^ ■^ F 123 .K295 Copy 1 vi t. < <• * f «■<:< i <~ ■ <~ < C ' r (< c-^ C < f 6 -• c «r 4 < < x«**r 4f ■ r ( CC '< mszs DC <« < . LIBRARY OF CONGRES &;< r *c « r < '■■'■<. ( < c < c F) 2.3 - ^J £ '^ fit "cc *- ccc. c c L«CC '. < <• rs*"' r <" < c*«r: c t< « 'C fee 7c«. (CO • '--S ■- = . r-«5C « '/'" *>■ 1 t r cc CC C1 «r< cccC " »<-( ^< c C «c> anks, in the Colored Orphan Asylum and in the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, William Kelly felt a deep interest, and took a seat in their boards, while his brother Robert threw his wonderful energies into the work of reclaiming and educating the vicious, ill-trained, and ignorant children of the hugely, and for so many years, to educational, religious, benevolent and other objects that his judgment approved, but from the legitimate earnings of wisely directed industry, which not only gave ample returns to the capitalist, but to the workmen employed, to the communities built up around their busy establish- ments, and to the nation itself. To such a man as is here presented, the trickery and ma- chinery of politics must, of necessity, be distasteful, and though a pronounced, uncompromising democrat of the old school, he could not be induced to allow himself to become a candidate for office until the autumn of 1855, when his de- sire to see certain laws placed on the statute books, caused him to run for the State Senate. He was elected by a large majority, in a close district, running ahead of his ticket by five hundred votes. Of his course as a Senator but one opinion was ever held, whether by republican or democrat, and it would be difficult to say, whether he was more often consulted by his political friends, or by their opponents. A case so rare can only be accounted for by referring it to that irresisti- ble conviction of his perfect fairness which forced itself upon the minds of all who knew him. His position and standing in the Senate are so clearly defined by the Hon. Henry R. Selden, at that time Lieutenant Governor and President of the Senate, that no apology is needed for intro- ducing a portion of Judge Selden's remarks at the last meeting of the alumni of the Rochester University, in June last. " My personal acquaintance with Mr. Kelly commenced in the beginning of 1857, under circumstances somewhat peculiar, which may, I hope, excuse what would otherwise be unpardonable here, an allusion to myself. Mr. Kelly was then a member of the Senate, over which, with no ac- quaintance with the practice of legislative bodies, I was called to preside. The Senate, in its political character, was equally divided, which rendered it possible for political par- tisanship to make my position a difficult and unpleasant one, and it was not without some anxiety in this respect that I entered upon the discharge of my duties. That none of my fears were realized was largely due, as I believe, to the manliness and generosity of character of Mr. Kelly, and 5 34 to the great, though quiet, control which he exercised over the action of his political friends. As a stranger and poli- tical opponent I had uo special claims to his kindness, but I soon found in him a most valued and faithful friend, and the friendship thus commenced suffered no diminution du- ring his life. " Mr. Kelly was a Senator, worthy of that time-honored name, not a mere partisan but a Statesman, possessed of perfect independence of judgment — remarkably attentive to the duties of his station — and sensitive to the last de- gree, in regard to the honor and dignity of the body of which he was a most conspicuous member. His political convictions were strong, and he maintained his opinions with great modesty and gentleness — with unfailing cour- tesy towards friends and foes — with the most perfect re- spect to opposing opinions — but with invincible firmness. "If, with his well balanced mind, he possessed any quality in excess, it was that of modesty, which, notwith- standing his decision of character, rendered him in a mea- sure undemonstrative, even diffident, 'and prevented him from holding that very commanding position to which his admirable character and great abilities entitled him. Among his associates were able and excellent men, but it is not too much to say in his behalf that in diligence and skill to acquire a perfect understanding of the subject in hand whatever it might be, in clearness, liberality and comprehensiveness of views, he had no superior, and in the qualities of an accomplished gentleman he had no peer. " To some extent a partisan, he was always ready to aid his party friends in the fair attainment of any party object which his judgment approved, but with him the statesman was far above the partisan. Under no political party exi- gency could he be induced to countenance, much less to support, any measure savoring in the Leasl degree, in his view, of unfairness or dishonor. 