^diii of C oii j^ Ty /rr TV" / r p x^^^ v^ — / — '(?> ^r D ^.-...i:^^^:^^ »<=^1?^^ii ^ ^ eL.£^. ■,; \. y'-3,^'|^ _ ^^l^^-'^^^llt^^t # ^ I GRi^TIOT COUNTY, MICH, I^OI^TI^AIT^S AND BlOGI^APHIGAL Sl^EiTGHES piiorT]inKnt and I^eprfe^eritatiVe Citizer]^ of tf]e Countif, TOC.ETHEIl Wl I II roli/UA/IS .iX/> Uli ><,h'M'l//ES OF ALL lUE (U)V EEXOIIS (iE M/i I/It; I .\ \ AXO OE THE EEESIPEXTS Oh THE rXlTEl) STATES. AI.^O lONTAINlXt; A tOM IM.K IK mMM 11^ 1-. AUI.IKSr SETTI.KMKNl TO iiiK i>nKsi:\r mmk. (.•IIIiAdo- 1S&4. V. THE NEV.' YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY 480541 AtTOR, LENOX AN* T{LD6N FOUNOATIOW*. R 1909 L i; 1^' •#• TzJ^^sr T^Bn^IlDr>r ¥^^^^>,m -•*§^ V ) •J 3< f^^f^. •J^C^^Jts^ 9?9^a^^'0 t3-v%yo 6 ■ •-'"'* '4 . '^'%^'*^'^'^'''"'"'^"' S E HAVE completed our labors in writing and compiling the Portrait and Biograph- c iCAL Album of (Jratiot County, and wish, in presenting it to its patrons, tospeak briefly of the importance of local works of this nature. It is certainly the duty of the present to commemorate the past, to perpetuate the names of the pioneers, to furnish a record of their early settlement, and to relate the story of their progress. The civilization of our day, the enlightenment of the age, and this solemn duty which '■ S V) men of the present time owe to their ancestors, to themselves and to their ixjsterity demand that a record of tlieir lives and deeds should be made. In local history is found a power to instruct man by precedent, to enliven the mental faculties, and to waft down the river of time a safe vessel in which the names and actions of the people who contributed to raise this region from its primitive state may be jireserved. Surely and rapidly the noble men who in their prime entered the wild forests of Gratiot and claimed the virgin soil as their heritage, are passing to their graves. The number remaining who can relate the history of the first days of settlement is becoming small indeed, so that an actual necessity exists for the collection and preservation of his- torical matter without delay, before the settlers of the wilderness are cut down by time. Not only is it of the greatest imjwrtance to render history of pioneer times full and accurate, but it is also essen tial that the history of the county, from its settlement to the present day, should be treated through its various- phases, so that a record, complete and impartial, may be handed down to the future. The present the age of progress, is reviewed, standing out in bold relief over the quiet, unostentatious olden times; it is abrilliant record, which is destined to live in the future; the good works of men, their magnificent enterprises, their lives, whether commercial or military, do not sink into oblivion, but, on the contrary, grow brighter with age, and contribute to build up a record which carries with it precedents and principles that will be advanced and observed when the acts of soulless men will be forgotten, and their very names hidden in obscurity. In the preparation of the personal sketches contained in this volume, unusual care and pains were taken to have then accurate, even in the smallest detail. Indeed, nothing was passed lightly over or treated indifferently, and we flatter ourselves that it is one of the most accurate works of its nature ever published. As one of the most interesting features of this work, we present the [wrtraits of numerous representa- tive citizens. It has been our aim to have the prominent men of to-day, as well as the pioneers, represented in this department; and we congratulate ourselves on the uniformly high character of the gentlemen whose (xjrtraits we prc-sent. They are in the strictest sense representative men, and are selected from all the call- ings and professions worthy to be represented. There are others, it is true, who claim equal i)rominence with those presented, but of course it was im|X)ssible for us to give jxjrtraits of all the leading men and pioneers of the county. While we are under great obligation to many of the noble and generous people of Gratiot County for kindly and material assistance in the 'preparation of this .Mbum, we feel under sjiecial obligation to the following persons, who, from the beginning till the close of our labors, manifestetl unusual interest in the enterprise and gave us every assistance |]X)ssible : Gen. Nathan Church, Rob't Smith, Judge \Vm. E. VVinion, Judge \Vm. Paddock, Hon. A. B. Darragh, Hon. Wilbur Nelson, Rev. Francis Nelson, Parmer K. Phillips, John Swigart, S. S. Hastings, Dr. John k. Cheesman, James Gargett, Mrs. Klias Smith and W. W. Comstock. (11 \r\i \N i;Koiiii:ks. Chicago, A/ay, 1SS4. ^V!y^ — =i-v:^DI]:•^:^^v>-i-- — ^;v^ i < A ^: ( fr- §I€kA^^^^*' "T2»'TS5(*/'tv -^-^ v4>iiii^nnvi>-r •s^ ) ^ >5 y s fQ: % 'P :-f5^ -^''C^*^^ @!AC>D!]^IlD;t>A;9 2^^^5^ ^^^/"^^^^ ■rry <>Mmh^ "3«^^ 4^^^^.^: K ^ >: ') / /i >Vt •^iL^ : V i i ■; i /• l'*--^ A}^- ^\ ^ ^ ^^$fcr 5>X ' ""yl^^- ^ { 4'^ 't I ! V t r -2W^ <^n!i:'>:iiiiv>i. wm \ v #^^^ v^ V ^ > fe> ef» ^5 »v®)5«ei*i- .^^ ^^nn^niif^A-ei — ^^^^^ «4^^^f(®. THE NEV^ YOr.K PUBLIC LIBRARY A8T0R, LENOX AND •ni-DBN FmuSDATlONS « L I ^/-^ ^ ^ ^- i.^ -m ^^^/$^^V^.^^ Jl>/^^^^^ TTV :m>r F/RST PRESIDENT. JVJ^V^' 19 v:ra S-^ ■■} .1 Feb. 22, 1732. His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washington. The family to which he belonged has not been satisfactorily traced in England. His greai-grand- father, John Washington, em- igrated to Virginia about 1657, and became a prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence and John. The fomier married Mildred Warner and had three children, John, .Augustine and Mildred. Augus- tine, the father of George, first married Jane Hutler, who bore liim four children, two of whom, I ..iwrence and Augustine, reached maturity. Of six children by his second marriage, Oeorge was the eldest, the others beinu Betty, Samuel, Joiin .\ugustine, Charles and Mildred. .-Vugiistine Washington, the father of George, died m 1743, leaving a large landed property. To his eldest stdi, Lawrence, he beipieathed an estate on the I'atomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, and to George he lel't the parental residence. (leorge received only such education as the neighborhood schiiols afforded, save for a short time after he left jcIukiI, when ho received private instruction in mathematics. I lis s|>clling was rather defective. Remarkable stories are told of his great physical strength and development at an early age. He was an acknowledged leader among his companions, and was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- ness and veracity which characterized his whole life. When George was 1 4 years old he had a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, but through the opposition of his mother the idea was abandoned. Two years later he was ap|X)inled surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In this business he spent three years in a rough frontier life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very essential to him. In 175 r, though only 19 years of age, he was a[)pointed adjutant with the rank of major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for active service against the French and Indians. Soon after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother Lawrence, who went there to restore his health. They soon returned, and in the summer of 1752 Lawrence died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter who did not long survive him. On her demise the estate of Mount Vernon was given to George. Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- cepted, which others had refused. This was to pro- ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed was I)elwcen 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at h.ind, and the journey was to be made witho\it military escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The 4 A s^ *> r */ $ ^ V • X -N^y^ -K-^Dfl:<^DDv>^ '®)$(^#^ GEORGE WASHINGTON. -^i^^ -t^^((svf]|| (^ '^ / ) (^ trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun against the French and Indians, in which Washington took a most important part. In the memorable event of July 9, T755, known as Brad- dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock were disabled early in the action, and Washington alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, though death was levelin", my companions on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit him. After having Ijeen five years in the military service. and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he took advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the Legislature, where, although not a leader, he look an active and important part. January 17, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke Custis. When the British Parliament had closed the port of Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- cord and Lexington had been fought. .Among the first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and responsible office was conferred upon Washington, who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he receive no salary. He would keep an exact account of expenses and e.xpect Congress 10 pay them and nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the fortunes and liberties of the people of this country were so long confided. The war was conducted by him under every possible disadvantage, and while his forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in a parting address of surpassing l.ieauty, resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the army to to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. He retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumed his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all connection with public life. In February, 1789, Washington was unanimously elected President. In his presidential career he was subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part of other governments ; trials from want of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverished condition of the country, owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the beginnings of parly strife. He was no partisan. His clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and while perhaps this alone kept our government from sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and very annoying. At the expiration of his first term he was unani- mously re-elected. At the end of this term many were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely refused a third nomination. On the fourth of March, 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there his few remaining years free from the annoyances of public life. Later in the year, however, his repose seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. -\t the prospect of such a war he was again urged to take command of the armies. He chose his sub- ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat- ters in the field, which he superintended from his home. In accepting the command he made the reservation that he was not to be in the field until it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations his life was suddenly cut off. December 1 2, he took a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- teenth his body was borne with military honors to its final resting place, and interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon. Of the character of Washington it is impossible to speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- miration. The more we see of the operations of our government, and the more deeply we feel the difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- ent and character, which have been able to challenge the reverence of all parlies, and principles, and na- tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will lie as lasting as the existence of man. The person of Washington was unusally tall, erect and well proportioned. His muscular strength was great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry. He commanded respect without any appearance of liaughtiness, and ever serious without being dull. t v:. 9 o. ^ ^ ,) ro) <^D!l^^IlI]i1>A^ PUBLk A8T0R, LBNOX AND R »- / w^. ^■: amd I^r^^^^ r^M'MhW A V ^ TT SECOND PRESIDENT. "3i*~is«c-^" '^ ^, -sfeaffi&aj. ^.^fl^tsitajg-. r^ -• M '^4^'"-'-^^^*jy JDIIPJ ADAMS. "4ssessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and fluent of s|)eech, and having quick percej)- tive iiowcrs. He gradually gaine» '01^ tions he offered on the subject became very jxapular throughout the Province, and were adopted word for word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos- ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous and prominent advocatesof the jxjpular cause, and was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- lislature) in 1770. Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, which rr.et in 1774. Here he distinguished himself by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- vocated the movement for independence against the majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies should assume liie duties of self-government. He was a prominent member of the committee of five appointed June 11, to prepare a declaration of inde- pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams devolved the task of battling it tlirough Congress in a three days debate. On the day after the Declaration of Independence was passed, while his soul was yet warm with the glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife, which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated liy the si)irit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question was decided that ever was debated in .Nnierica; and greater, perhaps, never was or will be decided among men. .\ resolution was passed without one dis^nting colony, ' that these L'nited States are, and of right ought to be, free and inde- ])endent states.' The day is passed. The fourih of July, i77'>. will be a memorable epoch in the histor)- of America. I am apt to believe it will Ik; celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversar> festival. It ought to be commemoratetl as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to .Almighty (lOtl. It ought to be solemnized wiih i«>ini'. shows. A fi r ^ ■^v,fV^ ■^^D!]:::dD'>^ w V («) ;^^- ^ JOHN ADAMS. TT #%; If IS the means; and that posterity ih you and I maj- rue, which 1 games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can seethe rays of light and glory. I can see that the end Worth more than all will triumph, although you hope we shall not." In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a delegate to France and to co-operate with Bemjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money from the French Government. This was a severe trial to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- ers, wlio were seeking him. He left France June 17, 1779. In September of the same year he was again ciiosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet might be found willing to listen to such pvoposels. He sailed for France in November, from there he went to Holland, where he negotiated imiJOrtant loans and formed important commercial treaties Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed Jan. 2 1, t783. The re-action from the excitement, toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he was advised to go to England to drink the waters of Bath. While in England, stilUlroopinganddesiiond- ing, he received dispatches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to .Amsterdam to negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was delicate, yet he inunediately set out, and through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot, he made the trip. February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face to face the King of England, who had so long re- garded him as a traitor. As England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. .\dams felt that he was accom- plishing but little, he sought permission to return to his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788. When Washington was first chosen President, John Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at home and abroad, was chosen Vice President. .A.gain at the second election of Washington as President, Adams was chosen Vice President. In 1796, Wash- ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was elected President, though not without much opposition. Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics. While Mr. Adams was Vice President the great (^^ French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, and it was upon this point which he was at issue with the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the V^ classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- iginated the alienation between these distinguished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies were with England and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with France. The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling had died away, and he had begun to receive that just appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till after death. No one could look upon his venerable form, and think of what he had done and suffered, and how he had given up all the prime and strength of his life to the public good, without the deepest emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar good fortune to witness the complete success of the institution which he had been so active in creating and supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest station in the gift of the people. The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the signers of that immortal instrument left upon the earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is well known, on that day two of these finished their earthly pilgrimsge, a coincidence so remarkable as to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from his bed. On lieing requested to name a toast for the customary celebration of the day,- he exclaimed " In- dependence FOREVER." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, "O yes ; it is the glor- ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were, "Jefferson survives." But he had, at one o'clock, re- signed his spiiit into the hands of his God. (^ The personal appearance and manners of Mr. Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, as his jiortrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres- sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and his manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteous. He had neither the lofty dignity of W'ashington, nor the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked the manners and address of Jefferson. V (i" m E^ S*gS8^ A <^Ila:^llI]^>^ THB WEW YORK ^tJfiLIC LIBRARY '^ ='-'». t.pmox and •■^OATIONS I. 3^^ v- I -7\ <-Hli:o:[ill>>r THIRD PRESIDENT. 27 A V 4 1 Irii oil as" JE :ppe E s D :^ , \ ho: -/ -L I _L/ _11. xJ L/ 1 > J . <1^' "jp*" HOMAS JEFFERSON was Vpril 2, 1743, :it Sliad- !|^well, Alliermarle county, Va. His parents were Peter and Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, the former a native of Wales, and the latter horn in Lon- don. To them were horn six daughters and two sons, of whom 'i'homas was the elder. When 14 years of age his father died. He received a most liberal education, hav- ing been kept diligently at school from the time he was five years of age. In 1760 he entered William and Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat of the (Colonial C'ourt, and it was the obodeof fashion a.id splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he was earnestly devoted lo his studies, and irre|>roacha- able in his morals. It "is strange, however, under such inf1uences,that he was not ruined. In the set - ond year of his college course, moved by some un- explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, sr)ciely, and even his favorite violin, to which he had |)reviou:*ly given mu( h lime. He often devoted fitteen hours a day to h.iid Nluily, ailuwing himself for ex- ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out of the city and b.ic:k again. He thus attained very high iniellcctual ruliure, alike excellence in phil>>su- phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and (ireck authors he read with facility. A more finished scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and -:W^ there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man. Immediately upon leaving college he began the study of law. For the short time he continued in the ' practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a lawyer. But the times called for greater action. The [Xjlicy of England had awakened the spirit of resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses. In 1772 he married .Mrs. .Martha .Skeltou, a very beauti- ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow. Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at .Shadwell, there was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected lor his new home; and here he reared a m.msion of modest yet elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon, became the most distinguished resort in our land. In 1775 he was sent lo the Ctlonial Congress, where, though a silent member, his abilities as a writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he was placed ujjon a number of im|X)rtant committees, and was chairman of the one apixjinted for ihe draw- ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- miltee consisted of Thomas Jefferson. John .\dams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger .Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, w.is ap|)oin(cd lo draw u|) the paper. Franklin and .\dams suggested a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- gress. On June jS, a few slight changes were made in it by Congress, .md it was p.issed and signed July 4, 1776. What must have been the feelings of thai f vs A ( T '^^ ^mvM-y' ^- mmm>T 28 0^ ^ V Si THOMAS JEFFERSON. man — what the emotions that swelled his breast — who was chargi;d with the preparation of that Dec- laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of America, was also to publish her to the world, free, soverign and independent. It is one of the most re- markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort of the nrind of its author exist, that alone would be sufficient to stamp his name with immortality. In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to Patrick Henry, c.s Governor of Virginia. At one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to Monlicello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after tiie hurried escape of Mr. Jef- ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never very good, was much injured by tliis excitement, and in the summer of 1782 she died. Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- tentiary to France. Returning to the United States in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State m Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned Jan. I, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- dent, and four years later was elected President over Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. In 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, and George Clinton, Vice President. The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the tranquility and peace of the Lhiion; this was the con- spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a military expedition into the Spanish territories on our southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there a new republic. This has been generally supposed was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been generally known what his real plans were, there is no doubt that they were of a far more dangerous character. In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined to retire from political life. For a period of nearly forty years, he had been continually before the pub- lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of the greatest trust and responsil)ility. Having thus de- voted the best part of his life to the service of his country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his declining years required, and upon the organization of the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- well forever to public life, and retired to Monticelio. Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole families came in their coaches with their horses, — fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and nurses, — and remained three and even six months. Life at Monticelio, for years, resembled that at a fashionable watering-place. The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver- sary of the Declaration great preparations were ^«^# ,£^ of American Independence, made in every part of the Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and had been continually increasing, compelled liim to decline the invitation. On the second of July, the disease under which he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced state that his medical attendants, entertained no hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly sensible that his last hour was at Jiand. On the next d:iy, which was Monday, he asked of those around him, the day of the month, and on being told it was the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish that he might be permitted to breathe the air of the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose dawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - tlie day which his own name and his own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life. Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- dred sjiirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him company, left the scene of his earthly honors. Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of freedom; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and animated their desponding countrymen; for half a century they had labored together for the good of the country; and now hand in hand they dejiart. In their lives they had been united in the same great cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not divided. In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes were light, his hair originally red, in after life became white and silvery; his complexion was fair, his fore head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as well as personal courage ; and his command of tem- per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends never recollected to have seen him in a passion. His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and his language was remarkably pure and correct. He was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is discernable the care with which he formed his style upon the best models of antiquity. % vt A > r *S? THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LBNOX AND TILD&H F9UMDAT10N3 R L ^^' " ^ / ^^^C-Oe.-^'i^ -^^(^e^-^^^l/ fi-h^ a: )g y A Y '^ ■^7-7<:DI1>:dii>>v— FOURTH PR I' SI DENT. ^.-■mJ^ i^TA'^^ •SJ'<^ P1I]ES n|:HDISOI].^t,, ..^p 5^ c \ of tlie Constitution," and fourth ]>f President of the United States, Y w.is l)orn March i6, 1757, and ■; died at his liome in Virginia, '-^' June >8, 1836. The name of James Madison is inseparably con- nected with most of the im|>ortant events in that heroic period of our country during which the foimda- tions of this great republic were laid. He was the last of the founders ijf the Constitution of the L^nited States to be called to his eternal reward. The Madison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing u[xjn the shores of the Chesa- |K:ake but 15 years after the settle- ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent |)lanter, residing uiwn a very fine es- tate called "Montiwlier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in (aj* the njidst of scenery highly pictur- j esque and romantic, on the west side of South-west Mountain, at the foot of Hlue Ridge. It. was but 25 miles from the home of Jefferson .it .Monticello. The closest [lersonal anil |iol)tical attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youth until death. The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of |K he was sent to Princeton (College, in New Jersey. Il.r. he applied himsch tu study with the most im- prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 177 i, with a feeble body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subse- quent career. Returning to Virginia, he commenced tlie study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, and the society with which he asso- ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of lilierly, and to train him for his life-work of a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of mind, and his frail health leading him to think that his life was not lo be long, he directed esjiccial atten- tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind singularly free from passion and i»rejudice, and with almo!:t unecpialled jx)wers of reasoning, he weighed all the arguments for and against revealed religion, until his faith became so established as never to be shaken. In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he Was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to frame the constitution of the State. The next year {1777), he was a candidate for the General .Assembly. He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, .ind conse(|ucntly lost his election ; but those who had witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the moehalf, and he was .ipiNiiiued to the KnccuIivc Council. IJoth Patrick Henry and Ihomas Jefferson were ( 'lovernors of Virginia while Mr. M.ndison remained member ••< '!■■• Cmmcil ; and their appreciation of his ( As f ■2W=^ <^nD>:DD^>-^ ■^J-.^!^ Xv/ :^ ^ ) (^ /AMES MADISON. ->«f<^^^ intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions among them. For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- gress, one of its most active and influential members. In the year 17S4, his term having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature. No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inefficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- tional government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any State more prominent than Virginia in the declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through the General Assembly of Virginia, inviting the other States to ajipoint commis- sioners to meet in convention at Annapohs to discuss this suliject. Five States only were re[)resented. The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urgnig all the States to send their delegates to Piiiladelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a Constitution for the United States, to take the place of that Confederate League. The delegates met at the time apjwinted. Every State but Rhode Island was represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention; and the present Consti- tution of the United States was then and there formed. There was, perha[)s, no mind and no pen more ac- tive in framing this immortal document tlian the mind and the pen of James Madison. The Constitution, adopted bv a vote 81 to 79, was to be presented to the several States for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent States, with but little power at home and little respect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- tion to draw up an address to the people of the United States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, and urging its adoption. There was great opposition to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and went into effect in 1789. Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the Republican party. While in New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a young widow of remarkable power of fascination, whom he married. .She was in person and character queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occu|)ied so prominent a position in the very peculiar society which has constituted our republican co\irt as .Mrs. Madison. Mr. Madison served as Secretary ot State under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was chosen President. At this time the encroach- ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. British orders in council destroyed our commerce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disi)osition, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an .\merican ship brought to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- ance he selects any number whom he may please to designate as British subjects ; orders them down the ship's side into his boat; and places them on the gun- deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and im- pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the British cabinet to relinquish. On the i8th of June, 181 2, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to tlie war, the country in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, 1813, was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. This is not the place to describe the various adventures of this war on the land and on the water. Our infant navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- pling with the most formidable power which ever swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, 1813, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the llnited States under Iilockade. The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me ditator. .America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks of thePatuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- burg, upon Washington. The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White House, with her carriage drawn up at the door to await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames. The war closed after two years of fighting, and on Feb. 13, 1S15, the treaty of peace was signed at Ghent. On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- son died July 12, 1849. I f I ^i-V^^fg^- _n,<'*i#?:. :^:tin>>=T^ — ^s^g^s^ -^^^y^: THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY ASTOR, LENOX AND TIL.OEN FOUNDATIONS R L /^l. -c^:^ '^mr r -/''^)$(^r|«» J T^^m^M^^rr- FFFTH PRESIDENT. K^K J\t^ piiiEs nmim. -l?^K<^^l^l i A :«;> V / ^ 7 AMi:s Monroe, iiie t'luh , ^^I'rcsidcnton'he United States, ^■J- '■■■' (^T/J^lV/ ;A was liorii ill NN'estmorelandCo., i Va., April 2.S. 175.S. His early fif life was passed at the place of ^','>;"; ^ )!/**' nativity. His ancestors IkuI fur ' '■'■" ' c) many years resided in the prov- i 1 ince ill which he was l)orn. When. I at 17 years of at;e, in llie process S of completing iiis education at William and Mary College, the Co- lonial CoTigress assembled at Phila- delphia to deliberate iiiion the un- just and manifold oppressions of dreat Hritian, declared the separa- tion of the Colonies, and promul- gated the Declaration of Indej)en- dcnce. Had he been lM^)rn ten years before it is highly probable that he would have been one of the signers of that celebrated instrument. At this time he left school and enlisted among the patriots. He joined the army when everything looked hoi>e- less and gloomy. The nvnnber of deserters increased fronj day to ilay. The inv.-iding armies came iKJuring in; and the tories not only favored the cause of the mother country, but disheartened the new recruits, who were sutliciently terrified at the i)rospect of con- tending with an enemy whom they had Inrcn taught to deem invincible. To such brave spirits as James Monroe, who went right onward, undismayed through difficulty and danger, the Cnited States owe their |)ulilical emancipation. The young cadet joined the ranks, and esiiou-.eon this failure he entered the office of .Mr. Jefferson, at that jK'iiod Covernor, and pursued, with considerable ardor, the study of common law. He ilid not, however, entirely lay aside the knapsack for the green bag; but on the invasions of the enemy, sen'ed as a volun- teer, during the two years of his legal pursuits. In 17S2, he was elected from King (k-orge county, a memlier of the Leglislature of Virginia, and by that liody he was elevated to a seat in the Executive Council. He was thus honored with the lonfulciite of his fellow citi/cns at 3j years of age ; and having at this e.irly i>criod displayed some of that ability .md aptitude for legislation, which were aficrw.iril» employed with unremitting energy for the public gowl, I->^ A V f t • ■ < ■ .36 i <^nii^iiii>> ?^ O V\.-'- M H ^> H M : • V JAMES MONROE. m ^ J "s -s he was in the succeeding year chosen a menibev of the Congress of the United States. Deeplyas Mr. Monroefell the imperl'ec tionsof theold C'onfederacy, he was o[)[)osed to the new Constitution, thinking, with many others of tlie Kepuiilican party, that it gave too niucli power to the Central Government, and not enough to the individual States. Still he re- tained the esteem of his friends who were its warm sujjporters, and who, notwithstanding his opposition secured its adoption. In 1789, he became a member of the United States Senate; which office he held for four years. Kvery month the line of distinction be- tween the two great |)ariies which divided the nation, the Kederal and the Republican, was growing more distinct. The two i)roniinent ideas which now sep- arated them were, that the Reiiublican party was in sympathy with France, and also in favor of such a strict construction of the Constitution as to give the Central (lovernment as little power, and the State Governments as much iwwer, as theC'onslitution would warrant. The Federalists sympathized with England, and were in favor of a liberal construction of the Con- stitution, which would give as much power to the Central (lovernment as that document could possibly authorize. The leading Federalists and Republicans were alike noble men, consecrating all their energies to the good of the nation. Two more honest men or more pure patriots than John Adams the Federalist, and James Monroe the Republican, never breathed. In building up this majestic nation, which is destined to eclipse all Grecian and Assyrian greatness, the com- bination of their antagonism was needed to create the tight ecpiilibrium. .