THE
AMERICAN
; POETKAIT GALLEET.
WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF
PRESIDENTS, STATESMEN, MILITARY AND NAVAL
HEROES, CLERGYMEN, AUTHORS,
POETS, ETC., ETC.
t
BY
LILLIAN C. BUTTRE.
STEEL PLATE ILLUSTRATIONS.
NEW YOPJv:
J. C. BUTTRE, PUBLISHER,
7 BARCLAY STREET.
i Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by
J. C. BUTTRB
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. 0,
TROW S
PRINTING AND BOOKBINDING Co.,
PRINTERS AND BOOKHINDERS,
205-213 East \ith Si.,
NEW YORK.
ft>HK s
X
PREFACE.
FEW works of fiction offer anything so attractive as the records of
past ages, and of the events of the present epoch. But while studying
and admiring our general national history, our attention is directed to
individual history, or biography, upon which the interest of the whole
depends.
As History involves the consideration of Biography, brief bio
graphical sketches, in turn, excite a desire to know more of the char
acters and their relation to history. The two branches are indeed
intimately connected, and greatly dependent upon each other. Biog
raphy is, in fact, " History teaching by example." To the force and
efficacy of example, Biography adds the weight of precept. It
improves our understanding, and enlarges our stores of useful knowl
edge ; bringing to our assistance the experience of others by pre
senting to our minds a picture of their projects and achievements ; of
their manners, pursuits, attainments, and mode of thinking ; and thus,
not only gratifies our curiosity, but teaches us wisdom, and suggests a
variety of interesting reflections.
It is the object of this work to convey useful information illustra
tive of the lives of those whose portraits appear within its pages ; and
ID each sketch to give the most important incidents in the career of
its subject. In so condensed a compilation much of interest is of
necessity omitted. But in a general and authentic outline, with a few
words of personal description, may be found enough to distinctly
characterize each individual. The dates, it is believed, are accurate.
The same may be said of the allusions to leading events. The entire
collection will be found reliable for reference by the reader of the
present, and of the future.
CO^TESTTS.
VOL. II.
1. LINCOLN, ABRAHAM.
2. DOUGLAS, STEPHEN A.
3. BETIIUNE, GEORGE W.
4. WlNTIIROP, THEODORE.
5. WEST, BENJAMIN.
G. TANEY, ROGEH B.
7. WAYLAND, FRANCIS.
8. GAINES, EDMUND P.
9. PIERRE PONT, EDWARDS.
10. HUNTER, DAVID.
11. DEEMS. CHARLES F.
12. MORTON. OLIVER P.
1;]. LITTLEJOIIN, ABRAM N.
14. DAVIS, CHARLES H.
15. HASTINGS, S. C.
10. HAYES, RUTHERFORD B.
17. OSGOOD, SAMUEL.
18. GRANT, ULYSSES S.
19. BRYANT, WILLIAM C.
20. ANTHONY, HENRY B.
21. TAYLOR, BAYARD.
22. BONNER, ROBERT.
23. SUMMERFIELD, JOHN.
24. STUYVKSANT, PETER.
25. VANDERI3ILT, CORNELIUS.
26. CALHOUN, JOHN C.
27. JACKSON. ANDREW.
28. HAMLIN, HANNIBAL.
29. BUELL, JAMES.
.80. Dix, JOHN A.
31. TYNG, STEPHEN H.
32. SCIIURZ, CAUL.
33. SEWARD, WILLIAM H.
31. HANCOCK, WINFIELD S.
J5. WALL, GARRET D.
SG. COKE, THOMAS.
37. SHIELDS, JAMES.
38. CARPENTER, MATTHEW H.
39. EDWARDS, JONATHAN.
40. GOODRICH, SAMUEL G.
41. LONGFELLOW, HK.NRY W.
42. WADS WORTH, JAMES S.
43. ALEXANDER, ARCHIBALD.
44. STRONG, THEODORE.
45. JEFFERSON, JOSEPH.
46. SUMNKR, EDWIN V.
47. COLFAX, SCHUYLER.
48. WRIGHT, GEORGE G.
49. APPLETON, DANIEL.
50. BUTLER, WILLIAM ALLEN,
51. WHITE, WILLIAM.
52. ScnooLCRAFT, HENRY R.
53. DAYTON, WILLIAM L.
54. McPmcRsoN, JAMES B.
55. WIIITKFIELD, GEORGE.
56. HAMMOND, SAMUEL.
57. BUTLER, BENJAMIN F.
58. SUMTER, THOMAS.
59. VINTON, FRANCIS.
GO. GRISWOLD, RUFUS W.
61. TAYLOR, ZACH ARY.
62. LOCKE, RICHARD ADAMS.
63. CASS, LEWIS.
64. FELTON, CORNELIUS G.
65. CLAY, HENRY.
66. SCHUYLER, PHILIP.
67. JUDSON, ADONIRAM.
68. MORTON, SAMUEL G.
69. PECK HAM, RUFUS W.
70. WOOL, JOHN E.
CONTENTS.
il. CONE, SPENCER H.
73. INGERSOLL, CHARLES J.
73. BE EC HER, HENRY WARD.
74. DAVIS, JEFFERSON C.
75. STEVENS, TIIADDEUS.
76. EDMONDS, JOHN W.
77. HALE, SARAH J.
78. HARRISON, WILLIAM H.
79. AVERILL, WILLIAM W.
80. BURNS, JOHN L.
81. FREMONT, JOHN C.
82. LANMAN, JOSEPH.
83. BROWNE, SOLOMON.
84. BROWN, NICHOLAS.
85. BOOTH, EDWIN.
83. BANKS, NATHANIEL P.
87. BEEKMAN, JAMES W.
88. BARNARD, HENRY.
80. GILBERT,, JOHN.
90. MCDOWELL, IRVIN.
91. HALE, JOHN P.
92. HENDRICKS, THOMAS A.
93. BARRETT, L.VWRENCE.
91. DALY, CHARLES P.
95. ELLSWORTH, ELMER E.
90. MUNSELL, JOEL.
97. CUYLEH, THEODORE L.
98. ENGLISH, WILLIAM H.
99. BAYARD, JOHN A.
100. PJERI/E, LOVICK.
101. GARKIELD, JAMES A.
102. ARTIHTR, CHESTER A.
103. WARD. SAMUEL.
104. GALLATIN, ALBERT.
105. WILDER, MARSHALL P.
10(5. EDISON, THOMAS A.
107. GREEN, CHRISTOPHER.
108 Cox, SAMUEL H.
109. FIELD, CYRUS W.
110. GEARY, JOHN W.
111. EATON, AMOS.
112. ANDREW, JOHN A.
113. BANCROFT, GEORGE.
114. WINTIIKOP, ROBERT C.
115. BURRITT, ELIIIU.
116. CASWELL, ALEXIS.
117. CLINTON, GEORGE.
118. Du PONT, SAMUEL F.
119. WASH BURN, C. C.
120. BAIRD, ROBERT.
V
or THE
UNIVERSITY
LILLIAN C. BUTTRE.
Miss LILLIAN C. BUTTRE, the eldest daughter of Mr. J. C. Buttre,
the well-known engraver and publisher of portraits, was born in the
City of New York, November 24, 1858. Her death, which occurred at
her home in Ridgewood, Bergen County, X. J., March 30, 1881,
deserves more than a passing notice. Just developed into full womaii-
hood, her whole character, rounded and perfect, was a rare model of
excellence. Left, by the death of her mother, at the head of the be
reaved household when she was only nineteen years of age, she assumed
the delicate and arduous duties with alacrity, and performed them with
dignity, ability, good judgment, and great tenderness, exercising a
motherly care over her younger sisters, to whom, through the medium
of mutual affection, her suggestions and advice became as law. She
was an " angel in the house" sunlight in the home, imparting beauty
to every object. Always forgetful of herself even in the recreations
and pleasures of her childhood, she habitually thought only of the
comfort and happiness of others, especially of those who were near
and dear to her. Her very intimate friends were few, for she was
modest almost to shyness ; but to those w r ho won her confidence her
nature was like an open window. Her kindness of heart, her gentle
ness of spirit, and her unbounded charity toward the weakness of
others, endeared her to all who knew her. She never spoke of others
but to praise them.
When she assumed the position of head of the household, she had
just engaged in a self-imposed and arduous literary task, which she
lived to complete. It was the preparation of a series of biographies
of eminent men, two hundred and forty in number, for the " American
Portrait Gallery," published by her father. This work exhibits a
marvel of ability, industry, and good judgment, in one so young. The
style of her narrative is chaste and simple, like her own character and
life. The book is a beautiful and enduring monument to her memory.
Society is truly bereaved by the death of one so lovely, and there is a
feeling of disappointment when such a promise of future usefulness is
denied complete fulfillment. BENSON J. Lossrao.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
" THE two great men by whose words and example onr gloriona
Continental Republic is to be fashioned and shaped are Washington
and Lincoln : representative men of the East and of the West, of the
Revolutionary era and the era of Liberty for all."
Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States, was
born in Hardin County, Kentucky, February 12, 1809. When he
was in his eighth year the family removed from Kentucky to Spencer
County, Indiana. A few months of the rudest sort of schooling com
prehended the whole of his technical education; but throughout his
life he was constantly adding, by reading and observation, to his stock
of knowledge.
In his youth he was in turn a farm laborer, a workman in a saw
mill, and a boatman on the Wabash and Mississippi rivers. Thus hard
work and plenty of it, the rugged experiences of aspiring poverty,
education born of the log-cabin, the rifle, the axe, and the plough, com
bined with the reflections of an original and vigorous mind eager in
the pursuit of knowledge by every available means, developed a char
acter equally remarkable for resource and firmness. In 1830, Lincoln
and his family removed to Decatur, Illinois. In 1832 he volunteered
for the Black Hawk War, was elected captain of his company, and
served through a three months campaign. After his return he was an
unsuccessful candidate for the Legislature. He then kept store for a
short time ; was postmaster and surveyor ; studying law, meantime.
In 1834 Mr. Lincoln again became a candidate for the Legislature,
and was elected. In 1846 he was chosen to the Thirteenth Congress,
and served to the close of the session ; after which he measurably
withdrew from politics arid devoted himself to the practice of his
profession until the Nebraska Bill of 1854 called him again into the
political arena. In 1858 he was a candidate for the United States
Senate, in opposition to Stephen A. Douglas. They canvassed the
State together. Mr. Lincoln s logic, wit, eloquence, and thorough good
nature were alike conspicuous ; but Mr. Douglas was elected. In
1860 Mr. Lincoln delivered his celebrated " Cooper Institute Address."
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
In June of the same year, Mr. Lincoln received the nomination of
the Eepublican party for President ; and in the following November
was elected. His inauguration took place on the 4th of March, 1861.
Throughout the campaign the South had threatened to secede if he
were elected. Prominent men both North and South still hoped that
war might be averted, but the new Confederate government was
rapidly making preparations for the issue. The first gun of the war
was fired at half-past four on Friday morning, April 12, 1861.
President Lincoln met the crisis calmly and firmly, and throughout the
conflict continued to act with equal decision and wisdom.
On the 22d of September, 1862, his " Emancipation Proclamation"
was issued, to take effect on the first of the ensuing January.
o /
President Lincoln s second inaugural address, March 4, 1865, " was
a remarkable expression of his personal feelings, his modesty and equa
nimity, his humble reliance on a Superior Power for light and guid
ance in the path of duty. With malice toward none, was his memo
rable language, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God
gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in ;
to bind up the nation s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne
the battle and for his widow and orphans, to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves, and
with all nations. "
Hardly had the four years struggle been brought to a close, when,
on April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was shot by an assassin, while
seated in a box at a theatre in Washington. The most prominent men
of the nation watched sorrowfully by his bedside, waiting in vain for
some sign of returning consciousness until the next morning, when he
expired.
The funeral was on the 10th inst. It was a day of mourning
throughout the entire country. The body, which had been embalmed,
was removed to his former home at Springfield, Illinois. The procession
may be said to have extended the entire distance. Churches, the
principal buildings, private dwellings, and even the engines and cars
were everywhere draped in black every face bore traces of profound
sorrow, and almost every citizen wore a badge of mourning.
Abraham Lincoln was a tall, spare man, and over six feet in height.
His hair was dark, his eyes expressive, his mouth large and firm. Ilis
manners were cordial and genial. " No one approached him without
being impressed with his kindly, frank nature, his clear good sense,
and bia transparent truthfulness and integrity."
STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.
STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS was born in Brandon, Rutland County,
Vermont, April 23, 1813. The family is of Scotch descent. Ilia
grandfather was a soldier of the American Revolution, and was with
Washington at Valley Forge and York town. His father, a skillful and
trusted physician, died suddenly of heart disease, while holding his
two months old son, the future statesman, in his arms.
Until he reached the age of fifteen years, Stephen A. Douglas, who
was an apt and persevering scholar, studied at the common schools of
his native State. If the necessary means had been his, he would have
entered College ; but as they were not, he relinquished the thought of a
more thorough education, to commence earning his own living. He
ZD t o cn
apprenticed himself to a cabinet-maker, and worked at that trade for
eighteen months, when his health becoming impaired he resumed his
studies. Choosing the law as a profession, he prepared for it at the
same time that he pursued his academic course. In the spring of 1833
he went west, and finally settled in Jacksonville, Illinois. He taught
school for a while, devoting all the time he could secure to his legal
studies. He was admitted to the bar in 1834, and soon obtained a
lucrative practice. Before a year had passed, though he had not yet
attained his twenty-second year, he was elected Attorney-General of the
State. In 1837 he was appointed by President Van Buren, Register of
the Land Office at Springville, arid the same year was a Democratic
candidate for Congress. In 1840 he was appointed Secretary of the
State of Illinois, and in 1841 was elected a Judge of the Supreme
Court. He performed his duties as Judge with acknowledged ability.
In 1842 he received the nomination for Congress, and was elected.
He was re-elected in 1844 and in 1846 ; but after the last election,
and before the commencement of his term, he was elected a Senator of
the United States for the term ending in 1853. He was twice re-
elected to the Senate, his duties in that body terminating only with
his life. In his long Congressional career, he generally adopted the
principles and advocated the policy of the Democratic party. He was
prominent in the Oregon controversy, and was one of the last to sur-
STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.
render. He was also a supporter of the annexation of Texas. He was
a firm advocate of the extension of the 36 30 line to the Pacific
ocean, and voted against the Wilmot Proviso. In 1854 he brought for
ward his famous bill organizing the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska,
and advocating the doctrine of " Squatter sovereignty," i. ?., the right
of the inhabitants of each Territory to decide for themselves whether
each State shovJd come into the Union a slave or free State. Though
this was in fact a repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and throughout
the discussion great bitterness of feeling prevailed, he carried his
measure through Congress in spite of all opposition.
In 1856 Mr. Douglas was a Democratic candidate for the presi
dential nomination. Buchanan received the nomination, and Douglas
supported him in the ensuing campaign. In 185T the Lecompton con
troversy arose. Mr. Douglas thought that, under a strict adherence to
the Democratic faith, Congress ought not to accept a constitution unless
it was the act of the people. In promoting the local interests of Illi
nois he was remarkably successful. The construction of the Illinois
Central Railroad was due principally to him. He strongly advocated
the construction of a railroad from the Mississippi river to the Pacific
ocean. In foreign policy he opposed the treaty with England limiting
the Oregon Territory to the 49th parallel. He also opposed the ratifi
cation of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty. He favored the acquisition of
Cuba whenever that island could be obtained consistently with the
laws of nations and the honor of the United States.
In I860 Mr. Douglas was the candidate of the Democratic party of
the North for the presidency. There were three other candidates in
the field, the representatives of as many political parties. John C.
13 reckin ridge was the candidate of the Democratic party of the South,
John Bell of the Union party, and Abraham Lincoln of the Republican
party. Of the elective popular vote of more than four millions and a
half, Mr. Douglas received over one million three hundred thousand,
within about five hundred thousand of the vote of Mr. Lincoln. Dur
ing the stormy time which followed the election, Mr. Douglas raised
his voice in the Senate in behalf of the Union, and continued to sup
port and defend it until his death, which took place in Chicago, June
3, 1861. Mr. Douglas was one of the most remarkable men in the
public service of the United States. He was a powerful speaker, and
possessed great personal influence with the masses. His small stature
he was somewhat below the middle height procured him the title of
" The Little Giant," by which he was popularly known.
GEORGE WASHINGTON BETHUNE.
GEORGE "W. BETHUNE, D.D., the wit, poet and preacher, was born
in New York City, March 18, 1S05. He traced his family descent to
the Huguenots. His father, Divie Bethune, was a prominent citizen
of New York. Before a Tract Society was formed in this country, he
printed ten thousand tracts at his own expense, and distributed many
of them himself. This circumstance led Dr. Bethune to remark that
he was " the son of the first American Tract Society ! " Dr. Bethune s
maternal grandmother was the distinguished Christian, and accom
plished woman, Isabella Graham.
Dr. Bethune received a liberal education. He spent three years at
Columbia College, was graduated at Dickinson College in 1822, and at
Princeton Theological Seminary in 1825. In 1826 he was ordained
a Presbyterian minister, but the following year joined the Dutch lie-
formed Church. His first ministerial charge was at Rhinebeck, on the
Hudson, from whence he removed to Utica ; and in 1834, to Philadel
phia, where he was connected with two churches. In 1849 he was
called to Brooklyn, where for ten years he continued at the head of a
large congregation. His church edifice was handsome, and was re
markable for receiving light from " above," which produced a pleasing
effect.
In 1859 Dr. Bethune s impaired health led him to resign his
charge of the Brooklyn church, and cross the ocean for rest and resto
ration. He visited Italy, and preached for a time at the American
Chapel at Rome. In 1860 he returned to New York, and became
associate pastor of a church in that city, but his continued ill-health
soon compelled him to return to Italy. After a few months residence
at Florence, he died at that place, April 27, 1862.
Dr. Bethune was the author of several works, written more for his
own people than for the public, but which attained a large circulation.
Among them are, " The Fruits of the Spirit," " Early Lost," "Early
GEORGE WASHINGTON BETHUjSTE.
Saved," and " The History of a Penitent," all popular works of a
devotional character. In 1847 he edited the first American edition of
Walton s " Angler," a work which he performed in the careful and
agreeable manner befitting his own reputation as an enthusiastic and
highly celebrated follower of the "contemplative man s recreation,"
arid as an accomplished scholar.
Dr. Bethuue was a pleasing poet. In 1848 he published " Lays of
Love and Faith, and other Poems." In 1850 he published a volume of
" Orations and Occasional Discourses." The volume comprises funeral
discourses on the death of Stephen Van Rensselaer, the Patroon of
Albany, N. Y., President Harrison, and General Jackson. ; lectures and
college addresses upon " Genius," "Leisure, its Uses and Abuses," Age
of Pericles," "Prospect of Art in the United States," "Eloquence
of the Pulpit," " Duties of Educated Men," " A Plea for Study," and
" The Claims of our Country upon its Literary Men." He also collected
and published a portion of his Sermons. In 1864 a collection of his
sermons in two volumes was published by Sheldon & Company, New
York. They were entitled, " Expository Lectures on the Heidelberg
Catechism," a subject upon which he had bestowed much attention.
In 1807 the same firm also published the " Memoir of Rev. George W.
Bethune, D.D.," written by Rev. A. II. Van Nest.
Dr. Bethune was a careful preacher, though far from being formal
and precise in the arrangement of sentences, or in their delivery. On
the contrary, his sermons were peculiar for their simple ease, grace, and
perfect finish. " The enlightened were attracted by comprehensive
ness of thought, and the refined by care in elaboration, while the un
cultured enjoyed their simplicity and were impressed by their earnest
ness."
Dr. Bethune possessed a social disposition, and was a great favorite
with all who became associated with him either on public occasions or
in private life. lie was a genial conversationalist, and from his well-
stored memory he drew many a pathetic or humorous anecdote for the
entertainment and amusement of his friends. His fine humor and
off-hand extempore speaking made him a valued acquisition at society
meetings. He was a thorough and cultured scholar and possessed a
large library, and the appearance of his study reminded one of Dickens s
description of fog in London " books on the walls, books to the ceiling,
books in the closet, books in the recess, books on the tables, books ou
the floor, books on books, books everywhere."
THEODORE WINTHROP.
MAJOR TJIEODOKK WINTHROP, U. S. V., was born in New Haven,
Connecticut, September 21, 1828, and was a lineal descendant of the
first John Winthrop, who conducted from England one of the noblest
of the many bands of Puritan colonists, and eventually became Gover
nor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. His mother was a grand
daughter of President Dwight, and a sister of President Woolsey. Thus
the mere name of Wiuthrop is suggestive of New England memories
and virtues. Theodore Winthrop entered Yale College from a well-
known New Haven school, and was graduated with honor in the class
of 1848. Soon after graduation, Winthrop and others constituted the
first class in the " School of Philosophy and Arts," a department estab
lished during the previous year. Close application to his studies
proved too much for his health, and his physicians prescribed travel.
He embarked in July, 18-19, for Europe, where he spent more than a
year.
In April, 1851, three months after his return from abroad, Mr.
Winthrop joined the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, at the invita
tion of Mr. W. II. Aspimvall, whose acquaintance he had made in
Europe. In the fall of 1852 he went to Panama, and spent the two
following years on the Isthmus in the employment of the company.
He also visited California, Oregon, and Vancouver s Island, and ac
companied the unfortunate expedition of Lieutenant Strain to explore
the Isthmus of Darien.
Upon his return to New York Mr. Winthrop studied law in the
office of Charles Tracy, and after his admission to the bar remained
with him as a clerk for another year. Going to St. Louis he practised
law for a time ; but the climate and mode of life not proving congenial,
he returned in the summer of 1858, to discover at length his true call-
CJ
ing the field of literature and authorship. His first appearance in
print was as the author of a description of the famous landscape,
"The lieaitof the Andes/ by Frederic Edwin Church. "An inti
THEODORE WINTHKOP.
mate friend of the artist, he sat by the easel and saw the picture as it
grew to completeness tinder his rapid but sure touch, and the work so
warmed his brain that he sought utterance for his admiration in words
as glowing as the tropic sunshine of the picture."
Immediately after the fall of Fort Su inter, in April, 1861, Win-
throp dropped the pen and grasped the sword. He joined the Seventh
Regiment at New York, marched with it to Washington, sharing the
hardships and fatigue of the way ; became, at Fortress Monroe, a mem
ber of General Butler s staff, as aid and military secretary, with the
rank of Major. He aided in planning the attack on the batteries of
Great Bethel, where, on the disastrous 10th of June, 1861, he fell
while waving his sword at the front, and cheering his comrades to the
charge. His courage and bearing throughout the fight had rendered
him especially conspicuous, and elicited the admiration of both friends
and foes. His remains were brought to New York. The funeral ser
vices were conducted at the armory of the Seventh Regiment, and the
body was carried through Broadway on the howitzer which he had
helped to drag, only two months before, through the same thorough
fare.
When Mr. Winthrop left New York for the seat of war, he was
engaged to write a series of sketches, to be entitled " The March
of the Seventh," for the " Atlantic Monthly." He left at his death
a number of unpublished manuscripts, which were soon given to the
public. " Cecil Dreeme " was published soon after his decease, and at
once attracted much attention. The scenes of this story are, for the
most part, laid in the studios of the New York University.
"John Brent" was next published. "This novel carries us across
the Plains from California in a style, such as pen has never crossed
them before. The book should have been called Don Fulano, in
honor of the matchless steed which so faithfully bears his master to the
redressal of wrong and setting up of right, at an eventful crisis. A
horse has seldom been so admirably described, so sharply individual
ized. It is a work to rank with the great masters of the chisel and the
palette as well as of the pen. The descriptions of prairie life, of the
mountain -passes, the wavy landscape, the far-off approach of caravans,
are admirable."
Many of Mr. Winthrop s other writings soon found their way into
print. Among them were " Edwin Brothertoft, " a novel ; and two
volumes of travelling sketches, " The Canoe and the Saddle," and
"Life in the Open Air."
.,VER?.<:TY
BENJAMIN WEST.
BENJAMIN WEST, one of the earliest American painters, was born
near Springfield, Pennsylvania, October 10, 1738. His parents, who
were Quakers, allowed him. to cultivate his talent for drawing and
painting, though such a course was in opposition to the rigid principles
of their sect. He began to make drawings from nature in his seventh
CJ O
year, and a year or so later he received a present of a paint-box, which
was to him an inspiration. " Even after going to sleep he awoke more
than once during the night and anxiously put out his hand to the box,
which he had placed by his bedside, half afraid that he might find his
riches only a dream. Next morning he rose at break of day, and carrying
his colors and canvas to the garret, proceeded to work. Everything else
was now unheeded ; even his attendance at school was given up. As soon
as he got out of the sight of his father and mother he stole to his garret,
and here passed the hours in a world of his own. At last, after he had
been absent from school some days, the master called at his father s
house to inquire what had become of him. This led to the discovery
of his secret occupation. His mother, proceeding to the garret, found
the truant; but so much was she astonished and delighted by the crea
tion of his pencil, which also met her view when she entered the apart
ment, that, instead of rebuking him, she could only take him in her
arms, and kiss him with transports of affection. He made a new com
position of his own out of two engravings, which he had colored from
his own feeling of the proper tints, and so perfect did the performance
already appear to his mother, that although half the canvas yet re
mained uncovered, she would not suffer him to add another touch to
what he had done. Mr. Gait, West s biographer, saw the picture in
the state in which it had thus been left, sixty-seven years afterwards,
and the artist himself used to acknowledge that in none of his subse
quent efforts had he been able to excel some of the touches of invention
in this his first essay."
BENJAMIN WEST.
In 1756 young "West went to Philadelphia, where he received such
elementary instruction in his art as that city then afforded. He estab
lished himself there as a portrait-painter, and subsequently went to
JS r ew York, where he continued to practise his profession or art. In
1760 he was enabled to visit Italy, where his portrait of Lord Grant-
ham, at first generally attributed to Raphael Mengs, excited much
interest. In 1763 he went to England on his way to America, but he met
with such encouragement there that he took up his permanent residence
in London. He died in that city, March 11, 1820, and was buried in
St. Paul s. For many years he enjoyed the favor and patronage of the
King. He was happy in his domestic and social relations, and was
blessed with ample means and a wide spread reputation. " When we
connect in fancy West s humble birthplace with his cathedral tomb,
and revive the details of his life, we recognize a singular exception to
the fortunes of our early native artists, most of whom had so long a
conflict with adverse circumstances. Indeed, the comfort he enjoyed
may somewhat account for the absence of intensity and aspiration in
his genius ; spirituality is the offspring of deep experience ; he suf
fered no trying ordeal, he was not disciplined and elevated by the bat
tle of life : his success was too easily achieved ; order, calmness, and
regularity marked his experience not less than his character. It is an
anomalous fact in American artist-life that our earliest painter was the
most prosperous."
During the last forty years of his life Mr. West sketched or painted
at least four hundred pictures, most of them large, and left two hun
dred elaborate drawings. In 1762 he succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds
as president of the Royal Academy, and he was holding that office at the
time of his death. " One of his early pictures, the Death of Wolfe,
widely known through the fine engravings of Wollett, may be said to
have created an era in the history of British art, from the fact that the
figures were habited in the costume appropriate to their time and
character." He painted for George III. a number of subjects taken
from early English history. The first of a series of religious pieces,
" Christ Healing the Sick," was intended as a present to the Pennsylva
nia Hospital in Philadelphia, but it was purchased for 3,000 by the
British Institute, and he afterward sent a copy with some alterations to
Philadelphia. His " Deatli on the Pale Horse " is in the Philadelphia
Academy of Fine Arts. In the opinion of many, his " Christ Re
jected " is his best picture in America. Among those in England, the
"Pylades and Orestes " is one of the best.
ROGER BROOKE TANEY.
KOGER BROOKE TANEY, the celebrated American jurist, was born in
Calvert County, Maryland, March 17, 1777. He was graduated from
Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, in 1795. Four years later he com
pleted his legal studies and was admitted to the bar. He had scarcely
commenced the practice of his profession in his native county, when
he was elected a member of the House of Delegates as a Federalist.
O
In 1801 he removed to Frederick, where he resided for the next
twenty years.
In 1816 Mr. Taney was elected to the State Senate. In 1822 he
removed to Baltimore, where he continued to reside until his death.
Devoting himself to the law, he secured an extensive practice in the
State and Federal Courts, still finding time, however, to watch with
interest the political movements of the times, even when not participa
ting in them. Though originally a Federalist, he eventually identified
himself with the supporters of General Jackson. This, however, did
not prevent his appointment in 1827 as Attorney-General of the State
by the Federal Governor.
In 1831 President Jackson appointed him Attorney-General of the
United States. In this office he supported the President in the course
he pursued with regard to the bill renewing the charter of the United
States Bank. In 1833 he was appointed Secretary of the Treasury, to
fill the- place of Mr. Dtiane, who had been dismissed from that office.
He at once issued orders for the removal of the Government deposits
from the United States Bank to local banks. When his nomination
was communicated to the Senate that body rejected it. This was also
the case with his nomination as a Justice of the Supreme Court in 1835.
Upon the death of Chief-Justice Marshall the President nominated
Mr. Taney as his successor, and he took his seat in January, 1837.
As a judge Mr. Taney showed great ability. The most noted of
his decisions was that in the celebrated " Dred Scott " case. " ID
EOGEE BROOKE TANEY.
that case Scott, who was held as a slave in Missouri, brought suit to
recover his freedom, suing in the Federal Court on the ground of be
ing a citizen of a different State from the defendant, and claiming his
freedom from having been taken by his master into territory made free
by the Act of Congress commonly called the Missouri Compromise.
The case having been decided in the Circuit Court, was removed to the
Supreme Court. The decision (1857) declared that Scott was not entitled
to bring suit in the Federal Court, because he was not a citizen ; the
Chief -Justice, in an elaborate opinion, declaring that for more than a
century previous to the adoption of the Declaration of Independence ne
groes, whether slave or free, had been regarded as beings of an inferior
order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social
or political relations, and so far inferior that they had no rights which
the white man was bound to respect. Having reached this conclusion,
which of itself put an end to the case, the court went further, and con
sidered the main question involved, namely, whether it was competent
for Congress to exclude slavery from the territories of the Union ; and
the majority, Justices McLean and Curtis dissenting, denied the power.
The party, dissatisfied with this conclusion, made it the occasion for a
severe arraignment of the court, not only because of the views held as
to the rig ht to legislate against slavery, but because those views were
cj O O *J
expressed in a case not calling for them, inasmuch as the court had
already decided that it had no jurisdiction. The decision, in its denial
of the right of citizenship to negroes, was disregarded by the executive
department after Mr. Lincoln became President, and by the judicial
also when Mr. Chase became Chief-Justice, and admitted colored per
sons as practitioners in the Federal Courts."
Chief-Justice Taney died in Washington, D. C., October 12, 1864.
A bronze statute of him by Kinehart, ordered by the State of Maryland,
was unveiled at Annapolis, December 10, 1872.
FRANCIS WAYLAND.
FRANCIS WAYLAND was born in New York, March 11, 1796. His
parents were characterized by integrity, industry, common sense, strong
religious convictions, and ardent love for civil and religious liberty.
The son was not, as a boy, distinguished for brilliancy, but was sturdy,
reliable, and brave. In the schools which he attended in his child
hood, there was no thought of teaching ; the scholar committed to
memory, whether he understood or not. Young Wayland conld recite
page after page of Lowth s Grammar, and could repeat the boundaries
of the countries, but had no idea what it was all about. When he was
ten years old, the family removed to Poughkeepsie, and the lad came
under the instruction of Mr. Daniel II. Barnes, a real teacher, for
whose conscientious thoroughness he was always grateful. In 1811,
he entered Union College at an advanced standing, and graduated in
1813. He studied medicine for three years. Meanwhile, his views of
life and of religious duty changed; he became a member of the Bap
tist Church, and resolved to devote himself to the Christian ministry.
He spent a year at Andover Theological Seminary, chiefly under the
instruction of Professor Moses Stuart, the pioneer of exegetical study
in America. His scanty means being exhausted, he became a tutor in
Union College. The four years which he spent in this position brought
him into close contact with the sage Dr. Nott, whose counsels were of
measureless value to the young man.
In 1821, Mr. Wayland became pastor of the First Baptist Church
in Boston. The church was weak, and the house badly located ; but
the life-long maxim of Wayland held good : " Nothing will stand be
fore days works." He grew in power ; his sermon on " The Moral
Dignity of the Missionary Enterprise " (1823), made him known where-
ever the English language was spoken.
In 1827, he became President of Brown University, entering on
what was to be the work of his life. The University was poor; li
brary, cabinet, and apparatus scarcely existed; discipline and scholar-
FRANCIS WAYLAND.
ship were little more than a name. The new President sought to make
the college as good as possible. lie replaced routine by life and
freshness; in the class-room he encouraged inquiry and discussion ; he
laid aside the antiquated text-books, and taught by lectures, till in his
several studies he had created new treatises. It was remarked at the
bar and in the pulpit that a graduate of " Brown " could be known by
his closeness of reasoning and his power of analysis. The funds were
enlarged ; apparatus, cabinet, and library were created, and buildings
were erected for them. Still the President was not satisfied. The uni
versity (in common w T ith all American colleges) was not fulfilling its
destiny. It was offering an education suited only to the learned
professions, and it was ignoring the boundless diversity of aim and
intellectual character on the part of the students. The college was
reorganized on the basis suggested by the President. The step resulted
very successfully, enlarging the number of students, and widely ex
tending the benefits of education. The changes introduced in the
American colleges since 1850 have all been in the direction which he
pointed out.
His efforts for the moral and religious welfare of his pupils were
unceasing. His sermons, his counsels, his personal appeals, combined
with his strong power of sympathy, and the power of his own example,
exerted a life-long transforming and elevating influence. His labors
outside the college were arduous and untiring, touching all that related
to the welfare of the city, State, and nation, to the progress of educa
tion and religion. He published eighteen volumes, besides more than
fifty discourses, sermons, and addresses. His " Moral Science "had a
circulation of more than 150,000. It has been republished in Eng
land and in Scotland, and translated into Armenian, Modern Greek,
Hawaiian, and Nestorian.
These varied labors weighed heavily upon him, and in 1855 he re
signed his position as President. His remaining days were devoted to
humane and religious labor, to reading, study, and authorship, and to
the cultivation of his garden, which had been his one recreation, pas
sion, and luxury. He closed a .life devoted to the service of God and
the welfare of man, at his home in Providence, R. I., Sept. 30, 1865, in
his 70th year.
The leading feature of his character and the source of his success
was his unwavering and* conscientious devotion to duty. In the words
of a pupil and successor (President Robinson), " To him ought and
ouo-ht not were the most powerful words that could be spoken."
(y !*Wi<
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
MAJOR-GENERAL EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES, U. S. A., was born
in Culpepper County, Virginia, March 20, 1777. His father, Jaraea
Gaines, commanded a company in the Revolutionary War, and was
subsequently in the North Carolina Legislature, and in the Convention
which ratified the Federal Constitution. He was the nephew of Ed
mund Pendleton after whom the son was named a profound and able
lawyer and judge of Virginia.
In the sparsely settled region in which the early boyhood of Ed
mund P. Gaines was spent, educational advantages were few. All
opportunities were improved under the direction and encouragement
of his mother, who was intelligent and well informed. An early
friend taught him so much of the elements of mathematics as to make
him an accurate surveyor. When he was about thirteen years of age
his father removed his family to Sullivan County, which afterwards
became the Eastern County of Tennessee. Young Gaines had early
been taught to labor, to swing the axe and follow the plough. In his
hours of pastime he rambled through the forests in search of game, his
rifle his constant companion, and he is said to have excelled in the
use of that weapon. He was scarcely above the ordinary height, and
slight of person, but straight as the arrow of an Indian warrior. His
constitution, naturally strong and vigorous, had become hardened and
invigorated, and fitted to endure the sufferings and vicissitudes of a
soldier s life. His leisure hours were spent in reading and studying
such military and historical works as he could procure. At the age of
eighteen he was elected to a lieutenancy in a rifle company.
AVhen the young man became legally of age, he commenced the
study of law, and pursued it as rapidly as his limited means would
allow. While thus engaged, he was recommended by the lion. W. C
C. Claiborne, then a Member of Congress, for an appointment in the
army, and January 10, 1799, received his first commission, as emign.
In the fall of that year he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant
in the Sixth Infantry, and sent on the recruiting service. From ISO]
EDMUND PENDLETON GAINES.
to the winter of 1803-4, he was engaged in making a topographical sur
vey from Nashville to Natchez, for the location of a military road,
and in the survey of some Indian boundary lines. In the meantime
he had become a first lieutenant.
In 1804 he was appointed military collector for the district of
Mobile. Two years later he received the appointment of post-master,
and was selected as the confidential agent of the post-office depart
ment, with the power of suspending post-masters and contractors con
cerned in what was called "The Conspiracy of Aaron Burr." He was
active in the mission entrusted to him, and arrested Colonel Burr. After
the close of the trial he practised law for a time, but when war was de
clared against .Great Britain he resumed his position in the army. He
had some years before risen to the rank of captain. In the war which
followed he soon became distinguished among the most steadfast in
the faithful performance of every arduous duty. The post of greatest
danger was to him the post of honor. There he was always to be
found. In March, 1812, he became major of the Eighth Infantry ; in
July, lieutenant-colonel of the Twenty-fourth Infantry ; in March,
1813, colonel of the Twenty-fifth Infantry, and in September, adjutant-
general with the rank of colonel. He took part in the battle of Chryst-
ler s Field, November 11, and in that action commanded the Twenty-
fifth Infantry, one of the finest and most effective regiments in the ser
vice. In March, 1814, he received the commission of a brigadier-gen
eral. For his gallantry at Fort Erie, where he was severely wounded,
August 28, he was brevetted a major-general. This was the highest
rank authorized by law. The Government also honored him with a
unanimous vote of thanks, and authorized the President to present to
him a gold medal. Similar votes of thanks were passed, and gold-
hilted swords presented to him by the Legislatures of New York, Virgi
nia, and Tennessee.
General Gaines served under General Jackson in the Creek War,
and for several years was engaged in like service. He was severely
wounded in an action with the Seminole Indians in February, 1836.
At the breaking out of the Mexican War he was thought to have
exceeded his authority in calling out a large number of the Southern
militia, and sending them to the seat of war. For this he was tried by
a court-martial in July, 1845, but was not censured. Soon after he
was assigned to the command of the eastern division, and at the close
of the war with Mexico was relieved from duty at his own request.
General Gaines died in New Orleans, June 0, 1849.
EDWARDS PIERRE PONT.
THE Hon. Edwards Pierrepont was born in New Haven, Connecti
cut, in the year 1817. He is a descendant of the Reverend James
Pierrepont, the second minister of New Haven and one of the founders
of Yale College. This family was allied to the noble English race of
that name which held the earldom of Kingston.
Edwards Pierrepont studied at the Hopkins Grammar School of
his native city, and was graduated at Yale College, in the class of 1837,
with high honors. Chief-Justice Waite and Secretary Evarts were his
classmates. Ilis legal education was received at the New Haven Law
School, under Judge Daggett and Judge Hitchcock. In 1840 he com
menced the practice of his profession in Columbus, Ohio. In January,
1846, he removed to the city of New York, where he has since resided,
and where he has for many years been eminent at the bar. In 1857 he
was elected a Judge of the Superior Court of New York, to fill a vacancy
caused by the death of Chief-Justice Oakley. In 1860 he resigned
his seat upon the bench and resumed the practice of the law. Until
the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he had always been a
Democrat. He then became a member of the Union Defence Com
pany, and was a zealous supporter of the administration of Abraham
Lincoln, who, in 1862, appointed him, with General Dix, to try the
prisoners of state then confined in the various prisons and forts of the
United States. In 1867 he was elected a member of the convention
for forming a new constitution for the State of New York, and one of
the Judiciary Committee. In the spring of the same year he was em
ployed to conduct the prosecution, on the part of the Government, of
John II. Surratt, indicted for complicity in the murder of President
Lincoln. This celebrated trial commenced before the United States
District Court in the city of Washington on the 6th of June, 1867,
and lasted until the 10th of the next August.
In the Presidential contests of 1868 and 1872, Judge Pierrepont
was a warm supporter of General Grant, and made numerous public
speeches on the Republican side. Upon his accession to the Presidency,
EDWARDS PIEKREPONT.
in 1869, General Grant appointed Judge Pierrepont Attorney of the
United States for the Southern District of New York, which office he
resigned in July, 1870. In the autumn of 1870 he was one of the
most active of the " Committee of Seventy " against the " Ring Frauds "
of New York.
Judge Pierrepont received the degree of LL.D. from Columbia
College, Washington, June, 1871, having in that year delivered an ora
tion before the graduating class of the Law School of that institution.
In 1873 he received the same degree from Yale College. In May of
that year he was offered the position of American Minister at the Rus
sian Court, which honor he declined. In 1875 he was appointed
Attorney-General of the United States. While Attorney-General he
argued many important causes on the part of the Government, among
which were the noted Union Pacific Railway case and the Arkansas
Hot Springs ease, lie was also called upon by the Secretary of State
to prepare an opinion upon a great question of international law,
which gave him a wide reputation in Europe. He remained in the
Cabinet of President Grant until May, 1876, when he was appointed
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at the Court of St.
James.
In 1877, the second year of his mission at the Court of St. James,
ex- President Grant visited Great Britain. " Mr. Pierrepont was well
aware of the importance there attached to title, rank, and the forms of
precedence ; and when quite a young man had felt much chagrin in
London that two ex-Presidents of the United States had been received
in that capital only as respectable private gentlemen, w r hile the ex-
rulers of other countries were received with great distinction and
accorded marked precedence. lie insisted that in England, where
forms are substance and where precedence is evidence of respect, that
to refuse such evidence to a great power like the United States, and at
the same time to accord it to every deposed prince of a petty kingdom,
indicated, whether so intended or not, a want c.f due respect towards
our form of government. The Queen s ministers acted with the utmost
delicacy and friendliness in the matter, and ex-President Grant was
received with the highest distinctions. The example of England was
followed by other European governments."
Mr. Pierrepont also negotiated with Lord Derby, the British Min
ister of Foreign Affairs, the Trade-mark Treaty. He resigned his office
at the end of 1877. The University of Oxford conferred upon him the
degree of D.C.L., the highest honor in its gift.
DAYID HUNTER.
DAVID TIuNTEK, Major-General of Volunteers and Brevet Major-
General of the regular Army of the United States, was born in the
city of Washington, District of Columbia, July 21, 1802. Entering
the West Point Military Academy at the age of sixteen, he graduated
in 1822, the twenty-fifth in rank in a class of forty, and on the 1st of
July received the appointment of second lieutenant in the Fifth Regi
ment of the United States Infantry. In 1828 he was promoted to the
rank of first lieutenant, and in 1833 to a captaincy in the First Dra
goons, in which capacity he twice crossed the plains to the Rocky
Mountains. He resigned his position in the army in 1836, and entered
the forwarding business in Chicago. He, however, returned to the
army in 184.1 as paymaster, with the rank of major, which rank he
held at the time of the breaking out of the civil war in 1861.
Major Hunter was one of the four officers detailed by the War
Department to escort the newly-elected President from Springfield to
Washington ; but at Buffalo, owing to the pressure of the crowd, he
suffered a dislocation of the collar-bone. Shortly after, May 14, 1861,
he was commissioned colonel of the Sixth United States Cavalry. At
the battle of Bull Run he commanded the second division, but was
severely wounded in the neck early in the action, and compelled to
return to Washington.
On the 3d of August, 1861, Colonel Hunter was appointed a briga
dier-general of volunteers, his commission to bear date May 17, 1861;
and on the 13th of August he was made a major-general of volunteers,
and sent to Missouri as second in command. On the 27th of October
General Fremont arrived at Springfield, and was preparing to attack
Price, when, on the 2d of November, he received a peremptory order
to turn over the command to General Hunter, who arrived on the fol
lowing day and formally assumed the command.
On the 19th of November, 1861, General Halleck formally assumed
DAVID H U NTEK.
command of the Western Department, and General Hunter was
assigned to the Department of Kansas, where he remained until March,
1862. On the loth of that month he was ordered to the Department
of the South, with headquarters at Hilton Head, Port Royal, South
Carolina. He arrived there 011 the 30th, and immediately assumed
command. One of his tirst and most important acts was the issue of
a proclamation declaring slavery abolished in his department, lie also
organized a negro brigade, and detailed officers to train them to the
use of arms. Both willing and able, they soon attained considerable
proficiency, and under the wise administration of General Saxton did
good service in the cause of liberty.
The Confederate Congress at Richmond immediately passed resolu
tions to hang General Hunter, and also General Phelps, who had issued
a similar order, if captured, instead of treating them as prisoners of
war. The President annulled General Hunter s order on the 19th of
May, 1862, and compelled General Phelps to resign and come home.
Early in September, 1862, General Hunter was ordered to Wash
ington to act as president of a court of inquiry on the surrender of
Harper s Ferry, McClellan s Maryland campaign, etc., and as president
of a number of courts-martial. On the decease of Major-General
Mitchel, November 30, 1862, General Hunter was reappointed to the
command of the Department of the South, but was retained in Wash
ington by the above-mentioned court.
General Hunter commanded the Department of West Virginia from
May 19 to August 8, 1864. On June 5tli, he met at Piedmont a Con
federate force, under Major-General W. E. Jones, a cavalry officer of
distinction. A spirited action resulted in the defeat and rout of the
Confederates and the loss of their leader. During Hunter s march to
Staunton, in the month of June, his men were engaged in several
skirmishes with their foe. They took part in the action of Diamond
Hill on the 17th, and of Lynchburg on the 18th. For these services
he received the brevets of brigadier-general and of major-general of
the United States Army.
In August, 1864, Major-General Philip Sheridan succeeded Major-
General Hunter in command.
lii July, 1866, General Hunter retired from the army.
BRA
or TKI
CHARLES FORCE DEEMS.
CHARLES F. DEEMS, D.D., LL.D., pastor of the Church of the
Strangers, New York City, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, Decem
ber 4, 1820. He was graduated at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania,
in 1839. During his senior year he was licensed to preach in the
Methodist Church. At the age of twenty he was appointed General
Agent of the American Bible Society for the State of North Carolina.
He faithfully discharged the duties of that office until he resigned it
i.n order to fill the chair of Logic and Rhetoric in the University of
North Carolina. After five years of successful professorship he ac
cepted the chair of Natural Science in Randolph Macon College, Yir-
ginia. He remained there but one year, however. In 1846 he was
elected a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episco
pal Church, South, held in St. Louis, and was elected to the same posi
tion at every quadrennial session of that body until after his removal
to New York. While in attendance at the Conference he was elected
President of the Queensboro Female College, in North Carolina.
During the five years in which he held this position, he placed that in-
stitutior. on a permanent basis of prosperity. During this period Ran
dolph Afacon College conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divin
ity. .La 1854 he returned to the regular work of the ministry, and was
appointed first to Goldsboro and afterward to Front Street Church,
"Wilmington, in each of which places he remained two years. From
1858 to 1865 he was Presiding Elder of the Wilmington and Newbern
districts. In December, 1805, he removed to the city of New York,
where he edited a religious and literary weekly paper, which was pub
lished for a brief period. While thus engaged, he commenced preach
ing in the chapel of the University. Services were regularly held, and
a new church organization was soon formed. There was insufficient
room in the chapel for the accommodation of the large numbers who
came to hear him, and a larger chapel in the same building was pro
cured. The congregation became known as " The Church of the
c 1 O
Strangers." It was intended " particularly for the benefit of the great
number of persons who are temporarily in the city and desire to have
CHAELES FORCE DEEMS.
a place for religious worship." In 1870, through the liberality of the
late Commodore Yanderbilt, they secured the property belonging to
the Mercer Street Presbyterian Church. Dr. Deems had the large and
eligibly situated building rapidly repaired and fitted up, and on the
2d and 9th of October the dedicatory services were held. The church
has constantly prospered, now numbers nearly six hundred members,
and Dr. Deems probably preaches to the largest congregation, the year
round, in the whole city, as the church is open every Sunday, and is
generally filled and often overflowing.
In 1877 the degree of LL.D. was conferred on him by the Univer
sity of North Carolina.
Dr. Deems is the author of from fifteen to twenty volumes on
various subjects, and numerous published sermons. Among his works
are " The Home Altar," which was translated into French ; " What
Now," a volume for young ladies ; " Annals of Southern Methodism,"
a historical compilation of events, facts, and statistics connected with
the church ; and a small volume on practical religious subjects, entitled
" Weights and Wings." Of his work entitled " Jesus," the learned
Prof. Francis W. Upham, author of " The Wise Men," says : " I read,
annotated, and carefully compared several Lives of Christ, that by
Dr. Deems among them. Since then I have added to my list those of
Fanar and Geikie, and still think now, as I did then, that his is the best
of them all." He has also delivered addresses, speeches, and lectures.
In addition to his other duties, he is editor of " The Sunday Magazine,"
published by Frank Leslie. He has been elected either President or
Professor of nine colleges and universities.
Dr. Deems is below the medium height, though compact and well-
proportioned. His deportment is at all times characterized by high-
toned courtesy and genial warmth. Old and young are irresistibly
attracted by him. He has fine conversational powers, and his natural
talents, familiarity with ancient and modern literature, and extensive
experience among all classes of men, render him an instructive and
fascinating companion, " He has a vivid, spontaneous fancy, and at
the same time his mind is naturally far-reaching, logical, and practical.
Hence he is not only a thinker, but his thoughts weave themselves into
the most chaste and beautiful language. He is impassioned even in
argument ; and there is in all that he writes and says the glow of ear
nest, sincere feeling. His thoughts are rapid and they are all aglow
with sentiment and emotion, while they have a positiveness and inter
est which can only be imparted by extensive learning."
OLIVER PERRY MORTON.
OLIVER PERRY MORTON, a lawyer, senator, and prominent leader
of the Republican party, was born in Wayne County, Indiana, August
4, 1823. His paternal grandfather was one of three brothers, who set
tled in New Jersey, in the days when the New World was constantly
receiving acquisitions from the Old, in the form of energetic and enter
prising men ready to labor for the furtherance of their own interests
and those of a new and promising country. They were descended
from the Earl of Throckmorton ; but the Senator s father, when he
became a Western pioneer, dropped the Throck, and afterward wrote
his name William T. Morton. The mother of Oliver P. Morton, an
intelligent and benevolent woman, died when he was quite young, and
consequently his education was left to the care of others. During
early boyhood he attended school through the winter months, and, as he
grew older, worked at the hatters trade. When he was fourteen years
old, he was sent to a seminary in his native county, where General Lew.
Wallace was among his schoolmates.
Young Morton was twenty years old when he entered Miami Uni
versity at Oxford, Ohio, where he was a close student, and where he
remained two years. After leaving college, he studied law, and in
1S47, at the age of twenty-four, he was admitted to the bar, and opened
an office in Centreville, Indiana. In ten years his practice had grown
lucrative, and he was favorably known throughout that State and
Ohio.
When Mr. Morton first took an interest in politics his sympathies
were with the Democratic party. In 1852 he was elected Circuit
Judge, but soon after retired from the bench, to return to his increas
ing practice. In 1854 the Missouri Compromise and the Kansas-
Nebraska Bill were the means of adding him to the ranks of the
Republican party. Two years later that party nominated him for
Governor of his native State. He was defeated ; but in I860 he was
nominated for Lieuienant-Governor, with Henry S. Lane for Governor.
They were elected. When the Indiana Legislature convened early in
OLIVER PERKY MORTON
1861, Governor Lane was elected to the Senate of the United States^
and Morton became Governor in his stead. lie unquestionably ren
dered great service to the General Government during the war for the
Union, and truly merited his name of "the great War Governor."
The day before the President s call for troops, Governor Morton offered
him fen thousand men. The Legislature voted and placed under his
control five hundred thousand dollars for arms and ammunition,
together with one hundred thousand dollars for military contingencies;
they also voted a million dollars for enlisting and maintaining troops,
and providing munitions of war. The whole history of the military
operations of the State of Indiana during the war was highly honor
able to the citizens of one of the most patriotic of the United States.
Those who remained at home were unceasing in their efforts for the
benefit of those who had gone forth to battle. Early in 1862 the State
Sanitary Commission was organized, in accordance with the suggestions
and plans of Governor Morton. Tho officers and agents of the Com
mission conducted the large and important business entrusted to them
with great zeal and faithfulness.
When the armies on the Mississippi, and at Nashville, Tennessee,
were suffering for lack of food, and the sick in the hospitals were
almost destitute of proper supplies, the Governor dispatched boat after
boat, laden with everything that could contribute to the comfort of the
men. He established a Soldier s Home, and employed many additional
Burgeons to administer to the sick and wounded in the hospitals and in
the field. In 1864 he was elected Governor for a second term. In
1865, having been stricken with paralysis, he visited Europe, with the
hope that change of climate would benefit him. He was, however, from
that time a cripple. He returned home in 1866, and entered into poli
tics more actively than ever, in spite of his ill-health. In that year he
was elected to the United States Senate for the term of 1867- 73, and
npon its expiration was re-elected. Throughout his Senatorship he was
known as the most radical of the leading Republicans. In 1870 Presi
dent Grant nominated him Minister to England, but he declined. He
served upon the Committees on Foreign Relations, Agriculture, Military
Affairs, and Private Land Claims.
Senator Morton possessed a large and powerful frame, and it was
a singular spectacle to see this strong man supported to his place in the
Senate chamber. His most able speeches were made while seated in
his chair at the National Capitol. He died at his home, in Indianapolis,
Indiana, November 2, 1877.
\
UHIYEK
ABRAM NEWKIRK LITTLEJOHN.
TJIE Right Rev. A. N. Little John, D.D., Bishop of the Diocese of
Long Island, was born in Montgomery County, New York, December
13, 1824.
lie was graduated at Union College in 1845, and was ordained a
Deacon of the Episcopal Church in March, 1848. For nearly two
years he officiated at St. Ann s church, Amsterdam, New York, and at
St. Andrew s church, Meriden, Connecticut. In November, 1850, he
was admitted to the priesthood, and about that time entered upon the
rectorship of Christ church, Springfield, Massachusetts ; but soon after
wards removed to St. Paul s church, New Haven. After a ministry
there of more than nine years, he was called to the Church, of the
Ilolv Trinity, situated at the corner of Clinton and Montague Streets,
in Brooklyn, New York, one of the largest and most important parishes
of that " City of Churches."
After about eight years ministry in this parish, during which time
he endeared himself to his people, and was highly successful in pro
moting the prosperity of the church, he was elected Bishop of the
newly created Diocese of Long Island, and consecrated, January 27,
1869. In the new field of labor to which he has been called, he is es
teemed very efficient in the discharge of his duties, and is justly ad
mired and beloved throughout his Diocese.
He has also, since July, 1874, had the charge of the American
Episcopal churches on the continent of Europe.
In 1854, Dr. Littlejolm delivered, in Philadelphia, the first ot a
series of discourses by various bishops and clergymen on the "Jivi-
dences of Christianity." The series was subsequently published, with
an able introduction by Bishop Potter, of Pennsylvania. For several
years lie performed the duties of lecturer on " Pastoral Theology," at
the Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Connecticut.
Bishop Littlejohn is prominently connected with the management
ABEAM NEWKIRK LITTLEJOHN
of the Domestic Missions of the Episcopal Church. While pastor of
the Church of the Holy Trinity, he became a director of the " Society
for the Increase of the Ministry," a member of the Executive Commit
tee of the "Sunday School Union and Church Book Society," and
president of the " Homes of the Aged and Orphan on the Church
Charity Foundation."
He has been for many years a contributor to the " American Quar
terly Church Review." Among the articles most favorably known to
the public are reviews of Sir James Stephens " Lectures on the History
of France ;" Cousin s "History of Modern Philosophy;" the " Char
acter and Writings of Coleridge;" the " Poems of George Herbert, 5
and the " Alt-Catholic Movement in Europe." Many of his occasional
sermons, Episcopal charges, and convention addresses have also been
published.
* Dr. Littlejohn is one of the ablest preachers in the Episcopal pul
pit. His sermons are thorough in a masterly exposition of the theme,
and equally able in polish and effectiveness of diction. On all subjects
of learned research, on points of church doctrine, and in moral discus
sions, he shows equal ability, and reaches the conviction of his hearers
by the one road of intelligent, eloquent reasoning. His style of deliv
ery is subdued, and exceedingly well disciplined. His words, rather
than himself, are impassioned. Whatever strength his thoughts may
gain from their mode of delivery, never arises from anything like ex
citement in himself, but altogether from a distinct, firm voice, and a
manner which is almost that of authority. His sentences rise into the
grander conception of logic, and they grow touching with pious seri
ousness; he startles the minds and stirs the hearts of others, but he
remains calm and emotionless himself. Avoiding every tendency to
render the preacher conspicuous, he only seeks to make the sermon a
fitting part of man s intelligent worship in the house of the ever-living
God."
Bishop Littlejohn is above the medium height, and has a well-
formed, stately figure. His head is large, with a strikingly intellectual
Forehead, and features remarkably expressive.
Of
t j
Of
CHARLES HENRY DAVIS.
REAR-ADMIRAL CHARLES II. DAVIS, LL.D., a naval officer and
mathematician, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, January 16, 1807.
He was the son of Daniel Davis, an able lawyer of Massachusetts, who
was Solicitor-General of that State for more than thirty years.
In 1823 Charles Henry Dav-is entered the navy as midshipman ;
and for more than half a century his name continued on the rolls of the
Navy Department. Ills first nautical service was performed in the
frigate " United States," which was attached to the Pacific Squadron.
After serving there and on the sloops-of-war "Boston" and "Erie," he
passed his examination and joined the "Ontario," on the West India
Station, in 1830. .Not long afterwards he was promoted to a Lieuten
ancy.
In 1844 he was assigned to duty on the Coast Survey, and remained
in that position until 1849. In 1846-9, while surveying the waters
about Nantucket, he discovered the "New South Shoal" and several
smaller shoals, directly in the track of ships sailing between New York
and Europe and of coasting vessels from Boston. Those discoveries
were thought to account for a number of before unexplained accidents
and wrecks.
During and after his connection with the Coast Survey, he was en
gaged in examining the state of the harbors of Boston, New York.
Charleston, &c. These investigations induced him to study the laws of
tidal action. The result of these investigations was his "Memoir upon
the Geological Action of the Tidal and other Currents of the Ocean,"
and " The Law of Deposit of the Flood Tide." lie also published a
translation of Gauss s " Theoria Motus Corpomm Ccelestium," made
some shorter translations, and was the author of articles on mathe
matical astronomy and geodesy. He originated the " American Nauti
cal Almanac," and superintended its publication from 1849 to 1856,
when he was ordered to active service in the Pacific in command of the
eloop-of-war " St. Mary."
After the commencement of the Civil War, he was made a Captain,
CHAKLES HENRY DAVIS.
and assigned to the flag-ship " Wabash." At the battle of Port Royal,
in which he was Fleet-Captain under Du Pont, he distinguished him
self by unusual discretion and courage.
In November, 1861, the " Stone Fleet" sailed from Boston for
Charleston harbor, where it arrived about the middle of December,
under the command of Captain Davis. This fleet was composed of old
hulks of whaling vessels, freighted with granite. Its purpose was the
effectual obstruction of the harbor of Charleston. This precise and
exceedingly difficult operation Captain Davis successfully accom
plished.
