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 to, for which he was again
promoted; also received a gold medal from
congress, and from the state of Vermont an
estate on Cumberland Head, in view of the
scene of the engagement. His death oc-
curred at sea, November 16, 1825, while he
was returning from the command of the
Mediterranean squadron.
COMMODORE THOMAS McDON-
OUGH gained his principal fame from
he celebrated victory which he gained over
CHARLES FRANCIS HALL, one of
America's most celebrated arctic ex-
plorers, was born in Rochester, New Hamp-
shire, in 1 82 1. He was a blacksmith by
trade, and located in Cincinnati, where later
he became a journalist. For several years
he devoted a great deal of attention to cal-
orics. Becoming interested in the fate of the
explorer, Sir John Franklin, he joined the
expedition fitted out by Henry Grinnell and
sailed in the ship "George Henry," under
Captain Buddington, which left New Lon-
don, Connecticut, in 1S60. He returned in
1862, and two years later published his
" Arctic Researches." He again joined the
expedition fitted out by Mr. Grinnell, and
sailed in the ship, " Monticello," under
Captain Buddington, this time remaining in
the arctic region over four years. On his
return he brought back many evidences of
having found trace of Franklin.
In 1 87 1 the " Polaris " was fitted out by
the United States government, and Captain
168
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Hall again sailed for the polar regions. He
died in Greenland in October, 1S71, and the
"Polaris" was finally abandoned by the
crew, a portion of which, under Captain
Tyson, drifted with the icebergs for one
hundred and ninety-five days, until picked
up by the " Tigress," on the 30th of April,
1873. The other portion of the crew built
boats, and, after a perilous voyage, were
picked up in June, 1873, by a whaling vessel.
OLIVER ELLSWORTH, the third chief
justice of the United States, was born
at Windsor, Connecticut, April 29, 1745.
After graduating from Princeton, he took
up the study of law, and was licensed
to practice in 1 77 1 . In 1777 he was elected
as a delegate to the Continental congress.
He was judge of the superior court of his
state in 1784, and was chosen as a delegate
to the constitutional convention in 1787.
He sided with the Federalists, was elected
to the United States senate in 1789, and
was a firm supporter of Washington's policy.
He wen great distinction in that body, and
was appointed chief justice of the supreme
court of the United States by Washington
in 1796. The relations between this coun-
try and France having become violently
strained, he was sent to Paris as envoy ex-
traordinary in 1799, and was instrumental
in negotiating the treaty that averted war.
He resigned the following year, and was suc-
ceeded by Chief Justice Marshall. His
death occurred November 26, 1807.
M^
ELLVILLE WESTON FULLER, an
linent American jurist and chief
justice of the United States supreme court,
was born in Augusta, Maine, in 1833. His
education was looked after in boyhood, and
at the age of sixteen he entered Bowdoin
College, and on graduation entered the law
department of Harvard University. He then
entered the law office of his uncle at Ban-
gor, Maine, and soon after opened an office
for the practice of law at Augusta. He was
an alderman from his ward, city attorney,
and editor of the " Age," a rival newspaper
of the "Journal," which was conducted by
James G. Blaine. He soon decided to re-
move to Chicago, then springing into notice
as a western metropolis. He at once iden-
tified himself with the interests of the
new city, and by this means acquired an
experience that fitted him for his future
work. He devoted himself assiduously to
his profession, and had the good fortune to
connect himself with the many suits grow-
ing out of the prorogation of the Illinois
legislature in 1863. It was not long before
he became one of the foremost lawyers in
Chicago. He made a three days' speech in
the heresy trial of Dr. Cheney, which added
to his fame. He was appointed chief jus-
tice of the United States by President Cleve-
land in 1888, the youngest man who ever
held that exalted position. His income from
his practice had for many years reached
thirty thousand dollars annually.
CHESTER ALLEN ARTHUR, twenty-
first president of the United States, was
born in Franklin county, Vermont, Octo-
ber 5, 1830. He was educated at Union
College, Schenectady, New York, from
which he graduated with honor, and en-
gaged in teaching school. After two years
he entered the law office of Judge E. D.
Culver, of New York, as a student. He was
admitted to the bar, and formed a partner-
ship with an old room-mate, Henry D. Gar-
diner, with the intention of practicing law
in the west, but after a few months' search
for a location, they returned to New York
and oDened an office, and at once entered
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
L69
upon a profitable practice. He was shortly
afterwards married to a daughter of Lieu-
tenant Herndon, of the United States navy.
Mrs. Arthur died shortly before his nomina-
tion for the vice-presidency. In 1856 a
colored woman in New York was ejected
from a street car and retained Mr. Arthur
in a suit against the company, and obtained
a verdict of five hundred dollars. It result-
ed in a general order by all superintendents
of street railways in the city to admit col-
ored people to the cars.
Mr. Arthur was a delegate to the first
Republican national convention, and was
appointed judge-advocate for the Second
Brigade of New York, and then chief engi-
neer of Governor Morgan's staff. At the
close of his term he resumed the practice of
iaw in New York. In 1872 he was made
collector of the port of New York, which
position he held four years. At the Chi-
cago convention in 1880 Mr. Arthur was
nominated for the vice-presidency with
Garfield, and after an exciting campaign
was elected. Four months after the inau-
guration President Garfield was assassinated,
and Mr. Arthur was called to take the reins
of government. His administration of
affairs was generally satisfactory. At its
close he resumed the practice of law in New
York. His death occurred November 18,
1886.
ISAAC HULL was one of the most con-
spicuous and prominent naval officers in
the early history of America. He was born
at Derby, Connecticut, March 9, 1775, be-
ing the son of a Revolutionary officer. Isaac
Hull early in life became a mariner, and
when nineteen years of age became master
of a merchant ship in the London trade.
In 1 798 he became a lieutenant in the United
States navy, and three years later was made
first lieutenant of the frigate ' ' Constitution. "
He distinguished himself by skill and valor
against the French on the coast of Hayti, and
served with distinction in the Barbary expe-
ditions. July 12, 1812, he sailed from
Annapolis, in command of the "Constitu-
tion," and for three days was pursued by a
British squadron of five ships, from which
he escaped by bold and ingenious seaman-
ship. In August of the same year he cap-
tured the frigate " Guerriere, " one of his
late pursuers and for this, the first naval
advantage of that war, he received a gold
medal from congress. Isaac Hull was later
made naval commissioner and had command
of various navy yards. His death occurred
February 13, 1843, at Philadelphia.
M"
ARCUS ALONZO HANNA, famous
as a prominent business man, political
manager and senator, was born in New Lis-
bon, Columbiana county, Ohio, September
24, 1837. He removed with his father's
family to Cleveland, in the same state, in
1852, and in the latter city, and in the
Western Reserve College, at Hudson, Ohio,
received his education. He became an em-
ploye of the wholesale grocery house of
Hanna, Garrettson & Co., his father being
the senior member of the firm. The latter
died in 1862, and Marcus represented his
interest until 1867, when the business was
closed up.
Our subject then became a member of
the firm of Rhodes & Co., engaged in the
iron and coal business, but at the expira-
tion of ten years this firm was changed to
that of M. A. Hanna & Co. Mr. Hanna
was long identified with the lake carrying
business, being interested in vessels on the
lakes and in the construction of them. As
a director of the Globe Ship Manufacturing
Company, of Cleveland, president of the
170
COMPEXDUM OF BIOGRAPHY
Union National Bank, of Cleveland, president
of the Cleveland City Railway Company,
and president of the Chapin Mining Com-
pany, of Lake Superior, he became promi-
nently identified with the business world.
He was one of the government directors of
the Union Pacific Railroad, being appointed
to that position in 1885 by President Cleve-
land.
Mr. Hanna was a delegate to the na-
tional Republican convention of 1884, which
was his first appearance in the political
world. He was a delegate to the con-
ventions of 1888 and 1896, and was elect-
ed chairman of the Republican national
committee the latter year, and practically
managed the campaign of William McKin-
ley for the presidency. In 1897 Mr. Hanna
was appointed senator by Governor Bush-
nell. of Ohio, to fill the vacancy caused by
the resignation of John Sherman.
GEORGE PEABODY was one of the
best known and esteemed of all philan-
thropists, whose munificent gifts to Ameri-
can institutions have proven of so much
benefit to the cause of humanity. He was
born February 18, 1795, at South Danvers,
Massachusetts, which is now called Pea-
body in honor of him. He received but a
meager education, and during his early life
he was a mercantile clerk at Thetford, Ver-
mont, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. In
18 14 he became a partner with Elisha
Riggs, at Georgetown, District of Columbia,
and in 181 5 they moved to Baltimore, Mary-
Ian J. The business grew to great propor-
tions, and they opened branch houses at
New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Peabody
made several voyages to Europe of com-
mercial importance, and in 1829 became the
head of the firm, which was then called
Peabody, Riggs & Co. , and in 1S38 he re-
moved to London, England. He retired
from the firm, and established the cele-
brated banking house, in which he accumu-
lated a large fortune. He aided Mr. Grin-
nell in fitting out Dr. Kane's Arctic expedi-
tion, in 1852, and founded in the same year
the Peabody Institute, in his native town,
which he afterwards endowed with two hun-
dred thousand dollars. Mr. Peabody visited
the United States in 1857, and gave three
hundred thousand dollars for the establish-
ment at Baltimore of an institute of science,
literature and fine arts. In 1862 he gave
two million five hundred thousand dollars
for the erecting of lodging houses for the
poor in London, and on another visit to the
United States he gave one hundred and fifty
thousand dollars to establish at Harvard a
museum and professorship of American
archaeology and ethnology, an equal sum for
the endowment of a department of physical
science at Yale, and gave the "Southern
Educational Fund " two million one hundred
thousand dollars, besides devoting two hun-
dred thousand dollars to various objects of
public utility. Mr. Peabody made a final
visit to the United States in 1869, and on
this occasion he raised the endowment of
the Baltimore Institute one million dollars,
created the Peabody Museum, at Salem,
Massachusetts, with a fund of one hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, gave sixty thou-
sand dollars to Washington College, Vir-
ginia; fifty thousand dollars for a "Peabody
Museum," at North Danvers, thirty thousand
dollars to Phillips Academy, Andover; twen-
ty-five thousand dollars to Kenyon College,
Ohio, and twenty thousand dollars to the
Maryland Historical Society. Mr. Peabody
also endowed an art school at Rome, in
1868. He died in London, November 4,
1869, less then a month after he had re-
turned from the United States, and his
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
171
remains were brought to the United States
and interred in his native town. He made
several other bequests in his will, and left
his family about five million dollars.
MATTHEW S. QUAY, a celebrated
public man and senator, was born at
Dillsburgh, York county, Pennsylvania,
September 30, 1833, of an old Scotch-Irish
family, some of whom had settled in the
Keystone state in 17 15. Matthew received
a good education, graduating from the Jef-
ferson College at Canonsburg, Pennsylvania,
at the age of seventeen. He then traveled,
taught school, lectured, and studied law
under Judge Sterrett. He was admitted to
the bar in 1854, was appointed a prothon-
otary in 1855 and elected to the same
office in 1856 and 1859. Later he was
made lieutenant of the Pennsylvania Re
serves, lieutenant-colonel and assistant com-
missary-general of the state, private secre-
tary of the famous war governor of Pennsyl-
vania, Andrew G. Curtin, colonel of the
One Hundred and Thirty-fourth Pennsylva-
nia Infantry (nine months men), military
state agent and held other offices at different
times.
Mr. Quay was a member of the house of
representatives of the state of Pennsylvania
from 1865 to 1868. He filled the office of
secretary of the commonwealth from 1872
to 1878, and the position of delegate-at-
large to the Republican national conventions
of 1872, 1876, 1880 and 1888. He was the
editor of the "Beaver Radical" and the
"Philadelphia Record" for a time, and held
many offices in the state conventions and on
their committees. He was elected secre-
tary of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
1869, and served three years, and in 1885
was chosen state treasurer. In 1886 his
great abilities pointed him out as the
natural candidate for United States senator,
and he was accordingly elected to that posi-
tion and re-elected thereto in 1892. He
was always noted for a genius for organiza-
tion, and as a political leader had but few
peers. Cool, serene, far-seeing, resourceful,
holding his impulses and forces in hand, he
never quailed from any policy he adopted,
and carried to success most, if not all, of
the political campaigns in which he took
part.
JAMES K. JONES, a noted senator and
political leader, attained national fame
while chairman of the national executive
committee of the Democratic party in the
presidential campaign of 1896. He was a
native of Marshall county, Mississippi, and
was born September 29, 1S39. His father,
a well-to-do planter, settled in Dallas county,
Arkansas, in 1848, and there the subject of
this sketch received a careful education.
During the Civil war he served as a private
soldier in the Confederate army. From
1866 to 1873 he passed a quiet life as a
planter, but in the latter year was admitted
to the bar and began the practice of law.
About the same time he was elected to the
Arkansas senate and re-elected in 1874. In
1877 he was made president of the senate
and the following year was unsuccessful in
obtaining a nomination as member of con-
gress. In 1880 he was elected representa-
tive and his ability at once placed him in a
foremost position. He was re-elected to
congress in 1882 and in 1884, and served as
an influential member on the committee of
ways and means. March 4, 1885, Mr. Jones
took his seat in the United States senate to
succeed Tames D. Walker, and was after-
ward re-elected to the same office. In this
branch of the national legislature his capa-
bilities had a wider scope, and he was rec-
172
COMPHXDICM OF BIOGRAPHY
ognized as one of the ablest leaders of his
party.
On the nomination of William J. Bryan
as its candidate for the presidency by the
national convention of the Democratic
party, held in Chicago in 1896, Mr. Jones
was made chairman of the national com-
mittee.
THEODORE THOMAS, one of the most
celebrated musical directors America
has known, was born in the kingdom of Han-
over in 1835, and received his musical educa-
tion from his father. He was a very apt scholar
and played the violin at public concerts at
the age of six years. He came with his
parents to America in 1845, ar >d joined the
orchestra of the Italian Opera in New York
City. He played the first violin in the
orchestra which accompanied Jenny Lind
in her first American concert. In 1S61 Mr.
Thomas established the orchestra that be-
came famous under his management, and
gave his first symphony concerts in New
York in 1S64. He began his first "summer
night concerts" in the same city in 1868,
and in 1869 he started on his first tour of
the principal cities in the United States,
which he made every year for many years.
He was director of the College of Music in
Cincinnati, Ohio, but resigned in 1880, after
having held the position for three years.
Later he organized one of the greatest
and most successful orchestras ever brought
together in the city of Chicago, and was
very prominent in musical affairs during the
World's Columbian Exposition, thereby add-
ing greatly to his fame.
father invented a reaping machine. It was
a rude contrivance and not successful. In
1 83 1 Cyrus made his invention of a reaping
machine, and had it patented three years
later. By successive improvements he was
able to keep his machines at the head of
its class during his life. In 1 845 he removed
to Cincinnati, Ohio, and two years later
located in Chicago, where he amassed a
great fortune in manufacturing reapers and
harvesting machinery. In 1859 he estab-
lished the Theological Seminary of the
Northwest at Chicago, an institution for pre-
paring young men for the ministry in the
Presbyterian church, and he afterward en-
dowed a chair in the Washington and Lee
College at Lexington, Virginia. He mani-
fested great interest in educational and re-
ligious matters, and by his great wealth he
was able to extend aid and encouragement
to many charitable causes. His death oc-
curred May 13, 1884.
CYRUS HALL McCORMICK, the fa-
mous inventor and manufacturer, was
born at Walnut Grove, Virginia, February
1 5, 1809. When he was seven years old Lis
DAVID ROSS LOCKE.— Under the
pen name of Petroleum V. Nasby, this
well-known humorist and writer made for
himself a household reputation, and estab-
lished a school that has many imitators.
The subject of this article was born at
Vestal, Broome county, New York, Sep-
tember 30, 1833. After receiving his edu-
cation in the county of his birth he en-
tered the office of the ' ' Democrat, " at Cort-
land, New York, where he learned the
printer's trade. He was successively editor
and publisher of the ' 'Plymouth Advertiser, "
the "Mansfield Herald," the " Bucyrus-
Journal, "and the "Findlay Jeffersonian."
Later he became editor of the "Toledo
Blade." In i860 he commenced his
" Nasby" articles, several series of which
have been given the world in book form.
Under a mask of misspelling, and in a quaint
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
173
and humorous style, a keen political satire
is couched — a most effective weapon.
Mr. Locke was the author of a num-
ber of serious political pamphlets, and
later on a more pretentious work, " The
Morals of Abou Ben Adhem." As a news-
paper writer he gained many laurels and his
works are widely read. Abraham Lincoln
is said to have been a warm admirer of P.
V. Nasby, of " Confedrit X Roads " fame.
Mr. Locke died at Toledo, Ohio, February
15, 1888.
RUSSELL A. ALGER, noted as a sol-
dier, governor and secretary of war,
was born in Medina county, Ohio, February
27, 1836, and was the son of Russell and
Caroline (Moulton) Alger. At the age of
twelve years he was left an orphan and pen-
niless. For about a year he worked for
his board and clothing, and attended school
part of the time. In 1850 he found a place
which paid small wages, and out of his
scanty earnings helped his brother and sister.
While there working on a farm he found
time to attend the Richfield Academy, and
by hard work between times managed to get
a fair education for that time. The last
two years of his attendance at this institu-
tion of learning he taught school during the
winter months. In 1857 he commenced the
study of law, and was admitted to the bar
in 1859. For a while he found employ-
ment in Cleveland, Ohio, but impaired
health induced him to remove to Grand
Rapids, where he engaged in the lumber
business. He was thus engaged when the
Civil war broke out, and, his business suf-
fering and his savings swept away, he en-
listed as a private in the Second Michigan
Cavalry. He was promoted to be captain
the following month, and major for gallant
conduct at Boonesville, Mississippi, July 1,
1862. October 16, 1862, he was made
lieutenant-colonel of the Sixth Michigan
Cavalry, and in February, 1863, colonel of
the Fifth Michigan Cavalry. He rendered
excellent service in the Gettysburg cam-
paign. He was wounded at Boonesboro,
Maryland, and on returning to his command
took part with Sherman in the campaign in
the Shenandoah Valley. For services ren-
dered, that famous soldier recommended
him for promotion, and he was brevetted
major-general of volunteers. In 1866 Gen-
eral Alger took up his residence at Detroit,
and prospered exceedingly in his business,
which was that of lumbering, and grew
quite. wealthy. In 1884 he was a delegate
to the Republican national convention, and
the same year was elected governor of
Michigan. He declined a nomination for
re-election to the latter office, in 1887, and
was the following year a candidate for the
nomination for president. In 1889 he was
elected commander-in-chief of the Grand
Army of the Republic, and at different
times occupied many offices in other or-
ganizations.
