NYPL RESEARCH LIBRARIES
3 3433 08192211 8
SPRAGUE'S HISTORY
OF
Grand Traverse ami Leelanaw Counties
MICHIGAN
■V
EMBRACING
A Concise Review of their Early Settlement, Industrial Development and
Present Conditions, together with Interesting Reminiscences
EDITED AND COMPILED BY
ELVIN L. SPRAGUE, Esq.
AND ....
MRS. GEORGE N. SMITH
TO WHICH WILL BE APPENDED
A Comprehensive Compendium of National Biography and Life Sketches of
Well-known Citizens of the County.
ILLUSTRATED
l 90 i
B. F. BO WEN
PUBLISHER
• o «■ «>i>^-"
PUBLISHER'S PREFACE
fN PLACING Sprague's History of Grand Traverse and Leelanaw Counties,
Michigan, before the citizens, the publisher can conscientiously claim that
he has carried out in full every promise made in the Prospectus. He
points with pride to the elegance of the binding of the volume, and to the beauty
of its typography, to the superiority of the paper on which the work is printed, and
the truthfulness depicted by its portraits and the high class of art in which they
are finished. Every biographical sketch has been submitted for approval and cor-
rection, to the person for whom it was written, and therefore any error of fact, it
there be any, is solely due to the person for whom the sketch was prepared. The
publisher would here avail himself of the opportunity to thank the citizens of Grand
Traverse' and Leelanaw Counties for the uniform kindness with which they have
regarded this undertaking, and for their many services rendered in assisting in the
gaining of necessary information.
Confident that our efforts to please will fully meet the approbation of the
public, we arc,
Respectfulh .
B. F. Bowen, Publisher.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
'^'HE OBJECT of the present work is to give as complete and authentic a
^■^ history of the Grand Traverse region, and especially the counties of
Grand Traverse and Leelanaw, as possible, from the earliest settlement
down to the present time. Comparatively little attention will be given to the rest
of the region except as it comes in incidentally in connection with matters pertaining
to these two counties.
The first effort to write up anything like an extended description of the region
was performed in L866, by the late Alexander Winchell, A. M., who, after a very
careful exploration of the region, embraced his conclusions in a report of about one
hundred printed pages, entitled, "A Report on the Geological and Industrial Re-
sources of the Counties of Antrim, Grand Traverse, Benzie and Leelanaw." This
report was of great value and assisted greatly in bringing the region to public notice
and settlement.
The first effort, however, to compile and place before the public anything like
an authentic history of the region was performed by Judge Reuben Hatch, then a
resident of Traverse City, now of Grand Rapids. The Judge spent a good deal of
time in making careful research and gathering material, which he embodied in a lec-
ture which was given to the public in the shape of an address delivered to an audi-
ence in Traverse. City, July 4, 1876:
The first attempt to write anything like a complete history of the region was
made by Dr. M. L. Leach in L883, and published by Mr. Thomas T. Hates, pro-
prietor of the Grand Traverse Herald. This was followed, in L884:, by the publication
of "The Grand Traverse Region, Historical and Descriptive," by H. K. Page &
Company, of Chicago. This last included the region as far north as the Straits of
Mackinaw.
For much of the matter connected with the occupancy of these counties by the
Indians and the subsequent work of the early missionaries among them, as well as
the early settlement by the whites, the author of the present work wishes to ac-
knowledge his indebtedness to the article by Judge Hatch and the history by Dr.
Leach.
The Author.
INDEX
COMPENDIUM OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY
PAGE
Abbott, Lyman 144
Adams, Charles Kendall 143
Adams, John 25
Adams, John Quincy 61
Agassiz, Louis J. R 137
Alger, Russell A 173
Allison, William B 131
Allston, Washington 190
Altgeld, John Peter 140
Andrews, Elisha B 184
Anthony, Susan B 62
Armour, Philip D 62
Arnold, Benedict 84
Arthur, Chester Allen 168
Astor, John Jacob 139
Audubon, John James 166
Bailey, James Montgomery... 177
Bancroft, George 74
Barnard, Frederick A. P 179
Barnum, Phineas T 41
Barrett, Lawrence 156
Barton, Clara 209
Bayard, Thomas Francis 200
Beard, William II 196
Beauregard, Pierre G. T 203
Beecher, Henry Ward 26
Bell, Alexander Graham 96
Bennett. James Gordon 206
Benton, Thomas Hart...- 53
Bergh, Henry 160
Bierstadt, Albert 197
Billings, Josh 166
Blaine, James Gillespie 22
Bland, Richard Parks 106
PAGE
Boone, Daniel 36
Booth, Edwin 51
Booth, Junius Brutus 177
Brice, Calvin- S 181
Brooks, Phillips 130
Brown, John 51
Brown, Charles Farrar 91
Brush, Charles Francis 153
Bryan, William Jennings 158
Bryant, William Cullen 44
Buchanan, Franklin 105
Buchanan, James 128
Buckner, Simon Boliver 188
Burdette, Robert J 103
Burr, Aaron 111
Butler, Benjamin Franklin... 24
Calhoun, John Caldwell 23
Cameron, James Donald 141
Cameron, Simon 141
Cammack, Addison 197
Campbell, Alexander 180
Carlisle, John G 133
Carnegie, Andrew 73
Carpenter, Matthew Hale.... 178
Carson, Christopher (Kit)... 86
Cass, Lewis no
Chase, Salmon Portland 65
Childs, George W 83
Choate, Rufus 207
Chaflm. Horace Brigham 107
Clay, Henry 21
Clemens, Samuel Langhoruc. 86
Cleveland, Grover 174
Clews, Henry 153
PAGE
Clinton, DeWitt no
Colfax, Schuyler 139
Conkling, Alfred 32
Conkling, Roscoe 32
Cooley, Thomas Mclntyre. . . . 140
Cooper, James Fenimore 58
Cooper, Peter 37
Copeley, John Singleton 191
Corbin, Austin 205
Corcoran, W. W 196
Cornell, Ezra 161
Cramp, William . . 189
Crockett. David 76
Cullom, Shelby Moore 116
Curtis, George William 144
Cushman, Charlotte 107
Custer, George A 95
Dana, Charles A 88
"Danbury News Man" 177
Davenport. Fanny 106
Davis, Jefferson 24
Debs, Eugene V 132
Decatur, Stephen 101
Deering, William 198
Depew, Chauncey Mitchell... 209
Dickinson, Anna 103
Dickinson. Don M 139
Dingley, Nelson. Jr 215
Donnelly, Ignatius 161
Douglas, Stephen Arnold.... 53
Douglass, Frederick 43
Dow, Neal 108
Draper, John William 184
I\ PICK— PART I.
PAGE
Drexel. Anthonj Joseph 124
Dupont, Henry 198
Edison, Thomas Alva 55
Edmund-, George F 201
Ellsworth, Oliver 168
Emerson. Ralph Waldo 57
Ericsson. John 127
Evarts, William Maxwell 89
Farragiit, David Glascoe.... 80
Field. Cyrus West 173
Field. David Dudley [26
Field. Marshall 59
Field, Stephen Johnson 216
Fillmore. Millard 113
Foote, Andrew Hull 176
Foraker, Joseph B 143
Forrest. Edwin 92
Franklin, Benjamin 18
Fremont. Tohn Charles 29
Fuller, Melville Weston 168
Fulton. Rr.bcri 62
Gage. Lyman j 71
Gallatin. Albert 112
Garfield, Janus A 16,3
Garrett, John Work 200
Garrison. William Lloyd 50
Gates, Horatio 70
Catling, Richard Jordan 116
George, Henry 203
Gibbons, Cardinal James 209
Gilmore, Patrick Sarsfield.... 77
Girard, Stephen 137
Gough. John B 131
Gould. Jay 52
Gordon. John B 215
Grant. Ulysses S 155
Gray. Asa 88
Gray. Elisha 149
Greeley, Adolphus W 142
Greeley, Horace 20
Greene. Nathaniel 69
Gresham, Walter Quintin . . . 183
Hale. Edward Everett 79
Hall. Charles Francis 167
Hamilton. Alexander 31
Hamlin, Hannibal 214
Hampton, Wade 192
Hancock. Winfield Scott 146
Hanna. Marcus Alonzo [69
Harris Isham d 214
Harrison, William Henry.... 87
Harrison, Benjamin 182
Harvard, John 129
Havemeyer, John Craig 182
Hawthorne. Nathaniel 135
Hayes, Rutherford Birchard.. 157
Hendricks, Thomas Andrew.. 212
Henry, Joseph 105
Henry, Patrick 83
Hill, David Bennett 90
PAGE
lb. bait. I ,.11 nil \ 213
Holme-;. Oliver Wendell 206
Hooker, Joseph 52
Howe. Elias 130
Howells, William Dean 104
Houston, Sam 120
Hughes, Archbishop John.... 157
Hughitt, Marvin 159
Hull, Isaac 169
Huntington, Collis Potter.... 94
[ngalls, John James 114
Ingersoll. Robert G 85
Irving, Washington 33
Jackson, Andrew 71
Jackson, "Stonewall" 67
Jackson, Thomas Jonathan.. 67
jay. John 39
Jefferson, Joseph 47
Jefferson, Thomas 34
Johnson, Andrew 145
Johnson, Eastman 202
Johnston, Joseph Eccleston. . 85
Jones, James K 171
Jones, John Paul 97
Jones, Samuel Porter '15
Kane, Elisha Kent 125
Kearney, Philip 210
Kenton, Simon 188
Knox, John Jay 134
Lamar, Lucius Q. C 201
Landon, Melville D 109
Lee, Robert Edward 38
Lewis, Charles B 193
Lincoln, Abraham 135
Livermore, Mary Ashton 131
Locke. David Ross 172
Logan. John A 26
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth 37
Longstreet. James 56
Lowell, James Russell 104
Mackay, John William 148
Madison, James 42
Marshall. John [56
Mather, Cotton 164
Mather, Increase 163
Maxim. Hiram S 194
MeClellan, George Brinton. . 47
McCormick. Cyrus Hall 172
McDonough, Com. Thomas.. 167
McKinley, William 217
Meade. George Gordon 75
Medill, Joseph 159
Miles, Nelson A 176
Miller, Cincinnatus Heine. . . 218
Miller, Joaquin 218
Mills, Roger Quarles 211
Monroe, James 54
Moody, Dwight L 207
Moran, Thomas 98
PAGE
Morgan, John Pierpont 208
Morgan, John T 216
Morris, Robert 165
Morse, Samuel F. I'. 124
Morton, Levi 1' 142
Morton, (diver Perry 215
Motley, John Lathrop 130
"Nye, Bill" 59
Nye, Edgar Wilson 59
O'C'onor, Charles 187
Olney, Richard 133
I 'aine, Thomas 147
Palmer, John M 195
Parkhurst, Charles Henry.... 160
'"Partington, Mrs" 202
Peabody, George 170
Peck, George W 187
Peffer, William A 164
Perkins, Eli 109
Perry, Oliver Hazard 97
Phillips, Wendell 30
Pierce, Franklin 122
Pingree, Hazen S 212
Plant. Henry B 192
Poe, Edgar Allen 69
Polk. James Knox 102
Porter, David Dixon 68
Porter, Noah 93
Prentice, George Denison.... 119
Prescott, William Hickling. . 96
Pullman, George Mortimer. . 121
' Quad. M 193
Quay, Matthew S 171
Randolph, Edmund 136
Read, Thomas Buchanan.... 132
Reed. Thomas Brackett 208
Reid. Whitelaw 149
Roach. John 190
Rockefeller, John Ravison... 195
Root, George Frederick 218
Rothcrmel. Peter F 113
Rutledge, John 57
Sage, Russell 211
Schofield, John McAlister 199
Schurz, Carl 201
Scott, Thomas Alexander.... 204
Scott, Winfield 79
Seward, William Henry 44
Sharon, William 165
Shaw, Henry W 166
Sheridan, Phillip Henry 40
Sherman, Charles R 87
Sherman, John 86
Sherman, William Tecumseh. 30
Shillaber, Benjamin Penhallow 202
Smith, Edmund Kirby 114
Sousa, John Philip 60
Spreckles, Claus 159
INDEX— PART I.
PAGE
Stanford, Leland 101
Stanton, Edwin McMasters. . 179
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady 126
Stephens, Alexander Hamilton 32
Stephenson, Adlai Ewing.... 141
Stewart, Alexander T 58
Stewart, William Morris.... 213
Stowe, Harriet Elizabeth
Beecher 66
Stuart, James E. B 122
Sumner, Charles 34
Talmage. Thomas DeWitt... 60
Taney, Roger Brooks 129
Taylor, Zachary 108
Teller, Henry M 127
Tesla, Nikola 193
Thomas, George H 73
Thomas. Theodore 172
Thurman, Allen G 90
PAGE
Thurston, John M 166
Tilden, Samuel J 48
Tillman, Benjamin Ryan.... 119
Toombs, Robert 205
"Twain, Mark" 86
Tyler, John 93
Van Buren, Martin 78
Vanderbilt, Cornelius 35
Vail, Alfred 154
Vest, George Graham 214
Vilas, William Freeman 140
Voorhees, Daniel Wolsey.... 95
Waite, Morrison Remich 125
Wallace, Lewis 199
Wallack, Lester 121
Wallack, John Lester 121
Wanamaker, John 89
Ward, "Artemus" 91
PAGE
Washburne, Elihu Benjamin. . 189
Washington, George 17
Watson, Thomas E 178
Watterson, Henry j6
Weaver, James B 123
Webster, Daniel 19
Webster, Noah 49
Weed, Thurlow 91
West, Benjamin 115
Whipple, Henry Benjamin... 161
White, Stephen V 162
Whitefield, George 150
Whitman, Walt 197
Whitney, Eli 120
Whitney, William Collins.... 92
Whittier, John Greenleaf 67
Willard, Erances E 133
Wilson, William L 180
Winchell, Alexander 175
Windom, William 138
PORTRAITS OF NATIONAL CELEBRITIES.
PAGE
Alger, Russell A 16
Allison, William B 99
Anthony, Susan B 63
Armour, Philip D 151
Arthur. Chester A 81
Barnum, Phineas T 117
Beecher, Henry Ward 27
Blaine, James G 151
Booth, Edwin 63
Bryan, Wm. J 63
Bryant, William Cullen 185
Buchanan, James 81
Buckner, Simon B 16
Butler, Benjamin F 151
Carlisle, John G 151
Chase, Salmon P 16
Childs, George W 99
Clay, Henry 81
Cleveland, Grover 45
Cooper, Peter 99
Dana, Charles A 151
Depew. Chauncey M 117
Douglass, Fred 63
Emerson, Ralph Waldo 27
Evarts, William M 99
Farragut. Com. D. G 185
Field, Cyrus W 63
PAGE
Field, Marshall 117
Franklin, Benjamin 63
Fremont, Gen. John C 16
Gage, Lyman J 151
Garfield. James A 45
Garrison, William Lloyd.... 63
George, Henry 117
Gould, Jay 99
Grant, Gen. U. S 185
Greeley, Horace 81
Hampton, Wade 16
Hancock, Gen. Winfield S.... 185
Hanna, Mark A 117
Harrison, Benjamin 81
Hayes, R. B 45
Hendricks. Thomas A 81
Holmes. Oliver W 151
Hooker. Gen. Joseph 16
Ingersoll. Robert G 117
Irving, Washington 27
Jackson, Andrew 45
Jefferson, Thomas 45
Johnston, Gen. J. E 16
Lee, Gen. Robert E 185
Lincoln. Abraham 81
Logan, Gen. John A 16
Longfellow. Henry W 185
PAGE
Longstreet, Gen. James 16
Lowell. James Russell 27
McKinlev, William 45
Morse, S. F. B 185
Phillips, Wendell 27
Porter, Com. D. D 185
Pullman, George M 117
Quay, M. S 99
Reed, Thomas B 151
Sage, Russell 117
Scott, Gen. Winfield 185
Seward, William H 45
Sherman, John 99
Sherman, Gen. W. T 151
Stanton. Elizabeth Cady 27
Stowe, Harriet Beecher 27
Sumner, Charles 45
Talmage. T. DeWitt 63
Teller, Henry M 99
Thurman, Allen G 81
Tilden, Samuel J 117
Van Buren, Martin 81
Vanderbilt. Commodore 99
Webster, Daniel 27
Whittier, John G 27
Washington, George 45
Watterson, Henry 63
HISTORICAL INDEX
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY.
PAGE
Chapter I — Origin of the Name 220
1 1 — The Native Occupants 221
III Actual Settlement by the Whites '-'-I
IV Establishment of the First Protestant Mission in Grand Traverse County 22(5
V Mr. Deugherty's Work in the Settlements 231
VI- Incidents connected with Lewis Miller's Trade with the Indians 23fi
VII The Site of Traverse City 238
VIII -Hannah, Lay & Company Appear on the Scene 243
I X More of the Firm of Hannah, Lay & Company 240
X — Pioneers of Traverse City 250
XI Religious Interest Awakened — Methodist Episcopal Class Organized at Old Mission 253
XII— First School in the County 258
XIII— Grand Traverse County Organized 259
XIV— The Circuit Court 26<i
XV Traverse City Schools 26'J
XVI— Traverse City Church History 271
XVII Traverse City Newspapers 282
XVIII -Traverse City Public Library 286
X I X Transportation Facilities by Water and Rail 28'i
XX— Public Buildings 280
XXI — Manufacturing Establishments 200
XXII— Traverse City Hanking Establishments. 295
XXIII -Public Utilities . 29'!
XXIV Mercantile Interests 299
XXV Secret Orders 301
XXVI Organized Townships in Grand Traverse County 303
XXVII — Incorporation of Traverse City 30!
XXVIII - Land Products :il '
XXIX — Summer Resorts ' ' '-'
XXX Earh Pioneers 313
LEELANAW COUNTY.
Chapter I Physical Features •'•■'-'
II— First Settlements :;::::
III Civil History of Leelanaw County 338
l \ Villages of Leelanaw County 344
V Resorts and Railroads of Leelanaw County •• ■'•'
VI Old I 'ioneers "I Leelanaw County 3o8
INDEX.
Ainslie, Louis E 596
Aldrich, George E 715
Allen, Walter L 7»-
Allgaier, Joseph M 50(1
Amiotte, George E 475
Amtsbuchler, John 548
Amtsbuchler, Joseph 530
Aintsbuechler, Frank 482
Anderson, Andrew F 473
Anderson, John 717
Anderson, William S 643
Ashton, Benjamin D., M. D.. 488
Atkinson, Asher M 5iy
B
Barney, Robert 670
Barry, John 7 6 °
Barth, Paul R 369
Bartz, Robert 57°
Bates, Thomas T 49 2
Bauer, Rev. Joseph 79'
Baynton, John R 391
Beecham, Horace K 615
Beers, Charles M 443
Bellinger, Adam E 59°
Bennett, Frank "28
Billman, Charles L 588
Bisanl, John 576
Black, Edwin 646
Bloodgood, James 540
Box. Aaron 680
Brackett, Landon 11 390
Brazebridge, Samuel L 528
Brinkman, Henry K 737
Broadway, Edward N 698
PAGE
Brodhagen, Henry A 663
Brown, Francis E 754
Brown, Samuel M 501
Brownson, Myron S., M. D... 595
Buell, Judd H 693
Buller, Henry C 7-26
Burke, Roswell W., M. D... 632
Burrows, Edward H 525
Burt, Henry C 4°5
C
Campbell, Archibald M 539
Campbell, Frank 37-
Cainpbell, Henry D 78 1
Campbell, Hon. James E.... 454
Campbell, Wilber E 804
Cams, John 574
Carroll, Edward 750
Carter, Dan E 735
Case, Earl J 577
Case, Ralph 658
Cate, Moses C '"'3
Chandler, David G 756
Chase, Oscar E., M. D 759
Chatsey, Frank B 611
Clement, George M. D., Sr. . 673
Cleveland, Frank 640
Coatl 5, William 533
Compton, Elmer C ( <S3
Copeland, Charles D 647
Cordes, Germain H 688
Core, Perry A 618
Core, William 638
I 1 mrtade, Henry 553
Courtade, John N 600
Courtade, Peter 554
Cox. Washington 575
PAGE
Crakcr, George A 479
Crandall, Daniel E 407
Crotser, Joseph 630
Culver, Myron A 599
Curtis, Harvey J 507
D
Dana, Gardiner 778
Davidson, William 722
Davis, Mrs. Ruth L 586
Day, David H 510
Dayton, Clinton L 683
Dean, Frank 585
Dean. Frank A 795
Dean, Samuel P 385
Dean. William A 636
Deuster, John 57-
Dickerman, Joseph W 608
Dockeray, Charles R 423
Dohm, John A 767
Dohm, Philip 742
Duncan, Prof. John 55'
Dimlap, Abijah P. 803
Dunn. Francis E 37°
Dunn, Valentine 394
I (uryea, Elmer E 541
Dye, Charles B 629
E
East, Evan J 55°
Estes, Charles II 729
Edgecomb, Roberl M 768
Eikey, William F 5",
Eiman, Joseph B 766
Elliott, James M 613
INDEX.
■ L . M. 1 1 687
Kite, William H
Footc, John. & Son 460
Fouch, John R 602
Fowler, Curtis 782
Fralick, Francis J., M. D 425
ick, George W.. M. D. ...438
Franke, Gottfried 703
Fromholz, Ferdinand 404
Fulghuin, Elisha J 726
Fuller, Sanford 678
G
Garland, Robert P 802
Garland, Samuel S 467
Garthe, Isaac 690
Garthe, Steiner C 694
Germaine, C. B 654
Gennaine, W. D. C 654
Gibbs. Edward B 678
Gibbs, James L 725
Gibbs, Lorraine K 80S
Gilbert, George W 529
Gilbert, I. Burton 740
Gilbert, Parmius C 497
Gilbert. William 523
Godard, George S 524
Goodricb, Frank R Soo
Grant. William F 562
Gray, Addison M 605
Gray, Albert P 774
Green, T. Wilbur 711
Greilick. Edward 772
Greilick, John 724
Greilick, Joseph E Soi
Greilick. Walter E 398
Greilick, William M
Gunton, James K 708
H
Hag*
Hahnenberg. Joseph 118
Hall. Hiram A 601
Hamlin, Frank M
Hammond, Finley M 395
Hannaford, <
Hannah. Julius T 439
Hannah. Hon. Perry 413
> .1
i laniieii, J. W 728
Harrington, Nathaniel W.... 566
Hastings, Ernest W 457
Heim. William 716
Heimforth, George II 627
Heimforth, Philip 534
Heimforth, William 337
I [ess, William M 720
Hoefiin, Henry 538
Holden, William 47S
Holdsworth, William 665
Holliday, Albert H., M. D. . 446
Ho 1 ton. John S 62S
Howard, Charles C 733
Howard. James N 710
Hoxsie, Alonzo C 697
Hoxsie, John 692
Hull, Henry S 416
Hull. William C 732
Hutchins, Daniel C 584
I
lies, William 591
Innis, Alexander 536
J
Jennings, Morris B 619
Jackson. George ■ 509
Jeor, Joseph 506
Johnson, Capt. Frederick L. . 764
Johnson. James G
Joynt, Charles L 470
Joynt, Herbert O L52
K
Kehl Brothers 464
Kehl, John 674
Kelley, Thomas J 781
Kelley, Walter N | (-
Kennedy. John X
Keyes, Sidney A 499
King, Dee C 621
Kingsley, Elon G 404
Kraitz, Wenzel 642
Krubner, Joseph 625
L
La Core, Marvin 502
Ladd, Emor O 775
Lane, Josiah W 614
PAGE
Lardie, George 744
Larson, Ole 681
ner, Edward 077
Lautner, Stephen 671
Leach, Morgan L„ M. D 544
Lee, William A 701
Linderman, Ephraim V 662
Linten, Ira D 610
Litney. John 556
Loeffler, Charles W 581
.1 nig sin >re, Amos 682
Loudon. William 648
I ove, Isaac 384
M
McDonald, John 390
McGarry, Stephen. Jr 307
McMachen, William 456
McManus, George C 526
McRae, Alexander D 376
McWethy, George W 746
Markham, James W 462
Marshall, John E) 762
Marshall, William A 777
Matchett, Thomas '157
Mi bert, Albert W 343
Merrill. Jame^ R 730
Miller, Archibald A 684
Miller, Edward E 471
Milliken, James W 448
.Mitchell. William 45S
Moffatt. Orlando C 485
Monroe, Charles H 668
Monroe. James H 483
Montague, Herbert 431
ire, Fred E 509
Morgan, Birney J 568
Morrison, John 612
Morrison, Peter 722
N
Nerlinger, John
Newcomb, Eddy E 389
Newmach, Isaac G 578
Nickerson, George C 578
Norconk, Alonzo 615
O
Oberliu, Meinrod 650
INDEX.
Peti ison, Peter 373
Popst, Herman 607
Porter, Alfred E 747
Porter, John 667
Potter, Cyrenus M 606
Pratt, Edwin S 495
Pratt, William R 743
Prouty, Hugh M 382
Pulcipher. Harrison 388
Pulcipher, John 402
Pulver, Almon E 514
Putnam, Benajhar 433
R
Raff, George W 429
Ransom, Elijah L 386
Rennie, John 3/8
Rennie, William A 700
Revold, Fred, Jr 561
Rice, Emery 734
Richter, Fred 549
Roberts, George L 565
Roberts, Lorin 420
Robertson, George A 542
Robertson, Hector J 531
Rogers, John 384
Round, Richard W 799
Ruegsegger, John, M. D.... 661
Rushmore, William H 770
Ruthardt, Louis 706
S
Sackett, Lavern 408
Santo, John R 474
Saxton, William J 410
I'M ,1:
Saj ler, Samuel H 752
Scott, Andrew 702
Scott, David II 445
Scott, Henry J 451
Scott, John 486
Seegmiller, Henry 503
Selkirk, George 535
Selkirk, William 3*8
Shane, James D 705
Simpson, Oscar 520
Smith, Franklyn II 793
Smith, George 718
Smith, Henderson 521
Smith, William W 374
Snyder, J. A., I). D. S 794
Sogge, Louis R 564
Sours, Joseph 551
Spi 1 r, 1 [arrison 580
Spencer, John B 725
Sprague, Elvin L 410
Steward, George W 437
St. Francis Church 786
Stinson, Ambrose B 598
Stone. William R 755
Stormer, Peter 466
Stover, Flavins J 392
Strack, Ludwig 5°5
Sraub, John G 517
Sin ■Inn. Erhard 5/i
Sullivan, Jerry 582
Sullivan. William 429
Swainston, David A 621
Swaney, James 749
T
Tager, Adam 558
Tavlor. Allison 7 T 4
PAGE
Taylor, Ernest J 557
Taylor, Joseph 692
Thacker, Quincy A 383
Thomas, Joseph J 444
Travis, Robert S 738
V
\ ader, 1 lalvin S. 515
\ 1 kochil, I .nnu i r 637
Voice, Ernest A 634
\ 1 11 ii In 1 s, I [enry 695
W
Waagboe, Jacob 453
Wait, Arthur VV 712
Wait, Eugene S 752
Wait, Stephen E 380
Walker, Frederick R 560
Walter, Robert E 426
Warner, Carson 652
Warren. John W 719
Weiss, John G 616
Wheelock. Charles W 468
Whipple, Daniel 797
White, John 579
White, Otis L 401
Whiteford, William H 393
Whitney, Chancer L 779
Whitson, George W 699
Wightman, Willis 624
Williams. Hon. Charles W. . 659
Williams. Edgar A 396
Williamson, William 391
Wilson. Frank W 434
Wilson, William L 587
Woolsey, Byron 5 J 3
Wynkoop, David E 490
<«&($!&£]&£!&
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
OF
Celebrated Americans
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|EORGE WASHINGTON,
f the first president of the Unit-
? ed States, called the "Father
of his Country," was one of
the most celebrated characters
in history. He was born Feb-
ruary 22, 1732, in Washing-
ton Parish, Westmoreland county, Virginia.
His father, Augustine Washington, first
married Jane Butler, who bore him four
children, and March 6, 1730, he .married
Mary Ball. Of six children by his second
marriage. George was the eldest.
Little is known of the eariy years of
Washington, beyond the fact that the house
in which he was born was burned during his
early childhood, and that his father there-
upon moved to another farm, inherited from
his paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford
county, on the north bank of the Rappahan-
nock, and died there in 1743. From earliest
childhood George developed a noble charac-
ter. His education was somewhat defective,
being confined to the elementary branches
taught him by his mother and at a neighbor-
ing school. On leaving school he resided
some time at Mount Vernon with his half
brother, Lawrence, who acted as his guar-
dian. George's inclinations were for a sea-
faring career, and a midshipman's warrant
was procured for him; but through the oppo-
sition of his mother the project was aban-
doned, and at the age of sixteen he was
appointed surveyor to the immense estates
of the eccentric Lord Fairfax. Three years
were passed by Washington in a rough fron-
tier life, gaining experience which afterwards
proved very essential to him In 1751,
when the Virginia militia were put under
training with a view to active service against
France, Washington, though only nineteen
years of age, was appointed adjutant, with
the rank of major. In 1752 Lawrence
Washington died, leaving his large property
to an infant daughter. In his will George
was named one of the executors and as an
eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the
death of the infant niece, soon succeeded to
that estate. In 1753 George was commis-
sioned adjutant-general of the Virginia
militia, and performed important work at
the outbreak of the French and Indian
war, was rapidly promoted, and at the close of
that war we find him commander-in-chief of
r^M 1B97, by Geo. A. Ofl' 1 0*
18
co.)f/'/-:x/>/r.\f of biography
all the forces raised in Virginia. A cessation
of Indian hostilities on the frontier having
followed the expulsion of the French from
the Ohio, he resigned his commission as
commander-in-chief of the Virginia forces,
and then proceeded to Williamsburg to take
his seat m the Virginia Assembly, of which
In- had been elected a member.
January 17. 1759, Washington marred
Mis. Martha ^Dandridge) Curtis, a young
and beautiful widow of great wealth, and
devoted himself for the ensuing fifteen years
to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter-
rupted only by the annual attendance in
winter upon the Colonial legislature at
Williamsburg, until summoned by his coun-
try to enter upon that other arena in which
his fame was to become world-wide. The
war for independence called Washington
into service again, and he was made com-
mander-in-chief of the colonial forces, and
was the most gallant and conspicuous figure
in that bloody struggle, serving until Eng-
land acknowledged the independence of
each of the thirteen States, and negotiated
with them jointly, as separate sovereignties.
December 4, 17S3, the great commander
took leave of his officers in most affection-
ate and patriotic terms, and went to An-
napolis, Maryland, where the congress of
the States was in session, and to that body,
when peace and order prevailed everywhere,
resigned his commission and retired to
Mount Vernon.
It was in 1789 that Washington was
called to the chief magistracy of the na-
tion. The inauguration took place April
30, in the presence of an immense multi-
tude which had assembled to witness the new
and imposing ceremony. In the manifold de-
tails of his civil administration Washington
proved himself fully equal to the requirements
of his position. In 1792, at the second presi-
dential election, Washington was desirous
to retire; but he yielded to the general wish
of the country, and was again chosen presi-
dent. At the third election, in 1796, he
was again most urgently entreated to con-
sent to remain in the executive chair. This
he positively refused, and after March 4,
1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon
for peace, quiet, and repose.
Of the call again made on this illustrious
chief to quit his repose at Mount Ver-
non and take command of all the United
States forces, with rank of lieutenant-gen-
eral, when war was threatened with France
in 1798, nothing need here be stated, ex-
cept to note the fact as an unmistakable
testimonial of the high regard in which he
was still held by his countrymen of all
shades of political opinion. He patriotic-
ally accepted this trust, but a treaty of
peace put a stop to all action under it. He
again retired to Mount Vernon, where he
died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth
year of his age. His remains were depos-
ited in a family vault on the banks of the
Potomac, at Mount Vernon, where they still
lie entombed.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, an eminent
American statesman and scientist, was
born of poor parentage, January 17, 1706,
in Boston, Massachusetts. He was appren-
ticed to his brother James to learn the print-
er's trade to prevent his running away and
going to sea, and also because of the numer-
ous family his parents had to support (there
being seventeen children, Benjamin being
the fifteenth). He was a great reader, and
soon developed a taste for writing, and pre-
pared a number of articles and had them
published in the paper without his brother's
knowledge, and when the authorship be-
came known it resulted in difficulty for the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY,
young apprentice, although his articles had
been received with favor by the public.
James was afterwards thrown into prison for
political reasons, and young Benjamin con-
ducted the paper alone during the time. In
1823, however, he determined to endure his
bonds no longer, and ran away, going to
Philadelphia, where he arrived with only
three pence as his store of wealth. With
these he purchased three rolls, and ate them
as he walked along the streets. He soon
found employment as a journeyman printer.
Two years later he was sent to England by
the governor of Pennsylvania, and was
promised the public printing, but did not get
it. On his return to Philadelphia he estab-
lished the "Pennsylvania Gazette," and
soon found himself a person of great popu-
larity in the province, his ability as a writer,
philosopher, and politician having reached
the neighboring colonies. He rapidly grew
in prominence, founded the Philadelphia Li-
brary in 1842, and two years later the
American Philosophical Society and the
University of Pennsylvania. He was made
Fellow of the Royal Society in London in
1775. His world-famous investigations in
electricity and lightning began in 1746. He
became postmaster-general of the colonies
in 1753, having devised an inter-colonial
postal system. He advocated the rights of
the colonies at all times, and procured the
repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766. He was
elected to the Continental congress of 1775,
and in 1776 was a signer of the Declaration
of Independence, being one of the commit-
tee appointed to draft that paper. He rep-
resented the new nation in the courts of
Europe, especially at Paris, where his simple
dignity and homely wisdom won him the
admiration of the court and the favor of the
people. He was governor of Pennsylvania
tour vears; was also a member of the con-
vention in 1787 that drafted the constitution
of the United States.
His writings upon political topics, anti-
slavery, finance, and economics, stamp him
as one of the greatest statesmen of his time,
while his "Autobiography" and "Poor
Richard's Almanac" give him precedence in
the literary field. In early life he was an
avowed skeptic in religious 'matters, but
later in life his utterances on this subject
were less extreme, though he never ex-
pressed approval of any sect or creed. He
died in Philadelphia April 17, 1790.
DANIEL WEBSTER.— Of world wide
reputation for statesmanship, diplo-
macy, and oratory, there is perhaps no more
prominent figure in the history of our coun-
try in the interval between 181 5 and 1861,
than Daniel Webster. He was born at
Salisbury (now Franklin), New Hampshire,
January 18, 1782, and was the second son
of Ebenezer and Abigail (Eastman) Webster.
He enjoyed but limited educational advan-
tages in childhood, but spent a few months
in 1797, at Phillip Exeter Academy. He
completed his preparation for college in the
family of Rev. Samuel Wood, at Boscawen,
and entered Dartmouth College in the fall
of 1797. He supported himself most of the
time during these years by teaching school
and graduated in 1801, having the credit of
being the foremost scholar of his class. He
entered the law office of Hon. Thomas W.
Thompson, at Salisbury. In 1802 he con-
tinued his legal studies at Fryeburg, Maine,
where he was principal of the academy and
copyist in .the office of the register of
deeds. In the office of Christopher Gore,
at Boston, he completed his studies in
1804-5, ar, d was admitted to the bar in the ,
latter year, and at Boscawen and at Ports-
mouth soon rose to eminence in his profes-
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COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
sion. He became known as a federalist
but did not court political honors; but, at-
tracting attention by his eloquence in oppos-
ing the war with England, he was elected
to congress in 1812. During the special
session of May, 181 3, he was appointed on
the committee on foreign affairs and made
his maiden speech June 10, 18 13. Through-
out this session (as afterwards) he showed
his mastery of the great economic questions
of the day. He was re-elected in 1814. In
18 16 he removed to Boston and for seven
years devoted himself to his profession,
earning by his arguments in the celebrated
"Dartmouth College Case" rank among
the most distinguished jurists of the country.
In 1820 Mr. Webster was chosen a member
of the state convention of Massachusetts, to
revise the constitution. The same year he
delivered the famous discourse on the "Pil-
grim fathers," which laid the foundation for
his fame as an orator. Declining a nomi-
nation for United States senator, in 1822 he
was elected to the lower house of congress
and was re-elected in 1824 and 1826, but in
1 827 was transferred to the senate. He
retained his seat in the latter chamber until
1 84 1. During this time his voice was ever
lifted in defence of the national life and
honor and although politically opposed to
him he gave his support to the administra-
tion of President Jackson in the latter's con-
test with nullification. Through all these
/ears he was ever found upon the side of
eight and justice and his speeches upon all
the great questions of the day have be-
come household words in almost every
family. In 1841 Mr. Webster was appointed
secretary of state by President Harrison
and was continued in the same office by
• President Tyler. While an incumbent of
this office he showed consummate ability as
a diplomat in the negotiation of the "Ash-
burton treaty " of August 9, 1849, which
settled many points of dispute between the
United States and England. In May, 1843,
he resigned his post and resumed his pro-
fession, and in December, 1845, took his
place again in the senate. He contributed
in an unofficial way to the solution of the
Oregon question with Great Britain in 1847.
He was disappointed in 1848 in not receiv-
ing the nomination for the presidency. He
became secretary of state under President
Fillmore in 1850 and in dealing with all the
complicated questions of the day showed a
wonderful mastery of the arts of diplomacy.
Being hurt in an accident he retired to his
home at Marshfield, where he died Octo-
ber 24, 1852.
HORACE GREELEY.— As journalist,
author, statesman and political leader,
there is none more widely known than the
man whose name heads this article. He
was born in Amherst, New Hampshire, Feb-
ruary 3, 181 1, and was reared upon a farm.
At an early age he evinced a remarkable
intelligence and love of learning, and at
the age of ten had read every book he could
borrow for miles around. About 1821 the
family removed to Westhaven, Vermont,
and for some years young Greeley assisted
in carrying on the farm. In 1826 he entered
the office of a weekly newspaper at East
Poultney, Vermont, where he remained
about four years. On the discontinuance
of this paper he followed his father's
family to Erie county, Pennsylvania,
whither they had moved, and for a time
worked at the printer's trade in that neigh-
borhood. In 1 S3 1 Horace went to New
York City, and for a time found employ-
ment as journeyman printer. January,
1833, in partnership with Francis Story, he
published the Morning Post, the first penny
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
21
paper ever printed. This proved a failure
and was discontinued after three weeks.
The business of job printing was carried on,
however, until the death of Mr. Story in
July following. In company with Jonas
Winchester, March 22, 1834, Mr. Greeley
commenced the publication of the New
Yorker, a weekly paper of a high character.
For financial reasons, at the same time,
Greeley wrote leaders for other papers, and,
in 1838, took editorial charge of the Jeffer-
sotdan, a Whig paper published at Albany.
In 1840, on the discontinuance of that sheet,
he devoted his energies to the Log Cabin, a
campaign paper in the interests of the Whig
party. In the fall of 1 841 the latter paper
was consolidated with the New Yorker, un-
der the name of the Tribune, the first num-
ber of which was issued April 10, 1 84 1. At
the head of this paper Mr. Greeley remained
until the day of his death.
In 1848 Horace Greeley was elected to
the national house of representatives to
fill a vacancy, and was a member of that
body until March 4, 1849. In 185 1 he went
to Europe and served as a juror at the
World's Fair at the Crystal Palace, Lon-
don. In 1855, he made a second visit to
the old world. In 1859 he crossed the
plains and received a public reception at
San Francisco and Sacramento. He was a
member of the Republican national con-
vention, at Chicago in i860, and assisted in
the nomination of Abraham Lincoln for
President. The same year he was a presi-
dential elector for the state of New York,
and a delegate to the Loyalist convention
at Philadelphia.
At the close of the war, in 1865, Mr.
Greeley became a strong advocate of uni-
versal amnesty and complete pacification,
and in pursuance of this consented to be-
come one of the bondsmen for Jefferson
Davis, who was imprisoned for treason. In
1867 he was a delegate to the New York
state convention for the revision of the
constitution. In 1870 he was defeated for
congress in the Sixth New York district.
At the Liberal convention, which met in
Cincinnati, in May, 1872, on the fifth ballot
Horace Greeley was nominated for presi-
dent and July following was nominated for
the same office by the Democratic conven-
tion at Baltimore. He was defeated by a
large majority. The large amount of work
done by him during the campaign, together
with the loss of his wife about the same
time, undermined his strong constitution,
and he was seized with inflammation of the
brain, and died November 29, 1872.
In addition to his journalistic work, Mr.
Greeley was the author of several meritori-
ous works, among which were: "Hints
toward reform," "Glances at Europe,"
" History of the struggle for slavery exten
sion," "Overland journey to San Francis*
co," " The American conflict," and " Rec-
ollections of a busy life."
HENRY CLAY.— In writing of this em-
inent American, Horace Greeley once
said: "He was a matchless party chief, an
admirable orator, a skillful legislator, wield-
ing unequaled influence, not only over his
friends, but even over those of his political
antagonists who were subjected to the magic
of his conversation and manners. " A law-
yer, legislator, orator, and statesman, few-
men in history have wielded greater influ-
ence, or occupied so prominent a place in
the hearts of the generation in which they
lived.
Henry Clay was born near Richmond,
in Hanover county, Virginia, April 12,
1777, the son of a poor Baptist preacher
who died when Henry was but five years
22
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
old. The mother married again about ten
years later and removed 'to Kentucky leav-
ing Henry a clerk in a store at Richmond.
Soon afterward Henry Clay secured a posi-
tion as copyist in the office of the clerk of the
high court of chancery, and four years later
entered the law office of Robert Brooke,
then attorney general and later governor of
his native state. In 1797 Henry Clay was
licensed as a lawyer and followed his mother
to Kentucky, opening an office at Lexington
and soon built up a profitable practice.
Soon afterward Kentucky, in separating from
Virginia, called a state convention for the
purpose of framing a constitution, and Clay
at that time took a prominent part, publicly
urging the adoption of a clause providing
for the abolition of slavery, but in this he
was overruled, as he was fifty years later,
when in the height of his fame he again ad-
vised the same course when the state con-
stitution was revised in 1850. Young Clay
took a very active and conspicuous part in
the presidential campaign in 1S00, favoring
the election of Jefferson; and in 1803 was
chosen to represent Fayette county in the
state legislature. In 1806 General John
Adair, then United States senator from
Kentucky, resigned and Henry Clay was
elected to fill the vacancy by the legislature
and served through one session in which he
at once assumed a prominent place. In
1807 he was again a representative in the
legislature and was elected speaker of the
house. At this time originated his trouble
with Humphrey Marshall. Clay proposed
that each member clothe himself and family
wholly in American fabrics, which Marshall
characterized as the " language of a dema-
gogue." This led to a duel in which both
parties were slightly injured. In 1809
Henry Clay was again elected to fill a va-
cancy in the United States senate, and two
years later elected representative in tne low-
er house of congress, being chosen speaker
of the house. About this time war was de-
clared against Great Britain, and Clay took
a prominent public place during this strug-
gle and was later one of the commissioners
sent to Europe by President Madison to ne-
gotiate peace, returning in September, 181 5,
having been re-elected speaker of the
house during his absence, and was re-elect-
ed unanimously. He was afterward re-
elected to congress and then became secre-
tary of state under John Quincy Adams.
In 1 83 1 he was again elected senator from
Kentucky and remained in the senate most
of the time until his death.
Henry Clay was three times a candidate
for the presidency, and once very nearly
elected. He was the unanimous choice of
the Whig party in 1844 for the presidency,
and a great effort was made to elect him
but without success, his opponent, James K.
Polk, carrying both Pennsylvania and New
York by a very slender margin, while either
of them alone would have elected Clay.
Henry Clay died at Washington June 29,
1852.
J
AMES GILLESPIE BLAINE was one
of the most distinguished of American
statesmen and legislators. He was born
January 31, 1830, in Washington county,
Pennsylvania, and received a thorough edu-
cation, graduating at Washington College in
1847. 1° early life he removed to Maine
and engaged in newspaper work, becoming
editor of the Portland ' 'Advertiser. " While
yet a young man he gained distinction as a
debater and became a conspicuous figure in
political and public affairs. In 1862 he was
elected to congress on the Republican ticket
in Maine and was re-elected five times. In
March, 1869, he was chosen speaker of the
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23
house of representatives and was re-elected
in 1 871 and again in 1873. In 1876 he was
a representative in the lower house of con-
gress and during that year was appointed
United States senator by the Governor to
fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of
Senator Morrill, who had been appointed
secretary of the treasury. Mr. Blaine
served in the senate until March 5, 1881,
when President Garfield appointed him sec-
retary of state, which position he resigned
in December, 1881. Mr. Blaine was nom-
inated for the presidency by the Republic-
ans, at Chicago in June, 1884, but was de-
feated by Grover Cleveland after an exciting
and spirited campaign. During the later
years of his life Mr. Blaine devoted most of
his time to the completion of his work
"Twenty Years in Congress," which had a
remarkably large sale throughout the United
States. Blaine was a man of great mental
ability and force of character and during the
latter part of his life was one of the most
noted men of his time. He was the origina-
tor of what is termed the " reciprocity idea"
in tariff matters, and outlined the plan of
carrying it into practical effect. In 1876
Robert G. Ingersoll in making a nominating
speech placing Blaine's name as a candidate
for president before the national Republican
convention at Cincinnati, referred to Blaine
as the " Plumed Knight " and this title clung
to him during the remainder of his life. His
death occurred at Washington, January 2~ ,
1893-
JOHN CALDWELL CALHOUN, a dis-
tinguished American statesman, was a
native of South Carolina, born in Abbeville
district, March 18, 1782. He was given
the advantages of a thorough education,
graduating at Yale College in 1804, and
adopted the calling of a lawyer. A Demo-
crat politically, at that time, he took a fore-
most part in the councils of his party and
was elected to congress in 181 1, supporting
the tariff of 18 16 and the establishing of
the United States Bank. In 18 17 he be-
came secretary of war in President Monroe's
cabinet, and in 1 824 waselected vice-president
of the United States, on the ticket with John
Quincy Adams, and re-elected in 1828, on the
ticket with General Jackson. Shortly after
this Mr. Calhoun became one of the strongest
advocates of free trade and the principle of
sovereignty of the states and was one of
the originators of the doctrine that "any
state could nullify unconstitutional laws of
congress." Meanwhile Calhoun had be-
come an aspirant for the presidency, and
the fact that General Jackson advanced the
interests of his opponent, Van Buren, led
to a quarrel, and Calhoun resigned the vice-
presidency in 1832 and was elected United
States senator from South Carolina. It was
during the same year that a convention was
held in South Carolina at which the " Nul-
lification ordinance " was adopted, the ob-
ject of which was to. test the constitution-
ality of the protective tariff measures, and
to prevent if possible the collection of im-
port duties in that state which had been
levied more for the purpose of ' ' protection "
than revenue. This ordinance was to go
into effect in February, 1833, and created a
great deal of uneasiness throughout the
country as it was feared there would be a
clash between the state and federal authori-
ties. It was in this serious condition ot
public affairs that Henry Clay came forward
with the the famous "tariff compromise."
of 1833, to which measure Calhoun and
most of his followers gave their support and
the crisis was averted. In 1843 Mr. Cal-
houn was appointed secretary of state in
President Tyier's cabinet, and it was under
24
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
his administration that the treaty concern-
ing the annexation of Texas was negotiated.
In 1S45 he was re-elected to the United
States senate and continued in the senate
until his death, which occurred in March,
1 850. He occupied a high rank as a scholar,
student and orator, and it is conceded that
he was one of the greatest debaters America
has produced. The famous debate between
Calhoun and Webster, in 1833, is regarded
as the most noted for ability and eloquence
in the history of the country.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN BUTLER, one
of America's most brilliant and pro-
found lawyers and noted public men, was
a native of New England, born at Deer-
field, New Hampshire, November 5, 18 18.
His father, Captain John Butler, was a
prominent man in his day, commanded a
company during the war of 1812, and
served under Jackson at New Orleans.
Benjamin F. Butler was given an excellent
education, graduated at Waterville College,
Maine, studied law, was admitted to the
bar in 1840, at Lowell, Massachusetts,
where he commenced the practice of his
profession and gained a wide reputation for
his ability at the bar, acquiring an extensive
practice and a fortune. Early in life he
began taking an active interest in military
affairs and served in the state militia through
all grades from private to brigadier-general.
In 1853 he was elected to the state legisla-
ture on the Democratic ticket in Lowell.
and took a prominent part in the passage of
legislation in the interests of labor. Dur-
ing the same year he was a member of the
constitutional convention, and in 1859 rep-
resented his district in the Massachusetts
senate. When the Civil war broke out
General Butler took the field and remained
at the front most of the time during that
bloody struggle. Part of the time he had
charge of Fortress Monroe, and in Febru-
ary, 1862, took command of troops forming
part of the expedition against New Orleans,
and later had charge of the department of
the Gulf. He was a conspicuous figure dur-
ing the continuance of the war. After the
close of hostilities General Butler resumed
his law practice in Massachusetts and in
1866 was elected to congress from the Es-
sex district. In 18S2 he was elected gov-
ernor of Massachusetts, and in 1884 was the
nominee of the "Greenback" party for
president of the United States. He con-
tinued his legal practice, and maintained his
place as one of the most prominent men in
New England until the time of his death,
which occurred January 10, 1893.
JEFFERSON DAVIS, an officer, states-
man and legislator of prominence in
America, gained the greater part of his fame
from the fact that he was president of the
southern confederacy. Mr. Davis was born
in Christian county, Kentucky, June 3,
1S08, and his early education and surround-
ings were such that his sympathies and in-
clinations were wholly with the southern
people. He received a thorough education,
graduated at West Point in 1828. and for a
number of years served in the army at west-
ern posts and in frontier service, first as
lieutenant and later as adjutant. In 1835
he resigned and became a cotton planter in
Warren county, Mississippi, where he took
an active interest in public affairs and be-
came a conspicuous figure in politics. In
1844 he was a presidential elector from
Mississippi and during the two following
years served as. congressman from his d ; s-
trict. He then became colonel of a Missis-
sippi regiment in the war with Mexico ana
participated in some of the most severe uhi-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
25
ties, being seriously wounded at Buena
Vista. Upon his return to private life he
again took a prominent part in political af-
fairs and represented his state in the United
States senate from 1847 to 1851. He then
entered President Pierce's cabinet as secre-
tary of war, after which he again entered
the United States senate, remaining until
the outbreak of the Civil war. He then be-
came president of the southern confederacy
and served as such until captured in May,
1865, at Irwinville, Georgia. He was held
as prisoner of war at Fortress Monroe, until
1867, when he was released on bail and
finally set free in 1868. His death occurred
December 6, 1889.
Jefferson Davis was a man of excellent
abilities and was recognized as one of the
best organizers of his day. He was a
forceful and fluent speaker and a ready
writer. He wrote and published the " Rise
and Fall of the Southern Confederacy," a
work which is considered as authority by
the southern people
JOHN ADAMS, the second president of
the United States, and one of the most
conspicuous figures in the early struggles of
his country for independence, was born in
the present town of Quincy, then a portion
of Braintree, Massachusetts, October 30,
1735. He received a thorough education,
graduating at Harvard College in 1755,
studied law and was admitted to the bar in
1758. He was well adapted for this profes-
sion and after opening an office in his native
town rapidly grew in prominence and public
favor and soon was regarded as one of the
leading lawyers of the country. His atten-
tion was called to political affairs by the
passage of the Stamp Act, in 1765, and he
drew up a set of resolutions on the subject
which were very popular. In 1768 he re-
moved to 'Boston and became one of the
most courageous and prominent advocates
of the popular cause and was chosen a
member of the Colonial legislature from
Boston. He was one of the delegates that
represented Massachusetts in the first Con--
tinental congress, which met in September,
1774. In a letter written at this crisis he
uttered the famous words: "The die is now
cast; I have passed the Rubicon. Sink or
swim, live or die, survive or perish with my
country, is my unalterable determination."
He was a prominent figure in congress and
advocated the movement for independence
when a majority of the members were in-
clined to temporize and to petition the King.
In May, 1776, he presented a resolution in
congress that the colonies should assume
the duty of self-government, which was
passed. In June, of the same year, a reso-
lution that the United States "are, and of
right ought to be, free and independent,"
was moved by Richard H. Lee, seconded by
Mr. Adams and adopted by a small majority.
Mr. Adams was a member of the committee
of five appointed June 1 1 to prepare a
declaration of independence, in support of
which he made an eloquent speech. He was
chairman of the Board of War in 1776 and
in 1 778 was sent as commissioner to France,
but returned the following year. In 1780
he went to Europe, having been appointed
as minister to negotiate a treaty of peace
and commerce with Great Britain. Con-
jointly with Franklin and Jay he negotiated
a treaty in 1782. He was employed as a
minister to the Court of St. James from
1785 to 1788, and during that period wrote
his famous "Defence of the American Con-
stitutions." In 1789 he became vice-presi-
dent of the United States and was re-elected
in 1792.
In 1796 Mr. Adams was chosen presi-
26
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIir.
dent of the United States, his competitor
being Thomas Jefferson, who became vice-
president. In 1800 he was the Federal
candidate for president, but he was not
cordially supported by Gen. Hamilton, the
favorite leader of his party, and was de-
feated by Thomas Jefferson.
Mr. Adams then retired from public life
to his large estate at Quincy, Mass., where
he died July 4, 1826, on the same day that
witnessed the death of Thomas Jefferson.
Though his physical frame began to give way
many years before his death, his mental
powers retained their strength and vigor to
the last. In his ninetieth year he was glad-
dened by .the elevation of his son, John
Ouincy Adams, to the presidential office.
HENRY WARD BEECHER, one of the
most celebrated American preachers
and authors, was born at Litchfield, Connec-
ticut, June 24, 1 8 1 3. His father was Dr. Ly-
man Beecher, also an eminent divine. At
an early age Henry Ward Beecher had a
strong predilection for a sea-faring life, and
it was practically decided that he would fol-
low this inclination, but about this time, in
consequence of deep religious impressions
which he experienced during a revival, he
renounced his former intention and decided
to enter the ministry. After having grad-
uated at Amherst College, in 1834, he stud-
ied theology at Lane Seminary under the
tuition of his father, who was then president
of that institution. In 1847 he became pas-
tor of the Plymouth Congregational church
in Brooklyn, where his oratorical ability and
"original eloquence attracted one of the larg-
est congregations in the country. He con-
tinued to served this church until the time
of his death, March 8, 1887. Mr. Beecher
also found time for a great amount of liter-
ary work- For a number of years he was
editor of the "Independent" and also the
"Christian Union." He also produced many
works which are widely known. Among his
principal productions are "Lectures to Young
Men," " Star Papers, " "Life of Christ,"
"Life Thoughts," "Royal Truths" (a
novel), "Norwood," " Evolution and Rev-
olution," and " Sermons on Evolution and
Religion. " ' Mr. Beecher was also long a
prominent advocate of anti-slavery princi-
ples and temperance reform, and, at a later
period, of the rights of women.