His services in this regard being duly appreciated, he was given
command of the naval flotilla on the Mississippi River, taking the
place of the gallant Foote, who was unable to retain his position in con
sequence of having been severely wounded. That he might regularly
assume this command, he was promoted to the rank of Flag-Officer, in
May, 1862. On the llth of that month he repulsed an attack by the
Confederate flotilla. Then he in turn made an attack, and succeeded,
on June 6th, in capturing or destroying all but one of the enemy s ves
sels. This action was immediately followed by the surrender of Mem
phis. He then joined Admiral Farragut, and was actively engaged in
the naval operations below Yicksburg, where he displayed great skill
and energy. In July he was appointed a Commodore. Together with
General Curtis, he operated in the Yazoo River, with complete suc
cess, in the following August. During 1863 and 1864: he was most
of the time in active service at various naval stations.
When Acting Rear-Admiral Porter returned from the lower Mis
sissippi, Commodore Davis was detached from his command, and or
dered to Washington as Chief of the Bureau of Navigation. He re-
o o
mained at that post until April, 1865, when he assumed charge of the
National Observatory. After a few years service in that capacity, the
Rear-Admiral he having attained that rank in February, 1863, being
second on the list was ordered to the command of the Navy Yard at
Norfolk, Yirginia. In 1873 he was appointed Superintendent of the
United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. This post he held at the
time of his death, which occurred in that city on the 18th of February,
1877.
Admiral Davis unquestionably took rank with the most thoroughly
scientific naval officers of the United States. He was rapid and agile
in his movements, an accomplished gentleman, an agreeable social
companion, and a brave commander.
V,
SERRANUS CLINTON HASTINGS.
SERRANUS CLINTON HASTINGS was born in Jefferson County, New
York, November 22, 1814. His grandfather emigrated from England
to Rhode Island early in the seventeenth century, and afterwards settled
in New York. Robert Collins Hastings, his father, was a well-edu
cated and intelligent mechanic. He was a warm friend and supporter
of De Witt Clinton, after whom he named his son. While that son, the
eldest of his little family, was quite a young lad, the father died, leav
ing his wife and five children destitute.
Young Hastings boyhood was a continued struggle for the necessi
ties of life and for the means of obtaining an education. He was en
abled to study for six years at Gouverneur Academy, and at the age of
twenty he became principal of the Norwich Academy in Chenango
County, New York, where he introduced the Hamiltonian system of in
struction in the languages, the analytical system of mathematics, and
improvements in other branches of education. After teaching one year,
he studied law for a few months with Charles Thorpe, of Norwich.
In 1834 he went to Lawrenceburg, Indiana, where he completed
his legal studies, and in 1836, during the Presidential contest, edited a
Democratic paper, "The Indiana Signal." In December, 1836, lie
went to Terre Haute, Indiana, and in January, 1837, removed to Bur
lington, in the Black Hawk Purchase, now the State of Iowa. He es
tablished himself on the western bank of the Mississippi River, where
the city -of Muscatine now stands. Having been admitted to the bar,
he began the practice of law. Shortly after he was appointed Justice
of the Peace by Governor Dodge, of Wisconsin, with a jurisdiction of
ninety miles, but had only one case brought before him.
Iowa, successively a part of Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin
Territories, was created a separate Territory in June, 1838, and was
admitted to the Union in December, 1846. The first permanent settle
ment in the State was made in 1833, four years before Mr. Hastings
SEKRANTJS CLINTON HASTINGS.
went there. From the date of the first Legislature assembled under the
Territorial government to the admission into the Union as a State, he
was a member of the body, either in the House or Council. At one
time he was President of the Council. As a member of the Judiciary
Committee he reported the celebrated statute, known in Iowa as the
" Blue Book." He was prominent in the " Missouri War," occasioned
by Missouri officials attempting to collect taxes within the limits of
Iowa. After the difficulties were adjusted, Mr. Hastings was appointed
one of the Governor s staff, with the rank of Major of Militia.
In 1846 he was elected a Representative of Iowa in the twenty-ninth
Congress, where, with one exception, he was the youngest member of
the House. In January, 1848, he was appointed Chief-Justice of the
Supreme Court of Iowa, which position he resigned in a little over a
year.
The discovery of gold in 1848 was the turning-point in the fortunes
of California. One of the many who soon became identified with that
important State was Mr. Hastings. He settled in Benicia in 1849.
Not long after he was unanimously elected, by the Legislature, Chief-
Justice of the Supreme Court, and served for two years. In 1851
he received the Democratic nomination for Attorney-General of Cali
fornia. He was elected, and at the end of his two years term of office
retired from public life. The ability he displayed while in public
office, both in Io\va and California, proved his native strength of mind
and character. Through these years he never neglected his own busi
ness affairs. His great wealth and influential position are the result of
his perseverance and practical capability.
Mr. Hastings has spent much of his leisure time in travelling exten
sively in the United States and in Europe. In 1869 he was the guest of
the late William II. Sevvard in his tour of observation through Oregon,
Washington, and Alaska. In August, 1870, Governor Seward com
menced his " Travels Around the World." During his brief stay in
San Francisco he was the guest of Mr. Hastings, who had made the
great commercial metropolis of the Pacific his place of residence.
Mr. Hastings is of active nervous temperament, possesses genial
manners, and an agreeable presence, is tall in stature, of powerful
frame, and has great physical endurance. He is a good Latin scholar,
is blessed with large and liberal views, extended information, and tine
conversational powers.
ft. /3
RUT HER FORD BIE CHARD HAYES.
RUTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nineteenth President of the United
States of America, was born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4, 1822. He
is of Scotch descent. His ancestor, George Hayes, came from Scot
land in 1G80, and settled in Connecticut. Rutherford Haves, the fifth
in descent from him, emigrated from Vermont to Ohio, four or five
years before the birth of the son now holding the office of President.
Rutherford B. Hayes received his education at Kenyon College,
from which he was graduated in 184-2, at the head of his class. Imme
diately after his graduation he began the study .of law in the office of
a prominent practitioner of Columbus, Ohio ; but soon afterwards deter
mined upon a course of study in the Harvard Law School at Cambridge,
Massachusetts. He was graduated from that institute in 1845, and
was admitted to the Ohio bar during the same year. For some time ho
practised professionally at Fremont, and then at Cincinnati, to which
city he removed in 1849. lie became a member of the Cincinnati
Literary Club, among the members of which were many young men
who subsequently became prominent and influential. In 1852 he
married Miss Lucy Ware Webb, a daughter of Dr. James Webb, of
Chillicothe.
Mr. Haves law practice increased with the advance of time, and
he gradually became favorably known in Ohio. His connection with
the " Simmons Murder Case " attracted attention throughout the State.
In 1856 he was nominated for the office of Judge of the Court of
Common Pleas, but did not accept the nomination. In 1858 the
office of City Solicitor for Cincinnati was made vacant by the death
of Judge Hart, and the City Council elected Mr. Hayes to serve through
out the unexpired term. He discharged his duties so acceptably that
at the next election, in 1861, he was chosen a candidate for the same
office. But although he received five hundred votes ahead of his
ticket, he was not elected.
RUTHERFORD BIR CHARD HAYES.
Soon after the commencement of the Civil War, Mr. Hayes waa
appointed Major of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteers. The regiment
went to West Virginia, and was placed on garrison duty. Through the
summer months of 1861, Major Hayes served on General Rosecrans
staff as Judge-Advocate. In October he became Lieutenant-Colonel,
and commanded the regiment throughout the ensuing winter. At
the battle of South Mountain, in September, 1862, he received a wound
in the arm, which disabled him for active duty for several weeks.
Soon after his recovery he was appointed Colonel of the Twenty-third
Regiment. From December, 1862, to the fall of 1861, lie commanded
the First Brigade of the celebrated Kanawha Division, to which the
Twenty-third Regiment was attached. His next promotion was to the
rank of Brigadier-General " for gallant and meritorious service in the
battles of Winchester, Fisher s Hill, and Cedar Creek," to take rank
from October 19, 1864; and he was also brevetted Major-General "for
gallant and distinguished services during tbe campaigns of 1864 in
West Virginia, and particularly in the battles of Fisher s Hill and
Cedar Creek." During the war he was wounded four times, and four
horses were shot under him.
In 1864 General IIa} T es was elected a Representative in Congress,
for the session of 1865- 66. While in the House of Representatives he
made no speeches, but was active in the discharge of his official duties.
He served upon the Committee of Private Land Claims, and as Chair
man of the Committee on the Library. He was also a delegate to the
Philadelphia "Loyalists Convention" of 1866, and to the " Soldiers
Convention," held at Pittsburg. In 1866 he was re-elected to Congress,
but resigned in the summer of 1867, and was subsequently elected
Governor of Ohio. In 1869 lie was re-elected. As chief executive of
the State. Governor Hayes won the respect of all classes. In 1872 he
again became a candidate for Representative in Congress, but was not
elected. In 1875 he became for the third time Governor of Ohio.
Not the least important event of the centennial year was its memor-
nble Presidential campaign. The National Republican Convention,
held at Cincinnati, in June, 1876, nominated Governor Hayes as the
Republican candidate for the Presidency. He was elected in the fol
lowing November, and in March, 1877, entered upon his duties as
Chief Magistrate of the United States.
c <-> rt
SAMUEL OSGOOD.
THE Osgoods, now numerous in America, seem to have sprung from
three of the name, Christopher, John, and William, who came early,
in Old Colony times, from the County of Hampshire, England. They
were probably kinsmen, and the first two perhaps brothers. The name,
apparently, came to England with the Danes, and appeared conspicu
ously there even previous to the Norman Conquest. Christopher
Osgood was the progenitor of that branch of the family to which Dr.
Samuel Osgood belongs, in the seventh generation, and lie came over
in the "Mary and John" to Massachusetts in 1634. Dr. Osgood s
parents were Thomas Osgood and Hannah Stevens, his wife, who went
from their home-farm in Andover, Mass., soon after their marriage, in
1792, to Charlestown, Mass., where Samuel, their twelfth child, was
born August 30, 1812. lie was prepared for Harvard University by
Dr. "Willard Parker, was graduated there in 1832, completed his theo
logical [course at the Cambridge Divinity School in 1835, preached in
the West and South for nearly two years, took charge of the Unitarian
Church in Nashua, N. II. in 1837, was called to the Westminster
Church, Providence, R. I., in 1842, and in 1849 went to the pulpit of
the Church of the Messiah, New York, as the successor of Dr. Orville
Dewey, where he remained twenty years, to the year 1809. lie then
resigned his position, and sought relief from his long and continuous
ministry in a voyage to Europe and in foreign travel. Upon his re
turn he .entered the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church,
which had been for some years congenial to his tastes, and which, as
illustrated by its leading writers and preachers and in its home influ
ences, finally won his love and convictions. This was the church of
his ancestors, and in his opinion the most comprehensive and edifying
of religious organizations. Since that time Dr. Osgood has continued
to occupy the pulpit at intervals and to maintain various professional
relations, but he has not assumed the entire charge of a parish.
SAMUEL OS GOOD.
Dr. Osgood married. May 24, 1843, Ellen Has well Murdock, of Bos
ton, who, on the mother s side, is grand-niece to Susanna Ilaswell, better
known as Mrs. Rowson, the author of " Charlotte Temple " and several
other poetical and educational works which obtained celebrity in their
dav. Dr. Os^ood received the degree of A.M. at Harvard in 1 835. and
O O
S.T.D. in 1857. In 1872 Hobart College conferred upon him the
degree of LL.D.
Dr. Osgood has accomplished a considerable amount of literary
work since he entered the profession in 1835. During his temporary
service in Cincinnati and Louisville, in 1836- 37, ho assisted Dr.
James Freeman Clarke in editing the "Western Messenger." In
Nashua, N. II., he wrote for the "Christian Examiner." With C. J.
Fox lie edited the " New Hampshire Book," and published translations
from De Wette and other authors. While in Providence he wrote
mostly for the "Christian Examiner," the "North American Review,"
and other periodicals, and delivered several careful courses of lectures
that were afterwards published. In New York, while Minister of the
Church of the Messiah, he published " Studies in Christian Biography,"
1851; "God with Men," 1853; " The Hearth Stone," 1854; "Mile
Stones," 1855; "Student Life," 1SGO ; "American Leaves," 1867;
* Christian Worship," in conjunction with Rev. Dr. Farley, 1SG2 ; also
" Book of Vespers," the same year. He also published many sermons
and addresses, among them an Oration before the Alumni of Harvard
University, 1860; Discourse before the Harvard Divinity School,
18 63 ; and the Anniversary Discourse before the New York Historical
Society (1866), of which he was for ten years Domestic Corresponding
Secretary.
Since his withdrawal from the Unitarian denomination, he has writ
ten much for the press, published quite a number of discourses and
addresses, and brought out new and enlarged editions of " The Hearth
Stone "(1875) and "Mile Stones " (1876). His letters from Europe
were continued nearly a year in the " New York Evening Post," and
he has published memoirs of F. D. Maurice, Thomas Crawford, James
Walker, William C. Bryant, Evert A. Duyckinck ; and also centennial
articles upon Coleridge, Spinoza, Rousseau, Voltaire, and others. Ilis
principal contribution to the " Church Congress," of which he has been
an active member, was an "Essay on the Ethics of Art," at Boston,
1876; and lie is at present pursuing studies in preparation for a work
upon a kindred subject, " The Renaissance in America."
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
ULYSSES S. GKANT, the eighteenth President of the United States of
America, was born at Point Pleasant, Clermont County, Ohio, April 27
1822. In 1S39 he entered the military academy at West Point. At
the end of the usual four years course he was graduated, standing in
rank about the middle of his class, and immediately entered the
United States Army as brevet Second Lieutenant of Infantry. JSfot
long after his graduation the Mexican War broke out. He joined General
Taylor on the Rio Grande in 1846, and was in the battles of Palo Alto,
Resaca de la Pal ma, and Monterey. lie was subsequently with the
army of General Scott before Vera Cruz, and participated in every
engagement that occurred betv/een that city and Mexico. For merito
rious conduct at Molino del Rev and Cbapultepec, he received brevets
of First Lieutenant and Captain. After the war he was appointed
Captain while on duty with his regiment in Oregon. In 1854 he resigned
his commission and settled in the vicinity of St. Lonis, Missouri, where
he was for several years engaged in farming. In 1839 he removed to
Galena. Illinois, and entered into business as a manufacturer of leather.
Upon the breaking out of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant was among the
first to offer his services to his country. Governor Yates appointed him
Colonel of the Twenty-First Regiment of Illinois Volunteers, and he
was at once engaged in active service in Missouri. In August, 1861,
he became Brigadier-General of Volunteers, his commission bearing
the date of the previous May, and he was assigned to the command at
Cairo. He at once occupied Padncah, Kentucky, and late in the fol
lowing autumn broke up the Confederate camp at Belmont, opposite
Columbus. In February, 1862, he commanded in an attack on Fort
DoneLson. The Fort was surrendered on the 16th. General Buckner,
the Commander, wrote to General Grant offering capitulation. Grant
replied that no terms would be accepted except an " unconditional sur
render," and that he " proposed to move immediately upon their works."
These expressions have been frequently popularly quoted, and U. S.
Grant has been often said to signify Unconditional Surrender Grant,
ULYSSES SIMPSON GRANT.
For his conduct at the siege and capture of this post he was at once
commissioned Major-General of Volunteers, his rank to date from Feb
ruary 16, 1862. He advanced to Pittsburg Landing, where, while await
ing the arrival of Buell with reinforcements, he was attacked on the
morning of April 6th, by Generals Johnston and Beauregard. After an
obstinately contested battle, Grant was driven back toward the river,
where he made a successful stand. Reinforcements arrived during the
night, the battle was renewed the next day, and the Confederates were
repulsed. In September, 1862, he was appointed to the chief command
in West Tennessee. He led his forces in person at luka on the 19th of
that month, and at the second battle of Corinth. In the Yicksburg
campaign, from November, 1862, to July, 1863, he gained the highest
reputation as a commander. He was appointed Major-General of the
United States Army, July 4, 1863, the date of the capture of Vicksbnrg.
He received the thanks of Congress, and was presented with a gold
medal in honor of his victory over Bragg s Army at Lookout Mountain
and Missionary Ridge, November 24 and 25.
The possession of Chattanooga, which they Boon occupied, gave en
tire control of East Tennessee to the Union forces. In March, 1864,
the hero of Vicksburg and Chattanooga was made Lieutenant-General,
and on the 17th assumed command of the armies of the United States.
He at once commenced the siege of Richmond, which continued until
the spring of 1865, when, on the 9th of April, General Lee surrendered
the Confederate forces to General Grant.
After the close of the war General Grant made Washington his
headquarters, and in July, 1866, was commissioned General of the
United States Army, the rank having been created for him. From
August, 1867, to February, 1868, he was Secretary of War ad interim,.
The National Republican Convention which met in May, 1868,
nominated General Grant for the office of President of the United
States. He was elected the following fall, and was inaugurated March
4, 1869. lie was re-elected for the term 1873-7. Under his adminis
tration the country rapidly recovered from the effects of the late war.
One of the memorable events of this epoch in our national history was
the opening in 1869 of the Pacific Railroad, now known as the Cen
tral Pacific, to distinguish it from other roads crossing the continent.
7 O * }
" The Fifteenth Amendment " was formally announced as a part of
the constitution in March. 1870.
After General Grant s retirement ifrom official life he travelled
extensively abroad, and everywhere received distinguished attention.
Of r*f
VNIYER
Of
WILLIAM CULLEN BETANT.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT, the poet, orator, scholar, and journalist,
was born in Cummington, Massachusetts, November 3, 179-1.
He began to write verses at the age of nine years, and at ten com
posed a little poem for a public school, which was published in a
country newspaper. When he was but thirteen years old, a collection
of his poems was printed in Boston, entitled " The Embargo ; or
Sketches of the Times A Satire." The next year a second edition
was printed, together with the "Spanish Revolution," and it was neces
sary to prefix a certificate of their authorship to satisfy the incredulity
of the public. At Williams College he was distinguished by his fond
ness for the classics. Before the completion of the regular course of
study, he left college to prosecute the study of the law. lie was admit
ted to the bar, and was engaged in the practice of his profession at
Plainfield for one year, and afterwards for nine years at Great Barring-
ton. In 1816 his celebrated poem, " Thanatopsis," which was written
when he was but eighteen years old, appeared. Ris efforts were not
confined to verse ; he contributed a number of prose articles to the
"North American Review," and in 1821 he delivered a didactic poem
on " The Ages," before the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard Col
lege. The same year several of his poems were collected into a volume
and published at Cambridge.
In 1825 Mr. Bryant removed to New York City, and was engaged
as editor of the " New York Review," to which he contributed both
prose and verse. In 1820 he became associated with " The New York
Evening Post," one of the oldest and most influential newspapers in
the city. It was founded in 1801, by William Coleman, an eminent
Federalist. During Mr. Bryant s connection of more than half a cen
tury with the paper, he reversed its politics, making it decidedly
Democratic in opinion. From 1827 to 1830 he was connected with
R. C. Sands and G. C. Verplanck in the editorship of a successful an
nual called "The Talisman." For the " Tales of the Glauber Spa "
he wrote " The Skeleton s Cave " and " Medfield." In 1832 the first
WILLIAM C U L L E 1ST B R Y A 1ST T .
general collection of his poems appeared in New York ; and Wash
ington Irving, then in England, caused it to be reprinted there and
by a eulogistic preface secured the author a European reputation.
Since that time Mr. Bryant s poeins have been collected at intervals
in new editions. He visited Europe in 1834. again in 1845 and 184-9,
and his journal while there, and in the Southern States, the West
Indies, and the Holy Land, was published in a volume entitled " Let
ters of a Traveler." In 1857-8 he made a fourth visit to Europe,
which was described in a series of letters to the " Evening Post," and
published in 1859 as " Letters from Spain and Other Countries." He
devoted several years to translating the " Iliad " and " Odyssey " of
Homer into Englisn blank verse. He took part also in writing a " His
tory of the United States." It has been said of his productions, "they
contain no superfluous word or empty phrase, but are marked through
out by pure, manly, and straightforward English." Some of his ora
tions and addresses have been collected in a volume. A work entitled
" Picturesque America," superbly illustrated, appeared under his editor
ship.
Mr. Bryant, on several occasions, was called upon to speak in pub
lic on the life and services of his eminent countrymen. He pronounced
the funeral oration of Thomas Cole, the painter, and delivered a dis
course on the life and writings of James Fenitnore Cooper. At the
dedication of the Central Park statue to S. F. B. Morse, in 1S71, he
made an address on his life and achievements. The last public demon
stration in which he participated was the unveiling of the Mazzini bust
in Central Park, May 29, 1878. At the close of the ceremonies, which
were in the open air and under the warm sunshine, he accepted an in
vitation to rest himself at the residence of General James Grant Wilson.
As, after a long walk, he reached the top of the steps leading to the
front entrance of his friend s house, he was attacked by syncope, and
fell backwards, striking his head heavily. He was taken to his home,
where he died on the 12th of June, in the eighty-fourth year of his age.
He has been j ustly called the father of American poetry, because he
wrote the earliest classical American poem, although his friend the
poet Richard II. Dana was an older man.
The tributes of respect to his memory came from all parts of the
country and from all classes of people, and the press of Europe joined
in the testimonial Tiie funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. Dr.
Bellows, and commemorative orations were given by Hon. John Bigelow,
the Rev. Dr. Osgood, and Mr. George Wm. Curtis.
HENRY BOWEN ANTHONY.
HENRY B. ANTHONY, United States Senator, was born in Coventry
Rhode Island, April 1, 1815. His ancestors were among the oldest in
habitants of that state, their Anglo-Saxon blood and Quaker principles!
at once indicating their origin and their character. Receiving a classical
education, Mr. Anthony was graduated at Brown University in 1833.
In 1S3S he assumed the editorial charge of " The Providence Journal,"
and soon gave evidence in its columns of his good sense, his practical
energy, and his varied learning, spiced with a refined humor that en
listed the attention of readers. He was a decided, outspoken partisan,
yet his editorial articles were free from that spirit of acrimony which so
often disfigures American journalism, and he was a fair exponent of
the principles of the glorious old Whig party, ever directing the fluctu
ating current of public opinion into safe channels. A stalwart cham
pion of Rhode Island, of her sons and daughters, of her traditions and
her institutions, it was not strange that the y n ung editor became a gen
eral favorite in his native State.
In 1849 Mr. Anthony was elected Governor of the State of Rhode
Island, and he was re-elected in 1S50, but he declined being a candi
date for a third term. Retiring from the gubernatorial chair he again
O O G>
devoted his whole time to his editorial labors until 1859, when the Re
publicans of Rhode Island elected him United States Senator, to suc
ceed Hon. Philip Allen, a Democrat. He took his seat in the Senate
on the fifth of December, 1859, and has since continuously occupied
it, having been successively re-elected in 1863, in 1871, and in 1877.
He is now the Pater Senatus.
Gov. Anthony s editorial labors qualified him for his senatorial
duties. A man may be born a senator as a man may be born a poet, bnt
it is almost as rare an event, yet there can be no better training for the
high position than to have successfully conducted for years as Gov.
Anthony had a leading journal, and to have acquired the art of har
monizing opinionated contributors and ambitious politicians. He waa
soon valued as an industrious worker on committees which shape legis
lation, and he has always been a favorite in the diplomatic and home
H E N K Y BO WEN ANTHONY.
circles of Washington, wit and learning embellishing his brilliant con
versation, while his social virtues give to his life a rare beauty.
At the outbreak of the great Rebellion Gov. Anthony took a de
cided stand in defence of the Union. Although a conservative, and by
birth and by education a lover of peace, he faced the secession move
ment with unflinching firmness, and advocated its unconditional defeat.
The sagacity which prompted, the decision which nerved, and the reso
lutions which supported him are stamped upon the congressional annul a
of the war for the suppression of the rebellion ; and the soldiers and
Bailors of Rhode Island will ever cherish their recollections of his pa
triotic generosity.
Gov. Anthony was chairman of the Senate Committee on Public
Printing during the eighteen years of Republican ascendency in that
body, from 1801 to 1870, during which time great improvements were
made, under his careful direction in the execution of the work, while
its cost was greatly diminished. He has also been, since 1863, a promi
nent member of the Committee on Naval Affairs, and he has served on
several other committees. Displaying rare abilities as a parliamenta
rian and as a presiding officer, and deservedly popular among his associ
ates in the Senate, Gov. Anthony was elected in March, 1863, president
pro tempore of that body, and was re-elected in March, 1871, serving
for four years.
Gov. Anthony is not a frequent speaker, but when he does address
the Senate he is always listened to with attention. Ilis eloquence is
practical and sensible, unadorned with worthless verbal embroidery,
yet throughout its solid senatorial sentences there is a classic grace that
charms the ear, while his dignified presence, pleasing manner, and
pleasant voice aid in gratifying the audience. He has been especially
happy in his remarks in the Senate when funereal honors have been
paid to deceased Members of Congress whose virtues, public services, and
acquirements he has commemorated in undenled English. These fune
real discourses are not merely scholarly productions, but the heartfelt
expressions of a generous colleague, vitalized by sympathy, yet not en
ervated by sentimentality pearls and golden beads strung upon a
black thread. And the crowning characteristic of Gov. Anthony s loni*
o tJ >
public career, as Editor, as Governor, and as Senator, is, that he has in
variably regarded with kindly tolerance those who have been his most
earnest political opponents, thus carrying out the maxim of the faith of
his fathers : " Always treat your enemy of to-day as if he might be
come your friend of to-morrow."
OF
UNW
6Lts
7
V
BAYARD TAYLOR.
BAYAED TAYLOR, the celebrated American traveller and author, was
born in Kennett Square, a village in Chester County, Pennsylvania,
January 11, 1825. He was the son of a fanner, descended from a
Quaker family, who were among the first emigrants to that State, and
associated with William Penu. He received a common school educa
tion, and at the age of seventeen became an apprentice in a printing-
office in Westchester. He employed his few leisure hours in studying,
and in writing verses, in which he was cordially encouraged by such in
valuable friends and counsellors as N. P. Willis, Parke Godwin, and
Horace Greeley. In 1844 he collected his poems into a volume entitled
" Ximeria." Having conceived the purpose of a pedestrian tour in
Europe, he secured employment as contributor during his absence to
some of the leading American newspapers, and commenced his ad
venturous journey in 1844. After about two years of travel and study
he returned to his native country, and published an account of his ex
periences in " Views Afoot," an agreeably written volume.
In 1848 Mr. Taylor published his " Rhymes of Travel." In the
same year he became permanently connected with the " New York
Tribune." The following year he visited California, returning by way
of Mexico in 1850. His " Eldorado ; or Adventures in the Path of
Empire," describes this visit. His " Book of Romances, Lyrics, and
Songs" appeared in 1851, in which year he commenced a protracted
tour in the Old World, including a journey of four thousand miles in
the interior of Africa, lie also travelled in both Europe and Asia.
While in China he was attached to the American Legation for two
months, and then accompanied Commodore Perry s squadron to Japan.
He reached New York near the close of the year 1853, having accom
plished more than fifty thousand miles of travel. The descriptive let
ters contributed to the columns of the " New York Tribune" during
his journey, furnished materials for several of the books of travel he sub
sequently published. In 1858 his narrative of a journey performed in
BAYAED TAYLOR.
the winter of 1856-7, entitled, " Northern Travel, Summer and Winter
Pictures of Sweden, Denmark, and Lapland," appeared. He also pub
lished " Travels in Greece and Russia, with an Excursion to Crete."
In 1862 Mr. Taylor was appointed Secretary of the American
Legation at St. Petersburg, and for some time acted as Charge
d Affaires. He retired from the office in 1863, and the ensuing year he
published " Hannah Thurston : A Story of American Life." This was
followed in 1865 by " John Godfrey s Fortunes, related by Himself."
About the same time his " Poems of the Orient," " Poems of Home and
Travel," " The Poet s Journal," and a general collection of his " Poetical
Works," were published. His other principal works are " The Picture
of St. John," a poem of artist life ; " The Ballad of Abraham Lincoln ; "
" The Masque of the Gods ; " " Lars : A Pastoral of Norway," dedicated
to the poet Whittier ; " Colorado, a Summer Trip ; " " Frithiofs Saga ; "
"Byways of Europe; " and a translation of "Faust," which has been
accepted as the best reproduction of Goethe in the English tongue. In
1872 he assumed the editorship of the " Illustrated Library of Travel,
Exploration, and Adventure," a series of duodecimo volumes containing
a connected compilation of what is known of various lands and races.
He also contributed largely to many magazines, periodicals, and jour
nals, and delivered numerous lectures.
In April, 1878, Mr. Taylor, having been appointed Minister Pleni
potentiary near the Court of the German Empire, sailed from the port
of New York amidst such demonstrations of popular favor as few other
men have received under similar circumstances. His appointment was
as welcome to the German people as it was to his appreciative country
men. For many years it had been his chief literary ambition to write a
comprehensive biography of Goethe, and he anticipated that his posi
tion as American Minister at Berlin would afford very desirable facilities
for investigating the personal history of this German celebrity. But
his contemplated task was destined not to be completed. His death
occurred at Berlin on the 19th of December, 1878.
The tidings of Mr. Taylor s death were received with universal sor
row in his native country. Unusual lion >rs were paid to the memory
of the deceased Minister, not only by American poets, scientists, and
men of letters, but by many distinguished foreigners, who were num
bered among his warm personal friends and admirers. His remains
were received in New York, March 13th, 1879, with appropriate public
respect and distinction, and were subsequently conveyed to their final
resting-place near his home at Cedar-croft, Pennsylvania.
Of 7 n
UNIVERSITY \
ROBERT BONNER.
ROBERT BOXNER, the editor and proprietor of the "New York Led
ger," was born within twelve miles of the city of Londonderry, Ireland,
April 28, 1824, and descends from Scotch Presbyterian ancestry.
An uncle in this country wrote to the family, inviting Mr. Boimer s
older brother to emiorate to America. The invitation was gravely re-
ZD ~ /
ceived by the young man, and he half declined its acceptance, when
some one said jocosely, " Let the old man go with him." The " old
man " (as Robert was then called in his father s family) was a stripling
of fifteen years. lie turned the joke into sober earnest, and in 1S39
arrived in Hartford, Connecticut, where he found his uncle a prosperous
farmer and large land-owner within the city limits.
Soon after his arrival in the New World, young Bonner entered the
office of the " Hartford Courant " as an apprentice to the printer s
trade. He quickly learned this business, and before long could set up
more type in a day than any other man in the State. In 1844 he left the
office of the " Hartford Courant " with a thorough knowledge of press-
work, and went directly to New York, in which city he still resides.
After some delay Mr. Bonner obtained employment in connection
with the " Evening Mirror," which was edited by the poets N. P. Wil
lis and George P. Morris. In this new situation Mr. Bonner soon
gave proof of his literary taste and ability, by contributing to the
" Hartford Courant " at first with a nom-de-plume brief sketches of
noteworthy incidents in the daily life of New York. The way thus
opened, he soon became the New York correspondent of newspapers
published in Albany, Washington, and Boston.
Mr. Bonner next became engaged in the office of the " Mercnants
Ledger." After a short time, during which he was employed in the
advertising department, he hired the type of the " Ledger," and not
only printed that paper for the proprietor, but two other weeklies.
When the owner decided to dispose of his interest in the " Merchants
EOBEKT BONNEK.
Ledger," which was at that time not a prominent paper, Mr. Bonner
purchased it. Under his able management the name was changed to
that of the "New York Ledger," and it gradually advanced to the high
position it now occupies. Soon after it came into his possession he re
solved "to graft the Ledger on a literary basis." He succeeded in
securing many prominent and popular contributors to the columns of
his paper. Among them were " Fanny Fern " (Mrs. James Parton),
and many leading writers of this and other countries. Mr. Everett, in
his valuable contributions to the " Ledger," which were afterward
published as " The Mount Yernon Papers," thus referred to Mr. Bon
ner and his enterprise: "It may be mentioned as the most extraordi
nary, the most creditable, and, as an example to others, the most salu
tary feature of Mr. Bonner s course, that in the entire progress of this
great enterprise, and in its present management, he has never signed or
endorsed a note of hand, nor borrowed a dollar ; and that in every part
of his immense establishment, Sunday is a day of rest."
By his industry and sagacity Mr. Bonner has acquired a large for
tune, a goodly proportion of which he devotes to the benefit of his
fellow-men. Large sums have been given to aid in erecting a gymna
sium for the students of Princeton College, to those sufferers by the
Chicago fire who were connected with the newspaper business, and to
numerous churches. In addition to all this, thousands of dollars have
been expended in charitable gifts, known to none but donor and
recipients.
Mr. Bonner indulges his own wishes in one respect. His ambition
is to own the best trotting horses in the world, arid in this aim he is
successful. His stables contain the finest collection of thoroughbreds
in the United States, if not in the world. They are never allowed to
take part in public races, but are solely for the pleasure of the owner,
who visits them each day and drives them himself.
" Mr. Bonner is five feet seven and a half inches in height, and
weighs one hundred and seventy-five pounds. He is broad-shouldered,
broad-chested, straight, firm, and well proportioned. He has a resolute,
determined step, and walks with an air of decision. He has a remark
ably large head, and a massive forehead. Brilliant hazel eyes, well
set, sparkle with every word he utters. His hair is dark brown, and of
fine quality. His full beard is sandy, darkly shaded. His skin is fair.
The nose is keen and pointed. The mouth is small, with two rows of
as fine white and evenly set teeth as were ever seen. His manner is
cheerful, frank and open, and his address free and courteous."
//
<z>
JOHN SUMMERFIELD.
WILLIAM SUMMERFIELD, the father of the celebrated preacher, waa
a native of Devonshire, England. After filling various situations of
trust in England and Ireland, he emigrated with his family to the
State of New York, where he died in 1825.
John Summerfield was born in Preston, Lancashire, England,
January 31, 1798, and almost from infancy exhibited remarkable pre
cocity of intellect. At the age of five years he was sent to school, and
before twelve months had elapsed was considered the best reader in
the entire school. When but six years old he attended a school about
twenty miles distant from his home. He was next placed under the
instruction of Mr. Berry, of Preston, who pronounced him the best
grammarian of his age with whom he was acquainted.
Like most boys young Summerfield was fond of play, and his
unusual aptitude for rapidly committing his lessons to memory afforded
ample time for recreation. His father determined to spare no ex
pense in educating a son of such promise, and accordingly sent him
to a celebrated seminary at Fairfield, an extensive Moravian establish
ment about four miles from Manchester, England. After five years of
study at this institution, his father s pecuniary misfortunes recalled
him to his home, where he at once made himself practically useful in
various ways. In the year 1810, he opened a night-school. Among
the pupils who presented themselves were young men nearly twice his
own age. The school continued in successful operation until the re
moval of the teacher to Liverpool, in the following year. In that city
he became clerk in a mercantile establishment, being principally em
ployed in conducting the French correspondence of the house.
After the removal uf the family to Dublin in 1812, young Mr. Sum-
merfield s conduct foi several years occasioned great distress and anx
iety to his friends. He fell into evil companionship and very irreg
ular habits of life. Generous and credulous, he could never refuse
assistance to an unfortunate friend. His imprudence in this respect
JOHN SUMMEEFIELD.
often invo ved him in serious difficulties. At one time be was in
prison in Liverpool for seven months in consequence of accepting bills
for the accommodation of business acquaintances. Throughout four
years of idleness he at times experienced the deepest remorse and
penitence. Abandoning his disreputable courses at the age of nineteen
years, lie joined the Wesleyan Methodists.
After Mr. Summerfield became a member of the Methodist society
he frequently delivered exhortations at prayer-meetings and elsewhere,
and expounded given passages of Scripture at religious conversation
meetings. His first regular public preaching was in Dublin, in April,
181S. He rapidly attained popularity, and preached almost incessantly
in Cork and its vicinity. Suffering seriously from ill-health, he
passed the summer of 1820 in England with a hope that change of air
and scene would be beneficial. lie returned in August and continued
to occupy various pulpits in Cork and its vicinity until the middle of
the following October, when he became alarmingly ill. In a few
weeks, however, he so far recovered as to attempt a sea-voyage by the
advice of his physicians. His father had long contemplated removing
to America, and his son s continued ill-health finally decided him to
cross the Atlantic with his family. They arrived in New York in
March, 1821. For the four succeeding years young Mr. Summerfield
was employed in the itinerant ministry of the Methodist Episcopal
Church of the United States.
Soon after his arrival he was received as a preacher by the New
York Conference, and at once became unprecedentedly popular in the
city of New York. His eloquence attracted crowds of auditors, among
whom were persons of all sects and creeds. Ministers of almost every
denomination invited him to preach for them. In 1822 he visited
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, in each of which cities he
preached to immense congregations.
Mr. Summerfield s health becoming still more feeble, he went to
Paris in December, 1822. After visiting England, he returned to
New York City in April, 1824, not much improved in health; but
still continued to travel and to preach with unabated success, almost
to the time of his death, which occurred June 13, 1825.
Mr. Summerfield was one of the founders of the American Tract
Society, and was a member of its Publishing Committee. He was
also President of the Young Men s Missionary Society.
The degree of A. M. was bestowed upon him in 1822, by Princeton
College, New Jersey
PETER STUYVESANT.
NEW YORK, " The Empire State," ranks first in the American Union
in commerce, internal improvements, population, and wealth. The
first permanent settlements made in the State consisted of two small
trading forts erected on the Hudson River by emigrants from Hol
land, and a few dwellings built on Manhattan Island, where New York
City, then called New Amsterdam, now stands. This colony received
the name of " Nieuw Nederlandt," or New Netherlands. In 1625 the
Dutch West India Company sent out Peter Minuit, or Minnewit, as the
first director or governor of New Netherlands. lie returned to Hol
land in 1632, and the following year he was succeeded by WouterVan
Twiller. After his removal from office in 1637, William Kieft was
appointed in his place. Kieft was recalled in 1645, and was followed
by Peter Stuyvesant, the last and ablest of the four Dutch Governors,
who entered upon his duties in 1647.
Peter Stuyvesant was the son of a clergyman in Friesland, Holland,
where he was born in 1602. He was educated for the ministry, but
eventually decided to enter the army, where he rose to distinction. He
served in the West Indian war of that period. Subsequently the West
Indian Company appointed him director or governor of the Island of
Cura<joa. In 1644 he led an unsuccessful expedition against the Por
tuguese Island of St. Martin, and lost a leg in the engagement. Return
ing to Holland for surgical aid, he soon after received the appointment
of governor of New Netherlands, and arrived there in May, 1647.
When Governor Stuyvesant arrived in New York he found public
affairs in confusion, in consequence of the mismanagement of the pre
vious administration, and at once commenced vigorous measures for re
storing order. He was a strict and vigilant officer, and an aristocrat
o o
by birth and education, while the sentiments of the people in general
were strongly Democratic.
In the spring of 1638, Peter Minuit, the ex-director of New Neth
erlands, brought over a number of Swedes to establish a colony in the
New World. They made their first settlement in Delaware, on a tract
TETEIl STUYVESANT.
of land lying near Wilmington, which they called New Sweden.
Governor Stuyvesant exerted all his energies in pi-eventing what lie
considered encroachments upon the territory under his command. lie
laid claim to all the lands and streams from Cape Henlopen to Cape
Cod. The Puritans of New England had also encroached upon the
possessions of their Dutch neighbors. Through the promptness and
^skilful diplomacy of Governor Stuyvesarit, the difficulties arising from
these conflicting claims were amicably settled, and a boundary line was
agreed upon with Connecticut. Most of the other disputed boundaries
between these two nationalities were also adjusted to their mutual sat
isfaction. Heading an armed force, Governor Stuy vesant now marched
against the Swedes, and in 1655 captured the Swedish fort, Casimir
(afterwards known as New Castle), in Delaware Bay. The Swedes thus
intimidated submitted to the warlike Hollander, and for some time con
tinued under the authority of the Governor of New Netherlands.
In 16(M Charles II., of England, ignoring the claims of the Dutch
to New Netherlands, conferred a grant upon his brother, the Duke of
York and Albany, which included all the mainland of New England,
beginning at St. Croix and extending to the Connecticut and Hudson
rivers, together with the said river called Hudson s River, and all the
lands from the west side of Connecticut River, to the east side of Del
aware Bay." There were in the Dutch colony some English emi
grants who persistently demanded rights and privileges of self-
government similar to those enjoyed by the people of Connecticut.
Their bearing and influence was a source of great annoyance to Gov
ernor Stuy vesant, who was strongly opposed to Democratic institutions.
At this juncture an English fleet came to anchor in the harbor of New
Netherlands, and demanded the surrender of the town in the name
of the Duke of York. " Stout-hearted old Peter pleaded with his
council to fight. But in vain. They rather liked the idea of English
rule. The surrender was signed, and at last the reluctant governor at
tached his name. In September, 1664, the English flag floated over
Manhattan Island. The colony was named New York in honor of the
proprietor." After Governor Stuyvesant had thus been deprived of his
command, he went to Holland to report to his government, and subse
quently returned to the city of New York, where he spent the re
mainder of his life in retirement on his farm, lie died in August,
1682. His remains were deposited within the walls of the Second Re
formed Dutch Church of New York City, which was erected en the
ground now occupied .by St. Mark s Church.
CORNELIUS YANDERBILT.
COMMODORE CORNELIUS YANDERBILT, the " Railroad King," waa
born on Staten Island, May 27, 1791. His ancestors for three genera
tions had lived and died in the same neighborhood. Thev came ori^i-
~ / o
nally from Holland, and in the pages of an old Dutch Bible, still pre
served, is written the record of the family for over two hundred years.
Cornelius Vanderbilt spent the days of his childhood in Port Rich
mond, his native town. An active boy, fond of a stirring out-door life,
books and learning did not receive much attention from him. His
studies, in fact, were confined to reading, writing, and the rudiments
of arithmetic. He worked on his father s farm, sailed on his market
boat, which made constant trips to New York City, and, in one way
and another, found plenty to occupy his time. During his boyhood
his father procured several boats, in which he used to carry passengers
to and fro between Staten Island and the great metropolis, thus estab
lishing a general system of ferriage. When about fifteen years old, Cor
nelius thought it was time to commence business on his own account.
Consulting his mother, who did not seem very much in favor of the
plan, she at last reluctantly promised him one hundred dollars, if he
would plough, harrow, and plant an eight-acre lot within a certain
number of days. Cornelius, nothing daunted, accepted the terms, and
at once began the seemingly impossible feat. Letting some boy friends
into the secret, they willingly agreed to help him, and at the specified
time the task was completed. Scarcely was his reward received, when
he invested it in a craft smaller than the average used for the purpose,
but more manageable and much faster. The young ferryman was suc
cessful from the first. His boat was patronized by passengers, and he
occasionally carried freight. During the war of 1812, he frequently
transported sick and wounded soldiers from the forts to the city. As
business increased, he built other boats. The introduction of steam
boats into New York and New Jersey waters soon started rival lines.
One of the first gentlemen to own one of these new vessels was Mr.
Thomas Gibbons. In 1817 he engaged Cornelius Vanderbilt as cap
tain of a small steamer, at a salary of one thousand dollars a year.
CORNELIUS VANDEEBILT.
He spent twelve years in the service of Mr. Gibbons, and in that time
mastered the system of steam navigation. For the next twenty years
he continued in the same business on his own account. During that
period he built a very large number of steamboats, and established
steamboat lines on the Hudson, Long Island Sound, and elsewhere.
In 1851, having previously obtained from the Government of Nic
aragua a charter for a Ship Canal and Transit Company, the " Commo
dore," as the public styled him, opened a new line from New York to
California by the way of Nicaragua. Under his management, the
route became a favorite one, and the price of passage was reduced one-
half. He constructed very many first-class steamers for both the At
lantic and Pacific sides of this line. In 1853 he sold his steamers to
the Transit Company. In 1856 he was chosen the President of the
Company. He built the steamship " North Star," furnished it, took
his family and made the tour of Europe, for a pleasure trip. This was
the first steamer fitted with a beam engine that ever attempted to cross
the Atlantic. In 1855 he established an Independent lire between
New York and Havre. Among the new steamships built for this
line, was the " Yanderbilt," which cost eight hundred thousand dollars.
In 1802, when the United States navy needed large and immediate
additions, the Commodore made this magnificent vessel a present to
the Government, for which Congress passed a resolution of thanks.
In 1863, Mr. Yanderbilt was chosen President of the L\-^\v York &
Harlem Railroad Company. He had been connected with this road
(the first running from New York City) for several years, first as stock
holder, and then as a director. About this time he disposed of the
last of his steamships, and afterward gave his undivided attention to
railroad matters. In 1865, he was elected President of the Hudson
River Railroad Company, while holding the same office on the Ilar-
lem. Before long, he obtained a controlling interest in the Central
Company, a rival line, and in 1868 was elected its President. The next
year the Central and Hudson River Railroads were consolidated into
one company, called the New York Central and Hudson River Rail
road of which Commodore Vanderbilt was President.
Mr. Yanderbilt died in his home in New York City, January 4,
1877. During his eighty-two years of life he had amassed immense
wealth. At the time of his death his property was calculated at
seventy millions of dollars, and may possibly have reached one hun
dred millions.
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN.
Jonx C. CALHOUN, LL.D., one of the most eminent statesmen of
his time, was born in Abbeville District, South Carolina, March 13,
1782. His father, Patrick Calhoun, a native of Ireland, and a man of
great energy and resolution, commanded a company for frontier de
fence in the Revolutionary War. His mother, Martha Caldwell, was
of Scotch-Irish descent. Even in boyhood he gave promise of future
eminence. Grave, thoughtful, and fond of reading, he devoted him
self to substantial works, to the entire exclusion of light literature.
Though naturally an ardent and earnest student, he received little sys
tematic education until he had almost reached years of maturity. After
a short time spent in preparation, he entered the junior class at Yale
College, in 1802, and was graduated with high honors in 1804. "While
Cj / * O O
there, he won the high admiration and esteem of Dr. Dwight, then
president of the institution. Upon the completion of his college course
he commenced the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1807, and
at once commenced legal practice in his native district.
As early as 180S Mr. Calhoun entered public life, his career extend
ing over a period of more than forty years. lie was elected to a seat
in the State Legislature, and after serving two sessions with ability and
distinction, was chosen to represent his district in Congress. Immedi
ately after taking his scat he was appointed by the Speaker, Henry
Clay, one of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. He was greatly in
strumental in procuring the declaration of war with England in 1812,
and was an able supporter of President Madison s administration. His
speech on the Loan Bill, in 1S14, was one of his most eloquent and
patriotic efforts. As chairman of the committee on national currency,
he, in 1816, introduced the bill to establish a National Bank. After
six years of important service in the House of Representatives, he was
called to the Cabinet of President. Monroe, as Secretary of War. He
held that office throughout Monroe s administration, and by his admir
able management thoroughly systematized the affairs of the Depart-
ment. In 1825 he was elected to the Vice-Presidency of the adminis
tration of John Quincy Adams, at the termination of which he con
JOHN CALDWELL C A L H O U 1ST .
tinned in the same office with President Jackson. In 1831 he resigned
the Vice-Presidency to become the successor, in the United States
Senate, of Robert Y. Ilaynes, who vacated his place to become Gov
ernor of South Carolina. Mr. Calhoun took his seat as the acknowl
edged champion of Nullification. One of his most powerful oratorial
efforts was made against the celebrated Force Bill. " As the presiding
officer of the Senate he was punctual, methodical, and accurate, and
had a high regard for the dignity of the body which he endeavored tc
preserve and maintain. His views of the tariff, his opinions in regard
to slavery, and the many and exciting questions connected with it, are
well known. lie shaped the course and moulded the opinions of the
people of his own State, and of some other Southern States, upon all
these questions. Amid all the strifes of party politics, there always
existed between him and his political opponents a great degree of per
sonal kindness." Webster, one of these antagonists in debate, but a
warm friend, said of him : " lie had the indisputable basis of all high
character, unspotted integrity, and honor unimpeaehed." That distin
guished statesman delivered an eloquent tribute to his memory when
his death was announced in the Senate. At the end of the term lie
retired to private life. In 1843 he succeeded Mr. Upshur as Secretary
of State, and upon the close of Mr. Tyler s administration he was re
turned to the Senate. His last speech was on the slavery question, but
his health was so infirm that it was read by a friend, March 4, 1850.
He died on the 31st of that month. From 1811, when he entered Con
gress, until his death, he was rarely absent from Washington.
"In person he was tall and slender. His features were harsh and
angular in their outlines, presenting a combination of the Greek and
the Roman. His countenance, when at rest, indicated abstraction or a
preoccupied air. and a stranger on approaching him could scarcely
avoid an emotion of fear, yet he could not utter a single word before
the fire of genius blazed from his eyes and illuminated his expressive
features. His individuality was stamped upon his acute and intelligent
face, and the lines of character and thought were clearly and strongly
defined. lie was easy in his manners, affable, and dignified. He was
kind, generous, charitable, honest, frank, and faithful to his friends, but
somewhat inclined to be unforgiving toward his enemies, lie was at
tached to ills principles and prejudices with equal tenacity; and when
he had adopted an opinion, so strong was his reliance upon the correct
ness of his own judgment that he often doubted the wisdom and sin
cerity of those who disagreed with him."
ANDREW JACKSON.
ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh President of the United States, was a
remarkable man, who possessed " great virtues and great defects/ He
was of Scotch-Irish descent, and was born in. Waxham, South Carolina,
March 15, 1767. His father died before he was born, and his mother
was very poor. His boyhood was devoted to athletic and out-of-door
sports. He was not fond of study, and the opportunities offered him
were not improved as they should have been. About the age of four
teen he enlisted in the Continental Army of the Revolution, in which
his two brothers were killed. He was with Sumter when defeated at
Hanging Rock, in 1780. In 1781 he was captured by the British, and
for refusing to clean the commander s boots received two wounds from
a sword and was sent to prison, where he contracted small-pox. His
mother effected his exchange, but died shortly afterward. Left en
tirely destitute, young Jackson tried various employments, indulging
in the meantime in the wild sports and dissipation of the day. He
finally settled down to the study of law, and was admitted to practice
in Western North Carolina, now Tennessee, in 1786. When that- part
of the country became a territory, in 1790, President Washington
appointed him Attorney of the United States for the new district. He
was one of the delegates to the convention at Knoxville for forming
the State Constitution at Tennessee, and when it was admitted to the
Union, in 1796, he was chosen its first representative in Congress. He
made the journey of eight hundred miles to Philadelphia, where the
sessions of Congress were then held, on horseback. In 1797 he was
chosen a United States Senator to fill a vacancy.
After his return to Tennessee, in 1798, Mr. Jackson was elected a
judge of the Supreme Court of that State. This office he held for six
years. His decisions, though when written were ill-spelt and ungraui-
matical, are said to have been generally right in the main. About the
time he was elected judge, he was chosen major general of the Ten
nessee militia, and held the office until called to the same rank in the
United States service in May, 1814, during the second war with Great
Britain. Soon after the opening of hostilities he joined the army, and
ANDREW JACKSON.
first distinguished himself in the battles with the Creek Indians, who
were allies of the British, at Talladega, in November, 1813, at the
Emuckfau in January, 1814, and at Horse-shoe Bend in March, 1814.
In the summer of that year General Jackson was commissioned to treat
with the subdued tribes and to establish military posts in their country.
By the signal victory he obtained over the British at New Orleans, in
January, 1815, and by his active and vigorous measures for the de
fence of that city, he established his reputation as a general. In 1817
and 1818 he successfully conducted the Semiuole War in Florida, and
soon after resigned his commission in the army. In 1821, President
Monroe appointed him Governor of Florida, which office he resigned
in a few months. In 1823 he was elected, by the Legislature of Ten
nessee, to a seat in the United States Senate. In 1824 he was one of
the four candidates for the Presidency, but was not successful.
In 1828 the " Hero of New Orleans " was elected President of the
United States, by the Democratic party. Upon his inauguration in the
following March, heat once surrounded himself by his political friends,
thus establishing the now popular principle of rotation in office. Dur
ing the first year of his administration there were nearly seven hundred
removals from office, not including subordinate clerks. During the
preceding forty years there had been but sixty-four. He was re-
elected in 1832. The principal events of his memorable administration
were the difficulties with France about the paying of the indemnity, the
suppression of the nullification movement in South Carolina, the war
with the Seminole Indians, and the United States Bank troubles.
"With the masses of the people he was the most popular President, with
the exception of Washington and Lincoln, the country has ever had.
At the close of his administration he retired to his home, the Hermi
tage, near Nashville, Tennessee, where he died June 8, 1845.
The life of Andrew Jackson was unusually replete with exciting
adventures. He was, in every particular, a remarkable man. His
chief intellectual gifts were energy and intuitive judgment. He pos
sessed great firmness and decision of character. He had an instinctive
horror of debt. From early boyhood his hot temper and inflexible
will involved him in constant quarrels, and sometimes in personal en
counters. Though intense in his prejudices, slow to be convinced, and
having many defects of character, " Old Hickory," as he is still called,
was admired for his thorough honesty of purpose and sincere patriotism.
Soon after his retirement from the presidency he became a Christian,
aud his subsequent life was consistent with his profession.
HON. HAKNIBAL HAMLIN.
HANNIBAL HAMLIN.
HANNIBAL HAMLIN, a prominent United States statesman, was born
in Paris, Oxford County, Maine, August 27, 1809. When nearly pre
pared to enter college the impaired health of an elder brother recalled
him from school to assist upon the paternal farm. At the age of
eighteen he commenced the study of law under the direction of another
brother residing in the eastern part of his native State. Little progress
had been made in this respect, however, when the death of his father
necessitated young Hannibal s return home to take charge of the farm,
and for two succeeding years he continued in this position.
About the time he became of age he spent a year in a printing
office as a compositor, and was associated with Mr. Horatio King in
the proprietorship of the " Jeffersonian," a paper printed in his native
town. He then resumed the study of law, at the end of three years
was admitted to the bar, and entered at once on the practice of his
profession. On the very day of his admission he gained a case. In
April of that year, 1833, he removed to Hampden, near Bangor, where
he has since resided. When established in his new location he directly
entered upon a large practice, which he continued for fifteen years j
during that time frequently delivering political and other addresses.
From 1836 to 1840 Mr. Hamlin was annually elected a member of
the Legislature of Maine, and for three of those five years was Speaker
of the House of .Representatives. He was elected a .Representative of
his native State to the Twenty-eighth Congress, and was reflected for
the following term. He served on the Committee on Naval Affairs
and was Chairman of the Committee on Elections. In 184:7 he again
became a member of the House of Representatives in the Maine Leg
islature.
In May, 1848, he was elected to the Senate of the United States for
four years, filling a vacancy occasioned by the death of John Fail-field.
He was reflected for the full Senatorial term in July, 1851, All thse
HANNIBAL HAMLIN.
official positions were bestowed upon him by the Democratic party, and
up to the time of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, in 1854, he
was a member of that party. lie publicly changed his politics in a
speech in the Senate on that celebrated bill, and thenceforward gave
his support to the Republican party, of which he has continued a faith
ful and prominent leader.
In January, 1857, having been elected Governor of Maine as the
Republican candidate, Mr. Hamlin resigned his seat in the Senate. A
little more than a week after his inauguration as Governor it was an
nounced that he was for the third time chosen a Senator of the United
States. Resigning his new office, upon the duties of which he had
scarcely entered, he resumed his seat in the United States Senate.
After his return to Congress he served as a member of the Commit
tees on Commerce and on the District of Columbia.
In 1860 he was unexpectedly nominated by the Republican party
as their candidate for the office of Vice-President of the United States.
In the fall of that year he was elected in connection with Abraham
Lincoln as President. He presided over the Senate from 1861 to 1865
with great ability, and upon the expiration of the term was appointed
Collector of Customs for the Port of Boston, but resigned in the fol
lowing year on account of his disapproval of the policy of President
Johnson. lie was subsequently reelected to the Senate, and took his
seat for the fourth time as a member of that body March 4, 1869.
During his entire service as Senator he was a member of the labo
rious and important Committee on Commerce, of which he was the
chairman for seven years. In this latter capacity he had supervision
of all the great questions and measures affecting the commerce of the
country, both domestic and foreign. Mr. Hamlin displayed in an
eminent degree the qualities of a prompt, intelligent and efficient
business man, with executive abilities of a rare ard hio-h order. He
t o
made it a first object to meet the demands upon him by his own con
stituents and State. Every letter of this sort was promptly attended to
and answered. The draft constantly made upon his time and efforts,
every man who knows anything of the official duties of a Congressman
will be able to appreciate. All parties in Maine demanded these ser
vices of Mr. Hamlin, and they accorded him the praise of fidelity and
efficiency in devotion to their interests.
Mr. Hamlin is a man of dignified presence, of solid abilities and of
unflinching integrity.
JAMES BUELL.
JAMES BUELL, President of the Importers and Traders National
Bank of New York, and also of the United States Life Insurance
Company of New York, was born at Glen s Falls, Warren County,
New York, March 23, 1820. As long ago as 1630, a William Bnell,
of Wales, crossed the ocean, and after a short stay in Massachusetts set
tled in Windsor, Connecticut. The New England families descended
from him have had several members prominent in the history of the
country. Among them were Major David Buell, the late Rev. Dr.
William Buell Sprague, of Albany, General Don Carlos Buell, a com
mander during the late Civil War, and Mrs. Sarah Josepha Hale, the
well-known authoress. At the time of her death, which occurred in
Philadelphia, April 30, 1879, she was about ninety years of age, and
had retained her mental faculties to a remarkable degree. In Novem
ber, 1877, she resigned her position as editress of Godey s " Ladies
Book," which she successfully conducted for fifty years. Her brother,
Horatio Buell, a graduate of Dartmouth University, who was for many
years a judge at Glen s Falls, was the father of James Buell.
Before Mr. James Buell had reached the age of fifteen years he
had lost both his parents. The four following years were spent on the
farm of his grandfather. He then entered a dry-goods store, in Troy,
N. Y. After several years experience as a clerk, he commenced busi
ness for himself in the same city, and for eight years was a successful
merchant, acquiring a high reputation as such. At the expiration of
this time he was induced to become cashier of the Central Bank of
Troy. His connection with this institution lasted five years, when he
accepted an invitation to fill a similar position in the Importers and
Traders Bank of New York City. He entered upon his duties in
1857. His diligent labors to promote the interests of the bank were
appreciated, and in 1865 he was unanimously elected President in
place of Lucius Hopkins, who had then just resigned, after filling the
position since the organization of the bank ten years before.
When Mr. Buell was elected President the bank possessed a capital
of one million five hundred thousand dollars, and a surplus of one hun
dred and fifty thousand dollars, and the market value of its shares was
JAMES B UEL L.
about eight per cent, above par. Under his management the surplus
has increased to more than a million and a half of dollars. During
the same period the market value of the stock has risen two hundred
and six dollars per share of one hundred dollars, while for several
years an annual dividend of fourteen per cent, has been paid to the
stockholders. A distinctive feature of the institution is its allowance
of interest on accounts of banks and bankers. Under this system the
deposits have reached the enormous aggregate of eighteen to twenty
millions of dollars, an amount greatly in excess of that held by any
other bank in the United States.
" Probably no one of the many very able financiers at the head of
New York bank institutions enjoys a larger reputation throughout the
country than Mr. Buell. While in a measure this circumstance is due to
the exceptionally good results of his management as a bank president,
and to the liberal and extended irature of the relations fostered by him
between his own bank and institutions of the interior, the high estima
tion in which he is held at all the money centres is, in a still greater
decree, a recognition of his earnest efforts to harmonize and svstema-
O 7 O f
tize the banking institutions of the Union, and to establish the national
finance upon a permanent and secure policy. In the furtherance of
his well-considered scheme of gradual and sure redemption, Mr. Buell s
public addresses and written papers upon the subject of currency have
added largely to the literature of banking, winning for him a profes
sional credit hardly less pronounced than that awarded to the more
pretentious treatises of Gilbart and Goshen in England."
