^* A^* V^^> %*'r.li*y V*^^V .0 "*. '^^^-Z ^'>^*^-\aoV„ % <« ««?^ia'- •»>,w* ,-j^^o'- '^^o* f"?^^". "^K •i^ ..♦•» ^^ *; ■•*" ...-"-^^ "*•' .<> .*^' '■*. -4 o > ^' %.o^^ .^:^'.. %s^^* :^^:^ V..^ .v^k'. A k-"- T fHE PRESIDENTS FROM ijj6 TO iqoo AND A HISTORY or THE WHITE HOUS£ '•esenied Jay ihe NiLw^RK Life Insurance Comrajvy^ Wtc Presideqt 55878 JL ibPkii y of Conyirrts 1??6 to 1966 I ''vku Copies Receive© OCT 3 1900 Copyright totry SECOND COPY. D*-'»vHr«d to OHOiH DIVISION, [ n OT 19 1900 p|istorLJ of tqe ujh'te Hou se Copyright, 1900, by the New-York Life INSURANCE COMPANY. BORN, 1732. DIED, 1799. PRESIDENT, 1789 — 1797. (aGor^G (/9asl7in^ton XiyAS born in Westmoreland Co., Va., Feb. 22, 1732, and died at Mt. Vernon Dec. 14, 1799- He left school at the age of 16, and spent three years— from 1748 to 1751— in surveying. In 1751 he was appointed Adjutant of Virginia Troops. In 1754 he was made Lieut. -Colonel, and commanded a regiment in the French War. He was Braddock's aid-de-camp at the latter's defeat in 1755. He was a Delegate to the Vir- ginia House of Burgesses, and to the Continental Congress 1774-75. In 1775 he was made Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. When independence was achieved, he retired to his estate at Mt. Vernon. He was President of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, and President of the United States 1789-1797. During Washington's term as President the Constitution was ratified by North Carolina (1789) and Rhode Island (1790), and the additional States of Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796) were admitted to the Union, making sixteen States in all. At this time there were no regular life insurance companies doing business in the United States. BORN, 1735. DIED, 1826. PRESIDENT, 1797—1801. Qolin eAdams AA/'AS horn at Braintree, Mass., Oct. 30, 1735, and died July 4, 1826. He was educated at Harvard, studied law, and in 1770 was one of the selectmen in the Boston Conven- tion to protest against British imposts on tea, glass, etc. hi 1773 he was a member of the Council of State. In 1774 he was one of the delegates to the first Continental Congress, which met at Philadelphia, and advocated the Declaration of Independence, and was pronounced by Jefferson the ablest champion of independence in the Congress. In 1777 he was appointed Commissioner to France. In 1782 he negotiated a treaty with the Netherlands, and in 1782-'83, with others, ne- gotiated the Treaty of Peace with England. In 1785 he went as the first Minister from the United States to that nation. From 1789 to 1797 he was Vice-President under Washington, and was elected President in 1797. At this time there were no regular life insurance companies doing business in the United States. 'l^dm^rid BORN, 1743. DIED, 1826. PRESIDENT, 1801 —1809. ^l7omc\s Jefferson \V/^AS born at Shadwell, Va., April 2, 1743, and died July 4, 1826. He studied at William and Mary College, and was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, 1769-75, and of the Continental Congress, 1776-78, and drafted the Declaration of Independence. He was a warm advocate of the abolition of slavery. He was Governor of Virginia 1 779-'8 1 ; member of Congress 1783-'84; Minister to France 1784-'89; Secretary of State 1789-'93; Vice-President 1797-1801. hi 1800 there was a tie vote for President between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Jefferson was elected by the House of Represent- atives, and was re-elected by the people in 1804. Louisiana, incluJing the vast territory to the northward, from which eleven States and one Territory have since been organized, was acquired by purchase from France during Jefferson's presidency, for $15,000,000. By a strange coincidence, he died July 4, 1826, on the same day and year as Adams. During Jefferson's first term (1803) Ohio was admitted to the Union, making seventeen States in all. At this time there were no regular life insurance companies doing business in the United States. BORN, 1751. DIED, 1836. PRESIDENT, 1809 — 1817. ^ames Madison Air AS born in King George County, Va., March 16, 1751, and died June 28, I836. He graduated at Princeton College, N. J., in 1771, and afterwards studied law and practiced at the bar, but gave up the profession for politics when the struggle for independence began. He was a member of the Virginia Convention in 1776, and a member of the Federal Congress 1780-'83. He was a member of the Convention of 1787, which met at Philadelphia to form the Constitution; member of Congress 1789-'97; Secretary of State l801-'09; and was elected President in 1808. He endeavored in vain to avert the war with England, which was declared in 1812, and which continued for two years. He was re-elected Pres- ident in 1812. During Madison's presidency Louisiana (1812) and Indiana (1816) were admitted to the Union, making nine- teen States in all. At this time there was only one life insur- ance company organized to do business in the United States. / ^^i^--' '- y/c ^/. - ^/ r r ^-^ BORN, 1758. DIED, 1831. PRESIDENT, 1817—1825. ^aiTiGS Monroe \17AS born in Westmoreland Co., Va., April 28, 1758, and died July 4, I83I. He entered the Revolutionary Army as a volunteer at the age of eighteen, was present at several battles, and was wounded at the battle of Trenton. He was educated at William and Mary College, and later studied law. In 1782 he was elected to the Assembly of Virginia, and in 1783 to Congress. In 1788 he was a member of the Virginia Convention, where he opposed the ratification of the Consti- tution, fearing the encroachments of the Federal Government. He was a Senator in Congress 1 790-'94 ; was Minister to France 1794-'96; Governor of Virginia 1799-1802. In 1803 he was again sent to France to aid in the purchase of Louisiana. He was Secretary of State 1811-14, and of War 1814-'15. In 1816 he was elected President, and was re-elected in 1820. In his annual message to Congress in December, I823, he an- nounced that any interference by European powers in the aflfairs of the South American Republics, for oppressing them or con- trolling their destiny, would be regarded as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States. This is the " Monroe Doctrine." During his presidency Mississippi (1817), Illinois (1818), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820) and Missouri (1821) were admitted to the Union, making twenty -four States in all. Up to this time only two companies for insuring life were in existence in the United