*\nd yet each in his day was de- nounced as almost a demon. Washington was then President. England had es- poused tlie cause of the Bourbons against the princi- ples of the French Revolution. All Europe was drawn into the conflict. We were feeble and far away. Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality be- tween these contending powers. France had helped us in the struggle for our liljerties. .-Ml the despotisms of Europe were now combined to prevent the French from escaping from a tyranny a thousand-fold worse thatt that which we had endured Col. Monroe, more magnanimous than prudent, was anxious that, at whatever hazard, we should help our old allies in their extremity. It was the impulse of a generous and noble nature. He violently ojiposed the Pres- ident's proclamation as ungrateful and wanting in magnanimity. Washington, who could appreciate such a character, developed his calm, serene, almost divine greatness, by appointing that very James Monroe, who was de- nouncing the jioliry of the Government, as the minister of that Government to the Republic of France. Mr. Monroe was welcomed by the National Convention i 1 France with the most entlnisi.Tstic demonstrations. Shortly after his return to this country, Mr. Mon- roe was elected Governor of Virginia, and held the office for three years. He was again sent to France to co-operate with Chancellor Livingston in obtaining the vast territory then known as the Province of Louisiana, which France had but shortly before ob- tained from Spain. Tlieir united efforts were suc- cessful. F"or the comparatively small sum of fifteen millions of dollars, the entire territory of Orleans and district of Louisiana were added to the United States. This was probably the largest transfer of real estate which was ever made in all the history of the world. From F" ranee Mr. Monroe went to England to ob- tain from that country some recognition of our rights as neutrals, and to remonstrate against those odious impressments of our seamen. But Eng- land was unrelenting. He agam returned to Eng- land on the same mission, but could receive no redress. He returned to his home and was again chosen Governor of Virginia. This he soon resigned to accept the position of Secretary of State under Madison. While in this office war with England was declared, the Secretary of War resigned, and during these trying times, the duties of the War Department were also put upon him. He was truly the armor- bearer of President Madison, and the most efficient business man in his cabinet. Upon the return of peace he resigned the Department of War, but con- tinued in the office of Secretary of State until the ex- piration of Mr. Madison's adminstration. At the elec- tion held the previous autumn Mr. Monroe himself had been chosen President with but little opposition, and upon March 4, 1817, was inaugurated. Four years later he was elected for a second term. Among the important measures of his Presidency were the cession of Florida to the United States; the Missouri Compromise, and the " Monroe doctrine.'* This famous doctrine, since known as the " Monroe doctrine," was enunciated by him in 1823. At that time the United States had recognized the independ- ence of the South American states, and did not wish to have Euroijean powers longer attempting to sub- due portions of the American Continent. The doctrine is as follows: "That we should consider any attempt on the part of European powers to extend their sys- tem to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety," and "that we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing or controlling American governments or provinces in any other light than as a manifestation by European powers of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States." This doctrine immediately affected the course of foreign governments, and has become the approved sentiment of the United States. At the end of his f econd term Mr. Monroe retired to his home in Virginia, where he lived until 1830, when he went to New York to live with his son-in- law. In that city he died, on the 4th of July, 1831. y^Oj •f\- f V-''.« ^^^^ A <'U';^ Tflc Tl^-V Y3RK PUBLIC LIBRARY ABTOR, LBNOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS R '- ,SK "&: ,^; 0, oL, cfhLo/fy^ r >^"---i- - J A V -A::au>:mj>>T- SJXTII FRRSJDIiNl. 39 •> 3oi}i^ Qaii]6Y :aD:5r]Qs. ^IL-V ,v:^yvx/v^<^ V ? OIIN (^UINCV ADAMS, thc "^ ^i\lli I'rcsidcnt of the United 'States, was born in the rural iicjine of his honored father, John Adams, in (juincy, Mass., on tlie I ith of July, 1767. His mother, a woman of exalted orth, watched over his childhood liring the almost constant alj- 1 ■iJ'>^'S//i ^'■■'"-'^ ^^ '^'* father. When hut rsSt^^L '-■'ii'^' years of age, he stood with « JiJJji « his mollicr on an eminence, listen- ing to the hooniing of the great bat- tle on Bunker's Hill, and gazing on w\*3\\ the smoke and tiames billow- ing up from the conflagration of Charlestown. When but eleven years old he took a tearful adieu of his mother, to sail with his fatner for Furope, through a fleet o( hostile British cruisers. The liright, animated boy silent a year and a half in I'.itis, where his f.ither was associated with Franklin and l.ee as minister pleni|wtentiary. His intelligence attracted the notice of these distinguished men, and he received from them flattering marks of attention. .Mr. John Adams had scarcely returned to this country, in 1779, ere he was again sent abroad. .Again John ()uincy ai companied his father. At I'aris he .ipplied himself with great diligence, for six months, to study; then accy Mr. Dana, our min- ister to the Russian court, as his private secretary. In this •!( hdol of incessant lal)Or and of enobling culture he s|ient fourteen months, and then returned to Holland through Sweden, Denmark, H.imburg and Bremen. This long jfmrney he took alone, in the winter, when in his sixteenth year. .Again he resumed his studirs, unilcr i privity tulcir. it H igue. Then. <•, V _---yr. ■K in the spring of 1782, he accompanied his father to I'aris, traveling leisurely, and forming acquaintance with the most distinguished men on the Continent; e.xamining architectural remains, galleries of paintings, and all renowned works of art. .At hiris he again became associated with the most illustrious men of all lands in the contem|)lations of the loftiest temporal themes which can engross the human mind. .After a short visit to F.ngland he returned to l'aii>, and consecrated all his energies to study until May, 1785, when he returned to .America. To a brilliant young man of eighteen, who iiad seen much of the world, and who was familiar with the etiquette of courts, a residence with his father in London, under such . ir- cumstances, must have been extremely attractive; but witli judgment very rare in one of his age, he pre- ferred to return to .America to complete his education in an .American college. He wished then to study law, that with an honorable profession, he might lie able to obtain an inde|>endent sup|K>rt. U|X)n leaving Harvard College, at the age of twenty, he studied law for three years. In June, 1794, be- ing then but twenty-seven years of age, he was ap- |Kiinted by Washington, resident minister at the Netherlands. .Sailing from lioston in July, he reached London in October, where he was immediately admit- ted to the deliberations of Messrs. Jay and I'inckney. assisting them in negotiating a commercial treaty with Great Britian. .After thus s|)ending a fortnight in London, he proceeded to the Hague. In July, 1797, he left the Hague to go to Portiical ns minister pleni[X)tentiary . On his way to I ujnin arriving in IjDiidon. he met with «U directing him to the court of Berlin, but reT I t -Os V ) I ^ I 40 "r JOHN QU/NCY ABA MS. "^^art of his studies. It was his rule to read live chapters every day. On the 4th of March, 1S17. Mr. Monroe took the Presidential chair, and immediately ap]iointed Mr. Adams Secretary of State. Taking leave of his num- erous friends in public and private life in Europe, he sailed in June, 1819, for the United States. On the iSth of August, he again crossed the threshold of his home in (^uincy. During the eight years of Mr. Mon- roe's administration, Mr. .\dams continued Secretary of State. Some time before the close of Mr. Monroe's second term of office, new candidates began to be presented for the Presidency. The friends of Mr. .\dams brought forward his name. It was an exciting campaign. Party spirit was never more bitter. Two hundred and sixty electoral votes were cast, .\ndrew Jackson re- ceived ninety-nine; John Quincy .Xdams, eighty-four; William H. Crawford, forty-one; Henry ("lay, thirty- seven. As there was no choice by the people, the (piestion went to the House of Representatives. Mr. Clay gave the vote of Kentucky to Mr. Adams, and he was elected. The friends of all the disappointed candidates now combined in a venomous and persistent assault upon Mr. .\dams. There is nothing more disgraceful in the past history of our country than the abuse which was poured in one uninterrupted stream, upon this high-minded, upright, patriotic man. There never was an administration more pure in principles, more con- scientiously devoted to the best interests of the coun- try, than that of John Quincy Adams; and never, per- haps, was there an administration more unscrupu- lously and outrageously assailed. Mr. Adams was, to a very remarkable degree, ab- stemious and temperate in his habits; always risiiig early, and taking much exercise. When at his home in Quincy, he lias been known to walk, before breakfast, seven miles to Boston. In Washington, it was said that he was the first man up in the city, ligliting his own fire and applying himself to work in his library often long before dawn. On the 4th of March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired from the Presidency, and was succeeded by Andrew- Jackson. John C. Calhoun was elected Vice Presi- dent. The slavery (piestion now began to assume lX)rtentous magnitude. Mr. Adams returned to Quincy and to his studies, which he pursued with un- abated zeal. But he was not long permitted lo re- main in retirement. In November, 1830, lie was elected representative to Congress. For seventeen years, until his death, he occu[nedthe post as repre- sentative, towering aliove all his peers, ever ready to do brave battle' for freedom, and winning the title of "the old man eloquent." Uiion taking his seat in the House, he announced that he should hold him- self bound to no party. Probal>ly there never was a member more devoted to his duties. He was usually the first in his place in the morning, and the last to leave his seat in the evening. Not a measure could be brought forward and escape his scrutiny. The battle which Mr. Adams fought, almost singly, against the proslavery party in the Government, was sublime in Us moral daring and heroism. For persisting in presenting petitions for the aliolition of slavery, he was threatened with indictment by the grand jury, with expulsion from the House, with assassination; but no threats could intimidate him, and his final triumph was complete. It has been said of President Adams, tliat when his body was bent and his hair silvered by the lapse of fourscore years, yielding to the simple faith of a little child, he was accustomed to repeat everv night, before he slept, the pra\er which his mother taught him in his infant years. On the 2istof Feliruary, 184S, lie rose on the tloor of Congress, with a paper in his hand, to address the speaker. Suddenly he fell, again stricken by paraly- sis, and was caught in the arms of those around him. For a time he was senseless, as he was conveyed to the sofa in the rotunda. With reviving conscious- ness, he opened his eyes, looked calmly around and said " T/n's is the emi of earth .-"then after a moment's pause he added, ^^ I am content" These were the last words of the grand "Old Man Eloquent." y^ < A ^: 1 tgr.. I --•ff1^^^$(<® THE NEW YOKK PUBLIC LIBRARY A8TOR. LENOX AND TILDEN KuUNDATlUNS R L m^r^ "i^^^'^- T <^tlll;':Dll>> y^:—r A J A V s SEVENTH PRESIDENT. 43^ -»eiccr?^ss««OJ A ^' p i< p^ u^ J A ( ; I V S ( ) X . L;y t [ Nl)Ri:u JACKSON, the seventh IVesident of ilic United States, was horn in W'axliaw settlement, N. (.'