YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 06447 2518

Stiles, Henry R.
Memoir of Horn. Henry C. Murphy.
New York, 1883

Cj-43- 5lfls

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

ACQUIRED BY EXCHANGE

MEMOIR

Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.,

OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

HENRY R, STILES, M.D.

Reprinted from THE NEW YORK GENEALOGICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL
RECORD, January, 1883.

NEW YORK:
TROWS PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING CO.
201-213 East Twelfth Strb£t.
1883.

KI ® H , m O KiV C o Rffl QJ K(PraYD

MEMOIR

Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LLD.,

OF BROOKLYN, N. Y.

HENRY R. STILES, M.D.

Reprinted from The New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record, January, 1883.

NEW YORK:
TROWS PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING CO.,
201-213 East Twelfth Street.
1883.

MEMOIR

HON. HENRY C. MURPHY, LL.D.*

Our sister city, Brooklyn, has recently sustained, in the death of the
Hon. Henry C. Murphy, the loss of one who was, in every respect, the
most prominent citizen native to her soil. The Publication Committee of
this Society, quick to note the significance of this fact, as well as to
recognize the propriety of our taking public cognizance of it, requested
me to prepare for the pages of our quarterly journal, The Record, a
fitting memorial of one who was enrolled upon our list of honorary
members and counsellors, and to whose labors the students of American
history are deeply indebted. Compliance with such a request, from such
a source, could not be, with me, a matter for hesitancy. Twenty years
ago, in the organization of the Long Island Historical Society, of Brook
lyn, it became my good fortune to be associated with Mr. Murphy ; and
the respect which I then conceived for his personal character and abilities,
renders this task, which has been required of me, simply a duty 10 ms
memory. His paternal grandfather, Timothy Murphy, was a native of Ireland,
where he was educated as a physician, and from whence he emigrated to
America in the year 1766. Settling in Monmouth County, N. J., he
became a farmer, and married Mary Garrison, a grand-daughter of Richard
Hartshorne, of Middietown, in that County, who was for several years
a member of the Colonial Council, and a representative in the Assembly
of that Province ; and who, also, owned a large plantation adjoining to and
including Sandy Hook. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution,
Mr. Timothy Murphy espoused the cause of his adopted country, and
served in the ranks of her defenders at the battle of Monmouth, and else
where. He left eight children, four of whom were sons.
John Murphy (or John Garrison Murphy, as he wrote it in later life)
* Read before the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

4 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
was the second of these sons, enjoyed the ordinary educational advantages
obtainable by farmers' boys at that day, and was bred to the trade of a
millwright. He married Clarissa Runyon, of Princeton, N.J., and, about
1808, removed to the village of Brooklyn. Here his industry and marked
mechanical -genius enabled him to establish a good business, and ultimately
to secure a comfortable property. As a millwright he was concerned in
the construction or repairs of nearly all of the old tide-mills which then
existed in the neighborhood of Brooklyn ; and, in conjunction with Mr.
Rodman Bowne, he invented and patented the machinery of the horse, or
" team-boats," which were used to cross the East River at the ferries (first
at the Catharine, or "New Ferry"), before the full introduction of steam.
He built all the machinery, not only for the horse-boats on the Brooklyn
ferries, but for many other places throughout the United States, even to
the Mississippi River and the Canadas. He promptly identified him
self with the interests of morality and religion in his new home, for in 1815,
seven years after his coming, he was one of the trustees and promoters of
a '¦ Society to Prevent and Suppress Vice in the Town of Brooklyn." He
was, also, among the earliest promoters (1816) of a public school in the
village, which was the beginning of the present public school system of
Brooklyn ; and, during the same year, he was one of five who established
a village Sunday-school there, unsectarian in its character, and which finally
culminated in the foundation of the Brooklyn Sunday-School Union. Of
Mr. Murphy and his co-laborers in these and many other beneficent
undertakings, viz., Andrew Mercein, Robert Snow, John Seaman, John
Doughty, and Joseph Herbert, it may be truly said that, though neither
wealthy nor (in the worldly acceptation of the word) influential, nor even
"to the manor born," they were nevertheless the true foster-fathers ofthe
infant village of Brooklyn. ."Instant, in season and out of season," in
every good word and work, and thoroughly unselfish in their desire to
benefit th?ir fellow-men, they were always to be found as the leaders of
any enterprise which promised to advance the religious, educational, or
higher social interests of the community ; and they accomplished, in the
course of their long and useful lives, an incalculable amount of good, the
influence of which is even yet felt in the city which has arisen upon the
scene of their former labors. Mr. Murphy possessed, in an eminent
degree, the confidence of his fellow-citizens, whom he served for many
years as a Justice of the Peace, a Judge of the Municipal Court, after
Brooklyn became a city, and as School Commissioner. In politics he was
a staunch Jeffersonian Democrat, and few men wielded greater influence
in the councils of that party in Kings County. In religious matters he
was, like his father, a consistent member of the Methodist denomination.
He was a tall, fine-looking man, and his character was marked by prudence,
reticence, and self-reliance. He died in 1853, in the seventieth year of his
age, leaving four daughters and two sons, the eldest of whom was the
distinguished subject of our sketch.
Henry Cruse Murphy was born in the village of Brooklyn, July 5,
1810, about two years after the removal of his parents thither ; and it may
be instructive to take a retrospective glance at the village scenes amidst
which the days of his boyhood were passed. Brooklyn, as then seen from
the New York side of the river, presented features of simple rural beauty
strongly in contrast with its present imposing aspect. Around the "Old
(now Fulton) Ferry" there was a clustering of houses, taverns, stables

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. z
and shanties, which had grown up since* the earliest establishment of a
ferry at that point, and which formed the nucleus of a considerable busi
ness activity. From the ferry slip (with its horse-boat, its one steamboat,
and its row-boat accommodations, but with no such conveniences as the
present ferry-house affords, and with no bell save the resonant throat ot
the ferryman) the old country road, the " king's highway " of the colonial
and revolutionary periods, straggled crookedly upward and backward, out
past the old Dutch church, out through Bedford Corners, and away beyond
Jamaica, even to Montauk Point ; being, in fact, the great highway of
travel of Long Island itself. As far as the junction of this old road (now
Fulton Street) with the new road '(now Main Street), which came up from
the " New Ferry," as the Catharine Street Ferry was then called, the road
was tolerably well lined with buildings of various shapes and sizes. Pert-
looking Yankee frame edifices, rudely intruded their angularities among
the humpbacked Dutch houses, quaintly built of stone, or with small
imported Holland bricks. Yet one and all wore such an unpretending
neighborly aspect, under the brooding shadows of the noble trees with
which the village abounded, that it was plainly to be seen, even by the
most casual observer, that no premonition of the future greatness, so soon
to be thrust upon them, had as yet disturbed the minds of their occupants.
Less than a quarter of a mile to the left of the "Old Ferry" was the
" New Ferry," to Catharine Street, New York, and the road (present Main
Street) which led from it, up the hill, till it met the " Old Ferry Road"
(Fulton Street) was beginning to show a respectable number of frame
buildings, all, however, of a comparatively recent origin. Beyond this
ferry and street the land stretched northwardly (broken only by McKenzie's
One Tree Hill and Vinegar Hill), to the verge of the Wallabout Bay,
where John Jackson had a shipyard, and eight or ten houses for workmen.
Adjacent to this was the infant United States Navy Yard (established in
1801) ; while beyond, along the curving shore of the bay, were the farms
of the Johnsons, Schencks, Remsens, Boerums, and other old Dutch
families. To the right of the Old Ferry, and with an abruptness which, even at
this day, is scarce concealed by the streets and buildings covering it, rose
the northernmost corner or edge of that portion of the present city known
as " The Heights," stretching southwardly to near the foot of the present
Joralemon Street. The face and brow of this noble bluff were covered
with a beautiful growth of cedar and locust, while its base was constantly
washed by the waves of the East River. From its summit the land
stretched away in orchards, pastures, and gardens, out to the old highway
(now Fulton Street). This superb bluff, now known as "The Heights,"
was called by the aborigines " Iphetonga," or " the high sandy bank ; " to
the early villagers, at the period of which we speak, it was known as
" Clover Hill," and its owners were Messrs. Carey Ludlow, the Hickses,
Waring, Kimberly, Middagh, De Bevoises, Pierrepont, and Joralemon, who
resided upon their respective farms in a state of semi-seclusion, almost
prophetic of that social aristocracy which has since claimed "The
Heights " as exclusively its own domain. From this elevated plateau, the
eye rested upon a panoramic scene of unsurpassed beauty : the City of
New York, with its glorious bay ; Staten Island and the numerous lesser
islands studding the bosom of the harbor ; the Jersey shore, with the
Orange Mountains for a background ; further to the south was Red Hook,