JOHN A. LOGAN, the illustrious states-
man and general, was born in Jackson
county, Illinois, February 9, 1824. In his
boyhood days he received but a limited edu-
cation in the schools of his native county.
On the breaking out of the war with Mexico
he enlisted in the First Illinois Volunteers
and became its quartermaster. At the close
of hostilities he returned home and was
elected clerk of the courts of Jackson county
in 1849. Determining to supplement his
education Logan entered the Louisville Uni-
versity, from which he graduated in .1852
and taking up the study of law was admitted
to the bar. He attained popularity and suc-
cess in his chosen profession and was elected
to the legislature in 1852, 1853, 1856 and
1857. He was prosecuting attorney from
1853 to 1857. He was elected to congress
in 1858 to fill a vacancy and again in i860.
At the outbreak of the Rebellion, Logan re-
signed his office and entered the army, and
in September, 1861, was appointed colonel
of the Thirty-first Illinois Infantry, which he
led in the battles of Belmont and Fort Don-
elson. In the latter engagement he was
wounded. In March, 1862, he was pro-
moted to be brigadier-general and in the
following month participated in the battles
o< p ittsburg Landing. In November, 1862,
■"'. ASTO", LFNOK
COMPENDIUM OF BIOCRAPHT.
29
for gallant conduct he was made major-gen-
eral. Throughout the Vicksburg campaign
he was in command of a division of the Sev-
enteenth Corps and was distinguished at
Port Gibson, Champion Hills and in the
siege and capture cf Vicksburg. In October,
1863, he was placed in command of the
Fifteenth Corps, which he led with great
credit. During the terrible conflict before
Atlanta, July 22, 1864, on the death of
General McPherson, Logan, assuming com-
mand of the Army of the Tennessee, led it
on to victory, saving the day by his energy
and ability. He was shortly after succeeded
by General O. O. Howard and returned to
the command of his corps. He remained
in command until the presidential election,
when, feeling that his influence was needed
at home he returned thither and there re-
mained until the arrival of Sherman at Sa-
vannah, when General Logan rejoined his
command. In May, 1865, he succeeded
General Howard at the head of the Army of
the Tennessee. He resigned from the army
in August, the same year, and in November
was appointed minister to Mexico, but de-
clined the honor. He served in the lower
house of the fortieth and forty-first con-
gresses, and was elected United States sena-
tor from his native state in 1870, 1878 and
1885. He was nominated for the vice-presi-
dency in 1884 on the ticket with Blaine, but
was defeated. General Logan was the
author of "The Great Conspiracy, its origin
and history," published in 1885. He died
at Washington, December 26, 1886.
JOHN CHARLES FREMONT, the first
vJ Republican candidate for president, was
born in Savannah, Georgia, January 21,
18 1 3. He graduated from Charleston Col-
lege (South Carolina) in 1830, and turned his
attention to civil engineering. He was shortly
2
afterward employed in the department of
government surveys on the Mississippi, and
constructing maps of that region. He was
made lieutenant of engineers, and laid be-
fore the war department a plan for pene-
trating the Rocky Mountain regions, which
was accepted, and in 1842 he set out upon
his first famous exploring expedition and ex-
plored the South Pass. He also planned an
expedition to Oregon by a new route further
south, but afterward joined his expedition
with that of Wilkes in the region of the
Great Salt Lake. He made a later expedi-
tion which penetrated the Sierra Nevadas,
and the San Joaquin and Sacramento river
valleys, making maps of all regions explored.
In 1845 ne conducted the great expedi-
tion which resulted in the acquisition of
California, which* it was believed the Mexi-
can government was about to dispose of to
England. Learning that the Mexican gov-
ernor was preparing to attack tne American
settlements in his dominion, Fremont deter-
mined to forestall him. The settlers rallied
to his camp, and in June, 1846, he defeated
the Mexican forces at Sonoma Pass, and a
month later completely routed the governor
and his entire army. The Americans at
once declared their independence of Mexico,
and Fremont was elected governor of Cali-
fornia. By this time Commodore Stockton
had reached the coast with instructions from
Washington to conquer California. Fre-
mont at once joined him in that effort, which
resulted in the annexation of California with
its untold mineral wealth. Later Fremont
became involved in a difficulty with fellow
officers which resulted in a court martial,
and the surrender of his commission. He
declined to accept reinstatement. He af-
terward laid out a great road from the Mis-
sissippi river to San Francisco, and became
the first United States senator from Califor-
30
COMPENDIUM (>/■ BlOGRAmr
nia, in 1849. In 1856 he was nominated
by the new Republican party as its first can-
didate for president against Buchanan, and
received 114 electoral votes, out of 296.
In 1S61 he was made major-general and
placed in charge of the western department.
He planned the reclaiming of the entire
Mississippi valley, and gathered an army of
thirty thousand men, with plenty of artil-
lery, and was ready to move upon the con-
federate General Price, when he was de-
prived of his command. He was nominated
for the presidency at Cincinnati in 1864, but
withdrew. He was governor of Arizona in
1878, holding the position four years. He
was interested in an engineering enterprise
looking toward a great southern trans-con-
tinental railroad, and in his later years also
practiced law in New York. He died July 1 3,
1 890.
WENDELL PHILLIPS, the orator and
abolitionist, and a conspicuous figure
in American history, was born November
29, 181 1, at Boston, Massachusetts. He
received a good education at Harvard
College, from which he graduated in 1831,
and then entered the Cambridge Law School.
After completing his course in that institu-
tion, in 1833, he was admitted to the bar,
in 1834, at Suffolk. He entered the arena
of life at the time when the forces of lib-
erty and slavery had already begun their
struggle that was to culminate in the Civil
war. William Lloyd Garrison, by his clear-
headed, courageous declarations of the anti-
slavery principles, had done much to bring
about this struggle. Mr. Phillips was not a
man that could stand aside and see a great
struggle being carried on in the interest of
humanity and look passively on. He first
attracted attention as an orator in 1837, at
a meeting that was called to protest against
the murder of the Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy.
The meeting would have ended in a few
perfunctory resolutions had not Mr. Phillip?
by his manly eloquence taken the meeting
out of the hands of the few that were in-
clined to temporize and avoid radical utter-
ances. Having once started out in this ca-
reer as an abolitionist Phillips never swerved
from what he deemed his duty, and never
turned back. He gave up his legal practice
and launched himself heart and soul in the
movement for the liberation of the slaves.
He was an orator of very great ability and
by his earnest efforts and eloquence he did
much in arousing public sentiment in behalf
of the anti-slavery cause — possibly more
than any one man of his time. After the
abolition of slavery Mr. Phillips was, if pos-
sible, even busier than before in the literary
and lecture field. Besides temperance and
women's rights, he lectured often and wrote
much on finance, and the relations of labor
and capital, and his utterances on whatever
subject always bore the stamp of having
emanated from a master mind. Eminent
critics have stated that it might fairly be
questioned whether there has ever spoken
in America an orator superior to Phillips.
The death of this great man occurred Feb-
ruary 4, 1884.
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN
was one of the greatest generals that
the world has ever produced and won im-
mortal fame by that strategic and famous
" march to the sea," in the war of the Re-
bellion. He was born February 8, 1820, at
Lancaster, Ohio, and was reared in the
family of the Hon. Thomas Ewing, as his
father died when he was but nine years of
age. He entered West Point in 1836, wa?
graduated from the same in 1840, and ap-
pointed a second lieutenant in the Third
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
31
Artillery. He passed through the various
grades of the service and at the outbreak of
the Civil war was appointed colonel of the
Thirteenth Regular Infantry. A full history
of General Sherman's conspicuous services
would be to repeat a history of the army.
He commanded a division at Shiloh, and
was instrumental in the winning of that bat-
tle, and was also present at the siege of Vicks-
burg. On July 4, 1863, he was appointed
brigadier-general of the regular army, and
shared with Hooker the victory of Mission-
ary Ridge. He was commander of the De-
partment of the Tennessee from October
27th until the appointment of General
Grant as lieutenant-general, by whom he
was appointed to the command of the De-
partment of the Mississippi, which he as-
sumed in March, 1864. He at once began
organizing the army and enlarging his com-
munications preparatory to his march upon
Atlanta, which he started the same time of
the beginning of the Richmond campaign by
Grant. He started on May 6, and was op-
posed by Johnston, who had fifty thousand
men, but by consummate generalship, he
captured Atlanta, on September 2, after
several months of hard fighting and a severe
loss of men. General Sherman started on
his famous march to the sea November 15,
1864, and by December 10 he was before
Savannah, which he took on December 23.
This campaign is a monument to the genius
of General Sherman as he only lost 567
men from Atlanta to the sea. After rest-
ing his army he moved northward and occu-
pied the following places: Columbia,
Cheraw, Fayetteville, Ayersboro, Benton-
ville, Goldsboro, Raleigh, and April 18, he
accepted the surrender of Johnston's army
on a basis of agreement that was not re-
ceived by the Government with favor, but
finally accorded Johnston the same terms as
Lee was given by General Grant. He was
present at the grand review at Washington,
and after the close of the war was appointed
to the command of the military division of
the Mississippi; later was appointed lieu-
tenant-general, and assigned to the military
division of the Missouri. When General
Grant was elected president Sherman became
general, March 4, 1869, and succeeded to
the command of the arm)'. His death oc-
curred February 14, 1891, at Washington.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON, one of the
most prominent of the early American
statesmen and financiers, was born in Nevis,
an island of the West Indies, January 11,
1757, his father being a Scotchman and his
mother of Huguenot descent. Owing to the
death of his mother and business reverses
which came to his father, young Hamilton
was sent to his mother's relatives in Santa
Cruz; a few years later was sent to a gram-
mar school at Elizabethtown, New Jersey,
and in 1773 entered what is now known as
Columbia College. Even at that time he
began taking an active part in public affairs
and his speeches, pamphlets, and newspaper
articles on political affairs of the day at-
tracted considerable attention. In 1776 he
received a captain's commission and served
in Washington's army with credit, becoming
aide-de-camp to Washington with rank of
lieutenant-colonel. In 1 781 he resigned his
commission because of a rebuke from Gen-
eral Washington. He next received com-
mand of a New York battalion and partici-
pated in the battle of Yorktown. After
this Hamilton studied law, served several
terms in congress and was a member of the
convention at which the Federal Constitu-
tion was drawn up. His work connected
with " The Federalist " at about this time
attracted much attention. Mr. Hamilton
•62
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
was chosen as the first secretary of the
United States treasury and as such was the
author of the funding system and founder of
the United States Bank. In 179S he was
made inspector-general of the army with the
rank of major-general and was also for a
short time commander-in-chief. In 1804
Aaron Burr, then candidate for governor of
New York, challenged Alexander Hamilton
to fight a duel, Burr attributing his defeat
to Hamilton's opposition, and Hamilton,
though declaring the code as a relic of bar-
barism, accepted the challenge. They met
at YVeehawken, New Jersey, July n, 1804.
Hamilton declined to fire at his adversary,
but at Burr's first fire was fatally wounded
and died July 12, 1804.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON STEPH-
ENS, vice-president of the southern
confederacy, a former United States senator
and governor of Georgia, ranks among the
great men of American history. He was born
February 11, 1812, near Crawfordsville,
Georgia. He was a graduate of the Uni-
versity of Georgia, and admitted to the bar
in 1834. In 1S37 he made his debut in
political life as a member of the state house
of representatives, and in 1 84 1 declined the
nomination for the same office; but in 1842
he was chosen by the same constituency as
state senator. Mr. Stephens was one of
the promoters of the Western and Atlantic
Railroad. In 1843 he was sent by his dis-
trict to the national house of representatives,
which office he held for sixteen consec-
utive years. He was a member of the
house during the passing of the Compromise
Bill, and was one of its ablest and most
active supporters. The same year (1850)
Mr. Stephens was a delegate to the state
convention that framed the celebrated
" Georgia Platform," and was also a dele-
gate to the convention that passed the ordi-
nance of secession, though he bitterly op-
posed that bill by voice and vote, yet he
readily acquiesced in their decision after
it received the votes of the majority of the
convention. He was chosen vice-president
of the confederacy without opposition, and
in 1865 he was the head of the commis-
sion sent by the south to the Hampton
Roads conference. He was arrested after
the fall of the confederacy and was con-
fined in Fort Warren as a prisoner of state
but was released on his own parole. Mr.
Stephens was elected to the forty-third,
forty-fourth, forty-fifth, forty-sixth and for-
ty-seventh congresses, with hardly more than
nominal opposition. He was one of the
Jeffersonian school of American politics.
He wrote a number of works, principal
among which are: "Constitutional View
of the War between the States," and a
" Compendium of the History of the United
States." He was inaugurated as governor
of Georgia November 4th, 1882, but died
March 4, 1883, before the completion of
his term.
ROSCOE CONKLING was one of the
most noted and famous of American
statesmen. He was among the most fin-
ished, fluent and eloquent orators that have
ever graced the halls of the American con-
gress; ever ready, witty and bitter in de-
bate he was at once admired and feared by
his political opponents and revered by his
followers. True to his friends, loyal to the
last degree to those with whom his inter-
ests were associated, he was unsparing to his
foes and it is said "never forgot an injury."
Roscoe Conkling was born at Albany,
New York, on the 30th of October, 1829,
being a son of Alfred Conkling. Alfred
Conkling was also a native of New York,
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
m
born at East Hampton, October 12, 17S9,
and became one of the most eminent law-
yers in the Empire state; published several
legal works; served a term in congress; aft-
erward as United States district judge for
Northern New York, and in 1852 was min-
ister to Mexico. Alfred Conkling died in
1874.
Roscoe Conkling, whose name heads
this article, at an early age took up the
study of law and soon became successful and
prominent at the bar. About 1846 he re-
moved to Utica and in 1858 was elected
mayor of that city. He was elected repre-
sentative in congress from this district and
was re-elected three times. In 1867 he was
elected United States senator from the state
of New York and was re-elected in 1873
and 1879. In May, 1SS1, he resigned on
account of differences with the president.
In March, 1882, he was appointed and con-
firmed as associate justice of the United
States supreme court but declined to serve.
His death occurred April 18, 1888.
WASHINGTON IRVING, one of the
most eminent, talented and popu-
lar of American authors, was born in New
York City, April 3, 1783. His father was
William Irving, a merchant and a native of
Scotland, who had married an English lady
and emigrated to America some twenty
years prior to the birth of Washington.
Two of the older sons, William and Peter,
were partially occupied with newspaper
work and literary pursuits, and this fact
naturally inclined Washington to follow
their example. Washington Irving was given
the advantages afforded by the common
schools until about sixteen years of age
when he began studying law, but continued
to acquire his literary training by diligent
perusal at home of the older English writers.
When nineteen he made his first literary
venture by printing in the ' ' Morning Chroni-
cle," then edited by his brother, Dr. Peter
Irving, a series of local sketches under the
nom-de-plume of " Jonathan Oldstyle." In
1804 he began an extensive trip through
Europe, returned in 1806, quickly com-
pleted his legal studies and was admitted to
the bar, but never practiced the profession.
In 1807 he began the amusing serial "Sal-
magundi," which had an immediate suc-
cess, and not only decided- his future
career but long determined the charac-
ter of his writings. In 1808, assisted by
his brother Peter, he wrote " Knickerbock-
er's History of New York," and in 1S10 an
excellent biography of Campbell, the poet,
After this, for some time, Irving's attention
was occupied by mercantile interests, but
the commercial house in which he was a
partner failed in 1S17. In 1S14 he was
editor of the Philadelphia "Analectic Maga-
zine." About 1 81 8 appeared his "Sketch-
Book," over the nom-de-plume of "Geoffrey
Crayon," which laid the foundation of Ir-
ving's fortune and permanent fame. This
was soon followed by the legends of
"Sleepy Hollow," and " Rip Van Winkle,"
which at once took high rank as literary
productions, and Irving's reputation was
firmly established in both the old and new
worlds. After this the path of Irving was
smooth, and his subsequent writings ap-
peared with rapidity, including "Brace-
bridge Hall," "The Tales of a Traveler,"
" History of the Life and Voyages of Chris-
topher Columbus," "The Conquest of
Granada," "The Alhambra," " Tour on
the Prairies," "Astoria," "Adventures of
Captain Bonneville," "Wolfert's Roost,"
" Mahomet and his Successors," and "Life
of Washington," besides other works.
Washington Irving was never married.
154
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
He resided during the closing years of his
life at Sunnyside (Tarrytown) on the Hud-
son, where he died November 28, 1859.
CHARLES SUMNER.— Boldly outlined
on the pages of our history stands out
the rugged figure of Charles Sumner, states-
man, lawyer and writer. A man of unim-
peachable integrity, indomitable will and
with the power of tireless toil, he was a fit
leader in troublous times. First in rank as
an anti-slavery leader in the halls of con-
gress, he has stamped his image upon the
annals of his time. As an orator he took
front rank and, in wealth of illustration,
rhetoric and lofty tone his eloquence equals
anything to be found in history.
Charles Sumner was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, January 6, 181 1, and was
the son of Charles P. and Relief J. Sumner.
The family had long been prominent in that
state. Charles was educated at the Boston
Public Latin School; entered Harvard Col-
lege in 1826, and graduated therefrom in
1S30. In 1 83 1 he joined the Harvard Lav/
School, then under charge of Judge Story,
and gave himself up to the study of law
with enthusiasm. His leisure was devoted
to contributing to the American Jurist. Ad-
mitted to the bar in 1834 he was appointed
reporter to the circuit court by Judge Story.
He published several works about this time,
and from 1835 to 1S37 and again in 1843
was lecturer in the law school. He had
planned a lawyer's life, but in 1845 he gave
his attention to politics, speaking and working
against the admission of Texas to the Union
and subsequently against the Mexican war.
In 1848 he was defeated for congress on the
Free Soil ticket. His stand on the anti-
slavery question at that time alienated both
friends and clients, but he never swerved
from his convictions. In 1851 he was elected
to the United States senate and took his
seat therein December 1 of that year. From
this time his life became the history of the
anti-slavery cause in congress. In August,
1852, he began his attacks on slavery by a
masterly argument for the repeal of the
fugitive slave law. On May 22, 1856, Pres-
ton Brooks, nephew of Senator Butler, of
South Carolina, made an attack upon Mr.
Sumner, at his desk in the senate, striking
him over the head with a heavy cane. The
attack was quite serious in its effects and
kept Mr. Sumner absent from his seat in the
senate for about four years. In 1857, 1863
and 1869 he was re-elected to the office of
senator, passing some twenty-three years in
that position, always advocating the rights
of freedom and equity. He died March II,
1874-
THOMAS JEFFERSON, the third pres-
ident of the United States, was born
near Charlottesville, Albemarle county, Vir-
ginia, April 13, 1743, and was the son of
Peter and Jane (Randolph) Jefferson. He
received the elements of a good education,
and in 1760 entered William and Mary Col-
lege. After remaining in that institution for
two years he took up the study of law with
George Wythe, of Williamsburg, Virginia,
one of the foremost lawyers of his day, and
was admitted to practice in 1767. He ob-
tained a large and profitable practice, which
he held for eight years. The conflict be-
tween Great Britain and the Colonies then
drew him into public life, he having for
some time given his attention to the study
of the sources of law, the origin of liberty
and equal rights.
Mr. Jefferson was elected to the Virginia
house of burgesses in 1769, and served in
that body several years, a firm supporter of
liberal measures, and, although a slave-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
35
holder himself, an opponent of slavery.
With others, he was a leader among the op-
position to the king. He took his place as
a member of the Continental congress June
21, 1775, and after serving on several com-
mittees was appointed to draught a Declara-
tion of Independence, which he did, some
corrections being suggested by Dr. Franklin
and John Adams. This document was pre-
sented to congress June 28, 1776, and after
six days' debate was passed and was signed.
In the following September Mr. Jefferson
resumed his seat in the Virginia legislature,
and gave much time to the adapting of laws
of that state to the new condition of things.
He drew up the law, the first ever passed by
a legislature or adopted by a government,
which secured perfect religious freedom.
June I, 1779, he succeeded Patrick Henry
as governor of Virginia, an office which,
after co-operating with Washington in de-
fending the country, he resigned two years
later. One of his own estates was ravaged
by the British, and his house at Monticello
was held by Tarleton for several days, and
Jefferson narrowly escaped capture. After
the death of his wife, in 1782, he accepted
the position of plenipotentiary to France,
which he had declined in 1776. Before
leaving he served a short time in congress
at Annapolis, and succeeded in carrying a
bill for establishing our present decimal sys-
tem of currency, one of his most useful pub-
lic services. He remained in an official ca-
pacity until October, 1789, and was a most
active and vigilant minister. Besides the
onerous duties of his office, during this time,
he published "Notes on Virginia," sent to
the United States seeds, shrubs and plants,
forwarded literary and scientific news and
gave useful advice to some of the leaders of
the French Revolution.
Mr. Jefferson landed in Virginia Novem-
ber 18, 1789, having obtained a leave of
absence from his post, and shortly after ac-
cepted Washington's offer of the portfolio
of the department of state in his cabinet.
He entered upon the duties of his office in
March, 1791, and held it until January 1,
1794, when he tendered his resignation.
About this time he and Alexander Hamilton
became decided and aggressive political op-
ponents, Jefferson being in warm sympathy
with the people in the French revolution
and strongly democratic in his feelings,
while Hamilton took the opposite side. In
1796 Jefferson was elected vice-president of
the United States. In 1800 he was elected
to the presidency and was inaugurated
March 4, 1S01. During his administration,
which lasted for eight years, he having been
re-elected in 1804, he waged a successful
war against the Tripolitan pirates; purchased
Louisiana of Napoleon; reduced the public
debt, and was the originator of many wise
measures. Declining a nomination for a
third term he returned to Monticello, where
he died July 4, 1826, but a few hours before
the death of his friend, John Adams.
Mr. Jefferson was married January 1,
1772, to Mrs. Martha Skelton, a young,
beautiful, and wealthy widow, who died
September 6, 1782, leaving three children,
three more having died previous to her
demise.
CORNELIUS VANDERBILT, known as
"Commodore" Vanderbilt, was the
founder of what constitutes the present im-
mense fortune of the Vanderbilt family. He
was born May 27, 1794, at Port Richmond,
Staten Island, Richmond county, New
York, and we find him at sixteen years run-
ning a small vessel between his home and
New York City. The fortifications of Sta-
ten and Long Islands were just in course of
3(3
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY,
construction, and he carried the laborers
from New York to the fortifications in his
" perianger, " as it was called, in the day,
and at night carried supplies to the fort on
the Hudson. Later he removed to New
York, where he added to his little fleet. At
the age of twenty-three he was free from
debt and was worth $9,000, and in 1817,
with a partner he built the first steamboat
that was run between New York and New
Brunswick, New Jersey, and became her
captain at a salary of $1,000 a year. The
next year he took command of a larger and
better boat and by 1824 he was in complete
control of the Gibbon's Line, as it was
called, which he had brought up to a point
where it paid $40,000 a year. Commodore
Vanderbilt acquired the ferry between New
York and Elizabethport, New Jersey, on a
fourteen years' lease and conducted this on
a paying basis. He severed his connections
with Gibbons in 1829 and engaged in
business alone and for twenty years he was
the leading steamboat man in the country,
building and operating steamboats on the
Hudson River, Long Island Sound, on the
Delaware River and the route to Boston,
and he had the monopoly of trade on these
routes. In 1850 he determined to broaden
his field of operation and accordingly built
the steamship Prometheus and sailed for
the Isthmus of Darien, where he desired to
make a personal investigation of the pros-
pects of the American Atlantic and Pacific
Ship Canal Company, in which he had pur-
chased a controlling interest. Commodore
Vanderbilt planned, as a result of this visit,
a transit route from Greytown on the At-
lantic coast to San Juan del Sud on the Pa-
cific coast, which was a saving of 700 miles
over the old route. In 1S51 he placed three
steamers on the Atlantic side and four on
the Pacific side to accommodate the enor-
mous traffic occasioned by the discovery of
gold in California. The following year
three more vessels were added to his fleet
and a branch line established from New
Orleans to Greytown. In 1853 the Com-
modore sold out hisNicarauguaTransit Com-
pany, which had netted him $1,000,000
and built the renowned steam yacht, the
" North Star." He continued in the ship-
ping business nine years longer and accu-
mulated some $10,000,000. In 1861 he
presented to the government his magnifi-
cent steamer " Vanderbilt, " which had cost
him $800,000 and for which he received the
thanks of congress. In 1844 he became
interested in the railroad business which he
followed in later years and became one of
the greatest railroad magnates of his time.
He founded the Vanderbilt University at a
cost of $1,000,000. He died January 4,
1877, leaving a fortune estimated at over
$100,000,000 to his children.
DANIEL BOONE was one of the most
famous of the many American scouts,
pioneers and hunters which the early settle-
ment of the western states brought into
prominence. Daniel Boone was born Feb-
ruary 11, 1735, in Bucks county, Pennsyl-
vania, but while yet a young man removed
to North Carolina, where he was married.
In 1769, with five companions, he pene-
trated into the forests and wilds of Kentucky
— then uninhabited by white men. He had
frequent conflicts with the Indians and was
captured by them but escaped and continued
to hunt in and explore that region for over
a year, when, in 1771, he returned to his
home. In the summer of 1773, he removed
with his own and five other families into
what was then the wilderness of Kentucky,
and to defend his colony against the savages,
he built, in 1775, a fort at Boonesborough,
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
.'57
on the Kentucky river. This fort was at-
tacked by the Indians several times in 1777,
but they were repulsed. The following
year, however, Boone was surprised and
captured by them. They took him to De-
troit and treated him with leniency, but he
soon escaped and returned to his fort which
he defended with success against four hun-
dred and fifty Indians in August, 1778. His
son, Enoch Boone, was the first white male
child born in the state of Kentucky. In
1795 Daniel Boone removed with his family
to Missouri, locating about forty-five miles
west of the present site of St. Louis, where
he found fresh fields for his favorite pursuits
— adventure, hunting, and pioneer life. His
death occurred September 20, 1820.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFEL-
LOW, said to have been America's
greatest "poet of the people," was born at
Portland, Maine, February 27, 1807. He
entered Bowdoin College at the age of four-
teen, and graduated in 1825. During his
college days he distinguished himself in mod-
ern languages, and wrote several short
poems, one of the best known of which was
the " Hymn of the Moravian Nuns." After
his graduation he entered the law office of
his father, but the following year was offered
the professorship of modern languages at
Bowdoin, with the privilege of three years
study in Europe to perfect himself in French,
Spanish, Italian and German. After the
three years were passed he returned to the
United States and entered upon his profes-
sorship in 1829. His first volume was a
small essay on the "Moral and Devotional
Poetry of Spain" in 1S33. In 1835 he pub-
lished some prose sketches of travel under
the title of " Outre Mer, a Pilgrimage be-
yond the Sea." In 1835 he was elected to
the chair ot modern languages and literature
at Harvard University and spent a year in
Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland, culti-
vating a knowledge of early Scandinavian
literature and entered upon his professor-
ship in 1836. Mr. Longfellow published in
1839 " Hyperion, a Romance, " and ' ' Voices
of the Night, " and his first volume of original
verse comprising the selected poems of
twenty years work, procured him immediate
recognition as a poet. " Ballads and other
poems" appeared in 1S42, the "Spanish
Student " a drama in three acts, in 1843,
"The Belfry of Bruges " in 1846, "Evan-
geline, a Tale of Acadia," in 1847, which
was considered his master piece. In 1845
he published a large volume of the "Poets
and Poetry of Europe," 1849 " Kavanagh,
a Tale," ''The Seaside and Fireside " in
1850, "The Golden Legend " in 1851, "The
Song of Hiawatha " in 1S55, " The Court-
ship of Miles Standish " in 1858, " Tales of
a Wayside Inn " in 1863; " Flower de Luce"
in 1866;" "New England Tragedies" in
1869; "The Divine Tragedy" in 1871;
"Three Books of Song" in 1872; "The
Hanging of the Crane " in 1874. He also
published a masterly translation of Dante
in 1867-70 and the " Morituri Salutamus,"
a poem read at the fiftieth anniversary of
his class at Bowdoin College. Prof. Long-
fellow resigned his chair at Harvard Univer-
sity in 1854, but continued to reside at Cam-
bridge. Some of his poetical works have
been translated into many languages, and
their popularity rivals that of the best mod-
ern English poetry. He died March 24,
1882, but has left an imperishable fame as
one of the foremost of American poets.
PETER COOPER was in three partic-
ulars — as a capitalist and manufacturer,
as an inventor, and as a philanthropist —
connected intimately with some of the most
38
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
SmDortant and useful accessions to the in-
dustrial arts of America, its progress in in-
vention and the promotion of educational
and benevolent institutions intended for the
benefit of people at large. He was born
in New York city, February 12, 1 791 . His
life was one of labor and struggle, as it was
with most of America's successful men. In
early boyhood he commenced to help his
lather as a manufacturer of hats. He at-
tended school only for half of each day for
a single year, and beyond this his acquisi-
tions were all his own. When seventeen
years old he was placed with John Wood-
ward to learn the trade of coach-making and
served his apprenticeship so satisfactorily
that his master oPtred to set him up in busi-
ness, but this he declined because of the
debt and obligation it would involve.
The foundation of Mr. Cooper's fortune
was laid in the invention of an improvement
in machines for shearing cloth. This was
largely called into use during the war of
181 2 with England when all importations
of cloth from that country were stopped.
The machines lost their value, however, on
the declaration of peace. Mr. Cooper then
turned his shop into the manufacture of
cabinet ware. He afterwards went into the
grocery business in New York and finally he
engaged in the manufacture of glue and isin-
glass which he carried on for more than
fifty years. In 1830 he erected iron works
in Canton, near Baltimore. Subsequently
he erected a rolling and a wire mill in the
city of New York, in which he first success-
full)- applied anthracite to the puddling of
iron. In these works, he was the first to
roll wrought-iron beams for fire-proof build-
ings. These works grew to be very exten-
sive, including mines, blast furnaces, etc.
While in Baltimore Mr. Cooper built in
1830. after his own designs, the first loco-
motive engine ever constructed on this con-
tinent and it was successfully operated on
the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He also
took a great interest and invested large cap-
ital in the extension of the electric telegraph,
also in the laying of the first Atlantic cable;
besides interesting himself largely in the
New York state canals. But the most
cherished object of Mr. Cooper's life was
the establishment of an institution for the
instruction of the industrial classes, which
he carried out on a magnificent scale in New
York city, where the "Cooper Union"
ranks among the most important institu-
tions.
In May, 1876, the Independent party
nominated Mr. Cooper for president of the
United States, and at the election following
he received nearly 100,000 votes. I is
death occurred April 4, 1883.
GENERAL ROBERT EDWARD LEE,
one of the most conspicuous Confeder-
ate generals during the Civil war, and one
of the ablest military commanders of mod-
ern times, was born at Stratford House,
Westmoreland county, Virginia, January 19,
1807. In 1825 he entered the West Point
academy and was graduated second in his
class in 1829, and attached to the army as
second lieutenant of engineers. For a
number of years he was thus engaged in en-
gineering work, aiding in establishing the
boundary line between Ohio and Michigan,
and superintended various river and harbor
improvements, becoming captain of engi-
neers in 1838. He first saw field service in
the Mexican war, and under General Scott
performed valuable and efficient service.
In that brilliant campaign he was conspicu-
ous for professional ability as well as gallant
and meritorious conduct, winning in quick
succession the brevets of major, lieutenant-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
39
colonel, and colonel for his part in the bat-
tles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco,
Chapultepec, and in the capture of the city
Mexico. At the close of that war he re-
sumed his engineering work in connection
with defences along the Atlantic coast, and
from 1852 to 1S55 was superintendent of
the Military Academy, a position which he
gave up to become lieutenant-colonel of the
Second Cavalry. For several years there-
after he served on the Texas border, but
happening to be near Washington at the
time of John Brown's raid, October 17 to
25, 1859, Colonel Lee was placed in com-
mand of the Federal forces employed in its
repression. He soon returned to his regi-
ment in Texas where he remained the
greater part of 1S60, and March 16, 1861,
became colonel of his regiment by regular
promotion. Three weeks later, April 25, he
resigned upon the secession of Virginia,
went at once to Richmond and tendered his
services to the governor of that state, being
by acclamation appointed commander-in-
chief of its military and naval forces, with
the rank of major-general.
He at once set to work to organize and
develop the defensive resources of his state
and within a month directed the occupation
in force of Manassas Junction. Meanwhile
Virginia having entered the confederacy and
Richmond become the capitol, Lee became
one of the foremost of its military officers
and was closely connected with Jefferson
Davis in planning the moves of that tragic
time. Lee participated in many of the
hardest fought battles of the war among
which were Fair Oaks, White Lake Swamps,
Cold Harbor, and the Chickahominy, Ma-
nassas, Cedar Run, Antietam, Fredericks-
burg, Chancellorsville, Malvern Hill, Get-
tysburg, the battles of the Wilderness cam-
paign, all the campaigns about Richmond,
Petersburg, Five Forks, and others. Lee's
surrender at Appomatox brought the war to
a close. It is said of General Lee that but
few commanders in history have been so
quick to detect the purposes of an opponent
or so quick to act upon it. Never surpassed,
if ever equaled, in the art of winning the
passionate, personal love and admiration of
his troops, he acquired and held an influ-
ence over his army to the very last, founded
upon a supreme trust in his judgment, pre-
science and skill, coupled with his cool,
stable, equable courage. A great writer has
said of him: "As regards the proper meas-
ure of General Lee's rank among the sol-
diers of history, seeing what he wrought
with such resources as he had, under all the
disadvantages that ever attended his oper-
ations, it is impossible to measure what he
might have achieved in campaigns and bat-
tles with resources at his own disposition
equal to those against which he invariably
contended."
Left at the close of the war without es-
tate or profession, he accepted the presi-
dency of Washington College at Lexington,
Virginia, where he died October 12, 1870.
JOHN JAY, first chief-justice of the
United States, was born in New York,
December 12, 1745. He took up the study
of law, graduated from King's College
(Columbia College), and was admitted to
the bar in 1768. He was chosen a member
of the committee of New York citizens to
protest against the enforcement by the
British government of the Boston Port Bill,
was elected to the Continental congress
which met in 1774, and was author of the
addresses to the people of Great Britian and
of Canada adopted by that and the suc-
ceeding congress. He was chosen to the
provincial assembly of his own state, and
U)
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
resigned from the Continental congress to
serve in that body, wrote most of its public
papers, including the constitution of the new
state, and was then made chief-justice. He
was again chosen as a member of the Con-
tinental congress in 1778, and became presi-
dent of that body. He was sent to Spain
as minister in 1780, and his services there
resulted in substantial and moral aid for the
struggling colonists. Jay, Franklin, and
Adams negotiated the treaty of peace with
Great Britain in 1782, and Jay was ap-
pointed secretary of foreign affairs in 1784,
and held the position until the adoption of
the Federal constitution. During this time
he had contributed strong articles to the
"Federalist" in favor of the adoption of
the constitution, and was largely instru-
mental in securing the ratification of that
instrument by his state. He was appointed
by Washington as first chief-justice of the
United States in 1789. In this high capac-
ity the great interstate and international
questions that arose for immediate settle-
ment came before him for treatment.
In 1794, at a time when the people in
gratitude for the aid that France had ex-
tended to us, were clamoring for the privilege
of going to the aid of that nation in her
struggle with Great Britain and her own op-
pressors, John Jay was sent to England as
special envoy to negotiate a treaty with
that power. The instrument known as
"Jay's Treaty " was the result, and while
in many of its features it favored our nation,
yet the neutrality clause in it so angered the
masses that it was denounced throughout
the entire country, and John Jay was burned
in effigy in the city of New York. The
treaty was finally ratified by Washington,
and approved, in August, 1795. Having
been elected governor of his state for three
consecutive terms, he then retired from
active life, declining an appointment as
chief-justice of the supreme court, made by
John Adams and confirmed by the senate.
He died in New York in 1829.
PHILLIP HENRY SHERIDAN was
one of the greatest American cavalry
generals. He was born March 6, 1831, at
Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, and was ap-
pointed to the United States Military Acad-
emy at West Point, from which he graduat-
ed and was assigned to the First Infantry as
brevet second lieutenant July 1, 1853.
After serving in Texas, on the Pacific coast,
in Washington and Oregon territories until
the fall of 1 86 1, he was recalled to the
states and assigned to the army of south-
west Missouri as chief quartermaster from
the duties of which he was soon relieved.
After the battle of Pea Ridge, he was quar-
termaster in the Corinth campaign, and on
May 25 he was appointed colonel of the
Second Michigan Cavalry. On July 1, in
command of a cavalry brigade, he defeated
a superior force of the enemy and was com-
missioned brigadier-general of volunteers.
General Sheridan was then transferred to
the army of the Ohio, and commanded a
division in the battle of Perrysville and also
did good service at the battle of Murfrees-
boro, where he was commissioned major-
general of volunteers. He fought with
great gallantry at Chickamauga, after which
Rosecrans was succeeded by General Grant,
under whom Sheridan fought the battle of
Chattanooga and won additional renown.
Upon the promotion of Grant to lieutenant-
general, he applied for the transfer of Gen-
eral Sheridan to the east, and appointed
him chief of cavalry in the army of the
Potomac. During the campaign of 1S64
the cavalry covered the front and flanks of
the infantry until May 8, when it was witiv
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
-il
drawn and General Sheridan started on a
raid against the Confederate lines of com-
munication with Richmond and on May 25
he rejoined the army, having destroyed con-
siderable of the confederate stores and de-
feated their cavalry under General Stuart at
Yellow Tavern. The outer line of defences
around Richmond were taken, but the sec-
ond line was too strong to be taken by as-
sault, and accordingly Sheridan crossed the
Chickahominy at Meadow Bridge, reaching
James River May 14, and thence by White
House and Hanover Court House back to
ihe army. The cavalry occupied Cold
Harbor May 31, which they held until the
arrival of the infantry. On General Sheri-
dan's next raid he routed Wade Hampton's
cavalry, and August 7 was assigned to the
command of the Middle Military division,
and during the campaign of the Shenan-
doah Valley he performed the unheard of
feat of " destroying an entire army." He
was appointed brigadier-general of the reg-
ular army and for his victory at Cedar Creek
he was promoted to the rank of major-gen-
eral. General Sheridan started out Febru-
ary 27, 1865, with ten thousand cavalry
and destroyed the Virginia Central Railroad
and the James River Canal and joined the
army again at Petersburg March 27. He
commanded at the battle of Five Forks, the
decisive victory which compelled Lee to
evacuate Petersburg. On April 9, Lee tried
to break through Sheridan's dismounted
command but when the General drew aside
his cavalry and disclosed the deep lines of
infantry the attempt was abandoned. Gen-
eral Sheridan mounted his men and was about
tc charge when a white flag was flown at the
head of Lee's column which betokened the
surrender of the army. After the war Gen-
eral Sheridan had command of the army of
the southwest, of the gulf and the depart-
ment of Missouri until he was appointed
lieutenant-general and assigned to the di-
vision of Missouri with headquarters at Chi-
cago, and assumed supreme command of
the army November 1, 1883, which post he
held until his death, August 5, 1888.
PHINEAS T. BARNUM, the greatest
showman the world has ever seen, was
born at Danbury, Connecticut, July 5, 18 10.
At the age of eighteen years he began busi-
ness on his own account. He opened a re-
tail fruit and confectionery house, including
a barrel of ale, in one part of an old car-
riage house. He spent fifty dollars in fitting
up the store and the stock cost him seventy
dollars. Three years later he put in a full
stock, such as is generally carried in a
country store, and the same year he started
a Democratic newspaper, known as the
"Herald of Freedom." He soon found
himself in jail under a sixty days' sentence
for libel. During the winter of 1834-5 ne
went to New York and began soliciting busi-
ness for several Chatham street houses. In
1835 he embarked in the show business at
Niblo's Garden, having purchased the cele-
brated " Joice Heth" for one thousand dol-
lars.- He afterward engaged the celebrated
athlete, Sig. Vivalia, and Barnum made his
" first appearance on any stage," acting as a
"super" to Sig. Vivalia on his opening
night. He became ticket seller, secretary
and treasurer of Aaron Turner's circus in
1836 and traveled with it about the country.
His next venture was the purchase of a
steamboat on the Mississippi, and engaged
a theatrical company to show in the princi-
pal towns along that river. In 1840 he
opened Vaux Hall Garden, New York, with
variety performances, and introduced the
celebrated jig dancer, John Diamond, to the
public. The next year he quit the show
42
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
business and settled down in New York as
agent of Sear's Pictorial Illustration of the
Bible, but a few months later again leased
Yaux Hall. In September of the same year
he again left the business, and became
' ' puff " writer for the Bowery Amphitheater.
In December he bought the Scudder Museum,
and a year later introduced the celebrated
Tom Thumb to the world, taking him to
England in i S44, and remaining there three
years. He then returned to New York, and
in 1849, through James Hall Wilson, he en-
gaged the ''Swedish Nightingale," Jenny
Lind, to come to this country and make a
tour under his management. He also had
sent the Swiss Bell Ringers to America in
1844. He became owner of the Baltimore
Museum and the Lyceum and Museum at
Philadelphia. In 1850 he brought a dozen
elephants from Ceylon to make a tour of this
country, and in 1S51 sent the " Bateman
Children" to London. During 185 1 and
1852 he traveled as a temperance lecturer,
and became president of a bank at Pequon-
nock, Connecticut. In 1852 he started a
weekly pictorial paper known as the " Illus-
trated News." In 1SG5 his Museum was
destroyed by fire, and he immediately leased
the Winter Garden Theatre, where he played
his company until he opened his own
Museum. This was destroyed by fire in
1868, and he then purchased an interest in
the George Wood Museum.
After dipping into politics to some ex-
tent, he began his career as a really great
showman in 1S71. Three years later he
erected an immense circular building in New
York, in which he produced his panoramas.
He has frequently appeared as a lecturer,
some times on temperance, and some times
on other topics, among which were ' ' Hum-
bugs of the World," " Struggles and
Triumphs," etc. He was owner of the im-
mense menagerie and circus known as the
"Greatest Show on Earth," and his fame
extended throughout Europe and America.
He died in 1891.
JAMES MADISON, the fourth president
of the United States, 1809-17, was
born at Port Conway, Prince George coun-
ty, Virginia, March 16, 17 51. He was the
son of a wealthy planter, who lived on a fine
estate called " Montpelier," which was but
twenty-five miles from Monticello, the home
of Thomas Jefferson. Mr. Madison was the
eldest of a family of seven children, all of
whom attained maturity. He received his
early education at home under a private
tutor, and consecrated himself with unusual
vigor to study. At a very early age he was
a proficient scholar in Latin, Greek, French
and Spanish, and in 1769 he entered Prince-
ton College, New Jersey. He graduated in
1 77 1, but remained for several months after
his graduation to pursue a course of study
under the guidance of Dr. Witherspoon.
He permanently injured his health at this
time and returned to Virginia in 1772, and
for two years he was immersed in the study
of law, and at the same time made extend-
ed researches in theology, general literature,
and philosophical studies. He then directed
his full attention to the impending struggle
of the colonies for independence, and also
took a prominent part in the religious con-
troversy at that time regarding so called
persecution of other religious denominations
by the Church of England. Mr. Madison
was elected to the Virginia assembly in 1776
and in November, 1777, he was chosen
a member of the council of state. He took
his seat in the continental congress in
March, 1780. He was made chairman of
the committee on foreign relations, and
drafted an able memoranda for the use of
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
43
the American ministers to the French and
Spanish governments, that established the
claims of the republic to the territories be-
tween the Alleghany Mountains and the
Mississippi River. He acted as chairman of
the ways and means committee in 1783 and
as a member of the Virginia legislature in
1784-86 he rendered important services to
the state. Mr. Madison represented Vir-
giana in the national constitutional conven-
tion at Philadelphia in 1787, and was one of
the chiel framers of the constitution. He
was a member of the first four congresses,
1789-97, and gradually became identified
with the anti-federalist or republican party
of which he eventually became the leader.
He remained in private life during the ad-
ministration of John Adams, and was secre-
tary of state under President Jefferson. Mr.
Madison administered the affairs of that
post with such great ability that he was the
natural successor of the chief magistrate
and was chosen president by an electoral
vote of 122 to 53. He was inaugurated
March 4, 1809, at that critical period in our
history when the feelings of the people were
embittered with those of England, and his
first term was passed in diplomatic quarrels,
which finally resulted in the declaration of
war, June 18, 1S12. In the autumn of that
year President Madison was re-elected by a
vote of 128 to 89, and conducted the war
for three years with varying success and
defeat in Canada, by glorious victories at
sea, and by the battle of New Orleans that
was fought after the treaty of peace had
been signed at Ghent, December 24, 18 14.
During this war the national capitol at
Washington was burned, and many valuable
papers were destroyed, but the declaration
of independence was saved to the country
by the bravery and courage of Mr. Madi-
son's illustrious wife. A commercial treaty
was negotiated with Great Britain in 181 5,
and in April, 1816, a national bank was in-
corporated by congress. Mr. Madison was
succeeded, March 4, 1817, by James Monroe,
and retired into private life on his estate at
Montpelier, where he died June 28, 1836.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS, a noted
-\ mencan character, was a protege of
the great abolitionist William Lloyd Garri-
son, by whom he was aided in gaining his
education. Mr. Douglass was born in Tuck-
ahoe county, Maryland, in February, 1817,
his mother being a negro woman and his
father a white man. He was born in slav-
ery and belonged to a man by the name of
Lloyd, under which name he went until he
ran away from his master and changed it to
Douglass. At the age of ten years he was
sent to Baltimore where he learned to read
and write, and later his owner allowed him
to hire out his own time for three dollars a
week in a shipyard. In September, 1838,
he fled from Baltimore and made his way to
New York, and from thence went to New
Bedford, Massachusetts. Here he was mar-
ried and supported himself and family by
working at the wharves and in various work-
shops. In the summer of 1841 he attended
an anti-slavery convention at Nantucket,
and made a speech which was so well re-
ceived that he was offered the agency of the
Massachusetts Anti-slavery Society. In this
capacity he traveled through the New En-
gland states, and about the same time he
published his first book called ' ' Narrative
of my Experience in Slavery." Mr. Doug-
lass went to England in 1845 and lectured
on slavery to large and enthusiastic audi-
ences in all the large towns of the country,
and his friends made up a purse of seven
hundred and fifty dollars and purchased his
freedom in due form of law.
44
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAP-Hr.
Mr. Douglass applied himself to the de-
livery of lyceum lectures after the abolition
of slavery, and in iS7ohe became the editor
of the " New National Era " in 'Washington.
In 1 87 1 he was appointed assistant secretary
of the commission to San Domingo and on
his return he was appointed one of the ter-
ritorial council for the District of Colorado
by President Grant. He was elected presi-
dential elector-at-large for the state of New
York and was appointed to carry the elect-
oral vote to Washington. He was also
United States marshal for the District of
Columbia an 1876, and later was recorder
of deeds for the same, from which position
he was removed by President Cleveland in
1886. In the fall of that year he visited
England to inform the friends that he had
made while there, of the progress of the
colored race in America, and on his return
he was appointed minister to Hayti, by
President Harrison in 1889. His career as
a benefactor of his race was closed by his
death in February, 1895, near Washington.
WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.— The
ear for rhythm and the talent for
graceful expression are the gifts of nature,
and they were plentifully endowed on the
above named poet. The principal charac-
teristic of his poetry is the thoughtfulness
and intellectual process by which his ideas
ripened in his mind, as all his poems are
bright, clear and sweet. Mr. Bryant was
born November 3, 1794, at Cummington,
Hampshire county, Massachusetts, and was
educated at Williams College, from which
he graduated, having entered it in 18 10.
He took up the study of law, and in 18 15
was admitted to the bar, but after practicing
successfully for ten years at Plainfield and
Great Barrington, he removed to New York
in 1825. The following year he became
the editor of the "Evening Post," which
he edited until his death, and under his di-
rection this paper maintained, through a
long series of years, a high standing by the
boldness of its protests against slavery be-
fore the war, by its vigorous support of the
government during the war, and by the
fidelity and ability of its advocacy of the
Democratic freedom in trade. Mr. Bry-
ant visited Europe in 1S34, 1845, 1849 and
1857, and presented to the literary world
the fruit of his travels in the series of "Let-
ters of a Traveler," and "Letters from
Spain and Other Countries." In the world
of literature he is known chiefly as a poet,
and here Mr. Bryant's name is illustrious,
both at home and abroad. He contributed
verses to the "Country Gazette " before he
was ten years of age, and at the age of nine-
teen he wrote " Thanatopsis, " the most im-
pressive and widely known of his poems.
The later outgrowth of his genius was his
translation of Homer's "Iliad" in 1870
and the "Odyssey" in 1871. He also
made several speeches and addresses which
have been collected in a comprehensive vol-
ume called " Orations and Addresses." He
was honored in many ways by his fellow
citizens, who delighted to pay tributes of
respect to his literary eminence, the breadth
of his public spirit, the faithfulness of his
service, and the worth of his private char-
acter. Mr. Bryant died in New York City
June 12, 1S78.
WILLIAM HENRY SEWARD, the
secretary of state during one of the
most critical times in the history of our
country, and the right hand man of Presi-
dent Lincoln, ranks among the greatest
statesmen America has produced. Mr.
Seward was born May 16, 1 801, at Florida,
Orange county, New York, and with such
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
47
facilities as the place afforded he fitted him-
self for a college course. He attended
Union College at Schenectady, New York,
at the age of fifteen, and took his degree in
the regular course, with signs of promise in
1820, after which he diligently addressed
himself to the study of law under competent
instructors, and started in the practice of
his profession in 1823.
Mr. Seward entered the political arena
and in 1828 we find him presiding over a
convention in New York, its purpose being
the nomination of John Quincy Adams for a
second term. He was married in 1824 and
in 1830 was elected to the state senate.
From 1838 to 1842 he was governor of the
state of New York. Mr. Seward's next im-
portant position was that of United States
senator from New York.
\V. H. Seward was chosen by President
Lincoln to fill the important office of the
secretary of state, and by his firmness and
diplomacy in the face of difficulties, he aided
in piloting the Union through that period of
strife, and won an everlasting fame. This
great statesman died at Auburn, New York,
October 10, 1S72, in the seventy-second
year of his eventful life.
JOSEPH JEFFERSON, a name as dear
as it is familiar to the theater-going
world in America, suggests first of all a fun-
loving, drink-loving, mellow voiced, good-
natured Dutchman, and the name of "Rip
Van Winkle " suggests the pleasant features
of Joe Jefferson, so intimately are play and
player associated in the minds of those who
have had the good fortune to shed tears of
laughter and sympathy as a tribute to the
greatness of his art. Joseph Jefferson was
born in Philadelphia, February 20, 1829.
His genius was an inheritance, if there be
such, as his great-grandfather, Thomas
3
Jefferson, was a manager and actor in Eng
land. His grandfather, Joseph Jefferson,
was the most popular comedian of the New
York stage in his time, and his father, Jos-
eph Jefferson, the second, was a good actor
also, but the third Joseph Jefferson out-
shone them all.
At the age of three years Joseph Jeffer-
son came on the stage as the child in "Pi-
zarro," and his training was upon the stage
from childhood. Later on he lived and
acted in Chicago, Mobile, and Texas. After
repeated misfortunes he returned to New
Orleans from Texas, and his brother-in-law,
Charles Burke, gave him money to reach
Philadelphia, where he joined the Burton
theater company. Here his genius soon as-
serted itself, and his future became promis-
ing and brilliant. His engagements through-
out the United States and Australia were
generally successful, and when he went to
England in 1865 Mr. Boucicault consented
to make some important changes in his
dramatization of Irving's story of Rip Van
Winkle, and Mr. Jefferson at once placed
it in the front rank as a comedy. He made
a fortune out of it, and played nothing else
for many years, fn later years, however,
Mr. Jefferson acquitted himself of the charge
of being a one-part actor, and the parts of
"Bob Acres," "Caleb Plummer" and
"Golightly " all testify to the versatility of
his genius.
GEORGE BRINTON McCLELLAN,
a noted American general, was born
in Philadelphia, December 3, 1826. He
graduated from the University of Pennsyl-
vania, and in 1846 from West Point, and
was breveted second lieutenant of engineers.
He was with Scott in the Mexican war,
taking part in all the engagements from
Vera Cruz to the final capture of the Mexi-
48
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
can capital, and was breveted first lieuten-
ant and captain for gallantry displayed on
various occasions. In 1857 he resigned his
commission and accepted the position of
chief engineer in the construction of the
Illinois Central Railroad, and became presi-
dent of the St. Louis & Cincinnati Railroad
Company. He was commissioned major-
general by the state of Ohio in 1861,
placed in command of the department of
the Ohio, and organized the first volunteers
called for from that state. In May he was
appointed major-general in the United
States army, and ordered to disperse the
confederates overrunning West Virginia.
He accomplished this task promptly, and
received the thanks of congress. After the
first disaster at Bull Run he was placed
in command of the department of Wash-
ington, and a few weeks later of the
Army of the Potomac. Upon retirement
of General Scott the command of the en-
tire United States army devolved upon Mc-
Clellan, but he was relieved of it within a
few months. In March, 1862, after elabor-
ate preparation, he moved upon Manassas,
only to find it deserted by the Confederate
army, which had been withdrawn to im-
pregnable defenses prepared nearer Rich-
mond. He then embarked his armies for
Fortress Monroe and after a long delay at
Yorktown, began the disastrous Peninsular
campaign, which resulted in the Army of the
Potomac being cooped up on the James
River below Richmond. His forces were
then called to the support of General Pope,
near Washington, and he was left without an
army. After Pope's defeat McClellan was
placed in command of the troops for the de-
fense of the capital, and after a thorough or-
ganization he followed Lee into Maryland
and the battles of Antietam and South Moun-
tain ensued. The delay which followed
caused general dissatisfaction, and he was re-
lieved of his command, and retired from active
service.
