'" .'i-'' , o * o -^^ '••^ ^<' ... ^-<. '"•"' 0^' -■- "-^ "-"^ ^^^ ^. .^ .^^^ .^_^^,^ ,;^|£^.^ '.,^^^/ ,^'. ^^^^^. .^1^, t.^^^,.^ a V ^'^■n^. %'-^^\/ %"-?f^'/ \'^-/ -v^"'*/ \.--^^-;/ ^^'- %„«' /,^^<'. ". ,;'>^^ ' • » ' .^'">^ <^'% 1 ' -r-^ .^•^ '^ />. . >^^ .V .. o •*c ■. \./ ■:•. %.<•* .-'Mk'- %./ .-afe'- %/ --^fe- %/ -1 ,, -* -?r^.'/ . • ,„ -0 % ->«^--/ v^-^'/ \;VB-'/ .■iP .h^ .^°^ / -i^ -^^-«»- 3 zr ITT- I J 2f I(TI(J|I1 j I^S' »• -- >^ L A], BUM i :^^ •'il^ If LJ k 1^ —OF— Insham and Livingston Counties, CONTAINING Biograpliical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens OF THE COUNTIES, Together with Biographies of all the lovGrnors of the IfaiG, and of tiic f iGsidcrits OI= THE UNITED STMTES. N CHICAGO: 7 CHAPMAN BROS. 1891. m^(3^i^%'^ 1^- /d^ D pF(Ep/^§E. ^»t» ^-0H- <^*^- IIE greiilusl of Engli.sh liisluriaiis, MACAULAY,aiid one of the most brilliaul writers of the |)reseiit century, has said: "The history of a couiitr\' is l>est told in a record of tlie lives of its people." In conformity with this idea tlie Poktrait an'd Biographicai. Ai.i'.iM of this county has been preiiared. Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical matter tliat can he appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by then- enterprise and industry, brought the county to rank second to none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelli- gent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in p|>ort of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, tliougli repeated calls were m.idc at their residence or place of business. November. 1891. CIIAl'.MAN BROS. yk^ m IPGRAB 0- ^ -'^m^RnJ^.^mmt/-^ '^ OF THE GOVERNORS of MICHIGAN, AND OF THE ^^.^^.^ r, ^ OF THE ^UM'ffEl ^.fy^'^ij^'j ''"^^^--'"'^^m^^m^^^'^^ .^-^=:^^^2=^t^^ L\ ^y^h m ^^ §iUJ ^iu ji RriFTi. ^Xv FIRST PRESIDENT. f« *-e- ,T,\:^_ sy^-.' l&S w ' i' • -."iii^^^I^Ii^.-, M HE Father of our Country was %) horn in Westmorland Co., Va., leb. 22, 1732. His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washington. The family to which he belonged has not been satisfactorily traced in England. His great-grand- father, John Washington, em- igrated to Virginia about 1657, and became a prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence and John. The former married Mildred Warner and had three children, John, Augustine and Mildred. Augus- tine, the father of George, first married Jane Butler, who bore him four children, two of whom, Lawrence and .Augustine, reached maturity. Of six children by his second marriage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred. Auguitine Washington, the father of George, died in 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, and to George he left the parental residence. George received only such education as the neighborhood schools afforded, save for a short time after lie left sciiool, when he received private instruction in niathemat'cs. His spel!in(i v/as rather dffectiv? Remarkable stories are told of his great physica.: strength and development at an early age. He was an acknowledged leader among his companions, and was early noted for that nolileness of character, fair- ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. When George was 14 years old he had a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, but through the opposition of his mother the idea was abandoned. Two years later he was appointed surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In this business he spent three years in a rough frontier life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very essential to him. In 175 ', though only 19 years of age, he was ai)ix)inted adjutant with the rank of major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for active service against the French and Indians. Soon after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter who did not long survive hiin. On her demise the estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddle, as Lieuten- ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- cepted, wiiicli others had refused. This was to pro- ceed to the French [wst near Lake Erie in North- western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed was between 500 and 600 miles. \\ inter was at hai.d. and th.e journey was to be made without mi!itar>' escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The GEORGE IVASIIlNGTOiy. trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun against the French and Indians, in which Washington took a most important i)art. In the memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer of distinctior. who escaped from the calamities of the day with life and honor. The other aids of Kraddock were disabled early in the action, and Washington alone was left in that ca[)acity on the field. In a letter lo his brother he says: "I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, though death was levelin) my companions on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit him. After having been five years in the military service, and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he look advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the e.x|)ulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, 10 resign his conmiission. Soon after he entered the Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an active and important part. January 17, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha (13andridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke Custis. When the British Parliament had closed the port if Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." It was then, at the suggestion of ^'irginia, that a Con- gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Pliila- dcli)hia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- cord and Le.xington had been fought. Among the first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and responsible office was conferred upon Washington, who was still a memberof the Congress. He accepted it on June 19, l)Ut ui)oa the express condition that he receive no salary. He would keep an exact account of expenses and expect Congress 10 pay them and nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of Washington, to whom thj fortunes and liberties of the people of this country were so long confided. The war was conducted by him under every possible disadvantage, and while his forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 17S3, Washington, in a parting address of surpassing beauty, lesigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army lo to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He retired immediately to Mount \'ernon and resumed his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all connection wiih public lite. la February, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected President. In his presidential career he was subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a i.ew government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part of other governments ; trials from want of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverislied condition of the country, owmgto the war and want of credit; trials from the beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His clear judgnient could discern the golden mean; and while perhaps this alone kept our government from sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to attacks from both sides, which were often bitter nnd very annoying. At the expiration of his first term he was unani- mously re-elected. At the end of this term many were anxious that he be re-elected, Init he absolutely refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there his few remaining yeais free from the annoyances of l)ul)lic life. Later in the year, however, his repose seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to take command of the armies. He chose his sul - ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- ters in the field, which he superintended from his home. In accepting the command he made the reservation that he was not to be in the field until it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations his life was suddenly cut off. December 12, he took ,1 seveie cold from a ride in the rain, wliich, settling in his tliroat, produced inflammation, and terminated fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its final resting place, and interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon. Of the character of Washington it is impossible to speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- miration. The more we see of the operations of our government, and the more deeply we feel the difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- ent and character, which have been able to challenge the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will be as lasting as the existence of man. The person of Washington was unusally tan, erect and well proportioned. His muscular strength was great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. He commanded respect without any a[-.pearance ol haughtiness, and ever serious without l-v^iu^ dull. 'il SECOND PRESJDENT. V^ ;feiS££aj=_. ^mm ADAins. w I OHN ADAMS, the second ■' , I'resiilent and the first Vice- ' President of the United States, was born in liraintree ( now Quincy ),Mass., and about ten miles from Boston, Oct. 19, '<9 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry Adams, emigrated from England about 1640, with a family of eight , sons, and settled at Braintree. The parents of John were John and Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His father was a farmer of limited means, to wliich he added the bus- iness of shoemaking. He gave his eldest son, John, a classical educa- tion at Harvard College. John graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the school in ^\'orcester, Mass. This he found but a ■'school of affliction," from which Iv; endeavored to gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the study of law. For this purjxjse he placed himself under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He had thought seriously of the clerical profession but seems to have been turned from this by what he termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' of the operations of which he had been a witness in his native town. He was well fitted for the legal ;/rofcssion, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- tive jx)wers. He gradually gained practice, and in 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, and a Lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his marriage, (17^^5)1 the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- ^on turned him from law to politics. He took initial steps toward holding a town meeting, and the resolu- tions he offered on the subject became very jxDpulai throughout the Province, and were adopted word for word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous and prominent advocatesof the popular cause, and A-as chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- lislature) in 1770. Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegate.-; from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congrets, which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himsel! by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- vocated the movement for indejiendence against tht majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies should assume the duties of self-government. He was a prominent member of the committee of five apjx)inted June ir, to prepare a declaration of inde- pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams devolved the task of battling it through Congress in a three days debate. On the day after the Declaration of Independence was passed, while his soul was yet warm with thj glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question was decided that ever was debated in .America; and greater, perhaps, never was or wil be decided among men. \ resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, ' that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- pendent states' The day is i)assed. The fourth of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am aj^t to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with jwrnp, show* 24 JOHN ADAMS. games, sports, guns, hells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. \oa will think me transixjrted with enthusiasm, Init I am not. I am well awave ot tiie toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States; yet, through all thegloom, I can see the rays of light and glory. 1 can see that the end is worth more than all the means; and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not." In November, 1777, Mr, Adams was appointed a delegate to France and to co-operate with Bemjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money from the French Government. This was a severe trial to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- Ijosed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 1779. In Septeniber of the same year he was again ciiosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet might be found willing to listen to such proix)sels. He sailed for France in November, from there he went to Holland, where he negotiated important loans and formed important commercial trealies- Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed [an. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he WIS advised to goto England to drink the waters of Bath. \Vhilein England, still drooping anddespond- ing, lie received dispatches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,hemade the trip. February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face to face the King of England, who had so long re- garded him as a traitor. .\s England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- plishing but little, he sought i^ermission to return to :iis own country, wliere he arrived in June, 1788. When Washington was first chosen President, John Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at home and abroad, was chosen Vice President. Again at the second election of Washington as President, Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was elected President, though not without much opjiosition. Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. >Vhile Mr. Adajns was Vice President the great French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, and it was upon this point whicii lie was at issue with the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for lie had no conl'idence in their [KDwer of self-government, and lie utterly abhored the classof atlicist pliilosoiihers wiio he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- iginated the alienation between these distinguished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon orgai.- i/.ed, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathieji were with England and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with France. The worid has seldom seen a spectacle of more moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling had died away, and he had begun to receive that just appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till after death. No one could look upon his venerable form, and think of what he had done and suffered, and how he had given up all the prime and strength of his life to the public good, without the deepest emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar good fortune to witness the complete success of the institution which he had been so active in creating and supporting. In 1824, his cup of haijpiness was filled to the brim, l.iy seeing his son elevated to the highest station in the gift of the people. The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the signers of that immortal instrument left upon the earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is well known, on that day two of these finished their earthly pilgrimrge, a coincidence so remarkable as to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from his bed. On being requested to naine a toast for the customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed " In- dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his i;ttendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were, "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- signed his spirit into the hands of his God. The personal appearance and manners of Mr. Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait manifests,was intellectual ard exj.res- sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and h.', manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked the manners and address of Jefferson. ?5^2^, THIRD PRESIDENT. 27 J^X' ^>i^ .g-vnT^H -ft- /g -OlT x *^ .TTnf HOMAS JEFFERSON was g^, bum April 2, 1743. 