^/f /i^B n^ IN fj^^"^ .i^^t^A^' ^ 6ec^/A /■^ ^^ f-^e-'^f^'-'^ ^^7/ /^//^/-^ ^^ T^-e^^ /^^V 0//^-^//J/O^f/^J^/^/^^ %\\ itttmoiiam. HON. JOim M. MOMIEAD. 4. RALEIGH: NICHOLS k r.OKMAN, BOOK AND JOB rBINTERS, AIDCCCLXVIII. ■Mi' insr ivn:E:]:iN/co:F^i^A^:vc. From tbo Grociisbot-o' (N. C.) Patricjt, S<-'iitcmber,".lKG3. J)EAT1I OF GOV. jMOREIIEAD— TOWN MEETING. On receipt of the iutolligciicc of the death of Gov. IMoREHEAD, a mcetiiii^- of citizens was called liy Mayor Eckel, in the Conrt-ITonsc, on the evening of the 20th, at which Rali)h (irorrell, Lyndon Swaini and John Long were appointed a connnittee to draft resolutions suitable to the occasion; and a committee of fifteen, to-wit: Richard Sterling, W. A. Caldwell, D. F. Caldwell, James Jones, M. D. "smith, A. G. Brcnizcr, J. W. Albright, W. D. Trotter, J. Hildcsheimer, Dr. J. Q. Beasley, Peter Adams, J. R. May, R. M. Sloan, David Scott, and Dr. A. C. Cald- well, to wait at the railroad station, at 3 o'clock in the morning, receive the remains, and attend them to the fam- ily residence. On the morning of the 30th, at 9 o'clock, the meeting ro-asscmblcd, and, in the unavoidable absence of Mr. Gor- rcll, chairman of the connnittee appointed to draft resolu- tion, Mr. Swaim oflercd the resolutions below, ])refuccd l»y remarks, as follows: Li consideration of the eminent position occupied by our deceased fellow-townsman— his age and puljlic services — wc owe lifting public demonstration of respect to his remains and to his'memory. His force of character, and talents as a ])opular orator, would have made him a "man of mark" in any age or country. These characteristics, avc know, were 'largely directed, throughout his life, to patriotic pur- poses, and entitled him to the public gratitude. His life illustrated tlic history of our State for nmuy years, ])arti- cularly in the public ini])rovcnieiits thereof, which have added so iiiucli to the sul)staiitial advancement and })ros- l)erity of the people. More, perhaps, than that of any other man, has his wonderful energy for many years per- vaded and extended the iron fil)rcs of our system of State improvements. For the last forty years he 1ms l)cen more or less in pub- lic life — most of the time Avhere the interests of the whole State occupied his mind. For forty years and more his hours of social leisure have been passed among- the citizens of this town and county. Most of his town cotem]ioraries of forty years ago have passed aAvay. Now Ids time has come. Ilis genial smile, and mellow laugh, and s])arkling humor will cheer the circle of his ncig]il)ors no more. And how painful the void in his household, where his cheerful and kindly spirit was like continual sun-shine! But we do not assemble noAv to listen to an cidogy ui)on his life — to draw lessons from his frailties or to laud his virtues. We come to bury hiui: to perform the last sad office of neig]il)ors and friends ?uul fellow-citizens to the mortal remains of John M. Morehead; to coimiiit liis spirit to our common Lord and Father, Him " Who sees ■with equal eye, as Lord of all, The hei'o perish aud the sparrow fall;" In whose hands are the issues of life and deatli for every one of His cliildren. May the dead rest in ])eace, and the living lay it tb heart. Inasmucli, as it has pleased the great Disposer of all events, after a protracted illness to call from time to eter- nity our much esteemed and highly respected townsman and fellow-citizen, the Hon. John M. Morehead, — we deem it meet and appropriate to give tliis pul)lic ex})res- sion of our sense of his many virtues, and of our jtrofound sorrow at the loss whicli we have sustained liy his dcatli; therefore — Rcsolced, That we deeiily deplore the Iohh, in him, of one of our oldest and most valuable and useful citizcn.s — that, as a tribute of respect to his memory, wa recommend that all places of business shall be closed and all business suspended in town, from 9 o'clock to- morrow until the close of the funeral services. licsohrd, That we will attend his burial and perform for him the last sad offices of the living to the dead, by committinj,'- his mortal re- mains to the grave, till God shall bid them rise. HON. JOHN ]\r . ]\r D E H E A P licftolvi'd, That \vc sincerely symptitbise with the bereaved family of our departed friend, in this afHictive visitation of Divine Providence, and aasure them of onr fellowship in their sorrows. llemlocd, Tliat a copy of these resolutions be forwarded to the widow and family of the deceased, and also coi)ies for publication in the town paper. The resolutions were uuauiuiously ado})tcd. The committee having the l)ody in charge reported that the funeral will take place, from the residence of the de- ceased, on to-morrow, the 31st, at lU o'clock, and reported the following named citizens as pall-l)earers: Ur. Wm. R. Holt, of Lexington; Hon. James Ruffin, of Alamance; A. S. Buford, of Virginia; and John A. Gilmer, Rail)]) Gorrell, David vScott, Peter Adams, Robert M. Sloan, Richard Sterling, A. R. Eckel, of (jrreensl.)oro'. A. R. ECKEL, Cliiun. R. SlEULINt;, Scc'lj. rriiin the Grceui-iburo r;ilrii)t. THE DEATH OF GOV. MOREHEAD—MEETIXC^ . OF THE ]3.\R OF GUILFORD COUNTY. A^ meeting of the IJar of GuiH'ord count}' was lichl on Tuesday of the Terni of the Su[)erior Court now in ses- sion, in the Court-House; ju'csent, Judge D. (L Fowle and a very full attendance of the meml)ers of the ])rofcssion and many citizens. The meeting was called to order Ity Judgt; Iverr, on whose motion Ralph Gorrell, Es(|., was called to the Cliair, and Jolm IT. Dillard and Wm. L. Scott selected as Secretaries. Judge KeiT then said it Avas his melanclioly dutv to announce to the meetinu- tlie death of tlielr hit(; profossioual In-otlicr, John M. Moheiiead, and moved the appointment of a committee of tlirc(> to i)reparc a scries of resolutions expressive of the sense of the meml)ers of the Bar in the loss which they had sustained; and the motion being concurred in, the Chairman appointed Judge Kerr, Thomas Ruffin, Jr., and J. R. McLean as the connnittee. The committee after an absence of a few minutes re- turned and tlirough Judge Kerr, their Chairman, reported the following preamlde and resolutions: In the month of August last ])y a mehuiclioly dispensa- tion of Divine Providence, North Carolina, iu the death of John M. Morehead, was bereaved of one of her most enterprisino- and patriotic statesman, and tlic Bar of Guil- ford of its oldest and most distinguislied member, its orna- ment and object of its just pride. > For many years he was the acknowledged leader in the circuit in which he practised, and for industry and energy in the preparation of his cases, and ability in the argu- ment of them, especially to the Jury, lie was never sur- passed by any man we have known. To his general ability as an advocat(> and lawyer, hp united the higher attractions of an amiaV)le temijer, a uni- form courtesy in his intercourse with his brethren, and to the Junior members of the Bar was Und, ])eyond the de- mands of mere professional fellowship, exhilntnig at all times a generous sympathy with them in their efforts to rise in their calling, causing them to feel that his was no mlculatimj friendsTn'p, but the genuine fruit of a noble na- ture, too exalted for the indidgence c^f envy and too con- scious of its own real power to fear the competition of others. . . As a statesman his name is indissoluldy associated witli those of the most venerable and illustrious sons of North Carolina: his most enduring monument are her great works of lienevolence and Internal Imi)rovcments which his ge- nius did so much to originate and pci'maneutly establish. In the fullness of his years he Avas taken IVom life, leav- ino- to us as a rich inheritance the- fruits of his labors for the i)ublic u'ood. and the memory of his ennobling example. 'V\\(i results of his pu1)lic services ))elong in common to us all: liis example as a lawyer is the especial heritage of his HON. JOHN JI . MORE 11 K A D . brethren of the ]]ar, who keeping' it in constant memory will rise hy its iniluencc to higher de-^^'- ^Ir. Settle, on ju'esenting the alioA'e resolutions, and ask- ing tliat tliey l)e recorded in the ^Minutes of tlie Com't. acconi})anied tliem with llie following remarks: May it please your Honor : I was directed ])y a nu'eting of the J3ar held here on yesterday to lay before yonr Honor the resolutions of that meeting, with the recpiest that they be spread upon the Minutes of your Honor's Court. I inherited, may it })lease yom- Honor, reverence and respect for Gov. MoREnEAl), and I trust that I shall be indulged while I recite a few of the many incidents of his eventful life. He was born in Pittsylvania county, \'ir- ginia. on tlie fnurtli day of July, 170(5. His parents re- 1 X .M K M O ]; [A >r . moved to Rockinulmiii coiiuty. Nortli Carolina, when lio wap two j'cars.of auc. They were not rIow in discover- uvj: that Providence had lavi^;]led her l)onnties upon their cliihl, and althonirli in very moderate circnmstance?, they determined to develoji liy (^dneation liis u'reat mental powers. In those days I learn that it Avas a rare tliinu' to meet in Rockin_o;ham a man who had studied Latin, and such a tliinii' as a classical school was uidieard of. For the want of a better instructor in 1810-'ll, old Air. INforehead placed his son Joiix with his neig'hlior and friend, my father, who had studied Latin and Greek for a few months at Caswell Court House, and liad just obtained a license to practise law; and there, ])ctween the teacher and his solitary stu- dent, commenced a friendship and intimacy which death alone terminated. He went from my father's care to that of the Rc\". Dr. Caldwell, of Guilford county, where he was i)reparcd for Colleii'c. He joined the k^enior Class, and here at Colleu'c as well as at Dr. Caldwell's, he dis- played those sanu' traits of character Avhich afterwards marked his life. At school and college he at once marched to the head of his class, and such was his proficiency in the lan,ii'uages, that he was taken from the Senior Class when half advanced and made a Tutor in the University, and at the Connncncement in 1817, when his class g-radu- ated, the faculty aAvarded him a diploma. Shortly there- after he connnenced the study of law with the Hon. Archi- bald D. i\Iurpliy, and ol)tained a license to practise in June, ISll), and settled in Wentworth, the County Seat of Rock- in,ti'ham, where he soon o])tained a full practice. In 1821, he was elected to the House of Commons from Rocking"- ham, and shortly thereafter, upon his marria.u'C with Ann Eliza, the dauoliter of the late Col. Robert Lindsay, he removed to Guilford, the place of liis residence until his death. In 1826-'27, he represented Guilford counly in the HON. J O II N M . M R E H E A D . House of Commons. From this period until 1840, he de- voted himself to the practice of his profession, in which he Avas the acknowledged leader in all the courts lie attended. In 1840, as the Whig candidate for Governor, he con- ducted a campaign against the Hon. R. M. Saunders as the Democratic candidate, which was marked liy great al>ility on l)oth sides, and is remembered and spoken of to this day as a 1)attle of giants. The result was, his triumphant election. For liis second term he was opposed l)y a gen- tleman of no ordinary ability, the late Louis D. Henry, but again, as on all previous and subsequent occasions, when a candidate, he proved to be the favorite of the peo- ple. Upon the expiration of his term of office as Governor, ho devoted himself to his private affairs, and only came Ijcfore the people to plead for great works of internal im- provement and oljjects of charity and l)enevolencc, until 1858-'9, when he again represented Guilford in the House of Commons. It was at that session that I realized the the fact which I had often heard from others, that John M. Morehead was the greatest man the State of North Carolina had ever produced. At that session he and his plans of internal improvement were made an ob- ject of vigorous attack by men of much ability. For a time the attack seemed overwhelming, and Gov. More- head's friends feared that he would not l)e able to repel it. For five days he sat and received it in silence, Init when he rose and as he proceeded with his defence, friend, foe and every Ijody else was struck with amazement. We could scarcely realize the fact that any man possessed sncli powers of argument and of eloquence. His vindication was so complete that even his assailants o]ienly acknowledged it. In 1 860 he represented Guilford in the Senate, and was one of the Commissioners from Nortli Carolina to the Peace Congress at Wasliington. He was a member of tlic 10 IN MEMO RI AM Confederate Congress. It can ))e truthfully said of liim that he never souglit office; indeed he seems to have had an aversion to holding- office. I suppose that Gov. More- head has left Ijut little written material from which his history can l)e gathered; he never spoke or wrote for dis- play, luit always to accomplish some oliject, and we have only to look at Nortli Carolina to read his history. We read it in her works of Internal Improvement from the mountains to the sea-board. You cannot look at your magnificent institutions for the care and protection of your deaf, dumb, ])lind and insane, without remembering the eloquent efforts of John M. MoREHEAD in their behalf. Nortli Carolina has produced some few men wlio were doubtless the superiors of Gov. Morehead in certain de- partments. Judge Pearson, Judge Rufifin and Mr. Badger were, I suppose, his superiors in legal learning. Pcrliaps others were more accurate in political information, but tak- ing him all in all, he was by far the greatest man that North Carolina has ever produced. His private life is as well worthy of imitation as his public life. He was a man of the strictest morality. He took a bright view of life, was happy and contented himself and tried to make others so. I well rcmcml)er an expression used V)y liim, the last time I saw him. The conversation liad turned for some time upon the troubles whicli now surround our country, when Gov. Morehead dismissed the subject with the re- mark, that " I was always a great Providence man; I leave all these things to Providence, well assured that he will In-ing good out of it yet." It was doulitless that principle that made him all that he Avas. I now ask your Honor to direct tliat the resolutions passed by the hnv bo spread ujion tlic Minutes of this Court. BH II O N H N M . M () R E HEAD 11 From the Patriot. THE LATK GOA^p]RNOR MOREHEAD. At a laru'c asseinl>lag-o of citizens of the County of Rock- iimiiani, convened at Wcntwortli on tlic yOth of Octol>cr 1S()G, Ijein.ir Tuesday of Su})erior Court, on motion Dr, E. T. Brodnax was appointed Cliairman, and Jones W. Burton, Es(|., and ^Maj. W. S. Allen were requested to act as Secretaries ; When Gen. A. jNI. Scales explained the object of the meeting to be to adopt resolutions expressive of the deep regret of the citizens of the county at their loss in the death of their late county-man, John M. Morehead. Gen. Scales concluded by giving a few thrilling incidents connected with the late eminent deceased. On motion made and seconded, the Chairman api)ointed Gen. A. M. Scales, Col. F. Watkins and M. D. King, Esq., a committee to draft resolutions exi)ressive of the sense of the meeting. The committee retired for that pur})Ose. In tlie absence of the committee, Joseph Holderliy, Es(i., ad- dressed the meeting as follows: Mr. Chairman: — I do not design making any extended remarks in relation to the life and character of the distin- u-uishcd personage to whose memory this meeting has con- vened lor the purpose of paying a last triljute of respect. Jjut as my accpuiintancc commenced with the deceased more than half a century since, I ask permission to relate a few of the more prominent incidents of his life, which I do more for the purpose of giving some able eulogisty«c/'6', than with a view of adding any thing to the character of the illustrious ])crsonage whose loss the whole country mourns. It has l)ccn published in some of the i)apcrs, that Go\ . ]\IoREHEAD was a native of this county; this is a mistake; 12 I N M E M R I A M he was a native of the County of Pittsylvania, A'^irginia, Avlicrc he was born on tlie fourtli day of July 171)0. His fatlicr removed from thence to this county when his son John was but two years of age. He died on the 2Tth day of August last, being seventy years, one month and twen- ty-three days old. At an early age he connncnced going to scliool, M'liich he continued to do until he graduated at the University of North Carolina in the year 1817; soon after, he com- menced the study of law with .Judge Murphy, and obtain- ed license in 1819, and settled at this place, Avlicre, with- out any apparent effort on his part, he soon entered upon a lucrative practice, notwithstanding he had to compete with intellects such as those possessed l)y a Ruffni, a Mur- phy, a Settle and a Yancey. He was elected to the House of Connnons from this County in the year 1821, and in the year 1822 removed to the County of Guilford and settled in Greensl)oro', the ])lace of his residence at the time of his death. At differ- ent times, tliough not desiring it, he was sent from Guil- ford to one or the other branches of the Legislature; and in tlie year 1840, in the great contest between Harrison and V^an Buren, he was selected by his party as their leader, Gen. R. M. Saunders l)eing liis competitor for Governor of tlie State. Up to this time Gov. Moreiiead had i)aid Ijut little attention to national politics, and con- sequently coml)atted so formidable an adversary at a dis- advantage; Imt, notAvithstanding, at t1ie close of tlie cam- l)aign. it apjjcared he had defeated liis distiiiguislied and eloquent rival ])y a majority of more than eight thousand votes. Two years after, he was o})posed l)y the Hon. L. D. Henry, a gentlenuui of great al)ility, whom he also de- feated, and closed his last term as Governor in the winter of 1844. From this time Gov. ]\roREiTEAr) turned his at- tention more particularly to his private affairs, whicli lie continued to do until the eonnneuecnient oi" our lute troubles, when he was elected to the Confederate Congress, in which body he served two years, and was never again a candidate for any office. I will, sir, close my hasty and imperfect sketch Ijy say- ing, that Gov. MoREHEAD was the most remarkable man it has ever been my fortune to know. All who knew him admit that he was a man of transcendant ability; and while he never attached himself to any Church, he was regarded by those who knew him best, as a num of singu- lar purity of character; and it may Avell be said of him what Shakespeare makes Anthony say of Brutus — His life was