6 Memoir of Hon. L er.ry C. Murphy, LL. D.
with its old tide-mills; the scattered farm-houses nestled along the curve
of Gowanus Bay; Yellow Hook, and the forest slopes of Greenwood.
Time forbids that we should also recall the quaint and worthy old
characters who pursued their callings, or wasted their leisure around the
village corners ; the rare old marketmen and jolly negroes, with their'rude
horse-play, and their " Paas " festival junketings, who clustered around the
Old Ferry. But we can well imagine that the boy's lines were " cast in
pleasant places ; " — that his was a happy boyhood ; and that, as he grew
with the village, so he learned to love it and its people, and its widening
prospects ; and we begin to understand how, and why, Brooklyn came to
be the one place, par excellence, where he ever preferred to live and to
labor. And while he was thus growing up amid all the advantages of a moral
life and surroundings, he was, by virtue of his parents' watchful care and
social standing, brought in contact, with all that was best in the society of
the village ; as well as with that higher strata of culture and intellect to be
found in the limited circle of New York people who — summer after sum
mer — sought in the charms of Brooklyn residence a delightful retreat from
the cares and the heat of the city.
His growing years gave early indications of abilities which his subse
quent life so fully developed. A thorough preparatory education at the
High School of New York, was followed by a brilliant course at Columbia
College, from which he graduated, in 1830, with honor, and at the age of
twenty years. " Of a Brooklyn ancestry older than the city of Brooklyn ; of
an American ancestry antedating the Revolution ; receiving from his father
the blood of the land distinguished for the brilliancy of her children and
the desolation of her liberties, and from his mother the blood of the Dutch
burghers who brought to the New World the noblest traditions of the Old,
Henry C. Murphy began his career equipped as few have the good for
tune to be, to do valiant service in the battle of life. With a sound col
legiate education ; with traditions of the best kind to hold him in the paths
of honor ; and with a prospect opened by the hands of friends to stir his
ambition, he would have been an unworthy son had he not shown an early
disposition to make the best use of the talents and advantages committed
to his keeping."
He immediately entered as a student at law with the Hon. Peter W.
Radcliffe, a practitioner in the city of New York, but resident in Brooklyn,
as were several other well-known New York lawyers at that time, and for
several years after. Mr. Radcliffe was one of the best lawyers of his day,
and of eminent uprightness and purity of character. While a student with
him, young Murphy made his first essay in literature and politics. His
father's residence was next to the office of the Brooklyn Advocate and
Nassau Gazette, of which James A. Bennett had recently (1832) become
the editor, and to this, then one of the ablest and most partisan democratic
sheets in the State, the young law student gave much gratuitous labor,
finding his only reward in the opportunity which it afforded him of exercis
ing and strengthening his powers. It is said that most of the editorials of
the paper, at this time, were written by him ; and that his articles, even at
this early period, were noticeable for the clearness, precision, and logic
which distinguished his subsequent public career.
Even before this, in 1830, when fresh from academic honors, he had
been conspicuous in the preparation of a constitution and organization for

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. y
¦a 'literary -and debating society among the younger men of the village,
'known, at first, as The Young Men's Literary Association of Brooklyn ; a
-name which, a year later, was altered to that of the Hamilton Literary
Association of Brooklyn, of which he was chosen the first president. It is
pleasant, at this day, to recall the names of some of these young friends
and compeers of Mr. Murphy's — such as Edgar J. Bartow ; Geo. W.,
Horace W., and J. C. Dow ; John Tasker Howard ; J W. and J. H. Ray
mond; Francis P. Sanford ; Joshua M. Van Cott ; Alden J. Spooner, and
•others — all men of mark — some of whom have passed over to the majority,
•while others still remain with us. This Hamilton Literary Association
¦was, for over a quarter of a century, one of the vital forces of Brooklyn
Uife and interest. It organized a system of volunteer lectures which be-
.came the commencement of the lecture system in the cities of the Union.
From it, also, sprang the Brooklyn Lyceum, since the Brooklyn Institute ;
.and, in its rooms, the best spirits of the city, in literature and science,
young men indicating the highest order of talent in scholarship, the learned
professions, and the mechanic arts, have found the most congenial asso-
•ciates and the best means and stimulus of improvement.
In 1833, after three years of study with Mr. Radcliffe, young Murphy was
.admitted to practice ; and, in the following year, married Amelia, the daugh
ter of- Richard Greenwood, of Haverstraw, Rockland County. His law office,
for two or three years ensuing, was in the old Apprentices' Library Build
ing, on the corner of Pineapple and Fulton Streets ; and he soon began to
secure a generous share of the practice of the Municipal Court, which then
iheld its sessions in the same building. At the same time (1834) he was
Assistant Corporation Counsel ; and, having already taken a prominent
stand in politics, he was sent as a delegate to a Democratic Convention
held at Herkimer ; where, upon its organization, he was elected Chairman
•of the Committee on Resolutions. With the foresight and energy with
which he was ever distinguished, he promptly introduced into his Com
mittee, and subsequently into the Convention, a resolution denunciatory
-of the monopoly known as the United States Bank. This was a bombshell
thrown into the ranks of his party— for this policy, favored by General
Jackson, and one which the State of "New York had for many years been
pursuing in regard to its money interests — had been expressly created for
the purpose of furnishing patronage to the Democratic party ; and, as may
well be imagined, Mr. Murphy's resolution aroused no little excitement
and opposition. It was, however, finally adopted, with some modifica
tion ; but was eventually smothered in the report of the Convention's pro
ceedings. But the fact of its suppression leaked out ; and there is no
doubt that the subsequent expose of the matter by the N. Y. Evening Post,
then edited by William Leggett, and by many other journals, resulted
ultimately in the utter prostration and collapse of the monopolized banking
system in the State of New York. The rashness of youth, in this case,
united to the personal abilities displayed by Mr. Murphy, achieved a suc
cess which placed him at once in the front rank of State politicians.
Soon after this event he was appointed City Attorney, and subsequently
Counsel to the Corporation of the then newly incorporated city of Brook
lyn. This incorporation had only been secured by a long and determined
.struggle against the opposition made by the city of New York — an. oppo
sition based upon the fears of her real-estate speculators and her munici
pal authorities. The former, who held large quantities of land in the upper