'i' ^'^'^'^- ,.J#ux\l, Atbermavle county, Va. His parents were Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson, the former a native of Wales, and the latter born in Lon- don. To them were born six j daughters and two sons, of | whom 'I'homas was the elder, j When 14 years of age his 1 father died. He received a , most liberal education, hav- | ing been kept diligently at school from the time he was five years ol age. In 1760 he entered William ^nd Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat of the Colonial Court, and it was the obode of fashion a.rd splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 years old, lived somewhat expensivelv. keeping fine horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he .,.as earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproac:ha- »ble in his morals. It is strange, however under such influences.that he was not rained In the sec- ond year of his college course, moved by-^some un- explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses sodety, and even his favorite viohn, lo-h-^^ ^e had prevJtsly given much time. He often devoted fi teen Lu-s a day to ha.d study, allowing himself foi e.x- ";;^:'yarunintheevemngtsvilightofani,leout of the cty and back again. He thus attained very high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- Sy and the languages. The most difhcult Latin and G reek authors he read with facihty. A -^-^^^ fd scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls, and there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. Immediately upon leaving college he began the study of law. For the short time he continued m the practice of his profession lie rose rapidly and distin- guished himself by his energy and accuteneSs as a lawyer. But the times called for greater action. The policy of England had awakened the spirit of resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged views which lefferson had ever entertained, soon led him into active political life. In 1769 he was choseL a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses In 177 -he '"arried Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very oeauti- ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow Upon Mr. leffersons large estate at Shadwell,thire u-as a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, whicl- commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new ' home- and here he reared a mansion of modest ye- elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon became the most distinguished resort in our land. In 1775 he was sent to the Cclomal Congress, j where, though a silent member, his abilities as a i writer and a reasoner soon become known, and ho was -.laced upon a number of important conimitteeo, and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- in« up of a declaration of independence. Tins com- mhtee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John .Adains. Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert K. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointee to draw up the paper. Franklin and .\dams suggestea a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- gress. On lune 28, a few slight changes were made in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 4 ,77c What must have been the feelings of that 28 THOMAS JEFFERSON. man — what the emotions that swelled his breast— who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of America, was also to publish her to the world, free, liovcrign and independent. It is one of the most re- iuarkable papers ever written ; and did no other effort i,f the mind of its author exist, that alone would be sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to Patrick Henry, i,s Governor of Virginia. At one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never very good, was much injured by this excitement, and in the summer of 1782 she died. Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. Two ye irs later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- tentiary to France. Returning to the United States in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned Jan. J, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- dent, and four years later was elected President over Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, iiid George Clinton, Vice President. The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- • I was disturbed by an event which threatened the M|uility and peace of the Unior. ; this was the con- 'ir.icy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election ;o the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled imbition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a military expedition into the Spanish territories on our southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there a new republic. This has been generally supposed was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been generally known what his real plans were, there is no doubt that they were of a far more dangerous character. In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined to retire from political life. For a period of nearly irty years, he had been continually before the pub- .10, and all that time had been employed in offices of the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- voted the best part of his life to the service of his country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his declining years required, and u[X)n the organization of the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello. Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole families came in their coaches with their horses, — fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and nurses, — and remained three and even six months. Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a fashionable watering-place. The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- ■ sary of the Declaration of American Independence. great preparations were made in every part of \\v. Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer- and one of the fesv surviving signers of the Declara- tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and had been continually increasing, compelled him to decline the invitation. On the second of July, the disease under which he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced state that his medical attendants, entertained no hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the ne.xt day, which was Monday, he asked of those around him, the day of the month, and on being told it was the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha, he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - the day which his own name and his own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and animated their desponding countrymen; for half a century they had labored together for the good of the country; and now hand in hand they depart. In their lives they had been united in the same great cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not divided. In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes were light, his hair originally red, in after life became white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore- head broad, and his whole courtenance intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as well as personal courage ; and ;.:s command of tem- per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends never recollected to have seen him in a passion. His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic ; and his language was remarkably pure and correct. He was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is discernable the care with whiiJi he formed his style upon the best models of an'iquity. i* jf" .M / (Z/'Ocy^'^ ,cA^ ,»,,..Z^C^ ^1^ FOURTH FRFSIDENT. n^ri]ES npDisoii. Alii A. "^ AMES MADISON, "Father 4) of the Constitution,' and fourth 2,;" President of the United States, Y was born March i6, 1757, and !e dietl at his home in Virginia, '^ jiuie 28, 1836. The name of James Madison is inseparahlx con- nected with most of the important events in tiiat heroic period of our ,,, country during which the founda- tions of tliis great republic were laid. He was the hist of the fotniders of the C^onstitution iif the United States to ije called to his eternal reward. The iVIadison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing upon the shores of the Chesa- peake but 15 years after the settle- ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, residing uixin a very fine es- tate called "Mont])elier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in tlie midst of scenery highly pictur- esijue and romantic, on the west side of .Sout!i-west Mountain, at the foot of It was but 25 miles from tlie home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youtli until death. The early education of Mr. Madison wasconducteti mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of iS he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to study witli the most im- I51ue Ridge. prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 177 i. with a feeble body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf (pient career. Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, and the society with which he asso- ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work ol a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of mind, and his frail health leading him to think that his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- tion to theological studies. F^ndowed with a nimd singularly free from passion and i)rejudice, and with almost unecpialled ix)wers of reasoning, he weighed all the arguments for and against revealed religion, until his faith became so established as never to lie siiaken. In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to frame the constitution of the State. The next year (r777), he was a candidate for the General .AssembI)'. He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and consequently lost his election ; but those who had witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, and he was appointed to the E.\eculive Comicil. Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were (Jovernorsof X'irginia while Mr. .Madison remained member of the Coimcil ; and their appreciation of his 32 /AMES MADISON. mtelleclual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions among them. For three years Mr. iVIadison continued in Con- gress, one of its most active and influential members. In the year 1784, his term having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- tional government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any State more prominent than Virginia in tiie declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through the General Assembly of Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss this subject. Five States only were represented. The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urgmg all the States to send their delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a Constitution for the United States, to take the place of that Confederate League. The delegates met at 'he time appointed. Kvery State but Rhode Island >-vas represented. George Washington was chosen ■president of the convention; and the present Consti- tution of the United States was then and there formed. There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- tive in framing this immortal document than the mind and the pen of James Madison. The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was to be presented to the several States for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent States, with but little power at home and little vespect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- tion to draw up an address to the people of the United States, expounding tlie principles of the Constitution, and urging its adoption. There was great opposition to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and went into effect in 1789. Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the Republican party. While in New York attending Congress, he met Mrs Todd, a young widow of remarkable power of fascination, whom he married. She was in person and character queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied so prominent a position in the very peculiar society which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. Madison. Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was chosen President. At this time the encroach- ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. ^ British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an .\merican ship brought to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- ance he selects any number whom he may please to designate as British subjects; orders them down the ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and im- pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the British cabinet to relinquish. On the i8th of June, 1812, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, 18 13) was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. This is not the place to describe the various adventuras of this war on the land and on the water. Our infan'. navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- pling with the most formidable power which ever swept the seas. The contest coinmenced in earnest by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the LTnited States under blockade. The FjUiperor of Russia offered his services as me ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- burg, upon Washington. The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the \Vhite House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames. The war closed after two years of fighting, and on Feb. 13, 1815, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi son died July 12, 1849. H' ^^^^^.^^-^T-T-T^ /* /'^-'T^^c^-'-i^i^^ '=^^ZL, FIFTH PRESIDENT. 35 WW& wwm- AMES MONROE, the fiftli .Frcsidtntof The United States, ■^ was Iwrii in Westmoreland Co., !.ih Va., April 28, 1758. His early life was passed at the place of nativity. Hi^ ancestors had for many years resided in the prov- ince in which he was born. AVhen, at 17 years of age, in the process ■ of completing his education at A W iiliani and Mary College, the Co- lonial Congress assembled at I'hila- delphia to deliberate \\\x)\\ the un- just and manifold oppressions of (ireat Hritian, declared the separa- tion of the Colonies, and promul- gated the Declaration of Indejjen- dence. Had he been born ten years before it is highly probable that he would have been one of the signers of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left school and enlisted among the patriots. He joined the army when everything looked hope- less and gloomy. The number of deserters increased from day to day. The invading armies came pouring in; and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sufficiently terrified at the prospect of con- ijnding with an enemy whom they had been taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through difficulty and danger, the Ihiited States owe their political emancipation. The young cadet joined the ranks, and esix)used the cause of his injured country, with a firm determination to live or die with her strife for liberty. Firmly yet sadly he shared in the mel anclioly retreat from Harleam Heights and Whii Plains, and accompanied the dispirited army as it fl. before its foes through New Jersey. In four munt after the Declaration of Independence, the patrio. liad been beaten in seven battles. At the battle of Trenton he led the vanguard, and, in the actof charg ing upon the enemy he received a wound in the left shoulder. As a reward for his bravery, Mr. Monroe was ])ro- moted a cai)tain of infantry; and, having recovered from his wound, he rejoined the army. He, however, receded from tlie line of ])romotion, by becoming an officer in the staff of Lord Sterling. During the cam- paigns of 1777 and 1778, in the actions of Brandy wine, (lermantown and Monmouth, he continued aid-decamp; but becoming desirous to regain his position in the army, he exerted himself to collect a regiment for the Virginia line. This scheme failed owing to the exhausted condition of the State. Uiwn this failure he entered the ofilice of Mr. Jefferson, at that period Governor, and pursued, with considerable ardor, the study of common law. He did not, however, entirely lay aside the kna|)s.ack for the green bag; but on tjie invasions of the enemy, served as a volun teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. In 17S2, he was elected from King Cieorge county, a member of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that body he was elevated to a seat in the Executive Council. He was thus honored with the confidence of his fellow citizens at 23 years of age ; and having at this early period displayed some of that abii;i\ and aptitude for legislation, which were afterwaid-< cnii)Ioycd with unremiltipg energy fori he public good, 36 JAMES MONROE. lie was in the succeeding year chosen a member of ihe Congress of the United States. Ueeplyas Mr. Monroefelt the imperfettionsof theold ;'onfederacy, he was opposed to the new Constitution, ihinking, with many others