In March, 1897, President McKinley
appointed General Alger secretary of war.
CYRUS WEST FIELD, the father of
submarine telegraphy, was the son of
the Rev. David D. Field, D.D., a Congre-
gational minister, and was born at Stock-
bridge, Massachusetts, November 30, 1819.
He was educated in his native town, and at
the age of fifteen years became a clerk in a
store in New York City. Being gifted with
excellent business ability Mr. Field pros-
pered and became the head of a large mer-
cantile house. In 1853 he spent about six
months in travel in South America. On his
return he became interested in ocean teleg-
raphy. Being solicited to aid in the cjii-
COMPEXDICM OF BIOGRAPHY.
struction of a land telegraph across New
Foundland to receive the news from a line
of fast steamers it was proposed to run from
from Ireland to St. Johns, the idea struck
him to carry the line across the broad At-
lantic. In 1850 Mr. Field obtained a con-
cession from the legislature of Newfound-
land, giving him the sole right for fifty years
to land submarine cables on the shores of
that island. In company with Peter Cooper,
Moses Taylor, Marshall O. Roberts and
Chandler White, he organized a company
under the name of the New York, New-
foundland & London Telegraph Company.
In two years the line from New York across
Newfoundland was built. The first cable
connecting Cape Breton Island with New-
foundland having been lost in a storm while
being laid in 1855, another was put down in
1856. In the latter year Mr. Field went to
London and organized the Atlantic Tele-
graph Company, furnishing one-fourth of the
capital himself. Both governments loaned
ships to carry out the enterprise. Mr. Field
accompanied the expeditions of 1857 and
two in 1S58. The first and second cables
were failures, and the third worked but a
short time and then ceased. The people of
both continents became incredulous of the
feasibility of laying a successful cable under
so wide an expanse of sea, and the war
breaking out shortly after, nothing was done
until 1865-66. Mr. Field, in the former
year, again made the attempt, and the Great
Eastern laid some one thousand two hun-
dred miles when the cable parted and was
lost. The following year the same vessel
succeeded in laying the entire cable, and
picked up the one lost the year before, and
both were carried to America's shore. After
thirteen years of care and toil Mr. Field had
his reward. He was the recipient of many
medals and honors from both home and
abroad. He gave his attention after this
to establishing telegraphic communication
throughout the world and many other large
enterprises, notably the construction of ele-
vated railroads in New York. Mr. Field
died July 1 1, 1892.
G ROVER CLEVELAND, the twenty-
second president of the United States,
was born in Caldwell, Essex county, New
Jersey, March 18, 1837, and was the son
of Rev. Richard and Annie (Neale) Cleve-
land. The father, of distinguished New
England ancestry, was a Presbyterian min-
ister in charge of the church at Caldwell at
the time.
When Grover was about three years of
age the family removed to Fayetteville,
Onondaga county. New York, where he
attended the district school, and was in the
academy for a short time. His father be-
lieving that boys should early learn to labor,
Grover entered a village store and worked
for the sum of fifty dollars for the first year.
While he was thus engaged the family re-
moved to Clinton, New York, and there
young Cleveland took up h>s studies at the
academy. The death of his father dashed
all his hopes of a collegiate education, the
family being left in straightened circum-
stances, and Grover started out to battle
for himself. After acting for a year (1S53-
54) as assistant teacher and bookkeeper in
the Institution for the Blind at New York
City, he went to Buffalo. A short time
after he entered the law office of Rogers,
Bowen & Rogers, of that city, and after a
hard struggle with adverse circumstances,
was admitted to the bar in 1859. Hebe-
came confidential and managing clerk for
the firm under whom he had studied, and
remained with them until 1S63. In the lat-
ter year he was appointed district attorney
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
175
of Erie county. It was during his incum-
bency of this office that, on being nominated
by the Democrats for supervisor, he came
within thirteen votes of election, although
the district was usually Republican by two
hundred and fifty majority. In i866Grover
Cleveland formed a partnership with Isaac
V. Vanderpoel. The most of the work here
fell upon the shoulders of our subject, and
he soon won a good standing at the bar of
the state. In 1869 Mr. Cleveland associated
himself in business with A. P. Laning and
Oscar Folsom, and under the firm name of
Laning, Cleveland & Folsom soon built up a
fair practice. In the fall of 1870 Mr. Cleve-
land was elected sheriff of Erie county, an
office which he filled for four years, after
which he resumed his profession, with L. K.
Bass and Wilson S. Bissell as partners.
This firm was strong and popular and
shortly was in possession of a lucrative
practice. Mr. Bass retired from the firm
in 1879, and George J. Secard was admit-
ted a member in 188 1. In the latter year
Mr. Cleveland was elected mayor of Buffalo,
and in 1882 he was chosen governor by
the enormous majority of one hundred and
ninety-two thousand votes. July II, 1884,
he was nominated for the presidency by the
Democratic national convention, and in
November following was elected.
Mr. Cleveland, after serving one term as
president of the United States, in 1888 was
nominated by his party to succeed himself,
but he failed of the election, being beaten
by Benjamin Harrison. In 1892, however,
being nominated again in opposition to the
then incumbent of the presidency, Mr. Har-
rison, Grover Cleveland was elected pres-
ident for the second time and served for the
usual term of four years. In 1897 Mr.
Cleveland retired from the chair of the first
magistrate of the nation, and in New York
City resumed the practice of law, in which
city he had established himself in 1889.
June 2, 1886, Grover Cleveland was
united in marriage with Miss Frances Fol-
som, the daughter of his former partner.
ALEXANDER WINCHELL, for many
years one of the greatest of American
scientists, and one of the most noted and
prolific writers on scientific subjects, was
born in Duchess county, New York, Decem-
ber 31, 1824. He received a thorough col-
legiate education, and graduated at the
Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connect-
icut, in 1847. His mind took a scientific
turn, which manifested itself while he was
yet a boy, and in 1848 he became teacher
of natural sciences at the Armenian Semi-
nary, in his native state, a position which
he filled for three years. In 1S51-3 he oc-
cupied the same position in the Mesopo-
tamia Female Seminary, in Alabama, after
which he was president of the Masonic Fe-
male Seminary, in Alabama. In 1853 he
became connected with the University of
Michigan, at Ann Arbor, at which institu-
tion he performed the most important work
of his life, and gained a wide reputation as
a scientist. He held many important posi-
tions, among which were the following:
Professor of physics and civil engineering at
the University of Michigan, also of geology,
zoology and botany, and later professor of
geology and palaeontology at the same insti-
tution. He also, for a time, was president
of the Michigan Teachers' Association, and
state geologist of Michigan. Professor
Winchell was a very prolific writer on scien-
tific subjects, and published many standard
works, his most important and widely known
being those devoted to geology. He also
contributed a large number of articles tc
scientific and popular journals.
176
COMPEXniCM OF BIOGRAPHT.
ANDREW HULL FOOTE, of the
United States navy, was a native of
New England, born at New Haven, Con-
necticut, May 4, 1808. He entered the
navy, as a midshipman, December 4, 1822.
He slowly rose in his chosen profession, at-
taining the rank of lieutenant in 1830, com-
mander in 1852 and captain in 1861.
Among the distinguished men in the break-
ing out of the Civil war, but few stood higher
in the estimation of his brother officers than
Foote, and when, in the fall of 1861, he
was appointed to the command of the flotilla
then building on the Mississippi, the act
gave great satisfaction to the service.
Although embarrassed by want of navy
yards and supplies, Foote threw himself into
his new work with unusual energy. He
overcame all obstacles and in the new, and,
until that time, untried experiment, of creat-
ing and maintaining a navy on a river,
achieved a success beyond the expectations
of the country. Great incredulity existed as
to the possibility of carrying on hostilities
on a river where batteries from the shore
might bar the passage. But in spite of all,
Foote soon had a navy on the great river,
and by the heroic qualities of the crews en-
trusted to him, demonstrated the utility of
this new departure in naval architecture.
All being prepared, February 6, 1862, Foote
took Fort Henry after a hotly-contested
action. On the 14th of the same month,
for an hour and a half engaged the batteries
of Fort Donelson, with four ironclads and
two wooden gunboats, thereby dishearten-
ing the garrison and assisting in its capture.
April 7th of the same year, after several
hotly-contested actions, Commodore Foote
received the surrender of Island No. 10, one
of the great strongholds of the Confederacy
on the Mississippi river. Foote having been
wounded at Fort Donelson, and by neglect
it having become so serious as to endanger
his life, he was forced to resign his command
and return home. June 16, 1862, he re-
ceived the thanks of congress and was pro-
moted to the rank of rear admiral. He was
appointed chief of the bureau of equipment
and recruiting. June 4, 1863, he was
ordered to the fleet off Charleston, to super-
cede Rear Admiral Dupont, but on his way
to that destination was taken sick at New
York, and died June 26, 1863.
NELSON A. MILES, the well-known sol-
dier, was born at Westminster, Massa-
chusetts, August 8,1839. His ancestors set-
tled in that state in 1643 among the early
pioneers, and their descendants were, many
of them, to be found among those battling
against Great Britain during Revolutionary
times and during the war of 18 12. Nelson
was reared on a farm, received an academic
education, and in early manhood engaged in
mercantile pursuits in Boston. Earl}" in
1 86 1 he raised a company and offered his
services to the government, and although
commissioned as captain, on account of his
youth went out as first lieutenant in the
Twenty-second Massachusetts Infantry. In
1862 he was commissioned lieutenant-colonel
and colonel of the Sixty-first New York In-
fantry. At the request of Generals Grant
and Meade he was made a brigadier by
President Lincoln. He participated in all
but one of the battles of the Army of the
Potomac until the close of the war. During
the latter part of the time he commanded
the first division of the Second Corps.
General Miles was wounded at the battles
of Fair Oaks, Fredericksburg and Chan-
cellorsville, and received four brevets for
distinguished service. During the recon-
struction period he commanded in North
Carolina, and on the reorganization of the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
177
regular army he was made colonel of in-
fantry. In 1880 he was promoted to the
rank of brigadier-general, and in 1890 to
that of major-generai. He Successfully con-
ducted several campaigns among the In-
dians, and his name is known among the
tribes as a friend when they are peacefully
inclined. He many times averted war
with the red men by judicious and humane
settlement of difficulties without the military
power. In 1892 General Miles was given
command of the proceedings in dedicating
the World's Fair at Chicago, and in the
summer of 1894, during the great railroad
strike at the same city, General Miles, then
in command of the department, had the
disposal of the troops sent to protect the
United States mails. On the retirement of
General J. M. Schofield, in 1895, General
Miles became the ranking major-generai of
the United States army and the head of its
forces.
JUNIUS BRUTUS BOOTH, the great
actor, though born in London (1796), is
more intimately connected with the Amer-
ican than with the English stage, and his
popularity in America was almost un-
bounded, while in England he was not a
prime favorite. He presented " Richard III. "
in Richmond on his first appearance on the
American stage in 1821. This was his
greatest role, and in it he has never had an
equal. In October of the same year he
appeared in New York. After a long and
successful career he gave his final perform-
ance at New Orleans in 1852. He con-
tracted a severe cold, and for lack of proper
medical attention, it resulted in his death
on November 30th of that year. He was,
without question, one oi the greatest tra-
gedians that ever lived. In addition to his
professional art and genius, he was skilled
in languages, drawing, painting and sculp-
ture. In his private life he was reserved,
and even eccentric. Strange stories are
related of his peculiarities, and on his farm
near Baltimore he forbade the use of animal
food, the taking of animal life, and even the
felling of trees, and brought his butter and
eggs to the Baltimore markets in person.
Junius Brutus Booth, known as the elder
Booth, gave to the world three sons of note:
Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., the husband of
Agnes Booth, the actress; John Wilkes
Booth, the author of the greatest tragedy
in the life of our nation; Edwin Booth, in
his day the greatest actor of America, if not
of the world.
JAMES MONTGOMERY BAILEY, fa-
mous as the "Danbury News Man,"
was one of the best known American humor-
ists, and was born September 25, 1841, at
Albany, N. Y. He adopted journalism as a
profession and started in his chosen work on
the "Danbury Times," which paper he pur-
chased on his return from the war. Mr.
Bailey also purchased the "Jeffersonian,"
another paper of Danbury, and consolidated
them, forming the "Danbury News," which
paper soon acquired a celebrity throughout
the United States, from an incessant flow of
rich, healthy, and original humor, which the
pen of the editor imparted to its columns,
and he succeeded in raising the circulation
of the paper from a few hundred copies a
week to over forty thousand. The facilities
of a country printing office were not so com-
plete in those days as they are now, but Mr.
Bailey was resourceful, and he put on re-
lays of help and ran his presses night and
day, and always prepared his matter a week
ahead of time. The "Danbury News Man"
was a new figure in literature, as his humor
was so different from that of the newspaper
176
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
wits — who had preceded him, and he maybe
called the pioneer of that school now so
familiar. Mr. Bailey published in book
form "Life in Danbury" and "The Danbury
News Man's Almanac. " One of his most
admirable traits was philanthrophy, as he
gave with unstinted generosity to all comers,
and died comparatively poor, notwithstand-
ing his ownership of a very profitable busi-
ness which netted him an income of $40,000
a year. He died March 4, 1894.
Wl
ATTHEW HALE CARPENTER, a
mo us lawyer, orator and senator,
was born in Moretown, Vermont, December
22, 1S24. After receiving a common-school
education he entered the United States
Military Academy at West Point, but only
remained two years. On returning to his
home he commenced the study of law with
Paul Dillingham, afterwards governor of
Vermont, and whose daughter he married.
In 1847 he was admitted to practice at the
bar in Vermont, but he went to Boston and
for a time studied with Ruf us Choate. In 1 848
he moved west, settling at Beloit, Wisconsin,
and commencing the practice of his profes-
sion soon obtained a wide reputation for
ability. In 1S56 Mr. Carpenter removed to
Milwaukee, where he found a wider field for
his now increasing powers. During the
Civil war, although a strong Democrat, he
was loyal to the government and aided the
Union cause to his utmost. In 186S he
was counsel for the government in a test
case to settle the legality of the reconstruc-
tion act before the United States supreme
court, and won his case against Jeremiah S.
Black. This gave him the election for sen-
ator from Wisconsin in 1869, and he served
until 1875, during part of which time he was
president pro tempore of the senate. Failing
of a re-election Mr. Carpenter resumed the
practice of law, and when William W.
Belknap, late secretary of war, was im-
peached, entered the case for Genera!
Belknap, and secured an acquittal. During
the sitting of the electoral commission of
1877, Mr. Carpenter appeared for Samuel
]. Tilden, although the Republican man-
agers had intended to have him represent
R. B. Hayes. Mr. Carpenter was elected
to the United States senate again in 1879,
and remained a member of that body until
the day of his death, which occurred at
Washington, District of Columbia, Feb-
ruary 24, 18S1.
Senator Carpenter's real name was De-
catur Merritt Hammond Carpenter but about
1852 he changed it to the one by which he
was universally known.
THOMAS E. WATSON, lawyer and
congressman, the well-known Geor-
gian, whose name appears at the head of
this sketch, made himself a place in the his-
tory of our country by his ability, energy
and fervid oratory. He was born in Col-
umbia (now McDuffie) county, Georgia,
September 5, 1856. He had a common-
school education, and in 1872 entered Mer-
cer University, at Macon, Georgia, as fresh-
man, but for want of money left the college
at the end of his sophomore year. He
taught school, studying law at the same
time, until 1875, when he was admitted to
the bar. He opened an office and com-
menced practice in Thomson, Georgia, in
November, 1876. He carried on a success-
ful business, and bought land and farmed on
an extensive scale.
Mr. Watson was a delegate to the Demo-
cratic state convention of 1880, and was a
member of the house of representatives o*
the legislature of his native state in 1882.
In 1888 he was an elector-at-large on the
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAniT.
17S
Cleveland ticket, and in 1890 was elected
to represent his district in the fifty-second
congress. This latter election is said to have
been due entirely to Mr. Watson's "dash-
ing display of ability, eloquence and popular
power." In his later years he championed
the alliance principles and policies until he
became a leader in the movement. In the
heated campaign of 1896, Mr. Watson was
nominated as the candidate for vice-presi-
dent on the Bryan ticket by that part of the
People's party that would not endorse the
nominee for the same position made by the
Democratic party.
FREDERICK A. P. BARNARD, mathe-
matician, physicist and educator, was
born in Sheffield, Massachusetts, May 5 , 1 809.
He graduated from Yale College in 1828, and
in 1830 became a tutor in the same. From
1837 to 1848 he was professor of mathe-
matics and natural philosophy in the Uni-
versity of Alabama, and from 1848 to 1850,
professor of chemistry and natural history
in the same educational institution. In
1854 he became connected with the Univer-
sity of Mississippi, of which he became
president in 1856, and chancellor in 1858.
In 1854 he took orders in the Protestant
Episcopal church. In 1861 Professor Barnard
resigned his chancellorship and chair in the
university, and in 1863 and 1864 was con-
nected with the United States coast survey
in charge of chart printing and lithography.
In May, 1864, he was elected president of
Columbia College, New York City, which
he served for a number of years.
Professor Barnard received +he honorary
degree of LL. D. from Jefferson College,
Mississippi, in 1855, and from Ya J e College
in 1859; also the degree of S. T. D. from
the University of Mississippi in 1861, and
that of L. H. D. from the regents of the
University of the State of New York in 1872.
In i860 he was a member of the eclipse
party sent by the United States coast sur-
vey to Labrador, and during his absence
was elected president of the American Asso-
ciation for the Advancement of Science. In.
the act of congress establishing the National
Academy of Sciencesin 1863, he was named
as one of the original corporators. In 1867
he was one of the United States commis-
sioners to the Paris Exposition. He was
a member of the American Philosophical
Society, associate member of the Amer-
ican Academy of Arts and Sciences, and
many other philosophical and scientific
societies at home and abroad. Dr. Barnard
was thoroughly identified with the progress
of the age in those branches. His published
works relate wholly to scientific or educa-
tional subjects, chief among which are the
following: Report on Collegiate Education;
Art Culture; History of the American Coast
Survey; University Education; Undulatory
Theory of Light; Machinery and Processes
of the Industrial Arts, and Apparatus of the
Exact Sciences, Metric System of Weights
and Measures, etc.
EDWIN McMASTERS STANTON, the
secretary of war during the great Civil
war, was recognized as one of America's
foremost public men. He was born Decem-
ber 19, 1 8 14, at Steubenville, Ohio, where
he received his education and studied law.
He was admitted to the bar in 1836, and
was reporter of the supreme court of Ohio
from 1842 until 1845. He removed to
Washington in 1856 to attend to his prac-
tice before the United States supreme
court, and in 185S he went to California as
counsel for the government in certain land
cases, which he Carried to a successful
conclusion. Mr. Stanton was appointed
180
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
attorney-general of the United States in
December, i860, by President Buchanan.
