The private documents of Ezra and Franklin Cornell do not make any reference to rents collected from the Carneys during their tenure on University Avenue. However, Franklin had a special entry in one of his ledger books entitled “Chris Carney Farm”. It appears that the Cornells provided the Carney family with housing in exchange for less formal compensation than the usual rent. Perhaps Ezra Cornell was practicing sheer philanthropy towards “the worthy poor”. Alternatively, the products of the Carney farm may have stood in lieu of rent. A third possibility is that Ezra Cornell recognized the benefits of having his work force consist of a stable family with their “own” home, rather than continuing to rely on day laborers.

Whether feudal or charitable, the Carney family almost certainly benefited from this relationship with the wealthy Cornell family. Free housing enabled them to save enough money to eventually buy their own home. In the mid-1880s, the Carneys moved downtown to their new home on Wheat Street. After their departure, the E. Cornell Site was sporadically occupied by a series of short term tenants, and was eventually destroyed around 1900. The site has been unoccupied since.