of 'he Republican party, '.hat it gave too much power to the Central Government, and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm supporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member cf the United States Senate; which office he held for four years. Every month the line of distinction be- tween the two great parties which divided the nation, the Federal and the Republican, was growing more tlistinct. The two prominent iaeas which now sep- arated them were, that the Republican party was in sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a stiict construction of the Constitution as to give the ( entral Government as little power, and the State (Governments as much power, as the Constitution would warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- stitution, which would give as much i)ower to the Central Government as that document could possibly authorize. The leading Federalists and Republicans were alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the j good of the nation. Two more honest men or more pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In building u)) this majestic nation, which is destined to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- bination of their antagonism was needed to create the light e(iuilibrium. And yet each in his day was de- nounced as almost a demon. Washington was then President. England had es- poused the cause of the Bourbons against the princi- ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- tween these contending powers. France had helped i;s in the struggle for our liberties. All the despotisms of Europe were now combined to prevent the French from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse than that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous and noble nature. He violently opposed the Pres- ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- nouncing the policy of the Government, as the minister of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention iu France with the most enthusiastic demonstrations. Shortly after his return to this countrv, Mr. Mon- roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the office for three yeais. He was again sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining the vast territory then known as the Province of Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- tained from Spain. Tneir united efforts were suc- cessful. For the comparatively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and district of Louisiana were added to the United States. This was probably the largest transfer of real estate which was ever made in all the history of the world. From France Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- tain froiri that country some recognition of oui rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those odious impressments of our seamen. but Eng- land was unrelenting. He again returned to Eng- land on the same mission, but could receive no redress. He returned to his home and was again chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the position of Secretary of State under Madison. While in this office war with England was declared, the Secretary ot War resigned, and during these trying times, the duties of the ^Var Departnien; were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cabinet. Ll^pon the return of peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- piration of Mr. Madison's adniinstratiou. At the elec tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had been chosen President with but little opposition, and upon March 4, 18 jy, was inaugurated. Four year? later he was elected for a second term. Among the important measures of his Presidency were the cession of Florida to the L^nited States ; the Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.' This famous doctrine, since known as the "Monroe doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At tha^ time the United States had recognized the independ- ence of the South American states, and did not wish to have European powers longer attempting to sub- due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their sys- tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety," and "that we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing or controlling American governments or provinces in any other light than as a manifestation by European powers of an unfricndlv disposition toward the Ignited States." This doctrine immediately affected the course of foreign governments, and has become the approved sentiment of the L^nited States. At the end of his fecond term Mr Monroe retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, when he went to New York to live with his son-in- law. In tliat city he died, on the \\\\ of July, 1831 is- 5w ^ V "=^§3!-^ J, 5, Ai Gyy>\j S.XTII PRESIDRXT. /^\\>m I 30I}1] QaiI]6Y ^D:3n)s. OHN OUINCY ADAMS, the sixth President of the United 'States, was born in the rural lionie of his honored father, John Adams, in Quincy, Mass., on the I ith cf July, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted worth, watched over his childhood during the almost constant ab- sence of his father. When but eight years of age, he stood with his mother on an eminence, listen- ing to the booming of the great bat- tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on upon the smoke and flames billow- ing up from the conflagration of Charlestown. When but eleven years old he took a tearful adieu of his mother, to sail with his father for Europe, through a fleet ot hostile British cruisers. The liright, animated boy spent a year and a half in Paris, where his father was associated with F"ranklin and 1-ee as minister plenipotentiary. His intelligence attracted the notice of these distinguished men, and he received from them flattering marks of attention. Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this cou :.try, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. Again ■ol'.n Quincy accompanied his father. At Paris he np[)lied himself with great diligence, for six months, to o'udy; then accom[)ained his father to Holland, vmere he entered, first a school in .\msterdam, then the University at I.eyden. About a year from this time, in 1781, when the manly boy was but fourteen yea"i of age, he was selected l)y Mr. Dana, our min- ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. Tn this school of incessant labor and of enobliiig culture he si)cnt fourteen months, and then returned to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg and Bremen. 'Phis long journey he took alone, in the winter, when in his sixteenth year. Again he resumed nis studies, under a private tutor, at Hague. Thence, in the spring of 1782, he accom|ianied his father i; Paris, traveling leisurely, and forming ac(i'.iaintanc» with the most distinguished men on the t!oninci.t examining architectural remains, galleries of paintings and all renowned works of art. At Paris he again became associated with the most illustrious men ol all lands in the contemplations of the loftiest temporal themes which can engross the human mind. Afte' a short visit to England he returned to Paris, ano consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, when he returned lo ."Xmerica. To a brilliant young man of eighteen, v. lio had seen much of the world., and who was familiar wiih the etiquette of courts, ? residence with his father in London, under such ci- ciunstances, must have been extremely attractive but with judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre ferred to return to America to complete his educatio;. in an American college. He wished then to stud\ law, that with an honorable profession, he might b'' able to obtain an inde|)endent sui)port. Upon leavii'g Harvard College, at the age of twent; he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be ingthen but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap-. IHiinted by Washington, resident minister at the Netherlands. Sailing from Boston in July, he reachec London in October, where he was immediately admit ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and Pinckney assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with Gieat Brilian. After thus spending a fortnight i London, he proceeded lo the Hague. In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portiiga'as minister plenipotentiary. On his way to I'ortugal uijon arriving in London, he met with despatches directing him to the court of Berlin, but requesting him to remain in London until he should receive his instructions. A\'hile waiting he was married to ar American lady to whom he had been )ireviously en- gaged, — Miss Louisa Catherine Johnson, daughter of Mr. Joshua Johnson, .American (onsul in london- a lady endownd with that beauty and those accom- plishment which eminently fitted '-.or to move In t',i elevated sphere for which she was ''"S'kr.cd *o JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. He reached Berlin with his wife in November, 1797 ; where he remained until July, 1799, when, having ful- filled all the parixjses of his mission, lie solicited his recall. Soon after his return, in 1802, he was chosen to I he Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston, and then was elected Senator of the United States for six years, from the 4th of March, 1S04. His reputation, his ability and his experience, placed him immediately among the most prominent and influential members of that body. Especially did he sustain the Govern- ment in its measures of resistance to the encroach- ments of England, destroying our commerce and in- sulting our flag. There was no man in America more familiar with the arrogance of the British court upon these points, and no one more resolved to present a firm resistance. In 1809, Madison succeeded Jefferson in the Pres- idential chair, and he immediately nominated John Quincy Adams minister to St. Petersburg. Resign- ing his professorship in Harvard College, he embarked at Boston, in August, 1809. While in Russia, Mr. Adams was an intense stu- dent. He devoted his attention to the language and history of Russia; to the Chinese trade; to the European system of weights, measures, and coins; to the climate and astronomical observations ; while he Kept up a familiar acquaintance with the Greek and Latin classics. In all the universities of Europe, a more accomplished scholar could scarcely be found. All through life the Bible constituted an importar t part of his studies. It was his rule to read five chapters every day. On the 4th of March, 18 17, Mr. Monroe took the Presidential chair, and immediately appointed Mr. .'Vdams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he sailed in June, iSig, forthe United States. On the 1 8th of August, he again crossed the threshold of his home in Quincy. During the eight yearsof Mr. Mon- roe's administration, Mr, .-Vdams continued Secretary of State. Some tiiTie before '.he close of Mr. Monroe's second term of office, new candidates began to be presented for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. Adams brought forward his name. It was an exciting campaign. Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and sixty electoral votes were cast. Andrew Jackson re- ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy Adams, eighty-four; William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry Clay, thirty- seven. As there was no choice by the people, the question went to the House of Representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and he was elected. The friends of all the disappointed candidates now :ombined in a venomous and persistent assault upon Mr. Adams. There is nothing more disgraceful in »V»e past history of our f:ountr\ than the abuse whieli was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this nigh-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was an administration more pure in principles, more con- scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per- haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- lously and outrageously assailed. Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- stemious and temperate in his habits; -always rising early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in Quincy, he lias been known to walk, before breakfast, seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said that he was the first man up in the city, lighting his own fire and applying himself to work in his library often long before dawn. On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- dent. The slavery question now began to assume lx)rtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- abated zeal. But he was not long permitted to re- main in retirement. In November, 1830, he was elected representative to Congress. For seventeen years, antil his death, he occupied the post as repre- sentative, towering above all his peers, ever ready to do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of "the old man eloquent." Upon taking his seat in the House, he announced that he should hold him- self bound to no party. Probably there never was a member more devoted to his duties. He was usually the first in his place in the morning, and the last to leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against the proslavery party in the Government, was subline • in Its moral daring and heroism. For persisting ii. presenting petitions for the abolition of slavery, he was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, with expulsion from the House, with assassinatio . but no threats could intimidate him, and his final triumph was complete. It has been said of President Adams, that when his body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little child, he was accustomed to repeat every night, before he slept, the prajer which his mother taught him in his infant years. On the 2istof February, 1S4S, he rose on the lloor of Congress, with a paiier in his hand, to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said " This is the end of earth ;"\.\\^Xi after a moment's |)ause he added, ''I am coiifcnt" These were the l.isl words of the grand " Old Man Eloquent." SEVENTH PRESIDENT. *i -m ^5^.o^^'xe?^ Wff^' w )RRW JACKSON, the entli President of the I'nited States, was horn in W'axhaw settlement, N. C, Marcii 15, 1767, a few days after his father's death. His parents were poor emigrants from Ireland, and took uj) tlieir abode in Waxhaw set- tlement, where they lived in deepest poverty, Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally called, grew up a very rough, rude, turbulent boy. His features were coarse, his form un- gainly; and there was but very little in his diameter, made visible, which was at- tractive. When only thirteen years old he joined the volun- teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 1781, he and his brother Robert were ca[)lured and imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer ordered him to brush his mud-spattered boots. " I am a prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of the dauntless boy. The brute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate ulow at the head of the heli)less young prisoner. Andrew raised his hand, and thus received two fear- ful gashes, — one on the hand and the other upon the head. The officer then turned to his brother Robert with the same demand. He also refused, and re- ceived a blow from the keen-edged sabre, which quite disabled him, and which probably soon after caused his death. They suffered much other ill-treatment, and were finally stricken with the small-jxax. Their mothei- was successful u- obtaining their exchange. and took her sick Ijoys home. After a long iilnjs!. Andrew recovered, and the death of his mother >oon left him entirely friendless. .\ndrew supported himself in various ways, s k:!i as working at the saddler's trade, teaching school and clerking in a general store, until 1784, when he entered a law office at Salisbury, N. C. He, however, gave more attention to the wild amusements of the times than to his studies. In 1788. he was apiX)inteJ solicitor for the western district of North Carolina, of which Tennessee was then a part. This involved many long and tedious journeys amid dangers of every kind, but Andrew Jackson never knew fear, and the Indians had no desire to repeat a skirmish with the Sharp Knife. In 1791, Mr. Jackson was married to a woman who supix>sed herself divorced from her former husband. Great was the surprise of both parties, two years later, to find that the conditionsof the divorce had just been definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage ceremony was performed a second time, but the occur- rence was often used by his encTnies to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During these years he worked hard at his profes sion, and frequently had one or more duels on hand, one of which, when he killed Dickenson, was espec- ially disgraceful. In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants, the people met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- stitution. Five were sent from each of the elevsn counties, .