On March 4, 1861, Mr. Stanton went with
the outgoing administration and returned to
the practice of his profession. He was
appointed secretary of war by President
Lincoln January 20, 1862, to succeed Simon
Cameron. After the assassination of Presi-
dent Lincoln and the accession of Johnson
to the presidency, Mr. Stanton was still in
the same office. He held it for three years,
and by his strict adherence to the Repub-
lican party, he antagonized President John-
son, who endeavored to remove him. On
August 5, 1867, the president requested him
to resign, and appointed General Grant to
succeed him, but when congress convened
in December the senate refused to concur in
the suspension. Mr. Stanton returned to
his post until the president again removed
him from office, ^but was again foiled by
congress. Soon after, however, he retired
voluntarily from office and took up the
practice of law, in which he engaged until
his death, on December 24, 1869.
ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, the eminent
theologian and founder of the church
known as Disciples of Christ, was born in
the country of Antrim, Ireland, in June,
1788, and was the son of Rev. Thomas
Campbell, a Scoth-Irish "Seceder. " After
studying at the University of Glasgow, he,
in company with his father, came to America
in 1808, and both began labor in western
Pennsylvania to restore Christianity to
apostolic simplicity. They organized a
church at Brush Run, Washington county,
Pennsylvania, in 181 1, which, however, the
year following, adopted Baptist views, and
in 181 3, with other congregations joined a
Baptist association. Some of the under-
lying principles and many practices of the
Campbells and their disciples were repug-
nant to the Baptist church and considerable
friction was the result, and 1S27 saw the
separation of that church from the Church
of Christ, as it is sometimes called. The
latter then reorganized themselves anew.
They reject all creeds, professing to receive
the Bible as their only guide. In most mat-
ters of faith they are essentially in accord with
the other Evangelical Christian churches,
especially in regard to the person and work
of Christ, the resurrection and judgment.
They celebrate the Lord's Supper weekly,
hold that repentance and faith should precede
baptism, attaching much importance to the
latter ordinance. On all other points they
encourage individual liberty of thought. In
1 841, Alexander Campbell founded Bethany
College, West Virginia, of which he was
president for many years, and died March 4,
1866.
The denomination which they founded
is quite a large and important church body
in the United States. They support quite
a number of institutions of learning, among
which are: Bethany College, West Virginia;
Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio; Northwestern
Christian University, Indianapolis, Indiana;
Eureka College, Illinois; Kentucky Univer-
sity, Lexington, Kentucky; Oskaloosa
College, Iowa; and a number of seminaries
and schools. They also support several
monthly and quarterly religious periodicals
and many papers, both in the United States
and Great Britain and her dependencies.
WILLIAM L.WILSON, the noted West
Virginian, who was postmaster-gener-
al under President Cleveland's second ad-
ministration, won distinction as the father
of the famous " Wilson bill," which became
a law under the same administration. Mr.
Wilson was born May 3, 1843, in Jeffer-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
1*1
son county. West Virginia, and received
a good education at the Charlestown
Academy, where he prepared himself for
college. He attended the Columbian Col-
lege in the District of Columbia, from
which he graduated in i860, and then
attended the University of Virginia. Mr.
Wilson served in the Confederate army dur-
ing the war, after which he was a professor
in Columbian College. Later he entered
into the practice of law at Charlestown.
He attended the Democratic convention
held at Cincinnati in 1880, as a delegate,
and later was chosen as one of the electors
for the state-at-large on the Hancock
ticket. In the Democratic convention at
Chicago in 1892, Mr. Wilson was its per-
manent president. He was elected pres-
ident of the West Virginia University in
1882, entering upon the duties of his office
on September 6, but having received the
nomination for the forty-seventh congress
on the Democratic ticket, he resigned the
presidency of the university in June, 1883,
to take his seat in congress. Mr. Wil-
son was honored by the Columbian Uni-
versity and the Hampden-Sidney College,
both of which conferred upon him the de-
gree of LL. D. In 1884 he was appointed
regent of the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington for two years, and at the end
of his term was re-appointed. He was
elected to the forty-seventh, forty-ninth,
fiftieth, fifty-first, fifty-second and fifty-
third congresses, but was defeated for re-
election to the fifty-fourth congress. Upon
the resignation of Mr. Bissell from the office
of postmaster-general, Mr. Wilson was ap-
pointed to fill the vacancy by President
Cleveland. His many years of public serv-
ice and the prominent part he took in the
discussion of public questions gave him a
national reputation.
CALVIN S. BRICE, a successful and
noted financier and politician, was
born at Denmark, Ohio, September 17,
1845, of an old Maryland family, who trace
their lineage from the Bryces, or Bruces, of
Airth, Scotland. The father of our subject
was a prominent Presbyterian clergyman,
who removed to Ohio in 1812. Calvin S.
Brice was educated in the common schools
of his native town, and at the age of thir-
teen entered the preparatory department of
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and the
following year entered the freshman class.
On the breaking out of the Civil war,
although but fifteen years old, he enlisted in
a company of three-months men. He re-
turned to complete his college course, but
re-enlisted in Company A, Eighty-sixth
Ohio Infantry, and served in the Virginia
campaign. He then returned to college,
from which he graduated in 1863. In 1864
he organized Company E, One Hundred
and Eightieth Ohio Infantry, and served
until the close of hostilities, in the western
armies.
On his return home Mr. Brice entered
the law department of the University of
Michigan, and in 1866 was admitted to the
bar in Cincinnati. In the winter of 1870-
71 he went to Europe in the interests of the
Lake Erie & Louisville Railroad and pro-
cured a foreign loan. This road became
the Lake Erie & W T estern, of which, in
1887, Mr. Brice became president. This
was the first railroad in which he had a
personal interest. The conception, build-
ing and sale of the New York, Chicago &
St. Louis Railroad, known as the "Nickel
Plate," was largely due to him. He was
connected with many other railroads, among
which may be mentioned the following:
Chicago & Atlantic; Ohio Central; Rich-
mond & Danville; Richmond & West Point
182
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Terminal; East Tennessee, Virginia &
Georgia; Memphis & Charleston; Mobile &
Birmingham; Kentucky Central; Duluth,
South Shore & Atlantic, and the Marquette,
Houghton & Ontonagon. In 1890 he was
elected United States senator from Ohio.
Notwithstanding his extensive business inter-
ests, Senator Brice gave a considerable
time to political matters, becoming one of
the leaders of the Democratic party and one
of the most widely known men in the
country.
BENJAMIN HARRISON, twenty-third
president of the United States, was
born August 20, 1833, at North Bend,
Hamilton county, Ohio, in the house of his
grandfather. General William Henry Har-
rison, afterwards president of the United
States. His great-grandfather, Benjamin
Harrison, was a member of the Continental
congress, signed the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, and was three times elected gov-
ernor of Virginia.
The subject of this sketch entered Farm-
ers College at an early age, and two years
later entered Miami University, at Oxford,
Ohio. Upon graduation he entered the
office of Stover & Gwyne, of Cincinnati, as a
law student. He was admitted to the bar
two years later, and having inherited about
eight hundred dollars worth of property, he
married the daughter of Doctor Scott, pres-
ident of a female school at Oxford, Ohio,
and selected Indianapolis, Indiana, to begin
practice. In i860 he was nominated by
'.he Republicans as candidate for state
supreme court reporter, and did his first
political speaking in that campaign. He
was elected, and after two years in that
position he organized the Seventieth Indi-
ana Infantry, of which he was made colonel,
and with his regiment joined General Sher-
man's army. For bravery displayed at Re-
saca and Peach Tree Creek he was made a
brigadier-general. In the meantime the
office of supreme court reporter had been
declared vacant, and another party elected
to fill it. In the fall of 1S64, having been
nominated for that office, General Harrison
obtained a thirty-day leave of absence, went
to Indiana, canvassed the state and was
elected. As he was about to rejoin his
command he was stricken down by an attack
of fever. After his recovery he joined
General Sherman's army and participated in
the closing events of the war.
In 1868 General Harrison declined to
be a candidate for the office of supreme
court reporter, and returned to the practice
of the law. His brilliant campaign for the
office of governor of Indiana in 1876,
brought him into public notice, although he
was defeated. He took a prominent part
in the presidential canvass of 1880, and was
chosen United States senator from Indiana,
serving six years. He then returned to the
practice of his profession. In 1888 he was
selected by the Republican convention at
Chicago as candidate for the presidency, and
after a heated campaign was elected over
Cleveland. He was inaugurated March 4,
1889, and signed the McKinley bill October
1, 1890, perhaps the most distinctive feature
of his administration. In 1S92 he was
again the nominee of the Republican party
for president, but was defeated by Grover
Cleveland, the Democratic candidate, and
again resumed the practice of law in Indian-
apolis.
JOHN CRAIG HAVEMEYER, the
celebrated merchant and sugar refiner,
was born in New York City in 1833. His
father, William F. Havemeyer, and grand-
father, William Havemeyer, were both sugar
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV.
183
refiners. The latter named came from
Buckeburg, Germany, in 1799, and settled
in New York, establishing one of the first
refineries in that city. William F. succeeded
his father, and at an early age retired from
business with a competency. He was three
times mayor of his native city, New York.
John C. Havemeyer was educated in
private schools, and was prepared for college
at Columbia College grammar school.
Owing to failing eyesight he was unable to
finish his college course, and began his
business career in a wholesale grocery store,
where he remained two years. In 1854,
after 'a year's travel abroad, he assumed the
responsibility of the office work in the sugar
refinery of Havemeyer & Molter, but two
years later etablished a refinery of his own
in Brooklyn. ThL ift~rwards developed into
the immense business c< Havemeyer & Elder
The capital was furnished by his father,
and, chafing under the anxiety caused by the
use of borrowed money, he sold out his
interest and returned to Havemeyer &
Molter. This firm dissolving the next year,
John C. declined an offer of partnership
from the successors, not wishing to use
borrowed money. For two years he remain-
ed with the house, receiving a share of the
profits as compensation. For some years
thereafter he was engaged in the commission
business, until failing health caused his
retirement. In 1871, he again engaged in
the sugar refining business at Greenport,
Long Island, with his brother and another
partner, under the firm name of Havemeyer
Brothers & Co. Here he remained until
1880, when his health again declined.
During the greater part of his life Mr.
Havemeyer was identified with many benev-
olent societies, including the New York
Port Society, Missionary Society of the
Methodist Church, American Bible Society,
New York Sabbath School Society and
others. He was active in Young Men's
Christian Association work in New York,
and organized and was the first president of
an affiliated society of the same at Yonkers.
He was director of several railroad corpo-
rations and a trustee of the Continental Trust
Company of New York.
WALTER QUINTIN GRESHAM, an
emirent American statesman and
jurist, was born March 17, 1833, near Cory-
don, Harrison county, Indiana. He ac-
quired his education in the local schools of
the county and at Bloomington Academy,
akhough he did not graduate. After leav-
ing college he read law with Judge Porter
at Corydon, and just beiore the war N. be-
gan to take an interest in politics. Mr.
Gresham was elected to the legislate' .10m
Harrison county as a Repubkcan; previous
to this the district had been represented by
a Democrat. At the commencement of
hostilities he was made lieutenant-colonel of
the Thirty-eighth Indiana Infantry, but
served in that regiment only a short time,
when he was appointed colonel of the Fifty-
third Indiana, and served under General
Grant at the siege of Vicksburg as brigadier-
general. Later he was under Sherman in
the famous "March to the Sea," and com-
manded a division of Blair's corps at the
siege of Atlanta where he was so badly
wounded in the leg that he was compelled
to return home. On his way home he was
forced to stop at New Albany, where he re-
mained a year before he was able to leave.
He was brevetted major-general at the close
of the war. While at New Albany, Mr.
Gresham was appointed state agent, his
duty being to pay the interest on the state
debt in New York, and he ran twice for
congress against ex-Speaker Kerr, but was
184
COMrEX/)/CM OF BIOGRAPHT
defeated in both cases, although he greatly
reduced the Democratic majority. He was
held in high esteem by President Grant,
who offered him the portfolio of the interior
but Mr. Gresham declined, but accepted
the appointment of United States judge for
Indiana to succeed David McDonald.
Judge Gresham served on the United States
district court bench until 1883, when he
was appointed postmaster-general by Presi-
dent Arthur, but held that office only a few
months when he was made secretary of the
treasury. Near the end of President
Arthur's term, Judge Gresham was ap-
pointed judge of the United States circuit
court of the district composed of Indiana,
Illinois and contiguous states, which he held
until 1893. Judge Gresham was one of the
presidential possibilities in the National Re-
publican convention in 1888, when General
Harrison was nominated, and was also men-
tioned for president : n 1892. Later the
People's party made h. strenuous effort to
induce him to became their candidate for
president, he relusing the offer, howeve' ,
and a few weeks before the election he an-
nounced that he would support Mr. Cleve-
land, the Democratic nominee for president.
Upon the election of Mr. Cleveland in the
fall of 1892, Judge Gresham was made the
secretary of state, and filled that position
until his death on May 28, 1895, at Wash-
ington, District of Columbia.
ELISHA B. ANDREWS, noted as an ed-
ucator and college president, was born
at Hinsdale, New Hampshire, January 10,
1844, his father and mother being Erastus
and Elmira (Bartlett) Andrews. In 1861,
he entered the service of the general gov-
ernment as private and non-commissioned
officer in the First Connecticut Heavy Ar-
tillery, and in 1863 was promoted to the
rank of second lieutenant. Returning home
he was prepared for college at Powers In-
stitute and at the Wesleyan Academy, and
entered Brown University. From here he
was graduated in 1S70. For the succeeding
two years he was principal of the Connecti-
cut Literary Institute at Sufneld, Connecticut.
Completing a course at the Newton Theo-
logical Institute, he was ordained pastor of
the First Baptist church at Beverly, Massa-
chusetts, July 2, 1874. The following
year he became president of the Denison
University, at Granville, Ohio. In 1879
he accepted the professorship of homiletics,
pastoral duties and church polity at Newton
Theological Institute. In 18S2 he was
elected to the chair of history and political
economy at Brown University. The Uni-
versity of Nebraska honored him with an
LL. D. in 1884, and the same year Colby
University conferred the degree of D. D.
In 1 888 he became professor of political
economy and public economy at Cornell
University, but the next year returned to
Brown University as its president. From
the time of his inauguration the college work
broadened in many ways. Many timely
and generous donations from friends and
alumni of the college were influenced by
him, and large additions made "to the same.
Professor Andrews published, in 1887,
" Institutes of General History," and in
1888, " Institutes of Economics."
JOHN WILLIAM DRAPER, the subject
of the present biography, was, during his
life, one of the most distinguished chemists
and scientific writers in America. He was
an Englishman by birth, born at Liverpool,
May 5, 181 1, and was reared in his native
land, receiving an excellent education,
graduating at the University of London. In
1833 he came to the United States, and
"•ox
■
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
187
settled first in Pennsylvania. He graduated
in medicine at the University of Philadel-
phia, in 1836, and for three years following
was professor of chemistry and physiology
at Hampden-Sidney College. He then be-
came professor of chemistry in the New York
University, with which institution he was
prominently connected for many years. It
is stated on excellent authority that Pro-
fessor Draper, in 1839, took the first photo-
graphic picture ever taken from life. He
was a great student, and carried on many
important and intricate experiments along
scientific lines. He discovered many of the
fundamental facts of spectrum analysis,
which he published. He published a number
of works of great merit, many of which are
recognized as authority upon the subjects of
which they treat. Among his work were:
"Human Physiology, Statistical and Dyna-
mical of the Conditions and Cause of Life
in Man," "History of Intellectual Develop-
ment of Europe," " History of the Ameri-
can Civil War," besides a number of works
on chemistry, optics and mathematics. Pro-
fessor Draper continued to hold a high place
among the scientific scholars of America
until his death, which occurred in January,
1882.
GEORGE W. PECK, ex-governor of
the state of Wisconsin and a famous
journalist and humorist, vVas born in Jeffer-
son county. New York, September 28, 1840.
When he was about three years of age his
parents removed to Wisconsin, settling near
Whitewater, where young Peck received his
education at the public schools. At fifteen
he entered the office of the "Whitewater
Register," where he learned the printer's
art. He helped start the "Jefferson County
Republican" later on, but sold out his
interest therein and set type in the office of
11
the "State Journal," at Madison. At the
outbreak of the war he enlisted in the
Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry as a private, and
after serving four years returned a second
lieutenant. He then started the " Ripon
Representative," which he sold not long
1 after, and removing to New York, was on
the staff of Mark Pomeroy's "Democrat."
Going to La Crosse, later, he conducted the
La Crosse branch paper, a half interest in
which he bought in 1874. He next started
"Peck's Sun," which four years later he
removed to Milwaukee. While in La
Crosse he was chief of police one year, and
also chief clerk of the Democratic assembly
in 1874. It was in 1878 that Mr. Peck
took his paper to Milwaukee, and achieved
his first permanent success, the circulation
increasing to 80,000. For ten years he was
regarded as one of the most original, versa-
tile and entertaining writers in the country,
and he has delineated every phase of
country newspaper life, army life, domestic
experience, travel and city adventure. Up
to 1890 Mr. Peck took but little part in
politics, but in that year was elected mayor
of Milwaukee on the Democratic ticket.
The following August he was elected gov-
ernor of Wisconsin by a large majority,
the "Bennett School Bill" figuring to a
large extent in his favor.
Mr. Peck, besides many newspaper arti-
cles in his peculiar vein and numerous lect-
ures, bubbling over with fun, is known to
fame by the following books: "Peck's Bad
Boy and his Pa," and "The Grocery Man
and Peck's Bad Boy."
CHARLES O'CONOR, who was for
many years the acknowledged leader
of the legal profession of New York City,
was also conceded to be one of the greatest
lawyers America has produced. He was
188
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPIIV
born in New York City in 1804, his father
being an educated Irish gentleman. Charles
received a common-school education, and
early took up the study of law, being ad-
mitted to practice in 1824. His close ap-
plication and untiring energy and industry
soon placed him in the front rank of the
profession, and within a few years he was
handling many of the most important cases.
One of the first great cases he had and which
gained him a wide reputation, was that of
"Jack, the Fugitive Slave, " in 1835, in which
his masterful argument before the supreme
court attracted wide attention and com-
ment. Charles O'Conor was a Democrat
all his life. He did not aspire to office-
holding, however, and never held any office
except that of district attorney under Presi-
dent Pierce's administration, which he only
retained a short time. He took an active
interest, however, in public questions, and
was a member of the state (New York) con-
stitutional convention in 1864. In 1S68 he
was nominated for the presidency by the
" Extreme Democrats." His death occurred
in May, 1S84.
