has taken a prominent part in church work, contributes liberally to its support, and has done much for its upbuilding. Few men are more widely known in Christian County than the Doctor, and he has a host of friends among all classes of people.

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