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MEMOIR

HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.

PREPARED AGREEABLY TO A RESOLUTION

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

REV. CHANDLER ROBBINS, D.D.

aJEttf) an appEnJtx;

BOSTON:
PRINTED BY JOHN "WILSON AND SON,
5, Water Street.
1863.

MEMOIR

HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.

prepared agreeably to a resolution

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.

REV. CHANDLER ROBBINS, D.D.

ilKitl; an 'Sppcnliti-.

BOSTON:
PRESTTED BY .JOHN WILSON AND SON,
6, Water Street.
1863.

MEMOIR

HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.

TN the year 1635, Samuel Appleton came from Little
-*- Waldingfield, in Suffolk, Eng., with his family, and
settled in Ipswich. Descended from an ancestry of good
repute in his native country, he became the progenitor
of a highly respected race in the land of his adoption.
The beautiful Memorial of him published in Boston
in 1850 renders it superfluous to renew the familiar
account of his lineage. Whoever will refer to that
volume, will find that in every period, from that of his
remotest known ancestor, John Appulton of Great
Waldingfield, who died in 1414, the family name has
never failed to be worthily represented. Not only the
commemorative tributes of this Society, but the annals
of our State and National legislatures, the records of
various institutions of learning, charity, and religion, the
public eulogies and private encomiums of the citizens
of Boston, and even the commercial and industrial
prosperity of New England, bear testimony to the
honorable manner in which it has been sustained in the
thkteenth generation.

4 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
The instances must be very rare, in which, in a single
city, four individuals of one kindred and name, and in
the same grade of natural descent, have contempora
neously made their own way from humble beginnings
to such high distinction in the same caUing as was
lately attained by the three brothers, Samuel, Nathan,
and Ebenezer Appleton,* and their cousin William, —
a sketch of whose life we are about to give. They were
so intimately and pleasantly associated in life, and their
images are naturaUy so grouped together in our remem
brance, that we could not speak particularly of one till
we had first made respectful mention of the rest.
WiUiam Appleton was bom in the North Parish of
Brookfield, Mass., Nov. 16, 1786. His father, Eev.
Joseph Appleton, was bom in Ipswich in 1751 ; gradu
ated at Brown University in 1772 ; was ordained minis
ter of the Second Church in Brookfield, now the Fu-st
Congregational Church in North Brookfield, in 1776;
and died in July, 1795.-i* He was a man of respectable
abUities, approved scholarship, and exemplary Christian
character. His mother was Mary, daughter of Jacob Hook, a gen
tleman farmer of Kingston, N.H., whose estate was large

* Ebenezer Appleton died in April, 1833, at the age of forty-eight. He was a man
of more than ordinary talents, and of considerable literary taste and culture, genial in
his disposition, and popular in his manners.
t The only work ever published by him was a controversial theological pamphlet of
thirty pages. There is an elegant monument to him in the chm'cbyard of North
Brookfield, with suitable inscriptions, erected by his son, the subject of this Memoir.
Among the last of Hon. William Appleton's benefactions was the contribution of
five thousand dollars to the First Congregational Society of North Brookfield, for the
purchase of a library for the use of the minister. It is called the Ajipleton Library.
AVe are indebted for these I'acts to l!cv. C. Cashing, the present pastor of the chm-ch
in North Brookfield.

MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 5
for that place and period. At the death of her husband,
Avho bequeathed to her a small property and the sole
charge of five young children, — two sons and tlii'ee
daughters, — she removed to her native place, and occu
pied a farm of moderate value, which she had inherited
from her father. In the year 1798, she was married to
INIajor Daniel Gould, of Lyndeborough, N.H. ; and, with
her children, took up her abode in that town. Many of
the traits of her character bore a striking resemblance to
those which afterwards appeared in her son. She had a
strong mind, a quick apprehension, a sound judgment,
and an unusual capacity for business. Although of
feeble health, she was energetic and persevering. Her
conversation was often playful and witty, and occasion
ally seasoned with a spice of satke : though aU these
qualities were duly held in check ; for she was a Chris
tian, both by profession and practice. Her son has
recorded his deep sense of obligation to her for having
shaped and controlled his character. In a brief notice
of her Hfe, written on the day of her death, he says,
" From the time my father died, she was very particular
in giving her children religious instruction, and often
prayed with them in her chamber. I have lost in her,
not only the faithful guardian of my infancy, but the
discreet monitor of my youth, and counseUor of my
maturity." She was evidently a fine specimen of the best class
of New-England mothers ; to whom, more than to any
other source, are to be traced those somid prmciples,
virtuous habits, and practical qualities, by means of
which their chUdren have attained both material pros-

b MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
perity and a fair moral fame. Her death took place
at Mount Vernon, N.H., June 25, 1842, in her eighty-
seventh year, after she had long enjoyed the fruit of
her maternal fidelity m witnessiag the successful career
of her son.
In tracing that career, as well as in estimating
Mr. Appleton's character, we have been permitted to
avail ourselves of a private diary, which he had kept,
with occasional interruptions, during a period of nearly
fifty years. It fills seven manuscript volumes, evidently
written without the slightest reference to posthumous
use. It consists of very brief and simple notes of
incidents, especially mteresting to the writer, con
nected with his family, his business, the state of his
health, and his religious experience and duties : to
which are occasionally added reminiscences of early life ;
impressions of men ; obituary sketches of his friends ;
and views, both retrospective and prospective, of com
mercial, financial, and industrial affairs. Although
intended exclusively for his own perusal, there is no
thing ui this journal which would not bear general
inspection. On the contrary, it exhibits the writer, off
his guard and in his interior life, in a highly creditable
and amiable light. It reveals such conscientiousness,
such an humble estimate of himself, such a true and
lively affection for his family and friends, such a constant
conflict with the love of the world and the desire for
riches, and such gratitude and submission to ProAddence,
as are worthy of respect and sympathy.
In using this diary, it Avill be our endeaA'or not to
violate the generous confidence of the lining, nor the

MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 7
delicate reserve which is due to the private papers of
the dead. No further reference wUl be made to it than
may be necessary to such a truthfiU representation of
his character as alone Avould be sanctioned by himself,
or conducive to those moral and Christian ends which
were evidently near to his heart, and to Avhich, Ave are
persuaded, he Avould desire, above all things, that his
biography should be subsei'Adent.
He Avas sent to school at an early age, first at New
IpsAAdch, and afterwards successively at Francestown
and Tyngsborough. In 1801, he made his first trial of
business as a clerk in a store at Temple, N.H., kept by
Mr. Artemas Wheeler. His capacity and good conduct
made such a favorable impression upon his employer,
that, at the age of nineteen, he took him into partner
ship. At the expiration of a year, having found that a
country store afforded a too limited field for his abihties
and ambition, he sold his stock, and interest in the firm ;
and Avith the small property which he had inherited,
together Anth Avhat he had earned, came to Boston. In
alluding to this period, he was scrupulously careful not
to appropriate the remark, intended to be compliment
ary, which was sometimes appUed to him, as it has
been to so many other of our wealthy citizens, — that he
came from his country home with nothing but " a smaU
bundle in his hand, and a few cents in his pocket." The
sum which he actually brought was smaU enough, in con
trast with what he afterAvards accumulated, to accredit
his talents for business ; and the very fact that a portion
of it had been akeady saved, and the remainder earned,
before his arrival, throws back upon his youth the merit

8 MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
of those same qualities Avhich Avere afterAvards so conspi
cuously exemplified in his maturity.
The following memoranda, relating to the early stages
of his business-hfe, are copied from his jom-nal : —
"After I came to Boston, I resided for a short time with
How and Spear, who kept a West-India goods store. In 1807,
I went into business with Mr. N. Giddings. We kept at the
corner of India Street and Central Street, — the only store then
occupied in the street. (?) Our business was the buying and
selling of West-India goods and crockery-ware. We dissolved
our connection in the autumn of 1809. Then, considering
myself worth about four thousand doUars, I bought the ship
' Triumphant,' at Salem, in connection with Upham, Gassett,
and Co., for five thousand dollars, and went with her to Fayal,
where I had her put under Portuguese colors, and despatched
her to Li\'erpool ; I taking passage with Mr. and Mrs. Bow-
doin in another ship. On my arrival at Liverpool, I found my
ship had been captiued by a French priyateer : but she was
fortunately retaken a few weeks after, and brought to Ply
mouth ; whither I went to take charge of my property. I
remained in England till July ; when I embarked in the brig
' Eliza,' Captain Gardner, with about ten thousand pounds'
A'alue of goods, for account of myself and Parker, Appleton,
and Co. These goods, and another importation, I sold ; and, at
the end of the year 1811, found myself worth about ten thou
sand dollars. I went from Philadelphia to North Carolina,
where I loaded two vessels with naval-stores for England.
From thence I went to Charleston, S.C., and took passage
in the ship 'Ceres,' Captain Webber, for Liverpool; where
I found that an embargo was laid in the United States, which
was considered preparatory to war with England.
" In June, 1812, I was in the House of Commons, listening
to the debates of that body ; when it was announced that the
orders in Council which related to the American ships AAould
be modified or repealed ; tlie.'JC orders being supposed to be the

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 9
cause of difficulty between the two governments. I at once
commenced purchasing goods, and, within one month, had goods
A'alued at thirty tliousaiid pounds on the « ay, or in readiness to
be shipped, to the United States ; when information arrived that
war had actually been declared by the United-States Govern
ment. This intelligence caused me much trouble and anxiety.
In August, I embarked for Boston in the ship ' Koxanna.'
On my arrival, I found great distress and apprehension among
the people on account of the war. When I had closed up my
importations, and made a settlement of affairs with N. W. and
C. H. Appleton, I thought myself worth sixty thousand dol
lars. ... I did not attend to any business of importance
during the war."
In January, 1815, Mr. Appleton was married to Mary
Ann Cutler, — a lady whose graces of person Avere
equaUed by the estimable qualities of her mind and
heart, and whose Christian faith contributed as much
to the establishment of her husband's religious character
as her domestic Adrtues to the happiness of his home.
"In the spring of 1815, after peace had been made with
Great Britain, I laid my plans for future business ; and imme
diately commenced the building of the ships ' Telegraph,'
' Courier,' and ' Minerva.' Before they were finished, I was
attacked with the dyspepsy, wliich was attended with great
prostration of strength, nervous irritability, and all sorts of
unpleasant feehngs. I contended with the disease tUl the
autumn ; when, in November, I embarked for Charleston, where
I passed the winter, without any improvement in health. The
succeeding summer was spent in travelling, but brought no
alleviation of my symptoms : on the contrary, my condition
was miserable. The irritability increased ; but God knows
how great suffering produced it, and how difficult it was to be
controlled. In the autumn, I sailed with my wife for the
Mediterranean. We passed the winter in Sicily ; visited Rome,
2

10 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
Paris, and London; and, tOAvards the close of the year 1817,
embarked for Charleston. In April following, we returned to
Boston ; my health having been much improved during our long
absence.* This year (1819) , I went into business with Messrs.
Paige and Chase. Our copartnership continued for six years ;
during which I carried on considerable additional business on
my own account."
Such is his OAvn simple and summary record of a
commercial career, Avhich, when we take into view its
humble begmnings and his feeble health, in connection
Avith the sagacity and enterprise displayed and the suc
cess accomplished, is almost Avithout a parallel. He had
been in Boston but eighteen years, and was not yet forty
years old, when he retired from the firm last mentioned ;
yet, at that period, no man in the town, of his own age,
had made so much money, and not more than tAvo or
three Avere possessed of an equal amount of property.
Having now released himself from the routine of
active business, although stiU retaining an interest m
commerce and manufactures, Mr. Appleton found a
congenial field of duty and enjoyment in the society and
education of his chUdren. To all the other blessings
with Avhich Providence had enriched him, was added
that of a large and interesting famUy. Few men have
had stronger domestic affections, and few a more at
tractive home in which to cultivate and gratify them.
Though grateful for all the favors of HeaA'en, there Avas

* As a measiu'e of the increase of the value of real estate in Boston, the following
memorandum is of some interest: "In the autumn of 1819, I purchased from Mr. Na
than Appleton the house in Beacon Street, in which I have since lived, for the sum of
fourteen thousand dollars."