t,'('utU'. ami the elements So mixed iu him, that nature might staiul up, Amt say to all the world, '•T/tis ivas a man." North Caroliha will long, lung cherish his memory as her great benefactor. I hope, sir, that this meeting will appoint a committee whose duty it shall be to select some one to deliver an eulogy upon the life and character of the deceased, on Tuesday of our next INIay Court, who will be able to do justice to his exalted merits. The committee now returned, and reported through their Chairman, Gen. Scales, the following resolutions: Resolved, That the citizens of Kockiugham county have heard with deeji .sorrow, of the death of their former distinguished county-man, John M. MoiiEnsAi), who for nearly half a century devoted much of his time to the subject of Internal Improvement, and in endeavor- ing to develope the resources of North Carolina. Resolved, That in his deJith the State hns sustained an irreparable loss, but we must all bow in humble submission to the will of God "who doeth all things well." Resolved, That we dee^ily sympathize with his bereaved widow, witli his children and other relatives. Resolved, That the Chairman of this meeting appoint a committee whose duty it shall be to select a speaker to deliver at this i)lace, on Tuesday of our next May Court, a eulogy upon the life and charao- ter of the deceased. Resolved, That the family of the deceased be furnished with a copy of these proceedings, and that the editor of The Greenshorei' Fatriot be requested to publish the same. 14 IX ME MO IMAM. All of which resolutions Avcre ado|)tecl bj'- acclamation. In ol)Gclicncc to the 4tli resolution, the Chairman appoint- ed Gov. Reid, Gen. Scales and Joseph Holderby, Esq., a committee to select a speaker, who forthwith reported that they had chosen Judge Kerr. The Judge being informed of his selection, consented to deliver the address on Tues- day of May County Court next. After the reading of the resolutions. Judge Kerr and Gov. Reid being called upon, delivered short but most eloquent and thrilling speeches. On motion, the meeting then adjourned. E. T. BRODNAX, Chmn. Jones W. Burton, ) c' , • W. S. Allen, f Secrdanes. ijmw\'!i^m» mmmm mmmmmmw m mmim 0-JELJkM?T01Sr Life and Character of Joliii M. Moreliead, LATE GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, Df.livered at Wentworth, on Tuesday, February 2Gth, 18C7, before the Me-meees or THE Bar, akd the Citizens of the County of Eockingham, AT THEIR request, BY i3:onsr. j o et 3>j E i^ :e=l. of CAS^VELL COUNTY. CORRESPONDENCE. Wentworth, February 2Gth, 18G7. At a mectino; of tlio citizens and meniljcrs of the Bar this day held in the Court House in Wentworth, on mo- tion Robert B. Watt, Esq., was called to the Chair. Hon. J. R. McLean offered the following resolutions: Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be tendered to the Hon. John Kerr, for his able and eloquent Address upon the life and char- acter of the late Gov. John M. Moreuead, and that he be requested to furnish a copy of the same for publication. Resolved, That the Hon. A. M. Scales, Geo. L. Aiken, Esq., Dr. E. T. Brodnax, Hon. I). S. Reid and John 11. Dillard, Esq., be appoint- ed a committee to communicate the proceedings of this meeting to Mr. Kerr. Wliieh were unanimously adoi)ted. ROBERT B. WATT, Climn. Hon. John Kerr: Sir: Li oljedience to the above resolutions we liave the lionor and tlie ])lcasure to tender to you the tlianks of all who lieard your truly eloquent ami a]iproin"iate Address tliis day (h^livorod, and in tlie BBSBi^BiDBBBaSl name of the liar and the comnuniity at hirue, we earnestly solicit a copy of tlic same for pnltlication. Allow us to cxjiress onr own o-ratification, and to add onv solicitation to that of the meetinsr. A. M. SCALES, J). S. REID, GEO. L. AIKEN, Dr. E. T. BRODNAX. JOHN II. DILLARl). Wentworth, February 2Gth, 1807. Gentlemen: Your note of this date accompanied with a copy of the proceedino'S of a meeting- of the Bar, and citizens of the County of Rockingham, lield this day in Wentworth, has l)een received. The copy of my Address whicli you rerpiest me to furnisli for puldication shall 1)C placed at your disposal in due time. 1 am dec]ily impressed witli thankfulness to my 1)rcthren of tlie Bar, and to the people of Rockingham for the gen- erous spirit in wliich they received my humble elibrt to render a tribute of honor to the memory of one of the greatest men our State has ever clierished or ever lost, and can but regret, that the tribute itself falls so far short of doing justice to tlie merits of the illustrious subject to which it refers. With lugh respect and warm regard, I remain vour friend, and oljedient servant, JOHN KERR. Gen. A. M. Scales, David S. Rcid, George L. Aiken, E. T. Brodnax, John H. Dillard, Committee. ORATION " Great men are the guide posts and landmarks in the State. The credit of such men, at court and in the nation. is tlie sole cause of all the public measures." Such was the opinion of Burke, himself the greatest statesman of Europe, at the brightest era of its statesmen. It is sustained liy the testimony of History and the re- llections of all well-inhn-mcd minds. HON. JOHN M . Jr R E H E A D 17 Wc arc forced to respect great men. Tlicir influence lor good or for evil is to a great extent irresistible. If tliey 1)C virtuous wc should likewise honor tlieni, and tluis aid tltem, in their laudable aims, and incite others to imi- tate their liigli examples. i]ut great men rejhvt as well as receive honor, ^^tates and Kingdoms are exalted, and rendered illustrious, by llic talents ami vii'tues of those whom they produce or whom they cherish. Uhl Greece and Kome liave esca})ed oldivion only be- cause of tlie great men who arc pronuncnt in their an- nals — whose deeds im|)art life and innnortality to their liistories. History itself, when well written, is little else than the liiographies of the master spirits who shape and direct the affairs of nations. Communities, large or small, must ever be indebted for respectability, and influence, chie/fy, to the individuals of liigh moral and mental worth who nuiy Ijc identified with them. These reflections may lead us to a[»preciate properly the duties and proprieties of the present occasion. We are assemljled to render homage to the talents and virtues, and respect to the memory of one of the most gift- ed sons of North Carolina. In the month of August last, John Motley Mohehead having with eminent usefulness and fidelity served his gen- eration, like the old monarch of Israel, "fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers." Tiic State which nurtured him, and which he so long a,nd so faithfully served, mourns him still with the unabating sorrow of a true maternal heart; and from every section in her Ijoundaries, we have recei\ed unccjuivocal expressions of the high estimation in wliicli lie was held while living and of the deep sense of the loss she has sustained liy his death. lie was indeed her inie representative man. His character was aftei- llie wmmmBgi^maBesmiaBm 18 I N U E JI O R I A M model of licr own. He was great witliout o.stciitation. His talents were useful rather tlian shininti'. He was iiu- anibitious, save of honors winch soiigJd Mm, or were ol)- tained Avithont intrigue or liase surrender to the immoral currents of popular sentiment. In fine, though her son only l)y adoption and nurture, he Lore Jier venerable image in a more sti'iking development than any other one of her children. He was ^ery dear to her heart, and she M'as C(jually so to his. He was born, as is well known, in the adjoining county of Pittsylvania, State of Virginia, on the 4th day of July 1796. At a very early stage of his infancy his parents removed to this county and settled upon the waters of the Dan. In this immediate vicinity, among the people of this county, he was brought up from the tender age of tAvo years, and is therefore to lie regarded to all intents as a. son of Rockingham. Here liis childhood, youth, and ear- lier numliood were passed; and from the natural olijecls and social influences of tliis county, he derived his hrst lasting impressions of liuman life, arising outside of tlie lamily circle, and here too his earliest friends]ii})s were formed, and the lirst disidays were made of tlie talents anil genius with which God had endowed liini. It is peculiarly proper then that the peo])!e of tvoekiiig- liam sliould nuike known to the Avorld, their liigli a}>i)i('ci- ation of Iiis character, and aim to impress Ujion tlic minds of their sons, the lesson his successful life so stiikiiigly teaclies, and tlnis gatlier and garnci', for flic counly llie harvest of honor lie lias sown, and perjx'tHalc foi' llicir children the inspiring influence of his example. The proper discharge of the service your kimhiess has assigned to me, re(iuires that 1 shall pi'csrnt him to your contemplation lioth in liis ]U'ivate and ])ul)lic relations. A Ijcneficcnt Providence confers upon (lie children of men no earthly gift more precious, nu)re inestimable, tluin ^ iio.v. .ntiix M M () i; !•; i] K A It tliat of good parents, — parents avIio properly love and ria'htfnlly train tlieir offsprin,"- nnder a deep sense of re- sponsibility to society and to (lod. This 2'it't was voneh- safcd to liini of Avliom I now s])eak. YIq was tlie son of John ]\[orchcad, Esqnire, late of this eonnty, Avho was well known to some of the older persons now present. X ])ronnnent inaii'istratc in his day, he was disting'nished for liis probity and his genial temper in his general intercourse, — whilst in the family circle he was venerated and almost idolized for the playfulness, gentle- ness, and uniform loving kindness by which he constantly dilfused the sun-rays of happiness on "the loved ones at home."' His mother was Obedience Motley, a native of Virginia, as was his father also. Ilis parents were united in mar- riage in 1789, and he was tlieir first l>orn son who lived to maturity, — and Avas tlteir jjride. From his mother he inherited some of the most striking of his mental and moral features. Indeed, in a majority of cases, it is the mother "tliat makes the man." From her tones of voice, heard in song and in colloquy, the infant catches his first conce[)ti(^ns of gentleness and love, and from her precepts he learns his first lessons of virtue or of vice; as influenced l)y her, his tender and ini})ressible mind reaches upward to the high invitings of duty and religion, or inclines doAvn- Avard to the Circean stye of sloth and sensuality. These first impressions may in some instances be counteracted by the strong character of the father, and l)y other causes, but they are never entirety eradicated. Their eftcct upon the destiny of the child Avill be exhibited in degrees more or less striking throughout the entire course of life. Tlie mother of my lamented friend Avas possessed of mental faculties of no ordinary cast, and of moral quali- ties Avhicli eminently fitted her to train her offspring for Ihe strua'o-les of life. Slie Avas tender aiid affectionate, 20 IN M E M U I A M and won the hearts of lier chiklrcn. She was fruo-al and industrious, and enforced these liabits on them. She was strict in discipline, without l)eing" capricious or tyranical in lier humors. She recoQ;nized the fifth commandment as fundamental in household government, and would neither excuse nor Avink at the slightest disregard of its sacred injunction. Her authority was maintained not by opera- ting on the servile fears of her children, l;)ut l)y the magic power of maternal love, in happy coml)ination with ma- ternal dignity. In tlic practical application of her system of government, a constant requisition of her children was that they should avoid bad company. When permitted to visit places of public resort on ]iub- lic occasions, the length of time they could remain was ]n'cscribed with exactness, and in no case were they allow- ed to linger about such places until the shades of depart- ing day came on, when the prevalent habits of the times rendered it certain that demoralizing exhibitions of intem- perance and other vices would occur to contaminate their young licarts and minds. And as they never went from home without lier a])i)rol)ation so they remained their ap- pointed time witli cheerful self-approving hearts and re- turned to meet a smiling face and receive the maternal kiss, and relate the incidents of their juvenile travels to the ever-willing ears of their beloved parents. Can any picture be more attractive than this? \ father and mother in the full fruition of connul)ial ha]^piness. — the children under strict Ijut gentle and licalthfid discip- line—and all constituting a circle in Avliich the father's amiability and the mother's assiduous and firm devotion to her duties, coml)inc, to make it in the language of one Avho l)elongcd to it, and was one of its brightest ornaments, '"tlie happiest home circle ever knoAvn.'' Yet they Avcre not unac({uainted Avith the visitings of adversity. I'lie i\ither experienced the pains and penalties of ])eeiniiary ja II X . JOHN JI . JI 11 E H E A D . -! L e]iil)ari-assincnt, l)ut the wife and motlier who partook with ,o;laclncss the joys of liis prosperity submitted with patience and eliecrfulness to liis reverse of fortune; and l)y uniting diligence and indomitable energy, greatly alleviated what she could not entirely remove; — aiding him l)y the sugges- tions of her discriminating and calm judgment in his try- ing struggles with the exigencies to which he was sul)- jected. 'Twas under such auspices, that John M. Moreiiead's childhood and early youth were passed. Could any have been lietter fitted to impart high moral forces to his char- acter ? But he was to Ijo educated, and schools, except such as were of very inferior grade, were unknown in tlie vicinity in which he was lu'ought up. By whom he was first taught I know not. I have only been able to learn that he studied Latin for a short time, with the friend of his early and his latter days — the late Judge Settle — that leaving him he was placed at the school of Dr. David Caldwell, by whom he was prepared for col- lege and from Dr. Caldwell's school he went to the Uni- versity of our State, where he graduated in 1817 with dis- tinction. While at school in early boyhood he was dili- gent in his application to his Ijooks, to a degree that im- paired his health, and forced his father to detain him at home frequently. '•lie sid^mitted to these interruptions under strong protest, and returned ahvays to his studies with redoubled vigor."' iVt college the same industry and energy marked his course, and he there gave assurance of his future eminence liy the laurels ]\q won in competition with such classmates as John Y. Mason of Virginia and James K. Polk of Tennessee. Leaving the University, he entered himself a student of huv in the office of the late Judge Archil)ald D. Murphy a man of rare attaiii- monts — of talents and"i:-onius of the hiu-hcst order. From 1 X M !•: .\1 I! I A M . tlii.s emiucnt preceptor he learned in adilition to the ■prin- ciple;^ of the eonunon law, nineli that enaljled him to di.-^- play in his subsequent career, his consummate art and ad- dress as an advocate. Those who knew CJ-ov. Moeeiikad intimalely will re- member his a1)idinji- fondness for and u'reat admiration of the ti'ifted man with whom he studied for his profession. He delig'lited to speak of his efforts at tlie Bar, and often instructed while he amused the youn,<>'er nu'mbcrs of the profession with anecdotes illustrative of las varied powers. Fiiushing' his studies he Avas licensed and camo to the liar at Rockino-ham in 1819. For the first three years of Ins professional life this vil- lage was the place of his residence — -and here he formed attachments, Avhich subscrjueut vicissitudes neither de- stroyed nor weakened. Among- the friends of his early years, to Avliom I haA'C heard him refer with affectionate warmth, was the late Robert Galloway, the younger, with whom he lived during his residence here on terms of a perfect union of hearts. He lamented his untimely death as a public calamity, and mourned it to tlio last as a |)ersonal bereavement. He loved him as a friend not only, liut he esteemed him also as a gentleman ''fulhlled of nobleness, courtesy and hon- or" and with him was wont to '"take sweet counsel" touching the duties of life. IbiL deatli ]»reaks the dearest ties of earth — yet it cannot separate forever the spirits of congenial beings — who but begin in time, friendships and loves wliich continue through eternity. .Vfter a sejjara- tion of more tiian thirty years — tliCHC two friends have met again. (tOV. ^rouKiiKAD. on coming to tlie r>ar, soon ol)t;!iiLed a com])Ctent practice, became jtrominent and rapidly I'ose to eminence. When I entered tlic profession in 1882, 1 met him here at tlie ]Mav Term of the Countv Court, and rjaSA ^maBmnaaamsBm II () X . J () II X JI . M R E II E A P . '2o found liiin occui»yin,ii- tlio position of leader on liis eireuit. 