Jesse Hawley

Jesse Hawley (1773 - 1842) was the first proponent of the Erie Canal. He was a flour merchant who lost his shipment to decay due to the long time these shipments took to travel from and to New York Harbour. The roads of the time were primitive native American trails at best [1]. The weather made these roads impassable for most of the year and always expensive. Due to his loss, he was incarcerated in the debtors' prison for 20 months. To Battel his frustration, Hawley wrote a series of essays under the phantom name of Hercules advocating the idea of a canal that connects the Hudson River in Albany to Lake Erie in Buffalo. Hawley encouraged the building of a completely inland route instead of using the lake of Ontario to avoid any possible British or Canadian influence.

It is worthy to add that Hawley could have moved across state borders to avoid the debtors' prison. He, however, chose to serve his time instead as he believed it to be his moral obligation. After serving his term, Hawley went out to become the respected treasurer of the village of Lockport.