8 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D,
part of the city, foresaw that the incorporation of Brooklyn as a city would
give a new impetus to her growth and population ; and that Brooklyn lots
would soon come into the market as formidable rivals to their own. The
latter saw, in the energy of their youthful and aspiring neighbor, a power
which, when grown to maturer strength, might wrest from New York her
long contested and profitable water and ferry monopolies. So capital,
speculation, and monopoly joined hands in a most formidable league
against the aspirations and endeavors of Brooklyn. But the latter finally
secured her incorporation, and in this result Mr. Murphy had no incon
siderable share. As his father had been instrumental in securing the
incorporation of Brooklyn as a village, so the son contributed of his best
efforts to secure for his birthplace the higher civic dignity.
About this time (1835) Mr. Murphy was in the full tide of mental
activity. Arduously engaged in the successful practice of his profession ;
intimately concerning himself in the politics alike of his native city, county,
and State ; he was, also, devoting himself — as few men of his surroundings
did, at that day — to the ennobling pursuits of literature. Especially was
he, for many years, a welcome contributor to the North American and to
the Democratic Review ; and the manifestations of his abilities in this direc
tion undoubtedly added strength to his political standing. "Murphy,"
says one of his earlier friends, "came on to the stage of action with the
reputation of being a scholar. At that time there were a number of men
in the Democratic party of Kings County, perhaps more than there have
ever been since, of strong common-sense, real ability, and great force and
vigor, but they were uneducated. They had ideas, but they wanted them
formulated. Murphy was educated, and he was exactly the man wanted.
Hence, from the beginning, he was greatly deferred to, and was a prom
inent figure, being recognized as a scholar in politics."
And so there came to the young politician and counsellor the oppor
tunity which he could not but accept. Counsellor John A. Lott, the then
leading lawyer of Brooklyn, offered him a partnership. Subsequently,
Vanderbilt was admitted to the firm, and the celebrated firm of Lott,
Murphy & Vanderbilt commenced a career of honor and prosperity which
continued for over twenty years. It won the confidence of the old Dutch
residents of Brooklyn and its neighboring towns, as well as of Long
Islanders generally, and to its ability, wisdom, and integrity they committed
the care of their surplus funds, and the conduct of their legal affairs with
the most implicit faith. With these simple burghers no court was more
thoroughly respected than Lott, Murphy & Vanderbilt. Old citizens
relate that the dictum of the firm carried more weight than the fiat of any
court ; and, that when the court and the firm disagreed, the obstinate old
Dutchmen shook their heads and pitied the ignorance of the court. En
joying the best practice of Long Island, the firm waxed wealthy and active
in politics ; and_ soon became the controlling influence in the Democratic
party on that side of the East River. In fact, all Democratic politics
centred in its office, which was in Front Street, next door to the corner of
Fulton, in a building yet standing. To attempt to note the political career
of this legal firm would be to write the political history of Brooklyn from
1835 to 1857. "This may be remarked" — we continue our quotation
from another who knew well whereof he speaks — " that the decadence of
the political power of this firm marked the end of the village system of
politics, with its open caucuses, wherein the man of power legitimately exer-

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. g
cised his influence among his fellow-voters, by speech and argument — and,
since then, we have had the system of city politics, with its primary elec
tions, wherein the power of the leader was manifested through the result,
most mysteriously and without argument. It was not a change for the
better. Deftness in speech was supplemented by deftness in manipulation
of votes; dexterity in argument made way for that dexterity which makes
one count two for your side. The deterioration in our political methods
began then, and the standard of candidates was lowered when the new
system came in. No doubt, under the regency of Lott, Murphy & Van
derbilt there was complaint made of arrogance and dictation ; no doubt,
defeated aspirants, who felt the powerful hand of the firm against them,
were satisfied that nothing but ruin could result from such a system ; but,
yet, it is to be said for that system that the candidates were men of honor,
character, and ability, and that honesty of administration was the rule. Of
this political management Murphy was the master-spirit, Lott was the legal
mind, and Vanderbilt — handsome in person and winning in address — figured
as the favorite son of Kings, being the firm's candidate for Governor for
many years, and at one time gaining, at least, the nomination for Lieuten
ant-Governor. Enough, however, has been said to show that, in that little
Front Street office, for a period of over twenty years, many a man's political
fortune was made or marred."
To return again to the direct narrative of Mr. Murphy's life, we must
note that, in 1839, he was a trustee and actively engaged in the formation
of the Brooklyn City Library, which was modelled on the plan of the old
Society Library of New York. A valuable collection of books was accu
mulated, which, years after — the Library having become extinct — was divided
between the Apprentices' Library and the Long Island Historical Society.
Again, in 1840, upon the reorganization of the Apprentices' Library (an
institution most intimately connected in many ways with the growth of the
city of Brooklyn), Mr. Murphy was one of the new board of trustees.
In still another direction, also, he contributed to the literary and material
interests of the city. In October, 1841, the 'Brooklyn Daily Eagle and
Kings County Democrat was started by several prominent Democratic
politicians, as a campaign sheet to operate in the approaching State elec
tion in November; and, also, as an experiment, to ascertain whether the
city could support a daily Democratic paper. It was issued as a morning
paper, and Mr. Murphy (who was its real proprietor) and Richard Adams
Locke (author of the celebrated Moon Hoax) were its editors. It proved
an unexpected success, and its proprietors, instead of suspending it at the
close of the campaign, continued it as a daily paper. In April ofthe fol
lowing year it passed into the ownership of Isaac Van Arden ; and has
become, under the abbreviated name of the Brooklyn Eagle, the most
influential paper of that city. Mr. Murphy never lost his interest in this
child of his creation, and his facile pen found frequent occasion for exercise
in its columns.
In 1842 he was chosen Mayor ofthe city of his love, being then thirty-
two years old. He found himself face to face with a spirit of municipal
extravagance, engendered by the wild era of speculation and reckless
ness which culminated in the "commercial crisis of 1837;" and (com
mencing with a reduction of his own salary as Mayor) he inaugurated
a system of retrenchment which confined the expenditures of the city within
the limits of its income, to the entire satisfaction of its tax-paying citizens.