1 was pleased Avith liis api)earance, was attraeted by his amenity and fascinated by his talents. JTis personal presence was imposing, Ins lace l)eamed ■with kindness, and when he addressed the court and jury, I heard him with delight and was filled with admiration. Then began with mc an attachment to him which ne\'er ceased during his life, but which was strengthened 1)y many tokens of kindness on his part, that were the more sensibly felt, because they were believed to be the ofrs})ring of sincere regard and not of ccdcidaiing selfishness. While residing here he was elected in 1822 to the Leg- islature, and returned as one of the mendjers of the House of Connnons for this county. What role he i)layed in tliat session I know not, l)ut it is eertain his talents and attain- ments were sucli as to secure liim high })osition in such a body. In the same year another event in his life occur- red, Avliich perhaps was the most })otential in its iiilluencc on his subsequent career, of any that could h.ave" taken ])laco. He was united in mrrriagc to Eliza, the eldest daughter of the late Col. Robert Lindsay, of Guilford. Man with all his })rctensions to dignity in the scale of being, — with his claim to superiority as " lord of this ter- restrial sphere," is nevertheless in civilized society under a moral su])serviency to woman. By tlic action of those inlluenccs which have tlieir (bnntain in the Gospel Code, l)ut which wei'C brouglit out into prominent effecliA'c agency by the spirit aiul genius of the age of chi\'ah'}', woman has risen from a condition of quasi shnery to tlie height of sovereign Quecii-Rcgnant in the hearts of men, and her sway for good or for e\il is next to irresistil)le. To 1)0 hai)[)ily married, therefore, is a Itlessing of God, tlie richest in enjoyment and benefits of any that lias been allowed our race since th.c fall. Tlie affectionate respect of a wife for her husljand — her glad particii)alion (if the ■ i I i ii i i i iiiii ii iiiii H i iH i i iiiii ii i iii irii ii i niib i i ii i i i iii i ii ii i wii ii imi iii i i iiii r i i — B 24 I N M E M R I A N . joys of hirf prosperity — licr cordial sympathy and soothing suggestions in adversity — her countless ministrations of love, in sickness and in sorroAV, — these, these, constitute the elements of power by whicli her throne is estaljlished and her reign is perpetuated, and all true, lu-ave, knightly hearts are i)roud to acknowledge their allegiance to her, and would die if need Le for the maintenance of her gov- ernment. Poltroons, only, volunfarihj recoil from the duties and responsibilities of married life, and disown the SAvay of woman. All the advantages and Idiss of a most fortunate marriage were in the dispensations of Provi- dence allotted to Governor Morehead. The lady of his early, — perhaps his first love, — became tlic wife of his l)Osom, the mother of his children, the sharer of all his fortunes and feelings, his counsellor and gentle guide for more tlian forty years. There is no situation in which he was placed, where he shone witli a more attractive lustre than in his family circle. His characteristic discretion and wisdom were displayed in his choice of a Avife. Her qualities of heart and mind were exactly suited to his taste, and the con- geniality between her and himself was striking even to a causal visitor to their hospitable home. They lived in the state of blessedness, which springs alone from such con- geniality, — themselves hap{)y in one anotJier, tlicy diffused happiness to all around them and guided their children more by tlic influence of this heaven-descended harmony than by the exercise of })arental authority. Their chil- dren saw that they tvere happy, and were rendered so by nuitual affection and mutual respect. They thus learned to love and respect one another, and became happy them- selves in the society of each other. Home with all its sacred influences, was endeared to them, and tliey were preserved from the manifold undercurrents of vice which flow iciihovt, lieyond the ]-eacli of the ])arenlal e\-e. In HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 25 this domestic circle, we discover the true secret of the iu- valuable art of bringing up a family. The parents showed forth tlie virtues they inculcated — they were seen by their offspring to be attentive to all the duties of life — they were truthful in word and in heart — cheerful in temper, refined in sentiment and just in their judgments of others. In every such case, as in the one now before us, parents may be assured their children will shine with virtues reflected and virtues inherent, and "will rise up, and call them blessed." The canons of good taste forbid me to give you the best illustration of the truth of these observations. I can only say in this presence, that the honored individual whose eulogy I am called to pronounce, was most signally re- warded for the amenities and virtues he exhibited in the domestic circle, by the graces of his daughters, and the sterling qualities of his sons. His wife, advanced to a venerable age, still survives to enjoy this recompense, and sheds the mild radiance of Christian piety, long professed, over the track of her clos- ing life. To her is due the tribute of our admiration for her virtues, and of thankfulness for the service she ren- dered her country in the assistance she gave her illustri- ous husband in his arduous labors for the public good. Soon after his marriage, Gov Morehead left Rocking- ham, and became a citizen of Guilford county, in which he resided for the residue of his life. As in this, so in that county, he soon became the " foremost man of all," and was elected in 1827 to represent Guilford in the Leg- islature. It was at tliis session, that he came in conflict with John Stanley, in debate on a proposition, as I learn, having reference to a change in our judicial system. Mr. Stanley was Speaker of the House of Commons at that time, and left the chair to reply to Mr. Morehead, 26 INMEMORIAM- and was in the act of doing so, when he was stricken down with paralysis. It may have been by some deemed fortunate, for one so young and unpractised in debate as Gov. Morehead then was, to have thus escaped as he did, the scathing wit and argument of an orator so eminent and a parliamentary debater so accomplished as was Mr. Stanley. Of the merits ^ of the question in discussion between them, I know nothing — but of this I feel assured, that whatever Gov. Morehead undertook to maintain on that occasion, notwithstanding his youthfulness, he maintained with an ability that commanded the respect of his adver- sary, and was far beyond the reach of the ridicule with which Mr. Stanley was wont to assail those whom he op- posed in debate. Stanley, it may be, was able to excel him in the beauties of rhetoric, purity of diction, and the general graces of oratory, but I am not disposed to be- lieve, from any production of his mind that I have seen and read, that he could have surpassed Gov. Morehead in the force of argument. How often Gov. Morehead represented Guilford in the Legislature I am not informed; he was certainly, however, a representative from that county several times, prior to 1840, as well as several times after. In 1840, he was placed in the lead of the Whig party of the State, as their candidate for Governor, and had for his competitor the Hon. Romulus M, Saunders, the able champion of the Democratic party. Tliis is the most memorable political campaign in our annals, and the contest l)ctween the two gentlemen named was attended witli many incidents of most exciting inter- est. It was the first time the State was ever canvassed by candidates for the office of Governor, and this novelty of itself was not without great influence in attracting the attention of the people. Large crowds asseml)led to hear HON. JOHN M. MOKEHEAD. 27 them when they spoke, and their speeches were received with animating plaudits by their friends. But the politi- cal issues of the time were of much magnitude and in- tensely engaged the public mind. Each party, confiding in its principles and fully satisfied with its champion, felt hopeful of success. The canvass was a protracted one. It opened in Orange in the second week in March and closed in the second week in August. For five months the candidates were engaged in their laborious undertaking, traversing the State from the sea- coast to the Tennessee and Georgia lines beyond the mountains. They frequently met, but did not always travel in the same direction at the same time. If either was absent, however, from a point where the other ad- dressed the people, his place in debate was supplied by some party friend zealous in his cause. I witnessed sev- eral trials of skill and strength between them, and was bound to yield to both the homage of my admiration. Judge Saunders, having been long prominently connected with political pursuits, had more political information in the leginning of the canvass than Gov. Morehead had, but in the art of influencing the masses by appeals to their interests and feelings, as well as in the force of legitimate argument, the latter was in my opinion greatly superior to the former. Mr. Morehead was elected by a majority of about eight thousand, which, considering the state of public opinion previously, and the adverse influence of the party in power at the time, was triumphant. There is one circum- stance connected with the history of that canvass deserv- ing special notice, as illustrative of Gov. Morehead'r peculiar power and address as a popular advocate. He had been a political supporter of General Jackson, having voted for him on two occasions for President in the Electoral College of Nortli Carolina. Wlien tlio 28 I N M E M R I A M . Whig party was formed, however, he connected himself with it, and was accused by some of his old party asso- ciates of inconsistency and of abandoning his principles. He met the charge by an indignant denial, and boldly made the issue, and successfully maintained it, that he had not deserted the principles on which Jackson was brought into the Presidential office, nor Jackson himself, but that whilst he had remained, and was still, a steadfast Jackson man, his competitor, forsooth, had changed and become a Van Buren man. In vain did his competitor endeavor to ridicule the idea, that Governor Morehead or any other man should be a better Jackson man than Jackson himself, who was also well known to be in favor of Van Buren; he persevered in maintaining it, with a strong array of proofs, and carried the people with him, and to this day a large num- ber of the original suppoi'ters of General Jackson believe and affirm that Judge Saunders deserted Jackson for Van Buren, while Gov. Morehead remained steadfast in his adherence to Jackson, as well as to his principles. He was inducted into office as Governor of the State on the first of January, 1841, and then commenced a series of attacks upon him, which, while they subjected Ids fortitude to severe trial, were yet the occasion of the development of the highest and most sterling traits of his character. In office, he was, as is now conceded even by those who were once opposed to him, eminently firm and patriotic in the discharge of his duties — wielding all his influence, personal and official, for the public good alone, unswayed by party, unseduced by the suggestions of passion aroused by a sense of personal injury, and unrcgardful of the motives of personal ambition. He was re-elected Governor in 1842, and served his second term under all the embarrassments incident to having a majority against him in the Logi?btnre and an wmtaaamKmmmmm GM HON. JOHN M . M R E H E A D . 29 Executive council composed entirely of his political oppo- nents. His competitor in 1842 was the late Louis D. Henry (a man of fine speaking talents, but whose health prevented him from canvassing the State thoroughly,) whom he defeated by a majority of about five thousand, nothwithstanding at the time, the Whig party were in great apathy and discouragement, owing to the untimely death of Gen. Harrison, and the defection of Mr. Tyler. With his second terra as Governor closed his connec- tion with politics except as a private citizen, until the year 1858, when he was returned to the Legislature as a member of the House of Commons from Guilford. I served with him in the session of 1858-'9, being myself a member from Caswell. Between the time of his retire- ment from the office of Governor, and his return to the Legislature, many conflicting interests had arisen out of the various railroad enterprises of the State. He was tlie first President of the North Carolina Rail Road Company, and under his auspices it was first put in oper- ation, and was conducted successfully for a numloer of years. By his administration of its aflairs, he incurred much censure and formidable opposition. But now that time and death have combined to subdue passion, and remove prejudice, and repeated investigations have disclosed the difficulties of his situation, and the motives which gov- erned his actions, he stands fully vindicated, and high praise is accorded him for the industry, energy and ability he displayed in managing the aff"airs of the Company. After years of laborious devotion of his faculties to the service of the corporatiori and the State, he retired, in the language of a just tribute from the pen of another, "figlit- ing swindlers and contractors to the last." It was in the House of Commons at the Session of 1858-'9, that he was made the ol)jcct of repeated attacks by several prominent and aV)lc members for his course generally in regard to our Rail Road system. The man- ner in which he met and repelled those attacks will be long remembered by all who Avitnessed the scene. His seat in the Hall and my own were nearly contiguous. Just before he rose to answer his assailants, seeing that he was deeply excited, I stepped across the aisle, and whispered thus in his ear, " Governor, do your best. You are the most abused and most injured man in North Car- olina." With an eye, flashing light through water at me, he promptly responded, " How shall I deal with them, my friend," — shall I treat them gently, or shall I make myself the Wellington of the occasion and vanquish them com- pletely?" ''Play Wellington" ^^\(\ I. "7 ?yi7?," lie replied, with energetic action. In a few moments he rose, and commenced his speecli in tones of voice betokening just the degree of excitement so useful to him — so necessary to rouse the lion in him. And he did play Wellington, if ever man did, on battle field or in parliament! Never was there a more brilliant victory won, than he achieved that day. His assailants were driven from all their positions in confusion, were pursued and routed, "horse, foot and dragoons." They were men of no mean aliilities, — they were strong men, and the House felt the shock of battle while the conflict lasted. But when he closed his defense, his assailants bore the air of deep dejec- tion and discomfiture. The House was enraptured with the display of power on the part of Governor Morehead, and no further charges were heard against him — no other attacks upon him made during tlie session, l)ut all other feelings and sentiments were merged in unbounded admiration of "tlie old nmn clo(iuent." HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD 31 He M-as a member of the succeeding Legislature as Senator from Guilford, but I have no knowledge of his acts during tlic session. Wo were then upon the very verge of the conflict of arms, wdiich has recently con- vulsed our great republic and laid us all in ruins. He was selected, with Judge Ruflfin, Gov. Reid, George Davis and Daniel M. Barringer, to represent North Car- olina in what was designated the "Peace Congress" which met in Washington in February, 1861. The object of this convocation of patriots and states- men, was to avert, if possible, by some fair and just adjustment of our differences, a dissolution of the Union, and the consequent calamities of civil war. Their efforts were unavailing, and some who went to that Congress opposed to a separation of the Southern States from the Union, returned in favor of it, as a measure of unavoid- able necessity. To this class Gov. Morehead belonged. lie had ever been a union man in sentiment and feeling, and always denied the right of a State to secede. He was deeply inilmed with the political teachings of Washington, and was accustomed " to frown indignantly on every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest." He contemplated with exulting pride the moral sul)limity of our attitude among the nations. Em- bracing, as our country does from east to west, the imuiense space between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, from north to south reaching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, with corresponding magnitude of dimensions from north- east to south-east, and from north-west to south-west, with resources of subsistence, wealth and power, adequate to tlic accomplishment of all the just hopes of patriots and pliilanthropists, witliout the unnecessary shedding of a brother's blood, or the rol)ljery of a sister State or nation — it was the anxious wish of lii;^ true heart, that the insti- mmma 32 INMEMORIAM tutions of government established l)y onr fatliers should be preserved in their full integrity and strength, over all this imperial domain, and that their blessings might be diffused — not by force of arms — ^but by the force of truth throughout the earth. But the malign influences which are ever at work against the best interest of man, and the glory of God, had for years been "enfeebling the tics which linked together the various part? of our country, and finally brought us to tlie dire extremity of war." When the portentous issue became inevitable. Governor MoREHEAD did not hesitate which side to take. With his whole soul he espoused the cause of his native land, and devoted all his resources of mind and estate to its defense. The war closed while he yet lived, closed by the most overwhelming defeat of the Southern States. His personal losses were innnense. The casualties of battle had sent deep mourning into the bosom of his fam- ily. Yet he murmured not, nor apologised for any service he had rendered his stricken and blasted country, but owned himself a patriot still — in adversity, more than in prosperity. As a member of the Provisional Congress of the Con- federate States, to which he was sent by our State Con- vention, he displayed his accustomed diligence, sagacity and wisdom, and won the highest respect and confidence .of President Davis, our then elevated Chief — since fallen, alas! from q(fi,ce, but still, thrice exalted — exalted by his talents, exalted by his virtues, yet more exalted by his martyr-sufferings for lil)erty's most holy cause ! After his service in the Provisional Congress closed, he applied himself with singular industry to the duties of the private citizen in times of national discord and calamities. He went to luorJi, and luorked hard, to aid in feeding and clothing the soldiers who were suffering and fighting for us away off in the war winks; and lie remomborcd, too, HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD 33 their aged fathers and mothers, their wives and their little ones, whom they had left behind at home. Did he then visit and minister unto these disconsolate ones? Verily he did. But where is the evidence of the fact? It is not to be found in any thing lie was ever heard to say about it. Certainly not. lie dispensed his charities under the christian injunction, — " not to let his left hand know what his right hand did." But his Samaritan deeds are not unknown, and will not be unremcmbcred. Go ask his steward at Leaksville what lie ivas required to do for the poor by Gov. Morehead during the whole course of the war. Let that steward in his own way tell of the numbers who literally lived upon Governor More- head's bounties, and yet were supplied in such a way as to preserve their self-respect and prevent the humiliating consciousness on their parts of abject dependence. That steward thus writes to me. "The Governor was frequently solicited by poor avo- mcn, when they found him here, for aid. This he rarely ever gave in person. He would waive the subject and state to them, that he was doing his part, as much as he could afford, would tell them they must not depend so much on him, but try to get some aid from others. He would then privately inquire of me about their circum- stances, and what aid if any they had received from him, and would frequently instruct us to let them have