States. ^^f:^>s^^^^^ "^^ BORN, 1767. DIED, 1848. PRESIDENT, 1825 — 1829. ^ol7n ^uincy eAdams IITAS born at Braintree, Mass., July 11, 1767, and died Feb. 23, 1848. He was the eldest son of the second President of the United States, and enjoyed rare educational advantages, studying in Paris, Leyden and Harvard College, being graduated at the latter in 1788. He was admitted to the bar in 1791, and began practice in Boston. He was Minister to the Netherlands 1794-'97, and to Prussia 1797-1801; Senator in Congress 1803-'08; Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-lettres at Harvard l806-'09; Minister to Russia 1809-'14, and to England in 1815-'17; Secretary of State 18l7-'25; chosen President by the House of Representatives in 182 5 ; was a member of Con- gress 1831-'48, where he became noted for his advocacy of the right of petition. He died in the Capitol. Only two com- panies had up to this time been organized to write life insur- ance in the United States. BORN, 1767. DIED, 1845. PRESIDENT, 1829 — 1837. ©Andrew ^^ackson V\/AS born in North Carolina, March 15, 1767, and died June 8, 1845. He had meagre educational advantages. He served in the Revolutionary War, and was once taken prisoner. In 1785 he began the study of the law at Salisbury, North Caro- lina, and began first to practice at Nashville, Tenn., in 1788. He was a member of Congress from Tennessee 1 796-'97 ; Senator 1797-'98; Justice of Supreme Court of Tennessee 1798-1804; commanded military forces against Creek Indians 1813-14, against British at Pensacola and New Orleans 1814-'! 5, and against Seminole Indians 1817-'18; was Governor of Florida 1821; Senator from Tennessee \82]-2S; President 1829-'37; vetoed the bill re-chartering Bank of the United States, and proclaimed supremacy of Federal laws in answer to nullification ordinance of South Carolina in I832. During his presidency Arkansas (I836) and Michigan (1837) were admitted to the Union, making twenty-six States in all, and Florida was pur- chased from Spain for ;^5, 000,030. Up to this time only six companies had ever conducted a life insurance business in the United States. BORN, 1782. DIED, 1862. PRESIDENT, 1837 — 1841. Martin Van ISuren \A7AS born at Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 1782, and died July 24, 1862. He was educated at the Kinderhook Academy, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in I8O3. He was Surrogate of Columbia County in I808; State Senator 1812-'14; Attorney-General of New York 1815-'19; United States Senator from New York 1821-'28; Governor of the State 1828-'29; Secretary of State under President Jackson 1829-31; Vice-President 1833 ';^ 7; President 1 83 7-'41 ; estab- lished the independent treasury system in 1840; was defeated as Democratic candidate for President in 1840, and as Free- Soil candidate in 1848. In 1841 nine companies had been organized in the United States to conduct a regular life insur- ance business. f'^-S) ■s^'^li^-c 0^2-^^ 'i'^^ ^^^'^'^^^ BORN, 1773. DIED, 1841. PRESIDENT, 1841, 09illic\m jienry j+c\rrison AITAS born at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773, and died April 4, 1841. He was the son of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was educated in Hampden Sidney College, and in 1791 joined the army led by Wayne against the Indians in the Northwest. He was a delegate to Congress from the Northwest Territory 1799-1800; Governor of Indiana Territory ISOl-'lj; defeated the Indians under Tecumseh at Tippecanoe 1811 ; was member of Congress from Ohio 1816-'19; Senator l825-'28 ; Minister to Colombia l828-'29; elected President in 1840, and died one month after inauguration. In 1841 the Nautilus Insurance Company for marine, inland navigation, transportation and fire risks was chartered by the Legislature of New York. This organization subsequently became the New-York Life Insurance Company. C'^/iS) .((01^-'^:^. BORN, 1790. DIED, 1862. PRESIDENT, 1841 1845. QoYin fpyler AITAS born at Greenway, Va., March 29, 1790, and died Jan. 18, 1862. He was educated at William and Mary College; admitted to the bar in 1809; member of Virginia Legislature 1811-16; member of Congress 1816-'21 ; member of Legislature l823-'25 ; Governor of Virginia 1825-'27; United States Senator 1827-'36, from which he resigned from unwillingness to obey the instructions of the Legislature. He was re-elected to the Legislature in 18^8 ; was elected Vice- President of the United States in 1840, and became President on the death of President Harrison. He vetoed a bank bill in 1841 and a tarilT bill in 1842. Florida— the twenty-seventh State to enter the Union — was admitted on the last day of his term of office, and the admission of Texas was agreed upon. At the outbreak of the Civil War Mr. Tyler was President of a Peace Congress, and afterward a member of the Confederate Congress. In 1845 the Nautilus Insurance Company (after- wards the New-York Life Insurance Company) commenced doing a life insurance business in New York State. Born, 1795. died, 1849. PRESIDENT, 1845 — 1849. ^ames K. polk Tl rAS born in Mecklenburg Co., N. C, Nov. 2, 1795, and died June 15, 1849. He was educated at the University of North Carolina; was admitted to the bar in 1820; elected to the Legislature of Tennessee in I823 ; was a member of Con- gress from that State 1825-'39; Speaker of the House of Representatives l835-'39; Governor of Tennessee 1839-'41 ; President of the United States 1845 -'49. During his adminis- tration the annexation of Texas was consummated ; the war with Mexico occurred, resulting in the cession of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico; England gave up, under the treaty of 1846, all claim to Oregon, Washington and Idaho; and Iowa and Wisconsin were admitted to the Union, making thirty States in all. The New- YORK Life had agencies in one State in 1845, in five States in 1846, in nineteen States in 1847, and in twenty-four States in 1848. In 1849 the Company had 2,834 policies in force, representing $5,552,000 of insurance, and assets amounting to $211,802.52. BORN, 1784. DIED, 1850. PRESIDENT, 1849—1850. ^acl^Giry fpa^lor Vy^AS born in Orange County, Va., Sept. 24, 1784, and died July 9, 1850. In his early childhood he was taken to Ken- tucky, where he grew up on a plantation, with very meagre educational advantages. He was appointed a Lieutenant in the U. S. Army in 1808; served in the war of 1812, the Black Hawk war of I832, and the Seminole war of I837; was made Brigadier-General in I837 and Commander-in-Chief in Florida in I838; commanded in Texas in 1845; invaded Mexico in 1846 and gained the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena Vista ; made Major-General June 29, 1846; elected President 1848, and died sixteen months after his inauguration. In 1849 the New-York Life Insur- ance Company established agencies in two additional States. In 1850 the Company was doing business in twenty-six States, had 3,671 policies in force, representing $7,816,000 of insur- ance, and assets amounting to $354,755.24. 