In 1874 the Committee on Banking and Currency of Congress in
vited Mr. Buell to visit "Washington and unfold his views of a proper
remedial policy before that body. His theory of national credit and
currency impressed the committee and the public, and was emphati
cally endorsed by the ablest political economists of the country. In
1875 the measure known as the Sherman bill was prepared, one
clause of which was the virtual adoption of Mr. Budl s plan for the
increase of national bank circulation. In July of that year the first
meeting of the American Bankers Association was held at Saratoga,
and Mr. Buell was placed at the head of the Committee on Resolutions.
Before the adjournment of the convention, a committee of permanent
organization was formed with Mr. Buell as chairman, and he was after
ward made President of the Executive Council. In 1875 he was elected
President of the United States Life Insurance Company of New York.
Mr. Buell died in his home in New York City, April 4, 1SS1.
JOHN ADAMS DIX.
MAJOK-GENERAL JOHN A. DIX was born in Boscawen, Nevr Hamp
shire, July 24, 1798. He received his early education at the academies
at Salisbury and Exeter, and spent a year in a French seminary in
Montreal, Canada. In 1812 he was appointed a cadet in the Military
Academy at West Point. Before he commenced his professional stud
ies the war with Great Britain began, and he joined the army on the
frontier as an ensign. Within a few months he was promoted to a
third, and then to a second lieutenancy, and also served as acting adju
tant of a battalion. In 1819 he was appointed an aide-de-camp of Gen
eral Brown, and in 1825 he was promoted to a captaincy in the Third
Artillery, but, his health becoming impaired, he obtained leave of absence
and travelled in Europe arid the West Indies. In 1828 he retired from
the army and established himself in Cooperstown, New York, in the
practice of law. lie soon became an active and influential member of
the Democratic party. In 1831 Governor Throop appointed him Ad
jutant-General, a post of duty which he tilled with honor to himself
and advantage to the militia of the State. In 1833 he became Secre
tary of State of New York. While occupying that position he was a
member of the Canal Board and one of the Commissioners of the State
Canal Fund. He was also superintendent of common schools, and a
Regent of the University of the State of New York.
In 1842 Mr. Dix became a member of the State Assembly, and took
a leading part in its proceedings. After making another visit abroad,
lie was elected to the United States Senate to till the vacancy caused
by the election of Silas Wright as Governor of the State of New York.
His term extended from January, 1845, to March, 1849. In that body
he bore a prominent part in the discussions on the annexation of Texas,
the Mexican war, the Oregon boundary dispute, and the question of
slavery in the Territories, upon which he expressed the views of -the
Free Soil Democrats. That party made him its candidate for Governor
of New York in 1848, but he was not elected. Upon the expiration of
his Senatorial term he was succeeded by William II. Seward. He took
an active part in promoting the election of Franklin Pierce to the
JOHK ADAMS T)IX.
Presidency in 1852, and about that time declined, in favor of William
L. Marcy, an offer of the post of Secretary of State. In 1853 he wag
made Assistant Treasurer of the United States in the city of "New
York, but soon resigned.
In 1860 President Buchanan appointed General Dix Postmaster of
the city of New York. In January, 1861, he was appointed Secretary
of the United States Treasury, and held the office until the 6th of the
following March. While serving in this capacity he used the celebrated
phrase with which his name will always be associated. Being informed
that the commander of the revenue cutter "McClelland, 7 at New
Orleans, was about to betray that vessel to the Confederate authorities,
he telegraphed to the second officer to depose him, and, if he should
resist, to treat him as a mutineer. The despatch concluded : " If any
one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot ! "
After the civil war had fairly commenced, General Dix was made
Chairman of the Union Defence Committee, and presided over the
memorable meeting of the citizens of New York in Union Square. In
May, 1861, he was appointed a major-general of United States vol
unteers, and was soon after placed in command of the newly created
Department of Maryland. In June, 1862, he was transferred to Fort
ress Monroe, and subsequently held command of the Department of
the East.
On the organization of the Pacific Railroad Company, General Dix
was elected its President. In 1866 he was a delegate to the National
Union Convention held in Philadelphia. In that year he was appointed
Naval Officer for the port of New York, but soon after received the
appointment of Minister Plenipotentiary to France. After his return
home he was a prominent member of the Committee of Seventy. In
1872 he was nominated by the Republican party as Governor of the
State of New York, and was elected. This was the last public office
he held, but he subsequently took an active part, by speeches or letters,
in the discussion of great national issues. He died at, his home in JSew
York City, April 21, 1879.
General Dix was the author of " Resources of the City of New
York," "Decisions of the Superintendent of Common Schools," "A
Winter in Madeira," " A Summer in Spain and Florence," and two
volumes of speeches. In 1820 he received the degree of A.M. from
Brown University, and that of LL.D. from Geneva College in 1845.
His son, Rev. Morgan Dix, D.D., is a prominent clergyman of the
Episcopal Church in New York City.
;? ^>-v
N
STEPHEN HIGGINSON TYJS T G.
THE names of Stephen II. Tyng, and Stephen II. Tyng, Jan., arc
prominent among those of faithful preachers and workers in the Prot
estant Episcopal Church of the United States. One of these clergy
men has devoted the best years of a long life to his sacred calling, the
other apparently has still many years of active usefulness before him.
Stephen II. Tyng, D.D., the father, and subject of this sketch,
was born in Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 1, 1800, and was grad
uated at Harvard College. For the two subsequent years he \va3
engaged in mercantile pursuits, and then began the study of theology,
which he pursued under the direction of Bishop Griswold. lie was
ordained a Deacon of the Protestant Episcopal Church at Bristol,
Rhode Island, March 4, 1821. lie was for two years rector at George
town, D. C., and afterwards for six years in Queen Anne s parish,
Prince George s County, Maryland. In May, 1829, he removed to
Philadelphia, and became rector of St. Paul s Church in that city. In
1833 he was called to the Church of the Epiphany in Philadelphia.
The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Jefferson College
in 1832, and by Harvard in 1851. In 1845 he succeeded Dr. Milnor
as rector of St. George s Church, New York City. After a ministry
of thirty-three years his impaired health compelled him to retire
from the pastorate, which he did in May, 1878, with the title of Rector
Emeritus. lie was succeeded by his assistant rector, the Rev. Walter
W. Williams. Dr. Tyng has been an active worker in Sunday Schools.
For many years he preached specially to children every Sunday after
noon. St George s Sunday School under his pastorate raised and dis
bursed large sums of money. Among the purposes to which these
funds were applied were the erection of four religious edifices in
Africa, a stone church and school-house in Moravia, and a brick church
and school-house in Caldwell, N. Y. They also sufficed for building,
and furnished two chapels in New York City, and for large contribu
tions to different missions.
STEPHEN IIIGGINSON TYNG.
Dr. Tyng s chief publications are his " Lectures on the Law and the
Gospel ; " " The Israel of God ; " " Christ is All ; " and " Christian
Titles." He has also published " Recollections in Europe ; " " The
Captive Orphan Esther, Queen of Persia;" "Forty Years Experi
ence in Sunday Schools: " "Prayer Book Illustrated by Scripture, in
eight volumes; " The Spencers: A Story of Home Influence ; " " Walk
ing with God ; " and a Memorial of his eldest son, Dudley Atkins
Tyng, D.D. x who was, like Ms father and brother, a clergyman of
the Protestant Episcopal Church, and who died in 1858. For several
years Dr. Tyng edited the " Episcopal Recorder " and the " Protestant
Churchman."
Stephen II. Tyng, D.D., Jun., was born in Philadelphia, June 28,
1839. He was graduated at Williams College in 185S, and studied at the
Episcopal Theological Seminary, in Fairfax County, Virginia. While
pursuing his professional studies he had charge of a mission church in
Georgetown, D. C. The commencement of the Civil War obliged him
to leave Virginia before the completion of the prescribed course at the
Theological Seminary. He was ordained Deacon at St. George s
Church, New York City, May 8, 1861, and was his father s assistant
until May, 1862. He was ordained Priest at Poughkeepsie, N. Y.,
September 11, 1863. Y oung Dr. Tyng was rector of the Church of
the Mediator, New York City, for two years, and then organized a
new parish, which was known as the Church of the Holy Trinity. An
appropriate building was erected on the corner of Forty-second Street
and Madison Avenue, and was consecrated in 1865. Early in 1873 the
old church was torn down, and on Trinity Sunday, June 8, 1873, the
corner-stone of the present edifice was laid on the same site. The
congregation soon became numerous and influential. They support
several mission churches in different parts of the city, and also main
tain a college, or " House of the Evangelists," for the education of
young men for the city mission work. There is a dispensary connected
with the church, where each day two physicians gratuitously give ad
vice and medicine. Several beds in St. Luke s Hospital are also en
dowed by this church.
In 1804 Dr. Tyng accompanied the Twelfth Regiment of New
York to Ilarrisburg, as chaplain.
In 1872 he received the degree of D.D. from Williams College.
o ~
He is the editor of the " Working Church," a weekly journal. He is
a zealous and patient worker, an industrious scholar, an accomplished
elocutionist and an eloquent preacher.
/ " c 8 ,}
CARL SCHURZ.
CARL SCHTJRZ, who has been for several years prominent in the poli
tics of the United States, was born on the second of March, 1829, at Lib-
lar, a village near Cologne, Germany, where his father was a school
teacher. After pursuing the usual course of study at the gymnasium
at Cologne, he entered the University of Bonn. The outbreak of the
revolution of 1848 interrupted the studies of young Schurz, who at
once joined the band of " Unity and Liberty " collected around Pro
fessor Gottfried Kinkel, of Bonn, one of the best known poets of his
da} 7 . The Constitutional Assembly of Germany completed a constitu
tion for the country, but the great powers of Germany and several of
the rulers of the small principalities refused to recognize it. South
western Germany flew to arms in defence of the new constitution,
which was designed to secure the privileges demanded by the people,
and supporters from other parts of Germany joined in the revolt
among them Kinkel and Schurz. The latter entered the army, and at
Rastadt these friends were both taken prisoners. Schurz soon escaped,
and eventually succeeded in liberating Kinkel from the fortress of
Spandan. Schurz then went to Paris, where he became a correspon
dent for German journals, and subsequently to London, in which city he
was a teacher until July, 1852, when he decided to emigrate to America.
Upon his arrival in America, Mr. Schurz established himself in
Philadelphia, where he remained tljree years, and then settled on a
farm in Watertown, Wisconsin. From the time he crossed the ocean,
he devoted himself to studying the politics and language of the conn-
try he had resolved to make his permanent home. The .Republican
party had then just been organized, and he at once became an ardent
member. In the presidential campaign of 1856 he was recognized as
an orator in the German language. In 1858, when Stephen A. Doug
las and Abraham Lincoln were contesting the United States senator-
ship, he delivered his first speech in the English language. It was
published and widely circulated. Mr. Schurz next commenced the
practice of law at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and engaged in a lecturing
tour in the winter of 1859- 60. In 1860 he was a member of the Noini-
GAEL SCHUEZ.
nating Convention at Chicago, and exerted his influence for the nomina
tion of Mr. Seward. In recognition of his services the convention made
him a member of the National Republican Committee. In this posi
tion he was largely influential in determining that portion of the plat
form relating to citizens of foreign origin. During the canvas which
followed, he spoke effectively throughout the Northern States.
Upon the outbreak of the civil war Mr. Schurz proposed to enter
the Union Army, but, soon after Mr. Lincoln s inauguration, was ap
pointed Minister to Spain by the new President. lie returned to the
United States in January, 1862, resigned his office as minister, and
again offered his services to the government as a soldier. They were
accepted, and President Lincoln appointed him brigadier-general of
volunteers in April, 1862, and as such he participated in the battles
fought during that year by the forces commanded by Generals Fre
mont and Pope. He was afterward at the head of a division in the
corps of General Sigel, in which position he distinguished himself at
the second battle of Bull Run. In March, 1863, he was made a major-
general, and fought at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
In 1864 he was active in the campaign for the re-election of Presi
dent Lincoln, and, after the close of the war, in 1865, he was sent by Presi
dent Johnson to investigate and report on the condition of the South
ern States, especially upon the condition of the Freedman s Bureau.
In the winter of 1865- 66, he was the chief Washington corre
spondent of the "New York Tribune." In 1866 he became editor of
a Republican paper in Detroit, Michigan, but soon after exchanged this
position for that of one of the proprietors and editors of the " West-
liche Post," a German Republican paper published in St. Louis. He
took a leading part in the Chicago convention of 1868, of which he
was temporary chairman. In the winter of 1868 the Legislature of
.uissouri elected Mr. Schurz to the Senate of the United States the
highest position attainable by a citizen of foreign birth. In the presi
dential campaign of 1872 he favored the Liberal Republicans, and
advocated the election of Horace Greeley in numerous stump speeches,
delivered in nearly all parts of the country. In the Senate lie assumed
a prominent part in all financial debates, and advocated the resumption
of specie payments. He left the Senate at the expiration of his term,
in 1875, and advocated the election of Rutherford B. Hayes fur the office
of President of the United States in the national campaign of 1676.
In 1877 he was appointed Secretary of the Interior, in the Cabinet
of President Hayes.
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WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD,
THIS eminent statesman was born May 16, 1801, in the town of
Florida, Orange County, New York. In after years lie endowed a
Seminary in his native town, which was named after him, the " Seward
Institute." He was the son of Dr. Samuel S. Seward. At the age
of fifteen he entered Union College, Schenectady, and was graduated
with distinction in 1820. He studied law under John Duer, John An-
thon, and Ogden Hoffman, and was admitted to the bar in 1822. In
1823 he selected Auburn, IS". Y., as his place of residence, and com
menced the practice of law in association with Judge Elijah Miller,
whose daughter he married in 1824. In 1828 he was president of a
State Convention of young men favoring the re-election of John Quin-
cy Adams. In 1830 he was elected a member of the Senate of New
Y r ork. For more than forty years from the date of his election to the
Senate of his native State, Mr. Seward was prominent, not only in the
politics of New York, but of the entire Union. In 1832 he made an able
speech in favor of the United States Bank. In 1833, while travelling
in Europe, he sent home a series of descriptive letters, which were
afterward published in the " Albany Evening Journal." In 1834 he was
the unsuccessful candidate of the Whig party for Governor of New
York, but was again nominated for that office in 1838, and elected.
He was re-elected in 1840. While in the State Senate, and also when
Governor of New York, he supported the policy of internal improve
ment, advocated the abolition of imprisonment for debt, reform in the
courts of law and chancery, the extension of education, and other lib
eral measures. In 1842 Mr. Seward actively resumed his profession,
and practised extensively, chiefly in the United States courts. He
warmly supported Henry Clay for President in 1844, and General Tay
lor for the same office in 1848. He was opposed to the annexation of
Texas. In 1849 he was elected United States Senator from New York.
He was re-elected in 1855, and held that position until he became Sec
retary of State under Abraham Lincoln. He was distinguished through
out his Senatorial terms by his firm resistance to the extension of the
slave power. In March, 1850, he made a speech in favor of the ad-
WILLIAM HENRY SEWAED.
mission of California into the Union. He opposed the Compromise of
1850, and the Fugitive Slave Law. He opposed the Native American
party, ap J was one of the leading founders of the Republican party.
In 1859 he went to Europe for the second time, and visited Egypt
and the Holy Land. He was a prominent candidate for the nomination
for the Presidency in the Republican Convention of 1860. Lincoln
being selected as the candidate of that party, Mr. Seward advocated
his election, in a series of speeches, during an extended tour. He was
called to Mr. Lincoln s cabinet when he became President, and contin
ued to hold the position of Secretary of State until 1869, and exhibited
much ability in relation to foreign policy during the Civil War. Among
the leading .subjects of his diplomacy were the liberation of Mason and
Slidell, an the French invasion of Mexico in 1862.
In the e?irlv spring of 1865, Mr. Seward was seriously injured by
being thrown from a carriage. While still confined to his bed from the
effects of this accident, on the night of President Lincoln s assassination,
Lewis Payne, an accomplice of J. Wilkes Booth, entered the room of
the invalid and inflicted several severe wounds upon his neck and face.
In 1849 Mr. Seward published the " Life and Public Services of John
Quincy Adams." His own life and complete works were published in
four volumes, between the years 1853 and 1862. It was through his
official agency that Alaska was purchased of Russia in 1867.
Being in feeble health, late in the summer of 1870 the venerable
statesman commenced a tour of the world, and was received through
out his entire progress with the most distinguished respect and atten
tion. After his return home he superintended the preparation of a
large volume entitled, " William H. Seward s Travels Around the
World." He died at Auburn, N. Y., October 10, 1872.
Many touching and impressive tributes were paid to his memory, on
the occasion of his obsequies, and in April of the following year a
special Memorial Service was held at Albany by the Legislature of
New York, when an elaborate and eloquent address was delivered by
the Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
It was Mr. Seward s fortune to be opposed, in political opinion, by
many of the eminent statesmen of the period. But, although not so
remarkably endowed by nature in some respects as were several of his
opponents, his singularly elegant and effective rhetoric, and his thorough
acquaintance with the fundamental principles of statesmanship and civil
law, never failed to triumph in debate, and to be admiringly recognized
by all persons of discrimination.
WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK.
MAJOR-GENERAL WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK was born in Mont
gomery County, Pennsylvania, February 14, 1824. Having graduated
at West Point, June 30, 1844, he was appointed Brevet Second Lieu
tenant in the Sixth U. S. Infantry, and promoted to Second Lieutenant
in the same, June 18, 1846. After two years service in the Indian
Territory, he accompanied his regiment to Mexico, and was conspic
uous for gallantry in the actions at the " National Bridge," San An
tonio, Churubusco, Molino del Rey, and assault and capture of the City
of Mexico. He was brevetted First Lieutenant, August 20, 1847, for
"gallant and meritorious conduct at the battles of Contreras and
Churubusco," and was Regimental Quartermaster, until appointed
Adjutant of his regiment, October 1, 1849. Promoted to First Lieu
tenant, January 27, 1853, and Captain and Assistant Quartermaster,
U.S.A., November 7, 1855, he served from June, 1855, as Assistant
Adjutant-General, Department of the West, Headquarters at St. Louis,
Mo. He was in Southern Florida during the last Indian war, 1856,
and in Kansas during the " troubles " there in 1857, and with the Utah
Expedition in 1858, and then marched to California, where the out
break of the Rebellion found him on duty at Los Angelos.
Upon being relieved, at his own request, he hastened to Washing
ton, and was appointed by President Lincoln a Brigadier-General of
Volunteers, September 23, 1861, and assigned to a brigade of the Army
of the Potomac, and was stationed near Lewinsville, Va., during the
fall and winter of 1861-2. In March, 1862, he proceeded to the Pen
insula with the army, and was engaged in the siege of Yorktown from
April 5th until its evacuation, May 4th. On the following day he
led the brilliant charge at " Williarnsburg," capturing Fort Magruder,
several hundred prisoners, and one battle flag. For this gallant service
he was specially complimented by General McClellan in his dispatches.
His conspicuous services at " Gelding s Farm," June 27, 1862,
"Garnett s Hill," June 28th, " Savage s Station," June 29th, "White
Oak Swamp," June 30th, and other battles on the peninsula, led the
General-in-Chief to recommend his promotion to Maior-Geueral of
WINFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK.
Volunteers. During the Maryland campaign of 1862, lie was at
" Crampton s Pass," and in the battle of Antietam was selected to com
mand the First Division, Second Army Corps, after its commander
was mortally wounded. In November, 1862, he was promoted to be
Major-General of Volunteers. At the great and decisive battle of
" Gettysburg," July 1, 1863, he was (after the fall of Reynolds) directed
by General Meade, then commanding the Army of the Potomac, to
assume command of all the national forces on the battle-field, First,
Third, and Eleventh Corps, and Buford s cavalry. On July 2d and 3d
he commanded the left centre of our army, and on the 3d his troops
repulsed the grand final assault of Lee, capturing 5,000 prisoners, 30
stand of colors, and many thousand small arms. At the moment of
victory he was desperately wounded. It was many months before he
could again take the field. Congress, by joint resolution, thanked him
" for his gallant, meritorious, and conspicuous share in that great and
decisive victory."
Upon his return to active duty in May, 1864, he took part in seve
ral successful engagements, and in the famous assault at Spottsylvania,
May 12, captured more than 4,000 prisoners, 20 pieces of artillery, 30
stand of colors, and two general officers ; but his old wound soon com
pelled him to obtain leave of absence for a short time. In June he
rejoined the army and was engaged in several battles. Promoted to be
a Brigadier-General in the Regular Army, he was, in November, 1864.
called to Washington to organize a Veteran corps of 50,000 men. He
was brevetted a Major-General for gallant and meritorious services at
Spottsylvania, and on July 26, 1866, promoted to be a Major-General
U.S.A. His subsequent military service was in command of various
geographical commands, until called, during reconstruction times, to the
command of the important Fifth Military District, with his headquarters
at New Orleans. Relieved at his own request, his subsequent duty
was in the Northwest until called to command the great Military Divi
sion of the Atlantic, with his headquarters at Governor s Island, N. Y.
His administration of affairs in the South during reconstruction, and
his subsequent utterances at Chicago during internal revenue compli
cations, and on other occasions, as to the due subordination of the mili
tary to the civil authority, taken in connection with his splendid
military record, led to his nomination for the office of President of
the United States, by the Democratic Convention, which met at
Cincinnati, in June, 1880.
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GARRET DORSET WALL.
GARRET D. WALL, a lawyer, soldier, and statesman, was born in
Middletown township, Monmonth County, New Jersey, March 10, 1783.
His father, James Wall, an officer in the war of the Revolution, died
when the son was nine years of age. Thereupon he was adopted by
his uncle, Dr. John C. Wall, with whom he resided until the death of
the latter in 1798. He then removed to Trenton, and, having previously
received a fair academical education, entered at once upon the study
of law in the office of General Jonathan Khea, who at that time was
Clerk of the Supreme Court of the State. He was a careful student,
and after passing the requisite examination was licensed as an attorney,
and at once commenced the practice of his profession at Trenton. In
1807 he was advanced to the grade of counsellor-at-law.
In 1812 Mr. Wall was elected Clerk of the Supreme Court for the
term of five years. During his term of office the second war with
Great Britain occurred. He volunteered his services in a company of
uniformed militia, of which he had been a lieutenant for some years.
He was made captain of the Phoenix Infantry Corps, and aided in the
protection of the city of New York. Upon the expiration of his term
as clerk he resumed the practice of law.
Mr. Wall was Quartermaster-General of New Jersey from 1815 to
1837. In 1820 he became sergeant-at-law. In 1822 he was elected,
on a " Union " ticket, to represent Hunterdon County in the lower
branch of the State Legislature, in which body he distinguished him
self by his thorough knowledge of law. Up to this time he had been
an earnest member of the Federalist party, but at length he became a
Democrat, and was among the earliest supporters of General Jackson
for the Presidency. In 1827 he was elected to the General Assembly,
and in 1829 was elected Governor of New Jersey by the Legislature,
but declined the office. The same year he was appointed United States
District Attorney for the State, which station he held for several years,
discharging its duties with ability. In 1834 he was elected, by the
State Legislature, a member of the United States Senate, where he
served during the last two years of Jackson s second term, and the
GARKET DORSET WALL.
entire four years of Van Buren s administration. He condemned the
measures put forth in favor of recharteriug the United States Bank,
and one of the most effective speeches he delivered while a Senator was
in opposition to the advocates for the continuance of that institution.
Upon the expiration of his Senatorial term he returned to Burling
ton, which town had been his home since 1828, and recommenced his
professional practice. In 1843 his health was greatly impaired by a
stroke of paralysis. Pie partially recovered from the attack, and en
gaged in several important cases. He earnestly advocated the meas
ures which culminated in the assembling of a Constitutional Conven
tion in 1844, and was deeply interested in the adoption of the new
Constitution which had been framed by that body. In 1848 he was
made a Judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals, in which position
his extensive learning and research enabled him to reach an impartial
conclusion on the various legal questions submitted to that body. He
was occupying that office at the time of his death, which occurred in
Burlington, New Jersey, November 22, 1850.
General Wall, as he was called from having filled the office of
Quartermaster-General of the State, was of commanding personal ap
pearance. He was a counsellor and pleader of the highest ability.
"As a partisan he was remarkably free from party bitterness, and
never allowed his friendships to be sundered, though his political belief
might condemn the measures advocated by his most intimate and valued
associate. He was an earnest advocate for the cause of education, and
took a lively interest in the establishment of Burlington College, and
was an active member of the Board of Trustees of that institution.
He was eminently distinguished for his hospitality and for his willing
ness to advise all those who sought his counsel, although reaping no
pecuniary benefit from it."
His son, James W. Wall, an able lawyer and politician, was a gradu
ate of Princeton College. His first public position was that of Com
missioner of Bankruptcy. In 1850 he was elected Mayor of Burling
ton, New Jersey. In 1854 he visited Europe, and published a volume
entitled "Foreign Etchings; or, Visits to the Old World s Pleasant
Places." He is also the author of other works. During the early part
of the Civil War he wrote against the administration for interfering
with the freedom of the press, and was imprisoned for a few weeks in
Fort Lafayette. Upon his release he was enthusiastically welcomed
home by his fellow-citizens. He was subsequently elected a member
of the United States Senate from New Jersey.
THOMAS COKE.
THOMAS (JOKE, D.D., LL.D., the first Bishop of the Methodist Church
in America, was born at Brecon, South Wales, September 9, 1747. He
was educated at Oxford University, and after his graduation was elected
mayor of Brecon. In 1775 he received the degree of D.C.L. He soon
after took orders, and obtained a curacy at South Petherton. While in
the exercise of his ministry he made the acquaintance of Mr. Wesley,
an allusion to which, dated August 18, 1776, is found in Mr. Wesley s
journal : " I preached at Taunton, and afterward went with Mr. Brown
to Kingston ; here I found a clergyman, Dr. Coke, late a gentleman com
moner at Jesus College, who came twenty miles on purpose to meet
me. I had much conversation with him, and a union then began which
I trust shall never end."
Dr. Coke s preaching being thought too evangelical, he was dismissed
from his curacy. Uniting with the Wesleyan Methodists, he preached
to immense congregations on the commons and fields of London. In
1780 he was appointed Superintendent of the London Circuit. He
assisted Mr. Wesley in securing a proper deed in chancery that the
churches might be legally held and the societies perpetuated. He also
restricted the conference to one hundred preachers and their successors
forever. In 1782 he was appointed President of the Irish Conference.
In 1784 Mr. Wesley, having been strongly urged by the Methodists of
America to provide a church organization for them, selected Dr. Coke,
and ordained him Bishop for America. Upon his arrival in New York,
in November, 1784, he sought an interview with Francis Asbury, the
result of which was the calling of a conference or general convention
of ministers, at Christmas, for the organization of the church. The
preachers assembled at Baltimore, and by a unanimous vote resolved
to constitute an independent church, to be called the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and elected Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury as bishops ;
whereupon Dr. Coke ordained Mr. Asbury as bishop. After travel
ling through the different conferences in company with Bishop As
bury, he returned to England, in June, 1785, and visited Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland. He subsequently made other visits to the
THOMAS COKE.
United States, which he had designed to make /is home ; but upon
the death of Mr. Wesley the General Conference in America,
at the earnest invitation of his brethren, permitted him to reside in
England. While in America he exercised the functions of a bishop in
ordaining ministers, but in Europe the close connection of the Metho
dist Societies with the English Church rendered it improper to do so.
For many years he presided annually in the Irish Conference, and fre
quently over the English Conference.
Dr. Coke was deeply interested in the missionary cause, and was
successful in planting the church in many places. The first mission
which he established was in the West Indies, in 1786. He was anxious
to have missions established among the Indians, and also among the
Germans in America. Having inherited some wealth, and having that
wealth increased by marriage, he not only supported himself, but spent
a large part of his fortune in laboring for missions, in behalf of which
he collected subscriptions, sent out missionaries, kept accounts, and
made reports until his death. In 1797, during one of his visits to
America, the vessel he was in was taken by a privateer, and he was
most cruelly treated, being plundered of everything but his books. In
1798 he devised a plan of domestic missions for Ireland, and established
a mission in Wales. In 1803 he made his ninth and last visit to
America. Upon his return he established a mission in Gibraltar, and
a few years later one was established at Sierra Leone, through his influ
ence. In 1813 he proposed to the Wesleyan Conference that he would
go personally as a missionary to the Island of Ceylon. The Conference
objecting on account of the expense, he furnished $30,000 from his
private fortune, and, selecting five missionaries, embarked with them
the last of December. After a voyage of four months, and when it
wanted but a few days of the time the company expected to land, Dr.
Coke retired one night feeling a little unwell, and the next morning,
May 2, 1814, he was found dead in his cabin. He was buried at sea.
Dr. Coke was deeply interested in education, and shortly after his
arrival in the United States he planned with Mr. Asbury the erection
of a college, which was named by the conference after both the bishops,
" Cokesbury." He was a voluminous writer. Many of his sermons
and addresses on theological and ecclesiastical topics were p" blished.
lie assisted Henry Moore in preparing a life of Mr. Wesley ; ^ablished
" A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures," " History of the West
Indies," "History of the Bible," "Defence of the Doctrine of Justifi
cation by Faith," and other works.
JAMES SHIELDS.
THE li :e of General James Shields " reads like a romance lawyer,
judge, senator, farmer, knight-errant, and general." He was a native
of Dungannon, County Tyrone, Ireland, where he was born in the year
1810. At the age of sixteen he came to this country, and pursued his
studies until 1S32, when he went to Illinois and commenced the practice
of law at Kaskaskia. In 1836 he was elected a member of the State
Legislature, and in 1839 he became Auditor of the State. Four years
later he was appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois, and
in 1845, having received from President Polk the appointment of
Commissioner of the General Land Office, he removed to Washington.
Upon the breaking out of the Mexican War, Mr. Shields was ap
pointed a Brigadier-General of United States Volunteers, his commission
bearing date July 1, 1846. He was present at the siege of Yera Cruz,
where he was noted for his gallant conduct. At the battle of Cerro
Gordo he was severely wounded, but continued on the field, urging on
his men, until a ball, passing through his body and lungs, struck him
down. He was carried from the battle-field, and w r as reported to be so
near the point of death that obituary notices appeared in nearly all the
papers of the country. For weeks his life was despaired of. The story
of his cure is remarkable, and would appear improbable had he not
lived for many years after without suffering any inconvenience from
the wound. The army surgeons had abandoned hope of a favorable
result of their skilful treatment, when, a Mexican doctor said he would
recover if he would allow him to remove the coagulated blood. Shields
told him he might make the attempt, and a fine silk handkerchief was
worked in and finally drawn through the wound, removing the extra-
vasated blood, when daylight could be seen through the opening made
by the shot. For his gallant and meritorious conduct during the battle
where he received his wound he was, in August, 1848, promoted to the
rank of brevet Major-General. Before fully recovering he commanded
a brigade in the valley of Mexico, consisting of a battalion of marines
JAMES SHIELDS.
and regiments composed of New York and South Carolina volunteers.
He was also in the battle of Chapultepec, where, being unhorsed, he
fought, sword in hand, leading his brigade with a bravery that has
made his name remarkable in American history. He was again dan
gerously wounded, but his vigorous constitution enabled him to rally
from the effects of his injury. In July, 1848, the brigade he com
manded was disbanded, after performing valorous deeds ending in the
capture of the City of Mexico, where they unfurled the iirst American
flag. This closed the war, and General Shields returned to civil life.
In 1848 General Shields was appointed Governor of Oregon, but re
signed the office. In 1849 he was elected to a seat in the United States
Senate. Owing to some technicality he was refused admission as a
Senator, when he promptly resigned the post, and was as promptly re-
elected. He returned to Washington, and for his term of six years dis
charged the duties of a Senator. He had been chosen to the post by
the Democrats of Illinois, to the interests of whose party he was devoted
In 1855 he settled on the lands awarded to him for his services in the
army, which lands he had selected in the Territory of Minnesota.
When that tract became a State he was elected to represent it in Con
gress, and took his seat after its admission in May, 1858. He served
two years in this position, after which he removed to California, and
resumed the practice of law.
After the breaking out of the Civil War he was appointed by Con
gress a Brigadier-General, with a commission dated August, 1861. Upon
the death of General Lander he was appointed his successor, his division
forming part of the corps of Major-General Banks. He particularly
distinguished himself in the Shenandoah Valley, where he met and
defeated the famous " Stonewall : Jackson, who was at the head of a
large body of soldiers. The day before the battle, March 22, 1862,
during the preparatory movements, he was severely wounded. At the
battle of Port Republic, in June of the same year, he was defeated by
General Jackson. Shortly after he retired to Missouri and became a
farmer.
In 1868 General Shields was a candidate for Congress in Kansas
City on the Democratic ticket, but was not elected. He resided in
Missouri during the remainder of his life. His death occurred June
1, 1879, while visiting friends in Ottumwa, Iowa.
General Shields was of good personal appearance, about five feet
eight inches in height, with an eye that was bright and full of life,
cark grayish hair, and ruddy complexion.
MATTHEW HALE CARPENTER.
HON. MATTHEW II. CARPENTER, lawyer and senator, was born in
Mooretown, Washington County, Vermont, December 22, 1824. In
1843 he entered the Military Academy at West Point, and though his
life as a cadet was satisfactory, he did not complete the full course ;
but, on account of ill-health, resigned his position in 1S45. He soon
after entered upon the study of law, in the office and under the in
struction of the Hon. Paul Dillingham, of Waterbury, Vermont.
He soon became complete master of the learning and theories of his
profession, and perfectly qualified for practice at the bar, and was ac
cordingly admitted at Montpelier, Vermont, in the spring of 1847.
Mr. Carpenter immediately entered upon the practice of his profes
sion in the office of Hon. Rufus Choate, of Boston. His association as
professional assistant with the great lawyer was of much benefit to
the young practitioner, and was one cause of his rapid progress and
popularity. Without these advantages, his talents, his manners, and
his finished style of oratory would have attracted attention and gained
success.
After being admitted to the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachu
setts, Mr. Carpenter went to Beloit, Wisconsin, the seat of the well-
known institution, Beloit College. In this flourishing young city of
the West, he soon secured a large and lucrative practice. Soon after
his permanent location in the place, he was elected to the office of
District Attorney of Rock County, and held it for two terms with great
credit. By the energetic and industrious exercise of his abilities, he
soon attained a high rank as a profound lawyer and eloquent advocate.
Pew lawyers have been engaged in more cases or in those of greater
importance. In 1851 he conducted a cause involving the questions of
dedication to public use, of the legality of city plats, and of estoppel
by deed and in pais concerning a public landing on Rock River, in
the city of Beloit. " The case came to the Supreme Court of the State
when at that time in .that court such questions were new, and Mr. Car
penter s brief, reported in full with the opinion of the court, is a
masterpiece of legal investigation and learning, and the most elabor-
MATTHEW HALE CAEPENTEE.
ate to be found in the reports of that court, passing in review the lead
ing authorities in England and this country on the question involved
over one hundred cited cases." In the remarkable proceeding by quo
warranto to try the title of the office of Governor of Wisconsin, be
tween the relator Bashford and the incumbent Barstow, argued in the
Supreme Court in 1856, Mr. Carpenter was the leading counsel for the
respondent. His brief in that case, with an abstract of his argument,
were also published, with the opinion of the court in the Reports of
Wisconsin. His practice in that State constitutes a large part of its
judicial history. For several years he practised in the Supreme Court
of the United States. He was retained by Secretary Stanton to argue
several important causes growing out of the reconstruction measures of
Congress, and involving the constitutional powers of the Government.
Mr. Carpenter had been a sympathizer with the Democratic party,
but upon the opening of the Civil War he made one of the first ad
dresses in favor of a vigorous war for the Constitution. In 1809 he
was elected a United States Senator from Wisconsin to succeed Mr.
Doolittle, and took his seat March 4, 1869. lie served as a member of
the Committees on the Judiciary, Patents, the Revision of the Laws of
the United States, arid Privileges and Elections. lie bore an able part
in the debates of the Senate. His speech in reply to Si: inner and
Schurz, during the French Arms debate, attracted much attention.
It is said to have been more widely circulated than any other public
document during the political campaign of 1872 ; more than one mil
lion copies having been distributed from Washington alone. In March,
1873, he was elected President of the Senate pro tempore.
Mr. Carpenter, when a candidate for re-election to the Senate, was
defeated by Angus Cameron, who was supported by a combination of
Republicans, Democrats, and Liberals. Leaving the Senate on the ex
piration of his term, March 3, 1875, Mr. Carpenter resumed the prac
tice of law at Milwaukee and at Washington, with marked success.
When the next election for United States Senator took place in Wis
consin, he was nominated by the Republicans in the place of Timothy
O. Howe, and elected ; so lie resumed his seat in the Senate at the called
session, which commenced March 18, 1879.
Mr. Carpenter has gathered one of the largest and best selected
libraries of law and miscellaneous literature in the country. lie is a
shrewd parliamentary leader, an agreeable debater, and a fluent speaker
and possesse^ a striking and attractive personal appearance, with fine
eyes, a good complexion, and thick brown hair silvered by age.
Xu * *A 9
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no.
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
JONATHAN EDWAKDS, an American divine and metaphysician, was
born at East Windsor, Connecticut, October 5, 1703. His father,
Timothy Edwards, a graduate of Harvard University, and the first min
ister of East Windsor, superintended his preparation for college, and
trained him to habits of careful study and analysis. Intellect and piety
were developed in him very early. At the age of ten he read, with
delight, the essay of Locke on the " Human Understanding." When
twelve years old he sent, to a European correspondent of his father, an
account of the " wondrous way of the working of the spider " in the
forest, whose habits he had watched. A few days before his thirteenth
birthday he entered Yale College, and completed the full course with
high honors in 1720. For two years after his graduation he remained
in New Haven as a student for the ministry, and in the summer of
1722 was licensed to preach. Immediately afterward he was appointed
to preach to a small body of Presbyterians in the city of New York.
This was before the completion of his twentieth year. About this time
he finished a series of seventy resolutions, which were to be the guiding
principles of his life. These relate to " the absolute performance of
duty without regard to immediate motive or difficulty."
In 1724 the young minister was appointed a tutor in Yale College,
where he remained until 1726. In that year he became associated with
his grandfather, the Rev. Mr. Stoddard, whom he succeeded three years
later in -his ministry at the Congregational Church at Northampton.
He was ordained on the 15th of February, 1727. For the succeeding
twenty-three years he continued a faithful pastor, and devoted his
efforts to an awakening of zeal and restoration of strict devotional con
duct. His fame as a preacher became widely extended during these
years. In June, 1750, he was dismissed by an Ecclesiastical Council
for insisting upon a purer and higher standard for admission to the
communion. In the next year he was installed minister at Stockbridge,
Massachusetts, and missionary to the Indians then in that vicinity
JONATHAN EDWARDS.
While at this post he wrote his " Essay on the Freedom of the Will,"
which metaphysicians have always considered unequalled for close and
subtile reasoning. During the six years spent at Stock bridge their
limited means were increased by the industry of his wife and
daughters, whose delicate handiwork was sent to Boston to be sold.
On the death of the Rev. Aaron Burr, his son-in-law, who was President
of Princeton College, New Jersey, Mr. Edwards was called to succeed
him. He was inaugurated February 16, 1758. The small-pox waa
then prevalent in the vicinity, and Mr. Edwards was innoculated as a
precaution. A fever soon set in, which resulted in death, March 22,
1758. He left a large family of children, one of whom, Jonathan Ed
wards, became a Doctor of Divinity and President of Union College,
Schenectady, New York. His only sou, Jonathan W., was a distin
guished lawyer of Hartford.
Mr. Edwards was tall of stature and of a slender form. " He had a
high, broad, bold forehead, and an eye unusually piercing and lumi
nous ; and on his whole countenance, the features of his mind per
spicacity, sincerity, and benevolence were so strongly impressed, that
no one could behold it without at once discovering the clearest indica
tions of great intellectual and moral elevation."
The published writings of Mr. Edwards are voluminous, and form a
valuable contribution to religious literature. His works are the " Es
say on the Freedom of the Will," " Treatise Concerning the Religious
Affections," " Inquiry into the Qualifications for Full Communion in
the Church," " Original Sin," " Dissertation Concerning the End for
which God Created the "World," " True Nature of Christian Virtue,"
" Thoughts on the Revival of Religion," " History of the Redemption,"
and " Life of David Brainerd." His writings, with a memoir by Ser-
eno Edwards Dwight, were published in ten volumes, 8vo, in New
York. His life has been written by several others.
"In considering the writings of Jonathan Edwards, the first thing
to be borne in mind is his unquestioning acceptance of the truth ol
the Holy Scriptures. The next is, the intensity of his attachment to
the system of Calvinism as opposed to that of Arminianism.
" Edwards makes a turning-point in the intellectual, or, as lie
would have called it, the spiritual history of New England. New
England and New Jersey, in the age following him, applied more
thought to the subject of religious philosophy and systematic theol
ogy than the same amount of population in any other part of the
world."
L"OR,V
SAMUEL GRISWOLD GOODRICH.
SAMUEL GRISWOLD GOODRICH, under his assumed name of " Peter
Parley," ranks among the best known of our authors. He was born at
Ridgefield, Connecticut, August 19, 1793. His father, the Rev.
Samuel Goodrich, was a clergyman distinguished for simplicity of
character, strong common sense, and eloquence.
Mr. S. G. Goodrich was educated in the common schools of his na
tive town. Soon after completing his twenty-first year, he engaged in
the business of publishing in Hartford, where he resided for several
years. In 1824 he visited Europe, devoting his attention particularly
to educational institutions. On his return he established himself as a
publisher in Boston, where he commenced an original annual, " The
Token." Its contributions and illustrations were the products of
American authors and artists. It was noticeable for its encourage-
c"l
ment of young and unknown writers. The finest of Nathaniel Haw
thorne s "Twice-told Tales" were first published in "The Token,"
without attracting any special attention. The famous Peter Parley
series was commenced about the same time.
JVIr. Goodrich published many volumes of historical and geograph
ical school-books. In addition to his labors as a compiler, he was the
author of prose and poetical works. His " Fireside Education " was
composed in sixty days, while he was discharging his duties as a mem
ber of the Massachusetts Senate, and superintending his publishing
establishment. His numerous other works were produced with sur
prising rapidity. In 1837 he published " The Outcast, and other
Poems ; " and in 1841, " Sketches from a Student s Window ; " in 1850
his celebrated work, " History of all Nations." lie established " Mer
ry s Museum and Parley s Magazine," a most popular monthly, of which
he was editor from 1841 to 1854.
In 1855 Mr. Goodrich was United States Consul at Paris, where
he made arrangements for the translation and introduction of his Peter
Parley series into France. On his return to America he published a
book which will perpetuate his name. It is a species of autobiography,
entitled " Recollections of a Lifetime, or Men and Tilings I have
SAMUEL GEISWOLD GOODEICH.
Seen : in a series of familiar letters to a friend, historical, biographi
cal, anecdotal, and descriptive." " In an easy colloquial narrative the
author narrates the experience of his boyhood in his New England
home, a simple, at times quaint and humorous, story. Though removed
from the present day by only half a century, the manners of Connecti
cut, in the youth of the writer, present many curious details of a sim
plicity which has almost passed away. As he proceeds, various New
England personages of consequence are brought upon the scene, and
we have some valuable notices of the war with England of 1812. The
literary men of that time, the Hartford wits, the poets, Percival and
Brainerd, are introduced. Then comes the author s first journey to
England, and his acquaintance with various celebrities among men of
letters. His active literary career at home succeeds, followed* by his
consulship at Paris, which included the period of the revolution of
1848. In the appendix to this work Mr. Goodrich enumerated the
books of which he was the editor or author. The recital of the titles
occupies six closely written pages. They are chiefly school-books and
the various series of the Peter Parley Tales and Miscellanies. I
stand before the public, wrote Mr. Goodrich, as the author and editor
of about one hundred and seventy volumes one hundred and sixteen
bearing the name of Peter Parley. Of all these over seven millions
of volumes have been sold. "
In the preparation of his books for the young he was assisted by his
brother, the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich. His latest production was an
" Illustrated Natural History," completed in 1859.
The appearance of Mr. Goodrich was singularly vigorous and youth
ful for one of his years, and his death in New York City, May 9,
1860, was as unexpected to his friends as it was sudden.
His son, Frank 13. Goodrich, is the author of several well-known
works. He corresponded from Paris with " The New York Times,"
under the name of Dick Tinto, for several years ; and these letters, en
titled * Tri-colored Sketches of Paris," were published in New York
in 1854. His other works of note are the " Court of Napoleon, or
Society under the First Empire, with Portraits of its Beauties-, Wits,
and Heroines ; " " Man upon the Sea, or a History of Maritime Adven
ture, Exploration, and Discovery ; " " Women of Beauty and Hero
ism;" "The Tribute Book, a Record of the Munifiyence, Self-sacri
fice, and Patriotism of the American People during the War for the
Union ; " and " Famous Women, a Portrait Gallery of Female Love
liness, Achievement, and Influence."
.
\
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW.
HENRY WADSWORTIF LONGFELLOW, the American poet, was born in
Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. His father, the Hon. Stephen
Longfellow, a lawyer of distinction, was a descendant of John Alden, the
Pilgrim. The son entered Bowdoin College, where he was graduated, in
the class with Nathaniel Hawthorne, in 1825. About this time he wrote
verses for the " United States Literary Gazette." Some of his poems,
written before the age of eighteen, are preserved in the standard col
lection of his writings. Among them was the " Hymn of the Mora
vian Nuns at the Consecration of Pulaski s Banner."
For a short time after his graduation, Mr. Longfellow studied law
in his father s office, but was soon appointed to a Professorship of
Modern Languages at Bowdoin College, and the privilege of a pre
liminary tour in Europe to qualify himself for the post was granted
him. For three years he travelled in France, Spain, Italy, Germany,
Holland, and England, and studied the various languages. On his re
turn he lectured at Bowdoin College, as Professor of Modern Lan
guages and Literature, and wrote articles for the " North American
Review," papers on Sir Philip Sidney, and other literary topics. An
essay on the "Moral and Devotional Poetry of Spain " included his
translation of the stanzas of the soldier-poet Manrique on the death of
his father. About this time appeared the sketches of his travels, en
titled " Outre Mer," which were the first of his collected prose works.
In 1835 Mr. Longfellow was chosen Professor of Modern Lan
guages and Literature at Harvard University, to succeed Mr. George
Ticknor. Before entering upon his new duties, he made a second
European tour. Returning to America, he commenced his duties at
Harvard, and established himself, in 1837, as a lodger in the old
Cragie House, the Headquarters of General Washington in the Revo
lution, which he has since purchased, and in which he still resides.
From this residence, " Hyperion, A Romance," was dated, in 1830-
The same year, the first volume of the author s original poetry,
"Voices of the Night," was published at Cambridge. It contained
HENRY WADS WORT II LONGFELLOW.
the " Psalm of Life," the " Midnight Mass for the Dying Year," the
Manrique translation, and a number of his early poems contributed
to the " Gazette." It at onee became popular, and many of its stanzas
have become " household words." " Ballads and Other Poems " ap
peared in 1841, and " Poems on Slavery " in 1842, and " The Spanish
Student," a play in three acts, in 1843. These were followed at short
intervals by " The Belfry of Bruges and Other Poems ; " " Evangeline,
A Tale of Acadie," which is by many accounted his happiest work ;
" Kavanagh," a tale in prose ; " The Seaside and the Fireside ; "
" The Golden Legend ; " and " The Song of Hiawatha." Of this last-
named production Mr. Longfellow wrote : " This Indian Edda if I
may so call it is founded on a tradition prevalent among the North
American Indians, of a personage of miraculous birth, who was sent
among them to clear their rivers, forests, and fishing grounds, and to
teach them the arts of peace. Into this old tradition I have woven
other curious Indian legends, drawn chiefly from the various and valu
able writings of Mr. Schoolcraft. The scene of the poem is among
the Ojibways, on the southern shore of Lake Superior, in the region
between the Pictured Rocks and the Grand Sable." The novel and
original style of the work caused it to be received with much criticism,
but it soon became an established favorite.
Mr. Longfellow is also the author of " The Courtship of Miles
Standish," written, like " Evangeline," in the hexameter measure ;
" Birds of Passage ; " " Tales of a Wayside Inn ; " " Flower-de-Luce
and Other Poems ;" " The New England Tragedies ; " " The Hanging
of the Crane ; " " Aftermath ; " and numerous poems contributed to
periodicals. His works have passed through many editions both in
this country and in England, where no poet of the United States is so
popular and well known. His translation of " The Divine Comedy "
is the most faithful version of Dante that has ever been made. It was
followed by " The Divine Tragedy," and " Christus ; A Mystery."
He received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Cambridge,
and that of D.C.L. at Oxford, England.
The same general characteristics run through all Mr. Longfellow s
productions. The elegance and, at the same time, simplicity and
purity of his writings are anticipated by his personal appearance,
manner, and mode of life.
His brother, the Rev. Samuel Longfellow, is also a poet, and his
son, Ernest "W. Longfellow, is a portrait, genre, and landscape painter
of much promise.
Of /
^*
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER.
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER. D.D., an eminent Presbyterian divine, was
born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, April 17, 1772. Ilis grand
father, Archibald, of Scotch descent, emigrated from Ireland to Penn
sylvania, in 1736, and removed to Virginia about the year 1738.
At the age of ten years, young Archibald Alexander was sent to
the academy of Rev. Win. Graham, at Timber Ridge meeting-house.
lie studied under his instruction for seven years, when his father pro
cured him an engagement as tutor in the family of General John
Posey. After his return home, he commenced the study of theology
with his former school-master, the Rev. Mr. Graham, lie was licensed
to preach in 1701, at Winchester, shortly after which he made a mis
sionary tour through the southern counties of his native State.
In 1797 Dr. Alexander was called to the presidency of Ilampden
Sidney College, an institution established as a Presbyterian theological
seminary, which had received its charter as a college in 1783. In
1801 he resigned the office and also his pastoral charge, and visited
New York and Xew England. On this journey he met many promi
nent clergymen and other celebrities. lie was present at Dartmouth
College when Daniel Webster pronounced his commencement speech.
On his return to Virginia, in 1802, he married Janetta Waddell, the
daughter of James Waddell, D.D., the eloquent blind preacher, whom
William Wirt believed to be the equal of Patrick Henry, though in a
different species of oratory.
Dr. Alexander resumed his former position at Ilampden Sidney
College, but, owing to the insubordination of the students, accepted a
call from the Pine Street Church, Philadelphia, where he was installed
pastor in May, 1807. The degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by
Princeton College, in 1S10. Upon the organization of the Theological
Seminary at Princeton by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church, in 1812, he became its first professor, with charge of the vari
ous branches of theological education. As the institution increased in
!>
numbers and consequently in requirements, he was gradually relieved
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER.
by the labors of others until his duties resolved into a distinct profes
sorship of Pastoral and Polemic Theology, in which he continued for
nearly forty years, lie was holding the position at the time of his
death, which occurred in Princeton, New Jersey, October 22, 1851.
Dr. Alexander was a thorough and accomplished scholar. As a
preacher he was greatly admired. " His personal appearance, in a
piercing eye, a high forehead, and delicate features, with a transpar
ent complexion, was expressive of the refined and penetrating mind
within." He was the author of " Outlines of the Evidences of Chris
tianity;" "Treatise on the Canons of the Old and New Testaments;"
" Lives of the Patriarchs ; " " Essays on Religious Experience ; "
"History of African Colonization;" " History of the Log College;"
" Advice to a Young Christian ; " " Bib(e Dictionary ; " " Counsels of
the Aged to the Young;" "Brief Compendium of Bible Truth;"
"History of the Israelitish Nation;" "Moral Science;" a Memoir
of his old instructor, Mr. Graham ; a "History of the Presbyterian
Church in Virginia;" biographical sketches of distinguished Ameri
can clergymen and alumni of Princeton College ; ajid numerous tracts.
lie also contributed to the " Biblical Repertory " and other periodicals,
and left a number of works in manuscript. Two of his sons were
prominent Presbyterian clergymen.
The Rev. James Waddell Alexander, D.D., the eldest son, after re
ceiving a thorough education, was licensed for the ministry. lie was
engaged for a short time as editor of the " Presbyterian," a newspaper
published in Philadelphia. For eleven years he held the position of
Professor of Rhetoric and Belles-lettres in Princeton College, and for
O
two years that of Professor of Ecclesiastical History and Church Gov
ernment in the theological seminary of that place. lie was the author
of several works and of numerous contributions to periodicals. lie
died in 1859. After his death two volumes of his letters were pub
lished by his friend, the Rev. Dr. John Hall, of Trenton, N. J.
The Rev. Joseph Addison Alexander, D.D., another son of Dr.
Archibald Alexander, was a man of remarkable scholarship. He was
familiar with twenty-five languages, seven of which he could read,
write, and speak freely. For three years he was Adjunct Professor of
Ancient Languages and Literature in Princeton College, and for many
years was Professor of Biblical Criticism and Ecclesiastical History in
the theological seminary. He was the author of several religious
works, and was a contributor to the "Biblical Repertory " and " Prince
ton Review." His death occurred in January, I860.
O? r
THEODORE STRONG.
EARLY iu the seventeenth century, Elder John Strong, of England,
crossed the ocean and settled in New England, where large numbers
of his descendants many of whom have occupied positions of trust
and responsibility have since resided. Among the descendants of the
sixth generation was Theodore Strong, LL.D. Jle was the son of the
Rev. Joseph Strong, of Heath, Massachusetts, a man of talent and great
energy, and of Sophia Wood bridge, a daughter of the Rev. John Wood-
bridge, of South Iladley, of the ninth generation of a succession of
ministers bearing the same name, each being the eldest son.
Professor Theodore Strong was born at South Iladley, Massachu
setts, July 26, 1790. After attending school, and preparing for college
under the direction of a clergyman, he entered Yale when eighteen
years of age. He was graduated in 1812, taking a high stand in all
his studies and receiving the prize in mathematics, in which science
he had acquired much proficiency. lie at once became tutor in Ham
ilton College, Clinton, New York, and held the position until 1816.
In that year he was chosen professor of mathematics and natural phi
losophy, and remained there as such for eleven years. In 1827 he ac
cepted the same position in Rutgers College, New Brunswick, New
Jersey, where he continued until 1862, thirty-five years.
During his connection with Hamilton College, the attention of
scientific men was called to Professor Strong by his solution of several
difficult mathematical problems. He demonstrated the theorems re
specting the circle, which hud been propounded as a challenge to the
world by Dr. Matthew Stewart in 17-16. His ingenious demonstration
was published in the Memoirs of the Connecticut Academy of Scien
ces, lie studied the works of La Grange, Laplace, and other great
mathematicians, and whatever was necessary for a thorough compre
hension of mathematics. lie was also deeply interested in other studies,
in history, in mental philosophy, and in theology. His mental constitu
tion and habits forbade him to yield his assent on any subject, without
sufficient evidence, and his own conclusions were carefully reviewed
before offering them to the inspection of others.
THEODORE STRONG.
Professor Strong devoted the greater portion of his life to his favor^
ite science. Jlis profound knowledge of mathematics, and his success
in the solution of difficult and important questions, excited the admira
tion of men of science, many of whom consulted him upon points of
scientific interest. He was fond of being questioned, and of discussion
and disputation. In his professional duties in the class and lecture-
room, he presented his original views and deductions of the subject
under discussion, with clearness, simplicity, and able illustration. His
interest in the work roused the interest of the students, while his man
ner in imparting instruction gained their attachment and respect.
Professor Strong was an honorary member of the Connecticut
Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and was one of the
original members of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences.
lie received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Rutgers
College in 1835, and the same degree from Hamilton College, lie
was a frequent contributor to mathematical journals, and to the learned
societies of which he was a member. lie made a number of impor
tant contributions to " Silliman s American Journal of Science. 1 He
communicated to the first volume, which was published in 1818, a new
geometrical demonstration of the values of the sines and cosines of
the sum and difference of two arcs, together with the solution of a
difficult diophantine problem. Among the other journals to which he
contributed miscellaneous papers were "The Mathematical Journal,"
"The Scientific Journal," " The Mathematical Diary," "The Mathe
matical Miscellany," " The Cambridge Miscellany," and " The Mathe
matical Monthly." In these papers were many new and entirely origi
nal demonstrations and discussions of various difficult subjects. His
two largest and best-known works are the " Treatise on Elementary
and Higher Algebra" a work original in its method and in many of
its conclusions, which was published in 1859, and a volume on the
" Differential and Integral Calculus," written in 1807, but not published
until after the death of the author. For original investigation and
profound knowledge of the subject they cannot be excelled. They
contained much that was new, among which were the solution of
Cardan s Irreducible Case of Cubic Equations, which had baffled the
best mathematicians of Europe, and a method of extracting, by a direct
process, any root of any integral number.
Professor Strong died at New Brunswick, New Jersey, February
1, 1SG9.
JOSEPH JEFFERSON.
JOSEPH JEFFERSON, the comedian, was born in Philadelphia, Febru
ary 20, 1829. He is the son of Jefferson, the third of the name, and
Mrs. Burke, the noted vocalist, and a half-brother of Charles Burke, a
celebrated comedian, who died in New York, November 10, 1854.
His first appearance was at his father s theatre in Washington, D. C.,
December 28, 1831, on which occasion he was billed as Cora s child, in
"Pizarro." At his mother s benefit, May 9, 1832, he represented the
Roman statues, illustrative of the Passions.
During the season of 1835-36 he appeared at the Franklin Theatre,
New York, in various children s characters, and on September 30, 1836,
took part, with a Master Titus, in a combat scene, on the occasion of a
benefit performance at the old Park Theatre, New York. His first
regular appearance on the stage, as a professional actor, occurred at
Chanfrau s National Theatre, New York, September 1, 1849, where he
appeared as Hans Morris in a farce entitled " Somebody Else." In
1850 he was cast for Knickerbocker to the Hip Van Winkle of his
half-brother, Charles Burke, at the new National Theatre, New York.
Passing over a long period of arduous professional labor in stock
companies, we come to the production of Mr. Tom Taylor s play, " Our
American Cousin," by Laura Keene at her own theatre, October 18,
1858, Mr. Jefferson playing Asa Trenchard, to the Lord Dundreary of
Mr. E. A. Sothern. The piece, brought to this country by the late
Robert Heller, the world-famed prestidigitator, then acting as agent
for the dramatist, was put on the stage with many doubts and misgiv
ings as to its reception ; but the thoroughly original and artistic im
personations of these two comedians met with instant recognition, and
brought fame and fortune to both play and players.
In September, 1859, Mr. Jefferson appeared at the "Winter Garden
as Caleb Plummer, on the occasion of the production, for the second
time in New York, of the dramatization of Dickens charming Christ
mas story, entitled " Dot ; or, The Cricket on the Hearth." On Decem
ber 24, 1860, he again appeared at the Winter Garden, opening with
JOSEPH JEFFERSON.
his own version of " Rip Van Winkle." The engagement closed Jan
uary 19, 1861, and included a number of his clever impersonations.