35 " When he left the Senate, whatever differences of poli- tical opinion might exist between him and other members, I am quite sure that he left behind him none but personal friends — none who did not regard him, not only with sin- cere affection, but with profound respect. His was a char- acter without reproach. Whenever, in the progress of the great work which this institution has before it, it can send forth into the world men like him, taking his life in all its aspects, private and public, as a pattern, it may safely pro- nounce its work well done. " I am aware that I have spoken but coldly of one whose heart throbbed always with the warmest and noblest im- pulses of human nature. A knowledge of the tenderness of sorrow warns me of my inability to touch with sufficient delicacy the severed chords of affection which bound him to his more intimate friends, and in this presence, where there are many who knew him much longer, and whose relations to him were far more intimate than mine, it does not become- me to say more." On leaving the Senate, Mr. Kelly's intention was, to have no more to do with political affairs, partly, because the associations were often repugnant to his whole being, and partly, because of the constantly increasing demands upon his time, and energies, for other purposes. But, aside from these causes, he had no heart to go into the great world except as duty led him. A heavy blow had fallen upon him, the previous year, from which he seemed never, fully, to recover — the death of his only remaining and dearly beloved brother — loved through his childhood, loved and guarded in his youth, loved and honored in his manhood with ever increasing respect and devotion. " It is needless to speak here of Robert Kelly whose memory will long be cherished in the city of New York as a scholar of rare attainments, a man of ripe judgment, of extensive benevolence and of matchless energy. His death 36 which occurred on the 29th of April 1856 was felt as a ca- lamity to the city which he had so long labored to benefit." This paragraph, from one of the papers of that day, may be appropriately supplemented by one from the pen of President Anderson, pronounced over the remains of our friend, as they were about to be laid in the vault by the side of that brother's. " In all the years," said Dr. Anderson, " since the death of his brother Robert, William Kelly seemed to me to bear about with him a widowed heart, Their names are so connected by their more than fraternal affection, that even now, I can not separate them from each other. Their unity of aim and feeling was so entire that they have seemed to me complements each of the other, forming, together, the magnificent proportions of an ideal man. I count it one of the selectest blessings of my life that I have enjoyed the friendship and I trust, the confidence of Wil- liam and Robert Kelly." Had it not been for Wm. Kelly's Christian hope, and the strong faith by which he walked, rather than by sight, the deep sadness of heart that followed his brother's de- cease, would have become a settled melancholy; but against this feeling he rallied all his energies. The care and guardianship of his brother's widow and children, was a loving trust that was most faithfully discharged, and in these duties he found a mournful solace for his, and their loss. So, too, in the fulfilment of plans mutually agreed upon to be carried forward by the surviving bro- ther, should one be taken away — as in the case of Roch- ester University; Robert being President of the Board of Trustees, with the understanding, that if he should die before the accomplishment of certain purposes, his brother William, it' living, should go into the Board of Trustees. Wm. Kelly did go into the Board at its next election, and was its President from that time until his decease. 37 In 1860, the alarming aspect of our public affairs and the excited condition of our whole people, filled Mr. Kelly's mind with the deepest anxiety, and long before it came, he knew that war must come, unless wiser counsels prevailed than those put forth by party leaders. Although the course pursued by a large portion of his own party was in oppo- sition to his own views, yet in the faint hope of being able to reconcile some conflicting interests, allay party strife and at least to do what he might to bring the moral power of a great State to withstand the revolutionary spirit then begin- ning to organize and take substantial form, he accepted the nomination of the democratic state convention of that year for the office of Governor — *a nomination made by accla- mation, without an effort on his part, without a pledge, or a promise, of any kind whatsoever. But the overwhelm- ing strength of the republican party overcame the efforts of his friends, retaining Gov. Morgan in office for the next two years, and placing Abraham Lincoln in the Presiden- tial chair. As he had long predicted, the war came, and though he never hesitated to say that he regarded the war as unneces- sary and easily to have been avoided, yet when it did come, he put himself to the work like a true patriot, giving his time and his money freely to the cause, aiding to raise regiments for the field and following all military move- ments with intelligent scrutiny ; keeping himself tho- roughly posted by constant correspondence with the best informed officers in the field, and through them rather than through the press, and the self constituted almoners of a nation's bounty, seeking the most judicious objects for the contributions of himself and his friends. In the month of October, 18G4, the arbitrary arrest of the New York State Agents in the city of Washington, caused Gov. Seymour to appoint Judge Amasa J. Parker, Judge Win. F. Allen and Hon. William Kelly commis- 38 missioners to represent the State at Washington and appeal to the President for the release of the Agents. They did wait upon the President and were by him referred to the War Minister. The result is a matter of history, and in a paper like this, need not be followed. With his brother commissioners, Mr. Kelly returned home, to await the progress of events ; well assured in his own mind, from what he knew to be correct information in regard to the internal affairs of the Confederacy, that it must fall, with the first movements of the federal forces in the coming spring. These expectations were realized, hostilities ceased, and the war ended. During the war, Mr. Kelly had kept up correspondence with many of his old personal friends in Maryland, in parts of Virginia, and in Kentucky, with occasional letters, through army channels, to old business friends in other states ; so that he was enabled, at an early day, after the cessation of hostilities, to communicate with them and obtain informa- tion in regard to their condition. Many of them had suf- fered greatly during the war, some had been reduced to poverty, and almost every one to great pecuniary embar- rassments. To lend these suffering ones a helping hand and enable them again to resume business, he assumed as a Christian duty, and discharged it as he did all other du- ties, reaping even here, a rich reward. Could the private correspondence, locked up atEllerslie, be spread out before Mr. Kelly's intimate friends, they would be astonished at the numberless ramifications into which his thoughtful benevolence extended, and which never would have been known to others but for the grateful letters of acknow- ledgement. A single example by way of illustration. About the year 1832, or 1833, a certain Colonel in one of tin' Cotton States, who had been doing business with the Kellys for several years, came to New York and entering their counting room, inquired for Mr. Kelly. William 39 Kelly, young as lie was, even more youthful in appearance than in years, replied " I am Mr. Kelly." " No, no ! I want to see the head of the house, your father perhaps — Mr. William Kelly. " Th e reply — ' ' Our father, Mr. Robert Kelly died in 1825 — I am William Kelly " — utterly aston- ished the visitor. " Is it possible that you, young man, are the William Kelly I have been corresponding with these ten years? IamCol , of " It is needless to say, that he was soon satisfied and ever after was a warm friend of Mr. Kelly. He had been a great sufferer by the war, indeed almost ruined ; several of his sons had been killed, he was begin- ning to feel the weight of years, and that his condition was well nigh hopeless, when a letter reached him with words of kindness, and proffers of assistance to resume his business. Matters were speedily arranged for him, and by close attention to his business, the remaining years of his life were passed in comfort, if not in his former afflu- ence. To the day of his death, which did not long pre- cede that of his friend, the final expression of every letter from the sturdy old Colonel was, " William Kelly, I love you !" That was enough. It was from the very depths of the Colonel's heart! With the exception of a seat in the Philadelphia con- vention held in August 1866, for the purpose of taking measures to re-establish the State Governments of the south, and to check the aggressions of the Federal govern- ment, Mr. Kelly took no active part in politics after the election of Mr. Lincoln, but devoted himself, more and more, to educational and philanthropic enterprises, — until his failing health in '70 and '71 compelled him to lay many of them aside. His eyes, which had been severely taxed through all his life, were the first to give way and he was obliged to avail himself of the eyes of others. Though no child of his own had grown up to call Wil- 40 liam Kelly by the sacred name of Father, there were those who had been reared in his family, almost from childhood, who gave to him such love and reverence as no ties of blood could have strengthened. To one of these, whose guardian he had been, and whom he styles in his will " my dear companion and friend," — he entrusted all his affairs that demanded writing. Still Mr. Kelly gained but very little. A low fever was upon him during all the sum- mer of 1870, which he had not strength to throw off, and a general debility of the whole system followed. With the spring of 1871 Mr. Kelly seemed to improve — but the improvement was more apparent than real. Still he moved among his fellow men, whereever his presence was needful, and however much he suffered, he gave no sign. At the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of Rochester University in June '71, (the last over which Mr. Kelly presided,) at the close of a most important session, during which he had displayed even more than his usual quiet power and guided the deliberations with consummate skill, he retired to his own private parlor for a few hours of repose, remarking at the same time to a very intimate friend, " I fear that it is becoming unsafe to trust me any more in positions of responsibility." To the " why ?" of his friend, Mr. Kelly replied, " During the last three hours of the session, I was utterly unable to see a single person in the room, and only identified the speakers by their voices." A voyage across the Atlantic had been under discussion for more than a year, but both Mr. Kelly and his family were averse to leaving home, and it was not until late in October. 