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 11
none wliich he appreciated so highly, or so often thank-
fuUy acknowledged, as this. Not a week, it might
almost be said, not a day, passed by, during the latter
half of his life, in which some kind reference was not
made in his diary to one or another of his children.
Every ch-cumstance of the slightest interest connected
with their condition is recorded. Every sign of progress
in knowledge or virtue, which displayed itself in either
of them, is noted with evident delight. Every pleasant
famUy gathering at dinner, or in the evening, is regis
tered, together with the names of all who were present.
Every absence or sickness or sorrow is marked Avith a
sympathetic and regretful recognition.
With the exception of an occasional journey for
the benefit of his health, and the loss of one of his
chUdren, who died in infancy, this rare domestic felicity
suffered no serious interruption for many years. At
length, the inoAdtable shadows began to fall, in quick
succession, upon his home and his heart. In 1836, his
oldest son WiUiam, whose health had been for some
time declining, died at Schaffhausen, in Switzerland.
Possessed of every quality which endears a son to a
father, together with those which give promise of a use
ful and honorable life, and are most flattering to parental
pride, the tidings of his death unsealed the deepest foun
tain of grief. It was the first great affliction which Mr.
Appleton had ever experienced, and it touched him in
the tenderest point. It was the fkst severe test which
had ever been applied to his faith ; and, happily, his faith
was adequate to the trial. The notice of the event in
his journal, though it betokens his anguish, attests also

12 MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
his submission. It is so plaintive, that one can hardly
read it without a tear ; and yet so devout and acquies
cent as to excite admkation.
" I had suffered," he writes, " more than can be described,
after hearing of William's serious sickness, till I heard of the
closing scene. During the interval, I was so ill as to be con
fined to the house. When the sad tidings came, the shock was
great. Our friends gave us their sympathy, and did all in their
power to alleviate our sorrow ; but we found our consolation
from other than earthly comforters. I now feel that God has
taken him to himself. I think of him with the greatest plea
sure. A thousand incidents in his short life appear to me in the
most delightful retrospect. His imperfections have disappeared.
I can truly say with his uncle, Mr. Nathan Appleton, who was
with him in his last hours, ' He had less of earthly dross than
any one I ever knew.' The recollection of his pious resignation
in the approach of death is more valuable to me than any
thing in this world. He is gone." *
One bond which bound him to earth was noAV broken.
His heart dutifully accepted the sad but providential
release, and rose towards heaven. The ruptiu-e of other
strong and beautiful ties helped its higher ascent. Four
children, aU of mature age (tAVO sons and two daughters),
Avere successively taken from him. He gave them up,
one after another, Avith increasing submission to God ;

* Being in Europe not long after AVilliam's death, the writer, who had known him
in his youth, out of love and respect to his memory, left his triivolling companions
and his prescribed route to visit his grave in a churchyard at Sch.affhausen. A chaste
monument had recently been erected to mark the spot, of whicli wi' mode a sketch at
the time. AVitli a iiiclanehnly satisfaction, after so inauy years, we embrace this oppor
tunity it) associate a lirief tribute to tlie son with a memorial of the father. To do so is
not so much to assume a privilege of affection as to discharge a biographical duty ; for a
pure and virtuous child is not only an ornament to the memory of his parents, but au
altestatioii of their wortli.

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 13
but such repeated bereavements took a deep hold upon
his heart, and cast a shade of seriousness over his subse
quent life.
The death of his second son Amory, which occurred
in 1843, was the heaviest loss of all, and left the
deepest impression upon his character. Each of the
other children is tenderly commemorated in his journal,
and ample justice rendered to thek peculiar endear
ments ; but for him he moums not only as for a son, but
a friend. He was, in aU respects, after his OAvn heart.
Amiable in disposition, sound in judgment, as sagacious
in business as his father, and perhaps more prudent,
strong in moral principle, and, to crown aU, a Christian
in faith and practice, he had not only secured his father's
unlimited confidence, but such an influence over him as
no other person could exert.
" I loved him," he says,. " most dearly. He was the best
of sons ; of late years, my companion, my friend, my adviser.
We took our daily walks together ; we went to the house of
God in company ; together we knelt at the altar ; in public
and in private, we lifted up our supplications in unison to our
Creator. We were more nearly brought together than most
fathers and sons. We had entire confidence in each other.
He would teU me my faults ; and I heard them from him with
a better spirit than I should from any other. I was proud of
him. God has taken him. May it humble my pride, and teach
me to trust to the Saviour ! I love to think of his amiable
manners, of his kind checks when I spoke too quickly, of his
truly religious feelings, and all our intimate and pleasant asso
ciations in business, in private intercourse and prayer, and in
public worship. His death changed most of my plans of busi
ness. It is indeed a sad event to part with such a son ; but it

14 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
is the wid of Heaven, and I would not acknowledge myself so
selfish as to wish him back again to contend with this sinful
world." We leam from this extract, that not the death only of
his children, but their lives also, exerted an elevating
influence upon his character. His chief deske with
regard to them was, not that they should bask in the
sunshine of prosperity or win the honors of this fleeting
life, but that they should establish virtuous characters,
and become children of God through faith in Jesus
Christ. WhUe providing for them the advantages of the
best schools and the best masters, that they might receive
an education suited to their high social position, it was
his especial care, in full sympathy with their excellent
mother, to furnish them at home with Christian nurture
and admonition. In this highest direction of parental
duty, his constant and best efforts were exerted ; and
here also he reaped the richest reward, not only in the
satisfaction of seeing them gathered into the church on
earth, and, one after another, going to rest in Christian
hope, but also in the corresponding increase of his own
faith, by means of his prayers and labors on thek behalf,
and through sympathy with their spiritual advance. In
deed, the period of his deepest Christian experience
commenced before Amory's death, and Avas evidently
connected in part with the influence of his earnest
piety. For many years, Mr. Appleton had been more or less
under the sway of those religious principles Avhich Avere
instiUed into his mind in infancy at the pastor's theside
in Brookfield, and afterAvards dUigeiitly fostered by the

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 15
prayers and counsels of his faithful mother. He had
been alAvays scrupulously observant of the forms of
religion, both in public and private ; maintaining daUy
famUy devotion; never absenting himself from public
Avorship on the sabbath, except from sickness or neces
sity ; and usually attending, in addition, the special and
occasional services of the Episcopal Church. AU along
through his mature life, there are traces of a powerful
struggle going on in his heart between his worldly
deskes and his religious convictions. The former,
strongly and abundantly supported by a briUiant array
of allurements, though sometimes earnestly resisted, had
never been effectually overcome : the latter, re-enforced
from above, though occasionally baffled, had often re
turned to the conflict with renovated vigor. Yet the
issue was stUl in suspense.
At length, in the year 1842, the religious pm-poses
and aspirations of many years seem to have been
providentially brought to a head. He devoted him
self in earnest to Christian duties. His charitable
bestowments were multiplied. He buUt St. Stephen's
Church in this city, at a cost of twenty-five thousand
doUars, and gave five thousand dollars for a Mission
Church in China; besides seeking out other methods
of dispensing alms, which he seemed to do with a wUl.
He even took counsel with his son Amory as to the pro
priety of consecrating aU his income, beyond his neces
sary expenses, to the service of Christ and the Church ;
and seriously meditated the noble purpose to do so.
" The thought of having it in my power," he Avrote at
that period in his diary, "to do something to extend this

16 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
religion, which now makes me so happy even in sick
ness and pain ; Avith such happiness as I could not find
in health, surrounded with gay and pleasant friends, and
enriched with all the comforts and luxuries of life, — the
thought of having it in my power to lead others to be
lieve in the cross of Christ fills me with grateful delight.
May God Almighty strengthen me in well-doing ! "
Mr. Appleton's character could not be justly por
trayed without a reference to this important crisis in his
religious life. However he may have been regarded by
the public, and by those who met him occasionally in
society and in business, the most marked and interesting
feature of his real, his interior life, Avas the constant
struggle to which we have alluded, on the part of the
religious element, to obtain the ascendency over his
Avhole nature ; and that epoch which he himself, and all
who knew him best, regarded as the most eventful of his
career, was the period in which he assumed a decisive
Christian stand. He may not, in aU respects and under
all circumstances, have afterwards manifested the temper
of a Christian ; he may not have wholly overcome the
love of the world ; and he certainly did not fully carry
into execution the disinterested purpose of his best
hours: but, to admit as much as this, what is it but to
acknoAvledge that he was subject to the same infirmities
which many good men have had occasion to regret in
themselves, and encountered the same hinderances
which beset the path of every one who would live a
godly life ]
There are few men of business and Avealth who
more justly deserve the name of Christian, — a name

MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 17
that we would never incautiously or indiscriminately
apply. But we cannot call in question the validity
of his title to that best of human distinctions, when
we regard his moral purity and integrity ; his regu
lar and reverential observance of the outward forms of
religion ; the number and magnitude of his charitable
bestowments ; his frequent and liberal contributions
to the institutions and enterprises of the Church ; his
unfeigned trust in God, and submission to the divine
Avill ; and his habitual endeavors to live in preparation
for death and immortality.
The only qualification which has been made with
reference to Mr. Appleton's claim to be commemorated
as emphatically a Christian merchant, so far as we are
aAvare, is that he was inordinately devoted to the acqui
sition of money. The simple fact of his having been a
zealous and successful man of business and having accu
mulated a vast property, may, of itself, be regarded by
some as a sufficient ground for such abatement. But
there are other facts and considerations, not so imme
diately patent, which justice requires us to place in
the opposite scale. We cannot doubt — in view of the
extreme truthfulness for which he was distinguished,
and which especially characterizes his private records
— that the real purpose of his life is sincerely revealed
in sentences like the following, which are found in
scribed at intervals in his diary : —
' ' My wish Is to make rehgion my first and great object in
hfe. ... I feel a deep interest in the cause of missions ; and
my incHnation is to give the bulk of my income to religious ob
jects, — not to missionaries only, but to the education of mini-
3

18 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
sters, and the encouragement of all workers for Christ. . . .
I feel that the true test of the sincerity of a man's religion is
his desire to impart it to others. . . . Most gladly would
I increase and multiply my contributions, if I could only find
objects that I could entirely approve, and be satisfied that
larger bestowments would do good, and not harm. To give
to individuals does not always benefit them ; and even to give to
churches sometimes takes from the energy and efforts of their
members. Oh, may God purify my motives, and bless my gifts !
... I have parted with a large fortune ; but I have more
satisfaction in what is gone than in what is left."
These are not the utterances of one who makes Mam
mon his god. And that they are not mere words, is
evident from those nupierous and sometimes munificent
deeds of charity to which we have already referred,
amounting in value to nearly half a million of dollars.
We do not deny, what he himself frankly admitted,
that he loved the excitement and enterprise of trade,
and found a keen satisfaction in success. His tal
ents and training, his tastes and habits, peculiarly dis
posed and qualified him for a mercantile career. He was
made for a merchant ; and, as such, it was his instinc
tive and laudable aspiration to attain to eminence. He
could not do this without being diligent in business,
strict in his accounts, sagacious in his adventures, and
prudent in his investments. He felt that the legitimate
result, as weU as the test and measure, of genius and
energy in his vocation, is the gainful issue of commercial
enterprises. Not to make money, would be, in one of
his profession and with his capacities, a negUgent use
of his " five talents," and a forfeiture of that reputation
and influence which nature and circumstances had placed