., March 15, 1767, a few days after his father's death. His parents were |)00r emigrants from Irehmd, and took u|) their alwxle in Waxhaw set- tlement, where they lived in deeiiest (wverty. Andrew, or Andy, as he was universally called, grew up a very rouj;h, rude, turliulent hoy. His features were coarse, his form un- gainly; and there was hut very little in his character, made visii>lc. which was al- trai:tive. When oidy thirteen years old he joined the volun- teers of Carolina against the British invasion. In 17X1, he and his brother Robert were captured and imprisoned for a time at Camden. A British officer 'irdered him to hrush his mud-spattered Inxits. " I am I prisoner of war, not your servant," was the reply of I he dauntless iKiy. The hrute drew his sword, and aimed a desperate hlow at the head of the helpless young j)risoner. .\ndrcw raised his hand, .ind thus receiveil two fear- ful gashes,— one on the hand and the other iii>on the head. The officer then turned to his brother Kol>crt with the >ame dem.md. He also refused, and re- reived a hlow from the keen-edged sabre, which ipiile ilitabled him, and which probably soon after caused his death. They suffered muchother ill-tre.itment,and were finally stricken with the small-|e of lK)th parties, two years later, to find that the conditionsof the divorce had just l>ecn definitely settled by the first husband. The marriage ceremony was iHirfonned a second time, but the occur- rence was often used by his enemies to bring Mr. Jackson into disfavor. During these years he worked hard .it his profes- sion, and freipientlv had one or more duels on hand, one of which, when he killed I )i< kenson, was es|>cc- ially disgraceful. In January, 1796, the Territory of Tennessee then containing nearly eighty thousand inhabitants ili<^ |>eople met in convention at Knoxville to frame a con- stitution. Kive were sent from each of the eleven < (lunties. .Vndrew J.ii kson was one of the delcgatc» The new Stale was entitled to but one tneml'.cr in the National House of KeprcT TT #^^f®V,^' 44 A :-o ^ ^ ' N ANDRE IV JACKSON. sessions, — a dislance of about eight liundred miles. Jackson was an earnest advocate of the Demo- cratic party. Jefferson was his idol. He admired Bonaparte, loved France and hated JMigland. As Mr. Jai:kson took his seat, (Icn. Washington, whose second term of office was then expiring, delivered his last speech to Congress. .\ commitlee drew up a complimentary address in reply. Andrew Jackson did not approve of the address, and was one of the twelve who voted against it. He was not willing to say that Clen. Wasliington's adminstration liad been " wise, fnm and patriotic." Mr. Jackson was elected to the United .States Senate in 1797, but soon resigned and returned home. Soon after he was chosen Judge of tlie Supreme Court of his Slate, which position he lield for si.v years. When the war of iSu with (ireat liritian com- menced, Madison occupied the Presidential chair. Aaron Hurr sent word to the President that there was an unknown man in the West, Andrew Jackson, who would do credit to a commission if one were con- ferred u|ion him. Just at that time Cen. Jackson offeted his services and those of twenty-live hundred volunteers. His offer was accepteil, and the tnjops were assembled at Nasliville. As the British were hourly expected to make an at- tack r.pon New Orleans, where Cen. Wilkinson was in command, he was' ordered to descend the river with fifteen hundred troops to aid Wilkinson. The expedition reached Natchez; and after a delay of sev- eral weeks there, witliout accomplishing anything, the men were ordered back to their homes. But the energy (\t\\. Jackson had disijlayed, and his entire devotion to the comrtort of his soldiers, won him golden oijinions; and he became the most pofjular man in the State. It was in this expedition that his toughness gave him the nickname of " ( )ld Hickory." Soon after this, while attempting to horsewhip Col. Thomas H. Benton, for a remark that gentleman made about his taking a part as second in a duel, in which a younger brother of Benton's was engaged, he received two severe |>istol wounds. While he was lingering \\\nm a bed of suffering news came that the Indians, who had combined under Tecumseh from Florida to the Lakes, to exterminate the white set- tlers, were committing the most awful ravages. De- cisive action became necessary. Cen. Jackson, with his fractured bone just beginning to heal, his arm in a sling, and unable to mount his horse without assis- tance, gave his amazing energies to the raising of an army to rendezvous at Fayettesville, Alabama. The Creek Indians had established a strong fort on one of the bendsof the Tallapoosa River, nearthe cen- ter of Alabama, about fifty miles below Fort Strother. With an army of two thousand men. Cen. Jackson traversed the pathless wilderness in a march of eleven days. He reached their fort, called Tohopeka or Horse-shoe, on the 27th of March. \^\.\. The bend ^ of the river enclosed nearly one hundred acres of tangled forest and wild ravine. Across the narrow- neck the Indians had constructed a formidable breast- work of logs and brush. Here nine hundred warriors, with an ample ^uplyof arms were assembled. The fort was stormed. The fight was utterly des- perate. Not an Indian would accept of quarter. When bleeding and dying, they would fight those who en- deavored to spare their lives. From ten in the morn- ing until dark, the battle raged. The carnage was awful and revolting. .Some threw themselves into the river; but the unerring bullet struck their heads as tiiey swam. Nearly everyone of the nine hundred war- rios were killeil A few proliably, in the night, swam the river and escaped. This ended the war. The [lower of the Creeks was broken forever. This bold plunge into the wilderness, with itsterriffic slaughter, so appalled the savages, that the haggard remnants of the bands came to the camp, begging for peace. This closing of the Creek war enabled us to con- centrate all our militia upon the British, who were the allies of the Indians No man of less resolute will than (len. Jackson could have conducted this Indian campaign to so successful an issue Immediately he was apjiointed major-general. Late in August, with an army of two thousand men, on a rushing march, Cen. Jackson came to Mobile. A British fleet came from Pensacola, landed a force u|)on tlie Jieach, anchored near the little fort, and from both ship and shore commenced a furious assault. The battle was long and doubtful. At length one of the ships was blown up and the rest retired. Carrisoning Mobile, where he had taken his little army, he moved his troops to New Orleans, .And the battle of New Orleans which soon ensued, was in reality a very arduous campaign. This won for Cen. Jackson an imperishable name. Here his troops, which numbered about four thousand men, won a signal victory over the British army of about nine thousand. His loss was but thirteen, while the loss of the British was two thousand six liundred. The name of Cen. Jackson soon began to be men- tioned in connection with the Presidency, but, in T824, he was defeated by Mr. Adams. He was, however, successfid in the election of 1828, and was re-elected for a second term in 1S32. In 1S29, just before he assumed the reins of the government, he met with the most terrible affliction of his life in the death of his wife, whom he had loved with a devotion which has perhaps never been surpassed. From the shock of her death he never recovered. His administration was one of the most memorable in the annals of our country; applauded by one party, condemned by the other. No man had more bitter enemies or warmer friends. .\t the expiration of his two terms of office he retired to the Hermitage, where he died |une 8, 7845. The last years of Mr. Jack- son's life were that of a devoted CHiristian man. , /-J vs A r^ ^ <^D!i:A^ ^J^^^ -'&i-^:^.^ THE NE-W V^'^X PUBLIC LIBRAR"^ ABTOR. UENOX AND TIUOEN FOUNDATIONS im ji ^7 ^ T^-tyc^ i^^/3 UiL^^i^t^ m r t wS^' # — -^<^tla>:tlIl^:>r— J£yG//7// PRESIDENT. ^^^'^^^K!^m^Lh':^^-i^.^^^\2Mr^J^^yi^^ '^•^ r A V "^ ,k- ARTIN VAN BURKN, the 'ighlli President of the ' I nited States, was horn at hiiiderhcx)k, N. V., Dec. 5, 17S2. He died at the same l>l,i< c. July 24, 1862. His body rests in the cemetery at Kinderhook. Above it is a plain granite shaft fit'teen feet hit;h, hearing a simple inscription ,il>oiit hall way up on one face. The lot is unfenced. unbordered or unbounded by slirub or flower. There is but little in the life of Martin Van Buren of romantic interest. He fought no battles, engaged in no wild adventures. Though his life was stormy in IX)litical and intellectual conflicts, and he gained many signal victories, his days passed uneventful in those incidents which give zest to biography. His an- cestors, as his name indicates, were of Dutch origin, and were among the earliest emigrants from Holland to the banks of the Hudson. His father was a farmer, residing in the old town of Kinilerhook. His mother, also of Dutch lineage, was a woman of superior intel- ligence and exemplary piety. He was decidedly a precocious lx)y, developing un- usual activity, vigor and strength of mind. .At the age of fourteen, he had finished his aiademic studies in his native village, and commenced the study of law. As he had not a collegiate education, seven years of study in a law-office were required of him l>efore he could be admitted to the bar. Inspired with a lofiy ambition, and conscious of his jKjwers, he pur- sued his studies with imlcfatigable industry. After landing six years in an office in his native village, he went to the city of New York, and prosecuted his studies for the seventli year. In 1803, Mr. Van Buren, then twenty-one years of age, commenced the [)ractice of law in his native vil- lage. The great conflict between the Federal and Republican party was then at its height. Mr. \'an Buren was from the lieginning a [olitician. He had, perhaps, imbibed that spirit while listening to the many discussions which had been carried on in his father's hotel. He was in cordial sympathy with Jefferson, and earnestly and elo- tion, leaving her husband and four sons to weep over her loss. For twenty-five years, Mr. Van Buren was an earnest, successful, assiduous lawyer. The re«ord of those years is barren in items of public interest. In 181 2, when thirty years of age, he was chosen to the Slate -Senate, and uave his strenuous sup|iort to Mr. .Madison'-^ adininstration. In 1S15, he was a|>- |ir)inte^ r-T*^ 48 MARTIN VAN BUREN. J 1 ^ / till.- nuM.il (oiirugc to avow llial true democracy did nol reciiiire tlial " universal suffrage" whicli admits llie vile, tlie degraded, the ignorant, to the right of governing the State. In true consistency with his democratic princii)les, he contended that, while the path leading to the privilege of voting shoidd be open to every man without tlistinction, no one should l)e invested with that sacred i)rerogative, unless he were in some degree fiualitled for it by intelligence, virtue and some property interests in the welfare of the State. lu 1.S21 he was elected a member of the L'nited Slates Senate; and in the same year, he took a seal in tlie convention to revise the constitution of his native State. His ct)urse in this convention secured the approval of men of all jxirties. No one could doubt the singleness of iiis endeavors to promote the interests of all classes in the connnunity. In the Senate of the United States, he rose at once to a conspicuous position as an active and useful legislator. In 1827, John Quincy Adams being then in the Presidential chair, Mr. \"an Buren was re-elected to the Senate. He had been from the beginning a de- termined opposer of the .Vdministration, adopting the "State Rights " view in opposition to what was deemed the Federal proclivities of Mr. .