.0^ .^^-'^ ^> '■^^.^^ & .: J"\.. y %, '••• \^ V '»•*'' a" "^ '•••* V 'C* '»•»• A<^ ^ *'vvv« / y ^-^^.^^ :i %r^r^'\o'^ '^vO.C^* .» "w" ./"-^. ■^0* ^•^q* ^.* ^o" ': ^o'^-H. '/ .^^-^^ .0^ V -?^Pf>* -^ ^xN -^. ^°^ • .^^ 5-/ J" c 71" ^ .♦"'^^ i' V ^^rS '^^.^ V •*U..•^^ ■•• **'•'*. «5o* ./.: > V *w* .t^'"-* ,*" V ■^^ ",'^ /I* < O .0* "°^*-Tr,-\A° o^^'^. -'/fi 'A v.^^ c^^. ^I- ^.' «5°^ a5°^ v.^ »: .>^'"^^ •^^^ n^"... •0^ ..V .< A.* «: o > >^'V SKETCHES MEN OF MARK WRITTEN BY THE BEST TALENT OF TUE EAST. BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED WITH STEEL rORTRAITS BY THE FINEST EXGKAVERS IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY SUBSORIPTION. (1000 BOOK AGEKTS WANTED.) NEW YORK AND HARTFORD PUBLISHING CO. 41 PARK ROW, NEW YORK. LONDON: SAMPSON, LOWE, SON & UO. SAN FIIANCISCO: DEWING & CO. Kntercd according to Act of Congress, in the year 1811, THE NEW TOllK AND HAKTFOKD PDBLISHING CO In tho Oaicc of the Librarian of Congress at WashingK^.n PREFACE, Tuis volume is now offered to the public, containing bio- graphical sketches, and steel engravings, of many prominent Americans who are entitled to appreciative memoirs — states- men, lawyers, financiers, manufacturers, merchants, and in- ventors, who by their own unaided talents and efforts have risen from comparatively humble circumstances to some of the highest and most responsible places in this republic — men who were not nursed in the " lap of luxury ; " men who, in early life, had neither advantages in education nor pecuniary means ; but who, nevertheless, have become emi- nently distinguished for ability, industry, perseverance, and great attainments. Such men are really the bone and sinew of this great republic. In compiling this Biographical work, the editor and publishers claim no credit for performing their tasks, but have earnestly endeavored to do their best, and to make the work fully equal and even superior to what was prom- ised. Some of the first talent in the country has been employed on the engravings. Much labor has been in- volved in bringing it to completion. Such persons have been selected as examples, who seemed to illustrate some particular genius, or special ti-ait of character, worthy the imitation of our American youth. Hundreds of letters have been wi-ittcn to tbe su1)jects of sketches, and all infor- mation that could be obtained, has been sought for from reliable data. The sketches are plain descriptions of worthy " Progressive Men." The aim of the editor has been to give authentic facts and dates, rather than elegant diction ()!• llcnveiy style. Some of the sketches have been prepared by some of our most popular writers. By the particular request of others, their names are not given. Possibly some subjects may not have been sufficiently estimated, and par- ticular traits and virtues made prominent. None can regret more sincerely than the writers any failure on their part to apj)reciate true merit, or to have omitted any noble deeds worthy of recording. Biographies of eminent self-made men ai-e instructive moral lessons for the young. It may stimulate them to exertion ; for all attainments that have been accomplished may be repeated. It kindles in the heart and mind lauda- ble ambition, a desire to excel in the march for fame and distinction in the groat and grand enterprises of the present day, which are so well illustrated by the peculiar freedom of our own American institutions. Steel engravings are the most pleasant and attractive features of a book ; and especially are they so when accom- panied by the memoirs of our friends. Renowned persons of the Eoman Commonwealth used to say " that whenever they beheld the images of their ancestors, they felt their minds incited to virtue." In the compilation of this work we have met with various delays and difficulties that could not be surmounted ; but have spared no oilbrt or pains to make the work creditable CONTENTS: 8. F. B. Morso 1 C. K. Garrieon 31 M. O. Roberts 39 H. B. Clafliu 43 Gen. A. Pleasonton 47 John Coclirane Gl Gov. John N Goodwin 81 W.A.Booth 83 S. J. Tilden 89 E. C. Benedict 99 J. G. Smith 105 J. E. English Ill 8. M. Weed U9 S. C, Herring V25 Geo. Opdyko 141 C. H. McCorraick 14.5 H.I. KimbaU 167' A. 8. Divon 171 George W. Mead 179 Thos. Le Clear 189 Oliver Charlick 197 Pliny Freeman jm D. W. BUss ', R. K. Scott I D. C. Littlejohn j ; Wm. B. Gierke : ; B. H. Jonka I CO. Cox ..' ■ . I, Richard Vaiix : i Thos. C. Fields j .7 Bush R. Sloane iiU Gov. Thos. Carney 267 H.A.Smythe 273 John J. McCook JSI H.C.Caroy - . I.I.Hayes ■" Geo. JI. Curtis Henry D. Cooke :> . Thos. B. Bryan ;i.; W. L. Livingston 319 Ely 8. Parker 331 M. C. Wilcox 339 Jas. L. Plimpton 343 Samuel I. Prime 351 Sihis M. Stilwell 355 Geo. N. Kennedy 367 Col. H. B. Wright 371 David Paul Brown 377 Joeepli Fagnani 383 Jas. Termlliger , 393 Rev. Wm. L. Harris 397 Gen. J. H. Sypher 114 Hon. Richard T. Merrick 411 Hon. N. P. Chipman 423 Gen. Jas. 8. Negley 427 John F. Henry 433 443 Col. Wra. N. Color Capt. Willard Glazier Hon. Henry G. Davis 471 Hon. Honry Cooper 475 Hon. Frederick A. Sawyer 481 Hon. 8. C. Pomeroy 487 Hon. W. C. Whitthome 497 Hon. John Lynch 603 Hon. L. A. Sheldon 511 Hon. Chas. B. Farwell 519 Hon. Leonard Myers 525 Manaliold Tracy Walworth 531 Hon. Geo. E. Harris 535 Gen. Chas. W. Darling 539 Hon. Chas. Foster 543 Hon. Wm. H. H. StoweU 547 Hon. Sam'l Shellabarger 551 Hon. J. M. Rusk 567 Hon. Jas. M. Ashley 573 Maj. Willard Bullard 595 Col. WuKon Dwight 601 ''■"-' 1. n. stanard 605 I ' riiorne 609 1 I '■■ Higlae 613 i I ■ <■" -l-i|ii'on 617 ■Jatterlce.. 1 Norton. Blood. . . . illiam. G. Tcmnloton Strong 653 Rear Adm'l Benj. F. Sands 657 715 Gen. Silas Si;ymom- 721 Chas. P. Herrick 735 Gov. Ed. M. McCook 747 Gen. 8. P. Heintzelman 753 Hon. Honry Smith 761 Gov. W. B. Lawrence 769 J. W. Foster 785 J.E.Ward 795 Judge OUver H. Pi'lmor 803 Ovmgton Benedict 811 Arthur Gilman 817 Charles W. Lowell 823 CorneUus A. Wortendyke 831 Gardner Quiucv Colton 835 David J. Mitchell 841 Gov. Bowen 847 if^t^-iy'. J"- f3 ■ T^atJ^ SAMUEL F. B. MOESE. BY THE HON. AMOS KENDALL. fAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE, is the oldest son of the Rev. Jedediah Morse, D. D., the author of Morse's Geography. He was bom at Chaslestown, Massachusetts, on the 27th of April, 1791. His mother's name was Breese. She was a decendant of the Rev. Samuel Finley, D. D., a former Presi- dent of Princeton College. From this ancestor, and his mother. Professor Morse derives his Christian name. He graduated at Yale College in 1810. Young Morse had a passion for painting, so strong, that in 1811, his father sent him to Europe under charge of Mr. Alston, that he might perfect himself in the art to which he desired to devote his life. lie had letters to West and Copley, and soon had the satisfac- tion to excite the peculiar regard of the former, who was in the zenith of his fame. In May, 1813, his picture of the " Dying Her- cules " was exhibited at the Royal Academy, Somerset House, eliciting much commendation. Auxiliary to the painting of this picture, he had moulded a figure of " Hercules " in plaster, which he sent to the Society of Arts to take its chance for a prize in sculp- ture. His adventure was successful, and, on the 13th of May, 1813, he publicly received a gold medal with high commendation from the Duke of Norfolk, then presiding. Thus encouraged, the young artist piei)ared a picture represent- ing the "Judgment of Jupiter in the case of Apollo, Marpessa and 2 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. Idas," to contest the prize of a gold medal and fifty guineas offered by the Royal Academy in 1814. Being called home before the ex- hibition, his picture was denied admittance, because he could not attend in person. President West, of the Eoyal Academy, to whom he had exhibited the picture after it was finished, advised him to remain, and after the public exhibition, wrote him that he had no doubt it would have taken the prize. In August, 1S15, Mr. Morse returned to his own country flushed with high hopes, based on his success abroad. He opened his rooms in Boston, where he exliibited his " Judgment of Jupiter;" but for a whole year he did not receive a single offer for that picture, or a single order for any other of an historical character. This was a cruel disappointment ; for in that direction his ambition lay. Having thus far depended on means derived from his father, and seeing no prospect of independence in that line, he betook himself to portrait painting, and in that pursuit visited various towns in New Hampshire. In a few months he returned with considerable money acquired by painting small portraits at fifteen dollars each. On that trip he became acquainted with Miss Walker, of Concord, whom he afterwards married. He also met with a Southern gentle- man, who assured him that he could get abundant employment in tlie South at quadruple prices. On wi-iting to liis uncle, Dr. Fialey, of Charleston, S. C, that gentleman sent him a cordial invitation to his house while he made the trial. He complied, and, for a time his prospects were gloomy, but a portrait of his uncle finally attracted so much attention that orders for portraits at sixty dollars each came in much faster than ho could execute them. With three thousand dollars in hand, and en- gagements for a long time to come, he returned to New England and married Miss Walker. For four successive winters he I'etumed to Charleston and engaged in the practice of his profession, where he was not only successful, but miich respected and beloved. In January, 1821, Mr. Morse, in conjunction with John S.Cogdell, originated the " South Carolina Academy of Fine Arts," of which the late Joel R. Poinset was President. It was incorporated, and had several exhibitions, but has been broken up for lack of adequate supjDort. When American artists were to be employed to fill with a pic- ture one of the vacant panels of the rotunda of the Capitol, they, without exception, considered Mr. Morse first entitled to the honor; and great was their disappointment when another was selected. They exhibited their sense of the wi-ong done him by voluntarily raising a subscription to pay him for a picture suited to such a national object. A considerable sum was collected and paid over to him, but not enough to enable him to complete the design in a manner satisfactory to himself. Determined that no man should have an opportunity to charge him with appropriating this money without an equivalent, he resolved to refund the amounts paid over to him; and, though sorely pressed, never ceased his efibrts until he had paid back the last cent. Professor Morse, under the most straitened circumstances, always had an insuperable repugnance to contracting debts, or living on the bounty of others. His dying mother, after encountering much suffering from the kindness of his father in lending his name to friends whom he trusted, exacted a promise from her son that he would never thus endanger his own peace of mind and the comfort of his household, and to that promise he has religiously adhered. During his collegiate course, ending in 1810, Professor Morse had been instructed by Professor Silliman in all that was then known on the subject of electricity, and the formation of electric batteries. During the residence of his family at New Haven, about 1824, enjoying the friendship of Professor Silliman, and having free ac- cess to his laboratory, he obtained from those sources full informa- tion of the progress of electrical discovery and science from 1810 up to that time. In the winter of 1826-7, he attended a series of lectures on electricity, delivered by Profssor Dana, of New York, 3 4 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. and there saw tlie first Electro-Magnet which ever was exhibited ill America. Dana was an enthusiast on the subject of Electro- Magnetism, and being an intimate friend of Mr. Morse, made it a topic of constant conversation. Had not death struck him down in the spring of 1827, he would have probably become the leading electrician of America. Circumstances awakened anew Morse's ambition for distinction as an historical painter. He conceived the idea of painting the interior of the Eepresentatives' Chamber in the Capitol at Washing- ton, and raising a revenue by its exhibition. He located his family in New Haven, and devoted eighteen months to the painting of this picture. It measured eight feet by nine, and contained a great variety of figures. Its exhibition however, instead of producing an income, resulted in a considerable loss, and this, with contribu- tions in common with his brothers, to discharge their father's pecu- niary liabilities, swept away all he had accumulated at Charleston. Mr. Morse then sought employment in New York, and finally obtained from the corporation an order to paint a portrait of Gen. Lafayette, who was then in the United States. For that purpose he visited Washington ; but, in February, 1825, he was called home by news of the death of his wife. His labors upon this pic- ture were further interrupted by the sickness of his children, and the death of his excellent father and mother. Morse now made New York his place of residence. In the Fall of 1825 he was active in organizing a drawing association, which constituted the germ of the " National Academy of Design," of which he was President for many years after its organization. Though gotten up under great difiSculties and amidst much contro- versey, this institution has been eminently successful. In 1827, he delivered, before the New York Athenaeum, the first course of lectures on tlie fine aits ever delivered in America. In 1829, he again visited Europe, spending three years among artists and collections of art in England, Italy and France. In 4 SAMUEL P. B. MORSE. 5 Paris, he paiuted the interior of the Louvre, copying in miniature the most remarkable paintings hanging on its wall. In the Fall of 1832, he returned to the United States, and resumed his jiosition as President of the National Academy of Design, to which post he was elected every year during his absence. Thus far Mr. Morse had felt no other interest in electrical science than that of a lively curiosity. During his voyaye from Europe in 1832, circumstances occurred which awakened new thoughts, and opened a new path to distinction. On board the packet-ship Sully, in which he embarked, he met with Dr. C. T. Jackson, of Boston, Hon. Wm. Rives, of Virginia, J. Francis Fisher, of Philadehihia, and several other intelligent men. The conversation embraced a gi'eat variety of topics, of which recent experiments in galvanism and electro-magnetism were not the least interesting. Statements made by Dr. Jackson, in relation to certain results he had recently witnessed in France, suggested to Professor Morse the idea that either the electro-chemical or electro-magnetic effect of the current might be used to make permanent marks at great distances, so varied as to communicate ideas. The project took full possession of his mind, and was the subject of his daily conversation and nightly dreams. He found the shapes of the Roman letters and Arabic figures, being composed of straight lines and irregular angles and curves, ill suited to be made at a distance by any simple machinery. He therefore changed their fonns, making them of a straight line cut up into dots and dashes, and his letters and figures were made up of various combinations and elements. This part of his invention was substantially matured on board the Sully, and drawn out in a sketch-book. He had also prepared and drawn out in the same book a form of apparatus to make the letters and figures by the electro-chemical process, upon prejiared paper, pass- ing under the end of a wire or stylus through which the electric current derived from the distant battery should be made te pass. He had also devised a species of tvpes, to be used in breaking and 5 6 SAMUEL F, B, MORSE. closing the circuit, and giving greater or loss duration to the cur- rent, as might be required to malce a dash or dot. It was agreed between him and Dr. Jackson, that the latter, who had a laboratory, should try a series of experiments, to determine what chemical was best adapted to the purpose. So engrossed was the mind of Professor Morse with this new project, that immediately after passing salutations with his brothers on landing at New York, he mentioned it to them, and immediately set himself to work to cast the type intended for the breaking and closing the circuit, prepartory to the construction of the other machinery. But Dr. Jackson failed to make the promised experi- ments, and Professor Morse, suffering under the blight of poverty, had no funds to purchase the necessary material, and was obliged to resort to his pencil for the means of subsistence. Far from relinquishing his great project, it was the subject of con- stant thought ; and, hearing nothing from Dr. Jackson, he devised a plan for making his letters and figures by electro-magnetism. In 1855, Mr. Morse was appointed a professor in the University of New York. Having a room in the University, he constructed of rude materials, a miniature telegraph, embracing all the elements of an electro-magnetic telegraph, composed of a single circuit, which he afterwards patented. This was shown to a few friends before the close of 1835. In 1832, his friend, Dr. Gale, had been appointed a professor in the same university. To him Professor Morse showed his instrument, and disclosed all his plans. That an effective telegraph could be made on a very short circuit, there was no douht ; but experiments indicated that the magnetic influence of the electric current rapidly diminished as the length of the cir- cuit was extended, so as to make it uncertain at what distance suffi- cient power to make a mark, or even produce a motion, could be ob- tained. Prof Morse conceived a plan by which he could mark at any distance where he could produce motion. This was by employ- ing the motion obtained unon a first circuit to break and close a 6 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE. 7 second, which might be made as short as necessary to obtain mark- ing power. But the idea did not stop there ; it contemplated the use of the second circuit to close and break the thiid, and so on in- definitely. The only obvious inconveniences of this plan, so far as the recording is concerned, are obviated by the introduction of the local circuits. Instead of shortening the main circuits, so that the power of their batteries shall be sufficient to record on all parts of the circuits, they may be extended as far as motion can be ob- tained, and this motion is used to break and close a local circuit wherever a station may be wanted. At first, the recording appara- tus was only a register worked by an electro-magnet in the main circuit. The recording apparatus consists of a local battery and circuit, a, register magnet and register, called into action by an electro-naagnet in the main circuit. Professor Morse's merits as an inventor have been severely criti- cised, and attempts have been made to confine them to very narrow limits. What they really are, is now pretty well establislied. A variety of batteries had been invented. One thing was yet wanting ; that was, some means of renewing the magnetic force of the electric current before it becomes entirely exhausted by reason of the length of the circuit. Tliat desideratum Professor Morse supplied by his combined circuits. This, with his alphabet, and the new mechanism employed by him, constitutes Morse's invention; and these, in combination with the new result produced by him, are all he claims. Other countries are doing honor to the American inventor. A telegraphic convention of the German States, of which Professor Steinheil was the leading spirit, recommending Morse's invention in preference to his own, has adopted it for general use throughout Ger- many. He has received honorary testimonials from tlie Sultan of Turkey, the Kings of Prussia, Wurtemburg, Italy, Portugal and Denmark, the Legion of Honor from the Emperor of France, Knight Commander of the order of Isabella from the Queen of 7 8 SAMUKT, V. 1!. MDUSK. Spain, while tlu> Proiuh Academy, and tlio most distinguished Nuniiifi in Franco and England concede his merits. lOven the adversary counsel, in an argument het'orc the Supreme Court of the United States, admitted that Professor Morse was the tirst ti) invent '' a pradicani/ usiiful ch'ctro-magnctic nurrTving tele- graph." The world will not hesitate to believe that whieii an in- terested coimsel do not think it expedient to deny. Tt may not be generally known that Prof. Morse and his broth- ers were the first who experimented successfully in the art of Pho- tography in this country. Sidney E. ]\Iorse, in u letter in response to an invitation to attend the semi-centennial celebration of the first Sabbath school society in Massachusetts, gives a good account of those e.Kperiments : — " rrior to the relinquishment of his profession as a painter, Trofessor Moore, your first superinteuilout, was tlie instrument in tlie hand of I'rovideuce, of introilucing Into tliis country that jtreat ( I may say tlie greatest ) wonder of our age, the new Art qf Vhatography. Photography, tlien under the name of Daguerreotype, it is well known was invented by the celebrated Daguorre, a French artist, who exhibited his first col- lection of specimens to the members of the French .\cademy of Sciences in Paris, early in the ycai- 1839. My brother was in Paris at the same time, exhibiting his tele- graph to the same persons Brother artists and brother inventore, thus brought to- gether, each was invited io examine the other's invention; and my brother became earnest in his desire to iutrodiico the Daguerreotjrpe into America. On his return to New York, in April, 1S30, ho inspired my younger brother and myself with a portion of his own enthusiasm He was then entirely destitute of pecuniary means; and after ascertaining whfit was «-.vnteer that ho, who first pmctised the art of tnvining in your S;»bl>ath scluwl iu 181C, trained the young men who wont forth rejoicing from New York into every iwrt of our Umd, to work the wonders and display the beauties of the new art, eliciting admiration from all beholders, and fropi the de- vout tlie exclamation which four years afterwards passed in an instiUit through the wire from \Va. dent of the Southern Pacitic Railway, which is ah-uady well uiuler way. He was a large promoter of the Crotoii Water- Works, the Erie Tunnel and Long Dock enterprises, and his influeuee lias heeu felt in the furtherance of most of our great public improvements on the land and the water all over the continent. The Californian gold fever of 18-i9 found him a rising merchant and a considerable owner of steamboat and steamship stock. Foreseeing the immense emigration which must set in Pacific- ward, he shaped his course to control it, and soon, in conjunction with George Law, obtained the contract to carry the mails for the United States Mail Steamship Co., of which Mr. Law was president and Mr. Roberts agent. A vigorous opposition spi-ang up, and the rival Pacific Mail Steamship Go. was estabiished. In 1852-3, he procured the consolidation of the Pacific Mail interests with those of his own company, one coii^oration performing the Pacific, the other the Atlantic, service. Mr. Law becoming restive under the ai-range- ment, Mr. Roberts, in conjunction with others, bought out Law; but at the critical moment his associates retired, leaving Mr. Roberts liable for a million, without apparently adequate resour- ces. Ruin stared liim in the face, but Marshall knew no such word as fail. He immediately resolved to consummate the bargain without them, and by the time stipulated, so solid was his credit, he had the means in hand, an immense undertaking for those days, and fulfilled all his obligations. This was undoubtedly the founda- tion of his great fortune. From 1851 to 1857, Mr. Roberts was President of the North River Bank. In 1854, he was ajjproached by Mr. Cyi-us W. Field to aid in building the Atlantic Telegraph. To his quick and far-seeing judgment the immense possibilities of the enterprise were apparent, and he became one of the earliest and most liberal contributors to this stupendous undertaking. And so it has been throughout. From the first he had been foremost in works designed for the development of the country and the good of the pec pie. While pursuing the practical, and contributing of his ample mo?inF towards great public enterprises, he has been no less liberal in works of benevolence and charity. As a patron of the fine arts, he has been equally distinguished. His American Art Gallery is famous, not only here, but abroad, as one of the most princely of private collections. 41 MARSHALL O. ROBEKTS. Unlike most successful merchants, Mr. Roberts is also a zealous politician. From his earliest career he was an active fireman and a staunch Whig. In 1851, his party nominated him for Congress, but he was defeated by the late Francis B. Cutting, Democrat. In 1865, he was the Eepublican candidate for Mayor of New York, and but for the folly of putting up a third candidate, would have been chosen. As it was, John T. Hoffman was counted in, though the plurality of votes has been very generally claimed by the friends of Mr. Roberts. He headed the Republican electoral ticket in 1868. In 1870, he was urged to accept the Republican nomination for Governor, but he declined in favor of his friend Horace Greeley. The latter however failed, through chicanery, to secure a nomina- tion, and the State went Democratic. There is no doubt, with Mr. Roberts as the candidate, the result would have been otherwise. Mr. Roberts is fifty-seven years of age, and is still a hale, vigorous man, in the full plenitude of his physical and intellectual powers. Mr. Roberts is about five feet eight inchef in height, with square shoulders, and a form designed for activity and strength. His eye is bright with equal intelligence and goodness of heart. Probably there is no other prominent citizen of New York who has helped so many young men to start in life as Mr. Roberts. He has been twice married, and has two daughters and one son living. "With his immense experience, his splendid business ability, his amplfc meaiis, undct-bted integrity, and great popularity, there is anqaestioiiibly a still more brilliant prospect before him in the future, if he can be induced to accept public service. 42 "iiasi m^ nm^ f-—^ ^/y// L^/^^ HORACE B. OLAFLm. i'm^ F this gentleman, and his great dry-goods house, extending )^^.^ from Church Street to West Broadway, the editor of }}^^^^ The New York Mercantile Journal discourses as follows, adding that the sales of the firm are annually much larger than those of any other on the continent : " The visitor to our metropolis, who Cdiucs hither either on busi- ness or for pleasure, and who, having formerly been familiar with the city, has not taken a good look at it for some years, will be aston- ished at the changes and improvements which he will see at every step. Whole blocks of decayed and rickety tenements have disap- peared, and vast structures, dedicated to trade, have been erected. " By these admirable transformations, the district bounded by Broadway, Canal, West Broadway, and Chambers Streets, has been, within the last twelve years, altogether changed. Miserable hovels and dens of vice (with which Church Street especially abounded) have disappeared, and some of the most extensive and magnificent warehouses in the world now stand on their site. " This gratifying result is, in large measure, due to the foresight and enterprise of Mr. Horace B. Clafliii, the senior member of the celebrated dry goods firm of H. B. Clafiin & Co. " The dry goods palace of this gi-eat house, with its frontage of eighty feet on Church Street, eighty feet on West Broadway, and three hundred and seventy-five feet on Worth Street, was the pio- neer building, of grand dimensions, intended for business purposes, 43 erected in the district whdse appearance and reputation had former- ly disgraced the city. " Owing to the immense traffic which the firm carried in that di- rection, the atljacent streets have also become Hned witli imposing structures. " The subsequent addition made by the Claflin firm to their al- ready spacious edifice, measures fifty by one hundred and twenty feet, and, taken together with their former building, gives them a total floor area of about six acres. " Who can question the magnitude of business, requiring the aid of such lordly space, in the control of a private firm ; and wiio can doubt the energy and ability of the man from whose originating mind and high ambition, as a merchant, such ample success has sprung ? " H. B. Clafiin, the head of the distinguished house that has thus become the nucleus of the trade and a benefactor of the city, is of New England origin. In his earlier years lie was the profirietoi- and manager of a dry-goods establishment in the ancient and beauti- ful town of Worcester, Mass. " Inheriting the enterprise of a New Englander, he sighed for wider fields of activity. Some twenty-eight years ago he came to New York, and located in Cedar Street as a member of the firm of Buckley & Claflin. Subsequently he appeared on Broadway as the leading partner in the highly successful house of Claflin, Melleu t^- Co. " The energy, intelligence, and integrity of this respected firm laid broader and deeper foundations for the still more important establish- ment that was to succeed it. " Mr. Claflia's remarkable strength of resolution, and sagacity in business calculations, shone out conspicuously in the trying days of 1861, when, owing to the war troubles, and the disorganization of correspondence with the trade of the South, his house was forced tem- porarily t.. suspend. At that imp .rtant juncture, his high personal 4-i HOllACK B. CLAFLIN. ;; Standing was tlie sheet-anchor of the firm. Heavy creditors and light, in New York and New England, manifested unbounded confi- dence, and came forward with one accord to express it. The grati- fying consequence was, that the firm safely rode out the storm in which so many other concerns of high repute went down, and, in a short time, had discharged all their liabilities, paying one hundred cents on the dollar, with interest, and were careering on the bright sea of public favor, with a fairer breeze and better headway even than before. " The final retirement, on the 31st of December, IS 63, of Mr. Mellen, whose experience and peculiar talents had aided the progress of the concern in its earlier years, spurred the remaining part- ners on to still greater exertions, in order to retain the hold their house had acquired, and to push it into new fields of conquest. " Since then the firm has become still more widely known, and more influential, not only in America, but abroad. Mr. Olaflin has associated with him as partners, at the present time, Mr. Edward E. Eames and Mr. Edward W. Bancroft, both of whom are active men of sterling integrity. " With seven hundred clerks and employes, all selected for special talent and expertness, constantly employed in its immense estabhsh- ment in this city, and a score of purchasing agents scouring the great markets of Europe and America for the choicest articles in Tvery department embraced by their business, this firm is constantly and vigorously affecting the trade at large. Their sales have reached the enormous sum of seventy million dollars in a single year. "Presiding over all— directing, illuminating, and vivifying the work by his superior capacity— is Mr. Horace B. Claflin. Still comparatively in the prime of hfe, he brings to all the multiple tran- sactions of his house, which involve the value of hundreds of thou- sands per diem, a keen sagacity and decisive grasp of thought equaled by few, if any, of our business men. The vigor of lii.s unimpaired intellect is sustained by the resources of an excellent constitution 45 wliicii a pi'iuL'iit uinir.su ol' lil'o Ims sl.ri'ii;j;l IhmuhI; luulj us tlu' yc:iis iii- uroaso, liobuliokls ihi paths of usoriiliioss aud tlio rowanls of imliis- try 111 oiiili'iiiiig; before him. " 111 rouclusion, it is indeed pleasant to ns that wo are enabled to bear tcsliinouy tliattho lips of personal ac(iuaiiitancos, business asso- ciali's and ein|il(iy(.''s, have but the one unaiihnous tribute to render to Ihi' (lonu slif virtues, and the gentlemanly qualities and accom- plisliiiiciils of this estimable morehant. New York already points wiili pride lo wliat he has done to beautify and enrich our Empire City, and, in aftiT years, there will be found enrolled upon the rerord of lier true and gifted men few names as bright as that of lloraee B. (.nailiii." 46 GEI^I<:iJAL ALFRED PLEASONTON. BY COI.DNKI, (!LIFFOKl) THOMSON. '',|?ipHE pul)j(!ct of tliis Hketch was Lorn in the District of *^-*^ (Joliinil)ia. His latlier was for many years First Auditor ^'' '' of the Treasury, holding that responsible position under several successive administrations. He was a great admirer of our free institutions, a natural Republican, and a true and earnest patriot. His children v/ere reared in Washington City, where they not only received a liberal education, but, iinbibi'd from their parents those grand principles of patriotism and self-sacrificing devotion to country which have been so nobly exemplified iu the career of the General of whom we write. An incident which occun-ed during the war of 1822, and of which Mr. Pleasonton then auditor of the Treasury, was the hero, is deserving of a more permanent record than tlie flei^ting memory of man. It has often been told in print, we believe, hut with the omission of the name of the actual hero of the incident. When the British, during that war, were approaching Washington City, great consternation seized upon almost every one within the city limits. The old maxim that " self-preservation is the first law of nature," seeijis to be universally accepted as true, and to be generally acted upon. Amid the confusion incident to the knocking of an enemy at the gates of the city, thought was scarce given to the valuable records — the history of this great Republic — stored in the archives of the several departments. TIk; British were advancing, and how to save lite and personal property was the thought which possessed 47 2 ALI'MIKI) l- Lie A SON TON. till' mind ni' iioarly every pci'isou witliiii the city. Mr. Pleasouton. ill.' aiiilitor, however, seeing the general consternation, resolved U> do what lay in his power toward saving the records of thc^ Htatc! DcpailnHiit. He secured about a dozen wagons, and witii tlie assistance of the teamsters, soon loaded them with valuable records of State, which ho forthwith dispatched under whip and spur to Hagerstown, Maryland. As the last load was being sent off, Mr. rieasonton observed hanging upon the walls of the Department, in its solid frame of oak, the original Declaration of Independence. There was neither time nor opportunity to remove the massive frame from the wall, and no way to carry it, if it were removed. So, to save the document so dear to the heart of every American, Mr. Pleasontoncut it from its frame, hastily rolled it up, and sent it witli the other records of the Department, leaving the naked frame hanging upon (he wall, a puzzle to our British foes when tluy subsequently marched in. The records thus saved by Mr. Pleason- ton were, after the evacuation of tiie city by the British, returned to the Department. This original Declaration of Independence may now be seen in the Patent Office, bearing still the traces of having been cut from its original frame. Had it not been for this prompt action on the part of Mr. Pleasonton, this precious docu- ment, bearing the well-known autographs of those bold, brave men who first declared our national freedom, would to-day be gracing the walls of the Brilisli Museum instead of the Patent Office at Washington. General Pleasonton, after liaving recinved an excellent prelimi- nary education, was in Si'i.tomber, 1840, admitted as a cadet in tlie Military Academy at West Point. During tlie four years which he spent at the Academy, ho was brouglit into daily contact with men who have since niailo imperishable marks upon the ])agcs ot our history, among them President Grant. General Pleasonton was a vivacious and frolicsome cadet, but was at the same time a careful student. This is evident from the fact that in a graduating 48 A L V It K D P r. K A S O N T O N . ;j claws of twciity-live he received the seventh liouur. (jieucral Wiii- fiehl S. Hancock was in the same class. General Pleasonton, having graduated in 1844, was ininiudiatuly appointed Brevet iSecond Lieutenant of the First Dragoons, and ordered to duty with his Regiment on the frontier. After one year's service in the Indian country under Captain (General) Sum- ner, he was promoted to be Second Lieutenant of the Second Dra- goons, and, in 1646, participated with his regiment in the military occupation of Texas. The varying fortunes of a soldier found him in 1847-8 in Mexico, where he took an active jiart in nearly all of the engagements of that war. At the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palraa, his bravery and military capacity were con- spicuous, and won for him his brevet as First Lieutenant " for gallant and meritorious conduct." At the close of the Mexican War he found himself a First Lieutenant of his regiment. Second Dragoons, and once more campaigning against the Indians, Miis time in New Mexico. His name appears prominently in Uw. olU- cial reports of several severe skirmishes with Indians, and his ex- ecutive abilities as well as his fighting qualities having been dis- covered, he was appointed adjutant of his regiment. From 18.')2 to 18.'56 he was employed in the frontier service, his field of duty varying from the plains of New Mexico to the swamps of Texas and Florida. In 1855, while serving in Florida as Assistant Adju- tant-General under General Harney, the famous Indian fighter, he received his commission as Captain of the Second Dragoons. He was desirous of at once returning to his regiment and taking com- mand of his company, but General Harney would not consent. Captain Pleasonton accordingly followed the fortunes of General Harney, participating in the celebrated Sioux expedition of 1855-6 and in the Florida hostilities of 1856-7. Following this, he took an active part in the Kansas-Nebraska troubles, and, on their ter- minacion, he was ordered to the Pacific coast, where he served as Assistant Adjutant-General of the department of Oregon to July 49 5 ALFEED PLEAS05T0S, ,vr.h. I'tf?). whirrh J/rin^ him doirn to the.perKid when the great st^/nii 'if T'-}nA\iuting w;rviw!, which was particukrly diiiig- rv, but the judgment, the care, the anxiety, the danger of this ser- vice, can never be appreciatEASONTO N. Generals Marmacluke and Caljcll, seven pieces of artillery, and horses and baggage-wagons in unlimited numbers. This ended the campaign, the rebels being utterly routed, and getting out of the Stale by detachments and small s(|uads. For this campaign Gen- eral Pleasonton was brevetted "Brigadier-General United States Army, March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious services during the campaign against the insurgent forces under the rebel General Price, in Missouri." Subsequently, General Pleasonton was placed in command of the Department of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which position he held until his resignation was accepted, January 15, 1866. At the close of the war he was brevetted Major-General United States Army, "for gallant and meritorious services in the field during the rebellion." General Pleasonton, during the rebellion, was, at all times and imder all circumstances, essentially a "figliting general." His voice, both in the councils of war to which he was called and in private consultation, was always for the adoption of the most vigor- ous measures to crush out rebellion. He believed that as the rebels had appealed to the arbitrament of the sword, they should be sub- dued by the sword. Although a graduate of West Point, he never entertained those prejudices against volunteers so common among regular officers. On the contrary, he always had the utmost confi- dence in the ability of his troops to whip " those bucks" (his term for rebels in his front. This expressed confidence in his troops gave them confidence in him, and they were always ready and willing to go where he told them to go. It was this desire to push matters at all times that caused his removal from the Army of the Potomac. He was too old and too good a soldier to criticise the action of his superiors unless compelled to do so. But after General Meade's lamentable failure at Mine Run, and his subsequent shameful retreat from Culpepper to Centerville, the Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War saw fit to institute an investigation into the 58 ALKKEI) I'f. RASONTON. ]3 manner in which General Meade's campaign had bsen conducted. Among the witnesses called to testify regarding the matter were Generals Pleasonton, Sykes, French, Newton and others. General Pleasonton's testimony was to the effect that General Meade bad shown great incompetency in not pursuing Lee after Gettysburg ; in not attacking him at Falling Waters, but allowing him to escape without even a skirmish ; in the lamentable faihire at Mine Run ; and in the shameful retreat from Culpepper to Oenterville. This testimony was corroborated by Sykes, Newton, and several others. The Committee on the Conduct of the War immediately recommended the removal of Meade and the appointment of another officer. The military and political influence of General Meade, however, was sufficient to retain him in command of the army, and he forthwith had all the officers who had testified against him assigned to other fields of duty. It was tliought that he had suc- ceeded in burying them effectually, but the campaign in Missouri gave Pleasonton new laurels, and Newton won others in Sherman's army. A strong characteristic of General Pleasonton is his executive ability. Whatever he takes hold of he endeavors to improve. This is what gave him the best cavalry organization in the country. Ho did not believe that a General's duty consisted simply in fighting his troops successfully. On the contrary, the details of p.-ovisioning, mounting, clothing, and making his men comfortable in cimp, occu- pied his entire time. He was careful to surround himself with com- petent staif officers, and hold them to the strictest accountability. He could be severe and indexible when necessary, and officers who neglected their men or animils were pretty sure to hear from liim. The troops felt that while he was in command, their rights and their comfort would be looked after, and hence they soon learned to love him. He was the Seydlitz of the American army. The qualities which made him successful as a soldier, rendered him equally so in the civil service of the government. He was ap- 59 U A L F R E n P L E A S N T N . pointed, by President Grant, Collector of Internal Revenue for the Fourth District of New York, and B3 discharged the duties of that ofBce as to make his transfer a matter of rejret to the taxpayers. lie was assigned to the Tliirty-second District of New York, the largest in the country, where he became equally popular. His col- lection of taxes was made with promptness, and his returns to the Department were always made before the expiration of the time al- lowed. This made him a f\ivorite with the Department, and wm- placed to his credit, when his name was mentioned for Commissioner of Internal Revenue. His appointment to the latter position, re- cently made, appears to give universal satisfection. General Pleasonton is about forty-seven years of age, unmarrii'd, of slight figure, light complexion, and light hair. His large dark eyes are his most striking feature ; ordinarily these have a mild and pleasant look, but under excitement become piercingly brilliant. His bearing is at all times dignified, while he is pleasant and affible to all. He makes warm friends wherever he goes. His appearance does not indicate a remarkable man by any means, but military critics who have studied his career, and are familiar with his ideas on military subjects, have pronounced him " a decided military ge- nitis." If success can be taken as an indication of genms, the hun- dred and more successful engagements which Geiieral Pleasonton has directed should certainly stamp him as such, 60 ^/^/^ C^ (^^•^^^- JOHN COCHRANE. rffi^^"'^ gentleman, some of the more important passages of {0 whose hfe are the snlyect of this sketch, is a native of the State of New York. Tlie conntry residence of his father, Walter L. Cochran, at Palatine, in Montgomery County, is the place of his nativity. The fiimily removed while he %vas yet a child to Utica, in Oneida County, where much of his youth was spent. From his lather's side General Cochrane derives a portion of the energy and action which characterize the Scoto-Irish race of the North of Ireland, whence his great-grandfather, in tlie early part of the eighteenth century, came to that part of Tennsylvania, in the county of Chester, called after him, Cochranville. His grandfather. Doctor John Cochran, left the paternal mansion in the troubled state of pub- lic alfairs, and subsequently was a surgeon in the Arniv of Inde"i)endence. His marriage with Gertrude, the sister of General Philij) Scluiyler, of Revolutionary fame, connects General Cochrane, in kin, with that tamily ; ■with the Hamiltons, the Van Eensselaers, and with some of tlie principal families in the State of New York. His grandfather subsequently, became Surgeon and tlie Di- rector-General of the Hospitals of the Northern Department of the United States. His fiither having married Cornelia, tlie sister of Gerrit Smith, unites him, on the mother's side, in con- sanguinity with another distinguished lineage, including the Livingstons, the Cadies, the Lents, and with some of the oldest and best blood in that part of Putnam County aljout Tappan Sea. His earlier years were occupied with the cares of an education, furnished from his fatlici-'s frugal means, and limited to the studies which the ordinary Eiiirlis)i schools of Gl tlie country then ullordud. It was amid the scenes wliiuh nature with lavisii iiand disphiys in Western New York, that the youth of (icncral (.ochi-ano was speut. Unquestionably, the expanse of liill anil \ alley w liicli lies in the various beauty of American scenery, (in liiitli .sidrs of the Mohawk Kivcr, where it bounds Montgomery and di\idcs Oneida County, generously influenced the formation of his early character. Its submission to the influence of more rugged scenes, was postponed to a somewhat later date, when, in the household and tuition of his uncle, Gorrit Smith, at Peterboro, he traversed the abrupt hills and picturesque vales of Madison County. During this while were growing in the boy the qualities which were to distinguish the man. His naturally studious habits increased his information with store of Greek and Latin, and imbued his form- ing mind with both reflnement and taste. At the age of eighteen, he graduated from Hamilton College. Having acquired, by a course (if tliri'c years' diligent preparation, the profession of the law, he mull rwout the vicissitudes of its practice for a livelihood, successively at Oswego, Schenectady, and in New York City. It was in this last city that, in the year 1845, he more systematically entered cm the career which, thus far tln-diigh life, he has pursued. The courts opened to his successful etiurts. With unflagging application and laudable zeal, he devoted laborious vigils to the cultiva- tion of his profession. His naturally fine oratorical power.s contributed to his success, and, at the end of his flrst year, his busi- ness was established upon a basis broad, lucrative, and secure. I!ut the disposition to speculate upon general subjects, and to harangue audiences, which had been perceptible in the bo}', found irre- sistible attractions in New York. Accordingly, his legal routine soon began to be varied with concurrent political occupations, and his voice impressed with superior power large Democratic meetings. Chance having, at length, cast upon him the otHce of Surveyor of tlie Port, he was injuriously withdrawn thenceforth, comparatively from the active duties ,.f his yirol'essiou, and .ievoted to the more e.xciling, though let.s prolitalilepur.-.uit ofpolitic?. At the i!ar of New G2 JOnNCOCIIRANE. ^ York, tlie forensic eloquence of (Tcneral Coclirane is not yet for- gotten ; and still, when lawyers, who frequented the courts witli him, indulge in professional reminiscences, they speak of the vigorous logic and the skilful elocution, which swayed judges and carried juries ; of the shai-p jest and the mirth that played and gleamed, when Jim Brady and Nat Blunt and John Cochrane, divided the terms between them. John Cochrane was not the inferior of the triumvirs, and, perhaps, for a sonorous, rapid, and sustained appeal to the passions, he was the superior of them. Nor were more lofty efforts wanting. When a force of oratory that recalled the ancient forum, swelled into eloquence, he bowed in equal homage audiences both of the gentle and the rude. Before a popidar audience he had no superior. His sweep of voice would arrest, at its wildest, the variable moh, and, impulsively careering to its very skirts, storm it into passion or calm it into more peaceful moods. It has been said that he is a born orator. If constitutional tem- perament, impressionable, nervous, and vigorous ; a various, fertile, and rapid intellectual movement; a graceful and imposing presence; a oopious diction, armed with forcible gesticulation ; and an inclina- tion, absolute and irrepressible, to the mighty truths which underlie human rights, constitute the panoply of a born orator, then General Cochrane is one. We introduce, in evidence that this is not simply panegyric, one from many similar contributions to contemporary magazines : "Mr. Cochrane is effective with a jury, as he makes an excellent speech. It is done with a great deal of ease, grace, and eloquence. He is well skilled in the use of his' certainly very fine oratorical ac- complishments, and he always turns them to the best purpose. In the statement of facts he is clear and accurate, and is excelled by few in fierceness of invective or tenderness of pathos. He becomes much absorbed, walks about, gesticulating freely, and speaking with exceeding volubility in language of the most choice, forcible, and appropriate description. At times there are outbursts of the liiglic.-,t G3 unlur ol' floiiuL'iieo, accoiiii);iiiic'(l by most ellwtive f,'csturc8 mid iittituck'H, at wliich times lio liolds the tboliiigs of his licarcris in com- plete control. Always stiiiuilated by this condition of matters, he rises to grander flights of fancy, and must be regarded as an orator of the most iinished school. As a political speaker, lie is equally powerful. Fearless in liis declarations, calm ••iinidst .'ill opiKisitimi, scathing in his review of opposite party policy, and ihriUingly elo (|n(>nl, lie is a dangerous opponent. Tried in iniiiiv (•(nillicls, made wily ill a Idiii;- political career, lie is M'eli lillcd lor a .successful leader." W'iicn llic Conyeulion at llcrldnicr, in tlic month of October, 18-17, signalled the Barnburner and llnnkci- schism in llie Demo- cratic party, the subject of our sketch aiipeared simultaneou.sly in tlu^ i:anil)urners' ranks, an advocate, and ultimately a leader. As his speech before (lie Convention demonstrates some of his mental characteristics, and cxeini>lilies, in the light of suiwe- quont events, not a little prescience in public all'airs, wo ju-o- duce an extract : "Has it never occurred to you, sir, how remarkable is the unity of that idea which promotes and controls all our jiolitical efforts? Freedom in all its phases pervades each distinctive article of our political creed. "Whether a removal of imposts exacts of the ruler freedom for the operations of commerce, or opposition to the exclusive privileges of chartered banks com- mands an unrestricted currency; whether the tenure of land or the fruition of wealth he the object of Ihe law, its structure and its spirit invite to the accoiniili.sluncnt of the largest liberty compatible with the social interest, and to tlu' indulgence of the • uiost, uniranimelled action consistent witli the public weal. ' " r.ut more distinctly perceptible is this (ruth in the adoption, by uur faith, of the doctrine of human freedom. Other theories may fail and involve their infatuated victims in a common ruin; other provisions may i>rove both feeble and inadeipiate to the exigencies for which they are prepared; but this shall prevail 64 over Ikiliire and Iriiiniiili In fiucccss. Tim cvc (if an cxleiisivc; acquisition of con(iucrcd territory presents the occasion, and no time is more fitting than the present for puljlisliing and assert- ing this cardinal truth. Tlie influence of slavery operates in a triple direction — upon the master, upon the slave, and uiiou tlie interests of free laljor. "The most careless observoi- could not fail to have distin- guished in the vicious composition of the institution, its de- moralizing influences, and in the seared conscience and iniicc and aptitude Id parliaiiieiitary liusiiiuss, were ol).scrverI. Land ivlunn. tiie ivvcmics, :iiul otlaT kindred subjects, shared liis attention witii his (hities as a leadcf. Wlicn, at the ;ii)proaeh- iiig end of the ;i.")th I'oiigress, in March, IftltJl, he ojiposed liiiii- self, thougli a Democrat, to the prevailin<); insanity, his voice most strongly apjiealed to tlie Southern nienibers to refrain their fratricidal hands from the Constitntion and Government. The Congress terniiiuited. Fort Snmter was taken ; and rebel- lion was inanguratcd. The loyal North convnlsively sprang to arms. Popular meetings of monster proportions, assembled at frequent intervals. The first, convened, in Ai)ril, at Union Square, covered acres of the city ground, and thrilled the peo- ple with patriotism. "We extract largely from General Cocli- rane's speech on this occasion, in illustration of his agency in the affairs of the day, and his relation to them : " Events of dire import signal to us the ajiproacli of war — not tlie war constituted of resistance to the hostile ti'ead of an invading foe, and laden with the consequences only, of foreign aggression resented and foreign attack resisted— but a wai' infiamed by the passions, waged by the foi'ces, and consisting of the conflict of citizens, brothers, and friends. It is true that the problem of the future must baffle the most comprehensive wisdom, and compel the patriot into painful anxiety for the fate that awaits us. Yet we are not for- bidden to extract from the past, whatever consolations rectitude of purpose and a discreet conduct allow, and to summon their inspira- tion to our alliance and aid. It is not my purpose, fellow-citizens, to weary you with the recapitulation of the party differences, the coiillict of which, while constituting our past political history, at the same time shaped the question, so long, so pertinaciously, and so fearfully debated between the North and South. I need not direct your attention to those acts, which seem necessarily to constitute the preliminaries to the bloody arbitrament that is upon us, and the consideration of which, however brief, cannot fail to manifest the patience and tbrliearance witli whidi conflict has been shunned, and G7 8 JOHNOOCHKANE. tlie evils ot wai' soiiylit to be averted. JS' early all that rifcd Ije suU- luitted upon this point is directly pertinent to the recent and coer- cive attitude of the citizens, very generally, of the city of New York. Upon the revolutionary action of the seven Gulf States, there occurred here an excess of desire, that every honorable means should be employed, to induce their retention in the confederation of States of the Union. If this could not be attained, it was still hoped that a considerate policy might retain the border slave States, and thus possess lis of the means of an ultimate restoration to the Union, of its former integrity. Thus, though the property of the United States had been seized, its jurisdiction violated, and its flag assailed, yet it was, by ver^' many, still thought wiser to refrain from hostilitj', and to court renewed national harmony through the mildei- methods of conciliation and compromise. Accordingly, many, actuated by such motives, established themselves Urnily in the policy of such concessions as, satisfactory to the Union sentiment of the border slave States, would, in their opinion, recommend them- selves also to the judgment of the Northern people. I believe that a very large portion of our fellow-citizens entertained similar views, and were quite willing to advance towards any settlement of our sectional difficulties, not so much in the sense of remedial justice to the South, as in that of an eft'ectual method of restoring the Union. For myself, I may say that, while actuated by such views, I have never supposed that the requirements of the border slave States, would exact what a Northern opinion would not grant ; nor, while affirming my belief that Northern patriotism would resist the infraction of Southern rights, did I for an instant imagine that ] could be understood as including secession, and the seizure of the property of the United States among Ilium. "Whatever the Consti- tution has secured tu the South, tliat tliere has been an abiding wish throughout the North to (•iiiitlnii ; and, although there have been and are differences of opinion as to the extent of Southern constitutional rights, yet T have never understood the disciples of anv Northern political school, to advocate those that were not 68 JOHN C O ( affiniicd by its party plattbnii to be strictly of a constitutional character. But strenuous as were these efforts to disembarrass of coercion — even in tlie execution of the laws — the friendly inter- vention of the border slave States in behalf of a disrupted confede- racy, their authors have been baffled, and their dearest hopes extin- guished by the active hostility of South Carolina. Her attack upon Fort Sumter was simply an act of war. The right of property and the jurisdiction thereof, continued in the United States, and its flag denoted a so ereignty, perfect and unimpaired. (Applause.) The cannon-ball, which first visited its battlements in hostile career, violated that sovereignty and insulted that flag. It was the coercion which, at the North, had been deprecated for the sake of the Union, and suspended, that was thus commended by the South to the North. The ensigns of government, and the em- blems of national honor were systematically assailed ; and the adhering States were reduced to the attitude, and compelled to the humiliation of an outraged nationality. Nor was this all. Menaces, so authentic as to merit the attention accorded to facts, marked the national capital for attack. Hostilities, with this object, were con- certed against the Government, and received the open approbation of the revolutionary leaders. In truth, the scene of war against the States represented by the Government at "Washington, which opened with the bombardment of Fort Sumter, has gradually devel- oped into the fearful proportions of an organized invasion of their integral sovereignty. Such has been the gradual, nay, the almost imperceptible progress from initiatory violence to federal rights, to the levying of war upon the Federal Government. And now, fellow- citizens, it seems to me that no profound reflection is necessary to perceive that the posture of afiairs, which united so many Union- loving men of the North against a policy of coercion, supposed to be fraught with the danger of permanent dissolution, is not the same with that, which represents the seceded States, in open war to the Constitution and the Government. The considerations whicli depre- cated the coercion of the South, address themselves with equal force 69 10 J O H N C OC II li A N K . against the fKOivioii of the Ndrtli. Tliat, wliich wii:^ opposed be. cause of its anticipated injury to eiVurts at adjustment, becomes far more obiectionable, in its positive initiation of hostilities against the constitution and laws. The tramp of war is heard in our streets. The fearful note of preparation rises above the din of daily life, and mingles with our busy thoughts, the solemnities of approaching con- flict. Let us not deceive ourselves. It is no gala occasion — that which receives our attention. Confident as we are, many are the sad experiences which war reserves for those subjected to its stern necessities ; and ere the strife ceases, terminate as it may, we must expect the reverses which have generally characterized the experi- ence of all belligerents. But through all the coming scenes, there will expand the pervading sense of the rectitude of those who strive for the rights of government and of country — the comforting reflec- tion that, in a war which afflicts so many of our dearest affections, we, at least, were not the aggressors. Nor should a success produc- tive of subjugation of any portion of our fellow-citizens, be contem- plated among the possibilities of the future. The contest so unhap- pily inaugurated, is directed to the establishment of the authority of the Government, and the vindication of its flag. It ia to be hoped that, as for the attainment of such an object, men of all parties have disregarded political divisions, so that men without exception will accept the first opportunity to welcome returning peace, upon the basis of one constitution and one country. Still, if that national reconstruction, which unfortunately has hitherto baffled every pa- triotic and peaceful eflbrt, shall not be attainable by any other method, our resistance to aggression, now conducted to the issue of arms, will, at least, have asserted our national dignity, and have prevented the inexpressible humility of national dismemberment and desolation, accomplished at the expense of the degradation of the North. Should final separation prove inevitable, notwithstand- ino- every effort for a return to the peaceful repose of an \individed republic, we shall, at least, liave entitled ourselves to the invaluable self-respect, founded in the consciousness of laws maintained, and 70 JOHN f! O r II K A N E . 11 lienor vindicated. (Cheers^.) The snninions wliich tlie t-liief execnitive has proclaimed for military aid, has appealed to the patriotism of the entire North. As at a single bound, thousands have responded, and other thousands await the call wliich shall require them also to arm in the common cause. (Cheers.) I cannot find that the magistrate's power is to he circumscribed now by constitutional scruples, or restrained by the doubts of constitutional power. Tlie action which threatens the subversion of the Government is confessedly revolu- tionary, and avows its justification in the imprescriptable right of self-preservation. Now, I think that it cannot be questioned that an effort to overthrow a government by a portion of its citizens, on the plea of self-preservation, conclusively remits the government assailed, to resistance upon the same rights ; and that all means are justifiable for the suppression of revolution, which it is conceded may be employed in its behalf. Many of the Southern States, disregarding the fundamental law which united them under the government of the Union, have armed themselves against its con- stitution, and wage unprovoked war against its citizens. Tliey pro- pose thus, by an appeal to the transcendent law of nature — the law that human happiness and the safety of society, are the objects to ■which all institutions and all governments must be sacrificed — to jus- tify their efibrts at revolution, and to disrupt the confederation. I do not perceive that the resistance of such an efibrt, is to be criticised in the spirit of strict constitutional construction ; but that the same law which guides the revolution, should, and must also apply to all efforts to oppose it, viz., the law which commands the employ- 'ment of any force, amdin the l)est manner, calculated to repress the nnovement which menaces the happiness, and is ielieved to he de- structive of the safety of the people. I cannot doubt that, in case of an emergency, proportionately formidable, the whole body of the community threatened might, upon the plea of self preservation, arise in immediate resistance to the danger witliout reference to the pi-ovisions of constitutional law. Such an act would doubtless be referable to tlie magnitude of the danger, and be justifiable bv a 71 liiw iibuvo and hoyoiKl all eoiiipaclH wliatovcr. IJiit it is iieudless, fullow-t'itizens, to pursue this theiric further. Tho hour bears its events, and is fraught with its lessons. We ai'o in the midst ol' revolution — not the revolution of the rhetorician, invoked to swell his periods, and to impress an audience — but tho revolution of facts; the revolution of war. We have assembled to resist its wild career, and, if ])ossiblc, to restore a distracted country once more to the aulliority of law, and to the peace of orderly and constitu- tional govern nu'iit. To siu'li an effort we sunnnon the assistance of all good men. To such an effort mc Inini; our ]>arty predilections and ])olitical associations, and sacrifice tlieni all, in the presence of our countrymen, upon the altar ol' oni- coninion country. To such an effort we devote our energies and onr means, all the while hop- ing and acting for the restoration of peace and the reunion of a severed confederacy : but still remembering that, should the unhappy time arrive when final separation becomes inevitable, our affections and our efforts, are duo to the geographical section to which we be- long—that our future is inseparable from the future of the North. (Cheers.) In the meantime, the path of duty and honor conducts in but one direction — consists with but one course. It brings us, one and all, to the siipport of tho Government, the maintenance of the Constitution, and the execution of, the laws. (Apj)lause.) Thousands are they who tread therein, and their motto is our country, and our whole country — in every event, our country. (Loud cheering.) " Events thronged these days; sns^iense ruled the nights. Mailed feet trod tho hitherto peaceful land, and the et)nntry rallied to resist rebellion. t On the 11th day of June, 1861, General Cochrane received from the Secretary of War a commission to raise a regiment. He accord- ingly raised and eijnipped the First United States Chasseurs, and led them, as their colonel, to Washington, and thence, through some of the battle-fields of the war. On tho 13th day of Noviimlnr oi' this year, General, then 72 J () II N O O O II R A N K . 1 O Colonel Coc'liniue iiiado his celebrated kj>c'(K'1i for arming the .shi\es. It was bei'ore his regiment, in cauip, near Washington. The Secre- tary of War, Hon. Simon Cameron, was present, aj)proving. Both the Secretary and he had previously advocated tiie doctrine, on the occasion of a serenade to the former, at the Astor House, in New York City. Ihit this was the concerted occasion, to formally broach it to the country. Misfortunes were thickening. Vic- tory hovered, in susj^ense, over the opposing armies. Doubts began to chill the ardor, and cloud the thouglits of patriotic citi- zens. At such a juncture the speech was made. It was pi-omj)tly hailed as the keynote of the war; and, though temporarily impeded, it was ultimately accepted by the (lovci-iimeut, and carried into the lii'ld. We give an extract from it: . . . "in such a war, we are justified and bound to resort to every force w ithin our possession. Having opened Beaufort Port, we shall be able to export cotton bales, and thus supply the sinew.'* of war. Do you say that we should not seize the cotton 'i Nn ; xuu arc clear on this point. Suppose that munitions of war arc within your reach, would we not be strangely negligent did we not avail our- selves of the opportunity to use them? And now, suj)p(jse the enemy to be arrayed against you, would you squeamishly refrain from pointing against them your hostile guns? No ; that is your very object and intention. If, then, you open their ports, would seize their cotton, and destroy their lives, I ask you if you would not also arm their slaves? Whether you would not arm tluur slaves, and carry them in battalions against tlunr master.^? (Ke- ncwed and tumultuous applause.) If necessary to save this (Gov- ernment, I would plunge the whole country, black and white, into an indiscriminate sea of blood Let us not be put aside by a too great delicacy, soldiers ; you know no siu-Ii tem- porizing as this. You have arms in your hands, and th(>y arc placed there for the purpose of exterminating the (uicnn in arms against your (Tovernment, if he will not submit. If he will not sul>- mit, take (everything of his in vonr way — cotton, j)rop(Ml\- wherever 73 ( Iiiiniciise applause.) " , ('(' II i{ A N !•: . ^ou iua_y timl it. Take tlic slave; lii'sUivv liiiii as _yoii please ; on the iioii-sla\cli(il(ler il' vou wish. Do to them, as they would do to lis. Raise up a party among them, against the ahsent slaveholder, and, if ihi- lie insullicient, talfe the slave hy the hand,2)lace a mvs- kil ill it, iiiitl hill him, in Go(Vs name, stril-e for his own liberty, ami Hull <;/■ the luniiiui ni,r. On the 17th (.f Jnly, ISC, mission o[ r>rii;adier-(ienc>ral ing to eoNH'i- with an i-mp to all applieants at the end oi' the war, the substantial honor of a Hrigadier's Connnission, the Cieneral refused either to solicit the favor or to assert his right. The e\]>osures of campaign life having seriously and, it M'as feared, pi'rmaneutly disabled him, he tendered his resignation, which, upon the uniloi'in iH'cominendation of the medical stalf of the army, was a.repted by the President. He lay then, with his troops, in camp at Kabnouth, and took his larewell of them ill the following address: •• llnADiju.utrKits Fiitsr liiiidADK, TniiiD Div., Sixth Coups, AitMY OK THE Potomac, February 27, 1803. " Hoi,iiii:i;s oK Tui.: First Bkigadk : " My coruiii.nnd over you has terminated. Sei'ious physical maladies, indiici'd by the unaecustomed exposure of two years of military life, i-oiistantly in the cani]., on the inaivh, or in the Held, have imlitted me, now, Ibr the duties of ;in active campaign, for this reason, my resignation, which severs my eonnectiou with the sei\ ice. Ihit I should trample upon the most sacred emotions, did I depart from aiiiong j'ou in silence. We began our march, and we have traversed our fields together. Where we lay down, one sky covered and one flag protected us; when we .irose, it was to the notes of the same reveille. Your toil has iieeu my toil, and your battles mine. To Fair Oaks, i\Jalveni Hill. An- tietam, Williamsport, and Kiv.lerick.shnrg. oiir memories revert together as to tields hallowed by the brav.'ry and by the blood of our brigade. Soldiers' graves are there, tilled with our dead; 74 JOHN COC II BANE. 15 and we, their survivors, bear tlieir names upon our heai'ts, where, too, their praises are inscribed. "Soldiers! for your country liave you borne all, perilled all, suffered all; and for that country will you .still bleed and endure, till you have seized from the teeth of this monstrous rebellion the dear inheritance of your children — one name, one country, one home. I shall not be with you, nor sliall I strike at your side. But, wherever, in other fields, bending beneath grievous burdens, I may weary or faint, one thought of you, brave hearts, shall revive resolution and reinvigorate effort in our common cause. " You are of the Army of the Potomac. High hopes rest upon you, and fervid prayers supplicate your success. Objects of hope and subjects of prayer, comrades in arms, your future is fraught with the destinies of the coming generations. " Though sometimes checked, yet never defeated — though often- times baffled, yet never beaten, the victories of your past are still within hail of your victories to come. " Your country's cause rests upon your arms, and your stan- dards will yet be gilded by the day of its success. " Soldiers, farewell !" The war lingered with fluctuating fortune. Party rivalry was infused with rancor; intrigue was busy with the machinery of compromise; and an uncertain cloud of fears and tremblings en- veloped the country and darkened the prospect. General Cochrane's return to civil life was opiiortune and beneficent. He contributed a vigor, of both presence and voice, to the numerous public meetings which served, at this period, to revive and sustain the confidence and patriotism of the people. He impulsively severed the ties which had connected him with the Democratic party, whose policy now began to be painfully directed against the continuance of the war. The Union party presented him, as a War Democrat, to the suffrages of his fellow- citizens, for the office of Attorney-General of the State. He was 75 1 (? J O II N C O 11 B A N E . triuiuj>li;iiitly uk-etcd ; aiul, in tlie course of his otliciiil term, lie is said to have displayed, in a remarkable degree, that power of analysis and affluent rhetoric, generally regarded as the character- istics of his eloijuence. Abraham Lincoln's first Presidential term was now approach- ing its close, and the country began to speculate for a snccessor. Those of the Union party with radical tendencies, assembled at Cleveland, Ohio, on the 31st day of May, 186i, and, having nominated (uiaral John 0. Fremont for the Presidency, placed General Cocin-ane on the ticket for Vice-President. He accepted the nomination. Ihit iVbraham Lincoln having been, in the mean- time, renominated at Baltimore, with Andrew Johnson for Vice- President, it soon became evident that the continuance of the Cleveland ticket in the field would, by dividing the Union party, ensure the success of the Democratic ticket nominated at Chicago. Both General Fremont and General Cochrane, therefore, thought that it became them to withdraw their names; which General Cochrane did in a letter addressed to the Wai- Democrats of the United States, in wliich he aaid: " The principles whicli dictated my acceptance of the nomina- tion approved themselves at the time to very general regard, and have since, in my o}>inion, lost none ol' their original virtne or ' vigor. Their i.ractical ,i scrtion was ivquirod, it was thouglit, hv the success witii which ptTsonal liliorty liad been assailed, and llu' extremities to which constitutional freedom had been rciincnl. Not the least inducement, howevci-, was the consideration tliat tlic redress of grievances in tiic manner proposed could not intcrrui)!. but would entirely consist with a vigorous prosecution of the war. It certainly was not contemplated that tlie success of tiie candidate- should, in any degree, impair or endanger that most important part of the platform, which resolved : ' that the rebellion must be sup- pressed by force of arms, and without compromise." .... "Tlie success of the Chicago nominees would, at the best, hnt place in power a party of divided counsels, of nncertain policy, and 76 JOHN COCHRANE. 17 of indecisive action. Clearly, such an event would bo at the fur- thest from 'a suppression of the rebellion by force of arms and without compromise.' " The Baltimore platform, however objectionable at other points, is unimpeachable at this ; and, while it foils- to vindicate personal rights, and the rights of free speech and the press ; it does not tail to refer the re-establishment of constitutional liberty and the restor- ation of the Union to the arbitrament of arms, in which, and in which alone, the national safety is to be found. "We stand within view of a rebellion suppressed — within hail of a country reunited and saved. War lifts the curtain and discloses the prospect. War has given to us Atlanta, and war offers to us Eichmond. " Shall we exchange the proffered victory for a ' cessation of hos- tiHties?' No! As we fought at the beginning, we should fight to the end ; and, when rebellion shall have laid down its arms, may we peacefully reconstruct whatever the war for the Union shall be found to have spared. ' Lay down your arms,' then, as it was at the commencement, so it is now, all that is demanded by loyal Americans of their rebellious brothers. " I would certainly prefer that the American people could be brought to a vote on the several propositions peculiar to the Cleve- land platform. The right of asylum ; the one-term policy ; the direct vote of the people for their national chief-magistrate ; the Monroe doctrine ; the confining exclusively to the repi-escntatives of the people in Congress the reconstruction of States ; and the amendment of the Federal Constitution to prohibit slavery, are principles of primary magnitude and importance. But before all these is our country. It is menaced by rebellion. Loyal armies alone protect it. Should those armies retreat, and our protection be withdrawn ? Or should they advance, and our safety be estab- lished ? Shall there be peace through the concessions of politicians, or peace through the action of war? That is the question. " Peace and division, or war and the Union. Other alternative there is none. And as I still am of the mind tliat once led me to 77 18 JOHNCOCHEANE. the iield witli t!ie soldiers of the liepublic, I eami,.t now hold a position whieli, by dividing, hazards the success of all tJiosr who, whatever tlieir differences at other points, agree, as upon tlie question of first consequence, that the restoration of the Union cannot be effected without tlie uninterrupted continuation of the war." General Cochrane's oi-atorical efforts have not been, as might be surmised, exclusively confined to the rostrum or tlie forum. The frequent demands of literature upon his attention, have not been altogether disregarded. Perhaps a speech, of more classic purity and Horatian terseness, is not recorded, than that in which, on the 4th of July, 1858, he transferred from the custody of New York to Virginia, the remains of James Monroe. That the reader may enjoy its perusal, we venture thus far to extend this brief biographical notice : " It is now more than thirty years since a venerable stranger arrived in the city of New York. Tlie storms of State had hent his form, and private care was written on his brow. Released from the burden of official responsibilities, which he had never shunned, he sought in our scenes tlie tranquillity he craved so much. From this retreat, he securely contemplated the eventful vicissitudes of the world he had left, nor once regretted its honors nor missed its applause. A domestic circle opened at his approach : kindred hearts cherished him ; and the slope of his life gently declined, amid troops of friends, to the music of household asso- ciations. All revered him : sauntering steps quickened at his ajipearance : the citizen paused in the way, and tlie stranger in the gate, to look where passed James Monroe. It is thought by our city, an honor thus to have sheltered the gathei-ing years of one who had been the fittii President of the United States. A short time, however, passed, and the familiar form was seen no more. As if commissioned, on the anniversary of our country's independ- ence, to bear a nation's gratitude into the Presence on High, his si>irit burst its thraldom in tiuit jubilee of freedom. lie was 78 JOHNCOCHRANE. LV mourned as only the good are mourned. He lias never been i'uv- gotten. Earth has been strewed with the recurring tril)ute of more than twenty-five years of decay, and still the public heart has kept sentry at his grave. Seasons have come and gone, moons waxed and grown dim, and, while all was changing, still uneiianged i^as been the memory of N"ew York, that low upon its lap, was laid the head of James Monroe, of Virginia. Inviolate lias been held the sacred charge. It is true that his deeds live after him, a com- mon heritage for all ; but his body descended to the tomb to await there, tidings from the State he loved so well. Those tidings came, and our city paused ; they came, and the busy mart was hushed. It was the demand of the father for his son ; it was the voice of the mother seeking her child. Men's hearts were touched by the- appeal, and the very dead was stirred to filial sympathy. We have removed him from his place of early sepulture, and have borne his body hither, Virginians, to you. As we have come, the minute- gun has announced to land and sea the sad funereal transit, and the nation vails its standards to our solemn rites. And it is meet that it should be so. By no sacrilegious summons, but with a reverent awe has the silence of a former age been broken — the repose of its mighty dead disturbed; and the memory of the sage, like the lights of the tomb of Terentia, has diffused a genial radiance abroad. A general attention has been concentrated upon the revelation. The sacred truths of the olden time attend upon these hearsed bones, and move in procession with them. Again we seem to witness the old ancestral patriotism ; again to listen to the precepts of a wisdom that no longer walks the earth ; again the fathers are with us, and we move as within the halo of their presence. Virginians, we bring you here the casket we have guarded ; we now commit to your hands, what so long has been entrusted to our own. Our work is finished, our duties done. "We surrender to you this mortal : you will crown it with the emblems of immortality. We deliver to you this perishing record of the past: you will inscribe upon it that justice he so affectingly craved of you fur his memory ia the futura 7i) 20 ir K A N R . Vir--iiii.i -iii.itlicr--it, is tliiis tli.it Now Vurk '/wo?, hack to you .y..iir,s,.ii." (uMiL'ial (V)cliraiiu exceoils tlie luctliuiii liuiglit ; is of wi'll- (■(iiiipiictctl Jranic, witli habits of iiiiisciilar alertness and mental activity. A bilious-sanguine temperament disposes liiiii well to I lie endiiraiice of fatigue and to vigorous longevity. He was boiii 'JTlli of August, 1813, and has attained the limits of a strong and useful manhood. lie is still unniMrrie.!. Ti mgh Willi tastes nitaclie.l to studious seclusi.m, his life hithert., has been oflener displayed in public, than remarked in private. As a.ivaucing years witlidniw him from the l/iw. it may 1)0 prcsinneooth stated tlie objects of the association to be,—" to furnish dealers in tea, coffee, sugar, etc., with accurate intelligence, to prevent dishonorable prac- tices, to settle all disagreements by arbitration, and tu promote the general interests of the ti-ade." Mr. Booth's life has been illustrated by numerous charitable acts. For over forty years he has been intimately connected and asso- ciated with the various benevolent and philanthropic efforts and in- stitutions which have been established in our midst. During the past decade of years much of his time has been devoted unreservedly to organizing and sustaining Christian institutions. For several years he has been President of the " American Seamen's Friend Society," the "Children's Aid Society," and the "American and Foreign Chi-istian Union." Throughout his life he has always con- tributed largely for the spread of the Gospel at home and abroad, and altliougli himself unable to leave the city, he has always been one of the most liberal 8ui>porters of the missionaries and has not spared his substance in propagating a pure religion, and in sending it abroad into all lands. Well, indeed, may Mr. Booth be termed the Christian merchant. The record of his life shows how strenu- o>is he has ever been to maintain a high standard of mercantile in- tegrity in the community ; and Ids own career is a striking example for all time. There is nothing of the bigot about him. He is sim- ply a gentleman who holds that obedience to and love of God are of more consequence than wealth, and he has shown how prosperity can be attained, and how reputation can be won, by a strict adher- ence to those religious teachings wiiich form the only true founda- tion of all civilized Christian societies. In 18()0 Mr. Booth, accompanied by part of his family, left New York and made a tour of Europe and Asia, visiting England and the European continent, and traveling extensively in parts of Syria, Palestine and Egypt, and also making a voyage up the Nile. In 186!) he stai'ted on another tour, re-ascending the Nile as far as the first cat- aract and returning by way of Constantinople, the Danube and Italy. WILLIAM A. BOOTH. 5 Until within the past two or three years, the summer residence of this distinguished merchant was in his native town of Stratford, among his early friends and associates, by whom he is highly esteemed and respected. At present, however, his summer residence is at Englewood, New Jersey. Personally, Mr. Booth is a most estimable gentleman. A warm- hearted, genial companion, his society is always agreeable. He has always a pleasant word and a smile for all, and his conversation is never dull. Now past the prime of life he can look back upon the long years without having anything to reproach himself for, and his declining years will, we trust, be unclouded by any sorrow, be it never so brief. 87 SAMUEL J. TILDEJST. HERE is no other country where the position of a lawyer reaches the dignity and power that it possesses here. Jle has not here, in front of him, an aristocracy of hereditary title or of wealth. If a leader in his profession, he is in the front himself. If his professional pursuits carry hiin, in iiis career, beyond the investigation of subjects of mere personal interest, he becomes versed in constitutional questions, in the principles that guide the grandest civil interests and the state itself. If his ora- tory has the true fire, his leadership is supported by the tide of popularity. If he is a profound thinker, his counsel becomes con- trolling among his associates. If he has physical energy, his in- fluence becomes active and real. If he acquires honest wealth,' the independence it brings takes off all the weight from him in the race; and if his character secures for him a reputation for integ- rity and the honor of his countrymen, he has the whole held open to him, and he becomes tlie representative of a power beyond his own. The foundation of true virtue, as of true genius, is force. Force accomplishes results. The vindication of success demonstrates that a man does not march counter to his time and to human prog- ress, but that he represents an idea at the precise time when that idea is worth representing; that if the times that try men's souls come, he has a soul worth trying. Whoever does not succeed is of no use to the world, and he passes away as if he never existed. These are reflections proper to an estimate of the character of Samuel J. Tilden. At the point, in his course, wlien the world 89 S 3A M UEI, J. TILDEN. opoiuHl before him lie cliose the profession of a lawyer, and has, in singleness of purpose, pursued the path of his i)rofeB8ion with a diligoneo that lias phvced him, midway in a wholo life's course, in a position of whieh all tiio advantages are in his power. His fii-st entry upon pubiie life was in tlic political campaign in 1SU2, whieh resulted in the election of General Jackson to his second term of tlie Presidency. At that time William L. Marcy wna governor of the State of New York, beginning an adminis- tration known as the Albany Regency. The opposition to the Jackson or Democratic ticket depended upon the coalition between ihc national liepublican party and the Anti-masons, a political friigment, of brief existence on a local issue, which was nnide up of men drawn from each of tiie main parties. Success in the election, as shown by the event which terminatetl the political iiistory of the Anti-masons, depended upoji discrediting the coali- tion and withdrawing from it old Democrats into the ranks of their own party. Althougii ho was but eighteen yeai's of age, Mr. Til- den had ah'eady explored the facts and principles of tiiis political situation, whicli had been for some years a leading question in State politics; and, of his own motion, had written a paper leveled directly at tiie result, and this accidentally came toliglit. At his father's house in Now Lebanon, Columbia County, New York, he had formed an acquaintance with the great statesmen of the .lacks. mian era — William L. Marcy, Martin Van Huren, A. C. Flagg, 8ilas Wriglit, Michael Hofl'man, and the Livingstons. His father was a farmer, from English ancestors who settled in Massa- ciiuselts, at Scituate, in 1(520, removed to Connecticut in 1715, and thence to Columbia County, in 1790. He was a neighbor of Mr, Van Buren and the Livingstons, and was himself not without in- Ihience among the statesmen who were his friends. Mr. Tilden's pajier becoming known in this circle, it was taken to Albany, and appeared in the Albany Argus on the 9th of October, 1S32, as an address to the electoi-s of Columbia County. It soon happened that a standard was applied to the ability of the paper, and to its effect 90 SAMUIOL J. TILDEN. 3 in a caiivasB that was engaging the vigor of tlie ablest men, for the editor was obliged to defend Mr. "Van Buren from an imputation of self-seeking, by stating that it was not from his pen. This po- litical association, the most powerful in the history of the State, continued, with Mr. Tilden in its counsels, until, after thirty years, he himself came into the leadership of his party. In 1832 he came to the city of New York to pursue his studies. These were interrupted by ill health ; and although there is now no trace left of it, his appearance was such that he was sometimes conscious, in the greeting of his friends, of their surprise at seeing him again. Still, a while at Yale College, and with private in- struction in New York, he kept at work in tlie acquisition of knowledge and the training of his powers. It is one of the quali- ties of genius that it can work all night. This sort of unremitting labor, pursued under a supreme necessity of physical exercise for his health's sake, and the close direction of his studies in the single line of the law and its cognate branches, rapidly advanced him in his profession. He confined himself to the great questions that arose before liim, and never became engaged in a general practice. Ilis studies in history, political economy, and meta- physics, all the more fruitful because they were driven for a pur- pose in the intervals of professional occupations, expanded in him the broad views, and fixed in him the general principles of science, which impelled him along the special professional path he had chosen. The line he was engaged in as counsel in the cases of great corporations, gave a practical application to his early incli- nation for financial discussions, and brought his profound study of the financial aspects of political economy up to the solution of actual questions. When he was twelve years old, his grandmother read to him alternately in the Bible and in Jefferson's Corre- spondence, and upon that foundation he has built. In his political career he has never sought office, nor held any since they were open to his ambition. The principle that it is the first of social duties for a. citizen of a republic to take his fair 91 4 PAMHEL J. TII-DKN. allutiucnt of care and trouble in all public affairs, when it lixlgcf. in a true and generous heart, excludes the use of political power as a means of self-aggrandizement. He served one year in the State Assembly, as a delegate from the city of New York, in 1846 ; and was an active member of the Constitutional Convention of 1840, and of that of 1867. In the former he was next to Michael Hoffman on the Committee on Canals and the Financial Obligations of the State, and in the latter was on the Committee on Finance. In 1806 he was chosen one of the Democratic State Committee, and at the same time took the position of its chairman. He suc- ceeded Dean Richmond who had been chairman since 1850, and to whom Mr. Tilden had been a trusted confidential adviser. It has thus fallen to him to preside at, or to open, many of the most im- portant conventions of that party. His speeches, on these occa- sions of breaking ground, have been remarkable for the precision and fervor with which he would express the dominant idea of the time, and the grasp he would take at the heart of the questions rising to be political issues. In the constitutional conventions, finances and the canals, the principal financial topic, engaged his attention, and he was successful, in 1846, in shaping the canal policy which has since proved so beneficial. In his professional career he has engaged not only in cases which required argument in the Courts of Review, upon the principles of law which fitted a case of developed facts ; but more eminently in the development of the facts themselves, from complicated sources, in the order of their legal value, so as to comprise the law, com- plete the case, convince the court and carry the jury. As Judge Hogeboom said of his summing up, on such an occasion, he spoke as if in a trance. In the year 1855 Azariah C. Flagg received the certificate of election as Comptroller of the City of New York, and his title to the ofiSce was contested by his opponent by quo loarranto. The vote had been so close, that a change in the return in a single election district would alter the result. Upon a fraud inserted here hia 92 SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 5 opponent proceeded, and proved that the three hundred and sixteen votes counted fur Mr. Flaog. belonged to him, and that his one hun- dred and eighty-six votes were all that Mr. Flagg received. He re- lied on the tally lists, which were on two sheets of paper ; the one containing the canvass of the regular tickets was lost, but false results were pretended to have been transferred from it to the sheet containing the canvass of the split tickets, by certain figures, which, added to the votes there shown for him, gave him the three hundred and sixteen. That this was the truth, and that by an error made in the return, the votes had been transposed, was confirmed by the oral evidence of the inspectors, and appeared to be overwhelming. Mr, Tilden, by a logical and mathematical analysis,— shown by tables derived from the tally list that remained, the number of tickets and of candidates, and the aggregate votes,— reconstructed the lost list, and proved conclusively that the return for Mr. Flagg was cor- rect, and that the results pretended to have been transferred from it were arbitrary, false, and necessarily impossible. He won the case for Mr. Flagg on his opening. In the Burdell case, in 1857, which was tried, on the issue of his marriage, before Surrogate Bradford, the circumstantial and positive evidence of respectable witnesses in favor of the marriage was com- plete. On the theory that a fabricated tissue, however artful, if torn by cross-examination would reveal the truth, he put the one hundred aud forty-two witnesses to the test, and developed a series of circumstances which struck the mind of the judge " with irresis- tible force," and led to his " entire satisfaction and conviction " that the marriage had never taken place. In the Cumberland coal case in 1858, in Maryland, there is an illustration of his ability to establish a purely legal principle. He sustained the doctrine that a trustee can not become a purchaser of property confided to him for sale, and applied that doctrine to the directors of corporations ; fully exhibiting the equitable principles on which such sales are set aside, and the conditions necessary to give them validity. 93 Q SAMUEL J. TILDEN. In the case ot the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company against the Pennsylvania Coal Company, in 1&63, the rights of the canal company to a large increase of toll, on a perpetual contract for coal transportation, depended upon the question of fact, whetlier as tliuy cliiimed, by Uvrger boats on an enlarged canal, the transpor- tation had been rendered cheaper. By a calculation that took years of labor, brought in with its just weight every statistic and circum- stance of canal navigation, and by the application of the law of average, Mr. Tilden establislied the fact against the canal company, and against the popular opinion ; and settled the fundamental eco- nomic principles of canal navigation for the country. In addition to many such cases, he has, since 1855, been exten- sively conne(ited with the railroad enterprises of the country, par- ticularly of the West. Perhaps more than half of those enter- prises, north of the Ohio, between the Hndson and the Missouri, have stood to him in the relation of clientage. The general mis- fortunes, between 1855 and 1860, which brought insolvency upon so many of these railroads, and placed in peril and confusion the interests of people of all conditions, who were their creditors and contractors, bondholders and stockholders, called for some plan of relief. It was here that his legal knowledge, financial skill, labori- ous industry, weight of character and personal influence were called into action, and resulted in a plan of reorganization which pro- tected equitably the rights of all parties, in many cases saved tire- some and wasting litigation, was generally adopted, and has resulted in a condition of railroad prosperity as eminent as the depression was severe. His relations with these companies and the individuals controlling them, have continued, and his thorough com- prehension of their history and requirements, his practical energy and decision, have elevated him to the mastery of the questions that arise in the organization, administration, and finances of canals as well as railroads, so that their prosperity can not be sepa- rated from his influence upon them. If there were space to expand these outlines into full iilustra 94 SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 7 tions, it would jiistifj the estimate placed upon his tlianietcr, aud the indication of the elements of his success. He has that rare equipoise between courage and judgment, which saves him from being rash in the hour of reflection, and from indecision at the mo- ment of action. There is a mean between the tiieoretic^al, whicli penetrates ultimate causes and comprehends remote influences, and the practical, which looks ahead at the immediate result and the im- pediments. From that stand-point, the man who can get there, tests and rectifies theories, weighs on fundamental principles means and ends, and finishes by concentrating the power of all causes toward the accomplishment of a single object. The theorist lacks result, and the practical man lacks power; but the man who is alive to the duty of to-day, and who has spent his time in settling principles, and correcting them by daily application to those ends which are the object of an active and eminent life, illustrates the elements ot These elements exist in Mr. Tilden in two forms. He has the power of analysis, and the power of combination. The power of analysis is rare; in most men it arises when they find them- selves in emergencies, where they are compelled to thiidc and to decide. It is the power to investigate, with intricate research, the mass of facts of a case which meets one like a chaos, and out of it to pluck up the hinging facts, and swing them in their logical order: it is the persistence in holding a complex mass of ideas, facts, principles, and illustrations under the mental lens, until dis- tinct and accurate views appear, and at the focus rises the image to be realized. Then comes into play the power of combination and organization, which is the rarer power, and without which th« power of analysis is like an ungathered harvest. It is the power to comprehend the situation, to devise the expedient, to seize the opportunity, to combine men and to carry their convictions. Mr. Van Buren was an example of this power ; and even in his day, and in the councils of the Regency, Mr. Tilden stood among them, not without pm-pose and not without honor; so that Miehaul Hofl"- 8 SAMUEL J. TILDEN. niiin said of liini, " lliat young man will liavc his way, for he has a plan." It need hardly be added of such a man that, within his range, he reads every thing. He does not rest upon his acquisitions as a sufficient capital, but keeps in advance on the fresh fields of thought ; and the library with wliich he surrounds himself, rich in all branches, is full on his favorite topics of political economy and finance. If you were to meet him, you would find a man full of convic- tions and of great gentleness, fond of abstruse questions, quick in his appreci;.tion of literature and art, jealous of tlie dignity of bis profession, and with a candor and fairness which leaves him no opponents. His penetration into the merits of a case, and liis grasp of the justice of it, are such, that it is the characteristic of his business that he settles controversies, or rather, prevents them, by leading the parties away from their differences to the point where they can agree, and which they all see to be riglit. It is because he gains their confidence at the outset. You could not leave him without your thoughts, })erhaps your feelings lingering upon him. In a social discussion, he is full of enthusiasm and of grace. You watch for the source of the spell which holds you, and would find it in the fullness of his human nature, were it not in the intel- lectual fascination of a man who thoroughly understands his sub- ject, and is in earnest about making you believe it. He will in an argument gather up the points of the controversy, or analyze and balance an array of facts, from clear statement rise into eloquence, and with a rigorous accuracy that leaves not a point to be contested, reach his conclusion and clinch it, with his hearers in the silent consciousness which follows an argument which was not made to be answered. In public life, his part would be that of a statesman. He would determine the principles and plan, rather than execute the details of an administrative office. He would direct the counsels of a SAMUEL J. TILDEN. Q political party, rather than encounter the turbulence of its contests'. But with his native largeness of mind; with an experience that measures the material interests of all classes of men in all their modes of advancement ; with a power to delve among and array facts, and upon them to erect a philosophic basis from which to press on to action ; with a logical method, an utter familiarity and a fearless consciousness of power in handling great questions, his place would be found at great 'crises, and under the burden of the insoluble problems of a parliamentary debate. At such a moment, as amid the financial difficulties and crude remedies which have followed the rebellion, he would be the man to contrive the scheme which comprehended every determining fact, and overcame every possible objection ; which was sound in principle and efficient in ]>ractice, and by liis reasoning and advocacy to bring order upon what was formless and void, and, because he was right, to gain the convictions of men and achieve great results for his country. During the most active period of his life, the party to which he belongs has held too loosely the i-eins of its power, so that he has deserved well of his country, ratlier than had a career. It will be a brilliant epoch in the history of our nation, when the ideas which are to shape its policy and advance its destiny emerge into domi- nance, and, with its representative men foremost, the party shall resume its power. ERASTUS COENELIUS BENEDICT. f'rOR the following notes of the life and character of Eras- tus C. Benedict, LL.D., we are indebted mostly to the " Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, by Henry M. Benedict, Albany, Joel Munsel, 1870." Hi8 first American progenitor was Thomas Benedict, who, being the last of the name in England, came to America in 1637, and settled first on Long Island, but finally went to Norwalk, Conn. He was emin- ently a man of progress. He had but just arrived on the island when by the General Court of Connecticut he was clothed sub- stantially with the power of government on the island, at that time having little connection with the mainland. In the language of the old record, he was •' empowered to act in point of Govern- ment ;" " invested with magistratical power on the island." He was identified with the formation of the first Presbyterian church in America at Jamaica, and was a pillar in the church both in ISTew York and Connecticut. He was the arbitrator of differences, civil- ized and savage. If an Indian chief was exasperated, it fell to his lot to pacify him. He was an officer in the train band of the infant settlement. He was a member from Jamaica of the first English legislative body that ever met in the State of New York, called together at Hempstead to create and codify the system of law on the island after the conquest from the Dutch, and was after- wards repeatedly a member of the colonial legislature of Connecti- cut. He aided in the organization and sending out of little colonies to plant new neighborhoods in New Jersey and Connecticut. He always, during a very long life, in the small way of primitive times, carried forward the line of national progress. The same spirit descended to his son John, and his grandson James, and to his 99 o i:UASTUS COUNHI.IUS UCNKUICT. {^ival t^Tiiiuis .M, l\>ler, win. was ii Wlii- ..fllic JicvoliKii'U, residing; in tho ni-uli'.il -Ti.un.l in We.tcliosler Connly, N. Y. lie gave to his sons tho hi-iiolit of a liberal oihu-ation, two in Yulo, and one in Trincoton Collogc. in I ho truo spirit of those days, tho jouugest, I'eter, loft Yale College and wont as orderly sergeant with (ienerul Montgomery to Canada, and afttu'wards as lieutenant under General Washington, had tho distinction of being ollicially recorded as a " very good otheor." Tho second was Itev. Joel Benedict, D.D., of Plainlield. The eldest, llov. Abuer, grandfather of the subject of thisskeleli, after the death of his lirstwilb, went through Yale Col- lege anil became a clergyman. When the war broke out he loft his congregation temporarily to act as a volunteer chaplain, and was one of tho last in tho retreat from Long Island, and was in tho battles of White Plains and Harlem. lie was a profound scholar, philosopher, and theologian. Uis sons, Kev. Joel Tyler and Rev. Abuer, wore both educated by him. His oldest, Eov. Joel Tyler, father of the subject of this sketch, was bred a lawyer, but after ten years' practice, his views under- going a change, ho became a Presbyterian clergyman. Eager, in his "History of Orange County," says of him: "Mr. Benedict was a man of ardent piety, untiring zeal, ixad eloquence, Avhich continually drew crowds to listen to his preaching." Ho some- times left his people, and j^.rcached as a missionary in the southern counties of New York and the adjacent counties of Pennsylvania. Tho siuno result followed his preaching there. Tho inhabitants flocked to hear him, and were deeply affected. He was almost constantly in the midst of religious revivals from the time he entered tho ministry till his health failed uuder a pulmonary attack, from exposure hi a ministerial journey in the snows of win- ter. His sons were Hon. George W. Benedict, LL.D., of Ver- mont ; Abner Benedict, a lawyer of New Y'ork ; Hon. Adiu W. Benedict, a lawyer of Pennsylvania, and Erastus C, who was his second son, born March 10, ISOO. Like all clergymen in the rural districts at that time, his peeuuiary rcoourccs (or the support 10() EEASTU8 CORNELIUS BENEDICT. 8 and education of a larpe family were very small, which forced all the Bons to rely maiuly u])on their own industry for support and education even during their minority. The family removed to New York in 1803. In early life Erastu3 C. had some experience in teaching, com- mencing as a common school teacher in 1816, and ending as a tutor in Williams College in 1824. He entered the sophomore class at Williams College in September, 1818, and graduated with honor in 1821, He then took charge of the academy in Johnstown, and subsequently with his brother, the academy in Newburgh, pursu- ing his professional studies at the time. His professional studies completed, at the end of the year 1824, he entered upon the prac- tice of the law in the city of New York, where he has ever since been and is now a successful lawyer. 'During his whole life he has been actively connected with the interests of public education. When the common school system was extended to thh city of New York, he was chosen among the first trustees of common schools, and subsequently, in 1850, was elected a member of the board of education for the city, of which board he was president for several years. He resigned his oflace as member of the board of education in 18G3, not however until he was generally recognized as among the first who were instnimental in consolidating and maturing the entire school system of New York city. The services he rendered, co-operating with like-minded men, in rearing the Free Academy, now the College of New York, are admitted by all. He was among the select number who confessedly laid the permanent foundations of that Areopagus and royal home of college advantages for the masses in the city of New York, and through his efforts it received the power to confer degrees, and rose to the rank of a college. In 1855 he was appointed by the Legis- lature one of the Board of Regents of the University of the State, a board having the superintendence of all the colleges and academies of the State, which otiice he still holds. In 18-10 he was elected a member of the Common Council of the city of New York ; in 1818 101 4 EUASTUS COKNKLIUS BENEDICT. ho was II uieiubtT Dl'tlie State Legislature, ami again in 186-4. He is un older in the Retbnned Cliurcli ; was a member of the General Synod in 1868, and ia a member of the eseeutive committee of the Evangelioal Alliance and of the Board of Education of the Re- forinod (."hureh in Amcriea. Mr. B. is the author of " The American Admiralty," a standard law book, of which a new and enlarged edition is this year (1870) published ; of "■ A Run Through Europe," a book of travels through most of the countries of Europe, the fourth edition of which was published in 1871 ; of the " Hymn of Hildebert and other Mediaeval Hymns, with Translations," of which a new and enlarged edition was published in ISili) ; and of various pamphlets, reviews, speeches, and adrcsses on literary, religious, and political subjects ; and fugi- tive pooms, many of which have been published at different times during the last thirty years, including " Presby terianism," a pamph- let on the division of the Presbyterian Church in 1838 ; " The Beginning of America," the anniveraary discourse before the New York Historical Society in 1863; and a Speech on the War, while a member of the Legislature in 1864. In 1840 he delivered the anniversary address before the Society of Alumni of Williams Col- lege. Since that time he has performed the same duty at the first anniversary of the Free Academy of New York ; before the Phi Bota Kappa Society of the University of Vermont ; the literary societies of the Univei-sity of the city of New Yoi-k ; and of Rut- gers College, New Jersey ; and before the State Normal School at Albany. Ilis degree of LL.D., was given him by Rutgers College, in 1865. This record, like all such, necessai-ily furnishes only a very im- perfect view of Mr. Benedict's long and earnest professional and literary life. He assumed with confidence the grave responsibilities of manhood when a mere boy, and from that time onward devoted himself with singular patience and steadiness of purpose to the work of life. As a lawyer, the American bar will not permit any other place to be finally a.^signed him except among the very first, if not 102 ERASTUS CORNELIUS BENEDICT. 5 the first, in the front rank of admiralty lawyers. His name lias been made familiar to the profession throughout the country by the work referred to above, which is everywhere a standard text-book ; but far more by his practice as an admiralty lawyer, which for nearly ' ahalf century has been co-extensive with our Atlantic coast. It is due to a record of this kind to fix. if possible, and perpetuate other per- sonal characteristics. Mr. Benedict is distinguished as a hard worker outside his profession. As an officer of the New York Historical Society, a member of its executive committee for twenty-eight years and now the chairman of that committee, as also in his relations as officer to various other societies,religious, charitable, and educational, his laboi-8 have been great. He has been a trustee of Williams College since 1855, and has, by a permanent fund, established several prizes in that college. He has been manager of the Association for Im- proving the Condition of the Poor since its organization in 1848; manager of the American Art Union while it existed, and also a governor of the State Woman's Hospital since its incorporation. Coleridge, in one of his aphorisms, asserts that there is no higher evidence of genius than the ability to maintain in advancing years the fresh, genial feelings of youth. All who know Mr. Benedict wiU admit at once that he comes within Coleridge's rule. He is now, to all appearances, as laborious, as earnest, as hopeful, as much interested in his profession, and in plans for benefiting his fellow- men as when he first struck out. He is now interested as much as ever in the social, political, and moral questions which are engagino- the attention of advancing minds, and in aid of their solution he brings not only ripeness, but wonderful freshness. The writer of this notice has endeavored to be a faithful contributor to history, and in dismissing the subject of this sketch, he simply says that lie has nothing to fear from the impartial judgment of cotemporaries ; as for the rest, it may be safely left to a future age, if not to other countries. 103 ^'^^^►-t^^-^i^^ JOHTT GEEGQ-RY SMITH. \W|5^I1E present century may well be called the era of progress <^X^ and of great enterprises. More particularly so, in the ^ ^ rapid extension of commerce and civilization by means of railways. In this country, especially, has the growth of railroads been, within the last twenty years, unprecedented. Throughout its vast domain they have been built with a rapidity which has e.xcited the wonder and admiration of the world, and in their management men distinguished for intellectual capacity and great executive ability are employed. Prominently among the great railroad managers, stands the subject of this sketch. John Gregory Smith was born in the village of St. Albans, Vermont, on the 22d day of July, 1818. His father, John Smith, was one of the most influential men in the State; a lawyer by profession, he was from the l)eginning identified with the railway interests of Vermont. He had repre- sented his district in Congress, and at the time of his death, which occurred in 1858, was one of the trustees and managers of the Vermont Central, and Vermont and Canada Railroads. John Gregory, his eldest son, graduated at the University of Vermont, and studied law at the New Haven Law School. At the age of twenty-three he began the practice of law in com- pany with his father, and continued in the profession, earning the reputation of an able and successful lawyer, until, at his father's death, he was appointed by the Chancellor to fill the vacancy thus created. The affairs of the Vermont Central Railroad were at that time in a most deplorable condition, the stock worthless, the securitieii 105 2 joH.v gukCtOry smith. of t!ie company nearly so ; its credit gone, the equipment almost worn out, and the road-bed almost entirely unserviceable ; in fact, tlie friends of the road had, for the most part, given the whole enterprise up in des])air. Upon Mr. Smith's assuming the control of the ruad, the condi- tion of affairs began to improve. By his far-sightedness and good judgment, his indomitable energy and perseverance, and, above all. bv his rare executive ability, the improvement of the road steadily progressed. The maze of intricate litigation and legis- hition which had hitherto hampered and embarrassed every move- ment, was unraveled and adjusted, until the road now stands in the position of tlie foremost railroad of New England, and second to none in the country for general equipment. The earnings of the road, from being barely sufficient to pay the running expenses, have reached the tigure of more than two mil- lions of dollars. lie was* elected to the State Senate in the years of 1858 and 1859, and represented his town the three years following; the last of which, 1802, he was made speaker of the House. The year following, he was called to the gubernatorial chair, which he filled tlirough two terms of office. This was during tlie darkest period of our great civil war. when the resources of the whole nation were taxed to the utmost. The same untiring zeal and enei'gy which he had before displayed he infused into his administration of State affairs. The calls of the general government for troops were always promptly met, and the men, fully armed and equipped^, were in the field on time. The full quota of the State was always tilled without delay, and though the agricultural population of the State made it particularly severe, yet not 9. paper man was ever returned, or a State draft necessaiy. No troops in the whole army were more thoroughly equij^ied or sent into the field in better condition than were the Vermont troops under Governor Smith's administration; and tlie late 106 JOHN GREGORY SMITH. 3 lamented Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, often remarked, that he had less trouble witli tlie Vermont troops, than those of any other State. Nor did Governor Smith, through all the pressing aiid onerous duties entailed by the requisitions of the AVar Department and the many complications of the railroads, forget or neglect the indus- trial, educational, or agricultural interests of his State, but all were promoted and benefited in a large degree. During the campaign of General Grant from Culpepper to Petersburg, upon the first intelligence of the great battles of the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, Governor Smith, with a full and efficient corps of surgeons, proceeded at once to the field, and there with them labored night and day, sparing neitlier his private means nor personal comfort, till the last Vermont soldier who was sick or wounded was well cared for, furloughs obtained, and all who could be moved sent home to Vermont. It was during his term of office as chief magistrate, that the famous St. Albans raid occurred, and then was shown his peculiar diplomatic power, his quick perception and controlling influence over men, in healing over and preventing the open rupture which was so nearly made by an exasperated people on the one side, and the Canadian government on the other. It was through his exer- tions that the partial payment by the Canadian government to the banks which had suffered by the raiders was made. Soon after the close of his second term as chief executive, he was solicited by Governor DilUngham to fill the vacancy in the United States Senate, occasioned by the death of the Hon. Solomon Foote, which honor he declined ; and again, at the suc- ceeding election, he was urged to accept the same office at the hands of his fellow-citizens, but again declined. In 1866 Governor Smith was solicited by the grantees of the JSorthern Pacific Eailroad to accept the Presidency of that road. A charter, with the right of way from the head of Lake Superior to Puget Sound on the Pacific coast, with a liberal grant of land, 107 4 JOHN GRKGORY SMITH. had been obtained t'rtun the government in 1864, but there being no governmental aid of money, and the attention of capitalists being absorbed by the great struggle of the nation for its life, the affairs (if the company had fallen into a desperate state. But becoming convinced that the enterprise had in it all the essential elements of success, and that it was destined to be ultimately a great through line to the Pacific coast, he accepted the position of President. lipon failm-e to got further aid from Congress, his associates, one after another, discouraged by the magnitude of the enterprise and the difficult}- of obtaining the amount of money necessary to com- plete two thousiind miles of railroad through an almost unbroken wilderness, Mitlidrew, leaving him almost entirely alone, with the wliole burden of debt upon his shoulders. Nothing daunted by the delay, nor disheartened by the prospect, with that energy of purpose and fertility of resource for which he is so noted, he at once set about forming a new and more powerful combination. For a long period he carried the debt, the responsibility, the bur- den, unflinchingly ; interested and got into his board of directors, the best riulroad talent the country afforded, and the men of the largest capital; and now, with new life and vigor, one of the greatest enterprises of modern days is being pushed forward to an early com})letion ; and it will be but a short time before the governor will enjoy the fruition of his constancy, courage, and pereeverancc. At the age of twenty-five he married Miss Ann Eliza Brainerd, of St. Albans, which was one of the happiest of unions. She has made him a most accomplished and affectionate wife, in every way worthy of the man. He has five children, two sons and three daughters. His domestic relations are remarkably happy. He has a beautiful home, and few enjoy home comforts so well as he. In person the governor is about the medium height, firmly and compactly built, and capable of enduring the greatest latigue ; and has long had the reputation of being the hardest-working man in Vermont, llis mannei-s are peculiarlv genial and simple, and no 103 JOHN GREGORY SMITH. 5 one, not even the lowest employee on any of his roads, is ever refused a full hearing. His purse is always open to tlje needy, and his assistance always aflbrded to the oppressed. His distinguishing characteristics are — most indomitable energy ; rare tact in the management of men; far-sightedness; a cool, dis- passionate judgment which seldom errs; liberality; warm, open- hearted hospitality ; and an integrity which even his most bitter enemies have never impeached. Governor Smith, in his public and private life, may be truly re- garded as one of New England's representative men. He has, at his command, a generous fund of useful knowledge, and has rarely boon at fault in his judgment of others, or in his estimate of important measures, whether connected with his official or his business career. JSTever backward in asserting his principles, he is willing to defer to the opinions of others. With a retentive memory for facts and details, a keen perception of affairs, and quick reasoning powers, he arrives at mental conclusions by patient mental labor. In social life he is unreserved in his conversation, warm in his friendship, and cordial in his intercourse with all. 45 . 109 f , h siiu'e rosiik'il tlicic. They have always held a respectable position ill society, and enjoyed the general respect and esteem of their contemporaries. This was especially true of James English, the father of the governor. He acquired a competent estate and reared a large family, comprising six sons and three daughters, all of whom lived to years of maturity. The sons were prosperous busi- ness men in the place of their nativity. The grandfather of Gov- ernor English, Captain Benjamin English, was a shipmaster, and commanded several vessels plying between New Haven and foreign ports. During the Presidency of Mr. Jefferson he was appointed to an otlice in the custom-house of his native town, which he iieid up to tiie time of his death, in 1807. The father of Ca[)tain English was killed by the British troops under General Tryon, who invaded Connecticut in 1779. And it may be added here that both the governor and his paternal ancestors have been uninterruptedly identified with the Democratic party since the organization of the government under the Federal Constitution. The educational advantages enjoyed by the subject of our sketch were limited to the rudimental teachings common to the schools of the day. That they were circumscribed, is attested by the i'act that they were interrupted at a period of his life when the tender mind is most susceptible to instruction. Mr. English gave evidence in his early youth of that remarkable self-reliance and independence of thought and action which have distinguished him, in his private as well as public life, from childhood to mature age. It has been his uniform habit to think and act for himself under all circumstances. He has always been firm and decided, without obstinacy persistent and determined, without rashness or presumption. From the time when, a mere child, he insisted upon earning his own livelihood, and obtained his father's reluctant consent to strike out a course for himself, and engaged to labor on a farm some thirty miles from home, and through all the various enterprises by which he accumulated an ample fortune, he reliid on his own resourccf^, and prosecuted his extended business 112 with that intelligence, activity, and perseverance, which could not fail to command success, and all by liis own unaided exertions. When about to embark in the lumber trade, a wealthy friend, who appreciated his capacity, integrity, and aptitude for the manage- ment of an extended business, offered to advance a large sum of money and become interested in the transactions — the industry and intelligence of Mr. English to constitute an equivalent for the cap- ital to be invested. This proposition, although a liberal one, he gratefully declined, preferring to work out his fortune himself. He remained away from home for two years, diligently assisting in the labors of the farm, when he returned to his parents. He attended school for two years after he came back, devoting himself specially to the study of architectural drawing, in which he became signally proficient. He was then apprenticed to a master carpenter, and during his term of service made plans for several conspicuous edifices in New Haven, some of which still remain as ornaments of the city. On attaining his majority, in 1833, he immediately became a mas- ter-builder, and continued that pursuit for two years with great suc- cess. For a period of more tlian twenty years he was engaged in the lumber trade, both in New Haven and Albany. During this time he became the owner of several vessels, and established a freight line between New Haven and Albany, and Philadelphia. He prosecuted this extensive business with his accustomed intelligence and energy, and his exertions were rewarded with ample returns. For the last fifteen years he has been interested in large manufac- turing establishments in different parts of the State, to the number of fifteen, to which he has given much time and attention. He has been the principal manager of the business of the New Haven Clock Company, the largest concern of the kind in tlie world ; and in that capacity has visited Europe three several times to promote the sale of its wares. On the last occasion he remained abroad nearly a year, making a comijlete tour of Europe. He is also president of the Goodyear Metallic Rubber Shoe Company, one 113 ^ JAMKS K. ENGLISH. of the largest estaMislmieiits of the kind in the United States, and an active diruetor in several other large and well-managed companies, all successfnlly prosecuting their several branches of industry. As a business man he is distinguished for practical sagacity, fore- cast, and sound judgment. In the numerous enterprises with which he has been connected, his penetration and discernment have rarely been at fault, and his associates have always accepted Jiis suggestions and advice with unhesitating confidence. The re- sult is seen in the large fortune he lias acquired, and which ho un- ostentatiously and quietly enjoys, dispensing a liberal hosjiitality, and bestowing large sums upon charitable and philanthropic objects, as well as aiding industrious and deserving young men to successfully establish themselves in business. And it is worthy of mention, in this connection, that his entire wealth has been the result of legitimate business transactions, Mr. English never having been a '• speculator " in any sense of the word. The connection of Governor English with political life dates back more than twenty years, and during that period he has been constantly in some public employment. Being a man of innate modesty, and never seeking distinction or notoriety of any kind, offices of e\ery description have been thrust upon him, frequently against his wi.shes, and occasionally in spite of his earnest remon- strances. He was for many years in the municipal councils of his native city and town, and also a member of both branches of the Le- gislature, having been elected to the Senate for several successive years. He was chosen a member of Congress in 1S61, and again in 1 86S, serving through the first four yeai-s of the Eebelliou. He was on the Committee on Naval Atfairs in the 3Tth Congress, and so effi- cient and valuable were his services in that capacity, and so highly were they appreciated by the Navy Department, that upon the coming in of the next Congress, a new organization of the Naval Committee involving some changes as a matter of coui-se, and Mr. Colfax, in advance of being chosen speaker, having promised to sub- JAMES E. ENGLISH. 5 stitute Mr. Brandagee, a Eepnblican from tlie New London Dis- trict, in place of Mr. English, Mr. Welles personally and earnestly solicited the retention of Mr. English, stating that it was liiglily important that his services should be retained aa a member of that committee. He served on the Committee on Public Lands in the 38th Congress. Though an earnest Democrat in principle and from conviction, he zealously supported the war measures of the administration, voting for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and for tlie National Emancipation Act. He, how- ever, opposed the Legal Tender Bill and the National Bank system. He foresaw the pernicious tendency of those measures, and the arguments by which he resisted their passage have never been answered, while the disastrous effect npou the industrial and commercial interests of the country attests the soundness of his reasoning. Although possessing large manufacturing interests to be benefited by class legislation, he has ever been a strenuous opponent of protection for the sake of protection, and a warm advocate of all measures of revenue reform. He was chosen governor in 1867, carrying the election by his personal popularity, at a time when nearly every State in the Union was under the domination of the Republicans, thus giving the first check to tlie usurpations of that powerful organization, and turning back the tide of fanaticism. He was re-elected in 1868, and again in 1870. And it is no more than justice to him to say, that the present prosperous condition of the great Democratic party throughout the country and its steadily increasing strength, are in a large measure to be ascribed to the revolution in Connec- ticut which Governor English inaugurated and ccmducted to a triumphant consummation. He is a firm believer in the right of the States to manage their own domestic concerns in tlieir own way, and the points made by him, in his several messages and other State papers, in defense of this right, have been most felicitously put, and never successfully answered. He was nominated as one of the Presidential electors of the 115 g JAMKS E. ENOLISH. State at large in the campaign of 1S(JS, and was a conspienous candidate for tlic Presidency before the Democratic National Convention. Govern. .r En-li#li has taken an absorbing interest in the cause of education, having repeatedly urged upon the Legislature, in his otiieial capacity, the establishment of a system of education which should open the schools to every child iu the State without distinc- tion, aud free of all charge for tuition. And nothing but his pei-se- verin<» exertions and great pei-sonal influence could have overcome the strong opposition with which the proposition was received on its inception. And the indigent people of Connecticut, whose otispring have free access to the excellent schools of the State on the same footing as the children of the opulent, owe that inestimable privilege to the wise benevolence and enlightened statesmanship of Governor English. He may justly claim the distinction, accorded him by the friends of education throughout the State, of being " the father of the free-school system," while his valuable services in the higher walks of instruction have been recognized in his appointment as one of the councilors of the Sheffield Scientific School connected with Yale College. Having summed up the most conspicuous events of his life, and referred, although superficially, to his public career, it only remains for us to present a hasty . ;id imperfect view of the attributes of his character and the estimation in which he is held by those among whom his days have been spent, aud who are qualified to appreciate his excellence and the beneficent influence which he has constantly exerted upon society. As a man of sound sense and practical wisdom in all that re- lates to the every day concerns of life, Mr. English is pre-eminent among his fellows. He is a man of quick perception, fine faculties, with a power of generalization quite extraordinary in one of his habits of life. His reasoning powers are uncommon, and he has a ready, thorough appreciation of the force of an argu- ment presented in a controversial discussion. He makes no pre- 116 JAMES E. ENGLISH. 7 tensions as a scholar, but he writes fluently and with precision, conveying his meaning in terse and well-chosen language. He has great executive ability, and the functions of his high ottice are performed with that degree of skill, intelligence, and integrity which insures a successful administration. He is liberal, philan- thropic, and gives freely of his large wealth in aid of every charity and every well-directed public enterprise. He enjoys the unmixed respect and esteem of his neighbors, and has troops of warm friends to whom he has endeared himself by countless acts of humanity and kindness. He has a sound constitution, is full of activity and vigor, of regular, abstemious habits, and leads a blameless life, illus- trated by intelligent benevolence and warm-hearted friendship. 117 ^L-Vl. ^ ////^^.vC^ SMITH M. WEKD. *HE subject of this sketch, Hon. Smith M. Weed, is, and has been from childhood, a resident of Plattsburg, Clinton County, N. Y., to which place his parents removed from Belmont, Franklin County, N. Y., where Mr. Weed was born on the 26th day of July, 1833. His father, EosweU A. Weed, was born in New Hampshire, and was a man of very considerable position, and a man of marked character and strict integrity. Ilis mother was the daughter of Smith Mead, Esq., a prominent citizen of Clinton County. Mr. Weed, having received an academical education, commenced the study of law, and after being admitted to practice in the Su- preme Court, entered the Law School at Harvard College, and graduated in 1857, receiving the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He immediately commenced the practice of law at Plattsburg, and has ever since been one of the leading lawyers in Northern New York. In 1859 he married a daughter of Col. Miles Standish, of Platts- burg, a lineal descendant of Col. Miles Standish, of Plymouth, and has three children, two sons and a daughter. As soon as he began the practice of law he took a prominent position, not only in his profession, but in all matters of interest to the community in which he resides, and has always been foremost in all entei-prises that tended to benefit the locality in which he Uved. He is noted for his enterprise, his energy, and his liberality. He began early to buy and sell real estate ; and has been one of the largest dealers in lands in Northern New York, and has done very much to improve and build up the village in which he resides. 119 Diiriiii,' llio i-fliclli.'ii, Ik- \v;is iiii iiclivc, oaniist War Dciiun-i-at ; 8ni>portiiijjr, by word umi dood, the Adiniiiistratioii in tho jirosoeu- tion of tho war for nil U'ower, whenever they attempted to prostitute the army to tiie acei>niplishment of party jnn-poses, or use their power to abridge tho rights of loyal eitizens. Notieeable among his acts in support of his eountry, in her hour of peril, he, in tho winter of lSl)l-6'J, and before any bounties were paid to volunteers by State or General (toverniiient, paid, from his own funds, fifteen hundred dollai-s in bounties to the members of one compaiiy, to induce them to volun- teer. Mr AVeed is an earnest, active political worker, and hiUfi, for the last ten years, been one of tl\e lo;»ding spirits in the politics of the State, and particularly in the nortliern j>ortion, and luis been mainly instrumental in pivducing the great political changes in tliflt part of the State. His fii-st appearance in State politics was in the Assembly of 18(>r>, to which he was elected by a largo majority. His eminent talents weiv at once iveognized, and ho took a leading part in all of the important measures of that session, and, although tho House contained many able men, he was, by common consent, conceded to be a leader. In that Assembly be voted to ratify the Amendment to the Oonstitutiiui abolishing slavery, and supported bis vote by an oarni'st aiul able speech. His views were, at that time, somewhat in advance of those of some of his party ; but he was fully sustained by the subsequent action of the Democratic Convention. He was unanimously re-nominated for the Assembly of 1860, and after a very severe contest, was i-e-elected. His prominence in the Assembly of 1S65 secured him the nomination of tho Democratic party for Speaker, and he received the full vot« of his party for that position. During this session, he was tlie rocognized leader of bis party in the Assembly, and fully sustaine«i his previous reputation for ability, integrity, auil fearles-ness. 123 S M I T n M . W E E D . 3 Mr. Weed was again unanimously re-nominated for, and although his district was largely Eepublican, and his opponent a very strong man, he was elected by a fair majority to, the Assembly of 186T. In that body he took an active part in all matters of public interest, and was, as in the prior sessions, a recognized leader, not only of his party, but of the Assembly. During these three sessions of the Legislature, Mr. Weed intro- duced, and secured the passage of many important measures, among the more noted of which was wliat is commonly known as the Free School Act; which act secures free scliools to all of the inhabitants of thia State; and the act to aid in building tlie Whitehall and Plattsburg Eailroad, a road of great importance to this State, of wliich enterprise he was one of the original projectors ; and the suc- cess of which, thus far, is, in a great measure, due to liis labors. lie was unanimously elected President of the Village of Platts- burg in 1865, was re-elected in 1800, and declined re-election in 1867. Mr. Weed was nominated by the Democrats, as a delegate at large to the Constitutional Convention, which met at Albany on the 4th of June, 1867. He took an active part in the delil)erations and debates of that body, until it adjourned over the time of the general election, at which the results of their deliberations were to have been submitted to the people ; after which he took no interest in the pro- ceedings of the Convention, and never signed the Constitution that was finally framed for submission, or drew his per diem as a member. He was selected as counsel for the managers on the part of the Assembly, on the impeachment of Eobert C. Dorn, Canal Commis- sioner, before the Court of Appeals and the Senate, as a Court of Impeachment, in the summer of 1868. Mr. Weed took the loading part in that important prosecution, and his arguments upon ques- tions raised dm-ing the trial, and, at its close, show that he was fully master of the Law of Impeachtnent, as well as the facts of tha^ par- ticular case, and added greatly to his reputation as a lawyer. In the fall of 1869, Mr. Weed was nominated for the position of Justice of the Supreme Court, by the Democrats of the Fourth Ju- 121 4 S M r TII M . \V K E n . (liciiil District, hut Cult cuin|K'l]cd to decline the nomiuatioTi ; never theless, he was voted for in about one-half of the District, and the result in those localities indicate that, had he consented to run, he would have been elected : in a district, too, which is ordinarily from 12,000 to 15,000 against the Democrats. Mr. "Weed accepted the nomination to the Assembly of 1871, be- au?e it was thought his nomination would materially strengthen the ticket in his county and Congressional District. The result showed, the wisdom of the nomination, as he was elected without any effort hi his hfhaJf, \iy nearly 1,700 majority, and carried with him the State and County ticket, and secured the election of a De- mocratic member of Congress from that district, for the first time in twenty yeara. As a debater, Mr. Weed is clear, earnest, forcible, and, when the occasion warrants, eloquent. He is gentlemanly, courteous, but de- termined. He has always been independent in word and action — bowing to no power, save the will of the people — fawning to none for place, but free, outspoken, and determined in advocating what he believes to be right, and in denouncing what he believes to be wrong, whatever might be the effect upon his own political pros- pects. His independence and integrity have won him the I'espect, confidence, and love of the people of this State. Among the number of such acts during the session of 1871, his I'cport in favor of the repeal of what is known as the "Erie Classifi- cation Bill," is conspicuous. It is one of the ablest reports ever made to the Legislature — is clear, conclusive,, and convincing — and should be read by every person who has the good of American in- stitutions at heart, and who believes in honest and fair dealing. This one act'has given Mr. Weed a world-wide reputation. During the latter part of the session of 1871, Mr. Weed was brutally assaulted in the Assembly at Albany, by James Irving, a desperate character, then a member from the City of New York. Mr. Weed had incurred the enmity of Irving by his determined op- position to all Legislative raids u))on individuals or corporations, for 122 SMITH M. WEED. 5 the purpose of persecution or plunder. Irving tried to get Mr. Weed to quarrel with him ; failing iu that, and finding he would not be driven from his duty by bullying and threats, Irving struck him a dastardly blow in the face, at a moment when his attention was diverted by conversation with another member. Mr. "Weed, althougli quite seriously injured, coolly prevented Irving striking him again, and as soon as others had secured Irving, turned and left him. His self-control at this time undoubtedly saved his life. Irving resigned to avoid expulsion, and the Assembly, on the report of the Commit- tee of Investigation, by a unanimous vote, exonerated Mr. "Weed, and resolved that, hud Irving not resigned, they would iiave ex- pelled Iiim. Mr. Weed, by his course in this trying matter — by his coolness, self-control and manliness — won the esteem of all honorable men, and received the sympathy of all. Mr. Weed is still a young man ; has, by his own exertions, amassed a considerable fortune ; lives in moderate style ; keeps an open house for all who come ; is known at home as the IWend of the poor man ; and has the personal esteem and respect of all men who know hira, and whose esteem and respect an honest man would desire. 123 SILAS C. HERRING. f\ROMlNENT amoug those who have earned the enviable and significant distinction of being known aa "self-made men," must be placed the subject of this sketch. His career has been throughout life a notable one. He has achieved reputation unaided by wealth and influence, but by dint of native talent and ingenuity seconding energy and hard labor. And this fame, at once deserving and honorable, has not been won on the battle-field or in politics, but in the pursuits of one of those indus- trial arts which confer the greatest possible benefits upon mankind, because the most enduring. The name of Silas C. Herring must always be remembered with respect by the mercantile community of this country ; for this distinguished manufacturer, by his single in- \ention of an iron safe, which neither fire nor the tools of a burglar can penetrate, gave to every person possessed of valuables the same security from loss by accident or crime, that the lamp invented by Sir Humphrey Davy gave to the lives of miners. It is not, therefore, exaggerating the claims of Mr. Herring upon public recognition to rank him among those who are known as ben- efactors of society. But whether or not we can so rank him, it is none the less true that his life is a striking illustration of the invent- ive genius of Americans, and is, therefore, full worthy of record. Silas C. Herring is the grandson of a gallant soldier of the Revo- lution, who attested his devotion to the then embryo reijublic by funning part of the little band of braves which fought the British forces at the battle of Bunker Hill. Mr. Herring himself was born at Shrewsbury, Rutland county, Vermont, on the Yth of September, 18U3. It must be remarked here, however, that his parents were 125 not natives of ViTuiont. His fatlier, grandfather and great-crand father were all bora at Dediiam, Ma33., hence he can, it' so disposed, justly elaini the cradle of the Pilgi'ims as his State. And he can all the more justly make this claim, because his yeai-s were few iu Ver- mont. When only of the age of five, his parents removed from the C4reen Mountain State to Brooklield, Mass., the place of his moth- er's nativity, where thoy settled on a farm. Here he remained until he had reached his seventeenth year, spending his days in the pur- suits of a farmer, as soon as he had grown old enough to render as- sistance to his father. The summer and autumn months were passed in labor, but wlaen the frosts of winter had killed vegetation, and the snows covered the life lying dormant beneath the earth, he laid iiside the plough for the scbool-book and made the bleak weeks ciieerful by improving his mind. At this time the educational re- sources of Massachusetts, though far in advance of those of the other States, were far inferior to what they now are. It consequently fol- lows that much of Mr. Herring's employment in his early days was unaided by teachers, but was the voluntary occupation of a lad keenly alive to the importance of mental training, and anxious to become proficient in the various branches of education. When the day came for him to go forth from the parental home into the world, there to seek his fortune, Mr. Herring was not alto- gether unprepared. He had acquired a fair stock of knowledge, and this, united with a hopeful self-rehance, was a promise, the realiza- tion of which his perseverance and urn-emitting labors finally made good. He was about seventeen years of age when he turned his back upon the old homestead, and with a full heart and a strong will started on the real journey of his life. An uncle of his resided in Albany — a merchant engaged in the wholesale grocery and prod- uce business in the then Liliputian capital of the State of New York. Entering the store of this relative in the capacity of a clerk, he for six years served him faithfully and energetically. At the ex- piration of this period of time his uncle, in appreciation of his fidelity and integrity, advanced him the sum of three thousand dollai's with 126 SILAS 0. HEERINQ. wliich to begin business on his own account. In co-partnership with one Mr. Gough, he engaged in the lottery and exchange business, in which he was very successful, saving in a few years some ten thousand dollars \\ith which he moved to the city of New York, having decided upon pursuing some other calling more congenial to his tastes. It was during the winter of 1834-5 that the firm of Herring & Greene opened a wholesale grocery establishment in New York. Their capital amounted to about twelve thousand dollars, and for some months their business prospei-ed well. In December of 1835, however, the memorable fire destroyed their store, but as they were insured they would have suifered comparatively little loss had not the insurance companies failed to meet theu* liabilities and gone into bankruptcy. The young firm, however, stood well with the mercan- tile community, and as their credit was good it was not long befoi'e they were again embarked in business. On their resumption they took in a third partner, and the tliree men worked energetically until the commercial crisis of IS 37, when they, with many others, failed. Every dollar they possessed was given up to their creditors, so that after a settlement had been effected, Mr. Herring found himself once more at the foot of the ladder, as poor as when he em- barked in life. The old saying, that " it is an ill wind that blows nobody good," is singularly applicable in Mr. Herring's case. What, appeared to him an irreparable misfortune when he failed, was really the event which made possible his present reputation and affiuence. We have all heard of the California miner who was the " most unlucky man in the diggings." He had spent months in searching for gold, and precious little of the precious metal could he find. At length he decided upon abandoning mining and turning his attention to agriculture. He settled upon a piece of land and began farming. Needing water, he started to dig a well and the old luck attended him. Not a drop of water could be found, but he did find one of the richest veins of gold in the State. HI luck made Mr. Herring 127 !.b;iiidon the grocery business, and seldom before has ill luck in any- thing benefited a man as it did him. Three years were passed in sharp sti-uggles with adverse fortunes, wlien a circumstance occur- red which settled the question of the future. For many years prior to 184i), mercantile men had sought in vain for some material whi<;h, constructed into boxes or chests, would secm-e their valuables from destruction by fire. The want was a very serious one and had occasioned severe losses, besides ruining more than one unfortunate man. In 1840 what were known as fire-chests were nothing more than iron boxes lined witli wood ! It may ap- pear laughable that such a combustible material should have been used as a protection against fire, but it must be borne in mind that wood is a poor conductor of heat, and as it was always specially prepared for the purpose it was better than nothing at all. Never- theless, wood-filled chests gave but poor satisfaction. If they could be got at before they became too hot, their contents were preserved, but if the fire enveloped a building and prevented access to them, they were as little protection to valuables as if they had been so much paper. The first real improvement was made when Mr. Wilder began the manufacture of safes lined with plaster of Paris. " The story of the origin of this plan of ' fire-proofing' is a little romantic," says a pamphlet before us, containing a history of " Her- ring's Patent Champion Safes." " It is said that an industrious me- chanic wa-s one day engaged in making moulds or casts with plaster of Paris. Having finished his labors, he was preparing to wash up, and for this purpose he attempted to heat some water in a kettle in which lie had mi.xed his calcined plaster. After stirring his fire im- patiently on several occasions, he was sui-prised to find that the water did not warm up with its accustomed rapidity, and a further in8j)ectii)n showed the bottom of the kettle retained the debris of his plaster-mixings. About the same time an old and well-known type founder of this city, (New York,) now deceased, but whose sons are still prominent as his successors, had noticed and remarked the non-conducting power of i>laater of Paris wlifii mixed witii water. SILAS 0. HEERINO. 5 as lie was constantly using it in his business, and had actually con- structed or lined a safe with this fire-proof composition as a protec- tion for valuables in his possession." This safe, the first one ever fiUed with plaster of Paris, and made nearly forty years ago. is now n Mr. Herring's store in New York. In 1840 there was a great trial of safes at CoflPee-lioii-e Slip, foot of Wall street in New York, the origin of it being a challenge fiuiu the manufacturer of the newly-introduced Salamander Safe. All the leading fire-proof chests then mad ewere subjected to the test, and all were destroyed, save the Salamander, which passed thi'ough the fiery ordeal successfully. Mr. Herring was a witness to this trial, and he resolved to engage in the business of manufacturing safes, perceiving, with intuition, that it was one capable of indefinite en- largement, and that the safes themselves were open to vast improve- ments, if thought and study as well as energy and pei'severance were devoted to them. He had previously made the acquaintance of Enos Wilder, the owner of the patent for the Salamander Safes, and this gentleman, who was engaged in manufacturing then, ob- serving Mr. Herring's enterprise and general business capacity, in- vited him to become the agent in the United States for the sale of the Salamander. Accepting the oflTer, Mr. Herring in 1841 began business. At first his sales were few, but with that shrewdness and tact which have been characteristic of the man throughout life, he deliberately lost money for a time, with a view of great profits in the future. All, or nearly all the commissions he received a- agent for Wilder's patent, he expended in advertising, and "Herring's column" in the newspapers became a household word. He furthermore placed his safes in many of the principal hotels, giving the use of them free of charge. As is always the case, his energy resulted favorably to him. In 1844, three years after he. entered into the business, he ceased holding the position of an ageut, having then purchased the sole right to manufacture the safes, paying Mr. Wilder a royalty of one cent per pound. i2d 6 SILAS 0. HE KBING. It 19 interestiug to note the progress of Mr. Herring's business. In 1841 his firet stock of safes was contained "in a little room not more than twenty by forty feet, and though prices then only ranged from $40 to $250, the sales of safes were very slow. Shortly after- ward the entire building, in which was the fii-st sales-room, was turned into a manufactory. The basement was the blacksmith's shop, or forging-room, and filing-room. The first fioor was the sales and paint-room. The two upper stories were occupied by the iron- workers, who cut the iron, framed the safes, and by the one solitary locksmith, wlio could furnish all the locks as fast as the safes were ready for them. This diminutive manufactory was situated on the corner of Water and Do Peyster streets, and it is related of Mr. Herring that when niglit came "he would put on his overalls and paint the safes himself." Time passed, dui-ing which Mr. Herring was unremitting in his endeavor to remove the many imperfections which existed in the Wilder safes. He studied and experimented until he had succeeded in making a safe which he felt convinced was superior to anything manufactured in the United States. Then it was that he sent out a challenge to aU the safe manufacturers of the country to test their safes with his. Gaylor, Delano, Franklin, of Brooklyn, and Scott, of Philadelphia, were the other principal safe-makers of the day, and they took up the challenge. A great trial was had at the foot of Wall street, where an immense brick furnace was constructed, into which the several safes were placed and subjected for many hours to the heat of a raging fire. One by one the lival safes yielded to the intense heat, but the Wilder safe resisted the flames to the last, and when it was opened its contents were found uninjured. As Mr. Herring had advertised his challenge extensively, the notoriety thus given the matter had awakened considerable interest on the part of the public in the result of the trial, and, as a consequence, his signal success was announced in almost every paper in the country, thereby benefiting his business materially. Mr. Herring had a large pic- ture made representing the trial scene, in which he had Horace 180 SILASC. II BERING. 7 Greeley, in his white coat, painted in the foreground. This picture was for many years used as a sign for his warehouse. The great fires of 1845, however, did more to estabhsh the reputation of his safes than anything else. " When," says a writer, " old-fashioned fire-proof securities proved false to their profession, and even solid vaults of stone and brick yielded to the fiery adversary, the Herring Salamander won its first laurels, and was accepted by the commu- nity as the ' coming safe,' and stepped into the position it has since so weQ. retained as ' the best security from fire now known.' " After some time passed in the building already described, Mr. HeiTing was compelled, by reason of the great increase in his busi- ness, to move his manufactory to a large building in Washington street, where he gave employment to twenty men. In 1849 a sec- ond move was found necessary, and he erected his present factory on the west side of the city of ISTew York. It is located at the junction of Ninth avenue with Hudson street and extends from Thirteenth to Fourteenth streets. The building covers a frontage of two hundred feet on Hudson street, is five stories in height, with a basement, occupies half an acre of ground, and, with the site, cost over one himdred and twenty thousand dollars. Each floor is di- vided into compartments for work of a special kind, "the second floor being appropriated more especially for the construction of burglar-proof safes, while the ordinary fire-proofs are made princi- pally on the fourth floor, and the locks and vaults and vault doors on the fifth floor. The engine that propels the machinery is in the basement, where are also the kUns, and a shear, operated by steam, for cutting boiler plates. Here the bar and plate iron are stored and the japanning is executed. The first floor is divided into rooms for filling, for painting, the offices, and awareroom for finished safes. The cabinet work is executed in an adjacent four-story building, and the foundry work in a distinct establishment, at 740 Greenwich St." In addition to this manufactory, there is a large factory and store in Philadelphia, and the same in Chicago. One would suppose that these accommodations are ample for all purposes, but the contrary is really the case. So rapidly has Mr. irerriiij,''s business increased, and so steadily is it increasing that the present resources have been found too limited. His iii-in have consequently purchased thirty- four lots, fronting on the Eleventh avenue, between Twentieth and Twenty-fii-st streets, in the city of N'ew York, with the view to building thereon. The contrast between the business now carried on by Mr. Her- ring and that carried on by him when he moved to Washington street, will be shown in the number of men in his employ now and then. In 1849 twenty men composed his entire force. At the pres- ent writing, his firm fm-nishes work to not less than five hundred men in the cities of New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. In 1845 a safe costing five hundred dollara was thought a wonder ; to-day Mr. Herring constructs safes or vaults costing fifty thousand dollars each. Mr. Herring's career is so associated with the history of fire-proof safes in this country, that the narration of the one may be regarded as the record of the other. He continued manufacturing under the "Wilder patent until 1852, when he ceased, having paid Mr. Wilder one hundred and fifty-four thousand dollars royalty in four years. The circumstance which led him to the change is interesting. In May, 1850, Mr. Spear, a chemist of Philadelphia, discovered that car- bonated chalk, a residuum in the manufacture of mineral water, was superior to any other substance then known as a non-conductor of heat and a resistant of fire. This composition he submitted to Mr. Herring, who at once engaged in experiments with it, and becoming- satisfied that it indeed possessed all the qualities claimed for it. paid Mr. Spear a large sum in cash for the secret, the condition being that the patent was to be taken out in his (Herring's) own name. This was done, and in 1851, having manufactured a safe in which the new composition was used, Mr. Herring took it to the London Exhibition of that year and challenged all the European manufacturers to a trial by fire. No maker ventured to compete with him. Mr. Herring then claimed that his safe was the best 132 SILAS C. H BERING. 