SIMON BOLIVAR BUCKNER, a noted
American officer and major-general in
the Confederate army, was born in Ken-
tucky in 1823. He graduated from West
Point Military Academy in 1844, served in
the United States infantry and was later as-
signed to commissary duty with the rank of
captain. He served several years at fron-
tier posts, and was assistant professor in the
military academy in 1846. He was with
General Scott in the Mexican war, and en-
gaged in all the battles from Vera Cruz to
the capture of the Mexican capital. He
was wounded at Cherubusco and brevetted
first lieutenant, and at Molino del Rey was
brevetted captain. After the close of the
Mexican war he returned to West Point as
assistant instructor, and was then assigned
to commissary duty at New York. He re-
signed in 1855 and became superintendent
of construction of the Chicago custom house.
He was made adjutant-genenal, with the
rank of colonel, of Illinois militia, and was
colonel of Illinois volunteers raised for the
Utah expedition, but was not mustered into
service. In i860 he removed to Kentucky,
where he settled on a farm near Louisville
and became inspector-general in command
of the Kentucky Home Guards. At the
opening of the Civil war he joined the Con-
federate army, and was given command at
Bowling Green, Kentucky, which he was
compelled to abandon after the capture of
Fort Henry. He then retired to Fort Don-
elson, and was there captured with sixteen
thousand men, and an immense store of pro-
visions, by General Grant, in February,
1S62. He was held as a prisoner of war
at Fort Warren until August of that year.
He commanded a division of Hardee's corps
in Bragg's Army of the Tennessee, and was
afterward assigned to the third division and
participated in the battles of Chickamauga,
and Murfreesboro. He was with Kirby
Smith when that general surrendered his
army to General Canby in May, 1865. He
was an unsuccessful candidate for the vice-
presidency on the Gold Democratic ticket
with Senator John M. Palmer in 1896.
SIMON KENTON, one of the famous pio-
neers and scouts whose names fill the
pages of the early history of our country,
was born in Fauquier county, Virginia,
April 3, 1755. In consequence of an affray,
at the age of eighteen, young Kenton went
to Kentucky, then the "Dark and Bloody
Ground," and became associated with Dan-
iel Boone and other pioneers of that region.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHIC
19,9
For a short time he acted as a scout and
spy for Lord Dunmore, the British governor
of Virginia, but afterward taking the side
of the struggling colonists, participated in
the war for independence west of the Alle-
ghanies. In 1784 he returned to Virginia,
but did not remain there long, going back
with his family to Kentucky. From
that time until 1793 he participated in all
the combats and battles of that time, and
until "Mad Anthony" Wayne swept the
Valley of the Ohio, and settled the suprem-
acy of the whites in that region. Kenton
laid claim to large tracts of land in the new
country he had helped to open up, but
through ignorance of law, and the growing
value of the land, lost it all and was reduced
to poverty. During the war with England
in 1812-15, Kenton took part in the inva-
sion of Canada with the Kentucky troops
and participated in the battle of the Thames.
He finally had land granted him by the
legislature of Kentucky, and received a pen-
sion from the United States government.
He died in Logan county, Ohio, April 29,
1836.
ELIHU BENJAMIN WASHBURNE, an
American statesman of eminence, was
born in Livermore, Maine, September 23,
1 8 16. He learned the trade of printer, but
abandoned that calling at the age of eight-
een and entered the Kent's Hill Academy at
Reading, Maine, and then took up the study
of law, reading in Hallowell, Boston, and at
the Harvard Law School. He began prac-
tice at Galena, Illinois, in 1840. He was
elected to congress in 1852, and represented
his district in that body continuously until
March, 1869, and at the time of his retire-
ment he had served a greater number of
consecutive terms than any other member
of the house. In 1873 President Grant ap-
pointed him secretary of state, which posi-
tion he resigned to accept that of minister
to France. During the Franco-Prussian
war, including the siege of Paris and the
reign of the Commune, Mr. Washburne re-
mained at his post, protecting the lives and
property of his countrymen, as well as that
of other foreign residents in Paris, while the
ministers of all other powers abandoned
their posts at a time when they were most
needed. As, far as possible he extended
protection to unfortunate German residents,
who were the particular objects of hatred of
the populace, and his firmness and the suc-
cess which attended his efforts won the ad-
miration of all Europe. Mr. Washburne
died at Chicago, Illinois, October 22, 1887.
WILLIAM CRAMP, one of the most
extensive shipbuilders of this coun-
try, was born in Kensington, then a suburb,
now a part of Philadelphia, in 1806. He
received a thorough English education, and
when he left school was associated with
Samuel Grice, one of the most eminent
naval architects of his day. In 1830, hav-
ing mastered all the details of shipbuilding,
Mr. Cramp engaged in business on his own.
account. By reason of ability and excel-
lent work he prospered from the start, until
now, in the hands of his sons, under the
name of William Cramp & Sons' Ship and
Engine Building Company, it has become the
most complete shipbuilding plant and naval
arsenal in the western hemisphere, and fully
equal to any in the world. As Mr. Cramp's
sons attained manhood they learned their
father's profession, and were admitted to a
partnership. In 1872 the firm was incor-
porated under the title given above. Until
i860 wood was used in building vessels, al-
though pace was kept with all advances in
the art of shipbuilding. At the opening of
'.'.10
COMPENDIUM (>/■' BIOGRAPHY.
the war came an unexpected demand for
war vessels, which they promptly met. The
sea-going ironclad "New Ironsides" was
built by them in 1862, followed by a num-
ber of formidable ironclads and the cruiser
"Chattanooga." They subsequently built
several war vessels for the Russian and
other governments which added to their
reputation. When the American steamship
line was established in 1870, the Cramps
were commissioned to build for it four first-
class iron steamships, the "Pennsylvania,"
"Ohio," "Indiana" and "Illinois," which
they turned out in rapid order, some of the
finest specimens of the naval architecture of
their day. William Cramp remained at the
head of the great company he had founded
until his death, which occurred January 6,
1879.
Charles H. Cramp, the successor of his
father as head of the William Cramp &
Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company,
was born in Philadelphia May 9, 1829, and
received an excellent education in his native
city, which he sedulously sought to sup-
plement by close study until he became
an authority on general subjects and the
best naval architect on the western hemis-
phere. Many of the best vessels of our
new navy were built by this immense con-
cern.
WASHINGTON ALLSTON, probably
the greatest American painter, was
born in South Carolina in 1779. He was
sent to school at the age of seven years at
Newport, Rhode Island, where he met Ed-
ward Malbone, two years his senior, and
who later became a painter of note. The
friendship that sprang up between them un-
doubtedly influenced young Allston in the
choice of a profession. He graduated from
Harvard in 1 800, and went to England the
following year, after pursuing his studies for
a year under his friend Malbone at his home
in South Carolina. He became a student
at the Royal Academy where the great
American, Benjamin West, presided, and
who became his intimate friend. Allston
later went to Paris, and then to Italy, where
four years were spent, mostly at Rome. In
1809 he returned to America, but soon after
returned to London, having married in the
meantime a sister of Dr. Channing. In
a short time his first great work appeared,
"The Dead Man Restored to Life by the
Bones of Elisha," which took the British
Association prize and firmly established his
reputation. Other paintings followed in
quick succession, the greatest among which
were "Uriel in the Center of the Sun,"
"Saint Peter Liberated by the Angel," and
"Jacob's Dream," supplemented by many
smaller pieces. Hard work, and grief at the
death of his wife began to tell upon his health,
and he left London in 18 18 for America.
The same year he was elected an associate
of the Royal Academy. During the next
few years he painted "Jeremiah," "Witch
ofEndor," and "Beatrice." In 1830 Alls-
ton married a daughter of Judge Dana, and
went to Cambridge, which was his home
until his death. Here he produced the
"Vision of the Bloody Hand," "Rosalie,"
and many less noted pieces, and had given
one week of labor to his unfinished master-
piece, "Belshazzar's Feast," when death
ended his career July 9, 1843.
JOHN ROACH, ship builder and manu-
facturer, whose career was a marvel of
industrial labor, and who impressed his in-
dividuality and genius upon the times in
which he lived more, perhaps, than anv
other manufacturer in America. He was
born at Mitchelstown, County Cork, Ire-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
191
land, December 25, 1815, the son of a
wealthy merchant. He attended school
until he was thirteen, when his father be-
came financially embarrassed and failed
and shortly after died; John determined to
come to America and carve out a fortune
for himself. He landed in New York at the
age of sixteen, and soon obtained employ-
ment at the Howell Iron Works in New Jer-
sey, at twenty-five cents a day. He soon
made himself a place in the world, and at
the end of three years had saved some
twelve hundred dollars, which he lost by
the failure of his employer, in whose hands
it was left. Returning to New York he
began to learn how to make castings for
marine engines and ship work. Having
again accumulated one thousand dollars, in
company with three fellow workmen, he
purchased a small foundry in New York,
but soon became sole proprietor. At the
end of four years he had saved thirty thou-
sand dollars, besides enlarging his works.
In 1856 his works were destroyed by a
boiler explosion, and being unable to collect
the insurance, was left, after paying his
debts, without a dollar. However, his
credit and reputation for integrity was good,
and he built the Etna Iron Works, giving it
capacity to construct larger marine engines
than any previously built in this country.
Here he turned out immense engines for
the steam ram Dunderberg, for the war ves-
sels Winooski and Neshaning, and other
large vessels. To accommodate his increas-
ing business, Mr. Roach, in 1869, pur-
chased the Morgan Iron Works, one of the
largest in New York, and shortly after sev-
eral others. In 1 87 1 he bought the Ches-
ter ship yards, which he added to largely,
erecting a rolling mill and blast furnace, and
providing every facility for building a ship
out of the ore and timber. This immense
plant covered a large area, was valued at
several millions of dollars, and was known
as the Delaware River Iron Shipbuilding
and Engine Works, of which Mr. Roach
was the principal owner. He built a large
percentage of the iron vessels now flying
the American flag, the bulk of his business
being for private parties. In 1875 he built
the sectional dry docks at Pensacola. He,
about this time, drew the attention of the
government to the use of compound marine
engines, and thus was the means of im-
proving the speed and economy of the ves-
sels of our new navy. In 1883 Mr. Roach
commenced work on the three cruisers for
the government, the "Chicago," "Boston"
and "Atlanta," and the dispatch boat
" Dolphin." For some cause the secretary
of the navy refused to receive the latter and
decided that Mr. Roach's contract would
not hold. This embarrassed Mr. Roach,
as a large amount of his capital was in-
volved in these contracts, and for the pro-
tection of bondsmen and creditors, July 18,
1885, he made an assignment, but the
financial trouble broke down his strong con-
stitution, and January 10, 1887, he died.
His son, John B. Roach, succeeded to the
shipbuilding interests, while Stephen W.
Roach inherited the Morgan Iron Works at
New York.
JOHN SINGLETON COPLEY, one of
<J the two great painters who laid the
foundation of true American art, was born
in Boston in 1737, one year earlier than his
great contemporary, Benjamin West. His
education was limited to the common schools
of that time, and his training in art he ob-
tained by his own observation and experi-
ments solely. When he was about seven-
teen years old he had mapped out his future,
however, by choosing painting as his pro-
192
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
fession. If he ever studied under any
teacher in his early efforts, we have no au-
thentic account of it, and tradition credits
the young artist's wonderful success en-
tirely to his own talent and untiring effort.
It is almost incredible that at the age of
twenty-three years his income from his
works aggregated fifteen hundred dollars
per annum, a very great sum in those days.
In 1774 he went to Europe in search of ma-
terial for study, which was so rare in his
native land. After some time spent in Italy
he finally took up his permanent residence
in England. In 1783 he was made a mem-
ber of the Royal Academy, and later his
son had the high honor of becoming lord
chancellor of England and Lord Lyndhurst.
Many specimens of Copley's work are to
be found in the Memorial Hall at Harvard
and in the Boston Museum, as well as a few
of the works upon which he modeled his
style. Copley was essentially a portrait
painter, though his historical paintings at-
tained great celebrity, his masterpiece
being his " Death of Major Pierson," though
that distinction has by some been given to
his "Death of Chatham." It is said that
he never saw a good picture until he was
thirty-five years old, yet his portraits prior
to that period are regarded as rare speci-
mens. He died in 1815.
HENRY B. PLANT, one of the greatest
railroad men of the country, became
famous as president of the Plant system of
railway and steamer lines, and also the
Southern & Texas Express Co. He was
born in October, 18 19, at Branford,
Connecticut, and entered the railroad serv-
ice in 1844, serving as express messenger
on the Hartford & New Haven Railroad until
185 3, during which time he had entire
charge of the exoress business of that roaJ..
He went south in 1853 and established ex-
press lines on various southern railways, and
in 1 86 1 organized the Southern Express
Co., and became its president. In 1879 he
purchased, with others, the Atlantic & Guli
Railroad of Georgia, and later reorganized
the Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad,
of which he became president. He pur-
chased and rebuilt, in 1880, the Savannah
& Charleston Railroad, now Charleston &
Savannah. Not long after this he organ-
ized the Plant Investment Co., to control
these railroads and advance their interests
generally, and later established a steamboat
line on the St. John's river, in Florida.
From 1853 until i860 he was general
superintendent of the southern division of
the Adams Express Co., and in 1867 be-
came president of the Texas Express Co.
The "Plant system" of railway, steamer
and steamship lines is one of the greatest
business corporations of the southern states.
WADE HAMPTON, a noted Confeder-
ate officer, was born at Columbia,
South Carolina, in 18 18. He graduated
from the South Carolina College, took an
active part in politics, and was twice elected
to the legislature of his state. In 1861 he
joined the Confederate army, and command-
ed the " Hampton Legion " at the first bat-
tle of Bull Run, in July, 1861. He did
meritorious service, was wounded, and pro-
moted to brigadier-general. He command-
ed a brigade at Seven Pines, in 1862, and
was again wounded. He was engaged in
the battle of Antietam in September of the
same year, and participated in the raid into
Pennsylvania in October. In 1863 he was
with Lee at Gettysburg, where he was
wounded for the third time. He was pro-
moted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and
commanded a troop of cavalry in Lee's
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
193
army during 1864, and was in numerous en-
gagements. In 1865 he was in South Car-
olina, and commanded the cavalry rear
guard of the Confederate army in its stub-
born retreat before General Sherman on his
advance toward Richmond.
After the war Hampton took an active
part in politics, and was a prominent figure
at the Democratic national convention in
1868, which nominated Seymour and Blair
for president and vice-president. He was
governor of South Carolina, and took his
seat in the United States senate in 1879,
where he became a conspicuous figure in
national affairs.
NIKOLA TESLA, one of the most cele-
brated electricians America has known,
was born in 1857, at Smiljau, Lika, Servia.
He descended from an old and representative
family of that country. His father was a
a minister of the Greek church, of high rank,
while his mother was a woman of remarka-
ble skill in the construction of looms, churns
and the machinery required in a rural home.
Nikola received early education in the
public schools of Gospich, when he was
sent to the higher "Real Schule " at Karl-
stadt, where, after a three years' course,
he graduated in 1873. He devoted him-
self to experiments in electricity and
magnetism, to the chagrin of his father,
who had destined him for the ministry,
but giving way to the boy's evident genius
he was allowed to continue his studies in
the polytechnic school at Gratz. He in-
herited a wonderful intuition which enabled
him to see through the intricacies of ma-
chinery, and despite his instructor's demon-
stration that a dynamo could not be oper-
ated without commutators or brushes,
began experiments which finally resulted in
his rotating field motors. After the study
of languages at Prague and Buda-Pesth, he
became associated with M. Puskas, who
had introduced the telephone into Hungary.
He invented several improvements, but
being unable to reap the necessary benefit
from them, he, in search of a wider field,
went to Paris, where he found employment
with one of the electric lighting companies
as electrical engineer. Soon he set his face
westward, and coming to the United States
for a time found congenial employment wrth
Thomas A. Edison. Finding it impossible,
overshadowed as he was, to carry out his
own ideas he left the Edison works to join
a company formed to place his own inven-
tions on the market. He perfected his
rotary field principle, adapting it to circuits
then in operation. It is said of him that
some of his proved theories will change the
entire electrical science. It would, in an
article of this length, be impossible to ex-
plain all that Tesla accomplished for the
practical side of electrical engineering.
His discoveries formed the basis of the at-
tempt to utilize the water power of Niagara
Falls. His work ranges far beyond the
vast department of polyphase currents and
high potential lighting and includes many
inventions in arc lighting, transformers,
pyro and thermo-magnetic motors, new
forms of incandescent lamps, unipolar dyna-
mos and many others.
CHARLES B. LEWIS won fame as an
American humorist under the name of
" M. Quad." It is said he owes his
celebrity originally to the fact that he was
once mixed up in a boiler explosion on the
Ohio river, and the impressions he received
from the event he set up from his case when
he was in the composing room of an ob-
scure Michigan paper. His style possesses a
peculiar quaintness, and there runs through
ly-t
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
it a vein of philosophy. Mr. Lewis was
born in 1844, near a town called Liverpool,
Ohio. He was, however, raised in Lansing,
Michigan, where he spent a year in an agri-
cultural college, going from there to the
composing room of the "Lansing Demo-
crat." At the outbreak of the war he en-
listed in the service, remained during the
entire war, and then returned to Lansing.
The explosion of the boiler that "blew him
into fame, " took place two years later, while
he was on his way south. When he re-
covered physically, he brought suit for dam-
ages against the steamboat company, which
he gained, and was awarded a verdict of
twelve thousand dollars for injuries re-
ceived. It was while he was employed by
the "Jacksonian" of Pontiac, Mich., that he
set up his account of how he felt while being
blown up. He says that he signed it " M
Quad," because "a bourgeoise em quad is
useless except in its own line — it won't
justify with any other type." Soon after,
because of the celebrity he attained by this
screed, Mr. Lewis secured a place on the
staff of the ' ' Detroit Free Press, " and made
for that paper a wide reputation. His
sketches of the "Lime Kiln Club" and
" Brudder Gardner " are perhaps the best
known of his humorous writings.
HIRAM S. MAXIM, the famous inventor,
was born in Sangersville, Maine,
February 5, 1840, the son of Isaac W.
and Harriet B. Maxim. _The town of his
birth was but a small place, in the
woods, on the confines of civilization,
and the family endured many hardships.
They were without means and entirely
dependent on themselves to make out of
raw materials all they needed. The mother
was an expert spinner, weaver, dyer and
seamstress and the father a trapper, tanner,
miller, blacksmith, carpenter, mason and
farmer. Amid such surroundings young
Maxim gave early promise of remarkable
aptitude. With the universal Yankee jack-
knife the products of his skill excited the
wonder and interest of the locality. His
parents did not encourage his latent genius
but apprenticed him to a coach builder.