'y.z^L^/i^^^^y/ y^:^!^-- BORN, 1800, DIED, 1874. PRESIDENT, 1850 — 1853. Millard pillmore \17AS born at Summer Hill, N. Y., Jan. 7, 1800, died March 8, 1874. He was educated at the village school ; learned the trade of a wool-carder ; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1823; was a member of the Legislature 1829-'31 ; member of Congress l833-'35 and 1837-43; Comptroller of the State i847-'49; elected Vice-President in 1848 and suc- ceeded to the Presidency in 1850, on the death of President Taylor. He signed the Clay Compromise Bill of 1850, and California was admitted to the Union during his term of office, making thirty-one States in all. He was a candidate for President on the "American" ticket in 1856. In 1853 the New-York Life Insurance Company was doing business in twenty-six States, and had 3,838 policies in force, representing ^10,510,000 of insurance, and assets amounting to $795,910.21. The first valuation of its policies, according to modern methods, was made in 1852, and the surplus was found to be ;^25,313.90. BORN, 1804. DIED, 1869. PRESIDENT, 1853 — 1857. Pranklin pierce TXTAS born at Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 23, 1804, and died Oct. 8, 1869. He was educated at Bowdoin College; studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1827; practiced law in his native town ; was elected a member of Congress in I833, and to the United States Senate in 1837. He resigned in 1842 to take up again his legal profession at Concord, N. H. At the beginning of the Mexican War he entered the army as a private, and in 1847 was made Brigadier- General. He was elected President of the United States in 1852. During his term of office the Missouri Compromise was repealed, and the " Gadsden Purchase " made, by which Mexico ceded to the United States parts of the present Territories of Arizona and New Mexico, for the sum of ^10,000,000. In 1857 the New-York Life was doing business in twenty-six States, and had 4,259 policies in force, representing $12,778,938 of insurance, and assets amounting to ;^1, 361,524. 88. '^^^2/M.^SU^t^^u BORN, 1791. ' DIED, 1868. PRESIDENT, 1857 — 1861. Raines Bacl^anan 'llTAS born at Stony Batter, Franklin Co., Pa., April 22, 1791, and died June 1, 1868. He was educated at Dickinson College, and was admitted to the bar in 1812. Two years later he entered the Pennsylvania Legislature ; he was a member of Congress 1821-31 ; Minister to Russia 1 83 1-'33 ; United States Senator 1833-'45; Secretary of State under President Polk 1845-'49; Minister to England 1853-56; President of the United States 1857-'6l. During his administration Minnesota (1858) and Oregon (1859) were admitted to the Union, making thirty-three States in all. The New-York Life established an agency in Tennessee in 1858, and one in San Francisco in 1859. In 1860 it originated and introduced non-forfeiting policies. In 1861 the Company was doing business in twenty-eight States, and had 5,125 policies in force, representing ^16,411,259 of insurance, and assets amounting to $2,004,570.14. BORN, 1809. DIED, 1865. PRESIDENT, 1861—1865. eAbraljam bincoln Tl^AS born in Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, 1809, and died April 15, 1865. His family removed to Illinois in 1816, and after following the occupations of farm laborer, salesman, mer- chant, soldier and surveyor, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in I836. He was a Captain in the Black Hawk war in 1832; member of the Legislature 1834-42; member of Con- gress 1847-'49; held joint discussions with Stephen A. Douglas as candidate for United States Senator in 1848; elected Presi- dent in 1860 and re-elected in 1864; assassinated April 14, 1865. His election brought on the Civil War of 1861 -'65. On Sept. 22, 1862, he issued a Proclamation declaring that the United States would uphold the freedom of the slaves in all States or parts of States that should be in rebellion on Jan. 1, 1863. The constitutional amendment abolishing slavery was adopted by Congress in December, 1865, and afterward ratified by the States. During his administration Kansas (1861), West Virginia (I863) and Nevada (1864) were admitted to the Union, making thirty-six States in all. The New-York Life entered Iowa in 1861, Maine and New Hampshire in 1862, Delaware and Minnesota in I863, and Kansas in 1864. In 1865 the Company was represented in thirty-three States and Territories, and had 16,077 policies in force, representing M5, 485, 726 of insurance, and assets amounting to M,3 79,007.43- Ci^y BORN, 1808. DIED, 1875. PRESIDENT, 1865—1869. eAndi^GW ^oljnsor^ WfAS born at Raleigh, N. C, Dec. 29, 1808, died July 31, 1875. He served ten years as an apprentice to a tailor, during which time he learned to read and write. He was made Alderman of the village of Greenville, and in I830 was elected Mayor, serving a term of three years. He was in the Legisla- ture from 1835 to I837, and again from I839 to 1841. He was elected State Senator of Tennessee, and in 1843 was sent to the United States Congress, where he remained for ten years. He was Governor of Tennessee 185 3-' 5 7, and Military Governor 1862-'64; United States Senator l857-'62; Vice- President 1865, and at Lincoln's death succeeded to the presi- dency. He was impeached by the House of Representatives in March, 1868, but was acquitted. During his term of office as President, Nebraska (1867) was admitted to the Union, making thirty-seven States in all, and the United States acquired Alaska by purchase from Russia for $7,000,000. During this period the New-York Life re-established its business in the South, and opened agencies in West Virginia and Nebraska in 1865, in Colorado in 1866, North Carolina, South Dakota and Wyoming, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario in 1868. It also purchased the ground at 346 & 348 Broadway and began the erection of a Home Office building. In 1869 the Company was doing business in forty -two States and countries, and had 33,145 policies in force, representing $102,- 132,513 of insurance, and assets amounting to $11,798,857.73. ;^?i_^'. >;?