\danis. Soon after this, in iy these |X)wers it is said that he outv.'itted Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and secured results which lew thought then could be accomplished. When .Vndrew Jackson was elected President he apiK/inted Mr. Van Buren Secretary of State. This position he resigned in 1831, and was immediately apiwinted Minister to England, where he went the same autumn. The Senate, however, when it met home, ai)i)arently untroubled ; was nominated Vice President in the place of Calhoun, at the re-election of President Jackson ; and with smiles for all and frowns for none, he took his place at the head of that Senate which had refused to confirm his nomination as ambassador. His rejection by the Senate roused all the zeal of President Jackson in behalf of his repudiated favor- ite; and this, [irobably more than any other cause, secured his elevation to the chair of the Chief Execu- tive. On the 20th of May, 1836, Mr. Van Buren re- ceived the 1 )emocratic nomination to succeed Gen. Jackson as President of the United States. He was elected by a handsome majority, to the delight of the retiring President. " Leaving New York out of the canvass," says Mr. Parton, "the election of Mr. Van Puiren to the Presidency was as much the act of Gen. Jackson as though the Constitution had conferred upon him the power to appoint a successor." His administration was filled with exciting events. The insurrection in Canada, which threatened to in- volve this country in war with England, the agitation of the slavery question, and finally the great commer- cial panic which spread over the country, all were trials to his wisdom. The financial distress was at- tril)uted to the management of the Democratic party, and brought the President into such disfavor that he failed of re-election. AV'ith the exception of being nDniinated tor the Presidency by the " Free Soil" Democrats, in 184S, Mr. Van Buren lived quietly upon his estate until his death. He had ever "been a prudent man, of frugal habits, and living within his income, had now fortunately a competence for his declining years. His unblcmislied character, his commanding abilities, his unquestioned patriotism, and the distinguished positions which he had occupied in the government of our country, se- cured to him not only the homage of his party, but the respect ot the whole community. It was on the 4th of March, 1841, that Mr. Van Buren retired from the presidency. From his fine estate at Lindenwald, he still exerted a powerful influence upon the politics of the country. From this time until his death, on the 24th of July, 1862, at the age of eighty years, he resided at Lindenwald, a gentleman of leisure, of culture and of wealth; enjoying in a healthy old ;ige, probably far more happiness than he had before refused to ratify the nomination, and he returned 1 experienced amid the stormy scenes of his active life I T ( •■<■.■ V r^ I 3 nt NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AStoh. LBNOX AND TiLbEN FOUNDATIONS y/c^y^f^a^i^i^^^'T^^ ^ ^■-srj;-* ---7<^IlIl^I]D>>r- NINTH PRESIDENT. -^'S^'k'^^--^) J :oi :; \yiLLIAM HEXKV HARRIS()>^, ■^^ >§-, 4^ y.i ii,i,i.\M iii:\R\ iiAKRi- .y^.,, SON, iho nintli I'resitlenl ul i '■■' the L'nited States, was l>orii at Berkeley, Va., Feb. 9, 1773. Mis lather, Henjainin Harri- son, was in comparatively op- ulent circumstances, and was one of the must distinguished men of Ills day. He was an intimate friend of George \V'ashinglon, w as early elected a member of the Continental t'ongress, and was consijicuous .imong the patriots of Virginia in resisting the emroaihmentsof the I'.ritish crown. In the celebrated Congress of 1775, Henjamin Har- rison and John Hamoik were lx>ih candidates for the office of speaker. Mr Harrison was subsei|uenily chosen (iovernor of Virginia, and was twice re-elected. His son, William Henry, of <;ourse enjoyed in childhood dl the advantages which wealth and intellectual and cultivated society could give. Hav- ing received a thorough (onmiou-school education, he entered Hamixlen Sidney College, where he graduated with honor soon after the de.ith of his father. He then repaired to Philadelphia tostudy medi.ine under the instructions of Dr. Rush and the guardianship of Roliert Morris, l>()th of whom were, with his father, siuners of the Declaration of Indeiiendeiic e. 'Ijion the outbreak of the Indian troubles, and not- withsianding the remonstrances of his friends, he .ib.indoned his medical studies and entered the army, having obtained a cominission of Ensign from Prcsi- • ^. -\ dent Washington. He was then but nj years old. From that time he passed gradually upward in rank until he became aid to (leneral Wayne, after whose death he resigned his commission. He was then a[>- pointed Secretary of the North-western Territory. This Territory *as then entitled to but one member in Congress and Capt. Harrison was chosen to fill that |iosition. In the spring of iSoo the North-western Territory was divided by Congress into two |X)rlions. The eastern [xirtion, comprising the region now embraced in the State of Ohio, was called "The Territory north-west of the Ohio." The western jwrtion, which included what is now called Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin, was called the "Indiana Territory." Wil- liam Henr)' Harrison, then 27 years of age, was aj)- IKjinted by John .-Vdams, Ciovemor of the Indiana Territory, and immediately after, also Ciovernor of Upper Ix)uisiana. He was thus ruler over almost as extensive a realm as any sovereign uixjn the globe. He was Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and was in- vested with [lowers nearly dictatorial over the now rapidly increasing white iKjpulation. The ability and fidelity with which he discharged these rcs()onsiblc duties may be inferred from the fact that he wa-. four times apix)inted to this office— first by Johi\ .Xdams, twice by Thomas Jefferson and afterwards by Presi- dent Madison. When he began his adminstration there were but three white settlementsin that almost lioundless region, 11.3W crowded with i ities and lesounding with all the tumult of wealth and tr.iftic. < )ne of these settlements was on the Ohio, nearly opiwsitc Ixjuisville; one at Vincennes, on the Wabash, and the ihitd .1 French settlement. The vast wilderness over which tiov. H.irTiv>n reigned was filled with many irilicsof Indiana Al*>'»r y- :> ' A V i ft . • '^/^®ti»»- 'TaJ^^ris: I t i A V^j s ) ^ 'i 5- WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 4^^(<®V^ tlie year 1806, two extraordinary nicr, twin l)rothers, of the Shawnese tribe, rose among them. One of these was called Tecnniseli, or " The Crouching Panther;" the other, OUiwacheca, or " The Prophet." Tecnmseh was not only an Indian warrior, but a man of great sagacity, far-reaching forcsiglU and indomit- able perseverance in any enterprise m which he might engage. He was inspired with the highest enthusiasm, and had long regarded with dread and with haired the encroachment of the whites upon the hunting- grounds of his fathers. His brother, the Prophet, was anorator, who could sway the feelings oflhe untutored Indian as the gale tossed tlie tree-tops beneath which they dwelt. But the Prophet was nol merely .ni orator; he was, in the superstitious minds of the Indians, invested with the superhuman dignity of a medicine-man or a magician. With an enthusiasm unsurpassed by Peter the Hermit rousing Europe to the crusades, he went from tribe to tribe, assuming that lie was specially sent by the Great .Spirit. Gov. Harrison made many .ittempts to conciliate the Indians, but at last the war came, and at Ti|)|)e- canoe the Indians were routed with great slaughter. October 28, 18 12, his army began its march. When near the Prophet's town lliree Indians of rank made tlieir appearance and inquired why Gov. Harrison was api>roaching them in so hostile an attitude. After a short conference, arrangements were made for a meet- ing the next day, to agree uiton terms of peace. But Gov. Harrison was too well aci|uainted with the Indian character to be deceived by such protes- tations. .Selecting a favorable spot for his night's en- campment, he took every [)recaution against surprise. His troops were posted in a liollow square, and slept upon their arms. The troops threw themselves upon the ground for rest; but every man had liis accourtrements on, his loaded musket by his side, and his bayonet fixed. The wakeful Governor, between three and four o'clock in the morning, had risen, and was sitting in conversa- tion with his aids by the embers of a waning fire. It was a chill, cloudy morning with a drizzling rain. In the darkness, the Indians had crept as near as possi- ble, and just then, with a savage yell, rushed, with all tlie desperation which superstition and passion most highly inflamed could give, upon tlie left flank of the little army. The savages had been amply provided with guns and ammunition by the English. Their war-whoop was accompained by a shower of bullets. The camp-fires were instantly extinguished, as the light aided the Indians in their aim. With hide- ous yells, the Indian bands rushed on, not doubtir.g a speedy and an entire victory. But Gen. Harrison's troops stood as immovable as the rocks around them until day dawned : they then made a simultaneous charge with the bayonet, and swept every thinij be- fore them, and coiniiUi.-K- toiiiim the foe. :.^.v^Vi^^^>- Gov. Harrison now had all his energies tasked to the utmost. The British descending from the Can- adas, were of themselves a very formidal)le force ; but with their savage allies, rushing like wolves Irom the forest, searching out every remote farm-house, burn- ing, plundering, scalping, torturing, the wide frontier was plunged into a state of consternation which even the most vivid imagination can but faintly conceive. The war-whoop was resounding everywhere in the forest. The horizon was illuminated with the conflagra- tion of the cabins of the settlers. Gen Hull had made the ignominious surrender of his forces at Detroit. Under these despairing circumstances, Gov. Harrison was appointed by President Madison commander-in- chief of the North-western army, with orders to retake Detroit, and to protect the frontiers. It would be difficult to place a man in a situation demanding more energy, sagacity and courage; but (ieneral Harrison was found equal to the position, and nobly and triumphantly did he meet all the re- sponsibilities. He won the love of his soldiers by always sharing with them their fatigue. His whole baggage, while pursuing the foe up the Thames, was carried in a valise; and his bedding consisted of a single blanket lashed over his saddle. Thirty-five British officers, his prisoners of war, supped with him after the battle. The only fare he could give them was beef roasted before the fire, without bread or salt. In 18 [6, Gen. Harrison was chosen a member of the National House of Representatives, to represent the District of Ohio. In Congress he proved an active member; and whenever he spoke, it was with force of reason and power of eloquence, which arrested the attention of all the members. In 181 g, Harrison was elected to the Senate of (Jhio; and in t824, as one of the presidential electors of that State, he gave his vote for Henry Clay. The same year he was chosen to the United States Senate. In 1836, the friends of (ien. Harrison brought him forward as a candidate for the Presidency against Van Buren, but he was defeated. .•\t the close of Mr. Van Buren 's term, he was re-nominated by his party, and Mr. Harrison was unanimously nominated by the Whigs, with John Tyler iorthe Vice Presidency. The contest was very animated. Gen. Jackson gave all his influence to prevent Harrison's election; but his triumph was signal. The cabinet which he formed, with Daniel Webster at its head as Secretary of State, was one of the most brilliant with which any President had ever been surrounded. Never were the prospects of an admin- istration more flattering, or the hopes of the country more sanguine. In the midst of these bright and joyous prospects, Gen. Harrison was seized by a pleurisy-fever and after a few days of violent sick- ness, died on the 4th of April ; just one month after his inauguration as President of the United States. \^ ( < t ^^ -^<^n%mo^^^^ '^4^t^(^ Ms^ M THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LiBRARY ABTOR. LKNOX AND llLUiiN F9UMOAT10NS i \ c^im. ^'l''' ■ -r-7<>QD>:DDr>v *$^s^»5^5' v* •- «i,iv^ (^ ^ J TENTH PRESIDENT. A V ) _•— ^ i. t. JJ01I?sTTlEB. :{ OHN I'VLKR, ihc tentli Jj.j, I'residentofthe United Stales. He was born in Charles-city Co., Va., March 29, 1790. He was the favored child of af- fluence and high social ]X)- silion. .