IO Metnoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
From this time forth his reputation became more than that of a local leader,
though at no time were his efforts to assist in Brooklyn's development
relaxed. Taken into the counsels of the leaders of the State, known and
consulted even in national affairs, he was — as we have seen, ever busy in
promoting the establishment of local institutions of learning, and wisely
forecasting a policy for the extension of the city's commerce. Under his
administration Myrtle Avenue, now an old and populous thoroughfare, was
opened and paved ; and by his hand the acts which may be said to have
secured the colossal warehouse system on Brooklyn's water-front were pre
pared. In 1844 ne was one ofthe organizers and officers of the Brooklyn
Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. So satisfactory was
his administration of civic affairs, that, before the expiration of his term of
office, he was elected to Congress, and took his seat in the twenty-eighth
session of that body, in 1843. Among his colleagues from New York were
Wm. B. Maclay. Hamilton Fish, Zadoc Pratt, Preston King, Samuel H.
Beardsley, Smith M. Purdy, Horace Wheaton, Washington Hunt, and others.
Although one of its youngest members, he at once took a high position in
that body; and in the debates upon the tariff question, his advocacy of a
system of duties for revenue purposes only, attracted to him general atten
tion. The free-traders in Congress found in him a most acceptable rein
forcement, for he was admirably equipped with facts for use ; and had a
most ready and logical manner of presenting them in debate. On the
question of the annexation of Texas, he advocated the measure, but advised
its postponement, in order that Mexico might be afforded an opportunity
to give her assent ; and that, thereby, more unanimity might be secured in
its 'favor in the United States. In view of the events which transpired,
immediately upon the adoption of that measure, the wisdom of this recom
mendation must be admitted. On other questions of public policy he
took an equally prominent position ; and, with marked ability, opposed
the alteration of the naturalization laws, for which the so-called Native
American party were then clamoring, and strongly urged the inconsistency
of such a measure with the genius of our government, and the bad effects it
would have upon future settlement of the public domain. The one local
achievement of the session was the securing of an appropriation and authority
for the building of the splendid Naval Dry Dock at Wallabout Bay. His
term of Congressional service ended March 4, 1845, having been defeated
on a vote for re-election during the previous autumn ; but his success on the
floor of debate, his clearness of political foresight, his sobriety of judgment,
and his devotion to the public interest had been so marked as already to
have set the seal of general approval upon his claims to be spoken of as
an important figure in national affairs.
When, in June, 1846, in response to the expressed will ofthe people of
the State of New York, a Convention for the Revision of the State Con
stitution assembled at Albany, Mr. Murphy appeared in representation of
Kings County ; and, as might have been expected, bore a prominent part
in the debates of that body — a body remarkable, if for nothing else, for the
number of able men who were members. Among such veterans as "Ira
Harris, Calvin T. Chamberlain, George W. Patterson, John Tracey, Am
brose L.Jordan, Charles H. Ruggles, Michael Hoffman, Arphaxed Loomis,
Robert H. Morris, Henry Nicoll, Charles O'Conor, Lorenzo B. Shepard,
Samuel J. Tilden, Charles P. Kirkland, John W. Brown, Levi S. Chatfield',
Samuel Nelson, Gouverneur Kemble, John K. Porter, and Churchill C.'

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. \\
Cambreling, that a young man, then but thirty-six years of age, should
bear a leading part, and write his name in strong, broad characters upon
the pages of the Report of the Convention, is sufficient to arrest attention.
Such is the fact, and his record there is a part of the history of the State.
Hardly an important question is under debate that Mr. Murphy is not
found in earnest protest or support. In the division of labor he was made
Chairman of the Committee on Municipal Corporations, the appointment
itself testifying to the position he had already gained in the State. It seems,
however, that this young man had urged upon his committee a series of
propositions, the responsibilities of which it was disinclined to shoulder.
Nothing daunted, he presented these propositions to the Convention, which
•seems to have dodged their consideration upon the plea of want of time,
and referred them to the Legislature. These were:
" Objections to special charters as mere imitations of the grants of pow
ers and rights by despotic and monarchical authorities.
" Proposition, that general laws should be passed by which all cities
should be subjected to the same provisions as is the case in towns and
counties. " Objection, that special assessments for local improvements are sub
versive of the rights of private property, as calling forth, in a* majority of
cases, unnecessarily the right of eminent domain, and proposed that all
improvements be paid out of the general fund.
"Proposition to limit the power of cities and villages in contracting lia
bilities to cases where provision had previously been made by tax in
whole, or in part, thus securing to tax-payers the opportunity of determin
ing whether they would incur Sie debt for any specific purpose.
" These propositions were set aside, and never considered by the Legis
lature. In the light of thirty-six years' experience; of forty- one millions
indebtedness in the city of Brooklyn, and a hundred millions in New York ;
¦of fifteen millions of taxes and assessments in arrears in Brooklyn ; the
millions of bonded indebtedness of towns and villages throughout the
State, and of the burdens small real-estate owners and farmers are strug
gling under, it is impossible to escape the conclusion, that the one young
man of thirty-six was far more sagacious and farther-sighted than his col
leagues, many of whom were then famous throughout the nation, and gray
in the service of the State. If these propositions had been made a part
of the fundamental law of the State, Tweed would not have been a word —
a synonym for official faithlessness and public robbery, and the representa
tives of bond-burdened towns would not be besieging the doors of the Legis
lature, asking that the State assume the debt of towns contracted through
the lying arts of railroad projectors. Brooklyn would not have had im
provements through lands that could not pay a third of the assessment ;
would not have barely escaped bankruptcy as she did. These proposi
tions, rejected as they were, speak loudly for the sagacity of the young
man of thirty-six. Twenty-six years later the Constitutional Commission
•considered some of these propositions, or similar ones, and in a modified
form adopted some of them."
His course, on his return from the Convention, was endorsed by his
re-election to Congress (1846) by the largest vote ever previously polled
in his district.
His term of service expired in 1849 ; and upon his return to Brooklyn
he entered zealously into many projects for its improvement. Largely

1 2 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
through his efforts, and those of some of his old associates, in 1847,
had been obtained the authority of the Legislature to purchase the Fort
Greene property, and convert it into what is now known as Washington
Park, one of the most central, delightful, and healthful places for recrea
tion of which any city can boast. He also took a leading part in the dif
ferent measures which accomplished the introduction of the Ridgewood
public supply of water into the city, from the streams on Long Island, and
prepared most of the laws which were passed by the Legislature upon
that subject. In these public matters, in the increasing practice of his
profession, and in those more congenial literary pursuits to which he now
began again to turn his attention, the years passed quickly along ; until,
in 1852, he narrowly escaped, at the Democratic Convention at Balti
more, being the candidate of that party for the Presidency. Thirty-five
ballots had been taken — without result — when the delegation from Vir
ginia, always a potent factor in the Democratic councils, took up and con
sidered the names of Henry C. Murphy, of New York, and Franklin
Pierce, of New Hampshire, as the most available men. Pierce's military
record in the Mexican war tipped the scales in his favor ; and he was
chosen as their man by the Virginia delegation, by one majority. In Con
vention, on, the thirty-sixth ballot, Virginia presented Pierce's name, which
steadily growing in favor, on the forty-seventh he was nominated ; and Mr.
Murphy most efficiently directed the canvass for Pierce, as he afterward
did, in 1856, when Buchanan was nominated.
Shortly after Mr. Buchanan's accession to the Presidency, Mr. Murphy
received from him the offer of appointment as United States Minister to the
Hague. The position was, in his own opinion, of but barren importance,
and one which was maintained by the United States more because of rela
tions which had formerly existed between this country and the States of
Holland, than for any actual present need. Yet, identified as he had long
been with the rescue from oblivion of the early history of our State, par
ticularly that portion of it which relates to our first colonization by Hol
land, there was something in the opportunity which this appointment
offered eminently congenial to his literary and historic tastes. So he
accepted it — with, perhaps, a more than suspicion that it was, in some
sort, the closing of his political career — and, after a farewell banquet,
given to him at the Mansion House, in Brooklyn, August 5, 1857, in
which a great assemblage of his fellow-citizens and friends, of all parties,
met together to bid him God-speed, he sailed for the scene of his new
labors. But it is worthy of note, that, in his farewell speech at that ban
quet there was a singularly prophetic sentence, when, speaking of the growth
of Brooklyn, he said: "It requires no spirit of prophecy to foretell the
union of the two [New York and Brooklyn] at no distant day. The river
which divides them will soon cease to be a line of separation ; and, be
strode by the Colossus of Commerce, will form the link which will bind
them together." Unconsciously prophetic as this utterance probably was,
he lived to see, aye, and to find his own name, labors, and influence most
intimately connected with its actual fulfilment.
Fortunately for our literary interests, at the time when Mr. Murphy as
sumed the duties of resident United States Minister at the Hague, the poli
tical relations of this government with Holland were of the most friendly
nature, and the commercial limited. Hence it happened that, for three years
at least, he had no heavy official duties imposed upon him, but found ample