9 protection against burglars manufactured, and to prove his assertion, placed one thousand dollars in the drawer and announced that any person who could open the safe and get at the drawer could have the money ; and he gave experimenters the liberty of using keys or not as suited them best. Mr. Herring then started for Paris, re- mained there nearly one month, and on his return found that his safe was still locked and the money secure in the drawer, having defied every effort to open it. The celebrity attained by "Herring's Patent" or " Champion " Safe is such that there is not a merchant in the country unfamiliar with its merits. Many years were devoted by Mr. Herring to its improvement, until to-day it is probably as perfect as human skill can make it. Not less than fifty thousand of the Herring Safes have been manufactured and sold, and such is the public confidence in them that the demand for them increases daily. Their value has been thoroughly tested in numerous fires, among which we may name the great conflagration at Portland, Maine, where every one of Mr. Herring's Safes preserved its contents uninjured, although subjected for several days to a heat of unprecedented intensity. It is this absolute security against loss which has given these safes their pre-eminence above all others manufactured, either in the United States or in Europe. Numerous medals and diplomas attest the value which impartial judges, appointed by industrial societies, place upon the " Herring Champion Safe." At the London Exhibition of 1851 it was awarded a medal ; at the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations, held at New York in 1853, it took the first prize. At the Exposition Universelle, held at Paris in 1867, Mr. Herring's Safe was also awarded a medal of the first class, the judges thereby indicating his as the best on exhibition. Heretofore we have referred to fire-proof safes exclusively. There is, however, another description of safes which have of late become especially prominent. "We refer to the celebrated. Burglar-proof Sales, Vaults and Chests, in the manufacture of which, Mr. Hei- ring's firm are without a rival in the world. The subject of this 133 10 s I 1. A S O . U K K E I N G . sketch has spent iiiiich time in solviiiij tlio problem wlietlicr a safe could not be made absolutely invulnerable to all the apjjliances known to burglars, and the solution was finally made. In Sussex County, New Jersey, there is found large quantities of Franklinite ore, from which is manufactured a material possessing peculiar qualities. It is beautiful in appearance, and is as hard as the finest tempered steel, and marks glass with the facility of a diamond. With much ingenuity this composition is so interwoven with wrought iron rods that while it may be bent by repeated blows it cannot be broken, and as one metal is harder than the other in attempting to drill through them, the tools used will naturally pierce the soft metal faster than the hard one, and will necessarily have their points de- stroyed by working sideways. A writer on the subject says of these safes : " A first-class Banker's Chest, as constructed by this firm, consists of tbree casings, one of wrought iron with angle corners, a casing of patent " high and low steel welded," being Bessemer soft steel and hard cast-steel combined — drQl proof and sledge proof — a casing of patent crystallized iron, (known as the Patent Franklinite,) two inches thick, with wrought iron rods cast through it and pro- jecting rivets on both sides, so that the entire thickness is three and one-fourth inches. Such a safe," he adds, " will not only overcome any drill or cutting tool, but is also a resistant against sledging or battering, which has been the weak point in safes in which hardened metal has found an integral part. These safes are also secured by combination locks, of which the best form is the double lock, being two complete locks in one, or, in other words, it has two knobs and two dials, both of which can be set on entirely diflPerent combinations, and either one will open the lock or throw back the bolt independent of the other." No other manufacturer in the world has the right to make these safes, because the exclusive use of the Franklinite or crystallized iron and the patent " high and low steel welded" is secured to Mr. Her- ring's firm by letters patent, and it is the use of these metals that secures the safes uijainst the attacks of burglars. Pr;H'tii-al ex- 134 SILAS C. HEEEINQ. 11 perience has demonstrated their extraordinary strength. At the Paris Exposition a test was made of the relative power of resistance of the Herring Burglar-pr(jof Safe and a Chatwood Safe — the lattei- being regarded the best made in Europe. The Chatwood safe had been made specially for the test of £600 which the mannfiicturer had offered, and was a grade higher than any he had on exhibition. Mr. Herring's was a third-class safe, but he nevertheless engaged in the competition without fear. Nor did the result belie his expecta- tions. A committee comprised of two Amei-icans, two Englishmen and a French Engineer, were appointed to deliver judgment. The test was the capacity of the safes for resisting forcible attempts to open them. An equal number of men set to work with wedges, crowbars and hammers, the Americans on the English safe, and the Englishmen on the American safe. In two hours and fifty-foui- minutes the Chatwood safe was open, while it took two English Civil Engineers and their three picked experts, armed with 101 dif- ferent tools, four hours and fourteen minutes to force open the Herring third class safe. The superiority of the latter was, of course, triumphantly demonstrated. In awarding to Mr. Herring the wager which depended upon the result, and which was given to charities, the committee ex^^ressed the formal opinion that " the Herring safe is the best in its capability of resisting drilling in- struments, gunpowder, steel wedges, crowbars, steel screws, or any kind of burglars' appliances.'' Another unsuccessful test was made in March, 1861, when a party of burglars endeavored to force an entrance into the Her- ring burglar-proof safe used by the New York Exchange Bank. They had from Saturday night to Monday morning in which to work. Having undermined the vault by digging a tunnel some seventy feet long under the adjoining building, they reached the base of the vault itself. They next proceeded to remove the front part of the heavy stone foundation, and having reached the large flagstone which formed the floor, they broke that by means of a jack-screw of great power and entered the vault. The burglars 135 13 BII.AS 0. 11 KKIJIN G. iioxt ftttomptod to drill into tlio safe. Some thirty holes were made in the outer i-.v^iiij?, hut when thoy came to the ceutre casino; the hardened iron turned the point of every tool. The dissection of the safe hy forcing the framework apart was next essayed, but all their efforts were futile, and the ruflians finally ahandoTied their nefarious work in despair. Over half a million of dollars were in the safe, and it is unquestionably true that every dollar would have been reached had the safe been that of any other maker. We have now shown, at some length, the superior excellence of the Champion Safe. To Mr. Herring belongs the credit for all the improvements which have made it what it is. A man of ordinary capacity could not have brought it to the state of perfection it has reached. Something more than mere business tact was required. Doubtless Mr. Herring spent many days and weeks in exjierimcnting with what may appear to the casual observer a trivial improvement, but which in reality forms an important addition to the strength of tbe safe. His was the work to study each point ; to discover what- ever was weak or wanting, and to remedy the difficiency ; to take up problems in its construction and to solve them ; to examine the de- tails, arrange and place them, each in its proper sphere, so that the whole might bo perfect. This is high mechanical art. It requires a certain genius which few men possess, and to the possession of which, in an eminent degree, must be attributed the great success Mr. Her- ring has achieved and the celebrity his safe has obtained. As we have before stated, the sales of the Champion Safes are enormous. They are to be found in all parts of the world, and so large is the de- uumd that it is necessary to keep a stock of about one thousand of them constantly on hand in the different warehouses. "Wliile devoting the greater part of his time to tlie manufacture of safes, Mr. Heri-ing has not been neglectful of other pui-suits. As a financier he has been prominent in New York. At different times he h:is been connected, »is Director or in other capacities, with the Broadway, and the Importer's and Trader's banks, the Manhattan and tlie Rroadwuv 8a\nngs banks, the Manhattan and the TS'ational Life 13 Insurance Companies, the Park Fire Insurance Companies, and thn Firemen's Fund Company, all of which are now floui-ishing and pros- perous institutions. Mr. Herring is also largely interested in the Ore- gon Iron Foundry of New York city, of the firm of Herring & Floyd, who are very largely engaged in the construction of gas works, and hold several valuable patents for improvements in making gas, which are being universally adopted throughout the United States, and has about a half million of doUars invested in different business entei-prises, on all of which he brings to bear the same energy, tact and shrewdness that have characterized his management of his safe manufactory. Although for many years one of the most prominent citizens of New York, and a man widely esteemed and respected, he has never sought the political field for honors. In 1847 and ISIS he served the metropolis of the country as an Assistant Alderman, and in 1849 as Alderman, of the Ninth Ward, having been elected to that posi- tion by the Whig party, of which he was a member. For the sake of having a good post-oiEce where he has his model farm at Brita- field, Hampden county, Massachusetts, he also holds the commission of postmaster ; but as neither of these offices can be regarded as political, it may be said that Mr. Hei-ring has remained throughout life free from the not always favorable influences of partizan politics. He has, however, always been a devoted lover of his country. Dur- ing the Rebellion he attested his love for the Union by aiding and upholding the government, and he gave a son to the cause, who fell at the battle of Mnrfreesboro. As a philanthropist, Mr. Herring is generally and well known. Large hearted and generous, it is not strange that he should have spent no inconsiderable sum in relieving the distresses of others. We may not know how many, many times he has extended the hand of cliarity to the poor and needy, for the really charitable are those least disposed to parade their deeds of benevolence to the world ; but we do know that he has always been foremost in promoting enterprise designed to alleviate the sufferings of, or to benefit humanity. He 137 I, A S C . n E K E I i was one of tlie original incorporators of the Juvenile Asylum, and gave a large sum of money to that institution. Mr. Herring has also always taken a keen interest in the educational progress of the country, as he attested in 1858, when he purchased the entire library of the late Dr. Credner, professor of Theology in the University of Gressen, Germany, and presented it as a gift to the TJniversalist Theological Seminary at Clinton, in St. Lawrence county, New York. This library consisted of over 2,500 volumes, and was of great value. He has more recently contributed $5000 to the same institution for the erection of a fire-proof library building, which will cost over ^10,000, and is now known and styled as the " Herring Library." Of Mr. Herring personally, we can speak in the highest praise. He is a man of sterling integrity and honor. During the long years of his extensive business experience, his reputation for honesty has never once been tarnished. His word has always been a bond never to be broken. Possessed of a thorough knowledge of men, he has always been able to gather around him those that could best appre ciate and understand his desires. And, perhaps, to this quality, is due his success more than anything else. As an inventor and manu- facturer he is singularly unselfish. He recognizes merit and aids the meritorious at every opportuirity. Believing in the old adage that one is never too old to learn, he has always been open to suggestions. The young inventor is never turned away. If a perfect stranger ex- hibits to him an idea of something that he thinks will improve his safes, he will examine and st\idy it carefully. Probably it is not worth anything, nevertheless Mr. Herring will not dismiss it until he has thoroughly convinced himself of its worthlessness. We have already referred to his skill and enterprise in the direction and government of the business to which he has been devoted assiduously and unre- mittingly during thirty yeai-s. Indeed nothing less than ability of a high order, and close personal application could have won for Mr. Herring the eminence and affluence he has attained. Some men have greatness thrust upon them, others reach the goal of their am- bition by dint of hard labor, by uncommon energy and by native 138 talent. To the latter class belongs the subject of this sketch. His was no rose-strewn path of life. Many rocks and thorns were on the road he traversed, and they bruised and stung him often before he had reached the desired haven. Meeting with many vicissitudes, exjjeriencing, in the fullest sense of the expression the ups and downs of the world, he pushed on, undaunted by reverses, keeping his eye steadily fixed upon the goal to which he aspired and never paused until it had been gained. And when we bear in mind that, amidst all the changes of fortune— all the disappointments and delays— he remained true to the early lessons of integrity which had been taught him, we can justly extend to Mr. Herring that meed of praise which belong to the deserving. In person, Mr. Herring is a man somewhat above the average height. His features are regular and expressive, his brow broad and ample, denoting more than ordinary intellectual ability, and his eyes deep-set and penetrating. He possesses a most genial and pleasant countenance. And, indeed, he is a most amiable gentleman— one of those men who, though his hair may turn gray, and lines furrow his cheek, never grow old. As a companion he is affable, sociable and entertaining. He enjoys a joke and has a hearty laugh for whatever is mirthful. Easily approached by all, making no distinctions of classes, assuming no superiority over others, it is not to be wondered at that he is beloved by all who know him. He is the spirit and life of a social party. Wherever Mr. Herring ha])pens to be, wit, humor and pleasure may be found. A close observer of mankind, and a great reader he forgets nothing and learns everything. As a conse- quence he is full of anecdotes, and his reminiscences, which he is fond of narrating, would, if written out and published, make a volume of more than ordinary interest. We know of no other man of his eminence who unites to business talent and large wealth, the graces and amenities of social life to as great a degree as he unites them. We are sure that his unvarying cheerfulness, his never-failing cour- tesy, and the franic, winm'ng smile which is habitual on his counten- 139 16 SILAS C. H KK KINO. anco, aro the best indications not only of his amiability of temper, but of the possession of a heart as light and free as an infant's, and of a career whoso past and present contains nothing for self-re- proach. 140 //, y.^y-"^"'"/ / i^y^yj/Zf^y GEORGE OPDYKE. ^PfTEOEGE OPDYKE stands prominent among the profound v¥M thinkers and writers on questions of political economy, at *-'*-^ the present day. Possessing rare sagacity, intuitive per- ception, comhined with deep research, his name is a tower of strength among financial men. His influence in the councils of the nation, during the dark days of the war, though unknown to the masses, was powerfully exercised, and forms an important chapter in the un- written history of the country. Mr. Opdyke was born about the year 1807, at Kingwood, Uun- terdon Co., N. J. He is a descendant, as his name indicates, of the time-honoied Knickerbockers. An ancestor of his, one Gysbert Op- dyke, as appears in the colonial history of New York, was Commissary- General under the Dutch Government, about the year 1640. At a later date the family settled in New Jersey. Mr. Opdyke's grandfather held the office of Justice of the Peace fifty years, and it is reported of him that his legal decisions, always cautiously and thoroughly considered, though occasionally appealed from, were never reversed. The father of Mr. Opdyke was eminent as a man of sound judgment and uprightness of character. He was often applied to by his neighbors to arbitrate in matters of dispute. George Opdyke commenced life as a farmer, and having enjoyed a few winter's schooling at the early age of sixteen assumed the role of teacher. Even in the discipline of his scholars, many of whom were older thanhimself, his able executive abilities were prominently indicated. Decisive, prompt, and fearless in the discharge of his du- 141 lii's. ill iliis, liis lli-st jnililir uiulortiikiiij;, ho was cuiinontly siuwss- (ul. A low y(>ais liilor, lio ooii\iuoiuvd tnulo in Clovi'laml, Ohio, whon thill now tlouiisliiiijc vilv was wnsidoml lo ho in llio far Wost. Not lonj? aflorwanl, wo liiul him in Now Orloans, oiiiiai^nl in tlio olothiiij? lraiU«. In lvS;?-J l>o tianslonva his hnsinoss to Now York Citv, whoiv l\o has siiuv romainod a prouiinont ai\il liiijldy snooosstul hnsinoss man. Mis lii-st aiipoaraiioo in tl»t> jiolilioalaiviia of wliivli wo liavo kiunv- hHl^sjt>, was as a »U'loi;ato to tho UntValo Convontion, whoiv ho sorvoa on tho ooinmillvv that frainod iho Kiw Soil rialforni. In K^.VS ho was ol^vtl^l to tl)o Sinto liO^ishituiv, and took a voiy |.n>niinont part in opposing? tlio i\nrnpt sohon\os for phmdoiing tho oily of vaUiahU> franoliistvs. Thiw yoai-s hitor. ho was olootoil Mayor of tho rity of Now York. In tl\o disol\!irgv> of his tmhious dutios »Inring tho torm of his otUi*o, ho distinjjuishiHl hiiiisolf as a man of oxtraorvliuarv oxoouiivo talont. <.>ur siKKV will tvot pormit us to jKirlioiilariKO tho many important aots of his administnUion. \Vo should ivmark, howovor, that tho suppi\\>ision of tho owr-mou»or.vhlo riot was duo, in givat jvirt, to las pi\>mpt division and ouoi-sotio action, during tho dark days that in- torvouovl Ikmwivu tho 13th and I7th of duly, ISlJa. Those who di>- siiv to iHHvmo familiar with tho history of 2sow York City dming tho ovonttul yivu-s l^ti'J and lSt>3, should not fail to mul Air, Op- dyko's Mayondty Uvvumonts, puhlishi-tl in ISiUi, by Hui\i «.<: Hough- ton. Thoy fvuiu a nt\it voUnno of nwuly 4t.X.1 i>agi>s. and contain ma HOI'S of s|KV»al intoavsi. Mr, l>|Hlyko wntinu»\l in tho dry gvods tnulo \mtil the bi'ginning of tho ymr l*^t>7. His kuowKnlgi^ of tho situation of national atVairs li\l hiu» to tho ^\nrxvt vxniclusion that legitimate business, on the awnigw would for « term l>e vmpivtiiablo, and he theivforv very wis^dy n^tinnl ft\uu an actiw i^utioii»j\tiou it\ the tmde whonMu he had aanimulattnl a handsome fortutie. Having Kvn apjHunteii a deU^tv to the Co«»ventiou fo'- tho Uevisiou of the Ooustitutiou of 14-2 OKOUGE Of'OVKK. ?, the Btate of New Yurk, ho gave the (p-nnUir jiortion of his time to tbit irijportaiit work during the year 18(J8, Mr. Opdyke is a special partner in the ext^jnaive dry goo'ls hoiiHC of W. I. Peake & Co,, and ako in the enteq>rising clothing firrns of Henry & John Paret, and Oarharfc, Whitford & Co. He ia a dir^^ctor in one of the largest hanks in the city, presi'l/^nt of an insurance company, and the sf^nior member of the well known, enterprising, and high-tone- ject had not a tithe of the interest attached to it that it has at the present time. In the desei-vedly popular works of John Stuart Mill, 143 . 4 OKOIttiE Ol-DYKK. Ailaiu Smith, Henry C. Ciircy, aiul otlieva, on Politiail Kconomy, the subject of money is treiitcd iii a maimer that indicates beyond .question complete subserviency to prevailing prejudices relative to the real office-work of money. Not so with Mr. Opdyke; he soars above prejudice, and brings his acute reasoning powers to bear upon the principles which govern finance and commerce. It is a duty incumbent ujion Mr. Opdyke to revise his work, un- der the light of the present, and to have it published at tlie earliest practicable moment. Public opinion most justly assigns Mr. Opdyke a place in the very front rank, not only of eminent merchants, but also of profound thinkers and vigorous writers, especially on the economic questions of the day. We only wish that the honor which is so heartily ac- corded him might contribute som 'what towards raising up others "of his like" in ihis imjjo taut lield 144 C yy. 'Ji( yni"-'*'i^^ CYRUS HALL MCCORMICK. HEEE are few tasks more difficult than to write the life of an inventor. The world is quick to aj^preciate the exploits and herald the fame of the successful soldier. His laurels are won upon a field toward which every eye is turned with in- tense interest, and upon whose issue the destiny of a nation pal- pably hangs. A single masterly movement of his columns kindles a thousand bonfires, and makes his name live in 'the memorial- bronze or the stately shaft. Not so, however, with the in\entor. " Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war ; " but the victories of peace are silent, and the victor must often be content with the refle(;tiou that cheered the immortal Kepler, "my work is done; it can well wait a century for its readers, since God waited full six thousand years before there came a man capable of comprehending and admiring his work." Happily, in the case of the man whose name is now before us as foremost in the history of agricultural invention and progress during the present age, tlie quiet achievement of his early life, and the arduous toils of his riper years, have, in his world-wide fame as well as liis commercial success, already received in a measure their merited reward. It is related of Cromwell, by the historian Macaulay, that when he sat for his last portrait, it was with the stern but noble injunc- tion to Sir Peter Lely — " Paint all my scars and my wrinkles or I will not pay you a farthing ; " and, in undertaking the present memoir, it is with no desire to ofi"er encomium, but simply to in- terpret living facts for the benefit of the living. It was Virginia that, in 1780, in response to the appeal of Gou- 145 2 CYRUS UALL McCORMICK. gress, opened her princely hand and gave away the Northwestern Territory to the Union, and it was tlie same old State that afterward gave to the Northwest the Reaper by whicli its uuequaled develop- ment has been eft'ected. Mr. MeCorniiek was born February 15, 1809, at "Walnut Grove " (the family residence), in Rockbridge County, Virginia. His father, Robert McCormick, and his mother, whose maiden name was Mary Ann Hall, were both of Scotch-Irish descent, and natives, the former of Rockbridge, the latter of Augusta County The father was a farmer, owning several fiums, with saw and grist mills, and having shops for blaeksraithing, carpentering, machinery, etc., in which his own mechanical ingenuity and that of young Cyrus found scope for exercise and experiment. The son did not have the advantages of a collegiate education His studies were limited to the English branches, such as could be obtained in the common schools of the country — " the old field school^'' sometimes called— an institution, however, which, if judged by its fruits, did a great work in training some of Virginia's most elegant writei-s and forcible oratoi-s, as Patrick Henry, Henry Clay, and othei-s. The old Virginia school did its work upon the subject of this notice, not without co-operative agencies. The workshop is, to a boy that thinks, an arena in which he is to put into practice all that he has learned. The youth who ferrets out the mechanism of a locomotive and constructs one for his amusement, if you choose, tliough it be only a plaything to run across his yard, has done more for his education than if he had mastered a book in geome- try ; and in the end he has more mental muscle and sinew to show for it. When Cyrus was tifteen years old he employed his inventive gitV in the construction of a " cradle" which he used in cutting with the harvestmen in the field. During his son's youth, the elder McCormick busied himself with the invention of several valuable machines, upon some of which he obtained letters patent, embracing thrashijig, hydraulic, hemp-break- 146 CYRUS HALL McCORMICK. 3 ing, etc ; and in 1816 he contrived a machine for reaping which would cut the grain when standing up straight, but which proved wholly unavailable when the grain was in a matted or tangled state. His experiment was made on the plan of having a number of ver- tical cylinders, 8 or 10 inches in diameter, placed in line at right angles to the line of draft of the machine, which cylinders, in their revolutions, gathered the standing grain to stationary serrated cut- ting hooks, and when the stalks were severed on these hooks the grain was carried by leather straps to the side of the machine and delivered m swath. " At the commencement of the harvest of 1831 Mr. Robert McCormick made another trial of his macliine, again witliout a practical success, and when, being satisfied that his principle of operation could not succeed, he laid it aside and abandoned the further prosecution of his idea. His son, who had this time been witnessing his father's experi- ments with much interest, then perceiving the difficulties in the way of his father's suc- cess—while never liimself having seen, or heard of, any other experiments or principles tried but his father's in connection with grain reaping by horse-power — devoted himself most laboriously to the discovery of a principle of operation upon which to carry out the great object for which his father had labored both mentally and physically for fifteen years. " Finding, as his father also had found, that the difficulty of separating the grain to be cut between each two of the cylinders, when in a fallen or tangled state, was insur- mountable ; and tliat, therefore, to succeed, the grain must be cut in a body without such separation, except at the line of division between the swath to be cut and the grain to be left standing (at which point the ascertained difficulty of separating had to be overcome), the question first to be solved was how that was possible. In his reflections and rea- soning on this point it occurred to him that to eflect tl:o cutting of the grain by a cutting instrument, a certain amount of molion was only necessary, which was demonstrated by the action on the grain of the cradle then in common use. The next thought was that wl/ile tlie motion forward as drawn by horses was not sufiScient, a lateral motion must at the same time be communicated to the cutting instrument, which, combined with the forward motion, would be sufficient to effect the cutting process as the machine advanced upon the grain. How then was this to be effected ? i'Two different methods occurred to the mind of the inventor before he undertook to put eitlier to the test of a trial in the field. One was that of a revolving wheel placed horizontally (as the wheel of a cart) and drawn forward against the grain, whUe caused to revolve rapidly on its axis, having a cutting edge placed on its periphery. "Not satisfied however with tliis idea— many objections and difficulties in the way of its success presenting themselves to tlie mind of Mr. McCormick— his next idea, which proved to be the foundation upon wliich his great invention was finally based, was that of communicating by a crank the requisite lateral reciprocating motion to a straight cutting blade, placed at right angles to the lino of draught of the macliine. This first principle he immediately put to the test by (himself) constructing in a temporary manner the required gear-wheels and frame-work, and applying it to the cutting of grain, when the cuUing, 3 147 4 OTRPS HALL MoOOliMICK. then by n smootli odtjo, was well done, b\it when lie imnu'ilintely disooveroil the import- une* ol siipvuirliiiK Uio Krai" «' the cilgo of Uio bliido bv ijmrJ-fmijcis, wiHi which ho iiniletl Iho .vritiita/ (ti/j/o to llio witling bliido ; mid iilso Uio uuiiortnnco of Imviiig a device (br(rethlre- sented to engage in an iron-smelting business, w^hich seemed to promise larger profits than farming, and soon Mr. McCormick entered into it. But during the financial revulsion of about 1837, and in connection with some misfortunes in the working of their smelting furnace, his business partner, foreseeing the coming storm, covered his private property with deeds of trust in favor of his friends ; and when, subsequently, failure overtook the firm, the ruin fell mainly upon the inventor. This failure, like similar fail- ures, proved, perhaps, a "blessing in disguise." Stripping himself of all his capital, Mr. McCormick met and liquidated all the liabil- ities he had incurred. Applying himself then to his work with renewed vigor, in 1839 the sale and introduction of the Reaper into general use commenced, and its reputation extended rapidly into the great centers of agiicultural interests and improvement. In 1845 he removed to Cincinnati, resolved to devote himself to the one thing of establishing himself in the then emporium of the grain-growing West, and in widening the intioduction of his machines. They were first patented in 1834, but in 1845 he obtained a second patent for several valuable improvements in them. In 1846-Y-8 he had also some of his machines manufactured in Brockport, New York, the makers paying him a "royalty" on all they sold, and taking, as security for advances, farmers' orders for machines, as procured by Mr. McCormick. Inl847 a third patent was granted him for improvements still more valuable; and in 1858 another valuable patent was granted to him, and still another to himself and brothers. Foreseeing prior to 1847 that Chicago was to become the center of the agri- cultural empire of the "West, from its commanding position at the head of lake navigation, Mr. McCormick then made this city his 149 Q CTRUSnAF,!. MoCORMTCK. home and prosecuted his cnterpiisc far and wide in radiating linos. In 1848. seven hundred of liis machines were made and sold. The yoar 1849 saw the annual sale of the MeCorniick Reapers and Mowers reach the hii,di figure of fifteen hundred. Since then the iiumlMr .ad laid open a new world." As much may be said of the Reaper. No such mechanism can be given to any branch of human industry, without stimulating the energies and quickening the ardor of scientific investigation every wliere. Experiment and tlieory are inseparable. Science has many votaries whose adoration is unrestrained, and whose offerings at her shrine are of the costli- est nature. But it is by utilizing the simplest elements of science, as Mr. McCormick has done, that she is elevated to her true dig- nity. Tiiis is, in Mr. Hallam's words. '• to turn that which has been a blind veneration into a rational worship." But to resume the history of the invention itself: a field 152 CTRTJS HALL McCORMICK. 9 trial of the machine, with that of Ohed Hussey, was made near Richmond, Virginia, in cutting wheat, in the harvest of 1843, in the presence of a large number of the most skillful farmers and agriculturist^of that part of the State, most expert in the husband- man's art. A committee, selected by and from those assembled on this occasion, made a report in favor of the McCormick machine. Mr. Hussey, whose invention was two years later than that of Mr. McCormick, was his only competitor in the business until about 18i9 or 1850, when Manny in the West, and Seymour & Morgan in the East, commenced business — after the expiration of McCormick's first patent of 1834. In 1845 the Gold Medal of the American Institute was awarded to Mr. McCormick for his invention. At the World's Fair, in London, in 1851, the first international institution of the kind convened in history, after two trials in the field — the first on Mechi's celebrated " model farm," and the second on that of the Hon. Philip Pusey, M. P. — Mr. McCormick was awarded the " Council Medal " of the Exhibition, " for the most valuable article contributed to it," and its " originality and value " — awarded by the Council of Juries, and one of only four such medals awarded by the Exhibition to the United States. The London Times, which, prior to the trial of the reaper in the field, had — in ridicule of it and of the meagreness of the American department of the Exhibition — characterized it as " a cross between an Astley chariot, a wheelbarrow, and a flying machine," writing after the trial, said it was "the most valuable article in the Exhibition, and of sufficient value alone to pay the whole expense of the Exhibition." Mr. Hussey's machine competed at this Exhibition, himself being present. In 1855, after a field trial with all other machines, the Grand Gold Medal was given to Mi-. McCormick, at the Paris Exposition, for his Peaper and Mower, as furnishing •' the type after which all others were made, as well as for the best operating machine in the 153 10 II A 1, L M C I! M 1 K . ticlii." Tliis was otio of tlnvo siu'li iiunials only that were awnnleJ in tho ngrioullunil doi>artimMit ol' tlio Kxpositioii. lu 18(i'J, tlio I'l-izc Meilal was iiwanlod tlio AiiU'ricaii iuvontor hy tho Loiukui lntoniatii)iml Exiiiliition. Tho lir»t j)rizo, in tho only iioW oxperiiuont iinuh' in Kii^laiul v>f all tho rival niaohitios at tho Kxhihition, was pivsoutod to Mr. McCormiik. Tiio tirst i>rizo was awardoii to tho MoOonnick Eoapor at the Intornutional Exhibition hokl, at Lille, Frauce, as late as 1S63, after 11 lioUl trial of tho sharpest competition with all other machines. Durinjj tho harvest of the snnio year (1SG3), in a most spirited and hard-fonjiht tield-oontost of Reapoi-s at tJio great International Exliibition of Hamburg, tho Gold ^[odal was unanimously awarded to Mr. ^loCormick, in tho language of tho judges, for tho best niacliine exhibited, and for " the practical introduction and im- provement or perfecting of the Reaping Machine." From this Exhibition, Govoruor Joseph A. Wright, United States Oommissionor, in a communication made to the press of this country, said : " McOormick thrashes all nations, and walks »>ff with the Golden Modal." Many other European Exhibitions, to say nothing of numerous State Eaii-s in America, have, with unanimity, awarded the McOor- mick Reaper and Mower their highest premiums. The National United States Agricultural Society, ailor a great trial of Reaping Machines, extending through nine days, at Syi-acuse, New York, in lSr>7, awarded ^[r. McCormick the highest prize, their Grand Gold Medal of Honor. Next, and more striking still, we mention the Groat Exposition of all Ni'tions, mooting in Congress at Psu'is, in 1807. lu tho report o'( tho International Jury of this Universal Expo- eition, published by the Imperial Commission, ooi'Ui*s this stateiuont : "The man who has hibored most in the ^oneral distribnlion, perlectiou, and discov- ery of tho first praotical ReaiH>r, is assiirodly Mr. MoOormiok, of Ohicagv\ Illinois. It was in 1$31 that this iogenious and porseveriug inventor construoted tli* first ma- 154 ALL Mccormick. chines of this kind, rude and imperfect when fiist tried. In all the Universal Bxpoai- tion«, the first prize has been awarded to this admirable implement, and at this time, at Viucennes, as at Foullleuse, under tlie inost difficult condilioiis, its triumph lias been complete. Equally as a benefactor of humanity, and as a skillful mechanician, Mr McCormick has been judged wortliy of the highest distinction of the Expos osition. This report was made hy Eugeue Tisserand, Director-General of the Imperial Domains. M. Aureliano, of the Danubian Principalities, in an independent repoi-t, published by the Exposition, says: — " It is Mr. McCormick who invented the first Reaper. He occupied himself with tills question from 1831, and in 1851 there was seen, for the first time, figuring at the Exposition in London, a model Reaper. We have thought it necessary to give some details on the origin of Reapers, and in particular on those of Mr. McCormick, which are, it may be said, the type after which all others have been constructed." After the triumph of McCormick's machine in the two great public trials on the Emperor's farms at Fouilleuse and Vincennes, he was invited by the Emperor to a private exhibition of his Reaper on his farm at Chalons, for the inspection of himself and officers of his army, then stationed at that military camp. It was accordingly put in operation there, under the superintendence of Mr. McCormick, and witnessed with great interest and satisfac- tion for some three-quarters of an hour by the Emperor, Marshal McNeil, Director-General Tisserand, and others. At this field trial, his Majesty was so pleased with the Reaper, that, acting under the impulse of the moment, he proposed to decorate Mr. McCormick with the cross of the Legion of Honor on the spot, and was only deterred from so doing by one of the ofHcers, who suggested that such a course, not being en rerjle, would tend to give dissatisfaction to rival exhibitors. Among the entries of the most magnificent awards of the ExDosrtion are : — "Gband Peize. 0. H. McCormick — Reapek. GoU) Medal. C. H. McCouMiGK— Rkapee and Mowee. DlI'LOMA OP CheVAWER. Imperial Ordkr op toe Legion of Honor. NOMI.NATION of CHARACTPa i5i} 12 CYUrS UALL MoCOKMlCK. Bit J/iv«s*y, t\.-aKe, ./ th» /„ij>fr.iil OnUr 4 the Lojion of Jlvmr, Mr. JlcOiiimcIt, 0/ Wiicuyo. IXVES WB OF A jjKW RKAMXO UACiiixK, Kthibitor, to tak nvikfrvm this dmj. PiJUS, 9W Jiinuary, ISOS."* The orisiinnlity, as well as value, of the inveiitiou was further eiiiphasizeil iu the otlicial report : "The mau," it says, "who has worked tho most to (he discovery of the first praoli- cal Roajier, and to the perleotion aud K^ncraliratioii of the niadiiiies, is assuredly Mr. McCoriniolv, of Chicago, lUiuois. U was in 1S31 that this ingenious and assiduous in- yontor coustruoieii tlie tirst machine of tliis kind." Mr. McConuiek was the only exhibitor, in this greatest of all the ^reat international exhibitions, who reeeived tho Decaration of the Legion of Honor for " ihe incention " of his machine ; and also the only person in the Exposition who received boi/i the Deco- nition aini Us iiriinJ Prhe. In a great trial ot Keapei-s at Alteiiberg. Hungary, held in July, «t the rtx'oinniendation of the Hungarian governineut, at whicli not less tiian thirty^nght competing machines were catalogued. the tirst prize, a Gold Medal, aud sixty ducats were awarded to the McOoriuick Keaper. And, finally, iu the last harvest, of 1S69, in the special luter- natioiial Exhibition of Keapere held at Altona, Prussia, there was awsmied to the ilcCormick Reaper a diploma called the " Kappell of previous Gold Medals." which, in the language of the otScial correspondent, conimtniicating the intelligence, "■ the Exliibitiou placed alxne the Gold Medal." Inventors are sometimes unfairly reckoned among those erratic specimens of the raw. who, poet-like, are "born, not made."' They sire, in la>.t, not generally what sir© called business men. They are in nnuiy cases inclined to b© visionary, and without sufficient stability of pnr^^ose to pursue any one thing long and perseveringly enough to make it a success, even when success is attainable; such aiv often the difficulties through which a great success is achieved by an inventor. • The di editor of tho North Brifuh Aiiriculturit>t shows miK'li mil for his coiiiitniuan's (Rev. Pat- rick lU'in miu-l(iiio, wo must say tliat wo tliiiik tlio facts aiul ar- guiuonts of Mr. Mi'C\>niui'k arc prosentod witli a cloaniess and foivo whioh sooiu unansworablo in ostablishing that lio was thofii-st to invont tho K>ailii\g foatnros of the succossful Roaping Mai-hino of tho prosont ihiv ; that ho continuod roguhirly tho iniprovoniont ;uul prosecution of tlu> same to tlio perlbotiou of tho niacliino, and tliat tliis— in the sUglitly-varied hmguago of tho diifevent scientific juries of tlie various Great International Exhibitions of the world — consti- tutes tho invention of tho Iveaping Macliiiio." " In fact," says this London journal, " before the Great National Exhibition of 1S51, if Reaping MacJiines were invented, they wore unknown to tho English farmei-s. We extract some paragraphs frvMu i\[r. McCormick's letter, which appeared in the North British Atjricuituri-nt of October 15th, which soouis to have closed tho dis- cussion and appeai-s to us to settle tho question.'' (..l/.n-A- Z(i;i«' Aj;/>/'c.w.) The following is tlie letter ret'errod to by the 2Iark Lan^ Kfj>r^s : — Palace noTKL, BncKuronAM Oate, Lonpojj, Och-btr 12, 1863. Sir : — .\s stntoit in my loticr of last wcok, I did hopo there \vo\ild be no occasion for my ftirthor usa 01" tho columna of tho .4j,-ri;-u;inioii. This, too, when it was argued that a verdict for plaint ifl" would not onlv ruin doloiulant, but prevent the niamifaeture of a single Eeap- iug Machine without a license from plaintiff, while a verdict for defendant would leave plaintiff in possession of his patents and business imaffected. Nevertheless, it was believed by counsel for plaintiff that, had a full court of nine judges been sitting, the ma- jority would have rendered a verdict for plaintiff. Tiie result, however, did not discourage Mr. McCormick. He appears to have learned at an early period of liis life the difficult art of turning defeat into victory, and securing the fruits of every success by chas- tening it with moderation and prudence ; for without these success was unattainable, the path of the inventor lying amid chilling dis- appointments, not less forbidding than those which often beset the track of the Arctic explorer. With the invention of the Reaper, Mr. McCormick's fertility of mind was by no means exhausted, but rather quickened and stim- ulated. Prior to his invention of the Reaper, he invented and patented two plows for hon'zcynial plowing on hilly ground. The second of these Ingenious contrivances, especially, called a " Stlf- S/tai'j)^nlng Horizontal Plow," while skillfully arranged, was simple and effective in its construction and a very valuable and superior implement to the agriculturist in hilly countries. But, suffering delay (as did the Reaper at first) in getting the merits of the invention prominently before the public, and not procuring the extension of the patent, it gradually fell into disuse for want of the requisite attention and pei-severance in its introduction. Although his great invention must be regarded as the distin- guishing triumph of Mr. McCormick's life, there are other fields in which his character has been developed and his influence felt. He is known to the public not only by his former connection with the religious and secular press of Chicago, but by the contro- versies, like those we have alreadv alluded to, into which he has 162 CTEU8 HALL McCOEMICK. ^9 been drawn, in the prosecution of his leading aims of life nnd defense of his course as a piihlic man. In his political course Mr. McCormick has ever acted with de- cision and consistency, following without faltering or compromise his convictions of right. With this fact in view, it will not seem Burpnsmg that in times of great national excitement, his opinions have been misrepresented by some and misunderstood by others Born and reared in the South, having his home in the West and his business associations leading him into close intercourse with the East, he has ever been in the Iroadest sense of the term, a national man, free from those sectional prejudices which have resulted so unfortunately for the nation. The platform on which he firmly stood during the war was that of national union and the rights of the respective States under the Federal Constitution. Convinced that the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency in 1800, by a purely sectional vote, would afford an excuse or serve as apretext for precipitating disorder and civil strife upon the country and impressed with the belief, by his intimate knowledge of Southern' character, that the war, if inaugurated, would be prolonged and disastrous, he labored earnestly for the success of the Democratic party, regarding it as the only party that could present a successful barrier against disunion on the one hand, or Federal encroachments on the other, and thus bring peace to a divided people. He at- tended the Democratic National Convention in Baltimore, and it 18 due to him to state that had his counsels been followed the disruption that ensued would not have taken j.lace. In 1864, dur- ing the spirited Presidential contest between Lincoln and McCleL Ian, he was presented by the Democratic and Conservative voters of Chicago as their candidate for Congress, and, althou-h unsuc- cessful, conducted the most vigorous political contest ever known in that city. Mr. McCormick was an advocate of peace, on a basis honor- able alike to the North and to the South. During the contest it was charged by the Republicans that the Democratic party do- 163 30 CTRUS HALI, MoCORMIOK. Bifjiuvl a (lislioiioriililo i«>iu-o willi tlio South ; luul sultscinicnt to tilt' tiiiimiili (if Mr. liiiicolii, wIrmi no Bucli sospicioii (•oiiM lie onti'i-- tiiiiu'.l, Mr. M<(\>nuick ])ublishcd ii proposition tliut llu> Dimiio- iTHtio p:>ilv, liv coiivfMlion, ulioiilil si-lt'ct ii I'oininissioii from tiio Doniocriicv, wllli llio sanction of rri'sidont IJnroIn, to moot ii similiir lii'ion-iition fiom tlio Sontli, to olU-ct n tormination ,.f tlio war, in a ivstm'ation of liu' I'nioii — a proposition roroivcii with niiicli favor by prominent Democrats and consorvativo lu'publicans, Riid h_v sonio h>a(iing nowspapors on both sides; but the measure faili'd from tlio ditlicnlty of obtaining a rail of the I'onvontion, In lSr>0, llio Bubjoot of this noliee founded and nuinitieently en- dowed the Thet)lo_gieal Soniinarj- of the Northwest, at Chieago. After the institution, however, had fairly entered njion its career, it, unfortunately, fell into the hands of a small but irresponsible and unreliable party, detorniined to pervert tlio endowment from the purpose it was originally designed to accomplish. Unwilling that the fund he had bestowed for a specific object should bo used in vii)lation of tlio terms and conditions on which it had been given, the donor firmly refused to pay over tho last installment on his bond as denumded of him, or so long as the seminary ivmaiiiod luuler tlio control of Those who grossly misrepresented its founder, and tlio friends with whom he co-operated. Tlio professor who had caused himself to bo put in the "McCoriuick Chair of Theology," in " A long and severe tirade," printed in a church paper, went so far as to charge Mr. MeCormiek with simony. But, in a series of letters (published in ISOS and IStiO, in the ^"'ortAwe^itt'rn Presht/if- rian), which, for dignity, chastencss of style, and clear analysis have seldom been excelled in controvoi-sial discussions, Mr. MeCor- miek vindicated himself from the charges made against him, and prt>ved that, like Shyloek of old, his adversary had harped only on " the bond ! the bond 1 " In answer to this malicious attack Mr. i[oCormiok replied by a dignified and unvarnished recital of facts, supported by a weight of evidence crushing to his opponent. Subscipientlv tho com- it;4 CYKUS UALL McCOKMIOK. 21 mittce appointed by the General Assembly to investigate these Seminary difficnlties made a unanimous report, fully sustaining Mr. MeCormick in the course he had jnirsued and releasing him from the payment of the "simony" bond 1 Within a few years Mr, McCormick liaa endowed a Professorship in Washington College, Virginia, an institution founded by and named in honor of " the father of his country^'' — recently under tho presidency of General Robert E. Lee. lie also has made large dona- tions to the Union Theological Seminary of Virginia, and to other societies in connection with the Presbyterian Church. During his eventful struggle, on many iields of ardent and painful rivalry, Mr. McCormick remained single until the year 1858. He then married a daughter of Melzar Fowler, an orpban niece of Judge E. G. Merick (at the time, of Clayton, Jefferson County, New York, but at present a citizen of Detroit), a highly gifted and accomplished lady, whose elegant and kindly attractions grace her hospitable mansion. He has four interesting children, one son and three daughters. The eldest, eleven years of age, is a boy of more than ordinary intelligence. The valley of Virginia, especially that portion around Lexing- ton, was largely settled by families adhering in sentiments to the political cause of Cromwell, and by the Old School Presbyterians, in whose creed Mr. McCormick was instructed, and which he afterward embraced, in about tlie twenty-fifth year of his age. In 1865 he removed from Chicago to New York, where he became interested in some important enterprises, including the Union Pacific Kailroad, in which for some years he has been a Director. And, now, in bringing this imperfect notice to a close, we may add a word upon the story it conveys. The individuality of the inventor is lost in the value of the invention. A late writer, after brilliantly portraying the events which led to the discovery of the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Nunez, remarks: "Every great and 165 orii;iiii»l lu-iiou luis ii pivsi'i'i'iivo groatuess - not tilone from the tluuiijlit of tlio iium wlio lU'liiovi'd it, but from tlio various aspect** ami hi"h thoiij^lita which tho saiiio tu'tiou will continue to present anil call up in the minds of others to the end, it may be, of all time." The ivsult of human activity has an unlimited divergence like the rays of the sun. In the instance just quoted, Nunez, witli folded arms and bent knees, ollered thanks to God for having re- vealed to him the famed South Sea; so little did ho dream that ho had iliseoveixHl the great ocean whose mighty waters cover more than one half of our entire planet. Nor is this disproportion be- twwn the value of the discovery, as at tirst estimated and ns linally n^alired. a tiling of rare occurrence. An Englisli mechanic once constructed an engine for pumping water out of a coal-pit, little thinking he was thus revolutionizing the world by machinery moved by steam. The early philosophers of Greece in treating the Conic Sections never suspected that they were furnishing means for the n\ensuration of the heavens, and were nnconsciously laying the foundalions of astnniomy. " Uumau inventions." to nse the wiyrvls of I'aptain Alaury, " ai-e important geographical agents, and tlie various n\echanical impixtvements of the age have givatly chiuiged the face of our country and the industrial pui-suits of the people, Reloi-e Whitney's invention of the cotton-gin, the culti- vation of cotton in the South was contined to a snu\ll 'patch' on each farm. About sevejity yeai-s agt.\ an American sliip from Charleston, arriving in England witli ten bales of cotton as part of h»r c!vrgv\ was seizini on tiie ground that so much cotton could not Ih' ^>lXH^ucell in the Unites! States. In ISCO the production had r^'acheil four millions of biJes and upwai-d." Raiment is to the hunu\n family second in importance to food. When the Kcjijkt, by which the harvests of the world's breadstutis are ticlclet,!, attains the agt^ of Whitney's invention, how vast, how bright, the prosjH»ct of its use and its utility I loG r ^ H. I. KIMBALL. 1^ S a representatiTO of legitimate and enlightened enter- ..^^ . prise, and an exponent of modem progress, a progress Xh!^^ whose beneficent results enhance public good as well as individual prosperity, a progress whose aim and ultimatum accept nothing short of abundant success, Mr. H. I. Kimball of Georgia is entitled to marked pre-eminence. ITe is the fifth son of Mr. Peter Kimball ; was born in Oxford county, Maine, A.D., 1832. In early life he learaed the carriage maker's trade, and at the age of 19 was called to take charge of one of the most extensive carriage manufactories in the United States. At the age of 21, the firm evidenced their appreciation of his executive and financial ability, by admitting him to full partnership. The business of this establishment being principally with the South, it was entirely broken up by the war, and resulted in the loss, by Mr. Kimball, of his entire estate, and the business passed into other hands. In no wise discouraged, and having the spirit of a man not willing to become a servant in his own house, he left the carriage business, and served as superintendent of a Mining Company in Colorado, until the Spring of 1865. Failing in health, he left Colo- rado, and became interested with Mr. George M. Pullman, and established the sleeping car lines throughout the South, making his headquarters at Atlanta, Ga., where in a very few mouths he com- pletely regained his former vigorous health. Being a man of original ideas and forethought, as well as one of remarkable per- severance and executive ability, he became largely interested in the business welfare and social advancement generally of his adopted city and State. In the progress of reconstruction, the Constitutional Convention 167 2 II. I. KIMUALL. of Oooi-jfjia, which mot ftt Athmtii, designated that place as the Ciiiiital of the State. Mr. Kimball, seeing the importance of im- mediately providing a suitable capitol building in order that the seat of govenunont might bo permanently located in Atlanta, purehasoil the property known as the Atlanta Opera House (which had been abandoned by the projectoi-s, when only the walls were up), anil conunencod the erection of a Statu House on his individual account and responsibility; and in less than live months the un- sightly structure was converted into a magniiicent edilico, being finished and furnished in a manner unsurpassed by any State capitol in the Union. Notwithstanding the many dillicultics ho had to encounter, not only in procuring tho laboi' and material for this work, but, to overcome the prejudices of tho people, day and night found him at his post, with his men, acting as architect and leader in tho various parts, determined to accomplish his object. The result was, tho building was completed and dedicated for tho purpose in- tended on the very day ho had appointed four months previous. Early in the year of ISTO, the city of Atlanta, having contracted with tho State Agricultural Society of Georgia for tho preparation of grounds and buildings, in which tho Exposition of tliat year should bo held, called upon the indefatigable Kimball, and through his skill, ability, and financial aid, in tho short space of five months, a wilderness of neai'ly sixty acres in extent was converted into a magniiicent pleasure pai-k, with all the necessary buildings, race-tracks, lakes, drives, etc., etc., pronounced one of the finest and best adapted for tho purpose, extant. Scarcely had the contract been concludcil, which was to insure tho preparation of the grounds in a becoming style for the State Fair, when, appreciating another necessity, with characteristic promptness and dai-ing he resolved to overcome it, and on Saturdiiy, March iO, he purchased the site of the old "Atlanta lintel;" the following Monday morning ground was broken for the largest and finest hotel south of New York city, at which time ho announced that the building would be completed and ready for the reception 168 of guests on the 17th of October following. As startling and almost incredible as this announcement seemed, even to the people of Atlanta, the promise was made good, and " The 11. I. Kimball Ilouse" dates the idea which gave it birth, and the banquet which hailed its opening within less than seven months time. Tliis mag- nificent building is about the size of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, with a frontage of 210 feet, 105 feet deep, six stories liigh, containing 350 rooms, elegantly finished and faultlessly furnished ; and it stands to-day, a splendid monument to the brilliant concep- tion and grand constructive genius, no less than to the unparalleled and untiring energy of him whose name it deservedly boars. Mr. Kimball is largely interested in the various railroad enter- prises in Georgia, devoting his time, influence, and capital to the development of the vast agricultural and mineral resources of his adopted State, by the extension of her railroad system. lie is presi- dent of tlie Brunswick and Albany Eailroad, which extends from the magnificent harbor of IJrunswick, west 2i2 miles, entirely across tiie State to Eufaula, Alai)ama, one of the most important railroads in the South. He is also president of the Cartersville and Van Wert Railroad. He is one of the largest share-owners in the Western and Atlantic Railroad of Georgia. He is now urging upon the people of Georgia the advantages to accrue to them by building tlie interior and local railroads on the narrow or two feet six inch gauge plan, and it is not unlikely that through his energy and financial ability, hundreds of miles of this class of railways will be completed in the State of Georgia during the next few years. In whatever community he resides, he wins the attention and admiration of the people. He has often had offers of high political place and power, but declined all such, and studiously avoided any mingling, save as a private citizen, in the political issues of the day. Although Mr. Kimball has, by an untiring energy and remark- able ability, already amassed a competency of more than half a million of dollars, it is not to be expected that lie will rest content in his onward march of prosperity. Still in the vigor of manhood, i'G9 ^ H. T. KIMBALL. encouraged by past success, and resolved on futnre triumphs, it la but reasonable to predict that he will attain a degree of wealth and honor siifficient to gratify any laudable ambition, coupled with that satisfaction which emanates from a consciousness of doing good in proportion to increasing ability. In personal appearance Mr. Kimball is prepossessing, and seema the embodiment of health and good cheer, without approaching obesity. He is pleasant and unaffected in manner, entertaining in conversation, frank and generous with all wiiom he encounters in business or social intercourse. With the manifold cares of his various enterprises to command liis attention, he is nevertheless always genial and pleasant, devoting much of his time to his family, and frequently visiting his aged parents. Using the Bible for his guide, he is eflScient in Church and Sabbath-school, and sustains an unblemished Christian character, with mental faculties and physical resources unimpaired by excesses of any kind. Not yet thirty-nine years of age, he can not be said to have reached the prime of life, and certainly gives every promise of a brilliant future and a long career of usefulness before him. Well may Georgia, his adopted State, be proud of such a citizen. 170 .>/.;)^ ALEXANDER S. DIVEK 'ENEEAL ALEXANDER S. DFTEN, well known to the country at large, as a lawyer, railroad contractor, poll- "^ tician, and soldier, was born on the 15tli of February, 1809, at the head of Seneca Lake, in the town of Catharine, now known as the village of Watkins, and County of Tioga, in the State of New York. His father was a soldier of our Eevolutionary war, and held the rank of Captain at its close. The subject of this sketch received a thoroughly good education at the Penn Yan and Ovid Academies, acquitting himself with credit. On leaving the Acad- emy, he studied law, and was admitted to practice in 1832. At Elmira, where he then resided, and still resides, he pursued his pro- fessional career in the firm of Diven, Hathaway & Woods, winning reputation, as much by his diligent attention to business as by the talent he displayed in managing the cases placed under his charge. He interested himself actively in the internal improvements of the State, devoting much of liis time to railroad matters, and in 1845 became a Director of the New York and Erie Company, and bore a very conspicuous part in re-establishing the waning credit of that road, and in completing it. He also held the position of attor- ney of the road for the country, until 1865, during which year he was elected its vice-president. This latter office was held by Gen- eral Diven for three years, during which time he resided in the city of New York, giving his entire time and attention to his many responsible duties. In 1870 he returned to Elmira, retiring from all bxisiness pursuits, excepting the superintendency of a large farm lying on the suburbs of the city, to the improvement of which estate he has devoted his 171 3 A I, K X A N I) K K H . n I V IC N . l.'isuiv ln.ui-s. Yours l)cl\>io lliil, lidw.-vor, iilllioui;li it wim I..111,' ;ifl«'r lio lirsl hooimio nssocinti'd witli t!i(> Krio (\>iii|):iiiy, (ioncriil Divoii \v;is Trositli'iit of tlio \Villiiimsi)ort niul lOliiiini rmid, rctiiiu- '\\\'^ tliMt luisition iliii'iiij:!; llio mitiro process of its i-onstniction. Ai 11 ntor lUM-ioil lio bocnino iMtcnstoil in all tho roads cMiiiucliiii,' witli ,i,aml whii-h \vt>ro aHorwiirds uidtod, and arc now known niulortho f;onoral title of the Pennsylvania Northern Central Hail way. As a oontraetor, he has been eminently suecessfid, lie contracted for the constiiietion of the Missonri Pacific Railway, in connection with Oeneral Thomas Price, and he was also engaged, as contractor, under the lirm name of Diven, StanclitV it Co., in tho construction of tho South-western branch of tho Missouri Pacific road, and had the road et>ustrneted as far as Rolla, when tho civil war broke out. Gingi-ess pn^posed to increase tho numbers voluntarily. Air. McCleruand, of Illinois, a Democratic member, objected to the pjvposition. In response, General Divon s;»id : " If I understand tho objection made by the gentleman trom Illi- nois to tho provision of the bill authorizing one liundred thousand motv moil to be called for bv tho Pivsideut, at his discretion, tliau 172 he hiu^ 'Mki-A for in hh uu:miigti, it in \} the rwfinmbuilalioa of tlie President. Then, if lie is willing to tru»t to the (Ihicrution and justice of the Preside/it, as exhihitempIication by promptly al>andoning its untenable position, and, in the course of Ins remarks, said : "Now, sir, we have escaped— and I venture to say tiie jufigment of the world will justify and honor the ground on which we have escaped— a collision with one of the great powers of Europe; a col- lision which, if it had taken place, would probably have led to consequences that no man can foresee. I congratulate the cx^untry that we hav., f*caped it. I feel none of the humiliation tliat attache', 173 4 A L IC \ A N D E K S . D 1 V E N . to Others; ami yoiirs lience nubodj- will tl-ol tliat any liuiuiliation attaclios to tliis act. Years LoiK-e, we may cite this precedent, when upon some occiioiou a foreign vessel shall board one of our ships, and take from it some pei-sons who su-e sailing under its flag ; we shall tbeu have this example to poiut to in support of the rule for which we have long contended." As an anti slavery man he was well known to the public at large. Nevertheless, Mr. Diveu was not an extremist on the subject, lie desired to see slavery abolished, but he deprecated violence in ob- taining its abolition. He, however, gave a hearty and unqualified support to the bill for the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia ; and, during the debate upon it, remarked : '* Mr. Speaker — My view in reference to the power of the Gen- eral Government over slavery h;is always been, that it was, at best, extremely limited ; that it had but little to do with the question ; and because it had but little authority over it, there was but little responsibility resting on the countiy iu regard to it. Congress had control over it in the District of Columbia, as having supreme gov- erning power, and for that reason I wiis in favor of the exercise uf that power, to the exclusion of slavery from the District of Colum- bia. I thought, and still think, that when that was done all the power that the Constitution gave Congress over the question of slavery was exhausted. But, sir, if it was not ; if there are other places where Congress has a right to abolish it, I want it to be exer- cised. I want Congress to exhaust the last power it has over this institution, whenever and wherever it can be done ; and whenever a bill is framed so as to reach the institution of slavery where Con- gress is responsible for it, and to wipe it out, I will ask that it be adopted." We shall make but one more extract from his speeches in Con- gress. When the proposition was made to confiscate the property of rebels, he shrank from it, as involving an amount of human suf- fering aTid miserj- too fearful to contemplate. The speech delivered by him on the subject is one of which ho may well feel proud. It ALEXANDER S. DIVEN. O must ever remain a monument to his humanity, and to his tender- ness of heart. It was the utterance of a Christian and a chivalric man, and the same sentiments it contained ho subsequently carried to tlie battle-field, and acted up to them. We make the following Rx tract from the speech : "Now, sir, it is for civilized warfare that I plead — it is against barbarian warfare that I protest — when I declare that the pittance of the women and children, the private property upon which fami- lies rely for sustenance, shall not be taken, and an unnecessary pun- ishment inflicted upon them. Sir, these are other rules of warfare than that of civilization. The barbarian has his rule of warfare, too. His code of war permits the taking of the property of the enemy that he has slain in battle, and all the private property he can ^eize, but he is restrained from inflicting murder and death npon unof- fending women and children and old men, and there the line be- tween barbarian warfare and savage warfare commences. While the barbarian spares the life of the non-resistant, the savage takes it, and decorates his war-belt with the glossy curls of helpless women, and the flaxen hair of innocent children, and, around his hellish war-fires, gloats on these wanton murders. That is savage warfare. But civilized warfare stops with the striking down of the enemy on the battle-field — with conquering by the strong right arm. Sir, val- iant men will go no further. We have been told here what will probably be the course of our soldiers if we enact certain laws. Let me tell you, that if you enact certain laws that will require valiant men, after they have stricken down their enemies on the field, and captured them and all their munitions of war, to go into the homes of their enemies and desolate them — to lift their hands against unof- fending women and children, and rob them of their substance, and turn them penniless on the world — valiant men will never do it. * * * I was taught early to bend a very little knee, and lift tiny liaiids, and ask God to forgive me as I forgave those who trespassed against me. And, sir, during the troubled voyage of life, in sun- shine and in storm, in tempest and in calm, I have never forgotten 175 iliiit niu-lu.r of 111}- liopo— tli;it tni.st which is all inj rolijj;i.)ii. I havo boon tauiilit tlmt tho ilitloreiK-o botweeii the donioii t)t' darkness and tlio aiK'ol of Hf^ht is, tiiat tho oiio is guiilod hy clmrity and love, the othor l>y liato and nialioo." i>ut, whilo arguing with an okKjuonoo which showod how oaniost was his pica for IniniauitT, against contisoatiou of huuK-d and ordi- nary iiorsonal pioporty, Cioueral Dis'on was in favor of tho seques- tration of i>la\o property, llo closed his speech by declaring that tho views ho had expressed were all for the Union, and added : "Those who want disunion — those who want to govern a portion of the States as subject provinces — let tlioni couio out. They are not of us; they are not of the Union ; they have no right to claim devotion to the Union. Sir, that Hag which decorates your scat has thirty-four stai-s upon it, all kindled by the sjinie sacred tiro — all omitting the same ssicrod light. True, some of them are now ob- scuivd by this dark cloud of secession. It is for the friends of the Union to dispel that cloud — give to those stars their wonted light nnd glory. There be tliost — and, sir, I am sorry to know it— who would dispel that cloud, only that they might i-each the stai-s and put out tho light of those which are now obscured ; or, at least, re- duce them to sjitellites, permitting them only to sliine with a bor- rowed light. They, sir, are not Union men — not Constitutional men ; that is not their flag, it is om-s ; and may star after star bo added to its gidaxy, until its hght sliall flash in the face of tyrants oven wiiere, and I'lu'st' munlyiiij;- U>i\ls shall soo That mnii has vot a soul, and dare bo fr*"?." In ISOJ, General Diven left his seat in Congress for the purpose of aiding with his sword in suppressing the rebellion, lie assisted in raising tho One Hundred and Seventh regiment of Js'ew York Volunteers, and obtained a commission in it. His command was or^ioi-oil to \irginia, and was attached to General Gordon's Second Division of the Twelfth Army Corps, commanded, first, by General Williams, of Michigan, and subsequent! v. bv Genenil Slocum, of 170 ALEXANnEJtS.DIVKN. 7 New York. The subject of tliin sketch participated in all the en- gagements which took place in Virginia during 1862-03, including the battles of Antietara and Chanoellorsville, distinguishing himself by his gallantry and skill. Soon after the last-named buttle, he was brevetted Brigadier-General and detailed for special duty as Assist- ant Provost-Marshal General for the Western District of New York, and was subsequently appointed to the command of the ISTorthem and Western District, which he retained during the remainder of the war. For a great part of the time the entire responsibility of eon- ducting the draft in Western New York devolved upon him, and we need hardly say that the duties were performed with energy and suc- cess. Indeed, General Diven's military career was eminently honorable. In 180.5, General Diven resigned his commission and went to the city of New York to accept the Vice-Presidency of the Erie Rail- road. While holding this position, he had charge of the traffic of the road and its business in connection with its various connecting roads. As we have stated already, he is now retired from all busi- ness pursuits, although he is a gentleman of thorough business hab its, and has been all his life a worker. General Diven was married, in 1835, to Miss Amanda Bears, of Elmira, and has eight children— four sons and four daughters. Two of his sons were in the army of the rebellion. One, Alexander, entered as a private and rose to the rank of major, and Eu"-enG entered as a second lieutenant and rose to captain. Unassuniing in manners, and of most domestic taste, he is known to his friends as that r(wa avis among men — a model husband and father. That he has done great service in his time for the advancement of railroad interests, is well evidenced in the record of his history. The varied connections he has had with enterprises for constructing i-ailroad lines; the eagerness with which his views are sought on matters connected with railroads (we must not ouiit stating that he was consulted about and helped to establish the Missouri roads ), attest how well he merits the prominence he has obtained, and how well we arc justified in classifying hirn among Men of Pro.rross 177 c l^ri^^<^<- L(^^0 2 CiF.OHLlK \V MEAD. give him great advantage, he decided, late as it was in life, to fit himself for and to enter college. Accordingly with characteristic promptness and rapidity of execution, two days after, ho had entered upon his preparation, and in the fall of 1847 was admitted to the freshman class in Yale College, with which class he graduated in 1851. From the day of his graduation in the academical college course, we may date one of the most active, earnest lives that has ever come under our notice. Never objectless, he did with a will whatever needed doing which came first to his hand. Small of stature, wiry of frame, honest and earnest in purpose, of clear discernment and with strong religious faith in God, nothing ever seemed to him impossible, very few things difficult of execution. His fearlessness, his conscientiousness (not of the sickly, pusillani- mous kind that so often takes the moral stamina from men, lest in doing something they should do something wi'ong, but of the en- larged, healthy and ennobling type,) his earnestness and directness of stroke at wrong in high or low places — ^his frankness, sincerity and jilainuess of speech, carry with them a magic effect. Men are carried with him or cast from him with a centripetal or centrifugal force that makes the line of affinity and repulsion about him clearly defined. His is a positive character ; he neither has nor tolerates anything negative about him. Whether from a natural love of the soil, or from an intelligent perception of the connection between the growth of population in a new country and an increase of landed value — one of his class-mates says of him "he could not wait to graduate, before he became one of the largest real estate owners in New Haven — growing out of purchases made of Messrs. Wm. P. Green, of Norwich, and Wm. M. Smith, and John Barnard and others of New Haven ; " most of which large and now valuable landed interests it is understood he has firmly held for nearly a generation, and still holds. Real estate has always been his favorite and almost exclusive investment. 1«0 GEOEGK W. MEAD 3 Without the slightest purpose of pursuing the profcssioa as a calhng, he, after a brief tour of business aud observation beyond the Mississippi, entered iu the autumn of 1851 upon the study of the law HI the Yale Law School, then in charge of Governors Clark Bissell and !Icnry Dutton, from which he graduated in regular course, in the autumn of 1853. During his law course he was frequently called upon to give in- struction by lectures and otherwise to classes at the New Haven Collegiate and Commercial Institute, in the different branches of natural history, in whicli he bid acquired much proficiency before aud during his college life. While in the law-sehool, there appears to have occurred one of those sudden, angular, incomprehensible turns in Lis life which so often violently changes the whole course of a man's life and history only to be accounted for by the faith that relies upon the " noJ as man's ways" testimony. In various seemingly casual ways without any previous special intimacy, his pathway led into, and along that of one who had been first his class-mate in the college and then in the law school, and so did their views, plans and attachments seem to interweave each other, and to interlink the two lives, that for them to separate at graduation, seemed to be doing a violence to the best interests of both. The result was a proposed law-partnership in New York City, upon their admission to the bar th3re. Both were admitted in February, 1854, and the law firm of Mead and Taft opened their office at 237 Broadway, on the 1st of March following, and for ten years, the period originally named for the continuance of the partnership, they successfully prosecuted the practice of their profession. From the outset, their practice was extensive (though, as is the experience of most of the profession more large than lucrative), and extended over the whole ran-^e of civil business. While years of toil, they were years of valuable experience to one who would be called upon to- engage in such varied business activities as were before him. 1«1 4 GEOUOK \V MEAD. .IiKljics Oakloy, Duer, lloU'imui, Wooilniil", Ingrnlmm, Clorkc, G. P. Unly, iiiul others of like legiil learning and purity of character, then ailornod the New York bench, and to practice before them exalted any nmn's character. Ten years made sad havoc on the bench, and sadder changes at the bar ; and Mr. Mead has him elf been heard to say, tliat with no early leaning to the profession, when tlie profession was professional, ho had no regrets at leaving it, when it degeiieiiited into u business, and justice became a mere matter of barter anil sale. In 1858 he was married to Sarah Frances StudwcU, only daughter of John J. Studweil, Esq., of Brooklyn, New York, accompanied liv wlioin, during that yciu', he visited Europe on a pleasure tour. Ul)oii liis retirement from the practice of his profession, in 1864, it was botU his desire and intention to repair to his country place, near the old homesteail, and enjoy a certain degree of leisure, but found there, as is found in so many other places, the subject of a new railroad engrossing public attention, as it had been for many yeara previous thereto. His public spirit gave instjiut, early and willing aid to the movement, which resulted speedily in the organ- ization of the New York, Housatonic and Northern Railroad Company. At once the presidency of the Company, with a unaniiuity that would brook no refusal, was tendered him. The value of the enter- prise, when consummated, was to him apparent, but the vast difficul- ties that might intervene he saw with equal clearness. Encoumged by the former and not dismayed by the latter, ho reluctantly yield- ed his pu^ferences and assumed the duties of the position. At once ho wrote and published the prospectus of the company, which ably set forth the merits of the project, and secured for it much consideration and many friends. The many obstacles met and silently but successfully overcome, it is not the place here to enumer- ate ; yt>t they may one day, if the history of the company be ever truthfully written, form a bright page in the life here but par- 183 tidly and imperfectly sketched, as well as in the history of American railways. It is well known to those who have stood nearest him in the counsels of the company, that at the close of each official year it has been his personal preference to be reUeved of hi« oice and its duties and responsibilities, but that the same unanimity which arst placed him in the position, has been all-controUing in retaininr' L'm there. " Without ever having allowed his name to be used as a candidate for any public office whatever, he has never been neglectful of hiij duty as a good citizen, in shaping the poUtical movements about him. Upon arriving at his majority, he cast his vote with the Whig party and until the organization of the RepubUcan party in 1855, when he became an active member of that party and as such was President of the First Republican Association in the Brooklyn Ward in which he then resided. Through the war he was an uncompromising Unionist, giving freely of his time and money to the support of the army of the north, and the overthrow of the Rebellion, his hatred of which was very pronounced. As a financier, his abihty and probity have rendered him sought after in some of tho largest and most prosperous moneyed institu- tions in New York City, in which, as director and trustee, he holds positions. To the city of Brooklyn, where for many years he has passed his winters, he is much attached, and to its interests and prosperity he has been closely devoted. A single incident, which came under the writer's notice, will serve to iUustrate this point. A little before the breaking out of the war in the south, there was war declared in Brooklyn, not upon the worms which in- fested its shade trees, but upon the trees themselves and, singular now to relate, a resolution passed her Common Council, directing the cutting do ah and removal of them from her streets. 18a 6 OEOUGE W. MKAD. A public meeting of the citizens was called at the City Hall, to remonstrate against the sacrilege, and to devise means for removing the pest. Much interest was manifested by those in attendance, and a committee composed of two physicians and Mr. Mead, was appointed to prepare a memorial or report to the Commoa Council, expressive at once of the disapprobation of the public of the blow aimed at the city's rural adornments, and remedial of the real evil. Tlie leport was made to and published by the Board of Aldermen. Each member of the committee advanced his plan of remedy. Mr. Mead's plan, was the introduction of the English sparrows (then nn- known iu American cities), which to day make the very trees the wood- man that day spared — not only themselves beautiful to look upon — but with the merry birds iu the branches and at the fountains — a city j')y Ibrever. As Regent of the Long Island College and Hospital, Director in the Brooklyn City Dispensary and Eye and Ear Infirmary, and member of the Managing Committee of the Brooklyn Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, all having for their object mainly, the gratuitous relief of the material needs of the sick, tlestitute, and unfortunate of that city, on the one hand, and as Recording Secretary and Member of the Executive Committee of the Brooklyn City Mission and Tract Society, and in similar engagements with other kindred associations, having for their ob- ject the sjuritual well-being of the city's over-looked and neglected ones, on the other hand, the life here traced is rounded full with useful activities. As a public speaker, wheu aroused in discussion or in a plat- fonn effort, where his sympathies are enlisted, he is most elo- quent, powerful and convincing ; while as an effective and polished writer he has always m.iiatained an enviable reputation, as evi- djnc.^d alike by his successful competition for College prizes iu En- glish composition, and by his subsequent contributions to the Yale Literary Magazine and other publications, ibi GEORGE W. MEAD. 7 In the midst of all his activity and earnestness of life, he neither forgets his faith nor his family. For rest, he only seeks the repose of his retired Lakeview at Waccabuc ; and in his quiet home there, graced, and enlivened by the presence of his accomplished wife, and surromided by their interesting young family of seven sons and daughters, " like olive plants roundabout them " — no spectator of the scene could be more conscious than he that he is in the full noon- tide of his life's sunshine. 185 .JX^ ^ C^e THOMAS LE CL^AR, N. A. ;d to Messrs. G. P. PiitrDan & Son for this sketch, from Tuckerman'a " Book of the Artists." Sr^MOXG the comparatively few American portrait-painters who have steadily progressed in their art, is Thomas Le Cl^ar; he was born in Owego, Tioga conntj, N. T., March 11, 1818. His first instinctive attempt at portrait- ure was made at the age of nine, with lamp-black, Venetian red, and white-lead, upon a bit of pine board. Of an inspiring temper, at the age of twelve he attempted a St. Matthew, which made a sensation in that rural vicinage ; copies were ordered of the boy-painter at the rate of two dollars and a half each, and many a head did the urchin dash off to the wonder of his rustic neighbors. The unnatural strain upon his undeveloped faculties by this premature exercise of a genuine artistic talent, without the wholesome discipline of methodi- cal training and gradual practice, so depressed his vital energies that young Le Cl(^ar soon had to forego his favorite occupation, — a fortunate disappointment, as he thereby regained strength, and probably avoided faulty habits of execution, which, otherwise, would have been confirmed. In 1832, his father removed to London, Upper Canada, a thinly-settled and ungeuial place, where Le Cl^ar painted a few portraits, but met with little sympathy and no en- couragement, until the Hon, John Wilson, a former member of Parliament, recognized the latent ability of the youth, commended and cheered his isolated labors, and sat to him for a portrait, which was so successful that thenceforth he had an abundance of commis- sions. In 1834:, during a lapse in the demand for portraits, and when he was but sixteen years of age, Le Cltiar visited Goodrich, on Lake Huron, and decorated the panels of a steamboat, under the direction of the owners, whose taste was exclusively for " low art," 189 to tho vlisjjusi of tl\o paintor, wlio dosiivil t.> |vrli;iv liistoric!\l sooiuvs. l•;:(J^>r to n (ho " Stntivs," ho K^ft Hoodrioli for Norfolk, N. Y., tt small town. \vhoOivou llu-, \Visoon*iii, skotohiuj;; Indiatis on tlio wav ; hoiv lio t\>uml adoquato ovvujvUion tor tho sunimor; auil ovon vontiiivd ,-» jv»rt of hi* i\»riun_jjs in tho l!»i>d-v-«pooul;»tio»s, wliioh was tho uiatiia of tlu> day in that ix^i^ion ; but with.nit any pi\vns ivsiilt. Ko- visitinj? LonvUm, IT. 0., his tVioud Wilson advisoil him to s?o to Xow York city. Tho ons«inj» spring ho starto-1 for that gi>al, but his t\n\ds jpwo out at Klutini, N. Y., and ho l»ad to ivsort to ovory availablo moAns t'^r sub.ustcuoo. This was tho niost tryina; part of his novJtiato in artist-Hfo; viisoourjiijoii and noi^ly, for thoiv M-as Uttlo ill tor artistic work in that roijion at tho porlod, tho doath of his mother advlod to his dospvindoncy, and for a considorablo time ho had not tho hoart to t!»ko up tho j^onoil and palotto. Ho shortly at>orwa»\ls wont to Koohostor, whoro bo riMnaint\l two \'x\»rs, mooting with muoh onoounjjjomont, and stoadily pi\>givssitisi in his art. At tho ond of this timo, in 1S30, ho wont to Now York, whorv\ on his arri\-5il, ho found himself pi^ssoss^xl of but sixty-throo 0vM>ts, with whiv*h to Ivgin Hfo in tb.o groat iuctn>jH>li!j. Ilo so^m a\ado frionds, howowr, and, Unng industrious, laokod not for tho moans of sup}H>rt, For svmuo timo ho oooupioil a studio in the grsnito building, corner of Broadway atid ChamWrs Stroots, now Dehnonicvvs Hotel. IfoTo ho i^jintovi niatu' ixirtraits and other pictures; one, which ho accotnplishei alter sevorv lalK>r and study, was entitled " The Koprimand." It attrsu-tovl much attention from «rtish» and critics, frvnu its ev>rrv>etness of di-awing and harn>ony of Ci^lor, and vr*s pmvhase^i by tho Art Union, then in the height of its }x>\r*r. In IS44 he married a d.^nghfojr of R«ss<>ll R Wells, R-sq., of R^ton, Mjvss.. who died Jnly. lSi>9. The following spring ho vnent to Buffalo, \vl»er»^ he intended to stay a short time, l>nt i*main^,l, te.^lonsly pursuing his protession until IS(>0. when he re- tumeil U^ New Yv^rk. whotv he hojvs to pass the reaiaindor of his d,\vs. THOMAB LK C L £ A K, ,V . A . 3 One of his warmoat frJerids, and the most active and efficient snp- portera of art which he found in Buffalo, was the Jlon. II. W. itogere, now Prc:^id(;rit of the Fine Art Academy lately established there, who is a gentletnaa of fine tafete, cultivated mind and gener- ous impulaca. During hia long reiidericc in BuD^lo Mr. Lc Clear devoted himself ahnoit exclusively to portraiture, although occas- ional compositions cume from his easal. Several of this latter class of works arc among his moit noticeable proluctions. One of them, the " Marble Players," which was purchased by the Art Union, attracted much and deserved attention. Another is "Young America," described in another part of this sketch, painted to order for the late Colonel A. Portf;r, of Niagara Falls, and now in posses- sion of Mr. Congdon, of Brooklyn. The last picture of the above character painted by Le Cloar is the "Itinerants," elsewhere described, which was in the National Academy exhibition of 1802. Mr. Le Cliiar was elected an associate af the Academy in 1802, and an academician in 1863. He also fills at the present time C1864j, the office of director in the Buffalo Academy of Fine Arts. He occupies a studio in the Tenth Street Building, New York, where, surrounded by other artists, he devotes himself entirely to his art. It is to be hoped that he will, without entirely giving up portraiture, yet make it only of secondary importance, and hereafter pursue, as a speciality, tho.^e genre compositioas in the occasional productioas of which he lias shown, already, himself to be a master. Mr. Le Clear originated and developed the Fine Art Academy of Buffalo, herein mentioned. "Young America," which contaias over a dozen figure.?, is re- markalile for its skillful grouping, and the harmony of tone which pervades it. The chief interest of the work centres in " Young America," a lad, who, from the top of a drygoods box, is making a speech to the boys gathered about him. The figures are admir- ably drawn, and each is evidently a study from life. The man in the blouse, the two boys wrestling, the girl carrying a basket, and the old woman with afjples, are especially noticeable. The I'Jl looalitv is it stiool in Uutlalo, ami tho man on tlio si^lowalk ovi- ilontlv oi\^'!igo»l in counting nj> his* gains is a jiortrait of a woll- known oponUor iu stooks. who gv>os by the nsvuio of " thivt> per oont. u month," Tho "Itini'nuits" ivpivsont^i a Ih\v phuing on a viiilin. and ai»- CiMnpaiiiixl l\v his sistor, who lias drawn aivund him an mlniiring gi\>uj> of listonoiv. oaoh ono of whom is dilVoivntl)' alVoi'tod bv tho unisio, tvs is shown in tho varioil oxpivssion ot thoir ooun tenants. As in tho last-niontionod piotuiv, oaoh liguro is a study from lite, and is drawn and painti\l with givat oaivfiilnoss. Tho sontiniont of tho piotim^ is tinoly piworvod, and tho outiiv work harmoniously carried out in all its details. \Ye have spoken of Lo OU\«r as a signal example of steady piw gn»ss in jK>rtraituiv. A singular test was alVorded us, at a recent visit to bis studio. Tbeiv bad been touud at Owegv\ N. Y., his 'bildhoovl's homo, a portrait fivm his band, at the age of nine. Tho ,lnnving was so like a l>oy iu tho oxaggvM-jited outline of sleeve and slioulder 5»s to excite a smile; tho drawing, of eoui-se, wjis very dt."- t'eetive, and the color crude ; but a decided individual expivssion of the moutb, and something characteristic in the whole j>bysiognomy, rude and unsutKlucvl as is tho execution, made us ivadily believe tho assertion of the family, to whom tho coatee old canvsis Wlongs, that it was a "striJ:inovor is famili.ar with tho asj>oct and oxprossituu»e, natural langnsujo, and exprt^ssion, tho very man binjsolf ; aTid whoever h;»s ot"tou soon Edwin Biv>th as Hamlet, and woU knows bis fooe oft' the stag*>, will find that Lo Clear's portrait is a u\!istorpioiv, not oulv sv? a i\\semblance, but iu point of clu^ractcr, UV2 individuality, and powerful expressiou. We might also cite his portraitB of ex-President Fillmore ; Col. Thorpe ; Col. Porter, now in the possession of his sister at Niagara Falls ; of Gifford ; McEntee, and Hubbard, the artists, as illustrations of his j^eculiar fidelity and maturity of execution. His portrait of Mr. John E. Eusaell and Mr. George Dennisfjn, ex-Xaval Officer of the port of New York, are instances of firm, truly tinted, strongly outlined, and clearly expressed heads, with vital truth and vigorous yet refined treatment — indicating how well Le Clear has etudied his art, how truly he recognises cJi/J/racter as essential, and with what insight he haa succeeded in combining the analytical and the realistic elements of portraiture. Since the foregoing sketch was written, Mr. Lcj Clear has remained a resident of New York, constantly engaged in bminess in his studio. The years that have passed since Tuckerman paid homage to his genius have added to his reputation as an artist. Men and women of eminence, persons representing the tliU of society, not only in New York, but throughout the country, vie with each other in having their portraits painted by him. Mr. Le Clear was the first artist who had the temerity to increase the charges for painting a bust, to seven hundred and fifty dollars. This may seem a large sum, but in reality it is quite moderate. Painting is an art in which few men excel, and portrait painting is especially diflicult. Fidelity to the original is required absolutely, hence to the genius to execute mu.st be added that patient labor which can alone produce perfection. No greater proof of the high estimation in which Mr. Le Clear's work is held can be required than the fact that he was able to obtain the sum named over all his competitors ; and although he has steadily maintained this price, there has been no time in which he has not been cTowded with orders. His studio is the resort of all connoisseurs of fine portrait paintings; for there will always be found specimens of his work unrivaled for correctness of delineation and for that perfectly natural expression which makes one half fancy that the "counterfeit pr.,--entment " is a living, breathing reality 193 wlioso hod\\ pi>vli:ii>s, has mysteriously ilisappoaiwl, but \\ll..^c Inisl uiul lic;ul roiuains onilowod witli lit'o and soouiiug as it' about to move and to spoali. His portraits of ladies and children are characterized by s^reat tenderness and dolieaey, and though sometimes too nuicli idealized, ire natural and lite-like. His suecoss in painting portraits ol' iceeasiHl persons, from i>hotographs or daguerreotypes, is remark- able; and that, too, in iustanees where ho had not seen the original. This may be assigned as nuieh to his natural quickness of percep- tion iu arriving at certain characteristics of mind and pei-sou from the description given by friends, jis from his knowledge of art — enabling him to judge correctly of form and feature from a photo- graph. .\t the pivsent writing Mr. Le 01<>ar is engaged in preparing a series of portraits of our representative men. Ilis design is to group togi'ther [wintings repivsoiiting those members of the sevenil intel- leotuid professions of the day who best illustrate in themselves the types of superiority in each. Thus, in the profession of the law thci-e aiv portrjiits of two eminent la\vvoi"s, Mr. George Ticknor Curtis and Mr. E. "W". Stonghton, both of whom have acipiired considerable reputation at the bar. In the drama, the type of histrionic excel- lence is i-epivsented by Mr. Edwin Booth, and in Mr. Jamos Eussell TaiwoH's picture we see a distinguished i-epreseutative of American jHvtic genius. The idea of this series of paintings is most commend- able. When completed it will, in i-OiUity, comprise a pictuiv gsUlery of types of the genius of this country. We know of no similar serie.> executed by another artist ; lience we credit Mr. Le Clear with a mivst happy and original conception. All those pictm-es, it must he undei'stood, are painted with ox'quisite taste and artistic skill. The artist is one of the most indefatig;\ble of our professional men. and iH>rforms an alm*%st incivdible amount of work. To natural talent he has united dtvp study and untiring energy. Such a combina- tion of fj»vor!ible qualities is rai-ely met with in one man. It is doubt- ful if anv other of our artists can pi\xluce as lar>;e an amount of work 104 THOMAS LK OLEAB, N. A. 7 in a given time, as Mr. Lo Cloar. To a frreat extent the rapidity of his execution is due to the fact that he is a complete master of his art, and can, therefore, prosecute liis labors imlnterruptedly. Conversing with a friend not long ago, himself the art critic of bility and sound judgment, connected w-ith one of the leading newspapers of New York— he expressed the opinion that if Mr. Le Clciar was a resident of an European country he would long ago have been the recipient of government honors. In this republic, however, artists and men of letters are seldom singled out by the authorities for special honors. Occasionally Congress deigas to look patronizingly upon them, but when it does this the chances are that it makes itself ridiculous either by bestowing its favors upon an un- worthy object, or that it destroys the value of its action by its manner of acting. The fact is that in these days artists do not depend upon the patronage of governments either for fame or for wealth. True enough they stiil value the bit of ribbon, the medal, and, in monarchical countries, a title, but, on_the whole, they mount to the to|j of the ladder pretty much by their own unaided exertions. Mr. Le Clear is one of those artists who owes his reputation to sheer talent and hard work, and the eminence he has obtained in his art is well attested by the ari-ay of distinguished persons who have sat to him for portraits." It vrould, of course, be impossible in any moderate space to name them all, but we may say that they repre- sent all parts of the country, and belong to all professions. The Cliief-Justice Taney, William H. Seward, Eev. Dr. Vinton, Parke Godwin, Talmer, the Sculptor, General Baxter, Rev. Thos. Preston, ex-Govemor J. G. Smith, of Vermont, H. D. Newcoinbe, Louisville, Ky., Isaac Caldwell, Ky., Hon. II. S. McCorab, of Wilmington, Delaware, Judge C. P. Daly, of New York, Lewellyn Haskell, of New Jersey, and others. In fine, Mr. Le Clear can produce a galaxy of names of prominent men whose portraits he has painted, remark- able in all respects. There is an Eastern proverb which says that " what is most sought is best," and however uncertain it may be in many respects it is, at any rate, applicable to a profession, which ! I- U A K , N . A . contnins so niaiij' able iiion, as that of paiiitinn;. That the subject of this sketcli is soiiglit by the best judges of fine art is ouo of tho ovidcnees of his talents. Of the character of Iiis work, a full and admirable analysis of its merits will be found in the fareij^oinij pages. We can only agree with tho opinion therein expressed and echo tho praise so generally and unstintingly accorded. In his personal appearance, Mr. Le Clear is stout-built, with a tendency to corpulency. He is abuut the niodiuin height, with a frank, gonial features, and a most intellectual and pleasant expression of countenance. Sociably he makes a delightful companion. Full of animal spirits, jocund and lively ; his never-failing humor imparts the utmost agreeability wherever he is. Full of tenderness, too, loving tho right because it is good, hating the wrong because it is bad, ho is a man of warm heart and generous sentiments, and liberal in tho extreme, as most artists ai-e. Mr. Ls Clear has been twice married, his second wife being the only daughter of James S. King of New York. To this lady ho was wedded during the close of 1870, and we need scarcely say that the virtues of the liusbaud are not loss conspicuous than the genius of the artist. 196 \SyyOo(.,^^'0^a Cl/t-yO^ OLIVER CIIARLICK. ^ subject of this sketch was born in humble life, in the First "Ward of New York, in 1815. His parents gave him ^t^ such an education in the rudiments as their means would admit, and the lad being naturally ambitious, profit- ed to the full extent of his slender opportunities. At the ao-e of fifteen he entered as clerk the wliolesale Grocery House of Gar- dener & Howell, and at nineteen had risen to be chief clerk of an importing house in Broad Street. His employers, sustaining heavy losses, became bankrupt, and so high was young Charlick held in the estimation of the mercantile community for integrity and ability that at this early age he was selected by the creditors, among whom ' were Victor Bardalow, E. H. Nicoll, Scribner, and Hickcock, lead- ing merchants, to close out the business and divide the assets. After this he went into business on his own account, and j^rospered until the great fire of 1835, which devastated the First "Ward, then the business centre of New York, almost ruined him. But he rose su- perior to disaster. Opening a grocery and ship chandlery, he en- gaged in the supply of coast-wise and sea-going vessels with stores. He gave the closest attention to business, being personally on hand early and late to meet the wants of his customers. By this means he prospered abundantly, for those days, and soon became recog- nized as a rising and successful merchant. In 1843, although still young, he Mas drawn into politics. He was nominated and elected as an independent candidate for Assis- tant Alderman of the First "Ward. Subsequently he was chosen Alderman, and for three terms represented his native ward with credit and fidelity in the Common Council. In the latter part of 197 his KlluM.-il I'iti-i'cr ho was Pn'siilmt of tlu' l>>i;u\l ami aotiii^' M.'iyor (hiring tlio nhsiMU'o of Nfuvor lljivoimnw. Tliis hittor patriot io and puMio spirito*! mx^'istiiito, whivso iituno is still svaoiiyiiums with tho lii>st iui this otlioial ivlutiou, whioh, sur- viving all tho mutation* of party strit'o, and sivial ohaiigo-<, o.mtin- uos unintorrnptoil to this ilay. Mr. Charliok was toniloi\>il tho nomination for Mayor; but hav- injj ivsolvtxl to rotiiv t'roin politics, ho dooliiavl tho honor, ami nv turuini to moivantilo pursuit;*, Tho gv>Ul oxoitomont in IStO wa* tho gvildou opportunity of matiy an ontor]»rising man, ami Mr. Oharliok was not slow to soo tho aihantajjivs whioh it otloiviL In ivnnwtion with Marshall O. li.>bi>rts aiul othors, ho took an intoR'st in an opposition lino of stoamships on tho Paoitio, ami wont out and g!ivo tho bnsinoss his olosest iH>rsoi«vl suporvision. Such wju his onorgy and fonvsight, that in tit'twu months, twm tho nu»#t moagiv Ivijinuinyis, juid with quito inadequate rosouivos, ho had plaivd his ontorpriso on suoh stablo foundation, that tho old lino p>vo way, and a ovmsolidation took place. Whou success wjis !»s- sujvd ho roturnoil to Now York, and entered upi>n the construction of tho Kightli Avenue Rivilroad. For sovon years ho had tho solo n>an;uitMnout of tins lino, and when ho n?ti!vd ho turned o\"er to tho stvH'k-holdei-s a rwul built of an expeuso of ^SOO.OOO, freo of cost out of the earniuiTs, after iwyiuji twelve per cent, dividend in the interim. In ISdO ho disp^^sod of his stook in hoi^so railivads, and wont ii\to steam lines. Taking the Flushing Usiilroad, which \v;V5 sold under fortvl«.vsur\>, ho n.nti\>l of tho nx»d, thev contrived to ham^^r iho 19S O L I V K Jt C iJ A E L I C K . 3 proporfy with all sorts of contracts ibr cxtoinions, snpplics, etc., be- fore he got it into lii.s possesion, anr] wlien lio finally took it, there wa3 not a pound of spike? on hanrj, not a cord of wood, and hardly a BoTind rail or tie on the track, while the rolling stock was rickety and almost worn out. .Judicious and economical management has enabled him to relay the track with new ties and rails, extend the branch roads, and renew the rolling stock, till now there is no safer nor sounder road in the country. Mr. Ciiarlick's forte as a railroad uianager appears to bo to develop and improve a great property, and then tarn it over for public use. Many of our roads are in- debted to him for their present proportions. As a man Mr. Charhck is close in his bargains, but rigid in the fulfillment of his obligations to the uttermost. To those whom he knows and can truet he is liberal and confiding to a degree, and many young men of this city, now rising in the world, can date their start in life to the time when he lent them a helping hand. He is ready to forgive an enemy, and he never deserts a friend. He is free, frank, and outspoken ; is an inveterate foe to pretenders of all sorts, and never considers his personal popularity when a question of duty Ls involved. In short, Oliver Cinrlick is emphati- cally a self-made, selfreliant. thoroui^hly trustworthy, progressive man of the present day. 199 > w^ PLINY FREEMAN; ■A VETERAN IN LIFE INSUEANOE." BT^E are indebted to the JVew York Mercantile Journal, W. P. Groom, Editor, for the following complimentary sketch : " A noticeable feature of American society is the fact that many men have risen from the ordinary pursuits of h'fe to exalted positions of trust and influence. "We need not go far in proof of this, for witnesses rise up on every side, from the learned professions, and, indeed, from every calling in life. " The fact here noticed is signally illustrated in the life of Phny Freeman. He was born amid the Northern hills of the Empire State, and was early left to his own resources. His tastes inclining toward mercantile pursuits, he commenced his business life in a country store, and, after serving four years in the capacity of clerk, began trade on his own account. The success which here attended him, only stimulated him to enter upon a wider field of labor. " Intuitively recognizing those innate qualities which were as yet undeveloped within him, he detennined to leave the scene of his boyhood, and of his first success as a merchant, and seek his fortune in the great metropolis. He disposed of his merchandise, and with a heart gladdened by sanguine hopes of a prosperous future, he started for the city of New York. At an early date thereafter he connected himself with the wholesale di-y goods business in Hanover Square, (in Pearl street, below Wall,) which was at that time the great centre of this trade. Here he found scope for his ambitious designs, and, though competition was shai-p, by his business tact, strict honesty, and unceasing attention to the wants of his customers, he became one of the most prominent merchants of that day. "Although thug occupied, he found time for enterpn^es of n 201 9 r L I N Y K R E K M A N . benevolent character. Being the joint owner of a large tract of land on Gowanu3 Bay, he conceived the idea of making it the nnclens of a large public cemetery. IIo originated a plan, organized a com- pany, and, as the result, we can now boast of having a ' Greenwood, which is not only the most beautiful and quiet home of the dead to be found anywhere, but which has also served as a model for idl the notable cemeteries which now bless our land. " Mr. Freeman's attention was also early directed to life insurance, and the benefits which would accrue to individuals and the community at large, if the ]n-inciples which it involved were properly systematiz- ed and laithfully carried out. He gave all his leism-e moments to the study of this subject, seeking to understand its practical work- ings, as it had been in operation in England. He carefully noted the defects of the system, and devised many improvements which might be engrafted upon it, whereby failure would be rendered next to impossible. " In 1845, he organized ' The New York Life Insurance Company,' under the name of ' The Nautilus.' The knowledge which he had previously gained on this subject was now put to a practical use, and under his skillful management, this pioneer company rose rapidly in public estimation. But while its growth was rapid, it was also strong and vigorous, giving assurance of the success which it soon attained — a success mainly attributable to the indefatigable energy and industry of its founder. However, he was not yet satis- fied with what had already been accomplished, but was continually engaged in maturing great plans for extending its benefits. Among many other valuable improvements, he introduced into its policies the ten years' non-forfcitable clause. This was a move in an entirely new direction, and the results far exceeded his most sanguine expec- tations. " Mr. Freeman, although the founder of ' The New York Life,' and contributing so much to its prosperity by incorporating into it many improvetnents which he deemed of vital importance, did not confine his thoughts alone to that company. "With an unselfish spirit, rarely •20-2 PLINr FEE EM AN. Been in these days, he souglit to extend the entire system of life in- surance, and place about it a net work of Statute laws which would establish all the companies, of this State at least, on a firm basis, and substantially pi'cvent the loss to the assured of premiums paid in good faith. In 1849, he originated the first general insurance law ever enacted. It requii-es evenj company, before issuing any policy, to deposit $100,000 in securities equivalent to cash with the Superintendent of the Life Insurance Department of the State. This law he drafted with his own hands, and by his personal influence in the Legislature procured its p;is3age. Thus has he been the means of compelling irresponsible companies to retire from the business, and preventing many otliers from commencing that which could not but have entailed great loss upon the public generally, besides being a disgrace to the cause. He continued the management of ' The New York Life ' until the year 1863, when, after having been per- sonally complimented by the Insurance Department of the State, and his company commended for can-ying on the largest and most success- ful business in the United States, he resigned his official connection with that institution, in order that he might obtain a resx^ite from his severe and exhausting labors. " But a man of his nervous temperament could not remain long inactive, so he soon threw himself again into work which he had enjoyed so much, and which had produced such excellent fruits. "In the year 1864, lie organized ' The Globe Mutual Life Insurance Company.' Being known as ' a veteran ' in the cause, his name was a tower of strength to the new company. He incorporated into it many novel features, the most prominent of wliich was that making all the policies non-forfeitable. Tliis was a bold step, and one which excited universal interest, both among insurers and insured. "WJiile the former class doubted the possibility of its being carried out in gooil faith, the latter hailed it as removing the gi-eatest objection against all life insurance. ' Tiie Globe,' thus started on a broad and beneficent basis, substituting for all its policies tliat might elapse, or be discontinued, new paid up policies for the whole amount 203 1 1 S \ K K K V M A of prxMiiiiuu that had Uvn rx\vi\i\l. at oiii-o ran far alioad ot' luanv of tho oUl ivmy^juiics. So grt>at, iiuKhhI, wsvs its suo«.\\ss, tiiat iu the tirst vtv>r of its oxistoiut' it issiuHl nearly as many }H>lioii\5 !U> woiv i!«\iiHl by tho old ' Now York Life ' in its sovontoonth ytvir ; and nj* to tho jin-siMit tinu\ inoro than any other wnn^uiy of tho sj»nio ago. Tho iion-fortoiturt^ principle, vrhioh, wo i«vid. Afr. Fiwaiaii inti\xhirt\l. to a liuiitovl oxtont into the * ^'ow Wvrk Lifo ' dnring his luanas^Mnont, ho at onct> niado ivf muvor#;>l application to * Tho G1oIh\' Other ooujpmios tvH^k thoir owo from this, and wore ct.nniH»llt\i to adopt it or bo U^fl still tkrthor in tho Ivick gnmnd by this cvMupany. In tlie retrosjHVt of twenty-tivo yoars, Mr. Frotnnan may well Ih» pnrnd of tho n»snlts which have attondi\l his otlorts in tho tiold in which, at the Wgianing of that {vri..Hl. ho was a novice, " His su«.>c Lifo Insunmoe Oompuiy,' t>f which lie is tho president This Oomjvuiy is scareely seven years old, and yet np to January of the pres^nxt year, had issuovl nearly iii.iKX' ix>licies. Conunoncing with a casli c-^pital of $lOO,iHH>, the assets have accumulated until they have now reached the sum of alvjut $«»},OCK\,000. This nnprecevlonte^l grvwth places 'The Glv>l>e' among tho fit^st companies «.^' tho coun- try, and at the same time shows what the patience, enea'v:j_v and dotor- minevl j>er5everauiv ot' one man can accomplish. " Mr. Frvoman, while thus devoting so much time to tho subject of life insurance, and giving so mudi i>ers^>nal attention to his a\n\ cvani«ny. has made himself thoroughly Cvmversant with the many im(K>rtaut questiotis which havo agitated the country for the past few years, esjvcially that of tinance. This he Wlieves to l»o tho most imiHVtant question <.>f the day, and comsequonily has given it much ihougljt. He is one of those who hold, with us, that the tinaucial system of the Government will not be placed on a s^^lid and ,>uduring basis until the cirvulatiug meviium shiUl consist only of .^Vii/Awm/ A»/vr Mortify made a jiexfeot measure of values, through intervhs5J\geability of such currency, at holders' option, with Go»-eni- meot Kwds bearing a.jiuft? rate of interest. As earlv as tho voar 1S62, 2V"i he embodied these view, in au able letter to the, then, Secretary of the Treasury. If hi« suggestions had been fully adopted at the time the greater portion of the financial difficulties which the nation has since experienced would have been avoided ; the national debt would have been kept within a much smaller compass, and, at the same tune, the burden of taxation would have been greatly reduced. "Mr. Freeman, while giving to the public the rich experience of a mature manhood, considers his work but just begun. Xone can doubt that the future career of so eminent a man will add still greater lustre to his name, and strengthen the high regard in which aU the world holds the American citizen," 205 ^.^■/-J^ Jjll 1). WILLAl^D lilJSS. ?;,¥>S. D. WILLARD BLISS, Bon of Ol^adiah and MHiilk Poole 'CTv^ BliHH, waH Ijorti iit Auburn, N. Y., on the Ibth of Auguwt, 's^'^ 1825. The lather of Mih. Bliss wa» liev. Jcptha Poole, a Presbytc'rian clergyman, who wa» for a number of yean* settled in Auburn, N. Y., and afterwards emigrati^d to Troy, Gr^auga Co., Ohio. The father of our subject was the proprietor of large woolen mills in Morrisville, Madison Co., N. Y., and, having failed in business during the financial crisis of 18-37, he emigrated from Ma/liwjn to Thompson, Geauga Co., Ohio, where he continued to pursue hia original occupation. Here young Bliss, at tlie tender age of twelve years, earned by hard labor his daily bread, during the summer sea- son, and in the winter months attendwl a school taught by M. G. Leg- gett, Esq., late general in the volunteer army of the United States, and now TJ. 8. Commissioner of Patents. In 1840 his father movwl to Chagrin Falls, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, where he erected extensive woolen mills, in which Willard work*^ for five years, at- tending school during brief intervals, at the Asbury Seminary, of which L. D. Williams, Esq., now Professor of Mathematics in Mead- vi He College, Pa., was the j>rinriple. During the summer months of these years his studies were not forgotten. While running a spinning jack, in the mill, his Vjook was placed on a rest stretched t^ the roller of the jack, and it was under such circumstances lie prose- cuted the study of latin, and laid the toundation of his future knov.]- ledge and sucwws. He commenced the study of medicine in 1'344 much against his 207 (juUim's wish, wh < olVi'ivil him ii ilisinihlo intorost in lh(> wi^olon mills, 10 ilivoit l».n» (Vom his iloIoni\in;»tii>u ivlo,ssion. lloonto)-i\l tho oOiiv of IWtois Clark aiul l^ivwn.nf Chagrin Falls, Ohio, nvnv ivsiilonts and pn>n»inont j>hysioiiins ot Potivit, Miohiijan. Ihuior iho tuiti.'n ot' thoso pniotitionoi's ho ivntinuiHl oiioyoar, whon ho wrnt to Clovolan»l, Ohio, to atlonJ hvl\uvs in tho Moilioal l>o- jwrimont ot" \\\>storn Uosorvo Oolloiyt^, whoiv hoontoixnl tho otUoo of Prv^tKssorHoraooA, Aokloy.onooftho most oniinont andaoivniplishod purj^vus in tho wi^siorn States at that tinio. Ho gnuUiatinl in tho chvssof IS-kS-tJ). r.nd ivniaintHl in Dr. Aokloy's olluv until tho sum- iMo.rofl84;K Or, lUixs was tho osjnvial 1an>rito of his jn-iwptor, wlio ofiou i^nnlii ttnl tho tntuiv oniinouiv and poj>uUvrity of his young pupil, and oxpn^stHi ontiiv \\mUuUukv in his pixUossional aptitude and natural ahilitiv^. Whilo in tho olVuv o( Prs. Clark and Urown, tho lirni of Uliss. Poolo and Woston was oixvting largx^ \\\H>lon luills. aud laiH»\si to sivtirv tho sorviivs of a pnu'tioal tuaohinost, tUoy «}>|»litHl to tho oldor IMiss to i\\»unnond some oi>uv{HMont {vrson, which ho did hy nMorring thoui to his son. WiUarvl. Thoy im- UHxiiatoly on\ployv>l tho young luau. thou only twouty yoiu^ of ago, who suvVT\\U\i in sotting tho Uxmis. ainuvgiug tho e«t.iro maohinory of tho nulls. aiuJ placing (hom in succosslul oiH?.ratiou, to tho entire saiisfiwtkm of his oiuplojvrs. After the job w;is Ovimplotoil thoy otl^Txxl hiiu a lai-gt^ s^vlary to nnnaiu sis suivrvisor of their mills, but he wjy pi\>niptly d»vlitu\l. His hojvrt was tix^l uinm the idosj of Kwnxing a physicism. and he politely infonutxi them that the viUue of their entire i>stablishn>out cvnild not ^vrsuade hiiu lrv>m his pur- In IS49 IWtor BHss married 5^>phia Prvutis*. daughter of the Kev. Samuel IVntiss,a l^tptist clerg\-manthen, and now a rx\>,ident of Cleveland, OhiaTve of and e»>nduct«.>l tluMuills. in hojv thei\>by to rescue s>innethiug frvnn the wnvk. Purine tbat voiir he wsis otVa called IJ. VVlLLAkD iiJAHH. 3 Upon to poiforrri iinjjr,! t;i;it, and difricnll Hiiri^icjil opcration.s in tliat vicinity, which attracted the attention of the puhiic to those HUperior (lualihcatiorifl which have since so distinguished him. Being with- out financial resources he determined to remove west, and settled in Ionia, Michigan, on Grand Kivcr, at the head of navigation. There he practiced medicine three years, riding often from ten to sixty miles from home, in the suriounding country. In 1854, he removed to Grrand llapids, Michigan, for the purpose of seeking a more com- pact and lucrative field of operations, and giving liis abilities wider 8co[je. Here he formed a partnership with Dr. E. L. Henderson. He perlbrrned many important operations, and was the surgeon univer- sally sought after in all North Western Michigan, being recognized as the most skillful and successful operator in that region. At the breaking out of the rebellion. Dr. Bliss took the deepest interest in public afi'airs, and his office was for some time the head- quarters of military enlistment and preparation, in Grand liapid.i, for the 3d Regiment ot Michigan Volunteers. He tt nttoutioii ix'iuloivd tlu> siok aiul wouuiKhI, ami thogvnoral elUoioiu'v of t ho Moiliial IVpartmont, uivilor l\isilinvtioi», woiv part'c- ularly nt>tu\')»l>lo, aiul nvoivinl high ooininoiulaliiui t"i\>in tho Uoni'ial ol'lho DivissivMi, auvl tho Modioal HiixYtor of tho Aimy of tho I'oto- luao, ii\ lus olUoial ooiiuuuniojitioiis. His hoalth having Ivooiuo soriously imimiivd in oonso>(i;oiKV of iho sovoiv moiital ami physi- oiil taxation in»ju>si\l upon him th St. r>aj>tist ohnivhos. His snporior disoipliuo ami arrangvinont of thoso two liospitals. ovinoing his poouliar titnoss for hospital sorviiys, ami his uusur- jK>s!spi(rtl, and ho \v,»s a^.\^n\lingly ussigntnl to duty in ohargo of tlu^ V. 8. lunuu-al lK»spiial at Armory Squato. Of tho managomont of that hospital, and tho impn>vonioutsiustituti.Hl, aluii>st ivvoiut ioniz- ing and ivtiovating tho wholo lK»spit«l systom thou in opomtion; ol tho disoiplino in"sdl tho mimito details, and routiuo of daily hospital oxporioKiv ; of h s porsonal oaK> for tho oouit'ort.-t of caoh indiviilua! nudor his ohaivo. wo may loam from tho lips of thout^uids now soattonnl thnnighout tho ivnutry — fi\>m tht>so who visittnl tho luvspitiU to l<.H>k aftor thoir doar onos lying siok or wounditl ihoiv, fixMU nur»>s and imnlioal othwi-s, but ospocially fivm tluv^o who woiv tho nvipiouts of his ii'asoloss caiv, and skillful attouiion. All six-ak of thosuj-gxvn in cluu-go of Armory Siimvre Haly witnosssotl. Wo iiud tho gmu socivt \>t' his siuw^ss in h^vspital niauagvnnout, iiot alono in oxoiuiivo and l«\>tossional ability, b\it in his ^vrsoual su|H>rvision of each and every doivstrimnt nr.dor his chai-ge. Ho did not sit in his s«ai «>f authority, aud issue his oulei-s to his suWnlinatos, trusting to thoir 210 I). WILI,AK1J IlLIHH. 5 implicit fil/o(]if!iiw, l.ut, lie w^nt iiiiiori;^- (ho vviinlH, oW-rvd rniniiti,'!;, inquired, examined, Hw^frc.Hted, corrcclerl and inifirovi-d ; in a word, cared for tlic cvery-day wants ofthoHC who worr^ Huffcring for the Haiic of their country. lie performed all the surgical operationn — liiH former experience in that branch of the medical profeHBion peculiarly fittin;:; him for that duty. He inHtituted a thorough new syHtcni of dietetics for the hospital, which proved ho valuable as to induce the ajipointment of a Board by the Hurgeon General, of which Dr. Bliss was chairman, which reported unanimously in its favor, and which was Bubsequcntly mloptcd for the general hospitals; besidcH which he was the author of other and important reforms in the service, of which space will not allow mention. Particularly was he 8ucr;essful in the effort to throw around his hospital the atmosphere of home. Soldiers, thousands of young men, far away from the influences of near relatives and friends, sick, woundi;d, sufFerinf all the agony of home sickness, brought in from hattle-fieldx, and field- hospitals, longed for the kind, sympathetic words and tniatment they found at Armory Square. Various amusements and employment for the convalescing were instituted in and about the hospittil. To the " l)oys " it had the charm of home, and was cf>nducted with that true spirit of patriotism and humanity, which is prompted by love of country, and sympathy for suffering humanity. The war being finished, and Armory Square Hofq)ital dosed, Surgeon Bliss was mustered out of service in December, 1864, and immediately commenced the private practice of the medical profes- sion in Washington city, where he has earned fur himself the first position in point of pecuniary receipt, and the high ch iracter of the families whose confidence he has secured. While in the U. S. service he was twice brevettcd for faithful and meritorious service. At this time no man of the profession, in the metropolis stands higher than Dr. Bliijs. While remarkable for the energy and skill with which he pursues his profession, he is no less so for bin unscKish, generous bearing toward his professional co«/'yc/-e«, and his 211 tiiioomiiromisliiji; lioslility to ovnvtliii j; tlml smv(Ms oC illiluTiility nu.l iiijuslico. Dr. liliss is in tlir ininiror life, of lino jn rsoiml ndilrcss, impressive physiciiio, ami lias iIk' pioniisu of luunj yours of usolul- iii'»i(< uiul disiinoliiia. [By i)<:nn\mU)n v/t: take UiU) oketch from a blograpbt'.'al work pabliithed by the Atlantic PublUliiri!? Company, X. V.] ROBEIIT KINGSTON SCOTT, GOVERNOR OF SOUTH CAROLINA, f^llE Kiibject of the prcBent sketeli, in his life and character, r is a worthy illoBtration of tliat peculiar type of American -^1;^ nature which, encouraged by the generous institutions of our country, asserts its self-reliance in all the conditions of human experience, and achieves great results with no other help than such as springs from the latent energy of individual men. In his person, he likewise illustrates the influence of a sturdy ancestral gt'jck — strong, healthy brain, and well developed j/hjwiue — perpet- uated through a long line, and preserved to the present generation ; characteristics of mind and body which, being grafted on our race from the parent tree, have become distinct, national and emphatic. Robert Scott, the grandfather of Robert K. Scott, was born in the North of Ireland, where his ancestors took refuge after the bat- tle of Culloden in 1746, wherein the Clan Bucclcuch, to which they belonged, were defeated and put to flight. Previous to the Revolutionary war, he emigrated, with his three brothers, to this country, and at the age of seventeen entered the colonial army. In this he served with credit during the eventful struggle. On the termination of the war he settled at Shamokin, Northumberland ox»unty, Pennsylvania, and there died. The re- maining three brothers lived in Maryland and Virginia. John, the father of Robert K. Scott, was born and reared near Shamokin. He, too, was a soldier in the army of the United States during the war of 1812, with his brother William G. Scott, who was an officer, where his comtnander, and own second cousin, Gen. Win- 213 2 KUllKKT KINIiSTON SCOTT. (iold Scott, won liis oarlv laurels. After tlio war Jobn Scott removed to iVj-mstroiig countv, IVniisylvauiii, and, in 182(>, his son, Eobert. K., the pi-esent Governor of Sonth Carolina, was tlicrehorn. Although facilities lor acquiring a thorougli education in tliosc days were more limited than at the present time, Rohert K. received fhe best elementary instruction which the common schools afforded, until, at the age of sixteen, he went to Ohio that he might have bet- ter educational facilities. Among other schools, he attended Central College for a time. After pui-suing the study of medicine, and at- tending lectures at the Starling Medical College, in 1850 he crossed the plains in that mighty procession of emigi-ants who then began to people the new State of California. The trip was made in sixty days, at that time, the shortest on record. He engaged first in min- ing, and then in the practice of medicine, with varying success, un- til 1851, when, atlera prospecting tour in Mexico and South Ameri- ca, he returned to the States. The Great "West was but sparsely settled, and the yoxmg physician determined to cast his lot among the growing population of that region, and strengthen with their strength. He accordingly selected Henry county, in the northwestern part of Ghio as his future home, and at once commenced the prac- tice of medicine. The cholera was wgingat the time ; the maimers of the newvdoctor were popular ; his success in the treatment of dis- ease secured reputation, and reputation soon brought large pecuniary rewards. As yeai-s rolled on, early investments in land, also began to make profitable returns, and enable him to gradually withdraw from the active duties of his profession. Peculiar circumstances converted him, for a short time, into a merchant, and in this career he exhibited the sjime traits of energy which h.ave marked his course tlmnigh life. Having advanced money for business purposes to a friend, the latter eventually found himself on the eve of failure, and, to protect his generous creditor, transferred to him the entire stock of his store. The physician took charge of the establishment, de- voteil himself pei-sistently to his new duties, aud in less than eigh- teen months the results of his successful nianagement were, that he •J 11 ROB ERTKINGSTON SCOTT. 3 riot only pnid up tlie entire indebteilness of his friend, but iiiadu .several thousand dollars, aTid returned a larger stock than that with which he liad commenced the business. One possessed of such qualifications as these, in a thriving coni- nuinitv where brains and enterprise were the test of true manhood, could not but achieve popularity and influence. Accordingly, on the breaking out of the war in 1861, Gov. Dennison of Ohio, ten- dered to Dr. Scott a Major's commission, with itistructions to organ- ize the now famous Sixty-Eighth regiment of Ohio Volunteers. It was composed of the yeomanry of the country, the sons of farmers and mechanics, and in forty days after receiving the appointment, he had recruited 984 men, and marched them from the camp of ren- dezvous to Camp Chase. On the 29th of November, 1861, he was promoted to the Lieutenancy of the regiment. On the 8th of Feb- ruary, the command moved to the front and took part in the reduc- tion of Fort Donelson, at that time regarded as one of the strong- holds of the Confederacy in the West. His brigade commander was Gen. Thayer, the present United States Senator from Nebraska. The army, under command of Gen. Grant, now moved to Pitts- burgh Landing, where the Sixty-Eighth participated in the great two days' battle that has become a part of the history of the country. In this fight Col. Scott had his horse shot under him. The siege of Corinth followed, and the command then marched to Bolivar, Ten- nessee, where it remained during the summer of 1862. In July of that year, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and the efficien- cy with which he managed his regiment so inspired the confidence of Gen. Ross, his Division commander, that, although the youngest Colonel of the Division, on the 3d of October he was assigned to a Brigade, and directed to join Gen. Hurlbut, whose Division had been ordered to intercept tlie retreating army of Gen. Price after his de- feat at Corinth. In this capacity he took part in the battle of Hatchie river with Gen. Price's ai-my, and sul>sequently received honorable mention, for gallant conduct, in General Orders. Tlie importance attached to this battle will be the better understood when it i> known tliiit a i>nrlii-i|>;>tioM iu it, inmlo ISriijiulii'MU'niM'als Ovd i>r 1 1(0 iviiulnr ! jiost of Krijjmlo ooimiiaiulor was . a luarkotl oomplimont to the militarv skill ami adn»inistrativo al>iii- tv displavoii In him in tlio nianiiiivniont of trooivs. Tl»o arniv hoinu ix-oiyani/inl, tlio SixtvKiiilnh ivijiniont luvaino a part oi' tlio Sovoutoonth oorps, thon nndor llu> roinniaiul of Clon- oral MoPluM-son, anil was att^u-lunl to tlioTliiixl Division i-onunandiHl l>v tJon. .lolui A. Logan. Ti»o niilit,>>rv liistorv of Ool. Soott, thoiv- foiv, is l>nt a roi>otition i^i' tho liistorv of tliatfanions oorjvs. llo par- tioipatinl in thobitllos of Vovl lliulson, lia\n\ond, Jackson. Cham- pion Hills. Uii: l?hu-k. antl tinally tho invostmontof Vioksbni^. Tho Sixty -l\ij;hth boing ono of tho tij"st roginionts in position in front of Kort Hill, tho stivnghoUl on tho main ivad from .Taokson to Vioks hnrg. t>i\ tho tovminatioi\ of tho siogi\ Ool. Soott was phuvil in ooni- niand of tho SoovmuI Urigado. and, with tho Sovontoonth oorjKs. join- ihI tho ann\ of (.vononil Shorman at Rig Shanty, north >>f tho Kon- nosaw mountain, during tho oponU ions against thoOonfodoi-!\to Cion. .Kvsoph K. .lohnston. Fn>n> that period tho Rrigjulo took a oonspicu- o\is and honorable part in all tho ovonts which transpiiwl. During tho invi\stmont of Atlanta, on tho :2:id of July, iSOi, when the loft tiank of the V\>vleral army was surpristxi by the dash of Gen. Hood, t.\>l. S(.\>tt W!»s taken prisoner, within a few rvuls, and within a few minutes of the time when Cion. Morhei-son was killed, and with other otlKvi-s, carried tv>w-.snls Macon, (.itVM-gia. An event iU'eurnnl on tho way thither, which shows tho dotormiuoil chaMcter of tho nmn. Tho prisoi\ers wow iu the onlinary Ih«, or fjvight ears, un- der the guanl of a ivrtion v>f the Fifty -Fourth Virginia regiment. The (.\>lonel was sitting in the dix^rway with his feet h.inging out, and jt ronfiHlorate soldier by his side. (.Observing that the latter w as jnolinoil to sUh>i\ he ipiietly slipjHHl the cap fnun the gun, and at a lavorablo op|H>rtnnity jumivd fivm tho car, wiling down an em l^nkment sixtivn v>r oightivu tVvt, ho lay half stunnoil for a time, •211) BOfiKRT KINGSTON HOOTT. 5 bnt on rccoveririf^, inovwJ rapidly in tlie direction of the Ocmul^'e*^ river. I'or Bcven days }ie followed the cf^iirKe of thifl river, in the direction of the Federal lines, living chiefly, meanwhile, on three army IdHciiit. For three days he was j^urHued by men and dogs; finally, eluding thcHc, he came suddenly, at the angle of a roa^l, up- on a citiy.en. Conversation ensued, which resulted in his being furnished with food, clothing suitable for a disguise, and a coniforfc- able night's rest. The next morning he resumed his journey up the i-iver, and while traveling along the bank, well nigh beyond the reach of danger, he encountered a squad of Confederate soldier-j guarding a ferry, by whom liis disguise was penetrated. He was niHiched to the head-quarters of Gen. Cranberry, commanding the neighboring post, tlicnce to Forsyth, Ga., and finally to Charleston, S. C. From tlie latter jdace, he waa exchanged, with some one hun- dred and fifty others, on the 24th of September, 1804. He imme- diately returned to Atlanta, and resumed the command of his Brig- ade, preferring to share the toils and honors of the field to the enjoy- ment of the " leave of absence " then tendered to all released prisoners. Col. Scott, accordingly, accompanied Gen. Sherman in his great " march to the sea," and only accepted leave of absence on arriving at Savannah. The movements of Gen. Sherman through South Carolina were so rajiid that Col. Scott did not rejoin his Brigade un- til it arrived at Goldsboro, N. C. From that point the command moved to Raleigh, where the news was received of the capitulation of the Confederate army under Gen. Josej^h E. Johnston. After the great military review at \yashington, in May, 180.5, this Brig- "ade was ordered to Louisville, Ky., and there on the 10th of July, 180.5, mustered out of service. The officers of the Sixty-Eighth took occasion on that day to present to their old chief, (who had been offi- cially made a Brigadier-General on the 12th of .January, 180.5, though serving as such during the most of the i>eriod of his Colonelcy,) a handsome gold watch. After an affectionate farewell from his men. Gen. Scott, in obedience to instructions, repaired to his home in Na- poleon, Henry county, Ohio, tliere to await further oivkrs. In f ho 217 6 ROliEKT KINGSTON SCOTT. rulKiwiiig month of December, lie was ordered to report to Gen. Howard for duty; and on the 2d of January, 1866, received from tliat officer instructions to relieve Gen. Kufus Saxton, then Assistant Commissioner of the Fi-ocdman's Bureau in South Carolina. Previous to his assignment to duty in that State, he was made a brevet Major- Gencral, for general good conduct as an officer. He arrived in Charleston, and took charge of the Bureau on the 19th of the month, bu tunder cii-cumstances which required the exercise of the rarest tact and soundest judgment. He was informed that he had under- taken a task in endeavoring to bring order out of chaos, which it was not in human power to accomplish. The situation was indeed dis- heartening. Abuses of various kinds existed ; the whites were re- duced to poverty, and Charleston was thronged with Freedmen, who, having been furnished with free transpoilation, had made their way to the city as if it were an Eldorado, in which they were to be sup- ported by the General Government. General Scott at once employed two steamers to remove this surplus po])nlation, and enable them to return to the homes they had left on the coast. The privilege of free transportation was checked, and a system of labor organized which, it was believed, would do equal and exact justice between the em- ployei"sand employed. For a long time, however, the adjustment of difficulties between the two classes seemed almost impossible. The old plantei-s could not readily adapt themselves to the new situation, while the Freedmen often failed to comprehend the obligations of a contract ; nevertheless, these efforts were so far successful in satis- fying both races that, in June, 1S66, when an order came mustering General Scott out of service, (he being absent at the time,) a num- ber of the citizens of Charleston telegraphed the President to rescind the order ; whicli was promptly done, and in two houi-s after the re- turn of General Scott, he received a further order suspending the muster-out until the first of the following December. When that time arrived, the same gentlemen telegraphed the Pres- ident, asking the further suspension of the order, which was then entirely revoked, leaving him with hisratdc, the only Brigadier-Gen- 218 ROBERT KINGSTON SCOTT. 7 eral of the volunteer army of the United States not mustered out of service. But the organization of the labor system, was not the least of the evils with which General Scott had to contend. Almost the entire population, from the seaboard to the mountains, was in a tate of destitution. The crop of 1865 was short ; provisions were -acting, and, but for the assistance of the General Government, there would not have been enough of corn or meat to prevent starv- ation. Similar destitution prevailed during the year 1866. The high price of cotton having induced planters to devote their atten- tion chiefly to the culture of the staple, without regard to the neces- saries of life. The crop, however, was destroyed by the caterpillar, and the price having depreciated, the result scarcely repaid the cost of production. In 1867 and '68, therefore, even greater destitution prevailed than before, and it was then that the extremities to which the people were reduced, led General Scott to visit Washington and secure the sanction of the President to a loan of three hundred thousand dollars from the appropriation for the support of Freedmen to the people of the State at large. He therefore became the me- dium for advancing a large amount of provisions to the planters ; the relief was timely, and afforded them the means of producino- a sufficient crop for the succeeding year, and thus laying the founda- tion of permanent prosperity. He likewise exerted his influence in behalf of schools, and, under his administration, a large number of school edifices were erected, and colored children taught. In March, 1868, General Scott received from the Eepublican party of the State, the nomination for Governor. He formally declined the honor ; but, it being pressed by his friends, he was elected for two years by a majority of 46,000. In 1870, he was unanimously renominated, and after one of the most exciting political compaigns ever known in South Carolina, was triumphantly elected to fill the office for two years more, by a majoiity of 34,000 votes. He entered upon the duties of the position under circumstances which required the exercise of profound judgment, patience, and moral courage. The majority of the white people of the State, led 219 S ROBERT KINOSTONSOOTT. by tlicir old and experienced political leaders, were not only opposed to him in polities, but were untutored concerning their duties as cit- izens of a reconstructed State, and no little prejudice— bitter and personal — embarrassed every step of his way, creating obstacles -n-hich made it extremely difficult to secure the proper officers to fill fhe various positions intended to co-operate with the Executive, in the administration of the affiiirs of the State. Gradually, however, lie succeeded in establishing a policy, and notwithstanding many di-awbacks, the wisdom of that policy is recognized by many of the best citizens of South Carolina. The credit of the State has been improved ; public institutions have been fostered ; public and pri- vate enterprises encouraged, peace assured, and a new foundation laid for the development of a greater career thanSoutii Cai-olinayet has known. A firm believer in the spirit of the age, represented by the Fourteenth and Fifteentli amendments to the organic law, Gov. Scott has sought to enforce the civil and political rights of all men, without respect to race, color, or previous condition, and, if thus far he has failed successfully to solve the greatest political problem of the hour, the failure is due rather to the inefficiency of the instru- ments employed than to any weakness of his cause. He has a commanding person, that would be noticeable in any throng, being six feet two inches in height, straight as an arrow, and every way marked with the spirit of self-reliance, which conquers difficulty. Brown hair, grey eyes, and abroad forehead, with over- lianging brow, and lines sharply drawn around the mouth, reveal his Scotch ancestry, wliile his frank, Western manner, suggestive conversation, and progressive ideas, point him out as an unmistaka- ble American. He is not a fluent speaker in public, but addresses liimself always to the subject iu hand, and wins, by connnon sense and hard facts, the victories which others frequently fail to accomplish with the mere graces of rhetoric. As a man, Eobcrt K. Scott has made that mark in life wliicli nnisl eummand res])ecl fruiii all who admire energy of iiur])ose, success 220 ROBERT KINGSTON SCOTT. 9 fully employed. As a soldier his best tribute is written on the silver plate which adorns tlie flag staft'of the Brigade so long commanded by him, and which record the names of Fort Donelsoii, Shiloh, the siege of Corintii, Bolivar, Jnka, Corinth 2d, Thompson's Hill, Ray- mond, Jackson, Champion Hill, Fort Hill, Vicksburg, Fort Beaii- regai-d, Mmm. Eaid, Bogachita, Meridian Raid, Big Shanty, Bush Mountain, Kennesaw, Nickyack, Siege of Atlanta, Atlanta July 2 1st, 22d, and 28th, Jonesboro, Lovejoy, Milledgeville, Savannah, Poco- taligo, Orangeburg, Charleston, Columbia and Bentonville. 221 DEWITT CLINTON LITTLEJOHN. ,, BY S. WATKINS TUTTLE. • S an example of that peculiarly American type of character which is popularly denominated Yanlcee, expressmg by that term all which a man can possess of indomitable energy, perseverance and determination, the career of Dewitt C. Littlejohn affords to the rising generation material for the most profound study and contemplation. The trite aphorism concerning " self made men," which earned so much cheap applause in the callow days of the Eepublic, has become such an absolute rule with all those who have made themselves iilus- trious in our land, that it has no significance in its old acceptation. The truly self-made man is he who looks further into the future than do those about him, and intuitively discerning a public need or a great opportunity, makes that opportunity his own, and improves it to the utmost; overcoming all obstacles, dismayed by no difficulties, and heeding no allurements which would draw him from bis course. Life is too short for even the ablest man to waste himself upon a number of pursuits : success lies in the concentration of power upon one object, and steady perseverance in achieving it. To these quali- ties must be added the immense moral force which a man gains in being thoroughly imbued with the spirit of his labor; in other words, by believing in his own cause. Before entering upon the narrative of Mr. Littlejohn's life, we would call the attention of the reader to the fact, illustrative of these remarks, that from his first entry into business, and in all the various positions of honor end responsibility to which he has been chosen, he has been identified with one great interest, viz: the western 223 i mowrrr (.-union litilejomn c"i\nvinint of all his hnsinoss ontorprisos lias been tho City of Oswojjo, insoiiuMiislniH'Os whoix' iu> intention to that oflVct is evident. As resulting lVon> his aente peiveption of thegij^antie interests in- volved ill the business in which ho was so actively ongag^nl, Jlr. Lit- tlejuhn is, and has l>wn for yeni-s, the espoeial ehanii>ion of tho Niaj;ara 8hip Canal : so that it would almost seem as if tlie mantle of his illustrious prototype deseended to him with his name, that he might add tho erowniug work to the system whieh the former inaugurateil. Dt^wilt Clinton Littlejohn was born in tho town of Bridgewater, Oneida County, New York, iu tho yojxr 1S18. His youth, as is gi'nerally the case, was uneventful, lie tii-st reecived such instruc- tion as could be obtained in the very ordinary schools whieh the eovmtry aflorded in thosedap. and afterwards at tended several terms at an aeadeuiy, whoix^ he pui-siiod his studies with so much industry that he was eonsideivd titted to enter an advanced class in college. It had been his intention to obtain a collegiate cdueatiou, but at this juneluiv some trivial ciixnimstanee changed his intention, and he determined 1 1 engage in tueix-antile pursuits. At tho ag' of twenty-one Mr. Littlejohn left his home for the tlourishir.g vilhigo of Oswego, wheiv ho formed a business partner- ship with the Hon. Uenry Fitzhugh, then, and until his death, one o( the most estimable citizens of that place. Young Littlejohn took with him into the (arm little money capitnl ; but he had integrity, enei-g\-, a clear head, and givat business capacity, qualities which never yet failevl to tell to their possessor's advantiigi\ At this time the givat west was just Ivginning to assume importance as a produc- ing section; and Oswego, from its position on Lake Ontario, bid lair to boanue the principal cntitpot for its v;ist commeive. Mr. Fitz- hugh and his \\ning jvvrtner embarked acti\-ely in what was then known as the lake tnide. and soon took a high rank among the com- meri'ial houses o( the eountrv. •J-24 DEWITr r-UNTOV MTTLE-JOnN. 3 In his new position, Mr. Littlcjohn very soon began to make him- self knov/n, and his influence felt among his fellow citizens. The ardor which he displayed in his commercial pursuits, redounded greatly to the benefit of his adopted home; and so closely were the interests of the place and the business interwoven, that faithful at- tention to the one, involved and implied fidelity to the other. So it came about, that while yet comparatively a stranger, he was cho- sen one of the trustees of Oswego Village. This was Mr. Littlejohn's first entrance into political life — where he has since gained so much honor and renown. He accepted the position, as he hims(;lf says, not from any desire for notoriety, which never had any charms for him, but with that spirit in which a man worthy of trust, always accepts a duty which he is called upon to perform. Although quite young, he was an able debater, and never took a position without first entrenching himself with a battery of arguments to define and defend his opinions. In the direst extremity he will never confess a defeat, but fights for his cause with his whole heart and soul. These qualities soon gained him the leadership in his county, — a position he has ever since retained. At this time the whole state was seething with political excite- ment. A new birth was evidently at hand, but no man could foresee the result. " Whigs " and " Democrats," " Barn Burners," " Hunk- ers," " Free Soilers," " Silver Greys," " Woolley Heads," and a score of other organizations existed, in one or other of which a man could trim to suit the shifting wind of popularity. But Mr. Little- john was never the man to keep his eye on the weather cock. He planted himself squarely on the Anti-slavery platform, then bitterly unpopular, without any '• ifs" or "ands" or " buts"; and until the bloody end of the slave power he never wavered or hesitated, but with all the energj-of his character, and all the force of his eloquence and logic, he battled with it till it was overthrown. After the widening of the Erie canal under the Constitution of 1846, the commercial interests of Oswego demanded a like enlarge- 225 4 DKWITI CLINTON I-irrLlMOHN. mcnt of the Oswego canal. The business of that place had mean- while become inimenst^, anil it was seriously crippled by lack of facility in transportation to tide water ; and iu 1Sj3 Mr. Littlejohn was chosen to the Legislature for thcpiup.se of effecting the desired result. The ardor with which he entered upon his allotted duty, and his eminent fitness for the task, were acknowledged and recognized in his appointment by the Speaker as a member of the Special Committee to prepare an amendment to the Constitution, authorizing the en- largement of the tributary canals. The proposed amendment having been ratified by the people of the State, Mr. Littlejohn was returned to the Assembly by his con- stituency in 1854, to supemse the legislation neccessaryto carry its provisions into effect. During this session he held the position of Chairman of the Canal Committee. Of the Legislature of 1855 Mr. Littlejohn was also a member ; and the high position which he had attained in the politics of the State, caused him to l>e nominated and elected Speaker of the House. The arduous and delicate duties which now devolved upon him were dis- charpcc'd with rare skill and discrimination. The readiness of thought and promptness of decision which he had cultivated in business, en- abled him to dispose readily of the vexatious questions continually arising. During this session the initiatory skirmish of the great struggle between slaveiy and freedom took place, on the occasion of the election of United States Senator. Governor Seward was the chosen standard bearer of the Anti-slavery party, and Mr. Little- john threw himself into the contest with an ardor and energy which contributed iu a very great degree to the result. At all events the responsibility of this audacious success of Anti-slaveiy sentiments was charged upon Mr. Littlejohn, and his enemies used every effort in their power to crush the rising statesman. But he was not at all the sort of a man to be crushed. He returned home at the close of the session, and accep'ed the nomination of his party for Mayor of 226 DEWITT CLINTON LITTLEJOHN. fi the new City of Oswego. After a canvass of unexampled bitterness and personal vituperation, he was triumphantly elected. la the years 1857, '59, '60 and '61 Mr. Littlejohu was again elec- ted to the Legislature, and at each of these sessions was chosen Speaker. As a presiding officer he has few superiors. His know- ledge of parliamentary law is extensive and profound ; and his ui'banity and impartiality win the confidence and suj^i^ort even of political opponents. In the Presidential campaign of 1860 he took an active part in support of the Eepublican candidates : and as a recognition of his very valuable services, was joffered by President Lincoln the position of Consul of the United States at Liverpool. As the war of the Rebellion had just broken out, and the future of the Republic was fraught with danger, he declined the proffered honor, preferring to remain in his own country, where his services might be needed. The following year, on the call of the President for six hundred thousand troops, Mr. Littlejohn was solicited by the War Committee of Oswego County to accept the Colonelcy of one of the new regi- ments. He did so, and in ten days time recruited and put into the field the 110th Regiment. With his command Col. Littlejohn went to sea as a part of the famous expedition of Gen. Banks to New Orleans. The voyage was an unusually stormy one, and for several days many vessels of the fleet were in extreme danger of shipwreck. The personal care and sleepless devotion of Col. Littlejohn alone preserved a number of them from being lost. The regiment went into camp at Cairolton, near New Orleans, and during the campaign of General Banks, did good service at Port Hudson, and at various points in the Depart- ment of the Gulf, and saw some hard fighting. It is due to their commander to say, that in all the privations incident to military life, he shared the lot of his private soldiers, and was unwearied in his attention to the comfort and welfare of his men. WhUe on duty with his regiment, in the fall of 1862, Mr. Little- 227 6 DEWITT CLiNTON LlTIXF-JOnN. John was elected by his constituents of Oswego county a member of the 38th Congress. During the following winter his health, under the combined influence of exposure in camp, and the ennervating climate, foiled him entirely. For this reason, and there being also a question of his eligibility to Congress, while in the anny, he resigned his commission about the 1st of March, 1863, and on the 4th of that month took his seat at the organization of Congress. But the disease which had fastened upon his system during his sojom-n in the south, now laid him low, and for many months his condition was critical : a vigorous constitution triumphed, however, and at the December meeting of Congress he had so far recovered as to be able to resume his seat and take part in its deliberations. Mr. Littlejohn's Congressional career was particularly honorable and active. Still true to the interests of commerce and the lake trade, he introduced and earned through Congress, in face of strong opposition, a bill which appropriated $300,000 to the preservation of the harbors of our great lakes. Ilis committee duties were various and c xceedingly arduous. He was Chau-man of the Committee on Rules ; a member of that on Pensions ; also on Roads and Canals, and a prominent and working member of the Committee on Ways and Means. On all political subjects, and in support of all projects to sustain the Government in its trying hour, Mr. Littlejohn was outspoken and energetic. His readiness in debate and familiarity \vith parliamentary law, rendered unnecessary in his case, that pro- bation which a new member must usually undergo, and he at once took an influential position in affairs of state. In his comprehensive scheme for the advancement of our internal commerce, Mr. Littlejohn has always considered, as of the first im- portance, the construction of a Ship Canal around Niagara Falls, and he has labored indefatigably for years to accomplish that object. The opposition which he has encoimtered would have discouraged most men, but he seems to thrive under it. Dming the last session of his Congressional term ho introduced a bill into Congress to effect 228 DEWITT CLINTON LITTLEJOHN. 7 this measure, and succeeded by his personal efforts in carryin- it through the House. It failed in the Senate, however, most probrWy from want of time. In the fall of that year, Mr. Littlejohn was again elected to repre- sent his district in the State Assembly for the session of 1866 In that body he was Chairman of the Committee on Commerce and Navigation ; second on the Canal Committee, and was also chosen Speaker pro fem. On account of the sickness and consequent absence of the Speaker from his post, Mr. Littlejohn discharged the duties of that office during nearly the entire term. Very early in the session he introduced a bill chartering a company to construct the Niagara Ship Canal. A majority of the people of the State have always been opposed to this measm-e, from a fear that it would draw traffic and revenue from the Erie Canal. It was therefore a remark- able triumph for Mr. Littlejohn, as well as a practical tribute to his skill as a legislator, that he succeeded in securing the passage of his biU in the face of the most determined opposition, wldch he fou<^ht single handed, while his progress was contested inch by inch. °In the Senate, however, certain, conditions were attached to the bill which caused its projectors to abandon their design. During this session the writer being in professional attendance upon the Legislature, had daily opportunities of studying Mr. Little- john's character and mental qualities What struck him as one of his strongest characteristics, was his intense earnestness in all he undertakes. There seems not to be the remotest trace of levity or ;nonsense about him. He never talks for the sake of talking, but when he takes a position on a measure, he means business. Another strong trait is his power of analysis, and of saying a great deal in a few words. As a legislator his industry is untiring, and his sagaci- ty something marvelous. ^ In the year 1865 a project was formed by a number of prominent Itailroad men and capitaHsts, to construct a Kaihoad from New York C.ty, in as nearly a direct line as possible, through the interior of 229 e DEWirr CLLNXON Liri'LliJOHN. the State to Lake Ontario, making its northern terminus at Oswego. A ghxnco at the map of New York State will show that such a road would travcree some of the richest portions of its territory, in a sec- tion quiet undeveloped by Eailroad facilities. It would also inter- sect and cross the N. Y. Central K. R. at Oneida ; thus forming the hypothenuse of a triangle, of which Albany is the apex ; and effect- ing a saving of distance from New York to the point of intersection, of some fifty miles. A company to construct the " New York and Oswego Midland R. R.," over this route, was organized in that year under the General Railroad law, and was granted especial facilities by legislative enact- ments in 1S66 and '67. As the best man for the place, Mr. Little- john was elected President of the Company, and entered with great spirit into the undertaking. Having planned and perfected the financial system which he con- sidered best calculated to render the enterprise a success, he made a thorough canvass of the various localities through which the line was to pass. His skill in influencing men, and obtaining their support, was never so wonderfully illustrated, ^n extraordinary amount of enthusiasm was aroused among the inhabitants along the proposed route, and some six million dollars were subscribed by them to the )»roject. No aid has ever been received from the State by this road. Although projected and begun at a time of great financial depression, and encountering those periods of stringency in the money market, which have caused the ruin of so many schemes since the close of our late war, the Midland Railroad has steadily advanced under its able and efficient management, and mile after mile of its line has been completed and run, until it stands to-day a great leality, an accomplished fact, and a splendid monument to the energy, perseverance and resolution of its foimders. We believe the circumstances attending the construction of this road to be without a parallel in the history of similar enterprises ; and that we are not extravagant in asserting, that without subsides 230 DEWrrT CIJNTON LITIXEJOHN 9 from the State, no man but Dewitt C. Littlejohn could have made the project a success. In a couple of years more the enth-e line will be finished and in operation, forming another grand highway for western traffic to the metropolis. Mr. Littlejohn was again chosen a member of the Legislature for 1867, when he was Chairman of the Canal Committee, and a member of that on Kailroads. Again a member in 1870, and serving on the Committees of Ways and Means, Railroads, and Grievances, three of the hardest worked Committees in the House. Yet Mr. Little- john most conscientiously performs the duties assigned him, and is seldom absent from their deliberations. At the present time Mr. Littlejohn is a member of the Legislature of 1871, and consequently is semng for his eleventh legislative term, during five of which he was Speaker, and as the newspapers bear daily evidence, is one of the most untiring and watchful of the minority. In person Mr. Littlejohn is tall, thin and angular; with a careless, rapid gait, as of a man who thinks not so much of the order of his going, as to go at once. His head is long, and adorned with very black hair and whiskers, now sprinkled with grey. His eyes are black and piercing, and move incessantly with a quick, nervous motion. His under jaw is firm and square, giving evidence of great resolution and firmness. The reader will have noticed that the marked successes of Mr. Littlejohn's life have been in no degree owing to accidental circum- stances, but are rather the result of remarkable natural abilities and persistent efibrt. Endowed by nature with great powers of both body and mind, he has wrought out his present high position among men. Evidently from a long lived ancestry, he has inherited the elements of great longevity, and will wear out as it were by inches ; and con- stantly improving with age, will be at the meridian of hfe at a period when most others become exhausted. He has great muscular strength and nervous energy, with a large brain, great clearness of 231 10 DEwrrr cunion liitlejohn. mind, un d an ixccllout temperament, and ihcKC, combined with his large combativencss and strong will, enable him to thi-ow great inten- sity and powir into whatcTcr ho undertakes, and to exercise a com- manding influence among men. He has also great breadth of intellect, and takes a comprehensive view of all subjects, and finds his true field in carrying forward great enterprises rather than in the more restricted channels of commerce and financial detail. Though having great strength and mental independence of character, he is by nature extremely modest, and his whole life has been marked by freedom fi om pretension. Had he been differently constituted in this respect, he would undoubtedly have attained still greater prominence. He has always acted upon the principle that " the position should seek the m;m, not the man the position," and has often refused to assume im])ortant responsibilities which have been urged upon him. This characteristic, though well known to his friends, is less under- stood by the general public, as when he has determined upon a course, the strength of his will and the intense energy of his nature cause him to override all obstacles, giving the appearance of great eelf-trus* and confidence. "Whilo his combativeness and powers of resistance are veiy great, he is a stranger to revenge, or a desire to strike the fallen, being satisfied with such reparation as answers the ends of justice. Owing to this peculiarity of his organization, opposition but strengthens him, and it is only in debate and when ho has great obstacles to contend with, that his extraordinaiy power becomes fully manifest. Though the clearness of his perception and his strength of intellect makes his judgment almost unerring, he is, notwithstand- ing his strong will, always disposed to listen to advice, and to regard with much dcferenci=! the opinions of others. While possessing great enterprise as manifested by his life, he shows marked caution before embarking in any undertaking ; but when, after full deliberation, he has determined upon his course, he follows it with unyielding persistency, and is bound to succeed. 