\t the early age of twelve, John entered William and Mary College and grad- uated with much honor when hut seventeen years old. After graduating, he devoted him- self with great assiduity to the study of law, partly with his f.ithcr and jurtly with I'^dmund Randolph, one of the most distin- guished lawyers of V'irginia. At nineteen years of age, ne commenced the practice of law. His success was rapid and aston- ishing It is said that three months had not elapsed ere there was scarcely a case on the dock- et of the court in which he was r.ot retained. When hut twerUy-one vears of age, he w.is almost unanimously elected to a seat in the State Legislature. He connected himself with the Demo- cratic party, and warmly advocated the measures of JcfTerson and Madison. For five successive years he was elected to the Legislature, receiving nearly the unanimous vote or his county. When ImiI twenty-six years of age, he was elected a member of Congress. Here he acted earnestly and ably with the democratic party, op|x)sing a national bank, internal im|>rovemenls by the General Govern- } r Y -K ment, a protective tariff, and advocating a strict con- struction of the Constitution, and the most careful vigilance over State rights. His labors in Congress were so arduous that before the close of his second term he found it necessary to resign and retire to his estate in Charles-city Co., to recruit his health. He, however, soon after consented to take his seat in the State Legislature, where his influence was powerful in promoting public works of great utility. With a reputation thus canstantly increasing, he was chosen by a very large majority of votes, Governor of his native State. His administration was signally a suc- cessful one. His [xjpularity secured his re-election. John Randolph, a brilliant, erratic, half-crazed man, then represented Virginia in the Senate of the United States. \ |X)rtion of the I)cmo<:ratic party was displeased with Mr. Randolph's way waid course, and brought forward John Tyler as his op|x>nenl, considering him the only man in Virginia of sufficient popularity to succeed against the renowned orator of Roanoke- Mr. Tyler was the victor. In accordance with his professions, u|)on taking his seat in the Senate, he joined the ranks of the opposi- tion. He op[)osed the tariff; he s|ioke against and voted against the bank as unconstitutional; he stren- uously op|)osed all restrictions u|)on slavery, resist- ing all projects of internal improvements by the Gen- eral Ciovernment, and avowed his sympathy with Mr. Calhoun's view of nullit'ication ; he declared that Gen. Jackson, by his op|iosiiion to the nullitiers, hail .ibandoned the principles of the Democratic jvarty, .Such was Mr. Tyler's record in Congress, — a rccoid in |)crfcct accordance with the principles which he had always avowed. Returning to Virginia, he resumed thr practice of his prufession. There w.i> \ »pl:l in ilic IVrniix r.iiii ( A V t *)J(>^'"^-*- ■ T2i!%^/^ d; >J V ) (^ / yOIfJV TYLER. -4^^C(®Vl|^ party. His friends still regarded him as a true Jel- fersoiiian, gave him a dinner, and showered conipU- ments upon him. He liad now attained the age of forty-six. His career liad been very bnUiant. In con- se(|uence of his devotion to pubHc business, his pri- vate affairs liad fallen into some disorder; audit was not without satisfaction that he resumed the practice of law, and devoted liimself to the culture of his plan- tation. Soon after this he removed to Williamsburg, for the better education of his children ; and he again took his seat in the Legislature of Virginia. By the Southern Whigs, he was sent to the national convention at Harrisburg to nominate a President in 1839. The majoritv of votes were given to Gen. Har- rison, a genuine W hig, much to the disappointment ol tiie South, who wished for Henry Clay. To concili- ate the Southern Whigs and to secure their vote, the convention then nominated John Tyler for Vice Pres- ident. It was well known tliat he was not in sympa- thy with the Whig party in the Notth: but the Vice President has but very little power in the Govern- ment, his main and almost only duty being to pre- side over the meetings of the Senate. Thus it hap- pened that a Whig President, and, in reality, a Democratic Vice President were chosen. In 1841, Mr. Tyler was inaugurated Vice Presi- dent of the United States. In one short month from that time. President Harrison died, and Mr. Tyler thus found liimself, to his own surprise and that of the whole Nation, an occupant of the Presidential chair. This was a new test of the stability of our institutions, as it was the first time in the history of our country that such an event had occured. Mr. Tyler was at home in Williamsburg when he received the unexpected tidings of the death of President Harri- son. He hastened to Washington, and on the 6th of .\pril was inaugurated to the high and responsible office. He was placed in a position of exceeding delicacy and difficulty. All his longlife he had been opposed to the main principles of the party which had brought him into power. He had ever been a con- sistent, honest man, with an unlilemished record, (ien. Harrison had selected a Whig cabinet. Should he retain them, and thus surround himself with coun- sellors whose views were antagonistic to his own? or, on the other hand, should he turn against the party which had elected him and select a cabinet in har- mony with himself, and which would oppose all those views which the Whigs deemed essential to the pub- lic welfare? This was his fearful dilemma. He in- vited the cabinet which President Harrison had selected to retain their seats. He reccommjnded a day of fasting and prayer, that God would guide and bless us. The Whigs carried through Congress a bill for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the United States. The President, after ten days' delay, returned it with his veto. He suggested, however, that he would % ^\i^m^ :iins>v i J A V y < V ELEVENTH PRESIDENT. f t \ t ^ )^ AM KS R. l'( )I,K, the eleventh ;\i!, I 'resident of the United States, f\ was Iwrn in Mecklenljurg Co., /J N. C, Nov. 2, 1795. His par- ?' ents were Samuel and Jane (Knox) Polk, the former a son ^ of Col. Thomas I'olk, wlio located at the above place, as one of the first pioneers, in 1735. In the year 1S06, with iiis wife .iiid children, and soon after fol- lowed hy most of the meniliers of the I'olk famly, Samuel I'olk emi- grated some two or tiiree hundred miles farther west, to ilic rich valley of the Diiik River. Here in the i\ midst of the wilderness, in a region which was suhsccpiently called Mau- ry Co., they reared their loi; lulls, and established their homes. In the hard toil of a new farm in the wil- ilerness, James K. I'olk spent the early years of his childhood and youth. His father, adding the pur- suit of .1 surveyor to thatof a farmer, gradually increased in wealth until lie liecame one of the leading men of the region. His mother was a sujierior woman, of strong common sense and earnest piety. Very early in life, James devclo|>cd a taste for rc.iding and c.xpressed the strongest desire to obtain .1 liber.d educ.itinn. His mother's training had made him methodical in his habits, h.id t.iught him punct- uality and industry, .mil h.id inspired him with lolty principles of morality. His he.dth was frail ; and his father, fearing that he might not be able to endure a sedentary life, got a situation for him behind the counter, hoping to fit him for commercial pursuits. This was to James a bitter disap|iointmenl. He had no taste for these duties, and his daily tasks were irksome in the extreme. He remained in this uncongenial occupation but a (ew weeks, when at his earnest solicitation his father removed him, and made arrangements for him to prosecute his studies. .Soon after he sent him to Murfreeslioro .Academy. \\'ilh ardor which could scarcely be sur[)assed, he pressed forward in his studies, and in less than twoandahalf years, in the autumn of 1S15, entered the sophomore class in the University of North Carolina, at C"hapel Hill. Here he was one of the most exemplary of scholars, punctual in every exercise, never allowing himself to be absent from .i recitation or a religious service. He graduated in 1818, with the highest honois,l>e- ing deemed the best scholar of his class, lioth in mathenuitics and the classii s. He was then twenty- three years of age. Mr. Polk's health was at this time much impaired by the assiduity with which he had prosecuted his studies. After a short season of rela.xation he went to Nashville, anil entered the office of Feli.x (Irundy, to study law. Here Mr. Polk renewed his aopiaintance with .Andrew Jackson, who resided on his plantation, the Hermitage, but a few miles from Nashville. They had probably l>een slightly acipiainted bel'ore. .Mr. Polk's f.ither was .1 Jeffersonian Republican, and James K. Polk ever adhered to the same poliii- ral faith. He was a |inpular public s|>caker, aiul was constantly called u|«)n to aildress the meetiii|;s of his imriy friends. Hi^ skill .i'< .1 sjicikcr wa^ such ih.ii he was |H)pula[ly calleil the Napoleon of th<- -'""■•■ He wa« a man of unblemished murak, gc: A • ^ ■ V \ i -=W^ -K Y- ■^'"/^' ^Xi' -2?€^fis: 6V<:tltl>:llO^> JAMES K. POLK. I to the Legislature of Tennessee. Here strong influence towards the election o Mr. Jackson, to the Presidency of the U courteous in his bearing, and wiih that sympathetic 'i^ nature in the jo) s and griefs of others which ever gave !*• him troops of friends. In 1825, Mr. I'olk was elected he gave his of his friend, United States. In January, 1824, Mr. Polk married Miss Sarah Childress, of Rutherford Co., 'I'cnn. His bride was altogether worthy of him, — a lady of beauty and cul- ture. In the fall of 1825, Mr. Polk was chosen a member of ("ongress. The satisfaction which he gave to his constituents may be inferred from the fact, that for fourteen successive years, vnitil iS_^9, he was con- tinued in that office. He then voluntarily withdrew, only that he might accept the Ciubernatorial chair of Tennessee. In Congress he was a laborious member, a fretpient and a popular speaker. He was always in his seat, always courteous ; and whenever he spoke it was always to the [loint, and without any J ambitious rhetorical display. ;» During five sessions of Congress, Mr. Polk was ^^ Speaker of the House Strong passions were roused, S and stormy scenes were witnessed ; but Mr. Polk per- *-<)5 formed his arduous duties to a very general satisfac- ^E tion, and a unanimous vote of thanks to him was w'^ passed by the House as he withdrew on the 4th of S March, 1839. In accordance with Southern usage, Mr. Polk, as a candidate for Governor, canvassed the .State. He was elected by a large majority, and on the 14th of Octo- ber, 1839, took the Oath of office at Nashville. In 1841, his term of office expired, and he was again the can- didate of the Democratic party, l)ut was defeated. On the 4th of March, 1845, Mr. Polk was inaugur- ated President of the United States. The verdict of the country in favor of the annexation of Texas, exerted its influence upon Congress ; and the last act of the administration of President Tyler was to affix his sig- nature to a joint resolution of Congress, passed on the 3d of March, approving of the annexation of Texas to the American Union. As Mexico still claimed Texas as one of her provinces, the Mexican minister, Almonte, immediately demanded his passports and left the country, declaring the act of the annexation to be an act hostile to Mexico. In his first message. President Polk urged that Texas should immediately, by act of Congress, be re- , ; ceived into the Union on the s.ame footing with tlie N^ other States. In the meantime. Gen. Taylor was sent 'O "^ f m!\!^^^^ m^ with an army into Texas to hold the country. He was sent first to Nueces, which the Mexicans said was the western boundary of Texas. Then he was sent nearly two hundred miles further west, to the Rio Grande, where he erected batteries which commanded the Mexican city of Matamoras, which was situated on the western banks. The anticipated collision soon took place, and war was declared against Mexico by President Polk. The war was pushed forward by Mr. Polk's administration with great vigor. Gen. Taylor, whose army was first called one of "observation," then of "occupation," then of "invasion, "was sent forward to Monterey. The feeble Mexicans, in every encounter, were hopelessly and awfully slaughtered. The day of judgement alone can reveal the misery which this war caused. It v/as by the ingenuity of Mr. Polk's administration that the war was brought on. 'Tdthe victors belong the spoils." Mexico was prostrate before us. Her capital was in our hands. We now consented to peace upon the condition that Mexico should surrender to us, in addition to Texas, all of New Mexico, and all of Upper and Lower Cal- ifornia. This new demand embraced, exclusive of Texas, eight hundred thousand square miles. This was an extent of territory equal to nine States of the size of New \'ork. Thus slavery was securing eighteen majestic States to be added to the Union. There were some Americans who thought it all right ; there were others who thought it all wrong. In the prosecution of this war, we expended twenty thousand lives and more than a hundred million of dollars. Of this money fifteen millions were paid to Mexico. On the 3d of March, 1849, Mr. Polk retired from office, having served one term. The next day was Sunday. On the 5th, Gen. Taylor was inaugurated as his successor. Mr. Polk rode to the Capitol in the same carriage with ("len. Taylor; and the same even- ing, with Mrs. Polk, he commenced his return to Tennessee. He was then Init fifty-four years of age. He had ever been strictly temperate in all his habits, and his health was good. With an ample fortune, a choice library, a cultivated mind, and domestic ties of the deare.st nature, it seemed as though long years of traufiuility and hapijiness were before him. But the cholera — that fearful scourge— was then sweeping up the Valley of the Mississippi. This he contracted, and died on the 15th of June, 1849, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, greatly mourned by his countrymen. T f v^ 9 A • >. 