cotton, not in Ms name, or that he was knowing to it, l3ut to let them have it, telling them we were not at liberty to sell on credit, but they could take it and pay for it when they were able. This he intended as a gift, but did not allow them so to understand it." Now this was doing a right thing in the right way. Many a poor heart has been pierced with anguish to the wBgaw ji as 34 IN M B M O III A jr , core, even when a kindness was dispensed to it; by tlic manner in whicli it was done. True charity has its seat deep in the soul, and shedding its influence over all the conduct, is as careful of the mode of its deeds 'as of the deeds themselves. But hear this steward again. In the same letter, to- gether with several other like incidents he relates the fol- lowing: "A young man who had Lccp doing lousiness for him for several years, managing his farm, was about to leave and go to farming on his own account. The Gover- nor settled off with him in full — I aided in the settlement. The Governor did not then say any thing about doing any thing more for him, probably l^ecause he did not wish it known. "As he bid the young man farewell, however, he said, 'you are about to go to farming on your own account, take this small mite, in addition to your salary, as a mark of my respect for your industry and faithful services, and if you need aid at any thne call upon me.' The sum he thus gave him was a fifty dollar note, worth at the time fifty dollars in gold, as I afterwards learned from the young man." But the detail of such acts of his would fill a volume. Let these two taken from a multitude of the same sort, serve as the illustration of his manner of responding to tlie benevolent impulses of his nature. His beneficence was not by any means confined to his employees. His deeds of kindness and generosity were limited in num])cr only by the objects he met with standing in need of them. Yet he has been accused of cold unfeeling selfishness. There are a thousand living hearts now beating strongly witli gratitude to him that will indignantly rci)cl tlic charge. Widows and orphans, and helpless maidens old, in numbers lar^;e, still live to vindicate, by feeling acknowledgments of jjcrsonal ministratious. to them in WtSS- HON. JOHN M. MORE HEAD. -jO their time of need, his honored name against the ijnjust aspersion. He was not a cold and selfish man. This whole commmiity will proclaim the contrary to be true. To him it stands indebted for having relieved it of a heavy charge, which but for his good management and lil)erality would have fallen upon it, to support the wives and children of soldiers, and other indigent persons, during the late war. The man of cold and selfish nature, though often apparentlij liberal to the rich and the great, is never so to the really low and abject. Gov. Morehead's benevo- lence and charity flowed down into the lowest vales of human life. His slaves experienced the fruits of his all- reaching sympathies. He had nothing to look for in return from them, which could gratify vanity, or nourish pride — yet he was attentive to all their wants in sickness and in health, and their very appearance proclaimed the superior kindness and clemency which it was their lot to enjoy under his government. They loved him wliile he lived, and now that he is no more, some of them have been lieard to say that could he have lived, they would have prefered being his slaves ahvays to being free. Well may they so feel and so express themselves, poor homeless outcasts ! They are destined to discover, that the political philanthrophy, which goes about like a deranged knight errant in search of adventures witli imaginary evils, will supply them Avith no adciiuate substitute for the Idess- ings of which it has deprived them. When tlie war closed, as 1 have already intimated. Gov. ]\[oREHEAD found himsclf a great loser by its results. He not only lostliis slaves, of Avhom lie. was the owner of a large number, liut he also lost a great amount of invest- ments in Confederate bonds, and a very considerable sum of Confederate money Avhicli he had on liaiul. Except for a short time, wlien he was forced to ^^o in order to 36 IN ME MORI AM get supplies of indispensable necessity for the employees of his factory, he never refused to take Confederate money for any thing he had for sale, alleging as his reason for so doing, that it would have a tendency to discredit the cur- rency and injure the Confederate cause if he pursued the opposite course. It was not from any want of foresight on his part, therefore, that he had so much Confederate money on hand when the great catastrophe occurred. He declared to a friend, that he had staked all his interest on tlie Confederate cause, and was resolved to sink or swim with it, and would do nothing having the least tendency to injure it. But the loss of property and money was not the only — not the greatest injury he sustained personally )»y the war. Though naturally of a robust frame, and strong consti- tution, he was when the war commenced verging upon the grand limit of the earthly pilgrimage generally allotted to man. His three score years and ten were well nigh run out, and he was already labor-worn and wearied by the exertions of his active life. The superadded cares and anxieties l)rought on him by the great national con- vulsion pressed heavily on his spirits and energies — his physical powers gave way rapidly — his liver refused to perform its functions — he sickened with jaundice, and ho died — died full of years and full of honors, and passed to that spirit world " where the wicked cease from troul)ling, and the weary are at rest.'' Thus I have endeavored to bring to view, some of the more prominent incidents of his life. It now remains for us to consider his character in the three aspects it pre- sents — first as an individual — secondly as a lawyer and advocate — and thirdly as a patriot and statesman. From what we have learned of his history, it must l»c apparent to all that he was a most grateful and dutiful son. Tliis of itself afTorded a stronii- guarantv of his future oiui- liON. JOHN M. MORE HEAD, nence. Neither in my reading, nor in my acquaintance witli men, have I met with an instance of an habitually undutiful child who ever rose to great and honorable dis- tinction. I here solemnly declare that I would never con- fide in the friendship, or trust to the integrity of any man, if I knew that he had been an ungrateful and undutiful son. Were I in search of a wife, I would solicit the hand of no lady of whom it could be truthfully said, that she was an imdutifal daughter. The Commandment to honor parents is "the first com- mandment with promise" and woe betide the child who is regardless of its divine authority. The cusre of God will rest upon him through life and '• His grave ! Keligion will hallow i t, Never! No never !" Parents arc not always Ijlainclcss wlien their children are disol)cdient, but this, though it may slightly extenuate does neither justify nor excuse the hateful delinquency. It was the happy lot of Gov. Morehead — as has been al- ready shown — to have parents worthy, in every respect, of his reverence. He loved and honored them as long as they lived, and after their deaths he cherished their mem- ories as sacred treasures of his soul. In childhood and youth he honored them Ijy strict oljodicnce — in the years of manhood, with assiduous devotion he ministered to their wants and alleviated all their trials and troubles. I liavo a distinct recollection of having once heard him speak with great emotion of the inexpressible joy he felt, when by his success in life he was enabled to visit hia father and carry with him the means of relieving him from the l)ressure of his debts. His brothers and sisters were most warmly and tenderly beloved ))y him. A sister dear thus writes to me concern- ing him: ''My brother was hm years older than myself. Ho directed my course of reading, wlien I was (juite young. '58 IN M E ]\I T7 T A i\r.. nnd I felt ibv liim the reverence due a fatlicr, -with the love I bore liim as a lirother. In tlie Axmily circle lie was al- Avays tlie same — never lifrlit or frivolous, and certainly ])Osscssed of the g-reatcst equanimity of temper I have ever known. In fact I do not recollect ever to have seen him g-ivc way to his temper." Such a tribute from such a source is worth more than a diadem. I do rememljer wlien young Abraham Morehead, that l)rightly promisino- scion of his father's race, came first to this Bar. He was endowed -with genius, and imlnied with literature far beyond the young men generally of that day. He was modest, diffident and sensitive, and recoiled from tlie rude contact of the busy world. His l)rother, of whom I have already said, that he was the leader of the J]ar on tills circuit, at that time by every means fraternal affection could suggest, sought to inspire him Avitli becoming con- fidence in his OAvn powers, and to induce Idin to "Trust liis young wiuM's And mount tlic skies." I heard the young Ijrother's iirst speech at this Bar, and noticed the dee}) interest tlie eldest felt in its success. It Avas deemed a liappy effort for a young man and it l)roug]it the flush and smile of joy to the checks of the Governor. His love for that young brother — who was so soon to pass aAvay from earth — Avas like the love of Jonathan for Havid '"Twas Avoiidcrful, passing the love of Avomen." The last expression I remember to have heard fall from his lips Avas one of warm affection for his only surviving hroiher. As a husl)and and father he may Avell be presented as a model. I have already alluded to his bearing in these respects. It needs only to be added that to see him at home Avith his Avife and children around him, to liear him converse and Avitness his sports Avith them — and oliserve his dis])hiy of all the gentle amenities — methinks was quite HON. JOHN l\ . M R E H E A n . 'M) sufficient to remove all prejudieo agaiust liiiii — all eiimity to liiiii — and Satisfy any one of tlic purity of liis licai-t, and that he was in the fulle^^t senf-'o of tlie teriu ;' trno-liorn gentleman. Ilis prudential habits were admirable. lie was a strict economist of time and of means. He es(;hcwcd ])rocras- tination, never postponing till to-morrow what could be done to-day. He was systematic, and never left to chance what order and forethought could accomplish. A motto lie conmiended to young men was, "Upward and onward.'' Another was, ''Never be satisfied vritli your attainments, while a worthy olyect attainable lies yet before you." These habits and mottoes suggest the causes of his own success in business. He ivas a man of prinajde, and Avas moved by the promptings of principle, rarely, if ever, ])y tliose of feeling, merely. He told me once that he was naturally prone, and slrongly prone, to the habits of indo- lence, and that he labored from a sense of duty only, friendships were cautiously formed, sincere, and abiding, acting in this respect upon the advice of Polonius to his son. He was free from envy, charifable in judging the motives of others, andjust in acknowledging their merits. He never indulged in detraction. He was forgiving and magnanimous to his enemies, and rai'cly spoke of injuries and aspersions, which -a majority of men resent, with 1)itter recrimination." "' \ - " i His moral habits in ^11 inspects were pure and elevated. He was temperate in all things, as "those, who strive for the mastery" should be, ancl' those who gain it generally are. He used no profane language, nor those less than profane, but vulgar, expletives so frequently heard from the lips of gentlemen. He was social and genial in le!n})er, \ delighting in the pleasures of refined society and abounding in anecdote. He Avas neat and tasteful in his dress, bland and dignified in liis manners. umBmammmmmmM mmimmiuma mmmfammmmmmmmmm 40 IN MEMORIAM. Of his religious faith, I know and can say but little. Many years ago he held a conversation Avith me in this village upon the grave subject of Religion. He then acknowledged its paramount claims to the attention of all men, and advised me as he said he would all others to whom he might address himself upon the subject, to seek it promptly in early life, lest the advance in years and the accumulations of business and its cares should render more difficult the surrender it demands. He was, I l)elieve, a pretty regular attendant upon the ministra- tions of its sanctuaries and a lil)eral contril)utor to the support of the ministers of that l)raneh of the church to which his wife and other members of his family belonged. In the closing scene of his life, which occurred at the P-ockbridgc Alum Springs, in Virginia, he accepted with thankfulness the pious offices of the ministers of 'Christ who invoked for him on his dying pillow, the grace of regeneration and eternal life ; and to the devoted wife of his bosom, he sent the consoling message that he trusted in the Saviour, in whom 67(6 trusted. To cnal)]e us to estimate correctly his character as a lawyer and advocate, it is necessary to advert to the influences under which he commenced and ran his pro- fessional course. Greatness is a relative quality, and the term imports more or less according to circumstances. A man may be justly considered great, when viewed in reference to one period of time or one state of society, who would not be so considered when viewed in reference to another. Our judgment in the matter of greatness is often formed by comparison. The greatness of a discovery in art or science is determined by the usefulness of its results ; the greatness of men, by the fruits of tlicir lives, not only, but by these and other things. Julius Cassar is proven to have been great l)y his uniform success in accomplishing all the important ends he aimed HON. JOHN M . IM R E H E A D , 41 at, until lie was slain. The first Napoleon was perhaps yet greater than lie, tliougli less successful on account of the greater obstacles lie had to encounter. Wicklifif, " the morning .star of the Reformation," was in mental and moral (|ualities e(|ual if not superior to Luther, yet he eflcctcd far less than Luther, owing to the deep darkness of the age in which he -lived, and therefore ranks lower in the scale of greatness. In obscure communities, an individual may be distinguished for his talents, l)y contrast with the dull mediocrity that surrounds him. A great man in Bcotia would have l)een rated as a common one in Athens. Governor Morehead came to the Bar in 1819, a little past the meridian of the very brightest era in the juridical annals of North Carolina. The hrst quarter of the current century was illustrated in our State Ijy a fraternity of lawyers of the highest order of natural gifts, and of profound learning in the science of law. Among the professional lights of the time alluded to were William Gaston and John Stanley, Edward Gra- ham and Moses Mordeeai, Gavin Hogg and Iredell, Strong and Toomer, Ec]^les and Strange — these were of the Eastern and Cape Fear circuits, while in the middle and Western circuits, we had Peter Brown, Seawell, George E. Badger, Wm, H. Haywood and Thomas P. Devcreux, Duncan Cameron, William Norwood, JMurphy and Nash. Yancey, Ruffin, Settle and Shepperd, Archil )ald Hender- son, James Martin, Joseph Wilson, and David F. Caldwell, and others well worthy of association with those I have named, together constituting a res})lendent galaxy, cer- tainly not surpassed, if equalled by any, on this continent. The older class of the gentlemen referred to were, when Gov. Morehead entered the profession, in their Occident ; "and the western horizon was in a blaze with their dc- (') 42 I N M E M R I A M . scending glories ; " the younger " were rising in the oppo- site quarter of the heavens, and quickly liecame lords of the ascendent." It is no small tribute to him to say, that at such a time, with the public mind familiar with such examples, he rose rapidly to eminence, and in his own circuit of practice became master of the first position. Nor was he without formidable rivalry in his ascent to fame. Among the most prominent of his immediate con- temporaries w^ith whom he had to contend habitually, were, of those who preceded him at the Bar, — by a few years only, — Bartlett Yancey, James Martin, Thomas Settle and Augustine H. Shepperd : of those Avho came shortly after him. Governor Graham, Chief-justice Pearson, Hugh Waddell, Nathaniel Boyden, his brother Jas. T. Morehead, John F. Poindexter, Ralph Gorrell and George C. Men- denhall, all men of general ability, and of' surpassing excellence in their respective/ories. Yancey was a man of great personal dignity, of com- manding influence throughout the State ; and owing to the relation he sustained to the political parties of his day, with equal success in the courts and on the hustings " Wielded at will, the fierce democratie." Settle, who for more than twenty years graced the judicial ermine, was full of the fervor of genius, and with a strong hold on the popular regard and singular skill in the arts of advocacy, was able in all his courts to com- mand a fine practice, and maintain a high position. Shepperd, with a clear head, and as pure a heart as ever V)eat in human breast, was thoroughly proficient in the science of special pleading, the technicalities of which he brought to bear at times upon his adversaries to their great surprise and discomfiture. Martin, like Settle, wore the judicial robes for many years, and sustained upon the bench the reputation for learning he acquired at the bar; ardent and zealous in the HON. JOHN M . M R E H E A D . 