\ndrew Jackson was one of the deiegafes. The new State was entitled to but one member in the Natio.ial House of Re|)resentatives. .Andrew Jack- son was chosen that member. Mounting his horse he rode to Philedelphia, where Congress then held its 44 ANDREW JACKSON. itfssions, — ^a diilaiice of about eight hundred miles. Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Deuio- cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated England. As Mr. Jackson took his seal, Gen. Washington, whose second term of office was then e.vpiying, delivered his last speech to Congress. A committee drew up a complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson did not approve of the address, and was one of the twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to say that Gen. Washington's adminstration had been " wise, firm and patriotic." Mr. Jackson was elected to the United .States Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. Soon after he was chosen Judge of the Supreme Court of his State, which ])osition he held f^r six years. When the war of 181 2 with Great Britian com- menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. Aaron Burr sent word to the President that there was an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who vvould do credit to a commission if one were con- ferred u[X)n him. Just at that time Gen. Jackson jffeied his services and those of twenty-five hundred volunteers. His offer was accepted, and the troops were assembled at Nashville. As the British were hourly expected to make an at- tack upon New Orleans, where Gen Wilkinson was in command, he was ordered to descend the river with fifteen hundred troops to aid \Vilkinsou. The expedition reached Natchez ; and after a delay of sev eral weeks there, without accomplishing anything, the men were ordered back to their homes. But the energy Gen. Jackson had displayed, and his entire devotion to the comrfort of his soldiers, won him golden opinions; and he became the most popular man in the State. It was in this expedition that his toughness gave him the nickname of " Old Hickory." Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, he received two severe |)istol wounds. While he was lingering upon a bed of suffering news came that the Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- cisive action became necessary. Gen. Jackson, with his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, .\labama. The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on one of the bendsof the Tallapoosa River, near the cen- ter of Alabama, aliout fifty miles below Fort Strother. With an army of two tho'isand men, Gen. Jackson traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or Horse-shoe, on ^'^■i 27th of March. 1S14. The bend of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres ot tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- work ot logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, with an ample suplyof arms were assembled. The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. Wher, bleeding and d)ing, they would fight those who en- deavored to spare their lives. Fiom ten in the morn- ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage vvas awful and revolting. Some threw themselves into the river; liut the unerring bullet struck their heads as they swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- rios were killed A few probably, in the night, swam the river and escaped. This ended the war. The power of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold plunge into the wilderness, with itsterriffic slaughter, so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the allies of the Indi-ans No man of less resolute will than Gen. Jackson could have conducted this Indian campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he was appointed major-general. Late in .\ugust, with an army of two thousand men, on a rushing march. Gen. Jackson came to Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed a force upon the beach, anchored near the little fort, and from both ship and shore commenced a furious assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length one of the ships was blown \\\\ and the rest retired. Garrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won for Gen. Jackson an imperishable natne. Here his troops, which numbered about four thousand men, won a signal victory over the British army of about nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the loss of the British was two thousand six hundred. The name of Gen. Jackson soon began to be men- tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in 1824, he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, successful in the election of 1828, and was re-elected for a second term in 1832. In 1829, just before he assumed the reins of the government, he met with the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of her death he never recovered. His administration was one of the most memorable in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, condemned by the other. No man had more bitter enemies or warmer friends. At the expiration of his two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where he died June 8, 1845. The last years of Mr. Jack- son's life were that of a devoted Christian man. / 7 ^Z^^V ^c^/J EIGHTH PRESIDENT. IPPII] \J^^ BUREI]. ARPIN VAN BUREN, the tiL;hlli President of the United States, was horn at Kinderhook, N. Y., Dec. 5, 17S2. He (lied at the same [>l,n e, July 24, 1862. His liody rests in tlie cemetery at Kinderhook. Above it is a plain g'.anite shaft fifteen feet high, hearing a simple inscription ahout halt way up on one face. ^ 'I'hc lot is ur.fenced, unbordered or unbounded by slirub or flcwer. There is but little in the life of Martin \'an Buren of r^^mantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged i.i no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in political and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those incidents which give zest to biography. His an- cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, residing in tiie old town of Kinderliook. His mother, also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- ligence and exemplary piety. -le was decidedly a [)recocious boy, developing un- usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. At the age of fourteen, he had finished his academic studies in his native village, and commenced the study of law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven years of study in a law-office were rei|'-iired of him hefore he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with J. lofty ambition, and conscious of his powers, he pur- sued his studies with indefatigable industry. After bp.ending six ye.irs in an office in ''is native village. he went to the city of Xew York, and prosecuted hi* studies for the seventh year. In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years ot age, commenced the practice of law in his native vil- lage. The great conflict between the Federal .niul Republican party was then at its height. Mr. Van Buren was from the beginning a politician. He h-;d, perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to. the many discussions which had been carried on in his father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with Jefferson, and earnestly and eloipiently espoused the cause of State Rights; though at that time the Fed- eral party held the supremacy both in his town and State. His success and increasing ruputation led him after six years of practice, to remove to Hudson, th. county seat of his county. Here he spent seven years constantly gaining strength by contending in ilu. courts with some of the ablest men who have adorned the bar of his State. Just before leaving Kinderhook for Hudson, Mi. Van Buren married a lady alike distinguished for beauty and accomplishments. After twelve shovl years she sank into the grave, the victim of consun)p- tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep ovei her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The record of tliose years is barren in items of public interest. In 181 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen lo the State Senate, and gave his strenuous supiwrt to Mr. Madison's adminstration. In 1815, he was ap- pointed .Attorney-General, and the next year moved to Albany, the capital of the State. 'iVhile he was acknowledged as one of the most p. ominent leaders of the Democratic party, he had 4S MARTIN VAN BUREN. the moral courage to avow that true democracy did not reijiiire that " universal suffrage" which admits the vile, the degraded, the ignorant, to the right of governing the State. In true consistency with his democratic principles, he contended that, while the path leading to the privilege of voting should be open to every man without distinction, no one should be invested with that sacred prerogative, unless he were in some degree qualified for it by intelligence, virtue and some property interests in the welfare of the State. In 1 82 1 he was elected a member of the United States Senate; and in the same year, he took a seat in the convention to revise the constitution of his native State. His course in this convention secured the approval of men of all parties. No one could doubt the singleness of his endeavors to promote the interests of all classes in the community. In the Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. In 1827, John Quincy Adams beirg then in the Presidential chair, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to ihe Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- :ermined opposer of the Administration, adopting the ■'State Rights " view in opposition to what was deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. Adams. Soon after this, in 1828, he was chosen Governorof the State of New York, and accordingly resigned his seat in the Senate. Probably no one in the United States contributed so much towards ejecting John Q. Adams from the Presidential chair, and placing in it Andrew Jackson, as did Martin Van Buren. Whether entitled to the reputation or not, he certainly was re- garded throughout the United States as one of the most skillful, sagacious and cunning of politicians. It was supposed that no one knew so well as he how ;o touch the secret spiings of action; how to pull all .he wires to put his machinery in motion ; and how to organize a political army wliich would, secretly and rte.'Uhily accomplish the most gigantic results. By these powers it is said that he outv/itted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which iii.\'i thought then could be accomplished. When Andrew Jackson was elected President he appointed Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately appointed Minister to England, where he went the same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met, refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned home, apparently untroubled; was nominated Vice President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election of President Jackson; and with smiles for all and fiowns for none, he took his place at the head of that Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination as ambassador. His rejection by tlie Senate roused all the zeal of President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- ite; and this, probably more than any other cause secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- ceived the Democratic nomination to succeed Gen. Jackson as President of the United States. He was elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van Buren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred upon him the power to appoint a successor." His O-dministration was filled with exciting events- The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in ■ volve this country in war with England, the agitation of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- cial panic which spread over the country, all were trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- tributed to themanagement of the Democratic party, and brought the President into such disfavor that he failed of re-election. With the exception of being nominated for the Presidency by the "Free Soil" Democrats, in 1848, Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until his death. He had ever been a prudent man, of frugal haljits. and living within his income, had now fortunately a competence for his declining years. His unblemished character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he had occupied in the government of our country, se- cured to him not only the homage of his party, but the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 4th of March, 184 1, that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald^ he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. From this time until his death, on the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old age, probably far more happiness than he had before experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life- i^' ^ yuJ'. //r fj^^yi^^^yt^ NINTH PRESIDENT. S' WlEiM4M HKNKY m^milil' ILLIAM HENRY HARRI- SON', ilio iiintli PresideiU ot llic United Stales, was born at iicikeiey, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. His father, Benjamin Harri- son, was in comparatively op- ulent ciicumstances, and was one of the most distinguisiied men of his day. He was an intimate friend of George Washington, w as early elected a member of the Continental Congress, and was consijicuons among the patriots of Virginia in resisting the encroachments of the British crown. In the celebrated Congress of 1775, Benjamin Har- risijn and John Hancock were both candidates for the office of s|ieaker. Mr Harrison was subsequently chosen Governor of Virginia, and wa; twice re-elected. His son, William Henry, of course enjoyed in childhood all the advantages which wealth and intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- ing received a thorough comn.on-school education, he entered Hampden Sidney College, where lie graduated wiili honor soor. -fter tlie death of his father. He t.ien repaired to Philadelphia to study medicine undtr the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of I'obert Morris, both of whom were, with his father, signers of the Declaration of Independence. Jl)on the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- withstanding the 'emonsttances of his friends, he ai)andoned his medical studies and entered tlie army, .laving obtained a commission of Ensign from Presi- dent ^Vashington. He was then but 19 years old. From that time he passed gradually upward in rank until lie became aid to General Wayne, after whose death he resigned his commission. He was then ai)- pointed Secretary of the Nortii-western Territorv. This Territory was then entitled to but one member in Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that position. . In the spring of 1800 the North-western Territory was divided by Congress into two iwrtions. The eastern jxjrtion, comprising the region now embraced in tlie State of Ohio, was called '• The Territory north-west of the Ohio." The western jwrt ion, which included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil . liam Henry Harrison, then 27 years of age, was ap pointed by John Adams, Governor of the Indiana Territory, and immediately after, also Governor of Upper Louisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as extensive a realm as any sovereign ujxjn the globe. He was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- vested with [xjwers nearly dictatorial over the now rapidly increasing white jjopulation. The ability and fidelity with which he discharged these resixinsible duties may be inferred from the fact that he was four times appointed to this office — first by John Adams, twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- dent Madison. When he began his adminstration there were but three white setilementsin that almost boundless region, now crowded with cities and resounding with all the tumult of wealth and traffic. One of these settlements was on the Ohio, nearly 0[)]X)site Ixjuisville; one at Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the ihiid a French settlement. The vast wilderness over which Gov. Harrisoh reigned was filled with many tribes of Indian.s. Abo<" 52 WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. the year 1806, two t-xtraordinary mer, twin brothers, of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of these was called Tecumseh, or " The Crouching Panther;" the other, OUiwacheca, or "The Prophet." Tecumseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far-reaching foresight and indomit- able perseverance in any enterprise in wiiich he might engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, and had long regarded with dread and with hatred the encroacliment of the whites u[ioii the hunting- grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Propliet, was an orator, who could sway the feelings of the untutored Indian as the gale tossed the tree -tops beneath which they dwelt. But the Prophet was not merely an orator: he was, i 1 the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a magician. With an eathusiasin unsurpassed by Peter the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went Irom tribe to tribe, assuming that he was specially sent liy the Great Spirit. Gov. Harrison made many attempts to conciliate the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Tippe- canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. October 28, 1812, his army began its inarch. When near the Prophet's town three Indians of rank made iheir appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was approaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- ing the next day, to agree upon terms of peace. But Gov. Harrison was too well acquainted with the Indian character to be deceived by such proles- talions Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- campment, he-took every precaution against surprise His troops were posted in a hollow square, and slept upon their arms. The troops threw themselves upon the ground for rest; but every man had his accourtrements on, his loaded musket l)y his side, and his bayonet fixed. The wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- lile, and j'lst then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all the desperation which superstition and passion most highly inflamed could give, upon the left flank of the httle army. The savages had been amply provided with guns and ammunition by the English. Their war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. The camp-fires were instantly ext'inguished, as the light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- lius yells, the Indian bands ruslied on, not doiibtir.g a sjieedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous charge with the bayonet, and swept every thing be- fore them, and completely routing thp foe. Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked to the utmost. The British desceiiding Irom the Can - adas, were of themselves a very formidable force ; but with their savage allies, rushing like wolves I'rom the forest, sear.hing out every remote farm-house, burn- ing, plu.idering, scalpi,;g, torturing, the wide frontier was plunged into a state of consternation which even the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. Under these despairing circumstances. Gov. Harrison was appointed by President Madison commander-in- chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. It would be difficult to place a man in a situation demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; bul General Harrison was found equal to the position, and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re sponsibilities. He won the love of his soldiers by always sharino with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket laslied over his saddle Thirty-five British officers, his prisoners of war, supped with hirn after the battle. The only fare he could give them was beef roasted before the fire, without bread or salt. In 18 16, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member ol the National House of Representatives, to represent the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with force of reason and power of eloquence, wliich arrested the attention of all the members. In 1819, Harrison was elected to the Senate of Ohio; and in 1824, as one of the presidential electors of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. In 1836, the friends of Gen. Harrison brought hiin forward as a candidate for the Presidency against Van Buren, but he was defeated. At the close of Mr. Van Buren's term, he was re-nominated by his party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated by the Whigs, with John Tyler for the Vice Presidency. The contest was very animated. Gen Jackson gave all his influence to prevent Harrison's election ; but his triumph was signal. The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webstei at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most brilliant with which any President had ever been surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- isl ration more flattering, or tlie hopes of the counti)- more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and joyous prospects. Gen. Harrison was seized by a pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after his inauguration as President of the Ui^-ited States. ^^^' "VTL TENTH PRESIDENT. 55 M>>JD1L^'JT ^,{ OHN TYLER, the tenth 7,... Presidentof the United States. Hj was born in Charles-city Co., V.-i., March 29, 1790. He was the favored child of af- fluence and higli social po- sition. At tlie early age of twelve, John entered William and Mary College and grad- uated with much honor when I but seventeen years old. .\fter graduating, he devoted him- self with great assiduity to the stufly of law, partly with his father and [jirtly with Edmund Randolph, one of the most distin- guished lawyers of Virginia. At nineteen years of age, ne commenced the practice of law. His success was rapid and aston- ishing, It is said that three months had not elapsed ere there was scarcely a case on the dock- I et of the court in which he was ivot retained. When but twenty-one years of age, he was almost unanimously e'ected to a seat in the State Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- rr.riic party, and warmly advocated the measures of Jefferson and Madison. For five successive years he was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the unanimous vote or his county. When but twenty-six years of age, he was elected a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and ably with the Democratic party, opposing a national bank, internal improvements by the General <^overn- ment, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict con- struction of the Constitution,- and the most careful vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress were so arduous that before the close of his second term hj foind it necessary to resign and retire to his estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, however, soon after consented to take his seat in the State Legislature, where his influence was powerful in promoting jjublic works of great utility. With a reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his native State. His administration was signally a suc- cessful one. His [wpularily secured his re-election. John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the United States. A jxirtion of the Democratic party was displeased with Mr. Randolph's wayward course, and brought forward John Tyler as his opponent, considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of Roanoke. Mr. Tyler was the victor. In accordance with his professions, upon taking his seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- tion. He opposed the tariff; he sixake against and voted against the bank as unconstitutional ; he stren- uously opjxjsed all restrictions upon slavery, resist- ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- eral Government, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. Calhoun's view of nullification ; he declared that Gen. Jackson, by his opixDsition to the nullifiers, had abandoned the piinciples of the Democratic party. Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a record in perfect accordance with the principles which he had always avowed. Returning to Virginia, he resumed the practice of !iis profession. There was a :pl:t in the Democratic JOHN TYLER. >aity. His frieuds still legarded him as a true Jcf- iersonian, gave him a dinner, and showered comph- nients upon him. He had now attained the age of forty-six.' His career had been very brilliant. In con- sequence of his devotion to piiijHc business, his pri- vate affairs had faben into some disorder; audit was not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice of law, and devoted himself to the culture of his plan- tation. Soon after this he remo\ed to Williamsburg, for the. better education of his children ; and he again took his^eat in the Legislature of Virginia. By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in '839. The maioritv of votes were given to Gen. Har- rison, a genuine Whig, much to the disappointment ot the South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- ident. It was well known that he was not in sympa- thy with the Whig party in theNo;lh: but the Vice President lias but very little power in the Govern- ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- side over the meetings of the .Senate. Thus it hap- pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a Democratic Vice President were chosen. In 1 84 1, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- dent of the United States. In one short month from that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler thus -:und himself, to his own surprise and that of the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential chair. This was a new test of the stability of our institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler was at home in \Villiamsl)urg when he received the ur.expected tidings of the death of President Harri- son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of .'/:ril v/as inaugurated to the high and responsible orfice. He was placed in a position of e.\ceeding delicacy and difficulty. All his long life he had been opijosed tc tb.e main principles of the party which had brought him into power. He had ever been a con- sistent, hone t man, with an unblemished record. Gen. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should he retain them, and thus suiround himself with coun- sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, on the other hand, should he turn against the party which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- n.ony with himself, and which would oppose all those s'iews which the AVhigs deemed essential to the pub- lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- vited the cabinet which President Harrison had selected to retain their seats. He reccomni-nded a day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and bless us. The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with his veto. He s»us:gested. however, that he would approve of a bill drawn uji upon such a plan as lie proposed. Such a bill was accordingly prepared, and privatel}' submitted to him. He gave it his approval. It A'as passed without alteration, and he sent it back with his veto. Here commenced the open rupture-. Ic is said that Mr. Tyler was [irovoked to this meas- ure by a published letter from the Hon. John M. liotts, a distinguished Virginia Whig, who severely touched the pride of the President. The opposition now exultingly received the Presi- dent into their arms. The party which elected him denounced him bitterly. All the members of his cabinet, excepting Mr. Webster, resigned. The Whigs of C ongress, both the Senate and the House, held a meeting and issued an address to the people of the United States, proclaiming that all political alliance between the \Vhigs and President Tyler were at an end. Still the President attempted to conciliate. He appointed a new cabinet of distinguished Whigs and Conservatives, carefully leaving out all strong party men. Mr. Webster soon found it necessary to resign, forced out by the pressure of his Whig friends. Thus the four years of Mr. Tyler's unfortunate administra- tion passed sadly away. No one was satisfied. The land was filled with murmurs and vitujieration. Whigs and Democrats alike assailed him. More and more, however, he brought himself into svmpathy with his old friends, the Democrats, until at the close of his term, he gave his whole influence to the support of Mr. Polk, the Democratic candidate for his successor. On the 4th of March, 1845, he retired from the harassments of office, to the regret of neither party, and probably to liis own unspeakable lelief. His first wife. Miss Letitia Christian, died in Washington, in 1842; and in June, 1844, President Tyler was again married, at New York, to Miss Julia Gardiner, a young lady of many personal and intellectual accomplishments. The remainder of his days Mr. T3 ler passed mainly in retirement at his beautiful home, — Sherwood For- est, Charles-city Co., Va. A polished gentleman in his manners, richly furnished with information from books and experience in the world, and possessing brilliant powers of conversation, his family circle was the scene of unnsual attractions. With sufficient means for the exercise of a generous hospitality, he might have enjoyed a serene old age with the few friends who gathered around him, were it not for the storms of civil war which his own principles and policy had helped to introduce. When the great Rebellion rose, which the State-, rights and nullifying doctrines of Mr. John C. Cal- houn had inaugurated. President Tyler renounced his allegiance to the United States, and joined the Confed- erates. He was chosen a member of their Congress; and while engaged in active measures to destroy, by force of arms, the Government over which he had once presided, he was taken sick and soon died. ELE VENTir PRESIDENT. 59 AME^ K, POLK. \ AMES K.POLK, the eleventh SjPresidcnt of the Ur.i ted States, %) was born in Mecklenburg Co., ,5 N. C.,Nov. 2, 1795. His par- ents were Samuel and Jane (Knox) Folk, the former a son of Col. Thomas Polk, who located at tlie above place, as one of the first |)ioneers, in 1735. In the year 1006, witli liis wife and cliildren, ar.d soon after fol- owed by most of tlie members of the I'oik famly, Samuel Polk emi- grated some two or three hundred ['iP miles farther west, to the rich valley of tlie Duck River. Here in the midst of the wilderness, in a region which was subsequentK called Mau- ry Co., they reared their log huls, and established their homes. In the hard toil of a new farm in the wil- derness, James K. Polk spent the early years of his childhood and youth. His father, adding the pur- suit cf a surveyor to thatof a farmer, ' gradually increased in wealth until he became one of the leading men of the region. His mother was a superior woman, of strong comuK n sense and earnest i)iety. Very early in life, James developed a taste for reading and expressed the strongest desire to obtain :i liberal education. His mother's training had made him methodical in his habits, had taught him punct- uality and industry, and had inspired him with lofty principles of morality. His health was frail ; and his father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the counter, hoping to fit him for commercial [Hnsuits. This was to James a bitter disapix>intnient. He had no taste' for these duties, and his daily tasks were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this uncongenial occupation Ijut a lew weeks, when at his earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. Soon after he sent him to Murfreesboro Academy. With ardor which could scarcely be surpassed, he pressed forward in his studies, and in less than two and a half years, in the autumn of 1S15, entered the sophomore class in the University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill. Here he was one of the most e.xeniplaiy of scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing himself to be absent from a recitation or a religious service. He graduated in 1818, witli the highest honors, bc« ing deemed the best scholar of his class, both in mathematics and the classics. He was then twenty- tiiree years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this time much impaired by the assiduity with which he had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of relaxation lie went to Nashville, and entered the office of l'"elix Grundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk renewed his acquaintance wilh .Andrew Jackson, who resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few miles from Nashville. They had probably been sliglilly accpiainted bel'ore. Mr. Polk's father was a Jeffersonian Republican and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same jwliii- cal faitli. He was a jKipular public speaker, and was constantly called upon to address the meetings of his party friends. His skill as a speaker was such that he was iwpularly called the Napoleon of the stump. He was a man of unblemished morals, genial aid 6o /AMES K. POLK. Murterus in his bearing, and with that sympathetic natu'^e in the jo) s and griefs of others which ever gave him troops of friends. In 1823, Mr. Polk was elected to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here he gave his strong influence towards the election of his friend, Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the United States. In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah Childress, of Rutherford Co., Tenn. His bride was altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a member of Congress. The satisfaction which he gave to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that for fourteen successive years, until 1839, he was con- tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, only that he might accept the Gubernatorial chair of T'lnnessee. In Congress he was a laborious memSer, a frequent and a popular speaker. He was alwnys in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever he spoke it was always to the point, and without any ambitious rhetorical display. During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of March, 1839. In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a candidate for Governor, canvassed the State. He was elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- ber, 1839,100k the oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, his term of office expired, and he was again the can- didate of the Democratic party, but was defeated. On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- ated President of the United States. The verdict of the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and left the country, declaring the act of the annexation to be an act hostile to Mexico. In his first message. President Polk urged that Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- ceived into the Union on the same footing with the Other States. In the meantime. Gen. Taylor was sent with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, where he erected batteries which commanded the Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated 017 the western banks. The anticipated collision soon took place, and wai was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first called one of "observation," then of "occupation," then of "invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. It v/as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration that the war was brought on. 