^7i_^',<:^'<- 'Z-^?^'^^ BORN, 1822. DIED, 1885. PRESIDENT, 1869—1877. OlyssGS §. (arat\f AITAS born at Point Pleasant, O., April 27, 1822, and died July 23, 1885- He was educated at West Point, graduating in 1843; served through the Mexican War 1846-'48; resigned in 1854 and settled in St. Louis; removed to Galena, 111., in 1860 ; appointed Colonel of 21st Illinois Infantry June 1 7, 1861 ; was made Brigadier-General August 7; Major-General after capture of Fort Donaldson in February, 1862; Major-General U. S. A. after capture of Vicksburg July 4, I863 ; Lieutenant- General in March, 1864; General July 26, 1866; elected Pres- ident 1868 and re-elected 1872; General on retired list March 4, 1885. During his administration the Alabama claims were settled by the Treaty of Washington, a bill for the intlation of the currency was vetoed, and Colorado (1876) was admitted to the Union, making thirty-eight States in all. The New-YORK Life established agencies in Montana, Utah, Nevada and New Brunswick in 1869; in Idaho, Oregon, British Columbia, Eng- land and France in 1870; in Germany and Nova Scotia in 1871 ; in Scotland and the West Indies in 1873 ; i" North Da- kota and New Mexico in 1874; in Mexico, British Guiana, Manitoba, Belgium and Venezuela in 1876. In 1877 the New- York Life was doing business in sixty -two States and countries, and had 45,605 policies in force, representing ^127,901,887 of insurance, and assets amounting to ;^33,5 73,53 7.31- BORN, 1822. DIED, 1893. PRESIDENT, 1877 — 1881. I^utl7Grford IS. fta\;es VX/AS born at Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822; died Jan. 17, 1893- He was educated at Kenyon College and the School of Law at Harvard. In the year 1845 he began to practice in Lower Sandusky, Ohio, and was City Solicitor of Cincinnati from the year 1859 to 1861. At the breaking out of the Civil War he was appointed Major 23d Ohio Infantry, and was shortly afterward promoted to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. in the campaign of West Virginia he took a prominent part, and was severely wounded at the battle of South Mountain. He was made Brigadier- General and Brevet Major-General in 1864; was member of Congress 1865-'67; Governor of Ohio 1868-72, and again in 1876. In that year he was the Repub- lican candidate for the presidency, and certain electoral votes being claimed by both parties, a Commission, appointed by Congress, gave the disputed votes to Hayes. In 1879 the New- York Life adopted plans for the enlargement of its Home Oflire building. It began business in Russia and Ireland in 1877; in Switzerland and Italy in 1878; in Austria, Hawaii and Washington in 1879; in Arizona, Algeria and Norway in 1880; and in British India in 1881. In the year 1881 the Company was doing business in seventy-two States and coun- tries, and had 53,927 policies in force, representing $151,- 760,824 of insurance. Its assets amounted to $44,159,5 58.09. BORN, 1831. DIED, 1881. PRESIDENT, 1881. ^arriGS oA. QarfiGld \1/AS born at Orange, O., Nov. 19, I831, and died Sept. 19, 1881. His early life was spent upon a farm. He was graduated at Williams College in 1856; was instructor in and President of Hiram College 1856 '61 ; member of Ohio Senate 1859-61; Lieutenant-Colonel 42d Ohio Infantry 1861; com- manded Union forces and gained a victory at battle of Middle Creek, January, 1862; Brigadier-General and Major-General and Chief of Staff to Gen. Rosecrans I863 ; member of Congress 1863-80; member of Electoral Commission 1877; elected Senator and President 1880; assassinated July 2,1881. In the year 1881 the Company paid to its policy-holders ^5,091,820.23, including ;^25,000 paid on the life of President Garfield. BORN, 1830. DIED, 1886. PRESIDENT, 1881 —1885. (;l7GstGr qA. eArfl7ur WAS born at Fairfield, Vt., Oct. 5, I830, and died Nov. 18, 1886. He was graduated at Union College in 1848; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1851 ; was appoint- ed Inspector-General of the New York State National Guard in 1861, and subsequently Quartermaster-General of the State troops; was Collector for the port of New York 1871-78; elected Vice-President of the United States 1880, and on the death of President Garfield he succeeded to the presidential office. The New-York Life began business in Indian Terri- tory, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, U. S. of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Spain and Brazil in 1882; Costa Rica, Chili, Argentina, Uruguay, New South Wales and Cape Colony in I883 ; Newfoundland, Victoria, China, Queens- land and the Philippine Islands in 1884. In 1885 the Company was doing business in ninety-six States and countries, and had 86,418 policies in force, representing $259,674,500 of insur- ance, and its assets amounted to $61,623,472.67. BORN, 1837. PRESIDENT, 1885 — 1889. 1893 — 1897. (aro\;Gt' (^leOGland XA/AS born at Caldwell, N. J., March 18, I837. When quite ^^ young his parents removed to Fayetteville, N. Y. He studied at the Clinton Academy, read law in Buffalo, was ad- mitted to the bar in 18S9; practiced law in Buffalo, and in 1863 was appointed Assistant-District- Attorney for Erie County. He was Sheriff of the county 1871-74, and in 1882 was elected Mayor of Buffalo. In the same year he was elected Governor of New York, and two years later was elected President of the United States, being the first Democratic Pres- ident after the Civil War. He was nominated again in 1888, but was defeated by Benjamin Harrison. He was elected Presi- dent a second time in 1892, and at the conclusion of his term of office he became associated with a law firm in New York. Utah was admitted to the Union during his second term (I896;, making, with the six admitted 1889-1893, forty-f]ve in all. The New-York Life began business in Sumatra, Straits Set- tlements, New Zealand, Northwest Territory, Bolivia and Dutch Guiana in 1885; in South Australia, Java, West Australia, Fiji, Hungary and French Guiana in 1886; in Celebes and Japan in 1887; in Bulgaria, Servia and Siam in 1888; in Tripoli in 1893; in Parajruay and Alaska in 1894; and in Borneo in 1895. In 1889 the Company was doing business in II3 States and countries and had 150,381 policies in force, repre- senting 5495,601,970 of insurance, and its assets amounted to $97,846,079.43. y ^ -^ ^^ BORN, 1833. PRESIDENT, 1889 — 1893. lSenJG\min |^*c\rrison VyAS born at North Bend, O., Aug-. 