43 causes of his clients, he was by these qualities and his professional attainments together, rendered at all times a strong antagonist in forensic disputations. ^lendenhall, by indefatigable industry and the strictest attention to the minutest circumstances in the preparation of his cases, and a most confident and bold manner of ad- dress to juries, with good attainments in the law, made himself formidible, won a large practice and a fine repu- tation. These have all passed away, and deserve much more than this brief tribute. For the others I have named who still live, it were ungraceful to do more noiv, than to assign them a place as I have done in the honorable cate- gory presented. In sucli times as he lived, with such knowledge and in- fluences surrounding him, and with such rivals as he had — to have won such eminence and fame as he did win, proves John M. Morehead clearly entitled to be ranked in his profession among the great. Nor are we at loss to discover the elements of his great- ness. He had genius and talent both in high degree. His mental resources wore ample and full. His powers of in- vention and talent for application were equally striking, equally ready. He was not very accurately, not very extensively, learn- ed in the law; he had however mastered its general prin- ciples, and without much acquaintance with the cases in Banc, his mind was so ordered, was of such a practical cast, that he was one of the l)cst counselors in the State. No client was ever hoard to complain of having been mis- led by his advice. But it was as an advocate that he shone with peculiar splendor. His presence, as I have already said, was imposing — his voice was exceedingly pleasant in its tones — his argumon- 44 I N M E M E T A ]\r . tiition Avas logical — his Avit sparkling — liis illustTatioiis striking — and his flow of soul under the excitement of his causes, captivating to all hearts. IJe assailed with great force his adversaries' positions — and defended his own with consummate skill. He was always self-possessed — always courteous. He had the best control of his temper of any man I ever knew. It was in vain to atteni[)t to get the advantage of him l)y exciting his anger. He who did this, was sure to meet tlie fate of one who should be foolish enough to arouse a sleeping lion merely to hear him roar. The roar he might hear — but he would also be devoured. He was a man of strong will, and ])o<- sessed great power of controlling others in and out of the courts. During the last ten years of his practice at the Bar, he defended in nearly all of the capital cases occur- ring in his circuit, and in such trials never lost but one .verdict, and in that instance his client by his exertions was pardoned. He never had a client capitally executed. His rhetoric Avould not have passed in the schools. His diction was not always grammatical. He seemed to care very little for these matters. Language with him, as with Mr. Calhoun, was the mere "scaffolding of thought," he used it for its strength, rather than for its Ijcauties. This carelessness was a defect in him much to be regret- ted. There is a moral l)enefit arising from the cultivation of accuracy and good taste in the use of language. Indeed good taste in regard to every thing we do, is very nearly akin to good morals. His deportment to the junior members of the ])rofession was in accordance with the general tenor of his life. He was always gracious in his demeanor toward them, and gave them every encouragement and assistance in his power in court and out of court. When in discharge of his duty, he defeated them in trials, he did it in such way as to make them feel that they had done (juite handsomely 11 ox. .lOllX :\1 . MORE HEAD. 4') themselves — but it was the l)a(lncss of tlic cause alone that led to their defeat. He liad too, an amialile way of letting- off little compliments to them that were exceedino'ly grateful to their wounded feelings under a sense of their failures. It is just hero at this point that my own heart, touched by the recollection, sends up its offering of gratitude to his memory, for soothing it on more than one occasion, when it Avas aching in silence under a feeling of the utter lack on my part of all that was necessary to secure suc- cess in life, and when it was yearning for some I'ind en- conraging word. He was a kind luan, a good lawyer, and a great advo- cate. Of his patriotism, I shall, in addition to what I have already said, only express the conviction of my own mind, that it was ardent, enlightened and true, and was controlled Vty principles which, had they been carried out in the gene- ral administration of our government, would have averted the calamities we now so sorely feel, and have conducted us as a people to the highest attainment of national feli- city. As a statesman, the policy he approved was enlarged and comprehensive. No merely sectional attachments ever obtained the mastery over his mind or heart; but partaking largely of the spirit and views of i\rr. Clay, had he been placed in tlic national councils, he would have known no North, no South, no East, nor West, liut would have consecrated all his faculties to the best service of his Avholc country, and would have left the impress of his genius and wisdom on the national as he has done on the institutions of his own State. North Carolina certainly owes him a largo debt of gratitude, for what he did for her. as well when lie was in the private walks of life as when charired with the duties of luffh official station. 'J'o him 4G I N Jl E M () li 1 A .M more tliaii to any other man, is she indebted for lier existing works of Internal Ini})rovement — her benevolent institu- tions, and the new impulse wliich the cause of education received when his star was at the zenith of its culmination. Ho was not only possessed of eminent ability to originate and direct general i^lans, but he was perfect master of details, and saved the State immense expenditures l)y liis familiarity with mere matters of account, and with mechan- ical rules, and civil engineering. He was not to be de- ceived by laborers in any dej)artment, but understanding their business as well as they did, he exercised firmness, and incurred much enmity, ])y withstanding their exorbi- tant charges, and by exacting the utmost fidelity in the exe- cution of their contracts. In this respect, as in some oth- ers, he has often reminded me of what is related of the great Napoleon. It is believed by many, who did not know him well, that he was not possessed of much information derived from reading. As to liis acquaintance with books, I am persuaded that there is a prevalent mistake in regard to it. After I became acquainted with him, I had no reason to believe that he was much given to books, l)ut he must have been at some period of his life a close, thoughtful and studious general reader, for he was undoubtedly, far more than is usual with our profession in the State, famil- iar with l»elle-lettres, history, and the arts and sciences. When, or how, he acquired his knowledge of these things, I am unable to say; probably, however, while he was a youth, ])cfore he went to college, and when he was there, he laid up such treasures, by diligent improvement of his golden Ojjportunities, as enabled him to fill his future dig- nities with the accomplishments that became them. I have just alluded to his attainments in civil engineer- ing. It is well known to the profession that he was so expert in the art of Practical Surveying as to give him HON. JOHN M . M R E H E A n . '' I great advautagc in trials of ciectiueiit, avIigii (juestiourf of bouudry were involved. It seemed to me that liis infor- mation was accurate, when occasion called for its display, on all points of meclianics, as well as those of architec- ture, from the building of a chimney according to the plan of Count Rumford, to the construction of tlie Dome "which Angelo suspended in the heavens." I remember, that at tliis place once, lie discoursed to me, to my delight and edification, when I was in the first years of manhood, on the sulyect of Metaphysics, pointing- out to me the progress of tlic science, stating and compar- ing the respective theories of Locke, Reid and Dugald Stewart, in regard to the powers or faculties of the human mind, and the peculiar office of the lunnan understanding. In public and private discourse, lie frequently made such allusions to history as showed liim well ac(|uainted with the grand events on wliicli the rise, progress and fall of nations had turned. AVith unpremeditated facility he could recite, with elTect and point, from Milton, Shakespeare, Campljcll, Burns and other classical and Ijclle-lettres writers, and several of his professional brethren now present will probably never for- get the electrical effect he produced in a trial at Stokes, when defending a beautiful woman, by a most apposite rpiotation from one of the poems of Savage. lie was no pedant, however, and indulged no vain osten- tation. He had read "Miiltim;, sell uoii uiulta," Much, but not many hoolcs. 1'his I deem botli wise in liim and fortunate for his country. He was a man of original ideas, and was for the most })art controlled by his own and not by the views of others. Had it been otherwise with him, he might \\\\\v liecome, as too many are in the ])i'esent day. " Deep versed iu books, but sliallow in thoniselvcs." •18 IN M E M O R I A JI . lie was a luorking man. The pruniineut trait of liis char- acter was practical vigor — l)ut lie had enough acquired information from books, enougli oi' literary taste and re- spect for learning, to rescue his lionorcd name from the list of the followers of Omar, and to place it in its right- ful association with those of the cultivated, enlightcd and li1)eral gentlemen and statesmen of the niutcenth century in tlic great christian Republic of America. It is deeply to 1)C regretted, that none of the fine dis- plays of his talents as a lawyer and statesman remain to us in print. His fame would on this account be the less enduring, were it not that imposing edifices i)rojected by liis genius and reared under his superintendence, for the instruction, sustenance and comfort of the Deaf, Dumb, the Bliiul, and the stricken victims of Lunacy, stand gracefully erect and point higli toward Heaven, to speak constantly his praise — while Engines of Steam, running with animating celerity from East to West, and through- out the State, will catch the strain and rejieat it with joy- ous acclaim to future generations. Young brethren of the Bar, Youth of Rockingham! a word to you, and I have done, — •'Lives of great men al! reniiiicl us Wc can make our livoy sublime, And departing leave behind ns I'ootprints ou the sands of Time ! " vammmmmmmmmmmm ti^i:bxjtei TO THE GENIUS AND WORTH OF JOHN M. morp:head. By WILL. LAFAYKTTE SCOTT. Though ''honor's voice" cannot "provoke tlie silent dust," nor the sincerest regard " soothe the dull cold ear of death;" yet it is a sad pleasure to one, Avho admires sterling genius and loves exalted worth, to sit down by the graves of the distinguished dead and there review the parts which they acted in the great drama of this life. Nor is it a pleasure only — It is a solid advantage to the intelligent mind and an improvement to the heart, that lookcth up for purity and moral elevation. Thence is the gold of true and practical wisdom, that wisdom which illumines the darkened way of this world. Unlike too many of the gifted, John Motley jMore- HEAD lived to some pifi-posc. He acted his part, in the drama of life, well, effectively, illustriously. Departing, like the comet sweeping through space, he hath left a long and blazing light behind him; dead and buried, his life is not obscured and lost — he yet liveth and speaketh. Eve- rywhere and to everybody he was useful. By his splendid abilities and untiring energy, not only did he amass a handsome private fortune and place his name on high 50 IN M E M R I A M among the distinguished statesmen and orators of tlie country; but he did more than any one else to advance the cause of general internal improvement and to promote the interest and welfare of his State. Not merely was he eminently great in the political world; but in the social circle and the learned coterie, he was graceful, genial, witty, brilliant and fascinating. The loss of such a man is, at all times, a calamity, — in this day of our tribulation, it is incalculable. Nor do his own neighbors alone mourn his demise: "All ye that were about him bemoan him; and all ye that knew his name, say, ' How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod ! ' " Though Gov. MoREHEAD liad abandoned the practice of the law many years before my appearance at the Bar, yet it was my fortune, while quite a youth, attending, out of childish curiosity, upon the sittings of the Superior Court of Guilford, to see him and to hear liim. Of what he said, 1 have not now even a dim recollection; but the impression which he made upon my youthful mind by his power of tliought, eloquence of utterance, and fascination of man- ner, time, like the stream its clmnnel, hath only deepened. My mother had told me how charming are the angels of licaven, and my youthful imagination fancied, he must he like them. To me he was the most captivating talker I had ever lieard. Of all the things dearest to a child is his little pet animal, and he delights to associate with it the oljject next most admired. Such was the spell he threw over my heart, that so soon as I returned home, my pet's name was changed to Morehead. Nor did that spell ever break. From that time my admiration of this great man commenced, and to liis death it continued. He was in tlie golden prime of matured manhood, and at the noon of his professional fame. He had wrestled up to that em- inence with such men as Murphey, Nash, Toomer, Yancey, Henderson, Dick, Wilson, Mendenhall and Settle, wlio HON". JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 51 passed to eternity before liim, and with Ruffin, Graham, Caldwell, Boyden, Gorrell, Gilmer, Kerr and Poindexter, who are yet ornaments of their profession and of their country. He was about two-score-and-two-years old; the weight of years had not stooped his shoulders; his hair was only slightly " besprent with rays and gleams of silver light;" his face was smooth-shaven; a mild lustre usually lit his blue eyes, but in a moment of animation, they spark- led like the brightest stars; his forehead was not high, yet massive; his nose slightly Roman; his chin prominent; his lips compressed; not unfrequently, when in deep thought, he indulged in a whispering whistle; and his dress was elegant, but never ostentatious. Such was he as I first saw him, nor can that image ever pass from my memory. The life-true picture, which was then daguerreotyped in my plastic young heart, was taken from the whole appear- ance of the man in repose and in action. Thenceforward, it has been to me the subject of profound study; but never have I seen, in the walks of life, nor has my imagination conceived, a man so all-gifted as he was. His " * * mind was an essence, compounded with art From the finest and best of all other men's powers." As a lawyer, he was pre-eminently great. That learned jurist, Judge Caldwell, remarked to me shortly after his death was announced, that " Gov. Morehead knew the fundamental principles, of the law by intuition, and, as an advocate, he had no equal." The mouth of a wide and common tradition, too, says, he spoke magnetically. He knew all the avenues to the understanding and the passions, and for home-thrusts, heart-thrusts, he was famed above any man of his times. " Of human feelings," he was, like the immortal Sheridan, "the unbounded lord." As was sung of this Irish orator, he i< * * :fr nilcd, like a wizard, the world of the heart. And coiild call np its sunshine, or bring down its showers." '>- IN ME M R I A M He enshrined the ricliest and most solid thoughts in the most transparent and powerful language. His reason- ing was rapid, cogent, vehement, overpowering. Hearing liim, at times, suggested the ancient story of Vulcan forg- ing and Jupiter hurling thunderbolts. Sometimes, he ex- amined a witness with the sweetness and witchery of one sueing for the love of a beautiful damsel, and seldom did he fail to win so upon the witness as to make him a better friend of his client than of his adversary; and, at other times and when this plan failed, which was infrequent, he would press the witness with the impetuosity and terrible- ness of the driving storm. Scanning the man, he could, in a trice, tell whether he could be lured or driven, and he was governed, in the course of his examination, by this discovery. Before the Court, his persuasive argument was almost invincible — before the jury his earnest, impas- sioned, fervid eloquence was omnipotent. He forgot liim- self, forgot display, thought only of his cause — his client — success. Though he was not always successful, a client seldom suffered in his hands — he could, in every thing, make '"the worse appear the better reason." He tried an action of ejectment with matchless ability and skill; Ijut lie was most distinguished as a criminal practitioner. He never had a client to pay the forfeiture of liis life upon the gallows, though he appeared in the trial of, perhaps, every capital felony, on his judicial circuit, for a number of years before he retired from the practice of the law. To say this is to pronounce the highest panegyric upon his alulity, ingenuity, skill and eloquence. Of few besides the wizard-lipped Clay and himself, even among the ablest and fullest practitioners, can thus much be truly said. Of him as a public man, all, even the youngest, know much. Nor will it be profitless for young men of ambi- tion, who have entered, or intend to enter, his profession, to consider, that he consented to represent his people oidy ''^~~''~~°'"'"°"™~~'T~~""~7™TTTWnnHll^ HON. JOHN JI . M R E H E A D tJiree times in the lower house of our General Assembty during- the long period in which he practised law — twenty- one years. His profession absorljed all liis time and en- listed all his great powers of intellect. Thus he worked his way easily and early to the proudest distinction in the abstrusest science known to man. When he entered poli- tics, he was not as thoroughly versed in its history in our government as were many of fewer years than himself. But he knew how to study; he was apt to learn; he bent his whole strength and energy to its successful prosecution; and, in an inconceivably short time, he had fully mastered it. His gubernatorial contest, in the summer of 1840, with Gen. Saunders, one of the giants of the State, is without a parallel in canvassing in North Carolina. Both were Titans; both were in the vigor of life; both were exceed- ing ambitious; Morehead was no politician; Saunders was a shrewd, learned and dexterous one; politics was running higher in the State than ever before or since; never was a contest involved in more uncertainty; large and eager crowds met them everywhere they went, and they traversed the State from the blue waves to the blue mountains; and fired by the excitement of the occasion and the hope of success, they struggled and battled with the power, the fervor and the indomitaljleness of the giants of the olden time. From that intellectual gladiature, he came out suc- cessful, triumphantly so, both in debating and gaining votes. Never was the banner of any cause borne more proudly and gloriously, than was that of Whiggery in that year and in that canvass and by that man ! On entering upon the duties of the Executive oflico, as in the practice of his profession, he devofed his undivided energies and talents to the interest and welfare of the State. From that hour he began to erect momnnents of State-pride, which are more dural)le than those of marl)le or of Ijrass. Every engine wliich is daily treading its 54 IN M E M R I A M . iron-pathway in the borders of the State, whistles and thunders his zeal, his activity, his patriotism and his glory, exerted and achieved in the cause of internal improvement. Every common school-house, which dots our hills and val- leys, points to him as the ardent friend of general educa- tion. The Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind mourns not a little the loss of its kindest benefactor. The superb building which stands near the great central road and whicli is the home of impaired and lost minds, silently but impressively proclaims how he gloried in that benevo- lence which immortalized a Howard, a Dix, an Everett, a Dobbin, and other great names in history! His second canvass was with the gifted and eloquent Louis D. Henry, whose political armor was not less highly burnished than that of any public man of the State. Tlieir discussion in Cumberland is yet fresh in the memor- ies of all who heard it, Henry opened the debate. He was flushed with the liighest hopes. He was on his native heath and surrounded by the friends of his youth and ear- lier manhood. Consciousness of this made him strong and eager for the contest and more unsparingly severe in his attacks upon the public life of his competitor. He charged him with being largely interested in the Banks and with being heavily indebted to them. Seeing, as he advanced in his brilliant and terrific argument, the brightening and exulting countenances of his own friends and the down- sinking and despairing faces of his competitor's, he rose liigher and higher, and roused up more and more, until he towered imperially and grandly in the pride and power of his invective, his denunciation and his eloquence. He ap- peared a young ^od in the might and majesty of his extra- ordinary intellectual effort. When Gov. Morehead arose, liis friends could scarcely hold up their heads. They felt whipped — completely demolished. None could see any way of escape for him from the deplorable predicament in HON. JOHN M , M O R E H E A D . . 