1=1 ( q> n THE NEW yOlK PUBLIC libra:^,'; A8TOR, LENOX ANU ^ TILDEM F*UNOATIUNS -*«S»*!«^**^- ■:fef' r ■^rr,rr--Sr TIVELFTIJ PRESIDENT. i^^A'P i J A V i3<. » j^AC^MAKV TAVLOK. ~1 f 1 ? ACHARV TAYLOR, iwdlili ->) I'rcsident of the Unitud States, ,;,5 was born on the 24th of Nov., 1784, in Orange Co., Va. His o father. Colonel Taylor, was a \'irginian of note, and a dis- ;\ tinguished i)atriot and soldier of the Revolution. When Zachary was an infant, his father with his jS'?)]] wife and two children, emigrated ~ to Kentucky, where he settled in ^- the pathless wilderness, a few miles from Louisville. In this front- ?/if? ier home, away from civilization and I all its refinements, young Zachary could enjoy but few social and educational advan- tages. When six years of age he attended a common school, and was then regarded as a bright, active boy, rather remarkable for bluntness and decision of char- acter He was strong, feailess and self-reliant, and manifested a strong desire to enter the army to fight the Indians who were ravaging the frontiers. There is little to be recorded of the uneventful years of his childhood on his father's large but lonely [ilantation. In iSoS, his father succeeded in obtaining for him the commission of lieutenant in the United States army ; and he joined the tr|>s which were stationed at .New Orleans under (len. Wilkinson. .Soon after this he married Miss Margaret Smith, a young lady from one of the first families of Maryland. Immediately after the declaration of war with Eng- land, in 1S12, Ca|)t. Taylor (for he had then been promoted to that rank) was put in command of Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, alxjut fifty miles al)Ove Vincer>nes. This fort had been built in the wilder- ness by Gen. |{,irrisecanoe. It was one of the first |xjints of attack by the Indians, led by Tc«:iimseh. Its garrison consisted of a broken >r^ HW: lompanyof infantry numbering fifty men, many of whom were sick. Karly in the autumn of iSu, the Indians, stealthily, and in large numbers, moved u|xjn the fort. Their approach was first indicated by the murder of two soldiers just outside of the stockade. Capt. Taylor made every jxjssible preparation to meet the antici- pated assault. On the 4th of September, a band of forty painted and plumed savages came to the fort, waving a white flag, and informed Capt. Taylor that in the morning their chief would come to have a talk with him. It was evident that their object was merely to ascertain the state of things at the fort, and Capt. Taylor, well versed in the wiles of the savages, kept them at a distance. The sun went down; the savages disappeared, the garrison slept upon their arms. One hour before midnight the war whoop burst from a thousand lips in tile forest around, followed by the discharge of musketry, and the rush of the foe. Every man, sick and well, sprang to his ixjst. Every man knew that defeat was not merely death, but in the case of cai>- ture, death by the most agonizing and prolonged tor- ture. No pen can describe, no immagination can conceive the scenes which ensued. 'The savages suc- ceeded in setting f:re to one of the block-houses- Until six o'clock in the morning, this awful conflict continued. 'I'he s.ivages tiien, baffled .it every [loint, and gnashing their teeth with rage, retired. Capl. 'Taylor, for this gallant defence, was promoted to the rank of major by brevet. Until the close of the war, .Major Taylor was placed in su<:h situations that he s.iw but little more of active service. He was sent far away into the depihsof the wilderness, to Fort Crawford, on Fox River, which empties into Cireen May. Here there w.is but little to be done but to wear away the tedious hours asone best could. There were no lxx>ks, no society, no in- :nii->: c A V r f i< ^•'lixiri. •--r<^DD>?^BDr>r -«|^^(7S ^ i tellectiuil stimulus. Thus wiih hiin the uneventful years rolled on (Gradually he rose to the rank of colonel. In the 151ack-Hawk war, which resulted in the capture of that renowned chieftain, Col Taylor took a subordinate but a brave and efhcienl part. I'or twenty-four years Col. Taylor was engaged in the ilefence of the frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in cniploynients so obscure, that his name was unknown beyond the limits of his own immediate acipiaintance. In the year 1S56, liewas sent to Florida to compel the Seminole Indians to vacate that region and re- tire beyond the Mississippi, as their chiefs by treaty, had promised they should do. The services rendered here secured for Col. Taylor the high appreciation of the (iovernment ; and as a reward, he was elevated to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet ; and soon after, in May, 1838, was a|)pointed to the chief com- mand of the United -States troops in Florida. .\fter two years of such wearisome employment amidst the everglades of the peninsula. Gen. Taylor obtained, at his own request, a change of command, and was stationed over the Department of the South- west. This field embraced Louisiana, Mississippi, .\labama and Ceorgia. Kstablishing his headquarters at F'ort Jessup, in Louisiana, lie removed his family to a plantation which he purchased, near Baton Rogue. Here he remained for live years, buried, as it were, from tiie world, but faithfully discharging every duty imixjsed upon him. In 1S46, (ien. Taylor was sent to guard the land between the Nueces and Rio (Irande, the latter river being the boundary of Texas, whicli was then claimed by the United States. Soon the war with Me.xico was Ijrought on, and at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, Gen. Taylor won brilliant victories over the Me.xicans. The rank of major-general by brevet was then conferred upon Gen. Taylor, and his name was received with enthusiasm almost everywhere in the Nation. Then came the battles of Monterey and Hnena Vista in which he won signal victories over forces much larger than he commanded. His careless habits of dress and his unaffected simplicity, secured for Gen. Taylor among his troops, \\\t siybru/iii't of "Old Rough and Ready.' The tidings of the brilliant victory of Buena Vista spread the wildest enthusiasm over the- country. The name of Gen. Taylor was on every one's lips. The Whig party decided to take advantage of this wonder- ful popularity in bringing forward the unjiolished, un- lettered, honest soldier as their candidate for the Presidency. Gen. Taylor was astonished at the an- nouncement, and for a time would not listen to it; de- claring that he was not at all qualified for such an office. So little interest had he taken in politics that, for forty years, he had not cast a vote. It was not without chagrin that several distinguished statesmen who had been long years in the public service found their claims set aside in behalf of one wliose name .v^.^^^>. '".v-'''.Te^. -^H had never been heard of, save in connection with Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey and Buena Vista. It is said that Daniel Webster, in his haste re- marked, " It is a nomination not fit to be made." Gen. Taylor was not an eloquent speaker nor a fine writer His friends took possession of him, and pre- pared such few communications as it was needful should be presented to the public. Thepoi)ularity of the successful warrior swept the land. He was tri- umijhantly elected over two opposing candidates, — Gen. Cass and Ex-Presidenl Martin Van Buren. Tliougli he selected an excellent cabinet, the good old man found himself in a very uncongenial jxisition, and was, at times, sorely perplexed and harassed. His mental sufferings were very severe, and probably tended to hasten his death. The pro-slavery party was pushing its claims with tireless energy , expedi- tions were fitting out to capture Cuba ; California was pleading for admission to the Union, while slavery stood at the door to bar her out. Gen. Taylor found the political conflicts in Washington to be far more trying to the nerves than battles with Mexicans or Indians. In the midst of all these troubles. Gen. Taylor, after he had occupied the Presidential chair but little over a year, took cold, and after a brief sickness of but little over five days, died on the 9th of July, 1850. His last woids were, " I am not afraid to die. I am ready. I have endeavored to do my duty." He died universally respected and beloved. An honest, un- pretending man, he had been steadily growing in the affections of the people; and the Nation bitterlv la- mented his death. Gen. Scott, who was thoroughly acquainted with Gen. Taylor, gave the following graphic and truthful description of his character: — " With a good store of common sense, Gen. Taylor's mind had not been en- larged and refreshed by reading, or much converse with the world. Rigidity of ideas was the conse- quence. The frontiers and small military posts had been his home. Hence he was cpiite ignorant for his rank, and quite bigoted in his ignorance. His sim- plicity was child-like, and with innumerable preju- dices, amusing and incorrigible, well suited to the tender age. Thus, if a man, however respectable, chanced to wear a coat of an unusual color, or his hat a little on one side of his head ; or an officer to leave a corner of his handkerchief dangling from an out- side pocket, — in any such case, this critic held the offender to be a co.vcomb (perhaps something worse), whom he would not, to use his oft repeated phrase, ' touch with a pair of tongs.' "Any allusion to literature beyond good old Di worth's spelling-hook, on the part of one wearing a sword, was evidence, with the same judge, of utter unfitness for heavy marchings and combats. In short, few men have ever had a more comfortable, labor- saving contempt for learning of every kind." <^ CI THB NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY A8TOR, L«N01t *ND ^*w.^ '•7 '^^/^(DJf^rf— TIirRTEENTH PRESIDEX7 t \ ^^ V — ^^ '#*'?>:'^' the mill there was a small villiage, where some enterprising man had commenced the collection of a village library. This proved an inestimable blessing to young Fillmore. His evenings were spent in read- ing. .Soon every leisure moment was occupied with books. His thirst for knowledge became insatiate : and the selections which he made were continually more elevating and instructive. He read history, biography, oratory, and thus gr.idually there was en- kindled in his heart a desire to be something more than a mere worker with his hands; and lie was be- coming, almost unknown to himself, a well-informed, educated man. The young clothier had now attained the age of nineteen years, and was of fine i)ersonal appearance and of gentlemanly demeanor. It so hapi^ened that there was a gentleman in the neighborhood of ample Ijecuniary means and of benevolence, — Judge Walter Wood, — who was struck with the preiossessing a;*- pcarance of young Fillmore. He made his acquaint- ance, and was so much im[iressed with his ability ami attainments that he advised him to abandon his trade and devote himself to the study of the law. The young man replied, that he h.id no means of hi* own, I ' friends to help him and that his previous educa- tion had been very imperfect. But Judge Wood had so much confidence in him that he kindly offered fo take him into his own office, and to loan hiin such money as he needed. Most gratefully the generou* offer was accepted. There is in many mind* a strange delusion about a collegiate education. .\ young man is supposed to lie liberally educated if he has gt.idiiated at some col- lege. But many a boy loiters through univeraity lulK and then enters a law office, who it by no means tt A V -~ V- < r t 'i ^ <^, -?^&^ 68 (^ A 1 I t I .UriL.lJ?!? FILLMORE. well iMcparcd to prosecute his legal stuiiies as was Millard Fillmore when lie graduated at the clulliing- mill at the end of four years of manual labor, during whieh evtry leisure moment had been ilevoted to in- tense mental culture. Ill 1823, when twenty-three years of age, he v/as admitted to the Court of ("o'.nmon I'leas. lie then went to the village of Aurora, and commenced the practice of law. In this secluded, peacefid region, his practice of course w.is limited, antl there was no opportunity for a sudden rise in fortune or in fame. I lere, in the year i