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 19
within his reach, and which it was not ignoble to desire.
It is true, that a course of life in which the exercise
and improvement of one's talents is thus involved with
worldly cares, and the pursuit of riches, is accompanied
with great hazard both to the moral and religious prin
ciples ; and very few persons have passed through it with
a " conscience void of offence towards God and towards
men." But the course itself is one of those which seem
to be providentially appointed for men, and the dangers
are inseparable from it. That it was the path provi
dentially marked out for himself, Mr. Appleton never
doubted. He could not withdraw from it, without
doing violence alike to his natural inclinations and his
moral judgment. The sole alternative, therefore, was
to go forward, and encounter its temptations while dis
charging its duties. It was a hard battle, and it closed
only with his Ufe ; but he " fought a good fight, and
kept the faith."
Many instances might be adduced to show that the
eager prosecution of lucrative enterprises, which Avas
one of Mr. Appleton's characteristics even to the last,
and was by many confounded with an inordinate de
sire for money, was attributable, in a great degree, to
other and more honorable motives. His strong and
active inteUect, stimulated by a nervous temperament,
continually impelled him to plan and execute large and
difficult enterprises.
" I must be busy," he said. " I don't know how to stop.
... I love best to do that which is the most difficult. . . .
That which others would not undertake pleases me most.
... If my natural insight enables me to see farther than

20 MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
most men in certain dhections, ray nature also compels me to
make use of this endowment. ... I can't help seeing
openings for profit, neither can I help availing of them. I
pray God to keep me from being avaricious, and proud of my
success ; but I cannot bear the shame of falling below my own
powers, and being left behind by those who are not my equals."
In accordance with the spirit and principles expressed
in such sentences, he wrote as follows, in his diary, dur
ing the last few months of his life, while some of his
friends were wondering at the interest which he stUI
manifested in financial projects : —
' ' We are going rapidly into a paper currency. Prices of
all kinds of stocks and commodities will materiaUy advance. I
cannot avoid taking an interest in speculations, and taking ad
vantage of the rise which I foresee. I am endeavoring to show
the younger part of the merchants, that an old merchant of
seventy-five has faculties and energy left. At the same time, I am
thinking what I shall do with the profits on the pepper and saltpetre.
I shall give part to the public, aiid part to destitute friends."
That such generous intentions were not illusory, the
writer, if no one else, can bear witness. Mr. Appleton
once consulted him as to the best mode of permanently
relieving the necessities of a respectable clergyman, dis
tantly connected with him by marriage, and to whom he
had often generously contributed. It was first proposed
to raise a sum sufficient for the purpose among a num
ber of wealthy gentlemen to whom the individual in
question was known. After some delay in selecting the
persons to be applied to, and in other arrangements for
starting the subscription, the writer at length frankly
expressed his persuasion, that nothing could be done tUl
Mr. Appleton had first signed his own name, together

MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 21
with the amount that he would give. He paused
thoughtfuUy for a few minutes, and then said, " After
all, why should I trouble you to carry about a subscrip
tion-paper ? My income is very large : I must give a
good deal of it somewhere. The only question with me
is, where I can bestow it best. What do you think of
the propriety of my giving ten thousand dollars to Mr.
 in trust for him and his famUy ] " The reply did
not, of course, discourage the generous thought.
This interview occurred on the day before Christmas.
The next morning, Mr. Appleton rose at an early hour ;
and eager, as he always was, to carry his purpose into
effect, and stUl more eager, in the nobleness of his
nature, to brighten the dawn of that Christian festival
for his poor friend, carried a note to his door with his
own hand, announcing " good tidings " which filled his
heart and his home vsdth joy.
Mr. Appleton's kindness, however, did not exhaust
itself in this munificent gift. Having taken hold of the
case, he could not leave it tUl it AA^as completely provided
for. To relieve his friend from certain immediate em
barrassments, a further sum was necessary. This was
easUy coUected from a small number of benevolent indi
viduals ; and, in a few days, he had the satisfaction of
setting a burdened heart free from present bondage,
and securing a whole household against future want.*

* Since the above was written, we have ascertained that Mr. Appleton, shortly
before his death, actually distributed the profits of his speculations in pepper and salt
petre, amounting to about seventy thousand dollars, in the manner referred to in his
diary. With his very last breath, he indicated to his family, in scarcely intelligible
accents, an object to which he desired to appropriate the sum of five thousand dol
lars. His request was complied with by his children immediately after his decease.

22 MEMOIR OF HON. AVILLIAM APPLETON.
Much of his devotion to business was in a high
degree disinterested. Not only did he seek to acquire
property that he might have it in his power to give
liberaUy, both publicly and privately; but some of the
most arduous enterprises in which he engaged were to
manage the perplexed affairs of his friends ; to carry
them through periods of great financial perU, and to
save them from ruin. It is not too much to say, that, in
several weU-knoAvn instances of this sort, he did what no
other man was found wUUng to attempt, if, indeed, any
other would have been able to perform. For such services,
he received, in many instances, the unbounded gratitude
and respect of those to whom they were rendered ; and
wUl be held, by aU who have knowledge of them, in
honorable remembrance. Referring to this subject, an
intimate friend of Mr. Appleton Avrites as foUows : —
' ' There was one characteristic of his which deserves an
honorable mention by the side of any others. That was his
pertinacity in carrying out whatever beneficent thing he took
in hand, at any cost of time or of money. There are a num
ber of instances in which his social kindness saved the fortunes
of his friends from wreck, and many more in which it reheved
wants of the minutest sort and in the most effective way ; show
ing a thoughtfulness and sagacity, and a self-identification
with the sufferuig, which was surprising as it was admirable.
Everybody, therefore, whom he had occasion to aid by any
personal interest, always entertaiaed for him a deep and tender
affection, which of itself is ample voucher for the substantial
excellence of his character." *
After the dissolution of his partnership with Messrs.
Paige and Chase in 1826, to which reference has here-
• Rev. Alexander H. Vinton, D.D., formerly Rector of St. Paul's, Boston.

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 23
tofore been made, Mr. Appleton pursued his business
alone, occupjdng a counting-room in State Street, tiU
1841 ; when he admitted as partners his son, James
Amory Appleton, and Mr. (now Hon.) Samuel Hooper,
under the style of WUliam Appleton and Co. In 1852,
several years after the death of his son, Messrs. F. G.
Dexter and John H. Eeed were received into the firm,
which always maintained its high position among the
commercial-houses, not only of Boston, but of the whole
country. The high esteem in which Mr. Appleton was held,
both for his abUities and experience as a merchant and
his excellent qualities as a man, often suggested his
name to his feUow-citizens in connection with important
offices, which his feeble health and general disinclination
to pubUc affairs induced him to decline. Had his taste
and bodily strength allowed him, there is no reason to
doubt that he might have wielded a much wider influ
ence, and added in numerous directions to his high repu
tation. All the offices which he was prevailed upon to
accept were discharged with characteristic energy and
discretion. In 1832, he was appointed President of the Boston
Branch of the Bank of the United States. The contUct
between the Govemment and that institution, which
occurred soon after his election, and the financial crisis
which ensued, rendered his administration peculiarly
difficult, and called for the exercise of the utmost pru
dence and firmness. He insisted — to use his own
language — that his own branch should be allowed to
conduct its affairs on " fair and independent princi-

24 MEMOIR OP HON. AVILLIAM APPLETON.
pies ; " and, by the aid of an able Board of Directors,
he succeeded m so managing its concerns, that, while
the closmg of the parent bank and most of its subordi
nates was attended with much loss, the books of the
Boston office showed a favorable balance.
Mr. Appleton Avas connected with the management of
the Massachusetts General Hospital during a quarter of a
century, and was president of that institution at the time
of his death. He ahvays manifested a lively interest in
its benevolent purposes ; and the distmguished success
Avhich has attended its operations is attributed by its
trustees in no small measure to his prudent counsels and
AveU-directed munificence. According to their grateful
testimony, " the fund Avhich he established for the assist
ance of the curable insane has abounded in rich fruits ;
and the buildings bearing his name at SomervUle, which
Avere erected at his suggestion and chiefly by his bounty,
are honorable monuments both of his sagacity and his
benevolence." The character and value of the endow
ment to which the trustees refer, as Avell as the motives
of Mr. Appleton in making it, are Avell exhibited in the
subjoined correspondence : — " BosTox, Jan. 8, 1862.
" Ma' dear Sir, — I send herewith my check for ten thousand
dollars, to be added to the fund I commenced many years since,
to enable such j^atients, as would otherwise be compeUed to leave
imperfectly cured, to remain until a thorough re-establishment
of health might be effected.
' ' The history of the origin of this fund may be interesting.
jMany years ago, in my early connection with tlie asylum
and with my excellent friend Dr. Bell, my notice was
attracted to a mother and daughter, the latter a patient

&¦

MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 25
much improved in health by her treatment while an inmate
of the estabhshment. The mother insisted on her removal ;
whUe the doctor expressed the opinion, that, if she left at
that time, she would be obliged to return in a few Aveeks,
AvhUe the same length of time spent at the asylum would
thoroughly cure her. The mother insisted, however, on the
ground that her own means and those of her friends Avere
exhausted. She was pecuniarily unable to continue her child's
residence at the hospital, however desirable, and even neces
sary, it might be. The daughter was a dehcate person of some
eighteen or twenty years of age, reluctantly, I thought, yield
ing to the necessity her mother had explained. I asked her if
she wotdd hke to remain. She said ' she wished to get Avell,
but could not stay.' I offered to pay the necessary expense.
A mingled expression appeared to me to overspread her features.
Her eye had a softened look of female delicacy. The desire to
leave contended with the feeling of duty to remain ; while, over
ah, the fearful look of wavering reason gradually prevailed.
She remained at the asylum ; and, after a few weeks, returned,
entirely cured, to her friends ; and, so far as I have been
informed, was restored to usefulness in her humble vocation.
For several years, I supplied the means to meet such cases as
they occurred ; until my success in business enabled me to com
mence the permanent fund, to which this will be added, and
which, with the sum given by myself and the other executors
of Mr. Samuel Appleton, now amounts to thirty thousand dol
lars. ' ' I have watched with interest and pleasure the benefit
resultuig from this appropriation. Would that others Avould
see it as I have done ! Their sympathies would be excited, and
they would thank God for the ability and opportunity to join
in so good a work. " With much respect, yours sincerely,
" Wm. Appleton.
"Hon. H. B. Rogers, Chairman Board of Trustees
Mass. General Hospital." 4

26 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
" Boston, Ilth January, 1862.
"Hon. AViLLiAii Appleton.
"Dear Sir, — In the absence of Mr. Rogers, your interest
ing communication of the Sth instant, enclosing a check for
ten thousand doUars, was presented to the trustees of the Hos
pital, yesterday afternoon, by Mr. Stevenson ; and the duty,
and, I wUl add, the pleasure, of acknowledging it, was assigned
to me.' ' The trustees gratefuUy accept this renewed expression of
your benevolent interest. They have long been impressed by
the blessings you have heretofore conferred upon the inmates
of the asylum.
" The Appleton Buildings, erected chiefly by your contribu
tion of twenty thousand dollars, aflbrd aU the comforts and
luxuries of a reflned home, greatly increasing the salutary influ
ences of the institution ; while the Appleton Fund for the
support of intercstirig indigent patients, now enlarged to thirty
thousand dollars, twenty thousand of which you haAC contri
buted, constantly reminds the trustees of your Avisdom and
beneficence. ' ' The income from this fund is the source from which many
persons, whose circumstances were as interesting and as pathetic
as that to which you refer as suggesting this endowment, have
been supported through, perhaps, the deepest of aU afflictions,
and restored, wholly or in part, to health, usefulness, and
peace. Others are now receiving the benefits of this fund, Avith
the hopeful prospect of similar results. For those yet to be
called upon to bear this discipline, this fund will be most faith
fully cherished.
' ' The trustees are gratified to observe that you ' have
watched with interest and pleasure the benefit resulting from
this appropriation ; ' and they most cordially sympathize with
you in the earnest wish, ' that others would see it as you have
done. Their sympathies would be excited, and they would
thank God for the ability and opportunity to join in so good
a work.'

MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 27
"You, sir, have the happiness which arises from the will
and power to relieve the afflicted ; but there are many made
both happy and grateful by the blessings conferred on them
by your noble contributions.
" With great regard, I remain, sir, faithfuUy yours,
"W. S. BULLAEC."
Mr. Appleton Avas chosen a member of the Massachu
setts Historical Society, not for any literary merit or any
peculiar interest in historical studies, but as a repre
sentative of a class 'of men, whose eminent practical
talents and achievements, exemplary integrity, mfluential
position, and valuable services to civilization, this Society
has always recognized. The names of those Avho, by
augmenting the materials of a nation's prosperity, have
helped to furnish and illustrate its history, are justly
entitled to be enrolled with theks who study and record
it. Especially should there be a place reserved for such
men in an association like this, when, m addition to the
claims just referred to, they have contributed of their
wealth and influence to the support of literature and
art, and earned the honorable title of patrons of good
learning. In November, 1850, Mr. Appleton was elected a
representative to Congress from the Suffolk District.
He had accepted the nomination with diffidence and
reluctance. It had been pressed upon him by his
friends, whose estimate of his capabilities for the ofifice
was far higher than his oaati. He frankly expressed to
them his fears that he might disappoint their expecta
tions ; and he privately recorded his anxiety as to the
effect which the cares of public life, and the political

28 MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
and social influences of Washington, might have upon
his religious character. " I dread the thought of bemg
draAVii to Avar ds the Avoiid, and further from Him to whom
my sole confidence and my service are due. I doubt
myself. I put all my trust in God, and pray that he
AviU direct and strengthen me."
The event, however, proved the Avisdom of those Avho
had selected him for this important trust. He discharged
its duties, during the Congress of 1851-2 and that of
1853-4, with eminent ability. Though his voice Avas
never heard in debate, yet he exerted a Aveighty influ
ence, and most successfully promoted the interests of
those Avhom he represented. His opinion upon the sub
jects with which he Avas conversant was ahvays regarded
with deference, and not unfrequently taken as authority.
Members of both the great political parties asked his
advice, assured of obtaining an independent and candid
judgment; and even the higher officers of the Govem
ment sometimes avaUed themselves of his prudent coun
sels. The Committee of Ways and ]\leans, on AA'hich he
served during the Avhole period of his Congressional
life, were greatly indebted to his experience and Avisdom,
and often expressed their high appreciation of his ser
vices. No man in Washington occupied a higher social
position, received and extended a more generous hospi
tality, served his constituents more usefully or more
honorably, or enjoyed a more unsullied reputation.
Mr. Appleton was for the third time chosen to Con
gress in 1861 ; having again, in deference to the urgent
solicitations of his personal and political friends, Avaived
his general unAvillingness to engage in public life,

MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 29
now increased by the precarious state of his health.
He Avas just entering his seventy-fourth year. His
feeble constitution, which had held out so long and
endured so many labors only through the force and ani
mation of his indomitable will and by means of a strict
and prudent regimen, was evidently beginning to give
Avay. He contemplated Avith deep solicitude the gloomy
aspect of our national affairs, and looked forward Avith
sad foreboding to the aAvful crisis Avhich Avas impending.
But he would not shrink from the post of duty to Avhich
the suffrages of his felloAV-citizens had called him in this
time of trial. Whatever strength remained to him ;
whatever wisdom or moderation or concUiatory influ
ence he might be able to contribute, — he would not
withhold from the service of his country.
" If I live," he writes, "and have sufficient strength, I
shall meet my responsibilities ; but I feel them deeply, as I am
old and weak. I am admonished that my days are numbered,
and few. When I view the present state of this country, — ¦
but yesterday, enjoying greater privileges than any nation of
ancient or modern times ; to-day, apparently about to abandon
those institutions that have raised us, since I was born, from a
poor and feeble people of three or four miUions to a vigorous
and mighty nation of thirty, and to an equal rank with the
leading powers of the world ; insanely about to throw ourselves
into chaos, without any real cause, — I am dismayed. We
must feel that God is displeased with us ; that our sins are such
as to bring upon us sudden and severe chastisement. We say,
contuiuaUy, ' God rules the world : ' I see nothing now that
can save us from what would appear to be the greatest calamity
that could befall our country, except His power to overrule the
Avills and passions of selfish and wicked men. God preserve
us!"

30 MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
He went to Washington Avith a heavy heart, but with
a high and resolute purpose. His intimate acquaint
ance Avith some of the best famUies of the South, whose
kind attentions had been lavished upon him during his
frequent visits as an invaUd to Charleston, and whose
hospitality he had often reciprocated, had established
towards them a strong attachment and sympathy. But
no personal friendship could draw him aside from his
supreme obligation to his country. The oath by which
he had bound himself to defend the Constitution had
been taken with his whole heart. He loved the Union
with intense affection. Every sectional prejudice, whe
ther of a Northern or a Southern leaning, his loyal mind
had always rejected. He not only opposed, Avith all his
abUity, every measure and every word which tended to
division, but sought to allay even the spirit of alienation.
So long as there was any hope left of avoiding an open
rupture, he neglected no legitimate means within his
reach to prevent it. But, when the crisis came, he did
not hesitate as to his duty. The very same principles of
pure patriotism which had prompted his endeavors to
preserve the Union from being severed, now moved him
as heartily to sustain the Government, as the only means
of restoring it ; or, if a restoration should be impossible,
as the only barrier and safeguard against utter national
ruin. Plaving adopted this wise policy, he acted upon
it with his accustomed energy and consistency. He gave
his voice and his money for the vigorous prosecution of
the Avar. Repugnant as it was to his feelmgs as a
patriot and a humane and Christian man, he felt that
it had been forced upon the Government ; that it had

MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 31
become a dire necessity ; and that to carry it on energe
tically to a successful issue was not only the dictate of
patriotism, but even of humanity.
Mr. Appleton remained in Washington dmdng the
summer session of 1861, tUl the close of July, Avhen his
faUing health compelled him to return to Boston. He
hoped, at first, that, after a temporary rest, he might be
able to resume his seat in Congress ; but the advice of
his physicians and his rapidly increasing debiUty com
pelled him to resign it. The last days of his public
service Avere spent in dUigent attendance upon the meet
ings of the Committee of Ways and Means, who then
had under consideration several measures particularly
affecting the mercantUe interests of his constituents.
His own simple record of these closing labors wUl give
the best impression, not only of their value, but of their
extraordinary persistency : —
" July 14. — Went this morning to Mr. Stevens, Chairman
of the Committee of Ways and Means, to obtain his consent
to telegraph to Boston and ISTew York that there was no cause
of alarm as to their goods in the bonded warehouse. WhUe
at the telegraph-office, received a telegram announcing the death
of my long-loved friend, Mr. Nathan Appleton. I had said
that I would return to Boston on his decease ; but I was told,
and believed, that I could not do so without neglecting urgent
duties in this place. My duty was evidently here. A bUl for
raising revenue was before the Committee of Ways and Means.
No other merchant was on the committee. I remained, and
secured for our shipping-merchants much advantage as to the
time when the duties should take effect, and on the warehouse-
goods. I feared, if I left, the bUl might be changed in the
House or Senate. I will not speak of the virtues of my dear
departed friend. His character will be fully portrayed by
others. Great purity of heart he possessed.

32 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
" July 15. — At Committee and House tUl five o'clock.
"16. — Went to Committee at ten o'clock, and then to the
House. "17. — Very busy with tariff-bUl. Went to the Treasurer
in relation to his project as to wines and spirits. He said they
had but imperfect information. Quite satisfied Avith the view
of the Committee whom I represented.
" 18 . — Bill for increasing revenue passed the House. Went
to see the Massachusetts troops.
"19. — At Committee and House. Much excitement as to
our troops in Virginia.
" 20. — House jiot in session. At Committee."

He was confined to his room by sickness on the 21st,
22d, and 23d.
" July 24. — Went to the House and Committee.
"25. — Went to Committee.
"26. — Went to Committee.
"27. — Quite ill. My physician told me to go home to
the North as soon as possible.
"28. — Not well. Low spirits.
"29. — Went to Committee. Called on the President.
" 30. — Quite feeble. Went to the Committee-room. Found
all present. Stated to them that I found that my health was
faUing; and asked them, if, in their opinion, there remained
any thing to be done for my constituents that would justify my
remaining in Washington at the risk of my life. Mr. Stevens
was kind enough to compliment me for my usefulness, and said
that the work was done : as to' the tariff", a Committee of Con
ference would do all that was now required ; that he behcA-ed
our bUl would be sustained. They all took me by the hand,
and said they hoped I would return again in December, &c. ,
&c. I was most kindly treated and taken leave of by the Com
mittee ; in fact, by all."

MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. .>.')
Such Avas the enviable close of his Congressional
career and his public life. That little scene in the Com
mittee-room, which he has so briefly and modestly
described, but Avhich others Avho witnessed it have
portrayed in warmer colors, and that more general and
miscellaneous leave-taking to Avhich he refers as having
been, Avithout exception, kindly, are beautiful and touch
ing tributes alike to the A^alue of his services, the purity
of his character, the Aveight of his influence, and the
Avarmth of his heart. None surely but a most unselfish
and upright man could have rethed thus from the halls
of Congress, and all the associations of the Capitol,
without one bitter reflection, one pang of Avounded
vanity or disappointed ambition, one regret for words
spoken, deeds done or duties neglected, one remembrance
of injuries inflicted or suffered ; Avith no other feeling
in his heart than a tender sense of the universal kind
ness of others, and a sweet consciousness of his oaa^u
unqualified good-AAiU towards all.
He came back to Boston exhausted and enfeebled,
not to prepare for death, — for that reasonable and re
ligious duty had not been deferred to the uncertainties of
the last hour, — but calmly to await it.. For many
years, admonished by his delicate health, it had been
his endeavor " to set his house in order," and to keep it
so. At several periods, he had supposed the end to be
at hand ; and, at each of them, he had contemplated the
event with the faith and composm'e of a Christian. His
Avorldly affairs were always so honestly managed, and so
prudently arranged, as to give him no anxiety in antici
pation of his departure. His feelings towards his fel-

34 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
low-men, if in any instance disturbed during the day,
were habitually pacified before the night. The only
point m which he felt the need of a more perfect pre
paration Avas in regard to his spiritual aptitude for
heaven; and for the fuU remedy of this insufficiency,
inseparable from human imperfection, he earnestly be
sought the grace of God, and humbly relied upon the
merits and intercession of the Eedeemer.
He came home to await death ; but not in supineness
and seclusion. WhUe he had strength to bear his
armor, it was against his nature and his principle to lay
it down. So long as his faculties were undimmed, he
Avould keep them occupied. Until he must take his final
leave of his friends, he felt it to be right to serve and
enjoy them.
Day by day, his bodily strength failed ; but there was
no faltering of his spirit, and no decay of his heart. He
kept at work, bravely and cheerfuUy, tUl God's time
came for his labors to cease. Then, without reluctance,
he dropped the insti-uments of his earthly service,
meekly laid himself down, folded his hands upon his
breast, fixed all his thoughts upon the crucified Saviour,
and fell asleep.*
The foregoing cursory sketch of Mr. Appleton's life
has brought into view some of his peculiar traits ; but
as they have come mto notice with no regard to arrange
ment, and only in connection with the mcidents AA'hich
suggested them, they have necessarUy been presented in
a partial and fragmentary manner. Justice to his own
* He diiMl at Longwood, near Boston, Saturday, Feb. IB, 1862.

MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 35
distinguished merits, as well as fideUty to the duty which
this Society has laid upon us, require not only a more
detailed recognition of his prominent features, but an
attempt to group them, as far as possible, into a life-like
image of the man.
All his quaUties were so positive, and so honestly and
independently exercised, that no one who was acquainted
with his character would find any difficulty in analyzing
it. Indeed, to a degree which is seldom equalled, his
character had moulded and stamped itself upon his form.
His whole person was singularly expressive ; it is not
extravagant to say, impressive. His capacious forehead
betokened a powerful and thoughtful intellect, quick to
apprehend, sagacious to analyze, comprehensive to com
bine, and Aveighty to influence. His large and fine eye,
so bright and keen in pursuit and scrutiny, so deep and
often sad in repose, so soft and pleasant m friendly con
versation and sympathetic moods, Avas but a ti'uthful in
dex to his thoughts, — now so intense and penetrating,
then so serious and seU-arraigning, and again so genial
and kind. His pale face, sunken cheeks, and emaciated
form, in connection with his quick motions, his impatient
gestures, his decided and sometimes abrupt manner, and
his concise, conclusive style, gave evidence of that fervid
spirit and imperious wUl which tasked the dehcate or
ganization Avith Avhich they were so unequally aUied.
With no stateliness nor peculiar grace, he was invested
with an air of dignity and refinement which can only
emanate from a pure and noble soul. His presence was
felt in every company as none can be but that of the
most individual and potential characters. His influence

36 MEAIOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
was such as belongs only to those Avho are born to con
trol. He bore the genuine credentials of a royal nature.
He had the instinct and the look of authority, — the eye
and the lip of command ; and, better than all, he wore
the imperial signet of truth, and the princely robe of
integrity. In any station, he would have made his mark ;
in any path, he would have risen to distinction. No
measure of success could relax his energy, and no
amount of difficulty discourage his exertions. FacUities
and obstacles Avere alike incentives. Whatever sagacity
could devise, courage adventure, or persistency achieve,
he was sure to accomplish.
And yet, with all his independence, his quickness of
temper, his pertinacity of will, and his peremptoriness
of manner, there Avere combined tender affections, gene
rous sympathies, liberal sentiments, and a kind and for
giving disposition. Though habitually u-ritable, he Avas
never vindictive. No residue of resentment outlasted
the hasty utterance. If his tongue had inadvertently
inflicted a sudden pang, his hand Avas instantly ready to
relieve it. In the long record of forty years of his life,
which is before us, with all its allusions to the numerous
individuals with Avhom he had been brought into contact
in social, commercial, and political intercourse, there is
positively not one uncharitable word, nor even so much
as a single unkind insmuation. If there are any re
proaches, they are visited upon himself. He never dis
paraged others, but strove to keep his oavu heart
humble. While earnestly aspiring after the highest
honors and rewards which nature or circumstances led
hira to pursue, he never sought to raise himself by pull-

MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON. 37
ing another do^vn. He kept his heart above mean rival
ries, and he spurned the tricks of ambition. He Avould
deserve honor, not beg for it ; and secure success by
merit, not by intrigue. All the prizes which he obtained,
of wealth, of mercantile reputation, of social rank, of
personal respect and public distinction, he lawfully pur
sued and fairly won. Nor, when they Avere attained,
Avere they selfishly enjoyed or arrogantly paraded ; but
his heart expanded with his gains, and his private and
public sei'Aices Avere multiplied Avith his honors.
But, Avhile dUigently pursuing, and obtaining, these
earthly treasures, his heart was never turned away from
the heavenly. While reaping in ample measure the
golden harvest of his temporal labors, he never ceased
to " have respect unto the recompense of reward." The
best part of his life, and the most praiseworthy of his
attainments, Avere only partiaUy seen of men. They
recognized, indeed, the purity of his conversation and
conduct, his scrupulous fidelity to his engagements, his
benevolence, his reverence for things sacred, his punc
tual observance of the forms of religion, and some of the
more costly offerings which he dedicated to Christ and
the Church ; but there were hoUer and lovelier things,
of which all those conveyed but a partial idea, hidden
behind the veU. Having lifted that veil, so far as his
diary enables us, with a reverent hand, we have caught
glimpses of a secret life, which casts all those outward
works and virtues into the shade. We have seen the
manifestations of a strong religious faith, a childlike sub
mission, a Uvely gratitude, a deep humility, a daily hun
ger and thirst after righteousness, a constant warfare

38 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
with the flesh and the world, — traces of a profound
Christian experience, a continual growth in grace, and a
gradual ripening of the character for heaven.
We have no misgivings in holding up such a life be
fore the young men of New England, as worthy of honor
and emulation. In the lengthening roll of those princely
merchants whose unsuUied integrity has estabhshed the
commercial credit of Boston, whose munificence has
endowed its institutions of learning, charity, and reUgion,
and whose honorable Uves have been among its noblest
ornaments, the name of WUliam Appleton, in view of
the various quaUties which exalt his vocation, illustrate
the benefactor, approve the Christian, and dignify the
man, though it may not be entitled to pre-eminence, de
serves no second place.

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX.

The foUoAving letter from one Avhose intimate acquamt-
ance with Mr. Appleton, as well as his practised and
graceful pen, give authority to his words, is a memoir in
itself: — "Philadelphia, January, 1863.
"Eev. and dear Sir,
" Your request, that I should furnish you with a few remi
niscences of my dear friend WUliam Appleton, has lain too long
unansAvered. You have about you those who have seen him
more intimately in his walk as a Christian, a citizen, and a man
of business ; and I can hardly hope to add any thing to their
contributions. Yet I gladly pay a slight tribute to one whom I
had strong reason to love and honor, and who may well be held
up before the young as an example.
' ' I first knew Mr. Appleton in the early part of the year
1826 ; and, from that time to the day of his death, I saw him as
frequently and famUiarly as often happens to men engaged in
different pursuits, and living most of the time remote from each
other. During five years, at the beginning of our acquaint
ance, it was my privUege to minister to him in holy things, and
I was then his near neighbor and friend. The intimacy then
formed has continued with unabated cordiality, and I have at
times been an inmate of his family for scA-eral weeks. As I
stood, in February last, over his cold remains, my memory
reproduced most vividly the first occasion on which I saw him,
and the impression which the interview of a few hours made
upon me. His emaciated figure and pale face, his ample fore-
6

42 MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
head, and eye beaming with kindness, his quick and decided
motions, and his spare and somewhat hesitating speech, aU told
of broken health, of an active and shrewd mind, of a strong
but mastered wUl, of a genial and most benevolent heart. It
seemed evident, at once, that he was a man of action rather
than of words ; and one who , without claiming or even desiring
it, would naturally take a large share in the direction of any
affairs with which he had more immediate connection. Such he
has appeared to me ever since. Of his course in business, I
knew little. When he came to his home, the schemes and cares
of the counting-room seemed to be laid aside. He gave him
self to his guests, liis friends, and, above aU, to his famUy.
Whatever would promote their happiness or welfare, formed,
unconsciously, his great care. All neighborly acts, such as
most men and especially men of feeble health and in his situa
tion of life, would scarcely have thought of, were his dehght.
They were performed so constantly, and yyith such apparent
ease and self-forgetfulness, that you hardly remembered that
they Avcre favors. He enjoyed conversation greatly, though
not taking a large share in it. His range of information was
not great ; but his judgment always struck me as singularly
correct. There was, on practical questions, a quickness and
precision wliich seemed intuitive, and usually a great absence
of prejudice and passion. At one time, I had frequent occasion
to consult him ; and, though it was on subjects foreign from liis
accustomed cares and pursuits, his opinions were eminently
judicious. ' ' You ask me more particularly in regard to his religious
history. I am sorry that on this point I cannot give informa
tion that is very fidl or definite. When I was his pastor, he did
not profess to be a decidedly Christian man. He had been
faithfully instructed by godly parents ; and for his mother, who
survived, he cherished a profound reverence. But the cares of
the world and the blandishments of society had insensibly shaken
his faith in some of those principles of Christianity which
formed the stay and solace of his later years, as they had been
the staple of his earlier teachings. His mind, when I first knew

APPENDIX. 43
him, seemed to yearn for the support and satisfaction of a clearer
and stronger faith in spiritual realities, but to recoil from the
effort and the sacrifices by which it was to be won. The
charms of things seen were in CAadent conflict in his mind with
things unseen ; and his intense devotion to business, combined
with his deference for those about him, gave advantage to
the former. At times, he rebelled against exhibitions of what
I regarded as truth ; and I recoUect, with deep interest, long
conversations which on such occasions I have had with him.
His acuteness and strong sense were sometimes more than a
match for my crude thoughts ; and I have always felt that the
scrutiny to which his active mind subjected my preaching at
this time, Ayhen I was just beginning my ministry, was no
small service to me. His questionings were always kind and
respectfid : they evinced a mind searching for truth ; though It
was sometimes quite obvious that it was more for the satisfac
tion of a speculative curiosity than for the instruction and edifi
cation of his moral nature. At others, his Avhole soul seemed
to brood over the great problems of our higher life ; and I
thought, that, during the few years he Avas my parishioner,
there was evident progress in the depth and active power of his
rehgious convictions. I left Boston in the year 1831. Not
long after, severe domestic bereavements, the faithful preaching
of my successor, and his deep sense of responsibility as a
parent, aU contributed to fix his purpo.se for life ; and he
became an avowed follower of his Lord.
?' I ought to add, that he was, from the beginning, a most
hberal supporter of the chm'ch (St. Paul's) which he attended.
When I took charge of It, it was burdened with heavy debts.
Though at that time he kept no carriage, and indulged in few
unnecessary expenses, he boldly assumed the principal burden ;
and it was mainly through his generosity and decision that the
parish was carried through a very serious crisis. His hand was,
at that time, always open to any good caU that was made upon
his sympathy or pubhc sphit. I can bear most grateful testi
mony to the considerate and delicate kindness with AvhIch he
always treated his pastor and his pastor's famUy.

44 MEMOIR OP HON. AVILLIAM APPLETON,
"During aU the years that I knew him, he exhibited an
admirable self-mastery. A great dyspeptic, with a morbid
appetite, he was inexorable to all the temptations of the table.
With Intense native energy, and great fondness for the hazards
and successes of trade, he seemed, on system, to restrain
himself from becoming entirely engrossed and enslaved. A
father, sorely afflicted and bereaved, he never betrayed Impa
tience. When, not many years since, one of the heaviest
domestic calamities seemed impending, and after he had re
ceived one crushing blow after another, he said to me at an
accidental meeting, ' This seems the knell of my earthly hopes.
The past has been bitter ; this exceeds in bitterness. But, much
as I have suffered, I feel that I have needed It all ; and, in my
prayers to my heavenly Father, my first request is, " Thy wUl
be done." If more chastening be necessary to subdue my
pride, to humble my self-wUl, to cure my devotion to things
earthly, let it come. Him who hath borne such agonies for my
sake, and who loves me with a love passing aU human affection,
I can trust. Not my will, but his.'
" It is said, that, as he grew old, he did not escape entirely
that which has been caUed ' the vice of old age.' It has also
been Intimated, that his rehgious sensibUities had been someAvhat
diiUed in his later years by contact Avith political life. Of this
I cannot speak with any confidence, not having met him as
frequently or as intimately as before. I can only say, that, so
far as I did see or know him through all his advancing age, he
seemed to me an earnest, godly man ; fighting — as who of us
does not ? — but fighting vahantly and prayerfuUy against ' the
world, the flesh, and the devU.'
"It is now the first day of a new year (1863). Thirty-
seven years have nearly passed since first I saw him. During
all that time, William Appleton has seemed to me a rare man.
As a neighbor and friend, as a citizen and merchant, as a father
and husband, he was one of Natm'c's noblemen. As he ad
vanced in life, he Avas enriched and endowed by grace, and
became a fountain of temporal and sjiirltual blessings to many,
near and far off". I have seen him (how often !) at his board.

APPENDIX. 45
surrounded by his large and lovely famUy, radiant with happi
ness, giA'Ing and recelAang nothing but joy. I liaAC seen his
cliUdren growing up, and then cut down, one after another,
when surrounded by the brightest and gayest hopes. PEs ad
mirable wife — so full of all amenities, and so abundant in
Avorks of kindness — I have seen succumbing under the weight
of one domestic sorrow after another, and finally resigning her
self to death. Himself I have seen, — left alone in the house
that for more than forty-five years had been his cherished home,
broken in health, burdened with the weight of more than three
score years and ten. I haA'e heard of him, with mind
unclouded and spirit serene, making all his preparations dehbe-
rately for his last hour, and entering the dark valley Avith hum
ble but unfaltering trust in his Almighty Eedeemer. Could
more have been wished for him ? ' Blessed are the dead who
die in the Lord. Even so, saith the Spirit ; for they rest from
their labors, and their works do follow them.'
" I am, dear sir, yours very truly,
"Alonzo Potter.
" Rev. Chandler Robbins, D.D."