Four years he labored at this uncongenial
trade but at the end of that time he forsook
it and entered a machine shop at Fitchburg,
Massachusetts. Soon mastering the details
of that business and that of mechanical
drawing, he went to Boston as the foreman
of the philosophical instrument manufactory.
From thence he went to New York and with
the Novelty Iron Works Shipbuilding Co.
he gained experience in those trades. His
inventions up to this time consisted of
improvements in steam engines, and an
automatic gas machine, which came into
general use. In 1S77 he turned his attention
to electricity, and in 1878 produced an
incandescent lamp, that would burn 1,000
hours. He was the first to design a process
for flashing electric carbons, and the first
to "standardize" carbons for electric light-
ing. In 1880 he visited Europe and exhibit-
ing, at the Paris Exposition of 1SS1, a self-
regulating machine, was decorated with the
Legion of Honor. In 1883 he returned to
London as the European representative of the
United States Electric Light Co. An incident
of his boyhood, in which the recoil of a rifle
was noticed by him, and the apparent loss
of power shown, in 188 1-2 prompted the
invention of a gun which utilizes the recoil to
automatically load and fire seven hundred
and seventy shots per minute. The Maxim-
Nordenfelt Gun Co., with a capital of nine
million dollars, grew from this. In 1883 he
patented his electric training gear for large
guns. And later turned his attention to fly-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
195
ing machines, which he claimed were not an
impossibility. He took out over one hundred
patents for smokeless gunpowder, and for pe-
troleum and other motors and autocycles.
JOHN DAVISON ROCKEFELLER,
<J one of America's very greatest financiers
and philanthropists, was born in Richford,
Tioga county, New York, July 8, 1839. He
received a common-school education in his
native place, and in 1853, when his parents
removed to Cleveland, Ohio, he entered the
high school of that city. After a two-years'
course of diligent work, he entered the com-
mission and forwarding house of Hewitt &
Tuttle, of Cleveland, remaining with the
firm some years, and then began business
for himself, forming a partnership with
Morris B. Clark. Mr. Rockefeller was then
but nineteen years of age, and during the
year i860, in connection with others, they
started the oil refining business, under the
firm name of Andrews, Clark & Co. Mr.
Rockefeller and Mr. Andrews purchased the
interest of their associates, and, after taking
William Rockefeller into the firm, established
offices in Cleveland under the name of
William Rockefeller & Co. Shortly after
this the house of Rockefeller & Co. was es-
tablished in New York for the purpose of
finding a market for their products, -and two
years later all the refining companies were
consolidated under the firm name of Rocke-
feller, Andrews & Flagler. This firm was
succeeded in 1870 by the Standard Oil
Company of Ohio, said to be the most
gigantic business corporation of modern
times. John D. Rockefeller's fortune has
been variously estimated at from one hun-
dred million to two hundred million dollars.
Mr. Rockefeller's philanthropy mani-
fested itself principally through the American
Baptist Educational Society. He donated
the building for the Spelman Institute at
Atlanta, Georgia, a school for the instruction
of negroes. His other gifts were to the
University of Rochester, Cook Academy,
Peddie Institute, and Vassar College, be-
sides smaller gifts to many institutions
throughout the country. His princely do-
nations, however, were to the University of
Chicago. His first gift to this institution
was a conditional offer of six hundred thou-
sand dollars in 1889, and when this amount
was paid he added one million more. Dur-
ing 1892 he made it two gifts of one million
each, and all told, his donations to this one
institution aggregated between seven and
eight millions of dollars.
JOHN M. PALMER.— For over a third
of a century this gentleman occupied a
prominent place in the political world, both
in the state of Illinois and on the broader
platform of national issues.
Mr. Palmer was born at Eagle Creek,
Scott county, Kentucky, September 13,
1 8 1 7. The family subsequently removed
to Christian county, in the same state, where
he acquired a common-school education, and
made his home until 1 83 r . His father was
opposed to slavery, and in the latter year
removed to Illinois and settled near Alton.
In 1834 John entered Alton College, or-
ganized on the manual-labor plan, but his
funds failing, abandoned it and entered a
cooper shop. He subsequently was en-
gaged in peddling, and teaching a district
school near Canton. In 1838 he began the
study of law, and the following year re-
moved to Carlinville, where, in December of
that year, he was admitted to the bar. He
was shortly after defeated for county clerk.
In 1843 he was elected probate judge. In
the constitutional convention of 1847, Mr.
Palmer was a delegate, and from 1849 to
190
COM TEX MUM OE BIOGRAPHY
1851 he was county judge. In 1852 he be-
came a member of the state senate, but not
being with his party on the slavery question
he resigned that office in 1854. In 1856
Mr. Palmer was chairman of the first Re-
publican state convention held in Illinois,
and the same year was a delegate to the
national convention. In i860 he was an
elector on the Lincoln ticket, and on the
breaking out of the war entered the service
as colonel of the Fourteenth Illinois Infan-
try, but was shortly after brevetted brigadier-
general. In August, 1862, he organized
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illi-
nois Infantry, but in September he was
placed in command of the first division of
the Army of the Mississippi, afterward was
promoted to the rank of major-general. In
1865 he was assigned to the military ad-
ministration in Kentucky. In 1867 General
Palmer was elected governor of Illinois and
served four years. In 1872 he went with
the Liberal Republicans, who supported
Horace Greeley, after which time he was
identified with the Democratic party. In
1890 he was elected United States senator
from Illinois, and served as such for six
years. In 1896, on the adoption of the sil-
ver plank in the platform of the Democratic
partv, General Palmer consented to lead,
as presidential candidate, the National Dem-
ocrats, or Gold Democracy.
WILLIAM H. BEARD, the humorist
among American painters, was born
at Painesville, Ohio, in 1821. His father,
James H. Beard, was also a painter of na-
tional reputation. William H. Beard be-
gan his career as a traveling portrait
painter. He pursued his studies in New
York, and later removed to Buffalo, where
he achieved reputation. He then went to
Italy and after a short stay returned to New
York and opened a studio. One of his
earliest paintings was a small picture called
"Cat and Kittens, " which was placed in
the National Academy onexhibition. Among
his best productions are "Raining Cats and
Dogs," "The Dance of Silenus," "Bears
on a Bender," "Bulls and Bears," " Whoo!"
" Grimalkin's Dream," "Little Red Riding
Hood," "The Guardian of the Flag." His
animal pictures convey the most ludicrous
and satirical ideas, and the intelligent,
human expression in their faces is most
comical. Some artists and critics have re-
fused to give Mr. Beard a place among the
first circles in art, solely on account of the
class of subjects he has chosen.
WW. CORCORAN, the noted philan-
thropist, was born at Georgetown,
District of Columbia ; December 27, 1798.
At the age of twenty-five he entered the
banking business in Washington, and in
time became very wealthy. He was
noted for his magnificent donations to char-
ity. Oak Hill cemetery was donated to
Georgetown in 1847, and ten years later the
Corcoran Art Gallery, Temple of Art, was
presented to the city of Washington. The
uncompleted building was utilized by the
government as quartermaster's headquar-
ters during the war. The building was
completed after the war at a cost of a mil-
lion and a half dollars, all the gift of Mr.
Corcoran. The Louise Home for Women
is another noble charity to his credit. Its
object is the care of women of gentle breed-
ing who in declining years are without
means of support. In addition to this he
gave liberally to many worthy institutions
of learning and charity. He died at Wash-
ington February 24, 1S88.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
197
ALBERT BIERSTADT, the noted paint-
er of American landscape, was born in
Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1S29, and was
brought to America by his parents at the
age of two years. He received his early
education here, but returned to Dusseldorf
to study painting, and also went to Rome.
On his return to America he accompanied
Lander's expedition across the continent, in
1858, and soon after produced his most
popular work, "The Rocky Mountains —
Lander's Peak. " Its boldness and grandeur
were so unusual that it made him famous.
The picture sold for twenty-five thousand
dollars. In 1S67 Mr. Bierstadt went to
Europe, with a government commission,
and gathered materials for his great historic-
al work, "Discovery of the North River
by Hendrik Hudson." Others of his great
works were "Storm in the Rocky Mount-
ains," " Valley of the Yosemite, " "North
Fork of the Platte," "Diamond Pool,"
"Mount Hood," "Mount Rosalie," and
"The Si&rra Nevada Mountains." His
"Estes Park" sold for fifteen thousand
dollars, and "Mount Rosalie" brought
thirty-five thousand dollars. His smaller
Rocky mountain scenes, however, are vast-
ly superior to his larger works in execution
and coloring.
ADDISON CAMMACR, a famous mill-
ionaire Wall street speculator, was
born in Kentucky. When sixteen years old
he ran away from home and went to New
Orleans, where he went to work in a ship-
ping house. He outlived and outworked
all the partners, and became the head of the
firm before the opening of the war. At
that time he fitted out small vessels and en-
gaged in running the blockade of southern
ports and carrying ammunition, merchan-
dise, etc., to the southern people. This
made him a fortune. At the close of the
war he quit business and went to New
York. For two years he did not enter any
active business, but seemed to be simply an
on-looker in the great speculative center of
America. He was observing keenly the
methods and financial machinery, however,
and when, in 1867, he formed a partnership
with the popular Charles J. Osborne, the
firm began to prosper. He never had an
office on the street, but wandered into the
various brokers' offices and placed his orders
as he saw fit. In 1873 he dissolved his
partnership with Osborne and operated
alone. He joined a band of speculative
conspirators known as the "Twenty-third
party," and was the ruling spirit in that or-
ganization for the control of the stock mar-
ket. He was always on the ' ' bear " side and
the only serious obstacle he ever encoun-
tered was the persistent boom in industrial
stocks, particularly sugar, engineered by
James R. Keane. Mr. Cammack fought
Keane for two years, and during the time is
said to have lost no less than two million
dollars before he abandoned the fight.
WALT. WHITMAN.— Foremost among
the lesser poets of the latter part of the
nineteenth century, the gentleman whose
name adorns the head of this article takes
a conspicuous place.
Whitman was born at West Hills, Long
Island, New York, May 13, 1809. In the
schools of Brooklyn he laid the foundation
of his education, and early in life learned the
printer's trade. For a time he taught coun-
try schools in his native state. In 1846-7
he was editor of the " Brooklyn Eagle, "
but in 1848-9 was on the editorial staff of
the "Crescent," of New Orleans. He
made an extended tour throughout the
United States and Canada, and returned to
(98
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
Brooklyn, where, in 1850, he published the
"Freeman. " For some years succeeding
Miis he was engaged as carpenter and builder.
During the Civil war, Whitman acted as
a volunteer nurse in the hospitals at
Washington and vicinity and from the close
of hostilities until 1873 he was employed
in various clerkships in the government
offices in the nation's' capital. In the latter
year he was stricken with paralysis as a
result of his labors in the hospital, it is
said, and being partially disabled lived for
many years at Camden, New Jersey.
The first edition of the work which was
to bring him fame, "Leaves of Grass," was
published in 1855 and was but a small
volume of about ninety-four pages. Seven
or eight editions of "Leaves of Grass" have
been issued, each enlarged and enriched with
new poems. "Drum Taps," at first a
separate publication, has been incorporated
with the others. This volume and one
prose writing entitled "Specimen Days and
Collect," constituted his whole work.
Walt. Whitman died at Camden, New
Jersey, March 26, 1892.
HENRY DUPONT, who became cele-
brated as America's greatest manufact-
urer of gunpowder, was a native of Dela-
ware, born August 8, 1S12. He received
his education in its higher branches at the
United States Military Academy at West
Point, from which he graduated and entered
the army as second lieutenant of artillery in
1833. In 1834 he resigned and became
proprietor of the extensive gunpowder
manufacturing plant that bears his name,
near Wilmington, Delaware. His large
business interests , interfered with his tak-
ing any active participation in political
life, although for many years he served
as adjutant-general of his native state, and
during the war as major-general command-
ing the Home Guards. He died August 8,
1889. His son, Henry A. Dupont, also was
a native of Delaware, and was born July 30,
1838. After graduating from West Point
in 1 86 1, he entered the army as second
lieutenant of engineers. Shortly after he
was transferred to the Fifth Artillery as first
lieutenant. He was promoted to the rank
of captain in 1864, serving in camp and
garrison most of the time. He was in com-
mand of a battery in the campaign of
1863-4. As chief of artillery of the army of
West Virginia, he figured until the close of
the war, being in the battles of Opequan,
Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek, besides
many minor engagements. He afterward
acted as instructor in the artillery school at
Fortress Monroe, and on special duty at
West Point. He resigned from the army
March 1, 1875.
WILLIAM DEERING, one of the fa-
mous manufacturers of America, and
also a philanthropist and patron of educa-
tion, was born in Maine in 1826. His an-
cestors were English, having settled in New
England in 1634. Early in life it was Will-
iam's intention to become a physician, and
after completing his common-school educa-
tion, when about eighteen years of age, he
began an apprenticeship with a physician.
A short time later, however, at the request
of his father, he took charge of his father's
business interests, which included a woolen
mill, retail store and grist mill, after which
he became agent for a dry goods commission
house in Portland, where he was married.
Later he became partner in the firm, and
removed to New York. The business pros-
pered, and after a number of years, on ac-
count of failing health, Mr. Deering sold his
interest to his partner, a Mr. Milner. The
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
199
business has since made Mr. Milner a mill-
ionaire many times over. A few years
later Mr. Deering located in Chicago. His
beginning in the manufacture of reapers,
which has since made his name famous,
was somewhat of an accident. He had
loaned money to a man in that business,
and in 1878 was compelled to buy out the
business to protect his interests. The busi-
ness developed rapidly and grew to immense
proportions. The factories now cover sixty-
two acres of ground and employ many thou-
sands of men.
tohn McAllister schofield, an
J American general, was born in Chautau-
qua county, New York, September 29, 1831.
He graduated at West Point in 1853, and
was for five years assistant professor of nat-
ural philosophy in that institution. In 1861
he entered the volunteer service as major of
the First Missouri Volunteers, and was ap-
pointed chief of staff by General Lyon, under
whom he fought at the battle of Wilson's
Creek. In November, 1861, he was ap-
pointed brigadier-general of volunteers, and
was placed in command of the Missouri
militia until November, 1862, and of the
army of the frontier from that time until
1863. In 1862 he was made major-general
of volunteers, and was placed in command of
the Department of the Missouri, and in 1864
of the Department of the Ohio. During the
campaign through Georgia General Scho-
field was, in command of the Twenty-third
Army Corps, and was engaged in most of the
fighting of that famous campaign. Novem-
ber 30, 1864, he defeated Hood's army at
Franklin, Tennessee, and then joined Gen-
eral Thomas at Nashville. He took part in
the battle of Nashville, where Hood's army
was destroyed. In January, 1865, he led
his corps into North Carolina, captured
Wilmington, fought the battle of Kingston,
and joined General Sherman at Goldsboro
March 22, 1865. He executed the details
of the capitulation of General Johnston to
Sherman, which practically closed the war.
In June, 1868, General Schofield suc-
ceeded Edwin M. Stanton as secretary of
war, but was the next year appointed major-
general of the United States army, and order-
ed to the Department of the Missouri. From
1870 to 1876 he was in command of the De-
partment of the Pacific; from 1876 to 1881
superintendent of the West Point Military
Academy; in 1883 he was in charge of the
Department of the Missouri, and in 1886 of
the division of the Atlantic. In 1888 he
became general-in-chief of the United States
army, and in February, 1895, was appoint-
ed lieutenant-general by President Cleve-
land, that rank having been revived by con-
gress. In September, 1895, he was retired
from active service.
LEWIS WALLACE, an American gen-
eral and famous author, was born in
Brookville, Indiana, April 10, 1827. He
served in the Mexican war as first lieutenant
of a company of Indiana Volunteers. After
his return from Mexico he was admitted to
the bar, and practiced law in Covington and
Crawfordsville, Indiana, until 1861. At the
opening of the war he was appointed ad-
jutant-general of Indiana, and soon after be-
came colonel of the Eleventh Indiana Vol-
unteers. He defeated a force of Confeder-
ates at Romney, West Virginia, and was
made brigadier-general in September, 1861.
At the capture of Fort Donelson in 1862 he
commanded a division, and was engaged in
the second day's fight at Shiloh. In 1863
his defenses about Cincinnati saved that city
from capture by Kirby Smith. At Monoc-
acy in July, 1864, he was defeated, but
200
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
his resistance delayed the advance of Gen-
eral Early and thus saved Washington from
capture.
General Wallace was a member of the
court that tried the assassins of President
Lincoln, and also of that before whom Cap-
tain Henry Wirtz, who had charge of the
Andersonville prison, was tried. In 1881
General Wallace was sent as minister to
Turkey. When not in official service he
devoted much of his time to literature.
Among his better known works are his
"Fair God," "Ben Hur," "Prince of
India," and a " Life of Benjamin Harrison."
THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD, an Ameri-
can statesman and diplomat, was born
at Wilmington, Delaware, October 29, 1828.
He obtained his education at an Episcopal
academy at Flushing, Long Island, and
after a short service in a mercantile house in
New York, he returned to Wilmington and
entered his father's law office to prepare
himself for the practice of that profession.
He was admitted to the bar in 1851. He
was appointed to the office of United States
district attorney for the state of Delaware,
serving one year. In 1 869 he was elected to
the United States senate, and continuously
represented his state in that body until 1885,
and in 1881, when Chester A. Arthur entered
the presidential chair, Mr. Bayard was
chosen president pro tempore of the senate.
He had also served on the famous electoral
commission that decided the Hayes-Tilden
contest in 1876-7. In 1885 President Cleve-
land appointed Mr. Bayard secretary of
state. At the beginning of Cleveland's sec-
ond term, in 1893, Mr. Bayard was selected
for the post of ambassador at the court of
St. James, London, and was the first to hold
that rank in American diplomacy, serving
until the beginning of the McKinley admin-
istration. The questions for adjustment at
that time between the two governments
were the Behring Sea controversy and the
Venezuelan boundary question. He was
very popular in England because of his
tariff views, and because of his criticism of
the protective policy of the United States
in his public speeches delivered in London,
Edinburgh and other places, he received, in
March, 1896, a vote of censure in the lower
house of congress.
JOHN WORK GARRETT, for so many
years at the head of the great Baltimore
& Ohio railroad system, was born in Balti-
more, Maryland, July 31, 1820. His father,
Robert Garrett, an enterprising merchant,
had amassed a large fortune from a small
beginning. The son entered Lafayette Col-
lege in 1834, but left the following year and
entered his father's counting room, and in
1839 became a partner. John W. Gar-
rett took a great interest in the develop-
ment of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. He
was elected one of the directors in 1857,
and was its president from 1858 until his
death. When he took charge of the road
it was in an embarrassed condition, but
within a year, for the first time in its exist-
ence, it paid a dividend, the increase in its
net gains being $725,385. After the war,
during which the road suffered much damage
from the Confederates, numerous branches
and connecting roads were built or acquired,
until it reached colossal proportions. Mr.