20, I833. He was a great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declaration of hidependence, and grandson of the ninth President of the United States. He graduated from Miami University in 1852; studied law in Cincinnati, and in 1854 removed to Indianapolis, Ind., where he began a legal practice which subsequently became very extensive. He joined the Union Army in 1862 and served until the close of the war, retiring with the rank of Brevet Brigadier-General. He was de- feated as Republican candidate for Governor of Indiana in the year 1876. Five years later he was elected to the United States Senate, where he served for six years. He was elected President on the Republican ticket in 1888. During his term of office as President six new States were admitted to the Union— North, and South, Dakota, Montana and Washington in 1889, and Idaho and Wyoming in 1890, making forty-four in all (1890). The New-York Life began business in Egypt in 1889; in New Caledonia in 1890; in Tunis and Oklahoma in I89I; and in Roumania in 1892. In 1893 the Company was represented in one hundred and twenty-two States and countries, and had 253,876 policies in force, representing ;^779,1 56,678.00 of insur- ance, and its assets amounted to $138,571,211.59. ^V-r-7-7-^^^^>^ BORN, 1844. PRESIDENT, 1897- 09illiam McKinley AirAS born at Niles, O., Jan. 29, 1844. He served in an Ohio regiment during the Civil War and attained the rank of Major; was attorney of Stark County, O., 1869-71; member of Congress 1877-'91 ; Chairman of Committee of Ways and Means 1889 '91, and author of McKinley Tariff Law of 1890; Governor of Ohio 1891 -'94; elected President in 1896. During his term of office as President the Spanish War of 1898 occurred, by which Cuba was freed from the dominion of Spain, and Porto Rico, the Philippine Islands and Guam were added to the United States. For the latter the United States paid $20,000,000. Mr. McKinley was re-nominated for President by the Republican National Convention in June, 19OO. Since 1896 the New- YORK Life began business in the Friendly Islands, and was re-admitted to Switzerland, Austria and Prussia, conforming its expenses, its securities and its reports to the rigid requirements of these countries. The Company now does business in 12} States and countries, under the super- vision of eighty-two governments, and there is no life insurance law in the world that it does not comply with. On January 1, 1900, it had 437,776 policies in force, representing $1,061,871,- 985 insurance — the largest number of policies and the largest amount of insurance of any regular life insurance company in the world. Its assets at the same date were $236,450,348. _^oIki. ^c Presidential Sueeessiorj T^HE Presidential succession is fixed by Chapter 4 of the Acts of the Forty-ninth Congress, first session. In case of the removal, death, resignation, or inability of both the President and Vice-President, then the Secretary of State shall act as President until the disability of the President or Vice-President is removed or a President is elected. If there be no Secretary of State, then the Secretary of the Treasury will act ; and the remainder of the order of succession is as follows: The Secre- tary of War, Attorney-General, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Navy, and Secretary of the Interior. The acting Presi- dent must, upon taking office, convene Congress, if not at the time in session, in extraordinary session, giving twenty days' notice. This Act applies only to such cabinet officers as shall have been appointed by the advice and consent of the Senate, and are eligible under the Constitution to the presidency. K7 0r|e yuqared aears iq ]|c ^l^ite [sjou By RENE BACHE. \_Repr'mted from " The Ladies Home Jo/inial," by permission. '\ se. WHEN Abigail Adams, the first mistress of the White House, jour- neyed from Philadelphia to Washington, in the autumn of 1800, she found the trip discouraging. The roads were abominable, and the greater part of a week was required to cover the distance, the lady's carriage bumping over ruts and the horses floundering through mud- holes until her patience was well-nigh exhausted. Her first impression of the National capital, on reaching it, was decidedly unfavorable, as may be judged from a letter of about that date, in which she refers to it as "only a city in name ; here and there a small cot without a glass window interspersed among the forests." With the President's dwelling, however, then newly built, she was much pleased, and in writing to her daughter, she said : " The house is upon a grand and superb scale, requiring about thirty servants to at- tend and keep the apartments in proper order ; an establishment very well proportioned to the President's salary." She adds no comment upon the fact that the lower floor was wholly unfinished, so that she was obliged to use for reception purposes the large oval room on the second floor, over the Blue Parlor, which is now the library. Indeed, the first floor was not completed for many years, and in the great East Room Mistress Abigail used to hang the clothes to dry. She spent only a few months in Washington. J' THE White House having first become the residence of the Chief Ex^utive in November, 1800, the present year marks the lapse of its first century of occupancy as such. Though the seat of gov- ernment was not transferred to Washington until the above date, the movement was decided upon ten years earlier, and as far back as 1792 a prize of five hundred dollars was ofi'ered for the best plan for a Presidential mansion. It was awarded James Hoban, a young Irish architect, who had established himself in Charleston, South Carolina, and who was building the large, substantial and picturesque houses which still remain characteristic features of that city. Hoban's plan was not original, as he took for his model the finest dwelling he had seen up to that time, which happened to be the palace of the Duke of Leinster, at Dublin. His first plan was for a three- story structure, but this aroused a public outcry on the ground of its extravagance, and the design chosen was reduced to two stories and a basement, with a frontage of one hundred and seventy feet. The funds were supplied by the States of Virginia and Maryland, the for- mer contributing $120,000 and the latter $72,000. On October 18, 1792, the corner-stone was laid in a bare field sloping to the Potomac, Washington