PUBLIC MEETING OF THE CITIZENS OF BOSTON, IN RESPECT
TO THE MEMORY OF AVILLIAM APPLETON.
A very full meeting of our citizens was held in the
Merchants' Exchange Reading Room, at half-past ten
o'clock, Tuesday, Feb. 18, to testify their respect for the
late Hon. William Appleton. The meeting was called
to order by Israel Whitney, Esq. He offered the fol
lowing list of officers, which was accepted : President,
Edward S. Tobey ; Vice-Presidents, James M. Beebe,
John L. Gardner ; Secretaries, William Perkins, James
Lawrence.

46 MEMOIR OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
The following report is taken from the " Daily Ad
vertiser : " —
Mr. Tobey, on taking the chair, addressed the meeting as
follows : —
Felloav-Citizens, — We are assembled on this solemn occasion
to manifest in some appropriate manner our respect for the character
of our esteemed and deeply-lamented fellow-citizen, the Hon. William
Appleton, who died at Longwood on Saturday morning last.
This mournful event has brought together statesmen, merchants,
and citizens of various professions, to mingle their sentiments of
regard, so justly due to the worthy character and eminent distinction
of our deceased friend and associate. His long and successful career
as one of the most prominent merchants of this city has given to his
name a world-wide reputation as a representative of rare commercial
ability, sound judgment, and honorable enterprise. Amidst all the
vicissitudes of the mercantile profession, and the severe ordeal to
which all engaged in it must unavoidably be subjected, none have
sustained a reputation more exempt from dishonor, or from the mis
apprehensions incident to the various and complex relations of an
extensive and long business experience, than has Mr. Appleton. It
is therefore eminently fit that we should pause in the hurried and
pressing duties of the hour, and turn aside to pay a spontaneous
tribute of respect to the memory and worth of an honorable mer
chant, a conservative patriot, an exemplary citizen, who, during a
long life of active industry and practical usefulness, has contributed
largely to the prosperity and moral and religious welfare of this city
and of this country. With his mental powers undimmed almost to
the last hours of life, we may say, in the expressive lauguage of
another, " He seems to us noiv, as in truth he is, not extinguished,
or ceasing to be, but only withdrawn ; as the clear sun goes down at
his setting, not darkened, but only no longer seen."
But I am admonished by the presence of liis distinguished con
temporaries and friends, who have been permitted to enjoy a more
intimate social intercourse, that it is not for me to present at length
the merits of either the private or public character of our deceased
friend. That duty appropriately devolves on others. I shall, how
ever, regard it a privilege, both individually and in behalf of the
mercantile body I represent, to concur in any measures that may be

APPENDIX. 47
proposed in testimony to his eminent worth, or in remembrance of
his many virtues.
Charles G. Losing, Esq., offered a series of resolutions,
with the following remarks : —
Mr. Chairman, — The distinguished citizen, in reference to whose
decease this meeting has been called, having passed from this scene
of earthly labor, in which he filled a sphere of pre-eminent useful
ness and influence, it becomes those who shared' in his toils, and
enjoyed and suifered with him in the alternations of mercantile
prosperity and adversity ; who reaped the benefits of his ability,
wisdom, and experience, in the management of private and public
affairs, and were aided by his efficient intervention and counsels, —
to pause, though it be for a moment only, to pay a passing tribute of
respect and grateful recollection to his memory ; and to lay, however
transitorily, to heart the lesson of mortality which the departure of
one of such wealth, position, wide-spread influence, religious and
moral principle, and means of social and domestic enjoyment, —
combining all that seems to make earthly life desirable, — so emi
nently illustrates.
Mr. Appleton was, by nature, education, and habit, eminently
qualified for the vocation in which he passed his life ; and in which
he had few, if any, superiors in ability, reputation, or success.
Combining remarkable powers of perception and analysis, his ap
prehension of the subject presented, in all its most important
relations, was so instantaneous as to seem intuition rather than
judgment. His decision often preceded half the statements of the
case ; so clear and accurate was his mental eye in discerning
the prominent points upon which it should turn, without reference
to the surroundings which distracted or absorbed the attention of
less comprehensive or quick-sighted minds. Nor was his resolution
less prompt and effective than the rapidity of his apprehension.
Having once ascertained the material relations of the matter in
hand, and satisfied himself of their reality, his decision was imme
diate ; and action followed, with no faltering step, on judgment.
In reputation for foresight, sagacity, and comprehension in finan
cial and mercantile affairs, he held a position to which few in our
community have ever attained ; and exerted a corresponding influ
ence, not confined to the city or state in which he lived, but which
extended to the great metropolis of the country, and at three different

48 memoir op HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
periods illuminated and influenced the councils of the nation. Of
this power, he fully enjoyed the consciousness ; but never perverted
it to the advancement of his own interest, in contravention of his
duty to others or to the public.
His wider range of information, superior foresight, and peculiar
faculty of comprehensive combination, often gave to him great ad
vantage in mercantile negotiation, but never tempted him to dis
honesty or disingenuousness ; and cases not infrequently occurred,
where consciousness of the effect of such superiority, in favorable
results to himself, led to a subsequent modification of the contract,
or other indemnity, to the other party. He was a merchant in the
highest sense of the word ; acting upon the true principles of his
occupation, scrupulous in fulfilling fairly his part of the agreement,
and exacting an equally strict performance of it on the other ; leav
ing the consequences, if not conformable to his subsequent sense of
equity, or if appealing to his generosity, to be adjusted under their
proper influences. Mr. Appleton was not a man of comprehensive
attainment beyond tbe limits of his vocation : he had, however, the
capacity to enjoy the science and learning of others in public exhibi
tions of them or in the social circle ; and few knew better how to
distinguish between reality and pretension, or to appreciate the
sources of those, who, in other departments, evinced the superiority
of which he was conscious in his own.
In private life, the deceased illustrated the guidance and control
of combined religious principle and emotion. Fervent in faith, and
desirous to extend its benign influences, he contributed very largely
to religious institutions and purposes ; and was, more than most men
equally devoted to affairs, accustomed to religious reading and con
versation. As a husband, father, relative, and friend, his kindness
and generosity were without stint or limit ; while he evinced in
numberless ways, often unknown to the recipients of his bounty, his
full apprehension of the Christian answer to the question, " Who is
my neighbor ? " Although often abrupt, and sometimes having the
appearance of unkindness (a manner the probable result of years of
suffering under a form of disease vitally affecting the nervous S3'stem) ,
those who knew him most intimately, and were most conversant with
his daily walks, bear testimony that he had beneath a heart full of
tenderness to his friends, and all whose welfare or happiness he could
promote ; that he loved to visit the widow and the fatherless, and
cheer, by his friendly attentions and kind offices, those who had seen

APPENDIX. ' 49
better days ; and that their humble dwellings were not infrequently
the scenes of his soothing sympathy and considerate aid. Nor were
the more conspicuous objects of public charity forgotten or disre
garded, as his repeated and liberal contributions to the M'Lean
Asylum and other institutions bear witness.
In the discharge of his duties at Washington, he was eminently
faithful and attentive ; and though not participating much, if ever,
in debate, he was most assiduous in the more arduous and important
duties of the committee-room, and exercised a very great and widely
spread influence upon public men and measures. This influence,
heightened by a genial and liberal hospitality and the profound
respect entertained for his abilities and fidelity, gathered for him
troops of friends in all parts of the country.
And when his long, successful, and most useful life was drawing
to a close, conscious of the near approach of his last hour on earth,
no fear or painful apprehension obscured his mind, or weakened his
faith that the dark valley into which he had entered terminated at
the gate of a higher and holier state of being. In view, sir, of the
character and services of such a fellow-citizen, for whose memory we
are here assembled to pay the last tribute of respect, I offer the fol
lowing resolutions for the consideration of the meeting : —
EESOLUTIONS.
Resolved, That, iu the decease of Hon. William Appleton, the
mercantile community has sustained the loss of one of its most
eminent, useful, and influential members, whose example eminently
illustrated the effects of faithful devotion to the principles of industry
and fidelity which characterize the true merchant, and which has
greatly contributed to the confidence and respect with which that
profession is regarded throughout the city and the Commonwealth.
Besolved, That his services in the national councils, and the wis
dom, kindness, and efficiency with which he aided others and the
public in exigencies of commercial embarrassment and in the ad
ministration of the financial affairs of the community, should ever be
held in honored and grateful remembrance.
Besolved, That, in his departure, the public has lost a distin
guished benefactor, the poor a kind-hearted almoner of the wealth
committed to his trust, and religion and charity a beneficent friend.
Resolved, That we sympathize with the family and relatives of
the deceased in the death of one so justly and extensively beloved
7

50 MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
and revered, and who so eminently exhibited the virtues and graces
of social and domestic life and the influences of Christian benevo
lence ; and that the Chairman be requested to transmit to them a
copy of these resolutions, in token of our respect for his memory,
and of our condolence in their bereavement.
Samuel T. Dana, Esq., moved the following resolution,
which was adopted : —
Resolved, That the proceedings of this meeting be published in
the daily papers, and that the secretary be requested to transmit a
copy of the same to the family of the deceased ; and that, when this
meeting shall adjourn, it adjourn to meet at St. Paul's Church, at
twelve o'clock this noon, to attend the obsequies of the deceased.
The resolutions were seconded by Hon. Eobert C. Win
throp, who spoke as follows : —
In the absence of Mr. Everett, who, to his own regret not less
than to the regret of us all, is prevented by severe indisposition from
being with us this morning, I am here, my friends, at short notice,
and with less preparation than I could have desired for such a ser
vice, to second the resolutions which have just been read, and to pay
my humble tribute to the memory of the excellent man whose loss
will be so deeply felt in this community.
I shall attempt no elaborate eulogy. He does not need it. He
would not have desired it. He was not a man of many words him
self ; and, in view of what has already been so well said by others, I
may be pardoned for summing up his character, his services, and his
claims upon our respect and gratitude, with something of the same
directness and brevity which would have characterized any similar
tribute of his own.
Our lamented friend was a person of many marked peculiarities,
both physical and mental. No one, I think, could have observed his
slender form and sunken cheek, at any time within a half-century
past, without wondering how he had escaped an early doom ; or cer
tainly without supposing that he must always have been destined to
lead the life of an invalid. He has told me himself, that, more than
forty years ago, he embarked from one of yonder whar\cs, on a
voyage to the Mediterranean, without an expectation, on the part of
his li-iends, that he could live to return home. But within that

APPENDIX. 51
seemingly feeble frame there was an indomitable will ; there was a
cheerful and courageous spirit, and a mind of extraordinary activity.
Descended from an ancient and honored stock, whose memorials
are abundant in Old England and in New England, the son of a
worthy Massachusetts clergyman, he enjoyed, in his boyhood, the
unspeakable advantages of a good school education and of a religious
home. But his tastes were not for literary pursuits ; and he never
entered on a collegiate course. Nature had plainly endowed him
with qualities peculiarly adapted to a practical, business life ; and he
was not slow in finding it out.
He was a man of quick and keen perception ; reaching results by
a sort of intuition or instinct, which others would have attained
by long processes of thought and study. He was a man of prompt
and firm decision ; relying upon his own impressions ; obedient to his
own convictions ; not troubled with many doubts on any subject, and
rarely leaning upon the counsels of others. He was a man of mar
vellous despatch and energy in the execution of his plans and purposes ;
impatient of delay in accomplishing whatever his judgment had once
approved as right and best under the circumstances before him.
Whatever his hand found to do, he literally " did it with all his
might." Entering early upon mercantile pursuits with these natural
adaptations, and refusing to yield to a condition of physical infirmity
which would have forced so many others into retirement before they
had reached their maturity, he persevered in his chosen calling, with
unabated activity, until within a short period of his death at the
advanced age of seventy-five years. From first to last, the most
signal success attended him in almost all his business transactions.
He amassed a great fortune ; and he was by no means indifferent to
its increase. He never disguised the satisfaction with which he saw
it grow and roll up under his careful and skilful management.
But happily for him, and happily for the community in which he
lived, his acknowledged love of wealth, and his unsurpassed sagacity
in acquiring it, not only never obtained the mastery over his higher
and nobler attributes, but rather served to secure a wider scope for
their development and exercise. He ever cherished and cultivated —
not out of any mere generous impulse, and still less out of any unworthy
ostentation, but as a matter of Christian principle and conscientious
obligation — a spirit and a habit of the largest liberality and benefi
cence. It seemed as if his capacity for acquisition could only be
surpassed by his readiness to give and his gladness to distribute.