'To the victors belong the spoils." Mexico was prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. We now consented to peace upon the condition that Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the size of New York. Thus slavery was securing eighteen majestic States to be added to the Union. There were some Americans who thought it all right : there were others who thought it all wrong: In the prosecution of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from office, having served one term. The next day was Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the same carriage with Gen. Taylor; and the same even- ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to Tennessee. He was then but fifty-four years of age. He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, and his health was good. \\'ith an ample fortune, a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties of the dearest nature, it seemed as though long years of tranquility and happiness were before him. But the cholera — that fearful scourge — was then sweeping up the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, and died on the 15th of June, 1S49, in the fiftv-fourth year of his age, greatly mourned by his counirymen. '(y^- TWELFTH PRESIDENT. 63 %^lJ^,%%^^Y f J^Yii^jR. ACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth President of the United States, was b(3rn on the 24th of Nov., 1784, in Orange Co., Va. His 3s father. Colonel Taylor, was a Virginian of note, and a dis- tinguished [latriot and soldier of the Revolution. When Zachary was an infant, his father with liis wife and two children, emigrated to Kentucky, where he settled in the pathless wilderness, a few miles from Louisville. In this front- ier home, away from civilization and all its refinements, young Zachary could enjoy but few social and educational advan- tages. When six years of age he attended a common school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, cather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and manifested a strong desire to enter tlie army to fight the Indians who were ravaging the frontiers. There is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his childhood on his father's large but lonely plantation. In 1S08, his father succeeded in obtaining for him the commission of lieutenant in the United States army ; and lie joined the troops which were stationed at New Orleans under Gen. Wilkinson. Soon after this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady from one of the first families of Maryland. Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- land, in 18 1 2, Capt. Taylor (for he had then been promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about fifty miles above Vincennes. This fort had been built in the wilder- ness by Gen. Harrison.on his march to ri[)pecanoe. It was one of the first points of attack by the Indians, ed by Tecumseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken company of infantry numbering fifty men, many of whom were sick. Early in the autumn of 181 2, the Indians, stealthily, and in large numbers, moved ujxsn the fort. Their approach was first indicated by the murder of two soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor made every possible preparation to meet the antici- pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that in the morning their chief would come to have a talk with him. It was evident that their object was merely to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept them at a distance. The sun went down ; the savages disappeared, the garrison sle|)t upon their arms. One liour before midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips in the forest around, followed by tlie discharge of musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick and well, sprang to his post. Every man knew that defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cai>- ture, death by the most agonizing and i)rolonged tor- ture. No pen can describe, 1.0 immagination can conceive the scenes which ensued. Tlie savages suc- ceeded in setting lire to one of the biock-iiouses- Until si.\ o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict continued. The savages then, baffled at every jwint, and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capt. Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the rank of major by brevet. Until the close of the war, MajorTaylor was placed in such situations that he saw but little more of active service. He was sent far away into the depths of the wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which empties into Green Bay. Here there was but little to be done but to wear away the tedious hours as one best could. There were no books, no society, no in- 64 ZACHARY TAYLOR tellectual stitnulus. Thus with him the uneventful years rolled on Gradually he rose to the rank of colonel. In the Black Hawk war, which resulted in the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor took a subordinate but a brave and efficient part. For twenty -four years Col. Taylor was engaged in the defence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and m employments so obscure, that his name was unknown oeyond the limits of his own immediate acquaintance. In the year 1836, he was sent to Florida to compel the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, iiac'' promised they should do. The services rendered he^c secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of the Government; and as a reward, he was elevated tc :he rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon after, in May, 1838, was appointed to the chief com- mand of the United States troops in Florida. After two years of such wearisome employment tmidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor obtained, at his own request, a change of command, ;.r,d was stationed over the Department of the South- west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. Establishing his headquarters ai Fort Jessup, in Louisiana, he removed his family to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. Here he remained for five years, buried, as it were, '"rom the world, but faithfully discharging every duty •mposed upon him. In 1846, Gen. Taylor was sent to guard the land i'ween the Nueces and Rio Grande, the latter river ^■mg the boundary of Texas, which was then claimed ijy the United States. Soon the war with Mexico was brought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the Mexicans. The rank of major-general by Ijrevet was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name wn,. saving contempt for learnirg of every kind. J i-C^^^t-i^ocTu) THIRTEENTH PRESIDENT. 6? 1 ^'MILLflRn FILLMnRE.'^ i ■e-i- 4r^ ILLARn FILLMORE, thir- ^ tcenth President of the United a' States, was born at Summer ^ Hill, Cayuga Co., N. Y ., on the 7th of January, 1800. His father was a farmer, and ow- ing to misfortune, in humble cir- cumstances. Of his mother, tlie daughter of Dr. Abiathar Millard, of Pittsfield, Mass., it has been said that she |X)ssessed an intellect of very high order, united with much personal loveliness, sweetness of dis- position, graceful manners and ex- quisite sensibilities. She died in 1831 ; having lived to see her son a young man of distinguished prom- i!-e, ihough she was not permitted to witness the high dignity which he finally attained. In consetiuence of the secluded home and limited ineans of his father, Millard enjoyed but slender ad- vantages for educ.Ttion in his early years. The com- mon schools, whi( h he occasionally attended were verv imperfect institutions; and books were scarce end expensive. There was nothing then in his char- acter to indicate the brilliant career uikdu which he was about to enter. He was a plain farmer's boy ; intelligent, good-looking, kind-hearted. The sacred influences of home had taught him to revere the Bible, and had laid the foundations of an upright character. When fourteen years of age, his father sent him some hundred miles from home, to the then wilds of Livingston County, to learn the trade of a clothier. Neai the mill there was a small villiage, where some enler|)rising man had commenced the collection of a village library. This i)roved an inestimable blessing to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- ing. Soon every leisure moment was occupied v, ith books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate and the selections which he made were continually more elevating and instructive. He read history, biography, oratory, and thus gradually there was en- kindled in his heart a desire to be something more than a mere worker with his hands; and he was be- coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, educated man. The young clothier had now attained the age of nineteen years, and was of fine personal appearance and cf gentlemanly demeanor. It so happened tha* there was a gentleman in the neighborhood cf ample pecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge \Valter Wood, — who was struck <\ith the pre|)Ossessing a', pcarance of young Fillmore. He made hisacquain ance, and was so much impressed with his ability an attainments that he advised him to abandon hi trade and devote himself to the study of the law.' The young man replied, that he had no means of his ow.., r.o friends to help him and that his previous educa tion had been very imperfect. Hut Judge Wood had so much confidence in him that he kindly offered to take him into his own office, and to loan him such money as he needed. Most gratefully the generous offer was accepted. There is in many minds a strange delusion about a collegiate education. .\ \oung man is sup;;osed to be liberally educated if he has gr.:dualed at some col- lege. 15ul many a boy loiters through university hal' ■ tnd then enters a law office, who is bv no means as G6 MILLARD FILLMORE. well prepared to prosecute his legal studies as was Millard Fillmore when he graduated at the clothing- mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during which every leisure moment had been devoted to in- tense mental culture. In 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he v/as admitted to the Court of Common Pleas. He then went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the practice of law. In this secluded, peaceful region, his practice of course was limited, and there was no opportunity for a sudden rise in foitune or in fame. Here, in the year 1826, he married a lady of great moral worth, and one capable of adorning any station she might be called to fill, — Miss Abigail Powers. His elevation of character, his untiring industry, his legal acquirements, and his skill as an advocate, gradually attracted attention , and he was invited to enter into partnership under highly advantageous circumstances, with an elder member of the bar in Buffalo. Just before removing to Buffalo, in 1829, he took his seat in the House of Assembly, of the State of New York, as a representative from Erie County. Though he had never taken a very active part in politics, his vote and his sympathies were with the Whig party. The State was then Democratic, and he found himself in a helpless minority in the Legislature , still the testimony comes from all parlies, that his courtesy, ability and integrity, won, to a very unusual degrte the respect of his associates. In the autumn of 1832, he was elected to a seat in the United States Congress He entered that troubled arena in some of the most tumultuous hours of our national history. The great conflict respecting the national bank and the removal of the deposits, was ihen raging. His term of two years closed ; and he returned to his profession, which he pursued with increasing rep- utation and success. After a lapse of two years he again became a candidate for Congress ; was re- elected, and took his seat in 1837. His past expe- rience as a representative gave hrni stiength and confidence. The first term of service in Congress to any man can be but little more than an introduction. He was now prepared for active duty. All his ener- gies were brought to bear upon the public good. Every measure received his impress. Mr. Fillmore was now a man of wide repute, and his popularity filled the State, and in the year 1847, he was elected Comptroller of the State. Mr. Fillmore 'lad attained the age of forty-seven years. His labors at the bar, in the Legislature, in Congress and as Comptroller, had given him very con- siderable fame. The Whigs were casting about to find suitable candidates for President and Vice-Presi- dent at the approaching election. Far away, on the waters of the Rio Grande, there was a rough old soldier, who had fought one or two successful battles with the Mexicans, which had caused his name to be proclaimed in tiumpet-tones all over the land. But it was necessary to associate with him on the same ticket some man of reputation as a statesman. Under the influence of these considerations, the namesof Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore became the rallying-cry of the Whigs, as their candidates for President and Vice-Peesident. The Whig ticket was signally triumphant. On the 4th of March, 1849, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated President, and Millard Fillmore Vice-President, of the United States. On the 9th of July, 1850, President Taylor, but about one year and four months after his inaugura tion, was suddenly taken sick and died. By the Con- stitution, Vice-President Fillmore thus became Presi- dent. He appointed a very able cabinet, of which the illustrious Daniel Webster was Secretary of State. Mr. Fillniore had very serious difficulties to contend with, since the opposition had a majority in both Houses. He did everything in his power to conciliate the South; but the pro-slavery party in the South felt the inadequacy of all measures of transient conciliation. The population of the free States was so rapidly in- creasing over that of the slave States that it was in- evitable that the power of the Government should soon pass into the hands of the free States. The famous compromise measures were adopted under Mr. Fillmcre's adminstration, and tlie Japan Expedition was sent out. On the 4th of March, 1853, Mr. Fill- more, having served one term, retired. In 1856, Mr. Fillmore was nominated for the Pres- idency by the " Know Nothing " party, but was beaten by Mr. Buchanan. After that Mr. Fillmore lived in retirement. During the terrible conflict of civil war, he was mostly silent. It was generally supposed that his sympathies were rather with those who were en- deavoring to overthrow our institutions. President Fillmore kept aloof from the conflict, without any cordial words of cheer to the one party or the other. He was thus forgotten by both. He lived to a ripe old age, and died in Buffalo. N. Y., March 8, 1874. FOURTEENTH PRESIDENT. ^Mi^Wl*!^^! 1- ^jLV'*»J>'^ ^ .^^^^^^^ ^FRANKLIN PIERCE. ^^ ^"w|«??€TB»^ ...