232 DEW ITT CLINTON LITTLE JOHN. n Mr. Littlejohn has great kindness of feeling, and is heartily interested in whatever is calculated to benefit his fellow men ; ha^ strong domestic feeling, and is greatly attached to home and family. He is a warm, hearty friend, and regards with the utmost fidelity the obligations which friendship imposes. Has a high sense of honor, and is scrupulously conscientious in his business relations — indeed, has no greater ambition or pride of character than to be known of all men, as one " whose word is his bond," and who never deviates from the principles of fairness, and of even and exact justice. Owing to the strength and endurance of his organization, Mr. Littlejohn is as yet comparatively a young man. The positions of trust and responsibility which he has aheady lield, and the promi- nence he has attained ; his manly integrity and honor ; the purity of his life, and the confidence he inspires ; his great force, persistency and earnestness ; his intense energy and remarl^able power ; the clearness of his perceptions, and strength of his mind, entitle him to a position among men, such as few in any age achieve. 233 A-^yj, /^^.^^^ 1 WILLIAM B. CLERKE. 'HERE is not, probably, any city in the -world possessed of *^S| greater facilities for making a fortune than the City of ^ '^ New York, and we doubt if there is any place on earth where it is more difficult to amass wealth. Contradictory as this may appear, it is nevertheless a truism whose demonstration we wit- ness daily. And the obstacles which beset the paths of bo many opportunities arise from that fierce and feverish competition among business men, which forms the most striking characteristic of all great centers of population, and which is more apparent in New York than in any other civilized city. This holds good in all descriptions of business; but more practi- cally in stock-brokerage and banking. There is no calling in life more fascinating, and none more dangerous than that of finance. Where one man succeeds, one thousand fail, and if the personal his- tories of the men who have frequented Wall Street for years could be told, the narrative would form a record of ruin to the many, which no romance could equal. The fact is, that a man, to succeed in Wall Street, must possess a pecuUar order of genius ; he must be a man of more than ordinary abilities; he must, indeed, possess talents of a higher order than can be found in the average man. Not greater courage is required to make a hero of a soldier, than is required to speculate in stocks. And yet there must be no rash- ness; he must be daring, and yet prudent; his knowledge of thu market must be perfect, and he must be, to some extent, prescient of the future. A combination of qualities, many seemingly opi)Osc(l 235 2 W1LL1A.U b. CLKUlifc;. to cacli Other, and incapable of harmonizing, is requiroJ in any man wliowoul.l win a foruine in tho daily struggles between the "bulls" and " l)cars " of tlie Stock Exchange. The sketch which we shall proceed to give is that of a man whose success deuioustrates his possession of all the qualities to which we have alluded. William B. Gierke was bora in tho City of New York in 1829, and is consequently still a young man. His father is the Hon. Thos. W. Gierke, a native of Ireland, who came to the United States at an early age and settled in New York, where he attained to considerable eminence as a lawyer, and made reputation as the author of several valuable works on legal subjects, including a very full digest of the New York State Keport. In 18!33 he was elected a Justice of the Supreme Gourt of the State, which position he held for nearly twenty years, winning the confidence and respect of tho public and of the bar, by his upright and impartial couri.e on the Bench. William B. Gierke received a good education, in the city of his birth, and, after leaving school, entered the office of his father for the purpose of studying the profession of the law. But to the young man the dry and musty records had few attractions, and it was not long before himself and his fiither agreed together that whatever he might become, the legal profession was not intended for him; accordingly ho threw aside his law books and entei'ed Wall Street, in the capacity of clerk in the banking house of J. S. Gar- pender & Co., where he remained for eight years, during which pe- riod of time he became fully initiated into all the mysteries of stock-brokerage and banking. As a subordinate, Mr. Gierke gave evidence of that shrewdness and business tact, which in after years he exhibited in his own behalf with marked success. His associ- ation, too, with the bankers and brokers of the city, had made him favorably known to them, and the excellent qualities he displayed as a clerk won for him an enviable reputation and many friends. In 1S30 Mr. Gierke resigned his position with Carp?nder &: Co., 236 WILLIAM B. CLERKE. 3 and engaged in business on his own account, as a banker and bro- ker. Immediately after, he was unanimously elected a member of the New York Stock Exchange, an institution exceedingly powerful in the financial affairs of the country, and the members of which are usually very particular concerning those to whom they extend the right of association; the unanimity with which they elected Mr. Gierke to membership must, therefore, be regarded as a flattering evidence of the high character he bore in a community of capitahsts, whose aggregate wealth must reach almost fabulous figures. He began business with little or no capital, but he had eight years' ex- perience, keen judgment, a thorough knowledge of his business, and great resolution, with which to make up for the pecuniary defi- ciency. These formed the greater part of his capital, and they cer- tainly did their part well, for Mr. Gierke prospered steadily, skill- fully avoiding the treacherous dangers which crowd the path of the operators of Wall Street, and which have made hundreds of men, who arose in the morning wealthy, retire to bed at night bankrupt and penniless. From 1850 to the present day Mr. Gierke has caiTied on business on his own account, and he may to-day be justly called one of the few successful men of Wall Street. He has acquired a large fcir- tune, and has established his business on a firm and substantial basis. To do this was not an easy matter, as we have already said; to do it within twenty years, is something to be proud of; indeed, to do it at all is a demonstration of superior intellectual resources and business capacity. It would, of course, be impossible for us to enter into the particulars of the vast speculations in wliich Mr. Gierke has been engaged, or even to mention any single operation which added to his wealth; for if ever the mysteries of "margins," "puts" and "calls," were unfolded to us, it is still doubtful if we should under- stand them with sufficient clearness to make an intelligent narra- tive. It is noteworthy that in Mr. Gierke's career, of nearly a quarter 237 i W 1 I, L I A M B . C L E II K F, . of a century, he never was dtherwise tliau popular with his associ- ates in liusiness Ever since his connection with the New York Stock Exchange, he has been more or less identified with its legisla- tion, and in May, 1870, his election, by an almost unanimous vote, as President of that institution, was a flattering testimonial to his abili- ties, and to the high esteem in which he is held. This position is oc- cupied by Mr. Gierke at the present writing, and the complete satis- faction he has given all the members, by his dignified course, and skillful administration of its affairs, is the best proof of his capaci- ty, and of their wisdom in selecting him. The Stock Exchange, it must be borne in mind, consists of an association of about eleven hundred of the most respectable citizens of tlie City of New York, and numbers among its members some of the ablest business men in the world. It possesses property valued at one million of dollars, including the building in which business is transacted. Over this vast institution Mr. Gierke presides. While Mr. Gierke Las been acquiring reputation and fortune, he has not only interested himself in matters connected with his per- sonal business, but he has also devoted much of his time to chari- table deeds; "laying up treasures in heaven, which moths and rust do not consume." He has been for some years, and still is, con- nected with various charitable societies, for the improvement of the condition of the unfortunate, such as the " Gity Mission," and " The Sheltering Arms," of which he is a trustee. Besides spending much time and contributing largely in money to the work of these insti- tutions, Mr. Gierke has performed numerous deeds of benevolence, which he never speaks of, it is true, but which have gained him the undying gratitude of those whose sufferings he has alleviated, whose wants he has relieved, and of those whom he extended a helping hand to at the critical moment of then: business careers, when, but for his assistance, they would have been iiTetrievably ruined. Remember- ing his own struggles, when he began business, and knowing how diCQcult it is for men in Wall Street to escape the dangers which 23S WILLTAJIB. CLERKE. 5 beset them on all sides, Mr. Gierke can and docs sympatLize with the unfortunate, and he has always proved a true friend to the young and inexperienced men who enter the Street, never refusing, when asked, to give them judicious advice. Peisonally, Mr. Gierke is a gentleman of rather above the average height, and of a well-proportioned figure; he possesses a frank, open countenance, rendered somewhat French in its general cast, by rea- son of the style in which he wears his beard. His character as a man of honor and integrity is above reproach. During his long business career, not a word has ever been whispered against his hon- esty and fair dealing, not even in the way of slander. Very few men on Wall Street can say as much, for although it is unquestionably true that the sweeping charges which are occasionally made against them as a body are absurd and preposterous, it is rare that the in- dividual members of the Stack Exchange escape the libelous tongues of others. The chent of a stock-broker invests his money and loses it, and the chances are ten to one he believes his agent in some unexplainable way responsible for the loss he has sustained, and in many instances he will indulge in insinuations against his hones- ty. It has been Mr. Gierke's good fortune to conduct his delicate and intricate business for twenty-one years, without having even his motives impugned. In the social circle Mr. Gierke is also very popular. He is a gen- tleman of finished address and poUshed manners, and his conversa- tion is always pleasant and interesting. His career has been a strik- ing exemplification of what pluck and indomitable energy can ac- complish. If he is one of the fortunate few of Wall Street, it is because he is also one of the few gifted with requisite qualities for obtaining success. And we are confident that a man who has ac- quired fortune in as creditable a manner as he has acquired his, and whose business life has been as little open to censure as his has been, deserves, even as Mr. Gierke merits and obtains, the confidence and esteem of all to whom he is known. 239 BARTON n. JENKS. BY J. ALEXANDER PATTEN. * ||pIiE pen has no wortliier task than in recording tlie history of ^^M American manufacturing enterprise. In tliese achievements •^ ^ man has shown liis grandest powers of genius and will, and accomplislied lasting beneilts for his race. The glory of even mar- tial victories grows pale in the luster of these triumphs of industry and skill. Barton H. Jenks, who is at the head of the great Bridesburg Manufacturing Works of Philadelphia, affords in his career a most striking illustration of energy and talent, as an inventor and manu- facturer. He was born in Philadelphia, September 18, 1826, and is a descendant of those whose names are prominently associated with the early manufactures of the United States. Ilis ftither was the late worthy and distinguished Alfred Jenks, and he is also a lineal descendant of the Hon. Joseph Jenks, governor of Rhode Island, who erected a forge in the seventeenth century. Alfred Jenks was the founder of the works now carried on by his son, and was a pupil and co-laborer for many years with the celebrated Samuel Slater, who erected the first cotton-mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In 1810, Mr. Jenks removed to Ilolmesburg, Pennsylvania. He took witii him drawings of every variety of cotton machinery, as far as it had then advanced in the line of improvement, and commenced its manufacture. He supplied the machinery for the first mill started in that portion of the State. During the war with England he greatly extended his business, and in 1819 or 1820, removed to Bridesburg, which is now a part of the city of Philadelphia. He con- veyed his old frame building from Holmesburg on rollers, which yet stands amid the more substantial and imposing structures beside 241 2 UA UTON 11 .IKNK8. it, a rovorcd inomoriiil of tlio \n\6t. Tlio ourlie'st dpiiKiiid lor woolen uuu'liiiiorv in IVnnsylvaniu was 8iii>])licil by Mr. .links, lie liir- nislicd 111! tlio iiiiicliiiuMv lor tlio lirst woolen mill eshililisluul in tlio Stato lit Consliolioekeii. in IS;U) he invented a power-loom for weavinj: elieeku. The introiluelioii of this loom at the Ivempton T\Iill, Manayunk, oeeasioned sueh an exeitement amont; the liaiid- woavoi'8 iiiul others opposod to laltor-savinj!; machinery that the presciieo of uii aniiod forco was necessary for the protection of the mill. Siiu-e the decease of Mr. Alfretl .leiiks, with a brief exeeiition, luid for a miniber of yeai-s jireviously, the business of the JJrides- bui-fj Works has been eondiieted by Mr. Barton II. Jeiiks. Under Ilia able direetiini asa ineehanicand business man the establishment lins acquired colossal extent and a world-wide reputation. In- genuity and enterprise are inborn to him, and the renown for both which was acquired by his ancestors is beiiijj; trreatly increased at his liaiuls. Ill lSt)3, iinding that the labors were overpowering him, ho formed a stock corporation styled the Bridesburg Manu- facturing Company, with a paid-up capital of one million of dol- lars. Mr. Jenks is the president. For a long period ho sought re- tirement, but at length returned to the active management of the business, in which he still remains. The Bridesburg Works consist of numerous buildings covering a largo area, and provide omj>loy- ment for about live hundred operatives. The machine-shop is a building three hundred and ninety-eight by thirty-two feet, and tliree stories in height, and all the other buildings are large. There are I'ourteen dilVerent departments in the Works, each under the charge of a competent superintendent, who controls assistant super- intendents and their separate squads. The stock of lumber, which has to lie in the seasoning room for perhaps a year requires im ex- penditure of seventy thousand dollars. Five steam-engines and eighty-six diftorent kinds of labor-saving machines are in constant use. All the machinery, and every other appointment, are as per feet us experience and money can make them. At a recent visit of •242 BAETON H. JBNKS. 3 tlic CongreBsional Centennial Committee to these Works they cx- preesed not only praise, but astonish irient at their extent, and tlie variety and excellence of the machinery produced. A large number of different styles of looms are made, all of which embrace in a greater or less degree improvements not pos- sessed by looms manufactured elsewhere. The several improvements in looms are covered by seven distinct patents. The improved self-stripping cotton and woolen carding-machine was improved and bronglit to its present perfection by Mr. Earton II. Jenks. Some twentj' tliousand dollars have been expended in perfecting improve- ments of the carding machine. Our country is indebted to Mr. Jenks for the first construction of the automatic wool-spinning mule. Much praise is due to him as the originator of the manufacture of this important machine in the United States, and thus enabling ns to compete with England in its production. Self-acting mules for wool are about one-third more complicated than those for cotton. During 1809 there were about five hundred imported, and it was an ambition to supply the growing demand that induced Mr. Jenks to turn his attention to the practicability of supplying them from his own works. "With this as his main object, he went abroad, and made a thorough ex- amination of the automatic mules in Europe. He included in his search the various descriptions of the machine, amounting to about fifty in all, in use in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and Belgium. After bestowing upon the matter great personal care, lie finally decided that by far the most complete machine in existence was that of the Messrs. Piatt, Brothers & Co., of Oldham, England. He purchased one of these, shipped it to America, and immediately upon bis return devoted himself to the task of pro- ducing a copy eqnal, if not superior, to the original. That end has been reached, and the verdict of the experts who pronounced upon it declares it perfection. A slight idea of the superiority of the automatic over the hand mule may be formed from the statement that it dispenses with the wool spinner and twister, and at the same 243 4 BARTON H. JENKS. time manipulates about six hundred spindles, while the hand mules range from ninety to one hundred and fifty. As each spindle handles about a pound and a half a week, the difference is very considerable. The company expect to turn out one of these mules each day, and if necessary that power will be doubled. It is a great achievement oi the mechanic arts, and it deserves a proper reward. From this time no American need go beyond the limits of his own country to secure the very best spinning mule; nor will a mill bo stopped in its work by the impossibility of quickly re- placing some fractured part. lu 1S52 a patent was issued to Mr. Jcnks for improvements in looms for weaving figured fabrics; in 1854 a patent for another in)provement in looms, and in 18G0 a patent for an improvement in cotton-gins. For several 3'ears he has been experimenting upon and constructing the necessary machinery for a cylinder cotton- gin, lie has constructed a pump three hnndrcd feet in height, witii the capacity of ]>umping two thousand gallons per minute. Ho is sanguine of being able, at no distant day, to furnish the city of Philadelphia with forty millions of gallons of water per diem. When the war with the South broke out, Mr. Jenks erected an immense building with four wings, having a length of nine hundred and twenty feet, and filled it with all the best and most improved machinery for an armory. Five thousand Springfield rifle muskets were made each month until the close of the war. Bridesburg has obtained all its importance and prosperity from the location there of the machine works. The place owes almost its whole existence to Mr. Jenks and his father. Mr. Jenks con- tributed more than thirty thousand dollars for the erection of the free church of the Presbyterian congregation. He designed it as a memorial of his father, who was one of the ruling elders, an office to which be has himself succeeded. The church is built of gray stone, with brown-stone trimmings, and arched windows of stained glass, and has a lofty spire. Another of Mr. Jenks' liberal benefactions must be nuiieed. In 244 BARTON H. JENKS. answer to an appeal to tlie i)ublic for pecuniary aid from Lafayette College, at Easton, Pennsylvania, lie offered a i-ift of ten thousand dollars for the erection of a Chemical hall. His munificent dona- tion was received with thanks and blessings, and with characteristic business punctuality lie soon paid over to the treasurer the entire sum. On the 25th of July, 1865, the corner-stone of Jenks' Chem- ical Hall was laid on College Hill, with appropriate ceremonies. Rev. Professor W. Henry Green, of Princeton College, delivered the address, and in the course of his remarks said :— ''He who extends the advantages of intellectual and moral training to those who would not otherwise have procured them, or renders more complete and thorough the discipline of mind Ld heart of those who are in a course of instruction, ought to be held in honor as a public benefactor. And when this is done by a per- manent foundation, whether by the erection of neat and appro- priate buildings, such as that which is here contemplated, for scien- tific uses, or by endowment, securing in perpetuity a succession of able and qualified teachers in sufficient numbers, or afltording to de- serving but needy pupils the requisite pecuniary assistance,°we see one of the noblest uses to which money can be put, and we admire their largeness of heart, and breadth of view, and far-sighted benevolence to whom God has given along with wealth this compre- hension of its real value, and the wisdom to convert it into exhaust- less mines of treasure which can not be weighed with gold." Jenks' Chemical Hall is built of dressed stone, and is seventy by sixty feet, with a projecting portico of the Doric style. The fourth story is appropriated to a museum of geology. A large lecture hall in the rear is planned also to exhibit the zoological department. Connected with the main hall are the rooms for private experiments and cliemical analysis, and the apparatus. The structure is a taste- ful addition to the college buildings, and in its purpose promises to be of the highest benefit to the cause of scientific education. Mr. Jenks has an erect figure, and a head of large proportions. The features are prominent, and highly expressive of the intelligence 245 Q BARTON II. .IKNKS. decision, and good nature tliat cimraeterize the man. He is polite and genial, but always much absorbed in his business and inven- tions. A man of good acquirements as a scholar, and withal a Christian, his society is much valued. He is liberal and just with those under him. It is his efl'ort to use his fortune not only in schemes of enterprise, but for the welfare of all classes of his fcliow-men. Tliese details of mechanical talents, business energy, public spirit, and practical benevolence tell their own significant story. They show how much can be done in a single life-time, and how nearly man may exalt himself to the perfection of usefulness and virtue. If our age had nothing else to boast of, its annals can never grow dim with such examples of manhood and success. 246 CHRTSTOPHER CHRISTIAN COX. ^ HE subject of this sketch was born of highly respectable and influential parentage in Baltimore, Maryland, on the 16th of August, 1816, where his early childhood was Lore of books became a passion with him at a very early period, and, indeed he may be said to have been a student almost from his cradle. After a thorough training in the classics and mathematics, under the best teachers, he entered, in September, 1833, the Junior class of Yale College, and was graduated from that venerable institu- tion in the summer of 1835. Among his college associates at that timo were many who have since acquired enviable distinction. Among these were Alexander S. Johnson, late Chief Justice of the State of New York, "William M. Evaets, Edwaeds Pierkepont, and others. The young graduate was designed for the law, his keen analytical mind eminently adapting him to that vocation; but, an incident di- verting his attention from the original object of pursuit, he entered vigorously upon the study of medicine in the ofiice of the late Dr. N. B. Ives, of New Haven. He received his diploma in Baltimore, after attending three full courses of lectures, and forthwith entered upon the practice. His health having been impaired by devotion to the lecture and dissecting room, he removed to the country, near Baltimore, and soon succeeded to a large practice, which, how- ever, contributed less to his scanty pecuniary resources than to the building up of his health and experience. In the fall of 1843, Doctor Cox located in Easton, Maryland. Here he soon rose to the highest distinction, his fame as a surgeon becoming rapidly diffused throughout the State. In 1848 he accepted the chair of the Institutes of Medicine in one 247 2 OHKISTOPHEK CHRISTIAN COX. of the Philadeliiliia Colle^'fs, hut at the close of the lecture term re- si-rned, and resumed his practice, lie became at this time a cuti- tributor to a number of medical journals, and an active member of the Medico-Chirurnical Society of Maryland, of which he was elec- ted President. Early after the organization of the American Med- ical Association be was known as one of its most active and earnest supporters, and the annual printed proceedings of that body abound in evidences of his zeal and ability. At the Chicago meeting in 18(i3, be was elected one of the vice-presidents, and on the same occasion read an exceedingly able essay on Medical Education. His successive annual reports on American Medical Necrology are re- garded as very valuable contributions to the literature of the profes- sion. At the Cincinnati meeting, in 18G5, he was strongly urged by his friends for the Presidency, and failed only by a single vote in competition with the acknowledged head of the profession on tiiis continent. In 1866 he was sent abroad to represent the American Society in the British Medical Association, and other kindred scien- tific bodies. As the first accredited delegate from this country, he was most cordially welcomed by the savant of the Old Workl, and made many warmly attached friends in the profession. In 1861 Doctor Cox entered the army as Brigade Surgeon, and was at once assigned to most important ofiicial duties at Baltimore. He was at the same time appointed Surgeon General of Maryland, and performed the ardunus and responsible duties of both State and federal offices with signal credit and ability. In the spring of 18G9 he resumed the practice of medicine in Washington, D. C, and was 6oon after elected to the ehairof MedicalJnrisprudenceand Hygiene in the Medical Department of Georgetown College. Under the late law of Congress territorializing the District of Columbia, Doctor Cox was appointed by the President a member of the Board of Health, of which he was subsequently chosen the pre- siding officer. He now practices his profession with signal ability, and success in Washington, his reputation as an eminent surgeon and physician having preceded him. 248 CHEISTOPnEB CHIJISTIAN Occasionally by force of circn.nstances Dr. Cox has been com- pelled to take an active part in the civil and political issues of the day. He was twice nominated for Congress. The first offer was declined, the second accepted, and his election failed by a very small majority in a district strongly Democratic. In the fall of 1864 he was surprised by the unanimous nomination for Lieutenant-Gov- ernor cf Maryland, and was triumphantly elected, running in ad- vance of his ticket nearly two thousand votes. In this position he achieved the admiration and respect of all political parties. In 1865 he was urged by his friends for the Senate of the United States, and would have received the nomination had he consented to be bailot- ted for. In 1868 he was appointed by President Johnson, and unan- imously confirmed by the Senate, as United States Commissioner of Pensions, which he resigned in 1869, in order to resume the prac- tice of his profession. As a ripe scholar, and man of letters. Doctor Cox has few equals He has been elected to honorary membership in many literary and scientific societies, both at home and abroad, and has been made the recipient of honorary titles from various colleges. Among these is that of Doctor of Laws from Ti-iuity College, Hartford. He has been a liberal and favorite contributor to various periodi- cals of note both in Europe and America, and has, it is said a num- ber of unfinished works nearly ready for the press. As an author and public lecturer he is widely esteemed, while as a ready, fluent and eloquent platform speaker, he has rarely been exceUed. The subject of this sketch may properly be classed among the pro gressive, representative men of the age. He is identified, more or ess prominently, with most of the great movements of the day and his merits are recognized by an appreciative public. _ Doctor Cox is of medium height, not robust, but compact and ac- tive. He IS full of energy, and, possessing an admirable physique unimpaired by bad habits, we may safely predict for him a lon<. life of usefulness and fame. " 249 RICHARD VAUX. ''*'"'' ICETARD VAUX was born in December, 1818, in the city of Philadelphia, of Quaker ancestry, associates of Penn both in England and the colony. His education, although entrusted to private tutors, was carefully supervised by his father, Eoberts Vaux, who was so well known and so closely identified with the history of Philadelphia. At the age of nine- teen he entered upon the study of the Law with the Hon. William M. Meredith, and before his majority was admitted to the Bar of Philadelphia. Soon after this Mr. Vaux went to Europe, and on arriving in London, the Hon. Andrew Stevenson of Virginia, then the United States Minister at St. James', appointed him Secretary of the American Legation, ad interim, in London, to fill a vacancy in that position. Mr. Vaux was not then twenty-one years of age. Unexpectedly placed in so responsible a public post, it was his good fortune to be enabled to meet the leading statesmen of England. King William IV died, and the present Queen of England came to the throne soon after his association with the Legation, so that he was a witness of this interesting condition of the public aflfairs of Great Britain, and the ceremonies incident to these events. While thus employed, the diplomatic relations between the United States and England were disturbed by the troubles on the Canadian frontier, which re- sulted in the burning of the steamer " Caroline." During this ex- citing period in the public relations between the Government of this country and Great Britain, great labor was devolved upon the United States Legation in London, and Mr. Vaux performed his duties to the entire satisfaction of the American Ministry, as the 251 2 RICHAUU VAUX. records of the Department of State at "Washington attest. The lion. Virgil Maxey having been appointed American Minister at Brussels, on his way to Belgium, he passed through London. While there, ho requested Mr. Yaux to accompany him on his mission. This was declined, but Mr. Vaux went to Brussels and remained with Mr. Maxey until ho was settled in his Legation. About this time the Hon. George M. Dallas, then the American Minister at St. Petersburg, requested Mr. Vaux to accept the Secretaryship of his Legation, as the then Secretary, Col. Chew, was in ill health, and about to return home. The cordial friendship which Mr. Dal- las always entertained for Mr. Vaux, and the devotion of the latter to Mr. Dallas, almost prevailed in deciding the acceptance of this offer ; but circumstances arose which prevented it. Mr. Benjamin Rush, a son of Hon. Richard Eush, formerly Minister of the United States at London, and a grandson of Benjamin Rush, one of the " signers," was sent to London by President Van Buren, as Secretary of Legation, and Mr. Vaux, soon after his arrival, went to travel in Europe, the original object of his leaving home. Returning to his native city, Mr. Vaux began the practice of his profession. "While thus engaged, the Recordership of the city of Philadelphia became vacant, and the Governor of Pennsylvania, David R. Porter, appointed Mr. Vaux to that office. Young, correct, active, it was thought advisable by his friends that he should ac- cept the appointment for the benefit of the experience and legal knowledge there to be acquired. For seven years he filled that municipal office, and the legal opinions delivered by him on cases which he adjudged were published under the title of " The Record- er's Decisions." Resigning from this position, he again entered upon the active practice of his profession. "When the city of Philadelphia was consolidated with the " Dis- tricts," an election for officers for the consolidated city was held. At this election, Mr. Vaux was the candidate of the Democratic party, in which he was then and has ever since been a leading mem- ber, for Mayor. He was defeated, however, and his competitor, 252 RICHARD VAUX. 3 Hon. Robert T. Conrad, was elected. At the next election Mr. Vaux was the successful candidate, and his administration of the city government of Philadelphia is part of its history. His admin- istrative ability was tested, and to this day the reforms and improve- ments he made, and the organization of the executive department of the city government are the best evidence of his ability. In 1859, and again in 1862, the State Conventions ot the Demo- cratic party elected Mr. Vaux Elector at Large for Pennsylvania, in the Presidential contests in those years. It may not be aside from the present purpose of the writer of this sketch to remark that, in 1842, the Supreme Court of Penn- sylvania appointed Mr. Yaux one of the Inspectors of the State Penitentiary for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. This Pen- itentiary, owing to its being the only institution in tlie United States where the " separate confinement " of prisoners is in successful oper- ation, has obtained a world-wide repiitation. Mr. Vaux, from that time till now, has been earnestly engaged in the discharge of the duties of this appointment. As President of the Board of Inspect- ors, he has wi-itten yearly its reports to the State Legislature, since 1843, and they contain the arguments and facts on which the " separate system " rests its claim as the most philosophic system of convict punishment. The "National Association for the Pro- motion of Social Science," held in London in 186:2, requested Mr. Vaux to prepare a paper on Social Science, to be read at its meeting in July of that year. This request was complied with, and the essay entitled, "Penal: an element in Social Science," was submitted. The subject of education has received from Mr. Vaux careful study. Elected a Controller of the Public Schools of Philadelphia, he served in that position for some time. Again, in 1858, he was elected a Director of Girard College of Philadelphia, and by the Board of Directors was elected its President. His reports in that capacity have attracted very great attention. Mr. Vaux has culti- vated largely his literary taste. His public speeches and addresses 253 4 RIcnARD VAUX. aro evidence of a strong and vigorous style. As Grand Master of Masons of Pennsylvania, his treatment of the esoteric mysteries, so far as is permitted in oral or written teachings, and his addresses on public occasions, have been noticed in England and America. His style of speaking and writing is original, striking, and im- pressive. It has been said of him that, for his age, lew men have made more public addresses on so great a variety of subjects, and always with marked ability. Ilis reply, in Boston, to the speech of the late Hon. Edward Everett, was regarded by the large and crit- ical audience as a most masterly cfibrt, delivered as it was with but a few hours for preparation. As a popular orator he ranks among the most gifted. Our acquaintance with Mr. Vaux has been long and intimate. We can say of him, that a more upright, honest, conscientious, fear- less man is not to be found in any community. Ardent, earnest, sincere, true, he is emphatically a man of progress. "We remember well, in the year 1845, at a public dinner given in this city, he was invited to reply to the toast in honor of Philadelphia. In referring to the true interests of its citizens, he urged them to foster that great Railroad, the Pennsylvania Central, as intimately united with their material prosperity and progress; and wo cannot forget the impres- sion made on the company when he said that the man was then at that festive board who " would see the productions of China passing through Pliiladclphia on the way to London." Few then present ever dreamed that in six days they could travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean by rail. " Mr. Vaux is a genius," said one of his friends to the writer of this sketch, " he masters so many sub- jects ; always in advance of his time ; thoughtiuUy considers all that engages his attention ; he suggests work for many hands to execute. He is not understood except by those who, like me, know him well ; he never gets tlie credit to which he is most eminently entitled." This is the true estimate of his character. We wish only to add that, in manners and disposition, he is cul- tivated, social, and genial ; a severe student, devoting all his energy 254 RICHARD VAUX. 5 to whatever he undertakes. " lie," in the words of another of his friends, in reply to a question of ours, preparatory to preparing this notice, has never failed to make his mark in every position he has neld. ' Of his literary labors, a notice can be found in Dr. Allibone's Dictionary of Authors. 255 ^*tk L /^^ THOMAS C. FIELDS. ^^ HE subject of this sketch is of Irish extraction, his ances- "rM^ tors having emigrated to this country in the early part of ^f- the Kevolutionary war. He was born in the county of St. Lawrence, State of New York, on the 9th of December, 1825. He is the youngest of ten children, nine of whom are now alive. He inherited from his parents a robust constitution, uncomraou vi- tality and physical advantages and powers such as are rarely enjoyed by men of the present day. His elementary studies were pursued in the common schools of St. La-.vrence, and at an early age he was sent to the Delaware Academy, a well known seminary of learning in Dslhi, the shire town of Del- aware county. Young Fields went through a regular academical course at this institution, and graduated among the most advanced scholars of the establishment. Leaving theAcademyin 1840, he took up his residence in the city of New York with an elder brother, then in business in that city. After remaining in New York for a few months, Mr. Fields went to the State of Georgia, where he resided for about two years, when he returned to the city, and entered the office of the late Robert H. Mon-is as a student at law. After the usual course of preparatory study, he was admitted to the bar in 1846. He immediately commenced the practice of his profession, in which he has continued up to the present time. Mr. Fields had in him the making of a very successful and eminent law- yer, especially at nisiprius ; and if he had kept aloof from polities he would have won a place in the foremost i-ank of the profession. The law is a jealous mistress, and demands the exclusive attention 257 2 T II 0MA8C. FIELDS. of her votaries, if they woukl attain tlie liigiiest distinction at the bar. Ho is a powerful and efl'eetive advocate now, notwithstanding his public duties have engrossed so much of his time. He has the rare faculty of thinking on his legs with as much deliberation and consecutiveiiess as most men exhibit in the closet, and his ample re- sources are all at command with the least possible preparation. In the free-soil contest which divided the Democratic party in 1 844, Mr. Fields took the national side, and supported the nomination of Gen. Cass with characteristic vigor and determination. He took an active part in the election of Gen. Pierce in 1852 ; but he zealously resisted the policy of the administration on the Lecompton question, co-operating witli that large section of the Democracy which foresaw the disastrous consequences which resulted from that great mistake. He was a warm admirer and friend of the lamented Douglass, and enjo3'ed the confidence of that distiuguished statesman for the last fifteen yeai-s of his life. Mr. Fields entered public life in 1857, when he was appointed Public Administrator of the city of New York, which office he held until 1860. He was appointed a member of the Board of Commis- sioners of the Central Park on its organization, and has remained in that position up to the present time. He was elected to the Assembly in the Fall of 1862. There had been a very animated contest throughout the State. Mr. Seymour was chosen Governor over Gen. "Wadsworth, fresh irom the battle- field and covered wth laurels. There was a tie in the Assembly, and the struggle for the organization was protracted and acrimo- nious. The debates were bitter and personal. They were main- tained on the Democratic side almost entirely by Mr. Fields. His facility and resources commanded general admiration, while his pow- er of endurance was amazing to everybody. He had given much at- tention to parliamentary law, and understanding almost intuitively the rules of the House, he became at once the foremost floor-mem- ber on the Democratic side. He compreliended the situation at a glance ; and although alwavs an earnest and uncompromising Demo- 258 THOMAS C. FIELDS. 3 crat, he never hesitated in giving tlie weight of his influence to the support of the Federal Administration in the prosecution of the war for the Union. If the sagacious counsels of Mr. Fields, in which he had the sym- pathy and support of Dean Richmond and many other far-seeing Democrats had prevailed, the party would have maintained the as- cendancy acquired in 1 862, and the tranquillity and material pros- perity would long ago have been restored. Mr. Fields was elected to the Senate fi-om the seventh Senatorial district in 1863. In that body he sustained the reputation he had acquired in the Assembly as a fluent, incisive and forcible debater, and his uncommon aptitude for legislative duties, strengthened and enlarged by two years' experience with several able and accompHshed associates of both parties in the chamber, rendered him a very effec- tive and important member of the Assembly, when he re-entered the House in 1870. He was re-elected the next year, and is now chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Griev- ances. He is also a member of the Committee on Insurances. He is the most conspicuous member of the Assembly, and his multifa- rious duties have been discharged with great judgment and perfect fidelity. Mr. Fields was appointed Coi-poration Attorney of the city of New York in the month of April, 1868, which office he now holds. As a leader, while he is bold, aggressive, and almost audacious in his bearing, he is not intolerant or illiteral, and is disposed to accord to the minority all the rights and privileges to which they are enti- tled. His distinguisliing characteristics are great acumen, a ready ap- prehensive mind, fine perceptive poAvers, and promptness in decision. He masters a subject with great facility, and is always thorough and exhaustive in his investigations. He is warm in his resentments, but never malignant or vindictive. He is frank and manly in his beai'- iug, rather positive in his opinions, but courteous in his manners, and never overbearing or unreasonable. 250 C^^...^ C^, '^^ RUSH R SLOANE. ^^^E have in the career of the subject of this sketch /%^ illustration of what may be accomplished in this country, ■*^^2s.- ty a young man of energy and decision of character, and possessed of good natural ability, although without femily influences or wealth to advance hina in his pursuits. Rush R. Sloane was born in Sandusky, Ohio, September 18th, 1828, where he has ever since resided, and has met in all his varied pursuits and engagements such success as is surprising, even had he been supported by powerful friends, and lived in a place where circumstances would have been more favorable for his advancement than in such a quiet city as Sandusky. Young Sloane passed his boyhood days at the schools in his native town, until in 1844 ; he was for a few months at the Seminary in Norwalk, Ohio, but his father's means not justifying the expense, he returned home, and in th.3 month of September of the same year made an engagement with the firm of Peck & Stapleton to open for them a hat, cap, boot and fur store in Monroe, Michigan, which he successfully carried on and had the sole management of, until in the month of April, 1845, he sold the same under directions from the owners, on most favorable terms, and returned to Sandusky. Having earned wages sufficient to again place himself in school, he continued for nearly two years in the schools of Sandusky, when he made an engagement with Messrs. Boalt & Follett to enter their office, they being engaged as warehousemen and in the produce and commission business ; he was giving good satisfaction in this situ- ation, when his father required liis services in his own store, he 2Gi 2 ilUSlI U. SLOANE. liivin,!? in the fiill of 1847 commcncpd the dry goods trade in San- dusky. Young Sloane opened a branch store at Bellevue, Ohio, under the name of Sloane & Co., which firm continued until the spring of 1848, when, under directions from his father, young Sloane sold out the same on good terms, and returned home, when he com- menced formally the study of the law, he having entered his name the preceding year as a student at law. The years 1848 and 1849 he devoted to his legal studies, and on September 18th, 1849, the day he was twenty-one years of age, he was duly admitted to practice law in all the courts of the State of Ohio. He at once formed a partnership with W. F. Converse, an old established lawyer, under the firm of Convei'se & Sloane, which fii-m continued in successful practice until 1852, when Mr. Sloane continued the practice alone. An incident in connection with Mi-. Sloane while engaged in the practice of the law is worthy of special notice, and is spoken of by Mr. Greeley in his history of the causes of the rebellion. In October, 1825, Jlr. Sloane was called upon to defend some negroes who were seized as fugitive slaves; he at once appeared as their counsel, and on in- vestigation, found that they were detained without authority of law, and he so stated to the large and excited audience assembled ; the negroes were at once seized in triumph and carried to a boat and were soon over in Canada. With these proceedings Mr. Sloane had nothing to do, yet suit was commenced against him in the United States Court for the value of these negroes, and after a long litiga- tion under the infamous Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and the ruling of Judge Leavitt, Mr. Sloane was found guilty and mulcted in large damages and costs for simply acting as the counsel of human beings aiTGsted without color of warrant, as runaway slaves ; this litigation in all cost Mr. Sloane nearly five thousand dollars, and much time, which to him was then invaluable; yet, while it seemed very hard, and was a severe blow to a young man just starting in life, it gave him a national renown and warm friends all over the land, and perhaps tended more than any one matter to arouse the people 262 RUSH R. SLOAN E. 3 Of th3 State of Ohio to the enormities of slavery, and to the outra..e- ous demands of the slave oligarchy, for legislation in Congress m Its behalf and support. Thank God, such case, will ba heard of no moz-e in this land ; and how terrible has been the retribution upon the upholders and defenders of slavery ! Mr. Slaane continued in the successful practice of the law until the spring of 1S58 when havang the year before been elected Probate Judge of Erie County' he quit the practice of the law, and entered upon his duties as Jud-^e of the Probate Court ; in 1830 he was re-elected to the same officl Havmgbeen tendered by President Lincoln the position of Ao-ent at urge of the Post Office Department, Judge Sloane resigned\is judgeship and entered upon his new duties. Being at Washinn-ton in March and April, 1861, Judge Sloane was selected at the or^ni- ^ation of the " Clay Brigade" for the defense of the city, to select rehable men to unite in that organization. At that time Washing- ton was full of rebels. The convention at Richmond had broken up after givmg their adhesion to the "Davis " government, and it was daily expected that the rebel forces would attack Washington Gen 1 Scott was alarmed and wanted a brigade of true men to use in the defense of Washington, and selected Cassius M. Clay to or-an ly^e It ; Gen. Clay detailed Judge Sloane as one to select reliablelnd true men, and he was the first Ohio man who joined " The Clay Bz.gade, a bodyof men whodid the first active milita.7 duty in the defense of Washington, and in the safety of the President, whom the r.'bels had hoped to capture. This brigade was on service for weeks in duties demanded by Gen. Scott, then the Commander-in-Chief-services of the -Greatest importance to the country, in its then sore hour of need, when all conimunication with the north was cut off, and rebels in arms encir- cled the city on every side. At the request of Judge Blair, then Postmaster General, Judge Sloane was relieved after a time fromth, mihtary service, and engaged with zeal in the duties of his a^encv He soon became a favorite official with Hon. M. Blair, and Zs bv him selected as the First Assistant Postmaster General, upon the resignation of Hon. John A. Kasson, but cx-Govcrnor Randall hav- in;^ returned, and resigned tho Mission to Rome, President Lincoln, without consultation with Judge Blair, appointed ex-Gov. Randall to the position. Jud"e Sloane was desirous to leave the service of the Post Office Department and enter the Military, hut the Hon. Postmaster General would not consent. Judge Blair insisted that he must have an equally efficient man in the position, and that if Judge Sloane resigned, some one must fill the place, and if he could help it, there should be no change, that the integrity of the army required frequent and reliable communication with home friends, and this could only be had by a most efficient Post Office service. Judge Sloane continued in the faithful discharge of his official duties, and was at three different times specially commended in letters by Judge Blair for his valuable services. A new law was passed, creating a higher grade of agents, and it was Judge Blair's intention at once to appoint Judge Sloane to one of the highest grade. At this time Hon. Wm. Dennison succeeded Judge Blair in the P. 0. Depart- ment, and he at once, on the recommendation of his predec3ssor, appointed Jud^e Sloane to the highest grade agency in the Depart- ment, only two being created by the law, and not filling the other place. In 18t)5 Judge Sloane was elected Chairman of the Republican State Central Committee of Ohio, and most successfully carried on the canvass in that year, although circumstances at that time tended to decrease the republican strength, and to greatly embarrass its leaders. President J ohnson was determined in his opposition to the reconstruction plans of Congi'css. For a long time the friends of the republican party hoped for a satisfactory adjustment of all differences, but in the summer of 1SC6 a split became inevitable, and at this time the President and his friends held out every inducement to Judge Sloane to sustain the policy of the President, but finding EUSHE. SLOAN E. 5 the President obstinate, and determined to oppose the action of Congress in their policy, Judge Sloane refused to co-operato or act with the Johnson party, so-called — and in consequence thereof was removed from his official position in the month of August, 1866. It was no sooner known that Judge Sloane was disengaged, than the owners of the Sandusky, Dayton and Cincinnati Eailroad tendered liim, for the second time, the management of that road, and the presidency of the company, and in October, 1866, he entered upon these new duties. The road had become greatly delapidatcd and was really in a most unsafe condition, and was shunned alike by travelers and shippers of freiglit. Its present condition as a first-class railroad, and the reputation of its management, is a sufficient com- mentary on the business capacity and ability of Judge Sloane, and has given him such a reputation among railroad men and capitalists, that he has twice been offered the presidency of leading lines of railroad, with the tempting salary of ten thousand dollars a year. He is now the moving spirit, as well as one of the principle owners and capitalists, in the building of a new line of rail- road between Columbus and Springfield, Ohio ; and upon the com- pletion of this road proposes to retire from active railroad manage- ment. Judge Sloane lias engaged quite largely in real estate invest- ments from time to time, in Chicago, and other cities in the "West, and his gains in these and in his railroad investments have been such as to give him an independent fortune— for the West— and ho wiU have sufficient requirements upon his time in giving such attention as is requisite to his own private business. At times Judge Sloane has been favorably spoken of as the Eepublican Candidate for Congress in his district, and in 1864 received the full vote of two counties for the nomination, and this was done after his name had for weeks been absolutely withdrawn from the canvass ; also in 1868 ho received for some twenty-three ballots the vote of all the townships but one, in his own 265 6 HUSn U. SLOAN E. county, and for several Lallots the entire vote of his own conniyanc' some from Huron and Ottawa Counties, for the Republican Congressional Nomination, and his friends were sanguine of his nomination by the Convention, but at this juncture ho peremptorily withchew his name, as he liad from the first been disinclined to enter the contest, on account of his extensive and engrossing business duties. Judge Sloanehas of late devoted his entire time to his railroad operations, and personal business matters, and few, if any, have all their business more systematized, and under more perfect control ; a great workev himself, he required the prompt discharge of all duties on all employees, and the result is seen in the economy with which he manages the railroads under his charge. Judge Sloane, although over forty-two years of age, is yet apparently a young man, and as full of energy and fire as ever; he enjoys good and robust health, is socially inchned, and warmly beloved by his friends; generous, yet imostentatious, in a quiet way he pursues his duties in life, and is in every respect an example that young men may gladly emulate. To be the possessor of such a name as his, of so extensive and favorable a reputation, both business and political, and to have acquired at so young an age so large a property, and so wide an in- fluence, must certainly bo most gratifying to him. We doubt not a yet more brilliant future is before him, and that yet higher distinction awaits him, although he insists that his only desire for the future is for a quiet home life, and that he shall seek the same, and shun the cares, duties and responsibilities of official and business life, which course, should he succeed in pur- buing, would entitle him to high rank in the category of true philo- sophers, and as one who had been able to discover the source of true hap}>iness, while temptations of no ordinary attraction suirounded him on every side. Certainly we can not too highly commend such an exaraj.le for the study of the youth of our land. 266 j?>6i^^^^^^ G0VF:RN0R THOMAS CARNEY. j,'^Ti|(T;is!'i HOMAS CAEll^EY, of Leavenworth, Kansas, was born, 'f^ in Delaware county, Ohio, August 20th, 1824. His father ■^0- James Carney, died when Thomas was but four years old, leaving his widowed mother with four boys, the eldest be- ing but six years of age. The family resided upon a small farm, with only some six acres improved. Delaware county was, at that time, a comparative wilderness, and afforded but limited education- al advantages. The common school education which young Thomas received, was acquired in a log cabin, wliich he attended during the winter months until he arrived at the age of eighteen. He then at- tended school for six mouths at Berkshire, Ohio, paying for his board and tuition by working nights, mornings and Saturdays. , At this period, young Thomas began the battle of life for himself, bis first engagement being to work on a farm for six months at ten dollars per month. At the end of that engagement he sought em- ployment in a store, which he succeeded in obtaining after very de- termined and persevering effort. He was entirely unaided, having no friendly hand to assist him. He visited several of the stores in the small towns of his county seeking employment, but for a time without success. One instance is related which furnishes an exam- ple to the young of the value of perseverance. In 18M, Thomas called at a small store in a neighboring village, and asked the pro- prietor if he desired to procure help. The response was that he did, upon which the young adventurer offered his services. The ]iroprie- tor, after making a critical survey of the applicant, remarked that he did not think he would make a merchant. This ungracious re- ception was not pleasing to tlie young man, and as he turned to leave '■2G7 9 OOV.TnOMASCAENET. ho remarlced that he would yet see the day when, as a morchaut, he could buy and sell the patty monarch of the village store. This pre- diction, though uttered by a boy who had not twenty-five dollars in the world, has long since bean fulfilled ; for Thomas Carney has giv- en away more money, for various purposes in a single year, than it has been the good fortune of the Ohio merchant to possess in the coui-se of a long life. Being unsuccessful in his immediate neighborhood, lie visited Columbus. "With his "bundle " under his arm, he went down one side of High street and up the other, calling at all the stores with- out regard to the nature of their business, whether dry goods, gro- cciics, boots and shoes or what not, and had almost completed the rounds before receiving even an encouraging word as to e'mplo}Tnent. He at last found a retail dry goods firm in want of help, who were willing to give him a trial, and ofiered him fifty dollai-s and board for one year's service, which ofler was accepted. At the expiration of the year he engaged for another year at one hundred dollars. At the tcmiination of that engagement he determined to enter npon a larger mercantile field, andvi.?ited Cincinnati, taking with him rec- ommendations from his late employers and neighboring merchants. He engaged himsel-f with a large wholesale dry goods house for five ycai-s, at three hundred dollars for the first year and one hundred dollai-s advance each year for four years thereafter. At the end of the five years he was ofiered, and accepted, a quarter interest in the business, and his name was placed at the head of the firm. lie remained in business four years and a half, devoting to it all his energies and abilities, until his health became impaired, when he was advised by his physician to give up business in the city for a time and try the country air. Quiet was incompatible with his na- ture, and therefore as soon as he had arranged with his partners to take his business, he set out to look at the great "West. In the sum- mer of 1S57, he visited most of the "Western States and the territo- ries of Kansas and Nebr.iska. He was so much pleased with Kan- sas that he decided to make it his home, and on his return to Cin- 2GS GOV. THOMAS OAENET. 8 cinnati, he made arrangements to commence business at Leaveaworth during the ensuing spring. Located at his new home, he pursued his business closely, until the fall of 18G1, when, without his seeking, he was elected to tlie legislature of the State. The important events in which he partici- pated, brought him prominently before the public. Some of the State' officers who had been intrusted with the sale of bonds of the State, had transcended tlieir powers by employing an agent who sold the bonds largely below the pi-ice fixed by law. Mr. Carney parti- cipated in the investigation which followed, resulting in the im- peachment of the Governor, Auditor and Secretary of State. The two latter were subsequently convicted, but the former was acquit- ted. During the investigation the agent who had sold the bonds, taking advantage of the fact that the State had no money in its treasury, offered to return the bonds which had been sacrificed upon a reimbursement of their price. In a speech to the legislature, Mr. Carney announced his readiness to advance the money to the State, thus making an acceptance of the proposition practicable, where- upon it was immediately withdrawn. His couri;e in this and other important matters which engaged the attention of that legislature, made Mr. Carney jiromiuent and pop- ular among the people, and much against his inclination, he was brought forward as a candidate for Governor, to which position he was elected in November, 1862. He entered upon the duties of his oflice in January following, and at a time when the State was great- ly in need of his executive ability. It was tlie critical period of his history. Its treasury was empty, and its credit was at the lowest ebb. Tiie Governor advanced the means out of his own purse to pay the interest then due upon its bonds for one year, thus prevent- ing dishonor and irreparable injury to its credit. "When he left the Executive chair the credit of the State was unequalled by that of any other new Commonwealth. Its bonds sold at nearly par, and its financial standing was upon so sound a basis that it has ever since ranked among tho very best of the new States. 269 4 G O V . T H O M A S C A R X E T . Nor were the Governor's abilities less taxed in other respects. His administration covered the most trying period of the late war. The State was in peril at almost every point, and its settled portiou- were one extended camp. A rebel foe hovered upon its eastern and southern bordei-s, while hostile Indians were murdering and scalping in the west. Nothing short of a constant vigilance could prevent the rebel enemy from invading the State and butchering the people. The Governor armed and placed upon the eastern border one hun- dred and fifty mounted men, to warn the inhabitants of approaching danger, and for this service he advanced the means from his own pocket. CoHiperating with these rangei-s, were the regular militia of the State, for whom excellent arms and equipments had been pro- cured by the energy of the Executive. These mounted forces were kept in the field until the Governor was notified by the command- inir General of the district that he was able to protect the State. They were then discharged, and in three days thereafter Lawrence w!is in ashes and one hundred and eighty of her citizens murdered in cold blood. Meantime the young men of Kansas were hurrying to the field in proportionate numbere unequalled by any other State. No Governor contributed more lavishly of his means and energies for the encouragement of enlistments than did Governor Carney, and in tliis regard, though operating on a more limited field, he is worthy to be ranked with the most famous of the " War Governors.'" During the legislative session of Wii, Governor Carney was chosen United States Senator by a two-thirds vote of both houses, but as considerable dissatisfaction was expi-essed because it was thought the prupci time for the election had been anticipated, (although no specific time had then been fixed by Congress,") he surrendered his credentials and declined the position. The succeeding Legislature, though understood to be spe(!ially friendly to a political rival, unani- mously adopted a resolution commending in warm terms the able and efficient manner in which the Executive duties had been dis- charged during Governor Carney's administration. Returnini; to Leavenworth, the ex-Governor wiis elected il^xor 270 8 CARNEY. of that city, notwithstanding his positive refusal to serve. At the urgent soh'citation of many leading citizens, however, he finally con- sented to serve, and was re-elected with but trifling opposition. Governor Carney retired from public life in 1866, since which time he has been mainly devoted to his private business and has acquired an ample foi-tuiie. No man in Kansas is more honored and respected than he, and no man has done more, either in a public or private way, for the advancement of his State and its institutions. Its railroads, bridges, church33, scliool-houses, and its citizens need- ing assistance, all bear truthful witness to his liberality and bounty. His unbounded hospitality in private life has made him troops of friends, and as warmly endeared him to the wide circle of his per- sonal acquaintances as his gcnerousness in public has secured for him from the citizens of his State the recognition his munificent spirit seems to deserve. Without ostentatious parade, he seeks the accomplishment of good works, and there is no man in Kansas so highly esteemed for the possession of those genial qualities which in social life have made him deservedly popular. Governor Carney was reared a Whig, and since the dissolution of that party has been an earnest and steadfast Rapublican, ever advo- cating equal rights for all witliout regard to race or color, and de- manding the largest liberty for the citizen consistent with good government. History furnishes but few as salient examples of what important results can be evolved, through vigor, determination and rectitude, from amid nnpropitious surroundings. Few in their spheres have done more for humanity, and it is pleasant to know that in blessing others few have been themselves more largely blessed. Governor Carney is still in the prime of life, and may reasonably anticipate many years of accumulating honor and usefulness. 271 HENRY A. SMYTH E. ^^HERE 13 not a more prominent or esteemed merchant ^nm and financier in the city of New York than the gentleman who forms the subject of this sketch. Mr. Smythe is de- scended from two of the distinguished families of this State. Ilis parental father was one of the early settlers of Delaware county, New York, then spoken of as the " far west." Here he read law with the Hon. Anthony Marvine, the fiimous lawyer, who for some time represented his district in Congress, and whose daughter Abra- ham D. Smythe married. It will thus be seen that on both the pa- ternal and maternal sides Henry A. Smythe comes from " good old stock," a fact wliich is always a njatter of satisfaction, however much we may, in our republican theory of equality of all men, ridicule the idea that there is anything more than accident in one's birth. And, indeed, while the distinction gained by a man's parents may not make him any the more talented than his neighbors, it at least inspires him with the laudable ambition of perpetuating such dis- tinction, so that, after all, " the old families" of a locality who have maintained a high standing in the community for many generations, Iiave i-eason to feel proud of their ancestry. Henry A. Smythe was bom in the town of Hobart, Delaware county, in the year 1819. At Delhi, in the same county, be received a good academic education, displaying so much proficiency in his studies that at the age of fifteen he was able to leave the academy and enter upon his business career. He went to Catskill, where he entered a store in the capacity of a clerk, and after serving for about one year, acquiring some practical knowledge of commercial afl'airs, he removed to New York. Hero he first obtained a position of 273 2 UENBYASIIYTIIE. responsibility in one of tlio large jobbing and importing cstablish- mont3 of the oil}' conducted by tliu Lathrops. Shortly afterwards he left this iirni and entered the house of Paton & Stewart, where he first engaged in tlie importation of dry goods. A few years later tlio building occupied by tlio gentlemen niunod was entirely con- sumed by fire, and tliis accident dosed the business. Had Mr. Sni\ the l)een an ordinary man, ho would have probably found it a difficult matter to obtain another position. But lie had already made ids nuirk among tlio merchants of New York, and was re- garded by many as a valuable aciiuisition to any house. So highly appreciatetl was his business talents and general capacity, that im- mediately after the tire had dcsti-oyed the firm of Paton & Stewart, he was otiered a i>artnorship in the firm of S. T. Jones it Co., then tlio largest importere of British goods in the city. Mr. Smytlie continued his connection with Jones & Co. until 1846, during \shich year ho joined the firm of Francis Skinner & Co., of Boston, to which city he removed and residoJ there for a few months, when he i-eturned to New York and, as the only partner there, opened a branch business. This was the pioneer house from Boston in domestic commission goods in the city, and it was followed by many otliei-s in after ycai-s, until at the present time the business of these branches in New York amounts to over one hundred mil- lions of dollai-s annually. "When Mr. Smytlio started it, hoAvever, it met with consideralile opposition from the Boston mercliauts, who desired to keep the trade in their own city. To establish himself suc- cessfully, it consequently became necessary to overcome all the intlu- ences wliich were brought to bear against the innovation. His tact and energy oveix'anie all obstacles, and his success finally made those who had most earnestly opposed him, not only acquiesce in the wisdom of his course, but also influenced them into imitating his example. Mr. Smythe had perceived that as a commercial city, Boston did not have the advantages possessed by New York, and tliat if Eastern manutVcturei-s wished to prosper, they must make the latter city their hoadquartei-s f >r disposjil of their manulaotures. HENEY A. SMVTIIE. Eis wisdom in tLis opinion was apparent in a very short wbile. The branch house prospered exceedingly— far surpassing tlie most san- guine expectations of the firm of Skinner & Co. When Mr. Smythe retired, after eleven years connection with it, he left the business in a flourishing condition, whicli demonstrated his mercantile ability. This was in 1857. During the same year he established the firm of Smjthe, Sprague & Cooper. It will be remembered this was the year rendered ever memorable as the one of the great commei'cial crisis. Mr. Smythe, as the principal partner and managing member of the firm, displayed great skill and marcantile acumen during this eventful year. In the mid it of the great excitement which prevailed in commercial circle:-, and wh2n tha resoarcas of many solvent men were strained to tha utmjs^ and almost every merchant suspected his neighbor of being a bankrupt, he remained confident and un- dismayed. He not only carried his hou33 successfully through the crisis without loss to their constituents, but his large business s^ered no diminution, and wa,s indeed remarkably profit^vble at the very penod when everybody else was complaining of "hard times," and wlien numerous merchants were daily added to the lists of insolvents. And the same success which attended Mr. Smythe in 1857 followed him throughout his commercial career in all the revulsions of busi- ness from that year until 18G4, when he retired fi-om the firm to devote his attention to finance. There have been but few merchants of New York who have presented a career of such unvarying tri- umphs, won not by chance, but by the application of sound judg- ment and judicio>js manag3ment. Mr. Smythe had to build up a business. It was like making something from nothing, as indeed all new speculations, however legitimate, must be Uke. It is not enough to have the goods; purchasers must be found for them, Mr. Smythe found them and kept finding more and more every year until he had built up one of the most extensive houses of com- merce in New York. On retii-ing from mercantile affairs, Mr. Smytlie.was the principal capitalist in organizing the « Central National Bank," of which he 275 w as elected tlie president. His success as a banker was uot less signal than it was as a merchant. To preside sncccsstull.y over a banking institution, great executive ability is needed ; a thorough knowledge of finance is required, as well as tact, energy and firmness. These requisite qualifications were possessed, as they still are, by Mr. Smythe in an eminent degree. The bank, which he was mainly ?jstrumental in calling into existence, had not been engaged in busi- ness much over two years when its deposits had reached the enor- mous sum of twenty-five millions of dollars and had become one of the most flourishing concerns of the kind in the United States. This exceptionally rapid progress must be attributed to Mr. Sinythe's admirable management. His character and reputation were alike so favorable that the mere fact of his being at its head was a guar- antee of its reliability, and doubtless, to a great extent, the cause of its receiving so striking a proof of public confidence; but the most enviable reputation may be possessed by a man who has not the first qualification for conducting a bank. The business of ti-ading in money is the most delicate and intricate in the world. A single false step may involve it in utter ruin. Hence it will be seen how great is the talent necessary to profitably conduct a bank, and more especially to take one in its infancy and establish it firmly. Previous to organizing the " Central National Bank," Mr. Smythe had been for thirteen years a director of the Bank of Commerce,' in which institution he acquired that experience in Bnance which he subsequently turned to such good account. He was also, and still is, a director in three of our largest Life and Trust companies, and in four or five of the Fire Insurance companies of the city of New York, besides holding a large number of private trusts. He had also paid some attention to railroad matters, having been for several years a prominent director in the Hudson River Railroad. All of our prominent business men have been more or less brought into politics, and Mr. Smj'the is no exception to the rule. He is not, however, and never has been, in any sense of the word, a poh- tician. He was formerlv Icnown as an old line Whig, and after the 276 • dissolution of his party joined tlie Kepublican organization, prefer- ring it to that of the Democracy, but scarcely approving of its ten- dency to radicalism. His nature is essentially conservative, while sympathizing with real, tangible progress. The great political ques- tions which agitated the country, and which culminated in the secession drama, received the most serious attention from Mr. Smythe. He was a strong opponent of negro slavery, and is a de- voted lover of the Union. When the rebellion broke out he unhesi- tatii^gly advocated coercion, and he supported the Government with all his abiHty and influence while the contest lasted, at which time he was a very heavy loser pecuniarily. After the Southern Con- federacy had been overthrown, Mr. Smythe advocated a hberal pol- icy towards the South. Accustomed to examine carefully both sides of every controversy, he had never been a partisan in politics ; hence it was that he could look at the political situation calmly and dispa^ sionately. He believed that a full restoration of the Union, and the prosperity of all the States, were only possible by an early settle- men of the questions before the public at the close of the war. Mr. Smythe, therefore, supported the early measures of President John- son, looking to the re-organization of the Southern States and their representation in the Congress. Considering how much injury was inflicted upon the material interests of the country by the agitation of the reconstniction question, it is impossible to avoid the"conclu- sion that had Mr. Smythe's sentiments been adopted by Congress, they would have resulted beneficially for both sections. Throughout his life Mr. Smythe had never sought an office, and until 1866 he had never held one. During that year, at the solici- tation of an immense number of merchants, embracing members of all political parties. President Johnson appointed him Collector of the Port of New York. Never before had an appointment given more general satisfoction. Mr. Smythe's sterling integrity, his ad- ministrative and executive ability, and his non-partisan character was a promise that he would perform the duties of the position effi- ciently. A few days after .his name was sent in to the Senate tlie 277 appointment was confirmed, and he at once took charge. Tlie work before Mr. Smytlie was enormous. Political influence had greatly impaired the etficiency of the Custom-house. Majiy corrupt men bad succeeded in entering its service, and complaints were loud and frequent that the business was most loosely and unsatisfactorily performed. Upon Mr. Smythe devolved the work of reformation. Of course, in carrying out his plans he was not left undisturbed. The politicians first tried to compel him to subserviency to their will, but he rejected their overtures and defied their threats. Find- ing that they could not use him, they next tried what defamation would do, but their abuse could not shake tha public confidenc3 in his honesty and capacity. The reforms he made were thorough and sweeping. They greatly facilitated the transaction of business, made corruption on the part of employes more diflicult, and in- creased the efficiency of the Customs service generally. During his term of office a less number of cases were seat to Washington for adjudication than during the terms of any gentleman who has held tho same position, and simply because Mr. Smythe had so systema- tized the business that troubles were rendered difficult of occurrence ; and throughout his administration the obnoxious but common prac- tice of taxing all employes in the custom-house for political pur- poses was dispensed with, Mr. Smythe held the office of Collector of the Port of Is'ew York until after President Grant's inauguration, when lie resigned. While Collector, President Johnson appointed him to the important diplo- matic position of Minister Plenipotentiary to Eussia. The Senate- however, failed to come to a vote on the appointment until the end of the session, although it wa^ known that a large majority of the Senators would have voted in favor of its confirmation. Afler retiring from the Collectorship, Mr. Smythe went to Eu- rope with his family, visiting the various cities and towns of interest and note and remaining abroad for some yeai-s. On his return he resumed business as a financier, and has recently organized the " New York State Loan and Trust Company," of wliicli ho is the 278 HEN R T A . president. This institution is at the present writing about com- mencing business operations, and, judging from the past career of its president, we have no doubt that under his maiuigament it will meet with marked success and prosperity. Socially, Mr. Smythe is one of the most genial and entertaining of men. His conversational powers are notable and his company i** always attractive. Kind-hearted and charitable, he has always been foremost in performing good deeds, and has been connected with several of the benevolent institutions of New York. Cultivating the Christian virtues, he is just and liberal, while stern in exacting from all connected with him a strict adherence to dnty. He pos- sesses a remarkable knowledge of men, and is therefore seldom de- ceived in the estimates he places upon the characters of those with whom he comes into contact. All who know him, and whose good opinions are worth having, esteem him highly. It may be doubted, indeed, if there is another prominent character in New York with a larger circle of sincere friends. It has been said of him that he never forgets a friend, and that he is slow to forgive an enemy. So far as the latter characteristic is concerned, the statement may be open to doubt, but the former is unquestionably true. Mr. Smythe's friendship is highly valued because it never fails those upon whom it is bestowed. Honored, esteemed and popular in business, political and social circles, we find Mr. Smythe to-day in the midst of a career of ex- ceptional success, gained by his own talent and exertions. He is now in the prime of life and bids fair to attain an old age, being as sound in body as in mind. 279 4» /:' /r../(?^///¥.-.'^ COLONEL JOHN J. McCOOK. "^^OLONEL JOHN J. McCOOK, the subject of tbis sketcb, is tbe youngest member of a family that bas al- ways been well and favorably known throughout the coun- try, but more especially since they made themselves famous by their distinguished patriotism and gallant service in the armies and navies of our country during the late war. The McCooks were among the many Scottish families who, being firm in their Presbyterian faith, were driven from their homes dur- ing the religious persecutions and settled in the north of Ireland. Throughout their long residence in that island, they seemed to have maintained many of the traits and marked characteristics of their northern home ; but constant association and occasional inter marriage with the people of their adopted nation, gave to us a race which, of all othei's, was, perhaps, best fitted for the pui-pose of performing so great a part in the settling and development of our country. The Scotch-Irish element, although numerically small, has ab^ays exerted great influence in our midst and commanded the respect and admiration of all. To this element we are indebted for many of the brightest exam- ples of the men most successful in their calling, whether at the pul- pit or bar, on the field of battle, or at the head of great commercial entei-prises. During their residence in Ireland, that branch of the McCook family which we are now following, devoted their attention to agri- culture and manufactures ; although tbe official lists of the British army show that even then they possessed the military spirit that 281 3 OOLONELJOHNJ. itOOOK. evincetl itself so remarkably a hundred years later, wbcu Judge Daniel McCook and his nine stalwart sons responded to the first call of the President for volunteers, \yhcn the struggle for oui* national existence began. In 1797 Colonel MeCook's grandfather emigrated to this country, first settling at York, Penn., but soon after removing to the then almost wilderness of "Western Pennsylvania, and located at Canons- burg, in Washington county, where for many years he conducted a large and general commercial business. He was prominent in the organization and support of Jefferson College in that town, one of the oldest academic institutions of the West, and from which his three sons were graduated. Of these three sons one. Dr. George McCook, is now living, and although well advanced in years, yet maintains himself at the head of his profession in Western Pennsylvania. The second, Dr. John McCook, each of whose five sons served with honor and distinction in the land or naval forces during the war, died just as peace was declared, a sacrifice to his devotion to the hospital service. The iiistory of the third son, Jiidge Daniel McCook, who with his nine boys served from the commencement of the war, is familiar to all. It would require a volume to give in detail the sei-vicos of this gallant old man, who fell at the age of si.\ty-four in the front of battle, and of those of his nine sons ; so we must confine ourself to a mere list of their names, and leave to a saved and strengthened nation the grateful duty of singing the praise and honor of those who poured out their hearts' blood in her defence. Major Daniel McCook, (father,) killed at battle of Bufiington Island. Surgeon Latimer McCook, twice wounded, and died of disease contracted in service. General George W. McCook served in Mexico and also in the late war. Lieutenant James McCook died in naval service. 2S2 COLONEL JOHN J. M COOK. 3 General Robcit L. McCook, wounded in battle and afterwarda killed by guerillas. General A. McD. McCook served throughout the war. General Daniel McCook, Jr., killed at battle of Kenesaw Moun- ain. General E. S. McCook, three times wounded, but served through the war. Charles M. Me Cook, private Second Ohio Infantry "Volunteers, killed at hrst Bull Eun. Colonel John J. McCook, once wounded and served through the war. Colonel John J. McCook, the subject of our sketch, had but recently entered Kenyon College when the war commenced, and although but sixteen years of age, be quickly doffed the student's gown for the uniform of a private soldier. During his four years of life in the field, he served with both the Western and Eastern armies, and for service in ten battles he was as many times especially mentioned in the official reports of corps and division commanders, and recommended for promotion, which in due time came to liim. During General Grant's campaign against Eichmond, Colonel McCook received a wound that for the time disabled him from field service, but the long days of slow recovery were carefully devoted to study, so that when the war was closed he returned to college and was enabled to pass an examination on the subjects which his class had passed over during much of his absence in the field, and thus graduated but one year later than the class with which he originally entered college. After a year's study of the law at Steu- bcnville, Ohio, Colonel McCook repaired to Harvard University from which he received his degree of LL.B. He then returned to his home in Ohio, where for two years he devoted his whole attention to the management of a large estate which he held in trust, and to a careful study of the great and largely increasing system of railroads of that State. 2S3 4 OOLONELJOnNJ.JICOOK. Early in the present year Colonel McCook made bis lioiue in New York city, and first became identified witli the great law firm of Brown, Hall & Vanderpoel, but a few months later be associated himself with the firm of Alexander & Green, where he devoted himself to the law of railroads and insurance, of which departments he has made a specialty, and already his influence is being felt and respected among the controlling minds of those great interests. Colonel McCook inherited the powerful physique of his Scottish ancestors as well as the untiring energy of that race. Possessing as he does an active mind and sound judgment, ho has been enabled to conduct with remarkable success the important en- terprises which he has undertaken, and is markedly entitled to a place among the practical and progressive spirits of our times. Colonel McCook is yet a young man, and has a future of great usefulness and promise before him. 284 HEITET C. CARET. fEKRY C. CAREY was born 15th of December, 1793, at Piiiladelphia. In 1S19 he became a partner in the book- publishing business with his ftither, Mathew Oarej, and in 1S21 his successor, continuing the pursuit, as leading partner fii-st in the firm of Carey & Lea, and subsequently in that of Carey, Lea & Carey, until tlie year 1S38. In 1824 lie initiated the system of periodical trade-sales, now the established method of exchange between publishers. Inheriting an inclination to in- vestigations in political economy, and occupied with business con- genial to his favorite study, he commenced his long career of discovery and of authorship by the publication, in 1835, of an " Essay on tlie Rate of Wages, with an Examination of the Differences in the Condition of the Laboring Population throughout the World." This work was substantially absorbed and expanded in his "Princi- ples of Political Economy," of tliree octavo volumes, published successively in 1S37, 1S3S, and 1S40, and subsequently republished m Italian, at Turin, and in Swedish, at Upsal. The central and piv- otal proposition of this work, to be known thereafter as "Carey's Law of Distribution," surprised European economists not more by its novelty than by the force of its demonstration. Twelve years later the distinguished French economist, Fred. Eastiat, in his " Harmonies Economiques,-' adopted the "Principles" of Carey-as Professor Ferrara, of the University of Turin, expresses the coincidence-" in theory, ideas, order, reasoning, and even in figures." In the dis- cussions that since have followed, its fundamental principle is known to the readers of his work as his tlieory of "labor-value." M. Bas- tiat phrased it "service-value." Marking as it does a grand epoch 235 2 HENRY 0, CARET. in the history of the science, it is entitled, even in so brief a notice 113 this, to the follo-\ving condensed expression : 1st, Labor gains increased productiveness in the proportion that capital contributes to its efficiency; 2d, Every improvement in the efficiency of hibor, so gained by the aid of capital, gives so much increased facility of accumulation ; 3d, Increased power of production lessens the value in labor of capital already existing ; bringing it more easily within the purchase of present labor, for the reason that value can not exceed the cost of reproduction. These simple, self-proving propositions were felt to have tlic power of revolutionizing the science of political economy, by taking from it the dismal prediction of ft constant tendency in tlie distribution of wealth, under a law of necessity, towards greater destitution of labor, and correspond- ingly enormous increase in the power of capital. This law of labor- ralue was, however, destined to obtain a still wider and grander appli- cation—its fundamental principle an universal range. The commonly accepted doctriue that men, in the settlemeut of land, clioose the best soils tirst, and, according to Ricardo's theory, arc empowered by such priority of possession to charge, as rent, the ditlerence between the productiveness of the last and lowest grade that comes into occupancy and that of those previously in use, was full of despair to the on-coming generations of men. Of what avail to humanity was the benelicent law of distribution governing tLe joint products of labor and capitd, if the law governing the occu- pation of land were really at war with it ? Confronted with this appiirent contradiction in the system of Providence, he challenged the facts on which it had been supposed to rest, the results of his inquiry having been given to the world in ISiS in a volume entitled " The Past, Present, and Future," which must be regarded as the most rigid and exhaustive instance of application of tlie inductive method to be found in the whole range of economic litera- ture. The authentic history of ages past with its contrasted con- ditions of contemporary communities, on the broadest scale, is found bearing the most positive refutation of the Eicardo tlieory ; 2S6 HENRY C. CARET. 3 and even the most minute and familiar examples of topograpliic detiiil add tlieir testimony to the invariableness of the newly discov- ered law in obedience to which the richer soils are reserved for the latest settlement of tiie earth, and the latest applications of capital and labor to their cultivation. So complete was the demonstra- tion, that theorists who had built their systems upon the assumptions of Malthus and Ricardo were compelled to surrender them to the facts and arguments then so conclusively arraved against them. As early as 1S3S Mr. Carey published his work on " The Credit System in France, Great Britain, and the United States," which tiie Jo^mud des Economistes then pronounced " the best work on the credit system that had ever then been published;" in 1851 " The Harmony of Interests," which Blackioood:'s Mcujazine recom- mended to all who wish to investigate the causes of the progress or decline of industrial communities. In 1853 appeared "The Slave-Trade, Domestic and Foreign : "Why it Exists ; and How it May l)e Extinguished." Concurrently with these systematic treatises in book-form, his pen was busy with pamphlets and newspaper contributions, applying his doctrines to exigencies of the passing time. It is not within our limits even to enumerate these pro- ductions. They cover every topic of the times in any way related to the philosophy of business, cuiTency, politics, interaal and international affairs, the subjects of his studies for nearly half a century; and he continues this service to the public still, with all the ardor of a young lover and all the effectiveness of a veteran. In the years 1858-59 Mr. Carey digested the doctrines of his previous productions into a single work of three volumes, octavo, entitled " Principles of Social Science," which has since, under his own supervision, been condensed into a "Manual of Social Science," by Miss McKean ; and in an introduction to one of the German editions of this latter, which he entitles " Eeview of the Decade, 1857-67," he has given the most remarkable vindication of its 287 4 H KNRY C. CARRY. lo;i(lui; of all the sicicnccs and of tho arts; of tlie iufluein-os of reli gion upon communities of men, and of schemes for their advance- ment ; of every thing indeed which concerns human history ; of barbarous peoples brought within the pale of civilization ; of new lands for enterprising men, new products for the lap of commerce." His spirit and disposition were adventurous, and he excelled in all manly exercises, especially in horsemanship, of which he was particularly fond. It is not surprising that the practice of medi- cine proved to be scarcely adapted to his nature. The writer of this sketch has oflen heard him say, that the sight of pain, without any positive means of arriving at either cause or rem- edy, was so aggravating to him, that he bad not the nerve to undertake the responsibilities of a physician. With surgery and anatomy, which were more positive, he had no such fault to find, but pursued his studies in these depai'tmonts with zeal. While thus occupied, the uncertain fate of Sir John Franklin was arousing the sympathies of the civilized world, and the thoughts of the young student being turned in that direction, the founda- tion was laid for bis subsequent renown. In the autumn of 1S52, it had been determined by the pliilan- thropic merchant, Henry Grinuell, to fit out a second expedition to take part in the search, and to intrust the command of it to Dr. E. K. Kane. In December, 1852, Dr. Kane being in Philadelphia, the young student sought and obtained an interview with him, which resulted merely in the promise that the applicant would be remembered if he concluded to take a medical officer witb the ex- ])edition, an event barely possible. Here the matter rested, and the youthful aspirant ibr Arctic adventure heard of the preparations which were making for tlie departure of the expedition, with not the least expectation of being called upon to take part in it. In the spring, while ardently engaged upon his preparations. Dr. Kane, never at any time throughout his spirited and heroic caieer a strong man physicnlly, was stricken down with inflammatory 292 DR. I. I. HATES. iltloii. rhcuinatisin, from which he recovered iu a very enfeebled coi,..,, Acting upon the advice of his friends, he now determined to t a .surgeo7i with him, and remembering the student who appealed to him in the previous December, he sought Dr. Hajes and offend Jiim the situation, which was promptly accepted. Two days after- ward, May 31, 1853, the expedition sailed from New York, and the young man who had never been a hundred miles from his father's house, set out upon an enterprise destined to become one of the most famous of modern times. In the operations of this expedition, Dr. Hayes took a most con- spicuous part, notwithstanding his youth and inexperience. En- thusiastic and energetic in whatever he undertook, he soon gathered a valuable collection of natural history, never allowing an oppor- tunity of visiting any new locality to escape him. His botanical collections were of especial value, and from the situations in which they were made, attracted much attention. It is known that the expedition, failing to penetrate to the Polar Sea, on account of the heavy ice, wintered near the mouth of Smith's Sound, in lat. 78" 37', in which position their small vessel, the brig Advance, was frozen fast in September, and was never released. The long winter night came on, and the party were one hundred and thirty-six days without once seeing the sun, darkness reigning most of that time. Upon the return of daylight the explorers set out northward, with sledges, over the solid ice. With these various journeys and the temble hard5hii)s and suf- ferings attending them, the public is familiar through Dr. Kane's narrative of the voyage. The crowning achievement was the dis- covery of the Polar Sea by William Morton ; but scarcely less im- portant, was the discovery and survey, by Dr. Hayes, of Grinnell Land, the mo.'^t northerly land known. This journey, which resulted in a success so important, was peculiarly difficult and hazardous. It was made with a small team of dogs, and one companion, who was, throughout the journey, alternately mutinous and in violent despair of ever extriiating himself from tlie dangers intowhicli liis 2;*3 4 rn. I. I. HATES commainlcr was leading him. Once lie tlircatcned the life of Dr Hayes, and liad it not been for the latter's fearless and quick move- ment in seizing tlio rifle at the very instant of its discbarge, this desperate attempt of a man rendered insane by fatigue and suOering )night have been successful. After tliis, one would think something more than ordinary cour- age was required, with such a companion, to push on day alter day over a rugged and apparently interminable plain of ice and snow, in search of land which he was confident was before him, and which he was determined to reach. In order more certainly to insure success, he threw away his bedding to lighten the heavy load his weary dogs were dragging, and slept without any other covering than the sky, while the temperature was still below zero. Thus overcoming every obstacle his perseverance was finally re- warded. He greatly extended our geographical knowledge of the region around the North Pole, and planted the American flag upon the newly discovered land, in latitude 80°. This journey was attended with so many hardships that Dr. Hayes was completely broken down upon his return, and for some time thereafter was perfectly blind from exposure to the constant glare of the sun, an irritation of the eye very common to the north- ern latitudes, and known as snow-blindness. The Adcance not being liberated in the autumn of 1854, a party of volunteers, of which Dr. Hayes was one, was organized to seek relief from a Danish settlement— a forlorn hops of the most heroic and daring character. Although unsuccessful in achiev- ing the object aimed at, it was not without its good results. A narrative of this journey, unparalleled in tlie history of Arctic adventure, having been published by Dr. Hayes in a book entitled " An Arctic Boat Journey," which has been before the public for several years, and has passed through several editions, most readers are familiar with the story. Some idea of the fearful sufferings of this boat party may be gathered from the fact that, being over- taken bv the winter, they were forced to live in a miserable hut, liter- 294 DR. ally burierl in the enow, tlirou^li three winter months, without firo, and often without any other food than stone moss {triiie de rorhe), which they gathered from the rocks, after clearing away the deep enow with an iron plate, their only shovel. The terrible alterna- tive of cannibalism was at one time threatened, after two weeks of this wretched diet (which was scanty, full of sand, and innutri- tions), and was only prevented by Dr. Hayes, who was finally rewarded for his firmness by the timely arrival of some wild Es- quimaux, who not only saved the lives of the party, but helped them to succor their sick and sufiering comrades in the ship. As is well known, the expeditionists finally escaped from their ice-bound vessel, and after sailing over a thousand miles in their boats, were picked up and brought home by the United ^ates ships under command of the late Captain Hartstene, sent out by the government to search for them. This occurred in October, 185.5. Dr. Kane dying early in 1857 from the eifects of the voyage, left Dr. Hayes the only conspicuous representative of Arctic ex- ploration in America, and the mantle of his deceased commander fell naturally upon his shoulders. He at once announced a plan for renewing the explorations which Dr. Kane had begun, in a paper read in December, 1857, before the American Geographical Society in New York. His scheme was simply to follow up the line of approach to the Pole that had been pursued by Dr. Kane. Although a committee of co-operation was appointed by the society, very little interest was manifested toward a renewal of the explo- ration, and it was not until Dr. Hayes, in August, 1858, calling the attention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, to his project, that its ultimate success was placed beyond doubt. The paper which he read to the Association was a clear and ear- nest exposition of his views. It was listened to with great interest by the beauty and intellect of Baltimore, which crowded 4he immense hall of the Maryland Institute, and excited the liveliest sympathy. 295 Tiwii ooiii'luiiing, 11 rofiolution of tlwinks was entlinsiiisticully voted the orntor, and, upon tlio proposition of tlie late Professor Macho, ft t'oniniittoo of sixteen was appointed to co-operate with liini in tlie organization of the enterprise. Atter this the principal scientilic societies of the Ui\itod States signitiod tiieir disposition to lend thoir aid, vet, notwithstanding, " tlie sinews of war" were not forthcoming until the spring of 1860, when he finally sailed in a schooner of 183 tons with a crew of fifteen men. Although this scheme had occupied his time for many years. Dr. Hayes had yet only attained the age of twenty-eight the year ho sailed. The history of this voyage has been given to the world by Dr. Hayes, in a work bearing the title of " The Open Polar Sea," and. iiavinsr been translated into the (German and Frencli languages as well as republished in England, the public is generally familiar with the result of the voyage. It may not, however, be here out M' place, to recite the most conspicuous features of the expedition, whicli was in all i-espects one of the most successful ever made into the Arctic regions. As has been shown before. Dr. Hayes possessed a great fondness for natural history, and although occupied with the cares and re- si>onsihilities of command, his personal collections were probably the largest over brought by any single expedition from that quarter. In physics he had associated with him Mr. Augi>st Sonntag, of Ciennany. whose death duriug the first year of their absence was a .ii, little imagining at the time, the peculiar significance of the name, for this was in May, 1861, when the Union, quite unknown to him, was threatened and civil war had really been inaugurated by the bombardment of Fort Sumter. The shores of this land were found to be bathed by the oi)en Polar Sea, and the further progress of the explorer was prevented by the \v;itiT. t'orsiiur tlic j. iiriiov h;Hl liooii iiiado witli (loi; sleilgei- from tlic wiutcr-qnarters at Port Foiilkc, there were no means at hand of navijratin-,' it. The furtliest point reached was nearer to the North Pole tiian liad ever heen attained before by any explorer ex- cept Sir Edward Parry ; and further tlian any one liad ever reached by hnid. Thus had Dr. Hayes planted his country's flag upon the most northerly known land of the globe. The history of this si>irited journey, Mhieh occupied sixty days and resulted so triumphantly — made over interminable ridges of hummocked ice and through deep snows, while the temperature was sometimes as low as 00° and even 68° below zero, while sledges, dogs, and men were continually breaking down nnder the distress- ing labor, while the food by day was scant and the sleep by night was in a snow hut — reads, as lias been aptly observed by a London review, more like some tide of wild romance than the simple state- ment of fact. The entire distance traveled was estimated at 1,300 miles. On setting out, the party numbered twelve persons; but all of them except one, Mr. George F. Knorr, were sent back, or were finally left behind, owing to their utter inability to further continue their laborious mai-ch after their resolute leader. To con- vey an idea of the nature of the traveling, it is only necessary to state that the party was once detained fourteen days in making only forty miles. We can well understand the emotions of the explorer as he stood upon the laud he had discovered and looked out upon the open water before him, which he confidently believed extended to the Pole, and which, being without a boat, he wi\s unable to traverse, lie writes in his narrative, evidently with much feeling : " I quit the place with reluctance. It possessed a fascination for me, and it was with no ordinary emotions that I contemplated my situation, with one solitary companion, in that hitherto untrodden desert." For this important achievement Dr. Hayes has received the most distinguished honors that can be bestowed upon a geographical explorer, among the most conspicuous being the diploma of honor- 298 DR. I. I. HATES. ary memberehiij of the Royal Geographical Societies of Berlin and Italy ; the Patrons' Medal of the Eoyal Geographical Society of London, for 1867 ; the Grand Medal of the Geographical Society of Paris, 1868, besides other evidences of distinguisiied apprecia- tion, not least among which may be reckoned one possessing at this time something of mournful and melancholy interest,— the cross of officer of the Order of Guadaloupe, sent him by the accomplished gentleman and unfortunate emperor, Maximilian of Mexico. Nor has the American Geographical Society been behind its sister asso- ciations of foreign countries in contributing, by resolution, their acknowledgments to one who had done so much to make Ameri- can enterprise and character respected abroad. The expedition was unfortunate in one especial particular— in the circumstance that, owing to the unusually heavy ice which was encountered in North Baffin's Bay and Smith Sound, the expedition schooner. United States, was badly damaged, and instead therefore of attaining a more northerly position than that of Dr. Kane, as he had expected, Dr. Hayes was forced into a winter harbor consider- ably to the south, thus necessitating, not only an additional distance over the ice when the sledge journeys came to be made in the spring, but likewise the covering of tlie entire grounds previously gone over by Dr. Kane before new explorations could be accom- plished. Besides this he met with a serious disaster in tlie death of the greater part of his dogs, upon which he had relied for field service. But notwithstanding these drawbacks most important additions were made to our knowledge as has been already shown. The crippled condition of Dr. Hayes' vessel unhappily compelled him, after being frozen up in the ice ten months, and absent fifteen, to sail for home in order to refit, and he reached the United States in the autumn of 1861 with the intention of returning north to resume his explorations the following spring, little expecting to find the country occupied with a gigantic civil war. Perhaps the most touching of the incidents of Dr. Hayes' narrative is his arrival in B,..-ton, and his first realization of the state of the countrv which 299 10 I'K 1. I 11 A Y KS. lio Itiul It'l't at [U'lu-o aiul iti tlio liii;liosi pivsitority. Tlie jmrly had, lit Ilalit'ux, whoro tlioy put in for ropiiirs (Imving boon aluiosjt wrookod l>y ii sovoro {j;iilo off the coast of Liibrador), loariiod somn- iliiii:; of till' .-tato of tlio oountrv; but whou thoy arrived in Bos- ton Hay llioir worst foai-s sooniod realized; a heavy fog liid every tliinjj; from view and " the night wtis tilled '' says the narrative, " with ai\ oppressive gloom. The lights hanging at ti>o mast-heads of the vessels whioii wo passed had the ghastl}' glimmer of tapers burning in a eharnel-lntuso. Wo saw no vessel moving but our own, ami those which lay at anchor appeared like phantom ships floating in the murky air. I never saw the ship's company so lifeless, or so depressed even in times of real danger." Each man dourly anticipated some personal calamity, and wiicn tiiey reached their anchorage and learned of the battle of Ball's I>lutr, which occurred the previous day, in which some of the host regiments of Massachusetts were so fearfully eut to pieces, their worst feai's were realized, and '' it seemed as if the very air had shrouded itself in mourning for them, and the heavens wept tours for the city's slain." The terrible reality was now fully realized, and without a moment's loss of time Dr. Hayes, abamloning for the time his dar- ling project of polar exploration, decided upon his couree. To ipiote his own words. "I resolved to postpone the task with which I had charged myself; and I closed as well the cruise as the pr<.>- ject by writing a letter to the President, svsking for immediate em- ployment in the public service, and otfered my schooner to the government for a gun-boat." But the schooner proved to be too small for the new service in which Dr. Hayes and his crew were desirous of aiding their country. The vessel not being therefore accepted by the government, Dr. Hayes sought duty in a Held poriiaps bettor calculated to exhibit his \inusual administrative talent, his skill in commsind, and fac- ulty for organization. The President conunissioned him a surgeon of the LTnited States V"i>lunteers, and early in the spring of lSti2 300 he was detailed to construct and organize at Philadelphiji a hoapi tal for wounded soldiers, on a scale never before attemj^ted eitlier in civil or military affairs. The duty was not so congenial to Dr. Hayes' natural disposition as more active service in the field ; but, being ordered to the task, he accepted it with characteristic alacrity, and in two months liad constructed a building capable of containing upward of four thou- sand patients, which, togetlier with the attendants, composed a family of five thousand souls. This command he held until the close of the war, and it is safe to say that his hospital was from first to last the model hospital of the United States Army. His method of administration was generally adopted throughout the service. With Dr. Hayes it was quite a labor of love and patriot- ism, his personal ambition lying in a very different field ; and a severe labor it was. He was never absent from his post a single day, except upon special service, to which he was occasionally ordered, and no man could possibly have performed his duty more conscien- tiously or more thoroughly. With a firm hand he held the reins of his large command, and brought every thing to the system and order of clock-work, the result of which was manifested in the unusual low rate of mortality among his patients. Out of nearly thirty thousand who passed under his care, mostly of the worst class of caes from the battle-field, he lost by death less than six hundred. With the termination of the war, Dr. Hayes' public career ended. He has since occupied himself with literary and scientific pursuits, occasionally lecturing, for which latter, his fine voice, ready delivery, and clear method particularly adapt him. Indeed he has been often heard to say that he never would have commanded an expedition to the Arctic seas had he not assiduously cultivated the art, in which Americans as a people so much excel, of public 8]ieaking. His last literary work, without respect to occasional magazine ari;icle8 on various topics, was a book for boys, entitled " Cast Away in the Cold," which first appeared in Our Young FolJcK magazine, and, as a book, has run through several editions. 301 19 IMJ. I. 1. II A \ F S, Fivm a paper rosui Ivforo tlio Aniorii-an Goographioal Society in November. 1868, detailing tl»o pn^givss of Aivtio disoovorv up to that time, aiul setting forth his plans for fnrther explorations, wo !in> UhI toMievethat he still contemplates the rt>ne\val of the enter- prise which the war compelled him to abandon temporarily, as he annonnco^l at the time. As he is still on the suimy side of life, let ns hope for the sake of science and the conntry that he may vet adhere to his original resolution. Ljist year he made a short summer voyage to (iivenland. with the view of making some pre- liminary pn>j^ar!Vtions h-Kiking to th.nt end. and to a furtJier explo- ration of the Greenland glaciers, the results of which have not yet Ihvu publisheil. 302 c ^' ///• ( uiuy. GEORGE M. CURTIS. ^^MONG the men who have attained judicial eminence early in life, George M. Curtib, of Naw York City, is eon- He is now thirty years of age, and though one of the Judges of the Marine Court of tlie metropolis, he may be regarded as but just entering the field of legal renown. The intellect of the jurist invariably receives its highest development after thirty. And the persistency with which this young Judge studies and cultivates himself, is the best guaranty that he will at- tain the sumjnit in his profession. Not only does he labor indefati- gably in the causes submitted to him for decision, but he burns the midnight oil in the midst of bis legal library, fortifying himself with the knowledge of principles and precedents for future use. This young jurist may be said to possess a iS^apoleonic mind, and rapidity of decision. He is, indeed, physically like the impetuous Corsican. The resemblance is the subject of frequent comment among friends and strangers. He renders his decisions at times with the promptness and insight of genius. He unquestionably possesses file gift which rendered Peter Cagger, of Albany, so marvelously efficient as a leader in the political arena, viz., the power to read ac- curately the character of men with whom he is brought in contact. With this talisinanic key to the human heart within his grasp, it is difficult for witnesses in his court to deceive or mislead him. He seems to be conscious when falsehood, no matter how sedulously veiled, stands before him. But his gifts are not exclusively legal. He is a cultm-ed scholar in the realm of history, poetry, and general literature. He h.is an inmiU- love for military opei-;itio'is. and his military sketches, con- 3U3 2 O E O E Q i; M . C U Ti T 1 8 . li-ibntetl to the public press, have attracted marked atteiitiou from army men. Ills recent article upon the war between France and Prussia, and its relations to the future of the two empires, was in- stantly copied into the Army and Navy Gazette. He contributes frequently to the press of New York, and his delineations of the turf and the popidar sports of the day, are re>rs(>voriil_voiiisof diiilv intcroouiw w ilh .soldioi^, in wlioni ii> II liodv I i>nli'itiiin tlio Hvoliost iiiloivst, I uiny, porliaiw, at* a follow- townMnan, wlio it* siu>ciidlv jiroud of _v.>u, and of all Cljiicusi'o's nolilo t-onw ill llio aiinv, tie iiidnlj;ivntloinan. Kocp Ihc li|» ]>uro, that no hlasplioniv jjo orr, nor viio wliiskov in. llsi> a.^; iiuudi pow(it>r a« vou ploat^o ajjainst the om'inv, hut do not .-ipout liri' and liriiiistono aiiioiijj vour iVionds. Wlu-n liio slonuioh is disi>anod tlic hn-alli is oll'on.sivo; lot nol llu' I'liJinu-tor of your spoocli indiciito foiiliU'ss of lu'jirt. 'Hard taok ' niiiv nol ho luxurioiH diet, hut a 1110S8 of iMiivos and \ iilnarilv is inliIli|^'l^ moro unwliolcsonio, ami lo all hut vitiutod appotilos, i;iv;illv moii' iini>alalalili', St.ition a son linol ahout llio oil.'idol oi' voiir virtiio, and lot nol lioonliousnoss ho \-i>ur i-anip diviuilv. Konionihor that oouraj^o is not a quality of niushr>K)ui jjiowtli, and that j^idlinoss is iho suivst antidote to divud of homhs and bullots. Lot virtuo, thoroforo, ho your uioriiing star, and o\ou amid tlio gloaiu of swords il will shino bonijjiiaully upon \ oil. rliooso cousoionoo as your safost i-ounsollor, and uovor ho doaf lo its 'still, small voioo,' ovon amid tlio olaiia; of arms and tlio Ihiin- doi-s of lu-lillory. If ohodiouoo to olHoors ho onjoinod sis a just lo- (piiivniont of military disoiplino, how inliniloly more imporativo should ho obodioiu-o lo iho holiosis of llim who lioldoth supivnio ooniinand, as Iho Lord o( Hosts. Koposo a lovinjj; oonlidonoo in Him, for in His hand is tho lliivad of your livos— lo bo at His plo.-uf ui-o tlron-^lhonod or out in twtdn. In wlialovor oonlliols you may U' onjta^'od, ronionihor always that iho yroatost of all t.rium]ra is l,l.„ ..,„,.,, ,u,.| !.„ /« a n.a.i „« aver. Look nt him, Honitini/.o hi... doKol.y, .,.'il'iiokillir H|,i.-i|, if vo.l Wirth. ()„ ('|„. ,,,a,r,./„|' hje, .■N-, ..oM,. s,.,.(l,.sH, ,...iv,.l,. lil,, „,. .l.,|y .y.M. (.. ,„,;„, o,a a «i,.^.l„ f^la.l. „.• I.I.M.I.ril.. lli,s |.,,Ki(i,,.l ,IK ,1 |, 111, 11,; „„i„ irt II,.. ..,l(,.|-,l| H.^ ''"""•■'''""'«'•""'""""' '•"nHiH(,.,.l ,lrV,.l„|.,uo.,(, of (|,H( woll luiou., clia.'fictrr r.,.- Iio..,,.-, i.ilc-ril'.V, n.id inii..lv diMUJij." ;ii7 ^^ '^ ^^;07-^^/S/S^ WALTEIi L. LIVING STO:^. fi* F the many families Mhose names are conspicuous in the annals of the State of New York, there are none more dis- tinguished than that of the Livingstons. It ranlcswith the Washingtons, Fairfaxes, Randolphs, Adamses, Masons, and others which held prominent positions in Colonial days, and is remarkable for the number of distinguished men it has produced. The founder of the American family was Eobert Livingston, first Lord of the Manor of Livingston, who emigrated to this country from Scotland, in 1C72. He received a royal patent for a large tract of land on the Hudson, extending in the interior a distance of twenty or thirty miles. In the colony he held many important positions under the crown. Among his descendants, whose names are familiar to eveiy student of our history, were the celebrated chancellor, Robert R. Livingston, one of the Committee for drawing up the Declaration of Independence ; William, who was Governor of New Jersey twen- ty-six years ; and Edward, who became a Senator in Congress, Sec- retary of State, and Minister to France. The subject of this sketch, is a descendant of Robert, and the second son of Henry TV. Livingston, and of Caroline Depau, one of the daughters of Francis Depau, who was a distinguished mer- chant of New York City in his day. On his mother's side, he is a great-grandson of Admiral Count de Grasse, who commanded tho French fleet that contributed so much to the cause of the Colonists, during the revolutionary war, and whose defeat of the English fleet off the coast of Virginia enabled Washington to completely hem in the British forces, under Lord Comwallis, and finally compel its surrender. For his services during the Revolution, Count de Grasse 319 ■WALTEE L. LIVI>'GSTOS. received from Congress a special vote of thanks, and a present of two field pieces of ordnance. Walter L. Livingston, the gentleman whose name heads this arti- cle, was born in the City of l^ew Tork, on Broadway, near Franklin Street, on the 21st day of December, 1830. The family were then residing in the conntry, and at his father's residence in Colombia Connty he spent the earliest years of his childhood. Here his father owned a large part of the tract of land, famous in onr history as the old Livingston Manor. While a child, he was taken to Europe by his pa- rents, and there he was principally educated — partly at the Jesuit College at Fribourg, in Switzerland, and partly at the College of Juilly, near Paris. To his ancestry on his mother's side is to be at- tributed his being a member of the Catholic Church, his father's family being Episcopalian. In his youth he made several trips to and from Europe, and short- ly after lus final return home, after the completion of his studies, he determined to embrace the profession of the law. Accordingly, he entered the office of the Hon. Francis B. Cutting, and remained there antil he became a student in the law offices of Messi-s. Sutherland and Monell, both of whom are now judges — Sutherland of the Su- preme Court of jSTew York, and MoneU of the Superior Court of the same State. Under these gentlemen he finislied his legal course, and was in due time admitted to practice. " In May, 1852, soon after his admission, he opened a law office at Xo. 72 "Wall Street, and it was there that Sigismund Kauffman, who is now widely knoAvn at the bar and in politics, studied law with him. Mr. Livingston en- countered the usual obstacles which young practitioners meet with on the threshold of their careei-s ; for althouglLhe possessed a large and influential cii'cle of acquaintances in New Tork, professional business was secured only by labor and perseverance. In 1857, he manied Miss Coster, the eldest daughter of "Washing- v ton Coster, of Jfew York City, and four years later, he moved with liis family to Brooklyn, where, at 92 Hewes Street, he has ever since resided. Before he had been long in the^city, the active part 320 WALTEEI, .LIVINGSTON. 3 he took in politics made him prominent and popular, and for a number of years he was an inflLiential member of the Democratic General Committee of Kings County. He was not, however, an as- pirant to office ; but in 1SG7, the very marked compliment to his legal abilities was paid him, in his nomination as one of tiie four candidates of the Democracy from his Senatorial District to the Constitutional Convention of the State of ISTew York. He was, with his three colleagues elected bj a handsome majority. One of the candidates on the opposing ticket was the Rev. Henry Ward Beech- er, for whose election great efforts were made, the occasion being his fij-st candidature for pubhc office. The record of the proceedings of the Constitutional Convention shows that Mr. Livingston took an active and important part in the various measures submitted. He joined in the debates on the judi- ciary article, in relation to the powers of the Legislature ; on the ' article relating to the bill of rights ; on the question of suffrage, etc. He was a member of the Special Committee on the Adulteration and Sale of Spirituous Liquors, and also a member of the Committee on Cliai'ities. He introduced among others a resolution providing that all laws relating to the elective franchise should be uniform through- out the State, which was re]3orted from the Committee on Suffrage by the Chairman, Horace Greeley. He also secured the passage of a resolution prohibiting the construction of a railroad within any town or incorporated village without the consent of the local au- thorities, and without the consent of the owners of at least one-third (in \-alue) of the property affected ; and in case the consent of such propei-ty owners could not be obtained, the authority of the General Term of the Supreme Court of the district in which the road was to be located was declared necessaiy — the consent and authority to be obtained in such manner as the Legislatiu-e should provide, by a genei'al law. "WTien the Committee on the Adulteration and Sale of Spirituous Liquors submitted their report, they were found to be equally di- vided, the Republican members of it reported in favor of conferring 321 4 W A LTEKI.. LIVINGSTON. upon the Legislature authority to pass laws proliibiting the sale of intoxicating liquors, while the Democratic members reported in favor of proliibiting the Legislature from passing any law forbiding the manufacture and sale of distilled and fermented liquors and •wines, but permitting it to regulate the traffic by laws having uni- form operation throughout the State. On this question Mr. Living- ston sided with his Democratic colleagues ; and when tlie matter was brought before the Convention, he delivered an able speech upon it. The subject was one of great importance to the people of the Metro- politan City of New York, not only as involving their commercial interests, but also as affecting long established rights and privileges. Although a friend of the temperance cause, Mr. Livingston opposed everything in sumptuary legislation, believing that it was harsh and oppressive, without attaining its object. In the speech referred to, he said : " Me. President : — I trust that the Convention will reconsider the vote by which the article recommended in the report printed as that of the majority of the Committee on the Sale of Liquors was rejected, and that upon further reflection, the article itself will be adopted, for tlie following reasons, which I will state as briefly as possible. In my opinion, tlie Legislature should be denied the right to prohibit abso- lutely the manufacture or sale of wines and liquors, because such prohibition violates all the principles of our system of government and of sound legislation, and however much we may condemn the vice of intoxication, however desirous we may be to contribute to its suppression by all proper and legitimate means, we should be unwil- ling to attain that end at a Eacrifice of a cardinal principle of justice and liberty. In this coimtry, the law should leave to the individual all the liberty, not strictly inconsistent with the good order and safe- ty of society. * * * It is a well established principle of good government, that ' laws should never be passed forbidding acts which, in the opinion of a large proportion of the educated members of the community, are in themselves innocent.' Now, it will not be seriously claimed, that the manufacture or sale of wine and liquor, WALTEE L. LIVINGSTON. 5 under proper regulations, is immoral. These articles enter largely into the commerce of the world ; they ai'e recognized as the legiti- mate subject of traffic by the laws of the United States. Their use as a beverage has been sanctioned, from time immemorial, by the practice of all civilized nations, and so far at least as wine is con- cerned, by the teachings of the Holy Scriptures." Continuing, Mr. Livingston referred to a case recited by Wendell Phillipps, of a man in Maine, who, though trying to be a disciple of temperance, could not resist the temptation of getting liquor ; where- upon Ills friends, under the prohibitory law, procured a writ and closed up all the liquor shops in the town. " I cannot, for one, sub- scribe to the soundness of such a principle of legislation." After quoting from several authorities, to prove that tiie prohibition of the sale of liquor is, to use the language of John Stuart Mill, a " gross usurpation upon the liberty of private life," he went on : " It is quite trae, however, that the sale of liquor, under certain circumstances, may become a wrong ; such, for instance, as the sale of strong drinks to a child, or to a person known to be an habitual drunkard, and I am not contending that the Legislature should not have the power to prohibit such sales ; on the contrary, the proposed article gives that right to the Legislature. But I do insist that the existence of sucb abuses is no more an argument in favor of the ab- solute prohibition of the sale of liquor, than is the fact that tobacco is frequently sold to children of tender years an argument in favor of the prohibition of the sale of that article. But it is said that the Legislature should not be restrained on this subject, because it rep- resents the popular will, and therefore will not pass a prohibitory- law unless the majority of tlie people demand it. This argument assumes that the minority have no rights which the majority are bound to respect, and might with equal force be applied to the other numerous restrictions upon the powers of the Legislature to be found in other parts of the Constitution. " There is no provision made for submitting the law to the direct vote of the people, or for requiring that it should be passed at two 323 r. WALTEBL. LIVINGSTON. successive sessions of tho Lcgislatiu-o before it shall become opera tive, and without some such chock, tho experience of the past teaches us that n mere inipulse of the people may becomo the law of the land. Tho distinguished Chairman of tiie Committee also tells us, in his report, that ' this power (of prohibition) in the hands of the Losjislature can only be exoivised when the people shall direct, by sm-h an expivssion of popular will .as shall leave no doubt of the duty of the servant, that popular will suggests the law and demands its eu- forcouicnt.' And he then adds, with more confidence, I confess, than I have in the readiness of tho minority to yield to the wishes of the majority, however exacting and unjust: 'It is the people who will then act, and tho people are the government to which every good citizen will yield a pleasant obedionoo.' Docs ray distinguished friend consider that this power will bo any tho more Kife in the hands of tho Legislature, bec;\uso it can only be exorcised at the command of the majority ? If, in his opinion, tho will of tho people should be respected on all occasions, why did he not raise his elo- quent voice in condenmation of tho article on the bill of rights, which was discussed in this Convention immediately previous to the consideration of his own ropart, and in which wo find almost .as many chocks upon tho powers of tho Legislature as there are sections in the article ? M. de Tocquevlllo says, in his work on democracy in America, ' I regaixl as impious and detestable tho maxim that in mattei-s of government the majority of a people have the right to do everything.' And a little further on, he says : ' What then is a ma- jority, taken collectively, but an individual having opinions, and most often interests, opposed to another individual called the minor- ity. If, then, you admit that a man invested with unlimited power can abuse it to the injury of his advers:U'ios, why do you not admit the si\me thing in regani to a m.ajority. In coming togetlier, have men cluuiged their nature t Have they become more patient under prtjvocation, in becoming stronger? For my part, I cannot believe it, and the power to do everything, which I refuse to a single indi- ndual. T will never give to a number of them.' « « * * < And 324 WALTER L. LIVINGSTON. 7 what 19 the most repulsive to'me in America, h not the extromo lib- erty that prevails there, but the little security to be found against tyranny.' What I now ask of tliis Convention, is to hold the shield of the Constitution over the minority, in order to protect it against the tyranny of the majority, on this subject of total abstinence. The article now under discussion does not propose to strip the majority of any of its just riglits. It leaves to the Legislature full authority to suppress the abuse, witliout prohibiting the use, of intoxicating bwerages, and in my judgment, this is all the power that the Legis- lature should properly exorcise over the subject, for it is the abuse alone that is reprehen.sible. But it is said that this concession to the Legislature of the right to regulate the sale of liquor grants the whole argument in favor of total prohibition. Says Wendell Phil- lipps: 'Governor Andrews gi-ants the whole argument, when he talks license, for he grants that society has a right to put its hand upon drink.' Well, Mr. President, is there no difference between regula- tion and prohibition? To my mind the distinction is marked; in fact, those two words convey ideas totally inconsistent with each other. Prohibition destroys the right to sell liquor, and as a neces- sary consequence, to a great extent, the right to use it as a bevera^'e ; while regulation, on the contrary, implies the existence of the right both to sell and to use it, for it is the sale and the use of that article tliat is to be the subject of regulation. How, then, can it be said that the concession to the Legislature of a power which recognizes the right to do a certain thing, is identical in principle with the grant of authority to prohibit and to destroy altogether such right ? As well might it be argued that the right to license hotel keepers implies the authority to shut up all the hotels in the State, or that the right to license mamages, in those countries where it exists, admits the pow- er to prohibit matrimony. " Butchers, for instance, are licensed to sell meat. Is not that a substance both useful and healthful? Is it not an article which in- volves no harm and no danger? Many other innocent and harmless occupations cannot be pursued without a license. Our Revised Stat- 32J a WAL TKK L. I, 1 V 1 NO STUN. ntos prohibit anv poreon from travelling from pluoo to plaoo, within this State, f >r the piirpo.*o i>f ojirrying, to s-oU or exposing to sale, nuy poods, wan^s or merehamliso, of the growth, prodiiee or manutacturo of any foreign country, unless ho shall have obtained a license as a hawker and }>eddler in the manner thereiu directed. The h\w of 1S43 authorizes lieelises to keep taverns to bo granted, without in- cluding a license to sell strong and spirituous liquoi-s, or wines, or al- coholic drinks; and pcj-sons without a license arc prohibited from putting up a sign indicating that they keep a tavern, under penalty of one dollar and twenty-live cents for every day such sign shall be kept up. Many other instances could bo cited if necessary, and I roeoUoct having road roceiitly in the newspapers that a man had been anvsted in New Haven tor having sold tickets of admission to Mr. Dickens* ivadings without lirst having obtained a license to do so. That there exists a distinction between regulation and prohibition does not admit ot a doubt. "Mr. rrosident, I am in lavor of denying to the Legislaturo the right to psiss a prohibitory law, because experienco teaches us that it w ill remain a dead letter in those localities where is considered by its advocates to be most Tioeded. I refer to the cities of the State. I fully agixx" with the distinguished Chairman of the Committee when he s;\vs : " ' In my opinion, laws enacted in advance of public opinion aro wor^^ than dead letters ; they countenance disrespect for laws, the ol^sovvance of which arc absolutely necessary for the security of life and property. All sncocsstul laws are the public nn'nd ; nil salutary enactments are the public will ; all attempts at restraint are but cob- wolvf against the throbbing impulses of the AnM>rican heart,' "But, sir, it is the public opinion of that part of the State whicli will be most afiectcd by the operation of the contemplated law that should be consulted. The fact that public opinion in the rur.il dis tricts is in fovor of a law very nniversjiUy condemned and deemed oppressive in the lai^ cities of the State, lends no aid whatever to its ciiforoement in those cities. The history of the agitation in Eng- S2G W A L T r R r, . 1. 1 V I N S T O N . land on tliie Kiibject teaches u» the iatc of any measure which is not upheld by the moral sentiment of the people affected by it." Mr. Livingfiton here gave a brief account of th'j famous attempt made in England, in 1736, to prevent the sale of spirituous liquors, bcrs favorable to the temperance cause will not object to it, for, at most of the temperance meetings which have been recently held, resolutions have been passed demanding that the distinction which has been made on this subject between the metropolitan dLstrict and the rest of the State should be abolished, by extending over the en- tire State the excise law now in existence in that district. Nor will any objection come from the members representing the cities of the State, for whatever distinction has been heretofore made, has always been to the disadvantage of their constituents. If there is any oppo- sition then to the proposition, it must be limited to the members from the rural districts who are not particularly in favor of the tem- perance movement ; and I respectfully submit, sir, that it can only spring from the fear that the regulations connected with the sale and use of liquors, -which they are willing to liave enforced in certain parts of the State, will be extended to those localities which they represent. Why should any distinction be made on this subject of excise between the different parts of the State ? Is there any reason why a man who takes over his bar fifty dollars a day in the city of New York, should pay a higher license fee than the man whose bar- room in a country tavern will yield the same profit? Is there any reason why liquors should be sold after twelve o'clock at night in one place anymore than in another? Is there any reason why a man of bad moral character should be allowed to sell liquor in the coun- try and not in the city ? Is there any reason why liquor should not be sold to a child, for his own use, or to a habitual drunkard in one part of the State, which will not apply to the sale of liquor to such persons everywliere throughout the State ? Is there any reason why liquor should be sold on Sunday in one part of the State and not in another? If there is then no reason why any distinction should bo made in any of these respects between the different parts of the 327 Stale, wliat possible objection caii there bo to compel the Legislature to muko tho law uniform ? It has been urged, however, in answer to this proposition, that the means required to enforce tho laws in the cities are different from those necessary for the same purpose in the and the utter failure that it met with. He then proceeded to de- scribe the failures which have attended all efforts at prohibition. Qovernor Andrews of Massachusetts had declared that " prohibition has really existed in New England only in name." In Sweden, where it is forbidden by law to give, and more explicitly to sell, spir- ituous liquoi-s to a specified class, drinking, according to Allison, is univei-sal. The attempt to enforce totiU abstinence from drink by legislation is opposed by some of the most earnest advocates of the temperance cause. Mr. Livingston continued as follows : " Mr. President, I would not intentionally say anytliing in exten- uation of the evils of intoxication; nor would I ever oppose any ef- fort to instil the virtue of temperance in the people by religious and moral training. I will go further, and say that I should like to see the temperance men a little more practical than they are for the suc- cess of their own cause. " I would be pleased to see them inclined to adopt measures which, in my opinion, would promote the cause of temperance without in- terfering in the least with the rights of any one, and without violat- ing any principle ; such, for instance, as the introduction into gen- eral use, at cheap rates, of light wines, which would soon replace, to a great extent, the loss agreeable but stronger spirituous liquors ; and in this connection, I will state, without fear of contradiction, that the introduction of lager beer in this country by our German popu- lation has proved a great benefit to the cause of temperance." On this subject he quoted from an article published in the Edin- burgh Rei'icw, demonstrating the benefit to the temperance cause in England which had been derived fi'oni the commercial treaty with France, whereby wines were admitted almost free from duty. He ended this able speech by saying : " Before concluding my remarks, I desire to say one word in rela- 328 W A I, T K R L . 1. 1 V I N O S T O N . tion to tliat ])rovision in the proposed article wliicli requires tliat llie laws regulating the sale of liquor, should be uniform in their opera- tion throughout the State. I am siirprised that a proposition so fair and just should meet with opposition in this body. Surely, the mem- country. Granting this argument, a little reflection will convince the members of this body that it offers no objection whatever to a uniform law on this subject. It is founded upon the erroneous idea that the uniformity of a law depends upon the persons who aro charged with its execution, and not upon the acts which it prohibits or authorizes. If the argument is worth anything, it proves that the election laws, and the laws against murder, manslaughter, arson, burglary, larceny, assault and battery, and many other crimes, should not be uniform in their operation. In fact, that no uniform laws should be passed at all, on any subject. Nothing further is needed to show the weakness of this objection, and I will not trespass any longer on the patience of the Convention. I have discussed the article in question at some length, and I have stated, as clearly as I know how to do it, my objections to leaving the power of prohibi- tion with tlie Legislature. I warn the Convention not to treat this matter as though no danger of a prohibitory law was to be appre- hended. Its advocates are in earnest, and they do not conceal the hopes they entertain of succeeding again as they did in 1857. If the members of the Convention can see no reason why such a law should not be enacted, then let them reject the proposed article ; but if, on the contrary, they agree with the views I have expressed, then let them not imagine that the passage of such an act is improb- able that no guaranty against it is required in the Constitution." As a member of the Committee on Charities, of which the Hon. Erastus Brooks was the chairman, Mr. Livingston made a minority report to the Convention, disagreeing with the report of the majority. This latter urged that the State should be absolutely prohibited from making any donations to charitable institutions which were religious or sectarian, or a majority of whose managers were of one religious denomination. This proposition was opposed l)y Mr. Livingston, 329 13 WALTER L. LIVINGSTON. who pointed out the injuries which would result from its adoption, and insisted tliat it would be far better to prohibit the State from making donations to any private charitable institution, than to ex- clude only such as might be considered religious or sectarian. The true rule, he maintained, was to open the door to all on equal terms, or to close it to all without distinction. On his return fi'oni the Constitutional Convention, the subject of this slcctch resumed the practice of law, and during the same 3'ear he was spoken of for the position of Comptroller of the City of Brook- lyn ; and it was generally believed that he could have obtained the nomination of the Democracy for the ofBce, had he desired it. He was one of the original signers of the call for the organization of the Bar Association, of which he is, at the present writing, a prominent member. Mr. Livingston is a gentleman of commanding and impressive ap- pearance. Physically he is a man of large proportions, being over six feet in height. Socially, he is warm and ardent, most aftable and conversational in the company of others, and at home is devoted to his family, in the midst of whom he dispenses his hospitality to his friends and acquaintances with all the heartiness and generosity which are the characteristics of his family, and which he possesses to an eminent degree. 330 ^•/6 ^Z^<^^^<^L^-^ ELY S. PARKER. i) ,^T was the general belief not many years ago, and even to- 'V^ day the opinion is still held by a majority of our people, '<^'- that the Indians of this continent were incapable of attain- ing to the high state of civilization which has made the white man master of the world. Numerous theories are promulgated in sup- port of this idea, and certainly the history of our Aborigines seemed to give color to what was nothing more than a popular fallacy. Centuries of rule liave failed to elevate the Indians to the position of the whites. They flee from civilization, apparently preferring the wild life of the plains to the ease and comforts of modem christian society. And yet, we have in General Ely S. Parker, the present United States Commissioner of Indian AfFair.s, the most indisputa- ble evidence of the capacity of the Indian, not only for receiving and practicing all the virtues and arts of civilization, but for rising above the masses and distinguishing himself for the culture of his intellect, and for his administrative abilities. 1 General Parker is a fall-blooded Indian, of the Seneca tribe. There are but few persons familiar with the history of this country who arc unacquainted with the Senecas and Iroquois. They have a page in the annals of the Picpublic ; they have been immortalized in poetry and romance. Of this once powerful and heroic tribe, but a small remnant remains. The false pohcy pursued by our government toward the red men have almost exterminated them, aud General Parker is only one of a handful of warriors. Sintu- 331 Inly cnousjh, wltilo so luany t'lunilirs of llio SiMuvn.s and lio- (juoia liuvo lnvvnno oxtinct, tho most oololnatcd of tl\om all is still tvi>iosoi»tiHl in tlu> land of tlio Hvinj». Tho sulijtHit. of this skoloh is « sin\n»lsi>n, on his uiothor's siilo, o( tho famous at\»l nohlo IuhI .laokot, whoso oaivor, in tho oaily days of tho Hopublio, form an intoix'-sting part of o»ir history. Tho gn>at silvor unnlal pro- sont(\l by Wtushington to 15o»l .laokot in 17il'3, lus a tokon of his friondship and ostooni, is now in possession of Uonoral Parkor. It is a most intoivstiiijj historic tx>lii\ and is ohorishtnl with gn\»t oaiv. Tho modal was ongmvinl by Hittonhouso. On ono sido an> fnll- loj»i>th tiguivs of tho twoohiofs — KihI daekot, in tho ivsfumo of his piH^plo, pn>sontini;' tho pij>o of poaoo, and Washington, with his riglit hand oxtondinl. as if in tho act of iwoiving it; on tho other sitlo tho dato, ll\)± Horn in lionostv t.\nmty, in tho Stato of Now York, in ISiJS, Uononil Tarkor. whoso Indian nauio is lionrJnu/atca, displayinl in twrly youth a ktvn dosiiv for intolUvtual oultuiv, ditVoring in this nsjHvt lixnn tho mtyority of his ptvplo. At tho baptist Indian Missionary School ho nH>t>iYi\laplaintHhioation, outstripping all tho other soholai-s by tho rapidity with which ho loanuxl. His zeal in his studies wciv ivniarka\>lo, aiul it soon Ivcanio apivuvnt that ho was unukijig out for himself a jvvthway tlmmgh lito, loading to honor and ivuown. Tho txlucatiou ho iweivixl at school iliil not srttisty him. At tho agi> of tburtoi^M y«u-s ho ontoivil tho Academy of Yates, ivmaining thcn^ loss than two yoai-s, at tl»o oiul of which ho wont to Cayuga Academy in Oayugs* County, and studiinl thciv for nearly a year. His acadenucal ivui-so was not quite ivmpletc when ho was snmmouiHl by his piH^plo to aci\nn}vu»y a delcgjitioji of Chiefs to Washington, lor tho purpviso of transacting important bnsim^s ixmuuvIihI with tho huul rt\>crvation of Ins nation. Tho p)»rt he tivk it» the trat>sj\ctions which followi\l weiv important, and launclunl him fairly into public lito. Ho did not jvturn to the AvMvhnuv, but lYinaiuetl in \Yashingtou for soiuo time, devoting his 3:ti Y H. I'AUKKU. JciHun; tiiiKito culliv.'iUiig lim inifi.l, unrl ii.| Ijccorne u lawyer. It was a singular position for a man to hold, who was par excdlence an American of Atnericans, a man whose ancestors were j.owcirful chiefs of powerful nations who were the original masters of this great republic. Doubtless had the idea ever entered the minds of the judges that an Indian would present himself for ac<' i»i»">i<>' of luisiiu'ss siiuv Ilia oomuHMioii with it. jiiul lits uiulor l\is snpi'i vision a lur};x> ami clUoiont corps o I apnls in tlu'M- Slalos, liavin;^ olliavs at Louisvillo, Naslivillo, Monijihis, (.'Iml- lanoojcii and Knoxvillo. His i-oal olluvs aiv at Knoxvillc. Cliat- lanoojja, aiulal tlio mines. Ho nmnaiCt'S poi-soiially all his Imsiiu-ss, visit ins: somi-monthlv all tho ollioors, iusjuTlinjj; thoir honks and ao- oouuts. ami planninjj ami iliiwling all business hituscll", works six- tHMJ lumrs ont of t\vonl\-four, travoling in tlio night-timo, loaohins: tho oilios so as to attend to htisinoss at business hours. Never takes over six hours* sKvp, is ivj^nlar and tenij>erale in habits, andesehews the use of intoxieutin;: liquors or tobaeeo, in )\\\\ t'onn. Colonel Wileox pivsonts a tine jioi-soual appoaramv, is ol' medium heiii'ht, with a eoniplexion of the rosiest hue, eleareyo. evenly pi\>in>r- tivMnnl featiuws, and a remarkably largx> head and brain. He seems the very impersonation of sound physieal health, which is to be mainly attributed to his rigid observamv oV the health laws, and a lite of temporaiuv and activity. That he is capable o\' an inuncnse amount of work is at oue<> apparent. H'theivisnny one trait which is over-developed in his naimv. it is Ivnevoloiuv; it is but truth to sjiy that his charities are but lilth known, even by his iutin\ato friends. In his domestic n^Iations he is most bajipy. ix>siding at Knoxvillo. Temt.. whoiv ho married i^liss Uella H.h1!::im-s, possossiuj: in hera charmingcompauion, who, it nmy Ih> ivukmuIkmihI. was the na\MuplishiHl ••l^ollo of Knoxvillo. Tou- nossotv" in 18t>;>-4. He oxciviscs much iittluonw for gvnnl among a class of people with whom he, as a northern man intivdueing the spirit {'>( his section in the south, is brought socially and politie;illy iu wutact. o4'J v\ \\\IN XJ\\\ \\\\\\l\V: JAME8 L. PLIMPTON. f=:W persons in any age },ave perhaps contribntcd ,r,ore largely to the rational enjoyment of the masses, than has the Hubject of this sketch. In Massachusetts or South Carolina, New York or California, in Paris or Australia, or wherever else R.,lier Skating assemblies have been introduced, the originator has been justly acknowledged a great public benefactor. We are therefore satiFfied that our readers will appreciate our having gathered t<,gether the following facts in reference to one whose personal efforts have added so much to public amusement. James L. Plimpton was born at Medfield, Massachusetts, April 14, 1828. In fiis early youth, it was plainly perceptible, sho'uld he be allowed to follow his inclinations, that mechanical pursuits- arid not the calling of a farmer, the occupation of his father- would in after years become his choice. Sixteen years upon a farm, however, so knit his frame and prepared his constitution as to withstand the great mental and physical labor he has since performed. When eight years of age, his parents removed to Walpole, Massachusetts. Here the ill health of his father was such that he was barely able to plMn the farm-work, the most of which was executed by James and Henry— an elder brother— each having an allotted amount of work to perform in a given number of days. The specified tasks having been accomplished, the brothers were liberally remunerated for all extra work performed by them; and thus they acquired self-reliance, industry, and skill, learning at the same time the importance of religiously observing all contracts and 342 RijivonuMitA, !U»vl tl>o tiuo vuliio ot' luoiiov, \vlu>n>liy wiis laid tlui fouiulutioH of luuol) of thoir jnvsoiit ^^ivspiM-itv niul suocoss. With tlio oapitrtl thus aoouinuhitod, llonry dovotoil himself to study htvominsj ovoiitually a notcnl si-hool-toaohor ; Jtimos, witli rapidly dovoloping luwliauioal idoas, appliod his oaruinj^ to tha puix'haso of tools, chomioals, drartiuj; aud philosophical instruuiouta »ud apparatus, usoftil books on moohauios, arts, oto. A small ouN huildins:. fv»rmorly used tor storing corn, sorvod as his oomhined stndv, work-shop. at>d lftboratv>ry. Hoix> ho pertornvinl his various cxporimonts — Ium-o \vort> to W soon spoi'imons of his mochanism, and hoiv was tho ''curiosity shop" of the neighborhood. With his turuinc-latho, vise, forg^v oloctrio machinos, batteries, etc., ho ox- hibittni wonders of his own handiwork. When at tho ago of sixttwi, young Plimpton loti homo to servo a year in a small machim^iop, in another part ^^f tho town, his n'nowti as a tutvhanical genius had pnveilotl him. Only a few months had el.'H^soil in Ivis now sphere, when he was intrustinl with all the draftitig, gi»ar-cutt\ng. aud other important work of the es- tablishment rei]uirJng skill, close calculation, and brain work. This year of contracts having oxpirtHl. ho accoptini a more lucra- tive positioi\ in a largo machine-shop, at Olarcmont. New Ilamp- shiiv. llerw his grt>at ability, sound judgment, and unassuming mannonis gaino^l lor him tho confidence and respect of .all with whom ho came in cvmtact ; at»d before his eighteenth birth-day, he was pn^mototl to t'oreman, with over titYy hands under his imnuHii- Hte suivrvisiou. With his greatly incro,<>sed cnrnings, he added rnorv^ useful In^oks to his libiiuy, devoting each spare moment to assiduous study. Patents and pateiu laws began at this time to claiu\ his ivmicular attoution and study ; .^nd to this d.ay he pur- sues these subjects with market! interv^st and plesisurtN having oolUx'ted one of the largest and most valuable libraries port.siniug to such mattet^ owntnl by any private individu.al. He ha^ .insisted AS exjKTt and adviser in mjuiy iuiiv^rt.aut cases, and his aid to Stevetjs, of East BrvK>kJiold, in the celebrate^i iufrius!:ement suit 344 JAMES !.. Pf.fMPTOV. j. Of Hovey v,. Steven., is a .nark..! F,.,tanee of his ability in tl.i, direction. At the a;ciated himself with his brother m the hijHineBs of machine-building at Westfield, MassachusMtH and tho. over twenty years a^^o ua. inauj^uratf^ the business firm' of H. R. & J. L. Plimpton, exteuMvely known for many yea.s past as designers, manufacturers, and dealers in fine furniture dw-ora- fons. etc., Henry R. having charge of the bnsine.s in Bostor., and James L. in New York. An hour spent at Mr. PlimpU>n'« place of business in New York would astonish any one, at the vast amount of n.ental labor per- formed by him in directing the great variety of interests upon which he is at present engaged. It is not unusual for him in one short hour to act in the capacity of merchant, architect, landlord designer, inventor, legal adviser, capitalist, financier, etc. In all matters he is clear, cautious, and decided, never yielding, a princi- ple for profit, and never failing to meet an engagement or agree- ment—he has always enjoyed the confidence and re-ipect of all who know him. It would be impossible in this short notice to illustrate the various traits of his character or to enumerate the many com- plicated machines and original inventions that have emanate^] fron his fertile brain ; we have therefore seler.ted the ones in which the public are at present most interested. Having improved his health from a season of ice-skating at • Central Park in 1862, it was Mr. Plimpton's desire to continue the .exercise. Careful investigation fully demonBtraterl that aHificiul u-e was a failure for that puq.ose, and that no roller-skate had ever been made, upon which the curved movements of ice skating could be perfonued. Mr. Plimpton in his desire to sapply that'much- needed article, soon produced a roller-skate that could be guided by the will of the wearer, by the natural inclination of the body From this simple instrument he has reared one of the most popular and beneficial systems of exercise extant, and of which 3t has been justly said, "As Howe's sewing machine is to oar ■645 } .TA MKS I. n.iMrTON in.lu!^iii!il wiuits, or Mi'ifo's toloixnipli to oominoiviiil pursuits, so Plimpton's evstom of oxoroiso is to the social and jilivsicnl wiiius of eocioty." In adrtptinir thoso grcnt inventions to tlio roq\iirenii>nt8 of the public, thous^ii simple in themselves. tlu\v Imvo cunsed their origin- Btor a vast amonut o\' tim^, mental labor, and money. Ilavinsj completed the necessary mechanical appliances, Mr. Plimpton directinl his attention to the development of the new tield of usefulness to which his invention had given rise. Bv his etVorts in IStUl the New York Roller Skating Association was organized. This pioneer association has ever since flourished in a marked degree, always having been under the imniediate su- pervision of its distinguished founder. As a popular instructor and disciplinarian he is eminently qualitied with generosity un- equaled, aTul liberality to a fault, no pei-sonal exertion or expense is ever for a moment considered, while his friends or the public arc to be benefited tliereby. His imposing and beautiful block known as Plimpton's Build- ing, in New York, was designed by himself, and erected under his own immediate supervision at an outlay of over one huu- drt\i thousand dollars, and built principally for the purpose of hav- ing a suitable place in which his favorite hobby could bo developed, and for the better accomodation of his pet association. In the sum- mer of lStH>, this association leased the Atlantic House at Newport, Rhode Island, converting the large dining-room and piazza into a eummer skating hall, titting up the other portions of this spacious and f»»&hionable hotel for the accommodation of the association and their invited guests ; while nothing was left undone for tlie comfort and enjoynient of the membei"*. much pains were also taken by Mr. Plimpton in bringing this system o( exercise to the notice of the eilucated and i-etined classes from all jiarts of the country. The city officials, clergy, press, physicians, board of education, teachers, and other exemplary citizens of Newport, were elected associate members of tJie assi>oi«tion for the season. Invitations were ex- 34G toriflcd to tho varioiih okatirig organizationH tliroughoiit the country, luimy of whom sent delegutcfl. Receptions and gpocial entertain- ments were also given to many noted visitors, among wliom were Princ! Ouronssoff and (!ount de Montagur;, of Rnssia, Major-General Slierman, Major-Gcneral AiidciWHi, and other distiriguinlied military personages, also ofBcers and members of the New York Yacht Club, General Bullock of Massachuetts, Chief Justice Bigelow, and others,' all of whom appeared truly delighted, and expressed their warmest congratulations to Mr. Plimpton for his success in having originated a novel, refined, healthful, and amusing exercise of undeniable pub- lic utility, and susceptible (.f participation and enjoyment by both ladies and gentlemen, at all seasons of the year. Since thus bringing this new system of exercise into public notice, Roller Skating assemblies have sprung into existence as if by magic in all parts of this couj.try, as well as in Europe, and wherever seen it leaves the unmistakable marks of practicability, imparted to it by its originator. We can not illustrate the liberality, or record the honore due Mr. Plimpton, in terms more appropiate than by giving the following copy of a series of resolutions, presented to him by the New York Skating Association at their first meeting after returning from Newport. At a meeting of the New York Skating Association held at their rooms in New York, Sej.tember 4, 1866, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted : — "Whereas, Mr. James L. J'limpton, the worthy and most es- teemed founder of our association, has presented to us the rccnipUid bills for all expenses incurred during our late memorable Hojourn at Newport, Rhode Island, therefore, "Jieaohed, That the heartfelt and sincere thanks of this asso- ciation are most cordially tendered to Mr. Plimpton for this great act of munificence, as well as for many like liberalities heretofore received at his hands, "liesohied, That the thanks of this association are further due Mr. Plimpton, for his untiring personal exertions, while presiding over 347 (f .1 A M E S I, . r L I M r T N . the Bsseiiiblics nnd providing for tlie (•oinrort hikI I'lijoyment of oui- inoinliers, iissociatos, and noted guests. '^Resolrtti, That this is a most snitiibio occaeiou to acknowledge our higli appreciation of Mr. Plimpton's public services, as the origina- tor of Circular Roller Skating, and ivs tirst to discover, illustrate, and make known that skating was a science as well as an art based on tixod and undeniable laws, the coiuprohension of which enables us to learn with rapidity and to impart instructions in a clear and concise manner to others. Ho has devised and established a system of regulating and (conducting this exercise so as to insure at all times physical benetit, social improvement, and rational enjoyment. Ilis ingenuity, research, enthusiasm, and energy have added another t.i the polite arts, au art as boundless in extent and as beautiful to con- template as sculpture or ]>ainting, while possessing great social and physical advantages. " J^e^olvtif, That these resolutions be properly engrossed and pre- sented to Mr. Plimpton as a mark of acknowledgment for his ser- vices and liberality in our behalf, as well as in behalf of the count- less thousands who enjoy the fruits of his genius. And in conclu- sion let us assure him that his memorv will ever be cherished as tlie originator and promoter of a system of exercise and beneficial recre- ation, for which refined society will ever owe him grateful remem- brances." From a host of voluntary acknowledgments by distinguished persons we select the following : — FiLMORE House, Newport, Aug. 23, 1866. Jambs L. Pi-iuvton, Esq., Snpt N. T. Skating Association. Dear Sir. — I owe you an expression of my sense of your kind invitation of myself ami friends to the rooms of the Skating Association last night ; and assure you that had we been merely amused with the novelty of your eutertaiunient in reproducing in midsummer wliat has heretofore been exeU\sivelT a winter amusement, we would have been completely Siiiislied with our evening's entertainment But your complete success in esttxblishing not only a novel, but a most agreeable and healthful exercise and amusement for ladies and gentlemen, and one which we are ronvinced will be of great public utility, is a subject of congratulation, to be highly appreciated. I remain yours, truly, T. W. Shsbuas. 