52 memoir op HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
The public institutions which have been the subject of his bounty are
known to us all. We may see them on all sides of us. The noble
structures whieh he' erected, the excellent establishments which he
endowed, are his best monuments ; and the blessings of those to
whose temporal or spiritual comfort they were consecrated are his
just and all-sufficient eulogy. Yet, if I mistake not, these public
endowments would make up but a small part of the history of his
life-long beneficence. The private charities which he has dispensed,
year by year and day by day, when his left hand was hardly per
mitted to know what his right hand was doing, — could they ever be
recounted in full, would occupy even a larger and a brighter page ;
and, if they are never recounted on earth, we know they will have
secured for themselves, and will have secured for him, a record on
high, compared with which all earthly celebrity is but as sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal.
Mr. President, the character and career of our departed friend
may be regarded in many different aspects. As a merchant of
eminent sagacity and unsullied integrity ; as a public man, who has
rendered valuable and patriotic services to his country, both in his
early relations to the Bank of the United States and in his more
recent connection with the National Legislature ; as a fellow-citizen
and friend, faithful to every private duty, given to hospitality and
good neighborhood, and never withholding his time, his counsel, or
his purse, from the exigencies of others ; as a benevolent and munifi
cent patron of so many of our noble institutions of religion, education,
and philanthropy ; in all these respects alike, he has been distin
guished among the most distinguished ; and, in some of them, he has
hardly left his peer.
Yet I hazard nothing in saying, that he would himself have desired
to be remembered, above all, as a humble, sincere, devoted Christian ;
not bigoted, not boastful ; of the largest toleration and most compre
hensive charity, rather ; but adhering, with open and unswerving alle
giance, to the precepts and doctrines of the gospel as he understood
them, and to that faith in Christ, which he told me, as he pressed
my hand for the last time a few days since, was the sure and stead
fast anchor of his soul. That faith had sustained him in life, under
a succession of domestic afflictions such as had fallen to the lot of
few other men ; and it could not, and did not, fail him in the hour
of death. That was the very hour of its richest consolations and its
most assured triumphs.

APPENDIX. 53
Sir, the merchants of Boston, and not the merchants only, but our
whole community, may well be saddened as one after another of
our most eminent and excellent men are taken away from us. Their
loss would have been felt deeply at any time ; but we miss them
especially in this hour of our country's agony, when we have so much
need of the wisest counsels and the best men. Our Perkinses and
Lawrences and Appletons, our Lyman and Eliot and Josiah Bradlee
and good Moses Grant — I cannot recall them all ; but how much of
the proudest and worthiest part of om- local history is associated with
names like these ! Let us have no fear, however, that the race of our
public-spirited men is yet exhausted. Let us not even linger around
the honored remains which we are about to follow to the grave, as if
it were possible that the succession of public benefactors, with which
we have so long been blessed, were coming to an end. Uno avulso,
non deficit aureus tdter. Such examples can never be lost on the
generations which are rising up to occupy the vacant places. Nor
can Boston ever be without sons who will uphold her ancient renown
for liberality and munificence.
Yet at this hour, perhaps, we may not be quite able to repress a
doubt, whether, in the long centuries of prosperity which we trust
may still be in reserve for our beloved city, there will be found,
among those who shall successively inhabit it, a name which will be
associated with greater purity and greater beneficence, and around
which will be clustered memories more precious, for time and for
eternity, than that of the lamented friend to whom we have assem
bled to pay this farewell tribute of respect and gratitude.
It only remains for me. Sir, to second the resolutions ; which I do
with all my heart.
The meeting then adjourned to- attend the funeral ser
vices. THE FUNERAL SERVICES.
The funeral services were held at St. Paul's (Episcopal)
Church at twelve o'clock, noon. A large number of the
relatives and friends of the deceased, with many members of
the City Government, were present. The remains, enclosed
in a rosewood cofSn trimmed with silver and covered Avith
flowers, were carried from his late residence in Beacon

54 MEMOIR OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
Street to the church, where they were received by the
warden and vestrymen. The bearers were Sullivan Warren,
George H. Lyman, Isaac Emery, Benjamin P. Hallett, James
B. Upham, and John P. Putnam. The solemn burial service
of the Episcopal Church was conducted. by Eev. Dr. A. H.
Vinton, Bishop Potter of Pennsylvania, Eev. Dr. Stone of
Brookline, and the Eector of St. Paul's.
After the ceremonies, the body Avas accompanied to Mount
Auburn by a very large company In carriages. The closing
service of the Episcopal Church was read at the grave.

MEETING OF TIIE WARDENS AND VESTRY OF ST. PAUL'S
CHURCH.
Mr. Appleton was one of the founders of St. Paul's Church in
this city ; of which he continued to be an active member, and was
one of the wardens, at the time of his death. He was warmly inter
ested in all the concerns of that parish ; and it is largely indebted to
him for its signal prosperity and efficiency. St. Stephen's Church in
this city was built and endowed by his liberality ; and there has been
hardly any enterprise connected with the interests of our church in
this diocese, or in the country at large, which has not had the benefit
of his wise counsels and liberal benefactions. He has been a fre
quent delegate from St. Paul's Church to our Diocesan Convention ;
and, for many years, he has been unanimously chosen by the Con
vention as one of the delegation from this diocese to the General
Convention. He was warmly attached to the Protestant-Episcopal
Church, and alive to all its interests. Our whole communion mourn
his departure ; yet they feel, that in such a calm, clear, peaceful
close of a long life of honor and of Christian usefulness, there are
grounds of abundant consolation, not only for themselves, but for
those who are still more nearly and deeply bereaved.
The funeral of Mr. Appleton was attended at St. Paul's Church
by Of very large concourse of his fellow-citizens and friends. Many

APPENDIX. 55
of the clergy of our church were present. The services were con
ducted by the Rt. Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., Bishop of Pennsylvania,
the Rev. John S. Stone, D.D., Rev. Alexander H. Vinton, D.D.,
and the Rev. WiUiam R. Nicholson, D.D. These clergymen have
all sustained the relation of pastor to Mr. Appleton, as rectors of St.
Paul's ; and their presence added much to the solemnity and impres-
siveness of the occasion.
At a meeting of the Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul's Church in
Boston, held on Sunday, Feb. 16, in the vestry of the church, the
foUowing preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted : —
Whereas, It has pleased our heavenly Father to take to himself
our late friend and associate, the Hon. William Appleton ; and —
Whereas, Mr. Appleton was one of the founders of St. Paul's
Church, and has, from its earliest history, retained a most lively
interest in its welfare, both temporal and spiritual, — having been, for
many years, one of the wardens of the church, and ready at all
times to increase its prosperity by his counsel and his means ;
and —
Whereas, For these reasons, and from our sincere regard, respect,
and love for the deceased, it is peculiarly fitting that this vestry
should take appropriate notice of his death : therefore —
Resolved, That, in the death of Mr. Appleton, we acknowledge the
hand of our heavenly Father, who doeth all things well ; and bow in
submission to his will.
Resolved, That we sincerely sympathize with the afflicted family
and friends of the deceased in being caUed to part with one upon
whom they have leaned with so much confidence, love, and respect.
Resolved, That St. Paul's Church has lost one of its earliest and
best friends ; one who ever rejoiced in her prosperity, and counseUed
her in her trials and prosperity ; one who, to the day of his death,
loved her with a sincere and strong affection.
Resolved, That the calm, steady, and firm Christian character of
the deceased, his unvaried kindness towards all of us, his judicious
counsels and firm integrity, have always endeared him to us, and
will be ever kept fresh in our memory.
Besolved, That the mercantile profession has lost one of its
brightest ornaments, the Church one of its most steady and consistent
members, the poor a kind and constant friend, our benevolent insti
tutions one of their most liberal benefactors, and the country a firm

56 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
supporter of the Constitution ; and, while we all mourn his loss, our
grief is mitigated by the reflection, that he has exchanged a life full
of trials for one of peace and joy, and, in full trust in the merits of
his Saviour for his acceptance, has gone down to his grave, full
of years and full of honors.
Besolved, That, in token of our respect for the memory of the
deceased, we will attend his funeral as a body.
Besolved, That a copy of these resolutions be transmitted by the
clerk to the family of the deceased, and to the " Christian Witness "
for publication.
A true copy from the record.
Attest : J. P. Putnam, Clerk.
(From the "Christian Witness.")

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL.
The Corporation of the Massachusetts General Hos
pital held a special meeting at the hospital, for the
purpose, chiefly, of taking action in relation to the
death of its President, the late Hon. William Appleton.
The Vice-President, Robert Hooper, Esq., presided ;
and T. B. Hall, Esq., officiated as secretary. After
appropriate eulogies, the following resolutions Avere
unanimously adopted : —
Besolved, That, in the death of the Hon. William Appleton, this
corporation has met with a great loss. He was connected with the
management of its affairs for twenty-five years ; always with a lively
interest in the prosecution of its charitable purposes. The institution
is greatly indebted to his prudent counsels, as well as to his well-
directed benevolence. His muniflcent donations enabled the trustees
to do much for the comfort, as well as for the cure, of those insane
whose limited means might otherwise have deprived them of the full

APPENDIX. 57
advantages of a residence at the asylum. The fund which he estab
lished for the assistance of the curable insane has abounded in rich
fruits. The buildings bearing his name at Somerville, which were
erected at his suggestion and chiefly by his bounty, are honorable
monuments both of his sagacity and of his benevolence.
Besolved, That a copy of these proceedings be communicated to
the family of Mr. Appleton, with assurances of the sympathy of the
members of the corporation with them in their bereavement, and of
their appreciation of the honorable and Christian character of the
deceased.

The following brief and appropriate tribute to Mr.
Appleton is copied from the Annual Report of the
Superintendent of the M'Lean Asylum for the Insane
for the year 1862 : —
" Holding for many years the position of Trustee and President,
Mr. Appleton became thoroughly acquainted with and interested in
the real wants of those for whose necessities this institution was
established, and gave his influence and his wealth, heartily and
munificently, to carry out, to the fullest extent possible, its beneficent
purposes for their relief. The 'Appleton Wards,' contributing all that
elegance and convenience can contribute to the contentment of their
occupants, and hiding, by their comfortable and cheerful arrange
ments, the necessities for restraint, and compensating, as far as possi
ble, for a withdrawal from home ; and the 'Appleton Fund, for the
assistance and support of needy, curable patients,' giving aid at just
the time of the greatest necessity, and causing a daily increasing
number, with the return of health and reason, to bless the unknown
giver for the means of recovery, — these proofs of his discriminating
and far-sighted benevolence, conspicuous among the unnumbered
charities by which he constantly and yet unostentatiously consecrated
his wealth and transmuted it into the treasures of heaven, will
environ his memory for ever with gratitude and admiration, and
clothe his name with the unsullied honor which only follows an
earnest Christian life."