In 1864 McClellan was nominated for
the presidency by the Democrats, and over-
whelmingly defeated by Lincoln, three
states only casting their electoral votes for
McClellan. On election day he resigned
his commission and a few months later went
to Europe where he spent several years.
He wrote a number of military text- books
and reports. His death occurred October
29, 1885.
SAMUEL J. TILDEN.— Among the great
statesmen whose names adorn the pages
of American history may be found that of
the subject of this sketch. Known as a
lawyer of highest ability, his greatest claim
to immortality will ever lie in his successful
battle against the corrupt rings of his native
state and the elevation of the standard of
official life.
Samuel J. Tilden was born in New Leb-
anon, New York, February 9, 18 14. He
pursued his academic studies at Yale Col-
lege and the University of New York, tak-
ing the course of law at the latter. He
was admitted to the bar in'1841. His rare
ability as a thinker and writer upon public
topics attracted the attention of President
Van Buren, of whose policy and adminis-
tration he became an active and efficient
champion. He made for himself a high
place in his profession and amassed quite a
fortune as the result of his industry and
judgment. During the days of his greatest
professional labor he was ever one of the
leaders and trusted counsellors of the Demo-
cratic party. He was a member of the
conventions to revise the state constitution,
both in 1846 and 1867, and served two
terms in the lower branch of the state leg-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
49
islature. He was one of the controlling
spirits in the overthrow of the notorious
" Tweed ring " and the reformation of the
government of the city of New York. In
1874 he was elected governor of the state
of New York. While in this position he
assailed corruption in high places, success-
fully battling with the iniquitous "canal
ring " and crushed its sway over all depart-
ments of the government. Recognizing his
character and executive ability Mr. Tilden
was nominated for president by the na-
tional Democratic convention in 1876. At
the election he received a much larger popu-
lar vote than his opponent, and 184 uncon-
tested electoral votes. There being some
electoral votes contested, a commission ap-
pointed by congress decided in favor of the
Republican electors and Mr. Hayes, the can-
didate of that party was declared elected.
In 1880, the Democratic party, feeling that
Mr. Tilden had been lawfully elected to the
presidency tendered the nomination for the
same office to Mr. Tilden, but he declined,
retiring from all public functions, owing to
failing health. He died August 4, 1S86.
By will he bequeathed several millions of
dollars toward the founding of public libra-
ries in New York City, Yonkers, etc.
NOAH WEBSTER.— As a scholar, law-
yer, author and journalist, there is no
one who stands on a higher plane, or whose
reputation is better established than the
honored gentleman whose name heads this
sketch. He was a native of West Hartford,
Connecticut, and was born October 17,
1758. He came of an old New England
family, his mother being a descendant of
Governor William Bradford, of the Ply-
mouth colony. After acquiring a solid edu-
cation in early life Dr. Webster entered
Yale College, from which he graduated in
1778. For a while he taught school in
Hartford, at the same time studying law,
and Was admitted to the bar in 1781. He
taught a classical school at Goshen, Orange
county, New York, in 1782-83, and while
there prepared his spelling book, grammar
and reader, which was issued under the title
of "A Grammatical Institute of the English
Language ," in three parts, — so successful a
work that up to 1876 something like forty
million of the spelling books had been
sold. In 1786 he delivered a course of lec-
tures on the English language in the seaboard
cities and the following year taught an
academy at Philadelphia. From December
17, 1787, until November, 17S8, he edited
the "American Magazine," a periodical that
proved unsuccessful. In 1789-93 he prac-
ticed law in Hartford having in the former
year married the daughter of William Green-
leaf, of Boston. He returned to New York
and November, 1793, founded a daily paper,
the "Minerva," to which was soon added a
semi-weekly edition under the name of the
" Herald." The former is still in existence
under the name of the "Commercial Adver-
tiser." In this paper, over the signature of
" Curtius," he published a lengthy and schol-
arly defense of " John Jay's treaty."
In 1798, Dr. Webster moved to New
Haven and in 1807 commenced the prepar-
ation of his great work, the "American Dic-
tionary of the English Language," which
was not completed and published until 1828.
He made his home in Amherst, Massachu-
setts, for the ten years succeeding 181 2, and
was instrumental in the establishment of
Amherst College, of which institution he was
the first president of the board of trustees.
During 1824-5 he resided in Europe, pursu-
ing his philological studies in Paris. He
completed his dictionary from the libraries
of Cambridge University in 1S25, and de-
.-,()
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
voted his leisure for the remainder of his
life to the revision of that and his school
books.
Dr. Webster was a member of the legis-
latures of both Connecticut and Massachu-
setts, was judge of one of the courts of the
former state and was identified with nearly
all the literary and scientific societies in the
neighborhood of Amherst College. He died
in New Haven, May 28, 1843.
Among the more prominent works ema-
nating from the fecund pen of Dr. Noah
Webster besides those mentioned above are
the following: "Sketches of American
Policy," " Winthrop's Journal," " A Brief
History of Epidemics," " Rights of Neutral
Nations in time of War," "A Philosophical
and Practical Grammar of the English Lan-
guage," "Dissertations on the English
Language," "A Collection of Essays,"
"The Revolution in France," "Political
Progress of Britain," "Origin, History, and
Connection of the Languages of Western
Asia and of Europe," and many others.
WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON, the
great anti-slavery pioneer and leader,
was born in Nesvburyport, Massachusetts,
December 12, 1804. He was apprenticed
to the printing business, and in 1828 was in-
duced to take charge of the "Journal of the
Times" at Bennington, Vermont. While
supporting John Quincy Adams for the presi-
dency he took occasion in that paper to give
expression of his views on slavery. These
articles attracted notice, and a Quaker
named Lundy, editor of the "Genius of
Emancipation," published in Baltimore, in-
duced him to enter a partnership with him
for the conduct of his paper. It soon
transpired that the views of the partners
were not in harmony, Lundy favoring grad-
ual emancipation, while Garrison favored
immediate freedom. In 1850 Mr. Garrison
was thrown into prison for libel, not being
able to pay a fine of fifty dollars and costs.
In his cell he wrote a number of poems
which stirred the entire north, and a mer-
chant, Mr. Tappan, of New York, paid his
fine and liberated him, after seven weeks of
confinement. He at once began a lecture
tour of the northern cities, denouncing
slavery as a sin before God, and demanding
its immediate abolition in the name of re-
ligion and humanity. He opposed the col-
onization scheme of President Monroe and
other leaders, and declared the right of
every slave to immediate freedom.
In 1 83 1 he formed a partnership with
Isaac Knapp, and began the publication of
the "Liberator" at Boston. The "imme-
diate abolition " idea began to gather power
in the north, while the south became
alarmed at the bold utterance of this jour-
nal. The mayor of Boston was besought
by southern influence to interfere, and upon
investigation, reported upon the insignifi-
cance, obscurity, and poverty of the editor
and his staff, which report was widely
published throughout the country. Re-
wards were offered by the southern states
for his arrest and conviction. Later Garri-
son brought from England, where an eman-
cipation measure had just been passed,
some of the great advocates to work for the
cause in this country. In 1835 a mob
broke into his office, broke up a meeting of
women, dragged Garrison through the street
with a rope around his body, and his life
was saved only by the interference of the
police, who lodged him in jail. Garrison
declined to sit in the World's Anti-Slaverv
convention at London in 1840, because
that body had refused women representa-
tion. He opposed the formation of a p^-
! litical party with emancipation as its basis.
COMPENDIUM OF B10GRAPHT.
51
He favored a dissolution of the union,- and
declared the constitution which bound the
free states to the slave states " A covenant
with death and an agreement with hell."
In 1843 he became president of the Amer-
ican Anti-Slavery society, which position he
held until 1865, when slavery was no more.
During all this time the " Liberator " had
continued to promulgate anti-slavery doc-
trines, but in 1865 Garrison resigned his
position, and declared his work was com-
pleted. He died May 24, 1879.
JOHN BROWN ("Brown of Ossawato-
mie"), a noted character in American
history, wasbornatTorrington, Connecticut,
May 9, 1800. In his childhood he removed
to Ohio, where he learned the tanner's
trade. He married there, and in 1855 set-
tled in Kansas. He lived at the village of
Ossawatomie in that state, and there began
his fight against slavery. He advocated im-
mediate emancipation, and held that the
negroes of the slave states merely waited
for a leader in an insurrection that would re-
sult in their freedom. He attended the
convention called at Chatham, Canada, in
1859, and was the leading spirit in organiz-
ing a raid upon the United States arsenal at
Harper's Ferry, Virginia. His plans were
well laid, and carried out in great secrecy.
He rented a farm house near Harper's Ferry
in the summer of 1859, and on October
16th of that year, with about twenty follow-
ers, he surprised and captured the United
States arsenal, with all its supplies and
arms. To his surprise, the negroes did not
come to his support, and the next day he
was attacked by the Virginia state militia,
wounded and captured. He was tried in
the courts of the state, convicted, and was
hanged at Charlestown, December 2, 1S59.
The raid and its results had a tremendous
effect, and hastened the culmination of the
troubles between the north and south. The
south had the advantage in discussing this
event, claiming that the sentiment which
inspired this act of violence was shared by
the anti-slavery element of the country.
EDWIN BOOTH had no peer upon the
American stage during his long career
as a star actor. He was the son of a famous
actor, Junius Brutus Booth, and was born
in 1833 at his father's home at Belair, near
Baltimore. At the age of sixteen he made his
first appearance on the stage, at the Boston
Museum, in a minor part in " Richard III."
It was while playing in California in 1851
that an eminent critic called general atten-
tion to the young actor's unusual talent.
However, it was not until 1863, at the great
Shakspearian revival at the Winter Garden
Theatre, New York, that the brilliancy of
his career began. His Hamlet held the
boards for 100 nights in succession, and
from that time forth Booth's reputation was
established. In 1S68 he opened his own
theatre (Booth's Theater) in New York.
Mr. Booth never succeeded as a manager,
however, but as an actor he was undoubted-
ly the most popular man on the American
stage, and perhaps the most eminent one in
the world. In England he also won the
greatest applause.
Mr. Booth's work was confined mostly
to Shakspearean roles, and his art was
characterized by intellectual acuteness,
fervor, and poetic feeling. His Hamlet,
Richard II, Richard III, and Richelieu gave
play to his greatest powers. In 1865,
when his brother, John Wilkes Booth,
enacted his great crime, Edwin Booth re-
solved to retire from the stage, but was pur -
suaded to reconsider that decision. The
odium did not in any way attach to the
52
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
great actor, and his popularity was not
affected. In all his work Mr. Booth clung
closely to the legitimate and the traditional
in drama, making no experiments, and offer-
ing little encouragement to new dramatic
authors. His death occurred in New York,
June 7, 1S94.
JOSEPH HOOKER, a noted American
officer, was born at Hadley, Massachu-
setts, November 13, 18 14. He graduated
from West Point Military Academy in 1837,
and was appointed lieutenant of artillery.
He served in Florida in the Seminole war,
and in garrison until the outbreak of the
Mexican war. During the latter he saw
service as a staff officer and was breveted
captain, major and lieutenant-colonel for
gallantry at Monterey, National Bridge and
Chapultepec. Resigning his commission in
1833 he took up farming in California, which
he followed until 1S61. During this time
he acted as superintendent of military roads
in Oregon. At the outbreak of the Rebel-
lion Hooker tendered his services to the
government, and. May 17, 1861, was ap-
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers. He
served in the defence of Washington and on
the lower Potomac until his appointment to
the command of a division in the Third
Corps, in March, 1862. For gallant con-
duct at the siege of Yorktown and in the
battles of Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, Fra-
zier's Farm and Malvern Hill he was made
major-general. At the head of his division
he participated in the battles of Manassas
and Chantilly. September 6, 1862, he was
placed at the head of the First Corps, and
in the battles of South Mountain and An-
tietam acted with his usual gallantry, being
wounded in the latter engagement. On re-
joining the army in November he was made
brigadier-general in the regular army. On
General Burnside attaining the command of
the Army of the Potomac General Hooker
was placed in command of the center grand
division, consisting of the Second and Fifth
Corps. At the head of these gallant men
he participated in the battle of Fred-
ericksburg, December 13, 1862. In Janu-
ary, 1863, General Hooker assumed com-
mand of the Army of the Potomac, and in
May following fought the battle of Chan-
cellorsville. At the time of the invasion of
Pennsylvania, owing to a dispute with Gen-
eral Halleck, Hooker requested to be re-
lieved of his command, and June 28 was
succeeded by George G. Meade. In Sep-
tember, 1863, General Hooker was given
command of the Twentieth Corps and trans-
ferred to the Army of the Cumberland, and
distinguished himself at the battles of Look-
out Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and Ring-
gold. In the Atlanta campaign he saw
almost daily service and merited his well-
known nickname of "Fighting Joe." July
30, 1864, at his own request, he was re-
lieved of his command. He subsequently
was in command of several military depart-
ments in the north, and in October, 1868,
was retired with the full rank of major-gen-
eral. He died October 31, 1879.
JAY GOULD, one of the greatest finan-
ciers that the world has ever produced,
was born May 27, 1836, at Roxbury, Dela-
ware county, New York. He spent his early
years on his father's farm and at the age of
fourteen entered Hobart Academy, New
York, and kept books for the village black-
smith. He acquired a taste for mathematics
and surveying and on leaving school found
employment in making the surveyor's map
of Ulster county. He surveyed very exten-
sively in the state and accumulated five thou-
sand dollars as the fruits of his labor. He
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
was then stricken with typhoid fever but re-
covered and made the acquaintance of one
Zadock Pratt, who sent him into the west-
ern part of the state to locate a site for a
tannery. He chose a fine hemlock grove,
built a sawmill and blacksmith shop and
was soon doing a large lumber business with
Mr. Pratt. Mr. Gould soon secured control
of the entire plant, which he sold out just
before the panic of 1857 and in this year he
became the largest stockholderintheStrouds-
burg, Pennsylvania, bank. Shortly after the
crisis he bought the bonds of the Rutland
& Washington Railroad at ten cents on the
dollar, and put all his money into railroad
securities. For a long time he conducted
this road which he consolidated with the
Rensselaer & Saratoga Railroad. In 1859
he removed to New York and became a
heavy investor in Erie Railroad stocks, en-
tered that company and was president until
its reorganization in 1872. In December,
1880, Mr. Gould was in control of ten thou-
sand miles of railroad. In 1887 he pur-
chased the controlling interest in the St.
Louis & San Francisco Railroad Co., and
was a joint owner with the Atchison, Topeka
& Santa Fe Railroad Co. of the western
portion of the Southern Pacific line. Other
lines soon came under his control, aggregat-
ing thousand of miles, and he soon was rec-
ognized as one of the world's greatest rail-
road magnates. He continued to hold his
place as one of the master financiers of the
century until the time of his death which
occurred December 2, 1892.
THOMAS HART BENTON, a very
prominent United States senator and
statesman, was born at Hillsborough, North
Carolina, March 14, 1782. He removed to
Tennessee in early life, studied law, and be-
gan to practice at Nashville about 18 10.
During the war of 18 12- 181 5 he served as
colonel of a Tennessee regiment under Gen-
eral Andrew Jackson. In 181 5 he removed
to St. Louis, Missouri, and in 1820 was
chosen United States senator for that state.
Having been re-elected in 1826, he sup-
ported President Jackson in his opposition
to the United States bank and advocated a
gold and silver currency, thus gaining the
name of " Old Bullion," by which he was
familiarly known. For many years he was
the most prominent man in Missouri, and
took rank among the greatest statesmen of
his day. He was a member of the senate
for thirty years and opposed the extreme
states' rights policy of John C. Calhoun.
In 1852 he was elected to the house of rep-
resentatives in which he opposed the repeal
of the Missouri compromise. He was op-
posed by a powerful party of States' Rights
Democrats in Missouri, who defeated him as a
candidate for governor of that state in 1856.
Colonel Benton published a considerable
work in two volumes in 1854-56, entitled
"Thirty Years' View, or a History of the
Working of the American Government for
Thirty Years, 1820-50." He died April 10,
1858.
STEPHEN ARNOLD DOUGLAS.— One
of the most prominent figures in politic-
al circles during the intensely exciting days
that preceded the war, and a leader of the
Union branch of the Democratic party was
the gentleman whose name heads this
sketch.
He was born at Brandon, Rutland coun-
ty, Vermont, April 23, 1813, of poor but
respectable parentage. His father, a prac-
ticing physician, died while our subject was
but an infant, and his mother, with two
small children and but small means, couid
give him but the rudiments of an education.
54
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRM'Iir
At the age of fifteen young Douglas engaged
at work in the cabinet making business to
raise funds to carry him througn college.
After a few years of labor he was enabled to
pursue an academical course, first at Bran-
don, and later at Canandaigua, New York.
In the latter place he remained until 1833,
taking up the study of law. Before he was
twenty, however, his tunds running low, he
abandoned all further attempts at educa-
tion, determining to enter at once the battle
of life. After some wanderings through the
western states he tooK up his residence at
Jacksonville, Illinois, where, after teaching
school for three months, he was admitted to
the bar, and opened an office in 1834.
Within a year from that time, so rapidly had
he risen in his profession, he was chosen
attorney general of the state, and warmly
espoused the principles of the Democratic
party. He soon became one of the most
popular orators in Illinois. It was at this
time he gained the name of the "Little
Giant." In 1835 he resigned the position
of attorney general having been elected to
the legislature. In 1841 he was chosen
judge of the supreme 'Court of Illinois which
he resigned two years later to take a seat in
congress. It was during this period of his
life, while a member of the lower house,
that he established his reputation and took
the side of those who contended that con-
gress had no constitutional right to restrict
the extension of slavery further than the
agreement between the states made in 1820.
This, in spite of his being opposed to slav-
ery, and only on grounds which he believed
to be right, favored what was called the
Missouri compromise. In 1847 Mr. Doug-
las was chosen United States senator for
six years, and greatly distinguished himself.
In 1852 he was re-eiected to the same office.
During this latter term, under his leader-
ship, the " Kansas-Nebraska bill " was car-
ried in the senate. In 1858, nothwith-
standing the fierce contest made by his able
competitor for the position, Abraham Lin-
coln, and with the administration of Bu-
chanan arrayed against him, Mr. Douglas
was re-elected senator. After the trouble
in the Charleston convention, when by the
withdrawal of several state delegates with-
out a nomination, the Union Democrats,
in convention at Baltimore, in i860, nomi-
nated Mr. Douglas as their candidate for
presidency. The results of this election are
well known and the great events of 1861
coming on, Mr. Douglas was spared their
full development, dying at Chicago, Illinois,
June 3, 1 861, after a short illness. His
last words to his children were, ' ' to obey
the laws and support the constitution of the
United States."
JAMES MONROE, fifth president of the
United States, was born in Westmore-
land county, Virginia, April 28, 1758. At
the age of sixteen he entered William and
Mary College, but two years later the
Declaration of Independence having been
adopted, he left college and hastened to New
York where he joined Washington's army as
a military cadet.
At the battle of Trenton Monroe per-
formed gallant service and received a wound
in the shoulder, and was promoted to a
captaincy. He acted as aide to Lord Ster-
ling at the battles of Brandy wine, German -
town and Monmouth. Washington then
sent him to Virginia to raise a new regiment
of which he was to be colonel. The ex-
hausted condition of Virginia made this im-
possible, but he received his commission.
He next entered the law office of Thomas
Jefferson to study law, as there was no open-
ing for him as an officer in the army. In
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHV
55
1782 he was elected to the Virginia assem-
bly, and the next year he was elected to the
Continental congress. Realizing the inade-
quacy of the old articles of confederation,
he advocated the calling of a convention to
consider their revision, and introduced in
congress a resolution empowering congress
to regulate trade, lay import duties, etc.
This resolution was referred to a committee,
of which he was chairman, and the report
led to the Annapolis convention, which
called a general convention to meet at Phila-
delphia in 1787, when the constitution was
drafted. Mr. Monroe began the practice of
law at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and was
soon after -^cted to the legislature, and ap-
pointed as one of the committee to pass
upon the adoption of the constitution. He
opposed it, as giving too much power to the
central government. He was elected to the
United States senate in 1789, where he
allied himself with the Anti-Federalists or
"Republicans," as they were sometimes
called. Although his views as to neutrality
between France and England were directly
opposed to those of the president, yet Wash-
ington appointed him minister to France.
His popularity in France was so great that
the antagonism of England and her friends
in this country brought about his recall. He
then became governor of Virginia. He was
sent as envoy to France in 1802; minister
to England in 1803; and envoy to Spain in
1805. The next year he returned to his
estate in Virginia, and with an ample in-
heritance enjoyed a few years of repose. He
was again called to be governor of Virginia,
and was then appointed secretary of state
by President Madison. The war with Eng-
land soon resulted, and when the capital
was burned by the British, Mr. Monroe be-
came secretary of war also, and planned the
measures for the defense of New Orleans.
The treasury being exhausted and credit
gone, he pledged his own estate, and thereby
made possible the victory of Jackson at New
Orleans.
In 1S17 Mr. Monroe became president
of the United States, having been a candi-
date of the "Republican" party, which at
that time had begun to be called the ' ' Demo-
cratic" party. In 1820 he was re-elected,
having two hundred and thirty-one electoral
votes out of two hundred and thirty-two.
His administration is known as the "Era of
good-feeling," and party lines were almost
wiped out. The slavery question began to
assume importance at this time, and the
Missouri Compromise was passed. The
famous "Monroe Doctrine" originated in a
great state paper of President Monroe upon
the rumored interference of the Holy Alli-
ance to prevent the formation of free repub-
lics in South America. President Monroe
acknowledged their independence, and pro-
mulgated his great "Doctrine," which has
been held in reverence since. Mr. Monroe's
death occurred in New York on July 4, 1831.
THOMAS ALVA EDISON, the master
wizard of electrical science and whose
name is synonymous with the subjugation
of electricity to the service of man, was
born in 1847 at Milan, Ohio, and it was at
Port Huron, Michigan, whither his parents
had moved in 1854, that his self-education
began — for he never attended school for
more than two months. He eagerly de-
voured every book he could lay his hands on
and is said to have read through an encyclo-
pedia without missing a word. At thirteen he
began his working life as a trainboy upon the
Grand Trunk Railway between Port Huron
and Detroit. Much of his time was now
spent in Detroit, where he found increased
facilities for reading at the public libraries.
50
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
He was not content to be a newsboy, so he
got togetner three hundred pounds of type
and started the issue of the " Grand Trunk
Herald." It was only a small amateur
weekly, printed on one side, the impression
being made from the type by hand. Chemi-
cal research was his next undertaking and
a laboratory was added to his movable pub-
lishing house, which, by the way, was an
old freight car. One day, however, as he
Was experimenting with some phosphorus,
it ignited and the irate conductor threw the
young seeker after the truth, chemicals and
all, from the train. His office and laboratory
were then removed to the cellar of his fa-
ther's house. As he grew to manhood he
decided to become an operator. He won
his opportunity by saving the life of a child,
whose father was an old operator, and out of
gratitude he gave Mr. Edison lessons in teleg-
raphy. Five months later he was compe-
tent to fill a position in the railroad office
at Port Huron. Hence he peregrinated to
Stratford, Ontario, and thence successively
to Adrian, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, Cin-
cinnati, Memphis, Louisville and Boston,
gradually becoming an expert operator and
gaining experience that enabled him to
evolve many ingenious ideas for the im-
provement of telegraphic appliances. At
Memphis he constructed an automatic re-
peater, which enabled Louisville and New
Orleans to communicate direct, and received
nothing more than the thanks of his em-
ployers. Mr. Edison came to New York in
1870 in search of an opening more suitable
to his capabilities and ambitions. He hap-
pened to be in the office of the Laws Gold
Reporting Company when one of the in-
struments got out of order, and even the
inventor of the system could not make it
work. Edison requested to be allowed to
attempt the task, and in a few minutes he
had overcome the difficulty and secured an
advantageous engagement. For several
years he had a contract with the Western
Union and the Gold Stock companies,
whereby he received a large salary, besides
a special price for all telegraphic improve-
ments he could suggest. Later, as the
head of the Edison General Electric com-
pany, with its numerous subordinate organ-
izations and connections all over the civil-
ized world, he became several times a
millionaire. Mr. Edison invented the pho-
nograph and kinetograph which bear his
name, the carbon telephone, the tasimeter,
and the duplex and quadruplex systems of
telegraphy.
JAMES LONGSTREET, one of the most
conspicuous of the Confederate generals
during the Civil war, was born in 1820, in
South Carolina, but was early taken by his
parents to Alabama where he grew to man-
hood and received his early education. He
graduated at the United States military
academy in 1842, entering the army as
lieutenant and spent a few years in the fron-
tier service. When the Mexican war broke
out he was called to the front and partici-
pated in all the principal battles of that war
up to the storming of Chapultepec, where
he received severe wounds. For gallant
conduct at Contreras, Cherubusco, and Mo-
lino del Rey he received the brevets of cap-
tain and major. After the close of the
Mexican war Longstreet served as adjutant
and captain on frontier service in Texas un-
til 1858 when he was transferred to the staff
as paymaster with rank of major. In June,
1 86 1, he resigned to join the Confederacy
and immediately went to the front, com-
manding a brigade at Bull Run the follow-
ing month. Promoted to be major-general
in 1862 he thereafter bore a conspicuous
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
o(
part and rendered valuable service to the
Confederate cause. He participated in
many of the most severe battles of the Civil
war including Bull Run (first and second),
Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, Fraziers Farm,
Malvern Hill, Antietam, Frederickburg,
Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chickamauga,
the Wilderness, Petersburg and most of the
fighting about Richmond.
When the war closed General Long-
street accepted the result, renewed his alle-
giance to the government, and thereafter
labored earnestly to obliterate all traces of
war and promote an era of good feeling be-
tween all sections of the country. He took
up his residence in New Orleans, and took
an active interest and prominent part in
public affairs, served as surveyor of that
port for several years; was commissioner of
engineers for Louisiana, served four years
as school commissioner, etc. In 1875 he
was appointed supervisor of internal revenue
and settled in Georgia. After that time he
served four years as United States minister
to Turkey, and also for a number of years
was United States marshal of Georgia, be-
sides having held other important official
positions.
JOHN RUTLEDGE, the second chief-
justice of the United States, was born
at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1739.
He was a son of John Rutledge, who had
left Ireland for America about five years
prior to the birth of our subject, and a
brother of Edward Rutledge, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence. John Rut-
ledge received his legal education at the
Temple, London, after which he returned
to Charleston and soon won distinction at
the bar. He was elected to the old Colonial
congress in 1765 to protest against the
" Stamp Act," and was a member of the
South Carolina convention of 1774, and of
the Continental congress of that and the
succeeding year. In 1776 he was chairman
of the committee that draughted the con-
stitution of his state, and was president of
the congress of that state. He was not
pleased with the state constitution, how-
ever, and resigned. In 1779 he was again
chosen governor of the state, and granted
extraordinary powers, and he at once took
the field to repel the British. He joined
the army of General Gates in 1782, and the
same year was elected to congress. He
was a member of the constitutional con-
vention which framed our present constitu-
tion. In 1789 he was appointed an associate
justice of the first supreme court of the
United States. He resigned to accept the
position of chief-justice of his own state.
Upon the resignation of Judge Jay ? he was
appointed chief-justice of the United States
in 1795. The appointment was never con-
firmed, for, after presiding at one session,
his mind became deranged, and he was suc-
ceeded by Judge Ellsworth. He died at
Charleston, July 23, 1800.
RALPH WALDO EMERSON was one
of the most noted literary men of his
time. He was born in Boston, Massachu-
setts, May 25, 1803. He had a minister for
an ancestor, either on the paternal or ma-
ternal side, in every generation for eight
generations back. His father. Rev. Will-
iam Emerson, was a native of Concord,
Massachusetts, born May 6, 1769, graduated
at Harvard, in 1789, became a Unitarian
minister; was a fine writer and one of the
best orators of his day; died in 1S1 1.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was fitted for
college at the public schools of Boston, and
graduated at Harvard College in 1821, win-
ning about this time several prizes for es-
58
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY,
says. For five years he taught school in
Boston; in 1826 was licensed to preach, and
in 1829 was ordained as a colleague to Rev.
Henry Ware of the Second Unitarian church
in Boston. In 1832 he resigned, making
{he announcement in a sermon of his un-
willingness longer to administer the rite of
the Lord's Supper, after which he spent
about a year in Europe. Upon his return
he began his career as a lecturer before the
Boston Mechanics Institute, his subject be-
ing "Water." His early lectures on " Italy"
and "Relation of Man to the Globe" also
attracted considerable attention; as did also
his biographical lectures on Michael Angelo,
Milton, Luther, George Fox, and Edmund
Burke. After that time he gave many
courses of lectures in Boston and became
one of the best known lecturers in America.
But very few men have rendered such con-
tinued service in this field. He lectured for
forty successive seasons before the Salem,
Massachusetts, Lyceum and also made re-
peated lecturing tours in this country and in
England. In 1835 Mr. Emerson took up
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts,
where he continued to make his home until
his death which occurred April 27, 1S82.
Mr. Emerson's literary work covered a
wide scope. He wrote and published many
works, essays and poems, which rank high
among the works of American literary men.
A few of the many which he produced are
the following: "Nature;" "The Method
of Nature;" "Man Thinking;" "The Dial;"
"Essays;" "Poems;" "English Traits;"
"The Conduct of Life;" "May-Day and
other Poems " and " Society and Solitude;"
besides many others. He was a prominent
member of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, of the American Philosophical
Society, the Massachusetts Historical Society
and other kindred associations.
ALEXANDER T. STEWART, one of
the famous merchant princes of New
York, was born near the city of Belfast, Ire-
land, in 1803, and before he was eight years
of age was left an orphan without any near
relatives, save an aged grandfather. The
grandfather being a pious Methodist wanted
to make a minister of young Stewart, and
accordingly put him in a school with that
end in view and he graduated at Trinity Col-
lege, in Dublin. When scarcely twenty
years of age he came to New York. His
first employment was that of a teacher, but
accident soon made him a merchant. En-
tering into business relations with an ex-
perienced man of his acquaintance he soon
found himself with the rent of a store on
his hands and alone in a new enterprise.
Mr. Stewart's business grew rapidly in all
directions, but its founder had executive
ability sufficient for any and all emergencies,
and in time his house became one of the
greatest mercantile establishments of mod-
ern times, and the name of Stewart famous.
Mr. Stewart's death occurred April 10,
1876.
JAMES FENIMORE COOPER. — In
speaking of this noted American nov-
elist, William Cullen Bryant said: " He
wrote for mankind at large, hence it is that
he has earned a fame wider than any Amer-
ican author of modern times. The crea-
tions of his genius shall survive through
centuries to come, and only perish with our
language." Another eminent writer (Pres-
cott) said of Cooper: " In his productions
every American must take an honest pride;
for surely no one has succeeded like Cooper
in the portraiture of American character, or
has given such glowing and eminently truth-
ful pictures of American scenery."
James Fenimore Cooper was born Sep-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
59
tember 15, 1789, at Burlington, New Jer-
sey, and was a son of Judge William Cooper.
About a year after the birth of our subject
the family removed to Otsego county, New
York, and founded the town called " Coop-
erstown." James Fenimore Cooper spent
his childhood there and in 1802 entered
Yale College, and four years later became a
midshipman in the United States navy. In
181 1 he was married, quit the seafaring life,
and began devoting more or less time to lit-
erary pursuits. His first work was "Pre-
caution," a novel published in 18 19, and
three years later he produced "The Spy, a
Tale of Neutral Ground," which met with
great favor and was a universal success.
This was followed by many other works,
among which may be mentioned the follow-
ing: ' ' The Pioneers," "The Pilot," " Last
of the Mohicans," "The Prairie, "" The
Red Rover," "The Manikins," "Home-
ward Bound," "Home as Found," "History
of the United States Navy," " The "Path-
finder," "Wing and Wing," "Afloat and
Ashore," "The Chain-Bearer," "Oak-
Openings," etc. J. Fenimore Cooper died
at Cooperstown, New York, September 14,
185 1 .
MARSHALL FIELD, one of the mer-
chant princes of America, ranks among
the most successful business men of the cen-
tury. He was born in 1835 at Conway,
Massachusetts. He spent his early life on
a farm and secured a fair education in the
common schools, supplementing this with a
course at the Conway Academy. His
natural bent ran in the channels of commer-
cial life, and at the age of seventeen he was
given a position in a store at Pittsfield,
Massachusetts. Mr. Field remained there
four years and removed to Chicago in 1856.
He began his career in Chicago as a clerk
in the wholesale dry goods house of Cooley,
Wadsworth & Company, which later be-
came Cooley, Farwell & Company, and still
later John V. Farwell & Company. He
remained with them four years and exhibit-
ed marked ability, in recognition of which
he was given a partnership. In 1865 Mr.
Field and L. Z. Leiter, who was also a
member of the firm, withdrew and formed
the firm of Field, Palmer & Leiter, the
third partner being Potter Palmer, and they
continued in business until 1867, when Mr.
Palmer retired and the firm became Field,
Leiter & Company. They ran under the
latter name until 1 88 1, when Mr. Leiter re-
tired and the house has since continued un-
der the name of Marshall Field & Company.
The phenomenal success accredited to the
house is largely due to the marked ability
of Mr. Field, the house had become one of
the foremost in the west, with an annual
sale of $8,000,000 in 1870. The total loss
of the firm during the Chicago fire was
$3,500,000 of which $2,500,000 was re-
covered through the insurance companies.
It rapidly recovered from the effects of this
and to-day the annual sales amount to over
$40,000,000. Mr. Field's real estate hold-
ings amounted to $10,000,000. He was
one of the heaviest subscribers to the Bap-
tist University fund although he is a Presby-
terian, and gave $1,000,000 for the endow-
ment of the Field Columbian Museum —
one of the greatest institutions of the kind
in the world.
EDGAR WILSON NYE, who won an im-
mense popularity under the pen name
of " Bill Nye," was one of the most eccen-
tric humorists of his day. He was born Au-
gust 25, 1850, at Shirley, Piscataqua coun-
ty, Maine, "at a very early age" as he ex-
presses it. He took an academic course in
r>o
COMPEXDIl'M OF BIOGRAPHY.
River Falls, Wisconsin, from whence, after
his graduation, he removed to Wyoming
Territory. He studied law and was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1876. He began when
quite young tocontribute humorous sketches
to the newspapers, became connected with
various western journals and achieved a
brilliant success as a humorist. Mr. Nye
settled later in New York City where he
devoted his time to writing funny articles for
the big newspaper syndicates. He wrote for
publication in book form the following :
"Bill Nye and the Boomerang," "The
Forty Liars," "Baled Hay," "Bill Nye's
Blossom Rock," "Remarks," etc. His
death occurred February 21, 1S96, at Ashe-
ville, North Carolina.
THOMAS DE WITT TALMAGE, one of
the most celebrated American preach-
ers, was born January 7, 1832, and was the
youngest of twelve children. He made his
preliminary studies at the grammar school
in New Brunswick, New Jersey. At the age
of eighteen he joined the church and entered
the University of the City of New York, and
graduated in May, 1853. The exercises
were held in Niblo's Garden and his speech
aroused the audience to a high pitch of en-
thusiasm. At the close of his college duties
he imagined himself interested in the law
and for three years studied law. Dr. Tal-
mage then perceived his mistake and pre-
pared himself for the ministry at the
Reformed Dutch Church Theological Semi-
nary at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Just
after his ordination the young minister re-
ceived two calls, one from Piermont, New
York, and the other from Belleville, New
Jersey. Dr. Talmage accepted the latter
and for three years filled that charge, when
he was called to Syracuse, New York. Here
it was that his sermons first drew large
crowds of people to his church, and from
thence dates his popularity. Afterward he
became the pastor of the Second Reformed
Dutch church, of Philadelphia, remaining
seven years, during which period he first
entered upon the lecture platform and laid
the foundation for his future reputation. At
the end of this time he received three calls,
one from Chicago, one from San Francisco,
and one from the Central Presbyterian
church of Brooklyn, which latter at that
time consisted of only nineteen members
with a congregation of about thirty-five.
This church offered him a salary of seven
thousand dollars and he accepted the call.
He soon induced the trustees to sell the old
church and build a new one. They did so
and erected the Brooklyn Tabernacle, but
it burned down shortly after it was finished.
By prompt sympathy and general liberality
a new church was built and formally opened
in February, 1874. It contained seats for
four thousand, six hundred and fifty, but if
necessary seven thousand could be accom-
modated. In October, 1878, his salary was
raised from seven thousand dollars to twelve
thousand dollars, and in the autumn of 1889
the second tabernacle was destroyed by fire.
A third tabernacle was built and it was for-
mally dedicated on Easter Sunday, 1891.
JOHN PHILIP SOUSA, conceded as
being one of the greatest band leaders
in the world, won his fame while leader of
the United States Marine Band at Washing-
ton, District of Columbia. He was not
originally a band player but was a violinist,
and at the age of seventeen he was conduc-
tor of an opera company, a profession which
he followed for several years, until he was
offered the leadership of the Marine Band
at Washington. The proposition was re-
pugnant to him at first but he accepted the
COMPENDIUM OF BlOGRAPJir
61
offer and then ensued ten years of brilliant
success with that organization. When he
first took the Marine Band he began to
gather the national airs of all the nations
that have representatives in Washington,
and compiled a comprehensive volume in-
cluding nearly all the national songs of the
different nations. He composed a number
of marches, waltzes and two-steps, promi-
nent among which are the "Washington
Post," "Directorate," "King Cotton,"
"High School Cadets," "Belle of Chica-
go," "Liberty Bell March," "Manhattan
Beach," "On Parade March," "Thunderer
March," "Gladiator March," " El Capitan
March," etc. He became a very extensive
composer of this class of music.
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS, sixth president
of the United States, was born in
Braintree, Massachusetts, July II, 1767,
the son of John Adams. At the age of
eleven he was sent to school at Paris, and
two years later to Leyden, where he entered
that great university. He returned to the
United States in 1785, and graduated from
Harvard in 1788. He then studied law,
and was admitted to the bar in 1791. His
practice brought no income the first two
years, but he won distinction in literary
fields, and was appointed minister to The
Hague in 1794. He married in 1797, and
went as minister to Berlin the same year,
serving until 1S01, when Jefferson became
president. He was elected to the senate in
1S03 by the Federalists, but was condemned
by that party for advocating the Embargo
Act and other Anti-Federalist measures. He
was appointed as professor of rhetoric at
Harvard in 1805, and in 1809 was sent as
minister to Russia. He assisted in negotiat-
ing the treaty of peace with England in
1814, and became minister to that power
the next year. He served during Monroe's
administration two terms as secretary of
state, during which time party lines were
obliterated, and in 1824 four candidates for
president appeared, all of whom were iden-
tified to some extent with the new " Demo-
cratic" party. Mr. Adams received 84 elec-
toral votes, Jackson 99, Crawford 41, and
Clay 37. As no candidate had a majority
of all votes, the election went to the house
of representatives, which elected Mr. Adams.
As Clay had thrown his influence to Mr.
Adams, Clay became secretary of state, and
this caused bitter feeling on the part of the
Jackson Democrats, who were joined by
Mr. Crawford and his following, and op-
posed every measure of the administration.
In the election of 1S28 Jackson was elected
over Mr. Adams by a great majority.
Mr. Adams entered the lower house of
congress in 1S30, elected from the district
in which he was born and continued to rep-
resent it for seventeen years. He was
known as " the old man eloquent," and his
work in congress was independent of party.
He opposed slavery extension and insisted
upon presenting to congress, one at a time,
the hundreds of petitions against the slave
power. One of these petitions, presented in
1842, was signed by forty-five citizens of
Massachusetts, and prayed congress for a
peaceful dissolution of the Union. His
enemies seized upon this as an opportunity
to crush their powerful foe, and in a caucus
meeting determined upon his expulsion from
congress. Finding they would not be able
to command enough votes for this, they de-
cided upon a course that would bring equal
disgrace. They formulated a resolution to
the effect that while he merited expulsion,
the house would, in great mercy, substitute
its severest censure. When it was read in the
house the old man, then in his seventy-fifth
62
coM/'/cxnir.M of biograpiii:
year, arose and demanded that the first para-
graph of the Declaration of Independence
be read as his defense. It embraced the
famous sentence, "that whenever any form
of government becomes destructive to those
ends, it is the right of the people to alter or
abolish it, and to institute new government,
etc., etc." After eleven days of hard fight-
ing his opponents were defeated. On Febru-
ary 21, 1S4S, he rose to address the speaker
on the Oregon question, when he suddenly
fell fr6m a stroke of paralysis. He died
soon after in the rotunda of the capitol,
where he had been conveyed by his col-
leagues.
SUSAN B. ANTHONY was one of the
most famous women of America. She
was born at, South Adams, Massachusetts,
February 15, 1820, the daughter of a
Quaker. She received a good education
and became a school teacher, following that
profession for fifteen years in New York.
Beginning with about 1852 she became the
active leader of the woman's rights move-
ment and won a wide reputation for her
zeal and ability. She also distinguished
herself for her zeal and eloquence in the
temperance, and anti-slaver}' causes, and
became a conspicuous figure during the war.
After the close of the war she gave most of
her labors to the cause of woman's suffrage.
PHILIP D. ARMOUR, one of the most
conspicuous figures in the mercantile
history of America, was born May 16, 1832,
on a farm at Stockbridge, Madison count},
New York, and received his early education
in the common schools of that county. He
was apprenticed to a farmer and worked
faithfully and well, being very ambitious and
desiring to start out for himself. At the
age of twenty he secured a release from his
indentures and set out overland for the
gold fields of California. After a great
deal of hard work he accumulated a little
money and then came east and settled
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He went into
the grain receiving and warehouse busi-
ness and was fairly successful, and later on
he formed a partnership with John Plankin-
ton in the pork packing line, the style of the
firm being Plankinton ct Armour. Mr. Ar-
mour made his first great "deal" in selling
pork "short" on the New York market in
the anticipation of the fall of the Confed-
eracy, and Mr. Armour is said to have made
through this deal a million dollars. He then
established packing houses in Chicago and
Kansas City, and in 1875 he removed to
Chicago. He increased his business by add-
ing to it the shipment of dressed beef to
the European markets, and many other lines
of trade and manufacturing, and it rapidly
assumed vast proportions, employing an
army of men in different lines of the busi-
ness. Mr. Armour successfully conducted a
great many speculative deals in pork and
grain of immense proportions and also erected
many large warehouses for the storage of
grain. He became one of the representative
business men of Chicago, where he became
closely identified with all enterprises of a
public nature, but his fame as a great busi-
ness man extended to all parts of the world.
He founded the "Armour Institute " at Chi-
cago and also contributed largely to benevo-
lent and charitable institutions.
ROBERT FULTON.— Although Fulton
is best known as the inventor of the
first successful steamboat, yet his claims to
distinction do not rest alone upon that, for
he was an inventor along other lines, a
painter and an author. He was born at
Liule Britain, Lancaster county, Pennsy!
OK
COMPENDIUM Oi* BIOGRAPHY.
65
vania, in 1765, of Scotch-Irish ancestry.
At the age of seventeen he removed to Phila-
delphia, and there and in New York en-
gaged in miniature painting with success
both from a pecuniary and artistic point of
view. With the results of his labors he pur-
chased a farm for the support of his mother.
He went to London and studied under the
great painter, Benjamin West, and all
through life retained his fondness for art
and gave evidence of much ability in that
line. While in England he was brought in
contact with the Duke of Bridgewater, the
father of the English canal system; Lord
Stanhope, an eminent mechanician, and
James Watt, the inventor of the steam en-
gine. Their influence turned his mind to its
true field of labor, that of mechanical in-
vention. Machines for flax spinning,
marble sawing, rope making, and for remov-
ing earth from excavations, are among his
earliest ventures. His "Treatise on the
Improvement of Canal Navigation," issued
in 1796, and a series of essays on canals
were soon followed by an English patent
for canal improvements. In 1797 he went
to Paris, where he resided until 1806, and
there invented a submarine torpedo boat for
maritime defense, but which was rejected
by the governments of France, England and
the United States. In 1 803 he offered to con-
struct for the Emperor Napoleon a steam-
boat that would assist in carrying out the
plan of invading Great Britain then medi-
tated by that great captain. In pursuance
he constructed his first steamboat on the
Seine, but it did not prove a full success
and the idea was abandoned by the French
government. By the aid of Livingston,
then United States minister to France,
Fulton purchased, in 1806, an engine which
he brought to this country. After studying
the. defects of his own and other attempts in
this line he built and launched in 1807 the
Clermont, the first successful steamboat.
This craft only attained a speed of five
miles an hour while going up North river.
His first patent not fully covering his in-
vention, Fulton was engaged in many law
suits for infringement. He constructed
many steamboats, ferryboats, etc. , among
these being the United States steamer
" Fulton the First," built in 1814, the first
war steamer ever built. This craft never
attained any great speed owing to some de-
fects in construction and accidentally blew
up in 1829. Fulton died in New York, Feb-
ruary 21, l8l 5.
SALMON PORTLAND CHASE, sixth
chief-justice of the United States, and
one of the most eminent of American jurists,
was born in Cornish, New Hampshire, Jan-
uary 13, 1808. At the age of nine he was
left in poverty by the death of his father,
but means were found to educate him. He
was sent to his uncle, a bishop, who con-
ducted an academy near Columbus, Ohio,
and here young Chase worked on the farm
and attended school. At the age of fifteen
he returned to his native state and entered
Dartmouth College, from which he gradu-
ated in 1 826. He then went to Washington,
and engaged in teaching school, and study-
ing law under the instruction of William
Wirt. He was licensed to practice in 1829,
and went to Cincinnati, where he had a
hard struggle for several years following.
He had in the meantime prepared notes on
the statutes of Ohio, which, when published,
brought him into prominence locally. He
was soon after appointed solicitor of the
United States Bank. In 1837 he appeared
as counsel for a fugitive slave woman, Ma-
tilda, and sought by all the powers of his
learning and eloquence to prevent her owner
M
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT,
from reclaiming her. He acted in many
other cases, and devolved the trite expres-
sion, "Slavery is sectional, freedom is na-
tional. " He was employed to defend Van
Zandt before the supreme court of the United
States in 1846, which was one of the most
noted cases connected with the great strug-
gle against slavery. By this time Mr. Chase
had become the recognized leader of that
element known as " free-soilers." He was
elected to the United States senate in 1849,
and was chosen governor of Ohio in 1855
and re-elected in 1857. He was chosen to
the United States senate from Ohio in 1861,
but was made secretary of the treasury by
Lincoln and accepted. He inaugurated a
financial system to replenish the exhausted
treasury and meet the demands of the great-
est war in history and at the same time to
revive the industries of the country. One
of the measures which afterward called for
his judicial attention was the issuance of
currency notes which were made a legal
tender in payment of debts. When this
question came before him as chief-justice
of the United States he reversed his former
action and declared the measure unconstitu-
tional. The national banking system, by
which all notes issued were to be based on
funded government bonds of equal or greater
amounts, had its direct origin with Mr. Chase.
Mr. Chase resigned the treasury port-
folio in 1864, and was appointed the same
year as chief-justice of the United States
supreme court. The great questions that
came up before him at this crisis in the life
of the nation were no less than those which
confronted the first chief-justice at the for-
mation of our government. Reconstruction,
private, state and national interests, the
constitutionality ot the acts of congress
Dassed in times of great excitement, the
construction and interpretation to be placed
upon the several amendments to the national
constitution, — these were among the vital
questions requiring prompt decision. He
received a paralytic stroke in 1870, which
impaired his health, though his mental
powers were not affected. He continued to
preside at the opening terms for two years
following and died May 7, 1873.
HARRfET ELIZABETH BEECHER
STOWE, a celebrated American writ-
er, was born June 14, 1812, at Litchfield,
Connecticut. She was a daughter of Lyman
Beecher and a sister of Henry Ward Beecher,
two noted divines; was carefully educated,
and taught school for several years at Hart-
ford, Connecticut. In 1832 Miss Beecher
married Professor Stowe, then of Lane Semi-
nary, Cincinnati, Ohio, and afterwards at
Bowdoin College and Andover Seminary.
Mrs. Stowe published in 1849 "The May-
flower, or sketches of the descendants of the
Pilgrims," and in 1851 commenced in the
' ' National Era " of Washington, a serial story
which was published separately in 1852 under
the title of "Uncle Tom's Cabin." This
book attained almost unparalleled success
both at home and abroad, and within ten years
it had been translated in almost every lan-
guage of the civilized world. Mrs. Stowe pub-
lished in 1853 a "Key to UncleTom's Cabin"
in which the data that she used was published
and its truthfulness was corroborated. In
1853 she accompanied her busbnnd and
brother to Europe, and on ner return puo-
]ished ' ' Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands "
in 1854. Mrs. Stowe was for some time
one ot the editors of the " Atlantic Monthly "
and the " Hearth and Home," for which
she had written a number of articles.
Among these, also published separately, are
" Dred, a tale of the Great Dismal Swamp "
(later published under the title of "Nina
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
67
Gordon"); " The Minister's Wooing;" "The
Pearl of Orr's Island;" "Agnes of Sorrento;"
"Oldtown Folks;" " My Wife and I;" "Bible
Heroines," and "A Dog's Mission." Mrs.
Stowe's death occurred July I, 1896, at
Hartford, Connecticut.
THOMAS JONATHAN JACKSON, bet-
ter known as "Stonewall" Jackson,
was one of the most noted of the Confeder-
ate generals of the Civil war. He was a
soldier by nature, an incomparable lieuten-
ant, sure to execute an}' operation entrusted
to him with marvellous precision, judgment
and courage, and all his individual cam-
paigns and combats bore the stamp of a
masterly capacity for war. He was born
January 21, 1824, at Clarksburg, Harrison
county, West Virginia. He was early in
life imbued with the desire to be a soldier
and it is said walked from the mountains of
Virginia to Washington, secured the aid of
his congressman, and was appointed cadet
at the United States Military Academy at
West Point from which he was graduated in
1 846. Attached to the army as brevet sec-
ond lieutenant of the First Artillery, his first
service was as a subaltern with Magruder's
battery of light artillery in the Mexican war.
He participated at the reduction of Vera
Cruz, and was noticed for gallantry in the
battles of Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Moline
del Rey, Chapultepec, and the capture of
the city of Mexico, receiving the brevets of
captain for conduct at Contreras and Cher-
ubusco and of major at Chapultepec. In
the meantime he had been advanced by
regular promotion to be first lieutenant in
1847. In 1852, the war having closed, he
resigned and became professor of natural
and experimental philosophy and artillery
instructor at the Virginia State Military
Institute at Lexington, Virginia, where he
remained until Virginia declared for seces-
sion, he becoming chiefly noted for intense
religious sentiment coupled with personal
eccentricities. Upon the breaking out of
the war he was made colonel and placed in
command of a force sent to sieze Harper's
Ferry, which he accomplished May 3, 1S61.
Relieved by General J. E. Johnston, May
23, he took command of the brigade of
Valley Virginians, whom he moulded into
that brave corps, baptized at the first
Manassas, and ever after famous as the
"Stonewall Brigade." After this "Stone-
wall " Jackson was made a major-general,
in 1861, and participated until his death in
all the famous campaigns about Richmond
and in Virginia, and was a conspicuous fig-
ure in the memorable battles of that time.
May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, he wa?
wounded severely by his own troops, two
balls shattering his left arm and another
passing through the palm of his right hand.
The left arm was amputated, but pneumonia
intervened, and, weakened by the great loss
of blood, he died May 10, 1863. The more
his operations in the Shenandoah valley in
1862 are studied the more striking must the
merits of this great soldier appear.
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.—
Near to the heart of the people of the
Anglo-Saxon race will ever lie the verses of
this, the "Quaker Poet." The author of
"Barclay of Ury," "Maud Muller " and
"Barbara Frietchie, " always pure, fervid
and direct, will be remembered when many
a more ambitious writer has been forgotten.
John G. Whittier was born at Haver-
hill, Massachusetts, December 7, 1807. of
Quaker parentage. He had but a common-
school education and passed his boyhood
days upon a farm. In early life he learned
the trade of shoemaker. At the age of
08
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
eighteen he began to write verses for the
Haverhill "Gazette." He spent two years
after that at the Haverhill academy, after
which, in 1829, he became editor of the
"American Manufacturer," at Boston. In
1830 he succeeded George D. Prentice as
editor of the "New England Weekly Re-
view," but the following year returned to
Haverhill and engaged in farming. In 1832
and in 1836 he edited the " Gazette." In
1835 he was elected a member of the legis-
lature, serving two years. In 1836 he became
secretary of the Anti-slavery Society of Phil-
adelphia. In 1838 and 1839 he edited the
" Pennsylvania Freeman," but in the latter
year the office was sacked and burned by a
mob. In 1840 Whittier settled at Ames-
bury, Massachusetts. In 1847 he became
corresponding editor of the " National Era,"
an anti-slavery paper published at Washing-
ton, and contributed to its columns many of
his anti-slavery and other favorite lyrics.
Mr. Whittier lived for many years in retire-
ment of Quaker simplicity, publishing several
volumes of poetry which have raised him to
a high place among American authors and
brought to him the love and admiration of
his countrymen. In the electoral colleges
of 1 860 and 1 864 Whittier was a member.
Much of his time after 1876 was spent at
Oak Knoll, Danvers, Massachusetts, but
still retained his residence at Amesbury.
He never married. His death occurred Sep-
tember 7, 1892.
The more prominent prose writings of
John G. Whittier are as follows: "Legends
of New England," " Justice and Expediency,
or Slavery Considered with a View to Its Abo-
lition," " The Stranger in Lowell," "Super-
naturalism in New England," " Leaves from
Margaret Smith's Journal," "Old Portraits
and Modern Sketches" and "Literary
Sketches/'
DAVID DIXON PORTER, illustrious as
admiral of the United States navy, and
famous as one of the most able naval offi-
cers of America, was born in Pennsylvania,
June S, 1814. His father was also a naval
officer of distinction, who left the service of
the United States to become commander of
the naval forces of Mexico during the war
between that country and Spain, and
through this fact David Dixon Porter was
appointed a midshipman in the Mexican
navy. Two years later David D. Porter
joined the United States navy as midship-
man, rose in rank and eighteen years later
as a lieutenant he is found actively engaged
in all the operations of our navy along the
east coast of Mexico. When the Civil war
broke out Porter, then a commander, was
dispatched in the Powhattan to the relief of
Fort Pickens, Florida. This duty accom-
plished, he fitted out a mortar flotilla for
the reduction of the forts guarding the ap-
proaches to New Orleans, which it was con-
sidered of vital importance for the govern-
ment to get possession of. After the fall of
New Orleans the mortar flotilla was actively
engaged at Vicksburg, and in the fall of
1862 Porter was made a rear-admiral and
placed in command of all the naval forces
on the western rivers above New Orleans.