34S JAMES L. PLIMPTON. ^ To rthow that Mr. Plimpton's -ysteui of exercise, and public ser- vices are as highly appreciated at the South as at the Noith, we present the following from one whoso reputation is well known, both as a pliysician and learned divine. LoaiBvri.LE, Kt., Oct. 8, 1869. MAjon Elias Lawbbnoe, Now Orleans, La.: Dear Sir, — I am glad to hear you arc about to open a hall for B/jller Skating in New Orleans, I can not doubt that your enterprifle will be crowned with eminent Buccess. Nothing in Louisville hag ever taken, with all ciasBeg of citizens, asCapt. Glover's Hall lias done, and nothing ever set on foot for the amusement and physical improvement /f its young people is more wortliy of encouragement. Roller Skating is just the thing wanted by our young people, especially by our girls. It affords just the sort of exercise they require for their physical development — gentle but active, and so attractive that they can not resist it. It is my deliberate opinion, that no conception has ever entered the human mind, in this century, so important to the health of girls, in our cities, as this skating within doors. Nothing could exceed it in grace. No sight I have ever beheld is so beautiful as the Louisville Kink, with its tastefully dressed young men and girU, sailing, swimming, floating through the mazes of the march, as if impelled by magic power. The old people assemble nightly to witness the sight, apparently as much de- lighted as their children. All honor, I say, to the originator of Roller Skating. Long may he live. The children will rise up and bless hia name. Yours truly, L. P. Tandeli., 8b., M. D. From the foregoing acknowledgments it is readily seen that Mr. Plimpton enjoys an enviable position among the benefactors of the age. The unexampled mode by which he has won renown, — the jiublic spirit manifested by him, together with his charitableness, ;ind lavish expenditures, for and in aid of his fellow-men, render him a fitting subject for this publication, as one of the j^rogressive and self-made men ol" the times. 349 SAMUEL lUESMUH PtilME. fiMUEL IliE.N'iEIJB FKIME is tli* ifju of tU^ late Eev. Nathxtniel B. Prixiie, D. D., an euiiiiejit aud learned diviiw of tLe FreBbyterlan Church, Jli* graiidlJith«r wa« a phyisi- cjan ill New York, and the authx;r of several Btirriiig j>atriotic halladjs of the Iieen marked in many generationjj. A Kiagle fact will ijluistratc tlu* hereditary teven years old, and before long the principal burden of the editorial department was laid upon him. With oniva brief irjV^rval of two years he haisdii^ehar^ed 2 SAMUEL IHKNyKl'S PRIME. tliese duties w-ith uiuemittiiig ardor and stoadiuess of purpose till the present nioineut. The distinguished founders of the New York Observer, Sidnej E. and Richard C. Morse, retired from -the paper in 1858, after a long career of honorable usefulness, and Ur. Prime, purchasing the interest of S. E. Morse, Esq., is now the senior editor and i)roprie- tor of that well-known religious weekly. Its circulation, though largely among Presbyterians, has never been confined to them; but being established upon a broad and imsectarian basis, it finds ready acceptance among Christian people of all denominations. The subject of this sketch, though contending with feeble health till within a few years past, is one of the most accomjjlished and pro- lific writers on the press. Overflowing with humor and good spirits, delighting in his work, which he pursues as if it were a pastime, he accomplishes a greater amount of labor in a given time than any man with whom we are acquainted. A philanthropist in the widest sense, he is an active working member of the principal benevolent and religious institutions: he is prominent among the Dkectors of the American Bible Society; the American and Foreign Christian Union; the American Colonization Society, and others; he is Cor- responding Secretary of the United States Evangelical Alliance, President of the N«w York Association for the Advancement of Science and Art, Trustee of Williams College, President (elect) of Wells College for Young Ladies at Aurora, Kew Y^'ork, and a work- ing member of other institutions too numerous to mention. Not a week passes without applications being made to him to advocate, in the pulpit or on the platform, some benevolent or religious object; and he is not allowed to be idle, even if he wished to be No small portion of his time is consumed by persons from far and neiir, attracted by the kindly and sympathizing nature of his writ- ings to apply for advice and assist.ince; and his correspondence with men of the age in the Christian Church, at home and in foreign lands, would fill volumes ^ ^ 3o>2 SAMUEL IliEN^EllS I'UIME. 3 Dr. Prime was one of the most active and influential promoters of the Reunion of the Presbyterian Church. The Observer having a wide circulation, and perhaps equally wide among both branches, its editor was able to exert a direct and fiivorable influence in tlie direction of reunion. From him came the proposition to appoint the "Joint Committee" of the two assemblies to negotiate terms of reunion, whose deliberations resulted in the consummation of the union in November, 1869. Dr. Prime has also been a traveler in many lands, having at differ- ent times made extensive journeys over the European continent, the Levant, and Egypt; and his books of " Travel in Europe and tlie East " have been popular for many years. Few, if any American clergymen, have formed so extensive an acquaintance with men abroad, or made themselves more familiar with the social manners and customs and internal condition of European countries. Besides his letters and constant contributions to the periodical press, and his multitudinous editorial labors. Dr. Prime is the author of more than thirty volumes, most of them published without his name, and all of them, we believe, have had a wide circulation. Some of them have been reprinted abroad, and in several languages. More than one hundred thousand copies of his work, entitled " The Power of Prayer" were sold in Eiu-ope, and his "Thoughts on the Death of Little Children " carried comfort to thousands of soiTowing hearts. A rough estimate of the amount of his published writings shows that they would easily fill a hundi-ed fair sized volumes of 400 pages each. And all that he has written and done has been prompted by the single and evident purpose to do good—to make the world better and happier. In the midst of this life of literary labor, Dr. Prime can always find time for the enjoyment of social converse with his friends; he is a frequent guest as well as a generous host, and his inexhaustible fund of anecdote and story enlivens many tables, and his wit brightens numerous assemblies. He is now 58 years old, and fresher than when he came to New York, thirty years ao-o. 353 J^c^/ "hL JtU^-^C^ SILAS M. STILWELL. fILAS M. STILWELL, the subject of this sketch, was born in tlie City of New Yorlc on the sixth day of June, 1800. His grandfather was an Episcopal Clergyman in Jamaica, Long Island, before the War for the Independence of these States, and his father and several uncles were in the service of the Colonies; one of them, Major John Stilwell, was killed in the bat- tle of Long Island, when the American forces under General Wash- ington withdrew, and crossed over the East River into New York. The subject of this sketch was educated at the Kingston Academy, in the County of Ulster, in this State, and before the close of the late war with Great Britain, became a clerk with Col. Richard Kingsland, in his hardware store in Maiden Lane. The termination of the war produced greater depression in the value of merchandise than any event that had preceded it, and resulted in making bankrupts of nearly all our merchants and manufacturers. His father had been 'argely engaged in both of these pursuits, and conse- quently suflered severely. To extricate himself from debt he parted with a large proportion of his property, and took in exchange exten- sive tracts of land lying in the States of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. This event changed all the plans which the subject of this sketch had formed to become a New York merchant, and he was tiiun rapidly instructed in the art of surveying lands, prepara- tory to taking the agency of this large property in what were at that time the wild and remote regions of our countrv. On the morning of the Sth of Juno, 1817, he crossed the Hudson 355 „ SII. AS M. STII. WKLL. River, nnd with a sniiill piu'k on liis back whicli contained a compass, protractinjr instrunioiits and a few clothes, he started on foot and ulone, witli hut tea dollars in his possession, to perform the task as- signed to liini. It is not our purpose in this paper to trace the career and liard- ships of camp life in the woods, or the various incidents that oc- cur to those who followed close on the footsteps of the retreating In- dians. Suffice it to say that he arrived at the scene of his labors, where more obstacles to success were to be overcome than were con- templated by those interested, and finding that le ;al knowledge was necessary to secure the object he was pursuing, he entered the law office of Judge Simuels, in the town of Parkersburg on the Ohio, and in 1824 was licensed an attorney at law by the Court of Appeals ot' the State of Virginia, then sitting in Richmond. After a successful term of four years' practice, he returned to the City of New York, where he arrived on the tenth of November, 1828. This was an important and interesting period in the ])oliti- cal history of the country. The death of DeWit Clinton had pro- duced a change in the personnel of parties in the State of New York, and the election of John Q. Adams, by the House of Repre- sentatives, over G-en'l Jackson, by the aid of Mr. Clay and the Ken- tucky delcgaton, united all the disaffected political men of the coun- try with the Democratic party, in favor of Jackson. At this time the question of municipal reform was agitated in the City of New York, and attracted much attention. Feeling much interested in the proposed alterations in the City Charter, the subject of this sketch entered into the controversy, through speeches at pul)lic meetings, as a reformer of the law.^ for the promotion of the cause of liberty and happiness among the people. This municipal contest brouglit him prominently before the pub- lic — and at the ensuing election, through a quarrel and division among the leaders in Tammany flail, an opposition ticket was pre- s.^nted, and his name was placed on the general ticket as a candidate 356 S I L A S M . S T U. \V E L L . 3 for Assembly. The National Republicans also nominated Iiim, and thus he was elected by a much larger vote than was cast for any other candidate. Being tluis elected by the votes of both political parti(!s, when party politics had a largo control over personal feeling, he directed his attentiou to measures of public interest and law reibrm, and in- troduced into the legislature a BILL TO ABOLISH IMPRISONMENT FOR DKBT. At this time it is not possible to imagine the feeling of opposi- tion that was aroused by the introduction of this Bill. Every pe- cuniary interest in the country appeared to be excited. The keepers of country stores and taverns, constables, doctors, and trades-people generally, as well as lawyers and pettifoggers, united in opposition. The Bill was accompanied by an exhaustive report, which was printed for the use of the members, but no one rend it, and the House was unwilling to act upon it, until every member h-.iA been talked with and the session was near its close. At last, as an act of courtesy, the Bill was brought up for discussion, and the debate that followed demonstrated that every lawyer in the Assembly was opposed to its form or substance. For the purpose of throwing the responsibility of the defeat of this measure upon those who were using their talents to crush it, at this stage of legislation, a motion was made to refer the Bill to a committee of nine members to report to the House what action should be taken upon it. The subject of this sketch was placed at the head of the committee, with the privilege of selecting the remaining eight>— he selected eight of the leading lawyers of the Assembly, all of whom were opposed to the foi-m or substance of the Bill, but after several protracted discus- sions and additions to the Bill of several amendments, the committee rejjorted it to the House and favored its passage. The effect upon the members was instantaneous, and the Bill was passed and sent to the Senate. The same struggle was encountered 357 i SI I. A S M. 8TI I. W E[. L. there, but it finally passed on the last day of the session — and awaited tlu' signature of Governor Throop until thu hour for ad- journment had airived. The speaker of the House, Gen'l Davis, was persuaded to witliliold an adjournment aftir his valedictory had been pronounced, aud until the Bill was brought in with the Governor's sijfuature, wlien the fact was announced, and the Lep:i>Iature ad- journed sine die. This Bill became a law on the "iGth day of April, 1S31. The Act contains the following section, which was inserted by the opponents of the Bill, to give time to agitate for a repeal before the Act could take ctFoit; an extraordinary provision, the like of which has never before or since been promulgated in relation to the passage of any act, thus showing one of the many obstacles against which Mr. S. was obliged to contend. "Sec. C* !lii- n * sliall take effect as a law ou the first day of Marcli, 1832, but theSecr.tii - i Jl immoiliiitely cause a siifficieut number of copies of this Act tobeiniiii ! i;> I I iiiiiti.1', to supply every .Tustice of the Peace iu tUc .Slate, and every 'IVwii > i i n i ^ii niV, withacopy, which shall be transmitted by him to the Clerks of tiio duiciviu (.xnmtios, audby theindistribut«d totlie otUuers eulitlej there- to— the expense of whidi printing and transmission to the County Clerks shiiU be paid out of the treasury in the manner provided by law." Great efforts were made throughout the season, by the opponents of the Act, to get together petitions and t)ther influences tt) bring about a repeal of the law at the next session, which resulted in send- ing many members pledged to its repeal and a very large number of petitions. In the meantime Mr. S. had been re-elected to the Assembly, and was made chairman of the committee to whom these petitions were referred. No leport was made upon these petitions until the last week of thesession. The conclusion the committee then an-ived at, was, that no amendment was necessary to accomplish the objects intended by the Legislature. Thus the Act was allowed to go into operation on the H:st day of March, 1832 : a day ever to be remembered by every lover of human rights. Perhaps no law or ordinance has been enacted since the Runnymede Mmina Charta, that has produced such an aineliomtinir and himianizing effect upon the character and liberties of a jx>ople. It was the beginning 358 1 T I L W E r, L . ofa change that is Still progressing in fav„r of the down-trodden, unfortunate portion of humanity. It distinguished between mis- fortune and fraud, and enabled the honest unfortunate to enjoy the • same sunshine and liberty that is possessed by the rich and fortunate. Opposition to the Act still continued, and to identify and throw contumely upon the author, the name of " Stilwell Act," was applied to it, and by this name has this great beneficent and now popular Act been since known. At this day it is impossible to convey to the human mind the idea of the relief extended to the poor and unfortunate of this State by the enforcement of this Act. There were 3,062 persons in prison or on the limits of the prison. More than 1,000 were confined for sums less than one hundred dollars, and 625 for sums less than fifty dollars. The first of March, 1832, was therefore an occasion for rejoicing among the poor. By the law of imprisomnent we pumshed the wife and children of the petty debtor, more than the debtor, and, by a careful inquiry into the causes of debt amon- the prisoners, it brought out the appal.ing fact, that more than one- third were arrested for small debts incurred for liquor hj fathers husbands and sons. ' As soon as this act became a featu re of importance on our Statute Book, Its author opened a correspondence with distinguished men m this country and in Europe, which correspondence has now con- tinued for nearly 40 years. After the exercise of a degree of indus- try, patience and perseverance seldom equaled, he has now the satis- faction of knowing that directly and indirectly the law of imprison- ment for debt has been aboHshed or greatly amehorated in every State and territory i,. the Union. And within ten years past the great and glorious example of this country has been followed by every principal State in Europe. Shortly after the passage of this Act, Laid Brougham opened a correspondence through Mr. Van Buren, then American Minister (o England, with Mr. S., and transmitted a resolution of thanks and 359 6 SILASU.STILWELL. honorary membership, of the The Law Reform Association of Exeter Hall, London. From that time until the day of his death. Lord Brougham proved himself a personal friend, as well as correspondent and co-laborer in this great work. Letters have been written in the course of this correspondence by Lord Brougham or Mr. S. to many eovereigns and distinguished men in Europe who appeared to possess power and influence in legislation in the several empires, kingdoms and States, and no influence was more potent than the example of the United States of America, and no correspondents were more zealous and satisfactory than the ministers and consuls of our govern- ment. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT. During the winter of 1832 IVIr. S. made an elaborate and logical report on the propriety of abolishing the death penalty. He divided his subject into eight heads. Each one was treated independently of the others. The dxth pjint presented, is in these words: " How far is it authorized by the laws of God.? " After quoting from many learned authorities which explain the meaning of the words " whoever sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed," he says, " This passage can hardly be considered as anything more than a prediction, and must be placed on the same ground with such passages as, ' He that taketh up the sword, shall perish by the sword. ' ' He that leadethinto captivity shall go into captivity.' " Indeed, if we consider the text referred to as a positive law, and one that must be enforced at all hazards, how can we understand the case of Cain.'' He was the shedder of man's blood, and in the most brutal and depraved manner. The Almighty did not take blood for blood, and yet, ' the blood of Abel cried to him from the ground,' He does not even mention the penalty of death as due for this crime, and only pronounces upon him a ciuse. What effect the cm-se pro- duced, we are not informed, but Cain replied by saying, that he could not endure this curse, because ' every man that finds me will slay me.' Now this was not permitted; the Lord interposed and 360 SILA8U.8T1LWELL. j placed his mark upon him, lest any one finding him should slay him, and declared that this murderer was under his especial protec- tion, and that any one who should slay Cain, vengeance should be taken on him seven ibid. " This, then, is the interpretation and meaning given to this cele- brated passage of scripture by the Almighty Law-giver. " We are wan-anted in saying th;it whether we look to the laws of nations, as exemplified in the principle of self-preservation, or to the laws of God as declared by the Old and New Testament, we are equally admonished to 'do unto others, as we would that others should do unto us.' This intepretation reconciles the commands of God the Father, with the life, examples and teachings of His blessed Son." This document was published by order of the legislature, but, in consequence of many errors appearing in it, the paper was revised and printed in pamphlet form, and afterwards re-printed at length in many papers here and in Europe. At this time Edward Livingston our great lawgiver, and codefier for Louisiana, was the American Minister to France. On receipt of this report he wrote the foUowin- letter: ° tha'nWo^, Wif ^T^^^.^^c^'^ed your valuable report through Mr. Gallatin and I The Bill encountered opposition, and although the House of As- sembly would have passed it by a small majority, yet the Senate were known to be uncompromisingly hostile to it, and it was not pressed further upon the attention of the Legislature. EAILROADS. During the session Mr. S. prepared a report on the subject of Radroads, and gave a detailed history of the number and construction uf these roads, and presented Bills for the Utica and Schenectady the New York and Albany, the Erie and several other Railroads! 361 that wercpnssed, nnd became laws. This report was repuWishcd by (Jongivss and by the ll.mso of Commons of Great Brituiu. STATIC CAN.VI-S. At the Ibllowing session of the Le?ro- from as a source of revenue for State expenditures outside of the canals. HARLEM RIVER C.\NAL. The Committee have not made a formal report in favor of several projected improvements of the greatest importance to the system of ctmal construction that we have entered upon. Our great caaal has not a complete termination at Albany, and some of the commit- tee are in favor of extending our main canal through the Ilarle}n liiver to the East liivcr, a distance of seven miles. These two elongations of the canal must produce the most valuable results, by expediting and cheapening the cost of transportation to and from oG'2 81 L A S M. ST I L W ELL. 9 the West, and opening a clear passage for our canal boats through the Harlem River. It is well known that nearly all the products of the West that come to market through our canals, and are not sold for consumption within the City of New York or suburbs, are sent to the Eastern States or to Europe. Veiy little finds a mar- ket in the Southern States or in South America, consequently this great trade between the West, the Eastern States and Europe is daily and hourly taxed by the necessity of going about 30 miles around the Island of New York instead of seven miles through the Harlem River. The additional charge upon western produce from the want of this direct channel to a market in the Eastern States and Europe amounts to millions annually. Indeed, one fifth of this yea.rly charge upon produce would open this necessary channel for trade, and make a perfect termination to our canal. This important terminus will be made, and the attention of the Legislature should be directed to it with as little delay as possible." We regret to say that this valuable advice has not yet been heed- ed, and the great and increasing trade between the West and a market is now, from this cause, subjected to a cost of several millions annually. An estimate of the cost of opening the canal throu"-h the Harlem River from the Hudson to the East River, by responsible engineers and contractors, shows that this great economical mciasure can be completed in one season by an expenditure of three hundred thousand dollars. UNITED STATES BANK. Near the close of the session of the Legislature a Resolution was presented approving the action of General Jackson in removing from the United States Bank in Philadelphia the funds depo.sited therein by the Secretary of the Treasury. The constitution and laws gave to Mr. Duane, Secretary of the Treasury, the entire and absolute custody of all the National funds, and required him to make his re- ports directly to the House of Representatives; thus rendering him pro tanto an officer of the House. General Jackson made war upon 36-3 10 SILAS M. STILWKLL. this institution, and commanded Mr. Duane, ns his Socretaiy, to take IVom the Bank these deposits. This the Secretary refused to do, and the President removed him from the otBce, and appointed Mr. Tawney Secretary. This Secretary, thus appointed, performed the act, and the treasure of the United States was removed from tlie United States Bank and placed in partizan State Banks. The ques- tion of approving this act of the President came uji fairly in the Reso- lut ion before the House, and required from the members a free and full expression of opinion upon the subject. Until the House entered upon tlie discussion a large majority of the Democrats were in favor of rejecting the Resolution, but as the debate continued, one after another went over, until, on the final vote, only two Democrats voted against it. Mr. S. had made a speech against the measure, present- ing such {a. As and arguments as his own sense of right and justice seemed to require, and voted openly and plainly against the Resolu- tion. This vote of Jlr. S. gave occasion for, and brought out a general ex- pression of disapprobation from, the Democratic press, and so v-iolent were the denunciations against him that there was no room for con- ciliation, and it rendered a separation from his party a question of self-respect. On the meeting of the nominating conventions at Tammany, dur- ing the fall, a nomination for Assembly was tendered Mr. S., and de- clined. Two other nominations, made by other parties, were declined; but some local friends, without consultation, nominated and had him elected to the office of Alderman, on the Whig ticket. This was en- tirely repugnant to his wishes, as he was not a decir.ed jvirtizan. Still, being elected to this office by Whig votes, it became a matter of jersonal honor to act with this party. The parties were nearly equally divided. The Whigs, finding themselves in a majority of one, reso.ved to turn out every Democratic office-holder in the city. After joint consultation in Caucus it was resolved that Mr. S. should do that duty, consequently every removal and a])pointment 364 SILAS M. STILWELL. j, was attributed to him, while he was only carrying out faithfully the instructions of his associates. RAILROAD AND SHIP-CANAL. The question of an ai^propriatioa from the City to aid in building the Erie Railroad was brouglit to the notice of the Board of Alder- men by the Eaihoad Directors. Mr. S. was waited upon by Samuel B. Ruggles, James G. King and others of the directors who were in favor of the measure. On this occasion, la a speech of great length before the Board, he reviewed the policy of our State on the subject of internal improvements, pointed out the route of a ship-canal to con- nect our city with the lakes of the great West, discussed the pro- spective value of railroads and the importance of a wise fostering care over all works of a public character. This speech was widely published, and attracted great attention. The following concluding remarks contain ^ prediction which may be interesting to many persons: " When all that I have pressed up- on your attention shall be completed, we sl.all be on an eminence which the proudest empire on the globe might envy. And, sir, all that is now demanded of the State cun be effected; this great chan- nel of steamboat communication with the West can be opened. The Railroad, of which the one under consideration is only the begin- ning, can be completed by small aid from the State, and a ready, cheap and certain commimication can be opened into the great and fertile West, tlirough all the seasons of the year. So rapidly may these works be completed that twenty years will scarcely be added to the past, before the cars from many converging railroads will be pouring into our city in an interminable current, pressing down through its center and filling the stores, warehouses and ships with the produce of the West; infusing life into every department of in- dustry, and driving far from us the lethargy of our present inactive winters. Your Island must thus become the Warehouse for this might/ continent; and your docks and slips from Fort Washington to the Battery, and from Whitehall to Harlem, shall be occupied.by 12 SILASM.STILWELL. hundreds of steamers that will navigate the waters and tributaries of the Great Lakes. Your harbors will be crowded with slii])s from every nation, and this Island will be the mere center of a city which shall spring up in Wcstchrster, Long Island and New Jersey. " Is all this fiction or is it fact.'' Is it the offspring of an over- heated imagination, or is it only tlie result of the knowledge of the natural and artificial resources of our country .? Sir, these state- ments are true, and I am glad to have the opportunity to predict that if our State and people will build this proposed shijj canal, fin- ish our small canals down to Albany, and make their terminus through the Harlem into the East River, and j)ress forward and complete all projected railroads leading into this city — that there are many persons now, in this crowded Hall, that will live to see this Empire City spread over and beyond the boundaries of this Island, and contain a population of three millions of people." This speech was delivered in 1835; more than 36 years ago, and, for want of the sMjj canal, who can estimate the amount of business that has been and is diverted from this city ? If the ship canal had been built to enable a steamer of one thousand tons to pass up to the Lakes, by the way of Lake Chaui})lain or Oswego, a continuous com- munication could now be had with the Mississippi by this route. This open ship canal to the upper Lakis would have controlled for our market all the trade embraced within the delta of the Great Lakes. N. BIUOLE. In the meantime, the removal of the deposits and the assaults made by General Jackson and liis friends upon the United States Bank, was ])roduciug a mighty sensation throughout the country. Petitions for and against the Bank were pouring into Congress from all quarters, and the business and credit of the country was nearly prostrate. A committee of distinguished merchants and bunkers was selected in New York to bear a mammoth petition to Washington in f\ivor of the Bank, and Mr. S. was appointed to ac- companv them. 36(3 /^ILo Xa'v-vv*^--^ GEORGE N. KENNEDY. 'eORGE N. KENNEDY is emphatically one of the ^^ self-niade men of the country, having by his unaided |~li> efforts wrought out his own fortunes and won the honorable position wliich he now occupies. He was born at Marcellus, one of those romantic little villages dotting the valleys of Onondaga County, in the State of New York, on the 11th day of September, 1822 ; his father was of Irish origin, and his motlier a descendant of the Puri- tans, stock likely to beget energy of action and enthusiasm of pur- pose, characteristics which the subject of this sketch possesses in an eminent degree. Acquiring such education as his limited oppor- tunity and means would afibrd, he selected the legal profession as most congenial to his taste. At the age of eighteen he entered the law office of Edmund Aikin, in his native village, and by his own efforts supported himself during the period of his clerkship. After a course of laborious study, at the age of twenty-one he was admitted to practice as an attorney in the several courts of the State, and at once took a prominent position as a member of the bar. He remained at Marcellus, engaged in the duties of his profession, until 1854, when, believing that a larger sphere of usefulness could be attained, he removed to the city of Syracuse, and entered into partnership with the Hon. Charles B. Sedgwick and Charles Andrew s, at present one of the judges of the Court of Appeals of the State of New York, of which firm, except as changed by the elevation of Judge Andrews to the bench, he has since been and "s now a member ; and it may be truly said that his success exceeued the most sanguine expecta- tion of his friends. He at once became a leading member of the bar in Central New York, and has been engaged and taken an active part in nearly every important case tried in that locality during the 367 a QEOEOE N.KENNEDY. last ten years. As a connsellor, he is prmlont and cautious ; as a lawyer, keen and searching; and as an advocate, eloquent and logical. Mr. Kennedy has always found time amid the varied and laborious duties of his profession to give attention to the affairs of the country, and the politics of the day has received a due share of his consideration. Originally a democrat, he continued to act with that party until compelled by its subserviency to the demands of the slave power to sever his connection with it. In 1856, believing that the safety of the country demanded that a bold and firm stand should be taken by the friends of freedom against a further spread of the institution of slavery, he entered witli all the enthusiasm of his nature into the presidential canvass of that year, and gave his support to General Fremont ; and such was the effect of the efforts of himself and his friends that his native country gave in the canvass a majority of seven thousand for the path- finder. In 1860, after the triumph of tlic principles for which he had con- tended had been secured in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency, and when the voice of the people was attempted to be stifled by Southern arrogance, and the integrity of the Republic destroyed by Southern treason, he was found among the fii-st to render aid and support to the Government. At all times during those hours of travail which seemed to measure the life, and which so strongly tested the stability of the Eejjublic, his time and means were unsparingly given. Since the close of the struggle liis influence has hoon exerted, and his efforts have been untiring in securing the fruits of the contest. The confidence of his party in his integrity and prudence cannot be better illustrated than by the fact, that during the continuance of the rebellion, he held the chairmanship of its Central Committee. At the election in the tall of 1867 he was chosen to the Senate of New York, and has held a seat in that body since that time. His great faiuiiiarity with the interest of the State peculiarly fitted him for the 3C8 QEOEGE N. KENNEDY. 3 discharge of legislative duties, and ho at once took a prominent posi- tion and materially aided in shaping the action of the Eepublican party npon all the leading measures of State policy. The interests of the State in the management of her canals are of paramount importance, and the policy in regard to them inaugurated by the democratic party on its ascendency to power, he deemed radically wrong, and one directly calculated to impair the benefits of canal navigation, and to jeopard the interests of the people. When, in the winter of 1870, it was proposed to turn the care of these great artificial water-ways over to a class of ofiicers denomi- nated superintendents, he strongly condemned the measure as likely to prove disastrous, and predicted as a consequence an entire loss of revenue to the State from this source. The first year's ejrpericnce illustrated the accuracy of the prediction, and the results were sucli that in the winter of 1871 the plan was abandoned, so far as legisla- tive action controlled it, and the care of the canals was restored to their constitutional guardians, the commissioners. Appreciating the rapid advance which was being made towards a religious contest between Protestantism and Catholicism, involving, as it would, an attack upon the integrity of the common school sys- tem of the State, he met the question upon the threshold and boldly took the ground that the interests ol both Protestants and Catholics demanded that they should rest their claims to favor and support upon the fi'ce offerings of the people, and that no sectarian appro- priations from the State or from any municipality should be made to either; and to his efforts, more than to any other single person, are the people indebted for an escape from this danger, and to him, more than to any other, is due the unwilling recognition by the democratic party of opposition to sectarian appropriations. . Mr. Kennedy is truly a man of the people. His warmest sym- pathies have ever been enlisted in the support of every question involving the common good. He may well be classed among the progressive men of the day, and we predict for him a future as bril- liant as his past has been successful. 369 ^:^^^^^c^;^/^;^^^.^A HENDRIOK BRADLEY WRIGHT. BY. W. C. K. lENDKICK BRADLEY WRIGHT was born at Plym- outh, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on the 24th day of April, A. D., 1808. His father was of that family ol Wrights whose ancestors came to America with William Penn, and settling at Wrightstown, near Burlington, in West Jersey, there ex- ercised the oflSce of a Justice of the Peace under the Royal Com- mission, and at the same time, was an ardent member and supporter of the Society of Friends. His mother, whose maiden name was Hendrick, was descended from one of the earlier Dutch colonists of New York. The father of Mr. Wright removed from Wrightstown to Plym- outh in the year 1795, and soon became one of its most prominent and substantial inhabitants. Ambitious for the welfare of his son, he secured for him the best educational advantages which the locality afforded, and in due course of time, sent him to Dickinson College, where he pursued the usual classical and mathematical studies. Upon leaving college he began the study of law in the office of the late Judge Conyngham, of Wilkesbarre. Under the wise counsels and vivid encouragement of that able jurist and truly admirable man, he made rapid progress, and was admitted to the baa- in 1831. During the ten years which followed, Mr. Wright devoted himself assiduously to his profession. The bar of Luzerne County, at that period, contained some of the most learned and eminent counsellors of Pennsylvania. Among these Mr. Wright soon took a high posi- tion, and as an advocate before the jury he achieved a marked pre- 371 2 HENUniCK BRADLEY WRIGHT. emincaco. Somcwbat above the middle height, of large frame, of erect nnd commanding figure, with great power and flexibility of voice, and a coimtcnanco fnll of life and expression, lie was an orator who always arrested and continued to compel attention. It was not without reason that his clients believed and said that no jmy could resist him. Armed at all points with evidence drawn from every available source, and brought to bear upon the minds of the triers in such order and with such strength as to render the cause of an opponent almost hopeless from the outset, he followed these attacks with arguments of such earnestness and energy as rarely failed to complete the rout and secure an easy victory. In truth, it may bo said, that in a just cause ho. never knew defeat. Such success could not otherwise than win for him an extensive reputation and a lucra- tive, as well as a laborious practice. In the year 1841, partly to gratify his numerous friends and partly as a respite from professional toil, he accepted a nomination to the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, and was elected. He at once became prominent as a committee man and debater, and was Boon acknowledged as one of the leaders of the House. In 1842 he was again elected, and received the appointment of Chairman of the Committee on Canals ;md Internal Improvements, a subject always of deep interest to him, and to wliich he had devoted much attention. He also took a position on the Judiciary Committee, under his friend the present Judge ElwcU, of the Columbia District, for the express purpose of procuring a repeal of the law providing for the imprison- ment of poor debtors. In this matter his eiforts were untiring, and he at last had the satisfaction of seeing that barbarous law blotted out of the Statutc-Book of his native State. Ho also strenuously endeavored to procure the abolition from the prison discipline of Pennsylvania of the system of solitary confinement, a method of punishment which always appeared to him as ec[ually needless and inhuman, but in this effort ho was imsuccessful. In 1843 the nomination of State Senator was ofiered to him, but 372 HENDBICK BRADLEY WRIGHT. g preferring the popular branch of the Assembly, he declined the honor, and was again c-Iccted to the House. Upon tlie openinr. of the session he was chosen Speaker, a position which he ably filled and where he acquired a facility in parliamentary rules and usages' which proved of signal advantage to him in the years that followed. ' In May, 1844, ths Democratic National Convention met in Balti- more to nominate a candidate for the Presidency. It was a time of great excitement, growing out of the Texas-annexation question The Convention was almost equally divided in sentiment upon th. snbject, and fears of serioas dissensions were entertained The friends of annexation met in council, and after a long discussion, it was determined that every other consideration must yield to the necessity of appointing to the Chairmanship of the Convention some man skilled in parliamentary mles, and with sufficient tact and courage to secure their enforcement in every possible emergency Mr. Wright, then a delegate at large from Pennsylvania, was at once recognized as the man for the occasion; having first been elected temporary Chairman, he discharged his difficult and responsible task with sucli efficiency during the organization of the Convention, that he was unanimously chosen its permanent presiding officer. At this Convention, whose session lasted nearly a week, and over whose stormy discussions its watchful Chairman held an unrelaxin'^ and im- partial rein, James K. Polk, a Texas-annexation candidate, was finally nominated. At the close of the Convention Mr. Wright bade farewell to the assembled delegates in these words : "*•••"' Our larbors are terminated; ourworkis done. Inafew hours we leave this arena of the last fom- days action, but my voice falters under the thought tlmt we part forever. This body, composed of the most distinguished men of the country, was assembled to dis- charge as solemn and sacred a trust as that committed to the men who met m the Hall of the Continental Congress, when the great charter of American Liberty was bom. If the Eastern Conqueror 373 ^ 4 HENHUICK BRADLEY WRIGHT. wept over the millions of human brings passing in re\'iew before him, for that in a short time not one of them should be loft, how much more reason have 1 to weep at the thought that the concentra- ted monument of mind before me must pass away in the change of all things ! But it cannot be. It will be fresh on the jiage of his- tory when the Pyramids of the Nile sliall have crumbkd, stone by stone, to atoms. The man may die, but the fruits of his mind are the growth of eternity." From 184rt to 1852 Mr. Wright was again engrossed in profes- sional duties. In the latter year he was elected to Congress, and served a term with great ability. He was renominated in 1854, but was defeated by the "Know Nothing" element, of whose narrow and exclusive policy he had always been a most uncompromising foe. He then retired from public life, and determined to devote the re- mainder of his days to the law. But upon the breaking out of the rebellion in 18G1, he was again called from his retirement. The nomination to Congress was tendered him by both political parties. He accepted, and was of course elected ; and amid the perplexities and dangers %yhich sur- rounded the Federal Congress during the next two years, he was distinguished as a consistent and untiring advocate of an undivided Union. Although a life long Democrat, and as such, wedded by the strongest political ties to the doctrine of State Sovereignty, yet in him the citizen rose even above the politician ; and in the hour of national peril he was contented to let political opinions slumber until the great and pressing work of national salvation was accom- plished. Thus, while he advocated no measures of subjugation, and regarded interference with domestic institutions, for their own sake, as unadvisable, he constantly supported the government by his vote and his voice in its at tempts to overthrow the internal enemy. In a speech delivered January 14;h, 1863, not long after he had followed his eldest, best loved son, to a soldiers' grave, he thus replied to the Peace Resolutions offered by Mr. Vallandigham : 374 HEKDBICIi BRADLEY WRIGHT. 6 " Sir, there is no patriotic man who does not desire peace ; not peace, however, upon dishonorable terms ; not peace that would de- stroy our great government ; not peace that would place us in an humble attitude at the feet of traitors ; but that peace which will make Liberty live, peace that shall maintain and perpetuate the eternal principles of Union, based upon equality, handed down to us by our fathers and sealed with iheir blood ; the peace of Wash- ington and Lafayette, whose images decorate the walls of this house; a peace that shUl not defame and belie the memo;y of those illus- trious men, is the one I would see established in this land. o o o Our army went to the field to suppress rebellion. Its numbers have reached over eight hundred thousand men ; larger than any army of ancient or modern times. It is still in the field, and its destiny is to preserve entire this Union and to protect the flag, and it has the courage and power to do it. o o » « But, Sir, I bring my remarks to a close. Where I stood when the rebellion began I stand to-day ; on the same platform. My opinions have undergone no change. I denounced rebellion at the threshold ; I denounce it now. I have no terms to make with the enemy of my country which will destroy the Union. I am satisfied that none other can be obtained. Time will determine whether my position is right or not ; and I calmly abide it. The war. Sir, has cost me its trials and tribulations, and I can truhj close these re- marks with a quotation from an ancient philosopher, uttered over the dead body of his son slain in battle ; ' I should have blushed If Cato'a house had stood Secure, tcadiJlouriAeJ. in a civil war.' " After the close of the Thirty-seventh Congress, Mr. Wright with- drew from both politics and business, and has since lived in the en- joyment of the competency and honors which the labors of his earlier years acquired. He has not, however, been idle, but has occupied himself in the preparation of a " Practical Treatise on Labor," in which he has embodied the thoughts and observations of forty active 375 6 llKNIXiUMv ItltAni.KY WIUOHl'. yours, ftiui which ho int. ^nds to loavo, as a last legacy, to that por- tion of the Anwricau pooplo in whom ho has I'elt most interest, nnil for whom ho has most diligently toiled. For, although of private iharaeter this is no place to speak, yet one thing may be said whieh entitles him of whom it is uttered to bo held in everlasting remoin- branee, that throughout his entire professional and public life, llen- ilriek B. Wright has been emphatically the friend of the poor man, the advoc^vte and cliampion of the laborer against the aggressions both of capital and of politie^vl ostracism ; liberal to him in word and in gift, true to him in promise and fulfilment ; and that he still iiv(>s and labora for the work iiuj men of his nation and his native Commonwealth. 37G DAVID PAUL DllOWN. *,f',W/IIE ancestors of Mr. Brown came from England with Lord vjfe| Berkley and made the first settlcsmont of New Jersey in •^ ^ Gloucester County. The suhject of this memoir is the only son of Mr. Paul Brown of Philadelphia, and lihoda Thackera, a native of Salem, Mass. He was born in Philadelphia in the year 1795. His parents possessed an ample fortune, and spared no pains or expense in the mental cul- tivation or physical improvement of their only child. Until he was eight years of age the fond parents were his exclu- sive teachers; especially to his mother was intrusted his moral and religious training, and in after life he has remarked "that the instructions received from her were more impressive and had a greater bearing and influence on his whole after life, than the scores of teachers to whparently ifgardless of it to othei-s. For the last quarter of a century he has been incessantly engaged and spoken almost daily. Thus passes his life. It is nearly closed, and it may be truly said that there have been few lives of greater labor or greivter pleasmv. We have now given a tVw incidents iu the life of this di^tin- guishod 'member of the Philadelphia tmr. W-e htrre seen him ia early youth an invalid, a little later, left an orphan at a tender age, 3S0 VAVIU PAUL RHOVVN. fnendleas and alone, bereft of a futWs counsel and a mothorV iove. Although possessing great wealth he was never allured into the paths of vice and dishonor. Wo can behold him now, havin. reached the pinnacle of fame, one of the most celebrated elo- quent, and distinguished lawyers at the most powuful bar in the U nion. 381 JOSEPH FAGITANI. *^OSEPII FAGNANI waa bom in Naples, Italy, on ("sasis Christmas eve, 1819. From his earlj childhood he showed saS^ a decided taste and talent for drawing; he invariably won the prize at the monthly competition or concours, and before he was thirteen had taken several crayon portraits. One of these, a likeness of Baron Smucker, Chamberlain to the Queen Dowager, mother of Ferdinand II., the reigning sovereign, was so remarkable that the Baron showed it to her Majesty, who sent for the youthful artist, gave him an order for her own portrait, and was so gratified with its success, that she granted him a pension for five years from her privy purse, and facilitated his studies by every means in her power. He was, at that time, a pupil in the Eoyal Academy, and continued there until the age of eighteen, when he was commis- sioned, by the Queen Eegnant, to go to Vienna, to paint a portrait of her aged father, the Archduke Charles, the famous adversary of the great Napoleon. On his return he stopped for some time at Florence and Milan. In Florence, he painted portraits of several members of the Grand Duke's family, and at Milan, among others, the likeness of a lady, who was then considered as the most beaa- tiful woman of Italy, La Landriani. In 1842, Fagnani went to Paris, where the Queen Regent of Spain, Maria Christina, was then residing in exile. As he was specially recommended to her Majesty by her mother, the Queen Dowager of Naples, she immediately employed him to make an album of portraits of the Spaniards, her companions in exile, Mar- shal Narvaez, Olozaga, Martinez de la Eosa, and many others. The Queen also sat to him for a large half-length portrait. The Duke d'Aumale had just returned from an Algerian campaign, 2 JOSEPH FAUNANI. »nd El-Al)omli, an Arab Chiot', was one of h\A favorite Aides-de- Comp. Fngnani painted a portrait of him, which so pleased tho Duke, that ho sent the artist a valuable ring, with his cypher and coronet in brilliants on a dark blue enamelled shield, surrounded with diamonds of the finest water. He also painted the entire family of the Prince of Capua. The Princess, it will be remem- bered, was the celebrated and beautiful Penelope Smith. When Queen Christina was recalled to Madrid, Fagnani shortly afterwards followed her, and remained at that capital for two years, during which time he painted the portraits of almost every one of any distinction in the country — among others, the young Queen, her sister (the Duchess of Montpc^isier), tie Duchess of Alba (sister to the Empress Eugenie), Sir Eobcrt Peel, then an attach^ of the British Legation, and nearly all the foreign Ambassadoi-s at the Court. Here he became acquainted with Sir Henry Bulwer, the British Minister to Spain, who formed so strong a friendship for him tliat he invited the artist to take up his quarters at the lega- tion, and he remained there during the whole of his stay in Mad- rid. The friendship thus formed has continued without intermis- sion up to the present time, and there is r.o person of whom the artist speaks move warmly, and to whom he expresses such senti- ments of gratitude as to Sir Henry. Dming his stay at Madrid, Fagmmi was commissioned to go to Xaples to paint the portrait of the Count of Trapani, to whom it was at that time intended to give the Queen in marriage. While there, he was unanimously elected Academician of the Eoyal Bour- bonic Academy, and received the only gold medal ever given for a portrivit; five silver medals had already been awarded him, to these was now added the highest honor in its gift, with the excep- tion of the great historical medal. On his return to Madrid, he received from the Queen the decoration of " Isabella la Catolica." Shortly afterwards he went back to Paris ; here he painted the Countess Guiecioli, then atfianced to the Marquis de Boissy, and several other personages of note, among them Gustave de Beau- 3S4 JOSEPH I.'AGNANI. mont d Viscount Alexis do Toequeville, the distinguished author of Democracy in America." Ue had a sitting appointed by the Queen Mane AmeHe, wife of Louis PhHlippe, when the revolu- tion of 1848 broke out, and eveiy thing was changed In 1849 Sir Henry Bulwer was appointed minister to this country, and wrote to Fagnaui, offering him a place in his suite and a passage in her Majesty's war steamer, the Hecate The artist ac^cepted the invitation, and the party arrived in Washing- ton an December 1849, after a pleasant voyage, stopping by the way oth at Madeira and Bermuda. General Taylor was then President. Thus Fagnani visited the capitol in time to seethe the great constellation of statesmen of the last generation, of whom Clay, Webster, Benton and Calhoun, were the bright iar- ticular stars. He painted portraits of Webster, Clay, Cass and famil7'' ""^ '""^ ^'^'°''''' "^ '^" ^'■''^'^'°' ^^''' "^'''^^ ^«^ the Fagnani visited New York, and finding that if he remained his t,me would be fully occupied, he concluded to settle perma- nently m that city. In 1851, he married an American lady, and became generally known to the New York public as being in the foremost rank as a portrait painter. His likenesses were in- vamb y good, and his pictures distinguished by an elegance and mdivdual.ty not easily found. He continued to reside in New York until 1858, when he returned to Paris on account of the health of his eldest son. He had no sooner reached there than Queen Christine, then living at Malmaison, sent for him to take two portraits of herself, one to be sent to Madrid, the other for the palace she was then building at Rome; and gave him com- missions also for portraits of her daughter and son-in-law, the Frmce and Princess Ladislas Czartoriski. In I860, Fagnani painted Richard Cobden (who was then in Paris negotiatint the treaty of Commerce), in two different poses. One of these'por- traits was presented by the artist to the New York Sanitary Fair and purchased by Morris Ketcham, who gave it to the New York 4 JDSEPH FAGNANI. Chamber of Coinincrce, the other was bought by the National Portrait Gallery of London. In 1861, Fagnani went to Naples and painted Garibaldi, who was then dictator; this portrait is now owned by the city of Naples. In 1SG2, he received an order from the Neapolitan ^[unicipality to paint the King, Victor Emanuel, and went to Tnrin for that purpose, and made a portrait so satisfactory to his majesty that he bestowed upon the artist the cross of the Order of St. Maurice and St. Lazare. "While in Italy he also painted the Prime Minister Katazzi and General Cialdini. Fagnani returned to New York for a few weeks in the winter of 1861, and in the June following left for Constantinople, where he spent the summer. He and his wife were guests at the English Embassy, Sir Henry Bulwer being then British Ambassador to the Sublime Porte. Here he painted the present Siiltan Abdul Aziz, the Grand Vizier Ali Pacha, and othei-s. The commander of the Faithful was so much l)leased that he gave the artist the decoration of the Imperial Order of the Medjidie of the third class (equivalent in Europe to that of commander), and a superb gold snufl-box, its sides enamelled with \T[ews of the Bosphorus, and its lid entirely cov- ered with diamonds. On his return to Paris he took a copy of Victor Emanuel's portrait for his daughter, the Queen of Portu- gal, who expressed her satisfaction by sending him the Portuguese decoration of the order of Christ. At this time, also, he painted the Empress Eugenie, and made a portrait, in oils, of the Countess Guiccile's famous miniature of Lord Byron, which she had never before allowed to be copied. This likeness of Byron is said by the Countess to be the only good one extant. In the spring of 1865, Fagnani visited London for a few weeks to paint a portrait of John Bright for the Union League Club of New York, and another for the Chamber of Commerce of that city, which was pre- sented to it by S. B. Chittenden. He also copied Mr. Cobden's portrait, for T. Bayley Potter, his • successor in Parliament. In the fall of 1865, as his son's health was now permanently re- ■AS6 JOSEPU FAONANI. 5 established, Faguaui dctcrmiiicd t(j return to New York. Not- withstanding his constant mingling with the liighest classes of European society, his mind was deeply imbued with democratic principles, and he was an earnest admirer of the government of the United States ; he wished his boys to be citizens of this great re- public, and rightly thought that they should return liere while still young enough to make their interests and their education essentially American, being himself already a naturalized citizen, New York is therefore now his home. Since his return, his occupation has been almost incessant ; he has painted two portraits of Lieut. General Sheridan, one for the Union League Club of New York, the other for the General himself; General and Mrs. Fremont, two fine half length portraits, the Kev. Dr. Tyng, and scores of others less known to the public. Of course* tliis constant work gives him but little time for any painting outside of strict portraiture, but two years since he con- ceived the idea of making a series of half length pictures, choosing certain distinctive tyj^es of American beauty and investing them with classic drapei'ies, and the symbolical attributes of the Nine Muses. The idea was a most happy one ; they were exhibited suc- cessively in Boston, New York and Philadelphia, and drew crowds of admirers. Among quantities of laudatory notices we copy one, perhaps the most carefully written, and which appeared for the first time iu English, in the Piiiladelphia JV. A. Gazdf^, of Fcburary 9th, 1870. "Faonani and ins Muses. — The following translation of an article from ' L'Eco d'ltalid,' is so happy in its praise of the beauti- ful pictures now on exhibition at the galleries of the Messrs. Earle, that we give it place with a cordial endorsement. " It is alwayg a happy day for us when we are able to signalize a riQvr triumph of art and genius in America. And if by genius, in the most obvious acceptation of the word, is meant the inventive power of intellect, as by art the elegance and correctness of the material element by which the intellectual type is rendered, the 387 6 JOSEPH FAGNANI. tritmpli is complete when, as in these last works of Fagnani, 'The Muses,' it is difficult to say to which of the two the greatest praise should he given. The name of Joseph Fagnani is already well known among the most distinguished artists, not only in America, but in Europe ; but by these nine paintings we do not hesitate to affiiTn he will acquire still more splendid and lasting fame. " The works of Fagnani, known by the name of ' The Nine Muses,' are composed of nine figures of natural size, on nine separate can- vases, but they form in their ensenible one comprehensive whole, one single conception ; each painting is a complement of the other, without in the least detracting from the intrinsic and special merit of either one contemplated by itself. Look at them assembled together, and they appear the best synthesis that art can make of tlie ideal Pierides of mythology ; observe them seperately, and you will find the most charming Terpsichore, the most dignified Clio, and the most fervent Erato that ever poet invoked. " The artist, in undertaking this work, was inspired by a graceful prompting of deference and gratitude toward the coimtry whose hospitality he has enjoyed for many years, and which has known how to appreciate his merits. Foreign historians and publicists have already employed their pens for the glory of this nation, poets have celebrated its deeds, capitalists have brought hither their wealth, warriors have di-awn their swords in its defence. Fagnani had but his pencil and his colors, and with these he also desired to bring his tribute of homage to the American Union. " Having always preferred delicacy and suavity to strong and harsh tones in his coloring, it was very natural that among the many glories of this country, he chose to celebrate the most attractive and loveable of all — the beauty of the American women. "Whoever knows Fagnani, and the imiform gentleness of his mind and man- ners, has in this work the best proof of the axiom, " In the style you see the man." To give to his work, at the same time, unity of conception and variety of form, he had the happy idea of choosing the antithesis of the muses whom he has embodied, in nine JOSEPH FAGNANI. ^ American ladies of the highest social positions, their places of birth being selected in such manner that diiferent States of the Union fnrmsh their contingent, and here we forestall the objection of the hypercritics who might exclaim, " You are crying in our ears all these high sounding words of genius and inventive power and yet you are only talking of portraits." To these aristarchs, if such there be, we reply first, as a general rule, that it is plainly demonstrated m esthetics that he who copies from nature invents. In this special case, we would advise them, before passing sentence, to thorouc^hly study Fagnani's style, and to study it above all in these nine btau- tiful pictures. Fagnani, in his portraits, is never the servile, pedantic reproducer of the model such as it appears before his easel His ex qusite artistic taste leads him, almost in his own despite, to an ideal ot beauty to which his model approaches the nearest, and this he renders, but in such a masterly way that the features of the ori<.in- al, which he imitates more than copies, are never falsified in their individual type. Whoever sees one of his portraits is equally di- vided between his admiration of the likeness and the beauty of the painting. It is ],ke the favorite air of a musical opera beneath the fingers of a clever pianist, who refines, retouches and caresses It without ever changing the melody. And add to this that he not only understands thoroughly the difficult art of givino- perfect! bihty to the form without modifying it, but he is also mo'st dexter- ous in transferring to each physiognomy which he paints, that pe- culiar aspect, more mental than physical, which is impressed in a greater or less degree by nature on the face of all, U trait, as the French call it, that indefinable characteristic expression, difficult to portray on canvass, but which contributes much more than the exactness of the lines to create a speaking likeness. This is not alone to imitate but to animate ; it is not only art, but power of genius, of that genius which, rising to a still higher sphere, and de- veloped m a gigantic intellect, would make one understand the angry stroke of Michel Angelo's hammer on his " Moses " No we repeat, Fagnani is not a cold, realistic painter; the Flemish 389 8 JOSEPH FAGNANI. school would not have welcomed him among its adepts, but the Ro- man and Venetian schools woukl have opened to him their ranks, mit only for the ideality of his paintings, but for the rigid coiTe'ct- ness of his drawing and the softness and transparency of his color- ing. Even Correggio, we dare to say, would not have denied him a smile of complacency at the graceful curve of his lines. These merits, and many others not less uncommon, are found in all tlie nine pictures of which we speak ; but that which we admire above all in Fagnani's muses is a something ineffable and suave, which impresses you like an agreeable perfume, like a sunbeam ; a uniform harmony which is diffused from all these faces and atti- tudes, and which, wiihout the slightest resemblance of feature among them, would make you say that they are truly all sisters. A sliade more in this uniformity, pleasing as it is, and the artist woidd have risked falling into monotony. But he has known how to avoid this danger by means of delicate artifices of drawing and color, with which he has created contrast without dissonance. If he had been less adroit this dissonance would infallibly have been produced in one of the muses particularly. If he had been in the smallest degree induced into giving to the figure of tragedy the stern and terrible expression that its usual idea might have sug- gested, the effect would have been a complete discordance, like a broken line in a parabola. But he has instead impressed upon her face the pathetic, not the terrible of the drama ; pity and not menace or anger. His Melpomene, in one word, is not a Medea, but an Iphigenia. "We Avould like to give a detailed description of each one of the Muses, but space will not admit, and can only say, ' See and admire for yourselves.' " We cannot better close this slight biographical sketch than by an extract from the N. Y. Tribune relative to a portrait then just finished (April, 18G4r), of the late Hon. LIcnry J. Raymond. " The pose is easy — the face becoming vivacious and almost con- versational the more wc look at it. No test of positive merit is 390 JOSEPH FAGNANI. 9 better than this. Au inferior work of art pleases at the first glance, and gradually becomes hard and stolid as we look into it and penetrate the little trick of its manufacture. But a true picture is one that constantly leaves the frame at our bidding and becomes? alive and human in exact proportion to our knowl- edge of it. We have any quantity of the first kind, but Mr. Fagnani is not among them. He belongs unmistakably to that honored few who deal with Nature on her own terms, and not according to the price put upon her by the schools." 391 JAMES TERWILLTGEE. [R. TERWILLIGEE is a native of New Scotland, Albany County, New York, where he was born, January 30, 1825, He is of Holland and Scotch lineage, and shows the char- acteristics of both nationalities in his personal character— persistent and uncompromising fixedness of purpose in the prosecution of dnty, in whatever circle of life he may be placed. He left his native town in 1836, removing to the town of De Witt, Onondaga County, which is situated in central New York. Until he was eighteen years of age, his time was principally spent in farm-labor, and in obtaining the meager education afibrded by the district- schools of those days. Indeed, he never attended any other school. His love for books and newspapers was manifested early in youth. But his tastes were more particularly la sympathy with works of a political chiiraeter, and the biographies of eminent statesmen. Under such influences, his thoughts were directed to the workings of political machinery, and his mind was trained for the work which has since largely absorbed his attention. But despite his tendencies towards politics, he labored on his father's farm, engaging in the dull routine of agricultural toil until he was twenty-six years old. In 1851 a new chapter opened in his hitherto quiet life of /arm-labor. At that time he invested his capital in journalism, and became one of the proprietors of the Syracuse Daily Journal, one of the most influential papers in cen- tral New York. His connection with that newspaper continued until 1855 ; he was then appointed deputy-clerk of the Assembly of the State of New York, by R. U. Sherman, then Clerk of the House. In 1856, he was appointed journal-clerk of the Senate of 393 2 J A M E S T K R W I L 1, 1 G K R . his niitivc Suite, luul lieUl tliat appoiutiiifiit tour years. During that time he gained the contideiico of influential political men, by his peculiar abilities for a position of that kind, and was properly rewarded with the appointment of Clerk of the Senate. He was elected to that oflice five times without opposition, and wjis deserv- edly pronounced the best clerk who had ever discharged the duties of that delicate and arduous oflice. He was perfect master of the situation. All the duties connected with that post were as familiar to him as are the successions of propositions in Euclid to a pro- fessor iu college; and his marked executive abilities, his steady application to the rapid dispatch of business, and his almost unin- terrupted attendance upon the sessions of the Senate, greatly enhanced the value of his services. He was held in high estimation by both political parties ; and at the close of each term of the Sen- ate, elegant testimonials were presented to him by senators, as an expression of their appreciation of his abilities and kindness. Mr. Terwilligcr has held other posts of honor and responsibility. Indeed, the past eighteen or twenty years of his life have been mostly employed in arranging the details of either county or State campaigns, and in supervising the order of legislative business. Mr. Terwilliger was chosen clerk of the Board of Supervisors of Onondaga county. New York, in 1849 ; and, from the organization of the Republican ptu-ty in 1856 to the year 1800, he was secretary of the Onondaga County Republican Committee, when he was elected secretary of the Republican State Committee. He con- ducted the memorable Presidential campaign of that year in the State of New York with > masterly tact and acceptance, and origi- nated the plan of sending speakers, by the State Committee, into diflerent sections of his State — a practice now generally adopted. Mr. Terwilliger has been secretary or acting secretary of the Re- publican Union State Committee ever since, except the years 1862, 1864. 1867, 1869, and 1870. In the canvass of 1864, he was acting secretary of the National Union Executive Committee, and ad- ditionally aided the State Committee very materially. 394 JAMES TKRWILLIGE.E. 3 When Preston King was appointed collector of the Port of New York, the position of private and confidential secretary to the collector was proffered to Mr. Terwilliger : this was done without any solicitation or previous knowledge of the matter on his part, and was especially gratifying, inasmuch as it was a position of so much responsibility. Mr. Terwilliger accepted the place, quite as much from motives of friendship for Mr. King as otherwise. He held that position until after the death of Mr. King, and the subsequent appointment of Collector Sinythe, when he resigned. In February, 1870, Mr. Terwilliger again purchased an interest in the Syracuse Daily Journal^ and is now one of the proprietors of that paper. When Hon. Thomas Murphy was appointed col- lector of the Port of New York, by President Grant, in 1870, Mr. Terwilliger, much against his own wishes, was induced to accept the position of special deputy-collector of the Port. He is in every way qualified for the office, and his administration of his duties gives great satisfaction. Probably no other man in the State of New York has so large an acquaintance as Mr. Terwilliger has. His familiarity with all the ramifications of political forces; his very large acquaintance with the leaders of parties in this State and the country at large ; his ready comprehension of the right thing in the right place, render his services almost invaluable. There is no bluster in his compo- sition. The calm dignity of the perfect gentleman always rests upon him, and a smile of good nature is rarely missed from his face. Wherever he is known he is regarded as a gentleman of high moral Christian character, possessing the esteem of his fellow- men. In the city of Syracuse, New York, he has an elegant resi- dence, where he spends his time when not engaged.in official duties. He is. in the highest sense of the word, a self-made man, and is in every way worthy of the honors he has received. 395 EEV. WILLIAM L. HAEEIS, D. D., LL. D. BY T. C. GARDNER, D. D. '] ,^T has been reserved by Providence for the times in whicli we live to illustrate on a magnificent scale the idea and ^M* law of progress. The present century, in its historical con- nections with all civilized nations, stands out in bold relief to the eye of contemplation as being pre-eminent in those inventions, discover- ies, arts, sciences, and knowledges that are in closest proximity with the main wants and universal well-being of humanity. To an Ameri- can, whatever relates to the facts and laws of human prooression finds some striking exposition and confirmation in the history of his own country. Possessing a continent of unlimited resources • enjoying a civilization that embraces every feature of value in the European type of culture, and that is enriched by some new and unique elements of human development ; blest with a government projected on the plane of liberty and equality, and combining in the happiest proportions the prerogatives of national authority with the rights of municipal states, the American people may properly congratulate themselves on having the most enviable inheritance of civil and religious immunities that has ever attracted tJie considera- tion of the Muse of History. In this freest and grandest country that ever lifted its mountains to the skies, that ever poured its rivers to the sea, that ever spread its lands of beauty beneath the light of the sun, humanity has had the best conditions of growth and pro- gress ever secured to its existence. It is not denied that the civil arrangements that support ideas of caste and that consolidate privi- leged orders with the stability ol' society may be rendered subser- vient to the advancement of the race in the arts and sciences and industries of life, and become associated also with great characters 397 2 REV. WILLIAM L. UAURIS. in history. Moiiarcliical systems may boast of proud names and splendid niemories in all the departments of human activity and national enterprise. To republican institutions, however, belongs the palm of furnishing the greatest possible facilities for cultivating the faculties of humanity at large, and for developing native genius and talent and ability into the manifestations of character at once robust, independent, and self-supporting. That men of progress, therefore, should grow up out of such con- ditions of human existence as afford the freest and broadest scope for the play of whatever activities inhere in the life of the race, ir- respective of all distinctions of birth or fortune, and untramraeled by the restrictions engendered and maintained by old and conserva- tive institutions that operate for permanency at the expense of im- provement, is what might naturally be expected from the known laws of development as imbedded in the constitution of humanity. When President Jackson visited New Hampshire in connection with his war secretary, General Cass, who looked once more on his native State, gazing upon its rugged features and granite forms, he exclaimed, '' What do you raise here, general ?" To which inquiry the general promptly and admirably replied, "Men, Mr. President." And so as we let the eye of reflective admiration and phiK)Sophic survey roam over all the States of our Union, we see that however much is our indebtedness to nature, we owe intinitely more as a people to the great self-made men of the Republic who, in the various departments and professions of life, have shaped our institutions, have controlled the elements of power and passion in our history, have directed the forces of onr national life, and have imparted their immortal worth and excellence to the character and destiny of the nation. In this respect the East has vastly the pre- eminence of the West, as being the original seat of empire and learning and the various culture attaching to older communities and which ripens into statesmanship. But as " Westward the course of empire" has taken its w-iy, the grand elements of charac ter have been seen to form into personal life and history, and men EEV. WILLI.VM L. HARRIS. 3 of tlic progressive order have slood up in the history of the great "West, vieing in power and influence, if not in polish and culture, with the finest embodiments of manhood in the East. "Worthy of a permanent place in such high associations of char- acter and excellence connected with our history, is the subject of this sketch, Rev. "William L. Harris, D. D., LL. D. The great State of Ohio enrolls Dr. Harris among her native sons, and the year 1817, Nov. 4th., dates the beginning of his earthly history. At that time Ohio had a population of about half a million of souls, having been a member of the Federal Union only fourteen years. At present the population must border closely on three millions of inhabitants, and what in 1817 was a new country, with undevel- oped resources, with slender educational advantages, with institu- tions in their formative state, is now a full-grown commonwealth whose civilization furnishes every needful facility for educating its citizens for any position in life. It was to the common schools of his native State that young Harris was indebted for his elementary education. "We can imagine the scenes of his boyhood, as he grew up in a frugal and industrious population, robust in his constitution, active in rural sports, strong in his demonstrations of purpose, and inclined by his mental aptitudes to such studies as were afforded by the schools of the people as they then existed. Nothing remark- able or noteworthy in his early life here calls for sober narrative or illustrative comment. In the seventeenth year of his age began his religious life. Camp- meetings were at that time scenes of unwonted religious interest. They drew large gatherings of the people and exerted a powerful influence for good over extended districts of country. The singing, the praying, the preaching, took on a type of extraordinary earnest- ness and power. The Ohio camp meetings were especially noted in the Methodist Episcopal Church for their depth of character, their spiritual excellence, and their marked results. "Wonderful accounts are preserved in the literature of Methodism of the almost superhuman eloquence that characterized the preaching of the 399 leading ministers of those timei on such oi;c;i.si(.;is. Many sermons preiiehei.1 by tiioso heroes of the Cross to listening thousands in the lealy and beautiful temples of. nature have a vivid existence in the memories of many living saints, who describe their effects upon the hearts of the poo[ilc in language which almost transports one to the ago of miracles. Authentic anecdotes are related of highly cultivated persons, cool and speculative in their judgments, in some instances skeptical in their views, in association also with eminent public station, who yielded profound homage to the gospel of peace amid these novel circumstances, and ever afterward adhered to their religious profession. Doubtless the ardent and impulsive class betrayed occasionally some fanatical tendencies in these services of the forest sanctuaries, but what was defective was quite insignifi- cant, compared with what was truly genuine, in the religious character of these extraordinary seasons of worship. It was at one of these memorable gatherings of the people for promoting the interests of Christianity that William L. Harris committed himself to the obligations of a Christian life, and that he acted from intelli- gent convictions of duty and from a thorough renewal of his desires and affections, is attested by his pei-sonal history from that time to the present. And then commenced his studious and scholastic preparation for that active and pul)lic career of usefulness that for a long series of years has reflected so much honor on his character. In September 183J: he entered Norwalk Seminary as a pupil, then the only literary institution of Methodism west of the Alleghany Mountains, and North of the Ohio Kiver, where he remained two years under the more immediate instruction of its principal, Kev. Jonathan E. Chaplin, A.M., a graduate of Yale College, celebrated for the ripe- ness of his scholarship, and who was afterward placed in charge of one of the branch institutions of the University of Michigan. In September, 1836, Mr. Harris, then only in the nineteenth year of his age, was licensed by the proper church authorities to exercise his gitls as a Christian minister, and after a few months' 400 REV. WILLIAM L. UAERIS. , pastoral labor in a subordinate sphere, in the ensuing fall he was received into the Michigan Conference of Methodist ministers whose eoclesiastical jurisdiction then included a portion of northern Oh.o, and was assigned to a field of labor in his native State In 1840, Mr. Harris by a change in ecclesiastical boundaries became a member of the Nortli Ohio Conference, and in 1S56 by a like arrangen.ent was included in the Delaware, now denominated the Central Ohio, Conference, where he still holds his clerical member- ship. Mr. Harris' term of service in the Christian pastorate com- prised ten years of faithful labor. Thirteen years of his life have been devoted to the cause of education. He first held the office of Tutor for one year in the Ohio Wesleyan University. At the unani- mous request of his Conference and at a great sacrifice of personal feeling and preference, in 1848 he accepted the Principalship of the Baldwin Institute, now the Baldwin University, near the beau- tiful city of Cleveland, where he performed three years of emi- nently successful labor, leaving the institution in a very prosperous condition. The next year he Imd charge of the academical depart- ment of the Ohio Wesleyan University, and was then elected to the chair of Chemistry and ^tural History in that well-organized institution, discharging its functions with distinguished ability for eight years, and for three years of that time instructing the classes also in the Hebrew Language and Literature. In 1860 Dr. Harris resigned his professorship to accept the office of Assistant Corresponding Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which position of great' responsibil- ity and usefulness he still holds, having been elected to the post for the third term by the suffrages of the quadrennial General Con- ference. As this General Conference is the highest ecclesiastical ju- dicatory known to Methodism, being its only legislative body, and composed of delegates from all the A.mual Conferences, member- ship in Its councils has always been considered a great honor. Wis- dom, integrity, soundness of judgment, and strong and well-balanced character are considered prime qualifications in a delegate Dr -101 ^ ■ ■ (5 R KV. W ILLl AM L HARRIS. Harris' eniineiit fitness in these resjiects for an ecclesiastical legis- lator, may be estimated from tbe action of his Conference in elect- ins; him for four times in succession to represent them in the Gen- eral Conference, placing him every time, by the highest number of votes cast for any delegate, at the head of his delegation, lie has thus been a member of four General Conferences from ISoti to IS6S inclusive. At his fii-st appearance in this august body, in- vested with the legislative prerogatives of the largest denomination of Protestant Christians in the land, Dr. Harris was on the first ballot elected its Secretary, and at its every subsequent session has been chosen to tbe same honorable position by acclamation. As this body is presided over by tlie bishops of the church in turn, who simply act as chairman, thus leaving the Conference without any permanent bead, the position of Secretary really becomes that of chief responsibility in its deliberations. The Secretary is sup- posed to understand perfectly its rules and procedures of business in all cases, and to be thoroughly versed in parliamentary law, so as to be able on the instant to render any needed assistance to the Presiding Officer. By his very eminent qualitications for this post in all respects, Dr. Harris has come to be considered the guiding genius of the Conference, and nearly every act of its legislative wisdom for sixteen yeai-s that has commanded the general confi- dence of the denomination, has received the direct sanction of his capacious and practical mind before finding its place in the statute- book of the church. Dr. Harris may thus worthily claim our attention as one of the chief men of progress in the great Methodist denomination. He has been an influential actor in all its important events, during the most exciting period in the annals of the church and in the history of the nation. His manly and progressive qualities appear in every department of his history. He is self-made in the best sense of the term. On leaving tiie academic institution where he laid the foundations of his compreliensive scholarship, he pursued syste- matic courses of study while traversing large districts of ministerial 402 " " REV. WILLIAM L. HARRIS. 7 abor, carrying his books in his saddle-bags, like many other heroic; spirits known to fame, and gaining what assistance he could from scholars and men of letters within the circles of his acquaintance and friendship, he thus completed the entire curriculum of colle- giate studies in addition to a pretty thorough survey of all the leading branches of theological learning. Such a man is his own university, and his scholastic character bears the stamp of his own genius and faculty of instruction, and may of right ask admission into any fraternity of noble and cultivated minds that have con- tributed to the progress of knowledge and to the well-being of the race. Literary institutions sometimes do themselves credit in appropriately recognizing merit in public men, and the honors con- ferred on Mr. Harris may with the greatest propriety be referred to in this light. He received the degree of M. A. from the Ohio Wesleyan University in 1848, that of D. D. from Alleghany Col- lege in 1856, and that of LL. D. from Baldwin University in this present year of grace, 1870. Dr. Harris has been one of the champions of right and reform, as contending for supremacy against expediency and conservatism in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The great controversy on the slavery question divided the church in 184-4, but as a certain portion of slave territory was left by the division in the Northern church, the controversy still raged, and agitated the foundations of the whole Methodist community up to the very eve of the Presidential proc- lamation decreeing the death of slavery. The point in debate between the men of progress in Methodism and their conservative opponents related in its ultimate bearings to the autliority of the General Conference to exclude slaveholding members from the com- mimion of the church. When the constitutional aspects of the question came fairly under review, Dr. Harris employed his pen in discussing the fundamental principles underlying the whole subject, first in a series of articles in the newspaper press, and then in a systematic treatise in book form, on the " Powers of the General Conference." Of this production, taken as a specimen of raethod- 403 g RKV. WILLIAM L. HARRIS. ical reasoning and demonstrative logic and eloquent forensic ability, it is not too much to say that it to-day stands unrivaled in the literature of the Methodist Church. As connected with its main purpose, it vindicated by unanswerable argument the radical measures of the anti-slavery party in the church, and left the con- servatives without a resting-place for the soles of their feet. Kev. Dr. Wheldon, who, in profundity of intellect, is without his peer in the church, pronounced it " one of the ablest constitutional documents that has ever appeared iu om- ecclesiastical history, reading very much like one of John Mai'shall's decisions, leaving nothing further to he said on either side of the question." The treatise really set- tled the opinion of the church on the subject, and its doctrines were soon incorporated into her legislation, and now have an actual existence in her history. Iu pei"son, Dr. Harris is a little above the medium height, very thickly set, strong in his physical organization, ample in his features, massive in intellectual developments, and healthful and manly in all the elements of character that can find expression in bodily presence. The forces of his whole existence are evenly bal- anced. His proportions are on a comparatively large scale, but the harmony and symmetry are complete. No complexity of character ever hindei-s a thoughtful observer from forming a just estimate of the man. Frankness, honesty, integrity, firmness, transparency, hearty good-will, and abundant good-nature ai-e revealed in all his looks and words and movements. In conversation, he is easy and instructive ; in companionship, delightful ; iu friendship, rich and princely. As a speaker, he excels in clearness of statement, in the argumentative settings of thought, in logical emphasis of ' expression, and iu the faculty to convey a full impression of his subject to the mind of an audience. No mists of dream-land, no poetic reveries, no mystic ecstacies of fancy, no meaningless demonstrations of speech, ever find place in his public dis- coui-se. The sunlight, that brings out hidden beauties, that discloses all the outlines and forms of new and familiar objects, 404 RKV WILLIAM L. HARRIS. 9 and that causes all entities to stand out distinctly to your vision, flows over the whole landscape of thought as he unfolds bis theme. lie addresses himself mainly to your intelligence and reason, taking it for granted that you have capacity to understand and mark the drift of reflective discourf,e, and that hi.s business is to " furnish you with arguments and not with brains." A nice turn, of thought will sometimes, as he proceeds, light up the features of an audience, and then a paragraph, charming for its simplicity, will fall upon your ear, and anon a passage of real grandeur and noble eloquence will wing your soul into the heavens of God. Dr. Harris is not what is called an easy and fluent and l)opular speaker, but he is exceedingly efifective. Liglit and grace- ful and fanciful discourse never proceeds from a mind of really massive thoughts and conceptions, and that ever seeks to rest its utterances on the impregnable basis of first principles. Dr. Harris would have made a great lawyer, as his Websterian intellect would liave delighted to handle topics of national importance, and to expound to a listening senate the principles of constitutional law. His clearness of intellectual vision, and capacity to state the lead- ing points in a difficult question, and his great grasp of thought would have made him eminent in the legal profession and in civil statesmanship. It is obvious that the bar and the senate ofler ad- vantages to sucb a man quite superior to those of the platform and pulpit. The profound understanding, with its rich freightage of knowledge that would be considered heavy in the pulpit, would be the delight and wonder of the senate. "We do not characterize Or. Harris as wanting in power to interest a popular assembly, but as really magnificent in those qualities that fit him to address grave and deliberative and judicial bodies. The crowning glory of this eminent man in current Methodist history is, however, as we have ab-eady indicated, to be seen in the forces of progress, lodged by nature in his very make and constitu- tion. He is a worthy representative of that class of men in eccle- siastical life in this country who have nobly stood up for the 405 10 RKV. WILLIAM L. HARRIS. principles and measures of trutli and freedom in the dark days of trial and civil strife, when both the Churcli and the State were in danger of being overwhelmed by the agencies of oppression and treason. Broad in his sympathies, a giant in his sensibilities, large in the fellowship of his soul with humanity and God, he never debated the cause of right with the question of hisown personal fortunes, nor did he delay his committal to the imperiled principles of justice until he saw how the great scales would turn in the awful crisis of national destiny, nor did he wait for others to lead him into the van of the conflict. His place has been among the leaders of public opinion, who have done the best thinking lor the nation during the last twenty years, and who have championed the cause of right and humanity to a successful issue, and who now occupy an enviable position among the benetactors of their race. For ten years he has been associated with that very celebrated divine, Dr. Durbin, in supervising and directing the interests of the great Methodist Missionary Society, that steadily contemplates the conquest of the world to the Cross. Here his organizing and ex- ecutive genius, and his great capacity for work lind abundant scope, and being now in the prime of his strength and in the maturity of his powers, he has yet before him a career of varied nnd important service in the noblest department of Christian history. 406 ^ ^Y^t^-.TK GEN. J. H. STPHER. •ENERAL SYPHEE, of Louisiana, is a native of Penn- sylvania, where his ancestors settled at the beginning of i^i. the eighteenth century, coming from the German Rhine country. His grandfather, Abraham Sypher, removed from the Valley of the Brandywine, at the close of the Revolu- tionary War, and founded a home in the Valley of the Susque- hanna, in the territory that afterward became Perry County. This homestead farm was inherited from the original settler, by John Sypher, his youngest son, who was bom in the year 1800. John was the father of three sons, Abraham J. Sypher, late an engineer in the United States Navy, and now a member of the Louisiana Sen- ate ; Josiah R. Sypher, an author and journalist of note ; and Jacob H. Sypher, the subject of this sketch, who was born July 22, 1837. Both father and mother of these sons died early in life, and left their children to themselves. By personal efforts, each acquired a liberal education, strengthened by the varied experience and practical ap- plication ever incident to the struggle up from the common level to high attainments. The younger of the brothers whose name heads this article was, successively the "farm boy," the "boat boy," tiie "country school teacher," and the academy "professor." At the first call to arms, at the beginning of the late war, he entered the national army for the defence of the Union, enlisting as a private soldier, April 18, 18G1. In active service during the entire period of the war, he rose, step by step, through all the grades of the army, to the rank of Brigadier General, to which he was promoted for " faithful and meritorious services during the war." He participated in all of the great campaigns and battles of the Army of the Cum- 407 2 GEN . .1 . II . S Y r U EB. berland, in Kontuckv, Tennessee, and Geori^ia, among which were Mill Springs, Fort Donelson, Perry ville, Shiloli, Stone River, Chat tanooga, and Ciiieaniauga. Subsequently he was transferred to the Department of tlie Gulf, where he commanded the Reserve Artil- lery, luid was President of the Examining Board for the examina- tion of ot}i('ei"s for colored troops. lie was mustered out of service on the ioth of November, 1S65. In January, ISGO, he settled in lAiuisiaiia, having determined to mjvko his permanent residence in that State, and engaged in the cotton planting. In the midst of other duties he had road law, and had been admitted to the bar. General Sypher, its he had been e:u-nest and ethcient in assisting to maintain the Union of the States, and the integrity of the nation, was equally active in eflorts to reconstruct the government of his adopted State, and to build up her disorganized industries. The people, duly appreciating his services in this new field, resolved to make him one of their representatives at the national capit^U. He was elected a member of the Fortieth Congress, was re-elected to the Forty-tii-st, and also to the Forty-second Congress, as a Repub- lican. At Washington he advocated a liberal and generous policy of internal improvements, and amnesty to the South. Ho urged the rebuilding of the levees on the Mississippi River, by Government aid, and the grmiting of subsidies for the construction of a Southern Pacific Riiilroad. In a speech deli\ ei*ed in Congi-ess, December 15, ISTO, he sjiid: "Let tJie Republiciui party, through its representa- tives in Congress, remove all the political disabilities of Southern men ; let them, by wise legislation, aid in building up tliat beautiful country, devastated by war; let the people feel the fostering care of the General Government ; aid us to build and maintain our levees, to construct new railroads, to keep open the mouth and improve the navigiition of the ilississippi River, to encourage labor, capital, and divei-sified industry in the South, and it will accomplish more towai-d the development of a true sentiment of loyalty to the na- tional Government than hiUf a century of prescriptive legislation." Gen. Sypher is quite a young man. He possesses a ^eat deal of 408 energy and perseverance, and a large share of that spirit of progres- sion, to the exercise of wliich there cannot but much benefit enure to tlie section of tlie country in wliich, as a public representative, his talents and abilities are devoted. 4oy h ? y, i)h,oi^i. ' c'^ EICHARD T. MEERIOK. 15 /CT is eighty years since Daniel Carrol], Notloy Young, David ^y>f* Burns and Samuel Davidson, the original proprietors of ^^'<^ the District of Columbia, surrendered their titles, and since the Capital of the United States was established here. The District was surveyed by three commissioners: Thomas Johnson, David Stuart, and Daniel Carroll ; and, in a letter bearing date George- town, September 9th, 1791, to Major L'Enfant, the engineer, these commissioners inform him that they had agreed to call the Federal District the Territory of Columhia. By a recent act of Congress, they now have for the first time the form of a Territorial Government, and for the first time in their history, the people of this District have the privilege of being represented in the Congress of the United States by a Delegate. On the evening of the 2l8t ultimo, one hundred and ten delegates, representing the Democratic and Conservative strength of the Dis- trict, met in convention, and on the first ballot unanimously nomi- nated for the position of Delegate in Congress, the Hod. Richard T. Merrick. In making a brief sketch of the life and public character of this distinguished gentleman, we are deeply impressed with the idea that by his nomination, a profound remark of Montesquieu, to the effect that the people, " from facts and things obvious to the sense, are qualified for choosing those whom they are to invest with a part ol their authority," has an apt illustration. Mr. Merrick was born in Charles county, Maryland, and is descended from one of tlie oldest 411 g RICllAKD T. MKUKICK. nnd proudest iiimilies of tliat ancient common wealth. His father, tlic Hon. Williiim D. Merrick, for many years lield positions of high jiublic trust, nn I was a Senator in Congress from tlic State of Mary- land from 1838 to 1845. Ho died in tliiscity in 1857. Ho was tlie author of the cheap postage system. During his Senatorial career ho wus associated with the ablest men of the country, and numbered among his pei-sonal and ])olitical I'riends the great names of John Bell, Daniel Webster, James K. Polk, R. M. T. Hunter, Robert C. Winthrop, John Tyler, Richard M. Johnson, William Henry Har- rison, George M. Dallas, Millard Filmore, William L. Marcy, Willio P. Mangum, Tom Corwin, Henry W. Hilliard, Percy Walker, John McP. Berrien, Thomas G. Pratt, the Kennedys, Reverdy Johnson, Roger B. Taney, John J. Crittenden, Henry Clay, and their illustrious contemporaries — all renowned for their virtue, prudence and learning. It was in such a school, amid the associa- tion of the immediate descendants of the Fathers of the Republic, that Mr. Merrick, with a mind naturally and peculiarly apt in the study of jurisprudence, learned his first great lessons of respect for the Constitution, and for the supremacy of the law. He belongs to a family of lawyers, to a race who think, with Plutarch, that the " law is the king of mortal and immortal beings," and with another writer, " that in the education of youth a love of the law should bo encouraged in order that a love of country may be established." Mr. Merrick attended Georgetown College for a few years, and at the age of sixteen was graduated at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. He then went to Frederick, and entered as a law student the office of his brother, the Hon. William M. Merrick, (now a Representative in Congress from the State of Maryland.) While pursuing his legal studies there, and not yet admitted to the bar on account of his minority, the war with Mexico ensued, and he was commissioned by President Folk as captain of the Third United States Dragoons. He served eighteen months in Mexico with General Taylor, and at the close of the war returned to Mar) land, was admitted to the bar, 412 BICnARD T. MERIilCK, 3 and commenced his brilliant professional career in Charles county. In 1849 he was elected as a Whig to the Legislature of Maryland. He cerved on the Committee on Federal Kelations. There were many able men in that Legislature, and Mr. Merrick became promi- nent among them as an eloquent debater, and as a sound constitu- tional lawyer. Two years afterwards Mr. Merrick removed to Balti- more, and at once had a large and lucrative practice. As a Whig he took an active part in the politics of the State. He stumped the State of Virginia for General Scott, and met the great debaters for General Pierce, among others, Cliarlus James Faulkner, with marked success. After the election of General Pierce to the Presidency, the Know- Nothing organization arose in Baltimore. Henry Winter Davis became the candidate of tha Know-Nothing party for Congress, and Henry May the candid.ite for the Djmocracy. Notwithstanding the great personal friendship that existed bstween Mr. Davis and Mr. Merrick, the natural conservatism of the latter induced him to give his support to Mr. May, and from that day to this Mr. Merrick, politically, has been identified with the national Democratic and Consci-vative element of the country. He has had but little to do with politics, however, for the law has had the greater charm. In 1855-G, in connection with J. S. Stockett and Oliver Miller, Esqs., he prepared and published a digest of Maryland Reports. In 1857, declining ths position of District Attorney for Baltimore, tendered him by Mr. Buchanan, he removed to Chicago, and associated him- self in the practice of his profession there with the Hon. C. Beck- with, then the acknowledged head of the Chicago bar, and afterward the Chief Justice of Illinois. Previous to this, Mr. Merrick had made the acquaintance of Stephen A. Douglas, and from that time till the day of that great and lamented statesman's death, the most intimate and confidential relations existed between them. As a member of the Illinois delegation, Mr. Merrick attended the Charles- ton Convention. In the great debates of that convention he was 413 I B I C n A U n T . M E R R I C K . conspicuous ; counseled motloration, and opposed all cxtrcrao S.nithern measures. In the B.iltimoro convention bo was selected to speak for Illinois, and when the lion. Benjamin F. Butler with- drew from the convention to join the forces of Breckenridgo, ho denounced him as a conspirator in terms of bitter invective and sarcasm. This spoooh created in the convention a decided sensa- tion. For Douglas ho stumped the Western States. After Mr. Lin- coln's election, Mr. Merrick again devoted himself to his profession, and was emj>loyed as counsel by railroad and other heavy corpora- tions. In 1SC4 Mr. Merrick visited Washington. Fortune, ever kind, smiling and propitious to him, now presented her choicest gift, for here be led to the altar the lovely and talented daughter of our fellow-townsman, James C, McGuire, Esq. With his brido he visited Europe, making the tour of France, Italy, Spain and Ger- many. In the spring of 1S65, Mr. Merrick, having determined to devote himself exclusively to bis profession, cam3 to Washington, selecting it as tha broadest field for prastico. Although Washing- ton is much less in population, and in commorcial and financial resources thia s^m3 othar citic5, tha questions arising here are mere varied and of mare public importance than these ceming before the courts in any other portion of the country. The great lawyers from all sections of the country are realizing this fact, which tends to make Washington the theater of great legal efforts. It would consume too much spaeo to speak in detail of the celebrated causes Mr. Merrick has tried during the six years of his residence here. Suffice it to say that in the District courts and in the Supremo Court of the United States he has appeared as counsel in nearly all the most importiint cases, and with a brilliant and unvarying suceess. Standing in the very front rank of the bar, he is one of its strongest pillars, and one of its chief ornaments. To borrow an idea from a learned writer in giving a description of Lord Mansfield, we say of Mr. Merrick: he has pre-eminently a legal intellect, great clearness 414 of thought, accuracy of discrimination, eoundncss of judgment and strength of reasoning, united toascientific knowledge of jurisprudence, a large experience in all the intricacies of practice, unusual courtesy and ease in the dispatch of basiness, and extraordinary power.? of application. To illustrate how thoroughly Mr. Merrick is governed by the teachings of the Fathers in hio expressions of love for tha Union, we here quote hLs speech. Mr, Merrick said : f^'H*,; ^""l""^"- Before responding to the ncntimonta that have hcen ciT>rcs« V'''"<=' f^'^™ discredit, and restore ZTh^oroltll'^nl,^ much tamLsheJ through the ye^r^ of Radical miiirule. fApolauBe 1 ' I endorse most earnestly the resolution which says that this District zhould be free from the perturbations of p irty politics. In the exercinr, of apower^edaUy dele ./^ by the Conntitution, the fathers of the country dedicated this Diftrfct -li h,iu .^ neutral ground to the whole people of the Unit/j Sta^ l"^ vi aluon ^'ours it was natura and necesstiry. and to be foreseen by all men, that there i^.Vldte k^l prejudices and opinions which would not be in sympithy with re.note an^l ffcre^t ^ tioas of the country; and thi« District, deJicat^ to the entire Svi^fia^^^^ M. of?h n'^u^iT,"."^^" "P'T"" "-'S" «"'«' "P»° common Voundt'aTf Ihe .^ de of the Unite J btates assemble in political and g iial converse in the midst cfrn^ fc;'^^'evTy°oril^'s?Jlt"„!^'^'"''^''^'''«P-'^'^=-'^'--''-'^ 6tI*i^?dl''wjfi1^i"• <«'^'''J«'»!'>? ^ l-^l Kovemment for the District, was, as I under- Btool It, designed to carry out Ihit original intention. Uy that bill it warnrovianyl .at the President of the United States should have the appointmen of cTrfiin of th^ STnH'Th^Ti'''"' ""f *^.^. co"»™="ed the politic "m.nag;rment^f your 10(^1 r.w h' ''"'*,,^ •he people should, in the exercl% of a power unduly reitricteJbvt^o ,r7:. ^r^'n "/?'" '^'u '-■'*=.=' '^^'^in other of those functionaries I un"ereto J and believed at the time that it was the purpose of Congress ia mssinff th?/„„, „„^^ assure to this District a perfect freedom f?om theStSs of ^r ; ,x> ittL ami sSu^ r^^i'^r^ijjri^y'i^t^jikf^^^ir^dfeil 41.3 UICIIARD T. MEKRICK, In the National Legislature for this groat Cnpitol, the common property of the entire nation. [Great appUiiifc.] But that hope wa3 Jelusivc, and we have scon with pain ond regret the or;ani:intion of our Government upon apartizan basis, and its powers committed exclusively to the men of one alone of the great politiail orK.iuizations of the ountry; and we have learned with yet deeper regret that the executive of the Territory lia-s made, in the language of resolution, the open avowal, in his party convention, that he intended to administer the functions of his ofUce in the exclusive interest of the Republican party. That party convention thus assembled, which endeavored, and, to some extent, accomplished, the consolidation of the p.irty in co-operation with the Territorial execHiive, made manifest to the people that it was their purpose to arrogate to them- selves in their party organization the exclusive aduiinistration of the Diitrict of Colum- bia, for their own benefit, and without regard to the general interest of the people. When the Democratic and Conservative people of the District beheld that mischievoiiB scheme in process of formation and execution, they wore called upon by every sentiment of manly integrity, patriotic devotion, an 1 personal houir, to organize aroiuid an opposing standard, and frustrate the iniquitjus ;md diabolical machination. [Great applause.] It is that scheme which you have assembled tofrnstrato— that bad purpose y^u have gatlurod your strength to defeat. It is tv t f r inrtv alone, or for p.arty at all, that you nuct' I resard this Convention a; ' i v itive body of tho whole Demo- cratic anil Conservative element of tli. I i , i i/ the sentiments of the Demo- crats and Conservatives, and declaring' i ■ ' n i- ii i imrpose that the local adminis- tration 01 this District shall not be couiine i to a p vi ty, and administered in the inter- est of a faction; but that it shall be administered for the benetit of the entire people, ond that representative men of both parties shall appear in that administration. [Applause.] My fellow-citizens, I esteem the Territorial Governor as a most worthy and estima- ble gentleman, and I appreciate his high character as an honorable man; but he has been too weak to resist wliero he should have overcome, and pissively submitted where he should have controlled. Ho has sacrificed the high public spirit of the man and citizen upon the altar of n tyranical party domination. [Applause.] Under these circumstances you are c.illed upon, with a view to tlio protection of your inter- ests and your property, to guard against the danger to both from a locil administration left unchecked in the hands of one political party. Althou;;h i)rivilegcd to vote only for the lower House and for a Delegate in Con.cress, the Democratic and Conservative party will put over this perilous and mischievous combination, faithful watchers in that liiwer House, who will defend our interests and protect our property. [Great cheering.] We will do more; we will vindicate ourselves from the attempted wrong upon the great Conservative and Democratic party of tho nation by sending to the Coniiress cf the United States, to represent this people, a representative man of tho Democratic anJ Conservative party. [Long and continued applause.] I believe, and 1 trust I am not mistaken, tliat Governor Cooke will be able to exer- cise a largo control in our behalf with his Republican friends in Congress; but standing alone, or standing beside a man representing the same party, and entertaining the same partizan opinions with himself. I should fear that the generous sympathy of wronged conservatism would be cliilled at his approach. It is not alone to that party which is now in the majority in Congress that the people of this District must appeal. They must appeal to both parties upon the great principle that I have announced, and that your resolution sets forth, that this District is free from party perturbation, nnd that all we ask is that the representatives of the people will recognize this Capitol as the Capitol and the property of the pe:i|)le of the United States; and in the name of tlie people build it up and decorate and adorn it as the pride and honor of the nation. [Great applause] I believe, gentlemen, (though I make no pledges, lost possibly disaster and failure should cause me pain,) that as your lepresentative, receiving in behalf of your interests the cordial co-operation of Governor Cooke, I should bo able, in the Congress of the United States, to accomplish some beneficial results for my constituents. If bo will so present with me the case of this District, and secure for me froTU his especial Republi- can friends a fair hearing, I pledje to him and to you the cordial sympathy of the Democratic and Conservative representatives of the people. [Groat applause.] And 416 what wi I lie my position atid duty in the office to which you have calleJ me ? I shall appear in Con^^rcss as the elected candidate of the Democratic and Conservative voters of the Diotiict, but not as a partizan. You, in part, by this nomination despoil me of my political power. Yuu ca'.l u\t; nmv, my friends, as many of you have done individ- ually before, to l)e, not y'lm |i> ; .mil .nlvocatc, but the advocate of your entire com- munity. You call me iis i' ^ i .1 man is called, to plead your case before a judge and jury in who :\ l.iw i ..i'.i. u' I by tlio Ore nor, hikI uik' ■ iv; li i,- 1 t . vi .1 ro (.1 1' law by llio oil i^ ir> V n ■ 1 I . : luimiiii U-^isliition. " Tlu' w , 1 , . ^ n 1 i . . ii,:i h," iii>a ivll thill N ■ ^ > . .,, I . llu- ilisorotiim iiiul jiulguu'iii ,i> ;i: 1 v, m, .lU !,■ i-laivo rostr.iiiU. i< .., I u, .:'^ ,1, ... .s.vl of, if lofliilouo by lu-iil.u.w ...mi-,. [Ai...! ,u,.vJ lOnti'iliiiiiiii- llR'Ji' oi>ini.>iis, 1 c:in nol cdiuoiit to t!io coi-iv^vl ailmixlmo ol whito nod cob>i\' I iliil livii in the public soIiojIs of tlio cjuutry. [liicit iippluiiso.J 111 tlio laii;ii:vv;i' of yoiir loailutijn, suoli i» sclioino woulJ rot.iv.l tUo odua\t!o:i and ton.l to tlio iljiiumliaxtiou of tlio clilldion of bjtli of tlio racoj— baj;et aniinooitloj, di^uDii jiou and dist-jid iu tliu iustilutioit, iiad oud iu tUo tiail dojtructiou of tho su'a.'om of piiblio sclio.ils. 1 do not bolii'vo (ho bottor clnsa of colored citizans dcsiro tho ndoptlou of Bich u intMS'i'v '111 111 II III -V i>;i:>'-.>'iitii tint tlioir inlorost would bo battor subseivad by the il -' 1 M I ■ 1 i I I II I A liait'd 10 I'duoitioual purpjsos in tbo ?;euoroua uiauuer pro;.. 1 1 I 1 , ; ; . ;i li.uo lul.tpiv'd. tliiui by any BucU ompirioiU expariiueat OS 111 I' i' ' i , . I . I.i:,.,il [larly of tUisliistriol. fori .111 ■ u u , 1. I : ,,:v.VO UlO llO^XlSsity of OOluill;,' i 1 1:1 I .■ ' 11 1 I .Ml!: ! :■ ■ ,\ , 1.1 -nt ill it. .1.1 . , .11. would bj so re.vly to iv.\. '1 ; i!i ii, .1 . , i,--,s if Uiey li.i 1 1 ' . %!■ :.. ui' its boneiioiont operation In i . 1 ...i ,■ i.ia ;. ^o," and" appl iiiM' 1 It is M>iy well for uion wlio nro Im.d up n i.u- ii<,.i...\3i..i i,.umK. and thaaeouiiiulatiou of wealth, to look with pliilosophio.kl iiuliilorduoti upon tlio practical working of n iiriii'iplo ilio onuiiciatii.m of which may aid tho nccomplishiuoat of party purples, when it is to bo oxporionc.d by others thin thouiselvas; but if they, ia the varying chances of life, should ba brought within the r.uiw of its praclijiU opjiatioa, th.'i-o would boasin;j;ular and mpid change of he.u-t, and laudable uioditicatiouof sunti- Qiout. [Lau'T'iiter and applause. | TU.'SLluviruinl of thii Pistrictisintendo.i to educate the chil lio:i of the Pistiict, andi- :> iilli 'l' fi .-■ ..ii . linn- for their d;uly broad and need tlu- ; . i .iii; I mlof tlu' 1' '■ - I I 1 I 1 '.ling theolYsprinojef their loins Is;' v li ' iho lab.Mii I \ , ; ; i\ i ..■; 1 invoke for liiin protoctioung.uus! '.11 .. . . i.mh of nit 1 ■ > 1 1 .s. . ]. .1 . ; I . aoprivo hiia and his childron of tho t > 1 n 1 , 1 ...^ iuni ofhiscnuitiT. lAi.piauso.l My foUow-citizous, upon the principles which I have indicated I shall conduct this c-impaign. I shall avuid party strife, so fir as I can. I shall avoid all bitterness. I shall sjou to impi-ess tbo public mini with tho correctness of tho principles you have nniiounco.l iu your platform, and with your cj-oporation and ounjit aid in liolialf of the oxo.Hiliou of the purpose you have dechued in my nomination, I feal coiilidout that I sh ill bear your burner to Miccess, [Great applause.] And in the oltice to wliich I am exiled tj-ni.;ht, 1 shall euloivors.i to bear mys.'lf tU.at, whilst I miiutiiu justice and vindicate tho truth, I shiUl avoid tho cxeation of party animosity, by turning aside from all uunocessary pirticipation iu public atfairs, nnJ looUiag ulono to your intorest'i. I'rom this high duty 1 shall not be withdrawn, cither by the seductive porsuasion of friouds or the intimidation of foes. I Ain>'.ausf. 1 I ixgain thank you, my friends, for tho high c>>ii. 1 .!, 1 \ >. 1 ': ivopaid me, and will add one other cir.-iimst inoe wMch makes it esp.vii , ..,,,. my heart. The earliest iwolleclioiis of luy life aro os-ooiii i i - .i y, un I about it are gathered m.uiy of my fondest and most sacrod dome .k le n ;i. i.iuees When I came back to reside among you, I felt tu.it I iv.is oming to tho arms of fViond^; but [ never hoped that I should fool tho w.irin outpourings of such generous friondshio and conlideuco as I have experienced here to-nigUt. Aly earliest reccllec- tions aro associated, as 1 have said, with this Capitol. It makes the compliment d.^ar to me, and will make the duty which that coiiiplimeut involves more proud and pletwaut A jKirt of that duty will bn to endeavor to inculcate throughout the country, by diM:us4ous in Congress on questions connected with your interests, a truer apprecia- tion of this sireat politic.il metropolis on the part of the t>eople of our country. 1 shall ondoAvor to awaken in the p.iblic heart an all'eetiou for the sacred and- too much disregarded traditions of the nation, which bind men to tho past, and check tliom in a reckless pMgress to an unknown future. These traditions are sacre lin the history of America, and d^^:on^te this Capitol upjn its every page. In this Capitol our jurists have sat for nearlv three-quaittt^ of a century, expjunding the Constitution of the United States. Within the walls of that uuuble pile on the Capitolino Hill of the Kepublic, the noblest and most fervid cloiiucuco that ever fell £rom mortal tongue 418 EICHAED T. MEREICK. has Bounded to the country and to the world. Generation after generation of statca- men, now pone to their tombs, have trod your Btreets. Treaty after treaty,. binding this nation to the nations of the world, bears (he designation of Washington as tin: plicc of its ratification. The hiatory of your city is the history of the nation. And piralyzed forever be the arm that would attempt to drag our Government from ami I tbes3 holy memories, [Great applause.] It can not be done. Teach the people of tho country these traditions; teach them to feel how a people arc clevateil by chwishing;! veneration and love for the memories of the past, and you teach them to love the city of Washington as they lov3 the hallowed memory of him whose name it bears. [Great cheering.] Wiien CoiiBtantine, seeking to efffict an eternal monument to himself, in the temeri- ty of his rash vanity, removed the uripital of Home from the banks of the Tiber to the shores of the Bjsphorus, he sowed the seeds of internecine strife, and but a few years pa8.sed before the mighty empire was snndercd. A few decades more, and the barba- rian reveled in the lialls of the Cajsars. Such a fate does not await us. The Ameri- can Capital will never be dr.igged away from the traditions of this city. As long as the waters of the Potomac lave the tomb of Washington, the Capital will stand upon its banks, [Great applaiiso.J Fellow-citizens, again I thanlc you. During this campaign now opening to-night, I shall meet you often. My duty shall be done. At the conclusion of Mr. Merrick's speech three cbccrs were given, and the meeting immediately adjourned, amid the greatest enthusiasm. How forcibly this language reminds one of the words of President Adams, in his message to Congress when it first assembled, in November, 1800. He said, " I congratulate the people of the United States on the assembling of Congress at the permanent scat of their Government; and I congratulate you, gentlemen, on the prospect of a residence not to be changed." * * '' " You will consider it as the capital of a great nation, advancing with unexampled rapidity in arts, in comaiereo, in wealth, and in population, and possessing those resources which, if not thrown away or lamentably misdirected, will secure to it a long course of prosperity and self-government." The House, in reply to President Adams, said : " Nor can we on this occasion omit to express a hope that the spirit which animated the great founder of this city may descend to future generations, and that the wisdom, magnanimity, and steadiness which marked the events of his public life may be imitated in all succeeding ages." In the same speech of acceptance, and with equal patriotism, Mr. Men-ick says; " I shall endeavor to awaken in the public heart an affection for the sacred and too much disregarded traditions of the nation, which 419 10 RICnAHD T. Mi;niucK. bind men to the pnst and check tlicm in a reckless progress towards nn unlvnowu luturo. These traditions are sacred iu the history oi' America, and decorate this Capital upon its every page. In this capital our jurists have sat for nearly three quarters of a century, expounding the Constitution of the United States. Within the walls of that marble pile on the Capitoliue Hill of the Republic., the noblest and most fervid eloquence that ever fell from mortal tongue has sounded to the country and to the world. Gem ration after generation of statesmen, now gone to their tombs, have trod your streets. Treaty after treaty, binding this nation to the nations of thd world, beai-s the designation of Washington as the place of its ratification. The history of your city is the history of the na- tion. And paralyzed forever bo the arm that would attempt to drag our Government from amid tLese holy memories. It cau not be done. Teach l ho people of the country these traditions; teach them to feci how a people are elevated by cherishing a veneration and love for the memories of the past, and you teach them to love the city of Washington as they love the hallowed memory of him whose name it bears." That pure and eminent statesman, Rohert C. Winthrop, of Mass., said in 1S48, when laying the corner-stone of the Washington Mon- ument: " Build it to the skies; you can not outreach the loftiness of his principles ! Found it upon the massive and eternal rock; you can not make it more enduring than his lame ! Construct it of the peerless Parian marble; you can not make it purer than his life ! Exhaust upon it the rules and principles of ancient and modern art; you can not malce it more proportionate than his character !" This is the elevated language of such as have boen taught to love the laws — of such as arc fit to become the custodians of the peoples' authority. We have contrasted above the thoughts of Mr. Merrick with simi- lar thoughts from distinguished exemplais of patriotic devotion to the whole country. In all these extracts there is a perfect sincerity, 420 EICHARD T. MEHRICK. 11 a pervading depth of truth, and a beauty of expression that belonga only to the really good. In presenting these tokens of Mr. Merrick's character, we feel that it would be unjust to omit a brilliant advocate's definition of the du- ties of an advocate. He says : " On the floor of Congress I have no vote. I am there as your advocate, to plead your cause, to meet whatever charges may be brought against you, to defend you whenever you may be assailed, to expound your rights, and maintain what justice demands as your own; and speaking to judges and jurors in the determination of whose ultimate judgment I have no vote, hut winning tliem to my convictions in your beh-alf by all the persuasions of argument and force of logic that I can command. In this oflice I must so bear my- self as to make for you friends of the men of all parties, and whilst firmly maintaining my own opinions, avoid acerbity by a proper re- spect for the opinions of others. Truth, justice, and the interests of the people of the District of Columbia, without regard to party or race, shall be the rule and object of my conduct and labors." It would be unbecoming in a biographical sketch to enter into any- thing like an argument in favor of Mr. Merrick, but when it is recol- lected how much and how often the people of this District will need an advocate, it may be well to properly consider the above, especially as the opposition acknowledge that Mr. Merrick is "a man of influ- ence, power, intelligence — a man of whom any party may be proud." In making a personal reference to Mr. Merrick, we think it a note- worthy fact that we are able to apply to him the identical language used by a felicitous writer in a personal description of the greatest of English advocates. Lord Thomas Erskine. " He is of medium height, with a slender but finely turned figure, animated and grace- ful in gesture, with a voice beautifully modulated, a countenance beaming with emotion, and an eye of piercing keenness and power." And we are not far from an appropriate comparison when we iiivm Mr. Merrick the Erskine of the American bar. 421 la BICnARP T MERRICK. IJr. Merrick is surrouiulccl by tlie aliurciueuts and fascinations of a beautiful and g;enial home, and a wide circle of firm and devoted friends. He is in possession of the confidence and respect of this en- tire community. In fact the gale of popular favor in his behalf not only includes personal and political friends, but sweeps along in its resistless current hundreds who, if not aflected by the magnetic force of one who puts his soul into every word and deed, would otherwise stand aloof from mingling in piiblicafi'airs. KiCHARD T. Merrick is Washington's favorite son. Lihertias et natale solum is his motto. We are indebted to the Washington Sunday Gazette, April 9th, 1871, for the foregoing sketch. 422 (-)> ,,_y/^j^/ti^^{A^ct-i^ Z2 K P. CniPiMAN-. 'ENEPtAL N. P. CHIPilAX, who, ia April, 1871, was elected a delegate to Congress from the District of Colum- ^C bia, 13 one of the rising politicians of the country, and a man of decided ability, who has distinguished himself as a soldier and as an orator. He was bom in Milford, Union county, Ohio, March 7, 1834, and is consequently thirty-seven years of age. His father, who was born in Yermont, and a member of the famous Chipman family of that State, was engaged in mercantile pursuits, and, during his boyhood, the General attended the primary schools in the city in which he was bom. When he was fifteen years of age his parents removed to Wash- ington, Iowa, where liis father engaged in business, and be entered college, having the advantage of all the facilities for education the State then aflForded. In 185S and 1859, he attended the law-school in Cincinnati, Ohio, and subsequently engaged in the practice of law with Mr. Lewis, under the name and firm of " Lewis & Chip- man," his then partner now being Justice of the United States Su- preme Court for Idaho Territory. He continued in the practice of law until the breaking out of tlie rebellion, when he was the first man to enroll himself as a volunteer in a company being organ- ized in the city for the first three-year regiment sent from that State. The regiment was mustei-cd into service at Keokuk, Iowa, with the then Hon. Samuel R. Curtis as colonel. While in the ren- dezvous at Keokuk, General Chipman, who had entered as a private, was promoted to first lieutenant and adjutant of the regiment. Before starting for the iront, the i-egiment took possession of, and held the Hannibal and St. Jos^ Eailroad, and were the means of 423 C II I r M A N saving tlmt road and protecting northern Missouri from rebel out- breaks. The Colonel, being a West Point graduate, was made a Brigadier-General among the tii-st promotions, and General Cliip- man, by a vote of the commissioned oflicei-s of the regiment, way elected as major, and coniinissioned as such by Governor Kiikwood. The regiment, soon after, was sent to south eastern Missouri, and was among the forces which gathered at Fort Donelson under Gen eral Grant, then in the dawning of his fame. Ho participated in the siege tuul battles of that fortress, which are now historic. When the tiual battle came, the Second Iowa were selected to lead the charge upon the outer works, which they carried and held. This w!is the prelude to General Grant's tamous dispatch: "I propose tc move immediately upon your works." This charge of the regiment was one of the finest during the en tire campaign, and drew from General Halleck, then in command of the Western armies, this compliment — " This regiment was the bravest of the brave" — which he telegraphed to the Governor of Iowa. During this charge General Chipman was severely wounded and left, upon tlie field for dead, and so reported in the dispatches and papers at the time. He remained on the field for three days, when he was sent to hospital in St. Louis, Mo. There he remained for several montlis, hovering between life and death, but finally re- covered, returned to his regiment, and participated in the siege of Corinth, dm-ing which time he received a notice of his promotion to the position of Colonel and Aid-de-camp in the regular army, on the staff of Majoi'-General Ilalleck, and ordered to report to General Samuel E. Curtis, who had been promote 1 for distinguished ser- vices at the battle of Pea Pidge, Ark., and wi\s tlien at HeleuM, Ark. General Chipman was immediately made Chicf-of-stivfl", ami remained in that position while General Curtis was in command of tlie Department of Arkansiis and the Department of Missouri, with headquarters at St. Louis. In the latter p.art of 1S63 General Chipman was ordered to Washington on special dntv, and while there was assigned to special 424 duty as the judge advocate of a military commission. When the Bpecial duty which brought him to Washington had been completed, he applied to be relieved from duty and permitted to return to his former chief, then in command of the department of Kansas. Con- sidering his services too valuable in the Capital to be dispensed with, Secretary Stanton was unwilling to allow him to depart, and he was assigned to duty in the War Department, where he made many friends of the officers, both of the regular and volunteer service, by his urbanity and courtesy. He remained in the War Department nntil after the close of the war in November, 1865, but, before retiring, he was rewarded by a commission as Brigadier-General Fmding that his services were concluded, the General tendered his resignation, which was accepted. During his stay in the War Department, General Chipman was called upon by Secretary Stanton and General Halleck, then in command of the army, to perform some hazardous services, which he did to their entire satisfaction. He enjoyed the confidence of the late Secretary until the date of his death. While on duty in the War Department, General Chipman married a daughter of Mr Eobert Holmes, one of the most respected and wealthy citizens of St. Louis, Mo., and made up his mihd to make Washington City his future home. He at once purchased a homestead on Capitol 'nill, and has since resided in that section of the city. After his retire- ment from the War Department, he resumed the practice of the law in the Capital in connection with Colonel Hosmer and General Gil- more, under the name of Chipman, Hosmer & Co., a firm so weU known to the community that a simple mention is suflicient The special duty of General CTiipman in his business was the preparation of cases before the Court of Claims and the Supreme Court, where his arguments were regarded as of the first order and received the commendation and praise of the Judges of both Courts Dunng his practice of law, the General was tendered by Commis- sioner RoUins, of the Internal Eevenue Department, the position as soheitor of that Department. This he declined, as he had done nu- 4: nierous offers for political preferment in bis own State, where his ability and patriotism would have given him almost any position bo desired. He attended quietly to bis business pumiits in tbis city, steadily ignoring rings and cliques, steadfastly adbering to tbe prin- •iples of tbe Eepublican party, of wbicb be is, and has ever been, a ;onsistent and devoted member. General Cbinman was made Secretary of tbe Executive Commit- tee of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention, wbicb assembled at Cbicago just prior to tbe nomination of General Grant, and ren- dered valuable aid during tbat campaign in organizing and render- ing effective tbe soldier vote. lie was tbe master spirit of tbe Soldiei-s' and Sailors' Convention wbicb met at Pbiladelpbia, and gathered togetlicr so many of our heroes. In tbis manner bis name is known to thousands of citizens tbrongbout tbe country, and bis election cannot fail to give satisfiiction to tbe element of which he is so prominent a member. He has also a lai-ge and numerous ac- quaintance with membei-s of Congress, and being in political sympa- thy with them, can materially aid tbo interests of tbe District. Tbe General is now largely interested in real estate in Washington, and is engaged in numerous charitable enterprises. In pei-sonal appearance. General Chipman is striking and prepos- sessing. He is a man of about five feet eleven inches in height, of lithe form and affable demeanor. He is a fluent speaker, quick in repartee, and agreeable in his style of oratory. He will, we are sure, malce as enviable a reputation in Congress as bo did on tbe battle-field, fighting for the Union. 426 I m MAJ-GFN. JAMES S. NEGLET. EY J. TRAINOR KING. "^^[fi EXERAL NEGLEY is the present and prospective repre- sentative of the Twenty-second Pennsylvania District in Congress. He was elected in 1868 by the Republican party, and is again before the people for a re-elcciiou, and his dis- trict being largely republican, his re-election is a foregone conclu- sion. He comes of the old Negley stock, the first settlers of Alleghany Connty, his grandfather or granduncle, we do not remember which, having located at what is now East Liberty, and within the city limits of Pittsburgh, when the latter was only a military post, (Fort Pitt.) The General was born in that ].icality on the 26th of December, 1826, and has resided on the old homestead during all his life. In the Phrenological Journal for November, 1S65, we find a de- tailed account of his early life and military career, from which we epitomize the leading facts. His education, embracing a collegiate course, was interrupted when he was in his nineteenth year by his enlistment in the army for the war with Mexico. His parents and friends attempted to dissuade him from going, and the legal authorities were appealed to, on the ground of his minority, to nullify his enlistment; but with the de- cision and spirit which has always characterized him, young Negley determined to go, in spite of friends and family. Seeing this, his jiarents abandoned any further effort to detain him, and as a private 427 a MAJ-OKN JAMES S NEOLKY. of the First Ponusylvaniu Infiuitry ho iiiado the campaign from Vom Cruz to tho city of Mexico. While purticipatiug in the soige of Puobla, news reached his family that his health was much impaired, Tind his friends, throu';;!! their intluencr at Washington, procured his discharge direct Irom the War Department. Tliis reached young Negley immediately after the fall of Fuobla; but he indignantly re- fuseii to accept it, and remained on duty as a sei-geant, to which he had boon promotetl. until the close of tho wiu-. On his return to Pennsyh-iinia. Negley devoted himsi'lf actively to agriculture, and passionately to hoi ticultui-o. He is one of the most accomplished horticulturists in the country, and when in tl-.e field of war, his leisure hours were dovoteil to the study of Viuious fruits, flowers, and shrubs in which tho Southern fields and woods abounded. Many a march, long, tedious, exhausting, has been rendeivil delightful to his statf by his intoiTsting descriptive iilustrations of the hidden l^eauties and virtues cf fragrant flowers and repulsive weeds. He did not, meantime, lose his passion for arms. His militaiy ardor was not lost luuid his poaci^ful pursuits in his vineyards and g.u\lens, but during the thirteen j-ears of peace which followed the Mexicjin War, he took groat inteivst in the militia mattei-s of his State; and among his last acts as a Brig;\dier-General of Pennsylvania militia, was to earnestly urge on the Legislatui-e the thorough reorganization of the militia, in view of the civil wivr which he declared already threatenel had he been educated for speaking or writing, he would have used lan- guage with sinootliness, discrimination, taste and force. He ought to have been placed, if he has not been, in a position where talking is re- quired. "He has talent to understand and apply mechanism, to appreciate beauty and refinement, poetry and oratory. He values property, but is not craving or greedy to get it. He likes to make money and then enjoy it, and let those around him share it with him. He has real courage real executiveness, and warmth of temper, but is not malicious, vindictive, selfish or cruel in spirit. " He is stern and firm when his mind is made up and feelings settled; is not overstocked with self-esteem; confides in himself, bat is not haughty; is ambitious to be approved, and to please his friends and the community, but he feels under obligations to do right, whether friends are pleased or not. " He can keep his owncounsel, and is not inclined to tell that which would damage himself, his cause, or his friends. Socially, he is loving and warm-hearted, always gallant, interested in children and pets, in friends in general, and in woman in particular. He clings to liie, feels a desire to prolong his existence as much as may be, and would defend himself against enemies, rise above bad climates and exposure, and by the force of will resist diseases. " He has resj)ect for sacred subjects, sympathy for those in distress, and willingness to render assistance as he has 02:)portunity." Since General Negley's advent in Congress, he has made rapid strides in statesmanship. Eis advocacy of home manufactures, par- ticularly the building of our own steamships, has enlisted the press and public generally in his praise. From the Daily Morning Chronicle, Washington, D. C, July 20lb, 1S70, we extract the following : " The letter of the Hon. William H. Seward to General James S. Negley, Representative in Congress from the 22d District of Pt.mn- ^ 420 MAJ.-GEN. JAMES S. NEGLEY. 5 sylvania, printed in to-day's issue, merits the careful perusal of all Americans. It is an unqualified indorsement of the princip:e3 so earnestly advocated by General Negley during the last session of Congress. The letter was written before the war-cloud rose in Europe, and therefore does not discuss the immediate urgency of our commercial necessities. But General Negley had undoubtedly fore- seen the certainty, if not the time and place, of the present issue in Europe, when he delivered his masterly speech on commercial and shipping interest on the 11th day of May, and excl-imed: ' There are at present many political combinations, which may at any time precipitate a general war in Europe.'" These prophetic words he used while pleading for prompt legisla- tive action in favor of American shipping and ship-building. Again, he said, "the indications are becoming clearer every day that the commercial supremacy of northern Europe ought to termin- ate," and the conclusions to be derived from the present complications in Europe seem tojustify every word uttered by him on that occa- sion. " It is now evident that the North German flag is unsafe for com- mercial carriage. It is very doubtful how long England will main- tain her safeguard of neutrality, and there is no longer a mere theory about the question whether or not the time has amvedfor the American flag to assume its legitimate sphere on the ocean. " ' Now IS OUR TIME FOB action!' Said General Negley, and events have proved that he was right." The General's home at " Shady Side "is a perfect paradise, both outside and in. His handsome residence is completely embowered in flowers; but fair as those outside are, there is a fairer one inside; one that might, a little over a year ago, have been termed a maiden- bhish. We allude to his charming young wife, whose gracious and elegant deportment adds a charm that is highly appreciated by the General, -nd all who partake of their hospitable cheer 4.31 6 MAJ GEN. JAMES S. NEGLICY. In person the General is above medium height, and proportion- ately built, elegant in looks, genial ami courteous in manner, and ex- tremely kind to Ilia inferiors and those in his employ. He commands Ihe respect of all who know him, and is esteemed at home an excellent representative man of the wants and interests of his locality. We aro indebted to " Leisuek Houbs " for the foregoing sketcll. 432 O^i^-^^ -c^ ^ /z-*^ c^ JOHN F. HENET. ?|JOHN FRANCIS HENRY is one of the most remarkable Jv^ men of the age. It is but a few years since he began life with- ^""^ out means; and, with no other capital than his brain, he has not only acquired a fortune, but has attained a position of emi- nence in his business in so short a space of time, that it seems forced upon us to say "Here is a study for young men who desire to succeed in the legitimate accumulation of wealth. Here is an example, a model in eveiy respect worthy your emulation." How has he accomplished success ? Not by speculation; nor reck- less venture ; nor undue advantage; but by the exercise of judg- ment, by indomitable perseverance, by an unswerving determination to carry out his purposes and intentions. With an intuitive per- ception, he matures his plans when he forms them, and accom- plishes them without material change, and against all opposition. In this respect he is superior to most men who deUberate too long, and who vacillate too easily ; and in this lies the secret of his suc- cess. His mind is made up at once on every subject of importance, and with far-reaching perceptive faculties, he sees the end as soon as he sees the beginning. He comprehends things in then- entirety rather than in detail, and grasps at unerring conclusions with the rapidity of intense mental concenl ration. He was bom in the town of Waterbury, Vt., on the 25th of Febru- ary, 1834, and is therefore but thirty-seven years of age; and even now he is the King of the " Household Medicine" trade, and has made his great warehouse in New York the fountain-head whence druff- 4.33 Kistsinall parts of the world obtain their supplies of American propr.etary medicines. In a recent article in one of our periodicals, a writer states that the entire proprietary medicine business of the world is some ten millions annually, of which Mr. Henry alone does about three millions, or nearly one-third. It is a matter of absorbing interest to ioUow his successful career from its commencement up to the present time, and to note that in no single instance is any act oi" his life characterized by avaricious over-reaching or miserly scheming. He has never impoverished others to enrich himself. On the contrary, he is distinguished for his charities ; he is liberal to his employees, to whom he pays larger salaries than many other princely merchants of our time; dealing lib- erally with all his clerks, in a democratic spirit, rather than paying large salaries to one or two, and keeping the rest at the lowest point possible, as is so often done, by many who copy the custom of European merchants in this respect; and his contributions to re- ligious societies are charabteristic of his liberaUty in other respects, and are in harmony with his o[)en-hearted benevolence, which, in general, is but little known to the outer world. He sprang from an old and illustrious family. The Henrys of Ver- mont have figured prominently in the political world for many years; and on his mother's side, the Gale tiimily are well and favorably known, one of whom, the late Judge Gale, of Galesville, Wisconsin, attaimd an enviable position on the Bonch in that State, having been for many years judge of the Supreme Court and cliairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate. Both his father and grand- father were members of the Vermont Legislature, and from them he inherited all the pride and independence of spirit that belong to natures not born to go contentedly through life without an effort to rise above mediocrity and to contend bravely against adveisity. From his early boyhood he earned his own livelihood, and when, in the Spring of 1851, his father met with reverses that threatened to impov- erish their family, he told his father that he must either go to 434 JOHN F. HENRY. 3 California, or travel through the country in the medicine business, as he (his father) had done. To both these schemes there were ob- jections. He was but a boy; and his father had Httle confidence in his ability to succeed in either case, but as he had determined to do something to recruit their fallen fortunes, it was finally settled that he should travel, and off he started, bag in hand, on foot. He was to meet his father at Burlington, and thence to cross Lake Champlain, and go on alone to Fort Ticonderoga, a place which was, years ago, celebrated by the memorable achievement of Ethan Allen, who demanded the surrender of the fort " In the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress. It is possible young Henry's father thought that he would by that time become so tired and disheartened with the task he had undertaken that he would be ready to emulate the British general on that occasion, and quietly surrender. In fact he thought it better for him to return to the com- forts of home, and, no doubt, hoped that the hard task he had given him would induce him to abandon so serious an undertaking for a boy of his years. But John was not so easily discouraged. The work was new to him. He had accounts to collect for various parties, one of whom is now the Hon. Sinclair Tousey, President of the Am. News Co., and chairman of the Republican General Committe of the City of New York, and others who have since attained to more or less celebrity. His success was even greater than he had anticipated. It is true it was tiresome traveling on foot with his heavy carpet- bag, but he was indefatigable in his exertions, and no doubt collect- ed accounts and made sales where many a less detormiiied' young man would have given up the enterprise in despair. In fact his father felt so certain that he would return home to the comforts and allurements which usually pro^-e such strong attractions to youth, that he even did not go to Port Kent, the town appoint- ed as the place of meeting, and John was obliged to go some dis- tance further to meet him. " Hallo ! John !" was his father's greeting, with some astonish - 435 i J 11 N F . H K N H V . mt-nt at seeing the young man there, wheu he supposed he was on his way home. " Well ! ready to go home now, I suppose ?" "No, sir; lam ready tu go nn. I am not going to give it up yet." " H'm ! Well, what luck have you had ?" " Pretty good," and he showed the results of his labor, with which his ftither was so much pleased that he finally consented to allow him to "try it again." For two days they traveled together ; and it was quite a relief to the 'foot-tired boy to make his trips from town to town in a wagon, even for this short time. In this way they went as far as Brasher, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., when his father returned, and John proceeded on foot through St. Lawrence, Jefiferson, Lewis, Oneida, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Fulton and Saratoga Counties, and at Saratoga Springs he again met his father, with the horse and wagon. It was a joyful meeting. The father was more than pleased with the success and determination of his son. He justly thought that there was not one boy in a million who would not have returned home discouraged under the circiunstances. In his eyes he was no longer a boy — he was a man, at least, in intelligence and enterprise, if not in stature. He had accomplished what many men woidd have failed to do, and enthusiastic admiration was not to be wondered at. "You have done first-rate, John. You have helped me more than I could have lielj^ed myself I am getting out of debt, thank God, and I begin to hope again. You have more than earned a horse and wagon ibr yourself, and you shall have this one hereafter, and travel no more on foot." So, after arranging their plans, his father returned home by rail, and John continued on, via Troy, Albany, etc., to New York, and for the first time entered the great city, about which he had heard and read so much, but knew so little. His stay there was short. With a boyish dread of pit-falls and snares, he avoided all places of JOHN F. HliNKY. 5 amusement, and confined liis visits to the stores of men with whom he had business. Among other places, he went to the store of Mr. Oiickener, and bought a supply of medicine, for which he paid in cash the full price demanded. One of tl,e clerks, thinking it a good oppor- tunity to have some sport at the expense of a green country boy said: " They have very fine horses in Vermont, where you came from I believe." ' " Yes sir, I believe they have," John modestly replied. " Very large fine horses." " Yes, sir." "Well, now," continued the very dry joker, with a leer at his companions, preparatory to the big ^^ sell" he was over-confident of getting off, " do you think you could get me a fine, nice, large, fast horse thera for about fifty dollars .?" "I think," said John, who began to take in the situation "that you can get just the kind of horse you want right here in New TorJc; and just as good a horse as-you are able to pay for." This turned the laugh on the would-be wit, and John retired amidst the plaudits of the clerks. Back he went to his team, wast- ing no time in idleness in the metropolis, and continued his route to Albany, Schenectady, Utica, &c. He was gone, on this trip, in all, from April to November, and earned money enough in that time to pay all his father's debts, and place the family above want. This had been his aim from the fii-st, and he had yielded to no temptation to loiter by the way, till his design was fully accomplished. He made a second and third trip the following year, and in this hardy school his business habits and principles were formed. His ambition was to succeed in whatever he undertook, and up to this time, has never met with a single failure. In the Spring of 1854 he went out on the road again, having spent a considerable part of the previous year or two in going to^school 437 6 JOHN F. UliNKY. and in teaching, in which he was eminently successful, his energy as a teacher being as fully displayed as when in business. On this trip, having accumulated means wherewith to operate, he adopted a new method in regard to accounts he was collecting, and tliat was to buy them out altogether from the original holder, at as low a figure as he could get them, and take his own risk in collecting. In some instances he bought old accounts at 5 and 10 per cent, of their nominal value, and by perseverance in collecting, he turned one dollar into ten, and ten into a hundred. His unparalleled suc- cess in this transaction may be considered as the foundation of his fortune, for ever afterwards he was on the qui vive for some appar- ently valueless bundle of papers, out of wi.ich he felt assui-ed he could make thousands by his own peculiar method of perse- verance in -working them up. In the Fall of 1854 he again engaged in teaching school in the northern part of New York State, in St. LawienceCo.; and it was while there that he met the daughter of Prof. BaiTett, the gramma- rian; and this estimable young lady be married about a year after- wards, having in the interim returned to his native town and pur- chased the drug store there, preparatory to settling down, a fully fledged business man. His father retained the outside traveling business, which had largely increased through liis son's indefatiga- ble efftn-ts, but the store was John's, paid for with money of his own earning, and the sign over his store was then, as it is to-day, "John F. Henry," in his own name alone. He also provided money for the education of his sisters, and for the assistance of his brothei-s, the oldest of whom, William, went to California, but subsequently returned, and was allowed a partner- ship in the general Inisiness, which was then consolidated under the name of James M. Henry & Sons, and comprised the entire business on the road, as well as in the store. In all this John was the moving spirit, and kept urging the busi- ness on to broader fields and gieater prosperity. He now began to 438 JOHN F. Hi:XRY. • 7 be recognized as a young man of sterling worth and influence, and was chosen as one of the trustees, or committee, of his church, and was appointed to fill various offices in his town, the duties of all of which he discharged with punctillious fidelity. lu the Fall of 1859 he started a branch store in Montreal, Canada, againfst the advice of friends, and with the reluctant consent of his father. Duty was then 30 per cent, on medicines, and Canadians flattered themselves that this would effectually keep out American enterprise, but they were mistaken, for one fine morning John opened his shop right under their noses, and solved the mystery of evading imports by manufacturing on the spot, and in a few years the business there became the largest of the kind in Canada, and retains its prestige even to this day, althouo-h Mr. Henry sold out his entire interest therein some three ye^rs ago. On the breaking out of the late war with the South, the Henry family proved their extreme loyalty both in men and means. Three brothers joined the army, and John contributed liberally of his pecuniary substance. One of the brothers, Edwin, as fine a young man as any among that vast army of martyrs to principle, was killed in the last victorious battle of Petersburg; and a monu- ment now perpetuates his name and noble deeds in his native town of Waterbury. The elder brother, Wilham W., was so general a fa- vorite that he rose rapidly through all the gradations from Lieutenant to Brigadier General; and on his return home he was almost unaui- muusly elected to the Senate of the State of Vermont, to which place he was twice again re-elected, each time with an increasing majority; and he has since held important places in civil and military offices in his State, among which are the Grand Commandery of the Grand Army of the Eepubhc of the State of Vermont, and the presidency of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Burhngton, Vt. The declining health of their father necessitated his retirement frcm business, and the firm was changed in 1862 to John F. Henry & Co. The subsequent three or four years were fruitful in 439 many changes. In 1863, tbeir father, James M. Hcmy, died, la- mented by a large circle of friends. Mr. Joiin F. Henry, subse- quently bought out all his partners, and for a while held the entire business in Vermont and Canada in his own name; and during the war the rapid advance in the prices of proprietary medicines almost doubled the value of the stock in trade, and in this way, by good management, he made over a hundred thousand dollars. In the Fall of 1866 he weut to New York, and took a partnership in the business with Uemas Barnes & Co., and he then had heavy interests in four large houses: one in New York, one in Waterbury, one in Montreal, and one in New Orleans. The latter was sooii closed, and wishing to give his entire attention to the business in N. Y., he subsequently sold out his interests in the Montreal and Wa- terbury houses. In the Fall of 1868 Mr. Henry bought out the entu-e business of Demas Barnes & Co., and removed to No. 8. College Place, where he now does the largest medicine business of any house in the world ! It is not in the province of this brief article to give any detailed description of his business, but suffice it to say that he carries a stock of over a quarter of a million of dollars, and sells nearly three millions a year, and the amount of his sales is constantly on the increase. He employs quite a little army of book-keepers, salesmen, clerks, packers, &c., all of whom are well paid, and none overworked. He does not carry business matters to his home, and allows no cares or perplexities incident to mercantile affairs to intrude upon the sacred precincts of his hearth-stone. He still retains the exu- herant spirit of his boyhood, and is wont to greet his family with cheerful smiles, and in their joyous circle to indulge in anecdote anil lepartee for their anmsement. He is extremely conscientious, and strongly averse to wasting money in luxurious indulgences and personal gratiiication, while so many needy ones daily cross his path, to whom the mouey, which might be so spent, is a far richer bless- ing, when bestowed, as he gives it, without ostentation or reluctance. 440 JOHN F. HENRY. 9 He is a regiilar attendant at the South Congi-egational Church, of which the celehrated Eeverend Dr. H. M. Storrs is pastor, and though not a member, is one of the trustees, and, we think, also one of the pew committee of that church. He is very active and energetic. Whim in Waterbm-y he carried on, in addition to his large wholesale establishment, a retail drug store, a book store, a livery stable, and also attended to his duties as post master. And now he not only has the entire management of his immense business in New York, to which he gives personal atten- tion, but is the largest stockholder — in fact, nearly entire owner of the Saratoga Spring Company, of which he is president — is also president of two large manufactuiing companies, and a prominent and influential director in several Insurance Companies, and in the Security Bank of New York; and a member of the Chamber of Commerce of N. Y., and of the Historical Society of Brooklyn. He infuses a spirit of enthusiasm into whatever he undertakes, and halts at nothing short of ultimate and complete success. How- ever arduous his duties, he slights nothing, nor leaves any task un- attended to. Mr. Henry is now one of the leaders in the Republican party of Brooklyn, where he resides, and his friends already look upon him as a candidate for Congressional or other high political honors. His influence amongst the members of his party is very great, and his personal acquaintance with the President, and his friendly relations with the Vice-President and other eminent men, give him a politi- cal status of no ordinary grade. In his habits he is extremely temperate, using neither tobacco nor spirits of any kind; and almost invariably spends his evenings at home, surrounded by his family, enjoying their society, and spend- ing the time in reading or social conversation, rather than in seeking for amusement or recreation elsewhere. In appearance, he is a fine-looking man, of light comjjlexion and spare build; is extremely courteous and affable; is social to an ex- tent that is sometimes almost detrimental to his interests, and often al- lows his friends to trespass too much upon his time. His desk is in the common office, and no cerberus of a janitor ever bars the entrance or intrusion of any visitor to his presence. His customers, let them come I'rom whatever part of the world they will, are always sure of a hearty greeting and a welcome personal reception at his hands. In his own modest estimation, he has but just laid the broad and solid foundation on which he is eventually destined in the future, if life and health are spared, to raise the great superstructure of prosperity and affluence; and in the estimation of his most inti- mate friends, he fully deserves the richest rewards that fortune can bestow upon energy, discrimination, keen perception, and a dis- position at once social, kind and charitable. 442 '/h) Cg .