himself being present on the occasion. So great was Washington's interest in the enterprise that he used his influence to persuade Congress to finish it, and by 1799 the edifice was ready for par- tial occupancy. In 1800 Congress appropriated $15,000 to furnish it. Up to 1828 the East Room was used by the wives of the Presi- dents as a laundry and nursery, for both of which purposes it was amply spacious, being eighty feet long by forty feet in width. During President Cleveland's first administration he received a visit from a vivacious old lady of seventy, a niece of John Quincy Adams, who was eager to take a look at the mansion in which she had spent her child- hood. After some cordial hand-shaking she asked to be conducted to the East Room, and there, looking around her in bewilderment, she exclaimed : "Laws-a-massy ! Is this really the same old room ? Why, a meal barrel used to stand in yonder spot, and over there the wash-tubs! From there to there" — pointing with her parasol — "a clothes-line was stretched, and in this corner of the room we kept our playthings." AS THE FIRST MISTRESS SAW IT n^HE White House, when Abigail Adams first saw it, had neither ^ yard nor fence. Up to 1818 the grounds surrounding it remained an unsightly waste, without grass or shrubbery. Until quite recent years, indeed, the land about the President's dwelling was a sort of farm, cultivated patches extending over the greater part of the area now occupied by the buildings of the Treasury, the War and the Navy Departments. Where the Treasury now stands was a vegetable garden, and the site of the present gigantic structure on the west was a fruit orchard. In those days the lot back of the Executive Mansion, where the children roll eggs on Easter Monday, was utilized as a cow-pasture, four or five cows being attached usually to the White House farm. Beneath the front portico was a dairy, to which water was brought by an inch pipe from a spring in Franklin Square, several blocks away, there being no Potomac water on tap at that time. This dairy, as may well be imagined, was a great source of pleasure to the wives of some of the earlier Presidents. When Andrew Johnson was Chief Magistrate the duties of mistress of the mansion were performed by his daughter, Martha Patterson, wife of Senator Patterson, of Ten- nessee, who rose every morning soon after daybreak and, with her own fair hands, skimmed the new milk. Those were times of delightful simplicity in domestic affairs. William Henry Harrison actually did his own marketing, whereas nowadays the provisions for the White House are all purchased by a steward, whom the Government pays. No longer does the President's wife get fresh vegetables from her own garden and fresh milk from her own cows. It was on a fateful day in the year 1814 that Dolly Madison was obliged to play the part of Miss Muffet to the British spider, the latter being represented by a regiment of red-coated soldiers. The enemy, under General Ross and Admiral Cockburn, had taken posses- sion of Washington and burned the Capitol, and, before departing, they thought it would be a good idea to destroy the White House also. The flames started by the British in the White House were extinguished by rain, but next day were rekindled, and the mansion suffered great damage. After the enemy's departure the Madisons took up their residence in the famous Octagon House, so called from its peculiar shape, on the north-east corner of Eighteenth Street and New York Avenue. It was called the "Annex Executive Mansion" during its occupancy by President Madison, which lasted until the close of his administration, March 4, 1817. President Monroe lived in it through the first year of his term, and then moved into the White House, which meantime had been reconstructed and repaired under the direction of its original architect, James Hoban. The treaty of peace with Great Britain was signed in the Octagon House. HOW THE WHITE HOUSE GOT ITS NAME THE blackened sandstone walls of the President's dwelling were coated with white paint, covering up all traces of the mischief that had been done, and it was from this that the name "White House" was derived. It is not true that the term came, as has been frequently alleged, from the residence of Martha Custis, Washington's wife, which was similarly designated. Furthermore, it is worth say- ing here that, officially speaking, there is no such building as the White House, the edifice being always referred to in State documents as the Executive Mansion, or the President's house. At first it was known as the President's palace, but this gave offense and was dropped. The steady growth of the nation has made necessary a great expansion of the Capitol at Washington, but nothing has been done to increase the size of the White House, which remains to-day as it was when first occupied by John Adams and his wife Abigail, at the beginning of the century. It is entirely adequate as a residence for the Chief Executive, but unfortunately nearly one-half of it is given up to official purposes, and the result is that the President finds his living quarters abominably cramped. Of a certainty there is no other country in the world where the ruler-in-chief would be penned with his family in a corner of an office building, with a corps of newspaper correspondents in the entry-way, and a horde of people continually wandering all over the place. Mrs. Cleveland, when a young bride, complained that the accommo- dations of the Executive Mansion were so restricted as to render it out of the question for her to entertain more than two guests at a time, and the late Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, at her husband's inaugura- tion, remarked that she was suffering a come-down in the world, in- asmuch as she was moving out of a house with twelve bedrooms into one with five. But the most memorable and mortifying exposure of the inadequacy of the President's home was made in 1860, during the visit of the Prince of Whales to this country. President Buchanan felt -obliged to invite him to the White House for five days, and al- though the President's own family was one of the smallest that ever occupied the official residence, consisting only of himself and his niece, Harriet Lane, he was compelled to stow the Heir Apparent in the room over the Red Parlor, while giving up his own apartment to the Duke of Newcastle, who accompanied the Prince, and extemporizing a " shake-down " bed for himself in one of the public