The ability of the man was now con-
spicuously manifested, not only in the bat-
tles in which he was engaged, but also in
the creation of a formidable fleet out of
river steamboats, which he covered with
such plating as they would bear. In 1864
he was transferred to the Atlantic coast to
command the naval forces destined to oper-
ate against the defences of Wilmington,
North Carolina, and on Jan. 15, 1865, the
fall of Fort Fisher was hailed by the country
as a glorious termination of his arduous war
! service. In 1S66 he was made vice-admiral
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
6v
and appointed superintendent of the Naval
Academy. On the death of Farragut, in
1S70, he succeeded that able man as ad-
miral of the navy. His death occurred at
Washington, February 13, 1891.
NATHANIEL GREENE was one of the
best known of the distinguished gen-
erals who led the Continental soldiery
against the hosts of Great Britain during
the Revolutionary war. He was the son
of Quaker parents, and was born at War-
wick, Rhode Island, May 27, 1742. In
youth he acquired a good education, chiefly
by his own efforts, as he was a tireless
reader. In 1770 he was elected a member
of the Assembly of his native state. The
news of the battle of Lexington stirred
his blood, and he offered his services to
the government of the colonies, receiving
the rank of brigadier-general and the com-
mand of the troops from Rhode Island.
He led them to the camp at Cambridge,
and for thus violating the tenets of their
faith, he was cast out of the Society of
Friends, or Quakers. He soon won the es-
teem of General Washington. In August,
1776, Congress promoted Greene to the
rank cf major-general, and in the battles of
Trenton and Princeton he led a division.
At the battle of Brandywine, September 11,
1777, he greatly distinguished himself, pro-
tecting the retreat of the Continentals by
his firm stand. At the battle of German-
town, October 4, the same year, he com-
manded the left wing of the army with
credit. In March, 1778, he reluctantly ac-
cepted the office of quartermaster-general,
but only with the understanding that his
rank in the army would not be affected and
that in action he should retain his command.
On the bloody field of Monmouth, June 28,
1778, he commanded the right wing, as he
did at the battle of Tiverton Heights. He
was in command of the army in 1780, dur-
ing the absence of Washington, and was
president of the court-martial that tried and
condemned Major Andre. After General
Gates' defeat at Camden, North Carolina, in
the summer of 1780, General Greene was ap-
pointed to the command of the southern army.
He sent out a force under General Morgan
who defeated General Tarleton at Cowpens,
January 17, 1781. On joining his lieuten-
ant, in February, he found himself out num-
bered by the British and retreated in good
order to Virginia, but being reinforced re-
turned to North Carolina where he fought
the battle of Guilford, and a few days later
compelled the retreat of. Lord Cornwallis.
The British were followed by Greene part
of the way, when the American army
marched into South Carolina. After vary-
ing success he fought the battle of Eutaw
Springs, Septembers, 1781. For the latter
battle and its glorious consequences, which
virtually closed the war in the Carolinas,
Greene received a medal from Congress and
many valuable grants of land from the
colonies of North and South Carolina and
Georgia. On the return of peace, after a
year spent in Rhode Island, General Greene
took up his residence on his estate near
Savannah, Georgia, where he died June 19,
1786.
EDGAR ALLEN POE.— Among the
many great literary men whom this
country has produced, there is perhaps no
name more widely known than that of Ed-
gar Allen Poe. He was born at Boston,
Massachusetts, February 19, 1809. His
parents were David and Elizabeth (Arnold)
Poe, both actors, the mother said to have
been the natural daughter of Benedict Ar-
nold. The parents died while Edgar was
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH1
still a child and he was adopted by John
Allen, a wealthy and influential resident of
Richmond, Virginia. Edgar was sent to
school at Stoke, Newington, England,
where he remained until he was thirteen
years old; was prepared for college by pri-
vate tutors, and in 1826 entered the Virginia
University at Charlottesville. He made
rapid progress in his studies, and Was dis-
tinguished for his scholarship, but was ex-
pelled within a year for gambling, after
which for several years he resided with his
benefactor at Richmond. He then went to
Baltimore, and in 1829 published a 71 -page
pamphlet called " Al Aaraaf, Tamerlane
and Minor Poems," which, however, at-
tracted no attention and contained nothing
of particular merit. In 1830 he was ad-
mitted as a cadet at West Point, but was
expelled about a year later for irregulari-
ties. Returning to the home of Mr. Allen
he remained for some time, and finally
quarrelled with his benefactor and enlisted
as a private soldier in the U. S. army, but
remained only a short time. Soon after
this, in 1833, Poe won several prizes for
literary work, and as a result secured the
position of editor of 1>he "Southern Liter-
ary Messenger," at Richmond, Virginia.
Here he married his cousin, Virginia
Clemm, who clung to him with fond devo-
tion through all the many trials that came
to them until her death in January, 1S48.
Poe remained with the "Messenger" for
several years, writing meanwhile many
tales, reviews, essays and poems. He aft-
erward earned a precarious living by his
pen in New York for a time; in 1839 be-
came editor of "Burton's Gentleman's
Magazine" ; in 1S40 to 1842 was editor of
" Graham's Magazine," and drifted around
Irom one place to another, returning to
New York in 1844. In 1845 his best
known production, "The Raven, " appeared
in the "Whig Review," and gained him a
reputation which is now almost world-wide.
He then acted as editor and contributor on
various magazines and periodicals until the
death of his faithful wife in 1848. In the
summer of 1849 he was engaged to be mar-
ried to a lady of fortune in Richmond, Vir-
ginia, and the day set for the wedding.
He started for New York to make prepara-
tions for the event, but, it is said, began
drinking, was attacked with dilirium tre-
mens in Baltimore and was removed to a
hospital, where he died, October 7, 1849.
The works of Edgar Allen Poe have beer,
repeatedly published since his death, both
in Europe and America, and have attained
an immense popularity.
HORATIO GATES, one of the prom-
inent figures in the American war for
Independence, was not a native of the col-
onies but was born in England in 1728. In
early life he entered the British army and
attained the rank of major. At the capture
of Martinico he was aide to General Monk-
ton and after the peace of Aix la Chapelle,
in 1748, he was among the first troops that
landed at Halifax. He was with Braddock
at his defeat in 1755, and was there severe-
ly wounded. At the conclusion of the
French and Indian war Gates purchased an
estate in Virginia, and, resigning from the
British army, settled down to life as a
planter. On the breaking out of the Rev-
olutionary war he entered the service of the
colonies and was made adjutant-general of
the Continental forces with the rank of
brigadier-general. He accompanied Wash-
ington when he assumed the command of
the army. In June, 1776, he was appoint-
ed to the command of the army of Canada,
but was superseded in May of the following
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
U
year by General Schuyler. In August,
1777, however, the command of that army
was restored to General Gates and Septem-
ber 19 he fought the battle of Bemis
Heights. October 7, the same year, he
won the battle of Stillwater, or Saratoga,
and October 17 received the surrender of
General Burgoyne and his army, the pivotal
poin T . of the war. This gave him a brilliant
reputation. June 13, 1780, General Gates
was appointed to the command of the
southern military division, and August 16 of
that year suffered defeat at the hands of
Lord Cornwallis, at Camden, North Car-
olina. In December following he was
superseded in the command by General
Nathaniel Greene.
On the signing of the peace treaty Gen-
eral Gates retired to his plantation in
Berkeley county, Virginia, where he lived
until 1790, when, emancipating all his
slaves, he removed to New York City, where
he resided until his death, April 10, 1806.
LYMAN J. GAGE.— When President Mc-
Kinley selected Lyman J. Gage as sec-
retary of the treasury he chose one of the
most eminent financiers of the century. Mr.
Gage was born June 28, 1836, at De Ruy-
ter, Madison county, New York, and was of
English descent. He went to Rome, New
York, with his parents when he was ten
years old, and received his early education
in the Rome Academy. Mr. Gage gradu-
ated from the same, and his first position
was that of a clerk in the post office. When
he was fifteen years of age he was detailed
as mail agent on the Rome & Watertown
R. R. until the postmaster-general appointed
regular agents for the route. In 1854, when
he was in his eighteenth year, he entered
the Oneida Central Bank at Rome as a
junior clerk at a salary of one hundred dol-
lars per year. Being unable at the end of
one year and a half's service to obtain an
increase in salary he determined to seek a
wider field of labor. Mr. Gage set out in
the fall of 1855 and arrived in Chicago,
Illinois, on October 3, and soon obtained a
situation in Nathan Cobb's lumber yard and
planing mill. He remained there three years
as a bookkeeper, teamster, etc., and left on
account of change in the management. But
not being able to find anything else to do he
accepted the position of night watchman in
the place for a period of six weeks. He
then became a bookkeeper for the Mer-
chants Saving, Loan and Trust Company at
a salary of five hundred dollars per year.
He rapidly advanced in the service of this
company and in 1S68 he was made cashier.
Mr. Gage was next offered the position of
cashier of the First National Bank and ac-
cepted the offer. He became the president
of the First National Bank of Chicago Jan-
uary 24, 1 89 1 , and in 1 897 he was appointed
secretary of the treasury. His ability as a
financier and the prominent part ne took in
the discussion of financial affairs while presi-
dent of the great Chicago b' .__- ave him a
national reputation.
ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh pres-
ident of the United States, was born
at the Waxhaw settlement, Union county,
North Carolina, March 15, 1767. His
parents were Scotch-Irish, natives of Carr-
ickfergus, who came to this country in 1665
and settled on Twelve-Mile creek, a trib-
utary of the Catawba. His father, who
was a poor farm laborer, died shortly be-
fore Andrew's birth, when the mother re-
moved to Waxhaw, where some relatives
lived. Andrew's education was very limited,
he showing no aptitude for study. In 1780
when but thirteen years of age, he and his
C OMPEXD1 UM OF BIO G A\- \PHt \
brother Robert volunteered to serve in the
American partisan troops under General
Sumter, and witnessed the defeat at Hang-
ing Rock. The following year the boys
were both taken prisoners by the enemy
and endured brutal treatment from the
British officers while confined at Camden.
They both took the small pox, when the
mother procured their exchange but Robert
died shortly after. The mother died in
Charleston of ship fever, the same year.
Young Jackson, now in destitute cir-
cumstances, worked for about six months in
a saddler's shop, and then turned school
master, although but little fitted for the
position. He now began to think of a pro-
fession and at Salisbury, North Carolina,
entered upon the study of law, but from all
accounts gave but little attention to his
books, being one of the most roistering,
rollicking fellows in that town, indulging in
many of the vices of his time. In 1786 he
was admitted to the bar and in 1788 re-
moved to Nashville, then in North Carolina,
with the appointment of public prosecutor,
then an office of little honor or emolument,
but requiring much nerve, for which young
Jackson was already noted. Two years
later, when Tennessee became a territory
he was appointed by Washington to the
position of United States attorney for that
district. In 1791 he married Mrs. Rachel
Robards, a daughter of Colonel John Don-
elson, who was supposed at the time to
have been divorced from her former hus-
band that year by act of legislature of Vir-
ginia, but two years later, on finding that
this divorce was not legal, and a new bill of
separation being granted by the courts of
Kentucky, they were remarried in 1793.
This was used as a handle by his oppo-
nents in the political campaign afterwards.
Jackson was untiring in his efforts as United
States attorney and obtained much influence.
He was chosen a member of the Constitu-
tional Convention of 1796, when Tennessee
became a state and was its first represent-
ative in congress. In 1797 he was chosen
United States senator, but resigned the fol-
lowing year to accept a seat on the supreme
court of Tennessee which he held until
1804. He was elected major-general of
the militia of that state in 1801. In 1804,
being unsuccessful in obtaining the govern-
orship of Louisiana, the new territory, he
retired from public life to the Hermitage,
his plantation. On the outbreak of the
war with Great Britain in 1812 he tendered
his services to the government and went to
New Orleans with the Tennessee troops in
January, 181 3. In March of that year he
was ordered to disband his troops, but later
marched against the Cherokee Indians, de-
feating them at Talladega, Emuckfaw
and Tallapoosa. Having now a national
reputation, he was appointed major-general
in the United States army and was sent
against the British in Florida. He con-
ducted the defence of Mobile and seized
Pensacola. He then went with his troops
to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he gained
the famous victory of January S, 18 15. In
18/7-18 he conducted a war against the
Seminoles, and in 1821 was made governor
of the new territory of Florida. In 1S23
he was elected United States senator, but
in 1824 was the contestant with J. Q. Adams
for the presidency. Four years later he
was elected president, and served two terms.
In 1832 he took vigorous action against the
nullifiers of South Carolina, and the next
year removed the public money from the
United States bank. During his second
term the national debt was extinguished. At
the close of his administration he retired to
the Hermitage, where he died June S, 1845.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
73
ANDREW CARNEGIE, the largest manu-
facturer of pig-iron, steel rails and
coke in the world, well deserves a place
among America's celebrated men. He was
born November 25, 1835, at Dunfermline,
Scotland, and emigrated to the United States
with his father in 1845, settling in Pittsburg.
Two years later Mr. Carnegie began his
business career by attending a small station-
ary engine. This work did not suit him and
he became a telegraph messenger with the
Atlantic and Ohio Co., and later he became
an operator, and was one of the first to read
telegraphic signals by sound. Mr. Carnegie
was afterward sent to the Pittsburg office
of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co., as clerk
to the superintendent and manager of the
telegraph lines. While in this position he
made the acquaintance of Mr. Woodruff, the
inventor of the sleeping-car. Mr. Carnegie
immediately became interested and was one
of the organizers of the company for its con-
struction after the railroad had adopted it,
and the success of this venture. gave him the
nucleus of his wealth. He was promoted
to the superintendency of the Pittsburg
division of the Pennsylvania Railroad and
about this time was one of the syndicate
that purchased the Storey farm on Oil Creek
which cost forty thousand dollars and in one
year it yielded over one million dollars in
cash dividends. Mr. Carnegie later was as-
sociated with others in establishing a rolling-
mill, and from this has grown the most ex-
tensive and complete system of iron and
steel industries ever controlled by one indi-
vidual, embracing the Edgar Thomson
Steel Works; Pittsburg Bessemer Steel
Works; Lucy Furnaces; Union Iron Mills;
Union Mill; Keystone Bridge Works; Hart-
man Steel Works Frick Coke Co.; Scotia
Ore Mines. Besides directing his immense
iron industries he owned eighteen English
newspapers which he ran in the interest or
the Radicals. He has also devoted large
sums of money to benevolent and educational
purposes. In 1879 he erected commodious
swimming baths for the people of Dunferm-
line, Scotland, and in the following year
gave forty thousand dollars for a free library.
Mr. Carnegie gave fifty thousand dollars to
Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1884
to found what is now called "Carnegie Lab-
oratory," and in 1885 gave five hundred
thousand dollars to Pittsburg for a public
library. He also gave two hundred and fifty
thousand dollars for a music hall and library
in Allegheny City in 1886, and two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars to Edinburgh, Scot-
land, for a free library. He also established
free libraries at Braddock, Pennsylvania,
and other places for the benefit of his em-
ployes. He also published the following
works, "An American Four-in-hand in
Britain;" " Round the World;" "Trium-
phant Democracy; or Fifty Years' March of
the Republic."
GEORGE H. THOMAS, the " Rock of
Chickamauga," one of the best known
commanders during the late Civil war, was
born in Southampton county, Virginia, July
31, 1 8 16, his parents being of Welsh and
French origin respectively. In 1S36 young
Thomas was appointed a cadet at the Mili-
tary Academy, at West Point, from which
he graduated in 1840, and was promoted to
the office of second lieutenant in the Third
Artillery. Shortly after, with his company,
he went to Florida, where he served for two
years against the Seminole Indians. In
1 841 he was brevetted first lieutenant for
gallant conduct. He remained in garrison
in the south and southwest until 1845, at
which date with the regiment he joined the
army under General Taylor, and participat-
7i
COMPENDIUM OF BI0GRAPH1
ed in *~he defense of Fort Brown, the storm-
ing of Monterey and the battle of Buena
Vista. After the latter event he remained
in garrison, now brevetted major, until the
close of the Mexican war. After a year
spent in Florida, Captain Thomas was or-
dered to West Point, where he served as in-
structor until 1854. He then was trans-
ferred to California. In May, 1855, Thom-
as was appointed major of the Second Cav-
alry, with whom he spent five years in Texas.
Although a southern man, and surrounded
by brother officers who all were afterwards
'n the Confederate service, Major Thomas
never swerved from his allegiance to the
government. A. S. Johnston was the col-
onel of the regiment, R. E. Lee the lieuten-
ant-colonel, and W. J. Hardee, senior ma-
jor, while among the younger officers were
Hood, Fitz Hugh Lee, Van Dorn and Kirby
Smith. When these officers left the regi-
ment to take up arms for the Confederate
cause he remained with it, and April 17th,
1 86 1, crossed the Potomac into his native
state, at its head. After taking an active part
in the opening scenes of the war on the Poto-
mac and Shenandoah, in August, 1861, he
was promoted to be brigadier-general and
transferred to the Army of the Cumberland.
January 19-20, 1862, Thomas defeated
Crittenden at Mill Springs, and this brought
him into notice and laid the foundation of
his fame. He continued in command of his
division until September 20, 1862, except
during the Corinth campaign when he com-
manded the right wing of the Army of the
Tennessee. He was in command of the
latter at the battle of Perryville, also, Octo-
ber 8, 1862.
On the division of the Army of the Cum-
berland into corps, January 9, 1863, Gen-
eral Thomas was assigned to the command
of the Fourteenth, and at the battle of Chick-
amauga, after the retreat of Rosecrans,
firmly held his own against the hosts of Gen-
eral Bragg. A history of his services from
that on would be a history of the war in the
southwest. On September 27, 1864, Gen-
eral Thomas was given command in Ten-
nessee, and after organizing his army, de-
feated General Hood in the battle of Nash-
ville, December 15 and 16, 1864. Much
complaint was made before this on account
of what they termed Thomas' slowness, and
he was about to be superseded because he
would not strike until he got ready, but
when the blow was struck General Grant
was the first to place on record this vindica-
tion of Thomas' judgment. He received a
vote of thanks from Congress, and from the
legislature of Tennessee a gold medal. Af-
ter the close of the war General Thomas
had command of several of the military di-
visions, and died at San Francisco, Cali-
fornia, March 28, 1870.
GEORGE BANCROFT, one of the most
eminent American historians, was a
native of Massachusetts, born at Worcester,
October 3, 1800, and a son of Aaron
Bancroft, D. D. The father, Aaron Ban-
croft, was born at Reading, Massachusetts,
November 10, 1755. He graduated at
Harvard in 1778, became a minister, and for
half a century was rated as one of the ablest
preachers in New England. He was also a
prolific writer and published a number of
works among which was ' ' Life of George
Washington. " Aaron Bancroft died August
19, 1839.
The subject of our present biography,
George Bancroft, graduated at Harvard in
1 8 17, and the following year entered the
University of Gottingen, where he studied
history and philology under the most emi-
nent teachers, and in 1820 received the de-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
gree of doctor of philosophy at Gottingen.
Upon his return home he published a volume
of poems, and later a translation of Heeren's
" Reflections on the Politics of Ancient
Greece." In 1834 he produced the first
volume of his " History of the United
States," this being followed by other vol-
umes at different intervals later. This was
his greatest work and ranks as the highest
authority, taking its place among the great-
est of American productions.
George Bancroft was appointed secretary
of the navy by President Polk in 1845, but
resigned in 1846 and became minister pleni-
potentiary to England. In 1849 he retired
from public life and took up his residence at
Washington, D. C. In 1867 he was ap-
pointed United States minister to the court of
Berlin and negotiated the treatyby which Ger-
mans coming to the United States were re-
leased from their allegiance to the govern-
ment of their native land. In 1871 he was
minister plenipotentiary to the German em-
pire and served until 1874. The death of
George Bancroft occurred January 17, 1891.
GEORGE GORDON MEADE, a fa-
mous Union general, was born at
Cadiz, Spain, December 30, 181 5, his father
being United States naval agent at that
port. After receiving a good education he
entered the West Point Military Academy
in 1 83 1. From here he was graduated
June 30, 1835, and received the rank of
second lieutenant of artillery. He par-
ticipated in the Seminole war, but resigned
from the army in October, 1836. He en-
tered upon the profession of civil engineer,
which he followed for several years, part of
the time in the service of the government in
making surveys of the mouth of the Missis-
sippi river. His report and results of some
experiments made by him in this service
gained Meade much credit. He alsu was
employed in surveying the boundary line of
Texas and the northeastern boundary line
between the United States and Canada.
In 1842 he was reappointed in the army to
the position of second lieutenant of engineers.
During the Mexican war he served with dis-
tinction on the staff of General Taylor in
the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma
and the storming of Monterey. He received
his brevet of first lieutenant for the latter
action. In 1851 he was made full first
lieutenant in his corps; a captain in 1856,
and major soon after. At the close of the
war with Mexico he was employed in light-
house construction and in geodetic surveys
until the breaking out of the Rebellion, in
which he gained great reputation. In
August, 1861, he was made brigadier-general
of volunteers and placed in command of the
second brigade of the Pennsylvania Reserves,
a division of the First Corps in the Army of
the Potomac. In the campaign of 1862,
under McClellan, Meade took an active
part, being present at the battles of Mechan-
icsville, Gaines' Mill and Glendale, in the
latter of which he was severely wounded.
On rejoining his command he was given a
division and distinguished himself at its head
in the battles of South Mountain and Antie-
tam. During the latter, on the wounding
of General Hooker, Meade was placed in
command of the corps and was himself
slightly wounded. For services he was
promoted, November, 1862, to the rank
of major-general of volunteers. On the
recovery of General Hooker General Meade
returned to his division and in December,
1862, at Fredericksburg, led an attack
which penetrated Lee's right line and swept
to his rear. Being outnumbered and un-
supported, he finally was driven back. The
same month Meade was assigned to the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHT.
command of the Fifth Corps, and at Chan-
cellorsville in May, 1863, his sagacity and
ability so struck General Hooker that when
the latter asked to be relieved of the com-
mand, in June of the same year, he nomi-
nated Meade as his successor. June 28,
1863, President Lincoln commissioned Gen-
eral Meade commander-in-chief of the Army
of the Potomac, then scattered and moving
hastily through Pennsylvania to the great
and decisive battlefield at Gettysburg, at
which he was in full command. With the
victory on those July days the name of
Meade will ever be associated. From that
time until the close of the war he com-
manded the Army of the Potomac. In
1864 General Grant, being placed at the
head of all the armies, took up his quarters
with the Army of the Potomac. From that
time until the surrender of Lee at Appo-
matox Meade's ability shone conspicuously,
and his tact in the delicate position in lead-
ing his army under the eye of his superior
officer commanded the respect and esteem
of General Grant. For services Meade was
promoted to the rank of major-general, and
on the close of hostilities, in July, 1865,
was assigned to the command of the military
division of the Atlantic, with headquarters
at Philadelphia. This post he held, with
the exception of a short period on detached
duty in Georgia, until his death, which took
place November 6, 1872.
DAVID CROCKETT was a noted hunter
and scout, and also one of the earliest
of American humorists. He was born Au-
gust 17, 1786, in Tennessee, and was one
of the most prominent men of his locality,
serving as representative in congress from
1827 until 1 83 1. He attracted consider-
able notice while a member of congress and
was closely associated with General Jack-
son, of whom he was a personal friend. He
went to Texas and enlisted in the Texan
army at the time of the revolt of Texas
against Mexico and gained a wide reputa-
tion as a scout. He was one of the famous
one hundred and forty men under Colonel
W. B. Travis who were besieged in Fort
Alamo, near San Antonio, Texas, by Gen-
eral Santa Anna with some five thousand
Mexicans on February 23, 1836. The fort
was defended for ten days, frequent assaults
being repelled with great slaughter, over
one thousand Mexicans being killed or
wounded, while not a man in the fort was
injured. Finally, on March 6, three as-
saults were made, and in the hand-to-hand
fight that followed the last, the Texans were
wofully outnumbered and overpowered.
They fought desperately with clubbed mus-
kets till only six were left alive, including
W. B. Travis, David Crockett and James
Bowie. These surrendered under promise
of protection; but when they were brought
before Santa Anna he ordered them all to
be cut to pieces.
HENRY WATTERSON, one of the most
conspicuous figures in the history of
American journalism, was born at Wash-
ington, District of Columbia, February 16,
1840. His boyhood days were mostly spent
in the city of his birth, where his father,
Harvey M. Watterson, was editor of the
"Union," a well known journal.
Owing to a weakness of the eyes, which
interfered with a systematic course of study,
young Watterson was educated almost en-
tirely at home. A successful college career
was out of the question, but he acquired a
good knowledge of music, literature and art
from private tutors, but the most valuable
part of the training he received was by as-
sociating with his father and the throng or
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
77
public men whom he met in Washington
in the stirring days immediately preceding
the Civil war. He began his journalistic
career at an early age as dramatic and
musical critic, and in 1858, became editor
of the " Detnocratic Review" and at the
same time contributed to the "States,"
a journal of liberal opinions published in
Washington. In this he remained until
the breaking out of the war, when the
"States," opposing the administration, was
suppressed, and young Watterson removed
to Tennessee. He next appears as editor
of the Nashville "Republican Banner," the
most influential paper in the state at that
time. After the occupation of Nashville by
the Federal troops, Watterson served as a
volunteer staff officer in the Confederate
service until the close of the war, with the
exception of a year spent in editing the
Chattanooga "Rebel." On the close of
the war he returned to Nashville and re-
sumed his connection with the "Banner."
After a trip to Europe he assumed control
of the Louisville "Journal," which he soon
combined with the "Courier" and the
"Democrat" of that place, founding the
well-known "Courier-Journal," the first
number of which appeared November 8,
1868. Mr. Watterson also represented his
district in congress for several years.
PATRICK SARSFIELD GILMORE,
one of the most successful and widely
known bandmasters and musicians of the
last half century in America, was born in
Ballygar, Ireland, on Christmas day, 1829.
He attended a public school until appren-
ticed to a wholesale merchant at Athlone,
of the brass band of which town he soon
became a member. His passion for music
conflicting with the duties of a mercantile
life, his position as clerk was exchanged for
that of musical instructor to the young sons
of his employer. At the age of nineteen he
sailed for America and two days after his
arrival in Boston was put in charge of the
band instrument department of a prominent
music house. In the interests of the pub-
lications of this house he organized a minstrel
company known as " Ordway's Eolians,"
with which he first achieved success as a
cornet soloist. Later on he was called the
best E-flat cornetist in the United States.
He became leader, successively, of the Suf-
folk, Boston Brigade and Salem bands.
During his connection with the latter he
inaugurated the famous Fourth of July con-
certs on Boston Common, since adopted as
a regular programme for the celebration of
Independence Day. In 185S Mr. Gilmore
founded the organization famous thereafter
as Gilmore's Band. At the outbreak of the
Civil war this band was attached to the
Twenty-Fourth , Massachusetts Infantry.
Later, when the economical policy of dis-
pensing with music had proved a mistake,
Gilmore was entrusted with the re-organiza-
tion of state military bands, and upon his
arrival at New Orleans with his own band
was made bandmaster-general by General
Banks. On the inauguration of Governor
Hahn, later on, in Lafayette square, New
Orleans, ten thousand children, mostly of
Confederate parents, rose to the baton of
Gilmore and, accompanied by six hundred
instruments, thirty-six guns and the united
fire of three regiments of infantry, sang the
Star-Spangled Banner, America and other
patriotic Union airs. In June, 1867, Mr.
Gilmore conceived a national musical festi-
val, which was denounced as a chimerical
undertaking, but he succeeded and June 15.
1 869, stepped upon the stage of the Boston
Colosseum, a vast structure erected for the
occasion, and in the presence of over fifty
78
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
thousand people lifted his baton over an
orchestra of one thousand and a chorus of
ten thousand. On the 17th of June, 1872,
he opened a still greater festival in Boston,
when, in addition to an orchestra of two
thousand and a chorus of twenty thousand,
were present the Band of the Grenadier
Guards, of London, of the Garde Repub-
licaine, of Paris, of Kaiser Franz, of Berlin,
and one from Dublin, Ireland, together with
Johann Strauss, Franz Abt and many other
soloists, vocal and instrumental. Gilmore's
death occurred September 24, 1892.
MARTIN VAN BUREN was the eighth
president of the United States, 1837
to 1 841. He was of Dutch extraction, and
his ancestors were among the earliest set-
tlers on the banks of the Hudson. He was
born December 5, 1782, at Kinderhook,
New York. Mr. Van Buren took up the
study of law at the age of fourteen and took
an active part in political matters before he
had attained his majority. He commenced
the practice of law in 1803 at his native
town, and in 1809 he removed to Hudson,
Columbia county, New York, where he
spent seven years gaining strength and wis-
dom from his contentions at the bar with
some of the ablest men of the profession.
Mr. Van Buren was elected to the state
senate, and from 18 15 until 18 19 he was at-
torney-general of the state. He was re-
elected to the senate in 1S16, and in 1S1S
he was one of the famous clique of politi-
cians known as the "Albany regency."
Mr. Van Buren was a member of the con-
vention for the revision of the state consti-
tution, in 1821. In the same year he was
elected to the United States senate and
served his term in a manner that caused his
re-election to that body in 1827, but re-
signed the following year as he had been j
elected governor of New York. Mr. Van
Buren was appointed by President Jackson as
secretary of state in March, 1829, but resigned
in 1 83 1, and during the recess of congress
he was appointed minister to England.
The senate, however, when it convened in
December refused to ratify the appointment.
In May, 1832, he was nominated by the
Democrats as their candidate for vice-presi-
dent on the ticket with Andrew Jackson,
and he was elected in the following Novem-
ber. He received the nomination to suc-
ceed President Jackson in 1836, as the
Democratic candidate, and in the electoral
college he received one hundred and seventy
votes out of two hundred and eighty-three,
and was inaugurated March 4, 1837. His
administration was begun at a time of great
business depression, and unparalled financial
distress, which caused the suspension of
specie payments by the banks. Nearly
every bank in the country was forced to
suspend specie payment, and no less than
two hundred and fifty-four business houses
failed in New York in one week. The
President urged the adoption of the inde-
pendent treasury idea, which passed through
the senate twice but each time it was de-
feated in the house. However the measure
ultimately became a law near the close of
President Van Buren's term of office. An-
other important measure that was passed
was the pre-emption law that gave the act-
ual settlers preference in the purchase of
public lands. The question of slavery had
begun to assume great preponderance dur-
ing this administration, and a great conflict
was tided over by the passage of a resolu-
tion that prohibited petitions or papers that
in any way related to slavery to be acted
upon. In the Democratic convention ot
1840 President Van Buren secured the
nomination for re-election on that ticket
COMTEXMCM OF BIOGRAPHT.
79
without opposition, but in the election he
only received the votes of seven states, his
opponent, W. H. Harrison, being elected
president. In 1848 Mr. Van Buren was
the candidate of the " Free-Soilers," but
was unsuccessful. After this he retired
from public life and spent the remainder of
his life on his estate at Kinderhook, where
he died July 24, 1862.
W INFIELD SCOTT, a distinguished
American general, was born June 13,
1786, near Petersburg, Dinwiddie county,
Virginia, and was educated at the William
and Mary College. He studied law and was
admitted to the bar, and in 1808 he accepted
an appointment as captain of light artillery,
and was ordered to New Orleans. In June,
1812, he was promoted to be lieutenant-
colonel, and on application was sent to the
frontier, and reported to General Smyth,
near Buffalo. He was made adjutant-gen-
eral with the rank of a colonel, in March,
1 81 3, and the same month attained the colo-
nelcy of his regiment. He participated in
the principal battles of the war and was
wounded many times, and at the close of
the war he was voted a gold medal by con-
gress for his services. He was a writer of
considerable merit on military topics, and
he gave to the military science, "General
Regulations of the Army " and " System of
Infantry and Rifle Practice." He took a
prominent part in the Black Hawk war,
and at the beginning of the Mexican war he
was appointed to take the command of the
army. Gen. Scott immediately assembled
his troops at Lobos Island from which he
moved by transports to Vera Cruz, which
he took March 29, 1847, and rapidly fol-
lowed up his first success. He fought the
battles of Cerro Gordo and Jalapa, both of
which he won, and proceeded to Pueblo
where he was preceded by Worth's division
which had taken the town and waited for the
coming of Scott. The army was forced to
wait here for supplies, and August 7th,
General Scott started on his victorious
march to the city of Mexico with ten thou-
sand, seven hundred and thirty-eight men.
The battles of Contreras, Cherubusco and
San Antonio were fought August 19-20,
and on the 24th an armistice was agreed
upon, but as the commissioners could not
agree on the terms of settlement, the fight-
ing was renewed at Molino Del Rey, and
the Heights of Chapultepec were carried
by the victorious army of General Scott.
He gave the enemy no respite, however,
and vigorously followed up his advantages.
On September 14, he entered the City of
Mexico and dictated the terms of surrender
in the very heart of the Mexican Republic.
General Scott was offered the presidency of
the Mexican Republic, but declined. Con-
gress extended him a vote of thanks and
ordered a gold medal be struck in honor of
his generalship and braver}'. He was can-
didate for the presidency on the Whig plat
form but was defeated. He was honored by
having the title of lieutenant-general con-
ferred upon him in 1855. At the beginning of
the Civil war he was too infirm to take charge
of the army, but did signal service in be-
half of the government. He retired from
the service November I, 1861, and in 1864
he published his "Autobiography.'' Gen-
eral Scott died at West Point, May 29, 1S66
EDWARD EVERETT HALE for many
years occupied a high place among the
most honored of America's citizens. As
a preacher he ranks among the foremost
in the New England states, but to the gen-
eral public he is best known through his
writings. Born in Boston, Mass., April 3,
30
COMT'EXDICM OF BIOGRAPHY.
1822, a descendant of one of the most
prominent New England families, he enjoyed
in his youth many of the advantages denied
the majority of boys. He received his pre-
paratory schooling at the Boston Latin
School, after which he finished his studies at
Harvard where he was graduated with high
honors in 1839. Having studied theology
at home, Mr. Hale embraced the ministry
and in 1S46 became pastor of a Unitarian
church in Worcester, Massachusetts, a post
which he occupied about ten years. He
then, in 1S56, became pastor of the South
Congregational church in Boston, over which
he presided many years.
Mr. Hale also found time to write a
great many literary works of a high class.
Among many other well-known productions
^f his are " The Rosary," " Margaret Per-
cival in America." "Sketches of Christian
iistory," "Kansas and Nebraska," "Let-
ters on Irish Emigration," " Ninety Days'
Worth of Europe," " If, Yes, and Perhaps,"
"Ingham Papers," "Reformation," "Level
Best and Other Stories, " ' ' Ups and Downs. "
"Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," " In
His Name, " "Our New Crusade," "Work-
ingmen's Homes," " Boys' Heroes," etc.,
etc., besides many others which might be
mentioned. One of his works, " In His
Name," has earned itself enduring fame by
the good deeds it has called forth. The
numerous associations known as ' 'The King's
Daughters," which has accomplished much
good, owe their existence to the story men-
tioned.
DAVID GLASCOE FARRAGUT stands
pre-eminent as one of the greatest na-
val officers of the world. He was born at
Campbell's Station, East Tennessee, July
5, 1 801, and entered the navy of the United
States as a midshipman. He had the good
fortune to serve under Captain David Por-
ter, who commanded the " Essex," and by
whom he was taught the ideas of devotion
to duty from which he never swerved dur-
ing all his career. In 1823 Mr. Farragut
took part in a severe fight, the result of
which was the suppression of piracy in the
West Indies. He then entered upon the
regular duties of his profession which was
only broken into by a year's residence with
Charles Folsom, our consul at Tunis, who
was afterwards a distinguished professor at
Harvard. Mr. Farragut was one of the best
linguists in the navy. He had risen through
the different grades of the service until the
war of 1861-65 found him a captain resid-
ing at Norfolk, Virginia. He removed with
his family to Hastings, on the Hudson, and
hastened to offer his services to the Federal
government, and as the capture of New
Orleans had been resolved upon, Farragut
was chosen to command the expedition.
His force consisted of the West Gulf block-
ading squadron and Porter's mortar flotilla.
In January, 1862, he hoisted his pennant at
the mizzen peak of the "Hartford" at
Hampton roads, set sail from thence on the
3rd of February and reached Ship Island on
the 20th of the same month. A council of
war was held on the 20th of April, in which
it was decided that whatever was to be done
must be done quickly. The signal was made
from the flagship and accordingly the fleet
weighed anchor at 1:55 on the morning of
April 24th, and at 3:30 the whole force was
under way. The history of this brilliant strug-
gle is well known, and the glory of it made Far-
ragut a hero and also made him rear admir-
al. In the summer of 1862 he ran the batteries
at Vicksburg, and on March 14, 1863, he
passed through the fearful and destructive
fire from Poit Hudson, and opened up com-
munication with Flag-officer Porter, who
J"'<.
'
■
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COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
83
had control of the upper Mississippi. On
May 24th he commenced active operations
against that fort in conjunction with the army
and it fell on July 9th. Mr. Farragut filled
the measure of his fame on the 5th of Au-
gust, 1864, by his great victory, the capture
of Mobile Bay and the destruction of the
Confederate fleet, including the formidable
ram Tennessee. For this victory the rank
of admiral was given to Mr. Farragut. He
died at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Au-
gust 4, 1870.
GEORGE W. CHILDS, a philanthropist
whose remarkable personality stood
for the best and highest type of American
citizenship, and whose whole life was an
object lesson in noble living, was born in
1829 at Baltimore, Maryland, of humble
parents, and spent his early life in unremit-
ting toil. He was a self-made man in the
fullest sense of the word, and gained his
great wealth by his own efforts. He was a
man of very great influence, and this, in
conjunction with his wealth, would have
been, in the hands of other men, a means of
getting them political preferment, but Mr.
Childs steadily declined any suggestions that
would bring him to figure prominently in
public affairs. He did not choose to found
a financial dynasty, but devoted all his
powers to the helping of others, with the
most enlightened beneficence and broadest
sympathy. Mr. Childs once remarked that
his greatest pleasure in life was in doing
good to others. He always despised mean-
ness, and one of his objects of life was to
prove that a man could be liberal and suc-
cessful at the same time. Upon these lines
Mr. Childs made a name for himself as the
director of one of the representative news-
papers of America, "The Philadelphia Pub-
he Ledger," which was owned jointlv by
5
himself and the Drexel estate, and which he
edited for thirty years. He acquired con-
trol of the paper at a time when it was be-
ing published at a heavy loss, set it upon a
firm basis of prosperity, and he made it
more than a money- making machine — he
made it respected as an exponent of the
best side of journalism, and it stands as a
monument to his sound judgment and up-
right business principles. Mr. Childs' char-
itable repute brought him many applications
for assistance, and he never refused to help
any one that was deserving of aid; and not
only did he help those who asked, but he
would by careful inquiry find those who
needed aid but were too proud to solicit it.
He was a considerable employer of labor,
and his liberality was almost unparalleled.
The death of this great and good man oc-
curred February 3d, 1894.
PATRICK HENRY won his way to un-
dying fame in the annals of the early
history of the United States by introducing
into the house of burgesses his famous reso-
lution against the Stamp Act, which he car-
ried through, after a stormy debate, by a
majority of one. At this time he exclaimed
' ' Caesar had his Brutus, Charles I his Crom-
well and George III " (here he was inter-
rupted by cries of " treason ") " may profit
by their example. If this be treason make
the most of it."
Patrick Henry was born at Studley,
Hanover county, Virginia, May 29, 1736,
and was a son of Colonel John Henry, a
magistrate and school teacher of Aberdeen,
Scotland, and a nephew of Robertson, the
historian. He received his education from
his father, and was married at the age of
eighteen. He was twice bankrupted before
he had reached his twenty-fourth year, wnen
after six weeks of study he was admitted to
84
COMPENDITTM OF BIOGRAPHY.
the bar. He worked for three years with-
out a case and finally was applauded for his
plea lor the people's rights and gained im-
mense popularity. After his famous Stamp
Act resolution he was the leader of the pa-
triots in Virginia. In 1769 he was admitted
to practice in the general courts and speed-
ily won a fortune by his distinguished ability
as a speaker. He was the first speaker of
the General Congress at Philadelphia in
1774. He was for a time a colonel of
militiain 1775, and from 1776 to 1779 and
1 78 1 to 1786 he was governor of Virginia.
For a number of years he retired from pub-
lic life and was tendered and declined a
number of important political offices, and in
March, 1789, he was elected state senator
but aid not take his seat on account of his
death which occurred at Red Hill, Charlotte
county, Virginia, June 6, 1799.
BENEDICT ARNOLD, an American
general and traitor of the Revolution-
ary war, is one of the noted characters in
American history. He was born in Nor-
wich, Connecticut, January 3, 1740. He
ran away and enlisted in the army when
young, but deserted in a short time. He
then became a merchant at New Haven,
Connecticut, but failed. In 1775 ne was
commissioned colonel in the Massachusetts
militia, and in the autumn of that year was
placed in command of one thousand men
for the invasion of Canada. He marched
his army through the forests of Maine and
joined General Montgomery before Quebec.
Their combined forces attacked that city on
December 31, 1775, and Montgomery was
killed, and Arnold, severely wounded, was
compelled to retreat and endure a rigorous
winter a few miles from the city, where they
were at the mercy of the Canadian troops
had they cared to attack them. On his re-
turn he was raised to the rank of brigadier-
general. He was given command of a small
flotilla on Lake Champlain, with which he
encountered an immense force, and though
defeated, performed many deeds of valor.
He resented the action of congress in pro-
moting a number of his fellow officers and
neglecting himself. In 1777 he was made
major-general, and under General Gates at
Bemis Heights fought valiantly. For some
reason General Gates found fault with his
conduct and ordered him under arrest, and
he was kept in his tent until the battle of
Stillwater was waxing hot, when Arnold
mounted his horse and rode to the front of
his old troop, gave command to charge, and
rode like a mad man into the thickest of
the fight and was not overtaken by Gates'
courier until he had routed the enemy and
fell wounded. Upon his recovery he was
made general, and was placed in command
at Philadelphia. Here he married, and his
acts of rapacity soon resulted in a court-
martial. He was sentenced to be repri-
manded by the commander-in-chief, and
though Washington performed this duty
with utmost delicacy and consideration, it
was never forgiven. Arnold obtained com-
mand at West Point, the most important
post held by the Americans, in 17S0, and
immediately offered to surrender it to Sir
Henry Clinton, British commander at New
York. Major Andre was sent to arrange
details with Arnold, but on his return trip
to New York he was captured by Americans,
the plot was detected, and Andre suffered
the death penalty as a spy. Arnold es-
caped, and was paid about $40,000 by the
British for his treason and was made briga-
dier-general. He afterward commanded an
expedition that plundered a portion of Vir-
ginia, and another that burned New Lon-
don, Connecticut, and captured Fort Trum-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
85
bull, the commandant of which Arnold mur-
dered 1 with the sword he had just surren-
dered. He passed the latter part of his life
in England, universally despised, and died
in London June 14, 1801.
ROBERT G. INGERSOLL, one of the
most brilliant orators that America has
produced, also a lawyer of considerable
merit, won most of his fame as a lecturer.
Mr. Ingersoll was born August 24, 1833,
at Dryden, Gates county, New York, and
received his education in the common schools.
He went west at the age of twelve, and for
a short time he attended an academy in
Tennessee, and also taught school in that
state. He began the practice of law in the
southern part of Illinois in 1854. Colonel
Ingersoll's principal fame was made in
the lecture room by his lectures in which he
ridiculed religious faith and creeds and criti-
cised the Bible and the Christian religion.
He was the orator of the day in the Decora-
tion Day celebration in the city of New York
in 1882 and his oration was widely com-
mended. He first attracted political notice
in the convention at Cincinnati in 1876 by
his brilliant eulogy on James G. Blaine. He
practiced law in Peoria, Illinois, for a num-
ber of years, but later located in the city of
New York. He published the follow-
ing: "The Gods and other Lectures;" "The
Ghosts;" "Some Mistakes of Moses;"
"What Shall I Do To Be Saved;" "Inter-
views on Talmage and Presbyterian Cate-
chism ;" The "North American Review
Controversy;" "Prose Poems;" " A Vision
of War ; " etc.
JOSEPH ECCLESTON JOHNSTON,
a noted general in the Confederate army,
was born in Prince Edward county, Virginia,
in 1807. He graduated from West Point
and entered the army in 1829. For a num-
ber of years his chief service was garrison
duty. He saw active service, however, in
the Seminole war in Florida, part of the
time as a staff officer of General Scott. He
resigned his commission in 1837, but re-
turned to the army a year later, and was
brevetted captain for gallant services in
Florida. He was made first lieutenant of
topographical engineers, and was engaged
in river and harbor improvements and also
in the survey of the Texas boundary and
the northern boundary of the United
States until the beginning of the war
with Mexico. He was at the siege of Vera
Cruz, and at the battle of Cerro Gordo was
wounded while reconnoitering the enemy's
position, after which he was brevetted major
and colonel. He was in all the battles about
the city of Mexico, and was again wounded
in the final assault upon that city. After
the Mexican war closed he returned to duty
as captain of topographical engineers, but
in 1855 he was made lieutenant-colonel of
cavalry and did frontier duty, and was ap-
pointed inspector-general of the expedition
to Utah. In i860 he was appointed quar-
termaster-general with rank of brigadier-
general. At the outbreak of hostilities in
1 86 1 he resigned his commission and re-
ceived the appointment of major-general of
the Confederate army. He held Harper's
Ferry, and later fought General Patterson
about Winchester. At the battle of Bull
Run he declined command in favor of Beau-
regard, and acted under that general's direc-
tions. He commanded the Confederates in
the famous Peninsular campaign, and was
severely wounded at Fair Oaks and was
succeeded in command by General Lee.
Upon his recovery he was made lieutenant-
general and assigned to the command of the
southwestern department. He attempted
>•)
COMPENDIUM OP BIOGRAPHY.
to raise the siege of Vicksburg, and was
finally defeated at Jackson, Mississippi.
Having been made a general he succeeded
General Bragg in command of the army of
Tennessee and was ordered to check General
Sherman's advance upon Atlanta. Not
daring to risk a battle with the overwhelm-
ing forces of Sherman, he slowly retreated
toward Atlanta, and was relieved of com-
mand by President Davis and succeeded by
General Hood. Hood utterly destroyed his
own army by three furious attacks upon
Sherman. Johnston was restored to com-
mand in the Carolinas, and again faced
Sherman, but was defeated in several en-
gagements and continued a slow retreat
toward Richmond. Hearing of Lee's sur-
render, he communicated with General
Sherman, and finally surrendered his army
at Durham, North Carolina, April 26, 1865.
General Johnston was elected a member
of the forty-sixth congress and was ap-
pointed United States railroad commis-
sioner in 1885. His death occurred March
21, I 891 .
SAMUEL LANGHORNE CLEMENS,
known throughout the civilized world
as "Mark Twain," is recognized as one of
the greatest humorists America has pro-
duced. He was born in Monroe county,
Missouri, November 30, 1835. Hespenthis
boyhood days in his native state and many
of his earlier experiences are related in vari-
ous forms in his later writings. One of his
early acquaintances, Capt. Isaiah Sellers,
at an early day furnished river news for the
New Orleans " Picayune, " using the notn-
de-plume of "Mark Twain." Sellers died
in 1863 and Clemens took up his nom-de-
piume and made it famous throughout the
world by his literary work. In 1862 Mr.
Clemens became a journalist at Virginia,
Nevada, and afterward followed thesame pro-
fession at San Francisco and Buffalo, New
York. He accumulated a fortune from the
sale of his many publications, but in later
years engaged in business enterprises, partic-
ularly the manufacture of a typesetting ma-
chine, which dissipated his fortune and re-
duced him almost to poverty, but with resolute
heart he at once again took up his pen and
engaged in literary work in the effort to
regain his lost ground. Among the best
known of his works may be mentioned the fol-
lowing: ' ' The Jumping Frog, " ' ' Tom Saw-
yer," " Roughingit," " Innocents Abroad,"
"Huckleberry Finn," "Gilded Age,"
"Prince and Pauper," "Million Pound
Bank Note," "A Yankee in King Arthur's
Court," etc.
CHRISTOPHER CARSON, better
known as "Kit Carson;" was an Amer-
ican trapper and scout who gained a wide
reputation for his frontier work. He was a
native of Kentucky, born December 24th,
1809. He grew to manhood there, devel-
oping a natural inclination for adventure in
the pioneer experiences in his native state.
When yet a young man he became quite
well known on the frontier. He served as
a guide to Gen. Fremont in his Rocky
Mountain explorations and enlisted in the
army. He was an officer in the United
States service in both the Mexican war and
the great Civil war, and in the latter received
a brevet of brigadier-general for meritorious
service. His death occurred May 23,
1868.
J
OHN SHERMAN.— Statesman, politi-
cian, cabinet officer andsenator, the name
of the gentleman who heads this sketch is al-
most a household word throughout this
country. Identified with some of the most
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
M
important measures adopted by our Govern-
ment since the close of the Civil war, he may
well be called one of the leading men of his
day.
John Sherman was born at Lancaster,
Fairfield county, Ohio, May ioth, 1823,
the son of Charles R. Sherman, an emi-
nent lawyer and judge of the supreme court
of Ohio and who died in 1829. The subject
of this article received an academic educa-
tion and was admitted to the bar in 1844.
In the Whig conventions of 1844 and 1848
he sat as a delegate. He was a member of
the National house of representatives,
from 1855 to 1 86 1 . In i860 he was re-
elected to the same position but was chosen
United States senator before he took his
seat in the lower house. He was re-elected
senator in 1866 and 1872 and was long
chairman of the committee on finance and
on agriculture. He took a prominent part
in debates on finance and on the conduct of
the war, and was one of the authors of the
reconstruction measures in 1S66 and 1867,
and was appointed secretary of the treas-
ury March 7th, 1877.
Mr. Sherman was re-elected United States
senator from Ohio January 18th, 1881, and
again in 1886 and 1892, during which time
he was regarded as one of the most promi-
nent leaders of the Republican party, both
in the senate and in the country. He was
several times the favorite of his state for the
nomination for president.
On the formation of his cabinet in March,
1897, President McKinley tendered the posi-
tion of secretary of state to Mr. Sherman,
which was accepted.
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, ninth
president of the United States, was
born in Charles county, Virginia, February
9, 1773, the son of Governor Benjamin
Harrison. He took a course in Hampden-
Sidney College with a view to the practice
of medicine, and then went to Philadelphia
to study under Dr. Rush, but in 1791 he
entered the army, and obtained the commis-
sion of ensign, was soon promoted to the
lieutenancy, and was with General Wayne
in his war against the Indians. For his
valuable service he was promoted to the
rank of captain and given command of Fort
Washington, now Cincinnati. He was ap-
pointed secretary of the Northwest Territory
in 1797, and in 1799 became its representa-
tive in congress. In 1801 he was appointed
governor of Indiana Territory, and held the
position for twelve years, during which time
he negotiated important treaties with the In-
dians, causing them to relinquish millions of
acres of land, and also won the battle of
Tippecanoe in 181 1. He succeeded in
obtaining a change in the law which did not
permit purchase of public lands in less tracts
than four thousand acres, reducing the limit
to three hundred and twenty acres. He
became major-general of Kentucky militia
and brigadier-general in the United States
army in 181 2, and won great renown in
the defense of Fort Meigs, and his victory
over the British and Indians under Proctor
and Tecumseh at the Thames river, October
5. 1S13.
In 1 8 16 General Harrison was elected to
congress from Ohio, and during the canvass
was accused of corrupt methods in regard to
the commissariat of the army. He demanded
an investigation after the election and was
exonerated. In 18 19 he was elected to
the Ohio state senate, and in 1824 he gave
his vote as a presidential elector to Henry
Clay. He became a member of the United
States senate the same year. During the
last year of Adams' administration he was
sent as minister to Colombia, but was re-
^
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
called by President Jackson the following
year. He then retired to his estate at North
Bend, Ohio, a few miles below Cincinnati. In
1836 he was a candidate for the presidency,
but as there were three other candidates
the votes were divided, he receiving seventy-
three electoral votes, a majority going to
Mr. Van Buren, the Democratic candidate.
Four years later General Harrison was again
nominated by the Whigs, and elected by a
tremendous majority. The campaign was
noted for its novel features, many of which
have found a permanent place in subsequent
campaigns. Those peculiar to that cam-
paign, however, were the " log-cabin" and
" hard cider" watchwords, which produced
great enthusiasm among his followers. One
month after his inauguration he died from
an attack of pleurisy, April 4, 1841.
CHARLES A. DANA, the well-known
and widely-read journalist of New York
City, a native of Hinsdale, New Hampshire,
was born August 8, 18 19. He received
the elements of a good education in his
youth and studied for two years at Harvard
University. Owing to some disease of the
eyes he was unable to complete his course
and graduate, but was granted the degree of
A. M. notwithstanding. For some time he
was editor of the " Harbinger," and was a
regular contributor to the Boston " Chrono-
type." In 1847 he became connected with
the New York " Tribune, " and continued on
the staff of that journal until 1858. In the
latter year he edited and compiled "The
Household Book of Poetry," and later, in
connection with George Ripley, edited the
"New American Cyclopaedia."
Mr. Dana, on severing his connection
with the "Tribune" in 1 867, became editor
of the New York "Sun," a paper with
which he was identified for many years, and
which he made one of the leaders of thought
in the eastern part of the United States.
He wielded a forceful pen and fearlessly
attacked whatever was corrupt and unworthy
in politics, state or national. The same
year, 1867, Mr. Dana organized the New
York " Sun " Company.
During the troublous days of the war,
when the fate of the Nation depended upon
the armies in the field, Mr. Dana accepted
the arduous and responsible position of
assistant secretary of war, and held the
position during the greater part of 1863
and 1864. He died October 17, 1S97.