55 which Henry had left him. He, however, was as cahii as a summer day — perfectly self-possessed. Embarrassment had never entered his mind. He saw his way clearly — his whole soul was stirred in thought but not in excitement — and his triumph glittered and glowed in his imagination. He reviewed the history of the Banks; spoke, at length, of the independence of one who was so fortunate as to be largely interested in them; depicted the horrible and woe- ful condition of one so vastly indebted to them as he was represented to l)e by his competitor; as he advanced and culminated in drawing this dreadful picture, his friends, believing that his condition, were more deeply depressed and looked like they desired to slink away to hiding places^but when he reached the climax of his friends' despair and his enemies' joy, seeming to rise higher than was his wont, pausing, — it was an awful pause — ^and cast- ing his eyes around upon his whole audience, he proudly — as none Ijut he could — and defiantly exclaimed: ^^ I have not a single dollars interest in the Banhs — I oive them not one copper cent !! '' What a change in the crowd! His friends looked as joyously as a mother to whom a lost babe has been restored unharmed; and his enemies like the lords at the banquet of Timon of Athens, when, he crying out: "Uncover dogs, and lap!" they, obeying or- ders, uncovered the dishes and found them full of warm water ! He then carried every thing before him. Henry and his friends never rallied, nor did he over that discus- sion during the campaign. Morehead was re-elected. As a stump-orator. Gov. Morehead perhaps never liad an equal. Coleridge lias said: "what comes from the heart goes to the heart." That was his secret of success — he spoke from the heart, felt what he said, reached the hearts of those who heard him and made them feel as lie did. I have seen him take a crowd, wearied and exliausted by other speakers, and in five minutes have them scream- Mi njra 56 IN MEMORIAM ing in the wildest huzzas, laughing fit to split their sides, or listening with the profoundcst attention to a solid. and mathematical argument, presented so as to take away all its dryness and even to make it truly fascinating. Tom. Moore, in his Memoirs of Sheridan, thus speaks of Edmund Burke, the great English statesman: "Even his eloquence, Aarious and splendid as it was, failed in general to win or command the attention of his hearers, and, in this great essential of public speaking, must be considered inferior- to that ordinary, but practical, kind of oratory, which reaps its harvest at the moment of delivery, and is after- wards remembered less for itself than its effect." Gov. MoREHEAD was Unlike Burke in this respect — his eloquence was felt overwhelmingly at the time and " remembered less for itself than its effect." Burke's was elegant and effective book-eloquence, will read well in all time to come; but he in himself had no power or fascination of manner to en- force it. Morehead's was living, earnest, practical, vigor- ous, grand and overpowering; and he had the manner, the eye, the voice, the everything to enchain an audience, hold them and send them away staggering, as it were, with his big thoughts and comprehensive views — thoughts and views so impressed as to never be forgotten, so impressed as generally to carry conviction. Had he devoted himself to national politics and stumping, he would have stood along with Clay and Prentiss at the head of American popular oratory. On retiring from the chief Magistracy of the State, in which he had spent four years of the best part of his life, he returned to Blandwood, his delightful suburban seat, not to re-enter upon his profession, but to become a purely business man, and to devote himself exclusively to his pri- vate affairs. His professional life had been pleasant and his practice lucrative; but he was at that age when he de- sired to quit such scenes and engage in pursuits loss ha- HOX. JOHN M, MORE HEAD. 57 rassing and less engrossing. He was sated of politics, and he was heartily tired of " wrangling courts and stubborn law." He dek^rmined, if possible, to realize the upper- most desire of Sir William Blackstone: ^ .. * * * let my ecttiug sun, at last, Find out the still, the rural cell. Where sage Retirement loves to dwell ! ' ' He early became greatly engrossed in manufacturing — for he could do nothing Avithout doing it with all his might — a business, which he carried on up to his death. He was a pioneer in that business, and his factory is situa- ted on a river and in a country that will, before many years, l^e vocal with the music of the spindle and the loom. The whole earth, from below his factory westward, forty or fifty miles, is richly imbedded with coal and iron, and in no land is there finer or more desirable mill and factory sites than along the noble Dan. Before he entered political life, he had erected commo- dious buildings for a female seminary, which he named Edgeworth, in honor of that good and gifted scholar, whose works every daughter of the country has read and admired. He manifested a great interest in its prosperity; cultivated the grove of oaks in whicli it is situate; had its walks lined v.'ith flowers and shrul)l)erry; procured able and efficient principals and professors; visited the school frequently during the sessions; and always attended its annual commencements. Before the late war, he had added another magnificent building, and the school was equal in proficiency of scholarship and excellency of dis- cipline to any in the whole South. Thence went forth, every May, thoroughly educated and accomplished young women, who are now scattered over nearly every Southern State, ornaments of their parents and husbands, and bless- ings to their children and society. He did not estaljlish this institution of learning in the expectation that it would 58 INMEMORIAM. yield liim much, if any, income; but he did it because of his great desire to spread female education, refine society and bless and elevate mankind. Nothing, neither the small- ness of numbers, the inconsiderableness of the income, nor flourishing competition, could have induced him to give it up so long as lie lived. During the very last year of the war, two causes stopped it: The difficulty of procuring provisions with the depreciated Confederate currency, and the demand of his buildings for a General Hospital for the sick and wounded soldiery. To thousands of persons there are, around and about Edgeworth, endearing and hal- lowed associations and memories, which make them hoi)e, that ere long its doors will he opened and the angel forms of sweet girls again line its walks and enliven its halls! No matter how correctly a person may conduct his walk in this life, the shafts of envenomed defamation will be, often sneakingly and sometimes openly, directed against him. 'Twas so in the highest type of man that ever trod the earth. Nor is it, therefore, wonderful, that it should l)e so in the case of frail mortals. Gov. Morehead, with all his moral elevation of character and greatness of intel- lect, did not escape. Ever and anon it was whispered, that lie was selfish. That was the principal charge against liim in his autumn days — selfishness! A*,', lie Avas selfisli — not meanly, sordidly and basely so — l)ut eminently and nobly selfish ! No man is worth a groat, who is totally destitute of this motive-power. Wlioevcr is selfless, cares nothing for the interests of others; Avlioever is selfless, despising the interests of others, would willingly see so- ciety demoralized and government demolished. In every man, there should be the element of selfishness; and to balance the man properly there should enter into his char- acter with it the principles of generosity, magnanimity, mercy, justice and charity. Such was Gov. Morehead's character — such was his selfishness. H X . JOHN M . M R E H E A D . 59 While he made a mere pittance out of the large amount of capital invested in Edgeworth and its lovely grounds, the citizens of this town and county, and even of adjoining- counties and States, were largely benefited — merchants and farmers at home and patrons abroad, the merchant and farmer in selling merchandize and produce, and the latter in receiving back their daughters thoroughly and elegantly educated. In this wasn't he selfish ? — nobly and eminently so in carrying on such an unpaying institution for upwards of thirty years ? He, too, dignified the ofilce of Justice of the Peace for several years in taking upon himself its irksome duties and heavy responsibilities — for its responsibilities are weighty when properly and fully appreciated — and acted for a time as Chairman of the Court of Pleas and Quarter- Sessions for Guilford. Here, he was exceedingly selfish, giving his ability, time and learned acquirements to the county by presiding in court four weeks in the year, and deciding questions of law, and despatching business with the accuracy and promptness of a profound, patient and working Judge. Wasn't he selfish — eminently and nobly selfish ? As we have stated before, he was the pioneer in this section of North Carolina in rearing factories and in driving them. All know, that the factories in this part of the State, in consequence of Ijeing unable to compete with those of Lowell and other cities and States North, never made much, if any money, before the war. Still, he carried his on, and even while he w^as expiring in the mountains of his native State, his spindles and his looms were still running. This was selfish, indeed ! — striving, mid loss and adversity, to compete with the splended mills of the North! Would that we had thousands of his like! Just such selfishness would make our lands, in this State, l>lossom as the rose. (50 IN MEMOllIAM Upon the announcement of his name as a candidate for the Senate, or House of Commons, some potty county politician would start the story, that Gov. Moeehead had some particular interest to subserve, otherwise he would not be before the people ; and that the people understood this and would defeat him. He never canvassed fully — his business would not permit, nor was it needful. He Avould sometimes speak at three or four places in the county, and when the election passed, notwithstanding these slanders and he could not visit all parts of the county, he was the highest in the field. Yes, he is charged with being selfish in representing his people, — for what ? Not for the honor of the position, he had that and higher honors ; not to make reputation, his name was " a household word ; '' he had lived past all this ! He had a purpose in going to the General Assembly— would that all had! — and his purpose was patriotic, good, noble ! He helped push through the charters for several of our public roads ; not only aided in having them passed, but traversed our State from one end to the other, along the line of the roads, making his ablest and most eloquent speeches to get up the stock necessary to l)e taken to secure the charters ; while the rebellion was progressing, he seized an opportunity, which offered, to accomplish the connection between Danville and this place ; and at the very last meeting of the Stock- holders of the North Carolina Railroad Company, he put forth his comprehensive and grand scheme for the consol- idation and extension of some of the roads of the State. Selfish in all this? Yes, eminently and nobly so? Didn't all of us want the Danville connection? Is it not a benefit to all of us? Has it not enhanced our real estate and afforded us greater traveling and marketing facilities? Could it be of any more advantage to him ? Did he not l)enefit thousands more than himself? Was it not a pat- riotic State work, greatly needed and desired — long HON. JOHN M. MORE HEAD. 61 wished for? Was not the Central road a great State desideratum? Could we have done without it? Was it not important to push the iron-railway from Goldsborough to the sea-shore? Do you call this selfish? If so, may Heaven raise up other intellectual giants to push forward general internal improvements, until such selfislHiess checkers our whole territory with railways, and every nook and corner of the State are aroused and energized by the tread and neigh of the mighty iron-horse! Ah! but we are told, he planted the foundation of a city at the terminus of the Atlantic road, and that was the reason he was so anxious for it ! Suppose he did — all we regret is that it is not now as populous as New Orleans or New York. Should his efforts already expended there be tlic means of building up and making Morehead City large, opulent and flourishing, we should bless his name and honor his memory. It would, like most he did, benefit and l)less others more than it did him or can his descen- dants. 0, for more such selfishness! The first and only public position which Gov. Morehead ever filled, of a national character, was that of a delegate in the Peace Conference, that assembled in the City of Washington early in 1861. He went there an ardent and devoted friend of the Federal Union. He went there hopefully — he went there to labor and to counsel for the accomplishment of the great end in view. He bent all of his energies; exerted all of his skill and persuasion; worked continuously and untiringly for a month, to stay the tide of blood and woe, which, all feared, was setting in rapidly and irrcsistably. But the patriotism which called that august body together, was destined to disap]iointment. Bad ambitions determined, that the dogs of war should be let slip. On his return, the citizens of Guilford assembled in the court-room to hear his account of the doings of the Conference. None, who heard it, will ever forget liis 62 TN ME M or. T AM, speech. All had escaped the Pandora-box except hope. He still hoped, but it was scarcely more than the hope of an expiring man. His usually bright face wore an expres- sion of the deepest gloom. He had loved the Union long, he had loved it well, and to think of its disruption was heart-rending to such a patriot and statesman. His words were full of pathos and tenderness, and he counseled a wise and firm moderation and an implicit trust in Him, who ruleth among the kingdoms, empires and repul:)lics of the earth. That was the last time he talked for the Union, a cause in behalf of which the utterances of his tongue had been more eloquent than on all other subjects to which he had ever spoken. In the incipiency of the Southern government, lie was chosen by the Legislature of the State to represent this Congressional district in the Provisional Congress. He served for a short time in that body, which soon gave place to what was called the Permanent Congress. He never filled another office during the rebellion, nor since. Here his public life closed. Like a number of other illustrious names which might be mentioned, he was not of that school of politicians who were called into places of trust and re- sponsibility by the Chief of the Confederacy. Nor did that "lost cause" have the benefit of his genius and ability to keep it from sinJving, as it has, irrctrieval)ly and forever. Gov. MoREHEAD was now passing through the mellow and beautiful Indian summer of his life — that ])eriod of man's existence Avhen he ceases to chase the phantoms of fickle fame and deceitful hope, and, though he looks into the future, it is less at things temporal than things eternal — that season when the mind turns back fondly and often to the sweet days of childhood, and reviews carefully and minutely the struggles, trials, perils, defeats and triumphs of ripe and stalwart manhood. Second-childhood, into which tlicaged pass long before the strength and lu'illiance ■^ HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD, 63 of tlic intellect arc weakened or dimmed, is more l)lissfal than first. Ignorance as well as innocence constitutes, to a considerable degree, the bliss of the first ; but the hap- piness of the second is heightened by the fruits of large experience and chastened wisdom. The old man lias felt the mildness of the child's spring-time, the heat and excite- ment of the young man's summer, and the sharp frosts and pinching blasts of the aged's autumn; three score winters have wliitcned his locks and they have whitened his heart as well; if he never inclined to it Ijcfore, his mind then ac(iuires a fondness for reflection and philosophizing — all these prepare him, at that time of life, to enjoy more in- tensely his past, which comes to him with the softness, loveliness and witchery of pleasant dreams. " Those days, so sereue and so cliarming, Awaken a dreamy delight — • A tremulous, tearful enjoyment, Like soft strains of music at night ; We know they are fading and fleeting, That quickly, too quickly, they'll end. And wo watch them with a yearning affection. As at parting we watch a dear friend." He was always social