From a successful tour in California and Australia, he proceeded to
London, where he first appeared September 4, 1865, at the Adelphi
Theatre, in a new version of Washington Irving s legend of "Hip Tan
Winkle," written expressly for him by Dion Boncicault. He met with
great success, both press and public being lavish in their praise. This
was his first appearance in the character so familiar to theatre-goers
of the present day. On his return from his first European experience,
he opened at the Olympic Theatre, New York, September 3, 1866,
after an absence of five years from the metropolitan stage, in Rip
Yan Winkle, under Leonard Grover s management. October 4, " Our
American Cousin ; " October 17, " Dot ; or, The Cricket on the
Hearth ; " " Woodcock s Little Game" followed, the engagement clos
ing with his characterization of Tobias Shortcut in the " Spit-fire."
Mr. Jefferson s stage career from this point is but a repetition of his
famous impersonation of Rip Van Winkle, varied by an occasional ap
pearance at benefits as Mr. Golightly, in the farce, " Lend me Five Shil
lings." In 1875 he again visited England and repeated his former
triumphs. During his sojourn there he deviated from a too long estab
lished rule and appeared in a number of his favorite comedy parts.
On the death of George Holland, the eminent comedian, Mr. Jeffer
son, in the performance of the last sad duties of a warm personal friend
ship, called upon an Episcopal clergyman in New York City, requesting
him to officiate at the funeral ceremony. The reverend gentleman de
clined, but kindly referred him to the pastor of " the little church
around the corner, who did such things."
Mr. Jefferson is never idle. His devotion to "Rip" places a great
deal of spare time at his disposal, which is chiefly devoted to sketching
when travelling, and while at home to painting, both in oil and water
colors. He does not, therefore, depend entirely upon the stage for
the expression of his artistic abilities. Several examples of his art
have been exhibited in galleries, both at home and abroad, with flatter
ing success. He is a great admirer of Corot, but his work is singularly
free from the imitative, as is best illustrated by his own assertion that
he would rather show bad originality than good conventionality.
Mr. Jefferson s home is beautifully situated in the valley of the
Saddle River at Hohokus, Bergen County, N. J. He also owns a
plantation on Teche Bayou, Louisiana, which he visits during the winter
season for the purpose of hunting and fishing.
X .
Of THE
VNIVERSITY
EDWIN YOSE SUMNER.
MAJOR-GENERAL EDWIN VOSE SUMNER, U.S.A., was born at Bos
ton, Massachusetts, in January, 1796. He received his education in
his native city and at the academy in Milton. At the age of fifteen
years lie entered a mercantile establishment at Montreal, and after
remaining there for a short time pursued the same career with Ste
phen Higginson, Jr., of Boston.
In 1819 young Mr. Sumner entered the service of the United
States. On March 3d of that year he received the appointment of
second lieutenant of the 2d Infantry, from General Brown, the com-
mander-in-chief. He served in this regiment in the Black Hawk War,
and in July, 1823, he became first lieutenant. He discharged various
duties with credit and efficiency until 1833. In that year he was
transferred to the 2d Dragoons, with the rank of captain. This took
him into active service on the Western frontier, among the Indian
tribes. In 1S3S he was appointed to the command of the cavalry
school of practice at Carlisle Barracks, in Pennsylvania " an em
ployment for which his skill and energy as a disciplinarian peculiarly
fitted him."
On June 30, 1846, after twenty-seven years of military service, Mr.
Sumner attained the rank of major in his regiment of Dragoons. He
took part in the ensuing war with Mexico. He was with the army of
General Scott, from the time of its landing to that of its arrival at
the capital. In March, 1847, he distinguished himself by a successful
charge upon a body of Lancers at the bridge of Medelin, near Vera
Cruz. In the following April he led the famous cavalry charge in
the assault at Cerro Gordo. He was wounded during the action ; for
his gallantry in the affair he was brevetted lieutenant-colonel. At
Contreras and Churubusco he rendered distinguished services. At
Molino del Key, while constantly under fire, he maintained his position
as commander of the entire cavalry force, and held in check a body of
five thousand Mexican Lancers. For his gallant action in this affair
he received the brevet of colonel. In July, 1848, he was commis-
EDWIN VOSE SUMNEB.
sioned lieutenant-colonel of the 1st Dragoons. In 1851 he was ap
pointed military governor of New Mexico, and held the command of
that department for the two following years. A part of the time he
acted as civil governor. In 1854 he was selected to visit Europe, and
report on certain improvements in the cavalry service. On his return
he was appointed colonel of the 1st Cavalry, which was organized in
that year, 1855. This appointment brought him, for the second time,
into service on the frontier. In 1857 he conducted a successful ex
pedition against a hostile band of Cheyenne warriors, at Solomon s
Fork of the Kansas River. The following year he was appointed to
the command of the Western Department.
In March, 1861, Mr. Simmer superseded General A. S. Johnston in
the command of the Pacific Department. On the 16th of that month
he became brigadier-general to fill the vacancy caused by the removal
of General Twiggs, In the spring of 1862 lie was called into active
service for the Union, and was placed in command of the 1st Corps of
the Army of the Potomac, then being rapidly organized under Gen
eral McClellan. In the Peninsular campaign he was actively engaged
from the siege of Yorktown to the final retreat to the James River.
When an attack was made by the Confederates upon the Union Army,
then at Seven Pines, General Sumner was stationed on the left bank
of the Chickahominy. Leading his men across the tottering bridges
over that stream, which a recent terrible storm had converted into a
broad river, they hastened through the mud and rain, and reached
the Union Army in time to turn the fortunes of the day at Fair Oaks.
This was on May 31. The next day, June 1st, the Confederates re
newed the attack, but were repulsed in great disorder. General Sum
ner also rendered distinguished services in the Seven Days Battles, in
which he was slightly wounded. He soon afterward received the rank
of major-general of volunteers and brevet major-general in the regu
lar army. Upon the reorganization of the army he was assigned to
the command of the 2d and 9th Corps. He was wounded at the battle
of Antietam, September 17, 1862. He participated in the battle of
Fredericksburg, and his division was the first to cross the Rappahan-
nock on the pontoon bridges. He was also present at, and took an
active part in several other battles of the year 1862, and of the early
part of the following winter. About the 1st of February, 1863, he
was relieved from duty at his own request. He was next appointed to
the command of the Department of Missouri. The day the order was
published, March 21, 1863, he died suddenly at Syracuse, New York.
SCHUYLER COLFAX.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, the seventeenth Vice-President of the United
States, M as born in New York City, March 23, 1823. lie is the grand
son of Captain William Colfax, an officer of the Revolutionary Army
and a commandant of General Washington s Life Guard, who died in
Pompton, New Jersey, September, 183S.
Mr. Colfax received instruction at a public school during his early
boyhood. From 1833 to 1836 he was a merchant s clerk. In 1836 the
family removed to Indiana, and settled in New Carlisle, St. Joseph
County. During the five following years he was clerk in a country store.
In 1841 his stepfather, Mr. Matthews, was elected county auditor and
removed to South Bend, the county seat. Schuyler Colfax was appointed
his deputy, and about the same time began the study of law. He served
two years as senate reporter for the Indianapolis " State Journal." In
1845 he established at South Bend a weeldy newspaper, called the
" St. Joseph Valley Register," of which he was both editor and pro
prietor. He conducted this able Whig paper until 1855.
In 1848 Mr. Colfax was sent as a delegate to the WhiV National
c5 O
Convention, and was elected secretary of the body. In 1850 he was a
member of the State Constitutional Convention of Indiana, in which
he opposed the clause prohibiting free colored persons from settling in
that State. In 1852 he was a delegate to the Whig National Convention
held at Baltimore, of which he was appointed secretary.
Mr. Colfax was a Whig in polities, and the district in which he re
sided was very strongly Democratic. The party of which he was a sup
porter made him its candidate for Congress in 1851, and he was defeated
by a majority of only two hundred and sixteen. Shortly after this event
the Whig party, and all who opposed the extension of slavery, were
absorbed by the Republican party. In 1854 this newly-formed party
elected Mr. Colfax a representative to the Thirty-fourth Congress, and he
took his seat in 1855. He was re-elected a member of the House for the
SCHUYLER COLFAX.
six succeeding terms, serving until 1869, a period of fourteen years. In
1856 he supported his personal friend, Mr. J. C. Fremont, the Repub
lican candidate for the office of President of the United States. During
O
the canvass he delivered an eloquent speech in Congress on the Kansas
question concerning the extension of slavery, which reached a circula
tion of more than five hundred thousand copies.
During the Thirty-fifth Congress Mr. Coif ax was appointed Chair
man of the Committee on Post-Offices and Post-Roads, and continued
to occupy the position until his election, December 7, 1863, as Speaker
of the Thirty-eighth Congress. He was re-elected in 1865, and again
in 1867. He was also a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute. In 1865
he made an overland journey to the Pacific Coast, which formed the
subject of a popular lecture which he subsequently delivered in several
States. During the Civil War he was the intimate friend and adviser
of President Lincoln.
In May, 1868, the Republican National Convention, which met at
Chicago, nominated him for the office of Yice-President of the United
States on the ticket with General U. S. Grant as candidate for Presi
dent. They were elected in the following November ; and on March
4, 1869, Mr. Colfax was inaugurated Vice-President, and took his seat
as President of the Senate. During his four years term of office he
proved the most popular presiding officer since Henry Clay.
XT?* 77
/ ^ OF Ui
GEORGE G. WRIGHT.
HON. GEORGE G. WEIGHT, a prominent lawyer and politician of
Indiana, was born at Bloomington, Monroe County, in that State,
March 24, 1820. lie was a cripple from the age of four years, and
unable to attend school with regularity until near the completion of
his twelfth year. When he was but five years old, his father died, leav
ing the mother with a large family of children to care for. As her re
sources were limited, all the expenses of her son George, except that
of tuition, were assumed by two of his older brothers. He became a
student in the State University at his native place, being one of two
scholars sent under a State law which allowed that number of free
pupils from each county. .After his graduation he studied law with
one of his elder brothers, the lion. Joseph A. Wright, who after
wards became a prominent statesman, having served in the Indiana
Legislature, the State Senate, and as .Representative in the United
States Congress. In 184:9 became Governor of Indiana, and held
the office until 1857, during which year he was appointed, by President
Buchanan, Minister to Prussia. In 1862 he was appointed a Senator
in Congress, to succeed J. D. Bright, and served one session. In 1S63
President Lincoln appointed him a Commissioner to attend the Ham
burg Exhibition. In 1SG5 he was appointed by President Johnson,
for the second time, Minister to Prussia. He was discharging the
duties of that office at Berlin, at the time of his death, which occurred
in that city, March 11, 1867.
In October, 1840, Mr. George G. Wright, having completed his
legal studies, removed to Keosauqua, Iowa, in which place he at once
began the practice of his profession. In 1865 he removed to Des
Monies, where he has since resided. " His practice extended all
through what is known as the Des Moines Valley, comprising some
fourteen counties lying on both sides of the river, a hundred and
twenty miles in length and fifty miles in width. Journeys were made
GEORGE G. WRIGHT.
on horseback, and in every way known to frontier life, and were at
tended by many stirring incidents.
In 1847 and 1848 lie was Prosecuting Attorney. He was inter
ested in politics, and favored the Whig party, by which he was elected
to the State Senate. Upon the expiration of his term he was re-elected.
In his second term he was the only Whig who held the chairmanship
of a Committee, as the majority of the Senators were Democratic.
He was also the only one of his party upon the important Committee
having in charge the Code of 1851, the adoption of which was largely
owing to Mr. Wright s exertions.
In 1850 he was nominated for Kepresentative in Congress, though
he was not at all desirous of the honor. The district was strongly
Democratic, and although their usual majority was greatly decreased
during the ensuing election, he was not elected. The next public
position of importance and trust to which Mr. Wright was chosen
was that of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Iowa, in the year
1854. In 1860, the constitution of that State having been changed,
he was elected to the same office by the people, and was re-elected in
1865.
In 1860 he became President of the Iowa State Agricultural
Society, and continued at its head for five years. For about the same
length of time he was President of the County Society in Van Buren
County.
In 1865 he was appointed a professor in the law department of
the Iowa State University, and retained the position for six years.
Part of bis time was devoted to the preparation and delivery of numer
ous lectures and addresses on various subjects pertaining to the State
and its history, and on legal and other topics, which he gave in aid of
benevolent, agricultural, and literary societies.
In the fall of 1870 Mr. "Wright was elected to the United States
Senate as a Republican, and took bis seat, March 4, 1871, for the
term ending in 1877. He was appointed a member of the Committee
on Finance and the Committee on Claims. In the second session of
the Forty-second Congress he was appointed on the Committee on
Revision of the Laws, and on the Special Committee to investigate the
charges against Senator Clayton, of Arkansas. His speeches on im
portant questions pending in the Senate uniformly evinced " careful
preparation, laborious research, and strong argumentative ability."
DANIEL APPLETON.
IN 1831 was published a modest volume of 192 pages entitled
"Crumbs from the Master s Table; or, Select Sentences, Doctrinal,
Practical, and Experimental," by W. Mason. New York : D. Apple-
ton, Clinton Hall. Stereotype Edition. This unpretending publica
tion, of which two thousand copies were sold, had cost the publisher
much thought and solicitude. It has long been out of print, but it is
memorable as the first of an immense array of books, in various de
partments of literature, science, and art, bearing the Appleton imprint.
Daniel Appleton was born in Haverhill, Mass., December 10, 1785.
He began business as a retail trader in his native town, but subst-
quently went into the dry -goods trade in Boston, and removed to New
York in 1825. In the latter city he resolved upon engaging in the
book trade, and proposed to his brother-in-law, Jonathan Leavitt, a
bookbinder, to take part in the venture. The store which he occupied
at this time in Exchange Place, was divided by him, one-half being
devoted to the old and the other half to the new business. On the
completion of the arrangement with Mr. Leavitt, a store was opened
at the corner of Broadway and John Street. The book concern in
Exchange Place was first placed under the charge of Daniel Apple
ton s eldest son, the present head of the house ; but after five years the
Leavitt stock was equally divided, when the Appletons gave their ex
clusive attention to bookselling, D. Appleton establishing himself in a
store in the old Clinton Hall, near the old Brick Church. Here, as
we have seen, was published the initial volume, "Crumbs, which
was soon followed by another work of the same size and appearance ;
and in 1832, long remembered as the "cholera year," he issued "A
Refuge in Time of Plague and Pestilence." All three books were
successful, and the last in particular attests the attention thus early
paid by this firm to the wants of the times.
At this date, however, D. Appleton dealt more in selling than in
manufacturing books, and he took to importing English publications.
This specialty of his business developed so rapidly, that a representa
tive of the house in London was soon needed. In 1SS5 Mr. "W. II.
DANIEL APPLETON.
Appleton, already referred to, controlled the European branch of the
business, and enlarged it by a visit to Germany. In the following year
the elder Appleton went to Europe and founded an agency at 1C Little
Britain, London, which now, after more than forty years, continues to
be the London branch of the firm.
In January, 1833, Mr. W. II. Appleton was associated with his
father in partnership. They now r removed to 200 Broadway ; and ten
years later, in 1848, the elder Appleton retired from business. The
next year he died, March 27th, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. A
large portrait of him, painted shortly before his death, may be seen at
the present splendid store of Appleton & Co., 549 and 551 Broadway.
A resolution of the fraternity in w r hich he was best known, adopted
BOOH after his demise, refers to him as one " whose character as a man
of business was illustrated by a long and important series of transac
tions with the trade and the public, conducted with honorable cour
tesy ; whose sense of the duties of his profession was exhibited in the
choice of books issued from his house, by a scrupulous regard for the
interest of religion and morality; and whose personal qualities were
frequently shown by acts of amenity and generosity, which commend
his memory to those who have been most familiar with his life."
On winding up his business, Mr. Appleton intrusted the valuation
of his interest to his eldest son, who then united his brothers with him ;
and giving his directions on this occasion he said: " William, I never
had much personal pride, but I do feel proud of this business ; and I
do wish you would keep the name of Daniel as long as you can." His
son replied, " It shall be so long as the law will allow it, and I will
never sign a check or a note unless your name is written in full."
This continues to be done, and such is the reason why the name of
Daniel is so sacredly preserved.
It is interesting not only to note inconsiderable beginnings which
have expanded into things of magnitude, but to compare a riper stage of
development with early growth, for the purpose of judging what prog
ress has answered a first impulse. To do this we have but to contrast
the present Appleton publishing store, 549 and 551 Broadway, New
York, and the more imposing structure in Brooklyn, E. D., where
printing and bookbinding are carried on, with the nucleus of the pub
lishing house in old Clinton Hall, or to view side by side the "Crumbs
from the Master s Table " and " The American Cyclopaedia," or any
other great and costly undertaking of the firm. If such is the edifice,
the higher is the honor due to its founder.
WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLER.
THE subject of this sketch, known both as a lawyer and man of
letters, was born in the city of Albany, New York, February 20, 1825,
during the residence at that place of his father, Benjamin F. Butler,
one of the Revisers of the Statutes of New York, and Attorney-General
of the United States under Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. By
virtue of their ancestry, both father and son are claimed, however, by
the County of Columbia, which has given to the country so many distin
guished men. The two administrations of which the elder Mr. Butler
was a member, ruled in stormy days and amidst the bitter hostilities
engendered in the long struggle with a power which had grown even
more potent than the Government itself. The contest with the United
States Bank, culminating in the removal of the public deposits, the re
fusal to recharter the Bank, and the establishment of the Sub-Treas
ury, led the way to permanent results which, unpopular as they seemed
at the time, have proved the basis of national prosperity in peace, sol
vency even in war, and confidence at home and abroad. Retiring,
after this eventful period, to professional life in the city of New York,
Mr. Butler continued in the practice of his profession until his death,
in 1858. lie was conspicuous for his varied and great abilities, the
purity of his character and his social qualities.
After receiving his degree in the University of the city of New
York, Mr. Butler pursued his legal studies in his father s office, ac
quiring, under these favorable auspices, the professional training and
the taste for the refined and beautiful which has made his name as
favorably known by the results of his severer labors at the Bar, as by
the efforts of his fancy in the hours of recreation.
An extended tour in Europe, after the completion of his legal
studies, afforded opportunity for observation and improvement. Al
ways wielding the pen of a ready writer, his fresh and vigorous descrip
tions of the Old World as he saw it, in his letters and in his sketches
of travel contributed to the "Literary "World," a leading literary jour
nal of that day, gave early promise of the power which he has since
developed. On his return home, Mr. Butler addressed himself to the
WILLIAM ALLEN BUTLEK.
duties of his profession with an unremitting zeal and labor which
soon rewarded him with an extended practice. lie married, in 1850,
Mary R., a daughter of Charles II. Marshall, one of the most highly
esteemed merchants of New York, a connection which has made for him
a happy home in his beautiful residence at Yonkers on the Hudson.
While in the professional arena he has gained the position of a
leader in both the State and Federal Courts, he has at intervals found
time for the exercise of his literary tastes, and acquired wide reputa
tion as an author. His earlier contributions, in prose and verse, to the
"Democratic Review," and other journals, were appreciated at the
time by many who were not surprised at the wide popularity and sud
den fame achieved by his "Nothing to Wear," when first published
anonymously in "Harper s Weekly," in 1857, nor by its extensive cir
culation in various forms in England, its translation into French by an
appreciative Paris feuilletonist, or its paraphrase by a German versi
fier. Like Mackenzie s "Man of Feeling," the production of a hard
working lawyer, who in his moments of leisure aimed his shafts at
Folly as it flies, "Nothing to Wear" was made the subject of claims
like those which forced the English barrister to an assertion of his
authorship, and Mr. Butler was compelled to a like avowal in respect
to the poem by which lie is best known to the world. A little work
entitled "Lawyer and Client; their Relations, Rights, aud Duties,"
was published by him in 1871, and is a wise and useful exposition of
a tangled question of ethics. In the same year appeared his collected
poems, containing besides many early productions, " Two Millions," a
well appreciated annex to " Nothing to Wear," first delivered before
the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Yale College, in 1859, and " General
Average," a stinsrinjr thistle of satire, scarcely concealed by the rose
tT> " O O v V
of poetical sentiment, and pointing a moral drawn from the tricks of
trade in a great commercial city. To these succeeded, without claim
of paternity, but with a rapid sale and a speedy recognition of its au
thorship, "Mrs. Limber s Raffle" (1876), a short story illustrating the
fashionable passion for moral gaming. Other published works of Mr.
Butler are, " The Bible by Itself, An address before the New York
Bible Society" (I860); "Martin Van Buren : Lawyer, Statesman, and
Man " (1862), a brief biographical sketch and the only one yet pub
lished of his father s life-long friend ; an address on the unveiling of
the statue of Fitz-Greene Ilalleck, in Central Park (1877), and a
touching memorial of his friend, Evert A. Duyckinck, read before the
New York Historical Society in January, 1870.
WILLIAM WHITE.
THE Rt. Rev. William "White, D.D., Bishop of Pennsylvania, and
for forty years the Senior Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in America, was born in Philadelphia, April 4, 1748. His father,
Colonel Thomas "White, emigrated in early youth from London to
Maryland, where he engaged in the practice of law. He subsequently
removed to Philadelphia, and was chosen one of the trustees of the
college of that city. From this institution the son, William, was
graduated in 1765, and soon afterward commenced the study of
theology. In October, 1770, he sailed for Europe with letters to the
Bishop of London, who, until the Declaration of Independence, had
charge of the Episcopal churches in America. Shortly after his
arrival he was ordained deacon, and in April, 1772, was admitted to
priest s orders. While in England he became acquainted with Dr.
Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith and other literary characters.
He returned to Philadelphia in September, 1772, and was chosen an
assistant minister of the united churches of Christ and St. Peter s. In
1779 he became rector of these churches. He took no active part in
the Revolution, but was in sympathy with the cause of his countrymen.
He continued to use the prayer for the King of England until the Sun
day following the Declaration of Independence. He then took the
oath of allegiance to the United States. Among the signers of the
Declaration were his two brothers-in-law, Robert Morris and William
Paca, and his intimate friend, James Wilson. In September, 1777, he
was chosen one of the chaplains of the Continental Congress. After
the evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, he was the only clergy
man of his communion who remained in the State. Early in 1783 he
had the honor to receive the first degree of D.D. ever conferred by
his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. A short time before the
peace of 1783 he wrote and published a small pamphlet, called " The
Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United States considered," which
was issued without the author s name. Upon the conclusion of peace
he was active hi reorganizing the Episcopal Church, and presided at
WILLIAM WHITE.
the first General Convention, held at Philadelphia in September and
October, 1785. The constitution of the Church was written by him.
In 1786 he was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and
soon afterward sailed to England, in company with the Rev. Dr.
Provost, who had been elected bishop in New York. An act of
Parliament having been passed to remove the obstacles which had
prevented action in the case of Bishop Seabury, both were consecrated
by the Archbishop of Canterbury, February 4, 1787. They soon re
turned to America and landed in New York on Easter Sundaj 7 . Bishop
White returned to Philadelphia, where he resided during the remain
der of his life. From that time forward consecration was performed
in America. Twenty-five bishops received the episcopate from him.
With Bishop Seabury he had the chief part in revising the " Book of
Common Prayer " for the Episcopal Church in this country. His
duties, outside of those as bishop, were numerous. He was President
of the Bible Society of Phildelphia, the first established in the United
States. He was the first President of the Dispensary founded in 17S4-,
and of the Prison Society. lie was also President of the societies for the
Deaf and Dumb, and for the Blind. He was the author of " Lectures
on the Catechism of the Protestant Episcopal Church: with Supple
mentary Lectures; one on the Ministry, the other on the Public Ser
vice; and Dissertations on Select Subjects in the Lectures;" "Com
parative Views of the Controversy between the Calvinists and the Ar-
minians ; " and " Memoirs of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States of America." A number of sermons, Episcopal
charges, and pastoral letters, delivered in the course of his ministry,
were published separately. He continued active in the discharge of
his duties to the close of his life. His " Instructions for the Mission
aries to China " was prepared and delivered when he was in the
eighty-eighth year of his life.
Bishop White died at Philadelphia, after a short illness, at the
time of morning service, on Sunday, July 17, 183G. On the centennial
anniversary of his ordination to the diaconate, December 23, 1870,
his remains were removed from the family vault in the ground ad
joining the Church, and deposited beneath the chancel of Christ
Church, wherein for more than sixty-three years, as priest and bishop,
he had ministered as pastor of that congregation.
His portraits, painted by Stuart, Sully, and Inman, represent a
countenance of great purity and benevolence a noble type of the
personal character of our forefathers.
HENRY ROWE SCHOOLCRAFT.
HENRY HOWE SCHOOLCRAFT, LL. D., the author to whom " the world
is more indebted for a variety of knowledge of Indian history, ethnology,
archaeology, character, customs, and costumes, than to any other man,"
was a descendant of a family identified with the early border life of
America. His first ancestor in the country, James Calcraft, as the
name was then written, came from England in the reign of George II.,
O O . j
and settled in Albany County, New York. He was a land surveyor,
and also taught school, which led to the popular change of his name to
that of Schoolcraft. lie died at the age of one hundred and two years.
His grandson, Lawrence Schoolcraft, a man of great worth and integrity,
served through both wars with England. He was the father of the sub
ject of this sketch.
Henry R. Schoolcraft was born in Albany Count} , March 28, 1793.
In 1807 he entered Union College, and studied chemistry and miner
alogy. At the age of fifteen he began writing for the newspapers, and
in 1817 published a work on " Vitreology," to which subject his at
tention had been drawn by his father s superintendence of the glass
manufacture. The next year he made a western journey, and returned
with a very complete rnineralogical and geological collection. He made
a mineralogical survey of the lead mines of Missouri, of which he pub
lished a report in 1819. lie also published a narrative of the tour,
afterward enlarged, with the title, "Scenes and Adventures in the
Semi- Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas,
which were first traversed by De Soto in 15-11." In 1820 he was ap
pointed geologist to an exploring expedition under General Cass, to the
Lake Superior copper regions. In 1821 he went to Chicago, and exam
ined the Wabash and Illinois Rivers.
During his travels Mr. Schoolcraft became much interested in the
Indians. In 1822 he was appointed their agent on the Northwest
frontier, with his head-quarters at Sault St. Marie. He was afterward
stationed at Michillimackinac, where he continued to reside for nearly
twenty years, employed for a great part of the time in studying the
Indian languages and history, and in improving the condition of the tribes.
HEXRY ROWE SCIIOOLCRAFT.
In 1823 he married a Miss Johnson, the grand-daughter of an Indian
chief. From 1828 to 1832 he was a member of the Territorial Legisla
ture of Michigan. In 1828 he founded the State Historical Society of
Michigan. He also founded, in 1832, the Algic Society of Detroit, two
of his lectures before which, on the " Grammatical Construction of the
Indian Languages," were translated into French by Du Ponceau, and
presented to the National Institute of France, which awarded him a
gold medal. About this time he published works in prose and verse,
and an Algonquin Grammar. In 1832 he was chosen to conduct an
exploring expedition, which resulted in his discovery of the real head
waters of the Great Father of .Rivers. His account of the journey was
published in a volume entitled, "Narrative of an Expedition to Itasca
.Lake, the actual source of the Mississippi River." Commissioned to
treat with the tribes on the Upper Lakes in 1S3G, he procured from
them the cession of sixteen million acres of land to the United States.
lie was then appointed acting superintendent of Indian affair?, and in
1839 chief disbursing agent for the Northern department. In 1839 he
published his " Algic Researches," " a collection of Indian tales and
legends, mythological and allegoric. It is the working of one of the
finest veins of the author s numerous aboriginal studies. The legends
preserved in this and other of Mr. Schoolcraft s writings show the
Indians to have possessed an unwritten literature of no little value in
botli a poetical and humorous aspect. There is much delicacy in the
conception of many of these tales of the spirits of earth and air, with a
genuine quaintness showing an affinity with the fairy stories of the
northern races of Europe."
In 1842 Mr. Schoolcraft visited Europe, and on his return made a
tour in West Virginia, Ohio, and Canada. In 1845 he made a census,
and collected statistics of the Six Nations of New York, and published
the results in "Notes on the Iroquois." One of the most interesting of
his works is his " Personal Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years with
the Indian Tribes on the American Frontiers," which was published in
1853. To this is prefixed" Sketches of the Life of Henry R. Schoolcraft."
His last literary employment was the preparation, under a resolution of
Congress, of an elaborate work, entitled "Ethnological Researches re
specting the Red Man of America. Information respecting the History,
Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes of the United States."
At the time of his death, which occurred in Washington, D. C., December
10, 1864, six large quarto volumes had appeared. " The Indian Fairy-
Book," compiled from his MS., was published in 18GS.
- u*fi
o rv -
\nSy
X
WILLIAM LEWIS DAYTON.
THE HON. WILLIAM L. DAYTON, LL.D., a lawyer and statesman, was
born in Baskingridgc, Somerset County, New Jersey, February 17,
1SOT. His grand-uncle, Elias Dayton, was an officer of the Revolu
tion, lie fought in Edward Hart s "Jersey Blues," under Wolfe, at
Quebec. After the war he was a member of the Continental Congress,
and was often in the State Legislature.
William L. Dayton, having received an academical education,
entered Princeton College, from which institution he wa- graduated in
1825. He began the study of law in the office of the lion. Peter D.
Vroom, who was soon after made Governor of New Jersey. Upon
his admission to the bar, in 1830, Mr. Dayton established himself in a
legal practice at Freehold. Ho was a Whig in politics, and in Octo
ber, 1S3G, that party elected him to a seat in the State Senate. Made
a member of the Judiciary Committee, he prepared the law by which
the county courts were raised to a status in which they have since
commanded the full confidence of the community. Under the new
law they were each to be presided over by a single judge of the
Supreme Court. That the provisions of the new law might be carried
out, it became necessary to increase the number of Supreme Court
judges, and he was elected to one of the new judicial seats. He re
signed the office in 1841, and resumed the practice of his profession at
Trenton.
In the summer of 1842 Mr. Dayton was appointed to fill the
vacancy in the representation of the State in the United States Senate
caused by the death of Senator Samuel L. Southard, who was known
as New Jersey s " favorite son." After servincr till the close of Mr.
i. O
Southard s unexpired term, Mr. Dayton was elected to the same office
for the full term of six years. Early in his career in the Senate he
was appointed on the Judiciary Committee. He also served on several
other important committees. lie supported the passage of the tariff
WILLIAM LEWIS DAYTON.
bill of 1842. His first speech, delivered in February, 1S43, was an
eloquent defence of the character and credit of the national govern
ment, then suffering in Europe from the failure of several of the
States to pay the interest on the public debts. In 1844 he advocated
the bill to reduce the then current rates of postage. In the debates on
the Oregon question, the annexation of Texas, and the Mexican war,
he took the position of a Free-Soil Whig. Subsequently he strongly
supported the ratification of the treaty with Mexico. lie maintained
the right of Congress to legislate with respect to slavery in the Terri
tories ; and opposed the compromises of 1850. During the excitement
respecting the admission of California, he distinguished himself by
several speeches advocating its admission as a free State, lie advo
cated the abolition of the slave-trade in the District of Columbia, and
earnestly opposed the Fugitive Slave Law. At the close of his term
he returned to the practice of law in Trenton.
In 1856 Mr. Dayton was the Free Soil candidate for the Vice-Presi
dency of the United States. In 1857 he was appointed Attorney-
General of Ne\v Jersey, which office he held until 1861. In 1858 he
declined re-election to the United States Senate. In the National
Republican Convention of I860 he was a prominent candidate for the
Presidency. When Abraham Lincoln began his administration in
March, 1861, he offered him the position of United States Minister to
France. At the time the President said of Mr. Dayton : " I have
known him since we served in the different houses of Congress, at the
same time, and there is no public man for whose character I have a
higher admiration."
Mr. Dayton accepted the office, and soon after crossed the ocean to
enter upon his new duties. The difficult crises in the relations of our
government with France were entrusted to his care. Among them
was the threatened war with England on account of the seizure of
Mason and Slidell, wherein that country received the sympathy of
France; the man} 7 questions arising out of the French invasion of
Mexico ; the presence in the ports of France of several Confederate
cruisers; and the building of four clipper ships at Bordeaux and
Nantes, and two iron-clad rams, at Nantes, for the Confederate service,
which he prohibited from delivery.
Mr. Dayton died December 1, 1864, while most ably discharging
his high trust at Paris. His death called forth numerous and merited
tributes to his worth and public services.
JAMES BIRDSEYE McPHERSON.
JAMES I>. McPiiERSoN was born at Clyde, Sandnsky Comity, Ohio,
November 14, 1828. lie was of Scotch-Irish descent. After pre
liminary studies at Norwalk Academy, he entered the Military
Academy at West Point. Among his class-mates were Sehofield,
Terrill, Sill, and Tyler ; and among the Southern members, Hood.
In 1853 he was graduated at the head of his class. From this
period until tin; outbreak of the late civil war the story of JMcPher-
soifs services might be briefly told. He was employed for a year at
West Point as assistant instructor of practical engineering ; for three
years he was en<m<> ed in engineering; duty on the defences of New
J O O ~ ~ t/
York Harbor ; for three and a half years in charge of the fortifications
in San Francisco 13 ay. In this place he remained, as lieutenant of
engineers, until the year 1861. He was advanced to the junior cap
taincy, August 6, 1861, and soon after promoted to a lieutenant-
colonelcy of volunteers, and assigned to duty on General Ilalleck s
v ~ /
staff. On January 31, 1862, General Grant, at Cairo, received per
mission to move on Forts Henry and Donelson, with the promise that
full instructions would come by messenger. Next day the messenger
presented himself in the person of McPherson, made brevet major of
engineers, and assigned as chief engineer of the expeditionary forces.
Grant was so well pleased with McPhersoirs work that he was instru
mental in having him promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the regular army,
and shortly afterward to brigadier-general of volunteers. He remained
in active duty on General Grant s staff until after the battle of Inka.
For his success in the second battle of Corinth he received the appoint
ment of major-general of volunteers, October 8, 1862. For his great
services in the capture of Vicksburg he was promoted to brigadier-
general of the regular army of the United States, August 1, 1863. In
the Atlanta campaign, in command of the Army of the Tennessee, con
sisting of the 14th, 15th, 16th, and 17th corps, he made his way suc
cessfully to the very gates of that Confederate stronghold. At an early
hour of the 22d day of July, 1864, a staff-officer reported a movement
JAMES BI11DSEYE M C P II E R S O N.
of the enemv. McPherson rode out to the crest of the hills overlooking
v o
Atlanta. From this point he could look into the interior lines of the
enemy s works and through the streets of the beleaguered city. But
he doubted the sudden evacuation. While he stood consulting with
Sherman, the storm broke in another direction, off to the rear and left.
Hood had thrown the bulk of his army on the flank and rear of " the
Army of the Tennessee." McPlierson instantly turned and rode swiftly
toward the sound of battle. He found the 16th corps in position,
struggling bravely ; the 17th still holding its ground firmly, but danger
threatening at one point. He discovered a gap between the two corps,
and hastily ordered a brigade from Logan s corps to fill it. His staff
was sent hither and thither with different orders for the sudden emer
gency. With but a single orderly, McPherson galloped up the road to
ward the 17th corps. He had scarcely gone a hundred and fifty yards
into the woods when there arose before him a skirmish-line in gray !
The enemy was crowding down into the gap. McPlierson stopped for
an instant, then suddenly dashed into the woods on his right, but a
thought too late ; the skirmish-line sent its crashing volley after the
escaping officer. He seemed to have clung to the saddle an instant,
while the noble horse bore him farther into the woods then fell un
conscious. A riderless horse coming out of the woods told the story.
About an hour later, private George Reynolds, of the 15th Iowa, found
his general lying unconscious on the ground, and remained with him
until he expired. It was found that a musket ball had passed through
his right lung. Hood s flanking columns beat back the Union lines un
til they struck Wood s division of the 15th corps. They were checked
and driven from the field by this division, and Captain De Gras s
Chicago battery, that had fallen into the hands of the enemy, was re
taken by Captain C. D. Miller, of the 76th Ohio. This ended the
battle of Atlanta.
The body of McPlierson was taken to General Sherman s head
quarters, and thence sent North in charge of Major Willard, and Cap
tains Steele and Giles of his personal staff. lie was buried in the
orchard of the old homestead at Clyde.
General McPherson s personal appearance was remarkably prepos
sessing. He was over six feet high, finely developed, a graceful
carriage and most winning ways. He seemed perfectly free from the
many vices that so often mar a military character. In boyhood he had
become a member of the Methodist Church, and his practice through
life never proved inconsistent with his early profession.
&
GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
GEORGK WHITEFIELD, founder of the Calvinistic Methodists, was
born in Gloucester, England, December 16, 1714. Between the years of
twelve and fifteen be had made considerable progress in the Latin classics
and orator v at a public school in Gloucester. At the end of that time
lie left school to assist his mother, who was proprietor of the Bell Inn
at that place. While performing his duties about the inn he composed
two or three sermons, and fasted twice a week for thirty-six hours to
gether. After a year spent in this way he returned to his studies, and
in 1733 entered Pembroke College, Oxford, as a servitor. Here he
made the acquaintance of John and Charles Wesley, and was introduced
to a religious club of which they were the founders and leaders. Its
members <k lived by rule and method," and were therefore called
Methodists. This became the appellation of the sect which they
founded.
George Whitefield was ordained deacon by Bishop Benson, June 20,
1736, and the next Sunday preached his first sermon in the church in
which he was baptized. lie returned to Oxford the following week and
took his bachelor s degree, and afterwards preached in various places
with great effect. In 1737, letters received from the Wesley s, who were
then in Georgia, induced him to go as a missionary to America. After
a long passage he arrived at Savannah in May, 173S. lie remained in
Georgia four months, travelling and preaching incessantly. Having
found many orphan children among the colonists, he returned to
England to collect funds for an orphan asylum which he proposed to
establish near Savannah. In January, 1739, he was ordained priest,
and in February set the example of preaching in the open air. From
this period the origin of Methodism is to be dated. In August he again
embarked for America, and arrived in Pennsylvania in November. On
his way to Georgia he preached to immense congregations in the
Middle and Southern States. He reached Savannah early in January.
The Trustees of the Colony had presented him with the living of
Savannah, and granted him five hundred acres, nine miles out of the city,
upon which to erect his intended orphan-house. It was founded, and
named by him Bethesda. In the fall of 1740 he visited New England
GEORGE WHITEFIELD.
by invitation of the ministers of Boston, and preached at various places
to great multitudes of people, lie addressed twenty thousand persons
on Boston Common.
In January, 1741, Mr. Whitefield sailed for Europe. This visit
brought to a crisis the differences in the opinions held by him and by
the Wesleys, in reference to predestination. They took the Arminian
view, while WhitefieicTs sentiments were avowedly Calvinistic. This
disagreement in doctrine gave rise to two distinct bodies, known as the
Calvinistic and Wesleyan Methodists. Mr. Whitefield s course excited at
first a violent prejudice against him in England and in America, to
which he returned in 1744. He entered upon the arduous labors of the
itinerant ministry, and continued to preach with wonderful power and
effect until the spring of 1748, when ill-health led him to visit the
Bermudas, lie embarked from thence for England in June, and
travelled in Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales. He spent the
winter of 1751-2 in preaching in Georgia and South Carolina. In 1754
he made his fifth voyage to America, and soon after his arrival made a
tour from Georgia to Boston and back again, which he spoke of as the
most important of all his expeditions. "President Burr accompanied
him, and says that his magical eloquence attracted in the eastern metrop
olis weeping thousands every morning to his ante breakfast sermons.
Such was the eagerness of the crowd that it was often impossible for him
to get to the pulpit except by climbing into the windows." In 1755 he
was in Great Britain amid the dangers of excited mobs. In Dublin he
was assaulted, and severely wounded with stones. In 1703 he visited
America for the sixth time, and remained until 1765. He reached our
shores for the seventh and last time in November, 17C9. After preach
ing constantly at different places, his strength was exhausted, and he
died of asthma at Newburyport, Massachusetts, September SO, 1770.
The day before his death he preached for two hours at Exeter, New
Hampshire, and addressed the crowd that met him at Newburyport the
same evening.
Mr. Whitefield was a little above the middle stature, well pro
portioned, and remarkable for a native gracefulness of manner. lie
crossed the Atlantic thirteen times, and travelled more and preached
oftener than any other man within the same limits of life. It has been
estimated that he preached eighteen thousand sermons. His eloquence
has been rarely surpassed, and his voice was marvelous in melody and
compass. Dr. Franklin estimated that thirty thousand people might
hear him distinctly while preaching in the open air.
SAMUEL HAMMOND.
COLONEL SAMUEL HAMMOTST), an officer of the Revolution, was born
in Richmond County, Virginia, September 21, 1757. He received such
an education as the country afforded at the time. When quite young
he volunteered in an expedition under Governor Dunmore against the
Indians, who had become troublesome on the Western frontiers. In
the battle of Kenawha he served with distinction.
Upon the commencement of hostilities between Great Britain and
her colonies Colonel Hammond raised a company of minute men
which he commanded at the battle of Long Bridge, where he dis
played great bravery and ability. In 1779 he joined the army of
General Lincoln, with the rank of captain. The same year he was
engaged in the battle of Stono, and took part in the siege of Savannah
with distinguished gallantry, and was made assistant quartermaster.
After the fall of Charleston in May, 1780, he kept the field with a
small cavalry force, and carried on an active partisan warfare. He
took part in the actions of Cedar Springs and Musgrove s Mills, in
both of which the British were defeated. At Hillsborough he re
ceived from Governor Rutledge the brevet commission of major. He
was also active in the battles of Ramsour s Mills, King s Mountain,
ZD
Guilford, and at Black Stocks, where he was wounded, and had three
horses shot from under him.
Colonel Hammond was a member of the Council of Capitulation
held at Charleston. In the celebrated battle of the Cowpens, January
17, 1731, at which the British, under Tarleton, were defeated by the
patriot troops, he rendered important service. In this engagement the
British loss in killed and wounded was a dozen times greater than the
American. He also took part in the advance upon Augusta, and in
the siege of that place. Through the summer of 1781 he was actively
employed as a partisan. In the fall of that year he joined General
Greene, and was with him at the battle of Eutaw Springs, September 8th.
SAMUEL HAMMOND.
During this engagement, which closed the contest at the South, Ham
mond was wounded. On the 17th of the same month he was ap
pointed to the command of a regiment of calvary, and under General
Greene, one of the finest officers of the Revolution, took part in
numerous engagements until the end of the war.
After the war he settled at Savannah, and during his residence
there he held many positions of trust and honor. He was several times
elected to the State Legislature from Chatham County, and also filled
the office of Surveyor-General of Georgia for some time. He was ap
pointed a State Commissioner to act in arranging treaties with the
J- O O
Indians, and in 1793 commanded a volunteer corps in the Creek
country, where he was engaged in throwing up block-houses, and other
wise rendered important services.
He was one of the early governors of Georgia, and in 1803 was
elected a Representative in Congress from that State. He held the
office until 1805, in which year he was appointed by President Jeffer
son, Civil and Military Commandant of Upper Louisiana, and Receiver
of the Public Money in Missouri. He was also president of the bank
of St. Louis. Removing to Missouri, he resided there for the greater
part of the succeeding twenty years. "While there he bought a large
amount of valuable property, which public duties and advancing age
prevented him from attending to properly. He also became involved
in a large debt to the United States, by the failure of local banks
whose notes had been taken in payment of public dues. For this he
was prosecuted by the Government, and arrested in Charleston, after
his return to South Carolina, which took place in 1824. Ueing re
leased on bail, he finally disposed of a large portion of his property,
and paid up the demand to the utmost farthing.
In 1824 Colonel Hammond was elected to the Legislature of South
o
Carolina. In 1827 he was appointed Surveyor-General, and in ]831
was chosen Secretary of State. He continued in office until 1835,
when he withdrew from public life, and retired to his estate, Yarello
Farm, on Horse Creek, three miles below Augusta, Georgia, lie re
mained there in comparative quiet and seclusion until his death, which
occurred on the llth of September, 1842, having almost reached his
eighty-fifth birthday.
The greater part of Colonel Hammond s long life was spent in the
service of his country, as a military commander and as a holder of
varied and important public offices. He left a brilliant reputation,
both as a patriot and as a man.
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BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, grandson of Zephaniah Butler, an
officer of the Revolution, and son of John Butler, who served under
General Jackson at New Orleans, was born at Deerfield, Buckingham
County, New Hampshire, November 5, ISIS. He began his education
at Lowell Hio-h School : and, after fitting himself for college at Exe-
cj * O O
ter Academy, entered Waterville College, Maine, where he was gradu
ated with honor. During his boyhood he was small and delicate, and
on leaving college gave little promise of the vigorous and enduring
constitution which has since been developed. Immediately upon his
graduation he accompanied an uncle of his, who was captain of a fish
ing schooner, on a four months cruise, lie returned with permanently
benefited health, and entered upon the study of law. After being
admitted to the bar, he commenced the practice of his profession at
Lowell, Massachusetts. He became an active member of the old
Democratic party, and pursued law and politics with equal ardor, dis
playing that adroitness and energy which have always characterized
him. lie soon won the reputation of being the ablest criminal lawyer
in the State.
In 1S53 Mr. Butler was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature,
O
and subsequently became a member of the Convention to revise the
State Constitution. In 1S59 he was chosen to the Senate of the State.
He was a prominent delegate to the Charleston and Baltimore Conven
tions in 1860, and in the Presidential campaign of that year he was an
active supporter of Breckinridge.
In 1$57 he was appointed a brigadier-general of the State militia,
which position he held when the Civil War broke out. On the issue
of the President s proclamation calling for volunteers, General Butler
offered his services to Governor Andrew. They were accepted, and at
the head of a regiment he marched to Annapolis, where he took pos
session of the old school-ship " Constitution." He was placed in com
mand of the Department of Annapolis, including the city of Balti
more. In May, 1801, he was made major-general of volunteers, and
transferred to the command of Fortress Monroe a7id the Department
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLEK.
of Virginia. To some slaves who came to the fort for protection he
applied the famous phrase " contraband of war." After the disastrous
affair of Big Bethel he was superseded by General Wool. August 22d
he proceeded against Forts Hatteras and Clark, on the coast of North
Carolina, which fell on the 29th. One of the most important exploits
of the year 1862 was the taking of New Orleans by a naval force
under Commodore Farragut, and a land force under General Butler.
The last-named officer, upon entering the Crescent City, proclaimed
martial law, and by a vigorous administration reduced it to order and
security. He suppressed two or three of the daily papers, and stopped
the circulation of Confederate paper money. In November, 1862, he
was removed from the command. Late in the year 1863 he was placed
in command of the Department of Virginia and North Carolina. He
operated on the south side of the James Hiver, near Richmond, and
intrenched himself at City Point and Bermuda Hundred in May, 1864.
On the 16th of that month he was attacked near Drury s Lane, and
forced back to his intrenchments, so that he could not take the offen
sive. He commanded the land forces in the unsuccessful expedition
against Fort Fisher, in December, 1864. This was the last engage
ment in which he took part.
After the close of the war General Butler resumed the practice of
law at Lowell, and in 1866 was elected a Representative from Massa
chusetts to the Fortieth Congress. He served on the Committees on
Ordnance and Appropriations, and as Chairman on the Special Com
mittee on the assassination of President Lincoln. lie also served as
one of the managers in the impeachment trial of President Johnson, in
1868. In January, 1869, Mr. Butler framed a bill which embodied
the principles of a perfect paper money. Since the close of the war
he has been recognized as a leading member of the Republican party.
In 1868 he was elected a member of Congress, and in 1870 was re-
elected. In 1871 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination
to the office of Governor of the State. In 1876 the Republican party
nominated and elected him to the Forty-fifth Congress. In the summer
of 1878, more than fifty thousand of the people of Massachusetts
signed a petition headed by Wendell Phillips, asking General Butler
to become an independent candidate for Governor of the State, on the
issue of " State Reform. 1 He accepted the nomination. He was not
elected ; but, for a defeated candidate, received the largest number of
votes ever cast in the State.
a -Q JUKI
<*Q.
THOMAS SUMTER.
MAJOR-GENERAL THOMAS SUMTER, one of the four noted patriot
partisan leaders of the Revolution, was born in Virginia in the year
1734 Of his early life little or nothing has been recorded. It is certain,
however, that he early removed to the upper part of South Carolina,
lie was a volunteer in the French and Indian War, and was present at
the defeat of Braddock. In March, 1776, he became lieutenant-colonel
of a regiment of South Carolina riflemen, and was prominent in the
movements at Charleston previous to its fall in May, 1780. Within a
few weeks after its capitulation he was promoted to the rank of
brigadier-general by Governor Rutledge. With a few others of equally
brave spirit he had retired to the swamps of the Santee for refuge and
the means of renewing the contest. On the burning and ravaging of
his estate he retired to North Carolina, where he was chosen to the com
mand of a body of patriots, few in number and imperfectly armed.
This force, organized under remarkable circumstances, he led in a series
of actions of great importance to his country. The Carolinas were full
of Tories who had organized companies, and these partisan corps kept
up a continued warfare, which largely decided the issue of the contest
at the South. Of the four celebrated leaders, Marion, Sumter, Pickens,
and Lee, Marion, " The Swamp Fox," and Sumter, " The South
Carolina Game-Cock," were the most energetic and successful.
July 12, 1780, General Sumter attacked a British detachment on
the Catawba, and totally routed and dispersed the enemy, though their
force was much superior to his. Captain Iluck, the British commander,
was killed. The success of this affair directed much attention to the
brave patriot leader, and he was speedily reinforced. With six hun
dred men he mode an attack on the post at Rocky Mount, July 30th, but
having no artillery, was repulsed. At Hanging Rock, August Gth, he
gained a victory over a strong body of British and Tories. When he
commenced the action his men had but two rounds of ammunition, but
they soon supplied themselves from the stores of the fleeing Tories.
Learning soon after that a detachment of the enemy was on its march
THOMAS S U M T E R .
to Camden, with stores for (he main army, Snmter hastened to inter
cept it. On August 16th he fell upon the convoy, and succeeded in
taking forty-four wagon loads of stores and clothing, and a number of
prisoners. But on the 18th he was overtaken, surprised, and com
pletely routed by Tarleton at Fishing Creek. One hundred and fifty
of his men were killed and wounded, over three hundred were
made prisoners, and the stores and clothing again fell into the hands
of the British. Sumter escaped unhurt, and at the end of three days
was at the head of a force composed of the small remnant of his fol
lowers and many new volunteers. "With his new party, all mounted,
he went with rapidity from place to place, continually harassing the
enemy, skirmishing with them, and cutting off their supplies.
Early in the fall of 1780, Cornwallis dispatched Major "Weinyss in
pursuit of Sumter. lie attacked him in his encampment on the banks
of Broad River, on November 12th. The British troops were defeated,
and "We my ss captured. On the 20th of the month he was attacked at
Blackstocks by Tarleton, whom he repulsed after a sharp conflict.
Sumter received a wound during the action which compelled him to
remain inactive for a few months. Cornwallis wrote to Tarleton : " I
shall be very glad to hear that Sumter is in a condition to give us no
further trouble ; he certainly has been our greatest plague in this
country." In January, 1781, Sumter and the men under his command
received the thanks of Congress for their bravery, patriotism, and
military conduct. Early in February he again took the field. Cross
ing the Congaree, he destroyed the magazines at Fort Granby, and two
days later captured some wagons and stores which were being conveyed
to Camden. In March he raised three regiments, and co-operated with
Marion with great success. In May, 1781, he captured the British post
at Orangeburg, and soon afterward the posts at Dorchester, and Monk s
Corner. Shortly after this last affair his ill-health obliged him to re
tire from active service. After the close of the war he was a member
of the convention to adopt the Federal Constitution. From 1789 to
1703 he was a Representative in Congress from South Carolina. While
holding the office he voted for locating the seat of Government on the
Potomac. In 1801 he became United States Senator, and served until
1809, when he was appointed Minister to Brazil, where he remained
two years. The remainder of his life was spent at his home near
Bradford Springs, South Carolina, where he died June 1, 1832, in the
ninety-eighth year of his age. lie was the last surviving officer of the
Revolution.
FRANCIS VINTON.
FRANCIS VINTON was born in Providence, R. L, August 29, 1809.
Graduatinjr from West Point, one of the first five of his class, in the
O
year 1S30, lie received his commission as second lieutenant in the
Third United States Artillery. lie was stationed in Portsmouth, IS". II.,
and at Fort Independence in Boston Harbor, and previously saw
active service in Alabama and Georgia, in the war against the hostile
Indians of that region. While stationed at Fort Independence he be
gan the study of law at Harvard University, and was admitted to the
bar in January, 1S34. At the same time, and subsequently, he acted
as civil engineer on several of the railroads of New England.
In 1836 Lieutenant Vinton resigned his commission in the army,
and entered the General Theological Seminary at New York. lie was
ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Griswold, on September 30, 1S38,
in St. John s Church, Providence ; and to the priesthood in March of
the following year. Ilis first Parish was at Tower Hill, II. L, from
which he afterward removed to Wakefield, where he built a church.
He was successively Rector of St. Stephen s Church, Providence (which
lie built); Trinity Church, Newport ; Emmanuel Church, Brooklyn,
N. Y. ; Grace Church, Brooklyn Heights (which he also built); and
Assistant Minister of Trinity Parish, New York, serving in St. Paul s
Chapel from 1855 to 1S59, in which year he was appointed to Trinity
Church, of which he had charge until his death, in 1ST2.
At the time of the Dorr Rebellion in Rhode Island, in 1842, he took
an active interest in the events of those Stirling days, and on the return
of the militia to Newport on its suppression, he opened Trinity Church
and held a service of Thanksgiving, at which the military were pres
ent. The pleasant custom of Christmas Tree festivals for Sunday
schools (now almost universally practised) was inaugurated by him in
his own house in Court Street, Brooklyn, on Epiphany evening, 1847.
In 1848 he was elected to be the Bishop of Indiana, but declined. The
Bame year he received the degree of S.T.D. from Columbia College,
and since then that of LL.D. has been added.
He became President of the "Sons of Rhode Island in New York"
in 18G2, and, on their first anniversary in 1863, delivered his oration
FRANCIS YINTON.
before them, on the " Annals of Ehode Island and Providence Planta
tions," from which we quote :
" While American citizens, true to the glorious old flag that sym
bolizes and protects the Union as one nation, yet we are not aliens
from our native land. We repudiate State sovereignty, but we cling
to STATE FELLOWSHIP. Yes ! Yonder is Rhode Island. Her streams
are vocal with the rattling of the spindle; her forges resound the
clangor of the anvil ; her hills are crowned with the seats of learning ;
her shores are lined with cottages and with villas ; her beach is popu
lous with citizens of all States, in search of health and recreation ; her
rocks are memorable as the resort of philosophy and of poetry ; her
coast is kissed by the warm touch of the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic ;
her breath is the genial air of heaven ; her bosom is adorned with the
emerald grass and the golden corn ; her cities are the emporium of in
dustries ; her homes the happy sanctuaries of love and liberty, and con
tentment.
The oration was repeated by invitations of the New York and Long
Island Historical Societies ; also in Providence and Newport.
In 1SG9 he was elected " Charles-and-Elizabeth-Ludlow " Professor
of Ecclesiastical Polity and Law at the General Theological Seminary,
New York. In the same year he received the degree of D. C. L. from
AVilliam and Mary College, of Virginia. On his entrance on his duties
as professor, he published a work entitled "A Manual Commentary on
Canon Law of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States,"
Avhich is extensively used as a book of reference and text- book. lie
was also the author of "Arthur Tremaine, or Cadet Life," published in
1830, and of many orations, addresses, sermons and lectures.
Dr. Yinton died at his home in Brooklyn, N. Y., on September 29,
1872, and is buried in the graveyard at Newport, E. I. Twice married,
his first wife was a daughter of John Whipple, of Providence, the
second, the only daughter of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
His brothers also deserve honorable mention for their distinguished
service to their country. Major John Rogers Vinton was killed by an
unexploded shell at the bombardment of Yera Cruz, in the Mexican
war. Brigadier-General David II. Yinton (who died February 21,
1873) served in New York during the civil war as chief quarter
master, and as assistant quartermaster-general ; he was one of the most
valued and justly trusted officers in the army. Alexander II. Yinton,
D.D., a prominent and talented clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, has recently retired from active duties in Boston, Mass.
RUFUS WILMOT GRISWOLD.
KUFUS \VILMOT GRISWOLD, D.D., was born at Benson, Rutland
County, Vermont, February 15, 1815. He was a descendant of
George Griswold, of Kenilworth, England ; and on his mother s side,
from Thomas Mayhew, the first Governor of Martha s Vineyard.
Much of his early life was spent in voyages and travels about the
world. Before he was twenty years old he had seen the most interesting
portions of his own country, and of southern and central Europe. lie
was at first a printer s apprentice, but afterwards studied divinity and
became a Baptist preacher. He is chiefly known as an author. lie
early became associated in the editorship of " The New Yorker,"
" The Brother Jonathan," " The New World," and a number of other
periodicals in several of the principal cities of the Union. In 1842-3
he edited "Graham s Magazine " with success, securing the contribu
tions of some of the best authors of the time. In 1850 he projected
the "International Magazine," which he conducted from August of
that year to April, 1852.
Mr. Griswold was a voluminous writer. In 18-41 he published an
anonymous volume of poems, and a volume of sermons. E. P. "Whipplo
said his acquirements in theology were extensive ; his sermons were his
finest compositions, and were eloquently delivered. In 1842 he pub
lished " The Curiosities of American Literature," as an appendix to
an American edition of Disraeli s " Curiosities of Literature." The
same year the first edition of his " Poets and Poetry of America " ap
peared. The work was greatly in advance of any previous attempt of
a similar character. In the well-written preface he said: "The crea
tion of beauty, the manifestation of the real by the ideal, in words
that move in metrical array, is poetry." Poe declared this to be the
sole true definition of poetry. In the " Historical Introduction " to
fhe work, Mr. Griswold endeavored to exhibit the progress as well as
the condition of the poetry of the United States. The book consisted
of short biographical and critical notices of the authors whose claims
to recognition he thought sufficiently great, with selections from their
works. " The Prose Writers of America," considered one of his most
EUFUS WILMOT GRISWOLD.
valuable efforts, appeared in 1846. His " Female Poets of America "
was published in 1849, and in 1854, a volume, similar in style to the
three on American literature entitled " The Poets and Poetry of Eng
land in the Nineteenth Century."
In 1842 Mr. Griswold published "The Biographical Annual," and,
in 1844, "Christian Ballads and Other Poems." In 1845 he edited
the first American edition of the " Prose Works of Milton, with a
Critical Memoir." In 1847 appeared "Washington, and the Generals
of the American Revolution," in two volumes. The work was edited
and partly written by Mr. Griswold. With II. B. Wallace he prepared
and published "Napoleon and the Marshals of the Empire," in two
volumes, during the same year. lie also edited " Scenes in the Life
of the Saviour, by the Poets and Painters," and " The Sacred Poets of
England and America," which appeared in 1S49. He was one of the
editors of the " Works of Edgar Allan Poe," and wrote the memoir of
that author. He also wrote, in conjunction with others, or entirely by
himself, six or eight works on history and biography, a novel, and sev
eral discourses on historical or philosophical subjects. His contributions
to magazines and newspapers would fill many volumes. His larger
works have been revised, and have passed through numerous editions.
Mr. Griswold s latest publication was " The Republican Court ; or
American Society in the Days of Washington," from the press of the
Appletons, in 1854. It was sumptuously printed and richly illustrated.