ASA GRAY was recognized throughout the
scientific world as one of the ablest
and most eminent of botanists. He was
born at Paris, Oneida county, New York,
November 18, 1S10. He received his medi-
cal degree at the Fairfield College of Physi-
cians and Surgeons, in Herkimer county,
New York, and studied botany with the late
Professor Torrey, of New York. He was
appointed botanist to the Wilkes expedition
in 1834, but declined the offer and became
professor of natural history in Harvard Uni-
versity in 1842. He retired from the active
duties of this post in 1873, and in 1874 he
was the regent of the Smithsonian Institu-
tion at Washington, District of Columbia.
Dr. Gray wrote several books on the sub-
ject of the many sciences of which he was
master. In 1836 he published his "Ele-
ments of Botany," "Manual of Botany" in
1848; the unfinished "Flora of North
America," by himself and Dr. Torrey, the
publication of which commenced in 1838.
There is another of his unfinished works
called "Genera Boreali-Americana," pub-
lished in 1848, and the "Botany of the
United States Pacific Exploring Expedition
in 1854." He wrote many elaborate papers
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
m
on the botany of the west and southwest
that were published in the Smithsonian Con-
tributions, Memoirs, etc., of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences, of which in-
stitution he was president for ten years.
He was also the author of many of the
government reports. ' ' How Plants Grow, "
" Lessons in Botany," "Structural and Sys-
tematic Botany," are also works from his
ready pen.
Dr. Gray published in 1861 his "Free
Examination of Darwin's Treatise " and his
" Darwiniana," in 1876. Mr. Gray was
elected July 29, 1878, to a membership in
the Institute of France, Academy of Sciences.
His death occurred at Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts, January 30, 1889.
WILLIAM MAXWELL EVARTS was
one of the greatest leaders of the
American bar. He was born in Boston,
Massachusetts, February 6, 1818, and grad-
uated from Yale College in 1S37. He took
up the study of law, which he practiced in
the city of New York and won great renown
as an orator and advocate. He affiliated
with the Republican party, which he joined
soon after its organization. He was the
leading counsel employed for the defense of
i-.esident Johnson in his trial for impeach-
ment before the senate in April and May of
1868.
In July, 1868, Mr. Evarts was appointed
attorney-general of the United States, and
served until March 4, 1869. He was one
of the three lawyers who were selected by
President Grant in 1871 to defend the inter-
ests of the citizens of the United States be-
fore the tribunal of arbitration which met
at Geneva in Switzerland to settle the con-
troversy over the " Alabama Claims."
He was one of the most eloquent advo-
cates in the United States, and many of his
public addresses have been preserved and
published. He was appointed secretary of
state March 7, 1877, by President Hayes,
and served during the Hayes administration.
He was elected senator from the state of
New York January 21, 1885, and at once
took rank among the ablest statesmen in
Congress, and the prominent part he took
in the discussion of public questions gave
him a national reputation.
JOHN WANAMAKER.— The life of this
J great merchant demonstrates the fact
that the great secret of rising from the ranks
is, to-day, as in the past ages, not so much the
ability to make money, as to save it, or in
other words, the ability to live well within
one's income. Mr. Wanamaker was born in
Philadelphia in 1838. He started out in
life working in a brickyard for a mere pit-
tance, and left that position to work in a
book store as a clerk, where he earned
the sum of $5.00 per month, and later on
was in the employ of a clothier where he
received twenty-five cents a week more.
He was only fifteen years of age at that
time, but was a ' ' money-getter " by instinct,
and laid by a small sum for a possible rainy
day. By strict attention to business, com-
bined with natural ability, he was promoted
many times, and at the age of twenty he
had saved $2,000. After several months
vacation in the south, he returned to Phila-
delphia and became a master brick mason,
but this was too tiresome to the young man,
and he opened up the " Oak Hall " clothing
store in April, 1861, at Philadelphia. The
capital of the firm was rather limited, but
finally, after many discouragements, they
laid the foundations of one of the largest
business houses in the world. The estab-
lishment covers at the present writing some
fourteen acres of floor space, and furnishes
90
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
employment for five thousand persons. Mr.
Wanamaker was also a great church worker,
and built a church that cost him $60,000,
and he was superintendent of the Sunday-
school, which had a membership of over
three thousand children. He steadily re-
fused to run for mayor or congress and the
only public office that he ever held was that
of postmaster-general, under the Harrison
administration, and here he exhibited his
extraordinary aptitude for comprehending
the details of public business.
DAVID BENNETT HILL, a Demo-
cratic politician who gained a na-
tional reputation, was born August 29,
1843, at Havana, New York. He was
educated at the academy of his native town,
and removed to Elmira, New York, in 1862,
where he studied law. He was admitted to
the bar in 1864, in which year he was ap-
pointed city attorney. Mr. Hill soon gained
a considerable practice, becoming prominent
in his profession. He developed a taste for
politics in which he began to take an active
part in the different campaigns and became
the recognized leader of the local Democ-
racy. In 1870 he was elected a member of
the assembly and was re-elected in 1872.
While a member of this assembly he formed
the acquaintance of Samuel J. Tilden, after-
ward governor of the state, who appointed
Mr. Hill, W. M. Evarts and Judge Hand
as a committee to provide a uniform charter
for the different cities of the state. The
pressure of professional engagements com-
pelled him to decline to serve. In 1877
Mr. Hill was made chairman of the Demo-
cratic state convention at Albany, his elec-
tion being due to the Tilden wing of the
party, and he held the same position again
in 1 88 1. He served one term as alderman
in Elmira, at the expiration of which term,
in 1882, he was elected mayor of Elmira,
and in September of the same year was
nominated for lieutenant-governor on the
Democratic state ticket. He was success-
ful in the campaign and two years later,
when Grover Cleveland was elected to the
presidency, Mr. Hill succeeded to the gov-
ernorship for the unexpired term. In 1885
he was elected governor for a full term of
three years, at the end of which he was re-
elected, his term expiring in 1891, in which
year he was elected United States senator.
In the senate he became a conspicuous
figure and gained a national reputation.
ALLEN G. THURMAN.—" The noblest
Roman of them all " was the title by
which Mr. Thurman was called by his com-
patriots of the Democracy. He was the
greatest leader of the Democratic party in
his day and held the esteem of all the
people, regardless of their political creeds.
Mr. Thurman was born November 13, 18 13,
at Lynchburg, Virginia, where he remained
until he had attained the age of six years,
when he moved to Ohio. He received an
academic education and after graduating,
took up the study of law, was admitted to
the bar in 1835, and achieved a brilliant
success in that line. In political life he was
very successful, and his first office was that
of representative of the state of Ohio in the
twenty-ninth congress. He was elected
judge of the supreme court of Ohio in 1851,
and was chief justice of the same from 1854
to 1856. In 1867 he was the choice of the
Democratic party of his state for governor,
and was elected to the United States senate
in 1869 to succeed Benjamin F. Wade,
and was re-elected to the same position in
1874. He was a prominent figure in the
senate, until the expiration of his service i.i
1 88 1. Mr. Thurman was also one of the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
91
principal pres'dental possibilities in the
Democratic convention held at St. Louis in
1876. In 1888 he was the Democratic
nominee for vice-president on the ticket
with Grover Cleveland, but was defeated.
Allen Granberry Thurman died December
12, 1895, at Columbus, Ohio.
CHARLES FARRAR BROWNE, better
known as " Artemus Ward," was born
April 26, 1834, in the village of Waterford,
Maine. He was thirteen years old at the
time of his father's death, and about a year
later he was apprenticed to John M. Rix,
who published the "Coos County Dem-
ocrat " at Lancaster, New Hampshire. Mr.
Browne remained with him one year, when,
hearing that his brother Cyrus was starting
a paper at Norway, Maine, he left Mr. Rix
and determined to get work on the new
paper. He worked for his brother until the
failure of the newspaper, and then went to
Augusta, Maine, where he remained a few
weeks and then removed to Skowhegan,
and secured a position on the "Clarion."
But either the climate or the work was not
satisfactory to him, for one night he silently
left the town and astonished his good mother
by appearing unexpectedly at home. Mr.
Browne then received some letters of recom-
mendation to Messrs. Snow and Wilder, of
Boston, at whose office Mrs. Partington's
(B. P. Shillaber) ' ' Carpet Bag " was printed,
and he was engaged and remained there for
three years. He then traveled westward in
search of employment and got as far as Tif-
fin, Ohio, where he found employment in the
office of the "Advertiser," and remained
there some months when he proceeded to
Toledo, Ohio, where he became one of the
star! of the "Commercial," which position
he held uniii 1857. Mr. Browne next went
XG Cleveland, Ohio, and became the locai
editor of the "Plain Dealer," and it was in
the columns of this paper that he published
his first articles and signed them " Artemus
Ward." In i860 he went to New York and
became the editor of " Vanity Fair," but
the idea of lecturing here seized him, and he
was fully determined to make the trial.
Mr. Browne brought out his lecture, "Babes
in the Woods " at Clinton Hall, December
23, 1 861, and in 1862 he published his first
book entitled, " Artemus Ward; His Book."
He attained great fame as a lecturer and his
lectures were not confined to America, for
he went to England in 1866, and became
exceedingly popular, both as a lecturer and
a contributor to "Punch." Mr. Browne
lectured for the last time January 23, 1867.
He died in Southampton, England, March
6, 1867.
THURLOW WEED, a noted journalist
and politician, was born in Cairo, New
York, November 15, 1797. He learned the
printer's trade at the age of twelve years,
and worked at this calling for several years
in various villages in centra! New York. He
served as quartermaster-sergeant during the
war of 1812. In 1818 he established the
"Agriculturist," at Norwich, New York,
and became editor of the "Anti-Masonic
Enquirer," at Rochester, in 1826. In the
same year he was elected to the legislature
and re-elected in 1830, when he located in
Albany, New York, and there started the
" Evening Journal," and conducted it in op-
position to the Jackson administration and
the nullification doctrines of Calhoun. H2
became an adroit party manager, and was
instrumental in promoting the nominations
of Harrison, Taylor and Scott for the pres-
idency. In 1856 and in i860 he threw his
support to W. H. Seward, but when defeat-
I ed in his object, he gave cordial support to
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIfr,
Fremont and Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln pre-
va-led upon him to visit the various capitals
of Europe, where he proved a valuable aid
tc the administration in moulding the opin-
ions of the statesmen of that continent
favorable to the cause of the Union.
Mr. Weed's connection with the ' ' Even-
ing Journal " was severed in 1862, when he
settled in New York, and for a time edited
the " Commercial Advertiser." In 1868 he
retired from active life. His " Letters from
Europe and the West Indies," published in
1 866, together with some interesting ' ' Rem-
iniscences, " published in the " Atlantic
Monthly," in 1870, an autobiography, and
portions of an extensive correspondence will
be of great value to writers of the political
history of the United States. Mr. Weed
died in New York, November 22, 1882.
WILLIAM COLLINS WHITNEY,
one of the prominent Democratic
politicians of the country and ex-secretary of
the navy, was born July 5th, 1841, at Con-
way, Massachusetts, and received his edu-
cation at Williston Seminary, East Hamp-
ton, Massachusetts. Later he attended
Yale College, where he graduated in 1863,
and entered the Harvard Law School, which
he left in 1864. Beginning practice in New
York city, he soon gained a reputation as
an able lawyer. He made his first appear-
ance in public affairs in 1871, when he was
active in organizing a young men's Demo-
cratic club. In 1872 he was the recognized
leader of the county Democracy and in 1875
was appointed corporation counsel for the
city of New York. He resigned the office,
1882, to attend to personal interests and on
March 5, 1885, he was appointed secretary
of the navy by President Cleveland. Under
his administration the navy of the United
States rapidly rose in rank among the navies
of the world. When he retired from office
in 1889, the vessels of the United States
navy designed and contracted for by him
were five double-turreted monitors, twc
new armor-clads, the dynamite cruiser "Ve-
suvius,'' and five unarmored steel and iron
cruisers.
Mr. Whitney was the leader of the
Cleveland forces in the national Democratic
convention of 1892.
EDWIN FORREST, the first and great-
est American tragedian, was born in
Philadelphia in 1806. His father was a
tradesman, and some accounts state that he
had marked out a mercantile career for his
son, Edwin, while others claim that he had
intended him for the ministry. His wonder-
ful memory, his powers of mimicry and his
strong musical voice, however, attracted at-
tention before he was eleven years old, and
at that age he made his first appearance on
the stage. The costume in which he appeared
was so ridiculous that he left the stage in a
fit of anger amid a roar of laughter from
the audience. This did not discourage him,
however, and at the age of fourteen, after
some preliminary training in elocution, he
appeared again, this time as Young Norvel,
and gave indications of future greatness.
Up to 1826 he played entirely with strolling
companies through the south and west, but
at that time he obtained an engagement at
the Bowery Theater in New York. From
that time his fortune was made. His man-
ager paid him $40 per night, and it is stated
that he loaned Forrest to other houses from
time to time at $200 per night. His great
successes were Virginius, Damon, Othello.
Coriolanus, William Tell, Spartacus and
Lear. He made his first appearance in
London in 1836, and his success was un-
questioned from the start. In 1845, on his
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
93
second appearance in London, he became
involved in a bitter rivalry with the great
English actor, Macready, who had visited
America two years before. The result was
that Forrest was hissed from the stage, and
it was charged that Macready had instigated
the plot. Forrest's resentment was so bitter
that he himself openly hissed Macready
from his box a few nights later. In 1848
Macready again visited America at a time
when American admiration and enthusiasm
for Forrest had reached its height. Macready
undertook to play at Astor Place Opera
House in May, 1849, but was hooted off the
stage. A few nights later Macready made a
second attempt to play at the same house,
this time under police protection. The house
was filled with Macready 's friends, but the vio-
olence of the mob outside stopped the play,
and the actor barely escaped with his life.
Upon reading the riot act the police and
troops were assaulted with stones. The
troops replied, first with blank cartridges,
and then a volley of lead dispersed the
mob, leaving thirty men dead or seriously
wounded.
After this incident Forrest's popularity
waned, until in 1855 he retired from the
stage. He re-appeared in i860, however,
and probably the most remunerative period
of his life was between that date and the
close of the Civil war. His last appearance
on the stage was at the Globe Theatre,
Boston, in Richelieu, in April, 1872, his
death occurring December 12 of that year.
NOAH PORTER, D. D., LL. D., was
one of the most noted educators, au-
thors and scientific writers of the United
States. He was born December 14, 181 1,
at Farmington, Connecticut, graduated at
Yale College in 1831, and was master of
Hopkins Grammar School at New Haven in
183 1—33 - During 1833-35 he was a tutor
at Yale, and at the same time was pursuing
his theological studies, and became pastor
of the Congregational church at New Mil-
ford, Connecticut, in April, 1836. Dr.
Porter removed to Springfield, Massachu-
setts, in 1843, and was chosen professor of
metaphysics and moral philosophy at Yale,
in 1846. He spent a year in Germany in
the study of modern metaphysics in 1853-
54, and in 1871 he was elected president of
Yale College. He resigned the presidency
in 1885, but still remained professor of met-
aphysics and moral philosophy. He was
the author of a number of works, among
which are the following: " Historical Es
say," written in commemorationof the 200th
aniversary of the settlement of the town of
Farmington; " Educational System of the
Jesuits Compared;" "The Human Intel-
lect," with an introduction upon psychology
and the soul; " Books and Reading;"
"American Colleges and the American Pub-
lic;" " Elements of Intellectual Philosophy;"
" The Science of Nature versus the Science
of Man;" " Science and Sentiment;" " Ele-
ments of Moral Science." Dr. Porter was
the principal editor of the revised edition of
Webster's Dictionary in 1864, and con-
tributed largely to religious reviews and
periodicals. Dr. Porter's death occurred
March 4, 1892, at New Haven, Connecticut.
JOHN TYLER, tenth president of the
United States, was born in Charles City
county, Virginia, March 29, 1790, and was
the son of Judge John Tyler, one of the
most distinguished men of his day.
When but twelve years of age young
John Tyler entered William and Mary Col-
lege, graduating from there in 1806. He
took up the study of law and was admitted
to the bar in 1809, when but nineteen years
94
com n \ dium of biograp/iv.
of age. On attaining his majority in i S 1 1
he was elected a member of the state legis-
lature, and for five years held that position
by the almost unanimous vote of his count}-.
He was elected to congress in 1816, and
served in that body for four years, after
which for two years he represented his dis-
trict again in the legislature of the state.
While in congress, he opposed the United
States bank, the protective policy and in-
ternal improvements by the United States
government. 1825 saw Mr. Tyler governor
of Virginia, but in 1827 he was chosen
member of the United States senate, and
held that office for nine years. He therein
opposed the administration of Adams and
the tariff bill of 1828, sympathized with the
milliners of South Carolina and was the
only senator who voted against the Force
bill for the suppression of that state's insip-
ient rebellion. He resigned his position as
senator on account of a disagreement with
the legislature of his state in relation to his
censuring President Jackson. He retired to
Williamsburg, Virginia, but being regarded
as a martyr by the Whigs, whom, hereto-
fore, he had always opposed, was supported
by many of that party for the vice-presi-
dency in 1836. He sat in the Virginia leg-
islature as a Whig in 1839-40, and was a
delegate to the convention of that party in
1859. This national convention nominated
him for the second place on the ticket with
General William H. H. Harrison, and he
was elected vice-president in November,
1840. President Harrison dying one month
after his inauguration, he was succeeded by
John Tyler. He retained the cabinet chosen
by his predecessor, and for a time moved in
harmony with the Whig party. He finally
instructed the secretary of the treasury,
Thomas Ewing, to submit to congress a bill
for the incorporation of a fiscal bank of the !
United States, which was passed by con-
gress, but vetoed by the president on ac-
count of some amendments he considered
unconstitutional. For this and other meas-
ures he was accused of treachery to his
party, and deserted by his whole cabinet,
except Daniel Webs' er. Things grew worse
until he was abandoned by the Whig party
formally, when Mr. Webster resigned. He
was nominated at Baltimore, in May, 1S44,
at the Democratic convention, as their pres-
idential candidate, but withdrew from the
canvass, as he saw he had not succeed-
ed in gaining the confidence of his old
party. He then retired from politics until
February, 1861, when he was made presi-
dent of the abortive peace congress, which
met in Washington. He shortly after re-
nounced his allegiance to the United States
and was elected a member of the Confeder-
ate congress. He died at Richmond, Janu-
ary 17, 1862.
Mr. Tyler married, in 181 3, Miss Letitia
Christian, who died in 1842 at Washington.
June 26, 1844, he contracted a second mar-
riage, with Miss Julia Gardner, of New York.
COLLIS POTTER HUNTINGTON,
one of the great men of his time and
who has left his impress upon the history of
our national development, was born October
22, 1 82 1, at Harwinton, Connecticut.
He received a common-school education
and at the age of fourteen his spirit of get-
ting along in the world mastered his educa-
tional propensities and his father's objec-
tions and he left school. 'He went to Cali-
fornia in the early days and had opportunities
which he handled masterfully. Others had
the same opportunities but they did not have
his brains nor his energy, and it was he who
overcame obstacles and reaped the reward
of his genius. Transcontinental railways
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
95
were inevitable, but the realization of this
masterful achievement would have been de-
layed to a much later day if there had been
no Huntington. He associated himself with
Messrs. Mark Hopkins, Leland Stanford,
and Charles Crocker, and they furnished the
money necessary for a survey across the
Sierra Nevadas, secured a charter for the
road, and raised, with the government's aid,
money enough to construct and equip that
railway, which at the time of its completion
was a marvel of engineering and one of the
wonders of the world. Mr. Huntington be-
came president of the Southern Pacific rail-
road, vice-president of the Central Pacific;
trustee of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph
Company, and a director of the Occidental
and Oriental Steamship Company, besides
being identified with many other business
enterprises of vast importance.
GEORGE A. CUSTER, a famous In-
dian fighter, was born in Ohio in 1840.
He graduated at West Point in 1861, an-
served in the Civil war; was at Bull Run id
1 86 1, and was in the Peninsular campaign,
being one of General McClellan's aides-de,
camp. He fought in the battles of South
Mountain and Antietam in 1863, and was
with General Stoneman on his famous
cavalry raid. He was engaged in the battle
of Gettysburg, and was there made brevet-
major. In 1863 was appointed brigadier-
general of volunteers. General Custer was
in many skirmishes in central Virginia in
1863-64, and was present at the following
battles of the Richmond campaign: Wil-
derness , Todd 's Tavern, Yellow Tavern, where
he wasbrevetted lieutenant-colonel; Meadow
Bridge, Haw's Shop, Cold Harbor, Trevil-
lian Station. In the Shenandoah Valley
1 864-65 he was brevetted colonel at Opequan
Creek, and at Cedar Creek he was made
brevet major-general for gallant conduct
during the engagement. General Custer
was in command ot a cavalry division in the
pursuit of Lee's army in 1865, and fought
at Dinwiddie Court House, Five Forks,
where he was made brevet brigadier-general;
Sailors Creek and Appomattox, where he
gained additional honors and was made
brevet major-general, and was given the
command of the cavalry in the military
division of the southwest and Gulf, in 1S65.
After the establishment of peace he went
west on frontier duty and performed gallant
and valuable service in the troubles with the
Indians. He was killed in the massacre on
the Little Big Horn river, South Dakota,
June 25, 1876.
DANIEL WOLSEY VOORHEES, cel-
brated as " The Tall Sycamore of the
Wabash," was born September 26, 1827,
in Butler county, Ohio. When he was two
months old his parents removed to Fount-
ain county, Indiana. He grew to manhood
on a farm, engaged in all the arduous work
pertaining to rural life. In 1845 he entered
the Indiana Asbury University, now the De
Pauw, from which he graduated in 1849.
He took up the study of law at Crawfords-
ville, and in 1S51 began the practice of his
profession at Covington, Fountain county,
Indiana. He became a law partner of
United States Senator Hannegan, of Indi-
ana, in 1852, and in 1856 he was an unsuc-
cessful candidate for congress. In the fol-
lowing year he took up his residence in Terre
Haute, Indiana. He was United States
district attorney for Indiana from 1857 until
1 86 1, and he had during this period been
elected to congress, in i860. Mr. Voorhees
was re-elected to congress in 1862 and 1864,
but he was unsuccessful in the election of
1866. However, he was returned to con-
ccnrrExmi'M of biography.
gress in 1868, where he remained until 1874,
having been re-elected twice. In 1877 he
was appointed United States senator from
Indiana to fill a vacancy caused by the death
of O. P. Morton, and at the end of the term
was elected for the ensuing term, being re-
elected in 1885 and in 1S91 to the same of-
fice. He served with distinction on many
of the committees, and took a very prom-
inent part in the discussion of all the im-
portant legislation of his time. His death
occurred in August, 189 .
ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL, fa-
mous as one of the inventors of the tele-
phone, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland,
March 3rd, 1847. He received his early
education in the high school and later he
attended the university, and was specially
trained to follow his grandfather's profes-
sion, that of removing impediments of
speech. He emigrated to the United States
in 1S72, and introduced into this country
his father's invention of visible speech in the
institutions for deaf-mutes. Later he was
appointed professor of vocal physiology in
the Boston University. He worked for
many years during his leisure hours on his
telephonic discovery, and finally perfected
it and exhibited it publicly, before it had
reached the high state of perfection to which
he brought it. His first exhibition of it was
at the Centennial Exhibition that was held
in Philadelphia in 1S76. Its success is now
established throughout the civilized world.
In 1882 Prof. Bell received a diploma and
the decoration of the Legion of Honor from
the Academy of Sciences of, France.
WILLIAM HICKLING PRESCOTT,
the justly celebrated historian and
author, was a native of Salem, Massachu-
setts, and was born May 4, 1796. He was
the son of Judge William Prescott and the
grandson of the hero of Bunker Hill, Colonel
William Prescott.
Our subject in 1808 removed with the
family to Boston, in the schools of which
city he received his early education. He
entered Harvard College as a sophomore in
181 1, having been prepared at the private
classical college of Rev. Dr. J. S. J. Gardi-
jner. The following year he received an in-
ury in his left eye which made study
through life a matter of difficulty. He
graduated in 18 14 with high honors in the
classics and belle lettres. He spent several
months on the Azores Islands, and later
visited England, France and Italy, return-
ing home in 1 S 1 7. In June, 18 iS, he
founded a social and literary club at Boston
for which he edited "The Club Room," a
periodical doomed to but a short life. May
4, 1820, he married Miss Susan Amory.
He devoted several years after that event to
a thorough study of ancient and modern
history and literature. As the fruits of his
labors he published several well written
essays upon French and Italian poetry and
romance in the " North American Review."
January 19, 1826, he decided to take up his
first great historical work, the " History of
the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella." To
this he gave the labor of ten years, publish-
ing the same December 25, 1837. Although
placed at the head of all American authors,
so diffident was Prescott of his literary merit
that although he had four copies of this
work printed for his own convenience, he
hesitated a long time before giving it to the
public, and it was only by the solicitation of
friends, especially of that talented Spanish
scholar, George Ticknor, that he was in-
duced to do so. Soon the volumes were
translated into French, Italian, Dutch and
German, and the work was recognized
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
97
throughout the world as one of the most
meritorious of historical compositions. In
1843 he published the "Conquest of Mexi-
co," and in 1847 the "Conquest of Peru."
Two years later there came from his pen a
volume of " Biographical and Critical Mis-
cellanies." Going abroad in the summer of
1S50, he was received with great distinction
in the literary circles of London, Edinburgh,
Paris, Antwerp and Brussels. Oxford Uni-
versity conferred the degree of D. C. L.
upon him. In 1855 he issued two volumes
of his "History of the Reign of Philip the
Second," and a third in 1858. In the
meantime he edited Robertson's "Charles
the Fifth," adding a history of the life of
that monarch after his abdication. Death
cut short his work on the remaining volumes
of " Philip the Second," coming to him at
Boston, Massachusetts, May 28, 1859.
OLIVER HAZARD PERRY, a noted
American commodore, was born in
South Kingston, Rhode Island, August 23,
1785. He saw his first service as a mid-
shipman in the United States navy in April,
1799. He cruised with his father, Captain
Christopher Raymond Perry, in the West In-
dies for about two years. In 1804 he was
in the war against Tripoli, and was made
lieutenant in 1807. At the opening of hostili-
ties with Great Britain in 1 8 1 2 he was given
command of a fleet of gunboats on the At-
lantic coast. At his request he was trans-
ferred, a year later, to Lake Ontario, where
he served under Commodore Chauncey, and
took an active part in the attack on Fort
George. He was ordered to fit out a squad-
ron on Lake Erie, which he did, building
most of his vessels from the forests along
the shore, and by the summer of 1 8 1 3 he had
a fleet of nine vessels at Presque Isle, now
Erie, Pennsylvania September 10th he
attacked and captured the British fleet near
Put-in-Bay, thus clearing the lake of hostile
ships. His famous dispatch is part of his
fame, " We have met the enemy, and they
are ours." He co-operated with Gen. Har-
rison, and the success of the campaign in
the northwest was largely due to his victory.
The next year he was transferred to the Po-
tomac, and assisted in the defense of Balti-
more. After the war he was in constant
service with the various squadrons in cruising
in all parts of the world. He died of yellow
fever on the Island of Trinidad, August 23,
1 8 19. His remains were conveyed to New-
port, and buried there, and an imposing
obelisk was erected to his memory by the
State of Rhode Island. A bronze statue
was also erected in his honor, the unveiling
taking place in 1885.
JOHN PAUL JONES, though a native
of Scotland, was one of America's must
noted fighters during the Revolutionary war.
He was born July 6, 1747. His father was
a gardener, but the young man soon be-
came interested in a seafaring life and at
the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a
sea captain engaged in the American trade.
His first voyage landed him in Virginia,
where he had a brother who had settled
there several years prior. The failure of
the captain released young Jones from his
apprenticeship bonds, and he was engaged
as third mate of a vessel engaged in the
slave trade. He abandoned this trade after
a few years, from his own sense of disgrace.
He took passage from Jamaica for Scotland
in 1768, and on the voyage both the captain
and the mate died and he was compelled to
take command of the vessel for the re-
mainder of the voyage. He soon after
became master of the vessel. He returned
to Virginia about 1773 to settle up the estate
co.ur/-:.\/)/i\\f of biograph:
oi his brother, and at this time added the
name "Jones," having previously been
known as John Paul. He settled down in
Virginia, but when the war broke out in
1775 he offered his services to congress and
was appointed senior lieutenant of the flag-
ship "Alfred," on which he hoisted the
American flag with his own hands, the first
vessel that had ever carried a flag of the
new nation. He was afterward appointed
to the command of the " Alfred," and later
of the "Providence," in each of which ves-
sels he did good service, as also in the
" Ranger," to the command of which he
was later appointed. The fight that made
him famous, however, was that in which he
captured the " Serapis," off the coast of
Scotland. He was then in command of the
"Bon Homme Richard," which had been
fitted out for him by the French government
and named by Jones in honor of Benjamin
Franklin, or " Good Man Richard," Frank-
lin being author of the publication known
as " Poor Richard's Almanac." The fight
between the " Richard" and the "Serapis"
lasted three hours, all of which time the
vessels were at close range, and most of the
time in actual contact. Jones' vessel was
on fire several times, and early in the en-
gagement two of his guns bursted, rendering
the battery useless. Also an envious officer
of the Alliance, one of Jones' own fleet,
opened fire upon the' " Richard " at a crit-
ical time, completely disabling the vessel.
Jones continued the fight, in spite of coun-
sels to surrender, and after dark the " Ser-
apis " struck her colors, and was hastily
boarded by Jones and his crew, while the
"Richard" sank, bows first, after the
wounded had been taken on board the
"Serapis." Most of the other vessels of
the fleet of which the " Serapis" was con-
voy, surrendered, and were taken with the
"Serapis" to France, where Jones was
received with greatest honors, and the king
presented him with an elegant sword and
the cross of the Order of Military Merit.
Congress gave him a vote of thanks and
made him commander of a new ship, the
"America," but the vessel was afterward
given to France and Jones never saw active
sea service again. He came to America again,
in 1787, after the cjose of the war, and was
voted a gold medal by congress. He went to
Russia and was appointed rear-admiral and
rendered service of value against the Turks,
but on account of personal enmity of the fav-
orites of the emperor he was retired on a pen-
sion. Failing to collect this, he returned to
France, where he died, July 18, 1792.
THOMAS MORAN, the well-known
painter of . Rocky Mountain scenerv,
was born in Lancashire, England, in 1837.
He came to America when a child, and
showing artistic tastes, he was apprenticed
to a wood engraver in Philadelphia. Three
years later he began landscape painting, and
his style soon began to exhibit signs of genius.
His first works were water-colors, and
though without an instructor he began the
use of oils, he soon found it necessary to
visit Europe, where he gave particular at-
tention to the works of Turner. He joined
the Yellowstone Park exploring expedition
and visited the Rocky Mountains in 1871
and again in 1873, making numerous
sketches of the scenery. The most note-
worthy results were his ' ' Grand Canon of
the Yellowstone," and " The Chasm of the
Colorado," which were purchased by con-
gress at $10,000 each, the first of which is
undoubtedly the finest landscape painting
produced in this country. Mr. Moran has
subordinated art to nature, and the subjects
he has chosen leave little ground for fault
k ^^ G ECiV.CHILDS h^
78
■ — i >
4 ui i 1 **
TltC.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
101
finding on that account. "The Mountain
of the Holy Cross," "The Groves Were
God's First Temples," " The Cliffs of Green
River." " The Children of the Mountain,"
"The Ripening of the Leaf," and others
have given him additional fame, and while
they do not equal in grandeur the first
mentioned, in many respects from an artis-
tic standpoint they are superior.
L ELAND STANFORD was one of the
greatest men of the Pacific coast and
also had a national reputation. He was
born March 9, 1824, in Albany county, New
York, and passed his early life on his
father's farm. He attended the local
schools of the county and at the age of
twenty began the study of law. He
entered the law office of Wheaton, Doolittle
and Hadley, at Albany, in 1845, and a few
years later he moved to Port Washington,
Wisconsin, where he practiced law four
years with moderate success. In 1852 Mr.
Stanford determined to push further west,
and, accordingly went to California, where
three of his brothers were established in
business in the mining towns. They took
Leland into partnership, giving him charge
of a branch store at Michigan Bluff, in
Placer county. There he developed great
business ability and four years later started
a mercantile house of his own in San Fran-
cisco, which soon became one of the most
substantial houses on the coast. On the
formation of the Republican party he inter-
ested himself in politics, and in i860 was
sent as a delegate to the convention that
nominated Abraham Lincoln. In the
autumn of 1861 he was elected, by an im-
mense majority, governor of California.
Prior to his election as governor he had
been chosen president of the newly-orga-
nized Central Pacific Railroad Company,
6
and after leaving the executive chair he de-
voted all of his time to the construction of
the Pacific end of the transcontinental rail-
way. May 10, 1869, Mr. Stanford drove
the last spike of the Central Pacific road,
thus completing the route across the conti-
nent. He was also president of the Occi-
dental and Oriental Steamship Company.
He had but one son, who died of typhoid
fever, and as a monument to his child he
founded the university which bears his son's
name, Leland Stanford, Junior, University.
Mr. Stanford gave to this university eighty-
three thousand acres of land, the estimated
value of which is $S, 000, 000, and the entire
endowment is $20,000,000. In 18S5 Mr.
Stanford was elected United States senator
as a Republican, to succeed J. T. Farley, a
Democrat, and was re-elected in 1 891. His
death occurred June 20, 1894, at Palo Alto,
California.
STEPHEN DECATUR, a famous com-
modore in the United States navy, was
born in Maryland in 1779. He entered the
naval service in 1798. In 1804, when the
American vessel Philadelphia had been run
aground and captured in the harbor of Trip-
oli, Decatur, at the head of a few men,
boarded her and burned her in the face of
the guns from the city defenses. For this
daring deed he was made captain. He was
given command of the frigate United States
at the breaking out of the war of 18 12, and
in October of that year he captured the
British frigate Macedonian, and was re-
warded with a gold medal by congress. Af-
ter the close of the war he was sent as com-
mander of a fleet of ten vessels to chastise
the dey of Algiers, who was preying upon
American commerce with impunity and de-
manding tribute and ransom for the release
of American citizens caprured. Decatur
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COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
captured a number of Algerian vessels, and
compelled the dey to sue for peace. He
was noted for his daring and intrepidity,
and his coolness in the face of danger, and
helped to bring the United States navy into
favor with the people and congress as a
means of defense and offense in time of
war. He was killed in a duel by Commo-
dore Barron, March 12, 1S20.
TAMES KNOX POLK, the eleventh
<J president of the United States, 1845 to
1849, was born November 2, 1795, in Meck-
lenburg county, North Carolina, and was
the eldest child of a family of six sons. He
removed with his father to the Valley of the
Duck River, in Tennessee, in 1806. He
attended the common schools and became
very proficient in the lower branches of
education, and supplemented this with
a course in the Murfreesboro Academy,
which he entered in 18 13 and in the autumn
of 1 S 1 5 he became a student in the sopho-
more class of the University of North Caro-
lina, at Chapel Hill, and was graduated in
1 8 1 8. He then spent a short time in re-
cuperating his health and then proceeded to
Nashville, Tennessee, where he took up the
study of law in the office of Felix Grundy.
After the completion of his law studies he
was admitted to the bar and removed to
Columbia, Maury county, Tennessee, and
started in the active practice of his profes-
sion. Mr. Polk was a Jeffersonian " Re-
publican " and in 1S23 he was elected to the
legislature of Tennessee. He was a strict
constructionist and did not believe that the
general government had the power to carry
on internal improvements in the states, but
deemed it important that it should have that
power, and wanted the constitution amended
to that effect. But later on he became
alarmed lest the general government might
become strong enough to abolish slavery
and therefore gave his whole support to the
" State's Rights" movement, and endeavored
to check the centralization of power in the
general government. Mr. Polk was chosen
a member of congress in 1825, and held that
office until 1S39. He then withdrew, as he
was the successful gubernatorial candidate
of his state. He had become a man of
great influence in the house, and, as the
leader of the Jackson party in that body,
weilded great influence in the election of
General Jackson to the presidency. He
sustained the president in all his measures
and still remained in the house after Gen-
eral Jackson had been succeeded by Martin
Van Buren. He was speaker of the house
during five sessions of congress. He was
elected governor of Tennessee by a large
majority and took the oath of office at Nash-
ville, October 4, 1839. He was a candidate
for re-election but was defeated by Governor
Jones, the Whig candidate. In 1S44 the
most prominent question in the election was
the annexation of Texas, and as Mr. Polk
was the avowed champion of this cause he
was nominated for president by the pro-
slavery wing of the democratic party, was
elected by a large majority, and was inaug-
urated March 4, 1845. President Polk
formed a very able cabinet, consisting of
James Buchanan, Robert J. Walker, Will-
iam L. Marcy, George Bancroft, Cave John-
son, and John Y. Mason. The dispute re-
garding the Oregon boundary was settled
during his term of office and a new depart-
ment was added to the list of cabinet po-
sitions, that of the Interior. The low tariff
bill of 1846 was carried and the financial
system of the country was reorganized. It
was also during President Polk's term that
the Mexican war was successfully conducted,
which resulted in the acquisition of Califor-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
103
nia and New Mexico. Mr. Polk retired from
the presidency March 4, 1849, after having
declined a re-nomination, and was succeeded
by General Zachary Taylor, the hero of the
Mexican war. Mr. Polk retired to private
life, to his home in Nashville, where he died
at the age of fifty-four on June 9, 1849.
ANNA DICKINSON (Anna Elizabeth
Dickinson), a noted lecturer and pub-
lic speaker, was born at Philadelphia, Oc-
tober 28, 1842. Her parents were Quakers,
and she was educated at the Friends' free
schools in her native city. She early man-
ifested an inclination toward elocution and
public speaking, and when, at the age of 18,
she found an opportunity to appear before
a national assemblage for the discussion of
woman's rights, she at once established her
reputation as a public speaker. From i860
to the close of the war and during the ex-
citing period of reconstruction, she was one
of the most noted and influential speakers
before the American public, and her popu-
larity was unequaled by that of any of her
sex. A few weeks after the defeat and
death of Colonel Baker at Ball's Bluff, Anna
Dickinson, lecturing in New York, made
the remarkable assertion, "Not the incom-
petency of Colonel Baker, but the treachery
of General McClellan caused the disaster at
Ball's Bluff." She was hissed and hooted
off the stage. A year later, at the same
hall and with much the same class of audi-
tors, she repeated the identical words, and
the applause was so great and so long con-
tinued that it was impossible to go on with
her lecture for more than half an hour. The
change of sentiment had been wrought by
the reverses and dismissal of McClellan and
his ambition to succeed Mr. Lincoln as presi-
dent.
Ten years after the close of the war, Anna
Dickinson was not heard of on the lec-
ture platform, and about that time she made
an attempt to enter the dramatic profession,
but after appearing a number of times in dif-
ferent plays she was pronounced a failure.
ROBERT J. BURDETTE.— Some per-
sonal characteristics of Mr. Burdette
were quaintly given by himself in the follow-
ing words: "Politics? Republican after
the strictest sect. Religion ? Baptist. Per-
sonal appearance ? Below medium height,
and weigh one hundred and thirty-five
pounds, no shillings and no pence. Rich ?
Not enough to own a yacht. Favorite read-
ing? Poetry and history — know Longfellow
by heart, almost. Write for magizines ?
Have mo/e ' declined with thanks ' letters
than would fill a trunk. Never able to get
into a magazine with a line. Care about it?
Mad as thunder. Think about starting a
magazine and rejecting everbody's articles
except my own." Mr. Burdette was born
at Greensborough, Pennsylvania, in 1844.
He served through the war of the rebellion
under General Banks "on an excursion
ticket" as he felicitously described it, "good
both ways, conquering in one direction and
running in the other, pay going on just the
same." He entered into journalism by the
gateway of New York correspondence for
the "Peoria Transcript," and in 1874 went
on the "Burlington Hawkeye " of which he
became the managing editor, and the work
that he did on this paper made both him-
self and the paper famous in the world of
humor. Mr. Burdette married in 1870,
and his wife, whom he called "Her Little
Serene Highness," was to him a guiding
light until the day of her death, and it was
probably the unconscious pathos with which
he described her in his work that broke the
barriers that had kept him out of the maga-
L04
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
zines and secured him the acceptance of his
"Confessions" by Lippincott some years
ago, and brought him substantial fame and
recognition in the literary world.
WILLIAM DLAN HOWELLS, one
of the leading novelists of the present
century and author of a number of works
that gained for him a place in the hearts of
the people, was born March i, 1837, at
Martinsville, Belmont county, Ohio. At
the age of three years he accompanied his
father, who was a printer, to Hamilton,
Ohio, where he learned the printer's trade.
Later he was engaged on the editorial staff
of the " Cincinnati Gazette " and the " Ohio
State Journal." During 1S61-65 he was
the United States consul at Venice, and
from 1 87 1 to 1878 he was the editor-in-
chief of the "Atlantic Monthly." As a
writer he became one of the most fertile
and readable of authors and a pleasing poet.
In KS85 he became connected with "Har-
per's Magazine." Mr. Howells was author
of the list of books that we give below:
"Venetian Life," " Italian Journeys," "No
Love Lost," "Suburban Sketches," "Their
Wedding Journey," "A Chance Acquaint-
ance," "A Foregone Conclusion," "Dr.
Breen's Practice," "A Modern Instance,"
"The Rise of Silas Lapham," "Tuscan
Cities," "Indian Summer," besides many
others. He also wrote the " Poem of Two
Friends," with J. J. Piatt in i860, and
some minor dramas: "The Drawing
Room Car," "The Sleeping Car," etc.,
that are full of exqusite humor and elegant
dialogue.
TAMES RUSSELL LOWELL was a son
*J of the Rev. Charles Lowell, and was born
1 nnbridge, Massachusetts, February 22,
He graduated at Harvard College in
1838 as class poet, and went to Harvard
Law School, from which he was graduated
in 1840, and commenced the practice of his
profession in Boston, but soon gave his un-
divided attention to literary labors. Mr.
Lowell printed, in 1841, a small volume of
poems entitled " A Year's Life," edited with
Robert Carter; in 1843, "The Pioneer," a
literary and critical magazine (monthly), and
in 1848 another book of poems, that con-
tained several directed against slavery. He
published in 1844 a volume of "Poems"
and in 1845 " Conversations on Some
of the Old Poets," "The Vision of Sir
Launfal," "A Fable for Critics, " and "The
Bigelovv Papers," the latter satirical es-
says in dialect poetry directed against
slavery and the war with Mexico. In
1851-52 he traveled in Europe and re-
sided in Italy for a considerable time, and
delivered in 1854-55 a course of lectures on
the British poets, before the Lowell Insti-
tute, Boston. Mr. Lowell succeeded Long-
fellow in January, 1855, as professor of
modern languages and literature at Harvard
College, and spent another year in Emope
qualifying himself for that post. He edited
the " Atlantic Monthly " from 1857 to 1862,
and the "North American Review" from
1863 until 1872. From 1S64 to 1870 he
published the following works: "Fireside
Travels," " Under the Willows," "The
Commemoration Ode," in honor of the
alumni of Harvard who had fallen in the
Civil war; "The Cathedral," two volumes
of essays; "Among My Books" and "My
Study Windows," and in 1867 he published
a new series of the " Bigelow Papers." He
traveled extensively in Europe in 1872-74,
and received in person the degree of D. C.
L. at Oxford and that of LL. D. at the
University of Cambridge, England. He
was also interested in political life and held
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRATHY
105
many important offices. He was United
States minister to Spain in 1877 and was
also minister to England in 1880-85. On
January 2, 1884, he was elected lord rector
of St. Andrew University in Glasgow, Scot-
land, but soon after he resigned the same.
Mr. Lowell's works enjoy great popularity
in the United States and England. He
died August 12, 1891.
JOSEPH HENRY, one of America's
greatest scientists, was born at Albany,
New York, December 17, 1797. He was
educated in the common schools of the city
and graduated from the Albany Academy,
where he became a professor of mathemat-
ics in 1826. In 1827 he commenced a
course of investigation, which he continued
for a number of years, and the results pro-
duced had great effect on the scientific world.
The first success was achieved by producing
the electric magnet, and he next proved the
possibility of exciting magnetic energy at a
distance, and it was the invention of Pro-
fessor Henry's intensity magnet that first
made the invention of electric telegraph a
possibility. He made a statement regarding
the practicability of applying the intensity
magnet to telegraphic uses, in his article to
the "American Journal of Science " in 1831.
During the same year he produced the first
mechanical contrivance ever invented for
maintaining continuous motion by means of
electro-magnetism, and he also contrived a
machine by which signals could be made at
a distance by the use of his electro-magnet,
the signals being produced by a lever strik-
ing on a bell. Some of his electro-magnets
were of great power, one carried over a ton
and another not less than three thousand six
hundred pounds. In 1832 he discovered
that secondary currents could be produced
in a long conductor by the induction of the
primary current upon itself, and also in the
same year he produced a spark by means of
a purely magnetic induction. Professor
Henry was elected, in 1832, professor of nat-
ural philosophy in the College of New Jer-
sey, and in his earliest lectures at Princeton,
demonstrated the feasibility of the electric
telegraph. Hevisited Europe in 1837, and
while there he had an interview with Pro-
fessor Wheatstone, the inventor of the
needle magnetic telegraph. In 1846 he was
elected secretary of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution, being the first incumbent in that office,
which he held until his death. Professor
Henry was elected president of the Ameri-
can Association for the Advancement of
Science, in 1849, and of the National
Academy of Sciences. He was made chair-
man of the lighthouse board of the United
States in 1871 and held that position up to
the time of his death. He received the
honorary degree of doctor of laws from
Union College in 1829, and from Harvard
University in 185 1, and his death occurred
May 13, 1878. Among his numerous works
may be mentioned the following: "Contri-
butions to Electricity and Magnetism,"
"American Philosophic Trans," and many
articles in the "American Journal of
Science," the journal of the Franklin Insti-
tute; the proceedings of the American As-
sociation for the Advancement of Science,
and in the annual reports of the Smith-
sonian Institution from its foundation.
FRANKLIN BUCHANAN, the famous
rear-admiral of the Confederate navy
during the rebellion, was born in Baltimore,
Maryland. He became a United States
midshipman in 18 15 and was promoted
through the various grades of the service
and became a captain in 1855. Mr. Buch
anan resigned his captaincy in order to join
1 00
COM P EX PI CM OF BIOGRAPHY.
the Confederate service in 1861 and later he
asked to be reinstated, but his request was
refused and he then entered into the service
of the Confederate government. He was
placed in command of the frigate " Merri-
mac " after she had been fitted up as an iron-
clad, and had command of her at the time
of the battle of Hampton Roads. It was
he who had command when the " Merri-
mac" sunk the two wooden frigates, " Con-
gress " and "Cumberland," and was also
in command during part of the historical
battle of the " Merrimac" and the "Moni-
tor," where he was wounded and the com-
mand devolved upon Lieutenant Catesby
Jones. He was created rear-admiral in the
Confederate service and commanded the
Confederate fleet in Mobile bay, which was
defeated by Admiral Farragut, August 5,
1864. Mr. Buchanan was in command of
the "Tennessee," an ironclad, and during
the engagement he lost one of his legs and
was taken prisoner in the end by the Union
fleet. After the war he settled in Talbot
count}-, Maryland, where he died May II,
1874.
RICHARD PARKS BLAND, a celebrated
American statesman, frequently called
"the father of the house," because of his
many years of service in the lower house
of congress, was born August 19, 1835,
near Hartford, Kentucky, where he received
a plain academic education. He moved,
in 1855, to Missouri, from whence he went
overland to California, afterward locating in
Virginia City, now in the state of Nevada,
but then part of the territory of Utah.
While there he practiced law, dabbled in
mines and mining in Nevada and California
for several years, and served for a time as
treasurer of Carson county, Nevada. Mr.
Bland returned to Missouri in 1865, where
he engaged in the practice ot law at Rolla,
Missouri, and in 1869 removed to Lebanon,
Missouri. He began his congressional career
in 1873, when he was elected as a Demo-
crat to the forty-third congress, and he was
regularly re-elected to every congress after
that time up to the fifty-fourth, when he was
defeated for re-election, but was returned
to the fifty-fifth congress as a Silver Demo-
crat. During all his protracted service,
while Mr. Bland was always steadfast in his
support of democratic measures, yet he won
his special renown as the great advocate of
silver, being strongly in favor of the free
and unlimited coinage of silver, and on ac-
count of his pronounced views was one of
the candidates for the presidential nomina-
tion of the Democratic party at Chicago in
1896.
FANNY DAVENPORT (F. L. G. Daven-
port) was of British birth, but she be-
longs to the American stage. She was the
daughter of the famous actor, E. L. Daven-
port, and was born in London in 1850.
She first went on the stage as a child at the
Howard Athenaeum, Boston, and her entire
life was spent upon the stage. She played
children's parts at Burton's old theater in
Chambers street, and then, in 1862, appeared
as the King of Spain in " Faint Heart Never
Won Fair Lady." Here she attracted the
notice of Augustin Daly, the noted mana-
ger, then at the Fifth Avenue theater, who
offered her a six weeks' engagement with
her father in "London Assurance." She
afterwards appeared at the same house in a
variety of characters, and her versatility
was favorably noticed by the critics. After
the burning of the old Fifth Avenue, the
present theater of that name was built at
Twenty-eighth street, and here Miss Daven-
port appeared in a play written for her by
t OMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
107
Mr. Daly. She scored a great success.
She then starred in this play throughout the
country, and was married to Mr. Edwin F.
Price, an actor of her company, in 1880.
In 1 S82 she went to Paris and purchased
the right to produce in America Sardou's
great emotional play, "Fedora." It was
put on at the Fourteenth Street theater in
New York, and in it she won popular favor
and became one of the most famous actresses
of her time.
HORACE BRIGHAM CLAFLIN, one
of the greatest merchants America has
produced, was born in Milford, Massachu-
setts, a son of John Claflin, also a mer-
chant. Young Claflin started his active life
as a clerk in his father's store, after having
been offered the opportunity of a college
education, but with the characteristic
promptness that was one of his virtues he
exclaimed, "No law or medicine for me."
He had set his heart on being a merchant,
and when his father retired he and his
brother Aaron, and his brother-in-law, Sam-
uel Daniels, conducted the business. Mr.
Claflin was not content, however, to run a
store in a town like Milford, and accordingly
opened a dry goods store at Worcester, with
his brother as a partner, but the partnership
was dissolved a year later and H. B. Claflin
assumed complete control. The business
in Worcester had been conducted on ortho-
dox principles, and when Mr. Claflin came
there and introduced advertising as a means
of drawing trade, he created considerable
animosity among the older merchants. Ten
years later he was one of the most prosper-
ous merchants. He disposed of his busi-
ness in Worcester for $30,000, and went to
New York to search for a wider field than
tha f of a shopkeeper. Mr. Claflin and
William M. Bulkley started in the dry goods
business there under the firm name of Bulk-
ley & Claflin, in 1843, and Mr. Bulkley was
connected with the firm until 185 1, when he
retired. A new firm was then formed under
the name of Claflin, Mellin & Co. This
firm succeeded in founding the largest dry
goods house in the world, and after weather-
ing the dangers of the civil war, during
which the house came very near going un-
der, and was saved only by the superior
business abilities of Mr. Claflin, continued to
grow. The sales of the firm amounted to
over $72,000,000 a year after the close of
the war. Mr. Claflin died November 14,
1885.
CHARLOTTE CUSHMAN (Charlotte
Saunders Cushman), one of the most
celebrated American actresses, was born in
Boston, July 23, 1816. She was descended
from one of the earliest Puritan families.
Her first attempt at stage work was at the
age of fourteen years in a charitable concert
given by amateurs in Boston. From this
time her advance to the first place on the
American lyric stage was steady, until, in
1835, while singing in New Orleans, she
suddenly lost control of her voice so far as
relates to singing, and was compelled to re-
tire. She then took up the study for the
dramatic stage under the direction of Mr.
Barton, the tragedian. She soon after
made her debut as " Lady Macbeth." She
appeared in New York in September, 1836,
and her success was immediate. Her
"Romeo" was almost perfect, and she is
the only woman that has ever appeared in
the part of " Cardinal Wolsey." She at
different times acted as support of Forrest
and Macready. Her London engagement,
secured in 1845, after many and great dis-
couragements, proved an unqualified sue-
It's
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAl'IIV.
Her farewell appearance was at Booth's
theater, New York, November 7, 1S74, in
the part of " Lady Macbeth," and after that
performance an Ode by R. H. Stoddard
was read, and a body of citizens went upon
the stage, and in their name the venerable
poet Longfellow presented her with a wreath
of laurel with an inscription to the effect
that "she who merits the palm should bear
it." From the time of her appearance as a
modest girl in a charitable entertainment
down to the time of final triumph as a tragic
queen, she bore herself with as much honor
to womanhood as to the profession she rep-
resented. Her death occurred in Boston,
February 18, 1876. By her profession she
acquired a fortune of $600,000.
NEAL DOW, one of the most prominent
temperance reformers our country has
known, was born in Portland, Me., March 20,
1804. He received his education in the
Friends Seminary, at New Bedford, Massa-
chusetts, his parents being members of that
sect. After leaving school he pursued a
mecrantile and manufacturing career for a
number of years. He was active in the
affairs of his native city, and in 1839 be-
came chief of the fire department, and in
1851 was elected mayor. He was re-elected
to the latter office in 1854. Being opposed
to the liquor traffic he was a champion of
the project of prohibition, first brought for-
ward in 1 839 by James Appleton. While
serving his first term as mayor he drafted a
bill for the "suppression of drinking houses
and tippling shops," which he took to the
legislature and which was passed without an
alteration. In 1858 Mr. Dow was elected
to the legislature. On the outbreak of the
Civil war he was appointed colonel of the
Thirteenth Maine Infantry and accompanied
General Butler's expedition to New Orleans.
In 1862 he was made brigadier-general. At
the battle of Port Hudson May 27, 1863, he
was twice wounded, and taken prisoner. He
was confined at Libby prison and Mobile
nearly a year, when, being exchanged, he
resigned, his health having given way under
the rigors of his captivity. He made sev-
eral trips to England in the interests of
temperance organization, where he addressed
large audiences. He was the candidate of
the National Prohibition party for the presi-
dency in 1880, receiving about ten thousand
votes. In 1884 he was largely instrumental
in the amendment of the constitution of
Maine, adopted by an overwhelming popular
vote, which forever forbade the manufacture
or sale of any intoxicating beverages, and
commanding the legislature to enforce the
prohibition. He died October 2, 1897.
ZACHARY TAYLOR, twelfth president
of the United States, was born in
Orange county, Virginia, September 24,
1784. His boyhood was spent on his fath-
er's plantation and his education was lim-
ited. In 1808 he was made lieutenant of
the Seventh Infantry, and joined his regi-
ment at New Orleans. He was promoted
to captain in 18 10, and commanded at Fort
Harrison, near the present site of Terre
Haute, in 18 12, where, for his gallant de-
fense, he was brevetted major, attaining full
rank in 18 14. In 1815 he retired to an es-
tate near Louisville. In 1816 here-entered
the army as major, and was promoted to
lieutenant-colonel and then to colonel.
Having for many years been Indian agent
over a large portion of the western country,
he was often required in Washington to give
advice and counsel in matters connected
with the Indian bureau. He served through
the Black Hawk Indian war of 1832, and in
1837 was ordered to the command of the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
100
army in Florida, where he attacked the In-
dians in the swamps and brakes, defeated
them and ended the war. He was brevetted
brigadier-general and made commander-in-
chief of the army in Florida. He was as-
signed to the command of the army of the
southwest in 1840, but was soon after re-
lieved of it at his request. He was then
stationed at posts in Arkansas. In 1845 he
was ordered to prepare to protect and de-
fend Texas boundaries from invasion by
Mexicans and Indians. On the annexation
of Texas he proceeded with one thousand
five hundred men to Corpus Christi, within
the disputed territory. After reinforcement
he was ordered by the Mexican General Am-
pudia to retire beyond the Nueces river,
with which order he declined to comply.
The battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma followed, and he crossed the Rio
Grande and occupied Matamoras May 18th.
He was'commissioned major-general for this
campaign, and in September he advanced
upon the city of Monterey and captured it
after a hard fight. Here he took up winter
quarters, and when he was about to resume
activity in the spring he was ordered to send
the larger part of his army to reinforce
General Scott at Vera Cruz. After leaving
garrisons at various points his army was re-
duced to about five thousand, mostly fresh
recruits. He was attacked by the army of
Santa Anna at Buena Vista, February 22,
1847, and after a severe fight completely
routed the Mexicans. He received the
thanks of congress and a gold medal for
this victory. He remained in command of
the " army of occupation " until winter,
when he returned to the United States.
In 1 S48 General Taylor was nominated
by the Whigs for president. He was elected
over his two opponents, Cass and Van
Buren. Great bitterness was developing in
the struggle for and against the extension of
slavery, and the newly acquired territory in
the west, and the fact that the states were
now equally divided on that question, tended
to increase the feeling. President Taylor
favored immediate admission of California
with her constitution prohibiting slavery,
and the admission of other states to be
formed out of the new territory as they
might elect as they adopted constitutions
from time to time. This policy resulted in
the " Omnibus Bill," which afterward passed
congress, though in separate bills; not, how-
ever, until after the death of the soldier-
statesman, which occurred July 9, 1S50.
One of his daughters became the wife of
Jefferson Davis.
M
ELVILLE D. LANDON, better known
as " Eli Perkins, " author, lecturer and
humorist, was born in Eaton, New York,
September 7, 1839. He was the son of
John Landon and grandson of Rufus Lan-
don, a revolutionary soldier from Litchfield
county, Connecticut. Melville was edu-
cated at the district school and neighboring
academy, where he was prepared for the
sophomore class at Madison University. He
passed two years at the latter, when he was
admitted to Union College, and graduated
in the class of 1861, receiving the degree of
A. M., in 1862. He was, at once, ap-
pointed to a position in the treasury depart-
ment at Washington. This being about the
time of the breaking out of the war, and
before the appearance of any Union troops
at the capital, he assisted in the organiza-
tion of the " Clay Battalion," of Washing-
ton. Leaving his clerkship some time later,
he took up duties on the staff of General A.
L. Chetlain, who was in command at Mem-
phis. In 1864 he resigned from the army
and engaged in cotton planting in Arkansas
110
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
and Louisiana. In 1867 he went abroad,
making the tour of Europe, traversing Rus-
sia. While in the latter country his old
commander of the " Clay Battalion," Gen-
eral Cassius M. Clay, then United States
minister at St. Petersburg, made him secre-
tary of legation. In 1 87 1 , on returning to
America, he published a history of the
Franco-Prussian war, and followed it with
numerous humorous writings for the public
press under the name of "Eli Perkins,"
which, with his regular contributions to the
" Commercial Advertiser," brought him into
notice, and spread his reputation as a hu-
morist throughout the country. He also pub-
lished "Saratoga in 1891," "Wit, Humor
and Pathos," ''Wit and Humor of the Age,"
" Kings of Platform and Pulpit," "Thirty
Years of Wit and Humor," " Fun and Fact,"
and " China and Japan."
LEWIS CASS, one of the most prom-
inent statesman and party leaders of his
day, was born at Exeter, New Hampshire,
October 9, 1782. He studied law, and hav-
ing removed to Zanesville, Ohio, commenced
the practice of that profession in 1802. He
entered the service of the American govern-
ment in 1812 and was made a colonel in
the army under General William Hull, and
on the surrender of Fort Maiden by that
officer was held as a prisoner. Being re-
leased in 181 3, he was promoted to the
rank of brigadier-general and in 18 14 ap-
pointed governor of Michigan Territory.
After he had held that office for some
sixteen years, negotiating, in the meantime,
many treaties with the Indians, General
Cass was made secretary of war in the cabi-
net of President Jackson, in 183 1. He was,
in 1836, appointed minister to France,
which office he held for six years. In 1844
he -v-as elected United States senator from
Michigan. In 1846 General Cass opposed
the Wilmot Proviso, which was an amend-
ment to a bill for the purchase of land from
Mexico, which provided that in any of the
territory acquired from that power slavery
should not exist. For this and other reasons
he was nominated as Democratic candidate
for the presidency of the United States in
1848, but was defeated by General Zachary
Taylor, the Whig candidate, having but
one hundred and thirty-seven electoral votes
to his opponent's one hundred and sixty-
three. In 1849 General Cass was re-elected
to the senate of the United States, and in
1854 supported Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska
bill. He became secretary of state in
March, 1857, under President Buchanan,
but resigned that office in December, i860.
He died June 17, 1866. The published
works of Lewis Cass, while not numerous,
are well written and display much ability.
He was one of the foremost men of his day
in the political councils of the Democratic
party, and left a reputation for high probity
and honor behind him.
DEWITT CLINTON.— Probably there
were but few men who were so popular
in their time, or who have had so much in-
fluence in moulding events as the individual
whose name honors the head of this article.
De Witt Clinton was the son of General
James Clinton, and a nephew of Governor
George Clinton, who was the fourth vice-
president of the United States. He was a
native of Orange county, New York, born at
Little Britain, March 2, 1769. He gradu-
ated from Columbia College, in his native
state, in 1796, and took up the study of law.
In 1790 he became private secretary to his
uncle, then governor of New York. He en-
tered public life as a Republican or anti-
Federalist, and was elected to the lower
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Ill
house of the state assembly in 1797, and the
senate of that body in 1798. At that time
he was looked on as " the most rising man
in the Union." In 1801 he was elected to
the United States senate. In 1803 he was
appointed by the governor and council
mayor of the city of New York, then a
very important and powerful office. Hav-
ing been re-appointed, he held the office
of mayor for nearly eleven years, and
rendered great service to that city. Mr.
Clinton served as lieutenant-governor of
the state of New York, 1811-13, and
was one of the commissioners appointed
to examine and survey a route for a canal
from the Hudson river to Lake Erie. Dif-
fering with President Madison, in relation to
the war, in 18 12, he was nominated for the
presidency against that gentleman, by a
coalition party called the Clintonians, many
of whom were Federalists. Clinton received
eight-nine electoral votes. His course at
this time impaired his popularity for a time.
He was removed from the mayoralty in
1 8 14, and retired to private life. In 1S15
he wrote a powerful argument for the con-
struction of the Erie canal, then a great and
beneficent work of which he was the prin-
cipal promoter. This was in the shape of
a memorial to the legislature, which, in
18 17, passed a bill authorizing the construc-
tion of that canal. The same year he was
elected governor of New York, almost unani-
mously, notwithstanding the opposition of
a few who pronounced the scheme of the
canal visionary. He was re-elected governor
in 1820. He was at this time, also, presi-
dent of the canal commissioners. He de-
clined a re-election to the gubernatorial
chair in 1822 and was removed from his
place on the canal board two years later.
But he was triumphantly elected to the of-
fice of governor that fall, and his pet project,
the Erie canal, was finished the next year.
He was re-elected governor in 1826, but
died while holding that office, February n,
1828.
AARON BURR, one of the many brilliant
figures on the political stage in the early
days of America, was born at Newark, New
Jersey, February 6, 1756. He was the son
of Aaron and Esther Burr, the former the
president of the College of New Jersey, and
the latter a daughter of Jonathan Edwards,
who had been president of the same educa-
tional institution. Young Burr graduated
at Princeton in 1772. In 1775 he joined
the provincial army at Cambridge, Massa-
chusetts. For a time, he served as a private
soldier, but later was made an aide on the
staff of the unfortunate General Montgom-
ery, in the Quebec expedition. Subse-
quently he was on the staffs of Arnold, Put-
nam and Washington, the latter of whom
he disliked. He was promoted to the rank
of lieutenant-colonel and commanded a
brigade on Monmouth's bloody field. In
I 779< on account of feeble health, Colonel
Burr resigned from the army. He took up
the practice of law in Albany, New York,
but subsequently removed to New York City.
In 1789 he became attorney-general of that
state. In 1791 he was chosen to represent
the state of New York in the United States
senate and held that position for six years.
In 1800 he and Thomas Jefferson were both
candidates for the presidency, and there
being a tie in the electoral college, each
having seventy-three votes, the choice was
left to congress, who gave the first place to
Jefferson and made Aaron Burr vice-presi-
dent, as the method then was. In 1804 Mr.
Burr and his great rival, Alexander Hamil-
ton, met in a duel, which resulted in the
death of the latter, Burr losing thereby con-
112
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
siderable political and social influence. He
soon embarked in a wild attempt upon
Mexico, and as was asserted, upon the
southwestern territories of the United
States. He was tried for treason at
Richmond, Virginia, in 1807, but acquitted,
and to avoid importunate creditors, fled to
Europe. After a time, in 1812, he returned
to New York, where he practiced law, and
where he died, September 14, 1836. A man
of great ability, brilliant and popular talents,
his influence was destroyed by his unscrupu-
lous political actions and immoral private
life.
ALBERT GALLATIN, one of the most
distinguished statesmen of the early
days of the republic, was born at Geneva,
Switzerland, January 29, 1761. He was
the son of Jean de Gallatin and Sophia A.
Rolaz du Rosey Gallatin, representatives of
an old patrician family. Albert Gallatin
was left an orphan at an early age, and was
educated under the care of friends of his
parents. He graduated from the University
of Geneva in 1779, and declining employ-
ment under one of the sovereigns of Ger-
many, came to the struggling colonies, land-
ing in Boston July 14, 1780. Shortly after
his arrival he proceeded to Maine, where he
served as a volunteer under Colonel Allen.
He made advances to the government for
the support of the American troops, and in
November, 1780, was placed in command
of a small fort at Passamaquoddy, defended
by a force of militia, volunteers and Indians.
In 1783 he was professor of the French
language at Harvard University. A year
later, having received his patrimony from
Europe, he purchased large tracts of land
in western Virginia, but was prevented by
the Indians from forming the large settle-
ment he proposed, and, in 1786, purchased
a farm in Fayette county, Pennsylvania.
In 17S9 he was a member of the convention
to amend the constitution of that state, and
united himself with the Republican party,
the head of which was Thomas Jefferson.
The following year he was elected to the
legislature of Pennsylvania, to which he was
subsequently re-elected. In 1793 he was
elected to the United States senate, but
could not take his seat on account of not
having been a citizen long enough. In t794
Mr. Gallatin was elected to the representa-
tive branch of congress, in which he served
three terms. He also took an important
position in the suppression of the "whiskey
insurrection." In 1S01, on the accession of
Jefferson to the presidency, Mr. Gallatin
was appointed secretary of the treasury.
In 1809 Mr. Madison offered him the posi-
tion of secretary of state, but he declined,
and continued at the head of the treasury
until 1812, a period of twelve years. He
exercised a great influence on the other de-
partments and in the general administration,
especially in the matter of financial reform,
and recommended measures for taxation,
etc., which were passed by congress, and be-
came laws May 24, 1 8 1 3. The same year he
was sent as an envoy extraordinary to Rus-
sia, which had offered to mediate between
this country and Great Britain, but the lat-
ter country refusing the interposition of
another power, and agreeing to treat di-
rectly with the United States, in 18 14, at
Ghent, Mr. Gallatin, in connection with his
distinguished colleagues, negotiated and
signed the treaty of peace. In 181 5, in
conjunction with Messrs. Adams and Clay,
he signed, at London, a commercial treaty
between the two countries. In 18 16, de-
clining his old post at the head of the treas-
ury, Mr. Gallatin was sent as minister to
France, where he remained until 1823.
COMPEXDIL'M OF BIOGRAPHY
113
After a year spent in England as envoy ex-
traordinary, he took up his residence in New
York, and from that time held no public
office. In 1830 he was chosen president of
the council of the University of New York.
He was, in 1831, made president of the
National bank, which position he resigned
in 1839. He died August 12, 1849.
M
ILLARD FILLMORE, the thirteenth
president of the United States, was
born of New England parentage in Summer
Hill, Cayuga county, New York, January 7,
1800. His school education was very lim-
ited, but he occupied his leisure hours in
study. He worked in youth upon his fa-
ther's farm in his native county, and at the
age of fifteen was apprenticed to a wool
carder and cloth dresser. Four years later
he was induced by Judge Wood to enter his
office at Montviile, New York, and take up
the study of law. This warm friend, find-
ing young Fillmore destitute of means,
loaned him money, but the latter, not wish-
ing to incur a heavy debt, taught school
during part of the time and in this and other
ways helped maintain himself. In 1S22 he
removed to Buffalo, New York, and the year
following, being admitted to the bar, he
commenced the practice of his profession
at East Aurora, in the same state. Here
he remained until 1830, having, in the
meantime, been admitted to practice in the
supreme court, when he returned to Buffalo,
where he became the partner of S. G.
Haven and N. K. Hall. He entered poli-
tics and served in the state legislature from
1829 to 1832. He was in congress in 1833-
35 and in 1837-41, where he proved an
active and useful member, favoring the
views of John Quincy Adams, then battling
almost alone the slave-holding party in na-
tional politics, and in most of public ques-
tions acted with the Whig party. While
chairman of the committee of ways and
means he took a leading part in draughting
the tariff bill of 1842. In 1844 Mr. Fill-
more was the Whig candidate for governor
of New York. In 1847 he was chosen
comptroller of the state, and abandoning
his practice and profession removed to Al-
bany. In 1848 he was elected vice presi-
dent on the ticket with General Zachary
Taylor, and they were inaugurated the fol-
lowing March. On the death of the presi-
dent, July 9, 1850, Mr. Fillmore was in-
ducted into that office. The great events
of his administration were the passage of
the famous compromise acts of 1850, and
the sending out of the Japan expedition of
1852.
March 4, 1853, having served one term,
President Fillmore retired from office, and
in 1855 went to Europe, where he received
marked attention. On returning home, in
1856, he was nominated for the presidency
by the Native American or " Know-Noth-
ing" party, but was defeated, James Buch-
anan being the successful candidate.
Mr. Fillmore ever afterward lived in re-
tirement. During the conflict of Civil war
he was mostly silent. It was generally sup-
posed, however, that his sympathy was with
the southern confederacy. He kept aloof
from the conflict without any words of cheer
to the one party or the other. For this rea-
son he was forgotten by both. He died of
paralysis, in Buffalo, New York, March 8,
1874-
PETER F. ROTHERMEL, one of Amer-
ica's greatest and best-known historical
painters, was born in Luzerne county, Penn-
sylvania, July 8, 1 81 7, and was of German
ancestry. He received his earlier education
in his native county, and in Philadelphia
114
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
learned the profession of land surveying.
But a strong bias toward art drew him away
and he soon opened a studio where he did
portrait painting. This soon gave place to
historical painting, he having discovered the
bent of his genius in that direction. Be-
sides the two pictures in the Capitol at
Washington — ' 'DeSoto Discovering the Mis-
sissippi" and "Patrick Henry Before the
Virginia House of Burgesses" — Rothermel
painted many others, chief among which
are: "Columbus Before Queen Isabella,"
"Martyrs of the Colosseum," "Cromwell
Breaking Up Service in an English Church, "
and the famous picture of the "Battle
of Gettysburg." The last named was
painted for the state of Pennsylvania, for
which Rothermel received the sum of $25,-
000, and which it took him four years to
plan and to paint. It represents the portion
of that historic field held by the First corps,
an exclusively Pennsylvania body of men,
and was selected by Rothermel for that
reason. For many years most of his time
was spent in Italy, only returning for short
periods. He died at Philadelphia, August
16, 1895.
EDMUND KIRBY SMITH, one of the
distinguished leaders upon the side of the
south in the late Civil war, was born at St.
Augustine, Florida, in 1824. After receiv-
ing the usual education he was appointed to
the United States Military Academy at West
Point, from which he graduated in 1845 and
entered the army as second lieutenant of
infantry. During the Mexican war he was
made first lieutenant and captain for gallant
conduct at Cerro Gordo and Contreras.
From 1849 to l8 52 he was assistant pro-
fessor of mathematics at West Point. He
was transferred to the Second cavalry with
the rank of captain in 1855, served on the
frontier, and was wounded in a fight with
Comanche Indians in Texas, May 13, 1859.
In January, 1861, he became major of his
regiment, but resigned April 9th to fol-
low the fortunes of the southern cause.
He was appointed brigadier-general in the
Confederate army and served in Virginia.
At the battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861,
he arrived on the field late in the day, but
was soon disabled by a wound. He was
made major-general in 1862, and being trans-
ferred to East Tennessee, was given com-
mand of that department. Under General
Braxton Bragg he led the advance in the
invasion of Kentucky and defeated the Union
forces at Richmond, Kentucky, August 30,
1862, and advanced to Frankfort. Pro-
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, he
was engaged at the battle of Perryville,
October 10, and in the battle of Murfrees-
boro, December 31, 1862, and January 3,
1863. He was soon made general, the
highest rank in the service, and in com-
mand of the trans-Mississippi department
opposed General N. P. Banks in the famous
Red River expedition, taking part in the
battle of Jenkins Ferry, April 30, 1S64, and
other engagements of that eventful cam-
paign. He was the last to surrender the
forces under his command, which he did
May 26, 1865. After the close of the war
he located in Tennessee, where he died
March 28, 1893.
JOHN JAMES INGALLS, a famous
<J American statesman, was born Decem-
ber 29, 1833, at Middleton, Massachusetts,
where he was reared and received his early
education. He went to Kansas in 185S
and joined the free-soil army, and a year
after his arrival he was a member of the his-
torical Wyandotte convention, which drafted
a free-state constitution. In i860 he was
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
made secretary of the territorial council,
and in 1861 was secretary of the state sen-
ate. The next year he was duly elected to
the legitimate state senate from Atchison,
where he had made his home. From that
time he was the leader of the radical Re-
publican element in the state. He became
the editor of the "Atchison Champion " in
1863, which was a "red-hot free-soil Re-
publican organ." In 1862 he was the anti-
Lane candidate for lieutenant-governor, but
was defeated. He was elected to the Unit-
ed States senate to succeed Senator Pom-
eroy, and took his seat in the forty-third
congress and served until the fiftieth. In
the forty-ninth congress he succeeded Sen-
ator Sherman as president pro tern., which
position he held through the fiftieth con-
gress.
BENJAMIN WEST, the greatest of the
early American" painters, was of Eng-
lish descent and Quaker parentage. He was
born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, in 1738.
From what source he inherited his genius it
is hard to imagine, since the tenets and
tendencies of the Quaker faith were not cal-
culated to encourage the genius of art, but
at the age of nine years, with no suggestion
except that of inspiration, we find him choos-
ing his model from life, and laboring over
his first work calculated to attract public
notice. It was a representation of a sleep-
ing child in its cradle. The brush with
which he painted it was made of hairs
which he plucked from the cat's tail, and
the colors were obtained from the war paints
of friendly Indians, his mother's indigo bag,
and ground chalk and charcoal, and the juice
of berries, but there were touches in the rude
production that he declared in later days
were a credit to his best works. The pic-
ture attracted notice, for a council was
called at once to pass upon the boy's con-
duct in thus infringing the laws of the so-
ciety. ' There were judges among them who
saw in his genius a rare gift and their wis-
dom prevailed, and the child was given per-
mission to follow his inclination. He studied
under a painter named Williams, and then
spent some years as a portrait painter with
advancing success. At the age of twenty-
two he went to Italy, and not until he had
perfected himself by twenty-three years of
labor in that paradise of art was he satisfied
to turn his face toward home. However, he
stopped at London, and decided to settle
there, sending to America for his intended
bride to join him. Though the Revolution-
ary war was raging, King George III showed
the American artist the highest considera-
tion and regard. His remuneration from
works for royalty amounted to five thou-
sand dollars per year for thirty years.
West's best known work in America is,
perhaps, "The Death of General Wolf."
West was one of the thirty-six original mem-
bers of the Royal academy and succeeded
Joshua Reynolds as president, which posi-
tion he held until his death. His early
works were his best, as he ceased to display
originality in his later life, conventionality
having seriously affected his efforts. He
died in 1820.
SAMUEL PORTER JONES, the famous
Georgia evangelist, was born October
16, 1847, m Chambers county, Alabama.
He did not attend school regularly daring
his boyhood, but worked on a farm, and
went to school at intervals, on account of
ill health. His father removed to Carters-
ville, Georgia, when Mr. Jones was a smali
boy. He quit school at the age of nineteen
and never attended college. The war inter-
fered with his education, which was intended
116
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
to prepare him for the legal profession.
After the war he renewed his preparation
for college, but was compelled to desist from
such a course, as his health failed him en-
tirely. Later on, however, he still pursued
his legal studies and was admitted to the
bar. Soon after this event he went to Dal-
las, Paulding county, Georgia, where he was
engaged in the practice of his profession,
and in a few months removed to Cherokee
county, Alabama, where he taught school.
In 1869 he returned to Cartersville, Georgia,
and arrived in time to see his father die.
Immediately after this event he applied for
a license to preach, and went to Atlanta,
Georgia, to the meeting of the North Geor-
gia Conference of the M. E. church south,
which received him on trial. He became
an evangelist of great note, and traveled
extensively, delivering his sermons in an
inimitable style that made him very popular
with the masses, his methods of conducting
revivals being unique and original and his
preaching practical and incisive.
SHELBY MOORE CULLOM, a national
character in political affairs and for
many years United States senator from
Illinois, was born November 22, 1829, at
Monticello, Kentucky. He came with his
parents to Illinois in 1 830 and spent his early
yearsonafarm, but havingformed the purpose
of devoting himself to the lawyer's profession
he spent two years study at the Rock River
seminary atMount Morris, Illinois. In 1853
Mr. Cullom entered the law office of Stuart
and Edwards at Springfield, Illinois, and two
years later he began the independent prac-
tice of law in that city. He took an active
interest in politics and was soon elected city
attorney of Springfield. In 1856 he was
elected a member of the Illinois house of
representatives. He identified himself with
the newly formed Republican party and in
i860 was re-elected to the legislature of his
state, in which he was chosen speaker of the
house. In 1862 President Lincoln appoint-
ed a commission to pass upon and examine
the accounts of the United States quarter-
masters and disbursing officers, composed
as follows: Shelby M. Cullom, of Illinois;
Charles A. Dana, of New York, and
Gov. Boutwell, of Massachusetts. Mr.
Cullom was nominated for congress in
1864, and was elected by a majority of
1,785. In the house of representatives he
became an active and aggressive member,
was chairman of the committee on territories
and, served in congress until 1868. Mr.
Cullom was returned to the state legislature,
of which he was chosen speaker in 1S72,
and was re-elected in 1874. In 1876 he
was elected governor of Illinois and at the
end of his term he was chosen for a second
term. He was elected United States senator
in 1883 and twice re-elected.
RICHARD JORDAN GATLING, an
American inventor of much note, was
born in Hertford county, North Carolina.
September 12, 181 8. At an early age he
gave promise of an inventive genius. The
first emanation from his mind was the
invention of a screw for the propulsion of
water craft, but on application for a
patent, found that he was forestalled but
a short time by John Ericsson. Subse-
quently he invented a machine for sowing
wheat in drills, which was used to a great
extent throughout the west. He then stud-
ied medicine, and in 1847-8 attended
lectures at the Indiana Medical College
at Laporte, and in 1848-9 at the Ohio
Medical College at Cincinnati. He later
discovered a method of transmitting power
through the medium of compressed air. ' A
- JGEO.M.PUiJLMAlft L^
V'-P*' ■
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
119
double-acting hemp break was also invented
by him. The invention, however, by which
Dr. Gatling became best known was the
famous machine gun which bears his name.
This he brought to light in 1861-62, and on
the first trial of it, in the spring of the latter
year, two hundred shots per minute were
fired from it. After making some improve-
ments which increased its efficiency, it was
submitted to severe trials by our govern-
ment at the arsenals at Frankfort, Wash-
ington and Fortress Monroe, and at other
points. The gun was finally adopted by
our government, as well as by that of Great
Britain, Russia and others.
BENJAMIN RYAN TILLMAN, who won
a national fame in politics, was born
August 11, 1847, in Edgefield county, South
Carolina. He received his education in the
Oldfield school, where he acquired the
rudiments of Latin and Greek, in addition
to a good English education. He left school
in 1864 to join the Confederate army, but
was prevented from doing so by a severe
illness, which resulted in the loss of an eye.
In 1867 he removed to Florida, but returned
in 1868, when he was married and devoted
himself to farming. He was chairman of
the Democratic organization of his county,
but except a few occasional services he took
no active part in politics then. Gradually,
however, his attention was directed to the
depressed condition of the farming interests
of his state, and in August, 1885, before a
joint meeting of the agricultural society and
state grange at Bennettsville, he made a
speech in which he set forth the cause of
agricultural depression and urged measures
of relief. From his active interest in the
farming class he was styled the "Agricult-
ural Moses." He advocated an industrial
school for women and for a separate a^ri-
7
cultural college, and in 18S7 he secured a
modification in the final draft of the will of
Thomas G. Clemson, which resulted in the
erection of the Clemson Agricultural Col-
lege at Fort Hill. In 1 890 he was chosen
governor on the Democratic ticket, and
carried the election by a large majority.
Governor Tillman was inaugurated Decem-
ber 4, 1890. Mr. Tillman was next elected
to the United States senate from South
Carolina, and gained a national reputation
by his fervid oratory.
GEORGE DENISON PRENTICE.—
No journalist of America was so cele-
brated in his time for the wit, spice, and
vigor of his writing, as the gentleman whose
name heads this sketch. From Atlantic to
Pacific he was well known by his witticism
as well as by strength and force of his edi-
torials. He was a native of Preston, Con-
necticut, born December 18, 1802. After
laying the foundation of a liberal education
in his youth, he entered Brown University,
from which he was graduated in 1823. Tak-
ing up the study of law, he was admitted to
the bar in 1829. During part of his time
he was editor of the " New England Weekly
Review," a position which he relinquished
to go south and was succeeded by John
Greenleaf Whittier, the Quaker poet.
On arriving in Louisville, whither he
had gone to gather items for his history of
Henry Clay, Mr. Prentice became identified
with the " Louisville Journal," which, under
his hands, became one of the leading Whig
newspapers of the country. At the head of
this he remained until the day of his death.
This latter event occurred January 22, 1870,
and he was succeeded in the control of the
"Journal "by Colonel Henry Watterson.
Mr. Prentice was an author of consider-
able celebrity, chief among his works being
120
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
"The Life of Henry Clay," and " Prentice-
ana,'' a collection of wit and humor, that
passed through several large editions.
SAM. HOUSTON, in the opinion of some
critics one of the most remarkable men
who ever figured in American history, was a
native of Rockbridge county, Virginia, born
March 2, 1793. Early in life he was left in
destitute circumstances by the death of his
father, and, with his mother, removed to
Tennessee, then almost a boundless wilder-
ness. He received but little education,
spending the most of his time among the
Cherokee Indians. Part of the time of his
residence there Houston acted as clerk for a
trader and also taught one of the primitive
schools of the day. In 1813 he enlisted as
private in the United States army and was
engaged under General Jackson in the war
with the Creek Indians. When peace was
made Houston was a lieutenant, but he re-
signed his commission and commenced the
study of law at Nashville. After holding
some minor offices he was elected member
of congress from Tennessee. This was in
1823. He retained this office until 1S27,
when he was chosen governor of the state.
In 1829, resigning that office before the ex-
piration of his term, Sam Houston removed
to Arkansas, and made his home among the
Cherokees, becoming the agent of that
tribe and representing their interests at
Washington. On a visit to Texas, just
prior to the election of delegates to a con-
vention called for the purpose of drawing
up a constitution previous to the admission
of the state into the Mexican union, he was
unanimously chosen a delegate. The con-
vention framed the constitution, but, it be-
ing rejected by the government of Mexico,
and the petition for admission to the Con-
federacy denied and the Texans told by the
president of the Mexican union to give up
their arms, bred trouble. It was determined
to resist this demand. A military force was
soon organized, with General Houston at
the head of it. War was prosecuted with
great vigor, and with varying success, but
at the battle of San Jacinto, April 2 1 , 1836,
the Mexicans were defeated and their leader
and president, Santa Anna, captured. Texas
was then proclaimed an independent repub-
lic, and in October of the same year Hous-
ton was inaugurated president. On the ad-
mission of Texas to the Federal Union, in
1845, Houston was elected senator, and
held that position for twelve years. Oppos-
ing the idea of secession, he retired from
political life in 1861, and died at Hunts-
ville, Texas, July 25, 1863.
ELI WHITNEY, the inventor of the cot-
ton-gin, was born in Westborough, Mas-
sachusetts, December 8, 1765. After his
graduation from Yale College, he went to
Georgia, where he studied law, and lived
with the family of the widow of General
Nathaniel Greene. At that time the only
way known to separate the cotton seed from
the fiber was by hand, making it extremely
slow and expensive, and for this reason cot-
ton was little cultivated in this country.
Mrs. Greene urged the inventive Whitney
to devise some means for accomplishing
this work by machinery. This he finally
succeeded in doing, but he was harassed by
attempts to defraud him by those who had
stolen his ideas. He at last formed a part-
nership with a man named Miller, and they
began the manufacture of the machines at
Washington, Georgia, in 1795. The suc-
cess of his invention was immediate, and the
legislature of South Carolina voted the sum
of $50,000 for his idea. This sum he had
great difficulty in collecting, after years of
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
121
litigation and delay. North Carolina al-
lowed him a royalty, and the same was
agreed to by Tennessee, but was never paid.
While his fame rests upon the invention
of the cotton-gin, his fortune came from his
improvements in the manufacture and con-
struction of firearms. In 1798 the United
States government gave him a contract for
this purpose, and he accumulated a fortune
from it. The town of Whitneyville, Con-
necticut, was founded by this fortune.
Whitney died at New Haven, Connecticut,
January 8, 1825.
The cotton-gin made the cultivation of
cotton profitable, and this led to rapid in-
troduction of slavery in the south. His in-
vention thus affected our national history in
a manner little dreamed of by the inventor.
LESTER WALLACK (John Lester Wal-
lack), for many years the leading light
comedian upon the American stage, was
the son of James W. Wallack, the " Brum-
mell of the Stage." Both father and son
were noted for their comeliness of feature
and form. Lester Wallack was born in
New York, January 1, 18 19. He received
his education in England, and made his first
appearance on the stage in 1848 at the New
Broadway theater, New York. He acted
light comedy parts, and also occasion-
ally in romantic plays like Monte Cristo,
which play made him his fame. He went
to England and played under management
of such men as Hamblin and Burton, and then
returned to New York with his father, who
opened the first Wallack's theater, at the
corner of Broome and Broadway, in 1852.
The location was afterward changed to
Thirteenth and Broadway, in 1861, and
later to its present location, Broadway and
Thirteenth, in 18S2. The elder Wallack
died in 1864, after which Lester assumed
management, jointly with Theodore Moss.
Lester Wallack was commissioned in the
queen's service while in England, and there
he also married a sister to the famous artist,
the late John Everett Millais. While Les-
ter Wallack never played in the interior
cities, his name was as familiar to the public
as that of our greatest stars. He died Sep-
tember 6, 1888, at Stamford, Connecticut.
GEORGE MORTIMER PULLMAN,
the palace car magnate, inventor,
multi-millionaire and manufacturer, may
well be classed among the remarkable
self-made men of the century. He was
born March 3, 1 831, in Chautauqua county,
New York. His parents were poor, and
his education was limited to what he could
learn of the rudimentary branches in the
district school. At the age of fourteen he
went to work as clerk for a country mer-
chant. He kept this place three years, '
studying at night. When seventeen he
went to Albion, New York, and worked for
his brother, who kept a cabinet shop there.
Five years later he went into business for
himself as contractor for moving buildings
along the line of the Erie canal, which was
then being widened by the state, and was
successful in thii. In 1858 he removed to
Chicago and engaged in the business of
moving and raising houses. The work was
novel there then and he was quite success-
ful. About this time the discomfort attend-
ant on traveling at night attracted his at-
tention. He reasoned that the public would
gladly pay for comfortable sleeping accom-
modations. A few sleeping cars were in
use at that time, but they were wretchedly
crude, uncomfortable affairs. In 1859 he
bought two old day coaches from the Chi-
cago & Alton road and remodeled them some-
thing like the general plan of the sleeping
122
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
cars of the present day. They were put
into service on the Chicago & Alton and
became popular at once. In 1863 he built
the first sleeping-car resembling the Pullman
cars of to-day. It cost $18,000 and was
the " Pioneer." After that the Pullman
Palace Car Company prospered. It had
shops at different cities. In 1880 the Town
ot Pullman was founded by Mr. Pullman
and his company, and this model manufac-
turing community is known all over the
world. Mr. Pullman died October 19, 1897.
JAMES E. B. STUART, the most famous
cavalry leader of the Southern Confed-
eracy during the Civil war, was born in
Patrick county, Virginia, in 1833. On
graduating from the United States Military
Academy, West Point, in 1854, he was as-
signed, as second lieutenant, to a regiment
of mounted rifles, receiving his commission
in October. In March, 1855, he was trans-
ferred to the newly organized First cavalry,
and was promoted to first lieutenant the
following December, and to captain April
22, 1861. Taking the side of the south,
May 14, 1 86 1, he was made colonel of a
Virginia cavalry regiment, and served as
such at Bull Run. In September, 1861, he
was promoted to the rank of brigadier-gen-
erai. and major-general early in 1862. On
the reorganization of the Army of Northern
Virginia, in June of the latter year, when
R. E. Lee assumed command, General Stu-
art made a reconnoissance with one thou-
sand five hundred cavalry and four guns,
and in two days made the circuit of McClel-
lan's army, producing much confusion and
gathering useful information, and losing but
one man. August 25, 1862, he captured
part of Pope's headquarters' train, including
that general's private baggage and official
correspondence, and the next night, in a
descent upon Manasses, capturing immense
quantities of commissary and quartermaster
store, eight guns, a number of locomotives
and a few hundred prisoners. During the
invasion of Maryland, in September, 1862,
General Stuart acted as rearguard, resisting
the advance of the Federal cavalry at South
Mountain, and at Antietam commanded the
Confederate left. Shortly after he crossed
the Potomac, making a raid as far as Cham-
bersburg, Pennsylvania. In the battle of
Fredericksburg, December 13, 1862, Gen-
eral Stuart's command was on the extreme
right of the Confederate line. At Chancel-
lorsville, after "Stonewall " Jackson's death
and the wounding of General A. P. Hill,
General Stuart assumed command of Jack-
son's corps, which he led in the severe con-
test of May 3, 1863. Early in June, the
same year, a large force of cavalry was
gathered under Stuart, at Culpepper, Vir-
ginia, which, advancing to join General Lee
in his invasion of Pennsylvania, was met at
Brandy Station, by two divisions of cavalry
and two brigades of infantry, under General
John I. Gregg, and driven back. During the
movements of the Gettysburg campaign he
rendered important services. In May, 1S64,
General Stuart succeeded, by a detour, in
placing himself between Richmond and
Sheridan's advancing column, and at Yellow
Tavern was attacked in force. During the
fierce conflict that ensued General Stuart
was mortally wounded, and died at Rich-
mond, May 1 1, 1864.
FRANKLIN PIERCE, the fourteenth
president of the United States — from
1853 until 1857 — was born November 23,
1804, at Hillsboro, New Hampshire. He
came of old revolutionary stock and his
father was a governor of the state. Mr.
Pierce entered Bowdoin College in 1820,
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAI'IIV.
128
was graduated in 1824, and took up the
study of law in the office of Judge Wood-
bury, and later he was admitted to the bar.
Mr. Pierce practiced his profession with
varying successes in his native town and
also in Concord. He was elected to the
state legislature in 1833 and served in that
body until 1837, the last two years of his
term serving as speaker of the house. He
was elected to the United States senate in
1837, just as President Van Buren began
his term of office. Mr. Pierce served until
1842, and many times during Polk's term he
declined important public offices. During
the war with Mexico Mr. Pierce was ap-
pointed brigadier-general, and he embarked
with a portion of his troops at Newport,
Rhode Tsland, May 27, 1847, and went with
them to the field of battle. He served
through the war and distinguished himself
by his skill, bravery and excellent judg-
ment. When he reached his home in his
native state he was received coldly by the
opponents of the war, but the advocates of
the war made up for his cold reception by
the enthusiastic welcome which they ac-
corded him. Mr. Pierce resumed the prac-
tice of his profession, and in the political
strife that followed he gave his support to
the pro-slavery wing of the Democratic
party. The Democratic convention met in
Baltimore, June 12, 1852, to nominate a
candidate for the presidency, and they con-
tinued in session four days, and in thirty-
five ballotings no one had secured the re-
quisite two-thirds vote. Mr. Pierce had not
received a vote as yet, until the Virginia
delegation brought his name forward, and
finally on the forty-ninth ballot Mr. Pierce
received 282 votes and all the other candi-
dates eleven. His opponent on the Whig
ticket was General Winfield Scott, who
only received the electoral votes of four
states. Mr. Pierce was inaugurated presi-
dent of the United States March 4, 1853,
with W. R. King as vice president, and the
following named gentlemen were afterward
chosen to fill the positions in the cabinet:
William S. Marcy, James Guthrie, Jeffer-
son Davis, James C. Dobbin, Robert Mc-
Clelland, James Campbell and Caleb Cush-
ing. During the administration of President
Pierce the Missouri compromise law was
repealed, and all the territories of the Union
were thrown open to slavery, and the dis-
turbances in Kansas occurred. In 1857 he
was succeeded in the presidency by James
Buchanan, and retired to his home in Con-
cord, New Hampshire. He always cherished
his principles of slavery, and at the out-
break of the rebellion he was an adherent of
the cause of the Confederacy. He died at
Concord, New Hampshire, October 8, 1869.
JAMES B. WEAVER, well known as a
leader of the Greenback and later of the
Populist party, was born at Dayton, Ohio,
June 12, 1833. He received his earlier
education in the schools of his native town,
and entered the law department of the Ohio
University, at Cincinnati, from which he
graduated in 1854. Removing to the grow-
ing state of Iowa, he became connected
with "The Iowa Tribune," at the state
capital, Des Moines, as one of its editors.
He afterward practiced law and was elected
district attorney for the second judicial dis-
trict of Iowa, on the Republican ticket in
1866, which office he held for a short time.
In 1867 Mr. Weaver was appointed assessor
of internal revenue for the first district of
Iowa, and filled that position until some-
time in 1873. He was elected and served
in the forty-sixth congress. In 1880 the
National or Greenback party in convention
at Chicago, nominated James B. Weaver as
ll'l
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPH1.
its candidate for the presidency. By a
union of the Democratic and National
parties in his district, he was elected to the
forty-ninth congress, and re-elected to the
same office in the fall of 1886. Mr. Weaver
was conceded to be a very fluent speaker,
and quite active in all political work. On
July 4, 1892, at the National convention
of the People's party, General James B.
Weaver was chosen as the candidate for
president of that organization, and during
the campaign that followed, gained a na-
tional reputation.
ANTHONY JOSEPH DREXEL, one
of the leading bankers and financiers of
the United States, was born in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in 1826, and was the son of
Francis M. Drexel, who had established
the large banking institution of Drexel &
Co., so well known. The latter was a native
of Dornbirn, in the Austrian Tyrol. He
studied languages and fine arts at Turin,
Italy. On returning to his mountain home,
in 1809, and finding it in the hands of the
French, he went to Switzerland and later
to Paris. In iSi2,aftera short visit home,
he went to Berlin, where he studied paint-
ing until 18 17, in which year he emigrated
io America, and settled in Philadelphia. A
few years later he went to Chili and Peru,
where he executed some fine portraits of
notable people, including General Simon
Bolivar. After spending some time in Mex-
ico, he returned to Philadelphia, and en-
gaged in the banking business. In 1837 he
founded the house of Drexel & Co. He
died in 1837, and was succeeded by his two
sons, Anthony J. and Francis A. His son,
Anthony J. Drexel, Jr. , entered the bai.k
when he was thirteen years of age, before lie
was through with his schooling, and afler
that the history of the banking business of
which he was the head, was the history of his
life. The New York house of Drexel, Mor-
gan & Co. was established in 1850; the
Paris house, Drexel, Harjes & Co., in 1867.
The Drexel banking houses have supplied
iand placed hundreds of millions of dollars
n government, corporation, railroad and
other loans and securities. The reputation
of the houses has always been held on the
highest plane. Mr. Drexel founded and
heavily endowed the Drexel Institute, in
Philadelphia, an institution to furnish better
and wider avenues of employment to young
people of both sexes. It has departments
of arts, science, mechanical arts and domes-
tic economy. Mr. Drexel, Jr. , departed this
life June 30, 1893.
SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE,
inventor of the recording telegraph in-
strument, was born in Charlestown, Massa-
chusetts, April 27, 1 791. He graduated
from Yale College in 18 10, and took up art
as his profession. He went to London with
the great American painter, Washington
Allston, and studied in the Royal Academy
under Benjamin West. His "Dying Her-
cules," his first effort in sculpture, took the
gold medal in 1S13. He returned to Amer-
ica in 18 1 5 and continued to pursue his
profession. He was greatly interested in
scientific studies, which he carried on in
connection with other labors. He founded
the National Academy of Design and was
many years its president. He returned to
Europe and spent three years in study
in the art centers, Rome, Florence, Venice
and Paris. In 1 832 he returned to America
and while on the return voyage the idea of
a recording teiegraph apparatus occurred to
him, and he made a drawing to represent his
conception. He was the first to occupy the
chair of fine arts in the University of New
coMriixnii'M of biography.
125
York City, and in 1835 he set up his rude
instrument in his room in the university.
But it was not until after many years of
discouragement and reverses of fortune that
lie finally was successful in placing his inven-
tion before the public. 'In 1844, by aid of
the United States government, he had con-
structed a telegraph line forty miles in length
from Washington to Baltimore. Over this
line the test was made, and the first tele-
graphic message was flashed May 24, 1844,
from the United States supreme court rooms
to Baltimore. It read, "What hath God
wrought!" His fame and fortune were es-
tablished in an instant. Wealth and honors
poured in upon him from that day. The
nations of Europe vied with each other
in honoring the great inventor with medals,
titles and decorations, and the learned
societies of Europe hastened to enroll his
name upon their membership lists and confer
degrees. In 1858 he was the recipient of an
honor never accorded to an inventor before.
The ten leading nations of Europe, at the
suggestion of the Emporer Napoleon, ap-
pointed representatives to an international
congress, which convened at Paris for the
special purpose of expressing gratitude of the
nations, and they voted him a present of
400,000 francs.
Professor Morse was present at the unveil-
ing of a bronze statue erected in his honor in
Central Park, New York, in 1871. His last
appearance in public was at the unveiling
of the statue of Benjamin Franklin in New
York in 1872, when he made the dedica-
tory speech and unveiled the statue. He
died April 2, 1872, in the city of New York.
MORRISON REMICH WAITE, seventh
chief justice of the United States, was
born at Lyme, Connecticut, November 29,
1816. He was a graduate from Yale Col-
lege in 1837, in the class with William M.
Evarts. His father was judge of the su-
preme court of errors of the state of Con-
necticut, and in his office young Waite
studied law. He subsequently removed to
Ohio, and was elected to the legislature of
that state in 1849. He removed from
Maumee City to Toledo and became a prom-
inent legal light in that state. He was
nominated as a candidate for congress re-
peatedly but declined to run, and also de-
clined a place on the supreme bench of the
state. He won great distinction for his able
handling of the Alabama claims at Geneva,
before the arbitration tribunal in 1871, and
was appointed chief justice of the supreme
court of the United States in 1874 on the
death of Judge Chase. When, in 1876, elec-
toral commissioners were chosen to decide
the presidential election controversy between
Tilden and Hayes, Judge Waite refused to
serve on that commission.
His death occurred March 23, 1888.
ELISHA KENT KANE was one of the
distinguished American explorers of the
unknown regions of the frozen north, and
gave to the world a more accurate knowl-
edge of the Arctic zone. Dr. Kane was
born February 3, 1820, at Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. He was a graduate of the
universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania,
and took his medical degree in 1843. He
entered the service of the United States
navy, and was physician to the Chinese
embassy. Dr. Kane traveled extensively
in the Levant, Asia and Western Africa,
and also served in the Mexican war, in
which he was severely wounded. His
first Arctic expedition was under De Haven
in the first Grinnell expedition in search
of Sir John Franklin in 1S50. He com-
manded the second Grinnell expedition
126
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
in 1853-55, and discovered an open polar
sea. For this expedition he received a gold
medal and other distinctions. He published
a narrative of his first polar expedition in
1853, and in 1856 published two volumes
relating to his second polar expedition. He
was a man of active, enterprising and cour-
ageous spirit. His health, which was al-
ways delicate, was impaired by the hard-
ships of his Arctic expeditions, from which
he never fully recovered and from which he
died February 16, 1857, at Havana.
ELIZABETH CADY STANTON was a
daughter of Judge Daniel Cady and
Margaret Livingston, and was born Novem-
ber 12, 181 5, at Johnstown, New York. She
was educated at the Johnstown Academy,
inhere she studied with a class of boys, and
Was fitted for college at the age of fifteen,
ifter which she pursued her studies at Mrs.
A'illard's Seminary, at Troy. Her atten-
tion was called to the disabilities of her sex
by her own educational experiences, and
through a study of Blackstone, Story, and
Kent. Miss Cady was married to Henry B.
Stanton in 1840, and accompanied him to
the world's anti-slavery convention in Lon-
don. While there she made the acquain-
tance of Lucretia Mott. Mrs. Stanton
resided at Boston until 1847, when the
family moved to Seneca Falls, New York,
and she and Lucretia Mott signed the first
call for a woman's rights convention. The
meeting was held at her place of residence
July 19-20, 1848. This was the first oc-
casion of a formal claim of suffrage for
women that was made. Mrs. Stanton ad-
dressed the New York legislature, in 1854,
on the rights of married women, and in
i860, in advocacy of the granting of di-
vorce for drunkenness. She also addressed
the legislature and the constitutional con-
vention, and maintained that during the
revision of the constitution the state was
resolved into its original elements, and that
all citizens had,. therefore, a right to vote
for the members of that convention. After
1869 Mrs. Stanton frequently addressed
congressional committees and state consti-
tutional conventions, and she canvassed
Kansas, Michigan, and other states when
the question of woman suffrage was sub-
mitted in those states. Mrs. Stanton was
one of the editors of the " Revolution," and
most of the calls and resolutions for con-
ventions have come from her pen. She
was president of the national committee,
also of the Woman's Loyal League, and
of the National Association, for many years.
DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, a great
American jurist, was born in Connecti-
cut in iSo5- He en,c.ca Williams College
when sixteen years old, and commenced the
study of law in 1S25. In 1S28 he was ad-
mitted to the bar, and went to New York,
where he soon came into prominence be-
fore the bar of that state. He entered upon
the labor of reforming the practice and
procedure, which was then based upon the
common law practice of England, and had
become extremely complicated, difficult and
uncertain in its application. His first paper
on this subject was published in 1S39, and
after eight years of continuous efforts in this
direction, he was appointed one of a com-
mission by New York to reform the practice
of that state. The result was embodied in
the two codes of procedure, civil and crimi-
nal, the first of which was adopted almost
entire by the state of New York, and has
since been adopted by more than half the
states in the Union, and became the basis
of the new practice and procedure in Eng-
land, contained in the Judicature act. He
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGKArilV.
127
was later appointed chairman of a new com-
mission to codify the entire body of laws.
This great work employed many years in its
completion, but when finished it embraced
a civil, penal, and political code, covering
the entire field of American laws, statutory
and common. This great body of law was
adopted by California and Dakota territory
in its entirety, and many other states have
since adopted its substance. In 1867 the
British Association for Social Science heard
a proposition from Mr. Field to prepare an
international code. This led to the prepara-
tion of his " Draft Outlines of an Interna-
tional Code," which was in fact a complete
body of international laws, and introduced
the principle of arbitration. Other of his
codes of the state of New York have since
been adopted by that state.
In addition to his great works on law,
Mr. Field indulged his literary tastes by fre-
quent contributions to general literature,
and his articles on travels, literature, and
the political questions of the hour gave
him rank with the best writers of his time.
His father was the Rev. David Dudley Field,
and his brothers were Cyrus W. Field, Rev.
Henry Martin Field, and Justice Stephen
J. Field of the United States supreme
court. David Dudley Field died at New
York, April 13, 1894.
HENRY M. TELLER, a celebrated
American politician, and secretary of
the interior under President Arthur, was born
May 23, 1830, in Allegany county, New
York. He was of Hollandish ancestry and
received an excellent education, after which
he took up the study of law and was ad-
mitted to the bar in the state of New York.
Mr. Teller removed to Illinois in January,
1858, and practiced for three years in that
state. From thence he moved to Colorado
in 1 86 1 and located at Central City, which
was then one of the principal mining towns
in the state. His exceptional abilities as
a lawyer soon brought him into prominence
and gained for him a numerous and profit-
able clientage. In politics he affiliated with
the Republican party, but declined to become
a candidate for office until the admission of
Colorado into the Union as a state, when
he was elected to the United States senate.
Mr. Teller drew the term ending March
4, 1877, but was re-elected December 11,
1876, and served until April 17, [882, when
he was appointed by President Arthur as
secretary of the interior. He accepted a
cabinet position with reluctance, and on
March 3, 1885, he retired from the cabinet,
having been elected to the senate a short
time before to succeed Nathaniel P. Hill.
Mr. Teller took his seat on March 4, 1885,
in the senate, to which he was afterward
re-elected. He served as chairman on the
committee of pensions, patents, mines and
mining, and was also a member of commit-
tees on claims, railroads, privileges and
elections and public lands. Mr. Teller came
to be recognized as one of the ablest advo-
cates of the silver cause. He was one of the
delegates to the Republican National conven-
tion at St. Louis in 1896, in which he took
an active part and tried to have a silver
plank inserted in the platform of the party.
Failing in this he felt impelled to bolt the
convention, which he did and joined forces
with the great silver movement in the cam-
paign which followed, being recognized in
that campaign as one of the most able an!
eminent advocates of "silver" in America.
JOHN ERICSSON, an eminent inven-
tor and machinist, who won fame in
America, was born in Sweden, July 31,1 803.
In early childhood he evinced a decided in-
L28
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
ciination to mechanical pursuits, and at the
age of eleven he was appointed to a cadet-
ship in the engineer corps, and at the age of
seventeen was promoted to a lieutenancy.
Jn 1826 he introduced a "flame engine,"
which he had invented, and offered it to
English capitalists, but it was found that it
could be operated only by the use of wood
for fuel. Shortly after this he resigned his
commission in the army of Sweden, and de-
voted himself to mechanical pursuits. He
discovered and introduced the principle of
artificial draughts in steam boilers, and re-
ceived a prize of two thousand five hundred
dollars for his locomotive, the "Novelty,"
which attained a great speed, for that day.
The artificial draught effected a great saving
in fuel and made unnecessary the huge
smoke-stacks formerly used, and the princi-
ple is still applied, in modified form, in boil-
ers. He also invented a steam fire-engine,
and later a hot-air engine, which he at-
tempted to apply in the operation of his
ship, "Ericsson," but as it did not give the
speed required, he abandoned it, but after-
wards applied it to machinery for pumping,
hoisting, etc.
Ericsson was first to apply the screw
propeller to navigation. The English peo-
ple not receiving this new departure readily,
Ericsson came to America in 1839, and
built the United States steamer, "Prince-
ton," in which the screw-propeller was util-
ized, the first steamer ever built in which
the propeller was under water, out of range
of the enemy's shots. The achievement
which gave him greatest renown, however,
was the ironclad vessel, the "Monitor," an
entirely new type of vessel, which, in March,
1S62, attacked the Confederate monster
ironclad ram, " Virginia," and after a fierce
struggle, compelled her to withdraw from
Hampton Roads for repairs. After the war
one of his most noted inventions was his
vessel, " Destroyer," with a submarine gun,
which carried a projectile torpedo. In 1886
the king of Spain conferred on him the
grand cross of the Order of Naval Merit.
He died in March, 1889, and his body was
transferred, with naval honors, to the country
of his birth.
JAMES BUCHANAN, the fifteenth presi-
dent of the United States, was a native
of Pennsylvania, and was born in Franklin
county, April 23, 1791. He was of Irish
ancestry, his father having come to this
country in 1783, in quite humble circum-
stances, and settled in the western part of
the Keystone state.
James Buchanan remained in his se-
cluded home for eight years, enjoying but
few social or intellectual advantages. His
parents were industrious and frugal, and
prospered, and, in 1799, the family removed
to Mercersbur Pennsylvania, where he
was placed in school. His progress was
rapid, and in 180 1 he entered Dickinson
College, at Carlisle, where he took his place
among the best scholars in the institution.
In 1S09 he graduated with the highest hon-
ors in his class. He was then eighteen, tall,
graceful and in vigorous health. He com-
menced the study of law at Lancaster, and
was admitted to the bar in 18 12. He rose
very rapidly in his profession and took a
stand with the ablest of his fellow lawyers.
When but twenty-six years old he success-
fully defended, unaided by counsel, one of
the judges of the state who was before the
bar of the state senate under articles of im-
peachment.
During the war of 1812-15, Mr. Buch-
anan sustained the government with all his
power, eloquently urging the vigorous prose-
cution of the war, and enlisted as a private
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
129
volunteer to assist in repelling the British
who had sacked and burned the public
buildings of Washington and threatened
Baltimore. At that time Buchanan was
a Federalist, but the opposition of that
party to the war with Great Britain and the
alien and sedition laws of John Adams,
brought that party into disrepute, and drove
many, among them Buchanan, into the Re-
publican, or anti-Federalist ranks. He was
elected to congress in 1828. In 1831 he
was sent as minister to Russia, and upon
his return to this country, in 1833, was ele-
vated to the United States senate, and re-
mained in that position for twelve years.
Upon the accession of President Polk to
office he made Mr. Buchanan secretary of
state. Four years later he retired to pri-
vate life, and in 1853 he was honored with
the mission to England. In 1856 the na-
tional Democratic convention nominated
him for the presidency and he was elected.
It was during his administration that the
rising tide of the secession movement over-
took the country. Mr. Buchanan declared
that the national constitution gave him no
power to do anything against the movement
to break up the Union. After his succession
by Abraham Lincoln in i860, Mr. Buchanan
retired to his home at Wheatland, Pennsyl-
vania, where he died June 1, 1868.
JOHN HARVARD, the founder of the
Harvard University, was born in Eng-
land about the' year 1608. He received his
education at Emanuel College, Cambridge,
and came to America in 1637, settling in
Massachusetts. He was a non-conformist
minister, and a tract of land was set aside
ior him in Charlestown, near Boston. He
was at once appointed one of a committee to
formulate a body of laws for the colony.
One year before his arrival in the colony
the general court had voted the sum of four
hundred pounds toward the establishment of
a school or college, half of which was to be
paid the next year In 1637 preliminary
plans were made for starting the school. In
1638 John Harvard, who had shown great
interest in the new institution o* learning
proposed, died, leaving his entire property,
about twice the sum originally voted, to the
school, together with three hundred volumes
as a nucleus for a library. The institution
was then given the name of Harvard, and
established at Newton (now Cambridge),
Massachusetts. It grew to be one of the two
principal seats of learning in the new world,
and has maintained its reputation since. It
now consists of twenty-two separate build-
ings, and its curriculum embraces over one
hundred and seventy elective courses, and it
ranks among the great universities of the
world.
ROGER BROOKE TANEY, a noted
jurist and chief justice of the United
States supreme court, was born in Calvert
county, Maryland, March 17, 1777. He
graduated fiom Dickinson College at the
age of eighteen, took up the study of law,
and was admitted to the bar in 1799. He
' was chosen to the legislature from his county,
and in 1801 removed to Frederick, Mary-
land. He became United States senator
from Maryland in 18 16, and took up his
permanent residence in Baltimore a few
years later. In 1824 he became an ardent
admirer and supporter of Andrew Jackson,
and upon Jackson's election to the presi-
dency, was appointed attorney general of
the United States. Two years later he was
appointed secretary of the treasury, and
after serving in that capacity for nearly one
year, the senate refused to confirm the ap-
pointment. In 1835, upon the death of
1 so
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Chief-justice Marshall, he was appointed to
that place, and a political change having
occurred in the make up of the senate, he
was confirmed in 1836. He presided at
his first session in January of the following
year.
The case which suggests itself first to
the average reader in connection with this
jurist is the celebrated " Dred Scott " case,
which came before the supreme court for
decision in 1856. In his opinion, delivered
on behalf of a majority of the court, one
remarkable statement occurs as a result of
an exhaustive survey of the historical
grounds, to the effect that " for more than
a century prior to the adoption of the con-
stitution they (Africans) had been regarded
so far inferior that they had no rights which
a white man was bound to respect." Judge
Taney retained the office of chief justice
until his death, in 1864.
JOHN LOTHROP MOTLEY.— This gen-
tleman had a world-wide reputation as
an historian, which placed him in the front
rank of the great men of America. He was
born April 15, 1814, at Dorchester, Massa-
chusetts, was given a thorough preparatory
education and then attended Harvard, from
which he was graduated in 1831. He also
studied at Gottingen and Berlin, read law
and in 1836 was admitted to the bar. In
1 841 he was appointed secretary of the
legation at St. Petersburg, and in 1866-67
served as United States minister to Austria,
serving in the same capacity during 1S69
and 1870 to England. In 1856, after long
and exhaustive research and preparation, he
published in London "The Rise of the
Dutch Republic." It embraced three vol-
umes and immediately attracted great at-
tention throughout Europe and America as
a work of unusual merit. From 1861 to
1868 he produced "The History of the
United Netherlands," in four volumes.
Other works followed, with equal success,
and his position as one of the foremost his
torians and writers of his day was firmly
established. His death occured May 29,
1877-
ELIAS HOWE, the inventor of the sew-
ing machine, well deserves to be classed
among the great and noted men of Amer-
ica. He was the son of a miller and farmer
and was born at Spencer, Massachusetts,
July 9, 1819. In 1S35 he went to Lowell
and worked there, and later at Boston, in the
machine shops. His first sewing machine
was completed in 1845, and he patented it in
1846, laboring with the greatest persistency
in spite of poverty and hardships, working
for a time as an engine driver on a railroad
at pauper wages and with broken health.
He then spent two years of unsuccessful ex-
ertion in England, striving in vain to bring
his invention into public notice and use.
He returned to the United States in almost
hopeless poverty, to find that his patent
had been violated. At last, however, he
found friends who assisted him financially,
and after years of litigation he made good
his claims in the courts in 1S54. His inven-
tion afterward brought him a large fortune.
During the Civil war he volunteered as a
private in the Seventeenth Connecticut Vol-
unteers, and served for some time. During
his life time he received the cross of the
Legion of Honor and many other medafs.
His death occurred October 3, 1867, at
Brooklyn, New York.
PHILLIPS BROOKS, celebrated as an
eloquent preacher and able pulpit ora-
tor, was born in Boston on the 13th day of
December, 1835. He received excellent
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
131
educational advantages, and graduated at
Harvard in 1855. Early in life he decided
upon the ministry as his life work and
studied theology in the Episcopal Theolog-
ical Seminary, at Alexandria, Virginia. In
1859 he was ordained and the same year
became pastor of the Church of the Advent,
in Philadelphia. Three years later he as-
sumed the pastorate of the Church of the
Holy Trinity, where he remained until 1870.
At the expiration of that time he accepted
the pastoral charge of Trinity Church in
Boston, where his eloquence and ability at-
tracted much attention and built up a pow-
erful church organization. Dr. Brooks also
devoted considerable time to lecturing and
literary work and attained prominence in
these lines.
WILLIAM B. ALLISON, a statesman
of national reputation and one of the
leaders of the Republican party, was born
March 2, 1829, at Perry, Ohio. He grew
up on his father's farm, which he assisted
in cultivating, and attended the district
school. When sixteen years old he went
to the academy at Wooster, and subse-
quently spent a year at the Allegheny Col-
lege, at Meadville, Pennsylvania. He next
taught school and spent another year at the
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio.
Mr. Allison then took up the study of law
at Wooster, where he was admitted to the
bar in 1 85 1, and soon obtained a position
as deputy county clerk. His political lean-
ings were toward the old line Whigs, who
afterward laid the foundation of the Repub-
lican party. He was a delegate to the state
convention in 1856, in the campaign of
which he supported Fremont for president.
Mr. Allison removed to Dubuque, Iowa,
in the following year. He rapidly rose to
prominence at the bar and in politics. In
1 860 he was chosen as a delegate to the
Republican convention held in Chicago, of
which he was elected one of the secretaries.
At the outbreak of the civil war he was ap-
pointed on the staff of the governor. His
congressional career opened in 1862, when
he was elected to the thirty-eighth congress;
he was re-elected three times, serving from
March 4, 1863, to March 3, 1871. He was
a member of the ways and means committee
a good part of his term. His career in the
United States senate began in 1873, and he
rapidly rose to eminence in national affairs,
his service of a quarter of a century in that
body being marked by close fealty to the
Republican party. He twice declined the
portfolio of the treasury tendered him by
Garfield and Harrison, and his name was
prominently mentioned for the presidency
at several national Republican conventions.
MARY ASHTON LIVERMORE, lec-
turer and writer, was born in Boston,
December 19, 1821. She was the daughter
of Timothy Rice, and married D. P. Liver-
more, a preacher of the Universalist church.
She contributed able articles to many of the
most noted periodicals of this country and
England. During the Civil war she labored
zealously and with success on behalf of the
sanitary commission which played so impor-
tant a part during that great struggle. She
became editor of the " Woman's Journal,"
published at Boston in 1870.
She held a prominent place as a public
speaker and writer on woman's suffrage,
temperance, social and religious questions,
and her influence was great in every cause
she advocated.
JOHN B. GOUGH, a noted temperance
lecturer, who won his fame in America,
was born in the village of Sandgate, Kent,
132
compexdhw of biography
England, August 22, 1817. He came to
the United States at the age of twelve.
He followed the trade of bookbinder, and
lived in great poverty on account of the
liquor habit. In 1843, however, he re-
formed, and began his career as a temper-
ance lecturer. He worked zealously in the
cause of temperance, and his lectures and
published articles revealed great earnestness.
He formed temperance societies throughout
the entire country, and labored with great
success. He visited England in the same
cause about the year 1853 and again in
1878. He also lectured upon many other
topics, in which he attained a wide reputa-
tion. His death occurred February 18,
1886.
THOMAS BUCHANAN READ, author,
sculptor and painter, was born in Ches-
ter count}-, Pennsylvania, March 12, 1822.
He early evinced a taste for art, and began
the study of sculpture in Cincinnati. Later
he found painting more to his liking. He
went to New York, where he followed this
profession, and later to Boston. In 1846
he located in Philadelphia. He visited
Italy in 1850, and studied at Florence,
where he resided almost continuously for
twenty-two years. He returned to America
in 1872, and died in New York May 11 of
the same year.
He was the author of many heroic
poems, but the one giving him the most re-
nown is his famous "Sheridan's Ride," of
which he has also left a representation in
painting.
EUGENE V. DEBS, the former famous
president of the American Railway
Union, and great labor leader, was born in
the city of Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1855.
He received his education in the public
schools of that place and at the age of
sixteen years began work as a painter in
the Vandalia shops. After this, for some
three years, he was employed as a loco-
motive fireman on the same road. His
first appearance in public life was in his
canvass for the election to the office of city
clerk of Terre Haute. In this capacity he
served two terms, and when twenty six
years of age was elected a member of the
legislature of the state of Indiana. While
a member of that body he secured the
passage of several bills in the interest of
organized labor, of which he was always
a faithful champion. Mr. Debs' speech
nominating Daniel Voorhees for the United
States senate gave him a wide reputation for
orator)'. On the expiration of his term in
the legislature, he was elected grand secre-
tary and treasurer of the Brotherhood of
Locomotive Fireman and filled that office
for fourteen successive years. He was
always an earnest advocate of confederation
of railroad men and it was mainly through
his efforts that the United Order of Railway
Employes, composed of the Brotherhood
of Railway Trainmen and Conductors,
Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and
the Switchmen's Mutual Aid Association was
formed, and he became a member of its
supreme council. The order was dissolved
by disagreement between two of its leading
orders, and then Mr. Debs conceived the
idea of the American Railway Union. He
worked on the details and the union came
into existence in Chicago, June 20,1893. For
a time it prospered and became one of the
largest bodies of railway men in the world.
It won in a contest with the Great Northern
Railway. In the strike made by the union
in sympathy with the Pullman employes
inaugurated in Chicago June 25, 1894. and
the consequent rioting, the Railway Union
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Vod
lost much prestige and Mr. Debs, in company
with others of the officers, being held as in con-
tempt of the United States courts, he suffered
a sentence of six months in jail at Wood-
stock, McHenry county, Illinois. In 1897
Mr. Debs, on the demise of the American
Railway Union, organized the Social
Democracy, an institution founded on the
best lines of the communistic idea, which
was to provide homes and employment for
its members.
JOHN G. CARLISLE, famous as a law-
yer, congressman, senator and cabinet
officer, was born in Campbell (now Kenton)
county, Kentucky, September 5, 1835, on a
farm. He received the usual education oi
the time and began at an early age to teach
school and, at the same time, the study of
law. Soon opportunity offered and he
entered an office in Covington, Kentucky,
and was admitted to practice at the bar in
1858. Politics attracted his attention and
in 1859 he was elected to the house of rep-
resentatives in the legislature of his native
state. On the outbreak of the war in 1861,
he embraced the cause of the Union and was
largely instrumental in preserving Kentucky
to the federal cause. He resumed his legal
practice for a time and declined a nomina-
tion as presidential elector in 1864. In
1866 and again in 1869 Mr. Carlisle was
elected to the senate of Kentucky. He re-
signed this position in 1871 and was chosen
lieutenant governor of the state, which office
he held until 1875. He was one of the
presidential electors-at-large for Ken-
tucky in 1876. He first entered congress in
1877, and soon became a prominent leader
on the Democratic side of the house of rep-
resentatives, and continued a member of
that body through the forty-sixth, forty-
seventh, forty-eighth and forty-ninth con-
gresses, and was speaker of the house during
the two latter. He was elected to the
United States senate to succeed Senator
Blackburn, and remained a member of that
branch of congress until March, 1S93, when
he was appointed secretary of the treasury.
He performed the duties of that high office
until March 4, 1897, throughout the en-
tire second administration of President
Cleveland. His ability and many years of
public service gave him a national reputa-
tion.
FRANCES E. WILLARD, for many years
president of the -Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, and a noted American
lecturer and writer, was born in Rochester,
New York, September 28, 1S39. Graduating
from the Northwestern Female College at the
age of nineteen she began teaching and met
with great success in many cities of the west.
She was made directress of Genesee Wes-
leyan Seminary at Lima, Ohio, in 1867, and
four years later was elected president of the
Evanston College for young ladies, a branch
of the Northwestern University.
During the two years succeeding 1869
she traveled extensively in Europe and the
east, visiting Egypt and Palestine, aod
gathering materials for a valuable course of
lectures, which she delivered at Chicago on
her return. She became very popular, and
won great influence in the temperance
cause. Her work as president of the Wo-
man's Christian Temperance Union greatly
strengthened that society, and she made
frequent trips to Europe in the interest of
that cause.
RICHARD OLNEY.— Among the promi-
nent men who were members of the
cabinet of President Cleveland in his second
administration, the gentleman whose name
184
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
heads this sketch held a leading place, oc-
cupying the positions of attorney general
and secretary of state.
Mr. Olney came from one of the oldest
and most honored New England families;
the first of his ancestors to come from Eng-
land settled in Massachusetts in 1635. This
was Thomas Olney. He was a friend and
co-religionist of Roger Williams, and when
the latter moved to what is now Rhode
Island, went with him and became one of
the founders of Providence Plantations.
Richard Olney was born in Oxford,
Massachusetts, in 1835, and received the
elements of his earlier education in the com-
mon schools which New England is so proud
of. He entered Brown University, from
which he graduated in 1856, and passed the
Harvard law school two years later. He
began the practice of his profession with
judge B. F. Thomas, a prominent man of
that locality. For years Richard Olney was
regarded as one of the ablest and most
learned lawyers in Massachusetts. Twice
he was offered a place on the bench of the
supreme court of the state, but both times
he declined. He was always a Democrat
in his political tenets, and for many years
was a trusted counsellor of members of that
party. In 1874 Mr. Olney was elected a
member of the legislature. In 1876, during
the heated presidential campaign, to
strengthen the cause of Mr. Tilden in the
New England states, it was intimated that
in the event of that gentleman's election to
the presidency, Mr. Olney would be attor-
ney general.
when Grover Cleveland was elected presi-
* n nt of the United States, on his inaugura-
tion in March, 1893, he tendered the posi-
tion of attorney general to Richard Olney.
This was accepted, and that gentleman ful-
filled the duties of the office until the death
of Walter Q. Gresham, in May, 1895, made
vacant the position of secretary of state.
This post was filled by the appointment of
Mr. Olney. While occupying the later
office, Mr. Olney brought himself into inter-
national prominence by some very able state
papers.
JOHN JAY KNOX, for many years comp-
troller of the currency, and an eminent
financier, was born in Knoxboro, Oneida
county, New York, May 19, 1828. He re-
ceived a good education and graduated at
Hamilton College in 1849. For about
thirteen years he was engaged as a private
banker, or in a position in a bank, where
he laid the foundation of his knowledge of
the laws of finance. In 1862, Salmon P.
Chase, then secretary of the treasury, ap-
pointed him to an office in that department
of the government, and later he had charge
of the mint coinage correspondence. In 1 867
Mr. Knox was made deputy comptroller
of the currency, and in that capacity, in
1870, he made two reports on the mint
service, with a codification of the mint and
coinage laws of the United States, and
suggesting many important amendments
These reports were ordered printed by reso-
lution of congress. The bill which he pre-
pared, with some slight changes, was sub-
sequently passed, and has been known in
history as the " Coinage Act of 1873."
In 1872 Mr. Knox wns appointed comp-
troller of the currency, and held that re-
sponsible position until 1884, when he re-
signed. He then accepted the position of
president of the National Bank of the Re-
public, of New York City, which institution
he served for many years. He was the
author of " United States Notes," published
in 1884. In the reports spoken of above, a
history of the two United States banks is
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
135
given, together with that of the state and
national banking system, and much valuable
statistical matter relating to kindred sub-
jects.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.— In the
opinion of many critics Hawthorne is
pronounced the foremost American novelist,
and in his peculiar vein of romance is said
to be without a peer. His reputation is
world-wide, and his ability as a writer is
recognized abroad as well as at home.
He was born July 4, 1804, at Salem, Massa-
chusetts. On account of feeble health he
spent some years of his boyhood on a farm
near Raymond, Maine. He laid the foun-
dation of a liberal education in his youth,
and entered Bovvdoin College, from which
he graduated in 1825 in the same class with
H W Longfellow and John S. C. Abbott.
He then returned to Salem, where he gave
his attention to literature, publishing several
tales and other articles in various periodi-
cals. His first venture in the field of ro-
mance, " Fanshaw,'' proved a failure. In
1836 he removed to Boston, and became
editor of the ''American Magazine," which
soon passed out of existence. In 1837 ne
published " Twice Told Tales," which were
chiefly made up of his former contributions
to magazines. In 1838-41 he held a posi-
tion in the Boston custom house, but later
took part in the " Brook farm experiment,"
a socialistic idea after the plan of Fourier.
In 1843 ne was married and took up his
residence at the old parsonage at Concord,
Massachusetts, which he immortalized in
his next work, "Mosses From an Old
Manse," published in 1846. From the lat-
ter date until 1850 he was surveyor of the
port of Salem, and while thus employed
wrote one of his strongest works, "The
Scarlet Letter." For the succeeding two
8
years Lenox, Massachusetts, was his home,
and the " House of the Seven Gables" was
produced there, as well as the " Blithedale
Romance." In 1852 he published a "Life
of Franklin Pierce," a college friend whom
he warmly regarded. In 1853 he was ap-
pointed United States consul to Liverpool,
England, where he remained some years,
after which he spent some time in Italy.
On returning to his native land he took up
his residence at Concord, Massachusetts.
While taking a trip for his health with ex-
President Pierce, he died at Plymouth, New
Hampshire, May 19, 1S64. In addition to
the works mentioned above Mr. Hawthorne
gave to the world the following books:
" True Stories from History," "The Won-
der Book," " The Snow Image," "Tangle-
wood Tales," "The Marble Faun," and
" Our Old Home. " After his death appeared
a series of "Notebooks," edited by his wife,
Sophia P. Hawthorne; " Septimius Felton, "
edited by his daughter, Una, and " Dr.
Grimshaw's Secret," put into shape by his
talented son, Julian. He left an unfinished
work called " Dolliver Romance," which has
been published just as he left it.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN, sixteenth presi-
dent of the United States, was born
February 12, 1809, in Larue county (Har-
din county), Kentucky, in a log-cabin near
Hudgensville. When he was eight years
old he removed with his parents to Indiana,
near the Ohio river, and a year later his
mother died. His father then married Mrs.
Elizabeth (Bush) Johnston, of Elizabeth-
town, Kentucky, who proved a kind of fos-
ter-mother to Abraham, and encouraged
him to study. He worked as a farm hand
and as a clerk in a store at Gentryville, and
was noted for his athletic feats and strength,
fondness for debate, a fund of humorous
136
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRArilV.
anecdote, as well as the composition of rude
verses. He made a trip at the age of nine-
teen to New Orleans on a flat-boat, and set-
tled in Illinois in 1830. He assisted his
father to build a log house and clear a farm
on the Sangamon river near Decatur, Illinois,
and split the rails with which to fence it. In
1851 he was employed in the building of a
flat-boat on the Sangamon, and to run it to
New Orleans. The voyage gave him anew
insight into the horrors of slavery in the
south. On his return he settled at New
Salem and engaged, first as a clerk in a store,
then as grocer, surveyor and postmaster, and
he piloted the first steamboat that as-
cended the Sangamon. He participated in
the Black Hawk war as captain of volun-
teers, and after his return he studied law,
interested himself in politics, and became
prominent locally as a public speaker. He
was elected to the legislature in 1834 as a
" Clay Whig, " and began at once to dis-
play a command of language and forcible
rhetoric that made him a match for his
more cultured opponents. He was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1837, and began prac-
tice at Springfield. He married a lady of a
prominent Kentucky family in 1842. He
was active in the presidential campaigns of
1840 and 1844 and was an elector on the
Harrison and Clay tickets, and was elected
to congress in 1846, over Peter Cartwright.
He voted for the Wilmot proviso and the
abolition of slavery in the District of Colum-
bia, and opiposed the war with Mexico, but
gained little prominence during his two
years' service. He then returned to Spring-
field and devoted his attention to law, tak-
ing little interest in politics, until the repeal
of the Missouri compromise and the passage
of the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1854. This
awakened his interest in politics again and
he attacked the champion of that measure,
Stephen A. Douglas, in a speech at Spring-
field that made him famous, and is said
by those who heard it to be the greatest
speech of his life. Lincoln was selected as
candidate for the United States senate, but
was defeated by Trumbull. Upon the pas-
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill the Whig
party suddenly went to pieces, and the Re-
publican party gathered head. At the
Bloomington Republican convention in 1856
Lincoln made an effective address in which
he first took a position antagonistic to the ex-
istence of slavery. He was a Fremont elector
and received a strong support for nomina-
tion as vice-president in the Philadelphia
convention. In 1858 he was the unanimous
choice of the Republicans for the United
States senate, and the great campaign of de-
bate which followed resulted in the election
of Douglas, but established Lincoln's repu-
tation as the leading exponent of Republican
doctrines. He began to be mentioned in
Illinois as candidate for the presidency, and
a course of addresses in the eastern states
attracted favorable attention. When the
national convention met at Chicago, his
rivals, Chase, Seward, Bates and others,
were compelled to retire before the western
giant, and he was nominated, with Hannibal
Hamlin as his running mate. The Demo-
cratic party had now been disrupted, and
Lincoln's election assured. He carried
practically every northern state, and the
secession of South Carolina, followed by a
number of the gulf states, took place before
his inauguration. Lincoln is the only presi-
dent who was ever compelled to reach
Washington in a secret manner. He es-
caped assassination by avoiding Baltimore,
and was quietly inaugurated March 4, 1861.
His inaugural address was firm but con-
ciliatory, and he said to the secessionists:
" You have no oath registered in heaven
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
137
to destroy the government, while I have the
most solemn one to preserve, protect and
defend it.' He made up his cabinet chiefly
of those political rivals in his own party —
Seward, Chase, Cameron, Bates — and se-
cured the co-operation of the Douglas Dem-
ocrats. His great deeds, amidst the heat
and turmoil of war, were: His call for
seventy-five thousand volunteers, and the
blockading of southern ports; calling of con-
gress in extra session, July 14, 18.61, and
obtaining four hundred thousand men and
four hundred million dollars for the prosecu-
tion of the war; appointing Stanton secre-
tary of war; issuing the emancipation proc-
lamation; calling three hundred thou-
sand volunteers; address at Gettysburg
cemetery; commissioned Grant as lieuten-
ant-general and commander-in-chief of the
armies of the United States; his second
inaugural address; his visit to the army be-
fore Richmond, and his entry into Rich-
mond the day after its surrender.
Abraham Lincoln was shot by John
Wilkes Booth in a box in Ford's theater
at Washington the night of April 14, 1865,
and expired the following morning. His
body was buried at Oak Ridge cemetery,
Springfield, Illinois, and a monument com-
memorating his great work marks his resting
place.
STEPHEN GIRARD, the celebrated
philanthropist, was born in Bordeaux,
France, May 24, 1750. He became a sailor
engaged in the American coast trade, and
also made frequent trips to the West Indies.
During the Revolutionary war he was a
grocer and liquor seller in Philadelphia.
He married in that city, and afterward
separated from his wife. After the war he
again engaged in the coast and West India
trade, and his fortune began to accumulate
He was
freethinker,
his lifetime.
from receiving goods from West Indian
planters during the insurrection in Hayti,
little of which was ever called for again.
He became a private banker in Philadelphia
in 1812, and afterward was a director in the
United States Bank. He made much money
by leasing property in the city in times of
depression, and upon the revival of industry
sub-leasing at enormous profit. He became
the wealthiest citizen of the United States
of his time.
eccentric, ungracious, and a
He had few, if any, friends in
However, he was most chari-
tably disposed, and gave to charitable in-
stitutions and schools with a liberal hand.
He did more than any one else to relieve
the suffering and deprivations during the
great yellow fever scourge in Philadelphia,
devoting his personal attention to the sick.
He endowed and made a free institution,
the famous Will's Eye and Ear Infirmary
of Philadelphia — one of the largest institu-
tions of its kind in the world. At his death
practically all his immense wealth was be-
queathed to charitable institutions, more
than two millions of dollars going to the
founding of Girard College, which was to
be devoted to the education and training of
boys between the ages of six and ten years.
Large donations were also made to institu-
tions in Philadelphia and New Orleans.
The principal building of Girard College is
the most magnificent example of Greek
architecture in America. Girard died De-
cember 26, 1 83 1.
LOUIS J. R. AGASSIZ, the eminent nat-
uralist and geologist, was born in the
parish of Motier, near Lake Neuchatel, Swit-
zerland, May 28, 1807, but attained his
greatest fame after becoming an American
citizen. He studied the medical sciences at
188
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Zurich, Heidelberg and Munich. His first
work was a Latin description of the fishes
which Martins and Spix brought from Brazil.
This was published in 1 829-3 l ■ He devoted
much time to the study of fossil fishes, and
in 1832 was appointed professor of natural
history at Neuchatel. He greatly increased
his reputation by a great work in French,
entitled " Researches on Fossil Fishes," in
[832—42, in which he made many important
improvements in the classification of fishes.
Having passed many summers among the
Alps in researches on glaciers, he propounded
some new and interesting ideas on geology,
and the agency of glaciers in his "Studies
by the Glaciers." This was published in
1840. This latter work, with his " System
of the Glaciers," published in 1847, are
among his principal works.
In 1846, Professor Agassiz crossed the
ocean on a scientific excursion to the United
States, and soon determined to remain here.
He accepted, about the beginning of 1848,
the chair of zoology and geology at Harvard.
He explored the natural history of the
United States at different times and gave an
impulse to the study of nature in this
country. In 1865 he conducted an expedi-
tion to Brazil, and explored the lower Ama-
zon and its tributaries. In 1868 he was
made non-resident professor of natural his-
tory at Cornell University. In December,
1 87 1, he accompanied the Hassler expedi-
tion, under Professor Pierce, to the South
Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He died at
Cambridge, Massachusetts, December 14,
1873-
Among other of the important works of
Professor Agassiz may be mentioned the fol-
lowing: "Outlines of Comparative Physi-
ology," "Journey to Brazil," and "Contri-
butions to the Natural History of the Unit jd
States." It is said of Professor Agassiz,
that, perhaps, with the exception of Hugh
Miller, no one had so popularized science in
his day, or trained so many young natural-
ists. Many of the theories held by Agassiz
are not supported by many of the natural-
ists of these later days, but upon many of
the speculations into the origin of species and
in physics he has left the marks of his own
strongly marked individuality.
WILLIAM WINDOM.— As a prominent
and leading lawyer of the great north-
west, as a member of both houses of con-
gress, and as the secretary of the treasury,
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch
won for himself a prominent position in the
history of our country.
Mr. Windom was a native of Ohio,
born in Belmont county, May 10, 1827.
He received a good elementary education in
the schools of his native state, and took up
the study of law. He was admitted to the
bar, and entered upon the practice of his
profession in Ohio, where he remained until
1855. In the latter year he made up his
mind to move further west, and accordingly
went to Minnesota, and opening an office,
became identified with the interests of that
state, and the northwest generally. In
1858 he took his place in the Minnesota
delegation in the national house of repre-
sentatives, at Washington, and continued
to represent his constituency in that body
for ten years. In 1871 Mr. Windom was
elected United States senator from Min-
nesota, and was re-elected to the same office
after fulfilling the duties of the position for
a full term, in 1876. On the inauguration
of President Garfield, in March, 1S81, Mr.
Windom became secretary of the treasury
in his cabinet. He resigned this office Oc-
tober 27, 1 88 1, and was elected senator
from the North Star state to fill the va«
COMPENDIUM OF BTOGRAPIIT.
189
cancy caused by the resignation of A. J.
Edgerton. Mr. Windom served in that
chamber until March, 1883.
William Windom died in New York
City January 29, 1S91 .
DON M. DICKINSON, an American
politician and lawyer, was born in
Port Ontario, New York, January 17, 1846.
He removed with his parents to Michigan
when he was but two years old. He was
educated in the public schools of Detroit
and at the University of Michigan at Ann
Arbor, and was admitted to the bar at the
age of twenty-one. In 1S72 he was made
secretary of the Democratic state central
committee of Michigan, and his able man-
agement of the campaign gave him a prom-
inent place in the councils of his party. In
1S76, during the Tilden campaign, he acted
as chairman of the state central committee.
He was afterward chosen to represent his
state in the Democratic national committee,
and in 1886 he was appointed postmaster-
general by President Cleveland. After the
expiration of his term of office he returned
to Detroit and resumed the practice of law.
In the presidential campaign of 1896, Mr.
Dickinson adhered to the "gold wing "of
the Democracy, and his influence was felt
in the national canvass, and especially in
his own state.
JOHN JACOB ASTOR, the founder of
the Astor family and fortunes, while not
a native of this country, was one of the
most noted men of his time, and as all his
wealth and fame were acquired here, he
may well be classed among America's great
men. He was born near Heidelberg, Ger-
many, July 17, 1763, and when twenty
years old emigrated to the United States.
Even at that age he exhibited remarkable
business ability and foresight, and soon he
was investing capital in furs which he took
to London and sold at a great profit. He
next settled at New York, and engaged ex-
tensively in the fur trade. He exported
furs to Europe in his own vessels, which re-
turned with cargoes of foreign commodities,
and thus he rapidly amassed an immense
fortune. In 181 1 he founded Astoria on
the western coast of North America, near
the mouth of the Columbia river, as a depot
for the fur trade, for the promotion of
which he sent a number of expeditions to
the Pacific ocean. He also purchased a
large amount of real estate in New York,
the value of which increased enormously
All through life his business ventures were
a series of marvelous successes, and he
ranked as one of the most sagacious and
successful business men in the world. He
died March 29, 1848, leaving a fortune es-
timated at over twenty million dollars to
his children, who have since increased it.
John Jacob Astor left $400,000 to found a
public library in New York City, and his son,
William B. Astor, who died in 1875, left
$300,000 to add to his father's bequest.
This is known as the Astor Library, one of
the largest in the United States.
SCHUYLER COLFAX, an eminent
American statesman, was born in New
York City, March 23, 1823, being a grand-
son of General William Colfax, the com-
mander of Washington's life-guards. In
1836 he removed with his mother, who was
then a widow, to Indiana, settling at South
Bend. Young Schuyler studied law, and
in 1845 became editor of the "St. Joseph
Valley Register," a Whig paper published
at South Bend. He was a member of the
convention which formed a new constitu-
tion for Indiana in 1850, and he opposed
140
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
the clause that prohibited colored men
from settling in that state. In 1851 he was
defeated as the Whig candidate for congress
but was elected in 1854, and, being repeat-
edly re-elected, continued to represent that
district in congress until 1869. He became
"one of the most prominent and influential
members of the house of representatives,
and served three terms as speaker. During
the Civil war he was an active participant
in all public measures of importance, and
was a confidential friend and adviser of
President Lincoln. In May, 1868, Mr.
Colfax was nominated for vice-president on
the ticket with General Grant, and was
elected. After the close of his term he re-
tired from office, and for the remainder of
his life devoted much of his time to lectur-
ing and literary pursuits. His death oc-
curred January 23, 1S85. He was one of
the most prominent members of the Inde-
pendent Order of Odd Fellows in America,
and that order erected a bronze statue to
his memory in University Park. Indianapo-
lis, Indiana, which was unveiled in May,
1SS7.
WILLIAM FREEMAN VILAS, who at-
tained a national reputation as an able
lawyer, statesman, and cabinet officer, was
born at Chelsea, Vermont, July 9, 1840.
His parents removed to Wisconsin when
our subject was but eleven years of age,
and there with the early settlers endured all
the hardships and trials incident to pioneer
life. William F. Vilas was given all the
advantages found in the common schools,
and supplemented this by a course of study
in the Wisconsin State University, after
which he studied law, was admitted to the
bar and began practicing at Madison.
Shortly afterward the Civil war broke out
and Mr. Vilas enlisted and became colonel
of the Twenty-third regiment of Wisconsin
Volunteers, serving throughout the war with
distinction. At the close of the war he re-
turned to Wisconsin, resumed his law prac-
tice, and rapidly rose to eminence in this
profession. In 1885 he was selected by
President Cleveland for postmaster-general
and at the close of his term again returned
to Madison, Wisconsin, to resume the prac-
tice of law.
THOMAS McINTYRE COOLEY, anem-
inent American jurist and law writer,
was born in Attica, New York, January 6,
1824. He was admitted to the bar in 1846,
and four years later was appointed reporter
of the supreme court of Michigan, which
office he continued to hold for seven years.
In the meantime, in 1859, he became pro-
fessor of the law department of the Univer-
sity of Michigan, and soon afterward was
made dean of the faculty of that depart-
ment. In 1S64 he was elected justice of
the supreme court of Michigan, in 1867 be-
came chief justice of that court, and in
1869 was re-elected for a term of eight
years. In 1881 he again joined the faculty
of the University of Michigan, assuming the
professorship of constitutional and adminis-
trative law. His works on these branches
have become standard, and he is recog-
nized as authority on this and related sub-
jects. Upon the passage of the inter-state
commerce law in 1887 he became chairman
of the commission and served in that capac-
ity four years.
JOHN PETER ALTGELD, a noted
American politician and writer on social
questions, was born in Germany, December
30, 1847. He came to America with his
parents and settled in Ohio when two years
old. In 1 864 he entered the Union army
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
141
and served tilt the close of the war, after
which he settled in Chicago, Illinois. He
was elected judge of the superior court of
Cook county, Illinois, in 1886, in which
capacity he served until elected governor of
Illinois in 1892, as a Democrat. During
the first year of his term as governor he at-
tracted national attention by his pardon of
the anarchists convicted of the Haymarket
murder in Chicago, and again in 1894 by
his denunciation of President Cleveland for
calling out federal troops to suppress the
rioting in connection with the great Pull-
man strike in Chicago. At the national
convention of the Democratic party in Chi-
cago, in July, 1896, he is said to have in-
spired the clause in the platform denuncia-
tory of interference by federal authorities in
local affairs, and "government by injunc-
tion." He was gubernatorial candidate for
re-election on the Democratic ticket in 1896,
but was defeated by John R. Tanner, Re-
publican. Mr. Altgeld published two vol-
umes of essays on " Live Questions," evinc-
ing radical views on social matters.
ADLAI EWING STEVENSON, an Amer.
ican statesman and politician, was born
in Christian county, Kentucky, October 23,
1835, and removed with the family to
Bloomington, Illinois, in 1852. He was
admitted to the bar in 1858, and set-
tled in the practice of his profession
in Metamora, Illinois. In 1861 he was
made master in chancery of Woodford
county, and in 1864 was elected state's at-
torney. In 1868 he returned to Blooming-
ton and formed a law partnership with
James S. Ewing. He had served as a pres-
idential elector in 1864, and in 1868 was
elected to congress as a Democrat, receiv-
ing a majority vote from every county in his
district. He became prominent in his
party, and was a delegate to the national
convention in 1884. On the election of
Cleveland to the presidency Mr. Stevenson
was appointed first assistant postmaster-
general. After the expiration of his term
he continued to exert a controlling influence
in the politics of his state, and in 1892 was
elected vice-president of the United States
on the ticket with Grover Cleveland. At
the expiration of his term of office he re-
sumed the practice of law at Bloomington,
Illinois.
SIMON CAMERON, whose name is
prominently identified with the history
of the United States as a political leader
and statesman, was born in Lancaster coun-
ty, Pennsylvania, March 8, 1799. He grew
to manhood in his native county, receiving
good educational advantages, and develop-
ing a natural inclination for political life.
He rapidly rose in prominence and became
the most influential Democrat in PennsyJ"
vania, and in 1845 was elected by that party
to the United States senate. Upon the
organization of the Republican party he was
one of the first to declare his allegiance to
it, and in 1856 was re-elected United States
senator from Pennsylvania as a Republican.
In March, 1861, he was appointed secretary
of war by President Lincoln, and served
until early in 1862, when he was sent as
minister to Russia, returning in 1863. In
1866 he was again elected United States
senator and served until 1877, when he re-
signed and was succeeded by his son, James
Donald Cameron. He continued to exert a
powerful influence in political affairs up to
the time of his death, June 26, 1889.
James Donald Cameron was the eld-
est son of Simon Cameron, and also
attained a high rank among American
statesmen. He was born at Harrisburg,
141
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Pennsylvania, May 14, 1833, and received an
excellent education, graduating at Princeton
College in 1852. He rapidly developed into
one of the most able and successful business
men of the country and was largely inter-
ested in and identified with the develop-
ment of the coal, iron, lumber and manu-
facturing interests of his native state. He
served as cashier and afterward president of
the Middletown bank, and in 1861 was made
vice-president, and in 1863 president of
the Northern Central railroad, holding this
position until 1874, when he resigned and
was succeeded by Thomas A. Scott. This
road was of great service to the government
(luring the war as a means of communica-
tion between Pennsylvania and the national
capital, via Baltimore. Mr. Cameron also
took an active part in political affairs,
always as a Republican. In May, 1876,
he was appointed secretary of war in Pres-
ident Grant's cabinet, and in 1877 suc-
ceeded his father in the United States
senate. He was re-elected in 1885, and
again in 1891, serving until 1896, and was
recognized as one of the most prominent and
influential members of that bodv.
ADOLPHUS W. GREELEY, a famous
American arctic explorer, was born at
Newburyport, Massachusetts, March 27,
1844. He graduated from Brown High
School at the age of sixteen, and a year
later enlisted in Company B, Nineteenth
Massachusetts Infantry, and was made first
sergeant. In 1863 he was promoted to
second lieutenant. After the war he was
assigned to the Fifth United States Cavalry,
and became first lieutenant in 1873. He
was assigned to duty in the United States
signal service shortly after the close of the
war. An expedition was fitted out by the
United States government in 1881, un-
der auspices of the weather bureau, and
Lieutenant Greeley placed in command.
They set sail from St. Johns the first week
in July, and after nine days landed in Green-
land, where they secured the services of two
natives, together with sledges, dogs, furs
and equipment. They encountered an ice
pack early in August, and on the 28th of
that month freezing weather set in. Two
of his party, Lieutenant Lockwood and Ser-
geant Brainard, added to the known maps
about forty miles of coast survey, and
reached the highest point yet attained by
man, eighty-three degrees and twenty-four
minutes north, longitude, forty-four degrees
and five minutes west. On their return to
Fort Conger, Lieutenant Greeley set out
for the south on August 9, 1883. He
reached Baird Inlet twenty days later with
his entire party. Here they were compelled
to abandon their boats, and drifted on an
ice-floe for one month. They then went
into camp at Cape Sabine, where they suf-
fered untold hardships, and eighteen of the
parly succumbed to cold and hunger, and
had relief been delayed two days longer
none would have been found alive. They
were picked up by the relief expedition,
under Captain Schley, June 22, 1884. The
dead were taken to New York for burial.
Many sensational stories were published
concerning the expedition, and Lieutenant
Greeley prepared an exhaustive account
of his explorations and experiences.
LEVI P. MORTON, the millionaire poli-
tician, was born in Shoreham, Ver-
mont, May 16, 1824, and his early educa-
tion consisted of the rudiments which he
obtained in the common school up to the
age of fourteen, and after that time what
knowledge he gained was wrested from the
hard school of experience. He removed to
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
143
Hanover, Vermont, then Concord, Vermont,
and afterwards to Boston. He had worked
in a store at Shoreham, his native village,
and on going to Hanover he established a
store and went into business for himself.
In Boston he clerked in a dry goods store,
and then opened a business of his own in
the same line in New York. After a short
career he failed, and was compelled to set-
tle with his creditors at only fifty cents on
the dollar. He began the struggle anew,
and when the war began he established a
banking house in New York, with Junius
Morgan as a partner. Through his firm
and connections the great government war
loans were floated, and it resulted in im-
mense profits to his house. When he was
again thoroughly established he invited his
former creditors to a banquet, and under
each guest's plate was found a check cover-
ing the amount of loss sustained respec-
tively, with interest to date.
President Garfield appointed Mr. Mor-
ton as minister to France, after he had de-
clined the secretaryship of the navy, and in
1888 he was nominated as candidate for
vice-president, with Harrison, and elected.
In 1894 he was elected governor of New
York over David B. Hill, and served one
term.
CHARLES KENDALL ADAMS, one
of the most talented and prominent
educators this country has known, was born
January 24, 1835, a t Derby, Vermont. He
received an elementary education in the
common schools, and studied two terms in
the Derby Academy. Mr. Adams moved
with his parents to Iowa in 1856. He was
very anxious to pursue a collegiate course,
but this was impossible until he had attained
the age of twenty-one. In the autumn of
1856 he began the study of Latin and Greek
at Denmark Academy, and in September,
1857, he was admitted to the University of
Michigan. Mr. Adams was wholly depend-
ent upon himself for the means of his edu-
cation. During his third and fourth year
he became deeply interested in historical
studies, was assistant librarian of the uni-
versity, and determined to pursue a post-
graduate course. In 1864 he was appointed
instructor of history and Latin and was ad-
vanced to an assistant professorship in 1865,
and in 1867, on the resignation o 1 ' Professoi
White to accept the presidency of Cornell,
he was appointed to fill the chair of profes-
sor of history. This he accepted on con-
dition of his being allowed to spend a year
for special study in Germany, France and
Italy. Mr. Adams returned in 1868, and
assumed the duties of his professorship.
He introduced the German system for the
instruction of advanced history classes, and
his lectures were largely attended. In 1885,
on the resignation of President White at
Cornell, he was elected his successor and
held the office for seven years, and on Jan-
uary 17, 1893, he was inaugurated presi-
dent of the University of Wisconsin. Pres-
ident Adams was prominently connected
with numerous scientific and literary organ-
izations and a frequent contributor to the
historical and educational data in the peri-
odicals and journals of the country. He
was the author of the following: " Dem-
ocracy and Monarchy in France," " Manual
of Historical Literature," " A Plea for Sci-
entific Agriculture," " Higher Education in
Germany."
JOSEPH B. FORAKER, a prominent po-
litical leader and ex-governor of Ohio,
was born near Rainsboro, Highland county,
Ohio, July 5, 1846. His parents operated
a small farm, with a grist and sawmill, hav-
144
com r j:\nirM of biography,
ing emigrated hither from Virginia and
Delaware on account of their distaste for
slavery.
Joseph was reared upon a farm until
1862, when he enlisted in the Eighty-ninth
Ohio Infantry. Later he was made ser-
geant, and in 1864 commissioned first lieu-
tenant. The next year he was brevetted
captain. At the age of nineteen he was
mustered out of the army after a brilliant
service, part of the time being on the staff
of General Slocum. He participated in the
battles of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount-
ain and Kenesaw Mountain and in Sher-
man's march to the sea.
For two years subsequent to the war
young Foraker was studying at the Ohio
Wesleyan University at Delaware, but later
went to Cornell University, at Unity, New
York, from which he graduated July 1,
1S69. He studied law and was admitted to
the bar. In 1879 Mr. Foraker was elected
judge of the superior court of Cincinnati
and held the office for three years. In 1883
he was defeated in the contest for the gov-
ernorship with Judge Hoadly. In 1885,
however, being again nominated for the
same office, he was elected and served two
terms. In 1889, in running for governor
again, this time against James E. Camp-
bell, he was defeated. Two years later his
career in the United States senate began.
Mr. Foraker was always a prominent figure
at all national meetings of the Republican
^arty, and a strong power, politically, in his
native state.
LYMAN ABBOTT, an eminent American
preacher and writer on religious sub-
jects, came of a noted New England
family. His father, Rev. Jacob Abbott, was
a prolific and popular writer, and his uncle,
Rev. John S. C. Abbott, was a noted
preacher and author. Lyman Abbott was
born December 18, 1835, in Koxbury,
Massachusetts. He graduated at the New
York University, in 1S53, studied law, and
practiced for a time at the bar, after which
he studied theology with his uncle, Rev.
John S. C. Abbott, and in i860 was settled
in the ministry at Terre Haute, Indiana, re-
maining there until after the close of the
war. He then became connected with the
Freedmen's Commission, continuing this
until 1868, when he accepted the pastorate
of the New England Congregational church,
in New York City. A few years later he re-
signed, to devote his time principally to lit-
erary pursuits. For a number of years he
edited for the American Tract Society, its
"Illustrated Christian Weekly," also the
New York "Christian Union." He pro-
duced many works, which had a wide circu-
lation, among which may be mentioned the
following: "Jesus of Nazareth, His Life and
Teachings," "Old Testament Shadows of
New Testament Truths," "Morning and
Evening Exercises, Selected from Writings
of Henry Ward Beecher," " Laicus, or the
Experiences of a Layman in a Country
Parish," "Popular Religious Dictionary,"
and "Commentaries on Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John and Acts."
GEORGE WILLIAM CURTIS.— The
well-known author, orator and journal-
ist whose name heads this sketch, was born
at Providence, Rhode Island, February 24,
1824. Having laid the foundation of a
most excellent education in his native land,
he went to Europe and studied at the Uni-
versity of Berlin. He made an extensive
tour throughout the Levant, from which he
returned home in 1850. At that early age
literature became his field of labor, and in
1 85 1 he published his first important work,
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
145
" Nile Notes of a Howadji." In 1852 two
works issued from his facile pen, "The
Howadji in Syria," and " Lotus-Eating. "
Later on he was the author of the well-
known " Potiphar Papers," " Prue and I,"
and "Trumps." He greatly distinguished
himself throughout this land as a lecturer
on many subjects, and as an orator had but
few peers. He was also well known as one
of the most fluent speakers on the stump,
making many political speeches in favor of
the Republican party. In recognition of
his valuable services, Mr. Curtis was ap-
pointed 'by President Grant, chairman of
the advisory board of the civil service. Al-
though a life-long Republican, Mr. Curtis
refused to support Blaine for the presidency
in 1884, because of his ideas on civil ser-
vice and other reforms. For his memorable
and magnificent eulogy on Wendell Phillips,
delivered in Boston, in 1884, that city pre-
sented Mr. Curtis with a gold medal.
George W. Curtis, however, is best
known to the reading public of the United
States by his connection with the Harper
Brothers, having been editor of the " Har-
per's Weekly, " and of the "Easy Chair,"
in " Harper's Monthly Magazine, "for many
years, in fact retaining that position until
the day of his death, which occurred August
31. 1892-
ANDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth
president of the United States, served
from 1865 to 1869. He was born Decem-
ber 8, 1808, at Raleigh, North Carolina,
and was left an orphan at the age of four
years. He never attended school, and was
apprenticed to a tailor. While serving his
apprenticeship he suddenly acquired a pas-
sion for knowledge, and learned to read.
From that time on he spent all his spare
time in reading, and after working for two
years as a journeyman tailor at Lauren's
Court House, South Carolina, he removed
to Greenville, Tennessee, where he worked
at his trade and was married. Under his
wife's instruction he made rapid progress in
his studies and manifested such an interest
in local politics as to be elected as " work-
ingmen's candidate " alderman in 1828, and
in 1830 to the mayoralty, and was twice
re-elected to each office. Mr. Johnson
utilized this time in cultivating his talents
as a public speaker, by taking part in a de-
bating society. He was elected in 1835 to
the lower house of the legislature, was re-
elected in 1839 as a Democrat, and in
1 84 1 was elected state senator. Mr. John-
son was elected representative in congress
in 1843 and was re-elected four times in
succession until 1853, when he was the suc-
cessful candidate for the gubernatorial chair
of Tennessee. He was re-elected in 1855
and in 1857 he entered the United States
senate. In i860 he was supported by the
Tennessee delegation to the Democratic
convention for the presidential nomination,
and lent his 'influence to the Breckinridge
wing of the party. At the election of Lin-
coln, which brought about the first attempt
at secession in December, i860, Mr. John-
son took a firm attitude in the senate for
the Union. He was the leader of the loy-
alists in East Tennessee. By the course
that Mr. Johnson pursued in this crisis he
was brought prominently before the north-
ern people, and when, in March, 1862, he
was appointed military governor of Ten-
nessee with the rank of brigadier-general,
he increased his popularity by the vigorous
manner in which he labored to restore
order. In the campaign of 1864 he was
elected vice-president on the ticket with
President Lincoln, and upon the assassi-
nation of the latter he succeeded to the
146
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
presidency, April 15, 1865. He retained
the cabinet of President Lincoln, and at
first exhibited considerable severity towards
the former Confederates, but he soon inau-
gurated a policy of reconstruction, pro-
claimed a general amnesty to the late Con-
federates, and established provisional gov-
ernments in the southern states. These
states claimed representation in congress in
the following December, and then arose the
momentous question as to what should be
the policy of the victorious Union against
their late enemies. The Republican ma-
jority in congress had an apprehension that
the President would undo the results of the
war, and consequently passed two bills over
the executive veto, and the two highest
branches of the government were in open
antagonism. The cabinet was reconstructed
in July, and Messrs. Randall, Stanbury and
Browning superseded Messrs. Denison,
Speed and Harlan. In August, 1867, Pres-
ident Johnson removed the secretary of war
and replaced him with General Grant, but
when congress met in December it refused
to ratify the removal of Stanton, who re-
sumed the functions of his office. In 1868
the president again attempted to remove
Stanton, who refused to vacate his post
and was sustained by the senate. Presi-
dent Johnson was accused by congress of
high crimes and misdemeanors, but the trial
resulted in his acquittal. Later he was Uni-
ted States senator from Tennessee, and
died July 31, 1875.
EDMUND RANDOLPH, first attorney-
general of the United States, was born
in Virginia, August 10, 1753. His father,
John Randolph, was attorney-general of
Virginia, and lived and died a royalist. Ed-
mund was educated in the law, but joined
the army as aide-de-camp to Washington
in 1775, at Cambridge, Massachusetts. He
was elected to the Virginia convention in
1776, and attorney-general of the state the
same year. In 1779 he was elected to the
Continental congress, and served four years
in that body. He was a member of the con-
vention in 1787 that framed the constitu-
tion. In that convention he proposed what
was known as the " Virginia plan" of con-
federation, but it was rejected. He advo-
cated the ratification of the constitution in
the Virginia convention, although he had re-
fused to sign it. He became governor of
Virginia in 1788, and the next year Wash-
ington appointed him to the office of at-
torney-general of the United States upon
the organization of the government under
the constitution. He was appointed secre-
tary of state to succeed Jefferson during
Washington's second term, but resigned a
year later on account of differences in the
cabinet concerning the policy pursued to-
ward the new French republic. He died
September 12, 181 3.
W INFIELD SCOTT HANCOCK was
born in Montgomery county, Penn-
sylvania, February 14, 1824. He received
his early education at the Norristown
Academy, in his native county, and, in 1840,
was appointed a cadet in the United States
Military Academy, at West Point. He was
graduated from the latter in 1844, and brev-
etted as second lieutenant of infantry. In
1853 he was made first lieutenant, and two
years later transferred to the quartermaster's
department, with the rank of captain, and
in 1863 promoted to the rank of major. He
served on the frontier, and in the war with
Mexico, displaying conspicuous gallantry dur-
ing the latter. He also took a part in the
Seminole war, and in the troubles in Kan-
sas, in 1857, and in California, at the out-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
147
break of the Civil war, as chief quarter-
master of the Southern district, he exerted
a powerful influence. In 1S61 he applied
for active duty in the field, and was assigned
to the department of Kentucky as chief
quartermaster, but before entering upon that
duty, was appointed brigadier-general of
volunteers. His subsequent history during
the war was substantially that of the Army
of the Potomac. He participated in the
campaign, under McClellan, and led the
gallant charge, which captured Fort Magru-
der, won the day at the battle of Wil-
liamsburg, and by services rendered at
Savage's Station and other engagements,
won several grades in the regular service,
and was recommended by McClellan for
major-general of volunteers. He was a con-
spicuous figure at South Mountain and An-
tietam. He was commissioned major-gen-
eral of volunteers, November 29, 1862, and
made commander of the First Division of
the Second Corps, which he led at Fred-
ricksburg and at Chancellorsville. He was
appointed to the command of the Second
Corps in June, 1863, and at the battle of
Gettysburg, July t, 2 and 3, of that year,
took an important part. On his arrival on
the field he found part of the forces then
in retreat, but stayed the retrograde
movement, checked the enemy, and on the
following day commanded the left center,
repulsed, on the third, the grand assault of
General Lee's army, and was severely
wounded. For his services on that field
General Hancock received the thanks of
congress. On recovering from his wound,
he was detailed to go north to stimulate re-
cruiting and fill up the diminished corps, and
was the recipient of many public receptions
and ovations. In March, 1864, he returned
to his command, and in the Wilderness and
at Spottsylvania led large bodies of men
successfully and conspicuously. From tnat
on to the close of the campaign he was a
prominent figure. In November, 1864, he
was detailed to organize the First Veteran
Reserve Corps, and at the close of hostilities
was appointed to the command of the Mid-
dle Military Division. In July, 1866, he
was made major-general of the regular
service. He was at the head of various
military departments until 1872, when he
was assigned to the command of the Depart-
ment of the Atlantic, which post he held
until his death. In 1869 he declined the
nomination for governor of Pennsylvania.
He was the nominee of the Democratic
party for president, in 1880, and was de-
feated by General Garfield, who had a popu-
lar majority of seven thousand and eighteen
and an electoral majority'.of fifty-nine. Gen-
eral Hancock died February 9, 1886.
THOMAS PAINE, the most noted polit-
ical and deistical writer of the Revolu-
tionary period, was born in England, Jan-
uary 29, 1737, of Quaker parents. His edu-
cation was. obtained in the grammar schools
of Thetford, his native town, and supple-
mented by hard private study while working
at his trade of stay-maker at London and
other cities of England. He was for a time
a dissenting preacher, although he did not
relinquish his employment. He married a
revenue official's daughter, and was employed
in the revenue service for some time. He
then became a grocer and during all this time
he was reading and cultivating his literary
tastes, and had developed a clear and forci-
ble style of composition. He was chosen to
represent the interests of the excisemen,
and published a pamphlet that brought
him considerable notice. He was soon after-
ward introduced to Benjamin Franklin, and
having been dismissed from the service on a
148
COM P EXD1 CM OF BIOGRAPHY.
charge of smuggling, his resentment led him
to accept the advice of that statesman to
come to America, in 1774. He became
editor of the " Pennsylvania Magazine," and
the next year published his "Serious
Thoughts upon Slavery" in the " Penn-
sylvania Journal." His greatest political
work, however, was written at the sugges-
tion of Dr. Rush, and entitled "Common
Sense." It was the most popular pamphlet
written during the period and he received
two thousand five hundred dollars from the
state of Pennsylvania in recognition of its
value. His periodical, the "Crisis," began
in 1776, and its distribution among the
soldiers did a great deal to keep up the spirit
of revolution. He was made secretary of
the committee of foreign affairs, but was dis-
missed for revealing diplomatic secrets in
one of his controversies with Silas Deane.
He was originator and promoter of a sub-
scription to relieve the distress of the soldiers
near the close of the war, and was sent to
France with Henry Laurens to negotiate the
treaty with France, and was granted three
thousand dollars by congress for his services
there, and an estate at New Rochelle, by the
state of New York.
In 1787, after the close of the Revolu-
tionary war, he went to France, and a few
years later published his " Rights of Man,"
defending the French revolution, which
gave him great popularity in France. He
was made a citizen and elected to the na-
tional convention at Calais. He favored
banishment of the king to America, and
opposed his execution. He was imprisoned
for about ten months during 1794 by the
Robespierre party, during which time he
wrote the " Age of Reason," his great deis-
tical work. He was in danger of the guillo-
tine for several months. He took up his
residence with the family of James Monroe,
then minister to France and was chosen
again to the convention. He returned
to the United States in 1802, and was
cordially received throughout the coun-
try except at Trenton, where he was insulted
by Federalists. He retired to his estate at
New Rochelle, and his death occurred June
8, 1809.
JOHN WILLIAM MACKAY was one of
<J America's noted men, both in the de-
velopment of the western coast and the
building of the Mackay and Bennett cable.
He was born in 1831 at Dublin, Ireland;
came to New York in 1 840 and his boyhood
days were spent in Park Row. He went
to California some time after the argonauts
of 1849 and took to the primitive methods
of mining — lost and won and finally drifted
into Nevada about 1S60. The bonanza dis-
coveries which were to have such a potent
influence on the finance and statesmanship
of the day came in 1S72. Mr. Mackay
founded the Nevada Bank in 1878. He is
said to have taken one hundred and
fifty million dollars in bullion out of
the Big Bonanza mine. There were as-
sociated with him in this enterprise James
G. Fair, senator from Nevada; William
O'Brien and James C. Flood. When
vast wealth came to Mr. Mackay he be-
lieved it his duty to do his country some
service, and he agitated in his mind the
building of an American steamship line,
and while brooding over this his attention
was called to the cable relations between
America and Europe. The financial man-
agement of the cable was selfish and ex-
travagant, and the capital was heavy with
accretions of financial " water" and to pay
even an apparent dividend upon the sums
which represented the nominal value of the
cables, it was necessary to hold the rates
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
149
at an exorbitant figure. And, moreover,
the cables were foreign; in one the influence
of France being paramount and in the other
that of England; and in the matter of intel-
ligence, so necessary in case of war, we
would be at the mercy of our enemies. This
train of thought brought Mr. Mackay into re-
lation with James Gordon Bennett, the pro-
prietor of the " New York Herald." The
result of their intercourse was that Mr. Mac-
kay so far entered into the enthusiasm of
Mr. Bennett over an independent cable,
that he offered to assist the enterprise with
five hundred thousand dollars. This was the
inception of the Commercial Cable Com-
pany, or of what has been known for years
as the Mackav-Bennett cable.
ELISHA GRAY, the great inventor and
electrician, was born August 2, 1835-
at Barnesville, Belmont county, Ohio. He
was, as a child, greatly interested in the
phenomena of nature, and read with avidity
all the books he could obtain, relating to
this subject. He was apprenticed to various
trades during his boyhood, but his insatiable
thirst for knowledge dominated his life and
he found time to study at odd intervals.
Supporting himself by working at his trade,
he found time to pursue a course at Oberlin
College, where he particularly devoted him-
self to the study of physicial science. Mr.
Gray secured his first patent for electrical
or telegraph apparatus on October 1, 1867.
His attention was first attracted to tele-
phonic transmission during this year and he
saw in it a way of transmitting signals for
telegraph purposes, and conceived the idea
of electro-tones, tuned to different tones in
the scale. He did not then realize the im-
portance of his invention, his thoughts being
employed on the capacity of the apparatus
for transmitting musical tones through an
electric circuit, and it was not until 1874
that he was again called to consider the re-
production of electrically-transmitted vibra-
tions through the medium of animal tissue.
He continued experimenting with various
results, which finally culminated in his
taking out a patent for his speaking tele-
phone on February 14, 1876. He took out
fifty additional patents in the course of
eleven years, among which were, telegraph
switch, telegraph repeater, telegraph annun-
ciator and typewriting telegraph. From
1869 until 1873 he was employed in the
manufacture of telegraph apparatus in Cleve-
land and Chicago, and filled the office of
electrician to the Western Electric Com-
pany. He was awarded the degree of U.
S. , and in 1874 he went abroad to perfect
himself in acoustics. Mr. Gray's latest in-
vention was known as the telautograph or
long distance writing machine. Mr. Gray
wrote and published several works on scien-
tific subjects, among which were: "Tele-
graphy and Teiephony," and " Experi-
mental Research in Electro-Harmonic Tele-
graphy and Telephony."
"\ \ j H1TELAW REID.— Among the many
V V men who have adorned the field of
journalism in the United States, few stand
out with more prominence than the scholar,
author and editor whose name heads this ar-
ticle. Born at Xenia, Greene county, Ohio,
October 27, 1837, he graduated at Miami
University in 1856. For about a year he
was superintendent of the graded schools of
South Charleston, Ohio, after which he pur-
chased the "Xenia News," which he edited
for about two years. This paper was the
first one outside of Illinois to advocate the
nomination of Abraham Lincoln, Mr. Reid
having been a Republican since the birth of
that party in 1856- After taking an active
150
COMPEXDIlWr OF BIOGRAPHY.
part in the campaign, in the winter of 1860-
61 , he went to the state capital as corres-
pondent of three daily papers. At the close
of the session of the legislature he became
city editor of the "Cincinnati Gazette,"
and at the breaking out of the war went to
the front as a correspondent for that journal.
For a time he served on the staff of General
Morris in West Virginia, with the rank of
captain. Shortly after he was on the staff
of General Rosecrans, and, under the name
of "Agate," wrote most graphic descrip-
tions of the movements in the field, espe-
cially that of the battle o( Pittsburg Land-
ing. In the spring of 1862 Mr. Reid went
to Washington and was appointed librarian
to the house of representatives, and acted as
correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette."
His description of the battle of Gettysburg,
written on the field, gained him added
reputation. In 1865 he accompanied Chief
Justice Chase on a southern tour, and pub-
lished "After the War; a Southern Tour. "
During the next two years he was engaged
in cotton planting in Louisiana and Ala-
bama, and published "Ohio in the War."
In 1868 he returned to the " Cincinnati Ga-
zette," becoming one of its leading editors.
The same year he accepted the invitation of
Horace Greeley and became one of the staff
on the " New York Tribune." Upon the
death of Mr. Greeley in 1872, Mr. Reid be-
came editor and chief proprietor of that
paper. In 1878 he was tendered the United
States mission to Berlin, but declined. The
offer was again made by the Garfield ad-
ministration, but again he declined. In
1878 he was elected by the New York legis-
lature regent of the university, to succeed
General John A. Dix. Under the Harrison
administration he served as United States
minister to France, and in 1892 was the
Republican nominee for the vice-presidency
of the United States. Among other works
published by him were the " Schools of
Journalism," "The Scholar in Politics,"
"Some Newspaper Tendencies," and
' ' Town-Hall Suggestions. "
GEORGE WHITEFIELD was one of
the most powerful and effective preach-
ers the world has ever produced, swaying
his hearers and touching the hearts of im-
mense audiences in a manner that has rarely
been equalled and never surpassed. While
not a native of America, yet much of his
labor was spent in this country. He wielded
a great influence in the United States in
early days, and his death occurred here; so
that he well deserves a place in this volume
as one of the most celebrated men America
has known.
George Whitefield was born in the Bull
Inn, at Gloucester, England, December 16,
1 7 14. He acquired the rudiments of learn-
ing in St. Mary's grammar school. Later
he attended Oxford University for a time,
where he became intimate with the Oxford
Methodists, and resolved to devote himself
to the ministry. He was ordained in the
Gloucester Cathedral June 20, 1836, and
the following day preached his first sermon
in the same church. On that day there
commenced a new era in Whitefield's life.
He went to London and began to preach at
Bishopsgate church, his fame soon spread-
ing over the city, and shortly he was en-
gaged four times on a single Sunday in ad-
dressing audiences of enormous magnitude,
and he preached in various parts of his native
country, the people crowding in multitudes
to hear him and hanging upon the rails and
rafters of the churches and approaches there-
to. He finally sailed for America, landing
in Georgia, where he stirred the people to
great enthusiasm. During the balance of
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
153
his life he divided his time between Great
Britain and America, and it is recorded that
he crossed the Atlantic thirteen times. He
came to America for the seventh time in
1770. He preached every day at Boston
from the 17th to the 20th of September,
1770, then traveled to Nevvburyport, preach-
ing at Exeter, New Hampshire, September
29, on the way. That evening he went to
Newburyport, where he died the next day,
Sunday, September 30, 1770.
• ' Whitefield's dramatic power was amaz-
ing, " says an eminent writer in describing
him. " His voice was marvelously varied,
and he ever had it at command — an organ,
a flute, a harp, all in one. His intellectual
powers were not of a high order, but he had
an abundance of that ready talent and that
wonderful magnetism which makes the pop-
ular preacher; and beyond all natural en-
dowments, there was in his ministry the
power of evangelical truth, and, as his con-
verts believed, the presence of the spirit of
God."
CHARLES FRANCIS BRUSH, one of
America's prominent men in the devel-
optnent of electrical science, was born March
17, 1849, near Cleveland, Ohio, and spent
his early life on his father's farm. From
the district school at Wickliffe, Ohio, he
passed to the Shaw Academy at Collamer,
and then entered the high school at Cleve-
land. His interest in chemistry, physics
and engineering was already marked, and
during his senior year he was placed in
charge of the chemical and physical appar-
atus. During these years he devised a plan
for lighting street lamps, constructed tele-
scopes, and his first electric arc lamp, also
an electric motor. In September, 1867, he
entered the engineering department of the
University of Michigan and graduated in
9
1869, which was a year in advance of his
class, with the degree of M. E. He the:i
returned to Cleveland, and for three years
was engaged as an analytical chemist and
for four years in the iron business. In
1875 Mr. Brush became interested in elec-
tric lighting, and in 1876, after four months'
experimenting, he completed the dynamo-
electric machine that has made his name
famous, and in a shorter time produced the
series arc lamps. These were both patent-
ed in the United States in 1876, and he
afterward obtained fifty patents on his later
inventions, including the fundamental stor-
age battery, the compound series, shunt-
winding for dynamo-electric machines, and
the automatic cut-out for arc lamps. His
patents, two-thirds of which have already
been profitable, are held by the Brush
Electric Company, of Cleveland, while his
foreign patents are controlled by the Anglo-
American Brush Electric Light Company,
of London. In 1880 the Western Reserve
University conferred upon Mr. Brush the
degree of Ph. D., and in 1881 the French
government decorated him as a chevalier of
the Legion of Honor.
HENRY CLEWS, of Wall-street fame,
was one of the noted old-time opera-
tors on that famous street, and was also an
author of some repute. Mr. Clews was
born in Staffordshire, England, August 14,
1840. His father had him educated with
the intention of preparing him for the minis-
try, but on a visit to the United States the
young man became interested in a business
life, and was allowed to engage as a clerk in
the importing house of Wilson G. Hunt &
Co., of New York. Here he learned the
first principles of business, and when the war
broke out in 1861 young Clews saw in the
needs of the government an opportunity to
1 54
C0MPEXD1CM OF BIOGRAPHY.
reap a golden harvest. He identified him-
self with the negotiating of loans for the
government, and used his powers of pur-
suasion upon the great money powers to
convince them of the stability of the govern-
ment and the value of its securities. By
enthusiasm and patriotic arguments he in-
duced capitalists to invest their money in
government securities, often against their
judgment, and his success was'remarkable.
His was one of the leading firms that aided
the struggling treasury department in that
critical hour, and his reward was great. In
addition to the vast wealth it brought,
President Lincoln and Secretary Chase
both wrote important letters, acknowledging
his valued service. In 1873, by the repu-
diation of the bonded indebtedness of the
state of Georgia, Mr. Clew;, lost six million
dollars which he had invested in those se-
curities. It is said that he is the only man,
with one exception, in Wall street, who
ever regained great wealth after utter dis-
aster. His " Twenty-Eight Years in Wall
Street " has been widely read.
ALFRED VAIL was one of the men that
gave to the world the electric telegraph
and the names of Henry, Morse and Vail
will forever remain linked as the prime fac-
tors in that great achievement. Mr. Vail
was born September 25, 1807, at Morris-
town, New Jersey, and was a son of Stephen
Vail, the proprietor of the Speedwell Iron
Works, near Morristown. At the age of
seventeen, after he had completed his stud-
ies at the Morristown Academy, Alfred Vail
went into the Speedwell Iron Works and
contented himself with the duties of his
position until he reached his majority. He
then determined to prepare himself for the
ministry, and at the age of twenty-five he
entered the University of the City of New
York, where he was graduated in 1836. His
health becoming impaired he labored for a
time under much uncertainty as to his future
course. Professor S. F. B. Morse had come
to the university in 1835 as professor of lit-
erature and fine arts, and about this time,
1837, Professor Gale, occupying the chair
of chemistry, invited Morse to exhibit his
apparatus for the benefit of the students.
On Saturday, September 2, 1837, the exhi-
bition took place and Vail was asked to at-
tend, and with his inherited taste for me-
chanics and knowledge of their construction,
he saw a great future for the crude mechan-
ism used by Morse in giving and recording
signals. Mr. Vail interested his father in
the invention, and Morse was invited to
Speedwell and the elder Vail promised to
help him. It was stipulated that Alfred
Vail should construct the required apparatus
and exhibit before a committee of congress
the telegraph instrument, and was to receive
a quarter interest in the invention. Morse
had devised a series of ten numbered leaden
types, which were to be operated in giving
the signal. This was not satisfactory to
Vail, so he devised an entirely new instru-
ment, involving a lever, or "point," on a
radically different principle, which, when
tested, produced dots and dashes, and de-
vised the famous dot-and-dash alphabet,
misnamed the "Morse." At last the ma-
chine was in working order, on January 6,
1838. The machine was taken to Wash-
ington, where it caused not only wonder,
but excitement. Vail continued his experi-
ments and devised the lever and roller.
When the line between Baltimore and
Washington was completed. Vail was sta-
tioned at the Baltimore end and received
the famous, first message. It is a remarka-
ble fact that not a single feature of the
original invention of Morse, as formulated.'
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
155
by his caveat and repeated in his original
patent, is to be found in Vail's apparatus.
From 1837 to 1844 it was a combination of
the inventions of Morse, Henry and Vail,
but the work of Morse fell gradually into
desuetude, while Vail's conception of an
alphabet has remained unchanged for half a
century. Mr. Vail published but one work,
"American Electro-Magnetic Telegraph,"
in 1845, and died at Morristown at the com-
paratively early age of fifty-one, on January
19. i859-
ULYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth
president of the United States, was
born April 27, 1822, at Point Pleasant, Cler-
mont county, Ohio. At the age of seven-
teen he entered the United States Military
Academy at West Point, from which he
graduated in June, 1843, and was given his
brevet as second lieutenant and assigned to
the Fourth Infantry. He remained in the
service eleven years, in which time he
was engaged in the Mexican war with gal-
lantry, and was thrice brevetted for conduct
in the field. In 1848 he married Miss Julia
Dent, and in 1854, having reached the
grade of captain, he resigned and engaged
in farming near St. Louis. In i860 he en-
tered the leather business with his father at
Galena, Illinois.
On the breaking out of the war, in 1861,
he commenced to drill a company at Ga-
lena, and at the same time offered his serv-
ices to the adjutant-general of the army,
but he had few influential friends, so re-
ceived no answer. He was employed by
the governor of Illinois in the organization
of the various volunteer regiments, and at
the end of a few weeks was given the
colonelcy of the Twenty-first Infantry, from
that state. His military training and knowl-
edge soon attracted the attention of his su-
perior officers, and on reporting to General
Pope in Missouri, the latter put him in
the way of advancement. August 7, 1861,
he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-
general of volunteers, and for a few weeks
was occupied in watching the movements of
partisan forces in Missouri. September 1,
the same year, he was placed in command
of the Department of Southeast Missouri,
with headquarters at Cairo, and on the 6th
of the month, without orders, seized Padu-
cah, which commanded the channel of the
Ohio and Tennessee rivers, by which he se-
cured Kentucky for the Union. He now
received orders to make a demonstration on
Belmoat, which he did, and with about three
thousand raw recruits held his own against
the Confederates some seven thousand
strong, bringing back about two hundred
prisoners and two guns. In February,] 1862,
he moved up the Tennessee river with
the naval fleet under Commodore Foote.
The latter soon silenced Fort Henry, and
Grant advanced against Fort Donelson and
took their fortress and its garrison. His
prize here consisted of sixty-five cannon,
seventeen thousand six hundred stand of
arms, and fourteen thousand six hundred
and twenty-three prisoners. This was the
first important success won by the Union
forces. Grant was immediately made a
major-general and placed in command of
the district of West Tennessee. In April,
1862, he fought the battle of Pittsburg Land-
ing, and after the evacuation of Corinth by
the enemy Grant became commander of the
Department of the Tennessee. He now
made his first demonstration toward Yicks-
burg, but owing to the incapacity of subor-
dinate officers, was unsuccessful. In Janu-
ary, 1863, he took command of all the
troops in the Mississippi Valley and devoted
several months to the siege of Vicksburg,
156
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
which was finally taken possession of by him
July 4, with thirty-one thousand six hundred
prisoners and one hundred and seventy-two
cannon, thus throwing the Mississippi river
open to the Federals. He was now raised
to the rank of major-general in the regular
arm}-. October following, at the head of
the Department of the Mississippi, General
Grant went to Chattanooga, where he over-
threw the enemy, and united with the Army
of the Cumberland. The remarkable suc-
cesses achieved by him pointed Grant out
for an appropriate commander of all na-
tional troops, and in February, 1864, the
rank of lieutenant-general was made for him
by act of congress. Sending Sherman into
Georgia, Sigel into the Valley of West Vir-
ginia and Butler to attempt the capture of
Richmond he fought his way through the
Wilderness to the James and pressed the
siege of the capital of the Confederacy.
After the fall of the latter Grant pressed
the Confederate army so hard that their
commander surrendered at Appomattox
Court House, April 9, 1865. This virtually
gnded the war.
After the war the rank of general was
conferred upon U. S. Grant, and in 1S68 he
was elected president of the United States,
and re-elected his own successor in 1872.
After the expiration of the latter term he
made his famous tour of the world. He died
at Mt. McGregor, near Saratoga, New York,
July 23, 1885, and was buried at Riverside
Park, New York, where a magnificent tomb
has been erected to hold the ashes of the
nation's hero.
JOHN MARSHALL, the fourth chief jus-
tice of the United States supreme court,
was born in Germantown, Virginia, Septem-
ber 24, 1755 His father, Colonel Thomas
Marshall, served with distinction in the Rev-
olutionary war, while he also served from
the beginning of the war until 1779, where
he became noted in the field and courts
martial. While on detached service he at-
tended a course of law lectures at William
and Mary College, delivered by Mr. Wythe,
and was admitted to the bar. The next year
he resigned his commission and began his
career as a lawyer. He was a distinguished
member of the convention called in Virginia
to ratify the Federal constitution. He was
tendered the attorney-generalship of the
United States, and also a place on the su-
preme bench, besides other places of less
honor, all of which he declined. He
went to France as special envoy in 1798,
and the next year was elected to congress.
He served one year and was appointed, first,
secretary of war, and then secretary of state,
and in 1801 was made chief justice of the
United States. He held this high office un-
til his death, in 1835.
Chief Justice Marshall's early education
was neglected, and his opinions, the most
valuable in existence, are noted for depth
of wisdom, clear and comprehensive reason-
ing, justice, and permanency, rather than for
wide learning and scholarly construction.
His decisions and rulings are resorted to
constantly by our greatest lawyers, and his
renown as a just judge and profound jurist
was world wide.
LAWRENCE BARRETT is perhaps
known more widely as a producer of
new plays than as a great actor. He was
born in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1838, and
educated himself as best he could, and at
the age of sixteen years became salesman
for a Detroit dry goods house. He after-
wards began to go upon the stage as a
supernumerary, and his ambition was soon
rewarded by the notice of the management.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
157
During the war of the Rebellion he was a
soldier, and after valiant service for his
country he returned to the stage. He went
to Europe and appeared in Liverpool, and
returning in 1869, he began playing at
Booth's theater, with Mr. Booth. He was
afterward associated with John McCullough
in the management of the California
theater. Probably the most noted period
of his work was during his connection with
Edwin Booth as manager of that great
actor, and supporting him upon the stage.
Mr. Barrett was possessed of the crea-
tive instinct, and, unlike Mr. Booth, he
sought new fields for the display of his
genius, and only resorted to traditional
drama in response to popular demand. He
preferred new plays, and believed in the
encouragement of modern dramatic writers,
and was the only actor of prominence in his
time that ventured to put upon the stage
new American plays, which he did at his
own expense, and the success of his experi-
ments proved the quality of his judgment.
He died March 21, 1891.
ARCHBISHOP JOHN HUGHES, a cel-
ebrated Catholic clergyman, was born
at Annaboghan, Tyrone county, Ireland,
June 24, 1797, and emigrated to America
when twenty years of age, engaging for
some time as a gardener and nurseryman.
In 1 8 19 he entered St. Mary's College,
where he secured an education, paying his
way by caring for the college garden. In
1825 he was ordained a deacon of the Ro-
man Catholic church, and in the same year,
a priest. Until 1 838 he had pastoral charges
in Philadelphia, where he founded St. John's
Asylum in 1829, and a few years later es-
tablished the "Catholic Herald." In 1838
he was made bishop of Basileopolis in parti-
bus and coadjutor to Bishop Dubois, of
New York, and in 1842 became bishop of
New York. In 1839 he founded St. John's
College, at Fordham. In 1850 he was
made archbishop of New York. In 186 1-2
he was a special agent of the United States
in Europe, after which he returned to this
country and remained until his death, Jan-
uary 3, 1864. Archbishop Hughes early
attracted much attention by his controver-
sial correspondence with Rev. John Breck-
inridge in 1833-35. He was a man of great
ability, a fluent and forceful writer and an
able preacher.
RUTHERFORD BIRCHARD HAYES
was the nineteenth president of the
United States and served from 1 877 to 1881.
He was born October 4, 1822, at Delaware,
Ohio, and his ancestry can be traced back
as far as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford
were two Scottish chieftans fighting side by
side with Baliol, William Wallace and
Robert Bruce. The Hayes family had for
a coat of arms, a shield, barred and sur-
mounted by a flying eagle. There was a
circle of stars about the eagle, while on a
scroll underneath was their motto, "Recte."
Misfortune overtook the family and in 1680
George Hayes, the progenitor of the Ameri-
can family, came to Connecticut and settled
at Windsor. Rutherford B. Hayes was
a very delicate child at his birth and was
not expected to live, but he lived in spite of
all and remained at home until he was
seven years old, when he was placed in
school. He was a very tractable pupil, being
always very studious, and in 1838 entered
Kenyon College, graduating from the same
in 1842. He then took up the study of law
in the office of Thomas Sparrow at Colum-
bus, but in a short time he decided to enter
a law school at Cambridge, Massachusetts,
where for two years he was immersed in the
L58
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
study of law. Mr. Hayes was admitted to
the bar in 1845 in Marietta, Ohio, and very
soon entered upon the active practice of his
profession with Ralph P. Buckland, of
Fremont, Ohio. He remained there three
years, and in 1849 removed to Cincinnati,
Ohio, where his ambition found a new
stimulus. Two events occurred at this
period that had a powerful influence on his
after life. One was his marriage to Miss
Lucy Ware Webb, and the other was his
introduction to a Cincinnati literary club,
a body embracing such men as Salmon P.
Chase, John Pope, and Edward F. Noyes.
In 1856 he was nominated for judge of the
court of common pleas, but declined, and
two years later he was appointed city
solicitor. At the outbreak of the Rebellion
Mr. Hayes was appointed major of the
Twenty-third Ohio Infantry, June 7, 1861,
and in July the regiment was ordered to
Virginia, and October 15, 1861, saw him
promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of his
regiment. He was made colonel of the
Seventy-ninth Ohio Infantry, but refused to
leave his old comrades; and in the battle of
South Mountain he was wounded very
severely and was unable to rejoin his regi-
ment until November 30, 1862. He had
been promoted to the colonelcy of the
regiment on October 15, 1862. In the
following December he was appointed to
command the Kanawa division and was
given the rank of brigadier-general for
meritorious services in several battles, and
in 1864 he was brevetted major-general for
distinguished services in 1864, during
which campaign he was wounded several
times and five horses had been shot under
him. Mr. Hayes' first venture in politics
was as a Whig, and later he was one of the
first to unite with the Republican party. In
[864 he was elected from the Second Ohio
district to congress, re-elected in 1866,
and in 1867 was elected governor of Ohio
over Allen G. Thurman, and was re-elected
in 1869. Mr. Hayes was elected to the
presidency in 1876, for the term of four
years, and at its close retired to private life,
and went to his home in Fremont, Ohio,
where he died on January 17, 1893.
WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN became
a celebrated character as the nominee
of the Democratic and Populist parties for
president of the United States in 1896. He
was born March 19, i860, at Salem, Illi-
nois. He received his early education in
the public schools of his native county, and
later on he attended the Whipple Academy
at Jacksonville. He also took a course in
Illinois College, and after his graduation
from the same went to Chicago to study
law, and entered the Union College of Law
a= a student. He was associated with the
late Lyman Trumbull, of Chicago, during
his law studies, and devoted considerable
time to the questions of government. He
graduated from the college, was admitted to
the bar, and went to Jacksonville, Illinois,
where he was married to Miss Mary Eliza-
beth Baird. In 1887 Mr. Bryan removed
to Lincoln, Nebraska, and formed a law
partnership with Adolphus R. Talbot. He
entered the field of politics, and in 1888
was sent as a delegate to the state con-
vention, which was to choose delegates to
the national convention, during which he
made a speech which immediately won him
a high rank in political affairs. He declined,
in the next state convention, a nomination
for lieutenant-governor, and in 1890 he was
elected congressman from the First district
of Nebraska, and was the youngest member
of the fifty-second congress. He cham-
pioned the Wilson tariff bill, and served
COMPENDIUM OF B IOGRA /' i 7 Y.
159
three terms in the house of representatives.
He next ran for senator, but was defeated
by John M . Thurston, and in 1896 he was
selected by the Democratic and Populist
parties as their nominee for the presidency,
being defeated by William McKinley.
M
ARVIN HUGHITT, one of America's
famous railroad men, was born in
Genoa, New York, and entered the railway
service in 1856 as superintendent of tele-
graph and trainmaster of the St. Louis, Al-
ton & Chicago, now Chicago & Alton Rail-
road. Mr. Hughitt was superintendent of
the southern division of the Illinois Central
Railroad from 1862 until 1864, and was, later
on, the general superintendent of the road
until 1870. He was then connected with
the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Rail-
road as assistant general manager, and re-
tained this position until 1871, when he be-
came the general manager of Pullman's
Palace Car Company. In 1872 he was made
general superintendent of the Chicago &
Northwestern Railroad. He served during
1876 and up to 1880 as general manager,
and from 1880 until 1887 as vice-presi-
dent and general manager. He was elected
president of the road in 1887, in recog-
nition of his ability in conducting the
affairs of the road. He was also chosen
president of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minne-
apolis & Omaha Railway; the Fremont, Elk-
horn & Missouri Valley Railroad, and the
Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad,
and his services in these capacities stamped
him as one of the most able railroad mana-
gers of his day.
JOSEPH MEDILL, one of the most
<J eminent of American journalists, was
born in New Brunswick, Canada, April 6,
1823. In 1831 his father moved to Stark
county, Ohio, and until 1841 Joseph Medill
worked on his father's farm. Later he
studied law, and began the practice of that
profession in 1846 at New Philadelphia,
Ohio. But the newspaper field was more
attractive to Mr. Medill, and three years
later he founded a free-soil Whig paper at
Coshocton, Ohio, and after that time jour-
nalism received all his abilities. "The
Leader, " another free-soil Whig paper, was
founded by Mr. Medill at Cleveland in 1852.
In that city he also became one of the first
organizers of the Republican party. Shortly
after that event he removed to Chicago and
in 1855, with two partners, he purchased
the " Chicago Tribune." In the contest for
the nomination for the presidency in i860,
Mr. Medill worked with unflagging zeal for
Mr. Lincoln, his warm personal friend, and
was one of the president's stanchest sup-
porters during the war. Mr. Medill was a
member of the Illinois Constitutional con-
vention in 1870. President Grant, in 1871,
appointed the editor a member of the firs* -
United States civil service commission, and
the following year, after the fire, he was
elected mayor of Chicago by a great ma-
jority. During 1873 and 1874 Mr. Medill
spent a year in Europe. Upon his return
he purchased a controlling interest in the
" Chicago Tribune."
CLAUSSPRECKELS, the great " sugar
baron," and one of the most famous
representatives of commercial life in Amer-
ica, was born in Hanover, Germany, and
emigrated to the United States in 1840,
locating in New York. He very soon be-
came the proprietor of a small retail gro-
cery store on Church street, and embarked
on a career that has since astonished the
world. He sold out his Dusmess and went
to California with the argonauts of i
160
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAl'l/r
not as a prospector, but as a trader, and for
years after his arrival on the coast he was
still engaged as a grocer. At length, after a
quarter of a century of fairly prosperous
business life, he found himself in a position
where an ordinary man would have retired,
but Mr. Spreckles did not retire; he had
merely been gathering capital for the real
work of his life. His brothers had followed
him to California, and in combination with
them he purchased for forty thousand dollars
an interest in the Albany Brewery in San
Francisco. But the field was not extensive
enough for the development of his business
abilities, so Mr. Sprecklas branched out
extensively in the sugar business. He suc-
ceeded in securing the entire output of
sugar that was produced on the Sand-
wich Islands, and after 1SS5 was known as
the "Sugar King of Sandwich Islands."
He controlled absolutely the sugar trade of
the Pacific coast which was known to be
not less than ten million dollars a year.
CHARLES HENRY PARKHURST,
famous as a clergyman, and for many
years president of the Society for the
Prevention of Crime, was born April 17,
1S42, at Framingham, Massachusetts, of
English descent. At the age of sixteen
he was pupil in the grammar school at
Clinton, Massachusetts, and for the ensu-
ing two years was a clerk in a dry goods
store, which position he gave up to prepare
himself for college at Lancaster academy.
Mr. Parkhurst went to Amherst in 1862,
and after taking a thorough course he gradu-
ated in 1866, and in 1867 became the prin-
cipal of the Amherst High School. He re-
tained this position until 1870, when he
visited Germany with the intention of tak-
ing a course in philosophy and theology,
but was forced to abandon this intention on
account of illness in the family causing his
early return from Europe. He accepted the
chair of Latin and Greek in Williston Semi-
nary, Easthampton, Massachusetts, and re-
mained there two years. He then accom-
panied his wife to Europe, and devoted two
years to study in Halle, Leipsic and Bonn.
Upon his return home he spent considerable
time in the study of Sanscrit, and in 1874
he became the pastor of the First Congrega-
tional church at Lenox, Massachusetts. He
gained here his reputation as a pulpit ora-
tor, and on March 9, 18S0, he became the
pastor of the Madison Square Presbyterian
church of New York. He was, in 1890,
made a member of the Society for the Pre-
vention of Crime, and the same year be-
came its president. He delivered a sermon
in 1892 on municipal corruption, for which
he was brought before the grand jury, which
body declared his charges to be without suffi-
cient foundation. But the matter did not end
here, for he immediately went to work on a
second sermon in which he substantiated his
former sermon and wound up by saying,
"I know, for I have seen." He was again
summoned before that august body, and as
a result of his testimony and of the investi-
gation of the jurors themselves, the police
authorities were charged with incompetency
and corruption.- Dr. Parkhurst was the
author of the following works: "The Forms
of the Latin Verb, Illustrated by Sanscrit,"
"The Blind Man's Creed and Other Ser-
mons," "The Pattern on the Mount," and
" Three Gates on a Side."
HENRY BERGH, although a writer,
diplomatist and government official,
was noted as a philanthropist — the founder
of the American Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals. On his labors for
the dumb creation alone rests his fame.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
161
Alone, in the face of indifference, opposition
and ridicule, he began the reform which is
now recognized as one of the beneficent
movements of the age. Through his exer-
tions as a speaker and lecturer, but above
all as a bold worker, in the street, in the
court room, before the legislature, the cause
he adopted gained friends and rapidly in-
creased in power until it has reached im-
mense proportions and influence. The work
of the society covers all cases of cruelty to
all sorts of animals, employs every moral
agency, social, legislative and personal, and
touches points of vital concern to health as
well as humanity.
Henry Bergh was born in New York
City in 1823, and was educated at Colum-
bia College. In 1863 he was made secre-
tary of the legation to Russia and also
served as vice-consul there. He also de-
voted some time to literary pursuits and was
the author of "Love's Alternative," a
drama; "Married Off," a poem; "'The
Portentous Telegram, " "The Ocean Para-
gon;" "The Streets of New York," tales
and sketches.
HENRY BENJAMIN WHIPPLE, one
of the most eminent of American di-
vines, was born in Adams, Jefferson county,
New York, February 15, 1822. He was
brought up in the mercantile business, and
early in life took an active interest in polit-
ical affairs. In 1847 ne became a candidate
for holy orders and pursued theological
studies with Rev. W. D. Wilson, D. D.,
afterward professor in Cornell University.
He was ordained deacon in 1849, in Trinity
church, Geneva, New York, by Rt. Rev.
W. H. De Lancey, D. D., and took charge
of Zion church, Rome, New York, Decem-
ber 1, 1849. In 1850, our subject was or-
dained priest by Bishop De Lancey. In
1857 he became rector of the Church of the
Holy Communion, Chicago. On the 30th
of June, 1859, he was chosen bishop of
Minnesota, and took charge of the interests
of the Episcopal church in that state, being
located at Faribault. In i860 Bishop
Whipple, with Revs. I. L. Breck, S. W.
Mauncey and E. S. Peake, organized the
Bishop Seabury Mission, out of which has
grown the Cathedral of Our Merciful Savior,
the Seabury Divinity School, Shattuck
School and St. Mary's Hall, which have
made Faribault City one of the greatest
educational centers of the northwest. Bishop
Whipple also became noted as the friend
and defender of the North American In-
dians and planted a number of successful
missions among them.
EZRA CORNELL was one of the greatest
philanthropists and friends of education
the country has known. He was born at
Westchester Landing, New York, January
1 1, 1807. He grew to manhood in his na-
tive state and became a prominent figure in
business circles as a successful and self-made
man. Soon after the invention of the elec-
tric telegraph, he devoted his attention to
that enterprise, and accumulated an im-
mense fortune. In 1865, by a gift of five
hundred thousand dollars, he made possible
the founding of Cornell University, which
was named in his honor. He afterward
made additional bequests amounting to many
hundred thousand dollars. His death oc-
curred at Ithaca, New York, December 9,
1374-
TGNATIUS DONNELLY, widely knowi.
I as an author and politician, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, November 3,
1 83 1. He was educated at the public
schools of that city, and graduated from the
162
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
Central High School in 1849. He studied
law in the office of Judge B. H. Brewster,
and was admitted to the bar in 1852. In
the spring of 1856, Mr. Donnelly emigrated
to Minnesota, then a new territory, and, at
Hastings, resumed the practice of law in
partnership with A. M. -Hayes. In 1857,
and again in 1858, he was defeated for state
senator, but in 1859 he was elected by the
Republicans as lieutenant-governor, and re-
elected in 1 86 1. In 1862 he was elected to
represent the Second district of Minnesota
in congress. He was re-elected to the same
office in 1864 and in 1866. He was an
abolitionist and warmly supported President
Lincoln's administration, but was strongly
in favor of leniency toward the people of
the south, after the war. In many ways he
was identified with some of the best meas-
ures brought before the house during his
presence there. In the spring of 1868, at
the request of the Republican national com-
mittee, he canvassed New Hampshire and
Connecticut in the interests of that party.
E. B. Washburne about this time made an
attack on Donnelly in one of the papers of
Minnesota, which was replied to on the floor
of the house by a fierce phillipic that will
long be remembered. Through the inter-
vention of the Washburne interests Mr. Don-
nelly failed of a re-election in 1870. In
1873 he was elected to the state senate from
Dakota county, and continuously re-elected
until 1878. In 1886 he was elected mem-
ber of the house for two years. In later
years he identified himself with the Popu-
list party.
In 1882, Mr. Donnelly became known as
an author, publishing his first literary work,
"Atlantis, the Antediluvian World," which
passed through oyer twenty-two editions in
America, several in England, and was trans-
lated into French. This was followed by
" Ragnarok, the Age of Fire and Gravel,"
which attained nearly as much celebrity as
the first, and these two, in the opinion of
scientific critics, are sufficient to stamp the
author as a most capable and painstaking
student of the facts he has collated in them.
The work by which he gained the greatest
notoriety, however, was "The Great Cryp-
togram, or Francis Bacon's Cipher in the
Shakespeare Plays." "Caesar's Column,"
" Dr. Huguet," and other works were pub-
lished subsequently.
STEVEN V. WHITE, a speculator of
Wall Street of national reputation, was
born in Chatham county, North Carolina,
August 1, 1 83 1, and soon afterward re-
moved to Illinois. His home was a log
cabin, and until his eighteenth year he
worked on the farm. Then after several
years of struggle with poverty he graduated
from Knox College, and went to St. Louis,
where he entered a wholesale boot and shoe
house as bookkeeper. He then studied law
and worked as a reporter for the " Missouri
Democrat." After his admission to the bar
he went to New York, in 1865, and became
a member of the banking house of Marvin
& White. Mr. White enjoyed the reputa-
tion of having engineered the only corner
in Wall Street since Commodore Vander-
bilt's time. This was the famous Lacka-
wanna deal in 1883, in which he made a
profit of two million dollars. He was some-
times called " Deacon" White, and, though
a member for many years of the Plymouth
church, he never held that office. Mr.
White was one of the most noted characters
of the street, and has been called an orator,
poet, philanthropist, linguist, abolitionist,
astronomer, schoolmaster, plowboy, and
trapper. He was a lawyer, ex-congress-
man, expert accountant, art critic and theo-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
J 63
logian. He laid the foundation for a
"Home for Colored People," in Chatham
county, North Carolina, where the greater
part of his father's life was spent, and in
whose memory the work was undertaken.
JAMES A. GARFIELD, the twentieth
president of the United States, was born
November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga county,
Ohio, and was the son of Abram and Eliza
(Ballou) Garfield. In 1833 the father, an
industrious pioneer farmer, died, and the
care of the family devolved upon Thomas,
to whom James became deeply indebted for
educational and other advantages. As James
grew up he was industrious and worked on
the farm, at carpentering, at chopping wood,
or anything else he found to do, and in the
meantime made the most of his books.
Until he was about sixteen, James' high-
est ambition was to become a sea captain.
On attaining that age he walked to
Cleveland, and, not being able to find work,
he engaged as a driver on the Ohio & Penn-
sylvania canal, but quit this after a short
time. He attended the seminary at Ches-
ter for about three years, after which he
entered Hiram Institute, a school started by
the Disciples of Christ in 1850. In order
to pay his way he assumed the duties of
janitor and at times taught school. After
completing his course at the last named edu-
cational institution he entered Williams Col-
lege, from which he graduated in 1856. He
afterward returned to Hiram College as its
president. He studied law and was admitted
to the bar in 1859. November 11, 1858,
Mr. Garfield and Lucretia Rudolph were
married.
In 1859 Mr. Garfield made his first polit-
ical speeches, at Hiram and in the neighbor-
hood. The same year he was elected to the
state senate.
On the breaking out of the war, in 1 86 1 ,
he became lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-
second Ohio Infantry, and, while but a ne*V
soldier, was given command of four regi-
ments of infantry and eight companies of
cavalry, with which he drove the Confeder-
ates under Humphrey Marshall out of Ken
tucky. January II, 1862, he was commis-
sioned brigadier-general. He participated
with General Buell in the battle of Shiloh
and the operations around Corinth, and was
then detailed as a member of the Fitz John
Porter court-martial. Reporting to General
Rosecrans, he was assigned to the position
of chief of staff, and resigned his position,
with the rank of major-general, when his
immediate superior was superseded. In
the fall of 1862 Mr. Garfield was elected to
congress and remained in that body, either
in the house or senate, until 1880.
June 8, 1880, at the national Republican
convention, held in Chicago, General Gar-
field was nominated for the presidency, and
was elected. He was inaugurated March
4, 1 88 1, but, July 2, following, he was shot
and fatally wounded by Charles Guiteau for
some fancied political slight, and died Sep-
tember 19, 1 88 1.
INCREASE MATHER was one of the
1 most prominent preachers, educators and
authors of early times in the New England
states. He was born at Dorchester. Massa-
chusetts, June 21, 1639, and was g'ven an
excellent education, graduating at Harvard
in 1656, and at Trinity College, Dublin,
two years later. He was ordained a min-
ister, and preached in England and America,
and in 1664 became pastor of the North
church, in Boston. In 1685 he became
president of Harvard University, serving
until 1 701. In 1692 he received the first
doctorate in divinity conferred in English
164
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
speaking America. The same year he pro-
cured in England a new charter for Massa-
chusetts, which conferred upon himself the
power of naming the governor, lieutenant-
governor and council. He opposed the
severe punishment of witchcraft, and took
a prominent part in all public affairs of his
day. He was a prolific writer, and became
the author of nearly one hundred publica-
tions, large and small. His death occurred
August 23, 1723, at Boston.
COTTON MATHER, a celebrated minis-
ter in the "Puritan times" of New
England, was born at Boston, Massachu-
setts, February 12, 1663, being a son of
Rev. Increase Mather, and a grandson of
John Cotton. A biography of his father
will be found elsewhere in this volume.
Cotton Mather received his early education
in his native city, was trained \>y Ezekiel
Cheever, and graduated at Harvard College
in 1678; became a teacher, and in 1684
was ordained as associate pastor of North
church, Boston, with his father, having by
persistent effort overcome an impediment in
his speech. He labored with great zeal as
a pastor, endeavoring also, to establish the
ascendancy of the church and ministry in
civil affairs, and in the putting down of
witchcraft by legal sentences, a work in
which he took an active part and through
which he is best known in history. He re-
ceived the degree of D. D. in 1710, con-
ferred by the University of Glasgow, and
F. R. S. in 17 1 3. His death occurred at
Boston, February 13, 1728. He was the
author of many publications, among which
were " Memorable Providences Relating to
Witchcraft," "Wonders of the Invisible
World," "Essays to Do Good," " Mag-
nalia Christi Americana," and " Illustra-
tions of the Sacred Scriptures." Some of
these works are quaint and curious, full of
learning, piety and prejudice. A well-
known writer, in summing up the life and
character of Cotton Mather, says: ' ' Mather,
with all the faults of his early years, was a
man of great excellence of character. He
labored zealously for the benefit of the
poor, for mariners, slaves, criminals and
Indians. His cruelty and credulity were
the faults of his age, while his philanthro-
phy was far more rare in that age than in
the present. "
WILLIAM A. PEFFER, who won a
national reputation during the time
he was in the United States senate, was
born on a farm in Cumberland county,
Pennsylvania, September 10, 1831. He
drew his education from the public schools
of his native state and at the age of fifteen
taught school in winter, working on a farm
in the summer. In June, 1853, while yet a
young man, he removed to Indiana, and
opened up a farm in St. Joseph county.
In 1S59 he made his way to Missouri and
settled on a farm in Morgan county, but on
account of the war and the unsettled state
of the country, he moved to Illinois in Feb-
ruary, 1862, and enlisted as a private in
Company F, Eighty-third Illinois Infantry,
the following August. He was promoted
to the rank of second lieutenant in
March, 1863, and served successively as
quartermaster, adjutant, post adjutant,
judge advocate of a military commission,
and depot quartermaster in the engineer
department at Nashville. He was mustered
out of the service June 26, 1865. He had,
during his leisure hours while in the army,
studied law, and in August, 1865, he com-
menced the practice of that profession at
Clarksville, Tennessee. He removed to
Kansas in 1870 and practiced there until
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
165
1878, in the meantime establishing and
conducting two newspapers, the " Fredonia
Journal " and " Coffey ville Journal."
Mr. Peffer was elected to the state senate
in 1874 and was a prominent and influential
member of several important committees.
He served as a presidential elector in 1880.
The year following he became editor of the
" Kansas Farmer," which he made a promi-
nent and useful paper. In 1890 Mr. Peffer
was elected to the United States senate as
a member of the People's party and took
his seat March 4, 1891. After six years of
service Senator Peffer was succeeded in
March, 1897, by William A. Harris.
ROBERT MORRIS.— The name of this
financier, statesman and patriot is
closely connected with the early history of
the United States. He was a native of
England, born January 20, 1734, and came
to America with his father when thirteen
years old. Until 1754 he served in the
counting house of Charles Willing, then
formed a partnership with that gentleman's
son, which continued with great success until
1793. In 1776 Mr. Morris was a delegate
to the Continental congress, and, although
once voting against the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, signed that paper on its adop-
tion, and was several times thereafter re-
elected to congress. During the Revolu-
tionary war the services of Robert Morris
in aiding the government during its finan-
cial difficulties were of incalculable value; he
freely pledged his personal credit for sup-
plies for the army, atone time to the amount
of about one and a half million dollars, with-
out which the campaign of 1781 would have
been almost impossible. Mr. Morris was
appointed superintendent of finance in 1781
and served until 1784, continuing to employ
his personal credit to facilitate the needs of
his department. He also served as mem-
ber of the Pennsylvania legislature, and
from 1786 to 1795 was United States sena-
tor, declining meanwhile the position of sec-
retary of the treasury, and suggesting the
name of Alexander Hamilton, who was ap-
pointed to that post. During the latter
part of his life Mr. Morris was engaged ex-
tensively in the China trade, and later be-
came involved in land speculations, which
ruined him, so that the remaining days of
this noble man and patriot were passed
in confinement for debt. His death occurred
at Philadelphia, May 8, 1S06.
WILLIAM SHARON, a senator anr*
capitalist, and mine owner of na
tional reputation, was born at Smithfield,
Ohio, January 9, 1821. He was reared
upon a farm and in his boyhood given excel-
lent educational advantages and in 1842
entered Athens College. He remained in
that institution about two years, after which
he studied law with Edwin M. Stanton, and
was admitted to the bar at St., Louis and
commenced practice. His health failing,
however, he abandoned his profession and
engaged in mercantile pursuits at Carrollton,
Greene county, Illinois. During the time!
of the gold excitement of 1849, Mr. Sharon
went to California, whither so many went,
and engaged in business at Sacramento.
The next year he removed to San Francisco,
where he operated in real estate. Being
largely interested in its silver mines, he re-
moved to Nevada, locating at Virginia City,
and acquired an immense fortune. He be-
came one of the trustees of the Bank of
California, and during the troubles that
arose on the death of William Ralston, the
president of that institution, was largely in-
strumental in bringing its affairs into a satis-
factory shape.
ICG
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV.
Mr. Sharon was elected to represent the
state of Nevada in the United States senate
in 1875, and remained a member of that
body until 1881. He was always distin-
guished for close application to business.
Senator Sharon died November 13, 1885.
HENRY W. SHAW, an American hu-
morist who became celebrated unde r
the non-de-plume of " Josh Billings," gained
his fame from the witticism of his writing,
and peculiar eccentricity of style and spell-
ing. He was born at Lanesborough, Mas-
sachusetts, in 18 18. For twenty-five years
he lived in different parts of the western
states, following various lines of business,
including farming and auctioneering, and in
the latter capacity settled at Poughkeepsie,
New York, in 1858. In 1863 he began
writing humorous sketches for the news-
papers over the signature of "Josh Bill-
ings," and became immediately popular
both as a writer and lecturer. He pub-
lished a number of volumes of comic
sketches and edited an " Annual Allminax "
for a number of years, which had a wide cir-
culation. His death occurred October 14,
1885, at Monterey, California.
JOHN M. THURSTON, well known
throughout this country as a senator
and political leader, was born at Mont-
pelier, Vermont, August 21, 1847, of an
old Puritan family which dated back their
ancestry in this country to 1636, and among
whom were soldiers of the Revolution and
of the war of 18 12— 1 5.
Young Thurston was brought west by
the family in 1854, they settling at Madison,
Wisconsin, and two years later at Beaver
Dam, where John M. received his schooling
in the public schools and at Wayland Uni-
versity. His father enlisted as a private in
the First Wisconsin Cavalry and died while
in the service, in the spring of 1863.
Young Thurston, thrown on his own
resources while attaining an education, sup-
ported himself by farm work, driving team
and at other manual labor. He studied law
and was admitted to the bar May 21, 1869,
and in October of the same year located in
Omaha, Nebraska. He v/as elected a
member of the city council in 1872, city
attorney in 1874 and a member of the Ne-
braska legislature in 1874. He was a mem-
ber of the Republican national convention
of 1884 and temporary chairman of that of
1888. Taking quite an interest in the
younger members of his party he was instru-
mental in forming the Republican League
of the United States, of which he was presi-
dent for two years. He was then elected a
member of the United States senate, in
1895, to represent the state of Nebraska.
As an attorney John M. Thurston occu-
pied a very prominent place, and for a num-
ber of years held the position of general
solicitor of the Union Pacific railroad sys-
tem.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON, a celebrated
American naturalist, was born in Louis-
iana, May 4, 1780, and was the son of an
opulent French naval officer who owned a
plantation in the then French colony. In
his childhood he became deeply interested
in the study of birds and their habits. About
1794 he was sent to Paris, France, where
he was partially educated, and studied de-
signing under the famous painter, Jacques
Louis David. He returned to the Unit-
ed States about 179S, and settled on a
farm his father gave him, on the Perkiomen
creek in eastern Pennsylvania. He mar-
ried Lucy Bakewell in 1808, and, disposing
of his property, removed to Louisville, Ken-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
1(57
tucky, where he engaged in mercantile pur-
suits. About two years later he began to
make extensive excursions through the pri-
meval forests of the southern and south-
western states, in the exploration of which
he passed many years. He made colored
drawings of all the species of birds that he
found. For several years he made his home
with his wife and children at Henderson, on
the Ohio river. It is said that about this
time he had failed in business and was re-
duced to poverty, but kept the wolf from the
door by giving dancing lessons and in portrait
painting. In 1824, at Philadelphia, he met
Charles Lucien Bonaparte, who encouraged
him to publish a work on ornithology. Two
years later he went to England and com-
menced the publication of his great work,
" The Birds of America." He obtained a
large number of subscribers at one thousand
dollars a copy. This work, embracing five
volumes of letterpress and five volumes of
beautifully colored plates, was pronounced
by Cuvier " the most magnificent monument
that art ever raised to ornithology."
Audubon returned to America in 1829,
and explored the forests, lakes and coast
from Canada to Florida, collecting material
for another work. This was his " Ornitho-
logical Biography; or, An Account of the
Habits of the Birds of the United States,
Etc." He revisited England in 1831, and
returned in 1839, after which he resided on
the Hudson, near New York City, in which
place he died January 27, 1851. During
his life he issued a cheaper edition of his
great work, and was, in association with
Dr. Bachman, preparing a work on the
quadrupeds of North America.
the superior British squadron, under Com-
modore Downie, September 11, 18 14. Com-
modore McDonough was born in Newcastle
county, Delaware, December 23, 1783, and
when seventeen years old entered the
United States navy as midshipman, serving
in the expedition to Tripoli, under Decatur,
in 1803-4. In 1807 he was promoted to
lieutenant, and in July, 181 3, was made a
commander. The following year, on Lake
Champlain, he gained the celebrated victory
above referred t 