71, that the absolute necessity for getting beyond the reach of business calls, to some place where perfect quirt and uninterrupted rest could be obtained, prevailed over all other considerations. On the 15th of November '71 Mr. Kelly sailed for Liver- 41 pool, in the Wyoming, accompanied by his wife, his sister and one who had grown up in their family as a daughter, with his nephew, Mr. Bobert Kelly, who had returned from Europe but a few days previous — just in time to ac- company his uncle's family and relieve them from all care in their journeyings. His friend, and ours, Mr. James 0. Sheldon, Ex-President of this Society, with his family, were fellow passengers with the Kellys, seeking in a milder clime the health denied to Mrs. Sheldon on this side the Atlantic. The voyage told severely upon Mr. Kelly's strength, but after his arrival in England and a little rest, he seemed better, and was able to move about a little. But the cold, damp fogs of London affected him unfavorably and a change became necessary. Leaving Mr. Sheldon in Lon- don about the middle of December, the Kellys removed to the southern coast of England and took up their resi- dence at Torquay, in Devonshire. In the pure mild air of that delightful climate, and with the home-like comforts of the Belgrave Hotel, Mr. Kelly improved, very perceptibly, and his friends, on both sides of the ocean, were cheered with the hope of his speedy recovery. But the cold fastened upon him in London could not be thrown oft* and dangerous symptoms were soon developed. He continued to sink, until the night of Sunday the 14th of January, 1872, when the sixty-five years record of a singularly noble, pure and useful life was closed, in perfect peace and in the presence of those most near and dear to him. Mr. Sheldon, then at Nice, was telegraphed, and with his well known kindness hastened to join the family, now left desolate. Arrangements were made for their imme- diate return to the United States, but owing at first, to cir- cumstances beyond their control, and subsequently in obedience to medical advice, they remained in England G 42 until the 11th of April, when they sailed in the Adriatic, and arrived in New York on the 21st, bringing with them the coffined form, only, of him whose spirit had gone up to Him who gave it. The funeral was attended at the Tabernacle Baptist Church, at two o'clock p. m.,on the 25th of April. Long before the hour for service, the aisles of the church were thronged by rich and poor ; by the retainers on the estate at Ellerslie ; by the many recipients of his bounties in by- gone years — some occupying stations of honor and trust, others living in comfort and usefulness — by personal and by family friends who had come to stand for a moment by the coffin and drop a tear, mayhap, over the remains, of one so revered and enshrined in their affections. Rev. Dr. Win. R. Williams, a life long friend, preached the sermon ; a beautiful portraiture of a noble life and as truthful as it was beautiful. Rev. Dr. Anderson, President of Rochester University, delivered an address, and other distinguished clergymen, of whom a large number were present, took part in the solemn and touching services. The procession moved from the church to the Marble Cemetery in Second street, and there deposited, in the family vault, all that was mortal of William Kelly. The comments of the Press, both when the intelligence of his death was received in this country, and at the time of his funeral, were uniform in the expression of profound respect for the man, while the utterances of those who were admitted to his friendship, would appear exaggerated to those who only knew him at a distance. The words of Prof. Kendrick at the National Baptist Edu- cational Convention held in Philadelphia in May last ex- pressed this idea, when he said, " I felt in drawing up this resolution that any thing which expressed adequately my own feelings would seem in a public resolution, improperly hyperbolical." 43 Do not the hearts of some, yes, many, in this society, endorse this further expression of Dr. Kendrick and make it their own ? He said " I feel that it was one of the privi- leges of my life to be acquainted with Mr. Kelly. I feel that it was an honor and a benefit to know him ; to meet that genial smile ; to meet that unfailing gentlemanliness and urbanity with which you were sure to be always greeted, and to come in contact with a character that, in every relation, alike public and private, seemed to me to be as near perfection as any character with which it has been my privilege in life to become acquainted. His home was an earthly paradise, alike in its external appointments and in the sweet and gentle influence that presided over it. From that home radiated and went forth an influence in every direction, of which it would be difficult to say whether it were more potent or benignant." Said Dr. Anderson, as he looked down upon the coffin in the Tabernacle church " After more than twenty years acquaintance with him around whose remains we have met to-day, I can recall no word or action which I would wish blotted out or forgotten. This is not the unguarded utte- rance of one in whom personal affection has warped and weakened the capacity for cool and critical judgment. I know that there are many here to-day who have known William Kelly longer and more intimately than I, who would, from the very depths of the heart join with me in this expression." Such were the opinions of strong-minded and thought- ful men in other walks of life than those in which we met him. How well they accord with the feeling and the judg- ment of those so long associated with him in this Society, the unwonted expressions and overpowering feelings exhi- bited at our last annual meeting abundantly testify. If Mr. Kelly's long continued and valuable services to this Society, and