<^c^ COLON KL WILLIAM NICIIOLAIS OOLER. /fEll^S^HE story of every life, were it written, would be iuterest- r^ ing- Character is a philosopliieal study, as pleasing as it is ^1^ instructing. But few tilings transcend the gratification we deiive from such study. The ferreting out of the surround- ings and events of a life, and ascertaining to what extent each entered as a factor into the sum of its character, and the problem of its des- tiny, — especially is this true of the study of the earlier part of any life. It is supposed that the early home and .its surroundings — the house, the barn, the yard, the fields, the sweep stretching its long arm over the well-curb, the stump down by the gate, the little grass tufts growing in the fence corners, the graceful lawn of the red blossomed clover fields, the father and mother, the brothers and sis- ters, each and all contribute something to the character. Also, the old scliool-house and its play-grounds, the teachers, like Goldsmith's garulousold hero, or some bright-eyed, intelligent, fair young maiden from "the land of steady habits," tlie school-fellows, tlie wild, rollicking, daring boys, as rougli as bear-cubs, the more timid but not less lively girls, the companions and society of young man- hood, the adverse circumstances, the antagonisms and struggles, the hardships, the discipline of early poverty, the trials and disappoint- ments which lay along the path of life, pressed by the eager feet of youth, and through which the way must be carved to fortune if carved at all — all these doubtless score their impress deeply, repress, develojje, mould, fashion and shape the character, and give direction to the life. Climate and country, atmosphere and scenery have, without douljt, much also to do in forming and giving bent to both mind and heart. 443 2 COL. W I 1. 1. I A M N. OOI. ICR. Tlie iuliabitants of mountain districts partake of the ruggedness and boldness of their native hills. So too, the inhabitants of the great West, in their characteristics, partake of the largeness, breadth and richness of the country. These magnificent distances, stretching across prairie and woodland, this ainpleaess of room, where there is no necessity for elbowing each other out of the way : there corn- fields of ten thousand acres, and prairie lawns of many leagues in area ; rivers which thread a continent in their course, and lakes wliich are oceans in extent ; — all these impress their largeness upon the men and women of the West. The Mississippi Valley, not only grows large fields of Indian corn, and largo droves of cattle — herds from whence comes the beefsteak which gives Talmadge his fire, and New York dignitaries their alderman ic proportions — which, perhaps, too, by some mysterious chemical ])rocess, has something to do with Sumner's polished roundness, Emerson's philosophic dreamings, Longfellow's finished poesy, the clarion war notes of the peaceful quaker poet, and the "jaggered sharpness" of Gilbert Havens' "porcupine quill" — but it grows great men also ; statesmen, war- rioi-s, orators, poets, preachers, business men. From this field has come Clay, Lincoln, Douglas, Chase, Trumbull, Benton, Colfax, Grant, Simpson, Thompson, and hosts of others, eminent in every department of human elforts ; — stars of the greatest magnitude, gleam- ing in the constellation of American genius aiid greatness. Here, the firet impressions made on the child are those of vastness, and largeness— ideas which inter-penetrate his whole mental and moral nature, grows np with him, form and fashion him after their own model. The Western man despises narrowness and littleness. He has no sympathy with a penny trade, and petty details. He never could have patience to manufacture wooden nutmegs, when at the same time he could construct a Railroad, build a city, or make money enough in a single day to honestly pay for a ship-load of the genuine article. Col. William Nicholas Coler, (spelled " Roller " until a few gen- erations back,) is a Western man, and partaken largelv of Western 444 COL. WILLIAM N. COI. ER. Characteristics. A representative of its large brain, big heart, and broad views-a despiser of littleness, careless of details, but strong massive, and broad in generalities-a genuine American, and o,^ ot nature's noblemen. He was born near Mount Vernon, Knox county, Ohio, March 12th, A. D. 1827. His parents were very poor. Let the mind pic- ture a lonely cabin, in the beoch-forests, by the side of a road seldon. frequented by strangers. Around it is a "clearing" of a few acres, redeemed by hardest toil from the woods. It is dotted with stumps interspersed with " girded " trees which stretch their dea,l branches aloft like the giant arms of some gaunt spectre. The door-yard is destitute of grass and shrubbery. The cabin itself is one room sixteen or eighteen feet square, built of logs and covered with " clap- boards. ' The spaces between the logs are chinked with pieces of wood and daubed with yellow clay. The chimney is built of sticks and clay, and is entirely outside of the house. The " fire-place " is large, and is furnace, parlor and cooking-stove combined. The floor IS of -punchin." There are a few side-beds in the corners, a rude hand-loom in the back part of the room, a few plain chairs or stools a rough table, and some iron pots, dutch ovens, and tin pans for cooking pui-poses. Look upon such a scene, and you have a picture ot the genuine Western cabin of forty years ago. In just such a - -J ./—^cf^v^. ill jubL Bucn a home did Lincoln hve in his boyhood days. In just such a place as this CoL Ooler first saw the light, and spent the years of his child hood. His father's cabin, however, was hardly equal to the average His parents were indeed poor, but they were descended from an .llustnous and wealthy ancestry. His father, Isaac Coler ,vas of German and French extraction. His grea tgrandmother was a Montmorency. His great grandfather, a man of wealth, and related by blood to some of the best families of the German and French border. He settled in Philadelphia-was a large ship owner, but lost his entire wealth by cruisers during our Revolutionary struo-de and was left in poverty. He emigrated to Virginia with his family' where the grandfather of the Colonel grew up, where his own fathe^ 445 was bom, and from whence be emigrated to Ohio. The mother of Col. Ooler was Amelia Nicholas, the daughter of Theresa De Moss. His maternal ancestry can be traced back through an illustrious line to Gerard, fii-st Duke of Lorraine, who received his patent of no- bility from Henry III., in the middle of the ninth century. From Gerard has come the present reigning house of Austria, and the house of Orleans, together with many houses and distinguished fam- ilies of lesser note. It is a great mistake to suppose that all the early settlers in the West were of the lower classes of society. Many of them were de- scendants of a noble ancestry. Many of them were men and wo- men of mental and social culture — of energy and force of character, but broken down in fortune and crushed in spirit. Many a lady who would have graced a palace has reigned, and still reigns, in a cottage or in a cabin. At eight, young Color lost his mother by death. Of her he says : " I was too young to know my loss then, but I have thought of it since. Prom my recollections of her she must have been a very su- perior woman— a woman in mind and heart far above her station in life. The lessons she taught me were such, I know now, as no ordin- ary woman would or could teach her son. They made an indelible impression upon me, and to one particular conversation she had with me, I owe the impulse which has been the strongest influence which has shaped my character and controlled my life." What such a na- ture as her's must have suffered in its privations can never be told. After his mother's death he remained at home, worldng on the farm with his fiither, and working by the month for neighboring farmers, earning something to help support the family, until he was eighteen years of age. His advantages of acquiring an education, in the meantime, were limited. A few odd days in the winter months spared from the drudgery of labor and spent in the district school, were all the advantages he had until his sixteenth year. His father's house was poorly supplied with books. But his thirst for knowl- edge could not be suppressed ; he borrowed books and read them at 446 COL. WILLIAM N. C () L E B . night by fire-light. When in school his active mind mastered his lessons almost intuitionallj. His capacity was such that every class- mate was left far behind in the race. So that, notwithstanding his disadvantages, he became a respectable English scholar, besides hav- ing acquired a great deal of general and useful knowledge. By ex- tra labor, and teaching school a terra or two, he was enabled to spend a short time in the academy at Mount Vernon, where he studied the higher mathematics, the natural sciences, and gained a fair, though not critical knowledge of Latin. In A. D 1845, he enlisted as a soldier in the Second regiment Ohio volunteers, commanded by Ool. G. W. Morgan, late General, and now member of Congress, and served one year therein in the' Mexican war as a private and non-commissioned officer, following the fortunes of that regiment. An incident of this early soldier- life, as it illustrates a quality of the coolest daring, as well as the es- timation which his superior officei-shad of his prudence and courage, is worthy of notice. It was necessary, if possible, to get dispatches from Ceralvoto Camargo, through the Hues of the Mexican army, which lay between the two places. Young Coler, and a comrade by the name of Berry were solicited to undertake tliis important and most dangerous work, as they were reckoned two of the coolest and bravest men in the regiment. They accepted the perilous under- taking. The night was dark and gloomy, the country comparatively unknown to them. Covered as it was with dense chapaiTal, the loca- tion of the enemy could not easily be ascertained. Their camps must be avoided, and their pickets evaded ; the chances were all against them. But on they pressed their way, winding circuitouslv around the camp-fires, creeping through the dense chaparral and around the sentries— on, on they went, the enemies' camp-fires gleaming, now upon the right, now upon the left, now Just before them, yonder be- hind them, the least false step might betray them, the crackling of a twig, the rustling of a leaf, when the sentries' bullet would perhaps cut short their undertaking, and their lives together. But without faltering, o.nvard they pushed unfil they had passed the outermost 6 L . W I I. L I A Hr X . C O L K K . Mexican post picket, reacliing Cainargo in safety. For this dariug feat be was oflered a commissiou in the Regular Army. Had he ac- cepted it, there is no doubt but that he would have risen to position and honor in that calling. Upon the expu-ation of his term of service he returned home and entered into business as a tobacco planter on a small scale. With his own hands he cleared a piece of ground, laboring almost night and day upon it— planted, cultivated and harvested a fine crop, for which he received large returns. The next year he planted and raised another crop but lost it all by fire. It being all he had he was even with the world again. While splitting rails one day a wedge bounded from its place, giving him a severe and painful blow. Throwing down the maul he had in his hands, he said, "I am done with this kind of work forever." And sure enough he never from that moment tried it again. Immediately entering the law-office of Col. Morgan, he began the study of the law, but being short of funds, though not of resources, he, in company with a young friend, procured a galvanic battery and started on a tour of travel through the Southern and more Western States, lecturing up- on the wonders of galvanism and electricity. After making the tour of pretty nmch all the Southern States, he brought up at last in Whiteside county, Illinois, and engaged in teaching school. From Whiteside he w^ent to McLean county, auJ pursued for a while the same caUiug. Entering a law-office in Bloomiugtou, he completed his legal studies, and was admitted to the Bar in a. d. 1851. He had designed coming to Illinois upon leaving Ohio, and had brought with him letters of introduction to Stephen A. Doug- las, Abraham Lincoln, Judge Stewart, and Judge David Davis. Upon the advice of Abraham Lincoln and Judge Davis, he settled in Urbana, Champaign county, Illinois, and began the practice of law. But a mind and an energy like his could not be satisfied with the mere routine of a lawyer's office. Soon he opened a real estate office also, and at the same time established, edited, and published the Urbana Union, the Ki-st newspaper published in Champaign 418 OOL. WILLIAM N. COLEE. 7 county. His integrity, energy, judgment and superior business qualities soon drew the attention of capitalists. Business increased rapidly upon his hands. Besides the income from his profession he soon liad almost unlimited credit, and therefore the use of whatever capital he might desire. While locating lands for others he bought largely for himself. The county was developing at an almost fab- ulous rate ; these lands rose rapidly in value. Soon he added toliis other business that of banking, and in a short time became known as one of the wealthy men in that part of the State. This success however, was not reached without effort. His superior ability and transparent honesty could not fail to inspire the confidence of busi- ness men it is true, but then he was isolated, where he was, from most of the capital of the country. It was necessary for him to be- come known in the east as well as in the west. Almost the first thing he (lid, therefore, upon settling in Urbana was to go east and make the acquaintance of eastern capitalists. He and Douc^las had become warm personal friends. Douglas was in the Senate at that time, and the rising man of the nation. He had other friends there also. Their friendship admitted him to the friendship of other dis- tinguished men and capitalists. He had only to become known to be appreciated. The way to fortune was open at once. In A. D. 1860, he was a candidate for the Illinois State Senate his opponent being Eichard J. Oglesby, late Governor of Illinois; and notwithstanding the large majority of the opposing party in the Sen- atonal district, he ran several hundred votes ahead of his party, and was only defeated by a small majority. When the late Eehellion began he was a member of the Demo- cratic Central Committee for the State. He saw the danger which threatened the country, and witnessed with pain the vacillation of his party. He immediately wrote to Douglas, frankly tcllino. him his fears, and that, in his opinion, bad men meant mischief urging him to come to the West, which he did, and throw the power of his influence into the scale of the Government and sa^-e the par- ty and the country. 449 8 COL. WILLIAM X. COL KR. What the result iiiiglit Imve been had Douglas come out against the war, it is impossible to tell. Certain it is, that the whole Democratic party of the North-west would have gone with him. To Col. Coler as much, if not more than to any other man, we owe the result of llie course pursued by Douglas — a result that would have been felt /enfold more than it was, had the great statesman lived to steady the helm of liis party. He now threw all his energies, and the weight of his influence, into the scales of his country. He raised a regiment by his own ex- ertions, and offered its services along with liis own, to the Govem- ment — bearing from his own private purse the entire cost of recruit- ing and subsisting tbe regiment until it' was mustered into the serv- ice — spending in this way $8,500, which he has never asked the Government to refund to him. When tlie regiment was raised, the call made by the Government was already full, and the State authorities could not accept it. Leaving the men in camp, he went to Washington. Immediately upon his arrival he called at the White House, but such was the pressure there that many, for days, had been waiting to get an audience. He sent in his card, and shortly it was returned with the following written on the back of it : " Call at nine o'clock to-night. Lincoln." Nine o'clock was after business hours. When the hour arrived he went and was admitted. After the first greeting had passed, Lincoln said, " I wanted to have a quiet talk about old times." Sometime was spent.in conversation, the President calling up old incidents, and inquiring about old friends. Among other things, laughing over a little scrap of their ovm social history ; how that once, when they, in company with some other members of the bar were traveling from one county seat to another to attend court, and their team mired in one of the many prairie sloughs ; whereupon Coler, full of mischief, had taken Lincoln on his shouldei-s, " Abe's" long arms grasping him around the neck, and his long legs dangling at Coler's sides, while he i)lunged through the mud and water, bearing upon his shoulders the future President, and emancipator of four millions of human being:;. 450 OOL. WILLIAM N. OOLE] " What has become of our old friend for wliom we conducted the sheep case?" inquired Lincohi. Tliis client was defendant iu the suit, an honest, good natured old gentleman, but veiy ignorant, and weighing over three hundred pounds. Lincohi and Coler were lis attorneys. When the jury came iu the Judge gave their decis- -on, "judgment for the defendant." " What is the decision ?" said the old man, whispering to Lincoln. "Judgment for the defendant," he answered. "What does that mean?" asked the old man. "It means that the case has gone in your favor," Lincoln reijlied. Where- upon the old gentleman gave a chuckle which convulsed his whole frame, at the same time giving Lincoln such a punch with his mas- sive fist in the ribs that it almost bent him double. " What has be- come of our old friends?" he inquired, shaking with laughter. Thus passed the evening. A recommendation was given to Stanton to accept the regiment. But Stanton could do nothing toward receiv- ing it at that time. " Go home," said Lincohi, " and do not disband until you hear from me." He did. In the meantime the battle of Bull Eun came oif, and on the following day, July 22d, 1861, he received the following telegram : "Your regiment is accepted, report to military head-quarters, St. Louis, Missouri, without delay. A, Lincoln." On the same day a similar order came from Stanton, and on the next day the regiment started, and in due time was mustered into the service. It traversed a great part of the State of Missouri, stopping for a short time at Jefferson City, Otterville, Springfield, Ealeigh and other places. In the battle of Pea Eidge, it acted an important part through the first two days of the battle, and on the morning of the third day led the right of Gen. Sigel's charge ^vhich decided^he engagement in our favor. During the second day's fighting, the right wing of our army had been driven back over a mile, while our left wing had driven the enemy. A place called the " Elk Horn Tavern," in possession of the enemy, seemed to be the pivot around Avhich the two armies swung. Van Dorn had so arranged his lines that the space between lliem was an equilateral triangle. 451 10 C O L . W I L L I A M N . C <) L E E . The Elk Horn Tavern was the point where the two lines con- verged. Here were concentrated the enemy's strongest batteries, sii]>ported by the flower of the rebel army. At a late hour Friday night a council of war was lield, and it was agreed that Sigel slionld lead the attack upon this point the next morning. He massed his batteries in such a way, that their whole fire was con- centrated upon this point of the enemy's strength. An officer in the regular army, as quoted by John S. C. Abbot in Hai-per's Monthly for October, ISCG, in describing this part of the battle, says : " For two hours and ten minutes did Sigel's iron hail fall tliick as autumn leaves, furious as the avalanche, deadly as the Simoon. One by one the rebel pieces ceased to play ; onward crept our infantry ; onward crept Sigel and his terrible guns ; shorter and shorter grew the range. No charge of theirs could face that iron hail, or dare to venture on that compact line of bayonets. Again Sigel advanced his line, making another partial change of front, then came the order to charge the enemy in the woods, and those brave boys who had lain for hours with the shot of the enemy raining like hail upon them, and the guns of Sigel playing over them, rose up and dressed their ranks as if it had been an evening parade, and as the 'forward' was given, the Twenty-fifth Illinois moved in compact line, supported on the left by the Twelfth Mis- souri, and on the right by the Twenty-second Indiana, acting as skirmishers. As they passed into the dense brush they were met by a terrible volley ; this was answered by one as terrible, and tar more deadly. Volley followed volley, and yet on and on went that compact line of determined men. Steadily tlicj pushed the rebel forces until they gained more open ground ; here the confederate forces broke in confusion and fled. The day was ours." Colonel Coler commanded the Twenty-fifth Dliuois, the regiment which led the charge which gave us the battle of Pea Eidge. This was the regiment he had raised and fed until they were mus- tered into the service. A single incident, showing how that his coolness and forethought, as well as the bravery of the regiment 452 ooL. willia: and Sigel's genius, eoutributed to, nay, eecured the victory is wortl.y of mention. When the order was given to charo-e he'in- qun-ed, "Who supports me on the right?" It was not known After moving forward some considerable distance, and observing no support, usmg the discretionary power of a commanding officer he halted h,s men, and caused them to lie flat upon the ground until tlie 22d Ind. moved up to las support, while shot and shell literally hlled the air over their heads. Some misapprehension or delay in the order had prevented them from coming up, and they were not yet there. Had he moved directly on without this precaution no eai-thly power could have saved his regiment from defeat Ex- posed as they were, their flank would have been turned and thus swept from the field, and other regiments on his left must have shared the same fate. This precaution saved the regiment, and, perhaps gave us the victory. How much often hangs upon the coolness and' forethought of a single man ! To him and to his regiment largely belongs the honor of the victory of our arms at Pea Rido-e a vic- tory which decided the fete both of Arkansas and Missouri for the remainder of the war. After the battle of Pea Ridge the regiment went to BatesviUe Arkansas, from whence they were transferred to the army of the' Cumberland, to aid in the movement upon Corinth under General Halleck, in which they participated. Shortly after the fall of Cor .nth, the regiment was transferred to Buell's command, and joined ■n the celebrated race between Bragg and Buell for LouisviUe A short time previous to tins march, however. Colonel Coler had re signed his command, but was still with his regiment. Circumstances beyond his control made it impossible for him to remain longer in the army. He had been conducting an extensive business before the war, and had invested largely in Southern stocks. The financi-d crash of 1857 had just passed; Secession, as with a breath had swept away the entire value of all Southern securities. For nearly two years he had been in the army fighting the battles of his coun- try just at the time when his business demanded his most care- 453 12 COL. WILLIAM N. f < ) I. r, R . fill supci-\-isioii and attention. This state of affairs made it neces- sary for him to resign, which he did not only with regret, but ao-ainst the utmost solicitations of his fellow-officers and men, and the expressed wish of General Grant, who offered to procure him a Bri'^adier-General's commission, if he would re-consider his purpose. '3ut others' interests as well as his own were involved in his business .•omplications, and however much he might cast his own aside, he was not a man to let another suffer through him, if he had the power to prevent it. The die was cast ; he came home. As a soldier, he had the esteem and confidence of all his fellow officers, and the admiration and affectionate regard of his whole command. " He was kind, generous, and brave ; an able officer and true patriot," is the testimony of one who shared the triumphs and trials of soldier life with him, from its beginning to its close. During the greater part of his stay in the army he had command of a brigade, and when he resigned had for some time been in command of the First Brigade, Second Division of the Fourth Army Corps. Upon returning home he found his business greatly embarrassed. Nearly one hundred thousand dollars had been swept away by South- ern repudiation. His absence in the army, at just the crisis in his affairs, led to th(^ loss of thousands more. He could not meet his liabilities. In a word, he was bankrupt. Some of his friends ad- vised him to go somewhere else and begin anew. " No," said he, '' I propose to stand my ground and face my difficidties, and retrieve my fortune right here." He did so. Engaging in his old business of land agent and broker, his old friends with capital stood by him. In a short time he had recovered from embai-rassment, paid all his creditors, and is now financially stronger than before the war. Pos- sessed of an ample personal fortune, he is known, at home and abroad, as one of the most reliable, honest and successful of business men. In reaching this result there has been no dishonesty, no knavery, not a dis- reputable business act, only the most legitimate and upright transac- tions. Such success, bv such means, argues a business capacity seldom 454 COL. WILLI surpassed in any country. In his own liome, such is the esteem in which he is held by his fellow citizens, that there is not a man, rich or poor, who envies him his success, but on the contrary, all rejoices in it. In A. D., 1S53, he was married to Miss Coi-delia Sim, the friend and love of his childhood and youth, an accomplished young lady of Knox County, Ohio, a lady every way worthy of such a hus- band. An intelligent, refined, and eminently Christian woman. His domestic relations have been of the most happy and pleasant character. His home is a palatial one, one of luxury and elegance ; but there is not a purer nor more happy one in the nation. Filled with healthy, frolicksome cliildren, presided over by the genial couple, who have earned it by their virtues and industry, it is truly an oasis, blooming with the verdure and flowers of taste and refine- ment, and musical with the ever bubbling and sparkling waters of pure affection; too seldom found in the social barrenness and parched desert of our American life. It would be impi-oper to close this sketch without giving a de- scription of the person, and an analysis of the character of whose histoiy we have been briefly sketching. In bodily presence Col. Coler is commanding. He is about five feet eleven and one-half inches in height, and weighs nearly one hundred and ninety pounds. He has no surplus flesh, and is yet full and round. His muscles are hard and firmly knit, and his health perfect. Of course, he is possessed of great strength, and in his younger days was reckoned among the most athletic, active and powerful young men in the country. He is a bundle of ener- gies and daring. It is said that when a child he was never known to be still or quiet. As he grew up to boyhood he became the ten-or of aU the boys in the neighborhood. He was high spirited, quick tempered, and though not quarrelsome, would walk half a mile any- time to fight a boy he did not like. Vivacious and fearless, every nerve trembling with energy, he was the very incarnation of mis- chief. And had it not been for the guiding hand of his mother, who 455 14 COL. WILLIAM N. CO I. EK. seems early to have understood his nature, given it direction and left her impress upon it, he might have become a curse to society instead of a blessing. As it is, the pugilistic tendencies and early irritabil- ity have all disappeared, while all his strong life, energy and will re- main to give strength and force to his character — enabling him to achieve results which those vfho have not these qualities can never accomplish. His mental qualities are of a high order. Of metaphysical acu- men, logical precision, quick and keen perceptions, of penetration if not brilliant imagination, of broad generalizing power, retentive memory, and ready utterances ; he is naturally possessed of those qualities of mind which will make themselves felt anywhere. Li his boyhood he borrowed " Locke's Essay on the Human Understand- ing," and devoured it with the greediness with which a boy may be supposed to devour molasses candy, or a simpering young belle the last sensational noveh "It was the most interesting book to me I had ever read," he said. He has an especial fondness for political economy, metaphysics and the higher mathematics. In his library you find such works as the following : John S. Mill, Walker, Perry, Says, Porter, Bestait, Bascomb, Bowen, Sir Wm. Hamilton, Locke, Watts, Compti, and others. All these have been studied and mas- tered by him. You find also the standard English and American poets ; histories, ancient and modern, standard works on Divinity, and natural sciences, the highest and purest works of fiction, and all ot our best essayists both European and American. In liis younger years he was somewhat of a poet, and sketch writer. Many of these effusions and efforts had an extensive circulation, having been copied largely into the various newspapers of the coun- try east and west. One fugitive piece, " Kind Words," has been floating around thus for twenty years and is still fresh. He was fre- quently solicited to become a regular contributor to our periodical and journalistic literature. Had he done so it is thought that he would have excelled as an essayist, and become no mean poet. 456 O I. . WILLI A M N . 15 As an orator lie is above the average. There is no doubt that if he had given more attention to this most difficult of aU arts, with his qualities of person, mind and heart, he would have taken a'front rank among American speakers. He was quick, readj-saw the re- lation of things, and read his hearers in a minute, and upon the stump could bring the crowd down almost equal to any "stumper" in the West. An instance of this was once witnessed in a political meeting during an exciting canvass. Douglas was appointed to speak-being a little late, Coler wa^ put up to fill in the time until he should arrive. He soon had the audience in an uproar of enthu- siasm. Douglas having amved took the platform and began in his dehberate way to address the people. He had not proceeded very far until it became apparent that the audience was growing restless. At length one man called out at the top of his voice, not knowing perhaps, who the « little giant " was, " For God's sake put that littlJ fool down and let Coler get up again." He is a man of large heart, ardent in his afieetions and tempera- ment, intense in his natiu'e— he is one of the kindest of men, and truest of friends. His happy face is always clothed with genial smiles. He is frank almost to a fault. Generous and benevolent his hand is always as open as his heart. He is a kind husband and an indulgent fiither. No one will ever accuse him of being cold heart- ed and selfish. The aged esteem him, the young ddight in his company, and little children love him. His charities are only lim- ited by his means. The poor and sufi-ering never appeal to him in vam, while no benevolent enterprise for the good of mankind is turned empty away. Colleges and churches feel the blessed power of his large donations, while at the same time every other claim upon his benevolence is met. There is no man in the West who ex- cels him in his benefactions in proportion to his means. His tastes and feelings are of the finest quality. Possessed of a disgust for everytliing coarse and low, no woman has finer sensibilities nor more delicate emotions and feelings. There is an undercurrent in his nature of tlie aeutest sensitiveness, and most poetic delicacv 457 • \i\ O L . W I I. L 1 A IM N . Cl> L K K . His religious convictlous and beliefs are very profound. " They are," ho says, " tlio strongest and inteusest convictions of my nature." His creed is orthodox and Arminian — tliat of the Mctliodist Episcopal church of which he is a worthy member. His faith in an especial Providence is unlimited, believing that God's su- pervision and watchful care extends to the minutest affairs and events of life — to the business, the secular and everyday occurrences, as well as to the moi-e spiritual interests of man — a Providence, not arbitrary and compulsory, moving the individual about as a machine, but suggestive, persuasive and protective. He is the farthest possi- ble from being a bigot. Free from all cant he is rather secretive than otherwise in his religious profession — liberal and tolerant in his views and feelings — ho believes more in doing than professing in the character than in the name of a Christian. Every Sunday when ho is at home finds him an attentive listener, and devout worshipper in his church, and a happy worker in the Simday School, teaching a large infant chiss with the tact and in- terest which only those who love little children can ever have. These children almost idolize him, his happy, genial nature finding a ready response in their pure, warm and unsophisticated hearts. As a business man he has always had the reputation of being scru- pulously honest, and has always been successful. His broad gener- alizing mind, keen insight, and rapid faculty of combination, enable him to see farther, decide quicker, and act more rapidly than most men. What othere would call recklessness is to him the coolness of caution, simply because he has already gone over in his thought the whole ground, and sees farther than they. His moral character has always been stainless. He passed through the Mexican and late wars, as well as mingled in business and politi- cjd relations with all kinds of men, and through it all, his lips* never uttered a profane word. He is a strong temperance man in theory and practice — he neither indulges in strong drinks nor uses tobacco in any form. He has helped many a yoimg man, struggling with poverty, to place and rcsiu'ctability. His whole life and character 458 00 L. WILLIAM N . O L E R . are worthy incentives to every young man striving for excellence and usefulness. Being now in the prime of life he has many years of honor, use- fulness and happiness before him. May heaven spare him to im- prove and enjoy them. 459 /!lll^uAJyyCa^^ WTLLARJ) GLAZIER SOLDIER, AUTHOR, AND JOURNALIST. BY F. RENEHAN. '0 write the biography of an individual whose life has been uniforrnlj commendable— whose motives and endeavors may ^p- be clearly traced to an honorable ambition, and a heart nat- uraUy well inclined, is a work agreeable enough to conceive of, but, withal, difficult of judicious execution. Where one has every- thing to approve and nothing to condemn— where every action re- viewed, bears upon itself the impress of its irreproachable origin and conception in conscientious conviction of duty and of right, it becomes, indeed, a perplexing task to indulge in well merited praise without, at the same time, touching upon the domain of fulsome flat- tery. The world is accustomed to find lights and shadows in the generality of prominent individual characters, and where these are lacking an imperfect picture is, in its estimation, an inevitable con- sequence. But there are those whose consistency, and sterling fidel- ity to preconceived ideas of truth and right is so marked, that, to ■ for, and give publicity to, the minor faults which they may have ■would be not only invidious, but absolutely unjust. In the following pages, therefore, we shall, from the requirements of the case, present a portrait without such darker tints as are generally deemed necessary to give prominence, by contrast, to the more ad- mirable and significant features of a subject. Willard Glazier, the subject of our sketch, is a native of the State of New York, he having been born in the town of Fowler, St. Law- rence county, on the 22d of August, 1841. His great-grandfather 4G1 2 WILL ARD OLAZIEE. Oliver Glazier, and great-graudmotlier, who were respectively of Irish and English nativity, settled in Eastern Massacliusetts at a period just anterior to the Colonial Revolution. Tiie former, though then but fourteen years of age, participated with the patriots in the battle of Bunker Hill, and to the last contributed his young enthusiasm and willing services to the cause he had espoused, thus giving early testimony of his devotion to the land of his adoption, and of fealty to the principles of popular government involved in the struggle for American independence. So remarkable an evidence of ancestral fidelity to the interests of civil liberty, could not but exercise a marked influence upon those of the same blood to whom the tradi- tion was handed down, and here we find in our subject, a scion of the third "•eneration, assisting in 1861, on the battle-fields of the South, in the maintenance of the liberty his progenitor had contributed to achieve in 1775, on the battle-fields of the North. This is not men- tioned as a singular fact— history is replete with just such coinci- dences — but merely for the purpose of suggesting the moral, that in mattei-s of patriotism, the son is only consistent when he imitates the example, and emulates the virtues of his sires. The father and mother of Captain Glazier settled in Northern New York with a view to devoting themselves to agricultural pursuits. The former, thrifty, energetic and persevering, naturally expected that a speedy competency would reward his enterprise and justify his venture. But in a region then but partially redeemed from the virgin forest, he had difficulties to surmount of which he had no pre- vious conception, and pecuniary reverses met him almost on the threshold of his endeavor. These reverses prevented him from giv- ing to his children the opportunities for mental culture that he desired, and young "Willard, by the time he attained his fifteenth year, had' only acquired the simplest rudiments of a common school education. His scanty draughts at the fountain of knowledge had only been periodical. "When eanh succeeding winter had passed and the spring sunshine again called the husbandman to the bleak and desolate fields, Willard, compelled to discard the books which had been liis cheriah- 4G2 WILLARD GLAZIER. ed companions in the viUage school, entered forthwith upon the un- congenial labors of the plowman, buoyant, however, and always un- complaining. Meanwhile, his occasional visits to the country school had developed in him an appetite for the acquisition of knowledge which soon became the controlling passion of his nature, and he be- gan to yearn for fields in which the brain might be exercised rather than the muscles and sinews of the mere material man. Thoroughly absolved with this idea, he fixed upon the select school of his nadve town as the institution best adapted to initiate him in the course suited to the fulfillment of his laudable ambition. His next thought was how to pi-ocure the means wherewith to enter its mysterious, and to him, sacred precincts. At this time fiu--bearing animals wore caught in considerable num- bers along those streams in northern New York which are tributary to the St. Lawrence. Professional trappers realized-respectable sums every year by following their avocation on the banks of the Oswe- gatchie and other neighboring rivers, and naturally enough, our young plowboy saw in the fur enterprise the complete fulfillment of hit new-born aspiration. His father was instantly consulted, the object of his young ambition divulged, and the trapping scheme discussed. Only one obstacle prevented the immediate trial of the proposed ex- periment. Willard's services on the farm were of the first impor- tance, and the then straitened circumstances of his family would not permit the employment of a hand to discharge the duties which de- volved upon his shoulders. The wings of his restless desire seemed about to be clipped ere yet they had made a single flight. Many a youth of fifteen. Under like circumstances, would have succumbed to the discouraging influences and allowed courage and hope, and the sense of a growing manhood to die out in their hearts, perhaps, for- ever. But he was made of better material, and felt the necessity of a struggle even against fate if success must be attained. After re- viewing the situation and measuring his probable chances in the final result he concluded that, with the paternal consent, he would, upon his own reiponsibility, risk the employment of a substitute at the 4G3 4 WILLARDGLiZIEE. plow, and, meanwhile test the value of, what proved to be, his hap- pily conceived idea. His purpose was carried into execution, and success even beyond his most sanguine expectations rewarded his im- tutored experiments in the trapping vocation. "With the proceeds of his labor he paid his employee upon the farm at the rate of fif- teen dollars a month, and still found himself the possessor of a part • of the means essential to his educational advancement. Justly ela- ted with the good fortune attending his first unaided exertions, and convinced that self-reliance and perseverance in the prosecution of any legitimate design are the great requisites to its perfect accom- plishment, he entered the select school in which his first hopes had centered, and at once commenced to prepare himself for an academic course in the " Gouverneur Wesleyan Seminary," the entering of which was now considered the second round in the ladder of his up- ward progress. This part of his plan he carried into effect in tiie fall of 1857, and at the Institute prosecuted his studies diligently for two consecutive terms, up to the opening of 1858. His funds being now exhausted he returned to his home, and again the monotonous routine of farm labor employed his days and consumed the valua- ble time he would have devoted to higiier and more agreeable pur- suits. In the fall of this year he once raoi'e entered the Gouverneur Academy, his spring and summer savings being, he thought, sufficient to carry him through another term of his academic com-se. At its close his slender resources were entirely exhausted, and some new expedient must be tried by which to acquire the means to continue his oft interrupted studie-i. Propitious fortune led him to apply to the school Commissioner of his Assembly District for a position as teacher, which he obtained after passing a very creditable examina- tion, and was forthwith assigned to duty in the town of Edwards, St. Lawrence county, in the month of November, 1858. He had now attained his seventeenth year, and it became proper for him to deter- mine what should be the permanent occupation of his maturer years, so that he might at once prepare himself for its particular duties and responsibilities. Teaching had a peculiar charm for him, and the 464 W I L I. A R n little school at Edwards assisted iu the development of his ability as an instructor, which he soon learned to look upon as his true voca- tion. But to fill the measure of his desires he must be thoroughly proficient. Inadequate or superficial knowledge, he very properly considered but slender stays upon which to sup])ort the dignitv and honor of the teacher's profession. With a view, therefore, to fit himself thoroughly for the high and responsible duties of that call- ing, he resolved upon entering the State Normal School at Albany, and the monthly stipend received from the school at Edwards must now be treasured as a fund with which to facilitate that object. In the month of September, 1859, he was enabled to carry out his cherished purpose, and he placed his name, on the roll of the ISTor- mal School full of bright anticipations, and confident of a final triumph over fate and adverse circumstances. But he had failed to calculate the lasting qualities of his scanty purse, and when he had barely entered the arena to which he had fondly looked as the scene of his future successes, the curse of penury again forced him out into the rugged "work-day world," and away from the haunts around which clustered his higher hopes and warm- est aftections. Again he sought and obtained a school — this time at Schodack Center, Rensselaer county, from whence, after teaching a short term, he returned to Albany to resume his studies, but only to repeat his former experience. Wearied with his unrequited strug- gles, but not dismayed or disheartened, he retraced his steps home- ward, and in the sunmier of 1860 organized and taught a select school in the town of Edwards, which he conducted with singular ability until the winter of 1860-'61, when he assumed charge of the public school at East Schodack or Scott's Corners, as it was variously named, in Rensselaer county. In the spring of 1861, the main pur- pose of his life still unforgotten, and his modest purse partially re- plenished, he returned to the Normal Institute at Albany, ?,nd with renewed vigor, resinned his pursuit of the object for the possession of which he had contended so long and unremittingly. Dp to this period, it will be perceived, a single controlling passion 46r) « W I r, T, A R n O I, A 7, 1 K K . influonced the very delibcnito action of our youthful worker in edu- cational ticlds— an absolute greed for scholastic knowledge. In his progress to its acquisition a moral power, a strength of will and a ■perseverance invulnerable to difficulties were all developed in his character, and though he never reached the exact goal toward which he jounievi'd, it was not because these virtues had become dormant in liis nature, but because duty compelled him to other fields where- on his country demanded his hearty assistance and liis highest sac- rifices. The ominous thunder which rolled up from Foi't Sumter in 1861, startling tlie entire Nt)rtli, awakening its people from their dreams of jioaco and tiie nation from its repose, had scarcely died away upon the breeze which bore it to our doors, when the citizen soldiery of the endangered republic were prepared for the bloody struggle of which it was the dreadful portent. Among the first to enter tho military service of the country was the young subject of our notice. Leaving the Normal School at Albany, he repaired to Troy, New York, and enlisted as a private in the "Harris Light Cavalry," on the 6th day of August, 1861, he then being but nineteen yeai-s of age. To the record of this regiment there is no occasion to refer. Its history is to be traced in almost every memorable engagement along the line of the Potomac, from the disaster at Manassas to the crowning glory of the war before the rebel trenches in the vicinity of Richmond. Willard Glazier was everywhere a sharer in its toils and dangere, and a participator in its triumphs and defeats. But his career was marked by more episodes of almost romantic interest than usually fell to the lot of his no less courageous comrades in arms. Of these there is no occasion to speak in detail ; his own graphic pen has pictured them with becoming modesty in those admirable contribu- tions to the literature of the war, " The Capture, Prison-Fen and Escape," "Three Tears in the Federal Cavalry," and "Virginia's Battle-Ficlds." This sketch, however, would be incomplete were these evidences of his sterling character and unswerving patriot- ^ 4'36 WILLABD GLAZIER. 7 ism entirely overlooked, especially since tliey evince in an eminent 'degree the same moral strength, fixedness of purpose and faith in final success vfhich had marked his earlier and more peaceful en- deavors. It has already been stated that he participated in most of the actions in which the Army of the Potomac was engaged. But he was not the only one of the family now maintaining the tradi- tional honor of his name upon many battle-fields. His fiither proudly bore a musket in the Ninety-second New York Infantry, and many of his brave comrades live to-day to attest his presence in the deadly struggle of the seven days. Two uncles and two cousins shared the campaigns of Northern Virginia, and three of these sleep in graves to which they were consigned by the bullet and the shell. Through the fiery furnace, however, Willard invariably passed in comparative safety, though not always entirely unscathed nor with- out monitions of his proximity to a soldier's honorable death. At the second battle of Manassas, whilst carrying a message fi-om Gen- eral Ivilpatrick to General Bayard, a bullet passed through his hat and at the same instant his horse was killed under him. Again, at the cavalry battle of Upperville, Va., fought June ISth, 1863, ho lost his horse in the van of the conflict, and in the cavah-y fight at Buckland Mills, October 19th of the same year, a horse was again slain under him, and he himself fell bleeding and senseless beneath the hoofs of retreating and advancing squadrons. Awaking at length to a state of semi-consciousness, he vaguely realized the desolation and solemnity of his situation — he was wounded and a prisoner. Together with other prisonei-s, he was at once conveyed under uuard to "Warrenton, whence he was removed to Culpepper, and then successively to the prisons at Eichmond, Danville, Macon, Savannah, Charleston and Columbia. The story of his prison life is replete with varied information and incidents, though, perchance, too much encumbered with instances of human suffering on the one side, and human depravity on the other, to attach to it more than a morbid, or at least a melancholy, interest. Like the lives of the thousands 467 S -WIL LARD GLAZIER. of olhei-i who endured multiplied agonies of body and mind under the vigorous and sometimes barbaric discipline of the Libbjs and Aiidersonvilles of the 'South, his became so galling a burden that death itself were preferable to continued endurance — the grave a welcome rest and repose. The value of freedom was never so thor- oughlv appreciated as now that dungeon bars stood between him and its full possession. Liberty, however, must be regained if pos- sible, even though danger and death lurked in the road that led out into the bright and happy world. His course once determined upon, his natural, but long dormant, energies were instantly bent to the hazardoits enterprise. The brain, which in his earlier days had never lacked for an expedient, did not fail him now, and his cour- ageous heart trembled under no forebodings as to the probable con- sequences. His plans perfected, and the opportune moment arrived, on the 20th of November, 1SG4, more than one year after his cap- ture, he cleared bis prison limits and found himself a free man once more, though still upon the soil of South Carolina. Pushing forth- with in the direction where Federal troops were, in his judgment, most likely to be found, he struggled on through difficulties and dangers dm-ing the succeeding nights and days up to the 15t.h of December, when weary, footsore, oppressed with hunger and his heart growing faint under the weight of constantly accumulating trials, he was recaptured by a scouting party of the enemy and his face again turned in the direction of the Prison-Pen — the late scene of his privations and bitter sufferings. On the journey, however, he succeeded in effecting his escape, but was retaken on the same day and placed under more vigorous surveillance. But the brief liberty he had experienced, though tasted in bodily anguish and continued anxiety, was so sweet that his appetite for its further enjoyment must be gratified at all hazards, and despite the bayonet and the ball. Accordingly he was sleeplessly on the alert, and at last, elud- ing the vigilance of his guards at Sylvania, Ga., on the 19tli day of December, was in flight for the Federal lines, which, to his intense joy, he succeeded in reaching on the 23d of December, after twenty- 4G8 LARD O L A Z I K le . eight days of incessant toil and misery lieroically endured on tl.e b.ghways and in the swamps of South Carolina and Georgia. _ Tins portion of our young sol.liei-'s career is full of wliolesome instruction. It teaches a lesson that might be learned with advan- tage by older and reputedly wiser men. It speaks eloquently of the n..=».e,.. of those elemente which must enter into the prosecutio/ „ " =- i^.iici iui,u uie prosecutioi ot every successful endeavor. It evinces a will strong and vio-orous without perversity; an energy untiring, but active onlv in laudable pursuits; a quickness of conception and a promptitude in execu- tion virtues always admirable, but especially so in one who was reaUy the architect of his own character before he Iiad even ap preached what are generally termed the years of disc.vtion As soon as practicable after his retui-n to the Federal lines, Captain Glazier reported himself for duty, and to the close of tlie war con- tinned to manifest in action his devotion to the republic and an utter • abnegation of self wherever its interests were involved. Havin^ passed through all the various grades, from private to brevet cap"- tain, consoled with the reflection that his record was highly honor- able, and his military life without reproach, he turned irom the fields whereon the integrity of the Union had'heen vindicated, to the quietude and welcome rest of the unforgotten home on the banks ot the Oswegatchie. Here he soon conceived the idea of embodying the experience and knov ledge of events which he had acquired during his military life in a series of volumes to be issued to subscribers only. Naturally the .omantic incidents connected with his capture and escapes, to gether with the details of life in Southern prisons, with which l-o was entn-ely tann-liar, were selected as the basis of the first volume. Th,s was first pnbhshed in 1865, by Joel Munsell, of Albany, under the title of "The Capture, Prison-Pen and Escape.'' It wis sub sequently re-stereotyped in Boston and re-issued in Hartford in 186r' and was stereotyped a third tin^e in New York and its publication continued m 1868. Its success was unprecedented. " UnCe Tom's Cabin in ten years failed to reach a circulation in the United States 469 10 W 1 1. I, A R D O L A Z I i: R . vi\m\\ to lliat wliich (his work liad iittaiiiod witliin five years from the date of its first publication. Up to the present time upwards of 250,000 copies have been sold, nor is the demand yet satisfied. It has thus far realized to the "Soldier Author" about seventy-five thousjind dollars — a very handsome profit, it must be confessed, from a fii-st experiment in the domain of literary endeavor. In 1S()0 his work entitled ''Three Years in the Federal Cavalry"' was written, followed in 1808 by one of tlie most graceful produc- tions of his pen, "Virginia's Battle-Fields." Of these the impar- tial press of the country, irrespective of political party opinion, have spoken in words of well merited approbation. They are char- acterized by a modest, unpretentious style. Through wliich tlie au- thor's- paramount regard for unembelHshed truth is so palpable that one hardly knows which most to admire, the simple excellence of the productions or the rare veracity of the producer. From what wo have recorded, it will be seen that Captain Glazier has justly merited any and all encomiums he may have received during his varied and interesting career. In his youth his character was marked by many of the peculiaiities which are supposed to at- tach only to manhood. Such a one was, we are willing to believe, capable of impiu-ting dignity even to the position of the humble plow-boy. The meritoriousnoss of the teacher and the soldier is beyond question. In the tiret he was diligent, earnest and compe- tent ; in the second, brave to a fault and patriotic. For his excel- lence in the one position, ho was eulogized by school trustees and commissioners; for his discretion and courage in the other, he was complimented by General Davies on the battle -tield at Brandy Station. Such honoi-s as these are not accorded in the spheres to which they belong indiscriminately, or where there is a lack of merit ; in this instance, tliey were exacted by a character entitled to recognition ; by one who has reflected honor upon his name a; id race, and won for himself a i>osition among the progressive men of t)ur day and generation. 470 /;!^^<^^ HENRY G. DAVIS. 'M^f^0'^ this great Republic of ours, there is an opportunity for tW, ^^^U '"^" ^^ demonstrate what is in him. If he has intel- ^M ^^^^^^^ abilities they need not remain long latent or hidden. ' If a young man desire wealth, there are many safe avenues that ensure a competence, if industrious. If he desire intellectual attainments, then our American free institutions are open-handed and bestow liberally on all who seek for knowledge in the sciences, arts, or religion. The Hon. Henry G. Davis, elected United States Senator for six years from West Virginia, March 4th, 1871, has demonstrated that, if a young man would make bis mark high up, either intellect- ually, politically, or financially, he can succeed. Our United States Senator was the second son of Caleb and Louisa Davis, now deceased. Bom in Baltimore, Md., November ICth, 1823, his father at one time possessed considerable wealth, but, by endorsing for friends and losses in business, ho was suddenly bereft of his accumulated means, and died broken-hearted, leaving his widow with live orphaned children to support and care for. Mr. A -, who knew Mr. Davis in his boyhood, writes of liim thus: "Passing backwards and forwards on the Baltimore Eailroad, I often saw young Davis, a boy of eighteen, going to his work in the morning and returning in the evening. He was working a little patch of land at a distance, and helping to maintain his mother and two younger brothers. Time passed on, and he, advancing from one step to anothei-, at last became conductor on this road. He aided in educating his two younger brothers, and he deserves his place in the Senate of the United States." Young Davis was connected with the Baltimore K.uliv.ad for four- 471 teen yeai-s, being advanced from the suhordinato situation of brako- man to differeut positions of trust — passenger conductor, assistant supervisor of trains, and agent at Piedmont. In 1S5S, be resigned his situation and accepted the Presidency of the Piedmont Savings Biwk. This year he formed a partnership with his brothei-s in tlie produce, provision, lumber, and coal trjtde ; and it is but just to mention that his ability as a financier is well known in "West Vir- ginia. Until the few past yeai-s, he has devoted his time and en- ergies to mercantile pui-suits, and the comfortable competence which he has ama^ised, has served to give expression to his well known giMierofity in many substantial acts of assistance to the deserving. He always sympathized with our " Federal" Government, and dur- ing our late civil war voted against secession of Virginia. Senator Davis's tii-st appearance in public life was as the Repre- sentative of Hampshire County, Virginia, in the House of Delegates. In 1S66 he was elected as a "Conservative Democrat," and was ap- pointed second on the Finance Committt^ of the House. Having been a good financier for himself, he was judiciously chosen for the allaii-s of the Government. In 1S67 he declined re-election to the Legislature. In 1S68 he was elected by the West Vii^inia State Convention a delegate to the " Xatioual Democratic Convention," which met at Xew York, July ith. In the fall of this year he was unanimously nominated by the Democratic Senatorial Convention of the tenth district, composed of the counties of Hampshire, Mor- gsin. Hardy, Mineral, Grant, and Pendleton. This district had always gone Ecpublican by lai-ge majorities. Mr. Davis was elected, and again placed on the Committee of Finance. In the fall of 1S70 he was again unanimously nominated for the State Senate and elected by an increased majority, and was made Chairman of the Committee of Ttxxation and Finance. He was offered the nomina- tion for Congress by the Democratic Congressional Convention of 1S70, but declined. In 1S71, w'lile a member of the State Senate, he was elected to the United States Senate Ly a vote of 53 to 22, for six years from March 4tti, 1S71. 472 UKN14YO. DAVIS. 3 Mr. Davis, while making no pretensions to attainments that mere- ly contribute to the glitter and show of Congressional service, brings to the discharge of his duties a jiractical ability, and unquestionable fidelity to the best interest of the State he represents. He is a self- made man, an indefatigable worker, as every one must be who has attained eminence in any profession of life. He has fine conversa- tional powers, social qualities, pleading manners, good business tal- ent, expresses himself in a clear and forcible manner in debate, and compares fovorably with members of the Senate, and is as hospitable as a real old Virginia gentleman. We quote the following extract from the Baltimore Sun, November 28, 1868 : " TuE Hon. H. G. Davis.— This gentleman was formei-ly a we.l known and esteemed citizen of Baltimore, and for many years held a most responsible position on the Baltimore and Ohio Eailroad, which office he resigned and settled iu West Virginia, whei-e he en- in business, and by energy and industry accumulated a large At the late election in that State he was nominated by his friends as the Democratic candidate for the State Senate from the Tenth Senatorial District, and triumphantly elected, overcoming, by his popularity and energy, a large vote wliich was counted against him when he entered the contest. We make the following extract from a long article in the Martimhurg New Em : " ' Mr. Davis entered the conteit in the District composed of the counties of Hampshu-e, Morgan, Minei-al, Hardy, Grant, and Pen- dleton, with a Eepublican majority against him of about 4,000, and yet he was triumphantly elected. We are not in the habit of deal- ing in eulogy, or of giving men credit for that which they do not deserve, but we cannot refrain from saying that Mr. Davis has no one to thank for his election ; that it is attributable alone to his own indomitable will and indefatigable labors. Without any experience as a public speaker, he yet met his opponent on the stump, and in every instance came off first best. We heartily o., tulate the voters of the Tenth District on the election of the man of their choice. It may be said of them— well done, good and faithful serv- 473 4 n E N U Y O . D A V I S . ants; for ho ia a clever and courteous gentleman, of unsullied honor, of incorruptible inteicrity, and possessing ability as a financier second to none in the State.' " Among many favorable notices from papers, an extract from the Wheelijig Register is selected, January 27th, 1871 : ' " Mr. Davis is a clear thinker, a man of strong common sense, and possessed of indomitable energy. He will be one of the working members of the Senate, leaving others to do the talking. He has many qualities that will tit him for usefulness to the State and influ- ence among his fellow Senators. He is a representative of the class of ' self-made men,' and owes the position he has attained to his own native ability and force of character. There are very few pub- lic men indeed, even in the country, who have surmounted as many obstacles and achieved as many successes as has Mr. Davis. Com- mencing life in a subordinate position in the employ of the Balti- more and Ohio Eailroad Company, he has risen, by successive and rapid gradations, to wealth and great political influence. He has been a member of the State Legislature during the past five years, and was re-elected to the State Senate last fall. His having attained his present position notwitlistanding the adverse circumstances of his early life, is proof of his unusual ability." 474 e*t, which raged without intermission, Mr. Sawyer bore him- self gallantly. Ke neither concealed his sympathies nar connections, nor did ho force them uninvited : set apart from politics by the na- ture of his duties, he yet manfully held his opinions, for the benefit of all who might ask them. He neither gave adhesion to the Con- federate Government, nor did ho plot against the mistaken people who had kindly welcomed him to their midst in the peaceful past. Traps were set for him, which his keen intelligence did not fail to disregard, and we may safely say that no man sliowed himself more open in his allegiance to the United States, and more worthy of honor, by the calm nobility and consistency of his conduct, than did Ml". Sawyer. But the position was not a pleasant, and sometimes, scarcely a safe one. His immediate friends could not but feel that he were best away, and, in September, ISCi, after many unavailing efforts, procm-ed liim a passport through the lines for himself and his family. On his arrival at the North, he engaged heartily and effectively in the political canvass then pending, and made many patriotic ad- dresses in support of the re-election of Mr. Lincoln. At the cessji- tion of hostilities, he returned to Charleston as Collector of Internal Revenue for the Second District of South Carolina, the fii-st civil a])pointment made in the State after the war, and was very cordially received by the citizens. At the first session of the General Assembly, in July, 1S68, held under the new constitution of tlie State, he was elected to the Senate of the United States, which seat he still ably fiills. During the Fortieth Congress, he was a meu>ber of the Committee on Private Land Claims, and the Committee on Pensions. In the Furty-first Con- gress, he was a member of the Committees on "Education and Labor," on " Private Land Claims," and on " Appropriations." Of the fii-st named he is chairman, and on the last his labors are not second in vidue to those of any of its members. 482 FEEDEEICK A. 8. Mr. Sawyer holds no subordinate place in the Senate. « Without haste, without rest," he made his position, and it is one of whicli his frionds may well be proud, and with which his constituents may ^^•cll be satisfied. Not eager to be heard, but always speaking at the nght moment, and to the point in question, he is listened to with respect, and his utterances are not distilled into nnhcedin<. ears Emmeutly pmctical, he is more anxious to convince by his ar<.u- mcnts, than to dazzle by his eloquence. '' In social life, his manner is genial, briglit, and insouciant, his conversation full of repartee, liveliness and jest, but in the Senate he IS grave, well balanced, and deliberate. He often uses sarcasm as a weapon, but never seeks to crush by wit alone, a measure which he would assail. Thoroughly invested with the facts he discusses, and undaunted by any array of opposition, he is powerful as an aUv, and formidable as an antagonist. It is no easy matter for an honest man to bear himself without re- proach, as representing a Southern State in these days. Between the blaze of rampant Eadicalism and the burnt ont fires of Secession there ,s a constant necessity to follow the right and straight path.' Mr. Sawyer has done this unswervingly ; in his speech on the re- moval of disabilities, delivered in the Senate on 21st March 1871 there are two paragraphs which embody the natural feelin<.s of one' who IS called upon to act in the interest of two classes, and who is deternnned to speak the truth irrespective of party. Of the old dominant class in South Carolina, he said : " I take not into the account the shrewd demagogue and trickster who had, possibly, no conviction, no feith, no principles, but who was ready and ripe for revolution, let it take what form it would so that he might prosper. I am now speaking of the great mass of the people. And. I insist that however unsound the reasoning which led them to secession, rebellion, and war, they were honest fn entering upon the struggle, honest in its continuance, and to-day honestly beheve they did right. Events have proved that they blund- ered; but they do not admit that a blunder is of nece3sity a crime 483 4 F E E I) i: K I C K A . 8 A W Y E E . They are not penitent ; penitence implies consciousness of guilt. They cannot say they are penitent without baseness and falsehood. Look not, therefore, for a declaration of penitence except from those whom you will not care to trust, with or without such declarations. Discard Ihe idea that the masses of those who fought our armies for four long, ireary years will ever tell their children that they fought in a cause ^Iiey believed to be a bad one." ***** " But while we hold it to be one of the highest praises to which one can lay claim, that he stood manfully by what we believed was the Tight in the late contest ; while we would leave a record of loyal- ty to our children and our children's children, as a priceless legacy, let us not unnecessarily keep open the wounds which the terrible struggle has left, by imputations of a want of fidelity to conscientious convictions on the part of those who have not this legacy to leave l^ehind them." Thoughtless or malignant men in his party point to words like these as indicating sympathy with the Democratic party ; but com- ing from a man, whose devotion to the Government has always been nndisputable, they remind one in their generous ring of what was said long since by James Louis Petigru, with regard to our Revolutionary war. " History is false to her trust when she betrays the cause of truth, even under the influence of patriotic impulses. It is not true that all the virtue of the country was in the Whig camp, or that all of the Tories were a band of ruffians Their cause deserved to fail; but their sufferings are entitled to respect. Prejudice has blackened their name ; but history will speak of them as they were, with their failings and their virtues." I think that the grand old man who spoke those words, fifteen years ago, would have recog- nized a kindred spirit in the subject of this sketch. Nor does the Senator fail to render full justice to the black man : nor will he admit that, in the new order of things, the freedraan has failed to prove his claim to a share of political power. 4S4 FEEDEKICK A. SAWYEE. 5 In tlie same speech he says: "No man has a higlier sense of what we owe to that race for their generally exemplary conduct during the last few years, than I have. Their progress in education and in general civilization since their emancipation has been won-, derful. And even as legislators, and as the incumbents of otlier public positions, the wonder is not that they have done so ill, but that they have done so well. That they have been able, with the slight advantages they had hitherto enjoyed, to get on at all in many public positions to which they have been elevated, is matter of just pride to them and to their friends ; and I know that my views in regard to the disadvantages under which they entered upon their new career are shared by those of their race whose education and experience have best enabled them to consider the whole subject dispassionately." And he adds, with a full knowledge of the matter involved : "I have never been their flatterer, but I have always been their friend." .... "I believe that the attempt to set up State govern- ments in the South, without the participation therein of the mas3 of the intelligence and the property of the States to be governed, was a grave error. I believe that but for that error we should to- day have a condition of prosperity and good government in South Carolina and in other Southern States altogether higher than ever obtained there before, and that a majority of our people would be in happy accord on all national questions with the political party to w'hich yon, sir, and I belong, and whose great principles we chei'ish. " But, sir, until you place the whole Southern people where you can demand of each of them the exercise of such official functions as the people shall desire to devolve upon him, you fail to fix upon them that responsibility for violations of law and order which they should all be made to bear. Until you recognize the fact that the wealth and intelligence of a community will always exert a power- ful influence in controlling its affairs, and that ft is your interest to enhst that influence on your side by every means in your power, a condition of discontent will exist." 485 FBKDliKI Of course, sentiments, broad and generous as the above, draw aBimadversion from those wlvose narrow minds contemplate affairs frorn a different stand-point, but it is not to be feared that Mr. Sawyer will now, or ever, sink honest convictions for the* sake of party interest. Such has been his entire political course, especially during the Forty -fu-st Congress, when various bills, nearly affecting the State of bis adoption, have so constantly occupied the attention of tho Senate. In personal appearance, Mr. Sawyer is extremely prepossessing lie is tall, and, with advancing years, has assumed a not unbecom' ing portliness. He is blond, ruddy, with a full beard and moustache, expressive eyes, and a very pleasing smile. Uis tone is cultivated, his conversation animated and often sparkling. He relates well and is an admirable companion. An excellent husband and de- voted father, he is, nevertheless, an admirer of all who deserve admiration in tho other sex, without affectation or obtrusiveness in his attentions to any, while a slight touch of courtly gallantry sits well upon him, and makes his attentions agreeable to the most fas- tidious of " fair ladies." 486 i'l. /) 'Hi' J^^y SA^IUEL O. POMEEOT, KATTSAS. Br F. H. Greer. "'^Mr'^^'^ T is 1)60011111)2 quite common for individuals, as well as y^^ families, in tliis country, and especially in Now Enf^land, "^^ to note their origin, and feel an interest in the history of their ancestors. In the new States of the growing West it is thought less of. The question there is — What of the man himself? What are his capacities, acquirements, and resources? with very little concern for the standing and qualities of those from whom he descended. But a suitable notice and regard of the fathers who trod their way before us, is both patriotic and commendable. Mr. Bancroft, in his history of the town of Northampton, Massa- chusetts, and speaking of its early settlers, mentions the Pomeroy family, from whom the subject of this sketch descended, aa fol- lows : — " The Pomeroys trace descent from Ralph de Pomeroy, a favor- ite knight of William of Normandy — called the Conqueror — whom he accompanied to England, and acted a conspicuous part in the conquest. After which William granted him fifty-seven townships or manors, in Devonshire, and several in Somersetshire. In Dev- onshire, Sir Ralph built a castle, and founded an estate called ' Bery Pomeroy,' after the seat he had left in Normandy, and by which name it is now known. " The castle is still a noble view, is visited by antiquarians and tourists with great interest, and is considered one of the most ancient structures in the kingdom. It is in tolerable preservation, and still possessed by a descendant of Sir Ralph. " The first emigration of the family out of England was in the 4a7 2 SAMUEL C. POMEBOY. reign of Queen Elizabeth, when Arthur Pomeroy accompanied the Earl of Essex, Lord Lieutenant, as his chaplain to Ireland, and re- mained in that kingdom. From this branch of the family in Ire- land, have sprung, which was ennobled in 1783 by the creation of Arlhur Pomeroy, a descendant of the first Arthur, as Baron, by the title of Lord Ilurltertson,' of Castle Oarbury, and subsequently a viscoimt. " Arthur died, and was succeeded in estate and title by his brother, Major-General Pomeroy, who served in the British army, and in America during the Kevolutionary war. •' The branch of the family from which all the Pomeroys of the United States descended, emigrated from Devonshire about the year 1735, and consisted of two brothers, Eltweed and Eldad. They are represented as men of liberal and independent merits, deter- mined to preserve civil and religious freedom, and disgusted with the tyranny of the Stuarts and Archbishop Laud. They settled in Dorchester, near Boston, Massachusetts. These brothers after- wards, about 1738, removed to Windsor, on the Connecticut River. The records of the colony contain grants of land in that State to Eltweed and Eldad Pomeroy. " According to tradition, the domains of Normandy produced an apple of which the king was fond, and were thereafter called Pomeroy, or king-apple. As the surname in those days was taken from the estates they occupied, it gave name to the family of Pom- eroys, which God preserved, and enabled them to retain the charac- teristics of the original stock — true courage, and an unequalled spirit of perseverance and ardent attachment to civil and religious liberty, and the best feelings of our nature." The Pomeroy coat of arms — A lion sitting, holding an apple in his paw ; with motto : " Virtutis fortuna comes." (Fortune is the companion of valor.) From this extract of Bancroft's history, it appears that a son 488 1' O M E R o y . of Eltweed Pomeroy settled in JSToi-tbampton, Mass. And Samuel C. Pomeroy, the subject of this sketch, was bom in Southamptou, Mass., January 3d, 1816, and was the son of Samnel, who was the son of Elijah, the son of Caleb, the son of Samuel, the son of Caleb, who was the son of Eltweed. Mr. Pomeroy spent his boyhood and early life upon his father's farm, which was a hard and profitless one, in the north part of the town, and almost under the shadows of those well-known moun- tains, Tom and Holyoke, He enjoyed the advantages of the com- mon schools of his native town until he acquired the several branches usually taught therein. Being anxious, however, to advance still farther, he prepared to enter college by attending the Sheldon Academy of Southampton, the Fellenberg School, in Greenfield, and the Academy at Shclburn Falls, in Massachusetts, during which time he supported himself by teaching school some portion of each year. In 1836, he entered Amherst College, and at the end of two years went to reside with a brother-in-law in Onondago county, New York, and there he measurably recovered from an injury he had caused to his eyesight. In that county he taught school, and afterward engaged in mercantile business, and also in South Butler, Wayne county, N". Y. Here he cast his first vote, and engaged, in 1838, in the first canvass, and aided to make Hon, William H. Seward Governor of the State of New York. But during the ever memorable campaign of 1840, Mr. Pomeroy although a Whig, became deeply interested in the principles of the " Liberty Party," so called, and often attended and participated in those exciting conventions, held by that remarkable man, Alvan Stewart, of Utica, N. Y., and deeply impressed with his earnest- ness and eloquence, finally espoused the Anti-slavery cause. In 1842, when the advancing years of his parents appealed to him for succor and support, he removed to his native town in Massachusetts, and there at once organized the Liberty Party. In this work he enlisted all over whom he had any influence. He lectured in 489 4- S A M U E I, C . P O M E U Y . school-houses, held public discussions, met objections, softened down prejudices, and lived down obloquy. Thus year by year he labored on, and was often the defeated candidate for the Legisla- ture, and sometimes for town and coimty offices; until in 1851, after eight years of unremitting effort ho triumphed over both "Whig and Democratic parties. So that in the winter of 1852 ho is found in the Legislature of his native State, and gave work and vote to lion. Henry Wilson, for his first seat in the Senate of the United States. As he had the previous year supported the Hon. Charles Sumner for the same position, as well also as aiding in the Legislature to elect Hon. George S. Boutwell to be Governor, and Hon. N. P. Banks to be Speaker of the House of Eepresenta- tives. In later years, his association and connection with these same gentlemen has been cordial and efficient for the union of the States and for the freedom and elevation of a race. It was during that session of the Legislature that the Eev. Dr. Beeehcr headed and presented the largest petition ever presented to a Legislature, asking for the passage of what is known as the " Mahie Law." Mr. Pomeroy was on the Committee which received the me- morial, and he voted for, and urged the passage of that law. lie also addressed the Legislatm-e with earnestness and cffiart against the rendition of Fugitive Slaves, and in favor of Emancipa- tian, with a restoration to citizenship of all persons of African descent, not only, but also for their right to all the civil and politi- cal privileges of American freemen. Mr. Pomeroy was much inter- ested in the passage of the Kansas Nebraska Bill, and especially in the amendment which repealed the " Missom-i Compromise," so called, and opened all the public domain to slavery. And being in Washington at the time, he called on the President, Franklin Pierce, at the date of his signing the Act, and assured him that the triumph of the slave power in Congress was not conclusive on that question of slavery extension; that the contest should be carried to the Territory, and met there. At the same time telling 490 SAMUEL C. POMEROY. 5 him, that his own purpose to emigrate there, was to strike a hloiv at slavery. Mr. Pomeroy could now go, as his duties to his aged parents were all discharged. For in the early spring time of that year they both had been called to their final rest, and were buried with their fathers. At this period the cold heart of the north began to be fired. And "emigration to Kansas" was upon very many lips. Hon. Eli Thayer had obtained a Charter from* the Legislature of Massachus- etts, for the " New England Emigrant Aid Company." And Mr. Pomeroy was soon chosen as its general and financial agent. Ml*. Thayer was aided by such men as Amos A. Lawrence, J. M. S. Williams, E. P. "Waters, Ames Brothers, Dr. S. Cabot, etc., etc., in the organization of that company. Mr. Pomeroy lectured in its behalf, and for the cause of emigration to Kansas, until on the 27th day of August, 1854, he started with a select party of most earnest men and women, from Boston, for Kansas. Additions to their numbers were received at several points on their way, and on the Gth day of October they arrived at Kansas city, on the border of the Territory, and after some days the whole party moved up the Kansas Valley, about fifty miles, and pitched their tents upon the site where the city of Lawrence now stands. Other parties soon followed from the east, and were directed into the Territory by the same way. Later in the Autumn of that year, there came Governor Reeder, who, with other Government officials, were welcomed to this, Lawrence, a " Yankee settlement," by Mr. Pomeroy, in a speech which has often been quotefl, as significant of the pm-pose, if not prophetic of results. Following this organized emigration came bands of desperadoes from Missouri and all the Southern States, and with guns, bowie- knives and whiskey, undertook to conquer Kansas to slavery. And during the disturbances and trials of 1855 and 1856, Mr. Pomeroy, from his known position as agent of this despised company, so 491 AM UK I- C. POM K ROY. violently bated, had to bear his full share. Beaten, arrested, im- prisoned, and threatened with death, he still escaped all, to com- plete the work yet reraaiuinjij for him to do. He was often at Washington, pleading with those who administered the Govern- ment, for the protection and interests of the people of Kansas. Mr. Pomcroy was a member of the Convention at Philadelphia, in 1856, which nominated General Fremont, and of the Republican Conven- tion in Chicago, in 18G0, which nominated Mr. Lincoln. He lectured in the Free States, and before the State Legislatures, for the Free State canso in Kansas, raising means, sending supplies, marching men, and taking military stores through Iowa and Nebraska to Kansas, when the Missouri river was closed to them, until at last, in 1857, peace, victory and freedom, dawned npon the Free State men of Kansas. The political career of Mr. Pomeroy became more marked and prominent upon the advent of the " Lecompton Constitution," so called, which was an effort to force slavery upon Kansas whether they voted the Constitution up or down. Against this swindle he foxight day and night, denouncing it in Kansas, and by written appeals and public lectures through the Northern States, until the Congress of 1858 gave it a death blow. At this period Mr. Pomeroy had moved from Lawrence to Atchison, in Kansas, and upon the retiring of the pro-slavery party, which had held sway there, he bought a large share of the towa, and took possession of the same. He purchased also the " Squatter Sover- eign," a noted pro-slavery paper, controlled by the celebrated Stringfellow, and ran up a free State flag ; and that paper ever afterwards did good service in the free State cause not only, but also for the cause of liberty, emancipation, and enfranchisement. Mr. Pomeroy was the first mayor of Atchison, and was twice chosen. He entered heartily into the plan for tree schools there, and built a church edifice of his own means and deeded it to the Congrogationalists. He engaged in the relief of the sufferers of 1860 from tho terrible drouth of that yuar, and was chosen chair- •1!)2 SAMUEL C. POMEBOY. 7 man of the State Relief Committee, and received and distributed sup])lic3 for the entire winter of 1861. At the close of these most efficient labors, and Kansas being admitted into the Union, Mr. Pomeroy met an approving verdict from the people of Kansas by his election to the Senate of the United States. His colleague, the Hon. James H. Lane, deceased, was chosen at the same time. Mr. Pomeroy drew the long term of six years, and was again re-elected in 1807 for a term expiring in 1873. The expectations entertained of him have not been disappointed by his course in the Senate. He had his full share in all tlie legis- lation of the eventful years of the war and those (no less difficult) bearing upon the restoration of the States, and in securing by a fundamental law the equality of all citizens of the Republic. He sustained Mr. Lincoln in his proclamation of Emancipation and in urging it ; even went so far as to agree to establish a colony in the tropics if the proclamation could at once follow. But events then unforeseen pressed upon Mr. Lincoln, and he issued his proclamation, and to the great relief of Mr. Pomeroy abandoned his scheme of colonization. In the Senate, Mr. Pomeroy has done service on the Committees on " Public Lands," " Claims," " Post-offices and Post Roads," " Pacific Railroads," &c., &c., and for many years was chairman of the Public Land Committee. His first bill, introduced soon after taking his seat, at the called session of Congress in July, 1801, may be learned by its significant title : " A BUI to Suppress the SlaveMd^rs' Behellion:' The term. Slaveholders' Rebellion, is believed to have been ori- ginal with him, as we do not know of its use prior to that date. He also took an active part in the passage of the " Homestead Law," coming as it did from his own Committee, as well as the Pacific Railroad Act, which was referred to a special committee, of which Mr. Pomeroy was a member. But his strongest and best efforts have been put forth upon those questions which have been the lifework of a man now past fifty 493 8 SAMUEL C. POMEROT years of ago. Upon the 5tli day of March, toward tho close of a long debate in the Senate, Mr. Pomeroy advocated universal and impartial suff.-ago for all the citizens of the Eepublic, as the follow- ing extract from his published speech will sliow. He said : " Let us not take counsel of our fears, but of our hopes ; not our ene- mies, but of oar friends ; by all the memories which cluster about tho pathway in which we have been led ; by all tho sacrifices of blood and tears of the conflict ; by all the hopes of a freed country, and a disenthralled race, yea, as a legacy to mankind, let us now secure a free representative Republic, based upon impartial suffrage, and that human equality made clear in the Declaration of Independ- ence! To this entertainment let us invito our countrymen of all nationalities, committing our work, when accomplished, to the ver- dict of posterity and the blessing of Almighty God." Out of the Senate and during tho recess Mr. Pomeroy spends much of his time upon his farm at Muscotah, Kansas, where, as he has the means, he indulges his fondness for domestic animals of the best bloods. At the close of his present term, Mr. Pomeroy has signified to his friends that he shall retire from the Senate, as he will have seen accomplished during his twelve years of service all he was anxious for when he entered public life. To have taken part in tho legislation and events which have secured, in the fundamental law of the land, the elevation and en- franchisement of an oppressed race, the perpetuity of a Union of States where citizens of all nationalities are equal before the law, seems sufficient to satisty the ambition of any ordinary man, and with this view Mr. Pomeroy has expressed his purpose of retire- ment. Should Mr. Pomeroy close his political career, it is fair to pre- sume, that in the future as well as the past, he will continue to exercise a strong controlling political influence. As a politician he has been almost invariably successful, chiefly owing to his re- markable executive ability. As a public servant, from his first office he has always been faithful and conscientious in the discharge 494 SAMUEL C. POMEROT. 9 of liis duty, and without reproach. As a citizen, he has labored arduously for the interests of his State. One of his friends has lately said of him : " True to principle, true to his convictions, true to his country, and terribly true to his country's foes, ho occupies to-day, as Senator of the United States, a proud position among his peers — a position that honors both the Representative and tlie represented. As a patriot, he is earnest ; as a statesman he is logical ; as a politician, consistent ; as a man, genial, generous, and j ust. 495 I -^ M^/^^ W. C. WHITTHORiTE. '^^ASHINGTON C. WHITTHORNE was born April 19, 1825, r^^ in Lincoln County, Tennessee. His father, W. J. Whit- ■^^^ thome, was an Irishman. His mother, a native of the State of North Carolina. Both of his parents were remai'kable for gi-eat energy and industry, and were veiy poor. Their force of char- acter is marked in the fact that, to the eleven children they raised, to each they gave a good education, most of them graduating in the high schools of Tennessee. The subject of our present sketch gradu- ated at the University of East Tennessee, in August, 1843, and shortly thereafter commenced the study of law under James K. Polk, (subsequently President of the United States,) and James H. Thomas, (subsequently member of Congress,) at Columbia, Tennessee. When Mr. Polk was elected President, he gave to his young student, for whom he had formed a strong partiality, a clerkship at Washington. Mr. W. remained at Washington for nearly three years, when he voluntarily resigned, and returned to Tennessee. Following the ad- vice and 1 ounsel of his friend and preceptor, the then President, he determined to take a part in active life. Mr. W. returned to Ten- n ssee and in July, 1848, mamed his present estimable wife, to whom lie had been devoted for years previously. Mrs. W., formerly Miss M. J. Campbell, a daughter of the late Colonel Robert Campbell of Maury County, Tennessee, was a young lady of rare beauty and great personal attractions, and was a distant relative of President Polk. Shortly after his raaniage, Mr. W. commenced the practice of the law, at Columbia, Tennessee, and from the first was greeted with 497 2 W. C. WHITTHOKNE. fuccess. Manifesting great energy and considerable talents, and possessing poi)ular, courteous manners, lie was early marked by his party and friends as a favorite. In 1853, after two or three gentle- men had been selected as candidates for the lower House of the General Assembly of the State against the nominee of the Whig party, Mr. Erwin, and declined — and when the race was regarded as hopeless, Mr. W., without any general acquaintance in the district, became the party candidate, having only four weeks to canvass a large district, yet such was the energy, industry and tact of Mr. W. that though he did not quite succeed in the race yet he did in gi-eatly reducing the majority of the Whig party, but his success was greater, in that it gave him a marked and leading position in his party. At the next election, (being the great Know Nothing Canvass,) in which he was a candidate for the State Senate, and was elected by a very large majority. In this canvass he made the reputation of boing one of the first " Public Debaters " in the State. In 1857 he was re-elected to the State Senate without opposition. In 1859 he was nominated by his party, and against his own instructions, for the position in which he had been defeated in 1853 by Mr. Erwin. His opponent this time being W. L. McConnico, one of the first orators of that State, so gifted in her public men. The Dis- trict was Whig in politics. Mr. W. was known as a bold, uncompro- mising Democrat, and his position against Corporations, Rings, Banks, and State aid, it was believed by all except his warm personal friends, would ensure his defeat. This race, from the character of the two men, acquired a State importance. It was conducted with great zeal, interest and energy, particularly upon the part of Mr. W., who was rewarded at its close by a majority in his favor, though the ■Whig candidate for Governor can-ied the same district. Mr. W. was elected Speaker of the House, and through the various sessions held during the term for which he was elected, (which term included the opening scenes and legislation of the great civil struegle,) he presided with marked ability and courtesy, so freely conceded, and 498 W. e. VVillTTHORNE. 3 witli pride, by his political friends and foes. In 1860 he was se- lected by his party friends as a candidate for elector for the State at large, upon the Breckenridge ticket; as such he made the canvass of the State, from one extreme to the other, meeting more competi- tors than ever was done in any one political canvass by any public speaker. He met the expectations of his friends, and at the close of the canvass, few, if any, stood above him as a political debater. In the opinion of his friends, but for civil war he would have been the Democratic candidate for Governor in 1861. Mr. W's style of speaking is plain, forcible, earnest and vehement. He was an ardent friend of the South, and whilst, as he stated in a public speech, dehvered before the House of Representatives in the State, in January, 186 1, he could not yield to the idea of " Secession " as a constitutional remedy, yet he could not find that " coercion " was. Naturally, and with his whole energy, he devoted himself to the cause of his beloved South. Since the close of the war, up to the time of his election to the present Congress, he has labored assiduously and successfully in his profession, in which he took high rank as a practitioner and advocate. It is said that he has but few superiors before a jury. He was elected to the 42d Congress from the 6th Congressional District of Ten- nessee, by a large majority ; in which Congress he has already taken a prominent position, being appointed upon the select committee to whom was referred the President's special message upon Southern outrages. The only speech as yet made by him was in opposition to the bill reported by said committee. The speech is marked by great caution, prudence, as well as affection and deep interest for the peojile he represents, bearing evidence that he, as their represen- tative, desired fixithfully to represent them, and at the same time by no imprudent word to prejudice their cause. We close our sketch by reproducing an article from the Columbia Herald, a newspaper published at the residence of Mr. W. at the time he became a candi- date for Congress. 499 4 W. C. WIIITTHORNE. " Tliis gentleman announces himself through our papers to-day as a canilidato for Congress. The intelligence will bo gratifying to an unusually large circle of admiring friends, not only in this immediate Congressional district, but throughout the State. Gen. W. has now been connected with the public service and regarded in the hght of a public man for fifteen years, passing through the changes and vicissitudes of parties, and of all the conflicts and asperities incident to an internecine war, accomplisliing what but few have done, viz: made himself more and more the champion and favorite of the people. This Is the result of a combination of qualities seldom uniting in one character — talent and tact, boldness without rashness, earnestness without illiberaUty, strict adherence to duty, and all backed by an untiring energy. Such a man can not fail to be useful to the country, whether found in office or following the more quiet pursuits of jjrivate life. As a member of both houses of the legislature prior to the war, Gen. Whitthorne displayed a ready comprehension of the varied interests of the country and the rights of the people, coupled with an executive ability, that placed him at once high in the regard of all intelligent and critical observers. As Speaker of the House he acquitted himself in a manner that but few have equaled who have occupied the same difficult position. In no position, however, has Gen. Whitthorne evidenced so mucli executive ability as during the brief time at the beginning of our recent revolutionary troubles, when engaged as Assistant Adjutant General under Governor Harris, in organiz ing the Provisional Army of Tennessee. The rapidity and facility with which an army ol 25,000 men were enrolled, officered and placed upon a war footing, was without a parallel in the Confederate States. In this work. Gen. W. performed an important part. When that army was ready for active duty, and was turned over to the Confederate authorities. Gen. W. accompanied the brigade placed under Gen. Anderson to Western Vir>;inia, and acted for a time as his Adjutant. He was 500 W. C. WniTTIIORMR. 5 called horae in a few months by a succession of tlie severest domestic afflictions. At this time Gen. Johnson, who stood guarding the Northern and Eastern line of our State, was earnestly appealing for reinforcements, and by no one was the call so sensibly felt as by our then able and patriotic governor. Again Gen, Whitthorne went to his assistance, and in less than three months fourteen additional infantry regiments, three cavaky battalions, and three artillery com- panies, were organized, equipped, and put in the field. After the fall of Fort Donaldson and the abandonment of Middle Teim. by the Confederate forces, the work of recruiting and organizing troops was continued under Gen. W. at Memphis, until after the battle of Shiloh. Plans were subsequently put on foot at Chatanooga for the organization of mounted rangers, looking to special service in Tennessee. The early advance of Gen. Bragg into Kentucky, and other changes that were made, put an end to this, when Gen. W. attached himself to the staff of Gen. Hardee. • After reaching MumfordsviEe, however, it again became his duty to return to Ten- nessee with the view of increasing our forces, and about this time engaged with Gen. Forrest in his attack on Nashville. When the battle of Murfreesboro came on he bore a gallant and an active part in it as a member of the staif of Gen. Hardee. He remained with the army and continued in that position until some change took Gen. Hardee temporarily from that field of duty, when he was invited to a position in the military family of Gen. Wright, with whom he served gallantly in the memorable and bloody battle of Chicamauga. When Gen. Wright was sent to post duty by reason of his health, Gen. Whitthorne attached himself to the staff of the gallant Gen. Carter, who was afterwards mortally wounded at Franklin, and whose honored remains are entonabed in our beautiful cemetery. Upon the last advance of the Confederate forces into Tennessee, our recollection is that Gen. W. was on duty with Gen. Cheatham. In the varied relations which he occupied during the war, all who knew him — and there are but few of the Tennessee troops who did 501 6 SV. C. WHITTHOIINE. „ot — hoiKn-od him for liis gallantry, patriotism and ability. He was regarded with special favor by the officers of rank with whom he chanced to serve. Without any extravagant eulogium, this much may well be said. The fortunes of war do not affect the meed of praise due to each patriot and citizen-soldier who, following judg- ment and conscience, made, in that trying hour, a full discharge of duty to his country. The present is a period of peculiar interest with the States recently in rebellion, in their relations to the Federal Government. What- ever may be the dissatisfied feeling engendered by the prescriptive and illiberal policy pursued towards us, we are no less integral part of the same government, alike interested in its peaceful and prosper- ous administration. The South and those sympathizing with her, are, for the present, sadly in the minority. With intelligent and prudent counsel on the part of our representative men she is not nicely to remain so long. The true interest of the great body of the American people are in harmony with our interests. What we need at Washington now is, truly representative men. We have had but few, if any such, from the South since the war. Where can be found one better answering the demand of the times than in the person of Gen. Whitthorne ? Able, experienced, self-possessed, in full accord with his people, and never forsaking their iulcicste from any imaginary self-advantage, his election might be justly hailed as an omen of good results, not only for his immediate constituents, or the State, but for the entire South. And such, we believe, is the common sentiment of all who know him. 602 HON. JOHN LYNCH limj ^^ ^ member of the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Fortj- ^M^ first Congresses. Previous to his election to the TJ. S. C^^ Congress, he was a member of the Legislature of his native State in the years 1861 and 1863. He was born at Portland, Maine, February 25th, 1825. At the early age of seven years he was left an orphan, and placed in care of a gentleman who soon employed him in his grocery store. He received an elementary education in the public schools of his native city, and afterwards graduated with much honor at the Latin High School, at the age of seventeen. After serving an apprenticesliip in the mercantile business with his employer, in 1848 he established a mercantile house for himself, and has actively and successfully pros- ecuted his profession imtil the present time. From his early boyhood he has been a decided lover of freedom, and on becoming a voter identified himself with the Abolition party. At the formation of the Republican party, he became a member, and during the Fremont campaign, in 1856, took an active part in political affairs, both as a speaker and writer. He represented his native city in the Maine Legislature in 1861 and 1863, and served on Committees of Finance, Mercantile Affaire and Coast Defence. In 1862 he was appointed by the Secretary of War, Commandant of Camp Lincoln, and raised and organized three regiments of volunteers for the army. In 1864 he received the unanimous nomi- nation of the RepubHcan party for his district, then represented by a Democrat, and was elected by 2,500 majority a member of the Thirty-ninth Congress. He has been re-elected to the Fortieth, Foi'ty-first and Forty-seconQ Congresses. 503 3 HON. JOHN LYNOn. In the Tliirly-ninth Oougress, he served on the Committee on Banking and Currency, and on Special Committee on the Bank- rupt Law. He was an earnest advocate of specie payments, and introduced tlie only bill for that purpose submitted to that Congress. March lOtli, 1806, Mr. Lynch made a speech on the "Loan Bill," opposing the policy of Secretary McCulloch, in contracting the cur- rency, and keeping up taxes for immediate reduction of the public debt. On this occasion, Mr. Lynch said : " Because it took Great Britain many years to return to specie payments after an exhausting war, the theory has been accepted al- most without question that we cannot do otherwise. Sir, the expe- riences of the country for the last five years have exploded many fiilse theories and falsified many sanguine pi-edictions. It was posi- tively asserted by our foreign foes, that the South could not be con- quered ; that it never yet had been that a fi-ee people, of the num- bers, resources, and territory of the southern people, were defeated and compelled to submit to the will of a conqueror ; tliat we could not raise armies suificient for the work ; that wo had no money of our own, and could borrow none in Europe ; that the armies, even if raised, would, upon a return to civil life, so disorganize society, that government would bo upheaved, and civil order destroyed. " Well, sir, we have seen the result of all these predictions. "We have astonished the civilized world by setting at naught the most profound theories of these modern sages ; we have overturned the accepted notions and ideas of past centuries, and in their stead we have hewn out our own destiny in our own way, until we stand on ground where we may safely bid defiance to the assaults of the com- bined physical and moral powers of Europe. " In view of these facts, so grandly and imperishably carved in our history, why should we follow the ideas of Europe in regard to om- financial, any more than we did in regard to our military adminis- tration ? Because the London Times raises the cry, and our own croakers echo it, that ' we must have a financial crisis,' in passing from a paper to a specie circulation, is it necessary for us to precip- OU-i JOHN LYNCH. itate one upon the country, in order to verify tlie i)redictions of these prophets of evil ? "England said, you cannot carry on a war without a European loan, and that you cannot get. ShaU we now say that we cannot return to specie payments because England, under circumstances of an entirely different character, did not do so for many years after a return of peace ? Such a reason, it seems to me, is not worthy the name of an argument. The laws of trade and the restoration of confidence are bringing us steadily and surely to a resumption of specie payments. "Every day's experience goes to prove that our tnie financial pol- icy is to go on and provide for the maturing obligations of the Gov- ernment, without contracting or disturbing the currencv of the country, which is the life-blood of its commerce. Let it alone and It will flow where it is wanted, and find ample field for employment " Mr. Lynch was among the first to advocate the impeachment of Andrew Johnson for high ofiieial misdemeanor, and when the measure finally passed, on the 24th of February, 1868, he made an able speech on tlie resolution, and styled it "one of the hi-liest prerogatives of the House." We extract the following paragniph ot the speech : "Here is a President of the United States deliberating upon what ? How far is he required to go in opposing an act of Congress winch he may deem unconstitutional ? He is contemplating execu- tive resistance to an enactment passed in constitutional form by the supreme legislative authority, and regularly enrolled among the pub- lic statutes. Such resistance as would lead to violent colHsion and produce civil war. He is studying the limit of concession beyond ^v],.ch he may proceed to endanger the public peace. He is consid- ering cases where he must resort to forcible measures, or measures which lead to force, regardless of all consequences. These are his forms of expression, his very phrases. And they indicate, not that he IS meditating a resort to the adjudication of the courts, an appeal to the judicial tribunals, or any lawful arbitrament und.n- the Co.i- 505 HON. JOHN I, Y N (1 11 , stitution ; but thiit l\is tlu>i),u;lit3 dwell on ivvoliitiouary mei\8UTO8 of violent collision luul civil war. llii:^ any previous Presidont of the Uriited States furnished any pi-ocedont for tlio use of such language in his message to Congress ? Not ono. This extraordinary and revolutionary language, addressed hy an oxocntivo officer to the peo- ple's lu>i>resentatives, has no parallel in the annals of our country Its counterpart is only to bo found in the proclamations of usurpei-s of the liberties of the people. In the light of these and other pri*- vious declarations of the dark workings of the Pi-esidcut's mind, it is ciuiy to see that his attenuated removal of Secretary Stanton from the AVar Department was a iii-st step in opposition to an act of Congress. His etlbrts to induce the General of the Army to retain or surrender tho office of Secix>taiy of War, ad intcrm, ' in the intei-est of the Tivsident,' against the authority of the Senate, was a piece of exec- utive resistance, likely to produce violent collision and civil war. llis appointment of Adjutant tk>neral Thomas to the office of Secre- tary of "War tuf iiit<'n'in, the same not then being vacant, but lawful- ly tilled, was a forcible measure, or one leading to force. .Vets like tliese, following, as they diil, ]nvvious declanitious, showing such ivvolutionary «ud usurping intent, cannot be attributed to tho mo- tive of a mere honest opinion. They are not consistent with the chai-acter of a loyal and law-abiding officer.'' He also introduced and advo«ited a bill, which passed, prohibit- ing the ivturn and registry of those American vessels tliat had de- serted the " tlag of our ITnion" during the ivbellion, and placed themselves under foivign pow ers. In advocating this lueasuiw ^[r. Lynch s;iid : '' The question arises, whether it is right to allow vessels to come back in this way by an evasion of the spirit of the laws; whether it is iust to those owners of vessels who have refused to desert the Hag of their country in her hour of peril. It is a cowardly argument to oiler in behalf of these shi{v^nvnei-s to sjiy the country could not pro- tect them. On the same principle, the whole population might leave with their propertv, :ind place themselves under foiviijn piw cm tectiou. It is for the people to protect tlie country in time of war. , They are a part of the country, and ought not to desert her in time of danger. It would certainly be a dangerous policy for a nation to offer inducements for its citizens to desert with their property, and identity their interests with its enemies, in time of war." In 1SG9 and 1S70, Mr. Lynch introduced bills for the resumption of specie payments and the revival of American commerce, and made able speeches advocating these measures before the House. The bill for resumption of specie payments was reported by Commit- tee on Banking and Currency, but failed to secure a majority. In comraoncing and closing an oifectivo speech on specie payment, Mr. Lynch said: " Mr. Speakkk : Among all the conflicting theories in regard to financial affairs, and the means to be adopted for their improvement, there is a very general agreement upon one point, namely, that it is desirable at the earliest day practicable to place our currency upon a specie basis. I know there is a class of financiei-s that contend that a specie standard is wholly unnecessary, and that a paper ciu- rency, based upon the liiith of the Government, is a better currency than gold and silver, or paper convertible into gold and silver. But this class is not numerous, and I will not stop to discuss the abstract question which they raise. Whetlier they are right or wrong is of little practical moment in dealing with the question to-day. It is enough to know that the specie standard is the standard of every civilized nation, and as one of the fomilies of nations, our interest is to conform to that standard. I shall therefore assume, in discussing this question, that we are ultiinately to return to specie payments ; to base our currency on that which the world recognizes, and has adopted as the true standard of value, gold and silver. " There is no royal road to the payment of our debt ; and those who pretend that we can carry the burdens imposed upon us by the contest for national existence through which we have successfully passed, without inconvenience and labor, do but flatter and delude. It must cost us something to return to specie pavmcnts. But I be- 507 6 nON. .TOnNLTNOH. lievc tliat, by adopting careful and wise measures, the task we have to perform will be so toned and proportioned to our gradually in- creasino- sti-ength, tliat it will be accomplished naturally and easily, and will be in itself a means of national development, and financial health and strength. The chasm between our cuirency and specie must be bridged ; it cannot be leaped. We must, first, promise to resume ; second, show that we are able to perform our promise ; and third, arrange so that the transition from paper to gold, from an ir- redeemable to a redeemable currency, shall be gentle and gradual, and thus avoid any sudden revulsion and consequent panic. This done, we shall have fixed our currency on a firm and enduring basis, and brought our public debt into normal and healthy relations with the trade and commerce of the country." In the Fortieth Congress, the House having resumed the consid- eration of the bill to increase ban Icing facilities, and also the bill to promote Ameiican commerce, Mr. Lynch made able speeches con- taining much valuable data and information. In this Congress he served on Committee on Banking and Cur- rency, Pacific Eailroad, Chairman on Committee on Naval Ex- penditures, and was also made Chairman on Special Committee to investigate and report upon the causes of the decline of American commerce. This Committee held sessions during the recess of Con- gress in the principal commercial cities of the country, taking the testimony of merchants and others interested in shipping ; collect- ing valuable statistics, and making a thorough investigation of the subject submitted to them. The results of their labors were em- bodied in an exhaustive report, and submitted to Congress, with bills for the revival of American commerce. This report was pub- lished in the " Loudon Times," and commented upon by EngUsh and Continental papers. The President commended it to the atten- tion of Congress liy a special message. The bills were advocated in an elaborate speech, but were defeated by a combination of free traders and ultra protectionists — the one opposing because of the protection afforded to the shipping interest, and the other because 508 HON. JOHN LYNCH. 7 material for ship building was to be admitted free of duty. Mr. Lynch has been long connected with the public improvements of his State, and is at the present time President of the Portland and Eocliestei- Eailroad 509 I ^; ^/ ^ X . ^^^. LIONEL ALLEN SHLLDON. ^'^ MOJSfGr the people who, amid the wilds of the Ne^v World, sought "Freedom to worship God," came the ancestors of Lionel Allen Sheldon, who, emigrating from England about the middle of the seventeenth century, settled first in Massachusetts. But long ere " God's first temples " had yielded to the axe of the settler, " macadamized bigotry characterized the church government of the Puritans, and one branch of the family having chosen Eoger Williams as their expounder of theology, were obliged to follow him in his exile into Ehode Island. This State, however, was again only ,a temporary resting-place for the tamily, since early in life General Sheldon's grandfather moved to Rensselaer County, New York, at whichplace his father was born. However, since " children are what their mothers are," it be- hooves us to inquire what blood mingle! with that of the Sheldons in the creation of the subject of this sketch. Gen. Sheldon's maternal grandfather was a Frenchman, who, at the time of the American revolution, was living in Halifax, en- gaged in mercantile pursuits. Although bound by ties of consan- gTiinity and marriage with leading Tory families, he sacrificed posi- tion, property and friends in his devotion to republican institutions and, casting his lot with the colonists, shared with them, as did many others of his nation, the privations of the eight years' war. When peace was declared, he settled at Kinderhook, New York, where was born to him a daughter, who became the mother of Lionel Allen Sheldon, August 30th, 1831, At the time of Lionel's birth his father, with his uncle, Lionel 511 2 LION EI. A LI. EN SU KLDON. SlieKloii. were engiiircd in the nmnnfactnre of woolen goods, at Worcester. Otsego County, New York, but in '34 the femily moved to Lii Grange, Lorain County, Ohio, where, as was the common lot of pionoei-s, the very necessaries of life were the reward only of unremitted toil. The very youngest hands had their allotted task ; and, until he was sixteen, young Sheldon's education was obtained at the district school in the winter, while through the long summer days he toiled in the field. At seventeen the problem of life presented itself to his mind, and, gaining a reluct^xnt consent from his parent*!, Lionel Sheldon' commenced his career at the very lowest round of the ladder, serv- ing for six montlis j\s a farm laborer, for the paltry pittance of eight dollars a month. From that time until he was twenty his laboi-s as teacher during the winter sufficed to pay the expenses of student life at Oberlin College during the summer; and in 1S53 we find our quondam farmer's boy established in his own law office, in Elyria, Ohio, having been fitted for his profession at the Law School in Poughkeepsie, N. T. It is with pleasure we chronicle the successes of a man who has won position and wealth by patient industry. Gen. Sheldon's prac- tice in Elyria soon became extensive, as it was lucrative, and, with the exception of serving one term as judge of Probate in Loi-ain County, the duties of his profession absorbed most of his attention until the commencement of the war. The political creed bequeathed by the Sheldons, from father to son, was purely Democratic, and Gen. Sheldon's maiden vote was cast for Franklin Pierce as President. Becoming, however, strongly imbued with the anti-slavery spirit of Oberlin and Ponghkcepsie, we find Sheldon a prominent member of the new born Republican party in 1854. It is an historical fact, that great moral enterprises have alw.iys been c;vrried on by moi-al oscillations, and it is not strange that the first i-e-action in a truth-searching soul should be from rank Democracy to rampant Republicuiism ; and we are not surprised to see Gen. Sheldon a member of the Philadelphia Con- oid L I N K r. A L L K X S II E L D O N . -i vention in '56, and know that be warmly supported the nomhiation of John C. Fremont. Gov. Chase appointed Slieldon Brig-Gen. of the Ohio Militia, in which position, the call for three mouths' volunteers in 1801, found him. Gen. Sheldon's strong political ties made him an enthusiastic recruiter in the cause of the Union, and in August, 1861, he set the example to his soldiers by enUsting for thi-ee years. He was first chosen Captain of a company in the 2d Ohio Cavalry, but pi'efer ring infantry service, was at his own request transferred to the 42d Ohio Infantry, with the ratik of Lieutenant-Colonel. Succeeding Gen. James A. Garfield as Colonel, he distinguished himself in the command of a brigade, iu the battles of Chiekiisaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, and Port Gibson. After the siege of Vicksburg, he was created Brevet Brig.-General, for gallant and meritorious conduct. The war over, and the sword so gallantly used restored to the scabbard, Gen. Sheldon settled in New Orleans, resumed the prac- tice of his profession, where his characteristic zeal and industry won for him a prominent position at the bar. Until the enactment of the reconstruction acts, Gen. Sheldon took no prominent part in politics. Rejoicing in the origination of these acts as a possible means of rehabilitating the South, these laws received his cordial support, although his course was not that of the ]5artisan, who would attain his own end, regardless of friend or foe. In the fall of '68, Gen, Sheldon received the nomination of the Republicans of the 2d District of Louisiana, over ex- Governor Hahn, The contest was spirited, and the campaign conducted with all the vim which characterized the struggles preceding the war. It required no little tact to win and keep the regard of Southern Republicans, and that Gen. Sheldon was so gifted is proved by the fact of his re-election, with scarcely any opposition. This triumph was the more signal, since the 2d Congi'e.ssional district of Louisiana is composed of the Upper or American portion of New Orleans, and the six adjacent parishes, whose inhabitants are the wealthiest as well as the most intelligent citizens of the State. 513 ♦ 1. 1 () N E I. A I. I, E N S 11 i: L n O N . Gen Sheldon's personal relations even with his political opponents wore of the most ])loasing chai'iieter. Frank in the expression of his opinion, his influence was ever on the side of peace. It is no part of his iiolitical faith that his opponents were necessarily wicked. Ilis aim has ever been to jiromote the best interest of the land of his adoption, and, according to his own standard of right, he ]n-os- ecuted his purpose. Of his Congressional career " Well done,''' may be written. Al- ways at his post bearing the interests of his constituents on his heart, he labored in the House for thirteen months, giving particular atten- tion to those measures which tend to promote the material develop- ment of the South, and especially to the improvement of the great commercial highway of the Mississippi Valley. Ho has shown a thorough appreciation of the needs of the country, and has not been void of resource to meet the emergency'. In a speech on the " Elver and Harbor Appropriation Bill," he said : " It must be remembered that commerce so largel}' supplied by production and consumption in the interior States, must find means of transportation. At the present time over six railway lines, the channel of tho lakes and Erie Canal, which is closed five months of the year, or by the channel of the Mississippi River and the sea, which is always open. "It must be remembered, too, that forty million active people demand an amount of passenger transportation impossible to esti- mate. It would not be surprising if the existing thoroughfares should become over-burdened with the volume of human and material freight ; if producer and eonsumei's soon suflPcr from ex- orbitant chai-ges exacted by monopolizing railroad corporations. A little study of t)ie physical conformation of the country will show us that relief from high rates cannot be derived from the construction of overland thoroughfares.'" And again : " The cereal- producing States canpot, as a i-ule, rely upon European nations for a market. After supplying tho East, the people of the North-west must look to the South, in and beyond our own country. Trade 514 with the West Indies, Mexico, and the northern states of South America, should be cultivated and developed. These countries will consume our surplus wheat, corn, and grain, sending us in return luxuries and necessaries of life, and the gold and silver, which is the produce of tlieir mines." Heart and soul Gen. Sheldon has labored to eiicoiu-age renewed attention to the culture of sugar, and to the advancement of every species of industry in the South. In a speech on Finance and Tariff, after sliowing that the Southern people had been too exclu- sively agricultural in their pursuits, and that poverty was the certain consequence, whenever any people purchased more than they pro- duced, he said : " By these facts it is shown that whenever any portion of the country is not producing enough to meet the expenditures of trade, the tendency is towards insolvency, while that portion which payl for its imports with its own productions is improving in its financial condition. The depletion of national wealth, like disease, attacks the weakest parts. " Cotton was the principal export of the Southern states. It was wholly sent away in bale or raw material to be converted into fab- rics elsewhere. If they had manufactured their cotton at home, and sent it away in fabric, its value would have been doubled. I hope the day is not distant when the buzzing of the gins will mingle with the noise of the whirling spindle ; when the cotton-presses will give place to the warehouses of the manufacturers ; when ships will not come to our ports with the iron, the steel, the cloth, and the salt of England to exchange for the compressed bales of the fleecy staple, but will bring their glowing gold to pay for the fabrics wrought by the industry and skill of our own people from the materials om- own soil has produced. That day will come to us when the watching world shall have become satisfied that peace and order are estaC lished, and poUtical disorders healed. Then, and not until then, will come to the South, emigration, capital, and skill." Gen. Sheldon believes that the government of the United State= 515 I. I () N K L A I, I. E N S 11 E r, D O N . lias ample power, and that it is the bouiiden duty of that central government to secure ])eace and order in all the States, and to ]m-o- tect the lives and pro]ierty of the meanest of its citizens. In a speech on the bill to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitu- tion of tly3 United States, lie used the following language : " My fear of centralization and des])Otisin is not so great as my apprehension of confusion and anarchy. The right to live, to possess property, and exercise the civil and political franchise are among the dearest interests of mankind; and it is the highest duty of the government to provide means to protect and secure every citizen in the undistui'bed enjoyment of these rights. The government of the United States was established not merely to de- clare the true principles of liberty, but to provide for their main- tenance and perpetuation. It would be gravely defective if it were not empowered to enforce respect for all declared rights of its citi- zens. "But while thus warmly advocating the power of a central gov- ernment, he has never ceased to claim the largest liberty for all the people, demanding general amnesty for all who claimed citizenship in the late Confederacy, not excepting those who actively engaged in the war against the Union. " When the war closed there were two elements of population in the South, whose future status was undetermined — the UacJcs who had never enjoyed citizenship, and the whites, who for their acts might be deprived of citizenship. The solution of the problem, so far as it enfranchised and citizenized both classes, was a wise policy. Whether the nation ought to have gone further and made citizens of all, need not now be discussed. It is clear to my mind what course should be pursued. Now / would grant amnesty at once. Good only will flow from it. Is it withheld from fear of adding strength to a political foe ? To deny it for such a cause would be ignoble. But it will not add a feather's weight to one side or the other. All can vote now. Disqualification at best is only a limita- tion in the number of men who may hold Federal offices. It has 516 I>LEN SHELDON. been urged that amnesty should be withheld because violence and outrages are perpetrated in the South. Disfranchisement excites acts of violence. This is an age and country of enfranchisement -ather than disfranchisement. It is morally and physically impossi- lie to mamtain tranquillity in any State, in any section, where any considerable number of the people are disfranchised. You may send your army to capture, and your courts to try and punish offenders but you had better send also the full guard of citizenship to those who are without it. I would use force, if necessary, to queU disor- ders, but I would remove every exciting cause of discontent." Gen. Sheldon is now in the prime of life. His physical manhood strong, vigorous, pure, unweakened by luxury and vice. His intellect- ual manhood of an exalted order, cultured and well developed. A pleasing and commanding person, with easy, genial manner. Such is Lionel Allen Sheldon, Member of Congress from the 2nd Dis- trict of Louisiana. The man prepared by circumstances for the work before him, the work onerous, indeed, waiting for the man. 517 -^ ^. ^. irON en AS. ]'.. FAinVKI.L. IE fJity of Cliica^o, IllirioiH, in worM-rcunwricA i'or itH comrnorcial jj^rantmim and busiricHH (intcrprisc. Matliotnat:- ^^1^ ically Hpcakinj^, we may Hay that the rnarrirnotli ^(rowtli of that city, tlic metropolis of the Great Went, is lst prominent among those architects of Chic?iw> and their own fortunes, is Ifon. C B. Farwcll, one of the lea/ling dry goods' merchants of tliat city, and member of Congress from tlie county of which Chica;^o forras the most important portion. Mr. Farwell was born near Painted Post, Steuben County, New Vork, on the first of July, 1S23. He lived in that vicinity for about fifteen years, being a pupil in the Elmira Academy, New York, during the latter portion of that ])eriod, where he exhibitAjd a decided fondness for surveying. In 1838 he removed, with his father, iren- ry, to a farm in Ogle County, Illinois. Here he found ample oppor- tunity for pursuing his favorite study, and, in the intervals of farm labor, went out with several government parties, aiding in fixing the boundaries of many sections which arc now in the heart of the agricultural regions of the Great North-West. His health had been poor, in early life; he had a chronic tfjndency to rheumatism and bilious fever. But the course of training he received, on the farm and in the field, obliterated these constitutional wf-aknesscs, and developed a robust, hardy frame, which has ever since been capable of severe and prolonged exertion, without fatigue. Long before he had attained his majority, he was anxious for a wider sphere of exertion tiiau was aiibrdod " iu the country." He decided to go to Chicago, and arrived in that city on the 7th of February, 1S44, with a cash capit^il of ten dollars in his pocket. For four long months he sought in vain for employment, and found himself heiivily in debt for board, but piido forbade him to seek assistance from home. Then a map of Ogle County, which the young man had drawn, fell under the notice of George Davis, Clerk of Cook County, wlio was so well pleased with it that he offered him the position of Deputy Clerk in his office. He entered upon his duties on Saturday, the 1st of June. The next Monday the County Commissioner's Court of Cook County assembled, and Mr. Davis was suddenly taken ill. It became the duty of Mr. Farwell to open Court, to record the proceedings, and to indicate action in many cases — in short, to act as the Executive of the Court. Though entirely destitute of practice, and with not even a theoretical knowl- edge of the duties involved, he succeeded so well that his future was assured. By dint of sitting up all night to study the books, and the wa^'s of his principal, ho soon acquired the desired informa- tion, and discharged tlie duties of the office for four months, giving universal satisfaction, on a salary of eight dollars per month. lie remained in the position after the recovery of his superior, and ob- tained a night situation, at twenty-five cents per night, as cashier with Messi-s. Briggs & Green, auctioneers, at No. 174 Lake street, wliich involved a steady attendance from seven o'clock till twelve, each evening. The firm transacted a large business, and Mr. Far- well became acquainted, in that store, with a great many people from the country, who came iu to buy and sell goods. In November, ISiS, he took stock. He found that some eighteen months of hard work had enabled him to pay up liis boarding debt, and left a sm-plus of eiglity-tive dollars. This he concluded to in- vest in Chicago real estate. Ha borrowed fifteen dollars to make 520 F A K W E r. L up tlie first payment on his purchase. Prospects were not very bright then, and for some years afterwards there was very little ad- vance in values, but the rapid appreciation which followed the con- struction of railroads in 1852, demonstrated the wisdom of those who had shown their faith in tlie future of Chicago by their works. Mr. Fai-well remained in the oflSce of the County Clerk till the Spring of 1846, receiving two hundred dollars and board for his last year's service. He then entered the real estate office of Captain J. B. F. Russel, at a salary of four hundred dollars per year, wliich was increased to five hundred in the second and third years. He in- vested all his savings in real estate, and made a considerable amount of money by trading in Mexican loan land warrants, etc. In 1849 he entered George Smitli's bank, as corresponding clerk, at a salary of seven hundred dollars, and was soon promoted to the position of principal teller. He remained there till December, 1853, receiving fifteen hundred dollars the last year. His first political essay was made in 1849, when he " ran " for the position of County Clerk and was defeated, coming out third best in a scrub race between thirteen candidates. This disgusted him with politics, but in the autumn of 1853, he was prevailed on to accept the nomination for the same office, and beat his opponent by three to one. He held the position for four yeai-s and filled it so satisfac- torily that he was elected a second time in 1857, without opposition. He retired in 1861. For some three years he de\oted himself prin- cipally to the management of his property, though he took an active interest in the progress of the war as a leading member of the Ke- publican party. In 1865 he purchased an interest in the present house of John V. Farwell & Co., which had been established several years previously by his brother, the senior partner, who had succeed- ed in building up the largest wholesale dry goods business west of New York. J. V. now retired from active business, and Mr. Far- well at once assumed the control of the afiairs of the firm, which he Btiil retains, supervising the operations of a hundred and seventy-five 521 men, suul tho linmllinat of ix»hh1s. tlio salos of wliioli :ui\t>iint to ti-n millions of dollai-s anmiallv. His ivtiivniont from ottioo iliil not, liowovor, involve tho ftbiimlon- ment o( politioal labor. His well-known ability anil sa<;aeit,v, and his ot"t-testeil devotion to the IJeinibliean party with which he wjus identitied fivm it.s beginning, eaiised him to be eonsultod on the jne- Hminaries of every sneeeeding eanipaign, and tho valne attai-hinl to his siiggt^stions was shown by the faet that they were always acted njH>n. Thongh not anxious to take oftiee oi' any kind, ho has been twice elected to the Hoard of Supervisors of Cook county — was made chairman of that body in ISliT, and has held the ivsponsible position of nuMnher of the State Hoani of Equalization of Taxes. In 1S70 the Eepublican Congivssioual Convention of Cook coun- ty, Hlinois, nominated him for Congix^ss by an overwhelming ma- jority, thovigh the names of several very able and worthy gentlemen weiv brought forward as candidates. Tho election was equally de- cisive in his I'avor, although the Democrats etteeted a coalition with a largo nnniber of dis;ippointed Uepublicans, who left no stone un- tununl to defeat him. In the succeeding Congress he was noted for his close attentivm to business and his thorough acquaintance with tlie questions bixnight befoiv tho House. ^Ir. Farwell luis always been ivgai-deii as one of tLe most liberal minded, public spirited citizens of Chicjigo, the givatness of which city is largidy attributable to tho nuuiifestation of tluv^e qualities in an unusuid degive by hor leading men. He h!\s ever been pronqit to contribute fi^eely of his nu\ius to help the cause of charity, of public enterprise, of ^xditical activity and national pi\>siH.M-ity. lli.- donations to the war fund wei-e largo during the Kebellion, and he hiis contributed libenvlly to chuivh work all over the city, and per- sonal distivss has seldom apivakxl to him in vain. He will long be reuiemWivd sis; having taken hold of the tii-st tunnel imder tho Chicago river at Washington sti-eot, when tho contrsictoi's had abandoned it in desj^air. and puslied it tlnvugh to a succosstnl com- pletion. We may add. too. that he is the only oue of the dry goods II o -•■? . en Mi. li . FA It \v K I- r, . 5 mercliant princes in OiiicJifjo wlio rcfiiHo; to compete with hin pa- trons by selling at retail. Mr. Farwell was married in 1852 to Miss Mary E. Smith, of Wil- liarnstown, MaHsachiisetta. He is the father of two sons and three daughters, all of whom are now living. ITe is a regular attendant on the Berviws of the Second Presbyterian Church in Chicago, of wluch liis wife is a member. The subject of this sketch is still one of the mrx-it active men in the bustling city of Chicago, though the apparent necessity for ex- ertion has long since passed away. Probably no one man in the city is the recipient of so many calls outside the routine of his business, which, of itself is large enough to require constant attention. But he is never weary, never impatient, never at a loss, or appJirently in a hurry, though transafiting liis business with " lightning dispatch." He is one of the best informed men in the W^t, being perfectly at home on a vast range of topics, and there are few who have an equally profound knowledge of human nature; his knowledge r)f men and things having been drawn from observation rather than from books. He is eminently entitled to a place in our national annals, as there are very few men, even in the Garden City, who have risen to a po- sition of equal wealth and influence, or who have done so much good for the community while hienefiting themselves. nOK LEONAED MYERS. ?lS^ i^ONARP MYERS, of PhilH.lolpliIa, a representative •v^5*^' ^'^^ rcnrmylvania, his native State, has been a member of Ir-r^- the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, Fortieth, and Forty-first Congresses, and was elected to the Forty-second as a Repuhlican, receiving 9,778 votes against 8,453. Mr. Myers received a liberal education, is an interesting writer, and has contributed to many popular Magdzines ; is also a good French scholar, and author of several translated works from the French language. His profession is the law. In 1854, when the several districts of Philadelphia were consolidated into one municipality, he digested the ordinances for the new government of the city. He was born near Attleboro, Penna., on the 1.3th of Nov., 1827. In this rural place ten years of his early boyhood were passed, until his parents removed to Philadelphia. In the different Congresses of which he has been a member he has taken a part in all the important measures before the House. In March, 1866, he delivered an able speech on the " acceptance of the results of the war, the true basis of reconstruction." Several of his views therein expressed were adopted by the Congressional Committee on reconstruction. On the 7th of June, 18C6, he delivered before the House an im- portant speech relative to securing League Island as a Naval Station. In February, 1868, he earnestly and ably advocated the impeach- ment of Prest. Johnson; gave a review of the wrongs and misdemean- 525 2 HON. LKOXAIiO MVRR3. ors of wliich he had been guilty, and classed liiin with uii])rinni])lcd met:, the records of whose lives are a reproacli on the pages of iiistory. The President's advocates against impeachment relied upon the alleged "construction" which it was asserted the first Congress gave to the Constitution in regard to the power of removal by the President. Mr. Myers traced the history of legislation in the acts of Congress through the years 1789, 1792, and 1795; showing most explicitly how vacancies in the departments shall be filled, when the Presi- dent shall remove the principal officers. He asserted they were not " Constructions," but legislative grants of power which could be, and had been, repealed, and that in the first Congress the vote in the House was a close one, and in the Senate it passed only by the cast- ing vote of its presiding officer. In the Fortietli Congress he was a raeniber of the Committee of Foreign affiiira and urged the passage of the joint resolution appealing to Turkey for clemency iu behalf of the much oppressed inhabitants of Crete. In this Congress he favored the purchase of Alaska and delivered a speech embracing his views, which possess special interest. In June, 1865, Mr. Myers delivered a memorial address in Phila- delphia on our martyred Pi-esident, Abraham Lincoln. It was a speech of much eloquence, and at the time received many favorable no- tices from the press. It has a special interest for those who mourned his tragical demise, whose memory is still unforgotten. We make a few cKtracts: " Great occasions call forth the qualities of true greatness. Genius frequently calls opportunities for itself, but adversity is the crucible wliich tries men ; and when the storm comes and the waves run high and the passengers begin to despair, the quiet faith and bravery and skill of him who guides the vessel through in safety marks him dis- tinguished among his fellow men." " Such an one was Abraham Lincoln. His life covering nearly all 52() nON. LKONAhU MYRHS. <{ of tlie present contmy, he stands in moral grandeur, the foremost man of his time." " The past four years hav^; been years of sad realities— of almost incredible romance, too. The stride of a centuiy was not expected to do so much. More history has been crowded into them tliaii will be told in ten-fold their time." "Four years ago American slavery falsified the declaration ot American liberty ; to-day that slavery is dead, and waits but the forms of burial. Four years ago the art of war, known to us in earlier struggles, seemed to have been forgotten; now the most war- like people on the earth, we again relapse into the pursuits of peace secured to us by the ordeal of battle. Four years ago, civil strife, the crudest test of a nation, long pre- dicti d, long, long warded off, had not yet fairly burst upon our hither- to fortunate land ; but it came in all its fury, and with the world as spectators, some confiding, but more predicting disaster, and political destruction. We have passed through the fiery furnace not un- scathed, it may yet be purified and regenerated. Eepublican insti- tutions have stood the trial, the sovereignty of the people, the ri'dit of the majority to rule, asserted in the beginning, has been vindicated to the end, even through rivers of blood. The flag was the shiijbo- leth, but, on its stany folds in storm and sunshine still floated the " Union " — the " People." " And all along this terriijle struggle every eye was bent, every thought turned to him who was at the helm, now in doubt, now in hope and confidi/nct ." "Remembering that a soft answer turneth away wrath, the oavil and the sneer fell harmless at his feet. With thanks for those wh<. approved, he kept steadily onward. True as the needle to the pole, he sought the salvation of his country, never forgettuig the priceless legacy committed to his keeping, never doubting the justice of his cause, or its final triumph, never taking a step backwards, and so n'iti the goal amid the hosannas of his countrymen." r.27 4 TTOX. LF.ONARO MYERS. " ITo (Vud iu the fullness of a well-spent life, laid upon the altar of his country ; just when a mition's thanks and a nation's love seemed to encircle him ; when the sneer had died upon the lij), and a world had learned to know the greatness of his heart and intellect ; when he had demonstrated that among freemen there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet, and accomplished the task which he truly foreshadowed and devolved on none since the days of Washington." "The world contains no like record. A whole people stricken in the midst of the joy of victory and peace to the innermost depths of grief, flags- suddenly draped, the song of triumph hushed. Such sorrow never before trembled along the electric wire." They took him back to his home in the West by the route which, but little over four years since he traversed amid the shouts of a people. They laid him in the great Hall of Independence he bo revered, while from the belfrey above the solemn dirge floated away into the night, and ever as he was quietly borne onward to his resting- place, through pageants of unutterable woe, millions came quietly out to gaze upon his bier, or catch a glimpse of that dear face, and women laid flowers upon his coflin, and strong men wept like children." " Time may mellow the grief, but the gratitude of a nation wUl endure for ever. * * * Above all, let his death waken us to a new life, that henceforth treason shall be branded — a crime without a name — never in another generation to disgrace the ' land ; and where public virtue and unsullied honor and high principle need a synonym, let us remember Abraham Lincoln." Among the most useful laws of the session of 1869-70, was a thorough revision of the patent code. One section prescribed the payment of new fees which Mr. Myers believed to be violative of the interests and rights of inventors. In a short speech against the pro- vision he paid theni the following glowing tribute — " Our country sm-passes all others in the products of its inventive genius. In every 528 HON. LEONARD MYERS. 5 branch of science and mechanism, in every department of art and literature, too, the men who have thus ennobled themselves have made us illustrious also, adding comforts innumerable, riches untold, not only to this people, already highly favored, but to all lauds. Fulton and Morse, Whitney and Goodyear, Wood worth and Howe, are but a few of the names enshrined in the memories of a grateful people. Remember that each decade produces new wonders in the develop- ment of the mechanic arts, new strides in the progress of American genius, and let our appreciation of the efforts and wants of inventors be shown more in practical action than in mere lip-service." The objectionable feature was struck out. It generally takes several years before a member can get upon the most prominent committees. In his third congress, Mr. Myers was placed on " Foreign Affairs," which in the " Senate " is first in rank and in the " House " second only to the " Ways and Means." His remarks on the " Alaska" Bill reported from that committee were so well liked as to be published at the time in many of the newspapers, but the most valuable work in which he took part was a Bill reported in the last Congress to declare the rights of American Citizens abroad. This Bill became a law, most potent in its results. England .had always claimed the doctrine of "Allegiance" that the duties of her citizens were " inalienable." We wan-ed against her in 1812 chiefly because of this assertion, but, after all, that war ended without determining the question. Mr. Myers has been successful in his efforts to secure for his city national recognition of its claims, as the appropriate point for celebrating the centennial anniversary of American Independence. We give a short extract from his speech, on this subject, delivered in the House, on the 14th of December, 1870 : "Mr. Speaker, in a little more than five years hence America will witness the most remarkable celebration that history will have to record — the hundredth birthday of a republic which has done more good for mankind than ever before was accomplished by a:iy Govern- 520 r, noN. i.i:oNAi?n myers. inont. T) will nvirk n coiilmy of such advancement, not only in tVccilom, hilt in discovery and science and civilization, as was never di-eainod of by 'liP wildest enthusiast. National holidays arc the wcU-sinings at which a people drink new life, remembering the sources of their happiness; and this great holiday will recall and reiterate for posterity the noble beginnings, the self-sacrilicing virtues of the fathers who framed a government in which liberty was the coruer-stono and manhood the only title to preferment." 530 MANSFIELD TRACY WALWORTH. l.ll/SjANSFIELJJ TRACY WALAVORTJI was born in All,any, K Y., on the 3d of December, 183(J. His father was Chancellor Walworth, who attained very great enainence as a jurist, being for twenty years the chief judge of the Court of Chancery of New York State. The decisions of the Chancellor were regarded by the members of the bar as of great weight and ability, and are cited to-day in the various courts of the United States as of binding authority in determining many intricate principles of equity law. One of the peculiarities of this distinguished jurist was the industry he brought to bear upon all his legal investigations. His decisions are enriched by Oriental and Occidental lore. He was authorized by the State, at his suggestion, to appropriate certain unclaimed Chancery funds to the purchase of a miscellaneous li- brary of rare works, in every department of learning, which should be attached to the Chanceiy Library and be accessible to the mem- bers of the bar for general reference and for their literary culture, no profession requiring more general historical and scientific learn- ing than the profession of the law. The bias in favor of a life pursuit or occupation is frequently deter- mined by the surroundings of the boy. Chancellor "Walworth held the summer terms of his court in a wing of his residence at Sara- toga Springs and here for many years was this valuable miscellaneous library deposited. Here the son acquired his literary tastes, and in this wing of the mansion the boy of twelve summers pui-sued a course of systematic reading which laid the foundations of his liter- ary culture broad and deep. The works were all solid Iiistories, explorations, biographies, scientific treatises, and theological disqui- 531 2 MANSFIELD TRACY WALWORTH. sitions. Young Walworth made himself familiar with the eontenta of the greater part of tliis select library before he was sixteen years of age. He was an excessive student like his illustrious father and made excellent use of his advantages. Entering Union College at the age of sixteen he graduated two years after, thus making in two years the college course, when most young men enter the Freshman Class at sixteen and graduate at twenty. His Freshman and Soph- omore studies he had made previously at school. Dr. Nott, tlie famous president of the college, hesitated to admit him to the Junior Class at so early an age. " You are too young, ray son," said that venerable scholar, " you ought to enter the Freshman Class." " I demand ray right of entering whatever class I can stand an exami- nation for," replied Walworth. lie was fully equal to the exami- nation which ensued, and graduated at eighteen years of age, the youngest graduate in a class of one hundred and forty members. Chancellor Walworth had set his heart upon making his son a lawyer, and at his earnest request Mansfield Tracy studied law for three years, was admitted to practice at the bar of New York. State, and was subsequently admitted to practice in the courts of the United States. The famous patent suit between Erastus Corning, of Albany, and Henry Burden, of Troy, known to thepublic as " The Spike Case" and involving a claim of $1,200,000, was referred at this time to Chancellor Walworth for decision. The subject of this sketch was appointed the clerk of this memorable reference and for ten years was constantly occupied in recording the testimony taken and preparing it for the press. The printed evidence finally made a great number of large volumes, almost a law library in itself, and is a living memorial of the labor of all parties engr.ged in this suit. It was during the pendency of this litigation that Mansfield Tracy Walwortli made his first serious essay in literature. A work ap- peared from the press of G. W. Carleton, New York, entitled " Lulu, or a Tale of the National Hotel Poisoning." It was received with marked attention by the press and caused a wonderful sensation in 532 MANSPIE],D TRACY WALWORTIF. 3 the cities of Albany, Troy, and Colioes, and the villages of Saratoga Springs and Ballston, where it was claimed the author had taken his characters from real life. It was said that he had taken the great "Spike Suit" pending before his father for his text and had satirized some of the parties connected with it under diflierent names. It was asserted also that the shouts of laughter the book excited were at the expense of certain well-known personages in the State. Mr. Walworth, however, disclaimed any personalities in his book and maintained that he was burlesquing only a certain type of so- ciety. This position was sustained by a leading paper in Boston, which claimed that the author covdd certainly find the identical characters in Massachusetts. " Lulu" passed through several editions and was followed in the ensuing year by " Hotspur, a tale of the Old Dutch Manor," which was also favorably received and illustrated some nice points in criminal law. " Stormcliff, a tale of the Hudson," achieved a still more marked success and is considered the author's finest work so far as descriptions of natural scenery are concerned. But the great work thus fai', from the pen of Mr. Walworth, appeared in 1869, and gave the author notoriety in both England and America. This work is entitled " Warwick, or the Lost Na- tionalities of America." It is a romance of American life, in which an immense mass of antiquarian research is introduced, and it ex- hibits the author's varied scholarship and extensive reading. The success of this work of fiction has been wonderful, no less than sixty thousand copies having been printed and sold in fourteen months. Piiblic Opinion, a leading literary authority in England, says of it, " Americans must be congratulated upon having an author at once so eloquent and so pure-minded." Several English newspapers have paid this book high compliments, and it has been translated into French and read with avidity in Paris. Morris Phillips, thp accomplished editor of the New York Home Journal, to whom "Warwick" was dedicated, received a letter from the editor-in-chief of Puhli.c Opinion, in whiuh he says, " When I 533 4 MANSFIKLD TRACY WALWORTH. lond such !i work t'roin such a source, I feci jealous for tho reputa- tioii of my owu country" (England). Mr. AVal worth is now engaged upon his magnum opus, "Tho Lives of the Six Chancellors of Now York State." The first voluiuo, the Life of Chancellor Livingston, is completed and will 1)6 published in the winter of 1870-71. He has also nearly com- pleted a new historical novel of the Persian war with Russia of 1S2(>, which is looked for with interest, as the author has been for two years studying, at the State Library at Albany, Persian litera- ture and archajoliigy. He is a regular contributor to the Uoirw Journal aud tho Now York Hutorical Magazine. Historical sketches, tales, and descriptions of natural scenery flow constantly from his facile pen. He has written many sketches also for the Baltimore MetrojwI'dan Record, the New York Evening Express, the New York Courier, and the New York Leader. Ho is a resi- dent member of the New York Historical Society, at whose rooms he may often be seen diligently studyiTig and gleaning for his nu- merous literary enterprises. He is an orator of marked power, and in 1856 took the stump for tho Democratic candidate for the presi- dency. His addresses before the Victory Literary Association and other societies were printed, and may be found at the public libraries. He resides in the city of New York during the winter, and at Saratoga Springs during the heats of summer, upon the estate left by his father, the late Chancellor "Walworth, in that Til- lage. He is a flue classical scholar aud, though still young, a thoi'KUgli aniii)ii!iri;ui. 534 ^A ^^ ^JM^t-^^s; GEOEGE E. nAEPJS, M. C. j'',~W I^OUT forty-four years ago there was living in Orange s^t!^ County, North CaroUna, Mr. E. W. Harris, a plain, indus- '^K^£ . . . '■*r^-(^ trious planter, who was every day diligently employed ac- quiring means for the support of a rising family. Here in 1827, in a retired section of the country, was the hirth- place of the present Member of Congress from Mississippi — Hon George E. Harris. In 1830 his father removed to Carroll County, Tennessee, and en- gaged in planting on a small farm. At this early day schools and colleges in our Western country were very few and the means for education were limited; only a few, upon whom fortune bestowed means, could enjoy the advantages of eastern seminaries and col- leges. Young Harris was not one of the favorite few, and was compelled by adverse circumstances to labor on his father's farm, to aid in the support of the family, to the total neglect of his education, except- ing the small amount of knowledge to be obtained in a few months at the country school. At the age of seventeen his ambition and desire to see more of the world induced him to leave his home, and making his way south- ward he arrived near Hernando De Soto County, Mississippi, with- out money, fiiends, or education. Here he commenced a livelihood for himself, working on a j)]antation two years, for small wages, and ■,hen managed a plantation for himself. The country then con- tained but a sparse population, and was almost an unbroken 535 I OEOUOK E. llAIUilS, M. C. wilderness. By groat energy, indnslry and perseverance he soon acquiiod a limited English education, and commenced teach- ing a country school, continuing teaching and studying for three years. After this ho commenced reading law without an in- structor, and at the age of twenty-seven was admitted to the bar to ]>ractice iu the courts of the State. His practice steadily increased, and the kindness of his manners, promptitude and atten- tion to business luid clients, whether poor or rich, orplian or widow, if they had money or not to pay, gave him a snffiri at practice to sustain himself at the bar and to sujiport his family until the break- ing out of the late war. Having been an old-line whig, and a staunch Union man, he per- sisted in his love for a united country until his State went out of the union, and the war became sectional. Then he wont into the Con- federate army, and there romjiined until the surrender of the South, his prediction being fulfilled in the downfall of the Confederacy, At the close of the war in 18(55, he was elected District Attorney of the seventh Judicial District of Mississi])pi, receiving a plurality vote over five opposing candidates, of well-known ability and popu- larity, and was re-elected in the fall of 1S6G by a handsome majority. In this position ho had to prosecute with a heavy calendar of crime, and to meet and combat the combined talent of the bar of Northern Mississippi, which bar has but few superiors in America. Ho held this office until February, 1869, when an Act of Con- gress removed all officers who could not take the " test oath " of 18G2, and compelled him to rolinqiiish his position, much to th^i regret of his many friends, but to the evident satisfaction of evil- doers, to whom he had long been a terror. In March, 1869, ho received from Brev. Maj. Gen. Gilliam, then commander of the military district of Mississippi, the appointment of Circuit Judge of the seventh Judicial District of the State, but being iraable to take the required with, did not accept. On the 20th \' October, 18'39, he received the nomination from the Republican GEORGE E. IIAliniS, M. 0. 