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. 1 3
time for the pursuance of those studies, the opportunity for which was
doubtless the real cause of his acceptance of the mission. He found time
to communicate a series of thirty-five most interesting letters upon Holland,
and other parts of Europe, and which were published in the Brooklyn
Eagle, and many of them copied extensively into other papers. They are
of especial value for the amount of information which they embody con
cerning the relations of the Netherlands and its people with the beginnings
of pur State, and for the entertaining and instructive description which
they contain ofthe scenery, customs, and habits of life in Holland.
He did better literary work than this, however, during his residence at
the Hague, of which we shall speak more fully in discussing his literary'
life. While thus, far away, he was engaged in peaceful pursuits, events at
home were rapidly culminating toward a rupture between the North and
the South. When all hopes of compromise or adjustment of the pending
difficulties were abandoned, it was deemed exceedingly important that all
the governments of Europe should be correctly informed of the precise
facts ofthe case, and ofthe real relation of the States to the Federal Govern
ment, in order that foreign powers might readily see and adhere to their well-
established line of duty. Accordingly, Minister Murphy, in common with all
the representatives of the United States at foreign courts, was instructed
to lay before the power to which he was accredited, a truthful statement of
the facts of the case. In accordance with these instructions, he addressed
to the government at the Hague an elaborate exposition of the relation
ship of the States to one another and to the general government, clearly
pointing out the supremacy of the latter in all matters committed to it by
the Constitution, and the equally absolute rights of the States over all
matters not delegated to the United States by that instrument. And he
availed himself, also, of the opportunity to show that the rebellion owed its
origin chiefly to sectional hate and the ambition of its leaders. This paper,
which was published in the Diplomatic Correspondence of 186 1 and 1862,
was highly praised at the time of its publication by citizens of all parties,
and approved by the government authorities, being generally considered as
the clearest and most statesmanlike of any of the statements at that time
made by our representatives abroad.
After the inauguration of President Lincoln Mr. Murphy was recalled ;
and promptly upon his return to the United States, he announced his
determination to uphold the national flag against secession, and was imme
diately elected to the United States Senate as a Union man — a position which
he steadfastly maintained during the whole war. At the State Convention
•of the Democratic party, in 1862, he was chosen temporary chairman, and
insisted that all citizens, without distinction of party, should support the ad
ministration in putting an end to the rebellion, a sentiment which he reaf
firmed with great force and eloquence in the Annual Oration before the Tam
many Society, on July 4, 1863. Indeed, he was no less zealous in acts than
in words, for, mainly by his exertions, the Third Senatorial Regiment — the
One Hundred and Fifty-ninth New York State Volunteers, Colonel Moli-
neux — was raised, and bounties paid to the men, without calling upon either
the city, county, or State authorities for that purpose. Detraction, ever busy
during the war, as in all scenes and periods of public excitement, sought to
injure Minister Murphy's fair fame, making use of certain private letters
written home by him from the Hague, but which were, at the worst, not

I a Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
sufficiently high-keyed to satisfy the red hot popular feeling at the time.
Detraction, however, slunk away cowed in the face of his presence and
conduct, from the moment of his appearance in this country, until the close
of the conflict.
Personally, however, a severer trial awaited his return to America.
We have already referred to the implicit faith placed by the old Dutch
families in the firm of Lott, Murphy & Vanderbilt. During Mr. Murphy's
absence abroad the management of the funds committed to the firm for
investment fell into the hands of an agent, who proved faithless, not from
want of integrity, but from recklessness, high living, and indifference. Old
Judge Lott, one of the most honest of men, and who thought every one
else the same, had not been aware of what was going forward even under
his eye. Upon the return of Mr. Murphy, who believed himself secure in
a competence gained in previous years, these irregularities were discovered,
and, moreover, that there were large deficits in the accounts of the funds.
Messrs. Lott & Murphy began a careful examination, and, arriving at a
thorough knowledge of affairs, took from their own accumulations to dis
charge the liabilities of the firm. Not a single client or investor suffered
by a penny's worth of capital or interest, though it nearly ruined Mr.
Murphy and seriously crippled Judge Lott. It had been the intention of
Mr. Murphy to retire from active business, but this disaster necessitated
renewed and unremitting devotion to business again to repair his shattered
fortune. In the fall of 1861, though he had determined to eschew politics, Mr.
Murphy was induced to take the nomination for the State Senate, under
the auspices of what was known as the Fort Greene Union movement, and
was elected. He was chosen five times after that, without much effort 011
his part, serving in all twelve consecutive years, when he refused to serve
again. In this capacity he exercised great influence, especially in moulding
the fortunes of his native city. " During the lapse of years Brooklyn had
grown to man's estate, still wearing the habiliments of youth ; it was
metropolitan in size and village-like in habit. It was the worst-paved and
the worst-lighted and the worst-sewered city in the country. Improve
ments were deemed to be necessary, and schemes were lying undeveloped
in busy brains before 1860. The war had turned the direction of men's
thoughts in another way. Immediately upon its close, however, the schemes
came out, and Brooklyn attempted to accomplish in a few years what
should have been done previously over a space of twenty-five. To prepare
and urge forward and bring these to a successful conclusion, the laws
necessary to the accomplishment of the Schemes were entrusted to Senator
Murphy. Indeed, for the space of twelve years, during which time all
these great measures were projected, Mr. Murphy was intimately connected
with everything which appertained to the city of Brooklyn and the county
of Kings. It is impossible to turn in any direction without coming in,
contact with the impress of his hand. His influence is felt on every page
ofthe charter, and it is not too much to say that Henry C. Murphy's best
monument is the city of Brooklyn and what she contains."
His efforts, however, were not solely devoted to Brooklyn in the Senate.
He was in some respects the most influential member of that body, as he
certainly was, during the time of his service, the most intellectual. In all
matters relating to the State he bore a conspicuous part, and in all the
important debates, and particularly distinguished himself in his efforts to