ante-rooms. INTERIOR OF THE PRESIDENT'S HOUSE /^^N the ground floor of the Executive Mansion are four beautiful par- ^^ lors — the East Room, Blue Room, Green Room and Red Room — but only the last of these is used for family purposes. True, there is nothing in the Constitution or in the statutes to prevent Mrs. McKinley from doing her sewing in the East Room, if she happen to be so disposed; and, if it suited his fancy. President McKinley might lounge and smoke in the Blue Room. But the unwritten law of cus- tom forbids such use of the official drawing-rooms, though President McKinley and his wife frequently receive company in a private way in the Green Room, or even in the Blue Room on occasions. The Blue Room is the handsomest of the suite of parlors. Corresponding in shape and size to the library just above, it is oval, its walls covered with blue silk, the ceiling done in blue and gold, and the carpet and furniture carrying out the same scheme of decoration. The whole east end of the building on the second floor is given up to public purposes — the offices of the President, his secretaries and the executive clerks, the Cabinet Room and the Telegraph Room. For convenience, the room last named adjoins President McKinley's own office, and the electric apparatus which it contains places him in com- munication by telegraph with all parts of the world, and by telephone with all points reached by the long-distance system. A special kind of telephone, which has no " central," enables him to converse pri- vately with the heads of the Departments. The Cabinet Room is about one-third as big as it should be, and the library next to it con- tains an inferior collection of books, consisting mainly of out-of-date editions of historical and classical works. A glass door across the main corridor which runs lengthwise through the White House shuts off the offices described from the sleeping quarters of the family. AN ARMY OFFICER THE HOUSEKEEPER 'T'HE White House is under the charge of an engineer officer of the ^ Army, who sees that it is run properly, handles the money which Congress provides for the maintenance of the establishment, and acts as Master of Ceremonies at receptions, introducing all comers to the President. At present this important office is held by Colonel Theodore A. Bingham. The amount furnished for the maintenance of the White House averages about $20,000 per annum. Congress also gives at intervals considerable sums for refurnishing and repairs. Each winter three State dinners are given at the White House — the first to the Cabinet, the second to the Diplomatic Corps and the third to the Judiciary. These banquets are exceedingly solemn affairs, and, if it must be confessed, somewhat dull. There is no speech- making, and general conversation is out of the question. During the present administration the dinners of ceremony at the White House have been given customarily in the great corridor which runs through the middle of the building, simply because the State dining-room is not large enough. In the latter apartment it is hardly possible to seat more than fifty guests, and usually it is desirable to entertain as many as eighty on such occasions. This, in fact, is one of the arguments in favor of enlarging the Executive Mansion — a step which is now being advocated. President McKinley is a very hospitable man, and, in addition to the regulation banquets of State, he has given an unusual number of extra entertainments of the kind. THE PRESIDENT'S ENTERTAINMENTS ARE COSTLY I^RFi dinners given by the President are a serious draft on his purse, inasmuch as, though distinctly official in character, they have to be paid for out of his private funds. So far as possible, the Propa- gating Gardens of Washington, which always furnish the plants for decorating the East Room, are drawn upon for roses and other flowers, but the supply of flowers thus obtainable is nearly always insuificient, even when supplemented by the output of the White House conserva- tories. Commonly it is necessary to buy two hundred dollars' worth or so of blossoms to help out. It is probable that the total cost of one of these banquets does not fall far short of one thousand dollars. During the progress of the dinner the Marine Band, which is really the President's own musical organization, being always at his disposal free of charge when he wants it, discourses sweet strains in the adjoining conservatory. Into this conservatory open the windows of the State dining-room, where the men smoke after the conclusion of the repast. Under previous administrations the President's wife generally has sat directly opposite him at these formal banquets, but President McKinley always places Mrs. McKinley next to himself, on his right. President Madison revived much of the formal ceremony which Thomas Jefferson had discarded, and under his administration great attention was given to the State banquets, no expense being spared in making them as fine as possible. President Jackson disliked cere- mony even more than did President Jefferson, and, preferring a steel fork himself, he always provided each guest with one silver fork and one of steel. After dinner he smoked a long-stemmed corncob pipe. He wished to throw the doors of the White House wide open to the public, but this idea he was forced to relinquish after the experience of one occasion on which he extended an ill-judged hospitality to all comers. The carpet in the East Room was ruined by punch which the mob spilt in its eagerness to get at the buckets containing the bev- erage ; the gowns of many ladies were spoiled and the furniture was broken. At his farewell reception President Jackson introduced a curious novelty in the shape of a gigantic cheese, which was cut into pieces and distributed among the guests. DICKENS AND IRVING PRESENT AT ONE RECEPTION IN President Van Buren's administration the custom of serving eat- ables at public receptions came to an end. It had been so abused that, just prior to the election of 1840, hungry crowds besieged the East Room, clamoring to be fed and threatening to vote against Mr. Van Buren if they were not supplied with food. Since that time the only Chief Executive who has provided "refreshments" on such occa- sions was President Hayes. Although President Hayes offered no wine to his guests, he spent a large part of his salary in entertaining. A single entertainment cost him six thousand dollars. President Arthur had the reputation of giving the most costly dinners of any