and affable; but his sociability and affableness increased very much in his latter days. He was much more at home than hitherto, and had more lei- sure to mingle with his neighbors and friends. We re. member vividly and with exquisite pleasure the evenings which he was wont to spend down town in the summer and autumn of 1865 and in^e spring and summer of 1866. Those were halcyonian evenings! He was always fond of conversation and' was gifted with the most brilliant con- versational powers. His conversations on these evenings, though frequently on public matters, the status of the South and the prospects ahead of us, showed that his mind luxuriated in recurring to the remote past, his school-boy, professional and public days. Of these, he was full of anecdotes, amusing and instructive; narrative, thrilling and touching: and information, historic and philosophic. Of pleasant evenings, wlien lie was on the street, his friends would gather around him where he was seated in the cool shade and there sit and listen, with rapt attention, for hours, and sometimes until deep twilight, at his des- criptions of eases in which he had appeared, his account of public men and political scenes in which he was a prom- inent actor, his flashes of wit and good humor, his schemes for repairing the ruined fortunes of the State and of in- di\iduals, and his trust in Providence, that all things would work together for our common weal. He touched a va- riety of topics and never without illumining each. The conversations of the intellectual and cultivated, wdio are in the " sear and yellow leaf" of life, are always highly edifying. A shrewd observer and profound thinker, in- deed any one, learns more from such a source than from l)Ooks, more that is practical. They are living hooks. They may not always be strictly accurate in their learn- ing; l)ut the same may be said, not infrequently, of authors witli their libraries before them. In listening to the Avise, and gifted, and talented, you have the charm of the voice, the lustre of the eye, and a kindling, stirring eloquence and fervor, which never can be transferred to the pages of an author, no matter how mucli he may transfuse himself into his writings. ^Vhcn the spring and summer come again, his fine, ven- erable form will be missed in our streets and his chair va- cant in our social gatherings. His place, alas, can never bo lillc'd — Ave shall "never look upon his like again" in the circle of our friends. ''A really great man," says the Hon. Henry W. Hilliard, "is the grandest object this world ever exhiliits. The licavcns in their magnificence — the ocean ill its sulilinic immensity — mountains standing firm upon their granite foundations, all are less imposing than a liv- ing man in the possession of his highest faculties. Demos- tlicnes urging the Athenians to marcli against Phillip, in- HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 65 terests us more than all Greece. Hannibal scaling the Alps with his victorious legions, is a sublimer object than the Alps themselves. Marius seated upon the ruins of Carthage, makes us forget the fall of an empire in con- templating the fortunes of a man. Nelson upon the deck of the Victory, with the star glittering upon his breast, is a grander sight than the two hostile fleets. Napoleon at Waterloo, riding to the brow of the hill at the head of the Imperial Guard when they were to make their last charge upon the British lines, is an object of higher interest than all the stern array of battle beside. Lord Chatham sink- ing in the House of Lords, is the noblest object in the Brit- ish empire; and Washington, crossing the Delaware at night, amid the crashing ice, fixes our attention in the midst of the dread magnificence of the winter scene, and we look upon him as we would upon an avenging arch- angel going forth to smite the invading army." Such ap- peared Gov. MoREHEAD in the grand intellectual contest in the House of Commons of this State at the session of 1858-'9, when, the ablest and most eloquent men in that body for five days having attacked his plans of internal improvement and levelled their arguments, invective, ridi- cule and denunciation against him so boldly and unmerci- fully that all thought him overwhelmed, he arose and for three days vindicated his plans and himself in the most powerful, withering, masterly, eloquent and triumphant argument, that ever fell from mortal lips. Nor was he less grand in the private walks of life. Unlike many of the distinguished, nearness did not diminish the stature of his greatness. On retiring from the Presidency of the North Carolina Railroad Company, in his farewell address to the Stock- holders at this' place, July 12th, 1855, he said in conclu- sion — words so thrilling I never have forgotten them — 9 66 INMEMORIAM ^^Living, I have spent Jive years of the best portion of my life in the service of tJie North Carolina Railroad, — dying, my sincerest prayers will he offered up for its prosperity and its success — dead, I loish to be buried along side of it in the bosom of tny oivn beloved Carolina ! " That wish is realized. He now sleepeth in the bosom of his own Caro- lina and beneath the sound of every engine which treads majestically the iron-railway that runs near his grave. Though he is now no more to be seen among us, there stand all around us his monuments of renown, which are calculated to perpetuate his genius and worth, to inspire the timid, to energize the weak, to inspirit the dejected, and to enthuse the cold and indifferent with a devoted and undying patriotism and a lofty State pride! SOCIAL REMINISCENCES OF JOHN M. MOREHEAD. By T^IPvS. MARY BAYARD CLARKE. "A WOMAN reading after a man/' says some writer, " like a gleaner following in the wake of a reaper, will gather many a full ear from a field which he has reaped; and the grains of knowledge which she will thus pick up arc often those which are most useful and desirable." That it is sometimes the same when she writes after one, is the only excuse that can be oftered to the reader for laying before him these gleanings from the field reaped by the Hon. John Kerr, in his oration before the Bar of Rockingham county, on the life and character of the Hon. John M. MoREHEAD. But, if thcsc social reminisences of him shall garner one golden grain that might otherwise have been lost, they will not be uninteresting to the people of North Carolina. " I would not take ten dollars for that grip of the hand on the breast of his coat," said one of his old friends to Gov. Morehead's daughter, when he first saw the portrait of her father by Mr. William Garle Brown, who, with true artistic taste, had caught the Governor in one of his favourite positions and transferred a life-like portrait of him to his canvass. And it may be the same with others, who, in this pen and ink sketch, will be pleased to find trifling anecdotes and incidents, as inappropriate in a fin- ished oration like Mr. Kerr's, as the grip on the coat in 08 IN MEMORIAM Mr. Brown's picture would have been had he sought to portray Gov. Morehead addressing an audience, or tak- ing the oath of office, instead of representing him as he appeared in every-day life to his family and friends. Mr. Kerr has shown the lawyer, the statesman, the finan- cier, and the railroad prince; but there is another, and to those who venerate his memory as that of a friend, a brighter side to Gov. Morehead's character. Though eminently genial and pleasant in his social intercourse with all, there was a modesty and reticence about him, that concealed from all but his intimate friends tlie almost womanly delicacy and tenderness of his disposition; quali- ties only displayed in that inner life of the affections of which mere acquaintances caught but a passing reflection. A coarse or indelicate expression never fell from his lips, and, with all that knowledge of human nature which gen- erally cliaracterizes the successful business man, he was yet singularly free from suspicion of evil, and seemed to guard instinctively against fraud and dishonesty, and not from any fear of meeting with deceit in the person with whom he was dealing. Decision was a prominent trait of his character, he saw his way at a glance, and promptly and perseveringly pursued it until he attained his end. But few of those who looked on him only as the shrewd finan- cier and eminently practical man of business, who liy his activity, or " masterly inactivity," had built up a splendid fortune, ever thought of him as the polished scholar whose taste in the fine arts was as elegant as it was correct. He was always opposed to sending Southern girls to be educated in Northern schools, and, tliat he might keep his daughters at home, founded the Edgeworth Seminary. He spared no expense on it; the buildings and all appointments were in the best and most appropriate style ; the grounds cultivated and adorned, and a corps of the best teachers always employed. It was a benefit to the State, and so HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 69 flourisliing that it was generally tlioiight to be one of his usual " paying speculations ;" but this was not so, he never received even a fair interest on the money he invested in the buildings, and died a poorer, rather than a richer man, from what he expended on Edgeworth. But he was not disappointed ; he derived all that he had expected from it ; it was one of his luxuries, for it was thus that he indulged his tastes and enjoyed his money. He spent his money as he made it, profusely yet wisely, and seemed equally to enjoy the making and the spending. He was magnificent in all his views, yet always practical. If he built a chicken coop, it was a chicken palace, and an ornament to his grounds ; but it was also the best possible arrangement for securing the ends for which it was intended. He never sacrificed the useful to the ornamental, but so judiciously combined the two, that it was hard to suggest an improve- ment in anything which he had carefully considered and planned. He had a great love of beauty and elegance, was very fond of pictures and architecture, had a decided taste for drawing, and frequently regretted he could not sketch from nature. Edgeworth was always supplied with the very best teachers of painting as an accomplishment, as well as with the best instructors of music, of which he was passionately fond. A concert by the teachers of the school, assisted by the pupils, was one of his most agreeable relaxations, for he not only enjoyed the pleasure of listen- ing to the music, but had the satisfaction of feeling that lie had been instrumental in diffusing a knowledge of this delightful science among the young people of his State, Avhich, to a mind like his, was quite as great a gratifica- tion. When a young man, he played well on the flute himself ; but the best years of his life, as well as his latter days, were so given up to business, that few but the friends of his youth were aware of the correct taste for the fine mmmmimmmmamaKmmammBBmiiaieaaam 70 INMEMORIAM. arts which he concealed under a jocosely affected ignorance of such matters. On one occasion, when Mr. Cadger was admiring an oil painting executed by one of his daughters, Mrs. Morehead, who had a quiet wife-like pride in her husband, remarked, as though fully accounting for its excellence, " Letitia gets her taste for painting from her father." "Ah, that's always the way with you wives," replied Mr. Badger : " Your children are but looking glasses in which you imagine that you see your husbands reflected. I don't believe a^word of it ; Morehead knows no more about paint- ing than I do ; he can tell when a picture pleases him, per- haps, just as he can tell whether he has had a good dinner, but lie knows no more about painting one, than he does about cooking the other ;" then turning to Governor More- head, he said, " am I not right, Governor, does not your daughter get her talent from her mother?" "Certainly slie does," was the prompt reply, and before Mrs. More- head could utter a disclaimer, he continued, "and she gets from her mother also, that patience and perseverance, to cultivate a talent, without which the possession of it is useless." Though by no means the brilliant conversationalist that Mr. Badger Avas, Governor Morehead had a pleasant wit, and told a story very effectively. lie had a fund of anec- dote, and could toss back a repartee or a joke so as to keep a dinner table alive with merriment. His wit was pre-eminently genial, although he had a keen sense of the ridiculous, he never allowed himself to ridicule any one, and could with unconscious power take off a character without descending into the mimic. Even in his political speeclies, he seemed more desirous of winning the good opinion of his hearers to himself, than of exciting their animosity against his opponent, whom he treated as an antagonist in a fencing match, to be carefully guarded umasB HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD 71 against, and skilfully parried, and not as an enemy to be mortally wounded. His encounters were those of the tilt- yard rather than the battle field, and while he bore himself gallantly, he sought rather to disarm than to wound, to defeat than to destroy. He carried into the arena of poli- tics the courtcsey of the Bar, and treated his opponent as he did the opposing counsel in a law case. His first canvass of the State was at a time of unusual political bitterness, which some times affected the social cordiality that would otherwise have existed between per- sons well suited for intimacy. There was not a particle of this in Gov. MoeehExS.d. He once with great grav- ity, advised tlie daughter of a staunch Whig, " never to marry a Democrat on any consideration whatever," — and then with a merry twinkle in his eye added, " unless he is a very clever fellow indeed, in which case, my dear, never let him pass." Tlie lady married a Democrat, and some years after was playfully rallied by Governor Swain, at a Chapel Hill connncncement ball, for deserting the ranks of the Whig party and going over to the enemy. Turning to Gov. Morehead, who was present, the lady replied, " I did so. Governor, l)y the express advice of this great Whig champion." " Ah, how's that. Governor Morehead ? Come into court. Sir, and answer to the charge of giving aid and com- fort to the enemy." Gov. Morehead replied, that he could not contradict a lady, but he really had no recollection of her having con- sulted him in her love affairs. She related the charge he had given her, and appealed to Governor Swain to know if she had not obeyed it. " The court is against you, Sir," replied Governor Swain, " and will hear your defence. What is it ?" "That in politics, as in religion, we sliould always select our very best, most intellectual and highly cultivated men '^ mufmrnn aBomt 72 IN MEMORIAM and women, as missionaries to convert the heathen ; and I wish every young Democrat had a good Whig wife, bent on converting her husband from his political errors." The heartiness and magnanimity with which he would forgive, or ignore all personal attacks made on him in the heat of political strife, was another characteristic of Gov. MoREHEAD ; he not only felt no animosity himself, but overlooked it in other. When Col. John H. Wheeler was elected Treasurer, a question of law arose as to the valid- ity of the bond he had given, and Governor Morehead refused to accept it until the question was decided. As Col. Wheeler was a Democrat, his party immediately asserted that there would have been no trouble had he been a Whig, and bitterly assailed this action of the Gov- ernor, who, however, stood firm, and had the matter l)rought before the Supreme Court, which decided in his favor. Among those who had been most active against Gov. Morehead was Colonel Duncan K. McRae, who no sooner heard.the decision of the court, than with an impet- uosity characteristic of him, he walked straight to the Governor's office, and with the frankness of a true gentle man and a generosity equally characteristic, held out his hand and said : " Governor, I have come to apologize for my remarks respecting the course you have pursued with regard to the Treasurer's bond. I see now that you were right, and regret that in the heat of the moment I imputed your con- duct to political motives only ; I beg leave, therefore, to retract what I said, and hope you will accept my apology and my hand." Taking his offered liand in the si)irit in wliich it was extended. Governor Morehead replied : " Your words gave me no offence, Mr. McRae, for I knew they were uttered under a misapprehension of my motive ; but your retraction of them gives me great plea- HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 73 Bure, for it sliows that the misapprehension on your part is removed. You are a younger man than I am, and have not yet learned that in politics, as in every thing else, it is best always to keep cool and take things easy." Perhaps no man was ever more misunderstood liy liis political opponents, but every year more and more reveals the wisdom of his plans for the good of his State, and shows that they were not dictated by the selfish policy sometimes imputed to him. Those who cried out against the terminus of the Atlantic road being at Morehead City, and asserted that it was carried there because of the large bodies of land owned by Gov. Moeehead at that point, did not look far enough back, or they would have seen that he owned the land because he was convinced that the rail- road should, and eventually would, be run to that point, and did not run it there because he had first purchased these lands. An old sea-captain who lived in Beaufort, and whose property would have been greatly enhanced in value had the road run to that point, remarked, Avhen some one regretted that it did not do so : " Gov. Morehead was striking for the best anchorage, and he hit it as true as if he had been In-inging a vessel into this harbor for twenty years. Morehead City is the point for the terminus; vessels of any draught can lie right up at the wharf there, and they cant anywhere in Beaufort." He never appeared to better advantage than in his own house. Hospitality was an instinct witli him, and he would frequently bring guests in unexpectedly on his wife when she fancied her dinner was not worthy of them; but he always maintained that she never had a poor dinner, and when this did not satisfy lier house-keeping pride, w^ould add, " Well, Old Lady, the poorer your dinner is, the warmer let your welcome be;" and tlie guests at Bland- 10 maaammmmmmmmmmmmm 74 IN MEMORIAM wood were thus ever made to feel that they gave as much pleasure as they received. Mr. Kerr speaks of Governor Morehead's love for his younger brother, Mr. Abraham Moreliead, who died young, but not