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. \ c
repeal the law in regard to ecclesiastical tenures and to establish isolated
quarantine in the lower bay, in which he was successful. During his
senatorial career he always adhered to the principle of carrying on the
different internal improvements throughout the State by State aid, without
regard to the section where they were proposed, provided they contributed
to the general prosperity. Having been a strict constructionist, he voted
against ratifying the amendments to the Constitution of the United States
abolishing slavery, holding that, as the Federal Government is one of
delegated powers exclusively, and as the subject of slavery was not
embraced in the Constitution, and was to be disposed of only by the States
where it existed, the power of amendment was necessarily limited to the
subjects embraced in the Constitution and did not legitimately apply to
that of abolishing slavery.
Prominent as he was in his party, it is not strange that he should have
been many times mentioned in connection with the gubernatorial office.
In 1866, and again in 1868, his name was strongly pushed for nomination,
being each time defeated by the Tweed ring nominee, Hoffman, and with
the effort of 1868 Mr. Murphy seems to have abandoned all ambition for
the office. Yet the politicians of that day believed that, had his name been
presented in 1872 he would easily have secured the nomination. In 1875
the term of United States Senator Fenton expired, and the Legislature on
the joint ballot was Democratic. At once Mr. Murphy's friends put him for
ward for the place, but eventually he had to yield lo the claims of Senator
Kernan, backed as they were by the then all-powerful interest of Horatio
Seymour; and Mr. Murphy's senatorial services ended with the year 1873.
In the convention of 1867-8, called to remodel the State Constitution,
he was chosen a delegate from the State at large ; and though prevented
by illness from attending during a portion of the time covered by its
deliberations, he yet took part in many ofthe most important discussions.
This convention, however, made but little impress upon the State, since
its results were in the main defeated when submitted to the vote of the
people. " In the review of Mr. Murphy's political life it is impossible," says
one who was intimate with its details, "to escape the conclusion that that
career actually culminated with his retirement from the Ministry to the
Hague. True, there were circumstances and events he could not control
at that time. The party of his early adhesion passed out of power in the
year 1861. The Democratic party went into a minority that would have been
contemptible if it were not pitiable. The ambitions of Democrats were put
into their pockets necessarily, and for Henry C. Murphy there was not for
years a field for national action. Entering the State Senate was, after all,
entering a narrower field than that in which he had previously won posi
tion and renown. It is true he served his fellow-citizens with power and
effect — there was neither a diminution of intellect nor a lessening of energy
seen, yet for all that there was a check called in his upward career, lt
must be also concluded that for a man having within him the great possi
bilities he did have, his after-career was a disappointment. He sought the
Governorship and none denied him the conspicuous abilities to fill with
honor to himself, credit to his country, and benefit to the people the place
to which he aspired. He was apparently the choice of the people, but the
mysterious influences of manipulating politicians, now better understood by
the people, thwarted their will and his ambition. With his disappointment
in the senatorial contest he seems to have withdrawn entirely from partici-

1 6 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
pation in the politics of the party in which forty years of his life had passed.
He escaped the ranks of the highest distinction by the merest chances, and
though his life was full of honor, of great deeds, and high achievements, he
doubtless felt himself a disappointed man. His temperament may have
been an element in this result, for he was neither warm enough nor sym
pathetic enough to attach to him that devoted following that is historical
in the case of Henry Clay and Horatio Seymour. And yet both of these
men failed in their great aspiration. His name is inseparably interwoven
with the history of the first half century of Brooklyn, and memory of him
cannot die so long as Brooklyn continues to exist. This can be said :
That to-day, looking back over the past, his figure stands out as the most
considerable the Democratic party of Brooklyn ever possessed ; while in
quiry into' the record of his life forces the conviction that he was the greatest
man native to her soil."
During the time which had elapsed since his return from Europe, Mr.
Murphy had very naturally become largely identified with the corporate
interests of the city. Vast schemes of improvement were projected and
carried forward between the years 1865 and 1875 — and though the corporate
organizations by which they were carried through are not now in good re
pute, owing largely to the fact that corporations themselves have shown a
disposition to reach out for power not legitimately theirs, and dangerous to
the people, yet future generations, which will not feel the pressure of the
burdens imposed, will be disposed to applaud the efforts of those years and
characterize them as of sagacious foresight and extraordinary energy.- It
is not likely to be until after the burden imposed upon this people is lifted
that its results can be fully appreciated, and the consequences of a failure
to have done this work properly estimated. The first half century of
Brooklyn's existence as a city is rapidly approaching an end, and during
that time there has been scarcely a movement of a public kind, an institu
tion of a public nature, or an event of a public character that Henry C.
Murphy has not been identified with, in its inception, at least, and when
the analysis of his life is carefully made the weight of his influence in shap
ing the destiny of the city will astonish the student.
Shortly after the war the plan of a bridge over the East River was pro
jected, the founder of which was William C. Kingsley. Into this enterprise
Mr. Murphy threw himself with great energy and enlisted the interest of
his friends. In its inception it was a private enterprise, and all who en
gaged in it invested their private funds. He was chosen president of the
company at the beginning, and when it was changed from a private under
taking to a public work he was made one of its trustees and the president
thereof, which position he retained to the last. The history of this enter
prise is too fresh in the minds of the people to require extended remarks.
To it he gave more of his personal attention than to any of the other affairs
in which he was engaged ; and in the minds of the people, superficially at
least, his name will be more closely identified with this work than with
anything else in the future. Next to this he took great interest in the
recent development of Coney Island ; and as president of the Brooklyn,
Flatbush and Coney Island Railway Company, assumed the personal charge
of the more important matters connected with its business, even to the
repair of its rolling stock, and the extension of its accommodations for the
public at Brighton Beach. To the Bridge office, the Coney Island Rail
way office, and those of the Brooklyn City Railroad and the Union Ferry

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. \j
Company, he made a visit almost every day — showing activity in attention
to business remarkable in one of his years.
We have, thus far, discussed Mr. Murphy as the politician, statesman,
lawyer, and promoter of public interests. Let us now dwell for awhile
upon that other aspect of his character, which we, perhaps, as literary men
and students, will find more congenial to our contemplation — i.e., his love
of books and his historical writings.
He had, as we have seen, from the very commencement of his career,
devoted much of his leisure to literary pursuits, as the editor — for a con
siderable time — of the Brooklyn Advocate, and afterward of the Brooklyn
Eagle, of which he was for some years the proprietor ; and he was an ever-
welcome contributor to the Democratic Review, the North American Re
view, and the Historical Magazine. These efforts brought him literary re
cognition and fame among scholars, and even among the class of politicians
by whom he was surrounded they gave him an element of strength which
contributed not a little to his success in public life. But, at the same
time, though these associates felt and honored the power which these stud
ies gave him, they could not sympathize with them ; and, indeed, the line
of thought in which his mind travelled was not such as would naturally
enlist general attention, since the subjects were learned, abstruse, and re
mote from the popular taste. His specialty of study was the early history
of America, particularly upon those explorations of the coast which led to
the settlement of the United States by Europeans ; and it was his Dutch
blood, perhaps, which led him to greatly delight in studying the relations
of the Dutch Republic upon the opening and settling of this New Continent.
With these subjects in view he commenced, at an early period in his life,
the collection of a library from which he could draw his materials. Of this
collection we have a memorial in a pamphlet modestly entitled, "A Cata
logue of an American Library, Chronologically Arranged," consisting of
fifty-eight pages (i8mo, large margin) giving five hundred and eighty-nine
titles and printed by I. Van Anden, Brooklyn. A manuscript note on the
fly-leaf of the copy in possession of the Long Island Historical Society is as
follows : "This catalogue contains a list of books relating to America, printed
before the year 1800, in my library at the time it was prepared, about ten
years ago. Since that time the number has been greatly enlarged, but I
have as yet not catalogued it. June, 1863. H. C. M." The words at
the end of this catalogue (which may be considered as his first printed
work) are "End ofthe First Part," indicating an intention to continue the
indexing of his library. Between its publication, in 1853, and i860, in
which year Mr. Murphy's collection was included in Dr. Wynne's "Private
Libraries of America," it had increased to "over five thousand volumes,
fully three-quarters of which relate to the peculiar topic of his researches."
Dr. Wynne also says that "the library may be divided into four classes —
one relating to early American history ; one to local American history ;
one to later American history, and the last of a miscellaneous character,
each of which embraces about a quarter ofthe whole." It is exceptionally
rich in volumes remarkable for their rarity. He procured, for example,
twenty-five of the very scarce "Jesuit Relations de ce qui s'est dans la
Nouvelle France." Then there are the early New England tracts, by
Eliot, Shepard, Winslow and Whitfield, published in 1643 and 1659, with
all of their quaint titles, such as "First Fruits," " The Day Breaking of
the Gospel, if not the Sun Rising with the Indians in New England" etc.
2