^ RANKLIN PIERCE, the irteenth President of the ■ I'nited States, was bom in Hillsborough, N. H., Nov. 23, 1804. His father was a Revolutionary soldier, who, with his own strong arm, hewed out a home in the wilderness. He was a man of inflexible integrity; of strong, though uncultivated mind, and an uncompromis- ing Democrat. The mother of Franklin Pierce was all that a son could desire, — an intelligent, pru- dent, affectionate. Christian wom- an. Franklin was the sixth of eight children. Franklin was a very bright and handsome boy, gen- erous, warm-hearted and brave. He won alike the love of old and young. The boys on the play ground loved him. His teachers loved him. The neighbors looked upon him with pride and affection. He was by instinct a gentleman; always speaking kind words, doing kind deeds, with a peculiar unstudied tact which taught him what was agreeable. Without de- veloping any precocity of genius, or any unnatural devotion to books, he was a good scholar; in body, in mind, in affections, a finely-developed boy. When sixteen years of age, in the year 1820, he entered Bowdoin College, at Brunswick, Me He was one of the most ]X)pular young men in the college. The purity of his moral character, the unvarying courtesy of his demeanor, his rank as a scholar, and genial nature, rendered him a universal favorite. There was something very peculiarly winning in his address, and it was evidently not in the slightest de- gree studied : it was the simple outgushing of his own magnanimous and loving nature. Upon graduating, in the year 1824, Franklin Pierce commenced the study of law in the office of Judge Woodliury, one of the most distinguished lawyers of the State, and a man of great private worth. The eminent social qualities of the young lawyer, his father's prominence as a public man, and the brilliant ixjlitical career into which Judge Woodbury was en- tering, all tended to entice Mr. Pierce into the faci- nating yet perilous path of political life. With all the ardor of his nature he es[>oused the cause of Gen. Jackson for the Presidency. He commenced the practice of law in Hillsborough, and was soon elected to reiiresent the town in the State Legislature. Here he served for four yeais. The last two years he was chosen s[5eaker of the house by a very large vote. In 18.33, ^' the age of twenty-nine, he was elected a member of Congress. Without taking an active part in debates, he was faithful and laborious in duty and ever rising in the estimation of those with whom he was associatad. In 1837, being then but thirty-three years of age, he was elected to the Senate of the United States; taking his seat just as Mr. Van Buren commenced his administration. He was the youngest member in the Senate. In the year 1834. he married Miss Jane Means Appleton, a lady of rare beauty and accom- plishments, and one admirably fitted to adorn ever>' station with which her husband was honoied. Of the 72 f'RANKLIN PIERCE. three sons who were born to them, all now sleep with their parents in the grave. lii the year 1838, Mr. Pierce, with growing fame and increasing business as a lawyer, took up his residence in Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. President Polk, upon his accession to office, appointed Mr. Pierce attorney-general of the United States; but the offer was declined, in consequence of numerous professional engagements at home, and the precariuos state of Mrs. Pierce's health. He also, about the same time declined the nomination for governor by the Democratic party. The war with Mexico called Mr. Pierce in the army. Receiving the appointment of brigadier-general, he embarked, with a portion of his troops, at Newport, R. I., on the 27th of May, 1847. He took an important part in this war, proving him- self a brave and true soldier. When Gen. Pierce reached his home in his native State, he was received enthusiastically by the advo- cates of the Mexican war, and coldly by his oppo- nents. He resumed the practice of his profession, verj frequently taking an active part in political ques- tions, giving his cordial support to the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic party. The compromise measures met cordially with his approval; and he strenuously advocated the enforcement of the infa- mous fugitive-slave law, which so shocked the religious sensibilities of the North. He thus became distin- guished as a " Northern man with Southern principles.' The strong partisans of slavery in the South conse- quently regarded him as a man whom they could safely trust in office to carry out their plans. On the 1 2th of June, 1852, the Democratic conven- tion met in Baltimore to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. For four days they continued in session, c-.:id in thirty-five ballotings no one had obtained a two-thirds vote. Not a vote thus far had been thrown for Gen. Pierce. Then the Virginia delegation brought forward his name. There were fourteen more ballotings, during whicli Gen. Pierce constantly gained strength, until, at the forty-ninth ballot, he received two hundred and eighty-two votes, and all other candidates eleven. Gen. Winfield Scott was the Whig candidate. Gen. Pierce was chosen with great unanimity. Only four States — Vermont, Mas- sachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee — cast their electoral votes against him Gen. Franklin Pieice was therefore inaugurated President of the United States on tlie 4th of March, 1853. His administration proved one of the most stormy our country had ever experienced. The controversy be tween slavery and freedom was then approaching its culminating point It became evident that there was an "irrepressible conflict " between them, and that this Nation could not long exist " half slave and half free." President Pierce, during the whole of his ad- ministration, did every thing he could to conciliate the South ; but it was all in vain. The conflict every year grew more violent, and threats of the dissolution of the Union were borne to the North on eveiy South- ern breeze. Such was the condition of affairs when President Pierce approached the close of his four-years' term of office. The North had become thoroughly alien- ated from him. The anti-slavery sentiment, goaded by great outrages, had been rapidly increasing; all the intellectual ability and social worth of President Pierce were forgotten in deep reprehension of his ad- ministrative acts.. The slaveholders of the South, also, unmindful of the fidelity with which he had advo- cated those measures of Government which they ap- proved, and perhaps, also, feeling that he had rendered himself so unpopular as no longer to be able acce[)tably to serve them, ungratefully dropped him, and nominated James Buchanan to succeed him. On the 4th of March, 1857, President Pierce re- tired to his home in Concord. Of three children, two had died, and his only surviving child had been kihed before his eyes by a railroad accident ; and his wife, one of the most estimable and accomplished of ladies, was rapidly sinking in consumption. The hour of dreadful gloom soon came, and he was left alone in the world, without wife or child. When the terrible Rebellion burst forth, which di- vided our country into two parties, and two only, Mr. Pierce remained steadfast in the principles which he had always cherished, and gave his sympathies to that pro-slavery party with which he had ever been allied. He declined to do anything, either by voice or pen, to strengthen the hand of the National Gov- ernment. He continued to reside in Concord until the time of his death, which occurred in October, 1869. He was one of the most genial and social of men, an honored communicant of the Episcopal Church, and one of the kindest of neighbors. (Sen erous to a fault, he contributed liberally fcjr the al- leviation of sufferingand want, and many of his towns- l>eople were often gladened by his material bounty. d Zl^7Z^^ (^^^^CCC ■^Z^Zy?Z€^^^%/^ /•IFTEENTH PRESIDENT. fi -* mf^~ ' ::u> :•,<.: ,':,-f ^ G^x ^#^ BRAHAM LINCOLN, the sixteenth President of the United States, was born in Hardin Co., Ky., Feb. 12, iSog. About the year 1780, a man by the name of Abraham Lincobi left Virginia with liis family and moved into the then wilds of Kentucky. Only two years after this emigration, still a young man, while working one day in a field, was stealthily approached by an Indian and shot dead. His widow was left in extreme poverty with five ittle children, three boys and two girls. Thomas, the youngest of the loys, was four years of age at his father's death. This Thomas was the father of Abraham Lincoln, the ' President of the United States whose name must henceforth fo'^ever be enrolled iviih the most prominent in the annals of our world. Of course no record has been kept of the life of one so lowly as Thomas Lincoln. He was among I he poorest of the jxior. His home was a wretched log-cabin; his food ihe coarsest and the meanest. Kd.ication he had none; he could never either read or .\rite. As soon as he was able to do anything for himself, he was compelled to leave the cabin of his starving mother, and push out into the world, a friend- ess, wandering boy, seeking work. He hired him- self out, and thus s|)ent the whole of his youth as a .'iborer in the fields of others. When twenty-eight years of age he buili a log- 1 abin of his own, and married Nancy Hanks, the d.iughter of another family of poor Kentucky emi- graiils, who had also come from Virginia. Their second child was .'Vbraham Lincoln, the subject of this sketch. The mother of Abraham was a noble 'vonian, gentle, loving, pensive, created to adorn a ])alare, doomed to toil and pine, and die in a hovel. " All that I am, or hope to be," exclaims the grate- ful son " I owe to my angel-mother. When he was eight years of age, his father sold his cabin and small farm, and moved to Indiana Where two years later his mother died. Abiaham soon became the scribe of the uneducated community around him. He could not have had a better school than this to teach him to put thoughts into words. He also became an eager reader. The books he could obtain were few ; but these he read and re-read until they were almost committed tc memory. As the years rolled on, the lot of this lowly familj was the usual lot of humanity. There were joys and griefs, weddings and funerals. Abraham's sistei Sarah, to whom he was tenderly attached, was mar- ried when a child of but fourteen years of age, anci soon died. The family was gradually scattered. Mr. Thomas Lincoln sold out his squatter's claim in 1830 and emigrated to Macon Co., 111. Abraham Lincoln was then twenty-one years of age. With vigorous hands he aided his father in rearin;; another log-cabin. Abraham worked diligently at thi;- until he saw the family comfortably settled, and thei' small lot of enclosed prairie planted with corn, when he announced to his father his intention to leave home, and to go out into the world and seek his for- tune. Little did he or his friends imagine how bril- liant that fortune was to be. He saw tlie value ol education and was intensely earnest to improve his mind to the utmost of his power. He saw the ruin which ardent spirits were causing, and became strictly temi)erate; refusing to allow a drop of intoxi- cating liquor to pass his lips. And he had read in God's word, " Thou shalt not take the name of tha Lord thy God in vain;" and a profane ex|)ression he was never heard to utter. Religion he revered. His morals were pure, and he was uncontaminated by a single vice. Young Abraham worked for a time as a hired laborci among the farmers. Then he went to Springfield where he was employed in building a large flat-boat In this he took a herd of swine, floated them down the Sangamon to the Illinois, and thence by the Mis- sissippi to New Orleans. Whati.-vcr Abraham Lin- coln undertook, he performed so faithfully as to give great satisfaction to his employers. In this adven 8o ABRAHAM LINCOLN. ture his employers were so well pleased, that upon his return tney placed a store and null under his care. In 1832, at the outbreak of the Black Hawk war, he enlisted and was chosen captain of a company. He returned to Sangamon County, and although only 23 years of age, was a candidate for the Legislature, but was defeated. He soon after received from Andrew Jackson the appointment of Postmaster of New Salem, His only post-office was his hat. AH the letters he received he carried there ready to deliver to those he chanced to meet. He studied surveying, and soon made this his business. In 1834 he again became a candidate for the Legislature, and was elected Mr. Stuart, of Springfield, advised him to study law. He walked from New Salem to Springfield, liorrowed of Mr. Stuart a load of books, carried them back and began his legal studies. When the Legislature as- seml)led he trudged on foot with his pack on his back one hundred miles to Vandalia, then the capital. In 1836 he was re-elected to the Legislature. Here it was he first met Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839 he re- moved to Springfield and began the practice of law. His success with the jury was so great that he was 20on engaged in almost every noted case in the circuit. ' In 1854 the great discussion began between Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Douglas, on the slavery question. In the organization of the Republican party in Illinois, in 1856, he took an active part, and at once became one of the leaders in that party. Mr. Lincoln's speeches in opposition to Senator Douglas in the con- test in 1858 for a seat in the Senate, form a most notable part of his history. The issue was on the ilavery question, and he took the broad ground of .he Declaration of Independence, that all men are created equal. Mr. Lincoln was defeated in this con- test, but won a far higiier prize. The great Republican Convention met at Chicago on the i6th of June, i860. The delegates and strangers who crowded the city amounted to twenty- five thousand. An immense building called "The Wigwam," was reared to accommodate the Conven- tion. There were eleven candidates for whom votes were thrown. William H. Seward, a man whose fame as a statesman had long filled the land, was the most orominent. It was generally supposed he would be the nominee. Abraham Lincoln, however, received the nomination on the third ballot. Little did he then dream of the weary years of toil and care, and the bloody death, to w!ii :h that nomination doomed him: and aslittledid hedream that he was to render services to his country, which would fix upon him the eyes of the whole civilized world, and which would give him I place in the affections nf his countrymen, second cnly, if second, to that of ^Vashington. Election day came and Mr. Lincoln received 180 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, constitutionally elected President of the United States. The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was greater than upon any other man ever elected to tliis high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stopping in all the large cities ox\ his way making speeches. The whole journey wasfrought with much danger. Many of the Southern States had already seceded, and several attempts at assassination were afterwards brought to light. A gang in Balti- more had arranged, upon his arrival to" get up a row," and in the confusion to make sure of his death with revolvers and hand-grenades. A detective unravelled the plot. A secret and special train was provided tc take him from Harrisburg, through Baltimore, at ai unexpected hour of the night. The train started at half-past ten; and to prevent ai.y possible communi- cation on the part ot the Secessionists with their Con - federate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train ha..", started the telegraph-wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln readied Washington in safety and was inaugurated, although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave to Mr Seward the Department of State, and to other prominent op|)onents before the convention he gave important positions. During no other administration have the duties devolving upon the President been so manifold, and the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in hi-B own strength to cope with, the difficulties, he learned early to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in determining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his triaU, bo'h personal and national. Contrary to his own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the most courageous of men. He went directly into the rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, with no guard but a few sailors. From the tinie he had left S|)ringfield, in i86r, however, plans had been made fjr his assassination, and he at last fell a victim to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with Gen. Grant, was urgently invited to attend Fords' Theater. It was announced that they would Le present. Gen. Grant, however, left the city. President Lincoln, feel- ing, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to the play an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth entered the box where the President and family were seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the next morning at seven o'clock. Never before, in the history of the world was a nation plunged into such deep grief by the death of its ruler. Strong men met in the streets and wept in speechless anguish. It is not too much to say that a nation was in tears. His was a life which will fitly become a model. His name as the savior of his country will live with that of Washington's, ils father; hiscf^untry- mc-'i being unable to decide whirh is the greater. ^^-:^-^^^a^{(^-^^ SEVENTEENTH PRESIDEAT. Sj ^:kiyj©iF^ W, \H ,i DM C^^^^ ^^1^ NDREW JOHNSON, seven- teenth President of the United States. The early Hfe of Andrew Johnson contains hut the record of poverty, destitu- tion and friendlessness. He 7 was born December 29, i8oS, in Raleigh, N. C. His parents, belonging to the class of the "poor whites "of the Souili,Ti'ere in such circumstances, that they could not c';nf!r ^.