before he had given promise of being one of North Carolina's brightest stars. He was a classmate in college of Henry W. Miller, Esq., who was much at- tached to him, and frequently spoke of his bright genius: he was the author of several really fine poems; among others " The Hills of Dan," and " The Mississippi a Veri- similitude," which last has received high praise from more than one literary critic. Bishop Polk admired it greatly, and gave it to General Albert Sidney Johnston, sliortly after its publication, as a specimen of North Caro- lina poetry. Some years after. General, then Col. John- son of the Second United States Cavalry, spending an evening with a North Carolina lady, regretted that in his many wanderings he had unfortunately lost this poem. She handed him a copy of "Wood Notes," and pointing it out, requested him to read it aloud, which lie did, to the ad- miration of all present. Col. John Wilcox, a brother of Gen. Cadmus Wilcox, and a North Carolinian by birth, was present, and taking the book from General Johnsqji's liand, said, " Do you mean to tell me that this was writ- ten by a l)rother of that man of iron, that personification of railroads, John M. Morehead of North Carolina?" "If you had seen "that man of ,|ron," as you term liim. Col. Wilcox, when I did, it would not surprise you to hear that lie had written it himself," replied General Johnson. "I travelled with him once through the mountains of Vir- "•inia, and was struck with his enthusiastic admiration of the scenery, and the vivid descriptions which he gave of the beauties of that in Western North Carolina, and was not surprised when I discovered that he was the brother of the man who wrote the poem that I had admired so much." ■■ HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 75 This love of the beauties of nature characterized Gov. MoREHEAD to the day of his death. On being removed a short time before lie died to a more comfortable room tlian that which he then occupied, he said to his physician, " Ah Doctor, I have looked for the last time on that beautiful blue mountain." He retained the vigor and clearness of his mind to the last. A few days before his death, Mr. Wm. Southerlin, of Danville, Virginia, and some other gentlemen, went in to see him, and he conversed with such clearness on State im- provements, and showed such a depth and intimacy of knowledge, and such a grasp of mind, that they were ut- terly astonished, and Mr. Southerlin remarked, after leav- ing the room, " My God ! is it possible, he can be in a dy- ing condition ! he has laid out fifty years work for us in this conversation alone." Americans have been accused, and perhaps justly, of an undue worship of " the Almighty Dollar;" but it should be remembered, that money is the one thing most needful for advancement in a country where hereditary rank is not recognized. In England the younger son #f a peer of the realm stands a far better chance of getting a snug place in the gift of the government, than the son of a wealthy banker does. Such a fortune as that of the Rotli's childs will give its possessor weight anywhere, but a much less one, in a country where "Wall street merchants are a political power, and money the lever which takes the place of rank, will enable him to occupy the same relative posi- tion to that held by the great banker. This has made the business men of America socially and intellectually supe- rior to those of any other country. In England business men have their specialities and excel in them, Ijut taken out of them arc like an engine off tlic track; tliey run smoothly and swiftly in their appointed grooves, but out of them they jolt, jar and bungle. Wlien they have acquired 7B IN MEMOKIAM. fortunes, or a competency, they retire from business, often in the prime of life, and live on their money. With us, on the contrary, the business man generally dies in harness; he is at home among politicians and statesmen, for they were but what he is, and are but what he may become; he \ is at ease with the savant, and though his inferior in the knowledge pertaining to his speciality, can listen with pleasure to, and derive information from, his conversation; the technicalities of science may be, and perhaps are, un- known to him, but he is not oppressed by his ignorance, and though not a learned, is an intelligent listener. The well-educated business gentlemen, neither undervalues, nor overvalues money; he regards it as p, powerful lever in skil- ful hands, which become almost impotent in unskilful ones; it is to him the stream which may turn the machinery of a factory, or flow idly between its banks, beautifying the landscape perhaps, and deepening the verdure of the grass upon its banks, but adding nothing to the prosperity of the country. He will cheerfully bestow thousands in charity, or for the advancement of the arts and sciences, but he will n#t suffer himself to be defrauded of a dollar, or knowingly permit the waste of a shilling. Though cautious and careful in his money transactions, he may be warm in his friendships, and tender in his affections; ho exacts nothing from others that he is not willing to render in return, and the same qualities which make him success- ful in business, make him also a careful and provident fath- er, watchful for the present comfort and future well-being of his children. Such a man was the Hon. John M. MoREHEAD, the financier and railroad prince of North Carolina. At the present day, when the shattered and poverty, stricken condition of our country ianperatively calls on our young men to devote tlie wholA energies of their mind and l)ody to eminently practical Mirsuits, the contemplation of his character in all its aspec* cannot but HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 77 loe advantageous to them, by impressing on tlieir minds the conviction that the man who is truly practical, and working with all his energies for the material welfare of himself, his family, and his State, may yet shine in the home and social circle as the elegant and accomplished gentleman. The necessity of earning their bread by the sweat of the brow at an age when under happier auspices they would still be at their studies, may prevent their be- coming finished belle-lettre scholars, but it need not pre- vent their acquiring a general knowledge of literature, and becoming polished gentleman. Mr. Kerr has given them a portrait of the lawyer, the politician, and the rail- road prince; this carte-de-visite likeness represents him as he appeared to his friends in the bosom of his family, and if those who thus knew him pronounce it a correct likeness, let those who did not, look first to one picture, and then to the other, before forming an opinion of him as a man. I 78 IN MEMO RT AM. TRIBUTE OF RESPECT. University of North Carolina, Dialectic Hall, September 21st, 1866. The Dialectic Society has lost one of its most distin- guished and useful ornaments, by the death of the Hon. John M. Morehead, who departed this life on the 27 th ultimo, in the seventy-first year of his age. Mr. Morehead was a regular and most valued member of this Society for more than fifty years. He was gradu- ated at this University in 1817, was for one year a Tutor in the Institution, and soon after became one of its most active and efficient Trustees. Devoting his earlier man- hood to the profession of the law, he became the ablest advocate in the circuit in which he practiced. As a popu- lar orator, with power to sway the opinions and actions of men, he had few equals in the American Record. Twice elected to the office of Governor and called to many other public and valuable employments, he fulfilled them all with general acceptance and conspicuous usefulness to the coun- try and his native State. With a vigorous mind, an ener- getic and enterprising nature, and a natural control over men, the genius to project and power to execute the no- blest undertakings, he was equally distinguished and suc- cessful in the pursuits of a varied and private business, as in his patriotic and public career. Uniting with these cliaracteristics of mind, the highest manly Virtues, a cheer- ful and buoyant spirit, a conformable and social temper, and attractive manners, he was in private and public life one of the most eminent characters to whom the State has ever given birth. It is therefore resolved, That the members of this So- ciety, deeply regretting the deatli of their fellow-member, HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. 79 John M. Morehead, as a token of respect, the Hall of the Society be draped in mourning- for the term of thirty days. Be it also further resolved, That a copy of these resolu- tions be transmitted to the family of the deceased, and a copy filed in the Archives of the Society. A. W. RIEGER, ' ) J. R. STRAYHORN, V Committee. A. PHILLIPS, j At the Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the North Carolina Rail Road Company, held at Greensl^oro', July 12th, 186T: Mr. Paul C. Cameron introduced the following resolu- tions, which were unanimously adopted: Whereas, Since the last Annual Meeting of the Stock- holders of the North Carolina Rail Road Company, the death of the late Governor Morehead has occurred. In token of our sorrow for his death, and sympathy for his family, be it Resolved By the Stockholders of the North Carolina Rail Road Company, in general meeting assembled, that as individuals, as share-holders of this Company, and as citizens of the State at large, we heard at our homes, in the month of August last, of the death of this eminently useful, wise, and patriotic public man, with deep and sin- cere sorrow; that in a review of his active and well spent life, considered either with reference to his individual en- terprise, or his enlightened and far-seeing public spirit, the death of such a man could not be regarded otherwise than a great loss; but falling on us in the midst of the upheav- ings of defeat and the disasters of a great civil strife, to us of North Carolina and of this Company, his death is felt as a great State calamity. Resolved, That whilst friendship and eulogy have per- formed their offices in setting out truthful and just por- traits of the private worth and public services of this great man and true hearted North Carolinian, by none can his merits be longer and better rcmeml)ered than by us wlio had been accustomed to lean on his direction, and mmsBmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmamsmammamm 80 IN MEMORIAM ))e directed Ity Ms wisdom, in the services of this Compa- ny, in his earnest industry in securing its charter, in his manly and untiring efforts to induce tlie doubting citizens along its line to shoulder the enterprise, in his sleepless energy and zeal through all its dark days and early begin- nings, as its first President and chief builder, from which no factious opposition or false clamor could for an instant divert him from his great purpose to imbed in the soil of his native State, in his own day and under his own direc- tion, "a great Central Trunk Rail Way," as the best deli- verance of her citizens from commercial and agricultural bondage. Resolved, That from his early beginnings at the Univer- sity of the State, in which he sustained all the duties and obligations of pupil, tutor, and trustee, with the highest proofs of his utilitarian capacity, as well as by his exhibi- tions at the bar, and in the halls of legislation — before great masses of the people and as their chief executive officer — as by his support of all the leading enterprises of the day, which he sustained, not more by his persuasive eloquence than by his solid and liberal contributions, did he stamp himself upon the times and the memory of his fellow-citizens as a useful and practical man, equal to any position, and must be declared a public benefactor. Resolved, That we tender to his bereaved wife and chil- dren, the condolence of our sincere sympathy in the pain- ful bereavement that they have been called to suffer in the loss of their wise and affectionate friend and provident guardian. Resolved, That the President of this Company l)e in- structed to issue to Mrs. Governor Moreliead, a compli- mentary letter of Free Pass, inviting her and the members of her immediate family to continue the use of this Road during the remainder of her life. Resolved, That these resolutions be entered on the min- utes of this meeting, and that tliey be published with the annual report of the Company. wmmm HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD 81 Piedmont Rail Road Company, Richmond, Va., September 13th, 1866. At a meeting of the Board of Directors, held this day, present, A. S. Buford, Esq., President; John R. Edwards, A. F. Harvey, A. Y. Stokes, Wm. T. Sntherlin, Directors : Tlie President announced the death of Gov. Morehead in appropriate remarks, and offered the folloAving resohi- tions, which were unanimously adopted : Resolved, That this Board have received with sensations of profound sorrow the announcement of the recent death of Hon. John M. Morehead, a member of this Board. That the Board cannot forbear to express the deep sense of loss sustained by its members in this melancholy event, and desire hereby to record their high appreciation of the valuable and faithful service and sympathy so long ex- tended by the deceased to the interests of this Company, as well as of the other great public improvements to whicli he devoted so large a portion of his valuable life. That the Board hereby desire to testify their sincere sympathy with those of his family and fellow-citizens, who are more immediately afflicted by his untimely death. The following resolution was offered by Maj. Wm. T. Sutherlin, prefacing it with a few remarks on the distin- guished services and eminent talents of the deceased, after which the resolution was unanimously adopted. Resolved, That as a testimonial of our high appreciation of the exalted talents and eminent services of the Hon. John M. Morehead, deceased, of North Carolina, in the construction of many of the most important railroads in his own State, but especially for the liberal views and un- ceasing efforts for the past fifteen years, to obtain the charter from the Legislature of his native State for the construction of this Roa(J, the depot nearest Greensboro', N. C, and known as "Sepinaw" shall hereafter be known and designated l)y the Company as "Morehead Depot." Resolved, That a copy of the foregoing be furnished to the family of the deceased, and also to the newspapers of his State for publication. A copy from the minutes. E. A. BARBER, Secretary. 11 82 IN MEMORIAM. From the Raleigh (N. C.) Sentinel. THE LATE HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD. The telegraph announced, on yesterday, the death, on the day previous, at the Rockbridge Alum Springs, Vir- ginia, of the Hon. John Motley Morehead, of Guilford. Previous information had admonished us of his precarious hcaltli, but we had not anticipated a fatal termination of his malady. The intelligence of his demise will cause general regret throughout this State, of which he has been so distinguished and useful a citizen. Gov. Morehead was born in Rockingham county, July 1798, and was consequently, at the time of his death, in the 69th year of his age. He was educated by Rev. David Caldwell, and graduated, in 1817, at the University. In 1821 he represented the County of Rockingham in the House of Commons; after which he removed to Guilford and represented that county in the Legislatm-e of 1826 and 1827. During all this interval, and up to the year 1840, he pursued the profession of the law, — practicing at the bar of liis circuit with great success. In 1840 he was the candidate of the Whig party for Governor, and was elected over the Hon. R. M. Saunders, and re-elected in 1842 over the Hon. Louis D. Henry. Both of those campaigns, from tlie ability and vigor with which they were conducted, arc the most memorable in the political history of the State. In the prosecution of them Gov. Morehead acquired a reputation, as an effec- tive and popular stump-orator, second to that of very few men in the country. His administration as Governor of the State was characterized by unwearied industry, signal ability, and great acceptability to the people. To his ef- forts and management, the former Common School system of the State was largely indebted for its inauguration and perfection. HON. JOHN M. MOREHEAD, 83 In 1848, Gov. Morehead was President of the great Convention in Philadelphia, which nominated General Taylor for the Presidency. He was a member of the first Confederate Congress, and, throughout the progress of the late war, though strongly opposed to its inception, adhered to the fortunes of his State and section with a manly and unflinching fidelity. Few men, if any, have lived in North Carolina, who devoted themselves with greater assiduity, zeal and suc- cess, to the development of the material resources of the State. Perhaps the most active and influential of our citi- zens and capitalists in securing the charter of the North Carolina Railroad and the subscription to its stock, he was long its President, carrying to the discharge of the duties of that office a rare executive talent and a practical judgment that was seldom at fault in matters of business. He has been more or less identified, for the last twenty years and upwards, with all our works of Internal Im- provement, and with many of our mechanical and indus- trial enterprises, and contributed more to their general stimulation and success, it may with safety be asserted, than, perhaps, any other man in the State. In these re- spects he did North Carolina distinguished service. Gov. Morehead was for many years a Trustee of the University, and it was at the late Commencement of that Institution, deeply interested, as he always was, in the cause of education and in the success of the College, that we last met him, — in somewhat indifferent hcaltli, it is true, but with every reason to hope that his remarkably robust constitution would soon overcome the a])proaches of disease. In disposition and character Governor Morehead was genial, social and urbane. His death deprives the State of a representative man, — of one who had filled a very large measure of usefulness, 84 IN ME MORI AM and who was devoted to the interests of the Common- Avcalth. ITis fellow-citizens at large have reason to cher- ish his memory as a man of mark and a faithful public ser- vant, while the immediate community in which he resided is called upon to deplore the loss of one of its most emi- nent lights. It will not be slow in paying suitable tributes to his memory, and in recording its appreciation of his unconmion qualities. ^ ftmmmrn r'Bviiii»«aaiiii!s»ii i'i Kmm m (/ > i -I r..;^ Library of Congress