1 8 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
Of these the rarest, since there is but one other copy, is " Some Helps for
the Indians in the New Haven Colony" by Abraham Pierson, a Puritan
clergyman, afterward one of the founders of Newark, New Jersey. Francis
Breton's " Dechonaire of the Mexican Language ," published at Mexico, in
1571, and a copy of that rarest of all American books, the first edition of
" Colden's History of the Five Nations," published in New York, in 1727 ;
" Penhallow 's Indian Wars;" " DoolUtli 's Narrative Indian Wars on the
Western Frontier of Massachusetts" published in 1750. " History of the
Pequot War." The whole of the collection relative to Indian history and
philology is rare and rarely to be met with either in American or European
collections. His copy of the " Vocabulary of Indian Language," by Rogers
Williams, once belonged to the poet Southey and has his autograph. Relative
to early colonization there are three folio volumes of Ramusie, with maps,
the first published in Venice in 1559, the second in 1563, and the third in
1565; " Eden's Decades of Peter Martyr," 1555 ; '¦'¦Eden's Travels" com
pleted by Willes, 1577; DeBry's " Grands et Petits Voyages" of the first
edition, with Hakluyt ofthe editions or 1589 and 1599. Also to be found
in this collection is the " Cosmo graphia, Introductio in quatuor Americi
Vespuci Navigationes, St. Diey, 1507." Humboldt, in referring to this
book, speaking of its rarity, said that he was astonished to find that it was
not named in the " Bibliotheque Societe," and that he knew of only two
copies, one in the Vatican Library, at Rome, and the other in the Royal
Academy, in Berlin. One cannot, however, enumerate the many rare and
valuable volumes in his library.
In 1853, Mr. Murphy published the "Voyage from Holland to America,
A. D. 1632-1644. By David Petersen De Vries" (New York, 4to, 200
pages ; only 200 copies printed), which, at the suggestion of James Len
nox, Esq., of New York, he had translated from the Dutch, and enriched
with an Introduction of fourteen pages and ten pages of Notes.
His next appearance as a historical student is in connection with the
" Broad Advice to the New Netherlands," published in the Collections of
the New York Historical Society (iii., Second Series). The original is in
Dutch, published in 1649 J the author unknown, conjectured by Mr. Mur
phy, who is the translator, to be Cornells Melyn. It occupies pages 237-
284 of the volume.
In 1857, he went to the Hague, as before stated, and the first reminder
of his interest in these matters, which some of his friends at home received
from him, was a little octavo pamphlet of 25 pages (Preface dated " The
Hague, April 1, 1858"), entitled " The First Minister of the Dutch Reformed
Church in the United States." This was a translation and annotation of a
recently discovered letter of Jonas Michaelius, written at Manhatas, in
New Netherlands, August n', 1628. It was printed (from the press of
of The_ Brothers Giunta D'Albani) for private distribution.
This was followed the next year (1859) by a more ambitious tract, from
the same press, and also for private distribution only, entitled " Henry
Hudson in Holland. An Inquiry into the Origin and Objects of the Voy
age which led to the Discovery of the Hudson River. With Bibliographical
Notes" (8vo, 72 pp. Portrait of Dirk van Os). This memoir (Preface
dated "The Hague, April 15, 1859") was the result of an investigation
made at the Hague " for the sake of ascertaining, more precisely than had
hitherto been explained, the circumstances which originated the voyage
made on behalf of the Dutch India Company by Henry Hudson ; the mo-

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D. \q
tives, purposes, and character of its projectors, and the designs of the navi
gator himself at the time he sailed upon that expedition. Mr. Murphy's
official position at the Court of the Hague gave him excellent advantages,
of which he liberally availed himself, to make researches into the ancient
records of the Dutch East India Company (especially those of its Com
mittee, or " Council of Seventeen"), as well as those of the Chambers of
Amsterdam and Zeeland, respectively ; and into the Archives of the King
dom at the Hague — with the result of eliciting some new and curious in
formation. It was during Mr. Murphy's sojourn in Holland, also, that he prepared
for the columns of his old paper, The Brooklyn Eagle, the series of letters
on Holland to which reference has already been made.
Upon his return to America, the interests arising from the great civil
conflict, in which he found his native country engaged, naturally absorbed
most of his time and attention ; but just about the period of its close, in
1865, he again appeared before the literary public, under the auspices of
the celebrated private book club, known as the " Bradford Club," in " The
Anthology of the New Netherlands, or Translations from the Early Dutch
Poets of New York. With Memoirs of their Lives." In this elegantly
printed volume (125 copies only ; 8vo, 208 pages, portrait of Steendam)
he presented a gracefully versified translation of some of the earliest poems
written within the bounds of the present State of New York. The poets
to whom he thus gave a new lease of fame were Jacob Steendam, 1636-
1650 ; Rev. Henricus Selyns, the first settled minister of Brooklyn, 1660 ;
and Nicasius de Sille, first Councillor of State under Governor Stuyvesant.
But the work which he probably hoped to make his magnum opus,
and to which, during all these years, he had devoted most of the labor and
study afforded him by the intervals of leisure which he could wrest from
his official and professional duties, was a History of Maritime Discovery in
America. A monograph, which he published privately in 1875, entitled
" The Voyage of Verrazano" (from the press of Joel Munsell; 8vo. 198 pp.,
5 maps*), which contained that portion of his intended work relating to
that discoverer, and which was adverse in its argument to the claims of
Verrazano, did not seem to receive, at the hands of the critics, that accept
ance which Mr. Murphy had, perhaps, too sanguinely expected ; and, in
the opinion of some of his friends, his ardor in the work received a check
from which it did not, for some time, recover. But, after he left the Sen
ate, and until he became involved in the Bridge and the Coney Island
Railway enterprises, it is said that he labored diligently, and had made
considerable progress in the work. It is, however, very much doubted
whether the work is sufficiently advanced to justify a belief that it will add
materially to his literary fame ; or that it can be completed, agreeably to
his plan, by other hands.
In 1867, the appearance of a fine volume entitled "A Journal of a Voy
age to New York and a Tour in Several of the American Colonies, in
1679-80. By Jasper Dankers and Peter Sluyter, of Wiewerd in Fries
land. Translated from the Original Manuscript in Dutch, for the Long
Island Historical Society, and Edited by Henry C. Murphy, Foreign Cor
responding Secretary of the Society" (Brooklyn, 1867. 8vo, 440 pp.,
* The "certain important documents,'1 relating to Verrazano, from the archives of Spain and Portugal,
uwich formed the nucleus, so to speak, of this tract, were, in a measure, a legacy from his deceased friend,
Buckingham Smith, Esq., tp whose memory it was inscribed.