Garrett was also active in securing a regular
line of steamers between Baltimore and
Bremen, and between the same port and
Liverpool. He was one of the most active
trustees of Johns Hopkins University, and a
liberal contributor to the Young Men's
Christian Association of Baltimore. He
died September 26, 1884.
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
201
Robert Garrett, the son of John W.
Garrett, was born in Baltimore April 9,
1847, and graduated from Princeton in 1867.
He received a business education in the
banking house of his father, and in 1871
became president of the Valley Railroad of
Virginia. He was made third vice-presi-
dent of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in
1879, and first vice-president in 1881. He
succeeded his father as president in 1884.
Robert Garrett died July 29, 1896.
CARL SCHURZ, a noted German-Ameri-
can statesman, was born in Liblar, Prus-
sia, March 2, 1829. He studied at the Uni-
versity of Bonn, and in 1849 was engaged in
an attempt to excite an insurrection at that
place. After the surrender of Rastadt by
the revolutionists, in the defense of which
Schurz took part, he decided to emigrate to
America. He resided in Philadelphia three
years, and then settled in Watertown, Wis-
consin, and in 1859 removed to Milwaukee,
where he practiced law. On the organiza-
tion of the Republican party he became a
leader of the German element and entered
the campaign for Lincoln in i860. He was
appointed minister to Spain in 1861, but re-
signed in December of that year to enter
the army. He was appointed brigadier-
general in 1862, and participated in the
second battle of Bull Run, and also at
Chancellorsville. At Gettysburg he had
temporary command of the Eleventh Army
Corps, and also took part in the battle of
Chattanooga.
After the war he located at St. Louis,
and in 1869 was elected United States sena-
tor from Missouri. He supported Horace
Greeley for the presidency in 1872, and in
the campaign of 1876, having removed to
New York, he supported Hayes and the Re-
publican ticket, and was appointed secre-
tary of the interior in 1877. In 1881 he
became editor of the "New York Evening
Post," and in 1884 was prominent in his
opposition to James G. Blaine, and became
a leader of the "Mugwumps," thus assist-
ing in the election of Cleveland. In the
presidential campaign of 1896 his forcible
speeches in the interest of sound money
wielded an immense influence. Mr. Schurz
wrote a " Life of Henry Clay," said to be
the best biography ever published of that
eminent statesman.
GEORGE F. EDMUNDS, an American
statesman of national reputation, was
born in Richmond, Vermont, February 1,
1828. His education was obtained in the
public schools and from the instructions of
a private tutor. He was admitted to the
bar, practiced law, and served in the state
legislature from 1854 to 1859, during three
years of that time being speaker of the lower
house. He was elected to the state senate
and acted as president pro tempore of that
body in 1861 and 1862. He became promi-
nent for his activity in the impeachment
proceedings against President Johnson, and
was appointed to the United States senate
to fill out the unexpired term of Solomon
Foot, entering that body in 1866. He was
re-elected to the senate four times, and
served on the electoral commission in 1877.
He became president pro tempore of the
senate after the death of President Garfield,
and was the author of the bill which put an
end to the practice of polygamy in the ter-
ritory of Utah. In November, 1891, owing
to impaired health, he retired from the sen-
ate and again resumed the practice of law.
LUCIUS Q. C. LAMAR, a prominent
political leader, statesman and jurist,
was born in Putnam county, Georgia, Sep-
202
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY
temberi7, 1S25. He graduated from Emory
College in 1845, studied law at Macon under
Hon. A. H. Chappell, and was admitted to
the bar in 1847. He moved to Oxford,
Mississippi, in 1849, and was elected to a
professorship in the State University. He
resigned the next year and returned to Cov-
ington, Georgia, and resumed the practice
of law. In 1853 he was elected to the
Georgia Legislature, and in 1854 he removed
to his plantation in Lafayette county, Mis-
sissippi, and was elected to represent his
district in the thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth
congresses. He resigned in i860, and was
sent as a delegate to the secession conven-
tion of the state. He entered the Confed-
erate service in 1861 as lieutenant-colonel
of the Nineteenth Regiment, and was soon
after made colonel. In 1863 President
Davis appointed him to an important diplo-
matic mission to Russia. In 1866 he was
elected professor of political economy and
social science in the State University, and
was soon afterward transferred to the pro-
fessorship of the law department. He rep-
resented his district in the forty-third and
forty-fourth congresses, and was elected
United States senator from Mississippi in
1877, and re-elected in 1882. In 1885, be-
fore the expiration of his term, he was
appointed by President Cleveland as secre-
tary of the interior, which position he held
until his appointment as associate justice of
the United States supreme court, in 1888,
in which capacity he served until his death,
January 23, 1894.
BENJAMIN PENHALLOW SHILLA-
BER won fame in the world of
humorists under the name of "Mrs. Parting-
ton." He was born in 1841 at Portsmouth,
New Hampshire, and started out in life as a
printer. Mr. Shillaber went to Dover,
where he secured employment in a printing
office, and from there he went to Demerara,
Guiana, where he was employed as a com-
positor in 1835-37. I n 1840 he became
connected with the "Boston Post," and
acquired quite a reputation as a humorist
by his "Sayings of Mrs. Partington." He
remained as editor of the paper until 1850,
when he printed and edited a paper of his
own called the "Pathfinder," which he con-
tinued until 1852. Mr. Shillaber be-
came editor and proprietor of the "Carpet
Bag," which he conducted during 1850-52,
and then returned to the "Boston Post,"
with which he was connected until 1856.
During the same time he was one of the
editors of the "Saturday Evening Gazette,"
and continued in this line after he severed
his connection with the "Post," for ten
years. After 1866 Mr. Shillaber wrote for
various newspapers and periodicals, and
during his life published the following
books: ' 'Rhymes with Reason and Without, "
"Poems," "Life and Sayings of Mrs. Part-
ington," "Knitting Work," and others.
His death occurred at Chelsea, Massachu-
setts, November 25, 1890.
EASTMAN JOHNSON stands first among
painters of American country life. He
was born in Lovell, Maine, in 1824, and be-
gan his work in drawing at the age of eight-
een years. His first works were portraits,
and, as he took up his residence in Wash-
ington, the most famous men of the nation
were his subjects. In 1846 he went to Bos-
ton, and there made crayon portraits of
Longfellow, Emerson, Sumner, Hawthorne
and other noted men. In 1849 he went to
Europe. He studied at Dusseldorf, Ger-
many; spent a year at the Royal Academy,
and thence to The Hague, where he spent
four years, producing there his first pictures
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
203
of consequence, "The Card-PIayers " and
"The Savoyard." He then went to Paris,
but was called home, after an absence from
America of six years. He lived some time
in Washington, and then spent two years
among the Indians of Lake Superior. In
1858 he produced his famous picture, "The
Old Kentucky Home." He took up his
permanent residence at New York at that
time. His "Sunday Morning in Virginia "
is a work of equal merit. He was espe-
cially successful in coloring, a master of
drawing, and the expression conveys with
precision the thought of the artist. His
portrayal of family life and child life is un-
equalled. Among his other great works are
"The Confab," "Crossing a Stream,'
"Chimney Sweep," "Old Stage Coach,"
" The New Bonnet, " " The Drummer Boy,"
" Childhood of Lincoln," and a great vari-
ety of equally familiar subjects.
PIERCE GUST AVE TOUTANT BEAU-
REGARD, one of the most distin-
guished generals in the Confederate army,
was born near New Orleans, Louisiana,
May 28, 1 8 1 8. He graduated from West
Point Military Academy in 1838, and was
made second lieutenant of engineers. He
was with General Scott in Mexico, and dis-
tinguished himself at Vera Cruz, Cerro
Gordo, and the battles near the City of
Mexico, for which he was twice brevetted.
After the Mexican war closed he was placed
in charge of defenses about New Orleans,
and in i860 was appointed superintendent
of the United States Military Academy at
West Point. He held this position but a
few months, when he resigned February 20,
1 86 1, and accepted a commission of briga-
dier-general in the Confederate army. He
directed the attack on Fort Sumter, the
first engagement of the Civil war. He was
12
in command of the Confederates at the first
battle of Bull Run, and for this victory was
made general. In 1862 he was placed in
command of the Army of the Mississippi,
and planned the attack upon General Grant
at Shiloh, and upon the death of General
Johnston he took command of the army
and was only defeated by the timely arrival
of General Buell with reinforcements. He
commanded at Charleston and successfully
defended that city against the combined at-
tack by land and sea in 1863. In 1864 he
was in command in Virginia, defeating Gen-
eral Butler, and resisting Grant's attack
upon Petersburg until reinforced from Rich-
mond. During the long siege which fol-
lowed he was sent to check General Sher-
man's march to the sea, and was with Gen-
eral Joseph E. Johnston when that general
surrendered in 1865. After the close of the
war he was largely interested in railroad
management. In 1866 he was offered chief
command of the Army of Roumania, and in
1869, that of the Army of Egypt. He de-
clined these offers. His death occurred
February 20, 1893.
HENRY GEORGE, one of America's
most celebrated political economists,
was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
September 2, 1839. He reoeived a common-
school education and entered the high'
school in 1853, and then went into a mer-
cantile office. He made several voyages on
the sea, and settled in California in 1858.
He then worked at the printer's trade for a
number of years, which he left to follow the
editorial profession. He edited in succession
several daily newspapers, and attracted at-
tention by a number of strong essays and
speeches on political and social questions.
In 1 87 1 he edited a pamphlet, entitled ' ' Oui
Land and Policy," in which he outlined a
204
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
theory, which has since made him so widely
known. This was developed in " Progress
and Poverty," a book which soon attained a
large circulation on both sides of the Atlan-
tic, which has been extensively translated.
In 1880 Mr. George located in New York,
where he made his home, though he fre-
quently addressed audiences in Great Britain,
Ireland, Australia, and throughout the
United States. In 1886 he was nominated
by the labor organizations for mayor of New
York, and made a campaign notable for its
development of unexpectedpower. In 1887 he
was candidate of the Union Labor party for
secretary of state of New York. These cam-
paigns served to formulate the idea of a single
tax and popularize the Australian ballot sys-
tem. Mr. George became a free trader in
1888, and in 1892 supported the election of
Grover Cleveland. His political and eco-
nomic ideas, known as the "single tax,"
have a large and growing support, but are
not confined to this country alone. He
wrote numerous miscellaneous articles in
support of his principles, and also published:
"The Land Question," " Social Problems, "
"Protection or Free Trade," "The Condi-
tion of Labor, an Open Letter to Pope Leo
XIII.," and " Perplexed Philosopher."
THOMAS ALEXANDER SCOTT. —This
name is indissolubly connected with
the history and development of the railway
systems of the United States. Mr. Scott
was born December 28, 1823, at London,
Franklin county, Pennsylvania. He was first
regularly employed by Major James Patton,
the collector of tolls on the state road be-
tween Philadelphia and Columbia, Penn-
sylvania. He entered into the employ of
the Pennsylvania Railroad Companyin 1850,
and went through all the different branches
of work until he had mastered all the details
of the office work, and in 1858 he was ap-
pointed general superintendent. Mr. Scott
was the next year chosen vice-president of
the road. This position at once brought
him before the public, and the enterprise
and ability displayed by him in its manage-
ment marked him as a leader among the
railroad men of the country. At the out-
break of the rebellion in 1861, Mr. Scott
was selected by Governor Curtin as a mem-
ber of his staff, and placed in charge of the
equipment and forwarding of the state troops
to the seat of war. On April 27, 1861, the
secretary of war desired to establish a new
line of road between the national capital
and Philadelphia, for the more expeditious
transportation of troops. He called upon
Mr. Scott to direct this work, and the road
by the way of Annapolis and Perryville was
completed in a marvelously short space of
time. On May 3, 1861, he was commis-
sioned colonel of volunteers, and on the 23d
of the same month the government railroads
and telegraph lines were placed in his charge.
Mr. Scott was the first assistant secretary
of war ever appointed, and he took charge
of this new post August 1, 1861. In Janu-
ary, 1862, he was directed to organize
transportation in the northwest, and in
March he performed the same service on
the western rivers. He resigned June I,
1862, and resumed his direction of affairs on
the Pennsylvania Railroad. Colonel Scott
directed the policy that secured to his road
the control of the western roads, and be-
came the president of the new company to
operate these lines in 1871. For one year,
from March, 1S71, he was president of the
Union Pacific Railroad, and in 1874 he suc-
ceeded to the presidency of the Pennsyl-
vania Company. He projected the Texas
Pacific Railroad and was for many years its
president. Colonel Scott's health failed
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
205
him and he resigned the presidency of the
road June I, 1880, and died at his home in
Darby, Pennsylvania, May 2 1, 1881.
ROBERT TOOMBS, an American states-
man of note, was born in Wilkes coun-
ty, Georgia, July 2, 18 10. He attended
the University of Georgia, and graduated
from Union College, Schenectady, New
York, and then took a law course at the
University of Virginia. In 1830, before he
had attained his majority, he was admitted
to the bar by special act of the legislature,
and rose rapidly in his profession, attracting
the attention of the leading statesmen and
judges of that time. He raised a volunteer
company for the Creek war, and served as
captain to the close. He was elected to the
state legislature in 1837, re-elected in 1842,
and in 1844 was elected to congress. He
had been brought up as a Jeffersonian
Democrat, but voted for Harrison in 1840
and for Clay in 1844. He made his first
speech in congress on the Oregon question,
and immediately took rank with the greatest
debaters of that body. In 1853 he was
elected to the United States senate, and
again in 1859, but when his native state
seceded he resigned his seat in the senate
and was elected to the Confederate con-
gress. It is stated on the best authority
that had it not been for a misunderstanding
which could not be explained till too late he
would have been elected president of the
Confederacy. He was appointed secretary
of state by President Davis, but resigned
after a few months and was commissioned
brigadier-general in the Confederate army.
He won distinction at the second battle of
Bull Run and at Sharpsburg, but resigned
his commission soon after and returned to
Georgia. He organized the militia of
Georgia to resist Sherman, and was made
brigadier-general of the state troops. He
left the country at the close of the war and
did not return until 1867. He died Decem-
ber 15, 1885.
AUSTIN CORBIN, one of the greatest
railway magnates of the United States,
was born July 11, 1827, at Newport, New
Hampshire. He studied law with Chief
Justice Cushing and Governor Ralph Met-
calf, and later took a course in the Harvard
Law School, where he graduated in 1S49.
He was admitted to the bar, and practiced
law, with Governor Metcalf as his partner,
until October 12, 185 1. Mr. Corbin then
removed to Davenport, Iowa, where he re-
mained until 1865. In 1854 he was a part-
ner in the banking firm of Macklot & Cor-
bin, and later he organized the First Na-
tional bank of Davenport, Iowa, which
commenced business June 29, 1863, and
which was the first national bank open for
business in the United States. Mr. Corbin
sold out his business in the Davenport bank,
and removed to New York in 1865 and com-
menced business with partners under the
style of Corbin. Banking Company. Soon
after his removal to New York he became
interested in railroads, and became one of
the leading railroad men of the country.
The development of the west half of Coney
Island as a summer resort first brought him
into general prominence. He built a rail-
road from New York to the island, and
built great hotels on its ocean front. He
next turned his attention to Long Island,
and secured all the railroads and consoli-
dated them under one management, became
president of the system, and under his con-
trol Long Island became the great ocean
suburb of New York. His latest public
achievement was the rehabilitation of the
Reading Railroad, of Pennsylvania, and
L'Of,
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
during the same time he and his friends
purchased the controlling interest of the
New Jersey Central Railroad. He took it
out of the hands of the receiver, and in
three years had it on a dividend-paying
basis. Mr. Corbin's death occurred June
4, 1896.
JAMES GORDON BENNETT, Sr.,
was one of the greatest journalists of
America in his day. He was born Septem-
ber 1, 1795, at New Mill, near Keith, Scot-
land. At the age of fourteen he was sent
to Aberdeen to study for the priesthood,
but, convinced that he was mistaken in his
vocation, he determined to emigrate. He
landed at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 18 19,
where he attempted to- earn a living by
teaching bookkeeping. Failing in this he
went to Boston and found employment as a
proof reader. Mr. Bennett went to New
York about 1S22 and wrote for the news-
papers. Later on he became assistant
editor in the office of the "Charleston
Courier, "but returned to New York in 1824
and endeavored to start a commercial
school, but was unsuccessful in this, and
again returned to newspaper work. He
continued in newspaper work with varying
success until, at his suggestion, the "En-
quirer" was consolidated with another
paper, and became the "Courier and En-
quirer," with James Watson Webb as
editor and Mr. Bennett for assistant. At
this time this was the leading American
newspaper. He, however, severed his con-
nection with this newspaper and tried,
without success, other ventures in the line
of journalism until May 6, 1835, when he
issued the first number of the "New York
Herald. " Mr. Bennett wrote the entire
paper, and made up for lack of news by 1 . is
own imagination. The paper became popu-
lar, and in 1838 he engaged European jour-
nalists as regular correspondents. In 1841
the income derived from his paper was at
least one hundred thousand dollars. Dur-
ing the Civil war the " Herald " had on its
staff sixty-three war correspondents and the
circulation was doubled. Mr. Bennett was
interested with John W. Mackay in that great
enterprise which is now known as the Mac-
kay-Bennett Cable. He had collected for use
in his paper over fifty thousand biographies,
sketches and all manner of information re-
garding every well-known man, which are
still kept in the archives of the "Herald"
office. He died in the city of New York in
1872, and left to his son, James Gordon,
Jr., one of the greatest and most profitable
journals in the United States, or even in the
world.
OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, a
noted American, won distinction in the
field of literature, in which he attained a
world-wide reputation. He was born at
Cambridge, Massachusetts, August 29, 1809.
He received a collegiate education and grad-
uated from Harvard in 1829, at the age of
twenty, and took up the study of law and
later studied medicine. Dr. Holmes at-
tended several years in the hospitals of
Europe and received his degree in 1836.
He became professor of anatomy and phys-
iology in Dartmouth in 1838, and re-
mained there until 1847, when he was
called to the Massachusetts Medical School
at Boston to occupy the same chair, which
position he resigned in 18S2. The first
collected edition of his poems appeared in
1836, and his "Phi Beta Kappa Poems,"
"Poetry," in 1836; "Terpsichore," in 1843;
"Urania," in 1846, and "Astraea," won for
him many fresh laurels. His series of
papers in the "Atlantic Monthly," were:
COirPENDIbWf OF BrOGRAPHT.