It contained twenty-one portraits of eminent ladies of the time, en
graved from original pictures by Woolaston, Copley, Gainsborough,
Stuart, Trumbull, Malbone, and other contemporary painters. Tuck-
erman said in the " North American Review," for July, 1855, " The
Republican Court is the most beautiful specimen in this depart
ment that lias yet appeared, and lias the peculiar merit of a na
tional subject. It consists of a fluent narrative, intended to convey
an authentic and picturesque idea of social life in this country in the
days of Washington. ... In the preparation of this elegant quarto,
the memoirs and correspondence of the period have been searched, the
diaries of leading members of society gleaned, and the reminiscences
of survivors drawn upon."
Mr. Griswold died at New York, August 27, 1857. lie left, unfin
ished, an illustrated "Life of Washington." During his lifetime he
/ O O
had collected a large library of books relating to American history and
literature, a portion of which, with several original portraits of Ameri
can authors, was bequeathed to the New York Historical Society.
l~H f "
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ZACHARY TAYLOR.
ZACIIAKY TAYLOR, tlie twelfth President of the United States, was
born in Orange County, Virginia, September 24, 1784. Soon after his
birth his parents removed to Kentucky, and settled within a few miles
of the present city of Louisville. In that sparsely populated section
educational advantages were few, and until he was twenty-four yeai-s
of age lie worked on his father s plantation. His father, Colonel
Richard Taylor, served throughout the War of the Revolution, was
distinguished in the Indian wars, and was one of the framers of the
Constitution of Kentucky.
In 1808 Zachary Taylor was appointed a lieutenant in the United
States Army, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of his brother,
Hancock Taylor. He was made captain in November, 1810. Upon
the declaration of war with England, in 1812, he engaged under Gen
eral Harrison in the protection of the North-western territory. For
his gallantry in repelling an Indian attack on Fort Harrison, a stockade
on the Wabash River, September, 1812, he received the brevet rank of
major, the first instance in the service of this species of promotion,
lie took part in the successful expedition of General Hopkins against
the Indians, and in 1814 commanded an expedition against the British
and Indians on the Rock River. Upon the termination of the war he
was retained in the army, and for several years was employed in the
Indian service in various ways. In 1819 he was made lieutenant-
colonel. He built Fort Jessup in 1822. In 1832 he was promoted to
the rank of colonel, and in the same year took part in the Black Hawk
War. Up to this date, twenty-four years from the time of his entering
the service, Colonel Taylor had been engaged in the defence of the
frontiers, in scenes so remote, and in employments so obscure, that
his name was unknown beyond the limits of his own immediate
acquaintance.
In 1836 he was sent to Florida to compel the Seminoles to vacate
that region and to remove to lands west of the Mississippi, in accord
ance with a treaty made by their chiefs. After several battles the
Indians retreated to the everglades of southern Florida, with the hope
ZACHARY TAYLOR.
of finding safety in its tangled swamps. Colonel Taylor pursued them
into their hiding-places though to do so it was necessary to wade knee-
deep through mud and water for three-quarters of a mile and defeated
them at Okechobee, December 25, 1837. For this affair he received
the brevet rank of brigadier-general. In 1838 he was made com-
mander-in-chief in Florida, and held the position until the arrival of
General Macomb. In 1840 he was assigned to the command of the
army in the South-west, with headquarters at Fort Jessup. lie at this
time purchased a plantation near Baton Rouge, to which he removed
his family. He remained here for five years.
On the annexation of Texas in 1845, General Taylor was ordered
to the frontier to defend the new State against Mexican invasion.
In August, 1845, he encamped at Corpus Christi, Texas, with one
thousand and five hundred troops. In November his forces had in
creased to about four thousand men. In March of the following year
he was ordered to advance to the Rio Grande. When the troops
reached the banks of that river opposite Matamoras the} 7 erected Fort
Brown. With two thousand and three hundred men he defeated six
thousand Mexicans under General Arista, at Palo Alto, May 8, 1846.
The next day he gained the battle of Resaca de la Pal ma. He was
thereupon appointed to the rank of Major-General. lie captured
Monterey, September 24, 1846, and in February, Ib47, defeated the
Mexicans under Santa Anna at Buena Vista. This decisive victory
enhanced the already widespread reputation which his success in the
three previous battles had won him. " Old Rough and Ready," as his
soldiers admiringly called him, received the thanks of Congress and
a gold medal for his services in Mexico.
After the close of the war, having been offered the nomination for
President of the United States, General Taylor published several letters
defining his position as " a Whig, but not an Ultra-Whig." Many of
the Whig leaders violently opposed his nomination. lie had taken so
little interest in politics that he had not voted in forty years, but his
personal popularity was so great that he was nominated and elected
by a large majority. His administration \vas short. He died at the
Presidential mansion in Washington, July 9, 1850, after an illness of
five days, and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore, the Vice-President.
General Taylor was universally respected and beloved. Plainness
and simplicity were the characteristics of his manners and appearance.
A son, Richard Taylor, was a Confederate general. lie died in
New York City, April 12, 1879.
TT S-"**
ER S , i , j
RICHARD ADAMS LOCKE.
THE author of one of the most widely successful hoaxes ever at
tempted was Hi chard Adams Locke, a lineal descendant of John
Locke, author of the celebrated " Essay on the Human Understand
ing."
O
In 1S35 Moses Y. Beach, the inventor, purchased "The New York
Sun," a daily paper, which was originally published by Day and Wis-
ner. Upon becoming proprietor of the " Pioneer of the Penny Press,"
as it has been styled, from the fact that it was the first successful at
tempt to establish a penny newspaper, Mr. Beach secured the services
of Richard Adams Locke as its editor. Under his editorship, and
through his graphic contributions to its columns, the number of readers
decidedly increased, and the publication of the great " Moon Hoax "
brought it at once prominently and permanently before the public.
Late in the summer of 1835 Locke announced, through the editorial
department, that very remarkable astronomical discoveries had been
made, at the Cape of Good Hope, by Sir John Ilerschell. The infor
mation purported to have been received from "The Edinburgh Journal
of Science." This announcement was followed by full accounts of the
discoveries which, it was stated, had been made in the planets of our
solar system, and particularly in the moon. The observations were
made with a new apparatus, with a magnifying power of forty-two
thousand times. Formations of basaltic rock, shaped like those at the
Giant s Causeway in Ireland, and covered with dark red flowers, were
first discovered. Water was also discovered river, lake, and sea.
There were forests of trees, some of them unknown, and others closely
resembling those which grow on the earth. Dr. Ilerschell specified
numbers of these. Among those peculiar to the moon, were the lunar
palm, a tree melon, and a tree bearing a small red fruit, shaped like
a cucumber. Plants of many varieties were to be found in different
places. The surface of the moon, like that of the earth, was diversi
fied by hill and valley, plain and prairie. Volcanoes were discovered,
Borne active and others extinct. Crystal stalactites of great beauty
R I C 11 A I! D ADAMS LOCKE.
were seen, and rocks of pure quartz, one of them three miles in cir
cumference. The fowls were numerous golden and blue pheasants,
white and blue cranes, pelicans, and flocks of wild doves were among
the varieties. Dr. Ilerschell also classified several species of animals.
Among them small kinds of reindeer, elk, moose, biped beaver, and
horned bear. Large flocks of sheep, grazing, were seen. Herds of
brown quadrupeds, like the bison, but smaller, with semicircular horns,
and humps on the shoulders, were discovered. These animals had a
fleshy appendage, common to all lunar quadrupeds, crossing the whole
breadth of the forehead and united to the ears, which was lifted and
lowered by means of the ears, and which was supposed to shield their
eyes from the intense light of the sun. Flocks of creatures, that walked
like human beings, but were provided with wings, were discovered.
They were evidently engaged in conversation, and made gestures with
the hands and arms. Higher races, more refined in appearance than
these, were subsequently discovered, and temples with lofty columns
and pinnacles, but the full account was reserved for a time which
never came.
The narrative, from beginning to end, must be read to be fully ap
preciated. Upon its completion in the " Sun," it was published in
pamphlet form ; copies of which are now scarce and valuable.
A few weeks previous, Edgar Allan Foe had published " Hans
Phaall," also a " moon story," but written, as he said, in a tone of
mere banter. Immediately upon the completion of Locke s " Moon
Hoax," Foe wrote an examination of its claims to credit, showing dis
tinctly its fictitious character, but was astonished at finding that he
could obtain few listeners, so completely were all deceived. Even after
it had been openly acknowledged a hoax, thousands refused to think
it so. The sensation it produced reached other nations and countries,
and the little pamphlet was translated into various languages.
Upon leaving the " Sun," in 1836, Mr. Locke established a politi
cal daily paper, " The New Era," which he edited with ability. In
this paper lie attempted a second hoax, which pretended to be the lost
manuscripts of Mungo Park, the celebrated African traveller. This
did not deceive any one, and was therefore not finished, though Foe
says it was richly imaginative. Mr. Locke was also the first editor of
" The Brooklyn Eagle."
His style was "noticeable for its concision, luminousness, complete
ness each quality in its proper place."
He died on Staten Island, February 16, 1S71 } aged 71 years.
LEWIS CASS.
LEWIS CASS was born at Exeter, New Hampshire, October 9, 1782,
near the close of the war, throughout which his father, Jonathan Cass,
had served with great credit as a captain in the Continental army.
The son studied at the academy in his native place, where Daniel
Webster was a schoolfellow, from the age of ten years to that of seven
teen. About that time his father removed to his tract of bounty land
near Zanesville, Ohio. The family travelled in a roundabout way,
stopping at several cities of importance. While at Wilmington, Dela
ware, young Cass was employed for a short time in teaching in the
academy. After crossing the Alleghany Mountains on foot, he decided
to remain at Marietta, Ohio, and study law. In 1802 he was admitted
to the bar, and commenced the practice of his profession at Zanesville,
in which his rise was rapid.
In 1806 Mr. Cass was elected a member of the State Legislature,
and was appointed on a special committee to investigate Aaron Burr s
supposed treasonable preparations. He introduced a bill which re
sulted in the arrest of the suspected colonel and the defeat of his plans.
The next year President Jefferson appointed him Marshal for the
State. lie resigned the office towards the close of 1811, to volunteer
his services in repelling the attacks of the Indians on the Xorthern
frontier, lie was elected colonel of the Third Hegiment of Ohio Volun
teers, and entered the United States Army at the commencement of
the War of 1812. His command, under General Hull, reached Detroit
by a difficult march. With a small detachment of troops he fought
and won the first battle, that of the Tarontoe. At the subsequent igno
minious surrender of Detroit he was absent on important service, but
was, with his command, included in the capitulation. lie was released
upon parole, and repaired to Washington to report the particulars of
the affair. In January, 1813, his exchange was effected, and he was
immediately commissioned colonel in the regular army. At the battle
of the Thames he was a volunteer aide-de-camp to General Harrison,
and served with distinction.
LEWIS C A S S .
In October, 1813, Mr. Cass was appointed by President Monroe
Governor of the Territory of Michigan. In his new office his duties
were both of a civil and a military character. "With General Harrison
lie took part in the grand council of the Indians at Greenville, in July,
IS 14. As superintendent of Indian affairs he preserved peace between
them and the whites, and negotiated nineteen Indian treaties. Under
his able direction the territory rapidly advanced in population, resour
ces, and prosperity. In 1817 the first newspaper in Michigan, "The
Detroit Gazette," was commenced under his auspices. In 1819 arid
1820 he organized and conducted a scientific exploration of the upper
region of the Mississippi, which has identified his name with the
geography of the country. Mr. Henry R. Schoolcraft accompanied
the expedition as mineralogist, and published the incidents of the tour
in an interesting volume during the following year.
General Cass held his responsible position in Michigan until his
appointment as Secretary of War by President Jackson, in August,
1831. While occupying this post he advocated the policy of removing
the Indians to the west of the Mississippi, which led to the war with
the Seminoles in Florida. In 1836 lie received from President Jack
son the appointment, of Minister to France, where he rendered impor
tant service in opposing the admission of the right of search in the
Quintuple Treaty for the suppression of the slave trade. lie did not
fully approve of the Ashburton Treaty, and in consequence requested
his recall in September, 1842, and returned to America.
In 1845 he was elected by the Legislature of Michigan to the Sen
ate of the United States, which position he resigned on becoming the
Democratic candidate for the Presidency in 1848. General Taylor,
the Whig nominee, was elected. General Cass was then re-elected
to the Senate for the remainder of his original term of six years.
Upon the expiration of the term in 1851 he was again chosen Senator
for a full term, during which he advocated the Kansas-Nebraska Bill,
lie had opposed the Wilmot Proviso, and supported the compromise
of 1850. When Buchanan became President of the United States he
appointed Mr. Cass his Secretary of State. He resigned the position
in December, I860, and retired to his home in Detroit, Michigan,
where he died June 17, 1866.
Mr. Cass was the author of " France ; its King, Court, and Govern
ment," and numerous speeches and State papers. lie wrote two arti
cles upon Indian affairs for the " North American Review," and was
also a contributor to the " Southern Literary Messenger."
CORNELIUS CONWAY FELTON.
CORNELIUS CONWAY FELTON, LL.D., was born at Newbnry, Massa
chusetts, November 6, 1807. He was prepared for college chiefly at
the Franklin Academy, Andover. He entered Harvard University in
1823, and during the sophomore and junior years taught winter schools
in Concord and Boston ; and was teacher of mathematics, in the last
six months of the junior year, in the Round Hill School, Northampton.
In his senior year he was one of the conductors of the " Harvard Reg
ister." After graduating in 1827, he, with two classmates, had charge
of the Livingston County High School in Geneseo, New York, for two
years. In 1829 he was appointed Latin tutor in Harvard University,
and Greek tutor in 1830. In 1832 he became the College Professor
of the Greek language. In 1834 he received the appointment of Eliot
Professor of Greek Literature. He was the third Eliot Professor, Hon.
Edward Everett and Dr. Popkin having preceded him. He faithfully
discharged the duties of this professorship for a quarter of a century,
and, in addition, filled the office of Regent of the college for many
years. In April, 1853, he sailed for Europe, and visited England,
Scotland, Wales, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Malta, Constan
tinople, Smyrna, and several of the Greek islands. He reached Athens
in October, and remained in Greece until the following February.
AVhile there he travelled through the country and visited its most cele
brated localities for the purpose of illustrating ancient Greek history
and poetry ; studied at Athens the remains of ancient art, the present
}ano;nao;e and literature of Greece, the constitution arid laws of the
o o t
Hellenic kingdom ; attended courses of lectures at the University, and
visited the common schools and gymnasia. lie returned to the United
States in May, 1854. In 1858 he made a second European tour.
Of numerous addresses delivered on public occasions, he published
an address at the close of the first year of the Livingston County High
School, 1828 ; a discourse delivered at his own inauguration as Profes
sor of Greek Literature; an address delivered at the dedication of the
Bristol County Academy in Taunton, Massachusetts ; an address at a
meeting of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, on moving
CORNELIUS CONWAY FELTON.
resolutions on the death of Daniel Webster; and an oration delivered
before the Alumni of Harvard University. He was a frequent con
tributor to the " North American Review," the " Christian Examiner,"
" Willard s Monthly Review," " Buckingham s New England Maga
zine," and occasionally contributed to the " Bibliotheca Sacra," the
"Methodist Quarterly Review," the "Knickerbocker Magazine," the
" Whig Review," and other periodicals, and furnished articles for vari
ous newspapers. He wrote the articles on Agassiz, Athens, Attica,
Demosthenes, Euripides, Greece, and Homer for the first edition of
Appleton s "American Cyclopedia," and a life of General Eaton for
Sparks s " American Biography." In 1833 he edited the " Iliad of Ho
mer," with Flaxman s illustrations, which has since been revised and
extended, and has passed through several editions. In 1840 he pub
lished a translation of Menzel s work on "German Literature," and a
Greek Reader containing selections from the Greek authors in prose
and poetry, with English notes and a vocabulary. In 1841 he pub
lished an edition of the " Clouds" of Aristophanes, with an introduction
and notes in English. In 1843 he aided Professors Sears and Edwards
in the preparation of a volume on classical studies, which was partly
original and partly translated. He assisted Longfellow in the prepara
tion of his "Poets and Poetry of Europe," which was published in
1845. In 1847 he edited the " Panegyrics " of Isocrates, and the " Aga
memnon " of ^Eschylus. In 1849 he translated from the French Pro
fessor Guyot s work on physical geography, entitled, " The Earth and
Man." The same year he published the " Birds " of Aristophanes,
with introduction and notes in English. In 1852 he edited a "Memo
rial of Professor Popkin," consisting of a selection of his lectures and
sermons, to which is prefixed a biographical sketch. During the same
year he published a volume of selections from Greek historians, ar
ranged in the order of events. A revised edition of " Smith s History
of Greece," and an edition of Lord Carlisle s "Diary in Turkish and
Greek Waters," prepared by him, appeared in 1855. In 1856 he pub
lished a selection from modern Greek writers in prose and verse. His
most important work, " Greece, Ancient and Modern," was published
after his death, as was also his " Familiar Letters from Europe."
Professor Felton was a member of the Massachusetts Board of
Education, a Regent of the Smithsonian Institute, and a member of
the Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1860 he was elected President
of Harvard University. His death occurred at Chester, Pennsylvania,
February 26, 1862.
HENRY CLAY.
ON the 12th of April, 1777, less than a year after the Declaration of
Independence, there was born, in an humble home in Hanover County,
Virgin ia, a boy whose destiny it was not only to render invaluable
service to his country, but to become one of the most famous of the
" famous men " whose very names are loved and honored by the nation.
The " Mill-boy of the Slashes," so-called from the numerous slashes, or
swamps, in the neighborhood, was the fifth child in a family of seven.
His father, a Baptist minister of limited means, died when Henry was
five years old, leaving him to the care of his mother. His education
was derived at a rude log-cabin school-house, where the simplest rudi
ments were taught by very indifferent teachers. He early began to
support himself, and the remarkable powers of his intellect which after
wards distinguished him, began to develop. He has said, " I owe my
success in life to one single fact, namely, that at an early age I com
menced, and continued for some years, the practice of daily reading
and speaking the contents of some historical or scientific book. These
off-hand efforts were sometimes made in a cornfield ; at others, in a
forest ; and not unf requently in some distant barn, with the horse and
ox for my only auditors. It is to this that I arn indebted for the im
pulses that have shaped and moulded my entire destiny."
Choosing the law for his profession, his earnest perseverance, with
the aid of his retentive memory, overcame many difficulties in his course
of studies, and when but twenty years old he was admitted to the bar.
About this time the population of the Western States was steadily in
creasing, and Henry Clay, starting out to seek his fortune, turned his
footsteps towards Kentucky. Settling at Lexington, then a small place,
he commenced the practice of law, and soon became deeply interested
in politics. From this time his rise was rapid. He not only acquired
an extensive practice and an enviable reputation as an able lawyer in
that State, but his great genius began to attract the attention of the
IIENR Y CLAY.
whole nation. In 1803 he was elected to the Kentucky Legislature,
where he discharged his duties so well, that in 1806 that body chose
him to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. On his return, he
was again elected to the Kentucky Legislature, and was chosen Speaker
of the Assembly by a large majority. In 1809 he was again sent to the
United States Senate to fill a vacancy. At the end of the term for
which he was chosen, he was elected to the House of Representatives.
Filling first one important public office, and then another, he continued a
faithful, zealous worker on the behalf of his country for many years.
During President Monroe s administration the Missouri Compro
mise, advocated by Mr. Clay, put an end to the violent discussion as to
whether the State should be admitted into the Union as free or slave.
In 1832, when South Carolina passed a nullification ordinance and
threatened to secede if force should be employed to collect any revenue,
his celebrated " Compromise Bill " was adopted by the Senate. This,
offering a gradual reduction of the tariff, was accepted by both sides.
Alexander H. Stephens says : " To do this, Clay had to break with his
old political friends, while he was offering up the darling system of his
heart on the altar of his country. No one can deny that lie was a
patriot every inch of him. When he was importuned not to take the
course he did, and assured that it would lessen his chances for the Presi
dency, he nobly replied, I would rather be right than president a
sentiment worthy to be the motto of every young patriot in our land."
Though he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency, his
fame remained far above any distinction which mere office can bestow.
He died at Washington, D. C., on the 29th of June, 1852. Mr. Clay
was a tall, distinguished-looking man, with peculiarly winning manners.
It is said that an eminent political antagonist once declined an intro
duction to him on the ground of a determination not to be magnetized
by personal contact, as he " had known other good haters " of Clay to
be. One of his most noticeable characteristics was his inflexible honor.
John C. .Breckinridge said, in an oration pronounced at his death : " If
I were to write his epitaph, I would inscribe, as the highest eulogy, on
the stone which shall mark his resting-place : Here lies a man who was
in the public service for fifty years, and never attempted to deceive his
countrymen. "
PHILIP SCHUYLER.
PHILIP SCHUYLER, a Major-General of the Revolutionary Army,
was born at Albany, New York, November 22, 1733. His grand
father, Colonel Peter Schuyler, Mayor of Albany, was distinguished
for his patriotism and for his influence over the Indians. In 1719, as
the oldest member of the Provincial Council, the chief command in
New York devolved upon him. His son, John Schuyler, and Mrs.
Cornelia Van Cortlandt Schuyler, were the parents of the subject of
this sketch. Upon the death of John Schuyler, Philip received, by
the law of primogeniture, the whole of his father s estate, but with
the generosity which characterized him in after-life he shared the
inheritance with the four younger children. His father s death oc
curring when he was quite young, he was adopted into the family of
his uncle, Colonel Philip Schuyler, whose estate in Saratoga he after
wards inherited.
Young Philip Schuyler entered the provincial army when the
French and Indian war broke out in 1755, and commanded a com
pany under Sir William Johnson at Fort Edward and Lake George.
He continued in the service until 175S, when he accompanied Lord
Howe as colonel of a regiment, in the expedition against Ticonderoga.
The army was under General Abercrombie. When Lord Howe fell
in a skirmish with the French advanced guard, Schuyler was directed
to cause his body to be conveyed to Albany, and buried there with ap
propriate honors. During the remainder of the war he was employed
in the commissary department. The close of the war left the English
the ruling nation on the American continent. The thirteen colonies,
numbering two million persons, became dependencies of the British
empire. But the colonists had learned "to think and act independ
ently of the mother country." Democratic ideas had taken root, legis
lative bodies had been called, troops raised and supplies voted, not by
England, but by themselves. "They knew their rights and dared
maintain them," and they had " learned how, when the time came, to
fight even British regulars."
After peace was made at Paris in 1763 ; Colonel Schuyler was em-
PHILIP SCIIUYLER.
ployed in various ways in the civil services of the colony. In 1708
he was elected to the Colonial Assembly of New York, of which he
continued a prominent member until its termination in 1775. In that
year he was appointed a member of the Second Continental Congress,
and was with Washington on the committee to draw up rules and regu
lations for the army. He had early advocated decided resistance to
the measures of Great Britain. In June, 1775, the body of which he
Avas a member appointed him the third of the four major-generals
under Washington. That general placed him in command of the
Northern Department of the American army. Late in the summer
he started to invade Canada, but in September, on account of illness,
was obliged to relinquish his command to Montgomery. That heroic
general, who fell in the attack on Quebec, suffered, with his troops,
inconceivable hardships during the short and disastrous campaign.
Upon his recovery, and even before he was restored to health, Gen
eral Schuyler exerted himself to the utmost in behalf of the North
ern army, lie was also active among the Six Nations of Indians, and
in August, 1776, made an important treaty with them. In the dis
charge of his duties, "the energy of his character, and the dignity of
his deportment," had excited popular jealousy and ill-will. He ac
cordingly tendered his resignation in the fall ; but Congress would not
dispense with his services. lie continued his efforts for the public
service until March, 1777, when he was superseded by General Gates.
By the resolution of Congress he was reinstated the following Mav.
On the approach of Burgoyne s army in June, General Schuyler, with
the small force at his command, did all in his power to impede its ad
vance. Summoning the militia from New York and New En<> land,
an army was soon collected and drilled. Just as his preparations were
completed, he was again superseded by General Gates. Though sensi
ble of the indignity, the patriotic general made known to Gates all his
plans, and assisted in their execution. lie also rendered important
services afterward, though not in command. He demanded a trial
before a court-martial, and was most honorably acquitted.
General Schuyler spent the remainder of his life in the civil ser
vice of the country. In 1789 he was elected a member of the first
Senate under the Constitution of the United States. lie was again
elected in 1797. In 1791 he was chosen to the New York Senate,
where he was a prominent contributor to the code of laws adopted by
the State, and was active in promoting inland navigation in New York,
lie died at Albanv, November IS, 1804
i/ / /
\ 8 n
Of r
ADONIRAM JUDSON
ADONIRAM JUDSON, D.D., Baptist missionary at Bnrmah, was born
at Maiden, Massachusetts, August 9, 1788. He was the son of the
Eev. Adoniram Jndson, a Congregational clergyman, who was a de
scendant of William Judson, who came to New England in 1634. He
was an ardent and aspiring scholar, and after finishing the required
studies he was graduated from Brown University in 1807. Opening a
private school in Plymouth, he prepared his " Elements of English
Grammar," published in 1808, and the " Young Ladies Arithmetic,"
published in 1809. In 1810 he was graduated from the then newly
founded theological seminary at Andover. lie had entered the second
class as a student, but the reading in 1809 of a sermon entitled " The
O
Star in the East " led him to devote himself to the missionary cause,
and his earnestness so far awakened an interest that a board of com
missioners for foreign missions was formed. The board appointed
live young men, among them Mr. Judson, missionaries to Bnrmah, and
they were ordained at Salem, February 6, 1812. The day before the
ordination Mr. Judson was united in marriage to Miss Ann Hasseltine,
and with her and Mr. and Mrs. Xewell, also missionaries, embarked
for Calcutta on the 19th. They reached their destination in June.
Ann Hasseitine, one of the first American women who resolved to
leave her friends and country to bear the gospel to the heathen in
foreign climes, was born at Bradford, Massachusetts, December 22,
1789. Soon after her arrival at Calcutta with her husband, they were
ordered by the East India Company to leave the country. They ac
cordingly went to the Isle of France, and from thence to Rangoon, one
of the chief seaports of the Burman Empire, which they reached in
July, 1813. Having adopted the views of the Baptist denomination,
their connection with the American Board of Missions was severed.
In April, 1814. a Baptist board of foreign missions was formed at
Philadelphia, and immediately appointed Mr. and Mrs. Judson its mis
sionaries. They employed themselves in studying tho Burmese lan
guage, and in translating portions of Scripture and works on Christian
ity into the Burmese language. For many years they labored together
ADONIRAM JUDSON.
in the cause of religion. In 1821, in consequence of ill health, Mrs.
Jndson returned to America alone, where she remained until 1823.
While in this country she published her " History of the Burman Mis
sion." Soon after rejoining her husband they removed to Ava, by re
quest of the king. They had hardly commenced their missionary
efforts there, when war broke out between the East India Company and
the Burman government. Mr. Judson was arrested, loaded with
chains, and thrown into prison with all the white foreigners. lie was
imprisoned for over a year and a half, and daily expected some bar
barous death. During this time the inexpressible sufferings of the
prisoners were alleviated by the exertions of Mrs. Judson, and it was
largely owing to her efforts that they were at last released, in February,
1826. In October of that year Mrs. Judson died at Amherst, Burmah,
during her husband s absence at another post of duty. After her
death Mr. Judson continued his missionary labors at Amherst for eight
years, and in 183! married the widow of Boardman, the missionary.
Sarah Hall, the second wife of Adoniram Judson, was born in
Alstead, New Hampshire, November 4, 1803. In 18-25 she became
the wife of the Rev. George D. Boardman, and soon after accompanied
him and other missionaries to Calcutta. Mr. Boardman died in 1831.
Four years later she married Mr. Judson, and for eleven years con
tinued his faithful co-worker. Her health failing, she started to return
to America, accompanied by her husband, but died in the harbor of
St. Helena, September 1, 1845. She translated the first part of the
" Pilgrim s Progress," and numerous tracts into the Burmese language,
and prepared a hymn book and several volumes of Scripture questions
for Sunday-schools. She also superintended the translation of the
New Testament and the principal Burman tracts, into the Peguan lan
guage. After her death he proceeded to the United States, where he
was received with the utmost respect and reverence. He returned to
Burmah in June, 1846, accompanied by the third Mrs. Judson.
Emily Chubbuck, Mr. Judson s third wife, well known by her
writings in prose and poetry under the assumed name of " Fanny
Forrester," was born at Eaton, New York, August 22, 1817. After
her marriage she wrote a " Memoir of Mrs. Sarah B. Judson." She
O
died in Hamilton, New York, in 1854.
Dr. Judson died and was buried at sea, April 12, 1850, while on
his way to the Isle of Bourbon. " He lived to see himself surrounded
by thousands of native converts, and a strong corps of assistant evan
gelists, Burmese as well as American."
SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON.
SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON, an eminent American naturalist, ethnolo
gist, and physician, was born at Philadelphia, January 26, 1799. His
father, George Morton, a descendant of a large and respectable family
in Clomnel, Ireland, emigrated to America and engaged in mercantile
pursuits. His death occurred when the son Samuel was quite young,
and he was placed at a Quaker school by his mother, who was a member
of that society. He early evinced a fondness for books, and business life
being distasteful, he decided to study medicine. In March, 1820, he
was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and soon after sailed
for Europe. In October of the same year he entered as a matriculate
the University of Edinburgh, the diploma of which institution was
conferred upon him in August, 1823. In 1S24 he returned to America,
and in 1826 established himself ?>s a physician in Philadelphia. The
following year he married a daughter of Ilobert and Elizabeth Pearsall,
of the Society of Friends.
Before his visit to Europe, Dr. Morton had been made a member
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and after his
return took an active interest in its proceedings. He was its record
ing secretaiy in 1825, and was made its president in 18-iO. His
lirst scientific essay, entitled " Observations on Cornine, a new Alka
loid," was published in the " Medical and Physical Journal " for 1625-
26. In 1827 he communicated to the Academy of Natural Sciences
an Analysis of Tabular Spar from Bucks County, Pennsylvania,
with a Notice of various Minerals found in the same Locality." During
the same year he contributed to the " Journal of the Academy of Natu
ral Sciences" a "Description of a New Species of Ostrea Convexa
of Say." These papers were followed in rapid succession by many
other scientific communications, and the Journal of the Academy con
tinued to be enriched by his contributions until within a short period
of his death. lie also contributed many articles, on a wide range of
subjects, to the " Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,"
and the " American Journal of Science and Art," edited by Professor
Silliman. In 1834 he published his celebrated monograph on the
SAMUEL GEORGE MORTON.
" Cretaceous Group of the United States," which was received with
great favor by the most eminent geologists of Europe. The same year
he contributed to medical literature an important work on the " Ana
tomical Character, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment of Pulmonary
Consumption." lie early commenced his celebrated collection of cra
nia, which is said to be the most extensive and valr.aKe in the world.
After his death it was pin-chased for the Academy. In 1839 he pub
lished his " Crania Americana," with finely executed lithographic il
lustrations. In IS44: his "Crania Egyptiaca" was published. The
former was pronounced by Professor Silliman "the most important,
extensive, and valuable contribution to the natural history of man
which has yet appeared on the American continent."
Dr. Morton died at Philadelphia, May 15, 1851. His name is
often associated with Xott and Gliddon s " Types of Mankind," pub
lished in 1854, which was based to some extent on his researches.
From September, 1839, to November, 1843, ho was professor of anat
omy in the Pennsylvania Medical College; and was a member of many
learned societies in various parts of the United States, in Europe, and
in tho East,
Dr. Morton s eldest son, James St. Clair Morton, was born in Phila
delphia in 1829. lie was graduated at West Point in 1851, and until the
breaking out of the Civil War was employed chiefly as an engineer.
Among the public works upon which he was engaged, were Forts Sum-
tor and Delaware, the Potomac Water-works, the Washington Aque
duct, and the fortifications of the Dry Tortugas. In 1860, by author
ity of Congress, he explored the Chiriqui country, South America, for
a railroad route across the Isthmus. After the commencement of the
war he was appointed chief engineer of the Army of the Ohio, under
General Buell. In that capacity he aided in constructing the fortifica
tions at Nashville. When Rosecrans assumed command of the Army
of the Cumberland, he organized the pioneer brigade, and placed
General Morton in command. This force built or repaired roads, rail
roads, bridges, fortifications, warehouses, etc. During one night they
threw a temporary bridge, some eighty feet long, across Stone river. At
the assault of Petersburg, Virginia, June 17, 186-4, General Morton was
killed while leading the attack. lie was the author of a "Memoir on
Fortification," "Dangers and Defences of New York City," and a
" Life of Major John Sanders, of the Engineers."
Thomas George Morton, another son of Dr. Morton, is distinguished
as one of the most skilful surgeons of the United States.
o*
RUFIJS WHEELER PECKHAM.
JUDGE HUFUS "W. PECKHAM was born in Rensselaerville, New York,
December, 1809. His boyhood was spent on the eastern bank of the
Susquehanna, a mile or two below Cooperstown, where the family had
removed soon after his birth. At an early age he was sent to Hart-
wick Seminary, where he remained until 1825, when he entered Union
College. Dr. Nott was at that time president of the institution.
Young Mr. Peckham was a good classical scholar, and took an ad
vanced standing upon entering college. He was graduated in 1827, at
the age of eighteen years.
Upon completing his collegiate course, he removed to Utica and
entered as a law student in the office of Greene C. Bronson and Samuel
Beardsley, each of whom subsequently became Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of New York. He was admitted to the bar in 1830,
and at once joined an elder brother, George "W. Peckham, who had
opened a law office in the city of Albany. The brothers entered into
partnership, and the firm soon acquired a large business. The good
address of the junior partner, upon whom devolved the larger part of
the practice in the courts, the trial of cases and arguments at the bar,
"the vigor with which he seized the important parts of his case, aiid the
terseness with which he presented them to the jury and the court, soon
placed him in the front rank of the profession at the capital." In
1S39 he was appointed by Governor Marcy to the office of District
Attorney for the city and county of Albany, which he continued to fill
until 1841. In 1845 he was a candidate before the Legislature for the
office of Attorney-General of the State. His opponent, John Van
Buren, was elected by a majority of but one vote.
In 1852 Mr. Peckham became the Democratic candidate for Repre
sentative to the Thirty-third Congress of the United States. He was
/ o
elected in the fall, and took his seat early in 1853, the first year of
Pierce s administration. Daring his Congressional term he opposed
RUFUS WHEELER PECKHAM.
the passage of the Nebraska bill. In 1855 he resumed the practice of
his profession at Albany, having previously entered into partnership
with Mr. Lyinan Treinam, the lawyer and statesman, with whom he
was associated until 1S59. In the spring of that year Mr. Peckham
visited Europe. On his return he was nominated and elected a Justice
of the Supreme Court. At the close of his first judicial term of eight
years he was re-elected without opposition, no candidate being named
against him. Before the close of his second term he was elected a
member of the Court of Appeals.
On the 15th of November, 1873, Judge Peckham and his wife
sailed for Europe in the " Ville du Havre," of the French line, which,
on the 22d of the same month, when in mid-ocean, collided with the
British iron ship " Loch Earn," bound for New York from London.
The accident occurred shortly after 2 A. M., and within twelve minutes
the "Ville du Havre" went down, carrying two hundred and twenty-
six persons of the three hundred and thirteen with whom she left New
York. Among those who perished were Judge Peckham and his wife.
Upon the reception of the news of the calamity and of the loss of the
eminent judge, meetings of the various bench and bar associations
were called for the purpose of taking action in relation to his death.
A committee of the Bar of the State of New York was appointed to
prepare a memorial pamphlet containing the tributes of respect and
admiration paid to his memory. The volume opens with a memoir
written by Judge William W. Campbell. This is followed by the
action of the Court of Appeals, taken December 3, 1873, and the action
of the Bar of the State assembled in the Capitol, December 17th, with
the eulogies pronounced on that occasion, the resolutions adopted, and
the letters read ; following is the action of the Court of Appeals
when the resolutions of the Bar of the State were presented, with a
request that they should be made a part of the court records. The re
mainder of the volume is devoted to the action of the courts of New
Y r ork City and of various counties of the State, and the resolutions
adopted by the Common Council and the trustees of the National
Bank of Albany. It concludes with the sermon delivered by the Rev.
William A. Snively, rector of St. Peter s Church, Albany, on the
occasion of the memorial services held in that church, December 14,
1873.
Judge Peckham s two sons, Wheeler II. Peckham, of New York
City, and Ruf us W. Peckham, Jr., of Albany, are well-known members
of the legal profession.
JOHN ELLIS WOOL.
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN E. WOOL was born at Newburg, New York,
in the year 1739. His father and his four brothers were soldiers in the
War of the Revolution. He received only a rudimentary education,
and for several years was a clerk in a store at Troy. At the age of
eighteen he opened a book and stationery store in that place. This
being destroyed by fire, he began the study of law, and pursued it for
more than a year. Upon the enlargement of the army preparatory to
the Second War with Great Britain, Governor Do Witt Clinton obtained
for him, April 11, 1812, a captain s commission in the Thirteenth Hegi-
ment of United States Infantry. He soon after joined General Van
Kensselaer. and in the expedition against Queenstown won great dis
tinction, lie received a severe wound in this battle, and was promoted
to the rank of major. In April, 1S13, he was assigned to the Twenty-
ninth regiment of infantry. On the invasion by the British on the line
of Lake Champlain in September, ISl-i, Major Wool became conspic
uous for his gallantry in the repulse of General Provost at Plattsburg,
and for his bravery was bre vetted lieutenant-colonel. In September,
1S1G, he was appointed inspector-general of the army, and in February,
ISIS, lieutenant-colonel of infantry. In April, 1826, he was brcvetted
brigadier-general, " for ten years of faithful service." In 1S32 the
government commissioned him to visit Europe for the purpose of ex
amining the military systems of some of the principal nations. He
witnessed the proceedings at the famous siege at Antwerp. In 1S36
lie was employed in removing the Cherokee Indians to Arkansas. In
June, 1S-11, he was appointed a full brigadier-general.
The Mexican War again called General Wool into active service.
In May, 13-10, he was sent to the West to organize volunteers, and in
less than six weeks dispatched to the seat of war twelve thousand, fully
armed and equipped. He commanded the " centre division" organ
ized to act against Chihuahua. lie was soon ordered, however, to re
lieve Saltillo, which he reached after a inarch of nine hundred miles.
The Mexicans retreated without making an attack, and from this time
forward Wool s division was merged in the " army of occupation."
In December, 1S46, he joined General Taylor at Agua Nneva, audse-
JOHN ELLIS WOOL.
lected the ground for the battle of Buena Vista, February 23, 1837, and
with but four thousand two hundred men, held Santa Anna s army or.
twenty thousand of the best troops of Mexico in check until General
Taylor came up and assumed the command. With him General Wool
shared the honors of the battle, and for his gallant conduct in the action
he was brevetted major-general in May, 1848. Upon General Tay
lor s departure for the North, Wool succeeded him to the entire com
mand on the Rio Grande, which he held until the close of the war. In
January, 1854, he received the thanks of Congress, and the present of
a sword, for his services in Mexico. A valuable sword was also pre
sented him by the New York Legislature.
Upon the close of the war General Wool was assigned to the com
mand of the Eastern Military Department of the United States. In
1854 he was called to the head of the Department of the Pacific. In
1856, in a campaign of three months, he succeeded in subduing the for
midable Indian disturbances in the Washington and Oregon Territo
ries. At the end of three years he was recalled to the Department of
the East. The outbreak of the Civil War again called him into active
service. lie strongly urged the support of Major Anderson in Fort
Sumter, and as early as December, 1860, declared that the surrender of
that post would call two hundred thousand men to arms in defence of
the government. After the attack on the fort, he was employed in the
organization of troops for the field, and in August, 1861, was called
to the Department of Virginia, with headquarters at Fortress Monroe,
which he reached on the 17th. lie at once assumed the command. The
forces were almost entirely composed of volunteers, and had, since the
war began, been under the command of General Butler. In May,
1862, he organized the successful movement against Norfolk. On the
10th his troops were landed at Ocean Yiew, and commenced their
march toward the city, a short distance from which they were met by
the mayor and a deputation of the common council, who surrendered
the city to General Wool. After formally taking possession, he ap
pointed a military governor and returned to Fortress Monroe. On May
16 he was appointed a full major-general in the United States Army,
lie was subsequently assigned to the command of the Department of
Maryland, and afterward to the Eastern Department.
General Wool died at Troy, New York, November 10, 1869. lie
was a rigid disciplinarian, and superior organizer of troops. lie was a
prominent member of the Democratic party, and frequently wrote and
spoke on subjects of public interest.
SPENCER HOUGHTON CONE.
SPENCER HOUGHTON CONE, D.D., was born at Princeton, New Jer
sey, April 30, 17S5. His father, who took part in the Revolutionary
War, was a descendant of the early settlers of New England, and his
mother s ancestrv is traced to the first colonists of Virginia. At the
*/ o
age of twelve years he entered Princeton College, where he pursued
his studies for two years, when his father s death recalled him to as
sist in the support of the family. The next few years were spent in
teaching in two or three towns of New Jersey, and at the Philadel
phia Academy, which was then under the supervision of Dr. Abercrom-
bie. In addition to his labors as teacher, he pursued the study of law,
and obtained employment as copyist for his leisure moments. His
health in time became enfeebled, and through the advice of friends,
who were assured that his voice and physical qualifications were pecu
liarly adapted for that profession, he prepared to go upon the stage. He
made his first appearance in 1805, at the old Chestnut Street Theatre,
Philadelphia. For seven years he played with great success, princi
pally at Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Alexandria. Abandoning the
stage in December, 1812, he became editor of "The Baltimore Ameri
can." The following year he became connected with " The Baltimore
Whig," a paper favoring the doctrines of Jefferson and the adminis
tration of Madison. At the call of his country he relinquished the
pen, to take a more active part in the struggle then being carried on.
In command of a company of volunteers from Baltimore, he took
part in several battles against the British. After the close of his ser
vices in the army, he received an appointment as clerk in the Treasury
Department at Washington.
For a year or two Mr. Cone had contemplated entering the Bap
tist ministry, but had intended to first spend some years in prepara
tory study. He, however, decided to commence preaching at once,
and accordingly, in 1815, was ordained by the First Baptist Church
in Washington. In December of the same year he became Chaplain
to Congress. lie preached in several of the neighboring churches,
attracting large congregations and exciting general interest. In the
8 P E N C E li II O U G II T O N CONE.
spring of 1816 he accepted a call to the Baptist church at Alexandria.
When he became pastor the church numbered but twenty-five mem
bers. When he resigned the charge, after seven years of faithful labor,
it numbered three hundred and nine members. During these years he
received several invitations to fill pulpits in New York, and in May,
1823, finally accepted a call to the Oliver Street Church in that city.
For two years he acted as assistant to the Rev. John Williams, and
upon his death succeeded him in the entire pastoral charge. lie re
mained in charge of this pastorate until 1841, when he became pastor
of the First Baptist Church, in New r York City. During the years
that he was encased in discharging the duties which the care of these
o o o o
two churches involved, he was zealous in his efforts for the cause of
missions, and carried on a most extensive correspondence with the
Baptist missionaries in all parts of the world.
Dr. Cone was a leading member of the Baptist Triennial Conven
tion, which at that time was composed of the Baptists of the whole
United States. For nine consecutive years lie was elected President
of the Convention. lie also served many years as Corresponding Sec
retary of the New York Baptist Domestic Society, and after the or
ganization of the American Baptist Missionary Society, he acted
twelve years as chairman of its executive board. lie was also promi
nent in directing the measures of the societies of Foreign Missions.
lie was Moderator of the Hudson River Baptist Association fur six
teen years, and of the New York Baptist Association eight years.
He also filled the office of Recording Secretary in the American Bible
Society for a long time. lie took an active and prominent part in the
formation of the American and Foreign Bible Society, of which he be
came President. He was one of the authors of a tract, which was
published in 1850, calling for a new translation of the Bible more in
accordance with Baptist views, which occasioned an exciting contro
versy within the Baptist body. The proposal, after much discussion,
was negatived, and then Dr. Cone prompted the formation of the
American Bible Union, of which he was made its first President.
Dr. Cone died in New York City August 28, 1855, aged seventy
years. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Armitage, in a funeral sermon preached
September 16th of that year, said Dr. Cone possessed a distinguished
superiority of mind ; a clear and vigorous perception ; a quick and
graphic imagination ; a faithful memory and ready communication ;
an indomitable will ; affections of a high and generous order ; a rich,
powerful, and melodious voice.
Vfc
/
j
CHARLES JARED INGERSOLL.
CHARLES JARED INGERSOLL, statesman and author, was born in
Philadelphia, October 3, 1782. He was the descendant of a family
the greater number of which were staunch Loyalists in Revolutionary
times. Ilis grandfather was Stain pinaster-General under the obnoxious
Stamp Act, but his father, Jared Ingersoll, was an ardent advocate of
the cause of the Colonies. lie was a prominent lawyer of Philadelphia,
and was one of the Delegates to the Convention which met at that city
in May, 1787, to frame the Federal Constitution.
Mr. Ingersoll received a liberal education. After finishing his
collegiate course, he studied law, and was admitted to practice before
he had reached the age of twenty-one years. He then visited Europe,
where he travelled in company with Mr. King, the American Minister
to London. In 1812 he was elected a member of the House of Re
presentatives, from Pennsylvania. He took his seat at the special ses
sion called in May, 1813, to provide for the conduct of the war in which"
the country was then engaged. He advocated all measures brought
forward for its prosecution. In 1814, in an elaborate speech, he pro
claimed and enforced the American version of the law of nations, that
" free ships make free goods," a doctrine which, now generally recognized
as a great peace measure, had at that time few advocates. Soon after
the expiration of his Congressional term, President Madison appointed
him District Attorney for the State of Pennsylvania, an office which
he filled until 1829. In 1826, at a convention of the advocates of the
internal improvements of his native State held at Harrisburg he pre
sented a resolution in favor of the introduction of railroads worked by
steam power. The plan was rejected by a large majority. A few
years later he was elected a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature,
and at his motion and report one of the first railroad bills in the United
States was enacted. In 1837 he was a member of the Reform Con
vention at Harrisburg. The same year he was appointed Secretary of
Legation to Prussia. He was also a member of the Reform Convention
CHARLES JARED I K" G E R S L L .
held at Philadelphia in 1S38. In 1841 lie was again elected a Repre
sentative in Congress, and served until 1847, acting as chairman of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs. After this date he held no more
public offices, but was principally engaged in literary pursuits.
Mr. IngersolFs labors as an author be^an before he reached the a^e
O 3
of twenty years. " Chinomara," a poem, appeared in 1800. " Edwy
and Elgiva," a tragedy, was published in 1801, and produced at the
Philadelphia Theatre. In 1808 he wrote a pamphlet in defence of the
commercial measures of Jefferson s administration, entitled, "Eights
and Wrongs; Power and Policy of the United States of America." In
1809 he published anonymously " Inchiqnin s Letters." " The Letters
are introduced by the ancient mystification of the purchase, at a book
seller s stall in Antwerp, of a broken package of letters, which turn out
to be sent from Washington by Inchiquin, a Jesuit, to his friends in
Europe, who, in one or two introductory epistles, express the greatest
anxiety touching his mission to a land of savages, with considerable
curiosity concerning the natives. A burlesque letter from Caravan, a
Greek at Washington, gives a ludicrous account of the perils of the
capital, and the foreign minister hunting in its woods. Inchiquin de
scribes the Houses of Congress and their oratory; runs over the
characters of the Presidents, from Washington to Madison ; the litera
ture of Barlow s Columbiad and Marshall s Washington ; the stock and
population of the country ; its education, amusements, resources, and
prospects. Among other patriotic hits there is a humorous account of
the foreign prejudiced or disappointed travellers who, in those davs,
gave the world its impressions of America." The work was published
in New York, and created a sensation. In 1845 he published the first
volume of his "Historical Sketch of the Second War between the
United States and Great Britain, Embracing the. Events of 1812-13."
The work was completed in three volumes. A second series, of the
events of 1814-15, appeared in 1852. He was engaged in -\vriting a
"History of the Territorial Acquisitions of the United States" at the
time of his death, which occurred in Philadelphia, May 14, 1862.
Joseph Reed Ingersoll, a son of Jared and brother of Charles J.,
was a distinguished lawyer and statesman. He was the author of a
translation of Roccus s treatise " De Navibus et Nauto," and of several
addresses and discourses. Edward, a third brother of the same
family, wrote poems on the times, entitled "Horace in Philadelphia."
He also contributed political articles to "Walsh s Gazette," and was
the author of several other works.
X"U** >v
Of T ",
HENRY WARD BEEOHER.
HENRY WARD BEECHER, Pastor of Plymouth Congregational
Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, June 24,
1818. He is the son of the Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher, one of the most
eminent Congregational clergymen and scholars of his day. His auto
biography and a selection of his works, edited by his son Charles, was
published in 1S65. In the theological controversies which led to a
division of the Presbyterian Church in 1837-38, he took an active part,
though free from bitterness. His forcible preaching, his strong views
in regard to evangelical truth, and his boldness in denouncing laxitv
o o o */
in regard to the standard of Christian orthodoxy, made a deep impres
sion upon the public mind. He was conspicuous in the temperance
movement, and aided in organizing the Missionary, the Education,
and the American Bible Societies. lie died in Brooklyn, N". Y.,
January 10, 1863. Dr. Beecher reared a large family of children.
Several sons became clergymen, and two of his daughters, Catherine
E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Sto\ve, distinguished authoresses.
Miss Catherine Beecher, his eldest daughter, is known as a writer of
books designed for the benefit of her sex. From 1822 to 1832 she
conducted a female seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, where she pre
pared her first printed work on arithmetic. In 1832 she accompanied
her father to Ohio, and for two years was at the head of a school for
young women in Cincinnati. " Since then Miss Beecher has been
engaged in maturing and carrying into effect a great plan for the
education of all the children in our country. For this end she has
written and journeyed, pleaded and labored." Her writings in this
cause, and her other works, are numerous. Harriet E. Beecher, who
became the wife of the Kev. Dr. Calvin E. Stowe, has extended repu
tation as an authoress. Her great work, " Uncle Tom s Cabin,"
originally appeared in the " National Era," an anti-slavery paper at
Washington. The following year, 1852, it was published in Boston,
and met with immediate and extraordinary success. It was translated
into several different languages, and was dramatized in twenty different
forms and acted in the leading cities of Europe and America. She
HENRY WARD BE EC HER.
subsequently published " A Key to Uncle Tom s Cabin," many other
volumes, several of which are novels of much excellence.
The Rev. Henry Ward Beecher was graduated at Amherst College,
Massachusetts, in 1834, and studied theology with his father at Lane
Seminary, Cincinnati, of which institution he was president for nearly
twenty years. In 1837, Mr. Beecher accepted his first ministerial
charge, that of a Presbyterian congregation in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.
He removed to Indianapolis in 1830. In 1847 he accepted a call to
his present charge of Plymouth Congregational Church, Brooklyn.
Shortly after entering upon his duties, the church edifice was destroyed
by fire, and a new building accommodating nearly three thousand
people was erected. Lecture rooms, school rooms, and "Bethels" were
also built by the church.
Mr. Beecher is of medium height His features are regular and
expressive, of a high order of intellect, and his disposition genial. lie
is a powerful orator, and preaches to always crowded congregations.
His eloquence is characterized by " originality, logic, pathos, and
humor." lie is also a most popular public lecturer, and as such has
addressed large assemblages in various parts of the country. He has
contributed largely to the religious press, chiefly to the " Indepen
dent," a weekly paper of New York, of which he was one of the
founders. He also founded the "Christian Union," of which lie be
came editor. His first published volume, entitled, "Lectures to Young
Men on Various Important Subjects," appeared in 1844. In 1855 he
published a volume entitled, " Star Papers ; or, Experiences of Art
and Nature," being collections of articles from the " Independent,"
originally signed with a star. A second series was issued, "New Star
Papers; or, Views and Experiences of Heligious Subjects." Selections
from his discourses, entitled " Life Thoughts " and " Notes from Ply
mouth Pulpit," obtained a large circulation. He has also published
" Plain and Pleasant Talk about Eruits, Flowers, and Farming,"
u Eyes and Ears," " Freedom and War," " Norwood ; or, Village Life in
New England," and " The Life of Jesus the Christ." Several volumes
of selections from his discourses and many of his occasional addresses
have been published. He edited the "Plymouth Collection of Hymns
and Tunes." In 1862, in company with his sister, Mrs. Harriet Beecher
Stowe and her husband, Mr. Beecher visited England, where he ad
dressed immense audiences in the principal cities in behalf of the cause
of the Union. In April, 1865, he, at the request of the Government,
delivered an oration at Fort Sumter on the anuiveraarv of its fall.
JEFFERSON 0. DAVIS.
JEFFERSON C. DAVIS, Brevet Major-General of the United States
Army, was born in Clarke County, Indiana, March 2, 1828. His an
cestors were noted in the Indian wars of Kentucky ; William, his
grandfather, having been in the battle at River Raisin, lie was edu
cated at the Clarke County Seminary. On the breaking out of the
Mexican war he joined Colonel J. II. Lane s Indiana regiment, parti
cipated in the battle of Buena Yista, and in the entire Mexican cam
paign, and, for gallant conduct, was made second lieutenant in the
First United States Artillery, June 17, 1848. lie served in Florida
against the Seminoles, and was made first lieutenant in 1852. lie
was in command of the first garrison placed in Fort Sumter, in August,
1858, and participated in its defence under Major Anderson during
the bombardment in April, 1861. He was made captain in May,
1861, and became colonel of the Twenty-second Indiana Volunteers in
August, 1861. lie was given a brigade by General Fremont, with
whom he served in Missouri. He also commanded a brigade under
Generals Hunter and Pope. For his gallant conduct at Knob Isoster,
near Milford, Missouri, where he captured a superior force with a
large quantity of military supplies, he was made a brigadier-general,
December 18, 1861. At the battle of Pea Ridge, he commanded one
of the four divisions of General Curtis s army. His division fought,
March 7, 1862, the battle of Leetown, one of the most sanguinary and
decisive of the war. The next day Colonel Davis stormed and car
ried the heights of Elkhorn, capturing five cannon, and successfully
deciding the three days battle of Pea Ridge. lie was then transferred
to General Halleck s army at Corinth, and after the evacuation of that
city, in May, 1862, he joined the army in Western Tennessee, but was
soon detailed for the defence of Louisville against Bragg s invasion.
While there, on the 29th of September, meeting General Kelson at
the Gait House, an affray ensued, in which Kelson was killed. This
JEFFERSON C. DAVIS.
affair made a great sensation at the time, and General Davis was for a
short time under arrest, but was never tried, public opinion being
chiefly in his favor. He was restored to duty, and ordered to Coving-
ton. Joining the Army of the Cumberland in October, lie led his old
division, Twentieth Army Corps, in the thickest of the fight at the
battle of Stone River (Murfreesboro), December 31, 1862, holding the
centre of the right wing. For good conduct on that occasion he \vas
strongly recommended by General Rosecrans to a major-generalship.
He was in the battle of Chicamauga, and at Chattanooga. In the
Atlanta campaign of 1864, he participated in the battles of Buzzard s
Roost, Resaca, Kenesaw Mountain, Smyrna, Peach Tree Creek, and
Jonesboro ; commanded the Fourteenth corps after the resignation of
General John M. Palmer ; accompanied General Sherman in his
march to the sea through Georgia, and northward through the Caro-
linas, and fought the closing battle of that campaign at Bentonville,
North Carolina, March 19, 1SG5.
He was brevetted brigadier-general of the United States Army, to
date from March 13, 1865, and became colonel of the Twenty-third
Infantry, United States Army, July 28, 1S66. He was subsequently
stationed in Alaska; commanded in Oregon during the Modoc war
after the death of General Canby (1873), and later, held command in
the Indian Territory.
General Jefferson C. Davis died at the Palmer House, Chicago,
Illinois, on Sunday afternoon, November 30, 1879, of pneumonia, the
result of exposure at the inauguration of the Thomas statue at Wash
ington, D. C., a few days before.
( v
THADDEUS STEVENS.
TIIADDEUS STEVENS, " The Great Commoner," was born in Peach-
am, Caledonia County, Vermont, April 4, 170;}. He was lame and
delicate in childhood. His parents were extremely poor, but his
mother labored untiringly to secure an education for him. Through
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her exertions he was enabled to attend the country district school
during the few months of each year that it was open. The boy was
ambitious, and desirous to learn, and by close application he succeeded
in preparing for college. He entered Dartmouth College, from which
he was Graduated with honor in 1814. During that year he removed
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to York, Pennsylvania, where he studied law and taught in an acade
my at the same time. In 1816 he w r as admitted to the bar, and soon
rose to a high rank as a practitioner.
Mr. Stevens did not take an active part in politics until 1828. In
the exciting presidential campaign of that year he espoused the cause
of John Quincy Adams, and subsequently became an active member
of the Whig party. In 1833 he was elected to the Pennsylvania legis
lature, and was re-elected to the same office in 1834, 1835, 1837, and
1841. During his membership of this body he delivered his noted
speeches on the Common School system, and the act for establishing
a School of Art. He early became distinguished by his opposition to
slavery. In 1836 he was a member of the Convention to revise the
State Constitution. lie took an active part in all the debates, but re
fused to sign the Constitution, because it restricted suffrage on account
of color. In 1838 he was appointed a Canal Commissioner, then one
of the most important offices in the government, on account of the
vast expenditures being made for internal improvements. In 1842
he removed to Lancaster, and devoted the next six years to the prac
tise of his profession. He also became largely engaged in the manu
facture of iron. In 1848 he was elected a Representative from Penn-
svlvania to the Thirtv-first Congress. lie was also elected to the
T II A D D E U S STEVENS.
Thirty-second Congress in 1850. lie strongly opposed the repeal of
the Missouri Compromise, the Fugitive Slave Law, and the Kansas-
Nebraska Bill.
Mr. Stevens was again elected to Congress in 1858, and held his
seat until his death. In the latter years of his life he was a recog
nized leader of the Republican party. lie was among the earliest to
declare the abolition of slavery the only alternative of the govern
ment, and took a leading part in all measures for emancipating the
negroes, and for giving them citizenship, and advocated the arming
and disciplining one hundred and fifty thousand of them as soldiers.
lie presented the Indemnity Act, and the Fourteenth Amendment to
the Constitution. The Emancipation Proclamation was urged upon
the President bv him, and during the war he advocated and carried
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acts of confiscation, and proposed the most rigid and severe measures
against the confederates.
During three sessions of Congress, Mr. Stevens served on the im
portant Committee on Ways and Means. He also served on various
committees of importance. He was chairman of the Committee on
Reconstruction of the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses ; of the
Special Committee on the Pacific Railroad; of the Committee on
Appropriations ; of the Committee on a Postal Railroad to New
York ; the Special Committee on Reconstruction ; and of the Com
mittee on Free Schools in the District of Columbia. He served on
the Committee on the Niagara Ship Canal, and was a member of the
Committee on the Death of President Lincoln. He assisted in draft
ing the articles of Impeachment against President Johnson, and was
chairman of the Committee of Seven who managed the case on the
part of the House. He was a delegate to the Baltimore Convention
of 1864, and to the Philadelphia "Loyalists Convention" of 1SGG.
In 1867 he received from Middlebury College the degree of LL.D.
Mr. Stevens died at Washington, D. C., August 11, 1868.
/ l orr^>\
JOHN WORTH EDMONDS.
JUDGE J. "W. EDMONDS, an American lawyer and philanthropist of
extended reputation, was born in Hudson, New York, March 13, 1790.
His father was a soldier of the Revolution and of the war of 1812.
He studied at private schools and at the Academy in Hudson. His
collegiate education was received at Union College, from which insti
tution he was graduated with honors in the year 181G. lie immediately
commenced the study of law, and after completing the necessary course
was admitted to the bar. He was then but twenty years of age. The
following year, 1820, he commenced the practice of his profession in
his native city. In his early career he gave promise of future emi
nence and success. Clients soon sought him, and the leading members
of his profession recognized him as a clear-minded, studious lawyer.
When Mr. Edmonds joined the ranks of the legal profession, nearly
all the lawyers with whom he became associated had also acquired
reputations as politicians. As was natural, Mr. Edmonds found his
attention turned to politics, and he early became a member of the
Tammany Society. Each succeeding year found him devoting time
and care to the requirements of a lawyer and politician, and soon after
he reached the age of thirty years he was called upon to fill his first
public office. In 1831 he was elected by the Democratic party a
member of the lower branch of the legislature of New York. From
1832 to 1836 he was a State Senator and a member of the Court of
Errors. In the last year of his term he was unanimously elected
President of the Senate. Upon his retirement from the Legislature,
in 1836, he was appointed by government an agent or commissioner
on special missions to the Indians on the frontiers. During his stay
among the Indians of the West he procured many advantages for them.
The interest in their condition thus awakened was ever afterward re
tained by him.
In 1837 Mr. Edmonds resumed the practice of law in the city of
JOHN WORTH EDMONDS.
New York, and for the succeeding six years devoted himself princi
pally to the duties of his profession. During this period his success
and reputation became more widely established. In 1843 he was
chosen one of the inspectors of State prisons. In this capacity he
studied the systems of discipline and correction nsed in the prisons.
His sympathies were awakened by the severity of the punishments, and
he was diligent in his efforts to remodel the systems. lie succeeded
in interesting other influential men, and in conjunction with them pro
cured from the legislature the sanction for inaugurating important
reforms in the management of the prisons and in the treatment of
criminals. In 1844 he instituted a Prison Discipline Society.
After the close of his term of service as prison inspector, in 1845,
Mr. Edmonds was appointed one of the Circuit Judges of the State of
New York. Two years later, in 1847, he was elevated to the bench of
the Supreme Court. In both these positions he displayed high ability.
lie was in the full prime of his long life. " His years of study had
crowned him with proper juridical wisdom. In consequence, his deci
sions then delivered have since been taken as models, and even quoted
in the British law courts." lie served in the Supreme Court until
1852, when he became a member of the Court of Appeals. At the
close of the year 1853 he retired from the bench of that court, and
resumed the practice of his profession in New York City, which he
continued with success for the twenty ensuing years.
During the latter years of his life, Judge Edmonds views on the
subject of spiritualism evoked much comment. In 1851 he com
menced his investigation of every so-called phenomenon of spiritual
ism. Though he several times denounced as impostors persons known
as " mediums," he, in 1853, made a public avowal of his conversion to
a belief in the communication of mankind with spirits. In connection
with George T. Dexter, M.D., he published " Spiritualism," in two
volumes a work written in defence of his new belief. lie also pub
lished other works on the same subjects, and in 1808 published "He-
ports of Select Law Cases."
Judge Edmonds died at his residence in New York City, April 5,
1874. His reputation was divided between his philanthropic efforts
at reform and his success as a jurist. He possessed thorough legal
knowledge and great skill in its use.
SARAH JOSEPHA HALE.
MRS. SAKAII JOSEPHA HALE, the authoress and editress, was born at
Newport, New Hampshire, October 24, 1788. Her maiden name was
Buell. Her father, Captain Gordon Buell, held a commission under
General Gates, and served through the campaign against Burgoyne.
Her early education was principally directed by her mother, a highly
accomplished lady. She was also assisted in her studies by her brother,
Judge Horatio Buell, then in college. After her mother s death she
qualified herself for the office of teacher, as her father s failing health
made her anxious to contribute to the support of the family. From
the age of eighteen years to that of twenty -five, she was successfully
engaged in teaching. She abandoned the vocation upon her marriage
with David Hale, an eminent lawyer of Newport. Her husband died
in September, 1822, leaving five children, the eldest but seven years
old, dependent upon her for support and education. To provide for
them she turned to literature. Some of her poems had previously
been circulated in manuscript, and she was urged to collect these into
a volume. In 1823 they were published, for her benefit, by a body of
Freemasons, of which her husband had been a member. The volume
bore the title, " The Genius of Oblivion, and other Original Poems."
Mrs. Hale s first literary effort was so successful that in 1827 she
published her second work, " Northwood, A Tale of New England,"
a novel in two volumes. This also met with success, and procured the
writer an invitation to become editress of " The Ladies Magazine,"
published in Boston. It was a purely literary magazine, and the first
of that special character that had appeared in America. Mrs. Hale
accepted the offer, and the first number edited by her appeared in
January, 1828. She continued to conduct it with great success until
1837, when it was united with " Godey s Lady s Book," which a few
years before had been commenced in Philadelphia by Louis A. Godey.
The literary department was placed in her charge. The new periodi
cal, under the title of " Godey s Lady s Book and Magazine," was con
tinued under their joint editorship for forty years. In November,
1877, Mrs. Hale and Mr. Godey withdrew together from their maga
zine, which had attained an extensive popularity. Mrs. Hale was then
SAEAH JOSEPHA HALE.
in her ninetieth year, and had been successfully engaged in editorship
for half a century. She wrote and published numerous other works.
Two volumes were collected from her magazine contributions, entitled
" Sketches of American Character," and " Traits of American Life."
She also wrote " Flora s Interpreter ; " " The Way to Live Well, and to
be Well while we Live;" "Grosvenor, a Tragedy;" "Alice Ray;"
" Harry Guy ; " " Three Hours, or the Vigil of Love, and other
Poems ; " "A Complete Dictionary of Poetical Quotations, containing
Selections from the Writings of the Poets of England and America;"
" The Judge, a Drama of American Life;" and her most important
work, "Woman s Record," a large volume containing biographical
sketches of distinguished women in all ages and nations. A little
volume which appeared in 1830, entitled " Poems for Our Children,"
contained one of the most popular juvenile poems ever composed
"Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow." She also
edited and prepared several annuals and other works.
Mrs. Ilale s prominent position during the long period of her edi
torial duties gave her an extended influence. That influence she ex
erted for the furtherance of numerous benevolent and useful projects.
During her residence in Boston an association of ladies was organized,
principally by her exertions, under the name of the Seaman s Aid
Society. While she remained in Boston she held the presidency of
the Society, which established Sailors Homes, and procured improve
ments in the laws relating to seamen. It was the forerunner of many
similar organizations in various ports. The completion of the Bunker
Hill Monument, too, was due to Mrs. Ilale s patriotic exertions. She
proposed, through her magazine, that the women of New England
should undertake to raise the fifty thousand dollars necessary to finish
the work. The object was accomplished, mainly through a ladies
fair on a large scale, in the management of which Mrs. Hale took a
leading part. For nine years she was president of the Philadelphia
branch of the Women s Union Missionary Society. She also devoted
much attention to improving the means of education for women.
The work which she justly regarded as one of the greatest of her
life was the establishment of the New England festival of Thanks
giving Day as a public holiday for the entire nation. For thirty years
she had urged, in her various publications, the adoption of the last
Thursday in November for this purpose.
Mrs. Hale died in Philadelphia, April 30, 1879, in the ninety-first
year of her ao-e.
Y \
Jl
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
OUR ninth President, WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, the " hero of
Tippecanoe," was born in Berkeley, Virginia, February 9, 1773. He
was the son of Benjamin Harrison, one of the signers of the Declara
tion of Independence ; he was one of the most distinguished men of
his day, and was the wa/in personal friend of George Washington.
William Henry Harrison enjoyed in boyhood the advantages of a
thorough education. After finishing the preliminary studies, he en
tered Hampden Sydney College, and was graduated with honor in
1791. He then went to Philadelphia, where he studied medicine
under the instruction of the accomplished and benevolent Dr. Ben
jamin Rush, and the guardianship of Robert Morris, both of whom
were signers of the Declaration of Independence. The Indians were
then committing; fearful ravages on the northwestern frontier. Young:
o o o
Harrison abandoned his medical studies to join the army for the pro
tection of the settlers, though he was but nineteen years of age. He
obtained from President Washington a commission as ensign, but soon
rose to the rank of lieutenant, and joined the command of General
Wayne. Two armies previously sent against these Indians had been
defeated, but the third, after a desperate battle, was successful. The
defeated Indians then made a treaty, whereby they gave up all of what
is now Ohio and part of Indiana. Harrison rendered conspicuous ser
vices throughout the campaign, and was next promoted to the rank
of captain and placed in command of Fort Washington, the site
of the city of Cincinnati. In 1797 he resigned his commission in
the army, and was appointed Secretary of the Northwestern Territory,
and two years later was chosen its first delegate to Congress. Upon
the creation of Indiana Territory, in 1801, Mr. Harrison, then twenty-
seven years of age, was appointed its governor by President John
Adams, and, immediately after, also governor of Upper Louisiana.
He held the office for twelve years, having been reappointed upon
the expiration of each term. He was also Superintendent of Indian
Affairs, and negotiated thirteen treaties, by which the United States
acquired sixty millions of acres of land. There were many tribes of
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON.
Indians in the territory over which lie ruled. Among them were
two remarkable twin brothers of the Shawnese tribe Tecumseh.
or "The Crouching Panther," and Olliwacheca, or "The Prophet."
These brothers used their influence to excite hostile feelings against
O O
the American settlers among the various tribes. Marauding bands
gave continual annoyance. Finally, Governor Harrison, after mak
ing efforts at conciliation, advanced upon them with a large force,
and on November 7, 1811, the celebrated battle of Tippccanoe was
fought. Though the American loss was large, the victory over the In
dians was entire. Soon after this the second war with Great Britain
commenced, and the Indians were drawn into alliance with the Ens;-
9 O
lish. Upon the surrender of General Hull at Detroit, President
Madison placed Governor Harrison in command of the Northwestern
army, with orders to retake Detroit and to protect the frontiers. He
was thus placed in a situation demanding great energy, sagacity, and
courage; but he met and overcame the difficulties. He was active
throughout the campaign of 1812-13, and especially distinguished him
self for bravery and good generalship in the defence of Fort Meigs
and the battle of the Thames. The latter victory won the plaudits of
the nation. He had risen to the rank of brigadier-general, and from
that to a major-generalship. In 1814 he resigned his commission in
the army, and was appointed to treat with the Indians, which he did
with satisfaction to them and to the United States authorities.
From 1816 to 1819 General Harrison was a Representative in Con
gress from Ohio, and from 1819 to 1820 was a member of the Ohio
Senate. From 1825 to 1828 he was a member of the Senate of the
United States, and in the latter year was appointed Minister of the
Republic of Colombia. Upon his return he retired to his farm at
North Bend, Ohio. In 1840 the Whig party made him their candidate
for the office of President of the United States. The campaign was
noted for immense mass meetings and long processions, which were
then first brought into vogue. He was elected by a large majority,
and was inaugurated March 4, 1841. He had scarcely entered upon
his new duties and selected his cabinet when he was taken sick, and on
the 4th of April, just a month from the day of his inauguration, he
died. He was succeeded by John Tyler, the Vice-President. It was
the first instance of the kind in the history of our country.
President Harrison enjoyed a remarkable degree of popularity, and
he was universally mourned. He was the author of a " Discourse on
the Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio."
u .-
Or n
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WILLIAM WOODS AVERELL.
BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL WILLIAM "VV. AVERELL was born in Cam
eron, Steuben County, New York, November 5, 1832. He was the son
of Hiram, and grandson of Ebenezer Averell, a soldier of the Revolu
tion. His great-grandfather was one of the early settlers of Connecti
cut. Young Averell entered the Military Academy at West Point as
a cadet in 1851. lie was graduated in 1855, appointed brevet second
lieutenant in a regiment of mounted riflemen, and sent to garrison
Jefferson Barracks, Missouri. The following year he was transferred
to the cavalry school at Carlisle, and in 1857 was ordered upon the
frontier in New Mexico. In December of that year he distinguished
himself by the surprise and capture of a party of Kiowa Indians, near
Fort Craig. In 1858 he joined the Navajo expedition, and in the
autumn was severely wounded during a night attack of the Indians
upon the camp of the United States troops.
During the late civil war Mr. Averell won distinction by his gal
lant efforts in behalf of the Union. He was first called into service as
bearer of despatches to Colonel Emory, at Fort Arbuckle, in the In
dian Territory. In May, 1861, he was appointed first lieutenant. In
June and July of that year he was on mustering duty in Elmira, New
York, and in Aumist was commissioned colonel of the Third Cavalrv,
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and placed in command of a brigade. He led the advance of
McClellan s army on Manassas in March, 1862, and was in active
service throughout the Peninsula campaign. He bore a leading part
in the operations at Yorktown, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, and Malvern
Hill. August 2d he routed the Confederate cavalry in a skirmish at
Sycamore Church. An attack of sickness prevented his participating
in the second Bull Run and Maryland campaigns. Upon his recovery
he returned to his military duties, and in September, 1862, was pro
moted to brigadier-general of volunteers. He went immediately to
the Upper Potomac, where he was employed in frequent skirmishing.
During the ensuing winter he held command of the Second Division
WILLIAM WOODS AVERELL.
of cavalry. March 17, 1863, he won a decided victory over Lee and
Stuart at Kelly s Ford, Virginia. This was the first important cavalry
victory of the war. " For gallant and meritorious services " in this
battle he was brevetted major in the regular army of the United
States.
Upon the reorganization of the army, General Averell was placed
in command of the cavalry in West Virginia, lie led his command in
brisk actions at Beverly, July 4, 1863, at lledgeville, July llth, at
Moorfield, August 7th, and at the Greenbrier, White Sulphur Springs,
August 26th. November 6th he attacked a force of four thousand
Confederates at Droop Mountain, dispersed them completely, and cap
tured guns and trains. After this the Confederates did not enter the
State again during the war but as raiders. For his gallantrv in the
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affair Averell was brevetted lieutenant-colonel. On the 8th of Decem
ber he again led his command on a raid, which had for its object the
destruction of the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and the immense
stores collected there. After accomplishing his work of devastation
he was pursued by large forces of Confederates. Though pressed on
every side, he eluded all. In his report he says: "I was obliged to
swim my command, and drag my artillery with ropes across Craig s
Creek, seven times in twenty-four hours;" and in conclusion says:
" My command has marched, climbed, slidden, and swum, three hun
dred and forty-five miles since the 8th inst." For his services in this
campaign he was brevetted colonel in the regular army.
General Averell served in West Virginia under Siegel, Hunter,
and Sheridan, in 1804. May 10th he was engaged at Cove Gap, where
he was wounded ; and May 12th, in the destruction of the Tennessee
Railroad. He joined General Hunter in his descent upon Lynchburg,
and with him made the famous circuit by the Kanawha and Ohio
rivers to Parkersburg, and thence by rail to Martinsburg. He de
feated Ramseu s division at Carter s Farm, July 20th, and when
McCausland was making his escape after the burning of Chambersburg,
Averell pursued, overtook, and routed his division at Moorfield. He
also took part in the skirmishing at Bunker Hill and Martinsburg
toward the close of August, and in the actions at Winchester, Fisher s
Hill, and Mount Jackson.
In recognition of his services at Moorfield and throughout the war,
General Averell was brevetted brigadier and major-general in the
regular army. lie resigned his commission in May, 1865, and in 1S66
was appointed consul-general in Canada.
JOHN L. BURNS.
AN interesting sketch of JOHN L. BURNS, the civilian hero of
Gettysburg, may be found in the " Martial Deeds of Pennsylvania,
by Samuel P. Bates. He was born at Burlington, New Jersey, Sep
tember 5, 1793. His father was a Scotchman, and a relative of the
poet Burns. Young Burns was fearless by nature, and when the Uni
ted States declared war against Great Britain in 1812, he was among
the first to enlist. For eighteen months he served in the ranks of the
American army. In the battle of Lundy s Lane he was in the regi
ment led by Colonel Miller, who, when he was asked if he could take
a battery stationed on a height, answered, " I ll try, sir," and, at the
head of his column, gained a brilliant victory over the British.
Upon the commencement of the war between the North and the
South, Burns, then almost seventy years old, was very anxious to take
up arms for the defence of the Union. His age was thought too great
to admit of active service in the field, but his fellow-citizens, desirous
of bestowing upon him an office in which he would have an oppor
tunity to exercise his patriotism, appointed him constable of Gettysburg
in the spring of 1862. He zealously discharged his official duties
until the invasion of the State. On the first day of the battle of
Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, he hastened to the scene of the conflict,
where he was, so far as is known, the only civilian who took part in
the action. He fought with great bravery until severely wounded.
The story of his exploits soon spread through the country, and he sub
sequently received distinguished attentions from President Lincoln
and the officials of the government. He died February 4, 1872. The
old hero is spiritedly described in the following lines by Bret Ilarte :
Have you heard the story that gossips tell But held his own in the fight next day,
Of Burns of Gettysburg ? No ! Ah, well : When all his townsfolk ran away.
Brief is the glory that hero earns, That was in July, Sixty-three,
Briefer the story of poor John Burns. The very day that General Lee,
He was the fellow who won renown, Flower of Southern chivalry,
The only man who didn t back down Baffled and beaten, backward reeled
When the rebels rode through his native From a stubborn Meade and a barren
town ; field.
JOHN L. BURNS.
I might tell how, but the day before,
John Burns stood at his cottage door,
Looking down the village street,
Where, in the shade of his peaceful vine,
He heard the low of his gathered kine,
And felt their breath with incense sweet ;
Or, I might say, when the sunset burned
The old farm gable, he thought it turned
The milk that fell, in a babbling flood,
Into the milk-pail, red as blood !
Or how he fancied the hum of bees
Were bullets buzzing among the trees.
But all such fanciful thoughts as these
Were strange to a practical man like Burns,
Who minded only his own concerns,
Troubled no more by fancies fine
Than one of his calm -eyed, long-tailed
kine,
Quite old-fashioned and matter-of-fact,
Slow to argue, but quick to act.
That was the reason, as some folk say,
He fought so well on that terrible day.
Just where the tide of battle turns,
Erect and lonely stood old John Burns.
How do you think the man was dressed ?
He wore an ancient long buff vest,
Yellow as saffron, but his best ;
And, buttoned over his manly breast,
Was a bright blue coat, with rolling collar,
And large gilt buttons, size of a dollar,
With tails that country-fold call swaller. "
He wore a broad -rimmed, bell-crowned
hat,
White as the locks on which it sat.
Never had such a sight been seen
For forty years on the village green,
Since old John Burns was a country beau,
And went to the " quilting " long ago.
Close at his elbows aU that day,
Veterans of the Peninsula,
Sunburnt and bearded, charged away ;
And striplings, downy of lip and chin,
Clerks that the Home Guard mustered in,
Glanced, as they passed, at the hat he wore,
Then at the rifle his right hand bore ;
And hailed him, from out their youthful
lore,
With scraps of a slangy repertoire :
" How are you, White Hat?" " Put her
through ! "
"Your head s level!" and "Bully for
you ! "
Called him "Daddy" begged he d dis
close
The name of the tailor who made his
clothes,
And what was the value he set on tho s e ;
While Burns, unmindful of jeer and scoff,
Stood there picking the rebels off,
With his long brown rifle and bell-crowned
hat,
And the swallow-tails they were laughing
at.
Twas but a moment, for that respect
Which clothes all courage their voices
checked,
And something the wildest could under
stand
Spake in the old man s strong right hand ;
And his corded throat, and the lurking
frown
Of his eyebrows under his old bell-crown,
Until, as they gazed, there crept an awe
Through the ranks in whispers, and some
men saw
In the antique vestments and long white
hair,
The Past of the Nation in battle there ;
And some of the soldiers since declare
That the gleam of his old white hat afar,
Like the crested plume of the brave Na
varre,
That day was their oriflamme of war.
So raged the battle. You know the rest ;
How the rebels, beaten and backward
pressed,
Broke at the final charge and ran :
At which John Burns a practical man
Shouldered his rifle, unbent his brows,
And then went back to his bees and cows.
That is the story of old John Burns ;
This is the moral the reader learns :
In fighting the battle, the question s whether
You ll show a hat that s white, or a feather.
or ru
VNIYER
JOHN CHARLES FREMONT.
MAJOR-GENERAL JOHN C. FREMONT was born at Savannah, Georgia,
January 21, 1813. His father, a French gentleman, died during his
infancy, and his mother, a Virginian, removed with him to Charles
ton, South Carolina, which they made their permanent home. During
a single year spent under the instruction of a well-known classical
teacher of that city, young Fremont was taught sufficient Greek, Latin,
and mathematics to enter the junior class in Charleston College. He
was then but fifteen vears of a^e. He remained in the institution a
/ o
short time, and after leaving occupied himself in giving private lessons
in mathematics, teaching classes in several schools, and superintending
an evening school. In 1833 he was appointed teacher of mathematics
on board the sloop-of - war " Natchez," and was absent two years with
her on the Brazilian station. On his return he received the degrees of
Bachelor and Master of Arts from Charleston College. He was soon
after appointed by the Government a civil engineer, and in that capa
city accompanied Captain Williams in a survey of the Cherokee coun
try in the winter of 1837-38. In 1838 he was commissioned second
lieutenant in the Corps of Topographical Engineers. Two years were
then spent with Mr. Nicollet in exploring the country between the
Missouri and the British line.
In May, 1842, Fremont began, under the authority of the Govern
ment, the exploration of an overland route to the Pacific. With
the celebrated hunter, Kit Carson, as guide, he examined the South
Pass of the Rocky Mountains, and in August ascended the highest
peak of the Wind River Mountains, now called from him Fre
mont s Peak. Returning in the autumn of 1842, he published a valu
able and interesting report which was commended by Humboldt.
He made a second expedition in 1843-44, through the western section
of the United States, and after his return received the brevet rank of
captain in the army. In 1845 he explored the mountain regions of
Oregon, California, and the Sierra Nevada. In March, 184t>, he suc
cessfully repelled an attack on the American settlers by Mexicans,
JOHN CHAELES FREMONT.
near Montery. From July to November of that year he was at the
head of a body of mounted riflemen, and held the region for the United
States. Commodore Stockton also appointed him civil governor of
California. General Kearny arrived soon after and disputed the ap
pointment. The Government decided in the General s favor. Fremont
was tried by court-martial at Washington, and sentenced to dismissal
from the service. President Polk remitted the sentence, but Fremont
resigned his commission. In 1848 he engaged, on his own account, in
a fourth expedition to the Rocky Mountains. In 1849 he was appointed
one of the United States Commissioners to run the boundary line be
tween the United States and Mexico. He relinquished this post the
same year on being chosen the first United States Senator from Cali
fornia. In 1853 he led a fifth expedition to the Pacific. In 1856 he
was the candidate of the Republican party for the office of President
of the United States. Though he received a large vote, James Bu
chanan, the Democratic candidate, was elected. He then returned to
California and engaged in the improvement of the large Mariposa
Estate which he had purchased several years before, but did not gain,
full possession of until 1855, after a protracted lawsuit.
In 1860 General Fremont visited Europe, where he travelled ex
tensively, and was a close observer of scientific, political, and military
movements. Upon the outbreak of the Civil War he hastened home,
taking with him a large and valuable assortment of arms for the use
of the Government. In July, 1861, he was appointed a major-general
in the regular army of the United States, and placed in command of
the Western Department. In August he issued an order emancipating
the slaves of those who should take arms against the United States,
which was annulled by the President as premature. Having rapidly
organized his forces he took the field at the head of a large army at
the close of September. On the eve of an intended engagement at
Springfield he was superseded by General Hunter. Taking leave of
his troops, who were devotedly attached to him, he returned to the East.
Early in 1862 he was appointed to the command of the Mountain De
partment, and in June fought an indecisive battle at Cross Keys. He
soon after resigned his command. In 1864 he was for the second
time an unsuccessful candidate for the Presidency of the United States.
After some unfortunate connection with railroad enterprises, he was
appointed by President Hayes Governor of Arizona, June 12, 1878,
and entered at once upon the duties of that office, taking a lively in
terest in the development of the mineral resources of that Territory.
/ Of T;
{ VNIVE U
JOSEPH LANMAN.
REAR ADMIRAL JOSEPH LANMAN, of the United States Navy, was
born in Norwich, Connecticut, July 18, 1811. He entered the navy at
an early age, and was appointed midshipman, January 1, 1825. In
1827 he was ordered to join the frigate " Macedonian," of the Brazil
Squadron. In 1830 he was attached to the sloop " Peacock," of the
West India Squadron. Early in June of the following year he was
promoted to the rank of passed midshipman, and next joined the
schooner "Dolphin, "of the Pacific Squadron. Young Mr. Lanman
had performed his duties with ability and faithfulness through the
first few years of his naval service, and he rose steadily by promo
tion. In March, 1835, he received his first commission, that of a lieu
tenant in the United States Navy, and served in the " Yincennes " in a
cruise of circumnavigation and among the South Sea Islands. In 1837
he joined the Mediterranean Squadron ; in 1839 he served in the West
Indies ; in 1843 he was placed on ordnance duty. In 1846 he joined
the sloop of war " Preble," detailed to convoy Stevenson s regiment to
California, and soon after his arrival he was ordered to the command
of the United States ship " Warren," where he also performed the
duty of Collector of the Port of Monterey, California, and w r hile
there saw the first gold discovered in the mines. In 1848 he was made
the bearer of dispatches from the commanding officer of the Pacific
Squadron to the authorities at Washington, and was assigned to special
duty at one of the large iron foundries and gun-casting establishments
with the view of rendering the knowledge obtained there serviceable to
the government in the department of ordnance. In 1851 he was
ordered to the Mediterranean Squadron, and in 1853 to the Washington
Navy Yard. In March, 1858, he took command of the United States
steamer " Michigan," on the Lakes. In 1861, at the breaking out of
the rebellion, Commander Lanman applied for active duty on the
Atlantic coast, but the department deemed it necessary to give him
orders to the Mare Island Navy Yard, California, which was, from its
JOSEPH LAN MAN.
distance and the difficulty of communication with it, also from its
importance as a naval station, a place where it was necessary to have
officers on whom the most explicit reliance could be placed. He was
selected as ordnance officer and ordered to that station. In 1862
he commanded the United States steam frigate " Saranac," of the
Pacific Squadron, stationed at Panama for the protection of the prop
erty of the Isthmus railway, and of its passengers from massacre by
the natives. He was promoted to the rank of captain in 1861, and
August 21, 1862, was appointed a commodore.
In 1864-65 he commanded the frigate " Minnesota " in the North
Atlantic Blockading Squadron. He was present at the two attacks on
Fort Fisher ; and in the second attack, which was one of the most
brilliant engagements of the war, was selected to lead the second
line in his flag-ship the " Minnesota." The fleet and land forces, in
transports, arrived off the fort, January 13, 1865, and the next day,
under cover of the guns of the former, the troops effected a landing.
On the fifteenth the combined attack by land and sea was made, re
sulting in the capture of Fort Fisher. In no other engagement did the
army and navy co-operate so harmoniously. In the action Commodore
Lanrnan superintended the firing of his vessels, witnessed how they
were managed during the engagement, and personally directed the
force under him. Admiral David D. Porter, in his official report,
thus speaks of him : " Commodore Joseph Lanman was selected to lead
the line, consequently he led into action. I was much pleased with
the way in which he handled his ship and fired throughout the action ;
the whole affair on his part being conducted with admirable judgment
and coolness. I recommend him to the consideration of the Depart
ment, as one on whom they can place the utmost reliance."
After the war he was ordered to special duty at New York, and in
1865 he was ordered to the command of the " Powhatan ; " but his
orders were revoked, and October 10, 1865, he was appointed to the
command of the North Atlantic Squadron, when the disbandment of
naval depots and store-houses on shore required close and constant
official attention. October 1, 1867, he took command of the Ports
mouth, New Hampshire, Navy Yard. December 8, 1867, he received
his commission as Bear Admiral. In April, 1869, he was appointed to
the command of the South Atlantic Squadron, cruising off the coast of
Brazil. He was retired July 18, 1872. In February, 1874, he was
ordered by telegram to Washington, where he took a severe cold, and
died February 13, 1874.
SOLOMON DROWNE.
WAS born in Providence, March 11, 1753, and died at Mount Ilygeia, in
Foster, Rhode Island, February 5, 1834. His great-grandfather, Leonard
Drowne, came from the west of England and carried on ship-building
at Kittery, Maine ; but, in consequence of the Indian wars, removed
his family and business, in 1692, to Boston, and died there October 31,
1720. His father, Solomon, settled in Providence, as a merchant, in
1730, and for half a century bore a prominent part in the affairs of the
town. He graduated at Rhode Island College (now Brown University)
in 1773 ; studied medicine, and received medical degrees from the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania and from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire.
Dr. Drowne served as surgeou for several years (1776-1780),
during the war of the Revolution, in various hospitals and regiments,
and was in Sullivan s expedition upon Rhode Island. lie married,
November 20, 1777, in Ilolliston, Mass., Elizabeth Russell, daughter of
Thomas Russell and Ilonora [Onner] Loud, of Boston. In the fall of
1780 he went on a cruise, as surgeon, in the private sloop-of-war
Hope, his journal of which, with the genealogy of his family, has been
printed. He won the regard of Lafayette, the Counts de Rocham-
beau and d Estaing, as well as of other French officers, to such a
degree, by his medical ability and skill as a surgeon, that the chief of
the medical staff intrusted their invalid soldiers to his care when they
left for home. In 1783 he was elected to the Board of Fellows in
Brow r n University. A year later he went to London, and spent
several months in travelling over England and in visiting the hospitals
o o o *
and medical schools. In May, 1785. he visited Holland and Belgium
for similar purposes, and then went to Paris. While in France, he
"was often a guest of Dr. Franklin, at Passy, in whose society he met
Mr. Jefferson and other distinguished men. On his return to Provi-
O
dence, he resumed the practice of medicine; but, in 1788, journeyed
to Ohio, and resided for nearly a year at Marietta. While there he
delivered a funeral eulogy on General James M. Varnum (whom lie
attended in his last sickness), and also the first anniversary oration on
the settlement of Marietta, April 7, 1789. lie was also present, par
ticipating with General St. Clair and others, in the treaties at Fort
SOLOMON BROWNE.
Ilarmar, in 17SS- 89, with Corn Planter and other Indian chiefs. Re
turning to his native Jo\vn, he continued his practice until 1792, when,
in consequence of impaired health, he removed with his family to
Morgantown, West Virginia, stopping en route to see General Wash
ington, at Mount Vernon ; and, in 1794, the danger from border in
cursions of Indians being over, he went to Union, Fayette Co., Penn.,
where he lived seven years. In 1801 he retraced his steps to Rhode
Island, and a little later settled in Foster. lie called his place Mount
Ilygeia, and here he resided the remainder of his days, devoting him
self to professional duties, to his botanical garden, and to his scientific,
classical, and literary studies. Dr. Drowne filled several public offices.
He was in 1811 appointed Professor of Materia Medica and Botany,
in Brown University ; and in 1819 was elected a delegate to the con
vention which formed the National Pharmacopoeia by the Rhode
Island Medical Society, of which he was Vice-President. He took an
active part in the organization and proceedings of the Rhode Island
Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry, before which
he delivered addresses on several occasions. In 1824, in connection
with his son, William Drowne, he published "The Farmer s Guide," a
comprehensive work on husbandry and gardening. He contributed
various scientific and literary articles to the journals of the day, and
participated in the proceedings of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, and other learned bodies of which he was a member.
Ilis " Lines to the Memory of Dr. Joseph Warren," written shortly
after the battle of Bunker Hill, are truly patriotic, and evince the
brotherly regard that existed between them professionally and as
" Sons of Liberty." The lines were addressed to his brother, Captain
William Drowne, who was with the shelled troops at Roxbury on the
day of the battle ; and, after rendering much service in the Revolu
tionary War, was captured and imprisoned for a long time in the old
Jersey Prison-Ship. During the latter part of his life he delivered
several courses of botanical lectures, and many public orations and
addresses, highly creditable to him as a man of refined taste and
varied acquisitions, among which may be mentioned those commemo
rative of American Independence his " Eulogy on Washington," Feb
ruary 22, 1800, and his " Oration in Aid of the Cause of the Greeks,"
February 23, 1824. The latter was delivered by the venerable orator
at the first Baptist Meeting-IIonse, in Providence, when he was upwards
of seventy years of age, with snch remarkable fervor and pathos, that
it was pronounced " the most brilliant performance of his liff>."
NICHOLAS BROWN.
THE HON. NICHOLAS BROWN, from whom the College of Rhode
Island took its present name of Brown University, was born in Provi
dence, April 4, 1769. His ancestor who earliest came to America was
Mr. Chad Brown, a native of England. In 1636, soon after the ar
rival of Roger Williams, he emigrated from Massachusetts to the
Providence Plantations. He was afterward ordained, and became
one of the earliest ministers of the only church then founded in the
settlement. Nearly a century later his great-grandson, the Rev. James
Brown, became a minister of the same church. Among his descendants
of the third generation were four brothers John, Joseph, Nicholas,
and Moses Brown all eminent merchants of Providence, and
all distinguished for their public spirit, piety, and philanthropy. John,
the eldest of the brothers, aided in the foundation of Rhode Island s
college, laid the corner-stone of its original hall, and was the treasurer
of its corporation for more than thirty years. Nicholas Brown, the
third of the brothers, was the father of the subject of this sketch.
In 17S2 young Nicholas Brown entered Rhode Island College, of
whose establishment his father and uncle had been active promoters.
His uncle, Joseph Brown, was at that time the Professor of Natural
Philosophy in the institution, which was under the care of its first
president, the Rev. Dr. James Manning. Mr. Brown was graduated
in 1786, at the age of eighteen years, and immediately entered upon
mercantile business. Upon his father s death, four years later, he
formed a partnership with Mr. Thomas P. Ives, a gentleman of emi
nent mercantile ability. Thus was formed the house of Brown and
Ives, one of the most successful and respected in the country. Of this
house Mr. Brown was the senior partner for fifty years, in the course
of which he was engaged in transactions embracing the productions
of every climate, and extending to every part of the commercial
world. From the beginning of his business career he was ever
ready to recognize other interests and claims than those of his profes
sion. He early adopted the principles of the old Federal party, and
was often engaged in the political controversies of the day. From
NICHOLAS BROWN.
1807 to 1821 he was, almost without interruption, a member of one or
the other of the houses of the Rhode Island Legislature. In 1840 he
was chosen one of the Electors of President of the United States, and
gave his vote for President Harrison.
Mr. Brown was elected a member of the corporation of Rhode
Island College, in 1791, and he continued to be intimately associated
with its progress from that time to his death. In 1796 he was chosen
its Treasurer. His first donation to the college was a law library of
considerable extent and value, and a number of works of English litera-
7 O
tore. In 1804 he presented to the corporation the sum of five thousand
dollars, to found a Professorship of Oratory and Belles-Lettres. In that
year the name of the institution was changed to Brown University. In
1823 " Hope College " was completed, and presented to the corpora
tion. It had been erected, solely at Mr. Brown s expense, for the
more ample accommodation of the students. He subsequently con
veyed to the corporation three valuable lots of ground ; valued at about
26,000. In 1829 he united with his partner, Mr. Ives, in presenting
a philosophical apparatus ; and in 1832, when it was decided to raise
the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars as a permanent fund for the
increase of the library, he subscribed two-fifths of the amount. In
1834 he erected a third hall, at his own expense, and presented it to
the corporation with the request that it might bear the name of
" Manning Hall." In 1838 the corporation decided to build a new
house for the President, and an additional hall for lecture-rooms.
Soon afterward Mr. Brown offered for these purposes the sum of
$10,000. The buildings were completed in 1840, the hall receiving
the name of Rhode Island Hall. His donations to Brown University
amounted to upward of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars. He
also gave nearly ten thousand dollars to the Providence Athenaeum,
and extended liberal aid to the building of churches, and the endow
ment of colleges and academies in various States of the Union. He
bequeathed thirty thousand dollars for the establishment of an asylum
for the insane, which was the first step toward the founding of the
" Butler Hospital for the Insane," and various sums to the Northern
Baptist Education Society, the American Tract Society, the American
and Foreign Bible Society, and other institutions of philanthropy and
religion. His name is entitled to a conspicuous place in the illustrious
list of those who have aided by their munificence in promoting the
highest interests of society. Mr. Brown died at Providence, R. I.,
September 27, 1841.
x*v \ a *
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f VN. y.
V
o<
/fCr
EDWIN BOOTH.
EDWIN BOOTH was born in Harford County, near Baltimore, Md.,
Nov. 13, 1833, being the fourth son of the distinguished tragedian
Jimius Brutus Booth. His first appearance on the stage was at the
Boston Museum as Tressel, in " Richard III.," Sept. 10, 1849. Most
of his early life was spent in company with his father, an association
which in after years proved of great value. After the death of his
illustrious sire, which occurred on board the steamboat J. "W. Chene-
worth, en route from New Orleans to Cincinnati, Nov. 30, 1852,
Edwin s professional life for a considerable period seems to have
been a panorama of struggles, hardships, and vicissitudes.
From the cloud of comparative obscurity and stock companies, Mr.
Booth emerged in April, 1857, and appeared at the Boston Theatre as
Sir Giles Overreach. The engagement was a brilliant triumph, and
formed the turning-point of his career. His success was repeated in an
engagement at Burton s Metropolitan Theatre, New York, commencing
May 14, 1857. On April 12, 1858, "Othello" was given at Wai-
lack s Theatre, formerly Brougham s Lyceum, New York, for the benefit
of II. C. Jarrett, with Edwin Booth as lago, E. L. Davenport as
Othello, A. II. Davenport as Cassio, and Mrs. Hoey as Desdemona.
At the Academy of Music, New York, March 21, 1861, Mr. Booth
appeared with Charlotte Cnshman in " Macbeth."
In the summer of 1861 he sailed for England, making his debut at
the Hay market Theatre, London, Sept. 30th, as Shylock. Returning
to New Y r ork, he opened at the Winter Garden, Sept. 29, 1862. On
the death of his wife, known to the stage as Mary Devlin, Mr. Booth
abandoned his profession, but after a brief retirement reappeared at
the Winter Garden, Sept. 21, 1863. On Friday, Nov. 25, 1864, a
remarkable performance was given at the Winter Garden in aid of
the fund for the Shakespeare statue in Central Park, this being the oc
casion when the three Booth brothers appeared in the tragedy of
" Julius Caesar," Edwin playing Brutus ; Junius Brutus, Jr., Cassius ;
and John Wilkes, Marc Antony. The performance was also memora
ble as being the last appearance of John Wilkes Booth in New York.
EDWIN BOOTH.
"Hamlet" was put on the stage of the Winter Garden, Nov. 26,
1864, and held the boards uninterruptedly till March 22, 1865. This
was the period which saw accomplished for " Hamlet the unprece
dented run of one hundred nights. A gold medal was presented to
the tragedian in commemoration of the event.
On Dec. 29, 1866, Bogumil Dawison, the German tragedian, ap
peared at the Winter Garden as Othello in German, to Edwin Booth s
lago in English, with Mad. Methua Scheller as Desdemona. In her
scenes with Dawison Mad. Scheller spoke in German, and with Booth
in English. On a subsequent occasion at the Boston Theatre, Mr.
Booth and Mad. Janauschek appeared in " Macbeth," the former speak
ing English, the latter German.
On March 23, 1867, the Winter Garden Theatre was completely
destroyed by fire. The night previous Booth had acted Brutus in
John Howard Payne s tragedy, the " Fall of Tarqtiin." The Winter
Garden has now became a tradition in histrionic history. With it are
associated the scenes of Edwin Booth s greatest triumphs.
The opening of Booth s Theatre, February 3, 1869, forms another
brilliant episode in the career of this distinguished tragedian. The play
was " Romeo and Juliet," with Mr. Booth as Romeo ; Mary McVicker
(now Mrs. Edwin Booth) as Juliet ; and Mr. Edwin Adams as Mercutio.
The building is of granite, and stands on the southeast corner of Sixth
Ave. and Twenty-third St., New York. During his management the
plays of Shakespeare as well as the standard works of the drama were
presented with a magnificence of style and perfection of detail hitherto
unknown in the history of the American stage. A notable revival of
"Julius Caesar " occurred at this theatre, Dec. 25,1871. During its
run, which ended March 16, 1872, Mr. Booth alternated characters
with Lawrence Barrett, Juni us Brutus Booth, Jr., F. C. Bangs, and
William Creswick. The performance of " As You Like It," with Miss
Adelaide Neilson as Rosalind, June 14-, 1873, terminated Mr. Booth s
personal management. Shortly after, the theatre passed entirely from
his possession. Of late years he has travelled throughout the country
as a star. Mr. Booth s repertory comprises : Hamlet, Richelieu, Othello,
lago, Macbeth, King Lear, Shylock, Bertuccio, Richard II., Ruy
Bias, Lucius Brutus, Petruchio, Richard III., Brutus, Cassius, Marc
Antony, Benedick, Stranger, Claude Melnotte, Pescara, Sir Giles Over
reach, Sir Edward Mortimer, and Don Caesar de Bazan.
During the season of 1880-1881 Mr. Booth appeared at the
Princess s Theatre, London, meeting with unqualified success.
MA J.- GEN NATFIAHJKL P; BAN PCS.
NATHANIEL PRENTISS BANKS.
NATHANIEL PRENTISS BANKS was born in Waltham, Massachusetts,
January 30, 1816. He was the son of an overseer in a cotton factory,
and when of suitable age he found employment in the establishment
under the superintendence of his father, from which he derived his
appellation, " the bobbin-boy." He had received a common school edu
cation, and while employed at the factory devoted his leisure hours to
study. After a short time he abandoned his work at the factory,
learned the trade of a machinist, and worked at it as a journeyman in
Boston. He also taught an evening school for some time, and edited
a paper advocating the principles of the Democratic party at Waltham,
and afterward at Lowell. He also occasionally lectured before
lyceums, temperance meetings, and political gatherings.
Mr. Banks early became interested in politics, and after the election
of President Polk he received an office in the Boston Custom-House.
For six consecutive years he was an unsuccessful candidate for the
Massachusetts House of Representatives. In the seventh year, 1848,
he was elected, and delivered his first speech in February, 1849, on
the extension of slavery. He at once became a leading member of the
Democratic party in Massachusetts. In 1850 he was elected to both
the Senate and the House, but chose the House, where he was elected
speaker, which position he held for two successive sessions. He was a
prominent advocate of a coalition of the Democratic with the Freesoil
party. In 1853 he presided over the convention for revising the Con
stitution of Massachusetts, and was soon afterward elected a Represent
ative in the Congress of the United States. In 1855 lie was re-elected.
During his second term he separated from his party on the question of
slavery, and after a remarkable contest was chosen speaker of the
House. In 1857 he was elected Governor of Massachusetts by a large
majority. He was re-elected in 1858, and again in 1859. Declining
the nomination for a fourth term, he retired from an active political
life, and removed to Illinois, where he accepted the presidency of the
Illinois Central Railroad. He was filling this position when the civil
war commenced.
NATHANIEL PRENTISS BANKS.
On May 30, 1861, President Lincoln appointed him a Major-General
of Volunteers. He was first ordered to take command of the Depart
ment of Annapolis, with headquarters at Baltimore, and at once com
menced a reform of the Police Department of that city. In July he
was placed in command of the Shenandoah Department, and immedi
ately began, at Harper s Ferry, the work of disciplining and perfecting
the organization of his troops. In the spring of 1862 he was assigned
to the Fifth Corps, and on March 23, the battle of "Winchester was
fought by a part of his command under General Shields. General
Banks at once ordered a pursuit of the enemy. Toward the close of
May he was attacked, at Strasburg, by Stonewall Jackson. The force
was so overwhelming that the Union troops fell back, and by the
greatest exertions succeeded in crossing the Potomac after a running
battle of over fifty miles in two days. General Sigel expressed great
admiration of the skill, promptitude, and coolness with which it was
conducted, and pronounced it a most masterly retreat. General Banks,
being reinforced, in his turn pursued Jackson, and occupied Front
Royal on the 30th and Martinsburg on the 31st. He commanded a
corps under General Pope in the battle of Cedar Mountains, Virginia,
August, 1862, and in the following December was sent with a consid
erable force to succeed General Butler in the command of the Depart
ment of Louisiana. He took Opelousas in April, 1863, after defeating
the enemy and taking two thousand prisoners. Throughout that mouth
he engaged in several contests, in which his forces were successful. In
May he took Alexandria. After more than two months siege of Port
Hudson, an important Confederate stronghold and one of the principal
objects of General Banks Southern expedition, the garrison surren
dered, July 8, 1863. This opened the navigation of the Mississippi
Eiver, and had important results. In March, 1864, he made an expe
dition to the Red River. In May of the same year he was relieved
from command, and retired from the army after much active service in
the field. In 1865 General Banks was elected a Representative from
Massachusetts to the Thirty-ninth Congress, in the place of D. W. Gooch,
who had resigned. He served on the Committees on Rules, and, on the
death of President Lincoln, as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs. He was also one of the Representatives designated to attend
the funeral of General Scott in 1866. He was a delegate to the Phila
delphia Loyalists Convention of 1866, and to the Soldiers Convention
held at Pittsburg. lie was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress.
- * 7>v
JAMES WILLIAM BEEKMAN.
DESCENDED from "William Beekman, fifth in a line of citizens dis
tinguished as physicians and merchants, James William, son of Gerard
Beekman and Catharine Tandus, was born in the city of New York, on
the 22d of November, 1815. Carefully educated under private tuition
at home, he entered Columbia College, and was graduated in 1834.
Upon leaving college, he studied law for a time in the office of John L.
Mason, and at the close of 1838, with his friend, Mr. Evert A.
Duyckink, made an extensive tour in Europe.
Soon after his return, Mr. Beekman married, in 1840, Miss Abian
Milledoler, daughter of the Rev. Dr. Milledoler, and took up his resi
dence in the old Beekman House, on the East River, which he care
fully refitted, preserving all its antique features and objects of inter
est. Here he resided for many years, dispensing a generous hospi-
talit} , and occupied with the management of his large landed estate,
until obliged to withdraw before the resistless encroachments of the
city s growth. This ancient historic mansion was identified with many
important incidents during the Revolution. On the occupancy of the
city by the British, after the battle of Long Island, it was the residence
and headquarters, successively, of Sir William Howe, Commissary
Loring, Sir Henry Clinton, General Robertson, the last royal Gover
nor of New York, and Sir Guy Carleton, the last of the British Com-
manders-in-Chief. Major Andre, tradition says, slept in one of its
rooms the night before his ill-fated departure for West Point. Cap
tain Nathan Hale was tried and condemned as a spy in the ample green
house in its garden.
During the next four years, Mr. Beekman passed considerable time
in foreign travel, directing his attention especially to the study of the
government of the countries he visited, the practical working of their
political principles, their religious life, their machinery of education,
and particularly the management of their humanitarian institutions.
This enabled him, on his return home, to undertake, beside the onerous
task of improving his large private estate, many public and philanthropic
JAMES WILLIAM BEEKMAN.
labors. Foremost among these were his earnest and judicious efforts
to promote popular education and the work of hospital improvement.
He was greatly interested in the public school system of New York,
serving as a member of its Board of Education, and carefully observant
of the daily routine in its schools and academies.
He held also the position of Trustee of Columbia College, his Alma
Mater, his interest in its development having been previously shown as
a member of her Society of Alumni. On the foundation of the
Woman s Hospital, the establishment of which he had earnestly advo
cated, he was chosen its first President, and held the office until his death.
He gave much of his time and thought to the welfare of this institution,
which justly holds his memory in the highest regard.
Mr. Beekman was also long connected with the New York Hospital
as a Governor, and afterward Y ice-President, taking an active part in
its counsels during an important period of its growth, when its final
removal from its old site on Broadway, and its reconstruction in new
buildings, brought under practical discussion the principles of hospital
management. In 1871 he delivered a Centennial Discourse, at the re
quest of its officers, reviewing the history of the institution, an impor
tant chapter of the rise and development of the city, and advocating
what he considered the true system of hospital construction. He was
also an active and efficient Director of the New York Dispensary.
Mr. Beekman early took an interest in politics, belonging to the old
ranks of conservative Whigs, and was elected to the Assembly in 1848,
and in 1849 was chosen a State Senator, serving during the two fol
lowing years.
Upon the outbreak of the civil war, he was unequivocal for the
maintenance of the National Government, and became one of the
founders of the Union League Club, of which, for a time, he was Vice-
President. For more than thirty years he was a member of the St.
Nicholas Society, delivering, at the close of his official term as Presi
dent, in 1869, an address on "The Founders of New York, " which, for
its wide information, keen humor, and literary finish, will be long re
membered, lie was one of the originators and President of the St.
Nicholas Club, and had long been associated with the Century Club.
He was also connected with the New York Historical Society, the
American Ethnological Society, and other kindred institutions, in which
he held offices of honor and trust, and won a wide reputation as a wise
counsellor and a scholar of varied and extensive research.
Mr. Beekman died, at his residence in New York, June 15, 1877.
HENRY BARNARD.
HON. HENRY BARNARD, LL.D., was born in Hartford, Connecticut,
January 24, 1811. He prepared for college at the Academy in
Munson, Mass., and the Hopkins Grammar School in Hartford, and
entered Yale College in the fall of 1826. On graduating, in 1830,
he entered upon a course of private study and reading, prepara
tory to a thorough professional training for the practice of law.
He was one year a student in the office of Hon. Willis Hall, and
subsequently in the office of William Hungerford, of Hartford ; he
also studied one year at the Yale College Law School. At the sugges
tion of Professor Day, he took charge for a time of an academy in
Willsboro , Pa., as a means of reviewing and making permanent his
knowledge of the classics. While thus engaged his attention was so
o o o
drawn to the science and art of education that he has since made it the
professional employment of his life. He was admitted to the bar in
the winter of 1835, but never pursued the practice of the profession,
lie travelled extensively throughout this country, and became ac
quainted with most of the statesmen and public characters, whose
names are now historic, and visited Europe, where he devoted his time
to the study of the social condition of the people, their systems of
education, and institutions of public charity. In 1837, and for three
successive years, he was elected to represent Hartford in the Legisla
ture of Connecticut, which he did most acceptably to his constituents,
devoting his efforts principally to measures of education and prison
discipline reform. He then retired from all active participation in
political life, to devote himself to the promotion of education, reform,
and improvement.
From 1838 to 1842 his work was chiefly confined to Connecticut,
having been appointed the first secretary of the Board of Commission
ers in common schools in that State, during which time great reforms
were introduced into the organization of the common schools, the ben
eficial effects of which are now felt, not only in every school district of
that State, but in the whole country. In 1842 this board of commis
sioners in Connecticut was abolished, and his labors in that connection
HENRY BARNARD.
terminated. Very soon, however, his services were sought in the same
field of labor in the State of Rhode Island, where he was employed
as Commissioner of Public Schools until 1849. In less than three
months after his return from Rhode Island to Connecticut, he was in
vited to a Professorship of History and English Literature in one col
lege, and of the Greek and Latin languages in another, and to the
superintendence of public schools in three different cities. Mr. Bar
nard s services as an educator and school officer have been of inesti
mable value ; his labors have been of the most arduous kind, extend
ing to every State, and embracing every grade of instruction. During
these labors he has found time to help forward almost every local en
terprise which aimed to advance the literary and educational interests
of his native city and State. The first inception of the Public High
School was his, and his efforts by voice and pen, in preparing the pub
lic mind in its establishment, were incessant, and contributed largely
to its success. He is an honorary member of various historical, liter
ary, and scientific associations at home and abroad. In 1852 he was
appointed to the chancellorship of the University of Michigan, and sub
sequently to the presidency of the University of Wisconsin, and also
to the presidency of St. John s College, at Annapolis, Maryland. In
1S07 he was appointed by the President of the United States, and
confirmed by the Senate, to the office of Commissioner of Education,
which office he held until the spring of 1870. For some national recog
nition of education as one of the great interests of the country, he has la
bored for thirty years, and his four reports are documents of great value.
In 1851 he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from
Yale and Union colleges, and in 1852 from Harvard University.
Dr. Barnard s education publications are numerous, important, and
widely disseminated. His " School Architecture," " Normal Schools
in the United States and Europe," "Tribute to Gallaudet," "Educa
tional Biography," " The Origin of Free Schools of New England,"
" System of National Education," "Technical Schools," "Military
Schools and Education," " Universities and Colleges," " Reformatory
and Preventive Schools and Agencies," and his " American, English,
German, French, and Swiss Pedagogy" in 8 vols., are standard works
of permanent value for private and public libraries. Since 1838, when
he began the " Connecticut Common School Journal," to January, 1880,
when he announced the first number of the thirtieth volume of the
"American Journal of Education," he has edited an educational peri
odical, in which all his writings have first appeared.
JOHN GILBERT.
ON the evening of November 28, 182S, John Gilbert made his de
but as an actor, at the age of eighteen, in the Trernont Theatre, Boston,
his native city. When a very young man his predilections for the
stage were regarded with horror by his relatives, and every obstacle
was placed in the way of the gratification of his ambition, which, like
that of a great many comedians, lay in the direction of tragedy.
But, in spite of all difficulties, the opposition of his relatives and a
Puritan community for in those days the stage was not highly honored
in New England and the extraordinary precautions which were then
taken by theatrical managers to discourage incompetent or untried
aspirants for histrionic honors, John Gilbert obtained a private hearing
before a tribunal of theatrical judges, and was by them accepted as
worthy of the privilege of a public appearance. His debut was made
without the knowledge of his friends, in "Venice Preserved," his name
being kept secret, the announcement being made on the bills that the
part of Jaffier would be undertaken by a " young gentleman." He
achieved instantaneous success. The once celebrated Mrs. Duff was
the " Belvidera." On his second appearance as " Sir Edward Morti
mer " in " The Iron Chest " his name was divulged, and he was ac
cepted as a member of the Tremont Company, playing the part of
Shylock and other tragical roles, with more or less success, for about a
year. Leaving Boston, Mr. Gilbert spent the next five or six years in
gaining that knowledge of the stage and of his own capabilities which
onlv a rough experience can teach. He travelled South and West,
winning a good reputation in New Orleans, and suffering many vicissi
tudes of fortune in other places. On his journey he discovered that
tragedy was not his forte, and that the personation of old men was.
This discovery changed the whole course of his career, and almost im
mediately raised him from the condition of an impecunious tragedian
to that of a successful comedian. In 1834 he made his first great suc
cess in his new line of business in the same theatre in which he made
his debut, appearing as " Old Dornton " in the " Road to Ruin." Mr.
Gilbert s New York debut was effected in 1839, at the Bowery Theatre,
IRVIN MCDOWELL.
IRVIN McDowELL, Major-General United States Army, was born in
Franklinton, Ohio, October 15, 1818. Ilis father was the first member
of Congress from the Columbus, Ohio, District, and his grandfather, an
officer of the Revolution, was president of the convention which
framed the constitution of Kentucky. He was sent, at the age of
*/ y cj
fourteen years, to a military academy in France, where he acquired a
knowledge of the French language, and the first principles of military
discipline. Returning to the United States in 1834, he entered the
Military Academy at West Point, and graduated in 1839. Appointed
to a second-lieutenancy in the first artillery, he was immediately ordered
to Lake Ontario, and subsequently to Houlton, Maine, where he con
tinued until all danger of a war between the United States and Eng
land was averted. Lieutenant McDowell was then ordered to West
Point, and in October, 1842, was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and re
mained at the academy in the position of adjutant until October, 1845,
when he was selected by General Wool as aid-de-camp, and accompa
nied that general through the Mexican War. For gallant services in
the battle of Buena Vista, February 23, 1847, he was brevetted cap
tain, and in May following, appointed assistant adjutant-general. At
the close of the Mexican War he was transferred to the staff of Gen
eral Scott. With the exception of the time he was in Texas, on a
tour of inspection, and of one year which he passed in Europe, he con
tinued with the general-in-chief till the commencement of the Civil
War of 1861, at which time he held the rank of major and assistant
adjutant-general, which had been conferred upon him March 31, 1856.
Acting under the authority of General Scott, Major McDowell dis
played great activity and energy in preserving the city of Washington
from the threatened attacks of the enemy. He even organized the
builders and the stone-cutters of the capitol into companies, opened a
well in the cellar, and established a bakery there ; and if the city had
been captured, he was prepared to hold that building as a citadel until
the Northern troops should come to its rescue. Other public buildings
were also fortified and garrisoned by the District militia. Fortunately,
ir MCDOWELL.
the Sixth and Eighth Massachusetts and Seventh New York National
Guards brought timely aid, and secured the safety of Washington.
On May 14, 1801, Major McDowell was appointed a brigadier-gen
eral in the regular army, and placed in command of the right bank of
the Potomac. The appointment of major-general in the regular army
was also offered him and declined. His management during the ad
vance of the army in the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, the
temporary success under his skilfully laid plans, the sudden panic and
disastrous rout, due to the advance of the confederate General John
ston from the Shenandoah Valley to his right rear, contrary to the as
surances given him in cabinet meeting before the Union Army ad
vanced, that Johnston should be held in the valley, are well known.
On the accession of General McClellan to the chief command,
General McDowell received the command of a division in the army of
the Potomac. He was appointed a major-general of volunteers, March
J4, 1802. His next command was that of the Department of the Rap-
pahannock, which was created April 4, 1802. This command he ex
ercised under the immediate orders of President Lincoln and the War
Department, and his acts and movements were in accordance therewith.
It was retained until consolidated with the Mountain Department and
the Department of the Shenandoah, and the whole placed under the
command of General Pope. The loyal part which General McDowell
acted in the two days battles of Second Bull Run and Chantilly, and
retreat of General Pope before the overwhelming forces of the enemy
a retreat slow, difficult, and ably conducted, till the army had ar
rived within helping distance of the forces near Washington won the
warm approval of General Pope. For his distinguished conduct at the
battle of Cedar Mountain, Virginia, he was brevetted a major-general,
United States Army, March 13, 1805. He was assigned by the Presi
dent to the command of the Fourth Military District, with headquarters
at Vicksburg, Miss., December 28, 1867. From this he was relieved
in June, 180S, and in the following month ordered to the command of
the Department of the East. On his promotion to be major-general
United States Army, November 25, 1872, he was transferred to the
Division of the South, and had his headquarters at Louisville, Ken
tucky. Subsequently the President placed him in charge of the Mili
tary Division of the Pacific, with headquarters at San Francisco a com
mand he now exercises. As an officer and gentleman, lie is one of the
most accomplished in the service, and has ever retained the entire
confidence of his government.
/
JOHN PARKER HALE.
JOHN PARKER HALE, an American statesman, was born in Roches
ter, Strafford County, New Hampshire, March 3L, 1803. After a pre
paratory education at Exeter he entered Bowdoin College, from which
institution he was graduated in 1827, at the age of twenty-one. Se
lecting Dover as his place of residence, and the practice of law as his
profession, he soon entered upon his legal studies. Upon their com
pletion he was admitted to the bar, in the year 1830.
While attending to his professional duties Mr. Hale, like many
another rising young lawyer, found much in the political discussions
and events of the time to awaken his interest. His fellow-townsmen
were not slow to recognize his qualifications for positions of trust and
prominence, and in 1832, two years after his admission to the bar, he
was called to fill his first public office. It was that of a member of the
New Hampshire Legislature. In 1834 President Jackson appointed
him United States Attorney for the District of New Hampshire. He
was reappointed by President Van Buren, and held the office until
1341, when, for political reasons, he was removed by President Tyler.
In 1843 the Democratic party chose him to represent his native
State in the Congress of the United States. While serving his two
CJ o
years term in the House, he warmly advocated the cause of the oppo
nents of slavery. In the presidential canvas of 1844 he opposed the
scheme for annexing Texas, and was renominated for Congress. " The
New Hampshire Legislature, having passed a resolution instructing the
Congressional delegation from that State to support the annexation
measure, Mr. Hale addressed a letter to the people of New Hampshire,
in which he declared the annexation of Texas was demanded for the
purpose of strengthening and perpetuating slavery, and that if the
people wished their representatives to support such a measure, they
must choose some other man than himself to represent them. The
State Convention struck his name from the ticket, and placed another
JOHN PARKER HALE.
nominee in his stead. Mr. Hale then ran as an independent candidate,
supported chiefly by the Independent Democrats, bnt was defeated.
In June, 1845, he attempted to make a speech in the Old North Church
at Concord, vindicating his course ; but frequent interruptions soon
turned it into a sharp debate between himself and Franklin Pierce,
which lasted from 2 P.M. till sundown, and is still the most memorable
in the history of New Hampshire. The popular verdict gave the vic
tory to Hale."
In 1846 Mr. Hale was again elected to the State Legislature, and
O O
became Speaker of the House. Before the close of the session he was
elected, by a combination of "Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats, to a seat
in the Senate of the United States, fora term of six years, commenc
ing in March, 1847. In the same year the " Liberty Convention " at
Cleveland gave him the nomination of their party for President, which
he declined. In 1848 he supported the Van Btiren and Adams ticket.
In the Senate Mr. Hale steadily maintained the position he had taken
on the slavery question, although he stood almost alone. He opposed
the compromise measure of Henry Clay, lie was a fluent, forcible
speaker, and by his ready wit and humor often succeeded in turning
aside the attacks of the pro-slavery Senators, and in mitigating party
animosity. In 1851 he was counsel for the defendants in the impor
tant trials which grew out of the rescue of the fugitive slave, Shadrach,
at Boston. In August, 1852, the " Free Soil Democracy " held their
nominating convention at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and presented John
P. Hale for President, and George W. Julian, of Indiana, for Vice-Pres
ident. Mr. Hale received one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six
hundred and eighty-five votes.
From 1853 to 1855 Mr. Hale devoted himself to the practice of
law in the city of New York, and in the latter year was again elected
to the United States Senate to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Ather-
ton. In 1859 he was re-elected for a full term of six years. He served
as Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, and as a member of
that on Post-Oflices and Post-Roads. Soon after the expiration of his
term, in 1865, he was appointed Minister to Spain by President Lincoln.
After discharging the duties of that office for several years he was re
called by President Grant.
Returning from Europe in 18TO, Mr. Hale was prostrated by paraly
sis, and in the summer of 1873 his hip was dislocated by a fall, which
was the immediate cause of his death on November 19th, of that year s
at Dover, New Hampshire.
THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS.
THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS was born in Muskingum County,
Ohio, September 7, 1819. His father removed to Shelby County, In
diana, when the son, afterward the Governor of that State, was but
three years of age. He received a liberal education ; was graduated
at South Hanover College in 1841. Having chosen law as his profes
sion, he commenced his legal studies at Charnbersburg, Pennsylvania,
and was admitted to the bar at that place in 1843. He returned to
Indiana immediately after, and entered upon the practice of his pro
fession. He soon acquired a reputation as an able and learned lawyer,
and met with uniform success in his career.
In 1848 Mr. Hendricks was chosen to the State Legislature ; he
declined a re-election. In 1850 he was an active member of the State
Constitutional Convention. He gave special attention to the school
question, and secured ample provision for popular education. From
1851 to 1855 he represented the Indianapolis District in the United
States Congress. In 1855 President Pierce appointed him Commis
sioner of the General Land Office, in which position he was continued
under President Buchanan s administration. In 1859, after four years of
service, he tendered his resignation. In the memorable campaign of
1860 he was the Democratic candidate for the office of Governor of
the State of Indiana. Henry S. Lane, the nominee of the Republican
party was elected, but being chosen United States Senator, soon after
his inauguration, he was succeeded by Oliver P. Morton.
In 1863 there was a political revulsion in Indiana, and the State
elected a Democratic Legislature. Mr. Hendricks was then chosen
United States Senator for the term ending in March, 1869. During
his six years senatorship lie was regarded as the Democratic leader in
Congress, and made for himself a national reputation. He served on
the Committees on Claims, Public Buildings and Grounds, the Judi
ciary, Public Lands, and Naval Affairs. In the Democratic National
THOMAS ANDREWS HENDRICKS.
Convention of 1868, in New York, he was strongly supported for the
nomination to the presidency. In Indiana, the same year, he was again
nominated for the office of Governor by the political party of which he
was a member, but was again unsuccessful.
After his retirement from the Senate in 1869, Mr. Ilend ricks re
sumed the practice of his profession at Indianapolis. In 1872 he was
again nominated for the Governorship of Indiana. In the campaign
the Republicans carried the Legislature and elected all of their State
ticket except the Governor and one other officer. Mr. Hendrick s per
sonal popularity won for him the majority of votes, lie was elected
for the term ending January 1, 1877. His administration was able and
conscientious, but before the expiration of his term his name was
brought more prominently before the public than ever.
The Democratic National Convention assembled at St. Louis in
June, 1876, for the purpose of nominating candidates for the offices of
President and Vice- President of the United States. The result was
the unusually unanimous nomination by the members of the Conven
tion of Samuel J. Tilden, for the first and highest office, and Thomas
A. Hendricks for the second. The exciting events of the election in
the following November are well remembered. The result was the
o
election of the Republican candidates, Rutherford B. Hayes and Wil
liam A. Wheeler.
Mr. Hendricks is a man of medium height, erect, active, and vigor
ous. His features are large and expressive.
I
LAWRENCE BARRETT.
LAWRENCE BARRETT was born in Paterson, N. J., in 1838, of Irish
parentage. Single-handed he has fought his way through a solid
phalanx of obstacles, and has won recognition as one of the most emi
nent actors the American stage has produced. In 1853 Mr. Barrett,
then a delicate lad of fifteen years, was linen clerk in a dry-goods
establishment in Detroit, Mich. Even then he had a passionate love
of the theatre, and a mimetic power frequently employed for the en
tertainment of his fellow clerks. It was for imitating the pompons
mannerisms of the " store walker " that he was summarily discharged,
with the sarcastic advice to " go on the stage." This trivial incident
shaped his future, and a few days later he was employed as a super
numerary at the old Metropolitan theatre, Detroit, Mich., at a salary of
two dollars per week. The first speaking part entrusted to him was
Murat in "The French Spy," but although dead -letter perfect he suc
cumbed to stage fright, could not utter a word, and was hissed from
the stage. For the next three months he could not speak a line cor
rectly, and was invariably hustled off in disgrace. The next year he
joined a company of strolling players who soon came to grief, but a
charitable railway conductor passed him to Pittsburg. "You are too
large for a boy, and too small for a man," said the manager to whom
the dejected youth appealed, " but I will try you." So great was his
timidity that he dared not enter the green-room and mingle with the
other actors, but stood night after night in the wings taking his first
lessons in his chosen art.
Returning to Detroit in 1855, young Barrett became an apprentice
in the office of the Daily Times, and the veteran editor remembers him
as " a precocious, gentlemanly little fellow, full of sentiment, poetry, and
ambition." Soon he drifted back to the Metropolitan stock company, and
at the age of seventeen played Romeo to the J uliet of Julia Dean Hayne.
During the next two years he played with small traveling combina
tions, and gained valuable experience in the theatres of St. Louis and
Pittsburg. In the fall of 1856 he reached New York with only a
$20 gold-piece in his pocket. After many rebuffs he secured an en-
LAWRENCE BARRETT.
gagement to support an aspiring but incompetent actress, in " The
Hunchback," at one of the minor theatres. A large audience as
sembled to ridicule the performance, and young Barrett as Sir Thomas
Clifford was greeted with derision ; but his blood was up, and he
speedily turned jeers into hearty plaudits. This success gained him an
engagement at Burton s Theatre, where his advancement was rapid.
In 1863-4 Mr. Barrett was manager of the Varieties Theatre, New
Orleans, and in the latter year he purchased Lester Wallack s romantic
drama " Rosedale ; or the Rifle ball," starring in it with such success
that he soon won wealth and reputation. In 1867 he visited England,
where he was received with favor. While in London he served as a
pall-bearer at the funeral of Artemas Ward, the American humorist.
In 1869 he was manager of the California Theatre, San Francisco, and
in the following year he played a brilliant engagement of 100 nights
in " The Man o Airlie," at Booth s Theatre, New York, also alterna
ting with Edwin Booth in Shakespearian roles. Among the more
notable of his recent successes, were his classic performance of Cas-
sius in the great revival of "Julius Csesar " at Booth s Theatre in
1876, during its celebrated run of 103 nights ; his subsequent creation
of Daniel Druce in W. S. Gilbert s pathetic play of that name, at the
same theatre, and his famous flying trip from the Atlantic to the
Pacific in 84 hours, by Jarrett & Palmer s special train, preliminary
to his appearance as Henry Y. in San Francisco. His engagement in
" King Lear," at Booth s Theatre in 1876, was perhaps the most bril
liant Shakesperian revival ever known in America.
Mr. Barrett is a ripe scholar, and a very graceful writer. He has
found time for occasional literary work, including articles in the " Ga
laxy " upon Edwin Forrest and Charlotte Cushrnan ; a graphic sketch
descriptive of a visit to one of the famous Nevada silver mines, and a
chapter of personal recollections of his devoted friend Gen. Custer,
written for Whittaker s life of the dead soldier.
In the purity of his private life, and the high character of his as
sociates, Mr. Barrett maintains the dignity of his profession. It was
for him that Bayard Taylor adapted " Don Carlos," a play not yet
produced. For him W. D. Howells wrote the airy comedy " A Coun
terfeit Presentment," and adapted from the Spanish of Joaquin Este-
banez, " Yorick s Love," originally entitled " A New Play " a power
ful tragic drama in which Mr. Barrett has achieved the crowning suc
cess of his artistic career. Mr. Barrett s home is in Boston, although his
summer vacations are spent at his sea-side villa near Cohasset, Mass.
CHARLES P. DALY.
THE HONORABLE CHARLES P. DALY, LL.D., Chief Justice of the
Court of Common Pleas, New York, was born in the city of New York,
October 31, 1816. He is a descendant of the Catholic branch of the
O Dalys of Gal way, celebrated in Irish history for its many bards,
legislators, and scholars. Early left an orphan, he was sent by his
stepmother to the city of Savannah, but not liking his employment,
he went to sea before the mast. On his return he apprenticed himself
to a mechanical business, to enable himself to study law, and was ad
mitted to the bar in 1839. In 1843 he was elected a member of the
Legislature of New York, and afterward refused the certainty at that
time in his district of an election to Congress, preferring to follow his
profession. He was at the early age of twenty-eight appointed, at the
suggestion of Governor Marcy, Judge of the Court of Common Pleas,
an office afterward made elective, but to which he has constantly been
re-elected, and at the last, in 1871, unanimously, receiving every vote
cast for the office, an endorsement, in the language of Harper s
Weekly, " worth more than a patent of nobility."
In 1851 he visited Europe, and was flatteringly received, especially
in England, where, at a meeting of the Law Amendment Society,
he was especially requested by Lord Brougham to give his views, and
received a vote of thanks. He was intimate with Chevalier Bunsen,
who gave him a letter to Humboldt, and in the published letters of
Ilurnboldt to Bunsen, Leipzig, 1869, p. 133, the following passage
occurs :
" I cannot close these lines without thanking you from the bottom
of my heart for the acquaintance I made with Judge Charles P. Daly,
who, upon his return from Italy, passed through here, and gave me
almost a whole day of his time. All that you communicated to me
about him, I have found confirmed in a much higher degree. Few
men leave behind them such an impression of high intellect upon the
great subjects which influence the march of civilization ; in estimating
the apparently opposite direction of character of those nations which
surround the ever-narrowing basin of the Atlantic. Moreover, what is
CHARLES P. DALY.
uncommon in a North American, and still more uncommon in the prac
tical life of a greatly occupied magistrate, is that this highly intelligent
and upright man has a deep and lively interest in the fine arts, and
even in poetry."
When the civil war broke out the Chief Justice threw his
whole strength on the side of the government, contributing largely in
the raising of regiments, making stirring speeches, and calling mass
meetings ; making journeys to Washington to do whatever he could
(although a Democrat in politics) to sustain the government. In two
or three cases he was eminently useful, writing a pamphlet at the de
sire of President Lincoln, entitled "Are the Southern Privateersmen
Pirates ? " and afterward settling the question of law for Mr. Seward,
in the matter of the taking of Slidell and Mason, by pointing out to
him that by so doing we would but comply with our own rules. As he
was the first to suggest that General Grant should be given a reception
in New York, he was made chairman, but afterward resigned, on ac
count of judicial duties, in favor of Alexander T. Stewart.
In 1856 he married Miss Maria Lydig, a lady since prominently
known from her active connection with public charities.
Chief Justice Daly was a member of the Constitutional Conven
tion of 1867, and one of the Judiciary Committee who framed the
present judicial system of the State of New York.
During his long judicial career of thirty- four years, he has written
seven volumes of reports of cases in his court. He is also the author
of many treatises and essays on different subjects, and, as President
of the American Geographical Society, delivers an elaborate address
every year.
The following is a list of treatises, etc., he has written: an "His
torical Sketch of the Tribunals of New York from 1623 to 1846 ;"
" The Nature, Extent, and History of the Surrogate Court of the State
of New York ; " "A Comparison between the Ancient and Modern
Banking System ; " " Naturalization," for " Appleton s New Encyclope
dia ; " " Origin and History of Dispensaries ; " " Origin and History of
Institutions for the Promotion of Useful Arts ; " " When was the Drama
first Introduced in America?" " Famine, its Causes and Consequen
ces ; " the " Life and Character of Gulian C. Verplanck," and a
" Memorial of the Artist Gray," both delivered before the Century
Club. " Columbus," a lecture delivered at the unveiling of the
statue at the Centennial Exhibition ; " History of Jewish Settlements
in America."
EPHRAIM ELMER ELLSWORTH.
COLONEL EPHRAIM ELMER ELLSWORTH, of the New York Fire
Zouaves, was born in Mechanicsville, Saratoga County, New York,
April 23,1837. His father s fortunes were wrecked in the financial
crisis of that year, and he was never able to retrieve them. Deprived
of opportunities for advancement, after various employments in Troy
and New York, and ineffectual efforts to enter West Point, young Ells
worth, before reaching man s estate, successfully established himself in
business, at Chicago, Illinois, as a patent agent. By his energy and
attention to his business affairs, he soon acquired a good income, but
like many others he beheld the fruit of his toil swept away by the un
lawful transactions of one whom he had trusted. He then began the
study of law, earning a livelihood at the same time by copying.
Though he had thus chosen a profession, his ambition was to become
a soldier. He was a perfect gymnast, an accomplished swordsman,
and a splendid marksman. He realized the imperfection of our militia
system, and with the design of elevating its standard he examined the
different systems of tactics which had been published in the United
States. Having become satisfied that the habits and tastes of the peo
ple were adapted to the discipline and manoeuvres of light infantry, he
devoted himself to the study of the Zouave system, and from that he
constructed a new and peculiar system, differing somewhat from any
which had been in use before. On May 4, 1859, he organized a corps
known as the United States Zouave Cadets of Chicago. It was com
posed of a band of respectable and athletic young men. They adopted
the most rigid of the codes of temperance, the violation of which
blotted the name of the offender from the roll. After a year spent in
the training of the company, Captain Ellsworth entered it for the stand
of colors offered by the United States Agricultural Association at their
annual fair. The Zouaves carried away the prize, and in turn offered
it to any company who could exhibit a similar efficiency. In July,
EPIIRAIM ELMER ELLSWORTH.
1860, they made a tour to the East, and excited universal admiration.
Their exercises were visited by throngs, and the New York Academy
of Music was the scene of an exhibition which filled it as densely as
the most popular singer ever did. On his return to Illinois he formed
a volunteer regiment, which he tendered to the Governor of the State,
for active duty, whenever its services might be required.
In the Presidential campaign of 1860 Captain Ellsworth was a
warm supporter of Mr. Lincoln, and advanced his cause by stirring
speeches in various parts of the State. After the election, at the re
quest of the President, he accompanied him to Washington, and re
ceived a lieutenant s commission as a preliminary to his entrance into
the War Department, where he hoped to create the Militia Bureau, of
which he had long been preparing the plan. In April, 1861, he or
ganized a Zouave regiment from the New York Fire Department.
Two days after the issue of the requisition appealing to the firemen for
volunteers, twelve hundred recruits had enrolled their names and pro
ceeded to Fort Hamilton to drill. New York was enthusiastic over
her Fire Zouaves, and three stands of colors were presented to them.
In three weeks they embarked for Washington, which the} entered
May 2d, amid an ovation equalling that which had attended their de
parture from New York. The Hall of Representatives, in the Capitol,
was set apart for the regiment. For several days Ellsworth, now Colo
nel, employed the time in instructing his command in the duties of
their new profession.
On May 23d orders were given to commence the march into Virginia
the following night. They accordingly crossed in steamboats to Alex
andria, but on their arrival found that the town had already surren
dered. Satisfied that no resistance would be offered, Colonel Ellsworth
gave orders to interrupt railroad communication, and proceeded himself
with a small party to seize the telegraph. On his way thither he
caught sight of a large secession flag floating over the Mansion House.
With his companions he immediately went to the roof, cut down the
flag, hoisted the stars and stripes, and was descending when Jackson,
the proprietor, sprang forward and shot him, falling himself the next
instant by a ball fired by Private Brownell, who had endeavored to
save the life of his young colonel. The event took place May 24,
1861. Colonel Ellsworth s remains were carried, with every demon
stration of respect, to the place of his birth, for burial.
JOEL MUNSELL.
JOEL MUNSELL, editor and printer, was born in Northfield, Massa
chusetts, April 14, 1808. He was the son of John Munsell, a descend
ant of one Thomas Munsell, who was a resident of New London, Con
necticut, two centuries ago. In the village in which he was born Joel
Munsell passed his boyhood. lie acquired a common-school education,
and at an early age went to the neighboring town of Greenfield to
learn the art of printing, " the art preservative of all arts." After
working in different printing-offices, he, at the age of eighteen years,
went to Troy, New York, where he found employment in the print
ing-office of Tuttle & Richards. In 1827 he removed to Albany,
in which city he made his permanent residence and place of business.
After his removal to Albany Mr. Munsell s first situation was that
of clerk in the book-store of John Denio. While acting in this capa
city the young man, then in his twentieth year, made his first venture
as a publisher. In one day he secured one hundred and fifty sub
scribers for a semi-monthly paper to which he gave the name of the
" Albany Minerva," and engaged to issue it at thirty-seven and a half
cents a quarter. He prepared the copies during his leisure moments
in the store and at night, and on the morning of January 1, 1828,
lie delivered the first edition of the paper at the doors of his sub
scribers in person. At the close of the first quarter he retired from
the enterprise, and became compositor in the office of one of the daily
newspapers of the city.
In 1834, in connection with Henry D. Stone, he undertook to con
tinue the publication of the " Microscope," a paper of considerable
reputation which had been in existence for several years. In the
autumn of 1830 he purchased the job printing-office of Thomas G.
Wait, and from that time till his death continued in the business with
which his name is so honorably associated. Mr. Munsell s first publica
tion in book-form is entitled, " The Outlines of the History of Printing."
In 1839 he condensed a work from the Spanish, entitled " History of
the Conquest of Mexico," and issued it under his pen-name of "Arthur
Prynne," under which pseudoirym he edited and printed an almanac.
JOEL MUNSELL.
In 1840 Mr. Munsell published a daily campaign paper called the
"Unionist." In 1842 he commenced the publication of a ladies
magazine, edited by E. G. Squier, which did not exist long. In 1843
he published his first important compilation, " The Every-Day Book of
History and Chronology," and about the same time began the publica
tion of "Webster s Calendar, or the Albany Almanac," an annual
which had been printed in Albany for sixty years. He engaged to
issue it every year as long as he might live, whether or not it found
purchasers. The circulation and popularity soon increased, and for
several years forty thousand copies have been required to supply the
demand. In 1844 he printed " Pulpit Sketches ; or Dreams of a Pew-
holder," which led to a suit of damages against the publisher, but Mr.
Munsell persistently refused to reveal the name of the author. His
next publications were " Select Stories for Children," compiled by him
self ; two volumes of " The American Literary Magazine," for T.
Dwight Sprague; a volume of hymns; William Hunt s "American
Biographical Panorama ; " Simm s " History of Schoharie County,
N. Y. ; " and several genealogical works. The work which gave Mr.
Munsell his greatest celebrity was the " Annals of Albany," of which
he was the compiler, editor, printer, and publisher. The first volume
appeared in 1850, and the tenth and last in 1859. In 1865 he issued the
h rst volume of " Collections on the History of Albany, from its Dis
covery to the Present Time." This was followed by three others of
similar size and style, the last of which was issued in 1871. During
the intervening years from 1850 to 1871 his printing-house had issued
by the thousand, genealogical works, town and family histories, reprints
of old and scarce books, catalogues, and other works requiring special
care. He also compiled a valuable work entitled, " The Chronology of
the Origin and Progress of Paper and Paper-making."
Mr. Munsell died at his residence in Albany, N. Y., January 15,
1880, in the seventy-second }*ear of his age. He left in manuscript
material for a chronology of journalism. He had collected from
England and the United States over ten thousand specimen newspapers,
many of peculiar value, which he had bound and deposited in the
State Library. He was a member of every State Historical Society
in the United States, and was connected with various public bodies
and societies. Pew of our historical writers have done as much as he
in printing American documentary history, and much of it yielded
little or no pecuniary returns. In private and business life Mr. Muu-
sell commanded the respect of all with whom he came in contact.
rng \
F; : , ? TY )
THEODORE LEDYARD CUTLER.
THE REV. THEODORE L. CUTLER, D.D., pastor of the Lafayette Ave
nue Presbyterian Church, Brooklyn, N. Y., was born at Aurora, N. Y.,
January 10, 1822. His father, B. Ledyard Cuyler, a young lawyer of
great promise, died at the age of twenty-nine, leaving Theodore, his
only child, when four years old. Theodore s mother was Miss Louisa
F. Morrell, a woman of strong intellect and active piety. His great
grandfather, Rev. Dr. Johnes, was pastor of the church at Morristown
for fifty years, and administered the sacrament to Washington during
his winter encampment at that place. On his father s side Mr. Cuyler
is related to John Ledyard, the traveller. Colonel William Ledyard,
his great uncle, was an officer at the siege of Fort Griswold. Jacob
Cuyler, who was mayor of Albany for thirty years, and the prince of
conservative Dutch burgomasters, was an ancestor.
Theodore L. Cuyler entered Princeton College in 1838, and was
graduated in 1841. The following year he spent in Europe. While
abroad he wrote sketches of foreign travel and of distinguished men,
Wordsworth, Carlyle, and others, which were sent home for publication
where they attracted considerable attention. When at Glasgow, though
only twenty years old at the time, he addressed the citizens at the City
Hall, on the occasion of the first reception of Father Mathew.
Upon his return to the United States Mr. Cuyler entered Princeton
Theological Seminary, from which he was graduated in May, 1846.
After preaching for six months in a small place in the Wyoming Val
ley, opposite Wilkesbarre, Pa., he accepted a call to a Presbyterian
Church at Burlington, New Jersey. He remained in charge of this
congregation for three years, during which period he devoted much
time to writing and study. In the autumn of 1849 he accepted a call
to found a new congregation in Trenton. In May, 1853, he resigned
this charge to accept a call to the new Shawmut Congregational
Church of Boston, but declined it in favor of a call to the Market
Street Dutch Reformed Church of New York City, which had been
for many years under the charge of the Rev. Dr. Isaac Ferris. In
1860 he became the first pastor of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian
Church, now one of the largest and most influential in Brooklyn.
THEODOEE LEDYARD CUYLEB.
" Dr. Cuyler s style as a preacher is peculiar and impressive. Calmly
looking over his congregation, he utters his text in a deliberate, solemn
tone; and pauses for it to have due effect. Usually his texts are a
few graphic words, such as What wilt thou ? Stand therefore,
Pray without ceasing, What think ye of Christ ? Having fixed
every eye and startled, as it were, every heart, he now proceeds with
his sermon. It is full of graphic utterances, powerful illustrations, and
eloquent appeals. His voice is defective in mellowness, but the words
are so striking and well chosen that the tone does not seem other than
pleasant to the ear. By turns he is earnest and emphatic, and then
subdued and pathetic ; sometimes he indulges in brilliant passages of
description and narrative, and then in ringing sentences of invective
against human error."
" He mingles freely and happily with his people. His feelings are
solid and sympathetic, his conversation is fluent and interspersed with
illustration, anecdote, lively metaphor, and felicitous quotation ; his
manner natural, candid and frank ; his tone of voice at once full, en
couraging, and also gentle ; so that he unites the gifts which elicit
friendly feeling, promote freedom of social intercourse, and bind a
pastor to his people by the innumerable threads of friendly intercourse,
rather than by the one cable of profound and distant reverence.
Hence he combines in an unusual degree success in pastoral labor with
success in preaching. He seeks to make his church an organized band
who go about doing good, in working sympathy with the poor and
outcast "
Dr. Cuyler has published many hundred articles in religious papers
and magazines, which have been extensively circulated. A volume en
titled " Stray Arrows" contains a portion of his articles contributed to
newspapers. He is the author of two very celebrated temperance
tracts, " Somebody s Son," which had a circulation of one hundred
thousand copies, and "His Own Daughter." He has published a
number of volumes, of which, " Cedar Christian," " Heart-Life,"
" Empty Crib," and " Thought-Hives," have been reprinted in England.
From the early years of his ministry Dr. Cuyler has been identified
with temperance movements and other moral reforms. His labors,
writings, and speeches in their cause have been constant and earnest.
In 1872 he went to Europe as a delegate to a Presbyterian assemblage
in Edinburgh, Scotland. His degree of D.D. was conferred upon him
by Princeton College.
WILLIAM H. ENGLISH.
WILLIAM IT. ENGLISH was born in Lexington, Scott County, Indi
ana, August 27, 1822. His father, Major Elisha G. English, one of
the pioneers of Indiana, when it was almost a wilderness, was a native
of Kentucky, as was his mother, formerly Mahala Eastin, a descendant
of Lieutenant Philip Eastin, who served in the Fourth Virginia Regi
ment during the war of the Revolution.
Mr. English s early education was such as could be acquired in the
common schools of the neighborhood in which he lived. This was
supplemented by three years spent at the University of South Hanover.
After finishing his course at college he studied law wherever an op
portunity was presented, and before he reached the age of nineteen
years was admitted to practice in the Circuit Court of his native State.
When in his twenty-third year he was admitted to practice in the
Supreme Court of the United States. Though known in Indiana as a
remarkably successful lawyer, he devoted the greater part of his time,
when at home, to agricultural pursuits. He was for some time asso
ciated in practice with Joseph G. Marshall.
Shortly after obtaining his majority Mr. English received his first
official appointment, that of Postmaster of Lexington. Previous to
that he had served as a delegate to the Democratic State Convention
for nominating a Governor. In 1843, while only twenty -one years old,
he was elected principal clerk of the Indiana House of Representatives.
He entered into the political campaign of the following year with
enthusiasm, and, after Folk s accession to the Presidency, he was ap
pointed by him a clerk in the Treasury Department at Washington.
lie remained there four years, resigning his office upon Taylor s inau
guration. In 1850 he was clerk of the Claims Committee of the United
States Senate, and Secretary of the Convention which met at Indian
apolis to revise the Constitution of the State of Indiana formed in
1816.
WILLIAM H. ENGLISH.
In 1851 Mr. English was chosen a member of the State Legislature,
and officiated as Speaker. In 1852 he was elected a Representative
from Indiana to the Congress of the United States, and took his seat
as a supporter of Franklin Pierce. He was a member of the House
Committee on Territories, and as such participated in the debate on.
the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. He was re-elected in 1854, and continued
to support the political measures of Mr. Pierce during the thirty-fourth
Congress. He was made a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution. In
1856 he was elected to Congress for a third term, during which the
controversy respecting the admission of Kansas under the Lecompton
Constitution took place, which he opposed until that constitution had
been ratified by the people. He officiated at the same time as chair
man of the Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads. In 1858 he
was elected to Congress for the fourth time, retiring in 1860, just as
the secession movement was assuming an alarming aspect. This was
his last political office. While holding his seat in his fourth Congres
sional term he opposed secession, and throughout the ensuing Civil
War remained loyal to the Union.
Mr. English established the First National Bank of Indianapolis,
which went into business in 1863 under the National Banking Law. It
was the first National bank to put its issue in circulation. He was
its president for fourteen years, and was most successful in business.
He resigned the presidency in 1877 on account of his health.
Mr. English is above the average height, with an erect, well-made
figure. His head is of good size, with regular features, the forehead is
high and broad.
The Democratic Convention which met at Cincinnati in June, 1880,
nominated William II. English their candidate for the Vice-Presidency
of the United States, and Wiufield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania for
the Presidency.
JAMES ASHETON BAYARD.
THE members of the Bayard family are numerous, and widely dis
tributed both in the Old World and the New. Their origin has been
traced back to the province of Dauphine, in the southeast of France.
From the earliest times the family was distinguished for courage in war
and fidelity to their sovereign. One of these, the chevalier Pierre du
Terrail, Seigneur de Bayard, " the knight without fear and without re
proach," was a famous captain. Three brothers of a later generation
embraced the Huguenot faith, and after the Massacre of St. Bartholo
mew fled from France to Holland to escape persecution. Early in the
seventeenth century Samuel Bayard, one of their descendants, married
Anna, the sister of Peter Stuyvesant, the famous Governor of New
Amsterdam. After his death his widow embarked for America, with
her brother, upon his appointment as Governor. She was accompanied
by their four children, one daughter and three sons, the youngest of
whom, Petrus, or Peter was the ancestor of our United States Sena
tors. His son Samuel left three sons, Samuel, Peter, and James. The
last named married Mary Asheton, of Virginia. Their two sons were
John and James Asheton. John Bayard was active at the outbreak of
the Revolution. He was chairman of the Committee of Inspection for
the county of Philadelphia. James Asheton Bayard died in 1769,
leaving two sons, John and James Asheton, the second. Soon after
the death of his father, James Asheton the second was adopted by his
uncle John, who gave him the benefit of a thorough education. He
was graduated at Princeton College with high honors, at the age of
seventeen, and afterward studied law under General Joseph Heed and
Jared Ingersol, was admitted to the bar, and acquired an extended
practice and reputation. He was a Representative in Congress from
Delaware, from 1797 to 1803, when he became one of the leaders of
the Federal Party. He distinguished himself in conducting the im
peachment of Senator Blount. lie was United States Senator, ISCMt to
JAMES ASHETON BAYARD.
1813. In the Senate Le opposed the declaration of war with Great
Britain in 1812. He was selected as one of the Commissioners to treat
for peace, and with his colleagues succeeded in negotiating the treaty
of Ghent. While still in Europe he was appointed to negotiate an
other treaty, but being seized with a fatal disease he hastened home
only to die five days after his arrival. He left four sons, the eldest of
whom, Richard H., was the first mayor of Wilmington. He repre
sented Delaware in the United States Senate from 1836 to 1839, and
from 1841 to 1845. He was Minister to Belgium from 1849 to 1852.
The subject of this sketch, James Asheton Bayard the third, brother
of Richard H., and second son of James A. Bayard and Ann Bassett,
was a native of Delaware, where he was born in the year 1799. After
a preparatory education he passed through the regular course of study
at Princeton College, and chose the practice of law as his profession.
As a lawyer he soon rose to a high rank. " His great strength lay in
the depth and singular clearness of his intellect. He possessed but
few of the graces of popular oratory, and none of the arts that win
popularity ; indeed, what gave him eminence as a lawyer was perhaps
somewhat injurious to him as a pleader and public speaker. He was
apt to forget his hearers and the impression lie was making or desired
to make upon them, and, following closely the line of thought once
started, was utterly, and sometimes amusingly, forgetful of the passage
of time, and unconscious of what was going on around him."
Mr. Bayard was a member of the Democratic party, and, like his
father and brother, was called to serve the United States in its Con
gress. He was elected to a seat in the Senate in 1850, in 1856, and in
1862, and served from 1851 to 1864, when he resigned because he
would not take the " iron-clad " oath. During this period he was
chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary, and a member of the
Committees on the Library and on Public Grounds, and held many
important positions. Upon his resignation Mr. Bayard was succeeded
by Mr. Riddle, but upon the death of that gentleman he consented, in
1867, to resume his seat. His son, Thomas F. Bayard, having been
elected to the Senate, both father and son were senators on March 4,
1869, the term of one expiring at the hour of the day when that of the
other began. No other American family has had so long and uninter
rupted a connection with the Congress of the United States.
Upon the close of his public life Mr. Bayard retired to his home in
Wilmington, Delaware, where he died June 13, 1880, in the eighty-
first year of his age.
LOYICK PIERCE.
LOVICK PIERCE, D.D., was born in Halifax County, North Carolina,
March 24, 1785. While he was yet a boy, his parents, who were farm
ers, moved to South Carolina and settled in Barnwell County. Young
Lovick s early life was spent on the farm, where he picked up such
education as circumstances afforded. He was a diligent student of the
few books which came within his reach, making a speciality of Bible
study. All the schooling he had before entering the ministry was
crowded into six months, and received in one of the primitive log
school-houses of the country. He early resolved to devote himself to
the ministry. He began his ministry at the early age of nineteen, as a
boy preacher, and at once attracted much attention by his earnestness.
The work of the Methodist circuit rider was in those days far
rougher and more laborious than the roughest missionary work of the
present time in the far West. Mounted on his pony, and equipped
with his Bible and a few books of old-fashioned theology in his saddle
bag, young Pierce preached from place to place in such school-houses
and other places of public gathering as the country furnished, and fre
quently held services in dwelling-houses and in the woods. Physically
he was an athlete, capable of great endurance, and powerful to with
stand any amount of fatigue. He was of commanding personal
presence, and endowed with a magnetism which could hold any audi
ence in rapt attention. This magnetic power grew upon him, and as
he reached maturity he became the leading orator of Southern Metho
dism.
After five years of circuit work in South Carolina, he went to Greene
County, Georgia, where, until 1812, he continued the same kind of
work, the effects of which are felt to this day. When the war of 1812
broke out he was appointed chaplain in the army, a post which he
filled with the earnestness which characterized his whole life. After
the close of the war he concluded to study medicine, to add to his use
fulness in his labors among the people in a country almost unprovided
LOVICK PIERCE.
with what are necessities to modern civilization. For several years he
engaged in the practice of medicine at Greensboro, North Carolina, in
connection with his preaching and pastoral duties. But as physicians
multiplied he felt himself called to give his whole energy to the minis
try, and laid aside the active practice of medicine.
One of Dr. Pierce s most cherished ideas was in behalf of female
education, and in this is to be seen a leading effort of his life. In his
early years education for boys was scarce and difficult enough, and for
girls, next to impossible. His hopes and labors in this direction took
shape in the founding of "Wesleyan Female College at Macon, Georgia.
To this institution he sustained from its inception a very close relation,
lie was its first travelling agent. He first among the men of Georgia
made an effort to bring the education of young women to the standard
of a college curriculum. In this he was opposed by many lead ing men
who believed in the inferiority of the female mind. He combatted
their opposition by lecturing throughout the State, and stirred the pub
lic up to a point at which contributions came in with sufficient abun
dance to erect the college building. These contributions were by in-
c> o /
dividual liberality, not a dollar of State money being used. The col
lege was always known as a Methodist institution, yet was established
on such a broad basis as to escape the odium of sectarianism. In 1873,
Dr. Pierce wrote : "I am the only living member of the original Board
of Trustees have been present in my place at every commencement,
thirty -five years in succession. The ladies long ago began to call me
the Nestor. To have lived to win so proud a title is the pride of my
life, and if I deserve it, it will be the crown of my earthly glory when
I am dead. My son, now Bishop Pierce, was its first president, and
graduated its first class, ten in number, noble specimens of well-edu
cated women."
In his life and preaching Dr. Pierce held the old-fashioned doctrines
of primitive Methodism, and enforced them with unflinching faithful
ness. He was opposed to extravagance in dress and personal orna.-
ment, and he often pointedly rebuked it from the pulpit.
Notwithstanding his advanced age, Dr. Pierce preached with all
the vigor of most men of fifty. His voice would reach to the farthest
seat of a camp-meeting assembly, and his eloquence would hold large
congregations where younger men would fail to keep weary ones
awake.
Dr. Lovick Pierce was in his ninety-fifth year, when he died at his
home in Sparta, Georgia, November 24, 1879.
JAMES ABRAHAM GARFIELD.
JAMES ABRAHAM GAKFIELD was born November 19, 1831, in the
township of Orange, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, about fifteen miles from
Cleveland. His father, Abraham Garfield, a farmer from New York
State, was of Puritan descent. When his youngest son, James, was
but two years of age he died, leaving four children to be supported by
their mother, a woman of great energy and perseverance. James, like
the rest of the family, had to work hard to earn a livelihood. His
summers were spent in labor on the farm, and in the winter he worked at
a carpenter s bench, and attended school when he could. At the age
of seventeen he hired out as a driver on the Ohio and Erie canal, and
soon rose to the position of tiller of the boat. He continued to follow
this calling until an attack of fever, in the fall of 1848, obliged a sev
eral months rest. The following spring he decided to enter a school
called the Geauga Academy, in an adjoining county. For the sake of
economy he hired a room and kept house for himself while pursuing
his studies. By working at the carpenter s trade mornings and even
ings and during vacations, and teaching school in the winter, he man
aged to attend the spring and fall terms of the academy until he had
completed its course. Having determined to give himself the advan
tages of a thorough education, he entered Williams College, Massachu
setts, in the fall of 1854, being then about twenty-three years of age.
By close application he had previously finished the studies belonging
to the freshman and sophomore years, and was thus prepared to enter
the junior class at once. He was graduated in 1856 with the meta
physical honors of his class.
Before entering college young Mr. Garfield had joined the sect of
the " Disciples," better known as the " Campbellites," so called from
their founder, Alexander Campbell. The principal peculiarities of the
denomination are their refusal to formulate their beliefs into a creed,
the independence of each congregation, and the lack of a regular min
istry. After his return to Ohio, Mr. Garfield became Professor of Latin
and Greek in the Eclectic Institute, in Hiram, the college of the sect,
and took deep interest in the building up of the institution. He was
JAMES ABRAHAM GAE FIELD.
chosen its President before lie had been in the professorship two years.
He taught, lectured, and delivered Sunday discourses.
Mr. Garfield s political life began in 1859, when he was elected to
the Senate of Ohio from the counties of Portage and Summit. In
1860 he was admitted to the bar. In the Legislature he at once took
high rank as a Union leader, and during the winter of 1861 was active
in the passage of measures for arming the State militia. In the sum
mer he was appointed Colonel of the Forty-second Ohio Volunteers,
and sent to Eastern Kentucky, when, with his own and the Fortieth
Ohio regiment, he, by making one of the hardest marches ever made
by recruits, surprised and defeated the Confederate forces under
Humphrey Marshall, at Piketon. He was made Brigadier-general of
Volunteers, January 11, 1862, the date of his victory at Prestonburg.
He subsequently served at Shiloh, Corinth, and in Alabama, and early
in 1863 was made Chief of Staff to General Rosecrans. For his "gal
lant and meritorious " conduct at the battle of Chickamauga, he was
promoted to a major-generalship.
In 1862, he was elected a Representative, from Ohio, to the Thirty-
eighth Congress. He, however, continued his military services up to
the time Congress met, in December, 1863. He was placed on the
Committee on Military Affairs. He was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth
Congress, serving on the Committee on Ways and Means ; and also as
Regent of the Smithsonian Institute. He was also a Delegate to the
Philadelphia "Loyalists Convention" of 1866, and of the " Soldiers
Convention " held in Pittsburg. He was re-elected successively to the
Fortieth, Forty-first, Forty-second, Forty-third, Forty-fourth, Forty -fifth,
and Forty-sixth Congress. In January, 1S80, he was elected to the
Senate to fill the seat of Allen G. Thurman, whose term expired on
March 4, 1881.
The Republican Convention held at Chicago, in June, 1880, nom
inated General James A. Garfield for the office of President of the
United States. He was elected in the following November, and in
March, 1881, entered upon his duties as Chief Magistrate of the United
States.
President Garfield was assassinated by a pistol-shot in the hands
of Charles J. Guiteau, in the depot of the Baltimore Railroad, at
Washington, D. C., on July 2, 1881. After lingering heroically
through the balance of the summer, the President died at Elberon,
near Long Branch, New Jersey, September 19, 1881.
CHESTER ALLAN ARTHUR.
CHESTER A. ARTHUR was born in Fairfield, Franklin Co., Vt., Oc
tober 5, 1830, and is the oldest of a family of two sons and six daugh
ters. His father was the Rev. Dr. William Arthur, a Baptist clergy
man, who emigrated to the United States from the County Antrim,
Ireland, when quite a lad, and who died in 1875, in Newtonville, near
Albany, New York, after a long and successful ministry.
Young Arthur received an excellent education, graduating at the
age of eighteen years from Union College, Schenectady, in the class of
48. While in college he was a diligent and popular student. He
stood high in his classes, and was recognized as a man of ability and
promise. Upon leaving college he taught a country school in Vermont
for two years, and upon the expiration of that time, having saved a
little money, came to New York and entered the office of ex-judge E.
D. Culver as a student. After having been admitted to the bar he
formed a partnership with his friend and room-mate, Henry D. Gardi
ner, with the intention of practicing in the West, and for three months
roamed about in the Western States in search of an elegible site, but
in the end returned to New York City, where they entered upon a suc
cessful career. Upon the death of Mr. Gardiner, in 1865, the business
was continued by Mr. Arthur alone. In the year 1871, in company
with Benjamin K. Phelps, the District- Attorney, he formed the firm of
Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Ransom.
Mr. Arthur obtained considerable legal celebrity in his first great
case, the famous Lemmon suit, brought to recover possession of eight
slaves who had been declared free by Judge Paine of New York City.
It was in 1852 that Jonathan Lemmon, of Virginia, went to New York
with his slaves, intending to ship them to Texas, when they were dis
covered and freed by order of Judge Paine. The Judge was of the
opinion that the Fugitive Slave-law did not hold these slaves. The
State of Virginia directed its Attorney-General to appeal from Judge
Paine s decision. The legislature of New York requested the Gover
nor to employ counsel to defend the case. E. D. Culver and Joseph
Blunt were appointed. Afterward they withdrew and Mr. Arthur was
CHESTEK ALLAN AETHUR.
appointed. lie associated with himself "William M. Evarts, and argued
the case before the Supreme Court, and won their case ; which was
then appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. Charles
O Connor here espoused the cause of the slaveholders, but he, too, was
beaten by Messrs. Evarts and Arthur, and a long step was taken toward
the emancipation of the colored race.
Another great service was rendered by Mr. Arthur in the samo
cause. As late as 1856, colored people were not permitted to ride on
the Fourth Avenue street cars in the city of New York. Lizzie Jen
nings, a colored woman of excellent character, superintendent of a
Sunday-school, was put off a Fourth Avenue car with violence, after
she had paid her fare. Mr. Arthur sued on her behalf, and secured a
verdict of $500 damages, which was paid by the railroad company.
The next day the company issued an order to permit colored persons
to ride on their cars, and the other street-car companies quickly fol
lowed their example. All these events aided to the formation of the
Republican party, in which Mr. Arthur took a prominent part. He
was a delegate to the first Republican Convention held at Saratoga,
and ever since has been an active member of the party. Previous to
the war he was Judge- Advocate of the Second Brigade of the State
Militia, and on January 1, 1861, he was appointed Engineer-in-chief,
on the Staff of Governor Morgan of the State of New York, and soon
afterward became Quartermaster-general. In each of these offices he
rendered great service to the government during the war. The ac
count of New York was very much larger than that of any other State,
but it was audited at Washington before any of the others, and with
out the deduction of a dollar. At the end of Governor Morgan s term
he resumed the practice of law. He always took a leading part in
State and city politics. Upon November 21, 1872, he was appointed
Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant, to succeed
Thomas Murphy. He was reappointed four years later. On July 20,
1878, he was succeeded by Collector Merritt.
The Republican Convention which met at Chicago, in June, 1880,
nominated him for the office of Yice-President of the United States, on
the ticket with James A. Garfield as candidate for President. They
were elected in the following November ; and on March 4, 1881,
Mr. Arthur was inaugurated Vice-President, and took his seat as
President of the Senate. Upon the death of President Garfield, Yice-
President Arthur, under the constitution, became President of the
United States, taking the oath of office September 20, 1881.
^
( VNlVEf
LIEUT. COL. 1I?.,7I HHfjLJ-; !;:],/.HL KVG]
AHMY OFTHE AMERICAN. REVOLUTION
BomliovlT-i 17.S5. Ln ed Au lf ) i lS3. : .
SAMUEL WARD.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL SAMUEL WARD, of the First Rhode Island
Regiment of Infantry in the war of the American Revolution, a gal
lant soldier, and a gentleman of fine education and talents, great energy
and force of character, was born at Westerly, Rhode Island, November
17, 1756. He was descended from Roger "Williams, and was the
second son of Gov. Samuel Ward, of that Colony, a patriot and states
man ; Chief Justice ; and three times Governor, in 1762, 65, and 66 ;
the only Colonial Governor who refused to take the oath to enforce the
Stamp Act ; a member of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776,
in favor of Independence ; constantly presiding in the committee of
the whole, reporting in favor of a General for the Continental forces,
June 15, 1775, when Washington was elected Commander-in-Chief.
lie died in Philadelphia, March 26, 1776. His son, Lieut. Col. Samuel
Ward, received an excellent education at Rhode Island College, graduat
ing with honors in 1771. He became an intimate friend and corre
spondent of the celebrated Gen. Nathanael Greene.
At the outbreak of the Revolution, Samuel Ward, then but
eighteen years of age, promptly raised a company in Kings and Kent
Counties, R. I., receiving a commission as captain from the colonial
government, signed by his uncle Henry Ward, the Secretary of State.
He marched with his company to the siege of Boston, forming a part
of Col. Varnum s regiment. Captain Ward was stationed first at
Roxbury, then at Jamaica Plains, and then at Prospect Hill. He
subsequently joined a detachment of Rhode Island troops, two hundred
and fifty strong, who volunteered under Lieut. Col. Christopher
Greene to join Arnold s force, numbering in all eleven hundred men,
directed to reinforce Gen. Montgomery before Quebec by way of the
Kennebec river, in Maine. They marched from Prospect Hill, near
Cambridge, September 10th, and the expedition sailed from Newbury-
port on the 19th, reaching the Kennebec river the following day. The
inarch of the expedition through the wilderness of Maine, wading a hun
dred miles up the Kennebec, carrying bateaux and kegs of provisions,
inarching a hundred miles on short three days provisions, wading over
three rapid rivers, marching through snow and ice barefoot, and cross-
SAMUEL WARD.
ing the St. Lawrence where it was guarded by the enemy s frigates, was
one of the most terrible on record. On the 20th of November, 1775,
Arnold marched his command from Quebec to Point aux Trembles,
where General Montgomery joined them, after capturing Montreal
and sailing down the St. Lawrence. The American forces then pro
ceeded to Quebec, and made a most daring attack on the city the
morning of the 31st of December in tbree detachments, under cover of
a heavy snow-storm. Captain Ward with his company, forming part
of Lieut. Col. Greene s command, fought his way far into the city,
reaching the second barrier. After a desperate struggle, in which one
hundred and twenty of the command were killed and wounded, the
remainder were all made prisoners. Captain Ward remained a pris
oner until August 11, 1776, when he was paroled with the others and
sent to New York by sea. After his exchange he was promoted Major
in the First Rhode Island Infantry, and after serving at Morristoxvn,
with Gen. Washington s army, was next sent with his regiment to
Peekskill, during Gen. Burgoyrie s movements. Major Ward with his
regiment, commanded by Col. Greene, was next stationed at Fort Mer
cer at Red Bank, on the Delaware, where on the 22d of October, 1777,
he took part in the brilliant defence of the fort and the repulse of the
Hessians under Count Donop. Major Ward, at the request of Col.
Greene, wrote the official report of the battle, preserved in Washing
ton s correspondence. Major Ward with his regiment was next sta
tioned at Valley Forge, and, receiving a short furlough, was married
in Rhode Island, March 8th, 1778, returning to camp soon after. His
regiment being now consolidated, Major Ward went home with Colonel
Greene to Rhode Island, where they were very active in raising a new
regiment, partly composed of colored men. This was attached to Gen.
Sullivan s command, and took part in the battles on Rhode Island, in
which Major Ward ably commanded his regiment.
Major Ward was now promoted Lieut. Colonel, and was detached
to command a Light Corps of troops near Providence, and was subse
quently stationed at North Kingston and Newport. At the commence
ment of 1781 a large number of officers of the Rhode Island line re
tired on half pay, Lieut. Col. Ward being among the number. He
now went into business as a merchant, made a voyage to China, and
then removed to New York, also making two voyages to Europe. He
remained settled in New York until 1804, when he returned to Rhode
Island, but finally removed to Long Island in 1816, and died in New
York August 16, 1832, after a noble and useful life.
VH5
ALBERT GALLATIN.
ALBERT G^LLATtN, American statesman, was born in Geneva,
Switzerland, January 29,1761. His father, who was a councillor of
state, and his mother, died during his infancy. He was then left to
> o *-
the care of a distant relative, and through her received an excellent
education. lie was graduated with distinction at the University of
Geneva in 1779, and the following year emigrated to America, reach
ing Massachusetts in July, 1780. Meeting with friends at Boston, he
accompanied them to Maine, where he enlisted in the Continental Army,
and was placed in command of the fort at Passamaquoddy. In 1783
he found employment as a teacher of French at Harvard University.
In 1784, having received his patrimonial -property, he purchased a
tract of land in Virginia, but was prevented from settling there by the
hostilities of the Indians. While surveying these lands he first met
General Washington. In 1786 he purchased a farm on the banks of
the Monongahela, in Pennsylvania, settled there and became naturalized.
In 1739 he was a member of the convention to revise the Constitution
of the State, and in the two succeeding years was a member of the
Legislature, which elected him United States Senator in 1793. He
took his seat, but two months later was declared ineligible because he
did not take the oath of allegiance until 1785. In 1794 he aided by
his tact, courage and firmness, in obtaining a peaceful settlement of
the " Whiskey Insurrection. 1 In the same year he was elected a mem
ber of Congress, and was thrice re-elected, but did not serve the fourth
term in consequence of his appointment as Secretary of the Treasury
by President Jefferson. He was most successful in his management
of the treasury department, and was acknowledged one of the first
financiers of the time. He opposed the increase of the national debt,
systematized the mode of disposing of the public lands, and was a
zealous advocate of internal improvements. He was opposed to the
War of 1812, and in 1813 retired from the cabinet to take part with
Adams and Clay in the negotiations for peace with Great Britain.
In 1815, Mr. Gallatin was appointed minister to France, where he
remained until 1823. In 1826 he received a similar appointment to
ALBEKT GALLATIN.
the court of Great Britain. His intercourse with both governments
was signalized by treaties and other measures of great benefit to the
United States. In 1827 he returned to America, and for the remain
der of his life resided in the city of New York. Soon after his return
he prepared the argument on behalf of the United States, to be laid
before the king of the Netherlands as an umpire on the Maine boundary
question. An elaborate essay on the subject appeared from his pen in
1840, entitled u The Rights of the United States to the Northeastern
Boundary claimed by them." In 1830 he was chosen president of the
council of the University in New York. In 1831 he published " Con
siderations on the Currency and Banking System of the United States,"
in which he advocated a regular bank of the United States. The same
year he took part in a free-trade convention held at Philadelphia.
From 1831 to 1839 he was president of the National Bank of the
city of New York, a position since occupied by his son.
The remainder of Mr. Gallatin s life was devoted to literature, and
to ethnological and historical researches. In 1842 he was elected
first president of the American Ethnological Society, of which he was
one of the founders. In 1843 he was chosen president of the New
York Historical Society, and nothwithstanding his great age continued
to discharge the duties of the office until his death. During the
Oregon difficulties in 1846 he published letters on the " Oregon Ques
tion," and in 1848 a pamphlet strongly opposing the Mexican War,
which had a large circulation and great influence. He early turned
his attention to the ethnological and philological characteristics of the
American Indians. His first essay on this subject was written in 1823,
at the request of Alexander Von Humboldt. He afterward produced
Synopsis of the Indian Tribes within the United States, East of the
Rocky Mountains, and in the British and Eussian Possessions in North
America," published in the second volume of "Transactions of the
American Antiquarian Society," in which a resume is given of exten
sive researches in family classification and language. To this work ma}
be added his" Semi-Civilized Nations of Mexico, Yucatan, and Central
America, as published in the " Transactions of the American Ethnolo
gical Society."
Mr. Gallatin died at his summer residence at Astoria, Long Island,
opposite the city of New York, August 12, 1849, in the eighty -ninth
year of his age. In person he was of medium height. His features
were strongly marked, and his eye of a piercing brilliancy. " Remin
iscences " of Mr. Gallatin were published by John Russell Bartlett.
MARSHALL PINCKNEY WILDER.
THE American Wilders trace their family back to Nicholas Wilder,
a military chieftain in the army of the Earl of Richmond, who fought
and won the battle of Bosworth in 1485. Thomas Wilder came from
England, in company with his brother Edward, and his widowed
mother, Martha Wilder, and settled in Lancaster, Massachusetts, about
1638. Thomas Wilder died in 1667. His lineal descendants ren
dered meritorious services to the country in the Indian wars, in the
Revolution, and in Shay s rebellion. Nathaniel Wilder, his son, was
killed by Indians at Lancaster in July, 1704. Ephraim Wilder, son of
Nathaniel, was wounded in a light with the Indians at Lancaster in
1707, and died in the same town in 1769. Captain Ephraim Wilder,
grandson of Nathaniel, was one of the delegates to the State Conven
tion of Massachusetts, held in 1788, and voted in favor of adopting
the Constitution of the United States. He was the father of Samuel
Locke Wilder, and grandfather of Marshall Pinckney Wilder, who is
thus of the eighth American generation, reckoning the first maternal
immigrant ancestor as the first.
Marshall Pinckney Wilder was born at Rindge, New Hampshire,
September 22, 1798. He was sent to school at the early age of four
years. At twelve he entered the New Ipswich Academy. At sixteen
he was requested to choose preparation for agricultural, mercantile, or
collegiate life. In his choice to be a farmer, he is indebted in no
small degree for the mental and physical energy so remarkably char
acteristic of his long and beneficent career. His father s business in
creased so much, however, that Marshall was taken into the store, and
soon acquired such habits of industry and mastery of detail, that he was
admitted to partnership as soon as he had attained his majority. He
removed to Boston in 1825, beo-an business in Union Street, under the
o y
firm of Wilder & Payson, pursued the same business under the firm
of Wilder & Smith, in North Market Street, and next, in his own name
at No. 3, Central Wharf. In 1837 he became a partner in the com
mission house of Parker, Blanchard & Wilder, Water Street, and after
ward in that of Parker, Wilder & Co., Winthrop Square. They were
burned out in the Boston conflagration of November 9, 1872, but soon
MARSHALL PINCKISTEY WILDER.
afterward resumed business. Through all the checkered fortunes of
mercantile life, and in all the commercial crises of the past half-cen
tury, Marshall P. Wilder has never failed to meet his pecuniary obli
gations. But trade and wealth were not the all-engrossing pursuits
of his mind ; lie devoted all his leisure hours to horticultural and agri
cultural pursuits; gardens, green-houses, and fruit-trees have all been
sources of purest pleasure. lie has cultivated his own grounds, im
ported seeds, plants, and trees, and by personal example striven to
stimulate agriculture, and to raise the rank of husbandmen in the
social scale. Massachusetts to-day owes much of her wealth, comfort,
and innocent gratifications to his example and instructions.
In 1840, Mr. Wilder was chosen President of the Massachusetts
Horticultural Society. The corner-stone of their elegant hall, in School
Street, was laid September 14, 1844, in presence of a large assemblage,
and in his address on that occasion, said : " Be it remembered that to this
society the community are indebted for the foundation and consecra
tion of Mount Auburn Cemetery." At the convention of fruit-growers,
which was held in New York, October 10, 1848, a national society was
organized, which now bears the name of the American Pomological
Society, Mr. Wilder was chosen its first President, and still retains the
office. lie assisted in the organization of the Norfolk Agricultural
Society, in February, 1849, when he was chosen President and the lion.
Charles Francis Adams, "Vice-President, the State Board of Agricul
ture, the Massachusetts Agricultural College, and the United States
Agricultural Society, of which he was President.
In January, 1808, Mr. Wilder was solicited to take the office of
President of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, made
vacant by the death of that illustrious statesman, Governor John A.
Andrew. He consented, was unanimously elected, and still holds the
position. In 1869 he made a tour in the south, for the purpose of ex
amining its resources; and in 1870 visited California. The results
of his observations have been given to the public in lectures before
the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, the Boston Mercantile
Library Association, Amherst College, Dartmouth College, the mer-
chanls of Philadelphia, and in other places.
As a zealous patron and promoter of the noblest of all material
sciences, his name must ever shine brilliantly in the pages which re
cord the history of human progress and improvement. His work will
have its interpreter on every hill-side and in every valley where rural
taste and refinement are found. lie still retains many official positions.
*>
Wmc
THOMAS ALYA EDISON.
AMONG the many ingenious men brought to public knowledge by
electric art, no one has excited more genuine interest than Thomas
Alva Edison, of Menlo Park, N. J. He was born at Milan, Ohio,
February 11, 1817, of parents whose ancestors came from Holland.
Going to the public schools until the age of fourteen, he then began
to sell newspapers upon the trains of the Grand Trunk Railway, and
first used the telegraph to bulletin at the various stations ahead the
features of the morning news, which in those war days were likely to
be startling enough. An operator taught him how to telegraph ; then,
to perfect his knowledge, he and a companion erected a short line
between their houses at their own expense, which was small, since
young Edison made everything himself, instruments and all. Battery
material was dear, and to save cost he betook himself to experiment.
He had seen sparks emitted from a cat s back ; he inserted a tom-cat
in the circuit, using the fore and hind feet as electrodes. The connec
tions, after some resistance, having been duly made, he tried to start an
induced current by rubbing the cat s back. But it would not w r ork
the line and was abandoned. The experiment illustrated the humor
of the man. Then young Edison got some t} T pe and a press, set it
up in the baggage car, and printed the "Grand Trunk Herald" every
day on the express train. When this came to an end, he started a
chemical laboratory, and experimented until he set the car afire, when
he and his laboratory were ignominiously bundled out. After that he
was employed as a railway telegraph operator, and then went to Cin
cinnati in the employment of the Western Union Telegraph Company.
It was here that his penchant for experimenting began to be so strongly
manifested. The results were that he patented the duplex machine,
by which two dispatches could be transmitted on the same wire at the
same time. In 1872 the quadruplex system of telegraphy was got into
shape by him, by which four messages can be sent simultaneously on
one wire, two one way and two the other, and which is in daily use
now. This was quickly followed by other very important inventions,
THOMAS ALVA EDISON.
the " Electro-Motograph," the " Edison Universal Printer," the " Elec
tric Pen," the "Domestic Telegraph Call," the "Chemical Automatic
Recording Telegraph," are only a few of the subjects to which he has
applied his thoughts.
Three very important inventions of his are the "Carbon Tele
phone," the " Phonograph," and the " Electric Light."
These with other patents now bring him in a large revenue, and
the Western Union Telegraph Company pay him a good yearly bonus
for the simple refusal of the first right to buy any and all of his dis
coveries which relate to telegraphy. Some idea of Mr. Edison s pro
lific brain may be gathered from the number of his patents. Of these
there have been issued to him since 1870 over two hundred.
He has now one of the amplest laboratories and the finest array of
assisting machinery to be found in connection with scientific inquiry.
" His laboratory is a wonderful place. Down stairs are his office and
unpacking room, where are hosts of books and steam engines and
machinery, where the best workmen turn for him the delicate parts of
iron and brass which are to be put together in his cunning construc
tions. Upstairs is the work-room. Plenty of windows give light and
air and a pleasant view. Gearing from the engine can be attached
anywhere needed. Telegraph wires run to New York and Washing
ton, and a circuit of 3,000 miles can be secured, if necessary, to ascer
tain whether some designed improvement which works well enough in
the laboratory, will cope with conditions of long out-door lines. Every
where are the implements and evidences of his craft, batteries, insulated
wires, gas jets innumerable, the gas being made on the premises,
telegraph machines, telescopes, microscopes, spectroscopes, and the
tables are crowded with parts of new models and fragments of old
machines."
Mr. Edison s tall form is somewhat bent with much stooping over
his work, and his brown hair is streaked with gray. He wears no
beard or mustache, and in rest would hardly be called a handsome
man ; but when he speaks, the face instantly speaks too, and the keen
blue eyes, far apart, light up with quick and happy intelligence. Care
less in matters of personal appearance, deaf enough to give him an ab
stracted look, fond of fun, quick and facile at caricature, abstemious
and simple in his habits, happy only in his laboratory and his home
near by, reckless of money when applied to his scientific needs, regard
ing time as the one precious thing, he is a man of such strong character
istics as make an indelible impress upon the world wherever he goes.
XC^^Al>,
f Of THE
CHRISTOPHER GREENE.
COLONEL CHKISTOPHEE GREENE was a descendant of John Greene
who emigrated from Wiltshire, England, to Plymouth, Mass. ; from
whence he removed to Providence, R. I., in 1637, and soon after
ward settled in Warwick, R. I., where, May 12, 1737, Christopher, the
son of the Hon. Philip Greene, was born. His life before entering the
army, was mostly spent at Centreville, R. I. He married Miss Anne
Lippitt of \Varwick in 1758, and represented his town for several years
(1770- 72) in the State Legislature. In 1774, a military company,
noted later for its Revolutionary officers, was established at East Green
wich, R. I., styled the " Kentish Guards," of which Greene was chosen
a lieutenant. In May, 1775, he was appointed by the Legislature a
major in the army created for the defence of the State, under the com
mand of his distinguished cousin and intimate friend, Gen. Nathanael
Greene. But he preferred to accept the office of captain in the regi
ment organized by the General Assembly for the Continental Service,
which opened to him a field for more active usefulness. He marched
to Cambridge, Mass., and was there appointed by Washington to com
mand the first battalion of Arnold s army, formed for a secret expedi
tion against Quebec. His constant presence and cheerful voice in
spired the courage and hope of his men throughout their fearful suf
ferings in traversing the wilderness of Maine. In the attack upon
Quebec, December 31, 1775, Lieutenant-Colonel Greene took a con
spicuous part, at the head of an assaulting column of Infantry.
The early death of General Montgomery, however, was a serious
misfortune, and, after three hours of hard fighting within the city,
Greene and his command were compelled to surrender. The eight
months of prison life in Canada passed heavily with him. His thoughts
were constantly with his suffering country, and his uppermost desire
was to again draw his sword in her behalf. Once, on seeing the British
flag waving above him, his self-possession forsook him, and he ex
claimed, with emphatic tone, " I will never again be taken prisoner
alive ! " The value of the services of Lieutenant-Colonel Greene, and
of his fellow-officers, were fully appreciated by General Washington,
and in a letter to Governor Cooke, of Rhode Island, dated : " Head-
CHRISTOPHER GREENE.
Quarters, Harlem Heights, October 12, 1776," he stated, that their be
havior and merit, as well as the severities they had experienced in the
Canada Expedition, entitled them to particular notice, and recom
mended that, in the new levies then about to be raised by the State,
vacancies should be reserved for them, to be filled upon their exchange.
After being exchanged, and holding the majority, briefly, in Var-
num s regiment, he became its colonel ; and, October 7, 1777, was
placed by Washington in command of the highly-important post of
Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, on the Delaware River. The position was
attacked, on the 22d of that month, by a large body of Hessians under
Count Donop, who, after a fierce and desperate fight, were driven back
defeated, with heavy loss, including their commander. The gallant de
fence of this fort gave to Colonel Greene a prominent military reputa
tion, and Congress was prompt to recognize the brilliant deed by pass
ing a Resolution, November 4, 1777 : " That an elegant sword be
provided by the Board of War, and presented to Colonel Greene."
From 1778 to 1780 he was employed with Lieutenant-Colonel Olney,
and Major Ward, in Rhode Island, in raising a regiment (partly com
posed of colored men), which was stationed at East Greenwich, R. I.,
for some time previous, as well as subsequent to General Sullivan s
Expedition upon Rhode Island. Colonel Greene was acting brigadier-
general under Sullivan in the spirited battles of the 28th to the 30th
of August, 1778, and his regiment (the First Rhode Island), Major
Ward commanding, rendered valuable service in covering Sullivan s
retreat from the Island when closely pressed by the enemy. In the
Spring of 1781 he returned to the headquarters of Washington, and
on the night of the 13th of May was attacked at his quarters near
Points Bridge, Croton River, N. Y., by a party of refugees, overpowered
after making a gallant resistance with his sword, and barbarously mur
dered. He was dragged by the ruffians, in a fearfully mutilated state,
to a wood about a mile distant, and there left. General Washington
learned, with deepest sorrow, the details of the sad fate of his beloved
friend and brother in arms. His corpse was carried to the head
quarters of the army on the following day, when his funeral took place
arnid universal grief, and he with Major Flagg, was buried in the
churchyard at Crompond with military honors. The Count Rocham-
beau, in a letter to Governor William Greene, dated at Newport, 27th
May, 1781, wrote: "Your Excellency will, I hope, be persuaded how
much I lament the loss of your friend and relative, Colonel Greene.
I had the greatest esteem and regard for an officer of such merit."
^:
SAMUEL HANSON COX.
KEV. SAMUEL HANSON Cox, D.D., LL.D., was born August 25, 1793.
His father, James Cox, descended from the first settlers of Talbot
County, Md., was born in Dover, Kent County, Del., December 28,
1766, and died in the city of Philadelphia January 4, 1801, at the early
age of thirty -four years. His mother was a native of Philadelphia.
They were both members of the Society of Friends ; were married
February 13, 1791 ; removed from Philadelphia March 23, 1792, to
Hallway, N. J., where, Samuel H. Cox was born. His father at that
time was extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits in the city of
New York. His mother and family three sons and two daughters
after their bereavement returned to Philadelphia. Here Samuel
attended school until 1811, when he went to Newark, N. J., in order
to study law with the late William Halsey. He prosecuted its studies
with avidity and success, till November, 1812, when the subject of
religion became chief in his thoughts, engaged his affections, and re
sulted in the change of his profession from law to theology. His
studies in divinity were partly under the direction of the late Dr.
Richards, of Newark, and afterward under that of the late Rev. Dr. J.
P. Wilson, of Philadelphia. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by
the Presbytery of New York, in 1816, and ordained by the Presbytery
of New Jersey, at Mendham, N. J., July 1, 1817. He remained the
only pastor at Mendham until the autumn of 1820, when he removed
to New York City, having accepted a call from the Spring Street
Presbyterian church, on a salary much less than his income at Mend-
ham. He soon obtained great prominence in the denomination.
His health being affected by great labors, he sailed for Europe,
April 10, 1833, and travelled extensively in Great Britain and Ireland,
also in France. Switzerland, Germany, and Holland, returning at the
expiration of seven months with improved health.
Dr. Cox took an active part in the inauguration of the abolition
SAMUEL HANSON COX.
movement, and during the riots was one of the sufferers by a mob, and
his house was sacked July 10, 1834. In 1835, he removed to Auburn,
N. Y., having accepted the professorship of sacred rhetoric and pas
toral theology in the Auburn Theological Seminary, where he remained
until May, 1837, when he was installed pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church, Brooklyn, K Y.
He was active in all the benevolent and reformatory movements of
the day, and noted for the peculiar style of his eloquence, and for his
rare conversational powers.
As a strong New School Presbyterian, Dr Cox was prominent in the
agitation of 1837, which was followed by the division of the church
into the old and new-school bodies. He had also been a leading pro
moter of the Evangelical Alliance. In May, i 846, he was chosen mod
erator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, and in
August attended the meeting of the Evangelical Alliance in London.
A resolution was introduced into that body declaring that no person
holding slaves or defending slavery should be admitted to its member
ship. Dr. Cox denounced the resolution which would shut out from
their fellowship such a noble body of Christians as the people of the
Southern States of America. The resolution was voted down. On his
return, Dr. Cox was wrecked on board the steamship Great Britain,
but uninjured. During the agitation in regard to the compromise
measures of 1850, lie came out in favor of them. He also became
Vice-president of the Southern Aid Society. His views became radical
again during the late Civil War.
He is known in the literary world as the author of a large work
entitled " Quakerism not Christianity," "Interviews, Memorable and
Useful," and other publications.
Partially losing his voice, he was obliged to give up his charge as
pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn, and on the last
Sabbath of April, 1854, he preached a farewell sermon. Retiring
from Brooklyn to Owego, N. Y., he named his residence there, Vesper
Cliff, with reference to his declining years, and the sunset of life. He
remained, however, but a little while, removing to Le Hoy, N. Y.,
in 1857, where he was Chancellor of the Ingham University for the
Education of young ladies. After filling this position several years he
returned to New York, finally retiring to Bronxville, Westchester
County, N. Y., where, after a long residence, he died October 2, 1880.
In appearance he was a fine, stately old gentleman, with a large,
round, well-developed head, adorned with silvery hair.
CYRUS WEST FIELD.
CYRUS W. FIELD was born at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, November
30, 1819. His father, David Dudley Field, D.D., graduated from
Yale College in 1802 ; studied for the ministry, arid was settled at
Haddam, Connecticut, in 1804, and continued pastor till 1818, when
he was called to Stockbridge. In 1837 he was recalled to his old par
ish in Connecticut. In 1851, having reached the age of seventy, he
returned once more to Stockbridge, and there passed the evening of
his life, greatly respected as one of the most venerable ministers of
New England.
Cyrus "W". Field left his home at the age of fifteen to enter a mer
cantile house in New York, and a few years later was the head of a
prosperous concern. Retiring from business in 1853, he travelled for
seven months in South America with Mr. F. E. Church, the artist, and
on his return was applied to for aid in building a telegraph line in
Newfoundland. The plan was to carry the line across that island to
St. John s, and there connect with a line of fast steamers, which, it was
thought, could reach the nearest point in Ireland in five days. While
Mr. Field was considering this proposal, and turning over the globe in
his library, the thought flashed upon him, " Why not carry the line
across the ocean ? " In this was the germ of that project of an Atlan
tic telegraph to which he was to devote the next thirteen years of his
life. His first step was to obtain legal authority. For this purpose
he went, in March, 1854, to St. John s, Newfoundland, and obtained
from the legislature of that colony a charter, granting an exclusive
right for fifty years to establish a telegraph from the continent of
America to Newfoundland, and thence to Europe. To build this over
land line took nearly three years. A cable had to be laid across the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. One was sent out from England in 1855, but
the first attempt to lay it was a failure. The next year a second at
tempt was made with success. In that year (1856) Mr. Field went to
London, and there succeeded in organizing the first " Atlantic Tele
graph Company," and raising the necessary money to carry out the
CYKUS WEST FIELD.
projet, subscribing himself for more than one-quarter of the entire
capital. The English and American governments gave their aid in the
use of ships. The first attempt to lay the cable across the Atlantic
Ocean was made in 1857, but failed. The attempt was renewed the
following year, but failed the second time. The third attempt proved
successful, and in August, 1858, messages were sent from shore to
shore. The first one was " England and America are united by tele
graph. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will
toward men." The Queen and the President of the United States ex
changed congratulations. The American people were in a frenzy of
enthusiasm, but it was short-lived, for it was hardly three weeks before
the cable began to mutter fitfully, and at last lay silent in the depths
of the sea. Many doubted whether there had ever been a message
across the ocean, and the whole subject became one for incredulity and
ridicule. Three years after, the American war commenced ; the na
tion absorbed in its own affairs had no time for commercial enterprises,
but Mr. Field was not idle ; he was constantly crossing and recrossing
the Atlantic, and addressing Chambers of Commerce and Public Meet
ings in England and the United Slates, the result being a renewal of
the undertaking. A new and better cable was constructed, and coiled
on board the Great Eastern, which was placed under the command of
Captain, now Sir James, Anderson. She sailed in 1865 with every
prospect of success, and all went well till over 1,200 miles had been
laid, when in a sudden, lurch of the great ship the cable was broken.
The bottom of the sea was dragged for days in vain, and the great ship
took her way back to England. The attempt was abandoned for that
year. But in the summer of 1866 it was renewed, and this time with
complete success. The Great Eastern returned to mid-ocean in search
of the cable lost the year before, and, after weeks of effort, succeeded in
lifting it to the surface and, joining it to six hundred miles of cable
reserved for the purpose, carried it safely to land. The success was
complete, and in both countries honors were showered upon the leaders
of the expedition. Besides innumerable congratulations, Mr. Field re
ceived the unanimous thanks of Congress, with a gold medal. The
French Exposition of 1867 awarded him the Grand Medal, its highest
award. Since 1877 Mr. Field has devoted himself to the establish
ment in New York of the system of Elevated Railroads, which have
supplied a want long felt, and proved an inestimable blessing to the
city. He has still one dream of his life, to lay a telegraphic cable
across the Pacific, and thus complete the circuit of the globe.
JOHN WHITE GEARY.
JOHN W. GEARY, soldier and politician, was born near the little
village of Mount Pleasant, in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania,
December 30, 1819. A log cabin sheltered him in boyhood. After
the usual preliminary course, entered Jefferson College, but owing
to the death of his father he was obliged to leave before graduating.
That he might provide for his mother s immediate wants, he taught
school for a time, and by frugality was also enabled to complete his
education. After a short experience in a wholesale business house in
Pittsburg, he commenced the study of civil engineering, for which he
had early developed a fondness. He subsequently read law, and was
admitted to practise. But an opportunity opening for employment as
an engineer in Kentucky, he was engaged in surveying, and acting as
the joint agent of the State and the Green River Railroad Company.
lie soon after became Assistant Superintendent and Engineer of the
Allegheny and Portage Railroad in his own State.
In the Mexican War he joined the Second Pennsylvania Regiment,
and was chosen Lieutenant-Colonel. It joined General Scott s army
at Vera Cruz, and became a part of Quitman s division. His first ac
tion was at the Pass of La lloya, and in the storming of Chapultepec.
In the action at Garita de Belen he displayed such intrepidity that
General Quitman assigned him to the command of the city of Mexico
after its capture, and promoted him to be Colonel of his regiment.
Removing to San Francisco after the war, President Polk appointed
him Postmaster, with authority to establish offices, routes, and appoint
postmasters being, in effect, a Deputy Postmaster-General on the
Pacific coast. Upon his retirement from the office the citizens of San
Francisco elected him First Alcalde. He was re-elected Alcalde, and
when, in the following year, the Mexican forms gave place to Amer
ican, he was chosen the first Mayor of the city. In 1852 he returned
to Pennsylvania, devoting himself to improved stock-raising and farm
ing in his native county. Three years later he was called to Washing
ton by President Pierce, and asked to take the Governorship of Utah.
This he declined. But when, a short time afterward, he was urged by
JOHN WHITE GEAEY.
the Chief Magistrate to take the helm on the troubled waters of Kan
sas, he recognized the opportunity for great usefulness, and promptly
accepted it. On retiring from Kansas in 1857, he returned to Penn
sylvania and resumed his agricultural pursuits.
On the breaking out of the great civil war in 1861, he tendered his
services to the Government. President Lincoln commissioned him to
organize a regiment under the first call for volunteers. His command
joined Banks s corps at Maryland Heights, and on October 16, 1861,
was fought the battle of Bolivar. He was promoted to the rank of
Brigadier-General April 25, 1862. In the battle of Cedar Mountain,
and on the fields of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, his command
was actively engaged with the Confederate forces. In the fall of
1863 he was transferred to the Army of the Southwest, under com
mand of General Grant. A number of engagements followed, and in
the battle of Wauhatchie, his eldest son, Captain Edward R. Geary,
fell while sighting a gun a bullet piercing his forehead.
On the 24th of November, on Lookout Mountain, or, as it is termed,
in " The Battle above the Clouds," General Geary s command was se
lected to make the attack, and fully sustained its well-earned reputa
tion, driving the enemy before it, and capturing 2,100 prisoners and a
large amount of ammunition and stores. In the Atlanta Campaign, in
the spring of 1864, he participated in the battles of Mill Creek and
Snake Gaps, May 8th; Resaca, May 15th; New Hope Church, May
26th, and for eight days following ; Pine Hill, June 15th ; Muddy
Creek, June 27th ; Nose s Creek, June 19th ; Kolb s Farm, June 22d ;
Kenesau, June 27th ; Marietta, July 3d ; Peach-tree Creek, July 20th ;
and the siege of Atlanta, which culminated September 2d in the cap
ture of that city. In the " March to the Sea," he led his division with
unbroken success, and after the fall of Fort McAllister he received
the surrender of the city of Savannah, and was appointed Military
Governor by General Sherman.
In 1866 General Geary was nominated and elected Governor of
the State of Pennsylvania for a term of three years. At its close he
was re-elected for a second term. His messages abound in recom
mendations for correcting abuses in legislating and in administering
affairs. In January, 1873, his gubernatorial labors closed. He at
once entered upon extensive business projects ; but on the morning of
Saturday, the 8th day of February, at Harrisburg, while seated at the
breakfast-table with his family, his head dropped upon his breast, and
without a struggle he expired.
AMOS EATON.
THE naturalist and geologist, Amos Eaton, was born at Chatham,
Columbia County, X. Y , May 17, 1776. His father was a farmer, and
highly respected citizen of that town. The son early manifested supe
rior ability, and his aspirations were for a wider field of action. He
was selected to deliver an oration on the 4th of July, 1790, when but
fourteen years of age, which was a creditable performance. About
this time, having acted as chain-bearer in surveying some land, he re
solved on learning the surveyor s art. lie soon interested a skilful
blacksmith in his behalf, who agreed to work for him at night, if he
would "blow and strike" by day. An accurately constructed needle
(magnetized from kitchen tongs) and a good working chain were the
result of several weeks work. This circumstance in his life, doubtless,
gave rise to the remark found in " Silli man s Journal," that "in 1791 he
was an apprenticed blacksmith." The bottom of an old pewter plate, well
smoothed, polished, and graduated, made a pretty good compass case;
so that when sixteen years old, he was in the field with his home-made
instruments, doing little jobs of surveying in the neighborhood. With
the encouragement of his parents he fitted for college, and was gradu
ated at Williams College, in 1799, with a high reputation for his scien
tific attainments. He commenced the study of law with Elisha Wil
liams, in Columbia County, and subsequently continued his studies in
New York, in the office of Josiah Ogden Hoffman. It was at this pe
riod, under the instruction of Dr. David Hosack and Dr. Samuel L.
Mitchell, that he first became especially interested in the study of bot
any and other natural sciences. He was admitted an attorney of the
Supreme Court of the State of ISTew York, at Albany, October 30,
1802, and soon after established himself as a lawyer and land-agent in
Catskill, N. Y. Here he remained several years ; his position afford
ing him good opportunities for cultivating his growing taste for the
natural sciences. Here he gave his first course of popular lectures on
botany, and prepared a small elementary treatise on the subject. He
AMOS EATON.
resolved to abandon the practice of law, and to devote himself to science.
With this end in view he attended lectures at New Haven, in 1815.
In 1817 he returned to Williamstown, and gave courses of lectures on
botany, mineralogy, and geology, to volunteer classes of the students.
The first edition of his " Manual of Botany " was published this year.
He continued his public lectures in the large towns of New England
and New York. In 1818 Governor Dewitt Clinton invited him to Al
bany, and he gave a course of lectures before the members of the Le
gislature. In 1820 he was appointed Professor of Natural History in
the Medical College at Castletown, Vt. In 1820, and 1821, under the
patronage of Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, he made geological and
agricultural surveys of the counties of Rensselaer and Albany, and
also a geological survey of the district of county on the line of the Erie
Canal. In 1824 the Hon. Mr. Van Rensselaer established at Troy, N.
Y., a school of science called the Rensselaer School, placing Mr. Eaton
at its head as " Senior Professor." Here he continued his labors through
the remainder of his life, publishing, at different times, several scienti
fic works, required for his own pupils, as well as for the general ad
vancement of science. Among them, a " Philosophical Instructor,"
"Manual of Botany;" "Chemical Instructor;" "Zoological Test
Book;" " Geological Text-Book ;" "Botanical Grammar and Dic
tionary ; " " Art -without Science," etc., etc.
In the history of Natural Science on this Continent the name of
Amos Eaton deserves honorable mention. It was he who, finding the
Natural Sciences in the hands of the learned few, by means of his pop
ular lectures, simplified text-books, and practical instructions, threw
them broadcast to the many. For his efforts the country owes him a
debt of gratitude. Many of his pupils have been for years among the
most justly distinguished scientific men of the country. Scientific
men of to-day are finding that many of their conclusions were antici
pated by Professor Eaton. He died in Troy, N. Y., May 6, 1842, in
the sixty-sixth year of his age. A massive granite monument marks
his burial-place in the cemetery at Troy, N. Y., placed there in 1874
by the Alumni of the Rensselaer Institute, and at the same time a
memorial window was set in the Hall of the Institute. May 17, 1876,
the centennial of his birth was celebrated with a torchlight procession,
speeches, music, etc. Of Professor Eaton s sons, several of them
educated by their father to follow him in the walks of science, none
are now living. His two daughters still live in New Haven, where
several of his grandchildren also make their home.
JOHN ALBION ANDREW.
JOHN ALBION ANDREW, LL.D., was born in WLndham, Cumberland
County, Me., May 31, 1818. He was descended from a respectable
Anglo Saxon ancestry. The family is one of the oldest in New Eng
land, Robert and Grace Andrew having settled in Rowley Village
now Boxford, Mass., about the middle of the seventeenth century.
Mr. John Andrew, the grandfather of the subject of our sketch, re
moved from Salem, Mass., near the close of the Revolutionary War, to
a frontier settlement on the Presumpscot River, originally named New
Marblehead, but subsequently Windham ; here his father, Jonathan
Andrew, was born in 1782.
Young Andrew atlended various schools until the spring of 1834,
when he entered, in his sixteenth year, the freshman class, in Bowdoin
College. Graduating in 1837 he soon after commenced the study of
law in Boston, where in 1840 he was admitted to the bar. In the mem
orable Presidential Campaign of 1840 he advocated in many effective
public addresses the election of General William Henry Harrison.
By his unflinching opposition to the Fugitive-slave Law in 1850,
Mr. Andrew came more distinctly before the public as a persistent ad
vocate of antislavery measures ; and by his powerful arguments in 1854,
in defence of the parties indicted for the rescue of Anthony Burns; in
the following year, on behalf of the British consul, against the charge
of violating the laws of neutrality during the Crimean War; and for a
writ of habeus corpus, testing the legality of the imprisonment of the
free State officers at Topeka, Kansas, 1856 ; and in 1859 most in
trepidly reasserted his principles by procuring counsel for the defence
of John Brown, in Virginia. Though always interested in political mat
ters, it was not until 1858 that he would consent to become a candidate
for office. In that year he was elected one of the members from Bos
ton to the Massachusetts Legislature.
In the spring of 1860 Mr. Andrew headed the delegation sent from
Massachusetts to the Republican Convention, which nominated Mr.
Lincoln for the Presidency. Upon his return he accepted the Repub
lican nomination for Governor, and was elected by a large popular
JOHN ALBION ANDREW.
vote, his majority over all other candidates being nearly forty thou
sand, and on the fifth day of January, 1861, Massachusetts inaugurated
him as her twenty-first Governor from the adoption of the Constitu
tion. Anticipating the conflict between the government and the se
ceding States he early took measures to place the militia of Massa
chusetts on a footing of efficiency ; and within a week after the Presi
dent s proclamation of April 15, 1861, he despatched five regiments of
infantry, a battalion of riflemen, and a battery of artillery to the as
sistance of the government. He subsequently took an active part in
raising and equipping the Massachusetts contingent of three years vol
unteers. In November, 1861, he was re-elected Governor of Massachu
setts. He responded with alacrity to the call of the President in May,
1862, for militia regiments to protect Washington, and in this service,
and on other occasions, made repeated visits to Washington and other
places, frequently conferring with the government officers on National
affairs. He took an active part in the conference held by the Gover
nors of the loyal States at Altoona, Penn., in September, 1862, and
prepared the address which they subsequently presented to the Presi
dent, and was one of the most urgent in impressing upon the adminis
tration the necessity of emancipating the slaves, and of accepting the
services of colored troops. Mr. Andrew was successively re-elected
Governor in 1862-3-4. He retired from the office in January, 1866,
having positively declined a re-election, and resumed the practice of
the law. He also declined an offer of the Presidency of Antioch
College, Ohio. He presided over the first National Unitarian Con
vention held in 1865, and was a leader of its conservative wing. In
the midst of all his labors for the maintenance of a patriotic and loyal
position for his State during the great war, he yet found time to de
vote to the advancement of education, literature, science, religion ; to
the encouragement of industrial and commercial enterprise, and to
the improvement of the charitable and correctional institutions.
Governor Andrew was elected President of the New England His
toric Genealogical Society, January 3, 1866 ; and on January 4, 1867,
delivered before that Society a most eloquent anniversary address. In
April of the same year he made his elaborate argument on " The Er
rors of Prohibition." In the summer following he visited the British
Provinces. He died in Boston, Mass., October 30, 1867.
Governor Andrew was in the prime of manhood, of middle stature,
and an erect and somewhat portly figure. In private life he was much
esteemed for amiability and active benevolence.
co. 13
GEORGE BANCROFT.
GEORGE BANCROFT, an American historian and statesman, was born
in the town of Worcester, Mass., October 3, 1800, where his father,
the Rev. Aaron Bancroft, D.D., had been settled for many years. Dr.
Bancroft, the elder, as a parent who had risen from the humble pur
suits of a farmer s boy to a distinguished rank in the pulpit, and a
reputation as a man of letters, was not likely to neglect the education
of his son. We accordingly find him training the young George with
care, and early placing him at the Academy of Dr. Abbott, at Exeter,
N. II. In 1813 he entered Harvard College, and graduated with dis
tinction in the class of 1817. In the following year he went to Europe,
and in the Gottingen University, where he remained for two years, he
availed himself of the best opportunities of literary culture under the
most learned professors of the time, and was there awarded the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy. In 1820 he repaired to Berlin where he
continued his studies. In 1821 he made an extended tour through
Germany and other parts of Europe. In 1822 he returned to America,
and for one year was Tutor of Greek in Harvard University. During
this year he was licensed to preach, and in fact delivered several ser
mons ; but he soon abandoned the intention of following his father s
profession, a love of literature proving the stronger attachment. In
1823, in conjunction with Dr. J. G.Cogswell, he established the Round
Hill School at Northampton Mass. He published at this time his
translation of Heeren s " Politics of Ancient Greece," and a small
volume of poems, and he was also busily meditating and collecting
materials for a History of the United States. In 1826 he delivered at
Northampton an oration, in which he avowed his principles to be for
universal suffrage and uncompromising democracy. He was elected
in 1830, without his knowledge, to the legislature of Massachusetts,
but refused to take his seat, and the year after he declined a nomina
tion. In 1834 appeared the first volume of his "History of the United
States from the Discovery of the American Continent. 1 In 1835 he
removed to Springfield, Mass., where he resided three years, and com
pleted the second volume of his history. In 1838 he was appointed by
GEORGE BANCROFT.
President Van Buren to the collectorship of the port of Boston. In
1840 the third volume of his history was published. In 1844 he was
the Democratic candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, but was not
elected. After the accession of Mr. Polk to the Presidency in 1845,
Mr. Bancroft entered the cabinet as Secretary of the Navy. He sig
nalized his administration of this office by the establishment of the
Naval Academy at Annapolis and the Astronomical Observatory at
"Washington. In 1846 lie was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to
Great Britain, and held this distinguished office till 1849. lie re
turned to the United States that year, took up his residence in the
city of New York, and began to prepare for the press the fourth and
fifth volumes of his history, which were published in 1852. The sixth
volume was issued in 1854, the seventh in 1858, and the eighth in I860.
In February, 1866, at the request of Congress, he delivered an address
in memory of Abraham Lincoln. The ninth volume of his history also
appeared during that year. On May 14, 1867. he was appointed Min
ister to Prussia, and accepted the office ; in 1868 he was accredited to
the North German Confederation, and in 1871 to the German Empire.
Under his auspices important treaties concerning the naturalization of
Germans in America were concluded with the various States of the
Confederation, in February, 1868. In August of the same year Mr.
Bancroft received from the University of Bonn the honorary degree
of Doctor Juris, and in September, 1870, he celebrated the fiftieth an
niversary of his graduation at the University of Gottingen. In 1874
he resigned his diplomatic post, returned to the United States for the
last time and became a resident of Washington, D. C., where he de
voted himself to his historical labors. The tenth volume completing
the Revolutionary period appeared in that year. A careful revision
and condensation of the whole work w r as issued in 1876 in six volumes,
as the " Centenary Edition."
On October 3, 1880, Mr. Bancroft, at the good old age of four
score years, appropriately celebrated the event at his picturesque sum
mer residence in Newport, E. I., by giving the finishing touches to
his life work, begun in 1825, " The History of the United States from
the discovery of America to the Inauguration of our Federal Constitu
tional system in 1789."
Mr. Bancroft is a member of many foreign learned societies, and
also of the American Geographical Society, of which he has been
President ; the New York Historical, the American Ethnological, and
many other societies.
VF.8SITY
ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP.
AMERICAN history can boast no more honorable name than that of
WINTHKOP. From the great leader of the Puritan Colony to New Eno--
** O
land through all the subsequent generations, the obligation of nobility
has been fairly met and fully honored. The descendant of John Win-
throp of Massachusetts in the sixth generation still bears to the front
the family banner with thorough loyalty and conspicuous fidelity to the
traditions of his house.
ROBERT CHARLES WINTHROP, LL.D., was born in Boston, on the
12th of May, 1809. lie was the son of Lieutenant-Governor Thomas
Lindall Winthrop, and his mother was a daughter of Sir John Temple
(Franklin s English associate) and a grand-daughter of Governor James
Bowdoin. Young Winthrop was a scholar at the Latin school, and as
a " medal boy " received the gift of a set of books from the authorities
of his native city. He entered Harvard College at the age of fifteen
and graduated in 182S. He then studied law with Daniel Webster for
three years, but never engaged actively in the legal profession. With
a fortune which enabled him to pursue hi-; ends at leisure and accord
ing to his own inclination, he inherited a taste for public life, in which
his subsequent success amply justified his youthful choice. As a young
man he was interested in military affairs, and at one time was Captain
of the Boston Light Infantry. In 1834 he was chosen a Representative
to the General Court, and after three years of service on the floor he was
elected Speaker of the House of Representatives, probably the youngest
speaker the House ever had. He was re-elected Speaker in the two fol
lowing years, and in 1840 was chosen a Representative to Congress, as a
member of the Whig party, to which he belonged as long as it existed.
After seven years service, he was chosen Speaker of the National House
of Representatives for the session of 1847- 49. Mr. Winthrop repre
sented his native city in Congress nearly ten years ; longer than any one
of his predecessors since the organization of the Federal Government.
In 1850, when Mr. Webster resigned his seat in the Senate to take the
portfolio of Secretary of State in Mr. Fillmore s cabinet, Mr. Winthrop
was appointed by the Governor of Massachusetts to fill the vacancy.
EGBERT CHARLES WINTIIROP.
In 1851 he was the Whig candidate for Governor of Massachusetts, and
received 60,000 votes, the other two candidates respectively receiving
40,000 and 30,000. This failure to receive a majority, as required by
the constitution of the State at that time, threw the election into the
Legislature, in which he was defeated by a coalition of the minority
parties. Mr. Winthrop s public life has been characterized as being
" as remarkable for the early period at which his political activity ended
as for the early age at which he entered it. The last political office
which he held was at the head of the Massachusetts Electoral College,
O "
which, in 1854, gave the vote of the State to General Winfield Scott.
This retirement was of his own free will. He might have held many a
public post of honor and honored the position had he cared to, but the
turmoil and violence of political struggles became distasteful to him,
and he preferred the independence of private life."
Mr. Winthrop is still active in the service of several literary, scien
tific and benevolent associations and the administration of important
trusts. Among these the Massachusetts Historical Society has been
honored by his Presidency for a quarter of a century, during which its
progress and prosperity have been constant and abiding. At no former
period of its history Jias the duty of the Society been more clearly
understood or its work more thoroughly done, and it may be safely
reckoned among the most useful labors of his life that he has brought
into its due prominence among the educational institutions of the State
an association devoted to objects which rarely command the interest
and influence which j ustly belong to them. His relations to George
Peabody s great benefactions, and the deep interest he manifests in
that for the Southern schools, deserve to be most honorably mentioned.
The record of Mr. Winthrop s life and public services is really to
be found in his published works. His addresses and speeches fill three
large octavo volumes for the period between 1835 and 1880, nearly
half a century of active intellectual exercise of great gifts and conspi
cuous ability. This is not the place to attempt description or analysis
of these brilliant contributions to the history and literature of our
country. Often called into service as the recurrence of grand anniver
saries of public men and events has demanded grand power of elo
quence fitly to recall the memories of our heroic past, and to mark the
lessons for the present and future generatioiis, Mr. Winthrop has
never failed to dignify the occasion to rise to the height of the great
argument and justify the ways of Providence in history. A thorough
Christian gentleman and scholar, all his works will praise him.
ELIHU BURRITT.
ELIHTT BCKRITT, an American scholar and reformer, was born in
New Britain, Conn., December 8, 1S10, and was the youngest sou
in a family of ten children, numbering five sons and five daughters.
All who bear the name of Burritt are descended from William Burritt,
who came from Glamorganshire, and settled down in Stratford, Conn.,
and died there in 165 J. In the war for American independence, Elihu
Burritt, the grandfather, at forty-five, and Elihu, the father of the sub
ject of our sketch, at sixteen years of age, shouldered muskets. The
father of Elihu Burritt plied the shoemaker s hammer and awl dur
ing the winter weeks and rainy days, and the hoe and sickle in sum
mer. His son adopted and followed a wider diversity of occupation,
and could say at fifty, no man in America had handled more tools in
manual labor than himself. Soon after the death of his father, in
1828, he apprenticed himself to a blacksmith in New Britain, and fol
lowed that occupation for several years. Having lost a winter s school
ing at sixteen, in consequence of the long illness of his father, he re
solved to make up the loss, at twenty-one, and assisted and encouraged
by his elder brother, Elijah, devoted himself for three months to mathe
matics, Latin, and French, and then returned to the anvil, and endeav
ored to perform double labor for six months to make up the time lost,
pecuniarily, in study. A desire to read the scriptures in the original
led him to philological studies, in the intervals of labor, and he soon
mastered several languages. He removed to New Haven for a short
time to enjoy the advantages derived from the vicinity of Yale College.
He returned to New Britain, but the fame of his learning had travelled
before him, and he was requested to take charge of an academy in a
neighboring town. Close application seriously affected his health, so,
at the end of a year s teaching, he accepted the occupation of a com
mercial traveller for a manufacturer in New Britain, and followed it
for a considerable time. His next change was to commence business,
a grocery and provision store, unfortunately, just before the great com
mercial crash of 1837, which swept over the whole country. Having
lost all his property, he went to Worcester, Mass., where he not only
ELIHTJ BUEEITT.
obtained ready employment at the anvil, but also access to the large
and rare library of the Antiquarian Society there, and while still plying
his trade studied the principal ancient and modern languages. At
about this time Mr. Burritt was familiarly spoken of as " the Learned
Blacksmith," and in the winter of 1841 he was often invited to appear
before the public as a lecturer. Thus passed his time for the next two
years; in the winter lecturing, in summer working and studying. In
1844, at Worcester, he started a weekly paper, called " The Christian
Citizen," devoted to the anti-slavery cause, peace, temperance, etc.
Mr. Burritt sailed for England in May, 1846. While there he de
veloped the basis of an international association, called " The League
of Universal Brotherhood," whose design was to employ all legitimate
means for the abolition of war throughout the world. He edited for
a short time a paper called the " Peace Advocate," and published a
periodical tract, the " Bond of Brotherhood." In September, 1847,
Mr. Burritt first developed the proposition of a universal Ocean Penny
Postage. lie was constantly engaged in writing and lecturing, and
took a prominent part in all the European peace congresses. In pro
mulgating and advocating his views and plans of compensated eman
cipation, he, for a year, while in London, assumed the editorship of a
monthly periodical called " The Citizen of the World." This was
published in Philadelphia and somewhat extensively circulated. After
a year s stay in England he returned to America, and spent several
winters in travelling and advocating his plan. This project had gained
some popularity when the " John Brown s raid " suddenly closed the
door against all overtures for the peaceful extinction of slavery, and
Mr. Burritt retired to his farm in New Britain. In 1SG3 he again
visited England, lecturing on subjects of general interest, in various
parts of the kingdom. In the spring of 1865 Mr. Burritt was appointed
Consular Agent for the United States at Birmingham. In 1870 lie
left England, for the last time, and returned to America. The liter
ary works of Mr. Burritt comprise: "Hand-Book of the Nations;"
A Series of National Statistics ; " " Walk from London to John
O Groat s, with Notes by the Way ;" "Walk from London to Land s
End and Back ; " " The Mission of Great Sufferings ; " " Walks in the
Black Country and its Green Border Land ; " " Thoughts at Home and
Abroad ; " " Lectures and Addresses ; " " Prayers and Meditations
from the Psalms;" "Jacob and Joseph;" "Ten-Minute Talks;"
" Sanskrit Hand-Book ; " " Chips from many Blocks," etc.
Mr. Burritt died at New Britain, Conn., March 6, 1879.
V Vf "Vfi*8/Ty
^" *^C,. .. --- "
ALEXIS CASWELL.
ALEXIS CASWELL, D.D., LL.D., was born in Tannton, Bristol Co.,
Mass., January 29, 1799, and his ancestor, Thomas Caswell, who came
from Somersetshire, England, settled there in 1639. His grandfather,
Ebenezer Caswell, married Zibiah White, the great-granddaughter of
Peregrine White, who was the first born of the Pilgrims on board the
Mayflower at Plymouth, November 20, 1620. Uis early years were
passed with his father, Samuel Caswell, in agricultural pursuits and in
study at the Academy in Taunton. He entered Brown University in
1818, and was graduated, with the highest honors, in 1822. The next
five years he spent in Washington, D. C., as a Tutor or Professor of
Languages in Columbian University, and while there studied theology
under the direction of the President, Rev. Dr. Staughton. In the Fall
of 1827 he went to Halifax, N. S., where he was ordained, and settled
as pastor of the Granville Street Baptist Church for a year. But in
August, 1828, he accepted a request to return to Providence to take charge
of the First Baptist Church (of which he was a member), then under
the pastoral care of the venerable Rev. Dr. Stephen Gano, \vho died
shortly afterwards. lie had been there only a few weeks when he was
appointed Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Brown
University. In 1850 the style of his professorship was changed to that
of Mathematics and Astronomy. Of the latter science he was an assid
uous votary, and though he had not the advantages of an observatory,
yet with such instruments as were at command, he was constantly
scanning the starry heavens and watching the occultations and transits
which they revealed. He also kept himself carefully informed of the
progress made in the science, and was in frequent correspondence with
several of its eminent promoters. With the exception of the time when
he visited Europe, in 1S60- 61, for scientific purposes, he discharged
the laborious duties of this office for thirty-five years, to the complete
satisfaction of the government and the pupils of the institution. In
184:0, while Dr. Wayland was absent in Europe, Professor Caswell
acted as President ; and during the last three years of President Way-
land s official term, Professor Cas\vell, under title of Regent, relieved
ALEXIS CASWELL.
him from all the anxieties of discipline, bringing to this delicate duty
qualities of mind and heart which secured good order without alienating
the affection of the students. His public spirit had aided in promoting
and securing many improvements, and he had the satisfaction of seeing
the institution making constant progress during the period of his con
nection with it a progress to which his own work and character had
largely contributed. lie, however, continued to be closely occupied
meanwhile with scientific duties and philanthropic labors in the com
munity. At this time he was made President of the National Ex
change Bank, and also of the American Screw Company in Providence.
In January, 1868, he was chosen President of Brown University,
and held the office until his resignation in September, 1872. The
following year he was elected a Trustee, and two years later, a Fellow
in its corporation; thus continuing his connection with its management
to the end of his life in that city on the 8th of January, 1877. Dr.
Caswell was a prominent member of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, and delivered the annual address as President
at Springfield in 1859. He was also one of those named in the Act of
Congress, approved March 3, 1863, which created the National Academy
of Science. He actively participated in its organization, and, when its
members were arranged in sections, he was assigned to that on Astron
omy, Geography, and Geodesy. He also served on a committee created
at the request of the Navy Department, to report upon certain questions
relating to the method of preparing and publishing charts of winds and
currents, and alsoof thesailing directions connected therewith. He was
a Trustee of the Rhode Island Hospital from its foundation in 1863,
and became its President in 1875. Also was a Member of the Phi
Beta Kappa, the New England Historic Genealogical, and several other
societies. For the last forty years of his life he kept a daily Meteoro
logical Record, which was published monthly in the Providence Journal ;
and among his printed writings are " An Oration before the Phi Beta
Kappa Society of Brown University in 1835 ; " articles on " "Whewell e
Bridgewater Treatise ; " " The Principle of Emulation in Connection
with Education ; " " On Zinc as a covering for Buildings ; " " Nichol s
Architecture of the Heavens ; " and " The Future of Africa ; " " Four
Lectures on Astronomy at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,
D. C., in 1858 ; " " Address before the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, in 1859 ;" " Memoirs of John Barstow, and
of Benjamin Silliman, LL.D. ; " " Sermon on the Life and Christian
Work of the Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., 1868."
GEORGE CLINTON.
THE Clinton family is of English origin. Their ancestor, Wil
liam Clinton, from whom they trace their descent in a direct line, was
one of the most devoted adherents of Charles I. His grandson, Charles
Clinton, emigrated to America in 1729, landing after a very tedious
voyage at Cape Cod, and the following spring he removed to Ulster
County, in the then colony of New York. Of the sons of Charles
Clinton, Alexander, the eldest, graduated at Princeton and became
a physician ; Charles also studied medicine, and in the capacity of a
surgeon was present at the taking of Havana in 1762, after \vhich he
returned to Ulster County where he practised his profession ; James,
the third son, father of the celebrated De Witt Clinton, was a soldier
from his youth up, and became justly distinguished for his services as
a general officer in the war of the Revolution; and George, the young
est, is the subject of our sketch.
George Clinton was born in Little Britain, in that portion of old
Ulster County now called Orange County, N. Y., on the 26th day of
July, 1739. He received a careful education, directed chiefly by his
father and by a Scotch clergyman who was a graduate of the University
of Aberdeen, and at an early age signalized his enterprising character
by sailing in a privateer in the French war. On his return he entered the
military company of his brother James, as lieutenant, and accompanied
him in Bradstreet s expedition against Fort Frontenac, now Kingston,
Canada, in 1758. At the close of the French and Indian war he studied
law under Chief Justice Smith, and practised with distinction till in
1768 he was elected to the Colonial Assembly, where he soon became the
head of a Whig minority. He was elected to the Continental Congress
in 1775, and voted for the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.
Having been appointed a brigadier-general of the militia of New York,
his new duties called him awav from Congress before that instru-
v O
ment was regularly signed. In March, 1777, he was commissioned a
brigadier-general by Conm-ess, and a month afterward he was chosen
n o \j o
both Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New York,
GEORGE CLINTON.
under its Republican constitution. He accepted the former office, and
the latter was filled by Mr. Yan Cortlandt. Governor Clinton exercised
the duties of chief magistrate for six consecutive terms, or eighteen
years, and, in 1795, he was succeeded by John Jay. Both in his civil
and military capacity he exhibited great energy and rendered the most
essential service during the whole war. During the latter part of the
year 1776, he occupied the passes and forts in the Highlands, in order to
prevent the British from ascending the river. In 1777 the British were
in possession of the city ot New York, and it was important to them to
secure the posts in the Highlands. With over three thousand men they
advanced upon the posts. Governor Clinton hastened to the defence of
the posts, where his brother, General James Clinton, had been left in com
mand with but about six hundred militia. These were Forts Clinton and
Montgomery, on the west side of the river, opposite the lower Anthony s
Nose. The two fortifications were separated from each other by a nar
row stream, emptying into the Hudson. This unequal conquest ended
after dark in the capture of the forts, but the Governor and many
officers escaped. In 1778 the site of Fort Putnam, at West Point, was
selected for a more effectual defence of the river, and he did more
than any man not in service with the army, in preventing a communica
tion between the British in Canada and the city of New York. In
1788 he presided over the convention held at Poughkeepsie to consider
the Federal Constitution, the adoption of which he opposed, not deem
ing it sufficiently decided in favor of the sovereignty of each State.
When in 1792 Washington was elected to the Presidency for the second
time, Clinton received fifty electoral votes for Yice-President.
After retiring from office, in 1795, he remained in private life about
five years when he was again elected Governor of New York, and in
1804: was elected Yice-President of the United States, receiving the
same number of votes as Jefferson received for the Presidency. He
was one of the prominent candidates for nomination to the Presidency
in 1808, and received six electoral votes in opposition to Mr. Madison,
but lie was continued in the chair of Yice-President, with Mr. Madison
as President. He was acting in discharge of the duties of his office at
the time of his death. That event occurred at Washington City, April
20, 1812, when in the seventy-third year of his age.
In personal appearance prepossessing, dignified, and of moderate
stature, but heavily moulded. No one name is more conspicuous than
his in the early annals of New York. His patriotism was never ques
tioned, and from first to last Washington esteemed and trusted him.
V,
^*>
SAMUEL FRANCIS DU PONT.
SAMUEL FKANCIS Du PONT, Rear- Admiral in the United States Navy,
was born at Bergen Point, New Jersey, September 27, 1803. His
grandfather, Pierre Samuel Du Pont de Nemours, well known in French
history as a political economist, and a representative in the Chamber
of Notables and the States-General, emigrated to America in 1799.
Samuel F. Du Pont was, in 1815, when but twelve years of age,
commissioned by President Madison a midshipman in the United
States Navy ; and it is an interesting fact that Mr. Jefferson, alluding
to the appointment in a letter to his grandfather, expressed the hope
that he might live to be an admiral. Ho sailed on his first cruise in
1817, on board the Franklin, seventy-four, under Commodore Stewart.
In 1821 he was located at the Philadelphia navy yard, and in the fol
lowing year he was ordered to the frigate Constitution. In 1823 he
was a midshipman on board the frigate Congress. He was promoted
to be a lieutenant, April 28, 1826. In 1836 he was attached to the
West India squadron, and in 1839 to the Mediterranean squadron.
lie received his commission as commander, October 28, 18-12, and in
1843 was ordered to the East India squadron. In 1845 he was ordered
to the command of the frigate Congress, forty -four, at that time the
flagship of Commodore JR.. F. Stockton, and was on the California coast
at the commencement of the war with Mexico. He was soon after put
in command of the sloop-of-war Cyane, in which he captured San Diego,
cleared the Gulf of California of Mexican vessels, took La Paz, the
capital of Lower California, assisted in the capture of Mazatlan in
November, 1847, and defended Lower California against the Indians
and Mexicans. In February, 1848, he landed at San Jose with a force
of sailors and marines, marched three miles under fire, and defeated a
large body of Mexicans, relieving Lieutenant Hay wood s little garrison,
closely besieged and about to surrender. In 1855 he was promoted to
a captaincy, and in 1856 ordered to the command of the steam-frigate
Minnesota, which conveyed Mr. Reed, the American minister, to China,
SAMUEL FRANCIS DU PONT.
He returned to the United States in 1859, having extended his crniso
to Japan, India, and Arabia, and on January 1, 1861, was appointed
to the command of the Philadelphia navy yard, where he rendered im
portant services at the breaking out of the Civil War. Having recom
mended the occupation of Port Royal as a central harbor or depot on
the Southern coast, he was given the command of the South Atlantic
blockading squadron, .and intrusted with the attack on that place.
Sailing from Fortress Monroe, October 29, 1861, in the "VVabash, with
a fleet of fifty vessels and transports, conveying General Sherman s
troops, he arrived off Port Royal, November 4th and 5th, after a violent
storm. On November 7th he attacked and captured, after a severe battle
of four hours, the forts at Hilton Head and Bay Point defending Port
Royal Harbor, South Carolina. His squadron, led by the flagship
Wabash, steamed thrice in an elliptic course between the forts, firing
at each in turn ; this skilful disposition saved his wooden ships from
material injury. He followed up this advantage vigorously, and suc
ceeded in making the blockade more effective than before. In July,
1862, Congress passed the " Act to establish and equalize the grades of
Line Officers of the United States Navy," and on the following day
Captains Farragut, Goldsborough, Da Pont, and Foote were appointed
rear-admirals on the active list. In April, 1863, Admiral Du Pont
commanded the fleet and made a very gallant though unsuccessful at
tack with ironclads upon Fort Sumter. He was relieved from his com
mand of the South American blockading squadrons in the following
July, and subsequently held no active command. He died in Philadel
phia, June 23, 1865.
During the intervals of more than twenty-five years of sea service,
Admiral Du Pont was constantly employed on important professional
duties. lie was consulted by Mr. Bancroft, when secretary of the navy,
and aided in the organization of the naval school at Annapolis. He
served on boards convened for the purpose of making codes of rules and
regulations for the government of the service, and was for three years a
prominent member of the lighthouse board, taking an active part in
the creation of the present system for lighting the coast. More impor
tant than any of these services, perhaps, were his investigations with
reference to the introduction of floating batteries for coast defence,
which were embodied in a report esteemed of so much value, that it
was republished separately, and very generally consulted by officers of
the engineer corps, and was also highly commended in England by Sir
Howard Douglas in his standard work on naval gunnery.
. -.
TH1
CADWALLADER GOLDEN WASHBURN.
CADWALLADKR C. WASIIBUKN was born in the town of Livermore,
Maine, April 22, 1818. Both liis paternal and maternal grandfathers
served in the Revolution, the latter as an officer from the battle of
Lexington to the close of the war. Ili8 elder brother, Israel Wash-
burn, Jr., born June 6, 1813, received a classical education, studied
law, and in October, 1834, was admitted to the bar. lie was a mem
ber of the Legislature in 1842, and was elected to the Federal House
of Representatives from Maine, for the thirty-second, thirty-third,
thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth, and thirty-sixth Congresses. In I860 he was
elected Governor of Maine, and in 1863 was appointed by President
Lincoln, collector of Portland. Another brother, Elihu Benjamin
Washburne (who wrote his name with an <?), born September 23, 1816,
served an apprenticeship in the printing-office of the " Kennebec Jour
nal." After this he studied law at Harvard University, and, in 1840,
removing to the West, practised at Galena, 111. He was elected as a
whig to the thirty-third Congress, and was eight times re-elected. In
the thirty-eighth Congress he became the " father of the House," having
served a longer continuous period than any other member. He was
Chairman of the Committee on Commerce, and, after the death of
Thaddeus Stevens, he also became Chairman of Committee on Appro
priations, where he received the appellation of "Watch Dog of the
Treasury." He had also the merit of having procured General Grant
his appointment of Brigadier-General, and remained his firmest friend
and supporter during all the vicissitudes of his military career. In
turn, upon General Grant s accession to the Presidency, Mr. Wash-
Imrne was appointed Secretary of State. He, however, held this po
sition but a few days when he was appointed United States Minister
ro France. His heroic conduct as the Representative of the United
States at Paris during the siege and the bloody commune, in the years
1870-71, cannot be too highly commended. He also became quite as
much the German as the American Minister, assuming the responsi
bilities and arduous duties, at the request of the German Government,
and by the assent of President Grant.
CADWALLADER OOLDEN TVASHBURH".
Cadwallader C. Washburn, the subject of our sketch, was originally
a land-surveyor. In 1839 he went to Wisconsin, and settled at Mineral
Point in 1842, where he practised law ten years. He was elected from
that State a Representative to the thirty- fourth, thirty-fifth, and thirty-
sixth Congresses. In the last-named Congress he was Chairman of the
Committee on Private Land Claims, and a member of the Special Com
mittee of thirty-three on the State of the Union. In February, 1861,
this committee made a report recommending a Constitutional Amend
ment making slavery perpetual. Mr. Washburn, of Wisconsin, and
Mr. Tappan, of New Hampshire, alone dissented from the committee,
and made a minority report which set forth the origin of the secession
movement, and opposed any modification of the Constitution in the in
terests of slavery, lie was also a Delegate to the u Peace Congress "
of 1861. On the breaking out of the Civil War he raised a cavalry
regiment, of which he was commissioned as colonel. In July, 1862, he
was commissioned a Brigadier-General, and in November a Major-
General, and the whole cavalry force in Arkansas placed under his
command. In February, 1863, he conducted an expedition which
opened the Yazoo Pass. In March he took command of the cavalry
at Memphis, and early in May proceeded to take active part in the
siege of Yicksburg. In August, 1863, General Washburn, in com
mand of the Thirteenth Corps, joined General Banks for the purpose
of taking part in the Texas campaign. At the battle of Grand Coteau,
Louisiana, General Washburn, with his command, saved the Fourth Di
vision, under General Bin-bridge, from annihilation by an overwhelming
Confederate force. In November he landed on the coast of Texas with
2,800 men and compelled the evacuation of Fort Esperanza, a bomb
proof work, cased with railroad iron, surrounded by a deep moat filled
with water, manned by 1,000 men, and mounting ten guns. Tiiis
movement gave the Union forces control of Texas from Matagorda
Bay to the Rio Grande. In the spring of 1864 he was ordered by
General Grant to Annapolis to assist in reorganizing the Ninth Corps,
to which he was assigned.
Returning to civil pursuits after the war, Mr. Washburn was elected
a Representative from Wisconsin to the fortieth Congress, during which
he served on the committees on Foreign Affairs and on Expenditures
on Public Buildings. Re-elected to the forty-first Congress, he served
on the Committee on the Causes of the Reduction of American Ton
nage, and was Chairman of the Special Committee on the Postal Tel
egraph. He was elected Governor of Wisconsin in November, 1871.
ROBERT BAIRD.
ROBERT BATED, D.D., the international preacher, was born near
Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, October 6, 1798. His
ancestors were among the old, unbending, persecuted Scotch Covenant
ers, and his grandfather emigrated to America. Robert was a farmer s
boy. His early days were spent like those of all farmers boys. He
ploughed and hoed, and " did the chores," and during the winter months
attended the village school, working as faithfully at geography and
arithmetic, as in summer on furrow and sod. After a preparatory
course he entered Washington College, Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, in
1816, but spent most of the senior year at Jefferson College, where he
graduated in 1818. He spent a year at Bellefonte, as principal of an
academy. From Bellefonte he went directly to Princeton Theological
Seminary, where he pursued his studies for three years. During the
last year of his theological studies he was tutor in the college. From
1822 to 1828 he was principal of a classical academy founded by him
self at Princeton. In 1827 he took a prominent part in a movement,
which proved entirely successful, to supply every family in the State
of New Jersey that might be destitute of one, with a copy of the Holy
Scriptures. In April, 1828, he was ordained by the Presbytery of New
Brunswick, and engaged in the service of the New Jersey Missionary
Society. From 1829 to 1834 he was general agent for the American
Sunday-school Union, in which capacity he travelled repeatedly through
every State in the Union. In February, 1835, Mr. Baird sailed for
Europe, where he remained for three years, engaged in religious and
philanthropic labors. His efforts to revive the protestant faith in
Southern, and to promote the cause of temperance in Central and
Northern Europe, insured him a very cordial reception from the mon-
archs to whom he was presented in visits to Northern Europe in 1836
and 1S37, and the king and prince royal of Prussia, the king of Sweden
and Denmark, Nicholas of Russia, and the kings of Saxony, Bavaria,
and Wurtemberg. In 1838 he returned to the United States, where he
remained a little more than a year, and then returned to Paris, where
he continued his labors in connection with the newly-formed Foreign
ROBERT BAIRD.
Evangelical Society, and in behalf of the Bible, tract, temperance, and
missionary causes. His exertions in behalf of toleration in the Dutch
Netherlands, and with Louis Phillipe and Guizot, to obtain a change
in French policy in the Sandwich Islands, deserve particular mention.
In 1840 he again visited Northern Europe, and in Sweden was re
ceived with great honors by both people and king, the latter presenting
him a gold medal as a public benefactor. In 1841 and 1842, Mr., now
Dr. Baird, revisited the United States, and in the latter part of 1843
again made it his home. In 1846 he went to Europe to attend the
Swedish Temperance Convention at Stockholm, as well as to superin
tend the operations of the Foreign Evangelical Society, visiting Eng
land, Scotland, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Germany, Spain and Por
tugal, Italy, Malta, Athens, Constantinople, etc., and returning to the
United States in 1847. In 1849 he became corresponding secretary
of the American and Foreign Christian Union, in which the Foreign
Evangelical Society was merged. In 1851 he sailed again for Europe,
as delegate to the "World s Peace Congress, and the meeting of the
.British Evangelical Alliance. He also attended the meetings of the
Evangelical Alliance at Paris in 1855, at Berlin in 1857, and at Geneva
in 1861. From 1845 to 1860 he repeatedly delivered courses of lectures
on Europe, its geography, history, civil and religious condition, which
were listened to with interest by many thousands in all the principal
cities of the Union. On his last visit to Europe, in 1862, he ably vindi
cated the cause of the Union against secession before London audiences.
O
The productions of Dr. Baird s pen have been numerous, and re
markably so, considering the arduous labors and the many and long jour
neys he made. He published " View of the Valley of the Missis-ippi,"
"Life of Joseph Sanford," " History of Temperance Societies," " Trans
planted Flowers," " Visit to Northern Europe," " Religion in America,"
" Protestantism in Italy," " History of the Albigenses, Waldenses, and
Vaudois," " Impressions and Experiences in the West Indies and North
America," u Union of Church and State in New England," etc. Be
sides the works mentioned above, he was the author of a number of
pamphlets on Clay, Webster, and Calhoun, etc., and a frequent corre
spondent of many European and American journals and periodicals. He
also edited the " Christian World," the organ of the American and For
eign Christian Union, during the whole period of his connection with
that society. Perhaps no American had a wider acquaintance in
Europe, both with crowned heads and with the people of its various
countries. His death occurred at Yonkers, New York, March 15, 1863.
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