3 party as tlieir candidate for Congress for the unexpired term of the Forty-first, and full teita of the Forty-second Congress, as providea hy the State Constitution. He did not seek the nomination, attend the convention, or consent for his name to be used in connection with the office, but in his a1)- sence was nominated by acclamation, and the Hon. J. W. Vance,, of Hernando, Chairman of the Nominating Convention, in pledging to the Convention the acceptance of Mr. Harri.s, paid him the following glowing tribute: " In pledging you the acceptance of Colonel Harris of the honor of Ijeing your standard bearer, I am proud to say to you that in long years past I have been intimately associated with liim in social and official relations. I know him to be a man of honor, pure integrity, and morality; a noble, honest and christian gentleman, whose elec- tion will reflect credit to our party and do honor to our selection." After a brief and exciting canvass he was elected by nearly lour thousand majority, a vote which surprised his most sanguine friends, and carried consternation to the ranks of his opponent. As a member of Congress he is quiet and unostentatious, always at his post unless providentially hindered, and the record of yeas and nays finds his vote on the side of juKtice. He has taken an ac- tive part in the Legislation on all subjects that promised good for his section of the countrj', especially general amnesty to the citizens, the construction of the Southern Pacific Railroad, and other matters of public good. 537 GENERAL CHARLES W. DAELmG. ^HIS citizen-soldier is entitled by reason of his meritorions services to honorable mention in this volume. We per- form a duty to the public, as well as an act of justice to the individual himself, in recording the events of a life not yet in its meridian, but full of usefulness and honor. The subject of this sketch has filled with credit many responsible positions in the State. He has evinced executive ability of no mean order, and, when occasion required, he has displayed the coolness of a veteran soldier. Early evincing taste and aptitude for military pursuits, when quite a young man he was offered, and filled with ability, positions on regimental, bi-igade, and division staffs of the National Guard of the State of New York. During the administration of Governor Morgan he was a mem- ber of his military family, and connecting himself with politics was elected president of the fifteenth council of the Loyal League. The sterling qualities, however, of General Darling, as a man and soldier, were first brought to public notice during the riots of 1863. His eminent services at this trying period entitled him to the respect of the community. At the first outbreak of these dangerous commotions, Mr. Darling relinquished the ease of a lux- urious home, and promptly offered his services to General Sand- ford, then commanding the Ist Division N. Y. S. M. During the three days and nights of those disturbances, he was, in his capacity of volunteer " aid-de-camp," ever on the alert, and always at the post of danger. His efficiency and courage in those troublous times -were noticed in the public journals, and received marked recognition in the "special orders" of Generals Wool 539 2 CnARLKSWPARLING. and Sandtbrd. Testimonials addressed to him by those officers and also by tlie mayor of the city of New York then in of- tico, expressed in the most complimentary terms their apprecia- tion of his distinguished services in aiding to restore public order by the strong !U-m of military power. Had similar services been rendered in thejiehL they would, undoubtedly, have been followed by speedy promotion. While we do credit to those who resisted the aggressions of the rebel armies against the integrity of the Eepublic, why should we refuse a proper meed of praise to those who, with equal bravery, protected our altsu-s and liresidcs Irom intestine ravages ? From the period just referred to, General Darling has continued to occupy a high position in the esteem of the officei-s of our State and General Governments and the public at large. During the administration of Governor Fenton, he was one of the most trusted and coniidentia] advisers of that official, in all matters relating to the organization of State troops, the payment of bounties, and the care of soldiers and their families. On the 1st of May, 1S66, he received the appointment of" Com- missary-General of Subsistence," with rank of colonel. "When the governor's staff was organized, at the re-election of Mr. Fenton, he was appointed ''military engineer-in-cbief of the State of New York," with the rank of brigadier-general. "While filling these latter offices, General Darling assumed, by direction of the governor, the difficult and responsible duty of auditing the claims of the volunteers of the State of New York, for pay and bounty due to them from tJie State and Federal Governments. The proofs of these claims were didy authenticated, and settlements effected, without expense to the soldiers. A large number of cases were adjusted, and universal satisfaction was given to the patriotic men whose interests were intrusted to this faithful public official. 540 CHARLES W. DARI.INa. 3 At the conclusion of this important service, Genera! Dariinj^ obtained leave of absence, and traveled extensively in foreign countries. Many interesting communications from his pen appeared in the journals of the day, graphically describing the various localities visited by him. An elaborate article on the " Suez Canal " is replete with interest, and contains much useful informa- tion on that subject. In the private life to which General Darling has retired, he is the object of the warm regard of a large circle of friends. His personal qualities insure to him great popularity, while his public services entitle him to the respect and confidence of the community. 541 ^ CHARLES FOSTER. " ilONG tjie pioneerH of Northern Ohio, was Charle-i W. Foster, who was born in Massachusetts. While yet young, .^,>_, V he removed to the State of New York where he remained until the year 1827, when he went to Seneca county, Ohio, stopping first in Seneca township. His first year was spent in the service of his father-in-law, John Crocker — his wages for the term being just one hundred dollars. In 1832 he went to Rome (now Fostoria,) then but a little hamlet, in the same county, where Mr. Crocker liad entered eighty acres of government land. There he commenced the business of merchandising with a stock of about four hundred dollars in value. As was then universally the case with country dealers, this stock embraced every department of goods used in such sections — a variety not now to be found in no one establishment in town. By prudent management and close attention to business, he waa enabled, as the country became settled and improved, steadily to in- crease his tra<^le with corresponding pro-sperity, and established a highly honorable character as a dealer and a citizen, which he still lives to enjoy. Chablks Fostee, the subject of this sketch, was born in Seneca to'B'nship, Seneca county, Ohio, on the 12th day of April, 1S28. ffis opportunities for education, comparefl with thfjse so common at the present day, were very meagre, being limited to the common "district school" of the village, with the exception of nine months spent at the Norwalk (Ohio) Seminary, from which, at the age of fourteen years, he was called on account of the sickncrss »i' the whole family at home. 543 'J CHARLES FOSTER. The contlniiecl illuess of his father made it necessary for Cliarles to enter the store, which he never left, but of which he soon came to take the chief active management. His father had intended that he should pursue the College coui-se preparatory to which he had en- tered the Seminary. So rapid was the development of his business capacity, that when but eighteen years of age, he assumed the deli- cate and responsible charge of making the purchases of the estab- lishment in the eastern markets, which he continued until a short time since. The growth of the business of the house is probably without pre- cedent in the State. Situated within fourteen miles of the county seat of the prosperous town of Tiffin, and dependent entirely on an agricultural community for trade, it is quite clear that nothing but the most consummate ability, untiring eft'ort and strict integrity could have created a business which, for many years past, has ranged from $500,000 to $1,000,000 per annum. Wliile, of course, much of such remarkable results is due to the well laid foundation, and to the con- tinued co-openition of the father, it is still true, that the remarkable ability, the unremittiag devotion, and consummate management of the son, the later and more complete success is chiefly due. A few yeai-s since the adjoining and rival towns of Eome and Risdon were consolidated, and in just honor of its most prominent citizens, the new corporation assumed the name of Fostoria. With the immense merchandize trade of Foster & Co., has been connected a heavy traffic in grains, wool, pork, butter, eggs, etc., etc. To meet the growing wants of the town, and surrounding coun- try, this house, some time since, commenced a Banking business which, under the judicious and popular management which marked' the other branches of its business, has rapidly grown in importance, until the capital employed and deposits rival those of many city banks. Great as has been Mr. Foster's success in the conduct of his busi- ness, his claims to the consideration of his fellow-men rest far more in the manner and spirit of its manascment, and the use made of 544 c If A It I, ]•: s r <) s T E K . 3 the great power thereby placed hi his hands. Extraordinary busl- ness prosperity in this cau^e has by no means calloused the heart, or closed it to calls of eitiier neighborly kindness or public wants. In all the community and region with which Mr. Foster has so long dealt, no one can be found with a reputation for liberality and enterprise, more extensive or better established than is his. No call of private charity or of sound public policy ever failed of prompt and liberal response from him. "While the various religious, social, educational and political interests of the community have always found sympathy and support from him, he has never been backward in promoting the material and commercial wants of his neighbors. His time and his money have ever been subject to demands of all kinds. To his active, enliglitened and liberal co-operation, more than that of any other person, is due the provision of railway facili- ties which liave contributed so largely to the rapid and substantial prosperity of Fostoria and the surrounding country ; and the same efficient agencies are active in other like enterprises. Though never indifferent to public affairs, and always participat- ing in political matters, Mr. Foster was never a candidate for pub- lic position— beyond that of a purely local character— until after repeated declinations, and protests, he was induced, in the summer of 1870, to accept the nomination of the Republicans of his district for Congress ; and the reluctant acceptance was only secured by as- surances of his political friends that he was probably the only man of sufficient personal popularity to overcome the recognized Demo- cratic majority in the district. The wisdom of the choice was indicated by tlie result of the elec- tion, which gave him a majority of Y7G over his Democratic com- petitor, Hon. E. F. Dickinson, a gentleman of unusual personal strength, who, ten years previously, was chosen by J 045 majority. No more emphatic compliment could be given than the vote cast for Mr. Foster by his immediate neighbors, who know him best, showing, as it docs, the liigh appreciation of his worth by acquaint- ances of both political parties. 545 pW//. l/7^7777r-Z) WILLIAM n. H. STOAVELL. I. H(? HE gentleman wliose name hea quently studied at the Scientific School, displaying marked ability and meeting with much success. When the rebellion broke out in 1861, Mr. Stowell was a young man, just arrived at the age of maturity. He had been engaged pre- viously in mercantile pursuits in New Englan'l,but after ths downfall of the Southern Confederacy he removed to Richmond, Virginia, after- wards settling near Halifax Court House. This was in 1865. In Apiil, 1869, on the incoming of the administration of President Grant, he was appointed Collector of Internal Bevenue f vr the Fourth District of the State, a position which ho held and whose duties he [K-rformed with fidelity and to the unqualifi'^d satisfection of the na- tional authorities, until he was elected a Eepresentative in Con- gress in 1870. Mr. Slowell, also, at one time, held the position of United States Commissioner for his district, and was clerk of the County Court of Hali^ix County, previous to the reconstruction of Virginia. 547 2 WILLIAM II. 11. STOWCLL. In childhood taught to abhor the institution of slavery, Mr. Sto- woU grew up entertaining the deepest sympathy for the negroes of the South. Ai;d when they were emancipated by the result of the Civil Conflict, and ho went to live amongst them, it was natural in him to devote much of his time and labor to their welfare. For a while connected with the FrLcdincn's Bureau, he was enabled to ex- orcise the authority conferred upon him, in befriending the colored I>eoplc of Virginia, and the interest he manifested in their progress and prosperity won their confidence and made him popular among them. At the same time, although widely diflering from his white neighbors in pohtical sentiments, the circumspection exhibited by Mr. Stowell, and the avoidance of everything calculated to engender animosities, made him respected by the community at largo. When the great controversy between President il ohnson and Con- gress was inaugurated; Mr. Stowell at once sided with the legislative branch of the National Government. His ideas on the important question of reconstruction coincided with those of the majority in Congress: hence he supported heartily all the laws enacted for the purpose of restoring the Southern States to representation in the councils of the nation. He had always talien an active interest in political ailairs, and as a member of the Republican party, labored diligently and energetically to promulgate the principles of that pohtical organization among the people of his adopted State.- Pend- ing the reconstruction of Virginia, ho was officially engaged in car- rying out the laws wdiich finally brought the Old Dominion back into the Union. By appointment of General Schofield he was tho registrar of votes for Patrick County in 1SG7, and the same for Franklin County in 1S68. His duties were of a delicate nature, and such as were calculated to gain him the ill-will of the many white citizens who were disfranchised by the reconstruction laws. But Mr. Stowell so performed them as not to give any ollenso; nor did he wound the feelings of the most susceptible. The part he had taken in tho reconstruction of Virginia, and the 54S WILLIAM H. U. STOW ELL. 3 zeal ho had displayed in support of the Eopublican party, placed Mr. StoweU i)rominent]y before the people. He was nominated by the republicans of his district as their candidate for the position of Rspresentative in the Forty-first Congress, but was defeated by George W. Booker, who was the nservative candidate, and was again nominated by his party for the Forty-second Congress, and was elected last fall by more than three thousand majority; he receiving 12,851 votes, and his conservative competitor, Mr. Wm. L. Owen, 9,669. With a single exception, Mr. Stowcll is probably the youngest member of the United States House of Eepresenta- tives, being less than thirty-one years old. He took part in the first session of the Forty-second Congress, acquitting liimself with credit and adding to his reputation. A flattering political future lies be- fore him, and we feel certain that he wiU fully realize the expecta- tions of the constituency which has given him so decided a mark of their confidence in his ability to represent them faithfully. 549 HON. SAMUEL SHELLA.BARGEH •HERE are few names associated with tlie legislation of Con- gress for the past fifteen years more familiar to the pub- lic of the United States than that of Samuel Shella- barger. It first came prominently before the people at the very mo- ment when the curtain rose upon the drama of Secession, and when tbe country seemed standing on the edge of an abyss, over which nothing could prevent her falling but the strong arms and willing hearts of her sons. Dming the terrible or- deal of war there came to the sm-face of our politics men who, by their patriotic devotion to the republic, as well as by their ability, won the confidence and esteem of the masses and merited their gi-at- titude equally with the soldier who risked his life on the battle- field. If it may be tridy said that without the Union Army to protect there would have been no Congress to legislate, it may be said with equal truth that if their had been no Congress to legislate during the rebellion, there would probably have bi'en no Union Army to protect. Superficial minds can not recognize the causes which produce results. They are satisfied with witnessing the event, and seldom trouble themselves with the task of inquiring into primary causes which made such event possible. Thus it has been that much of the glory of the late civil war, which belongs by right to the men who enacted laws in Washington, has been most unjust- ly bestowed exclusively upon the soldier, whose valor and sacrifices undoubtedly merited the greatest possible applause, but whose hon- ors would not have shone less had the Congress which supported 2 HON SAMTEL SHF-r-LAnARQEU. him throughout tho conflict been lowarJoil with a single laurel leaf from tho well-cnraod chaplet. I propose, in this article, to give a brief sketch of Samuel Shella- barger, of Ohio, one of those brave men who performed, during and after tho the war, signal services for his country. That destiny which controls the lives of all men did not send him to the bat- tle-field; but his sphere of usefulness was none the less important. Samuel Shellabargor was born in Chu-k County, Ohio, on the 10th of December, 1S17, being one of a family of three brothers and five sisters, all of whom, with the exception of the eldest, are living at the present writing. His father was Samuel Shellabarger, a native of Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, of Swiss-German ances- try, and his mothor, who still lives at Dayton, Oliio, in tho eighty- fifth year of her age, was Bethany M'Curdy, born near Brunswick, New Jersey. The old gentleman died in ISiJl, aged 63 years. He settled in Ohio many years before, and was a successful fanner, a man of strong mind, earnest christian faith, and much respected. Tlie subject of this sketch, who bears his father's name, first studied at the common schools of his county and afterwards at South Han- over, Indiana. At a later date he attended an academy in Springfield, Ohio, the city in which he now resides, and in 1839 he entered the Jun- ior Class in Miami Univei-slty, graduating with honors two yeare later. As a student Mr. Shellabarger was close and attentive. While at the University he wrote and delivered the first public address of liis life, entitled '' Frencli Revolution," the occasion being a contest of literary societies, to one of which the future Congressman belonged. Mr. Shellabarger devoted himself to his profession as a lawyer diligently and earnestly, and after a while men discovered his worth, and clients came in rapidly. His practice became large and profitable, and it is to this day as lucrative as ho could desire or expect. As a lawyer he is conscientious and pains-taking. He studies the details of every case in which he is retained, finds out its merits. and then works with a will to win it. In a newspaper paragraph HON. SAMUEL RHELLAB A KG EU. 3 bcforf; UH, eviflently wn'tten by one well acf[uainted with the subject, we find it stated that " Mr. Bhellabarger does not indulge in oratori- cal flouriHlics. lie first masters every subject on which he intends to speak, and having arrived at a conclusion, expresses himself in clear, logical argument, plainly put, and put in words whose mean- ing and intent are unquestionable. It is his plain, eamesj; delivery which gives him the influence he possesses in the House of lie- presentatives. Mr. Shellabarger may be on the ^v^ong side sometimes, but when he is it is from conviction." These remarks were applied to his career in Congress, but they are equally applicable to his career as a lawyer. At the bar his oratory is most efiective, be- cause it is alv/ays plain and earnest. He avoids shows and clap- trap, prefemng to let his case stand upon its own merits. In our country the profession of the law is but a stepping-stone to political preferment. The reputation which Mr. Shellabarger acquired at the bar placed him prominently before the people, and as he engaged actively in the political discussions of the day, it was not long before he was singled out for political office. He entered the arena at an epoch of great importance. The slavery question had begun to afjsume gigantic proportions, and the " irrepressible conflict " of which Mr. Seward subsequently predicted was hasten- ing onward to realization. At this time, however, the Republican party was not yet formed, although it was evident even then that a new political organization, designed to check the progress of slavery and to resist the aggressive demands of the pro-slavery ele- ment, was becoming a necessity. The Whig party, to which Mr. Shellabarger belonged, fought well in its dying days; but its extreme conservatism and timidity could not successfully grapple with the democracy. In 18.52 Pierce, the almost unknown candidate of the democrats for the Presidency, defeated General Scott, the hero of fifty battles, who upheld the banner of the Whigs, and during the same year Mr. Shellabarger made his debut as a member of the lower house of the Ohio Legislature, for Clark County, in which 5.53 i HON. SAMUEL Sll EL L A 15AUGER. he rtsiiled, was always reliably Whig, even as to-day it is one of the most reliable republican counties in the S;.ate. Nevertheless the prospect was anything but cheering. Pierce's Tictory had crushed the Whigs beyond hope of resuirection, and it seemed as if the upholders of slavery had obtained a twenty years lease of ^)ower. It was under such gloomy circumstances that the subject of this sketch first appeared in the position of a legislator. He served in the legislatm-e during 1852 and 1853, and on the expiration of his term declined a re-election and returned to private life. His career in the House, had, however, been satisfactory to his constituent.^^, who remembered well in after days the services he had rendered them. Soon after his retirement the republican party was formed, and with it Mr. Shellabarger cast his political fortunes. A determined op- ponent of the institution of slavery, he did not disguise his sympa- thy with the enslaved, aud his ardent desire to see them set free. The Whig voters of his district and county went over to the new party en-masse, and when 1856 came, Ohio cast her electoral vote for Fremont. To the attainment of this end Mr. iShellabarger hxrgely contributed. He took an active part in the canvass, deliver- ing numerous speeches, and adding to his reputation by the force and eloquence of his arguments. Buchanan was elected ; but it was apparent that the democracy had achieved their last triumph for some years to come. The storm which was to burst four years later gathered over the country with inconceivable rapidity. Secession was no longer spoken of as a reserved right of the State, whose exercise was probable, but as a reserved right whose exercise was ne- cessary. In the midst of the intense excitement which prevailed during the four succeeding years, Mr. Shellabarger remained an indomitable defender of the Union. He sternly opposed all propositions of com- promise with the South, declaring that they would, if adopted, merely avert a crisis, and not prevent one. He had now become prominent in the politics of Ohio, and in 1860 554 HON. SAMUEL SnELLAB ARGER. 5 was nominated for Congress by the reiiublicans, and elected by a large majority. When Mr. Shellabarger arrived in Washington the excitement was great; State after State of the South was leaving the Union, and the first speeches the new Kepresentative ever heard in Congress were those delivered by Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Ben- jamin, John Slidell and other Southern Congressmen, in bidding farewell to their colleagues, prior to joining the rebellion. He took his seat in the House on the4th of July, 1861, and at once entered upon the active work of the session. The crisis was a great one, which needed men ot great ability and nerve to carry the country successfully through it. Mr. Shellabarger was one of these men. Every war measure of the administration received his support. His first great speech in Congress was delivered on the 12th of May, 1862, on the " Kightfulness of President Lincoln's Suspeusion of the Writ of Habeas Corpus." His famous reply, early in 1863, to Vallandigham and other Democrats who had assailed the government for arresting such men as Merryman and Kane, was a master-piece of patriotic argument. He recognized the right of Representatives to take the administration to task for wrong-doing. Perhaps it will be best to quote from the speech, to show Mr. Sheila barger's view on the subject : — " It is not the right, merely, Irat the duty, of every representative of the people to watch, and by truthful, manly criticism, to guard the interests of the people and of their government, by detecting and exposing the errors and wickedness of the highest and lowest officer of the government. If a bad proclamation has been issued, if a vicious policy has been inaugurated, if a faithful and able com- mander has been superseded, or frauds have been committed, show these by patriotic and reasonable appeals to facts; and every patriot in the land will honor you, and will leap to your support in coiTect- ing the error. I bow in blind adoration to no Piesident, no party, no administration; I know none of them as such in this frightful stvr.g- gio for national I'fu; I honor the man v/ho makes this government 6 HON. SAMUKr, SIIKLLAHAIKIKR. stronger by showing its fiiults. But, Sir, the utterances I have citod belong not to lliis chiss of truthful or reasoning exposures, or rolmke of error in this government." Wc have already said that Mr. Shellabarger entertained the ut- most detestation of slavery. In the speech from which we have already quoted he attacked the "peculiar institution" of the South and cited the words of Washington, Jefferson and others to prove that the founders of the government were opposed to the traffic in human flesh and blood. Alluding to the Democratic prediction that the Republic was doomed, he said : — " Sir, if the Republic must perish, let all those holy memories of its origin, to which I have alluded, and the names of its founders, perish also ; and let that vail never rise again to agonize the hearts of a perished people by the memories of the frightful delusion under which an experiment in free government was begun — a delusion, a lie, enunciated in those words upon which that experiment was begun, that "all men by nature are entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ;" and, sir, let their names perish from among men who deceived their children into the belief that " neither slavery nor in- voluntary servitude ought to be extended except in punishment of crimes." I, sir, have not exhibited again for the ten thousandth time the words and deeds of these men of the past, in the vain hope of con- vincing the gentleman from Illinois, or any one who says that the non- abandonment of our principles at the bid of rebellion caused this war — that Washington and Franklin and Madison and Jefferson and Patrick Ilenry and Burke and Wilbef'orcc and Blackstone and Grotius and Mansfield and Wesley and Baxter and Addison and Clay and Webster were right. Nay, sir, not in the hope to convince him that the universal conscience, example, and heart of modern christian civilization is right. In obedience to these, at the period of our revolution, from the vast dominions of England, human slavery, like a bird of evil, took its everlasting flight. And in obedience to these it has been banished forever, since our revolution, 556 HON. SAMUEL SHELLABARGER. 7 from France, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, the Dutch West indies, and, indeed, from almost every civilized country upon the face of the globe. Nay, sir, not in the vain hope to convince him that the teachings of all these and of the Divine revelation are right, whose sublime precepts do inculcate a benevolence which, to adopt the* words of Patrick Henry, " is at variance with that law which warrants slavery." * * * I have cited them to show hiiu that if it would have been a dishonorable compromise for him to be bullied out of his principle of " squatter sovereignty," by Yancy at Charleston, then it would be dishonorable to compromise in us, to be bullied out of our principles at Washington by Benjamin or Toombs or Mason, because we had reason to believe in ours. Eel'erring to the prediction of lilr. Vallandigham, of Ohio, that the war for the Union would ignominiously fail, Mr. Shellaliarger in the same speech, said : — " Sir, it may fail. * * The gentleman may be right ; and this people may be so craven as not to defend by the sword the insti- tutions and liberties which Washington, under God, won by the sword. But, sir, let heaven, earth, and hell be witnesses of what T say ; if this struggle should, as the gentleman says it will, igno- miniously fail to deliver the Union and Government from a rebellion against the right of popular suffrage, against republican institutions and the liberties of the poor man — for, mark it, that is what the rebellion is — then, sir, that failure will be the result of efforts here to alienate the people of this Government from its support, and of the meditated purpose of northern conspii'ators to unite us to the government of the rebellion. * * * And, sir, in the Inferno of some future Dante, who shall trace the spirits of those who are the archi- tects of this hideous ruin, the infernal limner will paint in the fore- ground of his canvas of mingled fire, blood and tears, among their chiefs, them who incited the rebellion, by promising to this treason, as its best ally, one half of the North, and whose treachery to their, countrv at last made the hellish promise good." 557 8 HON. SAMUEL SIl ELLABARGER. This speech, of which we have given but fragments, attracted considerable attention, and at once placed Mr. Shellabarger on the roll of our ablest debaters and orators. It also added greatly to his popularity at large, and did much towards procuring for him the repeated endorsements of his constituents at the polls. It must br- remembered, also, that in the fall election of the previous year Mr. Shellabarger had been defeated for re-election by Samuel S. Cox, now a representative in Congress from New York City. This was at a period of deep gloom, when the people were disheartened by the reverses the Union arms had met with. When Mr. Shellabarger delivered this speech the situation had not matei-ially improved. In fact it had, if anything, become more dismal. Sherman had just been baffled at Vicksburg, and Lee's Army, flushed with recent vic- tories, was getting ready for its great invasion of Pennsylvania. But the subject of this sketch never faltered for a moment. He saw men around him grow weak of heart and heard the whispers of dis- honorable compromise undismayed and uninfluenced. "The last man and the last dollar " were with him not idle words, but word? pregnant with great meaning. He did not believe that the war fo' the Union would " ignominiously fail," and so he voted steadily for every coercive measure calculated to restore the Union and strike of the fetters of the slave. Two years passed, during which Mr. Shellabarger, in his private capacity, continued to extend an active support to the administration. In 1864 he again became a candidate for Congress, and as in 1852, was opposed by Mr. Cox. He was elected by a majority of neai three thousand in the same district where in 1862 he was defeated' (liy about two hundred,) but by frauds at the election, which, after too late for contest, were not seriously denied, and took his seat during the following year. All the dark clouds which had covered the countiy seemed dispelled. Secession had been crushed ; the South lay prostrate, and the negroes were free. But the contest had only ended on the battlefield to be taken up in the political 558 HON. SAMUEL SH ELI. A B A EG Ell. 9 arena. Mr. Johnsou's famous " policy " was no sooner inaugurated than Mr. ShellaLarger opposed it. From the inuipiency of the great struggle between the President and Congress he sided with the latter, striking heavy blows at the timid conservatism, which he believt-d was willing to abandon the fruits of the successes gained by the Union Armies. The part taken by him in the legislation which followed the outbreak between the two branches of the government was conspicuous and important. On the question of reconstruction he delivered, probably, the ablest speech of his congi-essional career. It was in many respects a remarkable production, and attracted general attention. Fifty thousand copies were printed by subscription and circulated throughout the coimtry, as a political campaign document, and many newspapers published the speech ia full in their columns. Our space will not admit of any extended quotations, but we shall give a few extracts showing the scope of Mr. Shellabarger's argument and the views he held on the momentous question before Congress. Reconstruction he defined in the following language, which, for terseness and condensation of thought, is equal to anything that can be found in American oratoiy : "It is," said he " under our Constitution, possible to, and the late rebellion did, in fact, so overthrow and usm-p, in the insurrectionaiy States, the legal State governments, as that, during such usurpation, such States and their people ceased to have any of the rights or powers of government, as States of this Union ; and this loss of the right and powers of governments was such that the United States may and ought to exercise local powers of the lost State govern- ments, and may control the readmission of such States to their pow- ers of government in this Union, subject to and in accordanci with the obligation to "guarantee to each State a rejjublican form of government." Having thus defined reconstruction, Mr. Shellabarger proceeded to discuss the question, what, by law of nations, is a State. He next cons'd; red what a State of this Union is, and showed, in notably clear 559 10 HON. SAMUEL SHELLABARO ER. .'ind peisp'ruous language, that the constitution deals with States, in reply to the assertion of Mr. Kaymond, of New York, that it does not, except in one or two instances. On the subject of the restoration of the States, Mr. Shellaharger said : " If these States lost their power and rights as States, by what au- thority and means are they restored ? Is it accomplished by mere cessation of war and the determination of the rebel inhabitants to resume the power of States ; or is this government entitled to take jurisdiction over the time and manner of their return .? I hold that the latter is the obvious truth. Let it be admitted that these rebel districts may, without the assent of the United States, and without regard to the state- of their loyality, resume, at pleasure, aU the powers of States — this government having no jurisdiction to deter- mine upon the question of their loyality or the republican character of the new State governments — then we have this result. " There were, during the first year of the war, twenty-three rebel Senators, including Breckenridge and another. That was more than one-third of the Senate. These twenty-three in the Senate are enough to deprive the United States of aU. power ever to make a treaty, or to expel a member from the Senate, or to remove from office by impeachment a rebel Secretary of War like Floyd, a rebel Secretary of the Treasury like Cobb, or a rebel United States Judge like Humphreys, or au imbecile President, who thought secession unconstitutional, and its prevention equally unconstitutional, like Buchanan. How long, sir, could your government survive with such a Senate, one-thii-d rebel ? How long can you live deprived of those powers vital to every government ? Not a week, sir." In this same speech, and in reply to Mr. Kaymond's question asking for the " Specific Act " in the rebellion which deprived the rebel Slates and people of the powers of States in government of the Union, he, amongst other things, used these words, " I once more answer iii:ii, in the words of the Supreme Court, that the specific acts were: ihcv causelessly waged against their own government ' a war which SCO HON. SAMUEL S II ELL A B A UaER. U all the world acknowledged to have been the greatest civil war known in the history of the human race,' " * * * * " They discarded oaths and took in their places oaths to support your enemies' govern- ment. They seized in their States all the nation's property. Their Senators and Representatives in your Congress insulted, bantered, defied and then left you. They expelled from their land or assassi- nated every inhabitant of known loyalty. They betrayed and sur- rendered your armies. They passed sequestration and other acts in flagicious violation of the law of nations — making every citizen of the United States an alien enemy and placing in the treasury of their rebellion all money and property due such citizens. They framed iniquity and universal murder into law. They besieged, • for years, your capital, and sent yoiur bleeding armies, in rout, back here upon the very sanctuaries of your national power. Their pirates burned your unarmed commerce upon every sea. They carved the bones of your unburied heroes into ornaments; and drank from goblets made out of their skulls. They poisoned your fountains, put mines under youi' soldier's prisons, organized bands whose leaders were concealed in your houses, and whose commissions ordered the torch and yellow- fever to be carried into your cities, to your women and children. They planned one universal bonfii'e of the North, from Ontario to Missouri. They murdered by systems of starvation sixty thousand of your sons — as brave and heroic as ever martyrs were. They de- stroyed, in five years of horrid war, another army so large that it would reach almost around the globe in marching colunnis. And then to concentrate into one crime all that is criminal in crime and all that is detestable in barbarism, they killed the President of the United States ! " Then, after saying these were not alluded to for any purposes of crimination or to revive this dreadful past, he said: " I allude to them to condense their monstrous enormities of guilt into one crime, and to point the gentleman from New York (Mr. Raymond,) to it, and tell him that was " the Specific Act." 5(>1 I'J nOX. SAM r EI. SUF.LLAltAUCiEn. Wc shall not make any I'urtlior iiuotations from this speech, be- cause it must be read throughout for its merits to be fully api)r^ciateJ. Patriotic and convincing, its eftVct upon the public mind was in- stantaneous and decided. But it was not by his speeches alone that Mr. SlioUabarger aided in the consummation of the reconstruction policy of Congress. He was a hard worker in Committee and in the House. Some of the most important amendments to the reconstruc- tion acts were drawn up and presented by him. Mr. Shellabarger drew the first bill ever pass d by the house of representatives for re- organizing a revolted State, being that of the reorganization of Louisiana, offered by Sir. Elliot, of Massachusetts, from the Select Committee on the New Orleans Riots, of which the author of the bill was a member. The section of the first great reconstruction act of Mai'ch, 1867, which declared the governments of the Rebel States, prior to re-admission to Congress, " jirovisional only," and subject to the control of Congress, and that in them all races should be enti. tied to the privilege of the elective franchise, was drawn by I^Ir. Shellabarger late at night, in presence of the late Thaddeus Stevens and Mr. Kellcy, both of Pennsylvania, and of others, in the room of the Committee on Ways and Means. This occurred amidst the intense excitement attendant on the passage of the bill, and it became a law, as written in the first draft. The vote, which was taken by tellers, and which decided it might be offered, close, and Mr. Stevens declared that the succsss of the measure was the most important vote in which he had participated during his long career in Congress. Among the many able speeches deUvered by Mr. Shellabarger, in the House of Representatives, were those on the " Privileges of Citi- zens in the United States," on the " Restoration of Louisiana, and on the " Constitational pswer of the United States to Disfran- chise for RebeUion," the latter boing delivered during the 39th Con- gress. He also delivered a forcible argument against the acquisition of Alaska, and in defense of the right of the House to refuse appro- 562 nON. SAMUEL sHELLABAllOEK. 13 priating money to caiTy out the treaty with Russia. Anotlier nota- ble sps'-ch was that upon the powers and duties of the two houses of Congress in counting the electoral votes for President of the United Statei, delivered on Mr. Butler's resolution of cansure against the Hon. Benjamin Wade in the count of Grant's and Saymour's vote in 1869. HLs speech on the Nullification Doctrines of the Broadh;ad Letter, of October 6th, 1868, was pronounced by leadir.g journals as one of the most powerful of our day, and was printed and circulated by the Republican National Committee as a campa'gn speech. It will be found in full in the Washington Chronicle of October 17th, 1868. The following extract may serve as a specimen of one char- acteristic of his descriptive style : " In illustration of that element in the career of the Republican party which exhibited it as accomplishing marvelous events but struggling long to ignore God, maintain slavery, and, after driven of God to its aboUshment, as being then tempted to abandon 'the Emancipated ' to their fate under the policies of the Broadhead Let- ter, he employed as his simile, the career of the astronomer Laplace, which career he described thus : ' He aimed to dismiss from His universe, its Great First Cause,' and went off in searh of that central world upon which he thought all other worlds were hung, ft ti a s j[i5 gtafif was the forces of gravitation which Newton gave him ; and for his compass he had the ' inductions ' of Bacon. He went imperious in his conscious strength; and each footfall marked a new epoch in science, as it marked a new sun in space. And as he went on and on, stiU deeper in the unexplored abyss, he haughtily shook from his very sandals the star-dust with which he lighted up the pages of his divine science for all coming time. And so he went proudly on fi-om star to star, through the illimitable wilderness of stars, until he reached, at last, its central place and power — and found there — not a sun but a — God. And then he turned his back upon the universe's Central Light, and walked into night, in the darkness of his own shadow." 563 14 UOK. SAMCEL SU ELLAB A UG E K. Mr. Shcllabarger is the principal author of the Bill passed during the first session of the 42 J Congress, and now a law of the land known as the Ku Klux law, for the protection of the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, and which as chair- man of the Select Committee on that subject, he reported to the House. Previous to its passage, he delivered two speeches upon this measure, both of which fully sustained the reputation their author had already won for eloquence and solid argument. Mr. Shcllabarger had the management of this measure in the House throughout that unprecedented debate and struggle which distin- guished this session of Congress, just ended at this writing. Declining a re-election in 1868, Mr. Shellabarger, nevertheless, took active part in the exciting Presidential canvass of that year. Soon after the inauguration of President Grant he was appointed to a foreign mission, which he held until 1870, when he resigned and returned to his home iu Ohio. In October of the same year he was again a candidate for Congress', and was elected by a majority of about fourteen hundred. As briefly as possible we have given the salient points in the career of Mr. Shellabarger. If we have not indulged in fulsome adu- lations it has been because there was no occasion for them. The man and his works are before the American people. Patriotic with- out indulging in too many protestations of patriotism ; magnani- mous yet firm ; a hater of oppression and advocate of liberty ; ever ready to extend a helping hand to the victims of man's inhumanity;" his pubHc life abounds in deeds which benefited his country and of the memories of which, bequeathed as a legacy to them, his children may well feel proud. And as a private citizen, too, Mr. Shellabar- ger's career has been most exemplary. We have shown him as a student, then as a successful lawyer, and next as a legislator plead- ing the cause of the Union and aiding in the great work of emanci- pating four millions of slaves. In his pleasant home at Springfield, Ohio, a picture of domestic felicity could be drawn equally favorable. 564 HON. SAMUEL SHELL ABAKGER. 15 Mr. Shellabarger was married on the 25th of May, 1848, to Miss Elizabeth Brandrifi", by whom he has four children And now we take leave of Mr. Shellabarger. Intho prime of life, it the height of his intellectual vigor, the future before him is full of bright promises. Foremost amongst the statesmen of the republican party, we feel assured that whether, as at present, one of the rulers Df the republic, or in the ranks of a minority opposition, his voice will ever be heard in advocacy of those great principles which tri- amphed after years of bloodshed and desolation had endeared them oQore strongly than ever to the hearts of American citizens. 565 I ( // ^ GENERAL JEREMIAH M. "RUSK. FREE FROM DECEIT HIS HEAD, AND FtJI.L As FEEE HIS HEART." i-''*EN'EEAL J. M. EUSK was born in Morgan county, Ohio, in 1 830, and settled in Vernon (then Bad Ax) county, Wisconsin, in 1853, where he has ever since resided. He was sheriff of the county some years, and represented his- district in the Assembly in 1862. He was commissioned Major of the Twenty-fifth "Wisconsin Eegiment in July of that year. After a brief service in the Minnesota Indian Campaign, his regiment was ordered down the Mississippi and up the Yazoo river, and sub- sequently participated in the siege and capture of Yicksbnrg. Af- ter that place fell, he returned to Helena, and was promoted Lieu- tenant-Colonel of his regiment, and was for a short time President of a Court Martial there. On the 1st of February, ISGl, he took command of his regiment, joined Gen. Sherman's army, and participated in the Meridien campaign. He was complimented in general orders for the disci- pline he maintained on that march, and for not losing a man from straggling or inattention. He continued with Gen. Sherman, par- ticipating in all the hot fights in the Atlanta campaign, from May 1st until the battle of Jonesboro, which gave us possession of Atlanta in September. At the battle of the " Twenty-Second of July," when the heroic McPherson fell. Gen. Eusk was in command at the front, and lost one-third of his men. He was fairly cut off and surrounded by soldiers armed with sabre bayonets, at one time. His sword was seized, and he was ordered to surrender, but seizing his pistol, he used it with such deadly effect that he broke through his assailants, and escaped with a slight wound in his leg and the loss of his horse, riddled with bullets. I mention this as an inci- 567 :t G K X . J K K K M 1 A 11 M . K I- S K . dent in illustration of liis bravorv and daring; conduct under trying (.'irtfunistmict^ is a fjur index ot" cljaracter; opportunities make lueu — wo Jiro croaturvs ol" circumstances. Distinctive traits of character, or jHxsitive qusilities cannot be successfully assumed for the ivcasion. Give a man an opportimity, and tlie metal he is made ^f, either voluntcvrily or involuntarily on his jvirt, will be made »o appear. The keen iH^rception at' a discriminating public will sivn detect the impostor, notwithst^uiding he may play the game with consummate art. The public man, esj^cially, cannot long play nndetected the part of the deceiver. Cren. Ensk is a true man. " Frt* from dei.vit his head, and full svi free his he;ut." Af\er the bsittle of Jonosboro he followed Hood Ixick into Ala- bam.% then n-'turne^l to Atlanta, and in Sherman's '* March to the So!»," he had command of the adrance of the Seventoenth corps, having the skirmislierss pioneei^ engineers, and the p».intoon train nnder his chsirge. In the Carolina Camp.sign, from Beaufort Island nortb, he was brevetted Brigadier-Grencral for gallantry at the battle of Saukahatchie, in Febrn!\ry. Hexe, to use Gen. Mower's ex- pression, he nxle farther into hell that he ^,Mower) would go, and he was the only man he had seen who would take such risks. This campiiign Lasted aWut two months. He was mustered out in Jime, ISOo. Frv>m the May previous he had been constantly on duty in Gen. Sherman's .irmy every day. "VThen his regiment \vas mustered ont, officers and men nnited in expressions of rcgarvl and esteem, and he was highly commended by liis snjvrior officers for gallantry. The following is a copy of a c;u>i that appeared in the "Wis- cousin State Journal on the sepsiration of the officers of the Tweuty- tit\h K<^iment, Wisconsin Volunteers : A Cakix Amekican HorsK, Mamsos. Wis., June 35.'A, 1SG5 Wo, the undersigned officers of the 35th Wisconsin Infantry, hereby take this oppv^rtunity, upon this occasion of the disbanding 568 f, K .V . ./ K k E M I A JI M . U C (i K . 8 of our iniUtary oyf^nizntiou, to cxpre»> our efete<,-rn and profound legard for Colonel J, M. IliiiiL We part from him fwling in our )i<;;irts tliat we liave Ijid g(jyti to our leader, than whom there in not one more dariii;< or gallant. i^Jrnel/lhering that he led u» through Georgia " down to the sea," and through the swamps of the Carolinaij ever mindful of our welfcire, he ha» stood by uiJ teful, we remember how lie performed his arduous duties during the dark days around and in front of Atlanta ; and when his regi- ment was called into action we always knew who was at its head- Asking nothing and receiving little, he stood by the regiment at all times, ever mindful of the interests of its officers and men. In parting with him our acknowledgment is, he is a gentleman, a liero and a soldier. His deeds do show either of these. Tnos. Hakwoou, OfuipUjAn. Wji.liam A. Gorr, fyv/rgecm. John Yit/juvuma), IA. mul Ao^t. E. h. WArx^jXEii, 2d Li^xt. Z. S. SwAS, (JojT/t/j/m. yi.KA:-iAyr S. PKixcHKrr, 2Mt. I). C. Hope, Qixo/rterm/Mt^r. Jlxich A. Fake, 1*^ Zt«t^. .Jou.v K. Cabs^/s, Captain. Olivee M. Yokk, 2<;? Lieut. J. M. EcsE. When Gen. Sprague was transferred to a different field, he wrote the following letter to Gen., then Col., Rusk. HKAlHiCAirrEBB 2d Bkigade, Ifrt J-T\'., 17th A. C, (near/ Washisgtos, D. C. ifoy Ztf^A, 186.5 Deae Coi/jnel : — As I am ordered by the War Department to a distant field, in a few hours I sliall 1^ compelled to take leave of ' 5o9 4 O E N . J E R K M I A Jt M . E U S K . my old command. In doing so I feel that I shall separate from very many that are very dear to me, made so by being associated with them in common toils and danger. I cannot leave you, Colonel, without expressing my thanks for that hearty support and co-opera- tion which has ever characterized your actions and bearing in the field. You have been very much in command of your regiment, it has won a proud name, second to none that I know in our armies. You, by your faithful and untiring efibrts, have contributed largely to this. You are entitled to, and I hope will receive, the generous thanks of the Executive and the people of your State for your faithfulness to the troops entrusted to your care. Tiie able manner in which you have discharged every duty in the field entitles yon to the gratitude of all who love the cause in which you have served so well. Please accept, Colonel, my sincere wishes for your prosperity and happiness. Your Friend, J. "W. Speague, Brigadier- General. CoL. J. M. KusK, 25th "Wis. Vols. Such was Gen. Rusk as a soldier, as we find him recorded, and gather fi-om those who know his history. He is a brave, true and modest man. In September, 1865, the Eepublican State Convention of Wiscon- sin nominated the General for Bank Comptroller by acclamation. He was elected in the November following by upwards of 10,000 majority. In 1867 he was again nominated and elected by the Ee- jniblicans of his State, and served the two terms in a most accepta- ble manner. During his second term the business of State banking having become nearly obsolete, by reason of the discriminations against it in the national banking law, the people passed an amend- ment to the State Constitution abolishing the office of Bank Comp- troller. So that he is the last bank comptroller of Wisconsin. The following editorial appeared in the Wisconsin State Journal o;i the occasion of General Rusk's final retirement from the office of bank comptroller: 570 J E R E M I A 1 As a State officer he was thoroughly conversant with the la^v a.uf rule, pertaining to his department. In closing out old banks ho has saved the State much money. His suggestions concerning the Unal settlement of all bank accounts have been valuable. "The General is distinguished for his thoroughness in business matters, the absence of narrow prejudices in all things, a determin- ation to do what is fair, for his e.xcellent judgment and unswerving devotion to Eepublican principles. "In August, 1870, he was nominated by the Eepublicans of the Sixth Congressional District in Wisconsin as their candidate for representative in Congress ; and in November of the same year was elected by the largest majority given by any district of the State to Its representative. He is now serving his term in Congress " Gen. Eusk's post-office address is Viroqua, Vernon county V^Tis- eonsin. •" " In personal appearance he is taU, and of full physique ,• mustache and chin beard, full, smooth face, bearing the evidence of frankness and honor; candid and modest in conversation, he wins your confi- dence at &st sight. Men of sterling qualities wiU always have friends, and Gen. Eusk has many. His manner is quiet and void of pretense._ He has been a faithful and honest officer, as well in civil life as in military service." "Free from deceit his head, and fuU as free his heart." 571 -C^c, JAMES M. ASHLEY. w if does not im])air or further the political prospects of any of ^^ her citizens. We have every reason to feel proud of our "self-made" men. Unaided talents hewing a pathway up the hill of life, is a spectacle far more gratifying than that presented by mediocrity pushed forward by the influence of wealth to positions in which its deficiencies are all the more glaringly exposed. And in writing of James M. Ashley, I write of a man who, thrown on his own resources when a mere boy — deprived of those social and educational advantages which are such powerful appliances of mod- em civilization — found, that it devolved upon his unaided exertions to solve the problem of his manhood — whether it would be passed in ignoble obscurity, or whether he would lead it to an honorable station in life. Bom on the 14th of November, 1824, in the State of Pennsyl- vania, he remained at home with his parents until he was nearly fifteen years of age. His mother was a woman of marked ability, fair culture and extraordinary executive power, and to her he is in- debted for all the rudimental education he obtained. His father was a clergyman and an educated man ; but traveling on circuits in the then frontier settlements of West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio, he was unable on the small compensation he received to give any of his children a collegiate education. At that time there were but few select schools in the localities named, and no public schools at all. Before he was fifteen, the subject of our sketch, mTich against the wishes of his parents, went forth into the world to seek support for 573 a JAMKS M. ASin.KY. liitusolf. On .1 "Wostorn rivor stoaniluwt ho obtained a situation ns cabin boy. Tho duties wore uiu'ongonial, but stern neoossity oom- pollod biin to niako tho bix'^t of n bad barjjaiu. In the intervals of rest fnMu his arduous and i>oorly rt^nuitod laboi-s, ho dovotod hini- solf to study, sooinjj iu oduoatiou a moans to ovorcoino the obsta- olos which besot his pathway. At this time, newsjiapers wore not so gt>noraUy oirouhUtni in tho West, aTid books wore not so lunnor- ous as thoy nowaro; but the lad never neglected an opportunity of tjottini; thoni, and when once in his possession, tlioy wei-o never n^limpiishod until ho had gleaned everything of value they con- tained. .\s a natund ooiisequence of this self-«tudy, it was not long betoiv his mental improvement tittod him for a more ivsponsible station than he had yet occupied. ^Ir. Ashley turned his attention to the " art preservative of arts," as the bi\st o]HMnng he could obtain. Accordingly, he abandoned tho steamboat business, and ji-opairing to Portsmouth, Ohio, where his father had once i-esided, he entered a printing-office in that place. FixMU type-setting, which ho used merely as a stej^ping- stone, "Mr. Ashley wont into the editorial sanctutu. He became the editor of the 2\>rtmnyufh I^^mocrat and at>orwai-ds was engaged on tho Daib/ Disj^rh-^. In these pivitions he displayed s\ich marked ability and depth of thought in his oilitorials and contributions that his iKM-formancos in an intellectual and literary sense were regarded by his friends as a success, but tho pecuniary results were anything but llattoring, and ho was compelled to abandon tho enterj^rise and siH>k some other employment. At this time he was a nieniber of the democratic psirty, while that ptirt of Ohio in which ho resided was intensely AYliig. It is, therefore, not surprising that he failed in making his newspijx^r a tinancial success. Even to the present day it is up hill work with Democratic journalists in that locality, although Pon\ocrats .are now mw-o numerous, proportionately, than they were when Mr. Ashley was an editor. On leaving the e<57 without insurance. It will be seen that wliat is remarkable in his early career is its ever clianging phaads. I have skjwn Mr, Ashley as a cabin boy, a printer, an cnal knowl edge of tlie iastitution of slavery, gained by a residence of some years in the South, liad not only made him an abolitiom'st of the a<^lvanced school, but had also alienated him entirely from the De- mocTacy, as a ])arty organization. He was a member of the Pitts- burgh Convention, when the Republican yj>arty was firmly organ- 575 iroil, and l>v bis active iiartieipatiou in tlu* political movrments of the iIrv, soon bocaiue one of its im>st jironiinont ajul influential Knd- ei-s. In 185t) ho was u delegate to tlio National Republican Con- vention at riiiUulelpbia, which ni)niinatod l"^-eniont. In IS.'iS, be was nominated the Republican candidate for Kepresentativc in Con- jjivss tnini bis district, and was elected over his Democratic com- petitor, Mr. MungxMi. llo arrived in "Washington, a comparatively unknown uian, and began his Congressional caiver with the disad- vantages of having to compete with some of the n>ost gifted men of the nation, whoso reputations for brilliancy of oratory and profun- dity of thought wei-o well estabUshod, and upon whom the public attention was mainly directed. Still, there were important ques- tions before the country, and, as the then minority of Republicans were attacking the Democracy, on them, with great vigor and abil- ity, a fair field lay open to all men of talents to win honorable distinction. Mr. Ashley opposed the demands of the slave interest with ability and determination. During the exciting sessions of 1S59-60, he was foremost in resisting sUl the schemes of the slave-power, and he did not hesitate to warn tlio Southern membere that if they carried into etlect their threat of secession, it would be the duty of the North to eoeree them back into the Union. So marked and successful was his career during his first term in Oongrel- diers of th;> Union army. Indeed, his devotion to the patriotic Uicn who iniperilled their lives for tb^' preservation of the Republic is one r>7G JAMES M. ASULET. of the most honorable facts in the eventful puhlie career of Mr. Ashley. A man of the people, and springing from the people, it was to be expected! tliat Mr. Ashley would favor government by the masses to the fullest extent. ILn has always been opposed to the unre- strainwl rule of the majority, believing that the minority have rights which ought to be resjxjcted. The first speech ever delivered in Congress in belialf of minority representation, was made by him, and he reported a bill to the House, looking ixj the introduction of tliat idea in the Territories of the Union. In c<^^nnection with the lion. Lot M. Morrill, of Maine, he drew up and liad cliarge of the bill to aboUsh slavery in the District of Columbia. In the speech he delivered on tliLs question, he said : " A few years ago, one of freedom's distinguished oratfjrs startled the country by declaring tliat 'Congress Wl no more power to make a slave than to make a king.' If, then, there is, as I claim, no constitutional power in Congress to reduce any man or race to slavery, it certainly will not be claime<^l that Congress has the power to legalize such regulations as exist to-day, touching persons held as slaves in this District, by re-enacting the slave laws of ^Maryland, and thus doing by indirection what no sane man claims authority to do directly. I know it is claimed by some that, if Congress has power to abolish, it must necessarily have power to establish slavery. I will not insult the intelligence of this House by discassing such a proposition. If Congress could not constitutionally re-enact the slave laws of ilaryland for tliis District, then slavery could not exist even for a single hour after the cession of the territory became com- plete ; but whether slavery constitutionally existed in this District or not, tliat it does exist is a fact ; and, because it exists, and has existe^l, by the sufferance and sanction of the National Government for which the entire people of the United States are justly resiJonsi- ble, it is more than ever the imperative duty of this Congress to aMisli, at once and forever, so unnatural and unjastifiable a wrong. And, sir, if it be necessary to employ gold to do it, let gold be em- 577 JAMKS M. ASH 1.1! Y. ployed. Gold, which has i-orruptod statesmen, perverted jnstice, and enslaved men, can never bo more righteously used than when it is employed to re-establish justice and ransom slaves." Mr. Ashley continued at length in defence of the bill, arguing in favor of its justice to the oppressed slave, its advisability, and its jH)licy. His peroration, which was most eloquent, was as follows : "Mk. CuAiKM^Mf — The struggles and hopes of many long and weary years are centered in this eventful hour. The cry of the op- pressed — ' how long, O Lord ! how long V — is to be answered to-day by the American Congress. A sublime act of justice is now to be recoi-ded where it will never be obliterated, and, so far as the action of the Eoprcsentatives of the people can decrea it, the fitting words of the President, spoken in his recent special message, ' iNrriAXK ani> Emakoipate,' shall have a life co-equal with the Kepubh'c. God has set his seal upon these priceless words, and they, with the memory of him who uttered them, shall live in the hearts of the people for- ever. The golden morn, so long and so anxiously looked for by the fi-iends of freedom in the United States, has dawned. A second iia tional jubilee will henceforth be added to the calendai". The brave words heretofore uttered in behalf of humanity in this Hall, like ' bread oist upon the watei-s,' are now ' to return after many days,' and find vindication of their purposes in a decree of freedom. The command of God, to let the oppressed go free, is declared to be cm- duty, not only by our patriotic President, but by both branches of our National Congress ; and let us hope that, from this time hence- forth and forever, this nation is never again to be humiliated and disgraced by being responsible for the existence and continuation of human slavery. ]S"o longer, within our national jurisdiction, where Congress has constitutional power to abolish it, shall slavery be tol- erated. The nation is to-day entering upon a policy which cannot be reversed ; and jnstice is vindicated, humanity recognized, and God obeyed.'' Not long after delivering the speech, of which the foregoing are extracts, Mr. Ashley had charge, in the House of Eepresentatives, 578 JAHES M. ASHLEY. of the Constitutional amendment abolishing slavery in the United States. During the great debate wliich preceded its adoption, ho delivered another oration on the subject of emancipation. Extracts would not do justice to it ; hence, we shall not quote the language. It was a speech of rare eloquence, aboxmding in lofty and philan- thropic sentiments, exhibiting a deep love of freedom and sympathy for the enslaved, and clothed in most felicitou-s language. It was the cap-stone of Mr. Ashley's eft'orts to destroy slavery, and not only^ extended his reputation, but also aided the cause of eman- cipation. We have indicated tliat, throughout the war, Mr. Ashley's course was eminently patriotic ; and such extracts as we have made from his speeches, aside from his reputation as a patriot, suffice to prove the fact. Remarkable, indeed, it is, that, as early as 1861, he fore- saw the political difficulties which would arise after the suppression of the rebellion in the South. He prepared, during the extra ses- sion of July, 1861, and presented to the Committee on Territories — of which he was the Cliairman — the very first measure of Recon- struction ever submitted to Congress. By direction of the Commit- tee, on the 12th of March, 1862, he reported his bill to the House, but the hour had not arrived for its passage. Mr. Ashley had merely anticipated what was to be inevitable six years later. On motion of Mr. Pendleton, of Ohio, the biU was laid on the table by a vote of 65 yeas to 56 nays. Tliis defeated it, and for several ses- sions aftei-wards the subject was not brought up again; but the ideas it contained, and the line of policy it represented, were em- bodied in the great Reconstruction laws which finally restored the Southern States to representation in the CouneilB of the Reijublic. Mr. Ashley crossed the continent and visited California in 1865. In response to an invitation from a large number of citizens, he de- h'vered an arldress at Piatt's Hall, in San Francisco, on the evening of the ITth of September, which the Alto, Califomiom pronounced " a great oration, splendid in its ability and most powerfol in its effects." 579 « .1AM V. S M . AS II 1, K Y. Wt> i'o\^y fn>m 77i<' /'.Wiiinif /hifHin tlio following; nilniirablc stntiMiiout of his viows on rivonstnii'lion. Ilo said, "tlint tlic only <|iiostion wliioli ooiild posisiiily divido tlio Kopiiblican fitntesmon of tlio nation n>i!j;lit ho hrictlv stalod. To hi,< mind the qnostion was simply this: ' W/ilo of tlio thirteen (\)loiiios adopted our pres- ent national Constitution, the old Confederation was abolished and the Dnited States boeamo a nation; that tlio national Constitution "is the supremo law of the land, aiiylhiiiii in tlio laws or judicial decisions of the States to the contrary notwithstanding;" that the national Government, thus created is clothed with full powers for its solf-pra^ervation ; that tho Govorninent of the United States is a government of the people, and not a govermnont of thirty -six sov- ereign, independent States ; but a government of the people residing in tho several States which have State governmeuts, organized in suboixlination to and in conformity with the national Constitution ; that the people who mnintaiii such State governments are constitu- tionally clothed with tlu> power of governing tho nation in the na- tional Congress.. '"1 hold th;it when the people of the States recently in rebellion confederated together in violation of the natiomJ Constitution, and oi-gani/.ed and maintained by force of arms a f//' /dcA) hostile gov- ernment, and the rebellion assumed proportions formidable enough to claim, and to have concedetl to it by tho United States and by the gre)\t powers of Knn^po, belligerent rights, from that hour con- stitutional governments in each of the States so confederated to- gether legally cesvsed to exist ; and nntil State governments are or- ganized in each of said States, in subonlinatiou to the national Constitution, and recognized by the Congress of the United States, tJiere can be no constitutional State governments in such States. " ' I hold that whenever the people residing in any one or more of the States neglect, or refuse to maintain constitutional State gov- ernments, whether it be by abolishing their State Constitutions and 5m JAMES M. ABRLKT. rcfuBing to ordain new ones, or l»y confederating together with oilier States or foreign powers to malce war ui)on the nation, from that monoent the governing power, whether for national or State pur- poses, which was lodged by the national Constitution and laws of file United States in the people of such State or States, terminates ntid remains in the people residing in the States which maintain constitutional governments. In other words, that the sovereignty of the nation cannot be destroyed or impaired within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States by tlie action or the refasal to act of any one or more of the States. "'I hold that the people of any State may, in utter disregard of their constitutional obligations, abolish, in fact, their State Constitu- tions and governments whenever tlioy see fit to do so; and they may refuse to establish otliers; and that there is no way in which a majority of the people in any State can he compelled to maintain a State government or to* elect Senators or Representatives to Con- gress or to vote for Presidential Electors. Nevertheless the sover- eignty of the United States over the territory and people within such State remains unimpaired ; the laws of the United States are Iffgally in full force, and the allegiance of every citizen residing witliin the territorial limits of the nation, whether in organize^l or unorganized States, is due to the United States, whatever may be the action of a majority of the people in any State. " ' I hold that no State can, either by legislative act or by a con- vention of the people, conMltutionall/y pass an ordinance of secession, or ordain a new State Constitution and government hostile to the United States ; that if euch ordinances of secession are passed, and iostile State governments organized, they are illegal, and the citizens of the United States residing within the limits of such States do not owe allegiance to snch government; but if a majority of the consti- tuted electors of a State unite with its constituted authorities and pass an ordinance of secession or ordain a new State government by abolishing their old State Constitution and adopting a new one unknown to the Constitution, and attempt to maintain such revolu- 581 10 J AMES M . A SHLE Y. tionary government by force, tliey do iu fact destroy their legal State government.' " Mr. Ashley made an argument in favor of these propositions, which at the time commanded the general attention of the leading men of the country. "In closing it, he said: 'All I demand in the reorganization of State governments in the rebel States is justice — justice alike to loyal white and loyal black — ^justice to the late rebels also — justice tempered with mercy, if you will, but nevertlielcss justice, that jus- tice which secures the personal rights of all by placing in the hands of each the ballot — the only sure weapon in a Republic of protection and defence to the poor man, whether white or black. To me the ballot is the political stone, " cut out of the mountain without liands, which shall fill the whole earth, and break every yoke and let the oppressed go free." "Whoever shall fiiU on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall M\ it will grind him to powder." ' " From what we have said and quoted above, it will be seen that Mr. Ashley could not have been, at any time, in sympathy with President Johnson's policy of restoration. It is a fact that, as early as June, 1865, he sounded the alarm that aroused the Eepublican party to opposition to the President. At that time the President, who had not yet more than initiated the programme which after- wards evoked the hostility of his party friends. In a speech deliv- ered at Toledo, Ohio, in the month stated, Mr. Ashley said : " I re- cently went to "Washington to present what I conceive are the views of the earnest men of the country to the President. In the inter- view which I had with him — ^with other gentlemen and an inter-. ■ view with him alone — the President assured me that he earnestly desired to carry out the wishes of the Union men of the country. I asked him to withdraw the amnesty proclamation of Mr. Lincoln, 80 that the rebels who had committed treason since its issue should not have the benefit of its promises or provisions. I asked him to withdraw it so that these rebels could not demand, as a right, the 5S2 JAMES M. ASHLEY, 11 benefit of that proclamation. I asked him to do so because I be- lieved that the executive has no power to issue a pardon in advance of the crime committed. We succeeded. "Every condition the earnest men asked for was put into the new proclamation. Upon only one question did we differ, and that was on the question whether, upon the reconstruction or reorganization of the rebel governments, the colored soldiers and colored loyal citizens should be allowed to vote, or whether, because of the color of their skin, they were to be excluded' from this privilege. "While professing to desire, in his interview with us, that all men should vote, without distinction of color, the President embarrassed him- self and us with this idea — that the States which had been in rebel- lion are still States — or, in other words, that the governments of these States were not destroyed, but were only in abeyance, and that when the rebellion was suppressed, the laws and constitution of said States revived, and that neither he nor Congress had any au- thority to prescribe the qualification of electors in those States. I replied to him by saying that while I had no disposition to press any theory of my own — willing as I was to subordinate my own opinions to the accomplishment; of the great purpose in view — I said to him frankly, that his were in conflict with two decisions made by the Supreme Court — one by Chief Justice Taney, and the other by Chief Justice Chase. I said to him, according to the dicta of these judges, that he could as readily enfranchise the black man as disenfranchise the white, for that, under the constitution, he had no power but the military power to say who should or who should not vote at the preliminary elections for Reconstruction ; that if he could exclude one man as a voter under the constitution, he could exclude ten thousand, and that if he could admit any one man to vote he could admit all loyal men without regard to color. I need not tell you what the answer was to that. T merely said to him that the anti-slavery party had destroyed the old whig and de- mocratic parties ; that the wrecks of these parties were now scat- tered and strewn along the political coast, and that we intended, 583 12 J A M E S M . A 8 U L E T. under God, to crush any party t)r any man who stood up against univei'sal enfranchisement. " And, gentlemen, I went to Virginia on invitation, and remained among the people until I became satisfied that under the pro- gramme foreshadowed by the Executive the rebels would take pos- session of the new State government, and I said that there was no way of escaping from the dilemma unless the President called Con- gress together. The State is now completely in the hands of men who, forty days ago, were in rebellion against the government ; and this will be so in every rebel State. They will assume the i-ebel debt as part of the State debt, and enact a system of laws which, even if the constitutional amendment be adopted, vnW practically enslave the black man. What is our duty under the circumstances ? I would counsel our friends to forbearance and kindness, but firm- ness ; and then, with the liberal press of the country to sustain us, we may bring the adpiiuistration of President Johnson to the right point, as the anti-slavery men brought President Lincoln, after a contest of nearly two yeai-s." The hopes entertained by Mr. ii^hley were not realized. Presi- dent Johnson was less tractable than Mr. Lincoln, and would not yield to Congress. The contest between the two branches of the government, approached a crisis, when, on the 7th of January, 1867, Mr. Ashley impeached the President of high crimes and misdemeau- ore, his speech, which was one of remarkable vigor and eloquence, creating a great sensation throughout the country. His resolution of impeachment was referred to a Committee, which, on the 25th of November following, reported favorably upon it ; but the House, by a large majority, defeated it. Subsequently, as is well known. President Johnson was impeached ; and whatever may be thought of the policy-wisdom of Congress in impeaching him, to Mr. Aslilcy must be given the credit of inspiring his colleagues with the bold- ness necessary for establishing the most significant precedent known in the history of the United States. On the 30th of May, 1868, Mr. Asiiloy delivi-iod in the House of 584 JAMES M. ASHLEY. 13 Representatives a speech, which at tlic time commanded general attention in favor of an auiendmcnt to the national Constitution, providing for the nomination and election of a President by a direct vote of the people of the United States by ballot. "VVhcu introduc- ing the subject, he said : " The proposition which I now send to the Clerk's desk to be read, provides that the President of tlie United States shall bo elected for but a single term of four years, and proposes the aboli- tion of the office of Vice President. If adopted, it also secm-es the abolition of the present system of appointing presidential electors, as the Legislatures of the several States may provide, and makes it impossible for the election of a President to devolve, as now, on the House of Representatives, but provides that in case of death, resig- nation, or removal of the President from office, that the two Houses in joint convention shall elect to fill the vacancy, each Senator and Representative having one vote. Its adoption will relieve the people of the despotism of party caucuses and party conventions, and there- after commit the nomination and election of President to a direct vote of the people by ballot. The Clerk whH please read." The Clerk read as follows : Joint Resolution proposing an Amendment to the Constitution OF the United States. Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of both Houses concur- i-ing,) That the following be proposed as an amendment to said Consti- tution, which, when ratified by the Legislatures of three-fourths of the several States, shall be valid, to all intents and purposes, as part of said Constitution, to wit : Amend section throe of article one, by striking out clauses four axid five, which read : " The Vice President of the United States shall bo President of the Senate, but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. "The Senate shall choose their other officers and also a President pro temjinre, in the absence of the Vice President, or when he shall ex- ercise tlie office of President of the United States. " And insert the following : "The Senate shall choose their own presiding and other officers." 585 14 JAMES M. ASHLEY. In article two, section four, strike out tlie words "Vice President." Amend section one, article two, by strikinpr out the words "together with the Vice President chosen for the same term;" so that it will read : Tlie executive power shall be vested iu a President of the United States of ^Vinerica; he shall hold his office during the term of four years, and be elected as follows : In lieu of clauses two, three, four and six of article two and of article twelve of the amendments, insert the following : The qualified electors of the United States shall meet at the usual places of holding elections in their respective States and Territories on the first Monday in April, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, and on the first Monday in April every four years thereafter, under such rules and regulations as the Congress may by law prescribe, and vote by ballot for a citizen qualified under this Constitution to be President of the United States, and the result of such election in each State and Territory shall be certified, sealed, and for- warded to the seat of Government of the United States in such manner as the Congress may by law direct. The Congress shall be in session on the third Monday in May after such election, and on the Tuesday next succeeding the third Monday in Slay, if a quorum of each House shall be present, and if not. inunediatoly on the assemblage of such quorum, the Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall meet in the Representative Chamber in joint convention, and the President of the Senate, in the presence of the Senators and Representatives thus assembled, shall open all the returns of said election and declare the result. The person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of votes cast ; if no person have such majority, or if the person having such majority decline the office or die before the counting of the vote, then the President of the Senate shall so proclaim; whereupon the joint convention shall order the proceed- ings to be officially published, stating particularly the number of votes given for each person for President. Another election shall thereupon take place on the second Tuesday of October next succeeding, at which election the duly qualified electors of the United States shall again meet at the usual places of holding elec- tions iu their respective States and Territories, and vote for one of the persons then living having the highest number of votes, not exceeding five on the list voted for as President at the preceding election in April, and the result of such election in each State and Territory shall be cer- tified, sealed and forwarded to the seat of the Government of the United States as provided by law. On the third Tuesday in December after such second election, or so soon therciifter as a quorum of each House shall be present, the Senators and members of the House of Representatives shall again meet in joint convention, and the President of the Senate, in presence of the Senators r^s6 JAMES M. AS HLET. 15 and Representatives thus assembled, shall open all the returns of said election and declare the person having the highest number of votes duly elected President for the ensuing term. No person thus elected to the office of President shall thereafter be eligible to be re-elected. In case of the removal of the President from office by impeachment, or of his death, resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and du- ties of the said office, the same shall devolve temporarily on the Presi- dent of the Senate, if there be one; if not, then on the Speaker of tlio House of Representatives, if there be one; and if not, then the member of the esecutivo department senior in years shall act as President. If there be no officer of an executive department, then the Senator senior in years shall act until a successor is chosen and qualified. If Congress be in session at the time of the death, disability, or re- moval of the President, the Senators and Representatives shall meet in joint convention under such rules and regulations as the Congress may by law prescribe, and proceed to elect by viva voce vote a President to fill sucli vacancy. Each Senator and Representative having one vote, a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a majority in each House of the Senators and Representatives duly elected and qualified, and a majority of all the votes given shall be necessary to the choice of a President. The person thus elected as President shall discharge all the powers and duties of said office until the inauguration of the President elected at the next regular election. If the Congress be not in session, then the acting President shall forthwith issue a proclamation convening Congress "within sixty days after the death or disability of the President. On the assembling of a quorum in each House the Senators and Rep- resentatives shall meet in joint convention and elect a President as herein before provided. The last set speech delivered by Mr. Ashley in tlie House has been regarded by his friends as one of the ablest and far-reaching in its proposed radical change of the Government of any delivered by him during his term of service. It was made on the 13th of Feb- ruary, 1869, in favor of an amendment to the Constitution — which he proposed — abolishing the veto, appointing and pardoning power of the President; and limiting the term of service of tlie Supreme Judges, as also their jurisdiction, and making them ineligible to any other political office under the Government. He contended that the " rock" on which the nation would eventually be broken, was executive power. "Ifwc would maintain a democratic Ivepublic," 537 16 JAMES M. ASHLKT. lie said. " the one-man power in the Government must be abolished," and "equitable representation secured in Congress for the minor- ity." His text was, " The Executive and Judicial power of the nation has increased, is increasing, and rmist be diminished." In o])ening this speech, he said, " Mr. Ohai/rmmi, I am a firm believer in tlie necessity of the propositions which I make for the abolition of the kingly prerogatives of the President, and for a modification of the veto power ; for selecting each of the officers of the Executive Departments by a joint vote of the two Houses of Congress; and providing for the mode of appointing and the man- ner in which all appointees shall be removed from office ; for limit- ing the term of service of Judges of the Supreme Court, as also their jurisdiction ; for making them, after their appointment, ineli- gible to any office under the Government ; except, perhaps, foi-eign embassadorships ; and for retiring them on such pay as Congress may deem to be just and proper. No less important, it seems to me, is the question of appointing United States Senators by a direc- vote of the qualified electors of each State by ballot, instead of electing them, as now, by the Legislatures of the several States ; and last, though not the least, the necessity of securing to the minority an equitable voice in the administration of the Government. To these several propositions I invite the considerate attention of all who recognize the fact that the whole power of the Government is gradually but surely passing into the hands of the President and the Supreme Court." " After the important questions growing out of the late rebellion are permanently settled, and the question of citizenship suffi-age is disposed of, by the adoption of the constitu- tional amendment now before us, I cannot permanently affiliate with any party which, as an oi-ganization, proposes to maintain the kingly and dangerous prerogatives now conceded to the President by custom and usage. If we are to contimte the Presidential office at all, it must be simply as an Executive and as no part of the law- making power. The duly of the President must be strictly limited to the execution of the law. Tlic veto power, the appointing power, OSS JAMES M. ASHLEY. 17 and the power of removal at pleasure and without cause, are all kingly prerogatives and at war with the theory of a republican and democratic Government. As the national life is born of the will of the people, so the legislative representation of that will must be in the national Congress. In all governments the ultimate power must somewhere have a lodgment. In a republic it is safest in the hands of the people's representatives. The nearer this ultimate power is to the people, the more directly and easily it can be moulded and controlled by them." " An absolute power which is above and superior to the people, is a despotism." Therefore he said that " all attempts to maintain the domination of the Executive over the Legislative department of the Government must be defeated, and all efforts to clothe the Exec- utive with new prerogatives must be met by pronijit, vigorous and organized resistance, and to this great work I shall devote whatever of political influence I may have." It will thus be seen that Mr. Ashley is from conviction opposed to the one-man power in Government, if not absolutely opposed to the continuance of the presidential office. In fact, he says in this speech, that " If the question were now submitted to me whether to continue the Executive office with the power now lodged in the hands of the President, or abolish the office altogether, I would vote to abolish it." Such are his views of the overshadowing danger to be apprehended from presidential power. The following is the amendment which he proposed touching the Supreme and District Courts of the United States : The judicial power of the United States shall be vested in one Su- preme Court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from time to time ordaiii and establish. The judges both of the SupromR and Dis- trict Courts shall hold their offices for twenty years, provided that no judge shall act as a member of the Supreme nor of any District Court after he shall have reached tlie age of seventy. After their appointment and qualification, they shall be ineligible to any except a judicial office. They shall at stated times receive for their services a compensation which shall not be diminished during their continuation in office. After the expiration of the term of service of each judge of the Supreme or of 589 18 JAMKS M. A SHI. ICY. M\\ District Court of tho United St«tos, tlie Congrt>ss slinll by law pro- vido sucli annual oouiponsntion duriui? life, as they may deem proper tor oftob retiring Judge, whioh oompensation shtvll not bo diminished." Sinco this amcndiuoMt was proposed, Congi-oss has praoticnlly adopted that part of it which provides for tho a'tiremeiit of judges after they reach tho age of seventy on a pension during life. In order to prevent hereafter the Supreme or tlie District Courts of tho United States being moulded into poHtical and partisan tri- bunals, as in tho dnv-s of tJio Dred Scott decision, Mr. Ashley pro- poses that the judges shall be ineligible to any politicjil office under the national (.Tovernment. On this question ho sjud : " J//*. C/iairmu it is a sad sight to see such a body, as the Supreme Court ought to be, with one-thinl of its niembei-s sleeping upon the bench and dying with age, and another thii-d crazed with tho glitter of the pivsidency. I need not say how utterly this condition of body and mind untits men for the pivper discharge of the judici.-il otiice. If there is one body of men in this country luoro than another who ought to be financially i-enioved fiviu temptation, and intellectually to be clear and un- clouded, as well as free from all partizan ambition, it is the mem- bers of the Supivme Court." '' Our experience with this branch of the Government," he continued, "has been a sjid one. I will not attempt to gi^ into a history of its usurpations, its perversion of law, its criminal injustice, its jxilitical chicanery The people have been compelleil moi-e than onco to disivganl and reverse its infa- mous and luijust decisioiis, and they must bo prepared to do so ag:\in. They were not long in comprehending the extent of the danger of the Drod Scott usurpation. They knew that the power which had the concoiliHi right to pass without apj>eal on the ci>usti- tutionality of the nation's laws, wouJd S(km b<'conu th<' nation's mas- tcr. If this doctrine could have obtained, the sovereignty of tho nation would, sooner or later, have been nsurpetl by the national Judiciary. Congivss might have enacted laws, but the Court would have annulkxl them at pleasure. Tiianlcs to the intelligence and 590 JAM K S M . A 8 II L 10 Y. 10 virtuo of the pecipli;, it reepiiivtl but I'cw ycui'ri tu overcome the Divd Scott decision, and break in pieces the ebony imago of shivery whicli tliis 'august tribunal' set up and demanded the nation shouhl worship." I caunot close thin slcetch without quoting from one of the L-ist speeches delivered by Mr. Ashley in Congi'ess. It was a tribute t(' Mr. Stevens, of Pennsylvania, one of his most intimate and most cherished personal political friends. The language is ineffably touch- ing and eloquent. After referring to the long list of American patriots who had died in the service of their country, he went on : " With this grand army of unselfish patriots, his cateinporaries and co-laborers, we have laid down to rest all that is mortal of our friend in the bosom of his beloved Pennsylvania. The benediction of mil- lions followed him to his tomb, and to-day, in the free home of every black man, and of all men who love liberty, there is sincere sorrow and mourning. Never again in these council-balls will he deliberate with the people's representatives, nor awaken the nation from its lethargy by his genius and wonderful power Through some of the most eventful years in our history, I have been intimately associated with him on this floor. During all tliat time, which included the darkest hours in the nation's life — hours which tested the constancy and courage of men — he bore himself with such unquestioned fidelity to the cause of human freedom, as to com- mand even the respect of political opponents, and the cordial en- dorsement of all liberty-loving men Mr. Speaker, though death come never so often, he casts, at the portals of the tomb, shadows ever new and mysterious, and ever and always hath for the living his admonitions and his lessons. By the side of the grave we all realize that there are voices whispering to us out of the shadowy silence beyond the river. In such an hour we see with the natui-al eye, ' as through a glass darkly ;' but we have the prom- ise that, if faithful, we shall see ' face to face.' As thercHs no race of men without the idea of God and a future life, so, in the presence of death, it is natural for all to pause and think of the life beyond. 591 aU JAM KS M. AS 11 I. KY. ' Mr. S{>cakor, thoio nro moments in tlio expericnco of all when we caimot w)nvey to other hearts the emotions of our own. To me such a moment is the present. So many reminiscences are crowd- ing upon me, and so many wonderful scenes in which our departed friend was aTi actor, are passing as a panorama before me, that I feel how sliort I should come of doing them or him justice, were I to dwell upon them. No man who loves his country, and passed through tlioso scenes in these halls, can ever forget them. AVhen I tirst entered this House, ten yeai-s ago, Mr. Stevens was one of the lirst to take me by the hand and welcome me. From that day, until the day of his death, ho was my friend, and of^eu my adviser and counsellor. However often I ditVored with him — as I often did — there was one question about which we never diflered — the question of the necessity of the immediate and uitconditional abolition of slavery. Of the practicability and justice of destroying slavery he never doubted. I am thankful that he was spared to witness the end of that indescribable villainy. I rejoice to know that, as the gates of the eternal world opened up before him, he was permitted to look back upon the land he loved and nowhere behold the foot- prints of a single slave. Because of his unwavering fidelity to the poor bondsmen, who, in the presence of a nation of oppressor, were manacled and powerless and dumb, I came to venerate him ; and, because I venerated him, I come to-day to cast a garland upon his tomb. In this seliish world there is nothing which so strongly enlists my sympathies, and so much commands my admiration, as a heroic and uuseltish life spent in the interests of mankind. To me it is the most touching and bejiutiful of human struggles. "In this impressive hour, while reviewing his heroic and unseltish acts, let us renew our vows of tidelity to the great priuciples which he so long, so ably, and so faithfully maintained. Let us here, and now, pledge our lives anew to the cause of human liberty and hunum pn>gress, resolving that no obstacles nor selfish interest shall cause us to falter, so that, when we descend to the tomb, the bono- 502 J A M E S M . A 8 H L E Y. 5J1 dictions of mankind .shall bloss us, as they now bless liim, for whom we nriourn, and it shall be said of us, as it was said of hirn, ' He hath not live»od in his jiuliiinont, iutoirrity, ami dotonuin;Uii>n. tliat ho was lolt behind to couiploto tho oi-ganizatiou of the ivjiiniont. He acted so judioioiislv, that when tho work was doni\ his CoKwel, altorward Brigadiov-Gonoral and Pivvet Major-Gonoral Charles K. Graham, deehmxl that " if thei-e had not been a l>ulhud tliere would not have been a 5th Kxeolsior."' W'^hile the Kegimont was lyius; at Liverpool Point, in Lower Miiryland, he was appointed, on the ilst October, lSi?l, 2d-Lien- tenant, and worked out an idea which may be said to have been the jimt ^t-nn of a Corps-Badge. The ollieers desired to pre- sent a testimonial of their appreciation to their colonel, and he suggosteil a Koinau V« indicative of the Mh Excelsior, set with five diamonds, repix^?cnting the number of regiments constituting the Sickles Brigade. In his ivgiment's first battle (that of Willisunsburg)— though not its first engagtuuent — as 2d-Lientenant he commanded his company with distinguishevl bravery and ability. At\er this siuiguinary cvnillict, the idea embodied in the testimo- nial above refernxi to, through him assumed a fuller development. Feeling that there should be some distinctive mark to denote the officers who weiv actually present, he designed a badge, whose form iilterwani became that of the Third Corps badge, that is, a lozengi^ or diamond, pendent from five oJasj^s, whose snpjK>rting- pin was a Maltese cross. The reverse of the lozenge bore the officer's nimie, and the obvers^e of the clasp the nimibers of the Excelsior regiments whith passed through this " baptism of fire." This »\ssiHuation was to the present Thinl Army Corps Union (the first smd most caivfully guardetl of its kind in the country), tlie embryv\ as the Excelsior Willi.«jmsburg badgv^ was to all subsequent ones. During the Peninsular campaign, Bulhird serveil botlt as qnartex- master and iu command of his cinupany ; ajid at Ilarrisou's L:md- ing, Tth August, Wivs apiK>iutetl adjut;mt of the regiment. In the latter capacity, he made the Pope oamjvugn, and when his colonel, £96 WILLARD BULLARD. 3 29tli Nov., 1862, was made Brigadier-General, Willard Bullard fbllow(!d liim as his confidential aide-de-camp. Prostrated by a severe attack of the James River fever, he wsis not present at Fredericksburg, but in the campaign and battle of Chancellorsville, he performed the most efficient service on the rttalf of the 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 3d Army Corps. At Gettys- burg he was again in the fore front of the battle at the " bloody Peach Orchard," and was severely wounded by a musket bullet through the left thigh above the knee. He was carried off the field at the same time with his Corps commander who had lost his right leg in the same locality. A few minutes afterward his Briga- dier was shot down, grievously wounded, and made prisoner. For his gallantry in this action ho was breveted Captain. Wlien Graham, on his return from Libby Pi-ison, was sent to take command of the " Naval Brigade," Bullard accompanied him ; ■ acted as Aid and Ordnance ofiicer at Norfolk ; and distinguished himself greatly in all the operations on the James Eiver, particu- larly by capturing a signal station, and obtaining information by a reconnoissance far into the interior, which greatly facilitated the ascent of the flotilla which secured City Point. For this he was breveted Major. lie was on board the flag-ship " Chamberlain " when under the tremendous fire which sunk the leading gunboat, "Samuel Brewster," when the "Naval Brigade" was trying to pass Fort Clifton on the Appomattox, and by silencing that bat- tery enable the troops upon the other side of the river to got up to Petersburg, wliither the flotilla were endeavoring also to force their way. For his coolness and gallantry .on this occasion he was recommended for the brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel, and it was a source of great regret to General Sickles that the delay occasioned by his absence at the South lost his trusted subordinate this merited honor. Few ofiicers ever presented stronger testimonials for promotion than the Major. His Brigadier, Graham, testifies to his " zeal and activity ;" his " Divisionary," Birney, to " his integrity and capa- 597 4 WILLARD BULLAUD. bility;"' his Corps-Commander, Sickles, to his "marked ability and zeal in the field, his intelligence and method in executive duty, his most reliable integrity in all transactions." Benj. F. Butler, Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the James, qualifies him as " an efficient and accomplished officer, such as are much needed." After the war, Major Bullurd entered into politics, and in a closely-contested local election in 18G5, displayed great sagacity, and in the still hotter congressional and gubernatorial contest in 1866, even greater capacity. On the 4th of April, 1867, he sailed for China, and after a fear- fully tempestuous passage in the clipper " Samuel Eussel" reached Ilong Kong on the 2d of July. He visited Macao, Canton, Yoko- hama, and went into Jeddo before it was opened. Keturning, he crossed the Pacific, in the second trip of the Colorado, the first American steamer ever run on those waters, to San Francisco, and by the Isthmus to New York, reaching home the 9th of October, Iiaving completed the circuit of the world, and visited numerous important places in the space of sis months. In 1868, he became deeply interested in the " Soldiers' Business and Messenger Co.," and developed a talent for business as new to himself and friends, which saved all that was saved from that unfortunate organization, that promised such large 2:)rofits to stock- holders and benefits to the soldiers, for whose employment it was started. In the Grant presidential campaign Bullard took a very active and prominent jiart, and assisted largely in organizing the "Boys in Bhie," of which his old commander, Graham, was chief marshal, and as marshal of the division representing his congressional dis- trict, he led four hundred veterans in the grand New York delega- tion to Philadelphia. Major Bullard is a very effective and spirited political orator. If not what the polished would style eloquent, he possesses that natural eloquence which has a telling effect on the masses, who, after all, wield the political power of this country. What is more, 598 WILLARD BULLARD. 5 he developed very rapidly in this line, and was eagerly sought after to address mass meetings in all the towns in the. vicinage oi this city, which he stirred to the highest enthusiasm. General Pleasonton no sooner became acquainted with the Major than he was impressed with his merits. When the General assumed the charge of the Fonrth (Bailley's) Internal Revenue District he selected the Major as his deputy collector. When Pleasonton was promoted to the more important 32d District, he left Major Bullard in charge of the Fourth till his successor was qualified. When the Brooklyn authorities found the illicit whiskey makers too dangerous to handle, General Pleasonton sent Major Bullard and Colonel Thomson over with one hundred men armed only with pistols, to make a raid. This small force destroyed nine stills. Each raid afterward required the support of from one thousand to fifteen hundred regular troops. To form some idea of the dangers and difiiculties so bravely and ably overcome by Bullard and Thomson, and their civil posse, it is sufiicient to say that a pre- vious attempt, supported by the whole force of the Navy Yard Marines, was signally defeated, and two of the officers commanding died of the injuries received. Such qualities cannot pass unnoticed, and when General Pleas- onton was summoned to Washington to assume a cabinet appoint- ment, Major Bullard was at once selected by him as his successor; and the President could not have made a better choice. About fi.ve feet ten in height, and heavily built, the major is one of the moit powerful men the writer has ever encountered. Among the " eyes and no eyes " he ranks with the former, who see, com- prehend, and apply. His execut've ability is very remarkable. He is a ti-ue friend, and a faithful and devoted subordinate. Few men possess a greater command of temper, or larger powers of per- suasion. He is a sagacious and agreeable interpreter of a stem and rigid superior, whose ideas he can convey with equal force, but without undue ofience to the feelings of others, while executing 599 f> WILLARD BULLA HD. them with equal determination. The Major takes especial pride in succeeding where othere have failed. The greater and more numerous the obstacles, the stronger his determination to overcome them. He never neglects times, or loses time. He perceives, seizes, and utilizes critical moments, which other men suffer to escape or elude them. "Wliat is very remarkable, he is not as ambitious for himself as others are for him, because they know his merit and devotedness, and are desirous to push him for the benefit of the public service, and for their own support in the discharge of onerous and danger OQs duties. 000 ^P/^6<^/C/^— WALTON DWIGHT. " f|pHE Dwiglits iir-e descended from an old English family, ^t^^ originally called Dewitt, and have been long and emi- ^ ^ nently identified with the progress and prosperity of this country. Tiiere were three brothers of them in Massachusetts who were freeholders, and esteemed as good, reliable and thoroughly practical men, possessed of those sterling qualities of head and heart which reflect so much credit on American citizenship. Colonel Walton Dwight, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, is a native of New York, born at Windsor on the twentieth of December, 1838. Of his early life we are not prepared to speak, save that his education was limited to such as could be ob- tained from an ordinary country school, and his resources are presum- ed to have been meager, as at the age of sixteen he announced to hie father his determination to "strike out," and provide for himself by his own exertions, and began thereupon teaching for a support. His mind in youth was always remarkably active and vigilant, thirsting for knowledge, readily expanding to a befitting apprecia- tion of the useful, and as readily retaining such as should best serve him in the future. In teaching he was successful, but soon renounced the occupation to embark in a business that promised greater emoluments as the reward of energy, assiduity, and ability. A favorable opportunity was offered and readily embraced to engage in the lumber-trade in Pennsylvania; and in this undertaking young Dwight entered with an earnestness of purpose and a zealousness of effort that bespoke ultimate success. In fact, he developed in the pursuit of his object so much of keen foresight in the general conduct of 601 WALTON DWIGHT. aifairs. and sucli administrative genius, that he became, in due course of time, one of the lieaviest lumber merchants on the Alleghany river, tlie scene of his operations. Upon the breaking out of the war, tired with that patriotic ardor which swept over the country, and swelled as if by magic, the ranks of our volunteer forces into an irresistible army of heroes, he left his business, then yielding him a splendid income, to labor for the good of his country. He was one of those who esteemed it no less a privilege than a duty to go into the army, and carried there the same zeal and devotion, directed in the nobler channel of patriotism, tliat had insured success in his other pursuits. During the earlier part of the war, conceiving his sphere of usefulness too restricted in the situation in which he was then placed, he ap- proached Governor Curtin, and appealed to him for authority to enlist men for the army. This application was unheeded or evaded by the Governor, who considered a man of twenty-two rather young for such a trust, if not wholly unable to render efficient service in that direction. Nothing daunted, however, he went to work on his own responsibility, and soon enlisted over five hundred men for the one hundred and forty-ninth Pennsylvania volunteers, better known as the second Bucktail regiment, and composed almost entirely of mountaineers. Again he applied to Governor Curtin, and asked for a captain- ship, when the Governor, after being informed of his wonderful success in enlisting troops, and having all doubts of capacity, occa- sioned by the youthful face, thereby removed, approvingly answered, " You shall be a Colonel.'''' Colonel Dwight served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac from 1861 to 1863. His regiment took a conspicuous part in the ever-memorable battle of Gettysburg, where, under heavy fire, it made several bayonet charges and brilliant changes of front, evidencing the most effective and superior discipline and skill- ful manipulation. In this battle Colonel Dwight was severely wounded, and was 602 WALTON DAVIfiHT. 3 obliged to leave the service, rancli against his own inclination and to the unqualified regret of his comrades in arms, and more par- ticularly his immediate command, whose enthusiastic appreciation of liis gallantry was equalled only by the sorrow occasioned on his retirement. He received, during his career as a soldier, many testi- monials of merit from prominent persons, and his command became famous as one of the hardest fighting regiments of the war, enlisting the respect and admiration of all acquainted with its his- tory. After recovering from his wounds, Colonel Dwight again en- gaged in the lumber business, which he prosecuted successfully, as prior to the outbreak of the war. Since that time prosperity has attended him in all his undertakings, and the good he has accom- plished has ii^creased correspondingly with worldly possessions. He is a man who realizes that the acquisition of wealth is desirable, in that it increases one's means and opportunities for usefulness, and in making others happy it contributes to individual comfort and enjoyment. Colonel Dwight' s record also shows that his public and private charities have been large and most commendable. While in com- mand, his bounty was ever felt when occasion presented in behalf of the needy soldier ; and in civil life as well, he has given freely to the destitute, extended a helping-hand to the worthy when struggling against adverse fates, and has been always ready and willing to aid merit in the young who lacked the means for acquiring education. In all these particulars — and instances have been mani- fold — Colonel Dwight has displayed an unselfishness, a nobleness of heart, and philanthropical impulses, which would honor any man, and certainly bespeak for him a conscience void of oflPense, and a life-story characterized with sunshine and happiness in all its surroundings. In his success in life, when still a young man, and pre-eminently a self-made man, he afibrds an encouraging example of what may be accomplished by judicious enterprise and jDerse- verauce. His triumph has not been the result of accident, but of 603 4 WALTON DWIrtHT. tlio caniost labor, the iiulotatigable eftbrt. of one who, dotcrinincd to prevail, wouUl not stop short of his aim. Colonel Dwight is tall in stature, of handsome appearance and ple:\sing address ; he is dignitied in bearing, yet cordial in social intercom-se, warm in his welcome and princely in hospitality. In convei-sation, he displays an entertaining fund of information, coupled with much intelligence and relinement. He is now re- siding at the old homestead of Daniel S. Dickinson, in Bingham- ton, New York. 604 C^c^^.^^^^^^^ EDWIN O. 8TANAKD. ^^M^'9 HE subject of tliis sketcli eiijuys a reputation among V^^ those who know him befit as an upriglit man and worthy /^M?- citizen. The parents of Governor Stanard were born in Newport, New Hampsliire ; his father was Obed Stanard ; his mother's name was EUzabeth A. "Webster, their son, tlie sub- ject of this sketch, was born in Newport, New Hampshire, in 1832. Emigrating with his parents to Iowa in 1836, growing up on a farm, in a settler's home, in that tiien wild and uncultivated region, toiling with the axe and the implements of husbandry till twenty- one years of age for his daily bread, and for the sustenance of the household, he came to maturity under precisely those circumstances which have produced some of the best specimens of American manhood. The opportunities for culture were few, but they were diligently improved, and a good general knowledge of scholastic branches was obtained. Public schools were established in the neigliborhood, books and newspapers found their way to the hearth- stone, the family was intelligent, thoughtful and wise, and the child which grew up in the midst could but have a thorough knowledge of men and the world. Tall, somewhat stout, with limbs firmly knit, a picture of health, ardent in temperament, and with a most benevolent face and man- ner, Mr. Stanard would at once be recognized as a man of country blood and bone, although disciplined and polished by the business and associations of a city life. Mr. Stanard went to St. Louis at the very dawn of manhood, seek- ing position and fortune in the world. His genius led him to com- mercial pursuits, but for some time Providence seemed to frown upon 605 a EDWIN O. STANAED. liis attempts. For three or four years he taught a pubhc school iu the neighboring State of Ilhnois, seeking at intervals for some posi- tion, however humble, in a commercial house in St. Louis. But there was no one to speak a word of encouragement to the adven- turous young " carpet-bagger," who hnew he was a merchant, and only sought an opportunity to demonstrate the fact. No discerning mind perceived the ability of the fi'iendless young man who vainly sought for employment, and no prophetic vision caught a glimpse of his. illustrious future. In the winter of 1856 Mr. Stanard obtained employment in a shipping and commission house in Alton, Illinois, where he m^de many business friends, and learned important lessons foi' the future : but before the end of the year his employer died, and again he had the world before him where to choose. He had not forgotten his young an;bition to be a St. Louis merchant, and his native persist- ence of character never allowed him to turn away from an object which he had once seriously contemplated, till his efforts were crown- ed with success. Having made the acquaintance of Mr. C. J. Gil- bert, and the two having from four to five hundred dollars between them, Mr. Stanard, associated with his friend Gilbert, came to St. Louis, not tliis time to seek employment, but to start the produce and general conmiission business, and to estabUsh the afterwards Midely known firm of Stanard, Gilbert & Co. Their success was truly i-eraarkable for men commencing as they did, almost Avithout capital, and with few influential friends for advisers or indorsers. Subsequently, they opened in Chicago the house of Gilbert, Stanard & Co. — Mr. Gilbert going to Chicago for that purpose. Their en terjjrise was rewarded with enlarged success. Mr. Stanard after[ wards started the house of Stanard & Slayback, in New Orleans, and in many other directions he has, at different times, extended his commercial relations. Mr. Stanard is not at present engaged in the commission business, except in New Orleans, having in 1866 purchased the Eagle steam mills in St. Louis, and devoted himself 10 the manufactui'e of "extra superfine." He has acquired a com- 606 EDWINO.STANARD. 3 petency, and knows how to enjoy his fortune and the esteem of his fellow men. He has been connected with most of the public enter- pi-ises of St. Louis which have originated in the last fifteen years sustaining them earnestly and liberally with his counsels, energies and contributions. The merchants of St. Louis have tried him iu many places, and proved him worthy of confidence and honoi- They have made him President of the Chamber of Commerce, Vice- President of the National Board of Trade, and President of the Citizens' Insurance company. Director of the Missouri Pacific Pail- road, and of the Life Association of America. They have withheld from him no position of trust or responsibility. They urged his nomination for Lieutenant-Governor in 1868, and gave him, in the Convention and at the polls, a. most earnest and enthusiastic support. Though Mr. Stanard had not previously held political office and was wholly inexperienced in public afiairs, his nomination added great strength to the ticket, as is evident from the fact that in St. Louis, and wherever he was best known, he rah largely ahead of the average vote of his party. Men had such con- fidence in his integrity, practical common sense, and ability to adapt himself to any condition in life, that they were determined to tes- tify at the polls their appreciation of his worth. As Lieutenant-Governor of the State, Mr. Stanard has nobly acted his part. His gentlemanly deportment, thorough reliability and generous consideration of all classes and persons, made him troops of warm and devoted friends. The Senate has seldom had an abler and kinder presiding officer. His opponents were ever ready to ac- knowledge his strict justice and absolute impartiality. And he has no warmer friends throughout the State of Missouri than those who have served with him in legislative halls. " Stanard is an honest man, and is all right every way," is their constant and united tes- timony. Mr. Stanard has from boyhood been an active and consistent member of the Methodist church. Dming the war he gave largely of his means to sustain the Sani- 637 K n W I N O . S r A N A R D . t.'irv and Cliristiiin cominissious, and to uphold other enterprises for tlie successful prosecution of the war. lie has never regarded auj offering too great to he placed on the bleeding altars of the republic. Aiid in any i)usitioii to which he may be called, he will exhibit the same integrity, patriotism and lofty devotion to the public welfare which has characterized him in all his past career. His native good sense, his eminent prudence, his ready knowledge of men and things will enable him to act well his part in whatever sphere he may be called to lill. JOXA^'HAN THORNE. W"-^ ONATHAN THORXE was hovn on the 20th day of tt^fe April, 1801, in Washington, Dutchess Co., "S. T. His ^^^j^ great grandfather Isaac Thome, was one of tJie early set- tlers of that section, having moved there from Long Island about the year 1720. His father, Samuel Thome, commenced life as a merchant in the town of his hirth, in 1794, and con- tinued mercantile pursuits until 1814, when he settled upon a farm, purposing to educate his only sou, the subject of our sketch, with the idea that he should spend his life as a farmer. The youth, however, after several years' experience, proposed to try his fortune in K'ew Tork, and in 1820 he came to thit city and engaged in the dry goods trade. His father, soon felt so much the need of his assistance, that he induced him to return to the farm after an absence of some three years. He did not return alone, having in the mean time married a daughter of Israel Corse. In 1830, he again left the farm for the city, and succeeded to the business of his father-in-law, which was the manufacture and sale of leather. Early in his career he dis- covered that it was much more important that a shoe manufacturer, in purchasing stock, should be better pleased with it when he had it at home than when he looked at it in his store, and Ijy bearing this ever in mind, he established a reputation which has been one secret of his success in life. He is still interested in the same business, being senior partner of the house of Thome, Watson &Co. The early years spent on the farm were often looked back to in after life with pieaijure, and when the old homestead came into his possession, in 1849, by the death of his father, he at once prepared 609 2 JONATHAN rilOliNK. it tor !i suuuuor rosiilonoo. Tlio ii\i>nll\s j>!»ssoil in tlic i-ouiilrv soon muilo liiiu awaiv liow Itsu'kward tho fanuors woiv in mlvancinj* thoir own iiitoivsU, and witii « ilosiro to do wliat ho oouKl to liotli toaoh iinil assist thoni, l\o in 1851, and aptaiii iu 1851^ n\ado from England importations of short horiiod cattlo, whioh wore foHowoii hy othoi-s ii\ tho sprinsj and fall of 1S55, and again in I8r>(5 and 18r>T. All woro si'li'otod with great caro, and ontiroly rogardU^ssof oost, and wiMV tho tlnost and n\ost vahiahlo specimens of the breed over taken out of (.hvat IJritain. The givat improvement niaile not only iu Hutehess coiu\ty, hut throughout very nu\ny of the various States of the Union by tho introduetion of these several strains of blood, has been most marked, and proves eonehisivoly the wisdom of Mr. Thome's ehoiee of a way to benelit and advance the agrieultural interests of the country. Though the prices then paid for individual animsUs seemed enormous, being for two sepa- rate ones as high as 1000 guineas, yet descendants frouv these same have since brought more than double the amount then given, and over 20 of them have been iv-oxported to England, and tho muue of Thorudalo has a world-wide celebrity among all the breoilers of tho various kinds of impi-ovod stock. The friends whom he never failed to have, were attracted to him by his own merit. Kvery adviuicing step was the legitimate result of pivceding selfnlenial, foresight, integrity, ami cheerful labor. Nothing eouUl furnisli a better comn\entary on the selfish folly of those who think that they do well to bo angry with tho world, because it does not load them with pivsperity before tliey have done anything to deserve it. lie is an accomplislied merchant, but his juvsperity, instead of being accidentsd, is owing to yeai-s of pei-sevcring industry, to his uprightness, to a singularly qnick per- ception of character, and to a native good sense and soundness of judgment which would have made him successftil in any vocation that he might have chosen, lie doubtless has the New Englainl love of success iu what he undertakes. lUit there were things he valued inoiv thjui succt^ss. He valued a libenU hcjut iu his own UIO ■lONATIfAN TIlOllKK. JJ bosom, and an unrcproacliing conHciencc, moro than money. In fact, mammon was never his god, but liis servant. Ilis gains liavc boon without reproach. lie never lost a good customer, and of the many orders given liim to be filled very much at Iiis own discretion, the case scarcely occurred in whicli any com)>lairit ever reached his ear. He never sought large ]>rofits; nor would he make money out of other men's necessities. lie accumulated a fortune because he was a sagacious and an accomplislied man of IjusinesB, and not because of any grasping passion for accumula- tion. CU C/^ry^y'ci^^^^J HON. BENJAMIN DOUGLAS HERE is no worthier example of a self-made man than the Hon. Benjamin Douglas, the distinguished pump man- ufacturer of Middletown, Conn. In his life-work and char- acter, he stands pre-eminent as a model to his fellow- men. At no point, from early youth to the present hour, has he failed in offering the most significant lessons of perseverance, intelligence and rectitude. He was born at Northford, Conn., Apiil 3, 1816. His father was a farmer. Both his parents were descendants of old Puritan stock, and true love and devotion to the principles of those godly fore- fathers is most warmly cherished in the bosom of the son. The early records of Boston show an ancestor of the family as a resident ■ of that city in 1646. The subject of our notice is a grandson of Colonel "William Douglas, of Eevolutionary fame. He was engaged on his father's farm in the town of Northford during the summer months, receiving his education at the country school in the winter until he was sixteen years of age. He was industrious in labor and in study. His opportunities of whatever nature were thankfully improved ; and he showed a reflectiveness and ambition which gave token of a useful career in the future. At sixteen he went to Middletown and commenced his appren- ticeship at the machinery business. In 1832 his elder brother, Wil- liam Douglas, engaged in a small way as a machinist, in Middletown, Ct., in the manufacture of pumps and small engines, which was the origin of the present extensive pump manufactory still carried on there. The two brothers in the year 1839 united their energies and talents. The firm became W. & B. Douglas, which has achieved a 613 2 n O N . »K N .1 A M I N n o r « I, A 8 . I'olcbritv not unlv tlivoiiiiluiiit the United States, but in every (juar- tcr of tbo world. In 1S42 "William and Eenjaniiu Douglas invented their celebrated i-evolving-stand cistern pniup, on which they secured ii patent in the United States. Since obtiiining this lii-st patent they have been con- stantly making improvements \ipon the article, and inventing new styles of pumps, so that the whole number of patents secured by them amounts to more than one hundred in the United States, and four or five in Europe, among which is their enameled pmnp, which meets with great favor. For the purpose of introducing the revolv- ing-stand pump, they traveled with a pump UTider each arm from store to 9toi"e, They had great prejudices and obstacles of difterent kinds to overcome, for at that time an iron or metallic pump was scarcely known. In that day all sorts of inventions were regarded either as humbugs or doubtful innovations on the safe practices of generations. Hence, as these inventors and manufacturers of the metallic pump went about the country, it required a stout faith in their invention, and an unconquerable determination to succeed, to make them pei-sovere in their undertjiking. They expected their success to be gradual, but they felt that it was inevitable. In the fii-st year their sales did not amount to three hundred pumps, but tliey persevered until the Douglas pump beeanio a standard article of American haixlw.aro. In 1S5S "William Doughis died. A stock company was then formed under a special charter of tlie Legislature of Connecticut, granted in 1S59, taking the name of the W". & B. Douglas Manu- facturing Company. Benjamin Douglivs is president of the com- pany, which hi« a capital of five hundred thousand dollars. Two* hundred and fifty men are employed. Over eight hundred ViVi-ieties of pumps are ntade, besides hydraulic ranas, gai-den engines, and other hydraulic machines. The company has extensive warehouses in New York and Chicsigo. They received the highest medal for pum[>s at the Univei-sal Exposition at Paris in 1S6T. Their sales of hydraulic machines alone amount to about five hundred thousand 6U dollars annually, and their market includes tlie United Staton, the Canadas, Soutli America, the WcHt Indies, Australia, Europe, Asia, :iii(] almost every other market of tlio globe. This immense biwineaB is in a great measure the result of the well-formed plans and business capacity and energy of Benjamin Douglas. The same spirit of indomitable perseverance and ot' straight-forward dealing tliat induced him to take his pump unde;' his arm and go from store to store, explaining its merits and demon- strating its usefulness, has ever since been his oharacteristic. His enterpiise is one of the most magnificent instances of great growth from small begirmings to be found in the whole country, and he is justly pointed to as an evidence of the success which is certain tfj attend qualities of personal energy and purity and integrity of character. He has also been distinguished in political life as a faithful serv- ant of the interests of the people. For a number of years he held the position of Mayor of Middletoe, Mr. Smiford letl Albany, and gave his whole attention to his own husiiioss plans. Having made Syraensc, Now York, his residence, ho there en- tered into the lumber and salt trade, eombining, also, the manur faeture of lumber at Saginaw, Michigan, and locating pine lands in that State. He was one of the company tii-st organized, in 1858, to bore for salt water in the Saginaw Valley. In the spring of 1862, ho withdrew temporarily from active business, invested his means in real estate, and removed from Syracuse, New York, to near Oneida, his present place of residence. He is Vice-President of the Oneida Savings Bank, and a director in the Oneida Valley National Bank, and Pome and Clinton Eailroad. Ho has been engaged in the lumber trade, at Pome, since 1SG7. ^h: Sanfordia possessed of extraordinary business capacity, which, with his accu- rate knowledge of men, well qualities him for arduous and responsi- ble administrative positions. He is a young man in fact, and a younger one in appearance ; a man of few words, but ojie who accomplishes nnich. His plans once formed, he never falters nor doubts, but executes them with coolness and determination. He en- joys in an eminent degree the confidence of the people he repre- sents. Ho was elected Supervisor of the town of Verona, on the Democratic ticket, in 1855 and 1866, by majorities of one hundred and fifty-nine and three hniuhvd and eighty-nine, respectively, though it was a strong Pepnblicau town. In the Democratic Con- vention of the Third Assembly District of Oneida County, in 1866, ho was unanimously nominated for member of Assembly, and elected by a majority of four hundred and ninety, although his Pepnbliciin predecessor, Hon. B. N. Huntington, had been elected the previous year by a majority of 741 He served as a member of the Com- mittee on Banks. In 1867 IMr. Sjinford was unanimously chosen Democratic candidate for Senator in the Oneida district, and though running largely ahead of his ticket was defeated by the Hon. Samuel Campbell, who was elected by 250 majority, and who, &2-2 GKOllGE ir. SANKOHD. 3 two years previously, carried the district by a majority of 2,196, In 18G9 the Democratic Couvention of Oneida County nominated Mr. Sanford by acclamation for the oiBce of Senator, liis opponent being Diinicl B. Goodwin, a popular candidate and a representative man in his party. Mr. Sanford was elected by a majority of 2(5, while the Eepubli- can candidate for Secretary of State received a majority of 1,023 in the same district. He is the only Democratic Senator elected from the Oneida district since 1849, or during the organization of the Republican party. Mr. Sanford was a delegate to the Democratic JS'ational Convention held at Chicago in 18G4, and the youngest member of that body at which General McClellan was nominated" for the Presidency, and also a delegate at the National CoTivention held at New York in 1868, where Horatio Seymour was nominated. During 1867, '68, and '69 he was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee, and has repeatedly represented his party as delegate to their State Conventions. He is thoroughly versed in the politics of his State, and prominent in the councils of his party. In the last legislature, representing a constituency largely interested in the welfare of the canals, he was active and influen- tial in securing such legislation as would best elfect reform in their maintenance and management. Mr. Sanford has received a gratifying recognition of his influ- ence and ability, from the President of the Senate, by being pla(;ed on some of the most important committees. He serves on the committees on Finance, Canals, and is chairman of the Committees on Rules and Indian Affairs. 623 t c.eJ?-t>i CHA-RLES REEDER. i.W?HE parr-;nt3 of Mr. Chaa. Reeder were Ponnsylvanians b> •(^1 birth, but removed to the city of Baltimore in 1813, where Mr. Reeder Sr. established a manufactory of steam engines, and conalructed the first steamboat engine built in that city. Asa machinist, and marine engine builder, he established a wide, and excellent reputation, and continued in business for nearly thirty years. The subject of this notice was bom in Baltimore, October 31st, 1817; and after receiving the usual elementary instruction taught in private schools of the city, discontinued his attendance of the same, and at the age of fifteen commenced to learn the machinist trade in his father's work-shop. His leisure hours were employed in the study of mathematics and mechanical philosophy, under the instruction of an accomplished mathematician. He aLso attended lectures at the University of Maryland, and from these and other sources, acc[uired a knowledge of mechanical laws rcbiting to steam engineering. Combining theory vnth technical skill acquired in the shop, and making a practical application of mechanical laws, was probably the foundation of his future success as a mechanician. In the years 183G, '37 and '38, as a member of the firm of C. Reeder and Soas, and foreman of the machine department, he assisted in the construction of several steamers, which, in their day, were consid'-red first-class vessels. One was the " Natchez," bu'lt to run between New York and Nat<;hcz, MississippL In 1838 a G2j a CUAKLliS REEDEU. great disaster bcfcl the linn ; the cntiie works were destroyed by fire, and robuildiug tlio same caused liuaaciiil ombarrasstueut lor several yeai-s. In January, 1842, Mr. Reoder entered into part neri^hip with an elder brother, and by much energy a\id perseverance established the former credit of the firm, his partnership .continued for six years, when his brother withdrew, and assumt-d the m:inagement of a lino of steamers, of which he was in part owner. The firet contract made on his own responsibility was to furnish the machinery for a mail steamship, to run between Charleston and Havana. This ship, the " Isabel," was completed in 1848, and her successful perfornianco attracted the attention of ship-builders in other cities of this country, then engaged in the construction of ocean steamers. Some of tho improvements introduced in the "Isabel" were of such importance that ihey were not only adopted in the construction of subsetiuent steamers for ocean naviga- tion, but those already built were changed, and the improvement first applied to the " Isabel " became generally adopted in ocean paddle-wheel steamers. Many ocean, bay and river steamers have since been supplied with machinery from the works of Mr. Reeder, and their successful perloimance has fully sustained the reputation of the establishment. At present, associated with Mr. Reeder, is a younger brother, and also his sons. The works now conducted under the name of C. Reeder & Co. are thi principal ones in Baltimore, engaged in the manufacture of marine engines. We make an extract from a work published in 185(), entitled " Leading Pursuits and Leading Men": "Mr. Reader is emphatically a practical man, thoroughly versed in every department, having both the ability and disposition to execute his own drawings, and make his own calculations. Although manu- facturing mill-work and other machinery, yet his fame justly rests upon the manufacture of engines for oeer.n and river steamers, in which he is not excelled in this country." t;-26 owes Whatever of wealth and social position he has achieved, he ..^ It all to himself. lie has been the architect of his own fortun. and his hfe will illustrate the old maxim, "where there is a will there is a v/ay." Without injurin- any one he has accomplished much • and as manufacturer, a citizca, and a man, he deserves the esteem of posterity. 627 GE^. R. S. SATTERLEE. ^'"M"^ I'^EVET Beig -Geneeal Richaed S. Satteelee, M. D !m ^^'^^ ^^^^'^^l Purveyor U. S. A, now in retirement, was A& bom in the town of Fairfield, Herkimer County, State of ^^cw York, 6tb day of December, 1798, at the house of his father Major William Satterlee, who a few months later died of wounds received at the battle of Brandywine, in the War of the Eevolu- tion-his paternal grandfather having fallen at the massacre of Wyoming. After a preUminary education, he studied and graduated in the medical profession, and commenced its practice in 1S18, in Seneca County, same State. Becoming dissatisfied with this limited sphere of advancement in his profession, he proceeded to the then sparsely settled West, in search of a more advantageous field. His wanderings brou-ht him to Detroit, Territory of Michigan, and his good fortune there gained him the kindly friendship of the late General Lewis Cass then Governor of the Territory. Detroit was at this time a favor- ite military post, and the attractive association witli resident offi cers, together with the treasured reminiscences of the military career of his father, determined the yomig surgeon to a military Hfe, and he became attending surgeon at a neighboring garrison. Visiting Washington soon after, at the instance of General Cass the latter manifested the value of his friendship and influences by such introductions to the Secretary of War, Mr. Calhoun, and the eminent Surgeon-General of the Army, Dr. Lovell, as obtained the appointment of Assistant-Surgeon U. S. A., and, at the foot of the list, Dr. Satterlee received his commission, dated 25th Febru- ary, 1822. With grateful heart and pleasant anticipations he joined his post 629 a QEN. K. S. SATTERLEE. on tho Niagara Frontier, and spent tho next fifteen years in the Indian conntry, on tho h\kcs, in that "Frontier service" which, even in time of peace, fiirnislies vigorous experiences to men of earnest purpose and strongly niarkeil character. On tho opening of tho Florida "War, in 1S37, he accompanied tho troops to Tampa Bay, and being assigned to duty as Medical Director on tho staft of the commanding olficcr, General Zachary Taylor (then Colonel of tho First Infantry), took tho field with them in pui-suit of tho Seminoles. After tho battle of Okeechobee, ho joined tho head- quarters of General "Winfield Scott, in tho memorable Cherokee campaign of 1S3S ; and on its termination, ho accompanied the troops to the Canada frontier, and then, after two yeai-s' sei-vico and another Florida campaign, ho was stationed on tho seaboard until ISIO. When our army moved on Mexico, Surgeon Satterleo reported to General Scott at tho rendezvous of Lobos Island, in 1S47, and landing with him at Vera Cruz, became Chief Surgeon of tho First Division of regular troops under General "Worth. He served in this arduous position during the siege and capture of "Vera Cruz, the march into tho interior, the bloody battles of Cerro Gordo, Cherubusco, Malina del Ecy, and tlie storming of the Castle of Chcpultepec and tho gates of the City of Mexico. On tho occupation of tho city, ho was assigned to duty as Medical Director of tho Army, on the staff of General Scott, and with tho able assistance of his associate surgeons, he performed tho respon- sible duties of the establishment and regulation of tho numerous hospitals required for the reception and care of the largo number of sick and wounded. Fntil the termination of the occupation by the treaty of Gnaduloupo Hidalgo, and as Medical Director, tinder General Butler, of Kentucky (who succeeded General Scott), he remained until, in due course, relieved from duty with the Army of Mexico, wlien ho proceeded to report at "Washington City, enjoying but few days of " leave of absence " there, before being again put on station at an eastern post. G30 GEN. E. S. 8ATTEELEE. 3 In December, 185^, the Third Artillery sailed in the ill-fatc^l Bteamcr '• San Francisco," for California, by the way of Cape Horn, a new Pacific Mail Company steamer, going to the Pacific, char- tered as a government transport, Ircighted with 800 officers and men— Dr. Satterlee was the senior surgeon. The wreck of the ship will not Boon be forgotten; three days after sailing, in a long-con- tinued and terrible gale on the Gulf Stream, more than 200 lives were lost, and the destruction of the vessel was but the commence- ment of the sufferings of many that were rescued by brave seamen in vessels inadequate in size and provisions to the numbers of the saved. The troo^xj that survived arrived frmL virifjm po-rts in New York, February, 1853. Surgeon Satterlee was then assigned to duty as Medical Purveyor of the Army, in which capacity he continued during the war of the Rebellion. At this time ho had advanced to the head of the list of surgeons by regular gradations, with an unsullied record, ever receiving the cs; nnd yd siicli lives oflss. Steadfastness in such priiu'iples and walk of life, when unwaver- ingly exhibited by men wIiom" powers are respected, in associafioDB of rank and authority, and in times of trial, excitement, and con- llict of passions, exerts intluences ns valuable and widespread ns tlicy oi'o usually ui\spokeii. Nowhere, than in camj)s and the rndo nccosaitics and temptations of nuirtial life, is "this (juiet power of example more valuable, or more diflienlt to maintain. Dr. Snttor- Ico, enjoying the friendship of the most notable men of the service during forty years, ever maintained his characteristic fearless- ness in the condemnation of wrong, and in living out his sense of duty, without regard to human disfavor or criticism. As a physician and surgeon, ho became noted in that profession, more especially for rapid and successful judgment as an operator, and for tlio breadth of hia oxpcrionoo in the oxigcucioa of military 632 OKN. li. S. SAT'IMOHLEK. f) Borvioe, which !;a\i" hiiii a high rocoivl I'nr skilictl in'ovoutivti (•iiro of troopa !uul the I'llicitMit organizaUoii of :iirhi(A mi 11(1, and tlio coiubunition of nn intropitl but sagacious ju(li;iiu'nl, funiislu'd so apparoutly tlio requisite cliaractenBtica for success ami renown as a military loader, Ihut it would soem a cause of regret that his hit was not cast in the ilirecit lino of military com- mand and jiromolion, were not a true appreciation duo to a life spent in (he mil i:^a(i()u of iimnan Bufl'ering, regardless of personal peril or iliseond'orl ; lite promotion of human happiness without respect to reward, and the service of a diviim master in all situations and surroundings. Steadfast in purpose, steadfast in friendship, steadfast in the -ight as ho Boes it ; hia motto soonis over to have boou " stand fast." 633 IIOX. MIOITxVEL KoirroN. A^i^^vEW liviiiff mon havo readied the dirrnity of i-eT)rescntativc ot' ^<^^ the peojjlo in the Senate of the great Excelsior State so ^^ honorably, uprightly, and nobly, as the subject of our pres- ent sketch. Political honors, won by industry, perseverance, hon- esty of purpose, and a firm, unswerving adherence to the unalterable principles of truth and justice that lie at the foundation of the or- ganic law of this glorious land, may hn proudly worn by one who, tliough not born on the soil, has proved that he was racy of it. Senator Michael Norton may truly be ranked among the self-made public men of our day, who has arisen from a comparatively obscure boyhood to his present eminent position of honor and power, not by the appliances which wealth or an aristocratic ancestry can afford, but by the sheer force of industry and genuine uprightness of chai- acter. He is among the most energetic, honorable and successful men in political life, and for the past ten years that he has been in public life no man can point to a dishonorable action on his part Senator Norton was born in the County of Roscommon, Ireland, on Christmas Day, 1839, and is descended from a highly respectable family, embracing among its members, clergymen, doctors, antl repre- sentatives of the other learned professions. But reverses, which are so common in Ireland, overtook the family, and so we find that when the Senator was but five months old his fiither concluded to emigrate to the United States, where there would be a larger sphere of usefulness for himself and family. On their arrival in this coun- 635 2 HON. MirilAEr. NORTON. try they became residents of this city, and have always continued to do so. The Senator is not only a self-made man, but a self-edncatoil one, also, having only received six months' education in school. His })arents being then poor, and among strangers, Michael Norton had to go to work at a very early age. He has had an active and event- ful life, which, with his active turn of mind and good memory, he has made good use of, as he received his early training in that se- vere but useful school of the world — experience. In the pursuit of a livelihood, his young hands were hardened by honest toil at the early age of eight years; his flist employment being at a cracker manufactory, where he remained three years. His next situation was with the firm of Swift & Co., sugar refiners, where he remained five yeai-s, giving entu-e satisfaction to his employers for industry in applying himself to the interest of their business. He was now a youth of sixteen, a!id being of an adventurous turn of mind, and de- siring to see the world, he engaged himself on the Ocean Steam- ship " Atlantic," of the " Collins" line of steamers, as mess boy, and made several trips across the Atlantic in that capacity. At the expiration of his service in that vessel, he determined to learn a trade, and to settle down iu New York; he accordingly learned the coopers' trade, and worked dilligently thereat until 1861. When the firing on Fort Sumter took place in the Spring of that year, and the people of the Nortliern States, irrespective of party, rallied to support the Government, Mr. Norton relinquislied his business and enlisted as a private in the 25th Regiment, New York Volunteers. His course was all the more commendable, as he had just susUiined an irreparable loss in the recent demise of a well-be- lovod father — the wise guide of his youth, and the kind mentor of his opening manhood. This bereavement devolved uinm him the responsibility of supporting his family. His worth and abilities were Boon ajiprociated, and he was unanimously elected captain of Com- pany D. of the said regiment, and was mustered iu the service of the Unitod States in May of that year, being one of the enrUest to 6:m HUN. MICHAEL NORTON. 3 respond to flic call of the Goverumoiit. lie was in the field with his regiment about eight months when ho received the news of the severe illness of his mother, and that the whole care of the family rested on his shoulders. He was therefore comi)elled to resign his commission in the army and return to New York, which h-j did towards New Year, 1862. In December, 1862, he was urged to enter the political arena au;l become an independent democratic candidate for alderman of his ward. After consideration he concluded to accept the nomination, though he foresaw he was leading a forlorn hope, as the regular nominee, Alderman Henry, was at that time Piesident of the Board of Aldermen, with a vast amount of patronage at his back. There' were five candidates in the field, and though Mr. Norton was the . youngest and least known, he came out second in the race; having as competitors, besides Alderman Henry, such well-known public men as ex-Senator Woodruff, and Eecordcr Tillou. This large vote proved that Mr. Norton was a strong man with the peo- ple of his ward. In December, 1864, when a vacancy again occurred for Alderman, he re-entered the political field as the independent democratic candidate for alderman, the regular Tammany democratic candidate being George A. Barney, a well-known citizen, and James M. Tuthill being the republican candidate, and an outsider democratic candidate, Alexander McGan-on. This was a hard fight, it being generally conceded that on account of the democracy being divided into three parts that the republican candidate would succeed. But those who counted in this way did not know how strong Mr. Norton was with the masses, and to their surprise, Mr. Norton was elected alderman by a large plurality; this was considered a great triumph by his friends. Mr. Norton's course in the Board of Alder- men during this term gave general satisfaction; be proved himself an incorruptible and economical public officer, and in the several com- mittees of which he was a member, his straightforward course and practical common sense gained him the approval of all his fellow 4 HON. MICHAEL NOKTON. I'itizons. Tn December, 1866, he was renominated, and received the regular Tammany Democratic nomination for alderman. lie was opposed by Terrenco Duffy, a very strong man, who received all the outside democratic nomination, and John Contrell, who was there- publican candidate. This was a very exciting election; the district composed the eighth and fifth wards. When the returns were an- nounced, Mr. Norton was re-elected by an overwhelming majority; in fact ho was so popular in his own ward (the eighth) that he only needed fifteen votes in the fifth ward to elect him. For the succeed- ing three years Mr. Norton continued to act as alderman of his district, attending faithfully to the interest and wants of his constitu- cuts, serving on some of the most important committees, having been ehairmun of the Committee of Streets, of Lamps, and Gas, and of the Joint Committee on Finance, and Wharves and Piers, all of which ho attended to faitiifuUy and zealously, advocating and insisting on an honest, economical, and efficient administration in our municipal government. He was a delegate to a number of State Conventions. Ho was also a delegate to the National Democratic Convention which met in Tammany Hall on the Fourth of July, 1868, and nominated Horatio Seymour as the democratic candidate for President of the United States. The Senator was now an active and zealous worker for the success of his party; he was now embarked in political life; he had an opportunity of forming extensive acquaintances with the leading statesmen in national and local" politics, and from his natural urbanity of manners, no less than his honesty and reliability, he at once became what he is to-day, one of the most popular of our pub- lic men, honored and esteemed by his friends — ^feared and respected by his opponents. Ho is guided essentially by his practical common sense, and it is a marvel how he is able to make his knowledge of politics available, and there are few men in political life who can cora- p ire with him in their control of men to carry their points. This was proven in a remarkable way in November, 18G7, when he received the regular Tammany Democratic nomination for Senator 638 HON. MICHAEL NORTON. 5 of the District. This district, which comprises the Eighth, Ninth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth wards, was always looked to as sending a republican representative to the Senate, his predecessor being th-) Hon. Abraham Lent, a well-known republican ; yet Mr. Norton was elected by a large majority. His course as Senator was marked by the same characteristics of honesty and integrity which he had displayed in other fields of usefulness. He was closely attentive to the business of the Senate, and took a deep interest in all matters of genera] legislation. His genial disposition and temperament won for him many friends, who sustained him in matters affecting hi.^ own district, in which he was interested, and in which he has been usually successful. During this term his party was in a minority in the State Senate. Mr. Norton lays no claim to oratory, and has devoted no time to the cultivation of rhetoric. Whenever he desired to address the Senate to support or condemn a measure, he expressed his views in plain English, and bluntly to the point at issue, so that he met with unvarying success. He has, by close application and untiring energy, fitted himself for the high position he now holds, much better than most men, who have had the advantages and benefits of a collegiate or academical training. His motto has always been — " All honest course will end well." In November, 18(59, he was again a candidate, and received the regular Tammany Democratic nomination for Senator of his district This time he was again opposed by an outside candidate in his own party, in the person ofex-AldermanFlynn, as well as the republican candidate, Hon. Jacob Sharpe, well known as a shrewd and wily politician. Senator Norton entered into this political race with his usual energy and will. The result of this election was a majority for Senator Norton over both of his opponents combined. He re-entered the Senate last January, and was appointed Chairman of the Committee ou 639 6 HON. MKMl.VK.r, NOKTON. lloalth. Towns and Oonntii's, and a iiuiulicr of th(> Oonimittocs on Claims and Privilop;os, and Elect inns. Ho has laithrully watched over the interests of his constituents, and his plain, honest speaking, together with his integiity, have comhined to make him one the best known and popular of our State Senators. Recognizing in him eminently the honest and fearless advocate of riglit, the public press flung out his banner and inscribed thereon the cvcr-memorable motto, " Michael Norton, the Thundei-- bolt of the people," a name that his friends and admirers delight to call him. The highly honorable record that Senator Norton has thus far made in public and private life opens up the vista of a brilliant future, in which higher honors, unsought for, will devolvi? upon him at the hands of an intelligent and grateful people. He is still a young man, being only in his thirty-second ye^r. He stands at the thresh- hold of a bright and prosperous cai-eer, and there is hardly any office or trust in the National or St>ito Government which he may not aspire to. 1 1 redounds to the credit of Senator Norton that he has ever been true to his friends, prompt in the fulfillment of his engagements^ and always studying the interest and welfare of his constituents; and in return they have proved to him how they have appreciated him for it, by always increasing his majorities, whenever he i>resented himself before them for their suffrages. In personal appearance. Senator- Norton is above the medium hcMght, well proportioned and errect. He is fair-complexioned, hi t head is large, with intelligent and handsome features, his eyes &\\\ blue, denoting large sympathy and bouevolenco. His large and gen- erous heart is always supplemented by an open hand. He moves with an active step and shows he has jihysical endurance and energy- In his intercourse with his fellow men he is kind and unatlecte.l. The integrity of character and genial quilities of such men as Sena- tor Norton give tone and pleasure -to political life. For his unblem- 6 10 HON. MICIIAKL NORTON. 7 ished character as a public man, as well as his personal appearance, Mr. Norton does credit to the race from whence he sprang. Of men with such noble characteristics, his adopted country may truly be proud. They are a credit to any race or nation, and the land that can boast the largest number will the longest endure, as long as liberty, truth and justice govern amongst men. 641 ISAIAH BLOOD. We extract the following complimentary 8l«tch from "Life SketcheB of Executive TrZ t°:>.*^^f^„"« °f '^ legislature of the State of New York," publinh,^ l^r h. C. Hutchins 4 H. If. Boone, Albany. ^ ^vf^^^^'^^ ^^^ ■''^^' '^^""^^-"- ^^^"^ tLe Fifteenth District, was ^j^ bom at BallBton, Saratoga County, February 13, 1810. ^^'- HiB father, Sylvester Blood, was a manufacturer of scythes, a business which he established up.ward of sixty years ago. Isaiah received only a district-school education. Leaving school, he entered his father's establishment as an apprentice to the trade.' His energetic industiy was early developed. He worked as no other boy in the shop worked. When he had mastered the calling he took his place as a journeyman, receiving as wages eighty-seven cents a day. In February, 1831, Mr. Blood was united in marriage to Miss Gatf«, of BaUston. At this time hLs father had a branch establish- ment some tliree miles from his principal place in a lonely reervisoi'sliii>, ami elected by twenty -seven majority. Last fall lie carried the lilteenth Senate district by a majority of two thousand over the llepnMican Achilles, Speaker Younglove, reversing tho maji)rity of 1SG8, and caiTying with him_/ti'tJ Democratic members of Assembly, in the place ofjt'rc' Republican membei-s of the previ- ous year. This extraordinary result demonstrated his strength before the people, has attracted the attention of politicians, and placed him promiuently on tho list of tho coming men of the Em- pire State. Since writing the above, Mr. Blood has been re-elected supervisor by a majority of 429, a gain of :t02 over his majority in 1860. 648 ^^::^^^;fl^^-<2i:^^2^^'^^ ELIAS PAEKMAN NEEDHAM. 'LIAS PAKKMAN NEEDIIAM was born in Delaware County, New York, Sept. 29th, 1812. In early life he ~^^ received no education that could have fitted him in the least for the important part he has taken in the progress of instru- mental music. The common school was his only college, and afforded hut meagre opportunities for advancement in knowledge He is pre-eminently a man of progress and the architect of his own fortune. His life has been devoted to the business of his choice, and of this we shall briefly speak. In the range of musical instruments, the piano and the pipe- organ are extremes. The peculiar adaptation of the latter for the rendering of the long, measured tones of the old choral is only more strikingly exhibited in view of the clumsy and reluctant manner in which the " king of musical instruments " submits to that pei-version of its tones, now-a-days fashionable, which forces it into the lively measures of orchestral music ; while, on the other hand, the percussive instrumentation of the piano renders it almost wholly incapable of yielding the dignified and soothing effects of strictly religious strains. Between these two the nineteenth cen- tury has given birth to an instrument which, while possessing certain advantages, common to both its pipe and string confreres, is also as well adapted for the performance of the severest styles of church music as for the aii-s and fantasies of the opera and the dance. This invention, which started under the name of the melodeon, and is now more popularly known as the reed or jiarlor organ, holds the same relationship to keyed wind instruments 640 9 K h 1 A > 1* A H K M A N N K K nil A M . that tho violin does to instnnnonts of tho t^tiiiiged class; and its rosourocs arc as ready for tlio pi-oduction of " Liiikotl sweotuoss Iohjj drnwn out," as for tho roudoring of the most brilliant staccato effects. Now it mav accompany the voice through the '* Old ITuudreth," and, anon, till in, witli grace and vivacity, the breathing places of a fashion- able ballad. Having thus an almost niiiversal adaptability, and possessing a quality of tone to so high a degive sympathetic as to render it, fsxr more than the piano or the pipe-organ, t/i<< home instnimcni ; its convenient size, its cheapness, and its beauty and variety of form have added their forces to tho attractions which have nnidcred the rood organ, in some one of its vai-ious forms, the siiH- qua non of tho musical wedth of the household. Mr. Necdham's whole life is densely identitied with the origin, progress, and perfection of these instnmients ; indeed, to him, moi-o thiui to any other American, is due whatever merit may be accorded for tho superiority of construction, manufacture, and im- provement in tone whi(>h they h.