his interest in everything pertaining to rural 44 life, have not been specially dwelt upon in this paper, it is because the society lias already placed upon its records, in the " Transactions for 1871," its appreciation of his exalted worth as a man, his enlightened devotion to the great inte- rests of agriculture, and its recognition of his great services to the Society. The especial object for which this paper has been pre- pared, is, not to present Mr. Kelly as the successful mer- chant ; or as the skillful financier, able to retire with a fortune before he was thirty years of age ; not as the master of a noble domain on which he resided like a Country Gen- tleman of the olden day dispensing a refined and elegant hospitality — not, even, to hold him up for admiration, or example, as a friend of education, a patron of universities and colleges, a worker in, and contributor to, almost every religious and benevolent object of the day; but rather to show William Kelly, the man, in his pure, unselfish and noble simplicity ! He was not perfect. Sometimes, even in his manhood, the hot Irish blood that coursed in his veins would, for an instant, yet only for an instant, suffuse his cheeks ; but, you looked again, and it had disappeared — and the blue of his eye would be as sweet and sunny as the summer sky over which the thunder cloud lias tlitted. Possibly there might, sometimes, be an indication of an iron will, but you looked at the man with his great, massive brain and open, manly countenance, and listened to his fair, unvarnished statement — and confessed yourself in error. At home and abroad, in the house and by the way, he was ever the same dignified, courteous, gentle, social, warm hearted gen- tleman. What was the secret of William Kelly's power over him- self — a [tower that gave him such mastery over others? The answer is clear, distinct and simple. William Kelly lived, ever, as in a school that was to prepare him tor a 45 higher life ; and as in a school the disciple seeks the coun- sel and cultivates the friendship of his teacher, so in the school of the world, William Kelly early studied the science of life under the teachings of the Divine Master, whose friendship he faithfully and reverently cultivated and whose precepts he accepted with undoubting faith, counting all for whom that Master died, his brethren. To him, the in- junction of the apostle " honor all men," was a divine com- mand and it was one of his strong characteristics, that he recognized in the person of the most lowly, that divine image which made even the beggar his peer. To the divine model he earnestly and uniformly endea- vored to conform his own life. With the humility and meekness of childhood he sought direction from above con- tinually. In the morning, at noon, and in the evening, for a little while he was unseen of men, from whose presence he had glided away, that he might bow the knee before Him who seeth in secret, and when he came forth, it was with more than his own strength to do the Master's work. Said the Rev. Dr. Williams, his friend and pastor for many years — " Could claims to the favor of a holy God and to the bliss of heaven rest on morality and beneficence and in the wide and systematic usefulness to his fellow men, where could we look to see a fairer right established to such blessedness than in behalf of William Kelly ? But he relied, as he often and earnestly acknowledged, on the Redeemer's sacrifice and the efficacy of Christ's finished righteousness. In his very last days and to a near member of his family he spoke of the error of seeming — to use his own emphatic phrase, ' to wish to eke out the righ- teousness of Christ by merits of our own.' His trust in that Savior's work was confiding, unqualified and entire." And thus did our friend lay him down in his last sleep. Gentlemen of the Society! You, especially, who are in early manhood and in the prime of life ! The fully rounded, 46 well-proportioned character of William Kelly, though im- perfectly and but partially delineated, is held up for your study and imitation. Whatever may be your position in society, you can emulate his noble simplicity, his spot- less purity, his gentle courtesy, his unswerving integrity and his child-like faith. To this State, the example of William Kelly as a Man, in all that constitutes true man- hood, as a Citizen, in all the multitudinous points through which he touched his fellow men, and as a Christian Gen- tleman of the fairest type — is a rare legacy and of price- less value. It is with the hope that this legacy bequeathed to us by our beloved friend may be made available in the true education and training of many young men in our State, that this memorial is presented to the ISTew York State Agricultural Society. i> >> . 3330 .. ->>-» sag* ; ,-.:>-» >» --. ^x>> ^»^ > > .V?J> , :>> ■>>>.. fm3^:2:^ : 2!g3*3* Si' 0> >2>3f sSa ^--^- 3 Jp > j> i->-2J tf ;>, D >X$ »- > ' H>^ >J > J ,J); > .? >> » ■ > ]>^>}>" > ' > >> -> - > >.v> ? ■> > '•• y> .- >> ~ -o> -': ^> \j> >.• sdt> ' 3» > > JO > > > ; > >> >^> - > > > > » > > ^ > 30 ^ ) > . -j > v J> .'■>-» -^. > >:•>>.».> > > > y > J> ->- ■ > >.v ,', ,* , "> '«••) > /-> > ) > > "> ., > ^ 3 > .; > •-> ^> 3> >> j > r » >■->• ■■ > > » : 3 v. -VT»>^ ~> ':T> -^' . > > > W2^ ■ ■ > > fXi.-SC5^ 6 > >-"^8S ^ >-» » )■> 'J J Jl,l> > o » ->>- > > o > > » 0> v - ' ■■•, - ,f ,^ / >■ ;» ';•> ^ r» > .; ?» >-- ^ > > > -»> ' , - >> .^^* ^> '■)->i"3».-.^' LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 107 445 3 ■!: ■