President. The White House has been the scene of so many great festivities, and so frequently crowded to its utmost capacity with assemblages of notable people, that it is hardly possible to pick out any special func- tion as the greatest social occasion in its history. One of the largest throngs ever gathered there was at President Tyler's last reception, March 15, 1842. Charles Dickens, then visiting this country, and Washington Irving, who happened to be at the capital for the purpose of receiving his credentials as Envoy to Spain, were both present. DAYS OF SORROW IN THE EXECUTIVE MANSION nPHE first death in the White House was that of President William ■^ Henry Harrison, just one month after his inauguration. Funeral services were held in the East Room. In September, 1842, the wife of President Tyler died there. The third death was that of President Zachary Taylor, July 9, 1850, and the fourth was that of Willie Lin- coln, who passed away in February, 1862. Frederick F. Dent, father of Mrs. U. S. Grant, died in the Executive Mansion in December, 1873. On the first day of January, 1883, at the New Years reception in the White House, the Minister from Hawaii, who at that time was Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, died of heart disease while making his way toward President Arthur. President Garfield, it will be remembered, though much of his last illness was endured at the Executive Mansion, did not die there, but passed the closing hours of his life at Elberon, New Jersey. Colonel Ellsworth, the hero of early war days, lay in State in the Blue Room on the morning of May 25, 1861, and services were held there in the presence of one of the most distinguished gatherings ever assembled in the apartment. A more notable funeral in the same his- toric parlor was that of the victims of the explosion of the big gun on board the Princeton, near Alexandria, Virginia, February 28, 1844. These included Secretary Upshur and the Hon. David Gardiner, of New York. President Tyler himself only escaped through the circumstance that, being then much attached to Mr. Gardiner's daughter, he had stopped to listen to her singing in the cabin. He married the young lady on June 26 of the same year. The ceremony was performed in New York. During President Benjamin Harrison's administration the house of Mr. Tracy, his Secretary of the Navy, was burned, and Mrs. Tracy and Mi3s Tracy lost their lives. The funeral services were held in the East Room of the White House, an apartment which later was the scene of the last ceremonies for Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. BUT ONE PRESIDENT MARRIED THERE ''PHE most notable wedding celebrated at the White House was that J- of Nellie Grant, who was married May 21, 1874, to a young Englishman, Algernon Charles Frederic Sartoris. She had met him on a steamer coming back from England, and it was understood that President Grant did not approve of the match at first, partly because his daughter was only nineteen years old. The ceremony was per- formed at 11 A. M. in the East Room. A breakfast was served in the State dining-room. Fewer than two hundred guests were invited, the list comprising chiefly members of the family, distinguished civil officials, officers of high rank in the Army and Navy, and a dozen or so of the diplomats. The value of the wedding gifts was estimated at sixty thousand dollars. The only White House wedding in which the Chief Executive has taken the bridegroom's part was celebrated June 2, 1886, when Presi- dent Grover Cleveland married Frances Folsom, the daughter of his former law partner. Only a few relatives and notable personages were asked. There was a singular absence of pomp and display, though a presidential salute was fired at the Washington Arsenal. The State apartments were adorned with flowers and tropical plants. The marriage ceremony was performed in the Blue Room. The first wedding at the White House was that of Miss Maria Monroe, the President's daughter, in 1820. She married Samuel L. Gouverneur. During the Hayes regime Miss Lucy Piatt, a niece of Mrs. Hayes, was married at the Executive Mansion to General Russell Hastings, a veteran of the Civil War. General Hastings is an intimate friend of President McKinley, and during the present administration has been a guest at the White House. ^ THE BIRTHPLACE OF TEN CHILDREN 'THE only child born in the White House to a President of the United ^ States during his term of office is Esther Cleveland, who was born September 9, 1893. Nine other children have been born in the White House : Julia Dent Grant, born in the closing days of her grandfather's second term ; two grandchildren of President Tyler ; four children of Col. Andrew Jackson Donelson, born during the Jackson administration ; Mary Louise Adams, granddaughter of John Quincy Adams, born in 1829 ; James Madison Randolph, born during the second term of his maternal grandfather. It is related that when the corner-stone of the Treasury building was laid, Andrew Jackson was asked to supply some special memento, and he complied by clipping a lock from the head of baby Mary Don- elson. When little Mary was christened, both Houses of Congress were invited and the ceremony took place in the East Room, the President holding her in his arms ; Van Buren stood godfather, while CvTa Livingston, daughter of the Secretary of State and the belle and beauty of the administration, officiated as godmother. A few years ago this same child came, a widowed and saddened woman, to Wash- ington, and was glad to accept a clerkship in the great Department whose corner-stone holds her sunny baby curl. The salary of the President is, as every one knows, fifty thousand dollars a year. The Government provides him with nearly everything he requires, barring food, clothing and equipages. It supplies him with a furnished house, a butler and a housekeeper ; a stable and one groom; conservatories filled with flowers, and gardeners to take care of them. Lights, fuel, repairs and a thousand and one incidentals which eat up an ordinary man's income are paid for by Uncle Sam. The President's footman is on the Government pay-roll as a skilled laborer, and the services of skilled stenographers cost him nothing. His carriages and horses he purchases himself at the beginning of his administration. Usually the President has four horses and as many carriages. ^.r W13 d Si* t •», * • • •• ^x. ^; P„o^ .^ 1-^ ■. «o : ^^ °x. 4? * ,^^ % ";:& :. te=il#? ■' .^.'^ -4., ♦^■V.