-ivo attained. In youth he diligently applied himself to IciU-ning the trade of a joiner, which in connection with a naturally accurate mechanical genius, early displayed by him, will accomit for the perfect work- manship of the '' Silver-Tongue " organs. In lS35,Mr. Needham becmue acquainted with Jeremiah Ci\r- hart, whose genius had already given birth to a variety of inven- tions, then xindetenuined in vahie. From among these, with an ahm->st prophetic judgment, Mr. Neodham selected tlio improve- ments whit'h have immortiUized Mr. Carhart as tho creator of the melodeon, and their practical embodiment was the souive of a for- tune. Thus were linked together two names which have become so well known to the public and associated with the progress of reed instruments — " Carhart and Netnlham " — a union which only tho death of the former- terminated. The history of tho tinu is well kno\vn. Their i-emoval to New York City from Buffalo in (iJO RI.IAS I'AIirCMAN NKEDIIAM. o 8 184-, andtheir iual.ility to meet the fast growing demands of their busmess m tl.e large building which they at first oeeupied in Thirteenth Street, and their final establishment of the extensive " Silver-Tongno " manufactory on Twenty-third Street. For nrmy years the junior partner of the firm was actively engaged in the business management of the house, and left the experimenting part to Mr. Carhart, who in due time brought the melodeon to its present state of iwrfection. Mr. Needham assumed the financial arrangements of the house and the detail of every part of -the manufacture. He applied him' self to his work early and late, toiling with hands, eye, and brain ■ planning, organizing, and accomplishing his business. Mr Carhart conceived delicate and ingenious machinery, without which success could never have been attained. Mr. Needham carried out those Ideas m hard material, and set them successfully operatino- in the hands of skilful men. He has now in his employ superior work- men, who have been with him more than twenty years, and have given to the reed organ maunfacture almost the whole of their working lives. The same talent which had instituted and carried out success- tully a new branch of American manufacture showed itself capable of comprehending every demand of that interest. The growing taste for reed music caused other melodeon factories to be built, and in a short time something more than a single set of reeds began to be called for. At this time Mr. Needham gave his attention to in- creasing the power and variety of tone. But nothing could l,e accomplished towards a combination of sets until a perfect "stop" should be discovered. In this he finally succeeded, and the achievement made the reed organ and melodeon both complete and at a moderate price. ' The first perfect three-set harmonium made by the house was the result of Mr. Needham's ingenuity, study, and perseverance It was a complete success, and, with minor improvements by him forms the triple reed " SUver-Tongue " of to-day. 651 4: EMAS I'AUKMAN NEEDIIAM. Mr. Needham's inventive powers have not alone been confined to the department of musical manufactm-e. The news of the suc- cessful establishment of pneumatic lines of transit in England early attracted his attention, and he shortly discovered that by the method there in use a large proportion of the power must be wasted, and the highest degree of speed remain unattainable. To obviate these defects he devised the American improvement in "Pneu- matics ways," which is known as the " endless current." His plan has been pronounced by competent engineers the best which has ever been contrived, and it will doubtless become the exclusive method of operating "American ways." Mr. jSTeedham is still actively engaged in the manufacture of the " Silver-Tongues " as the head of the firm of " E. P. Needham & Son." His love of experiment, and zeal for the improvement of his favorite instrument remaining undiminished. He has lately completed a new "Tremolo," which, for simplicity, durability, and sweetness of tone combined, promises to surpass any now in use. Mr. Needham's success in business is due not only to his unremitting application, but also to the real merits of his instru- ments, which are being appreciated by the public in every city, town, and village. 652 GEOEGE TEMPLE STROl^G. ^ ^MONG the men of true moral worth and fine social ..^^g stauding in oar empire city, there are few or none more deserving of the position they occupy in public esteem than the subject of this sketch. George Temple Strong was born in the city of New York January 26, 1820. He is the son of George W. Strong and Ehzabeth Templeton Strong. His father belonged to an old New England family, and was for many years a prominent member ot the NewTork bar, distinguished for his professional learnino- and ability, and for his worth and fidelity in every relation ot" life His mother, Elizabeth Templeton, was a daughter of one of the leading merchants of New York, and a member of its Chamber of Commerce imtil his death in 1792. Mr. Strong was educated at Columbia College when it was in its most flourishing state, and graduated with high honors in 1838 Afterwards he applied himself to the study of law diligently, and, though young in years, was admitted to the bar in 1841 with marked distinction. Exhibiting great ability in his profession he was made counselor in 1844. Since this time he has continued in a successful career. In 1847 he was elected to the membership of the vestry of Trmity Church, which office he now holds. He was elected Trus- tee of Colu,nbia College in 1853, and tliis office also he continues to hold with honor. In 1848 Mr. Strong married Ellen Euggles, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of Hon. Samuel B. Euggles, a man of wide 653 O GEOROK TEMPLE STRONG. reputation, and one almost univei-sally esteemed in the literary world. Mi-s. Strong is an accomplished lady, of tine literary taste, and a great favorite in New York society. Besides, she is remark- ably beautiful, and time but touches lightly while it does not im- pair her pci-sonal charms. Mr. Strong holds a high place in the estimation of every New Yorker. In times of need he is one of the solid men who are looked to for help. During our late war he took an active part in many works of benevolence, never pivssing by on the other side any who sought charity or counsel from him. On the breaking out of the Eehellion, in IStU, Mr. Strong was elected treasurer of the United States Sanitary Commission, then established by the Government, and was also a member of its executive committee, which met daily in New York until the close of the war, excepting during the sessions of the committee itself at "Washington and elsewhere. Mr. Strong has never taken an active part in politics, but during our late civil war he gave his influence and unqualitied support in behalf of the Government and the Union cause, devoting much time and labor to the Sanitary Commission and auxiliary societies. In 1S03 he committed himself with untiring zeal and energy, thereby necessitating the sacrifice of the greater part of his time, to the founding and perfection of the " Union League Club," of New York City, which Club rendered such substantial service to the Government in organizing the loyal men of the city, and raising men and means generally for the national cause. Within the past year Mr. Strong has been elected president of the "Church Music Association," and of the "Philharmonic Society," of New York city. He is noted as a gentleman of pleasing manners and address, and is possessed of a handsome figure and a physiognomy expressive of much benevolence and good-will. Those who know him intimately, esteem him most highly for his unblemished moral character and eminent social .ind intellectual virtues. With all the estimable qualities of head 054 GBOROE TKMPLE STRONG. and heart which have signaled Mr. Strong a., a worthy citizen with his well-known energy and enterprize always directed in an enlightened channel, and with an ability and willingness to do good, as abundantly evidenced in the past, it is but reasonable to predict for him a career of usefulness in the future, while it is but just to rank him among the progressive men of the times. 655 ///^.4.^ BENJAMIN F. SANDS. EAR ADMIRAL EENJAM^f F. SANDS, TJnited States Navy, the subject of this sketch, was bora in the ._,. ^*^te of Maryland in the year 1812, and in April, 1828 waa appointed a Mid^Ujrmm in the Navy from Kentucky, to which State he had, with his father's family, removed a few years previonsly. His studies in his adopted profe.ssion were be^Tin at Norfolk Va • and in October, 1828, he wa.s attached to the sloop of war " Vandalia '' in which vessel he made his first craise. Upon the return of this vessd to port, after the expiration of the cruise, he was detached and ordered to the sloop of war "St. Louis," which made a cruise of two years m the West Indies. He received his warrant as Passed Midshim- rrmn on the 14th of June, 1834. lu 1836 he was ordered to duty on the U. S. Coast Survey, of which the late Mr. F. E. Hassler, of sdentific renown, was then superintendent. Displaying great aptitude for this service, he was retained on this duty without interruption until 1841-receiving during that time, in March, 1840, his promotion to the grade of Lieutenant. In 1842, he was attached to the line-of-battle ship "Columbus," which joined the Mediterranean squadron-serving on that vessel until 1844, when he was detached and ordered upon special duty. In 1846, he was attached to the Naval Observatory, an institution then in its infancy, under Lieutenant M. F. Mauiy, who was super- intendent thereof-and after a year's service there he was detached and ordered to the Home Squadron, then cruising in the Gulf off the Mexican coast, and was present at the passage up the Tobasco Eiver aud in the affair at Tol>asco on the 1.5th .lune, 1847. 657 l>iirins>- tho voiu-s 184v'^-40 mul '.">0, lio oruisod on I lie ci>ast <>f AtVicii ; for a short, time on ttio .sUiop of war " Yorktown," mul tinitdiod Iho cruiso in ooninisuul o{ tlio brijj " Porpoiso," ondoavoring to bixvik up flio odious traHic- in slavos then i-airiod on to so gn-iit an extent. In 1851, at. the urgent request of Prof. A. D. Itaehe, wlio sueeeedod the hite A[r. Ilassh'r, ho was nttaclied again to the U. S. Coast Sur- vey, and was engaged in tho Topographical and Hvdrograpliieal sur- vey of our troast line and its adjaoent wateis from 1851 to 18.")8 — the tieM of his work during that period being fii>ni Long Island to the coast of Texas. In September, 1855, he received his comuiission as Comtmmder, and in 185S> was ordennl to duty in the Hureau of Construction, and in 18(>1 was placed in cliargo of tho Hydrography of tho Western Ctuist, at the special lequest of l*ix>f. Bache. lie remained there until 18(>3, in July of which year he was jM-omoted to the gnuie of Ciipfoi'n. In (V'tober of that year the war of the rebellion having assumed such pivportions that he felt it his duty to bo among more active scones than tho coast of California presente^l — and, without waiting to i-ecoivo the ordei-s he had applied for, ho turned over his charge to another and proceoiling direct to Washington, obtained command of the slix>p of wjvr " Dacotah," and iu a few days joined the fleet engaged blockading the two inlets to Cape Fear Kiver, which aftbixled peculiar facilities for vessels running the blockade with provisions and clothing for the Confederate forces. In February, 18ti3, en- gjiged ii\ an attack on " Fort Caswell,*' which, however, terminated without important results. In 18t>4:, he was solecteil by the Navy Department to take command of the tltree-turreted iivn-clad " Roan- oke," on the occasioTi of her trial trip fivm New York to Hampton Roads and soon at\erwai\ls was transferred to the steamer " Fort Jackson," and upon his return to the blocting fleet made several captures of \ alnables prizes. Frvnu 1802 to lSi>5, he was for the most of the time the Divisional 658 Commander, and under his disp^jBitioriH of tlie blockading fleet, the inlete were most Ktctirely blockaded, and veamh and cargoes to tlie value of several millions of doUars were captnred or (hatroy&l. lie pailicipated in the two engagements with Fort Fislier of December 25th and 26th, 1864, and January 15th and 16th, 1S65, his vtsisel on both occasions being in the front and under the heavy fire of the rebel batteries. In the land assault on the Fort by the sailors from the fleet in c^^njunction with the army under General Terry, which resulted in the capture of the Fort, the two sons of Captain Sands, who followed the profession of their father, were in the front with detachments from the vesseLs to which they were attached and were complimented in the rejxjrts of their commanding officers. Captain Sands was recommended for promotion for gallant and distinguished service* in these engagements which resulted in so complete a victory. In the February following he was ordered to command the division blockading the coast of Texas, and the articles of surrender of the rebel Trans-'Missis.sippi forces to General Canby of the United States army were signed t»y General E. Kirby Smith and Major-General I. Bankhead Magruder, on board of his slup, the " Fort Jackson," on the 2d of June, 1865, and formal possession of Galveston was taken by Captain Sands, who landed with a detachment of sailors and marine and hoisted the Union flag over the last foothold of the rebellion. He was afterwards ordered to the Boston Xavv Yard ; but receiv- ing, Jnly 25, 1 866, his promotion to the grade of Commodore, was detached therefrom, and, becaase of his peculiar fitness for the posi- tion, was selected, in ilay, 1867, to succeed Eear-Admiral Davis in the superintendency of the Naval Observatory at 'Washington— that officer having been assigned to the command of the Brazih'an Squadron. Under Commodore Sands' administration of the aflairs of that institution were made the Eclij^se Oh^servations by the Xaval Obser- vatory party in August, 1867, the lesulu of whose lalxirs were pub- 659 4 B E N .t A M I N F . S A N n S . lished in 1868, and have received the fa\oi-able criticism of the whole scientific world. It was also owing to his energy and pei-se- verance that a party was sent from the Observatory by the Navy Deparinieut to observe the Eclipse of the Sun at Gibraltar and at Syracuse, Sicily. He was promoted to the grade of Kear Admiral on the 27th of April, 1871. 660 JOEDAI^ L. MOTT. jORDAX L. MOTT, the founder of Motthaven and J. L. Mott Iron Works, now successfully carried on in the city of New York, was bom on the 12th day of October, 1798, and died May 8, 1806. His ancestors came to America in 1636 from England, and filled very important positions in the govern- ment of tlie colony. Mr. Mott has been long known as an inventor and manufac- turer, having contributed, perhai)s, more than any man living to the early adoption and almost universal use of anthracite as a fuel, and also to the superiority and beauty of stoves and all other iron castings of a household kind. Since he first conceived, designed, and cast stoves and ranges for the use of coal, he has accomplished steady and continual improve- ments in the economical, healthful, and otherwise advantageous adaptation thereof. His first patent appears in 1632, and others succeeded every year from that time until his retirement from active business in ;1853. His name occurs as many as fifty times upon the records of the Patent OflSce, and he is known to have registered five patents in a single year for as many different things. The patents obtained were for stoves, fire-places, cast-iron columns for buildings, bathing tubs, pivot chairs, car-wheels, corebars for molding pipes, com- bined furnaces, and caldrons for farm use, specimens of which are seen in and about New York daily, by any careful observer. At the age of fifteen, he also invented a labor-saving machine for weaving. General Harvey, in 1847, testified that "Mott's ad- mirable arrangements for burning small coal caused its speedy 661 introiliu'tioii t'ur domestic, luechaiiiciil, and maimtac-turing pi By expi'iimonting with ditfercnt patterns of stoves of liis own make witli different degrees of heat, he found by paneling, curv- ing, fluting, and other devices, how to prevent tlie cracking of stoves by their expansion when hot, and tJieir contraetiuii when cooling off. Through his sagacity and inventive genius, cupola furnaces were brought into general use throughout the whole country, instead of blast furnaces ; also by his various improvements the rough, coarse, heavy castings of the latter were exchanged for the beautiful, smooth, light plates of the former. "What Dupont accomplished iu behalf of a progress that, directly or indirectly, enhances the good of the public at large, by substi- tuting the tine, polished, powerful powder of the present day, for the poor, dirty article used by om* ancestors — what Gail Borden of Galveston, Texas, did by inventing his meat biscuit, for preserving the nutritious properties of meat in a most convenient form — what Hoe did by his inventions iu regard to printing-presses — and what Ericsson did in the substitution of the propeller and monitor for the old-fashioned side-wheel steamship, J. L. Mott accomplished in the way of stoves and ranges for the more speedy, economical, and most excellent preparation of food for the body, which, in the end, by giving it health and strength becomes food for the mind. He is justly entitled to the esteem and grateful remembrance of his countrymen as a public benefactor. In few departments of manufacture has there been so much improvement in the last half century, as in that of stoves ; and as the present J. L. Mott has been educated to the business, and, besides being a skilltul me- chanic, is a talented gentleman with ample time and means, we have assurance, if such a thing is possible, that still further im- provements in such invaluable articles as cooking stoves and ranges will follow when required. The J. L. Mott Iron Works, New York City, besides their cele- 662 JORDAN L. MOTT. g brated stoves and ranges, manufacture all kinds of hollow ware, vases, and statues representing the Seasons, as well as historical and mythological characters. A visit to and an examination of the J. L. iMott Iron "Works, was inrleed an instructive lesson to the writer hereof, as what he saw called to mind many things long forgotten, and afforded pleas- ant food for reflection in the future. As an inventor and puhlic benefactor, the founder of the J. L. Mott Iron Works has received the approbation and appreciation of his fellow-men. Success attended his efforts, and he amassed a fortune, which was judiciously devoted, as well for purposes of doing good when- ever an appeal was made for the exercise of an enlightened gener- osity as for the advancement of legitimate busine^ enterprise. The memory of his public and private virtues is treasured by his relations, friends, and acquaintances, while an appropriate mon- ument marks the place where he peacefully rests, the lovely city of the dead, beautiful Greenwood! " Peace hath its victories as well as war," and from the success which attended the life-struggle of J. L. Mott, although his battle was peaceful and bloodless, his victory was beneficent and glorious. 663 RICHARD B. CARPENTER. BY P. B. FOrKE. 0it^^i3s HE subject of this sketch was born in Belvidere, Lamoille TiJIb County, Vt., January 1st, 1825. His father was a Dnita- /^^ rian clergyman, devoted to his profession, and celebrated for his good sense, piety and hospitality. His mother was a woman of culture and refinement. In childhood he was very deli- cate ; and when about twelve years of age, it became evident that his constitution could not endure that rigorous climate, he was sent to Ohio, to reside with an nncle. He attended the common school and academy, for a few years, and while yet a boy, went to Ken- tucky, where lie taught school and studied law with the late Gov- ernor James T. Morehead. Subsequently he graduated at the Cin- cinnati law school, and was admitted to the bar of the Court of Appeals January 1st, 1846. He commenced the practice of law in Covington, Ky., and rose rapidly in his profession. He was married to Miss E. A. Perrin, April lYth, 1847. Five children have blessed their union, four of whom are living. He was elected Common- wealth's attorney in 1851, and discharged the duties of that office with distinguished ability, until September 25th, 1855, when he resigned. The condition of the West, at that time, was not favorable for the preservation of specimens of his eloquence ; but if any reliance can be placed in traditions, and if success, entire and complete, is any criterion of ability, he mu-st be pronounced one of the greatest ora- tors of our age and country. His most celebrated speeches were in the prosecution of Howard for murder, in La Grangi\ in 1852, and of Matt. F. "Ward, for the same crime, at Elizabethtown, in 1853. In the former case, the prisoner was defended by the late James Guthrie, and other eminent counsel, and was convicteorts in the newsjiapoiv, was one of surpt\ssing power and eloquence. Tlie iiistory of the Ward case is still fresh in tlie minds of readei-s. He shot Prof. Butler in his own house, be cause of some punislunent inflicted upon a brother, who was one of the pupils in the professor's school. He wjvs indicted in Louisville, but the excitement was so great, that an application for change of venue wiis made and granted, and the case was ti'ied in Hardin C'onnty. "Ward was defended by Mr. Crittenden, T. F. Mai-sluxll, Gov. Helm, and other distinguished gentlemen. His family, the "Wards, Johnsons, and Flournoys, were wealthy and influential in that State, and by means that are not necessary to be stuted here, he was acquitted. Throughout that celebrated trial, lasting thirteen days, Mr. Carpenter, then a slight, sallow-looking young man, wjis the centre of attraction ; and his speech, in opening this prosecution, replete with ai'gument and eloquence, has been widely circulated, and needs no encomium from us. Mr. Ciu-penter, notwitlistaiuling his largo practice before the war, gave much attention to politics, and was an able and influential leader iu the Democratic piuty. He did not aspire to olKce. of a purely political character, but he im- pressed his views strongly upon those who did. His power wjis ex- hibited in moulding public opinion, shaping events, and inaugurat- ing reforms for the general welfare. Perhaps no man h.os a more profound contempt for official trappings, wad few are more ardent lovers of theii' race and nation. He is too sagacious to bo a mere politician, and too sincere to be a demagogue. When the war broke, out, he espoused the Union cause, and canvjissed Kentucky in its defence. It will be doing no injustice to any of the Union leaders ot that State to say, that to him, more thtm auy otlicr man, is duo the credit of keeping his State fast to her moorings under the old flag. The people of the North scarcely comprehend the condition of artairs at that time in the border States. There it wjis civil lOtir. Cb'G C A F: I' K N T E K . Father was arrayed against son, and brotlier a^^ainst brother. The whole State was a boiling political cauldron, and violence and blood- shed were the u^ual events of each day. Under th^se circumstance.^. Mr. Carpenter took the stump in the memorable campaign of 1 S62, and faced dangers greater than are found upon the battlefield, with the firmness and courage demanded by the emergency, and worthy of the great cause. That campaign developed the full man ; he rose to the height of the " great argument.'' Tlie Union was dear to him, not only because it ha^l been formed by the great and good men of the past, cemented by their blood, and hallowed by their deaths, but for the better reason, that its perpetuity was essential to the full development of the power, resources, liberties and ha2.>pi- ness of his countrymen. HLs vision was not obscured by fknaticism, nor his judgment clouded by hatred of the Southern people. In his opinion, the destruction of the Confederate armies and government was the one necessity of the time. Not having received a military education, he did not think himself competent to command men on the battleiield, but he enlisted as a private soldier in the 41st Ky. Volunteers. He wa.s in the army but a few montLs, when he was again elected Attorney for the commonwealth, and continued to dis- charge the duties of that office until I860, when he again resigned, and removed to Charleston, S.C. In June, 18C7, he was appointed by Cliief-Jastice Chase- Eegister in Bankruptcy for the First Congres- sional District of that State, and held the yx'-'sition until the 9th day of December, 1868, when he was elected by the Legislature, Judge of the First Circuit, and at once entered upon the duties of that office. Few positions in life could be more critical. He was unac- quainted with the practice in South Carolina. During the interreg- num between her secession from, and return to the Union, a Con- federate, a Provisional Legislature, called into being by President Johnson, and the military Commander.?, had made laws for the gov- ernment of the people. The Acts of Congre&s, known as the Ee- construction Acts, had abrogated some of them, and some of the provisions of the New Constitution of the State, ordained in April, 6G7 18(58, were i-opngnnnt to otlit>i-s. It was tliereforo ver^' diffleiilt to doteriiiine wlioro tlio old laws ended, or tlie new commenced. Whcti tlie additional fact, tliat tlie C'liurloston bur, iv very able and con- scientious body of men, were wholly opposed, from aTitecedents and iducjition, to the then existing state of thinjis, and from their preju- dices to the judge, because he was of Northern birth and Union politics, ft more dithcult role could scarcely bo imagined. That Judge Carpenter, in the short period of twenty months, mastered the practice, reduced this chaos to order, disi)iised of more than three thousand cases at law and in equity, administered justice to the en- tire satisfaction of all ca-tes and classes, and had won the entire re- spect of the bar, without an exception, is a more eloquent eulogium upon his industry, talents and integrity, than can be written. Upon his retirement from the bench, at the largest meeting of the bar ever held in Charleston, Ex-Chief-Justice Dunkin presided, and the fol- lowing preamble and resolutions were otferod by Hon. W. G. De- saussure, and unanimously adopted : Whereas, The Bar of Charleston have learned that the Hon. E. B. Carpenter is about to resign his position as Judge of this Circuit, the duties of which office he has discharged with distinguished ability and fidelity ; and, ^ohereas, they deem it but a just tribvite to place upon record their estimate of the impartiality, courtesy and signal talents wluch have characterized his judicial coui-se on the bench ; therefore, be it Resolved, That the Bar of Charlestou, assembled, do tender to tlie Hon. R. B. Carpenter their profound recognition of the high char- acter, judicial integrity and ability with which he has presided iu the courts of justice. Resolved, That we will preserve a lively remembrance of the manner in which he has ever held the scales of justice with even hand, and vindicated the dignity and purity of the law. Resolved, That the ju-esiding orticer of this meeting be requested to convey the above resolutions to the Hon. R. B. Carpenter, and that they be spread upon the minutes of the Court. ()0S EI(;irAIiI) H. (J A ICl'KNT EK. & The Convention tliat met in Columbia on tlic lotli of Jiini;, 1870, reiiresenting the intelligence, property and respectability of tlie State, unanimounly nominated Judge Carpenter as tlioir candidate for GovciTior. The nomination was not only urmought by him, but wa« against his well-known wishes. But in view of the incapacity, extravagance and corruption of the government of that State, and the opivression of itri people, he did not hesitate to resign his office, accept the candidacy and canvass tlic State. He was defeated, not by votes at tlie polls, but by the most infamous and general stuffing of the boxes days after the election had closed, as a judicial investi- gation has since proved. During tliat w>ntest, he was unsfiaring in \m denunciations of the fraud, bribery and corruption of the State officials, and won the respect and confidence and kind regards of the people. It was a new era in South Carolina politics ; and liis talents, fairness and candor made f.^r him hosts of friends among the good and intelligent, and, of course, many enemies among the ignorant and vicious. Perhaps Judge Carjjenter is more remark- able for his conversational than his oratorical powers. Whenever he talks, crowds gatlier round, and are never weary with listening. He is an original thinker, full of information, jiresents new ideas forcibly and old ones in a new light — takes up your thought and carries it forward into new fields ungleaned and untrodden. He is the delight of the social circle — easy and natural in manner, consid- erate of the feelings and tolerant of the opinions of others. We conclude this sketch by an extract from a graceful writer in a work published in 18.59 :* "In person, he is tidl, with a good figure, a fine voice, and eyes that are absolutely sleepy (it would be more poetical Uj say dreamy, but sleepy is the word). There is nothing in his face or appearance to indicate the man, unless it be some lines plowed, not by years, but thought, and an habitual shade of sa<^lnes8 that rests always upon his face when in repose. When addressing a popular audience, in moments of enthusiasm, his eyes brighten to a bkze, and hia feat- • WaygidB dVimimisB. 6C9 a KIOn.VIMi li <• A U I' K \T EU. ures do tbp bidding of ids mind with wonderful facility. Sarcasm, scorn, contempt, arc ndrrorcd with faithful accuracy, while, in hisi loftier bui"sts of eloquence, ho seems the emboilimont of the devoted, imselfish patriot. His thoughts are clear, his diction smooth and flowing, or tei-se and antithetical, as suits his purpose and the occa- sion. Ho does not attempt to win a forensic battle bv strategic movements, but mai-shals his thoughts in solid phalanx, and drops upon the enemy and takes the position at the point of the bayonet. He uttei-s the boldest and most unpopular propositions in a manner and with a voice which seem to say, Sir, listtn to nie, and yon shall be convinced He has a fertile imagination, a soaring fancy, and deep pathos, and yet keeps them all in such subjection to bis judg- ment, that he is eminently a practical speaker. It is true there are tlowei-s on either hand, but there is also a well-defined path along which the orator has pa.*scd.'' (zy. ^^^ SERRANUS CLINTOI^ HASTINGS.* J^jf-'CCESS is not always an evidence of genius, no more tlian j^» failure is an assurance of incapacity, yet he who triumphs in life's battle despite many and serious obstacles in his early years — he who, in due time, 'attains honored yjrominence among his fellow-men without such accessories as wealth and in- fluence to render the struggle less arduous — in a word, he who, by dint of his own brain and muscle, rises from poverty and obscurity to aflSiuence and position, surely develops rare ability, and illus- trates a life-story worthy of emulation. Such a man is the subject of this sketch, and his career is another and convincing example of that success which follows merit, and to which all may aspire who, like him, possess the will, the force of character, and the perse- verance essential to its accomplishment. The ancestry of Mr. Hastings can be traced to times quite remote, and he is supposed tfj be a descendant of the general of his name, who, during the Heptarchy, led the Danish forces into England. His grandfather emigrated from England to Rhode Island early in the seventeenth century, and afterward settled in New York. Kob- ert Collins Hastings, his father, was a well-educated and intelligent mechanic, a native of New York, and married Patience Brayton, of the large family of that name, who were amongst the first set- tlers of the counties of Jefferson and St. Lawrence. He was conspicuous in the stirring political events of his day, and was a warm friend and supporter of De Witt Clinton, after whom he named his son. • This sketch, originally written by Thomas P. Marden for "RtpreReniative Men of the Pacific," has beei 'e-written, revised, and enlarged for tliis work. 671 2 SERRANUS CLINTON UASTINGS. He TTas in eoinmaiid of a conipaiij' at Sackett's Harbor at the close of the war of 1812, and, in a personal encounter, provoked by the colonel of his regiment, lie dealt that ofhcer a sword-thrust, on account of which, though never pi'osecuted cnmmaliter, he was harassed and persecuted by the colonel and his numerous and pow- erful friemis, until he became reduced from comfortable affluence to poverty. In this condition he removed to near Geneva, where he died, at the age of thirty-four years, destitute and despondent, leaving a wife and iive children, of whom the subject of this notice was the eldest. Before speaking of the son, we will mention another inci- dent in the eventful career of the father. Robert C. Hastings, during the war of 1812, together with two others of Watertown, became surety for Paymaster , who, some time after, represented that he'had been. robbed of $80,000 in government funds. This statemjsnt not being credited, the three sureties repaired one Sunday morning to the residence of the suspected paymaster and invited him to a walk in the fields, and there thrust him three times in a water- pit, declaring each should be the last unless he would reveal the truth. The third time convinced the culprit of the terrible earnestness of the parties with whom he had to deal, and after being restored to consciousness, not without considerable difficulty, he finally ac- knowledged that the money was concealed on his wife's person. Acting on this confession, they immediately returned to the house, and forcibly took possession of the secreted funds, whereupon the enraged wife and proud woman, belonging to one of the first families of the country, unwilling to survive the disgrace of herself and hus- band, ran to the center of Black River Bridge near at hand, leaped into the stream and was drowned. Serranus Clinton Hastings was born November 22, 1814, in Jef- ferson County, New York. In early youtli he passed six years in study at Gouverneur Academy, and, from this time to manhood, no one but himself can appreciate the difficulties, arising from poverty, he had to contend with in meeting the necessities of life, and at the same time prosecuting his education. At the age of twenty he G72 SRRRANUS CLINTON HASTINGS. 3 beea.ne principal of the XnrwiH. Academy in Chcnnngo County JSew York, where he introduced the Hamiltonian system of instruc- tion in the languages, tiie analytical system of mathematics and improvements in other branches of education. After one year's successful teaching, he resigned this position, and commence.] the study of law with Charles Thorpe, Esq., of Norwicli. Here he con- tinued his studies but a few months, and, in 1834, emigrated to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he completed his legal course in the office of Daniel S. Majors, Esq. He did not, however, enter at once upon his professional labors, and in 1836, during the bitter Presidential contest, we find him editing, in the interest of the Democratic party, t\^^ Indiana Signal, ^^ influential journal, which gave spirited and effective support to Martin Van Buren His editorial career of six months closed with the triumph of his candi- date; and he then parted with his second brother, who migrated to Texas, enhsted in a company of which he afterwards" became captam, fought four years on the Texan frontier and Mexican border and was killed with nearly all of his command-victims of the' treachery of his Mexican allies. Mr. Hastings resumed his journey westward in December, 1836 and, on reaching Terre Haute, Indiana, presented himself to Jud^e' Porter of the Circuit Court, and ably sustained the test of a sevet-e legal examination at the hands of that distinguished jurist His next move was still further west until he reached the Black Hawk purchase (now the State of Iowa), and arrived atBuriington, in Jan- nary, 1837. The following spring he took up his abode on the western bank of the Mississippi, where has since sprung up the city of Muscatine, Iowa, and here resolved to commence the practice of the profession for which he had prepared himself, having first been examined by Judge Irwin and admitted to the bar. At that time this vast stretch of country was attached to the Territory of Wis- consin for judicial purposes. Shortly after his admittance to the- nar, Mr. Hastings was commissioned a Justice of the Peace bv Governor Dodge, of Wisconsin, with jurisdiction extending overthe 673 4 S !• n R A N U S CLINTON H A S T 1 N r. g . eomitrv between Burliiigtuii ami Davenport, a dislaiico of ninety miles. The western limit of this jnristliction being nncotilined, the ambitions young magistrate, for his own satisfaction, lixeil it at the Pacific Ocean — not having the fear of Mexico before his eyes. The fii-st and only ease during his term of office was a criminal charge against a man found guilty, by the Justice, of stealing thirty dollars from a citizen and three dollars from the court. The sentence, char- acteristic of the early and summary jurisprudence of the West, was that the prisoner be taken to an adjacent grove and tied to an oak tree, and receive upon his back thirty lashes for the money stolen from the citizen and three lashes for the three dollars taken from the Court, and to be thence conveyed over the river to the Illinois shore, and banished from the Territory forever. This sentence was duly, formally, and thoroughly executed in presence of the court and all the people. On June 12, 1838, Iowa was created a separate Territory, and Judge Hastings soon after became the Democratic candidate of his district, for the first Legislature to assemble under the Territorial government. To this position he was elected after a very spirited contest; and from time to time thereafter, and until 1846, when Iowa was admitted into the Union, he continued in public life, rep- resenting his constituents either in the IIousq or Council. During one of these sessions of the Territorial Legislature, he was elected President of the Council and discharged the dutiesof the office with marked ability and dis}>aich. At another session, while a member of the Judiciary Committee, and associated with Hon. James W. Grimes, since United States Senator, he reported from the com- mittee the celebrated statute known in Oregon and Iowa for many years as the Blue Book, and this severe and comprehensive task was accomplished in ninety days, the limit of a legislative session. About this time occurred what is known in the liistory of Iowa as the ^'jilissoun War" originating in the attempt of the sheriff of Clark County, Missouri, and other Missouri officials, to collect taxes within the territorial limits of Iowa. Governor Boggs, of Missouri, 674 SEIIRANUS CLINTON HASTINGS. 6 and Governor Lucas, of Iowa, were tlie acknowledged and oppobing leaders of" this " war "; and bo great was the excitement at that time, and 60 bitter the feeling engendered, that bloodshed seemed in- evitable. Judge Ilastings took an active part in tlie conflict ; he left his seat in the Legislature, repaired to Muscatine, and assiimed command of the " Muscatine Dragoons," and three companies of militia. Without tents or sufficient clothing, with no arms save pistols and bowie-knives, no forage for his animals, and but a scanty supply of food for his men, he led his force, in the middle of a severe and bleak winter, to the northern boundary of Missouri. The result of this campaign was the bloodless but glorious capture of the obnoxious sheriff, who was taken in triumph back to the outraged soil of Iowa and lodged in the Mus- catine county jail. Before Major Hastings could again cross the Missouri line, where the Missouri forces were arming and preparing to meet him, the difficulties were adjusted and peacefully restored. Shortly after the termination of this serio-comic campaign Major Hastings was appointed on the governor's staff, with the rank of major of militia. Early in 1846 a convention of the people of Iowa assembled at the capitol and accepted the boundaries proposed by Congress for the new State. Major Hastings was unanimously nominated for Congress, and elected subsequently by the people. Iowa being ad- mitted into the Union, December 28, 184:0, he took his seat as her representative in the twenty-ninth Congress. "With one exception he was the youngest member of the House — a body then noted for the virtues and abilities of its Ecpresentatives. John Quincy Adams had not then been removed from the theater of his great triumphs, and Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Andrew Johnson and other bright names shone on the roll of members. In January, 1848, Major Hnstings was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, which position ho held a little over a year, and then resigned for the purpose of emigrating to Cali- fornia. He arrived in that State in the spring of 1849 and settled 675 6 SKKUANUS CLINTON HASTINGS. at Bonic-iii. Ho wivs sik>u thoreuftor uiiiiniinously clootod, by the Logislutiiro, Oliiol" Justico of tlio Snpromo Court, uiul served out liis term of two years with clmraeteristio nbility and to the satis- fivetiou of nil. In lS.")i Judjjo Hustings received the Democratic nomination for Attorney-General of California, to whieh position ho was oleeted, receiving the highest vote cast at the election, cxee)it that given on tho same ticket to the candidate for State treasurer. This vote was considered highly complimentary, as the field was oeeuplod solely by his eloquent Whig opponent who thoroughly cap.vassed the State. At tho end of his two ^'eara' term of otlieo ho retired from public life, and has not sineo been before the people as a candidate, although he has been prominently interested in and identified with the growtii and prosperity of his adopted State. Judge Hastings wsis tho guest of William H. Seward in his tour ot' observation through Oregon. Wsishington, and Alaska, in the summer of ISOJ), and private duties interfered to prevent him accompanying the distinguished statesman in his journey through our sister Republics. On the return of Governor Seward, in the summer of the past year (^1870), (Vi n^uh- tor Japan and China, ho was the guest of Judge Hastings for about ten days, at liis residence in San Fran- cisco. The entertainment was highly pleasing to tho governor and his party, and he often speaks of tho hospitality of his friend as being unsurjntsmf. Judge Hastings claims that the people of California espetMally owe a debt of gratitude to William H. Seward, and cannot do him too much honor — to say nothing of tho respect due to one recognized as a great statesmau and philosopher by all civilized nations. The Judge is a married man, and h.as seven elnldren living; three sons and four daugiiters. He is ot' an active, nervous tem- perament, genial manners, and agreeable presence ; is tall in stature, of pmverful build, and evidently possesses great piiysical endurance. Although a ready and racy debater, ho lays no claim to oratory ; nor is he particularly adapted to the legal profession — his nature G7l) SEKRANUS C1>INT0N HASTINGS 7 rebelling agaitut the restraints of judicial oHice, nutwitlista.idiiig his legal attainments arecuiisiderablo, and his conduct and decisions, as the highest judicial functionary of two States, have been generally commended, and seldom, if ever, condemned. Ho is a good Latin scholar; is blessed with large and liberal views, extended informa- tion, and fine conversational powers, infused at times with wit and humor. Politics and finances generally engross his thoughts; still ho is addicted to travel, and since he left publico office, the greater part of his time which could be spared from the proper superinten- dence of his children's education, and the management of his estates, has been spent in extended travels in this^ country and Europe. He frequently of late years visits the scenes of his early life in Iowa, and is always received by the old settlers of that country with denionstrati(jns of pleasure characteristic of the West ern pioneer. While wearing the honors and cares of office, whirling in the dizzy round of political agitation, ho always husbanded his resources, and managed his private business with consummate wisdom. Dur- ing the exciting, prosperous times when the State of California was in its infancy, he wisely foresaw and embraced the opportunity of laying a broad and solid foundation for future wealth. Indeed, his whole career, whether viewed from a political or financial stand- point, has been one of vinbroken success. As one of the pioneers of the marvelous development of the far West, he is to-day witnessing the fruits of his early labors, and those of his co-workers in the great field of modern progress. Scarcely beyond the prime of life, he can now look back upon a past well employed, a noble work accomplished, and enjoy that satisfaction which emanates from a consciousness of success the more abundant that, in advancing individual prosperity, it has also enhanced public good. The heart of such a man cannot grow old, nor will his memory die. 677 NEHEMIAH PEERT. y'l^,'' ACII individual life Las a InVtorj of its own. For al- ^^'/T^ tliougli there may be jjoiiits of strong general or particular resemblance between the cliaracters of different men and the incidents of different lives, resulting in a degree of sameness which is far from engaging, still the points of dissimilarity are far more numerous than those of likeness ; and individuality iu this respect is as clearly defined as it. is in faces. But in the biography of an individual, as in the history of a nation, there is little which is attractive to the mass, unless it abounds in sensational events — unless strong passions are displayed, great crimes portrayed, stirring deeds recited, violent alternations of fortune chronicled, or the story told of almost insuperable obstacles surmounted by guile or force. Virtue is not dramatic, while vice is ever intensely so. Such reflections come naturally to one who undertakes to prepare the biography of another whose life has been disturbed by no violent fluctuations either of passion or fortune, who has made no flagrant deviations from the path of rectitude, and who has found his supremest happiness in honorably performing his duties as a citizen, and iu steadily adhering to the practice of religion and virtue. It is believed, nevertheless, that the record of a life thus spent, though it may not minister to excitement, may yet exert a quiet but wholesome influence u|)on others : inspiring them by its example and reassuring them by its success. Nehemiah PeiTy was born at Ridgefield, Fairfield County, Con- necticut, on the 30th of March, 1816. He is of Welsh descent, his ancestors having migrated from the old town of Chester, in Wales, 10 Fail-field, Connecticut, some time piibr to the War of Inde 679 2 N R H E M I A n P E R R Y . pendence. Ilis graiulfathor. Dr. David Perry, was n gentleman of culture and many excellencies of character ; and it is gratefully remembered of him by the more aged people of Kidgefield, that when tiie I'rotestant Episcopal Church was in its infiincy in New England, and the parish in that town was without a pastpr, Dr. Perry qualified himself and was ordained a minister, officiating as rector for several years, at the same time continuing the practice of his original profession of medicine. During tbis time be was actively instrumental in the construction of St. Stephen's Church at that place. David Perry, the eldest son of this good and able man, partook of many of his father's fine traits of character and mind, and settled in Pidgefield about 1780, where his memory is still cherished by all who are admirei-s of rectitude in the citizen and consistency in the Christian. Here, as we have seen, his son Nehemiah was born, and here the lad received a good English education at the excellent West Lane Seminary, the same school at which the well-known " Peter Parley" received his early educa- tion. It was the intention of Mr. David Perry that Nehemiah should study medicine, the profession in which his grandfather and two of his uncles had attained eminence ; and at the age of sixteen he had began the preparatory course for it, when apprehensions for his health led his father to take him away from studies, perhaps too earnestly prosecuted. The life of a farmer was thought to be more favorable to his constitution, and to that the solicitude of his parents consigned him. But this occupation was as little con- sonant with the tastes of Nehemiah, as the etndy of medicine had been favorable to his health. After a year of restlessness and aspiration, at the age of seventeen he embarked on the voyage of life for himself by engaging as a clerk in the drygoods store oi George St. John, at Norwalk, Connecticut, at which place he gained his fii-st knowledge of those mercantile pursuits that later in life he was to prosecute so successfully. And here, let it be stated for the encouragement of other youths who are just entering upon life, 680 NEHEMIAH PERRT. 3 and who are too apt to despise " small beginnings," that during this his first clerkship, young Perry received the meager salary of twenty-five dollars a year and his board. Constantly impelled by honorable aspirations, Nehcmiah did not remain a great while in this lowly position in a country village ; but a year afterward, in 1834, pushed out still farther from home, to the city of New York, where he speedily found employment as a salesman in the clothing store of Charles Hall, at 80 Vesey Street. Here he remained, at a fair salary for those times, foj. about eigh- teen months ; and here, perhaps, he would have remained for an indefinite time, but for one of those apparently accidental circum- stances which so often change the course of a man's life and color its destiny. The " Fourth of July," 1835, then as now was ob- served — as we hope it may continue to be for all time — as a national holiday ; and Nehemiah determined to " keep the Fourth " by an excursion to Newark, New Jersey, on the horse cars of the New Jersey Railroad, then just constructed but not yet having arrived at the dignity of steam as a motive power. Arrived at Newark without knowing a person there, Nehemiah had ample time to look about him, and suft'ered no interruption from companionship with others. Looking about with a mind tliat was wide awake to note and prompt to decide, he was impressed with the business oppor- tunity presented by this town, then just entering upon a career of almost unexampled growth and prosperity ; and he determined to start in business there on his own account. By his prompt decision at this critical moment Mr. Perry illustrated a phase of his charac- ter, which has ever adhered to him, namely, the intuitive ability to read men and canvass plans instantly, and the habit of acting upon his convictions thus formed without any delay. The writer of this sketch lias often heard him declare : " If I ever know any thing, it is as soon as presented." Accordingly, in his twentieth year, on the sixth of February, 1836, Mr. Perry opened a clothing store at No. 1 Commerce Street, Newark. That city had then a population of about seventeen thou- 681 4- NEHEMIAII PERRY. b.uid ; iuid although our youtliful mcicliaut received a full share of local encouragement, his enterprising spirit and broadening mercan- tile views demanded a field of wider scope. It was not long, there- fore, before he established himself, with native foresight, in the heart of what has since become a populous city, on the corner of Broad and Market streets, where, witli the constantly accumulat- ing means which were the reward of his industry and sagacity, he laid the foundations of an extended manutacturing business, with successful branches, all drawing their principal supplies from this center, planted at Petersburg, Va. ; Wilmington, N. C. ; Louisville and Lexington, Ky. ; St. Louis, Mo. ; Nashville, Knoxville, and Memphis, Tenu. ; Cincinnati, Ohio, and several otlier points. Mr. Perry continued in mercantile life until 1865, wlien he retired with an elegant competency as the fruit of his devotion to business, and as the result of wise investments in real estate in Newark. The value of these last has since increased with the rapid gro«vth of the city, adding largely to his already handsome fortune. During his mercantile career, which, as we have seen, extended over a period of thirty years,' and which witnessed several of those violent peri- odical revulsions so disastrous to general prosperity and destructive to individual credit, Mr. Perry was always able to preserve an enviable reputation for probity and financial skill. Throughout the fluctuations and vicissitudes of all those eventful years, his credit was maintained, not only unimpaired, but unimpeached ; and with honorable pride he may call to mind the fact that never in his life was a dollar of his paper dishonored. Although Mr. Perry gave himself with rare devotion to business, he was never indifterent to politics. On the contrary, from an early period he took an ardent interest in the political questions that arose; and by his intelligence and sagacity was soon enabled to exert an important influence — quickly taking rank as a natural leader. He was originally an old-line Whig, and was thoroughly imbued with the conservative and national characteiistics of that patriotic party. As a Whig he was twice elected — first in 1851, 6S2 NEHEMIAH PERRY. 5 and again in 1852 — to the Common Council of Newark, of which body he was the President for one term. While serving in this capacity, he originated and perfected many important measures of public improvement, which met with strong opposition at the time, but whose advantageous results to the people and city of Newark have vindicated his firmness and foresight. The value of his ser- vices in the Common Council were fully appreciated by the public ; and in 1854 he was elected as the "Whig representative from his district to the Legislature of the State in the House of Assembly, and again in 1855 : at the former session serving in the important position of Chairman of the Committee of "Ways and Means, and in the latter receiving the caucus nomination of his party associates for Speaker of the House. As a member of the State Legislature Mr. Perry was distinguished for his fidelity to the interests of his constituents ; for his loyalty to the cause of morals and education ; for unimpeachable probity ; and for his watchfulness for the dignity and welfare of the State. Upon the demise of the Whig party in 1856, Mr. Perry identified himself, with characteristic zeal, with the Democratic party — his services and influence as a member of which were rated so highly that he was appointed, by the State Convention of the party. Chairman of the State Executive Com- mittee. In 1860 he was selected by the Democrats of the fifth Congressional district of New Jersey, to stand for Congress, in op- position to ex-Governor William S. Pennington, who had served one term and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. Governor Pennington was a gentleman of ability and large influence; at his election, two years earlier, he had a majority of nearly 2,000 over his opponent, and his popularity was so great that he was supposed to be invincible. His friends made extraordinary exertions to re- elect him ; but Mr. Perry's energy, prudence, mastery of detail, omnipresence, and political sagacity were triumjjhant. It was during this, his first Congressional term, that the war of the rebel- lion broke out ; and while standing steadfastly by his Democratic principles, and criticising or condemning the administration of Mr. 683 6 NEnEMIAH PERRT. Lincoln tor what lie consiJored its violation of personal right and coustitntional law, and for its tendency to a centralized despotism, Mr. Pcrrj' took advanced grounds in favor of the war — snjtporting every nit-asuro calling for men or money, and giving liberally of his own time and means. Notwithstanding their decided antagonism on particular issues, Mr. Lincoln is known to liave expressed hint- self in strong terms of approval of Mr. Perry's patriotism and active humanitj'. In especial, he and other honorable opponents were warm in praise of the public spirit shown by Mr. Perry when, vessels being scarce and the authority to charter them lacking, ho procured a vessel upon the advance of his own means, and accom- panied it to minister to and rescue the sick and wounded soldiers of New Jersey regiments, who were lying on the field without suf- ficient appliances for their care and comfort. In 1862 Mr. Perry was again put forward by the Democratic party — which he had so honorably represented — as its candidate for another Congressional term. His opponent at this canvass was Joseph P. Bradley, Esq., then a distinguished member of the Newark bar, and more recently appointed, by President Grant, one of the Judges of the United States Supreme Court. Judge Bradley was a poweiful adversary — both by reason of his great ability and bis deserved popularity. The canvass was an exceedingly earnest one. Judge Bradley put forth all his rare powei*s of argument and persuasion ; and he was met with equal ability and superior dex- terity by Mr. Perry, who was again triumphant — this time by an increased majority, it being nearly 3,000. This result will appear all the more surprising, as well as more creditable to Mr. Perry, when it is borne in mind that, in this campaign Judge Bradley was supported by nearly the entire body of the legal profession in the district, while Mi*. Perry fought his own battle almost single- handed. During his two Congressional terms, Mr. Perry unswervingly pui-sued the same consistent, conservative, democratic, and patriotic course. Seeing nothing but his country while its union was imper- 6S4 NKHEMIAir PKriRT. 7 iled, he for£;ot party whenever great principles were not infringed upon ; but wlienever these were invaded he sternly and steadily resisted the threatened violatii^n. His various speeches are indica- tive of great intelligence, rnanly independence, and statesmanlike precision. Wc believe it may be truly said of his record as a national legii^lator, that his every act will bear the most hostile scrutiny, and merits unqualified praise. Even in such particulars of duty as his selection of cadets for the Military and Nas-al acade- mies, he exercised the most scnipulons care ; and both the young gentlemen — Lieutenant George W. Deshler, of the army, and William Jaques, of the navy — whom he nominated, graduated with honors, and are accomplished and rising officers. Upon retiring from Congress, Mr. PeiTv spent a considerable time, in 1858 and again in 1865, in an extended tour of Europe, with his family; and while his visits added much to the stores of his observant mind, they also served still more to confirm him in his admiration of the institutions of his native land. Throughout his active life of varied mercantile and political vicissitude, Mr. Perry found time and inclination to serve God. This he ever felt to be his first great duty — paramount to every other. And herein lies the one great secret of his ei^uanimity and contentment under all tbe excitements to which he was sub- jected. As early as 1838, when, a young man of twenty-two, he had just assumed the burden and care of business, he united with the Central Presbyterian Church of Newark, then under the pas- torate of the accomplished Kev. Charles Hoover. It was a ser- mon of this eloquent divine, from the text, "Pray ye thit jour flight be not in the winter," which first awakened his mind to tile truths of religion ; and from that time until the present he has been a consistent, unostentatious, cheerful Christian. He was mainly instrumental in building the edifice of the above-named church, and, with habitual liberality, at one time made his credit responsible for its construction, to the full extent of all that he was then worth. Nor did he restrict his liberality to this enterprise alone, but he has GS5 g NEHEMIAH PERRY nnitbrnily extended it in aid of numerous other struggling cliurclics of all denominations, and in furtherance of various institutions of learning and charity, in the city of Newark and in the State at large. Mr. Perry is now an active member of the South Park Church, Newai'k, and has been a largo contributor to its prosperity by his assistance financially and otherwise. The citizens of Newark and of the State of New Jersey have evinced their estimate of Mr. Perry's ability as a financier, and liis integrity as a man, by selecting him to represent a number of important and delicate trusts. He is a director of the United Eail- roads of New Jersey, of the Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Com- pany, of the City Bank of Newark, and of the American Fire Insurance Company of Newark, and of several other strong institu- tions, which enjoy public credit in a rare degree. And although he has retired, nominally, from active business life, he is still ardu- ously engaged in positions of influence, to which he has been assigned by the favor and confidence of his fellow-citizens. Mr. Perry has been once married. In 1838 — for this and other reasons perhaps the most eventful one of his life — he was married to Emeline N. Gould, of Caldwell, New Jersey, who is still living, and who has shared with him the cloud and the sunshine of his life — alleviating many of his burdens when they were at the lieaviest, counseling with him in liis anxieties and perplexities, and softening the trials to which his checkered life has exposed him. Their fam- ily' consists of two sons and two daughters ; and the eldest son, who perpetuates his father's name, is at this time the Corporation Coun- sel of his native city of Newark, where he has already established a high reputation as an accomplished and upright lawyer. Mr. Perry is rather below the average height, is M-ell and com- pactly built, has an elastic and vigorous frame, and is the possessor of robust health. His countenance is indicative of quickness of perception, selt-comuiand, tenacity of purpose, and of a genial and contented temperament. A steadfast friend, who never wavers with change of fortune, he has great faith in other men. An hor.- NEHEMIAII PEEBY. 9 est man by impulse and practice, he is unRiispicions of craft or dishonesty in others. A liberal giver, he is without ostentation or parade. A self-made man, he is free from pride, and has a ready hand for all who need and wlio deserve help. He is a fair example of wliat can be produced by our democratic institutions when beautified by the spirit of Christianity. 687 Aji^Lil^ ^.'/J^££^ ^., 77^ HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. BY GEOEGE P. ANDREWS, Asuisiant Attorney oft)i£ (Tnileusiiu>s> with the omoo. The coiuliMiinations j>rociiroil in the cases ot" the British steamers Peterboft', Springbok, Stephen Hart, and others, dealt a blow at trade with the Southern insurgents carried on through Xassau, Matanioras, and other iuteruiediato points, while like tbrleitures were inflicted upon the owners of domestic ships and cargoes at- tempting to sail with similar destinations and purposes. "NVc pass with less particular mention the earlier prize cases of thelliawatha and othoi-s, in which ^Ir. Smith, contrary to his custom, employed associate counsel. Among the celebrated cases successfully conducted, may be mentioned that of the rich capitalist Kolmstamm, where, with valuable aid, frauds upon the Government amounting in their ramitieations to half a million dollai-s were exposed, and an example made which saved to the national treasury millions more. AYe may also reier to tlie convictions procured by Mr. Sniith, of John II. Andrews, the leader of the New Torkriotere in July, 1SG3 ; the Parkhill murderers ; the negro Hawkins, hanged for the butchery of a ship's m:ister ; the Italian man-slayer, Dimarchi ; the Port .Tervis and East New Tork counterfeitei-s ; to ct^es of cruelty to seamen, and of nuitinies !\gainst officers ; convictions and forfeitures for frauds upon the customs and the internal revenue. The prosecutions under the laws for the suppression of the slave trade did not stop with the execution of the Captain of the Erie. The imprisonment of the merchant Albert Horn, for iitting out slave ships; the conviction — after juries imder Mr. Smith's pre- decessoi-s had twice disagreed — of Rudolph Blumenburg for perjury, as a surety for the discharged slave ship Orion ; the sentence of a number of mates ; the condemnations of the Kate, the Weather- guage, the Nightingale, the Sarah, and the Augusta ; the marrow escaj^e from the galkiws of Haines and Westervelt, by a disagree- ment of juries standing nine and ten to three and two for convic- tions — iUl tausiht the new lesson that seizures tuid arrests metuit 6i)4 nON. K. hKUAVJKhT) HMITH. 7 unsparing prosecutions. Without enurnoratirif^ otlier caaes, it in Hufl5cient to say that in a few months the foreign slave trade wasi, forever extirjjated from the port of New York. To the wives of Union prisoners and the widows of deceased sol- diers, Mr. Smitli, throughout liis term, rendered systematic and gratuitous services in procuring the payment of dues and pensions, and saving the deductions and delays of the systems of claim agency. From the age of eighteen, Dclafield Smith has been widely known as a terse, strong, and stirring public speaker. The following extract from the commencement and the close of his published address, July 10th, 18G3,in the case of the Peterhoff, is a specimen of the clear and direct style in which he addresses a legal argument to a court without a jury: Extract feom Aeoument to .the Couet i.v the Case of the Peteeiioff. " May it pljifjse the C'r/urt: — This case is clothed with profound interest in the public mind, both of Europe and America. It is brought to the bar of a court, commissioned by the government of a great country, and charged with the determination and applica- tion of international law. Not solely individuals, but nations, are parties to this controversy. Not alone an august judicial tri- bunal at Washington, but the imperial courts of a distant conti- nent will sit in review of the judgment which shall be pronounced here. Yet the testimony spread upon this record is within a nar- row scope. The facts marshaled before us are few. A decision may be reached without straining the eye in search of precedents, beyond such familiar adjudications as have long ago sunk to the level margin of an elementary treatise. It is true, indeed, that consequences of magnitude have become entangled in the issue But for them, the world might well wonder that iio simple a case should have bo aroused the populace of one country, and so in- terested the publicists of many. 695 8 nON. E. DELAFIKLD SMITH. " Was the recent enterprise of the Peterhoff honest or fraudulent ? Was her vovajjce lawful or illegal? AVas her destination real or simulated i " In deciding the issue involved in this capture, two classes of facts demand attention. First, such as are of a public character, too general to require specific proof, and sufficiently notorious to come, of their own force, within the range of unaided judicial cog- nizance. And, secondly, those established by the testimony taken in preparaforio, consisting of rhe responses of witnesses to the stand- ing interrogatories administered by the prize commissioners, together with such light as an inspection of the ship's papei-s and of her cargo may throw upon the intent of those by whom her course has been directed. " In the summer of 1S61 the foundations of this land trembled with an earthquake of territorial w.ar. The country was aroused as from a sleep. Guards, of her own appointment, still lingering in her high places, were prepared to trample out her life if she lay still, and to assassinate her if she arose. Perjured treachery and audacious force vied with each other to destroy a government, which discovered its worst enemies amongst the most pampered and caressed of the children of her protection. The war was not for a boundary, a province, or a form of government. Its purpose, sorrowfully seen at homo, was to annihilate the unity and life of the nation. Its consequences, greedily predicted abroad, were to open the best portion of the western hemisphere to insolent foreign footsteps, which pei-iodically himiiliate the States of Mexico and South America. It was a rising, not to overthrow tyranny, but to establish it. Guilty leaders and deluded communities affected to reproduce the drama of the American revolution, making oj>pres- sion perform now the part that liberty enacted then. " Words and acts of attempted conciliation were wasted. Awak- ened to its own defence, the government is forced at length to the arbitrament of war. The Executive establishes a blockade of the iusurrectionary ports. The Emperor of the French, dreaming of 6'JG HON. E, DELAFIELD SMITH. 9 his personal airgrandizement, and hating the principles of republi- can government, weaves wily arts for our embarrassment ; and Britain, without his excuses, green with jealousies which our ova- tions to her prince should have cleansed away, whets with the stone of national animosity the cupidity of her tradesmen. Gov- ernment and people, emulating each the bad faith of the other, hasten to confer rights upon one belligerent ' and to heap wrongs upon the other. Sliips, ciad in iron, start from her docks to prey upon the merchant marine of a friendly power, while vessels crowd the harbor of New Tork flying the red signals of England, to the exclusion of the flag which was once the protection oi American commerce. ^ In defiance of the public law of the world, English bottoms infest our southern seas, violate the belligerent right ol blockade, and bear food, medicines and arms to the enemies of hu- man freedom and oi etablo government. " Such was the situation of public afiairs, when the naval forces and the federal courts of the United States, the one with untiring energy, the other with intelligent firmness, surrounded with in- creasing hazards the bold breaches of blockade and the wholesale indulgences in contraband trade, with which this unnatural conflict was fostered and prolonged. " Then cunning greed invoked frauds and subterfuges, to do by indirection what had proved at length too dangerous and impracti- cable for the open arts of enterprise. The little harbor of Nassau, in the i.sland of New Providence ; the port of Cardenas, on the northerly coast of Cuba, and, at last, the unfrequented region of Matamoras, in Mexico, are magnified into vast marts of trade, and become the rivals of Liverpool, Havre and New Tork. Ships of ponderous tonnage traverse the seas and swarm in the vicinity of these inconsiderable places. Owners, shippers and masters, with remarkable effrontery, claim that they are centres of substantial, legitimate and independent trade. At the same time, the common sense and common knowledge of the world acknowledge that they are mere stopping places and ports of transhipment, by or 697 10 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. through which munitions of war and articles of necessity, of com- fort and of luxury, may be carried from the British Isles to the in- surgent section of the American Union. So the British bark " Springl)C)k " sets her chaste sails for Nassau. So the British schooner "Stephen Hart" turns an honest face toward Cardenas. And thus, we say, the steamer " Peterhofl'" pursues her virtuous pathway to Matamoras. But the rough sailor follows in the track of each. He sees through the thin disguises. He thrusts aside the flimsy veil. He arrests the pi-etender and sends her where she must submit to the scrutiny of a court of justice. " In the light, then, of the notorious fraud, the simulation, the circuity, the indirection, with which this contraband trade to the Southern ports has been projected and persisted in, we approach the proofs in the case now under consideration. No intelligent examination of the testimony now before hs can be attempted •without a recognition of the public facts to which I have ad- verted. " Sailing under such circumstances, it must be conceded that the Peterhoff, if guilty, would shroud her purpose in the depths of dissimulation; and, if innocent, would fail in no mark of frankness. We shall observe, in the course of om* inquiry, how much she has displayed of the one, and how little of the other." Want of space compels us to omit the body of the argument. The following are the closing sentences : " A vigorous administration of the public law both of blockade and of contraband of war, has been maintained by Great Britain in aid of her own wars, as well those that were unjust as those that were just. It is the right of nations. The American government wiU not surrender it — never, certainly, in a conflict for its exis- tence. It is vital to an early and thorough suppression of the war of insurrection which has desolated so large a portion of its territory. "Rebellion, indeed, exhibits ' waning proportions,' but it can- 698 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. H not be speedily subdued and extirpated unless want and privation exhaust, while armies overthrow. We march upon an extended country, sparsely populated, without any one geographical or com- mercial key to its military or political power. It has no Gibraltar, no Sebastopol, no Paris, no London, and no New York. The end, indeed, is certain. The national authority will be established, vindicated, enlarged. But that consummation will be near or far, as the law of nations, violated without home rebuke by British tradesmen, shall be sustained and executed by judicial tribunals. " The speedy establishment of freedom and order upon this con- tinent, and the consequent termination of a bloody war, is the as- piration of pariotism here, and of humanity the world over. The achievement of a good so substantial and so general, may be pro- moted or retarded by the lessons which cases like this shall teach as well to the merchants' and statesmen of Europe, as to the power ■which maintains, and the people who suffer from the Great Eebellion." Before a jury, Mr. Smith is earnest and impressive. On the trial of one of the mates of the slave ship Kightingale, before Jus- tices IsTelson and Shipman^ the defence was represented by Charles O'Conor, James T. Brady, and John llcKeon, who had brought out in the testimony the fact that the defendant was the son of a wealthy gentleman of Staten Island and a grandson of a former Vice-Presi- dent of the United States. Mr. Smith said : " Against crime clearly proved, respectability is not a valid plea. As regards the prisoner, his surroundings certainly furnish no ex- cuse for this felonious enterprise. As respects his example, they add tenfold to the public mischief of his acts. It is not easy to keep a common sailor from a slave bark, when such as he lead the way. Tou can hardly blame poor Jack for thrusting slaves into the loathsome hold, while gentlemen mates, as proved in the evi- dence here, keep tally on the deck 1 Dissatisfied with the paternal 699 14 HON. i:. PKKAKIKt.n SMITH. li.>ino ou tho i^lopos of 8taton Iblaiul, ho a^piro?, perhaps, to build loi- his own ploasniv, in tho metropolis itself, a mansion with tho gains of aiiveutuivs whieh involvo tho transportation of human heiujjs fivni their homos in Afriea to tho strange eoast of Cuba, in stilling pens, beneath tropie suns, with tho actual ealenlation, fonudeil upon terrible experienee, that if two thiitls die and ono thinl land, the veutuix« is a fair success I Might it not have occurred to him, that a fortune so constructed would tivublo his t'utuiv dreams with insutVorable ivmoi"se i Ought it not to have been plain to his intelligence, that the carved cohunns, the expanded juvhos, the dizzv domes of a palace so erected, would, in a futm-e guilty imagination, rest, for their caryatides, upon the shoulders of slave men, tho breasts of slave women, and the bodies of slave children i Oh God ! IIow many costly stone structures raise their ornamented frents impudently to heaven, while their foun- dations are laid — ^literally laid — in hell." Upon returning to goneml practice, Mr. Smith achieved profes- sional successes avernment almost as important as those which he had officially gained in its favor. For instance, in the mercantile case of Benkard and llutton against Schell, late collector of tho customs, to re^covor duties paid under protest, he obtained fn.Mn judge and jury, in the United States courts, the reversal of a class of statute-constructions immediateh" involving several millions of dollars. The treasury department, erroneously believing that Mr. Smith's experience in revenue law had taken the then district attorney at a disjidvantage, denninded a new trial, and sent an officer from AVashington to aid in the de- fence. The result of the second adjudication was the establish- ment of principles which required a still larger refund of illcgtUly exacted duties. The case is now an establishcil prece^lcnt, and its just determination is matter of felicit.ition among the imjvrting merehants of the country. The following is extracted frem a stenogniphio report of the tirst trial : 700 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. EXORDIUM OF CLOSING ADDEE8S TO THE JUET, BEFOBE JUDGE BM ALLEY, IN THE CASE OF BENKAED AND HUTTON AGAINST BCHELL, COLLECTOE OF THE CUSTOMS. '■'■May it please the Court, and you, Gentlemen of the Jury : — The dark day of battle and rebellion is ended. The laws, long silent, again lift up their voices. The national tribunals of justice, wearied with long contests between neutral and belligerent, once more give access to the citizen as well as to the government. Neither may now assume to be above the law. " "With the serene reign of order and tranquillity at length re- stored, may we net pause for a moment to pay a passing tribute to those in the council and the field, to whom that restoration is due. And in this, shall we not remember that in the darkest days of all, when the national credit was almost exhaasted and the national treasuiy well nigh collapsed, the one was restored and the other replenished by the generous action of the merchants of New York. " Shall it be said that the gratitude of the government to them finds its sole expression in a rude denial of legal rights on the one hand, and in vexatious prosecutions for penalties and forfeitures, sustained by unfoiinded imputations of fraud, on the other ? " Shall it not rather be said, that having in vain petitioned for justice at governmental departments, they at last have sought and found it in the courts of their countiy ? And when that justice shall have been administered, may they not proudly remember that it was awarded by a judge who found in the circle of his judicial action ways efiiectually to aid his country in her life and death struggle, and at the same time inexorably to guard against infraction every provision of the law and eveiy line of the Consti- tution, even in the midst of the din of arms." From the published speeches of Mr. Smith, we insert in full the following brief specimen of a popular a^ppeal : 9 7oi 14 HON. E. DELAPIELD SMITH. APDREPS AT UNION SQUAEE, AT THE WAR MEETINO, CALI.ED BY HIE COMMirfEES OF TUE NEW TOEK CIIAMBEK OF COJISIEKCE, THE COMMON COUNCIL, TUE TKION DEFENCE COMMITTEE, AND OTUEU BODIES, IN RESPONSE TO AH APPEAL OF THE PKE8IDENT OF THE UNHED STATES FOE ADDITIONAL MILITAKT FOECES. [Extriicted from a printed report of tlie proceedings, prepared under the supervision of the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.] "Mr. Smith, being introduced by General Fremont, who pre- sided at the stand near the Spingler Institute, was received with great enthusiasm, and spoke as follows : '■'■Men of New TorJc: — This is, in truth, a colossal demonstra- tion. The eye can hardly reach the boundaries of these compact thousands. It would be vain for the voice to attempt it. The people have come in their might. They have come in their maj- esty. They have 'come as the winds come when forests are rended.' They have ' come as the waves come when navies are stranded.' We are here to-day, not to speak and acclaim, but to act and incite to action. [Applause.] We know that this mon- ster rebellion cannot be spoken down ; it must be fought down. [Cheers.] " We are assembled to animate each other to renewed efforts and nobler sacrifices, in behalf of our imperilled country. There is iiardly one of us who has not, at this hour, some endeared relative on the bloody fields of Viigiuia. The voices of our armed and suf- fering brethren literally cry to us from the ground. To-day wo hear them. To-day let us heed them. [Applause.] The call for fresh troops comes to us from a loved and trusted President — from faithful and heroic generals. [Loud cheers.] This day determines that it shall be answered. [Eenewed cheers.] Let each act as though specially commissioned to obtain recruits for a sacred service. [Applause.] " Fremont is here. You have heard his voice. He Ik:s told us 702 HON. E. DKLAFIEI.I) SMITH. 15 to uphold our government and sustain our generals in the field. Whatever officer may go %o battle with the President's commission, will be made strong by a loyal people's prayers and confidence [Loud cheering.] " The Army and Navy, the President, the Cabinet and the Con- gress, have done all that can now be effected by them. The issu;- to-day is with the people. Do you ask activity on the part of tlie President? Eecall his personal labor and supervision in the coun- cil and the field. Do you seek a policy? Look to his solemn con- ference with the loyalists of the border States. [Cheers.] Do you demand legislation ? Witness the matured laws that Congress har. spread upon the statute-book. A jurist, from the bench of our highest tribunal, once declared a maxim which shocked the conn- try and the world. It is ours, with our representatives, to respond : A rebel has no rights which a white man is hound to respect. [Loud and long continued cheering, with waving of hats and handker- chiefs.] " A traitor cannot own a loyalist of any race. Nor can ' ser- vice be due' to national conspirators, except at the call of public justice. [Laughter and applause.] "The limits of civilized warfare must and will be observed ; but those limits are broad as the boundaries of the ocean, and they lie far beyond the lives and the treasure of traitors in arms. [Cheers.] In this mortal combat between the enemies and the friends of republican liberty, wherein treason scruples at nothing, patriots miLst neglect no means that G.)d and nature have placed in their hands. [Loud cheers.] " These institutions were reared on the ruins of British pride. Their foundations must be reconstructed on the crumbled preten- sions of southern oligarchs. [Renewed cheers.] We must, and we will, repel force by force. They who press an iron heel upon the heart of our noble nation, must perish by the sword of her avenging sons. God grant the time may be near, when every rebel leader may say his prayers, and bite the dust, or hang as high as Ilaman. 7U3 16 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. If we are wise, and true, iiml brave, the American Union, like the Bnn in the heavens, shall be clouded but for a night. Still shall it move ouward, and every obstacle in its pathway be withered and crushed. [Eenewcd and continued cheering.] "Victory, indeed, cannot be won, except by arms. Our institu- tions were the gift of the wounded and dead of the armies of Wash- ington. Shakesi>eare said, and we re-utter in a higher sense, ' Tilings bought with blood must he by blood maintained.' " Look to our armies, and rally the people to swell their wasted ranks. Go, you who can. And spare neither labor nor money to enable others to march to battle. [Cheers.] " Let loyal men permit no question to distract or divide them. Care not what a man's theories may be, so that his heart feels and his hand works for the Union. Every citizen, North or South, who prays for the success of our arms, and who laboi-s for the vin- dication of our Constitution, whatever may be his politics or opin- ions, is a patriot. [Cheers.] They who condemn any class of our fellow-citizens, because of differences on collateral issues — those who declare that a loyal abolitionist is on a level with an armed secessionist — are wrong in head, or at heart unsound. [Applause.] " Let assertions like this be at an end. Let all loyal men, and all loyal journals, abandon arguments which bear the dull and eotmterfcit ring of traitor philosophy. [Loud applause.] " For the rest — for those who not alone sec/n, but are, disloyal — let the people arise in their might, and silence them all, whether they speak in the street to the few, or seek, through the public press, to poison the many. Law, in many things, cannot go so far, nor accomplish so much, as determined public opinion. [Cheers.] While men in North Carolina and Tennessee, with manly courage, trike in their districts, at the hydra of rebellion, shall not we, in New Yorlc, war upon the spirit of secession in every form ? [Ap- plause, and cries of ' We will.'] The old flag mirst be the para- 704 HON. E. DELAPIELD SMITH j/jr mount object of all. It will be loved by the faithful. By the false, It must be feared. [Yociferous cheering.] "They talk of a distinction between fidelity to the government and devotion to the administration. In the day of national danger or disaster, the two sentiments are inseparable. Distnist him who professes the one only to disclaim the other. [Applause.] When the tempest howls, no prayer breathed for the ship, forgets the pilot at her helm. [Applause and cheers.] "Loyalty knows no conditions. Stand by the government » Scrutinize its action; but do it like earnest patriots-not like covert traitors. Stand by the administration! In times like these, party spirit should he lulled. That spirit was hushed in the era of the Eevolution-in the days of Madison and Monroe-and when the hero of New Orleans cnished the rising form of Nullifica- tion. Our fathers stood by Jackson as their sires sustained Wash- ington. It is our privilege to uphold the arm of a President, great and pure, who will share their glory on the page of history. [Loud cheering.] " I must trespass no longer. [Cries of 'go on, go on.'] No fel- low-citizens ; I will bid you farewell. Our illustrious Secretary of State has this day given to the army the only son not already in the public Service. Let us emulate his spirit of sacrifice, and think nothing too dear to offer on the altar of our couutry. "Mr. Smith spoke with a clear, loud voice, and retired in the midst of most enthusiastic cheering." The following tribute to the memory of the gifted and lamented James T. Brady, was delivered at a meeting of the bar in New Fork, in Februaiy, 1869, and we find it published with the pro- ceedings : SPEECH OF E. DKLAFIELD SMITH ON TUB DEATH OF JAMEB T. BKADT. "Mr. E. Delafield Smith said:-J/r. President .—I know weU that occasions like this are best adorned by those who bring to 705 IS HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. them the dignity of yeai-s, the lustre of learning, the glory of re- nown. And I rejoice that while the scythe of death has been busy in our midst, peers of our illustrious friend still remain to honor his obsequies. Tet it must be acknowledged that James T. Brady possessed characteristics, extraordinary in degree if not in kind, calculated to inspire and to justify, in younger and humbler mem- bers of his profession, a desire to press forward and stand among the foremost at his bier. " Jimiore and even juvenals at the Bar ; aspirants upon the very threshold of manhood; youths still lingering in academies and schools ; and little children, tender as those oui" Saviour cai-essed, were as dear to his presence as the most accomplished of the crowned intellectual pi-inces with whom it was his pride to cope in the forum, and his delight to mingle in social festivities. " To all who approached him in his life, rang out the welcome of his cheerful voice. By its dying echoes, all alike are summoned to his tomb. The greatest who Icneel there must make room for the least. If, at the home so lately his, where we looked upon his face for the last time ; if, from the coffin, which was buried in flowei-s before the cold earth had leave to press it, his eyes could have opened and calmly viewed the scene — no floral harp, no cross nor crown, however beautiful or elaborate, would have won a sweeter smile than the simplest wreath that struggled for its place in the general profusion. " His khidness and courtesy were universally bestowed ; and in view of this, it is remarkable that they were so singularly accepta- ble and flattering to every individual who came within their reach. But they were a matter of heart, not of manner — too respectful to ofiend, too genuine to be resisted. As the generous light of the sun may illumine half the world, yet the rays that fall on us seem peculiarly our own ; so the genial glow of his kindness cheered us all, and yet each felt himself the special recipient of his favor. "There were times, however, when his generosity became marked and demonstrative. It was interesting to observe with 706 HON. E. DFLAFIELD SMITH. 1& what judgment and taste it even then was guarded and directed In the celebrated trial of the ' Savannah Privateers '— to which a preceding speaker referred with great kindness to both the living and the dead — where we felt the blows which he delighted to deal upon a prosecution, he was associated with some eminent advocates and also with some unknown to professional fame or experience. In his matchless address to the jury, he repeated, with careful credit, some of the arguments which these humbler allies had used, and paid them a tribute of praise not less just in conception than delicate in expression. Of four leading counsel there arrayed — Lord, Evarts, Brady, Larocque — three have gone to their long home. " In the prominent cases of Home and of Haynes, arising under the laws for the suppression of the slave trade, and in the great fraud case of Kohnstamm, it will not be easy to forget either the ability of his defenses, or his subsequent assurance of sympathy in the anxious labors which those prosecutions involved. " He never entered a court-room but smiles from Bench and Bar responded to his presence. He never appeared upon a platform but to be greeted by thronging auditors. No banquet saw dimin- ished guests while he reanained to speak. ' From the cliarmed council to tlie festive board. Of human feelings the iinbouncled loid.' " A lawyer, an orator, a scholar, a gentleman — all thut these made him was given to his country in her day of danger, and to the land of his ancestors in every hopeful struggle. " Great in intellect, great in heart — ' See, what a grace was seated on this brow ; Hj'perion's curls ; the front of Jovo liimself.' "Our hearts may well be touched as thoy rarely have been. Words, unless of fire — tears, unless of blood — should only mock their grief. 707 a.) HON. E. PKLATflELD SMITH. ' To oritors, whom vot our covinoil.* yiold. Movirn for the veteran hero of your field I Ye mou of wit iiuU social eloquence, lie was your biMther — bear his ashoe hence 1 While powers of mind almost of boundless range, Complete in kind, as rarious in their change, I While eloquence, wit, poesy, and mirth. That humbler harmonist of care on earth. Survive within our souls — while lives our sense Of pride in merit's proud preeminence, Long shall wo seek his likeness — long in vain.* '' "Wlien ' a miijlity spirit is eclipsed ' — -svlien death comes to the noble aiul bra\e, Ave canuot but be glad it is the common lot. We wonld not shrink forever from the dark path which they are forced to tread. We would not fail to seek them at last in the better world beyond. " Gentle, genial, generous spirit ! Our hearts shall long resound with the sweet music of the solemn Cathedral, which breathed a l>rayer for thy peace and rest. ' Stay not thy career : I know wo lo'.low to eternity I* " The following after-dinner speech we copy from the "Ameri- can Scotsman" of Fobruarv, ISTO. containing a report of a celebration in Now Yoik of the birth of Eobcrt Burns: — SPEECH ON S0OTI^V>"P DELFVEEEP AT ErKNs' AN"XIVEKSAEY PINXEK. " The Hon. E. Delafield Smith, on being called on, responded to the next toast, Scotlaxp, as follows : "As Daniel Wel>ster said of Massachusetts, Scotland 'speaks for herself.' History and philosophy, science and learning, poetry and romance are steeds to the chariot of her fame as onwanl it moves from generation to generation. Like the morning it advances, growing brighter as it dawns on each succeeding age. 70S HON. K. DKLAKIKLI) HMITII. 21 "It iH a luxury to know that we may indulf^e in limitlrjKH praiVo of Scotland without arouHing the jcalouHy of cither of the f^funtrieB in her immediate neighhourhood. For Englinhrnen and IriBhmen will impute all her glory to the blood of their own aneeHtorg, Kown across the horder centuries ago I Do we not rcafl that Saxons conquered tJio Lowlands and made them their own in the year of our Lord 449 ? And do wo not learn tluit a Celtic tribe from Krin settled on the west coast in A. D. 503, becarac the dominant race, and even gave the very name of Scots to the Picts who ])receded tlicm? (Applause.) ' "If we extol her for her PreshytcrianiHm — that sturdy church which she planted on American soil — may it not afford a malicious delight to her rivals, as well as some special eatisfaction to her friends — for she is always hospitable — tfj know that whiskey and ale are among her principal productions? (Laughter.) If we praise her salmon, her opponents may gnaw at her herrings. If we admire her tartan, her enemies may hang on her hemp. (Re- newed laughter.) If we exalt her schools, it may consr>le her competitors to confess that the salaries of her schoolmasters depend npon the fluctuating price of oatmeal. [Continuefl laughter.] If she is the land of books, we must acknowledge her alike the ' land o' cakes.' If she produces a brilliant literature, it is kind to her neighbors to drench it with cold 'reviews,' so that its fame shall not glow too brightly in the admiration of the world. If she launches great steamers you may still taunt her on her canal-boats. If she glories in her steam-engines, she yet furnishes the navies of the world with sails, but leaves them, it piust be confessed, the ' airs ' that swell them. " And here, to be serioas, I cannot refrain from alluding to the personal manners of Scotchmen, by which they are sometimes prqudiced in the minds of those who fail to realize the value of sincerity in human intercourse. They have not the formal polite- ness of the English, the cordiality of the Irish, nor the suavity of the French. But a Scotch smile is a reality. It iutea^ly meaub 709 22 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. all it indicates. J^sse qvam vidcri. Toil remember the story of the Frenchman who discovered a neighbor in his carrijifje, and told him to get out. ' Sir,' said the intruder, ' you asked me to get in.' ' Ah,' was the mild response, ' you were welcome to the compliment, but I want the carriage myself.' A true Scotchman would grudge the politeness, but give you the drive. [Laughter and applause.] " No man can do justice to this steadfast, heroic, beautiful, wild and classic laud, without recalling the valor of her historic battle- fields — without recounting her aiTay of names inscribed at every goal of human achievement — nor without rising to a sublime description of her lakes and rivers, her heaths and highlands, her cataracts and torrents. [Cheeis.] " But here we approach the domain, not of eloquence, but of poetiy ; and iipon him that may not without presumption invoke either muse, silence is doubly imposed. [Go on.] " Yes, I would not sit down without pointing to one immortal name on Scotland's roll of honor, to illustrate that grandest featm-e of Scottish character, intrepid integrity. I allude not now to the glorious humanity of Burns. I refer to his great successor, Walter Scott. [Applause.] My theme is not to-night the charm of his song, nor the witchery of his romance. I would recall your memory to that chapter in his biography which relates that when his fame was at its height aud his fortune supposed to have been made, the failures of certain publication-houses carried with them his pecuniary destruction. As endoi-ser upon their paper, he was overwhelmed with debts amoimting to seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Brave as Alexander, he faced his calamities without complaint, and at the age of fifty-five went to work to retrieve them. At his death five hundred thousand dollars had been paid, and the remainder was in the way of speedy discharge. Refusing all composition or settlement, he laid down life on the altar of his Scotch honesty. Born in the year and on the day that gave the first Napoleon birth, his courage was of a typo that wai-riors might envy. [Cheers.] 710 H O N . E . D E L A F I E L D S M I T n . 23 " TliG magnanimity of Walter Scott toward his literary rivals illustrates another manly trait of Scottish character. The greatest of his poetical competitors was the illustrious Byrc:i. Acknowledging that Byron ' bate ' him, he yet forgot an early thrust received in the satire, and became as kind to his brother poet through his life as he proved tender and just to his mangled memory. [Loud cheering.] And the genius of that brilliant bard must itself be largely credited to Scotland. For he himself says : ' 1 am half a Scot by birth, and bred A whole one, and my heart flies to my head, — As ' Auld Lang Syne ' brings Scotland, one and all, Scotch plaids, Scotch snoods, the blue hills and clear streams, The Dee, the Don, Balgounie's brig's black wall. All my boy feelings, all my gentler dreams Of what I then dreamt, clothed in their own pall, Like Banquo's offspring. Floating past mo seems My childhood in this childishness of mine — I care not — 'tis a glimps of ' Auld Lang Syne.' And though, as you remember, in a fit Of wrath and rhyme, when juvenile and curly, T rail'd at Scots to show my wrath and wit, Which must be owned was sensitive and surly, fet 'tis in vain such sallies to permit, They cannot quench young feelings fresh and early ; I ' scotch'd not kUled ' the Scotchman in my blood. And love the land of ' mountain and of flood.' [Cheering and Applause."] While Delafield Smith is a sound and laborious lawyer, he is by no means a mere lawyer. When, in the heat of our .late national struggle, the war department determined upon a seizure of all the recorded telegraphic dispatches, he was selected to arrange a simultaneous descent upon the telegrai3hic offices in the city of New York. And the task was performed with such proficiency as to receive the commendation of the government, and at the 711 HON. E. DELAFIELD SMITH. same time with siicli delicacy as to induce the thanks of the companies for his avoidance of all public exposure of private l)usincss and social communications. Again. "When a public mail, made up at Liverpool, was found on the PeterhojQT, and a special attorney of the Navy Department clamored for its violation and exposure in court, Mr. Smith, sinking the lawyer in the statesman, ordered tlic seals to remain unbroken. The State Dejiartment and also even the President himself returned to him their special acknowledgments for his 'Sagacity in saving the country from a most awkward complication, which would have been likely to result in a war with England at a time when the rebellion was too formidable to render other entanglements at all safe. And again. When ships, bound for blockaded ports, were brought for adjudication, the ordinary process of obtaining, for the urgent use of the government, arms found on board, was slow and tedious ; but the task was habitually accomplished by Mr. Smith with such promptitude, as to wring from Secretary Stanton the " wish that the energy of the District Attorney at J^ew York could be imparted to every agent of the War Department."' Mr. Smith has accumulated a large library of standard works in almost every department of science, learning, and literature. He delights in original editions, in unique illustrations, and iu works of permanent value, not always so popular as to escape be- coming " out of print." He is a man of culture, of scholastic tastes, of literary dis. cernmcnt and capacity,— just and generous in his dealings, true and honorable under all circumstances, bountiful but discriminat- ing in his benevolences, devoted to his home, of genuine wit and genial humor — though with an apparent under-cmTent of sadness. A warm partizan, he has yet no acerbities. It is often remarked that his personal friends are quite as numerous among political uppouents as in the ranks of his own party. Perhaps no man ever carried the obligation of gratitude for political, professional, or personal favor, further than he; while at 712 HON. E DELAFIELD SMITH. 25 the 6ame time no personal disappointment seems to lessen liif* friendship for a public man whom he has thoroughly admired, nor his zeal for a cause which he has heartily espoused. That the reader may foi-m a judgment of his own of Mr. Smith's ability, wo have given specimens of his oratory. Our limits do not permit additional selections from his literary and poetical writings. These, like his speeches, arc both stamped ■with a certam intensity and force ; and in a notice of one of his early poems, Mr. Brj-ant remarked — "the versiiication is un- commonly easy and flowing, and among the thick-coming fancies of the writer, arc many of great beauty and brillancy." Mr. Smith resides in New York ; but enjoys, for more than merely the summer months, his country home and farm at Shrewsbury, near Long Branch, New Jersey. Early in life, he man-ied a daughter of Rev. Doctor Gilbert Morgan, a scholarly gentleman, of Bradford Springs, Sumter, South Carolina. Of their seven children five are living. At Oreenwood the graves of two, early deceased, bear the followina inscription, penned by Mr. Smith : — With cliastcncd prido We nive them l;ack to God to keep , Too grateful ior their lives to weep Th.nt tl.ey have died. 713 ^> / j^/' /Z ^ ^y< r/ ROBERT n. BERDELL. ■jf^>UCCESSFUL capacity is the rifrlitful test of genius. Few j^k only possess this capacity. It is the Promethean spark that ^% kindles in inspired breasts that golden glow of enthusiasm, ^^ that assails great endeavor and achieves great results. It is this that compasses great military achievements, that crowns with sublhne victory the arts, that gives added lustre to literature, that in every field of the world's work, in every department of human labor is the impelling force accomplishing great and noble ends. Such men are the blest of earth, its motive power, its heroes, its true sovereigns. Such men, and such only are entitled to rank as "Men of Progress." To this high and meritorious distinction few are more justly entitled than the subject of this sketch — Robert H. BerdeU. He was born October 1st, 1820, near Somerstown, Westchester County, New York. It early became necessary that , he must earn his own living. This did not dishearten him, other than the painful necessity it entailed of enjoyment of only veiy limited means of education. Nature is always compensative. Self- sustenance and a knowledge that he must establish his own position in life, engendered in him a spirit of independence, self-reliance, pluck and persistency of more salutary and enduring use in his earnest life-battle than aU the wisdom of schools and col- leges, and developing power and energies that under more seeming auspicious circumstances might have lain wholly dormant ; or, at the best, only attained enervated development. He blended econ- omy with industry. The result was, that while yet a yomig man, he was enabled to go into business for himself — the produce com- 71.5 mission business. Encouraging success crowned bis business efforts. In June, 1843, Le married Miss Elizabeth A. Clowes, a most esti- mable young lady of Hempstead, Long Island. He bad scarcely been mai'ried a year, and the future, in a business point of view, seemed to open bripjhtly before bim, when a sudden cloud of financial em- barrassment darkened the bright prospect, and swept away nearly evei-ything that he had so carefully and sedulously saved by indus- try and economy. This was no fault of his, but the result of too extended credit to a firm in Charleston, S. C, and the failm-e of the latter to meet their obligations to him. He was compelled to begin his business life over again, but experience had taught him a most useful lesson. He resumed business upon a more firm and practical basis. Prompt in meeting his engagements; untiringly industrious; honest and straight-forward in his dealings, his business career is briefly told. For twenty-three years he carried on the produce and commission business at No. 32 Front Street, New York. In all the financial revulsions of those years, bringing disaster and ruin to some of the oldest and stauuchest commercial houses of the city ; his house stood firm and unshaken. He retired with a large for- tune, the richly deserved reward of ability, firmness, patience and unswerving integrity. But we must go back a little iu urn* sketch. The sound manage- ment and executive ability that could so pi"osperously conduct his large and gi-owingly extended business, nmst be equally successful in other administrative labors. In 1857, Mr. Berdell was elected a director of the Erie Eailroad Company, and he was at once given a place on the Executive and Financial committee — a place he con- tinued to fill during his connection with the company. He was foremost in the reorganization of the company in 1858 and 1859, at which time the earnings of the company were not enough to pay the running expenses and coupons. He took an active part in pacify- ing the discontent ni Susquehaima, occasioned by lack of funds to pay the men. He was in imminent danger of his life at the Long Dock Company Tunnel riot ; but, fearless of personal peril, did not 716 BERDELL. debar him in the discbarge of bis duties. At this time he was Pres ident of the company, and all of its affairs Tvere entii-ely in his charge to Its completion. When he assumed control of its manao-ement it- afhm-swerein a deplorable condition ; its liabilities under protest and everything at great discredit owing to previous mismana-^ement false estimates, and exorbitant payments to contractors. Mr' Berdell at once set to work to extricate it from its financial embarrass- ments, and finished this most important outlet for the Erie Rail road Company, and in the completion of this connecting link, opened th.s great highway from the great A\'est by the ErieEailroad to tide- water opposite the city of New York, where vessels of any size can load for any part of the world. He completed the excavation and rock-cut m the Bergen tunnel, at sometWng less than one million of dollars. He constructed large piers, freight-houses, machine- shops, and many miles of main aud side track of the Lono- Dock Company's propei-ty. In 1858, when he first assumed the Pridency of the company, the stock and bonds were of little value, command- ing m themarket only half their par value. Mr. Berdell injured his own credit for a time, as a merchant, by this undertaking. Many be lieved that he had attempted what he could not successfully accom- phsh, as aU previous parties had failed in the enterprise ; but, not- withstanding this, and the entreaties of his friends, he boldly pushed on w,th thcMork, lending his personal credit and endorsing the company's liabilities in large amounts to secure its completion. °For- inidable as were the difficulties to be overcome,and notwithstanding the responsibihties assumed, he had the satisfaction of seein<. the unprovements completed nearly as they are to-day. With the^com- pletjonof the work the company's credit so much improved that the stock sold at 140, and the bonds at 110, a result giving convincing attestation of his high administrative capacities In the early part of 1861, Mrs. BerdeU died. After two years Mr. Berdell married the beautiful and accom]>lished Miss Har- riet Barnard of J^ew York; when, with his lovely bride, he made the tour of Europe, being absent about a year. In 1864, the Direc 717 4 ROBERT H. BERDELL. tors of the Erie Eailwaj Company elected biin President of tbit^ great corporation. The resxdt showed tliat he not only did not disap- point the expectations of his moat ardent friends in accepting this arduous and trying posi ion ; but, that the company wisely consulted its best interests, and cbose the right man for the right place. The company, through the acts of his predecessors, had a large floating debt and contracts for equipments amounting to near ten millions of dollars, which must be paid within a few months. The magni- tude of these liabilities were appalling, but Mr. Berdell possessed a determined will and indomitable energy. He entered with earnest determination upon the discharge of his important trust ; he work- ed hard and early and late, often until midnight, to make himself thoroughly familiar with all the details and duties appertaining to his onerous charge. In addition to baing President, he was Treas- urer also, and personally attended to all receipts and payments, loans and negotiations. Under his management the finances of the coi-poration were conducted with fidelity and ability. All pay- ments were made as prompt as at any bank. No extra interest or commission was ever paid by him. When his connection first began with the company, its earnings were about §5,500,000; and, during his management it increased to $15,500,000, an increase of 10,000,- 000 per year. During this period there was a time, indeed, when the Erie Eailway Company's stock sold higher than the New York Central, and the recei]>ts for passengers were within a few hundred thousand dollars of the latter road. In short, he brought the high credit, by economy and care in the expenses, and by the negotiation of a foreign loan, and extending the Company's mortgages as they matured, thus placing the financial condition of the company on the best possible footing, and the enjoyment of unlimited confidence and credit in this country and Europe. Mr. BerdeU had the entire confidence of his Board of Directors. No contracts, after having been investigated by the directors pursu- ant to his ad\-ice, ever proved disadvantageous to the interest of the company ; and, it may be stated further in this connection that, 718 EOBEET n. BEEDELL. 5 neither the directors of the Erie Railway Company, nor the Lon^ Dock Company, ever refused to ratify and approve his recommenda" tions. In all that pertains to the past solid and reliable progress of this corporation, the name and wise counsel of Mr. Berdell are more •learly identified than those of any other person. He warned his rhrectors not to enter into any alliance or guarantee with the Boston ■ Hartford and Erie Railway Company, and assured them that it would lead to bankruptcy. For his persistency and determination to save the Erie Radway Company, certain members of the Board of Direc- tors entered into a conspiracy with outside parties and members of the Boston, Hartford and Erie Railway Company to buy in the open market proxies, and vote on stock not their own. Through this con- spiracy, and by bribes and corruptions at the election on the 8th of Oc- tober,1867, theaffairaof the company came under a new management. On the very day of the election, this new management passed by resolution, a guarantee on five millions of Boston, Hartford and Erie Raih-oad Company bonds. The Erie Railway is now in default of the conpons-thus verifying Mr. Berdell's warning to his Board of Directors. He also refused to act or connect his name with the Bos- ton, Hartford and Erie Railway Company's mortgage for twenty mdhons of doUars recorded in his favor in the States of New York Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and known as the Berdell Bonds' Much more might be written of Mr. Berdell's connection with the Ene Railway. It is unnecessaiy, in a sketch like the present, to .^o into more extended details. It is enough to know, that his adminis- tration was characterized by consummate ability; and, as far as the interests of the road and the public are concerned, it is only to be regretted that the affairs are not still under the same judicious con- trol. We will dismiss the subject with simply recalling the fact that in 1866, Mr. Berdell gave the famous Sir Morton Peto and party a banquet at Dehnonico's, and a special train over the Erie Raihvay and, at the same time, warned the Board of Directors not to bo en- treated into any magnificent financial scheme. In 1866, Mr. Berdell bought the old family homestead of the TVic k 719 6 ROBE KTH.BER DELL. Iiaiu estate at Goslicn, tbo county seat of Orange County, N. Y., a beautiful and thriving village on tlie Eric Railway, sixtj-one miles from New York City. lie resides here with his family, and cer- tainly within this radius of New York, environed as it is by beauti- ful country seats, there is none possessing more highly cultivated grounds, or adornments more tasteful and elegant. By bis perma- nent improvements he has made it one of the most valuable estates is this country ; and in after years it will be a notable remember- ance of him. Ho is still a busy worker ; he could not be idle. He is bank director, as also director of the National Trust Company, and of several insurance companies in New York and Brooklyn, besides being president of the asylum now being erected by the State of New York at Middletown, New York. Still in the prime of life and usefulness, doubtless many years remain to him to enjoy the fi-uits of his past laboi-s. Socially, he is one of the most affable and agree- able of men ; and there are few possessing a finer personal appear- ance. He has a commanding figure, and a countenance which, while beaming with benevolence, is expressive of great firmness and decision. By persistent and steady effort, he has won fortune and position. Battling with early disadvantages, he has risen superior to every obstacle. His distinguishing characteristics are, unconquer- able energy and uufliuching integrity. Few have achieved more deserved success, and none are more worthy of it 720 r-' . vL<^ vi<^V/ At SILAS SEYMOUR °^i^ N the development of the material resources of the United Statei, by that elaborate system of railroads and canals which traverse our country in all directions, bringing the jple and products of its remotest jjarts into comparative proximity with each other, there have been mechanical and engineering ques- tions presented, whose solution has required the highest order of ability, as well as great powers of invention and perseverance. That these problems have been successfully met, and the most gigantic ob- stacles overcome, is evidenced by the results, which we see before us every day. And it is gratifying to us, as Americans, to feel that these results have been accomplished almost entirely by the ability and perseverance of our American engineers, — some of whom per- haps may have received their education abroad, but the majority of whom are truly to be termed self-made men, and who have been educated by their own works. In this latter class stands the subject of this sketch, wlio, liter- ally beginning at the foot of the ladder, has by his own energy and ability risen to its top, and having been actually engaged in some of the most important engineering operations of the day, now, while yet scarcely past the meridian of life, ranks as one of the most prominent civil engineers of our country, and may be fitly regarded as one of the " men of progress." Silas Seymour was born June 20th, 1817, in the town of Still- water, Saratoga County, State of New Tork. The first eighteen years of his life were spent upon a farm with his father. Deacon John Seymour, and his grandfather. Deacon William Seymour, who, soon after the Revolutionary War, in which he took an active part, had removed from Connecticut to the State of New Tork. 721 2 SILAS SEYMOUR. During this period, jouiig Seymoiu- had no opportunity of obtain- ing other than a good common school education, and a part of the time he worked as an apprentice at the carpenter and joiner trade. In the spring of 1835, he obtained a situation as axeman in one of the engineering parties which were making the first surveys for the New York and Erie Railroad, through the interipr of Sul- livan county, New York. After serving about one month in that capacity, he was transferred to another party which had been or- ganized at the town of Deposit, on the Delaware river, and pro- moted to the position of rodman. During the latter part of the same year the first forty miles of the road, extending from Deposit to the mouth of the Callicoon creek, were placed under contract, and Mr. Seymour was appoint- ed Assistant Engineer, in charge of a portion of the work. Ben- jamin Wright was at that time Chief Engineer of the New York and Erie Kailroad, Edwin F. Johnson was Associate Engineer, and H. C. Seymour was Resident Engineer, in charge of the forty miles under construction, and also of the surveys westward toward Bing- hamton. In the spring of 1837, work was suspended upon the railroad, and the subject of our sketch embraced the opportunity of devot- ing his time to study in the Fredonia (Chatauqua county) Aca- demy, where he acquired a knowledge of chemistry, natural philo- sophy, and the higher mathematics. The work was resumed in 1838, and Mr. Seymour's connection with the road continued through all its various phases of prosperity and adversity until its final completion in 1851, at wliich time he was acting as Chief Engineer of the "Western Division ; Mr. Hor- atio Allen was at that time the Consulting Engineer of the Com- pany. Major Thompson S. Brown had acted as Chief Engineer until the completion of the road to Owego, in Tioga county, when he was appointed by the Russian government in the place of Major "Whistler, who had died while in charge of the railroads then being constructed in that country. 722 SILAS SEYMOUR. « o During Major Brown's connection with the Erie road he had always placed Mr. Sejmour in charge, as Division Engineer of the most difficult portions of the work, both as regards location and construction ; and when he resigned to go to Eussia, the company continued hnn in tbe duty to which he had been previously assi^^n- ed by the Chief Engineer, which was tliat of making the final "re ^^slon and location of the line between Corning and Dunkirk, the western terminus of the road, on Lake Erie. In the performance of this duty he recommended several changes m the line which had been previously adopted and in part constructed by the company, in order to shorten the route, and improve the ruling grades. Among the most important of these changes, which were all adopted by the company, was that in the hne between the mouth of Little Valley Creek (now the town of Salamanca) and Dunkirk. This change, although it involved the loss of several hundred thousand dollars of previous expenditure resulted in reducing the maximum grade, ascending eastwardlv trom Lake Erie, from sixty to forty feet to the mile, and in short- ening the distance more than five miles. Its ultunate saving to the company has been almost incalculable. The New York and Erie Railroad, during the many years of its construction, afforded the best possible school for the education of evil engineers. It embraced aU the varieties of work (exoept tun- neling) that are to be found on the most difficult lines in this or any other country, not excepting even the Union and the Central Pacific Eailroads. The best and most experienced engineering talent available in the country, outside of its regular corj.s, was frequently called into requisition, either by the State, or by the company, for the purpose of consulting or deciding upon the se- lection of routes or the character of structures. The most favor- able opportunities were thus afforded the yomiger engineers for becoming familiar with the views and experiences of the veterans m the profession. The result has been that many of the most suc- cessful railway engineers in the country have obtained their first 723 4 SILAS SEYMOUR. anil most useful lessons, from their early experience npon the New York and Erie Railroad. Upon the opening of the road to Port .Tervis, and subsequently to Binghamton, the Board of Directors passed resolutions, com- plimenting Mr. Seymour for his skill and energy in completing, within the requisite time, the difficult and expensive work over the Shawangunk mountain, and along the Delaware river ; and when the road commenced running between those points, he was appoint- ed Superintendent of Transportation upon that portion of it. As the Erie Railroad approached completion, the necessity oi a railroad connection westward became apparent. The New York Central Railroad interest had secured control of the Buffalo and State Line Railroad, which they were constructing with the nar- row gauge (four feet eight and one half inches) and had arranged to pass mider the Erie track at a point about three miles east of Dunkirk. The Erie and North East Railroad was also being built with a view of extending the narrow gauge to Erie, in Pennsyl- vania, and there connecting, and "breaking," with the Ohio gauge, of four feet ten inches. Mr. Seymour at this time, having obtained consent of his own company, organized the "Dunkirk and State Line Railroad Company," of which he became Chief Engineer, and commenced building the road. He also secured an exclusive lense of the Erie and North East Railroad for the term of twenty years, with the understanding that the six feet gauge of the New York and Erie Railroad, and no other, should be extended to Erie, and there "break" with the Ohio gauge. This operation, together with a dis- position manifested by the people of Erie to still aid the New York Central interest in extending their gauge to their town, soon brought about a compromise between the two great corporations, by which it was agreed that the Buffalo and State Line Railroad (since merged in the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Line) should be laid with a gauge of four feet and ten inches, should ho located through the New York and Erie depot at Dunkirk, and should be 724 SILAS SEYMOUR S operated for all time, as a strictlj neutral road, as between the Nc«- York Central and the New York and Erie Railroad interests. This arrangement, it was supposed, would create a perfect break of gauge both at Buffalo and at Dunkirk: but the agreement has since been rendered nearly obsolete by the adoption of the "com- promise" wheel, which enables the same car to pass over both the four feet eight and a half, and the four feet ten inch gauges. The citizens of Erie were very much dissatisfied witli this ar- rangement, for the reason that it left them no break of gau<.e whatever, and they feared their town would thus become a mere way station on the Lake Shore Eailroad; whereas they had been fondly anticipating the great benefits that would arise to them from a break l)etween the Western and the two Eastern gauges, involving an entire change of cars both for freight and passengers. They there^^ fore refused to allow the Erie and North East Railroad gau-e to be changed from six feet to four feet ten inches, and the celebrat- ed " Erie War of gauges" followed, resulting in several disgraceful riots, and some bloodshed. But time, and the inexorable laws of trade, overcame the difiiculty, and their road eventually fell into Ime, with the other lake shore railroads. The benefits derived by the Erie Railway Company from this arrangement have been and are still very considerable. Mr. Seymour laid the last rail upon the Western Division of the New York and Erie Railroad, on the ITth of April, 1851, and as- sisted at the great celebration of the opening of the road for busi- ness, on the 15th of May, following. This celebration was par- ticipateiin by the President of the United States (Millard Fill- more) and his cabinet, including Daniel Webster, then Secretary of State, together with several of the most prominent citizens oV the country. . The New York and Erie Railroad, at the time of its comple- tion, was the first continuous line of railway connecting the At- lantic coast with the great Western lakes, in the direction of the Pacific Ocean, and therefore constituted the first link of four hun- 35 725 a SILAS SEYMOUR. drod ami sixty miles in the great ehaiii of railways destined to cross the Amorioau coutiueut. The t'ol?t>\vina; editorial notice, clipped from the i^maha (^Xi^ braska") A,'//y Herald, of January 25, 1S6(>, contains a brief sketch of Mr. Seymour's career down to and including the time of his connection with the Union Pacific Kailroad : " Ool. Silas Seymour, Consulting Engineer of the Union Pacific ilailroad, has been spending a few weeks among us, and we i>ro- pose to give a few characteristics of himself, and incidents of his life. This gentleman is known throughout the country as one of our most energetic, thoroughly, educated, largo minded and successful engineei"s, as his reconl will show, to which we shall refer hereafter. Col. Seymour is about forty-five years of age. with no indication of so late a period of life, except that the color of his hair has changed somewhat ; of close, compact, well-knit frame, symmetricjil form, with a face indicative of great deter- mination, and bearing the impi-ess of thought in every lineament. Associating, as he has for many years, with the fii-st men of the times, in literary, political and military circles, and familiar with the best society, ho has somewhat of an aristocratic air, but is genial, social, gentlemanly. Ilis great characteristics we should say are perfect coolness and self-possession under all circumstances, an u!)usual power of concentration of all his powers on whatever he undertakes, a tenacity of purpose that never yields, an affec- tionate disposition, and a dry, pleasant, and sometimes sparkling wit; these valuable qualities with a logical mind, well stored with useful information, combine to make him one of the pleas- antes* companions imaginable. " He couimenced his professional career in connection with the New York and Erie Railroad, was engaged in its first surveys, and labored constantly in connection with the enterprise from 1S35 imtil its completion, in 1S5J. Ilis next position was that of chief engineer of the Builnlo and New York City Railroad, ex- tondiuiT from Ilornellsville to 13uffalo, and of which he was also 726 SILAS SEYMOUR. Y for some time the general Buperlutendent. Here lie achieved his greatost success in designing and constructing the famous Portage Bridge across the Genessee River, a structure two hundred and thirty-four feet high and eight hundred feet in length. After the completion of this monument of his skill, ingenuity and pro- fessional judgment, he, together v^ith his associates, contracted for the construction and equipment of some of the most important roads in the country, embracing the Ohio and Mississippi, Louis- ville and Nashville, Maysville and Lexington, Scioto and Hock- ing Valley, New York and Boston Air Line, the Ontario, Simcoe and Huron of Canada, Western of North Carolina, and Sacramento Valley of California. "In 1855 he was elected State Engineer and Surveyor General of his native State, New York, which responsible office he held during 1856-7, and his reports upon the canals and railroads of that State are regarded as among the best authorities upon these subjects, and have obtained a world-wide reputation for accuracy and adaptation. "Col. Seymour at about this time established his office in New York, as consulting engineer, the duties of which occupied his time until the breaking out of the rebellion. He was then offijred the position of brigadier-general in the army, but declined the honor, and contented himself with aiding his friend. Gen. Sickles, to organize the Excelsior Brigade, which for distinguished services and valor in the field has not been excelled by any army organiza- tion. During this time Col. Seymour recommended to Gen. Cameron, then Secretary of War, the construction of independent military railroads leading from the National Capital to New York, Pittsburg and Cincinnati ; and also the organization of an indi- pendent military railroad bureau, to be placed under the direction of the best railroad managers of the country. The former sug- gestion unfortunately was not carried out, but the latter was adopted, and under the able management of Gen. McCallum, wlio commenced his railroad experience under Col. Seymour, 727 S SILAS SEYMOUR. has inoro than justified the wisdom and foresiglit of his sug^os- lious. " In 18G2, Col. Seymour was appointed Chief Engineer of the Washington and Alexandria Railroad, with a Ariew to construct a railroad bridge across the Potomac, which inportant work was successfully completed in 1864. In 1863, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior as Consulting Engineer, and after- ward Chief Engineer of the "Washington Aqueduct, which office he lield for two years, when he resigned on account of a suspen- sion of the work for want of an appropriation from Congress, but he remained long enough to recommend some important changes, which have since been adopted and partially carried out, in the plans made by Gen. Meigs, former Chief Engineer, which changes were adopted by the Secretary of the interior and subsequently approved by Congress. He also recommended in his reports important improvements in the National Capitol, which met the approval of the Department, and must sooner or later command the favorable consideration of Congress. Among these, were the improvement of the Washington Canal, and the improvement of the Potomac River by the construction of a breakwater, so as to bring the navigable channel alongside the water front of the city, the construction of fountains in the parks, and the perfection of a system of drainage and sewerage of the city. "Col. Seymour was appointed Consulting Engineer of the Union Pacific Road, commencing at Omaha, Nebraska Ter., in 1864, but owing to other engagements was not able to give that work but a portion of Ms time until the summer of 1865. lie is now devoting his best talents to this gigantic work, the great national work of the age, and we hope his life may be spared till its successful completion. " As a thoroughly educated, successful and practical engineer, it may be said that Col. Seymour has no superior, and perhaps not a rival, in this country. If he has made professional mistakes, tliey have yet to be discovered, and if the numerous works and 728 SILAS SEYMOUK 9 structures designed or constructed by liim are defective, either in adaptation or permanency, time has not yet developed the fact. His engagement by the managers of the Union Pacific Eailroad is a standing evidence of the sagacity and forethought witli which that great work is being constructed, and we hope and trust that the name of Col. Seymour will go down in history in con- nection with others engaged in the great work, as the successful engineer of this most wonderful conception of the nineteenth century." At the time of undertaking the construction of the Sacramento Valley Railroad of California, Mr. Seymour very correctly as- sumed that it would eventually become the western link in the chain of railroads that must sooner or later connect the tide waters of the Pacific with those of the Atlantic Ocean. And Mr. T. D. Judah, the engineer whom he sent out to take charge of that work, was instructed to examine the country up the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with a view of ultimately extending the road eastward. These explorations resulted in the adoption of the present route for the Central Pacific Eailroad. Colonel Seymour's nomination and election, in 1855, to the posi- tion of State Engineer and Surveyor of the State of New York was a recognition by the people of his standing as a civil engineer. This is the only political position he has ever held, his experience teaching him that political honors were a poor recompense for the time spent in the public service, to the neglect of his profes- sional and business interests. At the time of his first connection, in the winter of 1863-4, with the Union Pacific Railroad — that great enterprise, the con- ception and ultimate completion of which were the legitimate results of the construction of that first great line from the sea- board to the lakes, nearly twenty-five years before, and with whose whole history Mr. Seymour had been so closely identi- fied, — very little had been done in the way of locating the line 729 10 SILAS SEYMOUR. ol' the i-oad, more thau that the eastern terininu3, or initial point had been fixed by the President of the United States at Omaha Nebraska, and a few engineering parties had been engaged in surveying i>ortions of the country to tlie west of that town. As soon after his appointment as Consulting Engineer as his engagements would permit, he visited and examined the pro- jected lines, and from that time until its completion, was occupied almost entirely wltli his duties in connection with the road. These duties were not generally of an executive character, but they were always arduous and responsible. Much of his time was spent in the office of the company at New York (to which city he had then removed from Washington, D. C), pi-eparing maps, profiles, plans, estimates, reports, etc., and in general con- sultation with the officers of the company. He made frequent visits to the line of the road, in company with Mr. T. 0. Durant, the Vice-President and General Manager, and others concerned in the work, and generally gave his personal attention to changes of route which were adopted by the company upon his recom- uioudation. These duties were not unattended with personal danger, for the country was traversed by hostile Indians in all directions. He made it a point to always explore the route sufficiently in advance of the construction of the road to enable him to give an intelligent opinion as to the comparative merits of conflicting lines, and in these explorations he was obliged to have an escort with him for protection. During one of these reconnoissances, over the Black Hills, west of Cheyenne, while accompanied by one of the Division Engineers, and an escort of Pawnee warriors, he was threatened by an attack from a large force of hostile Sioux. The Pawnees not only promptly repulsed the Sioux, driving them back into the mountains, but continued the chase until the following day, leaving the engineers entirely unpro- tected. 730 SILAS SKYMOUR. 1) Mr. Seymour designed the high bridge over Dale Creek Canon, near the summit of the Black Hill range of the Eocky Mountains. This bridge is one hundred and twenty-s^ven feet liigh, and eight hundred feet long, and stands at an elevation of about eight thousand feet above the sea. It is by far the most imposing mechanical structure upon the road, and resembles in some respects the famous Portage Bridge, which he had con- structed several years previously, across the Genesee River, upon the Buffalo branch of the Erie Railway. During the last year of the construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, he spent the greater portion of his time upon the line of the road in Utah, where the principal portion of the work was being done by the Mormons, under the general direction of their President, Brigham Young. At this time a gigantic strife was being waged between the Union Pacific and the Cen- tral Pacific Companies, as to which should first reach the Great Salt Lake Valley with its railroad. Mr. Seymour was here oi great service in executing the orders and plans of Mr. Duranfc with reference to the rapid extension of the Union Pacific line westward, although he repeatedly and earnestly urged upon the representatives of both companies the expediency and importance of coming to an early and amicable agreement as to the meeting point of the two roads. Congress, however, interfered at the last moment, and fixed the point of junction at the summit of Pro- montory Point, a distance of one thousand and eighty-seven miles from Omaha, and of six hundred and ninety miles from Sacra- mento. The last rail, connecting the two roads, was laid on the 10th day of May, 18GD, with appropriate ceremonies, at which Mr. Seymour, with other principal officers of bath companies, had the honor of assisting. Nearly six hundred miles of the Union Pacific Railroad, lying directly through the heart of the Rocky Mountains, were com- pleted during the last year of its construction ; and the entire 731 J2 SILAS SEYMOUR. dir^tanco of nearly eleven hundred miles was constructed in a period of four years — an achievement unparalleled in the history of railroad construction. Mr. Thomas C. Durant, to wliose energy and skill the country is mainly indebted for this great national work, in one of hia published reports to the company, pays the following tribute to the subject of this sketch, on account of his services in con- nection therewitb : — " I am also indebted to Colonel Silas Seymour, the Consulting Engineer, for valuable suggestions and advice, which his long and varied experience in the construction and management of railroads, and other works of internal improvement, has rendered him so competent to give." Mr. Seymour may therefore very justly claim the honor of having been more thoroughly identified than any other living en- gineer, with the construction of both the initial and terminal links of the great chain of railways, more than three thousand miles in length, which now spans the American Continent from ocean to ocean. During the winter of 18G7-8, under an appointment from the Secretary of the Interior, made by autliority of a joint resolution of Congress, he prepared an elaborate report, accompanied by maps, drawings, estimates, etc., upon the subject of improving the channel of, and bridging the Potomac liivcr, in the vicinity of "Washington, D. C. The selection by the General Government, from among the engineers of the country, of Mr. Seymour, in preference to an officer of the regular army corps, for this work, as well as his previous appointment on the "Washington Aqueduct, were each of them high professional compliments. The most important works with which he has been connected as Consulting Engineer, since the completion of the Union Pacific Kailroad, are the Adirondack Company's Railroad, which is also being constructed by Mr. T. C. Durant, extending through the 7J2 3ILAS SEYMOUR. -„ groHt wilderness of Northern New York, from Saratoga Springs o Ogdensburgh, on the St. Lawrence River, a distance of nearly two hundred miles; and the North Shore Kailwayof Canada ex- tending from Montreal to Quebec. ' ' Mr. Seymour was married on the 23d of December, 1840 to Deha, second daughter of the late Hon. George A. French', of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, New York. They now reside in New York City and have five children living-Florence, Georc^e F James M., Jeanie, and Silas, Jr. '^ '' 733 ^^ ^^ /^.e^,^.^^ CHARLES P. HERRICK. 'HAIILES P. IIEKRICK was born in the town of Wil- ton, New Hampshire, on the 27th day of April, in the year 1818, and is the fourth child of Edward Herrick and Ann Barrett Herrick. He was married in 1841 to Miss Caroline M. Baker, of Vermont, has two children, a son and daughter. His grandfather was an officer in the Kevolutionary war. He was absent on the ever memorable day of t^je battle of Banker Hill, he having been sent to Andover on the 1.5th or 16th day of June, lllo, for vinegar for the troops. His wife's maiden name was Holt, a descendant of the Holts of England. The father of the subject of this sketch was bom in 1785, and is still living. He served iu the war of 1812. His business, like his father, was a mill-wright and builder, carpentry being his specialty. His wife was born in 1790, and died in 1824, and left a family of five children, Charles P. Herrick being the foui-th child, and only six years old at the time of her death. The Ilerricks are of Danish and English descent. The traditions of this family claim their descent from Ericke, a Danish chief who invaded Britain during the reign of Alfred, and having been van- quished by that prince, was compelled, with his followers, to repeo pie the wasted districts of East Anglia, the government of which h') held as a fief of the English crown. — HbUnshefls CTtronicler, sixth- book. The Norman invasion, found this name represented by Eric, the Forester, who resided in Leicestershire, and possessed extensive do- main, along the sources of the Severn, and on the border of "Wales. Eric raised an army to repel the invader ; and in the subserjuent 73.5 2 CHARLES P. HEREIOK. efforts of tlie English earls and princes to dispossess the Normans of their recent conquest, and to drive them out of the country, he bore a prominent and conspicuous jiart. But he shared also, in the unfortunate issue of all these patriotic efforts. Ilis followers and aliens, here stripped of their estate, and being no longer in a condi- tion formidable to the government, was taken into favor by Sir Wil- liam, entrusted with important offices about his person, and in com- mand of his armies. In his old age, retired to Leicestershire where he closed a stormy and eventful life as became the re]>rescntative of an ancient and distinguished race. " "With a hasty glance at our earliest family remembrances, reniute and obscure as they may be, we proceed to deduce the pedigree of the English aud American races through the branch of the posterity of Eric, the Forester, which i^ still respectably known in England, and from, whence we derive our lineage." — Ilerriclcs Genealogy. " "We perceive something like a progressive transmission from the original Scandinavian Ericke, Eric, down to the settled and perma- nent English Heyrick and Herrick of the seventeenth century. The earliest English forms were occasional variations of the final letter, for substitution of I instead of E in the initial. In the twelfth cen- turv the sons of John of Leicestershire fixed the orthography of the iiMine Ilornck, which has remained pornKinent and unchanged to thic tiay. " In 911 other of the Danes assembled in Staffordshire, near Tot- tenhall, fought \C^ith the English— and there \\-as great slaughter on both sides — the Danes were overcome, and afterwards at Woden- fields ; then King Edward put the Danes to flight also at Northum- berland. So the Danes gladly continued to rest in peace and quiet- " Eric, son of Harold Gormson, Idng of Denmark, was about to engage in new wars, and to allure other Danes to join him against the English nation and utterly subdue them. King Edward hearing tliis proposal, to enter his country with an army, which he did, cruel- ly wasted and spoiled the same. "Eric of Northumberland, who was sometime governor of the 73G OnAKLE! same. e, may have been mistaken for 'Erickof East Ano-lia ' Eric Blcdox, son of Harold Ilarfagni, king of Norway. His story 'is told by Thiery. 'Ethelstane boasted in his charters of having subdued every people foreign to the Saxon race inhabiting the island of Great Britain.' "To the Anglo-Danes of Northmiiberland, he gave a Norwegian for their governor, (this was Eric, son of Harold, an old pirate, who turned Christian to obtain the Government,) in the year of our Lord 937. On the day of his baptism he swore to defend Northumber- land from the Pagans and pirates ; and from being a sea-king, he be- came king of a province. " But this peaceful reign becoming irksome to him, he betook him- self to his ships. After an al)sence of several years, he returned - we have indisputable proofs of his Iiaving visited America during that time, nearly five hundred years before the discovery of Ameri- ca by Columbus. " The first discoverer was Biarne, a young Icelander, in 986 On his return, he reported to Lief, the son of Eric the Bed, a bold and enteri^nsmg young chief, who made an expedition to the newly dis- covered region. He sailed with thirty-five men, followed the direc- tion pointed out by Biarne, and arrived in safety on the shores of the ^ew World. It was rude and rocky, the mountains covered with snow and ice. He named it Helluland, or the land of rocks He next came to a flat region covered with forests which lie called ' Marsh- land,' or the woody \^r,^--UghU and Shadow, rf American Uu- tory. "In 1121 Bishop Eric, of Greenland, embarked on a missionary voyage to Finland, the result of which is not known. Vinland the name given by Eric, the second discoverer, for the quantity of g;apes found m the country. ' " He returned to visit the Northumbrian, who gave him a welcome, and appointed him their chief without the consent of the Saxon King Edward. Edward attacked them, forced them to abandon Eric, who in turn attacked them with five Corsair chiefs from Denmark, the' ^z1 II KKUICK, Orkneys and tbo TTebrides. He lell in the lii-st battle, a death glorious to a Seaudiuavian. His praises were sung by all the scalds and bards of the north. " The family of Erie has produced many eminent men, is still rep- resented by two respectable branches. The Ilcrricks of Leicester, and the llerricks of Beau Manor, of both tlu-se branches, are of dis- tinct pedijijrees, and many curious historic anecdotes are given in the history of Leicestei-shire."— ^t'ort's Life of Swift. "John, of Leicestershire resided there from 1559 to 1572. Nich- olas, the second son, was a goldsmith, banker and merchant in Lon- don, who established his younger brother, "William, in high credit [in] and trust at the court of Queen Elizabeth. " Of his sons Thomas and "William, little is known, save that Thomas was the reputed ancestor of Thomas Herrick of Market ILu-borough, and author of a volume of poems, published in 1691, and of several high-s]Mced sermons, in which the rebels, against King James the Second, arc severely handled. Nicholas, the third son, was a merchant in London, living in London in 1667, on the occasion of the decease of his son Nicholas, who was a merchant iu the Levant, and an extensive and intelligent traveler in Syria, Egypt and Pales- tine. "Eobert was the most eloquent clergyman of his age — was Yicar of Dean Prior, in Devonshire. He was noted as the author of ' Hes- perides,' a work of gre;it and singular merit. A writer in the ' Ee- trospective Review,' says : ' "Wc do not hesitate to pronounce him the best of English Lyric Poets.' Another critic thus writes : ' He is at all times, and in every sense, an English poet ; English scenery and English manners are his constant themes.' " The father of Eobert Herrick died in 1G92, while his family were in infancy ; he left them iu moderate circumstances. Fortunately, for Robert, he early attracted the notice of his uncle. Sir "William, who educated him, and established him in business. John Herrick, the fourth son of John Herrick of Leicester, was many yeare an alderman of that borough, and died 1613, leaving a 73S son and dau^^.ter. This i. the only record of Lis history and 1)09. terity. We think a careful inqniiy among the posterity of John of Leicester, would satisfy the antiquarians for their John of Shippool and James of Southampton. ' Sir \Villiam Herrick ^as a successful courtier and politician from • lo^-»i'^ His ancestors were Scotch-Irish; his father and his brothers were born in Pennsylvania. In 1856 he went to Minnesota, as private Secretary to Governor Medary, who was ai)pointed Gover- nor of the territory under the Buchanan administration. When the Piite's Peak excitement began, after the discovery of gold in that portion of the Country, General McCook left Minnesota, and crossed the plains, and settled in the mining region ; he was at first engaged in mining ; this was in 1859 ; he afterwards practised law with suc- cess there ; all that portion of the country which was afterwards or- ganized as the territory of Colorado was then Arapahoe County, Kansas. In the winter of 1860 he was elected to the Kansas Legis- lature, by 1,800 majority over two competitors, this being the last Temtorial Legislature. At that time Arapahoe County had a large population, and General McCook probably represented a constituency larger than the rest of the territory of Kansas. He was a good debater, and took an active part in all the proceedings, and none of the interests of his section of the territory were allowed to suffer. The boundaries of Kansas were defined during this session, and she was admitted as a State. This left General McCook's constituency with no political organization. He went to Washington to secure for it some territorial organization, and the former county of Ara- pahoe became the territory of Colorado. While on his return ho heard that Fort Sumter had been fired upon ; he immediately 747 jvtunuHl to Wiushiugton, onlistod in the nnny, and afterwards ro- ooivoil a commission as Second Lieutenant of the Fii-st ReguUvi Cavalry. Whei\ Indisiiia organized her Vohiuteer Regiment Gov- ernor Morton applioil to the War Department for otlicers, and Licu- ttMiant MeCook was sent from the scliool of instruetion to Indianapolis, and ixwivod a commission as Major of the Second Indiana Cavalry, after the battle of Shiloh he was promoted to the Colonelcy of the rt^giment, and placed in command of the first brigade of Cavalry, organized under General Buell. Upon the thorough oi-ganization oi the Cavalry he was assigned to the Command of the liret division, and took part in nearly all the ongagcuionts of the Army of the Ohi'>, afterwards the Army of the CumlxMland. His division wj\s always conspicuous for its discipline and etHciency, and ivndored as olYectivo service as any cavalry division of the army. lu the winter of 18(33-4 the division was oixlercd from Alalvima into Ei»st Tennessee, to protect the communications of the army then occupying Knoxville. They crosseil the mountains in mid- winter, and in the latter part of December fought Martin's rebel corps and destroyed it, capturing all his artillery and about one-thiul of liis command ; and then recri^sseil the mountains in time to take part in the Atlanta Campaign. He was with General Sherman through the whole of that camjv\igu ; and after the capture of Marietta wjis oixieanl by General Sherman across the Chattahoochee, in the rcjir of the reM lines around Atlanta, to cut their communications. This was aeci^mplisluHl, together with the destruction of nearly the whole ivIk>1 commissj^ry and quarter-master trains, which were captured and burneti at Fayetteville, Geoi^ia. When returning from this oxjHHlition McCook found himself confronteii with a large foixjo of the enemy's cavaliy and two divisions of infantry, posteti near Nixman, Gei>rgia. After lighting all day he led a charge thivugh the rebel line, cut his way out, and swam the Chattahoix-hee river, and arrived safely in camp with the main army near Marietta. Gcuenil Sherman, in his report of that campugn, complimented 748 General McCook very highly, for tlio iiiaiiiK'r in wliich lir; IukI cIIh- charged the duties that were assigned liini, and lor the manner in which he extricated his troops from the superior force of the enemy which surrounded him. He was brevetted a Major General for this service. When General Sherra8,n started on his " marcli to the sea," General McCook commanded the first division of Wilson's corps, which moved to the right of Sherman's colunm, captuiing Selma, Montgomery, Columbus and Macon. After Lee's surrender General McCook was sent South to receive the surrender of the rebel troops in Georgia and Florida. At the close of the war he resigned his commission in the regular and voluntee;- service, and was aijpointed United States Minister Resident to the Sandwich Islands. He went to the Sandwich Islands with spjecial in- structions from the Secretary of State to negotiate a treaty of commer- cial reciprocity, and also, if possible, to open negotiations for the ac- quisition of the Islands. He was successful in carrying out the first part of his instructions, to the satisfaction of the President and Secre- tary of State. The treaty which was negotiated was not ratified by the Senate. During his official tenure in the Islands he re-established American influence there. At the time of his resignation nearly the whole of the ministry, the court, and the other official positions in the kingdom were filled by Americans. He left the Islands with the respect of his countrymen, and the King, and their regret that he should have deemed it necessary to sever his official relations with that country, which holds a position towards our Pacific States even more important than Cuba does-towards the Atlantic States. After the inauguration of President Grant, he was ofiered, and accepted, the position of Governor of Colorado. In his first message to the Legislature occur these words, being the first distinct recom- mendation upon the subject by an executive officer in the country: " Before dismissing the subject of franchise, I desire to call your attention to one question connected with it, which I deem of suffi- cient importance to need some consideration at your hands, Iiefore 749 i EDWAKP M. McCOOK. the close of the session. Our civilizition has recognized woman's eiiuaUty with mm in all respscts,. save one — that of suffrage. It has been said that no great reform was ever made, without passing through throe stages, ridicule, argum3nt, adoption. It rests with you to say whether Colorado will accept this reform in its first stag3, or, as her sister territory, Wyoming, has done, in tlie last; whsther she will be a leader in the movement, or follow; for the logic of a progressive civilization leads inevitably to the result of universal suffrage." Gfovernor McCook has labored assiduously for the development and progress of the Territory; and under his administration it has increased largely, both in wealth and population. His messages, and all public addresses which he has delivered in relation to the resources of the country, have been copied extensively, not only in the papers of the Eastern States, but in many of the English pa- pers. His administration of Indian affairs has been so efficient that the Territory enjoys peace such as it has not had for ten years. In the memorial services in honor of Major Gen'l George H. Thomas, held at the U. S. House of Representatives in accordance with a joint resolution of Congress — Gen'l McCook was selected by the committee of arrangements to prepare and present the resolu- tions. The President, Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Court, members of the Diplomatic Corps and members of both houses of Congress were all present to do honor to the great dead. Gen'l McCook, on presenting the resolutions, said : "Mr. Chairman: I have been charged by the Committee with the duty of presenting for your consideration these resolutions of respect f )r the memory of our late beloved friend and commander. " It becomes a most difficult task to express in fitting terms our respect for the great dead, when a nation of maurners stands by to listen. " As in life Gen'l Thomas was so good and pure as to escape the criticism to which other public men are generally subjected, so ia 750 EDWARD M. MoCOOK. 5 death he is for beyond and above all words of ordinary euloc^v The most appropriate eulogy he could have is the presence her/to-ni..ht of so many of theold soldiers of the army, who served under him and of his comrade commanders, and also of those Representatives of the- people of the United States, who conferred upon him his well-earned rank and honors, all sorrowfully gathered together to pay to his memory a last tribute of reverence and respect. " George H. Thomas in life had no enemies save the enemies of his country; his heart was a fountain of goodness, and gentleness ovei-flowmg towards all except the foes of his flag ; and ao-ainst' them his arm was always raised resistlessly, and relentlessly "but I leave it for others who knew more of his daily life and eminent public services than I, to sketch liis career, and do justice to 'ms greatness. He has gone ! and those who knew and loved him as I did, can only fill the void in their hearts with memories of his many virtues, which shall blossom forever, and bear the fragrance of his noble deeds to our children, and our children's children. " He closed his earthly life in a new land, and to him a new home yet be had already won the frendship of all the people there by his simple manners, and modest goodness ; and it seemed but meet that a life so great in achievement, so boundless in benevolence, and so perfect in its symmetry, should close amid the grand and solemn mountains of the Pac fie ; and a soul so pure and free from .^uile should wing it its flight through the glories of the ' Golden Gate ' to eternal life beyond." ' In a speech made in Denver, in July, 18B, Gov. McCook took advanced ground on the Cuban Question, etc., etc. He said when called out by some question relating to Cuba, addressed to him by a member of the Fenian Organization: "What Ireland and the Fenians attempted two years ago, Cuba is attempting now • Cuba is to-day fightin,^ the battle of Republicanism against Imperialism The reconiuest of Cuba will be to renew in greater strength, a foot- hold for the population of monarchial ideas on this continent 751 6 EDWARD M. MoCOOK. Shame ! Shame ! that we, as a people, should look on quietly and see this little island, wounded to the heart, bravely struggling for liberty and republicanism, while we hide our sympathies in the shroud of a selfish diplomacy, and see the worst of the Imperial powers of Europe inflict all the barbarities of savage warfare upon these gallant people, who are trying to struggle into the light of freedom, and of civilization. One word of recognition from us would make them free. If they fail it will be our fault. If thrown backward into the past another century, it will be because the Great American Repub- lic, that should be the champion of freedom to all men, lies dead to their appeal against a common enemy." Grov. McCook is not only a soldier and a statesman, but has made his mark to some extent as an author ; he was one of the earliest contributors to Brett Hart's "Overland Monthly." He was the first officer of the army who suggested to the War Department the mil- itary necessity of employing negro troops, in a private letter to Mr. Stanton, the then Secretary of War, who quietly pigeon-holed the letter, and informed the writer that he was guilty of a piece of presumption. General McCook has but just passed the meridian of life ; it is now high noon with him; before the setting sun what may we not look for, from one who has achieved such honors in so short a time. 752 '^^^^j/^y^^rt GEIT. SAMUEL P. HEINTZELMA^-. Ij^AMUEL p. HEINTZELMAN wa3 born at Manlieim, Lan- ' " caster County, Pennsylvania, on the 30th September, 1805. As his name indicates, he is of German descent on the father's side, his ancestors having been among the first settlers of the village of his birth. As a boy he attended the scliools of Manlieim and Marietta. In 1822, through the influence of James Buchanan, since President, he was appointed a cadet at West Point, where he remained until his graduation in 1826, his rank of scholar- ship being the seventeenth in a class of forty-two. His first commis- sion was that of brevet second lieutenant in the Third Infantry. The history of any young officer in tlie army at that time was a monotony of changes from one frontier post to another. After the usual furlough on leaving West Point, Ileintzelmaa was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri, and during the next six or seven years was on garrison duty at that post and at Fort Leavenworth ; Fort Mackinac, Michigan ; Fort Gratiot, Michigan ; and at Fort Brady, Wisconsin, except for the two years from April, 1832, to May, 1834, when he was detached on the important topo- graphical duty of a survey for the improvement of the navigation of the Tennessee River. His full commission as second lieutenant in the Second Infantry bears the same date with that of his brevet on graduation, July 1, 1826, and he was commissioned as first lieutenant, March 4, 1838, which was rather rapid promotion in those days, when our small army was a family in which only as the fathers died out could the youngsters succeed to their shoulder- straps. Ordered to the South, the scene of the Cherokee and Sem- inole difficulties, Heintzelman saw considerable service in Florida 31 7.53 £ S A M U K I, r . H 10 T N T Z K L M A N . uud (loorgia, aiting as adjutant to Major Kirby in the expedition to Mosquito Inlet, Florida, whore be commanded the artillery of tbo Stoamor Dolphin and covered the lauding of the troops. During this period of his schooling in field duty, he served in the quarter- master's department in Florida and at Columbus, Georgia, his execu tive talent having led to his release from the routine of the line. He was commissioned as captain in the Second Infantry, Novembei 4, 1S3S, bnt was retained on stati' service as quartermaster and in investigating Florida claims until lSi2. He was ordered to Buffalo in 1S43, where he married. In 1S45 ho commanded Fort Gratiot, Michigan ; was thence assigned as district quartermaster at Detroit; and thence sent to Louisville, Ivontucky, to organize troops for the Mexican war, and attera ehort time passed in tlie recruiting service we find him in 1847-48 in Mexico, engaged in tJie perilous and vexatious duty of defend ing convoys from Vera Cruz. The actions in which he was engaged were those of the Paso las Ovejas, against Padre Jna- rauta, September 12, 1S47 ; at the battle of Huamantla, October 9, 1847, and the action of Atixco, October 19, 184:7. He received his commission as brevet major, with the date October 9, 1847, " for gallant and meritorious conduct in the battle of Hua- mantla, Mexico." Returning from the fields of Mexico he was stationed at Fort Haniilton, New York Harbor, but in 1S4S was ordered to California in command of troops. The voyage was around Cape Horn in a sailing vessel, thus adding something to an already varied experi- ence. He found himself again on frontier duty on his arrival in California, where he was placed in command of the Southern Dis- trict and stationed at San Diego. His real station, however, was in the field. In 1850-51 he led an expedition against the Yuma Indians, and established Fort Ynma at the junction of the Gila and Colorado rivers, a most valuable frontier post, although '' John Phoenix " found the climate so hot, that he insisted that there was only a piece of brown paper between one's feet and the infern.il 754 SAMUKL P. HEINTZELMAN. 