207
"Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," "Pro-
fessor at the Breakfast Table," "Poet at
the Breakfast Table," and are a series of
masterly wit, humor and pathos. Among
his medical papers and addresses, are: "Cur-
rents and Counter-currents in the Medical
Science," and "Borderland in Some Prov-
inces of Medical Science." Mr. Holmes
edited quite a number of works, of which
we quote the following: "Else Venner,"
"Songs in Many Keys," "Soundings from
the Atlantic," "Humorous Poems," "The
Guardian Angel," "Mechanism in Thoughts
and Morals," "Songs of Many Seasons,"
"John L. Motley" — a memoir, "The Iron
Gate and Other Poems," "Ralph Waldo
Emerson," "A Moral Antipathy." Dr.
Holmes visited England for the second time,
and while there the degree of LL. D.
was conferred upon him by the University
of Edinburgh. His death occurred October
7. i§94-
RUFUS CHOATE, one of the most em-
inent of America's great lawyers, was
born October 1, 1799, at Essex, Massachu-
setts. He entered Dartmouth in 18 15,
and after taking his degree he remained as
a teacher in the college for one year. He
took up the study of law in Cambridge, and
subsequently studied under the distinguished
lawyer, Mr. Wirt, who was then United
States attorney-general at Washington. Mr.
Choatebegan the practice of law in Danvers,
Massachusetts, and from there he went to
Salem, and afterwards to Boston, Massa-
chusetts. While living at Salem he was
elected to congress in 1832, and later, in
1 84 1, he was chosen United States senator
to succeed Daniel Webster, Mr. Webster
having been appointed secretary of state
ander William Henry Harrison.
After the death of Webster, Mr- Choate
was the acknowledged leader ol the Massa-
chusetts bar, and was looked upon by the
younger members of the profession with an
affection that almost amounted to a rever-
ence. Mr. Choate's powers as an orator
were of the rarest order, and his genius
made it possible for him to enchant and in-
terest his listeners, even while discussing the
most ordinary theme. He was not merely
eloquent on the subjects that were calculated
to touch the feelings and stir the passions
of his audience in themselves, but could at
all times command their attention. He re-
tired from active life in 1858, and was on
his way to Europe, his physician having
ordered a sea voyage for his health, but had
only reached Halifax, Nova Scotia, when
he died, July 13, 1858.
D WIGHT L. MOODY, one of the most
noted and effective pulpit orators and
evangelists America has produced, was born
in Northfield, Franklin county, Massachu-
setts, February 5, 1837. He received but
a meager education and worked on a farm
until seventeen years of age, when he be-
came clerk in a boot and shoe store in
Boston. Soon after this he joined the Con-
gregational church and went to Chicago,
where he zealously engaged in missionary
work among the poor classes. He met
with great success, and in less than a year
he built up a Sunday-school which numbered
over one thousand children. When the
war broke out he became connected with ■
what was known as the "Christian Com-
mission," and later became city missionary
of the Young Men's Christian Association at
Chicago. A church was built there for his
converts and he became its unordained pas-
tor. In the Chicago fire of 1S71 the church
and Mr. Moody's house and furniture, which
had been given him. were destroyed. The
■:- i,s
COMPEXDIL'M OF BIOGRAPHY.
church edifice was afterward replaced by a
new church erected on the site of the old
one. In 1873, accompanied by Ira D.
Sankey, Mr. Moody went to Europe and
excited great religious awakenings through-
out England, Ireland and Scotland. In
1875 they returned to America and held
large meetings in various cities. They
afterward made another visit to Great
Britain for the same purpose, meeting with
great success, returning to the United States
in 1884. Mr. Moody afterward continued
his evangelistic work, meeting everywhere
with a warm reception and success. Mr.
Moody produced a number of works, some
of which had a wide circulation.
JOHN PIERPONT MORGAN, a financier
of world-wide reputation, and famous
as the head of one of the largest banking
houses in the world, was born April 17,
1837, at Hartford, Connecticut. He re-
ceived his early education in the English
high school, in Boston, and later supple-
mented this with a course in the University
of Gfittingen, Germany. He returned to
the United States, in 1857, and entered the
banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co.,
of New York, and, in i860, he became
agent and attorney, in the United States, for
George Peabody & Co., of London. He
became the junior partner in the banking
firm of Dabney, Morgan & Co., in 1864,
and that of Drexel, Morgan & Co., in 1871.
This house was among the chief negotiators
of railroad bonds, and was active in the re-
organization of the West Shore Railroad,
and its absorption by the New York Central
Railroad. It was conspicuous in the re-
organization of the Philadelphia & Read-
ing Railroad, in 1887, which a syndicate of
capitalists, formed by Mr. Morgan, placed
on a sound financial basis. After that time
many other lines of railroad and gigantic
financial enterprises were brought under Mr.
Morgan's control, and in some respects it
may be said he became the foremost financier
of the century.
THOMAS BRACKETT REED, one of
the most eminent of American states-
men, was born October 18, 1839, at Port-
land, Maine, where he received his early
education in the common schools of the
city, and prepared himself for college. Mr.
Reed graduated from Bowdoin College in
i860, and won one of the highest honors of
the college, the prize for excellence in Eng-
lish composition. The following four years
were spent by him in teaching and in the
study of law. Before his admission to the
bar, however, he was acting assistant pay-
master in the United States navy, and
served on the " tin-clad" Sybil, which pa-
trolled the Tennessee, Cumberland and
Mississippi rivers. After his discharge in
1865, he returned to Portland, was admit-
ted to the bar, and began the practice of his
profession. He entered into political life,
and in 1868 was elected to the legislature
of Maine as a Republican, and in 1869 he
was re-elected to the house, and in 1870
was made state senator, from which he
passed to attorney-general of the state.
He retired from this office in 1873, and
until 1877 he was solicitor for the city
of Portland. In 1876 he was elected to
the forty-fifth congress, which assembled
in 1877. Mr. Reed sprung into prominence
in that body by one of the first speeches
which he delivered, and his long service in
congress, coupled with his ability, gave him
a national reputation. His influence each
year became more strongly marked, and the
leadership of his party was finally conceded
to him, and in the forty-ninth and fiftieth
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
2\*
congresses the complimentary nomination
for the speakership was tendered him by the
Republicans. That party having obtained
the ascendency in the fifty-first congress he
was elected speaker on the first ballot, and
he was again chosen speaker of the fifty-
fourth and fifth-fifth congresses. As a
writer, Mr. Reed contributed largely to the
magazines and periodicals, and his book
upon parliamentary rules is generally rec-
ognized as authority on that subject.
CLARA BARTON is a celebrated char-
acter among what might be termed as
\he highest grade of philanthropists Amer-
ica has produced. She was born on a farm
at Oxford, Massachusetts, a daughter of
Captain Stephen Barton, and was educated
at Clinton, New York. She engaged in
teaching early in life, and founded a free
school at Bordentown, the first in New Jer-
sey. She opened with six pupils, but the
attendance had grown to six hundred up to
1854, when she went to Washington. She
was appointed clerk in the patent depart-
ment, and remained there until the out-
break of the Civil war, when she resigned
her position and devoted herself to the al-
leviation of the sufferings of the soldiers,
serving, not in the hospitals, but on the bat-
tle field. She was present at a number of
battles, and after the war closed she origi-
nated, and for some time carried on at her
own expense, the search for missing soldiers.
She then for several years devoted her time
to lecturing on "Incidents of the. War."
About 1868 she went to Europe for her
health, and settled in Switzerland, but on the
outbreak of the Franco-German war she ac-
cepted the invitation of the grand duchess
of Baden to aid in the establishment of her
hospitals, and Miss Barton afterward fol-
lowed the German army She was deco-
rated with the golden cross by the granc
duke of Baden, and with the iron cross by
the emperor of Germany. She aiso served
for many years as president of the famous
Red Cross Society and attained a world-
wide reputation.
CARDINAL JAMES GIBBONS, one of
the most eminent Catholic clergymen
in America, was born in Baltimore, Mary-
land, July 23, 1834. He was given &
thorough education, graduated at St. Charle?
College, Maryland, in 1857, and studied
theology in St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore,
Maryland. In 1861 he became pastor oi
St. Bridget's church in Baltimore, and in
1868 was consecrated vicar apostolic of
North Carolina. In 1872 our subject be-
came bishop of Richmond, Virginia, and
five years later was made archbishop of Bal-
timore. On the 30th of June, 1886, he
was admitted to the full degree of cardinal
and primate of the American Catholic
church. He was a fluent writer, and his
book, " Faith of Our Fathers," had a wide
circulation.
CHAUNCEY MITCHELL DEPEW.—
This name is, without doubt, one ot
the most widely known in the United States.
Mr. Depew was born April 23, 1834, at
Peekskill, New York, the home of the Depew
family for two hundred years. He attended
the common schools of his native place,
where he prepared himself to enter college.
He began his collegiate course at Yale at
the age of eighteen and graduated in 1856.
He early took an active interest in politics
and joined the Republican party at its for-
mation. He then took up the study of law
and went into the office of the Hon. Will-
iam Nelson, of Peekskill, for that purpose,
and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar.
210
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
He vvas sent as a delegate by the new party
to the Republican state convention of that
year. He began the practice of his profes-
sion in 1859, but though he was a good
worker, his attention was detracted by the
campaign of 1 860, in which he took an act-
ive part. During this campaign he gained
his first laurels as a public speaker. Mr.
Depew was elected assemblyman in 1862
from a Democratic district. In 1863 he se-
cured the nomination for secretary of state,
and gained that post by a majority of thirty
thousand. In 1866 he left the field of pol-
itics and entered into the active practice
of his law business as attorney for the
New York & Harlem Railroad Company,
and in 1869 when this road was consoli-
dated with the New York Central, and
called the New York Central & Hudson
River Railroad, he was appointed the attor-
ney for the new road. His rise in the rail-
road business was rapid, and ten years after
his entrance into the Vanderbilt system as
attorney for a single line, he was the gen-
eral counsel for one of the largest railroad
systems in the world. He was also a
director in the Lake Shore & Michigan
Southern, Michigan Central, Chicago &
Northwestern, St. Paul & Omaha, West
Shore, and Nickel Plate railroad companies.
In 1874 Mr. Depew was made regent of
the State University, and a member of the
commission appointed to superintend the
erection of the capitol at Albany. In 1882,
on the resignation of W. H. Vanderbilt
from the presidency of the New York Cen-
tral and the accession to that office by
lames H. Rutter, Mr. Depew was made
second vice-president, and held that posi-
tion until the death of Mr. Rutter in 1885.
In this year Mr. Depew became the execu
tive head of this great corporation. Mr.
Depew's greatest fame grew from his ability
and eloquence as an orator and " after-din-
ner speaker," and it has been said by emi-
nent critics that this country has never pro-
duced his equal in wit, fluency and eloquence.
PHILIP KEARNEY.— Among the most
dashing and brilliant commanders in
the United States service, few have outshone
the talented officer whose name heads this
sketch. He was born in New York City,
June 2, 18 1 5, and was of Irish ancestry and
imbued with all the dash and bravery of the
Celtic race. He graduated from Columbia
College and studied law, out in 1.83; ac-
cepted a commission as lieutenant in the
First United States Dragoons, of which his
uncle, Stephen W. Kearney, was then colo-
nel. He was sent by the government,
soon after, to Europe to examine and report
upon the tactics of the French cavalry.
There he attended the Polytechnic School,
at Samur, and subsequently served as a vol-
unteer in Algiers, winning the cross of the
Legion of Honor. He returned to the
United States in 1840, and on the staff of
General Scott, in the Mexican war, served
with great gallantry. He was made a cap-
tain of dragoons in 1846 and made major
for services at Contreras and Cherubusco.
In the final assault on the Citv of Mexico,
at the San Antonio Gate, Kearney lost an
arm. He subsequently served in California
and the Pacific coast. In 185 1 he resigned
his commission and went to Europe, where
he resumed his military studies. In the
Italian war, in 1859, he served as a volun-
teer on the staff of General Maurier, of the
French army, and took part in the battles
of Solferino and Magenta, and for bravery
was, for the second time, decorated with
the cross of the Legion of Honor. On the
opening of the Civil war he hastened home.
and ; offering his services to the general gov-
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
211
ftrnment, was made brigadier-general of
volunteers and placed in command of a bri-
gade of New Jersey troops. In the cam-
paign under McClellan he commanded a di-
vision, and at Williamsburg and Fair Oaks
his services were valuable and brilliant, as
well as in subsequent engagements. At
Harrison's Landing he was made major-gen-
eral of volunteers. In the second battle of
Bull Run he was conspicuous, and at the
battle of Chantilly, September I, 1862,
while leading in advance of his troops, Gen-
eral Kearney was shot and killed.
RUSSELL SAGE, one of the financial
giants of the present century and for
more than an average generation one of the
most conspicuous and celebrated of Ameri-
cans, was born in a frontier hamlet in cen-
tral New York in August, 18 16. While Rus-
sell was still a boy an elder brother, Henry
Risley Sage, established a small grocery
store at Troy, New York, and here Russell
found his first employment, as errand boy.
He served a five-years apprenticeship, and
then joined another brother, Elisha M. Sage,
in a new venture in the same line, which
proved profitable, at least for Russell, who
soon became its sole owner. Next he
formed the partnership of Sage & Bates,
and greatly extended his field of operations.
At twenty-five he had, by his own exertions,
amassed what was, in those days, a consid-
erable fortune, being worth about seventy-
five thousand dollars. He had acquired an
influence in local politics, and tour years
later his party, the Whigs, elected him to
the aldermanic board of Troy and to the
treasuryship of Rensselaer county. In 1848
he was a prominent member of the New
York delegation to the Whig convention at
Philadelphia, casting his first votes for Henry
Clay, but joining the "stampede" which
nominated Zachary Taylor. In 1850 the
Whigs of Troy nominated him for congress,
but he was not elected — a failure which he
retrieved two years later, and in 1854 he
was re-elected by a sweeping majority. At
Washington he ranked high in influence and
ability. Fame as a speaker and as a polit-
ical leader was within his grasp, when he
gave up public life, declined a renomination
to congress, and went back to Troy to de-
vote himself to his private business. Six
years later, in 1863, he removed to New
York and plunged into the arena of Wall
street. A man of boundless energy and
tireless pertinacity, with wonderful judg-
ment of men and things, he soon took his
place as a king in finance, and, it is said,
during the latter part of his life he con-
trolled more ready money than any other
single individual on this continent.
ROGER QUARLES MILLS, a noted
United States senator and famous as the
father of the "Mills tariff bill, "was born
in Todd county, Kentucky, March 30, 1832.
He received a liberal education in the com-
mon schools, and removed to Palestine,
Texas, in 1849. He took up the study of
law, and supported himself by serving as an
assistant in the post-office, and in the offices
of the court clerks. In 1850 he was elected
engrossing clerk of the Texas house of rep-
resentatives, and in 1852 was admitted to
the bar, while still a minor, by special act
of the legislature. He then settled at Cor-
sicana, Texas, and began the active prac-
tice of his profession. He was elected to
the state legislature in 1859, and in 1872 he
was elected to congress from the state at
large, as a Democrat. After his first elec-
tion he was continuously returned to con-
gress until he resigned to accept the posi-
tion of United States senator, to which he
212
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
was elected March 23, 1892, to succeed
Hon. Horace Chilton. He took his seat in
the senate March 30, 1892; was afterward
re-elected and ranked among the most use-
ful and prominent members of that body.
In 1876 he opposed the creation of the elec-
toral commission, and in 1887 canvassed
the state of Texas against the adoption of
a prohibition amendment to its constitution,
which was defeated. He introduced into
the house of representatives the bill that was
known as the "Mills Bill," reducing duties
on imports, and extending the free list.
The bill passed the house on July 21, 1888,
and made the name of "Mills" famous
throughout the entire country.
HAZEN S. PINGREE, the celebrated
Michigan political leader, was born in
Maine in 1842. Up to fourteen years of
age he worked hard on the stony ground of
his father's small farm. Attending school
in the winter, he gained a fair education,
and when not laboring on the farm, he
found employment in the cotton mills in the
vicinity. He resolved to find more steady
work, and accordingly went to Hopkinton,
Massachusetts, where he entered a shoe fac-
tory, but on the outbreak of the war he en-
listed at once and was enrolled in the First
Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. He partici-
pated in the battle of Bull Run, which was
his initial fight, and served creditably his
early term of service, at the expiration of
which he re-enlisted. He fought in the
battles of Fredricksburg, Harris Farm,
Spottsylvania Court House and Cold Har-
bor. In 1864 he was captured by Mosby,
and spent five months at Andersonville,
Georgia, as a prisoner, but escaped at the
end of that time. He re-entered the service
and participated in the battles of Fort
Fisher, Boyden, and Sailor's Creek. He
was honorably mustered out of service, and
in 1866 went to Detroit, Michigan, where
he made use of his former experience in a
shoe factory, and found work. Later he
formed a partnership with another workman
and started a small factory, which has since
become a large establishment. Mr. Pin-
gree made his entrance into politics in 1889,
in which year he was elected by a surpris-
ingly large majority as a Republican to the
mayoralty of Detroit, in which office he was
the incumbent during four consecutive terms.
In November, 1896, he was elected gov-
ernor of the state of Michigan. While
mayor of Detroit, Mr. Pingree originated
and put into execution the idea of allowing
the poor people of the city the use of va-
cant city lands and lots for the purpose of
raising potatoes. The idea was enthusiast-
ically adopted by thousands of poor families,
attracted wide attention, and gave its author
a national reputation as "Potato-patch Pin-
gree."
THOMAS ANDREW HENDRICKS, an
eminent American statesman and a
Democratic politician of national fame, was
born in Muskingum county, Ohio, Septem-
ber 7, 1819. In 1822 he removed, with his
father, to Shelby county, Indiana. He
graduated from the South Hanover College
in 1 84 1, and two years later was admitted
to the bar. In 1851 he was chosen a mem-
ber of the state constitutional convention,
and took a leading part in the deliberations
of that body. He was elected to congress
in 1 85 1, and after serving two terms was
appointed commissioner of the United States
general land-office. In 1863 he was elected
to the United States senate, where his dis-
tinguished services commanded the respect
of all parties. He was elected governor of
Indiana in 1872, serving four years, and in
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
213
1876 was nominated by the Democrats as
candidate for the vice-presidency with Til-
den. The returns in a number of states
were contested, and resulted in the appoint-
ment of the famous electoral commission,
which decided in favor of the Republican
candidates. In 1884 Mr. Hendricks was
again nominated as candidate for the vice-
presidency, by the Democratic party, on the
ticket with Grover Cleveland, was elected,
and served about six months. He died at
Indianapolis, November 25, 1885. He was
regarded as one of the brainiest men in the
party, and his integrity was never ques-
tioned, even by his political opponents.