-er. the slight- est advantages of education uiXDn %<)' their child. When Andrew was five I years of age, liis father accidentally lost his life while herorically endeavoring to save a friend from drowning. ^''r\di ten years of age, Andrew was a ragged boy abour the streets, supjxjrted by the labor of his mother, who obtained her living with her own hands. He then, having never attended a school one day, and being unable either to read or write, was ap- prenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasion- ally, and reading to the boys at work tliere. He often read from the speeches of distinguished British states- men. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more than ordinary native ability, became much interested in these speeches ; his ambition was roused, and he was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. He accordingly applied himself to tlie alphabet, and with the assistance of some of his fellow- workmen, teamed his letters. He then called upon the gentle- man to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, pleased with his zeal, not only gave him die boo«. but assisted him in learning to combine the letters into words. Under such difficulties he pressed oi. ward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve houre at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest and recreatio.- to devote such time as he could to reading. He went to Tennessee in 1826, and located a' Greenville, where he married a young lady who pos sessed some education. Under her instructions he learned to write and cipher. He became prominent in the village debating society, and a favorite with the students of Greenville College. In 1828, he or- ganized a working man's party, which elected him alderman, and in 1830 tlected him mayor, which position he held three years. He now began to take a lively interest in political affairs; identifying himself with the working-classes, to which he belonged. In 1835, he was elected a member of the House of Representatives of Tennes- see. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. He became a very active member of the legislature gave his adhesion to the Democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the State," advocating Martin '^ an Buren's claims to the Presidency, in op{X)sition to thos^ of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he acquired much readiness as a speaker, and extended and increased his reputation. In 184T, he was elected State Senator; in 1843, he was elected a member of Congress, and by successive elections, held that important post for ten years. In 1853, he was elected Governor of Tennessee, and was re-elected in 1855. In all these res))ons;lile \a%\ tions, he discharged his duties with distinguished ab-.. 84 ANDRE IV JOHNSON. ity, and proved himself the warm friend of the work- ing classes. In 1857, Mr. Johnson was elected United States Senator. Years before, in 1845, he had warmly advocated the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his reason, that he thought this annexation would prob- ably prove " to be the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, and become merged in a population congenial to themselves." In 1850, he also supported the com- promise measures, the two essential features of which were, that the white people of the Territories should be permitted to decide for themselves whether they would enslave the colored people or not, and that the *'ree States of the North should return to the 3ouLh persons who attempted to escape from slavery. Mr. Johnson was neverasharaedof his lowly origin: on the contrary, he often took pride in avowing that he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," said he on the floor of the Senate, " I do not forget that I am a mechanic ; neither do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig-leaves, and that our Sav- ior was the son of a carpenter." In the Charleston- Baltimore convention of i8i«;, ne was the choice of the Tennessee Democrats for tlie Presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the South- 2rn Democracy became apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held that " slavery must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly imperiled his own life to protect the Unionists of Tennesee. Tennessee having seceded from the Union, President Lincoln, on March 4th, 1862, ap- pointed him Military Governor of the State, and he established the most stringent military rule. His numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 1864, he was elected Vice-President of the United States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 1865, became President. In a speech two days later he said, " The American people must be taught, if they do not already feel, that treason is a crime and must be punished ; that the Government will not always bear with its enemies ; that it is strong not only to protect, but to punish. * * The people must understand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes, and will surely be punished." Yet his whole administration, the history of which is so well known, was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech. In his loose policy of reconstruction and general amnesty, he was opposed by Congress ; and he char- acterized Congress as a new rebellion, and lawlessly defied it, in everything possible, to the utmost. In the beginning of 1868, on account of " high crimes and misdemeanors," the principal of which was the removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- ure of Office Act, articles of impeachment were pre- ferred against him, and the trial began March 23. It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three months. A test article of the impeachment was at length submitted to the court for its action. It was certain that as the court voted upon that article so would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the President guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced ac- quitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote from the not guilty side would have sustained the impeachment. The President, for the remainder of his term, was but little regarded. He continued, though impotent!;-, his conflict with Congress. His own party did not think it expedient to renominate him for the Presi- dency. The Nation rallied, with enthusiasm unpar- alleled since the days of Washington, around the name of Gen. Grant. Andrew Johnson was forgotten. The bullet of the assassin introduced him to the President's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was there presented to a man a better opportunity to im- mortalize his name, and to win the gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home in Gree-nville, Tenn., taking no very active part in politics until 1875. On Jan 26, after an e.xciting struggle, he was chosen by the Legislature of Ten- nessee, United States Senator in the forty-fourth Con- gress, and took his seat in that body, at the special session convened by President Grant, on the 5th of March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-President made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey, he was apparently in his usual vigorous health, but on reach- ing the residence of his child the following day, was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 2 A.M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. His fun- eral was attended at Geenville, on the 3d of August, witli every demonstration of respect <^- -<-0'C_-' SIGH TEENTH FRESIBENT. 87 ^V^^gi^f ■ LYSSES S. GRANT, the ighteenth President of the 5§ United States, was born on the 29th of April, 1822, of Christian parents, in a humble home, at Point Pleasant, on the banks of the Ohio. Shortly after his father moved to George- town, Brown Co., O. In this re- mote frontier hamlet, Ulysses received a common-school edu- cation. At the age of seven- teen, in the year 1839, he entered the Military Academy at West Point. Here he was regarded as a iolid, sensible young man of fair abilities, and of sturdy, honest character. He took respectable rank as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of in- fantry to one of the distant military posts in the Mis- souri Territory. Two years he ))ast in these dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond and e.xasperating Indians. The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at Resacade la Palma, his second battle. At the battle of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that .ie performed a signal service of daring and skillful horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its am- munition. A messenger must be sent for more, along .1 route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging uix)n one side of the anip».-il, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. From Monterey he was sent, with the fourth infantry, 10 aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he was appointed quartermaster of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Cha- pultepec. At the close of the Mexican War, Capt. Grant re- turned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to one of the military posts on the frontier. The discovery of gold in California causing an immense tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. Grant was sent with a battalion to Fort Dallas, in Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the im- migrants. Life was wearisome in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned his commission and returned to the States; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not re- munerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into the leather business, with a younger brother, at (ia- lena, 111. This was in the year i860. As the tidings of the rebels firing on Fort Sumpter reached the ears of Capt. Grant in his counting-room, he said, — "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army: though I have served him through one war, I do not fee* that I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready todispharge my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my iword and see Uncle Sam through this war too." He went into the streets, raised a company of vol- unteers, and led them as their captain to Springfield, the capital of the State, where their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The Governor, impressed by the zeal and straightforward executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the volunteer organization that was being formed in the State in behalf of the Government. On the 15 th of 88 UL YSShS S. GRA NT. June, t86i, Capt. Grant received a commission as Colonel of the Twenty-first Regiment of Illinois Vol- unteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who had served for 15 years in the regular army, were such that he was soon promoted to the rank of Brigadier- General and was placed in command at Cairo. The rebels raised their banner at Paducah, near the mouth of the Tennessee River. Scarcely had its folds ap- peared in the breeze ere Gen. Grant was there. The rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the star and stripes were unfurled in its stead. He entered the service with great determination and immediately began active duty. This was the be- ginning, and until the surrender of Lee at Richmond he was ever pushing the enemy with great vigor and effectiveness. At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was immediately made a M.njor-General, and the military iistrict of Tennessee was assigned to him. Like all great captains. Gen. Grant knew well how to secure the results of victory. He immediately Dushed on to the enemies' lines. Then came the terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an unconditional surrender of the city with over thirty thousand men and one-hundred and seventy-two can- non. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, and opened up the Mississippi from Cairo to the Gulf. Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate witli Gen. Banks in a movement upon Te.xas, and pro- ceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from his horse, and received severe injuries, from which he was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid of Gens. Rosecrans and Thomas at Chattanooga, and by a wonderful series of strategic and technical meas- ures put the Union Army in fighting condition. Then followed the bloody battles at Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels were routed with great loss. This won for him un- bounded praise in the North. On the 4th of Febru- ary, 1864, Congress revived the grade of lieutenant- general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. He repaired to Washington to receive his credentials iind enter upop. 'Ji'^ duties of his new office Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge ol ihe army to concentrate the widely-dispersed National troops for an attack upon Richmond, the nominal capital of the Rebellion, and endeavor there to de- stroy the rebel armies which would be promptly as- sembled from all quarters for its defence. The whole continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these majestic armies, rushing to the decisive battle field. Steamers were crowded with troops. Railway trains were burdened with closely packed thousands. His plans were comprehensive and involved a series of campaigns, which were executed with remarkable en- ergy and ability, and were consummated at the sur- render of Lee, April 9, 1865. The war was ended. The Union was saved. The almost unanimous voice of the Nation declared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its sal- vation. The eminent services he had thus rendered the country brought him conspicuously forward as the Republican candidate for the Presidential chair. At the Republican Convention held at Chicago. May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the Presidency, and at the autumn election received a majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 electoral votes. The National Convention of the Republican party which met at Philadelphia on the 5th of June, 1872, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term by a unanimous vote. The selection was emphati- cally indorsed by the people five months later, 292 electoral votes being cast for him. Soon after the close of his second term. Gen. Grant started upon his famous trip around the world. He visited almost every country of the civilized world, and was everywhere received with such ovations and demonstrations of respect and honor, private as well as public and official, as were never before bestowed upon any citizen of the United States. He was the most prominent candidate before the Republican National Convention in 1880 for a re- nomination for President. He went to New York and embarked in the brokerage business under the firm nameof Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, wrecked (j rant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to the penitentiary. The General was attacked with cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like manner, never complaining. He was re-instated as General of tiie Army and retired by Congress. The cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 1885, the nation wenf in mourning over the death of the illustrious General. s c/U_^-o-Atf ^ NINETEENTH PRESIDENT. 9> ^ RUTHERFORD ®e HiiYES. UTHERFORD B. HAYES, fel the nineteenth President of * the United States, was born in Delaware, O., Oct. 4, 1822, al- most three months after the death of his father, Rutherford Hayes. His ancestry on both the paternal and maternal sides, was of the most honorable char- i acter. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two Scottish chief- tains, fighting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both families belonged to the nobility, owned extensive estates, and had a large following. Misfor- ;ane ov'.-i