20 Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
maps and plates) testified at once to his continued interest in the historic
lore of the Nieuw Netherlands, and to his love for the Society of which he
was a founder and distinguished member. This was a translation of an
exceedingly curious manuscript, which by some fortuitous circumstance
had escaped damage and destruction, and which he discovered in the
possession of Mr. Frederick Muller, a bookseller in Amsterdam, by whom
its intrinsic historical interest does not seem to have been appreciated.
It forms the first of the three volumes of Transactions which this young
but energetic Society has thus far published.
It is a proper place, perhaps, here to speak of Mr. Murphy's con
nection with the Long Island Historical Society. His name stands at the
head of the eight persons who, on February 14, 1863, issued a circular
calling for a meeting to establish a " Long Island Historical Society,"
which should "discover, procure and preserve the three-fold Indian,
Dutch and English History of the Island, and whatever may relate to the
general history, to the natural, civil, ecclesiastical, and literary history of the
United States, the State of New York, and more particularly of the coun
ties, cities, towns, and villages of Long Island." His life-long friends, Al-
den J. Spooner (to whom the credit ofthe suggestion is pre-eminently due),
Judge John Greenwood, John Winslow, Judge Joshua M. Van Cott, repre
senting Kings County; R. C. McCormick, Jr., and Henry Onderdonk, Jr.,
the historian, representing Queens County ; and Judge Henry P. Hedges,
of Suffolk County — all but one of whom were lawyers — were those who
were connected with him in this movement. In the first three years ofthe
Society's existence, during which I was its librarian, I saw much of Mr.
Murphy. His office was on the floor below the Society's rooms, in the Ham
ilton Building, and was easily reached by a rear door from our rooms. It
was then a very usual thing for Mr. Murphy, as he came in from Bay
Ridge in the morning, if he had any little business at our rooms, to pass
through the Library on his way to his office ; and, not unfrequently, he
would escape from the cares of business, to spend an hour amid the books,
or in chatting pleasantly with some of his old friends upon historic or literary
matters. No one who has only seen Mr. Murphy in public or in business
relations, can imagine how changed a man he appeared in these infrequent
hours of ease. Usually, in the street, or in his office, his countenance
wore a wearied, stern, and somewhat disappointed aspect, which did not
invite approach. But, seated in some snug corner of the Library, sur
rounded by the bookish atmosphere which he loved so well, and by old
friends and tried, all this hardness fell off from him, and his face was trans
figured for the time by animation and humor. His contributions of
books, from time to time, were numerous and valuable ; and I recall
how carefully he remembered, amid a great pressure of private busi
ness, to attend to the calls which I occasionally ventured to make upon
him for the loan of some choice book or rare pamphlet. He seemed
never to forget any promise of this sort. I cannot but incorporate on
these pages the discriminating estimate of his relations and services to the
Long Island Historical Society, expressed in the Minute adopted by that
body, December 11, 1882, as follows :
" His interest in the institution, from its commencement to the present,
has been of essential and continual benefit to it, and to its Library. He
had been a generous contributor to it, both in books for its collection and
of money for its treasury. He has personally and successfully solicited

Memoir of Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.

21

aid for it at the different conjunctures when it has been in urgent need of
relief or of enlargement. His counsels concerning its administration have
always been intelligent, liberal and candid, marked by an affectionate
solicitude for its welfare, and the desire for constant expansion in its plans
and work. His attendance at the meetings of the Board and of the Society
has been regular and punctual, when public duties have not altogether
preoccupied his attention ; and his courtesy in discussion has uniformly
corresponded with his generosity in action, and with the courageous wisdom
of his plans."
One of Mr. Murphy's latest literary efforts was a graceful Memoir of
Herman Ernst Ludwig, the bibliophile and student of American local
literature, prepared, by request, for the forthcoming third volume of the
New England Historic-Genealogical Society's "Memorial Biographies."
We have referred to his residence at Bay Ridge. It was an elegant
dwelling, located upon the high shore overlooking the bay, and was known
as "Owl's Head," a name supposed to have been applied to the spot by
the Indians. Upon the stone posts of the Third Avenue gateway to the
grounds, two graven owl's heads perpetuated the -name and legend. In
this house he lived for over thirty years, disposing of it only in April last,
. to Mr. Eliphalet W. Bliss.
Judged, then, from either of the three aspects which his life presents
toward us — as lawyer, statesman or student — Henry C. Murphy stands
well the test of the application of a high standard.
As a lawyer, his delivery was not calculated to captivate the masses,
nor did he use any tricks of oratory ; his rhetoric was plain and severe in
quality, appealing less to the emotions and passions than to the intellect
of his hearers. Yet he was a ready speaker, and when he warmed to his
subject his wealth of reading and study became manifest. History, pre
cedent, analogy, statistics and illustration were then at ready command, to
fortify the positions he had assumed, and they were marshalled with a logic
that was irresistible. Learned in the law, penetrative in his analysis, and
powerful in his conclusions, he at all times challenged the respect of his
professional brethren.
So, also, in legislative debate and upon the public platform — while he
was never a popular speaker in the sense that Henry Clay, James T.
Brady, or others, were — yet his powerful logic and his command of facts
gave him a power which was not diminished by the severity of his style or
the barrenness of his rhetoric. Even his literary works betray this plain
ness of style, though they possess far more of ornamentation than is found
in his public addresses. Perhaps the explanation of this fact may partly
be, that his public efforts were mostly extemporaneous. In him was
combined, to a remarkable degree, the union of the studious faculty and of
a ready executive capacity. His private character was that of a high-toned
and honorable gentleman, and no public man of our day has probably
passed through so conspicuous and trying a career, with such entire freedom
from any taint of corruption.
The end of all these activities came to him, at his residence, No. 133
Remsen Street, Brooklyn, after a few days' illness, on the morning of
December 1, 1882. From the first of this brief illness, he seemed to
have a premonition of the fatal result, and the serenity and mental power
so characteristic of him was undiminished to the very last. On the 3d of
December, after a largely attended funeral service at the Church of the

22 Memoir of .Hon. Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.
Holy Trinity, Brooklyn Heights, he was carried to his rest in the family
vault at Greenwood. His wife survives him, as do his only children, Henry
C. and George I. Murphy, both of whom were for some years past associ
ated with him in the practice of his profession.
Fitting and true are the few words in which our departed friend and
counsellor was sketched by one who knew him well since boyhood : "A
statesman, and the friend of statesmen ; a politician, and the friend of
those who make politics a business ; a scholar and a man long and variedly
interested in material enterprises ; public spirited, and yet often wagging
with the humor of his time ; far from austere in his personal habits, but
evincing in innumerable ways a high sense of personal honor ; sour and
severe to those who knew him not, but to his friends sweet as summer ;
unsentimental in his dealings with the material side of life, but to women
and children as gallant and as tender as poets are supposed to be."
This life, which we have endeavored to trace, was in some respects a
singularly successful one ; in other respects it had as many contradictions,
disappointments, and unfulfilled aspirations as usually fall to the lot of most
men. But, if the truest measure of a life's success consists in the impress
which that life has made upon the time and the community in which it was
lived, then, looking upon the city in which the best part of his life's work
was done, the highest tribute which can be awarded to Henry C. Murphy
is found in the enumeration of what he did for the city of his birth.

The authorities consulted in the foregoing sketch have been — ¦
i. A sketch of Mr. Murphy in the Democratic Review, July, 1847.
Vol. XXL, p. 78. With portrait.
2. Life Sketches of the State Officers, Senators, and Members of
Assembly of the State of New York. 1868, pp. 112-117.
3. Proceedings at the Dinner given by the Citizens of Brooklyn, at the
Mansion House, on August 5, 1857, to the Hon. Henry C. Murphy, pre
vious to his departure on his mission as Minister to the Netherlands.
Printed for Private Distribution.
4. Wynne's Private Libraries of America, i860, p. 335.
5. Mr. Murphy's Works, in the Library of the Long Island Historical
Society. 6. Stiles' History ofthe City of Brooklyn, N.Y., 1870. Three volumes.
7. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Dec. 1, 1882.
8. Memoranda furnished by Henry C. Murphy, Jr.