58 MEMOIE OF HON. AVILLIAM APPLETOX.

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY.
At a stated meetmg of the Massachusetts Historical
Society, held on Thursday, March 13, 1862, the Presi
dent, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, — after alluding to the
late Hon. Luther V. Bell, as the only member of
the Society who had yet fallen in the military service
of the country, and before paying a tribute to the me
mory of the late President Felton, — announced the
death of the Hon. Williaai Appleton, as follows : —
It would hardly be quite just, however, to the memory of another
lamented associate, — the Hon. William Appleton, — whose death
we are next called on to notice this evening, were we to forget that
his immediate decline was undoubtedly accelerated by the labors and
cares with which his strength had been overtasked in the civil service
of the Union. As a member of the House of Representatives of the
United States, he remained faithfully at his post, during the anxious
and agitating session of the last summer, long after his health had
become so seriously impaired as to excite the just apprehensions of
his friends. His commercial information and financial experience
were indispensable to the committee of which he was a member, and
his colleagues on that committee were unwilling to spare him from
their councils. He returned home at last, debilitated and exhausted ;
and resigned his seat only in season to make final preparations for the
change which so soon awaited him.
It has already been my privilege to unite with our fellow-citizens
in paying a tribute to this excellent man and public benefactor ; and I
forbear from adding any thing on this occasion to the simple announce
ment of his death.
Dr. LoTHROP then offered the foUoAving remarks : —
We have noticed the death of the scholar, whose mind, through
reading and study, was richly stored with all the learning of the
schools ; who, in early childhood, took to books as the food of his
life, and had passed almost the whole of that life in the quiet groves
of the academy ; aud who, by his literary labors and his distinguished

APPENDIX. 59
literary position, was widely known, and largely honored, and emi
nently useful. At the University, where we hoped he would have a
long and brilliant career as its President ; in this modern Athens, as
our city has sometimes been called ; far away in that old Athens of
Greece, to which you, sir, have so felicitously referred, where to many
his form was as familiar, and his name as honored and beloved, as
among ourselves ; everywhere throughout the great republic of letters,
— his death is and will be felt to be a calamity; and here in this
Society, this evening, we all respond most heartily to the just and
beautiful tributes which gentlemen, themselves so distinguished, have
paid to his memory.
But we all know, Mr. President, that the unwritten wisdom of the
world far exceeds the written. There is more of talent and genius in
every generation than shows itself in books or in what we emphasize
as learning and scholarship. The intellectual ability requisite, and
often exhibited, in various departments of practical business in life,
is fully equal, if it do not surpass, that exhibited in what we designate
as purely literary pursuits. For a man to raise himself to the first
rank among the merchants of a great city or country, — not, I mean,
simply to amass a great fortune, but to form a character, establish a
reputation, reach a position from which he exercises a commanding
influence in all commercial and financial affairs, his advice sought, his
judgment appealed to, his wisdom relied upon in the chambers of
commerce and in the councils of the cabinet, — for a man to do this
requires as much talent, a degree of intellectual vigor and acumen as
great, as for another to raise himself to the flrst rank among scholars.
Our Massachusetts Historical Society has always honored itself by
calling to its ranks, and having on its roll of members, some repre
sentatives of this class of men ; not because they were learned men,
in the ordinary meaning of that word ; not because they were par
ticularly interested in historical pursuits or studies ; but because they
^\•ere men of vigorous intellect ; because they were men, who, by the
energy of their minds, and the activity of their lives, and the large
ness of their commercial enterprises, had exerted, or were exerting,
an important influence upon all those social institutions, interests, and
events that enter into the composition of history, and form a part of
the great reservoir from which history draws its materials.
The loss of such a man from our record of membership we are
called to notice and regret this evening, in the death of the late Hon.
William Appleton. The outline of his life is familiar to most of us.

60 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
and con'esponds to that of many of the merchants of this city who
have risen to distinguished eminence and usefulness. The son of a
clergyman in a small town in Worcester County, with only the educa
tion that could be furnished him by the district school and the county
academy, he came to this town while yet in his teens, with no capital
but his talents, his energy, his industry, his sound principles, his pure
morals, and his honorable aims ; and, through them, he worked his
way to the distinguished commercial, social, and political position
which he has so long occupied.
One of the prominent qualities exhibited in Mr. Appleton's charac
ter and career seems to have been an indomitable energy, that insisted
upon achieving success, — insisted upon persevering, and keeping at
work, even under that great discouragement of ill health, before which
most men succumb. From his early manhood, Mr. Appleton has
always been an invalid. Nearly half a century ago, he made his will,
and sailed from this port on a voyage for his health, with but the
slightest possible prospect, the faintest possible hope, of returning
alive. Through the good providence of God, and, without irreve
rence I may say it (for the influence of such mental feeling in staying
the progress of disease is an admitted fact), through the indomitable
determination of his own mind that he would get well, he did get
well enough to return, and resume business. He lived to administer
upon the estates of all the gentlemen who were named as his own
executors in his original will. From the time of his return from that
voyage up to a few months ago, with a body so frail and hght that one
almost feared sometimes that the wind would blow him away ; with
his health often so feeble, that it seemed sometimes as if in a few
weeks his strength must utterly fail, and death claim its own ; with a
resolution and pluck that would have gained him every battle had he
been a general ; with an industry, wisdom, and intellectual astuteness,
that would have placed him at the head of the bar had he been a
lawyer, or at the head of the nation had he given himself exclusively
to politics and statesmanship, — he has persevered, done a vast
amount of work, and been remarkable among our merchants for his
energy, activity, and enterprise. Mr. Appleton had a vigorous, pene
trating, comprehensive intellect, by which he embraced alike, and with
equal ease, both the principles and details of any subject to which he
gave his attention. I need scarcely add, that this intellect was under
the guidance of high principles, sanctified by religious faith and cul
ture. He was a man of unsullied integrity, of singular purity, and

APPENDIX. 61
of large benevolence. It was these qualities that gave wisdom to his
judgment in all commercial and financial matters ; caused it to be
honored and confided in on the Exchange, in the walks of business,
and in the councils of state ; and secured an almost certain success to
his enterprises. It was these qualities that led to his being designated
and twice elected, by the merchants and citizens of Boston, to repre
sent them in the Congress of the United States ; a post whieh he
filled with honor to himself, and with usefulness to his constituents
and to the country. It was through these qualities that he amassed
a large fortune ; which was not hoarded for selfish purposes, but used
in various ways for the good of others. Mr. Appleton was always a
liberal giver, both in private charities and to public institutions and
interests ; but always, of course, making his own selections, accord
ing to his own judgment, and, where that judgment was adverse,
expressing it with a refusal so prompt and decisive, that his character
may have been misunderstood and misinterpreted sometimes by those
not intimately acquainted with him. But he was faithful to his trusts,
and gave largely from large means.
Mr. President, the two deaths which we notice this evening awaken
different emotions. President Felton was in the very vigor of his
manhood, in the full maturity of his intellectual and moral powers,
with his natural strength unabated, with a growing fame, and an
increasing usefulness in an official position for which he had a rare
combination of qualities. His death is the extinction of many and
grand hopes, and it costs us an effort to bow to the inscrutable decrees
of Providence. Mr. Appleton had passed beyond the allotted term of
human Ufe, and was sinking into the vale of years. He had accom
plished the purposes of this earthly pilgrimage ; and we acquiesce
easily in the wisdom and the mercy that released him. His life, so
full of energy, activity, usefulness, benevolence, impregnated and per
vaded throughout by the spirit of a humble faith in our Lord Jesus
Christ, closed in sincerity and peace, leaving behind it that memory
of the just which is blessed, while the immortal spirit passed on to a
holier rest and better happiness than can be found on earth.
I see around me, sir, several gentlemen more nearly his contem
poraries, and more competent to speak of Mr. Appleton, than I am.
I hope they will do so. At your request, and because of late years,
through some associations, I have been thrown into somewhat inti
mate relations with him, I have assumed the privilege of paying this
tribute to his memory.

62 MEMOIE OP HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
Colonel AspiNAVALL spoke substantially as foUoAvs : —
In rising to comply with a rather sudden call to support the reso
lutions now before the meeting, I am reminded, that, within the year,
the honored name of Appleton has, in two instances, been struck from
the list of our living associates.
When our lamented colleague, the Hon. Nathan Appleton, was
taken from us, I was prevented, by imperative circumstances, from
uniting in any public manifestation of sorrow for the great loss sus
tained by the whole community, and particularly by our own Society,
in the death of an individual so eminent for his public and private
virtues, as a merchant and a legislator, as a promoter of our national
industry and commerce, and as a poUtical economist.
Now another of the name, the Hon. William Appleton, has also
terminated his earthly career ; and perhaps it is not entirely out of
place that a surviving colleague, whose years have already passed the
ordinary limits of life, should say a few words in honor of one whose
distinguished peculiarity it was always to feel, that, " in the midst of
life, we are in death." This predominating feeling, arising from a
feeble and precarious condition of health, gave a character to his
whole conduct. It kept him in constant preparation for the hour of
death and the day of judgment. It taught him the insignificance
of the concerns of this brief existence, in comparison with those of
eternity. It made him pre-eminently a man of truth, integrity, jus
tice, and benevolence.
It has been said that he was passionately devoted to the accumula
tion of wealth. The fact might have been plausibly questioned or
denied ; but he was himself the first to avow it. The extent and
multiplicity of his charities and benefactions show very plainly, that,
whatever may have been the intensity of his love of wealth, it was
always kept in subjection to his regard for the interests of his fellow-
creatures, and his reverence for the will of his heavenly Father.
In this assembly, where the character and merits of Mr. Appleton
in his domestic and public relations are well known, as they are
throughout the whole community, it is not my purpose to say any
thing of his excellences as a citizen, a merchant, or a legislator. All
these have been already admirably portrayed by the reverend member
who preceded me here, and in the eulogies delivered elsewhere by two
of our ablest and most eloquent associates.
But having, for many years, occupied an official station in London,

APPENDIX. G3
which brought me into constant familiarity with our commercial inte
rests and the individuals connected with them, I would mention, that
Mr. Appleton's character was weU known in F^uropc, and as highly
estimated there as it is here. In many a commercial crisis that
occurred during the term of my residence abroad, I know that his
opinion was sought for and confidently relied on by many friends of
our country, not only in regard to matters of commerce and finance,
but also upon political subjects of grave importance.
Soon after my return to this country, I had the opportunity of wit
nessing, at Washington, the marked respect and regard paid him, even
by his political adversaries ; and of learning, also, that he was con
sidered as almost the guide and teacher of the Committee of Ways
and Means, to which he belonged.
In later years, it has been my good fortune to cultivate and enjoy
his acquaintance, and to become more conversant with his good deeds
and high principles. I have ever found him a friend, a good man,
and one who did not fear to die.
The following resolution was then unanimously adopt
ed:— Besolved, That this Society has heard, with the deepest regret, of
the death of their esteemed and respected associate, the Hon. Wil
liam Appleton ; and that Dr. Chandler Robbins be requested to pre
pare the customary Memoir of Mr. Appleton for the Proceedings.

STRIKING COINCIDENCES.
Those who were present at the funeral of Mr. Appleton on
Tuesday last were deeply impressed with the circumstance, that all
the clergymen living, who have been rectors of St. Paul's Church,
were present in the chancel, and officiating in the solemn burial ser
vice. Since its formation in 1820, this church has had five rectors ;
of whom the Rev. Dr. Jarvis was the first. He was followed, suc
cessively, by the Rev. Alonzo Potter, D.D., Bishop of Pennsylvania,
the Rev. John S. Stone, D.D., the Rev. A. H. Vinton, D.D., and

64 MEMOIE OF HON. WILLIAM APPLETON.
the present rector. Rev. WiUiam R. Nicholson, D.D. It was re
markable that so many prominent clergymen, who have been highly
esteemed in their connection with this church, and very intimately
associated with Mr. Appleton in their pastoral relations, should have
officiated at his funeral.
It was also a striking fact, that the funeral procession had hardly
passed from the church, on its way to Mount Auburn, before the
whole city was stirred with the patriotic demonstrations of rejoicing
which had been ordered by the mayor to celebrate the recent victo
ries that have gladdened the heart of our nation. The salutes were
postponed for one hour in consideration of the funeral ; and they then
fell not inappropriately upon the ear. It was fitting that so promi
nent a public man, and one of the firmest supporters of our Constitu
tion, should be borne to his grave amid the first echoes of a rejoicing
which is the harbinger of restored union and peace to our beloved
country. — Christian Witness.

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