3 regions. From IIiIh fort many Bailies anil scouts were made, and in 1852 a successful aiul relentless raid against tlie Yuraas terminated hostilities. For his services in tliat difficult department Ilcintzel- man was brevettcd licuteuant-colonel, under date of December 19, 1851. His commission as full major dates March 3, 1855. In lS541ie had been relieved, in accordance with the usual custom, and assigned to recruiting service at Newport Barracks, Kentucky, as respite from the severe duty to which ho had been so constantly subjected. But in 1859 he was ordered to Fort Duncan, Texas, from whence he was transfeiTcd to Camp Verde. Even in this hopelessly dull region he distinguished himself by an expedition against the Mexican marauder Cortinas, who had selected the wrong side of the llio Grande for his raids, and sent him back with a loss of several hundreds of men. There were a number of severe combats in which Ileintzelman participated, among them one near Fort Brown, December 14, 1859 ; and another at Kinggold Barracks, December 21. Just after these events came the mutterings of the approaching rebellion. General Twiggs was his superior officer, and, dreading the surrender that was afterward made by Twiggs, Heintzelman procured leave of absence, and came north in January, 1^61, just as the war of the rebellion had become inevitable. Now opened a wider sphere of action. During the twenty-five years that Heintzelman had passed as a soldier, all his achievements and all his earnest toil for the country had been in obscure battles upon distant frontiers, or in the weary routine of an army on a peace footing. He was honored at the War Department, and had a high reputation among soldiers, but it was mostly confined to them. In coming North in the winter of 1860-61, he knew very well that he would never resume his old relations. Ho abandoned a silver mine in Arizona, known as the Heintzelman Mine, which was just beginning to work successfully under his brother-in-law, S. H. Lathrop, who subsequently entered the Union army, and died of yellow fever in Texas in 1867. At the North Heintzelman found a high tone of Union feeling, 755 4, SAMUKL P. HKINTZKI.M AN. in winch he tally purtit-ipiited. He assisted General Scott in the defense of Washington at tiie inauguration of Lineoln, Wivs sent to New York, April Sth, as general superintendent of the recruiting service in New York Harbor, but was soon recalled (May 1st), and iissigaed to duty as xVcting Inspector-General of the Department ot Washington, wlioro ho was commissioned colonel of the Seventeenth Infantry, on May 14th. On the 24th of May he was in immediate command of the iii-st "invasion of Yirginia" under General Mans- tield, the center crossing the Long Bridge under his direction. Before this, however, that is, on the 17th of May, 1801, Heintzclman was commissioned brigadier-general of volunteers. He opened the actual combats of the war in a skirmish at Fairfax Court- House, July 17, 1S61, and led his division in the tirst battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1S61, his command winning its share of the scanty laurels of that day, eju-ly in which lleintzelman was severely wounded in the fore-arm and elbow. He remained in the saddle while it was dressed, continued in active and heroic command, sullenly retreat- ing at the rear of the rout, and when, on that gloomiest of raiuy Mondays, he dismounted at his door in Wsishiugton, he had been twenty-seven houi-s on the back of his horse, wounded, worn, and wet. His wound proved to be so severe as to permanently cripple the right sum. It was not until August 2d that he could be re- turned to duty, when he was assigned the command of a division holding the left of the defenses of Washington, under McClellan, with his head-quarters at Fort Lyon, near Alexandria, where he remaineil until the opening of the campaign of 1S62 in the suc- ceeding March. On the organization of the Army of the Potomac, lleintzelman was assigned to the comnumd of the Third Corps, consisting of three divisions, under the command, respectively, of Generals Fitz John Porter, C. S. Hamilton, and Joseph Hooker. Arrived on the pen- insula. Porters division was detached and a new corps organized for him, leaving lleintzelman with about 30,000 men, led by the two most dashing and ambitious generals in the service, Kesiruy 756 SAMtJKL P. HKIN'J'ZKLMAN. r and Iloukor. lleii.tzclmari wa.s fi,-.st in front of Yorkto^vn, an.l believed tijat an immediate attack would carry the place, and'witl. that purpose was pushing on when McClellan's arrival halted him in front of the works. After their evacuation by the Coufe.lerates, May 4th, Ueintzelman was put in the advance, and on the 5th' fought the battle of Williamsburg, the first substantia] victory of the war, and the first instance in the Army of the Potomac when entire reliance was placed upon volunteer troops, and that in an all-day fight of the most desperate character. At its close the New Jersey troops used the cartridges of their dead comrades. For his brdliant services on that day Ileintzelman was commissioned major-general of volunteers, dating on the day of the battle. Arrived upon the Chickahominy, the first serious battle was that of Seven Pmes, in which Casey's division was driven and badly beaten by surprise on the 31st of May. Heintzelman's corps advanced to Ins assistance, saved the day, and on Sunday, June 1st, took the offensive in the battle of Fair Oaks. He drove the enemy to withm four miles of Itichmond, when he reluctantly obeyed an order from General McCIellan to fall back. At that time the utmost panic prevailed in Richmond. The policy of delay prevailed until It was too late to strike. Heintzelman was brevetted briga- dier-general United States Army for his victory at Fair Oaks the only brevet he received during the war, all his other promot'ione being full commissions, and there being no vacant full brigadier- shijjs in the regular army. Now came the "change of base," or retreat from the Chicka hominy to the James. In that momentous seven days, Ileint/el- Uians corps fought with distinguished bravery at the Orchards June 25th ; Savage Station, June 29th ; Glendale, June 30th, when the general was conta^ed; at Malvern Hill, July Ut, and in the skirmish at Harrison's Landing, July 2d. This long list of bloody fights was supplemented, in the northern Virginia campaign, by the battle of Manassas, August 29th, and Chantilly, September ] 1862. At the close of the last battle General Kearny was killed' 757 • ' 8 SAMTJKL p. HKINTZHLMAN. and with him the Third Corps lost one of its two heroic generals of division. On the 2d of September the corps camped again at Fort I.yon. The 40,000 men who had left the same place in March were reduced to G,000, hut the corps had never heen beaten in any action. From the 9th of September, 1S62, to the 13th of October, 1863, General Heintzelman commanded the defenses soutli of "Wash- ington and, nntil October 13th, the Department of Washington, his troops being known as the Twenty-second Corps. The position was one requiring great cxecntive ability, and was full of liarassing cares, not the least being the handling of the vast bodies of recruits and convalescents constantly pouring through the capital, and the weeding out of the great number no longer fit for service. At the same time his lines were constantly annoyed by guerrilla parties, and he was engaged in organizing raids and maintaining communications. Atter a period of inaction General Heintzelman was assigned, January 2, 1864, to the cominaml of the Northern Department, consisting of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, with head-quarters at Columbus, Ohio, — another dithcult position, During this service he suppressed, by the strong arm, the secret or- ganization known as " The Sons of Liberty,"' and in the second great uprising of 1S64 aided in organizing, arming, and sending otf 40,000 of the militia of Ohio in the space of two weeks, the other States doing almost as well. On the 1st of October Heintzelman was relieved, and during the remainder of the war was waiting orders, or on court-martial duty. At the close of the war the Major Heintzelman of 1861 held the following living commissions, viz.: Colonel of the Seventeenth Infantry, United States Army; Major- Generid of United States Voluuteei-s, and Brevet Major-Geueral United States Army, the latter dating March 13, 1865, " for gallant and meritorious conduct at Williamsburg, May 5, 1862." He was mustered out of the volunteer ser\-ice August 24, 1S65, resumed command of his regiment at Hart's Island, New York 7J8 SAMUKL P. HEINI'ZlOr.MAN. « Harbor, September 29tb, remaining tberd until April, I860, wben with his regiment he was ordered to Texas, where he took eon'.mand of the central district, with head-quarters at San Antonio, and sub- sequently commanded the district of Texas entirely. Came North m May, 1S67, be was alternately on leave of absence or serving on examination or retiring boards until February 22, 1869 when he was retired with the rank of colonel for length of service, having then been an active officer in the army no less than forty-three years, or adding his cadetship forty-seven years. The retired rank assigned him was in accordance witli the regu- lations of the service, but there was a universal feeling that it was injustice, or at least an insufficient recognition of merit, and Con- gress-an act without precedent in army annals-passed a joint resolution retiring Samuel P. Heintzelman with the full rank of Major-General, United States Army, for wounds received at First Bull Run, 1862. This, with a mention of resolutions once tendered him by the Legislature of Pennsylvania for distinguished services in the Mexican war, completes his military record, save that he retains his old associations as a member of the mib'tary ord-.r of the Loyal Legion of the United States, of the Society of ti,o Third Corps and of the Army of the Potomac. ' Such is the record of a long life devoted to country. 1 1 includes a weary period of slow promotion in times of comparative peace supplemented by rapid successes when the opportunity of a great war came. It was only in active campaign, in stern, hard fighting that Heintzelman achieved triumphs. He was no holiday soldier but though he was sometimes nicknamed "gray and grim "-all good generals have a sobriquet-he had a peculiar faculty of winnin-. without courting the affections of those who served upon his staff Without the slightest sycophancy to superiors, or ostentatious conde scension to inferiors, he held the confidence of one and the love of the other. He never shirked a hardship himself, and never inflicted one, except when the exigencies of the service demanded it Happy in his refined social and domestic relations, his moral 759 8 SAMUEL P. HEINTZELMAN. influence was always puiv, as liis charity tor the faults of others was broad. Impatient in inaction, hot and impetuous when the fight was on, yet never reckless or careless of the lives of his men, ho had at once the coolness, the determined bravery, the unsel- fishness, and the t\tprit that make the true soldier, and his career must be regarded as one of the most distinguished and success- ful in the Army of the Union. Let his record speak. Eulogy is idle. 7G0 HENRr SMITH. ^CTpHE great mass of the American people are apt to look upon ^^^ a man wlio has acquired social or political distinction as a "chance child of fortune," whose success is rather attributa- ble to some lucky accident than to any merit of his own. But to those who have the patience and industry to go over the hard-fought fields, to follow the devious and rugged roads which lead our public men to eminence, there is nothing singular in the fact that so many grow weary of the fight, and retrace their steps, and nothing to be wondered that the few who possess the power of endurance to con- tinue the battle, should meet with the reward of a victor. Success is not an accident-never was. A triumph achieved in the latter way will be but brief in duration ; permanent and well- founded distinction can only be won by those who base their aspira- tions upon justice, fidelity to principle, adherence to law and re- ligion, and must be pursued with unflagging industry and persever- ance, and accomplished over stupendous and often appalling difficul- ties. There is not a spot upon the hill of fame upon which a man can set his eye, or aim to possess himself of, that a thoasand others do not simultaneously seek, and in order to win it, he must success- fully combat the opposition of them aU, ^^^ ^jj^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ who can do this, is not a hero by accident, but by merit and right. Single out any of our public, self-made men, and accompany them over the tortuous road that led them to success ; witness the strug- gles, the heart-aches, the ponderous obstacles that have been inter- posed ; the Herculean efi^orts that have been required to overcome 76-1 2 HF.NKY SMITH. thcni, and wo tliiiik tlio most skeptical will agree that some rest, some compcnsatiou is due to recompense for the labor expended. — Wo can imagine the state of mind in which people sometimes find themselves, often having toiled to the very door of anticipated suc- cess, by the remarlc made by Eilmund Kcan before leaving the house on the night when lie achieved that triumph which placed him first in the list of actors : " If I succeed now, I shall go mad !" There are thousands who have felt the same misgiving, that the ideal pursued might prove, after all, to be a bauble, a phantom which lured them on to madness. In this city, we have hundreds of self-made men, who are proud that they are the architects of their own fortiuics, and whom we honor, a hundred fold, for that very reason. The subject of this sketch, Hon. Henry Smith, was born in the year 1S18, at Caiiglmawaga, Montgomery county, N. Y., and con- sequently is now fifty-three years of age. The early part of his life was spent on the fiarm of his father, who was one of the early settlers of the county. The opportunities presented by these re- mote districts for the acquisition of knowledg3, or the advantages of education other than that derived from tilling the soil, were very limited, being removed from schools, and from the association of men whose contiguity might tend to improve the intellect, or en- large the information of those who surrounded them. Nevertheless, young Smith remained upon the farm until eighteen years of age, and it may be that the lessons of patience, industry and discipline to labor, which he here received, served to qualify him for his after career, in which these qualities have been so reipiisite, and in his case so characteristic and so potent. Feeling convinced that the farm was not his predestined place in life, and being inspired with higher ambitions — feeling that duty called him to other fields of labor, where he might eiliciently work for the interests of his country, and do justice to the attributes and executive faculties with which ho felt he was invested, he left his 762 IlKNllV .SMITH. 8 fatli(!r'H liouic, ami at tlie ago of eighteen caine to the city of New York. Without inotn,-}', without friends, witliout any auxiliary to liuecess other than a Ijrave heart and a stout, labor-horned arm, he entered this great city, unknown and unnoticed amid tbe hustling confusion, and avaricious interest seekers of this modern Balx;!, and located himsi.-lf in the Eighteenth Ward, where he has continued to reside for thirty-four years. Here he commenced his lile-work, lay ing the foundations of his future fortune and fame upon unshifting ground, based ujmn industry, continued in Iionor, and jjerjjctuated injustice and fidelity to i)riiici|jle and friendstiip. In 1841 he made his first appearance in politics, and was elected a delegate to the Whig Convention. In 18.53 he was elected to the council Board in this city, in which he served for four years. In 1838 he was elected Alderman, and served, to the satisfaction of his constituents, until 18fJ2, winning hosts of friends and admirers by his integrity, his firm adhenmce to the pnncijjles of iiis party, and the promptness and ability witii which he discharged every tiust confided to him. In 1864 he was elected Supervisor, which office he held until 1870. In 1869 he was elected by the State Legislature one of the commis- sioners of Metroitolitan Police, a position which he held up to the appointment of the present Board. He is now Treasurer of the Police Department of the city of New York, the duties of which office, added to those of commissioner, keep his time well occupied. In all the positions to which his fellow citizens have called him, lie has displayed an intelligence, zeal and fidelity which challenge the confidence and admiration of his friends, as well as of the com- munity. He has achieved a wondrous success, both in mercantile and political life, and if we search for the secret by which he has ac- complished so much, we are led to attribute it to his large hearted- ness, and the shrewd tact and strong common sense which leads him always in the right direction, and which, through his long and event- 7*J3 fill oanor hns iiovcr inailo it noivssiiry lor liiiii to rotiju'c a stoponco tiikiMi, nor to ill ti'inl liis I'liiuliu-t on any oii'asion. A man of wann, synipiithctio natnro, he nninluTs anmn'^ his pcr- souiil tVionils many of tlio most notwl men of our day, and no man will nmko givator sacrilii-os to friendship than Mr. JSmitii. In his politiealivlations he has no friends who are not such through lovo and admiration, and they are myriad in nuinher and belong to both parties. No man is mon« prodigal of his wealth where an iinwrtant political ndvantngo is at stake, and the Kepublicau party of this eity and State mx> more indebted to his liberality and elcar-htvuled foifsight than they ever have given him cix'dit lor. Whether as n Whig, while that parly was in existence, or as a Itepubliean, since the inception of the Republican party, he ever hiis been un- swerving and consistent in his adheivn e to party principles, party ties and claims, though never allowing a dilfeivnce of opinion to blind him to the personal worth of a political opponent, or to ivn- der him iudiQoivnt to the claims of humanity or the demands ot friendship. Though pn>ssed by business au-os which would bear down a man o( onlinary vitality, he alwaj"s presents a cheerful ap{)earancc, and greets all with defeivntial courtesy luid kindness. In his capacity of Tn>asuror of the New York Policv, he is compelled daily to see huudaxls ol applicants and jn^titioncrs for place and favor; he is in- teivstetl lai-gi>ly in the djiily lineof steamlx^ats iK^twetni this city and Allwny; an active particiimnt in the political discussions and tniu- sjvctions of the day; has interests in meivantilo and tinancial institu- tions of our city, and his social relations and acquaintances are ex- tensive ju\d never neglected. Yet, under all these anxieties, he kivps a light heart and buoyant spirits. Possesseil of a strong phy- sical institution, though tifty-thnv yearsold, he really looks much youuger. Bismark lias stud '* there are young men of fifty and old men of twenty-five." Mr. Smith seems to In? a living evidence of this truth, for his step is as firm, his mind as subservient, his braiu T(i4 IlKNUV SMITH. 5 aK cl(;ar and niioloiulid, and hiH oyiiH as Iccoi: and (iiiick, aH that of iiirmt men at twoiity-fivc, and hiH a|>|)(!araric'.» scr- vicoH have been appreciated, and that h'; is beloved by his fVieiidH, hiis often been made manifest, bnt nevi.-r, perhaps more strikingly than on January IGlh, 1871, at the Bt. Nicholas Hotel, when he was presented with a beaiitiiiil set of silver by his friends. The presentation was also made the occasion of a banquet, which was jiarticipated in by the most ijrominent persons of both jiolitical par- ties. The presentation was made by Hon. Cluiuncey M. Depcw, in an eloquent and fitting speech, in which he recalled many of the early struggles and triumphs of Mr. Smith, who, in responding, said: Okntlemk.s :— 1 am tliankfiil tt> you, my fiieri(i)», for tho (?reat honor you do rue thin evening. I winh it wim in my [ijwcr t(j exprotw to you how grateful I feel for it. The comiilirnent wliich tbi» hetiitiful leHtimonial earriex with it umi the hearty reception I have received here ttj-ni'^ht, excite in me emotions which I cannot find wordM to ex- prewK. I must content myHclf l>y Himply aMHUring you tliat I Kincercly appreciate thiv cxprewiion of your etiteem and fiicndHhip, and I will alwayH look upon it with pride and gratitude. I am a««ure the toitimonial arc many gentlemen who are not identified with either of the politicil partle;4 of the State, while there are otherii who are of the party to which I am oppow^d. It is pleasant for me to know that amid the competition which ix natural U> huKiuew in thix city, and the hittcrncsK which Kometimcij charactcri»!ti our political camjialgnH, our iientonal friendiihipt) iiavc remained the «amc. 'I°hi8 fact givcH a candi- d!iti.-s, party organizations and the best means to amplish the eml we all hiid at hi^rt ; but u|ion tlie simple que-tion of party a.sc«n liis own efforts, and toliisuMr.il ni.ln~.ii\. Ill- uhliiiiiL; tliought, and his itiiiniinlil'- inl. -rity. 'Jhisisaf- fordiiii: I I i ' >'" n. n'V instances of tile spiiii iiiii i iini 'il' our institutions, thatni'ii: I I I' f I 1' Ml. r.'.-w to a man honisl. j.' i i i m. iiid persevering.^ Mr. Siniili 1 , 1, i:i.. . I M lie. lie limi few of Ihr :lll^ nit.. ;. I., which m:iny of his a.S, ill lit'' I'll '111 I'lniv l.i.vlnin'l lir li.i III ' II .'..nil. I'll. 'il t'. U'.lk his own n.i.\ . II.' w.i . ^I:il I'll ill lili' .'Mlili h ..n III- own imill , nil. I lliil ,-'l.'.' -s whicli III- II. IS .'I. I, nil. 'I il. 111.', I.i.lli ill |.ii\..l.' .'.n.l III |iiil.li.'. i- .111.' .'iilii.'l\ 1.. Iii- ..'M, individniil I il..iis II.' I..- m. lii.' in :in linniM.' c i|..i.in ..n I lir I'ji.' t 'ninl, unii.iii;,' forniiiin m' n^ i..i ,. -mill mii. j. ll.'^ In Ls II h,' 1. Il lli.' |.I:i.'.' . Mil- l.n In an.lcuine tothisi'iu «li.i. u. iiii'MiiMi ,ii'. i--i T ..I 111.' M.'h.. ,...1.1,111 r..li.'.', ulicre he now is. l..inn..l 1' II' I illii II. Ill 111.' .'..nil. I. 11.'. in uhi. li lir i- li |.| l.> his fellow- citizens, th.iu I.) .sl.Uinji Uic wui.ms i.nsili.n- In' III.- I II .i.ll..l.m,laslu-.l I., occupy. Among others he ii a. hirgc owner aud prin.i|. 1 1 in i!. 'i.ii\ Hue of steamers between this port and Albany ; he is a director in I In m n m i.e in two savings bsinks, and director in several insurance institution-, ,1 il n ..iIht business enterprises. Now, gentlemen, his political frienils of 111. inii .| ..nili 1 am. and to which I belong, have prosented him witli a lnsliiii..iil.il ..| Ih.ir iv m.l nitnetlon and esteem. And lara hereasa i;n|iuhlin-ui>toii siMios of iiitoriuiiniuijoa hotwccii the LHwroncos niul tho Briitckorliotfs, and othors, whoso iiimics indicato tlioir Dutch origin, oovoriiig tho wholo period whicli iiitorvonod hotwoon tho oiuiijration and tho hirth of tl\o suhjcot of this sketch. His nintornal jjrand father, tho Rovorond Doctor Iu>aoli,* for many yours minister of Trinity Oimroii, New York, was descended from tho tii-st white ehiki horn in Conneotiout, and l\e intonnarried with a Dutch heiress, Ann Van Winkle, who hohh under a patent to her ancestoi-s froni the government of tho Kew Nethorhmds, an estate near New l?rnnswick, now possessed by some of her di>soendant*. Mr. Lawrence, liaving already passed two years at Queen's (now Rnts;ei-s) Oellege, New Brunswick, entered Columbia College in his native eity, at tlio ago of fourteen, and wi\s graduated with distin- guislied honors, in ISIS. On leaving college, ho became a student in tlie ortice of William Slosson, then the most eminent com- mercial lawyer of New York. After some time spent there and at Litchtiold, where, undei- Judges Eeeves and Gould, was then tho groat law school of the country, ho in 1S21 visited Europe. He pjvssed two years in England, France, and Italy, availing himself of a winter in Paris, as well to attend the course of lectures on Political Economy, by Say, as to frequent tho school of law. He was thus enabled to combine, with his knowledge of the English oonimon law, an acquaintance with tho Roman civil law, as modi- tied in Continental Eun^pe, — knowledge essential to a commentator on international law, especially in that branch of it which involves the comparative legislation of states, and which forms the subject of his latest writings. In going abroad Mr. Lawrence enjoyed every advantage which an American could well possess, to t'acilitate his objects of intel- lectual and social improveuient. When the Bank of the Uuiteil States was incorporatcil at the close of the war of ISl:}, so far iV^m • A bic^raphioal notice of l\>ctor Ixvioh fmm the [>ou of liis gnuidsoa will bo foiuiif iu Spraguo"* " Anuals of the .\morioau Pwlpit," vol. V., page 335. 770 W;i,f,f AM JiKAOH f,A Wlil'.SCK there being, m in tl.e time of fieneral JaekHon an all our diplr^atic representatives. Their opportunities for Lur.>. pean interc^.ur^ were further increase.] by the ry.urtr-sy of M 771 4 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE Hyde de Neuville, then French minister at Washington, to whom they had been well known during his exile. They also had intro- ductions from King Joseph to the Bonaparte family at Rome, including the Princess Borghese, whose salons were frequented by the most eminent society of Europe. On Mr. Lawrence's return from abroad, in 1823, he was admitted a counselor of the Supreme Court of New York; but, though always an industrious student, his attention was especially given to public and international law, to which he was particularly prompted by his intercourse with Mr. Wheaton, with whom he then formed an intimate acquaintance, which resulted in a life-lung friendship. That his attention in Europe was not confined to his special pursuit will appear from the address delivered in 1825 before the New York Academy of Fine Arts, and which was commended in the North American Review and other periodicals of the day. In it will be found an appreciative notice of the ancient and modem schools of Art. Mr. Gallatin, who when minister in Paris had known the atten- tion which Mr. Lawrence gave to subjects fitting him for diplomatic employment, asked, on his own appointment, in 1826, to London, that he should be named secretary of the legation. The duties confided to that minister besides those of ordinary diplomatic repre- sentation, were of the most important character. The commercial intercourse between the United States and the British American provinces, including the West India trade, was then suspended, owing to what appeared to be irreconcilable conflicting pretensions. The general commercial treaty was to be revised and the bound- aries between the United States and the British possessions were to be settled. Insti'uctions were also given, though without effect- ing any result, for adjusting those disputed points of international law, including the right of impressment, which had been preter- mitted in the Treaty of Ghent. How far the secretary was able to render efficient aid in the course of the negotiations may be inferred from the assurance, given by Mr. Gallatin, in his final 772 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. 5 dispatch to the Secretary of State, of the entire competency of Mr. Lawrence to conduct alone the affau's of the mission. Mr. Gallatin having returned home in 1827, the ratification of the several treaties concluded by him were exchanged by Mr. Lawrence, who had been appointed charge d'affaires by the Presi- dent, and to whom, as the plenipotentiary of the United States, was confided the selection of the arbiter to determine the boundary line on our northern and northeastern frontier. While that mat- ter was still undisposed of, difficulties arose as to conflicting juris- diction in the disputed territory menacing hostilities between the two countries, which led to an extended correspondence between the representative of the United States and Lords Dudley and Aberdeen. The nature of the title of the United States to all the territory embraced in the treaty of 1783, was discussed on our side with an ability which the journals of the day declared would, in any country where diplomacy was recognized as a regular avoca- tion, have secured for the writer of the notes a permanent career. The character of Mr. Lawrence's dispatches, which are to be found inserted at length in the state papers of the United States and Great Britain (Cong. Doc, H. K., 20 Cong., 2 Ses., No 90, p. 76 ; Am. Ann. Eeg., 1827-8-9, pp. 2, 86. British Foreign State Papers, 1827-8, p. 584), may be inferred from the fact that, more than thirty years afterward, portions of them were transferred without altera- tion to Lawrence's Wheaton, (2d Annotated Ed. 1863, p. 37) and to his French Commentaire, (vol. I., p. 170). He has, in those works, besides other matters, drawn largely from his dispatches in regard to the relations of the Western powers and of Eussia to the aflairs of Turkey, and the establishment of the kingdom of Greece, which took place during his time. {Commentaire, vol. I., p. 412). So sat- isfactorily were the duties of the English mission discliarged by Mr. Lawrence, that he not only received from the President, Mr. Adams, and the Secretary of State, Mr. Clay, the highest commendations, but assurances were given to him, which the change of administra- tion defeated, of an appointment to Berlin, where there had been 773 Q WILLIAM BEACH LAWKENCB. no minister since Mr. Adams himself, who was recalled in ISul. This mission was not tilled till Mr. Wheatou's transfer to it from Copenhagen, in 1S35. The works of Jeremy Bentliani, whom ^[r. Wheaton termed "the greatest legal reformer of modern times," show his appreciation of Mr. Lawrence (Ed. of Sir John Bowring, vol. XL, p. 36), who, more- over, besides his association with the diplomatic corps and the pnblic men of England, was, during his residence in London, a member of the Political Economy Club to which McCuUoch, Sir John Bowring, the historian Grote, and others of like repute be- longed. He was also at that period a contributor to the West^nin- sttr Review, and the notice of one of Fennimore Cooper's works, written in England, is from his pen. On leaving London, at the close of 1828, Mr. Lawrence passed several months in Paris. He occupied his leisure, while tliere, in translating into English the history of the treaty of Louisiana by Marbois, who had been minister of France to the United States during our Revolution, and was the French plenipotentiary for con- cluding that negotiation. The translation was published in 1830. Mr. Lawrence's acquaintance with this veteran diplomatist, who, notwithstanding his advanced age, continued not only to occupy his seat in the Chamber of Peers, but to perform other important official duties, brought him into contact with many eminent men of the day. Among those who frequented the salons of the Marquis de Marbois, were Guizot, so well-known as the minister of Louis Philippe, Villemain, and Cousin. These three hommes de lettres are specially mentioned ; inasmuch as their lectures at the Sor- bonne, which were attended by thousands, and of which Mr. Lawrence profited, aftorded in the reign of Charles X. the only opportunities of giving utterance to patriotic aspirations. On bis return home, the American Annual Register, to which President Adams was also a contributor, was availed of, by the subject of tliis sketch, to embody in the articles on dilFerent countries of Europe, wliich he furnished for the volumes from 1829 774 WILLIAM BEACH LAWIllONGE. 7 to 1834, the fruits of his foreign observation. But a subject es- pecially cognate to his diplomatic studies was the prosecution of claims in which his family were largely interested, under the treaty of indemnity made with France by Mr. Eives in 1831. These claims for spoliations, principally under the Imperial Decrees of Napoleon, in violation of the law of nations, led to minute investi gations of the rights of belligerents and neutrals. His arguments, printed for the Commission, supplied valuable materials for his annotations on the " Elements of International Law." The argu- ment showing the exceptional character of the " Antwerp cases" was specially commended in those presented on the same subject by Mr. Sargeant and Mr. Webster. Shortly after Mr. Lawrence's return to New York, he delivered a course of lectures on Political Economy to the Senior Class of Columbia College, which, after having been repeated before the Mercantile Library Association, were published in 1832. These lec- tures were intended to demonstrate the Ricardian theory, and to sus- tain those doctrines of free trade of which he has ever been a con- sistent advocate. He also pronounced an anniversary discourse be- fore the New York Historical Society .in 1832, which was published under the expressive title of "The Origin and Nature of the Repre- sentative and Federative Institutions of the United States." Other papers of Mr. Lawrence's, who was vice-president of the society from 1836 to 1845, will be found in the printed proceedings of that respectable body. Several articles from his pen ajjpeared at different times in various periodicals. Among those specially no- ticed in contemporaneous works, and reprinted separately, was one in 1831, entitled "Bank of the United States," which was originally published in the North American Review. Another, "An Inquiry into the Causes of the Public Distress," was re- printed in 1834, from the American Quarterly Review , and the "History of the Negotiations in Reference to the Eastern and North-eastern Boundaries of the United States," published in 1841, was prepared for the New York Review. g WILLIAM BEAOH LAWRENOB. Mr, Lawrence rosumed the practice of the hiw, on his return from the Englisli mission, in connection with Mr, llauiilton Fish, the present Secretary of State of tlie United States, ilis argument be- fore the Court of Errors, in 1845, is an exliaustive examination of the law of " Ciiaritable Uses" in its relation to religious societies. He was successful in reversing, by a vote of fourteen to three, the decision of the Chancellor, which had given to a small minority of a congregation the church property, on the ground of a deviation of the majority from the doctrines of the founders. (Miller vs. Gable, i Denio, 570,) Mr. Lawrence removed, in 1850, to his estate, known as Ochre Point, on the shore of the Atlantic, near Newport, Rhode Island, where he already had had his summer residence for several years. Without any intimation to him he was, on the earliest occasion, nominated as lieutenaut-governor on the Democratic ticket, which then, for the first time in a long period, was successful. Soon after his entrance into office, he became, under the provision of the constitution, governor of the State. While in the performance of the duties of chief magistrate, he visited the ditferent jails, and in a report, subsequently made to the Senate, he pointed out the abuses to which imprisonment for debt, which Rhode Island was the last State of the Union to retain, had given rise. Through his instrumentality, an act for its abolition passed one house, but it was not till 1870 that the barbarous feature was removed from the statute book. During the period for which Mr. Lawrence was elected, great political principles were made subservient to the temporary excite- ment which pervaded New England for the passage of what was called the "Maine Liquor Law," which prohibited the sale of all exhilirating drinks. He was instrumental in defeating the passage of the bill by the Legislature, opposing to it the same constitutional objections for which the law subsequently passed was repudiated by Judge Curtis, in the Circuit Court of the United States. Ad- vantage was taken of the popular feeling on this subject to defeat 776 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. g by an act of gross political treachery, ],is re-election on the State ticket. It was feared tliat the distinction which Mr. Lawj'cnco had already acc|nired during his brief public career in the State might give him too much prominence and influence and thus interfere with the ambitious aspirations of otliers, especially in relation to the United States Senate, for which an election was then about to take ]jlace. Anotlier cause for hostility to Mr. Lawrence, f.'om those who wished to continue the State as a rotten borough, was his opposi- tion to the exceptional provision in the constitution of Ehode Island, which discriminates between native and naturalized citizens, making a distinction which he ever contended was in violation of tlie pro- vision of the Constitution of the United States, conferring on Con- gress the power of naturalization. Mr. Wheaton having died in 1848, leaving his family in great destitution, Mr. Lawrence undertook for their benefit a publication of the " Elements of International Law." The first edition, anno- tated by him and preceded by a notice of the author, was published in 1855. This work, of which more than two thirds consisted of matter furnished by Mr. Lawrence, was at once adopted as a text- book by the English universities as well as by the government and the courts of that country. Of the first edition, five hundred copies were taken, under an act of Congress, for our ministers and consuls abroad. This edition was followed by another in 1863, many of the annotations in which were rewritten, bringing down the state of the law to the latest period. To aid in the preparation of this work, every facility was afforded by Mr. Marcy, General Cass, and Judge Black, successively Secretaries of State, who placed at Mr. Lawrence's disposition the archives of their department. It was on the appearance of the second edition that, at the request of Brockhaus, of Leipsic, who had published the " History of the Law of Nations" of Wheaton, as well as his "Elements of International Law," in French, that Mr. Lawrence un.jertook the preparation of a commentary in that language. The order of 777 id 10 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. Wlieiiton's "EleniGiits" is followed, but the work, of •which two volumes have been published and which will extend to six or eight, is entirely original. The publication of a portion of the third volume, relating to private international law, has been anticipated by two successive articles in the Revue de Droit International, of Ghent, edited by M. Eolin Jacquemyns. The decisions of the English courts, as well as our own, are re- plete with references to Lawrence's Wheaton, particularly in the C£ises to which our civil war gave rise. It is also the authority for questions of international law in the British Parliament and American Congress, as well as in diplomatic correspond- ence. Indeed, it may with truth be said that no book on kindred subjects has appeared in Europe, since the publication of Mr. Lawrence's treatises, which does not contain citations either from the American work or from the French Commenfaire. Edward Everett reviewing, in the North American, the first edition, declares that " Mr. Lawrence has discharged the office of editor and com- mentator with signal fidelity, intelligence, and success. He not only shows himself familiar M'ith the subject as treated in the pages of his anthor, but also well acquainted with the entire litera- ture of the law of nations. Whatever is furnished by the English and Continental writers who have succeeded Mr. Wheaton — by Pliillimore, Wildman, Manning, Reddie, and Poison ; by Ortolan, Hautefeuille, and Fcelix — is judiciously drawn upon by Mr. Law- rence. The diplomacy and legislation of our own and foreign countries are carefully examined and, in short, the work is made in his hands — we think it not too much to say — what its lamented author would have made it, had he lived to the present time." {North American Review, January, 1856, p. 32.) As in the case of the editions in English, the entire money re- ceived from Brockhauswas paid to the family of Mr. Wheaton, while the expenses of preparing the work, amounting to many thousands of dollars, were incurred exclusively ])y Mr. Lawrence. It must, therefore, have been with no little surprise that, while his wlwle 778 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. H time was absorbed in the Commeniaire, he learned of the publi- cation of an edition of the "Elements," by a person who, having acquired some little reputation in early life as the author of a sea romance, then filled the office of United States District Attor- ney for Massachusetts. Though Mr. Dana declared in his prefiice, that " the notes of Mr. Lawrence do not form any part of this [his] edition," a judicial investigation has established that, with few ex- ceptions, the work is made up exclusively from Mr. Lawrence's. No better vindication of the high character of Mr. Lawrence's an- notations could be afforded than is given in the opinion of the Cir- cuit Court of the United States for Massachusetts, in the case of Lawrence vs. Dana, which is a leading case in the law of copy- right : " Such a comprehensive collection of authorities, explanations, and well-considered suggestions, is nowhere," said the presiding judge (Clifford), " in the judgment of the court, to be found in our " Allibone's Dictionary of British and American Authors" con- tains a list of Mr. Lawrence's writings anterior to 1856, but several important publications from his pen have since appeared. Among them was a work, under the title of "Visitation and Search in Time of Peace," induced by the revival in 1858, in the Gulf of Mexico, of the British pretensions to visit the merchant vessels of other nations, under pretext of suppressing the African slave trade. A pamphlet published in Paris in French, in 1860, under the title of " L'industrie frangaise et Vesclavage des negres aux Etats Unis" explained the connection which existed between the manufactures of Europe and the system of labor then prevalent in the United States. The volumes of the transactions of the British Social Science Association, beginning with 1861, — as also the London Law Magazine, — contain numerous papers from Mr. Lawrence's pen on questions of international law, several of which, including the affair of the Trent, grew out of our civil war. In the latter periodical, as well as in the Revue de Droit Lnter- national, are elaborate studies by him, on the comparative legis- 779 12 WILLIAM BKACn LAWRENCE. lation of different countries, respecting tlie law of marriapie and the riglits of property of married women, which are particiilarly commended in the Revve hlhliogrnj^hiqMe of the great work of Dalloz {^^ Jurisprwh'HCc (jejierale") In the interval between the two editions of '' Lawrence's Whea- ton," Mr. Lawrence visited Europe making the pei"sonal acquain- tance of the great masters of the science of international law, several of whom had recognized the valne of his annotations. The present judge of the High Court of Admiralty, Sir Robert Phillimore, makes copious citations in his " Commentaries upon International Law," from the first edition, as does Mr. "Westlake in his "Private International Law." The Queen's Advocate, Sir Travers Twiss, in the preface to his second volume of " The Law of Ifations," says: ""Wliile the present volume has been passing through the press, the second annotated edition of '"Wlieaton's Elements of International Law' has appeared from the pen of Mr. William Beach Lawrence, enriched with copious notes by its learned editor, bearing upon topics growing out of the pending hos- tilities on the American continent. Mr, Lawrence has discussed several of the leading questions which have arisen between the United States and Great Britain, with the moderation and impar- tiality which was to be expected from a publicist who unites the practical experience of a diplomatist with an enlarged theoretical knowledge of his subject.'' Ortolan, in his " Diplomatic de la m^y," bears testimony equally strong to the value of Mr. Lawrence's annotations; while they are referred to in almost every page of the edition of " Kent's Commentary," annotated by Dr. Abdy, of the University of Cambridge, England. Professor Bai-nard, of the University of Oxford, in his latest book, "Neutrality of Great Britain during the American Civil War," recognizes as the high- est authorities on international law, the "Elements" and the " Commeniaire." In a subsequent residence abroad, Mr. Lawrence not only re- vived old literary associations, but at the Social Science Congress, 780 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRP^NCE. 13 held at Bristol, England, in October, 1869, he was received as an honored member, whose contributions had been long appreciated. At Berlin his recognition by Hefter and von Holtzendorf and their eminent confreres was equally satisfactory, while he was also fa- vored by a personal interview with Count Bismarck, when that eminent statesman, after expressing his apprecintion of Mr. Law- rence's annotations, with which he declared himself well acquainted, said that he had made frequent use of them in the preparation of his diplomatic notes. Mr. Lawrence's Cummentaire was not only commended by the •' Institute," but it introduced him to the notice of several of its most eminent members, among whom, besides Guizot, whom he had known from an early day, were Drouyn de Lhuj's, so long Min- ister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister President of the Council of State, M. de Parieu, Michel Chevalier, Charles Giraud, Franck, Cauchy, and Laboulaye. An article in the Memorial Diplomatique, from which we ex- tract the following passages, has the well-known signature of Pradier Fodere, the translator and commentator of Grotius and the commentator of Vattel. " To follow the chain of events and to bring down the work of Wheaton, it was necessary that a man should be found intelligent and laborious, alike versed in the practice and theory of the law of nations. By the high political positions which he had occupied, and by his personal aptitude for treating questions of internation?! law, Mr. Wm. Beach Lawrence seemed suited for the accomplishment of this saiontific mission. To a similarity of social position and purs\iits, were moreover added the bonds of a strict friendship. The friend of Wheaton, Mr. Lawrence has continued the scientific enterprise of his competitor in the law of nations, and his colleague in diplomacy. " Mr. Lawrence has thoroughly studiel contemporaneous history. Initiated by his political relations in all the public affairs of iiis time, an indefatigable reader, and an attentive observer, be has put in requisition all these resources, in order to omit no historical detail that can throw any light upon the events of the last twenty years. He has consulted and examined tlie memoirs of all the statesmen of our epoch — he has read all the monographs, he has perused all the reviews, ho has annotated all the dip- lomatic papers attentively, studied all the historical works, amassed treasures of erudi- tion, and contributed all this scientific booty to the completion of the less elaborated treatises of Wheaton. "Mr. Lawrence is not only an enlightened commentator, but he is most worthy to continue the work of his illu.^trious friend, whoso example he has followed in publish- 781 14 WIM. lAM UKACH I.AWHKNCE. ing his book in tlic diplomatic luMgiiage of Eiiropo — that is to say, in the French language. " The first vohimo contains what the author calls the historical part, and includes a rapid view of the principal events which have occurred in Kurope since the Peace of Westphalia. Mr. Lawrence has traced in the second volume the diplomatic history of the cases of intervention since the Congress of Vienna in 1815. He has studied most of the historical tacts in the official documents, whicli gives to this volume the character and merit of an actual course of contemporary history. The following vol- luues will treat of the subjects connected with private international law, questions relating to tlie equality of states, the rights of property, rights of legation, negotiations and treaties, and the respective rights and obligations of states in their hostile rela- tions. The whole will form a complete treatise of diplomacy of the utmost value to statesmen, and to all who take any interest in international affairs." — Memorial Diplo. matique, 1869, p. 110. While in Europe Mr. Lawrence received from the uuiversitj of his own State (Brown University) a diploma of the degree of Doctor of Laws, and in 1S69 was chosen, in addition to many simi- lar recognitions of his literary standing, an honorary vice-president of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society of Philadelphia. It is in this last connection that a notice of his life may not inajipro- priafely fall within the functions of its historiographer. In the politics of his country, distinct from mere pereonal or partisan contests, Mr. Lawrence ever took a deep interest, and there are few important points of constitutional law, which he has not discussed, as well in their appropriate places in his elaborate treatises, as in the daily journals and other periodicals. To the principles of the Democratic party, as he had learned them from Jefferson and Madison, he steadfastly adliered, and he was repeatedly a member of the national conventions of his party for the nomination of the President. In Bartlett's " Literature of the Rebellion," p. 228, is a list of several papers from the pen of Mr. Lawrence, having for their object to avert the fratricidal contest, lie held tliat the Constitution could not be amended, much less abrogated, except in the form prescribed in the instrument itself, thereby excluding the right of secession as it also excludes the rev- olutionary reorganization of the States. He ever fondly cherished the hope that b}- confining the Federal government to its appro- priate functions as detined bv the Constitution, and leaving to the 782 WILLIAM BEACH LAWRENCE. 15 States the exclusive internal adiniuisti'ation, our Union might be indefinitely extended. "With many eminent European publicists, he looked upon the settlement of conflicting differences that might arise under the Constitution, between States as in the case of indi- viduals, by judicial process, as the solution of the greatest of political problems. Nor was it till President Lincoln, in his inaugural address, denied to the Supreme Court any other power than that of determining matters of ordinary litigation between indi- viduals, that he realized the fact that no written constitution could be of any avail to avert civil war, or to maintain in their appropriate sjilieres the conflicting powers of our complex system. A firm believer in the autonomy of the States as dating from the first settlement of the country, lie could not admit that a sys- tem which had survived our colonial dependence, and was wholly unaffected by the transition from the articles of confederation to the Constitution of 1789, could be jeoparded by the breaking oiit of insurrection or civil war in any portion of the States, or by any other circumstance concerning the general government. He regarded the proposed convention of the 18th of A])ril, 18C5, between General Sherman and General Johnston, the Confederate commander, which provided for the recognition of the status of the States as it existed before the war, as the only arrangement consistent with either con- stitutional or international law. The systems of reorganization subsequently attempted, whether that proposed by President Johnson, or those established by various acts of Congress, he con- sidered as alike unwarranted by the Federal Constitution, and revo- lutionary. Even if the State constitutions were abrogated by the war, it was not for the President or the Federal legislature, he con- tended, to provide for new organic laws. That right belonged ex- clusively to the whole people of the respective States, including as well the affranchised slaves, if they were to be deemed citizens, as those who had been engaged in the civil war, and who, on the principle of the law of nations, required no amnesty or pardon for 30 783 10 W 1 I. 1, 1 .\ M lU'AOll I.AWRENCK. obeying a rcgiihiv J<' fuciv govonunont. {Commentairi', etc., yo\. II.,'p. I(i2.) Mr. Linvroucc, at\or a recent absence of a couple of years in Europe, has returned to his library, wliich he has been accumu- lating for half a century, and which contains the best collections of works in his specialty, in German, Spanish, and Italian, as well OS in Knglisli and French, to be found in any library, public or private, in this country. No other place can atlbrd greater facili- ties for the completion of his great work. Mr. Lawrence W!\s married, early in life, to a daughter of Archi- bald Gracie, an eminent merchant of New York. !N[i-s. Lawrence accompanied her husband to Europe during his fti"st two visits there, and died in 1S58, leaving several children, one of whom General Albert Gallatin Lawrence, forms the subject of another notice Ju this work. 7S4 JOHN WELLS rc)si^!<:i{. BY F. HICNUY GUKKR. r^>*OHN WELLS FOS'J'KIl was born at PotcrBtroam, Wor- ^^F* '^^'^^^'' ^-''f^'"if.y> ManBachuKettK, Marcli 4, 1815. IIIh fatlier, ■^^»» Festus Foster, at tliat time was the Unitarian clergy- man of tlic village, — a man of strong and vigorous intellect, who had decided convictions upon every question of public policy, which he failed not to express on suitable occasions. His mother was a Wells, connected with one of the oldest and most respected families in the Connecticut Valley. When the child was but four years old, his parents moved t.o Brimfield, Tlainp- den County, Massachusetts, where his early youth was passed, and where his mind received its first impressions of external nature. Brimfield is one of those quiet villages, nestled among the hills of New England, which at once arrest the eye of the tourist, and with its neatly jjainted houses lends a peculiar charm to the land- scape. These villages have served as the nurseries of men who have gone out into the active world and impressed their ideas upon the age. The society is generally sober and sedate, and all stand upon a general equality. It is here we find democracy practically exemplified. In such a community, and amid such surroundings, he passed his early youth, attending the village school, and assist- ing in the cultivation of a small farm to which his father had retired. He early evinced an ardent love for external nature. With gun or rod, he explored every forest and stream in the vicinity, and extended his excursions to the neighboring towns. The beet- ling cliff; the leaping waterfall, or the somber wood had for him peculiar attractions, and anjid such scenes he would linger until the falling shadows of night would warn him fo depai-t. In this 2 JOHN WELLS FOSTER. free exercise in the open air he laid the foundation of a robust constitution which he has retained throughout life. At the age of twelve he was sent to an academy in a neighboring town where he was fitted for college. In the fall of 1831, he entered the Wesleyan University, at Middletown, Connecticut, at that time just inaugurated under the presidency of Dr. "Wilbur Fiske, — a man whose memoi'y is reverenced by every one who came within the sphere of his influence. Here he passed four years of collegiate life. In classical literature he was a proficient, and the training thus received has had an impress upon his whole subse- quent career. For the higher branches of mathematics he con- ceived so strong an aversion, that he consented to forego his degree rather than submit to the usual course of study in this department. Trofessor Pierce, the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey, -^ho was educated as a geometer, and believes that geom- etry is the key of the sciences, relates that more than once he tried to communicate to Agassiz some conception of algebraic analysis and its modes of research. " Whether," says he, " the fault was in the obscurity of the teacher, or the too great density of the pupil's brain, my excess of modesty dares not decide. Whatever was the cause, my attempt was a total failure : I could not bring my friend to comprehend the product of two by two, when both the twos were negative, and I am firmly convinced that he would have rather yielded his fine teeth to the dentist, than his radical and absurd repugnance to the extraction of an impossible root." This incident shows the absurdity of our American college edu- cation. Here is a man who has made his name illustrious through- out the world by reason of his scientific researches, who couhl not have passed a satisfactory examination in what so many regard as the " Key of the Sciences." Our system of college education is based on the supposition of the want of diversity in the human mind. The curriculum of studies through which the pupil is put is expected to operate with all the precision and certainty of machinery. So that a giveu number of minds thus manipulated 786 JOHN WELLS FOSTER. 3 would exhibit no greater diversities than a given munlier of horse- shoes turned out at the Burden works. Hence the intellectual culture received at the American colleges reminds one of the monotony of a Dutch garden, where every tree is precisely like another, and all are trimmed into symmetrical forms. Every branch whicli would start out with a robust growth, is lopped by the remorseless pruning-knife. When will educators become im- pressed with the fact of the almost infinite diversity of the human mind, and educate men in reference thereto? In the natural sciences, however, particularly geology and mineralogy, Mr. Foster evinced the deepest interest, and in Pro- fessor William W. Mather, then lately transferred from West Point, he found an instructor well fitted to direct his course. Be- tween the two there soon sprang up a warm personal friendship, which remained a lasting one and led to the most intimate business relations. The pupil, not content with studying mere cabinet specimens, sought them as they occur in nature, and with this view made excursions in every direction into the surrounding regions. In his zeal he digested the American localities of minerals described in the earlier volumes of Silliman's Journal, and appended the infor- mation in the form of notes to a copy of " Cleveland's Mineralogy," at that time regarded as the standard. "Bakewell's Geology" was similarly annotated. After leaving college, he read law for a year in Xew England, when he transferred his residence to Zanesville, Ohio, and resumed his law studies in the office of Goddard & Convers, and in due time was admitted to the bar. These gentlemen, who ranked de- servedly high in their profession, treated him with unvarying kind- ness throughout their subsequent lives, and he mourns them dead as the best of counselors and friends. Here he found himself in a new region. His early life had been passed in the midst of rocks which were metamorphosed and plicated, and in which all traces of organic forms were obliterated. 7S7 4 JOHN WKLLS POSTKR. Uere, however, be fouiul the roeks spread out in gently-undulating strata, and stored with organic remains as delicately preserved as though the forms had perished but yesterday. In the Putnam Ilill, overlooking the Muskingum Valley, he found a bed of strata of a light cream color, which was peculiarly rich in coal-plants. Upon this light-colored ground-work, in india-ink tints, nature bad delineated the most delicate and elaborate representations of the carboniferous foliage in a manner which detied the nicest touches, guided by a skillful hand, of a camel's-hair brush. He at once made large collections of these extinct plants, and made drawings of them all. Procuring from that veteran observer of Western geology — Dr. llildreth, of Miirietta, Oliio — the works of Brong- niiU-V and " Lindley and Ilutton on Fossil BotaTiy," he proceeded to arrange his collection into genera and species so far as determined ; but afterwiird, when his friend Dr. Newberry proposed to describe the coal-plaats of Ohio, he passed over his notes to that eminent botanist. In the Zanesville Athenieum he found the fragment of the lower jaw of an immense extinct rodent, which had been disinterred from a peat swamp near Nashport, in excavating the Ohio Canal. Com- paring its jaws with that of the modern beaver, he inferred that it must have exceeded the latter at least fourfold, and to this fossil he gave the name of Castoroide^ O/iioeiisJu. Since then several perfect specimens have been found, by which the analogies of this animixl have been clearly determined. In 1S37 the geological survey of the State of Ohio was insti- tuted, and Professor Mather was called to the directoi-ship. He was not unmindful of his former pupil, but assigned him to a position under Mr. Briggs, who was directed to explore the geology of the southern part of tiie State, particularly in reference to the economical vidue of the coal and iron ores. The next year he was assigned to an independent district embracing the central portion of the State, and his report embraces a detailed section, extending from the corniferous limestone near Columbus to the uppermost 7SS .TOHN wi;li,h KOSTKK. 5 Led of coal near Wlieelirif^. Tliis was the first section ever nna<]e Uiroiigl) the Ohio coal-field. At that day the vagiiect notions j)revailed in reference to geological equivalents. Miirchison's "Silurian System" had but lately been promulgated, and had not been studied. Rocks were classified under the vague divisions of primary, transition, secondary, and tertiary. The Grauwacke group figured prominently in all elementary treatises, and the term Mountain Limestone was applied almost indifferently to any mass of that material found beneath the coal-bearing rocks. While the detailed work of this report will probably stand the test of time, the author himself attaches little value to the scientific specu- lations. The Ohio Survey, a work which ought long ago to have been executed, but which is now resumed under favoral>le auspices, was unfortunately sacrificed by reason of political comjdications, and the subject of this memoir was compelled to resort to the prac- tice of a profiession for which he had no great love In 1839 he figured in Silliman's Jmrnal the first perfect skull of the MdHtodon giga/ntem ever discovered. In 184.5, on the breaking out of the Copper excitement on the southern shore of Lake Superior, he visited that region in the inter- est of several mining companies, and repeated the visit the year subsequently. In 1847 the government instituted a geological sur- vey of this public domain, and Dr. Jackson was appointed the director. Messrs. Foster and "Whitney became assistants, and two years subsequently the completion of the work was confided to them. In 1850 appeared the first volume of their report, which was con- fined to the Copper region. Appended thereto were two elaborate maps, on which the boundaries of the intercalated traps and con- glomerates were delineated ; and, when it is considered that at that time the region was almost an unbroken wilderness, and that the provisions and camp equipage of the parties had to be packed upon the backs of men, the general accuracy of this work is a matter of surprise. Subsequent explorations, with all the facilities of roads and innumerable shafts, have but slightly modified the boundaries 789 6 JOHN WK I.I,S FOSTKR. as orifjinally given. In tins work they were assisted liv Mr. S. W. Jlill, so well known throughout that region as a mining engineer, and Professor Edward Desor, of Neufehatel, Switzerland, who now ranks among the foreun»st of the anthrojxilogists of Europe. So great was the interest abroad in this mining region, that an abstract of this work was translated into German and French. In 1851 appeared the second volume of their report, relating to the Iron region and the general geology. In this work they had the co-operation of James Hall, LL. D., of New York, so far as re- lates to the palivozoic series ; and Colonel Whittlesey, of Ohio, con- tributed a chapter " On the Observed Fluctuations of the Surfaces of the Lakes." While the economic materials — the vast masses of specular and magnetic iron ores which are here so magnificently displayed, and whose development has since contributed so much to the national industry — are minutely described, the scientific results are of a high character. Perhaps the most important generalization, and which has since been univei-sally recognized, was the determi- nation of a class of rocks which formed the ancient crust of the earth beneath the oldest member of the Silurian system. This group has been so far transformed by direct or transmitted heat as to convert sandstone into massive quartz, limestone into saccha- roidal marble, and shale into crystalline schist. "Between the two systems," say they, " there is a clear and well-defined line of demar- kation. It forms one of those great epochs in the history of the earth, where the geologist can pause and satisfy himself of the correctness of his conclusions. On the one hand he sees evidence of intense and long-continued igneous action ; on the other of com- parative tranquillity and repose." This system, which is well developed in Canada, has been sub- divided by the Canadian geologists into the Lanrentian and Hnro- nian groups. The original investigators supposed the whole mass to be Azoic, but Dr. Dawson found, in the Lanrentian, traces of the humblest type of organic life, belonging to the family of RMsopods, which he named Eosoon Cutnuftn^'?. 790 JOHN WKLLS FOSTKE. /• Dr. Foster first called attention to this class of rock's as far back as September, 1848, in a communication published in the Report of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. In the joint commu- nication of Foster and Whitney to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Cincinnati meeting, 1851), they de- scribe these old series as constituting the primeval continent wl.icli rose not more than a thousand feet above the Silurian ocean, and stretched almost uninterruptedly from Labrador to the sources of the Mississippi, and even beyond. Agassiz, at the close of the com- mnnication, rose and declared that this was among the grandest generalizations that bad been made in American geology. In the final report on this region, the facts upon which this gener^i^ation is based are set forth more in detail. Dr. Foster, having passed the greater portion of his active life in the Mississippi Valley, and having been a witness of the gigantic strides which the region had made in wealth and population, ex- pressed a desire to embody his observations'in a permanent form. Messrs. Griggs & Co., of Chicago, at once stepped forward and ofiered him all the facilities for carrying out his wish, and, accord- ingly, in 1869, he brought out a work entitled " The Mississippi Valley : its Physical Geography, including Sketches of the To pography, Botan^', Geology, and Mineral Resources, and of the Progress of Development and Material Wealth." The title in- dicates the contents of the volume, and we may say that all the great questions relating to the physical geography of the region are thoroughly and philosophically discussed. The work was received with high commendation both at home and abroad.* * Out of the many notices of this book we seJect, at random, a few, as follows — "Tms work embodies a vast fund of information, and we believe is tbe best of the- kmd ever published. It is the result of profound study, and close observation of natural phenomena. The style is clear, terse, and often eloquent, and the graphic de- scnptions of natural scenery relieve the work of the tedium of mere scientific detail The gre.it features of this region are sketched with a bold hand. It is as if a panorama were unrolled before us. Such a book will prove invalu.-.ble, not simply to the student o( geography, but to every one who would acquire a just knowledge of the r.sourt-es of th.s region, which has already Ix-crjme f.e heart of the Kepubl.c.'-airy^^o f{>y,uUirM,L 791 8 JOHN WELLS FOSTER. After the coiiii>letiou of this work Dr. Foster made, leisurely, a tour through the Gulf States, preparatory to joining Senator Kusk, of Texas, to explore the sources of the Wishetaw, but the Ca- uianches had manifested so hostile a spirit that the expedition was abandoned. Between that time and the present he has acted as a mining engineer and geologist in developing the mineral resources of the country ; and in the prosecution of his profession he has been called upon to visit distant and widely-sepai-ated regions. In 1856 he reported iipon the coals tributary to the Illinois Central Rivil- road, and in tracing out their peculijirities, he has extended his ob- servations into the coal-fields of Ohio, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and Kansas ; and at this time he is engaged in a project to bring into intimate union the block coals of Indiana and the iron ores of Lake Superior. He is the author of several reports on the lead ores of "Wisconsin and Missouri, and was the tirst to discover the power- ful zinc veins of the Ozark Mountains. In 1865 lie published a somewhat elaborate report on the geology and metallurgy of the Lake Superior iron ores. He has investigated the great questions of internal communication, and is the author of the report " on the necessity of a ship canal between the East and the West," sub- nutted to the National Ship-Canal Convention which assembled at Chicago, June 2, 1S63. These various pamphlets, — all relating to the economic resources of the country, — if collected together, would form several volumes. Dr. Foster has devoted much study to ethnography, and in Part '■ Taken all iu all it is the most crediuible ViiUinie Chicago has ever proJuced. There is nothing ephemeral or local in its value. It is exhaustive in the treatment of a subject alike interesting to the student of abstract science, the statesman, and the business-man of enlarged views. ... It may be called the culmination or fruitage of the grand lifo-work of a man whose industry has only been surpassed by the peculiar adaptation of his genius to such a task." — Chicago Evming Journal. " In comprehensiveness, in clearness of argument, and in the power of making plain to the unlearned reader the truths of physical science, this work leaves little to bo desired. The author has gone no further beyond his subject than was required for tlic illustrations which were required by analogous facts in other parts of the world. . . . There is a positive need for such a work since the area of observation has been so suddenly and widely expanded." — Xew York Tribune. 792 JOHN WELLS FOSTKK. £ 11. Of Vol. I. of the "Transactions of the Chicago Academy of Science will be found an elaborate review of all the facts bearing, on the antiquity of man in North America. This memoir is illu^ trated by numerous plates. In "The Arts" he has given a series of papers on the « Crania of the Mound-Builders," illustrated by numerous outlines, which show that that race were low in the scale of intellectual development. He has been intimately con- nected with the American Association for the Advancement of Science since its origin, and in its proceedings are contained several ofh.B papers. He was elected President of the Eighteenth Meeting, held at Salem, August, ISm, and in his opening address he paid brief but feeling tribute to the memory of the deceased members of the Association of American Geologists which con- vened at Philadelphia in 1840, and out of which grew the Ameri- can Association for the Advancement of Science. In his address as the retiring President, delivered at Troy, August, 1870 he re^ viewed the facts bearing on the great cycles of heat and cold which have characterised the pa.st physical history of the globe, and traced their effects in modifying organic forms, both animal and vegetable and showed how far man himself had been the subject of these' changes. In seeking for a solution of these phenomena, he would not resort to a different distribution of land and water, and of oceanic currents, or to a variable intensity of heat transmitted from the interior of the earth ; but believed that it would be found in astronomical causes, in the operation of some great kw, rec.ular m Its irregularities, such as the precession of the equinoxes°com- bmed with the movement of the apsides. Dr. Foster is an active or corresponding member of many of the most prominent scientific societies of the country, and amon-. others, wa. elected as a member of the Geographical Society of France. In 1808 the University of Chicago, in recognition of his scientific attainments, conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws. At the centennial celebration of the anniversary of Hum- boldt's birth, the Dubuque Natural History Society selected him to 7'J3 10 JOHN WKI.I.S FOSTER. ileliver the eulogy, — a tlieiue wliieli was iu full accord with tlie orator's tastes aud pureuits. For the past twelve jeare he has heeu a resident of Chicago, and while an active laborer in building up the Chicago Academy of Science, he is ever ready to aid with his pen and voice those great projects which tend to the material prosperity of the Northwest. lie has thoroughly studied its re- sources, and takes a deep interest in their development. Perhaps there is not a member of the American Association who, in rising to speak, commands to so great an extent the undivided attention of that body, the most critical that can be gathered in the United States, as Dr. Foster. Ilis deportment is grave, and at first his delivery is slow ; and yet there is no hesitancy as to the precise word to express bis meaning. As he proceeds he becomes animated, and by the force of his imagination he invests the driest subject with the charms of novelty. There is a freshness and anima- tion which characterize his descriptioTis of natural phenomena, which might well be practiced by scientists. He evidently has adopted the ideas of Humboldt, that " Xature is a free domain, and the profound conceptions and enjoyments she awakens within us can only be vividly delineated by thought clothed iu exalted forms of speech worthy of bearing witness to the majesty and great- ness of creation." In listening to a single speech one might infer that it was elaborately planned — that every sentence and even every word was deliberately weighed ; but when, as the presiding officer of the Salem meeting, we find him in the morning respond- ing to the welcoming address of the local authorities ; in the after- noon participating in the ceremonies of the dedication of the Pea- body Academy of Science ; in the evening replying to the Address of the President of the Board of Trade ; and the next day, perhajis, delivering a geological lecture at a field-meeting of the Essex Institute, — one must discard this idea, and accord to Dr. Foster great versatility of speech. 794 JOHN ELLIOT!^ WARD. 1^ ,||f HE suliject of tlie present sketcli was Tjorn October 2, 1814, ■=^"^1 ^" Sunbury, Liberty County, Georgia. His fatlier, Williara ^ ^ Ward, an entei-prising young man from North Carolina, was attracted to Georgia by the promise its fertile lands presented to the agriculturist, and retained there by the attachments of friend- ship and the endearments of home. His mother, Sara Anne Mcintosh, was grand-niece of General Lachlan Mcintosh, of Revolutionary memory. Her father. Major Lachlan Mcintosh, though already a practicing lawyer when the Eevolution opened, entered the army at the first summons of his native State, and, having passed as a soldier through all the trying scenes of our contest for liberty, returned to the practice of his y>rofession when peace was declared. He attained a high reputation as a lawyer, but was still more widely known and more highly esteemed for his conversational powers, which were so effectis'e that it became a current saying among his contemporaries, that should Major Mcintosh enter a company of strangers, dressed in "Osnaburg," — a coarse, hempen fabric used only by the poorest class of laboring men, — he would become the object of chief attention before an hour had passed. Those who know his distinguished grandson will admit that he has inherited no small portion of this enviable talent. Sunbnry is now scarcely more than a name ; but in Mr. "Ward's childhood, though it had even then lost the trade it had enjoyed in earlier days, and was consequently greatly diminished in popula- tion, it still boasted an academy so well conducted that it drew to it the youth from all parts of Georgia. Here Mr. Ward began his 70a 2 JOHN ELLIOTT WARD. career as a student. From the begiuniug lie gave indications of tlie talents and tiic activity of mind to which success seems to belong as a right. To these he added, in a remarkable degree, the endowments of voice and manner which make the orator. His tirst misfortune was the early death of his parents, which left him at sixteen to the guardianship of those who were too careless or too indulgent to check the eager boy in the rapid race to which he was incited by a spirit ambitious of the to(/(i virilis, witii its responsi- bilities, and what probably seemed to him its certain honors. Mr. Ward entered Amherst College in 1S31, and after only two years of study there, during wliich ho fully sustained his former character for scholarship, he left that college at his own desire, to enter on the study of the law. In January, 1833, he began his professional studies in the otiice of the lion. A[. ITall McAllister, afterwards Judge of the United States Circuit Court of California. Judge McAllister Wivs distinguished not only by high attainment in his profession, but also by such genial manners and such brilliant wit as gave him great social influence. With him, and with his lovely and accomplished wife, Mr. Ward maintained the most cor- dial and aftectionate relations to the end of their lives. Such was the assiduity with which Mr. Ward devoted himself to the study of his profession, that he was admitted to the bar in January, 1835, when little more than twenty, an act of the legis- lature authenticating his admission as a minor. Prompt to avail himself of every oj>portunity of improvement in his profession, he went to Cambridge in the May following, and attended for some months the lectures delivered at its law school by the erudite Judge Story. Returning to Savannah in the autumn, soon after he had attained his majorit}', he was almost immediately appointed by Governor Schley, Solicitor-General of the eastern district of the State of Georgia. Having held this office by the governor's appointment till the meeting of the Legislature in the autumn of 1830, that body elected him to the same otliee, and thus tcstitiod to his satisfactory perfornumce of its duties. It was resigned by him 7% JOHN ELLIOTT WARD. g in July, 1858, that he might enter into copartnersliip with the Hon.Eobert M. Charlton, who was judge of the highest court then established in Georgia. That Judge Charlton should resign so honorable a post for a partnership with the young solicitor, was the highest testimonial that could have been given to his ability and professional success. The connection so formed was cemented l>y the warmest personal friendship, and continued unbroken for six- teen years, or till 1854, when it was at last dissolved by the death of Judge Charlton. Soon after he had entered on this partnership, Mr. Ward became, by the appointment of Mr. Yan Buren, District Attorney of the United States, for Georgia. While life opened thus brightly upon the subject of our sketch, in the sphere of his i^rofessional labors, it wore no clouded aspect elsewhere. Society, which so often capriciously refuses her favors to men of the highest endowments, smiled graciously on him. During his attendance on the law school at Cambridge, Mr. Ward had been admitted to the pleasant intercourse of some of the most agreeable coteries of Boston. Among these there was none more valuable to him for its social prestige, and its intellectual and artistic culture, than that which he met in the house of the lion. William Sullivan. None who knew the charm of this circle will be sur- prised that it should have made more than a passing impression upon him, or that, when his position left him at liberty to follow the dictates of his heart, he should have sought and found a wife among the lovely daughters of this pleasant home. He was married August 15, 1839. Mr. Ward had hitherto resisted all the temj.tation to enter the arena of politics, which must, as he well knew, divert him, at least temporarily, from his professional career. His increasing popular- ity, however, made it more and more difficult for him to continue steadfast in this course, and in the autumn of 1839 he was per- suaded to accept a nomination as representative in the State Legis- lature, of that Union Democratic party which was beginning to feel the importance of its roU as equally the defender of the ri-hts of 797 4 JOHN KLLIOTT WARD. the States against the ceutralizing teudeucies of certain political leadei-s, and of the constitutional rights of the Federal government against the unreasoning assaults of others. That he discharged with fidelity the trust thus committed to him may be inferred from the fact that whenever, in the stirring times that followed, a clear mind and strong heart were peculiarly needed in the conflict of par- ties in the State, Mr. "Ward was sent to the Legislature. This occurred in 1815, and again in 1854. This last period was one when parties were bitterly opposed, and the influence of a calm temper and sound judgment were more than ever requisite in our national councils. That Mr. Ward was chosen, under such circum- stances, Speaker of the House of Representatives, seems to indicate that he had already acquired, in his native State, a respect and confidence not often bestowed on so young a man. That, in the acceptance of these appointments, Mr. Ward was actuated chiefly, if not solely, by a conscientious recognition of his duty to his country, seems manifest from an incident that occurred in 1852. Judge Berrien had been elected in 1847 senator from Georgia to the Congress of the United States. His term of service did not expire till the 4th of March, 1853 ; but, urged by domestic reasons, he resigned his seat in May, 1852. As the Legislature was not then in session, the duty of appointing Judge Berrien's suc- cessor devolved on the Hon. Howell Oobb, then Governor of Georgia. He lost no time in tendering the appointment to Mr. Ward, who, with a modesty too rare in the history of our public men, declined it, suggesting his senior partner, Judge Charlton, as the man in all the State best fitted for the post. Governor Cobb paid the compliment to Mr. Ward's judgment of immediately offer- ing the place to Judge Charlton, by whom it was accepted. In 1856 Mr. Ward presided over the convention that met at Cincinnati to appoint the Democratic candidate for President of the United States, and presided, we are told by some who were present, with a grave dignity that commanded univei-sal respect and admiration. In the autumn of the next year he was again 798 JOHN KLLIOTT WARD 5 sent to the State Legislature ; it was not now to the House of Ro,,- resentatives, but to the Senate, that he was elected, and that budy immediately voted hi.n into its presidential chair. A senator's term of service in Georgia is for two years, but Mr. Ward resigned his place as president of the Senate in November, 18.58, that ho might accept the mission to China, which had been pi-.^ffcrcd to him by President Buchanan. In accepting this mission Mr War.) could scarcely have failed to foresee the increasing value of Chin-i to the civilized world, and the consequent importance of establish" ing such relations with Pekin as would give to the United States her due mfluence, and to her citizens engaged in the Chinese trad- all the advantages enjoye ^^I'n the more heartmess congratulate you on the successful termination of this portion of your labors And further, as we review the few mouths which have cbpsed since your Excel- lency s first arnval, and the momentous events which have transpired, the dimcult and CO n rv 'nd h" "p" "t 'T """ "^^^ '''"''' """^ '"^ ^<'"""- »° "^ P"-- '^^ "'!« vou o on "'f '" '"'"°'''' "' '"'' «"^' P'^^«"" '" respectfully assurmg you of our unanimous and cordial support and approval f / uig 799 JOHN ELLIOTT WARD. Bepinnins witli yonr first conference with the Imperial Commissioners at S1iangh;ii down to tlie present moment, when our treaty is about to enter into actnal oporatioii, tliero is no act, no opinion, ol' your Excellency wliich does not command the assent of your countrymen. More partienlarly are we glad to express our profound appreciation of the course your Excellency pursued at the North; and while we do justice to llie moderation which ruled your counsels, we bear willing witness to the energy and ability which guided them to a successful issue. Your desire to co-opeiate with your colleagues of England and France in Iho common interests of all indicates the justice and soundness of your policy; while the inde- pendent course pursued by you under the pressure of subsequent events, we feel, was the only one consistent with the dignity of our government. Wo fully appreciate the motives which induced your Excellency to give your support to the generous assistance afforded by Commodore Tatnall to the English and Frencli forces after the disastrous action of Takee, and can not refrain from here expressing our admiration of that oflficer's gallantry. Your Excellency's visit to Pekin and the able and energetic manner in which you there supported the dignity of our country, the successful ratification of the treaty and its speedy promulgation, are events honorable alike to yourself and to us as your countrymen. We are pleased to understand that the present anomalous and unsatisfactory state of the Imperial customs has attracted your Excellency's attention, and that it is your intention to insist upon such alteration in their constitution as shall prevent any in- fringement of our treaty rights by their regulations. We deem this a matter of signal importance, but feel confident thai this and other complicated negotiations which remain for you to conduct will receive at your hands most able and judicious management. With our best wishes, we have the honor to be Your Excellency's most obedient servants, Augustine Heard & Co., W. Endicott, Henry Blodget, Wetmore, Williams & Co., P. W. Chenet, J. L. Holmes. Russell Sc Co., Abraham Honan, J. W. LAMUUTn, Isaac M. Bull & Co., E. C. Bridgman, W. G. E. Cunntngiiam, Oltphant & Co., . M. S. CULUERTSON, B. Jenkins, H. Fogg & Co., Cleveland Keith, J. B. Hartwelt^ Frazar & Co., Charles R. Mills, George W. Fish. John H. Everett, In 1861, on the accession of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency, Mr. Ward resigned his mission, and, retnrning to Savannah, resnined liis practice. Believing, from his previous career, that his influence would have been exerted to preserve his native State from the war into which she had been plunged, we regret that he had not returned sooner. During the war, Mr. "Ward remained in Savan- nah, except when painful anxiety respecting his absent family 800 JOHN ELLIOTT WARD. * drove him to Europe. He would not divide liis interests from those of Georgia while she was in peril, but, at the end of the war, he withdrew from Savannah and made his homo in New York, where he has been warmly welcomed by many friends, and wliere he is now engaged in the successful and lucrative practit'C of the law. SOI ^>-nMfi. GEI^ERAL OLIVER H. PALMER. BY J. ALEXANDER PATTEN. ■N earnest activity, and success solely through personal effort, are the characteristics of the career of General Oliver H. Palmer, now treasurer of that great corporation, the Western Union Telegraph Company. His spheres of action have been widely different ; but in all of them he has shown mental and moral capabilities of the highest order. Self-reliant, con- scientious, energetic, and honorable, he has won his way to honors and emoluments, which aiford the best evidence of both his ability and character. He was born October 5, 1814, at "Walworth, Wayne County, Xew York, about twelve miles from the city of Eochester. His father, Nathan Palmer, was a native of Granville, Washington Coimty, New York ; and his mother, whose maiden name was Lamb, was a native of Welles, in the State of Yermont. In 1806 his parents emigrated to Wayne County, then a far western region, and a vast wilderness, where they ever after resided. The tract of land selected was an immense forest of six hundred acres. All the personal efiects of the settlers had to be transported on horseback four miles into the forest, for the nearest settlement and wagon-road was that distance from the point of location. The subject of our notice first saw the light in one of the primi- tive log-houses of the times, and was brought up, after the manner of frontier farmers' sons, to the hardest work. He had slight com- mon-school advantages until he was sixteen years of age. After that, and until he was twenty-one, he worked on the farm dui-ing the summer, and taught school during the winter. From an early age he evinced a great desire to acquire an education, and at his 2 OLIVKR H. TALMKR. lUiituritj luid fair attsiininents as an English scliolar. In tlae midst of this solitude of nature, and of the labor of the pioneer, he felt an earnest prompting to prepare himself for a wider scope of efforts in the future. In a statement referring to these early dajs, he says: '' After faithfully serving out my time, as we used to call it at home, I informed my father that I had determined to see if I could not contrive some way by which I could acquire a better education — that I proposed to do so without calling upon him for any aid — that I might want a few doUai-s to start with, but I thought I should be able to work my way, al^er a short time, and all that I wanted of him was his approbation." The tiret two yeare of his majority were passed at the Genesee "Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, New York, where he soon procured a situation as tutor, and was thus enabled to pay his own way. He titted himself to enter the Sophomore class at Union College, biit circumstances occurred that nuxde it necessary, as a matter of duty, that he should remaiu, for a time at least, on the farm. In January, 1S39, he entered the law office of Judge Theron R. Strong, of Palmyra. This gentleman's attention bad been especially attracted to young Palmer by his power exhibited in a debate on the slavery question, in the village meeting-house. He commenced study with his usual resolution in such matters. His plan was to read from tivo in the morning until nine a. m., attend to his business duties of the office until eight P. m., and then resume reading imtil eleven at night. This programme was faithfully carried out for two ycai-s. In July, 1S42, he was duly admitted to the bar as an attorney and coimselor of the Supreme Court, and as a solicitor and counselor in Chancery. Judge Strong took his seat in Con- gress in 1S39, and much of the responsibility of his extensive practice devolved upon Mr. Palmer, and in June, lSi4, he became an equ;\l partner in the business. He thus remained until October, ISM, when he removed to Rochester, and entered into pai-tnership with his brother-in-law, George II. Mumford, Esq. During 1S40 and 1841, in addition to the duties of professional ti04 life, he was editor of the leading Democratic paper of tlie county, a weekly journal. In 1842 he was appointed FirBt Judge of the Courts of Wayne County, which office he held for over two years, and tlien resigned, lie finally retired fronri practice in April, iy«3, to take the field as a colonel of volunteer troops. He enjoyed a confetantly increasing practice while at the bar, and left it with the universal respect of his legal brethren. In November, 1843, he was united in marriage with ML^s Susan Augusta Ilart, daughter of the late Truman Hart, then of tlie inter- esting age of nineteen years, and a person of rare Ijeauty and accomplishments. For several years prior to 1848 his views on the subject of slavery had undergone considerable modification from those held by the masises of the Democratic party. Consequently, in that year he became active as a supporter of the Free-Soil Van Bureii platform, as adopted at Buffalo. He subsequently became identi- fied with the Republican party, and worked earnestly for the election of Abraham Lincoln. On the breaking out of the civil war in 1861, he immediately took an active part on the side of the government. In July; 1802, he became a member of a committee to take charge of the raising of troops in Monroe County. The One Hundred and Eighth Eegi- ment was duly raised and equipped, but it was found difficult to obtain a person to take command of it. One day, in a fit of desperation at this condition of matters, he decided that, if no one else could be found willing to assume the responsibility, un- fitted as he regarded himself for such a position, he would take it. To his astonishment, the committee at once recommended him to Governor Morgan for the colonelcy, and on the 28th July he received notice of hLs appointment. It will be remembered that this was at one of the most critical periods of the war, and General Palmer, who had studied closely the varying aspects of the contest, saw at a glance the great peril of the country and tlie urgent necessity of decided, vigorous, and 805 ]»ivn\pt action in jvsponso tv< Pivsiilciit T.iniMln's oall of ,lulv 1st for pliU'inj; uumv tnH'ps iniinodititolv in tlu> tioKl. MoCK'llan's tiiio army hud boon iloniornli/.tHi — Ivioliiuond, which was in its ijrasp, aiul Li>e's arniv at its nioivy, thrwujich cowaixUco or incompetency ot' the conunandinit g»MH>raI, had boon lot'l nniuo- K>stod, and the way to our national capital opened to the Conleti- erate loiws. It was at tliis juiictun» and in this exi«ncv that men ot' the quick pen^cption, dccidiil action, and patriotic impulses of Gciieral Valnier. spranij to the bivach and, under God, saved the nation. The measuiv of this man's ^wtriotism was givat indeed. The ecluvs of the srnns of Fort Sumter had sc!»n^>ely been heani when he throw his whole soul into the work of the contest. And now, though his as^\ and the situation of his fanjily and business, ottei-ed the greatest discv^ui-ageraent to such an undertaking, he determined to accept the apjH>intment which had Ihvu so unexpectedly con- fernnl upon him. He at once catue to the conclusion that he must accept or go to Canadsv, or some other seoJusion ; that l\e could not, in such an emergency, walk the strt^et* of Kochestcr, or rejxise, with any degiw of quiet conscience, under the ting of his country, deoJining to stand by it or go to its rescue, and to death, if neeii be, when so calUxi nix>n. His patriotic action did not pass unnoticed by his fellow-citizens of KvK'hester. A letter addressee! to bin), datinl Kochestcr, August 14, ISO^, and now l>efore ns, is as follows : — " MT NSIGHBOS ASD SSTKIUIKIV FSIKXB : — " I desire to contribute soinethinK toward tout outfit for the puWio sorviw. Allow me to delVay the esj*nso of your sword, pistols, s,-»ddlo, »nd bridle. rie«se draw on i»e fbr the oest of these !>rtioles at your oonTeuiono^-. •• None but yo>ir intimate ft-iends can ftiUy appreciate the eiahtnl nll^»i^•cs that pwmpl you to exehani«> the quiet oomforts of homo and family for the privations and turmoils and danj!\-rs of war. The anarehy and ruin which threaten our country will be averted, if self-sacrificing pauiotism like yours i^rvades the people. If it divs not, we are un- worthy to enjoy the mild and beneficent government xtnder whik-h we h-sve lived in s«o»>rity and peace." Colonel P.ilmer at omn? assumoii command of the One Hundred oi.iVEu II. i'M,;.iy.i'.. - and EijjI.th Jlcgimc-nt, wliicJ, wa« the i^^^umd rei^irncntal or^aniza- tion in the State nnder the call of July 3, 1802. On the 19th of Auguftt, the regiment took it» departure, under order** for the m-M of war, by way of New York, nine hundre^J and eighty strong, offieerH and men. Jt^^aching Wai»hington on the 23d, it wa« ordr^r;.] into camp about geven mi!e» north of the Poto/na.;. Bpa^re will not allow m Uj trace all the nnmeroua movementa of tbi« regiment in the a/;tive campaign upon which it immf^Jiat^ly entcrcJ. HuHUm it U, say that it t^>ok a memorable part in General McCiellan'fj cam- paign in Marjland and Virginia, including the battle* rrf Sooth Mountain and Antietam, and in General BurrmuWn momm^nt upon Frri/lerickiiburg. O.lonel Palmer exhibit/.d not only remark- able efficiency in maintaining the drill of the regiment, but great heroism in the field. At Fre/Jerickaburg he c^.mmanded a hrigarJc, which wa» in the a/lvanr^ division. On the date of re^;/.iving hi»' fir»t order to leave camp, to take part in a movement againirt the enemy, he wrote the following noble words: "J feel that I am Btrictly in the line of a »ar;rrjd duty. Nothing but a (stern eensc of duty would ever have induw^J me U, lr«»ve the quiet and comforts of home, wife, and children, for the rough and tumble of camp life, and the hazards and turmoil of war ; and it in better for my children, and tho»e that may come after them, that the fx.nntry should be Havf^^], and our froAt ingtitutionii preserved and hande^l down V, pofsterity, than that my life should be spared. What are a few years of man's life c<^;mpared with the untold bless- ings that will follow generations U> c^.me, if, by the sacrifice, our beneficent government can be maintained ? " r>ater he writes : " We are now c^,n«tantly under arms. The universe is mj h&MmnUr. I retire by the light of the stars, and seldom c^>nd^*f;end to take off bo/^,t« or spurs ; generally bw^tkfast and dine in mj saddle, of r^.urse, on hard cracker, or nothing." Again : "Iff^el heartily sorry for the poor men. In our marcbc« many of them fall out, as we call it, but rfially fall down by the way-side from shr*r exhaustion, and die, i^^,r fellows, as bruize die. My hr^rt blw^js for them, but 42 8f/7 OI.IVKR U. PALMER. 1 am as powerless as an iiitaiit to aid tliein. 1 niu but a cog in the great wheel of the army, and have to turn when the power is ap plied." From the battle-tield of Antietam, September 18, 1SG2, he writes: "The balls and shells Hew like hailstones all over, under, and aro\n>d nie. I thank. God on aecount of my dear wife, and on ae- (X>Hnt of my darling but helpless children, as I never thanked liim before, that I am to-day alive and sound, and I pray that His pnv tei'tion juay continue to shield mo. My trust is in Ilini, and I feel resigneil to whatever fate is in the future." On the 19th ho writes : "Wo lay upon the field until nine o'clock yesterday morning, with- out food, blankets, or shelter. I had no idea of the horrore of war till I find myself suddenly in the midst of them, and I am ready and willing, horrid as it is, if I can aid in any degree to end this ac- cui-sed rebellion, to take my chances, leaving results in the hands of an overruling Providence." Of the attack on the heights of Fredericksburg, he writes : " It was an advance to disaster and death. "We had to cross the plain about eighty rods in the face of a destructive, accurate, and deadly tire, and then we were brought up against a high stone wall, protected in front by an impassable canal, and against Siind-banks protected by insurmountable abatis that no infantry in the world could overcome, while from this wall and from these sand-banks were poureil down upon us torrents of gra|>e and canister, and lead t'rem the unerring ritles of the sharp- sluK^tei-s, and we could fire only by guess. It was too hot. One- third of my brigade was disabled in twenty minutes, and I was compelled to fall back. . . . The scene was frightful, but in- tensely exciting. New brigades of fresh troops were forming in lino and advancing, hoping to be more successful, but I knew they were doon\ed to disappointment and death. Broken and shattered companies, regiments, and brigades were falling back. Dead and wounded otfieers and men were being borne to the rear. Some in blankets, more on the shoulders of comrades. You would see one here with one arm, another there with one leg, trying to get back; some moaning, some swearing. Occasionally a poor fellow, trying 80S OMVKR H. I'ALMKR. ^ to save tli« half not »liot away, would diHajipfiur in fragincntH hy a Bolid Hliot, or ami'Jwfc tlio Hitiol«! of an <;xi>lo'lt!(l hIioII." Ill healtli at length ohii^od Coloniil I'altri(;r Ut jwk to Ix; rrjiicved from his cotninarid. On tins Otli of ^far(;ll, IHO'J, Ikj took loavc <;f IiIh regiment, near Falmouth, in a jjatriolic and tou'iliing addrcKH. TtK cloning words were an folloWH ; — " fiohiUirn, I *IliI1 watch you witli intoniw inUinint, I itliall fwjl yoiir Kiifferlngi) and jroiir liardnliipn. I xhall rejoicw in your farno ami buccobb. Your glory wlU c)i«';r mo wliorcvcr I am ; hut your Htiumo would cruuli my licart. KfincmUjr tliat I own un intor«8t in thoKC onco Ijriglit and b'tautiCul, now wairr«d and talUirmi, hut Ml more beautiful, banncrti, wliieh i value above all price, 'J'lxjy bear record of your valor. The threCKCorc and ton HlarB made in lliem l>y rebel bullcti) at the battle of Antietam fonn a contttclUttion wortliy alrnoot of adoration, fitund by them. And when you return again to your peaceful home, bring them with you that I may again (see tliem, and unite with you in the appropriate action for their iaiiting prcKervatlon. " Soldiers, rnay Ood'K bleHuingB and fcvor follow you. Farewell," On the 22d of May, ISO, he wa« conimi»»ioncl sm Jiriga the management of the Western Union Telegrapli Company, in the important ofllce of treasurer, ile accepted the position, and lias since been identified with the Cf^rnpany. When the offices wei-c removed to New York, he also removed to that city, where he has becnne a permanent resident. The responsibility and duties of this ott'uM are very onerous, and during the sutnmer of 1870 he s^^ught relaxation in Europe. He enjoys and deserves a liands^nne salary. lie h also one of the directors of the Mutual Life Insuran(;e Company of New York. Although thorougJily a';quaintf;'J with political affairs and familiar with the current history of parties, lie has persistently de- clined to make politics a profession, or allow the baubhis of public offiati to interfere with or t^snipt him from the legitimate pursuit of his business. In fact while he appr'^;iatf« true statesmanship which UitidH V> secure the greatest good to the greatest number, 80'J ' S OLIVER H. PALMER. ami to advance tlie best interests of our common countn-, he has a just contempt for mere partisan management. General Palmer is above the average height, erect and graceful. His head is large, being more long than round, with a prominent and handsome brow. All the features are regular, and the expres- sion is cheerful and amiable. His eyes have a keen glance, while tliey are never anything but kindly. His mannei-s are polished and genial, and there are few men who possess more captivating quali- ties in social intercourse. In his nature and actions he is frank a>id exact to truth and justice in every particular. He has a heart in which consideration and sympathy for his fellow-men have no small share. Unswerving in his integrity, public-spirited, and zealous in every business interest, he is justly regarded as one of the nK>st valuable men of the day. It is worthy of thought that the positions of influence and trust to which General Palmer has attained have been reached from that humble log-house in the wilderness as a starting point. First, he sought knowledge, and he gained much even while he labored at the severe toil of the newly cleared farm. Then, filled with ambi- tion that made light of personal privations and defied all obstacles, he began his battle of life, which he has continued to its present st-vge of unqualified success and honor. SIO OYmGTOX BENEDICT. ^T is written in that Book, "The love of money is the root - of all evil," but how often persons take from that tnie passage by quoting that "money is the root of all evil " Following the latter quotation, it makes one admit that it is wrong for a young man to be energetic and close in the pursuit of busi- ness. But when you think that not money in itself is hurtful but s.mply the love of it, you look at things from a different stand- pomt. Every one knows that to love money as some do, simply for the amount, is not for one's self or any one else. Then we must not blame young men for trying to gain a position both financial and social. In looking at our business men, we see Ovington Benedict prominent as a jeweler, a thoroughly honest Christian man One of those who do not love money from miserly principles but for the use it can be put to. ^ f ^ He was born in New York on the 27th of July, 1831 When of a suitable age he entered his father's store in Wall Street At this store he gained a practical knowledge of watches and watch- making. He began life with a good education and two hands to help himself with, and he has been able, n-ith God on his side to attain an enviable position among the business men of this city ' One might question if now there were such young Christian men ^ those in these sad days. By constant and hard labor Mr Benedict, with his brothers, gradually gained both in position and notoriety. It took, of course, many years of steady work before they became known as time-keepers. But he ever looked to his Maker with gratitude, and ever sought Him in trouble, and his good Father sent him prosperity and peace. In the due course of time 811 2 V I N (^, T N R !■: N !•: P 1 C T . lie established anotlior iironiincnt and reliable store. One at No. 091 Broadway, near Fourtli Street, to which he and Samuel Bene- dict, Jr., a brother, give their entire attention. The public gradual!}' came to repose so much confidence in them, that they gave them the keeping of the city time, and now tlie term " Benedict's Time," is one that is in every mouth from High Bridge to the Buttery. " Time and tide wait for no man," is an old time proverb, and nowhere is it more manifest than in this metropolis. The habit and custom of the business and commercial men here in New York City rely upon the minute, nay, even on the second, for their appointments, engagements, or other relations; hence it devolves upon some enterprising philanthropist to provide such means by which the public secure some reliable or truthfufhorologer. Mr. Benedict, who has become so renowned, has for a number of years, to the great convenience and benefit of the community, furnished the true meridian time, until every bank, railroad office, telegraph station, counting-house, hotel, government office, church, public edifice, and even private dwellings, all rely mainly on Benedict's time. In this way, Mr. Benedict and his brothers have become a necessary fixture, or rather a useful appendage, to this metropolis and the country at large. As horologers, they have within the past few yeai-s monopolized the business; scarcely any one thinks of l)urchasing a watch or time-piece without consulting Mr. Benedict. His make is now considered by far in advance of all other impor- tations or domestic watches. The nickel movement watches, self- winders, chronometers elegantly cased and made of eighteen carat gold, are tlie latest feature of scientific and mechanical ingenuity. These time-pieces are guaranteed for a number of years. The manu- facture of these movements is superintended by Mr. Benedict him- self, who exacts the most rigid finish and workmanship. Nickel, a metal of comparatively recent discovery, appears to be far more durable and less liable to oxidation, expansion, or contraction, than brass, or the other compound metals heretofore used for fine move- 812 OVINTiTON liENKDlCT. 3 iiiL'iits, hciicu jri-OHter accuracy and less repairs fonii the great de- bideratum in possessing siicli a time-piece. Every one who has been in our great city biit for a few days, has noticed the great and wonderful uniformity of time. Indeed tliere is scarcely a city of its size anywhere which has such great uniformity in this respect, owing to Benedict's carefully kept time. In entering their store at 691 Broadway, your eye is immediately impressed with the neatness and beauty which it beholds on every side. Tlie furniture is of black walnut, relieved by gilt, which presents at once a neat and showy appearance. The goods kept for sale at this establisliment, some of wliich we have had the pleas- ure of examining, are well worthy the attention of all who desire to purchase. Mr. Benedict keeps nothing in the way of jewelry or silver ware which does not manifest the same sterling value which his time- pieces invariably show. A man of Mr. Benedict's style could not deal in showy or shoddy goods. His watches unifoi-mly confoi'm to the true time, and in all cases he warrants goods to give entire satisfaction. There is no establishment in the city of New York where so com- plete an assortment of watches and jewelry can be found, and at such reasonable rates. This also marks him as a man who desires to deal fairly and not to fill his pockets with money unless he feels that he has really and honestly earned it ; and that feeling many of our Kew York men have long since put in their pockets. It is a rarity to find a man who has, in New York, advanced in all things as successfully as he has, who has retained with it his boyish integrity and honesty, and it is every Christian man and woman's duty to deal with such a one when he can be found. Mr. Benedict has not confined himself strictly to business only, but has taken pains to become acquainted with nearly every one of our prominent literary stars. He is probably acquainted with more literary men than any other one man in our city. He has alno figured largely in publishing some time-table books, 8i;j 4 OVINGTON BKUKDICT. works of great usefulness. For several years he has superintended the publishing of a Time Table, which gives the only correct infor- mation concci-ning the departure of trains and steamboats both from this city and from every station in our land. It is so pub- lished as to be able to notify every change which occurs in any of the lines which center in this city. Indeed, in order to know the scope of this work one should get it and investigate it. It contains reliable information regarding the time that every steamboat and steam-ship leaves and arrives at both the principal cities and also the small places, however insignificant they may seem. It notices the connections how and where they must be made, fares and com- mutation rates, fire-alarm signals, closing and arrival of the mail, an almanac for the month aud a map of New York city. It is truly wonderful how so much can be condensed in so little space. Mr. Benedict is a man of few words but deep thoughts. He is a man of indomitable will, as he has demonstrated by his wonderful success in business. He is pre])ossessing in appearance, tall and Avell proportioned. He exhibits good perceptive faculties to the observer, who will readily class him as an enterprising business man. In habits he is strictly temperate, and in personal appearance and dress, plain and unassuming. His private life, in all respects, is unquestionable; and few men have a greater power of winning and establishing strong personal friendship. His opinions are listened to with respect, and his counsels sought. He is a man of large heart and warm sympathies. 814 /^^l-t>tc^^^^ ^^i^,^^^^ ARTHUR GILMAN. ^ 'ETHUR GILMAIST was born in Newburyport, Mass., on the 5th of JSTovember, 1821. He was fitted for college at the old Dummer Academy, Byfield, Mass., and entered Trinity College, Hartford, in 1839. On account of a seri- ous difficulty of the eyes, he was unable to finish the usual collegiate course, and left after having remained two years. On recovering from this ailment he commenced the study of the law, but inclina- tion soon led him to architecture and the arts, and thenceforth he devoted himself to architecture. Having a ready command of lan- guage, aud writing a clear and scholarly style, he prepared an arti- cle on " American Architecture," which was published in the Nm'th American Review, for April, 1844, which excited considerable at- tention ; was copied in Europe, and translated into several foi-eign languages. This article procured for Mr. Giiman the appointment to deliver a course of twelve lectures on that subject before the Lowell Institute, of Boston, in which strong criticism was expressed of the pseudo-Greek architecture of that day, and a return to the Renaissance and Gothic styles, urged and predicted, which has wrouglit out such marked improvement in our architectm-e. Sub- sequently Mr. Giiman studied the subject technically and thoroughly, and commenced practice in Boston, in 1845. His first large work was the design of Fernhill, the country residence of the late William P. Winchester, Esq., in Watertown, near Boston, a mansion of the first-class, which still retains its pre-eminence among the many fine residences in the neighborhood of Boston, for stately elegance, com- bined with a high degree of domestic comfort. Afterwards, and in rapid succession, he designed the fine Gothic church in Bath, Me. ; 817 ARTHUR OILMAN. the Shoo and liOather Boak-iv' Uank, in Kilbv Street, Biiston ; St. raul's Church, Dcdhani, Mass., and a groat number of private vil- las, for which the suburbs of Boston are so justly noted. In the spring of the voar 1853, Mr. Gilniau sailed for Europe on a tour of i>rofessional observation, and passed sometime in study and travel abroad, ivturning homo late in the autumn of the following year. AVhile in London his letters secured for him the favorable acquaintance of Sir Charles Cockoi-ell, at that time the President of the British Institute of Architects ; of Pivfessor Donaldson, Foreign Secretary of the sjimo body, ami especially of Sir Charles Barry, the distinguished aivhitcct of tlie House of Parliament, of whose works, in the Italian stylo in particular, the young traveler had long been a close student, as well as an ardent admii-or. To the friendship and l>atronago of Sir Charles Barry Mr. Oilman was indebted for nuvny opportunities of seeing all that was best and most valuable in the architectural attractions of the great metropolis ; admission upon the intivduction of Sir Charles being freely granted to the club- houses, palaces, government otHces and other tine buiKliiigs not gen- erally accessible to strangers. In a tour of study devoted to tlie great Englisli catiiedrals, Mr. Oilman visited, sketched and studied the magniticent structures of Canterbury, Salisbury, Winchester and Ciiichoster, in the South, and subsequently in a northern journey spent sometime at the et]ually imposing piles at Ely, Lincoln, Peterboivugh, York and Durham. In this way he acquired a knowledge of and a fondness for the pure English Gothic stylos, and is uudistigurod by any motlern additions foreign admixtui-es, which ho has fully retained to the present time. In France the cathedrals of Rouen, Chai-ti-es, Amiens, Boauvais, Rheims and Paris, were successively visited, their peculiarities min- utely noted, and a stock of drawings, photographs and other illus- trations of those glorious ixMuains of the Middle Ages was accumu- lated which must ever remain a source of the highest pleasui-o and instruction to the collector. Nor wei-e the literary opportunities of such a tour, other than those more strictlv professional, altosxother 818 ne{,h vigit with tlie highest pleasure ; nor that the Uii],rtimumh wiiieb it n.ade uj^.n him hhouid \Mi •dinouii the rnr^t deep and krti/ig of hi» life, Mr. Gilwjan alw devoted birnw-lf t/, urfri„ff a plan, df>igiied and laid out by himwjif, for filling up and improving the " i'jni:k JJay" territory, then lying waen, for two'yeaw, before the Legislature and elsewhere. In lHrj7, he ha^J the sati^fa/;- tion of seeing his views, which at fir»t ha/1 U^-n <-/,nM<:r<-A vlaUm- ary, carrier] out by the State of Massachtiwjlt*, from which that an- cient commonwealth has alrea^Iy reali/xj^J w^veral millions of dollars, with more Uj cdxiu:, and a new arjd elegant quarter a^idfyj to the city. Commonwealth Avenue, which owes Jt« width and extent al- most entirely U, Mr. Oilman's pirsi^tcnt efforts, has alrea/Jy Uu-jrmn one of the finest stre/^-tg in the world, and caj/able of indefinite ex- tension. Entering mV, f;^>-partner«hip with Mr, liryant, of I'^^Um, Mr. r>jl- mari designerj the Arlington Ktrw^t Church (formerly the liev. Dr. Channing's;, the Ea«teni Railroad Station, the Xew City Hall Cone of tlie finest e/L'fices for civic purposes in the United Stat«j;, t}»e Horticultural S-xJety's Hall, the new State House, at O.nird 8iy N. n., besides about seventy of the tinest new mansions of the new torritoiy addoiJ to Boston, which liis own h\bors had assisted so nia terially to call into existence. In the antunin of 1865, Mr. Oilman removed to New York, where liis tii-st work was to design the magniticent hotel intended to he huilt by Mr. Hiram Cranston, at FitVy-ninth Street and Fit>li Ave- nue, opposite tlie main entrance to Central Park. Mr. Cranston, however, entered into other engagements, and this fine design, wliich would have added so much to the attractions of New York, lias not been carried into execution. In ISO 7, Mr. Gilman was engiiged by the Commissionei-s of the Capitol at Albany to prepare a design for that prominent structure. That design, made in connection with Thomas Fidler, Esq., late architect of the Parliament Houses, at Ottawa, Ca., was duly ajv proved by the Commissionere and the Governor, in December, 1867. Diflei-ences of opinion subsequently arising among the Commission- ei-s, and the matter appearing to be surrounded with much dilheulty, ilr. Gilman signified his desire to \vithdraw, and, returning to New York, immediately engaged in the competition then about to take jilace, for the Equitable Life Assurance Society's Building, at the corner of Broadway and Cedai- street. The plans and desigus pre- sented by Messrs. Gilman and Kendall, accompanied by a thorough and exliaustive report from the pen of the latter, were fortunate enough to receive the unanimous vote of the Directors, and the building was commenced on the 1st of May, 1S6S, and completed on the 1st of May, 1S70. Pei-haps no edifice in the city of New York has ever commanded more general approbation, than this solid and imposing structure. Built entirely of the white granite from Concord. N. H., it presents the appearance of a solid and time- dctying construction, — while at the same time rich and ornamental in all its parts. Dominating, by its height and extent the whole of the lower portion of the city, it forms a most striking and attractive feature in any general view of the great metropolis. ^fr. Gilnuan is now fully engaged in the active practice of iiis ^8-20 profosj^i.,11 in tlio city of New York. In liirn flic |,ul,li(- l.avo an architect, trained in the he«t fichools of Kui'ope, yet kecfjin^' fully ahead of all tlioHe numberlcHH modem JmprovementH wliicli no diB- tinguiBh tfie best achievementu of our American builders. It is not too much to expect that many other deHignB from IiIh fafjilo pencil will yet arise to embellish the avenues and squares of the New York of the future. 821. CHARLES W. LOWELL. %EW more strikin- examples of hrilliant kucccks, achieved ^ ^'y Pe'-so"=il effort alone, are to be found in this country ^5 *''''^" *^"^* pi-esented in the brief but busy, thougli somewhat varied, career of the present popular Postmaster of New Orleans, whose name heads our present sketch. In him the genius of our American industry, that industry that courts obstacles for the ])leasure and excitement of overcoming them ; tliat industry founded on truth and honor, and which nothing can daunt or dismay, finds its most splendid embodiment. A young man yet, and proba- bly far from reaching the zenith of his power and influence, his life record is replete with instructive lessons to American youth, whose breasts are stirred with a like lofty ambition to make themselves a power and an influence in their day or generation, and leave behind them footprints on the sands of time. Charles W. Lowell was bom in Farmington, Franklin Co., Maine, November 20, 1834, and the only son of Hon. Philip S. Lowell. His father at the time owned and worked a small iarm, conjoining with the same carpentry work. "When he was two and a half years old, his father moved to Abbott, a small town in Piscata^iuis County' and continued his residence there for nine years, when he moved to Foxcroft. Young LoweU's opportunities of early education were circumscribed within the limited curriculum of the common schools, until his father went to the latter place to live, when he became a. student in the town Academy. He pursued his studies at the Academy for three years, mastering all the mathematics, for which he took a special aptitude, acquired in the college course, and mak- ing considerable progress in Latin. Unfortunately at this time his 823 a H A K L K S W . I. O W K I. L . father wiis oblijiiHl to gii Ivu-k upon tho farm again at Abbott, This not only took young Charles frvnu his stutlies, in the prosecution of which he was so deeply interestevl, and had already made such marked and umisual prv^gross, but ho Wi\s compelled to aid his father in working on the tann, and at the carjXMitry trade, to which the latter gave a considerable sharo of his time. But with these dull employments he had to unite others ; in tlict, turn his hand to any- thing that would serve to incn^ase the f'uuily income. We find him working at a thrashing machine, and then teaching school. Mat- tel's ran on in this way for alxmt thnv years, when he determincil to ivsume his studies, prejviratory to entering college'. This wivj no small work, and took time. lie went to sduwl ; but at the summer vacations workeii at harvesting tor farmers ; at other times helping his t'ather to build bridges and dams, and during the winter months teaching school. At length he accomplished his great desire, and entered Bowdoin College. lie entereif the class of 1S55, and soon ranked among the foremost in scholai-ship. Just before the close of the sophomore yeju- he was sununoned home, on account of his mother's illness, and did not return to college. Succeeding his mothers death, he entered upon the study of law, in the otfiee of Hon. Chas. P. Chandler, of Foxcroft. Mr. Chandler dying shortly afterwanls, he continued his law studies in the otttce of Hon. A. M. Robinson, of Dover, Me. Mcjuitime he was obliges! to teach school at interv.nls, and do other kinds of work, to obtain money to }v»y his expenses. In the fiUl of IS.^S, the pi>sition of associate princi- pal of the Fo.Kcroft Academy wjvs otiered him, which he accepted. Uc remained here one year, and then resigned. In January, ISOO, at\er undei^ung a rigid examination by three of the ablest lawyei-s of Eastern, Me., he was admitted to the bar. Though pursuing his lepil studies by piece-meal and under dis- advantages few have to deal with, there are not many who enter up- on the practice of law with a mind more matnreci by lianl study and with a more thorough knowleilge of the fundamental principles of law. lie commenced practice in Norway, Mo., as i»!»rtnor witli Hon. S24 It I. JC H W . Mark IT. Duriricll, tli(;ti Ktatc Huporintondont of KcIiooIh, and jinjcciit rii(!i;il)or of (JoiigroKM iVorn MinncHOtii. Unlike many novifiaUs law- yci-H, Iio (Ji>H, where tlie two anUinA into a law partnership under the firm name of Iiic<} «fe Lowell. The firm enjoycl an atriotiiim erjlist*;'] on the side of the Union. He ma/le ¥>\X'AM\im rallying men t/) defend tlwj usuitad emblem of our liational UhnrtinH. Ila^l it not \}ti':ii for the c-arnest prot^^tatiorw of his law partner and wife's family, \it} would lutve goae into l\u} army at once. It was an impulw've j/atriotism, however, that continued Uj burn in hi» hf^art with such fiery arthjr, tliat no 'dinfmitt of opjx^ition c3, his wife died. No possible entreaty could now keep him from joining the army of our Union defendere. A month later he accepted a captaincy in the brigade being raised by Brig. Gen. Ullman in New York city. The ofliccrs of the brigade were appointed by President Lincoln to go South and recruit colored troops. Early in April the expedi- tion sailed from New York in the steamer Matanzas, landed in New Orleans April 19th, where, after remaining a few days, they proceed- ed to Baton Rouge, at which place Col. Hamlin's regiment to which Capt. Lowell had been assigned, wsvs. left to recruit its men. The men recruited for the regiment had not yet been mustered in nor arms fmniished them, when it was ordered to Port Hudson to take part in the siege. The regiment remained here doing hard and gal- lant service in the trenches, and showing itself brave in the battle, till the surrender of that fortress, at1;er which time the regiment was filled up and mustered into the LTnited States service as the Eighth Regiment Corjfs cTA/riqne. As part of the garrison at Port Hud- son, the regiment continued to remain there till the spring of 1864. During this time Capt. Lowell rendered most important and efli cient service as Judge Advocate of courts-martial and military com missions. In the spring of 1864, the regiment was ordered upon the Red River campaign, but this order was changed however, and it was sent to guard the Mississippi river, with headquarters at Bonnet Carre, L-x. Capt. Lowell, in command of four companies, was sta- tioned at Gaiennie's Landing, twenty miles above the regiment. This was their out-post. They had frequent skirmishes with the guerrillas, and were very successful in capturing smugglers and their goods. In July of the same year, lie was ordered to report to Colonel Hanks, tlien in charge of the Freedmen at New Orleans, and having done so, was assigned to act as the latter's attorney, in which capacity he had frequent occasion to appear in their behalf in all the city courts. The position was not altogether a pleasant one, but its du- ties were discharged with unflinching zeal and faithfulness, to a ckss whose rights in the courts were then only slightly recognized. Early in 1865 the regiment— its military designation having now been changed to that of the Eightieth U. S. Colored Infantry— was ordered to Camp Parapet, near New Orieans, but immediately upon its ar rival there, Capt. Lowell was detailed to superintend the draft at New Orieans ordered by General Canby. This duty closed in May, when he was detailed as Judge Advocate of the military commission to try the acting Lieut., Governor of Louisiana upon a charge of per- jury in connection with the draft. The accused had for his counsel Colonel A. P. Field, the ablest criminal lawyer then practising at the New Orieans bar. All the technical points and objections pos- sible were raised and pressed m his defense, but as ingeniously met and resisted by the young Judge Advocate. The war ended before the result of the commission was made known, and the ban of se- cresy has consequently never been removed from the court. Mean- time, while this trial was in progi-ess, Capt. Lowell's regiment was sent to Shreveport, Louisiana, with the troops around -there, to re- ceive Kirby Smith's surrender. After the adjournment of the mil- itary commission, Capt. Lowell was sent by General Canby to nortb- westem Louisiana and eastern Texas, to superintend the sale of buildings and other property surrendered by the Ordinance Departs ment. This duty discharged, he rejoined his regiment then garris- oning Alexandria, La. He was immediately appointed Provost Marslial of the post, and was in a few days promoted to Major of the regiment, and brevetted Lieut.-Colonel and Colonel He did not remain at Alexandria long, but was speedily ordered to report in New Orieans for duty, as assistant to the Provost Marshal-Gener- al and Judge Advocate-General on General Cauby's staff. On 827 C> CHARLES W . L O W K L L . August 21st, 18G5, he was appointed Provost Marshal-General on General Canby's staff. This was just subsequent to the surrender, and when the returning rebels were making efforts to recover their homes and other property. To Col. Lowell, Gen. Canby assigned the duty of ascertaining the status during the war of such claimant. It was both a difficult and deUcate duty ; but on its discharge the Colonel exnnced a sin- gular clearness of judgment — a strict impartiaUty, and at the same time faithfulness to his trust, that elicited the highest I'espect of Gen. Canby, as well as the entire confidence of every body with whom he was brought in contact. In March, 1866, Gen. Canby re- heved Col. Lowell, and appointed him judge of the Provost Court of New Orleans. He filled this position until the following June, when the court was abohshed, after which he took command of his regiment, still garrisoning the Post of Shreveport, La. On the first of March, 1867, the regiment was mustered out of service, and with it closed the miUtary service of Col. Lowell. It need only be said further, that during these fours years of his military fife, he was not oft' duty a single day, except in the winter of 1866, when on a short leave of absence. His military career ended. Col. Lowell went north and spent the succeeding summer in Maine and Kansas. In the fall of that year he was appointed by Mr. Browning, Secretary of the Interior, one of the commissioners to superintend the sale of the Pottawattamie Indian reserve in Kansas ; but the necessary surveys not being com- i:>leted that Fall, he returned south, and established himself at his old quarters, at Shreveport, Louisiana. Shortly after his arrival he was appointed by Gen. Hancock Chairman of the Board of Kegis- tratiou for Caddo Parish. In April, 1868, he was elected from that parish to the House of Eepresentatives of the fii-st General Assem- bly of Louisiana, after reconstruction. He was also selected as one of the delegates to the Eepublican National Convention at Chicago, in May, 1868, which nominated General Grant for the Presidency, and was one of the secretaries of that Convention. Upon tlie or- 828 ganization of the new Government of Louisiana, in 1868, he was elected speaker of the House of Representatives, and in het same session was appointed by tlie General Assembly one of the comnaissioners to superintend the revision of the statutes and codes of the State, and was made chairman of the commission. Upon the inauguration of Gen. Grant, having removed to ISTew Orleans, he was appointed Postmaster of that city. Havang accepted this position, he proposed to resign his seat iu the General Assembly, but his friends so earnestly protested, that he consented to remain a member upon the floor, but resigned the speakership. His career in the State Assembly is too recent and well known to need ex- tended recapitulation. He became a leader of his party upon all political questions in the House, and with the most effective and urgent eloquence and persistency strenuously opposed all schemes for subsidising private corporations by the state. Upon charges be- ing made by the Governor against the State Auditor, Ool. Lowell was one of the committee to investigate the same. He made the report of the committee, accompanying it with resolutions of im- peachment, and, leading the discussion in the House, carried the resolutions ahnost unanimously. He was appointeJ by the House to conduct the triaL Opposed to him were the ablest counsel to be had. The trial was a long and exciting one ; Col. Lowell made the closing argument, and so convincing and irrefragable were its conclusion, that he obtained a judgment of conviction by the unan- imous vote of the senate, and thus rid the state of a bad man and faithless oiScer. Colonel Lowell is a practitioner in the Louisiana Courts. He is also extensively engaged in dealing in real estate. He possesses a valuable turpentine orchard on Mobile Bay, near the city, and be- side this, a plantation above New Orleans, on the Mississippi Eiver. For the last two years he has been a member of the Eepublican State Committee, and is acknowledged as one of the most prominent and influential political speakers of the State. Li 1868 and 1870, he canvassed the State upon the stump for the Eepublican party. He 829 has been frequently solicited to rim for Congress, and also to be the candidate for nomination for governor ; but lias steadfastly declined all such proftei-s of political preferment, thinking it better that older men, or those longer resident of the State, should be selected for those high offices. His father is still living, and resides in California where he is largely engaged in agricultural pursuits. He has several married sisters in San Francisco. He has one daughter, an only child, who is living with her aunt, the wife of Hon. E. J. Hale, of Foxcroft, Maine. Starting life poor, solf-edueatcd and self -reliant — few men as the above record shows, have been more eminently successful. No man can say that he ever did otherwise than he agreed. Honesty, indus- try, and attendance to business have been his strongly predominant characteristics. In his private life, he is the most amiable and com- panionable of men. Few men are endowed with larger liberality. He has always been a constant attendant of the Presbyterian Clnirch, although not a member. On the lOth of October, 1871, he was nuirrie.l to the highly ac- complished Miss Sallie W. Huff, second daughter of Mr. A. E. llufi", of Salem, Roanoke County, Ya. In the vigor of manhood, a long career of increasing influence, and higher honors and more brilliant jchievcmeiits still wait to crown the glorious record of his active? most useful and unselfisii life. 830 ^^^ ^^^^^^^^^..^^-^^^ CORN K 1.1. us A. WOII'J'IONDYKM ^^'^IIOMAS CAliLYLK witl, tliat i.uculim- but expressive phraseology of his, oveirflowing with spirit and toi'8(;riesK, sets forth as his chief hero, he wlio with CHrth-iiiadc iinple- meuts laboriously conquers the earth and makes her iiuui's. In plainer language he makes the farmer his hero. "We would on- large the scope of hei'oism, and set down that man as a her(j who whatever liis sphere of life, manfully assails the duty before him, and who makes this duty the golden opportunity to develop the powers in him, and with their development grasps at broader en- deavors, and through the medium of more enlarged duties, leaves an imjierishable impress upon liis times. Some men, Micawber- like, arc always waiting for something to turn up. Hucli men never accomplish anythiisg. They will not atteni]»t the duty before them because it is not up to the high measurement they place - line. Something more than a merely successful business man has been Mr. Wortendyke. He has shown himself pre-eminently a man of progress, or what means the same thing less generally expressed, a 833 I. I us A. WOKTi: N PVKTC. ■puWii'-tsjMritOil luiui. Ho Ims al wins boon prominont iu ]M'oinotinn; tlio public gooil, and particularly in niattora portaininj; to tho intoi"- ost8 of his county and fstato. Ho proourod tho oriEjinal charter of tho Now Jeivoy Wostorn liailroad Company, and in IStu was elect- ed its President, and soon ntlor coninieneed tliowork of eonstr noting the rojid. In ISTO this ivad was consolidated with tho Now Jersey, Hudson and Holawaro, and tho Sussex Valley Railroad. Ho wa^ elootod President of tlio consolidated company under the name oi' tho Now Jersey Midland Riilway Company — a position ho still holds. Under his efficient supervision and management, ouo-half of the whole road is now in successful operation, and the whole lino fron\ New York to Fnionville will bo iu working order by tho first of Jamniry, 1S72. This was a work that at lii-st seemed almost im- possible to accomplish, but iu less than six months it Avill bo com- pleted, making a continuous line with the Now York and Oswego ^fidland road from the lakes to tho city of Now York. In building this n.iad, Mr. "Wortendyko will have erected for liimself a monu- ment as enduring as this country — monumrnfiim ceivjit'rtmniiui. Mr. Wortendyko has never been a prominent politiciau. llo has always been identified, however, with tho Democratic party, and several times has boon selected as dologato to Congressional and gub- ernatorial conventions. Though often solicited to accept political of- fice, he has always steadfastly declined. Tlie ivcord of his life is that of a straightforwai-d business man aud public benefactor. In business ho has been imwoutedly successful — a success wholly owing to his gri\<»t self reliance, dose attention to business, indomitable poi-sevoi-- anco and dotermimition always to succeed. His liberality is wn- boundod. He takes pride in being foremost iu every local iniprove- mont. His place, the old homestead, is elegantly fitted nji, aud tho grounds about it ailornod with rare and oxquisito taste. Still in tho enjoyment of vigorous health, l\o bids fair to onjoy for many yoai-s to come the splendid fruit* of his toil and energ}% and with thorn disjxiuso broadcast the glorious sunshine of uui-estrained and unsclf- i>b liborMlitv. 834 ta£* Irf f. E lUU w lUlJa i C. -l.C^J^,. GAEDNER QUINOT COLTOK . ARDNEPt QUmCT COLTON, son of Deacon Walter and Thankful (Cobb) Colton — youngest of a family of twelve cliildren, was bom in the town of Georgia, State of Vermont, February 7, 1814. At the age of sixteen he went to St. Albans, and served an appren- ticesbip of five years at chair-making with the late Azel Church. In 1835 he came to New York and worked as a journeyman chair- maker. Having a literary turn, he began to write for the press. In 1842-4 he studied medicine in the office of Dr. Willard Parker, and attended the required two courses of lectures in the Crosby Street College of Physicians and Surgeons. At the close of his studies he commenced lecturing upon Chem- istry and Natural Philosophy. On the 10th of December, 1S44, he gave a lecture in Hartford, Conn., and administered the nitrous oxide or laughing-gas for the amusement of the audience. An event occurred at this lecture and exhibition which led to the discovery of anmsthesia — the most im- portant and valuable discovery of the present century, not except- ing the magnetic telegraph. A young man, while under the influence of the gas, ran against some settees and bruised himself badly, but afterward declared that he experienced no pain while the effects of the gas lasted. Dr. Horace Wells, a dentist of Hartford, who was present, noticed the circumstauce, and asked Dr. Colton why a tooth could not be drawn without pain by administering the gas. This led to a conver- sation between Drs. Wells and Colton, in which Colton stated that at an exhibition which he gave a few weeks previous at Bridgeport, 835 2 GARDNER QUINOY COLTON. OouE., a yonng man, .n striking another, broke a bone in one of his hands, but said he did not know it, till the effects of the gas had passed off. This determined Dr. Wells to try the experiment on himself, in having a tooth drawn. The next day (Utli of De- cember, 1844), Dr. Col ton took a bag of the gas to the oiBce of Dr. Wells. Dr. Eiggs, a neighboring dentist was called in, and Dr. Colton administered the gas to Wells, when Dr. Eiggs extracted a large molar tooth. On recovering his consciousness Dr. Wells ex- claimed, " I did not feel it so much as the prich of a pin .'" This was the first surgical operation ever performed with a true anaes- thetic. This was about two years before the introduction of ether and chloroform. Dr. Colton instructed Dr. Wells to make the laughing-gas, and then continued his lecturing tour. Dr. Wells introduced the gas into his practice with entire success, but during the following four years or till his death, at New York on January 24, 1848, he was unable to convince the medical and dental professions of the value of the discovery. Ether came into use in the latter part of 1846, and as this could be procured at any drag store, and without any apparatus or chemical knowledge, the real value of the gas as an anaesthetic was not tested by the pro- fessions. When Dr. Wells died, all thought of the gas passed out of the public mind. It was condemned as an anaesthetic before it was ever tested. Dr. Colton continued his lectures and exhibitions in various parts of the country, often giving an account of the experiments of Dr. Wells, but was not able to induce any dentist to incur the ex- pense of the apparatus in order to try the gas. In 1849 he was induced to go to California, upon the advice of his brother, Eev. Walter Colton, who, for three years previous, had tilled the office of civil governor of that Terntory. He failed in his efforts to dig his fortune from the earth, but while in San Francisco, Governor Eiley (then acting governor) appointed him to the office of justice of the peace for that city. When the new 836 GARDNER QUINCYCOLTON. 3 State constitution came into power, his office expired, — lie had been appointed under the old Spanish or Mexican laws, — and he returned to New York. Here he became for a time the New York correspondent of the Boston Transcript. Having failed in several enterprises to realize his expectations, in 1861 he resumed his lectures and exhibitions of the nitrous oxide gas. In June, 1863, observing how unpopular and dangerous the use of ether and chloroform had become, he determined to revive the use of nitrous oxide gas as an anaesthetic, and if possible demonstrate its value to the dental profession, — though with no thought, however, of permanently using it himself, as he was not a dentist. He induced Dr. J. H. Smith, a dentist of JSTew Haven, Conn., to extract teeth for one week, while he would administer the gas for the purpose. They commenced, and meeting with great success, continued the business for three weeks, during which time they extracted over three tliousand teeth ! Such a triumphant result determined Dr. Colton to go to New York and establish an institution which should be devoted exclusively to the extraction of teeth with the gas. For this purpose he associated himself with three distinguished dentists under the name of the " Colton Dental Association^ Here the great battle had to be fought. The dental and medical professions both declared that the gas had been tried long years before, and proved a failure; that it was nothing more or less than a humbug ! Every species of abuse and ridicule was heaped iipon the pretentious Colton and his associates. Money came in very slowly, and month after month passed before the receipts exceeded the expenses. At length the associates became discouraged and withdrew from the concern, saying they could not leave a prosperous business to bolster up what appeared to be con- demned by the public. Dr. Colton, with that determined faith, hope, and perseverance which seem to be characteristics in his nature, stuck to the business, hiring a dentist to do the extracting, and being himself the "' Colton Dental Association." He expended eight thousand dollars the tirst year in advertising, advocating, and 837 i GARDNER QUINCT COLTON. and defending the invention. His business began to increase, every patient going away a friend and advertiser, though it was a full year before any profits were realized. It was a year of darkness, doubt, and terrible anxiety. But the second year the skies began to brighten, and Colton was enabled to hire a first-class dentist to do the extracting; and the third year a second assistant. For the past four years his receipts have averaged thirty thousand dollars jyer year! His operators, in devoting their entire time to extracting, became wonderfully expert in the business, and nearly all the lead- ing dentists of the city recommend their patients to the Colton Dental Association. The gas has almost entirely superseded the use of chloroform and ether. Dr. Colton has given it to over forty- seven thousand patients, and their names and residences are all recorded and numbered on a scroll in his oflice. That it is a safe anaesthetic is proved by the fact that not an accident has occurred in all the above cases. For short surgical operations the gas is almost as great a boon to humanity as though no other anaesthetic had been discovered. Dr. Colton does not claim to have discovered anaesthesia, or the anaes- thetic powers of the nitrous oxide gas. That honor he concedes to Dr. Horace Wells. But he claims to have been the occasion of its dis- covery, and to have revived and practically demonstrated its value, after it had been abandoned and forgotten for twenty-two years, or since the death of Wells. The very fact that it had been aban- doned increased the difficulties which had to be overcome in itp re-introduction. Dr. Colton is now reaping, in an ample income, the rewards of the patient perseverance with which he struggled against such odds in its introduction. Early in the spring of 1867, Dr. Colton went to Europe to attend the great Paris Exposition and exhibit his apparatus, and demon- strate the value of the gas to the scientific world. While at the Exposition, he accepted a proposition from Dr. Thomas W, Evans, the emperor's dentist, to remain with him a year, and give him thorough practical instruction in its manufacture and administra- 838 GARDNER QUINCY COLTON. g tion. After this lie traveled, with his family, for six months through France, Italy, and Switzerland, keeping a journal of "Sights and Scenes," which was published in the form of letters in the St. Albans Messenger. After his return to Paris, havino- demonstrated the powers of the gas to the savans of that city he went to London, and, in connection with Mr. Charles James Fox a distinguished dentist of that city (who had commenced usinc. the gas), assisted in developing and establishing its value there. After receiving d.stinguislied honors from the dental and medical profes- sions, particularly in London, he returned to New York, bavin., been abroad a year and. a half. '"^ Dr. Colton is now on his second tour of travels in Europe, enjoy- ing the fruits of his well-earned fortune. He affords a good illus- tration of how much can be accomplished by integrity, intellio-ence perseverance, and pluck. He was never aided to the amounl of a dollar to start in life. His various enterprises and efforts, and final success show that one should not be discouraged because of a tailure in this or that undertaking. Try again. A large majority of the men who have made their mark in the world began their career in humble life, and had their powers developed by contending against, and overcoming, what appeared at the time to be insurmountable obstacles. In concluding this sketch of the life and character of Dr Colton we should not fail to allude to one remarkable trait in his charac- ter. We refer to his benevolence. Although the amount of his means, until of late years, has only allowed him to gratify this trait of character to a limited extent, yet his purse has always been open to the needs of his friends and relatives. If at any time he had fifty dollars in his pocket, he was rich enough to part with half of it to any relative in more need than himself. His friends say that he will be longest remembered, not for his scientific attainments or accumulation of money, but for his warm-hearted generosity and kindness to friends. These repeated gifts, with the large amounts which he has more 839 Q GARDNER QUINCT COLTON. recently given, would, in the aggregate, amount to a small fortune. He regarded these gifts as " bread cast upon the waters," and he believes he is now realizing the promise that he shall '' find it after many days." 840 DAVID J. MITCHELL. 'AVID J. MITCHELL was bom in De Kuyter, Madi- son County, N. T., on the 2'rth day of January, 1827. His parents were Quakers, and lie inherited from them a clear intellect, a vigorous constitution and an untiring energy. He passed his boyhood in the village of his birth, with no educa- tional advantages except those furnished by the district school and the De Kuyter Academy, then an institution of excellent reputa- tion. He displayed at an early age a marked inclination for the legal profession, and before his majority he had attained consider- able reputation in his native town from conducting trials of cases before justices of the peace. Among his school fellows was Henry C. Goodwin, a boy about a year his senior, of a quiet and retiring nature, but of rare promise. Between the two a warm and lasting friendship sprang up, and while yet in school they formed the design of studying law and practicing their profession togetlier. Mr. Good- win entered the office of Hon. James W. Nye, then a practicing lawyer, at Hamilton, in the county of Madison, and Mr. Mitchell entered the office of A. V. Bentley, Esq., at De Euyter. In January, 1848, the firm of Goodwin & Mitchell, Attorneys and Counsellors at Law, commenced business at Hamilton. The office was opened and the sign displayed before Mr. Mitchell had attained his majority, but he was admitted to practice at the first term of the court held afterwards, and the young firm rose rapidly in public favor and theirs soon became the leading office of that county. Mr. Goodwin was twice elected to Congress, and died in 1860. In 1853 Mr. Mitchell was elected District-Attornev of the county 841 DAVID J. XIITCUELL. of Madison. He was nominated by the Whigs and was the only one of his party who was elected in the county that fall. In some election districts not a vote was cast against him — all voting in his favor without regard to party. Tliis is the only political office ever ],eld by him, or for which he was ever put in nomination. He ac- cepted that because it was in the line of his profession and a step- ping-stone to a larger practice. He discharged the duties of his office with singular ability and success. He never advised an in- dictment unless he believed the accused was guilty, and it was a rare occurrence that a verdict of acquittal was rendered. During this time he conducted, unaided by counsel, the trial of George W. Zecher for the murder of John Buck. Zecher was a German of considerable culture, and managed wliile in jail to enlist the sympa- thies of Hon. Gerrit Smith, the eminent philanthropist and accom- plished orator, and Mr. Smith, believing him to be innocent of the crime, volunteered to defend him. On the first trial the jury disa- greed, on the second trial he was acquitted. Those who had the good fortune to listen to this trial, remember it as a remarkable display of forensic ability on the part of the young District- Attor- ney as well as on the part of Mr. Smith, and the acquittal was gene- rally attributed to the great personal influence and high chai-acter of the distinguished gentleman who conducted the defence. The evidence on the part of the people was wholly circumstantial, and the fact that Mr. Smith believed the prisoner innocent and had for that reason volunteered gratuitously to defend him, had great weight with the jury. In the fall of 1859, Mr. Mitchell formed a partnership with the Hon. Daniel Pratt, of Syracuse, whose term of office as Judge of the Supreme Court was about to expire, and on the 1st of January, 1860, Mr. Mitchell removed to Syracuse. The connection thus formed still continues under the firm name of Pratt, Mitchell & Brown, and has proved a profitable and pleasant one for the Mr. Mitchell occupies a front rank among the lawyers of Central 842 D A.VID J. MITCHELL. '^ew York, and in some departments of Ms profession he has no su- perior, if indeed Lis equal, among them. Quick in his perceptions, strong in his convictions, and almost in- tuitive in his conclusions, he wastes but little time upon legal tech- nicalities, but seizes upon the salient points of his case and presses them with great clearness and force. He possesses the confidence of the judges and is always listened to with marked attention. Though often appearing before the court sitting in bane, and with success, it is at nhiprius that he has achieved his most signal victories. He possesses a physique of remarkable power and endurance, so that even in the longest and hardest contested causes he never evinces weariness or lack of interest. This combined with a sanguine and joyous temperament enables him to so conduct himself in the court- room that the jury are involuntarily predisposed in his favor from the outset of a trial. In other words he possesses, in a marked de- gree, what is commonly kuown as personal magnetism. He con- ducts a trial with boldness and apparent consciousness of strength ; nevertheless, he is cautious, and it is seldom that a verdict se- cured by him is set aside for error on appeal. He has an unusual and almost instinctive faculty for draw- ing out facts clearly from witnesses, and understands thoroughly the art of cross-examination. A hostile witness rarely escapes uninjured, or a false witness without exposure. While conducting a cross-examination with apparent boldness, he is yet cautious in its use and rarely makes a mistake. The case is generally won be- fore ho addresses the jury, but if not, his sagacity enables him to dis- cover the fact and he brings all his energies to the task of forcing conviction upon them. This he usually does in a brief and ingenious speech delivered with a candor and earnestness which leaves no doubt of his sincerity on the minds of the jury. He understands the power and use of ridicule, and the art of enhsting the sympathies of his hearers. His great common sense and knowledge of men enable him to array and present facts with a skill, shrewdness and effect rarelv equalled. 843 / ( DAVID J. MITCHELL. We doubt if any lawyer liiis won a larger proportion of the cases he has tried, than has Mr. Mitchell. He has been engaged in the defence of twelve men charged with murder, only one of whom was convicted, and he was not executed, but ■was sentenced to imprisonment for life. Among this number was the trial of General Cole at Albany for shooting L. Harris Hiscock, member of Assembly from Onondaga county. Mr. Mitchell was associated with the late James T. Brady and other eminent counsel for the defence, and the prosecution was conducted by District Attorney Henry Smith, assisted by able counsel. The cause was twice tried, and ui>on the conclusion of the second trial General Cole was acquitted. Mr. Mitchell was counsel for the select committee appointed by the Senate of the State of New York, in 1867, to investigate the management of the canals, of which Senator Stanford was chairman. He was also counsel with Hon. Smith M. Weed, on behalf of the State in the trial of Robert C. Dorn, Canal Commissioner, upon articles of impeachment presented by the House of Assembly. Mr. Mitchell has tried a large number of cases for the New York Cen- tral Raili'oad Company, as one of its attorneys, and his general prac tice has been very large. One of his more recent cases has excited great public interest, and his management of it has displayed some of his most prominent pro- fessional characteristics. About the first of January, 1870, a fire occurred in Syracuse, which has since been popularly known as the " Burnett fire." The property destroyed was insured in some fifteen diflierent companies, and the total amount of insurance was about §120,000. The com- panies suspected the fire was not an honest one, and retained Mr. Mitchell to investigate the matter. When suits were brought against the companies by assignees of the policies, he interposed the bold defense that the insured parties kindled the fire on purpose to obtain the insurance money. Public attention was thoroughly aroused, and after a severe and exciting contest judgment was rendered in 844 D A V I n J . M I T C II E L L . 5 favor of the coiiipaiiics in all of tlic actions. So coinidetelj did li-j succeed in exposing the crime and fraud wliich Iiad been ])racticcd against the defendants, that the popular verdict sustained the judg- ment of the Court, and approved the course the companies had taken in resisting payment of the policies. His extensive legal practice has left iiim but little time to engage in matters outside of his profession. In politics he was formerly a Whig, and now a Eepublican with conservative tendencies. Though not desiring office he is active and influential in politics, and has been the means of procuring political preferment for many of his friends. He was an ardent supporter of the war, and by his influence and eloquence aided largely in organizing and filling several regiments for the service. At the close of the war he was invited to deliver an oration at Syi-acuse on July 4, 18C.5, which invitation he complied with. The oration was flatteringly received by the large concourse of people present. He is a loyal and self-sacrificing friend, a genial companion, and a generous, sympathetic, active and much esteemed citizen. A lawyer, however great his ability, who confines himself to the practice of his profession in a small city cannot acquire a wide- spread popular reputation. His triumphs are witnessed by but few ; he has no Metropolitan press to publish his achievements through- out the country, and not many persons have an interest in the re- sults of his contests. Mr. Mitchell is still a comparatively young man. Should he ever be tempted to stray outside of his profession- al fields and enter the political arena, he would gather additional laurels. He possesses a hatred of fraud, corruption, and peculation in office, that in these days of degenerate politics could not fail to make him a power in behalf of pure government and a favorite with the people. 845 56 / '^^"^^M^ .-t^-^- GOVEKNOli BO WEN. ^|PHE subject of this sketch is pre-eminently a man of marked C^ abilities in the age we live in. He is young in years— only thirty-five— but has already served in all the departments of State Government. In 18.56, and before he had attained his majority, he was elected to, and served one term in the Legislature of the State of Iowa, repre^ senting the people among whom he was born and educated. Iq 18.59 he emigrated to Kansas, and in 1862 went to the front as Colonel of the 13th Infantry of that State, and bore a gallant and conspicuous part in the great battle of " Prairie Grove," Arkansas, and other minor engagements, and at the close of the war held the rank of Brigadier General of Volunteers. After the war was over he remained in Arkansas, and was elected in 1867 a delegate to the constitutional convention under the recon- struction acts of Congress, and at the organization of that convention was made its president, soon after which he was elected Judge of the Supreme Court, and served in that capacity for three years. After resigning his office, he was, in April, 1871, appointed Governor of the Territory of Idaho, which position he now holds. There is probably no man in the West of his age who possesses more of the elements ofsuccess and progress. Failure is a word not to be found in his vocabulary, and whether in the field, at the bar, on the Ijench, or in the halls of legislation, he impresses all with whom he comes in contact that he is one of the master-spirits of the times. 847 / ,/■ %, .*'°- ■-. ^'^.. ;^^^^^ ^/-OT!*/ -^../j a5°- ^-.,<^ S'^'"'^. --v^ '•'*•.. ^^o.^^' .^^•v. -i-^K^' ^ .*« *'..^* -,^^.- /\ •^».- /% -,1^.- /\ .o\.i:^, '° ^0-^^ '^^.^ ^••. ^•^.^*' ••;« >^'*, '*,<*' rP" ..: «5°^ -.1 '^-..^^ ^^. .* V" '^^.>^^ -0^ .-'^ 0^ ■X •^.< r.O" .^1'^ 'b V .0. .o^<.-% *-..^* '•■^,/°%,^-^-^^,^*°%^ "^/^^T^*. '^^ ""-**< '-'"^f^^' - ^■'