PETERSBURG — Life-long Upper Township resident Curtis T. Corson, a farmer and business owner who has served on Township Committee for a quarter-century in two stints, was sworn in to a new term Jan 5.
Corson is one of the longest-serving members of Township Committee. He is a 13th-generation township resident, his children are 14th generation and his grandson is the first of a 15th generation in the township.
He has three children, two of whom still live in the township, and six grandchildren, four of whom live in the township.
His middle initial “T” is from Townsend, his grandmother’s family name, which means he is related to two of the founding families of Cape May County, among the earliest people of European descent to live in the northern part of the county, with two local inlets carrying those names.
In 2016, he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of committee member Jeffrey Pierson.
Corson ran and won a full term in 2017. But he had spent 18 years on the committee before that, serving before any of the current members were elected.
Coggins said he has lived in the township his entire life, with the exception of his stint in the military. He spent three years in the Army in the 1980s after graduating from Ocean City High School, spending most of his time in Germany.
He owns and operates a farm of more than 30 acres, as well as Seaville Self Storage. He is former owner of Plantation Campground and Heritage Links golf course. Corson is a life member of the Seaville Volunteer Fire Company, a past trustee of the Seaville Church Cemetery, a trustee of the Strathmere United Methodist Church and the Cape May County Historical Society.
Mayor Jay Newman and Deputy Mayor Kim Hayes were re-elected to their positions, each in a vote of 4-1. Corson cast the lone no votes.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff