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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  funding  from 

Allen  County  Public  Library  Genealogy  Center 


http://www.archive.org/details/biographicalalbu01phil 


A 

BlOGRAPHI(!AL  ALBUM 


mmmm  Pennsylvania's: 


KOS"   MULTA,    SED    MULTUM. 


THERE  IS  NO   LIFE  OF  A   MAN,    FAITHFULLY  RECORDED,    BUT  IS  A   HEROIC 
POEM   OF  ITS  SORT,   RHYMED  OR  UNRH YMED.— Caj^/^/V. 


FIRST  SERIES. 

STATESMEN,  MILITARY  OFFICERS,  JOURNALISTS,  EDUCATORS 
AND  PROMINENT  PERSONS  RECENTLY  DECEASED. 


PHILADELPHIA  : 
THE  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHICAL  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 

(CH.VRLES   R.    DEACON,    MANAGER.  ^ 

1S88. 

^  This  bock  brirDpe  fo  ^ 
^^'   Piease     Be^u-n 


Copyrighted  by  CHARLES  RIDGWAY  DEACON,  iSSS. 


CLECTROTVPEHS, 


1321613 
PRKFACK. 


Great  the  State  and  great  her  sons, 
Greater  still  than  mightier  ones 
Who  rule  their  realms  with  purse  and  sword, 
Whose  every  act  is  stained  with  fraud. 
Stamp  their  fame  on  historj-'s  page. 
Place  their  names  amongst  the  sage 
Who've  served  the  Nation  and  the  State, 
Whose  every  act  has  made  them  great — 
Men  of  Pennsylvania. 

— Hon.  Samuel  G.  King. 

THIS  work  had  its  inception  in  newspaper  enterprise  which,  it  must 
be  admitted,  is  now  the  dominant  factor  in  American  civiUza- 
tion.  If  History,  as  Carlyle  says,  "  is  the  essence  of  innumerable 
biographies,"  the  nineteenth  century  is  making  history  very  rapidly ; 
for  biography  is  a  leading  feature  in  modern  journalism.  Probably  the 
most  notable  series  of  biographies  that  have  appeared  in  late  years 
were  those  published  in  the  weekly  issues  of  the  Philadclpliia  Press 
under  the  caption  of  "State  Celebrities,"  and  which  induced  some 
young  journalists  to  undertake  the  preparation  of  a  work  that  would, 
as  they  announced,  "put  into  enduring  form  so  much  of  the  history 
of  Pennsylvania  as  a  few  of  her  active  citizens  have  helped  to  make." 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  "Biographical  Album  of  Prominent  Penn- 
sylvanians  "  now  offered  to  the  public,  but  which  was  not  carried  very 
far  toward  completion  by  its  originators,  who,  meeting  with  unexpected 
obstacles  and  perplexities,  allowed  their  zeal  to  flag,  and  the  under- 
taking was  suspended  for  a  time  until  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  its 
present  publishers. 

In  presenting  these  volumes  of  "  Prominent  Pennsylvanians  "  we 
may  claim  that  we  are  following  in  the  footsteps  of  the  most  enlight- 
ened and  progressive  of  our  sister  States.  New  England  has  pub- 
lished the  genealogy  of  nearly  every  one  of  her  leading  families  ;  Ohio 
has  devoted  four  ponderous  volumes  to  recording  the  lives  and  doings 
of  her  prominent  men ;  while  Pennsylvania,  although  she  has  citizens 
who  have  adorned   every  department  of  life,  has  thus   far   failed  to 

(3) 


"  cherish  the  story  "  of  her  sons  who  have  rendered  important  service 
in  many  ways  to  the  State  and  mankind.  Why  should  not  honor  be 
given  during  life,  as  well  as  after  death,  to  those  to  whom  honor  is  due  ? 
No  doubt  the  predominance  of  the  Quaker  and  German  elements  in 
our  population  is,  in  part,  chargeable  with  this  neglect,  which  has  sub- 
jected us  to  the  reproach  of  being  "  without  State  pride,"  but  the 
publication  of  this  work,  we  trust,  heralds  the  promise  of  better  days 
for  Pennsylvanians,  and  affords  encouragement  to  our  young  men  to 
press  forward  in  well-doing  in  the  confidence  that  their  merits  will  be 
recognized  as  they  deserve. 

It  is  but  justice  to  those  whose  personal  histories  are  recorded  in 
these  volumes,  to  state  that  no  one  of  them  solicited  a  place  in  the  work, 
and  they  furnished  data  for  their  sketches  and  photographs  for  their 
portraits,  only  in  response  to  a  pressing  invitation  given  after  a  careful 
consideration  of  their  merit ;  and  it  is  also  just  to  other  prominent  men, 
whose  life-records  will  not  be  found  in  these  volumes,  to  admit  that 
many  of  them  are  equally  worthy  of  the  distinction ;  but  this  book  is 
in  no  sense  an  encyclopaedia,  and  the  subjects  selected  must  be  con- 
sidered as  representative  of  many  others  "  now  living  or  recently 
deceased." 

To  guard  against  the  fault  common  to  works  of  this  class,  of  being 
too  unwieldy  for  convenient  reference,  the  contents  have  been  sub- 
divided into  three  parts  or  series :  the  first,  as  will  be  seen,  embracing 
biographical  sketches  of  men  distinguished  in  political  and  military 
life,  journalists,  professors,  and  men  recently  deceased ;  the  second, 
composed  largely  of  representative  professional  men — lawyers,  physi- 
cians and  artists ;  while  the  third  is  devoted  principally  to  the  active 
men  of  the  present  day,  who  are  prominent  in  industrial  enterprises, 
commerce,  inventions  and  railroad  management. 

The  publishers  extend  their  thanks  to  all  who  have  aided  them  in 
their  arduous  enterprise,  and  desire  to  express  their  acknowledgments 
to  H<>.\.  Wm.  D.  Kelley,  George  W.  Ciiilds,  John  Y.  Huuer,  and 
particularly  to  Edwin  T.  Freedley,  whose  co-operation  has  been 
earnest  and  effective. 

C.  R.  D. 

PiIII.AIjELI'UI.V,   1888. 


4  This  bock  belmgs  to  ^- 

WBlDbrOjtv'l,     PA. 
«£^  Please    iieoum 


INDEX  TO  BIOGRAPHIES, 


PROMINENT     PENNSYLVANIANS.  — FIRST    SERIES. 


Adams,  Robert,  Jr. 
Adamson,  Thomas 
Africa,  J.  Simpson 
Agnew,  Daniel 
Allen,   Harrison 
Allen,  Robert  P. 

Baird,  Absalom 
Baker,  Alfred  G. 
Barr,  James  P. 
Bates,  Stockton 
Bingham,  Henry  H. 
Bishop,  John  S. 
Brewster,  Benjamin 
Brooke,  H.  Jones 
Brooke,  John  R. 
Bunn,  William  M. 
Bunnell,  Frank  C. 


Cameron,  Simon 
Campbell,  James  H. 
Cattell,  William  C. 
Childs,  George  W. 
Cohen,  Henry 
Cooper,  Thomas  V. 
Crawford,  Samuel  W. 
Curtin,  Andrew  G. 

Davis,  Robert  S. 
Demming,  Henry  C. 
Dick,  Samuel  B. 
Dravo,  John  F. 

Elliott,  Washington  L. 
Everhart,  James  B. 

Faunce,  John  E. 
Fetterolf,  Adam  H. 
Fitler,  Edwin  H.     . 

Gable,  William 
Garretson,  James  E. 
Gazzam,  Joseph  M. 
Grady,  John  C. 
Grubb,  Edward  Burd 
GusKY,  Jacob  M. 

Hancock,  Winfield  S. 


191 

203 
211 

lOI 

265 
167 


437 
3S3 
421 

23 
309 

97 
149 
247 
417 

43 

89 
69 
323 
357 
423 
183 

253 
61 

397 

297 

77 

1S7 

245 
27 

179 

343 
223 

199 

349 
169 

175 
261 

443 
227 


(5) 


INDEX    TO    BIOGRAPHIES. 


Hanpy,  Moses  P. 
Heyl,  Edward  M. 

HORNE,    ABRAHA>!    R. 

HowsoN,  Henry 
HoYT,  Kenry  M. 
Hughes,  Francis  W. 

Kelley,  William  D. 
King,  Samcel  G. 
Knox,  James  H.  M. 
KooNTZ,  William  H. 

Lilly,  William 

Macfarlane,  John  J. 
MacKellar,  Thomas 
March,  Francis  A. 
MacCalla,  Clifford  P. 
McClire,  Alexander  K 
Melville,  George  W. 
Mercir,  Ulysses 
Mitchell,  John  H. 
MoRwrrz,  Edward    . 
Murdoch,  Samuel  K. 

Osborne,  Edwin  H.    . 
Owen,  Joshua  T. 

Patton,  John  . 
Penrose,  Boies  . 
Porter,  Horace 
Pollock,  Otis  W.     . 

Quay,  Matthew  S. 

Randall,  Samuel  J. 
Rey'burn,  John  E. 

Sailer,  Joseph 
Sharswood,  George 
SiNGEKLY,  William  M. 
Smedley,  Samuel  L. 
Smith,  A.  Kerr 
Smith,  Charles  Emory 
Sower,  Charles  G. 
Starr,  Samuel  H.     . 
Sturgis,  Samuel  D. 

Tagcart,  John  H.     . 

Wallace,  William  A. 
Weyand,  Michael 
WisTAR,  Isaac  J. 
WoLKK,  Charles  S. 
WoLVERTON,  Simon  P. 

Young,  Samuel  B.  M. 


401 
289 
345 
445 
125 
141 

7 
217 

335 

73 

28s 

i6i 

355 
339 
405 
363 
321 
III 
57 
379 
431 

37 
281 

47 
195 
269 


>5 

165 

411 
115 

371 
439 
83 
387 
425 
293 
237 


'33 
4"5 
277 
151 
139 


Hon.  William   D.  Kelley. 


A 

BIOGRAPHICAL  ALBUM 

OF 

PROMINENT  PENNSYLVANIANS. 


WILLIAM    DARRAH   KELLEY. 

WILLIAM  Darrah  Kelley,  lawyer  and  statesman,  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
April  1 2th,  1 8 14.  His  ancestors  were  among  the  pioneers  of  American 
civilization.  Among  the  earliest  settlers  of  West  Jersey  was  a  small  colony  of 
French  Huguenots  and  Irish  Presbyterians.  Among  the  Huguenots  was  a 
family  bearing  the  name  of  Casteau  and  of  the  Irish  stock  there  were  Kelleys ; 
a  Kelley  married  a  Casteau,  and  these  were  paternal  ancestors  of  "  the  gentle- 
man from  Pennsylvania."  Judge  Kelley's  maternal  ancestors,  the  Darrahs, 
were  among  the  early  comers  into  Bucks  county,  settling  on  the  banks  of  the 
Neshaminy.  The  Philadelphia  Directory  for  18 14,  in  the  April  of  which  year 
Judge  Kelley  was  born,  records  that  his  father,  David  Kelley,  was  in  business 
as  a  watchmaker  and  jeweler,  and  lived  at  No.  227  North  Second  street.  The 
War  of  1812,  through  the  financial  crisis  which  followed  and  culminated  in 
1816-21,  ruined  many  of  Philadelphia's  best  people.  David  Kelley  might  have 
survived  the  shock  to  his  own  business,  but,  unhappily,  he  had  endorsed  for  a 
considerable  amount  the  paper  of  the  husband  of  his  wife's  sister.  The  sheriff 
came  swift  on  the  heels  of  the  principal's  default.  Not  long  after  David  Kelley 
fell  dead  on  the  street.  Hannah  Kelley  found  herself  with  four  children  to 
support,  of  whom  William  Darrah  was  the  youngest  and  the  only  son.  She  had 
courage  and  capacity,  and  everybody  admitted  that  she  was  an  excellent  house- 
keeper. With  borrowed  money  she  opened  a  boarding-house.  The  common 
school  had  not  come  yet,  and  the  four  Kelley  children  were  sent  to  the  con- 
gregational school  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  then  at  the  northwest 
corner  of  Third  and  Arch  streets,  where  the  late  Morton  McMichael  and  his 
gifted  brother  Isaac  were  also  pupils.  Here,  under  the  tuition  of  Daniel  L. 
Peck,  they  completed  their  schooling. 

(7) 


8  WILLIAM    D.    KELLEY. 

William  D.  Kelley  had  now  reached  the  age  of  eleven  years.  He  was  ambi- 
tious and  impatient.  He  felt  that  he  could  do  something  to  lighten  his  mother's 
burden,  and  he  wanted  to  be  about  it.  He  refused  longer  to  attend  school,  and 
went  in  search  of  his  first  "job."  In  those  days  a  good  shop  or  errand  boy 
commanded  a  dollar  a  week,  and  at  that  rate  the  young  fortune-seeker  found 
employment  in  a  lottery-  office  on  Fourth  street  above  Market.  Half  a  century 
ago  lotterj-  had  a  better  standing  than  now,  but  the  boy  noted  the  anguish  of 
the  more  desperate  of  the  disappointed  players,  and  he  felt  that  he  could  not 
remain  in  that  business.  He  found  harder  work  for  a  time  with  an  umbrella 
maker,  and  shortly  after  became  copy-reader  m  the  printing-office  of  the  late 
Jesper  Harding,  father  of  George  Harding,  the  eminent  patent  lawyer,  and  of 
William  W.  Harding,  proprietor  of  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer.  He  had  no 
thought  of  becoming  a  printer.  It  was  his  father's  intention  that  he  should  be  a 
good  watchmaker  and  jeweler,  and  that  was  u':e  son's  desire.  Harsh  as  the  law 
was,  it  had  left  him  his  father's  tools,  and  he  only  waited  to  be  old  enough  to 
enter  upon  his  apprenticeship.  Judge  Kelley  never  wearies  of  recounting  to 
young  people  the  benefits  he  derived  from  his  employment  in  the  printing- 
office.  It  fell  to  his  lot  to  read  aloud,  with  such  distinctness  as  would  satisfy  a 
careful  proof-reader,  several  volumes  of  historj-  and  high-class  fiction.  Here 
was  a  schooling  which  not  only  opened  to  young  Kelley  a  treasur>'  of  delight 
and  profit,  but  developed  a  clearness  of  enunciation  for  which  the  man  is  noted, 
and  which  is  not  the  least  part  of  his  power  as  a  public  speaker.  To  this  period 
of  his  life  Judge  Kelley  ascribes  his  intellectual  awakening.  It  was  then  that 
he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  copious  vocabulary  and  a  marvellously  facile  use  of 
language.  At  that  time  Jesper  Harding  was  printing  also  the  journal  of  the 
Franklin  Institute,  then  recently  established,  and  through  this  the  boy's  atten- 
tion was  directed  to  many  branches  of  mechanics.  This  led  to  the  gradual 
acquisition  of  a  special  knowledge  which  in  after  years  stood  him  in  good  stead 
in  his  tariff  inquiries  and  discussions. 

Before  his  thirteenth  birthday  William  apprenticed  himself,  with  his  mother's 
consent,  to  Rickards  &  Dubosq,  jewelers.  The  apprenticeship  was  to  expire 
April  1 2th,  1834,  his  twentieth  birthday.  Besides  sticking  close  to  his  bench  in 
the  working-hours,  and  in  the  evening  indulging  his  keen  appetite  for  books,  he 
.sought  active  recreation  in  Colonel  James  Page's  State  Fencibles.  At  the  age 
of  seventeen  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  Niagara  Hose  Company,  though 
the  Constitution  of  the  company  forbade  the  admission  of  any  person  under 
twenty  j'ears  of  age. 

The  Youth's  Library  Company  was  an  association  of  apprentice  boys  in 
which  the  lad  seems  to  have  been  a  leading  spirit.  When  he  was  but  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  was  selected  as  one  of  three  members  to  deliver  public  addresses 
in  the  hall  of  the  Franklin  Institute  as  a  means  of  bringing  the  Library  Com- 
pany into  notice.  The  venerable  manuscript  of  this  juvenile  discourse  holds  a 
high  place  in  the  Judge's  recollections  of  his  youth. 


WILLIAM    n.    KELLEY.  9 

April  of  1834  came  at  last.  The  apprentice  was  free  and  a  journeyman 
jeweler.  The  bitter  war  between  Pre.sident  Jackson  and  the  United  States 
Bank  disturbed  the  country,  so  that  business  was  suffering  universal  and  ex- 
treme depression,  and  there  was  no  work  for  jewelers. 

In  I  S3  5  there  came  such  a  revival  of  trade  as  enabled  him  to  get  employment 
in  Boston,  where  a  former  shopmate  had  found  work  and  opened  a  way  for  him. 
His  stay  in  Boston  had  a  marked  effect  upon  the  broader  career  which  ability, 
industry  and  perseverance  were  to  open  to  him.  It  was  his  good  fortune  to 
come  into  contact  with  men  of  high  attainments,  whose  influence  and  example 
fired  his  ambition  and  directed  it  into  profitable  preparatory  channels.  The 
Faneuil  Hall  meeting,  which  he  attended  and  captured,  offered  a  favorable 
opportunity  for  a  dramatic  and  taking  debut.  Nathaniel  Green,  Postmaster  of 
Boston,  who  had  heard  the  speech,  offered  the  young  orator  a  night  clerkship, 
with  small  duties,  in  the  post-office.  George  Bancroft,  then  Collector  of  the 
Port,  invited  him  to  the  use  of  his  fine  librar}'  and  tendered  him  a  position  under 
the  government,  which  would  enable  him  to  prepare  for  college,  and  advised 
him  to  seek  a  scholarship  in  Harvard.  In  each  instance  his  response  was  sub- 
stantially that  he  did  not  wish  to  give  up  his  independence  and  individuality 
and  become  a  waiter  on  the  tide  of  affairs. 

A  better  suggestion  came  from  the  late  Colonel  James  Page,  long  known  as 
one  of  the  most  active  of  Philadelphians.  "  Why  don't  you  study  law  ?  "  "  Why 
don't  I  go  to  Congress,  sir?"  replied  Kelley,  the  one  thing  seeming  to  him  as 
practicable  as  the  other.  "  Perhaps  you  may  some  day,  but  first  come  and  read 
law  with  me."  March  9th,  1839,  Colonel  Page  registered  William  D.  Kelley, 
who  had  now  returned  to  Philadelphia,  as  a  student  at  law  in  his  office,  and 
April  17th,  1841,  on  Colonel  Page's  motion,  the  jeweler  became  a  full-fledged 
limb  of  the  law.  The  young  lawyer's  force  as  a  public  speaker  attracted  atten- 
tion and  brought  him  business,  if  not  enough  at  once  to  turn  his  head,  at  least 
sufficient  to  keep  him  fairly  employed  and  supply  his  wants.  In  1845  he  was 
made  Prosecutor  of  the  Pleas  for  Philadelphia,  to  which  place  he  was  twice 
appointed.  The  acceptance  of  this  office  devolved  upon  the  young  lawyer  the 
prosecution  of  all  persons  arraigned  for  participation  in  the  bloody  riots  of  1844, 
and  afforded  rare  opportunities  for  Kelley  to  display  his  independence  of  char- 
acter and  forensic  ability. 

He  continued  to  perform  the  duties  of  prosecutor  until  he  was  nominated  by 
Governor  Shunk  to  a  seat  on  the  bench  of  the  Common  Pleas,  Oyer  and 
Terminer  and  Quarter  Sessions.  Judge  Kelley 's  commission  bore  date  March 
13th,  1847,  eight  years,  less  one  day,  from  the  date  of  his  registration  as  a  law- 
student,  and  about  a  month  before  he  had  reached  his  thirty-third  year.  By 
constitutional  amendment,  ratified  in  1850,  the  judicial  office  was  made  elective. 
The  change  was  to  take  effect  in  March,  185  i,  when  but  half  of  Judge  Kelley's 
term  would  have  expired.  Meanwhile  there  occurred  an  election  for  District- 
Attorney.     The  late  Horn  R.  Kneass  was  the  Democratic  candidate,  and  the 


lO  WILLIAM    D.    KELLEY. 

late  William  B.  Reed  stood  for  the  Whigs.  The  return  was  granted  to  Mr. 
Kneass,  but  Mr.  Reed  and  his  friends  came  to  the  front  with  a  prompt  and 
vigorous  attack  on  its  validitj',  making  distinct  allegations  of  fraud. 

After  the  most  protracted  investigation  of  an  election  case  that  had  ever 
occurred  in  Philadelphia,  Judge  King,  supported  by  Parsons  and  Kelley,  deliv- 
ered an  exhaustive  opinion,  which  gave  the  office  to  the  Whig  contestant.  Judge 
Kelley  was  known  to  be  largely  responsible  for  this  opinion,  and  the  vitupera- 
tion now  heaped  upon  him  served  the  better  to  emphasize  the  public  service  he 
had  rendered.  The  Evening  Bulletin,  then  under  the  charge  of  the  late  Alex- 
ander Cummings,  proposed  a  people's  ticket,  naming  for  President  Judge  Oswald 
Thompson,  and  for  Associates  William  D.  Kelley  and  Joseph  Allison.  Neither 
the  Whigs  nor  the  American  party  made  nominations,  and  the  People's  Judicial 
ticket  was  elected.  Judge  Kelley  leading  in  the  vote.  He  was  now  recommis- 
sioned  for  ten  years. 

Though  a  Democrat,  Judge  Kelley  had  always  been  hostile  to  slavery.  In 
deference  to  judicial  propriety,  he  avoided  open  political  demonstrations,  but  in 
social  intercourse  and  correspondence  he  devoted  much  time  to  the  discussion 
of  this  grave  question,  and,  when  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  repealed,  made 
open  declaration  of  his  purpose  to  unite  with  whomsoever  might  stand  ready  to 
resist  the  extension  of  slavery  beyond  the  Missouri  Compromise  line.  He  was 
thus  committed  m  advance  to  the  Republican  party,  and  while  he  did  not  appear 
at  the  Convention  of  1854,  which  was  held  in  this  city,  he  consorted  freely  with 
such  of  the  leaders  from  the  interior  of  this  and  other  States  as  were  known  per- 
sonally to  him. 

In  August  of  1856  Samuel  V.  Merrick,  General  Hector  Tyndale,  Judge 
Kelley,  and  other  gentlemen  interested  in  the  long  dormant  Sunbury  and  Erie 
railroad  enterprise,  set  out  to  locate  a  route.  There  were  not  even  stage  lines 
through  the  wild  region,  and  it  was  necessary  to  hire  wagons  at  Lock  Haven. 
When  the  party  reached  Williamsport  on  the  way  back,  they  found  the  first 
Philadelphia  newspapers  that  had  been  seen  for  several  days,  and  from  these 
Judge  Kelley  learned  that  the  Republican  Convention  of  the  Fourth  Congres- 
sional District  had  placed  him  in  nomination.  He  had  not  been  consulted  by 
anybody  about  making  such  use  of  his  name.  In  determining  to  accept  the 
nomination,  he  also  determined  to  throw  himself  actively  into  the  campaign 
against  slavery  and  then  to  leave  the  bench.  He  could  not  hope  for  an  election, 
nor  was  he  willing  to  remain  on  the  bench  after  having  borne  an  active  part  in  a 
campaign  as  heated  as  that  was  likely  to  be.  This  was  the  year  of  the  Fremont 
campaign,  not  a  very  good  one  for  the  young  Republican  party,  except  as  it 
scored  a  good  beginning.  Of  course  Judge  Kelley  was  defeated  in  the  race  for 
Congress,  and  of  course  he  resigned  his  seat  on  the  bench,  having  held  it  for  ten 
years,  and  made  an  honorable  record  as  a  learned,  fearless  and  impartial  Judge. 

Judge  Kelley  was  now  thoroughly  identified  with  the  Republican  party.  He 
was  a  delegate  in  the  Chicago  Convention  of  i860,  and  when  Lincoln  was  chosen 


WILLIAM    D.    KELI.EV.  II 

to  be  President  Kcllcy  was  elected  to  represent  the  Fourth  District  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  the  famous  Thirty-seventh  Congress.  Judge  Kelley  has  held  this  seat 
without  intermission  for  twenty-two  years,  and  is  now  serving  his  twelfth  term. 
A  few  months  before  the  time  comes  around  again  to  nominate  him  an  opposi- 
tion of  more  noise  than  strength  is  developed,  but  the  Convention  invariably  an- 
ticipates the  action  of  the  people  by  declaring  in  favor  of  "  the  father  of  the 
House."  Judge  Kelley  will  represent  the  Fourth  District  of  Pennsylvania  as 
long  as  he  shall  consent  to  serve.  It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  details  of 
Judge  Kelley's  career  in  Congress.  They  are  knit  in  with  the  history  of  the 
Republican  party,  and  are  better  known  than  the  story  of  his  early  struggle  and 
the  record  of  his  early  achievements,  which  it  is  thought  well  to  give,  not  only  as 
a  key  to  a  public  character,  but  as  a  stimulus  and  an  encouragement  to  American 
lads  of  small  opportunities  and  honorable  ambition.  It  is  enough  to  say  of  Judge 
Kelley's  record  in  the  House  that  he  at  once  took  rank  beside  the  most  earnest 
and  able  of  the  defenders  of  the  Union ;  that  he  favored  the  most  vigorous  con- 
duct of  the  war,  and  interested  himself  personally  for  the  comfort  of  the  soldiers; 
that  he  was  in  favor  of  emancipation  and  manhood  suffrage,  and  so  early  as  1862 
advocated  the  arming  of  the  negro ;  that  he  took  an  advanced  Republican  posi- 
tion on  the  question  of  reconstruction ;  that  he  advocated  the  Morrill  tariff  of 
1 86 1,  and  has  since  stood  valiantly  by  the  protective  principle,  and  has  defended 
the  greenback  as  a  good  and  lawful  money,  no  less  serviceable  in  peace  than  in 
war.  Judge  Kelley  is  always  busy,  though  not  always  in  the  best  of  health,  and 
understands  better  than  most  men  how  to  economize  time.  He  conducts  an 
immense  correspondence,  to  which  he  is  able  to  attend  promptly  with  the  aid  of 
an  accomplished  short-hand  secretary,  whom  he  keeps  busy  writing  at  his  dicta- 
tion. The  secretary  writes  a  comely  hand,  but  the  Judge  cannot  boast  much  of 
his.  One  of  his  constituents,  who  had  received  a  letter  penned  by  the  secretary 
and  signed  by  the  Judge,  said:  "Judge  Kelley  writes  first-rate  until  he  has  said 
'  Yours  truly,'  and  then  he  writes  his  name  as  though  he  was  tired."  The 
"  William  D."  is  open  to  recognition,  but  the  "  Kelley  "  might  be  anything. 

While  Mr.  Fernando  Wood's  Ways  and  Means  Committee  was  in  the  agony 
of  bringing  forth  that  grotesque  monstrosity  known  as  the  Wood  Tariff  Bill,  and 
while  it  was  being  knocked  about  in  the  House,  to  the  Judge's  private  rooms  in 
Washington  came  everybody  who  visited  Washington  on  business  in  any  way 
connected  with  the  protective  side  of  the  tariff  question.  Forty  gentlemen,  rep- 
resenting more  than  half  as  many  interests,  gathered  there  at  one  time,  and  a 
bushel  of  letters  and  telegrams  was  waiting  to  be  looked  into,  the  Judge  giving 
audience  and  going  over  his  mail  as  he  lay  upon  his  back  suffering  from  a  serious 
fall.  A  gentleman  who  came  to  instruct  the  tariff  champion  on  the  drug  list  had 
his  audience,  and  was  passing  out  when  he  met  a  tin-plate  man,  to  whom  he  said, 
"  I  came  to  tell  Judge  Kelley  about  our  business  and  how  the  Wood  bill  will 
affect  it,  but  he  knows  more  about  it  than  I  do."  "  Is  that  so?  Well,  I've  just 
found  that  I  can't  tell  him  anything  about  tin-plate,  and  he  has  given  me  some 


12  WILLIAM    D.    KELLEY. 

good  suggestions  which  had  never  occurred  to  me."  It  is  one  of  the  secrets  of 
Judge  Kelley's  strength  on  the  tariff  question  that  he  has  explored  it  to  the  bot- 
tom and  through  all  its  ramifications,  so  that  he  knows  it  in  practical  as  well  as 
tlieoretical  detail.  •  He  never  forgets.  What  he  once  learns  he  knows  always, 
and  he  has  his  knowledge  so  methodically  stored  away  in  his  mind  that  he  has 
only  to  want  it  for  use  and  instantly  it  is  upon  the  tongue.  This  readiness  he 
never  exhibited  to  better  advantage  than  in  his  speech  against  the  Wood  bill, 
which  old  stagers  declared  to  be  the  greatest  speech  on  the  tariff  question  ever 
delivered  in  the  American  Congress.  The  notes  of  that  speech  had  been  care- 
fully but  hurriedly  prepared,  and  the  preparation  was  more  for  the  purpose  of 
arrangement  than  to  evolve  and  fortify  an  argument.  Judge  Kelley  is  always 
prepared  to  answer  a  question  or  make  a  three-hour  speech,  always  master  of  his 
ample  resources,  never  disconcerted,  ever  entertaining,  instructive  and  forceful. 
When  he  rises  to  speak  the  House  listens,  and  his  splendid  voice  reaches  the 
remotest  corner  of  the  hall.  On  a  certain  occasion,  when  the  Judge  was  on  the 
floor  and  rolling  out  his  tones  to  the  best  advantage,  one  of  those  fellow-citizens 
who  post  themselves  in  the  gallery  because  it  is  a  nice,  warm  place  for  a  com- 
fortable nap  on  a  cold  day,  suddenly  awaking  from  his  slumber,  shouted  in  a 
voice  almost  as  strong  as  the  Judge's :  "  Oh,  h — 11 !  a  fellow  can't  sleep  when 
Kelley's  talkin' !  "  In  a  volume  of  his  speeches,  letters  and  addresses,  published 
by  Henrj'  Carey  Baird  in  1872,  and  which  he  dedicated  to  his  life-long  friend  and 
revered  teacher,  the  late  Henry  C.  Carey,  Judge  Kelley  tells  the  story  of  his  con- 
version from  the  doctrine  of  free -trade  to  the  principle  of  protection  to  Ameri- 
can industries.  He  had  been  charmed  by  the  taking  phrases  and  abstract  theories 
of  the  free-traders ;  he  had  looked  with  confidence  on  the  Walker  revenue  tariff 
of  1846;  but  the  commercial  panic  and  industrial  ruin  that  followed  started 
a  new  line  of  thought,  and  that  led  to  close  investigation,  and  that  to  conversion. 
The  stor>^  is  told  at  length  in  the  book,  and  is  worth  reading  as  a  tariff  primer, 
which  completely  puts  the  case  in  language  that  everybody  can  understand. 
Notwithstanding  the  public  demands  upon  him  Judge  Kelley  has  twice  visited 
Europe  and  found  time  to  make  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  his  own  country. 
In  1867  he  made  an  extended  tour  of  the  South,  delivering  speeches  in  the  chief 
cities  and  towns.  At  Mobile,  while  he  was  addressing  a  large  audience,  a  mur- 
derous assault  was  made  upon  him ;  shot-guns,  muskets  and  pistols  were  used 
freely,  the  meeting  was  broken  up,  and  several  persons  were  killed  and  wounded. 
Judge  Kelley  defied  the  rioters,  but  his  friends  took  possession  of  him  and  hur- 
ried him  off  to  his  hotel.  During  the  excitement  of  reconstruction  times,  one 
Judge  Field,  a  Louisiana  fire-eater,  attacked  Judge  Kelley  with  a  knife  in  Wil- 
lard's  Hotel  and  severely  wounded  him  in  the  hand,  which  he  threw  up  to  pro- 
tect his  body.  The  Judge  has  often  been  threatened  for  opinion's  sake,  but  that 
kind  of  argument  has  not  modified  his  opinions.  It  is  Judge  Kelley's  boast  that 
he  has  never  held  an  office  which  he  has  not  resigned.  Though  .still  in  Congress, 
he  has  more  than  once  declined  to  be  a  candidate  for  re-election,  finally  yielding 


WILLIAM    D.    KELLEY.  1 3 

his  personal  desire  to  the  wish  of  his  constituents.  In  1870  he  wanted  to  retire 
from  Congress,  and  consented  to  a  re-election  with  the  proviso  that  he  was  not 
to  be  expected  to  act  as  an  office-broker  for  place-hunters — a  very  practical  kind 
of  a  civil-service  reform  platform.  For  a  man  of  his  experience  in  public  life  he 
is  one  of  the  least  skilful  of  politicians ;  indeed,  he  lacks  about  everything  which 
makes  the  politician.  He  is  plain-spoken  to  bluntness,  sometimes  brusque  in 
manner,  never  hesitating  to  express  an  opinion  without  stopping  to  consider  how 
it  may  be  received.  He  often  advises  an  office-seeking  constituent  to  devote  his 
time  and  ability  to  a  more  certain  employment,  and  if  the  applicant  be  a  young 
man  he  will  have  a  useful  trade  suggested  to  him.  Judge  Kelley  is  too  positive 
and  self-willed  to  employ  the  arts  which  give  a  politician  his  grip.  He  will  make 
rattling  speeches  on  the  stump,  but  he  doesn't  take  kindly  to  "  mixing,"  which 
requires  the  paying  of  pretty  personal  compliments  without  stint. 

When  the  Judge  is  not  engaged  at  Washington  he  delights  to  spend  his  time 
in  his  beautiful  home  in  West  Philadelphia.  There  is  nothing  pretentious  about 
his  house,  but  its  halls  are  broad  and  its  ceilings  high,  and  ample  grounds  sur- 
round it.  There  is  scarcely  a  tree  on  the  lawn  but  has  some  pleasant  memory 
associated  with  it.  This  one  was  brought  by  a  friend  from  a  far  country  and  that 
one  the  Judge  planted  with  some  good  friend's  aid.  Each  tree  has  an  individu- 
ality, and  to  them,  as  he  walks  through  his  grounds,  the  Judge  delivers  the  rough 
outline  of  some  of  his  best  speeches.  The  well-stored  library  is  his  delight. 
His  books  show  the  bent  of  his  mind.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  high-class  gen- 
eral literature,  but  histor\',  finance  and  economic  science  take  up  most  of  the 
shelves.  Henry  C.  Carey  has  an  honored  place ;  and  the  free-trade  writers  are 
there,  too,  waiting  to  be  slaughtered  once  more  in  the  next  speech.  The  large 
desk  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  is  a  good  deal  littered  up  with  letters,  pamphlets 
and  books — some  of  them  sprawled  out  on  all-fours,  and  all  of  them  marked 
with  slips  of  paper  for  reference.  Between  two  windows  stands  one  of  those  tall, 
old-fashioned  clocks  with  a  high-colored,  chubby  face  looking  down  on  the  dial. 
"  D.  Kelley,  Philadelphia,"  tells  that  it  was  made  by  the  Judge's  father,  but 
doesn't  add  that  the  father  made  it  for  the  man  who  was  his  landlord  when  the 
son  was  born,  and  that  in  recent  years  the  Judge  bought  the  stately  time-piece 
of  melodious  tick  from  the  landlord's  widow.  The  Judge  points  with  a  tender 
pride  to  that  old  clock.  To  this  workshop  a  friend,  or  one  who  has  business,  is 
always  welcome ;  but  it  is  not  a  good  place  for  bores. 


Hon    Samuel  J.  Randall. 


SAMUEL  JACKSON    RANDALL. 

SAMUEL  J.  Randall  is  a  son  of  Josiah  Randall,  a  man  well  known  in  his  day 
and  generation,  and  whose  memory  is  still  fragrant  in  Philadelphia,  where 
he  lived  and  died.  Josiah  Randall  was  for  years  an  influential  factor  in  Penn- 
sylvania politics,  first  as  a  Democrat,  then — and  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life — 
as  a  Henry  Clay  Whig ;  and  finally,  when  the  Whigs  gravitated  towards  Aboli- 
tion, he  errtbraced  the  Democratic  faith.  He  never  held  any  prominent  office, 
but  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  was  an  able  pohtical  contributor  to  the 
press.  The  death  of  tliis  gentleman  of  the  old  school  occurred  years  ago,  but 
his  wife  lingered  until  1880,  and  died  in  May  of  that  year.  Her  son,  Samuel, 
then  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  was  with  her  at  the  last,  and,  with 
his  brothers  Henry  and  Robert,  followed  iier  remains  to  the  grave.  Each  of 
these  worthy  parents  had  a  strong  influence  in  moulding  the  character  of  the  son 
who  now  bears  the  family  name  so  prominently  and  so  worthily,  and  lawyer 
Josiah  Randall's  keen  political  instincts,  clear  perceptions,  and  comprehensive 
grasp  of  public  affairs  are  reproduced  in  the  present  Democratic  leader  in  the 
House  of  Representatives. 

Samuel  J.  Randall  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  October  loth,  1828.  His  educa- 
tion was  academic,  and  it  was  his  father's  intention  to  make  him  a  merchant. 
His  school-days  were  passed  at  the  University  Academy,  on  Fourth  street  below 
Arch,  of  which  Mr.  Crawford  was  the  principal.  It  is  said  by  his  old  school- 
fellows that  he  was  a  bright,  pluckj^  and  ambitious  pupil.  From  the  academy  he 
passed  at  once  to  the  counting-room  of  Mather,  Walton  &  Hallowell,  dry  goods 
merchants,  on  Market  street,  and  there  he  remained  several  years.  He  was 
afterwards,  at  twenty-one  years  of  age,  in  the  iron  business,  being  a  partner 
in  the  firm  of  Earp  &  Randall.  They  had  a  fine  warehouse,  running  from 
Delaware  avenue  to  Water  street,  and  did  a  large  wholesale  trade.  Meanwhile 
he  drank  in  political  information  from  his  father's  lips,  and  in  the  old  gentle- 
man's society  acquired  considerable  knowledge  of  political  methods.  He  found 
himself  at  the  foot  of  the  political  ladder,  and  actually  taking  a  step  on  it.  The 
first  round  in  this  case  was  a  seat  in  the  City  Council.  He  was  elected  to  that 
body  as  an  Old-Line  Whig  while  still  young,  and  served  the  old  Locust  ward  as 
a  City  Father  until  the  Consolidation,  and  then  the  Eighth  ward,  making  four 
years  in  all.  In  those  days  he  was  "  hail  fellow,  well  met "  with  ever}'body,  and 
became  a  great  favorite  with  the  voters  generally.  When  a  vacancy  in  the  State 
Senate,  caused  by  the  death  of  Senator  Penrose,  father  of  the  present  Judge  Pen- 
rose, beckoned  him  a  step  higher,  he  accepted  the  invitation  with  alacrity.  For 
this  place  he  ran  as  a  Democrat,  having  changed  his  political  relations  in  1S56, 
when  his  father  came  out  for  Pennsylvania's  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  James 
Buchanan.     In  that  year  Josiah   Randall  went  to  Cincinnati ;  liis  sons,  Samuel 

(•5) 


1 6  SAMUEL   J.    RANDALL. 

J.  and  Robert  E.,  going  with  him  to  effect  that  nomination.  They  kept  open 
house  at  the  Burnett  House  while  the  National  Democratic  Convention  was  in 
session.  It  was  as  a  Democrat,  therefore,  that  Samuel  J.  Randall  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  Senate,  and  he  has  been  a  Democrat  of  the  Democrats  ever  since. 
He  was  elected  by  a  good  majority,  defeating  Stillwell  S.  Bishop,  and  served  one 
term  in  the  Senate,  his  brother  Robert  E.,  now  a  resident  of  New  York  city, 
serving  at  the  same  time  in  the  lower  House.  Ambitious  Pennsylvanians  find 
Harrisburg  right  on  the  road  to  Washington,  but  many  never  get  any  further 
than  the  first  station.  Samuel  J.  Randall  is  one  of  the  lucky  few.  While  he  was 
in  the  Legislature  the  war  broke  out.  The  call  for  ninety  days'  men  was 
answered  by  Senator  Randall  in  pefson.  He  was  a  private  in  the  First  City 
Troop  of  Philadelphia,  Captain  James  commanding. 

As  soon  as  the  call  for  troops  was  made  by  the  National  Government,  on  the 
15th  of  April,  1861,  the  company  tendered  its  services  under  the  call.  On  the 
13th  of  May  it  was  mustered  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  for  the  term 
of  ninety  days.  The  liorses  all  belonged  to  the  troopers.  The  company  was 
attached  to  the  Second  United  States  Cavalry,  commanded  by  Colonel,  afterwards 
the  distinguished  General,  George  H.  Thomas.  It  was  while  in  the  field  that 
Randall  wrote  to  Washington,  making  the  suggestion  to  the  War  Department 
which  led  to  the  advancement  of  George  H.  Thomas  to  the  line  of  general 
officers.  That  letter  called  the  attention  of  the  department  to  the  ability  of 
General  Thomas  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  an  impression  at  head-quarters, 
although  it  came  from  a  man  in  the  ranks,  and  as  yet  unknown  to  fame.  In 
1 879,  when  the  equestrian  statue  of  General  Thomas  was  unveiled  at  Washington, 
this  fact  was  remembered,  and  Mr.  Randall,  then  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives, was  given  a  special  invitation  to  witness  and  participate  in  the 
ceremony. 

Private  Randall  came  back  from  the  war  as  Orderly  Sergeant  Randall,  and 
Sergeant  Randall  was,  in  1862,  elected  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  the 
First  District,  which  embraced  nearly  the  same  wards  that  now  compose  the 
Third  Di.strict.  From  that  day  to  this,  although  often  bitterly  battled  against,  he 
has  never  been  out  of  Congress  for  a  day,  being  successively  re-elected  to  every 
Congress  from  the  Thirty-eighth  to  and  including  the  Forty-ninth.  He  was  a 
very  quiet  member  at  first,  and  spent  a  good  \A\\\c  in  getting  settled  in  his  new 
phcre  and  accustomed  to  his  new  surroundings.  During  his  first  term  he  was  a 
member  of  only  one  committee,  that  on  Public  Buildings  and  Grounds;  in  his 
second  he  served  on  three,  all  important  committees,  viz.:  Banking  and  Currency, 
Retrenchment,  and  Expenditures  in  the  State  Department ;  and  in  his  third  he 
held  his  place  in  each  of  these  three,  and  was  also  lionored  as  a  representative  of 
his  party  on  the  Special  Committee  on  the  Assassination  of  Lincoln. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  1862,  Governor  Curtin  ordered  Major-Gencral  Patterson  to 
muster  the  military  force  under  his  command  to  protect  the  capital  of  the  country. 
On  the  following  morning  Mr.  Randall  despatched  a  note  to  the  general  com- 


SAMUEL    J.    RANDALL.  I7 

mantling  tlic  division,  tendering  the  services  of  the  troop.  Early  the  succeeding 
day,  Mr.  Randall,  in  obedience  to  orders,  reported  by  letter  to  the  commanding 
general,  and  on  the  first  intimation  of  the  advance  of  the  Southern  army  north 
of  the  Potomac  he  proceeded  to  Harrisburg  to  make  arrangements  by  which  the 
troop  could  go  into  service.  He  marched  the  troop  to  Harri.sburg,  and  on  to 
Gettysburg,  and,  as  Cornet,  commanded  until  honorably  discharged.  Wliile  at 
Columbia  he  was  appointed  Provost  Marshal,  and  under  his  orders  strict  military 
rule  was  established,  and  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors  prohibited. 

The  Democrats  were  in  a  hopeless  minority  in  those  days,  and  all  that  Mr. 
Randall  could  do  was  to  make  his  mark  as  an  efficient  committeeman.  It  was 
not  until  the  minority  grew  strong  enough  fo  have  confidence  in  itself  that  he 
made  a  profound  impression  upon  the  House  as  a  ready  debater,  an  expert  in 
parliamentary  practice,  and  a  fighter  who  fought  until  he  was  whipped,  and  then 
snapped  his  fingers  in  the  face  of  defeat.  In  the  Forty-first  Congress  he  was  a 
useful  member  of  the  Committee  of  Elections,  and  of  the  Joint  Committee  on 
Retrenchment.  His  next  advance  was  in  the  Forty-second  Congress,  when  his 
parliamentary  skill  brought  him  forward  as  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Rules,  the  other  members  being  Speaker  Blaine,  ex-Speaker  Banks,  General 
Garfield,  and  S.  S.  Co.k  ;  but  he  continued  to  serve  on  the  old  committees,  whose 
duties  he  had  thoroughly  mastered. 

Then  came  the  Forty-third  Congress,  which  gave  the  member  from  the  Third 
Pennsylvania  District  the  opportunity  of  his  life.  He  was  not  slow  to  seize  it; 
not  because  he  recognized  it  as  an  opportunity  for  personal  advancement,  but 
because  circumstances  combined  to  make  him  the  mouthpiece  and  defender  of 
his  party  and  its  principles.  The  occasion  was  the  attempted  passage  of  the  now 
famous  force  bill,  which,  according  to  Democratic  theory,  was  a  desperate  device 
of  the  Republicans  to  avert  their  fast-coming  decline,  at  the  expense  of  the  Con- 
stitutional rights  of  the  States,  and  in  reckless  contempt  of  the  spirit  of  free  insti- 
tutions. Still  in  a  minority  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  Democrats 
scarcely  dared  hope  to  defeat  this  bill;  but  Randall  took  the  lead,  made  their 
fight  aggressive  instead  of  defensive,  and  the  whole  party  seemed  to  catch  his 
spirit.  For  days  and  nights  he  opposed  parliamentary  tactics,  ready  strategy 
and  invincible  pluck,  to  a  compact  Republican  majority,  with  all  the  machinery 
of  the  House  at  its  back.  In  the  end  his  apparently  forlorn  hope  was  victorious, 
and  Randall  was  by  common  consent  the  hero  of  the  contest.  At  once  and 
thenceforward  Samuel  J.  Randall  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the  eyes  of 
the  nation,  and  when  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  next  Congress  was 
organized  by  the  Democrats,  almost  everybody  looked  to  see  him  carry  off  the 
great  prize  of  the  Speakership.  But  he  was  to  wait  a  little  longer  before  entering 
upon  his  reward.  There  was  an  honest  and  earnest  Democrat  from  Indiana  who 
had  an  older  claim — Michael  C.  Kerr  was  the  man.  The  South  and  West  com- 
bined to  give  him  the  Chair.  Mr.  Randall  made  a  good  fight,  but,  losing, 
acquiesced  cheerfully.  "  Mr.  Chairman,"  said  he  to  the  caucus,  as  soon  as  the 
3 


l8  SAMUEL    J.    RANDALL. 

vote  was  taken,  "  let  the  wish  of  the  majority  be  tlie  voice  of  all.  From  this 
moment  the  differences  among  ourselves  must  be  at  an  end,  and  we  must  thus 
present  a  united  front  to  our  adversaries.  Our  mission  on  this  floor  must  be,  as 
far  as  we  are  able,  to  restore  the  government  to  its  Constitutional  purposes,  and 
to  expose  the  corruption  of  the  administration."  This  speech  sounded  the  key- 
note of  the  Democratic  policy  on  its  restoration  to  the  control  of  the  House  of 
Representatives.  The  appointment  of  Mr.  Randall  to  the  Chairmanship  of  the 
Committee  on  Appropriations  gave  him  a  chance  to  impress  his  ideas  upon 
legislation,  in  so  far  as  a  Republican  Senate  would  allow  it.  As  a  leader  of  the 
majority  he  was  not  so  impressive  as  when  he  led  a  minority,  but  the  work  that 
he  accomplished  under  whip  and  spur  in  a  single  session  was  remarkable.  Abler 
Republicans  than  any  that  now  sit  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
challenged  him  at  every  step ;  timid  Democrats  held  on  to  his  coat-tails,  while 
the  Senate  stood  like  a  stone  wall  in  the  path  of  retrenchment.  Randall  sur- 
prised everybody  by  his  mastery  of  details  in  every  department  of  the  govern- 
ment business.  The  reforms  that  he  proposed  were  so  sweeping  as  to  cause 
alarm  ;  but  he  was  prepared  to  stand  by  every  figure  in  his  budget,  and  to  show 
that  he  was  the  right  one  in  the  right  place.  His  idea  was,  that  the  difference 
between  the  legitimate  cost  of  running  this  government  and  the  amount  that  was 
paid  therefor  under  Republican  estimates  was  538,910,984.29,  and  this  enormous 
balance  he  proposed  to  cut  off  and  charge  to  extravagance.  The  party  which 
had  been  holding  the  keys  of  the  Treasury  so  long  was  naturally  loth  to 
admit  that  its  trust  had  been  abused  to  such  an  extent.  General  Garfield, 
the  Chairman  of  the  old  Committee  on  Appropriations,  under  which  this 
extravagance  had  been  accumulating,  was  particularly  bitter  in  opposition  ;  but 
there  was  no  withstanding  Randall's  conclusive  array  of  figures.  Beaten  in 
the  House,  the  Republicans  made  a  desperate  stand  in  the  Senate,  and  when 
the  appropriation  bills  came  back  to  the  House  there  ensued  a  bitter  discussion 
as  to  the  degree  to  which  the  Senate  is  responsible  for  the  raising  of  the 
revenue  and  the  disposition  of  it.  Randall  was  charged  with  putting  the  House 
above  the  Senate.  Kasson,  of  Iowa,  attacked  him  vigorously  on  this  line,  but 
Randall  closed  the  debate  with  the  simple  remark :  "  I  take  all  the  right  for  this 
House  which  the  Constitution  gives  it,  and  will  be  satisfied  with  nothing  less." 
The  battle  was  won  by  the  popular  branch,  and,  thanks  to  Randall  above  all 
others,  the  Democrats  in  the  Presidential  and  Congressional  elections  of  1876 
were  enabled  to  show  that,  although  intrusted  with  only  one  branch  of  a  single 
department  of  the  government,  they  had  reduced  the  burden  of  taxation  to  the 
enormous  extent  of  $40,000,000,  of  which  $30,000,000  was  saved  in  a  single 
session.  This  result  was  the  tallest  feather  in  Randall's  cap  then,  and  it  is  to- 
day. 

Speaker  Kerr  died  in  tin-  summer  of  1876,  and  when  Congress  assembled  in 
the  following  December  it  was  necessary  to  elect  his  successor  to  the  Chair  for 
the  unoxjiired  Congressional  term.     There  was  now  no  doubt  as  to  the  man  for 


SAMUEL   J.    RANDALL.  IQ 

the  place.  Mr.  Randall  was  selected  by  the  Democratic  caucus  over  S.  S.  Cox, 
of  New  York,  a  Democrat  who  had  achieved  a  national  reputation  when  his 
successful  competitor  in  this  fight  was  only  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legis- 
lature. The  vote  stood :  Randall,  yi ;  Cox,  63.  When  the  election  took  place 
the  country  was  throbbing  with  excitement  over  a  disputed  Presidential  election. 
Mr.  Randall  was  chosen  by  the  friends  of  Governor  Tilden  to  go  with  other 
prominent  Democrats  to  Louisiana,  and  have  an  eye  upon  the  tricks  of  the 
Returning  Board.  While  in  New  Orleans,  he  did  much  by  his  presence  and 
counsel  to  encourage  the  Democrats  to  fight  for  their  rights  before  the  Returning 
Board.  It  was  on  his  return  that  he  was  elected  Speaker;  and  a  controlling 
influence  in  tlie  choice  was  the  general  desire  of  the  Democrats  to  have  a  clear- 
headed and  quick-witted  man,  not  to  be  bullied,  in  the  Chair  during  the  electoral 
count  and  the  proceedings  preliminary  thereto.  This  confidence  in  Randall  was 
justified.  If  the  white  feather  was  shown  by  any  Democrat  in  that  period  of 
doubt  and  dread,  Samuel  J.  Randall  was  not  the  man  who  showed  it. 

There  is  little  need  to  dwell  upon  the  last  four  years  of  Mr.  Randall's  life. 
During  that  time  his  words  and  acts  have  been  read  of  all  men,  for  he  has  not 
lived  in  a  corner  nor  kept  his  hand  on  his  mouth.  His  successive  re-elections  to 
Congress,  in  1876  and  1878,  were  followed  by  successive  re-elections  to  the 
Speakership  of  the  House  of  Representatives;  never  without  bitter  opposition, 
but  always,  it  may  be  said,  without  disparagement  of  his  rivals,  with  the  approval 
of  the  Democracy  and  of  the  country  at  large.  As  Speaker  he  made  mistakes 
of  judgment,  yet  no  decision  was  ever  overruled  by  the  House — a  remarkable 
fact ;  but  any  such  mistakes  are  insignificant  compared  with  his  great  services 
to  the  party  and  to  the  nation.  His  occupation  of  the  Chair  of  the  House 
was  a  standing  guarantee  of  an  honest  administration  of  its  duties,  without 
regard  to  personal  or  sectional  considerations,  and  in  the  broad  spirit  of 
nationality.  There  was  wincing  here  and  there,  and  he  has  been  damned  up 
hill  and  down  when  recognition  was  not  given  to  a  man  with  an  ugly  a.xe  to 
grind,  or  when  a  committee  was  not  made  up  to  please  the  friends  of  a  certain 
great  enterprise,  or  when  his  gavel,  in  sustaining  a  point  of  order,  fell  with  such 
force  as  to  mash  a  proposed  subsidy  as  flat  as  a  pancake ;  but  there  is  no  telling 
how  many  millions  he  has  saved  the  country,  or  from  how  many  pitfalls  he  has 
rescued  the  Democratic  party  by  this  stiff-neckedness.  He  knew  as  well  as  any- 
body else  that  his  anti-sectional  and  anti-subsidy  policy  could  not  be  enforced 
without  making  him  liable  to  the  charge  of  niggardliness,  and  indefinitely  in- 
creasing the  number  of  his  enemies,  but  he  was  willing  to  pay  that  price.  His- 
tory will  make  Samuel  J.  Randall  second  to  none  of  his  predecessors  in  the 
Speakership,  whether  the  standard  be  integrity,  intelligence,  decision  of  character, 
length  and  breadth  of  vision,  or  the  mastery  and  application  of  rules  of  parlia- 
mentary proceedings. 

The  life  which  we  have  sketched  has  been  passed  by  a  man  of  the  world  among 
men  of  the  world,  without  Pharisaical  pretensions,  but  it  has  been  an  honest  life 


20  SAMUEL   J.    RANDALL. 

amid  great  temptations.  There  hav^  been  times  when  Randall's  friends  trembled 
lest  he  should  stumble,  and  when  enemies  chuckled  over  his  apparently  inevi- 
table downfall,  but  he  has  come  to  his  fifty-ninth  year  without  a  stain  upon  his 
personal  integrity.  After  twenty-five  years  of  public  life,  covering  the  most  cor- 
rupt period  in  American  history,  he  finds  himself  a  poor  man,  with  nothing  to 
show  for  his  diligence  in  business  except  an  honorable  position,  and  the  plainly 
furnished  little  house  in  Washington,  where  he  lives  during  the  Congressional 
session.  When  he  comes  to  Philadelphia  he  has  a  room  at  Guy's  Hotel,  and 
his  summers  are  generally  passed  with  his  wife  and  children  in  a  rented  house 
near  Berwj-n,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  within  a  few  hours'  ride  of  the  city. 
He  did  not  figure  on  the  memorandum-book  of  Oakes  Ames,  nor  was  he  on 
the  pay-roll  of  Boss  Shepherd,  and  no  lobbyist  knows  a  sure  way  to  Randall's 
good  graces.  There  is  no  middleman  whom  he  has  enriched.  When  the  Cen- 
tral Pacific  Railway  Companj'  had  a  bill  before  the  House,  looking  to  the 
appropriation  of  Ware  Island  for  depot  purposes,  by  a  wanton  sacrifice  of  the 
government's  title  to  that  property,  a  lifelong  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Randall 
went  to  him  and  said :  "  Look  here,  Sam  ;  I  know  you  are  opposed  to  this  bill, 
and  there  is  no  use  in  asking  you  to  help  us  get  it  through,  but  its  passage  will 
be  S20,000  in  my  pocket.  Now,  all  I  ask  is  that  you  will  favor  me  by  not 
fighting  it  any  more  than  is  absolutely  necessary."  "  My  friend,"  was  the  reply, 
"  I  would  rather  lose  my  right  hand  than  have  you  lose  that  fee,  for  I  know  you 

need  the  money,  and  I  have  no  better  friend  in  the  world ;  but  by ,  I  am 

opposed  to  that  bill.  It  is  a  steal,  and  I  am  going  to  fight  it  to  the  death."  He 
was  as  good  as  his  word,  fighting  it  with  all  his  might,  and  it  was  defeated  by 
one  \'ote.  Vice-President  Wheeler,  by  the  way,  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Pacific  Railroads  at  the  time,  and  the  patron  of  the  bill.  A  dozen  similar 
stories  illustrating  this  point  could  be  told,  but  everybody  who  knows  Samuel  J. 
Randall  will  acknowledge  that  he  is  a  man  that  a  lobbyist  cannot  bring  down 
with  any  sort  of  shot.  He  has,  indeed,  been  a  warm  friend  of  some  of  the 
enterprises,  whose  suit  upon  the  floor  of  Congress  he  has  rejected  from  a  sense 
of  public  duty,  with  a  brusqueness  which  verged  upon  rudeness  and  tyranny. 
In  a  matter  of  this  kind  he  has  no  blind  side  ;  approach  which  way  one  will,  he 
is  sure  to  get  a  kick.  Hence  the  tears  of  many  a  parliamentary  broker,  and  the 
hate  of  every  legislative  rooster. 

Personall)',  Mr.  Randall  is  a  man  who  would  attract  attention  in  any  company, 
and  yet  he  is  not  a  man  of  imposing  appearance.  He  is  perhaps  a  little  above 
the  medium  height,  but  a  slight  stoop  reduces  his  stature  to  the  average.  He  is 
broad-shouldered  and  loose-limbed.  Wearing  no  beard,  and  being  always  close- 
shaven,  his  face  is  almost  as  smooth  as  a  baby's.  His  eyes  are  small,  black,  and 
piercing,  but  this  effect  is  modified  by  a  habit  of  squinting,  which  seems  to  be 
tile  result  of  trying  to  conquer  nearness  of  sight  without  the  aid  of  glasses.  But 
his  most  prominent  feature  is  the  mouth,  which,  while  inclined  to  smile  and 
reveal  a  fine  set  of  teeth,  shuts  with  a  snap  and  assumes  the  firmest  sort  of  ex- 


SAMUEL    J.    KANPALL.  21 

pression  under  the  impulse  of  antagonism.  The  sunsliine  of  boyish  frankness, 
which  usually  dwells  upon  liis  countenance,  is  obscured  in  an  instant  by  a  cloud 
as  black  as  thunder.  The  massive  lower  jaw  is  projected,  the  thin  lips  close,  a 
frown  falls  upon  the  brow,  and  the  whole  head  is  thrust  forward  in  a  defiant 
fashion.  It  is  a  complete  transformation,  and  when  Randall  is  in  this  ugly 
mood,  friend  and  foe  are  equally  liable  to  suffer  from  the  displeasure  of  the 
moment.  Very  different  does  he  look  as  he  saunters  down  Chestnut  street  or 
Pennsylvania  avenue,  or  sits  in  his  sparsely  furnished  study  with  a  fe\V  chosen 
friends,  talking  over  the  affairs  of  the  day.  Then  he  is  all  smiles,  and  nobody 
who  has  seen  him  laugh  heartily  will  ever  think  of  him  with  that  other  look. 
As  to  dress  he  is  somewhat  careless,  but  the  fact  that  he  went  to  his  sister-in- 
law's  wedding  in  a  linen  duster  is  not  to  be  used  against  him,  for  that  was  an 
accident  of  travel.  He  is  almost  always  seen  in  a  complete  suit  of  black  broad- 
cloth, the  coat  being  the  long-tailed  black  frock,  which  is  still  considered  full 
dress  in  some  parts  of  the  country.  I  have  known  him  to  be  taken  in  Washing- 
ton for  the  chaplain  of  the  House,  or  some  visiting  clergyman,  and  in  Philadel- 
phia for  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 

Mr.  Randall  is  a  model  husband  and  an  indulgent  father.  tCarly  in  life  he 
married  a  daughter  of  General  Aaron  Ward,  of  Sing  Sing,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a 
member  of  Congress  from  1S27  to  1829,  from  1831  to  1837,  and  from  1841  to 
1843,  a  gentleman  of  liberal  education  and  travel,  who  gave  his  children  the 
same  advantages.  Mrs.  Randall  has  been  in  every  sense  a  help-meet  for  her 
husband.  The  Speaker's  domestic  circle  is  completed  by  three  children,  the 
eldest  of  whom  is  a  daughter,  and  the  j'oungest  a  bright  boy,  who  bears  his 
father's  name.  Mrs.  Randall's  receptions  arc  always  well  attended,  and,  while 
marked  by  extreme  simplicity,  are  always  thoroughly  enjoyable.  For  the  last 
ten  years  Mr.  Randall  has  been  a  hard  student  at  home  as  well  as  at  the  Capitol. 
He  reads  a  great  deal  and  has  a  voluminous  correspondence,  makes  it  a  rule 
never  to  allow  a  letter  to  remain  unanswered  over  night,  and  after  due  allowance 
for  domestic  engagements  finds  little  time  to  go  about  town.  He  is  rarely  seen 
in  public  places  after  dark,  and  his  appearance  in  such  a  rendezvous  as  Willard's 
would  cause  a  sensation.  When  he  comes  to  Philadelphia  he  is  overrun  with 
callers,  and  his  visits  are  often  made  between  days  in  order  that  business  may 
not  be  sacrificed  by  an  undue  pressure  of  friendly  attentions.  In  the  summer  he 
rents  a  cottage,  and,  eschewing  public  concerns  as  far  as  possible,  rests  to  gain 
the  health  and  strength  which  he  always  brings  to  his  winter's  work. 

In  1880  Mr.  Randall's  name  first  became  prominently  considered  as  a  desira- 
ble Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States.  He  had  been 
the  four  immediately  preceding  years  close  in  the  counsel  of  Samuel  J.  Tilden, 
and  believing  that  the  sage  of  Greystone  was  unjustly  deprived  of  the  Presi- 
dency in  1877,  he  was  an  unwavering  supporter  of  his  claims  to  renomination. 
Occupying  that  attitude,  he  resolutely  declined  to  have  his  own  name  canvassed, 
and,  in  the  opinion  of  many  of  his  friends,  carried  his  loyalty  to  Mr.  Tilden  to 


22  SAMUEL    J.    KAN'DALL. 

the  verge  of  ruthless  self-sacrifice.  In  June,  1880,  he  actually  went  to  the 
National  Democratic  Convention  to  lead  the  ad\'ocates  of  "  the  Old  Ticket." 
The  Convention  met  in  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Randall's  head-quarters  were  at  the 
St.  Nicholas  Hotel.  There  he  was  waited  upon  by  scores  of  influential  dele- 
gates and  other  party  leaders,  who  begged  that  he  would  drop  Tilden  and  enter 
the  lists  himself.  These  overtures  were  firmly  and  even  impatiently  rejected ; 
but  they  were  renewed  with  fresh  force  when  Mr.  Tilden  telegraphed  a  declina- 
tion of  renomination.  Confusion  followed  this  declination,  and  it  is  probable 
that  Randall  is  the  only  man  who  could  have  held  the  Tilden  phalanx  together. 
An  attempt  was  made  to  consolidate  on  Pa}-ne,  but  it  was  a  failure.  Too  late, 
but  even  then  against  his  wishes,  the  name  of  Randall  was  thrown  into  the  Con- 
vention. Hancock  was  the  nominee,  but  Randall,  without  organization  or 
serious  effort  on  the  part  of  his  friends,  polled  over  100  votes. 

There  was  a  similar  use  of  Mr.  Randall's  name  in  the  Convention  at  Chicago, 
in  1884.  During  the  Garfield  and  Arthur  administrations  alike,  while  his  party 
was  in  a  minority  in  the  Senate  and  in  the  majority  in  the  House,  his  hold 
on  the  Democratic  party  had  been  greatly  strengthened.  More  than  ever  he 
came  to  be  recognized  as  the  natural  leader  of  the  Democracy;  yet  by  a  com- 
bination of  revenue  reformers  and  defenders  of  the  whiskey  interests  he  was 
beaten  for  the  Speakership  in  1883,  the  opposition  having  the  sagacity  to  select, 
as  their  candidate,  Carlisle,  of  Kentucky.  This  result  gave  Mr.  Randall  less 
concern  than  his  friends,  and  caused  him  no  loss  of  prestige.  On  the  contrary, 
as  Chairman  of  the  Appropriations  Committee,  he  did  more  effective  work  than 
ever  for  his  party  and  the  country,  and  the  opposing  and  triumphant  faction  in 
the  Speakership  was  obliged  to  call  him  to  the  rescue,  and  follow  his  lead  in 
every  emergency.  From  all  parts  of  the  country  went  to  Chicago  men  who 
wished  to  make  him  their  candidate  for  President.  He  went  to  Chicago,  too, 
but  intent  upon  other  things.  He  believed  the  platform  of  supreme  importance, 
and  to  its  proper  construction  bent  all  his  energies,  to  the  sacrifice  of  his  per- 
sonal ambition.  He  had  his  way  about  the  platform,  and  then,  rejecting  all 
offers  of  combinations  in  his  own  behalf,  threw  all  of  his  influence  unreservedly 
in  behalf  of  the  nomination  of  Grover  Cleveland.  Nevertheless  some  of  his 
friends  persisted  in  voting  their  first  choice,  and  on  the  first  ballot  he  received 
170  votes,  showing  a  strength  .second  only  to  Cleveland's.  Sub.sequently  nearly 
every  Randall  man  joined  the  Cleveland  column,  giving  him  the  necessary  two- 
thirds  for  the  nomination.  Nobody  rejoiced  more  than  Mr.  Randall  in  a  result 
which  he  did  so  much  to  bring  about,  and  throughout  the  campaign  he  was  one 
of  Mr.  Cleveland's  most  tru.sted  advisers,  and  his  influence  in  regard  to  appoint- 
ments to  important  offices  has  been  paramount  during  tlic  administration. 


i 


Hon.  Henry  H.  Bingham^ 


HENRY   HARRISON   BINGHAM. 

HENRY  Harrison  Bingham,  solijier  when  war  involving  tiie  life  of  his  country 
was  in  progress,  honored  citizen  crowned  by  Pennsylvanians  with  laurels 
that  decorate  those  triumphs  of  peace  which  are  "no  less  renowned  "  than  those 
of  war,  and  able  man  in  the  practical  affairs  of  life,  was  born  in  the  Ninth  ward 
of  Philadelphia  in  1841.  His  structure,  both  intellectual  and  physical,  betokens 
his  descent  from  the  hardy  Scotch-Irish  race,  which  has  contributed  so  munifi- 
cently to  tlie  preservation  of  the  traits  that  make  the  English-speaking  people 
dominant  in  the  thought  and  action  of  the  nineteenth  century.  James  Bingham, 
the  father  of  General  Henry  Harrison  Bingham,  was  born  early  in  the  present 
century,  and  was,  when  his  distinguished  son  was  born,  a  member  of  the  then 
well-known  forwarding  firm  of  Bingham  &  Dock.  General  Bingham's  paternal 
grandfather  was  Thomas  Bingham.  The  name  of  his  mother  was  Ann  Shellar 
Baum.  General  Bingham  pursued  the  usual  Philadelphian  course  of  instruction 
until  during  1858  he  was  entered  at  Jefferson  College,  at  Cannonsburg,  Penna. 
Graduating  in  August,  1862,  he  was  the  recipient  five  years  later,  when  he 
was  already  eminent  by  his  valor  on  the  battle-field,  of  the  distinction  of  being 
made  a  Master  of  Arts  b)'  his  Alma  Mater.  Hardly  twenty  years  of  age,  when 
Fort  Sumter  was  fired  upon,  he  was  with  difficulty  restrained  from  entering  the 
military  service  of  the  Union,  and  persuaded  to  remain  at  college  during  the  year 
yet  necessary  to  complete  his  academic  course.  When  the  honors  of  graduation 
were  bestowed  upon  him  he  immediately  enlisted  for  the  army,  and  aided  in  the 
organization  of  a  company  of  infantry,  composed  almost  wholly  of  college  and 
class-mates,  and  was  selected  as  one  of  the  lieutenants  of  the  company,  a  pro- 
motion which  he  gladly  accepted.  The  company  was  assigned  to  the  140th 
Regiment  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  with  young  Bingham  as  its  captain.  From 
that  time  on,  during  the  period  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  winning 
its  imperishable  fame,  he  was  a  distinguished  feature  in  Pennsylvania's 
splendid  contribution  to  that  illustrious  host  of  patriots  and  heroes.  During 
his  four  years  of  arduous  duty  Captain  Bingham  illustrated  the  best  traits 
of  soldiership,  while  he  blended  with  his  admirable  bearing  in  the  service  of 
his  country  a  rare  gentility  and  philanthropy  in  the  performance  of  duty.  Testi- 
mony to  his  service  as  a  soldier  is  amply  given  by  that  eminent  Pennsyl- 
vanian.  General  Winfield  Scott  Hancock,  who,  in  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War 
recommending  Captain  Bingham  for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  Major,  said : 

"  Captain  Bingham  is  a  man  of  talent  and  an  officer  of  rare  spirit.  His  habits 
are  good,  and  I  think  he  is  the  best  Judge-Advocate  I  have  seen  in  the  army." 
Then,  again,  in  recommending  Mr.  Bingham,  who  in  the  meantime  had  reached 
the  rank  of  Colonel,  for  promotion  to  a  Brigadier-Generalship,  General  Hancock 
said :  "  On  all  occasions  Colonel  Bingham  has  especially  distinguished  himself 

(23) 


24  HENRY    H.    BINGHAM. 

for  intrepidit}-  in  action,  especially  at  Gett)-sburg,  where  he  was  slightly  wounded; 
at  the  Wilderness,  where  he  performed  important  services  in  rallying  broken 
troops,  and  at  Spottsylvania,  where  he  was  most  severely  wounded  while  gallantly 
performing  his  duty." 

This  is  the  tribute  of  one  soldier  to  another.  Who  that  has  known  General 
Bingham  in  war  or  peace  will  not  freely  accord  equal  praise  to  the  model 
gentleman  ?  \\'ith  a  quick,  penetrating,  well-trained  mind,  of  which  the  founda- 
tion is  good  judgment  and  fine  poise.  General  Bingham  has  a  well-adjusted 
temperament  that  makes  him,  while  self-respecting,  also  consistent  of  the  feelings 
of  others.  His  public  utterances  are  always  founded  upon  an  acute  appreciation 
of  the  topics  of  the  hour,  and  are  addressed  to  the  reason  and  the  justice  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  while  all  his  actions  are  inspired  by  the  fairness,  integrity  and 
magnanimit}'  which  are  the  rule  of  his  life. 

It  was  on  the  26th  of  April,  1863,  that  Captain  Bingham  was  taken  from  his 
company  and  made  the  Judge-Advocate  of  the  First  Division  of  the  Second 
Army  Corps,  then  stationed  at  Falmouth,  Va.  So  well  did  he  perform  the  duties 
of  his  new  office  that  in  the  following  June  he  was  assigned  to  the  staff  of  Gen- 
eral Hancock  and  made  Judge-Advocate  of  the  corps.  Bingham's  commission 
of  Major  and  Judge-Advocate  was  one  of  onl\'  twent)--two  similar  commissions 
issued  by  the  War  Department  during  the  war.  That  he  fairly  earned  this  rapid 
promotion  is  well  attested  in  the  reasons  given  at  the  War  Department.  They 
read :  "  For  good  conduct  and  conspicuous  gallantry,  especially  at  the  Wilder- 
ness, May  6th,  1864,  where  he  collected  a  considerable  party  of  stragglers  and 
led  them  against  the  enemy  with  marked  bravery,  and  at  Spottsylvania,  May 
1 2th,  1864,  where  he  voluntarily  took  part  with  his  regiment  in  the  assault  and 
was  wounded.  He  was  also  wounded  at  Gettysburg."  General  Bingham's  qual- 
ities as  a  soldier  were  of  such  a  character  that  further  promotion  came  to  him 
rapidly.  In  April,  1865,  he  was  commissioned  Brevet  Brigadier-General  and 
Judge-Advocate  of  the  Middle  Military  Department,  embracing  the  States  of 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Virginia,  West  Virginia  and  Delaware.  Although  Lee 
surrendered  at  Appomattox  in  April,  1865,  it  was  not  until  July,  18G6,  that 
General  Bingham  was  honorably  mustered  out  of  the  service. 

Returning  to  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  General  Bingham  was  soon  afterward 
made  the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Post-Office  there.  He  accepted  the  place  with  the 
intention  of  holding  it  simply  as  a  means  of  support  until  he  could  study  the 
law  and  fit  himself  for  the  practice  of  the  same.  But  fate  seemed  to  decree 
otherwise.  Andrew  Johnson  was  then  President  of  the  United  States  and  was 
in  conflict  with  the  representatives  in  Congress  of  the  party  that  elected  him. 
He  appointed  person  after  person  to  be  Postmaster  at  Philadelphia,  but  the 
Senate  would  not  confirm  any  one  of  them.  F"inally  Chief  Clerk  Bingham,  upon 
the  recommendation  of  Major-General  Meade  and  Major-General  Hancock,  both 
of  whom  knew  his  fitness,  capacity  and  distingui.shed  army  record,  was  suggested 
for  the  position.      President  Johnson  accepted  the  suggestion,  sent   Bingham's 


HENRY    H.    BINGHAM.  25 

name  to  the  Senate,  and  that  bod)'  promptly  confirmed  the  nomination.  At  tlie 
expiration  of  his  term,  in  1869,  he  was  immediately  reappointed  by  President 
Grant.  As  postmaster  General  Bingham  showed  that  same  tenacity  of  purpose 
— industry,  push,  skill  and  intelligence — that  made  him  so  conspicuously  success- 
ful as  an  officer  in  the  war.  During  his  administration  he  succeeded  in  bringing 
all  of  the  outh^ing  post-offices  in  the  county  of  Philadelphia  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  Philadelphia  post-office,  thereby  making  the  postage  uniform  through- 
out the  county.  He  was  the  first  postmaster  in  the  country  to  put  his  carriers 
in  uniform.  He  organized  the  movement  for  a  new  building  for  the  post-office 
and  the  United  States  Courts,  and  when  Congress  made  the  necessary  appropria- 
tion he  was  made  a  member  and  chosen  as  secretary  of  the  commission  created 
to  select  a  site.  The  result  of  this  commission's  labors  was  the  selection  of  the 
site  at  Ninth  and  Chestnut  streets,  where  to-day  stands  the  finest  Federal  build- 
ing in  the  countr}'.  As  postmaster  General  Bingham  naturally  drifted  into  poli- 
tics and  soon  became  an  important  factor  in  his  party's  councils.  He  was  Treas- 
urer of  the  Republican  State  Central  Committee  from  1869  to  1875  He  was 
one  of  the  four  delegates-at-Iarge  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  National  Republican 
Convention  that  was  held  in  Philadelphia  in  1872,  and  which  placed  General 
Grant  in  nomination  for  a  second  term  of  the  Presidency,  and  Permanent  Secre- 
tary of  that  body.  In  the  autumn  of  1872  he  was  placed  in  nomination  by  his 
party  in  Philadelphia  for  the  position  of  Clerk  of  the  Courts  Oyer  and  Terminer  and 
Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace  of  the  County  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  elected  by 
the  people  at  the  election  in  October.  He  resigned  his  position  of  postmaster 
and  took  possession  of  his  new  office,  December  1st,  1872.  In  1875  he  was  re- 
nominated for  the  clerkship  by  his  party,  and  again  the  people  elected  him.  In 
the  following  year  he  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  two  delegates  from  the  first  Con- 
gressional district  to  the  National  Republican  Convention  held  in  Cincinnati  and 
which  placed  Rutherford  B  Hayes  in  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  Shortly 
before  the  expiration  of  his  second  term  as  Clerk  of  Quarter  Sessions  General 
Bingham  was  nominated  for  Congress  by  the  Republicans  of  the  First  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  comprising  the  First,  Second,  Seventh,  Twenty-sixth  and  Thirtieth 
wards  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  was  elected  by  the  people.  He  entered  the  Forty 
sixth  Congress  with  his  party  in  the  minority,  He  was  assigned  to  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Post-Office  and  Post-Roads.  In  1880  he  was  re-elected,  and  his  party 
in  the  Forty-seventh  Congress  being  in  the  majority,  he  was  made  the  Chairman 
of  the  Post-Office  and  Post-Roads  Committee.  This  enabled  him  to  get  the 
attention  of  the  House,  and  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  show  to  that  body  and  to 
the  country  that  he  was  well  qualified  and  well  equipped  to  be  a  member  of  the 
National  Congress.  In  presenting  to  the  House  the  measures  matured  in  his  com. 
mittee  and  in  advocating  the  same,  he  proved  himself  a  man  ready,  eloquent  and 
convincing  in  debate,  with  a  fine  presence  and  a  voice  strong,  clear  and  distinct. 

During  his  chairmanship  of  the  Post-Office  Committee  he  secured  legislation 
looking  to  the  largest  convenience  for  the  people  and  a  continued  reduction  of 


26  IIENRV    II.    BINGHAM. 

postage.  He  made  a  specialty  of  framing  laws  to  improve  and  perfect  our  postal 
system,  and  1Tb  is  looked  upon  in  the  House  as  the  authority  on  all  matters  relat- 
ing to  the  post-office  of  the  government.  He  is  the  author  of  the  law  passed  by 
the  Forty-seventh  Congress  establishing  and  creating  the  postal  note  and  reduc- 
ing the  charges  for  the  money  order  service.  He  is  the  author  of  the  legislation 
of  the  Fortj'-sixth  and  Forty-seventh  Congresses  reorganizing  the  free  delivery 
and  the  railway  mail  service.  He  framed  the  bill  which  was  passed  by  the 
Forty-eighth  Congress  readjusting  the  compensation  of  the  entire  force  of  post- 
masters upon  a  basis  of  work  actually  done,  thereby  preventing  favoritism.  He  re- 
ported to  the  House  the  bill  reducing  domestic  postage  from  three  cents  to  two 
cents,  and  made  the  leading  argument  on  the  measure. 

In  1882  he  was  elected  to  the  Forty-eighth  Congress,  and  was  assigned  to 
membership  on  the  Committee  on  the  Post-Office  and  Post-Roads  and  the  Com- 
mittee on  Civil  Service  Reform  In  this  Congress  he  introduced  and  had  re- 
ported favorably  to  the  House  a  bill  changing  the  maximum  weight  of  domestic 
letters  from  one-half  ounce  to  one  ounce  and  transporting  the  same  through  the 
mails  for  two  cents.  He  introduced,  also,  reported  favorably  and  passed  through 
the  House  a  bill  reducing  postage  on  second  class-matter,  such  as  newspapers 
and  periodicals,  from  one  cent  for  two  ounces  to  one  cent  for  four  ounces. 

General  Bingham  was  chosen  by  his  constituents  as  one  of  the  two  delegates 
from  the  First  District  to  represent  them  at  the  Republican  National  Convention, 
held  at  Chicago,  June,  1884,  and  which  placed  James  G  Blaine  in  nomina- 
tion for  the  Presidency.  In  that  convention  he  made  the  speech  seconding  the 
nomination  of  Chester  A.  Arthur  for  the  Presidency.  In  November,  1887,  he 
was  for  the  fifth  time  elected  to  Congress.  He  is  now  serving  in  the  50th 
Congress. 


1*^  / 


Hon.  James  B.  Everhart. 


JAMES  ROWEN   EVERHART. 

Two  centuries  is  a  goodly  and  long  time  for  one  to  glance  back  through  tlie 
vista  of  a  family  history ;  yet  it  is  about  that  length  of  time  since  there 
landed  in  New  York  from  Germany — most  probably  from  the  ancient  kingdom 
of  Wurtemberg — a  family  by  the  name  of  Eberhard,  which  has  since  that  date 
become  anglicized  into  Everhart.  This  name  is  closely  linked  with  the  history 
of  Wurtemberg ;  and  as  far  back  as  1370  there  was  a  famous  Eberhard,  who 
figured  prominently  in  the  history  of  Germany,  and  gave  the  Emperor  Karl  IV. 
no  little  amount  of  trouble,  which  was  continued  for  several  years  with  the 
Emperor's  son  and  successor,  Wenczelas. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  last  century  the  ancestor  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch  moved  to  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  finally  in  Vincent  township, 
Chester  county.  The  grandfather,  James  Everhart,  was  a  stripling  of  seventeen 
years  when  the  Revolution  of  the  English  colonies  occurred.  Like  a  brave  and 
patriotic  youth,  he  shouldered  his  musket  and  was  soon  in  the  field  fighting  for 
the  cause  of  liberty  and  independence.  He  served  the  infant  Republic  until 
his  musket  was  worn  out.  He  lived  to  see  his  grandchildren  and  died  a  nona- 
genarian. He  had  three  sons,  James,  John  and  William ;  the  first  two  were  in 
the  iron  business,  as  owners  of  furnaces,  and  the  latter,  the  father  of  James  Bowen 
Everhart,  learned  the  profession  of  surveyor,  which  he  carried  on  until  near  the 
time  of  his  majority,  when  he  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  in  Tredyffrin 
township.  He  afterwards  moved  to  West  Whiteland  township,  and  in  18 14 
married  Miss  Matlack,  whose  ancestors  were  from  Matlock,  England,  one  of 
whom  owned  nearly  all  of  what  is  now  the  North,  and  part  of  \\hat  is  now  the 
East,  ward  of  West  Chester  and  adjoining  lands. 

In  1S22  William  E\erhart,  being  desirous  of  increasing  his  stock  of  merchan- 
dise, sailed  from  New  York  with  $io,000  in  gold — in  those  days  bills  of 
exchange  and  drafts  were  not  as  easily  procured  as  at  the  present  day — on  the 
ill-fated  packet  ship  Albion,  for  Liverpool  ;  besides  Mr.  Everhart  there  were  the 
following  noted  passengers  on  board :  General  Lefebvre  Desnouettes,  Colonel 
A.  J.  Prevost,  Major  William  Gough,  brother  of  Lord  Gough,  Professor  Fisher, 
of  Yale  College,  and  twenty-five  others.  On  the  night  of  April  22d,  during  a 
terrific  storm,  the  ship  was  driven  upon  the  rocks  of  Old  Head  of  Kinsale,  Ire- 
land, and  completely  wrecked.  The  captain  and  all  of  the  crew  and  steerage 
but  eight,  together  with  every  cabin  passenger  excepting  Mr.  Everhart,  found  a 
watery  grave.  He  with  almost  superhuman  efforts  succeeded  in  saving  his  life, 
by  clinging  to  the  nearly  perpendicular  rock,  upon  which  he  found  just  sufficient 
space  to  rest  one  foot,  in  which  position  he  remained  until  the  dawn  of  the  next 
day,  when  he  was  rescued  by  the  people,  who  lowered  a  rope  to  him  from  the 
headland  above. 

(27) 


2S  JAMES    B.    EVERHAKT. 

Having  moved  to  West  Chester,  he  purchased  the  "  Wollerton  Farm  "  and 
other  tracts  in  1S29,  which  to-day  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  business  portion  of 
the  borough.  At  his  own  expense  he  laid  out  streets  and  presented  them  to  the 
authorities.  He  also  erected  several  substantial  stores,  residences,  offices  and 
the  Mansion  House,  one  of  the  principal  hotels  of  the  town.  He  has  been 
justly  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  enterprising  and  liberal-minded  gentlemen 
that  ever  lived  in  the  town.  In  1852  he  was  elected  on  the  Whig  ticket  to  Con- 
gress, and  just  before  his  term  expired  he  delivered,  on  May  19th,  1854,  a  very 
able  speech  on  the  Kansas-Nebraska  bill  of  Senator  Douglas,  in  which  he,  in 
almost  prophetic  language,  predicted  the  dreadful  results  that  would  follow  the 
passage  of  the  bill,  saying  "  its  authors  are  sowing  the  wind,  but  will  reap  the 
whirlwind."  He  declined  a  renomination  in  1854.  In  1867  he  retired  from 
business,  having  amassed  a  large  fortune,  with  a  credit  second  to  none  both  in 
this  countrj-  and  Europe.     In  1868  he  died. 

James  Bowen  Everhart,  who  represented  the  Sixth  Pennsylvania  District, 
composed  of  Chester  and  Delaware  counties,  in  the  XLVIII.  and  XLIX.  Con- 
gresses, was  born  in  West  Whiteland  township,  a  few  miles  from  West  Chester, 
and  is  now  in  the  prime  of  his  life,  a  genial,  highly  gifted  bachelor,  around  whom 
both  men  many  years  his  senior  and  his  junior  delight  to  gather  and  enjoy  hours 
of  social  and  instructive  conversation.  Mr.  Everhart  when  called  upon  to 
address  an  audience  never  fails  to  please.  His  comparisons  are  largely  made 
from  Scripture  characters,  scenes  and  events,  and  historical  subjects.  He  has 
two  brothers  living — Benjamin  M.  Everhart,  a  botanist,  who  is  well  known 
abroad  and  at  home ;  and  John  R.  Everhart,  M.  D.,  who  was  a  surgeon  through- 
out the  war,  and  who  has  travelled  extensively  and  published  some  interesting 
letters  of  foreign  countries. 

He  received  his  early  education  at  Bolmar's  Academy  in  West  Chester.  His 
preceptor,  Antoine  Bolmar,  was  a  French  gentleman  and  soldier,  who  had 
served  under  the  Due  d'Angouleme  in  the  Franco-Spanish  wars,  and  settled  in 
West  Chester  in  1832.  After  finishing  at  that  institute  of  learning,  he  entered 
Princeton  College.  He  graduated  in  a  class  of  sixty  in  1842,  with  high  honors. 
After  his  graduation  he  returned  to  We.st  Chester,  and  some  time  thereafter 
commenced  the  study  of  law  under  Hon.  Jo.seph  J.  Lewis,  Commissioner  of 
Internal  Revenue  under  Lincoln,  and  the  Nestor  of  the  Chester  county  bar. 
He  remained  under  Mr.  Lewis'  tutorship  for  a  year,  when  he  went  to  the  Har- 
vard Law  School,  and  passed  about  another  year.  To  further  perfect  himself  in 
legal  lore,  he  entered  the  law  office  of  the  late  Hon.  William  M.  Meredith  in 
Philadel[)hia,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Chester  county  and  the  Phila- 
delphia bar.  For  three  years  he  practised  his  profession  in  West  Chester,  and 
then  went  upon  a  foreign  tour.  He  passed  several  months  in  the  University  of 
Berlin,  and  was  absent  from  home  for  three  years.  On  his  return  he  resumed 
his  practice,  which  he  relinquished  in  i860.  During  his  service  at  the  bar  he 
was  nearly  always  found  as  the  defendant's  counsel,  excepting  in  one  instance, 


JAMES    B.    EVERHAKT.  SQ 

when  he  assisted  the  Commonwealth  officer  in  a  criminal  prosecution.  His 
field  was  a  varied  one,  covering  nearly  every  branch  of  law,  such  as  arson, 
burglary,  forgery,  riot,  manslaughter,  and  six  murder  trials.  Not  one  of  the 
defendants  in  the  latter  cases  suffered  capital  punishment.  He  conducted  the 
defence  of  two  poisoning  cases,  in  which  the  prisoners  were  only  convicted  of 
murder  in  the  second  degree — cases  perhaps  then  without  a  precedent  in  Penn- 
sylvania criminal  annals.  He  also  conducted  a  case  of  homicide  in  which  juris- 
diction was  ousted  on  his  motion,  because  the  blow  was  given  in  Chester  county 
while  death  occurred  in  Philadelphia.  It  may  here  be  remarked  that  this  last- 
named  case  was  like  that  of  our  murdered  President  Garfield,  who,  though  shot 
in  Washington,  died  in  New  Jersey.  In  one  of  the  homicide  cases  above  men- 
tioned, he  was  threatened  with  bodily  harm  by  a  friend  of  the  dead  man  if  he 
defended  the  prisoner,  and  was  also  importuned  by  others  not  to  enter  the  case, 
being  assured  that  he  would  lose  every-  friend  he  had  in  the  neighborhood 
where  the  crime  occurred.  Notwithstanding  the  threats  and  friendly  advice,  he 
defended  the  prisoner  and  saved  his  life,  thus  showing  that  he  was  not  to  be 
deterred  in  his  convictions  of  justice  and  the  right  of  the  defendant  to  have  a  fair 
trial.  In  civil  suits  he  was  interested  in  cases  involving  titles,  trusts,  action  in 
covenant  for  non-performance,  one  for  nuisance,  in  which  a  company  was  prose- 
cuted for  corrupting  water  used  in  the  manufacture  of  paper.  In  this  case  his 
side  had  chemical  experiments  made  in  open  court  before  a  jury.  In  another 
suit  for  divorce,  he  made  claim  on  the  husband  to  pay  the  wife's  counsel  fees, 
without  regard  to  the  result  of  the  case,  which  claim  was  then  for  the  first  time 
allowed  in  Chester  county,  though  before  recognized  by  the  courts  of  Philadel- 
phia. In  an  important  quo  ivarratito  case,  involving  the  charter  of  a  railroad 
company,  before  the  Supreme  Court,  being  suddenly  left  alone  by  his  elder  col- 
league in  the  case  when  it  came  up,  he  showed  considerable  courage  in  oppos- 
ing, single-handed,  three  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  Pennsyhania,  who  were  also 
flanked  by  attorneys  of  well-known  fame  as  advisers.  In  fact,  during  the  few 
years  that  he  acted  as  a  counsellor,  he  managed  all  manner  of  cases.  His  field 
of  action  was  not  confined  to  Chester  county,  but  he  tried  cases  and  delivered 
speeches  and  lectures  in  several  counties  of  the  State. 

When  Mr.  Everhart  left  the  University  of  Berlin  he  started  on  an  extended 
tour  through  Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and  the  British  Isles.  On  the  continent  he 
visited  nearly  all  the  noted  cities  of  France  and  other  places  of  historic  interest 
in  that  country,  and  passed  several  weeks  in  its  gay  capital  of  the  then  Republic, 
over  which  Louis  Napoleon  Bonaparte  ruled  as  President. 

At  Naples  he  climbed  to  Vesuvius,  and  looked  into  its  crater  while  in  a  state 
of  partial  eruption,  with  "  stones  being  shot  up  like  rockets  "  close  beside  him. 
From  the  summit  of  the  burning  mountain  he  descended  to  the  two  fated  cities 
of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  and  walked  through  their  lava-paved  streets,  and 
looked  upon  the  jewels  worn  by  the  beautiful  women  of  nineteen  centuries  ago. 
He  also  visited  the   "  City  of  the  Sea,"   and  went  througii  the  palaces  of  the 


30  JAMES    B.    EVERHART. 

Doges,  crossed  the  Rialto,  and  lingered  at  the  Bridge  of  Sighs,  over  which  the 
victim  of  the  Council  passed  to  his  doom. 

Leaving  Europe,  he  crossed  the  Mediterranean  and  visited  Egypt,  sailed  upon 
the  Nile,  "  the  joy  of  the  Arab,"  up  as  far  as  the  Ruins  of  Thebes.  He  wan- 
dered in  the  Desert,  and  had  sundry  semi-agreeable  adventures  with  the 
Bedouins.  Leaving  the  ancient  kingdom  of  the  Ptolemies  and  the  beautiful 
Cleopatra,  he  entered  the  land  of  Palestine  and  sojourned  for  a  short  space  of 
time  in  the  ancient  city  of  the  Kings  of  Israel,  visiting  all  the  noted  places  of 
interest  in  and  around  Jerusalem  ;  while  there,  he  was  enabled  to  witness  the 
Ekister  festival,  which  attracted  Jew,  Christian  and  Mohammedan.  From  Jeru- 
salem he  proceeded  to  the  Jordan  and  Dead  Sea ;  while  on  the  banks  of  the 
former  he  had  a  rather  unpleasant  encounter  with  the  Jordan  robbers,  and  by 
his  great  presence  of  mind  in  all  probability  saved  his  life.  Among  the  cities  of 
Palestine  that  he  visited  were  Jericho,  the  City  of  the  Nativity,  Beer,  Bethsaida, 
Tyre  and  Beirut,  at  which  point  he  took  ship  for  Constantinople. 

From  Central  Europe  he  turned  his  face  to  the  southwest,  traversed  France, 
crossed  the  Pyrenees  and  entered  the  Iberian  Peninsula.  He  visited  Madrid, 
where  he  talked  to  the  noble  cavaliers  and  beautiful  Senoritas,  delighting  in 
gay  costume ;  where  the  beggars  are  not  yet  called  "  tramps,"  and  who  ask  for 
alms  like  gentlemen,  never  appearing  in  public  without  the  renowned  Spanish 
cloak  and  embroidered  hat.  He  made  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Escurial,  which  is 
convent,  sepulchre  and  palace.  He  wandered  through  its  spacious  halls,  stood 
on  its  grand  stairways  and  descended  into  its  gaping  vaults,  where  "  precious 
stones  flash  light  from  the  walls,  and  elaborate  urns  contain  the  jewelled  skulls 
of  kings."  From  Madrid  he  went  into  Granada,  and  beheld  the  dark-eyed  and 
olive-skinned  Moors,  who  yet  cling  with  reverential  love  to  the  customs  and 
costumes  of  the  Saracen.  Back  over  the  Pyrenees  through  France  he  went  to 
the  country'  of  dykes  and  canals,  a  land  redeemed  from  the  sea  by  its  thrifty 
people,  whose  women  he  thought  had  the  most  lovely  complexions  of  any  he 
had  yet  seen.  From  the  Continent  he  went  to  the  British  Isles,  passed  several 
weeks  in  London,  visited  Crystal  Palace,  where  he  saw  the  conqueror  of  the 
first  Napoleon,  "  who  was  an  old  man  dressed  in  a  blue,  tight-body  coat,  with 
his  head  drooped  upon  his  breast."  Temple  Bar,  the  Tower,  St.  Paul's  and  the 
famous  Wine  Vaults,  all  were  inspected.  He  did  not  neglect  to  visit  the  land 
of  Bruce  and  the  unfortunate  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  the  wild  Welsh  Mountains, 
nor  the  Emerald  Isle,  and  then  returned  home  with  a  great  store  of  knowledge 
and  information.  Unfortunately  his  retiring  disposition  and  hesitancy  of  speak- 
ing of  himself  and  his  travels  have  deprived  one  of  much  delightful  conversation. 
He  has,  however,  given  to  the  world  short  chapters  regarding  his  travels. 

In  1862  he  published  a  work  of  300  pages,  entitled  "  Miscellanies,"  which  are 
very  interesting,  being  mainly  short  sketches  of  the  places  which  he  visited 
while  abroad.  In  1867  he  published  a  collection  of  his  poetical  writings, 
which  he  dedicated  to  his  father;  they  are  real  gems  and  give  evidence  of  high 


JAMES    E.    EVEKHART.  3 1 

poetic  culture.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  pathetic  is  that  entitled  "  She 
is  not  There,"  being  a  loving  son's  tribute  to  his  deceased  mother.  The 
poems  were  followed  in  1875  by  another  single  poem,  entitled  "The  Fox 
Chase,"  and  at  the  time  of  its  publication  the  following  criticism  was  passed  by 
The  Press:  "This  short  but  spirited  poem  convej-s  a  better  idea  of  the  'noble 
sport '  than  the  celebrated  blank  verse  quarto  called  '  The  Chase,'  which 
appeared  in  1735.  The  character  of  the  poetry  is  high — some  passages  exhibit- 
ing no  small  skill  in  word-painting.  The  action  is  at  a  rapid  pace  and  very 
accurate."  The  scene  of  this  poem  is  laid  in  Chester  county,  on  the  Brandywine 
Battle-Ground,  up  the  stream,  over  its  hills  and  through  its  valleys. 

In  1888  he  published  a  collection  of  "Speeches,  etc.,"  which  are  of  a  varied 
character  and  upon  a  variety  of  subjects  relating  to  social  events,  and  matters 
pertaining  to  State  and  National  legislation.  One,  in  the  State  Senate  in  1881, 
against  compensation  for  the  prohibition  of  the  liquor  traffic,  has  been  fully 
justified  by  a  late  decision  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 

On  June  7th,  1876,  by  invitation,  he  delivered  a  poem  in  the  Chestnut  Street 
Theatre,  at  the  reunion  of  the  Army  of  the  James,  of  which  the  following  are 
the  first  two  stanzas : 

Where  is  the  Army  of  the  James?     Where  flies 

Its  banner,  beaming  with  the  triple  light  ? 
Where  its  battalions?     That,  with  cheering  cries. 

Went  hence  in  all  the  pomp  of  arms  bedight  ? 

Is  yon  the  standard,  in  ils  faded  plight? 
Are  these  the  remnants  of  that  famous  host, 

Which  climbed  the  ridges  of  the  gory  fight, 
And  drove  the  stubborn  foe  from  post  to  post, 
And,  in  the  captured  city,  held  its  Pentecost? 

Bloodshed  has  uses,  and  the  grave  is  just ! 

The  soldier's  avocation  has  its  place, 
When  power  is  cruel,  and  betrays  its  trust : 

When  haughty  nations  would  inflict  disgrace ; 

When  insurrection  labors  to  eflTace 
Free  institutions,  and,  with  senseless  ire, 

E.xhausts  its  substance  to  enslave  a  race; 
When  reason  fails,  and  peaceful  hopes  expire — 
Then  must  the  cannon  argue  with  its  tongue  of  fire. 

The  great  Rebellion  had  been  in  progress  nearly  a  year  when,  in  1862,  Mr. 
Everhart  commenced  to  raise  a  company  for  the  nine  months'  service.  It  was 
while  thus  engaged  that  General  Lee  invaded  Maryland.  Governor  Curtin 
issued  an  immediate  call  for  troops,  as  it  was  expected  that  Lee  would  not  stop 
at  the  border  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.  A  company  was  quickly  raised, 
of  which  Mr.  Everhart  was  captain,  and  was  immediately  ordered  to  Harrisburg, 
where,  with  other  companies,  a  regiment  was  organized  and  sent  to  Hagerstown. 
The  battle  of  Antietam  was  then  in  progress,  the  smoke  was  visible,  and  the 
guns  were  heard.     The  colonel   of  the  regiment  being  called  on  to  join  Mc- 


32  JAMES    B.    EVERHAKT. 

Clollaii's  left  wing,  convened  a  council  of  the  captains  to  take  a  vote  if  they  would 
march  to  Antietam.  Captain  Everhart  said  it  was  a  disgrace  to  parley  and  the 
men  must  march.  lie  then  went  to  his  company,  formed  them  in  line  and  told 
tliem  of  their  dut}-,  and  they,  without  an  exception,  stood  ready  to  go  into  the 
engagement.  Very  many  privates  from  other  companies,  and  one  captain,  also 
signified  tlieir  willingness  to  follow  him.  While  this  scene  was  being  enacted  in 
the  camp,  the  order  to  move  forward  was  countermanded. 

In  1863  Captain  Everhart  raised  another  company,  which  became  a  part  of  the 
Twenty-ninth  Regiment  of  Emergency  Men,  who  were  sworn  into  the  United 
States  service,  and  he  was  elected  its  Major.  The  companies,  and  detachments 
of  them,  were  scattered  along  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  and  beyond. 
He,  with  two  companies,  occupied  an  intrenched  camp  at  the  extreme  end  of 
Morris  Cove,  not  far  from  Bedford,  and  relieved  some  companies  of  militia  who 
had  temporary  charge.  Some  scouting  rebel  horsemen  hovered  around  occa- 
sionally, and  a  few  stragglers  were  captured.  After  the  battle  of  Gettysburg  the 
regiment  was  encamped  at  Loudon,  and  the  men  were  for  weeks  constantly 
under  arms,  and  part  of  them  had  a  brush  with  some  rebel  troopers. 

After  this  regiment  was  discharged  Major  Everhart  applied  through  a  Con- 
gressman to  the  Secretary  of  War,  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  for  authority  to  raise  a 
regiment  for  the  war,  but  was  unsuccessful.  In  1864,  on  the  report  of  the  attempt 
on  Washington,  Major  Everhart  was  raising  another  compan}%  when  the  news 
of  the  rebel  retreat  put  a  stop  to  recruiting. 

In  1876  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania,  re-elected  in  1S80,  and 
there  he  perhaps  prevented  the  introduction  of  a  resolution  expressly  affirming 
the  right  of  the  Vice-President  to  decide  the  electoral  vote  on  the  occasion  of  the 
election  of  President  Hayes.  He  also  opposed  the  movement,  advised  by  men 
at  Washington,  to  appropriate  a  million  of  dollars  to  arm  the  State,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seeing  the  electoral  vote  counted ;  such  procedure,  he  argued,  was 
unconstitutional.  He  offered,  a  few  days  before  the  formation  of  the  Electoral 
Commission,  a  resolution  approving  it,  by  which  commission  Mr.  Hayes  was 
afterward  elected.  He  was  the  only  Republican  who  voted  for  the  resolution. 
The  next  day,  with  two  other  Republicans,  he  supported  a  similar  resolution 
offered  by  a  Democratic  Senator.  During  his  five  sessions  in  the  State  Senate  he 
perhaps  prevented  much  special  legislation  by  constitutional  objections.  He 
constantly  opposed  severe  penalties,  and  particularly  imprisonment  for  venal 
offences,  as  calculated  to  degrade  and  not  reform,  or  likely  to  make  the  law  a 
dead  letter.  He  made  a  forcible  and  humorous  speech  upon  the  floor  of  the 
Senate  against  incarcerating  children  for  picking  up  hickory  nuts,  etc.  He  made 
several  speeches  on  extending  the  jurisdiction  of  the  justices  of  the  peace  to  jury 
trials  ;  on  allowing  all  criminals  to  testify  in  their  own  behalf  if  they  so  desire.  He 
also  spoke  in  favor  of  paying  the  officers  and  soldiers  who  went  to  Pittsburgh  to 
suppress  the  riots;  and  upon  military  bands  of  music.  Senator  Everhart  also 
made  able  .speeches  on  the  resolution  to  print  a  report  of  the  great  waterways  of 


JAMES    B.    EVERHAKT.  33 

the  State  ;  on  tlie  Geodetic  Survey  of  the  State  ;  on  Constitutional  amendments ; 
on  the  resolution  concerning  the  deaths  of  Senators,  Governor  Bigler,  and  the 
late  Bayard  Taylor,  Minister  to  Germany;  his  speech  on  the  latter  was  printed 
in  pamphlet  form  by  order  of  the  Legislature;  on  the  report  of  the  committee  to 
select  statues  for  the  rotunda  at  Washington,  and  favored  that  of  General  Wayne; 
and  on  the  resolution  concerning  the  remains  of  William  Penn.  In  his  speech 
on  the  graveyard  insurance  companies,  when  he  introduced  the  bill  to  abolish 
them,  he  said : 

"  It  is  a  bill  which  organizes  new  corporations  on  a  substantial  basis,  and  pre- 
vents the  abuse  of  old  ones.  It  does  not  affect  vested  rights  or  benevolent 
associations.  It  starts  companies  upon  a  cash  capital  and  large  numbers,  and  on 
the  reciprocity  of  benefits  and  contributions.  It  guards  them  against  internal 
frauds  and  outside  impositions.  It  gives  them  room  for  growth,  and  yet  not 
scope  for  mischief  It  prescribes  conditions  which  are  an  earnest  of  security, 
and  which  will  attract  co-operation  and  confidence,  and  be  likely  to  make  them 
prosperous  and  useful.  Its  main  purpose,  however,  is  by  only  allowing  policies 
where  there  is  an  insurable  interest,  to  prevent  the  scandalous  traffic  in  the  lives 
of  old  and  sickly  persons.  It  is  to  destroy  this  system  and  break  down  their 
occupation  who  gamble  in  the  dying;  who  seek  for  the  subjects  of  insurance  in 
the  purlieus  of  the  hospital,  the  prison  and  the  poorhouse ;  who  count  with  im- 
patience the  footsteps  of  the  palsied  and  the  respirations  of  the  consumptive,  and 
who  sometimes  hasten,  by  violence,  to  realize  their  bloody  greed.  It  is  to  eradi- 
cate this  system,  which  multiplies  policies  without  limit,  and  sells  them  like 
market  wares  ;  which  organizes  temptations  to  fraud  and  felony  ;  deludes  with  a 
promise  of  instant  wealth ;  demoralizes  all  labor  and  business,  and  inspires  con- 
tempt of  decency  and  fair  dealing,  and  leads,  at  last,  through  sin  and  infamy,  to 
impoverishment,  imprisonment  and  the  gallows.  It  is  a  system  which  is  worse 
than  the  old  South  Sea  scheme  or  the  Mississippi  bubble  ;  worse  than  the  Tulip 
mania  of  Holland,  or  the  Multicaulis  folly  of  America.  They  only  squandered 
money ;  this  is  inhuman.  The  bill  is  to  arrest  this  mischief,  which  seems 
spreading  like  a  pestilence.  It  is  to  restore  the  ancient  credit  of  insurances,  to 
eliminate  the  evil  elements  of  speculation,  and  apply  honest  methods  to  mutual 
interests." 

He  introduced  several  beneficial  rules  for  the  government  of  the  Senate.  He 
never  had  any  particular  hobby,  but  aimed  to  prevent  bad  legislation  as  much  as 
possible.  He  amended  a  number  of  bills  on  all  subjects,  many,  perhaps,  for  the 
better:  one,  a  tax  bill,  which  might  otherwise  have  prevented  Chester  county 
from  recovering  some  thousands  of  dollars  of  overpaid  taxes.  He  served  on  the 
General  Judiciary  Committee  for  two  years,  and  was  considered  attentive  and 
useful.  He  was  also  on  the  Federal  Relations,  and  important  questions  were 
often  referred  to  him ;  later,  he  was  Chairman  also  of  the  Committee  on  Educa- 
tion. In  1879  the  members  of  the  lower  House  from  Chester  county  were 
instructed  for  him  for  United  States  Senator. 
S 


-_|  JAMES    B.    EVERHART. 

He  ne\er  accepted  a  railroad  pass,  and  was  the  member  of  the  Legislature 
who,  when  no  objections  were  made  to  paying,  declined  to  take  more  than  the 
thousand  dollars  salarj',  and  who  refused  the  perquisite  of  postage  stamps,  after 
the  late  stationery'  law  went  into  effect,  though  he  does  not  criticise  others  for 
doing  otherwise,  or  assume  any  merit  for  it  himself 

He  is  highly  regarded  throughout  Chester  county,  and  is  favorably  spoken  of 
not  only  by  the  county  but  by  the  State  press,  which  have  copied  several  of  his 
speeches,  making  favorable  comment  upon  them. 

In  politics  he  has  always  been  independent  of  rings,  yet  a  consistent  Repub- 
lican, sustaining  the  ticket  on  the  stump  and  at  the  polls. 

He  has  all  his  life  been  considered  liberal  with  his  means,  but  never  for  any 
unlawful  purpose ;  still  he  has  never  made  a  boast  of  his  liberality  in  any  form. 

In  1882  he  was  placed  in  nomination  by  the  Republicans  of  Chester  county  as 
their  choice  for  Congressman.  The  Sixth  District  being  composed  of  Chester 
and  Delaware  counties,  it  was  necessary  to  appoint  conferees  to  meet  those  from 
Delaware  county.  The  conferees  united  upon  Mr.  Everhart  as  the  choice  of  the 
district.  His  Democratic  opponent  was  J.  Edward  Clyde,  Esq.,  of  Delaware 
county,  and  the  vote  in  the  November  election  was:  Mr.  Everhart,  14,615  ;  Mr. 
Clyde,  9,810.  In  1884  he  was  again  nominated  by  a  greater  vote  than  before,  and 
in  November  of  the  same  year  defeated  his  Democratic  opponent,  Dr.  Frederick 
Heckel,  the  vote  that  year  being  for  Mr.  Everhart,  18,593  ;  and  for  Dr.  Heckel, 
11,551,  Mr.  Everhart's  majority  being  the  largest  ever  given  for  Congressman  in 
the  district. 

In  Congress  he  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Coinage,  Weights  and 
Measures,  interesting  on  account  of  the  silver  question ;  and  also  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  War  Claims,  a  most  laborious  body,  having  much  law  matter  to  deter- 
mine: and  during  the  entire  term  he  never  missed  a  regular  meeting  of  either 
committee,  nor  a  final  vote  on  any  measure  before  the  House. 

During  his  service  in  Congress  he  aided  a  number  of  persons  in  securing  pen- 
sions. He  secured  the  establishment  of  several  new  post-offices  and  postal 
routes  in  the  district ;  presented  to  Congress  a  large  number  of  petitions  upon 
various  subjects  from  citizens  of  the  district.  Among  the  bills  introduced  of  a 
public  character  were  the  following :  To  equalize  the  right  of  Fishing  in  the 
navigable  waters  of  the  United  States;  t(>  establish  the  Metric  System  in  gov- 
ernmental affairs;  to  erect  a  public  building  in  West  Chester;  to  erect  monuments 
to  William  Penn  and  General  Wayne  in  Washington.  He  offered  various 
amendments  to  bills,  such  as:  To  prevent  payment  of  salary  to  Fitz-John  Porter; 
to  the  law  for  counting  the  Electoral  votes  for  President  and  Vice-President;  to 
pay  the  Government  bonds  in  gold  or  its  equivalent ;  to  provide  for  designs  for 
American  ships  by  Americans;  to  correct  the  law  of  the  Presidential  succession; 
to  secure  the  payment  to  certain  creditors  of  taxes  refunded ;  to  prevent  hasty 
legislation  by  the  rules  of  the  House,  and  other  amendments. 


JAMES    B.    EVEKHAKT.  ■  35 

He  also  introduced  a  motion  in  opposition  to  the  River  and  Harbor  bill.  He 
made  an  able  speech  in  favor  of  the  Oleomargarine  bill,  which  was  universally 
approved  by  the  Dairymen  Associations  of  the  country.  He  strongly  supported 
the  passage  of  the  bill  authorizing  the  publication  of  the  Geodetic  Survey.  He 
introduced  a  bill  authorizing  the  erection  of  public  buildings  in  the  city  of 
Chester,  which  failed  of  passage  by  only  one  vote. 

In  all  his  speeches  before  the  House  his  remarks  received  the  closest  attention 
from  the  members,  which  to  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  proceedings  of  that 
body  is  unusual. 

He  proposed  important  amendments  to  other  bills :  amongst  which  the  one 
that  presumes  everj'  applicant  for  a  pension  to  have  been  sound  when  he  enlisted 
was  considered  a  most  beneficial  piece  of  legislation.  Besides  attending  carefully 
to  the  public  business,  he  neglected  no  private  application  of  his  constituents 
connected  with  his  ofifice. 

T.  L.  O. 

1324618 


Note. — Since  the  above  sketch  of  Mr.  Everhart  was  written  and  put  in  type  he  has  passed  away.  He 
died  at  West  Chester  early  on  the  morning  of  August  23,  1888,  from  an  attack  of  dysentery.  He  was 
surrounded  by  his  family  and  near  relatives  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  He  died  in  full  possession  of  his 
f.iculties,  and  for  a  considerable  time  prior  to  breathing  his  last  was  fully  aware  of  the  approach  of  death, 
which  he  faced  with  calmness  and  fortitude.  He  was  buried  on  Monday,  August  27th,  at  Oakland 
Cemetery,  West  Chester. 

The  Philadelphia  Tinies,  in  an  editorial  the  day  after  his  death,  pays  the  following  tribute  to  his  worth 
and  character : 

"  The  death  of  ex  Congressman  James  B.  Everhart  will  be  very  widely  lamented.  In  Chester  county, 
where  he  has  enjoyed  the  highest  representative  honors,  his  death  will  be  mourned  in  all  circles  regard- 
less of  partisan  faith.  Mr.  Everhart  was  a  type  of  the  best  and  truest  representative  men  of  the  age.  He 
was  not  only  honest  in  purpose,  but  he  was  honest  in  action,  and,  however  his  fellow-citizens  differed 
from  him,  he  always  commanded  the  respect  of  friend  and  foe.  In  the  State  Senate  Mr.  Everhart  was 
known  as  one  of  the  few  who  were  ever  faithful  to  cohviction,  and  in  Congress  he  maintained  the  same 
high  standard  of  integrity.  Had  he  been  more  pliable  he  would  doubtless  have  died  a  Congressman, 
but  he  prefeiTed  fidelity  to  his  faith  in  the  right  even  when  weighed  in  the  balance  with  success  .Such 
a  man  will  long  live  in  the  grateful  memories  of  his  people." 

Other  papers  throughout  the  State  bore  testimony  to  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  the  commu- 
nity, and  to  his  high  character  as  a  statesman  and  public  man  — Ens. 


Hon.  Edwin   S.  Osborne. 


EDWIN  SYLVANUS  OSBORNE. 

HON.  Edwin  S.  Osborne,  Congressman-at-Iargc  from  the  State  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  born  at  Bethany,  Wayne  county,  Pa.,  on  the  7th  of  August, 
1839.  He  is  a  direct  descendant  of  John  Osborne,  who  came  from  England  and 
settled  in  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  prior  to  May,  1645,  and  he  inherits  revolutionary 
blood.  His  great-grandfather,  Thomas  Osborne,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Continental 
army,  and  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  N.  J.  His  grandmother  was  a 
daughter  of  Ephraim  Oakley,  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army,  and  Susannah, 
a  sister  of  Colonel  Raymond,  who  served  with  distinction  on  the  staff  of  General 
W^ashington  during  the  Revolutionary  war.  In  1798  she  married  Cooper 
Osborne,  son  of  Thomas  Osborne,  and  they  settled  in  what  is  now  Bethany, 
Wayne  county.  Pa.  The  country  was  then  a  wild  forest.  Here  Cooper  Osborne 
bought  some  land,  began  a  clearing  and  built  a  log  house,  and  here  Sylvanus, 
the  father  of  Edwin  S.,  was  born  in  September,  181 2.  Cooper  Osborne  died  in 
18 1 8,  leaving  his  widow  with  six  children  to  care  for.  She  was  a  woman  of 
great  energy  and  determination  of  character,  and  struggled  along  successfully  in 
keeping  the  home  and  equipping  her  children  for  the  active  duties  of  life.  She 
died  in  1856,  having  lived  long  enough  to  see  the  wilderness  subdued  into  cul- 
tivated fields,  mourned  by  her  kindred  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew  her. 

In  1836  Sylvanus  Osborne  married  Lucy,  daughter  of  Cyrus  Messenger,  of 
Bridgewater,  Susquehanna  county.  Pa.,  a  descendant  of  Henry  Messenger,  who 
resided  in  Boston  prior  to  1640.  Henry  Messenger  was  the  first  known  pro- 
prietor of  the  land  on  which  now  stands  the  building  owned  and  occupied  by  the 
Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  and  a  part  of  that  now  covered  by  the  Boston 
Museum. 

After  a  preliminary  schooling,  Edwin  S.  Osborne  entered  the  University  of 
Northern  Pennsylvania,  and  later  became  a  student  at  the  New  York  State  and 
National  Law  School  at  Poughkeepsie,  graduating  from  the  latter  in  the  class 
of  i860  with  the  degree  of  LL.B.  He  read  law  at  Wilkes-Barre,  and  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  bar  of  Luzorne  county  on  the  26th  of  February,  1861. 

In  April,  1861,  when  the  great  civil  war  broke  out,  he  enlisted  as  a  private  in 
Company  C,  Eighth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  served  in  the  cam- 
paign of  1861  with  General  Patterson's  division.  Subsequently  he  was  authorized 
by  Governor  Curtin  to  recruit  a  company,  and  was  mustered  in  as  Captain,  to 
rank  from  August  22,  1S62.  His  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  First  Corps, 
Army  of  the  Potomac.  From  September,  1862,  until  Februarj',  1S63,  he  served 
upon  the  staff  of  General  Wadsworth.  In  February,  1863,  at  his  own  request,  he 
was  returned  to  his  regiment,  and  served  with  it  until  June,  1863,  when  he  was 
again  detailed  for  staff  duty  and  appointed  Assistant  Inspector-General.  He 
remained  with  the  First  Corps  until  it  was  consolidated  with  the  Fifth  Corps, 

(37) 


38  EDWIN    S.    OSBORNE. 

when  he  was  assigned  to  duty  with  the  First  Division  of  that  corps.  He 
remained  with  this  division  until  September,  1864,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
tlie  Third  Division  of  the  Fifth  Corps,  and  remained  with  this  command  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  He  participated  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  all  the  bat- 
tles in  Avhich  that  army  was  engaged  after  he  joined  it.  He  was  on  several  occa- 
sions highly  complimented  for  gallant  conduct  and  skilful  handling  of  troops  in 
the  face  of  the  enemy.  He  became  Major  of  his  regiment,  was  three  times 
brevetted  for  meritorious  conduct,  and  shortly  after  the  surrender  of  Lee  was 
appointed  a  Judge  Advocate,  and  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Bureau  of  Military 
Justice.  While  Judge  Ad\-ocate  he  was  detailed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  on  sev- 
eral important  missions,  among  others  to  investigate  the  charges  preferred  against 
citizens  of  Pennsylvania  held  by  military  authority,  and  report  to  the  Secretary 
what  action,  according  to  the  law  and  evidence,  would  be  proper  in  each  case. 
Through  his  recommendation  those  so  held  were  set  at  liberty,  or  turned  over  to 
the  civil  authorities.  He  was  also  sent  by  the  War  Department  to  Macon, 
Andersonville,  and  other  points  in  the  South,  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the 
treatment  of  the  Union  soldiers  while  held  as  prisoners  of  war  by  the  Confeder- 
ates. This  investigation  led  to  the  arrest  and  trial  of  Captain  Wirz,  Confederate 
commandant  at  Andersonville.  He  drew  up  the  charges  that  were  preferred 
against  Wirz,  and  prepared  the  case  for  trial,  which  resulted  in  his  conviction 
and  execution.  After  performing  this  duty  he  offered  his  resignation,  which, 
after  some  hesitation,  was  accepted  by  the  Secretary  of  War,  and  he  returned  to 
Wilkes-Barre  and  resumed  the  practice  of  the  law. 

In  1870  he  was  appointed  Major-General  in  the  National  Guard  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  commanded  the  troops  sent  to  Scranton  in  1 87 1  to  suppress  the  mining 
riots.  For  his  action  on  that  occasion  he  received  the  thanks  and  congratula- 
tions of  the  Commonwealth  through  the  Governor,  and  was  honorably  mentioned 
in  his  annual  message  to  the  Legislature.  He  commanded  the  troops  at  Hazle- 
ton  in  1874  during  the  troubles  in  the  Lehigh  coal  fields,  and  at  Susquehanna 
during  the  strike  on  the  New  York  and  Erie  Railroad  in  1875,  and  at  Wilkes- 
Barre  during  the  riots  of  1877.  He  retired  from  the  National  Guard  in  1878. 
He  was  one  of  the  originators  of  the  system,  and  it  was  largely  through  his 
efforts  that  the  Legislature,  in  1873,  repealed  the  militaiy  tax. 

General  Osborne  has  been  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  since 
its  organization,  and  was  Commander  of  the  Department  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1883.  He  was  elected  a  Represcntative-at-large  in  Congress  from  Pennsylvania 
in  1884  by  the  largest  vote  ever  polled  in  the  State,  it  having  exceeded  the  vote 
for  Blaine  and  Logan  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty-six.  His  total  vote 
was  four  hundred  and  seventy-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  forty.  He  was 
re-elected  in  1886  by  a  majority  that  exceeded  that  of  General  Beaver  for  Gov- 
ernor by  five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  sixty-four.  He  has  always  been  a 
Republican.  In  Congress  he  has  advocated  with  force  the  doctrine  of  protection 
to  American  labor,  as  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  following  extracts  from  a 


EDWIN    S.    OSBORNE.  39 

speech  delivered  July  24,  1886,  in  the  first  session  of  the  Forty-ninth  Congress 
upon  the  subject  of  increasing  the  Navy  with  Anicrican-built  ships: 

"It  has  long  been  a  matter  of  astonisliment  that  the  American  Congress  has  contemphatetl  with  such 
supreme  indifference  the  dilapidated  and  utterly  inefficient  condition  into  which  our  once  proud  navy 
has  been  allowed  to  fall.  When  the  Republic  was  in  its  infancy,  and  while  still  struggling  for  its  exist- 
ence, no  flag  floated  with  more  confidence  than  our  starry  banner,  and  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  American 
Navy  during  those  years  can  never  be  recalled  without  emotions  of  pleasure  and  pride.  The  renown  of 
our  Navy  spread  through  the  world  and  received  unbounded  praise.  From  that  high  eminence  we  have 
suffered  an  ignominious  fall,  and  to-day  it  can  hardly  be  claimed  that  we  have  a  navy  worthy  to  be  so 
called.  If  this  Congress  shall  succeed  in  putting  under  headway  any  plan  that  shall  result  ultimately  in 
giving  the  country  such  a  navy  as  our  wants  and  standing  demand,  its  work  in  that  regard  will  receive 
the  just  plaudits  of  the  nation,  and  will  be  remembered  with  much  gratitude  through  all  coming  time.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  we  have  all  the  m.aterial  in  our  own  country  necessary  to  construct  these  vessels,  and 
why  should  we  go  to  the  foreigner  to  buy  that  which  we  already  have?  Our  mechanics  and  ship-build- 
ers are  as  intelligent  and  skilful  as  the  foreigner.  Why  should  we  go  to  him  for  his  labor?  To  go 
abroad  for  anything  entering  into  the  building,  construction  and  armament  of  these  vessels  is  not  patriotic, 
it  is  not  just  to  our  own  people,  it  is  not  American,  and  I  can  never  consent  to  do  it.  Whenever  our 
people  have  been  brought  in  contact  with  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe  they  have  risen  in  their  might  and 
repelled  it  with  just  indignation.  I  need  hardly  ask  you  to  remember  the  discontent  aroused  among  the 
coal-workers  of  Pennsylvania  when  a  few  years  ago  the  mining  corporations  threatened  and  in  some 
cases  actually  did  import  contract  labor  to  take  the  place  of  our  citizens  in  their  mines.  Nor  need  I, 
perhaps,  call  to  your  mind  the  degrading  influence  imported  Chine.se  labor  has  had  upon  American  labor 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

"The  sections  in  this  bill  to  which  I  object  propose,  instead  of  bringing  the  cheap  labor  of  Europe 
here,  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  shall  go  to  cheap  labor  in  Europe  with  America's  money  and  buy  in 
part  these  proposed  ships  of  war,  a  proposition  I  am  sure  the  American  people  will  denounce  as  a  blow 
at  their  industiies,  and  an  injustice  they  will  be  slow  to  forget.  It  is  our  duty  to  care  for  our  own  work- 
men without  regard  to  what  can  be  done  by  the  pauper  labor  of  Europe.  The  proposition  here  suggested 
to  go  abroad  for  material  and  armament  for  these  war  vessels  is  but  an  entering-wedge  of  the  pernicious 
doctrine  of  free  trade,  and  will  not  be  tolerated  by  the  freemen  of  America.  If  we  have  regard  for  the 
prosperity  of  our  people,  we  will  never  allow  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  go  abroad  to  buy  a  farthing's 
value  in  material,  labor,  or  armament  for  these  vessels. 

"  When  the  European  comes  to  our  country  to  make  a  home  for  himself  and  his  family  we  extend  to 
him  a  hearty  welcome,  but  our  citizens  are  not  willing  to  adopt  a  policy  which  in  any  respect  is  more 
beneficial  to  the  foreigner  than  to  ourselves.  Any  measure  which  has  a  tendency  to  reduce  the  wages  of 
labor  should  not  be  advocated  for  one  moment  in  this  House.  I  believe  it  is  the  patriotic  duty  of  the 
Government  to  build  our  war  vessels  and  all  other  vessels  at  home,  even  though  to  do  so  will  cost  more 
in  wages  to  workmen  than  to  go  abroad.  The  building  of  ships  is  a  great  industry,  and  the  Government 
should  encourage  those  engaged  in  it.  It  will  be  anything  but  pleasant  for  the  American  people  to 
behold  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States  in  the  workshops  of  Europe  making  contracts  to 
build  ships  of  war  for  the  American  Navy.  Such  a  spectacle  would  hardly  be  creditable  to  the  self- 
respect  of  our  people. 

"  Permit  me  to  illustrate  how  important  it  is  to  our  people  to  foster  and  encourage  the  art  of  building 
ships.  To  build  a  first-class  iron  vessel  costs  about  $550,000.  Five  per  cent,  only  of  this  cost  is  for 
material.  The  balance,  or  ninety-five  per  cent.,  is  for  labor.  This  labor  begins  with  the  miner  and  his 
drill,  the  woodman  and  his  axe.  It  passes  through  many  other  grades  and  kinds  of  employment,  and 
receives  wages  ranging  from  $2  a  day  for  the  laborer  to  S20  a  day  paid  to  the  skilled  designer.  When  a 
shij.  is  built  in  our  own  yards  all  this  money  is  kept  at  home.  It  goes  to  the  mechanic  and  laboring 
man,  to  the  merchant  and  professional  man.  It  furnishes  the  wages  and  the  profits  by  which  our  people 
are  enabled  to  procure  homes,  to  educate  their  children,  and  to  cultivate  the  arts  of  peace.  It  also  repre- 
sents the  property  upon  which  taxes  are  levied  and  collected  to  support  the  Government.  For  one  I  am 
not  willing  to  take  this  money,  no,  not  one  cent  of  it,  to  a  foreign  country  and  pay  it  to  their  cheap  labor. 
It  belongs  to  our  own  people  and  should  be  kept  here.     In  the  name  of  the  millions  of  freemen  of  Penn- 


40  EDWIN    S.    OSBORNE. 

sylvanin  I  protest  against  such  o.  jiolicy,  and  earnestly  hope  that  the  objections  to  which  I  have  referred 
may  be  stricken  from  the  bill. 

■•  I  appreciate  fully  how  important  it  is  to  plant  our  flag  boldly  and  strongly  upon  the  sea,  and  I  am  sure 
the  d.iy  is  not  far  in  the  future  when  it  will  be  there  to  stay.  It  is  our  duty  to  build  up  a  navy  ;  but  it 
must  be  an  American  navy,  built  in  our  own  country,  by  our  own  people,  and  of  domestic  material. 
Then,  indeed,  may  we  begin  to  see  the  dawn  of  that  period  when  our  country  shall  stand  forth  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth  a  beacon-light  to  cheer  the  world,  and  our  flag  shall  be  recognized  as  an  emblem 
of  the  sujierior  greatness  and  dignity  of  the  American  people."     [Applause.] 

His  position  with  regard  to  the  labor  troubles  is  shown  from  the  following 
extract  from  a  speech  delivered  by  him  in  the  House  on  the  Arbitration  Bill,  in 
which  he  said  : 

"  Mr.  Chairman,  I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  the  bill  under  consideration  reported  by  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  (Mr.  O'Neill,  of  Missouri),  and  shall  give  it  my  cordial  support.  I  am  persuaded  to  this  action 
because,  in  my  judgment,  if  the  bill  shall  become  a  law,  it  will  have  a  tendency  to  elevate  and  dignify 
the  rights  of  labor.  The  conflict  now  going  on,  and  which  has  been  growing  and  taking  shape  in  this 
country  for  more  than  fifteen  years  between  corporations  on  the  one  side  and  the  individual  citizen  on 
the  other,  demands  legislation  hitherto  unknown  to  our  jurisprudence.  This  is  true,  not  so  much  by  the 
action  of  the  individual  as  through  the  policy  adopted  by  the  States  in  granting  extraordinary  corporate 
rights  to  aggregated  wealth.  The  ordinary  rules  of  law  governing  personal  rights  do  not  meet  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  situation.  This  is  so  because  both  sides  do  not  stand  on  a  platform  of  equality.  The 
person  must  answer  for  his  own  individual  acts,  and  though  provoked  to  deeds  of  violence  by  the  oppres- 
sion of  hard  masters,  yet  the  provocation,  however  just,  is  no  shield  from  punishment.  But  who  answers 
for  the  corporations?  There  is  no  law,  statute  or  common,  that  will  reach  and  punish  her  so  long  as 
she  acts  within  her  corporate  capacity,  when,  under  the  direction  of  bad  influences,  she  may  adopt  a 
course  of  action  that  will  impoverish  whole  communities.  And  yet  the  people  must  stand  in  silence,  with 
no  power  for  redress. 

"  There  is,  however,  one  tribunal  before  which  the  highest  in  the  land  will  bow  in  humble  submission, 
and  that  is  the  tribunal  of  public  judgment.  No  man,  no  body  of  men,  can  any  more  withstand  the 
breath  of  puljlic  sentiment  than  they  can  blow  away  with  a  breath  the  mist  that  comes  up  from  the  ocean. 
Let  us  then  pass  this  bill,  with  a  view  of  affording  a  means  whereby  differences  arising  between  parties 
therein  referred  to  may  be  adjusted  without  resorting  to  strikes,  violence,  or  military  force. 

"  Voluntary  arbitration  seems  to  be  the  desired  remedy.  It  will  satisfy  the  men,  it  will  be  accented  by 
the  corporations,  and  it  will  be  approved  by  the  people." 

One  of  the  most  important  measures  considered  in  the  Forty-ninth  Congress 
was  the  Presidential  Succession  Bill.  This  subject  attracted  general  attention, 
and  public  judgment  appeared  to  demand  that  something  should  be  done  by 
Congress  to  avoid  entanglements,  such  as  confronted  the  country  at  the  Presi- 
dential election  of  1876.  The  Senate  early  in  December,  1885,  passed  what  is 
known  as  the  Presidential  Succession  Bill.  General  Osborne  opposed  the  bill  in 
the  House  in  a  speech  in  which  he  took  .strong  grounds  against  the  constitu- 
tionality of  the  measure,  and  questioned  the  authority  of  Congress  to  act  in  the 
premises.     In  closing  he  said : 

"  I  venture  to  say  that  no  man  can  be  found  who  would  contend  fur  a  moment  th.it  the  executive  power 
could  be  anywhere  except  as  vested  by  the  Constitution.  Nor  do  I  think  anybody  entertains  the  opinion 
that  Congress  has  the  |X)Wcr  to  .shorten  or  extend  the  term  fixed  by  the  Constitution.  .Such  legislation 
would  ]>e  usurpation,  and  the  men  who  woulc  attempt  it  would  receive,  as  they  deserved,  the  just  con- 
demnation of  all  citizens  who  love  the  Kepublic.  Can  wc  say  less  of  an  act  pas.sed  by  Congress  that 
would  establish  a  mode  for  choosmg  the  Executive  other  than  that  i>rescribcd  by  the  Constitution  ? 


EDWIN    S.    OSBORNE.  4I 

"  This  bill  is  aristocratic  in  its  tendencies,  Ooes  not  conform  to  the  spirit  of  our  institutions,  and  if 
passed  will  be  a  usurpation  by  Congress  of  powers  slill  vested  in  the  States  or  in  the  people.  Hence,  it 
is  "unconstitutional,  and  should  not  receive  t'ne  sanction  of  this  House. 

"  In  the  language  of  Alexander  Hamilton,  I  would  say :  '  The  fabric  of  American  empire  ought  to 
rest  on  the  solid  basis  of  the  consent  of  the  people.  The  streams  of  national  power  ought  to  flow  imme- 
diately from  that  pure,  original  fountain  of  all  legitimate  authority.'  " 

Time  alone  can  tell  whether  his  objections  were  well  founded.  The  best  legal 
opinion  seems  to  be  that  he  was  con-ect,  and  that  the  bill  should  have  been 
defeated. 

In  the  Tariff  discussion  which  has  occupied  so  much  of  the  time  of  the  present 
Congress,  General  Osborne  has  taken  an  important  part.  On  April  26,  1888,  he 
made  a  speech,  in  opposition  to  the  "  Mills  Bill  "  for  the  reduction  of  the  Tariff, 
in  which  he  said : 

"  Pennsylvania,  with  her  vast  area  of  coal  and  inexhaustible  beds  of  iron  ore,  early  became  a  manu. 
facturing  State.  The  only  available  mines  of  anthracite  coal,  the  purest  known  in  the  world,  lie  within 
her  borders.  With  an  intelligent,  moral  and  industrious  population  as  a  manufacturing  community,  we 
have  always  been  foremost  amongst  the  advocates  of  protection  to  American  industries. 

"  In  the  name  of  that  great  Commonwealth  I  protest  against  the  passage  of  this  bill.  It  will  destroy 
our  industries,  impoverish  our  farmers,  and  degiade  our  labor.     It  is  not  American. 

"  Representatives  of  a  mighty  people,  I  appeal  to  you  by  every  sacred  memory  in  the  past,  by  evei-y 
hope  for  a  glorious  future  of  our  beloved  country,  show  yourselves  great  enough  to  appreciate  the  bless- 
ings of  our  .American  institutions,  wise  enough  to  legislate  for  the  happiness,  prosperity  and  glory  of  the 
American  people,  patriotic  enough  to  stand  by  the  independence,  the  dignity,  the  honor,  and  tlie  homes 
of  American  workmen." 

General  Osborne  was  married  to  Ruth  Ann  Ball  on  October  12,  1S65.  She  is 
the  daughter  of  William  Ball,  deceased,  late  of  Carbondale,  Pa.,  and  a  lineal 
descendant  of  Edward  Ball,  who  settled  in  Branford,  Conn.,  prior  to  1640,  and 
afterwards  removed  to  Newark,  New  Jersey,  where  he  was  Sheriff  of  Essex 
county  in  that  colony.  They  have  a  family  of  six  children,  four  boys  and  two 
girls. 

General  Osborne  is  a  man  of  medium  size,  is  quiet  and  unassuming  in  his 
manners,  loves  the  comforts  of  his  home,  and  is  ardently  attached  to  his  wife  and 
family.  He  is  slow  to  make  friends,  but  havingfprovcd  their  worth  never  dis- 
cards them.  He  has  been  successful  in  his  practice  at  the  bar,  both  in  acquiring 
a  reputation  for  ability  and  in  making  money.  He  is  ardent  and  eloquent  as  a 
pleader,  logical  and  forcible  as  a  reasoner,  and  one  who  before  any  jury  is 
capable  of  establishing  the  merits  of  his  case.  As  a  local  orator  he  is  much 
sought  after  and  has  made  many  public  addresses  before  literary  societies  and 
at  public  meetings,  his  services  being  in  special  demand  among  the  Grand  Army 
Posts  on  Memorial  Day.  He  is  also  an  excellent  stump-speaker  and  has 
rendered  valuable  service  to  his  party  in  that  way.  In  fact  he  is  ready  at  any 
time  to  employ  his  oratorical  powers  in  any  good  cause.  He  has  elements  in 
his  character  which,  when  aroused,  make  him  an  adversary  his  opponents  will  do 
well  not  to  underrate,  and  he  brings  to  the  performance  of  any  duty  a  quiet 
strensjth  and  resolution  that  are  marked  characteristics. 


Hon.  Frank  C.  Bunnell. 


FRANK   C.   BUNNELL. 

HON.  Fr.-\nk  C.  Bunnell,  a  banker  at  Tunkhannock  and  now  Representative 
in  Congress  from  the  Fifteenth  Congressional  District,  was  born  in  Wash- 
ington township,  Luzerne  county  (now  Wyoming),  March  19,  1842.  His 
ancestors  came  originally  from  England,  and  have  been  settled  in  this  country 
since  1735.  At  the  time  of  the  Indian  massacre  in  the  Wyoming  Valley  Solomon 
Bunnell,  the  progenitor  of  the  family,  was  on  his  way  from  Connecticut  to  the 
Wyoming  region,  and  had  reached  Kingwood,  a  point  near  Easton,  where  he  met 
the  fugitives  retreating  from  the  valley  on  their  return  to  Connecticut.  He 
remained  there  a  short  time,  and  died  leaving  a  widow  and  several  children.  His 
grandson,  John  Bunnell,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  went  to 
Luzerne  county,  in  18 10,  and  purchased  a  tract  of  land  which  he  converted  into 
a  large  and  productive  farm,  still  owned  by  his  son  James,  and  on  which  Frank  C. 
Bunnell  was  born  and  reared  until  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age.  The  Bunnells 
were  men  of  mark  in  their  day,  and  notable  as  pioneers  of  strong  character  and 
upright  in  their  dealings. 

On  his  mother's  side  Mr.  Bunnell  is  descended  from  the  Hardings,  who  were 
identified  with  the  tragic  events  that  attended  the  early  settlement  of  the  Wyoming 
Valley.  She  was  a  granddaughter  of  John  Harding,  whose  brothers  Benjamin 
and  Stukely  were  murdered  by  the  Indians  while  cultivating  corn  near  Pittston 
on  the  day  before  the  Wyoming  massacre,  and  also  a  granddaughter  of  John 
Gardiner,  whom  the  Indians  took  prisoner  at  the  time  the  Hardings  were  killed, 
and  subsequently  tortured  to  death.*  From  the  same  family  are  descended  ex- 
Judge  Garrick  M.  Harding,  of  Wilkesbarre,  and  ex-United  States  Senator 
Benjamin  F.  Harding,  of  Oregon,  who  succeeded  General  Baker  in  the  United 
States  Senate  in  1863. 

Mr.  Bunnell  when  he  was  sixteen  years  of  age  was  sent  to  Wyoming  Seminary 


*At  the  time  Mr.  Gardiner  was  t.aken  prisoner  his  wife  and  children  were  in  Forty  Fort.  He  was 
granted  the  privilege  of  seeing  his  family  before  taking  him  into  captivity,  after  the  massacre  and  tliey 
had  ransacked  the  fort.  Elisha  Harding,  who  had  escaped  and  reashed  the  fort,  was  present  at  the 
parting  of  Gardiner  and  his  w'ife,  and  reports  it  as  most  afifecting.  His  last  words  were,  "  I  go  to  return 
no  more."  He  represents  him  to  have  been  "the  noblest,  grandest-looking  man  I  ever  saw."  After  the 
interview  with  his  wife  a  rope  was  placed  around  his  neck,  and  then  loaded  down  with  goods  they  had 
pillaged  on  their  march  back  up  the  Susquehanna  river.  A  man  by  the  name  of  Carr,  who  was  taken 
prisoner  at  the  same  time  and  afterwards  escaped,  reports  that  Gardiner  gave  out  under  his  excessive 
burden  at  or  near  Standing  Stone  in  Bradford  county,  and  was  then  handed  over  to  the  squaws,  who 
tortured  him  to  death. 

Perigreen  Gardiner,  the  father  of  John,  owned  the  property  known  as  Canonochet,  so  long  occupied  by 
ex-Senator  Sprague,  of  Rhode  Island.  His  family  and  the  Stuarts  were  friends,  and  they  were  present 
at  church  and  participated  in  the  ceremonies  of  christening  the  child,  Gilbert  Stuart,  who  afterwards 
became  so  famous  as  an  artist.  Some  of  his  paintings  are  at  this  time  on  exhibition  in  the  Corcoran  Art 
Gallery  at  Washington,  D.  C,  notably  one  of  President  Washington. 

(43) 


44 


FRANK     C.    BUNNELL. 


at  Kingston,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  the 
RebeUion,  when  he  enlisted,  September,  1861,  as  a  private  in  Company  B,  Fifty- 
second  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  Quartermaster  Dodge,  noticing  his 
aptness  for  business,  had  him  detailed  to  assist  him  in  the  Quartermaster's  De- 
partment, which  he  did  while  the  regiment  was  in  camp  near  Washington  during 
the  winter  of  1861-62.  At  that  time  the  basement  of  the  National  Capitol  was 
used  as  a  bakerj'  for  the  army,  and  Mr.  Bunnell  had  charge  of  teams,  and  drew 
bread  from  there  for  the  regiment,  and  also  clothing  from  the  building  now 
occupied  as  the  Corcoran  Art  Gallery.  At  that  time  he  had  no  expectation 
that  he  would  ever  return  to  the  capital  as  a  lawmaker. 

In  the  spring  of  1862  he  was  promoted  to  be  Quartermaster  Sergeant  of  the 
regiment,  and  served  in  that  capacity,  doing  the  work  of  the  Quartermaster,  in 
the  absence  of  that  officer  while  sick,  throughout  the  campaign  on  the  Peninsula 
under  General  McClellan.  At  Yorktown,  Va.,  his  health  failed,  and,  not  improv- 
ing during  his  furlough,  he  was  discharged  in  April,  1863,  being  considered  by 
the  army  surgeon  too  much  shattered  in  health  from  the  exposure  in  the  swamps 
of  the  Peninsula  for  further  service.  Thus  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  the 
service  just  as  he  was  about  to  be  commissioned  for  well-earned  distinction  at  his 
post  of  duty. 

In  1865  he  embarked  in  mercantile  pursuits  at  Tunkhannock,  Pa.,  and  five 
years  later  established  the  banking  house  of  F.  C.  Bunnell  &  Co.,  in  which 
business  he  is  still  engaged. 

In  1872  he  was  elected  as  a  Republican  over  Col.  Victor  E.  PioUet,  Democrat, 
to  serve  out  the  unexpired  term  in  the  Forty-second  Congress  of  Hon.  Ulysses 
Mercur,  who  resigned  by  reason  of  his  election  to  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Penn- 
sylvania; and  in  1874-76  and  1878  he  was  presented  as  the  choice  of  Wyoming 
count)'  as  their  representative  in  Congress,  but  was  defeated  in  the  Congressional 
conference.  In  1884,  however,  he  was  elected  to  the  Forty-ninth  Congress  as  a 
Republican  over  Hon.  George  A.  Post,  Democrat,  and  was  re-elected  to  the 
Fiftieth  Congress  over  Col.  Victor  E.  PioUet.  During  his  Congressional  career 
he  has  attained  distinction  as  a  faithful  worker  in  the  committees  to  which  he  is 
assigned,  and  as  a  representative  who  attends  to  the  interests  of  his  constituents 
in  a  painstaking,  thorough  manner.  At  this  time  his  popularity  is  not  confined 
to  his  own  Congressional  district,  but  extends  over  this  and  other  States.  His 
votes  on  all  important  questions  are  governed  by  rare  discrimination  and  are  be- 
yond criticism,  and,  although  making  no  pretense  to  oratory,  his  influence  and  ad- 
vice arc  courted  on  account  of  his  well-known  judgment  on  public  and  private 
measures  affecting  the  nation's  welfare.  Wyoming  county,  though  strongly 
Democratic,  has  always  given  him  a  large  majority  of  her  votes. 

Although  never  an  office-.seckcr,  he  has  held  a  large  number  of  minor  offices. 
lie  was  alternate  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  at  Chicago  in  1880;  was 
appointed  by  Governor  Iloyt  a  member  of  the  Bi-Centcnnial  Association  of 
Pennsylvania  for  Wyoming  county  in  1S82;  was  a  prominent  candidate  for  the 


FRANK    C.    BUNNELL.  45 

nomination  of  State  Treasurer  in  1883,  but  was  defeated  by  a  combination  in 
favor  of  Hon.  Wm.  Livesey,  of  Allegheny  county;  was  elected  Burgess  and 
Treasurer  of  Tunkhannock  in  1884;  was  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Education 
from  1882  to  1S85,  and  was  elected  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  in  1888. 

Mr.  Bunnell  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  farming,  and  has  been  elected 
annually  President  of  the  Wyoming  County  Agricultural  Society  since  its  organi- 
zation in  1876.  He  is  also  a  member  of  Post  98  G.  A.  R.,  and  prominent  in 
Freemasonry,  belonging  to  the  Lodge,  Chapter,  Council,  Commandery  and  Con- 
sistory, and  has  held  offices  in  most  of  these  bodies. 


Hon.  John    Patton. 


JOHN   PATTON. 

HON.  John  Patton,  now  representative  in  Congress  from  the  Twentieth 
Congressional  District,  was  born  in  Tioga  county,  Pa.,  January  6,  1823. 
His  paternal  grandfather.  Col.  John  Patton,  was  born  in  Sligo,  Ireland,  in 
1745.  Emigrating  to  America,  in  1761,  he  settled  in  Philadelphia,  where  he 
soon  became  a  prosperous  merchant.  During  the  Revolution  he  served  as  Col- 
onel of  the  Sixteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  line.  He  had  charge  of  the 
defences  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  most  critical  period  of  the  conflict 
was  among  the  number  of  patriotic  merchants  who  with  Robert  Morris  raised, 
on  their  own  private  bond,  the  sum  of  ;^26o,000  to  aid  Washington  in  his  need. 
He  was  an  honorary  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  in  1789 
moved  to  Centre  count}%  where  he  built  the  old  Centre  Furnace  in  1791,  the  first 
one  in  blast  west  of  Harrisburg.  He  died  in  1 804,  at  which  time  he  was  Major- 
General  of  a  division  of  the  State  militia. 

John  Patton's  maternal  grandfather,  Philip  Antes,  served  in  the  war  of  181 2. 
He  organized  the  first  society,  and  aided  in  building  the  first  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church — Old  Eagle  Chapel — in  Centre  county  in  1806,  and  gave  the  ground  for, 
and  aided  largely  in  building,  the  first  M.  E.  Church  in  Clearfield  county,  in  1829. 

His  father,  John  Patton,  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the  United  States  Navy,  serving 
under  Commodore  Stephen  Decatur.  In  1826  he  settled  in  Clearfield  county, 
and  two  years  later  (1828)  moved  to  Cur\vens\-ille,  when  John,  his  son,  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  five  years  of  age. 

His  mother,  Susan  Antes  Patton,  was  a  woman  of  remarkable  energy  and 
earnestness  of  character,  and  to  her  wise  forethought  and  Christian  influence 
Mr.  Patton  attributes  much  of  his  success.  She  was  a  member  of  his  household 
for  the  last  thirty-eight  years  of  her  life,  being  a  widow,  her  husband  dying  in 
1848;  and  the  intercourse  between  mother  and  son  was  of  the  most  delightful 
character.  She  died  at  the  ripe  age  of  ninet)"-two,  and  her  name  is  held  in  hal- 
lowed remembrance  by  all  who  knew  her. 

Mr.  Patton's  early  education  was  very  limited,  owing  to  the  want  of  facilities. 
The  country  was  new.  Public  schools  were  not  then,  as  they  now  are,  the 
crowning  glory  of  the  State.  His  mind  and  body,  however,  were  disciplined  in 
that  severe  though  useful  school — that  of  adversity.  At  the  early  age  of  twelve 
he  went  into  a  store  as  errand  boy,  and  in  1844  he  commenced  business  for 
himself  as  a  merchant  and  lumberman  with  borrowed  capital,  and  continued  in 
it  for  sixteen  years,  having  accumulated  a  fair  competency.  For  the  last  twenty- 
three  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  banking,  and  at  present  is  President  of  one 
of  the  most  successful  institutions  in  Central  Pennsylvania. 

In  politics  Mr.  Patton  was  a  Henry  Clay  Whig,  and  in  later  years  an  active 
Republican.     In  1852  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention  of  the  Whig 

(47) 


4$  JOHN    PATTON. 

party  at  Baltimore  that  nominated  General  Scott  for  President.  In  iS6o  he  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  Convention,  and  helped  nominate  Abraham  Lincoln. 
In  tlie  same  year,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  friends,  he  became  a  candidate 
and  was  elected  to  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  by  the  Twenty-fourth  District, 
carrj-ing  the  strong  Democratic  district,  and  likewise  the  Democratic  county  of 
Clearfield  for  the  first  time  in  its  history.  The  records  show  that  he  served  his 
constituents  well  during  that  trj'ing  period.  As  there  was  little  legislation 
needed  for  his  district  during  his  term,  Mr.  Patton  devoted  a  large  part  of  his 
time  to  looking  after  the  wounded  soldiers  of  the  army,  the  dead  and  d}'ing,  and 
the  visiting  of  battle-fields,  thus  developing  that  catholicity  of  spirit  which  has 
ever  since  been  one  of  his  marked  characteristics.  He  was  a  warm,  personal 
friend  of  Lincoln,  and  one  of  the  Pennsylvania  Electors  in  1 864  when  Lincoln 
was  re-elected.  It  was  in  accordance  with  his  motion  that  all  the  pay,  mileage, 
etc.,  of  the  Electoral  College  was  donated  to  the  United  States  Christian  Com- 
mission in  aid  of  the  suffering  soldiers. 

In  1848  he  was  appointed  aide  to  Governor  Johnson,  with  the  rank  of  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel;  and  in  June  of  the  following  year  was  commissioned  Brigadier- 
General  of  the  Fourth  Brigade  of  the  Fourteenth  Division  of  Uniformed  Militia, 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Juniata,  Mifflin,  Centre,  Huntingdon  and  Clearfield, 
by  a  strange  coincidence  commanding  a  brigade  of  the  same  division  his  grand- 
father was  Major-General  of  in  1794. 

Mr.  Patton  is  a  member-elect  of  the  Fiftieth  Congress,  having  overcome  an 
adverse  majority  of  2,500,  and  for  the  second  time  carrying  Clearfield  county. 
He  has  never  been  an  office-seeker,  but  was  induced  to  run  for  offices  of  trust 
and  responsibility  only  after  the  urgent  requests  of  a  large  number  of  men  com- 
posing the  best  elements  of  the  party  he  represents.  He  has  declined  a  re-elec- 
tion at  a  time  when  his  district  was  conceded  to  have  a  majority  of  2,000. 

Mr.  Patton  has  been  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  thirty- 
seven  years,  keenly  alive  to  all  its  interests,  and  a  liberal  contributor  to  every 
worthy  object  in  that  church,  and  also  to  every  other  church  in  the  vicinity. 
He  has  been  a  Director  of  Dickinson  Seminary,  and  a  Trustee  of  Dickinson 
College  and  of  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  and  was  a  delegate  to  the  General 
Conference  in  1872.  He  has  a  fund  of  ^12,000  in  the  Church  Extension  Society, 
known  as  "  The  Patton  Loan  Fund,"  for  the  building  of  churches  upon  the 
frontiers,  and  has  given  thousands  of  dollars  to  colleges  and  schools  at  various 
times.  He  built  the  "  Patton  Graded  Public  School  "  at  Curwensville,  a  building 
that  is  worth  525,000,  and  then  presented  it  to  the  Public  School  Board.  Super- 
intendent Higbcc  said  that  this  act  of  liberality  stood  alone  in  the  annals  of  the 
public  schools  of  the  State— an  individual  gift  of  the  donor  while  living. 

His  liberality  is  too  well  and  too  widely  known  to  need  further  endorsement. 
It  may  be  truly  said  of  him  that  no  deserving  person  and  no  worthy  cause  ever 
failed  to  receive  from  his  hands  the  help  .solicited.  In  his  peculiar  characteristic 
manner  he  sums  up  the  work  of  his  life  as  "  a  little  politics  and  a  little  giving." 


»'W«ii- 


MATTHEW   STANLEY   QUAY. 

IN  looking  over  the  history  of  Pennsylvania  one  is  ever  confronted  with  the  fact 
that  very  many  of  the  men  who  have  made  a  broad  mark  upon  its  pages 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  Scotch-Irish  race.  It  has  passed  into  a  tradition  that  its 
descendants  are  noted  for  their  strength  of  body  and  mind,  for  their  aggression 
and  undaunted  courage.  Take  from  the  pages  of  the  history  of  this  Common- 
wealth, and  indeed  of  the  nation,  the  long  list  of  men  who  have  sprung  from 
Scotch-Irish  parentage,  and  there  would  be  many  a  blank  page.  A  glance  at  the 
face  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  and  a  review  of  his  character  is  convincing  proof 
that  he  is  from  one  of  the  sturdiest  families  of  this  sturdy  stock. 

The  family  tradition  runs  that  about  1710  three  brothers  by  the  name  of  Quay 
left  the  Isle  of  Man,  emigrated  to  America,  and  settled  in  Canada.  As  early  as 
17 1 5  one  of  the  brothers  left  the  Dominion  and  settled  in  that  part  of  Pennsyl- 
vania which  is  now  Chester  county.  From  this  plant  the  Quay  family  of  Penn- 
sylvania sprang.  Joseph  Quay,  grandfather  of  the  ex-Secretary  of  State, 
was  the  eldest  son  of  the  man  bearing  the  same  name  who  first  made  a  home 
upon  Pennsylvania  soil  more  than  fifty  years  before  the  Revolution.  It  is  said 
that  he  was  a  strong  man,  intellectually  and  physically,  but  fond  of  fun  and  frolic, 
and  of  an  adventurous  disposition.  He  came  honestly  by  his  inclinations,  for  his 
father  before  him  was  fond  of  sports,  and  loved  the  life  of  a  soldier,  and  had  seen 
service  in  the  early  French  and  Indian  wars.  Joseph  Quay  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war;  and  again  in  the  war  of  181 2  the  family  name  appears  among  the 
first  of  the  volunteers  in  the  defence  of  the  new  Republic.  Joseph  Quay  was  a 
saddler  by  trade,  and  while  plying  his  vocation  in  Chester  county  he  fell  in  love 
with  the  daughter  of  a  well-to-do  gentleman  by  the  name  of  Anderson,  also  of 
Scotch-Irish  stock,  so  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch  springs  from  that  lineage  on 
both  sides.  After  a  short  courtship  the  two  were  married,  but  even  this  did  not 
curb  Mr.  Quay's  disposition  for  fun  rather  than  business,  and  he  spent  what  jarop- 
erty  he  could  gather  in  the  sports  of  the  field  and  turf  While  thus  engaged  a 
son  was  born,  whom  he  named  Anderson  Beaton  Quay,  after  the  father  of  his 
wife. 

This  son  was  of  studious  habits  and  early  in  life  showed  a  disposition  for  the 
ministry.  He  followed  the  traditional  bent  of  his  race,  became  a  Presbyterian 
clergyman,  and  made  a  circuit  in  York,  etc.,  extending  up  into  Franklin  county. 
Colonel  McClure's  father  was  a  deacon  in  the  church  where  Anderson  Quay 
preached,  and  often  when  a  boy  waited  upon  him  while  stopping  at  his  father's 
house.  He  even  met  and  knew  the  son,  who  has  since  been  his  political  oppo- 
nent, when  both  were  boys. 

Matthew  Stanley  Quay  was  born  at  Dillsburg,  York  county,  on  September 
30th,  1833.  Recalling  the  struggles  and  friendships  of  his  early  life  before  he  left 
7  (49) 


50  MATTHEW   S.    QUAY. 

Chester,  he  named  this  son  after  General  Matthew  Stanley,  of  Brandywine  Manor, 
in  that  county.  When  young  Quay  was  six  years  old  his  father  left  the  mission 
in  York  and  Franklin,  went  to  Pittsburgh  and  thence  to  Beaver  county,  and  for 
several  years  thereafter  ministered  to  congregations  in  various  sections  of  western 
Pennsylvania.  He  was  a  strong,  earnest  man,  and  his  name  is  to  this  day  men- 
tioned with  great  respect  by  those  who  remember  his  ministerial  efforts  in  both 
eastern  and  western  Pennsj-lvania.  Matt.  Quay,  as  he  was  universally  known  in 
early  as  well  as  in  later  life,  received  the  rudiments  of  an  English  education  from 
his  father  and  in  the  common  schools  of  the  sections  where  he  happened  to  be 
preaching.  He  adv^anced  so  rapidly  in  his  studies  that  before  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  was  sent  to  Jefferson  College,  in  Washington  county,  where  he 
graduated  with  honors  just  after  passing  his  seventeenth  year.  He  soon  after 
began  the  study  of  law  in  Pittsburgh  with  Judge  Sterrett,  but  he  had  not  pursued 
his  studies  long  before  a  desire  for  travel  became  stronger  than  the  disposition  to 
fit  himself  for  a  profession,  and  he  and  a  college  friend  started  for  the  South. 
Thej-  spent  nearly  a  j-ear  in  travelling  through  that  section.  They  happened 
there  when  the  agitation  of  Union  and  dis-Union  questions  had  begun,  and  he 
returned  to  Pittsburgh  on  a  visit  to  his  parents,  with  the  intention  of  returning  to 
Louisiana  and  starting  a  Union  paper,  with  his  college  friend,  at  Shreveport. 
His  mother,  however,  objected  to  his  making  his  home  in  the  South,  and  she  had 
sufficient  influence  over  him  to  restrain  his  youthful  ardor,  and  for  a  time  he 
remained  at  home.  After  a  time,  however,  he  broke  away  from  the  restraint  of 
home  and  went  South  and  settled  in  Texas  when  that  State  was  next  to  a  wilder- 
ness. The  story  of  his  sojourn  in  the  Lone  Star  State  constitutes  a  very  inter- 
esting chapter  of  his  life.  He  lectured  a  little  and  finally  went  to  teaching  school 
in  Colorado  county.  While  so  engaged  the  Comanche  Lidians  became  very 
troublesome,  and  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  raising  of  a  regiment  of 
mounted  rangers  for  service  against  the  Indians. 

Young  Quay  closed  up  his  school,  took  what  little  money  he  had,  bought  a 
pony  and  a  rifle,  and  started  for  Austin,  the  capital  of  the  State.  He  reached 
there  the  day  the  Legislature  adjourned,  and  the  bill  for  the  organization  and 
payment  of  the  regiment  failed  to  pass  the  Senate.  This  was  his  first  lesson  in 
the  uncertainty  of  legislation.  He  has  had  many  since  that  time,  but  none  more 
serious.  On  the  same  day  the  news  of  the  inauguration  of  President  Pierce  and 
the  announcement  of  his  Cabinet  was  received. 

"  I  shall  never  forget,"  said  Mr.  Quay,  in  speaking  of  his  arrival  in  Austin, 
"the  ludicrous  scenes  in  the  streets  of  that  town  on  that  eventful  and,  to  me, 
unfortunate  day.  The  town  was  full  of  young  men,  each  with  a  pony  and  rifle, 
but  without  a  dollar  in  their  pockets  and  many  miles  from  home.  All  had  come 
down  as  I  had,  expecting  to  j<jin  the  regiment,  and  had  invested  all  their  cash  in 
an  outfit  for  the  service."  In  this  crowd  of  disappointed  frontiersmen  young 
Quay  .sat  upon  his  pony,  with  a  rifle  slung  over  his  siioulder  and  his  big  som- 
brero shading  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  from  his  face,  wondering  what  to  do. 


MATTHEW    S.    QUAY.  5^ 

He  decided  to  sell  his  pony  and  rifle  and  return  to  New  Orleans.  He  did  so, 
and  got  just  about  money  enough  to  take  him  there.  This  decision  changed  the 
current  of  his  life,  and  when  he  started  to  leave  Texas  he  took  the  first  step 
toward  the  prominence  he  has  gained. 

He  reached  the  Crescent  City  in  the  midst  of  the  cholera  season,  and  in  that 
year  the  scourge  was  at  its  worst.  People  died  so  rapidly  that  they  could  not  be 
buricil.  It  may  be  imagined  that  he  (.lid  not  tarry  long,  but  pushed  on  North, 
and  finally,  after  a  struggle,  reached  the  home  of  his  mother  in  Beaver  county. 
His  last  experiences  South  made  the  quiet  of  his  Pennsylvania  home  agreeable 
to  him,  and  he  at  once  resumed  his  legal  studies  with  R.  P.  Roberts,  then  an 
eminent  lawyer  in  that  county,  who  was  afterwards  a  Colonel  in  the  late  war. 

In  1S54,  ten  days  after  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age,  he  was  admitted  to  the 
bar.  In  1855  he  was  appointed  Prothonotary  of  Beaver  county.  In  1856  he  was 
elected  to  that  office  and  re-elected  in  1859.  In  1861  he  resigned  the  Prothon- 
otaryship  and  enlisted  in  the  Eleventh  Pennsylvania  Reserves,  and  was  soon 
thereafter  made  a  First  Lieutenant.  Before  his  regiment  was  ordered  into  active 
service  Governor  Curtin  appointed  him  Assistant  Commissary-General  upon  his 
staff,  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and  he  was  sunnnoned  to  Ilarrisburg 
to  enter 'upon  his  duties. 

His  capacity  for  dealing  with  men  and  meeting  emergencies  soon  attracted 
the  attention  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact.  His  great  capacity  for  work 
and  for  mastering  the  details  of  whatever  service  devolved  upon  him  in  the 
organization  and  preparation  for  active  service  of  the  great  number  of  troops 
Pennsylvania  was  then  mustering  for  the  field,  gave  him  a  high  place  in  the 
esteem  of  the  authorities,  and  when  the  military  staff  of  the  Governor  was 
abolished.  Governor  Curtin  made  him  his  private  secretary.  In  this  office  his 
good  judgment  and  great  capacity  for  work  were  as  apparent  as  in  the  perform- 
ance of  his  military  duties.  Much  of  the  great  strain  upon  the  executive 
department,  consequent  upon  the  war  and  the  organization  of  great  bodies  of 
troops,  naturally  fell  to  his  lot,  but  he  proved  equal  to  every  emergency,  and 
won  and  held  the  good  opinion  of  all  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

After  serving  something  more  than  a  year  in  this  capacity,  Governor  Curtin 
gave  a  public  recognition  of  his  efficient  service  by  making  him  Colonel  of  the 
One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth  Pennsylvania  Infantry.  He  assumed  command 
of  that  regiment  early  in  August,  1862.  The  regiment  left  Harrisburg  for 
Washington  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  and  on  the  30th  of  that  month  made  a 
forced  march  toward  the  battle-field  while  the  second  contest  at  Bull  Run  was 
being  fought.  It  did  not  reach  there  in  time  to  participate  in  the  fight,  and 
returned  to  the  defences  about  Washington.  In  the  Antietam  campaign  it  made 
another  forced  march  towards  South  Mountain,  but  reached  the  battle-field  of 
Antietam  just  too  late  to  participate  in  that  fight.  The  regiment  remained  in 
camp  near  the  battle-field  until  the  30th  of  October.  While  there,  Colonel 
Quay  was  stricken  with  typhoid  fever,  and  his  friends  for  some  time  despaired 


:;2  MATTHEW   S.    QUAY. 

of  his  recover}".  In  November  the  regiment  moved  without  its  Colonel  to  the 
neighborhood  of  Fredericksburg,  Va.  Colonel  Quay  returned  to  his  regiment 
early  in  December,  but  so  reduced  by  disease  as  to  be  totally  unfit  for  duty,  and 
it  was  thought  by  his  closest  friends  that  he  would  not  live  long.  Upon  the 
advice  of  eminent  surgeons  he  resigned  his  commission,  and  the  acceptance  of 
it  arrived  upon  the  eve  of  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg.  Although  no  longer  an 
officer  in  the  army,  and  with  every  preparation  made  to  start  for  home  at  once, 
he  was  unwilling  that  the  regiment  should  go  into  battle  without  him.  He,  of 
course,  could  not  command  it,  so  he  volunteered  as  an  aide  upon  the  staff  of 
General  Tyler,  who  commanded  the  brigade  in  which  his  regiment  was  serving, 
and  participated  in  that  great  battle.  In  his  official  report  of  that  fight.  General 
Tyler  bears  the  following  striking  tribute  to  Colonel  Quay's  gallantry. 

He  says :  "  Colonel  M.  S.  Quay,  late  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Thirty-fourth, 
was  upon  my  staff  as  a  volunteer  aide-de-camp,  and  to  him  I  am  greatly 
indebted.  Notwithstanding  his  enfeebled  health,  he  was  in  the  saddle  early  and 
late,  ever  prompt  and  efficient,  and  especially  so  during  the  engagement.  It  is 
told  of  him  that  when  he  went  into  the  fight  he  was  all  ready  to  start  home,  and 
that  his  men  had  sent  considerable  money  by  him  to  friends  and  kindred  in 
Pennsylvania.  But  that  so  intent  was  he  upon  going  into  the  fight  with  the 
regiment  his  health  had  forced  him  to  leave  just  on  the  eve  of  battle,  that  when 
General  Tyler  accepted  his  services  as  a  staff  officer  he  forgot  money  and  all 
else,  and  went  into  the  action  with  it  on  his  person." 

He  returned  to  Pennsylvania  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg, 
and  Governor  Curtin  at  once  appointed  him  Military  State  Agent  at  Washing- 
ton, a  position  of  great  labor  and  responsibility.  No  State  in  the  Union  was 
more  earnest  in  the  care  of  her  soldiers  than  Pennsylvania.  Its  Governor  had 
promised  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion  that  no  soldier  killed  in  battle  or 
dying  of  disease  should  be  buried  off  her  soil.  Governor  Curtin's  object  in 
appointing  a  man  of  Colonel  Quay's  ability  to  the  position  of  State  Agent  at 
Washington  was,  that  the  provisions  of  that  agreement  might  be  carried  out  to 
the  letter.  This  imposed  upon  him  delicate  and  onerous  duties — such  as  a 
watchful  care  over  the  sick  and  wounded,  the  forwarding  of  dead  bodies  home, 
and  generally  a  watchful  eye  over  the  interests  of  Pennsylvania  soldiers  in  camp 
and  on  the  field.  Although  quite  feeble  during  mo.st  of  the  time  he  held  that 
position,  thousands  of  Pennsylvania  soldiers  have  borne  tribute  to  the  fidelity 
with  which  he  performed  that  trust. 

In  1S63  the  Legislature  created  the  office  of  Military  Secretary,  and  Governor 
Curtin,  recalling  the  faithful  energy  and  careful  intelligence  ot  his  former  private 
secretar)',  at  once  transferred  Colonel  Quay  from  the  position  of  Military  State 
Agent  at  Washington  to  the  post  of  Military  Secretary  at  Harri.sburg.  Soon 
after  he  had  taken  his  new  position,  the  death  of  Colonel  Sees,  Superintendent 
of  Transportation  and  Telegraph,  imposed  the  additional  duties  of  that  position 
upon  him.     He  held  these  two  important  offices  and  the  closest  confidential 


MATTHEW    S.    QUAY.  53 

relations  with  the  Governor  for  two  years  or  more,  during  which  time  his  duties 
were  of  the  most  exacting  character. 

In  1865  he  resigned  these  positions  to  take  his  seat  in  the  Legislature  from 
the  counties  of  Washington  and  Beaver,  to  wliich  he  had  been  elected  in  1864. 
He  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means  of  that  body, 
and  some  of  the  most  important  legislation  enacted  during  his  first  legislative 
service  bore  the  impress  of  his  intelligent  work.  His  first  memorable  political 
contest  was  in  1866,  when  he  was  the  presiding  genius  in  the  political  move 
which  resulted  in  the  election  of  James  R.  Kelly  as  Speaker  of  the  House.  In 
this  fight  he  began  to  develop  into  the  sagacious  political  leader  he  has  since 
become,  and  being  a  friend  of  Governor  Curtin's,  he  was  naturally  led  into 
antagonisms  with  the  then  ruling  power  in  Pennsylvania  politics. 

When  he  first  came  to  Harrisburg,  at  Governor  Curtin's  bidding,  he  naturally 
met  Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  then  a  power  in  the  Republican  party.  He  was 
the  recognized  leader  of  the  political  forces  Governor  Curtin  represented. 
McClure  and  himself  renewed  the  acquaintance  began  in  their  childhood  days, 
when  Colonel  Quay's  father  preached  in  Colonel  McClure's  neighborhood  and 
spent  Sunday  at  his  father's  house.  They  became  friends,  and  although  they 
are  now  and  have  been  for  years  widely  apart  in  politics,  and  have  had  hard 
fights,  their  personal  relations  have  never  been  disturbed.  I  have  heard  Colonel 
McClure  say  of  Colonel  Quay's  services  upon  the  staff  of  the  Governor:  "  His 
services  were  invaluable  to  Governor  Curtin,  both  as  a  soldier  and  civilian 
during  the  war,  and  he  was  true  to  his  political  interests  after  it,  as  long  as 
Curtin  was  a  candidate  for  place  within  the  Republican  party.  He  is  a  bold 
fighter,  but  a  faithful  friend." 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  a  man  of  Colonel  McClure's  sagacity  should,  when 
Colonel  Quay  entered  political  life,  make  him  a  political  friend,  ally  and  coun- 
sellor in  the  great  moves  he  was  then  making  to  control  the  Republican  party 
of  the  State  in  the  interest  of  Governor  Curtin.  He  was  just  the  man  to  see  the 
power  in  Colonel  Quay  for  such  service ;  therefore  it  was  not  strange  that  when 
he  went  to  the  Legislature  Colonel  McClure  looked  upon  him  as  the  strongest 
weapon  at  command  with  which  to  fight  Governor  Curtin's  opponent. 

The  Legislature  of  1867  met  under  most  peculiar  circumstances.  Governor 
Curtin,  General  Simon  Cameron,  Thad.  Stevens,  Colonel  Forney  and  General 
Morehead  were  candidates  for  the  United  States  Senate.  Curtin  had  a  majority 
of  the  Legislature,  as  it  is  claimed,  to  his  candidacy,  and  the  test  vote  was  to  be 
upon  the  Speakership.  Colonel  Quay  was  selected  as  Governor  Curtin's  candi- 
date, but  he  was,  after  a  verj'  bitter  fight,  defeated  by  a  combination  of  the  forces 
of  all  the  candidates  for  United  States  Senator  against  him. 

The  defeat  of  Colonel  Quay  for  Speaker  settled  Governor  Curtin's  fate  for  the 
Senatorship,  and  General  Simon  Cameron  was  elected.  Governor  Curtin  then 
dropped  out  of  politics  as  an  aspirant  for  place  within  the  State.  Alexander 
McClure  left  the  State  and  quit  politics,  and  Colonel  Quay  went  boldly  to  the 


54  MATTllKW    S.    QUAY. 

front  as  a  leader.  Mis  defeat  for  the  Spcaker.ship  only  sharpened  his  appetite 
for  other  contests,  and  in  the  winter  of  1868  the  war  between  the  factions  was 
renewed,  and  Colonel  Quay  scored  a  victory  in  the  election  of  Mr.  Irwin,  the 
anti-Cameron  candidate,  for  State  Treasurer.  This  same  year  Governor  Curtin 
was  sent  to  Russia  and  Colonel  Quay  was  left  to  fight  by  himself. 

In  that  year  he  was  made  Secretary  of  the  Republican  State  Central  Com- 
mittee, and  that  campaign  bore  the  marks  of  his  organizing  skill  and  untiring 
industry.  Curtin  having  been  provided  for,  this  campaign  settled  the  differences 
within  the  Republican  party,  and  in  1869  John  Scott  was  elected  United  States 
Senator.  Robert  W.  Mackey  was  that  year  chosen  State  Treasurer  through 
Colonel  Quay's  efforts.  He  really  created  Mackey  a  political  power  in  this 
State.  This  result  brought  Colonel  Quay  and  Robert  W.  Mackey,  since  counted 
the  boldest  and  most  sagacious  political  leader  in  the  country,  into  close 
sympathy  and  thorough  working  union.  In  the  campaigns  which  followed, 
bearing  the  stamp  of  their  work  in  every  line,  their  names  as  political  leaders 
became  as  wide  as  the  limits  of  the  country. 

Colonel  Quay  always  had  a  taste  for  journalism,  and,  during  the  campaign  of 
1869  established  in  Beaver  a  paper  called  the  Beaver  Radical.  He  issued  it 
without  notice  and  without  a  single  subscriber.  But  it  was  conducted  with  such 
rare  ability  and  energy  that  it  at  once  took  a  leading  position  among  the  papers 
of  the  State  and  secured  a  strong  patronage.  As  long  as  Colonel  Quay's  name 
was  associated  with  it  it  was  more  largely  quoted  than  any  other  paper  in  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania.  Its  editorials  were  terse  and  forcible  and  its  general 
tone  bold  and  uncompromising.  In  the  bitter  and  memorable  contest  which 
resulted  in  the  election  of  General  John  F.  Hartranft  as  Governor,  the  Beaver 
Radical  and  its  editor  bore  an  important  part.  Indeed,  but  for  the  work  of 
Colonel  Quay  and  Mr.  Mackey,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  Republicans  could 
have  saved  the  State.  There  was  a  most  bitter  and  unrelenting  assault  made 
upon  Governor  Hartranft,  and  it  took  untiring  energy  and  careful  organization 
to  secure  his  election.  When  Hartranft  was  inaugurated  as  Governor,  he  made 
Colonel  Quay  Secretary  of  State,  and  he  held  that  position  until  he  was  made 
Recorder  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia.  While  holding  the  latter  place  he  was  very 
widely  spoken  of  for  the  United  States  Senatorship,  and  but  for  the  fact  that  his 
party  fealty  and  devotion  to  friends  had  led  him  to  make  sacrifices  which  had 
been  taken  advantage  of  to  create  popular  prejudice  against  him,  he  would  have 
at  that  time  been  elected  United  States  Senator.  After  he  left  the  Recorder's 
office  he  was  made  Secretary  of  State  by  Governor  Iloyt. 

In  November,  1885,  Colonel  Quay  was  elected  State  Treasurer  by  nearly 
50,000  majority,  and  while  .still  the  incumbent  of  that  office  was  chosen  by  the 
Legislature  of  1887  United  States  Senator,  to  succeed  Senator  Mitchell,  whose 
term  c.\[)ircd  March  4th  of  that  year. 

A  man  who  has  played  as  hold  and  broad  a  hand  in  politics  as  Colonel  Quay 
naturally  could   not   have   escaped  violent  criticism,  no  matter  how  correct  his 


MATTHEW   S.    QUAY.  55 

acts.  It  wa.s  not  in  tlie  nature  of  thincjs,  that,  with  his  stronjj;',  positive  nature, 
wliich  never  considered  retreat,  oftentimes  lack  of  poHcy,  and  the  use  of  power 
necessary  for  party  success,  that  he  should  not  have  made  enemies  and  created 
antagonisms,  even  among  the  timid  of  his  own  party,  that  could  not  easily  be 
healed.  He  has  been  severely  criticised,  but  it  has  never  seemed  to  disturb  him 
or  to  change  his  purpose  when  fixed.  When  Robert  VV.  Mackey  died,  he  was 
left  as  the  undisputed  leader  of  party  action,  the  man  whose  judgment  was  law 
and  whose  political  wisdom  and  boldness  were  worth  a  regiment  of  half-hearted 
politicians.  He  has  shown  matchless  powers  as  a  political  leader  ever  since  he 
entered  public  life,  and  no  matter  what  enemies  may  say  of  him  there  is  no  man 
who  does  not  respect  his  intelligence,  admire  his  courage  and  recognize  his  com- 
manding power  in  political  movements. 

He  is  a  true  man,  an  earnest  and  uncompromising  friend  and  an  unrelenting 
foe.  These  qualities  have  made  him  ofttimes  stand  for  the  shortcoming  of  friends. 
It  is  not  time  for  people  to  judge  him  or  his  acts  dispassionately,  for  his  grip  is 
j'ct  too  strong  upon  the  handle  of  political  power  to  silence  the  tongue  of 
vituperation  or  to  direct  the  public  mind  to  a  dispassionate  criticism  of  his  acts. 
When  he  is  gone  the  country,  and  especially  his  State,  will  recognize  his  worth 
and  sift  his  qualities  of  head  and  heart  to  find  many  more  grains  of  gold  than 
dross. 

No  man  who  does  not  know  Mr.  Quay's  character  can  appreciate  the  qualities 
of  the  man.  The  fact  that  he  has  been  so  long  the  master  of  political  chess- 
boards, and  consequently  a  target  for  all  sorts  of  criticism,  has  fixed  him  in^he 
minds  of  the  people  as  a  very  different  man  from  his  real  self  He  is  a  remark- 
ably studious  man,  and  his  stock  of  information  on  all  subjects  is  surpassed 
by  that  of  few  men  in  the  country.  He  is  a  careful  reader  of  history,  science 
and  current  literature,  and  possesses  many  fine  traits  of  character.  He  is  liberal 
handed,  steadfast  in  his  friendships,  as  genial  in  his  social  relations  as  he  is  often 
rugged  in  politics.  A.  W.  N. 

Since  the  above  was  written  Mr.  Quay  was  honored  by  being  selected  as 
Chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee  and  also  as  Chairman  of  the 
Executive  Committee  of  that  body.  As  such  he  had  controlling  charge  of  the 
canvass  for  his  party  during  the  Presidential  contest  of  1888.  As  a  delegate  to 
the  Chicago  nominating  convention  Mr.  Quay  was  a  staunch  supporter  of  Senator 
Sherman,  of  Ohio,  but  it  was  with  the  hearty  approval  of  General  Harrison,  the 
successful  nominee,  that  Senator  Quay  was  appointed  the  Chairman  of  the 
National  Committee  to  conduct  the  canvass.  The  appointment  elicited  the  warm 
approval  of  the  leading  men  of  his  party,  and  was  acknowledged  to  be  a  wise 
one  by  the  opposition.     [Eds.] 


Hon.  John    H.   Mitchell. 


JOPiN   H.   MITCHELL. 

HON.  John  H.  Mitchell,  United  States  Senator  from  the  State  of  Oreg-on, 
was  born  in  Washington  county,  Pa.,  June  22,  1835.  His  boyhood  days 
were  passed  upon  a  farm  in  Butler  county.  Pa,,  to  which  locaHty  his  parents  had 
removed  when  he  was  two  years  old.  Bright  and  apt,  and  giving  signs  of  marked 
intelligence,  his  parents  determined  that  he  should  be  given  an  opportunity  to 
gratify  his  thirst  for  knowledge.  So  he  was  sent  to  the  Witherspoon  Institute, 
an  establishment  ranking  high  among  the  educational  institutions  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania.  Diligent  in  his  studies  and  ambitious  to  take  advantage  of 
the  opportunities  thus  afforded  him,  young  Mitchell  became,  as  was  to  be 
expected,  the  leader  of  his  class,  and  in  due  time  graduated  with  high  honors. 

Choosing  law  as  the  profession  to  which  he  desired  to  devote  himself,  he  entered 
the  office  of  Hon.  Samuel  A.  Purviance,  then  the  leading  attorney  of  that  por- 
tion of  Pennsylvania  of  which  in  those  days  Butler  was  the  centre.  Mr.  Purviance, 
who  was  subsequently  Attorney-General  of  the  State,  was  at  the  time  Mitchell 
entered  his  office  a  member  of  Congress,  and  was  a  man  of  national  reputation. 
Under  the  instruction  of  Purviance,  who  took  a  great  interest  in  his  pupil,  the 
young  student  made  rapid  progress  in  overcoming  the  intricate  windings  of  the 
subtle  law.  To  read  law  is  one  thing,  to  read  and  understand  it  is.  another. 
Young  Mitchell  was  not  satisfied  with  the  mere  reading;  his  nature  was  such 
that  he  could  not  content  himself  with  memorizing — he  must  comprehend  his 
subject;  in  other  words,  make  it  part  of  himself  This  thoroughness  which 
marked  him  as  a  student  of  the  law  has  remained  one  of  the  strongest  character- 
istics of  the  man,  and  has  had  much  to  do  with  his  success  in  life.  Admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1856,  he  soon  after  removed  to  the  Pacific  Coast,  an  inviting  field  for 
self-reliance,  genius  and  ambition.  A  remarkable  set  of  men  were  those  who 
laid  the  foundations  of  constitutional  liberty  on  those  far-off  shores,  and  the  com- 
monwealths they  created  are  the  best  monuments  to  their  ability,  energy  and 
indomitable  will.  They  were  of  a  superior  race,  the  flower  of  the  youth  of  the 
older  States  ;  men  of  calibre  and  will  and  expanding  thought.  And  in  this  con- 
nection it  may  be  well  right  here  to  call  attention  to  a  fact  not  generally  recog- 
nized, that  it  was  from  among  this  body  of  men  came  the  leaders  who  successfully 
waged  the  battle  for  the  Union.  Grant  passed  his  early  manhood  on  the  Pacific 
Coast,  and  the  lessons  he  there  learned,  and  the  persistency  which  was  charac- 
teristic of  the  type  of  manhood  of  which  we  are  speaking,  he  carried  into  the  war, 
and  the  same  spirit  which  overcame  the  perils  of  the  desert  and  laughed  at  the 
obstacles  of  towering  mountains  and  reduced  the  savage  to  abject  fear  conquered 
the  rebellion.  Sherman  was  a  banker  in  San  Francisco,  Phil  Sheridan  a  lieuten- 
ant in  Oregon,  and  Joe  Hooker  a  civil  engineer  amid  the  wilds  of  Rogue  river  in 
Oregon.  Baker,  the  orator,  the  soldier  and  statesman,  was  preaching  the  "  doc- 
**  (57) 


58  JOHN    H.    MITCHELL. 

trine  of  the  new  crusade  "  in  the  land  of  the  Argonauts.  Brave,  generous  men  ! 
A  grateful  country  recognizes  their  worth,  and  does  homage  to  the  memory  of 
those  who  have  passed  over  to  the  majority.  A  man  of  small  ideas  and  petty 
puiposes  could  make  no  headway  in  a  current  of  humanity  like  this.  That 
Mitchell  succeeded  amid  such  surroundings  is  the  best  evidence  as  to  the  quality 
of  his  manhood. 

His  first  conspicuous  public  appearance  was  at  the  formation  of  what  was 
known  as  the  Union  party  in  Oregon.  There  was  a  sentiment  on  the  Pacific 
Coast  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  in  favor  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  what  was  to  be  known  as  a  Pacific  Coast  Republic.  Lovers  of 
the  Union  were  aware  that  if  this  scheme  was  successful  the  fate  of  the  nation 
was  to  be  despaired  of,  and  that  this  peril,  though  insignificant  in  comparison 
with  others  which  then  threatened  its  existence,  would  be  sufficient  to  hasten 
and  bring  about  the  success  of  those  who  elsewhere  were  determined  upon  the 
destruction  of  the  Union.  It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Mitchell  first  came  to  the 
front  as  a  political  leader,  and  his  voice  and  influence  were  on  the  side  of  the 
Union.  The  welding  of  the  Union  sentiment  into  a  political  organization  stood 
as  a  menace  to  the  schemes  of  those  who  were  plotting  the  establishment  of  this 
Pacific  Republic,  and  in  the  face  of  this  organized  protest  the  plotters  were  com- 
pelled to  abandon  their  proposed  project.  And  thus  was  a  great  national  calamity 
avertsd.  As  the  representative  of  the  Union  party,  Mitchell  was  elected  to  the 
State  Senate  of  Oregon,  and  was  chosen  presiding  officer  of  that  body.  Growing 
in  popularit}-  he  soon  became  the  recognized  leader  of  his  party,  and  in  1866 
(although  not  a  candidate  in  the  meaning  of  that  term)  came  within  one  vote  of 
the  caucus  nomination  for  United  States  Senator. 

In  1872  he  was  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  for  the  term  commencing 
March  4,  1873.  He  was  assigned  to  the  Conmiittee  on  Privileges  and  Elections, 
then  one  of  the  most  important  committees  of  that  body,  and  was  also  given  a 
place  on  Railroads  (of  which  he  afterward  became  Chairman),  Transportation 
Routes  to  the  Seaboard,  Claims,  and  Commerce.  During  the  struggle  which 
followed  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1876,  Mr.  Mitchell  was  for  a  time  acting 
Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and  P^lcctions.  Governor  Morton, 
the  Chairman,  was  incapacitated  from  serving  owing  to  his  being  a  member  of 
the  I'^lectoral  Commission.  The  duties  thus  devolved  upon  him  were  onerous 
and  grave,  as  much  depended  upon  the  course  of  that  committee  as  to  what 
would  be  the  outcome  of  a  contention  that  contained  within  its  environments 
the  horrid  .spectre  of  another  civil  war.  A  mistake,  no  matter  how  trifling, 
would  have  precipitated  upon  the  country  a  struggle,  the  result  of  which  was 
beyond  human  ken,  and  the  contemplation  of  which  even  at  this  distant  day 
causes  one  to  shudder.  That  Mitchell  met  the  responsibilities  imposed  upon 
him  with  excellent  judgment  is  evidenced  by  the  lesult.  The  preparation  of 
the  Republican  side  of  the  case  depended  largely  upon  the  result  of  the  inves- 
tigations that  were  being  pursued  by  the  Committee  on  Privileges  and  Elections, 


JDHN    )I.    MITCHELL.  5g 

and  so  tlioroughly  were  these  iiivestii^ations  conducted  that  it  was  made  mani- 
fest that  truth  and  equity  were  on  the  side  of  the  RepubUcan  contestants. 
Public  sentiment  acquiesced  in  tlie  judgment  of  the  conniiittee,  and  the  decis- 
ion of  the  Electoral  Commission,  based  in  a  large  measure  upon  the  labors 
of  that  committee,  was  sustained  by  the  country,  and  Mr.  Hayes  was  safely 
seated  in  the  Presidential  chair. 

The  same  indomitable  energy  that  marked  Mr.  Mitchell's  conduct  on  this 
occasion  is  also  typical  of  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  interests  of  his  State.  The 
Columbia  river,  a  majestic  stream,  second  only  to  the  "  Father  of  Waters,"  and 
draining  a  country  richer  by  far  than  the  famous  valley  of  the  Nile,  is  obstructed 
at  several  places,  particularly  at  The  Dalles,  where  the  immense  volume  of  water 
rushes  through  a  narrow  gorge  at  lightning  rapidity,  and  at  the  Cascades, 
where  the  waters  tumble  and  dash  over  countless  boulders  of  immense  size, 
creating  eddies  and  swift  currents,  so  that  navigation  at  these  two  points  is  impos- 
sible, and  as  a  result  portages  have  to  be  made  and  a  trans-shipment  rendered 
necessary.  To  overcome  these  obstacles  and  make  the  Columbia  a  free  river 
(for  it  is  apparent  that  those  who  control  the  portages  also  control,  or,  perhaps, 
what  is  a  better  and  truer  expression,  own  the  river)  has  been  the  prayer  of  the 
people  of  Oregon  for  years.  Various  projects  to  overcome  these  obstructions 
were  from  time  to  time  presented  and  discussed,  and  finally  laid  aside,  as  such 
projects  usually  arc  unless  backed  by  some  earnest  man.  Among  the  first  steps 
taken  by  Mr.  Mitchell  soon  after  his  election  to  the  Senate  was  to  secure  the 
aid  of  the  national  go\'ernment  in  removing  these  obstructions.  After  countless 
difficulties  he  finally  succeeded  in  obtaining  an  appropriation  for  the  construction 
of  a  system  of  locks  at  the  Cascades,  and  this  work,  though  not  progressing  with 
the  activity  that  its  importance  demands,  but  still  with  the  same  sort  of  activity 
that  marks  all  enterprises  under  the  supervision  of-  the  government,  v/ill  be 
finished  in  a  year  or  two.  In  the  meantime  he  did  not  relax  his  efforts  to  get 
the  Government  committed  to  some  plan  for  overcoming  the  obstructions  at  The 
Dalles,  and  so  persistent  and  energetic  have  his  efforts  been  that  at  the  present 
session  (First  Session,  Fiftieth  Congress)  the  Senate  has  passed  his  bill  for  a  boat 
railway,  for  the  commencement  of  which  $500,000  ai'e  appropriated ;  and  when 
this  work  is  completed,  and  the  last  obstruction  to  the  free  navigation  of  the 
Columbia  is  thus  removed,  "  a  mighty  river  will  go  mingling  with  his  name 
forever." 

At  the  close  of  his  first  term  the  Democrats  had  succeeded  in  getting  control  , 
of  the  Legislature  ;  and  it  is  claimed  that  their  success  was  brought  about  through 
the  instrumentality  of  a  company  that  controlled  the  navigation  of  the  Columbia 
river,  and  was  opposed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  any  effort  to  rend  that  stream 
from  the  grasp  of  a  soulless  and  selfish  monopoly.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  Demo- 
crats were  successful.  In  1882,  the  Republicans  again  being  in  majority  in  the 
Legislature,  Mr.  Mitchell  received  the  nomination  for  Senator,  two-thirds  of  the 
Republicans  in  the   Legislature  voting  for  him  in  caucus.     P'or  forty  days  the 


60  JOHN    H.    MITCHELL. 

Legislature ^ballotted  without  result,  IMitchell  during  most  of  the  time  receiving 
forty-five  votes,  or  within  one  necessary  to  elect.  This  failure  to  elect  was 
broucrht  about  by  a  bolt  of  a  few  malcontents,  actuated  by  personal  motives  and 
aims,  but  on  which,  however,  they  ha\e  ne\'er  realized.  Seeing  that  his  election 
was  impossible,  Mr.  Mitchell  threw  his  influence  in  favor  of  his  former  law 
partner,  J.  N.  Dolph,  who  was  elected  in  the  closing  hours  of  the  session.  In 
18S5  the  Legislature  failed  to  elect.  At  a  called  session  Mr.  Mitchell,  though 
no't  a  candidate,  was  elected  by  the  votes  of  both  Republicans  and  Democrats,  it 
being  the  almost  universal  wish  of  the  people  of  the  State  that  he  be  returned  to 
the  Senate.  In  the  present  Congress  he  is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Transportation  Routes  to  the  Seaboard,  and  is  a  member  of  the  Committees  on 
Claims,  Post-offices  and  Post-roads,  Railroads,  and  Mines  and  Mining. 

As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Mitchell  is  clear-headed  and  quick  to  appreciate  and  appre- 
hend a  point.  His  legal  arguments  are  perspicacious,  and  marked  by  thorough- 
ness and  research.  In  the  debate  in  the  Senate  on  the  Inter-State  Commerce 
Bill  he  took  a  position  as  to  the  proper  construction  of  that  measure,  which  has 
been  followed  by  the  courts  when  called  upon  to  construe  the  law,  and  the 
decisions  of  the  Commission  have  been  on  a  line  with  his  argument — an  argu- 
ment, too,  which  was  contravened  by  some  who  have  the  reputation  of  being 
able  law>-ers,  but  who  in  this  instance  appear  to  have  misconceived  the  scope 
and  purposes  of  the  bill. 

True  to  his  friendships,  Mr.  Mitchell  has  the  largest  personal  following  of  any 
political  leader  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  this  following  is  by  no  means  confined 
to  Republicans,  but  his  admirers  are  to  be  found  on  the  other  side  of  the  party 
wall,  and  are  no  less  enthusiastic  in  their  praises  of  him  than  those  of  his  followers 
who  are  of  the  same  political  faith  with  him.  The  future  has  much  in  store  for 
him ;  for  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  ability,  energy  and  sincerity  are  to  be 
overlooked.  The  country  must  ever  rely  upon  its  earnest  men — men  of  deep 
convictions,  courage,  sincerity  and  honesty  of  purpose ;  and  such  a  man  is  John 
H.  Mitchell. 


Hon.  Andrew   G.  Curtin. 


ANDREW   GREGG   CURTIN. 

THE  infant  Republic  had  concluded  its  second  conflict  with  the  mother 
country  and  the  European  wars  provoked  by  Napoleon  had  been  settled. 
The  rush  of  immigration  from  the  Old  World  to  the  New  began  immediately 
afterward,  and  was  a  prominent  figure  in  that  epoch  which  marked  a  marvellous 
change  in  our  government.  Up  to  1815  a  conservative  mental  force  had  held 
sway,  but  at  that  time  progressive  materialism  succeeded  it,  and  the  era  which 
followed  hard  upon  this  decisive  change  marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  life  and 
new  prospects  for  the  nation. 

This  change,  like  all  radical  political  disturbances,  provoked  bitter  animosities, 
and  party  spirit  ran  high.  In  the  conflicts  which  grew  out  of  the  ascendancy  of 
material  force,  new  resources  were  developed,  new  theories  of  government 
advanced,  fresh  ideas  of  constitutional  construction  born,  and  new  roads  cut  into 
the  wilderness  of  science,  as  applied  to  the  practical  demands  of  the  new  nation. 
In  1 8 16-17  Calhoun  gave  his  powerful  mind  to  the  problem  of  the  future,  and  made 
his  great  fight  for  internal  improvements  by  the  Federal  Government.  The  veto 
power  destroyed  his  work,  which,  had  it  been  successful,  and  been  equitably  applied 
to  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  would  have  made  the  recent  sectional  war  impossible. 

Amid  these  rnighty  changes,  and  just  as  the  nation  had  crossed  the  threshold 
from  conservative  inaction  to  progressive  action,  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin  was  born 
at  Bellefonte,  Centre  county.  Pa.,  April  22d,  18 17.  In  the  same  year  the  United 
States  Bank  was  established  in  Pliiladelphia,  and  in  1820-21,  when  the  States 
numbered  only  twenty-four,  the  agitation  of  the  Missouri  question  began — an 
agitation  which  ended  in  secession  and  war,  which  made  Andrew  Gregg  Curtin 
an  eminent  figure  in  American  history. 

Seventeen  years  before  his  birth  his  father,  Roland  Curtin,  settled  in  Belle- 
fonte and  began  the  manufacture  of  iron.  He  was  a  pioneer  in  this  great  industry, 
which  has  now  grown  to  such  gigantic  proportions  in  this  State.  He  is  said  to 
have  erected  one  of  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  iron  furnaces  built  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  emigrated  from  Ireland  seven  years  before  settling  in  Bellefonte,  and  brought 
with  him  to  this  country  wealth  and  a  good  education,  obtained  at  the  French 
capital.  His  wife  was  the  daughter  of  Andrew  Gregg,  a  noted  politician,  who 
served  as  United  States  Senator,  Member  of  Congress,  and  Secretary  of  State. 
So,  in  birth  and  advantages.  Governor  Curtin  was  favored  above  the  lot  of  most 
men.  He  was  a  decided  favorite  with  his  grandfather,  as  well  as  with  his  father, 
and  exceptional  care  was  taken  in  his  education.  He  began  his  school  life  in 
private  institutions  in  Bellefonte,  and  after  a  term  of  school  at  Harrisburg,  ended 
his  academic  education  at  Milton. 

At  the  time  of  his  graduation,  William  W.  Potter,  who  was  afterward  in  Con- 
gress, was  practising  law  in  Bellefonte,  and  with   him  young  Curtin  began  the 

(6,) 


(53  ANDREW    G.    CUKTIN. 

Study  of  the  law.  He  finislicd  with  Judge  Reed,  then  one  of  the  great  attorneys 
of  the  State,  after  graduating  from  the  law  department  of  Dickinson  College,  at 
Carlisle,  Pa.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  his  native  place,  and  began  the 
practice  of  the  law  in  1S37.  He  at  once  took  a  leading  position  in  his  profession, 
but  was  noted  as  an  advocate  rather  than  as  a  close  practitioner.  His  powers  as 
a  speaker  naturally  turned  him  in  the  direction  of  politics,  and  when  only  twenty- 
three  years  of  age  he  made  a  State  reputation  as  an  orator  in  the  campaign  of 
"Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too."  He  was  an  ardent  Whig,  and  in  1844  made  a 
canvass  of  the  State  for  Henry  Clay.  The  reputation  he  had  made  as  a  speaker 
in  1840,  in  behalf  of  General  Harrison,  gave  him  leading  rank  on  the  stump  in 
1844.  His  successes  in  this  campaign  stamped  him  as  a  man  of  not  only  great 
oratorical  power  but  of  keen  wit  and  humor,  and  of  political  foresight  far  beyond 
his  years.  The  old  Whigs,  referring  to  that  memorable  campaign,  always  asso- 
ciate with  it  his  brilliant  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  idol  of  their  party.  From  this 
campaign  Mr.  Curtin's  political  advancement  dated,  and  his  reputation  as  an 
advocate  grew. 

In  1848  he  was  a  Presidential  elector,  and  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  General 
Taylor  were  everywhere  recognized  as  contributing  to  his  election.  In  1852  he 
was  again  upon  the  electoral  ticket,  and  in  the  forefront  of  the  battle  for  the 
Whig  part}'.  In  1854  his  leading  position  as  a  man  and  politician  was  so  well 
recognized  that  his  party  desired  him  to  become  its  candidate  for  Governor.  He 
declined  the  honor,  but  gave  his  best  efforts  to  the  election  of  his  personal 
friend,  Mr.  Pollock,  who,  after  his  success,  appointed  him  Secretary  of  State.  In 
those  days  this  position  was  one  of  greater  power  and  influence  than  at  present, 
for  in  addition  to  the  regular  duties  of  Secretary  of  State  those  of  Superintendent 
of  Public  Schools  were  added. 

To  his  work  in  the  latter  position  Mr.  Curtin  gave  much  attention  and  thought, 
and  inaugurated  many  of  the  reforms  which  have  given  the  public  schools  of 
Pennsylvania  a  front  rank  in  the  educational  institutions  of  the  country. 

In  the  years  from  1854  to  i860,  when  the  Republican  party  was  springing 
into  life  as  a  result  of  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question — an  agitation  begun 
at  the  time  of  Mr.  Curtin's  birth — he  naturally  took  a  leading  position  in  the 
stirring  events  which  attended  the  birth  of  the  new  party,  and  in  i860  was 
made  its  candidate  for  Governor.  This  honor  was  the  more  conspicuous  be- 
cause of  the  all-important  questions  then  pending,  and  because  the  future  of  the 
party,  virtually  born  with  his  nomination,  depended  almost  entirely  upon  his 
success. 

The  election  of  Lincoln  absolutely  depended  upon  the  two  doubtful  States, 
Pennsylvania  and  Indiana.  Both  of  them  held  their  State  elections  in  the 
October  preceding  the  November  election,  and  it  was  therefore  essential,  nation- 
ally, that  these  two  States  shf)uld  declare  for  the  Republican  candidate  to  insure 
his  election.  When  the  convention  met  at  Chicago,  it  was  apparent  that  Seward 
was  the  choice  of  a  large  majority  of  the  delegates.     But  it  was  morally  ccrtairi 


ANDREW    (;.    CUKTIN.  63 

that  Pennsylvania  could  not  be  carried  for  the  Republicans  with  Seward  as  the 
Presidential  candidate ;  for  it  had  been  cliarged,  and  was  believed,  that  he  had 
been  elected  Governor  of  New  York  as  a  Whig,  upon  an  understanding  with 
Bishop  Hughes  that  the  school  fund  of  the  State  was  to  be  divided  with  the 
Catholic  educational  institutions.  Hence  the  native  Americans  in  the  Republican 
party,  who  came  to  it  after  the  death  of  the  Know-Nothing  party,  were  bitterly 
opposed  to  him.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  at  the  outset  of  Mr.  Curtin's  career  as 
the  Republican  nominee  for  Governor,  his  own  position,  as  well  as  the  position 
of  his  State,  attracted  the  attention  of  the  whole  country. 

The  Pennsylvania  delegation  in  the  Presidential  Convention  of  i860  was  a  great 
one.  It  was  instructed  for  General  Simon  Cameron,  with  John  McLane,  of  Ohio, 
as  its  second  choice.  Thaddeus  Stevens  and  David  Wilmot  were  the  leading 
men  in  the  delegation,  Stevens  favoring  the  nomination  of  McLane  after  Cameron, 
and  Wilmot  favoring  Lincoln,  after  his  name  was  prominently  mentioned.  The 
necessity  of  cany  ing  Pennsylvania  in  October  to  the  success  of  the  Republican 
ticket  in  November  being  so  apparent,  Mr.  Curtin  went  to  the  Chicago  Conven- 
tion. Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  who  was,  in  that  year,  Chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Committee,  went  with  him.  They  were  not  there,  as  has  been  generally 
understood,  in  opposition  to  General  Cameron's  nomination,  for  they  regarded 
that  as  impossible.  They  went  there  to  secure  the  nomination  of  some  candidate 
with  whom  Pennsylvania  could  be  carried  in  October.  It  would  be  hard  to  pict- 
ure the  important  part  which  Mr.  Curtin  and  his  position  played  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  and  Henry  S.  Lane  absolutely  decided  the  contest  in 
Lincoln's  favor. 

While  the  convention  was  largely  in  favor  of  Mr.  Seward,  the  importance  of 
carrying  Pennsylvania  and  Indiana  was  so  great  that  most  of  the  Seward  dele- 
gates outside  of  New  York  were  willing  to  forego  their  preference  and  nominate 
a  candidate  acceptable  to  Mr.  Curtin  and  Henry  S.  Lane,  the  candidates  for 
Governor  in  the  two  October  States. 

The  first  duty  of  many  delegations  from  the  different  States  after  their  arrival 
in  Chicago  was  to  appoint  committees  to  wait  upon  Mr.  Curtin  and  Henry  S. 
Lane,  and  ascertain  their  preferences  as  to  a  candidate,  and  their  judgment  as  to 
the  strongest  name  in  their  States.  There  were  a  number  of  names  which  were 
to  go  before  the  convention,  Mr.  Seward  having  a  majority  of  all  the  delegates ; 
but  Mr.  Curtin  and  Mr.  Lane  were  so  certain  that  their  States  could  not  be  car- 
ried with  Mr.  Seward  as  the  candidate,  that  a  large  number  of  the  Seward  dele- 
gates decided  to  seek  for  some  other  candidate.  The  day  before  the  convention 
met  the  Vermont,  Massachusetts,  and  other  Seward  delegations  asked  the  Penn- 
sylvania delegation  to  name  three  candidates  who  would  carry  the  State.  They 
held  a  meeting  and  named  General  Cameron  as  their  first  choice ;  John  McLane, 
Mr.  Stevens'  candidate,  as  their  second,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  as  their  third. 

The  circumstances  under  which  Mr.  Lincoln  was  named  were  both  peculiar  and 
interesting.     While  General  Cameron's  aspirations  had  led  him  to  seek  the  Presi- 


64  ANDREW    G.    CURTIN. 

dcntial  nomination,  Mr.  Lincoln  had  been  decided  upon  by  General  Cameron  and 
his  friends  for  Vice-President  if  Cameron  should  secure  the  nomination.  Flourish- 
ing Cameron  and  Lincoln  clubs  had  been  organized  in  Illinois  long  before  the  con- 
vention met.  Next  to  Mr.  Seward,  Mr.  Bates,  of  Missouri,  was  the  strongest 
candidate  among  the  delegates  to  the  convention,  and  there  was  a  strong  feeling 
in  favor  of  Bates  in  the  Pennsylvania  delegation.  So  when  their  third  selection 
of  a  name  was  to  be  made,  the  Cameron  men  in  the  delegation  under  the  lead  of 
Mr.  Wilmot,  who  was  really  in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  chose  Lincoln  by  a  majority 
of  t^vo  votes,  they  believing  him  to  be  the  weaker  candidate,  and  that  Cameron 
could  thus  secure  the  nomination,  and  Lincoln  be  made  candidate  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent. Pennsylvania's  action  was  ratified  by  Mr.  Lane  and  his  friends,  and  the  next 
day.  when  the  convention  met,  and  both  Cameron's  and  Mr.  McLane's  nomination 
became  impossible,  Pennsylvania  named  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  had  been  made  its 
third  choice  by  Mr.  Cameron's  friends  and  an  accident,  and  he  was  nominated. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  Cameron  men  in  the  delegation,  who  believed  that  the 
chances  for  the  success  of  their  candidate  would  be  better  with  Mr.  Lincoln  than 
with  Mr.  Bates,  the  latter  would  have  been  their  choice  and  the  nominee  of  the 
convention.  From  this  recital  the  commanding  position  of  Pennsylvania,  of  its 
candidate  for  Governor,  and  of  its  Republican  leaders,  in  the  party  and  toward 
the  Presidential  candidate  of  that  year,  can  be  understood. 

That  campaign,  from  Mr.  Curtin's  nomination  down  to  the  day  of  the  election, 
was  a  political  romance,  the  like  of  which  has  never  been  known  in  this  country. 
The  Presidential  nominating  convention  over,  Mr.  Curtin  turned  to  the  duties  of 
his  own  canvass  with  characteristic  energy,  and  the  history  of  the  first  contest 
of  the  Republican  party  in  Pennsylvania  would  make  an  interesting  volume.  The 
details  of  the  work  were  in  the  hands  of  Colonel  A.  K.  McClure,  as  Chairman 
of  the  State  Committee,  and  the  management  of  the  campaign  was  simply 
matchless.  It  was  carried  on  with  a  spirit  and  energy  hitherto  unknown  in  the 
political  history  of  the  State.  Mr.  Curtin  made  a  personal  canvass,  which  was 
then,  as  it  is  now,  regarded  as  the  most  brilliant  ever  conducted  in  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  elected  in  October,  by  a  large  majority,  as  was  Henry  S.  Lane  in  Indiana  ; 
and  the  Presidential  election  of  i860  was  thus  virtually  decided  in  favor  of  the 
Republican  party. 

The  wisdom  of  the  selection  of  Governor  Curtin  by  the  Republicans  was  jus- 
tified from  the  day  he  assumed  the  position  to  which  he  had  been  elected  in  the 
intelligence  with  which  he  dealt  with  the  grave  questions  forcing  themselves  upon 
him  as  the  Executive  of  a  great  State,  with  the  nation  upon  the  threshold  of  a 
.sectional  war.  He  was  wise,  discreet,  conservative  and  able  in  the  discharge  of 
his  important  and  delicate  duties,  during  the  trying  days  when  all  were  endeavor- 
ing to  peaceably  prevent  rebellion.  He  was  patriotic,  firm,  aggressive,  and  even 
stubbornly  courageous  when  all  efforts  failed  and  the  war  came.  It  followed 
clcse  upon  his  inauguration  as  the  Chief  Executive  of  the  State,  and  when  the  first 
gun  was  fired,  he  .sprang  to  the  duty  of  raising  troops  for  the  general  Government, 


ANDKICW    C.    CURTIN.  65 

with  an  energy  and  spirit  unequalled  by  any  other  State  Executive.  He  encour- 
aged enlistments  in  every  possible  way,  and  in  an  eloquent  war  speech  just  after 
the  fall  of  Sumter  he  kindled  camp-fires  upon  almost  every  hearth  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  called  more  into  service  than  was  asked  for  by  the  General  Government. 
In  this  speech  he  promised  that  Pennsylvania  should  permit  none  of  its  soldiers 
to  be  buried  in  other  soil ;  that  wives  and  children  should  be  the  wards  of  the 
State ;  that  widows  of  soldiers  should  be  protected  and  their  orphans  cared  for 
and  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  Commonwealth. 

"  How  has  this  promise  of  yours  been  kept?"  was  asked  of  him,  more  than 
twenty  years  after  it  was  made,  and  seventeen  years  after  the  war  was  ended. 

"  Religiously,"  he  answered.  "  Commissioners  were  placed  in  every  corps  of 
the  army,  and  every  Pennsylvania  soldier  found,  wherever  he  went,  the  repre- 
sentative of  his  State,  specially  charged  with  the  task  of  looking  after  his  neces- 
sities. If  he  was  sick  in  the  hospital,  if  he  was  wounded  in  battle,  if  he  was  on 
the  march  or  in  camp,  he  found  that  his  State  had  a  watchful  eye  over  his  com- 
fort. Pennsylvania  was  the  first  State  to  do  this,  and  no  Pennsylvania  soldier 
ever  fell  in  battle  whose  body  was  not  sent  home  for  burial,  if  his  body  had  been 
identified  and  application  made  therefor. 

"  The  State  did  care  for  the  wives  and  children,  has  protected  the  widows  and 
educated  the  orphans.  Sixteen  thousand  soldiers'  orphans  have  been  educated 
in  the  different  soldiers'  orphan  asylums  throughout  the  State,  provided  by  the 
gratitude  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  valor  and  patriotism  of  her  soldiers.  A  mar- 
vellous fact  is  that  out  of  nearly  sixteen  thousand  who  have  been  educated  in  these 
schools,  only  two  have  ever  been  accused  of  crime.  In  the  history  of  the  world 
there  has  never  been  a  nation  that  has  provided  for  its  soldiery  with  anything  like 
the  watchful  generosity  with  which  Pennsylvania  has  kept  the  promise  I  made  as 
its  Executive  at  the  beginning  of  the  war." 

The  career  of  Governor  Curtin,  as  Executive  of  Pennsylvania,  is  naturally  the 
most  important  in  all  his  eventful  life.  It  cannot  be  written  in  a  single  article, 
hardly  in  a  volume.  With  the  organization  and  supervision  of  the  vast  body  of 
troops  which  Pennsylvania  gave  to  the  army  of  the  Union,  his  name  and  deeds 
were  intimately  associated.  While  he  took  an  interest  in  all  the  Pennsylvania 
troops,  the  reserves — that  corps  which  gave  Reynolds,  Meade  and  Sedgwick  to 
the  army — seem  to  hold  the  strongest  place  in  his  heart.  Besides  looking  after 
the  comfort  of  the  soldiers,  he  advised  and  formulated  the  legislation  which  will 
make  Pennsylvania  pre-eminent  in  history  for  the  evidences  of  respect  and  grati- 
tude shown  her  soldiers  in  the  war  for  the  Union.  Before  his  first  gubernatorial 
term  was  concluded,  the  condition  of  his  health  became  so  precarious  that  his 
friends  decided  he  must  not  be  a  candidate  for  re-election.  So  broken  was  he 
from  the  effects  of  his  labors,  that  it  was  decided  long  before  the  convention 
was  held  that  he  could  not  stand  the  excitement  of  renomination,  much  less  the 
labors  of  a  canvass.  It  was  therefore  settled  among  his  friends  that  he  should 
go  abroad  instead  of  again  accepting  the  Republican  nomination  for  Governor. 
9 


66  ANDREW    G.    CURTIN. 

So  Mr.  Lincoln  was  approaclied  upon  the  subject  of  a  foreign  mission,  and  the 
storj'  of  the  interview  with  the  mart\'r  President  must  necessarily  form  an  inter- 
esting part  of  this  sketch  on  account  of  the  persons  who  were  present.  Imagine 
General  Simon  Cameron,  Colonel  John  W.  Forney  and  Colonel  A.  K.  McClure, 
in  conference  at  the  rooms  of  the  former  in  Washington,  all  in  accord  as  to  the 
desirability  of  securing  a  foreign  mission  for  Governor  Curtin.  Of  course,  all 
were  actuated  by  different  motives :  Colonel  McClure,  because  he  was  interested 
in  the  safety  of  the  Governor's  life,  the  other  two  because  Curtin's  presence  at  the 
head  of  the  State  government  was  not  in  accordance  with  their  ideas  of  the  eter- 
nal fitness  of  things.  This  trio,  inharmonious  on  every  subject  save  the  pro- 
priet}-  of  giving  a  foreign  mission  to  Governor  Curtin,  took  a  carriage  and  drove 
to  the  White  House.  The  President,  so  one  of  the  party  said,  seemed  somewhat 
amused  at  seeing  the  three  men  together,  but  readily  appreciated  the  situation 
when  tlie  object  of  the  visit  was  stated. 

"  There  is  nothing  within  my  gift  to  which  Governor  Curtin  is  not  entitled; 
but,  gentlemen,  there  are  no  first-class  missions  vacant.  Whose  mission  shall 
I  give  him  ?  "  said  Mr.  Lincoln,  relating  the  story  of  the  young  man  who,  when 
his  father  advised  him  to  take  a  wife,  inquired,  "  Whose  wife  shall  I  take  ?  " 

One  of  the  party  suggested  that  a  second-class  mission  might  do.  Colonel 
McClure  said  that  unless  a  first-class  mission  could  be  tendered  the  conference 
might  as  well  end.  The  result  of  the  interview  was  that  Mr.  Lincoln  wrote  to 
Governor  Curtin  offering  him  a  first-class  mission,  and  Colonel  McClure  carried 
and  delivered  the  letter. 

Before  any  decision  was  reached,  a  large  majority  of  the  counties  in  the  State 
had  instructed  for  Governor  Curtin,  notwithstanding  it  was  understood  that  he 
was  not  to  be  a  candidate.  When  the  convention  met  he  was  unanimously  re- 
nominated, and  was  elected  by  an  overwhelming  majority.  He  therefore  com- 
pleted a  term  of  service  as  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  during  which  transpired  the 
mightiest  events  in  the  history  of  our  Government.  It  was  the  aspiration  of  his 
friends  that  he  should  be  made  United  States  Senator  at  the  end  of  his  second 
Gubernatorial  term,  but  the  influences  which  had  ever  been  hostile  to  him  pre- 
vented. In  1868  he  was  a  prominent  candidate  for  nomination  for  Vice-President 
with  General  Grant,  but  defeated.  Soon  after  the  latter's  election.  Governor  Cur- 
tin was  nominated  and  confirmed  as  Minister  to  Russia,  and  spent  nearly  four 
years  at  St.  Petersburg. 

He  returned  home  in  1872,  and  took  part  in  the  Liberal  Republican  move- 
ment which  nominated  Horace  Greeley.  He  was  very  prominently  spoken  of 
for  the  second  place  on  that  ticket,  and  was  the  choice  of  the  Pennsylvania  dele- 
gation in  the  Greeley  Convention  for  President.  His  connection  with  the  Liberal 
Republican  movement,  and  the  fact  that  his  power  and  influence  in  the  Republi- 
can party,  which  was  eminent  while  he  remained  in  the  country,  but  which  had 
been  broken  during  his  absence,  carried  him  into  the  Democratic  party,  where  he 
by  no  means  seems  at  home. 


ANDREW    G.    CUKTIN.  ^ij 

He  was  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1872-73,  and  for  a  few 
years  after  had  little  to  do  with  politics.  The  political  influence  which  controlled 
the  Republican  party  of  the  State  seemed,  so  his  friends  say,  to  have  put  up  a 
bar  against  his  return  to  his  okl  part)'.  So,  when  he  wearied  of  the  quiet  of 
business  hfe,  and  longed  for  politics,  he  found  a  place  in  the  Democratic  party, 
and  in  1878  was  nominated  for  Congress,  fie  was  defeated  by  a  Greenbacker 
during  the  financial  craze  and  by  the  action  of  some  of  his  new-found  asso- 
ciates, who  opposed  him  on  account  of  his  war  record  and  the  hard  blows  he 
had  dealt  them  in  the  campaigns  of  the  old  Whig  and  Republican  parties. 

He  was  nominated  repeatedly  by  the  Democrats  of  his  Congressional  district, 
and  served  with  credit  and  honor  until  1886,  when  he  declined  a  renomination, 
preferring  to  spend  the  remainder  of  his  days  away  from  the  annoyances  of 
public  life. 

Governor  Curtin  li\es  in  the  most  conspicuous  house  on  the  principal  street 
of  his  native  town.  He  is  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  that  good  taste 
can  suggest  and  money  buy.  His  stone  house  looks  almost  like  a  castle,  and  it 
is  large  enough  to  accommodate  his  troop  of  friends  who  come  and  go  as  they 
will.  His  hospitality  is  lavish,  and  even  the  poor,  homeless  tramp  upon  the  high- 
road gave  a  striking  illustration  of  it  by  marking  upon  his  gate-post  for  the  infor- 
mation of  all  tramps  who  might  come  after:  "This  house  is  good  for  a  square 
meal."  Four  daughters  and  one  son  are  still  living,  as  is  his  wife,  formerly  Miss 
Catherine  Wilson,  daughter  of  Wm.  J.  Wilson,  of  Centre  county.  While  the  ex- 
Governor  has  accumulated  enough  of  this  world's  goods  to  make  himself  and  his 
family  comfortable,  he  is  by  no  means  very  wealthy.  Those  who  ought  to  know  best 
estimate  his  accumulations  at  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  When  his 
father  died  he  left  the  iron  business  he  had  created  and  the  property  he  had 
secured  to  his  seven  children.  Governor  Curtin  and  his  brothers  kept  it  intact,  and 
applied  to  its  management  their  best  business  skill.  For  a  time  it  was  a  hard, 
unremunerative  struggle;  but  when  the  iron  business  thrived  the  property  grew 
in  value,  and  its  gains  have  left  the  family  comfortable. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  here  more  than  a  glance  at  such  an  eventful  life  as  that 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  One  is  obliged  to  omit  much  that  is  interesting  in 
recording  the  striking  acts  of  his  life  which  attracted  public  attention  to  him. 
Governor  Curtin  is,  in  his  social  life,  the  same  genial  companion  and  attractive 
conversationalist,  and  his  spirits  do  not  seem  to  droop  with  his  increasing  years. 
He  is  full  of  stories  of  the  past,  and  he  still  loves  to  speak  of  the  prominent  feat- 
ures of  his  political  career ;  but  none  of  them  kindle  such  fire  in  his  eyes,  or  give 
such  strength  to  his  voice  and  eloquence  to  his  tongue,  as  a  revival  of  the  memo- 
ries of  the  war,  and  a  reference  to  his  career  as  Pennsylvania's  War  Governor. 


ds> 


^] 


«i.* 


Hon.  James  H.  Campbell. 


JAMES    HEPBURN  CAMPBELL. 

HON.  J.AMES  IL  Campbell,  lawyer,  diplomatist  and  ex-member  of  Congress, 
was  born  at  Williamsport,  Pa.,  February  8,  1820.  He  is  a  son  of  the 
late  Francis  C.  Campbell,  who  was  for  many  years  a  leading  member  of  the  bar 
in  that  city,  and  was  distinguished  for  his  culture  and  literary  tastes  and  integrity 
of  character.  John  Campbell,  father  of  Francis  and  grandfather  of  James  Hep- 
burn Campbell,  studied  theology,  and  desiring  to  attach  himself  to  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  went  to  England  for  ordination,  there  not  being  at  that  time 
any  Bishop  of  this  church  in  America.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, and  was  for  some  years  rector  of  All-Saints'  Church,  Hertford  county,  Mid- 
dlesex, England.  He  here  married  Miss  Catharine  Cutler,  daughter  of  the 
Mayor  of  the  town  in  which  his  charge  was  situated.  On  the  urgent  request 
of  his  father,  who  was  living  in  this  countrj',  he  returned  to  Pennsylvania,  where, 
as  his  tombstone  in  the  cemetery  at  Carlisle  informs  us,  he  was  for  "  more  than 
thirty  years  rector  of  St.  John's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  at  Carlisle."  The 
mother  of  Mr.  Campbell  was  a  daughter  of  the  late  Judge  James  Hepburn,  of 
Northumberland,  Pa. 

Selecting  his  father's  profession,  James  H.  Campbell  was  admitted  to  the  prac- 
tice of  the  law  in  1841,  having  graduated  at  the  Law  Department  of  Dickinson 
College,  Carlisle,  under  the  instruction  of  the  late  Judge  Reed.  He  selected 
Pottsville,  Pa.,  as  his  arena,  and  soon  became  distinguished  for  his  legal  learning, 
impassioned  eloquence  and  personal  magnetism,  which  secured  for  him  a  large 
and  lucrative  clientele,  as  well  as  a  widespread  reputation ;  so  that  for  more  than 
twenty-three  years  he  ranked  among  the  most  eminent  men  at  the  bar. 

In  1844  he  was  chosen  to  represent  his  Congressional  District  in  the  Whig 
National  Convention  at  Baltimore,  at  which  Henry  Clay  was  nominated  for  the 
Presidency.  Li  the  campaign  which  followed,  the  young  delegate  was  one  of 
Clay's  most  fervid  and  enthusiastic  supporters.  Li  the  previous  campaign  of 
1840  Mr.  Campbell  had  also  been  a  representati\-e  to  the  Young  Men's  Ratifica- 
tion Convention,  held  at  Baltimore,  after  the  nomination  of  Wm.  Henry  Harrison. 
Upon  both  these  occasions  his  youth  and  rare  ability  elicited  the  most  favorable 
comment  and  prediction  from  leaders  of  his  party.  In  October,  1854,  although 
residing  in  a  district  largely  Democratic,  composed  as  it  was  of  the  counties  of 
Schuylkill  and  NorJiumberland,  he  was  elected,  as  a  Whig,  a  member  of  the 
Thirty-fourth  Congress.  This  was  a  period  of  bitter  struggle  over  the  Territories 
of  the  United  States,  between  the  advocates  of  slavery  on  the  one  hand  and  those 
of  freedom  on  the  other.  It  was  of  the  first  importance  to  the  Whigs  (or,  as  now 
known,  the  Republican  party)  to  secure  a  Speaker  who  would  guard  the  admis- 
sion of  new  States  to  the  Union,  by  appointing  territorial  committees  opposed  to 
the  extension  of  slavery.     This  it  was  which  gave  deep  significance  to  the  pro- 

(69) 


JO  JAMES    H.    CAMPBELL. 

longed  struggle  in  favor  of  N.  P.  Banks,  which  only  terminated  in  February  by 
the  election  of  that  gentleman  as  Speaker  of  the  Thirty-fourth  Congress.  Mr. 
Campbell  at  once  appreciated  the  importance  of  this  contest,  and  threw  the  whole 
weight  of  his  influence,  both  in  Congress  and  with  the  Pennsylvania  delegation, 
for  N.  P.  Banks.  The  value  of  his  support  was  recognieed  by  the  new  Speaker, 
who  consulted  him  as  to  the  position  on  committees  which  would  be  most  con- 
genial to  his  tastes.  "  Place  me,"  answered  Mr.  Campbell,  "  where  I  can  best 
ser\-e  the  industrial  interests  of  my  State."  This  was  done  by  naming  him  on  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  where,  although  a  new  member,  and  one  of  the 
youngest  men  in  the  House,  he  led  the  opposition  of  all  measures  tending  to  a 
reduction  of  the  Tariff.  The  Chairman  of  the  Ways  and  Means  having  reported  to 
the  House  a  bill  for  that  purpose,  the  battle  waged  against  it  by  Mr.  Campbell  and 
his  colleague,  Mr.  Covode,  attracted  the  attention  of  Hon.  James  G.  Blaine,  who 
makes  special  mention  of  it  in  his  published  reminiscences  of  men  of  his  time. 

In  1858  Mr.  Campbell  was  re-elected  to  Congress,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
opposition  to  all  those  measures  of  President  Buchanan's  administration  which 
had  in  view  the  extension  of  slaver}^  to  the  Territories.  In  i860  his  speech 
against  the  resolutions  known  as  the  "  Crittenden  Compromise  "  made  a  profound 
impression,  and  attracted  general  attention. 

In  that  period  of  deep  national  anxiety,  when  dissensions  between  the  States 
were  rapidly  advancing  to  a  tragic  culmination,  the  minds  of  all  thinking  men 
were  strained  to  the  utmost  in  endeavor  to  devise  plans  which  might  avert  the 
impending  catastrophe.  One  of  these  plans  was  embodied  in  a  resolution  of  the 
House  of  Representatives,  calling  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee,  to  be 
composed  of  one  member  from  each  State,  to  consider  the  political  condition  of 
the  Union,  and  to  report  to  the  House  a  measure,  or  measures,  to  reconcile  exist- 
ing difficulties.  It  was  a  grave  and  solemn  final  effort,  as  it  were,  undertaken  in 
the  very  teeth  of  the  crisis,  and  the  members  of  this  committee  (known  to  his- 
tory as  the  "  Committee  of  Thirty-three,"  Hon.  Thos.  Corwin,  of  Ohio,  Chairman) 
were  carefully  selected,  each  one  being  an  influential  and  representative  man  of 
his  State,  and  many  of  them  of  national  distinction.  There  could  be  no  more 
eloquent  expression  of  the  estimation  in  which  Mr.  Campbell  was  held  in  these 
national  councils  than  the  fact  of  his  being  appointed  on  this  committee  to  repre- 
sent Pennsylvania.  His  constituency  demonstrated  tlieir  appreciation  by  return- 
ing him  to  Congress  in  i860  for  a  third  term  by  a  largely  increased  majority. 
In  the  stormy  times  which  followed  he  voted  for  and  advocated  every  measure 
calculated  to  strengthen  the  Government  and  suppress  the  Rebellion. 

On  President  Lincoln's  proclamation  calling  for  75,000  troops  for  three  months' 
service,  which  was  the  official  announcement  of  war,  Mr.  Campbell  went  at  once, 
on  April  17,  1 861,  to  the  National  Capital  to  aid  in  its  defence.  He  passed 
safely  through  the  ruffian  mob  of  Baltimore,  which  was  streaming  out  from  that 
city  to  destroy  the  railroads,  and  thus  cut  off  the  expected  troops  from  the  North. 
The  train  carrying  Mr.  Campbell  was  the  la.st  to  pass  in  safety.     It  was  closely 


JAMES    11.    CAMPBELL.  7 1 

followed  by  the  one  conveying  a  Massachusetts  regiment,  which  had  to  fight  its 
way  through  the  infuriated  city.  All  communication  between  the  capital  and 
the  North  by  rail  or  wire  was  now  cut  off  The  rebels  were  encamped  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Potomac,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  force  of  the  regular 
ami}',  a  few  marines,  five>  companies  of  volunteers  from  Pennsylvania  and  the 
Massachusetts  regiment  already  spoken  of,  the  capital  was  unprotected,  and 
might  easily  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  its  enemies  had  they  had  the  courage 
to  strike  promptly.  In  this  stress,  when  every  man  was  of  importance,  the 
visitors  and  strangers  present  in  the  beleaguered  city  formed  themselves  into  a 
battalion,  elected  Cassius  M.  Clay  to  the  command,  and  offered  its  services  to  the 
Government.  Mr.  Campbell  was  a  member  of  this  impromptu  organization, 
which  was  regularly  mustered  into  the  service,  and  nightly  took  his  share  in  the 
strict  patrol  necessary  for  the  protection  of  Washington,  being  now  on  watch  at 
the  White  House,  and  again  at  the  Navy  Yard,  seeing  the  camp  fires  of  the 
enemy  just  across  the  river,  until  a  route  was  improvised  by  the  Government  by 
which  the  forces  of  the  North  came  pouring  in.  Clay's  temporary  battalion, 
being  no  longer  needed,  was  disbanded,  and  Mr.  Campbell  was  elected  Major  of 
the  Twenty-fifth  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Infantry  (Col.  Henry  L.  Cake),  which 
was  now  in  Washington.  He  was  engaged  in  active  duty  with  that  regiment 
until  the  expiration  of  the  three  months'  service,  when  it  was  honorably  mustered 
out.  Resuming  his  seat  in  the  House,  where  he  was  appointed  Chairman  of  the 
Select  Committee  on  the  Pacific  Railroad,  he  reported  a  bill  in  favor  of  the  mid- 
dle route,  the  southern  one  being  impracticable  on  account  of  the  attitude  of  the 
Southern  States.  Indeed  the  whole  scheme  was  at  that  time  held  to  be  imprac- 
ticable, in  view  of  the  Government  having  a  great  war  on  its  hands ;  but  Mr. 
Campbell,  by  his  tact,  ability  and  personal  magnetism,  was  able  to  carry  to  a 
successful  conclusion  his  bill  complete  in  all  its  details,  under  which  the  road  was 
subsequently  built. 

In  1863,  during  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  by  General  Lee,  Mr.  Campbell, 
with  the  late  lamented  General  James  Nagle,  raised  a  regiment  of  i,lOO  men,  and 
proceeded  to  the  seat  of  conflict.  General  Nagle,  then  Colonel  of  the  Thirty- 
ninth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  was  appointed  Brigadier-General,  leaving  Mr. 
Campbell  its  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  command.  After  it  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  August  2,  1863,  President  Lincoln  offered  Mr.  Campbell  the  appointment 
of  Judge  (under  the  treaty  with  Great  Britain)  of  the  Court  for  the  Suppression 
of  the  African  Slave  Trade,  to  reside  at  Capetown,  Africa.  This  he  declined. 
In  1864  President  Lincoln  appointed  him  United  States  Minister  to  Sweden  and 
Norway,  which  he  accepted,  took  up  his  residence  in  Stockholm,  and  remained 
there  three  years.  Mr.  Lincoln's  appreciation  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was 
characteristically  expressed  when  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  Andrew  G. 
Curtin,  advanced  to  him  the  reasons  why  Mr.  Campbell  was  worthy  of  a  diplo- 
matic appointment.  As  soon  as  the  President  perceived  the  drift  of  Mr.  Curtin's 
remarks,  he  interrupted  him  with  a  cordial  "  Campbell  needs  no  setting  up  here." 


-->  JAMES    H.    CAMPBELL. 

Afterward,  when  takiiii;  leave  of  the  departing  minister,  Mr.  Lincohi  remarked 
to  him  :  ■■  Oh  !  Campbell,  if  you  should  go  up  the  coast  of  Norway  and  see  the 
Maelstrom,  an  J  arc  not  drawn  in,  I  wish  you  would  write  me  a  description  of  it." 
The  summer  of  iS66  was  spent  by  him  in  travel  within  the  Arctic  Circle;  he 
visited  the  most  northern  town  in  the  world  (Hammerfest),  lived  under  the  mid- 
night sun,  and  saw  the  Maelstrom  ;  but  the  lamented  President  had  been  assassi- 
nated. 

In  March,  1867,  President  Johnson  tendered  to  Mr.  Campbell  the  diplomatic 
mission  to  the  United  States  of  Colombia,  South  America.  No  such  appoint- 
ment had  been  sought  by  Mr.  Campbell,  and  he  returned  the  commission  which 
had  been  sent  him,  giving  as  a  reason  that  "  his  views  of  public  and  political 
questions  were  not  in  harmony  with  those  of  the  Executive."  He  returned  to 
America  in  the  autumn  of  1867,  and  resided  for  some  time  in  Philadelphia, 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  but  finally  quitted  it  in  large  part  for 
the  country  and  agricultural  pursuits,  of  which  he  had  always  been  extremely 
fond. 

He  was  married  in  1843  ^  Juliet,  eldest  daughter  of  the  late  Chief-Justice 
Ellis  Lewis,  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  a  lady  of  rare  character,  cul- 
ture and  literary  attainments,  sketches  of  whom  are  to  be  found  in  both  May's 
and  Griswold's  "  Female  Poets  of  America."  By  her  he  had  five  children,  two 
of  whom  are  now  living.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  J.  Campbell  Ver  Planck,  has 
achieved  distinction  in  dramatic  and  other  lines  of  literature. 

Mr.  Campbell  has  alwaj's  been  an  advocate  of  Protection  to  American  Industry, 
following  in  his  views  the  teachings  of  Henry  Clay.  His  political  history  is  best 
summed  up  by  saying  that  he  ardently  and  actively  supported  the  nominations 
to  the  Presidency  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  General  Grant,  General  Garfield  and  Mr. 
Blaine.  Always  a  brilliant  and  impassioned  orator,  he  rendered  many  minor 
services  to  his  party  in  various  campaigns,  when  his  glowing  and  ready  extem- 
poraneous speeches  carried  the  additional  weight  of  an  absolutely  unblemished 
record,  which  even  his  political  opponents  had  never  attempted  to  assail. 

E.  T.  F. 


I 


Hon.  William   H.  Koontz. 


WILLIAM    HENRY   KOONTZ. 

HON.  William  II.  Koontz,  ex-Representative  in  Congress  of  the  Sixteentli 
District  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born  July  15,  1830,  in  the  beautiful  town 
of  Somerset,  the  capital  of  the  county  of  that  name.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest 
towns  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  State,  and  has  been  the  home  of  many 
distinguished  lawyers  and  statesmen,  and  counts  among  its  most  honored  citi- 
zens the  gentleman  whose  name  heads  this  sketch.  His  grandfather,  Samuel 
Koontz,  came  from  Lancaster  county,  and  was  one  of  the  earlier  settlers  of 
Somerset.  His  father,  Jacob  Koontz,  was  a  farmer,  and  was  born  and  reared  in 
the  town  of  Somerset ;  so  that  the  family  have  been  closely  identified  with  that 
place  since  its  earliest  historj'.  It  was  here  that  the  late  Judge  Jeremiah  S.  Black 
commenced  the  practice  of  the  law,  and  filled  his  first  public  position — that  of 
Deputy  Attorney-General  for  the  county. 

Mr.  Koontz  received  a  common  school  education,  and  studied  law  with  Messrs. 
Forward  &  Stutzman,  a  leading  law  firm  of  Somerset,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice in  185 1.  In  1853  he  was  elected  District  Attorney,  which  office  he  filled 
with  ability  for  three  years.  He  was  an  original  Republican,  and  in  1857  was 
nominated  for  State  Senator,  but  was  defeated  owing  to  local  issues. 

In  i860  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  National  Republican  Convention  which  met  at 
Chicago,  and  Mr.  Koontz  was  one  of  the  first  to  cast  his  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln. 
The  same  year  he  was  elected  Prothonotary  of  his  county,  and  served  for  three 
years.  He  always  took  an  active  part  in  local.  State  and  National  politics, 
speaking  whenever  called  upon,  and  occupying  a  seat  in  many  prominent  politi- 
cal bodies.  It  was  highly  proper,  therefore,  and  a  credit  to  the  district,  composed 
of  Somerset,  Bedford,  Fulton,  Franklin  and  Adams  counties,  when,  in  1864,  the 
rising  lawyer  of  Somerset  was  sent  to  Congress  by  his  party,  and  still  more 
creditable  to  the  district  when,  in  1866,  he  was  re-elected.  He  was  a  conspicuous 
member  during  the  exciting  period  of  President  Johnson's  term.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  House  Committees  on  District  of  Columbia  and  Expenditures  of 
the  Interior  Department.  But  it  was  as  an  advocate  of  the  Reconstruction 
measures  which  occupied  so  much  of  the  attention  of  the  Thirty-ninth  and 
Fortieth  Congresses  that  Representative  Koontz  did  his  most  effective  work. 
Vice-President  Wilson,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Reconstruction  Measures,"  says 
of  him  :  "  Mr.  Koontz,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  for  the  protection  of  the  people  of 
the  South  who  had  been  true  to  the  Union,  without  regard  to  race  or  color," 
and  quotes  from  Mr.  Koontz's  speech  on  the  subject  as  follows: 

"  Tile  great  duty  rests  upon  us  to  finish  the  work  v.luch  was  not  completed  by  warfare.     The  shackles 

of  four  million  slaves  were  melted  by  the  fierce  fires  of  civil  war;  but  the  animus  of  slavery,  its  passions 

and  prejudices,  yet  remain.     It  is  our  duty  so  to  legislate  .is  to  remove  the  last  relic  of  a  barbarism  that 

would  have  suited  the  dark  ages,  and  to  conform  our  institutions  to  the  advanced  condition  to  which  we 

10  (73) 


74 


WILLIAM    H.    KOONTZ. 


have  hccn  lirouglit  by  the  miglity  revolution  just  ended.  And  when  this  shall  be  done,  the  Great 
Republic,  freed  from  the  dark  stain  of  human  slavery,  will  start  upon  her  mission  to  promulgate,  by  pre- 
cept and  example,  the  immutable  and  eternal  truth  of  the  equality  of  man,  and  before  whose  resistless 
march  kingdoms  and  powers  and  all  the  systems  built  upon  caste  and  creed  for  the  oppression  of  man 
will  be  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth  and  known  no  more  forever." 

Mr.  Koontz  spoke  earnestly  in  favor  of  a  resolution  for  the  relief  of  the  desti- 
tute in  the  South,  believing  it  to  be  a  measure  dictated  by  the  teachings  of  Chris- 
tianit)-,  as  well  as  a  "  most  powerful  measure  of  Reconstruction,"  and  he  again 
addressed  the  House  on  a  supplemental  Reconstruction  bill. 

Although  at  first  opposed  to  the  impeachment  proceedings,  he  finally  favored 
them.  In  a  speech  delivered  March  2,  1868,  he  argued  that  the  violation  of  the 
Tenure  of  Office  Act  was  ?ufficient  ground  for  summoning  Mr.  Johnson  to  the 
bar  of  the  Senate,  closing  with  the  remark  :  "  If  the  highest  officer  of  the  Gov- 
ernment has  violated  the  law,  and  subjected  himself  to  removal  from  office,  a  law- 
abiding  and  intelligent  people  will  acquiesce  in  the  verdict." 

Among  the  speeches  he  made  was  one  in  which  he  eulogized  Hon.  Thaddeus 
Stevens  as  "  ripe  in  years  and  wisdom,  and  honored  with  the  confidence  and  love 
of  his  fellow-countrj^men." 

It  should  be  mentioned  in  recounting  Mr.  Koontz's  career,  both  in  public  life 
as  well  as  a  legal  advocate,  that  he  is  one  of  the  ablest  speakers  in  the  State. 
He  is  clear  in  his  utterances,  pleasing  in  his  address,  and  has  a  conception  of  the 
soundest  and  best  arguments  for  his  subjects.  At  Lancaster,  June  15,  1880,  he 
delivered  an  address  before  the  literary  societies  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  Col- 
lege on  "American  Politics,"  which  received  the  highest  praise  from  the  press 
and  public.  In  1875  he  spoke  in  the  Ohio  canvass.  He  made  addresses  in  1876 
in  the  political  campaign  in  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Maryland,  and  took  the 
stump  in  the  Garfield  campaign  in  1880  in  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland.  In  1884 
he  canvassed  a  considerable  portion  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  also  spoke 
in  Mar}'land,  and  in  18S7  made  several  speeches  in  Ohio.  Among  the  many 
political  conventions  to  which  he  was  a  delegate  and  alwa}'s  a  prominent  figure 
was  that  which  nominated  General  Geary  for  Governor,  and  that  which  named 
Judge  Stcrrctt,  although  Mr.  Koontz  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  Judge  Agnew, 
who  received  nearly  one  hundred  votes.  In  1880  he  was  a  member  of  the  con- 
vention which  selected  delegates  to  Chicago,  where  General  Garfield  was  nomi- 
nated for  President.  He  went  to  Harrisburg  on  this  occasion  as  Senatorial  dele- 
gate for  Bedford,  Fulton  and  Somerset  counties.  He  was  a  Blaine  man,  and 
acted  against  the  dominant  ring,  and  the  Committee  on  Credentials  refused  to 
seat  him  on  account  of  his  avowed  friendship  for  Mr.  Blaine  ;  but  a  representative 
delegate  of  the  district  resigned  in  his  favor,  and  Mr.  Koontz  was  seated  in  spite 
of  the  anti-Blaine  men.  At  a  mass  meeting  of  the  Republicans  held  in  Somerset 
on  April  27,  1881,  which  was  addressed  by  Mr.  Koontz,  the  action  of  those  in 
control  of  the  party  was  vigorously  denounced  in  a  resolution,  which  was 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  meeting. 


WILLIAM    H.    KOONTZ.  75 

As  an  original  Independent  Republican,  in  opposition  to  the  dictation  of  the 
party  managers,  his  record  begins  long  before  that  of  Mr.  Wolfe,  of  Union  county, 
and  is  clear,  consistent  and  unswerving.  He  always  denounced  the  selfish  and 
designing  men  who  usurped  the  high  prerogative  of  ruling  the  Republican  party 
and  controlling  it  regardless  of  the  wishes  of  the  people. 

A  short  extract  from  his  scholarly  address  on  "American  Politics,"  before 
referred  to  as  having  been  delivered  at  Lancaster,  will  serve  to  show  the  high 
character  of  his  conception  of  the  duties  of  citizenship.  He  denounced  machine 
politics  as  "  more  dangerous  to  the  country  than  any  other  evil  that  now  threatens 
it,  communism  not  excepted,"  and  pointed  the  remedy  in  the  ballot  and  in 
attending  the  primaries.  The  address  concluded  with  this  excellent  admonition, 
which  we  quote : 

"  Let  me  admonish  you,  then,  to  guard  this  sacred  trust ;  to  help  educate  your  fellow-countrymen  up 
to  the  highest  standard  of  American  citizenship ;  to  guard  the  ballot  as  you  would  the  apple  of  your  eye. 
And  if  all  the  young  men  who  this  year  go  forth  from  the  various  institutions  of  learning  throughout  the 
land  resolve  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  purify  American  politics,  then,  indeed,  would  we  realize,  in  fact, 
that  ideal  republic  seen  by  the  mental  eye  of  John  Milton,  when  looking  down  through  the  vista  of  time, 
he  exclaimed  :  '  Methinks  I  see  a  noble  and  puissant  nation  rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  after  sleep, 
and  shaking  her  invincible  locks;  methinks  I  see  her  as  an  eagle,  mewing  her  mighty  youth  and  kindling 
her  undazzled  vision  at  the  full  midday  beam,  purging  and  unsealing  her  oft-abused  sight  at  the  very 
fountain  itself  of  heavenly  radiance.'  " 

Mr.  Koontz  was  a  personal  friend  of  President  Garfield,  and  his  tribute  to  him 
in  the  Disciple  Church,  in  Somerset,  September  26,  188 1,  was  masterly  and 
exhaustive.  He  has  been  prominently  identified  with  railroads  in  the  south- 
western portion  of  the  State,  and  has  served  for  many  years  as  a  Director  of  the 
Pittsburgh  and  Connellsville,  the  Somerset  and  Cambria,  and  Berlin  Railroads. 

Since  the  close  of  his  Congressional  career,  in  1S69,  he  has  devoted  himself 
almost  exclusively  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Somerset,  Bedford  and 
adjoining  counties.  He  has  been  for  nearly  twent>'  years  on  one  side  or  the 
other  of  eveiy  important  case  tried  in  the  courts  of  his  county,  and  was  success- 
ful in  nearly  all  of  those  brought  by  himself.  Being  a  close  student,  a  clear 
thinker,  a  logical  reasoner,  and  presenting  his  points  and  facts  with  a  clearness 
and  force  almost  irresistible,  he  has  attained  the  highest  standing  in  the  profession 
in  the  counties  in  which  he  practiced.  His  professional  reputation  is  exceeded 
by  that  of  no  one  who  practices  at  the  same  bar  with  him.  His  powers  as  an 
advocate  are  of  the  first  order,  and  his  discussions  of  all  legal  questions  are 
admirable  specimens  of  forensic  skill. 

In  concluding  this  imperfect  sketch  of  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  citizens 
of  the  State,  it  can  truly  be  said  that  no  man  has  ever  resided  in  his  locality  who 
more  thoroughly  enjoyed  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens.  In 
his  beautiful  mansion,  where  he  entertains  his  friends,  he  is  respected  and  loved 
as  a  whole-souled,  genial  gentleman,  whom  it  is  a  pleasure  to  know  and  honor. 

Sol.  Foster. 


w 


Hon,  Samuel   B.   Dick. 


SAMUEL   BERNARD   DICK. 

IT  is  not  often  that  a  man  is  so  tlioroughly  American  that  he  can  trace  his 
ancestry  resident  in  this  country  to  before  the  Revolutionary  War.  The 
Dick  family  began  in  Pennsylvania  very  early  in  its  histoiy.  The  first  of  the 
American  plant  found  its  way  to  this  land  of  freedom  from  the  north  of  Ireland. 
For  many  generations  they  are  Scotch-Irish  on  both  sides  of  the  family  tree. 
Not  a  single  instance  can  be  traced  until  within  very  late  years  where  there  has 
been  an  intermingling  of  this  strong  physical  and  mental  strain  with  any  other 
national  it)-. 

William  Dick  was  one  of  the  earliest  and  strongest  representatives  of  this 
family  in  America.  He  came  from  near  Belfast,  and  his  wife,  Anna  McGunnegle, 
daughter  of  a  strong  Scotch-Irish  family,  was  born  at  Carlisle  in  1768.  This 
union  produced  some  very  strong  men,  physically  and  mentally.  John  Dick 
was  one  of  five  sons,  and  grew  up  to  a  useful  and  notable  life  in  Western  Penn- 
sylvania. As  merchant,  politician  and  soldier  he  left  his  impress  on  that  whole 
region.  From  the  forks  of  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers,  where  the 
busy  city  of  Pittsburgh  stands,  William  Dick — his  father — moved  to  the  spot 
where  Meadville  is  now  making  its  way  to  the  dignity  of  a  provincial  city.  He 
went  there  in  1794  when  John,  his  second  son,  was  an  infant.  John  Dick  was  a 
magnificent  specimen  of  manhood — tall,  fine-looking  and  full  of  the  vigor  of  a 
strong,  physical  and  intellectual  life.  He  was  a  natural  soldier,  and,  as  one  of 
the  first  generals  of  militia  in  this  State,  impressed  his  individuality  and  prowess 
upon  the  young  men  of  that  locality  as  he  impressed  his  business  and  individual 
life  upon  every  phase  of  the  industrial,  educational  and  material  advancement  of 
that  region.  Growing  in  power  and  usefulness  beyond  his  immediate  surround- 
ings, he  for  three  consecutive  terms  represented  his  district  in  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  with  becoming  dignity  and  credit  to  all  concerned.  Few  men 
or  families  have  lived  who  have  been  so  thoroughly  identified  with  the  building 
up  of  a  part  of  a  great  commonwealth  as  have  the  Dicks  in  Western  Pennsylvania. 

John  Dick,  besides  having  been  General  of  Militia,  Congressman  and  the  occu- 
pant of  various  offices  of  honor  and  trust,  was  one  of  the  first  Associate  Judges 
of  Crawford  county.  Although  he  was  a  Whig  through  all  his  life,  he  carried  a 
Democratic  district  whenever  he  chose  to  be  a  candidate  for  office.  Like  most 
other  Whigs  he  drifted  into  the  Republican  party  at  the  very  beginning,  and  in 
1856  was  urged  by  Thurlow  Weed  to  become  the  Vice-Presidential  candidate  on 
the  ticket  with  John  C.  Fremont.  He.was  then  a  notable  banker  in  Meadville, 
and  the  head  of  the  house  of  J.  &  J.  R.  Dick,  which  subsequently  became  J.  R. 
Dick  &  Co.  It  is  still  in  existence,  and  has  been  for  nearly  forty  years  one  of 
the  leading  financial  institutions  of  that  industrial  region. 

Samuel  Bernard  Dick  was  the  third  son  of  the  Hon.  John  Dick.     He  was 

(77) 


78  SAMUEL    B.    DICK. 

born  at  Meadville,  Pa.,  on  the  26th  of  October,  1836.  His  early  life  was  passed 
in  a  good  atmosphere.  His  father  was  a  prominent  man  in  mercantile  pursuits 
long  before  he  was  able  to  take  much  interest  in  material  affairs.  When  he  was 
quite  }-oung,  he  began  laying  the  groundwork  of  a  good  English  education. 
From  the  district  school  he  graduated  into  the  Allegheny  College  at  Meadville — 
a  rather  ambitious  institution  of  learning,  even  in  those  days.  It  still  flourishes 
as  one  of  the  higher  evidences  of  our  educational  advantages  in  the  State.  Young 
Dick  left  the  college  just  before  taking  his  final  degree,  and  entered  the  flourish- 
ing banking  house  of  his  father.  There  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his  business 
career,  upon  which  he  has  built  to  great  purpose. 

Samuel  B.  Dick  was  following  the  ordinary  life  of  a  successful  banker  in  the 
city  of  Meadville  when  the  sound  of  cannon  at  Charleston  aroused  the  country 
to  arms.  He  at  once  organized  the  Meadville  Volunteers,  the  first  company 
which  marched  from  that  town  at  President  Lincoln's  first  call  for  three  months' 
men.  Pennsylvania's  quota  was  filled  so  rapidly  that  this  company,  with  many 
others,  was  left  in  camp  at  Pittsburgh,  and  did  not  participate  in  the  first  phases 
of  the  civil  conflict.  It  was  destined,  however,  for  a  higher  purpose  and  a  more 
ambitious  place  in  the  great  army  that  was  to  spring  up  after  the  misfortunes  of 
the  first  Bull  Run.  It  became  a  part  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
Reserves,  an  organization  which  has  a  place  in  history  second  to  none  that  was 
ever  formed  for  purposes  of  war,  and  which  graduated  more  great  soldiers  than 
any  other  single  organization  of  like  strength  in  the  army.  Its  first  brigade 
commanders  were  George  G.  Meade,  afterwards  the  head  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac ;  John  F.  Reynolds,  Commander  of  the  First  Corps,  who  fell  at  Get- 
tj'sburg ;  and  E.  O.  C.  Ord,  who  afterwards  became  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
corps  commanders  of  our  armies. 

The  Ninth  was  one  of  the  strongest  regiments  in  the  organization.  It  saw 
service  early  and  late  in  the  mighty  conflict.  Wiien  the  Reserves  left  the  State 
and  reached  contested  soil  they  at  once  went  into  active  service.  The  battle  of 
Drainsville,  Virginia,  was  a  notable  little  clinch  in  our  civil  conflict,  yet  it  was 
one  of  those  accidents  of  war  upon  which  often  hinges  great  history.  It  took 
place  on  the  20th  of  December,  1861.  That  day  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Regi- 
ment was  leading  General  Ord's  advance.  An  encounter  was  the  result;  for  it 
was  Ord's  reputation,  even  at  that  early  date,  that  he  was  always  hunting  a  fight. 
That  tradition  stuck  to  him  as  long  as  the  war  lasted.  On  that  eventful  day  in 
the  history'  of  our  national  struggle  Samuel  B.  Dick  was  wounded — so  severely 
wounded  that  it  was  supposed  he  could  not  recover.  When  the  record  of  the 
day  was  made  up,  among  the  casualties  the  words  "  mortally  wounded  "  were 
written  opposite  his  name.  After  months  of  sickness,  during  which  he  hung 
between  life  and  death,  he  finally  recovered. 

In  April,  1862,  he  rejoined  his  regiment  to  again  lead  the  brigade's  advance  in 
the  seven  day.s'  fight  before  Richmond.  From  there  his  command  took  its  way 
to  the  .second  battle  of  Bull  Run.     It  reached  there  just  in  time  for  that  engage- 


SAMUEL    R.    niCK. 


79 


ment  after  a  liazardous  and  severe  march,  while  Fitz-John  Porter's  fresh  troops 
lay  within  sound  of  the  battle  without  reaching  the  scene  of  the  conflict.  In 
that  fight  the  Ninth  Pennsylvania  Reserves  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  one 
hundred  and  eight  men  and  thirteen  officers.  South  Mountain  and  Antietam 
came  next  on  the  record.  Pope's  disaster  at  Bull  Run  had  cost  him  his  place. 
McClellan  was  again  summoned  to  the  command  of  an  army  whose  idol  he  was. 
The  battle  of  South  Mountain  was  a  notable  event  in  the  history  of  Mr.  Dick. 
He  commanded  the  regiment  in  that  fight,  and  in  the  desperate  and  bloody  work 
of  the  day  made  a  brilliant  record  for  himself  His  command  swept  over  and 
planted  the  first  Union  flag  on  South  Mountain  which  announced  McClellan's 
victory.  It  was  noted  as  a  brilliant  piece  of  work,  and  the  young  officer  was 
immediately  recommended  for  promotion  to  the  grade  of  Brigadier-General  by 
every  one  of  his  superior  officers  from  the  brigadier  up  to  the  commander  of  the 
corps.  Gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  were 
the  reasons  assigned  for  this  early  recognition  of  gallant  conduct. 

The  severe  work  of  the  time  told  upon  the  health  of  the  young  man,  who  had 
thus  earl)^  in  war  made  a  brilliant  record  for  himself  as  a  soldier.  A  wasting 
fever  took  possession  of  him,  and  he  was  sent  home  in  December,  1S62.  In 
February,  1863,  the  physicians  pronounced  his  health  so  shattered  that  there 
was  no  chance  for  his  recovering  away  from  the  comforts  of  home.  He  resigned 
his  commission,  and  reluctantly  relinquishing  his  command  returned  to  Meadville. 

The  early  summer  of  1863  was  filled  with  important  incidents  to  the  country, 
and  in  them  Mr.  Dick  took  a  lively  interest.  When  Lee  was  throwing  his 
battalions  rapidly  towards  the  soil  of  Pennsylvania,  Governor  Curtin  telegraphed 
to  Captain  Dick  to  go  to  Pittsburgh  and  take  charge  of  the  minute-men  then 
assembling  to  do  duty  in  the  grave  emergency.  He  responded  promptly, 
organized  several  battalions,  and  then,  as  Colonel  of  the  Fifty-sixth  Penn- 
sylvania, marched  into  Western  Virginia.  He  was  ordered  to  New  Creek  to 
relieve  General  Kelly  in  command  at  that  place.  For  some  time  he  com- 
manded along  the  border  and  then  returned  to  Meadville.  The  close  of  the  war 
found  Colonel  Dick  grown  to  man's  full  estate  and  occupying  a  strong  position 
in  the  community  which  his  father  had  done  so  much  to  build  up.  Public  spirit 
is  a  crowning  characteristic  of  the  Dick  family.  No  enterprise  tending  to  build 
up  Meadville,  or  the  region  of  which  it  is  the  capital,  but  that  the  elder  as  well 
as  the  younger  Dick  has  taken  a  large  hand. 

War  had  hardly  closed  before  the  demands  of  peace  called  S.  B.  Dick  to 
assume  new  responsibilities.  Meadville  felt  the  pulse  of  the  oil  fever,  and,  in  the 
wonderful  improvements  which  it  brought  to  Western  Pennsylvania,  the  Dicks 
were  again  leading  factors.  Business  thrived.  In  those  days  money  was  rapidly 
made,  and  as  rapidly  lost;  but  through  all  the  fluctuations  of  wild  speculation 
the  banking  house  of  J.  R.  Dick  &  Co.  enjoyed  the  highest  credit. 

After  independence  had  reached  Mr.  Dick,  he  had  ambitions  to  follow  his 
father's  footsteps  to  Congress.     In   1870,  and  again  in   1876,  he  was  the  unani- 


So  SAJICEL    B.    DICK. 

mous  choice  of  his  own  county,  but  was  beaten  by  the  combination  of  the 
other  counties  of  the  district  against  him.  In  1878,  however,  he  was  nominated 
and  elected,  and  would  have  been  re-elected  but  for  the  absurd  rule  which  pre- 
vails in  that  district  of  rotation  among  the  different  counties.  His  service  in 
Congress  was  too  brief  to  permit  him  to  show  much  of  his  quality  as  a  legislator, 
yet  during  his  short  term  of  service  he  was  popular  beyond  almost  any  man  in 
the  delegation,  and  had  a  practical  influence  that  was  felt  by  his  constituents  for 
good  ever}-  day.  His  retirement  from  Congress  was  regretted  by  his  associates 
and  constituents.  Ill  health  for  some  time  after  his  Congressional  career  kept 
him  from  mingling  much  with  the  outside  world ;  but  after  a  year  of  suffering  he 
became  vigorous  again,  and  for  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  his  usefulness  to  his 
section  and  his  State  has  been  great.  He  was  the  head  and  front  of  Pennsylva- 
nia's share  in  the  great  Yorktown  celebration,  and  to  his  hard  work  much  of  its 
success  was  due.  In  e\-ery  enterprise  which  has  succeeded  in  Meadville  and 
vicinit}',  or  is  on  its  way  to  success,  Samuel  B.  Dick  has  a  large  share.  It 
would  seem  that  he  is  either  President  or  Treasurer  of  nearly  every  enterprise 
in  that  whole  region. 

One  of  the  most  notable  events  in  the  career  of  Mr.  Dick  was  his  connection 
with  the  Senatorial  struggle  of  1880.  That  was  the  year  in  which  the  Indepen- 
dent Republican  movement  made  itself  felt  inside  and  outside  the  Republican 
party.  In  the  long  and  bitter  contest  which  occurred  between  Galusha  A.  Grow 
and  Harr\'  Oliver,  Mr.  Dick  was  more  generally  the  choice  of  all  parties  as  a 
compromise  candidate  than  any  other  man  in  the  State.  At  one  time  the 
arrangements  were  made  for  his  election,  but  by  one  of  those  accidents  which 
thwart  the  best  efforts  of  men  John  I.  Mitchell  was  chosen. 

Mr.  Dick's  career  as  a  citizen,  soldier  and  politician  has  been  a  highly  hon- 
orable one.  He  is  a  man  of  strong  friendships,  and  naturally  of  strong  enmities. 
He  has  a  degree  of  tenacity,  candor  and  courage  about  him  that  is  worthy  of 
emulation.  He  inherited  these  strong  qualities  from  the  faithful  and  prosperous 
people  who  have  lived  before  him.  He  came  of  a  long  line  of  natural  soldiers 
on  both  sides.  George  Dick,  his  father's  brother,  was  killed  in  the  Patriot  war 
in  Texas,  and  Iiis  own  brother  George  died  in  the  army  just  before  the  war.  At 
the  time  of  his  death  he  was  the  Adjutant  of  Gen.  Robert  E.  Lee's  regiment. 
Major  McGunncgle,  of  the  regular  army,  was  an  uncle  on  his  father's  side.  In 
fact,  no  war  has  been  fought  in  this  country,  beginning  with  the  Revolution,  in 
which  his  ancestors  have  not  taken  an  honorable  part.  They  were  also  good 
citizens  as  well  as  good  soldiers,  and  when  each  succeeding  conflict  which  had 
summoned  them  to  arms  was  over,  they  returned  to  the  walks  of  private  life  to 
aid  in  the  building  up  of  a  new  country.  His  uncle,  David  Dick,  built  the  first 
.steamboat  that  plied  the  Allegheny  river ;  he  also  invented  the  first  anti-friction 
power  press,  and  in  otlicr  ways  was,  with  his  brother  John,  a  benefactor  to  the 
region  in  which  he  lived.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  head  of  the  Dick  family 
of  to-day. 


SAMUEI,    n.    DICK.  8 1 

One  of  the  most  notable  features  of  Samuel  11  Diclc's  life  has  been  his  strong 
position  in  the  Masonic  fraternity.  He  began  as  a  Mason  as  far  back  as  1857, 
before  he  was  of  age.  He  has  filled  every  grade  of  official  position  in  that  high 
order  up  to  Grand  Master  of  the  State.  Nearly  every  place  in  the  Grand  Com- 
mandery,  as  well  as  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  has  felt  the  touch  of  a 
new  impulse  during  his  occupancy  of  the  office.  His  service  as  Grand  Master 
of  Masons  of  Pennsylvania,  which  began  in  18S3,  was  notable  for  a  spirit  and 
energy  such  as  had  never  before  characterized  the  administration  of  that  office. 
The  position  is  second  in  influence  only  to  that  of  Governor  of  the  State ;  yet  its 
exacting  duties  were  so  conscientiously  and  ably  performed  that  it  is  a  tradition 
to-day  among  the  Masons  of  Pennsylvania  that  during  Samuel  B.  Dick's  occu- 
pancy of  the  highest  honors  within  the  gift  of  the  order  there  was  more  cordiality 
of  effort,  more  interest  of  action,  and  more  general  enthusiasm  in  the  order  than 
at  any  time  within  the  history  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 

Mr.  Dick  is  now  fifty  years  of  age,  but  is  still  full  of  the  energy  of  a  strong 
lineage.  He  has  kept  his  distinguished  father's  name  green  in  the  memory  of 
the  people  among  whom  his  ancestors  made  their  names  honorable  for  so  many 
years.  He  is  just  in  the  prime  of  life,  with  a  long  line  of  good  deeds  behind  him. 
The  future  would  .seem  to  have  in  .store  more  valuable  fruits  both  for  himself  and 
his  people  than  have  yet  been  gathered  by  energy,  courage  and  an  upright  life. 
"  ¥.  A.  Burr. 


Hon.  a.   Herr    Smith. 


ABRAHAM    HERR   SMITH. 

HON.  A.  Herr  Smith,  for  twelve  years  a  representative  in  Congress  from  the 
Nintli  Congressional  District,  and  now  a  prominent  law)-er  of  Lancaster 
city,  was  born  in  Manor  township,  Lancaster  county,  near  MillersviUe,  Pa., 
March  7,  181 5. 

He  was  the  only  son  of  Jacob  and  Elizabeth  Sinitii,  ncc  Herr,  and  had  the 
misfortune  very  early  in  life  to  lose  both  his  parents,  his  father  when  he  was 
under  three  and  his  mother  when  he  was  twelve  years  of  age.  His  father  died 
February  23,  18 18,  and  his  mother,  June  28,  1827. 

His  preparatory  education  was  obtained  at  Prof  John  Beck's  Academy  at 
Lititz,  and  at  the  Franklin  Institute,  Philadelphia.  He  studied  engineering  and 
surveying  with  Joshua  Scott,  Esq.,  civil  engineer,  in  Lancaster,  and  assisted  to 
survey  the  Pennsj'lvania  Railroad  through  Lancaster,  from  the  Big  to  the  Little 
Conestoga.  He  spent  two  years  in  Henry  P.  Carson's  store  in  Lancaster,  and 
then  went  to  Haddington  College,  near  Philadelphia,  and  afterwards  to  Dickinson 
College,  Carlisle,  where  he  graduated  in  1840.  Among  his  classmates  were 
D.  G.  Eshleman,  a  prominent  member  of  the  Lancaster  Bar,  Congressman  Charles 
O'Neill,  of  Philadelphia,  Spencer  Baird,  now  deceased,  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tute, and  George  R.  Crooks,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  of  the  Drew  Theological  Seminary. 
His  vacations,  when  not  travelling,  were  spent  with  his  uncle,  Abraham  Smith, 
of  Strasburg,  whose  kindly  interest  in  his  welfare  he  has  never  forgotten. 

Immediately  after  his  graduation,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office 
of  John  R.  Montgomery,  a  distinguished  member  of  the  Lancaster  Bar.  On  the 
20th  of  October,  1842,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  various  courts  of  Lan- 
caster county.  He  brought  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  a  mind  well  stored 
with  general  knowledge,  as  well  as  legal  lore,  strong  common  sense,  a  well- 
balanced  judgment,  a  ready  pen  and  a  rhetoric  precise,  clean  and  forcible.  With 
these  accomplishments,  added  to  attractive  manners  and  address,  he  soon  rose  to 
the  highest  rank  in  his  profession. 

From  early  life  he  gave  much  attention  to  politics.  The  Whig  party  was 
organized  while  he  was  a  boy,  and  its  principles  and  men  had  for  him  a  magnetic 
attraction,  and  he  espoused  its  cause  in  his  youth  with  his  pen,  and  in  his  riper 
years  both  as  a  writer  and  an  orator.  While  he  was  yet  too  young  even  to  be  a 
member  of  his  party,  he  was  far  in  advance  of  it ;  for  he  was  an  Abolitionist 
before  the  abolition  of  slavery  became  a  political  tenet.  During  his  collegiate 
course  at  Haddington  he  wrote  an  address  for  an  exhibition  exercise,  so  strongly 
anti-slavery  in  its  views  that  the  faculty  refused  to  permit  its  delivery.  On  the 
breaking  up  of  the  Whig  party  in  1S56,  he  therefore  very  naturally  became  an 
ardent  supporter  of  the  Republican  party. 

Mr.  Smith  from  early  life  was  a  close  student  and  a  great  reader,  and  even  in 

(83) 


S4  A.    HERK    SMITH. 

his  youth  became  distinguished  both  as  an  essaj-ist  and  as  a  ready,  fluent  and 
forcible  speaker.  Many  of  his  school  essays  found  their  way  into  the  newspa- 
pers of  that  day,  and  attracted  much  attention  on  account  of  their  originality  of 
thought  and  strength  and  elegance  of  diction.  Being  regarded  as  a  young  man 
of  probity  and  abilit}-,  he  was  induced  to  enter  the  political  arena,  and  in  1843 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  and  re-elected  the 
following  year.  In  1845  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  for  one  term,  three 
j-ears,  during  the  latter  part  of  which  he  was  the  candidate  of  his  party  in  caucus 
for  Speaker  of  the  Senate,  and  failed  only  because  he  refused  to  vote  for  himself 

His  career  in  the  Legislature  was  one  of  marked  ability  and  usefulness,  very 
gratifying  to  his  constituents,  and  valuable  to  them  and  the  State  at  large.  He 
was  the  author  of  the  law  imposing  a  tax  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  on  the 
State  debt,  a  measure  by  no  means  popular  at  the  time  and  bitterly  opposed,  but 
necessary  to  save  the  State  from  repudiation.  Prior  to  that  time  the  interest  on 
the  State  debt  had  been  paid  in  scrip,  and  the  State  bonds  were  sold  at  about 
one-third  of  their  par  value.  Immediately  after  the  passage  of  the  bill  the  interest 
was  premptly  paid  in  money,  and  the  bonds  rose  to  par. 

He  advocated  the  sale  of  the  Public  Works,  which  were  a  great  expense  to  the 
State.  He  abolished  the  Mayor's  Court  of  the  City  of  Lancaster.  This  court 
had  been  a  useless  and  expensive  piece  of  judicial  machinery,  but  having  existed 
for  many  years  had  a  fixed  abode  in  the  customs  of  the  people.  He  also  refused 
to  sanction  the  renewal  of  the  District  Court  of  Lancaster  County,  when  it 
expired  by  limitation.  He  was  an  earnest  advocate  of  the  Married  Woman's 
Act  which  became  a  law  in  1848.  He  also  advocated  and  voted  for  the  passage 
of  the  law  which  made  the  Common  School  System  obligatory  upon  the  districts 
of  the  State,  thus  doing  away  with  the  triennial  election,  which  permitted  the 
voters  of  every  district  to  accept  or  reject  the  system.  This  necessary  change 
perfected  the  school  system  in  Pennsylvania.  He  was  ever  strongly  devoted  to 
rigid  economy  and  governmental  reforms,  and  watchful  of  the  details  of  legisla- 
tion. Returning  to  the  practice  of  his  profession  he  uninterruptedly  followed  it 
until  the  fall  of  1872,  when  he  was  elected  on  the  Republican  ticket  to  the  Forty- 
third  Congress,  and  by  re-election  served  in  the  Forty-fourth,  Forty-fifth,  Forty- 
sixtji.  Forty-seventh  and  Forty-eighth  Congresses ;  a  high  compliment,  and  never 
before  paid  to  a  Congressional  Representative  from  Lancaster  county.  In  this 
district  the  unwritten  rule  has  limited  the  period  of  the  Representative  in  Con- 
gress to  two  terms.  To  this  rule  there  have  been  the  following  exceptions : 
John  W.  Kittera,  1791  to  1801,  five  terms,  ten  years;  James  Buchanan,  1821  to 
1831,  five  terms,  ten  years;  Thaddeus  Stevens,  1859  to  1868,  four  and  a  half 
terms,  nine  years;  and  Mr.  Smith  from  1873  to  1885,  six  terms,  twelve  years. 

Mr.  Smith  did  efficient  service  on  the  Committee  on  War  Claims  for  si.v  years, 
and  .served  on  tlie  Committee  on  Appropriations,  Agriculture,  Pensions  and 
other  important  committees.  As  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  War  Claims,  a 
committee  first  raised  in  1873  on  the  suggestion  of  President  Grant,  he  rendered 


A.    IlERR    SMITH.  85 

valuable  services  in  the  rejection  of  fraudulent  claims,  running  up  to  many  mil- 
lions of  dollars.  The  reports  made  by  him  are  referred  to  constantly  by  the 
present  committee,  and  greatly  aid  to  settle  definitely  the  law  and  the  facts 
whenever  the  claims  are  renewed.  Against  the  seductive  free  pass  system,  he, 
by  word  and  example,  entered  his  stern  protest,  promptly  returning  to  the  liberal 
donors  their  paste-board  annuals.  When  asked  the  reason  for  his  conduct  by  a 
director,  he  answered:  "You  do  not  give  the  pass  to  the  mendicant;  why 
give  it  to  the  salaried  Judge  and  Legislator?  They  pay  their  toll  on  the  turn- 
pike, their  discount  in  bank,  and  ought  also  pay  their  fare  on  railroads."  This 
colloquy  occurred  in  1873  at  Mr.  Smith's  first  Congressional  session,  and  put  a 
stop  to  free  tickets  on  the  street  railroads  in  Washington.  Mr.  Smith  took  a 
bold  stand  against  the  constructive  mileage  allowed  members  of  Congress,  show- 
ing its  abuses,  and  which,  through  his  exposure,  were  to  some  extent  coirected. 
He  favored  the  payment  of  pensions  directly  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  United 
States  instead  of  Pension  Agents,  thereby  saving  money  to  the  pensioner  and 
protecting  the  Government  against  loss.  He  ably  opposed,  on  legal  grounds,  the 
creation  of  the  Electoral  Commission,  holding  that  the  Vice-President,  under  the 
Constitution,  was  the  custodian  of  the  returns,  who  must  present  the  same  to  the 
two  Houses  when  they  meet  in  convention,  and  have  them  opened  in  their 
presence  and  counted,  neither  House  having  any  right  to  control  the  result, 
their  presence  only  being  necessary  as  witnesses  of  the  result. 

Mr.  Smith  favored  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  by  the  Government,  and 
the  coining  of  silver  for  fractional  currency  only,  and  opposed  the  coinage  of  the 
needless  silver  dollars.  He  advocated  and  voted  for  the  bill  to  restrict  Chinese 
emigration.  He  also  supported  and  voted  for  the  civil  service  bill ;  and  in  the 
distribution  of  Congressional  patronage  favored  promotion,  and,  other  things 
being  equal,  gave  the  soldier  a  preference. 

He  has  always  been  an  earnest  advocate  of  a  protective  tariff,  as  best  adapted 
to  raise  revenue,  to  protect  labor  and  make  the  nation  independent  in  peace  and 
war.  In  a  brief  speech,  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  on  P\'bruary  20,  1875, 
he  indicated  the  true  theory  of  protection. 

"  In  1791,"  said  Mr.  Smith,  "  the  encouragement  of  manufactiu'es  was  found  to  be  the  true  interest  of 
all  parts  of  the  Union.  In  1875  it  is  still  the  true  American  policy.  Our  fathers  adhered  to  it  and  the 
country  prospered.  Let  not  their  descendants  in  an  evil  hour  be  misled  by  free  trade  visionaries.  Some 
of  our  Western  friends,  I  fear,  have  been  indoctrinated  with  this  financial  heresy.  In  a  burst  of  wild 
indignation  they  denounce  every  manufacturer  as  a  common  robber.  Incidental  protection,  in  their 
judgment,  is  legalized  swindling.  In  their  blind  zeal  they  wholly  ignore  what  is  painfully  obvious  to 
all  others,  that  in  breaking  down  the  American  manufacturer  they  play  into  the  hands  of  English  mo- 
nopolists. New  England  and  Pennsylvania  have  fully  realized  that  there  is  no  conflict  between  the 
farming  and  manufacturing  interest.  Let  the  West  profit  by  their  example,  and  utilize  the  great  advan- 
tages of  soil,  water,  iron  and  coal  found  either  separately  or  combined  in  almost  every  locality.  What  it 
needs  most  is  a  home  market. 

"Let  a  familiar  illustration  point  the  moral.  Said  a  farmer  recently  to  me,  as  he  sat  down  in  my 
office,  '  I  do  not  visit  your  city  as  often  as  formerly,'  <  Why  not?'  I  replied.  'I  take,'  said  he,  'my 
products  to  the  factoiy  store  in  the  village,  and  get  in  return  for  the  same  either  cash  or  its  equivalent.' 


86  A.    HERR    SMITH. 

I  commend  this  homely  practical  argument  to  my  free-trade  theorist,  who  must  needs  travel  to  Canada  or 
cross  the  ocean  to  buy  his  fabrics.  In  a  word,  the  w  hole  occult  science  is  in  a  nutshell ;  let  the  producer 
and  consumer  join  hands.     Such  proximity  must  secure  community  of  interest. 

"  Without  protective  duties  the  American  cannot  compete  with  the  European  manufacturer.  Here  the 
laborer  is  not  a  mere  hewer  of  wood  and  drawer  of  water.  Here  he  is  pre-eminently  a  man  with  all  that 
appertains  to  elevated  manhood.  His  children  must  be  clothed  and  fed  and  educated  and  duly  prepared 
to  discharge  the  full  duties  of  intelligent  citizens.  Pauper  wages  have  been  justly  again  and  again  repu- 
diated by  the  American  people.     Ta.\  the  luxuries,  not  the  necessaries  of  life." 

His  speeches  made  in  Congress  were  able  and  exhaustive,  indicating  great 
research  and  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject  discussed.  These,  with  his  let- 
ters and  articles  on  the  political  issues  of  the  day,  were  highly  commended  by 
the  press  and  reading  public. 

Mr.  Smith,  as  a  Legislator,  either  in  State  or  National  affairs,  was  conscien- 
tiously honest  and  never  suffered  a  political  caucus  to  dictate  his  legislative 
action.  After  full  and  careful  investigation  he  followed  his  convictions,  whether 
in  harmony  with  his  party  or  not.  The  Fitz-John  Porter  case  is  in  point.  It 
had,  substantially,  assumed  a  party  aspect — the  Democrats  being  for,  the  Repub- 
licans against  the  bill.  Mr.  Smith,  having  with  great  care  read  the  evidence  on 
both  sides,  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  general  had  been  wronged,  and, 
therefore,  with  nineteen  other  Republicans  voted  for  the  bill,  although  assured 
in  advance  that  the  vote  would  be  used  against  him  in  an  approaching  Congres- 
sional contest. 

Mr.  Smith,  during  his  seventeen  years  of  public  service  at  Harrisburg  and 
Washington,  never  dodged  a  vote ;  and  the  writer  of  this  sketch  has  heard  him 
say  that  upon  a  careful  review  of  his  votes,  for  and  against  legislative  measures, 
he  would  not,  if  he  could,  in  a  single  instance  reverse  his  judgment. 

On  Mr.  Smith's  retirement  from  Congress,  the  editor  of  the  Lancaster  Inquirer, 
who  had  been  his  rival  and  political  opponent,  with  commendable  frankness,  in 
his  paper  of  March  14,  1885,  said: 

"  In  retiring  from  a  long  public  career  Mr.  Smith  is  entitled  to  kindness  and  courtesy  from  all  his 
fellow-citizens.  He  has  made  some  mistakes,  notably  his  vote  in  favor  of  the  Fitz-John  Porter  and  the 
anti-Chinese  bills,  but  much  of  his  public  career  is  entitled  to  high  praise.  He  leaves  official  life  clean- 
handed and  without  a  taint  of  corruption,  and  this  is  a  good  deal  to  be  said  of  one  who  has  been  in 
official  position  so  long.  His  faithfulness  in  this  respect  will  be  remembered  long  after  the  mistakes  he 
has  made  are  forgotten," 

Soon  after  his  graduation  Mr.  Smith  was  elected  a  Trustee  of  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, Carlisle,  and  later  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College,  Lancaster. 

He  is  a  Director  and  Solicitor  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Lancaster,  and 
has  occupied  that  two-fold  position  ever  since  the  organization  of  the  bank,  in 
1864. 

He  was  one  of  the  original  stockholders  in  the  first  cotton  mill  in  Lancaster, 
and,  although  attended  with  loss,  the  experiment  was  never  regretted  by  him,  as 
it  became  the  nucleus  of  the  present  mills,  which   yield  their  more   fortunate 


A.    HERR    SMITH.  87 

investors  a  handsome  income,  and  give  their  numerous  employes — men,  women 
and  children — constant  work  and  liberal  pay.  In  a  word,  all  the  industrial  enter- 
prises in  the  city,  as  well  as  its  literary  and  charitable  institutions,  have  ever 
found  in  Mr.  Smith  a  warm  and  substantial  friend. 

Mr.  Smith's  ancestors  on  both  sides  came  from  Germany,  and  settled  in  Lan- 
caster county  about  the  year  1723 — those  on  the  paternal  in  Pequea,  and  those  on 
the  maternal  side  in  Manor  township.  Soon  after  their  arrival  they  purchased 
large  tracts  of  land,  and  in  addition  to  cultivating  the  same  the  father  and  paternal 
grandfather  of  Mr.  Smith  followed  the  millwright  and  milling  business,  and  he 
has  in  his  possession  the  scientific  drafts  and  plans,  made  by  his  father,  of  mills 
erected  by  him. 

The  land  on  the  mother's  side  came  through  John  Penn,  and  remained  for 
three  generations  in  the  Herr  family.  His  maternal  grandmother,  Barbara  Herr, 
nee  Eshleman,  died  September  16,  1839,  in  her  eighty-second  year,  in  the  old 
family  mansion,  where  Mr.  Smith  was  born,  and  his  maternal  grandfather, 
Abraham  Herr,  died  November  26,  1823,  at  the  age  of  seventj'-two. 

The  old  stone  building,  erected  in  1764  by  Mr.  Smith's  maternal  great-grand- 
parents, David  Herr  and  Barbara  Herr,  is  still  occupied,  and  while  the  wood 
work  has  been  replaced,  the  fort-like  walls  and  arched  and  cemented  cellars  are 
as  good  as  new,  and  seem  fully  capable  of  resisting  Old  Boreas  for  generations 
yet  to  come. 

Mr.  Smith  was  never  married,  and  he  and  his  only  sister,  Eliza  E.  Smith,  also 
unmarried,  live  in  their  unpretentious  home  on  Lime  street,  Lancaster,  dispensing 
hospitality  and  charitj'  without  show  or  parade. 

Miss  Smith  was  educated  at  Linden  Hall  Seminary,  Lititz,  and  at  Miss 
Edmond's  school,  Philadelphia,  and,  as  an  unobtrusive  philanthropist,  has  spent 
the  best  years  of  her  life,  and  much  of  her  and  her  brother's  means,  in  educating 
the  worthy  poor  of  both  sexes,  some  of  whom  have  fallen  asleep,  but  others  yet 
live  and  trace  their  success  in  life  to  the  timely  aid  which  came  from  their  unsel- 
fish benefactors. 

Although  not  engaged  in  the  laborious  duties  of  his  profession,  the  law  still 
has  attractions  for  Mr.  Smith,  and  he  may  be  found  almost  daily  in  his  office, 
and,  surrounded  with  his  books  or  friends,  modestly  enjoying  the  ease  and 
comfort  which  naturally  come  from  his  well-earned  "  success  in  law,  business  and 
politics."  E.  T.  F. 


Hon.  Simon    Cameron. 


SIMON   CAMERON. 

SIMON'  Cameron,  the  most  widely  known  of  the  statesmen  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
born  at  Majtown,  Lancaster  county,  on  March  S,  1799.  He  is  the  son  of 
Cliarles  and  J^Iartha  Pfoutz  Cameron.  On  the  paternal  sitle  he  is  descended 
from  the  Clan  Cameron  of  Scotland,  who  cast  their  lot  with  the  unfortu- 
nate Charles  Edward,  whose  star  of  hope  sank  on  the  field  of  Culloden.  Donald 
Cameron,  his  great-grandfather,  was  a  participant  in  tliat  memorable  battle,  and, 
having  escaped  the  carnage,  made  his  way  to  America,  where  he  arrived  about 
1745-46,  and  afterwards  fought  under  the  gallant  Wolfe  upon  the  heights  of 
Abraham,  and  was  in  continuous  service  throughout  the  war  with  France. 
Simon  Cameron,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  an  early 
participant  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and,  witii  his  brother  John,  took  the 
oath  of  allegiance,  June  7,  1778.  This  brother  was  the  great-grandfather  of 
Gen.  Henry  H.  Bingham,  of  Philadelphia.  On  the  maternal  side  Simon  Cameron 
is  descended  from  Conrad  Pfoutz,  an  emigrant  from  the  Palatinate,  Germany,  who 
settled  in  Lancaster  county,  and  Pfoutz  Valley,  in  Perry  county,  perpetuates  the 
name  of  John  Pfoutz,  a  hero  of  the  border  warfare  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  days 
when  the  treacherous  Delawares  and  the  perfidious  Shawnees  sought  to  desolate 
the  homes  of  the  early  pioneers  of  the  State.  Charles  Cameron  married  Martha 
Pfoutz,  and  they  had  a  numerous  and  remarkable  progeny  ;  for  the  history  of  our 
country  gives  but  few  instances  of  the  attainment  of  such  a  measure  of  success  in 
life  by  an  entire  family,  and  of  its  members  Simon  Cameron  is  the  most  prominent. 
When  young  Cameron  was  about  nine  years  of  age  his  parents  removed  to 
Northumberland  county,  where  his  father  shortly  afterwards  died,  and  he  was 
thus  early  in  life  cast  upon  his  own  resources.  There  were  then  few  advantages 
offered  by  public  schools,  and  his  educational  facilities  were  exceedingly  limited. 
Having  an  unquenchable  fondness  for  books,  he  was  unable  to  perceive  any 
other  means  so  likely  to  satiate  his  appetite  as  employment  in  a  printing-office. 
It  seemed  to  him  the  chief  centre  of  thought  in  the  conmiunity  in  which  destiny 
had  fi.xed  his  lot.  He  therefore  engaged,  in  18 16,  as  an  apprentice  to  the  print- 
ing business  with  Andrew  Kennedy,  editor  of  the  Northumberland  County  Gazette, 
of  Northumberland,  Pa.,  where  he  continued  one  year,  when  his  employer,  owing 
to  financial  reverses,  was  obliged  to  close  his  establishment.  Being  thus  thrown 
out  of  employment  he  made  his  way  by  river-boat  and  on  foot  to  Harrisburg, 
where  he  secured  a  situation  in  the  printing-office  of  James  Peacock,  editor  of 
the  Rcp2ibliean,  with  whom  he  remained  until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  In 
January,  1821,  he  went  to  Doylestown,  Pa.,  at  the  solicitation  of  Samuel  D.  Ing- 
ham, afterwards  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  Ingham,  then  Secretary  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  published  the  Bucks  County  Messenger.  Young  Cameron,  as 
editor  of  this  paper,  e\inced  a  breadth  of  information  which,  in  a  man  of  his 
limited  opportunities,  seemed  astonishing.  In  March  of  the  same  year  he  entered 
12  '  (89) 


90  SIMON    CAMERON. 

into  partnership  with  tlic  piibUslier  of  the  Doylcstmvn  Democrat,  and  the  firm 
merged  their  pubhcations  into  the  Bucks  County  Dcuiocrat,  which  connection  was 
continued  until  the  close  of  the  year  1821,  when  the  establishment  passed  by- 
purchase  into  the  hands  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Rogers.  The  succeeding  winter  Mr. 
Cameron  spent  in  the  office  of  Messrs.  Gales  and  Seaton,  publishers  of  the 
Niitiouiil  lutclligcuccr  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  as  a  journeyman  printer.  He 
returned  to  Harrisburg  in  1822,  and  entered  into  partnership  with  Charles 
Mowry  in  the  publication  of  the  PcunsylvcDtia  Intelligencer,  then  the  organ  of  the 
Democratic  party  at  the  State  capital,  and  which  enjoyed  the  official  patronage 
of  the  State  administration.  He  was  elected  one  of  the  printers  of  the  State — a 
position  that  he  held  for  seven  years,  having  been  the  early  friend  and  supporter 
of  Governor  Shultz.  Upon  his  ceasing  to  be  State  printer  he  was  honored  by 
that  executive  with  the  appointment  of  Adjutant-General  of  Pennsylvania,  the 
duties  of  which  office  he  discharged  with  ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
public. 

General  Cameron  at  an  early  period  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  development 
of  internal  improvements,  and  received  extensive  contracts  upon  the  Pennsylva- 
nia Canal,  then  in  process  of  construction.  In  1826  he  began  the  section  between 
Harrisburg  and  Sunbury,  and  after  this  was  well  under  way  he  took  one  or  two 
sections  of  the  western  part  of  the  canal.  When  Louisiana  granted  a  charter  to 
the  State  bank  of  that  Commonwealth,  it  provided  that  the  bank  should  build  a 
canal  from  Lake  Ponchartrain  to  New  Orleans.  General  Cameron  took  the  con- 
tract for  that  work,  which  was  then  regarded  by  engineers  as  the  great  under- 
taking of  the  time.  In  1831  he  started  for  New  Oileans.  He  employed  twelve 
hundred  men  in  Philadelphia,  and  sent  them  by  sea  to  that  city,  he  with  his 
engineers  and  tools  going  down  the  Mississippi  river,  embarking  at  Pittsburgh. 
He  spent  nearly  half  a  year  upon  the  undertaking,  and  demonstrated  beyond  a 
doubt  its  feasibility.  He  was  recalled  from  his  work  on  the  Lake  Ponchartrain 
Canal  by  a  summons  from  Major  Eaton,  Secretary  of  War  under  President  Jack- 
son, who  requested  him  to  return  to  Penn.sylvania  and  organize  a  delegation  to 
the  National  Convention,  which  had  been  called  to  meet  in  Baltimore.  This  was 
in  the  interest  of  Martin  Van  Burcn  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  Calhoun,  who  had 
served  eight  years,  had  quarreled  with  Jackson  during  his  second  term,  and  had 
othcrwi.se  put  himself  into  antagonism  to  the  prevailing  popularity  of  the  Presi- 
dent. General  Cameron  obeyed  the  summons,  came  home,  and  organized  a 
delegation  that  went  to  Baltimore  and  worked  for  the  success  of  Mr.  Van  Burcn. 
This  was  the  first  National  Convention  ever  held  in  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Camcjon  was  requested  to  accept  the  permanent  chairmanship,  but  declined,  and 
a  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  was  selected.  After  the  National  Convention 
at  Baltimore  he  was  appointed  a  xisitor  to  West  Point  by  General  Jackson  ;  and, 
after  performing  liis  duties  on  the  Ihulson,  he  made  his  first  trip  to  New  Eng- 
land. He  went  with  a  brother  of  l')isliop  Potter,  of  Penns)lvania,  and  thoroughly 
inspected  the  paper  mills  and  other  manufactories  of  that  secti(Mi. 


SIMON    CAMERON.  9I 

In  the  winter  of  1832  the  Legislature  chartered  a  bank  at  Middletown,  and  he 
became  its  cashier.  From  the  first  the  bank  was  successful,  but  the  duties  of 
cashier  were  so  limited  that  General  Cameron  sought  other  fields  of  labor  and 
usefulness,  although  he  remained  there  twenty  .-five  years.  He  projected  and 
created  the  railroads  from  Lancaster  to  Middletown,  from  Harrisburg  to  Sun- 
bury,  from  Harrisburg  to  Lebanon,  and  at  the  same  time  gave  encouragement  to 
the  Cumberland  Valley  Railroad.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  stated  that  the 
Northern  Central  Railroad  from  Harrisburg  to  Baltimore  was  alienated  by  him 
from  Baltimore  interests,  and  made  a  Pennsylvania  institution.  He  was  at  one 
time  President  of  four  railroad  corporations,  all  operating  lines  within  a  few  miles 
of  the  spot  where  he  was  born. 

In  1838  President  Van  Buren  tendered  to  General  Cameron  the  appointment 
of  Commissioner  with  James  Murray,  one  of  the  most  respected  citizens  of  Mary- 
land, under  a  treaty  with  the  W'innebago  Indians,  to  settle  and  adjust  the  claims 
made  against  the  Indians  by  the  traders.  These  claims  were  for  goods  furnished 
the  Indians  during  a  long  period  of  years,  and  the  sum  appropriated  by  the  treaty 
was  three  hundred  thousand  dollars.  In  many  cases  the  commissioners  found 
the  claims  of  the  traders  unjust,  and  every  account  allowed  by  them  met  with 
the  approbation  of  the  commissioners  appointed  by  the  Indians.  In  their  settle- 
ment of  some  of  the  claims  (the  aggregate  amount  having  been  reduced  from 
over  a  million  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars)  the  traders 
refused  to  accept  the  award,  and  went  to  Washington  with  charges  against  the 
commissioners.  The  charges  were  met  by  a  demand  for  re-examination,  which 
resulted  in  the  appointment  of  a  new  commission  the  following  year,  under  whose 
direction  the  Indians  were  assembled  in  council,  and  who  approved,  by  a  united 
vote  of  their  council,  the  entire  acts  of  Messrs.  Cameron  and  Murray,  and  the 
account  thus  adjudged  was  paid  by  the  Government. 

In  1845,  when  James  K.  Polk  tendered  the  office  of  Secretary  of  State  to  James 
Buchanan,  and  that  gentleman  resigned  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  an  election  to  supply  the  vacancy  became  necessar}'.  General  Cameron 
was  at  that  time  in  recognized  sympathy  with  the  Democratic  party,  and  was 
selected  as  the  representative  of  that  wing  of  it  which  advocated  the  policy  of  a 
protective  tariff.  The  regular  caucus  nominee  of  the  Democracy,  however,  was 
George  \V.  Woodward,  which  selection  was  regarded  as  a  free  trade  triumph, 
rendering  it  possible  for  some  other  Democrat  known  to  be  honestly  devoted  to 
the  ever-cherished  policy  of  the  State  to  be  elected  by  a  union  of  the  Whigs, 
Native  Americans  and  those  Democrats  in  favor  of  protection  to  home  industries. 
The  result  was  the  election  of  Simon  Cameron  to  the  United  State?  Senate  for 
the  term  ending  March  4,  1849.  He  served  his  State  faithfully  in  that  body, 
and  proved  himself  true  to  the  great  interests  committed  to  his  charge,  and  he 
never  wearied  in  the  support  of  the  principles  on  which  he  was  elected.  It  may 
be  here  stated  that  President  Polk  at  first  chose  to  ignore  Mr.  Cameron,  de- 
claring his  election  to  the  Senate  as  having  been  outside  the  party  organization; 


C)2  SIMON    CAMERON. 

but  this  treatment,  lie  found  to  liis  cost,  was  not  conducive  to  his  own  peace  of 
mind,  and  he  sent  for  Senator  Cameron,  made  a  truce  with  liim,  and  thereafter 
asoided  antagonizing  him. 

In  1S57  the  combined  opposition  members  of  the  Legislature,  consisting  of 
Wliigs,  Native  Americans  and  tariff  Democrats,  selected  Mr.  Cameron  as  their 
candidate  to  fill  the  place  of  Senator  Brodhead,  whose  term  of  service  expired  on 
the  4th  of  March  of  that  year.  The  Democratic  caucus  nominated  Col.  John  W. 
Forne\-,  then  the  intimate  friend  of  James  Buchanan,  who  was  just  entering  upon 
his  term  as  President,  and  had  written  a  letter  to  members  of  the  Legislature 
naming  Colonel  Forney  as  his  choice  to  the  Senatorship.  The  united  votes  of 
the  opposition,  with  three  Democratic  votes — two  from  Schuylkill  and  one  from 
York  counties,  in  both  of  which  Senator  Cameron  possessed  great  strength  and 
popularity  on  account  of  his  firm  devotion  to  their  industrial  interests — resulted 
again  in  his  election.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  on  the  4th  of  March,  not- 
withstanding the  futile  assaults  of  his  colleague  from  Pennsylvania,  Mr.  Bigler, 
upon  his  title  to  the  place,  and  which  that  body  refused  to  consider.  General 
Cameron's  return  to  the  Senate  brought  him  again  prominently  before  the  public, 
and  in  the  political  movements  which  preceded  the  campaign  of  i860  he  was 
named  as  the  choice  of  Pennsylvania  for  the  Presidency,  and  his  name  was  early 
a.ssociated  with  that  of  Mr.  Lincoln  in  connection  with  the  Republican  National 
ticket. 

General  Cameron's  national  career  began  at  the  Chicago  Convention  in  i860, 
when  the  Republican  party  crystalized  into  a  national  organization,  and  declared 
its  open,  clear  and  stern  antagonism  to  slavery.  With  intuitive  sagacity  the 
advocates  of  slavery  recognized  in  the  Republican  party  the  force  which  would 
ultimately  overthrow  them,  and  men  like  Senator  Cameron  were  recognized  as 
the  leaders  of  that  force.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  object  on  which  it  entered 
the  campaign  of  i860.  When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  nominated.  Senator  Cameron 
made  himself  felt  in  such  a  manner  as  to  win  the  confidence  of  that  illustrious 
statesman  and  patriot.  After  the  great  political  battle  of  that  year  Mr.  Cameron 
was  the  first  to  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  turned  for  counsel.  The  offer  of  a  cabinet 
position  by  the  latter  to  the  former  was  a  voluntary  act,  and  that  appointment 
would  have  been  made  the  first  in  the  selection  of  his  constitutional  advisers  had 
not  intrigue  interfered  to  defer  it  at  the  time.  Mr.  Lincoln  looked  upon  Mr. 
Cameron  from  first  to  la.st,  not  only  as  a  political,  but  as  his  warm  personal 
friend;  and  there  were  no  such  relations  exi.sting  between  the  President  and  the 
other  members  of  his  cabinet.  This  fact  was  well  known  when  the  cabinet  was 
organized,  provoking  antagonisms  which  General  Cameron  could  not  meet  and 
combat,  as  was  his  wont  with  opposition,  and  creating  jealousies  which  operated 
stealthily  against  him.  While  he  was  in  the  War  Department,  as  Secretary  of 
War,  his  counsel  was  not  only  potential  in  cabinet  meetings,  but  was  sought  by 
the  President  in  [)rivate,  and  heeded  in  such  a  marked  manner  as  to  create  a 
feeling  of  hostility  which  caused   the   President    much    annoyance.     Then,  too, 


SIMON    CAMERON. 


93 


believing  that  the  civil  war  would  require  all  the  available  resources  of  the 
nation  to  preserve  the  Union,  and  doubting  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  trouble, 
lie  began,  as  head  of  the  War  Department,  a  scale  of  preparations  to  combat  it 
which  puzzled  the  oldest  officers  in  the  army  and  chagrined  the  leaders  of  the 
Rebellion,  who  had  counted  much  on  the  supineness  and  lethargy  of  the  North- 
ern people.  General  Cameron  frustiatcd  this  hope  by  his  energy,  but  he  had 
the  rest  of  the  cabinet  unanimously  against  him.  When  he  sought  to  furnish 
the  necessary  supplies  to  the  arm\',  he  was  met  by  a  sickly  sentimentality  about 
settling  the  war  by  diplomacy.  The  Confederates  resorted  to  the  ruse  of  diplo- 
macy by  means  of  commissioners  for  the  purpose  of  retarding  this  activity,  but 
at  tlie  same  time  General  Cameron  was  filling  up  the  arsenals  which  had  been 
despoiled  and  depleted  by  the  former  Secretary  of  War,  and  was  supplying  the 
army  with  large  quantities  of  ordnance  and  commissary  and  quartermaster's 
stores.  His  action  naturally  aroused  the  opposition  of  the  sordid  and  jealous, 
alarmed  the  timid,  and  excited  the  suspicious.  The  minister  who  had  thus 
labored  to  equip  his  country  for  its  struggle  with  treason,  the  proportions  of 
which  he  alone  seemed  fully  to  appreciate,  was  assailed  for  each  and  all  of  these 
acts. 

Mr.  Lincohi  had  the  fullest  confidence  in  his  Secretary  of  War.  He  believed 
in  his  sagacity  and  relied  on  his  courage,  but  he  could  not  wholly  withstand 
clamor — the  outgrowth  of  timidity  on  one  side,  and  the  cunning  greed  of  the 
unscrupulous  on  the  other — so  that  General  Cameron,  to  relieve  President  Lin- 
coln from  embarrassment,  resolved  to  resign,  and,  on  the  nth  of  January',  1862, 
returned  the  portfolio  of  the  War  Department  to  the  President,  but  in  that  act 
he  commanded  the  continued  confidence  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who,  on  the  day  that 
he  accepted  his  resignation,  nominated  the  retiring  Secretary  for  the  most  im- 
portant diplomatic  mission  in  his  gift — that  of  Minister  to  Russia.  Nor  was  this 
all.  Mr.  Lincoln  insisted  that  General  Cameron  should  name  his  own  successor, 
an  act  which  no  retiring  cabinet  officer  ever  did  before  or  since.  He  named 
Edwin  M.  Stanton,  who  liad  been  his  legal  adviser  during  his  term  in  the  War 
Department. 

The  mission  to  Russia  involved  the  safe  and  sagacious  handling  of  our  rela- 
tions with  the  Czar's  go\'ernment  at  a  moment  when  they  demanded  the  most 
prudent  direction.  The  friendly  relations  which  existed  between  that  colossal 
power  of  the  north  and  the  great  republic  of  the  west  dated  back  in  their  amity 
to  the  time  when  the  Empress  Catharine  declined  to  take  part  with  England  in 
the  suppression  of  the  American  colonists  in  their  struggle  for  independence. 
General  Cameron  restored  this  friendly  feeling,  and  thus  frustrated  English  and 
French  intrigue  to  organize  an  alliance,  with  Napoleon  HI.  at  its  head,  in  the 
interest  of  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  country  has  never  fully  appreciated 
tills  fact,  because  it  was  a  part  of  its  diplomacy  which  admitted  of  no  correspond- 
ence. This  object  accomplished.  General  Cameron's  mission  to  Russia  was 
virtually  concluded,  there  being  nothing  more  to  do  in  St.  Petersburg  in  fact. 


94  SIMON    CAMERON. 

but  to  maintain  wliat  Had  been  established,  and  he  could  with  .safct}-  ask  for  his 
credentials  and  retire. 

The  relations  between  Mr.  Lincoln  and  General  Cameron  were  alwaj-s  cordial, 
and  immediately  upon  his  reaching  the  United  States  the  latter  was  the  accepted 
citizen  counsellor  at  the  White  House.  At  this  time  efforts  were  being  made  to 
defeat  the  renomination  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  It  was  a  period  of  great  solicitude  to 
the  President,  who,  with  characteristic  modesty,  declined  to  make  any  nioveniciit 
in  his  own  behalf  In  the  winter  of  1864  the  intrigue  referred  to  was  talked  of 
in  political  circles  at  Washington  as  a  success.  General  Cameron  visited  the 
National  Capital  repeatedly  at  that  time,  and  upon  reaching  his  farm,  after  a 
return  from  one  of  these  visits,  had  a  paper  prepared  embodying  the  merits  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  as  President,  setting  forth  his  fidelity  and  integrity  in  his  first 
administration,  and  declaring  that  his  renomination  and  re-election  involved  a 
necessity  essential  to  the  success  of  the  war  for  the  Union.  That  paper  was 
submitted  to  the  Republican  members  of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  Pennsj-lvania,  every  one  of  w  hom  signed  it,  and  in  this  shape  it  was 
presented  to  Mr.  Lincoln  and  telegraphed  to  the  country  at  large.  Its  publica- 
tion accomplished  all  that  the  forethought  of  the  author  and  originator  antici- 
pated. In  three  weeks  after  the  issue  of  this  letter,  it  was  a  curious  spectacle  to 
watch  the  precipitation  with  which  the  Republicans  in  all  the  States  hastened  to 
declare  in  favor  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  renomination  ;  so  that  there  was  no  opposition 
to  him  when  the  National  Convention  assembled. 

From"  1864  to  1866  General  Cameron  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  politics 
of  Pennsylvania,  giving  to  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party  a  prestige 
that  enabled  it  to  bear  down  all  opposition.  He  was  the  one  leader  of  the  party 
who  could  rally  it  in  despondency,  and  hold  it  in  fidelity  to  its  pledges. 

In  1867  lie  was  again  elected  to  the  United  States  Senate — a  position  that  he 
has  filled  for  a  greater  number  of  years  than  any  other  man  sent  to  that  body 
from  the  State  of  Penns\'lvania.  His  influence  in  National  legislation  was  as 
great  as  that  of  any  other  man  in  the  Senate.  The  singularity  of  this  influence 
is  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  remembered  that  he  seldom  participated  in 
debate.  He  made  no  pretension  to  oratory,  but  his  talk  was  sound,  his  argu- 
ments lucid,  and  his  statement  of  fact  impregnable.  What  he  lacked  in  fervid, 
flashing  speech  he  made  up  in  terse,  solid  common-sense.  From  the  time  that 
he  entered  the  Senate  to  the  time  when  he  resigned  his  seat  in  1877 — a  continu- 
ous scr\'icc  of  eleven  yeans — he  was  recognized  as  one  of  its  most  useful  and 
reliable  members,  and  at  the  date  of  his  resignation  was  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Foreign  Relations — a  position  only  accorded  to  a  Senator  of  admitted 
.statesmanship.  He  was  foremost  always  in  practical  legislation.  His  opinion 
on  questions  of  Commerce,  Manufactures,  P'inance,  Internal  Improvements, 
Fortifications  and  the  Public  Domain  were  always  accepted  as  guiding  counsel. 
He  encouraged  the  building  of  the  first  Pacific  Railroad,  was  a  warm  supporter 
of  the  policy  of  opening  public  huuls  to  actual  settlers,  and  no  man  in  Congress, 


SIMON    CAMERON.  95 

before  or  after  he  left  it,  did  more,  and  few  as  much  as  lie,  for  the  protection, 
fostering  and  promotion  of  American  industries.  He  lost  no  opportunity  to 
advocate  and  further  the  organization  of  new  States,  and  regarded  the  expansion 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  Union  as  the  onl)-  true  course  to  preserve  the  equihb- 
rium  of  power  between  the  sections.  He  made  lii.story  as  few  other  statesmen 
in  this  country  created  it,  b}'  producing  results  in  the  practical  walks  of  life,  such 
as  make  men  prosperous  and  happy,  that  stimulate  the  commerce  of  the  country, 
\vhereb\-  it  has  been  constantly  rendered  powerful  abroad  and  a  blessing  to  its 
people  at  home. 

Sixty-five  years  of  active  political  control  is  a  record  made  by  only  one  man 
within  the  history  of  the  United  States,  and  when  he  shall  have  passed  away  a 
career  will  end  that  is  made  up  of  political  and  financial  successes  such  as  have 
belonged  to  no  other  man  now  Hving  in  this  republic.  Simon  Cameron's  career 
has  been  conspicuous  in  many  respects.  He  is  the  only  citizen  handling  great 
affairs  that  has  kept  pace  with  the  young  men  who  have  grown  into  political 
control  during  his  remarkable  life.  More  than  two  generations  have  grown  up 
since  he  has  been  a  power  in  politics.  Yet  he  has  kept  pace  with  and  controlled 
each  in  turn.  He  has  never  dropped  out  of  public  view  and  become  a  tradition, 
as  most  men  do  as  they  grow  old.  To-day  the  3-oung  men  of  Pennsylvania 
know  him  and  respect  him  more  highly  than  any  other  public  man  in  the  State, 
and  his  power,  when  he  chooses  to  exercise  it,  is  as  great  as  ever.  Ex-Senator 
Conkling  once  said  that  Simon  Cameron  was  the  wisest  politician  that  ever  lived. 
When  the  sum  of  his  life  comes  to  be  made  up,  it  will  be  found  that  he  was  far 
more  than  a  politician.  He  has  grown  from  the  humblest  circumstances  to  the 
broadest  control  of  affairs  in  the  lajid.  He  has  risen  from  printing-offices  and 
poverty,  and  has  helped  to  make  and  unmake  every  President  from  James 
Monroe's  time,  a  range  of  years  covering  almost  the  allotted  life  of  man.  His 
power  has  not  been  the  result  of  accident.  He  has  made  his  great  place  by  the 
performance  of  acts  of  kindness  and  careful  study  and  recognition  of  the  influ- 
ence of  e\'en  the  humblest.  In  the  da)-s  of  his  greatest  power  and  influence  he 
never  forgot  a  Pennsylvanian.  He  kept  close  to  the  people,  and  they  have  kept 
close  to  him.  This  is  the  secret  of  his  influence  with  and  affectionate  liold  on 
the  masses.  It  is  now  a  little  more  than  ten  years  since  General  Cameron 
resigned  from  the  United  States  Senate,  his  son,  Hon.  J.  Donald  Cameron, 
succeeding  him.  His  days  have  not,  however,  been  spent  in  idleness.  He  has 
personally  managed  his  vast  business  affairs,  and  at  the  same  time  has  taken  an 
active  interest  and  an  important  part  in  politics.  He  was  a  very  important  factor 
in  the  campaign  that  elected  President  Garfield.  Since  he  has  retired  from  the 
Senate  to  spend  the  last  days  of  his  life  free  from  the  turmoil  of  active  politics, 
he  has  been  a  great  traveller  and  reader.  In  the  year  1S87,  when  in  his  eighty- 
ninth  year,  he,  in  company  with  some  chosen  friends,  made  a  trip  to  Europe, 
where  he  was  received  with  marked  and  distinguished  honor  by  representatives 
of  the  English   Government  and  nobility,  and  many  prominent  private  citizens. 


96  SIMON    CAMERON. 

This  extended  and  triil_\'  remarkable  voyage  for  one  of  his  years  was  not  attentled 
by  any  unfavorable  consequences  to  his  health,  for  upon  his  return  his  step  was 
as  elastic,  and  his  mind  as  active  and  vigorous,  as  tiiey  were  when  he  left  his 
native  sliores  some  months  previous  to  undertake  a  journey  that  many  a  much 
younger  man  would  have  hesitated  to  enter  upon. 

His  record  has  been  a  long  and  honorable  one,  and  it  may  be  truthfully  said 
of  him  as  of  few  men,  that  his  name  will  live  as  long  as  the  world  shall  stand. 

William  H.  Egle. 

Fkank.  a.  Burr. 


Hon.  Benj    H.   Brewster. 


BENJAIMIN    HARRIS   BREWSTER. 

HON.  Benjamin  H.  Brewster,  late  Attorncj'-Gcncral  of  tlic  United  States, 
was  born  in  Salem  county,  N.  J.,  on  October  14,  1S16.  He  was  the 
eldest  son  of  P>ancis  E.  and  Maria  Hampton  Brewster,  and  on  botli  sides  was 
related  to  the  Carrolls,  Harrises,  Duwils,  Newcombs,  W'estcots,  Carjienters, 
Elmers,  and  others  of  the  principal  families  in  Southern  New  Jersey,  liulh  of 
his  grandfathers  were  surgeons  in  the  Revolutionary  Arm)-,  and  owners  of 
landed  estate  in  New  Jersey.  His  father  remo\-ed  from  Salem  county  to  Phila-. 
delphia,  and  achie\'ed  eminence  at  the  bar  of  that  city,  acquiring  a  large  and 
lucrative  practice.  His  son,  after  recei\-ing  all  the  educational  facilities  afforded 
by  the  leading  private  schools  of  the  city,  was  sent  to  Princeton  College,  where 
he  graduated  in  1834.  He  then  entered  upon  the  study  of  law  as  a  student  in 
the  office  of  Eli  K.  Price.  Eour  \'cars  later  he  was  adiuitted  to  practice,  being 
at  that  time  about  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  immediately  assumed  a  promi- 
nent place  in  his  profession,  although  those  were  the  days  of  Binney,  Sergeant, 
Meredith,  and  other  great  lawyers,  who  spread  the  fame  of  the  bar  of  Philadel- 
phia far  and  wide.  Mr.  Brewster  continued  to  rise  rapidly,  and  for  more  than 
thirty  years  held  a  place  in  the  front  rank  of  Philadelphia  law)-ers.  It  has  been 
said  that  no  member  of  that  bar  of  the  present  day  had  so  e.xtended  a  reputation, 
and  no  one  had  been  oftener  summoned  abroad  to  argue  important  cases. 

Mr.  Brewster's  inclination  for  public  life  was  first  evinced  in  1S46,  when,  at  the 
age  of  thirty  years,  he  was  appointed  bj'  President  Polk  to  be  Commissioner  to 
adjudicate  the  claims  of  the  Cherokee  Indians  against  the  United  States.  Upon 
the  successful  termination  of  this  emploj-ment,  Mr.  Brewster  resumed  the  practice 
of  his  profession  in  Philadelphia,  and  held  no  public  office  again  until  1867,  when 
he  was  appointed  Attorney-General  of  Pennsylvania  by  Governor  Geary,  which 
position  he  held  until  1869,  when  he  resigned.  Whilst  holding  that  office  he 
corrected  the  abuse  of  remitting  sentences  in  the  criminal  courts,  by  means  of 
which,  unknown  to  the  people,  convicts  were  let  loose  from  their  cells  before  the 
expiration  of  their  terms  of  imprisonment.  He  also  put  an  end  to  the  Gett\-s- 
burg  lottery,  which  he  deemed  to  be  a  scheme  to  defraud  the  public  under  the 
pretext  of  helping  the  soldiers'  orphans. 

Upon  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  Attornej'-General  of  the  State,  he  once 
more  returned  to  his  private  practice,  which  was  very  extensive  and  lucrative. 
He  was  in  great  demand  as  a  campaign  orator,  and  was  frequently  heard  on 
National  topics.  In  the  ante-bellum  days  Mr.  Brewster  was  a  Democrat  in  his 
political  opinions  ;  but  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion,  in  1 86 1,  he  became 
most  zealous  in  the  support  of  the  Go\'ernment,  and  his  powerful  appeals  to  the 
loyalty  of  the  people  in  those  exciting  times  will  long  be  remembered.  Thence- 
forth he  was  a  Republican,  although  he  never  was  an  active  politician.  In  1876 
'3  (97) 


qS  benjamin    H.    BREWSTER. 

lie  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Republican  Electoral  Ticket  in  this  State,  and 
cast  his  \ote  in  the  Electoral  College  for  Hayes  and  Wheeler. 

During  the  whole  of  his  professional  career  up  to  this  time  Mr.  Brewster  had 
confined  his  practice  almost  exclusively  to  cases  in  the  civil  courts,  seldom 
appearing  at  the  bar  as  counsel  in  a  criminal  case.  In  September,  1877,  how- 
ever, lie  consented  to  have  his  name  presented  to  the  Republican  City  Conven- 
tion, which  was  to  nominate  a  candidate  for  District  Attorney,  upon  which 
officer  the  prosecution  of  criminal  suits  devolves.  There  were  three  other  can- 
didates before  the  convention — ex-City  Solicitor  C.  H.  T.  Collis,  Judge  M.  Russel 
Tiiayer  and  George  S.  Graham,  the  present  incumbent  of  the  position.  For  two 
terms  the  Democrats  had  had  possession  of  this  important  office,  and  Mr. 
Brewster's  adherents  hoped  that  his  high  reputation  would,  if  he  was  nominated, 
at  last  turn  the  tide.  The  convention  was  a  boisterous  one,  and  the  struggle 
o\cr  the  nomination  was  fierce  and  bitter.  Before  the  balloting  began  Collis  and 
Graham  withdrew,  and  the  result  was  Mr.  Brewster's  defeat,  the  vote  standing 
forty-seven  for  him  to  a  hundred  and  forty-three  for  Judge  Thayer.  The  can- 
didacy of  the  latter  was  futile,  however,  for  Henry  S.  Hagert,  the  Democratic 
candidate,  was  elected  by  a  small  majority.  Before  the  election  was  held,  Mr. 
Brewster  was  nominated  by  the  so-called  United  Labor  party,  and,  although  he 
declined  the  nomination  in  consequence  of  the  written  pledge  that  he  had  given 
the  Republican  convention,  his  name  was  printed  on  tlie  Labor  Party's  tickets, 
and  four  thousand  five  hundred  and  seven  votes  were  cast  for  him  at  the  polls. 
If  he  had  received  the  Republican  nomination,  he  would  have  been  elected. 

After  that  memorable  campaign  Mr.  Brewster  ceased  to  take  an  active  part  in 
political  affairs.  His  name,  however,  was  before  the  Legislature  during  the  five 
weeks  struggle  over  the  United  States  Senatorship  in  the  early  part  of  188 1,  and 
on  several  occasions  his  election  as  a  compromise  candidate  seemed  imminent. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  same  year,  after  the  death  of  President  Garfield,  he  was 
formally  retained  by  Attorney-General  MacVeagh  to  assist  in  the  prosecution  of 
the  Star  Route  frauds.  This  led  directly  to  his  promotion  to  the  office  of 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  as  successor  to  Mr.  MacVeagh,  in  which 
position  he  gave  general  satisfaction  to  all  outside  of  Star  Route  circles,  and  it  was 
rightly  taken  as  an  indication  that  President  Arthur  was  determined  to  pursue 
the  Star  Route  prosecutions  with  vigor.  Mr.  Brewster's  name  was  sent  to  the 
Senate  on  December  16,  1881.  Three  days  later  the  nomination  was  unani- 
mously confirmed  by  the  Senate,  and  on  January  3,  1882,  Mr.  Brewster  assumed 
charge  of  tiie  Department  of  Justice.  The  appointment  was  made  the  occasion 
of  a  testimonial  to  Mr.  Brewster  by  the  members  of  the  Philadelphia  Bar,  who 
entertained  him  at  a  banquet  at  the  Aldine  Hotel  on  the  evening  of  July  12th. 
Tiic  affiir  was  a  very  brilliant  and  enjoyable  one.  The  guest  of  the  evening, 
however,  spoke  only  a  few  moments.  In  the  course  of  his  remarks  he  said,  sig- 
nificantly: "I  have  entered  the  office  with  honor,  and  with  God's  help  I  will 
leave  it  without  disgrace." 


BENJAMIN    H.    BREWSTER.  99 

To  this  pledge  Mr.  Brewster  remained  faitiiful  during  his  term  of  office  at 
Washington,  which  ended  only  when  Mr.  Arthur  retired  from  the  Presidency,  in 
March,  1S85.  As  stated  above,  he  had  become  associated  with  the  Government 
counsel  in  the  Star  Route  prosecutions  in  September  of  the  preceding  year,  and 
he  pushed  them  forward  with  all  possible  vigor.  When  the  first  cases  finally 
came  to  trial,  Mr.  Brewster,  in  his  closing  argument  in  September,  18S2,  made 
one  of  the  finest  and  most  notable  of  the  forensic  efforts  of  his  long  career  at  the 
bar.  Ilis  singularities  of  appearance,  dress  and  methods  kept  the  interest  alive 
even  when  the  argument  grew  dry.  His  eccentricities  of  manner  were  never 
more  marked,  but  they  added  to  the  picturesqueness  and  force  of  his  .speech. 
The  ultimate  outcome  of  the  trials  was  a  practical  miscarriage  of  justice,  but  the 
Attorney-General  did  his  full  duty  from  first  to  last.  The  other  matters  in  which 
lie  was  concerned  were  chiefly  of  the  routine  character  which  fall  within  the  lines 
of  the  office. 

After  Mr.  Brewster's  retirement  from  the  Attorney-Generalship,  he  left  Wash- 
ington, where  he  and  his  wife  had  been  for  over  three  years  among  the  most 
prominent  figures  in  social  circles,  and  again  took  up  his  residence  in  Philadel- 
phia. He  did  not,  however,  become  as  active  at  the  bar  as  he  had  been  in  the 
past,  and  he  virtually  retired  from  the  practice  of  his  profession.  In  September 
of  that  year  he  sold  his  splendid  law  library,  which  contained  all  the  standard 
works  and  reports  and  many  rare  volumes,  to  the  University  of  Pennsj'lvania,  for 
$18,000,  a  sum  far  below  its  cost.  His  desire  in  so  doing  was  to  preserve  intact 
the  collection,  to  the  formation  of  which  he  had  given  much  time  and  money, 
and  which  had  become  one  of  the  finest  and  most  complete  in  America. 

Mr.  Brewster  was  a  learned  man  on  many  subjects  besides  the  law,  especially 
on  ecclesiastical  history,  and  some  of  his  most  noted  literary  efforts  were  his- 
torical sketches  of  famous  pontiffs  and  saints.  His  lectures  on  ecclesiastical 
history,  delivered  for  charitable  purposes,  attracted  a  great  deal  of  attention. 
One  of  his  finest  efforts  in  this  line  was  a  lecture  on  Gregorj'  VII.,  or  Hildebrand, 
the  despot  of  the  church,  who  made  the  haughty  Emperor  of  the  Germans  crawl 
before  him  in  the  snow ;  another  was  his  discourse  on  Thomas  A'Becket.  1  le 
was  remarkably  familiar  with  the  writings  of  the  most  noted  ancient  and  modern 
authors,  and  his  private  conversation,  not  less  than  his  public  efforts,  was  enriched 
and  enlivened  by  the  most  apt  illustrations  and  quotations.  The  charm  of  his 
voice  and  manner  was  as  marked  as  his  discourse.  Among  the  most  remarkable 
of  his  public  orations  was  one  delivered  at  a  meeting  of  excursionists  held  near 
Fort  Harker  on  the  Pacific  Railroad  in  1867;  a  speech  in  the  Cooper  Institute 
during  the  campaign  of  1S68  ;  a  lecture  at  the  Academy  of  Music,  Philadelphia, 
on  Frederick  the  Great;  and  his  matchless  addresses  at  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  the  new  Public  Buildings,  and  on  Pennsylvania  Day  at  the  Centennial 
Exhibition  in  1876. 

Mr.  Brewster,  though  he  held  public  office,  was  never  a  place-hunter,  and  had 
but   little  respect  for  those  who  sought  high  positions  for  selfish  ends.     He 


lOO  BEN'JAMIN    II.    EREWSTF.R. 

claimed  tliat  the  liigliest  public  distinctions  in  this  country  have  no  attraction  for 
right-minded  men,  unless  they  are  the  unsought  reward  of  personal  worth,  dig- 
nit}-  of  character,  mental  ability  and  a  blameless  life. 

Mr.  Brewster  was  one  of  the  best  known  and  familiar  figures  on  the  streets  of 
Philadelphia.  His  features  had  been  sadly  marred  by  a  terrible  accident  which 
befel  him  in  childhood.  The  accounts  of  the  origin  of  this  life  disfigurement 
have  been  numerous  and  varied.  The  facts  as  they  have  been  related  by  Mr. 
Brewster  himself  are  these:  When  a  child  in  frocks  his  apron  caught  fire  from  a 
stove,  and  he  screamed  in  fright.  Although  his  mother  was  attracted  by  his 
cries,  she  did  not  hurry  to  the  scene  on  account  of  the  impression  that  the  chil- 
dren were  quarrelling.  When  she  did  reach  the  scene  of  the  accident  the  future 
great  lawyer  was  writhing  in  spasms  on  the  floor.  He  was  picked  up  and 
wrapped  in  a  fur  mat.  The  flames  burned  a  hole  in  the  mat,  and  for  many  j'cars 
it  was  kept  in  Mr.  Brewster's  house  as  a  mournful  relic.  The  disfigurement 
which  resulted  had  doubtless  much  to  do  with  the  eccentricities  of  dress  and 
manner  for  which  he  was  remarkable  through  life.  Year  by  year  in  early  life  his 
dress  had  become  more  noticeable  for  its  peculiarity,  until  it  finally  settled  down 
to  the  picturesque  pattern  with  which  his  fellow-townsmen  were  familiar  in  later 
days.  He  wore  almost  invariably  a  light-colored  coat,  with  a  vest  of  velvet,  cut 
low  so  as  to  expose  a  shirt  front  of  the  finest  cambric  ruffles,  and  below  his  per- 
fectly cut  pantaloons  were  seen  the  old-fashioned  gaiter  tops  of  perfect  white. 
He  wore  a  standing  collar,  a  black  stock,  ruffled  cuffs  and  a  white  fur  beaver  hat, 
and  always  displayed  an  old-fashioned  fob  chain,  with  a  heavy  gold  seal  attached. 
Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  his  costumes  were  of  antique  styles,  Mr.  Brewster 
could  no't  be  called  anything  but  a  well-dressed  man. 

For  many  years  he  lived  in  the  plain  but  comfortable  and  luxuriantly  furnished 
liouse  on  Walnut  street  above  Seventh,  where  he  had  his  office.  Shortly  after 
his  retirement  from  the  Cabinet  he  removed  to  a  house  on  Twelfth  street  below 
Walnut,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred 
there  early  in  the  morning  of  April  4,  1888.  He  had  been  troubled  for  a  long 
time  with  a  complication  of  organic  diseases,  but  his  condition  had  not  been 
considered  alarming  until  some  ten  days  prior  to  his  death,  the  immediate  cause 
of  which  was  uraemia,  or  blood  poisoning,  resulting  from  paralysis  of  the  kidneys 
and  inflammation  of  the  bladder.  He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  a 
lad\-  of  foreign  birth,  Elizabeth  Myerbach  de  Rcinfeldts,  to  whom  he  was  wedded 
in  1S57,  and  who  died  in  1868.  His  second  wife,  to  whom  he  was  married  in 
1870,  and  who  died  in  March,  18S6,  was  a  daughter  of  the  late  Hon.  Robert  J. 
Walker,  Secretary  of  the  Tieasury  under  President  Polk-.  While  Mr.  Brewster 
was  Attorney-General,  in  President  Arthur's  Cabinet,  Mrs.  Brewster  was  one  of 
the  accepted  leaders  of  Washington  society,  in  whicli  she  was  very  popular,  not 
less  for  her  great  beauty  and  generous  hospitality,  than  from  her  true  womanly 
qualities.  ]5y  her  he  had  one  child,  a  son,  born  in  1872,  who  bears  his  father's 
name.  C.  R.  D. 


Hon.  Daniel  Agnew. 


DANIEL  AGNEW. 

THE  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  found  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 
most  of  the  State  Supreme  Courts,  and  by  far  the  larger  number  of  the 
lower  courts,  Federal  and  State,  in  the  hands  of  those  whose  political  training 
inclined  them  to  excuse,  if  not  to  approve,  the  cause  of  those  who  were  seeking 
to  betray  the  Union  to  its  destruction.  The  Pennsylvania  bench  was  no  excep- 
tion to  this  rule.  The  majority  of  its  Supreme  Court  were  as  little  able  as  Presi- 
dent Buchanan  then  seemed  to  be,  to  find  any  law  or  precedent  to  justify  national 
self-preservation  or  to  authorize  the  suppression  of  a  gigantic  rebellion.  One  of 
this  majorit)-,  Judge  George  \V.  Woochvard,  when  the  dissolution  of  the  Union 
seemed  imminent  in  1 86 1,  declared,  "  If  the  Union  is  to  be  divided,  I  want  the 
line  of  separation  to  run  north  of  Pennsjdvania."  Later,  this  same  Judge  was 
very  properly  chosen  to  formulate  the  decision  of  the  Democratic  majority  of  the 
court  which  disfranchised  the  Penns\'lvania  soldiers  in  the  field.  These  and  kin- 
dred acts  so  highly  recommended  Judge  Woodward  to  his  party  that  in  the  criti- 
cal days  of  1863,  when  the  cause  of  the  Union  was  trembling  in  the  balance,  he 
was  selected  to  contest  the  re-election  of  Governor  Andrew  G.  Curtin.  Chief- 
Justice  Lowrie,  who  was  in  entire  accord  with  his  colleague  on  the  bench,  Judge 
Woodward,  and  the  author  of  a  then  recent  decision  of  the  State  Supreme  Court, 
declaring  the  national  draft  law  unconstitutional,  was  a  candidate  for  re-election. 
In  selecting  a  candidate  to  run  against  Chief-Justice  Lowrie,  the  Republicans  or 
Union  men  looked  for  a  jurist  of  high,  legal  attainments,  who  was  firm  in  his 
convictions  and  of  approved  loyalty.  All  this  and  much  more  they  found  in 
Judge  Agnew,  of  the  Seventeenth  Judicial  District,  whose  services  to  the  Union 
cause  had  made  his  name  well  known  throughout  the  State.  The  ticket  thus 
composed  of  Andrew  G.  Curtin  for  Go\'ernor  and  Daniel  Agnew  for  Supreme 
Judge  proved  too  strong  for  the  opposition,  and  carried  the  State  in  October  by 
15,000  majority.  By  virtue  of  this  popular  decision  Pennsylvania's  great  War 
Governor  was  retained  in  the  position  he  had  filled  so  worthily  and  well,  and  the 
State  Supreme  Court  received  an  infusion  of  fresh  blood,  new  thought,  intense 
energy,  and  high  patriotic  impulse,  which  at  that  time  it  sadly  needed.  Judge 
Agnew's  accession  brought  that  court  into  harmony  with  the  Union  sentiment  of 
the  State  and  added  immediateh'  and  in  a  marked  degree  to  its  strength  and 
influence  as  a  judicial  body. 

Judge  Agnew  is  a  Penns)-l\-anian  onl)-  by  adoption  and  a  life-long  residence. 
He  was  born  in  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Januar)'  5th,  1S09,  and  while  }-ct  a  lad  his  parents 
came  to  Western  Pennsylvania,  on  their  way  to  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  after 
a  brief  sojourn  in  Butler  county,  settled  in  Pittsburgh.  There  young  Daniel  lived, 
increasing  in  wisdom  and  stature  until  the  dawning  period  of  manhood,  when  he 
left  the  parental  roof  to  go  a  little  farther  west  and  grow  up  with  Beaver  county. 

(10.) 


102  DANIEL    AGNEW. 

His  father.  James  Agnew,  M.  D.,  was  a  native  of  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  graduated 
at  its  college  in  1795.  He  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  McLean,  the  father  of 
President  McLean;  took  his  degree  in  medicine  at  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia in  iSoo,  and  remained  a  year  in  Philadelphia  under  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush.  His 
mother.  Sarah  B.  Howell,  was  the  eldest  daughter  of  Governor  Richard  Howell, 
of  New  Jersey,  who  was  a  major  of  the  New  Jersey  Continental  line  in  the  army 
of  the  Revolution.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Daniel  Agnew,  came  from  the 
County  Antrim,  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  the  year  1764,  and  settled  in  New 
Jersey.  On  his  mother's  side  he  belonged  to  the  Howells  of  Caerfille,  in  Wales. 
The  father  of  the  future  Chief-Justice  was  for  a  time  uncertain  where  he  should 
permanently  pitch  his  tent. '  The  century  was  just  opening ;  a  new  country  was 
all  before  him  where  to  choose,  and  he  was  embarrassed  by  this  wide  range  of 
choice.  He  first  practised  his  profession  for  several  years  in  Trenton,  New  Jer- 
sey, and  then  went  to  Mississippi  in  18 10.  He  returned  in  18 13,  riding  on  horse- 
back all  the  way  from  Natchez  to  Princeton,  through  the  Indian  country  then 
known  as  the  "  wilderness.  In  the  following  October  he  started  on  his  return 
journey  to  Mississippi  with  his  family,  intending  to  remain  during  the  winter  at 
the  house  of  John  L.  Glaser,  the  owner  of  a  furnace  in  Butler  county,  whose  wife 
was  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Agnew.  But  Mrs.  Agnew,  becoming  alarmed  at  the  wildness 
of  the  West  and  the  dangers  of  navigation,  then  made  in  arks  or  flat-boats,  declined 
to  make  the  voyage  down  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  and  the  whole  party  came  to 
a  halt  in  Butler  county.  It  was  through  this  circumstance  that  Mississippi  lost 
and  Pennsylvania  gained  Daniel  Agnew  as  one  of  its  citizens.  The  family  were 
not  unrepresented  in  Mississippi,  however.  Mrs.  Agnew's  brother  established 
himself  there,  and  her  niece,  Varina  Howell,  Judge  Agnew's  first  cousin,  is  the 
present  wife  of  the  ex-Confederate  chieftain,  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis. 

Daniel  Agnew  was  educated  at  the  Western  University,  in  Pittsburgh,  and  studied 
law  under  Henry  Baldwin  and  W.  W.  Fetterman.  He  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  spring  of  1829,  and  opened  an  office  in  Pittsburgh.  Not  succeeding  as  he 
wished,  he  went  to  Beaver  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year,  intending  to  return  in  a 
year  or  two.  He  soon  created  a  practice,  however,  which  once  gained  by  a  young 
kiwyer  is  not  lightly  to  be  given  up,  and  this  fact,  in  connection  with  another, 
decided  him  to  remain  in  Beaver  permanently.  The  other  potent  influence  on  his 
decision  was  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Moore,  daughter  of  General  Robert  Moore,  a 
leading  lawyer  and  Representative  in  Congress,  who  had  lately  died.  In  the 
abundant  leisure  afforded  by  a  law  practice  still  in  the  future,  he  wooed  and  won 
this  lady,  who  has  now  shared  his  joys  and  sorrows,  his  honors  and  his  cares,  for 
fifty  years,  and  still  lives,  no  less  hale  and  hearty  than  the  Judge  himself,  rejoicing 
in  the  more  constant  companionship  which  the  termination  of  her  husband's  long 
engrossing  public  duties  now  brings  to  her.  Land  titles  were  un.scttled  in  that 
western  country,  and  in  the  extensive  litigation  growing  out  of  this  circumstance, 
young  Agnew  early  had  a  chance  to  show  what  he  was  made  of,  and  he  was 
prompt  to  improve  it.  He  soon  gained  a  lii_L;h  standing  as  a  land  lawyer,  and 
with  it  a  large  practice. 


DANIEL    AGNEW.  IO3 

His  first  service  to  tlic  State  at  lars^e  was  in  1837,  as  a  member  of  the  Consti- 
tutional Convention  which  in  that  and  the  >-ear  following  sat  in  Ilarrisburg  and 
riiiladelphia,  forming  a  series  of  amendments  to  the  constitution  of  1790,  and 
which  subsequently  became  a  part  of  it.  Mr.  Agncw  drew  up  the  amendment 
offered  by  his  colleague,  John  Dickey,  as  to  the  appointment  and  tenure  of  the 
judiciary,  known  as  Dickey's  Amendment,  afterwards  modified  by  the  amend- 
ment of  1850. 

It  is  proper  to  correct  here  a  false  charge  brought  against  Judge  Agnew  by 
political  enemies :  that  he  voted  in  the  Convention  to  insert  the  word  "  white  " 
in  the  article  upon  elections.  On  the  question  of  insertion,  he  voted  always 
against  it;  but  after  failing  in  that,  voted  for  the  section  as  a  whole,  on  account 
of  other  most  important  amendments  intended  to  prevent  fraudulent  voting. . 

In  June,  185  i,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor  Johnston  President  Judge  of  the 
Seventeenth  District,  then  composed  of  Beaver,  Butler,  Mercer  and  Lawrence 
counties.  In  the  following  October  the  people  confirmed  the  appointment,  elect- 
ing him  for  a  term  of  ten  years.  In  1861  he  was  re-elected  without  opposition 
at  the  call  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of  all  parties. 

He  did  not,  however,  consider  that  his  duties  as  Judge  superseded  his  duties 
as  a  citizen,  and  when  the  rebellion  broke  out,  he  became  known  at  once  as  an 
ardent  and  active  supporter  of  the  Union  cause.  The  Virginia  Pan-Handle  made 
Beaver  a  border  county,  and  brought  the  atmosphere  and  spirit  of  secession  into 
its  very  midst.  A  Committee  of  Public  Safety  of  one  hundred  members  was 
appointed,  and  Judge  Agnew  made  its  Chairman.  Later,  he  was  a  zealous  par- 
ticipant in  the  formation  and  maintenance  of  the  Christian  Commission.  As  a 
judge,  all  his  energies  were  bent  to  preserve  peace  and  order,  and  to  check  the 
budding  treason,  which  had  the  temerity  to  show  its  head  in  the  Seventeenth 
Judicial  District.  Other  judges,  even  such  as  were  in  sympathy  with  the  Lincoln 
Administration,  were  in  doubt  and  perple.xity  as  to  their  proper  course  in  regard 
to  the  new  issue  which  was  suddenly  sprung  upon  them.  Judge  Agnew,  how- 
ever, never  hesitated.  In  him  sound  learning  and  sound  sense  went  hand  in 
hand ;  and  he  found  no  difificulty  in  making  the  eternal  principles  which  underlie 
all  law  apply  to  every  time  and  every  emergency.  He  was  the  first  of  the  State 
judges  to  take  cognizance  of  the«aiders  and  abettors  of  rebellion  around  him, 
and  enforce  the  necessity  of  obedience  and  the  paramount  duty  of  loyalty  to  the 
government.  In  May,  1861,  more  than  four  years  before  President  Johnson 
talked  of  making  treason  odious,  Judge  Agnew  instructed  the  grand  jurors  of 
Lawrence  county  that  treason  was  a  crime,  and  all  who  had  any  part  or  lot  in  it 
were  criminals  before  the  law.  In  this  charge  he  combated  with  overwhelming 
conclusiveness  the  doctrines  held  by  the  Northern  allies  of  rebellion  that  aid  to 
the  enemies  of  the  United  States,  which  the  Constitution  defines  to  be  treason, 
meant  foreign  enemies  only.  He  instructed  the  Grand  Jurj'  that  where  a  body 
of  men  were  actually  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  effecting  by  force  a  treasona- 
ble purpose,  all  those  who  perform  a  part,  however  minute  or  however  remote 


lO^  DANIEL    AGNEW. 

from  the  scene  of  action,  were  actually  leagued  in  the  general  conspiracy,  and 
were  to  be  considered  traitors. 

These  were  words  fitly  spoken  and  nobh'  spoken,  at  a  time  when  treason  was 
noisv  and  aggressive,  and  our  leading  public  men  were  still  under  the  delusion 
that  it  might  be  put  down  by  soft  words  and  gentle  dalliance.  Had  other 
Northern  j-idges  everj-where  displayed  the  same  spirit,  the  progress  of  our  arms 
would  not  have  been  so  often  obstructed  and  the  war  prolonged  by  a  disheartening 
and  demoralizing  fire  in  the  rear.  In  answer  to  those  who  denied  the  power  of 
the  government  to  maintain  itself  against  domestic  assaults,  he  wrote  and  de- 
hvered  a  careful  and  elaborate  address  on  the  "  National  Constitution  in  its 
adaptation  to  a  state  of  war."  This  address  was  so  timely  and  so  strong, 
breathin<T  such  a  lofty  spirit  of  patriotism,  and  evidently  drawn  from  such  rich 
stores  of  le^^al  knowledge,  that  it  at  once  invited  public  attention  to  its  author, 
whose  fame  had  been  before  confined  to  Western  Pennsyh'ania.  By  special 
request  of  the  members  of  the  Legislature  Judge  Agnew  repeated  this  address  in 
Harrisbur<T  in  February,  1863.  Secretary  Stanton  called  for  a  copy  of  it,  and 
the  Union  League,  of  this  city,  determined  to  scatter  it  free-handed.  Two  large 
editions  of  it  were  published  by  the  League,  and  when  Chief-Justice  Lowrie's 
term  in  the  Supreme  Court  was  about  to  expire,  the  author  of  the  address, 
while  absent  in  the  West,  and  without  an  effort  on  his  part,  was  nominated  by 
the  Republicans  to  succeed  him,  and  elected  in  October,  1S63. 

As  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  Judge  Agnew  was  early 
called  to  make  a  practical  application  of  the  doctrines,  of  which,  as  a  citizen  and 
judge  of  a  lower  court,  he  had  been  a  zealous  advocate.  A  majority  of  the 
bench,  consisting  of  Chief-Justice  Lowrie  and  Judges  Thompson  and  Woodward, 
had  pronounced  against  the  constitutionality  of  the  draft  law.  Judges  Strong 
and  Reed  dissented.  The  question  came  up  again  immediately  after  Judge 
Agnew's  accession  to  the  bench,  and,  as  the  senior  members  of  the  court  were 
evenly  divided,  it  devolved  on  this  new  judge  to  decide  the  question,  and  his 
first  opinion  as  Supreme  judge  was  in  affirmation  of  the  constitutionality  of  the 
draft  law  (see  9th  Wright,  306).  He  thoroughly  believed  in  the  right  of  the 
government  to  suppress  insurrection  and  to  enforce  obedience  to  its  laws. 

Soon  after  the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  draft  acts  of  Congress 
had  been  decided,  an  important  question  of  marine  insurance  came  up  in- 
volving the  true  status  of  the  seceding  States.  It  grew  out  of  the  capture  of  the 
merchant  vessel  "  John  Welsh "  by  the  Confederate  privateer  "  Jeff  Davis." 
The  question  was  whether  the  letters  of  marque  of  the  "  Jeff  Davis,"  and  the 
nature  of  the  service  in  which  she  was  engaged,  divested  her  capture  of  its 
piratical  character.  Woodward,  then  chief-ju.stice,  in  an  elaborate  opinion,  sus- 
tained the  capture  as  an  act  of  war  by-a  de  facto  government,  and  on  that  ground 
held  it  to  be  within  an  exception  in  the  policy. 

The  effect  of  this  status  of  the  rebel  government  was  too  important  to  be 
suffered  to  go  out  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Supreme   Court  of  Pennsj'lvania,  and 


DANIEL    AGNEW.  IO5 

was  combated,  therefore,  by  Judge  Agnew  in  a  vigorous  opinion.  He  held  that 
secession  and  confederation  were  nullities — that  the  United  States  was  the 
supreme  government  both  dc  jure  and  dc  facto,  not  displaced — its  functions  tem- 
porarily suspended  in  certain  districts,  but  its  actual  existence  continued  every- 
where within  its  rightful  jurisdiction,  coupled  with  actual  possession  of 
important  posts  in  every  seceding  State,  and  necessarily  excluding  all  other 
sovereignties.  That  a  rebellion  or  attempted  revolution  by  a  portion  of  a  peo- 
ple, taking  the  form  of  a  government,  but  leaving  the  true  government  in  esse, 
actively  and  successfully  asserting  its  rightful  authority,  with  important  posses- 
sions, does  not  constitute  a  (/(•  faclo  government,  for  the  reason  that  it  in  no 
sense  represents  a  nation  in  fact,  nor  e.xcrciscs  its  sovereignty.  He,  therefore, 
denied  Judge  Woodward's  conclusions  of  an  accomplished  revolution — the  posi- 
tion of  an  independent  power  dc  facto — and  the  abrogation  of  the  Constitution  in 
the  seceded  States,  leaving  them  under  the  laws  of  war  and  of  nations  alone. 

Pennsylvania  was  the  third  State  in  which  the  constitutionality  of  the  act  of 
Congress,  authorizing  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  and  making  them  lawful 
money  and  a  legal  tender  for  debts,  was  called  in  question.  The  Court  of 
Appeals  of  New  York  and  the  Supreme  Court  of  California  sustained  the  act, 
and  Judges  Agnew,  Strong  and  Reed,  overruling  Chief-Justice  Woodward  and 
Judge  Thompson,  brought,  in  turn,  the  Pennsylvania  Supreme  Court  into  line. 
Judge  Agnew  differed  from  his  colleagues  in  holding  that  a  specific  contract  for 
payment  in  coin  was  not  payable  in  treasury  notes,  but  that  the  latter  were 
receivable  only  for  debts  payable  in  lawful  money.  Judge  Agnew  had,  however, 
ruled  the  same  question,  sustaining  the  legal  tender  clause,  while  in  the  Com- 
mon Pleas  of  Butler  county,  as  early  as  the  summer  of  1S63,  in  the  case  of 
Crocker  ^.y.  Wolford  (Pittsburgh  Legal  Journal,  September  14th,  1863). 

The  war  of  the  Rebellion  brought  into  existence  immense  armies.  While  the 
constitutional  power  of  the  government  to  draft  men  into  service  was  supported 
as  essential  to  the  safety  of  the  nation,  it  yet  fell  heavily  upon  the  people,  and 
the  distribution  of  its  burthens  was  exceedingly  unequal. 

The  necessity  as  well  as  the  hearts  of  the  people  demanded  these  rigors  of  the 
system  to  be  relieved  as  far  as  possible.  This  led  to  a  S3'stem  of  bounties  paid 
by  the  counties,  towns,  and  townships  of  the  State,  to  induce  those  who  could 
be  better  spared,  to  enter  into  the  service  as  substitutes  for  the  drafted  men.  It 
was  opposed,  however,  by  those  whose  sympathies  were  not  with  the  cause  of 
the  Union  ;  and  the  right  to  raise  money  by  taxation  to  pay  these  bounties  was 
strongly  denied  on  constitutional  grounds.  The  question  came  up  to  the 
Supreme  Court  in  Speer  vs.  Blairsville  (14th  Wright),  and  was  argued  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  power  to  tax  by  ex-Chief-Justices  Black  and  Lowrie.  It  was  settled 
conclusively  in  favor  of  the  power  in  an  opinion  by  Judge  Agnew,  both  able  and 
eloquent,  which  placed  it  beyond  future  cavil. 

Another  phase  of  the  war  arose  in  the  question  of  the  right  of  deserters  from 
military  service  to  vote  at  State  elections.  Two  cases  came  before  the  Supreme 
14 


I06  DANIEL    AGNEW. 

Court,  Hubcr  7'S.  Reilly  f^d  Smith),  and  IMcCafferty  7'S.  Guyer  (9th  Smith).  In 
the  first  case  a  majority  of  the  court  held  that  the  electoral  .franchise  of  a  deserter 
from  militarj-  service  could  not  be  taken  away  by  an  act  of  Congress  without  a 
conviction  of  desertion  by  a  court-martial,  and  that  a  board  of  election  officers 
was  incompetent  to  try  the  fact.  Justice  Strong,  who  wrote  the  opinion,  put  the 
decision  on  this  ground,  conceding  that  the  act  of  Congress  was  not  an  ex  post 
facto  law,  and  that  Congress  had  power  to  pass  it.  Judge  Agnew,  in  an  elabo- 
rate opinion,  not  then  published,  maintained  that  the  question  before  the  Elec- 
tion Board  was  in  no  sense  a  trial  for  a  penalty,  but  an  inquiry  into  a  personal 
privilege  claimed  by  one  offering  to  exercise  it,  and  the  real  question  was  one 
of  fact  only,  desertion,  triable  as  any  other  fact,  in  relation  to  citizenship,  by  the 
Election  Board ;  the  consequence  being  declared  by  Congress,  whose  right  to 
declare  it  was  not  denied  by  Justice  Strong.  In  McCafferty  vs.  Guyer  the  ques- 
tion came  up  under  a  State  law,  authorizing  the  Board  of  Election  officers  to  try 
the  fact  of  desertion.  Justice  Agnew  took  the  ground  that  the  whole  question 
was  resolved  into  a  single  one :  Is  a  deserter,  proscribed  by  act  of  Congress,  a 
freeman  under  the  election  article  of  the  Constitution  ?  In  a  most  elaborate  and 
convincing  opinion  he  traced  the  origin  of  the  term  "  freeman  "  from  the  earliest 
period  into  the  Constitutions  of  1790  and  1S38,  and  proved  that  a  proscribed 
deserter  was  not  a  freeman  within  the  meaning  of  the  term  in  the  Constitution, 
and  the  Election  Board  being  authorized  by  statute  to  determine  the  fact, 
IMcCafferty  was  rightfully  denied  a  right  to  vote. 

In  all  these  war  questions  Judge  Agnew  stood  resolutely  by  his  country. 
The  effect  of  adverse  decisions  will  be  seen  if  we  note  the  influence  they  would 
have  had  on  the  ability  of  the  government  to  carry  on  the  war  to  suppress 
insurrection. 

Without  the  power  to  draft,  the  military  arm  of  government  would  be  power- 
less. Without  money  to  carry  on  the  war  it  would  be  ineffectual.  Without  the 
power  to  pay  bounties  the  hardships  of  war  would  fall  on  classes  least  able  to  be 
spared.  With  a  dc  facto  standing  of  the  Confederate  government,  it  would  have 
been  entitled  to  recognition  by  European  powers ;  its  prize-court  decisions  would 
be  recognized  as  a  valid  source  of  title ;  its  ports  would  be  opened  by  foreign 
powers,  and  various  obstacles  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  United  States  to  prose- 
cute its  lawful  authority.  With  a  right  to  vote  by  deserters  the  whole  policy  of 
the  State  might  be  changed  and  its  safety  endangered. 

An  important  question  upon  the  status  of  negroes  in  Pennsylvania  arose 
before  the  adoption  of  the  post  bcllum  amendments  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  and  before  the  passage  of  the  Pennsylvania  act  of  1867,  making  it 
an  offence  for  a  railroad  company  to  discriminate  between  passengers  on  account 
of  race  or  color.  A  considerable  time  elapsed  before  the  case  was  reached  in 
the  Supreme  Court  in  1867,  and  public  opinion  then  ran  high  in  favor  of  the 
rights  of  colored  persons.  The  court  below  decided  against  the  right  of  the 
railroad  company  to  direct  a  negro  woman  to  take  another  seat;  but  "  one  in  all 


DANIEL    AGNEW.  lO/ 

respects  as  comfortable,  safe,  and  convenient,  and  one  not  inferior  to  the  one 
slie  left."  This  was  a  written  point.  Judge  Agnew,  whose  courage  is  equal  to 
his  convictions,  stood  with  two  of  his  brethren.  Woodward  and  Thompson,  for 
reversal.  He  saw  that  as  the  Constitution  2.n6.  judicial  precedents  stood  when  the 
case  arose,  it  was  impossible  to  deny  with  honesty  that  the  legal  status  of  the 
negro,  both  civil  and  political,  differed  from  that  of  the  white  man  ;  and  that  the 
social  status  was  even  piore  dissonant — that  the  rights  of  carriers  and  the 
repugnance  of  races  necessarily  involved  a  reasonable  power  of  separation  of 
passengers  as  a  part  of  the  carriers  dut)',  in  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace, 
and  the  proper  performance  of  his  public  obligations.  His  opinion  (found  in 
6th  Smith,  21 1)  is  as  unanswerable  in  argument  as  it  was  faithful  to  duty; 
though  at  the  time  of  its  delivery  (in  1867)  the  progress  of  public  opinion,  after 
the  close  of  the  war,  led  ma-ny  who  were  ignorant  of  the  time  and  circumstances 
under  which  the  case  arose,  to  suppose  he  was  wrong.  Of  all  the  judges  who 
heard  the  argument,  Judge  Read  alone  dissented,  and  Judge  Strong,  who  was 
absent  at  the  argument,  afterwards  told  Judge  Agnew  that  he  agreed  with  him 
— that  his  opinion  was  right. 

A  great  question  arose  af^er  Judge  Agnew  became  Chief-Justice,  perhaps  the 
most  important  of  the  many  arising  during  his  term  of  office.  A  majority  of  the 
convention  called  to  propose  amendments  to  the  Constitution,  to  be  voted  upon 
by  the  people,  conceived  that  its  powers  were  not  restricted  by  the  call  under 
which  it  was  convened ;  and  claiming  absolute  sovereignty,  undertook  to  dis- 
place the  existing  election  laws  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  by  an  ordinance, 
without  any  previous  submission  of  the  new  Constitution  to  the  people,  as 
required  by  the  laws  under  which  the  convention  was  called  and  authorized. 
The  case  came  before  the  Supreme  Court  on  a  proceeding  to  enjoin  the  con- 
vention appointees  from  interfering  with  the  lawful  election  officers.  After  the 
hearing  an  eminent  member  of  the  court  thought  it  better  to  dismiss  the  bill  on 
the  ground  of  want  of  jurisdiction.  But  the  effect  of  this  would  have  been  to 
leave  the  ordinance  in  force,  and  to  countenance  the  exercise  of  an  unlimited 
power  not  conferred  by  the  people,  and  which  might  in  future  cases  be  danger- 
ous to  their  liberties. 

Finally,  however,  the  court  unanimously  agreed  to  meet  the  question  on  its 
merits,  and  enjoin  the  appointees  of  the  convention  from  interfering.  The  opin- 
ion was  written  during  the  night  following  the  argument,  and  considering  time 
and  circumstances,  was  perhaps  the  most  able  delivered  by  Judge  Agnew  during 
his  term.  It  was  supplemented  by  an  opinion  in  Wood's  Appeal  by  Judge 
Agnew,  in  which  the  claim  of  absolute  sovereignty  was  discussed  upon  funda- 
mental principles,  and  the  same  conclusion  reached.  The  two  cases.  Wells  vs. 
Bain  and  Wood's  Appeal,  are  found  in  25  P.  F.  Smith,  40  and  59. 

The  ruling  of  Judge  Cox  as  to  the  qualifications  of  jurors  in  the  Guiteau  case, 
recalls  the  fact  that  Judge  Agnew  was  the  first  judge  in  Pennsylvania  to  modify 
the  rule  which  excluded  jurors  who  had  formed  opinions  in  capital  cases,  and 


108  DANTEL    AGNEW. 

admit  them  if  tlieir  opinions  were  not  so  fixed  but  that  they  could  still  tiy  the 
prisoner  on  the  evidence,  freed  from  the  influence  of  previous  impressions.  This 
he  ruled  when  Judge  of  the  Seventeenth  District.  Afterwards  on  the  Supreme 
Bench  he  rendered  several  decisions  to  the  same  effect.  In  the  Ortwein  murder 
case,  decided  in  Pittsburgh  in  1874,  Chief-Justice  Agnevv  considered  at  length 
the  plea  of  insanity  as  a  defence  in  murder  trials,  and  laid  down  some  rules  which 
would  have  been  ill-relished  by  Guiteau,  if  made  to  apply  to  his  case.  In  his 
opinion  Judge  Agnew  said :  "  The  danger  to  society  from  acquittals  on  the 
ground  of  a  doubtful  insanity  demands  a  strict  rule.  Mere  doubtful  evidence  of 
insanity  would  fill  the  land  with  acquitted  criminals.  To  doubt  one's  sanity  is 
not  necessarily  to  be  convinced  of  his  insanity.  A  person  charged  with  crime 
must  be  judged  to  be  a  reasonable  being  until  a  want  of  reason  positively 
appears.  Insanity  as  a  defence  must  be  so  great  as  to  have  controlled  the  will 
and  taken  away  the  freedom  of  moral  action.  When  the  killing  is  admitted,  and 
insanity  is  alleged  as  an  excuse,  the  defendant  must  satisfy  the  jury  that  insanity 
actually  existed  at  the  time  of  the  act;  a  doubt  as  to  the  sanity  will  not  justify 
the  jury  in  acquitting." 

To  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the  impress  which  Judge  Agnevv  made  through 
his  decisions  upon  the  law  of  Pennsylvania  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this  sketch. 
Every  Monday  morning  during  the  sessions  of  the  Supreme  Court  brought  a  full 
budget  of  his  decisions,  and  every  day  of  his  vacation  was  spent  in  preparing 
opinions  in  knotty  cases  reserved  for  that  time  of  greater  leisure  for  careful 
elaboration.  Until  1874  the  Supreme  Court  consisted  of  but  five  judges,  while 
it  had  all  the  work  which  was  afterward  found  sufficient  for  seven.  Ill  health 
prevented  Judge  Williams  from  assuming  his  share  of  the  labor  of  the  bench, 
and  disinclination  fir  work  was  an  impediment  in  other  quarters,  so  that  before 
the  reorganization  of  the  court  the  labor  incident  to  its  duties  fell  almost  entirely 
on  two  or  three  of  its  members.  The  reports  of  that  period,  as  well  as  for  the 
entire  fifteen  years  Judge  Agnew  was  on  the  bench,  bear  testimony  to  his  pro- 
digious industry.  They  show  him  also  to  be  one  of  those  broad-minded  judges 
who  have  regard  to  the  meaning  and  spirit  of  a  law  rather  than  its  letter.  The 
whole  body  of  his  opinions  as  therein  recorded  illustrate  at  every  step  the  keen- 
ness of  his  intellect,  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  the  extent  and  precision 
of  his  legal  learning.  He  became  Chief-Justice  in  1873,  and  continued  until  Jan- 
uary', 1879.  In  permitting  him  to  retire  from  the  bench  in  that  year,  the  State 
lost  from  its  Supreme  Court  one  of  the  strongest  members  and  best  judicial 
minds  that  body  ever  possessed. 

Perhaps  the  most  marked  characteristics  of  his  judicial  career  was  his  deter- 
mined support  of  the  sacredness  of  the  fundamental  rights  of  persons,  as  declared 
and  maintained  in  the  Constitution.  His  opposition  to  all  infringements  upon 
these  rights  was  constant  and  unwavering.  This  may  be  seen  in  many  opinions 
and  addresses.  He  held  that  the  maintenance  and  protection  of  these  rights 
were  the  true  end  of  all  good  government,  and  nothing  short  of  a  real  public 
necessity  should  be  permitted  to  override  them. 


DANIEL    AGNEW.  lOQ 

Another  leading  characteristic  is  the  rapidity  with  whicli  lie  writes.  Besides 
the  case  of  Wells  vs.  Bain,  another  example  may  be  seen  in  the  contested  elec- 
tion cases  in  15  P.  F.  Smith,  20,  the  opinion  being  written  during  the  night  after 
the  argument. 

Judge  Agnew  never  was  a  politician  in  its  ordinary  sense,  and  never  filled  a 
political  office.  He  avoided  both  the  Legislature  and  Congress,  preferring  to  sit 
as  an  independent  judge,  acknowledging  no  political  favor,  and  returning  a  full 
equivalent  for  office  by  his  services  on  the  bench.  In  early  life  he  was  a 
National  Republican,  supporting  the  American  system  of  Henry  Clay,  especially 
the  tariff  of  which  his  preceptor,  Judge  Baldwin,  was  an  eminent  advocate.  He 
joined  the  Whig  party  at  its  formation  in  1832-33,  and  remained  a  Whig  until 
its  extinction  in  1854.  He  advocated  on  the  stump  the  election  of  Harrison  in 
1840,  Clay  in  1S44,  and  in  1S48  he  was  an  elector  on  the  Taylor  and  Filmore 
ticket,  and  canvassed  Western  Pennsylvania  zealously  in  its  support.  After  his 
election  to  the  bench  in  185  i,  he  withdrew  from  active  participation  in  politics, 
except  as  events  of  unusual  importance  called  him  out.  He  openly  opposed  the 
Know-Nothing  movement  in  1854,  and  two  years  later  he  assisted  at  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Republican  party  in  the  convention  in  Lafayette  Hall,  in  Pittsburgh. 

Judge  Agnew's  original  intention  was  to  retire  from  the  Supreme  Bench  at  the 
end  of  his  fifteen  years'  term.  The  continued  absence  from  home,  which  its 
duties  necessitated,  had  all  along  been  exceedingly  unwelcome  to  his  wife.  His 
life,  too,  had  been  a  busy  and  laborious  one,  and,  though  still  in  the  full  vigor 
of  his  powers,  he  thought  that  at  the  age  of  seventy  he  was  entitled  to  a  rest. 
He  made  known  to  some  of  his  political  friends  his  intention  not  to  be  a  candi- 
date for  re-election,  but  was  induced  by  them  to  remain  silent,  and  was  subse- 
quently brought  out  by  them  as  a  candidate,  seemingly  with  the  intention  of 
using  his  name  to  head  off  other  candidates,  and  then  sacrificing  him  in  turn. 
The  double  dealing  and  cross  purposes  of  this  period  are  all  laid  bare  in  Judge 
Agnew's  open  letter,  published  a  few  da}-s  before  the  election  of  1878,  and  it  is 
unnecessary  to  recapitulate  them  here.  It  is  enough  that  he  changed  his  pur- 
pose and  resolved  to  go  into  the  convention,  if  he  did  not  have  ten  votes.  In" 
that  body,  with  all  the  regular  part}'  machinery  against  him,  he  developed  an 
unexpected  strength,  but  the  bosses  had  decided  to  put  him  aside,  and  from 
their  decree  there  was  no  appeal. 

Representatives  of  the  National  party,  knowing  that  Judge  Agnew  could  com- 
mand a  large  personal  following  independent  of  any  party,  requested  permission 
to  propose  his  name  for  Supreme  Judge  in  their  convention,  but  this  he  refused. 
Subsequently  he  was,  without  his  consent,  put  in  nomination  by  the  State  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  party.  Of  the  nomination  he  never  received  official  notifi- 
cation, nor  was  it  designed  that  he  should.  He  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the 
economic  teachings  of  that  party.  He  believed  only  in  a  coin  currcnc}',  or  one 
based  on  coin,  having  an  undoubted  representative  value,  and  his  thorough 
republicanism  was  unquestioned  and  unquestionable.     This  the  National  leaders 


no  DANIEL    AGNEW. 

knew,  but  they  thought  his  name  would  aid  their  ticket,  and  the)-  placed  it  on  it 
without  troubling  themselves  further  about  his  consent.  A  similar  proposal, 
made  by  the  Temperance  Convention  of  that  year,  Judge  Agnew  expressly  de- 
clined in  a  letter  to  its  chairman,  on  the  ground  that  having  been  an  "ostensible" 
candidate  before  the  Republican  Convention,  he  could  not  honorably  put  himself 
in  the  front  of  another  party.  He  determined  to  hold  himself  free  from  any 
entanglement,  and  it  was  a  fear  of  such  a  charge  being  made  after  the  election 
which  brought  out  his  open  letter  before  it.  During  the  canvass  he  was  offered 
the  attorney-generalship  in  writing,  under  the  incoming  Republican  administra- 
tion, on  condition  of  withdrawing  from  the  National  ticket.  Through  his  son  he 
declined  this  proffer  expressly  on  the  ground  that  he  was  nominated  without  his 
participation,  had  not  accepted,  and  had  nothing  to  decline. 

Judge  Agnew  is  still  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  physical  health  and  activity,  and 
of  mental  vigor.  Since  his  retirement  he  has  lived  a  quiet  and  comparatively 
uneventful  life  among  his  old  friends  and  neighbors  of  Beaver.  Great  changes 
have  occurred  in  State  and  nation  since  that  stripling  lawyer  went  there  pro- 
specting for  litigation  fifty-two  years  ago,  but  the  essential  features  of  that  staid 
old  county-seat  remain  unchanged.  Six  children  have  been  born  to  Judge  and 
Mrs.  Agnew,  two  of  whom,  their  eldest  son  and  eldest  daughter,  are  dead.  The 
latter  was  the  wife  of  Colonel  John  M.  Sullivan,  of  Allegheny  City,  and  died  in 
1874.  Of  the  others,  there  are  two  sons,  both  lawyers:  the  elder,  F.  H.  Agnew, 
now  in  the  Senate  of  Pennsylvania,  is  practising  in  Beaver,  and  the  younger, 
Robert  M.  Agnew,  in  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania.  One  of  his  daughters  is  the  wife 
of  Hon.  Henry  Hice,  of  Beaver,  President-Judge  of  the  court  Judge  Agnew  for- 
merly presided  over.  The  other  daughter  is  the  wife  of  Rev.  Walter  Brown,  of 
Cadiz,  Ohio. 

The  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  has  been  twice  conferred  on  Judge  Agnew,  first 
by  Washington  College  and  then  by  Dickinson.  Occasionally  he  indulges  in 
writing  or  speaking  on  legal  and  public  subjects  to  keep  from  rusting  out.  On 
General  Grant's  return  from  his  tour  around  the  world.  Judge  Agnew  was 
selected  to  deliver  the  address  in  Pittsburgh,  and  in  the  succeeding  canvass  for 
nomination  he  favored  that  of  General  Grant  for  the  Presidency  as  best  calcu- 
lated to  produce  national  unity.  After  the  nomination  of  General  Garfield  he 
went  ardently  into  his  support  and  delivered,  at  Pittsburgh  and  New  Brighton, 
two  well-considered  and  strong  speeches  in  his  favor. 

The  State  would  do  itself  a  high  honor  if  it  should  select  such  a  man 
to  represent  it  at  Washington,  or  to  be  its  Chief  Executive.  Judge  Agnew's 
numerously  published  addre-s.scs,  to  which,  for  lack  of  space,  scarcely  any 
allusion  has  been  made,  and  his  opinions,  involving  great  public  questions, 
as  recorded  in  the  State  reports,  show  that  he  is  no  mere  lawyer,  but  has  all  the 
grasp  of  mind  and  breadth  of  view  of  the  true  statesman. 


Hon    Ulysses  Mercur. 


ULYSSES    MERCUR. 

ULYSSES  Mercur,  Senior  Associate  Justice,  who  became  Chief-Justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  this  State,  January  i,  1883,  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania, 
having  been  born  in  Towanda,  Bradford  county,  August  12th,  1818.  His  father 
was  of  German  descent  and  removed  from  Lancaster  to  Towanda  about  18 10, 
when  Northern  Pennsylvania  was  ahnost  an  unbroken  wilderness,  and  the  village, 
now  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  thriving  towns  in  the  State,  an  isolated 
hamlet,  nestling  in  the  forest  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Susquehanna.  He  was  a 
young  man  who  had  enjoyed  good  advantages  for  those  days,  was  possessed  of 
a  bright  intellect,  great  energy  and  strict  integrity — traits  which  rendered  him 
both  conspicuous  and  useful  in  a  new  country.  Soon  after  the  organization  of 
the  county  in  18 12,  he  was  appointed  county  treasurer,  a  position  for  which  he 
was  well  qualified.  Not  long  after  settling  in  Towanda  he  married  an  estimable 
lady,  who  bore  him  five  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  sons  grew  to  manhood  and 
became  prominent  business  men,  noted  for  their  abilit\%  enterprise,  honesty  and 
success. 

Ulysses,  the  fourth  son,  after  receiving  his  preparatory  education,  entered  Jef- 
ferson College,  Cannonsburg,  Washington  county,  at  the  age  of  twenty.  In  col- 
lege he  was  noted  for  his  studiousness  and  extraordinary  perceptive  faculties.  In 
his  junior  year  he  was  chosen  disputant  of  his  class  society  in  a  joint  discussion 
with  the  senior  society  of  which  the  late  Clement  L.  Valandigham  was  disputant. 
The  discussion  was  decided  in  Mercur's  favor,  which  so  annoyed  Valandigham 
that  he  resolved  not  to  leave  college  until  he  had  another  opportunity  of  cross- 
ing swords  with  his  rival  of  the  junior  class.  The  opportunity  was  given  him 
and  he  was  again  worsted,  Mr.  Alercur  coming  off  victorious  the  second  time. 
During  his  last  year  in  college  Mr.  Mercur  found  that  the  mastery  of  his  studies 
did  not  require  all  his  time,  and,  having  decided  to  adopt  the  law  as  a  profession, 
entered  the  office  of  Hon.  Thomas  M.  T.  McKennan,  author  of  the  "  Tariff  of  '42  " 
and  father  of  Judge  McKennan,  of  the  United  States  District  Court.  After  gradu- 
ating with  high  honors  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Towanda,  where  he  entered  the 
office  of  Edward  Overton,  Esq.,  the  ablest  lawyer  in  northern  Pennsylvania  at  that 
time,  to  complete  his  legal  studies.  On  his  adinission  to  the  bar  a  year  later  he 
commenced  practice  as  a  partner  of  his  late  preceptor.  His  intuitive  love  for 
the  profession  and  thorough  knowledge  of  "the  books"  acquired  by  close  study, 
were  supplemented  by  strict  attention  to  business  and  untiring  industry — virtues 
which  seldom  fail  of  success.  On  accession  to  the  bar  he  was  brought  into  con- 
tact with  such  able  and  distinguished  attorneys  as  Edward  Overton,  Judge  Wil- 
liston,  William  Elwell,  William  Watkins,  David  Wilmot  and  others,  who  rendered 
the  bar  of  Bradford  county  famous  for  ability  and  personal  worth.  The  j'oung 
member  soon  reached  the  front  rank,  and  before  he  had  been  many  years  in  prac- 
tice was  acknowledged  tlie  peer  of  his  ablest  associates. 

(11.) 


112  ULYSSES    MERCUR. 

As  a  practitioner  he  M-as  conscientious,  and  never  advised  litigation  mcreK-  to 
get  a  "  retainer."  Tliis  reputation  won  for  him  the  most  imphcit  confidence  of 
the  people,  and  few  important  cases  were  tried  in  the  court  while  he  was  practis- 
ing at  the  bar  tiiat  he  was  not  employed  in.  It  is  no  flattery  to  say  that  as  a 
jurj"  lawyer  he  was  unsurpassed  in  the  State. 

As  an  evidence  of  Mr.  Mercur's  transparent  candor  and  honesty  in  his  rela- 
tions to  clients,  and  his  desire  tojmpress  upon  students  the  sacred  obligation  to 
profound  secrecy  and  fidelity  in  their  business  relations  with  those  by  whom  they 
might  be  professionallj-  employed,  it  is  said  that  he  never  retired  to  the  "  consul- 
tation room  "  with  clients,  but  compelled  them  to  state  their  cases  in  presence 
of  such  students  as  were  present — assuring  them  that  nothing  they  might  dis- 
close would  ever  be  repeated. 

One  characteristic  of  Judge  !\Iercur  remembered  by  the  citizens  of  Towanda  is 
the  untiring  industry  with  which  he  labored  at  his  profession.  While  Judge 
W'ilmot,  the  leading  lawyer  in  the  town,  who  was  always  noted  for  a  tendency 
to  avoid  close  application  to  his  desk,  was  at  the  village  store  in  the  evening, 
telling  stories  to  the  crowd  of  rustics,  young  Mercur  was  at  his  office  writing 
deeds  or  poring  over  his  books  in  search  of  authorities  for  use  in  court.  "  At 
any  hour,"  said  an  old  citizen  of  Towanda,  recently,  "  Mercur  could  be  found  at 
his  office.  In  those  daj-s  I  used  to  go  home  very  late  at  night  and  there  was 
always  a  light  in  his  office."  Judge  Wilmot  was  strong  with  a  jury,  but  he  relied 
on  an  infinite  fund  of  wit  and  turning  to  use  some  trifling  circumstance  brought 
out  at  the  trial,  but  Judge  Mercur  studied  cases  thoroughly  and  always  went  into 
court  well  prepared. 

Seventeen  years  of  close  application  to  his  extensive  business  told  on  his  con- 
stitution, and  in  the  winter  of  1S60-61  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  work  for 
several  months,  and  the  respite  restored  his  health  and  gave  him  a  new  lease  of 
life,  which  abstemious  habits  and  careful  observance  of  the  laws  of  health  pro- 
tected to  the  time  of  his  last  illness. 

On  the  election  of  Judge  Wilmot  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  January,  1861, 
he  resigned  the  president  judgeship  of  the  Twelfth  judicial  district,  and  Mr.  Mer- 
cur was  appointed  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Me  discharged  the  onerous  duties  with 
such  entire  acceptability  to  the  bar  and  people,  that  at  the  ensuing  election  he 
was  chosen  for  a  full  term  without  opposition,  the  district  being  composed  of  the 
counties  of  Bradford  and  Susquehanna. 

In  1862  a  division  in  the  Republican  party  in  the  congressional  district  com- 
posed of  the  counties  of  Bradford,  Columbia,  Montour,  Sullivan  and  Wyoming 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  regular  nominee.  To  prevent  a  similar  di.sa.ster  in 
1S64,  Mr.  Mercur  was  prevailed  upon  to  accept  a  unanimous  nomination  and  was 
triumphantly  elected  by  over  40,000  majority,  being  more  than  4,000  more  than 
General  Hartranft,  the  candidate  for  governor,  had  at  the  same  time.  He  was 
renominated  for  three  consecutive  terms,  and  before  the  expiration  of  his  fourth 
term,  in  1872,  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  State  convention  for  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court,  the  position  held  to  the  date  of  his  death. 


ULVSSES    MERCUR.  I  I  3 

Judge  Mercur  has  filled  many  prominent  political  positions  of  honor.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  first  Republican  State  convention,  which  was  held  in  Philadel- 
phia, and  also  to  the  National  convention  that  nominated  John  C.  Fremont.  He 
was  chosen  an  elector  for  Lincoln  in  i860.  One  of  the  present  United  States 
Senators  and  two  of  the  president  judges  of  Common  Pleas  Courts  in  this  State 
were  law  students  under  his  tuition  and  graduated  from  Iiis  office.  Although 
Chief-Justice  Mercur  always  took  a  deep  interest  in  political  affairs  from  the  time 
the  anti-slavery  question  became  prominent,  he  never  allowed  this  to  interfere 
with  his  devotion  to  the  law  and  its  practice.  Of  Judge  Mercur's  reputa- 
tion on  the  bench  and  in  Congress  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak,  and  we  shall  only 
remark  in  passing  that  his  record  was  an  honor  to  his  constituents,  and  one  of 
which  any  gentleman  might  justly  feel  proud.  His  public  record  was  singularly 
free  from  demagogy  and  tricks  of  the  average  politician,  while  in  his  private  life 
he  was  as  pure  as  the  mountain  stream.  His  political  advancements,  like  his 
business  success,  were  solely  due  to  marked  ability  and  personal  worth.  During 
his  nearly  quarter  of  a  century  in  public  life  his  bitterest  political  opponents 
never  even  intimated  anj-thing  derogatory  to  his  honor  as  a  gentleman  and' strict 
fidelity  to  the  trusts  confided  to  his  keeping. 

His  eminence  as  a  jurist  was  evidenced  in  his  nomination  for  the  high  position 
he  held,  without  having  canvassed  for  the  office,  over  some  of  the  ablest  judges 
in  the  State. 

In  Congress  Judge  Mercur  was  not  a  "  talking  member,"  though  he  had  few 
equals  in  debate,  but  he  was  looked  up  to  as  one  of  the  most  useful  representa- 
tives. He  was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  committee,  and  took  an  active  part  in 
preparing  the  reconstruction  measures  rendered  necessary  by  the  secession  of 
the  Southern  States.  It  was  during  the  discussion  on  one  of  the  bills  on  that 
subject  that  he  made  use  of  this  memorable  sentence  :  "  If  they  (the  people  of  the 
States  lately  in  rebellion)  will  not  respect  the  stars  they  must  feel  the  stripes  of 
our  glorious  flag."  One  important  measure  which  he  was  instrumental  in  pass- 
ing through  Congress  deserves  to  be  placed  beside  the  Wilmot  proviso  and  Crow's 
homestead  bill.  We  refer  to  the  act  exempting  tea  and  coffee  from  duty,  thus 
reducing  the  price  of  these  almost  necessary  articles  of  diet,  which  are  needed 
alike  by  the  rich  and  the  poor. 

In  politics  Judge  Mercur  was  originally  a  Democrat  (though  his  brothers  w^ere 
all  active  Whigs),  adhering  to  the  Free-soil  wing  of  the  party,  having  been  edu- 
cated in  the  same  political  school  with  Wilmot  and  Grow.  He  was  one  of  the 
first  to  protest  against  the  scheme  to  enslave  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  and  took  an 
active  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Republican  party,  which  we  believe  had  its 
birth  in  Towanda,  as  early  as  February,  1S55,  when  a  meeting  was  called  to  give 
expression  to  the  indignation  of  the  people  of  the  North  at  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  compromise.  He  was  also  a  delegate  to  the  preliminary  State  conven- 
tion in  Pittsburgh,  and  an  elector  on  the  Lincoln  ticket  in  i860.  Judge  Wilmot 
always  esteemed  him  his  friend  and  confidential  adviser  in  politics  as  well  as 
15 


I  14  ULYSSES    MERCUR. 

legal  affairs.  When  Wilmot  was  iin'ited  by  President  Lincoln  in  the  spring-  of 
1S61  to  act  as  peace  coniniissioner  at  Washington,  before  accepting  the  appoint- 
ment he  visited  Judge  Mercur,  and  after  a  full  consultation  decided  to  go  and,  to 
use  his  own  words,  "  try  to  prevent  a  patched-up  compromise,"  which  would 
leave  the  differences  between  the  two  sections  of  the  Union  as  far  from  being  set- 
tled as  before. 

In  1850  Judge  Mercur  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  the  late  General  John 
Davis,  of  Bucks  county,  and  his  domestic  life  was  very  happy.  Five  children 
were  born  to  him,  all  of  whom  are  still  living.  The  eldest,  Rodney  A.,  is  a  pros- 
perous young  lawyer  of  Towanda ;  two  other  sons.  Dr.  John  D.  and  James  W., 
attorney-at-law,  reside  in  Philadelphia.  The  only  daughter  married  B.  Frank 
Eshleman,  Esq.,  a  successful  lawyer  of  Lancaster,  this  State.  The  youngest  son 
is  now  in  school  preparing  for  college. 

The  judge  was  a  communicant  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  was  a  strict  Sabbatarian, 
and  Sunday  seldom  failed  to  find  him  in  the  house  of  worship.  His  family  were 
connected  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  was  a  liberal  supporter  and  con- 
stant attendant  upon  the  services  of  the  church. 

Li  the  new  position  which  Judge  Mercur  assumed,  as  chief-justice,  he  attained 
the  same  eminence  and  distinction  as  in  the  other  stations  he  had  been  called 
upon  to  fill,  and  the  historian  of  the  judiciary  of  the  Commonwealth  will  write 
him  among  the  ablest,  wisest  and  purest  who  have  worn  the  judicial  ermine  and 
adorned  the  Supreme  bench. 

Up  to  the  year  of  his  death  the  judge  was  in  possession  of  clear,  unclouded 
mental  vision  and  vigorous,  well-preserved  physical  health — literally  having  "  a 
sound  mind  in  a  healthy  body."  The  industrious  habits  of  younger  days  still 
clung  to  him,  and  during  the  short  recesses  of  court  he  spent  at  his  elegant  resi- 
dence in  Towanda  he  was  not  often  seen  idle,  but  busied  himself  in  the  investiga- 
tion of  intricate  legal  questions,  writing  out  opinions,  etc. 

Genuine  sociability  and  hospicalitj'  are  family  characteristics,  and  the  judge  was 
not  lacking  in  these  qualities.  He  was  always  "  at  home  "  to  his  friends,  and 
was  one  of  the  most  entertaining  of  hosts. 

From  honest  convictions  he  was  a  pronounced,  thorough  Republican,  but  was 
not  a  bigot,  and  always  treated  his  political  adversary  with  gentlemanly  respect. 
Some  of  his  greatest  admirers  and  warmest  personal  friends  were  not  members 
of  his  political  household. 

The  old  "Wilmot  district"  has  never  produced  a  man  of  whom  the  people 
liave  greater  reason  to  feel  proud,  nor  one  who  will  ever  have  a  waiiiicr  place  in 
their  hearts  than  Judge  Mercur. 

Judge  Mercur  was  .stricken  suddenly  by  illness  on  Mny  26,  1887,  while  on  a 
visit  to  his  son,  James  Watts  Mercur,  at  Wallingford,  De'.aware  county,  Pa.  The 
illness  proved  fatal  on  the  6th  of  June,  1887.  It  is  needless  to  .say  that  the 
.Su[)reme  bench  lo.st  one  of  its  ablest  members  and  the  community  an  honored 
citizen. 


Hon.  George   Sharswood. 


GEORGE   SIL\RSWOOD. 

HON.  George  Sharswood,  late  Cliicf  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was  born  in  Philadelphia,  July  7th,  1 8 10.  That  city  was  always 
his  home,  and  his  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  residence  within  it  saw  it 
increase  in  population  nearly  ten-fold.  As  the  name  indicates,  the  Sharswood 
family  is  of  English  origin.  The  first  of  the  American  line,  George  Sharswood, 
the  great-great-great-grandfather  of  the  Chief  Justice,  emigrated  from  England 
and  settled  in  New  London,  Conn.,  about  the  year  1665.  Another  George 
Sharswood,  grandson  of  the  first  George,  and  great-grandfather  of  the  Chief 
Justice,  was  born  at  Cape  May,  N.  J.,  October  i8th,  1696,  and  came  to  Phila- 
delphia in  the  year  1706,  a  lad  ten  years  old.  James  Sharswood,  grandfather  of 
the  Chief  Justice,  was  born  in  this  city,  March  iSth,  1747,  o.  s.  He  received  a 
sound  education,  and  early  in  life  showed  himself  to  be  an  enterprising,  public- 
spirited  citizen.  He  was  a  captain  of  volunteers  in  the  revolution,  but  a  spinal 
injury  previously  received  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  cut  short  his  army  career. 
He  was  afterward  one  of  the  originators  of  the  Democratic  party,  served  in  the 
City  Councils,  and  at  one  time  was  one  of  the  representatives  from  Philadelphia 
in  the  General  Assembly.  He  was  appointed  by  Governor  Snyder  an  Associate 
Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  of  this  count)',  which  could  then  be  held  by  a  lay- 
man, but  declined  the  honor.  In  early  life  he  was  engaged  in  the  lutnber  busi- 
ness, but  in  his  later  years  he  seemed  to  have  given  more  or  less  attention  to 
banking.  Throughout  his  long  life  he  enjoj'ed  in  a  high  degree  the  confitlence  and 
respect  of  the  people  of  Philadelphia.  He  died  in  1836,  in  the  eight)--ninth 
year  of  his  age.  He  had  two  sons,  one  of  whom,  George  Sharswood,  died  at 
the  early  age  of  twenty-two,  leaving  an  infant  son,  also  named  George  Shars- 
wood, and  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  The  elder  Sharswood  accepted  the 
legacy,  cared  for  and  educated  his  grandson,  and  at  his  death  left  such  a  com- 
petence as  to  enable  the  latter  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  to  be  independent 
and  indifferent,  if  he  chose,  to  its  pecuniary  rewards. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  George  Sharswood  entered  the  Sophomore  class  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania.  He  there  exhibited  the  same  studious  habits  which 
characterized  his  whole  life.  On  his  graduation  in  1S28  he  received  the  highest 
honors  of  his  class,  and  delivered  the  Latin  Salutator}'.  On  August  ^yl,  1828, 
less  than  a  month  after  leaving  college,  he  was  registered  as  a  student  of  law  in 
the  office  of  Joseph  R.  Ingersoll,  one  of  the  ablest  representatives  of  the  Phila- 
delphia bar.  Years  afterward,  as  a  testimonial  of  the  respect  and  esteem  which 
his  instructor  in  the  law  had  inspired,  he  dedicated  his  little  work  on  "  Profes- 
sional Ethics"  to  Mr.  Ingersoll,  addressing  him  as  "My  Honored  Master." 
Either  through  the  advice  of  his  preceptor,  or  moved  by  his  own  good  judg- 
ment, young  Sharswood  seems  to  have  determined  to  become  a  lawyer  before  he 

("5) 


Il6  GEORGE    SIIARSWOOD. 

became  an  attorney.  Instead,  tlierefore,  of  tlie  usual  two  or  three  j-ears  of 
superficial  skimming  or  undigested  cramming  of  the  dozen  or  more  of  the  usual 
law  student's  text-books,  he  de\oted  himself,  from  the  time  he  was  eighteen  until 
twent\--threc  years  of  age,  to  a  comprehensive  and  systematic  course  of  study 
which  would  appal  a  less  industrious  man,  and  one  which  a  man  impatient  for 
the  immediate  rewards  of  his  profession  would  not  thinjc  of  undertaking. 

In  his  note  to  Blackstone's  introductory  chapters  "on  the  study  of  law  in 
general,"  Judge  Sharswood  gives  a  list  of  books  for  law  students,  the  careful 
study  of  which  he  thinks  is  not  beyond  the  reach  of  any  young  man  of  industry 
and  application,  in  a  period  of  from  five  to  seven  years.  This  list  includes  twenty- 
five  works  on  real  estate  and  equity,  nine  works  on  practice,  pleading  and  evi- 
dence, nine  on  crimes  and  forfeitures,  eleven  on  national  and  international  law,  and 
the  cases  on  this  subject  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  ten  works 
on  constitutional  law,  and  with  the  cases  in  the  United  States  Supreme  Court 
reports,  nine  works  on  the  civil  law,  eighteen  works  on  the  persons  and  per- 
sonal property,  and  four  works  on  executors  and  administrators.  This  is  exclu- 
sive of  Blackstone  and  Kent,  which  he  says  must  first  be  read  again  and  again. 
It  is  further  repommended  that  the  leading  cases  referred  to  in  these  eighty-nind 
works  be  examined  when  possible.  The  Judge  was,  however,  more  merciful  to 
his  disciples  than  he  was  to  himself,  for  the  course  of  preparatory  legal  reading 
which  he  laboriously  pursued  during  his  novitiate  number  over  one  hundred 
volumes.  In  one  of  his  addresses  to  his  class  of  law  students  in  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  Judge  Sharswood  gives  the  list  of  works  which  formed  a  part 
of  his  early  reading,  and  which  he  recommends  to  all  other  law  students.  This 
list  is  both  curious  and  valuable,  and  is  as  follows : 

In  Real  Estate:  Lord  Hale's  History  of  the  Common  Law;  Reeves'  History  of  the  English  Law; 
lJ.alrymple's  Essay;  Sullivan's  Lectures  on  Feudal  Law;  Sir  Martin  Wright's  Introduction;  Robertson's 
History  and  Hallam's  History;  Sir  H;nry  Finch's  Nomotechnin;  the  Doctor  and  Student;  The  Prefaces 
to  Lord  Coke's  Reports;  Litileton's  Tenures  and  The  First  Institute;  Preston  on  Estates;  Fearne's  Con- 
tingent Remainders,  not  always  read  by  the  American  student,  and  more  rarely  comprehended ;  Shep- 
pird's  Touchstone;  Preston  on  Abstracts  of  Title,  and  Preston's  Treatise  on  Conveyancing;  Hallow's 
Equity;  Jeremy's  Treatise  on  E(|uity,  and  Story's  Commentaries  on  Etjuity ;  Powell  on  Mortgages; 
li.icon's  Rcailing  on  the  Statute  of  Uses;  S.inclcrs  on  Uses  and  Trusts;  Hill  on  Trustees;  Lewis  im 
Perpetuities;  Sugden  on  Powers;  Chance  on  Powers;  .Sugden  on  Vendors  and  Purchasers;  Woodfall 
on  Landlord  and  Tenant;  Koscoe  on  the  Laws  of  Actions;  Cruise  on  Fines,  etc.;  Pigoit  on  Common 
Recoveries;  Powell's  Essay,  and  Jarman  on  Wills. 

In  Practice,  Pleading,  and  Evidence:  The  Introduction  to  Conipton's  Practice;  Tidd's  Practice; 
Stephen  on  Pleading;  IJroom's  Parties  to  Actions;  Greeideaf  on  Evidence;  Selwyns  Nisi  I'rius;  Leigli's 
Nisi  Prius,  which  he  has  enriched  with  valualjle  notes;  Mitford's  Pleading  in  Equity;  Story's  Equity; 
B.irton's  Historical  Treatise;  Newland's  Chancery  Practice ;  Cresley  on  Evidence,  and  the  fourth  part 
of  the  Institute. 

In  Crimes  and  Forfeitures:  Hale's  History  of  the  Pleas  of  the  Crown;  Foster's  Crown  Law;  Yoike's 
Consideration  on  the  Law  of  Forfeiture;  The  Third  Part  of  the  Institutes;  Chitty  on  Criminal  Law  and 
Ku'.tell  on  Crimes;   this  work  with  his  notes,  and  it  hns  passed   llirough  eight  editions. 

In  National  and  International  Law :  Puilamaqui's  Natural  and  Political  Law;  Grotius  dc  Jiiic  lielli 
ct  Pads;  Rutherford's  Institutes;  Vattel's  Law  of  Nations;  Hynkershock's  Questiones,  Publici  Juris; 
Wicqucfort's  Ambassador ;   IJynkershock's  d6  foro  Legatorum ;   Mcintosh's  Discourse;  Whcaton's  His- 


GEORGE   SIIAKSWOOD.  II7 

tory  of  llie  Intern.itional  Law;  Whoalon's  International  Law;  Robinson's  Admirally  Reports  anil  Cases 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  tlie  United  Stales. 

In  Constitutional  Law:  The  Seeond  Pari  of  Lord  Col^e's  Institutes;  Ilalhim's  Constilulional  History 
of  England  ;  Millar's  Historical  View  of  tlie  Knglish  Constitution  ;  Wynne's  Eunoinus;  De  Lolme  on 
the  English  Constitution,  with  Stephen's  Inlroduciion  and  Notes;  The  Federalist;  Rawle  on  the  Con- 
stitution; Story  on  the  Constitution;  Cases  decided  in  llie  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  Slates. 

In  the  Civil  Law:  Butler's  Hor.v  Jundica:;  Gibbon's  History  of  the  Decline  and  Kail,  chap.  44; 
Justinian's  Institutes;  Savigny's  Traite  de  Droit  Roniain  ;  Savigny's  Hi.-.toire  clu  Droit  Roniain  au  Moyen 
Age;  Taylor's  Elements  of  the  Civil  Law;  MackeKly's  Compendium;  Cuhjuhoun's  Summary  of  the 
Roman  Civil  Law,  and  Domat's  Civil  Law. 

In  Persons  and  Personal  Properly:  Reeves  on  the  Dimiestic  Relations;  Bingham's  Law  of  Infancy 
and  Coverture;  Roper  on  Husband  and  Wife;  Angel  and  Ames  on  Corporations;  Les  Qiuvres  de 
Pothier;  Smith  on  Contracls;  Story  on  Bailments;  Jones  on  Bailments;  Story  on  Partnership;  Byles  on 
Bills;  Story  on  Promissory  Notes  ;  Abbott  on  Shipiiing  ;  IJuer  on  Insurance;  Emerigon  Trail6  des  As- 
surances ;  Boulay-Paty  Cour  de  Droit  Commercial,  ami  Story  on  the  Conflict  of  Laws. 

On  Executors  and  Administr.it ors  :  Roper  on  Legacies;  Toller  on  E.Keeutors;  Williams  on  Executors, 
anil  llie  Law's  Dispo.-ial,  by  LovelasS. 

In  lii.s  own  study  of  these  works  lie,  no  doubt,  anticipated  the  advice  he  sub- 
sequently gave  to  all  law  students,  and  pursued  "  a  methodical  stud\'  of  the  gen- 
eral system  of  law,  and  of  its  grountls  and  reasons,  beginning  with  the  funda- 
mental law  of  estates  and  tenures,  and  pursuing  the  derivative  branches  in  logical 
succession,  and  the  collateral  in  due  order."  This  is,  he  said,  the  most  effectual 
way  of  making  a  great  lawyer.  Judge  Sharswood's  own  life  furnishes  one  of 
the  rare  instances  in  which  such  a  thorough  and  extensive  course  of  legal  study 
has  ever  been  successfully  accomplished. 

On  September  5,  1831,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  but  did  not  on  that  account 
intermit  his  studies,  rather  gave  them  a  wider  range,  blending  with  them  some- 
thing of  classical  literature,  and  giving  some  attention  to  the  modern  languages. 
Until  raised  to  the  bench,  fourteen  years  later,  he  enjoyed  a  fair  share  of  profes- 
sional business,  but  his  real  calling  was  that  of  a  judge  and  not  of  an  advocate, 
and  these  intervening,  as  well  as  the  preceding  years,  maj'  be  considered  simply 
as  preparatory  to  his  real  life  work. 

In  1834  he  published  the  first  of  a  long  series  of  contributions  from  his  pen 
to  the  literature  and  learning  of  his  profession,  being  an  article  in  the  American 
Quarterly  Review  for  June  of  that  year  on  "  the  Revised  Code  of  Pennsylvania." 
In  the  year  following  he  was  elected  one  of  the  vice-provosts  of  the  Philadelphia 
Law  Academy.  In  the  same  year  appeared  an  American  edition  of  "  Roscoe  on 
Criminal  Evidence,"  enriched  by  notes  and  references  by  Mr.  Sharswood.  This, 
his  first  work  as  an  annotator,  has  run  through  seven  American  editions.  In 
1837  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  representatives  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia  to  the 
State  Legislature,  and  the  }-ear  following  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Select 
Council  of  this  city.  During  the  j'cars  of  service  in  the  Legislature,  State,  and 
municipal,  his  legal  publications  were  in  a  measure  suspended,  but  he  found  time 
to  edit  an  American  edition  of  Leigh's  "  Nisi  Prius,"  which  was  published  in 
1838.  This  contains  in  addition  to  Judge  Sharswood's  copious  notes  his  inter- 
esting little  treatise  on  account  render. 


IlS  GEORGE   SHARSWOOD. 

The  affairs  of  the  United  States  Bank-  were  at  that  time  the  subjeet  of  great 
pubUc  interest  in  the  countrj',  and  especially  to  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia.  It 
had  long  been  the  foot-ball  of  politicians,  and  in  its  later  years  had  drifted  into 
a  course  of  reckless  speculation,  and  illegitimate  methods  were  resorted  to  b)' its 
management  to  bolster  its  failing  credit.  In  January,  1S41,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed by  the  stockholders  to  examine  into  the  affairs  of  the  bank,  and  George 
Sharswood  was  made  its  secretary.  To  him  was  delegated  the  important  and 
difficult  task  of  preparing  tlie  report,  which  occupies  four  closely  printed  columns 
of  the  U/iitcd  Stales  Gaacttc  of  April  Sth,  1841,  and  is  reproduced  at  length  in 
Benton's  "  Thirt)-  Years'  View,"  II.  370.  He  was  also  the  author  of  the  second  re- 
port of  this  committee,  answering  attacks  made  upon  the  first  report.  In  the 
fall  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  the  second  time  to  the  lower  branch  of  the 
Legislature,  and  in  1S42  he  was  returned  a  third  time,  making  his  legislative  ex- 
perience in  all  three  years.  The  journal  of  the  House  for  this  period  shows  him 
to  have  been  one  of  the  active  working  members  of  that  bod_\'.  His  name  ap- 
pears frequently  in  connection  with  proposed  legislation,  and  he  is  .said  to  have 
fulfilled  the  most  sanguine  expectations  of  his  constituents. 

In  1S43  the  Messrs.  Johnson,  of  this  city,  began  the  publication  of  a  quarterly 
law  magazine  of  a  high  order  of  merit  called  the  American  Lata  Jilagasi?ie. 
Mr.  Sharswood  was  made  its  editor,  and  gave  it  character  and  standing.  After 
twelve  i.ssues,  beginning  April,  1843,  and  ending  January,  1846,  it  was  discon- 
tinued. These  numbers  are  still  accessible,  bound  in  si.x  con\cnient  volumes. 
They  constitute  a  rich  mine  of  legal  lore,  valuable  to  both  student  and  practi- 
tioner. As  the  magazine  does  not  itself  specify  the  author  of  the  several  articles, 
those  written  by  Judge  Sharswood  are  here  indicated  for  the  benefit  of  the 
readers  of  the  present  day.  In  the  first  number,  July,  1S43,  1''^  wrote  "  Past 
Nuptial  Settlements"  and  "The  Security  of  Private  Property."  In  the  October 
number,  1843,  "  Personal  Hereditaments  ;  "  in  the  January  number,  1844,  "  Eng- 
lish Law  Reform;"  in  the  April  number,  1844,  "Transfer  of  Personal  Property 
by  Judgment ;  "  in  the  July  number,  1844,  he  has  two  articles,  one  "On  the 
■  Competency  of  Witnesses,"  the  other  "  Riots,  Routs,  and  Unlawful  Assemblies  ;  " 
for  October,  1844,  he  wrote  "  Compound  Interest."  For  the  remaining  numbers 
he  docs  not  seem  to  have  contributed  any  general  article,  but  continued  the 
work  of  editing.  The  critical  notices  of  all  the  numbers  were  generally  written 
by  him,  and  tlie  digest  of  cases  always.  His  edition  of  Stephens'  "  Nisi  Prius" 
bears  date  1844,  and  in  the  same  year  appeared  his  first  edition  of  "  Russell  on 
Crimes,"  which  subsequently  passed  through  nine  American  editions. 

His  publisjied  works,  his  public  services,  and  his  growing  reputation  at  the 
bar,  all  contributed  to  extend  the  knuwK-tlgc  of  his  name  and  worth  at  this  time. 
When,  therefore,  on  April  8th,  1S45,  Go\-crnor  Shunk  nominated  George  Shars- 
wood Associate  Judge  of  the  District  Court  of  Piiiladelphia,  the  nomination  was 
unanimously  confirmed  by  the  .Senate,  and  was  as  universally  approved  by  the 
bar  and  the  public.  The  next  d.iy  he  took  his  seat  on  the  bench,  being  but 
thirty-five  years  of  age,  and   has  remaineil  continuousl\-  in  judicial  position  e\er 


GEORGE    SlIAKSWOOD.  H9 

since.  On  tlie  resignation  of  Judge  Jones,  February  ist,  1S4S,  Judge  Sharswood 
was  nominated  and  unaniiiiousl)-  confirmed  President  of  the  court.  By  an 
amendment  of  the  Constitution,  atlopted  in  1850,  the  judiciary  was  made  elec- 
tive, and  all  the  judges  in  the  State  were  compelled  to  submit  their  claims  to 
popular  approval.  Other  judges  had  a  close  contest  for  their  scats,  others  again 
were  displaced.  The  intelligent  and  discriminating  action  of  the  people  in  Judge 
Sharswood's  case  furnishes  a  strong  argument  in  behalf  of  the  elective  judiciary 
system.  The  Democratic  Convention  gave  him  a  unanimous  nomination,  no 
other  name  being  even  mentioned.  The  Whig  Judicial  Convention  met  later, 
and,  in  face  of  the  fact  that  Judge  Sharswood  was  a  consistent  old-school  Demo- 
crat, they  recognized  his  pre-eminent  fitness  for  the  position  he  held  by  guberna- 
torial appointment,  and  he  was  nominated  on  the  first  ballot,  receiving  every 
vote.  The  Native  Americans,  Temperance,  and  Workingmen  followed  suit,  so 
that  Judge  Sharswood  entered  the  campaign,  such  as  it  was,  with  the  nominations 
of  five  conventions  and  no  opposition.  He  began  his  term  of  ten  years  in  Janu- 
ar)',  1S52,  and  as  its  expiration  approached  in  iS6i,hewas  re-elected  without 
opposition  for  a  second  term  of  ti-n  years,  of  which  he  served  but  six,  when  he 
received  from  the  people  of  the  State  a  richly  merited  promotion  to  the  Supreme 
Bench. 

During  the  twenty-two  years  covering  the  period  of  his  judicial  labors  in  the 
District  Court,  Judge  Sharswood  delivered  written  opinions  in  over  four 
thousand  cases  ;  of  these,  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  only  were  carried  to  the 
Supreme  Court  for  revision ;  of  this  number  one  hundred  and  twenty-four 
were  affirmed.  He  sat  for  ten  months  each  year,  with  a  thousand  cases  brought 
to  trial  before  him  and  his  associates,  and  nearly  two  thousand  brought  to  a 
term. 

In  addition  to  these  labors  of  his  judicial  office  this  was  the  most  fruitful  period 
of  his  contributions  to  general  legal  literature  and  of  his  incidental  services  to 
his  profession.  In  April,  1S50,  he  was  chosen  Professor  of  Law  in  the  University 
of  Pennsylvania.  In  1852,  when  a  full  faculty  was  organized  in  that  department 
of  the  University,  Judge  Sharswood  was  appointed  to  the  chair  of  the  institute 
of  law,  and  continued  to  perform  its  duties  until  April  21st,  1868,  when,  having 
been  elected  to  a  seat  on  the  .Supreme  Couit,  he  deemed  it  advisable  to  resign. 
During  this  period  he  delivered  many  introductory  lectures,  a  selection  from 
which  he  afterwards  republished  in  book  form  under  the  title  of  "  Law 
Lectures."  The  little  volume  is  inscribed  "  To  George  W.  Biddle,  Esq.,  of  the 
bar  of  Philadelphia.  In  testimon\-  of  a  close  and  unbroken  friendship  of  more 
than  a  third  of  a  centur}-,  and  of  the  higliest  admiration  of  his  qualities  as  a  man, 
a  citizen,  an  advocate  and  a  jurist."  These  lectures  are  nine  in  number,  and  may 
be  read  with  pleasiu'e  and  profit  by  the  beginner  in  law,  and  those  grown  gray  in 
its  practice,  and  by  laymen  as  well.  The  subjects  chosen  are  :  "  The  Profession 
of  the  Law,"  "  Legal  Education,"  "  On  the  Relation  of  Law  to  ]\Ioral  Science," 
"  On  Commercial  Intcgrit}-,"  "  On  Natural  Law,"  "  On  the  Civil  Law,"  "  On  the 
Common  Law,"  "  On  the  Feudal  Law,"  "  On  Codification."     A  lecture  on  "  The 


I20  GEORGE   SHARSWOOD. 

Common  Law  of  ronns\'l\-.inia,"  delivered  before  the  Philadelpliia  Law  Academy 
in  1S55,  while  not  included  in  this  volume,  is  a  valuable  supplement  to  it  for 
Pennsylvania  students. 

His  industry'  and  intellectual  fecundity  at  this  period  of  his  life  approached  to 
the  marvellous.  In  addition  to  the  labors  of  the  important  and  exacting^  judicial 
position  which  he  occupied,  and  of  the  University  professorship,  which  he  filled 
so  well,  he  continued  his  work  as  author  and  annotator  without  interruption.  In 
1852  he  published  his  first  edition  of  "  Byles  on  Bills,"  which  in  the  four  j'ears 
following  ran  through  four  editions.  The  preface  and  notes  of  the  American 
editor  were  republished  by  Mr.  B)'les  in  the  eighth  English  edition  of  his  work, 
and  acknowledged  by  him  in  high  terms  of  commendation.  In  1S53,  Judge 
Sharswood  undertook  the  work  of  editing  the  successive  volumes  of  the  English 
Common  Law  Reports  republished  in  Philadelphia  for  the  use  of  the  American 
bar.  His  labors  in  this  field  may  be  seen  in  the  notes  and  references  which  ap- 
pear in  these  reports  from  volume  66  to  volume  90  inclusive.  In  the  Prince- 
ton ^tt'/t'ti' for  October,  1853,  there  is  an  article  on  "Religious  Endowments" 
from  his  pen.  In  1854,  he  published  his  little  work  on  "  Professional  Ethics." 
This  is  a  little  gem  of  a  book  of  such  fascinating  interest  that  lawyer  or  layman 
who  once  begins  it  will  read  it  to  the  end,  and  be  the  wiser  and  better  for  the 
reading.     It  is  now  in  its  fourth  edition. 

The  same  year  in  which  his  "  Professional  Ethics  "  appeared  he  was  elected 
Provost  of  the  Philadelphia  Law  Academy.  His  fame  had  by  this  time  far  out- 
grown the  limits  of  his  State,  and  in  1856  Columbia  College  and  the  University 
of  the  City  of  New  York  honored  themselves  and  honored  Judge  Sharswood  by 
conferring  on  this  learned  Pennsylvania  jurist  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws. 
In  this  year  he  published  his  "  Popular  Lectures  on  Commercial  Law."  These 
were  originally  prepared  for  the  students  of  Crittenden's  Philadelphia  Com- 
mercial College,  and  are  for  the  use  of  merchants  and  business  men.  In  1859 
he  gave  to  the  public  the  work  by  which  he  is  most  widely  known,  his  edition 
of"  Blackstone's  Commentaries."  This  work  met  with  instant  and  universal  ac- 
ceptance in  this  country.  It  was  made  the  text-book  in  all  the  law  schools  of 
the  United  States,  and  was  pronounced  by  our  most  eminent  instructors  in  the 
law  as  the  best  edition  of  Blackstonc  ever  published. 

After  the  publication  of  his  "  Blackstone's  Commentaries  "  Judge  .Sharswood's 
extra  judicial  labors  show  considerable  abatement.  He  still  continued  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  incident  to  Professor  of  Law  at  the  University.  He  repub- 
lished from  time  to  time  new  editions  of  his  works,  and  delivered  an  occasional 
public  address.  The  war,  in  stimulating  business,  increased  the  work  of  the 
courts,  and  was  not  in  its  influence  favorable  to  the  calm  pursuits  of  authorship. 
Judge  Sharswood  saw  the  inevitable  struggle  in  advance,  and  being  first  of  all  a 
patriot,  he  took  his  position  accordingly. 

He  was  a  consistent  Democrat  in  his  views  of  the  relations  of  the  States  to 
the  General  Government,  though  seemingly  adopting  the  Jacksonian  view  of  the 
right  of  secession  and   the  primal  duty  of  maintaining  the  Union.     When  the 


GEORGE    SHARSWOOD.  121 

question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  legal  tender  act  came  before  him  in  cases 
involving  the  sufficiency  of  a  legal  tender  in  greenbacks  as  payment  in  contracts 
made  before  the  passage  of  the  act,  he  decided  against  the  validity  of  the  act, 
holding  that  contracts  between  citizens  should  be  held  inviolate. 

In  1867  Judge  Shars.vood  was  selected  by  the  State  Convention  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  as  its  candidate  for  the  prospective  vacancy  on  the  Supreme  Bench, 
on  the  retirement  of  Chief  Justice  Woodward.  The  Republican  nominee  was 
the  late  Judge  Williams,  of  Pittsburgh.  It  was  a  year  of  Republican  successes, 
all  the  other  October  States — Ohio,  Indiana,  Iowa,  and  even  West  Virginia — 
gave  large  Republican  majorities.  Pennsylvania  would  undoubtedly  have  done 
the  same  except  for  the  large  Republican  vote  cast  for  Judge  Sharswood  in 
Philadelphia,  which  made  his  total  vote  in  the  State  exceed  that  of  his  Republi- 
can competitor  by  just  922  votes.  Two  years  later,  Judge  Williams  was  again 
a  candidate,  and  this  time  receiving  the  usual  party  vote,  was  elected  by  nearly 
nine  thousand  majority.  On  the  occasion  of  Judge  Sharswood  taking  a  farewell 
leave  of  the  District  Court,  over  which  he  had  so  long  and  worthily  presided, 
Mr.  David  Paul  Brown,  speaking  on  behalf  of  the  Philadelphia  bar,  said  that  in 
the  recent  contest  Judge  Sharswood  had  been  the  candidate  of  both  political 
parties,  and  that  there  was  not  a  single  member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar  but  had 
stood  by  him.  A  judge  could  not  ask  for  a  higher  commendation  or  for  a 
stronger  proof  of  appreciation  than  the  unanimous  and  enthusiastic  support  of  his 
bar  irrespective  of  party  distinction. 

In  January,  1868,  Judge  Sharswood  began  his  fifteen  years  of  faithful  and 
efficient  service  on  the  Supreme  Bench  of  his  native  State,  carrying  there  the 
same  habits  of  industry  and  thoroughness  which  have  been  his  life-long  traits, 
the  fruit  of  which  may  be  seen  in  his  published  opinions  scattered  through  some 
fifty  volumes  of  State  Reports.  In  these  opinions  may  be  found  examples  of 
clear  judicial  reasoning  that  will  delight  the  logician,  even  though  himself  un- 
learned in  the  law.  The  law  student  will  find  them  full  of  valuable  information 
and  suggestions,  and  the  future  historian  of  Pennsj'lvania  in  searching  for  the 
origin  and  reason  of  our  laws  and  customs,  will  find  his  labors  abridged,  and 
to  a  large  extent  anticipated  in  the  instructive  opinions  by  which  Judge  Shars- 
wood was  wont  to  support  his  judicial  decisions. 

The  labors  of  a  Supreme  Judge  are  so  engrossing  that  during  the  last  fifteen 
years  of  his  life  Judge  Sharswood  did  little  outside  work.  From  time  to  time 
he  had  issued  new  editions  of  his  earlier  works,  and  has  delivered  an  occasional 
public  address  before  the  alumni  or  literary  society  of  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania. He,  however,  found  some  time  for  his  favorite  work  of  annotating, 
and  in  1873  he  published  his  edition  of  "  Tudor's  Leading  Cases  in  Mercantile 
and  Maritime  Law,"  and  his  "  Starkie  on  Evidence"  appeared  in  1S76. 

On  January  6th,  1S79,  the  Supreme  Court  opened  its  session  with  the  Hon. 
George  Sharswood  as  its  Chief  Justice.  The  occasion  was  one  which  the  Phila- 
delphia bar  could  not  allow  to  pass  unnoticed,  and  Mr.  George  W.  Biddle,  in  be- 
16 


122  GEORGE   SHARSWOOD. 

half  of  that  bar,  addressed  the  new  Chief  Justice  in  just  and  fitting  terms,  con- 
chiding  as  follows : 

•■  To-day  the  wliole  bar  of  Philadelphia,  by  a  spontaneous  outflow  of  feeling, 
welcomes  one  of  lier  own  sons  to  the  highest  judicial  place  in  the  commonwealth, 
and  rejoices  to  witness  the  fulfilment  of  its  own  cherished  hopes,  and  of  your 
honors.  Many  of  }-our  old  companions  at  the  bar — would,  alas  !  that  they  were 
more — have  been  permitted  to  behold  this  complete  rounding  to  your  legal  and 
judicial  life,  and  to  see  in  this,  the  last  step  of  your  professional  career,  the 
proper  consummation  of  a  life  of  study,  of  duty,  and  of  virtue.  That  you  may 
continue  to  exhibit  during  the  full  term  of  your  Chief  Justiceship  all  the  qualities 
which  have  made  your  judicial  name  conspicuous,  is  the  ardent  desire  of  all  here 
present,  who,  through  my  lips,  now  offer  to  you  their  words  of  gratulation,  and 
ask  God  to  speed  and  prosper  to  the  end  the  good  and  faithful  servant." 

Of  Judge  Sharswood's  labors  as  Chief  Justice  his  associate.  Judge  Paxson, 
thus  testifies : 

"  During  the  first  two  years  after  he  became  Chief  Justice  he  wrote  but  few 
opinions  beyond  the  Per  Curiams.  These,  however,  were  remarkable.  They 
always  touched  the  real  point  in  the  case,  and  for  crisp,  clear  models  of  judicial 
writing  have  never  been  excelled  in  our  court.  During  his  last  year,  however, 
he  wrote  a  considerable  number  of  important  opinions,  and  I  think  the  profession 
will  agree  with  me,  when  they  come  to  be  reported,  that  they  are  at  least  among 
the  best  in  our  books.  They  were  the  last  flame  of  his  great  intellect,  burning 
up  clearer  and  brighter  ere  it  was  to  be  extinguished  in  death." 

His  fifteen  years  term  on  the  Supreme  Bench  of  Pennsylvania  closed  January 
1st,  18S3,  and  with  it  George  Sharswood  ended  nearly  forty  years  of  continuous 
judicial  service.  Shortly  after  his  retirement  from  the  Supreme  Bench  it  became 
necessar}'  to  appoint  a  Commission  to  codify  the  Acts  of  Assembly,  and  Judge 
Sharswood  with  one  consent  was  named  as  the  person  most  fitted  to  preside  over 
this  important  undertaking;  but  it  was  not  to  be.  His  work  was  finished. 
Though  of  stalwart  frame  and  an  unintermitting  laborer  in  his  profession.  Judge 
Sharswood  was  for  many  years  a  great  physical  sufferer  from  a  chronic  and  pain- 
ful disease.  He  went  upon  the  Supreme  Bench  a  confirmed  invalid.  During 
the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life  he  has  himself  said  that  he  never  had  a  working 
hour  that  was  free  from  suffering.  His  later  years  were  clouded  and  saddened 
by  the  death  of  his  only  son,  whom  he  loved  with  all  the  power  of  his  strong 
nature,  for  whom  he  had  anticipated  a  brilliant  and  honorable  future,  and  to 
whom  he  looked  for  solace  and  comfort  in  his  declining  years.  On  May  28th, 
1883,  after  a  brief  illness,  death  came  to  release  him  from  his  long  term  of 
suffering. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  bar  of  Philadelphia,  called  to  pay  a 
tribute  to  the  memory  of  the  distinguished  and  honored  brother,  whom  they  had 
just  seen,  a  letter  was  read  from  Mr.  George  W.  Biddle,  which  contains  such 
an  admirable  analysis  and  just  estimate  of  his  life-long  friend,  the  late  Chief 
Justice,  that  the  greater  portion  of  it  is  given  here  : 


GKOKCE   SIIAKSWOOD.  I  23 

"Judgje  Sharswood  was  formed  for  an  active  career,  ami,  with  full  knowledi^c 
of  the  bent  of  his  mental  and  moral  faculties,  he  had  earl)-  traoxl  the  plan  which, 
fortunately  for  himself  and  his  fellow-citizens,  he  was  given  time  to  fill  up  and 
to  complete.  For  man\-  years  before  he  began  to  give  the  fruits  of  liis  work  to 
the  public,  he  had  read  widely  and  thought  deeply,  not  only  upon  [jrofcssional 
subjects,  but  about  ethics  and  politics.  Although  quite  }-oung  when  he  first 
served  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  in  the  councils  of  his  native  city,  he 
brought  to  his  duties  a  thorough  knowledge  of  precedents,  as  well  as  a  mastery 
of  the  principles  by  which  his  official  conduct  was  to  be  guided.  I-'or,  while 
eminently  practical,  he  was  to  the  last  degree  the  opposite  of  empirical.  His  in- 
ductions were  from  the  widest  generalizations,  his  information  minute  in  its 
accuracy,  and  drawn  from  every  source  within  his  reach. 

"  While  at  the  bar,  a  dozen  j'cars  or  so  before  he  was  called  to  the  Bench,  his 
position  was  rather  that  of  the  counsellor  and  adviser  than  of  the  active  Nisi 
Prius  law\'er.  His  mind  was  really  too  true  for  him  to  be  a  complete  advocate, 
his  temperament  too  calm  and  judicial  to  take  delight  in  the  conflicts  and  triumphs 
of  the  forum.  An  excellent  debater,  quick  to  detect  the  fallacy  of  his  opponent's 
argument,  strong  to  enforce  his  own  views,  he  was  yet  wanting  in  the  ability  to 
shift  his  ground  readily  and  quickl)-,  in  the  alacrity  to  advance  and  support  a 
position  of  doubtful  value,  and  in  the  thorough  s)-mpathy  with  a  client  whose 
cause  he  felt  or  suspected  to  be  weak  in  any  of  its  essential  elements.  He  was 
formed  by  nature  and  by  training  to  be  a  judge.  And  when  Governor  Shunk 
appointed  him,  before  he  had  completed  his  thirty-fifth  year,  to  the  Bench  of  the 
principal  civil  court  of  this  county,  the  chief  magistrate  of  the  State  conferred  a 
boon  of  almost  priceless  value  upon  our  community.  There  he  sat  for  nearl)-  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  dispatching  the  judicial  business  of  Philadelphia  with  an 
ease  and  satisfaction  to  the  suitor  and  to  the  bar,  which  a  profound  conviction  of 
the  value  of  justice,  aided  by  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  law,  and  a  perfect 
familiarity  with  the  methods  and  forms  of  business,  enabled  him  to  do. 

"  The  rest  of  his  career  is  known  to  the  whole  State.  Equally  at  home  in  the 
decision  of  a  cause  requiring  a  complete  acquaintance  with  technical  law,  as  of 
one  demanding  the  knowledge  of  the  broad  rules  of  conmiercial  usage,  or  the 
principles  of  constitutional  law  and  scientific  politics,  he  gave  to  the  bar  of 
Pennsylvania,  in  simple,  clear,  nervous  language,  the  exposition  of  the  legal  doc- 
trine upon  which  the  subject  which  was  brought  before  him  for  judicial  solution 
depended. 

"  He  has  left  us,  too  soon,  indeed,  for  his  friends  to  whom  his  place  can  never 
be  supplied,  but  not  too  soon  for  himself,  for  his  profession,  for  the  community  to 
whom  he  always  gave  good  measure,  heaped  up,  pressed  down,  and  running 
over.  To  the  j-ounger  members  of  the  profession — and  to  them  his  feelings 
alwaj-s  went  out  in  warmest  expression — he  has  given  an  example  of  moderation, 
of  integrity,  of  devotion  to  dutj',  of  rich  acquirements,  and  exalted  exercise  of 
talents,  which  has  never  been  surpassed  by  any  of  the  great  men  in  judicial 
station  who  have  gone  before  him." 


Hon.  Henry  M.  Hoyt. 


HENRY   MARTYN   IIOYT. 

T  T  ENRY  Martyn  Hoyt,  cx-Govcmor  of  Pennsjlvania,  was  bom  in  Kincjston, 
A  J-  Luzerne  county,  Pa.,  June  8th,  1830.  Me  is  a  descendant  of  Simon 
Hoyt,  who  was  tlie  first  member  of  the  Ho)'t  family  wlio  immigrated  to 
New  England.  In  Drake's  "  History  of  Boston,"  we  find  "  Simon  Hoyte  "  on 
the  "  List  of  the  names  of  such  as  are  known  to  have  been  in  Salem  and  about 
the  north  side  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  before  and  in  the  year  1629."  The 
name  of  "  Simon  Hoytt "  appears  on  the  first  list  of  "  such  as  took  the  oath  of 
freemen  "in  Massachusetts,  May  i8th,  1631.  We  find  "  Symon  Hoite  "  men- 
tioned in  the  Dorchester  records  in  1633.  On  the  Sth  of  October,  in  the  same 
year,  "  Symon  Hoyte  "  was  chosen  one  of  that  town's  committee  to  "  see  to  " 
fences  "  for  the  east  fielde." 

Walter  Hoyt,  son  of  Simon,  born  about  1618,  was  in  Windsor  in  1640.  From 
there  he  went  to  Fairfield  county,  Conn.,  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Norwalk,  where  the  name  was  frequently  spelt  Haite  or  Hyatt.  He  was  a 
fence  viewer  there  in  1655,  and  a  deputy  to  the  October  sessions  of  the  General 
Court  in  1658,  1659  and  1661.  He  was  confirmed  as  sergeant  of  a  company  at 
Norwalk  by  the  "  General  Court  of  Election,  Hartford,  May  19th,  1659."  He 
was  a  deputy  in  May  and  October,  1667,  and  one  of  the  proprietors  named  of 
the  town  of  Norwalk  confirmed  by  the  General  Court  in  1685.  He  died  about 
1698. 

John  Hoyt,  son  of  Walter,  was  born  July  13th,  1644,  at  Windsor,  Conn. 
He  was  a  freeman  in  Norwalk  in  1669.  He  removed  to  "  Paquiack,"  or  Dan- 
bury,  before  June,  1685.  Rev.  Thomas  Robbins,  in  a  century  sermon,  delivered 
in  Danbury,  January  ist,  iSoi,  says  John  Hoyt  was  one  of  the  eight  original 
settlers  of  Danbury  in  1685.  The  births  of  five  of  his  children  are  recorded  at 
Norwalk  from  1669  to  '79  with  the  spelh'ng  Haite. 

Thomas  Hoyte,  son  of  John,  was  born  at  Norwalk,  January  5th,  1674,  and 
died  before  1749,  but  was  living  in  1727. 

Comfort  Hoyt,  son  of  Thomas,  was  born  February  20th,  1724.  He  lived  in 
Danbury,  and  died  May  19th,  1812.  His  tombstone  states  that  he  and  his  wife 
"  lived  together  in  the  married  state  62  y." 

Daniel  Hoyt,  son  of  Comfort,  was  born  May  2d,  1756.  He  was  a  farmer; 
lived  in  Danbury,  Conn.,  and  Kingston,  Lu/x-rne  county,  Pa.  He  died  in 
1824.  He  was  a  freeman  in  Danbury  in  1778.  He  removed  to  Pennsylvania 
about  1795. 

Ziba  Hoyt,  son  of  Daniel,  was  born  September  Sth,  1788,  in  Danbury,  Conn. 
He  afterwards  removed  to  Kingston,  Luzerne  county.  Pa.,  where  he  died, 
December  23d,  1853.  He  was  First  Lieutenant  of  the  "  Wyoming  Matross,"  an 
artillery  organization  connected  with  Col.  Hill's  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Militia. 

('-5) 


126  HENKV    M.    HOVT. 

Ho  loft  for  the  westorn  frontier  in  1S13,  and  his  bravery  and  coolness  in  the 
campaign  about  Lake  Erie  has  become  a  matter  of  history.  Col.  Hill,  in  his 
report  to  Gen.  Tarryhill  of  one  of  the  engagements,  says : 

"  I  cannot  close  this  report  without  bearing  testimony  of  the  good  conduct  of 
this  company.  This  being  the  first  time  the  company  was  ever  under  fire,  it  was 
hai\lly  to  be  expected  that  their  conduct  would  come  up  to  the  standard  of  tried 
and  practical  veterans.  Great  praise  is  due  to  Capt.  Thomas  and  Lieut.  Hoyt 
for  their  cool  bravery  and  soldier-like  bearing." 

Lieut.  Hoyt  afterwards  accompanied  Gen.  Harrison  to  the  river  Thames, 
where  he  participated  in  that  battle.  The  British  were  under  Gen.  Proctor,  and 
the  Indians  under  Tecumseh. 

These  were  the  ancestors  of  Henry  M.  Hoyt.  At  a  family  reunion,  held  at 
Stamford,  Conn.,  in  1866,  at  which  there  were  six  hundred  persons  of  the  name 
of  Hoyt  present.  Gen.  Hoyt  said : 

"  I  come  from  Pennsylvania,  strong  and  great,  the  keystone  of  the  federal 
arch ;  I  come  as  one  of  her  delegates,  as  a  '  Pennsylvania  Dutchman,'  if  you 
please,  and,  if  necessary,  to  vindicate  her  thrift,  her  steadfastness,  and  her  insti- 
tutions, not  in  competition  or  contrast  with  Connecticut,  but  as  a  co-equal  and 
a  co-worker  in  the  field  of  ideas,  of  which  New  England  is  not  the  exclusive 
proprietor.  We  are  all  '  Yankees,'  and  the  Yankee  should,  will,  and  must 
dominate  the  country'  and  the  age.  These  hills  have  borne  great  crops  of  great 
men  which  at  last  is  the  best  product — men  attuned  to  the  keynote  of  our  social 
structure :  the  importance,  the  inviolability,  the  integrity  of  the  manhood  of  the 
individual.  I  am  in  entire  accord  with  all  I  have  heard  said  here  of  Connecti- 
cut and  Massachusetts;  but,  within  the  proper  limits  of  'State  rights,'  I  am  for 
my  own  Commonwealth.  I  revere  and  love  the  solidity  of  the  mountains,  the 
men  and  the  civilization  of  the  State  of  my  birth.  I  hold  that  my  grandfather 
did  a  smart  thing,  if  he  never  did  a  great  thing,  to  wit,  when  he  left  Dan- 
bury,  Fairfield  count)^  Conn.,  and  went  to  the  Wyoming  Valley,  in  Penn- 
sylvania." 

Bishop  Peck,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Gen.  W.  T.  Sherman  and 
Senator  John  Sherman  are  relatives  of  Governor  Hoyt,  their  mothers  being 
HoyLs,  as  arc  also  Hon.  Joseph  G.  Hoyt,  of  Maine  ;  Dr.  Enos  Hoyt,  of  Fram- 
ingham,  Mass. ;  Dr.  William  H.  Hoyt,  of  Syracuse,  N.  Y. ;  Rev.  James  Hoyt, 
of  Orange,  N.  J. ;  Rev.  Cornelius  A.  Hoyt,  of  Oberlin,  Ohio  ;  Rev.  James  W. 
Ho\t,  of  Nashville,  Tcnn. ;  Rev.  O.  P.  Hoyt,  D.  D.,  of  Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  and 
other  distinguished  Hoj-ts. 

General  Hoyt  remained  at  home  working  on  his  father's  farm  until  the  age  of 
fourteen,  when  he  entered  the  old  Wilkes-Barrc  Academy,  and  subsequently 
Wyoming  Seminary,  where  he  prepared  for  college.  He  entered  Lafaj'cttc  Col- 
lege, at  Easton,  Pa.,  where  he  remained  for  two  >cars.  At  the  end  of  that 
period,  through  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Junkin,  the  college  was  for  a  while  closed, 
and  Mr.  Hoyt  then  entered  Williams  College,  at  Williamstown,  Ma.ss.,  and 
graduated  in  1841^.     In  1S50  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  Academy  at  Towanda,  and 


HENRY    M.    IIOVT.  12/ 

in  the  subsequent  year  lie  returned  to  Kingston,  having  been  elected  Professor 
of  Mathematics  in  the  Wyoming  Seminar)-,  which  position  he  held  for  another 
year.  He  also  taught  the  Graded  School  in  Memphis,  Tenn.,  for  one  year. 
Subsequently  he  became  a  student  at  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  George  \V. 
Woodward,  ex-Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania.  After  the 
appointment  of  Judge  Woodward  to  the  bench,  Mr.  Hoyt  continued  his  studies 
in  the  office  of  the  late  Hon.  Warren  J.  Woodward,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
Luzerne  county  bar,  April  4th,  1853.  In  1855  he  was  a  candidate  for  District- 
Attorney  on  the  Whig  ticket,  but  was  defeated  by  Gen.  Winchester  by  a  small 
majority,  and  in  1856  he  took  part  in  the  Fremont  campaign. 

In  1861  Gen.  Hoyt  was  active  in  raising  the  52d  Regiment  of  the  Penns)-1- 
\'ania  Volunteers.  The  national  cause  found  no  more  ready  supporter  than  Mr. 
Hoyt,  and  he  was  commissioned  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  5 2d  Regiment  in 
August,  1 86 1.  In  1863  he  was  appointed  Colonel.  On  the  Peninsula  he  was  of 
Naglee's  Brigade,  and  participated  in  the  reconnoissance  from  Bottom's  Bridge 
to  Seven  Pines  in  advance  of  the  whole  army,  and  commanded  the  party  which 
constructed  the  bridges  across  the  Chickahominy.  When  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks  opened,  he  rendered  signal  service  by  communicating  to  Gen.  Sumner  the 
exact  position  of  the  Union  troops,  joining  Sumner's  column  as  it  moved  to  the 
support  of  Heintzclman  in  that  battle,  and  fighting  under  him  to  the  end.  This 
brigade  had  the  honor  of  being  selected  to  hold  the  enemy  in  check  at  the  pas- 
sages of  the  Chickahominy,  and  when  recalled  joined  Franklin  at  White  Oak 
Swamp,  in  both  situations  exhibiting  the  most  undaunted  courage.  At  the  close 
of  this  campaign,  Col.  Hoyt  was  ordered  first  to  North  Carolina,  and  thence 
to  South  Carolina,  where  he  was  engaged  in  the  siege  of  P'ort  Wagner,  the  first 
serious  obstacle  to  the  reduction  of  Charleston.  The  operations  were  laborious, 
and  conducted  under  the  terrible  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  the  more  wasting  effect 
of  the  summer's  heat.  P"or  forty  days  the  work  was  pushed.  When  all  was 
ready  a  hundred  heavy  guns  opened  upon  devoted  Wagner,  and  the  troops  were 
held  in  readiness  to  assault.  Col.  Hoyt  having  been  assigned  the  task  of  charging 
Fort  Gregg;  but  before  the  time  for  the  movement  had  come,  the  enemy  evacu- 
ated and  the  stronghold  fell  without  a  blow.  In  June,  1864,  a  plan  was  devised 
to  capture  Charleston  by  surprising  the  garrison  guarding  its  approaches.  The 
attempt  was  made  on  the  night  of  July  3d,  1864.  The  following  extract  from 
the  Charleston  Jllcrcuiy,  of  July  6th,  1864,  says  : 

"The  second  column,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Col.  Ho)'t,  of  the  52d 
Pennsylvania  Regiment,  attacked  the  Brooke  gun  and  landing  in  overwhelming 
numbers.  Lieut.  Roworth,  of  the  2d  South  Carolina  Artillery,  was  compelled  to 
fall  back,  after  himself  and  men  fighting  bravel)'.  The  encm}',  cheered  by  this 
success,  with  their  commander  at  their  head  waving  his  sword,  advanced  in 
heavy  force  upon  Fort  Johnson,  but  there  they  were  received  with  a  terrific  fire 
by  the  light  and  heavy  batteries  on  the  line." 

The  "  overwhelming  numbers  "  therein  referred  to  were  Hoyt's  one  hundred 
and  twenty  men  against  the  four  hundred  Confederate  garrison.     Col.  Hoyt  was 


128  HENRY    M.    IIOVT. 

liiglil)-  complimented  for  his  deportment  in  this  action  by  a  general  order  issued 
bv  Gen.  Foster,  commanding.  In  this  encounter  Col.  Hoyt  and  nearly  the 
whole  of  his  command  were  captured.     Gen.  Foster  says  : 

"  Col.  Hoyt  bestows  unqualified  praise  on  the  officers  and  men  who  landed 
with  him ;  of  these  seven  were  killed  and  sixteen  wounded.  He  himself  dc- 
ser\'es  great  credit  for  his  energy  in  urging  the  boats  forward  and  bringing  them 
through  the  narrow  channel,  and  the  feeling  which  led  him  to  land  at  the  head 
of  his  men  was  the  promptings  of  a  gallant  spirit,  which  deserves  to  find  more 
imitators." 

Gen.  Schemmelfinnig  said  of  Col.  Hoyt,  after  recounting  the  preliminaries : 

"After  this  you  placed  )'ourself  at  the  head  of  the  column,  and  led  them  most 
gallant!)-,  faithfully  carrying  out,  as  far  as  possible  with  the  small  number  of  men 
who  landed  with  j-ou,  the  orders  given  you  by  me.  Had  you  been  supported, 
as  your  brave  conduct  deserved,  it  would  have  ensured  the  success  of  the  impor- 
tant operations  then  being  carried  on  in  front  of  Charleston." 

Col.  Hoyt,  with  other  Union  officers,  was  sent  to  Macon,  Georgia,  and  subse- 
quently to  Charleston.  While  in  7-oittc  from  Macon  to  Charleston  Col.  Hoyt, 
with  four  other  officers,  escaped  from  the  cars.  After  several  days  and  nights  of 
wearisome  but  fruitless  efforts  for  liberty,  they  were  recaptured  by  the  rebels  with 
the  aid  of  bloodhounds.  He  was  one  of  the  fiftj'  officers,  including  brigadier- 
generals,  colonels,  lieutenant-colonels,  and  majors  (Gen.  Dana  and  Lieutenant- 
Col.  Conyngham  being  among  the  number),  who  were  placed  under  the  fire  of 
our  own  guns  in  retaliation  for  some  supposed  violation  of  the  usages  of  war 
by  the  Federal  Government  in  the  siege  of  that  city.  After  his  exchange  he  re- 
turned to  his  regiment,  and  at  the  close  of  hostilities,  which  occurred  not  long 
afterwards,  resumed  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Col.  Hoyt  was  breveted 
Brigadier-General  for  meritorious  conduct,  and  his  old  comrades  join  heartily  in 
declaring  that  it  was  well-earned. 

In  1866  Col.  Hoyt  was  elected  a  member  of  the  School-Board  of  Wilkesbarre 
in  connection  with  Hon.  Henry  W.  Palmer,  and  during  his  incumbency  the 
present  Franklin  street  school  building  was  erected.  Hon.  D.  L.  Rhone  and 
George  B.  Kulp  were  also  members  of  the  same  board,  and  principally  through 
their  efforts  the  present  Washington  street  school  building  was  erected.  This 
was  before  the  election  of  Messrs.  Hoyt  and  Palmer  to  the  School-Board. 

In  1867  he  was  appointed  Additional  Law  Judge  of  the  county  of  Luzerne. 
His  record  on  the  bench  was  of  the  first  order.  He  was  able,  fearless,  faithful, 
and  dignified.  In  the  fall  of  the  .same  year  he  received  the  nomination  of  the 
RepuJjIican  party  for  the  same  position,  and,  although  running  largely  ahead  of 
his  ticket,  was  defeated  by  Gen.  Dana,  the  Democratic  candidate.  The  county 
at  that  time  was  strongly  Democratic. 

Gen.  Ho}-t's  reputation  as  a  lawyer  is  second  to  none.  His  legal  knowledge 
is  not  only  broad  and  comprehensive,  but  accurate  to  the  sliglitest  detail.  His 
arguments  arc  concise,  logical,  and  philosophical — too  much  so,  perhaps,  for 
success  before  juries,  but  of  the  utmost  value  and  importance  in  legal  discussions 


HF.NKV    M.    IIOVT.  1 2n 

before  tlie  courts.  lie  is  trul}'  learned  in  the  law.  As  a  counsellor  lie  is  pre- 
eminently valuable.  During  the  time  he  practised  at  the  bar  his  ad\ice  was 
sought  after  by  his  brethren  in  important  and  critical  emergencies,  and,  when 
given,  all  who  knew  him  knew  it  niiglit  be  relied  upon.  His  knowIedi;e  of  the 
fundamental  principles  was  so  thorouLjh  that  the  greatest  respect  ^^•as  always  ex- 
pressed by  lawyers  for  even  an  "off-hand"  opinion  on  matters  under  discussion 
at  the  various  meetings  of  the  members  of  the  bar.  He  was  attorney  for  many 
of  the  large  banking,  mining,  and  railroad  corporations.  But  his  education  and 
study  were  by  no  means  confined  to  legal  matters.  Mathematics  in  its  highest 
branches  is  his  favorite  pursuit ;  while  histor)',  philosophy,  science,  theology,  and 
general  literature  are  alike  studied  with  great  zeal  and  relish,  all  contributing 
abundantly  to  enrich  a  mind  well  capable  of  enjoying  their  most  hidden 
treasures. 

The  training  whicli  Governor  lioyt  received  in  early  life  as  farmer  boy,  as 
scholar,  and  as  teacher,  alwa\-s  within  the  influence  of  his  father's  example, 
taught  him,  at  least,  the  value  of  thoroughness  and  accurac}-  in  whate\'er  is  un- 
dertaken. And  it  may  well  be  stated,  as  characteristic  of  the  man,  that  to  what- 
ever subject  he  has  gi\-en  his  attention  he  has  spared  no  effort  to  reach  the  very 
marrow  of  it,  and  understand  it  in  all  its  details.  His  library  is  large,  and  ex- 
tends over  a  very  broad  field  of  literature. 

In  1869  Col.  Hoyt  was  appointed  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  coun- 
ties of  Luzerne  and  Susquehanna,  but  resigned  the  position  in  1S7J. 

In  1875  he  became  Chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee,  and  he 
contlucted  the  campaigns  of  that  and  the  succeeding  year  with  success. 

In  1 8/ 8  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republican  party  for  the  position  of  Gov- 
ernor of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  It  was  at  the  time  of  the  greatest  excite- 
ment in  the  State  on  the  question  of  the  resumption  of  specie  payments.  Many 
believed  that  no  one  could  be  elected  on  an  unqualified  hard  money  campaign ; 
but  the  General,  scorning  all  subterfuges,  sounded  the  key-note  of  the  campaign 
in  his  first  address  by  declaring :  "  Professing  to  be  an  hone.st  man,  and  the  can- 
didate of  an  honest  part}',  I  believe  in  honest  money."  In  June  of  the  same 
year,  in  some  remarks  he  made  at  the  Du  Quesne  Club,  at  Pittsburgh,  he  used 
the  identical  language.  We  make  this  statement  because  it  is  generally  supposed 
that  Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow  is  the  author  of  the  sentiment.  He  was  elected  by 
a  large  plurality,  and  inaugurated  Januaiy  14,  1879.  His  term  was  for  four  j'ears, 
he  being  the  first  Governor  who,  in  pursuance  of  the  new  Constitution,  served 
for  that  period.  The  oath  of  office  was  administered  by  the  late  Hon.  Warren 
J.  Woodward,  his  former  instructor,  and  then  a  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  State. 

Subsequent  to  his  election  Governor  Hoyt  wrote  for  the  Historical  Society  of 
Pennsylvania  a  "  Brief  of  a  Title  in  the  Seventeen  Townships  in  the  County  of 
Luzerne :  A  Syllabus  of  the  Controversy  between  Connecticut  and  Penn- 
sylvania." 

17 


130  HENRY    RI.    HOVT. 

Being  positive  hy  nature  in  all  the  habits  of  his  mind,  he  is  naturally  positive 
in  his  political  views  ;  but  in  all  political  discussion  he  has  shown  that  his  posi- 
tiveness  is  not  a  result  of  partisan  bitterness,  but  a  conclusion  from  a  thorough  and 
careful  study  of  the  Constitution  and  history  of  his  country. 

His  official  correspondence  and  veto  messages  abundantly  illustrate  the  accu- 
racy of  thought  and  legal  ability  above  mentioned.  They  are  models  of  con- 
ciseness, and,  so  far  as  they  go,  are  studies  in  the  science  of  government.  No 
bill  was  ever  passed  over  his  veto ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  vetoed  bill  invari- 
ably showed  a  loss  of  strength  after  the  reasons  for  the  veto  had  been  made 
known. 

During  Governor  Hojt's  administration  no  extraordinary'  or  unusual  opportu- 
nity presented  itself  for  the  display  of  executive  ability,  but  it  will  be  marked  as 
among  the  most  peaceful  and  successful  the  State  has  enjoyed.  At  the  time  of 
his  inauguration,  through  a  variety  of  causes,  the  treasury  was  in  an  unsatisfactory 
condition,  several  hundred  thousand  dollars  of  dishonored  school-warrants  being 
afloat  for  want  of  sufficient  funds  for  their  redemption.  By  wise  adjustment  of 
tlie  revenue  laws,  and  a  vigorous  collection  of  delinquent  taxes,  the  finances  of 
the  State  were  brought  into  excellent  condition,  so  that  every  demand  was 
promptly  met,  and  when  he  retired  suflficient  funds  were  on  hand  for  every 
purpose  of  governmental  expense,  beside  large  annual  additions  to  the  sinking 
fund.  The  State  debt  falling  due  during  his  term  was  refunded  at  ver)'  fav- 
orable rates  of  interest,  so  that  an  annual  sa\ing  of  several  hundred 
thousand  dollars  was  made  in  the  interest  account.  The  credit  of  tlie  State 
was  never  so  good  as  at  that  time,  and  was  fully  equal  to  that  of  the  general 
government. 

A  valuable  reform  in  the  method  of  punishing  persons  convicted  of  first  of- 
fences, especially  the  young,  has  been  adopted  through  the  exertions  of  Governor 
Hoyt,  and  is  to  be  carried  into  effect  at  the  reformator\'  prison  now  in  process  of 
construction  at  Huntington.  To  this  subject  of  the  punishment  of  convicts, 
Governor  Hoyt  has  given  thorough  examination  and  study.  Through  his  in- 
fluence exclusively  the  General  Assembly  were  induced  to  change  the  plan  of 
building  a  State  penitentiary  into  one  for  constructing  a  reformatory  on  the  most 
approved  and  successful  models,  for  the  purpose  of  providing  a  place  where  un- 
fortunate criminals,  not  yet  hardened  in  crime,  might  be  brought  under  good  in- 
fluences, and  at  the  end  of  their  terms  of  punishment  have  a  chance,  at  least,  of 
restoration  to  society  as  useful  and  honest  citizens.  Whatever  benefit  results 
from  this  wise  humanitarian  effort,  the  State  will  owe  to  the  forethought  and  in- 
dustry of  Governor  Hoyt. 

The  extirpation  of  the  so-called  medical  college,  located  in  Philadelphia,  which, 
by  the  sale  of  bogus  diplomas,  had  for  a  long  period  brought  disgrace  on  the  State 
and  nation,  as  well  as  the  destruction  of  upwards  of  two  hundred  fraudulent 
insurance  companies,  had  the  active  co-operation  and  su[)port  of  the  Governor. 

In  addition  to  the  literary  work  already  mentioned.  Governor  Iloj-t  has  deliv- 


HENRY    M.    IIOVT.  I3I 

ered  a  number  of  addresses  on  different  occasions  which  have  secured  for  him  the 
reputation  of  being  tlie  most  scholarly  and  cultivated  Executive  the  State  has 
ever  had.  Notably,  one  at  the  opening  of  the  Pan-Presbyterian  Synod  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  one  at  an  agricultural  fair  at  the  same  place.  The  first  attracted 
very  general  attention  from  theologians  of  this  and  other  countries  there  assem-  • 
bled  as  displaying  a  remarkable  familiarity,  not  only  with  all  church  history,  but 
also  with  the  tangled  and  abstruse  theological  dogmas,  disputes,  and  doctrines 
of  ancient  and  modern  times,  not  usually  within  the  knowletlge  of  laj'men.  But 
perhaps  his  most  scholarly  address  was  that  delivered  in  October,  18S2,  formally 
closing  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration. 

Among  the  last  and  most  valuable  of  his  acts  will  be  regarded  in  the  history 
of  our  times  his  opposition  to  a  sj'stem  of  personal  politics,  which  had  grown  to 
such  proportions  as  to  threaten  the  integrity  and  freedom  of  our  institutions.  In 
his  letter  declining  to  act  as  Chairman  of  a  distinctive  political  meeting  while 
holding  the  office  of  Governor,  written  during  the  campaign  of  1S82,  he  stated 
his  convictions,  and  asserted  "the  inherent  right  of  the  freemen  of  a  Republic  to 
declare  the  ends  and  aims  of  public  conduct."  He  rose  to  the  height  of  the 
inspiration  of  the  founders  of  this  Republic  in  his  declaration  that  "where  in  all 
the  space  between  abject  submission  and  rebellion,  no  place  is  given  for  appeal, 
argument,  or  protest,  i-cvolution  is  an  appropriate  remedy."  And  he  only  repeated 
the  lessons  of  the  history  of  the  abolition  movement  and  many  others  when  he 
asserted  that  "peace  will  never  come  until  the  moral  forces  in  politics  which  you 
have  organized  prevail."  His  position  was  taken  with  great  pain  at  the  thought 
of  the  possibility  of  offending  some  sincere  friends ;  but  being  satisfied  of  his  duty, 
and  knowing  better  than  they  could  the  dangers  arising  from  the  political  system 
which  used  public  trusts  solely  for  private  and  personal  schemes,  he  sounded  the 
alarm,  and  took  his  place,  as  he  did  in  the  attack  on  Charleston,  in  front  of  his 
friends.  However  much  men  ma\-,  in  the  excitement  incident  to  a  hard  political 
struggle,  differ  from  him  in  judgment,  no  man,  friend  or  foe,  can  deny  the  moral 
courage  behind  the  act.     As  to  that  there  is  no  room  for  debate. 

Governor  Hoyt  retired  from  office  in  January,  1883,  and  shortly  resumed  the 
practice  of  his  profession  in  Philadelphia.  Of  his  retirement  an  editorial  in  the 
Telegraph  appropriately  and  justly  said  : 

Henry  M.  Hoyt  retires  from  the  Execuliva  Chair  of  the  State  to-day  with  the  marked  respect  and  cor- 
dial esteem  of  the  people  of  the  whole  Commonwealth.  His  administration,  especially  in  view  of  its 
poliiical  surroundings,  during  the  past  four  ye.irs,  has  been  fully  equal  to  all  just  expectation.  Had  he 
at  any  time  attempted  to  inaugurate  a  new  era,  to  bring  about  the  retrenchment  and  reform  which  the 
people  in  November  last  imperatively  demanded,  his  effort.s  would  have  been  futile,  on  account  of  the 
hostility  of  the  entrenched  machine.  The  bosses  had  not  yet  been  admonished  and  chastened,  and  they 
ridiculed  the  advocates  of  reform.  It  is  well  known  that  Governor  Hoyt  foresaw  the  storm  that  was 
inevitable,  and  that  he  earnestly  warned  his  political  associates  to  mend  their  ways;  but  his  wise  counsel 
was  not  only  rejected — the  defiant  managers  sought  to  compel  his  public  abjuration  of  the  views  imputed 
to  him.  Then  came  the  crisis  and  Governor  Hoyt  was  equal  to  it.  Just  at  the  right  time  he  struck  the 
enemies  of  the  people  a  staggering  blow,  speaking  words  of  crushing  truthfulness  that  demoralized  the 
machine  and  its  apologists.     Remembering  the  vindictiveness  of  certain  political  leaders  and  their  open 


-132 


HENKV    M.    HOVT. 


threats  to  destroy  the  Executive,  the  fnct  that  two  months  have  passed  without  attack  since  he  manfully 
took  his  st.ind  tur  honest  and  reputable  political  management  ami  pure  government,  conclusively  shows 
that  ihere  is  n^ithing  even  in  the  inner  history  of  the  outgoing  administration  of  which  its  friends  may  be 
ashamed,  while  the  public  record  of  four  years  is  found  to  excel  in  every  essential  particular  any  of  ils 
later  predecessors.  Personally  Governor  Hoyt  stands  conspicuous  as  the  ablest  and  best-equipped  man 
0  who  has  occupied  the  Executive  Chair  since  Governor  Curtin's  time.  Could  the  secret  history  of  his  ser- 
\ice  as  Governor  be  written,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  seen  that  he  has  withstood  greater  pressure  from 
evil  sources  than  any  of  bis  Republican  predecessors  at  least.  Being  a  man  of  quiet  and  unostentatious 
nature,  not  given  to  political  or  official  "posing"  after  the  manner  of  the  demagogues  of  the  time,  he  has 
fought  his  battles  beyond  the  range  of  the  public  eye,  with  characteristic  dignity  and  independence,  not 
soliciting  public  sympathy  or  public  approval.  He  has  been  content  to  let  his  acts  speak  for  themselves, 
and  has  silently  endured  public  misunderstanding  and  criticism  that  would  have  crushed  a  weaker  man. 
A  Butler  or  a  Elaine  would  have  pursued  a  vastly  different  course,  but  the  people  would  only  have  been 
deceived,  not  protected  or  served.  Governor  Hoyt's  last  message  was  an  exceptionally  able  State  paper, 
and  its  concluding  references  to  the  political  evils  and  needs  of  the  times  will  become  historic,  affording 
the  student  of  the  future  a  curious  subject  of  study.  This  appeal  for  a  new  departure  in  political  methods 
was  the  echo  of  an  aroused  public  sentiment,  and  its  force  will  be  felt  in  the  years  to  come.  Governor 
Hoyt  will  be  followed  into  retirement  by  the  best  wishes  of  all  good  citizens,  irrespective  of  paity. 

In  conclusion  of  the  sumnian-  of  the  cliaracteristics  of  Governor  Hoyt,  here 
feebly  portrayed,  we  would  say  that  in  him  there  is  not  on!)'  the  intellectual 
power  manifest  in  his  writings  and  his  labors  at  the  bar,  but  there  is  a  rare  intel- 
lectual and  moral  candor,  an  honesty  of  thought,  an  unselfishness  of  purpose,  and 
a  warmth  of  affection,  known  best  to  them  who  know  him  best,  and  appreciated 
by  his  friends.  In  conversation  he  always  says  something  worth  remembering. 
It  is  a  flash  of  insight  into  some  object  or  other.  Wit,  energy,  determination, 
sincerity,  are  his  characteristic  qualities — a  man  who  believes  least  of  all  in  idle 
complainings  and  questionings.  Dilettantism  has  no  place  in  his  compositioij. 
Sincere  in  his  conviction  of  the  beneficence  of  the  results,  he  has  shown  himself 
willing  to  adopt  the  best  methods  effectual  for  their  attainment.  If  no  sufficient 
aid  of  the  kind  most  desirable  is  present  or  assistant,  yet  in  no  case  is  the  alter- 
native of  idle  laisscz  fairc  and  complaint  to  be  adopted.  With  clear  insight  into 
the  heart  of  things,  both  as  to  their  present  bearing  and  future  prospects,  he  has 
never  been  known  to  avoid  a  responsibility,  or  betray  a  friend.  His  unselfishness 
appears  at  times  like  a  lack  of  self-appreciation,  which  might  be,  if  it  has  not 
already  been  taken  advantage  of  by  scheming,  if  less  able  associates. 

Governor  Hojt  was  married  on  the  25th  of  September,  1855,  to  Mary  E. 
Loveland,  daughter  of  Elijah  Loveland,  a  native  of  Vermont,  but  who  removed 
to  King.ston  in  1812.  Her  mother  is  of  the  ninth  generation  of  the  descendants 
of  Thomas  Buckingham,  one  of  the  Puritan  fathers,  who  emigrated  from  England 
to  Ma.s.sachusctts  among  the  first  of  his  class,  in  June,  1637,  and  who  is  the 
ancestor  of  the  vast  family  of  American  Buckinghams,  .so  many  of  whom  have 
gone  high  up  the  ladder  of  distinction  in  the  profe.ssions  and  in  politics  in  various 
sections  of  the  Union.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hoyt  have  three  children  living,  one  son 
and  two  daughters.  The  son,  Henry  M.,  .studied  law  in  I'liiladelphia  with  lion. 
Wayne  McVeagh,  and  graduated  in  the  law  department  of  the  University  of 
?enn.sylvania.     He  is  now  a  practicing  lawyer  in  Pittsburgh. 


Hon.  William   A.   Wallace. 


WILLIAM   A.   WALLACE. 

HON.  William  A.  W.\ll.\ce,  e.x-Unitcd  States  .Senator  from  Penn.syK-ania, 
and  for  fifteen  years  a  State  Senator,  was  born  at  Huntingdon,  November 
28,  1827.  He  is  descended  from  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  stock  on  both  sides.  Ilis 
father,  Robert  Wallace,  emigrated  to  this  country  in  1S19,  and  for  a  time  taught 
school  in  Mifflin  county.  He  finally  became  a  la\v}-er  and  settled  in  Hunting- 
don. He  was  a  gentleman  of  education,  but  of  limited  means,  and  it  was  not  in 
his  power  to  give  his  children  superior  educational  advantages.  He  taught 
school,  edited  a  newspaper  and  practiced  law,  his  most  prominent  position  in  the 
legal  profession  being  reached  when  he  was  elected  District  Attorney  of  Hunt- 
ingdon count)-.  In  1836  he  removed  to  Clearfield  when  that  count)'  was  a  wil- 
derness, and  the  great  interests  which  have  since  made  it  famous  were  hardly 
dreamed  of 

Senator  Wallace  was  but  eight  years  old  when  his  father  removed  to  Clearfield. 
Although  so  j'oung,  he  had  had  some  educational  opportunities  in  the  public 
schools  of  Huntingdon.  When  he  went  to  Clearfield  he  pursued  his  studies  as 
best  he  could  in  the  schools  of  the  place,  but  no  opportunit)'  was  offered  him  to 
gain  more  than  a  fiirl\'  good  English  education  and  the  rudiments  of  the  classics. 
He  began  the  stud\'  of  the  law  when  a  little  more  than  sixteen  years  of  age  in 
his  father's  office,  and  helped  to  support  himself  by  doing  clerical  work  in  the 
offices  of  the  Prothonotary,  Sheriff,  Treasurer  and  Commissioners  of  the  county. 
He  applied  himself  with  great  earnestness  to  work  and  .study,  and  his  employ- 
ment in  the  county  offices  gave  him  a  knowledge  of  titles  and  survej-s  which  was 
of  great  value  to  him  after  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  as  the  bulk  of  the  cases 
in  that  county  were  ejectment  suits  and  other  litigations  growing  out  of  disputed 
titles  to  land  and  lines  of  survey.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1847,  before  he 
was  twent)-  )-ears  of  age.  His  father,  in  the  meanwhile,  had  moved  to  Blair 
count)',  and  left  him  to  make  his  wa\'  by  his  own  efforts.  For  a  time  it  \\as  a 
hard  struggle,  and  he  was  compelled  to  earn  his  living  in  part  by  teaching  school. 
During  this  time,  however,  he  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  law,  and  by 
hard  work-  gained  a  foot-hold.  He  was  painstaking,  conscientious  and  untiring, 
and  when  he  got  a  case  he  prepared  it  with  a  care  that  soon  attracted  attention, 
and  his  practice  began  to  increase.  Many  prominent  lawyers  then  practiced  at 
the  Clearfield  bar,  among  them  Andrew  G.  Curtin,  Judges  Hale,  Linn  and  the 
younger  Burnside,  and  the  class  of  cases  he  was  engaged  in  were  mostly  eject- 
ment suits,  which  were  of  such  importance  that  the  parties  to  the  litigation  had 
the  means  to  employ  the  best  talent.  Attrition  with  strong  minds  and  the  char- 
acter of  the  litigation  rapidly  developed  his  force  as  a  lawyer  and  gave  him  a 
large  practice. 

The  hard  work  required  and  his  close  application  told  upon  his  health,  so  that 

{'33) 


I  ■_(.  WILLIAM    A.    WALLACE. 

in  1S62  lie  accepted  the  nomination  of  the  Democrats  for  tlie  State  Senate  as  a 
relief  from  the  drudgery  of  his  practice,  and  in  the  hope  that  the  change  of  scene 
and  action  might  benefit  him.  It  was  impossible  to  make  an  active  canvass  or 
reall\-  an\-  campaign  at  all,  as  the  war  and  the  invasion  of  the  State  by  the 
Confederates  at  the  time  absorbed  every  other  thought.  Each  of  the  candidates 
had  therefore  to  rest  their  case  with  the  people  without  the  usual  excitement  and 
interest  attending  upon  political  movements.  He  received  his  full  party  vote  in 
the  other  counties  of  the  district,  but  in  Clearfield  he  ran  so  far  ahead  of  his 
ticket  that  he  was  elected  by  a  good  majority.  For  thirteen  years  after  his  first 
election  he  was  returned  to  the  Senate,  and,  notwithstanding  the  bitter  assaults 
that  were  made  upon  his  political  action,  at  each  election  he  ran  ahead  of  liis 
ticket  in  his  own  county. 

He  went  to  Harrisburg  with  merely  a  local  reputation,  but  he  soon  made  his 
name  known  throughout  the  whole  State,  and  in  a  very  few  years  it  was  known 
throughout  the  whole  country.  His  election  to  the  State  Senate  gave  the  Demo- 
crats a  majority  of  one  on  joint  ballot,  and  his  vote  made  Charles  R.  Buckalew 
United  States  Senator  in  that  year. 

So  rapidly  did  Mr.  Wallace  develop  into  a  power  in  his  party  that  in  1865  he 
was,  without  his  consent,  made  Chairman  of  its  State  Central  Committee.  He 
found  the  democracy  split  and  demoralized,  and  at  once  addressed  himself  to  the 
work  of  organization,  in  which  he  developed  unusual  tact  and  ability.  In  this 
year  the  only  State  office  to  be  filled  was  that  of  Auditor-General,  and  there  was 
no  great  interest  taken  in  the  canvass.  Gen.  W.  H.  H.  Davis  was  the  Demo- 
cratic candidate,  and  was  defeated.  In  the  succeeding  year,  although  his  party 
was  in  better  working  condition  than  during  his  first  year  as  Chairman,  he  went 
into  the  canvass  to  see  it  again  defeated  with  Heister  Clymer  as  its  candidate  for 
Governor.  In  1867  Judge  Sharswood  was  the  candidate  for  Supreme  Court 
Judge,  and  Mr.  Wallace  at  the  head  of  the  State  Committee  conducted  such  an 
adroit  and  noiseless  canvass  that  the  Republican  candidate  was  defeated.  In 
1868  the  most  memorable  canvass  of  his  career  as  a  political  manager  was  made. 
Se\'mour  and  Blair  were  the  candidates  for  the  Presidency  and  Vice-Presidency 
against  Grant  and  Colfax.  The  October  election  in  Pennsylvania  was  the  pivotal 
contest,  and  the  issue  was  made  and  fully  tested  there.  He  not  only  gave  his 
party  a  splendid  organization,  but  good  heart,  and  brought  it  to  the  polls  in  such 
excellent  working  condition  that  the  Democratic  candidate,  Hon.  C.  E.  Boyle, 
was  defeated  by  less  than  ten  thousand  votes  in  the  October  election.  A  change 
of  less  than  one  per  cent,  would  have  reversed  the  decision,  and  might  have 
beaten  Grant  in  the  November  election.  Even  with  the  prestige  of  Grant's  name 
and  popularity,  his  majority  was  less  than  twenty-nine  thousand  at  the  Presiden- 
tial election.  The  contest  that  year  in  Pennsylvania  was  one  of  the  bitterest 
ever  known  in  the  history  of  the  politics  of  the  State,  and  the  Democratic  party, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Wallace,  was  in  better  condition  than  for  many  years 
before  or  perhaps  since  that  time. 


WILLIAM    A.    WALLACE.  1 35 

In  1S71  the  Democrats  obtained  control  of  the  State  Senate,  and  Air.  Wallace 
was,  by  almost  unanimous  consent  of  his  party,  chosen  Speaker  of  that  body. 
In  1872  he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention  at  Baltimore, 
and  voted  against  Horace  Greeley,  but  followed  his  party  in  supporting  him  for 
the  Presidency  after  his  nomination.  In  the  same  year,  while  yet  a  State  Sena- 
tor, and  in  the  very  zenith  of  his  power  in  the  Democratic  party  in  the  State,  Mr. 
Wallace  was  chosen  Vice-President  of  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  for 
the  purpose  of  looking  after  the  legal  questions  arising  from  the  complicated 
character  of  its  charter  rights  under  Texas,  Louisiana  and  United  States  laws. 
When  he  accepted  that  position  it  was  with  the  distinct  understanding  that  his 
services  were  only  temporary,  and  related  exclusively  to  the  legal  questions  that 
would  naturally  arise  out  of  the  title  and  over  the  construction  of  the  subsidized 
road.  He  went  to  Texas,  and  attended  to  his  duties  with  great  satisfaction  to 
the  managers  of  the  company,  returning  when  the  Senate  met  to  resume  his 
duties  in  that  body. 

In  the  election  of  1S74  his  party  had  secured  control  of  the  Legislature  on 
joint  ballot,  and  by  common  consent  Mr.  Wallace  was  turned  to  by  his  party  as 
its  candidate  for  the  United  States  Senate.  In  the  few  years  that  had  elapsed 
since  he  walked  into  the  Senate  chamber  a  pale,  delicate  and  almost  unknown 
)'oung  man,  he  had  outstripped  many  Democratic  leaders  of  less  force  but  more 
pretensions.  Of  course,  several  prominent  leaders  of  his  party  were  candidates 
for  the  nomination  for  United  States  Senator,  but  Mr.  Buckalew  was  the  strongest 
opponent  that  Mr.  Wallace  had.  It  did  not  need  the  expression  of  the  Demo- 
crats in  the  Legislature  to  show  that  Mr.  Wallace  was  the  choice  of  two-thirds 
of  them.  So  pronounced  was  the  feeling  in  his  favor  that  long  before  the  Legis- 
lature met  Mr.  Buckalew  and  other  Democrats  raised  the  question  that  Mr. 
Wallace  was  not  eligible  to  the  Senatorship  on  account  of  his  being  a  State 
Senator.  The  question  was  debated  at  great  length  and  with  much  feeling  in 
circulars  and  the  newspapers,  and  strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  influence  mem- 
bers of  the  Legislature  by  the  arguments  that  Mr.  Wallace  could  not  take  his 
seat  if  elected.  It  was  of  no  avail,  for  when  the  Democratic  caucus  met  there 
were  only  six  votes  out  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  cast  for  all  opposing 
candidates.  In  the  winter  of  1874,  the  one  prior  to  that  in  which  Mr.  Wallace 
was  elected  United  States  Senator,  the  Legislature  was  engaged  in  framing  the 
acts  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  the  new  constitution.  To 
this  work  Mr.  Wallace  earnestly  addressed  himself,  and  much  of  the  important 
legislation  of  that  session  bears  the  impress  of  his  mind  and  work.  The  general 
Act  of  Incorporation,  which  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  best  of  the  kind  on  the 
statute  books  of  any  State  in  the  country,  was  his  work,  and  the  law  regulating 
and  classifying  cities  and  providing  for  their  debts  also  came  from  his  hand. 

Mr.  Wallace  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States  on  the  4th  of 
March,  1875,  and  almost  immediately  assumed  a  leading  position  in  the  national 
councils  of  his  party.     His  reputation  as  a  man  of  political  force,  gained  by  prac- 


136  WILLIAM    A.    WALLACE. 

tical  service  in  Pennsylvania,  followed  him  in  the  broader  work  at  the  Capital  of 
the  Republic,  and  he  had  been  in  the  Senate  but  a  \ery  short  time  before  his 
judgment  was  sought  and  his  advice  taken  upon  all  matters  of  party  manage- 
ment. During  his  term  in  tiie  Senate  he  served  upon  the  im[50itaiit  Committees 
of  Finance,  Appropriations  and  Foreign  Relations.  At  the  time  when  the 
Democrats  drifted  towards  the  Greenback  heresy  Mr.  Wallace  was  of  great  ser- 
vice to  his  party  in  inducing  it  to  take  conservative  action  upon  leading  ques- 
tions, and  in  tempering  and  controlling  the  bitterness  of  opposing  factions.  In 
all  the  political  events  transpiring  during  his  six  years  at  the  National  Capital, 
Wr.  Wallace  held  a  foremost  place,  and,  although  antagonized  at  every  step  by 
his  rivals  for  leadership  in  the  State,  he  maintained  his  position,  and"  almost 
universally  scored  a  victor}-  over  his  adversaries. 

Mr.  Wallace's  career  as  a  lawyer  is  as  eminent  as  his  record  as  a  politician. 
Starting  without  opportunities  or  influential  friends,  he  rapidly  rose  to  a  promi- 
nent place  among  the  leaders  of  the  bar  of  the  State.  While  serving  in  the 
Senate  he  did  not  neglect  his  legal  work.  During  the  labor  troubles  in  the 
Clearfield  region  he  took  a  judicious  and  equitable  part  between  the  coal  opera- 
tors and  the  striking  miners.  Although  counsel  for  the  commonwealth  and  the 
coal  operators,  he  was  never  violent  in  his  denunciation  of  the  workmen.  In  the 
great  trial  which  took  place  at  Clearfield  when  the  leaders  of  the  labor  strikes 
were  arrested  for  conspiracy,  and  the  question  of  the  organization  and  ^conduct 
of  the  labor  unions  was  up  for  judicial  investigation,  Mr.  Wallace  was  counsel  for 
the  coal  operators  in  their  actions  against  the  miners.  The  late  Senator  Matt 
Carpenter,  Judge  Hughes,  of  Pottsville,  and  other  eminent  lawyers,  defended  the 
action  of  the  labor  union.  Judge  Orvis  presided,  and  the  trial  was  a  long  and 
desperately  fought  legal  battle.  John  Siney,  the  head  of  the  labor  unions,  was 
acquitted  because  no  overt  act  could  be  proved  against  him  ;  but  Xingo  Parkes 
and  other  prominent  labor  unionists  were  convicted  and  sent  to  the  j^ciiitcntiary. 
Mr.  Wallace  interposed  in  behalf  of  the  convicted  men,  and  urged  upon  the  court 
the  utmost  clemency.  He  took  the  ground  that  the  moral  effect  of  the  convic- 
tion of  the  leading  strikers  was  greater  than  a  harsh  execution  of  the  law.  In 
all  the  many  labor  troubles  that  have  occurred  in  Clearfield  county  Mr.  Wallace 
has  taken  a  prominent  part  as  assistant  counsel  to  the  law  officers  of  the  county. 
Me  has  also  represented  the  large  coal  operators  in  that  region,  and  by  his  judi- 
cious advice  and  discreet  interposition  between  contending  forces  law  and  order 
have  been  very  well  preserved,  and  never  have  troops  been  called  into  the  county 
to  preserve  the  peace  as  they  have  in  nearly  every  other  mining  district  in  Penn- 
sylvania. In  the  labor  riots  in  1877,  as  in  all  others  that  have  occurred  in  the 
Clearfield  region,  Mr.  Wallace's  action  and  advice  were  effective  and  all-important. 
He  took  a  judicious  ground  between  the  workmen  and  the  operators.  He  held 
that  the  men  had  the  riglit  to  strike,  but  no  right  to  prevent  others  working, 
and  the  quiet  but  firm  position  assumed  by  the  operators  and  authorities  under 
his  advice  prevented  blood.shcd  and  restored  order  in  the  region.     The  qualities 


WILLIAM    A.    WALLACE.  I  37 

of  mind  that  Mr.  Wallace  early  exhibited  specially  fitted  him  for  dealing  with 
the  delicate  questions  which  this  condition  of  things  imposed.  He  was  always 
noted  for  great  courage,  tact  and  good  judgment.  Untiring  energy  and  tenacity 
are  among  his  most  striking  characteristics,  and  his  powers  of  endurance  and 
capacity  for  work  are  simply  remarkable. 

The  case  of  Turner  2's.  The  Commonwealth,  reported  in  Fifth  Norris,  gives  a 
fair  illustration  of  the  tenacity  of  purpose  with  which  Mr.  Wallace  fights  his  legal 
battles,  and  follows  a  trail  in  spite  of  all  obstacles.  lie  was  counsel  for  the 
defence,  and  feeling  ran  high  against  his  client,  who  was  convicted  of  murder  in 
the  first  degree,  and  sentenced  to  be  hung.  Mr.  Wallace  took  the  case  to  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  his  argument  for  a  reversal  of  the  judgment  of  the  lower 
court  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  strongest  ever  delivered  before  that  tribunal.  It 
was  also  a  successful  one,  for  the  decision  of  the  court  was  reversed,  and  a  new 
trial  ordered.  He  secured  a  change  of  venue  from  Clearfield  to  Clinton  county, 
and  the  case  was  retried.  The  Commonwealth  was  struck  in  one  of  its  weakest 
points,  and  after  one  of  the  most  dramatic  scenes  ever  witnessed  in  a  court-room 
in  Central  Pennsylvania,  his  client  was  acquitted.  Mr.  Wallace  had  given  three 
years  of  hard  work  to  the  case,  and  illustrated  in  a  striking  manner  those  quali- 
ties of  mind  and  body  that  have  brought  him  fortune  and  fame. 

Since  Mr.  Wallace  left  the  Senate  he  has  been  devoting  himself  assiduously  to 
the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  to  bringing  returns  from  his  large  landed  estate, 
which  had  been  neglected  during  his  official  life.  During  the  last  few  years  he 
has  done  more  to  develop  the  bituminous  coal  interests  of  the  Clearfield  region 
than  has  ever  been  done  before,  and  he  is  now  reaping  the  reward  of  his  industry 
and  enterprise.  He  is  apparently  giving  little  attention  to  politics,  and  \'et  he  is 
a  keen  observer  of  events,  and  is  keeping  his  eye  upon  the  condition  of  the  party 
in  all  parts  of  the  State.  He  seems  to  have  lost  political  ambition  for  the  time 
being,  but  his  influence  is  nevertheless  powerful  in  the  councils  of  his  party,  and 
when  the  time  comes  for  political  action  he  will  doubtless  be  found  taking  part 
in  shaping  his  party's  course.  He  has  a  pleasant  and  elegant  home  in  Clearfield, 
three  sons  who  are  in  business  with  him,  and  two  daughters  who  grace  his 
household.  He  has  a  large  librar)',  in  which  he  spends  most  of  his  time.  It  is 
but  natural  that  a  man  of  his  stiength  of  character,  habits  and  disposition,  and 
one  who  has  borne  such  a  conspicuous  part  in  shaping  political  controversies, 
should  be  assailed  and  criticised.  It  is  to  his  credit  that  he  has  many  and  bitter 
enemies,  and  still  more  to  his  honor  that  he  has  been  able  to  meet  them  with 
success,  and  to  rise  to  his  present  eminence  by  sheer  force  of  character,  energy 
and  ability. 

IS  C.  R.  D. 


Hon.  Simon   P.  Wolverton. 


SIMON   PETER   WOLVERTON. 

HON.  Simon  P.  Wolvekton,  now  representing  the  Twenty-seventh  District 
in  the  State  Senate,  was  born,  on  the  28th  of  January,  1837,  in  Rush 
township,  Northumberland  county.  He  was  the  son  of  Joseph  and  Cliarity 
Wolverton.  His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  William  Kase,  a  prominent  resident 
of  that  part  of  the  county.  She  was  a  woman  of  great  natural  ability  and  strong 
will.  Although  she  had  never  had  the  advantages  of  more  than  an  ordinary  edu- 
cation, she  knew  its  value,  and  did  everything  in  her  power  to  encourage  her 
son  in  his  efforts  to  acquire  the  benefits  of  a  college  course.  Mr.  Wolverton 
declares  that  he  owes  his  success  in  life  more  to  the  influence  of  his  mother  than 
to  any  other  person. 

Up  to  the  age  of  seventeen  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm,  availing  himself  of 
such  educational  advantages  as  the  common  schools  of  the  district  at  that  time 
afforded.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  became  a  teacher,  and  after  his  first  winter's 
term  commenced  preparation  for  college  at  the  Danville  Academy,  attending  the 
institution  during  the  summer  and  fall  months  and  teaching  during  the  winter, 
while  keeping  up  in  his  class  by  semi-weekly  recitations,  opportunity  for  which 
■was  afforded  him  through  the  kindness  of  the  principal,  Prof  Joel  E.  Bradley. 
Subsequently  he  entered  the  Freshman  Class  of  the  Lewisburg  University,  in  its 
third  term,  in  the  spring  of  1857.  At  the  end  of  the  Sophomore  year  he  left  col- 
lege with  the  intention  of  studying  law,  as  he  was  entirely  dependent  upon  his 
own  resources,  and  for  this  reason  felt  that  he  was  compelled  to  forego  the 
advantages  of  a  full  collegiate  education.  He  again  resorted  to  teaching  as  a 
stepping-stone  to  his  chosen  profession,  and  taught  one  term  of  school  in  Dan- 
ville. After  teaching  six  months,  he  determined  to  return  to  college  and  join  his 
class  in  the  fall  of  1859,  providing  the  faculty  would  allow  him  to  take  two  years 
in  one,  as  he  believed  he  could  succeed  in  so  doing  and  graduate  with  his  class. 
He  was  allowed  the  privilege  of  doing  this,  and  made  the  effort.  During  the 
Senior  year  he  went  through  with  the  regular  studies  of  both  the  Junior  and 
Senior  years,  reciting  almost  continuously  during  the  day  and  studying  during 
the  night.  In  July,  i860,  he  graduated  with  his  class  and  took  the  second 
honors  over  those  who  had  attended  college  continuously.  The  effort  that  he 
was  required  to  make  to  accomplish  this  formed  in  him  habits  of  study  and  close 
application  which  have  proved  of  great  advantage  to  him  in  after  life  in  his 
profession. 

After  he  graduated  he  went  to  Sunbury,  and  took  charge  of  a  school  known 
as  the  Sunbury  Academy,  and  began  the  study  of  law.  He  read  under  the 
instruction  of  Hon.  Alexander  Jordan,  an  eminent  jurist,  who  served  as  President 
Judge  of  Northumberland  and  adjoining  counties  for  twenty  years.  In  April, 
1862,  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar  at  Sunbury,  where  he  has  since  practiced  his 
profession. 

(>39) 


I40 


SIMOIn'  p.  woi.verton. 


In  September,  1S6:!,  Mr.  Wolvcrton  raised  a  companj'  01  emergenc}'  men,  of 
which  he  was  Captain,  and  ser\-ed  in  the  Eighteenth  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
\"olunteers.  In  June,  1863,  he  was  chosen  Captain  of  Company  "  F  "  of  the 
Thirt)--sixth  Regiment,  Pennsj-lvania  Volunteers,  under  the  call  of  Governor 
Curtin  for  ninety  daj-s'  men  to  resist  the  invasion  of  Pennsylvania  by  the  Con- 
federates under  Lee. 

In  No\-ember,  1878,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  to  fill  the  \'acancy 
caused  by  the  resignation  of  Hon.  A.  H.  Dill.  He  was  re-elected  for  four  years 
in  November,  1S80,  and  again  re-elected  in  November,  18S4,  for  another  term 
of  four  years.  Although  a  Democrat,  and  his  Senatorial  district  stronglj'  Repub- 
lican, he  carried  it  by  large  majorities  three  times.  As  the  elections  in  his 
district  took  place  each  time  during  a  Presidential  canvass,  when  party  lines 
were  closely  drawn,  his  vote  shows  in  what  esteem  he  is  held  by  those  who 
know  him.  During  his  ten  years  in  the  Senate  he  has  occupied  a  prominent 
position,  and  ranked  as  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of  that  body.  During  the 
session  of  the  Senate,  in  1887,  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  of  both 
Houses  as  their  choice  for  United  States  Senator.  He  was  also  the  candidate 
of  his  partj',  which  was,  however,  in  the  minority,  for  the  Presidency  of  the  State 
Senate.  During  his  service  in  the  Senate  he  was  the  author  of  many  important 
acts  which  may  now  be  found  upon  our  statute  books. 

Mr.  Wolverton  has  ahvaj-s  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  material  welfare  and 
progress  of  his  section,  and  was  one  of  the  principal  movers  in  the  construction 
of  the  Danville,  Hazleton  and  Wilkes  Barre  Railroad,  running  from  Sunbury  to 
Hazleton.  He  was  also  an  active  promoter  of  the  organization  and  building  of 
the  Shamokin,  Sunbury  and  Lewisburg  Railroad,  between  Shamokin  and  West 
Milton,  making  a  connection  between  the  coal  regions  and  Williamsport.  He 
has  been  President  of  the  company  since  its  organization. 

He  has  acted  as  counsel  for  the  Philadelphia  and  Reading  Railroad  Company 
for  over  twenty  years,  and  has  been  emplo}-ed  in  most  of  its  important  suits  in 
his  own  and  surrounding  counties. 

On  the  29th  of  November,  18S5,  he  was  married  to  Elizabeth  D.  Hendricks,  a 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Hendricks,  of  Sunbury,  and  has  three  children — Mary  G., 
Elizabeth  K.,  and  Simon  P.  Wolvcrton,  Jr. 


Hon.  Francis  W.   Hughes. 


{^i^ 


^/  i-rr^ 


^■^^^()i^^* 


FRANCIS  WADE   HUGHES. 

FRANCIS  Wade  Hughes,  of  Pottsville,  was  bom  August  20th,  18 17,  in  Upper 
Merion  township,  near  Norristown,  Montgomery  county,  and  is  now  sixty- 
seven  years  of  age.  His  father,  John  Hughes,  was  one  of  the  principal  men  of  his 
neighborhood ;  was  a  gentleman  farmer,  who  leased  the  larger  part  of  his  estate 
to  tenants,  and  in  his  time  was  regarded  as  wealthy.  His  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  Benjamin  Bartholomew,  ^\•ho  commanded  a  cavalry  company  throughout  the 
entire  Revolutionary  war.  Both  on  the  paternal  and  maternal  sides  liis  ancestry 
Was  among  the  original  settlers  of  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania.  Hugh  Hughes, 
a  remote  ancestor,  came  to  this  country  from  Wales  prior  to  the  time  of  William 
Penn  and  settled  upon  the  estate  where  Mr.  Hughes  was  born,  and  which  is  still 
owned  by  his  brother,  Benjamin  Hughes,  of  Bridgeport,  Pa.  The  small  Welsh 
colony,  of  which  Hugh  Hughes  was  one,  settled  on  the  banks  of  the  Schuylkill, 
in  close  proximity  to  the  early  Swedes.  Owing  to  the  large  number  of  Swedish 
emigrants  and  frequent  intermarriages,  the  memory  of  the  early  Welsh  settlement 
is  now  chiefly  retained  in  names  of  streams  and  localities  in  that  neighborhood. 
The  Hughes  family  was  prominent  in  Colonial  and  Revolutionary  days,  and  at 
an  earl)'  period  were  recognized  as  having  a  \-oice  by  reason  of  birthright  in  the 
affairs  of  the  old  Swedish  churches.  The  Bartholomews  were  also  among  the  old 
settlers,  but  resided  in  Chester  count)',  and  were  of  French  Huguenot  extraction. 
That  F.  W.  Hughes  should  be  a  law)-er  was  determined  for  him  whilst  he  was 
yet  a  boy.  The  family  tradition  is  that  when  )'oung  his  fuller,  mother  and  friends 
regarded  him  as  mischievous.  Such  estimate  of  his  character  he,  however,  in- 
dignantly repelled.  The  pure  benevolence  of  breaking  the  eggs  to  assist  the 
setting  hen  or  the  uiTcovering  of  garden  seeds  to  promote  vegetable  growth,  or 
kindred  efforts,  were  not  appreciated  as  intended,  and  brought  him  often  into 
what  he  considered  unmerited  disgrace.  He  had  a  great  love  for  animal  pets, 
but  his  affection  was  sometimes  displa)'ed  in  efforts  more  satisfactory  to  himself 
than  comforting  to  his  subjects.  He  was  simply  a  boy  in  robust  health,  with 
quick  intellect  and  overflowing  animal  spirits.  What  he  next  would  do  was  not 
only  a  mysterj',  but  a  fear  to  parents  controlling  children  with  all  the  straight- 
laced  notions  of  b)-gone  days.  After  some  speciall)'  anno)'ing  prank,  his  father, 
almost  in  despair,  shaking  him,  said  : 

"  Frank,  wh)'  do  you  do  such  things  ?     Your  brother  Coll  never  does." 
In  the  midst  of  tears  the  boy  replied,  "  There's  no  credit  to  Coll  for  that." 
"  Why  not  ?  "  asked  the  father,  indignantl)-. 
"  Because  Coll  never  wants  to,  and  I  want  to  all  the  time." 
The  truth  embodied  in  this  reply  startled  the  old  gentleman.     He  hesitated  a 
moment,  and  then  exclaiming,  "By  Jove!  there's    something  in  that,"  turned 
away. 

('4.) 


142  FRANCIS    W.    HUGHES. 

The  boy  displayed  quickness,  abilit}-,  and  fine  reasoning  powers.  The  father 
e.\erciscd  intelligence  in  giving  a  career  in  life  to  his  sons,  and  in  tiiis  case  it  was 
soon  determined.  "  Frank,"  said  the  father,  "  shall  be  a  lawyer,  Coll  a  clergy- 
man." His  judgment  was  good,  as  it  was  also  as  to  the  professional  or  business 
careers  of  his  other  sons. 

Rev.  David  Kirkpatrick,  of  Milton,  Pa.  (the  father  of  Judge  Kirkpatrick,  of 
Pittsburgh),  at  that  time  deservedly  enjo\'ed  the  reputation  of  being  one  of  the  best 
instructors  of  youth  in  the  State.  To  his  care  was  the  subject  of  our  sketch  con- 
fided. Among  his  schoolmates  were  numbered  ex-Governor  Curtin,  ex-Governor 
Pollock,  Hon.  Samuel  Calvin,  and  others  who  have  since  risen  to  eminence  in 
the  State  and  nation.  As  a  student,  although  j-oung,  he  made  rapid  progress  in 
cla.ssical  as  well  as  mathematical  studies,  and  was  held  in  high  esteem  both  by 
his  teacher  and  his  schoolmates. 

In  the  autumn  of  1834  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late 
George  W.  Farquhar,  of  Pottsville,  and  the  following  winter  he  entered  the  office 
of  John  B.  Wallace,  of  Philadelphia.  He  had  as  fellow-students  there  John  W. 
and  Horace  B.  \\'allace,  sons  of  his  preceptor,  and  also  the  late  William  Parker 
Foulke,  Esq.  It  is  rare  that  four  young  men  of  such  great  ability  are  found  in 
one  office,  and  so  able,  earnest,  and  untiring  a  preceptor  as  Mr.  W^allace  is  still 
more  rare.  j\Ir.  Wallace  had  retired  from  the  active  practice  of  the  law  and  de- 
voted himself  to  the  instruction  of  his  students.  The  zeal  of  the  teacher  was 
equalled  by  the  industry-  and  ambition  of  the  scholars.  A  knowledge  of  pleading, 
acquired  at  that  time,  Mr.  Hughes  has  often  since  displa}-ed  in  the  trial  of  causes, 
exciting  the  wonder  and  astonishment  of  bench  and  bar.  Mr.  Wallace  died 
during  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1S36.  After  his  death  young  Hughes  entered 
the  law  school  at  Carlisle,  which  was  then  under  the  control  of  Hon.  John  Reed, 
President  Judge  of  that  judicial  district.  At  the  law  school  he  again  met  e.x- 
Go\-ernor  Curtin  and  others  of  his  schoolmates  of  the  Milton  Academy.  Not- 
withstanding his  youth  he  took  a  high  position ;  the  extent  of  his  learning,  the 
ficility  of  its  acquirement  and  the  brilliancy  and  clearness  of  its  expression  is 
still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  his  fellow-students. 

In  August,  1837,  he  was  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  Schuylkill  counts-  bar, 
and  immediately  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Pottsville,  where 
he  passed  his  life.  In  obtaining  business  he  had  no  long  struggle  to  encounter. 
His  success  was  immediate,  brilliant,  and  has  been  continuous.  His  practice 
was  alwaj-s  very  lucrative ;  it  extended  to  all  branches  of  the  profession,  and  his 
cases  important.  He  probably  tried  more  causes  than  any  lawyer  in  Penn.sylva- 
nia,  whilst  at  the  same  time  his  office  practice  was  very  large.  He  was  in  1839 
appointed  Deputy  Attorney-General  by  Hon.  Ovid  F.  Johnson,  then  Attorney- 
General.  He  resigned  three  times,  but  was  subsequently  reappointed,  and  held 
the  position  altogether  eleven  years ;  his  knowledge  of  criminal  law  was  con- 
.sequcntly  thorough,  but  the  great  bulk  of  his  practice  had  always  been  in  the 
civil  courts.      He  ranked  amou;^  the  fust  df  the  few  great  land  lawyers,  was  a  fine 


FRANCIS    \V.    HUGHES.  I43 

equity  practitioner,  and  understood  patents  and  commercial  law.  He  prepared  a 
case  rapidly,  but  examined  and  cross-examined  a  witness  with  rare  ability,  and 
excelled  in  the  management  of  a  case.  He  had  few  equals  in  the  country  as  a 
nisi  pruts  lawyer,  although  his  extended  reputation  had  perhaps  been  acquired  in 
the  argument  of  cases  in  the  superior  courts  on  appeal.  Mr.  Hughes,  at  no 
period  of  his  life,  was  willingly  concerned  for  the  prosecution  in  homicide  cases, 
and  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years  refused  such  engagements.  He  had,  how- 
ever, very  frequent  engagements  for  the  defence,  with  invariable  success  to  the 
extent  of  preventing  a  conviction  for  murder  in  the  first  degree.  He  always 
gave  the  subject  of  criminal  jurisprudence  a  great  deal  of  thought,  and  whilst  he 
could  not  be  said  to  be  opposed  to  capital  punishment  to  the  same  extent  or  for 
the  .same  reasons  which  influence  its  opponents  generally,  yet  he  doubted  the 
efficacy  of  capital  punishment  in  any  point  of  view. 

Nevertheless,  when  what  are  known  as  "Molly  Maguire"  cases  came  on  for 
trial,  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  prosecution  in  Carbon,  Schuylkill  and  Colum- 
bia counties.  Owing  to  peculiar  circumstances  capital  punishment  of  the  crimi- 
nals seemed  to  be  the  only  remedy  for  the  evils  that  afflicted  the  community. 
To  discuss  fully  the  nature  of  the  Molly  Maguire  organization  is  not  possible, 
nor  would  it  be  proper  in  this  article,  yet  a  few  words  upon  a  subject  so  widely 
known,  and  yet  so  little  understood,  may  not  be  amiss.  For  a  number  of  years 
life  and  property  in  the  anthracite  coal  fields  of  Pennsj'lvania  were  at  the  mercy 
of  organized  murderers.  Men  of  high  repute  were  shot  down  in  populous  neigh- 
borhoods in  the  broad  light  of  day;  property  was  burned  and  otherwise  de- 
stro}-ed ;  communities  were  terrorized,  and  yet  the  criminals  escaped  either  without 
the  form  of  a  trial  or  if  tried  were,  through  perjured  testimony,  acquitted.  Be- 
yond the  known  crimes,  accidents  in  mines,  involving  the  loss  of  human  life, 
carried  with  them  the  suspicion  of  criminal  outrage.  Labor  against  the  will  of 
the  laborer  was  controlled  to  its  own  disadvantage  by  an  unknown,  an  irrespon- 
sible and  a  criminal  power.  Organized  crime  attained  political  power,  legislative 
honors  were  obtained,  and  in  at  least  one  instance,  through  a  nomination,  a  place 
among  the  judiciary  was  claimed,  but  fortunately  not  granted.  When  by  accident 
there  was  a  conviction  for  a  lower  grade  of  crime,  untiring  efforts,  very  frequently 
successful,  were  made  for  the  pardon  of  the  criminal.  Murders  were  becoming 
of  almost  weekly  occurrence,  yet  to  all  appearances  the  murderers  were  unknown. 
All  rights  of  person  and  property  were  set  at  defiance ;  a  reign  of  terror  in  a 
highly  civilized,  order-loving  community  seemed  imminent,  and  vigilance  com- 
mittees were  being  formed.  The  ordinary  detective  was  at  fault  because  the  usual 
motives  of  jealousy,  revenge,  or  hope  of  gain  seemed  wanting.  So  great  an  as- 
cendancy had  the  Molly  Maguire  organization  obtained  through  its  terrorism  that 
the  utter  abandonment  of  the  best  coal  region  in  the  world  to  criminals  seemed 
probable. 

And  yet  throughout  the  coal  region  there  were  not  over  six  hundred  members 
of  the  organization,  probably  not  near  that  number  acquainted  with  its  guilty 


144  FRANCIS    W.    HUGHES. 

puq^oses,  but  in  repelling  an  attack  the}-  waged  no  uneven  battle.  Acting  under 
charters  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  they  asked  for  sympathy  and  ob- 
tained material  aid  from  that  organization.  By  birth  Roman  Catholics,  though 
in  open  conflict  vith  the  church,  they  proclaimed  a  religious  persecution  as  being 
waged  against  them.  By  reason  of  their  Irish  birth  they  sought  and  obtained 
the  sympathy  of  Irish  people  who  held  their  order  and  their  crimes  in  utter  de- 
testation. Although,  but  in  rare  instances,  connected  with  labor  organizations, 
they  charged  that  the  prosecutions  were  inspired  by  a  hatred  to  laboring  men, 
and,  to  a  larger  extent  outside  of  the  region  than  in  it,  inspired  that  belief 

A  knowledge  of  the  criminals  was  obtained.  The  requisite  proofs,  through  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Gowen  and  the  instrumentality  of  the  Pinkertou  Detective  Agency, 
were  at  hand ;  that  they  should  suffer  the  highest  punishment  known  to  the  law 
was  absolutely  required.  That  they  should  neither  escape  through  perjured  tes- 
timony or  be  inspired  by  the  hope  of  pardon  through  political  influence  was 
necessary.  Capital  punishment  in  their  case  seemed  the  only  remedy  for  the 
ills  under  which  the  community  suffered.  Acting  under  this  belief,  Mr.  Hughes 
actively,  earnestly,  and  successfully  took  part  in  the  prosecutions.  The  result 
has  justified  the  efforts  made.  The  lesson  has  been  taught  that  punishment,  if 
delayed  for  j'ears,  will  follow  crime,  and  life  and  property  in  the  coal  regions  are 
again  under  the  protection  of  the  law. 

Mr.  Hughes'  life  was  that  of  a  lawyer.  In  his  profession  was  centred  his 
great  ambition,  and  in  it  he  made  his  greatest  efforts.  At  the  same  time  he 
took  an  active  interest  in  politics  as  well  as  engaging  in  extensive  business 
operations.  In  1S43  he  was  elected  as  a  Democratic  candidate  to  the  State 
Senate  in  Schuylkill  county,  only  one  hundred  and  forty-nine  votes  being  cast 
against  him.  A.fter  serving  in  the  Legislature  one  year,  in  1844,  he  resigned  his 
position  and  returned  to  the  practice  of  the  law.  In  the  fall  of  1844,  during  the 
Presidential  campaign,  he,  as  a  supporter  of  Polk  and  Dallas,  engaged  in  a  joint 
debate  with  Joseph  G.  Clarkson,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  not  only  his 
senior,  but  also  had  an  established  reputation  as  apolitical  speaker.  The  debate 
was  on  the  general  political  issues  of  the  day,  and  e.xcited  much  attention  through- 
out the  State.  It  did  much  to  establish  his  reputation  as  a  trained  speaker,  and 
even  his  oppcr.ents,  much  as  they  disliked  his  political  views,  admitted  that  in 
the  special  controversy  he  was  the  victor.  While  in  the  State  Senate  he  formed 
warm  friendly  relations  with  the  Hon.  William  Bigler,  who,  when  elected  Gov- 
ernor in  1851,  appointed  him  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth.  This  office  he 
filled  until  1853,  when  he  succeeded  Judge  James  Campbell  as  Attorney-General, 
remaining  in  that  office  until  the  early  part  of  1855.  As  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
monwealth he  was  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools  and  took  great  interest 
in  the  organization  of  the  common  school  system  of  Pennsylvania,  which,  with 
slight  and  comparatively  immaterial  modifications,  is  still  maintained.  He  was  the 
author  of  the  Common  .School  Act  of  1854,  and  his  decisions  as  Superintendent 
of  Common  Schools  relative  to  the  construction  of  the  law  are  referred  to  in  the 


FRANCIS    W.    HUGHES.  14  5 

digests,  and  are  regarded  as  authority.  He  co-operated  with  Governor  Biglcr  in 
the  more  effective  collection  of  the  revenues  of  the  State,  especially  in  taxes  due 
from  corporations,  and  in  the  conversion  of  a  large  portion  of  the  State  debt  from 
a  six  to  a  five  per  cent.  loan.  He  was  earnest  in  his  advocacy  of  the  rights  of 
women.  He  did  not  advocate  their  right  to  vote,  but  claimed  that  the  sphere 
of  their  employment  should  be  enlarged  and  their  pay  be  made  commensurate 
with  their  service.  In  his  reports  as  superintendent  he  urged  the  more  general 
employment  of  female  teachers  at  adequate  salaries.  In  1856  he  was  on  the 
Democratic  electoral  ticket  and  voted  for  James  Buchanan  for  Presitlent  of  the 
United  States.  He  was  in  politics  a  Democrat,  and  had  frequently  been  a  dele- 
gate to  county,  State  and  national  conventions,  over  many  of  which  he  presided, 
and  in  others,  on  the  committee  on  resolutions,  influenced  their  counsels. 
In  politics,  as  in  law,  he  was  ever  recognized  as  a  power  brilliant,  frequently 
irresistible.  As,  however,  a  politician  of  the  old  school,  he  believed  in  the  power 
of  organization,  but  regarded  parties  as  the  representatives  of  principles,  not  as 
mere  machines  for  the  advancement  of  politicians.  He  had  always  been  a  strong 
advocate  for  the  protection  of  American  industry  through  the  medium  of  a  tariff, 
and  the  position  of  the  Democratic  party  in  this  respect  was  embraced  in  his 
debate  with  Clarkson,  referred  to  above.  His  position  was  that  the  primary 
object  of  duties  upon  imports  is  to  collect  revenue,  but  that  in  the  adjustment  of 
such  revenues  such  discrimination  on  imports  should  be  made  as  to  give  adequate 
protection  to  American  industry.  He  was  not  a  pro-slavery  man,  and  he  would 
liave  seriously  objected  to  its  introduction  into  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
would  not,  in  his  own  behalf,  have  dealt  with  negroes  as  property.  He  was  in 
feeling  opposed  to  the  institution.  13ut  he  recognized  the  fact  that  good  men 
differed  from  him  in  opinion,  and  he  did  not  claim  such  difference  of  opinion 
amounted  to  criminality  on  their  part.  He  admitted  the  binding  force  of  the 
Constitution  in  the  recognition  of  slave  property.  Upon  this  question  he  de- 
nounced the  "higher  law"  doctrine  of  the  abolitionists  as  subversive  of  all  rights 
and  as  tending  to  anarchy  and  the  overthrow  of  constitutional  freedom.  He  saw 
at  an  early  day  the  threatened  danger  to  American  institutions,  and  in  order  to 
avert  such  danger  he  earnestly  advocated  a  strict  adherence  to  both  the  letter 
and  spirit  of  the  Federal  Constitution. 

Prior  to  the  war  his  political  opponents  ridiculed  him  as  an  alarmist.  When 
his  forebodings  were  realized,  he  was  by  some  denounced  becau.se  of  his  fore- 
knowledge. He  regarded  a  civil  war  with  dread,  and  hoped  until  the  last  to 
avert  it.  As  a  consequence,  at  the  peace  convention,  which  met  in  Harrisburg 
in  1 86 1,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent  member  and  on  the  committee  on  resolu- 
tions, he  earnestly  continued  his  efforts.  When,  however,  the  resort  to  arms 
was  inevitable,  his  support  of  the  Union  was  prompt,  energetic  and  valuable. 
He  denied  utterly  any  right  of  secession.  He  claimed  that  the  government  was 
one  of  the  whole  people,  not  a  confederation  of  States.  He  aided  in  fitting  out 
two  of  the  first  five  companies  that  reached  Washington.  He  maintained  with 
'9 


146  FRANCIS    W.    HUGHES. 

voice  and  pen  the  legal  right  of  the  government  to  put  down  rebellion  with 
force  of  arms.  As  early  as  July  4th,  1S61,  in  an  oration  delivered  at  the  court- 
house in  Pottsville,  he  argued  against  any  legal  right  of  secession  on  the  part 
of  anv  State,  and  insisted  upon  the  duty  of  the  general  government  to  put  down 
rebellion  by  force  of  arms.  This  address  was  generally  published  and  com- 
mended at  that  time.  He  aided  in  the  raising  of  regiments  when  the  invasion 
of  Pennsylvania  was  threatened  by  the  forces  of  Lee,  and  one  regiment  was 
familiarly  known  as  his  regiment. 

But  he  was  a  Democrat,  chairman  of  the  State  executive  committee  in  1862, 
and  in  the  heated  political  discussions  of  those  days  was  denounced  by  his  po- 
litical opponents.  It  is  said  that  his  old  friend,  the  late  John  W.  Forney,  re- 
marked, when  he  learned  of  his  appointment  of  chairman  of  the  c.xecuti\'e  com- 
mittee in  1862 : 

"I  know  Hughes,  and  there  is  no  child's  play  before  us.  We  must  overwhelm 
him  b)-  an  a[ipeal  to  the  war  feeling  of  the  people." 

Mr.  Hughes  asserted  that  the  secessionist  and  abolitionist  were  both  enemies 
of  the  Constitution  ;  that  the  one  should  be  put  down  by  force  of  arms,  the  other 
at  the  ballot  box.  The  tactics  of  Colonel  Forney  were  adopted.  The  address 
of  the  State  conmiittee  was  denounced  as  traitorous,  and  Democrats  as  hostile 
to  the  war.  Hughes  demanded  that  principles  should  be  discussed.  The  right  of 
Democrats  to  open  their  head-quarters  or  hold  mass  meetings  was,  on  the  other 
hand,  denied.  Democrats  claimed  the  right  of  free  speech  and  the  right  to  peace- 
ably assemble  to  discuss  political  questions.  The  position  taken  by  Mr.  Forney 
and  the  Re[3ublican  press  was  untenable.  Popular  sympathy  on  these  questions 
favored  the  Democrats.  P^fforts  were  made  to  have  Mr.  Hughes  arrested,  which 
might  have  proven  successful  had  it  not  been  that  Hon.  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  then 
Secretary  of  War,  was  his  personal  friend.  He  was  assured  there  should  be  no 
order  for  his  arrest  without  his  being  first  served  with  specifications  and  allowed 
a  hearing.  As  no  charges  could  have  been  sustained,  no  order  was  issued.  The 
Democrats  carried  the  State,  owing  in  part  to  Mr.  Hughes'  skilful  management, 
and  in  part  to  the  mistaken  policy  adopted  by  the  Republicans  in  the  campaign. 
In  1862  the  President's  emancipation  proclamation  was  issued.  This,  as  an  act 
of  arbitrary  power,  Mr.  Hughes  denounced. 

In  regard  to  this  important  act  of  the  administration,  it  may  be  said  Mr. 
Hughes' views  later  changed.  He  .still  held  the  act  to  have  been  arbitrary  and 
without  con.stitutional  right,  unless  as  a  war  measure,  and  justifiable  under  the 
law  of  .self  preservation,  which  he  contended  was  as  applicable  to  nations  as  to 
individuals.  He  afterward  spoke  with  respect  of  the  bold,  open  course  pursued 
by  Thaddeus  Stevens  at  that  time,  as  contrasted  with  the  dishonest  course  of 
others  who  .sought  to  vindicate  certain  enactments  of  Congress  as  within  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Constitution.  Mr.  Hughes  also  maintained  that  the  right  of  a 
nation  to  defend  and  maintain  its  own  existence  is  a  right  inherent  in  the  fact  of 
the  existence  of  such  nation,  and  in  the  case  of  our  Federal  Government  exists, 
in  the  words  of  Thaddeus  Stevens,  "outside  of  the  Constitution." 


FKAN'CIS    W.    HUGHES. 


147 


As  might  have  been  expected,  the  extreme  and  unjust  denunciation  of  Mr. 
Hughes  in  1862  by  his  pohtical  opponents  made  him  ven-  po])u!ar  in  his  own 
party.  He  was  a  candidate  before  the  Democratic  Legislative  Caucus  for  nomi- 
nation for  the  United  States  Senate  in  1863.  He  liad  made  little  or  no  canvass, 
but  the  outside  pressure  was  strongly  in  his  favor.  Hon.  Charles  R.  Buckalew, 
h(nve\-er,  received  the  nomination  and  election.  The  defeat  of  Mr.  Hughes 
■was  ascribed  by  his  friends  to  tlie  Berks  count)-  represcntati\-es  under  the  lead 
of  Hon.  Hiester  Clymer.  This  was  resented  by  Schuylkill  county  Democrats, 
especially  as  Mr.  Clymer  had  been  a  former  resident  of  the  county  and  professed, 
and  no  doubt  felt,  a  warm  personal  friendship  for  Mr.  Hughes.  The  late  Hon. 
Warren  J.  Woodward,  then  President  Judge  in  Berks  county,  was  a  devoted 
frientl  of  Mr.  Buckalew,  and  his  influence,  doubtless,  had  its  effect  on  the  repre- 
sentatives from  that  county.  Mr.  Cl)-mer  was  a  candidate  for  the  Democratic 
nomination  for  Governor  in  1863.  He  had  a  number  of  very  warm  friends  in 
Schu\-lkill  county,  but  the  general  feeling  among  the  Democrats  there  was  that 
he  should  be  defeated  for  the  nomination.  Mr.  Hughes  was  a  member  of  the 
State  Convention.  He  urged  that  he  had  no  personal  feeling  against  Mr.  Cly- 
mer, but  he  was  overruled  by  his  fellow  delegates  from  Schuylkill  county,  and 
opposition  to  Mr.  Ch'mer's  nomination  was  determined  on.  The  difficulty  was 
as  to  a  candidate.  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Witte,  of  Montgomerj',  was  very  strong,  but 
Mr.  Hughes  feared  that  he  would  show  his  full  strength  on  the  first  ballot.  He 
was,  however,  selected  as  first  choice.  Mr.  Witte  understood  the  position  of  the 
Schu\'lkill  delegates,  but,  of  course,  disagreed  as  to  their  opinion  of  his  strength. 
When  the  balloting  commenced  a  number  of  names  as  a  second  candidate  had 
been  discussed,  but  none  agreed  upon. 

Mr.  Hughes'  prediction  as  to  Witte  was  justified  by  the  result.  He  showed 
his  strength  in  the  early  ballots,  but  his  friends  were  steadfast.  Chief-Justice 
George  W.  Woodward  started  with  about  eight  votes,  which  he  retained.  Whilst 
the  third  ballot  was  being  taken,  Mr.  Hughes  asked  quiet!)-  who  represented  Judge 
Woodward,  was  speedily  in  communication  with  his  representative,  and  asked 
him  to  make  no  attempt  to  do  more  than  hold  his  vote.  In  the  meantime  Mr. 
Witte  had  shown  his  full  strength,  about  forty-four  votes  out  of  133,  and  Mr. 
Hughes  had  sent  to  him  asking  permission  to  withdraw  his  name.  He  received 
in  reply,  "  one  ballot  more."  This  was  repeated,  ballot  after  ballot,  until  when 
the  tenth  ballot  was  taken  Mr.  Clymer  was  only  short  a  very  few  votes  of  a  nomi- 
nation. The  eleventh  ballot  was  being  taken,  and  Mr.  Clymer's  nomination  ap- 
peared inevitable  when  Mr.  Witte  sent  word  that  his  name  should  be  withdrawn. 
In  an  instant  Mr.  Hughes  was  on  his  feet,  standing  on  his  chair.  He  withdrew  the 
name  of  Hon.  William  H.  Witte,  which  was  greeted  with  applause,  and  com- 
menced amid  confusion  a  speech  in  which,  with  great  eloquence,  he  introduced 
the  name  of  Hon.  George  W.  Woodward  and  made  an  appeal  for  his  nomination. 
The  effect  was  electrical ;  cries  of  "  by  acclamation  "  were  raised,  but  a  ballot  was 
had  in  which  the  nomination  of  Woodward  was  effected  and  in  a  moment  there- 


148  FRANCIS    \V.    HUGHES. 

after  made  unanimous.  In  1866  the  Schuylkill  county  delegates  supported  Mr. 
Clymer  for  the  nomination.  Mr.  Hughes  was  a  delegate  to  the  convention  held 
in  Philadelphia  in  the  early  part  of  Johnson's  Administration,  and  supported  the 
general  policy  of  that  convention. 

Mr.  Hughes  always  insisted  upon  the  right  of  the  government  to  abso- 
lutely control  the  issuance  of  money  as  well  as  the  amount  of  the  issue,  contend- 
ing that  where  the  amount  of  gold  and  silver  was  not  sufficient  for  the  legitimate 
demands  of  trade,  such  amount  should  be  supplemented  with  paper  legal  tender 
issues  direct  b)- the  government  instead  of  non-legal  tender  paper  issues  through 
the  medium  of  banks.  He  contended  that  this  was  true  Democratic  doctrine, 
and  as  a  consequence  favored  what  was  then  known  (in  1875)  as  the  Ohio  idea, 
and  in  the  Democratic  Convention  held  at  Erie  that  year,  he,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Resolutions,  succeeded  in  having  similar  principles  incorporated  in 
the  platform. 

In  1876,  at  the  Democratic  Convention  which  met  at  Lancaster,  and  which 
Mr.  Hughes  did  not  attend  by  reason  of  temporary  indisposition,  the  doctrines 
of  the  Erie  Convention  were  repudiated.  In  an  open  letter  he  asserted  that  their 
action  was  not  Democratic,  and  supported  Peter  Cooper,  the  candidate  of  the 
Greenback  party,  as  President.  He  was  thereafter  influential  in  the  Greenback 
party;  was  President  of  the  National  Convention  at  Toledo  in  1876,  and  of  the 
State  Conventions — 1877,  at  Williamsport;  iS/S.  '"  Philadelphia,  and  1880,  in 
Harrisburg.  He  maintained  the  principles  which  induced  him  to  connect  him- 
self with  the  organization  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

In  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1880  he  became  satisfied  that  certain  of  its 
leaders  were  improperly  controlling  it  with  the  object  of  advancing  personal 
views  and  ambitions  foreign  to  its  legitimate  purposes.  He  was  not  willing  to 
lend  his  influence  in  favor  of  such  aims,  and  at  once  severed  his  connection  with 
the  party. 

But  notwithstanding  the  interest  he  had  taken  in  politics  Mr.  Hughes  was 
never  a  politician  in  the  h,ense  of  being  an  aspirant  for  place.  In  1863  he  would 
have  been  gratified  to  attain  the  position  of  United  States  Senator,  but  even  then 
did  not  make  a  canvass  such  as  his  friends  think  he  should  have  made,  and  which 
they  think  would  have  insured  his  election. 

Mr.  Hughes  was  always  very  active  as  a  business  man  outside  of  his  profes- 
sion. He  originated  and  aided  in  many  enterprises ;  in  the  purchase  and  im- 
provements of  lands;  in  the  opening  and  improvement  of  coal  and  iron  mines; 
in  the  establishment  of  iron  works  and  other  factories. 

About  1883  Mr.  Hughes'  health  became  impaired,  and  though  for  several 
years  after  he  attended  to  business,  struggling  with  an  iron  will  again.st  the 
inroads  of  weakening  illness,  in  1885  he  began  to  fail  rapidly,  and  on  October 
22d  of  that  year  he  breathed  his  last. 

Mr.  Hughes  was  a  gentleman  of  fine  personal  appearance,  dignity  of  manners 
and  character,  pleasing  address  and  amiable  disposition.  I  le  was  universally 
respected,  and  popular  with  political  opponents  as  well  as  friends. 


Hon.  H.  Jones   Brooke. 


HUGFI   JONES   BROOKE. 

HON.  H.  Jones  Brooke,  for  many  years  a  State  Senator,  was  born  December 
27,  1805,  and  was  the  eldest  of  five  cliildren  born  to  Nathan  Brooke  and 
Mary  (Jones),  his  wife.  His  fatlier  was  a  well-to-do  farmer,  whose  estate  com- 
prised the  valley  of  the  Gulf  Creek,  in  Radnor,  adjoining  Montgomeiy  county. 
His  ancestors  were  the  sturdy  yeomanry  of  the  early  emigration  from  E!ngland 
and  Wales.  Those  of  his  father  were  Qiiakers,  and  settled  in  and  near  Limerick 
(now  Montgomery  count)'),  and  of  his  mother,  Episcopalians,  who  settled  in 
Newtown  and  Radnor,  and  were  among  the  founders  of  St.  David's  Church, 
Radnor.  His  father  djing  when  he  was  but  nine  years  old,  he  was  brought  up 
under  the  joint  care  of  his  mother  and  his  paternal  grandfather,  who  were  well 
fitted  to  prepare  him  for  the  active  duties  of  life.  His  education  was  of  the 
character  obtainable  at  that  day  in  the  local  schools.  At  the  early  age  of  fifteen 
he  took  charge  of  the  farm,  and  thenceforward  led  a  life  of  active  usefulness. 

The  prominence  of  his  grandfather,  who  had  been  a  Revolutionary  officer,  and 
was  a  large  land -owner,  as  well  as  extensively  engaged  in  industrial  pursuits, 
brought  him  into  early  participation  in  the  administration  of  public  affairs,  and 
he  almost  continuously  served  his  fellow-citizens  in  local  matters,  besides  terms 
in  both  branches  of  the  State  Legislature,  always  being  on  important  committees, 
mostly  in  leading  positions,  and  his  advice  was  frequently  sought  in  National  and 
State,  as  well  as  local,  corporate  and  personal  affairs. 

In  corporations  he  was  largely  interested  ;  and  the  Delaware  Mutual  Safety 
Insurance  Company,  the  First  National  Bank  of  Media,  the  Twelfth  Street 
Market  Company,  and  the  Media  Gas  Company  were  among  those  of  which  he 
was  either  the  originator  or  a  corporator,  and  assisted  in  the  administration  as 
president  or  director  until  his  death.  There  were  many  other  public  interests 
with  which  he  was  or  had  been  connected.  To  him  Philadelphia  is  largely 
indebted  for  its  present  system  of  market-houses,  he  being  the  originator,  and, 
until  he  refused  to  serve  longer.  President  of  the  Farmers'  Market  Company. 

In  1853  he  purchased  the  farm  in  and  adjoining  Media,  lying  between  the 
State  (street)  road  and  Ridley  Creek,  and  removing  from  Radnor  thither,  thence- 
forward gave  liberal  attention  to  the  development  of  that  town,  building  with  his 
own  means  the  Chestnut  Grove  House,  Brooke  Hall  Female  Seminary,  many 
private  residences  and  other  buildings,  and  aided  largely  in  the  construction 
and  management  of  the  Philadelphia,  Media  and  West  Chester  Railroad  that 
passes  through  it.  The  PennsyK'ania  Training  School  for  Feeble-Minded  Chil- 
dren near  Media  was  located  through  him,  and  largely  developed  through  his 
legislative  influence  in  securing  appropriations  from  the  State  for  its  building  and 
maintenance.  Both  as  an  officer  and  citizen  it  had  his  earnest,  sympathetic  ad\ice 
and  assistance  until  his  death, 

(149) 


150  H.    JONES    BROOKE. 

In  the  suppression  of  the  Rebellion  he  took  an  acti\e  part,  and  when  asked  by 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  assist  in  developing  the  Commissary  Department  he 
went  earnestly  to  work,  and  served  both  in  the  field  and  at  post  with  benefit  alike 
to  tile  government  and  the  soldier  until  impaired  health  from  overwork  enforced 
his  resignation. 

In- politics  he  was  a  Whig,  and  early  became  a  Republican  because  of  his  anti- 
slavery  convictions,  which  caused  liim  to  refuse  a  marshalship  that  might  involve 
his  official  enforcement  of  tlie  fugitive  slave  law.  In  business  he  spoke  of  him- 
self as  a  farmer,  but,  as  before  mentioned,  he  was  that  and  much  more.  In 
religion  he  made  no  public  profession,  but  was  a  regular  and  constant  attendant 
at  the  services  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  St.  David's,  Radnor,  and 
Christ  Church,  Media,  especially  shared  in  his  labors  and  his  means.  Of  the 
latter  he  was  the  originator.  He  was  especially  interested  in  the  amusement  and 
instruction  of  the  young,  and  was  always  ready  at  proper  times  to  participate  in 
the  one  or  aid  the  other;  and  many  were  indebted  to  him  for  his  good  advice 
and  material  assistance  for  their  start  in  life. 

He  married,  April  16,  1829,  Jemima  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Long- 
mire  (a  manufacturer)  and  Elizabeth  (Green)  liis  wife,  who,  with  his  family,  had 
emigrated  from  Nottingham,  England.  They  had  nine  children,  of  whom 
tliree  died  in  early  childhood.  The  others — Nathan  (died  1885),  Francis  Mark, 
Hannah  Maria,  wife  of  John  L.  Evans,  Benjamin,  Hunter,  Sarah  Ann,  wife  of 
George  M.  Lewis — and  his  widow,  survived  him. 

After  an  honorable  life  of  uninterrupted  usefulness  he  died,  December  19,  1S76, 
and  was  buried  at  St.  David's,  Radnor. 


\V^.'- 


Hon.  Charles  S.  Wolfe. 


CHARLES   SPYKER   WOLFE. 

A  SHORT  time  since  the  public  prints  contained  a  statement  showing  the  average 
age  at  whicli  the  marked  men  who  have  attained  fame  in  the  various  de- 
partments of  human  endeavor  achieved  their  distinction.  Tlie  most  striking  fact 
developed  by  this  statement  is  found  in  the  demonstration  tliat  the  large  majority 
of  men  of  force  and  extraordinar_\' abilit)- since  the  dawn  of  civilization  have  been 
on  their  wa\'  to  prominence  before  passing  the  meridian  of  life.  There  are,  of 
course,  a  few  notable  exceptions  to  this  general  rule,  as  in  the  case  of  Moses  the 
1  L-brcw  lawgiver,  Cromwell  the  Puritan  ruler  of  England,  and  Knox  the  great 
Scotch  divine  ;  but  the  generaF  tendency  of  all  experience  points  with  an  unerring 
certaint)-  to  the  conclusion  that  any  notable  human  success  must  be  achie\-ed 
\\hile  the  subject  is  in  the  lieyda)'  of  his  powers,  ph\'sical  and  mental.  The  sub- 
ject of  this  [iresent  sketch  adds  another  to  the  long  list  of  examples  which  go  to 
prove  the  truth  of  this  proposition,  he  being  the  j'oungcst  man  now  in  public 
prominence  in  this  Commonwealth. 

Ch.^rles  Spvker  Wolfe  was  born  at  Lewisburg,  L-nion  county,  April  6,  1S45. 
Mis  father,  Samuel  Wolfe,  was  of  Pennsylvania  Dutch  extraction,  his  ancestors 
having  originally  emigrated  from  Berks  county  some  time  prior  to  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Revolution.  One  of  his  direct  ancestors  was  killed  by  the  Inilians  in 
one  of  their  predatory  excursions,  about  the  time  of  the  fuiinus  Wyoming  mas- 
sacre, and  is  buried  upon  a  farm  a  short  distance  from  Lewisburg.  Samuel 
Wolfe  married  Catharine  Lawshe,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  pious  Huguenot 
families  who  were  dri\en  from  I' ranee  on  account  of  their  religious  con\-ictions. 
It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Wolfe  continues  in  his  own  nature  the  solid 
and  enduring  qualities  of  the  Pennsyl\-ania  Dutchman  with  the  \'ersatilit_\-  and 
brilliancy  of  the  French  race.  Samuel  Wolfe  was  the  leading  grain-dealer  of 
the  West  Branch  section  in  his  da)-,  ha\'ing  extensi\e  transactions  with  the 
farmers  and  business  men  of  a  large  section  of  country.  He  bought  the  wheat 
from  the  farmers'  wagons,  and  shipped  it  to  Baltimore,  Philadelphia  and  other 
jxiints  by  canal,  which  was  the  method  of  transportation  in  those  da_\'s.  His 
reputation  for  honesty  and  upiightness  was  so  firmly  established  o\'er  a  wide 
extent  of  country  where  he  was  well  known  that  his  word  was  never  questioned. 
This  reputation  provetl  to  be  a  legacy  of  great  value  to  his  son,  as  in  after  \'ears, 
^\■hen  Charles,  then  little  more  than  a  beardless  j-outh,  started  out  among  the 
people  to  make  his  first  can\-ass  for  a  legislati\-e  nonn'natiun,  he  was  in\ariabl\' 
greeted  with  the  remark,  that  if  he  was  as  good  a  man  as  his  father  the  district 
would  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  such  a  representati\'e. 

Samuel  Wolfe  was  one  of  the  original  founders  of  the  "  Uni\-ersit)'  at  Lewis- 
burg," where  his  son  was  afterwards  etlucated,  and  held  the  position  of  treasurer 
to  the  institution  at  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  when  Charles  was  only 

(151) 


15-  CHARLES    S.    WOLFE. 

five  )-ears  old.  By  dint  of  his  industrious  and  enterprising  business  methods  lie 
had  accumulated  a  fair  competency,  so  that  his  widow  and  children  were  left  in 
comfortable  circumstances  and  the  latter  given  a  good  education.  Charles  was 
admitted  to  college  in  iS6i,  having  been  awarded  the  higliest  prize  given  his 
class  at  the  preliminarA-  examination.  He  was  at  this  time  in  very  delicate  health, 
and  in  consequence  was  compelled  to  leave  college  one  year,  and  did  Yiot  gradu- 
ate till  1866,  when  he  was  awarded  the  highest  honors  of  his  class.  The  inter- 
vening year  he  spent  in  Minnesota  with  a  party  of  civil  engineers  who  were  sur- 
veying the  Winona  and  St.  Peter's  Railway.  At  the  expiration  of  his  collegiate 
course  he  immediately  entered  the  Harvard  Law  School,  and  graduated  there- 
from at  the  expiration  of  the  usual  two  years'  course.  During  his  college  course 
he  had  enlisted  in  Captain  Lambert's  Company  of  Independent  Cavalry,  and  had 
.served  in  the  famous  Fishing  Creek  Confederacy  campaign,  and  also  was  with 
his  company  in  one  of  the  Cumberland  Valley  campaigns,  where  he  served  as 
orderly  to  General  Couch.  He  kept  up  his  studies  during  the  period  of  his  mili- 
tarv  service,  so  as  to  be  able  to  keep  pace  with  his  class.  He  married  during 
his  last  year  at  Harvard,  and  upon  the  completion  of  his  law  course  at  that  insti- 
tution he  returned  to  his  native  town  and  engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  chosen 
profession.  Here,  by  his  superior  natural  abilities  and  his  indefatigable  industr}', 
he  soon  established  a  lucrative  practice,  which  has  been  constant!)'  increasing 
until,  at  the  present  time,  although  he  has  associated  two  able  assistants  with 
him,  he  finds  himself  unable  to  keep  up  with  the  demands  made  upon  him  by  his 
clients.  His  powers  of  endurance  are  extraordinary,  as  he  will  frequently,  when 
engaged  in  preparing  some  important  case,  continue  at  his  work  for  from  twenty- 
four  to  thirty-six  hours  without  rest  or  sleep.  He  has  achieved  aver}' high  place 
in  his  profession,  standing  to-day  in  the  very  front  rank  among  the  lawyers  of 
this  Commonwealth. 

His  most  notable  characteristics  as  a  professional  man  are  thoroughness  in 
research  and  the  power  to  state  his  positions  in  clear  and  forcible  terms.  Every 
person  who  has  had  the  opportunity  to  hear  him  argue  a  point  of  law  or  a  legis- 
lative proposition  has  been  forcibly  struck  with  those  traits  of  his  mental  power. 
He  first  goes  to  the  bottom  of  ever}'  subject  with  which  he  grapples,  and  then 
states  his  points  in  terms  so  clear  and  forcible  that  even  a  child  might  understand 
them.  But  while  he  has  achieved  notable  success  for  one  so  young  in  his  chosen 
profession,  Mr.  Wolfe  is  best  known  to  the  people  of  this  Commonwealth  as  an 
able,  honest  and  courageous  legislator. 

He  was  first  chosen  to  represent  the  counties  of  Union  and  Snyder  in  the 
Lower  House  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1872,  and  was  re-elected  the  following 
j'ear.  In  1874  he  was  elected  to  represent  Union  county,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  preparing  the  body  of  legislation  enacted  in  that  year  for  the  purpose  of 
putting  in  force  the  provisions  of  the  new  Constitution.  He  was  associated  in 
that  famous  body  with  John  I.  Mitchell,  since  United  States  Senator,  Judge  Orvis, 
of  Centre  county,  Ncwmeyer,  of  Allegheny,  Stranahan,  of  Mercer,  and  others  of 


CHARLES    S.    WOLFE.  1 53 

scarcely  less  distinguished  ability  and  experience;  and,  although  the  youngest 
member  of  the  body,  was  considered  one  of  the  most  active  and  useful  legislators 
who  had  the  honor  to  represent  this  Commonwealth  in  that  memorable  session. 

He  was  again  elected  for  the  sessions  of  1875-1876,  and,  although  the  Demo- 
crats were  in  the  ascendency  in  this  body,  he  divided  the  honors  of  the  Republi- 
can leadership  with  John  I.  Mitchell,  and  made  himself  famous  by  his  conduct  of 
the  notorious  Boom  bill  investigation,  and  his  management  of  the  proceedings 
which  resulted  in  the  trial  and  expulsion  of  Lynott,  of  Luzerne,  and  Emil  J. 
Petroff,  of  Philadelphia.  In  1876  he  was  unanimously  nominated  by  his  county 
for  the  State  Senate,  but  was  beaten  in  the  conference,  and  the  Republicans  were 
beaten  in  the  district  and  have  never  been  able  to  elect  a  Republican  Senator 
from  the  district  since. 

During  the  session  of  1S77  Simon  Cameron  resigned  his  scat  in  the  United 
States  Senate  and  successfully  transferred  the  Senatorial  toga  to  his  son  for  the 
remainder  of  his  term.  As  the  Legislature  of  1879  would  be  called  upon  to  elect 
his  successor,  Mr.  Wolfe,  who  was  a  determined  foe  of  the  Cameron  dynasty, 
offered  himself  again  as  a  candidate  for  the  Lower  House  upon  the  distinct  issue 
that  he  would  not  vote  for  Cameron  under  any  circumstances,  and  was  over- 
whelmingly nominated  and  elected.  When  the  Legislature  of  that  year  assembled 
the  House  was  no  sooner  organized  than  under  the  call  of  the  chairman  of  the 
State  Committee  the  Senatorial  caucus  was  called,  although  near  two  weeks  in 
advance  of  the  election.  There  were  many  protests  and  mutterings  among  the 
members  and  Senators  at  this  haste,  but  the  party  lash  was  applied,  and  Mr. 
Cameron  was  nominated.  Twenty-seven  members  and  Senators,  including  Mr. 
Wolfe,  absented  themselves  from  the  caucus,  and  if  these  had  all  stood  firm  Mr. 
Cameron's  defeat  would  have  been  assured.  But  an  adjournment  was  effected 
for  one  week  under  the  plea  of  the  necessity  of  time  for  the  Speaker  to  make  his 
committees,  and  the  members  were  scattered  to  their  several  homes,  where  such 
pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  them  that  all  but  five  yielded  and  Mr. 
Cameron  was  elected.  Mr.  Wolfe  and  his  few  "  kicking  "  companions  looked 
forward  to  the  balance  of  the  session  with  anything  but  pleasurable  anticipations, 
as  threats  of  ostracism  and  "  boj-cotting  "  were  indulged  in  very  freely  by  the 
adherents  of  the  so-called  "  machine."  But  this  period  of  depression  was  of 
short  duration,  as  Mr.  Wolfe  was  a  man  of  such  aggressiveness  and  ability  that 
in  a  short  time  he  was  able  to  turn  the  tables  against  his  enemies,  and  assume  his 
natural  place  as  the  leader  of  the  House.  This  session  was  destined  to  witness 
one  of  the  most  stubborn  and  exciting  legislative  contests  ever  known  in  the 
history  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  Pittsburgh  riots,  which  had  taken  place  in  1S77,  had  been  accompanied  by 
the  destruction  of  an  immense  amount  of  property.  By  a  special  enactment 
Allegheny  county  was  made  responsible  for  all  such  losses  occurring  within  her 
borders.  These  losses  amounted  to  such  an  enormous  sum  that  the  people  of 
the  county  applied  to  the  Legislature  for  relief,  and  a  bill  was  introduced  appro- 


154  CHARLES    S.    WOLFE. 

priating  $4,000,000  for  that  purpose.  The  balance  of  the  State  objected  loudly 
to  being  taxed  to  pay  this  claim,  and  a  determined  opposition  to  the  passage  of 
the  bill  was  soon  organized.  Mr.  Wolfe  led  the  opposition,  although  ably 
seconded  by  the  late  Edward  Law,  Benjamin  L.  Hewit  and  others.  The  contest 
became  very  violent;  and  was  so  close  that  for  a  long  time  it  seemed  verj'  doubt- 
ful as  to  the  final  result.  At  last  some  of  the  friends  of  the  measure,  despairing 
of  passing  it  by  ordinary  influences,  undertook  to  compass  its  success  by 
bribing  and  were  detected  and  exposed. 

A  committee  of  investigation  was  appointed,  of  which  ]\Ir.  Wolfe  was  a  mem- 
ber, and,  after  a  thorough  and  searching  examination,  made  a  report  recommend- 
ing the  expulsion  of  four  members.  The  friends  of  the  measure  very  unwisely 
banded  together  and  prevented  their  expulsion,  which  required  a  two-thirds  vote, 
and  thus  forced  resort  to  criminal  prosecution  to  purge  the  Legislature  of  the 
stain.  This  committee  was  composed  of  Messrs.  McKee,  Wolfe,  Mapes,  White, 
Hackett,  Bradford,  Kirke  and  Sherwood.  As  in  all  former  reform  measures 
connected  with  the  Legislature  of  this  Commonwealth  since  his  first  entrance 
into  public  life,  Mr.  Wolfe  was  once  more  the  leading  spirit  in  this  endeavor  to 
bring  to  justice  the  men  who  had  attempted  to  corrupt  legislation  at  its  fountain. 
Eminent  counsel  were  emploj'ed,  including  Judge  Black,  Matthew  H.  Carpenter, 
of  Wisconsin,  Franklin  B.  Gowen,  Judge  Simonton,  of  Harrisburg,  George  H. 
Irwin  and  others,  and  the  suits  were  undertaken  in  dead  earnest. 

One  great  obstacle  which  stood  in  the  way  of  success  was  the  fact  that  the 
Legislature  had  made  no  provision  for  the  expenses  of  the  trial,  and  such  emi- 
nent counsel  could  not  be  obtained  for  nothing.  But  the  determined  Wolfe  and 
his  compatriots,  nothing  daunted,  proceeded  at  once  to  obtain  the  necessary 
funds  by  private  subscriptions,  and  pushed  the  suits  with  unabated  vigor.  Every 
obstacle  which  ingenuity,  trickery  and  legal  acumen  could  interpose  was  placed 
in  the  way  of  the  prosecution.  An  extra  grand  juryman  was  smuggled  into  the 
grand-jury  room,  thus  furnishing  a  technical  pretext  for  the  quashing  of  the 
first  series  of  indictments.  New  bills  were  immediately  presented  and  indict- 
ments obtained,  and  when  the  defendants  had  exhausted  all  means  of  delay  and 
were  compelled  to  face  a  jury  of  their  peers,  by  the  advice  of  their  counsel  four 
of  them  pleaded  guilty,  and  one,  Emil  J.  Petroff,  was  tried  and  convicted. 

The  effective  work  of  the  committee  which  had  thus  pushed  these  prosecutions 
to  a  successful  issue  was  to  be  neutralized  by  the  action  of  the  Pardon  Board, 
which  remitted  the  penalty  of  imprisonment  within  less  than  twenty-four  hours 
after  sentence  was  passed.  The  moral  effect,  however,  of  the  convictions  was 
not  destroyed.  From  the  hour  that  sentence  was  passed  upon  the  guilty  parties 
the  political  atmosphere  of  the  State  has  been  undergoing  the  process  of  purifi- 
cation. The  bribe-giver  and  the  bribe-taker  in  the  councils  of  the  Common- 
wealth saw  in  the  result  of  the  trials  the  rise  of  a  new  spirit,  and  it  is  a  fact 
worthy  of  record  that  from  that  time  to  this  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  has 
been  more  elevated  in  tone,  more  obedient  to  the  will  of  the  people,  and   freer 


CHARLES   S.    WOLFE.  155 

from  the  presence  of  the  professional  corruptionist  than  it  had  been  for  ten  years 
previous.  In  all  the  tedious  work  of  this  laborious  prosecution  Mr.  Wolfe  was 
the  acknowledged  leader,  and  to  his  untiring  energy,  his  wise  counsels,  and  his 
relentless  determination  to  vindicate  the  fame  of  the  State,  must  be  attributed  in 
great  degree  all  the  good  effects  that  followed. 

In  connection  with  this  chapter  of  Mr.  Wolfe's  public  record  there  is  a  fact 
never  yet  published,  which,  in  justice  to  the  patriotic  manhood  of  Pennsylvania, 
should  now  be  given  its  place  in  histor\-.  It  is  that  the  prosecution  and  convic- 
tion of  the  Riot  bill  bribers  was  accomplished  without  the  expenditure  of  a 
single  dollar  of  the  public  funds.  All  the  expenses  of  the  trial — and  they  were 
greater  than  those  of  any  other  State  trial  in  the  history  of  the  Commonwealth — 
were  paid  by  private  subscriptions. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  success  which  attended  Mr.  Wolfe's  efforts  to 
punish  crime  in  high  places  had  something  to  do  with  the  organization  of  the 
reform  movement  which  within  the  past  five  }'ears  has  wrought  such  wholesome 
results  in  the  municipal  affairs  of  Philadelphia. 

The  fame  acquired  by  Mr.  Wolfe  in  his  crusade  against  the  Riot  bill  corrup- 
tionists  led  to  his  overwhelming  re-election  to  the  House  in  i8So,  where  he 
found  himself  again  surrounded  by  his  comrades  in  the  celebrated  prosecution. 

The  Legislature  elected  simultaneously  with  Garfield's  elevation  to  the  Presi- 
dency was  thoroughly  Republican.  In  the  House  the  partv  had  a  majority  of 
forty-three  votes,  and  in  the  Senate  a  majority  of  si.vtcen.  The  interest  of  the 
session  centered  upon  the  election  of  a  successor  to  William  A.  Wallace  in  the 
United  States  Senate,  and  the  people  of  the  State  had  formally  and  informally 
expressed  their  preference  for  Galusha  A.  Grow  for  that  position.  To  the  radical 
wing  of  the  party  Mr.  Grow,  because  of  his  abilities,  independence  and  ante- 
cedents, was  thoroughly  distasteful,  and  the  edict  went  forth  that  he  must  be 
defeated.  Representatives  who  had  been  instructed  b\-  their  constituents  to  sup- 
port Mr.  Grow  were  persuaded  by  the  peculiar  methods  of  the  machine  to  ignore 
their  obligations  and  indorse  a  candidate  selected  by  Cameron.  To  prevent  the 
nullification  of  the  popular  will  it  became  necessary  to  resort  to  aggressive 
measures.  A  bolt  was  organized,  and  fifty-six  Senators  and  Representatives, 
prominent  among  whom  was  Mr.  Wolfe,  refused  to  enter  the  party  caucus.  The 
bolters  carried  with  them  the  balance  of  power,  and  held  the  machine  at  bay  all 
through  the  hostile  contests  that  followed.  They  voted  for  Mr.  Grow  steadily 
until  he  withdrew,  and  then  transferred  their  strength  to  Thomas  M.  Bayne,  of 
Allegheny,  whom  they  continued  to  support  until  a  joint  committee  appointed  by 
the  conflicting  parties  waited  upon  John  I.  Mitchell  as  a  compromise  candidate, 
Mitchell  being  finally  elected  by  a  practically  unanimous  vote.  Throughout 
this  contest,  from  its  inception  to  its  consummation,  Mr.  Wolfe  was  a  foremost 
and  effective  worker  against  the  machine,  sharing  with  Senators  Lee  and  Stewart 
and  Representatives  Law,  McKee  and  others  all  the  trying  labors  of  organization 
and  policy. 


156  CHARLES    S.    WOLFE. 

Tlic  Senatorial  contest  fairly  settled,  the  next  important  work  of  the  session 
was  tiiat  which  arose  in  connection  with  the  reform  legislation  proposed  by 
members  from  Philadelphia.  The  legislation  in  question  consisted  of  acts  re- 
pealing the  Delinquent  Tax  bill,  abolishing  the  Recorder's  office,  and  kindred 
measures.  Owing  to  the  delay  caused  by  the  Senatorial  struggle  it  was  impos- 
sible to  reach  these  bills  in  their  regular  order,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to 
make  their  consideration  a  special  order,  which  required  a  two-thirds  vote.  But 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  a  clear  majority  of  the  House  favored  the  bills,  the 
machine  was  enabled  to  defeat  their  enactment  by  withholding  the  votes  neces- 
sary to  a  special  order.  In  Mr.  Wolfe  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  these  bills, 
Messrs.  McKee  and  Law,  found  a  ready  and  powerful  coadjutor. 

In  his  legislative  career  Mr.  Wolfe  displays  the  same  effective  oratory  that 
marks  his  services  as  a  legal  advocate.  His  argument  against  the  constitution- 
ality of  the  Riot  bill,  founded  upon  the  debates  in  the  Constitutional  Convention, 
has  been  pronounced  a  masterpiece  by  the  best  legal  minds  of  the  State ;  and 
the  opinion  of  the  Supreme  Court,  declaring  Allegheny  county  responsible  for 
the  losses  incurred  in  the  riots,  might  almost  be  called  an  abstract  of  his  argu- 
ment. Notwithstanding  the  snap  and  fire  and  eloquence  of  his  oratory  on  the 
political  stump  or  in  some  quiet  churchyard,  where  the  graves  of  soldiers  have 
just  received  their  offerings  of  bud  and  blossom,  Mr.  Wolfe's  greatness  as  a 
speaker  rises  to  its  loftiest  height  in  the  heat  of  some  fierce  debate  in  the  halls 
of  the  Legislature.  It  needs  opposition,  friction,  contradiction  or  the  blind  as- 
sault of  an  infuriated  antagonist  to  rouse  his  latent  energies,  and  when  that  is 
done,  he  rises  like  some  wild  mountain  torrent,  and  with  logic,  invective,  ridicule 
and  withering  satire  sweeps  all  before  him. 

Thus  far  this  essay  has  dealt  with  Mr.  Wolfe  as  a  man,  a  lawyer  and  a  legis- 
lator.    We  have  now  to  consider  him  as  an  agitator  and  popular  leader. 

The  inauguration  of  President  Garfield  was  hailed  as  the  signal  for  purer 
morals  in  Pennsylvania  Republicanism.  Garfield  was  in  hearty  accord  with  the 
Independent  spirit  which  had  but  recently  forced  the  election  of  Mitchell  to  the 
Senate.  He  had  announced  his  purpose  to  recognize  all  elements  of  the  party 
equally,  and  by  his  own  record  and  the  antecedents  of  his  nomination  stood  dis- 
tinctly committed  against  the  proscriptive  policy  which  had  been  so  long  pur- 
sued by  the  radical  wing  of  the  party  in  this  State.  The  courageous  independ- 
ence of  the  Federal  Administration  and  its  evident  determination  to  see  fair  play 
to  all  sides  had  the  effect  of  bringing  about  a  change  in  the  tactics  of  the  leaders 
of  the  Pennsylvania  machine,  and  they  evinced  a  disposition  to  meet  the  Liberal 
element  half  way  in  the  work  of  reconciliation.  In  the  preliminary  canvass  and 
consultation  William  F.  Davies,  of  Bradford  county,  one  ot  the  State  Senators 
who  had  bolted  the  Senatorial  caucus  the  winter  before,  was  suggested  by  the 
Independents  as  an  available  man  for  .State  Treasurer,  and  the  machine  managers 
with  little  or  no  dissent  offered  to  support  him  and  make  him  the  nominee  of 
the   convention.     Accordingly  the  customary  machine   jjolicy  of  nominating  a 


CHARLES   S.    WOLFE.  157 

candidate  solely  with  a  view  of  his  acceptance  to  Cameron  was  abandoned,  and 
there  was  a  tacit  if  not  an  explicit  understanding  that  Davies  was  to  be  the  party 
nominee. 

On  the  2d  of  July  occurred  an  event  which  ultimately  caused  a  reversal  of  the 
moderate  policy  thus  introduced  by  the  Radicals  and  a  return  to  the  arbitrary 
methods  which  alone  arc  responsible  for  all  the  dissensions  which  have  since  dis- 
tracted the  Republican  organization.  So  long  as  there  was  a  probability  of 
President  Garfield's  recovery  from  the  wound  inflicted  by  Guiteau,  so  long  the 
machine  leaders  professed  a  willingness  to  acquiesce  and  assist  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  Davies.  But  as  the  summer  wore  on  and  the  patient  sufferer  in  the  White 
House  drifted  nearer  and  nearer  the  borderland  of  death,  the  machinists  began 
casting  about  for  a  pretext  on  which  to  violate  their  pledges.  They  saw  in  the 
death  of  Garfield  the  accession  to  power  of  an  administration  headed  by  a  man 
whose  whole  political  career  had  been  dominated  and  controlled  by  the  party 
machine ;  they  saw  that  Arthur's  elevation  to  the  Presidential  office  would  revo- 
lutionize the  entire  policy  of  the  government  and  place  it  again  in  the  hands  of 
the  desperate  leaders  who  had  been  ingloriously  beaten  at  Chicago;  and,  with 
the  cunning  of  their  craft,  they  resolved  that  Pennsylvania  should  present  her- 
self to  the  new  dynasty  in  the  attitude  of  a  supporter  of  Stalwart  policy.  To 
accomplish  this  purpose  the  pledges  of  fealty  to  Davies  were  cast  to  the  winds 
and  the  forces  of  the  Radical  wing  of  the  party  were  concentrated  to  nominate 
a  candidate  whose  record  should  harmonize  with  the  third-term  idea. 

Mr.  Wolfe  as  a  spectator  attended  the  convention  which  nominated  General 
Bailey.  He  saw  that  body  in  complete  submission  to  the  men  who  in  two 
National  Conventions  had  stifled  the  voice  of  Pennsylvania  by  binding  her  in 
slavery  to  the  unit  rule ;  he  saw  it  controlled  by  the  Pardon  Board,  that  had  de- 
stroyed at  a  blow  the  fruits  of  the  Riot  bill  prosecutions,  and  he  saw  the  same 
organization  compel  the  nomination  of  a  gentleman  who  stood  with  the  "  306," 
in  defiance  of  the  people's  will,  at  Chicago. 

Hot  with  indignation  at  what  he  deemed  abase  stultification  of  the  Republican 
party,  Mr.  Wolfe  retired  to  his  quiet  home  in  Lewisburg,  chagrined  and  humil- 
iated. The  action  of  the  convention  had  placed  him  in  a  position  that  offered 
but  one  alternative — he  must  either  indorse  the  nominee  of  the  convention  and 
thus  tacitly  approve  the  action  of  the  Pardon  Board,  which  wiped  away  the  re- 
sults of  the  great  triumph  of  his  life,  or  come  out  in  open  rebellion  against  the 
machine.  One  thing  meant  self-stultification  and  the  other  meant  sacrifice  of 
political  prospects.  He  chose  the  latter,  and  without  a  word  of  consultation 
with  his  friends  he  announced  himself  as  an  Independent  Republican  candidate 
for  State  Treasurer. 

The  history  of  the  brief  campaign  which  followed  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
picturesque  chapters  in  the  political  annals  of  Pennsylvania.  In  the  four  weeks 
intervening  between  his  announcement  and  the  day  of  election,  he  spoke  in  nearly 
every  city  in  the  State,  his  speech  in  every  instance  ringing  with  brave  words  for 


1 5$  CHARLES    S.    WOLFE. 

rjform  in  methods  of  party  management.  His  appeal  to  the  people  evoked  a 
response  which  fully  justified  his  courageous  attitude  and  opened  the  way  for  the 
organized  opposition  which  has  since  appeared  against  the  machine. 

The  great  success  of  this  personal  campaign  startled  and  alarmed  the  machine 
leaders,  and  efforts  were  made  to  heal  the  division  in  the  Republican  party  caused 
by  Mr.  \\'olfe's  revolt.  A  conference  of  Independent  Republicans  took  place  at 
Philadelphia,  January  I2th,  1S82,  at  which  Mr.  Wolfe  made  a  speech.  A  resolu- 
tion was  adopted,  calling  for  a  State  Convention  on  May  24th,  for  the  purpose 
of  nominating  a  State  ticket.  The  machine  leaders  had  decreed  the  nomination 
of  General  Beaver  for  Governor  of  the  State,  and  while  the  Independents  had  no 
personal  objection  to  him,  they  were  determined  that  nominations  made  at  tlie 
parlor  caucuses  of  a  few  assumed  leaders  should  be  rebuked.  Every  prepara- 
tion was  therefore  made  for  the  selection  of  the  best  representatives  of  the  Inde- 
pendent element  as  delegates  to  the  coming  Independent  Convention.  In  this 
work  I\Ir.  Wolfe  was  as  usual  the  master  spirit.  Prior  to  the  time  for  the  as- 
sembling of  the  convention,  however,  a  Peace  Conference  was  arranged  com- 
posed of  five  representatives  of  each  faction.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  a  member  of  this 
conference  on  the  part  of  the  Independents.  The  conference  met  on  the  evening 
of  May  1st,  and  recommended  the  adoption  of  what  was  afterwards  called  the 
Continental  Conference  rules  for  the  government  of  the  party,  but  failed  to  make 
them  applicable  to  the  coming  Republican  Convention,  which  was  to  meet  on 
May  loth.  The  convention  met  on  that  date  and  carried  out  the  prearranged 
programme  in  making  its  nominations,  and  while  making  a  show  of  adopting 
the  recommendations  of  the  Peace  Conference,  refused  to  adopt  the  really  vital 
propositions  contained  therein.  The  Independent  Convention  met  May  24th 
and  proceeded  to  nominate  a  ticket  with  Senator  John  Stewart  at  its  head  as  the 
candidate  for  Governor.  Mr.  Wolfe  was  present  as  a  delegate  and  took  a  very 
prominent  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  convention.  He  afterwards  participated 
in  the  campaign  in  the  most  active  and  effective  manner,  speaking  in  every  im- 
portant city  in  the  State,  and  witnessing  as  the  result  of  his  labors  the  final  and 
complete  overthrow  of  the  oligarchy  which  had  so  long  controlled  the  Republi- 
can part>'  of  Pennsylvania.  During  the  campaigns,  from  1883  to  1885  inclusive, 
he  took  no  active  part,  attending  .strictly  to  his  constantly  increasing  law  prac- 
tice;  but  in  1886  his  proud  spirit  of  independence  again  asserted  itself,  and  he 
not  only  advocated  the  cause  of  Prohibition,  but  accepted  the  candidacy  for 
Governor  of  that  party,  and  made  one  of  his  characteristic,  thorouglily  aggressive 
and  extraordinarily  able  canvasses.  Though  he  fell  far  short  of  the  vote  lie  had 
received  for  State  Treasurer,  he  succeeded  in  fully  arousing  the  people,  and  the 
principles  he  advocated  bore  fruit  at  the  subsequent  session  of  the  Legislature, 
Januar)',  1887,  when  the  subject  of  Temperance  received  more  attention  than  for 
many  years  before. 

Perhap,s  the  first  inquiry  to  suggest  itself  to  the  casual  visitor  to  Mr.  Wolfe  in 
liis  own  home  would  be,  "  Why  does  a  man  with  these  surroundings  permit  him- 
self to  be  drawn  into  the  turmoil  of  political  warfare?"     A  home  which  in  its 


en aki.es  s.  WOLFE.  159 

material  elements  combines  all  the  luxury  and  elegance  at  the  command  of 
abundant  means;  a  home  in  which  refinement  and  domestic  happiness  reign 
supreme  ;  where  a  womanly  wife  and  sweet-voiced  children  worship  the  house- 
hold gods  in  happy  simplicity — all  these  possessions,  added  to  a  large  and  profit- 
able professional  practice,  amply  justify  the  visitor's  query. 

The  explanation  of  it  all  is  that  the  man  is  by  nature  and  instinct  a  politician 
and  a  leader.  To  him  the  heat  and  strife  of  a  great  political  contest  are  meat 
and  drink  and  air.     He  is  a  fighter  by  choice  and  a  leader  by  force  of  character. 

The  duty  of  a  friend  in  writing  of  a  friend  should  conform  with  Othello's  in- 
junction to  his  chronicler,  "  Speak  of  me  as  I  am."  Wolfe's  personal  character 
is  that  of  the  radical.  His  perceptive  powers  are  keen,  his  convictions  immov- 
able and  his  manner  impetuous.  He  is  impulsive  and  combative  in  the  highest 
degree.  He  lacks  patience ;  he  is  intolerant  of  those  who  lack  his  own  power 
of  reaching  quick  conclusions,  and  his  brilliant  manner  of  thought  and  speech 
sometimes  dazzles  and  misleads  his  own  judgment.  With  these  qualities  he 
combines  a  conscientiousness  which  shines  conspicuously  through  his  every  act, 
and  a  fidelity  to  his  duty  which  always  compels  respect,  if  it  sometimes  fails  to 
command  approval  for  his  conduct. 

What  the  future  of  this  man  may  be  is  largely  to  be  determined  by  the  out- 
come of  the  great  political  contest  which  he  helped  to  inaugurate  and  of  which 
he  has  ever  since  been  a  conspicuous  leader.  He  possesses  the  elements  of  true 
political  greatness  and  occupies  a  position  whose  individuality  is  more  vividly 
defined  than  that  of  any  man  of  his  years  who  ever  appeared  in  Pennsylvania  poli- 
tics. But  whether  his  career  hereafter  shall  be  brilliant  or  without  lustre,  the 
impartial  historian  will  write  him  down  as  one  of  the  fearless  few  who  were  brave 
enough  to  .sacrifice  the  prospect  of  political  advancement  to  a  sense  of  duty  to 
the  Commonwealth. 


Hon.  John  J.  Macfarlane. 


JOHN   JAMES   MACFARLANE. 

HON.  John  J.  Macfarlane,  Senator  from  the  I-'ourth  District  of  Pcnn- 
s}-lvania,  and  President  of  the  American  Life  Insurance  Company  of 
Philadelphia,  was  born  in  that  city  on  the  5th  of  June,  1S46.  His  parents  both 
came  from  the  North  of  Ireland,  and  were  descendants  of  a  long  line  of  what  is 
known  in  history  as  the  Scotch-Irish  stock,  which  has  made  itself  felt  in  every 
walk  of  life — civil,  political  and  military.  The  son  inherited  the  sterling  qualities 
of  this  excellent  race,  and  very  early  in  life  manifested  the  physical  and  mental 
traits  that  characterize  the  sturdy  Scotch-Irish  lineage  wherever  found.  Mis 
education  was  begun  in  the  public  schools  of  the  city  of  his  birth,  and  completed 
in  the  Central  High  School.  The  lad  made  no  holiday  of  life.  From  early 
childhood  his  career  has  been  marked  with  determined  effort  and  laborious 
application.  When  he  worked  or  studied  he  applied  all  his  faculties  to  the  task 
before  him,  and  never  left  it  until  he  had  completely  mastered  it.  If  he  played, 
he  entered  into  the  sport  with  all  the  ardor  of  his  nature.  As  he  grew  toward 
and  into  manhood,  the  same  energy  and  application  marked  his  course  and  dis- 
tinguished him  from  the  mass  of  his  associates.  When  he  left  school  he  almost 
immediately  became  prefect  of  Girard  College,  the  date  of  his  accession  to  that 
place  in  the  institution  being  1864,  when  he  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age.  He 
held  and  successfully  filled  the  position  in  the  college  until  1871,  when  he  relin- 
quished it  to  accept  the  position  of  Principal  of  the  Chestnut  Hill  Grammar 
School,  which  rapidly  achieved  a  foremost  rank  among  the  public  schools  of 
Philadelphia  under  his  proficient  and  painstaking  management.  Stephen  A. 
Douglas  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  best  place  to  study  human  nature 
and  human  government  is  from  the  teacher's  desk  in  the  public  school,  and  one 
of  the  foremost  lawyers  at  the  Philadelphia  Bar  asserts  that  no  man  can  become 
a  proficient  lawyer  who  has  not  served  half  a  dozen  years  of  his  life  as  a  school 
teacher.  Be  this  as  it  may,  history  avouches  that  many  of  our  most  astute 
statesmen  and  successful  politicians  and  lawyers  have  served  such  an  apprentice- 
ship in  teaching.  A  generation  ago  those  known  as  self-made  men  used  the 
teacher's  platform  in  the  public  schools  as  a  stepping-block  to  their  chosen 
profession. 

Mr.  Macfarlane  served  an  extended  apprenticeship  in  the  vocation  of  a  public 
school  teacher,  remaining  in  his  chair  as  Principal  of  the  Chestnut  Hill  Grammar 
School  until  1881,  a  period  of  nearly  eleven  years.  His  inherent  ambition  made 
him  desire  a  wider  sphere  for  advancement,  and  with  the  shrewdness  and  courage 
of  his  lineage  he  chose  an  occupation  which,  as  a  reward  for  close  application, 
hard  labor  and  shrewd  intelligence,  promised  correspondingly  large  rewards. 
He  embarked  in  the  insurance  business,  and,  with  his  characteristic  thorough- 
ness, applied  himself  to  the  task  of  mastering  the  details  of  the  business.  His 
21  (161) 


l62  JOHN   J.    MACFARLANE. 

foresight  suggested  this  step  as  necessary  to  gradual  advancement  and  ultimate 
success  in  attaining  the  foremost  stand  in  the  vocation  which  he  had  determined 
upon  as  the  business  of  his  life,  and  his  foresight  speedily  fruited  into  prophecy 
as  he  promptly  and  steadily  went  forward  and  upward  in  his  profession  until  he 
attained  the  topmost  round  of  the  ladder. 

Mr.  Macfarlane  came  into  public  notice  and  public  life  by  his  campaign  for  the 
office  of  State  Senator  from  the  Fourth  Senatorial  District  in  1882,  in  which  he 
was  elected  by  a  flattering  majority.  His  career  in  the  Senate  has  been  marked 
by  a  wide  knowledge  of  men  and  a  comprehensive  grasp  of  affairs.  His  probity 
and  courage  have  commended  him  to  his  fellow-citizens  and  the  tax-paj'ers,  and 
his  courtesy  and  painstaking  devotion  to  duty  have  won  for  him  the  regard  of  his 
colleagues  and  the  confidence  of  his  constituents.  He  has  earned  the  name  of  a 
reformer  for  the  sake  of  reform,  and  not  alone  for  the  ephemeral  fame  that  would 
serve  as  a  stepping-stone  to  selfish  aggrandizement  and  personal  profit.  His 
reform  was  not  "  a  promise  made  to  the  ear  and  broken  to  the  hope."  Nor  is  he 
radical  or  revolutionary  in  his  language,  methods  or  measures.  He  is  conserva- 
tive in  all  things.  Assured  that  great  bodies  move  with  proverbial  tardiness,  he 
was  satisfied  to  go  forward  slowly  and  safely ;  so  no  backward  step  was  taken. 
That  his  constituents  appreciated  his  intentions,  efforts  and  achievements,  they 
hastened  to  attest  at  the  first  possible  opportunity'.  This  occurred  at  the  expira- 
tion of  his  first  term  as  Senator,  which  was  in  1SS6.  He  was  again  nominated 
and  elected  \\ith  increased  manifestations  of  public  favor,  and  will  hold  the  office 
until  1890. 

Upon  his  entrance  into  the  Senate  he  was  compelled  to  differ  with  man\-  of  his 
political  associates  on  matters  of  legislation  pertaining  to  Philadelphia.  P'irst 
came  the  bill  to  abolish  the  office  of  Collector  of  Delinquent  Taxes,  which  was 
finally  passed ;  then  the  repeal  of  the  Recorder's  bill.  The  existence  of  these 
offices  had  caused  considerable  trouble  and  dissatisfaction  in  Philadelphia,  and 
their  recission  now  saves  the  community  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  a  j'ear. 
He  became  a  leader  of  the  Republican  side  in  all  matters  relating  to  the  appor- 
tionment legislation  during  the  eleven  months'  session  of  1883,  and  his  speeches, 
which  were  printed  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  State,  were  used  by  most  of  the 
speakers  during  the  canvass  following  as  the  basis  of  their  addresses,  and  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  success  of  the  party  in  that  year.  During  the  session  of 
1885  and  1887  he  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Conmiittee  in  acknowl- 
edgment of  his  special  qualifications,  and  became  as  much  an  authority  in  all 
matters  of  financial  legislation  as  he  had  formerly  in  that  connected  with  appor- 
tionment. He  has  always  taken  the  side  of  the  people,  even  when  it  seemed  to 
presage  his  political  death  or  loss  of  influence,  and  his  constituents  feel  that  he 
honestly  represents  them,  for  no  one  has  ever  been  said  to  control  his  vote. 
Many  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  Philadelphia  have  said  that  it  would  be  a  pub- 
lic calamity  if  his  new  business  should  cause  him  to  retire  from  public  life.  He 
was  the  active  man  in  securing  the  insertion   in  the   Hi"h    License   bill  of  the 


JOHN   J.    MACKARLANE.  1 63 

requirement  tliat  all  licenses  should  be  granted  by  the  Judges  in  Philadelphia 
and  Allegheny  counties  after  it  had  been  struck  out  in  the  House. 

Meanwhile  the  star  of  his  destiny  in  the  insurance  firmament  had  been  mount- 
ing higher  and  higher.  With  a  shrewd  Scotch  regard  for  the  old  maxim  that 
"  He  who  best  helps  himself,  most  helps  the  world,"  he  had  not  neglected  his 
business  interests  while  attending  to  political  campaigns  and  public  duties.  His 
tliorough  mastery  of  the  details  of  the  insurance  business,  his  unimpeachable 
integrity,  and  his  comprehensiv'c  intelligence  marked  him  for  a  rising  man  in  the 
insurance  world,  and  he  went  forward  with  a  steady,  self-reliant  step  until,  in 
April,  18S7,  he  was  elected  President  of  the  American  Life  Insurance  Company 
of  Philadelphia,  and  soon  made  the  impress  of  his  energy  and  systematic  labor 
felt  on  its  affairs. 

Amongst  other  posts  of  trust  or  honor  held  by  Mr.  Macfarlane  is  that  of 
Director  of  the  Bank  of  America,  and  also  of  the  Seventh  National  Bank. 

Mr.  i\Iacfarlane  is  not  entirely  without  a  military  record,  although  he  was  too 
young  to  have  attained  prominence  during  the  war.  When  not  yet  sixteen  years 
of  age  he  served  in  the  Keystone  Battery  in  the  year  1862,  and  in  the  following 
year  (1S63)  was  enrolled  in  Miller's  Independent  Battery. 

Although  but  fort}'-two  }"ears  of  age,  and  consequently  in  the  early  pride  of 
manhood's  pli)-sical  and  intellectual  vigor,  he  already  has  a  record  which  few 
men  of  three-score  )-ears  can  boast,  and  the  promise  of  a  successful,  useful  and 
honorable  life  ahead  of  him,  which  promise,  precluding  accidents,  disease  or 
premature  death,  will  assuredly  be  realized  steadily  and  rapidly,  else  the  past  is 
no  criterion  of  the  future,  and  coming  events  do  not  cast  their  shadows  before. 

I.  L.  Vansant. 


Hon.  John   E.   Reyburn. 


JOHN   EDGAR   RKYBURN. 

HON.  John  E.  Revdurn,  Senator  from  the  Fifth  Senatorial  District,  was  born 
at  New  CarUsle,  Clark  county,  Ohio,  on  February  7,  1845,  and  is  the  only 
son  ofWilliamS.  Reyburn,  a  successful  merchant  and  manufacturer  of  Philadelphia, 
to  which  city  his  parents  removed  during  their  son's  childhood.  In  the  exercise 
of  every  care  to  prepare  him  for  a  useful  life  private  tutors  were  employed  to 
direct  his  mental  training,  until  prepared  for  an  academic  course,  when  he  entered 
Saunders'  Institute  at  West  Philadelphia,  where  he  completed  his  schooling.  On 
graduating  he  took  up  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  the  late  E.  Spencer  Miller, 
I^sq.,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  at  the  Philadelphia  Bar  in  1870.  In  tlie  fall 
of  that  )'car,  being  of  the  age  of  twenty-five,  he  was  elected  a  Representative  to 
the  State  Legislature  from  his  district,  and  immediately  took  a  leading  part, 
standing  well  to  the  front  of  much  older  and  experienced  men;  and,  although  it 
was  his  first  term,  he  was  elected  to  serve  upon  the  general  Judiciary  Committee 
which  framed  the  law  providing  for  the  New  Constitutional  Convention  which 
formulated  the  Constitution  of  1873.  He  also  took  an  active  part  in  all  the  leg- 
islation of  that  session,  achieving  considerable  honor  for  one  so  young.  He  was 
re-elected  in  1874,  and  again' in  1875,  to  what  was  known  as  the  "Centennial 
Session,"  in  which  he  took  a  prominent  and  commanding  position. 

During  these  times  he  was  active  in  promoting  all  the  measures  for  carrying 
into  effect  the  Constitutional  Amendments  then  proposed  by  the  General  Judiciary 
and  Constitutional  Reform  Committees,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  and  in  which 
were  associated  with  him  as  colleagues  some  of  the  ablest  men  in  the  State.  He 
also  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  formation  of  the  special  laws  then  enacted 
relating  to  cities  of  the  first,  second  and  third  classes,  and  in  the  support  of  all 
measures  looking  to  the  interest  of  the  great  Centennial  Exhibition;  in  fact, 
during  these  sessions  he  participated  in  all  the  work  of  his  party  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  was  virtually  a  leader  of  the  Republicans  in  the  House,  although  the 
party  was  in  the  minority. 

Returning  from  the  session  of  1876  with  the  esteem  of  his  colleagues  and  the 
confidence  of  his  constituency,  he  was  in  that  year  nominated  by  the  Republican 
party  and  elected  to  the  State  Senate  for  the  term  of  four  years,  to  succeed  the 
Hon.  Elisha  W.  Davis,  then  President  of  the  Senate ;  and  prominent  as  was  that 
gentleman  at  that  time,  his  young  successor,  by  reason  of  his  preparatory  training 
in  the  House,  was  enabled  to  take  a  part  which  was  fully  as  conspicuous  and 
useful. 

He  was  prominent  in  enacting  the  legislation  which  resulted  from  the  labor 
riots  of  1877,  and  was  one  of  the  hardest  working  members  of  the  committee 
having  those  matters  in  charge.  He  has  been  a  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Appropriations  for  four  sessions,  two  of  which  he  was  its  Chairman,  and  during 

(■•^5) 


l66  JOHN    E.    REVBL'KN. 

that  time  over  ^25,000,000  were  appropriated,  and  all  of  his  recommendations 
were  favorably  acted  upon.  He  has  held  the  office  of  Senator  from  his  district 
from  1876  down  to  the  present  time,  being  a  continuous  service  in  that  branch 
of  eleven  years,  and  none  have  acquired  a  higher  reputation  for  personal  and 
official  integrity,  firmness  of  purpose  and  other  sterling  traits  of  character.  This 
being  his  reputation  throughout  the  commonwealth,  his  general  popularity  led 
the  leaders  of  the  Republicans  in  the  troublesome  times  of  1883,  when  the 
"  Independent  Party  "  practically  held  the  balance  of  power,  to  .select  him  as  the 
standard-bearer  of  the  Regulars  or  Stalwarts  as  they  were  then  known ;  and  his 
selection  as  President /;'tf  tcDi.  of. the  Senate  is  often  referred  to  as  a  very  fortunate 
outcome.  If  the  party  had  selected  a  weaker  man,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
Republican  organization  could  have  been  held  intact  long  enougii  to  form  a  line 
to  repel  the  assaults  of  those  who  had  for  many  months  planned  its  ruin  and 
were  to  the  last  confident  of  success — all  of  which  his  selection  averted,  and  to 
the  satisfaction  even  of  those  who  at  that  time  opposed  him. 

As  a  man  he  has  the  respect  of  all — exemplary  in  his  habits,  interesting  in 
conversation,  affable  in  manner,  and  in  his  bearing  towards  all  no  one  is  more 
democratic. 

As  a  parliamentarian  he  is  able,  far-seeing  and  active,  and  as  a  Senator  on  the 
floor  no  one  is  better  versed  in  all  legislation  concerning  the  commonwealth,  its 
finances,  its  corporations,  and  particularly  in  laws  that  affect  the  government  of 
cities.  His  advocacy  of  legislation  relating  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the 
one  hand,  or  his  opposition  on  the  other,  practically  settles  its  fate. 

His  name  is  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Governorship  of  the 
State,  Congressional  nomination  and  the  Mayoralty  of  the  city  on  account  of  his 
availability;  but  he  is"not  so  ambitious  as  to  favor  the  solicitations  of  his  friends 
in  this  respect.  Although  he  has  never  pursued  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, he  has  kept  abreast  with  its  progress  by  keeping  himself  well  acquainted 
with  its  decisions.  His  resources  financially  permit  of  leisure  time  which  he 
devotes  to  politics,  and  that  his  political  course  has  proved  successful  is  admitted, 
not  only  by  the  friends  who  appreciate  his  fidelity,  but  even  by  his  political 
opponents.  Many  as  have  been  the  conflicts  in  which  he  has  been  engaged,  it  is 
conceded  that  he  continues  to  grow  in  popular  favor  with  his  constituency,  and, 
as  he  is  still  a  young  man,  his  life  is  full  of  promise  if  he  is  vouchsafed  the 
ordinary  length  of  years.  His  wealth  does  not  consist  entirely  of  his  ample 
means,  but  a  greater  treasure — a  conscience  at  ease,  a  mind  constantly  elevated 
and  active  in  the  interest  of  the  public  welfare  and  good  government,  and  a  repu- 
tation free  from  stain  to  descend  as  an  inheritance  which  neither  gold  can  pur- 
chase, envy  diminish,  nor  the  flight  of  time  destroy.  Jno.  C.  Gkady. 


Hon.   Robert    P.  Allen 


ROBERT  PORTER  ALLEN. 

HON.  Robert  P.  Allen,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  Williamsport,  and  formerly- 
State  Senator  from  the  Twenty-fourth  District,  was  born  in  South  Wil- 
liamsport, Lycoming  county,  on  February  6,  1835.  His  father,  Charles  Allen, 
was  of  flnglish  descent,  and  came  to  Lycoming  county  from  New  Jersey  about 
the  year  1800.  His  mother  was  Rachael  Porter,  who  was  of  Scotch-Irish 
extraction.  They  lived  all  their  married  life,  of  nearly  fifty  }-ears,  on  the  home- 
stead farm  in  South  Williamsport,  where  their  son,  Robert  P.  Allen,  was  born. 
He  began  attendance  at  school  in  the  city  of  Williamsport  at  an  early  age,  and 
graduated  from  the  Dickinson  Seminar)-  in  1S52.  He  then  entered  the  Sopho- 
more Class  at  Lafayette  College,  and  graduated  in  1855.  After  this  he  studied 
law  with  General  Robert  Fleming  in  Williamsport  for  a  j'ear  and  a  half;  then 
entered  the  Harvard  Law  Scliool  at  Cambridge,  Mass.,  from  which  he  graduated, 
and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  L}-coming  county  in  January,  1858."  Beginning 
practice,  he  was  almost  immediately  very  successful.  In  the  fall  of  1875  Mr. 
Allen  was  elected  a  member  of  the  State  Senate  from  the  Twent_\--fourth  District — 
composed  of  the  counties  of  Sullivan,  Lj-coming,  Montour  and  Columbia — for 
the  term  of  one  year  under  apportionment  of  terms  provided  by  the  new  Consti- 
tution of  1873,  and  was  re-elected  for  the  term  of  two  years  in  the  fall  of  1876. 
In  the  election  of  1875  Mr.  Allen  received  in  the  district  11,315  votes,  his  oppo- 
nent, Mr.  William  A.  Lyon,  having  5.716.  The  people  were  so  well  pleased  with 
his  good  judgment  and  his  attention  to  the  interests  of  the  party  he  represented 
during  his  first  term,  that  a  second  term  was  gi\-en  him,  as  noted,  the  ballot 
showing  the  estimation  in  which  he  was-  held.  Mr.  Allen  at  this  time  recci\-cd 
12,606  votes,  and  Hon.  Michael  Stccl<  8,411.  The  latter  gentleman  had  pre- 
viously been  Territorial  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  and  was  a  very  prominent 
man.  During  Mr.  Allen's  service  in  the  Senate  he  took  an  active  part  in  all 
debates,  notably  in  those  concerning  the  bill  to  reduce  Boomage,  the  Sheriff's 
bill  of  Philadelphia,  and  the  Recorder's  bill  of  the  same  city.  Since  his  last  term 
he  has  entirely  devoted  himself  to  the  practice  of  law. 

Mr.  Allen  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Demo- 
cratic State  Committee  in  1883,  and  was  re-elected  to  serve  during  the  Presi- 
dential campaign.  The  next  sunmier  he  was  unanimously  elected  a  delegate 
in  the  Sixteenth  Congressional  District  to  the  Democratic  National  Convention, 
which  was  held  in  Chicago,  and  nominated  Mr.  Cleveland.  Mr.  E.  L.  Keenan, 
of  McKean  county,  was  Mr.  Allen's  colleague.  Mr.  Allen  was  a  member  of 
the  State  Democratic  Convention  of  1885,  and  was  nominated  and  elected 
Temporary  Chairman.  Upon  being  conducted  to  the  chair  by  Hons.  Richardson 
L.  Wright  and  \'ictor  E.  Piolett,  he  addressed  the  convention  as  follows  : 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention  : — I  thank  you  for  the  honor  you  have  given  me  by  calling  upon 

O67) 


1 68  ROBERT    P.    ALLEN. 

mc  to  presiile  temporarily  over  your  deliberations.  I  feel  complimented  in  being  conducted  to  the  chnir 
by  tlie  two  veterans  of  Democracy  who  have  just  shown  me  that  attenlion. 

This  is  the  first  Democratic  Convention  held  in  ihe  State,  not  since  the  election,  but  since  the  inaugu- 
ration of  a  Democratic  President.  Without  offices  or  patronage  Democratic  principles  have  kept  life  in 
the  Democratic  party  for  twenty-five  years,  and  we  can  rejoice  that  now  these  principles  are  being  put 
in  j-raciice  by  the  new  administration  of  our  National  affairs  at  Washington 

The  Constitution  of  1S73  of  Pennsylvania  contains  some  wise  provisions  as  to  the  right  of  corporations. 
These  public  corporations  were  created  for  the  public  good,  and  they  bring  great  benefits  to  the  people, 
when  they  are  restricted  to  the  exercise  of  the  legitimate  powers  granted  to  them  by  the  State.  The 
great  corporations  are  only  the  creatures  of  the  Stale  to  perform  certain  well-defined  acts  for  a  public 
purpose  and  for  the  public  welfare ;  and  all  tlie  people  demand  is  that  they  should  be  kept  within  the 
laws  of  their  creation. 

The  Constitution  of  1S73  places  some  important  and  very  salutary  restrictions  upon  corporations, 
and  especially  upon  the  great  carrying  companies  of  this  State,  the  conduct  and  control  of  which  is  so 
vitally  connected  with  the  development,  and  taking  to  market  of  the  varied  and  immeasurable  natural 
products  with  which  our  gre.it  Commonwealth  is  blessed.  The  natural  wealth  of  Pennsylvania  to-dny  is 
largely  to  be  measured  by  the  contrul  that  shall  be  enforced  over  its  great  corporations.  All  that  should 
be  sought  for  is  to  keep  them  within  the  bounds  of  our  constitutional  limitations  in  the  use  of  their  fran- 
chises. Many  of  the  wisest  of  these  restrictions  the  Republican  parly  have  disregarded  by  refusing, 
during  the  lime  that  they  have  had  control  of  the  Legislature,  to  enact  proper  laws  to  carry  them  into 
ellect;  and  the  Republican  p.irty  in  this  Slate  has  uttered  no  voice  in  favor  of  a  just  and  honest  enforce- 
ment of  our  new  constitution.  We  have  before  us  now  the  vital  question,  whether  the  fundamental  law 
of  the  State  shnll  cuntinue  as  to  many  of  its  provisions  a  dead  letter.  The  Governor  and  his  chief  law- 
officer  are  resolutely  and  patriotically  engaged  at  this  time  in  trying  to  enforce  the  constitution,  and  to 
carrj'  into  practical  operation  some  of  its  restraints  upon  public  corporations;  and  it  is  our  duty  as  a 
convention,  and  as  citizens,  looking  to  the  public  good,  to  uphold  them  in  their  efforts. 

In  all  these  positions  he  displaj'ed  talents  wliich  belong  rather  to  the  statesman 
than  to  the  politician,  and  his  name  has  been  frequently  mentioned  in  connection 
with  the  Gubernatorial  cliair.  He  has  also  been  connected  with  various  corpora- 
tions. He  is  a  Director  in  the  Lumbermen's  National  Bank,  the  Williamsport 
Gas  Company  and  the  Williamsport  Water  Company,  and  is  President  of  the 
Williamsport  Passenger  Railroad  Company;  and  is  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  a  Director  of  the  Williamsport  Hospital  and  a  Trustee  of  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, Easton,  the  institution  from  which  he  graduated.  He  is  attorney  for  the 
Fall  Brook  and  the  Reading  Railroads,  and  other  large  corporations.  He  is  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  Mr.  Allen  enlisted  in  Company  A,  Eleventh 
Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  was  with  his  company  during  the  three 
months'  service  of  1861.  He  was  Adjutant  of  the  Third  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
Volunteers,  in  1862. 

Mr.  Allen  was  united  in  marriage,  on  January  5,  1S64,  to  Miss  Ellen  E.  Flem- 
ing, eldest  daughter  of  Gen.  Robert  Fleming,  and  has  six  children.  He  occujiies 
a  handsome  mansion  at  605  West  I'oiirth  street,  Williamsport,  and  is  one  of  that 
city's  most  respected  citizens.  In  the  nitmerotis  high  positions  which  he  has 
held  lie  has  so  acquitted  himself  that  it  would  be  indeed  diffictilt  to  find  a  man 
equally  prominent  held  in  sucli  high  and  general  esteem.  His  reputation  is  very 
enviable  and  tlioroughly  merited. 


Hon.  Joseph   M.  Gazzam. 


JOSEPH  M.  gazza:\i. 

A  DISTINGUISHED  lineage,  traceable  back  for  more  than  a  century,  is  of  itself 
alwa\-s  a  source  of  pride,  but  it  becomes  a  matter  of  greater  pride  when  one 
can  point  to  an  ancestor  who  has  suffered  for  humanity's  sake.  To  such  Joseph 
M.  Gazzam  can  lay  claim.  The  founder  of  Mr.  Gazzam's  paternal  ancestry  in 
America  was  compelled  to  leave  his  native  land  because  of  his  philanthropy. 
William  Gazzam,  Joseph's  grandfother,  was  an  English  journalist  of  the  liberal 
school,  who  published  a  paper  at  Cambridge,  England,  towards  the  close  of  the 
last  century.  Like  Pitt,  Burke  and  many  other  high-minded  Englishmen,  he 
advocated  the  cause  of  the  American  colonies,  and  expressed  a  love  of  freedom 
which  greatly  offended  the  government  of  George  III.  His  liberal  articles 
became  so  offensive  to  the  royal  household  that  steps  were  taken  to  arrest  him, 
but,  being  warned  of  the  movement,  he  made  a  hasty  flight.  It  was  earl)'  in 
1793  when  he  sailed  from  London  for  America.  The  following  letter  will  convey 
some  idea  of  his  hast}-  exit : 

London',  Febniarv  ~th,  1793. 

To  Rev.  Dr.  Roger?;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Eiisticks,  of  rhiladelphia  ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Fo-ler,  of  New  York; 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Edwards,  of  New  Haven,  Conn. ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sdhnan,  of  Boston  ;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hood, 
of  Le.Kington,  Ky. ;  or  any  other  of  my  .-\merican  correspondents  to  whom  tliis  may  come  : 

This  is  to  certify  that  William  Gazzam,  the  bearer  of  these  lines,  is  an  honorable  Member  of  the  Con- 
gregational  Church  at  Cambridge,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  Mr.  O .      lie  has  been  driven 

from  his  own  country  only  for  speaking  in  behalf  of  the  rights  of  mankind,  perhaps  incautiously.  So 
hasty  was  his  removal,  that  his  much-loved  Pastor  had  no  opportunity  to  give  him  testimoni.ds.  lie  is 
united  with  one  of  our  Baptist  families  and  with  others  of  our  friends,  whose  names  would  gladly  be 
united  in  recommending  him  and  his  attention  to  our  foreign  friends,  with  the  name  of  their  obliged  and 
affectionate  Brother  and  Servant,  John   Rippon. 

The  writer  of  the  above  letter  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  John  Rippon,  author  of 
"  Rippon's  Hymns  "  and  a  Baptist  preacher  of  considerable  fame  in  England. 

William  Gazzam  came  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged  in  business.  The 
Philadelphia  Directory  of  1796  contains  the  following  line  :  "  Gazzam  &  Taylor, 
merchants.  No.  20  North  h'ront  street."  The  next  \'ear  another  member  was 
taken  into  the  business,  and  the  firm-title  became  "  Gazzam,  Ta^-Ior  &  Jones,  No. 
36  North  Front  street."  .Some  time  about  iSoo  or  1801  the  secoiul  member 
withdrew.  The  next  heard  of  Gazzam  &  Jones  was  in  Carlisle,  Cumberland 
county,  where  they  transacted  a  general  mercantile  business  for  about  a  year, 
when  the  copartnership  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Gazzam  having  been  appointed,  by 
President  Madison,  collector  and  surve\-or  of  the  port  of  Pittsburgh,  to  which 
place  he  removed  in  1802,  and  where,  in  181 1,  he  died.  He  was  married  twice, 
his  second  wife  being  of  Philadelphia,  and  it  is  through  the  descendants  of  this 
latter  union  that  Joseph  M.  Gazzam  traces  his  line.  The  fourtli  son  of  William 
Gazzam  and  his  wife,  Ann  Parker,  was  Dr.  Edward  D.  Gazzam,  who  was  the 
22  (,69) 


170  JOSEPH     M.     GAZZAM. 

father  of  Joseph  M.  lie  was  born  in  Pittsburj^li  in  1S03,  and  commenced  ihe 
stud)-  of  law  under  the  preceptorship  of  Hon.  Richard  Biddle,  but  on  account 
of  ill-health  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  profession  after  practising  about  two 
years,  when  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine.  Dr.  Gazzam  held  quite  a 
prominent  position  in  the  political  arena  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  reared  a 
Democrat,  but  like  many  of  the  same  opinion  was  opposed  to  the  extension  of 
slavery.  Such  views  caused  him  to  sever  his  allegiance  to  the  Democratic  party, 
and  in  1 848,  with  Salmon  P.  Chase,  sowed  the  "  Free-Soil "  seed  at  the  Buffalo  Con- 
vention from  which  sprang  the  Republican  party.  In  the  same  year  he  was 
the  "Free-Soil"  candidate  for  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  his  opponents  being 
Hon.  William  F.  Johnson,  the  Whig  candidate,  and  Morris  Longstreth,  the 
Democratic  candidate.  The  contest  was  a  warm,  earnest  and  exciting  one,  the 
Whigs  being  the  victors.  In  1855  he  nominated  for  Canal  Commissioner 
Passmore  Williamson,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  at  the  time  in  prison  for  \iolat- 
ing  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law.  Dr.  Gazzam  was  at  the  same  time  the  "  Free- 
Soil  "  candidate  for  State  Senator;  the  party  was  then  called  the  "  Union  Party." 
His  opponents  were  Hopewell  Hepburn,  Democrat,  and  Paul  A.  Way,  Fillmore- 
American.  Dr.  Gazzam  was  elected  over  his  opponents  by  about  one  thousand 
majority,  and  was  therefore  the  first  Republican  State  Senator  from  Allegheny 
count}-.  In  1S57  he  declined  to  allow  his  name  to  be  presented  before  the  Re- 
publican State  Convention  for  Governor. 

At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  and  Dr.  jMcCook  were  the  first  persons  to 
move  towards  preventing  Secretary  of  W^ar  Floyd  from  removing  the  guns  and 
other  property  of  the  government  from  the  Allegheny  Arsenal.  They  took  a 
great  interest  in  this  matter,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  their  efforts  that  this 
arsenal  was  not  dismantled,  like  were  many  others  throughout  the  Northern 
States.  Dr.  Gazzam  communicated  with  the  Secretary  of  War  upon  the  subject 
of  munitions  of  war,  to  which  he  received  the  following  letter  of  reply : 


{• 


Ordnance  Office, 
Washington,  May  yi,  1S61. 
E.  D.  Gazzam,  Esq.,  Chairman,  Pillsburgh,  Pa. 

Sir:  Vour  telegram  May  isl,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  .about  powder  now  held  liy  the  Committee,  is 
received  and  sent  lo  this  office.  If  any  of  the  powder  is  needed  by  the  commanding  officer  at  Allegheny 
Arsenal,  and  is,  in  his  judgment,-of  suitable  quality  for  the  United  States  service,  it  may  be  delivered 
to  him.  The  Commiilce  niu-t  use ///tvV  discretion  about  the  residue,  throwing  evei^y  proper  guard  around 
the  disposition  to  be  made  of  it. 

Respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

Jamks  W.  RH'I.ky,  Lieiitenaitt-Colonel  UnitcJ  Slates. 

The  powder  referred  to  in  the  above  letter  was  seized  by  the  Committee  of 
Safety  when  about  being  shipped  to  some  Southern  point. 

In  1867  Dr.  Gazzam  moved  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  died,  February  19th,  1878. 

On  the  maternal  side  Mr.  Gazzam  is  descended  from  Austrian-Irish  parentage, 
the  story  of  the  union  of  which  is  quite  a  romance.  Shortly  after  peace  was 
declared  between  tlie  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  the  Fiiiperor  Joseph  II., 


josEiMi    M.  (;a/./..\m.  171 

of  Austria,  sent  to  tlic  new  republic,  as  resilient  minister,  Baron  Antonio  De 
Beelen  de  Berthoff,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  their  only  son,  Anionic 
Constantine,  a  lad  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  Baron  De  Beelen  was  minister 
from  1783-87,  but  did  not  return  to  his  own  country  at  the  expiration  of  his 
mission  on  account  of  political  troubles.  He  settled  first  in  Chester  county  and 
then  moved  to  Lancaster  county,  where  in  a  sequestered  cemetery,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Conewago,  he  and  his  wife  were  buried.  The  son  Antonie  moved  to 
Pittsburgh.  Some  time  in  the  latter  half  of  the  last  century  Patrick  Murph}',  an 
Irish  gentleman  of  learning,  became  a  tutor  in  the  family  of  an  Irish  nobleman. 
His  time  was  devoted  to  the  instruction  of  the  daughter  of  the  nobleman,  but  a 
warmer  and  closer  friendship  sprung  up  between  teacher  and  student,  which 
resulted  in  a  runaway  match.  Mr.  Murphy  and  his  young  bride  found  a  home 
in  America;  he  became  an  officer  in  the  Continental  army.  His  wife  died  at  the 
time  of  their  only  child's  birth,  who  was  given  the  name  of  Elizabeth  Antoinette. 
Captain  Murphy  was  in  great  trouble  about  finding  a  suitable  person  to  take 
charge  of  his  little  daughter,  but  finally  secured  the  services  of  a  young  married 
woman  at  Carlisle.  The  woman  became  greatly  attached  to  her  foster-child, 
and,  in  after  years,  being  a  widow,  refused  to  surrender  the  child  to  Captain 
Murphy,  and  plainly  told  him  that  the  only  way  he  could  get  possession  of  his 
daughter  was  to  marry  her,  the  foster-mother,  which  he  did.  Some  years  after 
he  lost  his  life  in  the  Monongahela  while  trying  to  save  a  drowning  child. 

Antonie  De  Beelen  made  the  acquaintance  of  Elizabeth  Antoinette  Murphy, 
made  her  his  wife  and  had  by  her  several  children,  one  of  whom,  Mary,  became 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Simpson,  of  Pittsburgh,  and  the  mother  of  the  wife  of  the  late 
Benjamin  Rush,  Esq.,  of  Philadelphia.  Another  daughter,  Elizabeth  Antoinette, 
married  Dr.  Gazzam.     She  died  in  Pittsburgh  in  1871. 

Joseph  M.  Gazzam,  the  second  son  of  Dr.  Edward  D.  and  Elizabeth  Antoinette 
Gazzam,  was  born  in  Pittsburgh,  December  2d,  1842.  As  a  child  his  health  was 
delicate,  and  it  was  not  until  he  had  attained  the  age  of  fourteen  that  his  parents 
thought  it  advisable  for  him  to  attend  school.  His  education  was  not,  however, 
neglected,  for  up  to  that  age  he  received  very  careful  tuition  from  his  father.  At 
fourteen  he  entered  the  Western  University  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  remained 
for  three  and  a  half  years,  when  he  was  compelled  to  abandon  his  studies 
temporarily  on  account  of  ill-health.  He  then  started  on  an  extended  tour  of 
the  Western  States,  whereby  he  was  greatly  benefited.  In  1861  he  entered  the 
law  ofifice  of  David  Reed,  Esq.,  of  Pittsburgh,  with  whom  he  commenced  read- 
ing law,  and  was  admitted  to  the  Allegheny  bar  three  years  later.  He  im- 
mediately took  a  prominent  and  leading  position  among  his  legal  brethren,  and 
soon  acquired  a  very  extensive  criminal  practice.  In  June,  1864,  six  months 
after  his  admission  to  practice,  he  was  intrusted  with  no  less  than  twenty  cases 
which  were  tried  before  the  Quarter  Sessions.  He,  however,  became  disgusted 
with  the  criminal  practice  and  tried  no  more  cases  of  that  character  excepting  for 
regular  clients.     In  the  ci\il  courts  he  conducted  all  manner  of  cases.     In  1S72 


1-2  JOSEPH     M.    GAZZAM. 

he  formed  a  law  partnership  with  Hon.  Alexander  G.  Cochran,  to  whom  he 
relinquished  the  court  practice  almost  entirely.  The  firm  of  Gazzam  &  Cochran 
continued  until  1879,  when,  owing  to  the  removal  of  Mr.  Cochran  to  St.  Louis, 
it  was  dissolved.  During  Mr.  Cochran's  term  in  Congress,  Mr.  Gazzam  attended 
to  all  their  extensive  business,  including  the  trial  of  cases  in  courts,  only  leaving 
minor  details  to  their  clerks  and  students.  In  1867  he  was  admitted  to  practice 
in  the  Supreme  Court  of  Penns)-lvania ;  in  1869  to  the  Circuit  and  District 
Courts  of  the  United  States;  and  in  1870,  on  motion  of  Hon.  Benjamin  F. 
Butler,  he  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States ; 
being  one  of  the  youngest  attorne)'s  that  had  ever  been  admitted  to  practice 
before  that  honorable  body.  In  1869  he  was  elected  a  Director  for  Pennsylvania 
in  the  United  States  Law  Association,  an  association  representing  leading 
attorneys  throughout  the  United  States  and  elsewhere.  He  retained  the  director- 
ship until  his  removal  to  Philadelphia  in  the  fall  of  1S79,  where  he  has  a  very 
extensive  and  lucrative  practice. 

He  early  developed  a  penchant  for  the  political  arena,  and  from  his  high- 
toned  bearing  and  desire  to  see  political  affairs  transacted  in  an  honest  manner 
he  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  the  citizens  of  the  First  ward  of  Pittsburgh. 
In  1869  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  for  the  Common  Council  of  that 
ward,  and  elected.  At  the  time  of  his  nomination  the  press  of  the  city,  unitedly 
and  irr;espective  of  party,  spoke  in  the  very  highest  terms  of  him,  as  being 
"  liberal-minded  and  progressive."  He  contended  often  and  earnestly  in  council 
for  economical  government  and  for  many  improvements,  both  of  a  moral  and 
sanitary  character,  in  the  public  departments. 

In  1873  he  visited  Europe  and  was  absent  for  six  months,  and  on  his  return 
to  his  native  land  was  more  thoroughly  American  than  ever,  believing  that  he 
lived  in  the  greatest  and  grandest  country  of  the  world. 

In  1876  Mr.  Gazzam  became  the  Republican  candidate  for  State  Senator  from 
the  Fort)'-third  Senatoria^l  District,  comprising  the  First,  Fifteenth  and  Twenty- 
third  wards  of  Pittsburgh,  which  included  the  entire  business  portion  of  the  city. 
This  district  is  probably  the  second  wealthiest  in  the  State.  Mr.  Gazzam 
defeated  his  Democratic  opponent,  Hon.  J.  M.  Irwin,  by  a  large  majority.  In 
the  County  Convention  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation,  succeeding  Plon.  G. 
H.  Anderson,  son-in-law  of  Hon.  George  Darsie,  who  defeated  Dr.  Gazzam  in 
1837,  thirty  years  before,  in  the  same  district  for  the  Senate  by  one  vote.  In 
1877  Mr.  Gazzam  took  his  seat  in  the  State  Senate,  his  position  being  on  the 
left  of  the  Speaker  and  immediately  in  front  of  his  warm  personal  friend,  Hon. 
James  B.  Everhart,  of  Chester  county.  He  had  not  long  been  a  member  of 
that  body  before  he  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  most  clear-headed  and 
thoughtful  of  its  members.  During  his  first  term  he  presented  a  very  large 
number  of  petitions  and  remonstrances,  besides  introducing  a  great  number  of 
bills,  nearly  all  of  which  became  laws.  The  session  of  1878  was  also  equally 
busy  for  him,  as   well   as   his  last  year,  1879.     Among  the  most  important  bills 


JOSEPH     M.    GAZZAM.  173 

tliat  he  succeeded  in  having  made  a  law  was  one  for  the  protection  of  tlie 
property  of  absent  persons  so  that  it  would  not  go  to  ruin.  By  this  law  the 
courts  were  enabled  to  appoint  an  administrator  to  look  after  the  estate  until  it 
was  definitel)-  known  what  had  become  of  the  absentee,  or  until  death  was  pre- 
sumed by  law.  He  also  secured  the  passage  in  the  Senate  of  a  supplement  to 
the  act  of  1874,  extending  to  women  the  right  to  act  as  incorporators  of  chari- 
table, benevolent  and  missionary  corporations.  Although  this  bill  failed  in  the 
lower  House,  it  subsequently  became  a  law.  He  secured  the  free  railway  law 
for  Pittsburgh  and  Allegheny  City,  whereby  several  important  roads  have  been 
constructed  through  those  cities  resulting  in  increased  railroad  facilities.  One 
of  the  most  important  bills  which  he  favored  and  which  became  a  law  was  an 
act  providing  for  the  receiving,  opening  and  publishing  returns  of  the  election 
of  State  Treasurer  and  Auditor-General  when  the  Legislature  was  not  in  regular 
session.  This  law  has  saved  the  State  many  thousands  of  dollars.  In  his  speech 
in  support  of  the  bill  he  said : 

"  Now,  Mr.  President,  I  trust  that  this  bill  will  not  be  postponed,  but  that  we  will 
pass  it,  and  I  know  that  there  is  no  bill  before  the  Legislature  to-day  which  will 
meet  with  more  universal  approval.  There  will  be  a  sigh  of  relief  go  out  from 
Lake  Erie  to  tl;e  Delaware  through  the  business  communit}'.  The  great  trouble 
is,  we  have  too  much  legislation,  too  many  laws.  We  meet  here  one  year  and 
pass  a  lot  of  acts,  and  the  next  year  we  follow  it  up  by  repealing  those  acts.  I 
say  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  would  be  benefited  (with  all  due  respect  to  my 
brother  Senators  and  members  of  the  House)  if  this  body  would  adjourn  for  five 
years  ;  and  if  the  Senate  and  lower  House  of  Congress  would  adjourn  for  ten 
years  it  would  be  beneficial  to  the  people  of  this  State  and  of  the  United  States 
at  large.  The  continual  agitation  of  enacting  new  laws  has  a  pernicious  influence 
upon  the  business  community." 

Some  of  the  Senators  who  advocated  frequent  and  long  sessions  of  the  Legis- 
lature accused  him  of  demagogism,  but  the  sentiment  of  the  people  was  with 
Mr.  Gazzam  in  his  advocacy  of  this  bill. 

His  chief  aim  in  legislation  was  to  perfect  the  laws,  remedy  the  evils  that 
existed  in  them,  and  to  abolish  those  that  were  not  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
State.  As  a  legislator,  Mr.  Gazzam  was  watchful,  earnest,  upright  and  active. 
He  has  great  literary  taste  and  is  a  close  student.  When  he  left  Pittsburgh  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Philadelphia  he  was  as  warmly  received  in  the  latter 
city  as  his  departure  was  regretted  in  the  former.  He  is  not  connected  with 
many  organizations,  but  belongs  to  several  prominent  ones,  notably  the  Union 
League,  Union  Republican  Club,  The  Medical  Jurisprudence  Society  and  is  a 
life-member  of  the  Pennsj-lvania  Historical  Society.  He  is  also  a  director  in 
nine  corporations,  including  two  railroad  companies. 

In  1878  he  married  Miss  Mary  Anna  Reading,  only  child  of  John  G.  Reading, 
one  of  Philadelphia's  prominent  and  successful  business  men,  who  is  a  great- 
grandson  of  John  Reading,  a  distinguished  Governor  of  New  Jersey  in  colonial 
days. 

T.  L.  O. 


Hon.  John  C    Grady. 


JOHN   C.   GRADY. 

Sixr.LENESS  of  aim,  earnestness  of  purpose,  and  steadfastness  of  determination 
to  accomplish  tlie  ends  sought  have  always  been  the  leading  characteristics 
of  those  achieving  enterprises  of  enduring  success.  While  some  men  are  made 
by  opportunities,  some  men  make  opportunities  and  many  have  opportunities 
thrust  upon  them,  others  again  in  the  struggle  which  ends  in  the  survival  of 
the  fittest  make  a  mark  in  the  higher  aims  of  life,  in  spite  of  a  difficult 
beginning,  and  from  these  examples  carefully  considered  we  gain  lessons 
that  make  existence  valuable  to  ourselves  and  to  our  kind.  In  few  men  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania  is  this  more  strikingly 'exemplified  than  in  John  C.  Grady, 
President  of  the  State  Senate  of  Pennsylvania,  whose  career  illustrated  in  these 
lines  sustains  the  maxim,  that  the  opportunity  depends  very  much  on  how  the 
self-made  man  makes  himself  Whether  the  points  of  his  career  are  profitable 
for  the  study  of  his  fellow-men  remains  with  himself,  whatever  circumstances 
may  do  for  him.  It  is  to  the  infinite  credit  of  this  citizen  that  what  he  has  sup- 
plemented to  his  inherited  aptitude  has  brought  him  into  the  conspicuous  places 
which  he  has  occupied. 

What  makes  the  career  of  John  C.  Grady  doubly  interesting  is  that  through 
ordinary  chances  and  uncompromising  surroundings  he  has  carved  a  way  to  high 
position.  Still  on  the  threshold  of  life,  so  far  as  years  go,  he  has  attained  the 
distinction  of  success  in  business  and  public  life.  And  wherever  his  talents  have 
been  directed,  he  has  made  the  mark  of  a  student  and  a  disciplined  lawyer.  His 
life  has  been  a  busy  one  from  its  beginning. 

Born  in  Eastport,  a  small  town  on  the  rock-bound  coast  of  Maine,  October 
8,  1847,  being  the  eldest  son  of  an  industrious,  hard-working  father  possessed  of 
very  limited  means,  and  maternally  of  an  intelligent  Puritan  mother  who  in 
early  life  was  a  school-teacher,  so  the  subyect  of  this  sketch  has  made  the  most 
of  the  sturdy  traits  which  this  lineage  gave  the  one  fortunate  enough  to  inherit  it. 
Early  taught  by  his  mother,  then  grounded  in  the  common  schools  and  business 
institutions,  he  has  enlarged  his  rudimentary  knowledge  of  books  by  the  obser- 
vation of  men  and  the  conditions  that  govern  the  life  of  the  best  type  of  the 
American  citizen.  Added  to  this  a  mind  remarkably  clear  in  perception,  accurate 
in  judgment,  persistent  in  action,  and  we  have  the  groundwork  of  a  genius  which 
de\-elopment  has  proved  fully  equal  to  the  various  situations  calling  forth  rare 
qualifications  to  meet  their  requirements.  With  a  conscience  ever  watchful  he 
has  avoided  the  dangerous  rocks  which  have  brought  ruin  to  so  many  of  our 
public  men. 

Practically,  h.is  career  began  in  Philadelphia  as  a  bookkeeper  in  the  employ 
of  Gould  &  Co.  It  is  not  probable  that  his  associates  remarked  the  strength  of 
the  future  legislator  in  the  self-absorbed,  plodding  young  bookkeeper  wlio  came 

('75) 


17^  JOHN    C.    GKADY. 

anion;:;  them  fresh  from  a  mercantile  college.  But  it  is  still  remembered  b_\'  all 
who  know  him  that  he  was  a  pattern  of  assiduous  attention  to  his  allotted  tasks, 
and  it  was  as  an  intelligent  and  zealous  accountant  that  he  recommended  him- 
self to  his  employers.  It  is  also  true  that  as  an  untiring  worker  well  equipped 
with  strong  powers  he  has  made  his  mark  on  the  politics  of  Pennsylvania. 

That  his  success  has  been  no  caprice,  or  the  result  of  happy  chance,  is  shown 
in  the  course  he  has  pursued.  Looking  at  the  future,  clear-eyed  and  determined, 
very  early  in  life  he  gauged  his  own  ambitions,  and  while  forced  to  begin  the 
struggle  of  life  in  the  busy  surroundings  of  a  great  mart,  he  bent  his  energies  to 
keeping  books  by  day  and  the  acquirement  of  the  rudiments  of  law  b)^  night. 
As  a  boy  he  fixed  his  hopes  on  that  profession,  which  has  proved  the  highway 
to  success,  and  pursued  the  hard  way  that  leads  to  it  with  a  resolute  pertinacity 
not  often  seen  in  the  youths  harassed  by  the  sordid  cares  of  bread-winning.  He 
was  but  twenty-one  when  he  carried  on  the  double  duty  of  bookkeeper  and  stu- 
dent of  law.  The  amount  of  work,  the  self-denial  and  the  courage  such  exactions 
imply  can  only  be  estimated  when  we  reflect  on  the  thousands  who  enter  law  and 
fail,  even  when  the  burden  of  earning  a  living  does  not  fall  upon  them. 

He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  courts  of  Philadelphia  in  the  aututnn  of 
1 8/ I.  Very  soon  thereafter  he  was  conceded  a  standing  as  an  attorney  of  con- 
siderable knowledge,  admirable  powers  and  ceaseless  application.  Ample  oppor- 
tunity came  to  him  early  to  test  his  untried  faculties,  not  the  least  significant  of 
wiiich  was  his  immediate  retention  by  his  early  employers  as  counsel  for  the  firm 
with  whom  he  had  begun  his  career,  a  charge  he  holds  to  this  day. 

Almost  simultaneously  with  his  conquest  of  law  he  embarked  impulsively  in 
politics.  Ill  the  year  1872  the  country  was  distracted  by  one  of  the  most 
violently-contested  Presidential  contests  known  in  our  annals.  A  large  following 
of  Republicans  joined  the  Democratic  party  under  the  standard  of  Horace  Greeley, 
antl  for  a  time  the  historic  party  of  Lincoln  seemed  doomed  to  irrevocable  wreck. 
With  the  glories  of  the  party  in  his  mind,  and  an  unwavering  trust  in  the  prin- 
ciples early  instilled  into  him  by  war,  Mr.  Grady  took  active  hold  of  such  agen- 
cies as  came  within  his  reach,  and  found  himself  so  well  appreciated  that  he  was 
elected  President  of  the  district  organization  of  his  neighborhood.  He  was  soon 
recognized  as  a  force,  counted  upon  as  a  power,  and  accepted  as  a  leader,  not 
only  in  his  own  district,  but  among  the  men  who  then  marshalled  the  forces  in 
the  Keystone  State.  Indeed,  those  who  came  to  know  him  declared  the  young 
attorney  a  born  politician.  Certainly  the  swiftly  progressive  promotions,  thrust 
upon  him,  demonstrate  the  accuracy  of  the  judgment. 

In  1874  he  was  urged  to  accept  a  nomination  for  the  Legislature,  which  in  that 
District  was  equivalent  to  an  election,  but  wisely  declined.  The  time  seemed  to 
him  premature,  for  he  still  had  a  legal  practice  to  put  in  such  shape  as  to  permit 
his  withdrawal  for  a  time  into  politics.  I'ul  in  1876  the  time  \\as  more  riin-,  and 
he  was  ready;  equipped  as  very  few  young  men  are  who  begin  ]i<ilitics.  lie  was 
first  elected  State  Senator  from  the  Seventh  District,  under  the  new  four-year 


JOHN    C.    GRAnV.  177 

tciuire  provision  of  the  New  Constitution,  and  his  majority  was  greater  than  his 
party's,  in  that  Presidential  year  when  the  Repubhcan  vote  fell  off  in  all  the 
Northern  States.  He  entered  the  Senate  the  youngest  man  in  the  body,  but  soon 
took  a  place  among  the  older  members.  He  was  marked  during  his  term  as  a 
sagacious  counsellor,  an  enlightened  lawmaker,  and  a  most  able  party  manager. 
He  was  renominated  in  18S0,  and  elected  without  o-pposition. 

During  his  second  term  he  signalized  his  fitness  for  leadership  by  the  part  he 
played  in  the  solution  of  a  very  perplexing  political  problem  which  threatened 
the  supremacy  of  liis  party.  The  caucus  nominee  for  United  States  Senator  had 
been  rejected  by  a  large  number  of  men  known  as  Independents.  Months  of 
angry  recrimination  and  intrigue  followed.  The  party  in  the  State  was  alarmed. 
Every  form  of  warfare  was  applied  and  exhausted,  when  Senator  Grady  extricated 
his  colleagues  from  the  deadlock.  He  obtained  a  letter  of  declination  from  the 
bolter's  candidate,  and  secured  a  compromise  with  the  regulars,  of  which  he  was 
one,  that  saved  a  United  States  Senator  to  the  State  and  the  party.  This  achieve- 
ment was  pronounced  a  masterpiece  of  diplomacy  at  the  time,  and  gave  the  astute 
young  negotiator  of  it  commanding  influence. 

To  show  their  confidence  in  him,  the  Republican  leaders  intrusted  him  with  a 
mission  to  General  Garfield,  then  the  President-elect.  Senator  Grady  visited 
Garfield  at  Mentor,  where  discussions  were  going  on  with  eminent  members  of 
the  Republican  party  and  the  conduct  of  the  coming  administration  mapped  out. 
The  impression  the  young  Senator  made  upon  Garfield  is  shown  in  his  subse- 
quent selection  of  the  Keystone  ambassador  to  fill  the  post  of  Surveyor  of  the 
port  oT  Philadelphia,  an  office  which  was  at  the  time  dividing  the  party  in  Phila- 
delphia into  violent  factions.  Writing  with  his  own  hand,  Garfield  offered  Sen- 
ator Grady  the  disputed  post,  urging  him  to  accept  the  place  not  only  because 
of  his  fitness,  but  because  his  presence  there  would  sootlie  the  contending  factions. 
But  the  law-maker  wisely  declined  to  leave  the  more  honorable,  though  less  lu- 
crative, post  of  Senator.  On  his  return  from  his  official  mission  to  Mentor  the 
Legislature  selected  him  as  a  Delegate  to  represent  Pennsylvania  at  the  memor- 
able Yorktown  Centennial  celebration. 

Perhaps  the  most  conspicuous  service  he  has  rendered  his  State  was  his  con- 
duct of  the  investigation  of  the  Standard  Oil  Company's  methods.  As  Chair- 
man of  the  Committee  he  met  the  ablest  attorneys  of  monopol)',  and  it  was  the 
general  verdict  of  the  press  and  public  that  he  had  been  very  thorough  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duty. 

His  constituents  were  not  slow  to  recognize  the  brilliancy  and  value  of  their 
member.  In  1884,  against  his  inclination  and  wishes,  he  was  compelled  to  accept 
a  third  election.  His  colleagues  of  the  Senate  were  equally  ready  to  mark 
their  appreciation  of  Mr.  Grady's  powers.  He  was  chosen  by  them  for  the  most 
distinguished  place  in  the  gift  of  the  Senate.  As  Chairman  of  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee his  trained  legal  mind  shone  to  its  highest  advantage.  He  was  a  second 
time  forced  to  accept  that  important  chairmanship,  although  reluctantly;  for 
23 


178  JeHIN    C.    GKAllV. 

however  pfrcat  the  honor,  the  labor  i'  constant  and  wearing.  The  chief  member 
of  the  Judiciar\-  Committee  is  in  a  po-^ition  hartll)- less  responsible  in  the  various 
calls  made  upon  the  incumbent,  than  the  chief  of  the  State  Judiciary.  Exhausti\e 
knowledge  of  law  and  men  is  inseparable  to  the  administration  of  this  difficult 
post.  Familiarity  with  the  application  of  the  laws,  their  historical  development 
and  practical  application  are  the  least  of  the  resources  demanded  of  the  head  of 
the  Judiciary  Committee,  and  it  is  the  crown  of  Senator  Grady's  achievement  that 
he  has  been  acknowledged  equal  to  the  great  place. 

During  his  services  on  this  Committee  he  has  brought  to  solution  some  of  the 
ver\'  gravest  problems  in  the  practice  of  law.  It  was  he  who  rid  the  State  of  the 
anomalous  conditions  which  enabled  detectives  to  seize  our  citizens  and  drag 
them  to  another  State  without  process  of  law,  or  accountability  to  the  laws  of 
the  State  or  the  injured  citizen,  the  usual  pretence  being  the  alleged  transgression 
of  the  laws  of  the  State  to  which  he  was  to  be  taken,  while  in  reality  it  was  to 
satisfy  the  malice  of  an  enemy,  frequently,  in  his  helpless  condition,  to  enable  a 
creditor  to  e.xact  the  amount  of  a  claim  whether  just  or  unjust,  and  often  ena- 
bling the  unscrupulous  to  successfully  perpetrate  blackmailing  schemes.  This 
act  for  the  protection  of  the  citizens  of  Pennsylvania  attracted  considerable  atten- 
tion, and  has  since  been  incorporated  in  the  laws  of  New  York  and  other  States  ; 
and  representatives  from  those  States  that  have  failed  to  enact  it  met  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  States  that  have  done  so  in  convention  during  the  past  summer 
to  prepare  a  law  that  will  unify  the  practice,  and  the  only  wonder  now  is  that 
such  great  States  as  Pennsylvania  and  New  York  permitted  the  existence  of  so 
great  an  evil  until  the  passage  of  what  is  known  as  the  Grady  Act.  I"or  his 
efforts  in  this  direction  these  two  great  commonwealths  owe  him  their  lasting 
gratitude.  At  the  beginning  of  the  last  session  he  was  again  chosen  as  chair- 
man of  the  Judiciary  Committee,  thus  holding  continuously  for  six  years  the 
most  important  chairmanship,  and  at  the  close  of  the  session  he  was  chosen 
President  pro  tem.  of  the  Senate,  and  will,  during  the  next  session,  be  its  presid- 
ing officer  in  the  absence  of  the  Lieutenant-Governor. 

A  man's  public  conduct  must  be,  to  a  great  extent,  the  reflex  of  his  private 
hfe.  The  traits  and  agencies,  the  good  sense,  large  insight  and  definite  purposes 
which  have  marked  Senator  Grady's  career  are  the  expressions  of  his  daily  con- 
duct. I  le  is  a  steadfast  friend,  considerate  adversary  and  a  high-minded  member 
of  society.  He  is  a  strong  partisan  without  narrowness;  zealous  for  his  princi- 
ples, without  bigotry.  His  manner  is  winning  nntl  his  bearing,  under  the  most 
trying  circumstances,  serene. 

Possessing  an  clastic  temperament,  he  seldom  regrets  what  is  unattainable, 
but  is  always  happy  in  devising  new  measures  to  accomplish  desired  ends. 
His  remarkable  judgment  enables  him  to  gauge  in  an  instant  those  with  whom 
he  comes  in  contact. 

Still  in  the  prime  of  his  years  and  jniblic  career,  it  is  not  rash  to  prophecy  the 
utmo.->t  rewards  of  public  favor  for  such  determination  and  abilities  as  have 
marked  his  course  from  the  beginning.  ¥.  A.   Burk. 


Hon    John    E.   Faunce. 


JOHN   EGNER   FAUNCE. 

HON.  JoHX  E.  Faunce,  ex-Spcaker  of  tlie  House  of  Representatives,  was  born 
in  MiUersburg,  Dauphin  county,  October  29,  184O.  Soon  afterward,  his 
father  having  been  elected  Sheriff  of  the  county,  removed  his  family  to  Harris- 
burg,  and  the  subject  of  this  sketch  spent  his  boyhood  days  in  that  city.  He 
received  his  rudimentary  education  in  the  pubh'c  schools,  and  subsequently 
became  a  student  at  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  from  which  institution  he 
graduated  in  1863.  He  at  once  registered  as  a  student-at-law  in  the  office  of  the 
Hon  Charles  Ingersoll,  of  Philadelphia,  and  simultaneously  entered  the  Law 
Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  Graduating  in  1865,  he  was  at 
once  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Common  Pleas  Court  of  Philadelphia  as  well 
as  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  Commonwealth,  and  began  the  practice  of  his 
chosen  profession  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Faunce  early  imbibed  a  fondness  for  politics,  and  took  an  active  interest 
in  tiie  political  affairs  of  his  adopted  home.  In  1868  he  was  chosen  Delegate  to 
the  Presidential  Convention  which  met  in  New  York  and  nominated  Horatio 
Seymour  for  President.  The  election  was  the  result  of  a  spirited  contest,  and 
may  be  regarded  as  the  beginning  of  Mr.  Faunce's  political  experience.  In  1 874 
he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  of  the  Seventeenth  Assembly  District  of 
Philadelphia  for  the  Legislature,  and  having  been  elected  by  an  extraordinarily 
large  majority,  he  took  his  seat  in  that  body  at  the  opening  of  the  important 
session  of  1875.  That  session  was  the  first  held  with  the  increased  membership, 
and  as  most  of  the  laws  had  to  be  conformed  to  the  provisions  of  the  new  Con- 
stitution, a  great  amount  of  labor  was  put  upon  the  leading  members,  and  the 
work  they  performed  was  of  the  greatest  moment.  Mr.  Faunce's  first  service  in 
the  body,  though  indicating  the  masterly  ability  subsequently  developed,  was 
characterized  by  a  modesty  that  challenged  attention.  Nevertheless  he  soon 
became  the  recognized  leader  of  his  party  on  the  floor.  For  the  first  time  in 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  Democrats  were  in  the  majority  in  the  lower 
branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  leadership  of  the  party  became  a  matter  of 
grave  importance.  But  Mr.  Faunce,  though  young  in  years  and  experience,  rose 
to  the  emergency,  and  his  leadership  was  distinguished  for  sagacity,  prudence 
and  zeal.  His  speeches  were  models  of  cogent  and  incisive  rhetoric,  and  no 
matter  how  intense  the  feeling  on  a  subject  under  consideration,  the  moment 
Faunce  took  the  floor  the  most  profound  and  respectful  attention  was  given  to 
him  by  the  members  on  both  sides  of  the  chamber.  At  each  election  since, 
including  the  last  one,  Mr.  Faunce  has  been  re-elected  by  the  same  constituency. 
His  grf  at  success  excited  jealousies,  and  his  manly  independence  and  unswerving 
integrity  engendered  enmities  which  have  striven  repeatedly  to  compass  his 
defeat,  but  all  the  efforts  were  unavailing.     He  had  been  faithful  to  his  public 

(■79) 


]5o  JOHN    E.    FAUNCr:. 

duties  as  well  as  pure  in  his  private  life,  and  the  best  sentiment  of  the  community 
sustained  him  by  its  votes,  and  honored  itself  by  his  repeated  re-election. 

At  the  session  of  1S77  he  was  nominated  by  his  associates  of  the  Democratic 
party  for  Speaker,  but  being  in  tlie  minorit\-  he  was  defeated.  In  1S79  and  188 1 
the  compliment  was  again,  conferred,  and  with  the  same  result.  In  1883  the 
conditions  were  changed,  and  though  certain  pernicious  influences  were  arrayed 
against  him,  and  every  element  of  opposition  concentrated  in  a  bitter  fight,  he 
was  nominated  almost  unanimously,  and  elected.  He  served  during  the  pro- 
tracted and  acrimonious  session  of  that  year,  and  his  scr\ices  were  distinguished 
for  fairness,  promptness  and  ability.  During  the  entire  eleven  months  covered  by 
the  session  the  Speaker  was  not  absent  from  his  seat  during  a  single  sitting. 
Only  once  he  left  half  an  hour  before  the  adjournment.  Though  political  dis- 
cussion was  intense  and  party  antagonisms  irreconcilable,  his  rulings  were  never 
questioned,  and  the  record  of  his  Speakership  stands  to-day  the  recognized 
model  of  excellence,  fairness  and  abilit}'. 

In  1878  ]\Ir.  Faunce  was  prominently  mentioned  for  the  Democratic  nomina- 
tion for  Lieutenant-Governor,  and  he  was  supported  by  a  large  contingent  in 
the  convention,  which  was  held  in  Pittsburgh  that  year.  After  the  second  ballot, 
when  it  was  discovered  that  the  Western  counties  were  implacable  in  their 
demand  for  that  position  on  the  ticket,  Mr.  Faunce's  name  was  withdrawn  at  his 
own  request,  and  the  Hon.  John  Fertig,  a  representative  of  the  oil  producing 
interests,  was  nominated.  His  name  has  been  canvassed  for  various  State  offices 
since,  and  every  convention  has  had  a  considerable  number  of  delegates  who 
were  earnestly  desirous  of  nominating  him  for  some  important  ofifice ;  but  he  has 
invariably  refused  to  allow  his  friends  to  carry  out  that  purpose.  In  fact,  he  has 
on  several  occasions  signified  his  desire  to  withdraw  from  active  participation 
in  public  affairs ;  but  in  this  he  has  been  overruled.  Nominations  come  to  him 
unsolicited,  and  his  sense  of  duty  to  his  party  and  the  State  impels  him  to 
yield  to  the  demand  of  his  constituents  so  far  as  to  continue  to  serve  them  in 
the  Legislature. 

In  his  profession  Mr.  Faunce  has  been  as  successful  as  in  his  political  career. 
Associated  with  the  late  Judge  Greenbank,  he  has  forged  to  the  front  rank  at  a 
bar  proverbial  for  its  ability.  His  practice  has  been  mainly  in  the  Common 
Pleas  and  Orphans'  Courts,  though  his  office  practice  is  both  large  and  lucrative. 
On  legal  points  his  opinions  take  rank  among  the  foremost  of  the  jurists  and 
great  lawyers  of  the  city. 

While  Mr.  Faunce  was  engaged  in  his  academic  labor  at  Dickinson  College 
tlic  State  was  invaded  by  the  rebel  army,  and  he  laid  down  his  books  to  take  up 
arms  in  defence  of  the  territory  of  the  Commonwealth.  He  enlisted  as  a  private, 
and  served  until  the  danger  had  passed,  when  he  returned  to  his  college  duties. 
As  soon  as  the  school  term  was  ended  and  his  education  completed,  he  enlisted 
in  the  United  States  service,  and  remained  in  the  field  until  his  regiment  was 
regularly  mustered  out.     lie  joined  the  Nineteenth  Penn.sylvania  Cavalry,  Colonel 


JOHN    E.    FAUNCK.  iSl 

Wynkoop,  and  served  for  a  time  with  the  Vust  New  York  Cavalry,  witli  which 
troop  he  was  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg^  and  participated  actively  in  the  fiL^ht. 

Mr.  Faunce  conies  from  a  distinguished  ancestry.  His  father  was  contemporar)' 
with  and  closely  allied  to  James  Buchanan,  Alexander  Ramsey,  Simon  Cameron, 
Arnold  Plumer,  George  M.  Dallas,  Judge  Wilkins,  and  other  leaders  of  the 
Democratic  party  of  forty  years  ago.  Between  himself  and  Governor  Ramsey 
tliere  existed  the  closest  friendship.  Indeed,  the  two  had  agreed  to  join  hands 
in  developing  the  Northwest  at  the  time  that  Ramsey  left  his  home  in  Harris- 
burg  to  locate  in  Minnesota.  Mr.  Faunce,  who  had  been  a  contractor  in  th  : 
building  of  a  portion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal,  was.  detained  by  reason  of  fail- 
ure to  get  a  prompt  settlement  with  the  State.  While  he  was  awaiting  the 
convenience  of  the  authorities  he  was  nominated  by  the  Democrats  for  the  office 
of  Sheriff  of  the  county.  The  Democratic  nomination  in  Dauphin  county  was 
at  that  time  regarded  as  an  empty  honor,  and  though  Mr.  Faunce  had  protested 
against  the  use  of  his  name  for  the  place,  when  the  nomination  was  unanimously 
conferred  on  him,  accompanied  by  the  assurance  that  his  acceptance  would  tend 
to  the  benefit  of  the  party,  his  sense  of  duty  to  his  political  associates  constrained 
him  not  only  to  accept  the  responsibility,  but  to  put  his  energies  into  operation 
that  the  party  might  be  strengthened ;  and  to  the  surprise  of  everybody  he  was 
elected  by  a  large  majority,  and  became  the  first  Democratic  Sheriff  of  the 
county,  and  one  of  the  most  able  and  efficient  that  has  ever  served  the  people. 
That  fact  altered  his  own  plans  of  life,  and  no  doubt  was  the  event  that  shaped 
the  destinies  of  his  distinguished  son.  G.  D.  H. 


..^»^^ 


Hon.  Thomas  V.  Cooper. 


THOMAS   VALENTINE   COOPER. 

HON.  Thomas  V.  Cooper,  State  Senator  from  the  Ninth  District  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  Chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee  of  the  Republican 
party,  was  born  at  Cadiz,  Jefferson  county,  Ohio,  on  January  i6,  1835.  Not- 
withstanding the  accidental  circumstance  of  his  birth,  he  is  a  thorough  Pcnns)l- 
vanian.  In  the  latter  part  of  1834  his  father.  Dr.  J.  W.  Cooper,  for  many  years 
a  resident  of  West  Chester,  Pa.,  moved  his  family  to  Cadiz,  where  his  son, 
Thomas  V.,  was  born  three  months  later;  but  he  soon  tired  of  life  in  what  was 
then  a  frontier  State,  and  his  longing  for  the  fertile  valley  of  Chester  county 
brought  him  back  to  Pennsylvania  in  1835,  where  he  resided  until  his  death,  in 
1SS5. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  West  Chester  and  Philadel- 
phia, and  for  a  time  attended  the  well-known  boarding  school  of  Joshua  Hoopes. 
At  the  age  of  sixteen,  however,  he  was  compelled  to  give  up  his  studies,  and  was 
apprenticed  to  Evans  &  Vernon,  of  the  Wibningtoii  Republican,  to  learn  the  art 
of  printing.  He  took  to  the  trade  naturally,  and  soon  mastered  it.  His  father 
purchased  the  last  year  of  his  time,  and  presented  him  with  his  freedom  from 
apprenticeship.  Before  he  was  twenty  young  Cooper  entered  into  partnership 
with  Dr.  D.  A.  Vernon  in  the  publication  of  the  Dclazoarc  Autcricaii.  He  has 
continued  in  that  business  ever  since,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  years  spent 
at  the  front  during  the  late  war,  most  of  the  time  as  a  private  soldier,  and  has 
made  the  paper  one  of  the  best  known  and  influential  country  weeklies  in  the 
State.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  he  dropped  his  business,  which  was  just 
beginning  to  be  lucrative,  and  aided  in  raising  Company  F,  Fourth  Pennsylvania 
Regiment,  which  was  commanded  by  Colonel  John  F.  Hartranft,  afterward  Gov- 
ernor of  this  State.  Mr.  Cooper  was  elected  First  Lieutenant,  and  served  with 
his  regiment  in  that  capacity.  In  1862  he  again  entered  the  service,  enlisting  in 
Company  C,  Twenty-sixth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  as  a  private,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  until  the  close  of  the  war,  his  regiment  being  attached  to  the  Second 
Di\"ision  of  the  Third  Army  Corps.  He  participated  in  many  of  the  battles  of  the 
Peninsula  and  in  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  until  after  Gettysburg,  when  he  was 
detailed  by  order  of  Secretary  Stanton  to  take  care  of  the  Government  printing 
office  at  Camp  Distribution.  He  also  edited,  while  thus  detailed,  a  newspaper 
known  as  the  Soldiers'  younial,  for  a  year  and  a  half  and  turned  over  the  whole 
profit,  gi,8oo,  to  the  Sanitary  Commission.  When  discharged  from  the  service 
he  was  offered  the  position  of  Superintendent  of  the  Bureau  of  Military  Printing 
by  Mr.  Stanton,  but  declined  it.  He  returned  home,  and  entered  the  office  of  tlie 
American  as  the  partner  of  Dr.  Vernon. 

Mr.  Cooper  early  took  an  interest  in  public  affairs.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he 
developed  a  taste  for  politics,  and  became  a  member  of  the  debating  societies 

fS3) 


IS4  THOMAS    V.    COOrER. 

and  lyceums  of  his  county.  He  mingled  freely  in  debates,  and  soon  became 
known  as  an  excellent  speaker.  In  i860  he  went  to  the  Chicago  Convention  as 
an  alternate,  and  was  an  avowed  Lincoln  man.  Two  of  the  delegates  from  his 
di.-itrict — William  Darlington,  of  Chester,  and  John  M.  Broomall,  of  Delaware 
county — voted  for  Mr.  Lincoln  steadil}-,  though  the  Pennsj-lvania  delegation 
supported  Simon  Cameron. 

Though  he  took  a  prominent  part  in  State  politics  both  in  conventions  and 
through  his  paper,  it  was  not  until  1869  that  he  became  a  candidate  for  office. 
In  that  year  he  was  nominated  for  the  Assembly  over  six  competitors  in  the 
county  convention  on  the  first  ballot,  and  was  of  course  elected,  the  county 
being  largely  Republican.  In  1870  Mr.  Cooper  was  again  a  candidate  for  the 
Assemblj- ;  but  he  found  a  strong  opposition  to  him  in  his  own  party,  headed  by 
^  State  Senator  H.  Jones  Brooke,  who  had  been  for  many  years  the  most  influen- 
tial man  in  the  party  in  the  county.  Young  Cooper  at  once  determined  to  enter 
into  a  contest  with  Mr.  Brooke,  and  a  war  ensued  which  distracted  the  Republican 
part)'  for  several  years.  Mr.  Cooper  received  the  regular  no'iiination  for  the 
Assembly,  but  Mr.  Brooke  and  his  friends  supported  Hon.  Tryon  Lewis,  a 
Democrat,  and  elected  him.  This  rebuff  aroused  all  the  fighting  qualities  of  Mr. 
Cooper,  and  he  gave  early  notice  the  following  )-ear  that  he  would  again  be  a 
candidate  for  the  Assembly.  He  took  the  stump  and  made  a  thorough  canvass 
of  tlie  county,  and  in  the  end  carried  every  delegate  in  the  county  convention 
but  two,  and  was  elected  at  the  polls.  In  1872  he  declined  a  nomination,  but  in 
1873  he  pitted  himself  against  his  old  antagonist,  Mr.  Brooke,  who  was  then  up 
for  re-election  to  the  State  Senate  in  the  Chester  and  Delaware  District.  Some 
of  Mr.  Cooper's  friends  thought  it  folly  to  continue  the  contest  in  this  way,  as 
they  very  much  feared  that  Mr.  Brooke  would  beat  him  ;  but  the  determined 
}'oung  editor  said  that  his  battle  with  Mr.  Brooke  could  only  be  settled  in  a 
square  combat,  and  he  proposed  to  make  it.  The  contest  was  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  that  ever  took  place  in  the  State.  It  lasted  nine  months,  and  so  active 
was  the  can\ass  that  the  contestants  travelled  from  house  to  house  soliciting 
votes. 

Senator  Brooke  was  a  power  at  this  time.  He  had  the  warm  support  of 
General  Cameron,  who  had  been  his  life-long  friend.  He  had  a  large  and  pow- 
erful political  acquaintance  throughout  the  State,  and  influential  family  connec- 
tions in  his  district ;  besides,  he  was  a  shrewd,  far-seeing  man,  who  had  long 
been  active  in  politics,  and  who  was  fully  acquainted  with  the  arts  of  the  politi- 
cian. The  struggle  enlisted  the  whole  party  on  one  side  or  the  other.  When 
the  votes  were  counted  Mr.  Cooper  had  a  majority  of  six  delegates  and  four 
hundred  in  the  ])opular  vote,  and  was  nominated  for  Senator.  The  Brooke  fac- 
tion, however,  determined  to  continue  their  opposition,  and  nominated  Dr.  Hil- 
bourn  Darlington  in  an  irregular  convention,  Mr.  Brooke  himself,  who  was  too 
good  a  party  man  to  take  a  bolting  nomination,  having  declined  to  run.  The 
Democrats  had  nominated  Tryon  Lewis,  Mr.  Cooper's  old  antagonist,  and  a  most 


THOMAS  V.  coopr.K.  i,S5 

interesting  tliiee-corncred  contest  ensued  before  the  people.  With  characteristic 
dash  and  energy  Mr.  Cooper  challenged  his  opponents  to  meet  liini  on  the  stump, 
but  they  wisely  declined  to  do  so.  Me  spoke  nightly  to  the  people  of  the  dis- 
trict, and  in  the  end  was  elected  over  both  of  his  competitors.  This  contest  gave 
Mr.  Cooper  much  repute,  and  placed  him  in  an  impregnable  position  with  the 
people  of  his  district.  In  1876  Delaware  county  was  a  Senatorial  District,  and 
Mr.  Cooper  was  unanimously  renominated  for  the  Senate,  and  elected  almost 
without  a  contest.  In  1880 — a  bad  year  for  third-termers — he  came  before  the 
people  for  the  third  time.  W.  B.  Broomall  disputed  the  nomination  with  him, 
but  Cooper  carried  nearly  every  district.  The  contest  was  an  animated  one,  and 
a  determined  effort  was  made  to  defeat  Mr.  Cooper  at  the  polls,  but  he  was 
elected  by  a  very  large  majority. 

It  is  in  the  capacity  of  a  legislator  that  Mr.  Cooper  has  done  his  greatest 
ser\ice  to  the  State.  It  is  rather  curious,  but  though  a  young  and  vigorous 
man  (he  does  not  appear  to  be  over  fort\'),  Mr.  Cooper  is  the  oldest  member  in 
the  Legislature  in  consecutive  service.  Others  served  at  Harrisburg  before  he 
did,  but  none  have  been  continuously  in  the  office  as  long  as  Mr.  Cooper.  It 
was  not  until  he  was  serving  his  second  }'ear  in  the  house  that  Mr.  Cooper  took 
a  prominent  position  on  an  important  question.  He  successfully  opposed  Mr. 
Buckalew's  proposition  to  elect  the  niembei's  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  by 
the  cumulative  plan  of  voting.  Mr.  Cooper  made  a  speech  which  con\-inccd  the 
House  that  the  measure  was  not  one  that  ought  to  pass.  The  result  was  that 
Mr.  Cooper  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Conference  Committee  considering  the 
measure  instead  of  Mr.  White,  of  Allegheny,  who  fa\'ored  the  plan.  Cooper 
fought  one  of  his  determined  battles  in  the  committee,  keeping  it  up  three  weeks, 
and  in  the  end  defeated  Mr.  Buckalew  by  parlianientar\'  proceedings  in  the 
House.  In  the  celebrated  contested  election  case  of  McClure  vs.  Gray  for  a  seat 
in  the  State  Senate,  Mr.  Cooper  strongly  antagonized  the  bill  which  was  pro- 
posed, and  was  designed  to  prevent  Colonel  McClure  from  filling  his  position. 
The  bill  was  backed  by  leading  Republicans,  who  determined  to  put  it  through 
the  Legislature.  Mr.  Cooper  characterized  it  as  a  partisan  trick  which  really 
denied  to  Colonel  McClure  the  right  of  contest.  A  \ery  bitter  struggle  took 
place,  which  excited  great  interest  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  During  the  debate 
Speaker  Benjamin  Hewitt,  who  was  then  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Ways 
and  Means,  formally  read  Mr.  Cooper  out  of  the  party  because  of  his  action. 
Cooper  sat  in  his  seat  and  listened  with  burning  indignation  to  the  remarks  of 
the  Blair  county  member;  but  he  changed  the  scene,  which  threatened  to  be 
serious,  to  one  of  the  most  humorous  ever  witnessed  in  the  House.  Imitating 
Mr.  Hewitt  in  gesture,  position,  language  and  tone,  Mr.  Cooper  read  him  out  of 
the  party  amid  loud  laughter.  When  the  fight  began  Mr.  Cooper  had  twenty- 
seven  Republicans  behind  him  ;  but  such  was  the  power  of  the  machine  in  those 
days  that  on!)'  three  of  these  stood  by  him  at  the  close,  and  he  was  apparently 
beaten ;  but  he  won  his  point  by  his  skill  in  parliamentary  tactics,  and  Colonel 


iSlI  THOMAS    V.    COOPER. 

McCIure  got  his  seat  after  the  most  memorable  legislative  contest  in  the  history 
of  the  State.  On  a  number  of  occasions  Mr.  Cooper  displayed  an  independence 
which  won  him  praise  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  After  his  election  to  the 
Senate,  the  first  speech  that  he  made  that  attracted  attention  was  a  pointed  one 
on  the  Centennial  E.xhibition  that  was  widely  copied  and  read.  He  introduced 
and  advocated  for  four  years  the  celebrated  apprentice  bill,  which  prevcnt.s  trade 
unions  from  denying  the  admission  of  apprentices  to  any  trade  in  tlie  Com- 
monwealth. While  Mr.  Cooper  was  urging  the  passage  of  this  measure  he 
antagonized  a  portion  of  the  labor  element.  It  was  during  the  days  of  the 
"  i\Iollie  Maguires,"  and  some  of  the  leading  men  in  the  miners'  union  opposed 
hini  strongly.  He  received  a  number  of  threatening  letters,  but  with  his  old 
perseverance  he  went  on,  and  the  bill  passed  both  Houses,  and  is  now  a  law. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  recite  Mr.  Cooper's  connection  with  important  legisla- 
tion. Since  1876  he  has  been  the  leader  of  the  Republican  side  of  the  Senate, 
and  on  him  has  fallen  the  brunt  of  all  political  contests.  In  1878  he  was  elected 
Siicaker  of  the  Senate,  and  was  re-elected  in  1879.  His  thorough  knowledge  of 
parliamentar}-  law,  and  his  metliod  of  getting  through  with  the  business  of  that 
bod\-,  made  him  a  very  popular  presiding  officer. 

Mr.  Cooper  was  chosen  Chairman  of  the  State  Central  Committee  in  1881,  and 
still  remains  in  that  position.  His  conduct  of  his  first  campaign  was  a  master- 
piece of  political  work.  The  difificulties  were  the  comparative  insignificance  of 
the  office  to  be  voted  for,  and  the  uncertainty  as  to  the  vote  that  Mr.  Wolfe,  who 
ran  as  an  Independent  Republican,  would  poll.  Mr.  Cooper  confidently  went  to 
work,  and  persisted  until  the  Republican  ticket  was  elected. 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Cooper  gives  no  evidence  of  his  strength  of 
character.  He  is  rather  below'the  medium  height,  and  there  is  hardly  an  expres- 
sive feature  in  his  face.  When  speaking  he  becomes  greatly  interested  in  his 
subject,  and  enunciates  clearly  and  with  great  earnestness.  A  feature  of  his 
strength  is  that  he  is  never  known  to  be  angry,  and  is  cool  in  facing  any  diffi- 
culty. Withal  he  is  kind-hearted  and  charitable,  and  he  makes  friends  readily, 
who  soon  learn  to  regard  him  highly. 

Mr.  Cooper  is  the  author  of  a  work,  entitled  "American  Politics,"  which 
appeared  in  1882,  and  enjo)-s  an  established  sale,  thirteen  editions  already  having 
been  published.  It  is  an  extremely  valuable  book  in  many  respects,  being  a 
collection  of  facts  in  relation  to  the  political  parties  of  the  Government  from  its 
early  days  which  would  be  hard  to  find  in  any  other  place.  This  collection  gives 
an  indication  <if  the  bent  of  the  author's  mind,  and  proves  him  to  have  tact  and 
judgment  as  a  collector  and  cnnipilcr  of  out-of-the-way  facts. 

Since  1882  he  has  continually  served  as  State  Senator  and  as  Chairman  of  the 
Republican  State  Committee,  and  is  everywhere  known  as  the  leader  of  the 
Senate.  The.se  years  have  been  crowded  with  political  events,  in  all  of  which  he 
has  taken  so  prominent  a  part  that  througiiout  Pennsylvania  his  name  is  a 
"  household  word."  .  l'-  M-  B- 


\         "!>» 


\'' 


Hon.  John    F.    Dravo. 


JOHN   FLEMING   DRAVO. 

HON.  John  F.  Dkavo,  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature  and  late  Collector 
of  Customs  at  the  Port  of  Pittsburgh  and  President  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  was  born  in  West  Newton,  Westmoreland  county,  October  29,  18 19, 
but  spent  most  of  his  youth  near  Elizabeth,  Allegheny  county,  Pa.  lie  is  of 
French  extraction,  his  grandfather,  Anthony  Dravo,  having  l;een  a  native  of 
France,  who  settled  in  Pittsburgh  at  an  early  day  in  the  history  of  that  city. 
Mr.  Dravo  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Allegheny  College, 
where  he  remained  two  \'ears  until  compelled  to  withdraw  on  account  ol  ill 
health.  He  taught  school  for  a  while,  and  having  early  identified  himself  with 
the  Methodist  Church,  he  has  frequently  occupied  the  pulpit  as  local  preacher  in 
the  houses  of  worship  of  that  denomination.  In  1836  he  took  up  his  residence 
in  Pittsburgh,  but  four  years  afterwards  removed  to  McKeesport,  Allegheny 
county,  and  there  engaged  in  the  mining  and  shipping  of  coal.  While  there  he 
founded  the  town  of  Uravosburg  on  the  Monongahela  ri\er,  eleven  miles  from 
Pittsburgh.  In  1S68  he  sold  his  coal  interests  and  embarked  in  the  coke  manu- 
facture at  Connellsville  as  General  Manager  and  Treasurer  of  the  Pittsburgh 
Gas,  Coal  and  Coke  Company.  At  that  time  the  coke  manufacture  was  in  its 
infancy,  but  during  his  connection  with  it  the  trade  developed,  until  it  is  now 
one  of  the  leading  interests  of  Pennsylvania.  The  company  with  which  he  was 
connected  began  with  forty  ovens,  and  when  he  retired  from  the  presidency,  in 
1883,  it  had  three  hundred  ovens  with  a  producing  capacity  of  15,000  bushels  of 
coke  per  day.  During  his  long  connection  with  the  coal  and  coke  interests  in 
and  about  Pittsburgh  his  urbanity  of  manner  and  unfaltering  integrity  made  him 
a  general  favorite  with  river  rnen,  by  whom  he  is  known  as  Captain  Dravo,  and 
for  many  years  he  was  President  of  the  Pittsburgh  Coal  Exchange. 

Early  in  life  he  became  imbued  with  anti-slavery  and  temperance  sentiments, 
and  during  his  life  he  has  made  liundreds  of  speeches  advocating  those  princi- 
ples. Conmiencing  public  life  as  a  Henr\-  Clay  Whig,  with  strong  anti-sla\-ery 
convictions,  in  1 848  he  ran  on  the  Free  Soil  ticket  for  the  Legislature  from 
Allegheny  count)',  thus  anticipating  the  organization  of  the  Republican  paity 
some  six  years  later  in  Lafayette  Hall,  Pittsburgh,  Feb.  22,  1S54.  When  the 
Republican  party  was  formed  he  identified  himself  with  it,  and  has  ever  since 
been  regarded  as  a  stalwart  Republican.  Possessing  oratorical  abilities  of  a  high 
order,  he  has  generally  been  called  upon  to  take  a  leading  part  in  the  campaigns 
of  his  part)',  and  his  speeches  are  effective  because  his  hearers  realize  that  he 
believes  what  he  utters,  and  feels  what  he  speaks.  While  his  speeches  have 
been  confined  in  the  main  to  the  discussion  of  financial  and  tariff  questions,  he 
can  rise  with  the  occasion  into  the  realm  of  true  eloquence,  as  the  peroration  of 
his  address  on  the  death  of  General  Grant,  delivered  at  the  memorial  service 
held  at  Beaver  Falls,  evidences  : 

('87) 


iSS  JOHN    F.    DRAVO. 

■■  How  potent  is  a  good  name!  Behold  the  men  lie  conquered,  the  command- 
ers lie  defeated,  with  affectionate  hearts  and  reverent  hands,  uniting  with  others 
in  bearing  his  body  to  the  tomb. 

••  The  American  home  is  a  symbol  of  the  advancement  of  the  race  and  proph- 
ecy of  the  permanency  of  our  institutions,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  profound  thank- 
fulness that  Grant,  the  eminent  citizen,  the  distinguished  soldier,  was  as  conspic- 
uous for  the  purity  and  fidelity  of  his  home  life  as  he  was  successful  in  the  realm 
of  battle.  Unaffected  devotion  to  the  loved  ones ;  unswerving  fidelit\-  to  its 
sanctities ;  thoughtful  for  its  comforts ;  tender  as  a  child  in  his  relations,  gi\ing 
without  stint  and  receiving  in  like  measure  the  tokens  of  love,  nialce  up  a  picture 
of  familj'  purity  and  felicit}',  and  constitute  a  legacy  to  the  present  and  coming 
generations  beyond  all  price,  and  worth}-  of  the  imitation  of  all. 

"  Was  there  ever  born  of  woman  a  human  character  more  rounded  and  com- 
plete? As  a  toiler  he  was  industrious  and  not  ashamed  to  make  an  honest  liv- 
ing in  honest  ways  and  by  honest  means.  As  conmiander  of  mighty  armies 
that  never  suffered  defeat,  as  the  gainer  of  victories  great  as  the  historian's  pen 
ever  recorded,  he  was  as  modest  as  a  maiden,  unassuming  as  a  child.  As  ruler 
of  a  great  nation,  he  was  as  gentle  and  considerate  as  the  humblest  citizen.  As 
a  traveller  around  the  globe,  receiving  the  testimony  of  respect  from  the  great 
and  learned  of  the  earth,  and  from  emperors  and  kings  such  full,  free  and  hearty 
recognition  as  no  other  traveller  ever  received.  Reaching  the  shores  of  his 
native  land,  an  ovation  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Republic  awaited 
him.  Amid  it  all,  and  through  it  all,  he  remains  the  same  quiet,  unassuming 
citizen  that  he  was  at  the  commencement  of  his  wonderful  public  career. 

"  In  the  last  year  of  his  life,  as  already  intimated,  financial  disaster  came  to 
him  and  his  household,  as  sudden  and  complete  as  a  western  cyclone.  As  in 
all  the  emergencies  of  his  eventful  life,  he  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  Mindful 
of  those  dependent  upon  him,  he  at  once  commenced  writing  a  history  of  the 
tremendous  events  through  which  he  had  passed,  that  the  income  from  the  sale 
might  sustain  his  loved  ones  when  he  was  gone.  Thus  a  personal  calamity  will 
be  turned  into  a  public  good — for  who  is  not  anxious  to  read  the  story  of  our 
nation's  second  great  struggle  as  told  by  the  most  conspicuous  actor  in  that 
struggle  him.sclf  ? 

"A  common  fate  awaits  the  race,  great  and  small,  fmied  and  unfamcd.  The 
pale  horse  and  rider  will  overtake  us  all,  sooner  or  later,  and  wind  up  the  his- 
tory of  our  eartlily  pilgrimage.  So  a  few  months  ago  disease  fastened  upon  the 
life  of  this  great  man.  Months  in  advance  the  sentence  of  death  was  pronounced, 
and  General  Grant  learned  that  in  a  short  time  he  must  bid  firewell  to  the  scenes 
of  time.  He  heard  the  sentence  calm  and  unmoved,  and  through  months  of 
suffering  and  pain,  with  a  loving  heart,  he  toiled  away  at  his  self-assigned  task, 
fighting  off  death  until  he  could  finish  his  work,  in  tlie  meantime  displaying  such 
Cliristian  patience  and  giving  utterance  to  such  tentler  sentiments  of  universal 
charity  and  love  as  to  endear  him,  not  to  our  nation  alone,  but  to  the  woild  of 
mankind  at  large,  thus  demonstrating  that  his  greatness  was  inborn. 


«  JOHN    F.    DKAVO.  I89 

"And  now,  good  citizen,  licroic  leader  of  armies,  wise  and  patriotic  ruler, 
modest  traveller,  Christian  sufferer,  as  the  civilized  world  looks  on  in  sorrow, 
we  commit  tliy  mortal  remains  to  the  dust.  Thou  didst  not  live  in  vain  nor  die 
in  vain.  Although  to  generations  to  come  the  story  of  thy  life  will  be  told  to 
encourage  the  }-oung  to  noble  deeds  of  doing,  and  thy  patient  sufferings  to  for- 
tify the  afflicted,  on  each  returning  memorial  day,  as  long  as  the  nation  lives, 
thy  grave  will  be  strewn  with  flowers  b)'  a  grateful  people." 

During  his  Presidency  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  he  manifested  a  deep 
interest  in  the  improvement  of  the  Monongahela  and  Ohio  rivers,  and  the  letters 
he  wrote  and  speeches  he  made  on  the  subject  would  fill  a  volume.  He  has 
frequently  been  sent  to  Washington  to  represent  the  interests  of  Pittsburgh 
before  Congressional  committees,  and  the  argument  that  he  delivered  before  the 
House  Committee  on  Rivers  and  Harbors  was  pronounced  "admirable." 

In  1 88 1  he  was  appointed  by  President  Garfield  Collector  of  Customs  ami 
Surveyor  of  the  Port  of  Pittsburgh,  and  when  there  was  some  dela\-  in  his  con- 
firmation by  the  United  States  Senate,  in  consequence  of  political  cabals,  his 
popularity  with  the  people  was  strikingly  manifested.  The  business  men  of 
Pittsburgh,  without  distinction  of  party,  united  in  petitioning  for  his  con- 
firmation, and  the  local  journals  of  Beaver  count}^  where  he  resides,  were  earnest 
in  their  advocacy  of  his  claims  to  the  position.  "  What  ?  "  said  one,  "  does  not 
a  life  of  faithful  and  efficient  service  to  the  Republican  party,  a  life  of  de\-otion 
to  every  beneficent  enterprise  calculated  to  lift  and  benefit  mankind,  the  most 
liberal  gifts  to  educational  institutions  and  equally  liberal  gifts  for  the  establish- 
ment of  churches  and  the  support  and  maintenance  of  the  gospel — do  not  these 
acts,  as  well  as  others  that  might  be  named,  make  the  nominee  worthy  of  con- 
firmation by  the  United  States  Senate  ?  "  These  powerful  appeals  prevailed. 
He  received  his  commission  May  20,  1S81,  and  for  four  years  was  a  most  effi- 
cient and  capable  officer. 

Besides  the  offices  held  by  'Sir.  Dravo  already  alluded  to,  he  has  been  Director 
in  the  Tradesmen's  National  Bank  and  People's  Insurance  Company,  Trustee 
of  Allegheny  College,  at  Meadville,  President  of  the  Beaver  Female  College, 
Director  of  the  Allegheny  County  Home  for  eight  )-ears,  and  Director  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reform  School  for  four  years. 

In  the  fall  of  18S6  he  was  selected  by  the  people  of  Beaver  county  to  repre- 
sent them  in  the  State  Legislature,  and  at  the  first  session  he  was  made  Secretary 
of  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  and  also  of  the  Committee  on  Constitu- 
tional Reform — an  unusual  honor  for  a  new  member.  During  the  session  he 
also  had  the  honor  of  introducing  the  "  Constitutional  Prohibitory  Amendment " 
which  passed  the  Legislature,  and  of  nominating  Col.  Quay  for  U.  S.  Senator. 

In  1842  Mr.  Dravo  married  Miss  Plliza  Jane  Clark,  and  for  nearly  half  a  cen- 
tury has  lived  with  her  in  congeniality  and  happiness.  They  have  had  a  family 
often  children,  of  whom  five  are  now  living,  four  having  died  in  infancy  and  one 
in  young  womanhood.  E.  T.  F. 


Hon,  Robert  Adams,  Jr. 


R0I5KRT   ADAMS,  JR. 

HON.  Robert  Adams,  Jr.,  ex-Senator  from  the  Sixth  Senatorial  District  of 
Pennsylvania,  was  born  in  the  city  of  Pliiladelphia,  February  26,  1849. 
His  father  was  Robert  Adams,  a  distinguished  merchant  of  that  city,  and  his 
grandfather  was  Robert  Adams,  of"  Lifford  Hall,"  County  Tyrone,  Ireland,  who 
left  the  family-seat  to  seek  his  fortune  in  America  in  1793,  and  settling  in  Phila- 
delphia became  a  leading  merchant  of  that  place.  His  mother  was  Matilda 
Maybin,  daughter  of  Captain  William  H.  Hart,  also  a  merchant  and  prominent 
citizen  of  the  same  city. 

Robert  Adams,  Jr.,  began  his  educational  course  at  the  boarding  school  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Clemson  at  Claymont,  Del.  From  there  he  entered  the  classical 
institute  of  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Faires  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  prepared  for 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  which  institution  he  matriculated  in  the  class 
of  1869.  During  his  entire  course  Mr.  Adams  ranked  among  the  distinguished 
students,  and  won  the  prize  for  declamation  offered  in  the  Freshman  year.  In 
1868-69,  during  his  Senior  year,  his  health  broke  down,  owing  to  over-applica- 
tion and  to  having  contracted  a  heavy  cold.  This  necessitated  an  absence  of  two 
months  from  his  studies,  which  he  spent  in  the  South.  Notwithstanding  this, 
however,  upon  his  return  in  the  spring  he  successfully  passed  his  examination, 
but  could  take  no  honors.  The  Faculty  paid  him  the  great  compliment  of  giving 
him  one  of  the  speeches  at  commencement,  a  reward  granted  as  a  rule  only  to 
"  honor  men." 

After  leaving  college  Mr.  Adams  went  abroad  for  a  year  and  travelled  through 
the  principal  countries  of  Europe,  and  on  his  return  was  entered  as  a  law  student 
in  the  office  of  George  W.  Biddle,  Esq.  At  the  end  of  the  winter,  his  health 
again  becoming  impaired,  he  secured  a  position  in  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  which,  under  Prof  F.  V.  Hayden,  was  starting  to  explore  the  then  (1870) 
unknown  region  of  the  Yellowstone.  Mr.  Adams  also  represented  the  I-Icrald 
and  Evening  Post  o{  New  York,  and  the  Iiiqnira-  s.nd-Tclcgraph  of  Philadelphia, 
as  special  correspondent,  and  the  accounts  of  the  wonders  of  that  remarkable 
country  were  by  him  first  given  to  the  public,  and  established  his  reputation  as  a 
descriptive  writer.  He  continued  in  the  survey  five  consecutive  summers,  acting 
in  various  capacities,  and  so  thoroughly  gaining  the  confidence  of  his  chief  that 
upon  the  resignation  of  Captain  Stevenson,  the  executive  officer.  Professor 
Hayden  offered  the  place  to  Mr.  Adams ;  but  he,  having  been  admitted  to  the 
bar  and  already  successfully  practicing,  was  obliged  to  decline.  He  continued 
his  law  business  until  1877,  when,  on  the  death  of  his  grandfather.  Captain  Hart, 
he  inherited  a  competence  and  retired,  living  in  Philadelpkiia  and  making  occa- 
sional visits  to  Europe. 

Mr.  Adams  was  of  too  active  a  mind  and  disposition  to  lead  an  idle  life,  and 


IQ2  ROBERT    ADAMS,    JR. 

his  tastes  and  favorite  studies  had  always  inclined  towards  public  questions;  so 
that,  when  the  death  of  his  schoolmate,  Edward  Law,  left  vacant  tlie  seat  of 
Representative  from  liis  legislative  district,  he  began  a  canvass  for  the  nomination 
to  succeed  him.  At  the  same  time  Colonel  A.  Wilson  Norris,  who  represented 
the  Senatorial  District,  declined  a  renomination.  The  district  was  rent  asunder 
by  the  factions  of  the  Stalwarts  and  Independents,  and  the  party  was  looking  for 
some  one  to  lead  it  to  victory.  The  active  canvass  of  Mr.  Adams  for  Represent- 
ative called  attention  to  him  as  an  aggressive  worker,  and  he  was  nominated  by 
the  Republicans  for  the  State  Senate.  The  Independents  promptly  nominated 
Mr.  Henrv"  Reed,  now  Judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  Court  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
Democratic  party  indorsed  him.  Then  began  a  political  struggle  such  as  is 
seldom  waged.  Both  candidates  were  personall)'  above  reproach,  and  nothing 
occurred  during  the  canvass  to  cause  regret  to  either.  It  was  the  disastrous 
year  of  1882  when  General  Beaver  was  defeated,  and  the  Independents  carried 
many  legislative  districts.  There  were  none  where,  as  a  rule,  the  Independent 
spirit  existed  stronger  than  in  the  Sixth  Legislati\'e  District,  but  Mr.  Adams  was 
elected  by  a  little  less  than  half  the  usual  majorit\'. 

Senator  Adams  entered  upon  his  duties  with  the  ardor  that  comes  alone  from 
interest  in  the  work.  He  was  overwhelmed  with  bills  placed  in  his  charge. 
The  very  citizens  who  had  tried  to  defeat  him  showed  their  confidence  by  placing 
in  his  hands  their  pet  scheme — the  Reform  Charter  for  Philadelphia.  The  State 
Medical  Societ)''s  Act  to  Establish  the  State  Board  of  Health,  which  had  failed 
ti)  pass  for  twelve  years,  and  the  Wayfarers'  Lodging-House  Bill  of  the  Society 
of  Organized  Charity  were  also  committed  to  his  care;  while  the  Master  Plumbers' 
Association  Bill,  the  Plumbing  Inspectors'  Bill,  and  others  of  a  sanitary  and 
reform  character  were  offered  by  him  and  became  laws  during  his  term,  though 
many  of  them  had  to  lie  over  until  the  session  of  1885  before  their  final  passage, 
and  their  success  was  largely  due  to  the  tireless  energy  and  thorough  preparation 
for  debate  of  the  Senator  in  whose  hands  they  had  been  placed.  In  debate  he 
distinguished  himself  by  quickness,  adroitness  and  good  judgment.  Alert  and 
nervous,  he  was  yet  suave  and  genial.  When  party  questions  absorb  attention 
Senator  Adams,  who  is  an  ardent  Republican,  throws  his  whole  soul  into  the 
conflict.  He  is  a  Hotspur  in  partisan  debate,  and  so  warm  in  his  enthusiasm 
that  old  party  leaders  wa.x  strong  in  admiration. 

In  the  fall  of  1886  Mr.  Adams  was  a  candidate  for  renomination,  but  owing  to 
the  enmity  of  certain  party  leaders,  incurred  by  his  support  of  the  Ref  irm  Charter 
of  Philadelphia,  and  to  the  treachery  of  others,  he  found  it  impossible  of  accom- 
plishment, and  voluntarily  retired  from  the  contest.  Mr.  Adams  was  supported 
for  re-election  by  every  Republican  and  Independent  newspaper  in  Pliiladel[)hia, 
and  liis  course  and  work  as  a  legislator  was  highly  commended.  On  his  fiilure 
to  secure  the  nomination,  he  was  asked  to  run  on  an  Independent  ticket,  but 
declined. 

Mr.  Adams'  other  public  services  have  been  numerous  and  \aricd  in  character. 


ROBERT    ADAMS,    JR.  Iqj 

Me  is  descended  from  a  military  family.  One  of  his  paternal  great-grandfathers 
was  a  Captain  in  the  First  Pennsylvania  Infantrj-,  and  served  through  the  Revo- 
lutionar)-  War,  and  from  him  he  inherits  the  Eagle  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincin- 
nati. His  mother's  father,  Captain  Hart,  served  in  the  War  of  1S12,  ami  after- 
wards was  for  sixteen  years  Captain  of  the  famous  Citj' Troop.  In  1874  Mr. 
Adams  joined  this  last-named  organization  and  served  until  1882,  when  he  was 
appointed  Judge  Advocate  of  the  First  Brigade,  National  Guards  of  Pennsj-Ivania, 
with  rank  of  Major,  which  position  he  filled  with  credit  until  1887,  when  he  was 
appointed  on  Governor  Beaver's  staff  with  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  thus 
making  nearly  fifteen  )-ears  of  continued  service  in  the  National  Guard. 

Colonel  Adams'  only  experience  of  active  military  service  was  in  the  West  in 
1872,  when  at  Fort  Hall,  Idaho  Territory,  he  accompanied  a  detachment  of  the 
Sixteenth  United  States  Infantr\-  as  a  \'olunteer  in  an  expedition  against  the 
Indians,  and  in  1875  when,  with  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  in  Utah, 
the  party  was  attacked  b)-  the  Pi-Ute  Indians,  and  only  escaped  after  a  fii;ht  of 
nineteen  hours.  Prof  James  T.  Gardner,  in  his  official  report,  sa\-s :  "  I  cannot 
bestow  too  much  praise  upon  Robert  Adams,  S.  Madeira,  Charles  Kclscy  and 
Cuthbert  Mills  for  the  aggressive  energy  that  they  showed  in  the  fight.  To  the 
first  two  I  was  constantly  indebted  for  excellent  advice." 

Mr.  Adams'  literary  work  has  been  of  rather  a  desultory  character,  and  mostly 
on  topics  that  interested  him  personally,  or  which  he  was  advocating  for  the 
public  good.  In  1S75,  at  the  in\itation  of  the  Ladies'  Centennial  Committee,  he 
delivered  a  lecture  at  the  Academy  of  Music  to  a  large  autlience  on  "The  W'on- 
ders  of  the  Yellowstone  Park-,"  which  netted  a  handsome  sum  for  the  National 
celebration.  He  wrote  for  the  Century  an  article  on  the  "  State  in  Sclui_\lkill," 
being  an  account  of  the  oldest  social  cUib  in  the  world.  In  1SS3  he  was  elected 
Biennial  Orator  of  the  Philomathean  Society  of  the  Univei'sit)'  of  Pennsylvania, 
and  read  a  paper  on  "  Must  the  Classics  Go  ?  "  During  the  winter  of  18S4,  there 
being  no  session  of  the  Legislature,  he  returned  to  his  Alma  Mater  and  entered 
the  Wharton  School  of  P'inance  and  Political  Pxonom)-,  in  order  to  further  fit 
himself  for  his  public  duties,  and  took  his  degree  of  Ph.  B,  The  following 
winter,  by  invitation  of  the  Faculty,  he  lectured  to  the  students  on  "  Legislative 
Procedure,"  and  on  invitation  of  the  Social  Science  Association  he  prepared  and 
read  before  it  a  paper  on  "  Wife  Beating  as  a  Crime,"  and  its  relation  to  taxation. 
Senator  Adams  has  participated  in  every  political  campaign  since  his  entrance 
into  political  life  in  1882,  and  his  services  have  been  much  in  demand  b}-  both 
the  State  and  City  Committees  as  a  speaker  on  the  hustings. 

Many  societies  have  been  benefited  by  Mr.  Adams'  active  membership.  In 
his  college  days  he  belonged  to  and  became  IVIoderator  of  the  Philomathean 
Society  of  the  University  of  Penns\'lvania ;  he  also  joined  the  Delta  Psi  Fraternity, 
and  presided  over  the  great  meeting  of  the  Brotherhood  held  in  Philadelphia  in 
1876,  and  recenti}'  was  elected  President  of  the  Wharton  School  Association. 
He  is  an  active  member  of  the  Hibernian  Societ}-,  which  his  grandfather  joined 
25 


104  ROBERT    ADAMS,    JR. 

in  lSo6;  also  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Franklin  Insti- 
tute. Mr.  Adams  has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  all  social  and  society 
matters,  and  is  a  prominent  member  of  the  Union  League,  the  Philadelphia,  the 
Penn,  the  Rabbit  and  the  Fish  House  Clubs  of  Philadelphia,  and  of  the  Union 
and  St.  Anthony  Clubs  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Adams,  since  his  retirement  from  the  Senate,  has  held  no  political  office. 
His  name  is  frequently  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Congressional  nomina- 
tion for  his  district.  He  is  still  a  young  man,  and,  with  his  Legislative  record, 
his  ability  and  special  education,  should  have  a  successful  career  before  him. 

C.  R.  D. 


Hon.  Boies   Penrose 


BOIES   PENROSE. 

HON.  Boies  Penrose,  State  Senator  for  the  Si-xth  District  of  Pennsylvania, 
was  born  at  his  present  residence  in  tlie  Eightli  Ward,  Philadelphia,  on 
November  i,  i860.  He  is  the  son  of  Professor  R.  A.  F.  Penrose,  M.  D.,  LL.  D., 
of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  a  nephew  of 
Judge  Clement  Biddle  Penrose,  of  the  Orphans'  Court  of  Philadelphia  county. 
Mr.  Penrose  is  a  direct  descendant  of  William  Biddle,  one  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  province  of  New  Jersey,  a  friend  of  William  Penn,  and  the  founder  of  the 
Biddle  family  of  Philadelphia.  Nicholas  Scull,  Surveyor-General  of  Pennsylva- 
nia in  the  old  Colonial  days,  was  also  one  of  his  immediate  ancestors.  Philip 
Thomas,  private  Secretary  to  Cecil  Calvert,  Lord  Baltimore,  and  founder  of  the 
Thomas  family  of  Maryland,  was  a  direct  ancestor  on  his  maternal  side,  and  he 
is  descended  from  some  of  the  best  stock  in  New  England.  His  great-grand- 
father, J.  S.  Boies,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  when  a  mere  lad  assisted  in  erecting  the 
breastworks  on  Bunker  Hill  the  night  before  the  famous  battle. 

Mr.  Penrose  was  educated  at  the  Episcopal  Academy,  located  at  the  corner  of 
Juniper  and  Locust  streets,  Philadelphia,  and  by  private  tutors.  He  entered 
Harvard  College  at  the  early  age  of  si.xteen,  and  graduated  in  1881,  being  one 
of  five  out  of  a  class  of  nearly  250  members  selected  by  a  competitive  e.xamina- 
tion  to  deliver  an  oration  on  commencement  day,  his  subject  being  "  Martin 
Van  Buren  as  a  Politician."  He  also  received  "  honorable  mention  "  for  his 
studies  in  political  economy. 

He  studied  law  with  Wayne  MacVeagh,  United  States  Attorney  General  under 
President  Garfield,  and  George  Tucker  Bispham,  Professor  in  the  Law  School  of 
the  University  of  Pennsj-lvania.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  December.  1SS3, 
and  soon  afterwards  entered  into  partnership  with  S.  Davis  Page,  Esq.,  who  was 
appointed  United  States  sub-Treasurer  at  Philadelphia  by  President  Cleveland, 
and  Edward  P.  Allinson,  Esq.,  the  firm  being  Page,  AUinson  &  Penrose. 

In  1884  he  was  nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket  and  elected  a  member  of 
the  Pennsylvania  House  of  Representatives  from  the  Eighth  Ward  of  Philadel- 
phia, succeeding  the  Hon.  William  C.  Bullitt,  a  Democrat.  In  the  session  of 
1885  he  voted  for  Hon.  J.  Donald  Cameron  for  United  States  Senator.  He  also 
took  a  prominent  part  in  the  passage  of  the  "  Bullitt  Bill,"  the  reform  charter  fur 
Philadelphia,  and  other  important  measures. 

In  November,  1886,  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  from  the  Si.xth  District, 
composed  of  the  Seventh,  Eighth  and  Ninth  Wards  of  Philadelphia,  a  district 
which,  embracing  as  it  does  the  heart  of  the  city,  is  the  richest  and  most  influen- 
tial in  the  State.  He  succeeded  Hon.  Robert  Adams.  Mr.  Penrose's  grand- 
father, Hon.  Charles  Bingham  Penrose,  formerly  represented  a  portion  of  the 
same  district  in  the  State  Senate,  and,  dying  during  his  term  of  service,  was  suc- 

(«95) 


Iq6  BOIES     PENROSE. 

cccded  b\'  the  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall.  Col.  A.  K.  McCliire  recalled  some  inter- 
esting reminiscences  in  the  Tiuns.  upon  the  occasion  of  Mr.  Penrose's  nomination 
to  the  House  in  the  follow  ing  language  : 

••  The  nomination  of  Mr.  Boies  Peniose  for  the  Legislnture  in  the  Eighth  Ward  recalls  the  fact  that 
the  name  he  lie-irs  is  illustrious  in  the  leyisl.itive  annals  of  the  State.  His  grandfather,  the  late  Charles  B. 
Penrose,  was  a  Senator  from  the  Cumberland  District  nearly  half  a  century  ago,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
central  figures  of  the  only  Anti-Masonic  State  Administration.  Elected  to  the  Senate  originally  as  a 
Democrat,  he  severed  his  connection  with  his  party  on  the  issue  of  rechartering  the  old  United  States 
BanI;  as  a  Slate  institution,  and  he  was  one  of  the  most  trusted  advisers  of  the  Ritner  reign.  He  subse- 
quently became  a  resident  of  rhiladeli>hia,  and  was  returned  to  the  Senate  by  the  Republicans,  or  the 
People's  party,  as  it  was  then  called,  and  he  w.as  the  one  man  wdio,  more  than  any  dozen,  compassed  the 
defeat  of  Colonel  Forney  and  the  election  of  General  Cameron  to  the  Senate  in  the  Democratic  Legisla- 
ture of  1857.  The  Democrats  had  three  majority  on  joint  ballot,  and  they  had  nominated  Colonel 
Forney  as  their  candidate  with  the  active  approval  of  Buchanan,  then  President-elect.  The  Republicans 
had  no  love  for  Cameron,  but  they  were  smarting  under  the  defe.it  Colonel  Forney  had  given  them,  as 
they  alleged,  by  frauds  in  this  city,  and  they  were  willing  to  accept  Cameron  to  defeat  Forney,  but  they 
refused  to  make  Cameron  their  candidate  unless  positively  assured  of  his  election.  Senator  Penrose 
pressed  Cameron  upon  the  Republican  caucus  on  the  ground  that  he  coidd  be  elected,  but  they  were 
slow  to  believe  that  the  Democratic  majority  could  be  broken  in  the  President's  own  State  just  on  the 
threshold  of  his  power.  The  caucus  finally  so  far  yielded  to  Senator  Penrose's  importunities  as  to  appoint 
himself  and  two  other  trusted  members  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  and  commanded  them  to  report  favor- 
ably only  on  the  pledge  of  Democratic  members  personally  given  to  the  committee,  but  conceding  that 
the  names  of  the  bolting  Democrats  need  not  be  given.  Penrose  and  his  committee  retired  and  met  Lebo, 
Maneer  and  Wagonseller,  three  Democratic  members  of  the  House  who  gave  their  pledge  to  vote  for 
Cameron  on  the  first  ballot.  The  committee  reported  that  they  had  seen  three  Democratic  members  and 
had  their  pledge  to  vote  for  Cameron,  whereupon  the  Republican  caucus  agreed  to  give  a  unanimous 
vote  for  Cameron  on  one  ballot.  They  so  voted,  Lebo,  Maneer  and  Wagonseller  fulfilled  their  pledge, 
and  Cameron  was  elected.  Mr.  Penrose  died  before  his  term  expired,  and  the  lapse  of  a  quarter  of  a 
century  since  his  death  leaves  his  name  unfamiliar  to  the  active  politicians  of  the  present.  His  sons  have 
well  maintained  the  distinction  of  the  elder  Penrose,  although  they  have  not  become  legislators.  One  of 
them  graces  the  Orphans'  Court  of  this  city,  and  now  the  grandson,  in  the  freshness  of  youth,  is  about  to 
take  up  the  legislative  mantle  of  his  distinguished  grandsire." 

In  the  session  of  1S87  Mr.  Penrose  voted  for  the  election  of  Hon.  Matthew  S. 
Quay  for  United  States  Senator,  having  seconded  his  nomination  in  the  Repub- 
lican caucus.  He  took  an  active  part  in  the  debates  of  that  session  on  the  various 
bills  relative  to  railroad  discriminations  and  upon  other  matters  of  importance  to 
tlie  city  of  Philadelphia. 

He  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  questions  of  municipal  reform,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  convention  of  the  Republican  party  that  nominated  Edwin  H. 
I'iticr,  who  was  subsequently  elected  the  first  Mayor  under  the  new  city  charter 
known  as  the  "  Bullitt  Bill."  In  1886,  at  the  request  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University  of  Baltimore,  he,  in  connection  with  his  partner,  Mr.  Allin- 
son,  wrote  a  history  of  the  government  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  This  work 
is  the  second  volume  in  a  series  of  similar  subjects  published  by  the  University 
and  edited  by  Professor  Herbert  Adams,  and  is  entitled,  "The  Second  Extra 
Volume  of  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science."  The  work  traces  the 
development  of  the  municipality  from  its  beginning  to  the  adoption  of  the 


BIJIES     PENKOSIC, 


197 


"  Bullitt  Bill  "  in  the  broad,  scientific  manner  first  apjjlicd  to  American  local 
institutions  by  Professor  Freeman,  the  famous  English  historian,  upon  his  visit 
to  this  country  a  few  years  ago,  and  subsequently  carried  out  in  the  scries  of 
historical  investigations  instituted  by  the  Joiins  Hopkins  University.  It  was  in 
the  preparation  of  this  work  that  Allinson  and  Penrose  discovered  the  first 
charter  of  Philadelphia,  probably  the  most  interesting  and  important  discovery 
of  an  original  document  relative  to  local  history  that  has  been  made  for  many 
years.  Previously  the  charter  of  1701  had  been  considered  the  first  charter  of 
the  city,  and  Edward  Shippen  the  first  Mayor.  Allinson  and  Penrose,  ho\ve\'er, 
after  laborious  research,  discovered  a  charter  granted  b\-  Pcnn  in  1699,  under 
■\\hich  Humphrey  Murraj'  was  ]\Ia\^or.  This  charter  was  in  the  possession  of 
Col.  Ale.xander  Biddle,  in  whose  family  it  had  been  for  over  a  hundred  )-ears. 

Air.  Penrose  and  his  partner  ha\-e  also  contributed  all  the  articles  upon  muni- 
cipal subjects  to  the  American  and  English  Eucyclopccdia  of  La-u',  and  among 
their  more  recent  contributions  may  be  mentioned  an  article  on  "  Ground  Rents 
in  Philadelphia  as  Affecting  the  Growth  of  Small  I'reehold  Tenures,"  whicli 
appeared  in  the  Harvard  Economic  Rci'iczv  for  1SS8. 

Mr.  Penrose  is  a  member  of  the  Union  League,  the  Union  Republican  Club, 
the  Young  Republican  Club,  and  other  social  and  political  organizations,  and 
possesses  the  warm,  personal  regard  of  his  friends  and  associates. 

C.  R.  D. 


Hon.  William   Gable 


WILLIAM    GABLE. 

HON.  \ViLLL\M  Gable,  ex-Representative  from  Nortlutmberland  county,  was 
born  in  Schuylkill  county,  near  the  present  city  of  Pottsville,  June  26, 
1S37.  His  ancestry  for  three  generations  are  descended  from  the  hardy,  consci- 
entious inhabitants  of  the  F"atherland,  devoted  to  duty  and  sterling  in  their 
honesty,  who  migrated  to  this  country  and  helped  to  found  the  State.  John 
Gable,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  came  to  this  country  from 
Hesse-Castle  with  his  parents,  a  boy  in  years,  and  settled  in  Berks  county,  Penn- 
S)'lvania.  The  news  from  Lexington  found  him  a  youth  budding  into  vigorous 
manhood,  and  awakened  within  him  the  latent  spark  of  patriotism  that  Bunker 
Hill  kindled  into  a  flame.  John  Gable  entered  the  patriot  army,  and  followed 
its  varying  fortunes  from  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  war  until  its  close 
at  Yorktown.  He  raised  a  family,  and  the  same  spirit  that  inspired  the  father  to 
do  battle  for  the  cause  of  liberty  and  independence,  sent  his  son  forth  to  battle 
against  the  British  in  18 12.  When  the  war  was  over  he  married,  and  later  in 
life  moved  to  Schuylkill  county.  He  was  the  father  of  William  Gable,  who  in 
turn  has  laid  aside  the  implements  of  peace  to  take  up  the  weapons  of  war  and 
assist  in  preserving  the  nation  his  grandfather  helped  to  found,  and  in  defence  of 
which  his  father  fought. 

In  the  enjoyment  of  the  stupendous  improvements  of  the  half  century  that  has 
passed  since  the  birth  of  William  Gable,  it  is  difficult  to  survey  in  retrospect  the 
privations,  the  hardships,  the  meagre  advantages  that  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  Schuyl- 
kill county  lads  in  early  days.  Free  schools  were  a  luxury  scarcely  dreamed  of, 
and  when  they  came  forth  from  shadow  into  substance,  the  teachers  themselves 
had  scarcely  the  rudiments  to  impart  imperfectly  to  the  taught.  Private  schools, 
■where  they  existed  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania,  were  little  better.  It  was 
in  the  midst  of  these  discouraging  conditions  that  young  Gable  passed  his  )-outh 
until  he  attained  his  sixteenth  year.  He  then  engaged  in  mechanical  engineer- 
ing, for  which  he  had  developed  an  aptness. 

His  first  vote  in  a  Presidential  election  was  given  to  the  candidates  of  the 
Republican  party  in  i860,  and  when  the  issue  came,  and  with  it  its  dreadful 
realizations,  he  was  among  the  first  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  imperilled  nation. 
He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  Captain  Jenning's  company  at  St.  Clair  for  three 
months.  The  company  was  assigned  to  the  Fourteenth  Regiment,  and  went  into 
Camp  Curtin,  Harrisburg.  The  regiment  received  its  baptism  of  fire  at  P^alling 
Waters,  which,  at  the  time,  was  considered  a  momentous  event,  but  as  the  war 
progressed  it  sunk  into  the  insignificance  of  a  skirmish.  The  regiment  made  an 
unimportant  tour  of  the  "sacred  soil  of  Virginia"  to  Martinsburg,  Bunk-er  Hill 
and  Harper's  Ferry,  from  which  place,  the  term  of  service  having  expired,  it  was 
sent  to  Carlisle,  Pa.,  and  mustered  out.     Gable  returned  to  St.  Clair. 


200  WILLIAM    GABLE. 

About  tliis  time  Captain  William  J.  Palmer,  who  was  in  command  of  tlie 
Anderson  Troop  in  the  Southwest,  received  permission  to  recruit  a  regiment  of 
cavalrj-  in  Pennsylvania  to  act  as  body-guard  to  General  Buell.  This  was  the 
Fifteenth  Regiment  of  Penns}'lvania  Cavalry,  better  known  as  the  Anderson 
Cavalr}-,  named  in  honor  of  Robert  Anderson,  the  hero  of  Fort  Sumter.  In  its 
formation,  in  order  that  it  might  be  a  picked  body  of  men,  each  county  in  the 
State  was  to  be  allowed  to  furnish  eight  men,  and  their  acceptance  depended  on 
the  candidates  being  not  only  perfect  in  their  physique,  but  they  must  possess 
the  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  the  gentleman.  William  Gable  applied  for 
admission  from  Schuylkill  county,  and  was  accepted.  The  company  was  sent 
to  Carlisle  Barracks,  where  it  was  drilled  by  officers  detailed  for  the  purpose 
from  tlie  regular  army.  When  General  Pope  was  defeated  at  the  second  battle 
of  Bull  Run,  and  the  battle  of  y\ntietam  was  in  prospective,  the  Anderson  Cavalry 
went  to  Chambersburg,  pressed  into  service  a  sufficient  number  of  horses,  and 
took  part  in  that  memorable  conflict.  Here,  at  the  very  outset,  its  colonel  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  did  not  rejoin  the  regiment  for  more  than  a  j-ear.  The  bat- 
tle fought  and  won,  the  regiment  went  back  to  Carlisle,  and  shortly  afterwards 
was  transferred  to  Louisville,  Kentuck)',  where  it  was  supplied  with  horses 
and  marched  to  Nashville,  arriving  in  time  to  participate  in  the  battle  of  Stone 
river,  in  which  it  lost  seventy  men  in  killed  and  wounded,  including  two  acting 
majors — Rosengarten,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Ward,  of  Pittsburgh.  It  may  be  well 
to  state  here  that  owing  to  the  peculiarity  of  regimental  organization,  by  tacit 
agreement,  both  these  officers,  equally  efficient  and  worthy,  remained  with  the 
regiment  with  but  one  exercising  priority  right  to  the  command.  The  Anderson 
Cavalry  participated  in  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  at  the  close  of  which  William 
Gable  was  promoted  from  a  private  to  a  Sergeant  for  services  on  the  field.  The 
regiment  then  joined  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  participated  in  its  prin- 
cipal engagements  under  General  Thomas.  In  1864  Gable  went  before  the 
E.xamining  Board  at  Nashville,  Tenn.,  received  a  commission  as  First  Lieutenant, 
was  assigned  to  the  One  Hundred  and  First  United  States  Colored  Infantry,  and 
sent  to  Gallatin,  Tennessee,  to  recruit  a  company.  This  accomplished,  he  joined 
the  regiment  at  Clarksville,  was  sent  to  Nash\ille,  and  was  there  doing  guard 
duty  until  the  regiment  was  mustered  out  January  21,  1866. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  Mr.  Gable  engaged  in  raising  cotton  in  Arkansas,  but 
the  surroundings  not  being  congenial,  he  gave  it  up  after  a  six  months'  trial  and 
went  to  Washington.  His  object  was  to  appear  before  the  Examining  Board  as 
a  candidate  for  a  commission  in  the  regular  army.  He  called  on  General  Grant, 
who  gave  him  a  cordial  reception,  and  lent  his  influence  to  secure  a  position  to 
prepare  him  for  the  examination.  In  the  meantime  Congress  passed  an  act 
reducing  the  army,  which  effectually  put  a  quietus  on  Mr.  Gable's  military 
aspirations. 

In  November,  1869,  he  came  to  Shamokin  and  engaged  with  his  brother  in 
operating  tiie  Lancaster  Colliery,  and  later,  when  the    Mineral    Railroad  and 


WILLIAM    GABLE.  20I 

Mining'  Company  was  organized,  lie  was  made  outside  Superintendent  at  the 
Luke  Fiddler  Collier}',  in  which  position  he  remained  until  1S74,  when  he 
became  General  Manager  for  the  Enterprise  Coal  Company.  Here  he  remained 
until  18S4,  passing  through  all  the  troublous  times  incident  to  "  Molly  Maguire- 
ism."  In  1 885  he  was  nominated  by  the  Republicans  of  Northumberland  county 
for  the  Assembly,  and,  although  the  county  was  hopelessly  Democratic,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  overcoming  the  majority  of  upward  of  one  thousand,  and  secured  an 
election,  being  the  second  Republican  up  to  that  time  who  had  been  successful 
in  the  histor}-  of  the  count}'.  As  a  legislator  he  was  untiring  in  his  zeal  in  the 
interests  of  his  constituency  as  well  as  the  general  welfare  of  the  Commonwealth 
at  large.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Pensions  and  Gratuities,  and, 
under  the  rules  which  appl}'  to  the  second  member,  was  Secretary  of  the  Com- 
mittees on  ]\Iines  and  Mining  and  of  Geological  Surveys.  The  duties  involved 
in  this  alone  were  enough  to  monopolize  the  time  of  a  less  energetic  man.  Not- 
withstanding this  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings  on  the  floor,  and  was 
closely  identified  with  a  large  amount  of  very  important  legislation.  Among 
other  things  he  succeeded  in  securing  the  passage  of  a  bill  creating  an  additional 
law  judge  for  Northumberland  count}',  which  was,  however,  vetoed  by  the 
Governor. 

He  had  charge  of  the  Geological  Survey  Bill,  and  only  by  the  most  untiring 
effort  did  he  succeed  in  securing  its  enactment  into  a  law.  Hall's  Island,  in  the 
Susquehanna  opposite  Georgetown,  up  to  this  time,  although  a  ver}'  valuable 
property,  was  enjoying  immunity  from  certain  taxes  by  reason  of  its  being  an 
independent  school  district.  Through  Mr.  Gable's  exertion  the  law  so  exempting 
it  was  repealed. 

He  was  one  of  the  committee  of  fifteen  Republican  members  of  the  Legislature 
appointed  by  the  party  caucus  to  draft  an  Apportionment  Bill,  and  was  earnest  in 
])is  opposition  to  the  measure  which  was  finally  passed,  and  was  vetoed  by  Gov- 
ernor Pattison.  Mr.  Gable  was  a  delegate  to  the  State  Convention  that  nominated 
Gen.  James  A.  Beaver  for  Governor  for  the  first  time. 

At  the  expiration  of  his  term  as  Representative,  he  assumed  the  proprietorship 
and  management  of  the  National  Hotel  at  Shamokin,  which  he  still  continues. 
In  1887  he  ran  for  the  Assembl}^  a  second  time,  but,  owing  to  complications 
arising  from  the  presence  of  a  ticket  placed  in  the  field  by  die  Knights  of  Labor, 
he  was  defeated. 

Mr.  Gable  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  Order,  of  the  Military  Order  of  the 
Loyal  Legion.  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  Union  Veterans'  Association. 
He  was  also  Captain  in  and  Commissary  of  the  Seventh  Regiment,  National 
Guard,  of  Pennsylvania,  from  its  organization  until  mustered  out  of  service. 

In  1859  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  J.  Bloom,  of  Pottsville. 
26 


Hon.  Thomas  Adamson. 


THOMAS   ADAMSON. 

HON.  Thomas  Adamson,  now  Consul-General  at  Panama,  and  one  of  tlie 
most  experienced  and  popular  officers  in  the  Consular  service,  is  tlie  son 
of  Charles  and  Mary  Corson  Adamson,  and  was  born  in  Schuylkill  township, 
Chester  county,  Pa.,  April  5,  1827.  He  is  of  the  fifth  generation  in  descent  from 
John  and  Ann  Adamson,  who  emigrated  from  London,  England,  in  1691,  as 
followers  of  William  Penn.  His  ancestors  on  the  paternal  side  for  many  genera- 
tions belonged  to  the  religious  Society  of  Friends,  and  were  noted  for  their  firm 
adherence  to  what  they  considered  to  be  the  right,  without  regard  to  any  result- 
ing unpopularity.  On  the  maternal  side  he  belongs  to  three  important  families  of 
Pennsylvania,  the  Corsons,  the  Dickinsons  and  the  Dungans.  The  Corsons  of 
Pennsylvania  trace  their  descent  from  a  Huguenot  family,  who  fled  from  France 
in  1675  to  seek  religious  liberty  in  the  new  world.  The  head  of  that  family  in 
Montgomery  county  was  Joseph  Corson,  who  settled  near  Plymouth  Meeting  in 
1786,  and  was  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch.  Joseph  Corson's 
mother  was  a  descendant  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Dungan,  a  Baptist  clergyman,  who 
fled  from  Ireland  on  account  of  the  persecution  of  his  sect  during  the  reign  of 
Charles  II.  His  wife  was  Hannah  Dickinson,  whose  family  trace  their  origin  to 
Walter  de  Caen,  of  Kenson,  one  of  the  Norman  companions  of  William  the 
Conqueror. 

The  author  of  "  Biographies  of  Men  of  Montgomery  County"  says  he  has  no 
knowledge  of  any  man  of  the  county  from  whom  are  descended  so  large  a  number 
of  cultivated  and  distinguished  offspring,  both  in  the  male  and  female  branches, 
as  are  descended  from  Joseph  Corson. 

The  parents  of  Thomas  Adamson  were  among  the  earliest  Abolitionists  of 
Pehns\'lvania,  and  their  son  was  imbued  with  their  sentiments  on. the  subject  of 
slavery  from  his  early  youth.  The  daily  discussion  of  the  subject  to  which  he 
listened,  or  in  which  he  took  part,  tended  to  develop  his  reasoning  powers,  and 
the  odium  which  attached  to  the  friends  of  the  oppressed  negro  on!}'  served  to 
strengthen  his  convictions,  and  to  make  him  perfectly  indifferent  to  any  argument 
which  his  conscience  could  not  approve. 

His  scholastic  education  was  acquired  in  the  common  schools  and  at  Tree- 
mount  Seminary,  Norristown,  then  in  charge  of  Rev.  Samuel  Aaron,  a  man  of 
remarkable  intellectual  force  and  marvellous  eloquence. 

On  leaving  school  young  Adamson  entered  upon  a  mercantile  career,  the 
training  for  which  subsequently  proved  of  great  value  to  him  in  his  official  life, 
which  commenced  on  the  25th  of  November,  1861,  when,  on  the  recommenda- 
tion of  the  Hon.  Thaddeus  Stevens  and  other  distinguished  Pcnnsylvanians,  he 
was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  as  Consul  of  the  United  States  at  Pernam- 
buco,  Brazil.     When  this  appointment  was  made  the  post  did  not  appear  to  be 


204  THOMAS    ADAMSOX. 

one  of  great  conseqiiencc,  but  tlie  accident  of  war  made  it  one  of  the  most 
important  of  our  consulates;  for  it  was  in  tlie  vicinity  of  Pernanibuco  that  the 
Anglo-rebel  cruisers  "  Alabama,"  "  Florida  "  and  "  Georgia  "  committed  their 
most  serious  depredations  on  our  commerce.  It  was  within  that  jurisdiction  that 
most  of  the  crews  from  the  captured  vessels  were  landed,  and  it  was  from  vessels 
calling  at  that  port  that  late  news  of  the  movements  of  the  piratical  cruisers 
could  be  obtained  and  forwarded  to  our  naval  commanders. 

In  May,  1S63,  Mr.  Adamson  had  under  his  charge  294  of  the  men  taken 
prisoners  by  the  "Alabama"  and  "  Florida,"  for  whom  he  had  to  provide.  At 
that  time  the  United  States  Government  had  given  notice  that  no  drafts  agnii\i;t 
it  would  be  accepted  if  made  paj-able  in  gold,  and  no  merchant  or  banker  in 
Brazil  would  buy  a  consular  draft  which  was  made  payable  in  a  rapidly  depre- 
ciating paper  currency.  At  this  juncture  the  personal  character  of  the  Consul 
proved  of  value  to  his  Government.  lie  had  secured  the  entire  confidence  of  a 
wealthy  merchant  and  banker,  Mr.  John  Mathues,  head  of  the  firm  of  Mathues, 
Austin  &Co. ;  and  to  him  Mr.  Adamson  applied,  telling  Mr.  Mathues  plainly 
that  he  was  a  poor  man,  that  he  had  positive  orders  not  to  draw  on  the  Govern- 
^ment  for  gold,  and  that  he  required  some  five  or  six  thousand  dollars  to  feed, 
clothe  and  send  home  the  captured  seamen  under  his  charge.  The  money  was 
handed  over  without  a  moment's  delay.  In  consideration  of  the  circumstances 
the  United  States  Government  afterwards  permitted  the  Consul  to  draw  for  the 
amount  in  gokl. 

During  the  same  month  the  "  Florida  "  arrived  at  Pernanibuco,  where  she 
landed  forty-nine  prisoners,  and  was  permitted  by  the  authorities  to  enter  the 
port  to  take  coal.  The  Consul  made  a  vigorous  protest  against  such  permission 
being  accorded  to  the  "  Florida,"  and  in  his  official  correspondence  and  discus- 
sion of  the  case  he  was  pitted  against  the  President  of  the  province.  Dr.  Joao 
Silveira  de  Souza,  who  had  recently  been  a  professor  in  the  law  school  of  Per- 
nanibuco, and  was  subsequently  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  empire.  The 
President  of  Pernanibuco  was  also  assisted  by  Don  Francisco  Balthazar  de 
Silveira,  an  eminent  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  who  has  since  become  the 
chief  legal  adviser  of  the  imperial  government.  For  a  novice  in  the  consular 
service  the  position  was  an  extremely  trying  one ;  but  the  new  Consul  felt,  when 
he  entered  the  public  .service,  that  the  way  to  hold  a  high  place  was  to  acquire 
the  ability  to  fill  it,  and  he  had  employed  his  spare  time  in  studying  international 
law  and  the  laws  which  govern  maritime  warfare.  His  management  of  the  dif- 
ficult cases  he  had  to  deal  with  secured  for  him  the  approval  of  the  Department 
of  State  and  the  commendation  of  Gen.  James  Watson  Webb,  the  Envoy-Extra- 
ordinary and  Mini.stcr-Plcnipotentiary  of  the  United  States  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
Consul  Adamson's  vigilance  in  thwarting  the  designs  of  the  rebel  cruisers,  liis 
economy  in  the  expenditures  of  his  office,  and  the  extreme  care  .shown  by  him 
in  all  public  affairs  attracted  the  attention  of  the  Department  of  State,  and  finally 
led  to  his  appointment,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1S69,  as  Consul  at  Honolulu,  the  scat 


THOMAS    ADAMSON.  TO^ 

of  Government  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  the  refitting  port  for  our  vessels 
engaged  in  the  Arctic  and  Pacific  whale  fishery. 

On  reporting  to  the  Department  of  State  to  receive  his  instructions,  Mr. 
Adamson  was  informed  that  he  had  been  selected  from  a  very  large  number  of 
applicants  for  the  position,  because  the  Department  believed  that  he  was  the  man 
of  the  consular  service  who  would  do  as  he  was  ordered  ;  that  in  carrying  out  his 
instructions  lie  might  make  himself  unpopular;  that  the  Department  would  be 
disappointed  if  there  were  not  many  complaints  made  against  him  ;  and  that,  so 
far  as  possible,  he  should  be  sustained  ;  but  it  was  also  plainly  intimated  that  he 
must,  if  necessary,  be  willing  to  sacrifice  himself  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  out 
the  views  of  the  Department.  Amongst  the  duties  to  be  performed  were  several 
extrernely  difficult  tasks,  including  a  reduction  of  the  very  heavy  expenditures 
incurred  at  Honolulu  for  many  years  in  connection  with  the  United  States 
Marine  Hospital  at  that  port ;  the  collection  of  the  three  months'  extra  wages  on 
discharge  of  seamen — a  legal  but  very  unpopular  measure  with  the  masters  of 
whaling  vessels;  and  the  protection  of  seamen  from  frauds  in  the  settlement  of 
their  wages.  Mr.  Adamson  performed  his  difficult  task  to  the  full  satisfaction  of 
his  superiors,  and  received  in  official  form  the  thanks  of  the  Department  for  his 
faithful  administration  ;  but,  as  had  been  foreseen,  he  incurred  the  displeasure 
of  the  New  Bedford  whaling  interests,  and  the  New  England  representatives  in 
Congress  had  sufficient  influence  to  prevent  his  nomination  from  being  acted 
upon  by  the  Senate,  although  President  Grant  e.xerted  his  influence  to  have  him 
confirmed. 

Mr.  Adamson  remained  in  charge  of  the  consulate  at  Honolulu  as  Acting 
Consul  until  the  latter  part  of  October,  1870.  During  all  his  residence  there  he 
was  on  particularly  friendly  terms  with  the  Hawaiian  Government,  the  mission- 
aries and  clergy  of  the  island,  and  the  respectable  people  of  Honolulu  in  general; 
and  on  leaving  there  he  was  presented  by  the  citizens  with  a  sandal-wood  cane 
mounted  with  a  solid  gold  head,  and  by  the  Protestant  clergymen  with  a  hand- 
somely bound  Bible  printed  in  the  Hawaiian  language. 

On  his  return  home  in  November,  1870,  the  Hon.  Hamilton  Fish,  then  Secre- 
tary of  State,  tendered  to  Mr.  Adamson  the  appointment  to  the  Consulate  at 
Singapore,  East  Indies ;  but,  as  he  needed  rest  and  did  not  wish  to  displace  the 
worthy  incumbent  of  that  post,  he  asked  permission  to  hold  his  decision  in 
abeyance  for  a  time,  which  was  granted. 

In  a  personal  interview  which  the  Hon.  Simon  Cameron,  Senator  from  Penn- 
sylvania, had  with  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State  in  regard  to  another  appoint- 
ment for  Mr.  Adamson,  that  official  remarked  that  Mr.  Adamson  had  converted 
the  Consulate  at  Honolulu,  which  formerly  cost  the  Government  some  ^30,000 
a  year,  into  a  source  of  revenue,  and  that  during  his  first  full  quarter  at  Honolulu 
he  had  sent  to  the  United  States  Treasury  over  ;gi  1,000  on  account  of  the  fund 
for  relief  of  seamen.  On  the  2d  of  February,  1S71,  at  the  special  instance  of  the 
Hon.  William  D.  Kelley,  M.  C,  and  the   Hon.  Leonard  Myers,  M.  C,  and  in 


206  THOJIAS    ADAMSON. 

recognition  of  Iiis  valuable  senices  at  Honolulu,  President  Grant  commissioned 
Mr.  Adanison  as  Consul  at  Melbourne  for  the  important  British  Colony  of 
\'ictoria,  Australia,  to  which  post  he  immediately  proceeded. 

Within  a  few  months  after  his  arrival  at  Melbourne  he  received  from  one  of 
the  Cabinet  Ministers  of  the  Hawaiian  kingdom  an  intimation  that,  if  he  would 
express  his  willingness  to  accept  it,  he  would  at  once  receive  from  his  Majesty, 
King  Kamehameha  V.,  the  appointment  as  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  of  Hawaii. 
The  position  was  the  premier  one  of  the  country,  and  very  desirable  from  many 
points  of  view  ;  but,  while  Mr.  Adanison  fully  appreciated  tiie  honor  done  him  by 
the  suggested  appointment,  his  ambition  was  limited  to  the  ser\ice  of  his  own 
country. 

He  devoted  himself  with  energy  to  the  duty  of  promoting  measures  to  increase 
the  commerce  of  the  United  States  with  the  great  Australian  Colonies,  and  to 
overcoming  any  prejudices  which  might  retard  the  intercourse  between  the 
respective  countries. 

As  a  natural  result  of  his  early  training,  he  took  an  active  interest  in  works  of 
benevolence,  and  thus  happily  dispelled  the  prejudices  of  those  who  thouglit  a 
foreigner  could  desire  the  good  only  of  his  own  countrymen.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  "The  Victorian  Society  for  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Animals,"  and 
also  of  "  The  Victorian  Discharged  Prisoners'  Aid  Society,"  both  of  which  held 
their  meetings  at  the  United  States  Consulate  for  several  years.  He  was  also  a 
member  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Victorian  Eye  and  Ear  Hospital,  of 
the  Victorian  Asylum  and  School  for  the  Blind,  the  Seamen's  Mission,  and  other 
public  institutions. 

His  usefulness  was  recognized  by  his  promotion,  on  the  17th  of  June,  1874,  to 
the  rank  of  Consul-General  at  Melbourne,  with  jurisdiction  over  all  the  United 
States  Consulates  in  Australia,  New  Zealand  and  Tasmania — a  territory  of  greater 
extent  than  that  of  any  other  Consulate-General  of  our  service. 

During  his  term  of  office  at  Melbourne  he  prepared  the  evidence,  to  be  used 
before  the  tribunal  at  Geneva,  for  arbitrating  the  Alabama  claims,  in  the  case  of 
the  claim  of  the  United  States  for  damages  done  to  American  commerce  by  the 
Anglo-rebel  cruiser  "Shenandoah"  after  her  departure  from  Melbourne,  and 
thus  assi.sted  in  fixing  upon  the  British  Government  the  responsibility  for  the 
acts  complained  of,  and  for  which  /'i, 250,000  sterling  were  allowed.  He  also 
discussed  with  the  Colonial  Go\ernment  several  important  cases  affecting  our 
shipping  interests,  resisting  successfully  its  claims  in  the  premises,  and  securing 
for  himself  the  renewed  approval  of  the  Department  of  State  at  Washington. 

In  1877  lie  obtained  leave  of  absence  to  visit  his  home  in  Philadelphia,  whither 
his  wife  and  sons  had  gone  a  few  months  before  in  order  that  the  latter  might 
enter  the  University  of  Pennsylvania.  On  his  departure  from  Melbourne  he  was 
honored  by  the  citizens  with  a  public  farewell  and  the  presentation  of  an  illumi- 
nated address  and  ser\ice  of  plate  at  the  Town  Hall,  and  was  also  the  recipient 
of  several  complimentary  adtlresses  from  the  various  benevolent  societies  with 
which  he  had  been  connected,  and  from  his  colleagues  of  the  Consular  corps. 


THOMAS    ADAMSON.  20/ 

Before  Mr.  Adamson's  leave  of  absence  had  expired,  the  lion.  Wni.  M.  Evarts, 
tlien  Secretary  of  State,  had  recommended  President  IIa\es  to  transfer  him  to 
the  Consulate-General  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  in  order  to  assist  in  carrying^  out  the 
views  of  the  Secretary  of  State  in  regard  to  increasing  our  commerce  with  Brazil. 

The  nomination  was  accordingly  made,  but  the  action  of  the  Senate  thereon 
was  delayed  for  a  time  b)' a  Senatorial  friend  of  the  incumbent  at  Rio  de  Janeiro. 
Pending  such  action  the  Department  of  State  called  Mr.  Adamson  to  Washington, 
and  ordered  him  to  prepare  for  service  as  a  special  Commissioner  to  the  Samoan 
Islands  to  investigate  certain  complications  which  had  arisen  there,  and  to  make 
a  treaty  with  the  king  of  those  islands.  He  proceeded  at  once  to  study  the  case 
in  hand,  and  to  prepare  for  his  contemplated  mission ;  but  before  arrangements 
for  his  departure  had  been  completed  commissioners  from  Samoa  arrived  at 
Washington,  and  the  treaty  was  made  there  by  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Evarts  and  the 
Envoy  E.xtraordinary  of  the  Samoan  Government,  and  ratifications  exchanged  on 
the  iith  of  February,  1878. 

The  appointment  of  Mr.  Adamson  as  Consul-General  of  the  United  States  at 
Rio  de  Janeiro  having  been  confirmed,  he  was  duly  commissioned  on  the  loth 
of  April,  1878,  and  soon  afterwards  proceeded  toward  his  post,  with  orders  to 
stop  on  the  way  at  Pernambuco  and  make  an  investigation  into  the  administra- 
tion of  the  Consulate  at  that  port,  which  duty  was  performed  to  the  entire 
satisfiction  of  his  Government. 

On  arriving  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  he  found  the  Consulate  office  like  an  old  ship — 
worm-eaten  and  covered  with  barnacles.  The  Vice-Consul-General  was  a  Portu- 
guese subject,  who  had  been  clerk  to  the  Consulate  for  upwards  of  twent}-  years, 
and  who,  through  the  ignorance  of  his  principals  of  the  Portuguese  language, 
had  made  himself  master  of  the  situation,  and  had  connected  that  office  with 
many  very  questionable  practices.  Besides  the  grave  abuses  which  he  had 
permitted  to  grow  and  almost  to  become  vested  riglits  of  the  parasites  who  fed 
upon  the  Consulate,  there  was  a  new  difficulty  to  contend  with  which  grew  out 
of  the  laudable  efforts  of  the  honorable  Secretary  of  State  to  increase  our  for- 
eign commerce. 

Plausible  adventurers  established  themselves  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  as  commission 
merchants,  dealing  only  in  American  goods.  They  invited  consignments,  for 
which  they  seldom  made  any  returns,  except  when  by  doing  so  they  hoped  to 
receive  other  and  more  valuable  consignments.  They  demanded  of  Mr.  Adam- 
son that  he  should  report  them  as  trustworthy  persons,  and  on  his  failure  to  do 
so  they  complained  that  he  was  an  obstacle  to  commerce.  The  position  of  the 
Consul-General  was  as  difficult  as  when  he  was  sent  to  Honolulu  to  break  up 
time-honored  swindles  there,  and  he  was  further  embarrassed  by  the  fact  that  he 
met  with  opposition  from  quarters  whence  he  should  have  received  support. 
Relying,  however,  on  the  knowledge  that  he  was  in  the  right,  and  would  be 
supported  by  his  Government,  he  requested  the  Department  of  State  to  cause  a 
full  investigation  of  all  the  points  at  issue  to  be  made.     A  special  agent,  thor- 


2oS  THOMAS    ADAMSON. 

oiighly  versed  in  consular  duties,  was  detailed  for  that  purpose,  and,  after  a 
searching  examination,  he  found  the  Consul's  course  without  a  blemish,  and 
reported  that  he  iiad  never  before  found  a  consulate  so  well  managed  as  that  at 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  or  a  Consul  so  efficient  as  Mr.  Adamson. 

Mr.  Adamson  continued  in  charge  of  the  Consulate-General  at  Rio  de  Janeiro 
until  18S2,  when  the  increased  political  importance  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
caused  by  the  commencement  of  the  Inter-Oceanic  Canal  projected  by  Count  Fer- 
dinand de  Lesseps,  demanded  that  our  growing  American  interests  there  should  be 
committed  to  the  care  of  a  thoroughly  discreet  and  experienced  officer.  On  the 
17th  of  April,  1S82,  Mr.  Adamson  was  appointed  to  the  Consulate  at  Panama; 
but  he  remained  for  some  six  months  longer  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  order  to  deliver 
over  the  Consulate-General  there  to  his  successor.  On  his  return  to  the  United 
States  he  took  an  early  opportunity  of  paying  his  respects  to  the  new  administra- 
tion. On  calling  on  the  Hon.  F.  T.  Frelinghuj-sen,  then  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Adamson  remarked  that  it  appeared  that  he  had  "  been  promoted  backward  from 
a  Consulate-General  to  a  Consulate."  The  honorable  Secretary  replied  that  he 
ought  to  feel  highly  complimented,  as  the  post  was  likely  to  be  one  of  the  most 
important  in  our  service.  He  also  promised  that  the  Department  would  endeavor 
to  have  the  office  raised  to  that  of  a  Consulate-General,  and  to  have  the  salary 
increased,  both  of  which  were  afterward  accomplished. 

On  his  arrival  in  Panama  he  was  immediately  called  to  take  action  in  a  case  in 
which  the  local  authorities  had  exceeded  their  just  powers,  and  violated  the- 
plain  provision  of  the  Consular  Convention  between  the  respective  countries,  by 
imprisoning  an  officer  and  two  mariners  of  an  American  steamship  for  a  matter 
which  did  not  come  within  their  jurisdiction.  The  affair  became  the  subject  of 
diplomatic  correspondence  between  the  Hon.  Wm.  L.  Scruggs,  Minister-Pleni- 
potentiary of  the  United  States  at  Bogota,  and  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs 
of  the  Colombian  Government.  Mr.  Scruggs,  referring  to  Mr.  Adamson's  dis- 
cussion of  the  affair  with  the  President  of  Panama,  declared  that  his  arguments 
were  unanswerable  and  covered  the  whole  ground,  making  his  own  side  of  the 
case  comparatively  easy  in  his  controversy  with  the  Government  of  Colombia. 
It  may  be  added  that  Mr.  Adamson's  views  of  the  case  were  fully  sustained  by 
the  Department  of  State  at  Washington,  and  finally  admitted  by  the  Colombian 
Government. 

The  state  of  political  affairs  in  Colombia  had  been  gradually  becoming  more 
and  more  disturbed,  and  finally  in  June,  1884,  the  manifestations  of  coming 
trouble  were  unmistakable  at  Panama.  General  Benjamin  Ruiz  commenced  the 
revolt  in  Panama,  and  during  the  following  months  Consul-General  Adamson 
was  continually  on  the  alert  to  protect  American  interests  and  to  report  all  signs 
of  disturbance  to  his  home  Government.  In  December  of  that  year  communica^ 
tion  with  Bogota  was  cut  off,  and  for  five  months  our  Minister  there  could  not 
communicate  with  Washington.  This  left  Consul-Gcneral  Adamson  as  the  only 
representative  of  the  United  States  in   Colombia  with  whom  our  Government 


THOMAS    AOAMSON.  2O9 

could  communicate,  or  from  whom  it  could  receive  information  of  the  progress 
of  tiie  revolution.  Between  November,  1884,  and  April,  1SS5,  Panama  had  six 
different  rulers,  constitutional  and  revolutionary.  The  town  was  taken  by  assault 
of  the  Rebel  forces  on  the  i6th  of  March,  evacuated  by  them  on  the  17th,  and 
retaken  on  the  31st  of  March,  1885.  *^''^  t^'"-'  ^'^^^  named  day  a  notorious  guerrilla 
chief  Pedro  Prestan,  had  captured  the  cit)-  of  Colon,  imprisoned  the  United  States 
Consul  at  that  place,  and  several  prominent  American  citizens,  threatening  to 
shoot  them.  On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  he  burned  the  city,  thus  rendering 
twelve  thousand  people  homeless  in  a  few  hours. 

These  incidents  caused  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  send  a  large 
military  force  to  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  to  protect  y\merican  interests  and  to 
fulfil  our  treaty  obligations  there.  At  one  time  there  were  over  twelve  hundred 
United  States  marines  and  "blue  jackets"  on  shore,  and  lor  a  short  time  the)' 
occupied  and  controlled  the  city  of  Panama.  The  e\ents  of  those  days  were 
such  as  required  the  utmost  watchfulness  and  prudence  on  the  part  of  the  agents 
of  our  Government,  and  especially  so  on  the  part  of  the  ranking  officer,  Consul- 
General  Adamson,  to  whom  all  classes  of  people  came  for  protection  and  advice. 
His  exertions  were  unremitting,  and  his  prudence  averted  serious  and  imminent 
dangers,  and  finally  assisted  materially  to  bring  about  the  peaceable  surrender 
of  the  revolutionary  forces  to  those  of  the  National  Go\-ernment.  To  him  the 
people  of  Panama  accorded  the  credit  of  saving  their  cit)'  from  the  terrible  fate 
\vhich  had  so  recently  befallen  their  sister  cit)'.  Colon. 

While  all  these  tragically  interesting  events  were  in  progress,  and  the  Isthmus 
was  daily  experiencing  some  new  horror  of  fratricidal  war,  there  was  a  constant 
necessity  for  action  upon  the  various  emergencies  as  they  arose,  and  as  to  which 
it  was  simply  impossible  to  await  orders  from  Washington.  But  the  Consul- 
General  felt  himself  strengthened  b)'  the  confidence  shown  him  b)-  the  new 
administration  which  had  just  come  into  office  at  Washington,  the  new  Secre- 
tary of  State,  the  Hon.  Thomas  F.  Bayard,  sending  him  this  message: 

"The  department  trusts  to  your  judicious  management  and  the  wise  discretion 
which  your  long  experience  in  the  service  enables  you  to  exercise  during  the 
present  trying  times,  and  will  omit  no  proper  effort  on  its  part  to  sustain  )-ou." 

On  the  29th  of  April,  1885,  the  National  forces  having  arrived  in  the  Ba)'  of 
Panama,  a  conference  was  held  between  the  commanders  of  the  National  and 
Revolutionary  forces,  which  resulted  in  the  surrender  of  the  city  by  the  Revolu- 
tionists, and  the  entrance  of  the  National  army  on  the  following  day.  The  ser- 
vices of  Consul-General  Adamson  at  that  time  were  recognized  by  the  commander 
of  the  National  forces  in  a  letter  bearing  date  May  2,  1885,  thanking  him  for  his 
"efficacious  co-operation  in  the  bloodless  pacification  of  Panama." 
«  The  return  of  peace  to  Colombia  enabled  Mr.  Adamson  to  devote  himself 
more  thorough!)'  to  many  duties  of  a  more  quiet  nature,  but  not  of  less  value  to 
the  interests  of  his  couiitrv.  The  influence  that  he  had  acquired  made  it  possible 
to  arrange  many  matters  with  the  authorities  before  they  could  become  sources 
^7 


2IO  THOMAS    ADAMSON. 

of  irritation,  and  it  is  in  this  quiet  way  that  much  of  the  best  work  of  a  Consular 
officer  is  really  performed.  The  fact  that  a  foreign  agent  of  the  Government  is 
not  making  a  noise  is  by  no  means  a  proof  that  he  is  not  doing  good  work. 

Political  jealousies  between  Colombian  statesmen  again  brought  the  Consul- 
General  to  the  front  in  March,  iS86.  One  of  the  results  of  the  recent  Civil  War 
in  Colombia  had  been  to  con\'ert  the  former  "  sovereign  State  of  Panama"  into 
the  National  Department  of  Panama.  A  new  governor  was  sent  to  Panama  in 
February,  iS86,  and  he  had  been  but  a  few  weeks  in  office  when  he  arbitrarily 
suspended  the  publication  of  the  principal  newspaper  of  Panama,  Tlie  Star  and 
Hira/J,  because  the  paper  had  declined  to  publish  as  an  editorial  an  article  which 
reflected  upon  the  integrity  of  a  previous  governor.  The  Star  and  Hirald 
belonged  to  a  company  of  American  citizens  incorporated  under  the  laws  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  The  Constitution  of  Colombia  guaranteed  the  liberty  of  the 
press ;  the  publishers  had  not  violated  any  civil  law ;  martial  law  did  not  then 
prevail,  and  our  treaty  with  Colombia  was  plainly  violated  by  the  interference  of 
the  governor  with  the  legitimate  business  of  Americans  who  had  established 
themselves  at  Panama  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 

The  governor  who  committed  this  act.  Gen.  Ramon  Santo  Domingo  Vila,  was 
an  eminent  diplomat,  statesman  and  soldier.  He  had  represented  his  country  at 
Washington,  and  was  looked  upon  as  a  probable  future  President  of  Colombia. 
Consul-General  Adamson  was  not  deterred  by  the  prestige  of  the  governor,  but 
firmly  vindicated  the  rights  of  the  publishers  of  Tlic  Star  and  Herald ;  and  his 
arguments  received  the  approval  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  and 
resulted  in  the  removal  of  the  offending  officer  from  the  governorship  of  Panama. 

[We  are  indebted  to  F".  O.  St.  Clair,  Esq.,  Chief  of  the  Consular  Bureau  at 
Washington,  for  many  of  the  foregoing  facts  in  Consul-General  Adamson's  career, 
and  regret  that  we  cannot  afford  space  to  give  his  memorandum  in  full.] 

On  the  25th  of  March,  1856,  Mr.  Adamson  was  married  to  Sarah  Victorine 
Wright,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Wright,  by  his  second  wife — Elizabeth 
Ann  Comegys.  They  have  two  sons.  The  elder,  Joseph  Wright  Adamson,  is  at 
present  tlie  Vice-Consul-General  of  the  United  States  at  Panama,  and  the  younger, 
Charles,  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Bar. 


Hon.  J.  Simpson  Africa. 


J.  SIMPSON  AFRICA. 

JSniPSON  Africa,  ex-Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs  of  Pennsylvania,  was  born 
•  at  Huntingdon,  Pa.,  on  the  I5tli  day  of  September,  1832.  On  his  paternal 
side  he  is  of  German  ancestry,  his  great-grandfather,  Christopher  Africa,  having 
emigrated  from  near  Hanover,  then  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover,  now  part  of 
Prussia,  and  settled  at  Germantown,  Philadelphia.  Subsequently  he  became  a 
resident  of  Hanover,  York  county.  One  of  his  sons,  Michael,  the  grandfather 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  married  Miss  Catharine  Graffins,  at  York,  and 
removed  to  Huntingdon  in  1791,  where  he  purchased  the  property  now  owned 
and  occupied  by  his  grandson.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  and  an  elder  in 
the  Lutheran  church  in  that  town.  There  Daniel  Africa,  the  father  of  J.  Simpson, 
was  born  in  1794.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence  and  influence,  was  Deputy 
Surveyor  of  Huntingdon  count)-  from  1824  to  1830,  and  was  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  for  twenty-two  years.  He  had  an  extensive  knowledge  of  the  law,  an 
unusual  accomplishment  for  the  magistrates  of  his  day.  With  many  of  the 
English  and  American  decisions  he  was  familiar,  especially  those  of  the  Penn- 
s}-lvania  courts,  and  kept  a  record  of  a  great  number  of  important  cases,  many 
of  these  relating  to  the  land  laws.  His  son  was  his  constant  student  and 
companion. 

The  great-grandfather  of  Mr.  Africa,  on  his  mother's  side,  was  James  Murray, 
who  was  born  in  Scotland,  and  came  to  America  at  an  early  age,  about  the  }'car 
1730.  He  settled  in  Paxton,  Lancaster  (now  Dauphin)  count)',  and  was  a  Cap- 
tain of  one  of  the  Lancaster  companies  in  the  Revolutionary  War.  One  of  his 
daughters  married  John  Simpson,  of  Bucks  county,  who  was  also  a  soldier  of 
Revolutionary  da)-s.  This  couple  were  the  parents  of  the  wife  of  Daniel  Africa, 
and  from  such  stock  is  J.  Simpson  Africa  directly  descended. 

Mr.  Africa  was  educated  in  the  common  schools  and  at  the  Huntingdon 
Academy.  These  gave  him  all  the  opportunities  that  were  necessary  to  fit  him 
for  the  active  and  successful  business  life  which  was  destined  to  be  his.  He  has, 
however,  been  a  close  student  notwithstanding — a  necessary  requisite  for  any  one 
engaged  in  practical  professional  pursuits.  After  completing  his  academic 
studies,  he  began  the  practice  of  surveying  and  civil  engineering  with  his  fatlier 
and  his  uncle,  James  Simpson,  who  was  his  principal  instructor.  His  first  work 
as  a  civil  engineer  was  in  1853  with  the  now  venerable  Samuel  W.  Mifflin,  of 
Louella,  Delaware  count)-,  then  Chief  Engineer  on  the  Huntingdon  and  Broad 
Top  Railroad.  The  locating  of  the  road  was  begun  in  January  of  that  yea.,  at 
wliich  work  Mr.  Africa  was  engaged  but  a  few  months,  having  been  called  away 
by  other  duties.  An  intimate  friendship  then  sprang  up  between  himself  and 
Mr.  Miffljn,  which  remains  uninterrupted  to  the  present  time. 

The  first  public  office  to  which   Mr.  Africa  was  chosen  was  that  of  County 


212  J.    SIMPStl.N    AFRICA. 

Sur\e\-or  of  Huntinc^don.  When  elected  he  had  just  passed  his  t\vent)'-first 
\ear.  This  was  in  October,  1S53.  The  usual  Whig  majority  in  the  county  at 
that  time  was  between  six  hundred  and  seven  hundred,  but  he  overcame  this, 
and  had  a  majority  of  165.  The  result  was  a  great  surprise  to  his  opponent. 
In  1856  Mr.  Africa  was  a  candidate  against  his  will  for  re-election.  This  being 
a  Presidential  year,  of  course  party  lines  were  strictly  drawn,  and  he  being 
indifferent  as  to  the  result  of  his  own  election,  there  was  a  tie  vote  between  Mr. 
Africa  and  his  Republican  competitor.  He  held  over,  however,  for  a  few 
months,  when,  insisting  that  the  court  should  make  an  appointment,  his  oppo- 
nent was  selected. 

Mr.  Africa's  long  experience  as  a  surveyor,  his  field  extending  nearly  over  the 
whole  State,  together  with  his  uiuleviating  carefulness  and  accuracy,  made  him 
invaluable  in  suits  where  the  land  titles  of  Pennsylvania  were  involved.  In  fact, 
no  suits  of  this  nature  were  tried  in  the  Huntingdon  county  court,  and  but 
few  in  the  neighboring  counties,  in  which  his  services  were  not  required  to 
unra\el  the  m)-steries  of  the  law  and  aid  in  the  administration  of  justice.  He 
has  been  pronounced  by  competent  authority  the  best  surveyor  in  Central  Penn- 
s\-l\'ania,  and  has  not  his  superior  in  the  State,  if,  indeed,  anywhere  outside  its 
limits. 

In  1S53  Mr.  Africa  iielped  to  establish  the  Slanding  Stone,  an  independent 
newspaper  at  Huntingdon,  and  continued  one  of  its  editors  and  proprietors  until 
it  was  discontinued,  two  years  later.  The  reasons  for  its  discontinuance  were 
that  the  publishers  were  engaged  in  other  business  which  required  nearly  all  their 
time  and  attention.  It  was  disposed  of  to  a  party  of  Altoona  gentlemen,  and 
from  it  has  sprung  the  present  successfully  conducted  and  prosperous  Altoona 
Tribune.  Mr.  Africa  would  have  made  his  mark  as  an  editor.  He  is  well  quali- 
fied for  editorial  work,  being  an  able,  pungent  writer,  with  a  pure  English  style. 
All  of  his  official  documents  and  other  writings  attest  the  truth  of  this  assertion. 
On  all  matters  of  local  history  he  is  considered  an  authority.  He  was  the  writer 
of  the  sketch  of  Huntingdon  county  in  Egle's  "  History  of  Pennsylvania,"  and 
is  given  much  credit  for  the  information  furnished  in  Lytle's  "  History  of  Hunt- 
ingdon County."  He  is  also  the  author  of  an  interesting  and  exhaustive 
"  History  of  Huntingdon  and  Blair  Counties,"  published  in  1883. 

In  1858-59  he  was  chosen  one  of  the  clerics  of  the  State  Senate  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  in  1859  was  elected  to  represent  his  native  county  in  the  Legislature, 
despite  the  fact  that  Huntingdon  was  even  more  strongly  Republican  than  it  had 
been  Whig.  He  proved  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  respected  members  ol  the 
body,  served  on  the  most  important  committees,  and  both  on  the  floor  and  in  the 
committee-room  exercised  a  controlling  influence  in  the  proceedings. 

During  the  civil  war,  from  1861  to  1865,  Mr.  Africa,  while  yielding  a  willing 
obedience  and  helping  liand  to  the  Federal  authorities  in  suppressing  the  re- 
bellion, maintained  a  steadfast  adherence  to  the  Democratic  ]iarty ;  never  for  a 
moment  permitting  his  allegiance  to  that  organization  or  his  faith  in  its  ultimate 


J.    SIMPSON    AFRICA.  213 

triunipli  to  falter.  On  tlie  20th  of  May,  1863,  a  lawless  mob,  incited  to  the  act  by 
a  number  of  cvil-di.sposed  persons,  broke  into  the  office  of  the  Democratic  organ, 
the  Huntingdon  Monitor,  then  published  by  J.  Irvin  Steel,  and  the  press,  materials, 
etc.,  were  thrown  into  the  street  and  entirely  destroyed.  This  roused  the 
Democracy,  not  only  of  Huntingdon  county,  but  of  the  entire  State,  to  the 
highest  degree  of  indignation,  and  the  next  day  the  following  circular,  signed 
by  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  county,  was  issued  and  had  a  wide  dissemina- 
tion : 

'•  MoNiTOK  Extra. 

"  Huntingdon,  Pa.,  May  2isl,  1863. 
'*  To  the  Democracy  of  Huntingdon  county  : 

".\\\  important  hour  in  the  history  of  our  country  is  upon  us.  The  question  which  presses  itself  home 
to  every  freeu)aii  now  is,  Shall  the  rights  and  liberty  of  the  citizen  be  preserved,  or  shall  the  violence  of 
a  bloody  mob  override  the  majesty  of  the  law  and  destroy  both  property  and  life  ?  In  a  crisis  like  this 
we  appeal  to  the  sovereign  people — they  are  alike  the  source  of  virtue  and  of  power,  and  their  will  to  be 
obeyed  needs  but  to  be  known.  True  to  the  sublime  cause  of  constitutional  liberty  in  the  early  struggles, 
they  will  not  de-^crt  it  now  when  the  fires  of  persecution  light  its  grand  march  to  victory  ! 

"  Feeling  deeply,  as  all  citizens  who  love  law  and  order  must  feel,  the  outmge  coinmitted  on  the 
office  of  The  Monitor,  on  Wednesday,  the  20th  inst.,  we  hereby  unite  in  a  call  for  a  mass-meeting  of  the 
Democrats  of  Huntingdon  county,  to  be  held  in  the  Court-IIouse,  on  Friday,  the  2gth  of  May,  at  one 
o'clock  P.  M.,  to  give  expression  to  our  utter  abhorrence  of  such  violence  and  brutality,  and  to  renew  our 
allegiance  to  the  rights  of  the  citizen  and  the  Constitution  of  the  Union. 

"Freemen  of  Huntingdon  county,  shall  your  voice  be  hushed  by  the  mob?  Shall  your  property  be 
destroyed,  and  your  persons  endangered,  and  that,  too,  in  the  name  of  liberty?  Never!  By  the  sacred 
altars  of  our  fathers,  we  swear — never  ! 

"  Then  come  in  numbers  and  in  power  to  the  mass-meeting,  and  in  obedience  to  the  law  of  the  land 
let  us  both  assert  and  maintain  our  rights.  The  Monitor  must  be  re-established,  and  every  moment  of 
delay  breeds  peril  lo  our  cause.  Let  there  be  a  thousand  Democrats  in  council.  There  is  no  man  w  ho 
loves  liberty  that  cannot  devote  one  day  to  its  holy  cause. 

"John  S.  Miller,  R.  Bruce  Petriken,  \V.  P.  McNite,  A.  Johnston,  J.  Simpson  Africa,  E.  L.  Evcrhart, 
F.  llefright,  F.  B.  Wallace,  William  Colon,  A.  P.  WiUon,  G.  Ashman  Miller,  John  H.  Lightner,  George 
Mears,  R.  Milton  Speer,  Joseph  Reigger,  Daniel  Africa,  Valentine  Hoover,  A.  Owen." 

There  was  a  tremendous  gathering  of  the  Democracy  of  the  count}-  in  response 
to  this  call.  General  George  W.  Speer  presided,  assisted  by  fifty  vice-presidents 
and  twenty-two  secretaries,  representing  each  township  and  borough  in  the 
county.  An  address  was  delivered  by  the  late  Hon.  George  Sanderson,  then 
editor  of  the  Lancaster  Intelligencer,  Mayor  of  Lancaster  and  President  of  the 
Democratic  State  Editorial  Association.  The  Committee  on  Resolutions, 
after  a  lengthy  preamble,  reported  a  series  of  resolutions,  setting  forth  the  rights 
of  individuals  and  the  press  under  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  as  well 
as  that  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  and  determining  that  "  we  will  immediately 
re-establish  The  Monitor  upon  a  firm  and  permanent  basis,  and  yield  it  a  generous 
support  as  the  organ  of  our  faith."  The  paper  was  re-established,  and  is  to-day 
in  a  prosperous  condition,  S.  E.  Fleming  &  Co.  being  the  publishers.  This 
incident  is  recalled  and  related  to  show  that  Mr.  Africa  was  never  afraid,  e\'cn  in 
the  darkest  hours  of  our  country's  history,  both  by  pen  and  voice,  to  boldly  and 
unflinchingly  advocate  the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  press. 


214  J-    SIMPSON    AFRICA. 

In  the  local  afTairs  of  Huntingdon  borough  he  has  alwa^'s  taken  and  continues 
to  take  a  leading  part.  In  every  public  improvement  he  has  contributetl  the 
influence  of  his  might  and  superior  judgment.  He  has  served  as  a  member  of 
the  Borough  Council,  the  School  Board,  was  for  two  years  one  of  the  three 
Burgesses,  Chief  Burgess  in  1874,  and  at  the  time  of  his  election  to  the  Secre- 
taryship of  Internal  Affairs  was  Cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Hunt- 
ingdon. 

Meanwhile  Mr.  Africa  had  become  prominent  in  State  affairs,  and  when  the 
Department  of  Internal  Affairs  was  created  b)'  the  New  Constitution  of  1873, 
the  following  year  the  late  General  William  McCandless,  of  Philadelphia,  was 
chosen  its  first  secretary.  In  casting  about  for  his  Deputy  Secretary,  the  General 
appointed  Mr.  Africa  to  that  position,  for  the  reason  that  above  all  others  he  was 
the  one  most  eminently  fitted.  The  entire  labor  of  organizing  this  new  department 
of  the  State  government  rested  upon  him.  An  addition  to  the  old  Land  Depart- 
ment building  was  necessaiy  in  order  to  accommodate  tlie  vast  amount  of  business 
which  was  devolved  upon  the  new  department.  The  plans  for  the  arrangement 
and  improvement  of  the  interior  of  the  edifice  were  made  by  Mr.  Africa,  and 
under  his  direct  personal  supervision  carried  out.  The  result  was  that  the 
structure  in  all  its  appointments  is  the  finest  and  most  complete  of  the  public 
buildings  of  the  State,  and  there  are  few  which  surpass  it  am'where. 

In  1878  he  was  nominated  as  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Secretary  of  In- 
ternal Affairs.  It  will  be  remembered  as  an  intensely  aggressive  and  bitter  cam- 
paign, especially  in  reference  to  the  gubernatorial  nominees,  who  were,  respect- 
ively, Andrew  H.  Dill,  the  Democratic,  and  Henry  M.  Ho}'t,  the  Republican. 
Colonel  Hoyt  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  upward  of  22,500,  while  Mr.  Africa 
was  only  defeated  by  a  majority  of  12,159.  His  majority  in  Huntingdon  county 
was  541,  while  Governor  Hoyt's  was  only  337.  This  showed  the  continued  hold 
Mr.  Africa  had  upon  the  people  of  his  native  county,  and  also  the  estimate  of 
him  by  the  men  of  all  parties  in  the  State. 

In  1880  President  Hayes  appointed  him  Supcn'isor  of  the  Census  for  the 
Seventh  District  of  Pennsylvania,  comprising  fourteen  counties  in  the  central 
part  of  the  State,  and  extending  from  Clearfield  to  York.  The  appointment  was 
unsolicited,  but  was  made  at  the  request  of  a  number  of  leading  Democrats  of  the 
State.  The  same  vigor,  the  same  care,  the  same  intelligence,  were  exercised  in 
the  conduct  of  this  office  as  he  was  wont  to  do  in  other  positions,  and  the  com- 
pletion of  his  labors  was  highly  complinvntary  to  himself,  and  extreme!)-  satis- 
factory to  General  Francis  A.  Walker,  then  Superintendent  of  the  Census  at 
Washington. 

As  the  campaign  of  1883  approached,  there  developed  a  great  unanimity  of 
sentiment  that  Mr.  Africa  should  again  be  the  nominee  of  the  Democracy  of  the 
State  for  the  Secretaryship  of  Internal  Affairs.  In  bringing  about  this  desirable 
result  he  took  no  part ;  but  in  this,  as  in  other  cases,  was  ready  to  obey  the 
behests  of  liis  party.     The  unanimous  nomination  was  therefore  conferred  upon 


J.    SIMPSON    AFRICA.  215 

forehead,  and  his  head  is  covered  witli  a  luxuriance  of  brown  hair,  while  his 
neatly-trimmed  beard  and  mustache  of  the  same  color  are  slightly  tinged  with 
gra)'.  His  deep-rooted  moral  and  religious  convictions  are  the  basis  of  his 
admirable  character,  so  imperfectly  sketched  in  the  preceding  paragraphs.  He  is 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huntingdon,  is  one  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees,  and  Treasurer  of  the  congregation. 

His  domestic  relations  are  of  the  most  pleasant  character.  On  the  ist  of 
January,  1856,  he  was  married  to  Dorothea  C,  daughter  of  Joshua  Greenland, 
then  Sheriff  of  Huntingdon  county.  Of  this  marriage  there  are  three  surviving 
children,  viz.,  B.  Franklin,  draughtsman  in  the  Department  of  Internal  Affairs; 
James  Murray,  a  student  in  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  at  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  Walter 
G.,  Treasurer  of  the  Huntingdon  Gas  Company  and  a  practical  surveyor. 


Hon.  Samuel   G.    King. 


SAMUEL  GEORGE  KING. 

HON.  Samuel  G.  King,  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  from  April  4,  1881,  to  April  7, 
1884,  was  born  in  the  district  of  Northern  Liberties  RLiy  2,  18 16.  His 
father,  George  Michael  King,  was  a  coppersmith  by  trade,  and  carried  on  his 
business  successfully  in  the  Northern  Liberties  for  many  years,  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him  for  his  industry  and  integrity  of  character.  The  mother  of 
Mr.  King,  whose  maiden  name  was  Mary  Gougler,  was  a  woman  of  rare  excel- 
lence, much  admired  in  her  circle  of  acquaintance  and  exemplary  in  her  life  of 
devotion  to  her  family,  which  she  fully  e.xhibited  in  her  care  and  education  of 
the  children  left  to  her  motherly  guardianship  after  the  death  of  her  husband, 
which  occurred  the  same  year  that  Mr.  King  was  born.  The  influence  in  early 
life  of  this  pious,  intelligent  and  devoted  mother  had  much  to  do  with  implanting 
in  Mr.  King  the  seeds  of  a  true  character  which  afterward  grew  and  brought 
forth  good  fruits,  and  which  niar]<ed  his  progress  onward  through  business  and 
iipu-nrd  in  all  his  political  career  from  Rev-enue  Inspector,  in  1854,  to  the  chair 
of  Chief  Magistrate  of  Philadelphia,  in  1 88 1.  Mr.  King  belongs  to  the  t\-pe 
known  as  "  self-made  men." 

His  education  was  such  as  the  schools  and  academies  of  the  day  could  give. 
He  finished  his  tuition  at  the  Friends'  School,  then  at  the  corner  of  Dihv\-n  and 
Green  streets.  The  moral  influence  of  that  school  upon  his  after  life  has  been 
such  that,  although  by  birth  and  family  association  a  Lutheran,  he  has  ever  since 
attended  Friends'  meeting.  In  religion  he  is  broad  and  liberal,  seeing  good  in 
all  forms,  freely  allowing  to  others  that  which  he  claims  for  himself— the  right 
to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own  conscience. 

After  leaving  school  he  learned  the  trade  of  brush-making  with  a  relative. 
When  he  became  of  age,  having  established  a  character  for  industry,  temperance, 
frugality  and  probity,  he  began  business  for  himself,  in  which  he  prospered, 
establishing  a  brush  manufactory  on  Second  street  near  Callowhill,  where  he 
continued  fourteen  years,  acquiring  by  prudent  management  of  his  affairs  what 
he  considered  a  competency.  He  retired  from  business  with  an  honorable 
reputation  among  those  with  whom  he  had  dealings.  His  prompt  and  charac- 
teristic answer  to  those  who  criticised  his  action  in  thus  early  retiring  from  busi- 
ness was:  "  I  know  when  I  have  enough,  and  I  know  how  to  take  care  of  it." 
He  has  certainly  proved  the  correctness  of  his  remark. 

In  politics  Mr.  King  is  a  liberal  Democrat — in  national  affairs  adhering  to  the 
Jeffersonian  doctrines  of  his  party,  while  in  municipal  matters  he  has  been  a 
leader  in  all  reformator}'  measures,  caring  more  for  honesty  and  integrity  in  the 
execution  of  public  trusts,  and  the  management  of  cit\'  affairs,  than  for  personal 
preference  and  party  triumph.  In  politics,  as  in  business,  he  began  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ladder.  Commencing  with  election  inspector,  and  serving  on  various 
2S  (317) 


2lS  SAMUEL    C.    RIN'G. 

minor  committees  and  as  delegate  to  conventions  of  his  party,  he  steadily  rose 
to  more  important  positions.  He  had  a  particular  friend  in  Mr.  Charles  Brown, 
who  was  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Philadelphia  in  1S54,  and  who  desired  his 
services  in  connection  with  certain  important  duties  connected  with  that  office, 
and  he  accepted  a  position  under  him,  and  remained  several  years  associated  with 
that  gentleman,  w  ho  valued  him  for  his  services,  his  honesty  and  integrity. 

He  was  elected  October  8,  1861,  to  Select  Council  by  the  Democratic  citizens 
of  the  Eleventh  Ward,  and  entered  that  body  January  6,  1862,  succeeding  Daniel 
S.  Bidelman.  In  this  position  Mr.  King  began  to  show  his  distinguishing  habits 
of  cliaracter  as  a  careful,  economic,  but  earnest  and  progressive  representative  of 
the  people.  The  citizens  of  the  Eleventh  Ward  soon  learned  his  value,  and  with 
excellent  judgment  retained  him  as  their  representative  for  twenty  years.  His 
pleasant  manner  and  courteous  behavior  towards  his  fellow-members  gave  him 
great  influence,  which  he  was  not  slow  to  use  for  the  cit\-'s  benefit.  Only  by 
carefully  tracing  the  record  of  an  official's  public  life  in  his  votes  and  acts  is  it 
possible  to  come  to  a  knowledge  of  his  value  and  real  character.  And  so  in 
tracing  the  records  of  Select  Council  for  the  actions  of  Mr.  King  for  twenty 
years,  at  a  time  and  under  circumstances  calculated  to  develop  all  the  good  or 
evil  in  a  man,  he  stands  forth  as  a  guardian  of  the  people's  municipal  rights  and 
a  loyal  patriot  in  the  darkness  which  shadowed  the  country  from  i860  to  1864. 

The  journal  of  Select  Council  from  1862  to  1881  will  show  the  tendency  of  his 
mind  to  have  been  consistent  and  progressive  in  all  things  involving  the  best 
interests  of  the  people.  His  name  was  intimately  connected,  either  as  leader, 
originator  or  advocate,  with  all  the  reform  measures  which  have  added  so  much 
to  the  fair  fame  of  the  cit}-.  Among  them  maybe  mentioned  the  following: 
Fi.xing  the  amount  of  City  indebtedness;  restricting  Council  expenditures  in 
approjjriations  to  the  amount  of  ta.K  collected ;  funding  of  the  floating  debt ;  the 
million  dollar  loan  bill  for  school  purposes;  establishing  the  Board  of  Revision 
of  Taxes;  extension  of  Fairmount  Park;  advocating  the  return  by  the  National 
Government  of  twelve  million  dollars  advanced  by  the  city  during  the  war;  and 
he  was  an  earh'  and  earnest  advocate  for  the  holding  of  the  Centennial  K.xhibition 
in  Philadelphia. 

The  election  nf  Mr.  King  to  the  Mayoralty  was  the  crowning  act  in  his  politi- 
cal life,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  performed  the  duties  of  tliat  office  for  three 
years,  constitutes  a  creditable  portion  of  the  cit}''s  history.  He  was  inaugurated 
April  4,  1 88 1.  ha\'ing  heen  elected  the  preceding  February,  receix'ing  "8,215 
votes,  a  majority  of  5.787  o\'er  William  S.  Stoklev,  who  was  the  choice  of  the 
Republican  party  (which  was  the  majority  part}'),  and  who  had  been  three  times 
previously  elected  Mayor.  This  result  was  attributed  to  two  things:  Mr.  King's 
popularity  as  an  honest,  intelligi'iit  and  fearless  representative  of  the  people,  and 
the  organized  action  of  the  "  Committee  of  One  Hundred,"  a  body  of  independent 
citizens  wlio  had  resolved  to  effect  certain  needed  reforms  in  the  management  of 
cit}' affiirs,  and  to  suppress  the  growing  and  festering  corruptions  of  "  Ring" 
rule  and  the  imperious  domination  of"  Boss"  power  b}-  the  self-selected  few. 


SAMUia.  n.  KING.  219 

Mr.  Kinsj's  first  ofiicial  act  was  the  delivery  of  his  inaugural  adilress  before 
City  Councils  after  taking  the  oath  of  office.  In  it  lie  promised  an  honest 
administration  of  the  municipal  government,  a  promise  faithfull)-  fulfilled.  As  to 
the  police,  he  said  : 

"  It  will  be  my  duty  to  free  the  city  from  a  partisan  police.  An  observation 
of  man)'  years  has  convinced  me  that  a  police  force,  in  order  to  be  effective,  must 
be  entirely  disconnected  from  politics,  and  that  its  members  should  hold  their 
positions  as  long  as  they  conduct  themselves  honestly,  soberly  and  efficiently. 
Under  my  administration  the  members  of  the  police  force  will  not  be  permitted 
to  interfere  in  elections  or  in  the  nominating  conventions  of  either  parties.  As- 
sessments on  the  police  force  for  political  purposes  shall  no  longer  be  tolerated. 
If  corporate  bodies  and  wealthy  citizens  will  continue  to  contribute  their  money 
with  the  knowledge  that  the  mone\' thus  contributed  is  used  to  corrupt  elections, 
it  shall  be  known  that  during  my  administration  the  police  of  Philadelphia  shall 
not  be  made  accessories  to  such  crimes  b\-  contributions  for  such  nefarious 
purposes  which  strike  at  the  foundations  of  our  civil  government." 

Well  and  trul)-  did  he  hew  to  this  line,  almost  the  first  official  order  relating  to 
the  police  force  being  the  great  surprise  of  his  term — the  appointment  on  that 
force  of  men  of  color.  At  a  single  blow  he  cut  through  the  color  line  and 
crowned  his  own  manhood  by  recognizing  the  brotherhood  of  the  human  race, 
and  establishing  the  equal  rights  of  all  citizens  under  the  National  Constitution. 
This  was  a  bold  act.  It  required  more  courage,  under  all  the  circumstances, 
than  was  generally  known.  He  stood  fast  while  the  storm  of  indignation  swept 
around  him,  firm  in  his  sense  of  the  justice  of  his  action,  regardless  of  the  vitu- 
peration and  abuse  of  his  own  party  or  the  sneers  of  his  political  opponents.  His 
proclamation  relative  to  the  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  spread  his  fame  in  all 
the  great  cities  of  the  Union.  He  urged  the  people  to  desist  from  the  foolish, 
dangerous  and  wasteful  expenditure  of  money  for  fire-works,  which  not  only 
increased  the  danger  to  life,  but  caused  great  financial  loss  as  well,  b\'  e.xtensive 
conflagrations  on  the  day  for  celebrating  our  National  Anniversary.  The  laws 
relative  to  the  sale  and  use  of  dangerous  explosives  were,  by  his  order,  strictly 
enforced,  and  it  is  due  to  the  people  to  say  that  they  cheerfully  acquiesced  in 
this  new  form,  and  promptly  seconded  his  official  leadership  by  seeking  higher 
planes  of  grateful  jubilation  to  mark  and  signalize  the  annual  return  of  Independ- 
ence Day.  The  dangerous  habit  of  carrying  concealed  deadly  weapons  had 
been  largely  on  the  increase  for  some  years.  Mr.  King's  moral  training  again 
made  him  the  right  man  in  the  right  place,  as  evidenced  by  his  funous  order 
against  carrj^ing  re\'olvers,  and  ordering  the  arrest  of  all  who  were  even  suspected 
of  doing  so.  These  great  moral  reforms  were  carried  into  successful  operation 
during  the  first  year  of  Mr.  King's  term  as  Mayor. 

His  second  year  was  equally  prolific  in  the  line  of  reform  and  econoni)',  as  far 
as  his  influence  extended.  His  second  message  to  Councils  contains  this  para- 
graph which  shows  how  fully  he  had  in  his  mind  the  growing  interests  of  his 
native  city : 


220  SAMUEL    G.    KING. 

"  In  all  that  pertains  to  an  enliglitened  and  economical  administration  of  our  city 
government,  including  a  full  and  unfailing  supply  of  pure  water;  a  thorough 
repa\ing  of  our  principal  streets  with  Belgian  blocks  or  other  improved  pave- 
ments ;  extending  the  electric  light  system  to  our  principal  avenues,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  Delaware  river  front ;  a  thorough  system  of  sanitary  regulations 
which  will  insure  clean  streets  and  the  health  of  our  people — in  all  such  measures 
you  may  be  assured  of  my  earnest  and  energetic  co-operation." 

The  same  message  refers  to  the  Bi-centennial  celebration  of  the  founding  of  the 
State  of  Pennsj-lvania,  which  took  place  in  September,  1882,  in  these  words: 

"  Great  have  been  the  changes  in  our  State  and  city  since  William  Penn  em- 
barked, September  12,  1682,  at  Deal,  England,  on  the  ship  IVclcoiiic,  and  landed 
first  at  Newcastle,  October  27,  then  at  Upland,  Chester,  October  29,  and  then 
at  Philadelphia  about  October  30,  1682.  From  that  time  to  the  present  are 
presented  marvels  of  human  histoiy.  First  the  wilderness,  then  the  march  of 
progress,  and  now  advanced  civilization.  A  State  with  a  population  of  over  four 
millions  of  people;  a  government  with  equal  freedom  for  all ;  a  city  of  a  million 
inhabitants,  with  resources  of  commerce,  manufactures,  and  a  classification  of 
industries,  professions  and  institutions  so  marvellous  that  a  very  limited  display 
occupied  six  daj's  in  review." 

His  early  training  under  the  peace  influence  of  the  Society  of  Friends  is  beau- 
tifully reflected  by  these  words  in  the  same  message : 

"  Hitherto  it  has  been  the  custom  of  nations  to  celebrate  their  historic  periods 
by  grand  military  displaj-s  of  brute  force;  but  this  American  Bi-centennial  cele- 
bration was  the  display  of  the  industries  of  peace  and  the  social  and  scientific 
resources  of  a  government  by  and  for  the  people." 

Another  important  feature  in  Mr.  King's  second  year  of  administering  the  du- 
ties of  the  office  of  Mayor  was  the  retaking  of  the  census  of  the  city  relative  to 
manufactures  and  other  industries,  which  was  done  by  the  police  force,  and  which 
resulted  in  adding  greatly  to  the  figures  given  in  the  general  census  of  1880, 
taken  by  the  national  government;  as,  for  instance,  it  was  shown  that  there  were 
over  11.000  industrial  establishments  instead  of  8,300,  and  about  235,000  persons 
employed  instead  of  173,000,  etc.,  etc. 

His  third  year  gave  many  proofs  of  his  anxiety  for  the  public  good.  lie  rec- 
ommended a  mounted  suburban  police  for  outer  wards,  began  the  new  police 
patrol  system,  and  advocated  the  increase  of  electric  lighting  in  our  streets.  lie 
sent  to  City  Councils  a  message  on  January  I,  1S83,  which  marks  the  charac- 
teristics of  his  mind.  In  it  are  many  useful  suggestions,  relating  to  the  water 
supply,  reduction  of  the  city  debt,  economy  in  the  several  departments,  building 
of  .school-houses,  completion  of  the  new  City  llall,  improving  the  navigation  of 
the  Delaware  and  .Schuylkill  rivers,  and  reduction  of  taxation.  In  February  of 
the  .same  year  he  .sent  a  mes.sage  to  Councils  evincing  his  great  interest  in  the 
civilization  of  the  Indians,  and  fully  approving  a  plan  for  their  protection,  educa- 
tion and  admission  to  citizenship.     During  Mr.  King's  term  the  public  debt  was 


SAMUEL    G.    KING.  221 

decreased  $2,977,483.  By  those  who  are  tlioughtful  and  observing,  the  admin- 
istration of  Mayor  King  is  becoming  more  and  more  appreciated.  It  was  a  con- 
stant march  for  the  good  of  the  city  and  the  advantage  of  the  ta.K-pa}-er. 

Mr.  King  was  nominated  for  a  second  term,  and  received  the  support  of  thou- 
sands who  vahied  honest}'  and  integrity  of  character  in  pubhc  office  more  than 
partisanship.  He  was  not  re-elected,  however.  The  causes  which  led  to  his 
defeat  need  not  be  discussed  here.  He  came  out  from  the  highest  office  in  the 
gift  of  the  citizens  of  a  great  municipality  with  clean  hands  and  a  character 
unstained  by  the  touch  of  corruption.     His  parting  words  were  these: 

"  To  the  people  by  whose  choice  I  was  called  to  the  Mayoralty,  I  deem  it 
proper  to  say  officially  that  I  shall  not  cease  to  labor  for  their  prosperity.  I 
shall  ever  cherish  the  municipal  institutions  of  my  native  city,  and  sincerely  hope 
that  such  reforms  as  have  been  begun  may  be  continued,  and  others  from  time 
to  time  commenced  and  perfected,  in  order  that  honesty  in  public  office,  low  tax- 
ation and  a  gradual  and  certain  reduction  of  the  city  debt  may  be  secured  to  the 
people." 

It  is  almost  beyond  possibility  for  a  citizen  to  hold  the  high  office  of  Mayor  of 
a  great  city  like  Philadelphia  for  e\en  a  single  term  of  three  or  four  }'ears  with- 
out making  many  enemies,  and  Mr.  King  was  no  exception  to  this  rule.  He 
gave  offense  to  many  because  he  rose  abo\'e  partisanship,  and  conducted  the 
office  upon  a  purely  business  basis,  refusing  to  permit  the  corrupt  methods,  too 
frequent  in  politics,  to  have  a  foothold.  The  crowning  act  of  his  adminis- 
tration was  bitterly  denoimced  and  criticised  by  many  who  had  not  y<.t  been 
educated  to  the  point  of  accepting  the  results  of  the  baptism  of  blood  which  the 
country  had  undergone  to  redeem  it  from  the  stains  of  slaver)'.  The  appoint- 
ment of  colored  men  on  the  police  force  aroused  the  ire  of  the  more  ignorant  in 
Mr.  King's  own  party,  and  the  sneers  of  the  most  bitter  of  his  political  opponents; 
but  he  believed  it  a  just  act,  and  did  not  hesitate  in  putting  it  into  effect. 

While  Mr.  King  was  cautious  and  discreet  he  displayed  unusual  judgment  in 
his  public  acts,  and  was  a  most  conscientious  and  industrious  official.  His 
powers  of  endurance  and  his  industry  were  remarkable.  He  was  inxariably  one 
of  the  first  to  arrive  at  his  office,  where  he  remained,  with  the  exception  of  an 
hour  and  a  half  for  his  dinner,  until  a  late  hour,  giving  personal  attention  to  every 
detail  of  the  office,  and  investigating  matters  for  himself  When  he  acted  upon 
his  own  knowledge  and  convictions  he  made  few  mistakes.  He  insisted  upon 
strict  discipline  in  the  police  force,  yet  was  lenient,  kind-hearted  and  forbearing, 
giving  every  man  a  fair  hearing  when  brought  before  him  for  reprimand  or  pun- 
ishment. He  was  deemed  too  slow  and  conservati\-e  b}'  many,  b-at  when  he 
made  up  his  mint!  he  acted  prompt!)'  enough,  and  with  firmness.  He  was 
essentially  a  safe  man  to  be  at  the  head  of  the  municipal  government. 

Mr.  King  was  not  at  all  ambitious  to  be  a  leader,  and  never  strove  after  or 
posed  for  effect.  Few  occupants  of  the  office  of  Mayor  have  been  so  retiring 
and  seclusive  in  their  manners  as  was  Mr.  King.     He  carefully  avoided  attending, 


222  SAMUEL    G.    KING. 

and  declined  all  participation  in,  festivities  or  social  entertainments  which  were 
not  connected  in  some  way  with  the  duties  of  his  office.  In  this  respect  he  gave 
offense  to  many  by  declining  to  accept  invitations  to  public  and  private  enter- 
tainments at  which  he  did  not  consider  his  duty  required  his  attendance.  By 
tills  course,  however,  he  was  enabled  to  take  good  care  of  his  health,  and  kept 
up  the  dignit}'  of  the  office;  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  he  in  any  way  lowered 
that  dignity  which  belonged  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  the  voters  of  his 
native  city. 

The  political  uphea\-al  which  carried  Mr.  King  into  the  Mayoralty' was  of  a 
very  peculiar  character,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  people  in  choosing  him  was 
verified  b}'  the  course  which  he  pursued.  The  movement  which  elevated  him 
was  moral  as  well  as  political.  It  was  not  only  an  effort  to  throw  off  the  domi- 
nating influence  of  the  few  bosses,  but  to  uproot  their  corrupt  and  unscrupulous 
methods.  Mr.  King's  occupancy  of  the  chair  of  Chief  Magistrate  of  Philadelphia 
reflects,  in  a  clear  light,  the  unswerving  qualities  of  his  character  in  his  defiance 
of  all  efforts  to  drag  him  down  from  the  high  level  upon  which  such  an  election 
had  placed  Inm.  He  steadfastly  held  to  the  moral  standard  of  those  who  trusted 
him  w^ith  power,  and  his  record  bears  investigation  with  credit  to  himself  and  to 
the  wisdom  and  judgment  of  those  who  were  instrumental  in  placing  him  in  the 
position  he  so  conscientiousl)'  and  acceptably  filled.  No  man  attains  perfection 
either  in  or  out  of  office  ;  but  Mr.  King  made  few  mistakes,  and  none  that  were 
culpable.     If  he  erred  at  all,  it  was  on  the  side  of  prudence  and  caution. 

Since  his  retirement  he  has  had  many  opportunities  to  gratify  ambition  in  a 
business  way  had  he  felt  disposed  to  entertain  them.  He  has  been  offered  the 
Presidency  of  several  trust  companies  and  banks,  but  declined  them  all,  preferring 
the  peaceful  walks  of  retired  life. 

It  is  not  known  to  man)'  of  his  friends  that  for  years  Mr.  King  has  cultivated 
a  taste  for  poetry,  and  his  productions  in  verse  are  full  of  delightfully  expressed 
soul-breathings.  His  "  Faith,  Hope  and  Charity,"  "  Birds  and  Flowers,"  "  Green 
Leaves  Under  the  Snow,"  "  Rosy-Breast  Robin,"  and  his  most  recent  produc- 
tion, "  Cricket  on  the  Hearth,"  are  attractive  compositions,  glowing  with  the  true 
.spirit  of  the  poet. 

Mr.  King  greatly  enjo)-s  the  beauty  of  the  Park,  which  he  has  done  so  much 
to  make  a  pleasure-ground  for  the  people.  In  the  spring  and  autumn  he  takes 
his  daily  walks  there  wlien  the  weather  is  clear.  The  summer  months  he  spends 
at  Saratoga  Springs.  His  prudence,  temperance,  regularity  of  living  and  careful 
business  habits  have  secured  for  him  an  ample  fortune,  enabling  him  to  enjoy 
existence  and  have  made  his  latter  days  bright  with  the  simshine  of  a  well-spent 
life.  He  can  be  pointed  to  as  a  shining  example  of  a  model  public  officer,  enjoy- 
ing retirement  at  an  age  ripe  with  the  fruits  of  honor,  integrity  and  industry. 
His  patriotism  is  undoubted;  his  honesty  unquestioned;  his  public  services  un- 
fcirnished  by  any  stain,  and  he  walks  the  streets  of  liis  native  city  honored  and 
respected.  George  F.  Gordon. 


Hon.  Edwin    H.   Fitler. 


EDWIN    HENRY   FITLER. 

HON.  Edwin  H.  Fitler,  the  first  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  under  the  new 
City  Charter,  was  born  in  that  city  Decembera,  1825.  His  father,  Wil- 
liam Fitler,  was  a  prominent  and  successful  tanner  and  leather  dealer  at  Second  and 
Otter  streets.  The  old  Fitler  mansion  at  that  corner  still  stands,  and,  although 
no  longer  occupied  by  the  family,  is  often  referred  to  by  them  as  a  place  of 
pleasant  memories. 

Mr.  Fitler  received  an  academic  education,  and  proposed  to  devote  himself  to 
the  practice  of  law.  W'ith  this  end  in  view  he  entered  the  office  of  Charles  E. 
Lex,  studying  conveyancing  at  the  same  time  with  his  brother,  Alfred  Fitler. 
The  bent  of  his  mind,  however,  was  mechanical,  and  after  four  years  of  study  he 
decided  to  abandon  the  profession  and  follow  his  natural  inclinations.  The 
knowledge  thus  acquired,  however,  had  proved  exceedingly  valuable  to  him,  and 
has  been  one  of  the  sources  of  his  remarkable  success  in  business.  lie  can  say, 
as  can  few  manufacturers,  that  in  a  business  of  forty  years  he  has  been  able  to 
avoid  being  invoK'ed  in  a  single  litigation.  He  entered  the  cordage  house  of 
George  J.  Wea\-er  at  Germantown  avenue  and  Tenth  street,  and  in  two  years  had 
so  mastered  the  details  of  the  business  that  he  was  qualified  to  take  the  place  of 
any  skilled  workman  in  the  trade,  and  was  admitted  as  a  partner  in  his  twenty- 
third  }'ear,  the  firm  becoming  George  J.  Weaver  &  Co.  Under  his  nianngement 
labor-saving  machincr)-  was  introduced,  and  as  improvements  appeared  were  at 
once  adopted,  thus  largely  increasing  the  business  and  reputation  of  the  firm. 
Many  of  the  improvements  in  the  machinery  are  of  Mr.  Filler's  own  conception 
and  application.  It  is  greatly  to  his  credit  that  his  inventions  ha\-e  alu-a\-s  been 
given  freeh'  to  the  public,  and  never  patented.  In  1859  he  purcha-ed  the  inter- 
est of  his  partner,  Mr.  Weaver,  and  the  firm  became  Edwin  II.  Fitler  &  Co. — a 
name  which  has  become  a  trade-mark  throughout  the  world.  The  firm  consists 
of  himself  and  his  two  sons,  Edwin  H.  Fitler,  Jr.,  and  William  W.  Fitler.  As 
the  business  increased,  the  old  factory  became  too  cramped  for  their  operations, 
and  in  1S80  the  works  were  removed  to  Bridesburg.  The  present  plant  covers 
fifteen  acres  of  ground,  filled  with  the  best  modern  machiner\',  and  the  product 
is  the  largest  in  the  United  States.  The  esteem  by  which  he  is  held  by  his  col- 
leagues in  the  trade  was  evidenced  by  his  election  as  President  of  the  American 
Cordage  Manufacturers'  Association.  Mr.  Fitler's  relations  with  his  emplo\-es 
deserve  special  mention  in  these  days  of  labor  agitation.  Many  of  his  workmen 
have  been  with  him  for  from  twenty  to  thirty  years.  The  cordial  and  friendly 
intercourse  which  is  apparent  upon  his  visits  to  the  works  shows  that  a  warmer 
relation  exists  between  him  and  his  operatives  than  mere  contracts  for  wages  and 
service.     There  has  never  been  a  strike  at  the  Fitler  Cordage  Works. 

While  thus  closely  devoted  to  the  advancement  and  personal  management  of 


224  EDWIN    H.    FITLER. 

his  business,  !\Ir.  Fitlcr  has  recognized  his  full  duties  as  a  citizen.  At  the  out- 
break of  the  civil  war  he  threw  the  whole  weight  of  his  personal  influence  in 
favor  of  the  National  cause,  and  his  money,  time  and  business  counsel  were  often 
asked  and  freely  given  to  the  government.  His  own  patriotic  spirit  spread  to  his 
employes,  and,  although  their  enlistment  involved  hea\'y  pecuniary  sacrifices  and 
much  business  inconvenience,  he  not  only  cheerfully  encouraged  it,  but  person- 
ally saw  that  no  company  left  the  city  better  equipped  for  the  duties  of  tlie  field 
than  that  organized  at  his  own  works.  His  prominent  position  in  the  Union 
League  brought  him  into  the  political  arena,  where  he  was  alwa\s  known  as  an 
earnest  advocate  of  Republican  principles  and  the  selection  of  competent  men  for 
ofiice.  When  his  counsels  were  overruled,  the  political  leaders  found  that  they 
were  the  losers. 

Mr.  Fitler's  financial  position,  second  to  none  in  the  cit\-,  rests  not  so  much 
upon  his  wealth  as  his  high  sense  of  honor  and  known  integrit)'.  His  word 
when  given  is  never  qualified  or  questioned.  As  a  business  man  he  is  known 
for  his  keen  perceptions,  his  ready  grasp  and  apprehension  of  all  the  points  of  the 
subject,  and  the  rapiditj'  and  correctness  of  his  decisions.  No  better  illustration 
of  his  promptness  and  energy  can  be  given  than  to  mention  that  on  two  occasions 
when  his  Germantown  avenue  works  were  destroyed  by  fire  the  contracts  for 
rebuilding  were  signed  before  the  firemen  left  the  ground.  His  counsel  and 
advice  are  often  sought  by  others,  and  always  cheerfully  given.  In  political 
affairs,  while  unswerving  in  his  own  Republican  faith,  his  course  has  alwa\'sbeen 
marked  b_\-  a  wise  and  liberal  forbearance  towards  those  who  sincerel)-  and  hon- 
estly differed  with  him  in  their  opinions  and  purposes.  He  is  noted  for  his  hos- 
pitality, and  while  maintaining  the  social  position  to  which  he  is  entitled  by  his 
circumstances,  he  avoids  all  unnecessary  displa)'. 

Mr.  Fitler  is  a  Director  of  the  National  Bank  of  the  Northern  Liberties  and 
the  North  Pcnnsj-lvania  Railroad  Company.  He  is  also  Vice-President  of  the 
L'nion  League,  and  is,  cx-officio,  a  Director  of  the  Park  Commission  ;  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  City  Trusts,  the  Public  Buildings  Commission,  and  a  Manager 
of  the  Ldwin  Forrest  Home.  In  1875  and  1876  he  was  a  member  of  the  Cen- 
tennial Board  of  Finance,  and  did  his  full  share  of  the  work  which  made  that 
exhibition  a  success  and  credit  to  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

The  passage  of  an  "  act  to  provide  for  the  better  government  of  cities  of  the 
first  class  in  this  commonwealth"  by  the  Legislature  on  June  I,  1885,  was  the 
most  important  event  in  the  history  of  Philadelphia  since  the  consolidation.  By 
it  the  wliole  system  of  the  government  of  the  city  was  changed,  and  the  Mayor 
assumed  responsibilities  and  duties  greater  than  those  resting  upon  the  chief 
officer  of  any  other  municipality  in  the  country.  The  ends  and  aims  sought  to 
be  attained  by  this  change  had  been  widely  disseminated  in  the  public  press  and 
canvassed  by  the  people.  It  is  probable  that  no  public  measure  was  ever  as  fully 
discussed  by  the  great  body  of  citizens  as  tliis  one,  pending  the  passage  of  the 
bill.     The  office  of  Mayor  was  clearly  understood  by  all  to  be  one  that,  if  filled 


EDWIN    II.    FITI.EK. 


225 


b\'  a  dcsij^nin*:^  or  incompetent  incumbent,  could  be  used  to  the  great  detriment 
of  the  public  interests.  Moreover,  the  position  was  further  complicated  by  the 
fact  that  there  were  no  precedents  to  be  followed;  and  that  the  new  Abu-or 
would  have  to  formulate  and  lay  out  a  course  of  action  to  be  followed  b\-  his 
successors,  and  select  men  competent  to  understand  and  carry  out  his  plans. 
Hence  it  was  seen  that  the  new  incumbent  must  not  only  be  a  man  of  wide 
experience  and  business  sagacity,  but  also  one  who  would  stand  to  his  opinions 
and  convictions  against  strong  political  and  social  pressure.  With  singular 
unanimity  Mr.  Filler's  name  was  at  once  suggested  not  only  in  all  the  councils 
of  the  Republican  party,  but  in  the  conferences  of  the  independent  citizens;  and, 
although  he  knew  that  the  proper  fulfilment  of  the  duties  of  the  office  would 
involve  heav)'  personal  and  pecuniary  sacrifices,  true  to  his  previous  record,  he 
accepted  the  nomination.  The  enthusiasm  aroused  by  his  Stirling  political  prin- 
ciples and  prominent  business  and  social  position,  together  with  his  incoiruptible 
integrit}',  was  marvellous.  All  attempts  to  array  the  opposition  of  the  worlcing 
classes  against  him  on  account  of  his  wealth  met  with  signal  failure,  and  in 
February,  1 887,  he  was  elected  by  nearl)'  30,000  majority,  the  largest  ever  given 
to  any  Mayor  of  the  city.  His  course  since  he  assumed  the  office  has  amply 
sustained  the  expectations  which  had  been  raised,  and  has  won  the  hearty  appro- 
val of  all  the  best  citizens,  irrespective  of  party.  With  him  professional  politicians 
ha\e  no  influence,  nor  has  he  sought  to  advance  any  personal  aims  by  the  power 
thus  placed  in  his  hands.  His  liighest  ambition  is  to  faithfully  enforce  the  laws, 
and  lay  a  broad  and  safe  foundation  for  his  successors  to  carry  on  and  complete 
the  work,  for  which  the  charter  was  framed  and  intended  to  accomplish. 

Mr.  Filler's  name  was  presented  by  the  united  vote  of  the  Philadelphia  dele- 
gates to  the  Republican  National  Convention,  recently  held  at  Chicago,  supple- 
mented by  the  votes  of  several  delegates  from  his  own  and  other  States,  as  their 
choice  for  President  of  the  United  States,  and  while  he  did  not  in  any  sense  seek 
the  office,  he  naturall)' appreciated  the  lionor  conferred  by  their  advocacy  of  him 
for  the  nomination. 
29 


•^ 


f  \     J 


'^ 


Gen.  Winfield   S.   H/xncock. 


GEN.   WINFIELD   SCOTT   HANCOCK. 

Major-General  WiNFiELD  S.  Hancock,  whose  fame  as  a  soldier  belongs  not 
to  Pennsylvania  alone,  but  to  the  whole  country,  was  born  at  Moiitgom- 
eryville,  Montgomery  county,  February  14,  1S24.  While  he  was  yet  a  child  the 
family  removed  to  Norristown,  where  his  father,  Benjamin  F.  Hancock,  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  the  law.  Here  he  attended  the  academy  until  his  sixteenth 
year,  when  he  received  an  appointment  to  the  West  Point  Military  Academy, 
from  which  he  graduated  number  eighteen  in  his  class,  June  ^,0,  1844.  Among 
those  who  were  his  classmates  in  that  institution  were  Grant,  McClellan,  Buell, 
Rosecrans,  Reynolds,  Longstreet,  Pickett  and  Stonewall  Jackson.  It  is  said 
that  when  General  Scott  asked  young  Hancock  on  his  graduation  to  what  regi- 
ment he  wished  to  be  assigned,  he  answered:  "The  one  which  is  stationed 
farthest  West."  Accordingly,  he  was  appointed,  July  i,  1844,  Brevet  Second- 
Lieutenant  in  the  Sixth  Infcintry,  then  stationed  at  a  frontier  post  in  the  Indian 
Territory.  On  June  18,  1846,  he  was  commissioned  Second-Lieutenant,  and 
thereafter  was  conspicuous  during  the  war  with  Mexico  for  gallantry  displayed 
in  the  several  contests  at  San  Antonio,  Molino  del  Rey,  Cherubusco  and  the  city 
of  Mexico,  in  recognition  of  which  he  was,  in  August,  1S48,  brevettcd  First- 
Lieutenant,  to  take  rank  from  the  date  of  Cherubusco.  After  his  return  he  was 
made  Regimental  Quartermaster,  and  served  as  such  until  1849,  when  he  became 
Adjutant  of  his  regiment.  In  November,  1855,  he  was  appointed  Captain  and 
Assistant  Quartermaster,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  late  Civil  War  he  was  sta- 
tioned at  Los  Angeles,  Cal.  Here  he  exercised  a  powerful  influence  in  calming 
the  storm  of  passion  and  fanaticism  which  threatened  to  sepaiate  that  section 
from  its  allegiance  to  the  Union.  Relieved  at  his  own  request,  he  hastened  to 
Washington,  reported  for  service,  and  was  assigned  to  duty  as  Chief  Quarter- 
master on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Robert  Anderson  ;  but  before  entering  upon  his  duties 
he  was  appointed  by  President  Lincoln  a  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  Sep- 
tember 23,  1861,  and  placed  in  command  of  a  brigade  of  four  regiments  attached 
to  the  division  of  Gen.  W.  F.  Smith. 

When  the  Peninsular  campaign  opened  in  the  spring  of  1S62  this  division,  with 
Hancock's  brigade  in  advance,  was  the  leading  column.  By  his  brilliant  charge 
on  the  enemy  at  Williamsburg  he  won  the  brevet  rank  of  Major  United  States 
Arm_\',  and  the  cognomen  of  "  Superb."  His  conduct  during  the  campaign  on 
the  Peninsula  led  the  General-in-chief  to  urge  his  promotion  to  Major-General 
United  States  Volunteers,  and  subsequently  to  three  brevet  commissions  in  the 
regular  army.  He  was  made  a  Division  Commander  on  the  field  of  Antietam. 
He  was  subsequently  conspicuous  for  bravery  at  Fredericksburg,  where,  though 
badly  wounded,  he  refused  to  quit  the  field.  A  second  time  he  was  recommended 
for  promotion  as  Major-General  of  Volunteers,  and  this  time  he  obtained  it.     For 

(227) 


22S  GEX.    WINFIELD    S.    HANCOCK. 

gallantry  at  Chancellorsville,  June  lo,  1863,  he  was  assigned  by  President  Lincoln 
to  the  command  of  the  Second  Corps,  and  led  it  in  the  movement  to  oppose  the  ad- 
vance of  Lee  in  his  second  invasion  of  the  North,  which  culminated  at  Gett\-sburg. 
After  the  death  of  General  Reynolds,  and  during  the  absence  of  General  Meade, 
he  practically  commanded  the  army  during  that  famous  battle.  Not  a  plan  of 
his  was  changed,  and  the  result  of  that  desperate  struggle  attests  his  military 
genius.  Just  at  the  final  struggle  on  July  3d,  when  Pickett's  charge  had  spent 
its  strength,  he  fell  severely  wounded,  and  was  borne  from  the  field,  and  his  fall 
probably  prevented  the  Confederate  retreat  from  being  turned  into  a  rout.  He 
did  not  report  for  duty  again  until  December  15,  1S63,  when  he  was  prominently 
named  in  official  circles  as  the  future  commander  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
but  he  disclaimed  all  desire  for  that  position.  Being  phj-sically  disqualified  for 
field  duty,  he  was  assigned  to  recruit  liis  depleted  corps.  All  through  the  North 
an  ovation  from  patriotic  citizens  was  given  him,  and  swords  of  honor  were  pre- 
sented him.  He  rejoined  his  command,  March  18,  1864,  and  at  the  battle  of  the 
Wilderness,  May  5th,  was  again  wounded,  though  he  would  not  quit  the  field. 
Here  he  won  his  Brigadier-Generalship,  regular  army.  He  was  actively  engaged 
in  the  campaign  of  1864  until  June  17th,  when  he  was  compelled  to  turn  over 
the  command  of  his  corps  on  account  of  the  wound  that  he  received  at  Gettys- 
burg, which  had  never  healed.  He  shortly  after  resumed  duty,  and  for  five 
months  was  in  every  contest  and  victory.  He  returned  to  Washington  in 
November,  1864,  where  he  undertook  the  task  of  recruiting  a  veteran  corps  of 
fift\'  thousand  men.  In  February,  1865,  he  was  appointed  to  command  the 
Middle  Department,  with  head-quarters  at  Winchester,  Va.,  where  he  remained 
watching  the  enemy  until  Lee's  surrender.  On  March  13,  1S65,  he  was  brevetted 
Major-General  United  States  Army,  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  services  at 
Spottsylvania,"  and  July  26,  1866,  he  was  promoted  to  Major-Generalship  in  the 
army,  and  assigned  to  the  Department  of  Missouri. 

In  the  subsequent  year,  August  26th,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Fifth  Military 
District,  comprising  Texas  and  Louisiana,  succeeding  General  Sheridan  ;  and 
while  here  issued  his  famous  General  Order  No.  40,  jjlacing  the  military  in  sub- 
ordination to  the  civil  authorities,  and  which,  though  containing  declarations 
that  will  be  forever  classic  in  the  literature  of  civil  liberty,  was  in  antagonism  to 
the  general  sentiment  then  prevailing  at  the  North,  and  led  to  his  transfer,  at  his 
own  request,  from  that  department  to  the  Division  of  the  Atlantic,  with  head- 
quarters at  New  York. 

After  General  Grant  became  President  he  \\'as  sent,  March  5,  1869,  to  the 
Department  of  Dakota;  but  on  the  death  of  General  Meade,  wjiich  took  place 
November  6,  1872,  he  was  again  assigned  to  the  Division  of  the  Atlantic,  and 
retained  that  command  until  his  death,  with  head-quarters  in  New  York  City 
until  1 8;  8,  and  subsequently  on  Governor's  Island. 

General  Hancock,  though  a  soldier  and  not  a  politician,  was  frequently  men- 
tioned as  a  Democratic  candidate  for  the  Presidency,  and  in  the  convention  held 


GEN.    WIXFIELD    S.    HANCOCK.  229 

at  Cincinnati  in  iSSo  he  rccei\-cd  the  nomination  on  tlie  .second  ballot;  and  at 
the  election  in  the  following  November,  out  of  eight  million  eight  hundred  and 
ninety-one  thou.sand  and  eighty-eight  \'otes,  he  rccei\ed  four  million  four  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  thousand  and  thirt_\--fi\'e,  lacking  onl\'  seven  thousand  and 
nineteen  votes  of  the  majority.  On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the  election  he 
retired  to  bed  at  seven  p.  M.,  and  when  at  five  o'clock  on  the  following  morning 
he  was  told  by  his  wife,  "  It  has  been  a  complete  Waterloo  for  \^ou,"  he  replied  : 
"That  is  all  right;  I  can  stand  it,"  and  in  another  minute  he  was  asleep.  He 
accepted  his  defeat  as  a  soldier,  atul  kept  on  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  only 
appearing  in  public  when  his  presence  was  required  to  add  grace  to  some  public 
pageant.  His  last  notable  appearance  was  at  General  Grant's  funeral,  of  which 
he  took  full  charge.  This  was  soon  followed  by  his  own  illness,  which  termi- 
nated fatally,  February  9,  1886.  Though  the  apparent  cause  of  liis  sickness  was 
a  virulent  carbuncle,  which  appeared  on  his  neck,  it  is  said  that  he  really  died 
from  diabetes.     He  was  buried  at  Norristown,  February  13th. 

In  his  youth  Hancock  was  a  tall,  thin  and  rather  effeminate-looking  stripling, 
but  in  his  prime  he  was  a  model  of  manly  strength  and  beauty.  He  was  a  clear 
and  independent  thinker  and  a  good  writer,  and  though  mere  politicians,  as 
O'Connor  remarks,  may  affect  to  sneer  at  his  political  utterances,  some  of  them 
will  probably  survive  and  receive  approval  when  his  critics  are  forgotten.  No 
man  was  more  generally  and  sincerely  loved.  He  was  courteous  to  all  men,  and 
faithful  to  his  friends.  His  funily  affections  were  particularly  strong.  The  pet 
names  of  his  wife  w^ere  the  last  words  that  he  spoke.  The  death  of  his  only 
daughter  in  1S75,  and  that  of  his  onl)'  son  at  the  close  of  18S0,  were  calamities 
that  made  him  feel  that  all  earthlv'  honors  were  no  more  than  "  a  peck  of  refuse 
wheat."  In  his  last  days  he  was  wrapped  up  in  devotion  to  his  grandchildren. 
It  is  as  a  soldier,  of  course,  that  he  will  be  known  to  postcrit)-,  and  on  his  military 
achievements  his  fame  must  rest. 

Doubtless  his  place  is  among  the  foremost  of  those  generals  who  never  fought 
an  independent  campaign,  for  in  every  dut}'  of  soldiership,  except  the  highest,  he 
was  tried  and  never  found  wanting.  He  was  not  onl\'  bra\e  himself,  but  had  the 
ability  to  inspire  masses  of  men  with  courage.  He  was  quick  to  perceive  oppor- 
tunity amid  the  dust  and  smoke  of  battle,  and  quick  to  seize  it.  He  was  impul- 
sive, and  yet  tenacious.  He  had  the  bra\'ery  that  goes  forward  rapidly,  and  the 
bravery  that  gives  way  slowly.  Above  all,  he  was  loyal — loyal  to  the  soldier 
under  him,  loyal  to  the  commander  abo\'e  him,  and  loyal  to  the  nation  over  all. 
He  was  not  only  in  every  great  battle  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  in  the 
brunt  of  every  great  battle,  and  it  is  his  peculiar  glory  that  no  comrade  ever 
complained  of  him.  He  was  a  friend  of  McClellan,  and  did  him  valuable  ser- 
vices ;  Burnside  could  rely  on  him  for  all  that  ability  could  do  to  amend  the  work 
of  folly ;  Hooker  put  full  faith  in  him  ;  Meade  could  trust  him  to  choose  the  field 
of  battle  and  almost  fight  it;  and  he  was  to  Grant  as  his  right  arm.  All  men  did 
him  honor.     Doubleday,  who  quarrelled  with  Howard,  had  nothing  but  praise 


2  -o  PEN.    WINFIELD    S.    HANCOCK. 

for  Hancock.  Sickles,  wlio  quarrelled  with  Meade,  was  prompt  to  do  homage 
to  Hancock  for  the  succor  given  to  him  at  Gettysburg.  E\en  the  military  critics, 
who  delight  to  explain  the  blunders  and  shortcomings  of  soldiers,  have  united  in 
commendation  of  him,  and  pronounce  his  record  almost  without  a  flaw. 

Grant  says  of  him  :  "  Hancock  stands  the  most  conspicuous  figure  of  all  the 
general  officers  who  did  not  exercise  a  separate  command.  He  commanded  a 
corps  longer  than  any  other  one,  and  his  name  was  ne\'er  mentioned  as  having 
committed  in  battle  a  blunder  for  which  he  was  responsible.  He  was  a  man  of 
very  conspicuous  personal  appearance — tall,  well-formed,  and,  at  the  time  of 
whicli  I  now  write,  young  and  fresh-looking.  He  presented  an  appearance  that 
would  attract  tlie  attention  of  an  army  as  he  passed.  His  genial  disposition 
made  him  friends,  and  his  personal  courage  and  his  presence  with  his  command 
in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  won  him  the  confidence  of  the  troops  serving  under 
him." 

General  McClcllan  sa}'s  of  him :  "  Hancock  received  a  brigade  early  in  the 
formation  of  the  Arnij'  of  the  Potomac.  He  was  a  man  of  most  chivalrous 
courage,  and  of  a  superb  presence,  especially  in  action.  He  had  a  wonderfully 
quick  and  correct  eye  for  ground  and  for  handling  troops ;  his  judgment  was 
good,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  better  corps  commander." 

Gen.  Francis  A.  Walker,  in  an  address  before  Vermont  veterans,  said  of  Han- 
cock :  "  While  he  was  not  master  of  the  science  of  logistics,  like  Meade  and 
Humphrevs,  he  could  conduct  a  long  march  over  bad  roads,  with  artillerj'  and 
trains,  better,  in  my  humble  judgment,  than  any  other  officer  of  the  war,  Federal 
or  Confederate." 

Perhaps  his  best  eulogy  is  the  blunt  declaration  of  General  Sherman  to  a 
reporter  in  search  of  adverse  criticism  during  the  Presidential  canvass  of  iSSo: 
"  If  )-ou  will  sit  down  and  write  the  best  thing  that  can  be  put  in  language  about 
General  Hancock  as  a  gentleman  and  an  officer,  I  will  sign  it  without  hesitation." 

On  January  4,  1850,  while  stationed  at  St.  Louis,  he  married  Almira  Russell, 
of  tiiat  city,  who  survives  him,  and,  after  a  life  of  wifely  devotion,  has  written  in 
her  widowhood  a  volume  of  reminiscences  which  is  one  of  the  most  graceful 
tributes  ever  oaid  to  a  deceased  husband. 

E.  T.  F. 


GtN.  Absalom    Baird. 


GEN.   ABSALOM    BAIRD. 

BREVET  Major-General  Absalom  Baikd,  the  present  Inspector-General  of 
the  United  States  Army,  was  born  in  Washington,  Pa.,  August  20,  1824. 
His  great-grandfather  was  John  Baird,  who  served  as  an  officer  in  the  army  of 
General  Forbes,  which  captured  Fort  Duquesne  from  the  French  in  1758.  John 
Baird  did  not  live  to  return  from  this  expedition;  but  he  left  an  only  child, 
Absalom  Baird,  born  in  Chester  county,  Pa.,  who  served  throughout  the  entire 
war  of  the  Revolution  in  the  medical  staff  of  the  army  commanded  by  General 
Washington.  Dr.  Absalom  Baird  afterwards  lived  in  Washington,  Pa.,  where  he 
practised  medicine,  and  at  the  same  time  held  prominent  offices,  the  gift  of  his 
fellow-citizens.  He  was  Lieutenant  of  the  county  to  provide  for  defence  against 
the  Indians  ;  was  Sheriff  of  the  counts',  and  served  for  some  time  as  State  Senator. 

William  Baird,  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Absalom  Baird,  was  the  father  of 
General  Absalom  Baird,  and  was  a  man  of  many  varied  attainments,  an  accom- 
plished scholar,  and  an  orator  of  elegance  and  force.  General  Absalom  Baird 
graduated  from  Washington  (Pa.)  College  in  the  class  of  1841,  and  then  for  three 
years  studied  law  in  the  office  of  the  Hon.  Thos.  M.  T.  McKennan,  well  known 
at  that  day  as  a  man  of  many  brilliant  qualities,  he  being  the  second  person  that 
filled  the  position  of  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  representing  the  district  in 
Congress  for  many  years. 

The  family  of  Absalom  Baird,  as  can  thus  readily  be  seen,  is  fully  identified 
with  the  early  history  of  Pennsylvania,  and  from  that  State  he  entered  the  United 
States  Military  Academy  at  West  Point  in  1845,  grailuating  ninth  in  a  class  of 
forty-three  that  included  such  names  as  Gillmore,  Parlce,  Benet,  Holabiid,  Saxton, 
and  others  not  unk'nown  on  the  roll  of  fame.  Having  been  assigned  to  the  First 
Artillery,  he  quickly  found  himself  engaged  in  hostilities  against  the  Seminole 
Indians  (1S50-53),  and  was  recalled  to  West  Point  as  Assistant  Professor  of 
Mathematics,  in  which  position  he  served  for  nearly  seven  \'ears.  After  another 
interval  of  frontier  serx'ice  in  Texas,  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
found  him  on  duty  at  Fortress  Monroe,  fiom  whence  he  was  ordered  to  Wash- 
ington to  take  command  of  Magruder's  Battery,  Colonel  Magruder  being  then 
absent.  This  battery  (afterwards  famous  as  "  Ricketts'  ")  was  one  of  the  chief 
reliances  for  the  defence  of  the  National  Capital  in  these  early  days  of  the  war, 
and  Lieutenant  Baird's  disposition  of  it  was  both  skilful  and  effective.  Having 
commanded  the  battery  during  the  eventful  period  from  March  10  to  May  11, 
1 86 1,  the  Manassas  campaign  found  him  the  Adjutant-General  of  T\-ler's  Divis- 
ion, in  which  capacity  he  was  engaged  in  the  action  at  Blackburn's  Ford,  July 
18,  1 86 1,  and  in  the  battle  of  the  First  Bull  Run,  three  days'  afterwards.  As 
Assistant  Adjutant-General  he  was  assigned  to  duty  in  the  Adjutant-General's 
office  at  Washington,  and  in  this  position  his  well-known  executive  abilities  were 


2T,2  C.r.N'.     AnSALdM    UAIKH. 

bi"oiiL;lit  prominently  into  play  duriny;  the  eonfusion  and  disorder  attendant  upon 
tlie  defeat  of  the  National  forces — a  due  recognition  of  these  abilities  procuring; 
for  him  the  rank  of  Major  and  Assistant  Inspector-General  November  12,  1 861. 
As  such  he  served  with  the  Fourth  (Keyes's)  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
acting  as  Inspector-General  and  Chief  of  Staff,  and  was  engaged  in  the  siege  of 
Yorktown,  April   5   to   May  4,  1S62,  and  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  May  5, 

1862.  The  general  afterwards  became  so  thoroughly  identified  with  the  exploits 
of  the  Western  army  that  many,  who  know  his  history  intimately  in  connection 
with  Western  campaigns,  seem  to  be  unaware  that  he  had  also  "  stood  the 
brunt "  of  Eastern  fighting  at  Manassas  and  on  the  Peninsula.  Having,  hew- 
ever,  beeji  made  a  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  April  28,  1S62,  a  week  before 
his  participation  in  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  he  was  assigned  to  the  command 
of  the  Twenty -seventh  Brigade  of  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  at  once  turned  his 
face  westward  to  begin  a  career  of  which  any  soldier  might  be  proud,  and  which, 
commencing  with  the  capture  of  Cumberland  Gap  in  June,  1862,  only  terminated 
with  the  surrender  and  consequent  dispersion  of  the  rebel  army  under  General- 
J.  E.  Johnston  at  Durham  Station,  North  Carolina,  April  26,  1865.  During  the 
whole  of  this  period,  without  intermission,  it  can  be  said  of  General  Baird  that  he 
was  constantly  in  the  field  ;  and  how  gallantly  he  performed  his  part,  how  bra\'e 
and  meritorious  his  conduct  proved  to  be,  is  readily  learned  from  the  mere 
enumeration  of  the  honors  conferred  upon  him  b}-  his  countiy — honors  that  were 
well  earned  and  worthil}'  bestowed. 

After  the  evacuation  of  Cumberland  Gap,  September,  1862,  General  Baird  was 
given  command  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Army  of  Kentucky,  and  was 
engaged  at  the  defence  of  Franklin  and  the  repulse  of  Van  Dorn's  assault  upon 
tliat  place,  April  10,  1S63.  In  the  Tennessee  campaign  of  General  Rosecrans 
he  was  engaged  in  all  the  arduous  operations  preliminary  to  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga,  September  19-20,  1863.  On  the  part  of  General  Baird  and  his  division 
tliese  included  the  advance  upon  Tullahonia,  capture  of  Shelbyville,  June  27, 

1863,  crossing  the  Cumberland  mountains  and  Tennessee  river,  and  the  action  at 
Dug  Gap,  September  11,  1863. 

Upon  the  heroic  conduct  displayed  by  General  Baird  at  the  battle  of  Chicka- 
mauga  it  is  needless  to  dwell  at  length.  If  General  George  H.  Thomas  has  been 
called  the  "  Rock  "  of  Chickamauga,  assuredly  General  Baird  may  be  justly  con- 
sidered as  one  of  the  main  strata  of  that  rock ;  for  the  gallant  struggle  made  by 
him  and  his  division  stands  brightly  out  amid  the  confusion  and  disaster  of  that 
conflict.  The  mere  fact  that,  according  to  Van  Home  ("  History  of  the  Army 
of  the  Cumberland"),  Baird's  division  lost  2,213  ""-''i.  will  go  far  to  prove  how 
.stubborn  was  the  resistance  offered  by  it  to  the  onslaught  of  the  foe  ;  and  had  all 
done  equally  as  well,  Chickamauga  might  easily  have  been  one  of  the  grandest 
victories  of  the  war  for  the  National  cause.  In  this  connection  we  cannot  rcfiain 
from  quoting  the  remark  of  General  Hazcn,  who  himself  acted  a  very  gallant 
part  on  chis  bloody  field  :  "  .  .  .   In  carefull)'  stud)ing  this  battle,  one  cannot  fail 


GEN.    ABSALOM    BAIRD.  233 

to  be  impressed  with  the  most  worthy  and  heroic  service  of  two  division  com- 
manders, who  stand  out  conspicuously  from  all  the  rest — Brannan  and  Baird  " 
{"  Narrative  of  Military  Service,  W.  B.  Hazen,  Boston,  1S85  ").  For  his  conduct 
in  this  battle  General  Baird  received  the  brevet  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the 
regular  army,  dated  September  20,  1863  :  "  For  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
at  the  battle  of  Chickamauga,  Ga." 

With  the  rest  of  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  Baird's  division  underwent 
what  is  known  as  the  "Siege  of  Chattanooga,"  scanty  rations  and  much  hardship 
being  the  most  prominent  features  connected  with  that  episode.  But  an  ample 
opportunity  for  revenge  presented  itself  when,  at  the  sound  of  the  signal  guns 
from  Orchard  Knob,  the  divisions  of  Baird,  Wood,  Sheridan  and  Johnson  rushed 
upon  the  intrenched  foe  at  Missionary  Ridge,  and  with  an  ardor  that  could  not 
be  abated,  without  orders  from  the  general  commanding  the  army,  succeeded  in 
driving  Bragg's  masses  from  the  sunmiit  of  the  Ridge,  a  position  in  which  they 
vainly  deemed  themselves  impregnable.  In  this  assault  General  Baird's  division 
held  the  extreme  left  of  the  line,  and,  after  capturing  the  rifle-pits  at  the  foot, 
gallantly  rushed  upon  the  main  line,  capturing  many  guns  and  prisoners  and 
losing  many  men  in  return.  From  his  own  report  we  quote  :  "  The  rebel  troops 
which  had  occupied  the  works  were  in  retreat  up  the  mountain,  while  numerous 
batteries,  both  in  our  front  and  far  to  our  right  and  left,  opened  upon  us  a  heavy 
cross-fire  from  the  crest.  For  a  time  this  cannonade  was  indeed  severe ;  the 
atmosphere  seemed  filled  with  messengers  of  death,  and  shells  bounded  in  every 
direction."  .  .  .  The  question  as  to  who  first  reached  the  summit  of  the  Ridge 
gave  rise  to  some  contention  and  bickering ;  but  how  free  from  any  feeling  on 
this  point  was  General  Baird  can  be  seen  by  quoting  further  from  his  report, 
wherein  he  says:  "  It  is  difficult  to  determine  questions  of  slight  precedence  in 
point  of  time  in  a  rivalry  of  this  nature,  and  when  all  act  nobly  they  are  unim- 
portant." His  division  lost  in  killed  and  wounded  in  this  battle  565  men  (there 
were  none  missing),  out  of  an  effective  force  engaged  of  1,679,  officers  and  men. 
Missionary  Ridge  procured  for  General  Baird  the  brevet  of  Colonel  in  the 
regular  army,  dated  November  24,  1863  :  "  For  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at 
the  battle  of  Chattanooga,  Tenn." 

During  the  period  of  inactivity  following  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge, 
General  Baird's  division  was  located  at  Ringgold,  Ga.,  to  hold  the  gap  in  Tay- 
lor's Ridge  through  which  the  railroad  from  Chattanooga  to  Atlanta  passes. 
In  this  position  he  was  twenty-four  miles  in  advance  of  our  army  at  Chattanooga, 
and  but  sixteen  miles  from  Dalton,  where  the  main  rebel  army  was  encamped. 
The  only  troops  that  were  in  supporting  distance  of  him  were  the  divisions  of 
General  Johnson  and  General  Davis,  who  were  posted  about  seven  or  eight  miles 
distant,  and  who  each  had  a  point  of  his  own  to  guard.  It  was  perfectly  prac- 
ticable for  the  rebel  army  to  cross  the  mountain  any  night  on  either  side  of 
General  Baird,  and  surround  his  entire  command.  But  with  his  usual  watchful- 
ness and  constant  alertness  he  held  this  perilous  position  for  many  weeks,  being 


234  f'EN.    ADSALOM    BAIl'tD. 

thus  in  fact  tlic  advancc-cruard  of  the  army  l\-ing  around  Chattanooga,  and  tin's 
position  he  onlj-  quitted  when  tliat  army,  in  the  early  part  of  May,  1S64,  began 
its  general  advance  movement  for  the  invasion  of  Georgia. 

In  the  campaign  and  series  of  tremendous  struggles  that  then  ensued,  com- 
mencing with  the  turning  of  General  Johnston's  army  out  of  Dalton,  and  finally 
ending  with  the  capture  and  subsequent  destruction  of  Atlanta,  General  ]5aird 
performed  an  important  part  at  the  head  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Fourteenth 
Corps.  From  the  battle  of  Resaca,  May  14,  1864,  onward  his  division  was  con- 
stantly either  fighting  or  marching  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  who  certainly  did  not 
yield  without  exacting  a  bloody  compensation  in  return.  Engaged  in  the  move- 
ment against  Pine  Mountain,  with  almost  daily  severe  engagements,  from  May 
28  to  June  20,  1864  ;  then  in  the  battles  about  Kenesaw  Mountain  from  that  date 
to  July  2  ;  again  at  the  fight  at  Vining's  Station,  July  9;  the  combat  at  Peach 
Tree  Creek,  Julj-  20,  and  Utoy  Creek,  August  4  and  5,  the  division  under  its 
commander  behaved  most  gallantly,  winding  up  the  campaign  wrth  the  sanguin- 
ary battle  at  Jonesboro'  on  September  i,  the  city  of  Atlanta  falling  next  day. 
In  this  battle  Ivste's  brigade  of  Baird's  division  lost  330  men,  and  General  Baird 
had  two  horses  killed  under  him  within  the  space  of  ten  minutes.  For  his  ser- 
vices in  this  and  the  following  campaign  General  Baird  recei\-ed  the  brex'et  of 
Major-General  of  Volunteers,  dated  September  i,  1864  :  "  For  faithful  ser\-iccs  and 
distinguished  conduct  during  the  Atlanta  campaign,  and  particularly  in  the  bat- 
tles of  Resaca  and  Jonesboro',  and  for  general  good  conduct  in  command  of  his 
division  against  Savannah." 

The  same  month  found  Sherman's  army  engaged  in  the  pursuit  of  General 
Hood,  who  sought  by  operating  on  Sherman's  line  of  communication  to  turn  his 
army  northward  once  more,  and  in  this  pursuit  General  Baird's  division  again 
had  its  full  share  of  active  movement.  But  the  march  to  the  sea  being  finally 
determined  upon  by  General  Sherman,  Hood  was  turned  o\'er  to  Thomas, 
Atlanta  was  given  to  the  flames,  and  the  army  marched  out  gayly  to  pursue  its 
course  to  Savannah.  Sherman  himself  tells  us  in  his  "  Memoirs  "  that  "  the  most 
extraordinary  efforts  had  been  made  to  purge  this  army  of  non-combatants' and 

of  sick  men  ; so  that  all  on  this  exhibit  may  be  assumed  to  have  been 

able-bodied,  experienced  soldiers,  well  armed,  well  equipped  and  provided,  as  far 
as  human  foresight  could,  with  all  the  essentials  of  life,  strength  and  vigorous 
action  "  (Vol.  H.,  p.  172).  Still  in  command  of  llie  Third  Division  of  the  Four- 
teenth Corps,  General  Baird,  forming  part  of  that  gallant  array  of  brave  hearts, 
found  himself"  marching  through  Georgia." 

About  this  period  Major  Nichols,  an  aide  on  the  staff  of  General  .Sherman 
during  this  march,  gives  a  very  vivid  pen-and-ink  pnitr.iit  of  General  Baird, 
^\hich  brings  him  before  us  as  he  appeared  to  his  confreres  in  arms:  "General 
Baird  is  one  of  the  most  elegant  officers  of  the  army.  Of  medium  stature,  fine 
form,  a  prepossessing  face,  tawny  side  whiskers  and  full  mustache,  a  clear  blue 
c\c  and  a  fair  complexion,  he  personifies  the  iileal  of  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier. 


GF.N.    ABSALOM    r.AIRD.  235 

Mis  manners  are  perfect  and  in  harmonj'  with  Iiis  appearance.  Besides  this,  he 
is  an  accomplished  soldier,  distinguishing  himself  upon  every  occasion"  ("Story 
of  the  Great  March,"  G.  \\'.  Nichols).  And,  saving  that  time  has  whitened  the 
tawnv  mustache  and  somewhat  aged  the  lorni,  the  same  description  would  fit- 
tingly apply  to  the  present  Inspector-General  of  the  United  States  Army.  The 
march  through  Georgia  proved  to  be  mainly  uneventful,  though  the  division 
was  engaged  in  numerous  small  actions  and  skirmishes  from  November  i6  to 
December  13,  1864,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Savannah  on  December 
21,  passing  the  Christmas  and  New  Year  in  that  city,  which  Sherman  presented 
to  President  Lincoln  "  as  a  Christmas  gift."  Not  long  did  the  army  tarr)'  in 
Savannah,  for  its  face  was  set  northward,  and  it  began  the  long,  tedious  march 
through  the  Carolinas,  General  Baird's  division  being  on  the  extreme  left,  or 
inland  wing  of  the  army,  briishiiig  away  the  puerile  attempts  tif  tlie  enemy  to 
delay  their  onward  progress,  assisting  Kilpatrick's  ca\'alry  in  its  advance,  wit- 
ne.ssing  at  a  distance  the  burning  of  Columbia,  and  at  length  finding  itself  face  to 
face  with  the  rebel  arm\-  under  General  Johnston,  their  old  antagonist,  at  Ben- 
tonville,  N.  C,  March  20,  1S65.  Mere  the  division  was  seriously  engaged  for  the 
last  time,  and  after  being  present  at  the  capture  of  Raleigh,  April  13,  and  the 
surrender  of  Johnston  and  his  army  at  Durham  Station,  thirteen  da\'s  later,  the 
holiday  march  to  Washington  commenced,  and  General  Baird  had  the  pleasing 
satisfaction  of  marching  at  the  head  of  his  division  through  the  city  of  Richmond, 
then  presenting  but  a  sorry  sight  after  its  recent  tribulation  of  fire.  And,  proud- 
est day  of  all,  that  24th  of  May,  1865,  when  the  Western  army  marched  through 
the  Capital  of  tlie  Nation  up  Pennsylvania  avenue,  past  President  Johnson  and  iiis 
Cabinet,  with  streets  lined  by  thousands  of  their  fellow-citizens  cheering  them 
on.  To  quote  General  Sherman :  "  ...  Sixty-five  thousand  men,  in  splendid 
physique,  who  had  just  completed  a  march  of  nearly  two  thousand  miles  in  a 
hostile  country."  And  then,  "  Grim-visaged  war  smoothed  his  wrinkled  front," 
and  General  Baird  and  the  old  fighting  Third  Division  of  the  Fourteenth  Corps 
parted  company  forever. 

For  his  services  dm'ing  these  campaigns  General  Baird  received  the  brevet, 
dated  March  13,  1865,  of  Brigadier-General  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
in  the  capture  of  Atlanta,  Ga.  ;  "  and  he  was  further  brevetted,  the  same  date, 
Major-General  United  States  Army  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the 
field  during  the  Rebellion." 

The  war  being  now  ended,  the  mass  of  the  volunteer  army  was  mustered  out 
of  the  service,  and  with  it  nearly  all  of  the  officers  who  had  served  as  generals 
of  volunteers,  a  few  only  of  these  latter  being  retained,  consisting  of  such  of  them 
as  had  rendered  particularly  marked  service,  this  being  done  more  as  a  compli- 
ment to  them  than  anj'thing  else.  The  Army  Register  for  1865  contains  the 
names  of  282  brigadier-generals,  while  on  the  register  for  1866  there  are  but 
eighteen,  including  the  name  of  General  Baird,  who  was  not  mustered  out  until 
September  i,  1866.     After  serving  some  time  at  Louisville,  Ky,,  he  was  assigned 


230 


GEN.    ABSALOM    UAIKD. 


to  the  command  of  a  district  comprising  Delaware  and  the  eastern  shore  of 
Mar}-land,  which  he  held  until  he  was  urged  to  take  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the 
Frcedmen's  Bureau,  etc.,  in  the  State  of  Louisiana.  He  filled  the  position  of 
Assistant  Commissioner  for  that  State,  with  head-quarters  at  New  Orleans,  from 
November,  1865,  to  September,  1866,  he  being  at  the  same  time  military  com- 
mander of  the  Department  of  Louisiana  under  General  P.  H.  Sheridan,  who  was 
then  in  command  of  the  Division  of  the  Gulf.  General  Baird's  administration  of 
this  office  was  characterized  by  firmness  and  justice,  and  perfect  impartiality  in 
his  decisions  between  good  men  and  bad  men,  between  rebels  and  Union  men ; 
and  too  much  credit  cannot  be  given  him  for  his  unswerving  devotion  to  duty 
while  engaged  in  the  management  of  the  bureau,  and  its  attendant  trials  and 
annoyances.  Strong  inducements  were  held  out  to  him  by  persons  surrounding 
President  Johnson  to  perform  political  acts,  on  his  own  responsibility,  which  they 
were  unwilling  to  be  held  accountable  for.  This  he  would  not  do,  but  insisted 
strongly  on  having  definite  and  distinct  orders  for  all  unusual  acts  required  of 
him.  There  was  intense  hostility  at  the  time  between  President  Johnson  on  the 
one  hand  and  Secretary  Stanton  and  Congress  on  the  other,  and  it  speaks  well 
for  General  Baird  that  Secretary  Stanton  at  all  times  sustained  his  administration, 
and  showed  entire  confidence  in  him. 

It  was  during  this  situation  that  the  terrible  and  bloody  riot  of  Jul}-,  1866,  took 
place  in  New  Orleans,  upon  which  General  Baird  declared  martial  law  at  once, 
and  took  possession  of  the  civil  government  of  the  city.  For  this  action  he  was 
relieved  from  duty  by  President  Johnson,  and  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer  ser- 
vice; but  his  action  ^^•as  approved  by  Secretary  Stanton  and  by  Congress,  and 
his  policy  was  continued  by  General  Sheridan,  who  went  much  further  than  Gen- 
eral Baird  in  his  measures  to  restrain  the  lawless  reactionary  rebel  element 
remaining  in  the  community. 

So,  after  four  years  and  a  half  of  service  as  a  general  officer.  General  Baird 
returned  to  his  duties  as  a  Major  and  Assistant  Inspector-General,  proudly  con- 
scious that  in  all  that  period  there  was  no  stain  upon  his  gallant  and  loyal  record. 
After  serving  in  the  Inspector-General's  Corps  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  and  Col- 
onel, he  was  commissioned  Brigadier-General  and  Inspector-General,  United 
States  Army,  September  22,  1885,  which  position  he  still  holds.  In  July,  18S7, 
he  was  selected  by  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  General  of  the  Army  to  witness 
and  report  upon  the  autumn  manoeuvres  of  the  French  army.  Accompanied  by 
an  officer  of  lower  rank,  he  spent  August  and  September  of  that  year  in  viewing 
the  Fnglish  and  French  armies.  He  had  the  honor  of  receiving  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  French  Republic  the  Cross  of  a  Commander  of  the  Legion  of  Honor. 
He  is  Hearing  the  end  of  his  term  of  service  in  the  army,  and  when  he  retires 
there  will  be  but  one  opinion  of  his  record,  and  it  will  be  voiced  in  the  words: 

"  Well  done,  thou  good  and  faithful  servant." 

David  I'^nzGiiKALU. 


Gen.  Samuel   D.  Sturgis. 


GEN.  SAMUEL  DAVIS  STURGIS. 

PENNSYLVANIA  has  many  sons  wlio  have  won  distinction  as  officers  of  the 
regular  army,  and  among  the  most  deserving  of  honorable  mention  is 
Brevet  Major-General  Samuel  D.  Sturgis,  who,  after  having  served  his  country 
fiilhfully  and  well  for  more  than  forty  years,  participating  creditably  in  two  im- 
portant wars,  has  recently  been  placed  on  the  retired  list  with  the  rank  of 
Colonel  United  States  Army. 

General  Sturgis  was  born  at  Shippensburg,  Cumberland  county,  June  il,  1S23. 
He  is  the  son  of  James  and  Mary  Sturgis,  both  of  whom  died  at  Burlington, 
Iowa,  at  an  advanced  age.  The  progenitor  of  the  family  in  this  country  was 
William  Sturgis,  who  emigrated  from  County  Armagh,  Ireland,  and  settled  in  the 
Juniata  valley  about  1745.  His  wife's  sister  married  Rev.  John  Davis,  from 
whom  are  descended  Rear-Admiral  Da\is  of  the  United  States  Navy,  and  his 
fatlier,  Hon.  John  W.  Davis,  who  for  many  years  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  Indiana,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  and  Minister  to  China. 
One  of  William  Sturgis'  sons,  also  named  William,  was  a  Lieutenant  in  the 
United  States  Army,  and  fell  at  the  battle  of  Lundy's  Lane.  This  circumstance 
led  General  Scott,  "  the  hero  of  Lundy's  Lane,"  to  interest  himself  in  securing  for 
the  nephew,  now  General  Sturgis,  an  appointment  to  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  where  he  was  entered  as  Cadet  at  Large,  July,  1842.  He  remained 
at  the  Academy  four  years,  graduating  in  the  class  of  1846,  which  also  included 
Generals  McClellan,  "  Stonewall "  Jackson,  Foster,  Reno,  A.  P.  Hill,  Pickett  and 
Wilco.x. 

Immediately  after  graduating  he  was  appointed  a  Brevet  Second  Lieutenant 
in  the  Second  Dragoons  and  assigned  to  the  company  of  the  noted  Captain 
Charles  May,  then  in  Mexico  with  General  Taylor.  He  participated  in  the 
memorable  campaign  which  included  the  victories  of  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  la 
Palma  and  Buena  Vista.  On  February  20,  1847,  two  days  before  the  battle  of 
Buena  Vista,  he  had  volunteered  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy  from  a  mountain, 
behind  which  they  were  supposed  to  be  concentrating.  In  the  performance  of 
this  duty  he  was  captured  and  held  a  prisoner  for  eight  days.  The  firing  upon 
him,  however,  discovered  the  enemy's  presence,  and  Captain  May,  who  escaped, 
returned  to  General  Taylor's  camp  at  Aqua  Neuva,  thirty  miles  distant,  where  he 
reported  the  probable  death  of  the  young  Lieutenant.  The  information  thus 
obtained  of  the  enemy's  presence  and  position  caused  General  Taylor  to  fall 
back  to  the  strong  position  at  Buena  Vista,  which  was  afterwards  so  successfully 
defended  by  his  little  army  against  four  times  its  number.  So  much  had  the 
result  of  Lieutenant  Sturgis'  reconnoissance  to  do  with  the  plans  of  the  engage- 
ment which  followed  that  Carleton,  in  his  history  of  the  battle,  gave  him  great 
credit  for  his  services.     At  the  close  of  the  Mexican  war  he  marched  via  Chi- 


-jS  C,E\.    SAMUEL    n.    STIKGIS. 

Iniahiia,  the  Gila  river  and  tlic  Colorado  desert  to  Los  Angeles,  California,  a 
journey  that  occupied  six  montiis.  Here  he  was  engaged  on  frontier  service  for 
over  two  years,  when  he  was  ordered  to  New  Mexico,  where  he  remained  three 
years.  While  en  route  to  his  new  station  he  was  appointed  Regimental  Quarter- 
master and  stationed  at  the  head-quarters  of  the  regiment  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
then  in  the  Lidian  Territory. 

In  1S52  he  resigned  his  position  as  Quartermaster,  and  proceeded  to  join  his 
company  in  New  Mexico,  accompanied  by  his  wife  and  infant  daughter,  reaching 
Albuquerque,  after  a  series  of  mishaps  and  delays,  on  the  seventy-second  day 
out  from  Leavenworth.  Here  Colonel  E.  V.  Sumner,  at  that  time  commanding 
the  department  of  New  Mexico,  requested  him  to  accept  the  position  on  his 
staff  of  acting  Adjutant-General,  which  he  did,  retaining  the  position  for  over  a 
year  and  until  Colonel  Sumner  was  relieved  by  the  arrival  of  General  Garland, 
who  brought  with  him  a  regular  Assistant  Adjutant-General. 

On  January  16,  1S55,  he  commanded  an  expedition  against  the  Apache 
Indians,  in  which  he  gained  a  brilliant  victorj'.  For  this  achievement  the  Legis- 
lature of  New  Mexico  passed  a  resolution  giving  him  a  vote  of  thanks,  and  also 
one  asking  the  President  to  promote  him.  In  compliance  with  this  request  he 
was  on  March  3,  1855,  commissioned  a  Captain  in  the  First  Cavalry,  which 
regiment  he  joined  in  the  following  summer  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas. 

In  this  and  the  succeeding  years  of  1S56  and  1857  he  aided  in  keeping  the 
peace  during  the  troubles  which  convulsed  Kansas  at  that  time,  and  also  operated 
against  the  Cheyenne  Indians,  under  Colonel  Sumner,  taking  part  in  the  battle 
of  "Solomon's  Fork  "  of  the  Kansas  river,  July  29,  1857.  In  1858  he  went 
with  the  Utah  expedition,  and  when  this  was  abandoned  he  marched  with  his 
company  south  to  Fort  Arbuckle  in  the  Indian  Nation.  He  afterward  assisted 
in  establishing  a  new  post,  three  hundred  miles  west,  on  the  False  Wachita, 
which  was  named  Fort  Cobb.  From  this  post  he  marched,  in  June,  i860,  in 
command  of  the  "  Southern  Column,"  consisting  of  six  companies  of  the  First 
Cavalry  and  a  considerable  body  of  friendly  Indians,  to  operate  against  the 
Kiowas  and  Comanche  Indians.  Two  other  columns,  one  under  Colonel  Crit- 
tenden and  another  under  Major  Sedgwick,  started  from  New  Mexico  with  the 
same  object,  but  Sturgis'  column  was  the  only  one  that  succeeded  in  overtaking 
the  Indians,  and  in  the  engagement  which  followed  so  thoroughly  broke  them 
up  and  scattered  them,  that  the  Secretary  of  War  in  his  annual  report  said,  that 
he  "  anticipated  no  further  trouble  in  consequence  of  Sturgis'  successful  opera- 
tions against  them."  This  expedition  was  determined  by  the  arrival  of  a  scout 
bearing  a  despatch  from  the  Secretary  of  War  directing  Sturgis  to  give  over  the 
further  prosecution  of  his  campaign,  march  his  troops  to  Fort  Smith  and  settle 
the  difficulties  then  existing  between  the  Indians  and  the  white  settlers,  upon 
what  was  called  the  "  neutral  lands."  After  having  made  a  satisfactory  settle- 
ment of  the  points  in  di.spute,  he  returned  to  Fort  Smith,  where  the  opening  of 
the  civil  war  found  him  with  his  little  family,  consisting  of  wife  and  three  chil- 


GEN.    SAMUFX    P.    STURGIS.  239 

dren,  and  a  small  garrison  amounting  to  not  over  one  luinclrcd  enlisted  men. 
After  the  firing  upon  Fort  Sumter  all  his  officers,  Cnptaiii  Mcintosh  and  Lieu- 
tenants Lomax  and  Jackson,  resigned  and  went  south,  so  that  wlicn  Iiis  post  was 
attacked  on  April  23d  by  a  large  force  sent  against  it  fro'ii  Little  Rock  hy 
Governor  Rector,  consisting  of  two  steamboats  loaded  with  troops  and  ten  pieces 
of  artillery,  he  had  not  a  commissioned  officer  left  to  assist  him. 

Being  already  surrounded  on  the  land  side  of  the  post  by  the  militia  of  Van 
Buren  and  of  the  town  of  Fort  Smith,  eight  companies  of  which  were  posted  on 
the  avenue  in  front  of  the  gates  ready  to  intercept  his  retreat  when  he  should  be 
summoned  by  the  river  expedition  which  had  arrived  at  Van  Buren,  four  miles 
below.  Captain  Sturgis  quietly  prepared  to  evacuate  the  post,  then  no  longer 
tenable,  and  save  all  public  property  possible.  Accordingly,  at  9  o'clock  P.  M., 
April  23,  iS6i,the  two  companies  were  silently  mounted,  and,  with  twenty-four 
loaded  wagons,  passed  out  of  a  side  gate,  and,  without  discovery,  crossed  the 
Poto  river  and  began  the  march  to  Fort  Wachita,  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles 
distant.  This  was  reached  in  safet)^  Captain  Sturgis  by  his  prompt  action  thus 
saving  all  the  arms,  ammunition,  stores,  horses,  etc.,  which  would  have  been 
very  valuable  to  the  rebels. 

An  incident  deserving  mention  as  illu.strative  of  the  bra\'ci-)'  and  patriotism  of 
the  wife  of  Captain  Sturgis,  and  showing  her  fitness  to  be  the  wife  of  an  army 
officer,  occurred  at  the  evacuation.  In  order  not  to  attract  attention  to  the  pro- 
posed night  movement  by  preparation,  nor  to  impede  or  embarrass  the  march  of 
the  troops  by  having  to  care  for  her  comfort,  Mrs.  Sturgis  determined  to  risk  the 
danger  and  annoyances  of  capture  in  the  fort.  In  company  with  her  three 
children  she  was  found  by  the  Confederate  Colonel  Borland,  when  he  took  pos- 
session an  hour  after  the  evacuation,  sitting  on  the  porch  of  the  commandant's 
quarters  ready  to  surrender  at  discretion.  Mrs.  Sturgis  and  her  children  were 
permitted  to  leave  for  St.  Louis  on  the  last  boat  which  was  at  that  time  allowed 
to  communicate  with  the  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river,  and  they  arrived 
safely  in  St.  Louis  a  week  after  the  evacuation. 

Upon  reaching  Fort  Wachita  he,  with  his  force,  joined  the  troops  under  the 
command  of  Lieut.-Col,  W.  H.  Emory,  which  were  just  about  evacuating  all  that 
part  of  the  country,  and  they  marched  to  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas.  After 
reaching  this  post  Captain  Sturgis,  who  was  promoted  Major  of  the  First  Cavalry 
on  May  3,  1S61,  as  a  recognition  of  the  important  service  which  he  had  rendered 
in  successfully  removing  the  stores  and  munitions  from  Fort  Smith,  and  upon 
whom  the  command  had  devolved,  soon  after  organized  a  force  of  some  two 
thousand  three  hundred  men,  consisting  of  the  First  and  Second  Regiments  of 
Kansas  Volunteers  and  some  regular  troops,  and  marched  down  along  the  Mis- 
souri border,  hoping  to  intercept  the  flight  of  Governor  Claiborne  Jackson  and 
the  officials  accompanying  him.  This,  however,  was  rendered  impossible  owing 
to  a  heavy  rise  in  the  Grand  river,  just  after  the  fugiti\-es  had  crossed  over,  by 
which  the  whole  country  was  flooded,  and,  as  the  bridges  were  all  burned  or 


C40  GEN.    SAMUEL    D.    STURGIS. 

destroyed,  IVInjor  Sturgls  was  compelled  to  change  his  course  and  joined  forces 
with  General  Lyon,  then  marching  towards  Springfield,  Mo. 

Ha\ing  reached  the  vicinitN-  of  Springfield,  General  L\-on  established  his  head- 
quarters there  and  assigned  Major  Sturgis  to  the  command  of  the  troops  in  a 
camp,  some  twelve  miles  from  the  city,  which  he  named  Camp  McClellan. 
Realizing  the  great  danger  threatening  the  largely  outnumbered  Union  forces 
from  the  Confederate  hosts  that  were  then  gathering  against  them,  General  Lyon 
called  a  consultation  of  his  officers,  and  it  was  determined  that  but  one  alterna- 
tive remained — to  endeavor  by  a  hasty  march  to  surprise  the  enemy,  to  make 
battle,  confound  and  scatter  them,  and,  before  they  could  recover,  retreat  to  a 
stronger  position.  This  resolve — a  sort  of  forlorn  hope — was  acted  upon,  and  the 
little  army  marched  forth  and  encountered  the  enemy  at  Wilson's  creek-,  on 
August  10,  1861.  General  Lyon,  supported  by  Major  Sturgis,  led  the  attack  in 
front,  while  Sigel  was  directed  to  conduct  a  flanking  movement,  which  he  suc- 
cessfully made,  but  the  results  of  which  were  soon  lost  through  an  error  of  that 
officer,  b}''  which  his  men  were  routed  and  driven  from  the  field.  Meanwhile 
Lyon  had  attacked  the  enemy,  and  while  leading  a  Kansas  regiment  whose 
Colonel  had  fallen  he  was  killed,  and  the  command  devolved  upon  Major  Stur- 
gis. Notwithstanding  he  was  known  to  but  few  of  the  men  and  that  they  were 
auare  of  the  fact  that  Sigel  had  been  routed  and  Lyon  was  dead.  Major  Sturgis 
was  equal  to  the  occasion.  Inspiring  his  men  by  his  coolness  and  bravery  he 
fought  the  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy  for  almost  three  hours,  beating  in 
detail  their  centre  and  right,  and  compelling  them  to  fall  back  in  disorder. 
Finding  that  his  ammunition  was  about  c.xhawsted  he  took  advantage  of  the  con- 
fusion of  the  enemy  while  they  were  in  no  condition  to  follow  him  and  ordered 
a  retreat,  which  he  accomplished  in  good  order,  safely  reaching  Springfield,  where 
he  was  joined  by  Sigel,  and  to  whom  under  the  belief  that  he  was  commissioned 
a  Colonel,  he  accorded  the  command.  The  next  day,  however,  having  ascer- 
tained that  Sigel  was  without  a  commission,  he  resumed  the  command  and  con- 
tinued the  retreat  to  RoUa,  Mo.  For  his  services  in  this  campaign  he  was  brevetted 
Lieutenant-Colonel  in  the  regular  army  and  commissioned  a  Brigadier-General 
of  Volunteers  dating  from  August  10,  i86l,the  order  conveying  the  brevet  read- 
ing, ■'  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek."  * 

*  The  part  taken  by  General  Siurgis  in  the  battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  has  never  received  proper  recogni- 
tion except  in  the  conferring  of  the  raflk  of  Brevet  Lieiitenant-Cohmel  United  Slates  Army,  and  of 
Brigadier-General  of  United  Stales  Volunteers,  which  show,  indeed,  that  his  services  were  understond 
and  appreciated  by  Tresident  Linc.jln,  but  the  Germans  of  St.  Louis  and  those  politicians  who  catered  to 
that  clement  did  all  in  their  power  to  exalt  the  part  taken  by  Franz  Si^el,  who  was  put  forward  as  the 
represeniative  German  in  the  Union  army,  and  in  order  to  do  so  they  sought  to  ignore  the  services  of 
Major  Sturgis  in  that  battle.  Sigel  successfully  made  his  attack  as  directed  by  General  Lyon,  but  by 
want  of  caution  was  led  into  mistaking  another  portion  of  the  Confederate  forces  for  the  main  body  of 
Lyon's  lroo|>s,  and  was  defeated  in  a  few  minutes,  and,  after  losing  five  of  his  six  guns,  which  were 
turned  against  the  Unionists,  he  and  the  thirteen  hundred  men  under  his  command  were  driven  off  the 
field  and  took  no  part  in  the  desperate  fighting  that  occurred  after  Lyon  fell.     Even  authorities  that  are 


GEX.    SAMUEL    D.    STUKGIS.  24! 

Genera!  Sturgls  was  soon  after  tliis  placcti  in  cliarLjc  of  the  troops  at  the  St. 
Louis  Arsenal,  and  early  in  September  was  sent  in  command  of  a  force  to  co- 
operate with  General  Pope  in  North  Missouri  against  a  rebel  column  under 
Generals  Harris  and  Green.  These  Confederates  having  been  driven  south  of 
the  Missouri  river,  he  was  sent  in  command  of  about  eleven  hundred  men,  con- 
sisting of  the  Twenty-seventh  and  a  portion  of  the  Thirt\--ninth  Ohio  Volunteers, 
all  raw  troops  and  without  artillery  or  infantry,  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Mulligan 
at  Lexington,  Mo.  After  hard  marching  by  day  and  night  he  reached  the  river 
opposite  Lexington  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  September  20th,  just  after  the 
gallant  Mulligan  had  surrendered.  The  enemy  sent  a  force  of  three  thousand 
men  across  the  river  to  attack  General  Sturgis'  force,  who,  realizing  his  inability 
to  successfully  oppose  them,  retreated  to  Liberty,  Mo.,  and  then  took  boat  for 
Kansas  Cit)-.  In  October  of  that  j-ear  he  partici[)ated  in  General  Fremont's 
movement  against  Springfield,  Mo.,  hax^ng  command  of  the  right  wing.  In 
November  he  served  as  cliief  of  staff  to  Major-Gencral  Hunter,  commanding  the 
Department  of  Missouri,  and  started  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of  the  Ohio  and  Mis- 
sissippi river  posts  in  December. 

In  the  spring  of  1S62  he  was  placed  in  command  of  the  district  of  Kansas, 
with  head-quarters  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  and,  after  bringing  something  like  order 
out  of  chaos  there,  was  ordered  to  Washington,  D.  C,  where  he  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  defences  of  the  National  Capital — some  fifty-eight  fortifications  and 

generally  accurate  appear  to  have  been  misled  by  accepting  p.irti-nn  and  unofficial  reports,  current  at  the 
time,  whicli  were  contrary'  to  the  true  facts.  For  instance,  Appleton's  Cyclopedia,  in  the  biographical 
sketch  of  General  Lyon,  states  in  subsiance  as  follows: — "  M.aj.  Samuel  D.  Sturgis,  who  assumed  the 
comm.md  when  Lyon  fell,  soon  after  orlered  a  retreat."  .^nd  Colonels  H.iy  and  N'ic  day,  in  th.at 
portion  of  their  *'  History  of  Abraham  Lincoln,''  published  in  the  June  [iSSS]  numljer  (jf  the  Cfufitry 
magazine,  commit  the  same  error  in  stating  that  the  principal  fighting  Iiad  occurred  and  that  the  b.ittle 
had  been  virtually  won  before  Lyon  was  killed,  and  lead  their  readers  to  infer  that  Major  .Sturgis  retired 
with  his  force  when  Lyon  fell  without  further  fighting.  A  reference  to  the  "  Official  Records  of  the 
Rebellion,"  pulilished  by  the  War  Department,  will  show  the  following  to  be  the  iriie  facts  of  the  case. 
In  Vol.  Ill,  Series  I,  p.  64,  and  succeeding,  may  be  found  the  statement  in  the  Official  Report  of 
M.ijor  .Sturgis  that  General  Lyon  was  killed  about  9  A  M.,  but  the  battle  did  not  cease  until  11.30  A.  11. 
General  Lyon  fell  in  the  full  belief  that  the  day  was  lost,  as  is  shown  in  the  Official  Report  of  Major 
(now  Major-General)  John  M.  Scofield,  who  was  a  member  of  General  Lyon's  staff.  Commencing  on 
page  61  occurs  the  following: — "Early  in  this  engagement,  while  General  Lyon  w-as  leading  his 
horse  along  the  line  on  the  left  of  Captain  Totten's  battery,  *****  he  received  a  wound  in  the  leg 
and  one  in  the  head.  He  walked  slowly  a  few  paces  to  the  rear  and  said  : — '  I  fear  the  day  is  lost. '  " 
And  on  page  63  he  refers  to  the  closing  of  the  battle  "at  about  11.30  A.  M  ,"  etc.  So  that  al- 
though Lyon  fell  early  in  the  combat,  and  when  he  believed  that  he  had  lost  the  day.  Major  Sturgis 
took  command  and  carried  the  battle  on  through  nearly  three  hours  of  bloody  work,  virtually  defeating 
the  enemy,  bef  ire  he  ordered  a  retre.it.  In  fact,  by  a  reference  to  the  Official  Reports  of  M.njor  Halde- 
man,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Merritt,  of  Captain  (afterwards  Brigadier-General)  James  Totten,  of  Captain 
(afterwards  Brigadier-General)  Fred.  Steele,  and  others,  it  is  clearly  sho^^■n  by  the  whole  context  that 
the  hardest  fighting  occurred  under  Major  Sturgis'  command,  afUr  Gener.al  Lyon  was  killed.  We  make 
this  statement  in  justice  to  General  Sturgis,  as  we  believe  that  he  h.as  not  been  accorded  the  proper  credit 
for  the  gallant  fighting  and  careful  generalsliip  which  he  displayed  at  this  bnttle,  nor  for  the  skilful  and 
m.asterly  retreat  he  conducted,  the  repute  for  which  has  frequently  been  given  to  Sigel,  who  was  not  in 
command. — [Eds.] 


242  C.E\.    SAMUEL    D.    STURGIS. 

about  twenty-two  tlioiisand  men.  Tliis  cliarge  he  resigned  about  August  25, 
1862,  to  take  coniniand  of  a  force  for  the  relief  of  General  Pope,  who  was  being 
severely  pressed  by  the  enemy  in  Virginia.  He  joined  General  Pope  at  War- 
renton  Junction  on  the  morning  of  August  27th,  and  took  part  in  the  second 
battle  of  Bull  Run,  August  29,  1862.  General  Pope,  in  his  official  report  of  the 
battle,  says:  "General  Sturgis  deserves  high  praise  not  only  for  the  valuable 
services  rendered  in  the  battle,  but  also  for  having  reached  the  battle-field  by 
passing  a  division  which  did  not  reach  the  field  at  all." 

On  the  reorganization  of  the  army,  after  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  he 
commanded  the  Second  Division  of  the  Ninth  Corps,  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
took  part  in  the  battles  of  South  Mountain,  September  14th,  and  Antietam,  Sep- 
tember 17th,  and  in  several  skirmishes  while  in  pursuit  of  the  enemy.  It  was 
General  Sturgis'  division  that  stormed  and  carried  the  bridge  at  Antietam,  com- 
monly called  ■'  Burnside's  Bridge,"  on  the  left  of  the  line.  After  he  had  sent  in 
the  Second  Marj'land  and  the  Ninth  New  Hampshire,  and  they  had  been  driven 
back  with  great  slaughter,  he  selected  the  Fifty-first  Pennsylvania  and  the  Fifty- 
first  New  York  regiments,  and,  heading  them  himself,  carried  the  bridge  at  a 
charge  and  under  a  fearful  fire.  General  McClellan,  recognizing  the  gallant  work 
done  by  General  Sturgis,  directed  General  Burnside,  to  whose  corps  (the  Ninth) 
Sturgis'  division  belonged,  to  have  the  division  paraded,  and  say  to  them  "  that 
by  their  gallantry  at  the  bridge  they  had  relieved  his  right  wing  and  saved  the 
day."     This  order  General  Burnside  obeyed. 

He  continued  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  in  its  march  along  tlie  Blue 
Ridge,  participating  in  its  Rappahannock  campaign,  and  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Fredericksburg,  December  13,  1S62.  For  his  services  in  this  battle  he  was 
brevetted  a  Major-General  in  the  regular  ami)'.  When  the  Ninth  Corps  was 
sent  W'est  in  the  spring  of  1S63,  he  accompanied  it  and  was  engaged  in  the 
operations  in  Central  Kentucky  until  July  of  that  )-ear.  He  then  acted  as  Chief 
of  Cavalry  for  the  military  Department  of  the  Ohio,  and  was  engaged  for  a  time 
in  organizing  the  militia  of  Cincinnati  during  Morgan's  raid.  He  continued  as 
such  until  the  siege  of  Knoxville,  Tenn.,  in  September,  1S63.  On  October  27th, 
of  that  )-car,  he  was  promoted  Colonel  of  the  Si.xth  Cavalry,  United  States  Army, 
and  during  the  winter  of  1863-64  he  had  command  of  a  body  composed  of  some 
five  tliousand  c,i\alry  and  some  infantry  and  artillery,  with  which  he  operated  in 
front  of  General  Longstrcet's  army  in  Ivist  Tennessee.  On  December  29,  1863, 
he  fouglit  the  battle  of  Mossy  Creek,  in  which  he  defeated  the  rebels  with  very 
heavy  loss,  and  drove  them  in  upon  their  main  army.  On  January  13,  1864,  he 
captured  the  Confederate  General  Vance  and  his  commanil,  and  on  January  i6th 
was  engaged  in  an  action  near  Dandridgc.  I  Ic  fought  the  battle  of  P'air  Gardens, 
Tenn.,  on  January  25th,  routing  General  Martin's  division  of  rebel  cavah_\-,  cap- 
turing his  artillery  and  driving  him  across  the  I'rench  Piroad  ri\'i:r  upon  the 
enemy's  main  army  under  Longstreet.  ( )n  I'ebruary  2d  he  attacked  and 
dcstroj'ed  a  camp  of  rebels  and  Indians  near  Onallatowii,  N.  C. 


r.EN.    SAMUEL    D.    STURniS.  243 

In  May,  1864,  he  comniandctl  an  cxpctlition  which  started  from  iMeniphis 
against  General  Forrest,  who  occupied  Jackson,  Tenn.  He  eni^ar^cd  that  com- 
mander at  Bolivar  and  drove  his  force  as  far  as  Ripley,  and  thus  cleared  that 
portion  of  the  country  of  rebel  troops.  On  the  ist  of  Jime  follouinp;  he  marched 
ai;ain  from  Memphis  with  orders  to  penetrate  to  the  soutli  and  find  and  ene;aye 
Forre■^t,  who  was  reported  to  be  organizing  a  large  force  for  a  fresh  raid.  Gen- 
eral Sturgis'  command  was  a  heterogeneous  one,  made  up  of  fiactions  of  regiments, 
all  -Strangers  to  eacli  other  and  to  their  commander.  Added  to  this  the  rain  fell 
in  torrents  during  the  entire  march,  which  was  through  a  country  with  bad  roads 
and  altogether  barren  of  supplies  for  either  man  or  beast;  so  that  after  marching 
ten  days  he  encountered  the  enemy  in  strong  position  and  fresh  from  the  rail- 
roads, and  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Brice's  Cross  Roads,  near  Gun  Town, 
June  loth. 

From  July,  1S64,  to  August  24,  1865,  he  was  in  command  of  the  Si.xth  Cav- 
alry awaiting  orders,  and  on  the  latter  date  was  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer 
ser\-ice.  Besides  the  brevets  previously  mentioned.  General  Sturgis  had  received 
the  following  brevets:  Brevet  Colonel,  United  States  Army,  August  29  1862, 
"for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the  battle  of  Second  Bull  Run,  Va.," 
Brevet  Brigadier-General,  United  States  Arm\',  March  13,  1S65,  "  for  gallant  and 
meritorious  services  in  the  battle  of  South  Mountain,  Md.,"  and  Brevet  Major- 
General,  United  States  Arm\%  March  13,  1865,  "for  gallant  and  meritorious  ser- 
vices in  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Va." 

After  being  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer  service  he  went  to  Texas  in  com- 
mand of  his  regiment,  then  the  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry,  and  after  remaining 
on  frontier  dut\'  for  two  years  he  was  ordered  to  Washington,  D.  C,  and  placed 
on  a  board  of  officers  for  the  revision  of  the  tactics  for  the  cavalry  service.  He 
remained  on  this  duty  until  April,  1S69,  and  on  May  6th  was  appointed  Colonel 
of  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  and  joined  his  regiment  in  camp  near  Fort  Hayes,  Kansas. 
During  the  winter  of  1869-70  he  was  in  command  of  Fort  Leavenworth,  and 
from  there  was  ordered  with  his  regiment  to  the  South  for  the  repression  of  the 
Ku-Klu.x,  with  head-quarters  at  Louisville,  K\'.  From  April,  1873,  to  May, 
1877,  he  was  stationed  first  at  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  then  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  charge 
of  the  mounted  recruiting  serxice  there,  and  later  at  Fort  Lincoln,  Dakota.  In 
Miiy,  1877,  he  marched  with  his  regiment  from  the  last-named  post  to  operate 
against  the  Sioux  Indians  north  of  the  Yellowstone,  but  was  deflected  to  mo\'e 
against  the  Nez  Perces,  whom  he  encountered  on  the  Yellowstone  river  in  a 
battle  which  lasted  the  greater  part  of  a  da)-,  the  Indians  being  defeated  but 
escaping  north  in  the  night.  He  was  on  leave  of  absence  from  October,  1877,  to 
Februar}',  1878,  when  he  again  assumed  command  of  his  regiment  and  the  middle 
district  of  the  department  at  Bear  Butte,  Dakota,  and  selected  the  site  of  the 
new  post  of  Fort  Meade.  He  remained  in  command  there  until  the  spring  of 
1 88 1,  when  he  was  appointed  by  President  Garfield  as  Governor  of  the  Soldiers' 
Home  at  Washington,  D.  C,  which  position  he  retained  until  the  spring  of  1885, 


244  <~•E^'■    SAMUEL    D.    STCRGIS. 

when  he  returned  to  tlie  command  of  his  regiment  at  Fort  Meade,  remaining 
there  until  lie  was  retired  from  service  by  operation  of  law  on  June  ii,  1886,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-four  and  after  forty  years  of  active  service.  The  warm  affection 
entertained  by  his  soldiers  for  him  was  shown  upon  this  occasion.  An  article 
which  appeared  in  the  Chicago  Tiiiics  says:  "There  was  a  grand  turn-out  of 
the  citizens  of  Fort  Meade  and  from  Deadwood  to  witness  the  ceremonies,  and 
many  of  the  old  soldiers  whose  terms  of  enlistment  had  long  since  expired,  and 
who  are  in  business  or  on  farms  in  the  vicinity  of  the  post,  were  in  to  see  their 

old   commander An  occurrence  took  place  just   as    the  veteran  was 

leaving  the  grounds  which  must  have  gratified  him  exceedingly.  He  had  taken 
leave  of  the  officers,  entered  his  carriage  and  started  on  his  way  when,  at  the 
confines  of  the  fort,  he  found  all  the  enlisted  men  of  the  garrison  formed  in  line, 
of  their  own  accord,  to  give  him  a  last  good-bye.  General  Sturgis  was  very 
much  affected  by  this  demonstration,  and  when  he  alighted  and  undertook  to 
address  them,  his  emotions  choked  his  utterance.  He  re-entered  his  carriage, 
and  amidst  a  tempest  of  cheers  and  farewells  drove  away." 

While  stationed  at  Fort  Leavenworth  General  Sturgis  was  married,  July  5, 
1 85 1,  to  Miss  Jerusha  Wilcox,  daughter  of  Dr.  J.  C.Wilcox,  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  Ohio,  and  has  had  eight  children  born  to  him — five  sons  and  three 
daughters.  Three  of  the  sons  died  before  attaining  their  fifth  \-ear.  His  eldest 
son,  James  Garland  Sturgis,  graduated  at  West  Point  in  1S75,  and  was  killed  on 
June  25th  of  the  following  year  at  the  Custer  massacre  in  the  battle  of  the  Little 
Big  Horn  River.  His  other  son,  Samuel  Davis  Sturgis,  Jr.,  born  at  St.  Louis, 
August  I,  1 861,  entered  West  Point  in  1880,  graduated  in  1884,  and  is  now  a 
Second  Lieutenant  in  the  First  Artillery.  The  eldest  daughter,  Nina  Linn 
Sturgis,  was  married  to  Mr.  Hercules  L.  Douseman,  of  St.  Paul,  Minn.,  who  died 
in  1886,  leaving  his  widow  with  five  children,  but  well  provided  for.  His  second 
daughter,  Ella  Maria,  is  the  wife  of  Hon.  John  D.  Sauter,  son  of  Gen.  John 
Sautcr,  a  gentleman  well  known  throughout  the  Northwest,  with  the  progress 
of  which  he  is  intimately  identified.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sauter  reside  in  Mitcliell, 
Dakota,  where  he  is  President  of  the  Fir.'l  National  Bank.  The  youngest  daughter, 
Mary  Tj'lcr  Sturgis,  is  still  unmarried. 

Two  of  General  Sturgis'  brothers  have  been  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
Dr.  W'illiam  Sturgis,  his  eldest  living  brother,  now  residing  at  Macon,  111.,  entered 
the  army  July  21,  1862,  as  an  assistant  surgeon,  and  served  in  various  capacities 
from  time  to  time ;  first  as  medical  officer  in  charge  of  the  sick  and  wounded  of 
about  two  thousand  rebel  prisoners,  and  then  as  acting  Superintendent  of  Hospitals, 
but  for  the  most  part  as  Surgeon  in  charge  of  the  United  States  General  Hospital 
at  Camp  Butler,  111.  He  resigned  some  time  after  the  war  in  1866.  His  j'ounger 
brother,  Hcnrj'  Bacon  Sturgis,  served  throughout  the  war  on  Geneial  Sturgis' 
staff,  with  the  rank  of  Cajjtain,  and  resigned  June  21,  1S65.  He  resides  in 
Nebraska. 

C.  R.  D. 


Gen.  Washington    L.   Elliott. 


GEN.   WASHINGTON    LAFAYETTE   ELLIOTT. 

BREVET  Wajor-Gexeral  WASHINGTON  L.  Elliott,  only  soil  of  Commodore 
Jesse  Duncan  Elliott  and  Frances  Cain  Vaughn,  was  born  at  Carlisle,  Cum- 
berland county.  Pa.,  on  March  31,  1825.  He  accompanied  his  father  on  a  cruise 
in  the  West  Indies  in  1831-32,  and  again  to  France  in  1S35  on  board  the  frigate 
"  Constitution,"  bringing  to  the  United  States  our  Minister  to  France,  Hon. 
Edward  Livingstone.  On  this  cruise  young  Elliott  was  an  acting  midshipman 
in  the  United  States  Navy,  but  on  his  return  to  the  United  States  he  went  to  the 
preparatory^  school  of  Dickinson  College,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  and  subsequently  to  the 
college,  leaving  the  Sophomore  Class  in  1841  to  enter  the  Military  Academy  at 
West  Point,  where  he  remained  until  June  30,  1844.  He  began  the  study  of 
medicine,  but  owing  to  the  tleath  of  his  father,  in  December,  iS45,he  was  unable 
to  complete  his  medical  education,  and  re-entered  the  arm\'  in  May,  1846,  as  a 
Second  Lieutenant  in  a  regiment  of  mounted  riflemen.  He  was  acting  Adjutant 
of  this  regiment  during  its  organization,  until  replaced  by  the  extra  First  Lieu- 
tenant appointed  to  fill  that  position. 

In  December,  1846,  he  was  ordered  to  Mexico,  and  was  with  General  Scott's 
command  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  its  landing  at  Vera  Cruz  in  1S47. 
Being  disabled  by  rheumatism,  he  was  sent  north  from  Vera  Cruz,  and  was 
ordered  upon  recruiting  service,  remaining  until  the  return  of  the  troops 
from  Mexico  in  August,  1848.  He  was  promoted  I-^irst  Lieutenant  on  July  20, 
1847.  During  the  winter  of  1848-49  he  was  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  Kansas,  and 
in  May,  1849,  left  for  Fort  Laramie,  Wyoming,  then  Nebraska  Territor}-,  his 
company  forming  part  of  the  garrison  of  that  post,  where  it  remained  until 
October,  185  i.  His  regiment  was,  in  1852,  transferred  to  Texas  for  service  on 
that  frontier,  and  he  was  its  Quartermaster  from  April  i,  1S52,  until  promoted 
Captain  July  20,  1854.  He  was  actix-el}'  empIo}'ed  against  the  Indians  on  the 
borders  of  Texas  until  1856,  when  he  was  transferred  to  New  Mexico,  and  was 
actively  employed  against  the  Indians  of  that  territoiy  until  the  "  War  for  the 
Union,"  in  1861. 

On  the  call  for  volunteers  bj'  the  President  in  April,  1861,  he  was  ordered  to 
EIniira,  N.  Y.,  as  mustering  officer,  but  was  soon  ordered  with  recruits  from 
Carlisle  Barracks,  Pennsylvania,  to  New  Mexico'and  Fort  Leavenworth.  These 
recruits  were  sent  to  Southwestern  Missouri  as  part  of  Gen.  Nathaniel  L\'on's 
command.  Captain  Elliott  being  assigned  to  Company  "  D,"  First  United  States 
Cavalry  (now  Fourth  Infantry),  and,  as  senior  officer,  to  the  command  of  the  five 
companies  of  cavalry  composing  the  regiment. 

After  the  death  of  General  Lyon  and  the  return  of  his  army  to  St.  Louis,  Cap- 
tain Elliott  was  tendered  the  Colonelcy  of  the  Second  Iowa  Ca\-alry  by  the 
Governor  of  that  State,  his  commission  being  dated  September  14,  1S61.     His 

(-45) 


::46  gen.  Washington  l.  elliott. 

promotion  as  Mnjor  of  the  First  United  States  Cavalry  bears  date  November  5, 
1 861.  After  his  regiment  was  organized  it  was  sent  to  Benton  Barracks,  near 
St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  tlience  to  New  Madrid,  forming  part  of  Gen.  John  Pope's  com- 
mand for  the  operations  at  Madrid  and  Island  Number  Ten.  It  was  thence 
transferred  to  General  Halleck's  command  in  front  of  Corinth,  Miss.  There  it 
was  brigaded  with  the  Second  Michigan  Cavalry,  of  which  Lieutenant-General 
P.  H.  Sheridan  was  then  Colonel,  and  the  brigade  was  commanded  by  Colonel 
Elliott.  His  brevet  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  United  States  Army  was  conferred 
for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the  capture  of  Island  Number  Ten  on 
tlie  Mississippi  river."  His  brevet  of  Colonel  was  for  "gallant  and  meritorious 
services  in  the  raid  on  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio  Railroad,  and  in  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  Miss."  This  was  the  first  cavalry  raid  of  the  war,  and  for  its  successful 
conduct  Colonel  Elliott  was  appointed  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  June  11, 
1862. 

In  August,  1S62,  he  was  ordered  to  the  Army  of  Virginia  as  Chief  of  Cavalry, 
and  was  engaged  and  slightly  wounded  in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run,  August 
30,  1862.  From  September,  1862,  until  February,  1863,  he  was  on  duty  organiz- 
ing cavalry  regiments  for  sei-v'ice  against  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest.  From 
Februarj',  1863,  until  October,  1863,  he  was  on  duty  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
and  in  command  of  the  Third  Division,  Third  Army  Corps,  when  he  was  ordered 
to  report  to  General  George  H.  Thomas,  and  by  him  assigned  as  Chief  of  Cavalry 
in  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  He  was  actively  engaged  during  the  winter 
of  1863-64  in  East  Tennessee,  and  in  the  Atlanta  campaign  until  October,  1864. 

In  December,  1864,  he  was  assigned  by  General  Thomas  to  command  the 
Second  Division,  Fourth  Army  Corps,  and  participated  in  the  battles  around 
Nashville.  On  March  13,  1865,  he  was  brevettcd  Brigadier-General  United 
States  Army  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the  battle  of  Nashville, 
Tenn.,"  and  Major-General  of  Volunteers  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
in  the  battles  before  Nashville,  Tenn.,"  and  Major-General  United  States  Army 
for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in  the  field  during  the  war."  From  August, 
1865,  to  March  i,  1866,  he  was  in  command  of  the  district  of  Kansas,  when  he 
was  "honorably  mustered  out"  of  the  volunteer  service.  He  was  promoted 
Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Fir.st  United  States  Cavalry,  Augu.st  31,  1866,  and  was 
assigned  to  duty  in  tlie  Pacific  States  and  Territories  until  April  4,  187S,  when 
he  was  promoted  Colonel  of  the  Third  United  States  Cavalry.  At  his  own 
request,  after  over  thirty  years  service,  he  was  retired  March  20,  1879. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  army  General  Elliott  was  appointed  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  California  Safe  Deposit  and  Trust  Company,  and  while  attending  to 
his  duties  in  the  office  of  this  company  he  was  suddenly  stricken  by  an  attack 
of  heart  di.seasc  which  terminated  fatally,  June  29,  18SS.  llis  decea.se  was 
widely  noticed  by  the  press  of  the  country  and  lamented  by  the  people. 


Gen,  John   R.  B 


ROOKE. 


GEN.   JOHN   RUTTER   BROOKE. 

GEN.  John  R.  Brooke,  one  of  the  most  popular  and  distingui.shed  officers  in 
the  regular  army,  was  born  in  Pottsgrove  township,  Montgomcr\'  county, 
July  21,  1S38.  His  fother,  Major  William  Brooke,  had  been  a  captain  in  the 
American  army  in  the  war  of  18 1 2,  and  his  mother  was  a  daughter  of  David 
Rutter,  one  of  the  early  iron  manufacturers  in  the  State,  residing  near  Pottstown. 
The  family  is  an  old  one,  and  its  record  in  this  country  dates  from  1692,  when 
John  Brooke  and  his  wife,  with  two  sons,  James  and  Matthew,  emigrated  from 
Yorkshire,  England.  Before  sailing  the  father  had  purchased  from  William 
Pena  fifteen  hundred  acres  of  land,  to  be  taken  up  an^'where  between  the  Dela- 
ware and  Susquehanna  rivers  where  unoccupied  or  unclaimed  plantations  ct)uld 
be  found.  The  parents  died  soon  after  landing,  and  the  sons  took  up  a  tract 
in  Limerick  township,  now  Montgomery  county,  where  they  settled.  Matthew 
Brooke  had  four  sons,  one  of  whom,  also  named  Matthew,  was  the  father  of 
Thomas  Rees  Brooke,  whose  son  William,  above  referred  to  as  an  officer  in  the 
war  of  1812,  was  the  father  of  Gen.  John  R.  Brooke,  and  lived  and  died  on  a 
farm  that  was  part  of  the  original  family  purchase. 

Gen.  Brooke's  education  was  obtained  in  the  common  schools  of  his  native 
county  and  at  Bolmar's  famous  seminary  at  W^est  Chester,  where  he  received  a 
full  English  course.  He  was  in  his  twenty-third  year  when  President  Lincoln's 
call  for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  appeared,  to  which  he  responded  with 
alacrity  and  enthusiasm.  He  at  once  recruited  a  company  for  three  months' 
service,  and  became  its  Captain,  his  commission  bearing  date  April  20,  1S61. 
After  their  discharge  on  the  expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment,  he  began  to 
recruit  a  regiment  for  three  years'  service.  On  the  17th  of  August,  1861,  he  was 
commissioned  Colonel  of  the  Fifty-third  Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers, 
and  on  their  arrival  at  Washington,  on  the  7th  of  November  following,  the\-  were 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service,  and  becanie  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the 
Potomac,  the  regiment  being  assigned  to  the  Third  Brigade,  Second  Army 
Corps. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  Sunday,  June  i,  1862,  that  the  command  participated 
in  a  general  engagement.  This  was  at  Fair  Oaks  Station,  where  Colonel 
Brooke's  regiment  was  under  fire  for  four  hours,  and  held  their  position,  under 
fearful  odds,  against  some  of  the  best  troops  of  the  enemy,  directed  by  their  ablest 
commanders.  "  Here,"  says  General  Walker,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Second 
Army  Corps,  '■  Col.  John  R.  Brooke,  leading  the  Fifty-third  Pennsylvania  for  the 
first  time  into  fight,  displayed  that  cool  daring,  that  readiness  of  resource,  that 
firmness  of  temper  which  were  to  raise  him  high  among  the  most  illustrious  of 
the  young  soldiers  of  the  Union,  while  his  splendid  leginient  responded  to  e\'ery 
call  with  easy  courage  and  prompt  manoeuvre."     In  this  battle  of  Fair  Oaks 

(247) 


24S  GEX.    JOHN    R.    BROOKE. 

Colonel  Brooke  had  a  horse  shot  under  hhii,  and  his  command  lost  ninct}--four 
killed,  wounded  and  missing. 

When  th%  army  was  ordered  to  evacuate  Fair  Oaks  and  fall  back  to  the 
James  river,  Colonel  Brooke's  command  was  detailed  as  part  of  the  rear  guard, 
and  was  almost  continually  under  the  fire  of  the  enemy's  artillery.  It  was  his 
regiment  that  destroyed  the  bridge  over  the  ^^'llitc  Oak  Swamp,  and  held  the 
enemy  in  check  when  they  attempted  to  rebuild  it.  At  the  battle  of  Malvern 
Hill,  which  followed,  his  regiment  was  in  the  reserve,  and  did  not  become  actively 
engaged.  After  this  battle  they  retired  to  the  James  river  and  went  into  camp, 
nothing  of  interest  transpiring. 

Colonel  Brooke  commanded  French's  brigade  during  the  time  that  general  was 
at  the  head  of  the  division.  The  command  left  Harrison's  Landing  for  Newport 
Kews  when  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  retired  from  that  place.  Here  they  took 
transports  for  Alexandria,  and  were  immediately  marched  to  the  front,  partici- 
pating in  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run.  From  there  he  went  to  the  Antietam 
campaign,  and  in  that  battle  was  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  on  the  right  in  com- 
mand of  a  brigade.  General  Walker,  in  his  book  describing  Colonel  Brooke's 
part  in  the  battle,  says  : 

"  He  threw  his  force,  composed  of  the  Fift3'-seventh  and  Sixty-sixth  New  York 
Regiments  and  his  own,  Fifty-Third  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  into  a  gap  in  the 
Union  lines,  which  the  Confederates  had  discovered  and  were  seeking  to  pene- 
trate.     He  led  the  brigade  in  person,  seeming  to  be  ever\-wherc." 

In  his  official  report  General  McClellan  particularly  mentions  Colonel  Brooke 
and  his  brigade  for  the  efficient  service  they  rendered.  Colonel  Brooke  remained 
with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  while  at  Harper's  Ferry  was  sent  out  in 
charge  of  a  large  command  under  General  Hancock  to  make  an  important 
reconnoissance.  The  enemy  were  found  at  Charlestown,  where  an  engagement 
took  place.  After  accomplishing  the  object  of  the  expedition  the  command 
returned  to  Harper's  Ferry. 

In  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  Colonel  Brooke,  besides  commanding  his  own 
renowned  Fifty-third  Regiment,  was  instructed  to  also  look  after  the  Twenty- 
seventh,  which  he  did  most  efficiently  and  gallantly.  His  command  lost  heavily, 
his  own  regiment  going  into  the  fight  with  sixteen  officers  and  three  hundred 
men,  and  coming  out  of  it  with  but  six  of  the  former  and  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen of  the  latter,  they  having  been  part  of  the  force  sent  to  assault  the  enemy 
and  drive  them  from  Marye's  Heights  and  from  behind  the  famous  stone-wall. 
He  remained  with  the  army  during  the  winter,  and  took  part  in  Iknnside's  mud 
march  ;  also  in  the  battle  of  Chanccllor.sville,  which  occurred  early  in  May. 
Colonel  Brooke  had  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  I'ourth  Brigade,  First 
Division,  Second  Army  Corps,  in  April,  1S63,  which  was  formed  for  the  express 
purpose  of  giving  him  a  command  worthy  of  his  ability  as  a  reward  for  and  in 
recognition  of  his  services  and  fine  action  at  Marye's  Heights.  The  promotion 
in  rank  whicii  lie  had  clearly  earned,  however,  was  not  accorded  him,  a  mistake 


GEX.    JOHN    R.    ERnOKE.  249 

at  that  time  too  frequcntl}-  made  by  the  authorities  in  \\\isliiiic;ton.  W'itlioiit 
enjoying  the  rank  and  honor  that  he  deserved  and  had  won  by  dt.s[)cratc  fi|:;htiiii;, 
he  liandled  this  brigade  as  only  a  Colonel  at  Chancellorsvillc,  niid  on  the  march 
from  in  front  of  Fredericksbuig  to  Gettysburg,  where  he  arrived  with  the  troops 
on  the  evening  of  July  1st.  Early  the  next  day  his  force  was  undci-  arms,  and  in 
the  afternoon  he  was  ordered  to  move  to  the  left  of  the  line  near  Round  Top,  to 
assist  in  defeating  Longstreet  in  his  attempt  to  capture  that  position,  lie  led  his 
brigade  on  a  charge  through  that  terrible  fight  in  the  wheat  fiekl,  driving  the 
enemy  nearly  a  mile.  Walker,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Second  Army  Corps," 
describes  this  charge  in  these  words : 

"And  now  from  the  rear  approaches  Biooke.  Relieving  the  regiments  of  Cross,  which  fall  back  to 
the  road — all  liut  ihe  regiment  and  a  half  on  the  left — he  flings  his  Ijrigade  with  one  mighty  effort  upon 
the  enemy.  He  will  not  be  denied.  On  through  the  wheat  field  in  spite  of  all,  across  the  rivulet  choked 
with  the  dead,  into  the  woods,  up  the  rocky  slope,  clean  into  the  open  space  beyond  and  into  Ihe  very 
sight  of  the  Enimetsburg  road,  Brooke  pushes  on  in  his  splendid  charge,  driving  Senime's  Georgia  brigade 
before  him.  But  impetuous  as  has  been  his  advance  he  has  not  outstripped  Zook's  brigade,  which  comes 
up  on  his  right — Zook's  brigade  no  longer,  for  that  intrepid  leader  has  fallen  with  a  mortal  wound. 
Roberts,  too,  of  the  One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  is  killed.  Brooke  assumes  command  of  the  entire  line 
thus  thrust  out  on  the  extreme  verge,  far  beyond  Birney's  original  position,  and  there  anxiously  awaits 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements  which  shall  make  his  flanks  secure.  But  none  appear;  the  enemy  are 
pressing  him  actively  in  front  and  on  both  flanks;  his  retreat  is  threatened;  Brooke  sees  that  he  must 
retire;  at  the  word  his  regiments  let  go  their  hold  and  fall  back.  Strieker  on  the  left  handles  the  Second 
Delaware  with  great  courage  an*  address,  beating  back  the  enemy  who  seek  to  cut  off  the  retreat;  while 
Frazier  with  the  One  Hundred  and  Fortieth  performs  a  like  soldierly  ofifice  on  the  right,  and  thus  this 
gallant  command  falls  back  to  the  road,  having  lost  one-half  its  numbers." 

In  this  fearful  assault  Colonel  Brooke  was  wounded,  but  did  not  leave  the 
field.  His  command  was  also  engaged  in  the  third  da}''s  battle  at  Gcttysbin-g. 
After  the  battle  he  followed  in  the  pursuit  of  Lee  until  the  Confederate  General 
had  passed  be}-ond  the  Rapidan. 

In  the  fall  of  1863,  while  a  portion  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  was  in  New 
York  on  duty  in  suppressing  the  draft  riots,  Lee  made  an  attempt  on  the  right 
of  Meade's  line,  which  resulted  in  a  number  of  combats,  and  compelled  i\Icade 
to  retire  to  Centreville  to  more  thoroughly  secure  Washington.  In  this  move- 
ment Brooke  was  actively  engaged  in  several  encounters  with  the  enemy.  The 
manoeuvring  of  the  armies  resulted  in  the  occupation  of  the  ground  held  by  each 
before  it  commenced.  Then  followed  the  Mine  Run  campaign,  in  whicli  his 
command  took  a  prominent  part.  This  military  movement  closed  the  active 
operations  in  the  field  until  the  following  spring,  which  found  him  still  com- 
manding the  Fourth  Brigade. 

When  General  Grant  reorganized  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  in  March,  1864, 
Colonel  Brooke,  who  for  a  year  had  commanded  the  brigade  above  mentioned, 
was  now,  with  his  force,  still  retained  in  the  First  Division,  Second  Army  Corps, 
under  General  Hancock.  Colonel  Brooke,  or,  rather.  General  Brooke  as  it 
should  have  been,  at  once  took  an  active  part  in  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness 


:-;0  OEN'.    JOHN    R.    BROOKE. 

and  the  To  river.  On  the  1 2th  of  May,  at  Spottsylvania  Couit-I louse,  liis  brigade 
was  in  the  advance  in  Hancock's  famous  charge  on  the  eneni\-.  In  this  the 
grandest  diarge  of  the  war,  Brooke  distinguished  himself  again  for  iiis  bravery 
and  skill.  His  command  captured  several  pieces  of  artillery,  and  immediately 
turned  the  guns  of  the  eneni}'  upon  the  foe,  doing  good  execution.  An  entire 
rebel  division,  witli  its  commander.  General  Johnson,  were  taken  prisoners. 

The  retreat  from  the  south  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Po  led  to  a  blood_\'  battle, 
in  which  the  brigade  of  Brooke  was  engaged.  General  Hancock,  in  his  official 
report,  remarked : 

"  During  the  he.it  of  this  contest  the  woods^on  the  right  .ind  in  the  rear  of  our  troops  tool;  fire.  The 
flames  had  now  approached  close  to  our  line,  rendering  it  almost  impossilile  to  retain  the  position  longer. 
The  last  bloody  repulse  of  the  enemy  had  quieted  him  for  a  time,  and  during  'his  lull  in  the  fight  Gen- 
eral Barlow  directed  Brooke  and  Brown  to  abandon  iheir  position  and  retire  to  the  north  bank  of  the 
Po.  Their  right  and  rear  enveloped  in  the  burning  woods,  their  front  assailed  by  overwhelmmg  numbers 
of  the  enemy,  the  withdrawal  of  the  troops  was  attended  with  extreme  difficulty  and  peril,  liut  the  move- 
ment was  commenced  at  once,  the  men  displaying  coolness  and  readiness  such  as  are  rarely  exhibited  in 
the  presence  of  dangers  so  appalling.  It  seemed,  indeed,  that  these  gallant  soldiers  were  devoted  to 
destruction.  The  enemy,  perceiving  that  our  line  was  retiring,  again  advanced,  but  was  again  promptly 
checked  by  our  troops,  who  fell  back  through  the  burning  forest  with  admiral ile  order  and  deliberation, 
though  in  doing  so  many  of  them  were  killed  and  wounded,  and  many  of  the  latter  perished  in  the  flames. 

"One  section  of  Arnold's  battery  had  been  puslied  forward  by  Captain  Arnold  duiing  the  fi^jht  to 
within  a  short  distance  of  Brooke's  line,  where  it  had  done  efieciive  service.  When  ordered  to  retire  the 
horses  attached  to  one  of  the  pieces,  becoming  terrified  by  the  fire  and  unmanageable,  dragged  the  gun 
between  two  trees,  where  it  became  so  firmly  wedged  that  it  could  not  be  moved.  Every  exertion  was 
made  by  Captain  Arncld  and  snme  of  the  infantry  to  extricate  the  gun,  but  without  success;  they  were 
compelled  to  abandon  it.      77iis  !i'(7s  Ike  first  gun  ei'er  lost  by  the  Secoinl  Corp. 

"  Brooke's  brigaile,  after  emerging  from  the  wood,  had  the  open  plain  to  traverse  between  Block 
House  Road  ami  the  Po.  This  plain  was  swept  by  the  enemy's  musketry  in  front,  and  by  their  artillery 
on  the  heights  above  the  Block  House  bridge  on  the  north  side  of  the  river.  Brown's  brigade  in  letiring 
was  compelled  to  pass  through  the  entire  woods  in  its  rear,  which  were  then  burning  furiously.  Although 
under  a  heavy  fire,  it  extricated  itself  from  the  forest,  losing  very  heavily  in  kdled  and  wounded.  Col- 
onel Brown  crossed  the  river  some  distance  above  the  pontoon  bridge,  forming  his  troops  on  the  right  of 
Brooke,  who  had  also  crossed  to  the  north  bank  on  the  pontoon  bridge. 

"  I  feel  that  I  cannot  spe.ak  too  highly  of  the  bravery,  soldierly  conduct  and  discipline  displayed  by 
Brooke's  and  Brown's  brigades  on  this  occasion.  Attacked  by  an  entire  division  of  the  enemy  (Heth's), 
they  repeatedly  beat  him  back,  holding  their  ground  with  unyielding  courage  until  they  were  ordered  to 
withdraw,  when  they  retired  with  .such  order  and  steadiness  as  to  merit  the  highest  praise.  Col.  James 
A.  Beaver,  One  Hundred  and  Forty-eighth  Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  Lieut. -Col.  D.  L.  Strieker, 
Second  Delaware  Volunteers,  are  particularly  mentioned  by  Colonel  Brooke  for  marked  services  and 
conspicuous  courage." 

Colonel  Brooke  was  made  a  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers  for  his  gallant 
and  meritorious  scr\-ices  in  the  battle  of  Spottsylvania  Coiirt-House,  May  12, 
1864.  Colonels  Miles  and  Carrol  received  a  similar  promotion,  and  General 
Walker  remarks  in  his  history  of  the  corps  :  "  Three  finer  examples  of  fiery  valor 
in  battle,  of  the  steady  and  faithful  performance  of  duty  even  to  the  dreariest 
work  of  routine  in  camp  and  on  the  march,  could  not  Jiave  been  fotind  in  one 
group  in  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States.  *****  Generals  Miles  and 


GEN.    JOHN    K.    BROOKE.  25  I 

Brooke  had  been  conspicuous  in  even-  battlc-ficld  since  tlic  Siinda)'  morning  at 
Fair  Oaks,  not  more  for  their  indoniitajjle  braver}'  than  for  their  conmiant!  over 
men;  their  cahn  intelhgence,  over  which  the  smoke  of  battle  never  cast  a  clout!; 
their  restless  energy  in  assault;  their  ready  wit  and  abounding  resources  amid 
disaster.'' 

General  Brooke  remained  in  command  of  this  brigade,  and  participated  in  all 
the  battles  and  skirmishes  in  which  the  Second  Corps  was  engaged.  On  the 
3tl  of  Jiuie  while  leading  liis  brigade  on  a  charge  at  Cold  Harbor  against  the 
rebels,  who  were  in  a  fortified  position,  lie  was  struck  in  the  side  by  a  grape  shot, 
and  so  severely  wountled  in  two  places  that  for  some  time  his  recovery  was  con- 
sidered very  doubtful,  compelling  his  retirement  from  active  service  for  a  time. 

While  still  suffering  from  the  wound,  however,  lie  reported  at  Washington  for 
dut}',  and  was  assigned  as  President  of  a  general  court-martial  sitting  at  Carlisle, 
Pa.,  and  afterwards  detailed  at  Washington,  D.  C,  to  examine  officers  for  a 
veteran  corps  that  General  Hancock  had  been  authorized  to  raise. 

On  August  I,  1864,  he  was  promoted  to  be  brevet  Major-General  of  Volun- 
teers, and  after  Hancock  had  organized  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah,  he  com- 
manded the  second  division  under  him.  At  the  end  of  the  war  his  division  was 
mustered  out,  and  on  the  first  of  February,  iS66,  General  Brooke  resigned  his 
commission.  He  returned  home,  and  after  a  very  brief  period  engaged  in  the 
iron  business  at  Thorndale,  Chester  county.  While  there,  and  unsolicited  on  his 
part,  the  War  Department  tendered  him  a  Lieutenant-Colonel's  commission 
in  the  Thirty-seventh  United  States  Infantry.  The  offer  of  the  command  was 
at  the  time  a  surprise  to  him,  but  as  he  had  a  taste  for  the  profession  of  arms 
he  conchided  to  accept.  His  commission  is  dated  July  28,  1866.  On  taking 
this  command  Colonel  Brooke  was  first  stationed  at  Fort  Union,  New  Me.xico, 
and  afterwards  at  Fort  Stanton  in  the  same  Territor}-.  On  the  2d  of  March, 
1867,  about  a  year  afterwards,  he  was  brevetted  Colonel  and  Brigadier-General 
in  the  United  States  Army. 

On  the  15th  of  March,  1S69,  he  was  transferred  to  the  Third  United  States 
Infantr\',  and  for  several  years  was  stationed  with  the  regiment  at  I'ort  Shaw  in 
the  District  of  Montana  Territory.  On  April  6,  1SS8,  he  was  promoted  to  be 
Brigadier- General  in  the  United  States  i\rmy. 

General  Broolce  was  married  on  December  24,  1S63,  to  Louisa  H.,  daughter 
of  Leonard  F.  Roberts,  of  W^arwick,  Chester  county.  She  died  October  22, 
1 86",  lea\-ing  two  sons,  William  and  Louis  Roberts  Brooke.  Since  his  transfer 
to  the  regular  arm\-  he  was  married  on  the  19th  of  September,  1S77,  to  Miss 
Mary  L.,  daughter  of  Hon,  Onslow  Stearns,  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,  ex- 
Governor  of  that  State. 

C.  R   D. 


Gen.  S.  Wylie   Crawford. 


GEN.   SAMUEL   WYLIE   CRAWFORD. 

GEN.  S.\MCEL  W.  Ck.uvfokd,  LL.D.,  was  at  the  birth  and  death  of  tlie  Con- 
federacy. He  heard  the  sound  of  the  first  Ljun  of  the  rebellion,  and  felt 
its  deadly  purpose  in  the  shock  of  its  thud  against  Fort  Sumter.  In  his  life 
romance  and  reality  have  so  mingled  that  the  record  of  his  career  is  a  stor)'  of 
adventure  and  achievement.  His  experience  takes  a  wide  range,  both  in  war  and 
in  peace.  He  has  been  physician,  soldier,  traveller  and  authoi",  and,  best  of  all, 
he  has  been  a  success  at  each.  ]\Iuch  of  the  power  wliich  enabled  him  to  win 
at  everything  he  undertook  came  from  a  line  of  strong  ancestr}-,  both  pln'sically 
and  mentally.  On  the  paternal  side  his  people  came  of  the  lowland  Scotch  of 
A\T  and  Renfrewshire  for  centuries  back.  Margaret  Wylie  brought  into  the 
family,  by  her  union  with  his  grandfather,  Nathan  Crawford,  a  stmdy  strain  of 
characteristics  of  mind  and  bod)-  from  the  "  Scot  "  of  the  North  of  Ireland.  This 
union  resulted  in  producing  offspring  endowed  with  the  best  traits  both  of  head 
and  heart  of  the  Scotch-Irish  stock-. 

When  this  marriage  was  yet  \-oung  the  Crawfords  started  f:)r  the  Uniteil  States, 
intending  to  land  on  the  shores  of  \'irginia  to  join  a  settlement  of  Sccjtch  Cmen- 
anters,  then  located  on  the  soil  of  the  "  Old  Dominion."  Storms,  however, 
carried  them  fiu'ther  South,  and  towards  the  close  of  the  century  theysaileel  into 
the  harbor  of  Charlestun.  Here  the  elder  Samuel  W\'lie  Crawford  was  born. 
From  the  chief  city  of  South  Carolma  Nathan  Craufoid  mo\ed  with  his  )-oung 
wife  and  son  into  the  interior,  and  settled  upon  the  baid-:s  of  Fisher's  Creek,  in 
Chester  District,  S.  C,  in  a  neighborhood  peopled  with  citizens  from  his  ow-n 
country.  Here  they  lived  until  August,  1794,  \\hen  both  parents  died  of  the 
j'cllow  fever,  leaving  a  bo\-  and  girl  orphans.  I)r.  Samuel  Brown  \\'\lie,  a 
brother  of  Mrs.  Crawford,  who  was  an  eminent  schol.u'  and  citizen  of  Philadel- 
phia, 'went  down  b\-  sailing  vessel  and  brought  the  chiKlren  to  PennsyK-ania.  In 
Philadel[)hia  the  elder  Crawford  was  educated  at  the  Univer.^it)-  of  Pennsyhania. 
He  was  ordained  in  the  ministr\-,  as  main-  of  his  ance.st^rs  had  been  before  him. 
Teaching  the  doctrine  of  the  Coxenanters,  or  instructing  }-outh  in  the  better  class 
of  education,  was  as  conspicuous  a  trait  in  the  Crawford  famil)-  as  their  courage 
and  industr)-.  After  his  ordination  he  had  a  call  to  Franklin  count)-,  and  settled 
along  the  banks  of  the  Conecocheague  Creek-.  Here  he  preached  and  taught 
until  called  to  the  charge  of  the  Chambersburg  Acadeni)-.  In  those  da)-s  this 
was  quite  a  pretentious  educational  institution,  and  is  still  a  feature  of  the  higher 
life  of  that  section.  Four  miles  from  Chambersburg,  on  the  Conecocheague 
Creek-,  was  a  farm  which  had  earl)-  struck  the  fanc)-  of  Rev,  Mr.  Crawford,  and 
he  purchased  it.  At  the  beginning  of  his  earl)-  teachings  he  married  Aliss  Jane 
Agnew,  of  New  York,  one  of  the  prominent  famil)-  beaiing  that  name,  and  so 
long  noted  as  successful  merchants.     She  was  of  P'lench  Huguenot  descent,  her 

(-53) 


254  f-EN.    SAMUEL    \V.    CKAWFOKD. 

grandfather  having  fled  from  Normand}',  in  France,  after  the  revocation  of  tlie 
Edict  of  Nantes,  with  his  infant  son,  tlie  grandfather  of  General  Crawford,  in  his 
arms.  Of  this  union  Samuel  Wylie  Crawford  was  born.  He  first  saw  the  light 
and  was  cradled  at  Alandale,  the  old  homestead  on  the  Conecocheague,  which  is 
still  in  possession  of  the  Crawford  family.  He  was  called  for  his  maternal  unde, 
and,  while  the  son  was  yet  j'oung,  the  parent  was  called  to  the  charge  of  the 
Academical  Department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  here  Samuel 
\\'\'lie  Crawford,  the  younger,  was  gi\en  a  classical  education,  receiving  the 
degree  of  A.  B. 

Having  graduated  later  with  distinction  from  the  Medical  Department  of  the 
University,  Dr.  Crawford  obtained  through  the  Hon.  Joseph  R.  Chandler,  M.  C, 
the  required  authority,  and  presented  himself  before  the  Board  appointed  to 
examine  applicants  for  the  position  of  Assistant  Surgeon  in  the  army.  This 
board  met  in  New  York,  and  young  Crawford,  while  awaiting  his  turn,  was  the 
guest  of"  Stonewall "  Jackson,  ther.  an  officer  of  the  First  Artillery,  stationed  at 
Fort  Hamilton.  But  six  passed  of  tl.e  many  who  applied,  and  Dr.  Crawford 
stood  first  of  the  number.  He  was  sent  to  the  frontier  as  soon  as  there  was  an 
opening,  and  sailing  for  Texas,  in  iS5i,he  ser\ed  at  different  forts,  and  was 
finally  ordered  to  El  Paso,  where  he  remained  for  three  j'cars.  Being  then 
ordered  East,  he  obtained  leave  from  Jefferson  Da\'is,  then  Secretary  of  War,  to 
visit  Mexico.  He  travelled  through  that  country  by  easy  stages,  using  his  own 
conveyance,  and  arrived  at  the  r  ity  of  Mexico.  The  American  Minister  there 
finding  that  Dr.  Crawford  spoke  the  language  fluently,  asked  that  he  might  be 
retained  for  semi-diplomatic  service.  The  request  was  granted,  and  Dr.  Craw- 
ford remained  for  some  time,  during  which  he  made  the  perilous  ascent  of  the 
noted  volcanoes  Popocatapetl  and  Iztachihuatl,  and  for  which  he  was  compli- 
mented by  being  made  a  corresponding  member  of  the  Geographical  Society  of 
Mexico.  Having  been  sent  to  Washington  with  important  treaty  dispatches, 
and  his  work  in  this  line  being  finished,  he  was  ordered  by  the  War  Department 
to  Newport,  and  thence,  after  two  years,  to  the  Western  frontier.  Here  he  saw 
scnice,  abundant  and  severe,  in  Kansas,  in  the  upper  Missouri  region  and  on  the 
Platte.  A  portion  of  this  time  he  was  attached  to  the  Second  Regiment  Infantry, 
which  he  joined  near  the  end  of  the  Kansas  war  at  Fort  Scott,  Kan. — a  regiment 
he  was  in  after  years  to  command  as  its  Colonel,  and  of  which  Nathaniel  Lyon 
was  then  one  of  the  captains  and  an  officer  of  the  garrison.  While  at  Fort 
Laramie,  in  iS6o,  he  was  ordered  I-'ast  for  examination  and  promotion.  The 
introduction  to  his  lately  published  work,  entitled  "The  Genesis  of  the  Civil 
War,"  tells  how  he  became  very  quickly  involved  in  the  stirring  scenes  that 
opened  the  great  strife,  and  describes  his  receipt  of  the  telegraphic  order  fT'om 
the  War  Department  to  repair  at  once  to  Fort  Moultrie,  and  report  to  the  com- 
manding officer  there  for  duty.  At  that  time  it  was  an  unusual  way  of  transmit- 
ting the  commands  of  the  department,  and  the  imperative  terms  of  the  order 
impressed  him  with  its  inipurtance.     He  left  Ncwjjort,  where  he  was  stationed 


GEN.    SAMUEL   W.    CRAWFORD. 


■55 


awaiting  orders,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  Ciiarleston,  S.  C,  where  he  learned 
that  his  predece.s.sor  had  just  died  of  what  was  beUcved  to  be  yellow  fever,  hut 
the  disease  proved  to  be  "  break  bone"  fe\-cr,  or  i/oii^iir,  which  was  vcr)' L^'cneral 
in  the  coninuinity,  but  there  were  no  more  f.ital  results  from  it.  Dr.  Crawford 
was  one  of  the  few  medical  men  in  the  conimunit)',  and  was  thus  brought  into 
close  and  friendly  relations  with  the  resitlents.  His  sudden  transfer  to  Fort 
Moultrie  was  the  means  of  giving  him  a  fa\orable  opportunit}'  of  noting,  studying 
and  commenting  upon  the  social  and  political  phases  of  the  secession  mo\ement 
just  as  it  began  to  take  shape  imniediatel)'  after  Mr.  Lincoln's  election. 

The  stor\-  of  Sumter  is  a  long  and  interesting  one.  Its  defence  was  heroic, 
considering  the  primitive  conditions  of  our  war  material.  Only  two  or  three 
men  were  killed,  and  several  wounded  ;  but  it  was  more  important  in  its  results 
than  many  battles  where  the  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  footed  up  many  hun- 
dred. The  bombardment  of  Fort  Sumter  lasted  less  than  thirty-six  hours,  but, 
when  the  handful  of  Federal  troops  which  had  defended  it  surrendered  what  Awas 
left,  havoc  seemed  to  have  reigned.  The  last  officer  to  leave  the  surrendered 
fort  was  Assistant  Surgeon  Crawford,  who  remained  by  the  side  of  a  wounded 
man.  The  "  Isabel,"  with  the  command  on  board,  awaited  his  coming,  and  then 
sailed  out  to  join  the  fleet  beyond  the  bar,  which  had  come  down  too  kite  to  gi\e 
relief  to  Sumter. 

The  stern  realities  of  war  weie  now  to  be  faced.  The  little  handful  of  troops 
which  had  left  Fort  Sumter  in  ruins  had  readied  New  York  harbor,  and  were 
resting  on  Governor's  Island.  They  were  the  subject  of  much  curious  inquiry. 
They  had  witnessed  the  first  stroke  of  war,  and  the  officers,  especially,  were 
honored  everjavhere,  and  called  upon  to  tell  and  retell  the  stor\'  of  the  bombard- 
ment and  defence.  Tragic  as  it  was,  it  was  very  soon  dwarfed  by  the  dramatic 
stories  of  the  fresh  combats  which  followed  each  other  in  rapid  succession.  The 
line  officers  who  came  from  Fort  Sumter  were  rapidly  promoted.  It  was  not  so 
easy  to  reward  a  surgeon,  though  equalh'  deserving  with  the  rest.  Major 
Anderson  had  mentioned  Dr.  Crawford  in  his  dispatches  for  efficient  services, 
both  as  surgeon  and  commander  of  troops.  He  had  gone  further,  and  recom- 
mended that  he  be  brevetted  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services  at  Sumter;  but 
for  this  there  was  no  precedent.  The  President,  in  his  practical  way,  very  soon 
solved  the  problem.  Mr.  James  Lesley,  Jr.,  the  chief  clerk  of  the  War  Department, 
telegraphed  Assistant  Surgeon  Crawford  to  come  to  Washington.  He  secured 
leave  of  absence  and  went  to  the  National  Capital.  On  his  arrival,  the  President 
tendered  him  the  position  of  Major  of  the  Thirteenth  Infantr)',  or  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonelcy of  the  Sixteenth.  After  taking  time  for  consideration.  Dr. 
Crawford  accepted  the  majority  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment,  of  which  William 
Tecumseh  Sherman  was  the  Colonel,  and  Philip  H.  Sheridan  the  senior  Captain. 
He  was  commissioned  the  14th  of  May,  1861,  and  reported  to  Gen.  W.  S.  Rose- 
crans  at  Gauley  Bridge,  West  Va.,  in  October,  1S61.  His  first  duty  was  as 
Assistant  Inspector-General  of  the   Department.     He  served   directly  with  the 


256  r.EX.    SAMUEL    W.    CKAWtTiKD. 

troops,  however,  and  rendered  efficient  service  during  the  wliole  of  Rosecrans' 
West  Virginia  campaign.  Upon  its  conclusion  he  was  recommended  by  his 
commanding  General  for  appointment  as  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers. 

On  April  25,  1862,  he  was  gi\en  his  first  star,  and  ordered  to  report  to  Major- 
General  Banks,  commanding  the  Department  of  the  Shenandoah.  He  joined  him 
at  Strasburg  just  as  Jackson  and  Ewell  were  moving  upon  Winchester,  and  at  his 
request  acconipanied  him  personally  through  that  battle.  He  was  commended 
for  meritorious  services  in  General  Banks'  reports  and  dispatches  to  army  head- 
quarters. When  the  Army  of  the  Shenandoah  was  reorganiaed  he  was  given 
the  First  Brigade  of  the  First  Division  (Williams'),  and  on  the  istof  June  led  his 
command  up  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  During  all  the  summer  operations  which 
followed  in  that  section  General  Crawford  took  a  prominent  part.  On  the  8th 
of  August  he  was  thrown  forward  with  his  command  to  check  the  advance  of 
the  enemy's  forces  that  were  moving  under  Jackson  towards  Culpepper.  He 
took  up  a  strong  position  on  Cedar  Run,  supporting  Bayard  and  his  cavalry 
under  an  artillery  fire,  maintaining  his  position  until  the  arrival  of  his  corps  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th.  In  the  battle  which  took  place,  he  commanded  on  the 
right,  conducting  a  desperate  charge  of  his  brigade  on  the  enemy's  left,  in  which 
and  in  the  subsequent  hand-to-hand  fight  he  lost  half  of  his  command.  He  was 
again  commended  by  the  commanding  General  for  efficient  service. 

At  the  second  battle  of  Bull  Run  he  commanded  the  First  Division  of  his 
Corps,  but  was  not  engaged.  He  moved  with  it  into  Maryland  on  the  4th  of 
September,  arriving  at  night  on  the  field  of  South  Mountain.  At  the  battle  of 
Antietam  he  commanded  his  brigade  until  General  Mansfield  was  killed,  and 
then  took  the  First  Division  for  the  balance  of  the  fight.  In  the  engagement  on 
the  second  day  he  was  severely  wounded  while  personally  commanding  the  First 
Division  of  his  Corps.  He  refused,  however,  to  lea\e  the  field,  and  remained  on 
duty  although  suffering  severely  from  his  wound.  For  his  gallant  conduct  in 
this  engagement  he  was  highly  mentioned  in  the  report  of  his  immediate  com- 
manding officer,  and  in  the  official  reports  of  General  McClellan.  After  the  bat- 
tle he  was  removed  to  his  native  home  for  treatment.  It  was  a  long  time  before 
he  was  fit  for  duty  again.  Before  he  was  in  condition  to  take  command  in  the 
field  he  applied  for  some  light  duty,  and  was  ordered  to  report  as  a  member  of 
Rick'ctt's  Military  Commission,  which  convened  in  Washington,  February  2, 
1S63.  When  able  to  mount  his  horse  he  was  relieved  of  this  duty  at  his  own 
request,  and  ordered  to  report  to  General  Heintzelman,  conmianding  the  defences 
of  Washington.  At  the  request  of  Go\'ernor  Curtin,  General  Cameron  and  Col. 
A.  K.  McClure,  he  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves.  He 
assumed  command  of  that  famous  tli\ision,  composed  of  Sickel's,  Fisher's  and 
McCaiullcss'  brigades — troops  which  had  once  been  led  by  Meade,  Rej-nolds  and 
McCall.  By  a  forced  march  he  joined  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  with  his  com- 
mand at  F"rederick,  Md.,  on  June  23d,  and  was  assigned  to  the  Third  Di\-ision  of 
the  Fifth  Corps,  under  Sykcs. 


GEN.    SAM  TEL    \V.    CRAWFORD.  257 

The  battle  of  Gettysburg  iniiiiediatel)'  followed,  and  in  the  second  day's  fight, 
when  the  troops  in  front  were  giving  way  before  the  onset  of  Longstreet's  corps, 
General  Crawford's  division  was  thrown  forward  in  front  of  Little  Round  Top, 
and  had  that  terrible  combat  in  and  near  the  wheat  field  near  the  Devil's  Den 
which  has  passed  into  history  as  one  of  the  chief  incidents  of  that  blood}'  event. 
-Twenty  officers  and  two  hundred  men  were  lost  in  an  hour  from  Crawford's 
division.  For  this  work  he  was  brevctted  a  Colonel  in  the  regular  arm\',  and 
the  order  read;  "  For  gallant  and  meritorious  service  at  the  battle  of  Gettysburg." 
After  the  war  he  purchased  and  still  owns  the  Devil's  Den,  and  the  ground  over 
which  his  troops  foOght  in  the  battle. 

In  all  of  the  operations  that  followed  Gettysburg  the  Penns\-lvania  Reserves 
took  their  full  share  of  dut}-;  but  there  were  little  more  than  skirmishes  during 
the  fall  and  winter,  and  they  were  not  called  to  face  the  hazards  in  a  great 
engagement  until  the  tussle  in  the  Wilderness.  When  the  army  was  reorganized, 
on  the  25th  of  March,  1864,  and  the  First  Corps  was  consolidated  with  the  Fifth, 
General  Crawford  was  retained  as  commander  of  the  Third  Division  of  the  Fifth 
Corps,  under  Major-General  Warren. 

From  the  Wilderness  to  Cold  Harbor  General  Crawford  commanded  that 
dix'ision  and  shared  the  fortunes  of  Grant's  army.  On  Way  5  and  6,  1S64,  he 
was  engaged  with  his  di\-ision  in  the  heavy  fighting  in  the  Wilderness.  At 
Spottsylvania  the  division  lost  hcavil}',  and  from  the  morning  of  the  8th  until  the 
I  ith  of  May  it  was  almost  continuously  engaged.  The  severe  work  done  by  the 
division  may  be  read  in  the  terrific  losses  it  sustained.  From  Spotts\'lvania  to 
Cold  Harbor  the  record  of  hard  fighting  was  the  same.  Then  followed  the 
combat  of  the  North  Anna,  and  other  minor  engagements  incident  to  the  moving 
of  a  large  arm\-  in  a  hostile  countr_\-.  Bethesda  Church  followed  soon  after.  At 
this  place  General  Crawford  performed  most  important  service  with  his  di\ision, 
and  inflicted  a  heavy  loss  on  the  enemy  in  both  officers  and  men.  The  combat 
was  notable  from  the  fact  that  it  was  fought  by  the  Pennsylvania  Reserves  and  a 
brigade  of  New  York  heav}-  artiller\',  the  Reserves  being  within  one  day  of  the 
expiration  of  their  term  of  scr\'ice.  It  was  one  of  those  examples  of  sturdy 
heroism  which  characterized  that  fiinous  organization  during  the  entire  war.  At 
the  moment  it  was  called  upon  to  fight  this  battle  its  muster-out  rolls  were  being 
prepared,  and  thoughts  of  home  filled  the  minds  of  its  members.  One  day  later 
at  Bethesda  Church  the  command  was  mustered  out  after  more  than  a  }'ear  of 
service  under  General  Crawford,  during  which  it  had  never  been  beaten,  and  had 
made  a  record  for  gallant  and  meritorious  conduct  which  will  live  as  long  as 
heroic  deeds  are  chronicled  in  history.  All  of  the  Reserves,  however,  did  not  go 
home.  Two  thousand  of  them  re-enlisted  and  became  veterans,  serving  until  the 
end  of  the  war.  The  fame  of  the  "  Bucktails  "  was  perpetuated  in  name  and 
deeds  until  Lee's  surrender,  and  the  One  Hundred  and  Ninetieth  and  One  Hun- 
dred and  Ninety-First  Regiments  of  the  Pennsylvania  Volunteers — the  old 
Reserve  Division — was  represented  until  the  last  gun  at  Appomatto.x;  but  these 
veterans  were  taken  from  General  Crawford's  command. 


2^S  GEN.    SAMUEL    \V.    CK.WVFORD. 

The  twenty-two  regiments  of  the  First  Corps  wore  shortly  after,  by  order  of 
General  Grant,  consolidated  into  a  division  and  assigned  as  the  Third  Division 
of  the  Fifth  Corps.  To  this  General  Crawford  was  assigned  as  a  commander,  in 
which  position  he  continued  until  the  end  of  the  war.  With  the  division  he 
participated  in  the  .siege  of  Petersburg,  the  battle  of  Weldon  Railroad  and  other 
engagements,  and  in  Sheridan's  terrific  onslaught  at  Five  Forks,  which  was  the 
death-blow  to  Lee's  army,  he  performed  most  conspicuous  services.  For  his 
part  in  this  battle  he  was  brevetted  a  Brigadier-General  in  the  regular  army  "  for 
gallant  and  meritorious  service."  From  Five  Forks  until  Lee's  surrender  at 
Appomattox  the  storj'  of  hard  work  and  good  deeds  was  the  same.  The  record 
was  then  made  up,  and  upon  the  recommendation  of  his  superiors  he  was  bre- 
vetted a  ]\Iajor-General  of  Volunteers  "  for  conspicuous  gallantry  in  the  battles 
of  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  Court-House,  Jericho  Mills,  Bethesda  Church, 
Petersburg  and  Weldon  Railroad,"  and  "  for  faithful  services  in  the  war"  he  was 
brevetted  a  ALnjor-General  in  the  regular  army. 

After  the  close  of  the  war  General  Crawford  was  granted  a  long  leave  of 
absence  on  account  of  disability  from  wounds  received  in  battle.  He  finally 
made  application  to  be  assigned  to  duty,  and  took  command  of  his  regiment,  the 
Second  Infantry,  \\  ith  head-quarters  in  Kentuck}^  While  on  this  duty  he  was 
made  Colonel  of  the  Sixteenth  Infantrj',  which  was  later  consolidated  with  the 
Second,  losing  its  identity  in  the  army  li.st  and  becoming  the  Second  Regiment 
of  the  peace  footing.  Thus,  by  one  of  those  curious  freaks  of  destiny.  General 
Crawford  succeeded  to  the  command  of  a  regiment  of  which,  in  1S59,  he  had 
been  the  Assistant  Surgeon. 

After  the  consolidation  and  the  concentration  of  his  troops  at  Atlanta,  Ga.,  he 
was  assigned  to  duty  as  military  commander  in  Alabama.  He  established  his 
head-quarters  at  Huntsville,  and  for  three  years  commanded  the  troops  in  that 
State,  to  the  mutual  satisfaction  of  the  Government  and  the  people  among  whom 
he  was  stationed.  The  strain  of  the  war,  however,  had  been  so  great  upon  Gen- 
eral Crawford  that  he  began  suffering  again  from  his  wounds,  and  he  was  retired 
upon  his  own  application.  The  full  grade  of  Brigadier-General  of  the  regular 
army  was  conferred  upon  him  by  special  enactment.  This,  with  the  rank  of 
Mnjor-General  by  brevet  in  the  regular  army,  he  still  holds. 

Years  of  active  public  service,  both  in  war  and  in  peace,  had  endowed  General 
Crawford  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  own  country.  He  had  travelled 
extensively  and  seen  much.  His  retirement  gave  him  the  opportunity  to  widen 
the  range  of  his  knowledge,  and  almcst  immediately  after  he  left  active 
service  he  went  abroad  ;  first  with  a  view  of  visiting  the  sanitary  institutions  in 
the  south  of  France,  with  the  Impe  of  there  obtaining  relief  from  the  distress 
caused  by  the  wound  received  in  the  war.  At  all  the  favorite  resorts  of  the 
literati  and  military  men  General  Crawford  was  a  welcome  guest.  From  the 
Dukeof  Cambridge,  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  British  army,  and  Lord  Wolscley 
as  well  as  some  of  the  other  leading  generals  of  Fngland,  he  received  attentions, 


GEN.    SAMUEL    W.    CRAWFORD. 


-59 


both  military  and  .social,  and  .'^tood  high  in  their  esteem.  While  in  Pari.s  he 
became  interested  in  the  operations  of  Don  Carlos  in  Spain,  .so  he  left  the 
capital  of  France,  and  passing  the  Pyrenees  in  a  private  conveyance,  joineil  Don 
Carlos  at  Los  Arcos,  and  saw  him  fight  the  battle  of  Viana  on  the  Ebro.  After 
an  interesting  and  extensive  trip  in  Spain  he  returned  to  Paris,  and  was  im- 
mediately sent  for  by  Mr.  Washburn,  the  American  Minister.  The  demands  of 
the  American  Government  for  the  release  of  the  "  Virginius  "  and  indemnity  for 
the  outrages  committed  at  Santiago  de  Cuba  were  to  be  sent  by  special  messenger 
to  Madrid.  Mr.  Washburn  had  an  interview  with  General  Crawford  and  offered 
him  this  important  mission,  which  he  accepted,  and  the  same  night  left  for  Spain, 
reaching  its  capital  after  a  rough  passage.  At  that  time  relations  between  tlie 
United  States  and  Spain  were  very  much  strained  and  our  Minister  at  Madrid 
was  almost  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house.  Immediately  upon  his  arrival  at  the 
Spanish  capital  General  Crawford  reported  his  mission  to  the  American  Minister, 
who  at  once  proceeded  to  inform  the  Spanish  Government  of  the  demands  made 
by  the  United  States.  The  reply  of  the  Spanish  Premier  was  prompt  and  satis- 
factory. In  less  than  forty-eight  hours  after  his  arrival  General  Crawford  left 
Madrid  for  the  United  States  with  Spain's  acquiescence  in  the  demands  of  his  Gov- 
ernment. After  delivering  the  dispatches  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  Hon.  Hamil- 
ton Fish,  in  Washington,  he  remained  in  this  country  for  some  time  visiting 
friends  and  then  again  sailed  for  the  old  world. 

During  this  trip  he  visited  all  the  old  Eastern  countries,  traversing  the  deserts 
in  his  visit  to  Syria.  Eg\'pt,  Turkey  and  Palestine,  and  all  the  old  lands  rich  in 
Biblical  lore  were  carefidly  explored  and  new  acquaintances  made  and  fresh 
mines  of  information  tapped.  His  classical  training  had  developed  a  fondness 
for  archaeological  study,  and  it  was  while  at  Aleppo,  in  Syria,  in  1876,  that  he 
made  a  copy  of  the  famous  Aleppo  Stone,  of  which  the  Biblical  Archseological 
Society  of  Great  Britain  has  reproduced  a  sketch  from  the  drawing  made  by  him 
under  great  difificulties.  Upon  his  first  attempting  to  sketch  it  the  Moslem 
students  drove  him  off,  for  it  was  worshipped  by  the  Turks  for  its  supposed  cura- 
tive qualities ;  he  then  appealed  to  the  Pasha,  who  granted  him  protection  while 
he  made  the  drawing.  It  was  fortunate  for  history  that  he  did,  for  a  year  later, 
the  Moslems,  in  their  fanaticism,  destroyed  it,  and  but  for  General  Crawford's 
perfect  sketch,  which  the  Archaeological  Society  of  Great  Britain  has  preserved 
in  enduring  form,  no  authentic  record  of  it  would  remain. 

After  these  years  of  travel  General  Crawford,  owing  to  trouble  from  his 
wounds,  has  been  compelled  to  remain  in  America,  excepting  a  short  trip  which 
he  made  to  Iceland.  For  the  past  few  years  he  has  been  engaged  in  putting  in 
shape  his  notes  of  travel,  but  the  major  part  of  his  time  has  been  devoted  to 
writing  his  book  on  the  "  Genesis  of  the  Civil  War,  '  which  has  but  lately  been 
published,  and  is  a  story  of  Sumter,  political  and  military.  Only  three  of  the 
officers  of  the  little  garrison  at  Fort  Sumter  are  still  alive.  General  Seymour  is 
an  artist  in  Italy ;  General  Doubleday  is  still  compiling  his  memoirs,  and  is  en- 


260  GEX.    SAJirEL    W.    CKAWFOKD. 

gaged  in  tlic  active  affairs  of  life;  and  General  Crawford,  the  j'oungest  of 
them  all,  though  physicalh-  disabled,  looks  hopcfulh'  forward  still  to  years  of 
intellectual  usefulness. 

The  history  of  the  war  records  few  such  examples  of  rapid  promotion,  success- 
ful effort  and  efficient  service.  Warren,  who  fell  at  Bunker  Hill,  was  a  physi- 
cian;  so  was  General  Cialdini,  who  commanded  the  Italian  army.  Save  in 
General  Crawford's  case,  and  in  these  two  instances,  no  officer  has  ever  risen  to 
a  high  military  command  from  the  medical  staff  The  case  of  General  Crawford 
is  all  the  more  notable  from  the  fact  that,  while  he  was  not  a  West  Point  gradu- 
ate, he  never  failed  in  maintaining  his  position,  and  commanded  the  respect  of 
all  his  comrades  in  the  army,  whether  graduates  of  the  military  academy  or  men 
appointed  from  civil  life. 

In  the  higher  branches  of  civil  life  General  Crawford  has  also  obtained  a  com- 
manding position.  After  the  close  of  the  war  the  University  of  Pennsylvania 
conferred  upon  him  the  degree  of  LL.D.  Not  long  after  his  first  trip  to  Europe 
he  was  made  a  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  England,  and  also 
a  Fellow  of  the  Biblical  Archaeological  Society  of  Great  Britain.  He  is  also  a 
member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsj'lvania,  a  corresponding  member  of 
the  New  York  Historical  Society,  as  well  as  a  member  of  the  American  Geo- 
graphical Society  and  the  Archaeological  Institute.  He  was  twice  a  delegate  of 
the  American  Geographical  Society  to  the  Geographical  Congress  in  Europe. 
His  immediate  family  connection  with  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  his  Alma 
JMatcr,  has  been  long  and  honorable  through  a  series  of  years,  stretching  back 
to  the  early  part  of  the  century.  His  great-uncle,  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Wylie,  D.  D., 
had  been  the  Vice-Provost  of  the  University  and  the  distinguished  Professor  of 
Languages  for  many  years.  His  father.  Rev.  Samuel  W.  Crawford,  D.  D.,  was 
the  Principal  of  the  Academical  Department,  and  was  eminent  as  well  for  his 
scholastic  attainments  and  his  admirable  system  of  instruction  as  for  the  purity 
of  his  personal  character.  Two  years  ago  General  Crawford  was  chosen  one  of 
the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Society  of  the  Alumni  of  the  University,  which  posi- 
tion he  yet  holds.  He  has  recently  presented  to  the  Trustees  of  the  University 
si.K  hundred  and  eighty-seven  bound  volumes  and  three  hundred  unbound 
volumes,  comprising  works  of  great  value  on  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii,  and  a 
varied  collection  of  works  on  Philosophy,  Archaeology,  Science  and  Art. 

In  1885  the  Pennsylvania  Reserve  Association  presented  to  the  State  a  full- 
length  military  portrait  of  their  old  commander.  It  was  received  by  the  Gov- 
ernor (Hoyt)  in  a  glowing  and  api)reciative  rcs[ionse,  and  now  has  a  permanent 
place  in  the  Capitol  among  the  distinguished  men  of  Pennsylvania. 

General  Crawford  is  now  enjoying  tJiat  higher  phase  of  intellectual  existence 
which  comes  to  a  man  of  his  mature  years  who  has  lived  a  useful  life  of  achieve- 
ment, and  stored  away  mines  of  informatiun  yet  to  be  tirawn  upon.  In  the  x'cars 
to  come  his  pen  is  t(j  be  as  ready  in  giving  them  to  the  world  as  his  sword 
was  efficient  in  the  defence  of  his  coimtry.  P'kank  A.  Bukr. 


7 


Gen.  E.   Burd   Grubb. 


GEN.   EDWARD    BURD    GRUBB. 

GENERAL  E.  BuRD  Grubb,  now  residing  at  Edgewatcr  Park,  N.  J.,  son  of 
Edward  Burd  and  Eupheniia  B.  (Parker)  Grubb,  was  born,  November 
13,  1S41,  in  Burlington,  N.  J.,  and,  while  not  strictly  speaking  a  Pennsylvanian, 
his  immediate  ancestors  were,  and  his  business  and  social  relations  have  been  so 
intimately  connected  with  Philadelphia  and  Philadelphians  that  he  is  looked  upon 
as  a  citizen  of  that  place.  He  is  descended  from  distinguished  Revolutionary 
stock.  His  great-grandfather.  Col.  Peter  Grubb,  who  commanded  the  Second 
Regiment  of  Pennsylvania  Associators  in  Washington's  arm\-  during  the  Revo- 
lution, married  Mar)' Shippen  Burd,  daughter  of  Col,  James  Burd,  one  of  General 
Washington's  staff,  and  owned  the  whole  of  the  Cornwall  Ore  Mines.  His 
father,  a  native  of  Lancaster  count)-,  Pa.,  an  e.xtensive  miner  of  iron  ores  and 
manufacturer  of  pig-iron,  died,  August  27,  1S67,  at  Burlington,  where  he  had 
resided  many  )'ears.  His  mother,  a  daughter  of  Isaac  B.  P.irker,  of  Carlisle, 
Pa.,  was  also  a  Pennsx'K'aninn  b\-  birth. 

General  Grubb  received  his  preliminar)'  education  in  the  grammar  school  of 
his  native  cit)',  and  matriculated  in  Burlington  College,  from  which  he  graduated 
with  first  honors  in  1S60.  In  response  to  President  Lincoln's  c.dl  of  Ma)'  3,  iS6r, 
he  entered  the  service  as  Second  Lieutenant  of  Compan\-  C,  Third  Regiment  of 
New  Jersey,  going  into  camp  at  Camp  Olden,  near  Trenton.  On  June  2S,  1S61, 
the  three  New  Jerse)'  regiments  reported  to  General  Scott  at  Wa.-^hington.  The 
following  July  the  Third  Regiment  formed  one  of  the  reserve  regiments,  and 
participated  in  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run.  At  Fairfax,  after  the  battle  of  Bull 
Run,  the  Fourth  New  Jersey  Regiment  was  added,  and  the  whole  force  (First 
Brigade)  was  placed  under  command  of  Brigadier-General  Philip  Kearney. 
When  General  Kearney  took  possession  of  Manassas  Lieutenant  Grubb  was 
promoted  to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  assigned  to  Company  D,  Third  Regiment. 
The  brigade  being  soon  after  attached  to  the  First  Division  of  the  First  Army 
Corps,  embarked  from  Alexandria  for  the  mouth  of  the  York  river.  General 
Kearney  being  assigned  a  di\i.sion,  Colonel  Ta)-lor  assumed  command,  and 
Lieutenant  Grubb  was  appointed  to  a  position  on  the  latter's  staff,  where  he 
remained  until  that  officer's  death.  After  the  battle  of  Gaines'  Mills,  on  June 
27th,  the  New  Jersey  Brigade  (tlien  the  First  Brigade,  First  Division,  Sixth  Army 
Corps),  numbering  two  thousand  eight  hundred  men,  had  left  to  answer  at  roll- 
call  but  nine  hundreil  and  sixty-five.  The  brigade  was  encamped  near  White 
Oak  Creek,  directly  between  the  fire  of  the  rebel  and  Union  forces,  when  the 
former  with  si.xty  pieces  of  artillery  commenced  a  galling  fire.  The  New  Jersey 
troops  quickly  formed  in  line,  and  Lieutenant  Grubb  was  immediateh'  sent  for 
orders  to  General  Slocum's  ln;adquartcrs  in  the  face  of  the  cnem)-'s  fire.  Not 
finding  that  officer  he  returned,  but  orders  being  imperativel)'  necessary  he  gal- 

(201) 


26::  GEX.    E.    BURD    GKL'UB. 

lantly  repeated  his  cLingcrous  ride,  this  time  being  successful.  At  Bull  Run 
Bridge,  1S62,  General  Taylor,  without  either  ca\ahy  or  artillery  to  support  him, 
bore  the  brunt  of  the  battle,  being  nobly  sustained  by  his  men  ;  but  the  day  was 
lost  to  the  Union  forces,  and  General  Taylor  fatally  wounded. 

"  Stonewall "  Jackson  said  he  had  rarely  seen  a  body  of  men  who  stood  up  so 
gallantly  in  the  face  of  such  overwhelming  odds  as  did  General  Ta}'lor's  com- 
mand. After  the  battle,  in  which  General  Kearney  was  killed  and  Jackson 
repulsed.  General  Pope  withdrew  the  army  to  their  intrenchments  on  the  bank 
of  the  Potomac,  the  First  Brigade  resuming  its  old  position  at  Camp  Seminary. 
Here  Colonel  Torbert  succeeded  General  Taylor,  and  Lieutenant  Gruhb  was 
assigned  to  a  position  on  his  stafT,  having  previously  held  and  returned  the  com- 
mission as  Captain  of  Company  B,  Third  New  Jersey  Volunteers.  Subsequently 
General  Torbert's  brigade  distinguished  themselves  in  the  charge  at  Ciaiiipton's 
Pass,  of  the  South  Mountain,  Md.,  where  the}'  annihilated  Cobb's  Legion  and 
drove  the  rebels  from  the  defences,  capturing  the  position,  September  14,  1S62, 
Lee  retreating  across  the  Potomac,  leaving  his  dead  on  the  field.  The  enemy  lost 
fifteen  thousand  men.  The  Fifteenth  and  Twent)'-third  Regiments  were  added  to 
the  brigade,  and  on  November  23d  Lieutenant  Grubb  was  promoted  to  !\Lijor  of 
the  latter  regiment,  and  on  the  26th  of  the  following  month  was  again  promoted 
to  be  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  same  for  gallant  conduct  at  the  battle  of  Freder- 
ick.sburg.  On  December  12th  the  brigade  crossed  the  river  to  take  part  in  the 
battle  of  Fredericksburg.  General  Torbert,  in  his  official  report,  states  that 
"  Major  Grubb,  of  the  Twenty-third,  deserves  great  credit  for  the  manner  in 
which  he  fought  a  part  of  the  regiment."  Another  authority  says  that  it  was 
"  due  to  him  that  the  right  of  the  regiment,  when  thrown  into  confusion  by  the 
terrible  fire  to  which  it  was  subjected,  was  rallied  and  led  into  the  thickest  of  the 
combat  at  Fredericksburg." 

The  command  was  subsequently  engaged  at  Chancellorsville,  and  here  the 
same  writer,  speaking  of  Colonel  Grubb,  states  that  "alwa\-s  at  the  head  of  his 
regiment,  mounted  until  his  horse  was  shot  from  under  him,  then  on  foot,  still 
animating  the  m'en  and  leading  them  on,  himself  the  farthest  in  the  front  and 
last  to  leave  the  field,  seeming  to  bear  a  charmed  life,  he  moved  from  point  to 
point  calm  and  cool,  the  men  nerved  to  daring  by  his  example,  until  further 
exertion  no  longer  availed."  The  Twenty-third  afterwards  went  into  cani[)  at 
White  Oak  Church.  A  mutiny  had  almost  broken  out  in  the  regiment  by  reason 
of  receiving  orders  to  cross  the  Rappahannock-  instead  of  being  mustered  out  at 
Wasiiington,  tluir  term  of  scrxicc  Itaving  expired,  when  Colonel  Grubb  addressed 
them  at  evening  parade  so  forcibly  that  the\'  reconsidered  their  action  and  said 
tliey  would  go.  Crossing  the  ri\'er  the)-  threw  up  a  breastwork  in  front  of  the 
city  and  heights  of  Fredericksburg,  upon  which  the  eneni)-  o[3ened  fire,  but  with- 
out inflicting  loss.  Finally  orders  were  recei\'cd  to  niaich  for  home.  LTpon 
reaching  Bevcrl)',  N.  J.,  a  short  delay  ensued  before  the  men  could  be  mustered 
out.     Late  in  June  Lee  marched  into  Pennsylvania,  and  llarrisburg  was  threat- 


GF.N".    E.    r.UKU    r.RLT.B.  .-^f,  5 

ened.  ^\'I^en  Governor  Parker's  proclamation  was  issued  less  than  half  the 
Twenty-tliinl  was  in  camp.  Colonel  Gnibb,  after  assembling  the  men,  as!<e(l  all 
M  ho  wiuilii  follow  him  to  the  assistance  of  a  sister  State  to  step  forward,  when 
the  entire  force  \dhinteeretl.  The  regiment  was  received  with  hearty  cheers  in 
Philadelphia,  but  cokll}-  in  Harrisburg,  though  the\'  were  the  first  regimental 
organization  to  reach  the  cit\'.  The)'  at  once  thiew  up  rifle-pits  on  the  banlcs  of 
the  Susquehanna,  and  from  the  Colonel  down  they  worked  with  a  will ;  but, 
before  the  labor  was  completed,  were  recalled  to  Beverly,  and  were  mustered  out. 

Colonel  Grubb  was  a  popular  officer.  A  strict  disciplinarian,  he  managed  to  so 
direct  those  of  his  command  that  duty  became  a  pleasure,  and  he  never  asked 
his  men  to  face  any  danger  which  he  was  unwilling  to  share.  In  Jul>-,  1S63,  he 
was  commissioned  by  the  Governor  to  take  command  of  the  camp  at  Beverly, 
where  he  recruited  and  sent  to  the  front  the  Twenty-fourth.  By  request  of 
Governor  Parker  he  raised  the  Thirty-seventh  Regiment,  and  leaving  Trenton, 
June  28,  1864,  reported  to  General  Grant  at  City  Point,  and  was  ordered  by  him 
to  repoit  to  General  Butler  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  Landing  at  Point  of  Rocks, 
July  1st,  they  were  assigned  to  picket  and  garrison  duties.  On  August  28th  they 
marched  to  the  extreme  front  at  Petersburg,  where  they  did  duty  in  the  trenches 
until  their  term  of  service  nearly  expired.  On  September  25th  they  were  highly 
complimented  in  general  orders  by  Major-General  Birne}%  as  being  exceptionally 
a  superior  regiment  of  one  hundred  da)'s'  men.  On  March  4,  1865,  Colonel 
Grubb  was  made  Brevet  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers  for  meritorious  service 
before  Petersburg. 

After  his  retirement  from  the  service  he  resided  until  about  1873  in  Burlington, 
where  he  became  a  member  and  President  of  Common  Council  for  two  j-ccus, 
and  Trustee  of  St.  Mary's  Hall  and  of  Burlington  College. 

Upon  the  death  of  his  father,  in  1S67,  General  Grubb  assumed  the  manage- 
ment of  large  iron  interests  in  Dauphin,  Lancaster  and  Lebanon  counties.  Pa. 
The  well-known  Cornwall  ore-banks  of  Lancaster  count}'  are  among  his  inteiests, 
though  at  one  time  they  were  owned  b)'  the  family  exclusivel)',  the  title  having 
been  received  direct  from  William  Penn. 

General  Grubb  has  travelled  extensivel}' through  the  P'astern  Hemisphere,  and 
his  wife  was  the  first  white  woman  to  pass  through  the  entire  length  of  the  Suez 
Canal,  the  trip  having  been  made  in  the  comp,ui\'  of  her  husband  in  Baron  De 
Lesseps'  steam  yacht,  he  having  letters  of  introduction  to  that  eminent  engineer. 
Ui^on  his  return  to  the  United  States  he  prepared  an  account  of  his  tia\'els,  which 
was  publisheti  in  Lippiiicolf s  Mdj^d^iiic  and  extensi\ely  cojiietl.  and  he  was  elected 
a  member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

In  1878  General  Grubb  built  the  first  coke  pig-iron  furnace  in  the  State  of 
Virginia  at  Lynchburg,  and  opened  and  operated  largel)'  the  iron  mines  along 
the  James  ri\er.     He  is  President  of  the  Lynchburg  Iron  Company. 

General  Grubb  is  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Club,  the  Clover  Club,  the 
Union  Club  of  New  York  and  the  New  York  Yacht  Club,  and  has  taken  two  of 


26a.  GE^'-    E.    nURD    GRUBB. 

tlie  Bennett  Prize  Cups.  He  is  also  a  nicmbor  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati, 
the  Loyal  Legion,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  the  Historical  Society 
of  Pennsylvania. 

He  commanded  the  New  Jersey  Battalion  in  the  Centennial  ceremonies  at 
Yorktown.  Va.,  in  October,  l88i,  and  is  Captain  of  the  Philadelphia  City  Troop, 
an  organization  which  served  in  the  Revolutionary  War  as  the  body-guard  of 
General  Washington,  and  which  has  been  kept  up  in  Philadelphia  ever  since. 
On  February  9,  188S,  General  Grubb  was  elected  Department  Commander  of 
the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  for  New  Jersey,  over  Capt.  Charles  Merritt,  by 
a  vote  of  three  hundred  and  seventy-seven  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-three. 
He  is  an  actire  member  of  the  Republican  party.  In  1874  he  removed  to 
Edgewater  Park,  just  above  Beverly,  N.  J.,  where  he  resides  in  a  delightfully 
situated  country-seat  with  a  park  of  twelve  acres,  handsomely  laid  out  and 
fronting  the  river.  He  married,  in  1863,  Elizabeth  Wadsworth,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Courtlandt  Van  Rensselaer,  an  eminent  Presbyterian  clergyman,  and  the 
son  of  Stephen  Van  Rensselaer,  the  "  Patroon,"  of  Albany,  N.  Y.  She  died  in 
Philadelphia,  April  17,  1 886,  leaving  one  child,  a  daughter. 


J 


Gen.  Harrison  Allen. 


GEN.    HARRISON   ALLEN. 

GENERAL  Harrison  Allen,  soldier,  lawyer,  legislator  and  ex-Auditor-Gencral 
of  Pcnnsj'lvania,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Russellburg,  Warren  county, 
December  4,  1S35,  his  parents  being  Samuel  P.  and  Mary  (Thompson)  Allen. 
On  his  mother's  side  he  is  of  American-German  extraction ;  on  his  father'.s,  of 
Scotch-L-ish  descent,  the  noted  Gen.  Anthony  Wayne  having  been  his  father's 
great-uncle. 

General  Allen  was  reared  on  a  farm  until  he  reached  the  age  of  eighteen  years, 
and  during  the  winter  months  attended  the  district  school.  He  was  unusually 
industrious  as  a  .student,  improving  his  leisure  hours  and  gaining  all  the  infor- 
mation to  be  acquired  in  the  schools  which  the  neighborhood  afforded.  He 
possessed  a  retentive  memory,  was  quick  to  comprehend  an  idea  and  to  act  upon 
it,  it  being  his  aim  to  know  his  duty  and  to  do  it.  In  the  school  he  was  an 
excellent  declaimer,  and  exhibited  ability  and  taste  for  such  exercises.  In  the 
autumn  of  1S54  he  attended  the  academy  at  Jamestown,  N.  Y.,  and  during  that 
and  the  following  winter  taught  school  at  Farmington,  in  his  nati\'c  countv, 
meeting  with  excellent  success.  During  1S56  and  1857  he  was  a  student  in  the 
academy  at  Randolph,  N.  Y.,  where  he  stood  high  in  his  classes,  and  received 
the  highest  honors  of  the  school  and  the  literary  society  of  the  academy.  In  the 
spring  of  1S57  he  left  school  to  engage  in  business,  of  which  "lumbering"  was 
an  important  part,  in  order  to  earn  the  money  to  sustain  himself  and  prosecute 
his  studies.  In  1S57  '''"<^'  1858  he  attended  the  Freedonia  Academy.  Here  he 
again  won  distinction,  securing  the  highest  honors,  one  of  which  was  his  election 
to  the  Presidency  of  the  literary  society  with  which  he  was  connected.  In  1859 
he  entered  the  law  office  of  Judges  Johnson  and  Brown,  of  Warren,  where  he 
remained  until  the  sj^ring  of  1S61. 

Having  a  taste  for  military  affairs,  he  devoted  considerable  attention  thereto, 
and  served  as  aide  dc  camp  (with  the  rank  of  Captain)  on  General  Brown's  staff. 
Twentieth  Division  Pennsylvania  Militia,  and  was  promoted  by  election  to  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel oi"the  regiment  in  his  count}'.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion 
he  volunteered,  April  20,  1861,  for  three  months'  ser\'ice  as  a  private,  and  was 
elected  by  the  men  Captain  of  the  company.  After  two  months  he  re-enlisted 
with  his  company  for  three  years.  He  was  ordered  to  Pitt.sburgh,  and  thence  up 
the  Allegheny  river,  twelve  miles,  to  Camp  Wright.  He  drove  the  first  tent-peg 
on  the  ground,  and  had  command  of  the  camp,  containing  about  four  thousand 
men,  until  relieved  by  Colonel  McLean,  of  Erie.  At  that  time  the  Tenth  Regi- 
ment of  Pennsylvania  Reserves  was  organized,  including  his  companx*  (at  Camp 
Wilkins),  and  he  was  elected  b)-  the  men  Major  of  the  regiment,  and  commis- 
sioned by  the  Governor.  He  was  tendered  the  Colonelcy  of  the  Eleventh  Regi- 
ment of  Reserves,  but  declined  it,  preferring  to  serve  under  Col.  John  S.  McCal- 
34  (265) 


266  GEN.    HARKISON    ALLEN. 

mont,  a  West  Point  graduate,  and  remain  witli  his  men.     The  regiment  became 
part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

In  November,  1S62,  he  organized  the  One  Hundred  and  Fifty-first  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  and  was  elected  Colonel,  serving  during  the  term  of 
his  enlistment.  He  was  brevetted  Brigadier-General  United  States  Volunteers 
for  meritorious  service,  and  was  especially  complimented  for  gallantr}-  and 
efficiency  by  Generals  Doubleday,  IMeade,  Reynolds  and  Ord.  He  was  in  the 
engagements  at  Drainsville,  Port  Conway,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville, 
Gett\-sburg  and  W'illiamsport.  Here,  as  a  mark  of  confidence,  he  was  assigned 
by  General  Doubleday  to  command  the  advance  line  of  the  division,  and  suc- 
cessfully routed  the  Confederates,  took  possession  of  tlicir  line,  and  held  it — the 
enemy  retreating  under  cover  of  night.  On  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  ser\ice 
lie  returned  to  W'arren,  and  resumed  his  law  studies,  and  was  admitted  to  prac- 
tice as  an  attorne}'-at-law. 

In  1S66  he  was  nominated  on  the  Republican  ticket  as  Representative  in  the 
Legislature  from  Warren  and  Venango  District,  and  was  elected.  The  loUowing 
}-ear  he  was  renominated  b)'  acclamation,  and  elected  by  a  majority  of  eleven 
hundred  and  eighty-two  in  his  own  count)-,  running  largely  ahead  of  his  ticket. 
He  served  with  great  credit  and  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  constituents, 
guarding  their  particular  interests,  and  also  fliithfully  conserving  those  of  the 
■vvhole  State.  During  his  term  he  took  part  in  all  the  important  discussions, 
especially  signalizing  his  services  by  an  eloquent  speech  upon  the  Constitutional 
Amendment.  His  influence  as  a  legislator  was  marked.  In  1868  he  was  a 
delcgate-at-!arge  to  the  Soldiers'  National  Convention  at  Chicago,  and  also  a 
District  Delegate  to  the  Republican  National  Convention,  by  eacli  of  which 
General  Grant  was  nominated  for  the  Presidency.  He  took  a  very  active  part  in 
the  campaign  which  followed,  in  speaking  and  organizing.  In  1869  he  was  a 
candidate  for  the  State  Senate  in  the  Mercer,  Warren  and  Venango  District, 
against  a  very  prominent  member  of  his  own  party,  and  after  an  animated  contest 
carried  seventy-nine  out  of  the  ninety-nine  delegates  in  his  own  county.  The 
contestant,  Judge  Wetmore,  withdrawing,  he  was  nominated  by  acclamation, 
endorsed  by  the  District  Conference,  and,  after  a  hard-fought  contest,  was  elected 
b_\-  over  one  thousand  majority.  During  his  term  in  the  Senate,  as  in  the  House, 
lie  was  always  upon  the  side  of  right,  and  ranked  as  one  of  the  strongest  and 
mo.st  faithful  members  of  that  body,  taking  a  leading  part  in  all  discussions  with 
marked  ability,  lie  was  earnest  in  support  of  all  measures  pointing  to  economy 
and  reform.  During  the  discussion  upon  the  contested  election  cases  in  the 
Senate  he  received  high  compliments  for  his  .speech  upon  the  Right  of  Petition. 
In  1872  he  was  elected  Auditor-General  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania 
by  the  unprecedented  majority  of  thirty-six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty, 
and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  Deccinhcr  2(1  of  that  )Tar.  During  tlie 
heated  campaign  preceding  his  election  to  this  office  the  Democrats  ol  his  own 
county  passed  the  following  resolution  at  a  ma.ss  meeting  held  by  them,  giving 
him  at  the  .same  time  the  proud  title  of  "The  Poor  Man's  Friend:" 


GEN.    HARRISON'    ALLEN.  267 

"  He  has  been  almost  tlie  first  in  every  cliaritable  enterprise,  and  lias  tliereby  blessed  the  homes  and 
lii;litened  ihe  hearts  of  the  needy  without  reference  to  creed  or  condition.  lie  lias  not  only  proven  him- 
self a  good  citizen,  a  true  and  brave  soldier,  but,  when  fortune  had  favored  him  with  means,  he  opened 
his  hand  in  chanty  and  scattered  his  gifts  liberally  to  the  deserving  poor,  and  many  have  blessed  him 
for  his  acts  of  kindness.  He  has  provided  homes  for  the  homeless,  cheered  the  fallen,  and  strengthened 
and  encouraged  the  weak  when  temptation  was  dragging  them  down  lo  ruin  and  to  ilealh." 

Ill  1S74  he  was  renominated  for  Auditor-General  by  acclamation  in  tlie 
Republican  State  Con\-ention.  In  iSSo  he  «as  elected  a  delegate  to  the  National 
Republican  Con\-ention  in  Chicago,  and  was  one  of  the  noted  three  htmdred  and 
six  members  who  voted  continuously  for  the  nomination  of  General  Giant,  and 
possesses  the  handsome  medal  which  was  struck  off  to  commemorate  their 
fidelity  to  the  great  commander.  Me  took-  pioniiiient  part  as  a  speaker  in  the 
great  campaign  for  Garfield  in  Indiana  and  other  States. 

In  1S82  General  Allen  was  appointed  by  the  President  as  United  States 
Marshal  for  Dakota  for  four  \'ears.  In  iSS6  he  was  elected  Chairman  of  the 
Territorial  Central  Republican  Committee  of  Dakota  for  two  years,  and  in  March, 
1887,  he  was  elected  Commander  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  for  that 
department.  His  administration  has  been  very  successful,  resulting  in  a  large 
increase  in  the  number  of  posts  and  membership,  notwithstanding  the  unfavorable 
times  ;  and  at  the  close  of  his  first  )-ear  he  deli\'ered  an  address  that  was  every- 
where highly  commended,  and  of  which  we  appentl  the  periM'ation  : 

"  Comrades  : — My  duties  as  commander  of  this  department  will  soon  end.  The  honor  conferred  in 
my  election,  and  the  kindness,  courtesy,  united  support  and  fidelity  of  its  officers,  and  all  in  this  depart- 
ment, I  fully  appreciate  and  have  sought  lo  deserve.  The  condition  of  our  department  must  be  the 
evidence  ot  success.  I  surrender  the  honored  trust  with  great  thankfulness  for  the  honor  conferred,  and 
with  the  pleasing  hope  of  the  future  prosperity  of  our  grand  and  ennobling  organization.  Its  mission  is 
good,  its  purposes  are  pure  and  heroic.  Be  faithful  to  them  and  God  will  prosper  it.  Let  not  the  voice 
of  hunger  or  suffering  be  unheeded.  Be  as  prompt  to  answer  to  the  call  of  the  needy  as  you  were  to 
respond  to  the  demand  of  your  country,  and  blessings  will  be  your  reward.  Let  not  the  helpless  and 
hungered  soldier  languish  at  your  threshold.  Open  wide  the  door,  as  you  will  ask  at  that  last  great  day 
that  it  shall  be  opened  unto  you.  Let  your  lives  be  evidences  of  fi.ved  principles  of  right  within  you, 
that  the  coming  generation  may  take  pride  in  your  present  life,  as  they  glory  in  your  heroic  past.  As 
yciu  were  sworn  to  defend  it,  let  the  law  of  your  God  and  your  country  be  your  guide.  Be  temperate  in 
all  things;  in  temperance  and  caution  there  is  safety. 

"  Comrades,  I  cannot  permit  this  ojiportunity  to  pass  without  congratulating  you  and  expressing  my 
great  pleasure  in  the  character  evidenced  in  our  members  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  eveiy- 
where.  In  our  post  meetings,  in  our  encampments,  department  and  national,  we  see  so  positively  fixed 
that  grand  principle  of  rectitude,  temperance,  obedience  to  law,  and  the  requirements  of  duty  so  firmly 
instilled  by  your  great  sacrifices  in  defence  of  law.  We  may  feel  justly  proud  of  the  temperate  and  dig- 
nified character  of  our  representatives  and  our  meetings,  evidencing  the  faith  of  our  members  that 
temperance  means  honor,  dignity,  prosperity  and  power,  while  intemperance  means  degradation,  penury 
and  want.  Avoid  it,  as  the  serpent  that  beguileth,  that  your  children  may  take  heed,  and  shun  its  sting. 
Let  your  motto  be,  duty,  dignity  and  honor.  Let  our  lives  be  so  marked  that  the  youth  of  our  land  ni.iy 
take  pride  in  our  example  and  emulate  our  virtues.  Honor  the  Government  you  have  saved,  in  the  faith 
of  its  honotable  return.  Its  dignity  and  character  ennoble  you  as  its  defentlers.  Teach  your  children 
to  cheri--.h  its  sublime  principles,  planted  in  the  graves  of  our  sainted  heroes,  and  watered  with  the  blood 
of  their  fathers.  Let  no  personal  interest  mar  the  perfectness  of  our  brotherhood,  nor  chill  that  brotherly 
feeling  so  strongly  cemented  on  the  field  of  conflict.     May  our  lives  illustrate  that  ennobling  motto  of  our 


2GS  GEN.    HARRISON    ALLEN. 

orcaniz.itinn.  '  Fraternity.  Cli.irily,  nml  I.oy.nlty,'  so  tli.il  wlitn  the  last  bugle  shall  sound  we  may  all 
gaiher  under  our  Great  lilernal  Commander  in  tint  List  grand  encampment  to  receive  the  proud  pKiuJit — 
'  well  done.' " 

At  the  present  time  General  Allen  is  mentioned  as  the  probable  choice  of  the 
Republican  Convention  as  candidate  for  delegate  to  Congress.  One  of  the  oppo- 
sition journals,  the  Fargo  Daily  Sun,  recentl}'  bore  this  remarkable  testimony  to 
his  sterling  character: 

"  Pevhap';  there  is  not  a  man  in  Dakota  more  widely  known  and  more  justly  popular  than  General 
Harrison  .\llen.  He  has  been  in  the  Territory  long  enough  to  entitle  him  to  the  claim  of  being  an  old 
settler,  and  to  enable  him  to  fully  understand  the  wants  of  the  entire  people.  His  ability  as  a  statesman 
has  never  been  quesiioned,  and  his  long  experience  in  public  affairs  h^is  given  him  a  prestige  which  could 
not  fail  to  count  at  Washington,  should  he  be  so  fortunate  .is  to  be  sent  there  to  represent  the  great  Ter- 
ritory of  D.aknta.  In  addition  to  all  this,  General  Allen  is  a  thoroughbred  gentleman  in  all  that  the 
word  implies.  His  honorable  and  upright  dealings,  his  afllible  and  pleasing  manners,  and  unimpeachaljle 
integrity  have  endeared  him  to  all  classes  of  Dakotains,  and  if  the  position  of  delegate  is  to  be  held  again 
by  a  Republican,  there  certainly  is  no  one  who  could  wield  a  greater  influence  or  more  capably  represent 
the  Territory  than  the  General.  The  Sun,  for  one,  hopes  the  Republicans  for  once  will  show  their  good 
sense  by  nominating  him  " 


Gen.   Horace   Porter. 


GEN.    HORACE    TORTER. 

'^r^iiE  name  of  Porter  is  a  familiar  and  Iionoretl  one  in  llie  liif^lier  life  of  Penn- 
A  sylvania.  The  men  and  women  who  have  borne  it  within  the  borders  of 
tliis  Commonwealth  ha\-e  made  large  contributiiins  to  its  prosperity.  David  R. 
Porter,  the  father  of  IIukace  Porter,  was  Governor  of  the  Ke\'stone  State  for 
two  terms,  during  \'ears  that  will  be  reckoned  among  the  most  important  of  its 
existence,  and  in  man\-  ways  he  made  a  powerful  impression  upon  the  better 
features  of  its  intellectual  and  material  grou'th.  Perhaps  he  was  the  most  dis- 
tinguished man  of  the  long  line  of  usehil  and  important  citizens  who  brought 
that  name  to  this  country,  and,  b\-  their  efforts,  gave  it  a  lasting  place  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  New  World.  His  immediate  family  came  fro'n  near  Loiulonderry, 
antl  he  took  a  wife  whose  ancestors  were  born  near  Glasgow.  Thus  he  endowed 
his  children  with  the  able  strain  of  Scotch-Irish  stock  from  both  sides  of  the 
primary  plant.  For  many  generations,  both  in  this  and  the  mother  country,  the 
men  and  women  of  this  family  have  been  strong  in  the  head  and  heart.  The 
first  of  the  Porters  came  to  the  United  States  many  years  ago,  and  there  has 
been  no  cause,  either  of  sentiment  or  with  arms,  fought  on  this  continent  in 
which  its  members  have  not  taken  a  prominent  part.  P'arly  in  the  history  of 
Pennsylvania  the}-  settled  on  its  soil.  Da\itl  R.  Porter  and  his  immediate  ances- 
tors spent  most  of  their  j'ears  in  the  State  in  which  he  attained  so  high  a  place. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  intellect,  and  of  man)-  winning  q\ialities.  He  inherited 
these  attributes  from  a  man  who  had  alread)'  made  his  name  prominent  in  our 
struggle  for  independence.  Gen.  Andrew  Porter,  who  served  with  distinction 
through  the  revolutionary  war,  was  his  f;ither.  He,  too,  was  born  in  Pennsj'l- 
vania  in  the  early  Colonial  daj's,  and  was  a  man  who  stood  high  as  a  mathema- 
tician as  well  as  a  soldier. 

Horace  Porter  was  born,  on  April  15,  1837,  in  the  little  mountain  to-wn  of 
Huntingdon,  a  short  time  before  his  father  was  elected  Gi*\cinor.  The  boy  saw 
vcr_\'  little  of  his  nati\-e  place,  however,  for  he  went  to  ILirrisburg  when  quite 
young.  His  earh'  education  was  obtamed  there  anil  at  the  high  school  at  Law- 
rence\'ille,  N.  J.  He  early  learned  the  luiglish  branches,  and  studied  the  classics 
with  a  view  of  graduating  at  Princeton.  He  looked  ahead  to  a  professional 
career  as  a  law)-er,  or,  rather,  his  parents  did  for  him  ;  but  the  tides  of  his  own 
ambition  changed  the  hopes  of  his  famil)-.  Most  boys,  once  in  their  lives,  have  a 
longing  for  a  soldier's  career.  Horace  Porter  was  no  exception  to  this  rule,  for 
he  inherited  military  ardor  from  his  grandfather.  Gen.  Andrew  Porter,  of  revolu- 
tionary fame. 

West  Point  early  became  the  aim  antl  purpose  of  young  Porter.  This  pen- 
chant took  him  to  the  scientific  school  of  H.u'wird  College.  Very  early  in  life 
he  had  evinced  a  strong  mechanical  turn.      When  he  was  twelve  years  of  age  he 

(269) 


C-Q  GEN.    HORACE    PORTER. 

in\-cntecl  a  gauge  to  indicate  the  supply  of  water  in  tlie  tanks  wliicli  fed  the 
steam  boilers  in  his  father's  iron  furnace.  Later,  he  fashioned  a  bit  machine,  and 
all  through  his  boyhood  days  was  thinking  out  and  perfecting  some  new  device 
of  greater  or  less  value.  But  to  these  gifts  were  added  strong  intellectual  powers 
which  subdued  his  mechanical  inclinations,  or,  rather,  carried  them  into  a  higher 
sphere  of  action. 

His  training  at  Ilarwird  College  produced  good  results  from  the  first,  and  in 
1854  he  was  so  far  advanced  that  he  set  out  alone  to  secure  his  appointment  to 
the  military  academy  on  the  Hudson.  He  went  to  Washington  with  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  President  Pierce,  and  applied  for  an  appointment  to  West  Point 
"at  large."  He  waited  some  time  before  securing  an  interview  with  the  Presi- 
dent, and  then  found  that  the  list  was  already  full.  Although  disappointed,  he 
returned  to  school,  and  then  turned  in  another  direction  and  succeeded. 

Nerr  Middlesworth  was  the  Congressman  from  his  district.  The  next  j-ear  he 
had  the  appointment  of  a  cadet,  and  application  was  made  to  him.  This  singular 
man  will  be  remembered  as  a  most  remarkable  product  of  the  old  Pennsylvania 
Dutch  life.  He  had  brains  and  force,  but  b5th  were  as  crude  as  his  manners. 
"\'ct,  in  those  day.s,  he  had  great  influence  in  politics,  especially  in  his  own  State. 
No  more  picturesque  citizen  of  a  new  Republic  can  be  remembered  than  this 
Congressman,  to  whom  Horace  Porter  applied  for  an  appointment  to  West  Point. 

The  second  time  young  Porter  went  to  Washington  he  carried  little  more  than 
his  application  for  a  cadetship  and  recommendations  from  his  teachers.  He 
waited  about  the  doors  of  Congress  until  he  secured  an  interview  witli  'Sir.  Mid- 
dlesworth.    This  peculiar  character  heard  the  boy's  story,  and  said  : 

"Well,  young  man,  you  are  the  first  on  hand.  Give  me  your  papers.  It  is 
an  old  and  a  good  adage :  '  First  come,  first  served,'  and  I  will  see  what  I  can  do 
for  )-ou." 

The  lad  again  returned  to  college  with  nothing  more  definite  as  to  his  future; 
but,  when  he  was  least  expecting  it,  his  appointment  came.  Nerr  Middlesworth 
had  kept  his  word   and  Horace  Porter  entered  the  military  academy  in  1855. 

His  life  at  the  military  school  was  like  that  of  most  other  boys  of  his  age. 
He  accepted  the  studies  and  discipline  graciously,  but  was  as  fond  of  sport  as 
almost  any  of  the  lads  of  his  class.  He  was  appointed  Cadet  Adjutant  in  his 
first  class  year.  He  took  most  naturally  to  engineering  and  ordnance — the  two 
highest  grades  of  study.  The  record  tells  how  well  he  succeeded  in  them,  for  he 
was  graduated  in  1S60  third  in  a  class  of  forty-one  bright  scholars.  He  chose 
the  ordnance  arm,  anil  was  first  made  a  brevet  Second  Lieutenant.  He  served 
as  Instructor  of  Artillery  at  West  Point  for  a  few  months  after  his  graduation, 
and  was  a  successful  teacher.  It  was  while  he  was  acting  in  this  capacitj'  that 
the  commission  authorized  by  Congress  to  revise  the  studies  at  the  West  Point 
Academy  arrived.  Four  distinguished  men  composed  the  Board — Jefferson 
Davis,  Senator  Focite,  of  Vermont,  Major  Robert  Anderson,  who  soon  after 
conniianded  at   Fuit  Sumtor,  and   Henry  Winter  Davis,  United  States  Senator 


GEN.    HORACE    PORTER.  27 1 

from  Maryland.  Tims,  while  a  lad,  he  was  early  introduced  to  tlie  man  who, 
in  less  than  a  year,  was  to  head  the  conspiracy  against  the  Go\ernment,  in  which 
the  young  officer  was  to  play  a  prominent  part. 

After  this  experience  he  served  for  a  time  at  \Vater\'Iiet  Arsenal,  New  York, 
and  in  April,  iS6i,  just  as  rebellion  was  awakening  the  country  to  the  realities 
of  war,  he  was  promoted  to  a  full  Second  Lieutenancy  of  Ordnance. 

Communication  with  the  National  Capital  was  at  that  time,  by  the  ordinary 
methods  of  travel,  cut  off.  He  was  made  bearer  of  important  despatches  to  the 
authorities  in  Washington,  and  was  compelled  to  reach  it  by  ascending  the 
Potomac  river.  The  journey  was  full  of  hazardous  incident,  and  he  met  with 
many  interesting  adventures  b)-  the  way. 

On  June  7th  the  exactions  of  approaching  conflict  made  him  a  First  Lieutenant 
of  the  same  arm  of  the  service.  Soon  after  he  was  ordered  to  the  staff  of  Gen. 
W.  T.  Sherman,  who  had  been  assigned  to  command  on  the  South  Atlantic 
coast,  and  sailed  with  him  from  Fortress  Monroe  as  an  ordnance  officer  of  the 
Port  Royal  Expeditionary  Corps.  At  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  and  in  erecting  bat- 
teries of  heavy  artillery  on  the  Savannah  river  and  Tybee  Island,  in  Georgia,  he 
rendered  valuable  services. 

The  first  real  chance  that  was  offered  to  test  the  mettle  of  Lieutenant  Porter 
was  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Pulaski.  He  was  the  chief  of  artillery  in  that  combat, 
and  directed  the  guns  against  that  work,  which  forced  it  to  surrender.  Q.  A. 
Gillmore,  who  afterwards  became  a  famous  general,  was  at  that  time  in  command 
in  front  of  Pulaski,  and  the  artillery  service  of  young  Porter  was  so  effective  that 
he  made  an  extended  report  upon  it,  which  has  been  translated  into  several 
languages.  Up  to  that  time  no  masonry  fortification  had  ever  been  breached  at 
a  greater  distance  than  eight  hundred  yards  range.  Fort  Pulaski  was  reduced  at 
one  thousand  six  hundred  yards.  This  was  such  remarkable  artillery  work  at 
that  time  that  Horace  Porter  was  brevetted  a  Captain  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious 
services  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Pulaski."  This  was  an  unusual  promotion  for  one 
so  young  at  this  stage  of  the  game  of  war;  yet  this  was  not  enough  to  show  the 
commanding  general's  appreciation  of  his  first  really  important  service.  In  addi- 
tion to  this  brevet  he  presented  him  with  one  of  the  captured  swords,  on  which 
was  engraved  a  suitable  inscription  testif\'ing  to  his  gallantry. 

In  the  first  attempts  to  capture  Charleston  young  Porter  was  in  the  assault 
made  at  Secessionville,  and  received  a  slight  wound  in  the  hand.  Soon,  there- 
after, he  was  transferred  to  General  McClellan's  staff  and  acted  as  chief  ordnance 
officer  in  the  transfer  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  from  Harrison's  Landing,  Va., 
to  Maryland,  to  take  part  in  the  bloody  engagements  of  Antictam  and  South 
Mountain. 

After  Antietam  he  was  made  chief  ordnance  officer  of  the  Department  of  the 
Ohio,  and  sent  West.  He  remained  in  that  position  until  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  There  he  was  assigned  to  the  staff  of  Gen.  W.  S. 
Rosecrans,  joined  him  at  Murfreesboro,  Tenn.,  and  served  wifh  marked  distinc- 
tion from  there  to  Chattanooga. 


2J2  GEN.    HORACE    PORTER. 

At  the  battle  of  Chickamauga  Captain  rortcr,  as  usual,  was  credited  with  dis- 
tinguished services.  At  one  time  he  was  instrumental  in  holding  a  column  of 
the  enemy  in  check  at  a  critical  moment  in  the  midst  of  the  retreat  by  gathering 
some  scattered  pieces  of  artillery  on  a  knoll,  and  surrounding  them  with  some 
fragments  of  demoralized  regiments  that  were  pushing  off  the  field.  It  was  a 
bold  stand,  and  not  only  served  to  hold  the  enemy  for  a  wliile,  but  gained  some 
valuable  time  in  which  trains  could  be  got  out  of  the  way  and  sa\-ed. 

When  General  Grant  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  Western  armies, 
and  relieved  General  Rosecrans  at  the  foot  of  Missionary  Ridge,  Captain  Porter 
was  transferred  to  the  staff  of  Gen.  George  H.  Thomas,  and  was  with  him  at 
Chattanooga  when  General  Grant  assumed  his  new  duties.  He  met  the  distin- 
guished soldier,  with  whom  he  was  destined  to  occupy  such  important  relations, 
not  only  in  war,  but  in  peace,  under  peculiar  circumstances.  Grant  had  made 
his  famous  horseback  ride  over  the  mountains  in  the  rain,  and  had  reached 
Thomas'  headquarters  in  a  rather  dilapidated  condition.  He  had  probably  been 
there  half  an  hour  when  General  Thomas  summoned  Captain  Porter,  and  there, 
for  the  first  time,  he  met  the  future  general  of  the  armies.  He  was  sitting  in  a  chair, 
apart  from  the  other  officers,  with  his  head  bent  well  forward,  so  that  his  chin 
almost  rested  upon  his  breast.  He  had  asked  enough  questions  of  Thomas  to 
be  able  to  appreciate  the  desperate  condition  of  affairs,  and  was  in  deep  thought 
when  General  Thomas  proceeded  to  introduce  the  young  officer  to  his  future 
chief  General  Grant's  clothes  were  muddy  and  wet,  and  this  was  a  rebuke  to 
General  Thomas'  idea  of  hospitality;  so  he  invited  him  to  go  to  his  room  and 
chancre  his  garments.  Gcnei'al  Grant  declined,  but  mo\'ed  a  little  closer  to  the 
blazing  fire  on  the  hearth  at  Thomas'  suggestion.  Grant  asked  Porter  but  a  few 
questions  that  night,  but  requested  his  presence  the  next  day.  He  then  invited 
him  to  accompany  him  in  the  inspection  of  the  lines  and  the  location  of  the 
artillery. 

During  the  siege  of  Vicksburg  and  his  other  operations  along  the  Mississippi, 
Grant  was  desirous  that  Captain  Porter  should  be  sent  to  him  for  artillery  service. 
His  efficient  work  at  Fort  Pulaski  had  attracted  his  attention  in  the  earliest  days 
of  the  conflict.  But  his  request  was  not  granted,  and  Chattanooga  was  his  first 
meeting-place  with  the  )-oung  artillery  officer.  There  was  a  reciprocal  feeling 
between  them  from  the  first,  and  Porter  was  frequently  summoned  to  head- 
quarters. 

In  an  interview  not  long  after  General  Grant's  arrival  he  informed  Porter  that 
he  desired  to  make  him  a  Brigadier,  and  give  him  conmiand  of  troops  in  that 
army.  He  made  that  recommendation  to  the  War  Department,  and  among  the 
papers  and  explanations  which  Porter  the  next  day  took  to  Washington  from 
General  Grant  was  the  request  for  his  promotion.  P.ut  the  authorities  at  the 
National  Capital  in  those  days  paid  about  as  much  attention  to  General  Grant's 
wishes  as  to  the  request  of  a  messenger  boy,  and  his  siv^gestions  were  "  pigeon- 
holed."    Porter,  who,  in  the  meantime,  had  been  made  a  full  Captain  of  Ord- 


GEN.    HORACE    PORTER 


~7!> 


nance,  after  delivering'  Ills  despatclics,  was  assigned  to  duty  in  that  department 
at  Washington. 

General  Grant  was  not  to  remain  long  at  Chattanooga,  and  Captain  Porter  did 
not  remain  long  in  a  Washington  office.  The  battle  of  Alissionar}-  Ridge  brought 
Grant  into  the  supreme  control  of  all  the  armies  of  the  Union.  When  he  came 
East  to  assume  his  greater  command  the  j-oung  artiller\-  and  ordnance  officer, 
who  had  early  in  the  war  attracted  his  attention,  was  at  once  taken  as  a  member 
of  his  personal  staff,  and  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel.  This 
advancement  came  a  month  before  General  Grant's  grapple  with  Lee  in  the 
W^ilderness.  In  this  remarkable  wrestle  in  the  brush  \'oung  Porter  bore  a  con- 
spicuous part;  so  gallant,  indeed,  that  for  his  services  on  that  field  he  was  bre- 
vetted  a  Major  in  the  regular  army,  and  the  order  read  :  "  For  gallant  and 
meritorious  services." 

From  the  Rapidan  to  the  James  he  foIlo.wed  General  Grant's  fortunes,  winning 
honors  in  every  subsequent  engagement  by  his  quickness  of  decision,  promptness 
of  action,  courage  and  judgment.  He  was  the  bright,  attenti\'e  spirit  of  the 
Lieutenant-General's  walcing  and  sleeping  hours  during  those  terrible  days  of 
battle  and  march  which  brought  Grant's  army  south  of  the  James.  When  he 
decided  to  make  the  bold  move  for  City  Point  and  beyond,  Porter  was  one  of  the 
two  officers  he  sent  forward  to  select  the  point  where  the  army  was  to  make  the 
crossing.  At  the  siege  of  Petersburg  Porter  was  again  brevettcd  for  "  gallant 
and  meritorious  services  "  in  the  engagement  at  Newmarket  Heights,  Va. 

How  well  he  executed  the  important  trusts  confided  to  him  during  the  depress- 
ing days  of  1864,  whether  of  a  personal  or  public  character,  may  be  read  from 
the  record,  which  sa\'s  that  on  February  24,  1865,  he  was  again  brevettcd  a 
Colonel  of  Volunteers  for  "  faithful  and  meritorious  services." 

After  Grant  broke  the  enemy's  lines,  and  the  pursuit  of  the  Confederate  Army 
began,  he  was  a  restless  and  untiring  aid,  and  the  sound  of  the  last  cannon  had 
hardly  ceased  to  echo  over  the  hills  about  Appomattox,  and  the  capitulation  of 
Lee's  army  announced  to  the  world,  before  he  was  made  a  Brevet-Colonel  of  the 
regular  army.  The  order  which  placed  this  )'oung  man  so  well  ahead  on  the 
army-roll  summed  up,  as  the  reasons  for  this  honor:  "For  gallant  and  merito- 
rious services  during  the  rebellion." 

A  little  more  than  a  month  later  he  was  made  a  brevet  Brigadier-General  for 
"  gallant  and  meritorious  services  on  the  field  during  the  rebellion." 

The  remarkable  sum  of  his  military  achievements  was  now  ready  to  be  added  up. 
The  total  was  eight  regular  appointments  and  seven  brevets — all  "  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  services."  Besides  these  substantial  results  of  good  deeds  done, 
was  "  honorable  mention  "  in  the  official  reports  of  every  battle  and  every  cam- 
paign wherein  he  had  borne  a  part. 

General  Porter,  like  many  other  young  officers  of  ability,  had  little  chance 
through  his  j'ears  of  meritorious  service  to  impress  his  fame  or  usefulness  upon 
the  history  of  battles  and  campaigns.  He  was  a  staff  officer,  and  the  commander 
35 


3/4 


GEX.    HORACE    POKTEK. 


of  a  single  regiment  frequent!}-  liad  his  gallant  deeds  sent  out  to  the  world  and 
printed  in  the  records  of  battles,  while  the  often  higher  services  of  the  staff  officer 
were  known  only  to  the  general  he  was  serving.  General  Grant  felt  this,  and 
years  after  the  rebellion  put  in  enduring  form  his  estimate  of  General  Porter's 
military  work  and  ability.  His  words  can  be  found  in  John  Russell  Young's 
"Around  the  World  with  General  Grant."     They  read : 

"  We  had  a  good  many  men  in  the  war  who  were  buried  in  the  staff  and  did 
not  rise.  Horace  Porter  was  lost  in  the  staff.  Like  Ingalls,  he  was  too  useful  to 
be  spared.  But  as  a  commander  of  troops  Porter  would  have  risen,  in  my 
opinion,  to  a  high  command." 

The  demands  of  peace  upon  General  Porter  were  fully  as  great  as  those  of 
Avar.  He  continued  the  trusted  friend  of  the  general  of  the  armies,  besides  being 
his  confidant  and  reliable  aid  in  military  affiirs.  The  close  of  the  war  naturally 
brought  the  peaceful  conflict  of  "  reconstruction."  In  this  strange  condition  of 
national  life,  General  Porter  played  an  important  part.  His  first  duty,  after  the 
conflict,  was  in  helping  to  dissolve  the  great  army  which  the  Union  had  mar- 
shalled for  war.  In  the  plans  and  purposes  of  sending  back  into  citizenship  the 
peerless  soldiers  who  had  followed  Grant,  Sherman,  Sheridan  and  other  Generals 
for  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  General  Porter  performed  an  important  duty. 
It  was  General  Grant's  favorite  axiom  that,  "  Next  to  organizing  an  army,  the 
dissolution  of  it  was  the  most  difficult  thing."  Feeling  the  importance  of  this 
work,  he  intrusted  many  of  its  details  to  General  Porter,  who  in  this  service  bore 
a  conspicuous  part. 

In  the  beginning  of"  reconstruction  "  he  was  also  charged  with  various  inspect- 
ing tours  in  the  South,  to  report  upon  the  condition  of  the  people  and  the  manner 
in  which  they  were  accepting  the  terms  of  surrender,  and  various  delicate  matters 
of  that  description.  His  reports  upon  all  the  subjects  were  accepted  by  the 
general-in-chief  with  as  much  confidence  as  though  they  had  been  his  own 
observations.  Later,  when  General  Grant  became  involved  in  the  political  com- 
plications which  surrounded  the  conflict  between  Andrew  Johnson  and  Congress, 
General  Porter's  tact  was  very  frequently  called  into  action  with  good  results. 

When  General  Grant  accepted  the  position  of  Secretary  of  War,  ad  interim, 
during  that  difficult  and  trying  time,  he  made  General  Porter  Acting-Assistant 
Secretary  of  War,  and  entrusted  to  him  some  of  the  most  delicate  duties  of  that 
critical  period.  Porter  was  in  that  crisis  not  only  a  friend  of  the  general-in-chief, 
and  a  soldier  to  obey  all  commands,  but  acted  as  the  diplomat  between  the  War 
Office  and  the  White  House  through  all  the  strained  relations  that  settled  about 
General  Grant's  connections  with  the  administration  then  in  power.  He  was 
afterward  sent  across  the  continent  to  report  upon  the  location  and  distribution 
of  troops,  rendered  necessary  by  the  peace  footing.  His  recommendations  were 
always  accepted,  and  the  size  and  location  of  man)-  of  the  army  posts  on  the 
frontier  were  the  results  of  his  recommendations. 

When   General   Grant  became  President  General  Porter  was  assigned  to  di:ty 


GEN.    HORACE    PORTER. 


275 


M'lth  the  executive  at  tlic  White  House,  with  his  full  militar}-  rank,  and  in  the 
adtninistration  of  public  affiirs,  so  far  as  the  executive  was  concerned,  no  man 
wielded  a  more  important  influence  with  and  for  him.  His  tact,  judgment,  dis- 
cretion and  alert  powers  of  mind  and  speech  rendered  him  as  valuable  an  assist- 
ant in  the  highest  realm  of  civil  life  as  in  the  discharge  of  the  broadest  military 
duties.  Of  all  the  soldier  element  which  General  Grant  called  about  him,  or 
k'cpt  within  his  reach,  during  the  }-ears  from  the  close  of  the  war  until  he  ceased 
to  be  President,  no  man  occupied  a  higher  or  broader  position  than  Horace 
Porter.  In  the  attacks  which  were  made  upon  General  Grant's  administration 
of  civil  affairs,  no  reflections  were  e\er  cast  upon  General  Porter,  and  he  filled 
the  full  measure  of  his  usefulness  to  his  chief  by  standing  close  to  him  in  those 
exciting  days,  and  keeping  true  to  his  trust  and  friendship  to  the  last.  When 
the  measure  of  his  public  life  was  filled  to  the  brim,  and  he  had  witnessed  the 
weakness  and  the  strength  of  men  in  official  position  in  war  and  peace,  he  parted 
conipau}'  with  the  intrigues,  disputes  and  shallowness  of  public  life.  He  resigned 
a  iiigh  place  in  the  arnn-  onl)-  when  his  full  duty  to  General  Grant  had  been  done, 
to  accept  a  position  in  ci\'il  life  which  he  ha<.l  had  under  consideration  for  some 
time.  He  then  entered  the  business  world  to  become  a  successful  man  in  the 
trades  and  traffics  of  life. 

Few  soldiers  ha\-e  lived  who  have  done  this.  He  had,  before  this,  rejected  the 
solicitations  of  politicians  who  sought  to  nominate  him  for  Governor  of  his  native 
State.  It  was  something  of  a  trial  to  turn  awaj'  from  the  sentiment  of  succeeding 
to  the  same  high  office  his  father  had  so  worthily  filled.  But  this  he  did,  and 
positively  declined  to  allow  his  name  to  be  used  in  the  convention. 

His  first  business  position  was  that  of  Vice-President  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car 
Company.  Into  this  famous  organization  he  came  as  a  new  power  with  a  fresh 
purpose.  He  seemed  to  drop  readily  from  the  realm  of  high  public  concerns 
mto  the  routine  of  careful  railroad  management.  His  duties  with  the  Pullman 
Company  brought  him  to  New  York,  and  he  branched  out  into  a  financial  power 
at  a  very  early  period.  He  was  one  of  the  projectors  of  the  Metropolitan  Ele- 
\-ated  Railroad  of  that  city,  and  was  chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee  that 
raised  the  money  to  build  it,  and  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee  that 
erected  and  put  it  into  operation.  In  the  work  of  this  railroad  his  power  of 
invention  came  again  into  play,  and  he  devised  the  ticket-boxes  now  used  on  the 
elevated  roads  and  other  appliances  for  caring  for  the  fruits  of  the  company's 
expenditures.  In  many  of  the  railroad  enterprises  of  the  day  he  has  had  more 
or  less  of  a  place.  He  was  the  first  President  of  the  West  Shore  Railroad;  built 
and  followed  its  fortunes  until  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  New  York  Central. 
He  is  still  Vice-President  of  the  Pullman  Palace  Car  Co.,  and  besides  the  exacting 
duties  of  that  position,  is  a  prominent  factor  in  other  great  interests.  He  is  a 
Director  of  the  Continental  Bank  of  New  York,  and  a  Director  in  the  Equitable 
Life  Assurance  Society.  He  lias  served  as  an  active  Director  in  the  Hannibal 
and  St.  Joseph   Railroad ;  Scioto  Valley,  St.  Louis  and  San  Francisco ;  Cedar 


2j6  GEX.    HORACE    PORTER. 

Rapids ;  Atlantic  and   Pacific ;    the  Ontario  and  Western,  and   others   of  less 
note. 

In  addition  to  Iiis  multifarious  duties,  both  as  soldier  and  citizen,  he  has  studied 
much  and  tra\elled  to  great  purpose.  He  has  thoroughly  inspected  his  own 
country,  and  familiarized  himself  with  its  material  and  intellectual  development, 
as  well  as  its  powers  and  complexion.  He  has  studied  French  and  Spanish,  and 
is  well  ver.sed  in  the  literature  of  those  countries.  Unlike  most  business  men,  he, 
with  all  his  work,  has  never  neglected  the  graces  of  life,  but  cultivated  them. 
He  has  always  taken,  and  still  takes,  a  great  interest  in  art,  literature  and  music. 
During  the  several  tours  he  has  made  through  Europe,  he  has  gratified  his  fond- 
ness for  art  by  studying  the  works  of  all  the  old  masters,  and  in  inspecting  most 
of  the  fruits  of  human  ambition  of  which  the  Old  World  can  boast.  Music  is  a 
part  of  his  daily  life,  as  well  as  study  and  labor.  He  is  a  great  patron  of  the 
Opera,  and  a  conspicuous  figure  about  all  musical  and  dramatic  entertainments 
of  the  higher  order. 

The  full  sum  of  his  life  cannot  now  be  made  up.  He  is  yet  comparatively  a 
young  man,  having  but  just  passed  his  fiftieth  year.  It  is  an  old  adage  that 
"  Life  is  not  a  multitude  of  years,  but  a  multitude  of  experiences."  If  this  be 
true,  his  career  has  lifted  him  both  in  usefulness  and  knowledge  far  above  his 
years.  His  life  has  been,  in  many  respects,  a  romance,  running  from  the  primi- 
tive condition  of  Pennsyh'ania  to  the  very  summit  of  political,  social  and  business 
influence,  both  in  war  and  in  peace.  In  the  long-  range  of  human  endeavor  he 
ne\cr  lost  the  confidence  of  his  associates,  and  his  friendship  with  and  for  General 
Grant  was  never  dimmed.  He  saw  a  great  deal  of  his  old  chief,  even  after  they 
were  separated.  He  lived  beside  him  at  Long  Branch  in  the  summer,  and  in  the 
social  life  of  his  later  years  w'as  always  a  conspicuous  figure.  General  Porter 
was  beside  his  coffin  after  death,  and  followed  his  remains  to  their  final  resting- 
l)lace.  He  was  selected  as  the  orator  of  several  of  the  most  important  memorial 
services  that  were  held,  and  spoke  words  of  eulogy  to  the  sorrowing  soldiers. 
He  also  wrote  brilliantly  of  his  old  commander,  both  before  and  after  he  was 
dead. 

His  has  indeed  been  a  singular  career.  Few  men  have  combined  so  many 
strong  qualities.  His  literary  work  has  stood  well  alongside  of  his  other  achieve- 
ments, and  his  editorial  articles  and  sketches  in  the  old  Galaxy  and  the  present 
Century  and  Harpcr^s  Magazines  show  a  high  order  of  literary  talent.  His  gifts 
as  a  speaker  are  broader  even  than  his  power  with  the  pen.  His  wit  and  humor 
liave  cnli\'encd  many  a  social  occasion,  and  his  pathos  and  logic  have  instructed 
many  an  audience,  who  have  listened  to  his  addresses  and  lectures  in  most  of  the 
larger  cities  of  the  Union. 

lie  is  at  the  present  day  in  the  very  fiilncss  of  all  his  mental  and  physical 
powers,  ha\'ing  apparently  many  years  of  usefulness  yet  before  him 

Fka.nk  a.  Bukr, 


v^ 


Gen.  Isaac;  J.   Wistar. 


GEN.   ISAAC  JONES   WISTAR. 

GENERAL  Isaac  J.  Wistar,  Brigadier-General  of  Volunteers,  United  States 
Army,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  on  the  14th  of  November,  1827.  His 
parents  were  Dr.  Caspar  Wistar,  a  physician  of  high  standing,  and  his  wife, 
Lydia  Jones,  eldest  daughter  of  Isaac  C.  Jones.  Dr.  Wistar  was  a  consistent 
member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  was  descended  from  Caspar  Wistar,  who 
settled  in  Philadelphia  in  1714,  and  became  a  large  owner  of  real  estate,  and 
from  whom  many  city  titles  are  derived.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Hans  Caspar 
Wistar,  who  held  a  small  public  office  near  Heidelberg,  under  the  Grand  Duke 
of  Baden,  which  had  been  hereditary  for  many  generations. 

General  Wistar  was  educated  first  at  the  Friends'  boarding  school  at  West- 
town,  Chester  county,  and  afterwards  at  Haverford  College,  Pennsylvania.  In 
1849  he  went  to  Califoinia,  overland,  losing  one-fourth  of  the  party  by  attacks 
from  hostile  Indians  on  that  long  and  then  almost  unknown  road.  He  served  as 
a  foremast  hand  on  the  Pacific  for  several  voj-ages,  and  afterwards  passed  two 
years  in  the  service  of  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  as  a  "  free  trapper,"  or  courier 
dcs  bois,  mostly  in  the  far  Northwest,  wintering  during  one  season  as  far  north 
as  the  head  waters  of  the  Mackenzie  river.  Having  been  severely  wounded  in  a 
conflict  with  the  Rogue  River  Indians,  he  returned  to  San  Francisco  and  studied 
law  with  Crockett  &  Page,  who  were  distinguished  lawyers  of  that  day,  the  for- 
mer afterwards  becoming  Chief  Justice  of  that  State.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1853,  and  formed  an  association  with  the  famous  Col.  Edward  D.  Baker, 
of  Illinois,  acquiring  a  large  and  important  practice,  both  civil  and  criminal. 

In  1859,  Baker  having  been  elected  from  Oregon  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  their  professional  connection  was  dissolved,  and  Wistar  returned  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  recommenced  the  practice  of  the  law;  but  in  April,  1861,  in 
conjunction  with  Baker,  he  raised  and  organized,  under  a  special  order  of  the 
President,  the  so-called  "California  Regiment"  of  sixteen  companies,  si.xteen 
luindred  strong,  of  which  Baker  became  the  Colonel  and  Wistar  the  Lieutenant- 
Colonel. 

On  the  2ist  of  October,  t86i,  the  right  battalion  of  that  regiment,  with  por- 
tions of  the  Fifteenth  and  Twentieth  Massachusetts  Regiments,  owing  to  some 
confusion  of  orders,  were  attacked  in  an  untenable  position  at  Ball's  Bluff  Va., 
by  an  overpowering  Confederate  force,  and,  after  a  prolonged  and  desperate 
defence,  were  cut  to  pieces,  the  California  battalion  saving  its  colors,  but  losing 
over  si.xty  per  cent,  of  its  force  engaged,  including  Baker  killed  and  Wistar 
severely  wounded  in  three  places.  After  a  long  illness  Wistar  recovered,  but 
with  his  right  arm  permanently  crippled,  and  became  Colonel  of  his  regiment, 
which  was  then,  at  the  request  of  the  State  authorities,  taken  over  from  the  roster 
of  the  United  States  and  placed  upon  that  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ;  and  thus. 

(277) 


2~S  GE\.    ISAAC    J.    WISTAR. 

although  the  first  tliree  )-ears'  regiment  that  was  enlisted  in  the  volunteer  ser\'ice, 
it  became  the  Seventy-first  of  the  Pennsj-lvania  line.  It  was  brigaded  in  Sedg- 
wick's famous  division  of  the  Second  Corps,  and  soon  became  well  known 
throughout  the  gallant  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

General  Burns,  its  brigade  commander,  has  declared  that  at  Glendale  his  bri- 
gade, with  the  Nineteenth  Massachusetts,  held  fort}' thousand  Confederates,  com- 
prising the  Corps  of  Longstreet  and  Hill,  with  Magruder  in  supporting  distance,  at 
bay  during  the  vital  half  hour  when  thc\-  attempted  to  pierce  the  centre  of  the 
Federal  army  on  its  march  to  Malvern  Mill.  At  Gettysburg  the  Seventy-first 
and  Sixt\--ninth  Regiments  held  successfully,  though  with  terrible  loss  of  life,  the 
crucial  position  at  the  "  Bloody  Angle,"  and  it  ^\as  against  their  steady  front 
that  the  memorable  assault  of  Pickett  spent  its  force  in  \ain.  Thus  on  two 
momentous  occasions  it  was  the  lot  of  this  regiment,  \\  ilh  its  gallant  brigade 
associates,  to  meet  and  foil  two  great  attempts  to  pierce  the  Union  centre  and 
cut  the  army  in  two.  The  success  of  cither  would,  in  all  probability,  have 
modified  materiall}'  the  issue  of  the  war,  and  produced  far-reaching  consequences 
upon  which  it  is  now  useless  to  speculate. 

At  the  great  battle  of  Antietam,  after  the  repulse  of  the  Corps  of  both  Hoolcer 
and  Mansfield,  the  division  of  Sedgwick  foi'ded  the  Antietam  creek,  and  advanced 
a  mile  over  level  ground  in  column  by  brigade  under  aitillery  fire  to  the  assault 
of  Jackson's  position.  Here  one  of  the  bloodiest  actions  of  the  war  took  place, 
and  in  it  Wistar  was  again  severeh-  wounded  and  left  on  the  ground  intei'medi- 
atc  between  the  two  armies,  whence  he  was  rescued  tweh'e  hours  later  under 
cover  of  night,  speechless  but  living.  For  his  services  on  that  occasion  he  was 
appointed  Brigadier-General,  and  commanded  successively  a  brigade  and  division 
in  the  Eighteenth  Army  Corps,  where  he  became  well  known  to  the  country  in 
many  celebrated  battles  and  for  some  enterprising  distant  expeditions.  His 
effort  to  surprise  the  defences  of  Richmond,  in  February,  1864,  displayed  some 
of  the  most  remarkable  infantry  marching  of  the  war,  and  came  very  near  accom- 
plishing a  successful  entry  by  the  back  door  into  the  Confederate  capital. 

At  Charles  City  Court-House  during  the  same  winter,  by  a  long  and  rapid 
march  with  one  brigade  of  cavalry,  he  surprised  and  captured  two  entire  regi- 
ments of  Confederate  cavalry,  losing  scarcely  a  man.  The  activity  of  his  opera- 
tions in  the  vicinity  of  Richmond  during  the  winter  of  1863-64  attracted  public 
attention,  and  received  .special  mention  in  the  President's  message.  At  the 
bloody  battle  of  Drury's  Bluff,  May  16,  1S64,  his  command  was  the  last  on  the 
line  of  battle  of  the  Eighteenth  Corps,  from  which  it  retired  at  leisure  under 
orders  to  become  the  rear  guard  of  the  Army  of  the  James  in  the  retreat  to 
Bermuda  Hundred  which  ensued. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  .shattered  by  wounds  and  broken  in  health,  he 
declined  all  invitations  to  a  political  career,  and  accepted  the  Presidency  of  the 
Union  Canal  Company,  from  which,  in  1867,  he  was  called  to  the  charge  of  all 
the  canals  controlled  by  tiie  Penn.sylvania  Railroad  Company  in   Pennsjlvania, 


GEN.    ISAAC    J.    WISTAR.  279 

and  soon  afterwards  of  tliose  whicli  it  acquired  in  New  Jerse\',  being  in  all  about 
four  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  At  the  present  time,  and  for  many  j-ears  past,  he 
has  also  had  charge  of  all  the  coal-mining  interests  controlled  by  that  great  cor- 
poration, employing  in  the  aggregate  about  eight  thousand  men  of  all  ranks,  and 
producing  about  two  million  five  huntlred  thousand  tons  per  annum. 

At  the  celebrated  reunion  of  the  sur\'i\'ors  of  the  Philadelphia  Brigade  and 
Pickett's  Division  at  Gettj-sburg  held  at  the  "  Bloody  Angle"  on  the  3d  of  July, 
1887,  he  took  an  active  part,  making  his  first  and  only  public  utterance  since  the 
war  in  the  cause  of  concord  and  fellowship.  His  short  address,  delivered  with  a 
choking  voice  on  that  memorable  spot  in  presence  of  the  battered  survivors  of 
both  armies,  with  the  widow  of  the  gallant  Pickett  sitting  by,  presented  a  unique 
and  thrilling  scene.  The  emotion  and  feeling  of  those  scanty  remnants  of  the 
two  famous  corps  who  had  almost  mutually  destroj-ed  each  other  on  the  same 
spot  a  quarter  of  a  century  before  was  indescribable,  and  the  speaker's  voice  was 
constantly  interrupted  by  the  uncontrollable  emotion  of  himself  and  others.  The 
following  is  the  address  as  reported  in  the  Philadelphia  Press  of  July  7,  18S7  : 

Comrades  and  Friends: — Upon  me  ha";  been  confcrreil  the  honor  of  delivering  tliis  completed 
monument  to  the  cu>toily  and  ]nous  care  of  the  Uatllefield  Memorial  Association. 

We  hope  it  may  endure  while  these  surrounding  hills  shall  stand,  not  simply  to  mark  for  posterity  this 
spot  on  which  such  momentous  events  transpired,  but  as  a  memorial  from  us  few  survivors  to  commemo- 
rate the  far  greater  number  of  our  glorious  dead. 

You  must  give  me  a  minute  to  recover  myself.  I  cannot  look  on  your  small  arr.ay — pitiful  indeed  in 
nunil;)ers,  though  in  nothing  else — without  contrasting  it  with  the  numerous  and  gallant  body  1  once  led, 
and  the  feeling  is  too  much  for  me. 

Your  regiment,  the  Seventy-first  of  Pennsylvania,  was  mustered  in  on  the  l5th  of  May,  lS6l,  by  a 
captain  of  engineers,  who  afterwards  became  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  distinguished  soldiers  of  our 
country,  and  whose  great  fame  and  reputation  are  among  the  most  precious  possessions  of  his  fellow- 
soldiers  and  countrymen.  General  William  F.  Smith. 

It  served  out  its  term  in  the  Second  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  but  I  w  ill  not  enter  on  its 
history,  wdiich  is  well  known  to  every  gallant  soldier  of  that  army.  It  was  entitled  to  be  mustered  out 
on  the  i6ih  of  May,  1S64,  when  the  army  was  locked  in  tleadly  embrace  with  the  brave  Army  of  North- 
ern Virginia;  but,  at  the  call  of  its  corps  commander,  cheerfully  remained  and  participated  in  the  bloody 
assaults  at  Cold  Harbor,  where  an  hi-torian  has  justlv  said  tliar  the  Second  Corps  suffered  losses  from 
which,  though  it  recovered  and  continued  in  service  till  the  last  day  of  the  war,  it  was  never  afterwards 
exactly  tlie  same  body  it  had  been. 

I  cannot  speak  to  you  with  calmness.  If  yoit  think  I  can  or  ought  to  look  on  the  scanty  and  battered 
remnant  of  your  once  splendid  array  unmoved,  you  are  wrong.     I  cannot  do  it. 

Enough,  however,  has  been  said  here  by  far  better  orators,  though  one  hundred  times  as  much  would 
be  inadequate  to  express  the  reminiscences  and  solemn  thoughts  wdiich  this  historic  spot  and  our  dwindled 
ranks  of  scarred  and  battered  survivors  send  surging  through  our  breasts  and  welling  from  our  eyes. 

I  cannot  look  into  your  faces  and  speak  with  steady  voice.  I  can  say  no  more  now,  but  will  express 
one  single  sentiment  which  I  believe  will  reach  all  of  our  hearts.  That  while  life  remains  for  this  small 
remnant,  we  may  every  one  of  us,  till  our  last  breath,  continue  to  cherish  for  our  friends  and  comrades, 
affection,  love  and  personal  friendship,  and  to  share  with  our  gallant  enemies  of  long  ago — enemies, 
thank  God,  no  longer — peace,  concord  and  fellowship  under  one  common  flag  forever  more. 

C.  R.  D. 


':f' 


^    ^ 


>** 


Gen.  Joshua  T.  Owen. 


JOSHUA  THOMAS  OWEN. 

AMERICA  owes  a  large  part  of  her  wealth  and  influence  to  her  adopted  citi- 
zens. Some  of  her  most  prominent  men  were  born  in  other  lands,  but 
gave  this  country  the  benefit  of  their  life-work,  and  the  strong  infusion  of  foreign 
blood  which  has  permeated  the  veins  of  the  Republic  from  the  day  of  its  inception 
until  now  has  had  much  to  do  in  developing  its  character  and  moulding  its  career. 
A  worthy  example  of  the  better  class  of  this  foreign-born  element  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  was  General  Joshua  Thomas  Owen.  He  was  a  t\-pical  Welshman — 
quick-witted,  level-headed,  industrious  and  always  bound  to  rise  in  the  world. 

He  was  born  and  spent  his  childhood  in  Caermarthenshire,  South  Wales,  his 
father,  David  Owen,  having  removed  to  that  section  from  Glamorganshire  after 
marrying  Jane  Thomas,  a  Glamorganshire  lass.  The  father  was  a  manufacturer 
of  woollens.  Joshua  was  born  March  29th,  1 821,  and  was  eleven  years  old  when 
David  Owen  concluded  to  try  his  fortunes  in  the  New  World  across  the  sea. 
The  family,  consisting  of  the  father,  mother,  ten  sons  and  one  daughter,  came 
to  America  in  1832,  and  settled  in  Wellsboro,  Tioga  county,  Pennsylvania.  It 
was  away  back  in  the  woods.  The  two  or  three  railroads  that  were  then  strug- 
gling to  establish  the  system  which  was  to  cover  the  country  fifty  years  later 
with  an  iron  net-work  were  slowly  struggling  into  existence,  and  it  seemed  about 
the  last  spot  on  earth  for  an  enterprising  manufacturer  to  start  a  woollen  factory. 
What  took  the  shrewd  Welshman  there  we  do  not  know,  but  it  did  not  take 
him  long  to  find  out  that  it  was  not  the  place  for  him.  In  1S35  he  took  his 
family  to  Baltimore,  where  he  and  his  son  Caleb  engaged  in  the  business  of 
publishing  and  selling  books. 

During  all  this  time  young  Joshua's  education  was  being  attended  to,  and  at 
the  age  of  eighteen,  after  a  preparatory  course  at  the  Baltimore  High  School,  he 
was  ready  for  college.  He  entered  Jefferson  College,  in  Washington  county, 
Pennsylvania — then  under  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Matthew  Brown — and  grad- 
uated in  the  class  of  '45.  He  returned  to  Baltimore,  and,  the  senior  member  of 
the  firm  of  Owen,  Kurtz  &  Co.,  book  publishers,  having  died,  Joshua  took  his 
place  and  carried  on  the  business  with  Mr.  Kurtz  for  about  a  year. 

In  1849  he  removed  to  Philadelphia,  where  he  engaged  in  teaching  at  the 
Chestnut  Hill  Academy,  in  conjunction  with  his  brother.  Dr.  Roger  Owen,  who 
was  afterward  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Chestnut  Hill.  He  did  not, 
however,  intend  to  make  teaching  his  profession.  In  the  same  }-ear  he  entered 
the  law  office  of  Samuel  H.  Perkins,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1S52,  though 
he  did  not  begin  the  active  practice  of  his  profession  until  1S54.  The  ne.xt  year 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  Common  Council  from  the  Twenty-second  ward  of 
Philadelphia,  and  in  1856  was  sent  to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  as  a  Demo- 
cratic member  on  the  general  ticket.  He  served  one  term  in  the  Legislature, 
36  (2S1J 


2S2  GEN',    JO.SIIL'A    T.    UWEN. 

then  retired  to  private  life,  and  liad  built  up  a  lucrative  practice  in  his  profession, 
when  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  and  the  eloquence  and  ardor  of  Hon. 
Saiinicl  J.  Randall  induced  him  to  volunteer.  He  enlisted  as  a  private  in  the 
First  City  Troop  of  Philadelphia,  but  was  shortly  afterward  elected  Colonel  of  the 
Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  PennsyK'ania  Volunteer  Militia  (three  months'  men). 
When  this  term  of  enlistment  expired  he  organized  the  Sixty-ninth  Regiment, 
Pennsylvania  Volunteers,  to  serve  for  three  j'ears.  He  saw  a  great  deal  of  ser- 
vice with  this  command,  and  did  so  much  good  work  that  on  November  29th, 
1862,  he  was  made  a  Brigadier-General.  The  Senate  failed  to  confirm  the  ap- 
pointment at  that  time,  biit   in   June,  1863,  it  was   renewed  and  then  confirmed. 

Bates'  history  records  the  first  successful  bayonet  charge  of  the  war  as  the 
achievement  of  General  Owen  at  the  battle  of  Glendale  in  these  words  : 

"  During  the  night  the  corps  moved  on  to  White  Oak  Swamp,  where  it  rested 
until  morning,  and  then  resumed  the  march  to  Charles  Cit)'  Cross  Roads.  The 
way  was  impeded  by  the  trains  and  the  progress  was  slow.  After  passing  the 
junction  of  the  Charles  City  with  the  Quaker  Road,  the  brigade  halted  and  was 
resting  b}'  the  wayside.  It  was  past  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  suddenh' 
a  terrific  artillery  fire  was  opened  by  the  enemy  on  the  Pennsylvania  Reser\-e 
Corps,  holding  the  New  Market  Road,  followed  by  a  continuous  discharge  of 
infantry,  accompanied  by  the  well-known  rebel  yell.  The  enemy  had  approached 
under  cover  of  a  curtain  of  timber  and,  unheralded,  was  making  a  furious  as- 
sault. At  full  speed  General  Sumner  rode  towards  the  spot  where  the  regiment 
was  resting  and  ordered  Colonel  Owen  to  lead  forward  his  men  at  double-quick. 
As  they  moved  over  the  open  field,  ploughed  by  shot  and  shell.  General  Hooker 
came  on  to  meet  them,  crying  out,  with  his  usual  enthusiasm  in  battle,  to  Gen- 
eral Sumner  as  he  approached  :  '  McCall  holds  them  as  in  a  vice,  \'et  he  must 
give  way  soon  unless  assisted.  I  am  strong  enough  to  the  left  of  this  road.  If 
you  will  hold  this  open  ground,  I  don't  care  how  soon  they  come.'  '  I  iiave 
brought  you,'  said  Sumner,  'the  Sixt_\--ninth.  Put  it  where  )-ou  please,  for  this 
is  your  fight.  Hooker.'  The  regiment  was  immediately  brought  up  and  posted 
across  the  field  in  a  slight  depression  of  the  ground  with  a  battery  a  little  in  the 
rear.  Turning  to  Colonel  Owen,  General  Hooker  said,  with  an  expression  of  the 
utmost  determination  :  '  Hold  this  position  and  keep  the  enemy  in  check  at  all 
haz:u-ds.'  As  was  predicted,  the  division  of  McCall  was  forced  to  retreat,  and 
the  wounded  and  stragglers  began  to  pour  back  to  the  rear.  On  pressed  the 
enemy  in  pursuit.  To  give  his  men  assuiancc,  Colonel  Owen  ordered  them  to 
kneel.  Soon  the  rebel  line  emerged  from  the  woods  within  fift)'  yards,  when  it 
was  brought  to  a  halt  by  a  volley  from  the  well-poised  muskets  of  the  Sixt)-- 
ninth.  But  now  the  enemy  swarmed  out  from  the  woods  in  masses  and  began  to 
extend  his  line  on  either  flank  of  the  regiment.  It  was  a  critical  moment.  The 
order  to  fi.x  bayonets  and  charge  was  given,  and  springing  to  their  feet  the  men 
rushed  on  in  the  most  daring  and  impetuous  manner,  driving  the  enenn-  in  utter 
rout,  pursuing  him  beyond  his  original  ground  and  holding  it  undisturbed  until 


GEN.    JOSHUA    T.    OWEN.  283 

midnight  and  until  withdrawn.  General  Hooker  comphnicnted  Colonel  Owen 
on  the  field  for  having  made  this, '  the  first  successful  bayonet  charge  of  the  war.' 
The  loss  was  seven  killed,  twenty-two  wounded  and  five  taken  prisoners." 

General  Hooker  thus  officially  complimented  Colonel  Owen  and  his  regiment : 

"About  three  o'clock  the  enemy  commenced  a  vigorous  attack  on  McCall, 
and  in  such  force  that  General  Sumner  voluntarily  tendered  me  the  services  of 
a  regiment  which  was  posted  in  an  open  field  on  my  extreme  right  and  under 
shelter  from  the  enemy's  artillery.  This  was  the  Si.xty-ninth  Regiment  Penn- 
s}-lvania  Volunteers  under  Colonel  Owen.  .  .  .  After  great  loss  the  enemy 
gave  way  and  were  instantly  followed  with  great  gallantry  by  Grover  at  the 
head  of  the  First  Massachusetts  Regiment,  while  the  Sixty-ninth  Pennsylvania, 
heroically  led  by  Owen,  advanced  in  the  open  field  on  their  flank,  with  almost 
reckless  daring.  As  Colonel  Owen  has  rendered  me  no  report  of  the  opera- 
tions of  his  regiment,  I  can  only  express  my  high  appreciation  of  his  services,  and 
my  acknowledgment  to  his  chief  for  having  tendered  me  so  gallant  a  regiment." 

General  Owen  was  present  and  took  part  with  his  brigade  in  the  battles  of 
Ball's  Bluff,  Fair  0<iks,  Antietam,  Fredericksburg,  Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg, 
Mine  Run,  Morton'.s  Ford,  Bristow  Station,  the  Wilderness,  Spottsylvania  and 
Cold  Harbor,  and  was  honorably  mentioned  by  Generals  Sumner,  Hancock, 
Sedgwick,  Howard,  Hoolvcr,  McClcllan,  Meade  and  Warren. 

General  Owen  remained  in  the  army  until  August  loth,  1S64,  when  he  re- 
signed because  of  difficulties  with  his  commanding  officer.  General  John  Gibbon, 
and  was  honorably  mustered  out.  Returning  to  Philadelphia,  he  resumed  the 
practice  of  law,  and  in  1S67  was  elected  Recorder  of  Deeds,  which  office  he  held 
for  one  term — three  years.  He  then  went  to  New  York  and  founded  the  Daily 
Register.  This  at  first  was  a  newspaper  devoted  chiefly  to  commercial  business, 
but  upon  the  downfall  of  the  Tweed  dynasty  it  began  publishing  the  calendars 
of  the  courts,  and  in  1874,  under  an  act  of  Assembly,  the  President  Judges  of 
the  Courts  appointed  it  the  official  organ  of  the  courts  of  record  in  New  York 
cit\',  a  position  which  it  still  holds.  General  Owen  had  associated  with  him 
John  Bryan  and  General  Anson  G.  McCook.  The  General,  however,  continued 
his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  spring  of  1884  was  honored  by  his  fel- 
low-citizens of  the  Twenty-second  ward  by  an  election  to  the  Common  Council. 
He  died  at  his  residence  at  Chestnut  Hill  on  November  7,  1887. 


4  This  book  belongs  to  ^ 
AUSTIN      BOTE  :^, 
"EIBEPCBT.     PA. 


Please     Eecmii    1^^ 


Gen.  William    Lilly. 


WILLIAM  LILLY.        piep   P^f^-  /^-T  /V^fS. 

AGENTLEJiAN  wlio  ouglit  to  be  an  authority  on  the  subject  said,  some 
years  ago,  that  few  men  or  corporations  make  money  in  tlie  business 
of  mining  anthracite  coal.  There  is  little  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this,  though 
the  reasons  for  it  are  not  apparent  to  the  average  man  who  usually  looks  upon 
the  bnsiness  as  a  peculiarly  profitable  one;  and  of  this  fact  he  sees  what  is  good 
evidence  all  about  him.  To  be  a  successful  producer  of  the  great  commodity  of 
which  Pennsylvanians  have  a  monopoly,  requires  the  highest  business  sagacity 
and  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  trade  of  the  world.  And  even  with  these 
qualifications  and  the  prudence  and  care  which  is  always  requisite  in  ordinary 
transactions,  it  sometimes  happens  that  unforeseen  events  undo  the  work  of  the 
coal  producer  and  bankrupt  him  almost  in  the  midst  of  his  prosperity.  William 
Lilly,  of  Mauch  Chunk,  is  one  of  the  comparatively  few  men  whose  business 
sagacity  has  been  sufficient  to  overcome  the  obstacles  to  wealth  which  constantly 
rise  up  before  the  producer  of  anthracite  coal.  Beginning  life  in  humble  cir- 
cumstances, he  has  grown  to  be  a  large  coal  producer,  and  one  of  the  foremost 
men  in  his  section  of  the  State.  Jlz/te  j^g" 

He  was  born  of  sturdy  revolutionary  stock  in  Penn  Van,  N.  Y.,  in  1821,  and 
removed  with  his  father,  Colonel  William  Lilly,  to  Carbon  county,  Peu.nsyl\-auia, 
in  1838.  As  a  boy  he  obtained  employment  in  the  Beaver  Meadow  Railroad 
Company.  The  line  ran  from  the  mines  in  the  upper  end  of  Carbon  count_v,  to 
the  canal  in  Parryville,  and  it  was  the  onl}'  steam  railroad  in  the  Lehigh  Valley 
for  many  years.  The  great  anthracite  coal  trade  was  still  in  its  infancy,  and  for 
years  the  little  road  carried  coal  over  the  mountains,  and  down  the  winding 
Lehigh  to  Mauch  Chunk,  where  it  was  reshipped  to  Philadelphia  and  New  York 
in  boats.  Young  Lilly  was  soon  advanced  to  a  conductorship,  and  finally  to  a 
more  important  position,  which  grew  as  the  coal  trade  developed.  He  kept 
himself  fully  posted  as  to  his  business,  saved  some  money  and  soon  became  a 
valuable  man  to  his  employers.  In  twelve  years  he  was  far  ahead  of  his  boyish 
companions  on  the  road  to  success,  and  when  he  was  twenty  was  elected  Colonel 
of  one  of  the  militia  regiments  of  the  Lehigh  Valley.  He  took  great  interest  in 
military  matters,  and  was  a  prominent  figure  on  training  days.  In  a  few  years 
he  was  elected  a  Brigadier-General,  the  youngest  man  in  the  State  who  had  at- 
tained so  high  an  honor.  Beginning  to  take  an  acti\-e  part  in  politics,  as 
early  as  1850  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  house  of  the  State  Legislature.  He 
made  an  efficient  member,  and  was  re-elected  for  the  succeeding  term.  He 
barely  missed  being  chosen  Speaker,  an  office  which  fell  to  Hon.  John  Cessna, 
who,  like  General  Lilly,  was  then  a  strong  Democrat,  and  who,  with  the 
General,  changed  his  views  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  became  a  pro- 
nounced  Republican.       During   the   next  eight    years   General    Lilly  was  ac- 


2S6  '  WILLIAM    LILLY. 

tivcl)-  engaged  in  business,  but  he  still  took  a  leading  part  in  the  politics  of  the 
State. 

In  1859  '''^  associated  himself  with  Ario  Pardee,  the  late  J.  Gillingham  Foil 
and  George  B.  ]Markle  in  the  coal  business,  at  Jeddo,  in  Luzerne  county.  The 
enterprise  was  a  venturesome  one,  but  good  management  soon  placed  it  on  a 
paying  basis.  The  war  came  on  and  the  coal  and  iron  trade  began  to  be 
remunerative  to  a  degree  never  before  known.  In  a  few  years  General  Lilly  was 
a  rich  man,  and  paid  the  government  360,000  per  annum  as  income  tax.  He  is 
largely  interested  in  the  iron  trade,  and  is  a  heavy  holder  of  the  securities  of  a 
number  of  corporations  in  the  Lehigh  Valley  and  elsewhere,  and  of  the  leading 
railroads  of  the  country.  In  many  of  these  companies  he  is  a  director,  and  he 
takes  an  active  interest  in  their  affairs. 

Until  the  autumn  of  1S62,  General  Lilly  was,  as  has  been  said,  an  active 
Democrat.  About  that  time  he  went  to  XVashington,  as  was  his  usual  custom 
after  the  opening  of  Congress,  and  met  the  leading  Democrats  of  the  country. 
The  time  was  an  exciting  one.  The  war  had  been  going  on  for  more  than  a  year 
and  the  Union  arms  had  met  with  reverses  which  almost  made  the  struggle 
doubtful.  Strong  a  Democrat  as  he  was,  General  Lilly  had  never  for  a  moment 
wavered  in  his  loyalty  to  the  Union  cause,  and  he  had  never  doubted  the  final 
success  of  the  Federal  arms.  A  few  conversations  with  prominent  Democratic 
Congressmen  soon  convinced  him  that  he  could  not  remain  in  the  Democratic 
party  and  Jbe  as  true  a  Union  man  as  he  desired  to  be.  One  day  when  he  visited 
the  House  of  Representatives  he  found  fifty-fi\-e  Democrats  voting  against  a  war 
measure,  and  he  learned  personally  from  more  than  thirty  of  these  that  they 
were  strongly  in  s}-mpathy  with  the  rebels.  lie  expressed  to  a  number  of 
gentlemen  his  firm  belief  that  the  rebellion  would  not  be  successful.  One  mem- 
ber replied :  "  I  would  like  to  see  any  Democrat  on  this  floor  who  wants  to  see 
it  put  down."  In  further  conversation  General  Lilly  found  that  there  were  but 
few  real  L'nion  men  among  his  Democratic  acquaintances  in  the  house.  Among 
them  were  the  late  Hcndrick  B.  Wright,  of  the  Luzerne  district,  and  General 
Joseph  Baily,  of  Perry  county.  When  General  Lilly  had  surveyed  the  political 
field  to  his  satisfaction  he  said  to  a  Pennsylvania  member: 

"  I  don't  care  about  breaking  personal  friendships,  but  I  have  come  to  bid  you 
a  political  good-b\'." 

"  What's  the  matter  ?  "  asked  the  astonished  Congressman. 

"  Well,"  was  the  reply,  "  I  have  made  up  my  mind  never  again  to  vote  with  a 
party  which  has  failed  to  support  the  government  in  its  hour  of  trial  and  need." 
Returning  home  General  Lilly  became  a  working  Republican,  and  has  remained 
one  ever  since. 

He  has  attended  no  less  than  six  National  Republican  Conventions,  as  dele- 
gate or  alternate,  and  has  been  a  member  of  every  important  Republican  State 
Convention  since  1863.  Ho  was  a  strong  protective  tariff  man  when  he  was  a 
Democrat,  and  since,  and  occupied  the  chair  at  the  great  New  York  Tariff  Con- 


WILLIAM    LILLY.  28/ 

vcntioii  of  1881.  Mc  there  stated  his  bchef  to  be  tliat  the  industries  of  the 
United  States  should  be  protected  and  fostered  to  the  extent  of  givin;^'  them  the 
preference  in  their  own  market.  In  local  State  politics  he  has  always  been  on 
friendly  terms  with  all  Republican  politicians  in  the  commonwealth,  though  he 
has  never  been  the  henchman  of  any  leader  or  clique.  He  has  never  asked  for 
an  office,  though  his  friends  have  frequently  mentioned  his  name  in  State  Con- 
ventions for  the  governorship.  On  one  occasion  he  received  the  second  highest 
vote  on  the  last  ballot  for  that  office,  and  his  name  was  freely  mentioned  in  con- 
nection with  the  nomination  in  1S82. 

Fifteen  years  ago  General  Lilly  became  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  time 
had  come  for  the  revision  of  the  Constitution  of  the  State.  He  urged  his  views 
upon  his  friends  privately,  and  at  the  Republican  State  Convention  of  1867,  at 
Williamsport,  he  presented  and  advocated  a  resolution  committing  the  party  to 
his  project  of  amending  the  fundamental  law  of  the  commonwealth.  Being  a 
member  of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions  he  was  successful  in  placing  it  in  the 
plattorm.  It  was  not,  however,  until  some  years  later  that  the  Legislature  passed 
a  bill  which  present  jd  the  subject  to  the  people  of  the  State,  and  the  Convention 
to  revise  the  Constitution  was  called  b}'  a  large  majority  of  the  popular  vote. 
At  a  subsequent  election  General  Lilly  was  chosen  a  Delegate-at-Large,  having 
been  unanimously  named  by  the  State  Convention  for  that  position.  He  took  a 
very  acti\-e  part  in  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention,  which  sat  for  nearly  a 
year  in  Philadelphia  in  1872-73.  His  attention  to  his  duties  was  very  exact — 
during  the  whole  period  he  ne\'cr  missed  a  roll-call.  Serving  on  the  chief  com- 
mittees and  often  occupying  the  floor  he  gave  his  whole  time  to  his  duties,  and 
took  up  his  residence  in  Pliiladelphia  that  he  might  be  able  to  do  so.  When 
the  labors  of  the  Con\'cntion  were  o\'er,  he  expressed  himself  as  satisfieil  with 
what  the  Convention  had  done.  .Since  the  new  Constitution  went  into  effect  he 
has  thought  that  some  of  its  provisions  might  be  modified  with  propriety  and 
with  benefit  to  the  State. 

General  Lilly  is  still  in  the  prime  of  life,  though  more  than  sixty  years  old.  An 
active  out-door  life  and  a  careful  mode  of  living  have  given  him  at  sixty-three  the 
health  and  strength  of  a  man  of  forty.  In  his  habits  he  has  always  been  a  most 
temperate  man.  Since  the  year  1S42  no  intoxicating  drink  has  passed  his  lips, 
and  he  has  not  used  tobacco  for  more  than  thirty  years.  In  appearance  General 
Lilly  is  above  the  medium  height,  and  robust  in  person.  He  wears  long  flowing 
whiskers,  which  are  just  beginning  to  be  tinged  with  gray.  He  lives  in  an  ele- 
gant mansion  in  Mauch  Chunk.  General  Lilly  has  large  wealth,  and  uses  it  lib- 
erally. His  many  charities  are  only  known  to  the  recipients  of  them.  During 
the  whole  war  he  supported  the  families  of  five  soldiers,  and  he  now  relieves  the 
necessities  of  a  large  number  of  needy  persons  by  paying  them  a  regular  annual 
income.  In  Mauch  Chunk  he  is  foremost  in  all  town  improvements,  and  he  is 
extremely  popular  at  home.  Since  1840  he  has  been  a  leading  Alasun,  becoming 
Master  of  his  lodge,  District  Deputy  and  Grand  Master.     Ro\al  Arch  Chapter, 


28S 


WILLIAM    LILLY. 


No.  I  Si,  is  named  after  him,  and  he  is  an  Eminent  Commander  of  the  Knights 
Templar  and  a  Hfe  member  of  the  Blue  Lodge  Chapter  and  two  commanderies. 
Of  late  years  his  time  has  been  so  occupied  that  he  has  not  given  the  attention 
to  ^Masonry  that  he  formerly  did. 

His  reading  and  tastes  have  led  him  in  the  direction  of  a  man  of  culture.  He 
is  a  hfe  member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia  and  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  and  a  member  of  the 
society  of  American  Mining  Engineers.  He  has  a  large  and  well-selected  library, 
and  for  years  has  devoted  himself  to  a  careful  course  of  reading.  In  his  residence 
there  is  a  gallery  of  fine  paintings.  General  Lilly's  habits  are  quiet  and  unosten- 
tatious. He  rises  early,  and  manages  his  large  interests  with  hardly  the  aid  of 
a  clerk.  Wherever  he  is  known  it  is  as  a  man  of  stainless  honor.  He  has  ene- 
mies, as  everj'  man  of  character,  determination  and  decided  opinion  has,  but  no 
man  hves  who  will  say  that  William  Lilly  ever  did  a  dishonorable  act. 


j£  ^..^  oV:z£^  /^ 


(2{^e£^ 


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■iyi 


News  Letter  From 
the  Mauch  Chunks 


At  a  public  sale  held  Monday. af- 
ternoon the  property  of  Mrs.  Juliu.s 
Remmel  on  Broadway,  wa.s  sold  to 
James  M.  Breslin,  the  well  known 
lawyer,  for  $3,650.  It  wa.s  formerly 
the  home  of  General  William  E.  Lilly, 
deceased  and  is  one  of  the  finest  pro- 
perties In  Mauch  Chunk.  The  pro- 
1  perty  in  prosperous  times  would 
easily  command  $25,000. 


J- -J 


Col.  Edward    M.   Heyl. 


COL.    EDWARD   MILES    IIEYL. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Edward  M.  Hevl,  Inspector-General  United  States 
Army,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  14,  1844.  lie  is  a  descendant 
of  Rev.  Jolin  Thomas  Heyl,  of  an  old  and  illustrious  family  of  the  Grand  Duchy 
of  Baden,  Germany,  who  came  to  America  in  1730.  Colonel  He}'rs  great-grand- 
father, John  Heyl,  served  in  the  Continental  Army  during  the  Revolution,  and 
was  with  General  Washington  at  Valley  Forge.  His  grandfather,  Philip  Heyl, 
of  Philadelphia,  was  a  large  vessel  owner  and  shipping  merchant,  engaged  in  the 
West  India  trade.  He  was  captiu'ed  by  an  linglish  man-of-war  on  one  of  his^ 
ships  during  the  War  of  18 1 2,  and  sent  to  Dartmoor  Piison,  where  he  was 
confined  over  a  }'ear.  David  Seeger  Heyl,  Colonel  Heyl's  father,  was  formerly 
a  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Camden,  N.  J.,  where 
he  was  Collector  of  the  Port  for  some  years.  He  was  married  on  October  12, 
1836,  to  Caroline  Julia  Heath,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  Colonel  Heyl's  mother, 
a  daughter  of  Charles  Pettit  Heath,  a  descendant  of  a  prominent  New  Jersey 
family  which  originally  came  from  Lancashire,  England,  and  settled  in  New 
Jersey  in  1670.  Charles  P.  Heath  received  his  early  training  in  that  State,  and 
graduated  from  Princeton  College;  after  which  he  came  to  Philadelphia,  where  he 
made  his  permanent  residence,  and  was  associated  with  its  interests  at  that  time 
in  connection  with  the  prominent  men  of  his  day.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
First  Troop,  Philadelphia  City  Cavalry,  1818  to  1821.  He  married  Esther 
Keeley,  a  daughter  of  Matthias  Kceley,  a  well-known  West  India  merchant  of 
Philadelphia  before  and  after  the  Revolution,  whose  wife,  Hannah  Thomas,  was  a 
great-granddaughter  of  Anthony  Wayne,  of  Yorkshire,  England,  who  com- 
manded a  squadron  of  horse  under  William  of  Orange  at  the  Rattle  of  the 
Boyne,  and  afterwards  came  to  America  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania  in  1722. 
He  was  the  grandfather  of  Major-General  Anthony  Waj-ne,  of  Revolutionary 
fame. 

Colonel  Heyl  received  his  elementar}'  education  at  Plainfield  Academy,  near 
Carlisle,  Pa.,  and  later  became  a  student  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania.  While  a  student  there,  and  when  but  seventeen  j-ears 
of  age,  he  enlisted  on  the  12th  of  August,  1 861,  in  Company  E,  Third  Pennsyl- 
vania Cavalry,  and  was  appointed  First  Sergeant  on  October  1st  following.  On 
April  3,  1862,  he  was  made  a  Second  Lieutenant  of  Company  M  of  that  regi- 
ment, and  received  his  promotion  to  the  First  Lieutenancy  of  Company  I  on 
April  1st  of  the  following  year.  He  became  Captain  of  the  company  on  August 
4,  1863,  and  was  mustered  out  at  Philadelphia  on  August  24,  1864.  Captain 
He}'l  served  throughout  the  war  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  participated 
with  distinction  in  the  following  battles  and  skirmishes:  In  1862  at  the  siege  of 
Yorktown,  battles  of  Williamsburg,  Hanover  Court-House,  Savage  Station,  Jor- 
37  C2S9) 


2C)0  COL.    EDWARD    M.    IIEVL. 

dan's  Foixl,  Charles'  City  Cross-Roads,  Rlalvcin  Hill,  Antictam,  Unionville, 
Sheplieidstown,  Four  Locks,  Hartwood  Church;  in  1S63  at  Kelly's  Ford,  in 
Stoncnian's  raid,  at  Ashby's  Gap,  Amissville,  Piedmont,  Brandy  Station,  Aldie, 
Upperville,  Middleberg,  \\'estminster,  Gettysburg,  Fountaindale,  Old  Antietani 
Forge,  Harper's  Ferrj-,  Shepherdstown,  Salem  Road  (near  Warrenton),  Culpepper 
Court-House,  Rapidan  Station,  Occoquan  (or  Yates'  Ford),  New  Hope  Church, 
and  Parker's  Store;  in  1S64  at  Todd's  Tavern,  Warrenton,  Wilderness,  Spott- 
sylvania  Court-House,  Guinney's  Bridge,  North  Anna,  Totopotomoy,  Cold  Har- 
bor, and  siege  of  Petersburg.  He  was  captured  at  Hartwood  Church  on 
November  28,  1862,  and  confined  as  a  prisoner  at  Libby  Prison,  Richmond,  Va., 
until  February  2,  1863.  At  Kelly's  Ford  he  was  especially  commended  for  gal- 
lant conduct  and  conspicuous  bravery,  where,  on  the  17th  of  March,  1863,  he  was 
selected  to  report  to  General  Averill,  with  twenty-five  picked  cavalrymen,  to 
lead  the  "  Forlorn  Hope "  at  daylight  on  that  day.  He  charged  with  this 
detachment  over  the  river,  where  the  enemy's  pickets  made  a  bold  stand.  They 
were,  however,  driven  back  after  a  desperate  resistance,  in  which  a  number  of  Lieu- 
tenant Heyl's  squad  were  killed  or  wounded.  The  way  was  thus  opened  for  the 
entire  cavalry  command,  which  soon  after  crossed  and  the  memorable  cavalry 
battle  of  Kelly's  Ford  was  fought.  He  was  also  commended  for  valor  and  gal- 
lant soldierly  qualities  at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  where,  then  only  a  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, he  rallied  a  broken  retreating  infantry  regiment  and  charged  with  it, 
driving  the  enemy  back  and  recapturing  several  guns  and  stands  of  colors.  At 
this  time  Lieutenant  Heyl  was  but  eighteen  years  of  age. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  First  Lieutenant  in  the  Ninth  United 
States  Cavalry  on  July  28,  1866,  and  joined  his  regiment  at  New  Orleans  in 
February  following.  He  was  from  there  ordered  with  his  company  to  North- 
western Texas,  where  he  was  actively  engaged  in  the  field  scouting.  He  was 
promoted  Captain  of  Company  M,  Ninth  Cavalry,  July  31,  1867,  and  joined  the 
company  at  Fort  Brown,  Texas,  on  January  i,  1868.  He  served  at  Forts  Mc- 
intosh, Clark  and  McKavett,  covering  a  period  of  three  years.  While  in  the 
field  scouting  he  had  a  fight  with  the  Lipan  and  Muscalera  Indians  on  the  Rio 
Pecos,  Texas,  June  7,  1S69,  and  was  mentioned  in  General  Orders,  Head-quar- 
ters Fifth  Military  District,  for  gallantry.  For  his  fight  with  Kiowas  and  Co- 
manche Indians,  September  16,  1S69,  near  the  headwaters  of  the  Salt  Fork  of 
tile  Brazos  river,  he  was  again  mentioned  for  gallantry  in  General  Orders,  Head- 
quarters Fifth  Military  District.  Captain  Heyl  also  had  a  fight  with  Comanche 
Indians  on  November  24,  1S69,  on  the  South  Fork  of  the  Llano  river,  Texas, 
and  was  severely  wounded  by  an  arrow  in  the  left  side.  He  was  mentioned  for 
gallantry  in  this  engagement  in  General  Orders  No.  229,  Head-quarters  of  the 
Fifth  Military  Di.strict,  December  13,  1869.  For  his  action  in  these  three 
engagements  he  was  also  rccoinmcmled  by  the  Department  Commander  for  a 
"brevet"  as  major.  From  May  to  October,  1870,  he  was  engaged  in  an  e.xpedi- 
tion  against  Lipan  and  Apache  Indians  on  the  Pecos  river  in  Texas. 


COL.    EDWARD    M.    IIEVL.  29  [ 

On  January  i,  1S71,  Captain  IIcj'l  was  transferred  to  Company  K,  Fourth 
United  States  Cavalry,  and  joined  the  company  at  Fort  Brown,  Texas,  in  Feb- 
ruary. He  left  Fort  Brown  with  his  company  on  June  i,  1871,  and  marched  to 
Fort  Richardson,  Texas,  a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles.  He  served  at  Fort 
Richardson  from  July,  1 871,  to  June,  1872.  From  September  to  December, 
1 87 1,  he  was  on  an  expedition  against  Comanche  and  Kiowa  Indians,  and  had 
an  engagement  with  Comanche  Indians,  near  Fresh  Fork,  Brazos  river,  October 
nth.     He  was  again  in  the  field  during  February,  March  and  April  of  1872, 

He  left  Fort  Richardson  in  June,  1872,  in  command  of  Company  K,  Fourth 
Cavalr)',  and  Company  I,  Eleventh  Infantry,  as  escort  to  the  Texas  and  Pacific 
Survey  Expedition,  from  which  he  returned,  June  5,  1873,  and  took  station  at 
Fort  Clark,  Texas.  During  this  expedition,  which  lasted  one  year,  the  conmiand 
had  several  engagements  with  Comanche  and  Kiowa  Indians. 

He  was  in  the  field  from  July  1st  to  December  23,  1873.  He  changed  station 
from  Fort  Clark  to  Fort  Duncan,  Texas,  April  6,  1874,  and  was  engaged  in 
active  service  from  May  lOth  to  July  2d  of  that  year. 

Captain  He\'l  left  Fort  Duncan,  August  4,  1874,  on  the  Cheyenne  and  Kiowa 
expedition,  marching  b)'  way  of  Forts  Clark,  McKavett  and  Concho  to  the  head- 
waters of  the  North  Fork  of  the  Brazos  river  and  Canon  Blanco,  Texas,  where 
a  supply-camp  was  established,  and  Colonel  Mackenzie  assumed  command  of  the 
entire  expedition.  In  scouting  the  Staked  Plains,  the  headwaters  of  the  Red 
river  and  Tule  Canon,  the  command  had  several  skirmishes  with  Cheyenne 
Indians  and  a  fight  at  Cito  Blanco  Canon  on  September  28,  1874.  On  November 
I,  1874,  the  command  struck  the  main  camp  of  the  Cheyennes  and  Kiowas.  The 
attack  was  made  at  daylight,  and  after  an  engagement,  which  lasted  until  three 
o'clock  that  afternoon,  the  entire  camp  was  destro}'ed,  and  over  twelve  hundred 
ponies  were  captured. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  this  expedition  he  was  stationed  at  Fort  Sill,  Indian 
Territory,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  the  field,  including  an  expedition  against 
the  Comanches  on  the  Staked  Plains,  Texas,  from  November  1st  to  December 
16,  1876.  On  November  22,  1876,  he  captured  a  part)'  of  Mexicans,  with  thirty 
stolen  horses,  at  Canon  Rescata,  Texas.  They  had  been  raiding  in  the  settle- 
ments, playing  Indian  and  stealing  horses.  He  was  in  the  field  from  March  to 
September  30,  1877. 

Captain  Heyl  changed  station  to  Fort  Clark,  Texas,  January  i,  1878,  and  was 
in  active  field  service  most  of  the  time  until  May  28th  of  that  year,  when  he  left 
for  camp  on  Devil's  river,  where  Colonel  Mackenzie  had  assembled  a  large  force 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  raid  into  Mexico.  The  command  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande  into  Mexico  at  three  p.  m.,  June  12,  1S78,  and  marched  to  Remillena, 
Mexico,  where  they  were  met  by  the  Mexican  troops.  Skirmish  lines  were 
thrown  out,  and  the  Mexicans  retreated.  Mackenzie  recrossed  the  river  to 
Texas  on  June  22d. 

Captain  Heyl  was  kept  actively  engaged   in  the  field   until   October  i,  1878, 


2g2  COL.    EDWARD    M.    IIEVL. 

when  he  was  ordered  to  New  York  City,  and  stationed  tliere  on  recruiting 
service  until  October  i,  iSSo.  He  rejoined  his  regiment  at  Fort  Riley,  Kan- 
sas, on  January  i,  iSSi,  and  left  there  on  May  9th,  of  that  year,  on  the  Ute 
campaign.  Having  arrived  at  Fort  Garland,  Colorado,  he  marched  to 
the  Uncompahgre  Ute  Agency,  Colorado,  and  camped  near  Cantonment, 
where  he  was  engaged  in  removing  the  Indians  until  September  of  that  year, 
wiien  he  marched  from  the  agency  in  command  of  six  companies  of  the  Fourth 
Cavalry  for  Arizona,  to  take  part  in  the  Apache  campaign,  arriving  at  Fort 
Apache,  Arizona,  on  September  26th.  On  October  12th  he  was  at  Camp 
Thomas  in  command  of  a  battalion  of  six  companies  of  Fourth  Cavalry,  and  a 
battalion  of  two  companies  of  the  Ninth  Cavalry.  On  October  17th  he  left 
Camp  Thomas  with  the  battalions  under  his  command  and  marched  to  Fort 
Apache.  The  Apache  campaign  being  over,  he  marched  to  Fort  Wingate,  New 
Mexico,  and  took  station  there  November  ist,  where  he  remained  until  November 
21,  1 88 1,  when  he  was  granted  sick-lea\e  and  went  to  Las  Vegas  Hot  Springs, 
New  Mexico.  On  January  16,  1SS2,  he  was  ordered  to  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  on 
recruiting  service,  where  he  remained  until  October  18,  1883,  when  he  was 
relieved  from  that  service  and  joined  his  company  at  Fort  Wingate,  New  Mexico. 
While  stationed  here  he  was  in  the  field  and  settling  difficulties  with  the  Navajo 
Indians  on  the  San  Juan  river.  New  Mexico,  until  June  29,  1884,  when  he 
changed  station  to  Fort  Apache,  Arizona. 

Captain  He\l  was  detailed  as  Acting  Assistant  Inspector-General,  Department 
of  the  Fast,  Jul\'  10,  1SS4,  and  assigned  to  tint)'  August  6th  following.  lie 
remained  on  General  Hancock's  staff  from  that  tlate  until  March  11,  1885, 
lia\'ing  been  appointed  Major  and  Inspector-General,  and  assigned  to  duty  in  that 
capacity  in  the  Department  of  Texas.  He  was  promoted  Lieutenant-Colonel 
and  Inspector-General,  September  22,  1885,  on  duty  in  the  Department  of  Texas, 
where  he  is  at  the  present  date,  March,  1888. 

Colonel  Heyl  is  a  member  of  the  Lo\-al  Legion,  the  Society  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  and  of  the  Society  of  the  Cavalry 
Corps.  He  was  married  on  October  6,  1886,  to  Mary  Delphine  Turner,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Major  Henry  S.  Turner,  formerly  Captain  I'irst  Dragoons,  United  States 
Army.  She  is  a  granddaughter  of  Major  Thomas  Turner,  United  States  Army, 
and  Eliza  Randolph,  great-granddaughter  of  Col.  Robert  Randolph  and  Elizabeth 
Carter,  all  of  Virginia.  Her  mother  was  Julia  M.  Hunt,  daughter  of  Ann  Lucas 
and  Captain  Theodore  Hunt,  United  States  Navy,  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 

Colonel  Heyl  is  a  brother  of  Surgeon  Theodore  C.  Heyl,  United  States  Navy, 
and  Lieut.  Charles  H.  Heyl,  United  States  Army.  His  sister  Helen  married 
Hon.  William  J.  Scwell,  United  .Slates  Senator  from  New  Jersey. 


Col.  Samuel   H.  Starr. 


COL.   SAMUEL   HENRY   STARR. 

COLONEX  S.4MUEL  H.  Starr,  wlio  was  retired  after  nearly  forty  years  of  dis- 
tinguished services  in  tlie  United  States  Army,  serving  in  all  capacities 
and  losing  his  right  arm  "  from  a  wound  in  the  line  of  duty,"  is  now  a  resident 
of  Philadelphia  whom  Pennsylvania  is  proud  to  recognize  and  adopt  as  a  citizen, 
fcle  was  born  at  Leyden,  N.  Y.,  July  31,  1 8 10,  but  at  an  early  age  was  taken  to 
Rome,  in  that  State,  where  he  received  his  education. 

His  father,  who  was  a  man  of  much  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  and 
remarkable  for  his  wonderful  memory,  was  a  hotel  proprietor  in  that  town,  and 
entertained  General  Lafayette  when  he  made  his  memorable  visit  to  this  country. 
His  mother  was  a  daughter  of  Rev.  Henry  and  Achsah  Ely,  of  Connecticut. 

When  the  Nullifiers  of  South  Carolina  threatened  trouble  in  1837,  Colonel 
Starr  entered  the  army  as  a  non-commissioned  officer,  and  was  stationed  at  Fort 
Moultrie.  From  1834  to  1837  he  served  in  the  campaign  against  the  Creek  and 
Seminole  Indians  in  Alabama  and  Florida.  In  the  latter  year  he  retired  from  the 
service,  but  upon  the  declaration  of  war  with  Mexico  he  re-entered  the  army  as 
a  Sergeant  in  the  Corps  of  United  States  Engineers,  and  participated  in  all  of  the 
principal  battles.  He  \\'as  engaged  in  the  siege  of  Vera  Cruz,  the  battles  of 
Cerro  Gordo,  Contreias  and  Cherubusco,  and  led  the  forloin  hope  at  the  storming 
and  capture  of  Molino  del  Rev.  He  took  part  in  the  capture  of  the  Castle  of 
Chepultepec  and  of  the  cit\'  of  ^Mexico,  and  continued  in  Mexico  until  the  con- 
clusion of  peace,  in  1848,  ha\-ing  been  engaged  in  seventeen  pitched  battles. 

He  was  appointed  brevet  Second  Lieutenant,  Second  Dragoons,  United  States 
Army,  June  28,  1848,  "  for  distinguished  services  in  the  Mexican  war,"  and  served 
in  Texas  from  1848  to  1854,  and  in  Kansas  during  the  Border  Ruffian  troubles  in 
1855.  He  also  ser\'ed  in  the  Sioux  Indian  and  Utah  cxiieditions  of  1855-56, 
and  in  the  Western  Territories  until  i85i.  During  this  time  he  had  risen  by 
successive  promotions,  and  had  become  a  Captain  in  the  Second  United  States 
Dragoons,  June  14,  1858. 

In  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  assigned  to  the  staff  of  Brigadier-Genei'al 
J.  K.  F.  Mansfield,  3.s  aide  dc  camp,  and  in  Ma\',  1S61,  was  appointed  Pioxost 
Marshal  of  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C,  and  subsequently  was  ordered  on 
mustering  duty  to  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt,  and  Philadelphia,  Pa.  In  August,  1861, 
he  was  appointed  by  Go\'ernor  Olden,  Colonel  of  the  Fifth  Regiment,  New  Jersey 
Volunteers,  and  in  September  received  leave  of  absence  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  accept  the  command.  In  December,  1861,  four  New  Jersey  regiments 
were  ordered  to  report  to  General  Hoolcer,  near  Budd's  Ferr\-,  Md.,  and  were 
formed  into  a  brigade  as  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  Colonel  Starr, 
the  senior  officer,  was  appointed  to  its  conmiand.  He  continued  in  command  of 
the  brigade,  devoting  his  energies  to  its  drill  and  discipline  during  the  winter 

(293) 


294 


COL.    SAMUEL    H.    STARR. 


and  spring  of  1S61-62,  and  also  during  tlie  movement  of  tlic  army  down  the 
Potomac  to  Fortress  Monroe  and  its  advance  up  the  Peninsula  and  at  the  siege 
of  Yorktown  until  May,  1862.  Here,  at  the  close  of  the  siege,  he  was  relieved 
from  the  command  of  the  brigade,  which  was  of  his  creation,  and  resumed  com- 
mand of  his  regiment. 

On  Mav  4,  1S62,  he  was  engaged  at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  where  his 
regiment  lost  hea\il_\-  and  he  was  ^\■ounded.  lie  was  placed  again  in  command 
of  the  brigade,  and  \\'as  engaged  at  the  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  May  31st,  and  at 
Seven  Pines,  June  1st.  Again  resuming  the  command  of  his  regiment,  he  was 
engaged  with  it  at  the  battles  of  White  Oak  Swamp,  Chickahomin\',  Seven  Da}-s' 
battles  and  Malvern  Hill  during  the  retreat  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  to  Har- 
rison's Landing  in  1862.  He  resigned  his  comnn'ssion  in  the  volunteer  service, 
and  his  leave  of  absence  was  jecalled  October  20,  1862,  ha\'ing  in  the  meantime 
been  brevetted  Major,  United  States  Arm}',  "  for  gallant  and  meritorious  services 
at  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  Va." 

General  Hooker's  report  of  this  campaign  says  of  Colonel  Starr  while  in  com- 
mand of  the  brigade:  ''  His  energy  and  courage  were  conspicuous  in  e\er\-  pait 
of  the  field."  He  was  promoted  Major,  Sixth  United  States  Cavalry,  April  25, 
1863.  The  command  of  the  brigade  of  regular  cavalry  de\'olved  on  him  June 
13th,  and  in  the  action  at  Upperxille,  \'a.,  June  2ist,  he  \\as  wounded  in  the  side 
b\-  a  sabre  thrust  received  during  a  charge  on  the  rebel  cavaliy. 

During  Lee's  march  for  the  invasion  of  Maryland  and  Pcnnsyl\-ania  Colonel 
Starr  hung  on  the  flank  of  the  Confederate  army  with  his  ca\'.ilr_\',  skirmi.shing 
frequently  with  the  enenn-  until  they  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Maryland,  and  on 
the  3d  of  Jul)',  at  Fairfield,  Pa.,  with  the  Sixth  United  States  Cavalr\',  reduced 
by  casualties  to  less  than  three  hundred  men,  he  engaged  two  brigades  of  the 
enemy's  cavalry,  checlced  their  advance,  and  after  a  se\ere  engagement,  in  which 
the  reginient  lost  heavily,  frustrated  the  object  of  the  Confederates  to  make  a 
flank  attack  upon  a  Union  brigade.*     Colonel  Starr  was  severely  wounded  in 

*  This  wa';  renlly  one  "f  the  fiercest  cavalry  engagements  thnt  was  ever  fought  in  civilized  warfare,  and 
of  wliich  li'tle  mention  lias  been  made  in  history.  Cuinnel  Harper,  late  Grand  Commander  G.  A.  R. 
Deparlment  of  Pennsylvania,  in  an  address  recently  delivered  at  Allenlown,  spoke  of  it  as  follows: 

"  Comrades,  they  hold  up  to  our  view  as  a  hero  the  leader  of  that  desperate  charge,  but  they  neglect 
to  give  credit  to  those  loyal  and  brave  men  who  not  only  resisted,  but  repulsed  that  terrible  onslaught. 
Bui  what  appears  to  me  worse  than  all  is  the  fact  that  they  forgot  to  even  mention  the  greatest  act  of 
heroism  and  bravery  in  the  history  of  the  civil  war,  namely,  the  struggle  that  occurred  in  that  litlle  hamlet, 
Fairfield,  Pa.,  where  a  handful  of  our  cavahy,  under  ihe  leadership  of  Major  S.  H.  Slarr,  attached  two 
brigades  of  cavalry  and  a  liattery  of  artillery.  Confederate  troops,  and  for  several  hours  successfully  with- 
stood and  repulsed  charge  after  charge  uniil  reinforcements  came  to  iheir  rescue,  although  niiie-tenlhs  of 
them  were  killed,  wounded  or  taken  pri-oners.  This  heroic  act  on  iliL-ir  part  completed  the  success  of 
our  arms,  and  drove  the  enemy  in  dismay  from  Pennsylvania  soil,  and  to  ihcm  belongs  an  equal  share  of 
honor." 

The  order  given  by  Mijor  Starr  on  ihat  memorable  occasion  was  in  these  words :  "  P.y  Fours,  Forward 
March,  Trot,  Call.'p,  Ciiak';k,"  and  these  are  watchwords  of  the  survivors  of  the  United  States  Sixth 
Cavalry  at  their  annual  reunions. 


COL.    SAMUEL    IL    STAKR.  295 

tliis  action,  receiving  a  sabre  stroke  on  tlic  head  and  a  pistol  ball  through  the 
right  arm,  which  shattered  the  bone  and  rendered  amputation  neccssar)'.  Tliis 
was  performed  foiu'  inches  below  the  shoulder  joint,  Julv  4th.  He  was  taken 
prisoner  after  the  action  while  l\'ing  wountletl  at  the  luiuse  of  Mrs.  lll^lhc,  in 
Fairfield,  but  was  immediately  released.  I'or  "gall, nit  and  meritorious  services 
in  action  at  Upper\  ille,  Va.,"  he  was  bre\'etted  Lieutenant-Colonel,  United  States 
Army,  June  21,  1863,  and  "  for  gall. uit  and  meritorious  services  in  the  Gettys- 
burg campaign,"  he  was  brevctted  Colonel  United  States  Army,  Jul}-  2,  1863. 

Upon  recovering  sufficiently  to  return  to  diity  he  was  assigned  as  Chief  Mus- 
tering and  Disbursing  Officer  foi-  the  St.Ue  of  Ohio  from  October,  1863,  to  Sep- 
tember, 1864,  when  he  was  orderetl  to  join  Sheridan's  army  in  the  Shenandoah 
Valle\',  Va.  Me  conmianded  Remount  Camp,  Pleasant  Valley,  Mtl.,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1864,  and  was  Special  Inspector  of  Cavalry  for  the  Armies  of  the  Potomac 
and  the  James  froiii  No\'ember,  1864,  to  August,  iSrjj.  In  October,  1865,  he 
was  ordered  with  his  regiment  to  Te.xas,  and  placed  in  comm.uul  of  Austin. 
Later  he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  post  at  T_\'ler,  Smitli  county. 

A  local  paper,  referring  to  his  administration  there  during  the  trying  recon- 
struction period,  contained  the  followmg:  "  For  the  benefit  of  those  who  may 
feel  disposed  to  still  hang  out  against  a  just  and  peaceful  restoration  of  affairs  in 
the  countj%  we  would  say  that  the}-  might  as  well  '  ca\'e,'  for  there  will  be  neither 
foolishness  nor  child's-[3lay  v\'ith  Colonel  .Starr.  He  is  one  of)-our  matter-of-fact 
sort  of  men,  and  has  but  one  way  of  doing  things — that  way  which  he  believes 
to  be  right,  fearlessly  and  regardless  of  consequences.  We  don't  believe  that  the 
present  attempt  of  the  Government  to  protect  Union  men  in  Northeastern  Te.\as 
will  end  in  an  ignominious  fizzle.  If  necessar}',  Uncle  Sam  will  send  us  more 
Butlers,  Buells  and  Starrs." 

While  in  Te.xas  he  served  on  two  militar)'  commissions,  one  held  at  Houston, 
and  the  other  at  Jefferson,  being  President  of  one.  Upon  his  withdrawal  from 
these  bodies,  it  was  said  in  a  paper  that  "  Colonel  Starr  has  thought  proper  to 
ask  to  be  relieved  from  the  military  commission,  and  that  his  request  has  been 
granted.  We  deeply  regret  this,  for  Colonel  Starr's  earnest  efforts  to  fully 
Understand  the  case  peculiarly  qualifies  him  to  discharge  his  whole  duty  as  a 
member  of  the  court.  He  retires  with  the  fiillest  confidence  of  the  anti-mob 
portion  of  the  community,  but  the  wdiole  tribe  of  desperadoes,  and  their  sympa- 
thizers, will  chuckle  with  inward  delight  at  the  success  of  the  pressure  that  has 
been  brought  to  bear  upon  the  incorruptible  old  veteran.  All  lo)'al  men  and 
lovers  of  justice  are  proud  to  give  their  heartiest  grip  to  the  remaining  hand  of 
the  one-armed  soldier,  and  to  express  their  sincere  and  unqualified  appro\'al  of 
his  course.  Let  us  venture  a  suggestion  why  the  old,  one-armed  veteran.  Colonel 
Starr,  asked  permission  to  withdraw  from  the  commission.  The  entertaining  for 
a  moment  by  the  Judge  Advocate  charges  ineferred  by  the  lawyers  after  the  case 
had  closed  wounded  the  old  hero's  sense  of  honor,  ami  induced  him  to  talce  the 
step,  notwithstanding,  had  the  charge  gone  to  the  court,  it  would  probably  lia\'e 
overruletl  the  objections  of  the  council." 


29<5  COL.    SAMUEL    H.    STARR. 

On  December  15,  1S70,  he  was  placed  on  the  '•ctired  list  "on  account  of  long 
and  faithful  service,  and  wounds  received  in  action,"  with  full  rank  of  Colonel 
United  States  Arm\-. 

He  joined  some  years  ago  the  military  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  is  now 
living  very  quietly  at  his  residence  in  Philadelphia. 

In  1 84 1  Colonel  Starr  married  Eliza  Kurtz,  of  New  York  city,  a  descendant 
of  John  Hart,  of  New  Jersey,  who  was  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Lidependence.  They  have  four  children  living — Achsah  Kate,  married  to  Wil- 
liam Dougthett  Price,  son  of  Dr.  William  D.  Price,  of  Florida,  and  grandson  of 
Governor  Duval,  of  Florida,  who  was  the  executive  of  that  State  during  Jack- 
son's administration,  and  a  nephew  of  Judge  T.  Duval,  of  the  United  States  Court 
in  Texas ;  Annie  M.,  married  to  Samuel  Calvin  Hayes,  a  direct  descendant  of 
John  CaKin ;  lo  Ursula  and  Samuel  Benjamin  Starr. 

His  daughters,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  most  of  the  facts  in  this  sketch, 
remark :  "  His  faithful  services  have  never  been  properly  recognized  by  the 
Gov'ernment,  but  he  looks  inward  and  upward  for  his  reward." 


Col.    Henry   C.   Demming. 


COL.    HENRY   CLAY   DEMMING. 

COLONEL  Henry  C.  Demming,  though  born  in  Geneva,  New  York,  September 
28,  1842,  has  been  a  resident  of  Pennsylvania  during  all  the  mature  years 
of  his  Hfe,  and  is  now  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  the  capital  of  the  State. 
He  is  a  direct  descendant,  on  his  father's  side,  of  that  John  Deming  whose 
name  appears  in  the  liberal  charter  of  1662  granted  b)'  Charles  H.  to  the  colony 
of  Connecticut,  and  afterwards  concealed  in  the  famous  Charter  Oak,  and  who  is 
mentioned  in  Savage's  "  Genealogical  Dictionary  of  New  England"  as  one  of  the 
principal  settlers  of  Wethersfield,  Conn.  His  mother,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Sarah  Vierna  Carpenter,  was  a  native  of  Bennington,  Vermont,  and  the  surnames 
most  familiar  on  the  maternal  side  are  Carpenter  and  Hildrcth.  They  seem  to 
have  been  among  the  earliest  settlers  of  Vermont. 

Before  he  was  three  years  of  age  young  Demming  had  been  taught  his  letters 
by  his  mother,  and  when  about  thirteen  years  old  he  was  prepared  to  enter  upon 
a  classical  course.  During  his  vacations  he  spent  considerable  time  in  the 
printing  offices  of  his  native  village,  sometimes  woiking  as  roller-boy  at  the 
hand-press,  and  this  led  to  his  gi\'ing  up  his  class  studies  and  becoming  an 
apprentice  in  the  Gincz'a  Gazette  office.  This  apprenticeship,  however,  was  sum- 
marily cut  short,  and  he  went  to  work  on  his  uncle's  fruit  and  horticultural  farm, 
and  helped  to  bring  into  profitable  bearing  the  first  vineyard  of  the  many  now 
dotting  the  high-ascending  slopes  surrounding  the  charming  Seneca  Lake. 

His  advent  into  Pennsylvania  occurred  in  the  summer  of  1859,  and,  after  many 
vicissitudes  in  search  of  employment,  he  entered  Harrisburg  on  a  bleak  Novem- 
ber day  as  a  mule  driver  on  the  canal  en  route  for  the  Paxton  furnace  with  a  boat- 
load of  coal.  The  canal  suddenly  freezing  up,  navigation  was  declared  closed 
for  the  season,  and  j'oung  Demming  sought  employment  in  the  printing  office  of 
the  Harrisburg  Patriot  and  Union,  and  contracted  to  complete  his  apprenticeship 
in  that  establishment.  Before  the  apprenticeship  agreement  expired  the  Rebel- 
lion broke  out,  and  it  was  with  great  reluctance  that  he  was  obliged  to  forego 
the  opportunity  to  enlist  when  the  first  call  for  volunteers  appeared.  On  Sep- 
tember ID,  1861,  however,  he  tendered  his  services  as  private  to  Captain  (after- 
wards Major)  Charles  C.  Davis,  of  Company  "  I,"  Seventh  Pennsylvania  Cavalry, 
which  regiment  was  then  in  Camp  Cameron,  near  Harrisburg,  drilling  and  await- 
ing orders  to  proceed  to  the  front.  Unfortunately,  in  a  short  time,  he  became 
involved  in  a  hand-to-hand  struggle  with  some  drunken  Welshmen  who  had 
deserted  the  regiment  and  he  was  advised  to  retire,  as  they  threatened  to  take 
his  life  if  he  remained. 

A  second  call  having  been  made  for  three  months'  men.  Mr.  Demming  imme- 
diately enlisted  as  a  private,  and,  without  personal  solicitation,  came  within  a  few 
votes  of  being  elected  Second  Lieutenant  of  the  company. 

3S  (297) 


29S  COL.    IIKNKV    C.    DEMJIIXG. 

On  the  call  for  nine  months'  volunteers  the  records  show  that  young  Demming 
was  tlie  first  man  to  enlist  as  a  private,  connecting  himself  with  Company  "A," 
One  Hundred  and  Twenty-seventh  Pennsj-lvania  Volunteers.  Being  wounded 
in  the  right  foot  the  first  day  in  Camp  Curtin  by  another  man  in  the  ranks  acci- 
dentally dropping  a  musket  upon  it,  he  was  taken  to  the  camp  hospital,  where  he 
was  soon  after  detailed  to  assist  the  medical  officers  by  keeping  the  records  of 
their  examinations  of  volunteers,  and  was  subsequently  detached  for  duty  in  the 
mustering  office  of  Capt.  Richard  I.  Dodge,  of  the  regular  arm)'.  During  this 
service  ever)'  opportunity  was  taken  advantage  of  to  drill  with  his  compan)',  or 
to  accompany  it  when  ordered  to  do  special  service — a  not  infrequent  compli- 
ment, as  by  hard  and  persistent  drilling  by  an  accomplished  captain  they  had 
attained  a  proficicnc\-  which  led  to  a  special  request  to  displa)'  their  skill  in  the 
various  e\-olutions  of  a  military  compan)-  before  President  Lincoln  and  regular 
ami)"  officers  at  Washington.  During  and  following  his  detached-duty  service 
he  was  sent  on  important  missions  South,  once  to  escort  a  body  of  convalescent 
soldiers,  being  appointed  a  Sergeant  for  the  purpose,  and  subscqucntl)^  to  the 
Arm)-  of  the  Potomac,  near  Fredericksburg. 

After  nearl)'  a  )'ear's  service  as  a  private  soldier  )'0ung  Demming  appears  on 
the  militar)'  roll  as  a  Corporal  of  an  independent  company,  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  assi.sting  in  the  protection  of  Pennsylvania  from  invasion  in  1863.  In 
this  capacit)^  he  did  special  service  in  the  darkness  of  the  early  morning  of  the 
memorable  2d  of  July  when  portions  of  the  invading  hosts  were  sweeping  down 
the  Cumberland  Valle)'  to  destroy  Pennsylvania's  capital  and  devastate  the 
neighboring  country.  Corporal  Demming  was  the  principal  in  capturing  in  the 
Susquehanna  river,  opposite  the  present  residence  of  Hon.  Simon  Cameron,  in 
Harrisburg,  a  Confederate  captain  and  scout  who  had  nearly  accomplished  his 
mission,  and,  with  a  map  of  the  fords  of  the  Susquehanna  from  near  Mar)'sville 
to  just  below  Harrisburg,  was  quite  prepared  to  return  to  the  Confederate  cavahy 
advance,  less  than  five  miles  away,  to  report  favorably  upon  a  plan  to  burn  the 
public  buildings  and  levy  excessive  tribute  upon  the  citizens  of  the  State  capital. 
Mention  of  this  event  was  made  at  the  time  in  the  daily  papers  of  Harrisburg, 
and  an  account  of  it  also  appears  in  Bates'  "  Ilistor)'  of  Pennsylvania  Volunteers," 
Vol.  V.  A  day  or  two  afterward  he  \'oIuntceretl  to  help  convey  four  hundred 
thousand  rounds  of  ammunition  to  the  Union  armv-  near  Gettysburg. 

A  few  months  thereafter  Corporal  Dciuming  re-cnlisted  as  a  private,  and  was 
unanimously  elected  First  Lieutenant  of  his  comjian)',  and  subsequentl)'  promoted 
to  Quartermaster  of  his  regiment,  the  One  Hundred  and  Ninety-Fourth  Penns\l- 
vania  Volunteers,  and  afterwards  acted  as  Qu.irtermaster,  Commissar)'  and 
Ordnance  Officer  under  Gen.  James  Nagle  in  I\lar)'land,  Third  .Separate  Brigaile, 
Lighth  Army  Corps. 

He  then  recruited  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  be  entitled  to  a  captaincy,  but 
the  emergency  of  the  Government  induced  him  to  accept  the  J'irst  Lieutenancy 
of  the    company,  which  was  sub.sequently  assigned  as   Company  "I"  to  the 


COI„    HKNKV    C.    DEMMING.  299 

Sevent}--scventli  rcnns_\I\-auia  Veteran  Volunteers,  First  Brigade,  First  Division, 
Fourth  Arni\'  Corps,  in  the  Ami)'  of  the  Cumberland,  under  Maj.-Gen.  George  H. 
Thomas.  Here  Lieutenant  Deniming  participated  in  the  last  campaign  in  Ten- 
nessee, and  then  in  the  memorable  campaign  of  Gen.  P.  II.  Sheridan  in  Texas, 
at  the  close  of  the  war.  In  one  of  these  campaigns  Lieutenant  Demming  was 
assigned  to  dut\-  on  the  staff  of  the  corps  commander,  Maj.-Gen.  D.  S.  Stanley, 
and  then  as  mustering  officer  on  the  staff  of  the  lamented  Gen.  George  A.  Custer. 
"While  acting  in  this  latter  capacity  he  aided  in  mustering  out  General  Grant's 
original  regiment,  the  Twenty-first  Illinois  Volunteers,  and  in  January,  1866,  he 
mustered  in  the  last  two  volunteers  of  the  war  of  the  Rebellion,  it  having  been 
ascertained  that  while  they  had  served  faithfull)'  as  soldiers  they  had  never  been 
duly  mustered  into  service.  Declining  to  accept  a  commissioned  office  in  the 
Freedmen's  Bureau,  he  was  honorably  discharged  and  returned  to  Harrisburg 
about  April  i,  1866.  Lieutenant  Demming  was  subsequently  elected  to  the 
Captaincy  of  a  company  of  the  "  Boys  in  Blue,"  and  was  then  promoted  to  Major 
and  Judge  Advocate  by  Gov.  John  \V.  Gear}-,  serving  in  that  capacity  on  the 
staff  of  Maj.-Gen.  Thomas  J.  Jordan,  commanding  the  Fifth  Division  of  the 
National  Guard  of  Pennsjdvania,  from  October  12,  1870,  until  honorably  dis- 
charged, June  30,  1S74.  On  Januar\-  30,  18S4,  he  was  appointed  by  Governor 
Pattison  an  aide  dc  catiip  on  his  staff,  \v:th  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel,  and 
served  as  such  throughout  that  official's  term.  He  was  recommissioned  in 
Januar)-,  1SS7,  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  by  Governor  Beaver,  and  appointed  on  his 
staff,  being  the  senior  of  his  rank  thereon,  and  served  until  June  11,  1S87,  when 
he  resigned,  and  was  honorably  discharged. 

On  September  11,  1S87,  Go\'ernor  Scales,  of  North  Carolina,  tendered  him  a 
place  on  his  staff  as  special  aide,  with  the  rank  of  Colonel,  which  he  accepted  in 
time  to  appear  with  the  Governor  at  the  Centennial  Celebration  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  held  in  Phikidelphia  the  same  month.  This  position 
he  still  holds.  Several  times  during  the  war  he  recei\ed  injuries  which  required 
treatment  at  the  hospitals,  but  the  most  serious  ailment  from  which  he  suffered 
was  a  violent  attack  of  t}-phoid  fever  contracted  near  Nash\-ille,  Tenn.,  from 
which  he  would  in  all  probability  have  died  had  not  the  devotion  of  his  wife,  a 
native  of  Middletown,  Pa.,  impelled  her  to  leave  her  home  at  Harrisburg  and  go 
to  him  in  the  field,  travelling  a  part  of  the  way  through  a  country  infested  with 
guerillas,  and  care  for  her  husband  until  he  was  sufficiently  recovered  to  bear 
removal  home.  During  his  terms  of  service  Colonel  Demming  received  less  than 
;giOO  in  bounties  of  every  description. 

In  civil  life,  since  the  war,  he  has  usually  followed  the  occupations  of  journalist 
or  stenographer,  although  as  far  back  as  i860  he  excelled  as  a  printer,  his  com- 
position bill  for  one  week,  while  employed  on  the  Harrisburg  Tclcgrapli,  exceed- 
ing ninety  thousand  ems,  much  of  the  work  being  "  solid  matter,"  a  record 
that  had  not  been  equalled  in  Harrisburg  at  that  time.  He  was  the  city  editor 
of  the  Harrisburg  Daily  Telegraph  while  still  a  minor.     He  has  from  time  to 


300  COL.    HENRY    C.    DEMMING. 

time  been  a  contributor  to  a  number  of  the  leading  periodicals  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  and  until  recently  was  a  correspondent  of  several  of  the  great 
dailies.  The  Fanner's  Friend,  printed  at  Mechanicsburg,  Pa.,  and  enjo)-ing  per- 
haps the  largest  patronage  of  an\-  agricultural  paper  in  Pcnns)lvania,  was  started 
jointly  by  its  present  proprietor  and  Colonel  Demming. 

Since  his  school-days  he  has  always  been  a  student.  He  read  law,  with  Hon. 
A.  J.  Herr,  ex-State  Senator  from  the  Dauphin  District,  as  his  tutor,  and  devoted 
considerable  attention  to  the  study  of  medicine  and  the  physical  sciences.  As- 
tronomy, geologj^  and  mineralogy  have  been  special  studies,  together  with  the 
acquirement  of  some  knowledge  of  modern  languages.  Having  devoted  consid- 
erable time  for  several  years  past  to  practical  mining  he  has  acquired  quite  aa 
amount  of  knowledge  in  that  direction,  and  he  has  had  numerous  notices  in  the 
public  press  relative  to  his  work  and  success  in  discovering  and  developing 
valuable  deposits  of  iron  ore  and  other  minerals  in  Pennsylvania,  Maryland  and 
tlie  South. 

During  the  past  three  or  four  years  he  has  given  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
attention  to  the  development  of  several  mines  in  Western  North  Carolina,  and 
has  brought  to  public  notice  a  number  of  \aluable  gem  minerals  found  in  the 
South.  His  collection  of  gems  and  gem  materials,  made  principally  through  the 
Marion  Bullion  Company  and  the  Marion  Improvement  Company  of  North 
Carolina,  is  now  perhaps  as  large,  varied  and  unique  as  any  other  private  col- 
lection of  American  precious  and  semi-precious  stones.  Colonel  Demming's 
specialty,  however,  for  a  number  of  }-ears  has  been  phonographic  reporting. 
Beginning  with  a  "Pitman's  Manual  of  Phonography"  in  1S62,  which  he  still 
had  with  him  on  his  final  discharge  from  the  army  in  1866,  he  continued  studj-ing 
the  art  until  the  "  Reporter's  Manual"  was  mastered.  In  the  winter  of  1866-67 
a  position  as  amanuensis  was  secured  on  the  Pennsylvania  Legislative  Record.  ■ 
During  eight  sessions  of  the  Legislature  he  was  emplo)'ed,  two  years  as  an 
amanuensis,  and  then  as  a  verbatim  reporter.  Tiiroughout  two  of  the  annual 
sessions  he  did  the  entire  verbatim  reporting  of  the  House  of  Representatives — a 
large,  unwieldy,  often  disorderly  body,  but  with  such  satisfactory  results  that  on 
several  occasions  .special  appropriations  were  made  him  by  the  Legislature,  the 
highest  at  any  one  session  being  5 1,000.  Before  the  close  of  the  session  of  1874 
Colonel  Demming  was  obliged  to  lay  aside  the  stenographer's  pen  by  reason  of 
the  breaking  out  afresh  of  an  army  injury,  on  account  of  which  since  the  rebel- 
lion he  has  undergone  surgical  treatment  six  times  without  cure.  The  same 
year  he  was  enabled  to  resume  reporting  to  a  limited  extent,  and  his  professional 
engagements  have  steadily  increased  until  he  is  now  the  "  official  "  of  four  of  the 
judicial  districts  of  Pennsylvania,  has  regularly  the  reporting  of  all  the  civil  cases 
in  which  the  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania  is  a  party,  besides  having  been 
special  official  stenographer  of  the  Department  of  Justice  of  the  United  States, 
and  held  other  equally  important  positions.  In  addition  to  these  official  appoint- 
ments he  has  been  the  stenographer  of  the  Pennsylvania  Board  of  Agriculture 


COL.    HENRY    C.    riEMMING.  3OI 

since  its  orc^anization  in  1S77,  docs  the  stenographic  reporting  for  the  Pcnnsyl- 
\ania  Agricultural  Society  (of  which  he  is  a  member  of  the  Executive  Cmn- 
mittee),  and  of  various  governmental  departments  of  Pennsylvania,  l)csides  the 
stenographic  work  for  a  large  number  of  medical,  educational,  scientific  and 
other  organizations,  one  of  the  most  technical  of  which  has  been  reported  by  him 
for  nearly  twenty  years.  In  this  line  of  work  his  engagements  have  extended 
into  more  than  half  the  States  of  the  Union  and  into  Canada.  The  office  facili- 
ties for  the  work  have  graduall\-  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  an  ex-president 
of  the  London  Stenographers'  Socict}-,  on  \-isiting  it,  said  it  was  the  largest  and 
most  perfectl}'  equipped  stenographer's  office  in  the  woild. 

As  an  author  on  stenographic  subjects  most  of  his  productions  appeared  for  a 
number  of  \"ears  in  the  proceedings  of  the  New  York  State  Stenographers'  Asso- 
ciation, with  which  Colonel  Demming  became  connected  as  an  honorary  member 
soon  after  its  organization.  On  one  occasion  that  leading  association  awarded 
him  the  first  prize  for  the  best  address  on  Stenograph}%  "  competition  open  to 
the  world."  Several  learned  bodies,  including  the  Bi-llcs-Lcttrcs  Society  o*"  Dick- 
inson College,  Carlisle,  Pa.,  ha\-e  conferred  marks  of  honor  upon  him  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  literary  merit. 

Since  the  organization  ol  the  International  Stcnograj^hers'  Association  Colonel 
Demming  has  been  an  active  member,  being  honored  with  the  first  Vice-Presi- 
dency for  the  United  States  in  18S2,  and  elected  President  at  its  session  in 
Toronto,  Canada,  in  August,  1 883.  The  following  }-ear  the  association  met  at 
Harrisburg,  Pa.  This  meeting  was  the  most  enjoyable  one  in  its  histor\'.  l-^-ery 
railroad  and  man\'  other  corporations  of  note  in  the  city  had  previously  tendered 
courtesies,  the  officials  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  granting  the  use  of  special 
trains  to  several  points  of  interest  on  their  roads  without  cost  to  the  members  of 
the  association  or  invited  guests.  The  use  of  the  Capitol  w.is  proffered  them  by 
resolutions  passed  by  both  branches  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  Gox'ernor  hon- 
ored them  by  a  special  reception  at  the  Executive  Mansion.  In  1887  Colonel 
Demming  was  made  a  delegate  to  the  International  Congress  in  London,  and 
has  since  been  invited  to  attend  the  meeting  of  that  body  wliich  is  to  be  held  in 
Munich,  Germany,  in  18S9. 

In  political  matters  he  has  served  the  city  of  Harrisburg  in  her  council  cham- 
bers, and  had  the  distinction  of  being  named  as  a  candidate  for  delegate  to  the 
convention  which  remodelled  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  once 
nominated  by  a  minority  party  for  member  of  Congress,  but  without  hope  of 
election,  although  he  received  three  times  the  vote  of  the  regular  ticket. 

At  an  early  age  he  sought  out  and  became  a  member  of  the  most  reputable 
and  prominent  organizations  and  societies  of  his  community,  and  is  a  life-member 
of  several,  including  the  Masonic  fraternity.  The  list  embraces  twenty-seven,  of 
which  eleven  are  secret  and  sixteen  are  non-secret,  including  six  of  a  religious 
character.  In  a  number  of  them  he  has  held  official  positions.  As  a  compli- 
ment to  his  knowledge  acquired  in  horticultural  and  agricultural  pursuits  he  was 


OQ,  C(.)L.    IIF.NKV    C.    DEM.MING. 

appoiiUcJ  Deput)-  I\Iastcr  of  the  Patnins  of  Husbandry,  or  Grangers,  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  for  a  number  of  years  served  as  such.  He  has  been  made  an  honorary 
life-member  of  the  Harrisburg  Typograpliical  Union,  and  is  a  foreign  associate 
life-member  of  the  Shorthand  Society  of  London,  England.  He  was  President 
of  the  Association  of  Survivors  of  the  Seventy-seventh  Regiment,  Pennsylvania 
Veteran  Volunteers,  and  is  a  member  of  and  takes  a  deep  interest  in  a  number 
of  other  militar}-  associations,  especially  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  the 
Lo\-al  Legion,  the  Society  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  the  Society  of  the 
Army  of  the  Cumberland,  and  the  National  Guard.  He  has  always  been  a  firm 
advocate  of  the  policy  for  tliis  country  of  ever  being  prepared  for  any  trouble 
with  foreign  nations,  and  believes  that  ever\'  law-abiding  American  citizen  should 
be  respected,  protected  and  defended  wherever  he  ma)' go ;  that  foreign  insults 
to  Americans  or  the  Ameiican  flag  should  be  promptly  resented,  and  the 
offenders  properly  dealt  with  and  speedily  punished  ;  that  with  this  policy  carried 
out  our  foreign  commerce  would  be  larger  and  more  remunerative,  our  relations 
with  other  countries  more  equitable  and  cordial,  and  even  the  foreign  missionary 
work  of  our  churches  more  respected  and  fruitful. 

Colonel  Demming  has  also  been  very  active  in  church  and  Sabbath-school 
work,  having  been  an  officer  in  his  church  more  than  twenty  years,  and  a  Super- 
intendent of  one  Sunday-school  from  the  time  of  its  foundation  until  it  was 
seventeen  years  old,  besides  holding  other  important  official  relations  in  the 
church  of  his  selection  at  home  and  elsewhere.  He  has  been  Secretaiy  of  the 
General  Eldership  of  the  Church  of  God  in  North  America,  served  as  President 
of  the  Sabbath-school  Con\'ention  of  his  church  for  that  part  of  Pennsylvania 
east  of  the  Allegheny  mountains,  and  Vice-President  cf  the  Pennsj'lvania  Sabbath- 
school  Association. 

On  October  20,  1863,  he  married  Miss  Kate  E.  Whitman,  of  Middletown, 
Dauphin  county,  and  the  union  has  been  blessed  with  a  family  of  five  children. 
The  two  older  of  the  four  boys  are  now  attending  college,  and  the  daughter  and 
the  other  two  boys  are  at  school  making  preparation  for  advancement. 


Maj.  Samuel   B.   M.  Young, 


GEN.   SAMUEL   B.   MARKS   YOUNG. 

SAMUEL  B.  M.  YouxG,  Brigadicr-Gciicral  of  Volunteers  b)'  brevet,  and  now 
Major  of  the  Tliird  Reijiment  Ca\alr\',  Unitetl  States  y\rni)',  can,  in  the 
opinion  of  competent  judges,  disciphne  and  drill  cavahy  better  than  any  other 
field  ofificer  in  the  service.*  He  was  born  at  Forest  Grove,  near  Pittsburgh, 
January  9,  1840,  and  is  of  Scotch  descent,  his  great-grandfather  having  emigrated 
from  Scotland  and  settled  in  Lancaster  county ;  but  the  family  have  been  resi- 
dents of  Allegheny  county  since  1790. 

General  Young  was  educated  at  Jefferson  College,  and  in  early  life  was  cm- 
ployed  in  farmmg,  land  surveying  and  civil  engineering.  The  war  of  the  Rebel- 
lion broke  out  when  he  had  barely  attained  his  majority,  and  he  at  once  enlisted 
in  Company  "  K,"  Twelfth  Pennsylvania  Infantry,  and  remained  with  it  until  the 
expiration  of  the  term  of  enlistment  in  August,  1861.  He  then  recruited  anil 
organized  a  troop  of  cavalry  from  among  the  three  months'  men,  and  took  it  to 
Washington,  where  it  was  mustered  into  service  as  a  tem])orary  indepencient 
troop,  lie  hired  the  services  of  a  well-drilled  sergeant  from  the  h'ifth  United 
States  Ca\-alry,  which  regiment  was  camped  near  by,  and  in  an  incredibly  short 
time  had  a  well-drilled  and  thoroughly  disciplined  body  of  men.  The  troop  was 
made  a  part  of  the  Fourth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  in  November,  1S61,  and  he  was 
commissioned  Captain  in  the  regiment.  He  was  detailed  by  Genei-al  Innis  I\I. 
Palmer,  brigade  commander,  to  direct  and  supervise  the  squadron  drills  of  the 
regiment,  and  he  commanded  the  mounted  patrol  and  prox'ost  guard  in  Wash- 
ington during  a  portion  of  the  winter.  In  March,  1862,  he  was  ordeied  with  his 
troop  to  accompany  General  McDowell's  command  to  Acquia  Ci'cck',  in  steamers 
from  W'ashington.  Upon  arriving  at  their  destination  he  swam  his  horses  ashore 
and  attacked  the  enem\',  capturing  two  lookouts  and  driving  their  pickets  about 
ten  miles.  He  was  complimented  b\'  General  McDowell  in  orders,  and  the  troop 
was  selected  by  that  commander  as  his  body-guard  ;  but  Captain  Yoimg  asked 
and  obtained  leave  to  join  his  regiment  at  the  front,  and  partici[3nted  with  his 
command  in  the  battles  of  i\Iechanicsville  on  June  26,  18G2,  and  at  Gaines'  Mill, 
Savage  Station,  White  Oak  Swamp,  Peach  Orchard  and  Malvern  Hill,  fought  on 
the  succeeding  five  da)'s  in  the  order  named.  While  the  battle  of  Savage  Station 
was  going  on,  he  was  selected  b\'  Gen.  Fitz-John  Porter  to  carrj-  an  important 
dispatch  to  General  Naglee  at  White  Oak  Swamp,  and  was  directed  to  take  two 

*  General  Mackenzie,  in  a  letter  written  to  General  Ord,  commanding  the  Department  of  Texas,  in 
July,  1878,  said:  "Colonel  Young  can  discipline  and  drill  cavalry  lietter  than  any  field  officer  of  the 
cavalry  I  know  of  to-day  in  our  aimy,  I  saw  him  manoeuvre  his  brigade  under  the  fire  of  Lee's  infantry, 
on  the  gth  of  April,  1S65,  and  I  thought  then,  and  still  think,  thnt  it  could  not  have  been  done  better. 
To  him,  more  than  to  any  other  one  brigade  commander,  was  il  due  that  Lee  was  blocked  on  the 
Lynchburg  I'ike." 

(303) 


304  GEN.    SAMUEL    B.    M.    YOUNG. 

squadrons  of  the  Fourtli  rcnns}-I\ania  Cavalry,  as  it  was  then  known  that  small 
bodies  of  the  enemy's  mounted  troops  were  between  the  forces  of  Porter  and 
Naglee.  Shortly  after  starting  they  encountered  a  superior  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  Captain  Young  at  once  deployed  his  men,  directing  them  to  act  as  skirmish- 
ers, and  thus  inferentially  to  increase  their  force,  to  keep  up  a  show  of  advancing, 
and  to  continue  firing  for  a  couple  of  hours,  and  then  to  withdraw.  He,  with  but 
one  officer  dressed  as  a  private,  and  under  the  guidance  of  a  negro,  pressed  on  to 
carry  his  dispatches,  which  he  succeeded  in  delivering  after  having  narrowly  es- 
caped, by  means  of  a  ruse,  from  being  captured,  though  the  negro  guide  fell  into 
the  enemy's  hands.  He  conveyed  the  first  information  to  Naglee  that  Jackson's 
force  was  between  him  and  Porter.  Upon  reaching  Naglee's  lines  he  and  his 
companion  were  at  first  suspected  as  spies,  but,  upon  being  taken  to  the  com- 
mander's head-quarters,  were  recognized  and  most  sumptuous!)^  treated  by  that 
officer,  who  had  the  reputation  of  having  the  best  mess-chest  of  any  general  in 
the  Army  of  the  Potomac. 

Captain  Young  was  engaged  in  several  reconnoissances  and  heavy  skirmishes 
until  September  14,  1862,  when  he  participated  in  the  battle  of  South  Mountain. 
The  next  da\-,  at  the  battle  of  Antietam,  with  one  section  (two  pieces)  of  Tid- 
ball's  Battery,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Dennison,  and  two  squadrons  of  the 
Fourth  Pennsj'lvania  Cavah)',  Captain  Young  charged  the  stone  bridge  on  the 
Sharpsburg  Pike  under  the  fire  and  in  complete  range  of  the  enemy's  batteries. 
Though  suffering  heavy  loss  in  both  artillery  and  cavalry  horses,  he  got  into 
position  and  maintained  it  until  reinforced.  The  position  was  held  by  the  Union 
forces  throughout  the  entire  battle.  Col.  James  H.  Childs,  Fourth  Pennsj'lvania 
Cavalr}',  temporarily  commanding  Averill's  Cavalry  Brigade,  was  killed  by  a 
shell  after  joining  the  advance  to  which  he  had  ordered  reinforcements.  He  had 
just  expressed  the  opinion  that,  if  Burnside  would  gi\e  him  but  one  division  of 
infantry,  he  would  be  in  Sharp.sburg  in  less  than  an  hour.  But  Burnsiile  failed 
to  comprehend  the  situation  and  avail  himself  of  the  opportunity.  Two  days 
after  the  battle  of  Antietam  Captain  Young  received  a  telegram  from  Governor 
Curtin  notifv'ing  him  of  his  promotion  to  Major,  notwithstanding  there  was  one 
captain  in  the  regiment  his  senior.  He  was  engaged  in  skirmishing  at  Thorough- 
fare Gap,  Va.,  on  October  17th,  and  at  Hedgeville  on  the  20th,  and  took  part  in 
the  cavalry  engagements  on  November  2d  and  3d  at  Union  and  Upperville,  where 
lie  commanded  three  squadrons  of  the  regiment  and  a  section  of  Tidball's  Bat- 
tery, and  was  also  in  a  skirmish  at  Ashby's  Gap  on  the  3d.  On  the  4th  he  was 
in  the  cavalry  engagements  at  Markham  Station  and  Manassas  Gap,  and  in  the 
actions  at  Jeffersontown  on  the  7th  and  Little  Washington  on  the  cSth.  He  was 
in  a  cavalry  engagement  at  Corbin's  Cross  Roads  on  the  loth,  and  in  a  skirmish 
the  same  day  at  Gaines'  Cross  Roads.  He  participated  in  the  ca\'alry  engage- 
ment at  Waterloo  on  the  14th.  He  took-  part  with  his  command  in  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg  on  December  13th,  and  was  actively  engaged  in  skirmishing  witli 
Mosby's  men  between   Ilartwood  Cluirch  an  1  Warrenton,  December  2 1st  and 


GEN.    SAMUEL    B.    M.    YOUNG.  3O5 

23d.  While  detached  to  tlic  left  of  Averill  's  cavalry,  moving  south  from  War- 
renton  on  December  30th  and  3i,st  he  attacked,  with  his  command  of  two  squad- 
rons, the  rear  of  Gen.  J.  E.  B.  Stuart's  column  at  Jeffersonville  just  at  dark, 
capturing  several  supply  wagons  and  two  pieces  of  artillery. 

In  the  Fredericksburg  and  Cliancellorsville  campaigns  the  regiment  was  not 
seriously  engaged,  although  he  was  in  action  at  Hartwood  Church,  February 
25,  1863,  in  a  skirmish  at  Kelley's  Ford  on  March  29th,  and,  just  one  month 
later,  in  an  action  at  the  same  place.  He  was  in  a  skirmish  at  P^ly's  Ford  on 
May  2d,  and  participated  in  the  battle  of  ChancellorsviUe,  May  3d  and  4th.  In 
the  Gettysburg  preliminaries,  however,  at  Brandy  Station,  Aldie,  Middlcburg 
and  Upperville,  Va.,  June  9th,  i8th,  19th  and  21st,  and  the  engagement  at  Man- 
over,  Pa.,  on  the  30th,  the  squadron  under  Major  Young's  conmiand  won  tiie 
conmiendation  of  General  Kilpatrick  and  both  the  Generals  Gregg,  and  he  was 
complimented  on  all  sides  for  its  effective  work. 

After  Gen.  D.  McM.  Gregg  drove  Fitz-Hugh  Lee  out  of  his  position  near 
Middleburg,  Va.,  on  June  21,  1863,  a  running  cavalry-  and  horse  artillcr\-  fight 
was  kept  up  across  Goose  creek  ioto  Upperville,  which  lies  m  the  mouth  of 
one  of  the  numerous  gaps  through  the  mountains,  which  formed  the  barrier 
between  the  opposing  armies  on  their  hide-and-seek  fight  and  foot  race  for 
Mar}-land  and  Pennsj-lvania.  In  describing  the  part  taken  b}-  his  conmiand  in 
this  campaign  General  Young  saj-s : 

"Being  ch.irged  through  the  day  with  the  protection  and  sup]-.ort  of  Tidbali's  horie  artillery,  upon 
arriving  at  the  crest  of  the  hill  overlooking  the  mountain  village  of  Upperville,  it  looked  a^  if  Fitz-Hugh 
Lee  was  making  a  determined  stand  until  his  artillery  could  get  into  position  well  up  in  the  gap.  Tid- 
ball  could  do  nothing  but  keep  the  road  clear  without  great  danger  of  killing  our  own  men.  and  as  he 
had  no  use  for  my  cavalry  at  that  particular  time  we  drew  sabres,  descended  the  hill  rapidly,  keeping  out 
of  Tidball's  line  of  fire  until  near  the  foot,  when  we  came  into  the  main  thoroughfare,  the  lattery  check- 
ing fire  for  the  purpose,  passed  through  the  gap  in  the  lines  of  the  enemy  in  column  of  platoons,  by  fol- 
lowing the  road  which  had  been  kept  clear  by  the  battery  while  the  fight  was  r.iging  on  either  side, 
wheeled  into  line  to  the  left  and  charged  Fitz-Ilugh  Lee's  right  wing  in  reserve.  It  was  perfectly 
glorious  for  a  few  moments,  and  we  seemed  to  be  having  the  highest  success  until  we  were  taken  in  the 
re.ir  by  a  small  organization,  which,  however,  checked  our  success  only  momentarily.  Dut  the  shock 
had  been  delivered,  and  the  effect  had  reached  to  the  other  side  of  the  road.  The  enemy's  batteries 
from  up  the  gap  seemed  to  open  on  friend  and  foe  alike,  and  it  might  be  said  that  we  separated  just  at 
that  particular  moment  by  mutual  consent  to  catch  our  breath.  The  enemy  fell  back  sullenly,  but  in 
good  order,  under  cover  of  their  artillery,  into  the  gap,  and  we  bivouacked  for  the  night  in  the  village  and 
cared  for  the  wounded  of  both  sides.  These  operations,  following  so  soon  after  Brandy  Station,  created 
great  confidence  in  our  cavalry,  and  a  greater  respect  for  us  on  the  part  of  the  same  branch  of  the  enemy's 
service  than  had  previously  existed,  and  this  confidence  and  respect  gradually  grew  and  increased  until 
the  end  of  the  war." 

Gen.  D.  McM.  Gregg's  division  of  cavalry,  to  which  Major  Young's  regiment 
belonged,  was  engaged  in  one  of  the  hardest  fought  and  most  bitterly  contested 
cavalry  engagements  of  the  war,  on  the  right  flank  of  the  Union  army  at  Gettys- 
burg, where  Gregg  met  and  successfully  resisted  Stuart  in  his  strong  and  bold 
attempt  to  turn  that  flank  and  get  in  the  rear  of  the  Northern  forces.  Following 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  the  division,  after  a  rapid  march,  crossed  the  Potomac  at 
Harper's  Ferry  in  order  to  .',trike  Lee's  communications  and  trains  near  Shep- 
59 


^o6  GEN.    SAMUEL    B.    M.    VOUXG. 

arcistowii.     General  Young,  whose  st}-le  of  writing  is  as  lively  as  his  mode  of 
fighting,  says : 

"\Ve  struck  af  ihcm,  but  it  took  all  the  next  day  nntl  night,  together  with  the  strongest  effort  on  our 
part,  lo  get  over  our  sorrow  and  regret  fur  having  done  so,  and  get  back  to  Harper's  Kerry  with  some 
loss.  In  that  affair,  my  command  of  some  five  hundred  men  dismounted  from  the  Fourth  and  Sixteenth 
Pennsylvania  Cavalry  regiments  posted  behind  a  stone  fence,  successfully  resisled  three  successive 
charges  made  between  sunset  and  dark  by  a  brigade  of  infantry.  My  men  had  exhausted  all  their  car- 
bine ammunition  in  repelling  the  second  charge.  The  third  charge  was  made  just  at  dark,  and  was 
repulsed  by  the  fire  of  our  revolvers,  which  was  held  until  the  enemy's  Culors  were  within  twenty  paces 
of  the  slone  fence.  It  required  my  utmost  ability  and  persuasive  powers  to  hold  the  men  for  this  List 
assault.  During  the  night  we  got  out  of  their  clutches,  but  they  pressed  us  hard  until  daylight,  when  we 
were  covered  by  friendly  guns  from  the  heights  on  Harper's  Ferry.  Our  success  in  extricating  ourselves 
was  due  to  the  superiority  and  discipline  of  our  men,  and  to  Gen.  D.  McM.  Gregg,  who  as  a  soldier  and 
division  commander,  for  safety,  hard  fighting  and  manoeuvring  troops  under  the  strain  of  highest  excite- 
ment, was  one  of  the  ablest  cavalry  commanders  produced  by  the  war. 

"  On  October  12,  1S63,  when  Lee  was  putting  into  execution  his  plans  of  passing  the  flank  of  Meade's 
army,  by  way  of  Culpepper  and  Warrenton,  Va.,  Gregg's  Division  was  ordered  to  cross  the  Rappahan- 
nock at  Warrenton  .Sulphur  Springs,  and  find  and  develop  the  enemy's  movements  in  that  direction. 
The  Thirteenth  Pennsylvania  Cavalry  crossed  the  river,  deployed  a  line  of  skirmishers,  and,  meeting  the 
advancing  enemy,  soon  became  hotly  engaged.  The  F'ourth  Pennsylvania  and  First  Maine,  under  Gen. 
J.  Irvin  Gregg,  the  brigade  commander,  advanced  rapidly  to  the  support  of  the  Thirteenth;  the  First 
Maine  lo  the  right,  the  Fourth  Pmnsylvania  to  the  left.  This  checked  the  enemy's  cavalry  until  their 
infantry  suppurls  closed  up.  I  was  posted  with  my  battalion  on  the  extreme  left  and  front.  The  orders 
given  to  me  by  Gen.  J.  Irvin  Gregg  were :  '  Hold  in  check  any  force  that  may  come  against  you  ai  all 
/uizarj  uxaA  you  hear  from  me'  Being  in  a  woods  I  dismounted  two  troops  in  line  in  edge  of  woods 
bordering  on  a  cleareil  field,  where  an  enemy,  advancing  from  that  direction,  would  be  exposed  to  our 
fire  for  several  hundred  yards  without  any  protection.  One  troop,  mounted,  was  refused  on  the  left  with 
videttfs  thrown  well  out  to  the  kit  and  front,  and  another  troop,  mounted,  was  held  in  reserve  and  as  a 
guard  for  the  led-horses.  The  brigade  commander,  after  disposing  the  remainder  of  his  troops  to  deliver 
or  receive  an  attack,  was  directed  lo  fall  back  in  order  to  contract  his  lines,  and  accordingly  sent  orders 
by  an  aid.  Lieutenant  Martin,  of  Philadelphia,  for  me  to  fall  back  and  draw  in  towards  the  right  some 
distance,  to  a  certain  designated  strip  of  wood,  as  there  was  a  gap  of  several  hundred  yards  that  he  could 
not  otherwise  fill  up.  Lieutenant  Martin  was  severely  wounded  in  attempting  to  reach  me.  Although 
ignorant  of  the  fncts  I  became  uneasy,  not  on  account  of  anything  on  my  front  or  left,  as  the  only  thing 
discovered  in  either  of  these  directions  was  a  line  of  skirmishers,  which  kept  up  a  constant  and  annoying 
fire  but  made  no  attempt  to  advance  on  us,  but  I  had  sent  one  orderly  followed  by  another  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  finally  galloped  off  myself,  in  order  to  discover  the  continuity  of  our  lines  to  the  right.  The 
enemy's  infantry  were  through  ihisgap,  and  being  in  the  woods  I  was  close  on  them  before  discovering 
it.  Wheeling  my  horse  sud<lenly,  and  paying  no  heed  lo  the  cry  of  'Surrender,  Yank  ! '  I  felt  a  paralysis 
in  my  right  arm  and  saw  my  sabre  drop.  My  horse  was  as  much  frightened  as  myself,  and  seemed 
to  fairly  fly  back  lo  my  men.  The  trees,  no  doubt,  preserved  both  horse  and  rider  from  instant  death. 
The  poor  horse,  however,  tottered  and  fell  while  I  was  biing  assisted  to  mount  one  of  the  led  horses. 
Being  completely  surrounded,  our  only  chances  for  escape  were  to  charge  through  the  infantry  to  the 
right  rear,  or  into  the  swamp  on  the  left  rear.  As  this  last  horn  of  the  dilemma  would  probably  terminate 
in  the  loss  of  the  entire  battalion  as  prisoners,  the  other  horn  was  taken,  together  with  a  big  'horn' 
from  a  canteen,  which  did  not  cont;iiii  vvaler,  lo  compensate  for  the  loss  of  blood  from  my  wound,  which 
was  considerable.  The  charge  was  made.  Captain  Grant,  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  gallant  oflicers  of 
my  regiment,  riding  at  my  side  and  leading  it.  I  think  he  was  the  only  officer  in  my  command  that  was 
not  wounded  or  captured  in  that  affair.  My  second  horse  fell  exhausted  and  dying  frc.m  wounds  in 
aliempting  to  jump  a  deep  ditch,  behind  which  anotlicr  portinn  of  my  regiment  had  formed  wailing  for 
us.  The  1..SS  in  my  battalion  was  a  little  over  sixty  per  cent.  The  troop,  mounted,  luit  to  the  left,  and 
one  troop  dismounted,  were  capture<l  almost  entire,  very  few  were  killed,  and  a  comparatively  small 
number  wounded.     My  rightelbow-joint  wa.s  shattered  by  a  musket  ball,  and  I  received  some  internal 


GEN.    SAMUEL    B.    M.    YOUNG.  3O7 

injiiiy  on  the  pommel  of  my  sn<UlIe  liy  the  fall  of  my  horse,  which  kept  me  in  bed  for  six  nionth.s. 
Lieutenant  Martin  w.is  put  in  the  same  box  car  with  me  at  Cailett  Station  to  he  conveyed  witli  other 
wounded  to  \V.ishington,  and  he  then  told  me  that  he  was  the  third  or  fourdi  messenger  Gregi;  had  sent 
with  orders  for  me  to  fall  back.  I  resolved  that  before  I  ayaiii  went  iiUo  a  lit;lil  1  would  Imd  out  the 
meaning  of  the  term,  '  at  all  hazard.'  " 

After  hi.s  convalescence,  in  June,  1864,  he  \\a.s  as.signcd  to  iltit)'  at  Giesboro 
Point,  in  command  of  tlie  dismotinted  ca\-aii-)'  of  Gregg'.s  divi.sioii  aw.iiting  a 
remount.  On  the  4th  of  July  all  the  available  men  at  Giesboro  were  onlered 
out  armed  as  infantry  and  put  aboard  a  train  for  liarper's  P'eny,  to  assist  in 
defending  that  point  against  Early,  who  was  crossing  into  Maryland.  When  the 
troops  were  all  aboard,  orders  were  received  placing  Colonel  Young  in  command 
of  the  provisional  brigade  consisting  of  his  own  dismounted  cavali)-,  numbering 
fifteen  hundred  men  (three  battalions  of  five  hundred  each),  and  two  regiments  of 
one  hundred  days'  infantrx',  numbering  about  six  hundred  each,  in  all  about  two 
thousand  seven  hundred  men.  Arriving  at  Sandy  Hook,  on  the  Potomac  oppo- 
site and  a  little  below  Harper's  Ferry,  it  was  learned  that  Hai[)er's  Feir)-  had 
been  abandoned  and  was  occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  that  Sigel  was  holduig 
Maryland  Heights  and  a  line  across  the  valley  to  the  bend  of  the  river  above; 
also  that  the  telegraph  wires  were  cut  and  some  bridges  destro)-ed.  In  writing 
of  these  operations  General  Young  says: 

"  My  command  was  hurried  up  the  heights,  and  on  passing  the  summit  I  had  a  full  view  of  the  battle 
in  progress.  Early  had  crossed  at  Williamsport,  and  sent  Breckenii<lge's  division  down  to  clean  up 
Sigel,  while  he  pushed  on  towards  Washington.  Sending  the  staff  officer  to  report  my  arrival  and 
strength  to  General  Sigel,  I  started  my  command  on  the  d<iuble-quick  towards  Colonel  Mulligan's  left, 
his  weak  point,  and  riding  at  a  gallop,  reported  to  him  in  person.  Sigel  was  not  on  the  field,  but  back 
some  disiance  in  his  tent.  Mulligan  approved  my  action,  and  told  me  if  I  could  hold  ihat  point  on  his 
left  and  keep  a  ceriain  battery  in  action  ju^t  where  it  was,  he  was  certain  of  repulsing  Breckenridge. 
Mulligan's  programme  was  carried  out,  but  when  the  action  was  holiest,  the  particular  baltery  referred 
to  was  about  to  limber  to  the  rear,  and  was  only  prevented  by  the  officer  whom  I  had  placed  in  command 
of  the  support  with  special  instructions  in  reference  to  it.  Bieckenri<lge  failed  and  withdrew,  and  my 
reserves  were  deployed  to  relieve  Mulligan's  tired  men,  who  had  been  in  the  works  nearly  twelve  hnuis. 
By  order  of  General  Sigel  I  was  placed  under  arre.st  for  not  reporting  to  him  in  person,  and  for  interfering 
with  his  pet  battery  (so  I  was  told).  Colonel  Mulligan  came  over  in  person  about  dark  to  thank  me  for 
miking  it  possible  for  him  to  defeat  Breckenridge,  and  remarked  that  had  I  gone  in  person  to  find  Sigel, 
and  halted  my  command  until  my  return,  we  would  all  have  been  prisoners  at  the  time  that  he  was 
speaking.  I  then  told  him  that,  notwithstanding  his  success,  I  w.is  a  prisoner  in  even  a  worse  sense 
than  being  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  Some  time  during  the  night  Mulligan,  accompanied  by  a  staff 
officer,  aroused  me  to  tell  me  that  I  was  resiored  to  my  command,  and  th.it  General  Sigel  was  relieved 
and  succeeded  by  General  Howe.  I  learned  from  a  slafif  officer  that  Colonel  Mulligan  entered  a  strong 
pirotest  .against  my  humiliation,  declaring  that  my  action  had  enabled  him  to  repulse  Breckenridge,  and 
having  been  approved  by  him,  he  should  share  my  disgr.ice  if  it  was  persisted  in.  This  was  character- 
islic,  for  Colonel  Mulligan  was  one  of  the  most  high-minded,  brave  and  conspicuously  gallant  infantry 
oflieers  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  serve  with  during  the  war.  The  next  day,  .as  my  brigade  inarched 
pisi  the  tents  that  had  been  occupied  by  General  Sigel,  we  were  horrified  to  hear  the  column,  as  if  in 
accordance  with  a  preconcerted  arrangement,  break  out  in  the  refrain  : 
"  'All  flat  is  drue  I  speaks  mit  you, 
I  fights  no  more  mit  Sigel.' 
■  We  were  gratified,  however,  after  order  was  restored,  to  learn  thai  Sigel  was  not  within  hearing.  At 
Mulligan's  request  my  brig.ade  was  assigned  to  his  division.  Early,  who  had  been  at  the  gates  of  Wash- 
ington, was  in  a  hurry  to  get  back  home,  and  so  took  the  near  cut  across  the  Totomac  between  the 


30S  GKX.    SAMUEL    D.    M.    YOUNG. 

capital  anil  Ilaiper's  Fern,-.  Our  cavalry,  lUiriiig  that  campaii^n,  was  eminently  successful  in  always 
finding  out  where  Early's  army  h.ul  l>een.  Wiiglit  followed  close  on  Early's  heels,  with  Crook  trying  to 
strike  him  on  the  right  flank,  but  Early  reached  the  Shen.iniloah  before  Crook  could  concentrate  his 
scattered  forces.  \Vriglit  was  ordered  back  before  he  reached  Winchester,  and  Crook  followed  him 
through  that  place.  Early  turned  back  and  struck  Crook  at  Ke.arnstown,  on  July  24th.  Here  Colonel 
Mulligan  was  killed,  and  I  received  a  musket  ball  in  my  right  arm,  shattering  both  bones  close  to  the 
old  wound  and  destroying  the  gutta-percha  case  in  which  I  carried  it  bound  across  my  breast.  The 
lullet  first  struck  my  left  breast  pocket,  and  cariied  with  it  portions  of  official  papers  and  cloth  into  the 
flish  of  the  arm.  In  October,  however,  I  was  back  at  Giesboro,  and  on  my  personal  application  was 
sent  to  my  own  regiment  in  front  of  Petersburg." 

Colonel  Young  was  active  throughout  the  entire  campaign  with  Sheridan's 
cavalry  from  Five  Forks  to  the  surrender,  and  led  a  charge  of  his  brigade  even 
after  Lee  had  capitulated,  that  fact  not  being  known  to  him,  routing  a  brigade 
of  the  enenn' and  capturing  its  colors — the  last  colors  captured  from  Lee's  army. 
He  participated  during  the  war  in  eighteen  battles,  sixteen  actions  or  engage- 
ments, and  in  thirteen  skirmishes,  and  was  present  at  many  others.  He  was 
severely  wounded  at  Warrenton,  October  12,  1863,  at  Kearnstown  and  Win- 
chester, July  24,  1864,  and  at  Hatcher's  Run,  February  5,  1865.  He  has  received 
four  brevets.  On  March  2,  1867,  he  was  brcvctted  Major,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
and  Colonel,  United  States  Army,  for  "  gallant  and  meritorious  services  in 
action"  at  Sulphur  Spring,  Amelia  Spring  and  Sailor's  Creek,  Va.,  respectively; 
and  previously,  on  April  9,  1S65,  he  had  been  brevetted  Brigadier-General  of 
Volunteers  for  "gallant  and  meritorious  services  during  the  campaign,  ter- 
minating with  the  surrender  of  the  insurgent  army  under  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee." 

After  the  wax  closed  he  was  mustered  out  of  the  volunteer  service,  Jul}'  6, 
1S65,  and  in  the  following  year  was  appointed  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  regular 
army,  from  which  position  he  has  been  promoted  until,  April  2,  1883,  he  was 
commissioned  Major,  Tiiird  Cavalry.  During  these  years  he  has  been  stationed 
at  various  forts  on  the  Te.xan  frontier,  and  been  engaged  in  numerous  expeditions 
against  hostile  Indians  and  marauding  Mexicans.  From  February,  1871,  to 
February,  1873,  he  was  on  recruiting  service  at  Chicago,  and  was  on  duty  under 
orders  of  the  Lieutenant-Gcneral  at  the  great  fire  in  that  city,  October  8  to  15, 
1871.  In  November,  1881,  he  was  detached  for  duty  at  the  United  States 
Infantry  and  Cavalry  School  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  and  for  nearly  four  j'ears  \\-as 
instructor,  at  times,  in  military  law,  cavalry  tactics  and  hippology.  At  present 
(May,  1S88)  he  is  in  command  of  Fort  Mcintosh,  Texas. 

Major  Young  is  regarded  as  an  unusually  strict  post  commander,  but  he  seems 
to  possess  the  love  and  esteem  of  his  men,  who  prefer  to  serve  under  him  in  the 
field,  and  never  failed  him  at  the  critical  moment.  He  claims  that  all  soldiers 
cannot  be  governed  by  one  iron  rule,  aii\'  more  than  all  fish,  flesh  and  fowl  can 
be  cooked  together  in  one  iron  jiot,  and  be  palatable.  He  has  the  reputation  of 
commanding  the  best  drilled  body  of  caxalry  in  the  army,  and  has  jiis  men  and 
tlieir  Iiorscs  trained  to  perform  evolutions  that  have  surprised  and  elicited  the 
encomiums  of  military  officers  generally  for  the  remarkably  perfect  manner  in 
which  tliey  were  executed.  E.  T.  F. 


C APT.  John    S  .   Bishop. 


CArT.  JOHN  SOAST   BISHOP. 

JOHN  S.  Bishop,  who  has  passed  tlirough  all  the  grades  from  private  to  Colonel 
of  Volunteers,  and  who  is  now  a  Captain  in  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  In- 
fantry, U.  S.  A.,  is  an  excellent  representative  of  the  army  officers  who  have  been 
educated  to  warfare  in  the  field.  Though  his  military  career  has  not  been  as 
brilliant  as  some  who  have  had  better  opportunities  to  display  their  abilities  his 
record  is  an  exceedingly  creditable  one,  and  shows  that  he  possesses  in  a  marked 
degree  the  virtues  of  the  ideal  soldier — courage,  fidelit}-,  !o)-alty,  endurance  and 
a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  duties. 

Captain  Bishop  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  March  23,  1834,  the  eldest  of  eleven 
children  of  William  and  Catharine  Bishop,  and  can  claim  re\'olutionary  blood, 
as  he  is  descended  through  his  paternal  grandmother  from  John  Morton,  one  of 
the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  His  father  was  well  known 
among  the  iron  men  of  Pennsjdvania  as  a  successful  builder  of  furnaces  and  the 
originator  of  many  valuable  improvements  in  them.  His  grandfathers  were  both 
men  of  large  stature  and  great  pln'sical  strength,  and  many  of  their  progeny  have 
these  distinguishing  characteristics.  Captain  Bishop  is  fully  six  feet  in  height, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  emjiloj-ed  in  a  rolling  mill,  he  was  able  to  lift  five 
hundred  pounds  easily  and  to  swing  a  seventy-pound  sledge-hammer  over  his 
head,  and  now,  when  past  fifty,  is  able  to  make  a  march  of  thirty  miles  in  a  day 
o\-er  the  plains  without  perceptible  fatigue.  On  his  fiftieth  birthday  he  made  a 
march  of  over  thirteen  miles  in  about  four  hours. 

He  was  educated  in  the  public  schools  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  al\va}'s 
among  the  first  in  his  classes,  and  served  an  apprenticeship  with  Altemus  and 
the'Gihons,  well-known  bookbinders  in  Philadelphia.  On  reaching  his  majority 
he  went  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  and  was  emplo}-ed  in  the  office  of  the  Tennessee 
Baptist.  While  there  he  became  a  member  of  the  Shelby  Guards,  which  gave 
him  his  first  knowledge  of  military  evolutions.  In  1858  he  went  to  Jacksonville, 
111.,  and  was  engaged  there  with  Catlin  &  Co.,  in  the  book  business,  when  the 
first  gun  fired  on  Fort  Sumter  was  heard  in  the  extreme  limits  of  the  North  and 
West.  Though  he  did  not  enter  active  ser\ice  at  that  time  he  performed  a  use- 
ful part  in  recruiting  and  drilling  three  months  volunteers,  and  the  company 
which  he  then  assisted  in  drilling  afterwards  furnished  fift\'-tu'0  officers  for  the 
service.  In  November  of  1861  he  was  commissioned  Major  of  the  Thirty-second 
Illinois  Regiment,  but  there  being  two  fractions  of  regiments  desirous  of  consoli- 
dating he  resigned  the  following  month.  In  Ma\',  1S62,  he  enlisted  in  the  Sixty- 
eighth  Illinois  Regiment,  was  made  Sergeant  on  the  organization  of  his  company, 
and  on  June  4th  was  promoted  to  Regimental  Adjutant.  His  regiment  was 
sent  to  Alexandria,  Va.,  to  assist  in  the  defences  of  Washington  during  the 
second  Bull  Run  campaign  and  remained  there  until  mustered  out,  when  Captain 

[309) 


T.IO  CAPT.    JOHN    S.    BISHOP.  » 

Bishop  was  unanimously  recommended  by  the  officers  of  the  regiment  for  ap- 
pointment as  field  officer  of  volunteers.  He  frequently  requested  to  be  sent  to 
the  front  but  was  refused,  his  services  being  valuable  with  his  regiment. 

In  1S63  business  called  him  to  Indianapolis,  where  he  joined  the  Indiana 
Legion,  in  which  he  became  Captain  and  served  as  such  during  the  Morgan 
raid.  He  retained  this  commission  in  the  Indiana  Legion  until  June,  1S64, 
when  he  resigned  to  enter  the  volunteer  service  as  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  One 
Hundred  and  Eighth  Colored  Infantry.  Relinquishing  a  very  lucrative  busi- 
ness, he  organized  the  regiment  at  Louisville,  Ky.,  and  served  with  it  at  Owens- 
boro  and  Mumfordville,  Ky.,  at  Rock  Island  Barracks,  111.,  and  in  the  Depart- 
ment of  Mississippi.  While  the  regiment  was  on  duty  at  Rock  Island  one  of 
the  sentries  recognized  his  master  inside  the  prison.  The  master,  seeing  his 
former  slave  on  the  parapet,  picked  up  a  stone  with  the  intention  of  throwing  it 
at  the  sentry,  but  the  latter  bringing  down  his  musket,  said :  "  None  ob  dat, 
massa.  I'se  de  boss,  now."  The  prisoners  planned  an  escape  on  Christmas  eve, 
1864,  and  in  some  way  had  secured  two  ladders  with  which  to  scale  the  paTapct, 
but  the  sentries  detected  the  beginning  of  the  rush  and  two  firing  at  the  same 
time  killed  the  two  leaders,  thus  effectually  stopping  the  outbreak.  While  the 
regiment  was  at  Owensboro,  a  company  numbering  seventy  men  was  sent  on  an 
expedition  up  the  river  some  twenty  miles.  On  their  return  they  were  attacked 
b\' about  one  hundred  and  fifty  guerillas  and  armed  citizens.  After  a  sharp  little 
skirmish,  in  which  three  or  four  of  the  soldiers  were  wounded,  the  command 
captured  ten  of  the  enemy,  and  the  report  one  of  the  corporals  made  of  the  fight 
— "  We  met  "em,  we  whopped  'em,  and  cotched  ten  ob  'em,"  was  as  good  an 
example  of  brevity  as  Caesar's  famous  despatch. 

During  the  service  of  the  regiment  in  the  Department  of  the  Mississippi  it 
received  many  compliments  for  its  discipline,  appearance  and  prompt  and  efficient 
performance  of  duty.  On  leaving  Columbus  Colonel  Bishop  received  an 
address  signed  by  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  complimenting  the  regiment 
ver)-  highh',  and  expressing  their  appreciation  of  the  quiet  and  order  which  pre- 
vailed during  the  occupancy  by  negro  troops,  comparing  them  very  favorably 
Avith  their  own  soldiers.  He  remained  the  senior  officer  of  the  regiment  during 
its  whole  period  of  service,  and  on  September  19,  1865,  was  promoted  Colonel. 
\\'hile  guarding  the  line  of  the  M.  &  O.  R.  R.  he  came  into  command  of  the 
District  of  Columbus,  and  when  General  Force  was  relic\-ed  he  succeeded  to  the 
command  of  the  Northern  District  of  Mississippi.  He  remained  with  the  regi- 
ment until  it  was  discharged  at  Louisville,  March  29,  1S66.  The  officers  and 
men  of  this  regiment  contributed  over  $900  to  the  Lincoln  Monument  Fund. 

In  1867,  through  the  influence  of  Governor,  then  .Senator,  Morton,  he  received 
an  appointment  as  Second  Lieutenant  in  the  Thirtieth  Regiment  Infantry,  U.  S.  A., 
and  joined  the  regiment  near  Julcsburg,  Neb.,  in  June,  1867.  The  headquarters 
and  part  of  tiic  regiment  moved  to  the  site  of  Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  leaving  his 
company  detached,  and  he  was  detailed  as  Assistant  Ouartcrmaster  and   Com- 


•  CAPT.    JOHN    S.    BISHOP.  ^11 

missary.  He  served  in  tlie  Department  of  tlie  Platte,  at  North  Platte  (_\vhich 
post  he  built)  and  at  I'ort  Sanders.  In  March,  1869,  the  'riiiiticth  Reyinicnt 
consolidated  with  tiie  Fourth  Infantry,  and  in  November  of  that  year  lie  was 
assigned  to  the  Thirteenth  Infantry,  then  serving  in  Montana,  and  has  been  wiih 
it  ever  since,  living  the  life  of  a  soldier  on  the  frontier,  enduring  hardshi[)s  and 
scarcely  ever  remaining  at  any  post  for  a  much  longer  period  than  a  year.  His 
first  destination  was  Camp  Cooke,  Montana,  which  he  was  ordered  to  destroy, 
and  to  reach  it  he  crossed  the  main  divide  of  the  Roclcy  Mountains  in  January 
in  an  open  sleigh  at  midnight,  during  a  driving  snow-storm.  After  destroying 
this  fort  and  being  the  last  soldier  at  the  post  he  marched  to  Fort  Ponton  and 
then  to  Corinne,  Utah,  a  distance  of  about  six  hundred  miles,  all  of  which, 
excepting  seventy  miles,  he  traveled  on  foot.  To  cross  the  Marias  river  between 
Camp  Cooke  and  Fort  Benton,  which  was  then  very  liigh  and  running  rapidly, 
he  dismounted  a  wagon  body,  wrapped  a  "paulin"  around  it,  sent  a  swimmer  over 
with  a  small  rope,  then  hauled  over  a  larger  one,  launched  his  improvised  boat 
and  had  a  fl\'ing  ferr3^  He  swam  his  mules  and  passed  men  and  baggage  over 
in  his  boat  without  sliipping  as  much  as  a  bucket  of  water,  and  surprised  his 
captain  b}-  marching  into  Benton  about  sundown. 

While  at  P'ort  Bridger  he  met  with  a  severe  accitlent  which  kept  him  from 
duty  for  a  }'ear,  and  during  his  absence  he  was  promoted  to  be  I'irst  Lieutenant. 
Subsequently  he  was  stationed  at  Camp  Stambaugh, Wyoming  Territory,  situated  in 
the  mining  region  of  the  South  Pass  and  in  a  country  raided  by  the  Sioux.  He 
then  went  to  Fort  P'red  Steele  and  from  there  to  the  Red  Cloud  Agency,  now 
Fort  Robinson,  during  the  Indian  troubles,  returning  to  Fort  Fred  Steele  in 
June,  1874,  and  in  October  of  that  year  was  ordered  with  his  regiment  to  New 
Orleans  during  the  election  excitement,  which  threatened  an  outbreak.  He  was 
stationed  in  this  vicinity  until  July,  1877,  when  the  labor  riots  broke  out  in  Penn- 
sylvania and  he  was  sent  to  W^ilkes  Barre,  where  he  served  as  Quartermaster  and 
Commissary  and  won  compliments  from  General  Hancock,  Colonel  Otis,  the  com- 
manding officer,  and  the  chief  commissary  and  quartermaster  for  prompt  and 
valuable  services.*  After  leaving  Wilkes  Barre  he  went  to  Baton  Rouge,  where 
he  remained  for  two  years  until  the  abandonment  of  the  post  in  July,  1879,  and 
was  the  last  soldier  to  leave  the  post  except  tlie  ordnance  sergeant  left  in  charge. 
He  served  as  Regimental  Quartermaster  at  Forts  Leavenworth  and  Wingate, 
and  for  the  next  five  years  was  on  numerous  scouting  expeditions  after  the 
Indians  in  Arizona  and  other  Territories.  From  September,  18S5,  to  September, 
1 886,  he  was  in  command  of  his  conipan_\-  in  an  expedition  against  Geronimo  in 


*  Colonel  Otis,  in  lecomniending  Captain  Eisliop  for  the  position  of  Assistant-Quartermaster  or  Com- 
missary of  Sulisistence,  said  :  "  I  take  pleasure  in  staling  that  Lieutenant  Bisliop  acted  in  Irath  capacities 
most  efficiently  during  the  time  tlie  United  States  troops  were  stationed  at  Wilkes  Barre  during  a  few 
monilis  l.'.tely  passed.  His  knowledge  of  the  dulies  pertaining  to  these  positions  is  very  thorough,  and 
his  aijility  to  exercise  these  duties  is  of  a  high  order.  The  zeal  and  efficiency  with  which  he  performed 
his  dulies  at  Wilkes  Barre  deserve  commeinlation." 


-.[J  CAFT.    JOHN    S.    BISHOP. 

the  ncigliborhood  of  Horse  Sprincjs  and  in  the  Tularosa  Valley,  and  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Mogollon  IMountains.  The  compan)'  marched  over  fifteen 
hundred  miles  in  three  months,  and,  although  Captain  Bishop's  command  formed 
the  rear  line,  he  was  complimented  for  efficient  scr\ice  b)'  his  immediate  com- 
mander. Colonel  Biddle,  and  many  others. 

During  all  these  years  of  constant  change  and  laborious  service  he  can  say 
truly,  as  he  did  say  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  his  letter  dated  June  17,  1S78, 
now  on  file  in  the  War  Department : 

*'  I  have  nhvavs  endeavored  to  do  my  duty  failhriilly  in  whatever  position  I  have  been  placed,  have 
done  a  great  deal  of  hard  work,  and  never  an  Imur  of  fancy  duty.      How  well   I   have  succeeded    I  can 

refer   to   numerous   testimonials  on  file.     I   could  add  to  these  without  end During  all   my 

staff  services  I  have  never  had  a  stoppage  against  me,  and  all  my  accounts  are  settled  up  to  the  date  of 
my  present  appoinluient." 

After  nearl}- twent}' years  of  active  service  as  Lieutenant  he  received  in  March, 
1SS7,  his  promotion  to  Captain,  and  joined  his  new  company  at  Fort  Stanton, 
New  Mexico.  Captain  Bishop  is  a  strict  disciplinarian  but  at  the  same  time  is 
courteous  and  kind,  desiring  that  his  soldiers  should  regard  him  as  their  friend 
as  well  as  their  officer.  He  is  very  fertile  in  resources,  possesses  considerable 
artistic  taste  and  mechanical  skill,  and  almost  alwa}'s  carries  with  him  a  lot  of 
carpenter  and  cabinet-maker's  tools.  He  could  easily  qualify  as  a  sharpshooter, 
for  at  target  practice  in  1886  he  led  the  sharpshooters  of  his  department,  with  a 
score  of  five  hunilred  and  forty-eight  out  of  a  possible  six  hundred.  While  in 
Indianapolis  he  wrote  a  small  book  on  the  war,  which  liad  a  sale  of  sixty  thou- 
sand copies. 

In  June,  1858,  he  was  married  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas  and  Rachel 
Sliepherd,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  settlers  of  New  York.  They  have 
three  surviving  children,  two  daughters  and  a  son.  The  eldest  is  married  to  V. 
E.  Stolbrand,  who  is  Professor  in  the  Colorado  State  Agricultural  and  Mechani- 
cal College,  and  is  a  son  of  Gen.  E.  J.  Stolbrand,  who  was  Chief  of  Artillery  at 
the  siege  of  Vicksburg.  The  other  daughter  is  unmarried  and  the  son,  a  promis- 
ing young  man,  si.x  feet  three  in  stature,  is  now  employed  with  the  Phoenix  Iron 
and  Bridge  Company,  at  Phcenixville,  Penna. 

Captain  Eisho[)  is  a  member  of  the  Masonic  fraternity  and  has  been  an  Odd 
Fellow  since  1857.  He  was  an  original  member  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  as  then  constituteil  in  Indianapolis  in  1867,  and  has  recently  become 
a  member  of  the  Kansas  Commandery  of  tl;e  Lojal  Legion. 


C\PT    Otis  W.   Pollock. 


CAPT.   OTIS   WHEELER   POLLOCK. 

CAPT.  Otis  W.  Pollock,  of  tlie  Twenty-third  Infantry,  United  States  Army, 
is  a  Pennsylvania  officer  wlio  has  rendered  a  great  deal  of  valuable  service 
to  the  Government,  both  in  the  late  war  and  on  the  frontier,  and,  as  many  tliinlc, 
has  not  been  adequately  rewarded  for  it.  He  was  born  at  Erie,  August  7,  1833, 
and  is  the  son  of  Charles  and  Elizabeth  Wilson  Pollock.  The  progenitor  of  the 
family  in  America  emigrated  from  Ireland  to  Pennsylvania  about  1750,  and  since 
1800  his  descendants  have  been  farmers  near  Waterford,  Erie  county,  where 
young  Pollock  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  life.  His 
maternal  grandfather,  Dr.  John  Culbertson  Wallace,  the  first  resident  physician 
in  Erie  county,  was  a  surgeon  in  General  Wayne's  army  during  his  operations 
against  the  Indians  in  the  Northwest,  and  a  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  a  regiment  of 
Pennsylvania  militia  in  the  war  of  18 12.  Captain  Pollock  is  also  a  great-grandson 
of  ]\Iajor  James  Gordon  Heron,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  American  army  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  and  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati.  Pie  was 
for  a  time  an  Associate  Judge  of  Venango  county,  residing  in  I'lanklin,  where  he 
died,  December  30,  1S09. 

Captain  Pollock's  early  studies  included  survej'ing  and  civil  engineering,  and 
at  the  death  of  his  father,  which  occurred  May  31,  1S50,  rendering  it  necessary 
that  he  should  begin  the  battle  of  life  early,  he  sought  employment  in  railroad 
construction.  In  his  eighteenth  year  he  was  employed  in  the  construction  of  the 
Lake  Shore  Railroad  between  Erie  and  the  Ohio  State  line,  and  before  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age  he  was  an  assistant  engineer  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
Railroad,  and  in  charge  of  a  subdivision  of  the  construction.  Subsequently  he 
was  engaged  upon  the  preliminary  surveys  of  the  Minneapolis  and  Cedar  Valley 
Railroad  in  Minnesota,  and  in  1857,  while  thus  employed,  was  elected  County 
Surveyor  of  Steele  county,  and  served  one  term. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  while  engaged  in  survej'ing  oil  lands  on  the  little 
Kanawha  river,  in  what  is  now  West  Virginia,  the  war  broke  out,  and  he  at  once 
entered  the  service  of  the  Government  as  agent  of  the  Quartermaster's  Depart- 
ment established  at  Wheeling,  under  command  of  Captain  Craig.  His  duties 
comprised  the  superintendence  of  the  transportation  and  delivery  of  munitions 
of  war  to  the  different  commands  in  West  Virginia,  and  this  he  pursued  diligently 
until  October,  1 86 1,  when  he  was  commissioned  by  Governor  Todd  a  Lieutenant 
in  the  Si-\ty-third  Ohio  Infantry,  which  at  that  time  was  being  organized  at 
Marietta.  The  organization  of  this  regiment  was  finally  completed  by  its  con- 
solidation with  the  Twenty-second,  under  the  command  of  Col.  John  W.  Sprague. 
Pollock  was  made  Regimental  Adjutant,  and  in  February,  1862,  the  regiment 
embarked  at  Marietta,  moved  down  the  Ohio  river  and  reported  to  General  Pope 
at  Commerce,  Mo.  It  marched  thence  with  General  Pope's  command  on  New 
40  (313) 


!I4 


CAPT.    OTIS    W.    POLLOCK. 


^ladrid.  After  besieging  tlic  place,  niul  finally  capturing  it,  the  command  crossed 
the  Mississippi  on  transports  a  short  distance  below  New  Madrid,  and  nioxing 
up  the  river  on  the  opposite  side  to  a  point  across  from  Island  Number  Ten, 
captured  and  made  prisoners  the_^Confederate  forces,  thus  securing  Isla'.id  Number 
Ten  and  opening  the  river  as  far  down  as  Fort  Pillow. 

It  now  seemed  to  be  the  intention  that  Pope  should  move  down  the  river  with 
liis  army,  and  witli  the  co-operation  of  troops  from  the  interior  to  take  Fort 
Pillow,  and  afterwards  Memphis  and  so  on,  eventually  opening  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Gulf.  But  the  battle  of  Shiloh,  which  occurred  on  the  6th  and  7th  of  April, 
caused  a  change  of  programme,  and  before  Pope's  army  had  time  to  disembark 
at  Fort  Pillow,  he  received  instructions,  in  obedience  to  which  he  returned  to 
Cairo,  and  thence  up  the  Ohio  and  Tennessee  rivers  to  Hamburg  Landing, 
which  placed  him  on  the  left  flank  of  the  combined  forces  of  Grant  and  Buell, 
which  were  assembled  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Tennessee  river  at  Pittsburg 
Lantliiig. 

Ilalleck,  in  person,  having  assumed  command,  a  forward  movement  was  at  once 
begun,  which  resulted  in  the  capture  of  Corinth  on  the  30th  of  May.  Just  pre- 
vious to  the  occupation  of  Corinth  by  the  Federal  troops,  the  affair  at  Farrington, 
which  amounted  to  quite  a  respectable  battle,  was  fought  by  Pope,  and  in  which 
Lieutenant  Pollock  was  engaged.  On  June  30,  1862,  he  was  promoted  to  a 
Captaincy  in  the  Sixty-third  Ohio  Infantry,  and  in  the  reports  of  the  battles  of 
luka,  which  occurred  September  19th,  and  Corinth,  October  4th,  he  was  men- 
tioned as  having  rendered  gallant  and  meritorious  services.  In  the  latter  battle 
his  regiment,  of  which  he  was  Acting  Adjutant,  occupied  the  most  exposed 
position  in  the  field,  supporting  Battery  Robinett.  It  repulsed  three  desperate 
assaults  of  the  enemy,  and  lost  one-half  of  its  numbers  in  killed  and  wounded_ 
Only  four  of  its  officers  came  out  of  the  fight  uninjured.  Subsequently  Captain 
Pollock  participated  with  the  Ohio  Brigade  under  General  Fuller  in  the  engage- 
ment at  Parker's  Cross  Roads,  where  Forrest  was  defeated  with  great  loss. 

During  the  sunmier  of  1863  he  was  on  duty  at  Memphis  as  a  member  of  a 
general  court-martial,  and  after  the  union  of  Fuller's  Ohio  Brigade  with  a  por- 
tion of  the  troops  that  had  been  engaged  in  the  Vicksburg  campaign  under  Gen- 
eral Sherman,  his  company  was  employed  in  guarding  railroads  in  Alabama  and 
Tennessee. 

in  March,  1864,  Fuller's  Brigade  moved  down  the  Tennessee  river  opposite 
Decatur,  Ala.,  then  occupied  by  Confederate  troops,  and  crossing  the  river  just 
before  dawn  surprised  and  captured  it.  At  this  time  Captain  Pollock  was  acting 
Assi.stant  Adjutant-Genera!  of  Fuller's  Brigade.  Subsequently  other  troops 
as.seniblcd  at  this  point,  and  Brigadier-General  John  D.  Stevenson  assumed  com- 
mand of  tlie  whole,  to  w  hose  staff  Captain  Pollock  was  transferred  as  chief  of 
outposts  and  pickets. 

In  tile  latter  part  of  April  a  division  was  formed  from  the  troops  stationed  at 
Decatur,  and  jjlaced  under  the  command  of  Brigadier-General  James  C.  Veatch, 


CAPT.    OTIS    W.    POLLOCK.  -5115 

of  Indiana,  and  ordered  to  join  General  Sherman  at  Cliattanooga.  Captain  Pol- 
lock was  transferred  to  the  staff  of  General  Veatch  in  the  same  capacit)'  w  liich 
he  had  served  with  General  Stevenson.  On  arriving  at  Chattanooga,  this  divis- 
ion became  the  Fourth  Division  of  the  Sixteenth  Army  Corps,  which,  with  the 
Second  Division,  was  called  the  left  wing  of  the  Si.xteenth  Army  Corps — com- 
manded by  Gen.  J.  M.  Dodge,  of  Iowa — forming  a  part  of  the  Army  of  the  Ten- 
nessee under  command  of  General  McPherson. 

The  Atlanta  campaign  began  on  the  5th  of  I\Iay,  and  ended  with  the  battle  of 
Janesborough,  August  31st.  Captain  Pollock  took  part  in  all  the  battles  and 
skirmishes  of  this  campaign  in  which  the  Army  of  the  Tennessee  was  engaged, 
among  which  were  the  battles  of  Resaca,  New  Hope  Church,  Dallas,  Kenesavv 
Mountain,  Atlanta,  on  July  22d  and  28th,  etc.  At  the  battle  of  Atlanta  he 
barely  escaped  the  fate  of  General  McPherson.  Not  more  than  ten  minutes 
before  the  general  was  killed  Captain  Pollock  was  on  the  same  spot,  ha\ing, 
■^vithout  k-nowing  it,  run  into  the  Confederate  line,  but  managed  to  get  awa)', 
bringing  with  him  a  rebel  prisoner.  In  the  march  of  the  arm)-  under  General 
Sherman  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea  he  was  with  it,  and  was  present  at  the  conflicts 
incident  to  the  capture  of  Savannah,  and  accompanied  the  Aini}-  of  the  Tennessee 
in  its  movement  by  water  from  Savannah  to  Beaufort,  S.  C. 

At  this  point  he  was  relieved  from  his  position  on  division  staff,  in  order  that 
he  might  take  command  of  his  regiment — the  Sixty-third  Ohio  Infmtr}- — which 
command  he  held  until  the  arri\'al  of  Sherman's  army  at  '^oldsboro,  N.  C,  in 
March,  1S65.  During  this  campaign  he  was  engaged  with  the  enemy  while  on 
foraging  expeditions,  and  at  rivers  where  the  crossing  of  the  army  was  opposed, 
especially  at  the  Salkehatchie  and  Edi.sto.  Columbia  and  Cheraw  were  occupied 
without  much  resistance. 

At  Galesboro,  a  major  having  reported  for  duty,  Captain  Pollock  was  assigned 
to  the  staff  of  Gen.  Frank  P.  Blair,  then  in  command  of  the  Seventeenth  Army 
Corps,  in  the  capacity  of  Judge  Advocate  and  Assistant  Provost-Marshal.  While 
there  news  was  received  of  the  fall  of  Richmond.  The  movement  towards 
Raleigh  in  pursuit  of  Johnston  began  on  April  loth,  and  oii  the  nth  the  sur- 
render of  Lee  was  announced  to  the  ami)'.  Soon  after  arriving  at  Raleigh 
Johnston  surrendered  to  Sherman,  and  the  "cruel  war"  was  over.  After 
remaining  for  some  weeks  in  Washington  and  participating  in  the  grand  review, 
the  Sixty-third  Ohio  proceeded  to  Camp  Dennison,  and  was  mustered  out' July 
8.  1865. 

Captain  Pollock  returned  to  his  home  in  pj'ie,  where  he  remained  imtil  Feb- 
ruary 23,  1866,  when  he  was  appointed  by  President  Johnson  a  First  Lieutenant 
in  the  Fourteenth  Infantr)',  United  States  Ami)',  and  in  September  of  the  same 
}'ear  was  transferred  to  the  Twenty-third.  His  subsequent  life  is  that  of  an 
officer  on  the  frontier,  undergoing  arduous  trials,  subjected  to  constant  changes; 
at  one  time  conducting  recruits  to  distant  stations,  at  another  establishing  military 
posts  and  often  pursuing  hostile  Indians.     In  1867-68,  when  General  Crook  was 


3j6  CAPT.    OTIS    W.    rOLLOCK. 

prosecuting^  the  war  against  the  Snake  and  Pi-Ute  Indians,  Lieutenant  Pollock 
proceeded,  under  orders  from  him,  to  Fort  Boise,  Idaho,  a  distance  of  tliree 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  services  of  friendly 
Indians  in  that  vicinity  to  act  as  scouts.  He  started  on  his  return  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1868,  with  twenty-six  Indians,  two  lialf-breed  guides  and  interpreters, 
and  four  soldiers,  all  mounted,  and  a  train  of  about  thirty  pack-mules.  This 
march,  which  involved  the  crossing  of  Snake  river  and  the  Blue  mountains, 
was  performed  in  the  middle  of  the  severest  winter  that  had  been  known  for 
years.  The  slow  progress  caused  by  the  ice  in  the  river  and  the  deep  snow  in 
the  mountains,  together  with  the  intense  cold  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  degrees 
below  zero,  came  very  near  resulting  in  the  loss  of  the  entire  party  from  freezing 
and  starvation.  By  dint  of  energy  and  perseverance,  however,  and  the  exercise 
of  the  greatest  fortitude,  he  succeeded  in  bringing  the  party  through  without 
losing  a  man  or  an  animal  after  a  continuous  struggle  for  existence  of  three  weeks 
duration.  The  different  members  of  the  command  soon  recovered  from  their 
frost-bites  and  snow-blindness,  and  were  all  well  again. 

After  different  expeditions,  such  as  carrying  despatches  to  General  Halleck, 
and  conducting  recruits  to  Camp  Warner  from  San  Francisco  through  a  country 
infested  with  hostile  Indians,  Lieutenant  Pollock  was  ordered  on  general  recruit- 
ing service  in  the  fall  of  1868.  In  compliance  with  this  order  he  proceeded  via 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  New  York,  where  he  reported,  and  was  ordered  on 
duty  at  the  depot  at  Newport  Barracks,  Kcntuck}',  and  upon  his  arrival  there 
was  appointed  Adjutant  of  the  department. 

The  act  of  Congress  reducing  the  infantry  arm  of  the  ser\-ice  from  fort\'-five  to 
twenty-five  regiments  went  into  effect  March  3,  1S69.  This  required  the  con- 
.solidation  of  regiments,  and  surplus  officers  were  to  be  placed  on  a  supernumerary 
list.  It  being  understood  that  the  places  of  those  officers  who  were  absent  from 
their  regiments  would  be  filled  by  assignments  from  the  supernumerary  list, 
Lieutenant  Pollock  asked  to  be  relieved  from  the  recruiting  detail,  and  to  be 
permitted  to  return  to  his  regiment.  Accordingly,  he  was  ordered  to  join  a 
detachment  of  recruits  that  was  being  sent  from  New  York  to  San  Francisco. 
This  was  the  first  body  of  troops  that  ever  crossed  the  continent  on  the  Pacific 
Railroad.  They  left  New  York  on  May  20th,  and  arrived  at  San  P'rancisco  on 
June  20th,  having  stopped  at  Omaha  .several  days  en  route.  Lieutenant  Pollock 
proceeded  thence  to  Fort  Vancouver,  and  delivered  over  his  detachment.  P'rom 
there  he  joined  his  company  at  Camp  Warren. 

In  December,  1869,  he  was  appointed  Regimental  Adjutant  and  ordered  to 
Portland,  Oregon,  which  was  regimental  headquarters.  In  November  and 
December,  1870,  he  was  absent  several  weeks  in  Alaska,  having  been  ordered  to 
Sitka  on  duty  as  a  member  of  a  general  court-martial.  In  January,  1S71,  the 
headquarters  of  the  regiment  were  moved  to  Fort  Vancouver,  and  in  February, 
1872,  the  entire  regiment  was  transported  from  Oregon  to  Arizona.  They  pro- 
ceeded by  steamer  from  Portland  to  San  Francisco,  thence   by  steamer  to  Fort 


CAPT.    OTIS    \V.    POLLOCK.  3I7 

Yuma,  via  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Cah'fornia.  Lieutenant  Pollock,  in 
charge  of  the  non-commissioned  staff  and  band,  proceeded  up  tiie  Colorado  river 
to  Ehrensburg,  and  thence  by  wagon  to  Prestcott,  a  distance  of  about  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  miles,  and  there  reported  to  General  Crook  in  command  of  the 
regiment  and  department. 

In  the  fall  of  1 8/ 2  Lieutenant  Pollock  was  again  ordered  on  recruiting  service, 
to  report  to  the  superintendent  in  New  York  city.  Li  obedience  to  the  order  he 
had  proceeded  on  his  way  as  far  as  San  Francisco,  when  he  was  informed  at 
division  headquarters  that  he  had  been  promoted  Captain,  and  in  consequence 
the  order  sending  him  on  recruiting  service  was  revoked  by  telegraph  from 
Washington.  He  then  obtained  a  six  months'  leave  of  absence,  and  visited  his 
home  in  Pennsylvania.  At  the  expiration  of  his  leave  he  returned  to  Camp 
McDowell,  assuming  command  of  Company  "C"  and  the  post,  the  command 
consisting  of  Companj^  "  C,"  Twenty-third  Infantry,  and  Troop  "  E,"  Fifth  Cav- 
alry. He  retained  command  of  the  fort  until  July,  1874,  when  the  regiment  was 
transferred  from  the  Department  of  Arizona  to  the  Department  of  the  Platte,  with 
headquarters  at  Omaha  Barracks.  Captain  Pollock,  with  his  company,  arrived 
at  Omaha  Barracks  on  September  4,  1874.  He  remained  in  command  of  his 
company  at  this  post  imtil  May,  1S76,  when  he  was  ordered  to  Sidney  Barracks, 
on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  about  one  hundred  miles  east  of  Cheyenne.  He 
remained  in  command  there,  the  garrison  consisting  of  his  own  company  and 
Company  "  I,"  until  November,  during  which  time,  in  addition  to  other  duties, 
he  had  charge  of  forwarding  supplies  to  the  troops  in  the  field  under  conniiand 
of  General  Crook,  who  was  pursuing  the  hostile  Sioux. 

He  then  received  orders  to  proceed  with  his  command  to  Fort  Fetterman  and 
report  to  General  Crook,  Department  commander.  He  proceeded  by  rail  with 
the  two  companies  to  Medicine  Bow,  where  Colonel  Dodge,  lieutenant-colonel 
of  the  regiment,  assumed  command,  and  they  marched  from  there  to  Fort  Fet- 
terman. Here  what  was  known  as  the  Powder  Run  expedition  was  organized. 
The  infantry,  composed  of  nine  companies  and  four  companies  of  the  Fourth 
Artillery,  were  united  under  the  command  of  Lieut. -Col.  R.  I.  Dodge,  and  the 
eleven  companies  of  cavalry  were  under  the  command  of  Colonel  and  Brevet  Briga- 
dier-General Mackenzie  in  person.  The  expedition  proceeded  to  Crazy  Woman's 
Fork  of  the  Powder  river,  via  the  cantonment  Reno.  From  this  point  a  camp 
of  Northern  Cheyennes  was  located,  consisting  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
lodges,  in  the  foot  hills  of  the  Big  Horn  mountains.  General  Mackenzie,  with 
his  cavalry,  succeeded  in  surprising  the  camp,  capturing  and  destroying  every- 
thing that  it  contained,  including  large  quantities  of  meat,  buffalo  robes  and 
ammunition.  Mackenzie's  loss  was  only  about  twenty-five  killed  and  wounded. 
That  of  the  savages  was  much  greater.  They  fled  to  the  mountains  in  a  destitute 
condition,  and,  as  the  mercury  was  about  fifty  below  zero  and  snow  in  the  moun- 
tains was  quite  deep,  they  suffered  intensely  until  they  reached  the  camps  of 
their  Sioux  allies.     The  expedition   did   considerable  marching,  but   no   more 


3lS  CAPT.    OTIS    \V.    POLLOCK. 

figluingf,  finally  returning  to  Fort  Fettcrman,  and  thence  rvV?  Fort  Laramie  to 
Fort  D.  A.  Russel,  where  it  was  disbanded.  As  a  result  of  the  campaign,  the 
Northern  Cheyennes  shortly  afterwards  came  in  and  surrendered,  and  Crazy 
Horse,  the  Sioux  chief,  did  the  same,  and  the  war  was  thus  ended.  The  cam- 
paign was  made  in  the  coldest  winter  weather.  The  troops  were  constanth'  on 
the  march,  and  in  tents  when  the  mercury  was  freezing  and  the  animals  were 
perisliing  from  the  cold. 

While  the  operations  mentioned  above  were  in  progress,  an  order  was  issued 
transferring  the  Twenty-third  Infantry  to  the  Department  of  Missouri  with  liead- 
quartcrs  at  Fort  Leavenworth,  to  which  place  the  companies  that  were  engaged 
in  the  expedition  repaired  in  Januai}-,  1S77.  Captain  Pollock  proceeded  to  Sid- 
ney and  Omaha,  however,  for  the  ptiipose  of  closing  up  some  business  left 
unfinished  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  and  did  not  arrive  at  Fort  Leaven- 
wortli  until  the  latter  part  of  February 

In  July  of  this  j-ear  the  railroad  riots  became  so  formidable  that  the  President 
ordered  eight  companies  of  the  Twenty-third,  under  command  of  Gen.  Jefferson 
C.  Davis,  then  its  colonel,  to  St.  Louis  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  Government 
propertj*  in  that  vicinity.  This  included  Captain  Pollock  with  his  company,  "  C." 
After  remaining  there  for  two  or  three  weeks,  and  the  necessity  for  their  presence 
liaving  passed,  they  were  returned  to  their  respective  stations. 

In  obedience  to  orders  from  the  general  commanding  the  department,  Captain 
Pollock  left  F"ort  Leavenworth  on  the  21st  of  July,  1878,  and  proceeded  with  his 
company  to  Fort  Hayes,  Kansas,  and  there  took  station.  In  the  fall  of  that  }-ear 
the  Northern  Cheyennes,  who,  after  their  surrender,  had  been  located  by  the 
military  authorities  in  the  Indian  Territory,  near  Fort  Reno,  became  dissatisfied 
and  broke  loose  from  the  authority  of  their  Indian  agent,  and  attempted  to  return 
to  their  old  home  in  the  North.  During  their  progress  through  Kansas  they 
committed  many  outrages,  stealing  horses  and  murdering  the  inhabitants.  Cap- 
tain Pollock's  company  was  ordered  from  Fort  Ha)"es  in  conjunction  with  other 
troops,  to  proceed  to  a  point  on  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad,  where  it  was  hoped 
that  they  might  be  intercepted  in  their  attempt  to  cross  to  the  northward.  Not- 
w  ithstanding  the  watchfulness  of  the  troops,  the  Indians  succeeded  in  crossing 
the  railroad  unobstructed.  After  long  and  fatiguing  forced  marches  on  their 
trail  in  pursuit,  and  when  they  had  passed  into  the  Department  of  the  Platte,  and 
were  being  pursued  by  fresh  troops.  Captain  Pollo(J<  returned  to  Fort  Hayes. 

In  the  winter  of  1879  the  Twenty-third  was  transferred  from  Kansas  to  the 
Indian  Territory.  This  was  for  the  purpose  of  having  more  troops  on  hand  in 
case  of  another  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  to  break  out  as  the  Che}-ennes 
had  done.  Four  of  the  companies  were  left  at  I'ort  .Sup[)ly,  and  the  remaining 
si.x,  including  Captain  Pollock's,  marched  to  a  jioint  cm  the  Noith  P'oik  of  the 
Canadian  river  near  .Sheridan's  Roost,  and  thi  re  went  into  camp  on  March  6th. 
Tliey  proceeded  at  once  to  build  a  cantonment,  which  was  accomplished  by 
August,  and  the  troops  rendered  comparatively  comfortable. 


CAi'T.  nris  w.  riiT.i.ncK.  319 

On  November  iSth  Captain  Pollock  ohtaiiud  six  months'  leave  of  absence,  and 
visited  his  wife's  lionie  in  Alameda,  Cal.  Just  piior  to  the  expiration  of  this 
leave,  five  conipanies,  Captain  Pollock's  among  the  rest,  were  ordered  from  the 
cantonment  to  Colorado  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  quiet  the  Ute  Indians  in  the 
vicinity  of  Los  Pines  Agenc)-,  who  had  been  restless,  and  restore  confidence  to 
the  settlers.  Captain  Pollock  returned  to  the  cantonment  and  made  immediate 
arrangements  to  join  his  compan)-,  which  he  did  by  rail  and  stage,  reaching  their 
destination  June  3,  iSSo,  within  an  hour  of  the  arrival  of  the  command,  which 
had  marched  a  large  portion  of  the  way.  The  troops  remained  during  the  sum- 
mer encamped  along  the  banks  of  the  Uncompahgre  river. 

During  the  summer  what  was  known  as  the  Ute  commission,  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Hon.  George  Manypenny,  of  Ohio,  which  had  been  organized  for  the 
purpose  of  negotiating  for  the  relinquishment  of  the  Indian  title  in  Colorado,  and 
the  removal  of  the  Indians  to  Utah  and  elsewhere,  arrived  at  Los  Pinos  Agenc\', 
and,  when  it  became  necessary  for  them  to  \'isit  the  Southern  Utes,  Captain  Pol- 
lock's company  was  detailed  to  be  their  escort.  He  left  Los  Pinos  Agency  with 
the  commission,  having  four  six-horse  wagons  loadttl  with  forage,  rations  and 
camp  equipage,  and  two  four-mule  light  wagons.  The_\'  crossed  the  San  Juan 
range  at  an  altitude  of  twelve  thousand  feet  to  Silverton,  encountering  great 
hazard  of  losing  the  wagons,  owing  to  the  difficulty  of  preventing  them  from 
running  off  the  beaten  track  along  the  edge  of  the  mountains,  which  was  narrow 
and  crooked,  into  the  canon  hundreds  of  feet  below.  Their  progress  was  tedious, 
laborious  and  dangerous,  but  the  passage  was  finally  accomplished  in  safety. 
From  SiK'erton  the  route  was  down  the  Animas  ri\-er  to  Animas  Cit_\-,  thence 
across  the  Florida  river  to  the  agency  situated  on  the  Pine  river,  which  they 
reached  August  15th.  From  here  the  commission,  accompanied  b)'  Captain 
Pollock,  made  a  reconnoissance  in  search  of  5.  suitable  place  in  which  to  locate 
the  Utes  after  their  removal,  and,  after  following  the  La  Platte  to  its  confluence 
with  the  San  Juan  river,  returned  to  the  agency.  Having  completed  negotiations 
with  the  Indians,  the  commission  was  escorted  to  Alamosa,  and  upon  arriving  at 
that  place  Captain  Pollock  separated  from  them  and  returned  with  his  company 
and  transportation  by  another  route  to  the  cantonment,  located  during  his  absence 
on  the  Uncompahgre  river,  about  four  miles  below  the  Los  Pinos  Agency.  He 
reached  Klein's  ranch  on  the  Cimmaron  river,  about  twenty-two  miles  from  the 
cantonment,  the  day  following  the  killing  of  Johnson,  a  Ute  Indian,  son  of  one 
of  the  prominent  chiefs  (Chavanaux),  by  a  freighter  named  Jackson,  who  was 
subsequently  forcibly  taken  by  the  Indians  from  the  ci\ilian  escort,  who  were 
conveying  him  to  Gunnison  City  for  trial,  and  killed.  This  resulted  in  the  most 
intense  excitement  among  the  white  population,  and  open  war  between  the  whites 
and  Indians  became  imminent.  The  report  of  the  affair  made  by  Captain  Pol- 
lock to  the  War  Department,  showing  it  to  have  been  a  wanton  murder  on  the 
part  of  Jackson,  and  that  his  fate  was  nothing  more  than  a  case  of  lynching,  which 
was  published  in  the  papers  throughout  the  country,  no  doubt  had  the  effect  of 


320  CAPT.    OTIS    W.    POLLOCK. 

quieting  the  excitement  and  preventing  an  outbreak.  After  arriving  at  the  can- 
tonment, the  construction  of  which  had  been  commenced,  he  assisted  in  its  com- 
pletion, and  with  his  company  formed  part  of  the  garrison  until  October,  i8Si- 
During  this  time  he  was  Superintendent  and  Chief  Operator  of  the  telegraph  line 
which  had  been  constructed  by  the  troops  to  Gunnison  Citj^  receiving  and  trans- 
mitting all  the  messages  passing  between  Generals  Pope  and  Mackenzie  relating 
to  the  final  arrangements  for  conve)-ing  the  Utes  from  Colorado  to  Utah,  which, 
though  a  delicate  affair,  was  successfully  and  peaceably  accomplished. 

In  the  fall  of  iS8i  his  regiment  was  ordered  to  the  District  of  New  Mexico, 
Captain  Pollock  with  his  company  going  to  Fort  Bliss,  about  a  mile  above  El 
Paso,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  where  he  remained  performing  regular  garrison  duty 
until  June  i,  1SS4,  with  the  exception  of  four  months  spent  in  California,  on 
leave,  in  the  summer  of  1SS3.  In  June,  1884,  the  regiment  was  transferred  to 
the  Department  of  the  East,  and  occupied  the  posts  at  Fort  Porter,  Buffalo ;  Fort 
Brady,  Sault-ste-Marie,  and  Fort  Mackinac.  Captain  Pollock's  company  was 
stationed  at  Fort  Porter,  where  it  still  remains. 

Captain  Pollock  is  a  member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the 
militarj'  order  of  the  Loyal  Legion,  and  of  the  United  States  Military  Service 
Institution.  He  has  been  twice  married,  and  has  three  children,  a  son  by  his 
first  marriage  (Henry  Burt  Pollock,  now  a  clerk  in  the  Exchange  National  Bank 
of  Little  Rock,  Ark.),  and  two  daughters  by  the  second  marriage — Josephine 
Wallace,  born  December  29,  1876,  at  Omaha  Barracks,  Nebraska,  and  Winnie 
May,  born  May  3,  1879,  at  Alameda,  Cal.  His  first  wife  was  Ellen  Thomas,  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  his  present  wife,  Sarah  A.  (Thompson)  Black,  is  a  daughter 
of  R.  R.  Thompson,  Esq.,  of  Portland,  Oregon. 


Com.  Geo.  W.  Melville,  u.  s.  n. 


COM.   GEORGE  WALLACE  MELVILLE. 

COMMODORE  George  \V.  Melville,  the  eminent  Arctic  explorer  and  now  Chief 
of  the  Bureau  of  Steam  Engineering  of  the  Naval  Department  of  the 
United  States,  is  of  noble  Scottish  lineage,  and  inherits  the  remarkable  endurance 
that  characterizes  him  from  a  long  line  of  Caledonian  ancestry.  He  was  born 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  January  lo,  1841,  and  his  early  life  differed  but  little 
from  that  of  other  boys  of  his  age  and  opportunities.  His  education  was  ac- 
quired at  the  public  schools  and  completed  at  the  school  of  the  Christian 
Brothers  and  the  Polytechnique  School  of  Brooklyn.  He  left  school  about  the 
age  of  sixteen  and  shortly  after  began  work  in  the  machine  shops  of  James  Binns 
in  East  Brooklyn,  L.  I. 

He  }vas  but  a  few  months  past  twenty  when  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  and  within 
ninety  days  tliereafter  he  was  enrolled  in  the  service.of  his  country  and  began 
thenceforward  to  exhibit  those  sterling  qualities  of'ph)'sical  and  moral  heroism, 
constancy  and  endurance  that  distinguished  him  even  amongst  hosts  of  brave, 
constant,  self-denying  patriots.  On  the  29th  of  July,  1861,  he  was  appointed 
Third  Assistant  Engineer  in  the  United  States  Navy.  Thenceforth  Engineer 
Melville's  life  was  an  eventful  one.  He  served  throughout  the  war  of  the 
Rebellion  in  the  North  and  South  Atlantic  Blockading  Squadrons,  and  also  in 
Wilkes'  Flying  Squadron.  He  was  on  dut}^  on  the  Brazilian  coast  and  took 
part  in  the  capture  of  the  rebel  steamer  "  Florida  "  in  the  harbor  of  Bahai. 

When  the  war  was  over,  the  army  disbanded,  and  the  hastily  extemporized 
vessels  of  the  navy  diverted  again  into  merchant  service,  the  young  engineer 
chose  to  remain  fn  the  service  of  the  United  States.  He  served  successively 
in  the  West  Indies,  Brazil  and  the  East  India  stations  and  at  the  various  United 
States  Navy  Yards  upon  important  Government  duty  during  the  first  few  years 
of  peace.  But  his  nature  was  that  of  an  explorer  and  his  restless  disposition 
found  no  charm  in  ease.  The  project  of  searching  f:>r  the  previous  expeditions 
that  had  sailed  for  the  Polar  seas,  though  so  full  of  danger  and  so  little  promis- 
ing any  substantial  results,  possessed  a  charm  for  his  hardy,  adventurous  spirit 
that  gave  him  no  peace  until  he  found  himself  actuall)'  shippcil  for  the  frozen 
zone.  He  made  three  vo_\-ngcs  in  all  to  the  Arctic  regions,  including  the  famous 
Polaris  Search  Expedition  in  the  "  Tigress  ;"  the  Jeannette  Exploring  l'.x|iedi- 
tion,  sent  out  by  James  Gordon  Bennett,  of  the  New  York  Herald,  and  the 
Greely  Relief  Expedition  in  the  "  Thetis,"  sent  out  by  the  United  States  Govern- 
ment to  relieve  Lieutenant  Greely.  His  exploits  on  these  expeditions  have  been 
recorded  in  histories,  and  need  but  a  brief  mention  here. 

In  the  Jeannette  Exploring  Expedition,  Engineer-in-Chief  Melville  commanded 
the  famous  whale  boat  and  accomplished  the  feat  of  bringing  his  whole  crew 
out  alive.  He  was  the  first  officer  of  the  expedition  to  unfurl  the  expeditionary 
41  (3^1) 


-22  COM.    GEORGE    \V.    MELVILLE. 

flag,  wliicli  he  did  on  Henrietta  Island,  whither  lie  had  led  a  detachment  to  take 
possession  of  the  ne\vl\-  discovered  land  in  the  name  of  the  United  States. 

He  led  the  party  that  discovered  the  bodies  of  Lieutenant  DcLong  and  Jiis 
ill-starred  companions.  It  was  under  his  charge  that  the  rites  of  Christian 
burial  were  performed  over  these  niartxrs  to  science  and  humanity  where 
perpetual  winter  had  embalmed  them  with  its  Lerneal  breath.  They  were,  how- 
ever, subsequently  exhumed  by  orders  of  the  United  States  Government  and 
their  remains  brought  to  their  homes,  where  they  were  laid  to  rest  with  impressive 
ceremonies  amid  the  dust  of  their  kin.  In  searching  for  the  other  boat's  crew 
he  fought  his  perilous  and  painful  way,  mile  by  mile,  through  the  rigors  of 
perpetual  winter  and  floating  archipelagoes  of  ice  along  the  Arctic  coast  for  o\er 
five  hundred  miles,  survi\ing  the  privations  that  had  been  fatal  to  so  many,  and 
persevered  until  his  search  was  rewarded  by  the  recovery  of  all  the  records  of 
the  "Jeannette"  expedition.  He  penetrated  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  river  in 
his  search,  and  contributed  to  the  geography  of  the  world  a  new  and  important 
chart  of  that  region. 

In  the  Greel)' Relief  Expedition  he  served  as  Chief  Engineer  aboard  the  "Thetis," 
the  flagship  of  the  Arctic  fleet,  and  it  was  to  his  knowledge  of  the  wants  of  such 
expeditions  that  the  most  important  adjunct  to  success — the  fitting  out  and 
furnishing  of  the  fleet — owed  its  completeness  and  proficiency,  and  which  more 
than  anything  else  enabled  it  to  succeed  v/here  others  as  brave  and  hardy  had 
failed.  The  provisions,  the  clothing  and  the  equipment  for  retreat  as  well  as  for 
advance  into  the  domain  of  winter  were  all  selected  under  his  supervision  and 
direction. 

Engineer-in-Chief  Melville  has  been  a  resident  of  Philadelphia  for  twenty-five 
years,  where  he  is  highly  esteemed.  He  is  as  modest  and  unostentatious  in 
deportment  as  his  career  demonstrates  him  to  be  bra\-e  and'  enduring  in  the 
discharge  of  perilous  duties. 

He  has  risen  from  grade  to  grade  in  his  profession,  passing  through  all  the 
stages  of  promotion.  In  March,  iSSi,  he  was  commissioned  Chief  Engineer  in 
the  United  States  Navy  with  the  rank  of  Lieutenant  Commander,  and  is  at  the 
present  time  Engineer-in-Chief  of  the  Navy  and  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Steam 
Engineering  of  the  Naval  Department  with  the  rank  of  Commodore,  having  been 
so  commissioned  on  August  9,  1S87. 

As  an  instance  of  his  ability  to  accomplish  unusual  feats  and  his  capacity  for 
extraordinary  effort  we  may  mention  the  fact  that  in  the  sunnner  of  18S7  he 
performed  an  unprecedented  piece  of  work.  In  less  than  six  weeks  he  pre[)arcd 
the  general  designs  for  the  machinery  of  five  different  vessels  of  the  new  navy, 
though  when  he  began  his  task  expert  engineers  said  he  was  attempting  an  im- 
possibility. The  plans  were  for  the  "  San  I'"rancisco,"  two  nincteen-knot  vessels 
and  two  gun-boats. 

Enginccr-in-Cliief  Melville  is  a  member  of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal 
Legion,  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  and  of  various  Geographical  Societies. 

I.  L.  V. 


Rev.  William   C.  Cattell,  d.d. 


WILLIAIM  CASSADY  CATTELL. 

WILLIAM  Cassady  Cattell,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  a  distinguished  educator  and 
preacher,  was  born  at  Salem,  New  Jersej',  August  30,  1827.  y\s  a  boy 
he  attended  the  private  schools  of  Salem,  and  in  1848  graduated  at  Princeton 
College.  Having  the  ministry  in  view,  he  entered  the  Princeton  Theological 
Seminary  and  graduated  there  in  1852. 

He  began  his  work  as  an  educator  in  1853,35  Associate  Principal  of  the  Edge 
Hill  School  at  Princeton.  In  1S55  he  was  elected  Pi-ofcssor  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages at  Lafayette  College,  where  his  fine  scholarship  and  his  remarkable 
ability  as  a  teacher  made  him  ver\'  popular  among  the  students.  In  1859  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  and  at  once  dis]:)laycd  the  executive 
ability  that  was  afterwards  so  conspicuous  when  he  was  placed,  four  ycius  later, 
at  the  head  of  the  college. 

He  resigned  his  chair  at  Lafa^-ette  to  become  the  fir>t  [lastorof  the  Pine  Street 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Harrisburg,  where  he  was  installed  b_\-  the  Presl)_\-tcry 
of  Carlisle  in  the  spring  of  i860.  A  letter  from  a  prominent  member  of  his 
congregation  to  the  writer  of  this  sketch  saj's : 

The  newly-formed  congregation  had  separated  frf)ni  the  parent  church  in  Market  Square  to  connect 
themselves  with  the  Old  .School  Asseniljly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  departure  or  secession  of  so 
large  and  important  a  portion  from  llie  main  body,  with  llie  purpose  just  stated,  was  expected  to  occasinn 
more  or  less  bitterness  of  feeling.  It  ihcrefnre  required  a  man  of  unusual  tact  and  great  wisdom  to  keep 
the  breach  from  widening  and  to  all.iy,  as  far  as  possible,  all  the  jealousies  arising  from  a  rivalry  between 
the  two  congregations  occupying  the  same  grountl  and  drawing  their  supplies  from  a  then  limited  field. 
It  is  to-day  the  uniform  testimony  of  both  churches  that  no  man  could  have  met  the  peculiar  conditions 
and  suited  the  situation  better  than  Mr.  Cattell.  Hi.s  genial  manners,  rare  tact  and  hearty  s\m]">atldes 
served  both  to  allay  animosities  and  to  harmonize  conflicting  inteiests.  Under  his  ministry,  as  fiist  pastor, 
the  Pine  Street  Church  began  a  career  of  usefulness  which  made  it  perh.-ips  the  most  inHiiential  congrega- 
tion in  the  large  Presbytery  of  Carlisle.  In  the  Sabbath-school,  with  a  reputation  e\'en  i)eyond  the  limits 
of  the  State,  he  was  a  zealous  co-laborer  and  a  judicious  adviser,  and  on  every  public  occasion  his  pres- 
ence is  still  freely  sought  for  and  henrtily  welcomed.  In  the  community  Mr.  Cattell  was  honored  for  his 
fine  scholarship  and  noble  Chii^tian  character. 

His  pastoral  work  at  Harrisburg  began  just  before  the  breaking  out  of  the 
civil  war,  and  it  continued  during  the  time  that  city  was  as  one  great  canip, 
down  to  the  closing  days  of  1863;  and  the  writer  of  the  letter  adds:  "In  the 
urgent  demands  made  upon  the  citizens  of  Harrishurg,  when  the  bloody  battles 
fought  in  Virginia,  Marvland  and  Pennsyh'.tnia  filled  the  hospitals  o(  the  city 
with  thousands  of  wounded  soldiers,  no  one  was  more  acti\'e  to  relieve  the  sick 
or  more  tenderly  ministered  to  the  d)-ing,  than  the  pastor  of  the  Pine  Street 
Church."  • 

The  pulpit  utterances  of  such  a  man  could  not  fail  to  attract  jiiiblic  attention, 
and  the  Harrisburg   Tclcgrapli,  in   referring  to  one  of  his  sermons  repeated  by 


324  WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL. 

request,  says:  "  Tlie  crowd  on  the  occasion  was  greater  than  any  which  c\'cr 
assembled  to  hear  tlie  delivery  of  any  sermon  in  the  city.  The  church  was 
thronged  long  before  the  appointed  hour  for  the  delivery  of  the  sermon,  while 
the  sidewalks  in  the  vicinity  of  the  church  were  covered  with  a  patient  mass  of 
men  and  women  anxious  to  get  within  hearing  distance." 

With  what  feelings  of  regret  and  sorrow  the  congregation  parted  from  their 
young  pastor  may  be  seen  from  the  minute  adoj^ted  by  them,  and  embodied  in 
the  following  letter  from  the  Session  requesting  a  copy  of  his  farewell  sermon 
for  publication : 

Dear  Sir: 

The  undersigned,  members  of  the  Session,  believing  th.it  the  sermon  pre.iched  by  you  on  the  last 
Sabbath  of  your  pastorate  will  prove  of  great  interest  to  the  congregation,  respectfully  request  a  copy  of 
the  same  for  publication  and  privale  distribuiiun. 

We  also  desire  to  place  on  record  the  following  resoUition,  unanimously  passed  at  the  congregational 
meeting  held  November  gth  : 

"  Whi:reas,  The  Rev.  W.  C.  Cattell  has  requested  this  congregation  to  unite  with  him  in  asking  a 
dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation,  with  a  view  to  his  entering  on  the  diuies  of  the  Presidency  of  Lafay- 
ette College ;  therefore, 

"Ri'soh'eti,  That,  while  we  cannot  cordially  unite  with  our  beloved  p.astor  in  requesting  the  disso- 
lution of  a  pastoral  rehition  in  which  he  has  become  so  endeared  to  us  all,  and  so  blessed  of  God,  yet 
we  will  throw  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  decision  of  the  Presbytery;  and  if  they  should  deem  it  wise 
and  proper  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  rel.Ttion,  we  desire  to  pl.ice  on  permanent  record  our  high  appreciation 
of  his  services  as  a  faithful  preacher,  our  deep  affection  for  him  as  a  zealous  and  exemplary  pastor,  and 
our  hearty  admiration  of  those  many  qualities  of  head  and  heart  which  have  endeared  him  at  all  times 
as  a  friend  and  counsellor;  and  that  we  will  earnestly  pray  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to  make  him 
eminently  useful  in  the  important  and  responsible  duties  of  his  new  position." 

Hoping  that  you  will  place  the  manuscrijit  of  your  sermon  at  our  disposal,  we  remain. 
Yours,  very  truly, 

F.  WvFTir,  J.  McCoRMicK,  Jr., 

II.  M.  Graydon,      J.  F.  Si:ii.i;k. 

It  was  in  October,  1863,  that  he  was  called  from  the  work  he  so  succcssftilly 
conducted  at  Harrisburg  to  a  new  and  wider  sphere  of  usefulness — the  crowning 
work  of  his  life — to  the  Presidency  of  Lafayette  College. 

The  general  depression  which  followed  the  outbreak  of  the  war  was  felt  \'cry 
seriously  at  Lafayette.  In  August  of  1863  President  McPhail  resigned,  and  a 
special  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  was  called  in  Philadelphia  "to  ta'Ice 
into  consideration  the  propriety  of  suspending  operations  under  increasing 
embarrassments,"  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  doors  of  the  institution  would  be  per- 
manent!)' closed. 

Professor  Ouen,  in  liis  "  Historical  Sketches  of  Laf.i)-ette  College,"  says: 

It  was  at  this  critical  juncture  in  the  history  of  the  college  that  we  find  the  Board  turning  their  atten- 
tion to  one  who  had  been  a  professor  in  the  institution,  Rev.  W'illiam  C.  Cattell,  to  whom  they  gave  a 
hearty  call  to  return  to  Lafayette  and  fill  the  vacant  presidency.  Dr.  Cattell  was  at  that  time  pastor  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  at  Harrisburg.  His  pastorate  was  one  of  marked  success  and  useful- 
ne.ss;  an  able  and  devoted  preacher,  a  man  of  w.irm  and  symp.ithetic  heart,  he  had  won  the  love  of  all 
his  people,  who,  when  he  accepted  the  proffered  presidency,  consented  to  his  separation  from  them  with 
the  utmost  reluctance,  and  only  under  the  conviction  that  he  was  called  to  a  higher  work.     Tliis  indeed 


WILLIAM     C.    CATTELL.  325 

has  proved  to  be  the  c:i?e  ;  but  it  was  a  work  beset  with  great  (iiflicullies.  Dr.  Cattell  was  not  ignorant 
of  these,  nor  was  he  dislieartened  by  them.  He  came  to  his  new  and  enlarged  sphere  of  labor  with  a 
strong  faith  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  enterprise. 

To  his  earnest  zeal  in  the  cause  of  education  he  added  a  knowIedi;e  of  the  ground  and  a  keen  insight, 
which  enabled  hiin  to  see  the  wants  of  the  age  in  the  matter  of  a  higher  education.  His  elToits  at  the 
very  outset  were  characterized  by  that  energy,  prudence  and  tact  which  always  masters  difficulties,  and 
wliich  secured  for  him  at  once  the  heaity  cooperation  and  confidence  of  tlie  friends  of  the  college. 

President  Cattell  entered  upon  his  duties  in  October,  1863,  and  was  inaugurated 
in  the  old  college  chapel  at  the  ensuing  Commencement,  July,  1864.  Governor 
rollock,  president  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  in  his  introductory  address,*  after 
referring  to  the  recent  discouragements  and  gloom  of  the  friends  of  the  college, 
sa)'s  : 

At  this  hour,  and  in  analogy-  with  nature,  now  robed  in  sunshine  and  smiling  after  the  storm,  the  light 
of  a  genial  sun  now  pouring  down  upon  us  through  the  riven  and  scattered  clouds,  Lafayette  College 
stands  revealed  in  the  light  of  returning  prosperity,  and  all  without  betokens  favor,  success  and  triumph! 
We  have  met  to-day  to  w  itncss  tlie  inauguration  of  one  well  known  and  appreciated  by  you  all,  and  who 
has  been  honored  by  a  most  happy,  cordial  and  unanimous  selection  by  the  Synod  and  Boanl  of  Trus- 
tees. We  present  him  to  you  as  the  scholar  and  the  man — the  highest  style  of  man — the  Christian  gen- 
tleman, and  one  who  combines  in  a  remarkable  degree  the  quiet  dignity  of  the  Christian  niini-ter,  the 
accomplishments  of  the  scholar,  and  the  no  less  important  qualifications  of  an  administrative  officer. 

And  Professor  March,  in  the  "  College  Book  "  (published  by  Houghton,  Os- 
good &  Co.,  Boston,  1878),  says:  "  He  had  been  everywhere  greatly'successful. 
'Tlie  new  President,'  says  Ik.  I\Iar\-el,  who  knows  him,  'has  wondrous  winning 
wa)-s.'  Things  began  at  once  to  brighten.  The  alumni  showed  new  interest  in 
the  college ;  students  began  to  come  in ;  donations  of  money  were  obtained 
wiiich  relieved  immediate  wants  ;  but  the  first  great  '  winning  '  was  the  good  will 
of  Mr.  A.  Pardee,  of  Hazleton,  and  the  demonstration  of  it  (his  first  gift  of 
^20,000  to  the  college)  was  described  by  Dr.  Cattell,  at  a  banquetf  given  to 
liim  by  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia,  in  1S69,  upon  the  eve  of  his  departure  for 
Europe." 

Every  well-informed  friend  of  education  is  familiar  with  the  rapid  and  steady 
growth  of  Lafayette  College  under  the  administration  of  President  Cattell.  It 
has  been  described  by  the  graceful  pen  of  Mr.  Donald  G.  Mitchell  (Ik.  Marvel) 
in  Scribitir's  j\lagazine  (  December,  1876),  and  more  fully  by  Professor  Owen,  in 
his  "  Historical  Sketches  of  Lafayette  College,"  prepared  during  the  centennial 
year  at  the  request  of  tlie  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education.  The- 
limits  of  this  sketch  will  allow  only  a  brief  reference  to  it. 

*See  the  pamphlet  containing  the  report  of  the  exercises,  with  President  Cattell's  inaugural. 

t  Thur-day  evening,  April  29th.  The  Philadelphia  Press  of  the  next  day  gives  nearly  a  full  page  to  a 
report  of  this  meeting,  printing  President  Cattell's  address  in  full.  The  other  speakers  were  Governor 
Pollock,  Mayor  Fox,  Professor  Traill  Green,  Dean  of  the  College,  Chief-Justice  Thompson,  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  Dr.  Herrick  J.ihnson,  then  pastor  of  the  historic  First  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia, now  Professor  in  the  Chicago  Theological  Seminary,  Professor  Samuel  D.  Gross,  of  the  Jefferson 
Medical  College,  Hon.  Henry  Barnard,  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  and  Plon.  William 
Strong,  afterwards  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court. 


326  WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL. 

Tlio  number  of  students  increased  from  thirty-nine  in  1S63  to  three  hundred 
and  nineteen  in  1S75.  It  has  been  the  pohcy  since  then  to  keep  the  number  at 
about  three  hundred,  rather  than  to  give  the  professors  such  work  with  a  larger 
number  as  would  prevent  personal  and  individual  attention.  The  college  grounds 
were  enlarged  b}-  successive  purchases  until  they  now  include  nearly  forty  acres, 
graded,  terraced  and  beautifully  ornamented.  The  two  small  buildings,  which 
were  made  to  answer  for  the  accommodation  of  the  thirty-nine  students  in  1S63, 
have  been  renovated  and  enlarged  and  new  ones  have  been  added.  Notable 
among  these  is  Pardee  Hall,  erected  at  a  cost  of  nearly  ^300,000,  and  which  is 
one  of  the  finest  college  buildings  in  America.  The  whole  building,  with  its 
furniture  and  scientific  equipment,  was  the  munificent  gift  of  Mr.  Ario  Pardee. 
It  was  dedicated  with  imposing  ceremonies  and  in  the  presence  of  a  vast  assem- 
blage, October  21,  1S73.  The  day  was  a  gala  one  for  Easton  and  the  neighbor- 
hood. The  afternoon  was  a  general  holiday.  All  the  schools,  factories  and 
shops  were  closed,  and  a  procession,  gay  with  banners  and  music  and  over  a 
mile  long,  ascended  the  hill  and  gathered  around  the  building  when  it  was  for- 
mally transferred  by  Mr.  Pardee  to  the  trustees  of  the  college.  On  the  evening 
of  June  4,  1879,  this  magnificent  building  was  totally  destroyed  by  fire. 

But  it  soon  rose  from  its  ashes,  rebuilt  upon  the  same  site,  of  the  same  dimen- 
sions and  exterior  appearance,  but  the  arrangement  of  the  interior  much  im- 
proved, as  experience  with  the  original  building  suggested.  At  the  reopening, 
Nox'embcr  30,  1880,  Prof  F.  A.  March  delivered  a  most  able  and  scholarly 
address  before  such  a  distinguished  assembly  as  has  rarely  gathered  in  honor  of 
any  educational  foundation  in  this  country.  It  included  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  who  came  in  a  special  car  from  Washington  attended  by  several 
members  of  his  cabinet,  the  General  of  the  Army  and  the  United  States  Com- 
missioner of  Education;  the  Governor  of  Pcnn.sylvania,  with  his  staff  and  the 
heads  of  the  State  Departments;  the  Moderator  of  the  General  Assenibl)'  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church;  the  Moderator  of  the  S\nnd  of  Pennsylvania;  and  many 
other  dignitaries  of  Church  and  State,  and  eminent  educators,  including  many 
presidents  and  professors  in  our  unixersitics  and  colleges. 

In  1863  the  curriculum  of  studies  at  Lafa\-ette  was  the  traditional  college 
course,  based  mainly  on  the  .study  of  Latin  and  Greek,  but  the  second  year  of 
President  Cattell's  administration  was  signalized  by  a  large  advance  in  the  direc- 
tion of  scientific  studies.  The  classical  course  was  still  continued.  In  fact,  the 
catalogue  stated  that  the  policy  at  Lafayette  would  be  to  give  it  greater  efficiency 
year  by  year,  "  not  only  as  the  regular  introduction  to  the  special  professional 
.study  of  theology,  medicine,  law  and  teaching,  but  also  as  a  thoroughly  tried 
means  of  securing  the  culture  and  elevation  of  mind,  and  of  imparting  the  useful 
and  liberal  learning  which  becomes  a  Christian  scholar."  But  new  courses  of 
scientific,  technical  and  post-graduate  studies  were  successively  added  until 
"  under  this  administration  Lafayette  has  risen  to  her  present  conimanding 
position,  embracing  dej)artments  of  instruction  widely  different  in  specific  scope 


WILLIAM     C.    CATTELL.  ^2 J 

and  aim,  yet  brought  into  stimulating  contact,  and  so  into  the  unity  of  a  har- 
monious progress"  (Prof.  Owen's  Slcetches).  Of  course  this  rapid  and  splendid 
development,  tie  history  of  which,  says  the  New  York  Christian  IVcck/y,  "reads 
hke  a  romance,"  required  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  money  for  the  new 
buildings  with  their  scientific  equipment,  and  for  the  support  of  the  increased 
number  of  professors.  And  from  all  sides,  in  response  to  the  appeals  of  the 
enthusiastic  and  e\er  hopeful  president,  came  the  donations,  so  that  the 
capital  stock  of  the  college,  which  in  1863  was  scarcel}-  $50,000,  rose  in  a  few 
years  to  nearly  a  million.  The  hard  times  commencing  in  1873,  and  which  pro- 
duced for  many  }-ears  such  financial  distress  throughout  the  countr}',  seriously 
crippled  President  Cattell  in  his  plans  for  the  continued  increase  of  the  college 
endowments.  But  the  printed  Tables  accompanj'ing  his  annual  report  to  the 
trustees  show  that  in  1879,  after  four  )-ears  of  heroic  struggle,  the  current  expenses 
of  the  college  were  fully  met  and  the  "  capital  stock  "again  increased.  These 
Tables  report  the  same  gratifj^'ng  results  each  )-ear  till  the  close  of  his  adminis- 
tration, notwithstanding  the  added  strain  and  toil  to  the  President  that  followed 
the  destruction  of  Pardee  Hall  in  1879. 

President  Cattell  always  aimed  to  continue  in  the  College  the  Christian  work 
begun  b\'  his  pious  predecessors.  The  subject  of  his  inaugural  address  was 
"  The  Bible  as  a  College  Te.\t-Book."  The  year  following  his  inauguration  a 
religious  re\'ival  took  place,  which  Professor  Owen  describes  as  "  peihaps  the 
most  remarkable  of  the  great  revivals  that  have  characterized  the  recent  history." 
And  how  faithful  Dr.  Cattell  was  to  the  high  trust  committed  to  him,  as  the 
President  of  a  Christian  college,  may  be  seen  from  the  glowing  and  eloquent 
words  of  Rev.  George  C.  Heckman,  D.  D.,  exT^resident  of  Hanover  College,  and 
a  graduate  of  Lafayette,  who  deli\'ered  the  oration  at  the  semi-centennial  of  the 
college,  June  27,  1882.     He  says  : 

We  come  back  from  the  pa^t  on  this  semi-centeniii.al  to  see  the  heroic  failh  and  fidelity  of  the  origin 
and  early  histoi-y  of  Lafayetle  College  crowned  with  material  and  academic  glory,  for  which  our  fjiih 
long  prayed,  almost  against  hope.  Oar  words  are  feeble  to  express  our  gratitude  to  God  f  jr  the  divine 
benedictions  which  have  crowned  the  wise,  watchful,  indefatigable  administration  of  Piesident  Cattell, 
and  the  munificent  benefactions  of  Ario  Pardee,  William  Adamson,  John  Welles  Hollenback,  Jolin  I. 
Blair  and  others.  We  have  no  tears  to  shed  over  some  lan'lmarks,  immort:il  in  our  cherished  recoliec- 
tions,  but  which  have  been  swept  from  sight  by  the  march  of  splendid  and  substantial  improvements. 
We  are  only  too  glad  in  ihe^e  filial  visits  to  see  our  dear  Alma  Mater  with  youth  and  beauty  renewed, 
■with  a  growing  vigor  that  makes  her  stronger  than  her  sons,  and  in  a  more  queenly  dress  than  in  those 
days  of  trial  and  poverty  when  we  drank  learning,  honor  and  piely  from  her  bosom.  Wc  have  never 
had  any  other  than  feelitigs  of  admiration  and  gratitude  for  the  devoti-in,  statesmanship  and  triuin|'Iis — 
financial,  academic  and  religions — which  must  ever  make  the  administration  of  President  Cattell  ilistin- 
guished  in  the  history  of  Lafayette  College  and  of  American  education.  But  believe  one  who  stood  as  a 
silent,  observant  boy  at  the  laying  of  these  foundations  in  those  far-off  days — though  now  seemingly  so 
near — that  what  thrills  us  most  and  makes  this  semi-centennial  a  prolonged  "  Te  Ijeum  "  is  this:  that 
the  admiiii-tration  upon  which  God  has  bestowed  these  successes  and  prosperities — through  light  and 
darkness,  in  ebb  and  flow,  in  joyful  thanksgiving  and  glorious  achievement — has  ever  been  faithful  to 
the  divine  origin  and  aim  of  this  Christian  college.  As  we  gaze  upon  those  beautiful  grounds,  so  har- 
monizing with  the  splendid  setting  of  nature ;  as  we  look  out  upon   these   many  stately  buildings  and 


32S  WILLIAM    C.    CAT1ELL. 

stuily  ihc  r.cndemic  equipment  of  our  Alma  Malcr,  we  exclaim  :  "All  these,  and  Christ  with  all !  "     We 
bless  tjot.1  and  honor  our  noMe  I'lt  sulent. 

As  a  further  testimony  to  his  great  work,  from  tliosc  who  have  watched  it 
most  closely  and  w  ith  the  deepest  personal  interest,  the  following  letter  from 
Professor  March  has  a  peculiar  and  significant  value.  It  is  taken  from  a  report 
in  the  Coi/cgc  Journal,  April,  1S82,  of  a  banquet  given  to  President  Cattell  by 
the  Alumni  Association  of  Philadelphia  on  his  return  from  a  visit  to  Europe : 

Easton,  Ta.,  April,  1SS2. 

The  Faculty  of  Lafayette  College  desire  me  to  thank  the  Philadelphia  Alumni  Association  for  their 
kind  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  reception  to  be  given  to  President  Cattell  on  the  evening  of  Thurs- 
day, April  13th. 

If  there  is  any  reason  for  which  the  Faculty  might  be  excused  for  going  off  in  a  body  it  is  that  we 
might  join  the  Alumni  in  honoring  the  President  who  has  cheerfully  met  so  many  trials  and  borne  so 
much  toil  for  the  college,  who  has  led  its  friends  to  so  many  triumphs  over  such  great  obstacles,  and  who 
holds  such  a  place  in  the  affection  and  esteem  of  all  his  associates. 

We  send  our  heartiest  congratulations.  F.   A.   ^L^RCH. 

But  these  "  many  trials  "  and  "  much  toil  "  of  an  administration  that  led  the 
college  to  "  so  many  triumphs  over  such  great  obstacles"  could  scarce!}' fail, 
after  twenty  years,  to  tell  upon  the  President's  health.  In  his  report  to  the  Board 
of  Trustees  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  18S3,  printed  in  the  College  Journal  o{ 
March,  he  says : 

With  such  pleasant  recollections  of  the  year  just  closed  (the  most  delightful  to  me  since  my  connection 
with  the  college),  and  with  such  a  brightening  ouilook,  I  enter  upon  the  twentieth  year  of  my  Presidency 
with  only  one  misgiving ;  and  that  is,  whether,  in  the  present  state  of  my  health,  I  have  the  strength  fully 
to  discharge  the  arduous  and  responsible  duties  which  are  inseparable  from  my  position.  lam  deeply 
grateful  for  the  generous  and  unfailing  support  of  my  colleagues  in  the  Hoard  and  in  the  Faculty,  and  of 
the  Alumni,  but  even  with  this  help  the  continuous  anxiety  and  strain  of  my  ordinary  work,  and  the  ne- 
cessity at  times  of  unusually  severe  and  prolonged  exertion,  seem  to  me  to  demand  more  than  my  present 
strength.  But  I  am  firmly  persuaded  that  the  great  work  here  w  ill  continue  with  increasing  power  and 
usefulness,  whoe\Lr  may  be  the  men  honored  of  God  to  cairy  it  on. 

And  this  foreshadowing  of  his  retirement  from  the  arduous  duties  of  the 
Presidency,  taking  definite  .shape  as  the  year  passed  on,  called  forth  froin  the 
public  press,  religious  and  secular,  universal  expressions  of  regret  and  of  high 
appreciation  of  the  great  work  he  hatl  accomplished  for  the  college.  The  gen- 
eral sentiment  was  well  expressed  in  the  following  editorial  from  the  Philadelphia 
Evcniug  Telegraph  : 

Lafayette  College  'has  an  unpleasant  surprise  for  its  commencement — one  that  will  tinge  this  usual  fes- 
tival occa.sion  with  .sadness.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine  Lafayette  without  President  Cattell,  for  the  college 
may  lie  fairly  said  to  be  the  outgrowth  of  the  tireless  energy  and  personal  magnetism  oftli.atveryexception.il 
educator.  So  devoted  was  Dr.  Cattell  to  this  institution  that  he  has  worn  himself  out  in  its  service. 
Two  years  ago  his  heabh  became  so  impaired  through  his  ceaseless  labors  that  he  was  compelled  to  take 
an  unwelcome  rest ;  the  ca-e  has  not  bettered  since,  and  his  definite  withdrawal  from  ihe  rcsponsiiiiliiies 
cf  the  Presidency  is  now  announced.  Fortun.ately,  Lafayette  is  now  founded  seciiiely,  beyond  chance 
of  wreck  or  disaster;  any  good  man  can  carry  on  the  work  at  its  present  stage,  and  lli.s  is  the  one  con- 


WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL.  329 

snlation  that  the  friends  of  the  college  and  the  friends  and  admirers  of  Dr.  Cattell  have.  It  may  well  he 
a  lasting  salisfaction,  in  his  retirement,  tu  the  distinguished  ex-1'rcsident ;  who  may  be  asMired  tliat  his 
name  will  be  honored  in  tile  halls  of  Lafayeite  as  long  as  thai  college  stands.  And  perhaps  a  man  could 
not  give  his  suenglh  and  his  life  more  devotedly  and  more  profitably  ih.ui  in  jus!  such  a  work. 

Dr.  Cattell  received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  from  Princeton,  and  also 
from  Hanover  College,  Indiana,  and  that  of  LL.  D.  from  the  University  of 
Wooster,  Ohio.  He  was  Commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  1S63,  and  again  in  1876,  when  he  was  Chairman  of  the 
Assembly's  Committee  on  Education.  In  1S72  he  was  Moderator  of  the  S}-nod 
of  Philadelphia. 

He  has  made  several  visits  to  Europe  and  the  East,  and  his  travels  and  obser- 
vations thereon  have  formed  the  subject  of  numerous  lectures  and  public  ad- 
dresses. His  preface  to  the  report  of  the  Hon.  C.  C.  Andrews  (Minister  to  Swe- 
den) upon  the  educational  sj'stems  of  Sweden  and  Norwa\',  made  to  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  shows  his  interest  in  all  educational  matters  aixd  his 
habits  of  careful  observation  at  home  and  abroad. 

He  was  sent  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
United  States  as  a  Commissioner  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Scotland  and  to 
the  Reformed  Church  in  Bc^hemia  in  1869,  and  again  in  1881.  One  of  the  pas- 
tors in  Bohemia,  Rev.  L.  B.  Kaspar,  of  Hradiste,  in  a  letter  to  the  New  York 
Evangelist,  December  29,  1S81,  thus  speaks  of  Dr.  Cattell's  visits  to  that 
country : 

Tills  is  not  the  first  time  that  Dr.  Caltell  has  come  to  Bohemia.  lie  was  here  in  1S69  and  1S70, 
That  welcome  visit  is  still  remembered  l>y  many.  It  was  more  than  an  occasional  tourist's  trip.  At  that 
time  Sunday-school  work  was  almost  unknown  in  our  church.  Dr.  Cattell  noticed  this  lack,  and  set 
himself  at  once  on  calling  attention  to  it.  In  public  addresses  and  in  private  conversation  he  pressed  the 
subject  on  our  pastors  and  people.  Since  that  lime  his  name  h;is  been  closely  associated  with  the  Sun- 
day-school work  in  our  church.  1  trust  that  on  the  present  visit  he  has  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
that  his  efforts  have  not  been  spent  in  vain.  We  have  a  respectable  number  of  .Sunday-schools  now,  and 
the  work  is  growing  still.  And  very  well  may  I  speak  again  of  Dr.  Cattell's  r^^dr/i.  He  was  not  s.itis- 
fied  liy  coming  to  the  capital  and  by  looking  at  matters,  as  it  were,  through  a  telescope,  but  he  spent 
much  time  in  actually  going  about  ihe  country  from  place  to  place — which  is  not  always  very  comforta- 
ble, I  can  assure  you.  Even  this  small,  out-of-the-way  place  in  the  mount,Tinous  p.art  of  Iiohemia  (where 
this  IcUer  iswritien)  has  had  the  honor  of  his  presence  on  a  stormy  Sunday  three  weeks  ago. 

And  another  pastor  in  Bohemia,  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Szalatnay,  of  Velim,  in  a  letter 
to  the  New  York  Independent,  referring  to  Dr.  Cattell's  agei^cy  in  establishing 
Sunday-schools  in  his  countr)',  saj-s  :  "  We  speak  of  him  as  the  father  of  our  Sun- 
day-schools." 

In  the  midst  of  his  arduous  college  duties.  President  Cattell  found  time  to  de- 
liver frequent  addresses  at  Educational  Conventions  and  Teachers'  Institutes  in 
various  parts  of  the  country  which  have  been  widely  noticed,  especially  his 
address  before  the  Pennsylvania  State  Teachers'  Convention  in  the  Academy  of 
Music,  Philadelphia,  upon  the  place  of  the  "  Christian  Latin  and  Greek  in  Class- 
ical Education,"  and  the  address  before  the  same  body  at  'West  Chester,  on 
42 


^^O  WILLIAM     C.    CATTELL. 

"  Technical  Education."  In  iS6o  he  delivered  tlie  commencement  oration  before 
the  literary  societies  of  liis  Ahna  Mater  at  Princeton.  His  speech  at  the  great 
ceremony  of  the  inauguration  of  the  statue  of  General  Lafayette  in  Union  Square, 
New  York,  was  reprinted  in  France.  Among  the  many  articles  from  his  busy  pen 
that  show  his  thorough  work  upon  the  subjects  taken  in  hand  may  be  mentioned 
his  monograph  upon  what  are  called  the  German  Peace  Churches  of  Pennsylvania, 
contributed  to  the  "  Schaff-Hertzog  Encyclopedia,"  under  the  title  "  Tunkers." 

President  Cattell's  interest  in  all  educational  matters  has  made  him  many 
friends  among  the  teachers  in  our  public  schools,  with  whom  he  has  always  been 
in  hearty  synipathy.  Hence,  when  he  was  tendered  the  appointment  by  Gov- 
ernor Hoyt  of  the  position  of  State  Superintendent  of  Instruction,  the  friends  of 
the  common-school  system  looked  hopefully  for  his  acceptance.  But  the  inter- 
ests of  Lafayette  College  were  too  dear  to  liim,  and  though  the  work  was  conge- 
nial, he  declined  the  appointment.  A  rumor  of  his  appointment  to  this  office 
having  gained  currency  a  year  or  two  before,  called  forth  the  following  protest 
against  his  leaving  Lafayette  by  the  editor  of  The  Presbyterian,  of  Philadelphia  : 

We  know  thnt  the  men  who  cannot  be  spared  from  the  places  they  are  filling  are  just  the  men  who  are 
sought  after  for  other  places;  but  clearly,  Lafayelte  College  has  the  first  mortg.age  on  Dr.  Cattell.  He 
h.is  linked  his  name  so  thoroughly  with  its  growth  and  its  splendid  success  that  he  ought  not  lo  be  sepa- 
rated from  it,  and  therefore,  while  we  recognize  the  wise  forecast  of  those  who  have  named  him  for  the 
import.int  post  of  .Superintemlent  of  Public  Eilucation  in  the  Commonwe.iUh,  we  make  earnest  protest  in 
adv.ince  against  any  movement  which  will  remove  Dr.  Cattell  from  the  post  which  he  lills  so  worthily 
and  so  usefully. 

The  Lafayette  College  yournal,  publislied  by  the  students,  quotes  the  above 
and  adds : 

We  thank  our  friends  of  The  Fresbyterian  for  this  graceful  and  well  deserved  compliment  paid  to  our 
worthy  President,  and  we  assure  them  the  Doctor  will  never  leave  L-if.iyette  and  "his  boys."  We  can- 
not think  of  Lafayette  without  thinking  of  her  genial  President,  nor  do  we  see  how  the  two  could  be  dis- 
connected. The  true  prosperity  of  the  college  dates  from  his  inauguration  as  President.  Since  then  he 
has  toiled  unceasingly  for  her  advancement ;  and  .all  who  have  wntched  the  progress  of  the  institution 
for  the  last  ten  years  can  tell  with  what  success  his  labors  have  been  crowned.  He  has  infused  new  life 
and  energy  into  every  department ;  he  has  enlisted  the  sympathy  of  friends  on  all  sides  and  has  attracted 
munificent  endowments  from  wealthy  benefactors. 

More  than  this,  he  takes  great  interest  in  the  personal  welfare  of  the  students.  His  sympathies  also 
enter  into  our  sports  and  pastimes,  and  he  enjoys  keenly  to  witness  the  healthy,  vigorous  games  on  the 
college  cainpus.  He  is  proud  to  see  "his  boys"  win  applause  by  their  muscular  feats,  and  encourages 
them  in  that  as  well  as  in  their  more  intellectual  efforts.  The  students  think  of  our  President  not  as 
does  the  world,  simply  as  a  most  successful  financier  and  as  an  able  executive,  but  as  a  warm  personal 
fri--nd.  Contrary  to  the  usual  relations  existing  between  college  officers  and  students,  there  is,  on  the 
p.irt  of  our  boys,  a  strong  attachment  to  our  worthy  President.  In  fact,  we  love  the  kind-hearted  man 
who  has  ever  encouraged  us  with  his  smiles,  his  words,  his  counsel,  his  purse  and  his  prayers. 

This  loving,  hearty  testimony  of  the  students  fairly  illustrates  the  cordial  rela- 
tions existing  between  tlie  President  of  Lafayette  and  the  j-oung  men  he  is  accu.s- 
tomed  to  speak  of  as  his  "  boys."     They  knew  tliat  in  him  they  had  not  only  a 


WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL.  33I 

wise  mentor  and  a  carefLil  conscientious  instructor,  but  a  warm  and  sN'mpatliizinsr 
friend.  They  found  in  him  a  man  who,  in  tlie  midst  of  the  serious  work  of  his 
life,  still  retained  the  cjuick  sympathies,  the  kindly  heart  and  the  "  wondrous 
winning  ways"  of  his  j-oulh.  lie  has  al\\a\"s  used  his  power  of  personal  mag- 
netism to  lift  his  students,  whom  he  so  much  loves,  into  sympathy  with  all  that 
is  good  and  pure  and  just  and  righteous  ;  and  he  has  been  truly  fortunate  in 
inspiring  affection  such  as  is  seldom  seen  between  men  outside  the  family  rela- 
tion. There  are  hundreds  of  young  men,  scattered  all  over  the  land,  and  many 
of  them  occupying  higli  positions,  who  never  speak  of  him  but  with  grateful 
love.  Professor  Owen,  who  was  one  of  his  students,  says  in  the  "  Historical 
Sketches :  "  "  His  best  work  after  all  will  not  be  recorded  in  the  history  of  great 
buildings,  of  swelling  endowments  and  new  courses  of  study,  but  in  the  hearts 
and  lives  of  the  hundreds  of  young  men  whose  characters  were  moulded  under 
his  personal  influence.  These  will  never  forget  the  kind-hearted  president, 
endeared  to  them  alike  as  a  faithful  friend,  a  wise  counsellor,  and  an  eminent 
example  of  a  life  devoted  with  Christian  fidelity  to  a  great  and  good  work." 

President  Cattell  makes  no  secret  of  his  joy  and  pride  in  being  thus  held  in 
lo\'ing  remembrance  by  "  his  boj's ;  "  and  even  in  this  brief  .sketch  of  his  life  and 
character  we  must  make  room  for  a  few  sentences  from  his  address  at  a  banquet 
tendered  to  him  by  the  Seniors  on  his  return  from  Europe  in  1S82,  as  the}-  so 
well  illustrate  the  peculiarly  happy  relations  always  existing  between  him  and 
the  students.  The  address  is  published,  with  a  report  of  the  other  exercises  upon 
this  pleasant  occasion,  in  the  College  yonrnal  oils\-<i.Yc\\,  18S2  : 

I  am  glad  and  <jr.-itefiil  to  be  home  again ;  and  very  p'easant  to  me  has  been  the  cordiil  welcome  I 
have  received  from  my  friends  in  Easton,  vvliere  I  have  spent  more  tlian  twenty-five  years  of  my  life,  and 
from  my  colleagues  in  the  faculty,  with  whom  I  have  been  so  long  and  so  pleasantly  associated.  But  I 
am  touched  even  more  deeply  by  the  hearty  welcome  from  the  students  of  the  college,  which  has  met 
me  at  every  turn  in  private,  and  which  culminates  this  evening  in  the  public  and  official  greeting  you 
have  extended  to  me  as  a  class.   .  .  . 

And  let  me  assure  you,  my  dear  young  friends,  that,  after  all,  it  is  just  this  intimate  and  cordial  relation 
between  the  students  and  myself — of  which  this  evening  is  such  a  happy  illusiration — that  has  chiefly 
sustained  and  nerved  me  in  the  exhausting  work  and  heavy  responsil)ility  which  my  position,  as  presi- 
dent nf  the  college,  necessarily  involves.  I  know  the  many  and  great  opportunities  for  usefulness  this 
position  gives,  and  no  man  should  lightly  regard  the  call  of  Providence  to  such  a  work.  I  know  also 
that  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  great  college,  like  I^afayette,  is  generally  regarded  as  an  honorable  distinction, 
and  few  men  would  acknowledge  themselves  indifferent  to  this;  yet,  let  me  again  assure  you,  that  the 
sustaining  force  which  has  kept  me  at  work  for  Lafayette  during  all  these  years  of  toil  and  care  has  not 
been  so  much  these  things  as  the  happy  life  I  have  led  here  among  "my  boys."  .  .  .  And  I  huld 
that  no  other  college  president  has  a  greater  right  to  be  proud  of  the  character  and  conduct  of  his  boys 
than  I  have  to  be  proud  of  mine,  or  who  has  reason  to  love  them  more — let  me  rather  s.iy,  to  love  them 
as  much.     (Great  applause.) 

On  Sunday,  June  24,  1883,  President  Cattell  preached  in  the  college  chapel 
his  last  baccalaureate  sermon,  and  on  Wednesday  presided  for  the  last  time  at 
the  public  exercises  of  Commencement  Day,  and  conferred  the  Degrees. 

The  Lafayette  College  Journal,  edited  and  published  by  the  students,  devotes 


332  WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL. 

a  l.'irge  part  of  its  issue  for  July  to  the  subject  of  President  Cattell's  resignation, 
which,  the  editors  sa\',  "  was  not  wholly  unexpected,  but  it  causes  none  tiie  lesg 
sorrow."  And  this  "  sorrow  "  was  expressed  in  many  of  the  addresses  reported 
in  this  number  of  the  Jounial  made  by  the  alumni  who  had  gathered  at  the  annual 
festival,  under  the  shadow  of  this  great  loss  to  the  college.  A  missionary 
from  China,  Rev.  Charles  R.  Mills,  U.  D.,  of  the  class  of  1S53,  said,  at  the 
alumni  meeting  on  Tuesday,  "  the  four  sad  days  of  his  life  were  those  on  which 
he  heard  of  the  assassination  of  Lincoln,  the  burning  of  Pardee  Hall,  the  murder 
of  Garfield,  and  the  resignation  of  President  Cattell."  The  Alumni  Association, 
by  "  a  rising  vote,"  adopted  a  minute  expressing  "  their  hearty  appreciation  of 
his  distinguished  services,"  and  they  put  upon  record  "  their  fervent  wish  that 
some  arrangement  may  be  effected  by  the  trustees  and  the  faculty  by  which  a 
season  of  prolonged  rest  may  be  secured  to  the  President  without  severing  his 
official  connection  with  the  college,  and  they  earnestly  hope  that  he  will  consent 
to  any  reasonable  measures  to  this  end."  In  the  yoitrnal's  report  of  the  alumni 
dinner  the  next  day  these  tributes  to  the  retiring  President  are  renewed.  The 
venerable  and  beloved  Dean  of  the  college.  Dr.  Traill  Green,  who  presided, 
"  eloquently  alluded  to  President  Cattell's  great  worth  ;  he  had  served  with 
six  college  presidents  (at  Lafayette  and  other  colleges),  and  he  knew  none  such 
as  Dr.  Cattell."  The  Hon.  R.  P.  Allen,  of  the  class  of  '55,  in  responding  for 
the  trustees,  "spoke  of  the  regret  and  grief  with  which  they  had  accepted 
the  resignation  of  President  Cattell — their  only  comfort  being  tiiat  he  had  left 
the  college  in  such  a  prosperous  condition  ; "  and  the  Hon.  Wm.  A.  Porter, 
of  the  class  of  '39,  formerly  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsj-lvania,  "  eulogized 
President  Cattell,  saj-ing  he  had  advised  him  twenty  years  ago  not  to  accept 
the  presidency,  believing  the  condition  of  the  college  to  be  utterly  hopeless! 
He  rejoiced  that  he  had  been  mistaken;  but  he  believed  that  no  other  man 
hving  could  have  done  what  President  Cattell  has  done." 

The  following  is  the  minute  adopted  by  the  trustees  of  the  college: 

The  Doard  of  Trustees  has  received  ihe  resignation  of  President  Cattell  with  emotions  of  profound 
sorrow.  The  Board  has  most  earnestly  used  its  utmost  endeavors  to  persuade  Dr.  Caltell  to  withdraw 
his  resign.ition  and  accept  an  indefinite  leave  of  a1)sence,  with  entire  relief  from  all  cnre  and  responsi- 
Ijiliiy  of  the  college,  but  considerations  of  liis  liealih,  manifestly  brol^en,  have  obliged  him  to  decline 
their  most  urgent  overtures. 

The  Lioard  therefuie  most  reluctantly  accepts  his  resignation,  to  lake  effect  on  the  twenty-fourth  day 
of  October  next,  on  which  day  he  will  complete  the  twentieth  year  of  his  presidency.  In  this  action  tlie 
I!oar<l  yields  to  a  must  painful  necessity,  and  against  its  strongest  wishes  that  an  Administration  su  fruit- 
ful only  of  good  to  the  College  should  be  continued  as  long  .as  its  di»tingui-hed,  honored  and  l)eloved 
I'rc-.ident  lives.  It  yields  its  own  wishes  in  the  fond  hope  that  relief  from  care  may  si>eedily  bring  back 
health  and  strength  to  its  cherished  friend,  and  to  this  only.  The  Board  rejoices  that  though  Ur.  Cat- 
tell feels  obliged  to  retire  from  the  Presidency  of  the  Faculty,  it  will  still  relain  him  as  one  of  its  mem- 
bers, and  thus  have  the  great  benefit  of  his  wise  counsels  and  earnest  devotion  in  the  administration  of 
the  affiirs  of  the  college. 

Kciohjeil,  That  a  commiilee  be  appointed  to  report  at  a  future  mceling  a  suitable  minute  expressive  of 
the  Bo.ard's  appreciation  of  the  great  work  for  the  college  performed  l>y  Dr.  Cattell,  and  iheir  deep  grief 
at  Ih.s  sad  transaction;  and  that  this  report  and  minute,  with  Dr.  Cattell's  letter,  be  published  in  the 
next  college  catalogue. 


WILLIAM    C.    CAlTi:!.!..  333 

Dr.  Cattcll  presided  at  the  public  exercises  in  Pardee  Hall  on  I'^)undeis'  Day, 
October  24,  i88j.  This  was  his  hist  official  act  as  President  of  the  college. 
Tiie  follow  ing  week,  with  his  faniil\%  he  sailed  for  luirope.  His  de[)arture  was 
the  occasion  for  many  heartfelt  tributes  in  tlie  jniblic  joLirnals,  one  of  theni,  in 
The  PriSbytcriaii,  No\'eniber  12,  by  a  graduate  of  the  college,  Rev.  Dr.  McFet- 
ridge  (then  a  pastor  in  Philadclpiiia,  afterwards  Profe.->sor  in  Macalester  College), 
from  which  we  quote  a  few  sentences.  Describing  the  scene  upon  the  deck  of 
the  steamer,  where  "  members  of  the  B.)ard  of  Trustees  of  the  college  and  of  the 
Lafayette  .Mumni  Association  of  Xew  Yoik,  and  other  friends  of  Dr.  Cattell 
from  Easton  and  elsewliere,"  had  gathered  to  bid  the  ex-President  good-b)'e,  Dr. 
McFetridge  sa}-s : 

Twenty  yeans  ago,  a.s  a  member  of  the  Senior  Class  of  Lafayette,  we  welcomed  Dr.  Cattell  to  E.iston 
as  our  new  rrcsklent.  Since  tlien  what  change-;  h.ive  taken  place  witli  that  institution — great  and  grand 
changes,  that  liave  been  wrought  as  by  magic  under  the  hand  of  him  who  now  takes  his  departure. 
Could  we  keep  out  the  thouglils  that  crowded  upon  us  or  prevent  the  unbidden  tear?  tHher  eyes  were 
miiist  as  well  as  ours,  and  olher  tongues  faltered  as  they  baile  our  beloved  friend  and  President  "good- 
bye."    Truly  it  was  a  "  God-be-\vith-thee  "  in  the  fullest,  heartiest  sense. 

Who  can  estimate  the  worth  of  such  a  man  ! — a  man  in  the  truest,  noblest  sense.  Can  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  ever  estimate  or  prize  as  she  ought  the  woik  that  this  man  has  done?  She  may  sing  his 
praises  ever  so  loudly  ;  she  may  cherish  his  name  and  memory  ever  so  sacredly;  she  might  load  him 
with  riches  and  honors,  and  then  she  would  not  have  recompensed  him.  And  can  the  friends  of  Chris- 
tian education  ever  set  high  enough  v.alue  on  his  services?  He  has  shed  a  lustre  on  education,  and 
made  the  position  of  instructor  doubly  honoral)le.  And  now  as  he  bids  adieu  to  his  native  land, 
and  to  the  position  in  which  he  cheerfully  sacriliced  health  and  thousands  of  dollars  of  his  private 
means,  and  in  which  he  won  the  hearts  of  so  many  noble  men,  and  of  so  many  young  men  who  came 
under  his  personal  influence,  he  can  be  assured  that  he  will  be  remembered  as  the  great  benefactor  of 
Lafayette  College  so  long  as  the  college  endures. 

Dr.  Cattell  spent  the  winter  among  the  snow-clad  mountains  of  Switzerland, 
at  the  noted  health  resort  of  Davos-Platz.  With  returning  liealth  in  the  early 
summer  he  visited  his  numerous  friends  in  dtfferent  parts  of  Europe,  especially 
in  Boliemia,  and  then  went  to  Belfast  to  attend  the  sessions  of  the  Presb\'terian 
Alliance,  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  a  Delegate  by  the  Presb\terian 
Church  in  America.  The  remainder  of  the  year  was  spent  in  the  further  pursuit 
of  heakh  in  the  quiet  and  restful  region  of  the  "  Lake  country"  in  the  north  of 
England  and  in  travelling  leisurely  through  Scotland. 

But  at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  Dr.  Cattell's  work  was  not  yet  done.  The  follow- 
ing announcement  in  the  journals  of  tlie  Presbyterian  Church  at  the  close  of  the 
year  sliows  that  during  Ids  absence  in  Europe  he  "  was  elected  witli  cordial  unan- 
imit)'"  as  the  executive  of  a  Board  to  which  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Pres- 
b}-terian  Church  has  committed  a  most  important  and  sacred  trust : 

The  Board  of  Ministerial  Relief  hereby  announces  officially  to  the  churches  th.at  the  I-lEV.  Wn.LI.m  C. 
CATTELL,  D.  D..  LL.  D.,  was  elected  with  cordial  unanimity  as  Corresponding  Secretary  at  the  annual 
meeting  in  June.  1SS4.  This  election  tonk  place  during  Dr.  Cattell's  absence  in  Europe.  In  October 
be  returned  to  this  country,  and  after  making  some  preliminaiy  acquaintance  with  the  duties  of  his  new 
office,  he  entered  upon  their  discharge  December  I.     The  favorable  record  of  his  past  services,  espe- 


334  WILLIAM    C.    CATTELL. 

cially  ns  rrestilent  for  many  years  of  Lafayette  College,  is  so  well  known  to  our  cliurclies  that  llie  Bonrd 
is  well  assureil  of  Tivorable  res|ionse  in  now  commending  him  to  their  confidence,  as  intrusted  with  this 
new  and  sacred  responsibility. 

Into  this  tender,  delicate  and  arduous  work  of  caring  for  his  ministerial  breth- 
ren worn  out  in  the  service  of  the  church,  Dr.  Cattell  has  thrown  himself  with 
the  same  enthusiasm  and  with  the  same  marked  results  that  characterized  his 
administration  at  Lafayette  :  and  this  sketch  may  fitly  close  with  a  recent  com- 
munication in  TJic  Prcshytcriau,  which  gracefully  brings  into  a  connected  view 
tliese  two  careers.  It  is  from  the  pen  of  that  eminent  scholar  and  divine,  Rev. 
George  Burrowes,  D.  D.,  who  was  Dr.  Cattell's  predecessor  in  the  Chair  of  An- 
cient Languages  at  Lafayette,  and  who  has  been  for  many  years  Professor  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  San  Francisco.  Referring  to  Dr.  Cattell's  recent  visit 
to  California  in  the  interests  of  his  present  work.  Professor  Burrowes  says  : 

The  presence  of  Dr.  Cattell  in  our  Synod  and  churches  is  a  great  refreshment  and  blessing,  not  only 
to  his  personal  friends  of  earlier  years,  but  to  all  hearts  who  have  felt  the  touching  power  of  his  words 
and  admired  the  example  shown  in  his  laborious  devotion  to  the  noble  cause  eng.iging  the  closing  years 
of  a  useful  and  devoted  life.  lie  presented  this  cause  in  Los  Angeles  on  Sabbath,  October  2,  reached 
San  Francisco  on  the  following  Tuesday,  and  closed  the  busy  engagements  of  that  week  with  an  able 
and  telling  address  in  behalf  of  his  grand  cause  on  S.iturday  night  before  the  Synod  of  the  Pacific  in 
Oaklantl. 

On  Sabbath  morning  he  presented  the  same  subject  in  a  very  able  discourse  to  a  large  congregation  in 
Calvary  Church,  in  this  city.  On  the  evening  of  that  day  he  opened  up  the  same  great  cause  in  the  First 
Church,  Dr.  Mackenzie's,  crowded  to  the  utmost  capacity.  The  next  morning  he  took  the  steamer  for 
Poriland,  to  attend  the  Synod  of  Oregon.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  his  work  is  engrossing  and  laborious. 
It  receives  his  whole  attention,  without  any  time  needlessly  lost  even  in  intercourse  with  old  friends. 

While  listening  to  him  in  Calvary  Church  we  were  glad  to  thank  God  for  raising  up  a  man  so  emi- 
nently qualified  as  Dr.  Cattell  for  managing  with  such  wisdom,  vigor  and  success  the  Board  of  Ministe- 
rial Relief.  As  his  predecessor  in  his  Professorship  at  Easton,  Pa.,  we  knew  full  well  the  labor  before 
him  in  undertaking  to  build  up  and  develop  that  institution.  With  the  experience  got  while  five  years 
there  as  Professor  of  Latin  and  Greek,  with  eminent  ability,  and  with  his  growth  in  grace  matured  by  a 
successful  pastorate  of  three  years  in  the  large  Pine  Street  Church,  in  Ilarrisburg,  he  biought  to  his  great 
and  laborious  work  in  Lafayette  College  a  talent  for  Im.siness  seldom  equalled,  and  enjoyed  "the  confi- 
dential friendship  of  Jesus  "  to  a  degree  snUficient  to  give  him  wisdom  in  every  perplexity,  strength  in 
every  effort,  and  perseverance  under  every  toil. 

His  work  there  speaks  fur  itself.  Under  his  management  that  institution  developed  by  a  steady 
growth  into  its  present  healthful  manhood,  a  peer  of  which  Princeton  need  not  be  ashamed,  counting 
their  students  by  hundreds,  and  numbering  in  their  Faculty  Professors  among  the  first  in  the  land.  To 
Dr.  C.iltell  as  the  President  has  this  great  success  been  due.  With  many  another  man  in  his  pkace  the 
results  would  have  been  very  ditTerent. 

Yet  after  accomplishing  so  great  and  glorious  a  wt.rk  at  Easton,  in  the  midst  of  success  assured,  and 
amid  co-workers  glad  to  see  him  ever  thus  at  their  head  till  the  end  of  his  days,  Dr.  Cattell  volunta- 
rily rc-i;ins  this  pust  of  honor  and  u.sefulness,  and  takes  the  laboring  and  self-sacrificing  post  at  the  head 
of  the  I5o<rd  of  .Ministerial  Relief.  As  we  li^teneil,  in  Calvary  Church,  to  his  able  and  touching  address, 
while  the  heart  was  swelling  with  emotion,  and  through  eyes  dim  with  tears,  we  saw  the  whole  congre- 
gati'in  wa.s  equally  moved — none  of  us  could  do  otherwise  than  honor  the  man  who  thus  voluntarily  de- 
votes his  ripe  and  rich  old  age  to  such  a  service,  and  feel  it  a  privilege  to  f.iU  into  the  ranks  after  such 
a  leader,  an'l  follow  him  even  into  the  hardest  of  the  struggle,  glad  to  go  in  such  a  duty  wherever  his 
voice  and  example  may  point  the  way. 


James    Hall  Mason   Knox,  d.d. 


REV.  JA:\IES   mall  mason  KNOX,  D.  D.,  LL.  D. 

REV.  J.\MES  H.\L!-  M..\S(iN  Knox,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  rrcsident  of  Lafayette  Col- 
lege, was  born  in  New  York,  June  lo,  1824.  If  ancestry  determines 
life  and  character,  it  would  not  have  been  difficult  to  predict  for  him  the  marked 
career  of  usefuhicss  in  the  church  wliich  he  has  already  had.  His  father  was 
Dr.  John  Knox,  for  more  than  forty  j-cars  senior  pastor  of  the  Collegiate  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church,  of  New  York,  and  his  mother  was  the  daughter  of  Dr. 
John  M.  Mason,  the  eminent  Presbyterian  divine. 

He  was  graduated  from  Columbia  College  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  after  a 
j-ear's  interval  entered  the  theological  seminary  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  was  at  the  completion  of  liis  course  ordained  to 
the  gospel  ministry.  Among  other  calls  then  received,  he  accepted  one  from 
German  Valley,  Presb\-tery  of  Newton,  N.  J.  Before  entering  upon  his  pastorate 
there,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Louise  Wakeman,  daughter  of  Burr  W'akeman, 
Esq  ,  of  New  York. 

He  remained  at  German  Valley  five  years,  when  he  removed  to  Easton,  Pa,, 
in  response  to  a  call  from  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  that  cit)-,  Classis  of 
New  Brunswick.  His  pastorate  at  Easton,  although  only  two  )'ears  in  diwation, 
was  eminently  successful,  and  his  people,  as  before,  parted  from  him  with  deep 
regret.  His  next  church  was  the  First  Presbyterian,  of  Germantown,  Pa.,  Sec- 
ond Presb\'te]y  of  Philadelphia,  now  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  North.  Here 
he  spent  sixteen  years  of  useful  and  devoted  labor.  It  was  tluring  his  stay  here 
that  Mrs.  Knox  died,  after  many  years  of  ill  health,  lea\-ing  two  daughters,  one 
of  whom  now  survives.  Si.\  years  later  he  was  married  to  Miss  Helen  R. 
Thompson,  daughter  of  Judge  Oswald  Thompson,  long  distinguished  at  the 
Philadelphia  Bar  and  on  its  bench.  Miss  Thompson  was  a  lady  who  added  rare 
social  and  intellectual  gifts  to  her  domestic  virtues,  and  has  been  a  fitting  help- 
meet to  the  Doctor,  both  in  his  pastoral  life  and  in  the  larger  field  to  which  he 
has  since  been  called.  Their  son,  James  H.  M.  Knox,  Jr.,  is  a  bright  lad,  now 
well  on  in  his  preparation  for  college. 

For  ten  years  succeeding  his  pastorate  at  Germantown  Dr.  Knox  was  settled 
over  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Bristol,  Pa.,  a  people  to  whom  he  became 
deeply  attached,  and  who  were  equally  devoted  to  him.  Nor  was  it  otherwise 
in  his  former  fields.  Dr.  Knox  has  everywhere  won  confidence  and  love.  A 
man  of  scholarly  tastes  and  of  more  than  common  ability  as  a  preacher,  he  has  a 
still  higher  fitness  for  the  work  of  the  Master  in  his  sincerity  and  manly  char- 
acter, his  warm  and  sympathetic  heart.  It  has  been  his  aim  to  present  the  gos- 
pel with  .simplicity  and  earnestness,  with  singleness  of  purpose,  hiding  Idiiisclf 
behind  the  word  of  God.  And  he  has  had  good  fruits  of  his  ministry  in  the 
growth  of  his  churches.  The  congregations  under  his  charge  had  been  trained 
to  liberal  giving  and  to  activity  in  various  lines  of  Christian  work. 

(.«5) 


■^■^6  JAS.    IIAI.L    MASON     KNOX. 

In  addition  to  the  cares  of  his  own  cliurcli,  Dr.  Knox  has  been  connected  with 
many  of  the  Boards  and  Committees  of  the  cliurch  at  large,  showing  in  every 
office  of  tlie  kind  great  wisdom,  ripe  judgment,  and  marked  executive  abihty. 
He  has  represented  his  Presbytery  several  times  in  the  meetings  of  the  General 
A.ssembh",  and  has  invariably  been  an  influential  member  of  that  body. 

Along  with  his  other  activities,  he  was  for  t\\ent_\'  )ears  a  member  of  tlie 
Board  of  Trustees  of  Lafayette  College  ;  had  been  a  factor  in  the  recent  striking 
growth  of  that  institution,  and  so  important  a  factor  that,  at  the  resignation  of 
Dr.  Cattell  in  1883,  the  Board  turned  to  him  with  the  offer  of  the  Presidency  of 
the  college.  Dr.  Knox  was  far  from  aspiring  to  such  a  position  ;  indeed,  he 
accepted  it  only  with  the  utmost  reluctance.  No  one  was  more  familiar  than  he 
with  the  great  work  of  his  predecessor,  and  no  one  knew  better  than  he  what 
gifts  of  experience  and  tact  and  geniality  of  temperament  Dr.  Cattell  had  brought 
to  its  performance;  but  the  cordial  unanimity  of  the  Board  overcame  his  reluc- 
tance, and  brought  the  work  before  him  as  one  to  which  he  was  amply  called. 
During  the  twenty  years  of  Dr.  Cattell's  administration  the  college  had 
advanced  well  toward  the  first  rank.  New  departments  of  instruction  were  added, 
new  buildings  put  up.  The  Faculty  was  increased  to  correspond  with  the  larger 
attendance  of  the  students.  Upon  the  retirement  of  Dr.  Cattell,  in  consequence 
of  his  broken  health  due  to  the  long  and  continuous  strain  put  upon  him  during 
his  twenty  years'  service  as  President,  Dr.  Knox  was  elected  as  his  successor. 
The  good  work,  so  auspiciously  begun  and  so  energetically  pursued,  has  been 
continued  by  Dr.  Knox,  and  with  the  same  earnest  efforts  to  enlarge  the  endow- 
ments and  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  institution. 

Dr.  Knox  took  his  place  as  President  of  the  Faculty  in  November,  1883,  but 
did  not  deliver  his  inaugural  address  till  the  following  commencement,  in  June, 
1884. 

As  early  as  1S61  his  Alma  Mater,  Columbia  College,  had  conferred  upon 
him  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  ;  in  1 8S5  she  added  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws. 

Obviously  the  time  has  not  yet  come  to  speak  of  Dr.  Knox's  work  in  this 
new  field,  for  he  has  but  just  begun  it.  This  much,  however,  may  be  said:  he 
has  taken  his  place  and  performed  his  part  thus  fu'  with  quiet  di;_;nity  and  pru- 
dence, and  in  a  manner  to  commend  him  to  the  confidence  and  esteem  of  his 
colleagues,  of  the  students,  and  of  all  friends  of  the  college.  One  or  two  extracts 
from  the  inaugural  address  will  show  both  the  lijjcr.d  conservatism  of  his  views 
of  college  education  and  his  conviction  of  tlie  supreme  importance  of  the  relig- 
ious training  of  the  young. 

"  The  curriculum  of  former  days  has  been  greatly  modified  by  the  demands  of 
the  present  age;  but  .still  the  end  in  view  has  not  been  changed.  The  college  is 
not  and  cannot  be  a  school  for  apprentices,  who  will  immediately  on  leaving  its 
halls  begin  to  work  at  their  trades.  Nor  is  it  a  professional  sclinol,  to  send  nut 
its  graduates  as  fully  prepared  men  to  engage  at  once  in  their  chosen   lile-occu- 


JAS.    HALL    MASON    KNuX.  ■\2,J 

pations ;  but  it  is  a  discipliuary  institution  in  wliicli  to  train  the  mind  so  tliat  it 
siiall  lay  hold  of  and  appropriate  the  learning  needful  to  fit  it  for  the  special  call- 
ing in  life,  whatever  tliat  calling  may  be.  It  is  this  fountlation  work  a  college 
does." 

And  again  :  "  My  profound  conviction  is  that  a  seminary  of  any  sort  which 
does  not  inculcate  the  principles  of  true  religion,  which  does  not  hold  and  illus- 
trate in  its  life  and  with  positiveness  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
might  better  not  exist." 

Dr.  Kno.x,  too,  has  a  most  profound  faith  in  the  future  of  the  institution  of 
liis  choice.  Lafayette  College  has  had  lier  "  great  fight  of  afflictions,"  and 
through  them  all  "  has  done  good  work  for  God  and  man."  "  She  has  li\'ed," 
lie  says,  "  and  sent  forth  her  graduates  into  all  lands,  and  on  errands  of  uplifting 
power  in  every  department  of  commanding  influence,  and  by  doing  it  she  has 
earned  tlie  right  to  live  not  only,  but  to  be  lifted  into  a  condition  of  prosperity 
such  as  by  her  past  experience  she  has  been  fitted  to  use  riglul\'." 

It  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  say  that  the  internal  life  of  the  college  over  which 
Dr.  Knox  presides  was  never  more  satisfactory  and  delightful  than  at  present. 
And  by  this  is  meant  not  simply  the  personal  relations  existing  between  the  mem- 
bers of  the  "  community  of  scholars,"  but  the  discipline,  the  standard  of  diligence 
and  scholarship,  and  the  prevalent  manliness  and  high  moral  tone  of  the 
students. 

43 


Prof.  Fhancis   A.   March,  ll. 


FRANCIS  A.  ]\rARCH. 

IT  has  been  the  good  fortune  of  Lafayette  College  to  have  for  long  periods  the 
presence  and  active  influence  of  eminent  and  gifted  men  in  the  faculty — • 
men  whose  lives  and  characters  have  been  inspiration  for  good  to  the  community 
of  scholars,  and  who  have,  by  their  own  long-continued  and  devoted  labors, 
illustrated  wise  educational  methods  and  impressed  them  upon  the  college.  To 
no  one  does  this  remark  more  fitly  apply  than  to  Professor  Francis  A.  March, 
Professor  of  the  English  Language  and  Comparative  Philology. 

Dr.  March  was  born  at  Millbury,  Mass.,  in  1825  ;  was  educated  at  the  public 
schools  of  Worcester  and  at  Amherst  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1.S45 
with  the  highest  honors.  For  two  years  after  his  graduation,  he  was  tutor  at 
Amherst  College,  and  after  a  visit  to  the  West  Indies  for  the  benefit  of  his  health, 
he  taught  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.  In  1855  he  came  to  Lafayette  College  as  tutor. 
The  faculty  at  that  time  consisted  (in  addition  to  President  McLean)  of  the  emi- 
nent physician  and  scholar,  Dr.  Traill  Green,  who  is  still  at  his  post;  James  H. 
Coffin,  the  distinguished  mathematician;  Joseph  Alden,  afterwards  President  of 
Jefferson  College:  William  C.  Cattell,  afterwards  for  twenty  years  President  of 
Lafayette  College;  and  Alonzo  Linn,  now  the  Vice-President  of  Washington 
and  Jefferson  College.  Such  men  were  not  slow  to  learn  the  great  acquisition 
the  facult)^  had  made  in  their  new  associate.  This  was  happil)'  referred  to  by 
President  Cattell  at  the  re-dedication  of  Pardee  Hall  in  1880,  an  occasion  that  was 
honored  by  the  presence  of  an  immense  crowd  of  distinguished  scholars,  and  of 
men  eminent  in  public  life,  including  the  President  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Governor  of  Pennsylvania.  Dr.  March  was  orator  of  the  da)',  and  in  introducing 
him.  President  Cattell  said  : 

"  During  the  fall  term  of  my  first  year  at  Lafayette  as  Professor  of  Ancient 
Languages — this  was  in  1 85 5 — the  faculty  found  it  necessary  to  ask  the  trustees 
for  an  additional  teacher.  We  had  heard  of  a  young  scholar  of  great  promise, 
a  native  of  Massachusetts,  but  then  residing  in  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  and  we  per- 
suaded the  executive  committee  to  appoint  him  tutor  in  ancient  languages.  He 
entered  at  once  upon  his  duties — at  a  salarj^  I  believe,  of  ^400 — and  heard  the 
freshmen  recite  in  one  of  the  old  basement  rooms  of  the  college,  then  known  as 
"the  Tombs."  I  always  claim  to  have  been  the  first  to  find  out  that  the  tutor 
knew  more  about  Latin  and  Greek  than  the  professor.  (Laughter.)  Others  soon 
found  it  out  too — my  claim  is  only  that  of  being  the  original  discoverer  (renewed 
merriment);  and  I  said  to  the  trustees  that  if  we  both  continued  in  the  depart- 
ment of  ancient  languages  our  places  should  be  reversed.  But  the  situation 
was  relieved  after  a  year  or  two  by  promoting  the  young  tutor  to  a  department 
of  his  own — one  that  placed  the  English  language,  as  a  college  stud}',  upon  the 
same  footing  as  the  ancient  languages.    (Applause.) 

"  This  is  not  the  time  nor  the  place  for  me  to  speak  of  the  most  fricndl}-  and 

(339) 


340  FRANCIS    A.    MARCH. 

intimate  relations  tliat  ha\'e,  without  interruption,  existed  between  my  collearjue 
and  myself,  as  both  of  us  have  steadily  grown  older  during  this  quarter  of  a 
centur}-;  but  I  may  say  here,  what  all  scholars  know,  that  he  has  come  to  be  a 
recognized  authorit\'  in  philology  even  in  the  oldest  universities  of  pAirope,  and 
that  his  great  learning  reflects  honor,  not  only  upon  this  college  and  upon 
this  countn,-,  but  upon  the  age  in  which  we  live.  (Applause.)  It  is  this  great 
scholar.  Dr.  Francis  A.  March,  who  will  now  address  you." 

In  1856  he  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  Adjunct-Professor.  In  1857  his  present 
department  was  constituted,  and  he  was  made  "  Professor  of  the  English  Lan- 
guage and  Lecturer  in  Comparative  Philology."  This  was  something  new,  for 
it  had  not  been  usual  for  colleges  to  set  apart  time  for  the  special  philological 
study  of  English,  nor  to  associate  coniparative  philology  with  the  study  of  a 
modern  language.  Whether  from  some  inherent  fitness  in  such  an  association, 
or  from  the  genius  and  ability  of  the  man,  the  experiment  was  an  assured  suc- 
cess, and  this  distinctive  feature  of  Lafayette's  curriculum  has  steadily  grown  in 
renown. 

In  the  early  years  of  Professor  March's  connection  with  the  college,  while  the 
faculty  was  still  small,  he  often  heard  classes  in  studies  outside  the  range  of  his 
special  department,  in  Greek  and  Latin,  in  Metaphysics,  in  Constitutional  Law, 
and  even  the  Natural  Sciences,  and  everywhere  with  the  same  efficiency  and 
vigor  which  has  ever  characterized  his  work. 

As  an  educator,  however,  he  is  best  known  by  his  admirable  method  of  pur- 
suing the  English  classics.  The  following  extract  from  the  college  catalogue 
gives  the  outlines  of  his  method : 

"The  English  language  is  studied  in  the  same  way  as  the  Latin  and  Greek. 
An  English  classic  is  taken  up.  The  te.xt  is  minutely  analyzed,  the  idioms  ex- 
plored, and  s\-nonyms  weighed  :  the  mythology,  biography,  history,  metaphysics, 
theology,  geography  are  all  looked  up.  The  rhetorical  laws  of  fCnglish  compo- 
sition, and  the  principles  of  epic  and  dramatic  art,  are  applied  to  Milton,  Shakes- 
peare, and  other  English  classics,  line  by  line.  The  character  of  the  author,  and 
his  life  and  times,  are  studied,  and  an  attempt  is  made  to  comprehend  these  great 
representative  works  in  their  relations  to  the  English  literature,  and  the  English 
race.  The  text  is  also  made  the  formation  of  more  general  study  of  language ; 
the  origin  and  history  of  recurring  words,  the  laws  by  which  words  grow  up 
from  their  roots  in  our  language,  the  laws  by 'which  changes  from  our  language 
to  another  are  governed,  are  stamped  on  the  mind  by  continual  iteration  ;  and 
an  attempt  is  made  to  ground  all  these  facts  and  laws  in  laws  of  mind,  and  of 
the  organs  of  speech." 

The  course  is  well  exhibited  in  the  "  Method  of  Philological  .Study  of  the 
English  Language,"  a  little  work  prepared  by  Dr.  March,  and  published  in  1864. 
It  contains  passages  from  five  of  the  great  P'nglish  classics — Bunyan,  Milton, 
-Shakespeare,  Spenser  and  Chaucer — and  a  few  pages  of  sijccimca  questions  on 
each  selection. 


FRANCIS    A.    MARCH.  '  34! 

Professor  Owen,  liimsclf  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Alarch,  says  in  liis  "  Ili.storical  Sketches 
of  Lafayette  College,"  "  a.s  an  educator  lie  is  earnest,  thorough  and  vigorous, 
and  his  work  is  characterized  by  a  straightforward  energy  which  secures  the 
interest  of  students,  and  stimulates  the  dullest  as  well  as  the  brightest  to  vigor- 
ous exertion.  It  is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  say,  that  in  no  class  in  any  college 
is  better  work  done  b\'  the  }'oung  men  than  in  his,  nor  with  a  more  genuine 
scholarly  enthusiasm.  He  will  take  the  little  speech  of  Flavius  that  opens  the 
play  of  Julius  Cjesar,  and  engage  the  class  for  an  hour  upon  it,  during  which 
time,  though  it  may  seem  all  too  short  to  them,  they  will  have  gleaned  with  him 
far  and  near,  and  brought  in  rich  burdens  from  many  fields.  It  is  a  matter  of 
surprise  to  the  student  how  many  sources  of  knowledge  are  compassed  in  these 
rapid  excursions.  The  classic  page  itself  is  but  the  starting-point ;  from  it  they 
go  forth  in  every  direction :  to  Rome,  and  the  early  times  of  the  empire  ;  to  the 
court  of  Elizabeth,  and  the  history  of  her  reign;  to  Shakespeare's  masterly 
development  of  human  character ;  to  dramatic  art,  its  aims,  rules  and  devices ; 
and  upon  the  manifold  lines  of  linguistic  investigation;  the  author's  diction,  the 
inHuences  that  determine  it,  the  adaptation  to  character;  the  forms  and  relations 
of  sentences;  the  growth,  history,  uses  and  relations  of  words;  and  so  to  the 
psychology  and  physiology  of  speech.  These  topics,  many  of  which,  as  ordi- 
narily discussed,  might  seem  abstruse  and  unintelligible,  arc  opened  up  and  illus- 
trated by  easy  and  natural  questions  growing  out  of  the  passage,  so  that  a 
knowledge  of  the  most  important  principles  of  art  and  linguistic  science  is 
grounded  in  and  associated  with  the  forms  of  our  dail)' speech." 

The  whole  scheme  of  linguistic  study  in  the  college  is  shaped  and  organized 
upon  the  methods  of  Dr.  March,  with  a  view  to  the  application  in  daily  work  of 
the  best  results  of  modern  research,  and  to  laj'ing  the  foundation  for  the  thorough 
study  of  the  science  of  language.  A  progressive  course  is  laid  out  in  each 
department,  and  each  part  studied  with  reference  to  some  particular  set  of  lin- 
guistic facts.  These  facts  are  kept  constantly  in  review,  and  it  is  found  that  the 
student  soon  learns  to  work  at  language  with  a  true  scholarly  interest,  and  is  all 
the  time  working  toward  the  real  mastery  of  the  laws  of  speech. 

The  studies  in  Professor  March's  department  at  Lafayette  have  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  most  distinguished  educators,  both  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  The  British  Quaricrly,  in  a  review  of  the  higher  education  in  the 
United  States,  gives  some  details,  and  adds :  "  Nowhere  else  is  the  subject 
treated  with  equal  competence  and  success."  The  London  Athcnccuni  saj's : 
"The  studies  of  a  philological  character  carried  on  at  Lafayette  College  are  not 
surpassed  in  thoroughness  by  those  which  we  are  accustomed  to  associate  with 
German  universities."  The  results  of  the  course,  too,  in  the  philological  at- 
tainments of  its  graduates  have  been  in  the  highest  degree  satisfactor}',  and  a 
good  many  excellent  teachers  have  been  trained  at  Lafayette. 

In  1869  appeared  the  "  Comparative  Grammar  of  the  Anglo-.Saxon  Lan- 
guage," a  work  of  great  value  and  profound  scholarship,  which,  as   Max  Muller 


34-  FRANCIS    A.    MARCH. 

says,  "  even-body  praises."  The  Anglo-Saxon  Reader  soon  followed.  In  1874- 
76  he  edited  four  volumes  in  the  Douglass  series  of  Christian  classics,  viz.: 
Latin  Hymns,  liusebius,  Athenagoras  and  Tertullian,  and  from  time  to  time  has 
written  and  spoken  upon  educational,  philosophical  and  philological  subjects, 
especially  before  the  American  Philological  Association,  of  which  he  was  Presi- 
dent in  1875.  The  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1870,  conferred  upon  him  the 
degree  of  LL.  D.,  and  in  187 1  Amherst,  his  Alma  Mater,  did  the  same. 

The  following  tribute  by  one  of  Dr.  March's  pupils  may  fitly  close  our  sketch 
of  this  renowned  scholar  and  educator:  "  He  went  early  and  lovingly  to  the 
great  masters  of  linguistic  science,  caught  the  inspiration  of  their  methods  and 
of  their  latest  conquests,  and  has  pursued  his  worlc  with  results  which  bespeak 
the  highest  type  of  scholar.  A  man  of  singular!}-  large,  clear  and  canditl  in- 
sight, of  rigorous  intellectual  as  well  as  moral  integrity,  his  mind  in  its  ap- 
proaches to  truth  seems  not  to  ha\'e  the  hindrances  of  most  thinkers  and  inves- 
tigators, but  to  move  directly  and  by  the  instincts  of  a  sturd)-  common  sense  to 
the  ver\-  heart  and  gist  of  things.  If  his  greatest  work,  the  Anglo-Saxon  Gram- 
mar, as  he  himself  modestly  suggests,  grew  up  in  the  light  of  Grimm,  Bopp, 
Curtius,  Grein  and  the  rest,  it  is  equally  true  that  this  worker  in  the  light  of 
others  has  now  become  an  illustrious  giver  of  liglit — a  peer  of  the  masters. 
Much  that  such  a  man  does  must  of  course  be  remote  from  his  dail\-  duties  as  a 
teacher,  but  Dr.  March  has  a  full  share  of  the  daily  instruction  in  the  college 
and  frequent  contact  with  large  numbers  of  students,  and  in  truth  he  enters  into 
these  duties  with  heart  and  life.  Any  one  who  meets  him  as  an  instructor  can- 
not fail  to  see  that  for  this  work  his  vast  knowledge  is  constantly  freshened  and 
vivified  ;  that  upon  these  more  elementary  phases  of  his  subjects  a  great  light 
is  thrown,  by  which  learners  kindle  their  own  enthusiasm  and  are  stimulated  to 
the  most  faithful  effort.  He  is  not  simply  a  profound  scholar  shut  up  to  books, 
but  a  man  of  skill,  of  tact,  endowed  by  nature  and  by  training  with  a  manifold 
capacity  for  intelligent  outlook  upon  this  varied  world.  He  knows  men  and 
things,  and  is  therefore  a  linguist  who  in  his  teaching  can  make  many  sources 
of  knowledge  and  many  directions  of  insight  tributary  to  the  study  of  speech ; 
who  can  measure  and  bring  out  the  individuality  of  each  student ;  who  can  make 
the  bright  know  that  they  are  recognized,  give  confidence  to  the  backward  and 
diffident,  and  make  all  feel  that  they  are  in  the  presence  of  a  man  who  respects 
lionest  effort  whatever  the  degree  of  success,  and  who  is  wedded  with  a  sincere 
and  constant  love  to  truth  and  integrity.  Candid  and  kind,  a  wise  and  true 
friend,  a  noble  nature,  not  only  well  knowing  the  needs  of  students  as  learners 
and  thinkers,  but  tenderly  alive  and  solicitous  where  it  concerns  their  higher  in- 
terests, it  is  no  wonder  that  Dr.  March  is  regarded  in  the  whole  college  commu- 
nity with  a  feeling  akin  to  reverence.  To  sit  at  the  feet  of  such  a  man,  to  have 
his  guidance  in  .study  and  the  inspiration  of  his  daily  presence,  is  a  high  privi- 
lege, and  the  distinguished  place  which  he  holds  in  the  love  and  esteem  of  all  is 
proof  that  the  privilege  is  amply  appreciated." 


PRES'r  Adam    H.   pErrEROLF,  ll.d. 


ADAM    H.   FETTKROLF. 

ADAM  H.  Fetterolf,  Ph.  D.,  LL.  D.,  President  of  Girard  College,  is  the  son 
of  Gideon  Fetterolf,  and  was  born  in  Montgomer}'  county  in  1842.  lie 
is  in  the  prime  of  a  life  the  adult  years  of  which  have  been  given  to  educational 
pursuits.  His  career  has  been  niainl)'  that  of  a  student  and  teacher.  His 
academic  training  was  acquired  at  the  Freeland  Seminar)',  then  under  the  man- 
agement of  Rev.  Henrj'  A.  Hunsicker.  After  completing  his  course  and  teaching 
for  a  time  in  the  public  schools,  Mr.  Fetterolf  connected  himself  with  tlic  institution 
as  professor  of  mathematics,  and  subsequently  purchased  Mr.  Hunsickcr's  interest 
and  became  proprietor  and  Principal.  He  conducted  the  institute  ver)'  success- 
ful!)' for  five  )'ears,  when  the  buildings  and  ginuiids  were  purchased  for  Ursinus 
College.  Professor  Fetterolf  then  associated  himself  with  Re\-.  Di'.  Wells  in  the 
ownership  and  management  of  Andalusia  Acadeni)-  in  Bucks  countv.  After  the 
death  of  Dr.  Wells,  in  1 87 1,  he  assmncd  the  entire  charge,  and  continued  at  the 
head  of  the  acadeni)'  for  the  next  eight  )'cars.  In  1880  he  was  elected  b)'  the 
Board  of  City  Trusts  to  fill  the  chair  of  Vice-President  of  Girard  College.  At 
the  death  of  President  Allen,  two  )'ears  later.  Professor  Fetterolf  was  chosen  to 
succeed  him.  He  has  held  the  positi<in  and  discharged  the  manifold  duties  ever 
since,  with  the  confidence  of  the  Board  autl  the  approbation  of  the  public. 

The  college  of  which  Dr.  Fetterolf  is  now  Pi'esideiit  was  founded  by  Stephen 
Girard,  a  native  of  France,  who  had  amassed  an  immense  t'ortime  as  a  shipping 
merchant  and  banker  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  had  arri\'ed  a  poor  bo)'  and  begun 
business  in  a  very  humble  wa)',  and  who  bequeathed  $2,000,000  and  the  residue 
of  his  estate,  after  pa)'ing  certain  legacies,  for  the  erection  and  support  of  a  college 
for  orphans.  As  many  poor  white  male  orphans  who  are  residents  of  Pennsyl- 
vania are  admitted,  between  the  ages  of  si.x  and  ten  )'ears,  as  the  endowment  can 
support.  They  are  fed,  clothed  and  educated,  and  between  the  ages  of  fourteeia 
and  eighteen  are  bound  out  to  mechanical,  commercial  and  agricultural  occupa- 
tions. They  are  given  manual  as  well  as  mental  training,  and  are  in  great 
demand  in  the  shops  and  in  the  manufactories  of  Philadelphia  as  skilled  work- 
men, after  they  have  graduated. 

B)'  a  provision  in  the  will  of  the  founder  no  ecclesiastic,  missionar)- or  minister 
of  an)'  sect  whatever  is  to  hold  an)'  connection  with  the  college,  or  be  admitted 
to  the  premises  even  as  a  visitor;  but  the  officers  of  the  institution  are  lequired 
to  instruct  the  pupils  in  the  purest  principles  of  moralit)',  leaving  them  free  to 
adopt  their  own  religious  opinions.  The  most  minute  directions  were  gi\'en  for  the 
construction,  size  and  materials  of  the  bLiilding,  which  was  begun  in  Jul)',  1843, 
and  opened  January  i,  1848.  The  main  building  is  the  finest  specimen  of  Gre- 
cian architecture  in  America,  and  is  even  said  to  be  the  finest  of  modern  times. 
The  outer  walls,  staircases,  floors  and   roof  are  all   of  marble,  and   the  entire 

{^4^) 


344  ADAM    II.    FETTEROLF. 

Structure  ro.-its  on  a  base  of  eleven  steps,  extending  around  the  entire  building. 
It  is  in  the  form  of  a  Corinthian  temple,  surrounded  by  a  portico  of  thirty-four 
columns,  each  fift)--five  feet  high,  and  six  feet  in  diameter.  Its  length  is  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  feet,  its  width  one  hundred  and  eleven  feet,  and  its  height 
ninety-seven  feet.  The  entrances  are  on  the  north  and  south  fronts,  each  door 
being  eleven  feet  wide  and  thirt)'-two  feet  high.  The  east  and  west  sides  are 
pierced  each  by  twenty-four  windows.  A  marble  effigy  of  the  founder  stands  in 
the  vestibule,  and  behind  this  statue,  in  a  great  stone  cenotapli,  lie  the  remains 
of  Stephen  Girard  and  those  of  his  wife.  Within  the  enclosure,  which  contains 
over  forty  acres,  there  are  numerous  other  buildings,  some  of  them  recently 
erected,  and  the  institution  constitutes  within  itself  a  village  of  marble  and  brick. 

The  government  of  Girard  College  demands  high  and  rather  peculiar  qualifi- 
cations. The  position  of  the  President  is  one  of  great  responsibility,  standing  as 
he  does  in  loco  parentis  to  fourteen  hundred  orphan  boys — the  representative 
head  of  the  greatest  individual  charity  on  the  continent. 

President  Fetterolf  has  the  charm  of  a  genial,  quiet,  well-balanced  character,  a 
pleasing  address,  an  impressive  presence,  and  tliat  subtle  faculty  which  wins  the 
confidence  of  boys.  He  is  the  fourth  President  of  the  college.  The  first  pre- 
sided over  but  two  hundred  bo)'s ;  the  second  saw  five  hundred  assembled  at 
ciiapel ;  the  third  witnessed  the  roll  lengthen  to  eleven  hundred;  while  Dr.  Fet- 
terolf has  fourteen  hundred  under  his  charge.  It  requires  executive  ability  of  the 
highest  order  to  successfully  direct  the  destinies  and  control  the  actions  of  so 
many  undeveloped  mental  and  physical  organisms,  and  that  President  Fetterolf 
is  able  to  accomplish  this  without  harsh  discipline,  demonstrates  in  the  strongest 
possible  way  his  eminent  fitness  for  the  responsible  position  he  occupies. 

His  abilit)'  has  had  numerous  recognitions  from  the  faculties  of  other  col- 
leges, the  most  recent  of  which  was  the  conferring  upon  him  of  the  degrees  of 
A.  M.  and  Ph.  D.  by  Lafayette  College,  and  by  Delaware  College  of  the  title  of 
LL.D. 

In  Maj-,  1887,  the  Legislature  of  Penns}-l\ania  passed  an  act  authorizing  and 
requesting  the  Governor  to  appoint  a  commission  of  five  citizens  of  the  Common- 
wealth to  "  make  inquiry  and  report,  by  bill  or  otherwise,  respecting  the  subject 
of  Industrial  Education."  Governor  Beaver  placed  President  Fetterolf  on  this 
commission,  his  already  extensive  knowledge  of  the  subject  making  the  selection 
especially  valuable  and  appropriate. 

Dr.  Fetterolf  has  been  twice  married,  and  has  two  sons.  His  first  wife  was 
Miss  Annie  Hergesheimer,  daughter  of  George  Mergesheimer,  Esq.,  of  German- 
town.  In  1883  he  married  Miss  Laura  M.  Mangam,  daughter  of  William  D. 
Mangam,  Ivsq.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


I 


\ 


Rev.  a.   R.   Horne,  d.d. 


ABRAHAM    REASOR   IIORNE. 

ABRAHAM  R.  HoRNE,  A.  M.,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  most  prominent  instructors  of 
youth  in  the  State,  and  the  founder  and  editor  of  the  National  Educator,  is 
the  son  of  David  L.  and  Mary  Home,  and  was  born  in  Bucks  county,  I\Iarch  24, 
1834.  Tiie  family  is  a  very  old  one  in  that  county,  and  the  house  in  which  ho 
was  born  is  said  to  be  the  oldest  in  Springfield  township. 

At  an  early  age  _\-oung  Home  manifested  a  taste  for  reading,  and  in  one  of  his 
crisp  editorials  in  the  National  Educator  he  recounts  how,  when  only  eight  years 
old,  he  waited  c\'cry  Wednesday  evening,  sometimes  in  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
for  the  "  pust-rider  "  who  delivered  the  Doj'lestown  weeklies  to  Springtown,  and 
was  willing  to  trade  a  DoylcstoiLm  Democrat  or  Intelligencer  for  a  basket  of  apples. 
He  also  early  exhibited  a  talent  for  preaching,  and  frequently  expounded  the 
gospel  to  as  many  of  his  young  playmates  as  he  could  induce  to  listen  to  his 
liarangues.  In  1S50,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  commenced  his  woik  as  a  teacher 
of  a  public  school  within  a  half  mile  of  his  birthplace.  He  taught  there  for  three 
successive  terms,  and  was  then  called  to  preside  over  the  public  schools  of  Beth- 
lehem, Pa.,  where  he  remained  until  the  fall  of  1854,  when  he  entered  the  IVnn- 
S}-l\'ania  College,  Gcttysbiu-g,  where  he  gradiiated  in  1858.  IV-fore  his  gradua- 
tion he  had  already  entered  upon  his  labors  as  Princi[3al  of  the  Bucks  County 
Norn'ial  and  Classical  School  at  Quakertown.  While  he  h.ul  charge  of  this 
institution  Professor  H.  L.  Baugher,  now  the  Rc\'.  Dr.  P>aii;_;her,  Professor  of 
Greek  in  Pennsj-lvania  College,  was  associatetl  with  him  as  Assistant  Principal. 
Dr.  Home  continued  in  his  work  of  educating  teachers  and  others,  both  j-oung 
women  and  men,  at  this  institution  until  1863.  Many  of  the  students  of  this 
school  are  now  occupying  prominent  positions  in  life,  among  whom  are  i\Ionroe 
B.  Snyder,  Professor  of  Astronomy  in  the  Philadelphia  High  School;  Rev. 
George  U.  Wenner,  of  New  York ;  Superintendent  J.  B.  Bnniner,  of  Omaha,  Neb. ; 
City  Superintendents  Laudis,  of  AUentown,  and  Buehrle,  of  Lancaster;  County 
Superintendents  Knauss,  of  Lehigh,  and  Weiss,  of  Schuylkill,  Pa.;  and  Dr.  J.  E. 
Stahr,  of  Franklin  and  Marshall  College. 

In  1867  Dr.  Home  became  Cit)-  Superintendent  of  Schools  at  Williamsport, 
Pa.,  which  position  he  held  until  he  was  called  to  the  Principalship  of  the  Key- 
stone State  Normal  School  at  Kiitztoun,  Pa.,  in  1S72.  While  he  was  Principal 
of  that  institution  the  school  attained  a  degree  of  pi'osperity  that  it  had  ne\'er 
enjo\'ed  before,  over  fi\'e  luuulred  students  ha\-ing  been  sometimes  enrolled  in  a 
single  term.  Superintendent  Thomas  M.  Balliet,  Ph.  D.,  of  Springfield,  iMass., 
who  has  distinguished  himself  as  an  educator,  was  one  of  the  students;  also 
Superintendents  Werner,  of  Northampton,  D.  S.  Keck,  of  Berk-s,  and  J.  W.  Paul, 
of  Monroe  county,  and  a  large  number  of  now  prominent  clergymen,  lawyers, 
physicians,  professors  and  teachers. 

44  (345) 


-4'5  ADRAIIAM    R.    IIOKNE. 

lie  resigned  tlie  principalship  of  the  Keystone  State  Normal  School  in  1877 
to  take  a  chair  in  the  Normal  Department  of  Muhlenbiirg  College  at  Allen- 
town,  Pa.  He  occupied  this  position  until  1882.  Here  again  a  very  promising 
number  of  young  men  were  sent  forth  under  his  auspices.  In  the  .summer  and 
autumn  of  1881-S2-S3  he  was  engaged  as  State  Institute  Instructor  in  Texas 
and  Louisiana,  tra\elling  over  the  greater  part  of  these  States,  and  co-laboring 
with  the  State  Superintendents  and  prominent  educators  not  only  of  these  but 
of  other  States  of  the  Southwest.  Governor  McEncry,  of  Louisiana,  and  State 
Superintendent  Fay  bear  strong  testimony  to  the  value  of  his  serxices  in  behalf 
of  the  instruction  of  teachers  and  in  the  cause  of  popular  education. 

Dr.  Home  has  a  happy  faculty  of  showing  teachers  how  to  do  a  great  amount 
of  work  in  the  way  of  experiments,  and  do  it  well,  at  very  slight  expense.  He 
is  an  admirable  educator,  combining  excellent  instruction  with  sufficient  enter- 
tainment to  hold  the  attention  and  impress  the  lesson  on  the  mind  of  e\cry  one 
present. 

Dr.  Home  is  a  c!erg\-mnn  of  the  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  and  has  served 
congregations  in  connection  with  his  educational  work  ever  since  1859,  when  he 
was  ordained.  No  less  than  fifty  men  are  now  in  the  ministry  of  various  denomi- 
nations who  were  directed  and  encouraged  to  enter  the  sacred  office  by  him. 
He  has  alwa)-s  firmly  defended  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  and  of  Evangelical 
Christianity.  In  18S2  he  engaged  in  a  discussion  at  Doylestown,  Pa.,  with  the 
distinguished  free-thinker,  B.  F.  Underwood,  which  continued  three  nights,  and 
in  which  he  defended  the  doctrines  of  the  Bible  with  great  success.  At  teachers' 
institutes,  in  addition  to  his  instruction  in  methods,  Dr.  Home  also  delivers  lec- 
tures on  Common  Science,  illustrated  with  experiments.  He  has  written  a  book, 
"  Experiments  Without  Apparatus,"  thousands  of  copies  of  which  have  been  sold. 
Being  a  Pennsylvania  German,  he  also  wrote  and  published  a  book  which  was 
especially  designed  for  and  successfully  accomplished  the  purpose  of  enabling 
those  of  the  community  who  spoke  that  language  to  Icarn  E..glish.  He  is  also 
tlie  publisher  of  a  small  book  for  students  of  botany.  In  his  Xalioiml  Ediaator, 
a  semi-monthl)'  which  he  has  edited  and  published  continuously  since  i860,  he 
disseminates  a  large  amount  of  information  for  old  and  jouiig — teachers,  parents 
and  pupils.  His  articles  on  "Common  Sense  in  Teaching,"  "Health  Notes," 
"  Experiments  Without  Apparatus  "  and  "  Useful  Information  "  are  xery  exten- 
sively copied  and  read.  There  is  not  another  educational  jiublication  in  the 
country  that  has  been  so  long  (twenty-eight  }-cars)  under  the  same  management. 
Dr.  Home  devotes  himself  to  his  paper,  to  institute  work,  and  to  lecturing  and 
preaching.  He  serves  at  present  as  pastor  four  congregations  in  the  vicinity  of 
Allentown.  He  is  often  called  quite  a  distance  to  ofiFiciate  upon  special  occasions, 
speaking  both  in  English  and  German.  His  institute  work  extends  over  Penn- 
.sylvania  and  other  States,  and  during  the  summer  months  of  the  past  few  j-ears  he 
lias  been  one  of  the  instructors  at  the  Normal  School  at  Niagara  Falls.  Dr.  Home 
is  a  good  type  of  a  farmer's  son,  who,  despite  the  lack  of  advantages  enjoyed  by 


ABRAHAM    K.    llciRXE.  347 

iiianj'  otiicr  \-outIis,  lias  won  his  \va}-  in  tlie  world  by  industi}-  and  perseverance 
backed  b\'  inherent  abiht\'.  It  is  stateii  regardinij  hini  tliat  he  has  never  been 
sick,  has  not  Iiad  a  cold  for  twcnt)-  )-ears,  never  loses  a  night's  rest,  lias  a  stento- 
rian voice,  and  is  ahvas's  in  a  g(~iod  humor. 

In  1857  he  married  Jemima  Enielia,  daii!:;hter  of  David  I.  and  Sarah  Yerkcs,  of 
Bethlehem,  both  of  whom  are  yet  in  the  enjo\-ment  of  good  health,  though  past 
fourscore  ^■ears  of  age.  The  offspring  of  the  marriage  are  Sadie  J.,  married  to 
Rev.  Joseph  W.  I\Ia\-ne,  of  Dublin,  Bucks  count)';  David  R.  Hornc,  attornej-'at- 
law,  W'lchita,  Kan. ;  M.  Luther  Home,  attornej'-at-law,  AUentown  ;  Thomas  K. 
Home,  business  manager  of  the  National  Educator ;  Augustus  F.  Home,  student 
at  Lafayette  College;  and  Hattie  B.  Home,  attending  public  school  at  AUen- 
town. 

Dr.  Home's  wife,  who  has  shared  the  joys  of  his  busy  life  for  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  has  taken  a  deep  interest  in  his  labors,  and  the}-  are  now  granted  the 
additional  happiness  of  seeing  their  children  grow  up  to  honor  them  with  the 
results  of  practical  teaching  of  the  wa)'  thej'  should  go. 


James   E.  Garretson,  m.  d. 


JAMES   EDMUND    GARRETSON. 

To  truly  epitomize  the  life-work  of  a  man  who  does  not  care  to  proclaim  him- 
self to  the  world  as  one  of  the  world's  benefactors,  even  though  there 
exists  living  testimony  of  his  skill  and  beneficence,  is  an  undertaking  that  is  as 
delicate  as  it  is  difficult. 

Out  of  regard  for  decided  views  expressed  in  his  works  bj-  the  subject  of  tliis 
sketch  that  "  it  is  not  wise  to  praise  any  man  until  at  least  six  feet  of  earth  cover 
him,"  and  furthermore  "  that  individuals  are  nothing — the  matter  of  life  being 
with  the  work,"  it  is  deemed  best  to  record  siiiipl)-  those  matters  which  relate 
the  subject  with  the  public. 

J.A.ME3  E.  G.-\RRETSOX,  eminent  as  a  surgeon  and  as  a  philosopher,  was  born 
in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  in  the  year  1828.  His  boyhood  did  not  differ  materially 
from  that  of  other  boys.  He  climbed  as  many  trees,  tore  the  knees  out  of  as  ^ 
many  pairs  of  pantaloons,  and  presumabi)'  was  as  full  of  fun  and  mi-^chief  as  his 
companions,  or  bows  the  world  over.  Before  reaching  his  majority,  however, 
young  Garretson  iiad  sobered  down  wonclerfull}-,  and  instead  of  becoming,  as 
most  lads  of  nineteen  or  twenty  )-ears  do,  a  reader  of  trashy  literature,  the  )-oung 
man  began  diving  into  works  of  worth  and  solidity.  Possessing  not  only  a 
remarkably  retentive  memory  for  what  he  read,  but  a  mind  that,  as  j'ears  came 
on,  proved  itself  to  be  philosophically  analytical  in  a  marked  degree,  it  was  but 
natural  that  he  should  pull  himself  out  of  the  ever\--da}'  rut  and  seek  for  a  place 
on  higher,  broader  paths  where  trod  men  whose  genius  spurred  on  his  ambition 
and  made  brighter  his  way. 

Young  Mr.  Garretson,  after  finishing  his  school  days,  came  to  Philadelphia. 
This  was  after  he  had  spent  several  years,  unmarked  b}^  special  incident,  in  his 
native  State,  and  in  New  Jersey.  In  1856  the  )'oung  man,  who  had  a  predilection 
for  close  study  several  years  before,  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  study  the 
profession  of  medicine.  He  had  thought  over  it  often  ;  he  had  reasoned  out 
that  the  profession  was  an  honorable  one,  and  that  it  was  one  that  benefited 
humanity;  for,  young  as  he  was,  he  had  already  become  a  philosopher.  There 
was  nothing  mercenary  in  the  conclusion  at  which  he  arrived.  He  had  read  and 
studied  over  the  doctrines  of  Aristotle  ;  he  had  analyzed  the  pungent  aphorisms 
of  Plato,  and  had  pretty  thoroughly  digested  the  inwardness  and  purpose  of  Stoic 
philosophy.  Despite  this  triumvirate  of  mental  giants  opposing  each  other  as 
they  did  in  the  young  man's  mind,  he  proved  himself  to  possess  sufficient  indi- 
viduality to  map  out  a  plan  of  action  that  should  be  his  own,  and  only  his  own. 
He  began  to  study,  and  with  him  study  did  not  mean  a  skinmiing  over  of  text 
books.  It  did  not  mean  a  three  hours'  spasm  of  hard  work,  and  a  six  hours' 
relaxation  given  over  to  questionable  recreation  in  a  great  city.  The  )-oung  man 
was  determined  to  attain  the  object  of  fitting  himself  to  be  useful.      He  econo- 

(349} 


350  JAMES    E.    GARKETSON. 

mizcd  the  minutes.  He  systemized  his  time  and  worked  steadily  and  courage- 
ously, without  other  hope  of  reward  than  that  which  could  be  attained  should 
lie  find  himself  able  to  serve  the  needy. 

In  1S59  he  graduated  at  that  time-honored  institution,  the  University  of  Penn- 
syh'ania.  His  industry  and  close  attention  to  his  studies  had  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  professors  during  the  cour.se  and  after  his  graduation,  and  he  was 
so  highly  spoken  of  that  in  1861  he  was  made  Lecturer  on  Anatomy  in  the 
Philadelphia  School  of  Anatonn-,  Prof  D.  Hayes  Agncw  and  himself  conducting 
the  departments.  From  that  time  on  Dr.  Garretson  became  a  human  sponge. 
He  absorbed  everj'thmg  that  related  to  his  profession,  and  even  the  most  minute 
details  did  not  escape  his  notice.  He  had  never  been  a  man  to  neglect  little 
things,  and  as  he  grew  older  he  saw  the  necessity  of  regarding  trifles;  so  in  the 
profession  of  medicine  nothing  was  trivial.  To  every  idea  advanced  he  gave 
careful  consideration,  and  possessing  those  much-to-be-admired  mental  qualifica- 
tions— analysis  and  .synthesis — he  was  able  to  separate  the  wheat  from  the  chaff, 
and  turn  the  wheat  to  the  very  best  ad\antage. 

Dr.  Garretson  did  not  cease  to  be  a  student  after  his  graduation,  but  on  the 
contrar\'  he  worked  harder  than  ever.  While  others  were  taking  needed  recreation, 
or  had  settled  down  with  the  idea  that  they  had  little  else  to  learn,  he  was  poring 
over  his  books,  gaining  new  ideas  and  making  new  ones  of  his  own.  Although 
never  intending  to  be  a  specialist,  he  gradually  became  interested  in  a  particular 
branch  of  study,  and  some  time  about  the  close  of  the  war  he  had  made  up  his 
mind  to  give  greater  attention  to  the  science  of  oral  surgery  than  had  been  given 
in  the  past  by  practitioners  generally.  It  was  this  determination  that  made  him 
what  he  is  to-daj- — one  of  the  most  skilful  diagnosticians  of  diseases  of  the 
mouth,  jaws,  face  and  associate  parts  in  the  United  States.  This  line  of  study 
was  faithfully  followed  up,  and  in  the  year  1869  he  was  made  Oral  Surgeon  to 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  Surgeon  in  charge  of  the  Oral  Hospital. 
It  was  between  the  }ears  1S65  and  1866  that  Dr.  Garretson,  after  carefully 
weighing  the  wortii  of  the  opinions  of  the  authorities  on  the  subject,  determined 
to  write  a  book  himself  Attending  closely  to  his  practice,  which  had  then 
become  quite  extensive,  and  neglecting  none  of  the  ordinary  courtesies  of  life,  he 
performed  the  task  of  writing  a  book  of  1,000  octavo  pages,  entitled,  "  The  Sys- 
tem of  Oral  Surgery,"  a  work  that  is  now  in  its  fourth  edition,  and  is  the  accepted 
authority  on  the  subject  among  English  and  American  physicians,  having  also, 
as  I  am  informed  by  the  publishers,  a  fine  .sale  in  every  civilized  country  on  the 
globe.  Dr.  Garretson  was  asked  one  day  how  he  managed  to  get  through  such 
an  enormous  amount  of  work,  and  j-et  never  appear  to  be  in  a  hurry.  "  It  is  not 
at  all  difficult,"  he  replied,  "providing  one  follows  out  a  very  simple  plan.  Do 
not  neglect  the  minutes,  and  use  every  opportunity  that  presents  itself  Ascer- 
tain what  part  of  the  day  best  suits  your  brain  for  a  certain  line  of  work,  and 
then  do  that  woik  methodically,  and  not  by  fits  and  starts." 

It  was  this  principle,  to  which  he  adhered  closely,  that  enabled  him  to  compile 


JAMES    E.    GARRETSON.  35  I 

a  work  whose  tedious  cliaractcr  would  Iia\'c  tliscouraj^cd  many  otlicr  autliors 
with  far  more  leisure  time  thau  he.  "  The  S}'steiii  of  Oral  Surtjer)-,"  wliile  a 
most  valuable  addition  to  surgical  literatuie  by  Dr.  Garretsoii,  represents  but  a 
part  of  the  work  of  his  pen  in  the  matter  of  scientific  writing.  He  is  the  author 
of  a  great  number  of  clinical  lectures  on  general  surgical  subjects,  the  publish- 
ing of  which  has  been  continued  in  the  various  medical  and  dental  jour- 
nals issued  in  this  country  and  in  lunope ;  but  the  labor  which  can  be 
denominated  his  professional  monument  is  certainly  the  treatise  on  oral  sur- 
gery which  belongs  to  Lippincott's  Physicians'  Reference  Library.  The  subject 
stands  to-day  as  the  result  of  his  work,  and  as  a  specialty  is  as  fully  developed 
as  ophthalmology. 

To  Dr.  Garretson  belongs  the  credit  of  having  introduced  into  general  surgical 
practice  and  made  familiar  the  surgical  engine,  a  plan  of  operating  which  has 
worked  a  revoliftion  in  the  methods  of  operation  upon  the  bony  s)-stem.  He 
has,  after  some  opposition  on  the  part  of  his  professional  brethren,  successfully 
demonstrated  the  cure  of  epithelial  cancer  b)'  means  of  what  is  professionally 
known  as  the  "  flap  transfer,"  an  operation  that  now  obtains  generally  among 
skilful  practitioners.  An  operation  of  large  signification,  which  consists  in 
removing  the  os  irih-n'.v  without  disturbing  the  true  perineum,  is  his  invention,  and 
has  attracted  wide  attention,  both  here  and  abroad.  He  has  devised  se\'eral 
operations  in  ex-scctive  ner\-e  surgery,  notably  the  remo\-al  of  exposing  cords 
requiring  to  be  cut  at  the  base  of  the  skull.  Operations  for  ablations  of  the 
whole  or  parts  of  the  maxillary  bones  without  resulting  scars  ai'c  de\ices  for 
which  much  is  owing  him  b}-  the  surgical  world.  One  operation  designed  and 
practised  b_\'  him,  and  conceded  to  be  one  of  the  high  refinements  of  surgery,  is 
the  removal  of  the  inferior  maxillary  nerve,  as  it  lies  in  its  canal,  without  injuring 
the  face.  As  a  practitioner  he  confines  his  attention  to  surgical  cases,  but  he  is 
sought  in  consultation  by  eminent  ph\'sicians  in  general  medical  practice.  The 
place  in  which  he  stands  pre-eminent,  however,  is  as  a  consultant  and  operator  in 
surger)'. 

There  are  few  physicians  of  to-day  who,  while  devoting  their  attention  to  their 
profession,  have  found  time  to  become  literary  men.  Dr.  Garretson  has  found 
time  simply  because  he  has  "  never  neglected  the  minutes."  English  hi.story  is 
full  of  doctors  whose  very  recreation  consisted  in  serving  their  fellows,  either  by 
instructing  or  amusing  them.  Among  the  most  prominent  are  such  men  as 
Johnson,  Goldsmith,  Sir  Thomas  Brown,  Akenside,  Keats,  Erasmus,  Darwin, 
Percival,  and  the  author  of  "  Noctes  Ambrosianie."  In  the  literary  world  Dr. 
Garretson  leaves  his  professional  name  behind  him  and  becomes  "John  Darby," 
a  grower  of  potatoes  and  a  dealer  in  philosoph)-.  It  is  as  a  writer  that  the  man's 
individuality  shines  forth,  and  he  is  brought,  as  it  were,  face  to  face  with  his 
reader.  His  fondness  for  philosophical  thought  and  his  powers  of  contrast  are 
shown  in  one  of  his  most  interesting  books,  "  Brushland,"  where  he  portrays, 
with  great  vividness,  the  two-fold  life  which  a  man  can  lead.     The  reader  is  con- 


35-  JAMES    E.    GARRETSON. 

fronted  witli  broadcloth  and  patent-leather  boots  on  one  page,  and  with  corduroy 
and  horsehide  brogans  upon  another.  "Brushland"  is  in  the  author's  happiest 
\ein.  It  can  be  taken  as  a  keen  satire,  or  digested  and  enjoyed  as  a  philosophi- 
cal discussion  between  Broadcloth  and  Corduroy — two  creations  strikingly  bold 
and  distincti\-e  in  their  indi\idualities.  In  one  portion  of  the  book  there  is  a 
soliloquy,  which  has  attracted  the  attention  of  nearly  every  critic  who  has  read 
it.     The  passage  is  pregnant  with  the  beauties  of  philosophic  thought,  and  runs 

as  follows : "  Back  into  the  town  is  back  into  the  whirl.     Oh,  blessed 

solace  of  solitude  I  How  full  of  company  it  is  to  be  absolutely  alone  1  Here 
upon  Elmer  bridge  I  am  the  world,  the  world  is  me.  Let  the  villager  barter. 
Let  the  brushman  clear  the  drain.  Here  face  to  face  with  nature  the  God  runs 
into  me  driving  everything  else  out.  Here  in  contact  with  creation  I  know 
nn-self  all  bigness,  all  littleness.  Lifted  up  I  am  the  bloom  of  a  plant;  buried  I 
am  its  vital  root.  I  rejoice  in  an  undertaking  of  nn-self  Tiint  I  know  not 
cxactl}-  the  how  and  the  whereas,  the  why  and  the  wherefore  of  man,  is  nothing 
to  me.  I  know  that  man  nio\'es,  and  I  know  how  he  moves.  The  nij'stery  of 
the  sensorium  is  an  arcanum.     Let  arcanum  remain  arcanum. 

"  •  Up  or  tlown,  bloom  or  root,  one  is  one ;  zenith  is  nadir,  n.idir  is  zenith.'  " 

"Thinkers  and  Thinlcing,"  another  of  Dr.  Garretson's  works,  has  been  pro- 
nounced by  an  eminent  re\iewer  of  books  as  philosophy  in  a  nutshell.  "  It  is 
not,"  says  he,  "  merely  mere  metaphysics,  nor  a  wordy  speculation ;  not  mere 
guesses  at  truth,  but  telling  the  reader  about  eminent  thinlcers  of  the  past  and 
present  time,  and  checking  off  their  theories  by  the  author's  full  and  keen 
practical  and  physical  as  well  as  mental  knowledge." 

"Odd  Hours  of  a  Physician,"  "Two  Thousand  Years  After,"  "Hours  with 
John  Darby,"  are  from  the  pen  of  the  same  author,  and  have  received  the  kind- 
liest treatment  from  the  hands  of  competent  critics.  The  book,  "Two  Thousand 
Years  After,"  is  a  continuation  of  Plato's  "  Phoedo,"  being  an  attempt  to  demon- 
strate the  distinction  between  mind  and  soul,  and  to  show  the  identity  of  the 
latter  with  God  him.self;  hence,  its  immortality.  To  accept  the  teachings  of  this 
book  is  to  reconcile,  not  only  all  differences  as  to  creeds  and  religions,  but  is  to 
settle  at  once  and  forever  the  disputes  of  agnostics  and  theologians. 

"Hours  with  John  Darby"  is  founded  on  a  verse  in  Timon's  "Images." 
referring  to  the  philosopher  Psrrho  : 

"  These  things,  my  heart,  O  Pyrrho,  longs  to  hear. 
How  now  enjoy  such  ease  of  life  and  quiet. 
The  only  ni,in  as  hapjiy  as  a  god." 

The  chapters  of  the  book  treat  on  different  matters  related  with  life  antl  living, 
commencing  with  the  important  subject  of  women  and  ending  with  reflections  on 
death. 

"Odd  Hours  of  a  Physician"  is  now  in  its  fourth  edition.     This  book  main- 


JAMES    E.    GAKRETSON.  35  ^ 

tains  tlie  pleasures  of  simplicity,  and  corresponds  closely  in  its  manner  of  loolcing 
at  things  with  the  writings  of  Franklin  and  Cobbett,  with  whose  works  it  has 
been  classed  by  the  late  George  Riple_\',  the  eminent  book  critic  of  the  Xew  )'(v/' 
Tribiiiic.  Perhaps  no  publication  of  its  kind  was  e\-er  more  warmly  lauded  by 
all  kinds  of  people.     Its  popularity  continues  unabated. 

"To  get  into  your  own  life  as  many  other  lines  as  possible,"  says  our  author 
in  his  book,  "  Brushland,"  "  is  to  get  the  most  out  of  life  ;"  and  truly  in  himself 
is  a  striking  illustration  of  the  capability  to  keep  out  of  ruts. 

Dr.  Garretson's  latest  work  is  "  Nineteenth  Centur)'  Sense,"  a  masterful  gem 
of  philosophic  thought.  In  it  the  author  comes  nearer  to  the  Universal  than  he 
has  in  any  of  his  previous  arguments  on  the  why  and  wherefore  of  man.  He 
takes  a  high  ground,  and  discusses  things  as  they  arc  and  as  they  Sfcin.  It  is  in 
reality  a  marvellous  piece  of  work.  The  thread  of  logic  that  runs  through  it, 
from  the  first  page  to  the  last,  has  strung  along  it  such  an  abundance  of  collateral 
issues  that  the  reader  must  ponder  thoughtfully  over  each  of  the  pregnant 
phrases  that  finally  group  themselves  together  and  malce  one  harmonious  whole. 
"  Nineteenth  Century  Sense  "  is  not  one  of  those  books  that  can  be  read  over 
lightly.  It  must  be  digested,  and,  in  the  simulation  of  the  pabulum  that  it 
affords,  the  skeptic  as  well  as  the  credulous  man  finds  a  restfidness  that  lifts  him 
beyond  the  dross,  and  permits  him  to  commune  with  the  Ego  of  the  author,  and 
see  the  beauties  of  the  God  in  man  as  he  sees  it. 

Dr.  Garretson,  as  a  physician,  attends  to  an  extensive  private  practice,  both 
medical  and  surgical,  and  conducts  a  large  and  responsible  clinical  service, 
which  is  particularly  noted  for  the  character  and  gravity  of  the  operations  per- 
formed— in  this  respect  unexcelled,  certainly,  by  any  hospital  work  done  in  this  or 
any  other  country.  As  "John  Darby,"  he  is  to  be  thought  of  as  a  dreamer  b)'  the 
fireside;  as  a  lover  of  dark  woods  and  quiet  country  lanes;  as  a  sturdy  worker, 
toiling  amongst  brush  and  ditches  ;  and  as  an  Alexandrian  of  the  t\'pe  of  Plotinus, 
who  aspires  to  keep  his  head  in  the  clouds,  let  his  feet  be  where  the)'  may. 

The  book  "  Clover  Leaves,"  published  by  the  Clover  Club,  contains  a  chapter 
from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Garretson  on  the  relativity  of  good  and  evil,  which  is  not 
less  illustrative  of  his  manner  of  loolcing  at  things,  and  his  indi\'iduality  as  to 
style,  than  any  of  his  various  writings. 

Dr.  Garretson  is  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of  the  Philadelphia  Dental  College,  and 
is  President  of  the  Medico-Chirurgical  College  of  that  city.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  latter  institution,  and  is  assisted  in  its  conduct  by  a  faculty  com- 
posed of  professors  of  like  prominence  to  himself  in  their  respective  specialties. 
Under  their  able  charge  it  is  growing  rapidly  in  importance  and  taking  rank 
among  the  established  medical  institutions  of  Philadelphia,  and  will  still  further 
strengthen  the  claim  of  Pennsylvania's  metropolis  to  being  the  centre  of  medical 
education  in  America. 

45  Vincent  S.  Cooke. 


Thomas   MacKellar. 


.t- 


THOMAS   MACKELLAR. 

THOMAS  MacKellar,  a  prominent  t}-pc  founder  and  autlior  of  Philadelphia, 
was  born  in  New  York,  August  12,  1812.  His  father  was  a  Scotsman, 
once  a  midshipman  in  the  British  Navy.  His  first  maternal  ancestor  in  New 
York  was  Henry  Bresier  (afterward  Brasha),  who  married  Susanna  Watkens  in 
1644.  Governor  Kieft  issued  to  him  a  patent  for  thirty-three  acres  of  land  outside 
of  the  city  wall,  in  a  strip  running  northwardly  to  what  is  now  Franklin  Square 
and  Cherry  street.  When  fourteen  years  old  young  MacKellar  learned  to  set 
type  in  the  office  of  the  Nczv  York  S/r.  On  the  failure  of  this  paper,  which 
liad  only  a  brief  life,  he  found  an  engagement  with  the  great  publishing  house 
of  J.  and  J.  Harper,  where  his  ability  quickly  marked  him  for  speedy  advance- 
ment. He  was  promoted  to  the  responsible  post  of  proof-reader  when  in  his 
seventeenth  year.  Death  carried  off  his  father  and  mother  when  he  was  eigh- 
teen years  of  age,  and  he  sought  to  rescue  some  portion  of  the  old  family  lands. 

Reluctantly  relinquishing  this  task,  he  acted  on  the  advice  of  the  Quaker  law- 
yer, Clark,  who  counselled  him  that,  if  he  would  stick  to  his  work,  he  would 
make  a  fortune  bcfirc  he  could  recover  the  old  one.  His  future  career  justified 
the  prediction,  and  when  he  left  the  Harpers'  establishment,  in  1833,  he  was  a 
thoroughly  skilled  printer.  Coming  to  Philadelphia  he  began  work,  on  May  1st 
of  that  year,  in  the  type  and  stercot)-pe  foundry  of  Johnson  &  Smith  as  proof- 
reader. His  valuable  qualities  were  soon  recognized  by  Lawrence  Johnson, 
senior  member  of  the  firm,  who  made  him  foreman  of  the  department  comprising 
the  composing-rooms  of  the  stereotj'pe  foundry. 

In  1845  he  was  talccn  into  the  business  as  a  partner,  together  with  the  two 
sons  of  George  F.  Smith,  who  had  retired  a  short  time  previously.  The  st\-le  of 
the  house  then  became  L.  Johnson  &  Co.  He  removed  his  residence  to  Ger- 
mantown  in  1856,  parti)'  on  account  of  his  health,  which  had  been  somewhat 
impaired  by  his  arduous  devotion  to  business,  and  the  loss  of  his  oldest  daughter 
in  her  nineteenth  year.  In  i860  Mr.  Johnson  died,  and  the  sui-viving  partners 
formed  a  new  firm,  adding  the  name  of  Peter  A.  Jordan,  under  the  style  of  Mac- 
Kellar, Smiths  &  Jordan.  Ever  since  Mr.  MacKellar  was  associated  with  it,  it 
has  increased  in  the  magnitude  of  its  transactions  until  it  is  now  the  most  cele- 
brated type  foundry  in  the  world.  The  Specimen  Books,  showing  the  numerous 
varieties  of  types  made  in  this  foundry,  were  got  up  under  his  special  direction. 
The  matter  was  mostly  original,  and  being  uniquely  adapted  to  the  conformation 
of  the  different  .styles  of  the  types  e.xhibited  attracted  the  attention  of  printers 
everywhere.  An  edition  of  three  thousand  copies  of  the  quarto  volume  of 
Specimens  cost  about  ^40,000.  The  book  fancier  of  the  future  will  doubtless 
consider  this  work  a  striking  feature  in  his  collection.  Years  ago  $50  were 
offered  for  a  copy. 

(355) 


^;6  THOMAS    MACKELLAR. 

Ill  iS66  he  published  a  work  entitled  "The  American  Printer."  This  proved 
to  be  the  most  popular  work  on  t\pography  ever  printed,  the  fifteenth  edition 
having  been  lately  issued.  In  1856  he  established  the  Typographic  Advertiser, 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  the  reproductions  of  the  foundrj-.  This  elegant  sheet 
is  known  throughout  t)-pographic  Christendom. 

In  1SS3  Mr.  MacKellar  celebrated  the  fiftieth  annixcrsary  of  his  connection 
with  the  foundry,  and  the  employes  presented  him  a  massive  silver  vase,  the 
designs  of  which  were  symbolic  of  the  art  of  type  making  and  printing.  Shortly 
afterward  he  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Philosophy  from  the  University  of 
W'ooster,  Ohio. 

Early  in  life  Mr.  MacKellar  evinced  a  great  fondness  for  reading  and  no  little 
fitness  for  authorship,  but  constant  duties  then  allowed  him  almost  no  leisure  for 
tiie  gratification  of  such  tendencies.  In  his  maturer  years,  however,  he  has 
become  widely  known  as  a  graceful  and  popular  poet.  His  first  production, 
"  The  Sleeping  Wife,"  was  published  in  the  Public  Ledger.  For  nearly  two  years 
he  contributed  to  Ncal's  Gazette,  under  the  signature  of  "Tain,"  poems  that 
elicited  much  critical  attention.  He  has  published  several  volumes;  the  first 
was  "Droppings  from  the  Heart,"  then  came  "  Tam's  Fortnight  Ramble,"  fol- 
lowed with  "  Lines  to  the  Gentle  and  Loving."  In  later  years  he  revised  these 
works  and  compiled  them  with  other  writings,  and  issued  them  with  the  title 
of "  Rhymes  Atween-Times."  Since  then  he  has  published  a  work  containing 
his  Hymns  and  Metrical  Psalms.  A  deep  religious  feeling  pervades  his  produc- 
tions. He  was  for  many  years  an  elder  of  the  old  Pine  Street  Presbj-terian 
Church,  which  office  he  now  holds  in  the  First  Pre.sb}'terian  Church  of  German- 
town.  One  of  the  earliest  mission  schools  was  .started  under  liis  supervision  in 
one  of  the  vilest  sections  of  Philadelphia,  and  some  of  his  best  years  were  spent 
in  endeavors  to  benefit  outcasts  and  the  lowest  classes  of  society.  He  was 
for  twenty-five  years  Corresponding  Secretarj'  of  the  Philadelphia  Bible  Society, 
and  wrote  its  annual  reports.  He  is  Director  of  several  insurance  and  trust 
companies.  He  is  President  of  the  Philadelphia  Book  Trade  A.ssociation,  and 
also  of  the  Type  Founders'  Association  of  the  United  States.  He  is  a  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  the 
Pennsylvania  Museum  of  Art,  the  St.  Andrew's  Society,  and  the  Philadelphia 
T\p' -graphical  Society. 

In  1834  Mr.  MacKellar  married  Miss  Eliza  Ross,  daughter  of  Samuel  Ross,  of 
Philadelphia,  who  was  a  staunch  Scotch-lrihh  Presbyterian.  His  wife  jiroved  a 
true  helpmeet,  and  aided  him  in  his  settled  purpose  never  to  contract  a  ilebt,  and 
never  to  buy  anything  that  he  could  not  at  once  pay  for.  Tin-  luiion  continued 
thirty-seven  years,  until  her  death,  in  1871,  and  resulted  in  a  fimily  of  two  sons 
and  eight  daughters,  of  whom  one  son  and  four  daughters  survixe.  He  has  not 
married  again,  but  finds  his  home  enjoyments  in  the  company  of  his  children  and 
grandchildren. 


George  W.  Childs. 


GEORGE    WILLIAM    GUILDS. 

THE  career  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Child.s  is  full  of  instructive  lessons  in  perse- 
verance and  industry.-  Born  in  Baltimore  in  1829,  of  parents  in  the  middle 
walk  of  life,  he  received  a  common-school  education,  and  entered  the  United 
States  navy  when  only  thirteen  years  of  age,  where  he  remained  foi-  fiflecn 
months.  Even  in  that  comparatively  short  sp.ice  of  time  he  gained  a  full  knciwl- 
edge  of  order  and  discipline,  which  have  since  marked  his  conduct  of  affiirs. 
This  term  of  hardy  service  also  had  its  eflect  in  aiding  his  ph\-sical  development 
and  permanently  benefiting  his  health.  In  1S44  he  came  to  Philadelphia,  as  he 
thought  it  afforded  a  better  opportunity  and  a  broader  field  of  business  than  his 
native  city  did.  Although  depending  entirely  upon  himself,  young  Childs,  then 
only  fifteen  years  old,  soon  managed  to  obtain  employment  in  the  store  of  a 
bookseller  named  Thomson,  at  Sixth  and  Arch  streets.  Here  he  worked  early 
and  late,  applj'ing  himself  to  business  in  a  manner  \'ery  unusual  to  boys  of  his 
age.  He  once  mentioned  to  the  writer  of  this  sketch  that  he  took  but  little 
interest  in  the  customary  sports  of  the  lads  in  his  neighborhood,  and  found  more 
enjoyment  in  acquiring  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  business.  In  this  he  suc- 
ceeded so  well  that  his  employer  soon  recognized  his  value,  and  inti-ustcd  him 
with  work  requiring  rare  judgment  and  tact.  He  was  selected  to  attend  the 
book  auctions  to  make  purchases,  and  by  the  time  he  was  sixteen  }-cars  of  age 
he  regularly  attended  the  great  trade  sales  in  New  York  and  Boston,  where  he 
purchased  whole  editions  at  a  time.  At  eighteen  j'ears  of  age  he  had  saved  up 
a  few  hundred  dollars,  and  with  this  limited  capital,  aided  by  his  experience,  he 
resolved  to  set  up  in  business  for  himself  He  obtained  a  small  room  in  the 
building  then  occupied  by  the  Public  Ledger,  at  Third  and  Chestnut  streets,  and 
began  business. 

Here  he  worked  hard,  and  success  attended  his  efforts.  He  soon  gained  an 
e.x'tensive  acquaintance  among  publishers,  and  was  recognized  as  a  j-oung  man 
of  great  business  talent  and  sagacity.  So  fa\'orable  a  reputation  was  not  without 
its  advantages,  and  b\'  the  time  he  was  twenty-one  he  was  offered  a  partnership 
in  the  publishing  house  of  R.  E.  Peterson  &  Co.  He  accepted  it,  and  the  firm 
was  changed  to  Childs  &  Peterson.  Both  partners  went  to  work  with  a  will, 
and  as  they  possessed  good  judgment  their  business  increased  rapidly.  Mr. 
Peterson  compiled  a  work  from  numerous  sources  entitled  "  P'amiliar  Science," 
in  which  much  valuable  information  was  set  forth  in  an  interesting  manner.  Mr. 
Childs,  with  great  energy,  pushed  the  sale  of  the  book  to  two  hundied  thousand 
copies,  and  had  it  placed  on  the  list  of  studies  in  many  schools  where  it  is  still 
retained.  The  next  venture  of  the  firm  was  with  a  handsome  edition  of  Dr. 
Ellisha  Kent  Kane's  "Arctic  El.xplorations,"  which  was  largely  advertised  and  had 
an  enormous  sale.     The  number  of  copies  sold  can  be  imagined  when  it  is  stated 

(357j 


-;S  GEORGE   \V.    ClIILDS. 

that  the  firm  paid  Dr.  Kane  nearly  $70,000  as  royalt}'.  Sliortly  after  this  the 
civil  war  broke  out,  and  the  sufiering  of  Southern  loj-alists  excited  much  atten- 
tion, the  most  notable  case  being  that  of  Parson  Brownlow,  of  Tennessee.  Childs 
&  Peterson  took  advantage  of  the  sensation,  and  issued  a  description  of  the 
cruelties  practised  in  the  South,  written  by  Parson  Brownlow.  Before  the  book 
appeared  Mr.  Childs  had  so  skilfully  advertised  it  that  public  curiosity  was  ex- 
cited, and  it  sold  tremendously.  Fifty  thousand  copies  were  disposed  of  in  a 
short  time,  and  Mr.  Child's  handed  over  to  the  Southern  parson  §50,000.  This 
was  the  only  work  of  a  sensational  character  ever  published  by  the  firm,  but  the 
interest  manifested  in  it  made  it  an  exception  to  Mr.  Childs'  customary  rule. 
Among  the  other  very  successful  books  published  by  the  firm,  many  of  them 
throut^h  his  advice,  were  Allibone's  "  Dictionary  of  Authors,"  Bouvier's  "  Law 
Dictionary "  and  "  Institutes  of  American  Law,"  Sharswood's  "  Blackstonc," 
Fletcher's  "Brazil,"  and  Lossing's  "Illustrated  History  of  the  Civil  \Var."  All 
this  time,  while  the  firm  was  prospering,  Mr.  Childs  had  one  object  in  view. 
Nearly  ten  years  before  he  had  said  to  a  friend  in  his  little  office  at  Third  and 
Chestnut  streets,  "  If  I  live  I  will  become  the  owner  of  the  Public  Ledger!'  He 
was  only  a  boy  at  that  time,  but  the  remark  was  not  uttered  in  boyish  boast  nor 
as  a  jest.  It  was  said  with  the  utmost  sincerity,  and  with  a  positive  conviction 
that  the  words  would  be  verified  some  day.  The  gentleman  to  whom  he  spoke, 
the  late  Dr.  R.  Shelton  Mackenzie,  was  deeply  impressed  at  the  time,  and  years 
afterward  recalled  them  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Childs.  When  he  did  so  the  prophecy 
had  come  true,  and  George  William  Childs  had  become  proprietor  of  the  most 
widely  read  newspaper  in  Philadelphia,  the  Public  Ledger. 

In  1836,  when  Mr.  Childs  was  a  school-boy  seven  years  of  age,  in  Baltimore, 
three  journeyman  printers  determined  to  establish  a  penny  paper  in  this  city. 
Messrs.  Swain,  Abell  and  Simmons  started  their  journal  and  named  it  The  Public 
Ledger.  It  was  a  sheet  15)2  by  21  j^  inches,  and  had  four  columns  on  a  page. 
Its  first  office  was  in  the  Arcade,  which  extended  from  Chestnut  to  Jayne  street, 
between  Sixth  and  Seventh,  and  its  editor  was  Russell  Jarvis,  a  bold  and  dash- 
ing writer.  The  Daily  Transcript,  another  penny  piper,  was  afterwards  con- 
solidated with  Tlie  Ledger,  and  its  title  has  ever  since  appeared  on  the  paper. 
The  Ledger  at  once  gained  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  respectable  portion 
of  the  community  by  the  stand  it  took  on  all  public  questions.  When  Pennsyl- 
vania Hall  was  burned  by  a  mob  to  prevent  the  delivery  of  an  anti-slavery  lec- 
ture, Tiie  Ledger  '\<:x\0VLnc&^  the  perpetrators  of  the  outrage  in  unmeasured  terms. 
This  caused  considerable  excitement,  as  many  of  its  readers  were  pro-slavery 
men.  It  also  denounced  the  excesses  of  the  metlical  students,  who  carried 
things  with  a  high  liand  in  those  days,  beating  watchmen,  twisting  off  door- 
knockers, and  creating  disturbances  in  theatres  and  public  halls.  The  attention 
of  the  authorities  was  called  to  these  practices  in  a  four-column  editorial  in  Tlie 
Ledger,  which  had  tiie  effect  of  promptly  suppressing  the  young  gentlemen's 
amusement.     In  these  and  many  other  instances  The  Ledger  had  sujjported  law 


GEORGE    \V.    Cllll.ns. 


359 


and  order,  and  gained  the  thanks  of  the  community.  The  result  of  tliis  was 
tiiat  it  prospered  exceedingly,  and  was  compelled  se\-cral  times  to  increase  its 
size  and  remove  to  more  commodious  locatiniis.  It  was  at  this  period  that  Mr. 
Childs  formed  his  resolution  to  become  its  proprietor  at  some  future  day. 

The  opportunity  came  sooner  than  he  expected.  Al'ter  tiie  war  broke  out  the 
price  of  white  paper,  and  other  articles  necessar\-  for  its  production,  atlvanced  to 
very  high  figures.  Labor  and  material  doubled  in  price,  and  in  iS64the  pub- 
lishers were  losing  money  daily  on  their  publication  of  a  penny  paper.  Ex-eiy 
issue  cost  them  ^480  more  than  they  received  for  it,  the  annual  loss  being 
,$150,000.  All  this  time  its  circulation  kept  up  and  its  columns  were  well  filled 
with  advertisements.  Mr.  Childs,  learning  that  the  publishers  were  an.xious  to 
dispose  of  it,  looked  carefully  into  the  matter.  lie  made  a  close  calculation  of 
the  expense  of  publishing  it,  and  despite  the  advice  of  many  of  his  friends,  who 
thought  that  he  was  throwing  his  money  away,  purchased  the  whole  property  on 
December  5th,  1S64,  for  a  sum  only  little  in  excess  of  its  annual  loss.  Mr.  Childs 
immediately  showed  how  the  paper  could  be  published  at  a  profit.  He  doubled 
its  price  and  increased  the  advertising  rates  to  what  he  considered  a  compen- 
sating sum.  The  change  was  at  once  felt,  and  advertisers  and  subscribers 
dropped  off  in  considerable  numbers.  Then  Mr.  ChilJs  conceded  a  point  and 
reduced  the  subscription  price  from  twelve  to  ten  cents  per  week.  Tlw  Ledger 
had  become  a  necessity  in  many  families,  and  the  subscribers,  recognizing  the 
justice  of  Mr.  Cliilds'  proceeding,  began  to  return.  Then  new  ones  came  in 
and  the  paper  began  to  gain  gradually.  In  a  short  time  it  was  established  on  a 
substantial  and  paying  footing,  and  the  ominous  prophecies  that  it  would  be  a 
failure  were  shown  to  be  without  foundation.  In  the  meantime  Mr.  Childs  was 
working  with  all  his  strength  on  his  new  purchase.  He  superintended  every- 
thing, and  for  several  years  did  not  leave  the  editorial  rooms  until  midnight. 
His  hand  was  over  every  department  and  his  eye  saw  everything.  He  began  by 
making  various  changes  in  the  character,  and  strove  to  elevate  the  tone  of  the 
paper.  He  made  the  rule  that  no  advertisement  having  the  slightest  taint  of  bad 
morals  should  appear  in  its  colimms.  This  determination  led  to  the  exclusion 
of  a  large  number  of  advertisements,  amounting  to  at  least  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  annual!)'.  In  return,  however,  it  fairly  created  the  classes  of  acK'crtise- 
ments  for  which  it  is  noted.  The  "  Wants,"  "  Boarding,"  "  For  Sale  "  and  "  To 
Let"  advertisements  formed  the  great  feature  of  the  paper  then  and  have  since. 
They  are  read  as  eagerl\'  as  the  news  is,  and  among  a  certain  class  of  people  it 
would  be  considered  a  violation  of  all  the  properties  if  a  family  did  not  advertise 
the  death  of  one  of  its  members  in  The  Ledger.  The  "  secret  societies  "  and  "  relig- 
ious" notices  also  form  a  principal  portion  of  the  paper.  While  exercising  this 
careful  supervision  of  the  advertising  columns  Mr.  Childs  did  not  neglect  the 
news  and  editorial  departments.  Nothing  was  allowed  to  appear  in  the  paper 
that  might  wound  the  feelings  of  any  person,  and  any  attempt  at  sensation  was 
carefully'  avoided.     The  effect  of  these  rules  was  seen  in  the  constant!}'  increasing 


36o 


GEORGE   \V.    Cllll.nS. 


business  and  circulation  of  the  paper.  Tlic  buildinfj  at  tlic  corner  of  Third  and 
Chestnut  streets  became  too  contracted,  and  in  1866  the  handsome  brown  stone 
building  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Chestnut  streets  was  [jurchased,  together  with 
the  aeijoining  lots  of  ground.  Upon  these  the  finest  newspaper  publication  office 
in  the  city  was  fitted  up  and  formally  opened  with  interesting  ceremonies,  fol- 
lowed by  a  grand  banquet,  on  the  20th  of  June,  1867,  which  was  attended  by 
many  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  country.  From  that  day  the  career  of 
The  Ledger  under  Mr.  Childs'  management  has  been  even  and  uneventful.  It 
has  been  successful  beyond  all  expectations,  owing  to  his  liberal  and  judiciou.s 
course.  While  he  is  assi.stcd  by  able  and  faithful  heads  of  departments,  he  has 
never  once  slackened  in  his  interest  in  managing  its  publication.  lie  has  shown 
that  a  losing  business  may  be  made  to  succeed  by  appl}-ing  tact  and  perseverance 
to  the  management  of  its  affairs. 

Amid  the  cares  of  business  Mr.  Childs  has  alwaj's  found  an  opportunity  to  do 
good  with  the  wealth  he  has  accumulated.  Ilis  liberality  is  proverbial,  and  there 
are  few  public  movements  to  which  he  is  not  a  contributor,  always  with  the  stip- 
ulation that  his  name  shall  not  be  made  known  in  the  matter.  A  window  of 
stained  glass  was  put  up  in  Westminster  Abbey  in  memory  of  George  Herbert 
and  William  Cowper,  by  Mr.  Childs'  instructions  and  at  his  own  expense,  merely 
from  a  suggestion  made  by  the  late  Dean  Stanley.  In  England  this  aid  was 
regarded  as  a  graceful  and  fitting  tribute  from  an  American  citizen.  He  also 
contributed  handsomely  to  the  monument  to  Leigh  Hunt's  memory  and  the 
window  in  memory  of  Thomas  Moore  at  Bronham.  His  generosity  and  liberal- 
ity to  his  emploj'es  and  persons  in  distress  can  scarcely  be  realized  by  those  who 
do  not  know  him  thoroughly.  His  dinner  to  the  new.sboys  every  Fourth  of  July 
gives  more  pleasure  to  the  little  urchins  than  any  other  gift  possibly  could. 
Among  other  benefactions  of  Mr.  Childs  was  the  presentation  of  a  large  lot  of 
ground  in  Woodlands  Cemetery  to  the  Philadelphia  Typographical  Society.  The 
lot  is  enclosed  by  a  handsome  marble  wall  and  has  a  gateway  of  elegant  design. 
These  are  among  the  good  acts  of  his  life,  which  show  his  character  and  his  con- 
stant desire  to  help  his  fellow-man. 

His  social' qualities  attract  to  his  elegant  home  tlie  leading  people  of  almost 
every  nation  as  his  guests.  Among  those  who  have  been  glad  to  call  him  their 
friend  are  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  Lord  Dufferin,  Dean 
Stanley,  Canon  Kmgsley,  Charles  Dickens,  Longfellow,  Holmes,  Bancroft,  Gen- 
eral Grant,  and  George  Peabody.  In  the  vast  array  of  friends  with  whom  he 
corresponded  were  Washington  Irving,  William  II.  Prescott,  Nathaniel  Haw- 
thorne, lulward  F.verett,  John  P.  Kennedy,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  William  H. 
Seward,  William  C.  IV^ant,  Horace  Greeley,  Thurlow  Weed,  Peter  Cooper,  G. 
P.  R.  James,  Mary  Cowden  Clarke,  George  S.  Hilkird,  Fitz  Greene  Halleck, 
William  Gilmore  Simms,  Jared  Sparks,  Thomas  Hughes,  M.  P.,  George  William 
Curtis,  John  Lothrop  Motley,  John  Murray,  and  Dr.  Francis  Liebcr.     Surrounded 


GEOKGE    \V.    GUILDS.  3()I 

by  his  friends,  eitiicr  in  his  elegant  country  seat  at  Wootton  or  in  his  comfortable 
home  on  West  Wahnit  street,  Mr.  Childs  dispenses  an  ahnost  royal  hospitality. 

In  the  summer  of  1887  President  Cleveland  appointed  Mr.  Childs  one  of  the. 
annual  Board  of  Visitors  to  West  Point  and  he  was  unanimously  elected  Ciiair- 
man  by  the  members.  He  signalized  his  visit  to  the  Academy  by  having  the 
portraits  of  Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan  painted  and  placed  in  the  great  hall  of 
the  Post,  and  by  ha\'ing  headstones  and  tablets  placed  at  the  graves  in  the  ceme- 
tery to  mark  the  resting  places  of  many  distinguished  officers  which  he  thought 
were  not  adequately  honored  in  this  way. 

Mr.  Childs  has  been  frequently  solicited  by  his  fellow-citizens  to  permit  him- 
self to  be  a  candidate  for  various  offices  of  public  honor  and  trust  and  has  been 
generally  named  for  the  Presidency,  but  he  has  uniformly  declined  all  these 
-marks,  of  public  confidence,  preferring  to  devote  his  attention  to  his  great  news- 
paper, which  he  has  recently  enlarged  and  greatly  improved  in  many  respects. 
46 


Alexander    K.    McClure. 


ALEXANDER   KELLEY   McCLURE. 

ALEXAxnER  Kelley  McClure  was  born  in  Sherman's  valle)',  Perr)'  county, 
Pa.,  on  the  9th  of  January,  1828.  There  was  nothing  either  in  the  circum- 
stance of  his  birth  or  its  surroundings  to  indicate  that  he  had  been  destined  for 
any  remarkable  work.  His  early  years  were  spent  upon  his  father's  farm ;  his 
attendance  at  school,  which  he  never  liked,  being  in  the  week-about  principle 
with  his  brother.  He  was  noted  moi-e  for  his  reckless  deviltry  than  for  studious- 
ness  or  familiarity  with  any  branch  of  study,  and  it  was  but  the  natural  result  of 
his  bent  of  mind  that  he  should  early  leave  such  scenes  to  look  for  more  exciting 
labor.  At  fourteen  he  became  apprenticed  to  a  tanner,  James  Marshall  by  name, 
with  whom  he  remained  four  years.  Leaving  his  old  master  he  came  to  this 
city  for  work,  which,  owing  to  the  depression  in  leather  circles,  was  refused,  and 
he  was  glad  to  return  to  Mr.  Marshall  after  a  fiuitlcss  trip  to  New  York  and  west 
as  far  as  Iowa. 

During  his  apprenticeship  he  had  been  a  frequent  visitor  at  the  office  of  Judge 
Baker,  then  and  now  the  editor  of  the  Perry  Freeman,  and  under  the  ad\ice  of 
the  latter  had  read  hard  in  politics  and  written  occasional  articles  for  publication. 
About  this  time  the  judge  was  applied  to  by  the  Whigs  of  Juniata  county  for  an 
editor  for  a  new  Whig  organ  which  they  proposed  to  start.  This  position  Judge 
Baker  urged  McClure  to  take,  and  although  discouraged  by  his  father  and  his 
former  employer,  and  fearful  of  his  ability  to  fill  it,  the  latter  finally  consented, 
beginning  his  editorial  work  when  but  nineteen  }-ears  of  age.  He  mastered  the 
mechanical  details  of  the  office,  and  ran  the  paper  with  the  aid  of  onh'  an 
apprentice;  placing  the  paper  upon  so  successful  a  basis,  that  it  not  onl_\-  lived 
through  the  trying  times  of  that  period,  but  is  the  leading  Republican  paper  in 
that  region  to-day.  Mr.  McClure's  management  of  the  Juniata  Sentinel  is  still 
remembered  by  the  pioneers  of  that  section.  His  caustic  pen  cut  right  and  left. 
Positively  fearless  himself,  he  made  friends  and  foes  on  every  hand.  Before  he 
was  twenty-one  years  old  he  was  a  conferee  to  a  Congressional  Conference  in 
the  interest  of  Andrew  G.  Curtin.  The  latter  was  defeated  after  a  bitter  fight,  but 
from  the  intimacy  that  sprang  up  during  the  progress  of  the  contest  was  born  that 
mutual  friendship  between  these  two  remarkable  men  that  has  never  wavered 
through  the  mutations  of  time  and  politics,  and  that  is  firmer  to-day  than  in 
their  youth.  It  is  a  peculiar  fact  that  in  the  same  year  was  also  born  Mr. 
McClure's  dislike  for  the  political  methods  of  Simon  Cameron — a  dislike  that 
time  has  in  nowise  weakened. 

By  this  time  McClure's  influence  had  begun  to  make  itself  felt.  In  the  year  1849 
he  took  an  active  part  in  Pennsylvania  politics.  He  had  previously  been  elected 
Burgess  of  Mifflin,  and  was  the  recognized  leader  of  the  younger  and  more 
aggressive  element  in  the  county.     Fitted  for  this  position  by  habit  and  inclina- 


-.'i^  ALEXANDER    K.    M  CLUKE. 

tion,  his  influence  was  capfcrh'  sought  for  by  the  ambitious  politicians  of  that 
\icinitv.  He  rendered  good  service  on  the  stump  and  in  his  paper  to  W.  F. 
Johnson,  the  Whig  nominee  for  Governor,  and  went  to  Harrisburg  to  the  latter's 
inau'-'uration.  Nor  was  his  work  forgotten  by  Governor  Johnson.  On  the  day 
he  became  of  age  McClure's  commission  as  a  member  of  the  Governor's  staff 
was  placed  in  his  hand,  thus  giving  him  additional  prestige  throughout  the 
entire  State.  In  1S50,  through  Curtin's  influence,  he  was  appointed  Deputy 
United  States  Jilarshal  for  Juniata  count}-,  and  about  this  time  began  the  study 
of  law. 

But  he  was  not  destined  to  pursue  the  quiet  hfc  of  a  rural  editor.  The 
marked  ability  with  which  his  paper  had  been  conducted  had  attracted  notice 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  county,  and  when  an  opportunity  was  given  John  M. 
Pomeroy,  of  Chambersburg,  to  buy  a  half-interest  in  the  Chambcrsburg  Rc/>osi- 
tor\\  he  promptly  purchased  it  for  young  McClure.  Removing  to  the  seat  of 
his  new  labors  he  at  once  assumed  a  prominent  place  in  political  circles.  The 
Whig  Convention  at  Lancaster  in  1 85 3  nominated  him  by  acclamation  for 
Auditor-General  when  he  was  onl\-  twenty-five — the  j-oungest  man  ever  named 
by  any  party  in  Pennsylvania  for  a  State  office.  Defeated  because  of  the  over- 
whelming adverse  majority  he  lost  no  time  in  returning  to  more  aggressive 
service  with  his  pen.  His  paper  bore  a  leading  part  in  the  preliminary  battles 
against  the  advocates  of  slavery,  who  at  this  period  in  national  and  State  history 
threatened  national  dissolution  as  the  price  of  abolition.  When  the  Franklin 
Whigs,  for  temporary  benefit,  joined  with  the  Know-Nothing  party  they  led  a 
way  in  which  McClure  could  neither  follow  nor  lead,  and  he  promptly  sold  his 
paper  to  begin  the  practice  of  law.  In  1856,  after  settling  the  troubles  between 
the  Northeastern  Railroad  and  the  Erie  rioters,  by  virtue  of  a  Governor's  ap- 
pointment, he  was  a  delegate  to  the  Fremont  Convention,  subsequently  making  a 
brilliant  canvass  for  the  first  Republican  candidate. 

In  1857  he  was  elected  to  the  State  Legislature  from  Franklin  county,  and 
was  re-elected  in  1858.  Exciting  as  had  been  his  previous  career,  it  was  fated  to 
become  insignificant  in  comparison  with  that  which  followed.  Waning  factions 
and  rival  leaders  had  created  dissensions  in  the  Whig  or  Republican  camp,  which 
the  war  had  not  \-et  come  to  heal.  As  a  candidate  for  the  State  Senatorship  of 
his  district,  it  was  Mr.  McClure's  duty  to  unite  the  party  if  he  could,  and  get  it 
into  trim  for  the  national  contest  in  i860.  He  bent  himself  reluctantly  to  this 
tn^k,  realizing  its  responsibility.  Local  historians  testify  to  the'vigor  of  his  cam- 
pTign.  He  .spoke  by  night  and  day  in  every  school  district  in  the  county.  He 
organized  every  township  in  the  district.  And  when  the  vote  was  counted,  it 
was  found  tliat  he  had  been  elected  by  a  niajorit)'  of  400  in  a  district  strongly 
Democratic. 

When  the  Republican  National  Convention  met  in  1S60  the  Pennsylvania 
delegation  had  been  instructed  for  Simon  Cameron.  Seward  was  the  choice  of 
over  two-thirds  of  the  convention,  but  no  Republican  lriumi)h  was  possible  with- 


ALEXANDEK    K.    M  CI.UKE.  3'')5 

out  the  then  doubtful  States  of  Pennsylvania  and  Indiana,  which  it  was  feared 
Seward  could  not  carry.  Anxiety  sat  upon  the  face  of  every  delegate  in  that  now 
famous  convention.  Consultations  were  held,  and  between  the  Indiana  leaders 
and  McClure  and  Curtin,  it  was  arranged  that  the  Pennsylvania  delegates  should 
break  away  from  Cameron  and  vote  for  Abraham  Lincoln.  Whether  RIcClure 
turned  to  the  task  of  convincing  the  delegates  of  the  necessity  for  such  a  course 
any  the  more  gladly  because  of  his  old  enmity  for  Cameron,  those  who  best  know 
can  best  decide.  Certainly  the  work  was  well  done,  and  Lincoln  was  nominated. 
McClure  was  elected  Chairman  of  the  Republican  State  Committee,  and  made  a 
campaign  of  unsurpassed  vigor  and  dash.  To  this  da\'  he  refers  with  pride  to 
that  contest,  in  which  a  record  was  kept  of  every  cent  that  was  expended  b\'  the 
committee,  and  a  detailed  account  finally  submitted.  In  the  Senate  McClure  led 
his  party  in  action  and  thought;  his  speech,  foreshadowing  a  bloody  war  and  the 
abolition  of  slaver}',  being  repudiated  by  Republicans  at  the  time  of  its  delivery, 
but  afterwards  circulated  by  the  Republican  managers.  Ad\'anced  thinkers 
seldom  hav'c  a  more  complete  triumph  than  was  Senator  McCiure's  in  this 
notable  instance. 

There  is  no  more  brilliant  record  than  that  made  by  Senator  McClure  during 
his  Senatorial  term.  His  polic)- never  wavered ;  it  was  always  aggressive,  bold 
and  vigorous  in  support  of  Curtin  and  the  war.  As  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Military  Affairs  his  ad\ice  was  often  inxited  and  accepted  by  Governor  Cur- 
tin, whose  faith  in  the  subject  of  this  sketch  never  faltered.  The  natural  energy 
of  his  high  order  of  intellect  found  vent  not  only  in  Stat£  but  in  national  coun- 
cils, and  a  close  intimacy  with  President  Lincoln  speedily  followed  his  advent 
into  this  broader  field.  The  close  of  his  Senatorial  term  witnessed  his  appoint- 
ment as  Adjutant-General,  with  the  duty  assigned  of  superintending  the  Penn- 
sylvania draft.  After  tlie  State's  quota  was  filled,  he  resigned  this  position  for  the 
purpose  of  again  practising  the  law,  to  which,  however,  he  gave  only  brief  atten- 
tion, as  he  shortly  afterwards  again  purchased  the  Chambersburg  Repository. 

In  1863  he  declined  the  Chairmanship  of  the  State  Central  Conunittee,  but 
bent  every  energy  to  secure  the  re-election  of  his  old  friend  Curtin.  In  1864  he 
was  again  a  delegate  to  the  National  Convention,  and  in  the  same  \-car  declined 
the  State  Chairmanship,  again  accepting  the  Republican  nomination  for  the 
Legislature  in  his  district,  which  he  again  carried  in  the  face  of  its  adverse  vote. 

The  Confederate  invasion  of  Pennsj-lvania,  and  the  subsequent  burning  of 
Chambersburg,  are  historical  facts  familiar  to  every  intelligent  reader.  The  torch 
was  rudely  applied  to  many  a  home  that  industry  had  reared,  and  every  dollar  that 
McClure  owned  went  to  satisfy  the  appetite  of  the  flames.  In  1866  he  was  almost 
penniless,  besides  being  broken  in  health.  A  year  among  the  Rocky  Mountains 
renewed  his  health,  but  still  more  seriously  depleted  his  purse.  Again  a  dele- 
gate to  the  National  Convention  which  nominated  Grant  in  186S,  he  fol- 
lowed that  service  by  speeches  upon  the  stunip  in  several  States  of  the  Union. 
After  the  triumphant  close  of  this  campaign  he  decided  to  make  Philadelphia  his 


■^66  ALEXANDER    K.    m'cLURE. 

home,  his  law  partnership  with  John  Stewart,  the  Independent  leader,  into  \\hich 
he  had  entered  shortly  before,  being  abandoned  for  this  purpose. 

It  is  probable  that  but  few  men  dreamed  of  the  work  this  man  was  yet  to  do 
after  his  arrival  in  this  city.  Perhaps  he  did  not  expect  it  himself  For  four 
Acars  he  led  the  quiet,  studious  life  of  a  lawyer,  but  with  restored  health  and 
better  financial  prospects,  the  old  longing  for  excitement  returned,  and  the  year 
1872  found  him  again  in  the  field.  The  excesses  of  Republican  profligacy  had 
turned  him  against  the  Republican  party,  and  with  his  old  friend  Curtin  he  now 
joined  the  Greeley  movement,  and  became  one  of  its  leading  spirits.  Always 
independent  in  thought,  he  then  assumed  that  midway  position  which  has  been 
his  ever  since.  In  compliance  with  a  petition  of  citizens  from  the  Fourth  Sena- 
torial District,  he  consented  to  become  an  Independent  candidate  for  the  State 
Senate,  speaking  during  his  canvass  from  store-boxes  or  tables,  at  every  street 
corner  in  his  district.  The  result  of  the  election  was  the  memorable  contest  in 
tlie  Senate,  which  ended  in  the  seating  of  McClure. 

His  position  in  that  body  was  at  once  unique  and  commanding.  With  his  old 
fearlessness  he  abandoned  all  party  ties,  and  brought  the  vast  resources  of  his 
mind  to  bear  upon  the  task  of  rooting  up  party  evils.  It  mattered  little  to  him 
by  whom  a  measure  was  proposed — if  bad,  he  assailed  it  with  his  invective  and 
sarcasm;  if  good,  he  gave  it  his  support.  The  measures  of  reform  he  introduced 
were  framed  to  prevent  the  jobs  of  jobbers  on  both  sides,  and  the  best  evidence 
of  their  thoroughness  and  spirit  is  found  in  the  fact  that  leaders  on  both  sides 
combined  to  defeat  them  and  weaken  McClure.  If  he  made  many  friends  in  the 
Senate  while  representing  the  Fourth  Senatorial  District,  they  were  not  political 
friends.  Succeeding  events  have  testified  to  the  political  enemies  he  made  at 
that  time. 

Unconsciously  to  himself,  however,  he  had  during  this  session  made  the  record 
that  was  to  bring  him  into  additional  prominence  before  the  people  of  Philadel- 
phia. The  Mayoralty  contest  of  1S73  was  made  memorable  by  McClure's  nom- 
ination against  Mayor  Stokley,  in  whose  support  the  heelers  and  rounders  of  both 
parties  were  enrolled.  Doubtless  McClure  felt  that  his  defeat  was  inevitable ; 
but,  if  he  did,  he  made  no  sign.  The  old  powers  of  organization  and  leadership 
were  never  brought  into  more  brilliant  play.  In  twenty-two  days  he  spoke  sixty- 
one  times,  often  making  as  many  as  three  speeches  in  a  single  night,  every  one 
of  which  was  a  model  of  political  eloquence.  His  sarcasm  was  never  more  cut- 
ting; his  invective  against  tlie  political  methods  then  in  vogue  never  more  severe. 
It  is  stating  the  case  mildly  to  say  that  the  opposition  writhed  beneath  his 
scathing  arraignments. 

Tills  was  his  last  appearance  as  a  candidate.  In  it  he  suffered  a  defeat,  but  it 
was  tlirough  no  error  of  his,  and  was  only  accomplished  after  a  bitter  struggle 
and  by  a  small  majority.  The  organized  power  of  the  municipal  departments 
was  freely  invoked  against  him,  and  Pilgrim  and  .Stalwart  stood  shoulder  to 
shoulder  for  Stokley  and  against  McClure.     There   have  been   other  exciting 


ALEXANDER    K.    M  CI.UKE.  3O7 

contests  in  this  city,  but  none  conducted  by  the  minoiity  candidate  under  greater 
disadx-antages.  He  led  a  comparatively  unorganized  part)-  against  the  strongest 
leaders  in  cit\-  and  State,  and  if  he  suffered  a  machine  defeat  he  gave  the  machine 
leaders  cause  to  remember  him  for  many  a  j-car  to  come. 

It  is  impossible  to  leave  this  period  of  Colonel  WcClure's  eventful  life  without 
casting  at  least  a  passing  glance  at  his  peculiar  work  and  the  manner  in  which 
he  did  it.  At  the  time  of  his  advent  into  State  jirominence  the  stronger  drift  of 
intelligent  thought  was  toward  the  Republican  party.  Under  the  influence  of 
tongue  and  pen.  Democrats  were  deserting  their  old  party  affiliations,  because 
of  the  dangers  that  secession  menaced.  With  them  went  Old-line  Whigs,  and 
the  flower  of  youthful  manhood,  which  recognized  nothing  in\iting  in  the  dis- 
cordant Democracy,  at  that  time  clashing  its  fiercest.  From  these  elements  the 
Republican  party  was  formed.  But  twelve  years  of  seemingly  permanent  p(5wer 
had  let  loose  the  demons  of  corrui^tion,  and  excesses  of  every  kind  reigned  with- 
out bridle  or  license.  It  was  not  only  so  at  the  national  capital,  but  it  was 
equally  true  at  Harri.sburg  and  in  Philadelphia,  only  differing  in  proportion  to  the 
spoils  to  be  divided.  Leaders  of  both  parties  dipped  their  hands  into  the  public 
flesh-pots,  and  drippings  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  smaller  thieves.  It  was  to  cry  halt 
upon  these  evils  that  Senator  McClure  bent  his  energies,  becoming  known  long 
before  either  Wolfe  or  Stewart  had  thought  of  any  rebellious  work,  as  the  anti- 
machine  leader  in  the  State.  The  mutations  of  politics  led  him  into  many  queer 
combinations,  but,  though  he  sometimes  treated  for  a  brief  advantage  with  his 
ancient  foes,  it  was  only  to  return  to  the  work  of  their  exposure  with  an  added 
zest  and  vigor  after  the  advantage  had  been  gained.  Whatever  may  have  been 
the  motive  by  which  he  was  animated,  there  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  work  he 
did.  He  was  powerless  at  that  time  to  remedy  all  the  evils  which  he  could  so 
well  describe,  but  he  drew  public  attention  to  the  abuses  that  flourished,  and  by 
so  doing  paved  the  way  for  future  reformation. 

Only  journalists  know  the  excitement  of  the  journalistic  profession.  Few  men 
of  practical  ability  enter  the  field  ever  to  leave  it  permanently.  They  may  wan- 
der from  it  temporarily  to  pursue  other  occupations  that  seem  less  trying  or 
more  congenial,  but  they  never  get  beyond  the  recollection  of  its  fascination. 
and  at  some  time  or  other  are  almost  certain  to  return  to  the  ranks.  No  life 
illustrates  this  truth  more  forcibly  than  Colonel  McClure's.  He  abandoned  the 
newspaper  profession  for  the  law  and  for  politics,  in  both  cases  gladl)'  resuming 
his  editorial  labor — for  such  it  is — after  a  brief  period  of  absence.  Like  Sumner, 
he  has  "a  taste  for  the  literature  of  the  law,  with  a  mind  above  its  common-place 
details.  Like  Halifax,  he  is  of  far  too  independent  a  mould  ever  to  permanently 
abide  in  any  party.  In  his  journalistic  career  his  best  faculties  found  constant 
employment;  hence  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  he  sighed  for  a  return 
to  editorial  power  during  the  palmiest  days  of  his  political  successes.  Certain 
it  is  that  when  the  opportunity  came  he  returned  to  the  profession  with  more 
than  ordinary  relish. 


35S  ALEXANDER    K.    m'cLUKE. 

Abandoning  political  life  after  his  defeat  for  Mayor,  save  in  so  far  as  a  jour- 
nalist is  connected  with  it,  Colonel  McClure  once  more  sought  liis  native  ele- 
ment. Various  reasons  had  conspired  to  render  Colonel  Forney  not  unwilling 
to  part  with  the  Pnss,  then,  as  now,  a  prominent  paper.  Negotiations  were 
begun  between  the  two ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  personal  friends 
interposed  their  objections  to  Colonel  Forney's  parting  with  his  paper,  T/ie 
Tilths,  in  all  probability  would  never  have  been  issued.  Whether  or  not  some 
of  the  enemies  whom  Colonel  McClure  had  made  were  not  in  a  measure  respon- 
sible for  a  portion  of  this  pressure  can  only  be  conjectured.  But  it  would  not 
have  been  strange  had  they  sought  to  impede  his  progress. 

Many  men,  who  are  great  enough  under  favorable  circumstances,  lose  heart 
and  hope  when  discouragements  come.  It  was  not  so  with  Colonel  McClure. 
Foiled  at  one  point  he  turned  with  indomitable  will  in  another  direction,  deter- 
mined to  effect  his  purpose,  though  he  had  to  start  an  entirely  new  paper.  He 
recognized  the  vast  field  that  there  was  in  Philadelphia  for  a  real  newspaper,  and, 
confident  of  his  ability  to  make  it  a  success,  proposed  to  own  that  paper.  But 
here  again  another  obstacle  was  presented.  Men  who  were  anxious,  or,  at  least, 
willing  to  assist  him  to  buy  the  Press,  looked  with  suspicion  on  the  proposition 
to  start  a  new  paper.  After  the  most  discouraging  efforts  the  necessar}^  funds 
were  found,  and  The  Times  made  its  first  appearance  amid  an  avalanche  of  dis- 
couraging predictions. 

It  is  only  history  to  say  that  its  success  was  phenomenal.  Within  a  }-ear  it 
was  upon  a  paying  basis — probably  the  only  prominent  journal  in  this  country 
of  which  a  similar  truth  can  be  asserted.  Men  liked  its  brilliant  and  saucy 
style,  and  even  those  who  had  been  Mr.  McClure's  worst  enemies  bought  the 
paper  regularly,  to  see  what  the  chief  of  the  Independents  had  to  say  of  them 
and  of  the  world's  eventful  doings.  It  succeeded  because  it  deserved  success. 
No  public  plunderer  was  too  high  for  it  to  e.xposc  ;  no  lobby  too  powerful  to 
escape  its  scathing  scrutiny.  Libel  suits  followed  eacli  other  in  bewildering 
succession  ;  but  the  most  advanced  intelligence  sustained  the  now  famous  editor, 
and  men  only  smiled  as  each  new  victim  resorted  to  the  courts.  To-day  the 
plant  that  cost  originally  less  than  5 100,000  is  probably  worth  ^1,500,000,  and 
a  princely  return  upon  their  money  is  the  reward  of  those  whose  faith  in 
McCluro  led  to  their  joining  the  enterprise.  The  building  on  Chestnut  street  is 
in  itself  a  proud  monument  to  the  ability  of  its  editor,  and  the  industry  and 
enterprise  of  the  publisher,  Mr.  McLaughlin. 

Prior  to  the  establishment  of  The  Times,  Philadelphia  journals  ran  in  ruts. 
There  were  plenty  of  supcrserviccable  organs ;  there  was  not  a  newspaper  in  the 
cit>-.  The  Times  took  that  field.  Instead  of  dwarfing  its  writers  by  narrowing 
their  work  to  the  limits  prescribed  by  political  bos.ses,  it  developed  them  by 
giving  them  the  widest  reasonable  scope.  It  published,  to  the  consternation  of 
its  contemporaries,  every  line  of  ill-report  or  abuse  with  which  thieves  and 
plunderers  honored  its  management.     It  exalted  the  editorial  profession  above 


ALEXANDER    K.    MCLURE.  369 

the  plane  of  party  politics,  and  did  more  to  advance  the  standard  of  the  profes- 
sion than  any  other  paper  in  the  countr)-.  It  taught  the  simple  truth  that 
economy  of  space  is  economy  of  the  reader's  time,  antl  hence  economy  of 
money  to  him  ;  and  it  impressed  upon  the  public  that  the  best  truths  are  best 
told  when  told  in  the  briefest  and  simplest  way.  That  it  has  sometimes  erred  is 
not  improbable ;  but  that  it  has  stood  nearest  to  the  people  on  the  vital  questions 
that  have  arisen  since  its  first  appearance,  its  own  success  and  the  repute  of  its 
management  testify  beyond  refutation. 

From  his  luxuriantly  furnished  offices,  in  the  third  floor  of  Tlw  Times 
building,  Colonel  McCIure  now  watches  passing  events  with  an  e_\-e  undimnied 
by  his  sixty  years.  He  does  not  work  now  as  he  did  ten  years  ago  ;  liis 
decisive  battle  has  been  fought  and  won.  But  no  man  knows  more  of  the  out- 
side world.  His  intimate  association  with  political  leaders,  and  his  own  legisla- 
tive experience,  enable  him  to  detect  a  good  from  a  bad  bill  at  sight.  He 
knows  the  ins  and  outs  of  the  politicians'  path.  He  is  familiar  with  its  evils  and 
pit-falls.  To  the  ability  to  cope  with  able  men  he  adds  that  intuitive  faculty 
which  enables  him  to  select  the  right  side  of  any  question  with  scarcely  any 
previous  thought.  Unlike  Dana,  he  is  not  a  partisan  ;  the  broad  view  of  any 
question  it  is  his  to  take  by  virtue  of  natural  desire.  He  has  no  academic 
education,  nor  does  he  need  it.  Since  he  left  the  Perry  county  school,  it  is 
probable  that  he  has  forgotten  the  little  book-learning  that  he  there  acquired,  in 
spite  of  himself  But  he  has  learned  the  practical  lessons  of  life  in  the  broader 
school  and  from  the  sterner  experiences  of  the  world ;  and  while  it  may  be  said 
that  he  sometimes  laments  his  deficiency  in  that  respect,  it  is  yet  more  true  that 
there  is  hardly  a  college  graduate  in  the  land  who  would  not  change  places  with 
him  without  a  moment's  hesitation. 

J.  H.  L. 


m^ 


William    M.  Singerly. 


WILLIAM   MISKEY   SINGERLY. 

STARTING  in  life  witli  no  Iiiglier  educational  equipment  tlian  was  attainable  at 
the  High  School  of  Philadelphia,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  February, 
1850,  possessing  no  decided  social  advantages  over  other  men  who  could  boast 
an  honorable  and  industrious  parentage,  debarred  of  an  opportunity  to  make  his 
individuality  felt  and  acknowledged  until  within  twelve  years  ago,  William 
M.  Singerly  has  in  that  brief  period  become  not  only  eminently  successful 
but  probably  the  most  progressive  man  in  Philadelphia,  and  certainly  one  of  the 
best  known  personages  in  this  country.  That  he  has  succeeded  in  doing  this 
without  any  striking  artificial  advantages  shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  exceptional 
natural  abilities,  whose  remarkable  successes  have  been  due  to  the  exercise  of 
that  faculty  which  we  call  "  common  sense,"  and  which,  when  united  with 
acute  perceptions  and  promptitude  of  action,  makes  up  what  all  Americans 
at  once  recognize  under  the  designation,  business  instinct  and  business  tact  and 
energy. 

The  career  of  such  a  man  must  necessarily  be  devoid  of  any  of  those  marvel- 
lous incidents  or  episodes  which  render  the  biographer's  task  Sh  easy  and  attractive 
one.  The  man  endowed  with  great  foresight,  quick  comprehension,  sleepless 
vigilance,  intuitive  knowledge  of  mankind,  and  indefatigable  energy  can  make 
few  serious  mistakes  ;  and  a  man  whose  life  is  free  from  grave  errors  can  know 
but  few  vicissitudes.  The  life  of  such  a  man  must  naturally  and  inevitably  be 
successful,  and  it  is  no  fanciful  paneg}-ric  to  say  that  if  any  man  may  justly  claim 
the  title  Mr.  Singerly  is  "  the  man  of  success." 

William  Miskey  Singerly  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  December  27th,  1832, 
and  is  the  son  of  Joseph  Singerly  and  Katharine  S.  Mislcey.  Upon  lea\ing 
school  he  entered  mercantile  life,  and  after  ten  years  passed  amidst  commercial 
surroundings  he  was  called  to  the  management  of  the  Germantown  Passenger 
Railway,  in  which  his  father  was  a  large  stockholder.  His  ministration  was 
sagacious  and  successful.  Toward  the  close  of  his  father's  life  he  had  absolute 
control  of  the  road,  a  position  involving  great  responsibilit)-,  and  upon  his  death, 
in  1878,  came  into  possession  of  its  stock,  valued  at  ^750,000,  which  he  after- 
wards disposed  of  for  twice  that  amount.  On  the  1st  of  May,  1877,  Mr.  Singerly 
secured  control  of  the  Philadelphia  Record,  and  in  1881  and  1882  erected  the 
beautiful  and  substantial  building  on  Chestnut  street  above  Ninth  street,  from 
which  that  journal  is  now  sent  broadcast  through  town  and  country,  and  which 
is  a  monument  to  its  remarkable  success.  Neither  journalism  nor  stock-farm- 
ing have,  however,  claimed  all  of  his  time  or  talent.  One  of  the  largest  of  his 
recent  undertakings  has  been  the  building  of  several  hundred  dwelling-houses 
upon  a  tract  of  land  in  Philadelphia  between  Seventeenth  street  and  Islington 
lane  and  Berks  and  York  streets.     This,  probably  the  laigest  building  operation 

(371) 


WItLIAM     M.    SINGERI.Y. 


ever  attempted  by  any  one  person  in  the  city,  for  the  erection  of  tnore  than  a 
thousand  houses  is  contemplated,  has  in  it  a  large  element  of  practical  philan- 
thropv,  and  is  one  of  several  actions  which  entitle  Mr.  Singerly  to  be  called  a 
public  benefactor.  Another  way  in  which  his  business  sagacity  and  money  have 
been  determinedly  and  effectively  devoted  to  the  benefit  of  the  public  has  been 
in  the  breaking  down  of  the  exorbitant  price  of  coal.  He  has  succeeded  in 
placing  it  in  the  market  at  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  per  ton  less  than 
the  rate  which  railroad  discrimination  has  dictated,  a  measure  which  actually 
saves  to  Philadelphia  over  one  million  dollars  annually,  and  thus  greatly  enhances 
its  manufacturing  interests  and  at  the  same  time  aids  the  poor. 

But  a  life  which  has  proved  so  eminently  successful  deserves  more  than  a  brief 
summary,  and  justice  cannot  be  done  to  the  subject  without  giving  in  particular 
detail  eveiy  step  of  Mr.  Singerly's  career  from  early  manhood  to  the  period  at 
which  this  biography  is  written.  Immediately  after  leaving  school  in  1850  he 
entered  mercantile  life  with  Messrs.  J.  Palmer  &  Co.,  a  commission  and  produce 
house,  on  Market  street  wharf,  with  whom  he  remained  ten  years.  He  always 
refers  to  this  portion  of  his  life  with  great  satisfaction,  perhaps  with  a  certain 
amount  of  pride,  for  it  is  to  the  education,  training  and  habits  then  acquired  that 
he  attributes  the  success  which  has  attended  all  his  subsequent  life.  Whatever  it 
did  not  give  him,  he  says,  it  made  him  a  business  man;  and  a  thorough  man  of 
business,  he  maintains,  is  the  best  citizen  and  the  best  man  in  any  community. 
It  was  doubtless  in  this  practical  business  school  that  he  obtained  that  remark- 
able ability  as  an  accountant  which  has  surprised  nearly  every  one  with  whom 
his  vast  and  varied  enterprises  have  brought  him  in  contact,  it  being  an  easy  feat 
for  him  to  run  up  five  or  si.x  columns  of  figures,  and  give  the  total,  while  others 
are  laboriously  going  up  one  column  at  a  time. 

After  severing  his  connection  with  Palmer  &  Co.  Mr.  Singerly  went  to 
Chicago  and  engaged  in  the  commission  business,  which  he  was  carrj'ing  on 
with  gratif)'ing  success  when  he  was  recalled  to  Philadelphia  by  his  father,  who 
wished  him  to  assume  the  management  of  the  Germantown  Passenger  Rail- 
way. The  new  manager  found  the  affairs  of  the  road  in  a  most  unsatisfactory 
condition,  but,  applying  himself  to  the  duties  of  his  position  with  his  accustomed 
encrg)',  in  one  year's  time  he  succeeded  in  extricating  the  road  from  all  litigation, 
and  by  lopping  off  all  needless  expenses,  improving  the  service  and  inaugurating 
a  sound  .system  of  administration,  converted  it  from  a  losing  to  a  profitable  enter- 
prise. One  of  his  first  measures  was  the  purchase,  at  a  small  price,  of  the 
Girard  avenue  road.  This  was  regarded  as  injudicious  by  many  ol  his  friends, 
some  of  whom  confidently  predicted  it  could  have  no  other  result  than  to  add  to 
the  embarrassments  under  wliich  the  main  line  already  labored.  Time,  however, 
lias  fully  vindicated  the  wisdom  of  the  purchase,  as  it  shortly  became  and  has 
since  remained  one  of  the  most  valuable  feeders  of  the  main  road.  The  sagacity, 
energy  and  ability  which  characterized  Mr.  Singerly's  administration  of  the  affiiirs 
of  this  road  were  so  marked  that  toward  the  close  of  his  father's  life  he  con- 


WILLIAM     M.    SINGFRLY. 


'>??, 


trolled  it  absolutely.  As  a  result  of  his  superior  mnnarjcmcnt  and  administra- 
tion he  sold  this  stock  to  the  Work  syndicate  for  $1,500,000,  and  altliout;!!  Mr. 
Singerly  has  been  connected  with  street  railroads  for  twenty-five  years,  he  now 
has  no  interest  in  them  whatever  beyond  holding  some  shares  as  collateral 
security  for  loans. 

The  establishment  by  Mr.  Singerly  of  a  country  home  in  Whitpain,  at  Frank- 
linville,  Gwynedd  Station,  on  the  North  Penn  Railroad,  was  an  important  event 
for  the  people  of  tiie  township  and  Montgomery  county,  for  it  ultimately  letl  to 
the  development  of  what  is  probably  the  most  extensive  and  elaborate  high- 
grade  stock-farm  in  the  country,  which,  as  a  kind  of  infermal  agricultural 
academy,  has  exerted  a  marked  influence  upon  the  advancement  of  farming  and 
stock  intere.sts  in  the  region  round  about  it.  It  has,  as  an  educational  institution, 
taught  many  practical  object-lessons. 

The  way  in  which  it  came  to  pass  that  a  young  business  man,  city-born  and 
city-bred,  became  the  owner  and  manager  of  a  great  farm,  and  herds  of  cattle 
and  sheep,  and  gained  an  intimate  knowledge  of  agricultural  methods  and  scien- 
tific s\'stems  of  feeding  and  caring  for  animals,  was  this:  in  1S72,  his  health 
and  strength  having  become  slightly  impaired  by  close  and  constant  application 
to  weighty  business  matters,  and  by  the  varied  and  unceasing  demands  always 
made  upon  the  time  and  consideration  of  a  man  of  affairs,  he  was  urged  by  his 
father  to  seek  the  recuperation  which  a  summer  home  in  the  country  would 
afford.  Thus  counselled,  he  bought  a  little  farm  of  sixty-eight  acres,  to  which,  in 
the  summer  of  1873,  he  removed.  From  this  little  beginning,  made  with  no  other 
thought  or  object  than  we  have  indicated,  grew,  by  occasional  additions,  the 
"  Record  Farms  "  of  700  acres,  which  in  their  improved  condition,  with  the 
immense  buildings  upon  them  and  the  stock  which  they  support,  represent  an 
investment  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  million  doll^s.  The  land,  whicli  had  been 
somewhat  impoverished,  was,  by  careful  fertilizing  processes,  brought  into  a  high 
degree  of  richness ;  a  careful  plan  of  drainage  was  carried  out  and  the  utmost 
pains  taken  to  produce  the  most  desirable  crops  in  greatest  possible  quantity  and 
best  quality.  Mr.  Singerly's  latent  natural  taste  for  the  healthful  freedom  of  out- 
door life,  and  his  love  for  the  nobler  domestic  animals,  were  both  quickened,  and 
with  the  energy  which  has  characterized  him  in  other  extensive  enterprises,  and 
the  organizing  ability  which  has  made  them  successful,  he  entered  ambitiously 
upon  the  difficult  but  absorbing  task  of  perfecting  the  best  stock-farm  in  the 
State.  No  effort  or  expense  was  spared  which  tended  toward  the  realization  of 
his  ideal  in  this  direction. 

Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  Mr.  Singerly's  stock-farming  enterprise  ma)'  be 
conveyed  by  the  statement  that  in  February,  1885,  he  had  about  260  thorough- 
bred Holstein  yearlings,  constituting  undoubtedly  the  finest  private  herd  in  the 
country,  and  he  does  not  propose  selling  until  he  has  300,  ^\  hich  number  will 
far  exceed  in  size  any  high-grade  herd  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  and  perhaps  in 
the  world.     He  has  260  cows,  heifers  and  calves,  all  thorough  or  high-breds; 


374  WILLIAM     M.    SINGF.Kr.Y. 

about  130  fattening  steers  and  S50  sheep.  Of  the  latter  he  is  a  very  large  pen- 
feeder,  and  one  year  wintered  over  1,200.  His  sheep  are  mostly  high-grade 
Cotswolds,  but  he  has  some  South-downs  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  plump- 
ness as  well  as  large  size  in  the  spring  lambs.  In  the  spring  of  1882  he  sold  in 
New  York,  for  export,  443,  which  averaged  166  pounds  each,  and  were  probably 
the  finest  lot  of  sheep  ever  sold  in  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Singerly  is  a  strong  advocate  of  the  system  of  soiling  or  stall-feeding 
cattle,  and  the  practice  is  followed  at  the  "  Record  Farms  "  on  a  large  scale, 
with  the  result  of  proving  its  great  superiority  over  pasturing  in  economy  of 
food  and  production  of  milk.  In  one  stable  in  what  has  come  to  be  known 
throughout  the  southern  part  of  the  county  as  "  Singerly 's  big  barn  "  are  to  be 
seen  too  handsome  Holstein  cows,  all  comfortably  stalled  and  with  pure  running 
water  before  them. 

Always  fond  of  a  horse,  IMr.  Singerly's  regard  for  the  noblest  of  our  dumb 
friends  has  increased  considerably,  as  he  has  become  from  year  to  year  more 
interested  in  his  farm  and  in  out-door  life.  The  horses  in  use  at  the  farm  are 
fine  specimens  of  their  kind,  but  in  Kentucky  he  is  interested  in  steeds  of  a  finer 
strain  of  blood  and  higher  spirits.  He  has  ten  selected  mares,  every  one  of 
which  has  shown  him  portions  of  a  mile  at  a  two-thirty  gait.  It  may  be  men- 
tioned as  indicative  of  his  success  in  breeding  trotting-stock  that  a  colt,  Ben 
Van  (foaled  by  his  road-mare,  Rena  C,  and  sired  by  Red  Wilkes),  sold  recently 
for  one  of  the  largest  prices  on  record,  and  was  pronounced  the  choicest  yearling 
of  Kentucky. 

The  breeding  of  stock  on  such  an  extensive  scale  as  that  followed  at  the 
"Record  Farms"  of  course  renders  necessary  commodious  buildings,  provided 
with  all  of  the  conveniences  known  to  the  most  advanced  students  of  farming. 
Tiie  main  barn  is  214  feet  in  length  by  44  feet  in  width  and  two  stories  in 
height.  The  first  story  is  built  of  brick,  resting  upon  a  substantial  stone  founda- 
tion, and  the  second  story  is  frame.  Other  structures,  extending  from  either 
side  of  the  barn  proper,  increase  the  line  of  buildings  nearly  400  feet,  while  from 
the  centre  of  "the  main  building  a  wing  30  feet  in  width  extends  150  feet  for- 
ward, dividing  the  yard  into  equal  portions.  The  great  barn  presents  a  pleasant 
appearance  in  detail  and  as  a  whole.  A  writer  describing  it  in  a  local  paper 
says :  "  It  is  certainly  about  as  near  perfection  as  the  present  state  of  advance- 
ment of  agricultural,  mechanical  and  architectural  science,  coupled  with 
abundance  of  means,  will  admit  of  It  is  ...  .  the  model  barn  of  the  country, 
and,  in  point  of  capacity,  stands,  it  is  said,  second  to  none  in  the  United  States." 

Other  buildings  are  clustered  about  the  large  structure  which  has  been  briefly 
described,  or  located  elsewhere  about  the  grounds,  as  Mr.  Singerly  and  his 
superintendent,  Mr.  Jason  Sexton,  have  thought  best.  The  system  of  soiling 
cattle  and  feeding  ensilage,  inaugurated  in  this  portion  of  the  country  by  the 
proprietor  of  this  farm,  made  requisite  a  very  large  silo,  one  sufficient  to  hold 
300  tons  of  ensilage,  an  amount  which  will  keep  the  entire  herd  of  cattle  for  six 


WILLIAM     M.    SINT.F.KLV. 


37S 


months.  Tliere  is  an  extensive  creameiy,  in  which  golden  butter  is  made  from 
the  rich  milk  of  the  Holstein  cows;  an  engine-house,  in  which  lies  the  motive 
power  that  is  made  to  serve  various  purposes ;  a  blacksmith-shop,  where  the 
horses  of  the  farm  are  shod  and  tools  repaired ;  and  duellings  for  various 
employes,  all  well  adapted  to  the  uses  for  which  designed. 

The  colossal  farming  enterprise  which  identifies  Mr.  Singcrly  with  Montgomery 
county  will  not  only  prove,  as  years  go  by,  a  great  benefit  to  the  people  of  that 
section  in  the  way  of  giving  innumerable  suggestions,  but  will  produce  good 
results  throughout  the  country  wherever  stock-raising  is  carried  on  and  improved 
methods  of  farming  are  appreciated. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1877,  Mr.  Singerly  secured  control  of  the  Philadelphia 
Record.  At  that  time  the  paper,  which,  with  one  exception,  now  has  the  largest 
circulation  of  any  morning  paper  in  the  United  States,  printed  only  5,200  copies. 
Now  it  distributes  over  loo.ooo  copies  every  day.  "Visiting  journalists  say  it 
has  the  completest  newspaper  establishment  in  the  country.  The  handsome 
quarters,  the  electric  lights,  the  elevator  and  other  features  have  been  designed 
with  regard  solely  to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  the  employes.  Pneu- 
matic tubes  whirl  the  news  from  the  telegrapher's  desk  at  Tenth  and  Chestnut 
streets  to  the  news  editor's  desk  in  twenty-eight  seconds,  thereby  saving  much 
valuable  time,  particularly  in  the  early  morning.  The  stereotyping  machinery 
turns  out  a  pair  of  plates  ready  for  the  press  in  ten  minutes  after  the  forms  have 
been  closed.  The  three  perfecting  presses  have  a  capacity  for  throwing  out 
75.000  copies  an  hour — and  this,  by  the  way,  is  to  be  further  increased  shortly 
by  the  erection  of  a  fourth  Hoe  press.  The  paper-mill  makes  ten  tons  of  paper 
every  day.  If  stretched  out  in  one  continuous  line  the  copies  of  the  Record 
printed  and  sold  in  one  week  would  cover  a  length  of  772  miles."  This 
phenomenal  success  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  same  sagacitj',  energy  and  liber- 
ality of  expenditure  in  securing  the  best  service  and  the  most  perfect  facilities 
which  characterize  all  of  its  proprietor's  undertakings.  Appealing  to  business 
men  for  patronage  he  carried  business  habits  and  methods  into  his  paper.  The 
news  is  condensed  to  the  last  degree ;  the  editorials,  like  good  business  letters, 
are  models  of  terse  and  pointed  brevity;  its  opinions  are  fearlessly  and  frankly 
expressed;  and  its  attitude  on  all  important  public  questions  is  always  on  the  side 
of  the  people,  and  against  all  shams  and  deceptions.  Each  department  is  under 
the  charge  of  a  carefully  selected  chief  who  is  required  to  exhaust  all  possible 
effort  to  make  his  work  just  a  little  better  than  that  of  any  of  his  competitors. 
Mr.  Singerly  rarel)'  if  ever  interferes  with  the  details  of  his  paper,  but  he  spends 
many  nights  in  the  office,  when  he  rapidly  supervises  the  general  result, 
dictating  the  policy  to  be  pursued  in  one  case,  directing  tlie  investigation  of  an 
evil  in  another,  ordering  a  special  report  in  still  another,  and  not  infrequently 
dashing  off  a  pungent,  spicy  editorial  himself 

In  conjunction  with  the  Singerly  estate  Mr.  Singerly  owns  seventj'-five  acres 
of  ground  in  the  Twenty-eighth   ward,  where   he   is  practically  creating  a  new 


^y6  WILLIAM     HL    SINGERI.Y. 

residence  portion  of  the  city.  The  improvements  he  has  made  in  this  locah'ty 
during  the  last  five  years  have  cost  over  $3,000,000.  Mr.  Singerly  proposes  to 
construct  on  this  tract  of  ground  800  buildings,  which  number  will  be  ultimately 
increased  to  1,500.  The  necessary  material  for  so  vast  an  undertaking  is  supplied 
from  a  brick-yard,  which  turns  out  60,000  bricks  a  day,  and  an  immense  planing- 
mill  to  furnish  the  required  lumber. 

He  has  changed  the  grades  of  the  streets  at  his  own  expense,  though  it  was 
clearly  the  duty  of  the  city  to  do  it,  and  ha\ing  concluded  an  amicable  arrange- 
ment with  the  Mechanics'  Cemetery  Company  for  the  opening  of  Twenty-second 
street,  and  with  the  Odd  Fellows'  Cemetery  Company  for  the  opening  of  Dauphin 
street,  the  Cohocksink  sewer  will  be  extended  in  a  straight  line  and  will  be 
the  main  artery  for  draining  the  northern  section  of  the  city.  The  design  of 
opening  these  streets  threatened  at  one  time  to  excite  no  little  ill-feeling,  but  the 
negotiation  has  been  satisfactorily  conducted,  and  has  terminated  with  good- 
feeling  and  the  best  of  wishes  on  both  sides,  and  certainl)-  to  the  great  benefit 
and  improvement  of  the  city.  The  buildings  erected  under  the  Singerly  opera- 
tion are  among  the  finest  and  most  substantial  ever  erected  in  the  "  City  of 
Homes."  There  is  nothing  stinted  in  their  completion  nor  cheap-looking  in 
their  appearance,  yet  they  arc  offered  to  the  people  at  moderate  prices  on  easy 
terms,  and  stand  in  contrast  eminently  better  and  of  more  value  than  other 
houses  in  that  section  built  by  other  operations,  and  for  which  higher 
prices,  in  proportion,  are  asked.  This  spirit  of  "  what  is  worth  doing  at  all  is 
worth  doing  well "  is  additional  evidence  of  Mr.  Singerly 's  philanthropy. 
His  object  in  his  building  operations,  as  in  other  things,  seems  to  be  to  benefit 
the  poor. 

The  mills  on  the  corner  of  Eighth  and  Daupliin  streets  were  formerly  mere 
knitting-mills,  producing  only  a  comparatively  small  quantity  of  hosiery.  For 
a  long  time  the  mills  had  but  a  precarious  and  struggling  existence,  and  it  was 
thought  impossible  by  many  to  make  them  self-sustaining,  much  less  profitable. 
At  this  juncture  Mr.  Singerly  was  induced  to  take  an  interest  in  them  as  a 
possibly  profitable  investment.  The  knitting  of  hosier}'  has  been  discontinued, 
and  it  now  produces  "Jerseys"  for  women,  and  turned  out  in  18S5  $1,200,000 
worth  of  those  goods.  These  mills  are  now  the  largest  producers  of  this  kind 
of  goods  in  the  world,  and  its  product  is  universally  regarded  as  of  the  finest 
quality. 

A  gleaner  and  binder  factory,  located  at  Norristown,  also  the  property  of  Mr. 
.Singerly,  employs  about  one  liundred  hands  and  produces  $100,000  worth  of 
these  labor-saving  machines  each  year.  His  paper-mill  at  Fair  Hill,  Cecil 
county,  Md.,  employs  about  one  hundred  people  and  turns  out  ten  tons  of  jw[ier 
daily.  Within  a  comparatively  recent  period  he  bought  the  old  Masonic  Hall, 
and  the  beautiful  Temple  Theatre  and  Fgyptian  Musee  (since  destroyed  by  fire) 
was  the  result  of  that  purchase  and  the  owner's  irrepressible  enterprise. 

Politically,  Mr.  Singerly  is  a  Democrat  (unswervingly  so  in  national  affairs),  but 


WILLIAM    ^L  SI^■(a•:KL^■.  377 

not  hide-bound  nor  so  illiberal  in  liis  views  on  State  and  local  affairs  as  to  pre- 
clude his  associating  with  many  of  the  trusted  men  of  the  opposition  parties, 
and  from  speaking  his  mind  without  regard  to  party  affiliations  when  necessity 
arises.  He  has  always  been  active  in  politics,  from  the  time  he  first  learned  the 
rudiments  in  the  Eleventh  ward,  and  has  been  prominent  in  State  and  National 
Conventions,  but  with  it  all  he  has  so  conducted  his  newspaper  as  never  to 
permit  it  to  drift  into  the  rut  of  a  political  organ. 

I\Ir.  Singerly  is  still  within  the  meridian  of  life,  sociable,  but  n<jt  convivial, 
fond  of  domestic  life,  yet  participating  in  public  enjoyments  when  his  pleasure 
so  disposes.  With  the  bent  of  his  mind  towards  constant  improvement  and 
progress  it  is  difficult  to  estimate  to  what  mammoth  proportions  the  various 
enterprises  he  is  now  engaged  in,  and  those  he  proposes  to  inaugurate,  will  grow 
in  the  course  of  time. 
4S 


Dr.  Edward    Morwitz. 


EDWARD    MORWITZ. 

EDWARD  MoRWiTZ,  M.  D.,  is  knowii  throughout  the  United  States  and  in 
many  parts  of  Europe  as  one  of  the  ablest,  most  influential  and  successful 
German-American  journalists  and  publishers.  He  was  bom,  June  12,  1S15,  at 
Dantzic,  Prussia,  where  his  father  was  a  wealthy  merchant.  The  boy,  after 
having  received  his  elementary  training  in  the  public  school  of  St.  Peter's,  was 
sent  successively  to  three  boarding  schools  in  Pomerania,  where,  besides  the 
usual  classics,  were  taught  the  Semitic  languages  and  Oriental  literature — lhe(j- 
logical  as  well  as  philosophical.  Returning  to  Dantzic  when  seventeen  years 
old  he  resohed  to  study  medicine,  entered  the  college  (Gymnasium)  at  that 
place,  passed  through  its  classes  with  unusual  rapidity,  and  began  his  medical 
studies,  in  1837,  at  the  University  of  Berlin.  He  afterwards  visited  the  universi- 
ties at  Halle  and  Leipsic,  returning  to  Berlin  in  1 840,  where  he  passed  his  doctor 
and  state  examinations,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  as  a  phj'sician.  At  that 
time  he  was  offered  the  position  of  Assistant  Plu'sician  in  the  Clinic  of  the  Berlin 
University  (formerly  Hufeland's),  which  honorable  distinction  he  accepted. 

Besides  attending  to  his  practice  Dr.  Morwitz,  during  that  time,  wrote  a  num- 
ber of  es.says  on  medical  subjects  which  were  highly  appreciated,  and  also  began 
work  on  a  book- — "The  History  of  Medicine" — which  was  afti-rwards  (1S48-49) 
published  in  two  volumes  b\-  the  celebrated  firm  of  llrockh.uis  &  Co.,  Leipsic, 
and  \\  as  very  well  spoken  of  b)-  the  profession. 

In  1843,  after  travelling  through  most  parts  of  German)-,  Fi-ance  and  .Switzer- 
land, Dr.  Moru-itz  left  Berlin  to  settle  at  the  town  of  Conitz  in  Prussia,  which  he 
thought  would  offer  him  a  better  opportunit}-  for  his  spccialt}- — the  treatment  of 
nervous  and  mental  disorders.  In  this  expectation  he  was  not  decei\-ed,  and 
became  eminently  successful,  acquiring  also  an  excellent  general  practice.  At 
Conitz  he  established  and  maintained  at  his  own  expense  a  hospital  for  the  poor, 
and  finished  his  "  History  of  INIedicine." 

Then  commenced  the  throes  and  troubles  of  the  Revolution  of  1848.  Dr. 
Morwitz  took  his  stand  in  the  popular  (Democratic)  part)-,  and  soon  was  pressed 
into  prominent  leadership;  but  by  the  upsetting  of  his  carriage  he  suffered  a 
compound  fracture  of  se\'eral  ribs,  which  ended  his  political  activity  for  that  time 
and  confined  him  for  months  to  the  siclc-room.  His  reco\-er)'  was  so  \'er\'  slow 
that  he  apprehended  he  would  be  unable  to  resume  his  practice,  and  therefore 
again  took  up  his  chemical  and  technical  studies,  and  succeetled  in  making  some 
valuable  inventions,  especially  a  new  breech-loading  gun.  Not  being  permitted 
to  make  that  invention  available  in  Germany,  Dr.  Morwitz,  in  1850,  visited  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States  in  order  to  find  a  market  for  it.  In  the  fall  of  that 
year  he  returned  to  Europe,  but  with  the  intention  to  make  his  future  liome  in 
this  country.     He  soon  returned  to  America,  and  settled  in  Philadelphia. 


j;80  EDWARD      MOKWITZ. 

In  1853  Dr.  Morwitz  boiiglit  of  John  S.  Hoffmann  tlie  riiiladclphia  Democrat, 
the  oldest  daih-  German  newspaper  in  the  country,  which  had  been  estabHshed 
in  Ma}-,  1S3S.  The  business  was  carried  on  under  the  firm-name  of  Hoffmann  & 
Morwitz  until  1874,  Mr.  Hoffmann  having  remained  in  the  establishment  until 
that  time  to  assist  the  new  proprietor.  Mr.  Hoffmann  then  retired  from  the  firm, 
and  the  business  has  since  been  continued  under  the  firm-title  of  Morwitz  &  Co. 

In  1854  Dr.  Morwitz  very  earnestly  advocated  the  adoption  of  the  Consolida- 
tion Act  of  the  City  of  Philadelphia,  the  foundation  of  the  great  development 
and  present  importance  and  prosperity  of  the  city.  In  1855  he  started  a  weekly 
political  newspaper  called  the  ]'crcimgtc  Staatcii  Zcitung.  He  then  wielded  a 
widespread  and  important  influence,  as  was  evidenced  in  the  spring  of  1856, 
when,  at  the  first  election  for  Mayor  under  the  new  cit\'  charter,  the  German 
vote,  it  was  then  thought,  mainly  caused  the  election  of  the  Hon.  Richard  Vau.x 
over  his  opponent.  Mayor  Conrad.  On  July  4th  of  the  same  j'ear  Dr.  Morwitz 
started  a  literary  Sunday  paper  called  Die  Nciic  Wdt,  which  is  now  highly 
appreciated  and  circulates  largely  throughout  the  country. 

The  Presidential  canvass  in  the  summer  of  1856  called  forth  all  the  energies 
of  the  Penns}-Kania  Democrats  in  support  of  Mr.  Buchanan.  Col.  John  XV. 
Forney,  then  Chairman  of  the  Democratic  National  Committee,  conducted  the 
campaign  with  remarkable  ability  and  vigor,  and  intrusted  Dr.  Morwitz  with  the 
lead  among  the  Germans.  This,  in  the  beginning,  required  hard  work;  for  the 
anti-sla\ery  feeling  natural  to  the  Germans,  and  the  fresh  enthusiasm  of  the  new 
Republican  party  for  their  principles  and  their  romantic  leader,  Fremont,  had 
affected  the  German  voters  and  greatly  weakened  the  party  ties  of  those  who 
had  previously  adhered  to  Democratic  doctrines.  But  finally,  by  means  of  a 
most  thorough  organization,  reaching  almost  every  voter,  and  by  the  persistent 
efforts  of  devoted  workers  and  speakers,  the  October  election  in  Pennsj'lvania 
resulted  in  a  small  Democratic  majority,  mainly  accomplished  by  the  extraor- 
dinarily large  German  vote.  This  October  election  was,  as  usual,  an  indication 
of  the  political  complexion  of  the  country,  as  showMi  by  the  result  of  the  succeed- 
ing general  election  in  November  when  Mr.  Buchanan  was  chosen  President  of 
the  United  States. 

The  effectiveness  of  Dr.  Morwitz's  work  in  the  campaign  was  universally 
acknowledged,  and  when  the  old  Democratic  organ  of  the  State,  Tlic  Pcnnsylva- 
tiiaii,  of  Philadelphia,  which  was  also  the  President's  home  organ,  fell  short  in 
satisfs'ing  the  requirements  of  its  position,  he  was  urged  and  encouraged  by  lead- 
ing Democrats  to  purchase  the  paper.  Considering  the  proposition  a  compli- 
ment to  one  so  young  in  journalism  and  politics,  he  purchased  Tlie  Pcunsylvanian 
from  Mr.  William  Rice.  Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  attending  the  simulta- 
neous management  of  TItc  Democrat  and  Tlic  Pennsylvauian,  he  succeeded  in  this 
dual  task  very  satisfactorily  until  the  summer  of  i860,  when  the  adjourned 
Democratic  National  Convention  in  Baltimore  nominated  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
for  the  Presidency.     About  half  the  delegates,  mostly  Southern  men  and  many 


EnWARll     MOKWITZ.  381 

friends  of  the  administration,  thereupon  seceded,  and,  in  a  convention  of  tlieir 
own,  nominated  Jolin  C.  Breckinridge  for  the  same  office.  Full)'  appreciatint; 
the  disastrous  consequences  of  sucli  suicidal  actions,  Dr.  IMorwitz,  together  with 
many  patriotic  men,  most  earnestly  urged  both  hostile  wings  of  the  party  to 
become  reconciled  and  to  again  offer  a  united  front  to  the  Republicans.  Finding 
these  strenuous  efforts  to  be  in  vain  and  the  advice  unheeded.  Dr.  RIorwitz 
determined  not  to  support  either  of  the  factional  candidates,  and  he  sold  The 
Pcnnsylvanian  at  a  sacrifice,  wliile  he  maintained  in  the  columns  of  The  Democrat 
a  strictly  neutral  course. 

After  the  election  of  Mr.  Lincoln  foreshadowings  of  coming  events  created 
ver\'  dull  times  in  all  branches  of  business,  entailing  much  suffering  and  causing 
severe  distress  and  sickness  among  the  poor.  Just  then  a  German  Dispensary, 
maintained  hitherto  by  contributions  from  German  citizens  and  attended  by  Ger- 
man physicians,  had  to  close.  Dr.  Morwitz,  considering  its  continuation  par- 
ticularly needed  under  the  circumstances,  returned  to  his  old  profession,  reopened 
the  dispensary  in  Noble  street,  and  gave  medical  advice  to  and  supplied  with 
medicines  all  comers  free  of  charge.  With  the  assistance  of  two  druggists  this 
charitable  work  was  kept  up  until  a  general  improvement  in  business,  created  by 
the  war,  followed  the  former  depression  and  did  away  with  the  necessity  for  it. 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  war  Dr.  Morwitz  entertained  the  belief  that  it  could 
be  avoided  through  the  efforts  of  the  Peace  Conference  at  Washington,  or  in 
some  other  way.  But  when  that  hope  was  shattered,  and  the  war  had  actually 
broken  out,  the  necessity  for  the  North  to  end  it  victoriously  prevailed  over  all 
party  considerations,  and  caused  him  to  throw  the  influence  of  his  paper  on  the 
side  of  the  Union  and  to  encourage  and  assist  materially  in  the  organization  and 
outfit  of  several  German  regiments  and  in  placing  the  government  loans.  At  the 
same  time,  however,  TIic  Democrat  maintained  unflinchingly  its  old -political 
position  throughout  the  whole  war. 

In  1862  Dr.  Morwitz  engaged  in  the  organization  of  the  "  German  Press  Asso- 
ciation of  Pennsylvania,"  composed  of  German-American  editors,  i)ublishers, 
preachers,  teachers,  and  others,  for  the  protection  and  promotion  of  the  interests 
of  the  press,  and  for  preserving  the  German  churches  and  schools  and  spreading 
the  knowledge  of  the  German  language,  literature  and  civilization  among  the 
people. 

In  1870,  at  the  commencement  of  the  Franco-Prussian  war.  Dr.  Morwitz  called 
a  meeting  of  Germans  at  Concordia  Hall  in  order  to  devise  means  for  raising 
funds  for  the  purpose  of  providing  prompt  assistance  to  wounded  or  sick  soldiers 
of  the  Fatherland.  The  meeting  enthusiastically  adopted  the  proposition,  and 
appointed  a  conmiittee  which,  during  the  meeting,  sent  a  despatch  to  Bismarck 
stating  what  had  been  done  and  inquiring  how  the  money  should  be  sent.  This 
first  meeting  sounded  the  keynote  to  many  others  throughout  this  country, 
which  resulted  in  an  aggregate  of  some  ^600,000  being  sent  to  Germany  for  the 
purpose  proposed. 


3S2  EDWARD    MOKWITZ. 

In  1872  the  Hesitation  to  reform  riiiladclpliia's  municipal  government  was 
begun  b\'  liberal  Republicans.  They  called  upon  Dr.  Morwitz  for  assistance, 
■which  was  readily  given.  The  German  Democrats  were  soon  the  strongest  and 
steadiest  supporters  among  the  reform  forces.  The  good  work  went  on  vic- 
toriously; strong  political  positions  were  taken,  reformers  put  into  important 
offices,  and  many  abuses  abated.  The  year  1874  promised  still  better  results,  to 
aid  in  which  Dr.  Morwitz  purchased  The  Age  newspaper,  taking  possession  on 
January  I  of  that  j-ear.  But  the  reformers  began  to  disagree,  and  their  dissen- 
sions gave  the  victory  to  their  opponents,  and  broke  up  the  reform  organization. 

In  1875  he  sold  The  Age  to  the  "Times  PubHshing  Company,"  and  joined  in 
establishing  the  Times.  He  retained  an  interest  in  it  until  1881,  when  it  had 
become  a  great  success  which  he  thought  pro|)crIy  belonged  to  those  wlio  had 
mainly  made  it  such,  and  he  withdrew,  leaving  the  conduct  of  the  paper  entirely 
in  their  hands. 

In  the  summer  of  1SS5,  on  Dr.  Morwitz's  seventieth  birthday,  a  number  of 
societies  and  associations,  comprising  the  most  prominent  representatives  of  his 
countrymen,  combined  to  tender  him  an  ovation,  and  came  in  a  large,  brilliant 
torchlight  procession  to  his  house,  where,  after  a  splendid  vocal  and  instrumental 
serenade,  they  presented,  through  their  respective  delegates,  a  number  of  resolu- 
tions expressing  their  acknowledgments  of  his  worth  as  a  man,  and  their  appre- 
ciation of  his  long  and  unceasing  private  and  public  labors  for  the  good  of  his 
fellow-men.  The  doctor,  in  then  addressing  the  delegates,  protested  against 
■what  he  termed  such  unmerited  praise,  and  in  a  few  words  defined  the  vital  prin- 
ciples of  his  whole  life.  He  had  become  a  physician,  an.xious  continually  to 
learn  more  in  order  to  become  more  able  to  advise  and  prescribe  for  sufferers. 
He  had  remained  a  physician  who,  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  different  news- 
papers and  other  publications  controlled  by  him,  had  all  the  time  enlarged  his 
practice,  so  to  sa\-,  and  been  enabled  to  ad\'ise  suffering  humanity  in  general, 
instead  of  only  the  individual,  how  to  protect  life  and  libert}',  and  to  enjoy  the 
pursuit  of  happiness. 

Dr.  Morwitz  at  that  time  controlled  or  owned  nearly  300  different  newspapers 
(among  them  eight  dailies),  which  he  had  acquired  or  established,  one  by  one, 
since  1853. 

He  continues  up  to  this  time  (1888)  living  an  extrcmcl)'  plain,  frugal  and  retired 
life,  finding  pleasure  in  hard  work  and  studious  investigations.  He  is  continually 
assisting  the  talented  and  meritorious,  who  are  without  means,  to  better  their 
condition,  and  takes  a  lively  interest  in  all  progressive  enterprises  concerning  the 
public  good,  and  is  liberal  and  generous  in  his  large  and  unostentatious  charity. 


James   P.  Barr. 


JAMES  P.  BARR. 

JAMES  P.  Bakk,  Lite  editor  and  piincipal  proprietor  of  tlic  Plttsburj^  Post,  was 
born  ill  Grecnsburg,  Westmoreland  county,  I'a.,  September  4,  1822.  lie 
sprung  from  that  sturdy  Irisli  stock  which  lias  made  itself  so  stronglj'  felt  in  the 
United  States  and  nowheie  with  more  \'igor  tlian  in  Western  PennsyK'ania.  His 
grandfather  had  come  to  this  country  in  1799  with  his  wife  and  four  children, 
two  bo)'b  and  two  girls.  The  famil)'  at  first  located  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  but 
in  1818  moved  to  Greensburg,  in  Penu'-yhania.  The  father  returned  to  Ireland 
but  eventually  came  back  to  America  and  died  at  Blairsville,  where  his  remains 
lie  by  the  side  of  his  son,  Daniel  H.,  father  of  James  P.  Barr.  Daniel  H.  Barr 
was  a  man  of  local  mark  in  his  day,  active  and  aggressi\e  in  politics  and  an 
ardent  follower  of  Jefferson  and  supporter  of  Jackson.  When  barcK'  out  of  his 
teens  he  served  in  the  war  of  iS[2  in  the  operations  on  tlu;  Potomac  and  Chesa- 
peake. At  Blairsville  he  was  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  and  Postmaster  under 
President  Tyler.  He  was  also  made  State  Collector  on  the  Pennsj'lvania  Canal, 
at  that  time  an  important  office.  He  possessed  more  than  average  intelligence 
and  was  of  a  literaiy  turn,  a  taste  v^'hich  he  encouraged  in  his  children. 

In  1 841  James  P.  Barr  left  his  home  at  Blairsville  where  he  had  been  work- 
ing as  a  cooper,  the  trade  of  his  father,  and  went  to  Pittsburgh,  entering  the 
office  of  the  AiJicrican  ManiifadiirLr  as  an  apprentice,  to  learn  the  printing  busi- 
ness. The  Llaiuifactnrcr  was  one  of  two  Democratic  weeklies  then  printed  in 
Pittsburgh,  the  other  being  the  Mercury.  In  1842  the  two  papers  were  united 
and  from  this  union  sprung  the  Daily  Post,  the  first  number  of  which  was  issued 
September  loth  of  that  year.  I\Ir.  Barr,  still  an  apprentice  in  the  office,  assisted 
to  put  in  type  the  first  number  of  this,  the  first  Democratic  daily  in  Pittsburgh, 
and  worked  off  on  a  hand-press  the  first  copy  of  the  paper  with  which  he  was 
afterward  so  long  and  honorably  identified.  He  was  prouder  of  this  reminiscence 
than  almost  any  other  e\-ent  of  his  life.  Mr.  Barr  continued  with  the  Post,  hav- 
ing graduated  at  the  case  and  in  the  press  room  and  been  advanced  to  the 
position  of  business  manager,  until  1S45,  when  Chambers  McKibben,  who  had 
been  appointed  Po.stmaster  of  Pittsburgh  by  President  Polk,  induced  him  to 
accept  a  clerkship  in  the  post-office.  He  served  in  that  capacity  for  four  years, 
though  the  work  was  arduous  and  confining,  and  the  pa>-  meagre.  There  was 
not  so  much  business  then  as  now,  of  course,  but  there  were  very  few  to  do  it, 
and  the  existing  system  and  improvements  that  lighten  individual  labor  and  )-et 
produce  greater  results  were  then  unknown.  At  that  time  there  were  only  nme 
or  ten  clerks  employed  in  the  office. 

In  1849  a  Whig  administration  succeeded  that  of  President  Polk,  and  there 
was  a  change  of  postmasters  and  subordinates,  Mr.  Barr  retiring  with  the  others. 
But  in  the  meantime  he  had  an  eye  to  journalism  and  soon  after  he  left  the  post- 


3S4  JAMES    P.    EARR. 

office  purchaseel  tlie  Pittsburgh  CJironicIc,  and  cliangcd  it  from  a  morning  to  an 
afternoon  paper.  At  first  he  was  associated  on  the  Clironiclc  with  the  late  John 
C.  Dunn,  but  eventually  became  sole  proprietor.  The  Chronicle  under  Mr. 
Earr's  management  was  an  independent  paper  with  very  decided  Democratic 
leanings.  Still  it  was  a  good  deal  of  a  free-lance  at  abuses  and  wrongs  wherever 
they  showed  themselves,  as  he  was  unbound  by  trammels  of  party,  and  his  virile 
pen  soon  gave  it  a  marked  individuality  and  influence  for  good. 

Mr.  Barr  remained  in  charge  of  the  Chronicle  until  1854,  when  he  sold  it,  and 
tlie  subsequent  year  assumed  the  business  management  of  the  Post,  then  pub- 
lislied  by  Gilmore  &  Montgomerj^  He  remained  in  this  position  until  May, 
lS57,when  he  became  sole  proprietor  and  editor,  and  maintained  his  proprietary 
connection  and  editorial  charge  of  it  to  the  time  of  his  death.  During  the  nearly 
thirty  years  that  he  had  control  of  the  Post  he  had  to  deal  with  weighty  questions 
that  tested  capacity  as  well  as  courage  and  integrity.  The  first  of  these  was  the 
contest  involving  the  repudiation  of  certain  city  and  county  railroad  bonds.  Mr. 
B.^rr,  from  the  first,  set  his  face  sternly  against  this  repudiation  and  waged  war- 
fare on  the  chief  advocates  of  the  measure,  who  were  high  in  the  ranks  of  both 
political  parties.  It  was  a  bitter  contest,  but  in  the  end  honesty  and  the  sober 
second  thought  triumphed  after  the  repudiators  liad  carried  several  elections  and 
inflicted  immense  damage  upon  the  credit  of  the  city  and  county,  as  well  as  direct 
money  loss  to  the  taxpa}'crs  consequent  on  the  sacrifice  of  valuable  railroad 
securities.  Mr.  Barr  deemed  this  the  most  important  and  memorable  contest  of 
his  life,  and  excepting  the  support  of  a  few  staunch  friends  of  both  political 
parties,  he  fought  it  solitary  and  alone. 

In  the  great  civic  controversy  preliminary  to  the  civil  war  Mr.  Barr,  in  the 
election  of  i860,  championed  with  all  the  zeal  and  energy  of  his  nature  the  can- 
didacy of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  the  principles  of  home  rule  and  the  dena- 
tionalization of  slavery  which  Douglas  represented.  Douglas  was  defeated  by 
the  defection  of  the  Breckenridge  faction  ;  Lincoln  was  elected  and  civil  war  was 
threatened.  When  the  supreme  crisis  of  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter  called  the 
North  to  arms.  Editor  Barr  did  not  hesitate  in  his  choice  of  duty,  and  spoke  with 
no  uncertain  voice.  Although  for  compromise  and  conciliation  up  to  that  time 
all  partisan  considerations  were  then  dropped  and  the  Democracy  was  urged  to 
join  hands  with  the  IJncoln  administration  in  maintaining  the  union  of  the 
States  and  the  integrity  of  the  Republic.  The  Government's  calls  for  troops 
were  sustained,  and  when  the  declaration  came  from  Washington  that  more  men 
were  offered  than  would  be  accepted  and  enlistments  thus  discouraged,  Mr.  Barr 
through  the  columns  of  the  Post  protested  and  urged  greater  vigor  in  the  organi- 
zation and  equipment  of  troops.  There  came  a  time  later  in  the  war  when  Mr. 
Barr  felt  called  upon  to  oppose  the  radicalism  that  was  inclined  to  subvert  the 
freedom  of  the  press  and  stifle  criticism  of  the  acts  of  those  in  authority,  but  of 
this  it  is  sufficient  to  say  his  clear  head  and  manly  spirit  were  equal  to  the  occa- 
sion, and  he  inspired  the  Democracy  of  Allegheny  county  with  his  determination 
to  yield  no  jot  or  tittle  of  their  constitutional  rights. 


JAMKS  r.  n.\KK.  3S5 

In  1863  Mr.  Ran-  was  elected  Siir\xyoi-(icncral  of  rennsylvania  hy  the  neino- 
cratic  party,  and  .scr\ed  the  le^jal  terni  of  three  years.  The  .Stale  durinLj  lliat 
time  was  invaded  by  the  rebel  forces.  The  important  liocuniiMits  confided  to  hi.s 
care  were  saved  from  the  possibilit}'  of  capture  by  his  eneri^etic  action.  Durinc^ 
his  term  a  larger  amount  of  money  was  returned  to  tiie  State  treasur)-  than  dur- 
ing any  pre\'ious  one,  which  was  mainly  due  to  the  discover)-  of  oil  in  the  west- 
ern part  of  the  State,  causing  increased  business.  He  retired  at  the  end  of  his 
term  with  credit  and  honor. 

Mr.  Barr  was  very  prominent  in  the  politics  of  the  State  as  a  Democratic 
leader  and  filled  various  offices  of  trust  and  responsibilit)'.  He  was  for  many- 
years  a  member  of  the  State  and  National  Committees  of  the  Democratic  party 
and  wielded  a  large  influence  in  its  councils.  In  1873  he  succeeded  lion. 
Jeremiah  S.  Black  as  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  and  during  its 
session  and  the  canvass  for  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution  he  took  the 
deepest  interest  in  its  success.  He  alwaj-s  took  a  leading  part  in  establishing 
and  conducting  public  charities.  He  was  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  to  call 
attention  to  the  necessity  of  making  permanent  provision  for  soldiers'  orphans, 
and  succeeded  in  procuring  a  charter  for  a  Soldiers'  Orphans'  Home  in  Pitts- 
burgh, this  being  certainly  the  first  in  the  country  as  a  separate  school  for  the 
orphans  of  soldiers.  It  was  assisted  by  large  private  subscriptions,  obtained 
chiefly  by  Mr.  Barr's  efforts,  and  maintained  by  private  contributions  until  the 
State  made  provision  fov  its  care.  He  gave  it  daily  supervision  for  five  years  and 
seven  months,  during  which  time  upwards  of  seventy  orphans  of  soldiers  were 
wholly  maintained  and  educated. 

For  several  years  Mr.  Barr  was  an  inspector  of  the  Western  Penitentiary,  and 
very  active  as  a  manager  of  the  Penns}'Ivania  Reform  School  at  Moiganza,  a 
State  institution,  containing  over  three  hundred  inmates,  managed  on  the  fann'ly 
system,  having  separate  buildings,  on  a  farm  of  several  hundred  acres.  It  is  the 
only  one  of  its  kind  in  the  State,  and  is  pronounced  one  of  the  most  successful  in 
the  countr)'.  He  was  also  active  in  securing  aid  for  the  completion  of  a  hos])ital, 
under  the  direction  of  a  board  of  managers  and  the  Sisters  of  Mercy  of  Pitts- 
burgh. 

In  1847  Mr.  Barr  was  married  to  Miss  Anna  Dunlevy,  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah 
Dunlevy,  an  old  and  well-known  citizen  of  the  count}',  not  many  years  deceased. 
The  tragedy  of  his  life,  which  had  its  influence  ever  afterwards,  was  the  fearful 
death  of  Mrs.  Barr,  in  October,  1865,  by  a  railroad  accident.  In  company  with 
her  husband  and  some  friends,  she  started  from  Harrisburg  on  a  pleasure  and 
health-seeking  tour,  which  was  to  include  a  trip  up  the  Hudson.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Butler  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barr  were  occup)ing  seats  in  the  car  dicing  each  other. 
In  Lancaster  county,  while  the  train  was  going  very  fast,  an  axle  broke  and 
the  truck  was  thrown  upward  through  the  car,  instantly  killing  Mrs.  Barr  and 
Mr.  and  ^Irs.  Butler,  as  well  as  a  Mr.  Butler,  employed  in  the  Surveyor-General's 
office,  who  was  standing  in  the  aisle  Mr.  Iiarr  was  injured  slightly  but  his 
49 


-S6  JAMES    P.    r.AKR. 

escape  from  deatli,  umlor  tlie  circumstances,  was  miraculous.  Tiiis  fearful 
calamiU'  cast  a  shadow  o\cr  his  hie;  but  the  siiicerit}'  of  his  religious  faith 
and  the  fortitude  of  his  character  were  illustrated  by  the  Christian  submission 
with  which  he  withstood  the  shocking  bereavement,  and  devoted  liis  energies  to 
tlie  domestic  duties  now  made  more  onerous  by  the  tragic  death  of  his  wife. 

For  a  number  of  years  preceding  his  last  fatal  illness  his  health  had  been 
gradually  failing  and  he  had  premonitions  that  the  trouble  was  serious  and  the 
end  not  far  off.  But  he  kept  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  always  cheerful, 
tender  and  devoted  to  those  within  the  family  circle,  and  kindly  and  cordial  to 
his  business  associates  and  personal  friends.  His  death  occurred  September  14, 
.1S86,  and  elicited  warm  tributes  of  respect  from  journalists  all  over  the  country 
and  from  a  number  of  prominent  statesmen.  Hon.  Samuel  J.  Randall,  in  a  letter 
to  the  son,  Albert  J.  Barr,  said : 

"Mr.  Barr  was  a  student,  a  careful  and  earnest  thinker,  of  untiring  energy,  of 
noble  aims  and  purposes,  and  bore  through  life  high  personal  chaiacter  and  the 
esteem  and  respect  of  Pittsburgh  where  he  lived,  and  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
where  his  eminent  public  services  were  justly  held  in  great  honor. 

"  He  was  gentle  and  modest  and  retiring  in  the  ordinary  business  of  life,  but 
when  the  vital  interests  of  the  people,  amongst  whom  he  lived  and  for  whom  he 
had  been  a  sturdy  champion  from  the  beginning,  were  at  stake,  or  the  renown 
and  success  of  a  friend  were  assailed  and  in  jeopard}',  he  was  'a  lion  in  the  path,' 
and  fought  with  indomitable  courage  and  abilit}'. 

"So  far  as  I  can  learn  his  life  drew  peacefully  to  its  close  surrounded  with 
sympathizing  relatives  and  friends. 

" '  While  he  slept  his  spirit  walked  aln  oad 

And  wandered  past  the  mountains,  past  the  cloudSj 
Noi"  came  again  to  rouse 
The  form  at  peace.'  " 


Charles   Emory   Smith. 


CIIARI.es   EMORY   SAIITII. 

CHARLES  Emory  Smith. — Birtli  cast  of  the  Hudson  and  a  career  westward  of 
that  stream  have  been  the  source  and  opportunity  of  successful  Hfe  in  the 
Northern  States  during  three-quarters  of  a  century.  True  of  all  professions,  this 
has  been  most  frequently  true  of  journalism.  The  most  conspicuous  success  in 
the  profession  is  summed  up  b\-  a  New  luit^land  anccstr)'  and  a  career  in  the 
Middle  States.  Nor  is  this  an  accident.  The  surest  path  of  personal  advance- 
ment lies  always  along  the  national  orbit,  and  this  has  made  our  westward 
march  the  most  conspicuous  fact  in  our  historical  development.  To  every  jour- 
nalist who  in  less  or  large  degree  has  shared  this  progress  or  enjoyed  its  oppor- 
tunities in  the  two  largest  States  of  the  Union,  New  York  and  Pennsylvania, 
there  has  fallen  a  part  in  the  immediate  progress  of  affairs  not  often  enjovcd  by 
those  whose  career  runs  farther  east  or  farther  west;  nearer  our  past  in  one  case, 
nearer  our  future  in  the  other,  in  both  farther  from  our  present. 

The  glory  of  a  man's  life  grows  valuable  as  it  bears  relation  to  the  larger  cur- 
rent of  affairs,  and  it  is  his  share  and  part  in  this  professional  development  which 
gives  special  interest  to  the  life  and  career  of  Charles  Emory  Smith,  editor  of  the 
Philadelphia  P/rss,  a  life  still  happily  incomplete  and  a  career  to  which  favorable 
fortune  has  not  put  its  last  touches.  Born  at  Mansfield,  Conn.,  February  i8, 
1S42,  the  removal  of  his  parents  in  1849  to  Albany  cast  all  his  early  study  in  the 
schools  of  that  city,  ending  in  the  Albany  Academ}',  one  of  the  few  schools  of 
secondary  instruction  in  New  York  State  with  traditions  and  a  reputation  of  its 
own  maintained  through  sixty  years.  Graduated  from  this  institution  at  sixteen 
in  1858,  six  months  were  spent  in  his  first  work  in  journalism,  the  current  daily 
leaders  in  the  Albany  Evening  Transcript ;  and  then  pushing  over  the  ground 
covered  by  the  first  two  years  of  a  college  course,  Mr.  Smith  passed  the  biennial 
examinations  of  Union  College  and  entered  at  the  opening  of  the  junior  year  in 
1859.  The  year  following,  while  still  a  junior,  he  was  Captain  of  the  College 
Wide-awakes,  the  popular  Republican  campaign  club  of  the  day,  and  represented 
Union  College  on  the  board  of  editors  of  the  University  Review,  a  short-lived 
periodical  of  admirable  aim  published  at  New  Haven  which  attempted  to  unite 
the  literary  talent  of  a  number  of  colleges  in  a  university  quarterly.  To  it  Mr. 
Smith  contributed  a  paper  on  the  histor)-  of  Union  College,  and  both  his  connec- 
tion with  this  periodical  and  his  acti\-ity  in  organizing  the  College  Wide-awalces 
gi\-e  hint  how  earl)-  politics  and  periodical  literature  had  engrossed  his  attention. 
In  1 861  he  was  graduated  and  returned,  his  day5  of  stud}-  and  preparation  for 
active  life  over  at  nineteen. 

In  the  summer  of  1861  Albany  was  the  centre  and  headquarters  of  active  prep- 
aration for  the  field.  Like  every  capital  of  the  larger  Northern  States,  it  was  the 
point  where  the  work  of  organizing  the  State  levies  and     turning    them    over 

(3S7) 


28S  CHARLES    EMUKV    SMITH. 

to  United  States  authorities  was  in  daily  and  hourly  progress.  An  important 
share  of  this  work,  coverin^j  a  large  part  of  the  largest  State  in  the  Union,  was 
given  to  Gen  John  F.  Rathbone.  In  organizing  his  military  family,  he  had 
the  wit  to  surround  himself  with  young  men.  He  offered  Mr.  Smith,  the  young 
graduate  who  had  attracted  his  attention  in  school  and  college,  a  position  first  as 
military  Secretary,  and  this  was  later  followed  by  promotion  to  the  post  of  Judge 
Advocate-General,  with  the  rank  of  Major  and  with  confidential  duties  broader 
than  the  place  and  rank  usually  confer.  For  eighteen  months  Mr.  Smith  held 
this  post,  and  while  he  remained  at  the  work  the  manifold  machinery  of  orders 
and  requisitions  passed  through  his  hands.  His  duties  were  rather  those  of  an 
Acting  Adjutant-General  than  of  the  private  Secretary  of  a  Brigadier-General  in  the 
State  military. 

With  a  change  in  the  method  of  raising  troops,  Mr.  Smith  entered  the  office 
of  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  State  and  remained  till  Horatio  Seymour  suc- 
ceeded Edwin  D.  Morgan  as  Governor  in  1863.  Resigning  his  place,  he  turned 
then  to  the  familiar  resource  of  teaching,  and  for  a  year  and  a  half  iield  a  position 
in  the  Alban)'  Academy,  from  which  he  had  been  graduated  four  years  before; 
but  it  was  a  time  in  which  the  vivid  life  of  the  day  all  turned  upon  the  burning 
questions  of  the  war,  and  the  real  work  to  which  the  \-oung  teacher  gave  himself 
was  in  short  articles  with  which  day  by  day  he  filled  two  columns  of  the  editorial 
page  of  the  Albany  Express.  The  stamp  and  direction  of  these  labors  at  once 
farmed  and  determined  what  came  in  later  years  to  be  the  familiar  mold  in  which 
the  lar<Ter  share  of  l\Ir.  Smith's  editorial  work  was  cast.  Albany  journalism  had 
reached  at  this  time  a  transitional  period.  The  Argus  had  been  established  half 
a  century  earlier  as  a  Democratic  Republican  organ,  and  the  appointment  of 
Thurlow  Weed  as  State  Printer  a  generation  after  the  Argus  was  founded  had 
given  the  Albany  Journal  a  similar  position  first  in  the  Whig  and  later  in  the 
Republican  party.  Each  journal  was  an  integral  part  of  the  partisan  machinery 
of  the  day,  and  enjoyed  an  influence  which  made  the  editor  of  the  Argus  always 
ix-officio  a  member  of  the  Albany  Regency,  and  Weed  the  managing  partner  of 
the  firm  of  Weed,  Seward  &  Co.,  to  which  Horace  Greeley  addressed  the  first 
considerable  declaration  of  political  independence  in  American  journalism.  The 
unique  position  of  these  newspapers  separated  them  alike  from  the  organs  which 
live  on  favors  received  and  independent  newspapers  which  constitute  a  vital  polit- 
ical force  in  the  community  separate  from  party  organization  and  machinery, 
.sometimes  greater  than  parties  and  sometimes  less,  enemies  in  war  and  in  peace 
friends,  but  neither  claiming  control  nor  conceding  partisan  allegiance.  Jour- 
nalism has  a  higher  walk  and  a  better  worship  than  this ;  but  American  journal- 
ism has  furnished  fewer  posts  of  wider  influence  than  was  presented  by  the  con- 
trol of  the.se  two  papers  in  the  period  soon  to  close  when  Mr.  Smith  drojiped  his 
teaciiing  and  the  writing  of  editorials  as  an  avocation  to  assume  his  vocation  in 
an  editorial  position  on  the  Albany  iT-v/rr-M  in  1865.  Mr.  Smith's  connection 
with  the  paper  rapidly  passed  from  a  salaried  iKjsition  to  a  profit.ible  share  in  the 


CIIAKUKS    KMDKV    SMITH.  389 

ownership,  coupled  with  editorial  control.     The  Express,  a  ])urel)-  local  jouinal 
until  he  took  charge,  began  then  to  be  regarded  a.s  a  political  force. 

The  re-election  of  Go\'ernor  Fenton  in  iS66  confirmed  his  position  at  the 
head  of  the  party,  and  his  continued  residence  in  Albany  strengthened  tlie 
relations  which  had  sprung  up  during  liis  first  term  between  the  astute  poli- 
tician in  the  executive  chamber  and  the  rising  \'oung  j(Tiinialist.  Td  those 
aware  of  the  real  conilition  of  affairs,  the  conduct  of  the  Alb.iny  jfournal 
was  somewhat  discredited  at  this  time  by  unfortunate  management.  It  was  also 
unfriendly  to  Governor  Fenton,  and  these  reasons  both  prompted  and  aided  the 
Governor  to  draw  the  Express  to  the  support  of  his  adnu'nistration.  Parti)'  by 
his  own  growing  strength,  largely  b)'  his  aid,  it  emerged  from  the  Republican 
Convention  of  1S67  with  a  ticket  of  its  own  making,  carried  against  the  Albany 
yonrnal.  The  Express  continued  to  make  steady  progress.  In  two  years  tiie 
successful  management  and  incisive  editorials  had  carried  it  to  a  conspicuous 
place  as  the  rival  Republican  organ  at  the  State  capital.  Its  editor  was  thiown 
into  increasing  intimacy  with  the  leaders  of  the  party,  among  whom  Go\ernor 
Fenton  still  remained  chief,  when  his  election  as  Senator  in  1S69  transferred  him 
from  Albany  to  Washington.  In  the  closing  part  of  his  term,  Mr.  Smith,  with- 
out relinquishing  his  editorial  work,  acted  for  a  time  as  private  Secretary  to  the 
Governor,  and  these  intimate  political  and  personal  relations  continued  alter  the 
removal  of  Mr.  Fenton  to  a  seat  in  the  Federal  Senate. 

From  1867  to  1870  four  successive  annual  elections  in  New  Yoik  State  re- 
turned each  a  Democratic  majority.  No  Republican  nonu'nations  and  no  [)arty 
management  was  able  to  retrieve  defeat  or  make  headway  against  the  alliance 
which  William  M.  Tweed  had  successfully  established  between  the  corrupt  wings 
of  both  parties  in  a  State  which  had  not  in  thirt}'  }'ears  offered  any  party  four 
consecutive  years  of  success.  The  alliance  and  its  influences  were  not  absent 
from  the  Albany  Journal,  aiul  in  1S70  its  proprietors  matle  a  radical  change  m 
its  management  by  calling  first  to  its  associate  and  later  to  its  chief  editorship 
Mr.  Charles  Emory  Smith.  His  determination  to  take  the  position  with  the 
office  untrammelled  b\'  an_\- connection  with  the  influence  then  dominant  on  both 
floors  and  in  every  chamber  of  the  State  capitol,  delayed  this  step,  ami  it  was 
not  until  over  a  year  after  the  offer  was  first  made  that  he  resigned  from  the 
E^xpress  and  acceptei!  a  place  upon  the  .Vlban}'  journal. 

The  new  position  which  he  occujMed  carried  the  responsibilities,  the  influences 
and  the  wide  relations  associated  with  it  through  the  long  success  and  pr.ictice 
of  the  political  journalism  alread)'  described.  It  was  a  place  which  left  to  any 
occupant  much  to  learn  in  journalism  of  a  higher  order,  but  to  a  man  equal  to 
the  demands  its  opportLuiities  left  nothing  to  acquire  in  the  close  connection  witii 
affairs  required  in  the  field  of  practical  politics.  Its  training  in  this  sphere  was 
as  complete  as  its  influence  was  unrivalled. 

It  is  among  the  personal  disadvantages  of  such  a  place  that  the  man  who  fills 
it  is  liable  to  lose  a  keen  apprehension  of  public  demands  and  desires,  while  the 


CHAKLES    ElIOKV    SMITH. 


public  on  its  side  misjudges  the  lionest  and  lionorable  defence  of  a  party  policy 
which  an  editor  was  first  in  forming  and  in  determining,  with  the  servile  acquies- 
cence of  an  organ  in  the  work  of  a  machine.  The  proof  which  Mr.  Smith  offered 
at  a  later  period  that  his  training  at  Albany  had  not  unfitted  him  for  combat  in 
a  freer  field  of  more  direct  access  to  a  greater  public  is  the  sufficient  answer  to 
the  imputations  which  insensibly  gather  about  a  man  v.\\o  occupies  a  position 
where  personal  influence  is  great  and  public  appreciation  at  once  incomplete, 
ine.Kact  and  inadequate.  At  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Smith's  connection  with 
the  Albany  yoiinial,  Mr.  George  Dawson  was  joint  editor  and  the  senior  in  jears 
and  .service,  and,  though  gradually  withdrawing  after  the  first  two  x'cars  from 
active  work,  he  continued  nominally  in  this  position  until  iS;6,  when  his  formal 
retirement  left  Mr.  Smith  alone  in  the  conduct  of  the  paper;  but  during  most  of 
the  ten  years  over  which  his  connection  with  the  paper  extended,  from  1S70  to 
iSSo,  it  was  the  open  secret  of  New  York  politics  and  of  Albany  journalism  that 
Mr.  Smith  was  the  controlling  spirit  in  the  politics  of  the  yoiirnal. 

The  post  brought  with  it,  as  the  next  step  in  his  career,  a  public  association 
with  politics.  From  1S73  on  Mr.  Smith  was  a  delegate  to  State  Conventions, 
and  in  them  it  soon  came  to  be  a  fi.Ked  practice  which  acquired  the  foice  of  un- 
written law  that  the  editor  of  the  Jounial  should  head  the  Committee  on  Resolu- 
tions and  prepare  the  platforms.  After  1874  this  was  recognized  throughout  the 
State.  Successive  utterances  of  party  pulic}-  and  principle  yearly  came  from  Mr. 
Smith's  pen,  which  drew  the  platform  at  the  Con\-ention  and  then  expounded  and 
enforced  it  in  the  yonrnal  through  the  campaign.  Election  to  State  Conventions 
was  succeeded  in  due  order  by  the  selection  of  Mr.  Smith  as  delegate  to  the 
Republican  National  Convention  in  1876.  He  occupied  a  place  at  Cincinnati  on 
the  Committee  on  Resolutions,  and  he  discharged  there,  as  he  so  often  had  done 
in  State  Conventions,  the  delicate  work  of  embodying  in  words  the  sentiment, 
the  opinion  and  the  principles  of  the  party.  A  large  part  of  the  platform  came 
direct  from  his  pen.  His  active  connection  with  New  York  politics  closed  at  the 
Utica  Convention  in  1880,  where  he  declined  to  occupy  his  old  post  as  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Resolutions.  Once  before,  when  Chairman  of  the  same 
Committee  in  1876,  he  had  parted  company  with  his  nearest  associates  in  the 
party  by  opposing  and  defeating  a  resolution  instructing  the  State  delegation  at 
Cincinnati  to  vote  as  a  unit.  Again,  in  18S0,  he  differed  from  the  leaders  of  the 
majority  and  served  instead  as  both  Temporary  and  Permanent  Chairman — the 
conspicuous  figure  in  a  conspicuous  Convention. 

Through  the  early  stages  in  which  success,  while  it  justified  the  movement 
for  party  purity  headed  by  Senator  Conkling,  gave  it,  year  b_\-  year,  the  danger- 
ous tendency  towards  arbitrary  power  which  led  to  the  political  fall  of  its  chief, 
tile  influence  of  the  Journal  i\r\(\  its  editor  was  steadily  exerted  for  a  liberal 
policy.  The  support  of  W.  II.  Robinson  for  (iovernor,  in  1S72,  meant  this. 
The  efforts  of  Mr.  Smith  were  directed  to  the  same  end  in  1.S77,  when  he  carried 
the  first  principles  of  Civil  Service  Reform  in   the   Stale  platf  irm,  and  in    1878, 


CHARLES    EMOKV    SMn'lI.  3yl 

when  lie  framed  and  reported  a  [ilatforin  to  which  he  personalis  secured  tlic 
anpro\-al  of  Mr.  \\'m.  IM.  ICxaits,  as  the  head  of  [he  administration  of  I'resident 
Ha_\-es,  and  of  Senator  Conkhng,  as  chief  of  the  opposition,  lie  followed  the 
same  hheral  policy  in  aiKocating  and  aidin;4  the  election  of  Mr.  Geors^e  B.  Sloan 
as  Speaker  of  the  Asscmbl)-,  in  opposition  to  the  m.ichine  ortjani/.ation,  with 
which  he  co-operated  when  he  felt  it  to  be  right.  The  real  strength  and  im- 
portance of  the  position  occupied  by  Mr.  Smith  in  the  politics  of  New  'S'oik 
State  depended  upon  the  success  with  which  the  editor  of  the  y<v/;7/<r/ succeeded 
in  accomplishing-  such  results — in  i)re\'enting  the  managers  of  the  party  from 
setting  at  naught  the  demands  of  the  minority  and  forgetting  the  duty  respon- 
sible leaders  owe  to  all  eleinents  of  a  [^artisan  organization.  If  these  efforts 
proved  at  last  unavailing,  it  was  not  for  lack  of  their  constant  exercise,  and  no 
man  familiar  with  .iffiirs  inside  politics  in  the  .State  was  unaware  that  Mr.  Smith 
represented  in  party  councils  a  modei'ate  policy  and  was  constantly  urging  a 
frank  recognition  of  the  just  claims  of  the  minorit\'. 

All  of  his  ability  as  a  man  of  affairs  had  received  its  adequate  exercise  in  his 
position  upon  the  Albany  jfonynal ;  but  there  are  few  places  as  conspicuous  in 
journalism  which  offer  so  little  opportunit}-  for  the  professional  ability  of  a  jour- 
nalist. This  needed  another  and  a  larger  field.  Early  in  iSSo  this  opened  be- 
fore Mr.  Smith  in  the  offer  of  the  chief  editorship  of  the  Philadelphia  Press.  The 
P/rss,  when  Mr.  Smith  assumed  editorial  control  and  responsibility,  March  7, 
18S0,  was  a  newspaper  stranded  in  the  shallows  of  a  diminishing  circulation, 
without  advertising,  without  influence  and  without  equipment,  whose  single 
tangible  advantage  over  a  sheet  started  yesterday  was  an  Associated  Press  fran- 
chise. Founded  over  twenty-five  years  before,  by  John  \V.  Forne}-,  it  had 
enjo}-ed  a  brilliant  career  through  the  earlier  years  of  his  management  and  con- 
trol. In  later  years  it  had  steadily  lost  ground,  and  rapid  changes  in  its  man- 
agement had  destroyed  public  confidence  and  prevented  the  P/rss  from  enjo\-ing 
the  manifest  benefit  of  its  opportunities  in  the  second  cit\'  of  the  Union.  In  all 
its  relations  in  every  function  and  in  each  department  it  needed  repair,  as  frigates 
are  "  repaired  "  in  our  navy-yards,  by  taking  a  foot  or  two  of  the  old  keelson 
and  building  a  new  vessel  about  that.  The  perplexities  and  perils  of  such  a 
task,  its  difficulties  and  dangers,  none  but  journalists  know,  and  from  them  most 
journalists  shrink. 

The  national  campaign,  which  ended  in  the  election  of  Garfield,  had  just 
opened  when  Mr.  Smith  assumed  full  control  of  the  P/rss.  In  politics  it  was  an 
unconsidered  factor,  its  local  influence  had  almost  disappeared,  in  news-gather- 
ing it  was  unknown,  and  in  the  wider  walks  of  journalism  it  was  unfelt.  All  this 
was  altered  in  the  si.x  months  of  its  first  national  campaign  under  the  new  man- 
agement, and  when,  four  years  later,  another  national  canvass  opened,  the  P/rss 
stood  foremost  in  the  great  popular  movement  which  culminated  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  James  G.  Blaine.  It  led  in  the  politics  of  its  State  and  in  its  own  city;  it 
enjoyed  an  influence  second  to  no  rival  newspaper;  its  news  had  no  superior  along 


39-  CHART, ES    EMORY    SMITH. 

the  Atlantic  coast,  and  in  compan\'  witli  a  few  otlier  leading  newspapers  it  shared 
the  best  special  cable  service  in  the  countr\',  w  hile  its  pages  displayed  that  elevated 
and  accurate  reflection  of  national  principle  and  sentiment  which  constitutes  the 
highest  work  of  journalism.  Four  years  sufficed  to  complete  this  work,  to  raise 
the  Prrss  from  an  obscure  place  in  the  local  dailies  of  Philadelphia  to  the  front 
rank  of  journalism  in  the  nation. 

The  talent  and  the  methods  employed  in  creating  a  successful  newspaper  are 
always  essentially  the  same.  The  task  requires  the  capacity  for  organizing  a 
highly  prosperous  business  which  a  successful  tradesman  needs;  a  sure  instinct 
in  catching  the  political  drift  of  the  da\-  which  makes  the  successful  politician, 
and  that  special  gift  of  the  journalist  who,  to  succeed,  must  know  to-day  what 
will  most  interest  the  surrounding  public  to-morrow.  In  discharging  this  com- 
plex task,  whose  diverse  requirements  are  rarely  or  never  united  in  the  same 
man,  the  skilled  assistance  of  an  adequate  staff  is  a  fundamental  requisite  for 
success,  and  this,  in  the  first  eighteen  months  under  the  new  management,  the 
P/rss  office  had  secured.  With  this  task  there  went  on  the  rapid  extension  of 
the  P/rss  in  all  the  functions  of  the  complete  newspaper.  By  the  general  pub- 
lic, to  whom  a  public  journal  daily  presents  itself  as  a  casual  whole,  these  various 
functions  are  little  understood.  There  was  in  the  present  instance,  as  the  earliest 
step  and  one  whose  influence  was  most  widely  apparent,  a  political  policy  and 
course  of  action  adopted  which  impressed  itself  on  the  changing  current  of 
party  management,  left  there  its  personal  mark,  and  directed  it  into  new  channels. 
It  was  veryr  largel)^  due  to  the  P/rss  and  its  influence,  as  personally  directed,  in- 
spired and  conducted  by  Mr.  Smith,  that  the  Republican  party  in  Pennsylvania 
emerged  from  the  troublous  reorganization  of  the  four  years  from  1880  to  1884, 
united  and  ready  for  new  victories,  and  this  inevitably  left  the  P/rss  in  a  com- 
manding position  rarely  occupied  by  any  one  newspaper  towards  a  paity  casting 
half  a  million  votes. 

The  initial  impulse  toward  this  important  result  was  given  in  the  first  six 
months  after  Mr.  Smith's  arrival.  The  careful  organization  of  the  news  of  the 
P/rss  began  shortly  after,  and  was  well  systematized  a  year  and  a  half  later,  in 
1883.  This  work  involved  the  double  task  of  extending  over  the  State  and  the 
country  a  great  net-work  of  local  correspondents  and  of  creating  an  office  organi- 
zation competent  to  deal  with  all  news  as  it  comes.  News  of  this  character  is, 
however,  in  the  way  of  every  net  spread  broad  enough.  The  P/rss,  under  Mr. 
Smith,  has  added  to  this  the  development  and  disclosure  of  local  abuses  whose 
"news"  lay  in  their  original  discovery.  It  is  in  this  field  that  the  most  pow- 
erful influence  of  a  wric.fpaper  is  exerted,  and  the  P/rss  has  not  only  reflected  the 
daily  local  life  of  Philadelphia  as  it  ne\cr  was  given  before,  but  it  has  in  addition 
attracted  and  conmianded  public  attention  by  the  light  it  has  thrown  on  abuses 
first  recorded  in  its  columns.  Lastiv,  in  the  sphere  of  opinion,  where  reason 
supplements  fact  and  the  newspaper  becomes  something  more  than  a  bulletin 
and    bill-board,  the    J'/iss,   under    Mr.    Smith's    immediate    personal   care    and 


CHARLES    EMORY    SMITH.  393 

throufrh  his  own  utterances,  came  to  be  known  as  a  public  journal  in  which 
independence,  ability  and  a  perspicuous  insight  into  the  drift  and  current  of 
popular  thought  united  to  make  an  editorial  page  which  at  once  expressed, 
reflected  and  formed  the  principle  and  opinion,  the  convictions  and  action  of  the 
party  with  which  it  acted  and  the  community  in  which  its  lot  was  cast. 

The  Press  had  been  without  a  Sunday  edition  prior  to  the  change  in  its  man- 
agement in  1880,  and  its  weekly  issue  had  sunk  to  a  nominal  circulation.  In 
March,  1 88 1,  a  local  sheet,  the  Sunday  Press,  was  bought  to  prevent  any  confu- 
sion of  name,  and  the  issue  of  the  Sunday  Press  begun.  From  its  commence- 
ment successful,  the  influence  of  this  issue  widened  and  its  circulation  increased, 
until  in  two  years  the  latter  exceeded  that  of  any  Sunday  newspaper  south  of 
New  York  and  west  of  Cincinnati.  In  spite  of  its  steady  improvement  as  a 
newspaper,  and  of  having  more  than  doubled  its  numbers,  the  Press  lacked  up 
to  the  autumn  of  1883  the  great  popular  circulation  to  which  its  merits  entitled 
it.  This,  it  gradually  became  plain,  was  due  chiefly  to  its  price,  three  cents,  while 
its  rivals  sold  their  daily  issues  at  two  cents.  Its  lai'ger  size  and  more  complete 
news  failed  to  make  up  the  difference,  and  in  October,  1883,  the  step  of  reducing 
its  price  to  two  cents  was  taken.  The  result  more  than  justified  the  decision. 
The  circulation  of  the  Press  advanced  by  leaps  and  bounds  and  doubled  by  half 
years  for  a  twelvemonth  after.  In  the  winter  of  1883-4  the  weekly  issue  of  the 
paper  was  taken  up  and  it  -repaid  special  care  and  the  employment  of  trained 
talent  in  the  same  manner.  The  circulation  of  its  campaign  edition  rose  in  1884 
to  more  than  100,000,  and  it  went  into  every  State  in  the  Union  and  almost  every 
Congressional  district.  Success  like  this  involved,  as  every  journalist  and,  most 
of  all,  every  editor  in  charge  is  aware,  a  prompt  readiness  on  the  part  of  the  pro- 
prietary management  of  the  Press  to  sacrifice  present  profits  to  future  business 
and  a  clear  appreciation  that  in  the  long  run  tlie  highest  success  is  only  secured 
by  the  highest  payment  in  the  open  market  of  professional  talent  and  mechanical 
industry.  This  appreciation  and  this  readiness  are  rare  in  all  walks — rarest  of 
all,  journalists  are  fain  to  believe,  in  newspaper  proprietors.  The}'  existed  in 
abundant  and  continuing  measure  in  the  chief  proprietor  of  the  Press,  Mr.  Calvin 
Wells,  whose  signal  sagacity,  courage,  business  foresight  and  broad  polic)'  have 
been  a  tower  of  strength  to  Mr.  Smith.  Without  co-operation,  and  something 
more  than  co-operation,  in  the  chief  proprietor  of  a  newspaper,  the  comprehen- 
sive insight  of  an  editor-in-chief,  which  grasps  by  instinct  the  condition  of  the 
intricate  problems  of  journalism,  his  ability,  his  experience  and  his  professional 
powers  are  put  forward  to  little  purpose  and  yield  stunted  fruit. 

The  career  of  a  journalist  is  bound  up  in  the  daily  issues  of  the  journal  he 
edits.  Little  else  offers  itself  in  his  professional  life  but  the  success  and  the 
growing  influence  of  his  newspaper.  This  alone,  however,  is  often  first  recog- 
nized by  the  attention  which  a  journalist  attracts  outside  of  the  immediate  round 
of  his  profession.  In  1871,  ten  years  after  graduation,  Mr.  Smith  was  elected 
trustee  of  Union  College,  for  a  term  of  five  years,  in  the  first  election  for  this 
50 


394  CHARLES    EMOKV    SMITH. 

purpose  held  by  the  aUiniiii  of  the  institution  ami  under  pro\'isions  whicli  made 
tlie  period  whieh  had  elapsed  since  Mr.  Smith  took  his  degree  the  earliest  at  which 
he  was  eligible  for  election.  In  1879  Mr.  Smith  resumed  his  connection  with  the 
interests  of  higher  education  b}-  his  election  as  Regent  of  the  University  of  New 
York  on  the  unanimous  nomination  of  the  Republican  caucus  of  the  New  York 
Legislature.  Me  remained  in  this  position  until  his  departure  from  the  State  led 
to  his  resignation.  For  the  past  ten  years  a  long  line  of  public  addresses  and 
lectures  have  brought  him  upon  the  platform  before  audiences  in  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  These  began  with  the  annual  address 
before  the  State  Press  Association  in  Lockport,  N.  Y.,  a  body  of  which  he  was 
elected  President  in  1874.  They  have  been  continued  before  the  New  York 
State  Teachers'  Association,  the  New  York  State  Military  Association  and  at  the 
Commencements  of  Lafayette,  Muhlenberg,  the  Palatinate  and  the  State  Colleges 
of  Pennsylvania,  Rutgers  College  of  New  Jersey  and  the  Delaware  College  in 
Delaware.  Through  three  Presidential  campaigns,  in  1S76,  in  iSSo  and  in 
1884,  Mr.  Smith  has  appeared  upon  the  stump,  while  his  voice  has  been  heard 
upon  the  platform  in  every  State  campaign  and  in  nearl_\-  all  local  contests  in  the 
last  ten  )-ears.  In  1 88 1  he  opened  the  campaign  for  the  State  Committee,  and 
liis  speech  became  one  of  the  most  important  tlocuments  circulated  during  the 
contest.  These  labors  have  introduced  him  to  man)-  audiences  and  to  thousands 
of  hearers,  who  have  seen  before  them  upon  the  platform  a  man  of  slight  and 
nervous  frame,  slender,  erect  and  impassioned,  dark-haired,  strong-featured  and 
bright-eyed,  with  a  voice  full  of  vibratory  strength,  responding  to  the  excitement 
of  the  speaker  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  audience  with  a  volume  equal  to  stormy 
conventions  and  the  bustle  of  political  meetings.  Such  is  the  outer  man  and 
such  the  outer  lines  of  his  work ;  but  to  all,  whether  success  come  in  broader  or 
in  narrower  fields,  it  is  given  to  be  known  in  truth  only  to  the  few  with  whom  he 
is  associated  in  daily  companionship.  There  his  limitations  appear,  and  there 
his  character  is  known.  Success  in  the  world  of  daily  life  has  been  the  chief 
mark  and  note  in  Mr.  Smith's  life,  and  success  is  here  recorded.  But  it  would 
be  unfair  to  him,  untrue  to  fact  and,  least  of  all,  to  the  desire  of  the  writer  to 
close  this  brief  sketch  of  a  busy  life  without  adding  that  years  of  effort  and  en- 
deavor in  the  path  of  personal  advancement,  which  every  man  treads,  have  left 
liim  a  man  to  whom  friends  are  bound  by  hooks  of  steel  and  acquaintances  are 
drawn  by  the  cordial  frankness  of  a  winning  and  engaging  nature.  Through 
twelveyears  in  his  position  as  chief  editor,  first  of  the  Jounial  and  later  of  the 
Press,  he  has  commanded  the  unshaken  loyalty  of  his  staff,  who  have  come  as 
men  to  know  him  as  a  firm  friend  and  as  journalists  to  recognize  in  him  a  journal- 
ist whom  success  and  opportunities  have  always  found  ready  to  learn  anew  and 
aright  the  shifting  lessons  of  a  profession  in  which  permanent  pre-eminence  comes 
only  to  the  man  never  too  old  to  learn  and  never  too  selfish  to  give  to  his 
fellow-workers  and  subordinates  their  full,  just  and  generous  due. 


CIIARI  I'.S    rSIOKV    SMI  III. 


395 


TTis  political  career  lias  been  marked  by  tlic  same  !:^cncroiis  cnlliusiastn.  Few 
men  have  sliared  more  in  tlie  labors  and  less  in  the  rewards  of  prihtieal  life,  few 
more  for  the  public  cause  of  a  party  and  less  for  personal  advancement.  'Idnout^h 
nineteen  \-ears  of  ])cilitical  journalism  he  has  held  no  (iffice  and  asl<cd  for  no 
.share  in  the  emoluments  of  political  life.  His  experience,  his  tact  and  persua- 
si\'e  ability,  with  speech  and  [leii,  ha\e  been  freel_\-  placed  at  the  service  of  the 
party  with  which  he  has  been  associated,  and  he  h.is  had  the  hiL;h  and  sufficient 
recompense  of  .seeinL;  its  practice  and  policy  atlvancint:;  to  a  hiL;her  plane  and 
the  independent  influence  of  his  profession  more  and  more  recoirnized  in  its 
councils,  mindful  through  all  his  career  that  "  the  office  of  a  good  newspaper  is 
to  represent  well  the  interests  of  its  time." 


Robert   S.   Davis. 


ROBERT   STEWART   DAVIS. 

ROBERT  S.  Davis,  proprietor  and  editor  of  The  Ilvciiiiii::  Call,  of  Philadclpliia, 
was  born  in  that  city  on  April  23,  1839.  '^^'■^  "''"^s  educated  in  New  V.w^- 
land,  and  was  graduated  by  Yale  College  in  iS6o.  He  then  entered  upon  the 
study  of  law  in  his  native  city  in  the  office  of  the  late  Hon.  \V.  S,  Peirce,  Jutlgc 
of  the  Common  Pleas  Courts ;  but  abandoned  the  peru.sal  of  Kent  and  Black- 
stone  long  before  the  time  arrived  for  his  admission  to  the  bar,  and  entered  the 
busy  path  of  journalism. 

His  debut  in  newspaper  hfe  was  made  on  the  Philadelphia  Inquirer,  when  that 
paper  was  in  the  zenith  of  its  popularity  by  reason  of  its  full  and  comprehensive 
reports  from  the  front  during  the  war  of  tlie  rebellion.  I\Ir.  Da\'is  began  his 
career  as  a  reporter,  but  was  soon  attached  to  the  editorial  staff  Subsequently 
he  left  the  Inquirer  and  became  connected  with  the  Press,  then  under  the  charge 
and  proprietorship  of  the  veteran  journalist.  Col.  John  W.  Forney,  as  news  editor. 
He  returned  to  the  Inquirer  dSlzr  a  brief  service  on  the  Press,  however,  and  was 
sent  to  the  front,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  National  Capital,  as  a  war  correspondent. 
Toward  the  close  of  the  civil  conflict  he  was  known  in  Washington  as  a  live  and 
accurate  correspondent,  and  was  prominent  in  "  Newspaper  Row  "  in  that  city. 
Here  he  made  the  acquaintance  of  and  formed  an  intimacy  with  James  Elverson, 
then  a  telegraph  operator  in  charge  of  the  Western  Union  office.  The  friend- 
ship of  Messrs.  Davis  and  Elverson  led  to  the  establishing  of  the  Saturday 
Night,  under  that  firm-name.  Both  gentlemen  came  to  this  city  from  Washing- 
ton in  1865,  and  with  a  limited  capital  began  the  publication  of  the  weekl)'  paper 
which  subsequently  made  their  fortunes. 

The  first  number  of  the  Saturday  Night  was  issued  on  September  30,  1865, 
from  108  South  Third  street.  It  was  proposed  to  make  it  a  periodical  of  local 
interest  with  distinctively  literary  features,  and  to  pay  special  attention  in  its  col- 
umns to  society  gossip,  chess,  billiards  and  other  refined  games.  The  paper  had 
a  hard  struggle  at  the  beginning,  and  the  story  is  told  that  at  one  time  the  entire 
plant  could  have  been  purchased  for  $1,000.  However,  the  energy  and  pluck 
of  the  proprietors  overcame  all  obstacles,  and  in  eighteen  months  they  had 
placed  it  on  so  firm  a  basis  that  they  determined  to  enlarge  its  scope  and  malce 
it  a  first-class  weekly  story  paper,  aiming  at  national  circulation  and  importance. 

On  April  20,  1867,  the  first  number  under  the  new  departure  was  issued,  the 
publication  office  having  been  removed  to  the  noitheast  corner  of  Third  and 
Chestnut  streets.  Prosperity  was  then  assured,  and  from  that  time  the  course  of 
the  Saturday  Night  was  upward  and  onward.  In  the  spring  of  1 868  the  increased 
circulation  and  business  of  the  concern  necessitated  the  obtaining  of  more  exten- 
sive quarters,  and  the  publication  office  was  established  at  the  southwest  coiner 
of  Eighth  and  Locust  streets.     Mr.  Davis,  as  the  senior  member  of  the  firm, 

(397) 


39S  ROBERT    S.    DAVIS. 

acted  as  business  manager,  but  found  time  to  devote  to  the  literary  interests  of 
his  enterprise.  Here  lie  demonstrated  that  he  possessed  talents  of  a  high  order. 
He  wrote  for  the  Siitiirday  Night  a  great  number  of  serial  stories,  sketches,  etc., 
wliich  assisted  materially  in  establishing  its  popularity,  and  indicated  that  the 
author  was  a  man  of  versatile  talents  and  ability.  One  of  his  stories,  a  serial, 
entitled,  "  Rich  and  Poor,"  met  with  great  success,  and  was  republished  at  the 
request  of  many  readers  of  the  periodical.  Another  serial,  "As  It  May  Happen," 
was,  after  its  appearance  in  the  paper,  republished  in  book  form,  the  author 
assuming  the  iioin  dc  plume  of  "  Trebor,"  his  Christian  name  spelled  backwards. 
This  was  also  very  successful,  and  commanded  a  wide  and  profitable  circulation. 

In  tlie  latter  part  of  1868  Mr.  Davis  sold  his  share  of  the  Saturday  Night  to 
his  partner,  Mr.  Elverson,  and  retired  from  active  business  for  a  time.  He  reap- 
peared in  the  literary  world,  however,  in  1882  as  the  principal  stockholder  in 
and  Treasurer  of  "  Our  Continent  Publishing  Company,"  whose  object  was  the 
publication  of  a  high-class  monthly  journal  of  the  best  magazine  order.  The 
President  of  the  conipan)'  was  Albion  W.  Tourgee,  who  had  been  a  Federal 
Judge  in  North  Carolina  during  the  reconstruction  period,  and  whose  novels,  "A 
Fool's  Errand,"  "  Bricks  Without  Straw,"  etc.,  remain  to-day  standard  works  of 
political  fiction.  Daniel  G.  Brinton,  M.  D.,  was  Secretary  of  the  new  company, 
and  the  contributors  to  Our  Coutiucut  comprised  such  literary  lights  as  George 
Parsons  Lathrop,  Sidney  Lanier,  Donald  G.  Mitchell  (Ik  Marvel),  George  H. 
Boker,  Oscar  Wilde,  Rev.  E.  P.  Roe,  Ma.x  Adeler,  Louise  Chandler  Moulton, 
Helen  Campbell,  Rebecca  Harding  Davis,  Professor  Wm.  Pepper,  now  Provost 
of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  others  of  the  same  high  class.  Mr.  Davis 
was  manager  of  the  new  enterprise,  and,  as  a  sample  of  his  liberal  ideas  in  this 
direction,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say  that  he  paid  Oscar  Wilde,  the  English  dis- 
ciple of  ultra-asstheticism  ;g  1,000  for  a  poem  which  appeared  in  the  Contijicnt, 
and  which  was  the  first  production  of  Mr.  Wilde's  pen  for  an  American  publica- 
tion. When  Oscar  Wilde  visited  Philadelphia  Mr.  Davis  entertained  him  roj'ally, 
and  it  was  at  his  house  that  the  English  sunflower  poet  met  most  of  the  aristoc- 
racy of  the  Quaker  City. 

In  1883  Mr.  Davis  severed  his  relations  with  the  Coiitiiuut,  which  had  pre- 
viously dropped  the  word  "  our  "  from  its  title,  and  shortly  after  he  became  one 
of  the  owners  of  Tlic  Daily  Nctvs,  the  well-known  afternoon  paper  of  Philadel- 
phia. He  did  not  stay  long  here,  however,  but  bent  his  energies  and  embarked 
liberal  capital  in  the  founding  of  TIic  Evening  Call,  which  journal  he  still  owns 
and  conducts.  The  first  number  of  the  Call  \\ii\s  issued  on  September  17,  1883, 
and  it  seemed  to  leap  into  popular  favor  from  the  start.  Its  inauguration  was 
marked  by  the  most  liberal  advertising  methods  on  the  part  of  the  proprietor. 
As  a  sample,  it  is  only  ncces.sary  to  mention  that  he  equipped  a  magnificent 
brass  band  of  sixty  pieces,  with  splendid  uniforms  and  instruments,  under  the 
leadership  of  the  celebrated  musician,  J.  G.  .S.  Beck,  and  the  name,  "  Evening 
Call  Band,"  is  still  retained  by  the  organization. 


ROHEKT    S.    DAVIS.  T^gr, 

The  original  int(_'nti<in  of  Mr.  Da\'i,s  was  td  nialvc  tlic  Oi//  a  stury  p.ipcr  as 
well  a.s  a  joiiiual  fur  llic  publication  of  news,  Init  the  literal)-  featiire.s  wire  l;i-,u1u- 
ally  eliminated  until  it  became  a  first-clas.s  newspaper.  In  politics  the  paper  i.s 
Republican,  but  it  has  a  decidedly  independent  tone,  and  tl<jes  not  suit  nu;n  m 
public  life  who  essa)'  to  control  the  voters.  It  wa.s'  oriyinall)'  a  two-cent  pa[)er, 
but  on  February  I,  iSSS,  Mr.  Davis  joined  the  ranks  of  penny  journalism,  and 
reduced  the  price  of  the  (T;?// to  one  cent  per  copy.  Since  then  its  circulation 
has  rapidly  increasetl,  and  it  is  now  in  the  front  rank  of  the  most  influential 
afternoon  papers  of  the  cit)-. 

The  Cct//,  in  its  new  departure,  has  demonstrated  that  a  strict!)-  independ'-nt 
newspaper  is  the  most  popular  with  the  people.  While  IMr.  Da\"is  is  a  Repub- 
lican, he  conducts  his  paper  in  the  interests  of  all  pe(.)|)le  without  regard  to  relig- 
ious creeds  or  party  affiliations.  His  paper  has  in  recent  \-ears  very  vigorously 
and  intelligently  discussed  the  question  of  tariff  revision,  maintaining  that  the 
only  desirable  tariff  for  the  United  States  is  a  tariff  that  shall  protect  labor,  and 
at  the  same  time  not  malce  duties  so  high  as  to  prohibit  importations,  and 
thereb)-  surrender  our  home  markets  to  mono[iolists. 

The  Ca//,  because  of  its  pronounced  friendship  for  organized  labor,  is  very 
popular  with  the  working  classes,  and  is  considered  by  them  its  best  newspaper 
counsellor  and  friend.  Its  large  and  rapidl)'  extending  circulation  reaches  all 
classes  of  readers  in  Philadelphia  and  \icinit\-,  and  all  the  prominent  \illages  and 
towns  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  Marj-land  and  Delaware.  It  is 
distinctively  a  family  newspaper,  and,  besides  the  fullest  news  of  the  da}-,  it 
always  contains  general,  domestic  and  literary  articles  of  interest  to  all  members 
of  the  family  circle.  It  is  the  only  double-sheet  new-spaper  in  the  world  pub- 
lished for  a  penny,  and  is  on  the  quick  road  to  100,000  circulation  a  day. 

Mr.  Davis  is  a  heav\-  stockholder  in  and  a  Director  of  the  United  Press  Asso- 
ciation, of  which  his  paper  has  the  exclusive  afternoon  franchise  in  Philadelphia, 
and  is  a  member  of  the  American  Newspaper  Association  recently  organized,  of 
which  Mr.  \Vm.  M.  Singerh',  of  T/it  PliiladclpJiia  Record,  is  President,  and  which 
is  known  as  the  Newspaper  Trust. 

Mr.  Davis  is  an  honorary  member  of  George  G.  Meade  Post,  No.  i,  G.  A.  R., 
and  of  the  State  Fencibles,  a  Director  in  the  Union  League,  and  a  Governor  of 
the  University  Club.  He  is  married,  but  has  no  children,  and  lives  in  a  hand- 
some mansion  at  the  northwest  corner  of  Eighteenth  and  Spruce  streets.  He 
has  been  offered  several  important  political  nominations  ;  but  he  declined  them 
all,  being  convinced  that  he  could  serve  the  people  best  by  publishing  a  paper 
that  would  owe  nothing  to  political  office,  patronage  or  preferment,  and  could 
treat  all  the  political  and  local  questions  of  the  day  from  a  purel\-  independe-nt 
standpoint.  J-  -^-  *— 


Moses    P.   Handy. 


IMOSES  rURNELL  HANDY. 

MOSES  P.  Maxiiv,  wliosc  reputation  as  a  journalist  has  been  largely  made 
through  his  connection  with  some  of  the  leading  iic\vspa[)ers  of  this 
State,  was  born  April  14,  1S47,  in  the  town  of  Warsaw,  Mo.  His  father,  an 
eminent  Presbyterian  divine,  belonging  to  an  old  Maryland  family,  was  then 
serving  as  a  missionary  in  Osage  count}',  Mo.,  where  he  organized  the  first 
Presbyterian  church  in  that  community.  When  "  M.  P.  H."  was  less  than  a 
year  old,  the  death  of  his  mother  obliged  Dr.  Handy,  for  the  sake  of  his  four 
small  children,  to  return  to  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  of  which  he  was  a 
native.  Soon  afterwards  he  was  called  to  the  church  at  Middletown,  Del.,  and 
for  six  years  served  as  an  ev-angelist  for  the  "  Eastern  Shore."  During  this  time 
the  son  frequently  accompanied  his  father  on  his  journeys  about  the  peninsula, 
and  at  a  tender  age  showed  the  bent  of  his  mind.  At  four  years  of  age  he  read 
fluently,  and  at  seven  began  to  edit  his  first  paper,  to  which  his  father  was  the 
sole  subscriber. 

In  1854  Dr.  Handy  took  charge  of  the  Presb}-terian  Church  in  PoiLsmouth, 
Va.  Here  young  Handy  was  educated  at  the  Virginia  Collegiate  Institute, 
Prof  Webster,  Principal.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  he  was 
prepared  for  college,  which,  however,  he  was  unable  to  enter  on  account  of  the 
general  upheaval  of  everything  in  the  South.  After  the  Federal  occupation  of 
Portsmouth  the  family  went  back  to  Delaware,  under  a  safe-conduct  from  Gen- 
eral Dix,  to  visit  the  parents  of  young  Handy's  step-mother.  While  there  Dr. 
Handy  was  arrested  and  incarcerated  in  Fort  Delaware,  where  he  was  confined 
for  fifteen  months.  During  this  period  the  boy  supported  himself  during  the  sum- 
mer by  working  for  his  board  on  a  farm  belonging  to  his  step-mother's  brother, 
and  was  employed  in  the  winter  in  a  drug  store,  where  he  occupied  his  leisure 
hours  in  writing  a  sensational  novel,  the  MS.  of  which  was  destroyed  by  a  too 
careful  housemaid. 

W'hen  he  was  seventeen  years  old  his  maternal  uncle,  Col.  William  H.  Pur- 
neil,  of  Frederic,  Md.,  offered  him  a  collegiate  course  upon  the  condition  of  his 
remaining  North,  but  his  father,  who  had  just  been  released  from  his  imprison- 
ment, preferred  that  the  youth  should  accompany  his  family  to  Richmond,  Va. 
As  soon  as  he  arrived  at  the  Confederate  Capital  he  was  conscripted.  The  in- 
fluence of  famil)'  friends  secured  him  a  position  on  the  staff  of  General  Stevens, 
chief  of  engineers  in  Lee's  army,  and  in  this  capacity  he  served  during  the  few 
remaining  months  of  the  existence  of  the  Confederate  States. 

When  the  war  came  to  an  end  young  Handy  found  himself  penniless.     His 

father's  house  in  PoVtsmouth  had  been  stripped  of  everything  valuable  during 

their  long  ab.sence,  and  he  set  to  work  to  earn  a  living  at  whatever  came  to 

hand.     For  some  weeks  the  principal  support  of  the  family  was  the  proceeds  of 

51  (401) 


402  MOSES    P.    HANDY. 

the  garden,  the  surphis  of  wliicli  he  sold  in  the  Richmord  market.  Then  Dr. 
llantly  was  called  to  a  church  in  Orange  Court-House,  Va.,  and  the  son  tried 
school-teaching,  and  afterwards  book  canvassing,  meantime  writing  his  experi- 
ences on  "The  Retreat  from  Richmond"  for  the  Watclunan,  a  paper  edited  in 
New  York  by  Rev.  Dr.  Deems. 

In  1S67  he  astonished  the  editor  of  the  Christian  Obsan'cr,  in  Richmond,  by 
walking  into  the  office  of  that  journal  and  demanding  employment.  It  was  in 
vain  that  he  was  assured  that  there  was  no  vacancy  on  the  paper.  He  had  only 
the  traditional  quarter  of  a  dollar  in  his  pocket  and  refused  to  take  "  no  "  for  an 
answer.  Luckily  the  office  boy  failed  to  appear  that  day  and  young  Handy  set 
about  his  duties,  asking  only  his  board  in  return  for  his  services.  In  a  few  days 
he  had  made  himself  so  useful,  that,  when  the  missing  boy  returned,  Handy  was 
gi\en  a  clerkship  with  a  salary  of  ten  dollars  a  month  and  his  board.  Some 
months  later  he  reported  a  speech  by  Hon.  Henry  Wilson,  afterwards  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  at  Orange  Court-House,  for  the  Richmond  Dispatch, 
gaining  a  "  beat"  on  all  the  other  State  newspapers,  a  feat  which  at  once  secured 
him  a  position  on  the  local  staff  of  the  Dispatch.  Here  he  soon  established 
a  reputation  as  a  brilliant  newspaper  reporter.  On  one  occasion  he  secured  a  full 
report  of  a  colored  convention  in  "  Chimborazo,"  one  of  the  worst  districts  in 
the  city,  the  members  of  which  had  threatened  to  murder  any  white  reporter  who 
dared  attend  the  meeting.  A  dare-devil  Virginian,  who  enjoyed  the  risk  as  well 
as  the  fun  of  the  adventure,  kept  guard  over  Mr.  Handy  with  a  loaded  revolver 
while  he  took  his  notes,  and  when  the  meeting  was  over  the  two  placed  them- 
selves back  to  back,  and  under  cover  of  their  revolvers  made  good  their  retreat. 

In  1869  Mr.  Handy  became  city  editor  of  the  Dispatch,  and  on  April  15th  of 
that  year  was  married  to  Miss  Sara  Matthews,  daughter  of  Mr.  George  H.  Mat- 
thews, of  Cumberland  county,  Va.  He  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  reconstruc- 
tion movement  which  elected  Walker  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  brought  the 
State  back  into  the  Union  ;  but  while  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  conservative 
party,  he  was  always  noted  for  perfect  fairness  towards  both  sides.  In  recogni- 
tion of  this  fact  he  was  the  recipient  of  a  handsome  cane  from  the  Republican 
members  of  the  Virginia  Legislature  of  1S70-71  as  a  testimonial  of  their  appre- 
ciation of  the  invariable  justice  shown  them  in  the  columns  of  the  Democratic 
newspaper  which  he  represented  at  the  reporters'  desk. 

In  April,  1 870,  Mr.  Handy  narrowly  escaped  losing  his  life  in  the  celebrated 
capitol  disaster,  when  the  Court  of  Appeals  of  Virginia  met  to  decide  the  relative 
claims  of  two  rival  mayors,  o.^e  of  whom  was  H.  K.  Ellyson,  proprietor  of  the 
Dispatch.  The  floor  of  the  court  room  gave  way,  precipitating  four  hundred 
human  beings,  among  them  many  of  Richmond's  leading  citizens,  forty  feet  into 
the  room  below.  He  was  buried  under  the  debris  and  owed  his  life  solely  to  the 
fact  of  his  having  been  stunned  by  a  blow  from  a  falling  beam  as  he  went  down, 
and  was  thus  saved  from  suffocation. 

He  served  at  different  times  as  Richmond  correspondent  for  various  leading 


MOSES    P.    IIANHV.  4O3 

Northern  journals,  and  was  for  two  or  three  years  General  Manaf^er  of  the 
South.ern  braneh  of  the  American  Press  Association.  In  1873  Mr.  llaiul)',  as 
the  representative  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  went  to  Key  West,  Fla.,  where  a 
large  number  of  the  most  distinguished  correspondents  of  the  leading  news- 
papers of  the  country  had  assembled  in  order  to  represent  their  papers  at  the 
expected  transfer  of  the  "  V^irginius  "  to  the  American  Government,  which  had 
demanded  the  surrender  of  the  vessel  from  the  Spanish  authorities.  Owing  to 
the  excited  state  of  public  feeling,  on  account  of  the  outrages  on  and  massacre 
of  American  citizens  by  the  Spaniards  in  Cuba,  the  time  and  place  of  the  surrender 
were  kept  a  profound  secret.  Mr.  Hand)',  however,  obtained  an  inkling  of  the 
event  and  succeeded  in  smuggling  himself  on  board  the  American  man-of-war  to 
which  the  surrender  was  to  be  made,  and  was  the  only  civilian  present,  and  the 
only  newspaper  correspondent  who  witnessed  the  transfer.  His  account  was 
telegraphed  to  his  paper,  the  Tribune,  which  was  thereby  enabled  to  plume 
itself  on  one  of  the  greatest  "beats  "  in  the  history  of  journalism.  This  success 
at  once  secured  him  a  national  reputation  and  a  position  on  the  editorial  staff  of 
the  Tribune,  at  that  time  the  most  brilliant  galaxy  of  journalists  in  the  coimtry. 

Mr.  Handy  did  much  notable  work  on  the  Tribune,  among  which  was  his 
account  of  Dio  Lewis'  anti-whiskey  crusade  in  Ohio,  and  his  still  more  success- 
ful exposure  of  the  Louisiana  election  frauds  in  1874,  when  he  unearthed  Kel- 
logg's  check-book  and  got  hold  of  Carpenter's  and  Butler's  famous  letters  to  that 
worthy.  Kellogg  announced  his  intention  to  shoot  ]\Ir.  Hand)'  on  sight,  but 
made  no  effort  to  see  him. 

In  1875  Mr.  Handy  resigned  his  position  on  the  Tribune  to  become  Editor-in 
Chief  of  the  Richmond  Enquirer.  While  so  engaged  he  took  a  prominent  part 
in  Virginia  politics,  and  in  1876  was  appointed.  Commissioner  from  that  State  to 
the  Centennial  Exhibition  in  Philadelphia.  While  he  was  serving  in  this  capacity 
his  partners  on  the  Enquirer  suspended  its  publication  for  lack  of  funds,  and  Mr. 
Handy,  having  a  choice  of  editorial  positions  in  New  York,  Baltimore,  and 
Philadelphia,  accepted  an  assistant  editorship  on  the  Philadelphia  Times.  He 
soon  after  went  to  Louisiana,  where  the  interests  of  the  Tilden-Ha\-es  electoral 
controvers)'  centred,  and  his  letters  signed  "  ^I.  P.  H."  attracted  general  atten- 
tion for  thoroughness  and  fairness. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1880  Mr.  Handy  became  Managing  Eiiitor  of 
the  Philadelphia  Press,  and  as  usual  success  followed  his  effiirts.  Wide  acquaint- 
ance with  journalism  and  journalists,  backed  by  the  liberality  of  CaK-in  Wells,  the 
principal  owner  of  the  Press,  enabled  him  to  surround  himself  with  some  of  the 
be.st  talent  in  the  country.  He  worketl  hard  and  greatly  improved  this  journal, 
quadrupling  its  circulation  in  three  years.  Mr.  Handy's  health  gave  way  early 
in  18S4,  and  he  was  ordered  to  Europe  by  his  physician  to  recuperate.  He 
spent  three  months  there,  returning  with  renewed  health  and  vigor.  He  repre- 
sented the  Press  in  the  early  part  of  the  Presidential  campaign  of  that  year  as  a 
special  correspondent,  and  spent  some  time  with  Mr.  Blaine  at  Bar  Harbor. 


404  MOSES    p.    HANDY. 

In  August,  1SS4,  ]\Ir.  Handy  severed  his  connection  with  the  Pirss,  having 
arranged  with  a  s\ndicate  of  capitahsts  and  active  young  newspiper  men  to  pur- 
chase the  Evfiiing  Xcics,  of  Philadelphia.  The  purchase  was  effected  and  "  The 
News  Publishing  Company"  was  formed,  of  which  Mr.  Handy  became  President, 
and  he  was  also  the  Editor-in-Chief  of  the  reorganized  paper.  Among  those  who 
went  with  Mr.  Handy  were  several  of  the  brightest  men  on  the  Press,  among 
them  being  Louis  N.  Megargee,  Erastus  Brainerd,  Vincent  S.  Cooke  and  John 
Paul  Bocock.  Messrs.  Megargee  and  Brainerd  were  partners  in  the  new  venture. 
Charles  R.  Deacon,  of  the  Public  Ledger,  was  another  partner,  having  assumed 
the  business  management  of  the  company.  The  name  of  the  paper  was  changed 
to  The  Daily  Nezi'S,  and  under  the  new  management  soon  made  its  mark  in 
journalism,  being  quoted  all  over  the  country,  and  the  special  features  introduced 
in  it  were  copied  everywhere.  Mr.  Deacon  resigned  his  position  as  business 
manager  in  18S5  and  withdrew  from  the  company.  His  successor  proved  un- 
trustworthy, and  retrenchment  becoming  necessary,  Mr.  Handy  in  order  to 
relieve  the  paper  of  his  salary,  while  still  retaining  his  interest  in  the  Nczvs,  ac- 
cepted in  1S87  an  editorial  position  on  the  New  York  World,  and  in  January, 
1888,  took  charge  of  the  Washington  Buseau  of  that  great  journal. 

In  June,  188S,  he  resigned  his  position  on  the  World,  preferring  to  work  with 
his  own  political  party  during  the  Presidential  campaign,  and  is  now  at  his  old 
metier  of  special  correspondent  for  several  leading  papers. 

Mr.  Handy  is  a  man  of  rare  executive  ability,  of  consummate  tact,  and  of  un- 
erring and  impartial  judgment  in  matters  of  news.  He  is  gifted  ^\'ith  a  political 
prescience,  which  causes  his  opinion  or  counsel  to  be  sought  by  men  of  all 
parties;  and  so  faithful  is  he  to  the  trust  reposed  in  hiin  that  he  has  the  warm 
personal  friendship  and  confidence  of  men  so  opposed  in  politics  as  James  G. 
Blaine  and  Samuel  J.  Randall. 

Mr.  Handy  is  a  member  of  the  INIasonic  fraternity,  belonging  to  Lodge  51,  of 
Philadelphia,  and  to  Richmond  Commandery,  ]\Iasonic  Knights  Templar,  of 
Richmond,  Va.  He  is  popular  in  social  circles  and  as  an  after  dinner  speaker 
has  vcr}'  considerable  reputation.  He  is  known  all  over  the  country  as  the 
inimitable  President  of  the  Clover  Club  of  Philadelphia,  the  most  famous  dining 
organization  in  America  at  least,  which  has  during  the  seven  years  of  its 
existence  entertained  many  of  the  prominent  men  in  the  United  States.  '  As  its 
presiding  officer  Mr.  Handy  has  justly  acquired  a  reputation  for  ready  wit  and 
the  possession  of  the  happy  faculty  of  introducing  guests  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
bring  out  their  strong  points  in  a  few  brief  remarks  that  has  made  him  the  model 
toast-master  of  the  country,  and  given  him  fame  as  such  on  the  other  side  of  the 
ocean. 


Clifford    P.   McCalla 


CLIFFORD   FAYNTFR   MacCALLA. 

SOME  one  has  said  that  Americans,  as  a  rule,  arc  of  tlie  Hneage  of  no  single 
people,  since  there  runs  intermingled  in  tlic  \'ein.s  of  almost  e\'cr)'  one 
Englisli,  Scotcli,  Irish  and  German  blood.  This  combination  is  usiialh-  ha[)p)-, 
being  apt  to  produce  strength  of  character  matched  with  enterprise  in  action — 
sound  sense  animated  by  generous  impulses. 

Clifford  P.  MacC.'\lla  is  of  mingled  Scotch,  Irish  and  German  descent — botli 
Celt  and  Saxon  ;  and,  although  \'et  a  comparatively  young  man,  he  has  distin- 
guished himself  in  several  lines  of  professional  endeax'or.  He  was  born  in  the 
cit}-  of  Philadelphia  in  1837,  and  was  reared  and  educated  in  the  city  of  his 
birth,  where  he  has  lived  continuously  up  to  the  time  of  our  present  writing. 
He  has  been  identified  with  the  "  cit\-  of  biotherl}'  love"  in  a  mmiber  of  its 
interests,  and  its  champion  moie  than  once,  having  been  zealous  in  claiming  and 
successful  in  establishing  for  it  the  first  place  among  the  cities  of  the  United 
States  in  several  important  connections. 

Mr.  MacCalla  is  the  son  of  the  late  James  S.  MacCalla,  -who  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  in  June,  1SS5,  was  the  oldest  eniplo}-ing  printer,  and  one  of  the  most 
successful  and  respected  newspaper  publishers  in  the  State  of  Pennsyl\-ania, 
his  religious,  scientific  and  Masonic  publications  being  Icnown  and  valued 
throughout  the  United  States.  From  him  his  son  inherited  that  love  of  litera- 
ture and  literary  pursuits  which  has  dominated  his  life.  Educated  at  the  Central 
High  School,  he  was  graduated  Master  of  Arts  in  1S55,  when  the  accomplished 
Professor  John  S.  Hart  was  Principal.  He  then  read  law  with  Francis  Wharton, 
LL.  D.,  the  eminent  author  of  numerous  law  books  of  national  and  European 
reputation,  and  at  the  present  time  ad\isor\-  coimsel  on  Intei-national  Law  to  the 
Secretary  of  State  of  the  LTnited  States.  Whilst  reading  law  he  was  also  a  student 
in  the  Law  Department  of  the  L^niversity  of  Pennsylvania,  graduating  thence  as 
Bachelor  of  Laws  in  185S.  At  the  period  named  Judge  Sharswood,  Peter  Mc- 
Call  and  E.  Spencer  Miller — all  since  deceased — were  the  legal  lights  of  that 
institution  of  learning.  Admitted  to  the  Philadelphia  bar  the  same  year,  Mr. 
MacCalla  has  been  in  continuous  practice  down  to  the  present  time,  limiting  liis 
practice  to  the  care  of  estates  as  advisor)'  counsel,  and  to  the  Orphans'  Couit,  in 
which  he  is  an  acti\'e  practitioner  and  trusted  counsellor  and  advocate.  He  is 
also  a  member  of  the  long-e.stablished  and  successful  publishing  and  printing 
house  of  MacCalla  &  Sta\-ely. 

Early  in  his  career,  the  subject  of  this  slcetch,  as  we  have  alread\-  intimated, 
becamS  interested  in  literary  pursuits.  While  but  a  b<:iy  he  regularly  wrote  a 
small  monthly  magazine,  for  a  series  of  years,  his  only  patrons  being  his  father 
and  mother,  who  thus  encouraged  his  literary  aspirations.  Soon  after  attaining 
his  majority  he  became  a  member  of  the  editorial  staff  of  the  Episcopal  Recorder 

(405) 


4o6  CLIFFORD    P.    MmCAI.I.A. 

— tliroii|;;h  a  period  of  more  tlinn  forty  \-car.s  tlic  most  successful  organ  of  tlie 
Episcopal  Church  in  this  country.  His  legal  preceptor,  Dr.  Francis  Wharton, 
during  a  portion  of  this  time  was  editor-in-chief,  while  he  was  the  literary  etlitor. 
Subsequently  Mr.  MacCalla  was  the  literary  editor,  and  for  a  time  chief  editorial 
writer,  of  the  Efisro/^a/  Rcgistii;  now  The  C/iiirch.  From  early  manhood  he  has 
been  actively  and  prominently  identified  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  for 
some  eight  years  past  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the  Convention  of  the  Protestant 
Episcop.Tl  Church  in  the  diocese  of  Pennsj-lvania. 

In  1869  ]\Ir.  MacCalla  became  the  editor  of  The  Keystone,  the  leading  organ 
of  Freemasonry  in  the  United  States,  and  having  as  well  an  international  reputa- 
tion, being  only  less  influential  in  England  and  Scotland  than  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic.  He  is  still  the  editor  of  this  journal,  and  has  made  it  known  to  and 
its  influence  felt  among  the  Craft  of  Freemasons  round  the  globe.  He  is  the 
present  Deputy  Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  tlie 
natural  course  of  events  will  succeed  to  the  Grand  Mastership — a  station  which 
has  been  graced  by  sucli  eminent  men  as  Dr.  Benjamin  Franlclin,  the  lion. 
George  M.  Dallas,  Chief-Justices  J.  Bannister  Gibson  and  John  M.  Read.  In 
whatever  cause  Mr.  MacCalla's  pen  is  wielded,  or  whenever  his  voice  is  raised  in 
the  lodges  of  the  fraternit}-,  it  is  to  enforce,  with  cogency  of  reason,  wealth  of 
illustration  and  in  polished  phrase  the  important  principles  which  distinguish  the 
Craft  of  Freemasons.  His  ability  as  a  spealcer  and  writer  is  widely  recognized, 
and  his  services  are  often  in  request  in  the  interest  of  the  cause  which  he  has  so 
much  at  heart.  Lodges,  both  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  continent  of  Etirope, 
have  conferred  upon  him  the  distinction  of  honoiar)'  membership. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  mentioned  that  Mr.  MacCalla  was  the  first 
to  claim  for  Philadelphia  the  unique  and  significant  title  of  the  "  Mother-City  of 
Freemasonry  in  America;"  and  the  first  to  prove,  by  the  discovery  of  a  number 
of  important  original  contemporaneous  records,  that  Freemasonry  was  authorita- 
tively established  in  this  city  in  1730-31,  and  that  such  eminent  early  citizens 
of  Philadelphia  as  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin,  Chief-Justice  William  Allen,  Dr. 
Thomas  Cadwalader,  Joseph  Shippen,  James  Bingham,  Thomas  Hopkinson,  Philip 
Sj'ng,  Henry  Lewis  and  Henry  Pratt,  all  members  of  the  "  first  families,"  were 
among  its  members.  These  facts,  first  announced  by  him  in  1874,  were  made 
clear  and  conclusive  b)'  his  discovery  in  the  year  1884,  in  the  archives  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  original  Lodge  Ledger  {Liber  B.)  of 
St.  John's  Lodge,  Free  and  Accepted  Ma.sons  of  Philadelphia,  of  date  1731-38, 
a  portion  of  its  entries  being  in  the  handwriting  of  Dr.  Franklin,  as  Secretaiy  of 
the  Lodge.  Such  value  was  attached  to  this  discovery  by  the  then  Grand  Master 
of  Pennsylvania,  Conrad  B.  Day,  Esq.,  that  he  caused  phototypes  to  be  made,  by 
Gutekunst,  of  ten  pages  of  this  Lodge  Ledger,  covering  the  records  of  Benjamin 
Franklin,  William  Alien  and  others,  copies  of  which  were  presented  to  all  of  the 
Grand  Lodges  over  the  world  with  which  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Pennsylvania  is 
in  fraternal  correspondence.     These  p!u)totyi)es  are  also  deposited  in  the  British 


ci.ii'i'OKi)  r.  M.i.cAr.i.A.  407 

Museum,  I,ondon,  in  flic  librar)-  of  tlie  American  Piiilosopliicnl  Society  at  Pliila- 
dclpliia,  and  in  otiicr  leading  lihraiics  throughout  the  United  States. 

Always  foremost  in  championing  the  cause  of  I'hiladelphia,  it  was  natural  that 
Mr.  RIacCalla  should  have  been  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  IJi-Centennial  celebra- 
tion of  1SS2.  He  was  one  of  tile  original  cor[)oiators  of  the  Bi-Centennial 
Association,  and  its  Corresponding  Secretary  during  the  two  j'cars  of  its  existence, 
and  to  his  zeal  and  wisdom,  in  connection  with  that  of  the  other  officers — 
Edward  C.  Knight,  Esq.,  President,  Colonel  Claj-ton  McMichacl,  Chairman  of  the 
E.xecutive  Committee,  J.  Thomas  Stavely,  Treasurer,  and  Charles  W.  Alexander, 
Secretary — the  success  of  that  celebration  was  largely  due.  The  City  Councils 
and  the  citizens  of  Philadelphia  earnestly  supported  this  organization,  and  the 
four  days  of  commemoration,  in  October,  1882,  will  nc\'er  be  forgotten  by  those 
■who  witnessed  their  varied  and  pleasurable  programme  of  proceedings.  Just 
mention  is  made  of  the  Bi-Centennial  in  Scharff  and  Westcott's  valuable  "  History 
of  Philadelphia,"  in  which  work  there  are  also  fitting  references  to  the  literary 
achievements  and  Masonic  discoveries  of  Mr.  MacCalla;  and  to  this  reliable, 
able  and  popular  authority  we  have  been  indebted  for  the  principal  facts  in  this 
biographical  sketch.  Several  volumes  of  large  interest  have  been  written  by 
Mr.  MacCalla,  and  published — one  of  which,  "The  Abbeys  and  Cathedrals  of 
Great  Britain,"  has  met  with  a  wide  sale.  He  is  still  a  young  man,  and  doubtless 
many  years  of  usefulness  and  distinction  are  in  reserve  for  him.  Whoever 
honors  Philadelphia,  Philadelphia  honors ;  and  in  the  necessarily  brief  reference 
we  have  made  to  his  life-work,  we  have  only  partially  chronicled  that  which  is 
to  his  credit,  and  to  the  advantage  of  his  native  city. 


John    H.  Taggart 


JOHN    HENRY  TAGGART. 

COL.  John  H.  Taggart,  ctlitor  and  senior  proprietor  of  Tas^gaiis'  Times,  of 
Philrulclphiaj  was  bora  in  Georgetown,  Kent  county,  Md.,  on  tlie  22(1  of 
January,  1821.  His  fither  and  mother  were  both  Mar\'hmders,  the  former  bciiiL^ 
a  native  of  Cecil  and  the  latter  of  Kent  county,  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
Chesapeake  Bay.  After  the  death  of  his  father,  Henry  L.  Taggart,  he  came  to 
Philadelphia,  in  1S29,  with  his  mother  and  sister,  where  he  resided  up  to  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Rebellion  in  1861.  In  May,  1844,  he  married  Miss  Eliza- 
beth Graham,  a  native  of  Philadelphia,  by  whom  he  had  six  sons  and  four  daugh- 
ters, of  whom  only  four,  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  are  now  (1888)  living. 

He  is  a  practical  printer,  and  began  setting  type  when  only  ten  years  old  on 
the  old  National  Gazette,  published  by  William  Fry.  After  it  ceased  publication, 
about  1840,  he  became  a  compositor  on  the  Public  Ledger,  and,  e.xcept  about  six 
months  in  the  latter  part  of  1849,  when  he  published  a  weekly  military  paper 
called  the  Peinisylraiiia  Volunteer,  he^remained  on  the  Ledger  setting  t\-pe  until 
1858,  when  he  accepted  a  position  as  reporter  on  the  Sunday  Mereury  ;  next  he 
was  employed  as  a  reporter  on  the  Public  Ledger  for  about  a  year;  then  on 
Forney's  Press,  till  the  earl_\-  part  of  i860.  At  that  time  he  bought  a  half  interest 
in  the  Sunday  JlLrcurv,  and  it  was  then  published  by  Jones  &  Taggart,  the 
senior  partner  being  George  \V.  Jones. 

Colonel  Taggart  had  a  taste  for  military  exercises,  and  was  for  many  years 
connected  with  the  Washington  Blues,  Captain  Wm.  C.  Patterson,  of  Philadel- 
phia, and  carried  a  musket  in  defence  of  the  civil  authorities  in  the  Kensington 
and  South wark  riots  of  1844.  After  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter,  in  1S61,  he 
raised  a  company  of  one  huntlred  and  two  men  in  Philadelphia,  called  the  Wayne 
Guards,  which  was  accepted  by  Governor  Curtin  as  part  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Reserve  Volunteer  Corps.  Captain  Taggart  marched  his  company  to  Har- 
risburg  on  the  7th  of  June,  1861,  and  remained  in  Camp  Curtin  for  several  weeks 
in  command  of  it  until  the  25th  of  July  of  that  year,  the  day  on  which  the 
Twelfth  Regiment  of  the  Reserve  Corps  was  organized,  when  he  was  elected 
Colonel  and  placed  in  command  of  the  regiment.  During  this  time  he  rendered 
efficient  service  in  preventing  a  serious  riot  on  the  return  of  the  three  months' 
enlisted  men,  who  were  discharged  in  Harri.sburg  before  being  paid  off,  and  great 
dissatisfaction  existed  at  the  delay  of  the  paymasters,  wlio  were  threatened  with 
personal  violence.  For  his  prudence  on  this  trj'ing  occasion  Colonel  Taggart 
received  the  warm  commendation  of  Governor  Curtin.  Soon  after  this  the  regi- 
ment was  ordered  to  Washington,  and  formed  part  of  the  di\-ision  of  Pennsylvania 
Reserves  under  command  of  Brigadier-General  Geo.  A.  McCall.  Colonel  Tag- 
gart's  regiment  was  assigned  to  the  Third  Brigade,  commanded  by  Brigadier- 
General  E.  O.  C.  Ord.  Colonel  Taggart,  in  command  of  his  regiment,  took-  part 
in  the  battle  of  Dranesville,  December  20,  1861,  and  for  his  gallantry  in  action 
52  (409) 


4IO  JOHN    H.    TAGGART. 

was  recommended  for  Brevet  Brigadier-General  by  General  E.  O.  C.  Ord,  w  ho 
commanded  the  Third  Brigade  in  that  brilliant  engagement,  which  was  the  first 
Union  success  after  the  first  disastrous  battle  of  Bull  Run  and  the  massacre  at 
Ball's  Bluff  in  the  fall  of  1861.  Colonel  Taggart  was  also  highly  complimented 
by  General  Geo.  A.  McCall  in  his  official  report  of  the  battle  of  Mechanicsville, 
the  first  of  the  seven  days'  battles  in  front  of  Richmond,  Va.,  for  gallantly 
defending  EUerson's  Mill  against  an  overwhelming  force  of  the  enemy. 

Colonel  Taggart  also  commanded  his  regiment  in  the  battles  of  Gaines's  Mill, 
New  Market  Cross  Roads  and  Malvern  Hill  in  the  Seven  Days'  Battles.  His 
newspaper  business  having  suffered  from  his  long  absence,  he  resigned  his  com- 
mission as  Colonel,  July  8,  1862;  and,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  partnership 
with  Mr.  Jones,  Colonel  Taggart  again  returned  to  the  army  as  a  war  cor- 
respondent for  the  Pltiladclplua  Inquirer,  and  in  that  capacity  was  at  the  first 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg,  and  other  engagements. 

In  the  beginning  of  1864  he  was  selected  by  the  Supervisory  Committee  for 
Recruiting  Colored  Troops  in  Philadelphia  as  Chief  Preceptor  of  the  "  Free  Mili- 
tar\'  School  for  Applicants  for  the  Command  of  Colored  Troops,"  which  proved 
a  great  success,  as  upwards  of  one  thousand  of  the  students  passed  Gen.  Silas 
Casey's  examining  board  in  Washington,  and  more  than  five  hundred  were  com- 
missioned as  officers  in  the  Union  army  to  command  colored  troops.  This  school 
was  organized  under  the  authority  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  E.  M.  Stanton,  and 
was  supported  by  the  contributions  of  the  patriotic  citizens  of  Philadelphia. 

After  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  Colonel  Taggart,  in  1865,  was 
appointed  Collector  of  Internal  Revenue  for  the  First  District  of  Penns)l\ania, 
one  of  the  largest  in  the  State.  He  held  this  position  for  nearly  a  year,  and 
afterAvards  removed  to  Washington  Cit\-,  where  he  became  a  correspondent  for 
the  Inquirer,  Evening  Telegrapli,  Evening  Bulletin  and  Sunday  Dispatch,  of  Phila- 
del[ihia,  Cincinnati  Times  and  Chicago  Republican^  He  remained  in  Washington 
till  the  fall  of  1869,  when  he  removed  his  family  to  Philadelphia,  and  in  Novem- 
ber of  that  year  bought  the  Sunday  Morning  Times,  published  by  Robert  C. 
Smith  &  Co.  This  was  enlarged  several  times,  and  now  enjoys  a  large  and  pros- 
perous share  of  business.  Colonel  Taggart  is  a  vigorous  and  aggressive  editorial 
writer,  devoting  much  attention  to  the  reform  of  local  abuses,  by  which  he  has 
established  for  his  paper  a  reputation  for  fearless  independence  and  as  a  staunch 
advocite  of  the  rights  of  the  people.  In  1871  he  a.ssociated  with  him  his  eldest 
.son,  Harry  L.  Taggart,  under  the  firm  style  of  John  H.  Taggart  &  Son.  In  Oc- 
tober, 1873,  the  publication  office  was  removed  from  the  northeast  corner  of  Third 
and  Dock  streets  to  819  Walnut  street,  where  they  afterwards  erected  a  handsome 
and  spacious  building,  expressly  designed  as  a  newspaper  office,  with  extensive 
back  buildings,  containing  the  pres.s-room,  stercotj'ping  and  composing-rooms. 
The  name  of  the  p.ipcr  lias  been  changed  from  the  Sunday  Morning  Times  to  Tag- 
garts'  Times,  by  which  it  is  known  far  and  wide.  Colonel  Taggart  is  the  editor- 
in-chief;  Harry  L.  Taggart,  managing  editor;  and  William  M.  Taggart,  business 
manager. 


Joseph    Sai ler. 


JOSEPH   SAILER. 

JOSEPH  Sailer,  who  for  over  forty-two  years  was  the  Emancial  Editor  of  tlie 
Public  Ledger,  was  born  in  Clarksboro,  Ghuicester  county,  N.  J.,  April  23, 
iSog,  antl  was  the  }-ounj;est  of  se\-cn  sons.  His  earl)-  life  was  spent  on  his  father's 
farm,  but  becoming  tired  of  agricultural  pursuits,  he  entered  the  office  of  a  New 
Jerse}-  newspaper,  where  he  learned  the  trade  of  a  printer.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
}-ears  he  became  connected  with  the  Woodbury  Co)tstitution,  and  was  for  several 
years  its  proprietor  and  publisher.  He  then  came  to  Philadelphia,  and  soon 
afterwards  associated  himself  with  John  S.  DuSoUe  in  the  management,  and  sub- 
sequently in  the  proprietorship,  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Tivus,  Mr.  Sailer,  in  his 
writings,  devoting  his  attention  chiefl)'  to  the  disc\rssion  of  financial  matters,  and 
the  daily  presentation  of  correct  reports  of  the  condition  of  the  markets.  At  the 
same  time  he  acted  as  the  Philadelphia  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Jounial 
of  ConiiiwriC,  and  other  papers  of  similar  standing  and  influence  for  the  same 
purposes. 

In  1840,  four  years  after  the  publication  of  the  Public  Ledger  had  been  com- 
menced, Mr.  Sailer's  financial  writings  having  attracted  considerable  attention, 
the  then  proprietors  of  the  Ledger,  Messrs.  Swain,  Abell  and  Simmons,  adopted 
the  idea  of  a  column  devoted  exclusively  to  financial  and  commercial  matters, 
and  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Sailer  in  taking  charge  of  it.  The  first  article 
contributed  by  him  was  published  July  i,  1840,  and  fiom  that  time  until  his 
resignation,  January  1,  1883,  a  period  of  over  forty-two  j'ears,  it  was  his  pride 
that  there  was  never  an  issue  of  the  paper  that  did  not  liave  something  from  his 
pen  in  its  money  column.  Having  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  Spirit  of  the  Tunes 
at  an  early  date  after  his  new  connection,  his  whole  time  and  service  were  devoted 
to  his  work  on  the  Lci/ger,  and  when  the  proprietors  of  the  latter  started  the 
Dollar  A'Ciospiipej-,  \\hich  was  for  many  j-ears  quite  a  successful  family  journal, 
reaching  a  circulation  of  sixty  thousand,  he  became  its  editor,  and  continued  as 
such,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties,  until  the  abandonment  of  the  publication  of 
that  paper. 

Mr.  Sailer  was  prominently  connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  electric 
telegraph.  He  was  one  of  the  ver}-  few  to  pcrcei\-e  the  value  of  Morse's  in\-en- 
tion,  both  as  a  means  of  communication  and  as  an  investment  for  capital.  The 
old  "Magnetic  Telegraph  Company"  was  organized  Al.ay  15,  1845,  directly  alter 
the  experimental  line  erected  between  Baltimore  and  Washington  by  the  Post- 
Office  Department  had  been  proven  a  success.  Amos  Kendall,  Postmaster- 
General,  was  its  President  and  one  of  the  principal  stockholders.  The  line 
between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  was  first  put  under  construction,  and  in  the 
fall  of  1845  subscriptions  were  procured  for  an  extension  of  the  line  from  Phila- 
delphia to  Baltimore.     The  capital  for  this  line  was  subscribed  principally  in 

(4'>) 


412  JOSEPII    SAILER. 

Philadelphia,  and  was  furnished  largely  by  the  then  proprietors  of  the  Public 
Ledger.  About  this  time  Mr.  Sailer  became  pecuniarily  interested  in  the  com- 
pany, and  was  thereafter  prominent  in  the  stockholders'  meetings.  Some  two  or 
tliree  years  later  he  was  elected  a  Director,  and  became  Secretary  of  the  company, 
which  position  he  held  until  its  amalgamation  with  the  American  Telegraph 
Company,  in  1S59. 

As  a  director  and  officer  of  the  company  he  was  at  all  times  acti\-e  in  organiz- 
ing its  methods  of  doing  business,  and  shaping  its  policy  in  dealing  with  com- 
petitive and  connecting  lines.  The  success  of  the  "  Magnetic  Telegraph  Com- 
pany "  stimulated  the  organization  of  other  companies,  some  operating  under  the 
license  of  the  owners  of  the  Mo'rse  patents,  and  others  under  palpAle  infringe- 
ments of  those  patents.  It  was  no  eas}-  task  to  conduct  the  business  in  those 
days;  but  to  the  credit  of  those  earl}-  organizers  it  may  be  said  that  the  methods 
and  forms  adopted  by  tliem  remain  to-day  practically  unchanged,  and,  further, 
that  the  rates  then  were  lower  than  are  now  charged  over  the  same  routes ;  yet 
so  economicall)-  was  the  business  conducted  that  large  di\idcnds  were  paid  on 
the  investment. 

Mr.  Sailer  was  also  an  investor  in  several  other  telegraphic  enterprises,  the 
largest  of  which  were  the  Washington  and  New  Orleans  and  the  Atlantic  and 
Ohio  Telegraph  Companies.  These  companies  all  secured  valuable  right-of-way 
franchises  from  the  leading  railway  corporations,  which  could  not  be  secured  by 
any  of  the  companies  that  came  into  the  field  later  except  at  great  cost.  His 
connection  with  the  early  telegraphs,  and  his  advocacy  of  the  extension  of  rail- 
roads, together  with  the  reliability  of  his  articles  on  money  affairs,  which  were 
often  copied  into  foreign  journals,  gave  him  great  influence  with  the  financiers 
and  railroad  magnates  of  his  day;  and  not  infrequently  J.  Edgar  Thompson, 
Edwin  A.  Stevens,  Commodore  Stockton,  John  Tucker,  Franklin  B.  Gowcn  and 
Asa  Packer  could  be  found  together  in  Mr.  Sailer's  office.  It  is  said  that  no 
great  financial  enterprise  was  ever  carried  out  by  those  men  without  first  talcing 
him  into  their  confidence,  getting  his  opinion  on  the  subject,  and  through  him 
communicating  to  the  public  so  much  of  the  scheme  as  was  advisable.  His 
judgment  on  investments  was  regarded  as  next  to  infallible,  and  a  comfortable 
fortune,  acquired  by  a  common-sense  use  of  his  money,  bears  evidence  of  the 
correctness  of  this  estimate  of  his  financial  shrewdness.  Unusual  caution  pre- 
vented him  from  becoming  a  speculator,  in  the  common  acceptance  of  the  term ; 
}-et  it  was  a  peculiarity  of  his  to  invest  money  in  every  new  scheme  that  came 
up  in  which  he  had  confidence. 

When  National  banks  were  established  he  took  stock  in  the  first  one  that  was 
started,  now  the  First  National,  of  Philadelphia,  and  he  also  supported  and  took 
stock  in  the  Bank  of  North  America  and  in  the  Girard  National. 

During  his  long  journalistic  career  he  was  one  of  the  most  methodical  of  men. 
Promptly  at  ten  o'clock  every  inorning  he  would  appear  in  his  editorial  sanctum. 
There  he  would  stay  a  couple  of  hours  looking  over  his  correspondence  and  the 


JOSF.ril    SAILICR.  41  ^ 

niorninc^  newspapers.  Tlien  lie  would  make  a  Imir  of  the  railrdad  offices,  ami 
those  of  the  bankers  and  brokers  on  Third  sti'eet,  and  y;ather  the  news  of  the  (l.i\-. 
Having  got  through  this  he  would  go  iiome,  and  dine  at  three  o'clock.  At  four 
o'clock  he  would  be  back  at  the  Ledger  office,  and  begin  work  on  his  re\-iew  of 
the  "  Money  Market."  When  he  could  be  persuaded  to  take  a  \acation,  which 
was  seldom,  he  alwa\-s  leit  behind  in  his  desk  a  lot  of  "  s]iecial  "  matter.  I  lis 
vacations  were  never  extended  be_\-ond  a  week  until  within  the  List  fuir  or 
five  years  of  his  life.  It  bored  him  to  be  out  of  the  harness.  On  numerous 
occasions  Mr.  Clukls,  who  had  become  the  proprietor  of  the  Ledger  in  1X64, 
planned  pleasant  trips  both  in  America  and  luuope  for  the  \eteian  l'"inancial 
Editor,  covering  a  full  summer's  recreation,  with  a  handsome  testimonial  in  the 
way  of  salary  and  travelling  expenses  in  ads-ance,  but  was  ne\er  able  to  get  him 
to  accept  the  generous  offer. 

On  January  I,  1S83,  Mr.  Sailer  resigned  his  financial  editorship,  and  shortly 
afterward  was  attacked  b)' an  illness  which  terminated  fatally  on  January  15th. 
The  Ledger,  which  had  borne  strong  testimony  to  his  worth  and  efficiency  at  the 
time  of  his  resignation,  said  on  the  morning  after  his  de^ath  : 

"The  intelligence  and  integrity  of  his  work  for  more  than  fort)'-two  years  in 
the  direction  of  his  department  of  the  Public  Ledger  are  well  known,  and  have 
been  acknowledged  to  his  great  credit  on  all  sides  by  the  distinguished  financial 
authorities  of  this  country.  To  ourselves  the  loss  is  far  more  than  a  business 
separation.  It  is  akin  in  its  nature  now  to  the  deep  sorrow  of  his  famil}'.  They 
lost  a  loving,  gentle  and  devoted  husband  and  father  when  the  light  went  out 
with  the  life  of  the  honored  head  of  the  house.  We  lose,  with  the  profoundest 
regret,  a  cherished  friend  and  most  faithful  and  efficient  coadjutor.  The  public 
lose  a  conscientious  and  impartial  journalist  in  a  department  of  which  he  was  a 
master." 

His  funeral  was  attended  by  a  gathering  of  prominent  citizens  the  like  of  which 
seldom  meet  on  such  occasions.  Bankers,  bank-  presidents,  railroad  officials  and 
journalists  attended  in  numbers,  while  among  the  pall-bearers  were  Anthony  J. 
Drexel,  George  W.  Childs,  William  V.  McKean,  M.  Richards  Muckle,  A.  Boyd 
Cummings,  Frank  McLaughlin,  James  M.  Robb  and  Thompson  Westcott.  The 
interment  took  place  in  Woodland  Cemetery  on  January  i8th. 

Mr.  Sailer  left  a  family  of  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  who,  with  the  widow, 
survived  him.  One  of  his  sons,  Mr.  John  Sailer,  is  now  the  senior  partner  in  the 
well-known  banking  house  of  Sailer  &  Stevenson.  J.  A.  J. 


%0^^^ 


Michael  W  e  y  a  n  d  . 


MICHAEL   VvEYAND. 

MICHAEL  Weyand,  who  for  more  than  half  a  century  has  been  connected 
with  the  joLirnahsni  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  now  one  of  the  veteran  edi- 
tors of  the  State,  w.is  horn,  in  the  \-ear  lS25,in  tlie  town  of  Somerset.  He  is  of 
German  descent,  but  both  of  his  parents  are  natives  of  tliis  country  and  of 
Somerset  county.  When  he  was  a  mere  infant  his  parents  removed  to  the 
northern  portion  of  Beaver  county,  where  his  father  followed  farming  as  iiis 
jirincipal  occupation,  although  he  also  taught  school,  both  in  German  and  English, 
during  the  winter  seasons.  At  the  early  age  of  ten,  \-oung  Weyand  went  to 
New  Castle,  Pa.,  to  learn  the  printing  busine'^s,  and  spent  a  year  in  the  office  of 
the  Intclligciiccr,  the  first  journal  of  note  published  in  that  now  thriving  city.  In 
May,  1838,  lie  remo\-ed  to  the  town  of  Beaver,  and  finished  his  a[)prenticeship  in 
the  office  of  the  old  Argus,  then  edited  by  Hon.  William  Henry,  now  deceased, 
and  remained  connected  with  that  journal  as  apprentice,  journeyman  and  editor 
for  nearly  a  generation.  In  1874  he  founded  the  Beaver  Titncs,  a  thirty-six 
column  folio  sheet,  and  with  the  assistance  of  his  two  sons  has  managed  the 
paper  as  ed'tor  and  proprietor  up  to  the  present  time.  It  was  st<uted  as  an 
Independent  Republican  paper,  and  so  continues.  It  is  the  on])-  non-"  patent  " 
journal  published  in  Beaver  county,  and  presents  a  flourishing  and  attractive 
appearance. 

The  life  of  I\Ir.  Weyand  covers  a  period  of  greater  improvements  in  the  art  of 
printing  than  were  made  before  since  the  days  of  Guttenburg.  When  he  first 
went  to  the  printing  business  the  old  Ramage  wooden,  double-pull  hand  press 
was  in  vogue,  the  pressure  of  which  was  increased  by  putting  in  laj'ers  of  old 
shoe-leather  and  remnants  of  old  hats.  The  type  forms  were  inked  by  round 
hand  balls,  stuffed  with  wool  or  cotton  and  covered  with  buckskin.  It  took  two 
persons  nearly  a  whole  day  to  work  off  an  edition  of  three  or  four  hundretl,  and, 
when  they  got  through  their  hard  day's  work,  the  hands  of  one  would  be  hdl  of 
blisters,  and  the  right  arm  of  the  other  would  feel  as  if  nearly  wrenched  out  of 
the  socket.  Little  attention  was  then  paid  to  editorial  matter  in  the  rural  press, 
and  not  much  even  to  local  matters.  The  country  paper  was  filled  up  with 
"news''  items  sometimes  two  months  old;  political  communications  after  the 
style  of  the  Old  Testament  Chronicles  ;  marriages  and  deaths;  advertisements 
made  up  largely  of  "  six  and  a  quarter  cents  reward  "  for  runaway  apprentices, 
ornamented  with  cuts  representing  a  negro  with  a  bundle  on  his  back — a  "stock 
cut  "  gotten  up  for  the  Southern  papers  to  use  in  ad\crtising  runaway  slaves. 
It  required  three  months  to  get  news  from  the  Old  World,  and  over  a  month  to 
get  information  of  anj-thing  transpiring  in  places  away  from  the  larger  cities. 
The  silver  dollar  was  the  unit  of  value,  and  the  only  dollar  then  known  in  the 
affairs  of  the  Government.     There  were  no  postage  stamps  at  that  day.     Letter 


4j6  jiichael  weyand. 

postage  had  to  be  paid  on  deliver}-  with  silver  quarters,  levies  or  "  iips."  It  cost 
eighteen  and  three-quarter  cents  to  carry  a  letter  from  Washington,  D.  C,  to 
New  Castle,  Pa.,  and  t\venty-fi\e  cents  from  New  Orleans  to  the  same  point. 

In  politics  Mr.  Wej-and  was  an  old  line  Whig  during  the  existence  of  that 
partj',  and  on  the  formation  of  the  Republican  party  he  joined  its  ranks  and  has 
remained  a  member  of  it  ever  since.  He  has  passed  through  and  taken  part  in 
many  e.\-citing  political  struggles.  He  resisted  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise Act  and  the  attempted  introduction  of  slavery  into  the  Territories  of 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  both  with  pen  and  tongue,  with  all  the  abilit\-  and  power 
whiicii  he  possessed.  The  only  public  offices  he  has  ever  held  were  Pro- 
Ihonotary  of  Beaver  county  and  Presidential  Elector  for  the  Twenty-fourth  Dis- 
trict. The  former  position  he  held  for  two  terms  of  three  years  each,  succeeding 
in  the  office  Hon.  Matthew  S.  Quay,  now  United  States  Senator.  He  was  elected 
a  Presidential  Elector  in  1884,  the  ticket  receiving  an  average  majority  of  eighty 
thousand  votes  ;  and,  in  consideration  of  his  representing  Mr.  Blaine's  native 
county,  it  was  deemed  appropriate  by  the  Electoral  College  to  select  him  as 
messenger  to  take  the  certified  vote  to  the  National  Capital. 

During  his  long  connection  with  journalism,  although  he  has  had  numberless 
heated  and  acrimonious  newspaper  controversies,  and  has  not  hesitated  to  criticise 
the  acts  of  public  men  and  measures,  he  has  thus  far  escaped  the  institution 
of  a  single  libel  suit  against  him,  though  frequently  waited  on  by  lawj-ers  and 
often  threatened  b\-  them  with  legal  proceedings.  This  he  attiibutes  to  the  fact 
tliat  he  is  careful  not  to  make  misstatements,  and  to  his  ability  to  prove  the 
justice  of  his  criticisms. 

At  the  time  he  finished  his  apprenticeship  in  Beaver  he  \\'as  very  frail  phj'si- 
call}-,  and  it  was  predicted  by  many  at  that  time  that  he  would  not  li\e  the  year 
out.  He  has,  howc\'er,  outlived  nearly  all  the  prophets,  for  at  the  present  time 
there  are  but  si.x  men  now  li\  ing  in  the  town  of  Bea\'er  who  were  residents  of 
the  place  at  that  distant  date,  among  them  being  ex-Chief  Justice  Agnew,  who 
is  still  a  vigorous  and  honored  citizen  of  the  town. 

The  semi-centennial  of  his  advent  to  "Saints  Rest"  occurred  in  May,  1888, 
and  was  made  the  occasion  of  many  kindly  notices  on  the  part  of  local  papers 
and  journals  throughout  the  State.  They  stated  in  substance  that,  as  he  was  the 
oldest  printer  within  the  limits  of  the  "  State  of  Beaver,"  he  was,  in  all  probability, 
also  the  oldest  living  journalist  in  continuous  service  in  Pennsylvania.  An 
amusing  notice  of  the  event  in  the  Boston  Post  declared  that  an  editor  who  could 
pass  through  the  newspaper  fights  of  fifty  years  without  incurring  a  libel  suit 
deserved  a  monument.  To  this  Mr.  Weyand  responded  in  the  Times  that  if  the 
Post  really  believed  what  it  said,  and  would  send  on  the  nioniinient  C.  O.  D.,  it 
would  be  set  up  in  "toploftical  style." 

In  185 1  Mr.  Weyand  was  married  to  Amanda,  daughter  of  David  Somers, 
former  Sheriff  and  County  Commissioner  of  ]5caver  count)',  long  since  deceased. 
The  fruits  of  the  marriage  are  two  sons  and  two  daughters,  all  now  grown  up. 


William    M.   Bunn. 


WILLIAM  MALCOLM  BUNN. 

FROM  an  humble  boyhood  and  the  merely  comfortable  surroundings  tliat  so 
often  serve  to  fasten  mediocrity  upon  those  who,  with  either  tlie  advantage 
of  weakh  or  the  spur  of  poverty,  would  develop  into  leading  and  distinguished 
men,  William  Malcolm  Bunn  forced  his  way  to  the  successful  minority  among 
men  and  attained  a  position  which  attracted  attention  and  secured  his  selection 
by  President  Arthur  to  fill  the  Gubernatorial  chair  of  Idaho  Territory.  One  of 
those  bold  natures  who  believe  that  triumph  or  failure  is  equally  and  only 
chargeable  to  the  man,  his  success  is  the  result  of  natural  ability  incited  by 
boundless  ambition  and  sustained  by  an  audacious  courage  which  regards 
obstacles  as  something  to  be  overturned  rather  than  avoided.  Few  men  in  the 
unaided  and  unpromising  position  of  his  early  life  would  have  aspired  to  what 
he  did,  fewer  would  have  succeeded  in  realizing  these  aspirations.  He  is  an  ex- 
ample of  the  bright  and  hopeful  privilege  of  American  life,  which  bars  no  way 
to  pluck  and  brains  and  declares  that  no  lack  of  advantage  in  youth  shall  mar 
the  prospects  of  manhood's  achievement. 

William  Malcolm  Bunn  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on  the  first  da}'  of  January, 
1S42,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Third  and  Poplar  streets,  and  was  the  seventh  of 
eleven  sons.  His  education  commenced  in  the  public  schools  of  the  vicinity  and 
was  interrupted  in  his  eleventh  j'car,  when  he  had  reached  the  second  di\-ision  of 
the  Jefferson  Grammar  School,  by  his  entering  the  cotton  mills  in  which  iiis 
father  was  employed  as  a  spinner.  Here  he  remained  for  three  years,  when  he 
was  sent  for  by  an  uncle  who  lived  at  Havana,  New  York,  and  who  found  leisure 
from  his  duties  as  an  Episcopal  minister  to  conduct  an  academical  institute  for 
young  men  and  boys.  In  the  time  spent  here  he  laid  the  foundation  of  a  good, 
useful  education,  upon  which  he  subsequently  built  by  extensive  and  varied 
reading  and  his  happy  faculty  of  quick  acquirement  At  the  age  of  sixteen 
his  prudent  and  thrifty  father,  who  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  old-fashioned  doc- 
trine that  every  boy  should  learn  a  trade,  secured  him  a  place  with  John  Frost,  a 
wood  engraver,  then  established  at  the  corner  of  Sixth  and  Minor  streets.  Al- 
though there  was  no  formal  indenture  to  that  effect,  it  was  contemplated  that  he 
was  to  learn  the  art  and  remain  until  he  had  attained  his  majority.  At  the  end 
of  a  year,  however,  he  became  dissatisfied  with  the  place  and  its  meagre  pa)-,  and 
left  it  to  join  an  older  brother  who  had  established  himself  as  a  wood  carver. 
Here  he  soon  became  quite  proficient,  and  that  his  hand  has  retained  the  cunning 
then  acquired  was  shown  in  a  number  of  admirable  cartoons  that  appeared  in  his 
paper,  the  Sunday  Transcript,  when  he  was  conducting  a  vigorous  fight  against 
the  political  bosses'  assumption  of  the  rights  of  the  people. 

The  war  breaking  out  after  he  had  been  thus  occupied  for  a  little  more  than  two 
years,  he  promptly  enlisted,  though  not  yet  twenty  years  of  age,  and  went  out 
as  a  private  in  Company  F,  72d  Regiment,  Pennsylvania  Volunteers.  Me  was 
53  (4-7) 


4l8  WU.IJAM    M.    r.UNN. 

severely  wounded  at  Savage  Station,  Virginia,  June  2gth,  1862,  and  was  subse- 
quently taken  prisoner  and  carried  to  Richmond,  where  he  was  confined  several 
months.  Released  by  exchange  when  convalescent,  he  returned  to  Philadelphia, 
where,  suffering  a  relapse,  the  patriotism  of  his  family  was  attested  in  the  fact 
that  he  and  two  of  his  brothers  lay  ill  at  the  same  time  of  wounds  received  in 
the  defence  of  the  Northern  cause.  After  his  honorable  discharge  he  returned 
to  the  army  as  sutler's  clerk,  in  which  position  many  amusing  stories  are  told 
of  his  ingenuity  in  preparing  cheap  and  harmless  beverages  to  the  great  delight 
of  the  soldiers  and  the  profit  of  his  employer.  Here,  also,  he  was  remarkable 
for  his  studiousness,  and  it  is  related  of  him  that  he  greedily  devoured  every 
book  that  found  its  way  into  the  camp.  He  had  an  appetite  for  all  kinds  of 
reading,  and,  amid  lighter  literature,  would  feed  his  higher  taste  with  such  works 
as  those  of  Emerson,  Carlyle  and  Reid's  "Intellectual  Powers  of  Man."  He  re- 
turned, therefore,  to  the  paths  of  peace  with  a  well-stored  and  well-trained  mind 
that  naturally  aroused  the  ambition  to  rise  in  the  world. 

After  leaving  the  army  he  returned  to  the  work-bench  he  had  quitted  at  the 
call  for  volunteers,  and,  becoming  a  partner  with  his  brother,  prospered  with  him 
in  the  business.  In  the  meantime  his  restless  ambition  found  partial  occupation 
in  politics,  and  in  1S66  he  was  elected  in  the  Sixteenth  ward — the  ward  in  which 
his  fiither  and  he  had  been  born — as  a  delegate  to  the  City  Convention.  The 
same  year  he  was  nominated  for  School  Director,  but  failed  of  election,  the  ward 
being  Democratic  by  a  formidable  majority.  The  following  year  he  was  nom- 
inated for  Common  Council,  but,  feuds  existing  among  the  members  of  his  party, 
he  turned  his  attention  to  them  rather  than  to  his  candidacy,  really  sacrificing  his 
jirospects  to  heal  them.  Even  under  these  circumstances,  however,  he  reduced 
the  average  Democratic  majority  of  about  600  to  less  than  200,  although  his  op» 
ponent  was  a  popular  and  justly  esteemed  gentleman.  In  the  era  of  good  feel- 
ing, re-established  by  his  efforts,  he  effected  an  organization  of  a  politico-social 
nature  which  retained  harmony  in  the  party  and  remained  a  potent  influence  in 
the  politics  of  the  ward  for  many  years. 

Undaunted  by  his  two  political  failures,  he  was  the  next  year  a  candidate  and 
received  the  nomination  for  Representative  in  the  State  Legislature,  his  opponent 
being  Daniel  W itham,  who  had  beaten  Charles  Eager  the  previous  year.  By  the 
most  unblushing  frauds  committed  in  his  behalf,  although  he  was  not  accused  of 
being  accessory  to  them,  Witham  was  returned  as  elected  by  a  majority  of 
thirty-five  votes.  Firmly  believing  that  he  was  fairly  elected,  and  not  being 
of  the  nature  that  tamely  suffers  under  a  wrong,  Mr.  Bunn  successfully  contested 
the  election  and  took  his  seat.  Renominated  the  following  year,  he  was  re- 
elected by  a  majority  of  more  than  four  hundred.  His  ambition  for  law-making 
was  sated  by  these  two  terms,  and  he  now  addressed  himself  to  securing  some 
position  by  which  his  worldly  affairs  would  be  advanced.  The  office  of  Register 
of  Wills  was  at  that  time  a  very  lucrative  one  legitimately.  Upon  that  the 
youthful  politician  fixed  his  ambition,  and  with  his  usual  daring  announced  his 
candidacy  and  with  his  habitual  energy  entered  upon  the  contest  to  secure  it. 


WILLIAM    M.    nuXM.  419 

It  seemed  a  rash  and  almost  hopeless  undcrtakintj,  as  he  had  Httle  to  hope  for 
from  the  political  powers  of  that  day  and  was,  moreover,  antagonized  by  William 
Y.  Campbell,  a  popular  fivorite  of  the  "  fire-boys,"  who  were  not  disposed  to 
be  over-scrupulous  in  the  means  eniplo\-ed  to  force  their  favorite  on  the 
Convention.  He  was  also  opposed  by  William  Moran,  GkIioii  Clarl<e,  Joseph 
A.  Bonham,  William  Sni_\th  ami  Cluuies  DL\e\-,  al!  of  ulxini  had  stron;^  f il- 
lowings  in  the  Convention,  and  each  felt  that  the  prize  was  within  his  reach. 
Buoyed  by  his  own  self-confidence  and  courage,  and  encouraged  by  his  friend, 
Hamilton  Disston,  he  entered  upon  the  fight  with  all  the  intensity  of  his  nature, 
and,  winning  the  nomination,  was  elected  with  his  ticket  by  a  majority  of  nearly 
five  thousand.  The  emoluments  of  the  office  allowed  him  to  retire  at  the  end 
of  his  term  with  a  competency,  and  he  has  since  held  no  office  of  profit  in  the 
city  government.  In  1875  he  was  elected  a  Guardian  of  the  Poor,  and  was  re- 
elected in  187S,  at  the  end  of  which  term  he  declined  to  submit  his  name  again 
for  the  position.  He  has  repeatedly  been  a  delegate  to  National,  State  and 
County  Conventions,  where  he  always  thought  for  himself 

In  the  meantime  he  had  entered  a  new  field,  having  purchased  a  con- 
trolling interest  in  the  Siiihiay  Transcript  in  1878,  of  which  paper  he  became, 
and  h  IS  since  remained,  the  editor — save  for  a  period  of  two  years  between 
June,  1884,  and  1 886.  Lifting  it  out  of  the  well-worn  grooves  of  the  Sun- 
day publications  of  the  day,  he  soon  impressed  upon  it  an  attractive  individuality. 
The  paper  brightened  and,  brightening,  flourished.  Its  new  editor's  exhaustive 
knowledge  of  politics  and  politicians  attracted  wide  attention  to  it,  and  led  to  a 
largely  increased  perusal  of  its  columns  by  those  who  were  watching  the  drift 
of  politics  from  near  and  afar.  His  keen,  epigrammatic  paragraphs  have  con- 
stantly been  reprinted  in  Monday's  issue  of  the  principal  daily  papers,  and  the 
Transcript  became  a  power  in  the  interests  of  the  Republican  party.  But,  though 
an  uncompromising  Republican,  ever  alert  to  advance  the  interests  of  his  party 
with  pen  and  personal  influence,  he  was  among  the  first  to  foresee  the  danger 
threatening  it  from  the  rapacity  of  the  men  who  had  installed  themselves  as 
leaders  and  who  were  prostituting  it  by  trickery  and  trading  to  their  personal 
aggrandizement.  Finding  all  appeals  to  let  the  people  have  a  voice  in  the  selec- 
tion of  men  to  fill  the  offices  of  government  treated  with  contemptuous  disdain, 
he  boldly  declared  war  against  Boss  dictation  and  Boss  methods  and  fearlessly 
confronted  the  leaders  with  their  actions  and  designs.  Against  the  then  Seventh 
street  political  hierarchy,  which  was  formidably  intrenched  behind  the  extraor- 
dinary powers  of  the  Gas  Trust,  he  was  particularly  severe,  and  his  constant  on- 
slaught with  pen  and  pencil  upon  this  body  was  the  commencement  of  the  crusade 
which  drove  its  leader  from  position  and  power  and  led  to  its  reorganization. 
This  bold  advocacy  of  the  people's  cause  against  their  oppressors  led  to  his  se- 
lection for  a  seat  in  the  State  Senate,  a  contest  upon  which  he  entered  with  char- 
acteristic vigor  and  entered  the  Convention  with  a  majority  of  the  delegates 
elected  to  vote  for  him.  But  agaiu'^t  him  was  concentrated  the  opposition  of 
every  department  of  the  city  government,  inspired  by  the  great  Boss,  McManes, 


420 


WILLIAM    M.    BUNN. 


who  was  yet  in  power,  and  he  was  defeated  by  the  Committee  on  Contests  and 
other  influences.  In  the  meantime  he  had  waged  unceasing  war  against  the 
ring  of  Bosses,  and  the  battle  grew  fiercer  with  his  added  personal  wrong.  On 
the  Sunday  following  his  defeat  in  the  Convention  he  published  the  cartoon, 
"  Obeying  Orders,"  which  had  an  enormous  circulation  and  is  credited  with 
ha\ing  excited  the  people  more  against  the  corrupt  leaders  than  all  that  had 
been  written. 

His  triumph  over  the  powerful  bosses  largely  increased  the  circulation  and 
influence  of  the  Transcript,  and,  devoting  himself  entirely  to  its  interests,  he 
placed  it  upon  a  plane  of  unprecedented  prosperity.  While  thus  engaged,  his 
name  was  presented  to  the  President  for  the  position  of  Governor  of  Arizona, 
but  as  that  position  was  destined  to  go  to  the  Pacific,  he  remained  at  the  editorial 
desk  until  his  selection  by  President  Arthur  to  fill  the  Gubernatorial  chair  of  the 
Territory  of  Idaho.  Upon  his  confirmation  by  the  United  States  Senate — which 
was  unanimous — he,  with  his  usual  promptitude,  sold  out  at  public  sale  his  beau- 
tiful home,  leased  his  paper  to  Thomas  M.  Jackson  for  a  period  of  two  years, 
and  departed,  within  a  month  after  receiving  the  appointment,  for  his  new  field 
of  labor.  His  record  in  Idaho  is  a  part  of  the  history  of  the  great  West.  The 
active  journals  of  that  country  lauded  his  work  and  conceded  him  to  be  "  one  of 
the  ablest  and  bravest  Federal  officials  ever  sent  west  of  the  Rockies,"  while  all, 
— even  the  Mormons,  whom  he  fought  most  bitterly — acknowledged  his  ability 
and  the  good  work  he  did  for  the  advancement  and  improvement  of  the  Territory. 
When  he  resigned  he  was  presented  with  many  testimonials  and  laudatory  reso- 
lutions, which  he  had  well  deserved.  Returning  to  Philadelphia,  he  waited  for 
the  expiration  of  Mr.  Jackson's  lease,  to  resume  his  old  place  on  the  Transcript. 
His  paper  is  to-day  breezier  and  more  influential  than  ever  and  evinces  marked 
signs  of  progress  and  prosperity. 

In  an  unusually  wide  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances  his  brilliant  and  at- 
tractive social  qualities  have  made  him  one  of  the  most  popular  of  men.  His 
quick  wit  and  clever  repartee  are  notable,  and  bear  him  victoriously  through  the 
verbal  encounters  he  is  fond  of  provoking.  He  is  well  equipped  and  unusually 
cffjctive  in  recitation,  song  and  story,  and  most  entertaining  as  an  after-dinner 
speaker.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Lotos  Club  of  New  York  and  one  of  the  briglit 
lights  of  the  Clover  Club  of  Philadelphia.  He  is  princely  in  entertainment,  and 
is  ever  ready  to  join  in  the  reception  of  distinguished  visitors  to  the  city,  many 
of  whom  he  has  entertained  in  his  charming  residence.  In  appearance  he  looks 
ten  years  younger  than  is  recorded  on  the  leaf  of  the  family  Bible,  having  a 
youthful  face  and  slight,  though  well-knit,  figure,  which  is  always  scrupulously 
and  nattily  attired,  but  without  a  suggestisn  of  foppishness.  He  is  free,  kind  and 
gracious  in  his  manner,  a  strong  friend  and  not  an  ungenerous  foe.  The  friends 
of  his  youth  are  the  friends  of  his  manhood,  and  no  one  lias  ever  charged  him 
with  affectation  or  ingratitude.  A  fair  field  for  ambition  and  achievement  lies 
before  him,  and  it  will  be  strange  if,  with  his  aliility  and  energy,  another  chapter, 
recording  higher  accomplishments,  is  not  yet  to  be  added  to  his  life. 


^-4Bii^|r 


Stocktun    Bates. 


STOCKTON   BATES. 

IT  is  not  at  all  usual  to  find  conii)iiicd  in  the  same  person  tlie  divine  afflatus  of 
the  poet  and  the  practieal  attributes  of  the  successful  man  of  business. 
There  are  notable  instances,  lio\ve\-er,  in  which  it  does  occur,  and  one  of  them  is 
in  the  person  of  Stockton  Bates,  who  is  Prcsivlent  of  the  most  extensive  manu- 
factory of  textile  machinery  in  this  country,  if  not  in  the  world,  and  who  is  also 
the  author  of  many  poems  which  indicate  more  than  average  literary  merit,  and 
a  volume  of  which,  entitled  "  Dream  Life,"  has  been  issued  with  a  profitable 
result  to  both  author  and  publisher. 

Mr.  Bates  was  born  in  an  uii[)retcntious  house  on  Sex'enth  street  below  But- 
tonwood,  in  the  Thirteenth  Ward  of  the  city  of  i'hiladelphia,  on  the  4th  of 
Februar)%  1843.  ^'s  parents,  both  natives  of  the  United  States,  were  respectively 
of  English  and  Welsh  descent.  On  the  father's  side  the  blood  was  English  ;  the 
mother,  who  was  a  Cavendcr,  ^\'as  of  Welsh  descent.  Of  the  three  brothers 
Bates  who  sought  success  in  the  New  World,  one  settled  in  New  England,  one  in 
New  Jersey,  and  the  thirtl  went  West.  P^rom  the  Western  branch  of  this  family 
came  David  Bates,  who  was  born  at  Indian  Hill,  Hamilton  count)-,  Ohio,  on 
March  6,  1S09.  Of  the  father's  life,  from  farmer's  boy  to  an  honored  position  as 
a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  Board  of  Brokers  and  an  almost  world-wide  fame 
as  the  author  of  those  two  beautiful  poems,  "Speak  GentK' "  and  "  Chiklhood," 
the  son  Stockton  has  filially  written  in  his  preface  to  the  "  Poetical  Works  of 
David  Bates,"  published  b)'  Cla.xton,  Remsen  &  Ilaffelfinger  in  1870.  The 
mother  was  one  of  a  large  family  of  daughters  born  to  one  of  Philadelphia's  old- 
time  merchants,  who  carried  on  a  large  dry-goods  business  at  the  southwest 
corner  of  Second  and  South  streets. 

Stockton  Bates  was  educated  m  the  public  grammar  schools  of  Philadelphia 
and  at  the  Central  High  School,  lea\ing  the  latter,  after  a  two  \-ears'  course,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  troublous  times  incident  to  the  war  of  the  Rebellion. 
Denied  a  college  education  by  reason  of  business  reverses  caused  by  the  war  he 
was  obliged  to  seek  employment  for  self-support  and  has  subsequently  followed 
a  practical  business  career.  As  a  clerk  in  a  broker's  office,  and  later  as  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Brokers,  he  acquired  that  knowledge  of  business  rules  and  prac- 
tical finance,  that  quickness  of  perception  and  promptness  of  action  so  necessary 
to  that  calling,  and  which  in  after  life  fitted  him  to  take  charge  of  and  manage 
one  of  the  largest  manufactories  of  textile  machinery  in  this  country. 

During  the  period  spent  among  the  "  Bulls  and  Bears,"  he  found  time  to 
pursue  his  studies  in  general  literature,  of  which  he  was  exceedingly  fond,  and, 
following  in  his  father's  footsteps,  to  compose  and  publish  man\' poems  that  went 
the  rounds  of  the  newspaper  press.  Naturally  of  a  sensitive  and  retiring  disposi- 
tion, the  business  of  the  Stock  Exchange  was  to  him  exceedingly  distasteful,  and 

(4^0 


41?  2  STOCKTON    BATES. 

ho  finally  left  "the  street,"  and  turned  his  attention  to  commercial  aff.iirs  and 
manufacturing.  After  varied  experiences  in  several  business  ventures,  he  was 
solicited  to  take  a  subordinate  position  in  the  office  of  The  Bridesburg  Manu- 
facturing Compan)-. 

It  was  in  this  new  capacitx'  that  his  energies  were  to  be  tried  to  the  utmost. 
He  was  rapidly  advanced  to  the  successive  offices  of  Secretary  and  Treasurer, 
and  finally,  in  1883,  was  elected  President  of  the  company.  His  habits  as  a 
student  stood  him  in  good  stead;  for,  early  seeing  that  to  successfull)'  perform 
the  duties  that  would  devolve  upon  him  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  principles 
of  machinery  and  tiieir  application  in  the  varied  mechanical  appliances  would  be 
necessary,  he  at  once  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  mechanics.  With  such 
persistence  and  success  has  he  pursued  these  studies  that  he  is  credited  with 
being  master  of  his  business.  He  is  the  inventor  of  several  useful  improvements 
in  the  branch  of  textile  machinery,  and  is  a  clear  and  forcible  writer  on  mechan- 
ical subjects  as  well  as  in  the  field  of  general  knowledge. 

Mr.  Bates  has  been  a  close  student  of  the  principles  of  a  protective  tariff,  par- 
ticularly as  affecting  the  interests  of  the  corporation  and  line  of  business  with 
which  he  is  connected.  While  )-et  Treasurer  of  the  company  he  replied  to  a 
paper  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Henry  V.  Meigs,  of  Atlanta,  Ga.,  published  in  the 
^^V^c'  York  Herald  of  December  6,  iSSo.  The  reply  appeared  in  the  same  paper 
on  December  23d  following,  and  attracted  much  attention.  It  was  republished 
in  the  annual  volume  of"  The  National  Association  of  Wool  Manufacturers,"  and 
secured  for  its  author  the  appointment  as  one  of  the  committee  of  that  bod)'  on 
Textile  Machinery.  He  was  also  selected  as  one  of  a  committee  to  visit  Wash- 
ington and  urge  upon  Congress  the  necessity  of  maintaining  the  tariff  on  textile 
and  other  machiner}-. 

In  1866  Mr.  Bates  married  the  only  daughter  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Heston,  and 
has  four  children,  the  oldest  and  youngest  being  boys.  The  eldest  boy  is  assist- 
ing his  father  as  a  mill  and  mechanical  draughtsman,  having  taken  a  partial 
course  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  the  Toune  Scientific  School. 

Mr.  Bates  is  essentially  domestic  in  his  tastes,  and  finds  his  chief  enjoyment  in 
being  with  his  family;  and  yet  he  is  prominent  in  many  of  the  beneficial  and 
charitable  societies  of  the  city,  is  a  member  of  the  Art  Club  and  Manufacturers' 
Club,  and  is  always  ready  v\ith  his  pen  or  his  voice  to  work  in  any  good  cause. 
He  is  quite  prominent  in  Masonry,  is  Past-Master  of  his  lodge,  and  was  largely 
in.strumental  in  establishing  the  Masonic  Home,  of  which  institution  he  is  now 
tlie  .Secretary.  He  seems  to  possess,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  happy  faculty  of 
concentration,  and  when  attending  to  business  is  all  business,  but  never  obtrudes 
its  cares  in  social  life.  Amidst  varied  concerns  he  finds  time  to  keep  alive  his  early 
love  of  literature,  and  is  never  haj^i^ier  than  when  in  sj-nipathetic  discussion  of 
some  loved  author.  His  own  ])oetic  tastes  are  keen,  and  the  favorable  reception 
of  his  first  volume  of  poems  should  encourage  him  to  gather  the  fiigitive  crea- 
tions of  his  pen  and  present  them  to  the  workl  in  cndiniiig  form. 


Henry   Cohen. 


HENRY  COHEN. 

HENRY  Cohen,  whose  grapliic  and  interesting-  letters  from  Europe,  which 
have  been  published,  entitle  him  to  a  place  among  literary  men,  was  born 
in  London,  July  ig,  1810,  but  for  nearly  a  half  century  was  a  resident  of  Phila- 
delphia. In  his  eighteenth  year  he  left  home  on  an  extensive  tour,  visiting 
Africa,  Australia  and  South  America,  and  remained  abroad  for  nearly  five  j'ears. 
Shortly  after  his  return  to  London,  in  1833,  he  took  up  his  residence  in  Paris, 
where  he  lived  for  three  years  during  an  eventful  period  in  French  history.  lie 
was  in  that  city  when  the  attempt  was  made  on  the  life  of  Louis  Philippe  by 
Fieschi,  and  in  after  }-ears  often  referred  to  the  exciting  scenes  he  had  then 
witnessed. 

About  1837  he  came  to  the  United  States  and,  after  a  short  stay  in  New  York, 
established  himself  in  Philadelphia  as  an  importer  of  English  and  French 
stationery,  and  afterwards  began  the  manufacture  of  envelopes  and  lead  points. 
The  business  grew  to  large  dimensions  and  he  became  the  leading  merchant  in 
that  line  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  In  1871,  finding  his  health  impaired  by  too 
close  application  to  business,  he  sought  relief  in  foreign  travel,  and  on  his  return 
retired  from  active  business,  his  eldest  son  becoming  his  successor.  While 
abroad  he  visited  the  principal  cities  of  Europe,  paying  special  attention  to  the 
art  galleries  of  France,  Germany  and  Italy,  and  the  letters  that  he  wrote,  giving 
his  views  and  experiences,  are  remarkable  for  vigor  and  clearness  of  expression. 

Mr.  Cohen  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  cultui'e.  He  was  a  good  French 
scholar,  and  a  lifelong,  diligent  and  discriminating  student  of  English  literature. 
He  was  an  ardent  admirer  of  Shakespeare,  and  man)-  long  winter  evenings  were 
shortened  by  Shakespearian  readings  at  his  home.  The  leisure  obtained  by  his 
retirement  from  business  he  spent  in  reading,  in  travel  and  in  devotion  to  chari- 
table and  public  duties.  He  ardently  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Union  in  the 
late  war  and  took  an  active  part  m  the  formation  of  the  Union  League.  An 
enthusiastic  American  citizen,  he  took  great  interest  in  the  country's  growth  and 
the  development  of  its  industries,  and  was  a  zealous  and  tireless  worker  for  the 
success  of  the  great  Centennial  E.xposition  of  1S76. 

Mr.  Cohen  was  also  noted  for  his  strict  adherence  to  the  Jewish  faith.  For 
many  }'ears  he  was  a  member  of  the  old  Portuguese  Congregation  of  Israelites, 
and  for  three  years  before  his  death  was  its  President.  How  faithfully  he  dis- 
charged his  duties  is  attested  by  his  minister,  Rev.  Dr.  Morias,  whose  eloquent 
funeral  sermon  has  been  published,  in  which  he  said : 

"Three  years  ago  we  chose  as  our  temporal  leader  this  Hebrew  man.  What 
suggested  his  name  spontaneously  to  e\-ery  reflecting  member  of  the  congrega- 
tion? His  social  standing,  antl  a  general  knowledge  of  the  \iews  he  entertained. 
For    Henry  Cohen  did  not  hide  his  attachment  to  the  ancestral    observances, 

(423) 


424  HENKY    COHEN. 

because  lie  enjoyed  the  familiar  intercourse  of  the  cultured  and  respected  among 
the  professors  of  another  creed.  He  reverenced  his  religion,  and  held  tenaciously 
thereunto — as  an  inalienable  birthright — in  the  presence  of  the  world.  Without 
seeking  a  controversy,  the  intelligent  Hebrew  keenly  relished  the  opportunity 
which  enabled  him  to  explain  the  reason  for  continuing  loyal  to  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets.  Nor  had  our  chief,  whose  demise  I  deplore,  been  merely  an  occasional 
\isitor  in  the  IMinor  Sanctuar)'.  All  saw  him,  undeterred  by  distance,  in  his 
usual  seat,  an  earnest  worshipper,  ready  to  signify  his  appreciation  of  the  honors 
belonging  to  his  tribe,  as  scions  of  the  stock  of  Aaron,  by  generous  donations. 
The  selection  had  been  therefore  wisely  designed  and  merited.  Did  it  prove  so? 
\Vho  puts  that  question  ?  Would  I  utter  a  strained  lament  before  the  dead  ;  or 
lie  to  the  living,  if  the  late  President  of  my  congregation  had,  as  such,  inten- 
tionally fallen  short  of  his  duties;  if  he  had  been  untrue  to  his  trust;  if  he  iiad 
deceived  the  confidence  founded  on  a  wide,  established  reputation,  and,  to  truckle 
with  a  worldl}' policy,  had  rushed  headlong  after  the  errors  of  this  age?  Never. 
Eagerness  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  s}'nagogue  he  unequivocally  showed  on 
solemn  days  by  deeds  of  liberality.  An  ardent  desire  to  enhance  the  impressive- 
ness  of  our  ancient  service,  he  obviously  evinced  on  winter  nights,  when  despite 
a  fatal  malady  stealing  upon  his  body,  the  President  travelled  from  afar  to  meet 
the  Minister,  and  help  in  the  effort  of  training  the  votaries  that  offered  their 
voices  to  sing  to  God  harmoniously." 

But  although  an  adherent  of  Jewish  practices  and  a  believer  in  the  prophecies 
regarding  the  final  destiny  of  the  Hebrew  race,  he  manifested  a  liberal  spirit  to- 
■\\ards  those  of  other  creeds,  and  counted  a  large  number  of  Christians  among 
his  staunch  friends  and  visitors  to  his  house,  where  a  generous  hospitality  was 
extended  to  all. 

In  1844  Mr.  Cohen  married  Matilda,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Lewis  Samuel,  of 
Liverpool,  England,  by  whom  he  had  several  children,  five  of  whom,  two  sons 
and  three  daughters,  lived  to  maturit)'.  Charles  J.,  the  eldest  son,  succeeded  to 
his  father's  business,  which  he  has  very  successfully  conducted,  and  John  M.  is 
a  practicing  lawyer  and  a  member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar.  His  daughter  Edith 
is  the  wife  of  Col.  Alfred  Cromelicn.  His  daughter  Mary  is  a  writer  of  excep- 
tional ability  on  subjects  of  political  economy,  etc.,  and  his  other  daughter, 
Katharine,  is  a  rising  artist  with  a  decided  talent  for  sculpture. 

Mr.  Cohen  died  on  June  20,  1879,  mourned  not  only  by  his  immediate  family, 
to  whom  he  was  a  kind  husband  and  father,  but  by  many  of  the  best  people  of 
Philadelphia,  of  which  he  was  a  must  estunable  and  respected  citizen. 

E.  T.  F. 


Charles   G.   Sower. 


CHARLES  GILBERT  SOWER. 

SOWER,  or  Saur  as  it  was  original!}'  written  in  German,  is  a  historic  name  in 
Pennsylvania.  Several  generations  of  men  bearing  this  name  have  been 
notable  for  their  learning,  originality  and  business  enterprise,  displayed  principally 
in  manufacturing  and  publishing  books  and  newspapers.  They  are  descendants 
of  Christopher  Sower,  who  in  the  fill  of  1724  emigrated  from  the  town  of 
Laasphe  in  Witgenstein,  Germany,  and  in  1731  built  a  large  mansion  for  his 
residence  in  Germantown,  now  a  part  of  Philatlclphia.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the 
University  of  Marberg,  and  afterwards  spent  five  years  in  a  medical  institution 
at  Halle,  where  he  obtained  a  knowledge  of  medicine,  which  he  practiced  in  con- 
nection with  his  other  pursuits.  Although  not  a  printer  his  German  friends 
persuaded  him  to  engage  in  printing,  and  his  first  publication  in  America  was  an 
almanac  in  the  German  language,  begun  in  173S  and  continued  annually  during 
his  life.  Simpson  in  his  "  Lives  of  Eminent  Philadclphians  "  describes  it  as  a 
quarto  in  the  usual  form  with  twenty-four  pages,  and  the  matter  consisted  of 
twelve  pages  of  calculations  (one  for  each  month);  a  calculation  of  eclipses  for 
the  coming  year;  a  record  of  the  provincial  courts  and  fiiis  ;  chronology  of  im- 
portant events  ;  interest  tables  ;  a  quantity  of  interesting  and  useful  matter,  chiefiy 
of  a  pln-siological  and  hygienic  character,  in  plain  and  simple  language;  a  list  of 
books  consigned  to  him  from  Germany  and  their  prices,  and  one  or  two  adver- 
tisements. 

The  publication  of  this  almanac  stimulated  a  desire  for  more  reading  matter, 
and  he  was  urgently  solicited  to  issue  a  periodical  that  would  contain  news  and 
such  other  matter  as  he  thought  proper  and  useful.  Though  loath  at  first  to 
undertake  such  a  publication,  he  yielded  to  the  importunities  of  the  people,  and  on 
August  20,  1739,  issued  the  first  number  of  a  religious  and  secular  journal 
entitled  "  Der  Hoch-Deutsch  Pennsylvanische  Geschicht-Schreiber  oder  Sa.mm- 
lung  VVichtiger  Nachrichten  aus  dem  Natijr-und  Kirchen-Reich,"  which,  not- 
withstanding its  formidable  name,  soon  reached  a  circulation  of  eight  to  ten 
tliousand  weekly.  It  was  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  British  Colonies  and  wielded  an 
unbounded  influence  over  the  whole  German  population. 

In  the  meanwhile  he  was  engaged  in  setting  up  a  quarto  edition  of  the  Bible 
in  the  German  language,  which,  after  three  j-ears  of  toil  amid  many  perplexities, 
he  issued  in  1743,  and  which  "  in  completeness  and  execution  has  never  been 
excelled  in  this  country."  This  was  the  first  quarto  Bible  printed  in  America. 
No  copy  of  the  Bible  in  the  English  language  was  printed  in  America  until 
nearly  forty  years  afterward.  The  first  edition  of  the  Sower  l^iblc  consisted  of 
twelve  hundred  copies,  and  at  this  da\'  a  cop)'  is  so  highly  prized  by  the 
descendants  of  the  original  subscribers  that  the\'  can  scarcely  be  induced  to 
part  with  it  for  any  consideration.  In  addition  to  those  mentioned  he  published 
54  (425) 


4-6 


CHARLES    G.    SOWKK. 


about  one  luitulred  and  eighty  other  works,  man)-  of  large  size  and  all  esteemed 
of  great  value. 

To  carry  on  his  printing  operations  he  foiuKl  it  ncccssar\-  to  manufacture  the 
paper  and  ink  he  used,  and  to  establish  a  bindery  and  t)-pe-foundry.  He  made 
not  onlj'  the  type  necessar\-  for  his  own  use  but  supplied  other  piinters.  His 
was  the  first  type-foundry  in  America,  and  the  Johnson  foundry  of  Philadelphia, 
now  owned  by  MacKellar,  Smiths  &  Jordan  (one  of  the  largest  in  the  world), 
has  gradually  grown  out  of  it.  His  mind  was  continually  active  in  devising 
improvements,  and  the  neighborhood  in  which  he  lived  is  full  of  traditions  of 
the  ingenuity  and  practical  utility  of  manj-  of  his  inventions.  He  died  September, 
1758,  at  the  age  of  sixt)'-five,  leaving  an  only  son,  born  in  1721,  before  he  left 
Germany,  and  aUo  named  Christopher,  who  succeeded  to  his  business  and 
greatly  enlarged  it. 

Christopher,  2d,  published  several  editions  of  the  Bible,  and  as  stereotyping  had 
not  been  invented  the  type  had  to  be  reset  for  each  succeeding  edition.  Besides 
the  Bible,  newspapers  and  almanacs,  he  published  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
other  works  in  either  the  English  or  German  language,  most  of  them  large 
books.  He  employed  two  or  more  mills  in  manufacturing  paper,  cast  his  own 
t_\-pe,  made  his  own  printer's  ink,  engraved  wood-cuts  and  bound  his  own  publi- 
cations. He  was  also  a  minister  and  bishop  among  the  Dunkers  (originally 
called  "  Tunkers  "  or  "  Dippers,"  from  their  mode  of  baptism),  whose  distin- 
guishing tenet  is  their  non-resistant  or  peace  principles  carried  te  the  extent  of 
refusing  to  prosecute  or  defend  a  suit  in  court,  and  submitting  to  almost  any 
indignity  without  resistance.  During  the  whole  course  of  his  life  he  advocated 
the  doctrines  of  universal  peace,  and  condemned  as  unchristian  the  use  of 
weapons  of  war  for  any  offensive  purpose  whatever.  When  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion broke  out,  faithful  to  his  peace  convictions,  which  were  inseparable  from  his 
religious  professions,  although  he  did  not  espouse  the  cause  of  Great  Britain,  he 
was  compelled  to  oppose  the  recourse  to  violent  resistance  on  the  part  of  the 
patriots.  In  this  he  was  in  entire  accord  with  the  Dunkers,  Mennonites, 
Schwenckfelders,  Moravians  and  Quakers,  but  he  was  singled  out  for  persecution, 
and  "  without  a  hearing  or  trial "  he  was  declared  a  traitor,  his  property  was 
confiscated  even  to  the  last  penny,  and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  in 
poverty  and  obloquy.  "  Strange  "  says  Professor  Seidensticker,  "  that  it  should 
befall  him,  the  sage,  the  philosopher  and  above  all  the  defender  of  the  supremacy 
of  Love  and  Sympathy  for  all  men,  to  endure  the  whole  weight  of  a  wicked, 
malevolent  persecution  as  though  he  were  a  convict,  proven  guilty  of  crime." 
On  August  26,  1784,  he  died  in  his  sixty-fourth  year,  and  was  buried  in  the 
Mennonite  ground  near  Methatchen.  He  left  a  family  of  eight  children,  several 
of  whom  became  notable  as  printers  and  publishers,  and  among  them  David 
Sower,  Sr. 

The  early  years  of  David  .Sower,  .Sr.,  were  spent  in  the  printing-office,  type- 
foundry  and  book-bindery  of  his  father,  and  after  his  marriage    he  established 


CHARLES    0.    Sf)\VER.  42/ 

himself  in  Philadelphia,  first  as  a  wholesale  and  retail  s^rocer  (being  quite  suc- 
cessful until  the  yellow  fever  of  1793  broke  out),  and  then  as  bookseller  and 
stationer  on  Third  street  above  Arch.  In  the  spring  of  1799  he  removed  to 
Norristown,  where,  on  the  13th  of  June,  lie  commenced  the  publication  of  the 
paper  now  known  as  the  Herald  and  Free  Press.  During  the  first  year  of  its 
existence  it  was  called  the  Norristoivn  Gazette  and  comprised  four  pages,  ten  by 
eight  inches,  with  three  columns  on  a  page.  A  number  now  before  us,  issued 
October  11,  1799,  contains  four  advertisements,  three  of  them  in  reference  to 
stray  cattle,  and  one  advertising  several  tons  of  sheet  iron  and  nail  rods  for  sale 
at  the  Valley  Works.  In  this  number  of  the  Gazette  the  following  story  is 
related:  "An  Indian  chief  being  asked  his  opinion  of  a  cask  of  Madeira  wine 
presented  to  liim  b}'  an  officer,  said  he  thought  it  a  juice  extracted  from  women's 
tongues  and  lions'  hearts,  for  after  he  had  drank  a  bottle  of  it  he  said  he  could 
talk  forever  and  fight  the  devil."  The  last  number  of  the  Gazette  was  issued 
June  6,  iSoo,  and  shortly  afterward  the  Norristown  Herald  and  Weekly  Advertiser, 
printed  on  a  folio  demi-sheet,  three  broad  columns  on  a  page,  appeared.  This  he 
continued  to  publish  until  December,  1808,  when  he  transferretl  it  to  his  oldest 
son,  Charles,  and  engaged  in  general  merchandising,  for  which  his  early  business 
experience  in  Philadelphia  had  fitted  him.  After  several  years  of  varying  suc- 
cess he  relinquished  business  and  on  October  19,  1835,  passed  awa}-,  his  remains 
now  reposing  by  the  side  of  his  father,  mother  and  wife  in  the  RIennonist  bury- 
ing ground  at  Methatchen,  in  Worcester  township. 

Of  his  sons,  David,  Jr.,  is  probably  the  best  known  by  reason  of  his  long  con- 
nection with  the  Herald,  which  he  purchased  in  June,  18 16,  and  so  greatly  im- 
proved that  when  he  disposed  of  it  in  1834,  it  was  one  of  the  largest  and  best 
patronized  county  papers  in  the  State.  During  his  administration  of  the  Herald 
he  also  published  several  books,  among  them  the  "  Pocket  Lawyer,"  which  had 
a  large  sale,  and  an  abridged  digest  of  the  laws  of  Pennsj'Ivania  by  Benjamin  F. 
Hancock,  the  father  of  Major-General  Hancock,  and  a  music  book  with  notes  in 
seven  different  forms,  being,  it  is  believed,  the  first  attempt  to  give  a  different 
form  for  each  of  the  seven  notes  of  the  diatonic  scale.  After  disposing  of  his 
printing  and  publishing  establishment  in  1834,  he  remained  out  of  business  about 
two  years,  and  then  opened  a  book  and  stationery  store,  which  was  the  first 
attempt  in  Norristown  to  conduct  a  store  devoted  to  certain  special  articles,  with 
goods  displayed  in  glass  cases  and  show  windows,  and  consequently  "the  open- 
ing attracted  crowds  of  people  for  man}'  da_\s."  Two  }-ears  later,  in  1838,  he 
opened  a  handsome  dry-goods  establishment  in  a  storehouse  built  by  him  for 
that  purpose,  adjoining  the  book  store,  and  in  this  was  again  the  pioneer  in 
the  county,  in  classifying  business  by  separating  dr)--goods  from  other  wares. 
In  1842,  he  disposed  of  the  book  store  to  his  son,  Charles  G.,  who  in  that  }-ear 
had  become  of  age,  and  in  1 850,  he  sold  the  dry-goods  store  to  Mr.  Morgan 
Wright  and  retired  altogether  from  active  business. 

"Although  while  editing  a  paper,"  saj's  Mr.  Auge  in  his  "  Men  of  Montgomery 


42S  ciiari.es  G.   PcnVER. 

County,"  "  Mr.  Sower  was  thrown  much  amonj^  puoh'c  men,  he  was  always 
diffident,  quiet  and  unobtrusive.  His  judgment  was  remarkably  clear  on  most 
subjects,  exceedingly  careful  and  prudent  in  financial  matters,  and  inviolate  in 
liis  pledges.  Generally  sedate  and  serious,  he  had  nevertheless  a  vein  of  humor 
in  his  composition  that  manifested  itself  in  quiet  little  surprises,  and  which  he 
enjoyed  exceedingly.  He  was  ever  devoted  to  his  family,  a  kind  husband  and 
father,  generous  and  considerate,  but  not  foolishly  indulgent."  In  1862,  his 
debility  rapidly  increased,  and  in  April  he  became  too  weak  to  leave  his  home. 
From  this  he  gradually  declined  until  June  19th,  when  he  quictl)'  gave  up  his 
life,  leaving  five  children  living,  namely:  John  Randolph,  many  years  a  whole- 
sale dr\'-goods  merchant  in  Philadelphia,  and  more  recently  President  of  the 
Shafton  Gas  Coal  Company;  Charles  G.,  publisher  and  bookseller,  of  Pliiladel- 
phia;  Franklin  D.,  bookseller,  now  of  Norristown ;  Mary  M.,  wife  of  Mathew 
H.  Crawford,  late  of'Norristown,  but  now  residing  in  Philadelphia;  and  Adaline 
A.,  wife  of  Daniel  H.  Stein,  watchmaker  and  jeweler,  of  Norristown. 

Charles  G.  Sower  may  now  be  called  the  leading  representative  of  this  historic 
family.  He  inherits  the  talents,  enterprise  and  literary  tastes  of  his  ancestors  and 
occupies  a  highly  respectable  position  in  the  mercantile  circles  of  Philadelphia. 
He  was  born  at  Norristown,  November  21,  1 82 1,  and  spent  his  youth  in  his 
father's  printing-office,  and  attending  school  at  the  Norristown  Academy.  In 
1836,  he  entered  his  father's  book  store  and  assisted  as  clerk  until  1S42,  when  he 
became  sole  proprietor.  In  1844,  he  removed  to  Philadelphia  and  embarked  in 
bookselling  and  publishing,  principally  educational  publications.  In  1850,  he 
surrendereil  the  book'  store  in  Norristown  to  his  brother  F"ranklin,  who  still 
condLicts  it,  and  in  the  subsequent  year  he  took  William  H.  Barnes  as  partner  in 
the  business  in  Philadelphia,  establishing  the  firm  of  Sower  &  Barnes.  In  1S58, 
F.  C.  Potts  was  admitted  into  the  firm  under  the  st\-le  of  Sower,  Barnes  &  Co., 
which  in  1S65,  was  changed  to  Sower,  Barnes  &  Putts.  Mr.  BaiMies  retired  fioni 
the  firm  in  1 870,  on  account  of  ill  health,  and  after  that  time  the  business  was 
contlucted  until  recently  under  the  firni-st)'le  of  Sower,  Potts  &  Co.  Mr.  Potts 
died  in  1S82,  when  Mr.  Sower  became  sole  proprietor.  In  1888,  just  one  hun- 
dred and  fift)' )'cars  after  Christopher  Sower  issued  his  first  publication,  the  busi- 
ness was  merged  into  a  corporation  under  the  title  of  the  "  Christopher  Sower 
Company,"  of  which  Mr.  Sower  continues  President. 

The  educational  publications  of  this  firm  include  Dr.  Brooks's  Normal  scries 
of  arithmetics  and  higher  mathematics — which  are  in  use  extensively  in  the 
public  schools  of  the  United  States,  and  of  which  millions  of  copies  have  been  sold 
— Roberts's  History  of  the  United  States,  Bouvier's  Familiar  Astronomj',  Dr. 
Fjnmons's  Geolog)',  the  first  published  for  schools  illustrated  by  American  fossils, 
a  mmiber  of  work-s  on  Grammar,  Book-lceeping,  English  Literature,  Natural 
Philosophy  and  Chemistry,  and  Pelton's  series  of  Outline  Maps,  which  originated 
the  method  of  teaching  Geography  by  exhibiting  on  a  large  scale  the  main 
features  of  Ph)-sical  in  conni-ction  with  those  of  Political  antl  Local  Geography. 


CHARLES    G.    SOWER. 


439 


The  exhibit  made  by  tlic  firm  at  tlic  Centennial  in  rhiladel[5liia  in  1S76,  attracted 
great  attention  and  recei\'ed  a  medal,  and  a  like  testimonial  was  awarded  at  the 
Paris  Exposition  of  1878.  Besides  their  educational  publications  the  house  has 
issued  a  number  of  valuable  miscellaneous  works,  the  titles  of  which  are  too 
numerous  to  insert  here.  Perhaps  the  most  notable  is  Governor  Gilpin's  Gold 
Regions  of  America,  published  while  the  whole  Rocky  Mountain  ret^ion  was  a 
wilderness,  and  before  the  precious  metals  had  been  discovered  therein. 

Mr.  Sower  hke  his  ancestors  is  of  a  retiring  disposition,  averse  to  thrusting  him- 
self into  prominence,  but  nevertheless  has  taken  active  part  in  tlie  religious,  be- 
nevolent and  other  movements  of  his  da}'.  He  is  well  informed  in  affairs  and  uses 
what  influence  he  may  have  alwa}-s  on  the  side  of  morality,  temperance  and 
good  work  generally.  In  the  conduct  of  his  very  extensive  business  he  has 
established  a  reputation  for  good  faith,  honor  and  uprightness,  that  has  won  the 
respect  of  the  publishing  trade  throughout  the  country.  In  deciding  upon  tiie 
publications  of  the  establishment,  he  has  always  been  guided  by  principles  of 
benefiting  the  youth  of  his  country  and  his  fellow-citizens  generally. 

Many  of  the  publications  have  been  so  highly  valued  in  other  countries  that 
copies  have  been  solicited  for  introduction  and  circulation  therein.  This  was 
especially  the  case  in  Hindostan,  Japan,  and  Brazil.  One  work  was  so  highly 
appreciated  in  England  that  it  was  repubhshed  there  as  an  English  work,  the 
pubhsher  first  eliminating  from  the  title  page  and  in  the  body  of  the  work  every 
evidence  that  it  was  of  an  American  origin. 

Mr.  Sower  has  a  splendid  private  library  of  about  three  thousand  volumes,  and 
rich  in  rare  old  boo]<s  and  Incinabula,  of  which  he  has  been  a  diligent  collector. 
Among  his  manuscript  works  are  several  of  the  twelfth  and  fourteenth  centuries. 
His  latest  undertaking  has  been  the  compilation  of  a  genealogical  chart  of  the 
descendants  of  Christopher  Sower,  -which  includes  over  nine  hundreti  names  of 
persons  resident  in  all  parts  of  this  country,  and  the  British  Provinces.  The 
chart  also  contains  a  biographical  sketch  of  Christopher  Sower  i  and  2,  and 
lists  of  their  numerous  publications.  The  work  required  an  extcnsi\'e  and 
systematic  correspondence  of  many  years.  It  was  published  for  private  circula- 
tion only,  entirely  at  the  expense  of  the  author,  less  than  two  hundred  having 
been  printed  and  none  sold.  E.  T.  F. 


Samuel   K.  Murdoch. 


SAMUEL  KKFX  iMURDOCH. 

SAMUEL  K.  IMl'kdoch,  wlio  lias  been  a  pliysician,  soldier,  actor  and  is  now  a 
professor  of  elocution  in  Philadelphia,  has  had  an  adventurous  life.  Born 
in  Philadelphia  of  American  parents  of  Scotch-German  ancestry,  he  was  set  to 
work  at  an  early  age  to  learn  the  trade  of  blank-book  binding,  in  which  his 
father  was  engaged.  During  his  apprenticeship  he  began  the  study  of  medicine, 
encouraged  therein  by  the  celebrated  Dr.  Joseph  Parrish,and  paid  for  his  lectures 
by  overwork  at  night  and  by  furnishing  books  and  stationery. 

Descended  from  revolutionary  stock,  he  ma\'  be  said  to  have  inherited  a  taste 
for  military  affairs.  His  great-grandfather,  on  his  mother's  side,  had  been  an 
officer  in  General  Washington's  army,  and  was  severely  wounded  and  taken 
prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Germantown.  His  father  served  as  captain  of  artillery  in 
the  war  of  i8i2.  In  1844  young  Murdoch  was  elected  Captain  of  the  Wayne 
Artiller\-,  Third  Biigade,  P.  V.,  and  participated  in  suppressing  the  riots  which 
took  place  in  Philadelphia  during  that  year.  By  order  of  General  Cadwallader, 
lie  and  his  company  garrisoned  Moyamensing  prison  for  two  weeks,  to  guard  it 
against  a  threatened  attack  by  the  mob  for  the  release  of  the  rioters  confined 
therein.  In  1845,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  reinterment  of  the  remains  of  Com- 
modore Stephen  Decatur,  he  was  complimented  by  being  given  the  command  of 
the  battalion  that  fired  the  salute  over  the  grave.  In  1847  he  was  named  by 
George  M.  Dallas  and  James  Buchanan  for  the  position  of  Major  in  one  of  the 
ten  regiments  that  were  then  being  raised  to  reinforce  the  army  in  Mexico,  but 
which  were  not  needed  on  account  of  the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico  and  the 
termination  of  the  war.  In  1849  he  was  elected  Brigadier-General  of  the  Third 
Brigade,  First  Division,  P.  V.,  but  relinquished  it  to  prepare  for  a  voyage  to  Cali- 
fornia. Dr.  Murdoch  was  one  of  the  original  "  fort\'-niners "  who  sought 
fortune  in  what  was  then  the  Mecca  of  enterprising  and  adventurous  spirits.  He 
sailed  from  New  Yorl-:  on  the  steamship  "  State  of  Georgia,"  commanded  by 
Da\id  D.  Porter,  now  admiral  in  the  United  States  Navy,  and  after  a  long  and 
perilous  voyage  reached  San  I'rancisco,  then  a  mere  village.  While  at  Panama 
he  practised  medicine  and  was  very  successful  in  treating  Chagres  fever  and 
dysentery,  having  received  valuable  advice  from  Dr.  Castro,  an  old  Spanish 
physician  of  that  place,  and  accepted  an  offer  made  by  the  owners  of  the  sailing 
vessel  '  T.  P.  Hart  "  to  serve  as  surgeon  in  the  voj'age  to  San  Francisco,  and 
with  such  success  that  out  of  one  hundred  and  forty  passengers,  many  of  whom 
were  sick  at  the  time  of  starting,  but  one  died,  while  no  other  vessel  that  arrived 
with  the  same  number  lost  less  than  twelve. 

Dr.  Murdoch  remained  in  California  for  nearly  five  years,  and  during  that 
time  was  a  physician,  merchant,  farmei,  soldier,  miner  and  actor.  He  was  quite 
successful  as  a  physician,  particularly  in  cases  of  dysentery,  and  for  curing  Don 

(431) 


4^ J  SAJIUEL    K.    IIUKDOCII. 

Guilhermo  Castro,  of  Contra  Costa,  of  tliat  disease,  receixed  a  fee  of  five  hundred 
dollars.  When  the  smallpox  broke  out  in  185 1  he  was  the  onl)- vaceinator  in 
the  State,  having  brought  vaccine  matter  with  him  from  the  East.  He  purchased 
merchandise  at  auction  in  San  Francisco  and  sold  it  at  a  large  profit  in  Sacra- 
mento, but  having  been  a  heavy  loser  in  two  fires  he  relinquished  trade  and 
engaged  in  farming.  In  San  Francisco,  at  Warren  &  Sons'  fair,  in  1S53,  he  re- 
ceived a  prize  medal  for  raising  twelve  bushels  of  potatoes  from  three  seed  pota- 
toes. His  experience  as  a  soldier  while  in  California  was  limited  to  aiding  in  the 
suppression  of  the  squatter  rebellion  which  broke  out  in  Sacramento,  \\hen 
he  raised  in  twenty-four  hours  a  company  of  forty  muskets  under  order  of 
General  Gear\-,  the  first  Alcalde  of  San  Francisco.  In  1S53,  having  purchased 
a  mining  claim,  he  with  eight  others  flumed  the  North  Fork  of  the  Yuba 
river,  at  a  place  called  Kanacer  Canon,  and  while  prospecting  in  the  mountains 
was  captured  by  a  party  of  Indians,  one  of  whose  warriors  had  recently  been 
killed  and  whose  death  they  had  determined  to  avenge.  Fortunately  Mr.  Pren- 
tiss, an  Indian  trader  well  known  and  liked  by  the  whole  tribe,  was  one  of  the 
mining  company,  and  by  claiming  him  as  their  "  companero  "  their  li\es  were 
spared. 

During  his  stay  in  California  he  played  an  engagement  in  Hart  &  Maguire's 
Theatre,  receiving  five  huntlrcd  dollars  for  si.x  nights'  performances,  it  being 
his  first  appearance  on  any  stage.  He  also  supported  Madam  y\nna  Bishop  at 
the  Metropolitan  Theatre  in  San  Francisco,  playing  the  part  of  Zaiiiicl  in  Dcr 
Freishutz,  for  six  nights,  three  of  the  performances  being  in  English  and  three  in 
German.  After  his  return  to  the  East  he  played  a  star  engagement  in  Phila- 
delphia in  1S56,  and  then  supported  his  brother  James  in  the  principal  cities. 

In  1861  Mr.  Murdoch  was  filling  a  theatrical  engagement  in  the  South,  but  the 
coming  storm  of  the  Rebellion  warned  him  to  leave.  He  was  present  at  and  a 
witness  of  the  first  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  subsequently  made  a  partially  suc- 
cessful effort  to  raise  a  regiment,  which  was  defeated  by  the  expiration  of  the 
allotted  time  and  the  five  companies  that  he  had  raised  being  transferred  to 
complete  other  regiments.  His  first  real  participation  in  the  war  was  as  a  scout 
under  the  orders  of  Secretary  Stanton,  with  Captain's  pay  and  rations.  On 
receipt  of  information  of  the  raid  of  Fitz-Hugh  Lee,  who  had  burned  the  army 
supply  trains  outside  of  Washington,  Secretary  Stanton  ordered  Captain  Mur- 
doch to  scout  as  near  the  enemy  as  possible  and  ascertain  his  strength,  as  all 
reports  were  greatly  exaggerated  ;  for  this  service  Mr.  Stanton  highl}'  compli- 
mented him. 

In  1S62  Colonel  Wood,  who  was  in  command  of  the  Old  Capitol  Prison,  then 
greatly  overcrowded  with  Confederate  i)risoners,  liiscovered  a  plot  for  the  gcncnd 
release  of  the  prisoners  and  applied  in  great  haste  to  .Secretar)-  Stanton  for  a 
cavalry  regiment.  That  official  directed  Ca[)tain  Murtloch,  who  was  then  d<iing 
patrol  duty  in  Washington,  to  take  three  men  and  go  at  once  with  Colonel  Wood 
and   help  delay  the   rising.     Colonel  Wood's  judicious  firmness  and  assertion 


SAMUEL    K.    MUUnOCH. 


tint  a  .c-imcnt  of  cavalrv  surrounded  the  prison  dismayed  the  ringleaders  and 
nipped  th";  .;;.-./.  in  the  bud.  A  regiment  of  eavalry  did  arrive  and  the  colonel 
then  informed  the  prisoners  the  signal  would  not  be  given,  as  the  leaders  of  the 

plot  were  all  in  irons.  .     n   j   »i,„ 

In  the  same  ^•ear,  with  a  small  mounted  force  of  scouts,  he  patrolled  the 
south  shore  of  ihe  Potomac  from  Alexandria  to  Mount  Vernon,  captunng  the 
Marylanders,  who,  taking  advantage  of  dark  nights  and  a  fair  wmd,  would  dart 
out  of  the  little  creeks  in  canoes  with  a  sail  as  big  as  a  table-cloth,  and  m  a  few 
minutes  would  land  their  goods  on  the  south  side.  In  perforniing  th>s  duty  he 
had  frequent  encounters  with  Mosby's  guerillas,  who  swarmed  >n  that  local,  y. 
In  this  scouting  his  party  lost  one  killed  and  two  taken  prisoners.  One  of  the 
latter  named  Sherman,  was  confined  in  Castle  Thunder,  and,  bemg  a  V.rgm.an 
was  sentenced  to  be  hung  as  a  spy.  which  was  only  prevented  by  a  threat  of 
retaliation  on  the  part  of  Secretary  Stanton.  The  scouts  petitioned  the  Secretary 
of  War  to  send  to  Richmond  a  part  of  $.00,000  in  Confederate  money  wh.ch 
thev  had  captured  at  different  times,  to  make  him  comfortable.  Th>s  was  done, 
and  the  rebel  authorities  agreed  to  accept  it  for  that  purpose,  provided  they  were 
given  the  control  of  the  money  in  order  to  prevent  its  being  used  to  bribe  his 

^"on  one  occasion,  when  the  enemy's  flag  could  be  seen  in  two  places  from  the 
dome  of  the  Capitol,  the  scouts  were  returning  with  a  number  of  prisoners  after 
an  absence  of  three  days  spent  within  the  enemy's  lines.  Among  the  prisoners 
were  eight  guides  who  had  been  of  great  service  to  the  Confederates  in  their 
raids  near  Washington.  It  was  just  before  daylight;  the  night  was  very  dark 
and  the  party  had  unknowingly  reached  the  Union  defences  at  the  south  end  of 
the  Long  Bridge,  when  they  were  twice  challenged  by  a  sentinel  Worn  out 
and  half  asleep  in  their  saddles  they  had  not  heard  it,  when  the  click  of  twenty 
musket  locks  awakened  Captain  Murdoch,  and  the  response,  "A  friend,  spas- 
modically uttered,  saved  tliem  from  a  volley.  The  outpost  was  on  the  alert, 
havin-  just  been  warned  against  the  probability  of  a  sudden  attack.  _ 

In  1863  Captain  Murdoch  was  appointed  Inspector  of  the  Quartermasters 
Department,  under  the  orders  of  Col.  C.  Tompkins.  His  inspections  embraced 
corrals,  stables,  repair  shops,  granaries,  mess-houses  and  herds  of  horses  and 
mules  on  the  grazing  farms  near  Washington,  there  being  a  part  of  the  time  as 
many  as  thirty  thousand  animals  in  the  department,  from  which  were  selected 
the  cavalry  and  art.Uery  horses  and  the  wagon  mules.  While  holdn^g  this  posi- 
tion he  was  frequently  ordered  to  the  different  armies  with  supplies  that  were 
required  in  great  haste.  On  one  occasion  he  was  despatched  to  Sheridan  s  army 
with  supplies  that  were  much  needed,  guarded  by  two  regiments  of  infantry. 
They  passed  through  Harper's  Ferry,  entering  the  valley  °J  ^ -^ Shenai.doah 
where  thev  found  guerillas  in  great  numbers.  As  they  left  Hall  Town,  Captain 
Buchanan' was  murdered  by  them.  The  supply  train  was  a  long  one,  and  the 
colonel  in  command  soon  felt  the  want  of  cavalry,  as  the  fact  had  become  known 
55 


434  SAMfEL    K.    Ml'KDOCII. 

to  tlie  guerillas  that  the  paymaster  was  with  the  train  witli  nearly  two  million  of 
dollars.  There  were  about  thirty  officers,  all  mounted,  who  were  going  to  join 
their  regiments,  and  tiie  colonel  requested  them  to  form  a  company,  and  help 
keep  his  flanks  clear  of  the  guerillas  and  give  him  notice  of  any  attack.  Captain 
Haycock  was  chosen  captain,  and  he  appointed  Captain  Murdoch  as  second  in 
command.  The  party  had  several  skirmishes  with  the  enemy,  and,  when  about 
twenty-five  miles  from  Harrisonburg,  the  commanding  officer  became  alarmed 
and  ordered  the  \olunteer  guard  to  push  ahead  and  notify  General  Sheridan  of 
tile  danger  that  the  supply  train  was  in.  They  had  reached  about  half  the  dis- 
tance when  Captain  Haycock  called  a  council  and  refused  to  go  any  further. 
Captain  Murdoch,  with  fifteen  of  the  party,  determined  to  push  on  at  all  hazard," 
and  by  a  sudden  dash  they  surprised  and  captured  a  party  of  infantrj-  at  a  farm 
house  near  the  road.  They  carried  to  General  Sheridan  the  important  informa- 
tion that  his  ca\alr)'  were  burning  all  the  barns  in  his  rear,  which  was  a  misap- 
prehen.sion  of  his  orders.  Captain  Murdoch  was  near  bj-  when  General  Meigs' 
son.  Lieutenant  Meigs,  was  shot  by  guerillas,  and  he  was  in  General  Sheridan's 
tent  the  morning  after  he  gave,  in  retaliation,  an  order  for  the  burning  of  the 
houses  in  the  vicinity  of  the  place  where  the  lieutenant  was  killed.  Those 
who.se  houses  had  been  burned  crow  ded  around  the  tent  clamorous  for  relief;  but 
all  the  general  would  consent  to  do  was  to  grant  them  rations  and  send  them  to 
the  North.  On  the  return  of  the  Union  forces  down  the  valley,  the  destruction 
of  the  l)arns  was  resumed.  B_\-  interceding  with  General  Sheridan,  Captain  Mur- 
doch had  the  pleasure  of  saving  the  barn  of  a  Mr.  Miller,  whose  wife  was  at  the 
point  of  death,  and  who  had  shown  kindness  to  the  Union  soldiers  wounded  at 
Mount  Jackson. 

In  the  second  attack  on  Washington  Captain  Murdoch  had  arri\ed  from  the 
army  before  Petersburg  a  few  hours  after  the  troops  under  General  Rucker  had 
marched  out  of  Washington,  to  occupy  the  rifle-pits  that  connected  the  forts. 
The  roads  were  all  closely  guarded,  and,  as  he  had  no  time  to  procure  a  pass,  he 
mounted  his  horse,  and  when  he  reached  the  guards  put  .spurs  to  him,  and 
waving  his  official  papers  which  he  had  brought  from  the  army  over  his  head  he 
was  taken  for  a  bearer  of  despatches  and  permitted  to  pass.  When  he  arrived  at 
the  rifle-pits  he  tendered  his  services  to  General  Ruclcer  as  a  volunteer  aide. 

During  the  siege  of  Petersburg  he  was  desj)atched  to  City  Point  with  a  steamer 
and  two  barges  loaded  with  war  materials.  In  the  night  when  off  the  Wolf  Trap 
Shoals,  in  Chesapeake  Bay,  one  of  the  barges  was  run  into  by  a  vessel,  and  was 
only  got  to  Fortress  Monroe  wharf  b}-  superhuman  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
captain  and  crew  of  the  steamer.  They  arri\cd  on  Sunday  morning,  but  no  one 
could  be  found  to  unload  the  barges,  all  the  freedmcn  who  were  emploj-ed  as 
workmen  being  at  Hampton  village,  and  no  place  could  be  found  to  beach  her. 
In  despair  he  appealed  to  the  commander  at  the  fort,  who  said  he  could  do 
nothing,  as  the  soldiers  were  not  laborers.  He  then  asked  for  permission  to 
speak  to  the  men,  and  appealed  to  them  for  \olunteers.     He  got  them  from  some 


SAMUEL    K.    MURDOCH.  435 

Pennsj'lvania  recruits,  who  were  on  tlieir  way  to  join  their  regiments.  Some 
pumped  and  the  rest  worked  up  to  their  necks  in  water,  and  finally  saved  every 
article  of  the  cargo.  Captain  Murdoch  presented  them  with  cigars  and  tobacco, 
and  on  his  arrival  at  City  Point  received  the  thanks  of  General  Grant  for  his 
successful  efforts  to  save  the  stores,  as  they  were  much  needed. 

On  the  night  of  the  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  Captain  Murdoch  was 
visiting  at  F  and  Tenth  streets,  and,  accompanied  by  Miss  Hooker,  ran  to  the 
theatre,  reaching  there  a  few  minutes  before  the  unconscious  President  was  car- 
ried across  the  street  to  the  house  in  which  he  died.  The  ex'citement  was  intense, 
and  reached  a  climax  when  \\ord  was  brought  that  Seward,  Stanton  and  Vice- 
President  Johnson  had  all  been  murdered.  A  frenzy  seemed  to  seize  the  crowd. 
A  large,  broad-shouldered  paymaster  shouted  to  them:  "  Kill  every  rebel  in  the 
Old  Capitol  Prison  !  "  The  massacre  of  the  political  prisoners  during  the  French 
Revolution  flashed  across  Captain  Murdoch's  mind,  and  he  sprang  to  the  side 
of  the  paymaster,  and  said  :  "  For  God's  sake,  major,  don't  repeat  that ;  for,  if 
you  do,  blood  will  flow  in  our  Northern  cities."  This  caused  him  to  desist,  and 
doubtless  prevented  what  would  have  been  a  terrible  blot  on  the  history  of  the 
country.  The  morning  after  the  assassination  Captain  Murdoch  was  ordered  to 
proceed  to  Sherman's  army  in  North  Carolina,  taking  the  mail  steamer  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  thence  to  Norfolk,  and  through  the  Dismal  Swamp  Canal  in  a  little 
steamer  to  Albemarle  Sound,  from  there  to  the  army,  twelve  miles  from  Raleigh, 
carrying  the  first  authentic  news  of  the  assassination.  On  the  evening  of  the 
day  of  the  surrender  of  General  Johnston's  army  he  gave  a  reading  to  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  Twentieth  Corps. 

In  1864,  prior  to  the  close  of  the  war,  when  enlistments  were  not  at  all 
encouraging.  Captain  Murdoch,  by  order  of  the  War  Department,  recruited  one 
thousand  teamsters,  who  were  sent  to  the  front  and  thereby  relieved  that  number 
of  enlisted  trained  soldiers,  who  had  been  detailed  to  serve  in  that  capacity. 
While  at  home  in  Philadelphia  on  furlough  he  acted  as  a  volunteer  surgeon  at 
the  Cooper  Shop  Volunteer  Refreshment  Saloon. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  appointed  Inspector  of  the  National  Cemeteries 
under  the  orders  of  Colonel  Moore,  and  made  a  tour  of  the  whole  State  of  Vir- 
ginia, accompanied  by  twelve  men  with  two  army  wagons  and  tents,  and  ascer- 
tained the  exact  position  of  all  the  graves  of  the  Union  soldiers,  and  gave  direc- 
tions for  the  removal  of  the  bodies.  By  order  of  Colonel  Moore  he  selected 
ground  for  a  cemetery  at  Cedar  Creek ;  but  the  order  was  countermanded,  and 
the  dead  were  buried  at  Winchester.  He  selected  the  ground  for  the  Yorktown 
Cemetery.  When  he  resigned  from  the  office  fifteen  thousand  Union  soldiers 
had  been  buried  at  Fredericksburg  Cemetery.  At  Fortress  Monroe  he  had  the 
dead  buried  who  fell  in  the  fight  between  the  "  Merrimac  "  and  "  Cumberland," 
removing  them  from  where  they  were  originally  buried  at  Newport  News.  An 
incident  in  his  military  career,  which  may  be  mentioned,  was  his  appointment,  in 
1858,  by  Governor  Pollock,  of  Pennsylvania,  as  an  aide  upon  his  staff  with  rank 
of  Colonel. 


436  SAMUEL    K.    MURDOCH. 

Mr.  Murdoch  was  the  first  person  to  give  readings  to  the  soldiers  in  the  camps 
and  hospitals  at  the  very  commencement  of  the  war.  In  this  he  was  encour- 
aged by  the  commanders  of  the  army,  particularly  by  General  Grant.  On  one 
occasion  he  gave  a  reading  at  a  church  in  Washington  to  raise  money  to  pro- 
cure a  Christmas  dinner  for  the  soldiers  in  the  hospitals  in  that  city.  A  short 
time  after  the  war  he  received  a  complimentary  testimonial  at  Concert  Hall, 
Philadelphia,  for  these  services  in  the  camps  and  hospitals,  which  were  indepen- 
dent of  his  services  in  the  army.  General  Joshua  T.  Owen  introduced  him  and 
made  an  address,  setting  forth  the  cheering  effect  of  the  readings  and  recitations 
on  the  convalescents  in  the  dreary  monotony  of  the  hospitals.  Even  the  generals 
enjoyed  them,  especially  Gen.  Grant,  and  Gen.  Wheaton  of  the  Sixth  Corps. 

As  an  actor  Mr.  Murdoch  has  displaj-cd  a  high  order  of  histrionic  talent.  In 
Baltimore  after  his  return  from  California,  he  played  equal  parts  with  his  brother, 
James  A.  Murdoch,  in  such  plays  as  "Venice  Preserved,"  "  Henry  IV.,"  and  in 
turn  he  supported  nearly  all  the  principal  stars  of  the  country  of  a  generation 
ago.  During  one  season  he,  with  Louis  Mestayer,  managed  the  City  Museum 
of  Philadelphia,  and  was  at  one  time  stage  manager  under  Henry  Jarrett  at  the 
Norfolk  Theatre.  On  his  return  from  the  war,  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his 
family,  he  did  not  resume  the  stage,  but  devoted  his  attention  to  the  teaching  of 
elocution,  in  which  he  has  been  very  successful,  having  classes  at  Princeton, 
Crozier,  Wesley,  La  Salle  and  Villa  Nova  Colleges,  and  at  the  Seminary  at 
Overbrook,  St.  Mary's  Hall,  Rugby  and  Media  Academies,  and  the  leading 
schools  of  Philadelphia  and  Germantown.  He  has  only  occasionally  appeared 
on  the  stage,  once  as  Claude  lilclnottc  at  the  Arch  Street  Theatre,  and  as  Hamlet 
at  the  Academy  of  Music,  Philadelphia,  and  at  Brougham's  benefit  in  New  York. 
His  latest  appearance  was  at  a  testimonial  given  to  him  by  his  friends  and  pupils 
at  the  Chestnut  Street  Opera  House  in  Philadelphia,  June  4,  1888,  when  he 
represented  SJiylock  m  "  The  Merchant  of  Venice."  The  audience  was  large  and 
fashionable,  and  the  performance  elicited  the  warm  encomiums  of  the  critics  for 
its  scholarly  conception  of  the  character  and  evidence  of  careful  stud)-. 

In  1879  he  visited  Europe  and  was  the  guest  of  Cardinal  Manning  in  London, 
reading  for  the  entertainment  of  that  prelate  and  his  friends.  While  in  the  Eng- 
lish metropolis,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Thoms,  Librarian  of  the  House  of  Lords, 
he  read  to  a  select  number  of  the  nobility  in  one  of  the  halls  of  that  house. 
During  his  sojourn  in  that  city  he  also  made  an  engagement  with  Mrs.  Bateman 
to  play  there .  six  nights  under  her  management.  The  plays  selected  were 
"Hamlet,"  "Richelieu,"  "  The  Stranger,"  "  The  Wife  "  and  "  The  Merchant  of 
Venice."     Her  death  cancelled  the  engagement. 

At  the  Constitutional  Centennial  Celebration  in  Philadelphia,  in  1S87,  Mr. 
Murdoch  was  chosen  to  read  Crawford's  National  Poem,  and  was  highly  com- 
plimented by  the  President  and  his  wife,  and  by  Archbishop  Ryan  and  the  press. 

Mr.  .Murdoch  is  tall  in  .stature,  courtly  in  manner,  positive  and  impressive  in 
his  address,  and  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  what  would  be  called  b)'  many  of  the 
present  generation  an  American  gentleman  of  "  the  olden  time." 


Alfred  G.  Baker. 


ALFRED   G,    BAKER. 

ALFRED  G.  Baker,  A.  M.,  was  born  in  Pliiladelphia  December  17,  iSji.his 
father  beiny;  Michael  V.  Balder,  who,  tliough  now  deceased,  was  a  well- 
known  citizen  yet  remembered  by  many.  He  entered  the  University  of  Penn- 
s\-I\ania  after  the  completion  of  his  school-boy  days,  and  graduated  therefrom  in 
1S51,  tak-ing  the  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Arts  with  distinction,  and  three  yeans 
later  received  his  Diploma  as  Master  of  Arts.  He  then  entered  the  store  of 
David  S.  Brown  &  Co.,  Front  Street,  the  largest  dr}'  goods  commission  house  in 
Philadelphia,  and  having  served  a  term  of  five  years  in  that  widely  known  mer- 
cantile school,  became  associated  with  Samuel  Leonard  under  the  partnership 
name  of  Leonard  &  Baker,  as  successors  to  the  old  established  firm  of  Sill, 
Arnold  &  Leonard.  Through  a  period  from  1856  to  1 870  this  firm  continued 
the  same,  when  Mr.  Baker  retired  from  the  sphere  of  active  mercantile  life. 

In  February,  1S69,  Charles  N.  Bancker,  Esq.,  the  venerable  President  of  the 
Franklin  Fire  Insurance  Company,  died  in  his  ninety-second  year,  and  Mr.  Baker 
(then  one  of  the  Directors)  was  unanimously  tendered  the  Presidency  by  his  asso- 
ciates. It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  at  a  very  early  age,  comparatively,  he  was 
called  upon  to  assume  very  responsible  duties  at  the  head  of  one  of  the  largest 
I'ire  Insurance  corporations  in  America.  During  his  administration  the  great 
fires  of  Chicago  and  Boston  took  place,  in  1871  and  1872  respectively,  yet  the 
company  paid  all  their  obligations  promptly  and  continued  the  same  average 
dividend  to  its  stockholders. 

He  voluntarily  resigned  as  the  head  executive  of  the  "  Franklin  "  upon  the 
completion  of  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age,  December,  1881,  although  he  still  re- 
tains his  seat  as  a  Director  and  fills  the  position  of  Chairman  of  the  Finance 
Committee  of  the  institution. 

He  at  all  times  has  taken  a  large  interest  in  everything  that  pertained  to  the 
science  of  fire  underwriting  and  its  development.  He  was  one  of  the  three  origi- 
nators of  the  Fire  Insurance  Patrol  of  Philadelphia,  a  body  of  men  who  have 
done  so  much  to  sa\'e  life  and  preserve  property  from  the  flames.  He  built,  at  a 
cost  of  nearly  ^50,000,  and  still  owns  the  model  patrol  house  now  occupied  by 
this  organization,  No.  511  Arch  street,  and  has  leased  the  same  at  a  moderate 
rental  to  the  insurance  companies  for  a  term  of  years.  .  He  was  the  first  Treasurer 
of  the  patrol,  and  after  discharging  its  duties  with  fidelity  for  more  than  twelve 
years,  he  resigned  of  his  own  free  will.  For  three  successive  years  he  was 
una:nimously  honored  by  his  associates  with  the  Presidency  of  the  National 
Board  of  Fire  Underwriters,  a  powerful  body  of  men,  whose  central  office  was 
located  on  Broadway,  New  York  city. 

In  1 85 8  he  was  elected  a  Director  in  the  old  Commercial  Bank  of  this  city, 

(437) 


438  ALFRED    G.    BAKER. 

and  resigned  his  position  in  1SS3  to  accept  a  similar  one  in  the  Independence 
National  Bank,  of  which  lie  was  one  of  the  eight  original  incorporators. 

In  1 886  he  retired  from  the  Independence  National  Bank  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son,  George  Fales  Baker,  M.  D.,  as  a  Director.  He  was  promptly  elected  a 
Director  in  the  Soutluvark  National  Bank,  in  which  corporation  his  wife  and 
himself  are  the  largest  stockholders. 

Throughout  all  his  active  business  pursuits  his  affection  for  literary  and 
scientific  matters  still  held  a  prominent  place.  He  is  President  of  the  Corporators 
of  the  University  Hospital ;  Vice-President  of  the  Society  of  the  Alumni  of  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania,  life-member  of  the  Historical  Society,  etc.,  etc. 

When  the  formation  of  the  University  Club  was  agitated  a  few  years  ago,  he 
was  among  the  first  to  enter  the  moveirient  with  energy,  an  original  corporator 
and  a  member  of  the  board  of  governors.  He  was  elected  President  of  the 
Academy  of  Music  (Broad  and  Locust  streets)  in  June,  1884,  of  which  corpora- 
tion he  is  the  absolute  owner  of  more  than  one-half  the  capital  stock,  and  still 
holds  the  Presidency,  devoting  much  time  to  its  duties.  He  is  well  known  for 
his  high  appreciation  of  dramatic  and  operatic  art.  The  artists  of  Philadelphia 
and  elsewhere  are  his  debtors  for  the  highly  superior  suite  of  studios  and  their 
attendant  skylights  and  other  appointments  that  complete  the  upper  floors  of  the 
Baker  Building,  Nos.  1520  and  1522  Chestnut  street.  He  erected  a  studio  made 
wholly  of  glass  on  the  roof  of  the  building,  for  sketching  purposes  at  all  hours 
and  in  all  weathers ;  this  is  for  the  common  use  of  the  artist  tenants  free  of 
rental  or  expense.     It  is  the  only  glass  studio  in  America. 

Being  a  large  real  estate  owner,  he  has  done  much  to  improve  the  city  by 
handsome  buildings  on  Chestnut  street,  and  other  central  streets,  as  well  as  by 
the  erection  of  dwellings  both  in  central  and  suburban  Philadelphia.  In  religious 
faith  he  is  a  Presbyterian,  while  his  political  proclivities  are  Democratic. 

In  1862  he  married  Henrietta  Rush,  daughter  of  George  and  Ann  Rush  Fales, 
and  has  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter,  who  are  still  living. 


Samuel   L.   Smedley. 


SAMUEL   LIGIITFOOT   SMEDLEY. 

SAMUEL  L.  Smedlev,  Cliicf-Engincer  and  Surveyor  of  the  city  of  Phihdelpliia, 
was  born  in  Edgmont  township,  Delaware  county,  December  29,  1832.  He 
is  the  youngest  of  three  sons  of  Samuel  L.  and  Hannah  Sniedley,  and  is  descended 
from  ancestors  of  the  faith  of  William  Penn,  who  came  from  Derbyshire,  Eng- 
land, in  1682.  Other  descendants  of  George  Smedley,  the  first  to  come  to 
America,  continue  to  till  the  soil  where  he  first  cleared  out  the  forest.  Mr. 
Smedley 's  mother  was,  in  her  maiden  )-ears,  Hannah  Pennell,  daughter  of  Josepli 
Pennell,  a  descendant  of  Robert  Pennell,  who  came  from  Nottingliamshire  in 
1684.  Samuel  L.  Smedley,  Sr.,  was  educated  beyond  most  men  of  his  locality. 
He  was  prominent  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived  as  a  teacher  and  mathe- 
matician, and  besides  his  inherited  occupation  of  farming  carried  on  surveying 
and  conveyancing.  He  died  at  the  age  of  thirty-six,  when  his  son  Samuel 
was  in  his  second  year.  His  widow  was  a  woman  of  energy,  and  believing  it  to 
be  to  the  advantage  of  her  fanily  to  continue  on  the  paternal  homestead,  took 
the  care  of  the  farm  upon  herself  and  managed  its  affairs  successfully  until  her  sons 
arrived  at  maturity. 

Samuel  earl)'  evinced  an  aptitude  for  study,  and  was  carefully  educated  at  a 
select  school  until  his  thirteenth  year,  when,  he  entered  the  Friends'  Boarding 
School  at  Westtown.  Here  he  made  such  rapid  progress,  that  at  the  end  of 
eighteen  months  he  stood  at  the  head  of  the  senior  class.  He  was  then  sent  to 
school  in  Gerniantown  to  perfect  himself  in  the  classics,  but  close  application 
so  injured  his  health  that  he  was  forced  to  return  home,  where  he  remained  for 
several  years  upon  the  old  homestead. 

Con\-inced  that  his  health  required  an  active  out-door  occupation.  Mr.  Smedley 
determined  to  adopt  the  profession  of  surveying,  which  was  congenial  to  his 
tastes,  a  love  for  which  he  inherited.  Accordingly,  in  the  spring  of  1S53,  he 
removed  to  Philadelphia  and  engaged  with  Joseph  Fox,  a  noted  city  surveyor, 
who  had  laid  out  most  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  city,  and  had  then  recently 
been  engaged  to  extend  the  city  plan  on  the  west  side  of  the  Schuylkill.  Pos- 
sessed of  mathematical  talent,  and  being  an  apt  draughtsman,  Mr.  Smedley  soon 
mastered  the  minutiae  of  his  profession,  and  his  promotion  was  rapid.  In  1S56 
he  was  engaged  b}'  the  Commissioners  of  Blockley  to  lay  out  the  streets  in  that 
township.  He  also  carried  on  conveyancing  and  entered  into  the  purchase  and 
sale  of  real  estate,  which  the  rapid  growth  of  the  western  section  of  the  city  made 
active  and  profitable.  About  this  time  he  published  a  complete  atlas  of  the  City 
of  Philadelphia,  a  laborious  and  expensive  undertaking,  but  one  which  was  very 
successful,  and  the  book  remains  to  this  day  a  standard  work  for  conveyancers, 
and  is  highly  prized  by  them.  In  1S58  Mr.  Smedley  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Surveyors,  and  was  subsequently  chosen  by  the  people  of  the  dis- 
trict for  three  terms  of  five  years  each, 

(439) 


440  SAMUEL    L.    SMKDLEV. 

In  1S71  Ilis  name  was  presented  to  the  Republican  State  Convention  as  a  can- 
didate fur  the  position  of  Surveyor-General  of  the  State.  The  novelty  of  naming 
a  professional  sur\'eyor  for  that  position  met  with  much  favor,  but  the  policy  of 
placing  soldiers  upon  the  ticket  prevailed,  and  General  Robert  B,  Bcatli  was 
nominated  and  elected,  he  being  the  last  to  hold  the  office,  as  by  the  provisions 
of  the  new  Constitution  it  was  merged  into  that  of  Secretary  of  Internal  Affairs. 
In  1872  Mr.  Smedley  was  elected  by  the  City  Councils  to  the  responsible  office 
of  Chief-Engineer  and  Surveyor,  the  position  he  now  holds,  having  been  chosen 
for  the  fourth  time  in  March,  18S7,  his  present  term  expiring  in  1892.  The 
duties  of  this  position  embrace  the  establishment  of  lines  and  grades  of  streets, 
and  wharf  lines  on  the  rivers  ;  the  planning  and  building  of  bridges ;  the  system- 
atic designing  and  construction  of  sewers,  with  the  hydraulic  and  sanitary  questions 
incident  thereto ;  the  difficult  problem  of  providing  for  public  safety  in  modern 
rapid  transit  by  the  proper  adjustment  of  railroad  and  street  grades;  and  the 
numerous  other  things  which  in  a  city,  covering  the  vast  area  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty  square  miles,  intersected  by  two  large  rivers  and  many  lines  of  steam 
railroads,  involves  a  great  amount  of  vigilance  and  labor,  requiring  a  compre- 
hensive knowledge  of  various  branches  of  engineering  rarely  demanded  or  called 
for  in  other  cities. 

During  Mr.  Smedley's  term  of  office  he  has  had  charge  of  the  construction  of 
sewers  and  bridges  costing  in  the  aggregate  many  millions  of  dollars,  among 
which  have  been  the  building  of  Penrose  Ferry  Bridge,  the  new  iron  cantilever 
bridge  at  Market  street,  and  the  Fairmount  and  Girard  Avenue  bridges — all 
crossing  the  Schuylkill  river;  and  numerous  smaller  ones  over  railroads,  canals 
and  many  streams  within  the  limits  of  the  city. 

Through  the  unusual  period  of  thirty  year^  continuous  service  as  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Surveyors,  he  has  been  a  close  observer  of  the  many  cases, 
inseparable  to  the  growth  of  a  metropolis,  where  the  mistaken  ideas  of  the  past 
generations  have  entailed  evils,  now  so  deeply  rooted,  that  a  remedy  cannot  be 
applied  within  reasonable  cost,  and  he  appreciates  the  necessity  of  guarding 
against  their  recurrence  in  planning  for  future  developments. 

There  are  instances  when,  after  \^ears  of  individual  watchfulness  for  a  favorable 
opportunity  to  remed}'  defects,  it  has  arrived;  and  by  prompt  action  great  public 
benefits  have  been  secured,  which,  if  unembraced,  would  thereafter  liave  become 
impracticable.  One  of  these — the  raising  of  the  grade  of  Market  .street  in  West 
Philadelphia,  by  which  two  hills  and  a  deep  depression  were  obliterated  and  the 
grandeur  of  the  avenue  secured  for  all  time,  subsequent  to  its  having  been  exten- 
sively built  upon  and  paved — was  secured  through  his  persevering  efforts  after 
the  project  had  been  entirely  abandoned,  although  proposed  and  partially  pro- 
vided for  a  third  of  a  century  before. 

When  one  of  the  trunk  line  railroads  rccentl}-  undertook  to  enter  the  cit\", 
crossing  most  of  the  streets  at  grade,  Mr.  Smedley  strenuously  opposed  this 
mode  of  construction,  and  by  solving  many  of  the  engineering  difficulties  the 


SAMUEL    L.    SMEDLEY.  ^^j 

principal  streets  have  been  bridged  ;  and  b}'  depressing  the  raih-oad  at  the  main 
entrance  to  Fairmount  Park,  it  is  rendered  entirely  clear  from  the  danger  which 
threatened  it  from  the  increase  of  steam  traffic,  and  the  grandeur  and  safety  of 
the  Eastern  Park  approach  are  maintained. 

Mr.  Smedley  in  1865  visited  Europe  on  a  tour  of  recreation  and  study,  and 
returned  impressed  with  the  thought  that  Philadelpliia,  to  keep  pace  with  other 
great  cities,  should  avail  herself  of  her  great  natural  advantages  for  establishing 
a  grand  park  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  people.  He  entered  with  enthusiasm  into 
the  project  of  securing  Lansdowne,  an  estate  of  one  hundred  and  fiftj' acres,  from 
its  English  owners,  as  a  nucleus  for  the  park,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
bringing  about  the  purchase  of  that  beautiful  section  of  land  as  a  pleasure-ground 
for  the  public.  He  was  appointed  by  the  Paik  Connnissioners  to  make  the 
original  surveys  of  the  teri'itory  embraced  in  the  Park,  and  many  of  the  walks 
and  drives  therein  were  designed  and  laid  out  b\-  him.  Since  1872,  as  a  Park 
Commissioner,  by  \irtue  of  his  office,  he  has  been  acti\e  in  securing  improve- 
ments to  the  territi)ry  under  the  control  of  the  15oard. 

Mr.  Smedley  has  been  a  member  of  the  Historical  Society  of  Pennsyh'ania 
since  1857,  and  for  fourteen  years  was  Recording  Secretary  of  the  association. 
He  has  taken  much  interest  in  local  histni-\'  and  genealogy,  and  has  collected  a 
large  number  of  the  records  of  his  own  faniily,  which  became  of  special  interest 
during  the  I!i-Centennial  celebrations  of  1882.  He  is  also  a  member  of  the 
Numismatic  and  Antiquarian  Society  oT Philadelphia  ;  honorar)'  member  of  the 
Delaware  County  Institute  of  Science  ;  member  of  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences,  the  Franklin  Institute,  and  of  the  W'est  Philadelphia  Institute;  of  the 
latter  he  was  for  many  years  a  Director  and  .Secretary.  In  addition  he  is  a 
member  of  the  American  Public  Health  Association,  of  the  Exccuti\^e  Committee 
of  the  Philadelphia  Social  Science  Association,  the  Engineers'  Club  of  Philadel- 
phia, the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engineers,  and  of  the  Union  League  and 
other  political  clubs.  In  religion  he  is  a  member  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  as 
his  ancestors  have  been  from  the  first  settlement  of  the  State.  Mr.  Smedley  is 
unmarried  and  lives  in  West  Philadelphia,  with  which  section  of  the  city  he  has 
long  been  identified. 
56 


Jacob   M.  Gusky. 


JACOB   MARK   GUSKY. 

JACOB  M.  GusKY,  tlie  merchant  pliilanthropist  of  Pittsburgh,  whose  untimely 
death  made  "  countless  thousands  mourn,"  was  born  in  New  York  city, 
July  lo,  1845.  I^'s  parents  were  people  in  moderate  circumstances,  and  early 
instilled  into  their  son's  mind  the  principles  of  thrift  and  honor  that  made  him  so 
successful  in  after  life.  While  he  was  yet  a  mere  child  his  father  died,  and  his 
mother  married  Mr.  S.  Cohen,  a  clothing  cutter  by  profession.  Mr.  Cohen  gave  iiis 
step-son  a  thorough  common-school  training  until  he  was  fifteen  years  old.  He 
then  apprenticed  him  to  a  printer's  office,  where  young  Gusky  learned  the  value 
of  printer's  ink  which  stood  him  in  good  stead  in  after  years.  He  remained  in  the 
printing  business  until  his  twentieth  year.  In  1864  he  went  to  Pittsburgh  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  M.  Hanaucr,  a  clothier  on  Market  street  and  Third  avenue. 
Mr.  Gusky  saw  at  once  the  great  possibilities  of  the  business,  and  wrote  to  his 
step-father  to  buy  out  the  establishment.  This  was  done  in  1865.  The  firm 
then  started  as  S.  Cohen  &  Co. 

Mr.  Gusky  personally  looked  after  the  business  in  Pittsburgh,  and  his  step- 
father furnished  the  clothing  of  his  own  manufacture  from  New  York.  It  was 
this  direct  communication  with  the  manufacture  of  his  goods  that  enabled  Mr. 
Gusky  to  inaugurate  the  era  of  low  prices  in  Pittsburgh.  The  house  first  started 
at  54  Market  street.  These  quarters  soon  became  too  small  for  the  growing 
business,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  purchase  the  adjoining  room  on  Market 
street.  The  whole  building  was  remodeled,  and  three  large  arches  built  over  the 
doors  fronting  on  the  street. 

In  1879  he  bought  his  step-father's  interest,  and  started  out  on  a  scale  of 
business  grandeur  and  with  a  brilliancy  of  enterprise  that  distinguished  his  com- 
mercial career.  His  business  methods  were  unique.  He  had  the  wonderful 
faculty  of  combining  commercial  enterprise  with  philanthropic  effort,  and  was 
accordingly  equally  well  known  as  a  philanthropist  and  merchant.  He  sent 
regularly  every  month  a  check  for  a  large  amount  to  the  Society  for  the 
Improvement  of  the  Poor,  and  every  Thanksgiving  Day  for  several  years  he 
made  a  donation  of  a  turkey  to  every  poor  family  named  in  a  list  sent  to  him  by 
that  society. 

About  seven  years  ago  he  commenced  the  distribution  of  suitable  gifts  to  the 
orphan  asylums  in  Pittsburgh  and  vicinity  on  Christmas  day,  and  this  he  con- 
tinued with  unfailing  regularity  and  increased  benefactions  until  the  year  of  his 
death.  On  Tuesday  of  every  week  he  held  a  reception  of  applicants  for  aid,  and 
gladdened  their  hearts  with  gifts  of  money,  clothing  and  provisions  ;  so  we  need 
not  wonder  that  at  his  grave  no  tears  were  shed  more  bitter  than  of  the  poor 
and  of  the  orphan. 

Mr.  Gusky  died,  October  27,  1886,  in  the  forty-first  year  of  his  age,  leaving  a 

(443) 


444  JACOB    M.    Gl'SKV. 

widow,  two  sons  and  two  daughters  to  sui\i\o  liim,  and  an  estate  valued  at  a 
half  million  of  dollars. 

When  it  became  known  that  his  illness  was  likely  to  terminate  fatally  bulletins 
were  posted  in  front  of  the  newspaper  offices  which  were  watched  by  crowds,  and 
when  the  news  came  that  he  had  departed  there  were  universal  expressions  of 
sorrow.  The  journals  of  Pittsburgh  united  with  one  accord  in  extolling  his 
virtues,  and  called  attention  not  alone  Jo  his  business  sagacity  in  using  the 
columns  of  the  press  to  build  up  an  immense  trade,  but  to  his  far-reaching  chari- 
ties which  recognized  no  bounds  of  creed,  race  or  condition,  and  were  broad 
enough  to  co\er  Jew  and  Gentile,  Catholic  and  Protestant.  "  He  has  gone," 
said  one ;  "but  his  memory  will  linger  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  know  him 
best,  and  in  the  da\-s  that  are  yet  to  come  people  will  pass  the  last  resting  place 
in  the  city  of  the  dead,  and  their  expression  will  be :  '  There  lie  the  remains  of  a 
man.'  " 

The  store  that  I\Ir.  Guskj'  founded  is  now  one  of  the  palatial  business  edifices 
of  Western  Penns)ivania,  is  four  stories  in  height,  and  extends  from  number  300 
to  number  400  on  Market  street,  with  a  floor  surface  of  sixty-four  thou.sand  nine 
hundred  and  twenty  square  feet.  Within  its  walls  are  employed  probably  five 
hundred  persons,  most  of  whom  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  society  which  Mr.  Gusky 
established  for  their  protection  in  cases  of  sickness  or  accident.  Few  of  the 
thousands  who  daily  throng  this  hive  of  industry  and  commerce  would  imagine 
while  passing  along  the  .spacious  aisles,  filled  high  on  every  side  with  the  choicest 
of  goods  wherewith  to  clothe  and  adorn  the  male  sex,  that  twenty-two  years  ago 
the  nucleus  of  the  great  trade  \vas  laid  in  an  old-fashioned  and  very  modest  tuo- 
story  building  which  occupied  a  portion  of  the  site  on  which  the  immense  struc- 
ture now  stands,  and  when  two  employes  were  able  to  transact  all  the  business 
of  the  house  which  then  aggregated  but  a  few  thousand  dollars  per  )-ear. 

The  business  is  now  carried  on  by  his  widow,  who  was  Miss  E.sther  De  Wolf, 
aided  by  her  brother,  William  De  Wolf,  who  conduct  it  in  accordance  with  the 
principles  of  the  founder,  not  forgetting  the  charities  which  were  his  distinguish- 
ing characteristics.  On  last  Christmas  the  firm  sent  out  twenty-six  wagon  loads 
of  gifts  suitable  for  the  orphan  asylums  and  homes,  embracing  articles  from  a  toy 
to  a  serviceable  watch,  and  the  cavalcade  was  witnessed  and  cheered  by  thou- 
santls  who  lined  the  streets  through  ivhich  it  passed. 

We  probably  cannot  better  conclude  this  sketch  of  an  honorable  life  than  by 
the  following  testimonial  from  Major  E.  A.  Montooth,  a  prominent  lawj'er  of 
Pittsburgh  : 

"To  make  others  happy  gave  him  his  life's  greatest  pleasure.  Illustrative  of 
this,  each  Ciiristmas  he  bestowed  gifts  upon  the  little  ones  of  the  various  orphan 
asylums  of  Pitt.sburgh  and  Allegheny.  Sparkling  eyes  and  smiling  faces  e\'i- 
denced  the  gratitude  of  the  infant  recipients  of  his  great  bounty.  His  death  filled 
their  hearts  with  a  sorrow  to  them  only  known,  but  his  kindly  acts  will  ever  be 
gratefully  remembered." 


Henry   Howso] 


HENRY   HOWSON. 

HENRY  HowsON,  prominent  as  a  patent  lawyer  and  solicitor,  was  born,  in 
1S23,  in  Yorkshire,  England.  He  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Howson, 
for  many  years  one  of  the  Masters  of  the  Grammar  School  at  Giggleswick,  in  that 
county,  and  was  a  brother  of  the  late  Rev.  J.  S  Howson,  D.  D.,  well  known  as 
the  Dean  of  Chester. 

After  receiving  a  fair  classical  education  in  his  fatlier's  school,  Henry  Howson 
was  apprenticed  to  the  noted  London  engineering  firm  of  William  Fairbairn  & 
Co.,  and  there  received  a  thorough  mechanical  and  engineering  training.  After 
having  served  his  time  with  Fairbairn  &  Co.,  he  was  for  some  time  employed  as 
chief  draughtsman  and  designer  in  the  establishment,  at  Manchester,  of  James 
Nasmyth,  the  celebrated  inventor  of  the  steam-hammer. 

Subsequently  for  a  time  lie  engaged  in  business  in  ]\Ianchester  as  a  Patent 
Agent  with  his  brother,  Mr.  Richard  Howson,  now  of  Middlcsborough-on-Tees, 
England,  and  a  well-known  metallurgical  engineer. 

In  1850  or  185  I  Mr.  Howson  came  to  the  United  States  and  settled  in  Phila- 
delphia. F"or  some  time  after  his  arrival  he  was  employed  as  designer  in 
various  meclianical  and  engineering  establishments,  notably  that  of  Sutton  &  Co. 
During  this- period  he  made  designs  for  a  number  of  engineering  and  mechanical 
works,  among  others  several  pumping  engines  for  the  Philadelphia  Water  Works. 
He  also  designed  the  West  Philadelphia  Stand-Pipe,  which  has  been  lately 
removed  to  the  Spring  Garden  pumping  station.  Within  two  or  three  years 
after  his  arrival,  however,  he  commenced  practice  as  a  Solicitor  of  Patents,  and 
pursued  that  profession  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  which  occurred  on  February 
12,  1885.  His  ability  and  energy  commanded  a  large  clientage,  and  for  more 
than  thirty  years  he  occupied  a  leading  position  in  his  profession,  associating 
with  him,  in  course  of  time,  his  two  sons,  Charles  and  Henry,  and  his  nephew, 
Hubert  Howson. 

Mr.  Howson  was  a  member  of  the  Society  of  the  Sons  of  St.  George,  of  the 
Historical  Society  of  Pennsylvania,  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  and  of 
the  Franklin  Institute  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  also  a  member  of  the  Institute  of 
Patent  Agents  of  London. 

During  the  early  portion  of  his  life  he  contributed  largely  to  mechanical 
papers,  and  later  on  was  the  author  of  several  works  appertaining  to  Patents, 
among  which  may  be  mentioned :  "  Our  Country's  Debt  to  Patents,"  "  Patents 
and  the  Useful  Arts,"  "  The  American  Patent  System,"  and  a  "  Brief  Treatise  on 
Patents,"  the  two  last  mentioned  works  being  written  in  collaboration  with  his 
son  Charles.  As  his  patent  business  progressed  he  accumulated  a  large  refer- 
ence library  relating  to  patents  and  mechanical  subjects,  this  library  at  the  time 
of  his  death  amounting  to  over  six  thousand  volumes. 

(445) 


44^  HENRY    HOWSON. 

Mr.  Howson  was  at  all  times  active  in  promoting  the  interests  of  inventors  by 
his  advocacy  of  needed  reforms  in  Patent  Office  Law  and  Rules  of  Practice,  and 
was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  order  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Patents  dispensing  with  the  requirement  of  models  with  applications  for  patents, 
which  order  had  the  effect  of  relieving  inventors  of  what  had  long  been  a  grievous 
and  unnecessary  burden. 

During  the  later  years  of  his  life  Mr.  Howson  became  interested  in  making  a 
collection  of  the  woods  of  different  countries,  with  the  view,  mainly,  of  showing 
by  comparison  the  availability  for  decorative  uses  of  many  varieties  of  American 
woods,  possessing  great  beauty,  but  at  present  ignored  by  wood-workers.  It  is 
to  be  regretted  that  he  was  unable  to  fully  carry  out  his  design  in  this  respect, 
although  the  collection  at  the  time  of  his  death  comprised  upwards  of  two 
thousand  handsomely-finished  specimens. 

Mr.  Howson  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  died  before  his  departure  for 
America,  and  his  second  wife,  who  was  a  daughter  of  Captain  Daniel  Brcwton, 
a  well-known  sea  captain  residing  in  Philadelphia,  survived  him  only  one  year. 


END    OF    FIRST   SERIES. 


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