GARRETT A. HOBART, one of the
many able men who have held the
high office of vice-president of the United
States, was born June 3, 1844, in Mon-
mouth county, New Jersey, and in i860 en-
tered the sophomore class at Rutgers Col-
lege, from which he graduated in 1863 at
the age of nineteen. He then taught
school until he entered the law office of
Socrates Tuttle, of Paterson, New Jersey,
with whom he studied law, and in 1869
was admitted to the bar. He immediately
began the active practice of his profession
in the office of the above named gentleman.
He became interested in political life, and
espoused the cause of the Republican party,
and in 1865 held his first office, serving as
clerk for the grand jury. He was also city
counsel of Paterson in 1871, and in May,
1872, was elected counsel for the board of
chosen freeholders. He entered the state
legislature in 1873, and was re-elected to
the assembly in 1874. Mr. Hobart was
made speaker of the assembly in 1876, and
and in 1879 was elected to the state senate.
After serving three years in the same, he
was elected president of that body in 1881,
and the following year was re-elected to
that office. He was a delegate-at-large to
the Republican national convention <n 1876
and 1880, and was elected a member of the
national committee in 1884, which pos ; tion
he occupied continuously until 1896. He
was then nominated for vice-president by
the Republican national convention, and
was elected to that office in the fall of 1896
on the ticket with William McKinley.
WILLIAM MORRIS STEWART, noted
as a political leader and senator, was
born in Lyons, Wayne county, New York,
August 9, 1827, and removed with his par-
ents while still a small child to Mesopota-
mia township, Trumbull county, Ohio. He
attended the Lyons Union school and Farm-
ington Academy, where he obtained his ed-
ucation. Later he taught mathematics in
the former school, while yet a pupil, and
with the little money thus earned and the
assistance of James C. Smith, one of the
judges of the supreme court of New York,
he entered Yale College. He remained
there until the winter of 1849-50, when, at-
tracted by the gold discoveries in California
he wended his way thither. He arrived at
San Francisco in May, 1850, and later en-
gaged in mining with pick and shovel in Ne-
vada county. In this way he accumulated
some money, and in the spring of 1852 he
took up the study of law under John R.
McConnell. The following December he
was appointed district attorney, to which
office he was chosen at the general election
of the next year. In 1S54 he was ap-
pointed attorney-general of California, and
in i860 he removed to Virginia City, Ne-
vada, where he largely engaged in early
mining litigation. Mr. Stewart was also in-
terested in the development of the "Corn-
stock lode," and in 1861 was chosen a
214
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAI'IIF.
member of the territorial council. He was
elected a member of the constitutional con-
vention in 1863, and was elected United
States senator in 1864, and re-elected in
1869. At the expiration of his term in
1875, he resumed the practice of law in
Nevada, California, and the Pacific coast
generally. He was thus engaged when he
was elected again to the United States sen-
ate as a Republican in 1887 to succeed the
late James G. Fair, a Democrat, and took
his seat March 4, 1887. On the expiration
of his term he was again re-elected and be-
came one of the leaders of his party in con-
gress. His ability as an orator, and the
prominent part he took in the discussion of
public questions, gained him a national rep-
utation.
GEORGE GRAHAM VEST, for many
years a prominent member of the
United States senate, was born in Frank-
fort, Kentucky, December 6, 1848. He
graduated from Center College in 1868, and
from the law department of the Transyl-
vania University of Lexington, Kentucky,
in 1853. In the same year he removed to
Missouri and began the practice of his pro-
fession. In 1 860 he was an elector on the
Democratic ticket, and was a member of
the lower house of the Missouri legislature
in 1860-61. He was elected to the Con-
federate congress, serving two years in the
lower house and one in the senate. He
then resumed the practice of law, and in
1 879 was elected to the senate of the United
States to succeed James Shields. He was
re-elected in 18S5, and again in 1891 and
1897. His many years of service in the
National congress, coupled with his ability
as a speaker and the active part he took in
the discussion of public questions, gave him
a wide reputation.
HANNIBAL HAMLIN, a noted American
statesman, whose name is indissolubly
connected with the history of this country,
was born in Paris, Maine, August 27, 1809.
He learned the printer's trade and followed
that calling for several years. He then
studied law, and was admitted to practice
in 1833. He was elected to the legislature
of the state of Maine, where he was several
times chosen speaker of the lower house.
He was elected to congress by the Demo-
crats in 1843, and re-elected in 1845. In
1848 he was chosen to the United States
senate and served in that body until 1861.
He was elected governor of Maine in 1S57
on the Republican ticket, but resigned when
re-elected to the United States senate
the same year. He was elected vice-presi-
dent of the United States on the ticket with
Lincoln in i860, and inaugurated in March,
1 861 . In 1865 he was appointed collector
of the port of Boston. Beginning with
1869 he served two six-year terms in the
United States senate, and was then ap-
pointed by President Garfield as minister to
Spain in 1881. His death occurred July 4,
1 891.
I SHAM G. HARRIS, famous as Confed-
1 erate war governor of Tennessee, and
distinguished by his twenty years of service
in the senate of the United States, was
born in Franklin county, Tennessee, and
educated at the Academy of Winchester.
He then took up the study of law, was ad-
mitted to the bar, and commenced practice
at Paris, Tennessee, in 1S41. He was
elected to the state legislature in 1847, was
a candidate for presidential elector on the
Democratic ticket in 1848, and the next
year was elected to congress from his dis-
trict, and re-elected in 1S51. In 1853 he
was renominated by the Democrats of his
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPUT.
215
district, but declined, and removed to Mem-
phis, where he took up the practice of law.
He was a presidential elector-at-large from
Tennessee in 1856, and was elected gov-
ernor of the state the next year, and again
in 1859, and in 1861. He was driven from
Nashville by the advance of the Union
armies, and for the last three years of the
war acted as aid upon the staff of the com-
manding general of the Confederate army
of Tennessee. After the war he went to
Liverpool, England, where he became a
merchant, but returned to Memphis in 1867,
and resumed the practice of law. In 1877
he was elected to the United States senate,
to which position he was successively re-
elected until his death in 1S97.
NELSON DINGLEY, Jr., for nearly a
quarter of a century one of the leaders
in congress and framer of the famous
" Dingley tariff bill," was born in Durham,
Maine, in 1832. His father as well as all
his ancestors, were farmers, merchants and
mechanics and of English descent. Young
Dingley was given the advantages first of
the common schools and in vacations helped
his father in the store and on the farm.
When twelve years of age he attended high
school and at seventeen was teaching in a
country school district and preparing him-
self for college. The following year he en-
tered Waterville Academy and in 1851 en-
tered Colby University. After a year and a
half in this institution he entered Dart-
mouth College and was graduated in 1855
with high rank as a scholar, debater and
writer. He next studied law and was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1856. But instead of
practicing his profession he purchased the
•" Lewistown (Me.) Journal," which be-
came famous throughout the New England
states as a leader in the advocacy of Repub-
lican principles. About the same time Mr.
Dingley began his political career, although
ever after continuing at the head of the
newspaper. He was soon elected to the
state legislature and afterward to the lower
house of congress, where he became a
prominent national character. He also
served two terms as governor of Maine.
OLIVER PERRY MORTON, a distin-
guished American statesman, was born
in Wayne county, Indiana, August 4, 1823.
His early education was by private teaching
and a course at the Wayne County Seminary.
At the age of twenty years he entered the
Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, and at
the end of two years quit the college, began
the study of law in the office of John New-
man, of Centerville, Indiana, and was ad-
mitted to the bar in 1847.
Mr. Morton was elected judge on the
Democratic ticket, in 1852, but on tht
passage of the " Kansas-Nebraska Bill " he
severed his connection with that party, and
soon became a prominent leader of the Re-
publicans. He was elected governor of In-
diana in 1 86 1, and as war governor became
well known throughout the country. He
received a paralytic stroke in 1865, which
partially deprived him of the use of his
limbs. He was chosen to the United States
senate from Indiana, in 1867, and wielded
great influence in that body until the time
of his death, November 1, 1877.
JOHN B. GORDON, a brilliant Confeder-
ate officer and noted senator of the United
States, was born in Upson county, Georgia,
February 6, 1832. He graduated from the
State University, studied law, and took up
the practice of his profession. At the be-
ginning of the war he entered the Confederate
service as captain of infantry, and rapidly
216
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHT.
rose to the rank of lieutenant-general,
commanding one wing of the Confederate
army at the close of the war. In 1868 he
was Democratic candidate for governor of
Georgia, and it is said was elected by a large
majority, but his opponent was given the
office. He was a delegate to the national
Democratic conventions in 1868 and 1872,
and a presidential elector both years. In
1873 he was elected to the United States
senate. In 1886 he was elected governor
of Georgia, and re-elected in 1888. He
was again elected to the United States
senate in 1890, serving until 1897, when he
was succeeded by A. S. Clay. He was
regarded as a leader of the southern Democ-
racy, and noted for his fiery eloquence.
STEPHEN JOHNSON FIELD, an illus-
trious associate justice of the supreme
court of the United States, was born at
Haddam, Connecticut, November 4, 1816,
being one of the noted sons of Rev. D.
D. Field. He graduated from Williams
College in 1837, took up the study of law
with his brother, David Dudley Field, be-
coming his partner upon admission to the
bar. He went to California in 1849, and at
once began to take an active interest in the
political affairs of that state. He was
elected alcalde of Marysville, in 1850, and
in the autumn of the same year was elected
to the state legislature. In 1857 he was
elected judge of the supreme court of the
state, and two years afterwards became its
chief justice. In 1863 he was appointed by
President Lincoln as associate justice of the
supreme court of the United States. During
his incumbency, in 1873, he was appointed
by the governor of California one of a com-
mission to examine the codes of the state
and for the preparation of amendments to
the same for submission to the legislature.
In 1877 he was one of the famous electoral
commission of fifteen members, and voted
as one of the seven favoring the election of
Tilden to the presidency. In 1880 a large
portion of the Democratic party favored his
nomination as candidate for the presidency.
He retired in the fall of 1897, having
served a greater number of years on the
supreme bench than any of his associates or
predecessors, Chief Justice Marshall coming
next in length of service.
JOHN T. MORGAN, whose services in
the United States senate brought him
into national prominence, was born in
Athens, Tennessee, June 20, 1824. At the
age of nine years he emigrated to Alabama,
where he made his permanent home, and
where he received an academic education.
He then took up the study of law, and was
admitted to the bar in 1845. He took a
leading part in local politics, was a presi-
dential elector in i860, casting his ballot
for Breckenridge and Lane, and in 1861
was a delegate to the state convention which
passed the ordinance of secession. In May,
of the same year, he joined the Confederate
army as a private in Company I, Cahawba
Rifles, and was soon after made major and
then lieutenant-colonel of the Fifth Regiment.
In 1862 he was commissioned colonel, and
soon after made brigadier-general and as-
signed to the command of a brigade in Vir-
ginia. He resigned to join his old regiment
whose colonel had been killed. He was
soon afterward again made brigadier-gen-
eral and given command of the brigade that
included his regiment.
After the war he returned to the prac-
tice of law, and continued it up to the time
of his election to the United States senate, iv
1877. He was a presidential elector in 1 876,
and cast his vote for Tilden and Hendricks
COMPENDIUM OF BIOGRAPHY.
217
He was re-elected to the senate in 1883,
and again in 1889, and 1895. His speeches
and the measures he introduced, marked
as they were by an intense Americanism,
brought him into national prominence.
WILLIAM McKINLEY, the twenty-fifth
president of the United States, was
born at Niles, Trumbull county, Ohio, Jan-
uary 29, 1844. He was of Scotch-Irish
ancestry, and received his early education
in a Methodist academy in the small village
of Poland, Ohio. At the outbreak of the
war Mr. McKinley was teaching school,
earning twenty-five dollars per month. As
soon as Fort Sumter was fired upon he en-
listed in a company that was formed in
Poland, which was inspected and mustered
in by General John C. Fremont, who at
first objected to Mr. McKinley, as being too
young, but upon examination he was finally
accepted. Mr. McKinley was seventeen
when the war broke out but did not look his
age. He served in the Twenty-third Ohio
Infantry throughout the war, was promoted
from sergeant to captain, for good conduct
on the field, and at the close of the war,
for meritorious services, he was brevetted
maior. After leaving the army Major Mc-
Kinley took up the study of law, and was
admitted to the bar, and in 1869 he took
his initiation into politics, being elected pros-
ecuting attorney of his county as a Republi-
can, although the district was usually Demo-
cratic. In 1 876 he was elected to congress,
and in a call upon the President-elect, Mr.
Hayes, to whom he went for advice upon the
way he should shape his career, he was
told that to achieve fame and success he
must take one special line and stick to it.
Mr. McKinley chose tariff legislation and
he became an authority in regard to import
duties. He was a member of congress for
many years, became chairman of the ways
and means committee, and later he advo-
cated the famous tariff bill that bore his
name, which was passed in 1890. In the
next election the Republican party was
overwhelmingly defeated through the coun-
try, and the Democrats secured more than
a two- thirds majority in the lower house,
and also had control of the senate, Mr.
McKinley being defeated in his own district
by a small majority. He was elected gov-
ernor of Ohio in 1891 by a plurality of
twenty-one thousand, five hundred and
eleven, and two years later he was re-elected
by the still greater plurality of eighty thou-
sand, nine hundred and ninety-five. He was
a delegate-at-large to the Minneapolis Re->
publican convention in 1892, and was in-
structed to support the nomination of Mr.
Harrison. He was chairman of the con^
vention, and was the only man from Ohio
to vote for Mr. Harrison upon the roll call.
In November, 1892, a number of prominent
politicians gathered in New York to discuss
the political situation, and decided that the
result of the election had put an end to Mc-
Kinley and McKinleyism. But in less than
four years from that date Mr. McKinley was
nominated for the presidency against the
combined opposition of half a dozen rival
candidates. Much of the credit for his suc-
cess was due to Mark A. Hanna, of Cleve-
land, afterward chain.ian of the Republican
national committee. At the election which
occurred in November, 1896, Mr. McKinley
was elected president of the United States
by an enormous majority, on a gold stand-
ard and protective tariff platform. He was
inaugurated on the 4th of March, 1897,
and called a special session of congress, to
which was submitted a bill for tariff reform,
which was passed in the latter part of July
of that vear.
218
COMPENDIUM OF 1U0GRAPHT.
/->INCINNATUS HEINE MILLER,
V_> known in the literary world as Joaquin
Miller, "the poet of the Sierras," was born
at Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1841. When only
about thirteen years of age he ran away
from home and went to the mining regions
in California and along the Pacific coast.
Some time afterward he was taken prisoner
by the Modoc Indians and lived with them
for five years. He learned their language
and gained great influence with them, fight-
ing in their wars, and in all modes of living
became as one of them. In 1S58 he left
the Indians and went to San Francisco,
where he studied law, and in i860 was ad-
mitted to the bar in Oregon. In 1866 he
was elected a county judge in Oregon and
served four years. Early in the seventies
he began devoting a good deal of time to
literary pursuits, and about 1874 he settled
in Washington, D. C. He wrote many
poems and dramas that attracted consider-
able attention and won him an extended
reputation. Among his productions may be
mentioned " Pacific Poems," " Songs of the
Sierras," "Songs of the Sun Lands,"
' ' Ships in the Desert, " ' ' Adrianne, a Dream
of Italy," " Danites, " "Unwritten History,"
" First Families of the Sierras " (a novel),
" One Fair Woman " (a novel), " Songs of
Italy," " Shadows of Shasta," "The Gold-
Seekers of the Sierras," and a number of
others.
GEORGE FREDERICK ROOT, a
noted music publisher and composer,
was born in Sheffield, Berkshire county,
Massachusetts, on August 30, 1820. While
working on his father's farm he found time
to learn, unaided, several musical instru-
ments, and in his eighteenth year he went
to Boston, where he soon found employ-
ment as a teacher of music. From 1839
until 1844 he gave instructions in music in
the public schools of that city, and was also
director of music in two churches. Mr.
Root then went to New York and taught
music in the various educational institutions
of the city. He went to Paris in 1850 and
spent one year there in study, and on his re-
turn he published his first song, "Hazel
Dell." It appeared as the work of " Wur-
zel," which was the German equivalent of
his name. He was the originator of the
normal musical institutions, and when the
first one was started in New York he
was one of the faculty. He removed to
Chicago, Illinois, in i860, and established
the firm of Root & Cady," and engaged in
the publication of music. He received, in
1872, the degree of "Doctor of Music"
from the University of Chicago. After the
war the firm became George F. Root & Co.,
of Cincinnati and Chicago. Mr. Root did
much to elevate the standard of music in this
country by his compositions and work as a
teacher. Besides his numerous songs he
wrote a great deal of sacred music and pub-
lished many collections of vocal and instru-
mental music. For many years he was the
most popular song writer in America, and
was one of the greatest song writers of the
war. He is also well-known as an author,
ami his work in that line comprises: " Meth-
ods for the Piano and Organ," " Hand-
book on Harmony Teaching, " and innumer-
able articles for the musical press. Among
his many and most popular songs of the
wartime are: " Rosalie, the Prairie-flower,"
"Battle Cry of Freedom," " Just Before the
Battle," " Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys
are Marching," " The Old Folks are Gone,"
"A Hundred Years Ago," "Old Potomac
Shore, "and " There's Music in the Air." Mr.
Root's cantatas include ' ' The Flower Queen '
and "The Haymakers." He died in 1896.
HISTORY
OF
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, MICHIGAN.
CHAPTER I.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME AND DESCRIPTION.
The early French voyageurs in coasting
from Mackinaw southward found two con-
siderable indentations of the coast line of
Lake Michigan on the east side, which they
were accustomed to cross from headland to
headland. The smaller of these they desig-
nated La Petite Traverse and the greater
La Grande Traverse. These names were
transferred to the two hays known as the
Little Traverse and Grand Traverse hays,
from the latter of which Grand Traverse
countv was named.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION,
Grand Traverse bay is a hay of Lake
Michigan, indenting the northwestern shore
of the southern peninsula of the state of
Michigan. Its general direction is from
north' to south. Its mouth is in latitude
forty-five degrees, fifteen minutes north,
13
and its head in forty-four degrees, forty-
five minutes north. Its length in a straight
line is therefore thirty-four and seventy-
hundredths statute miles. The undefined re-
gion bordering on this hay is generally
known as the Grand Traverse region. The
county of Antrim lies upon the east side of
the bay, the countv of Leelanaw on the west,
and the county of Grand Traverse on and
about the head of the bay.
The southern portion of the hay is divid-
ed into the east and west arms by a belt of
Land from one to two miles wide and about
seventeen miles in length, known as the
"Peninsula." The east arm has an average
width of about four and a half miles; the
west arm is somewhat wider. The depth
of water in the hay is generally from twenty
to seventy fathoms. The east arm attains
the greatest depth, being about a hundred
fathoms at a point opposite old Mission
across towards Petobego lake.
220
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
The entire bay constitutes a harbor se
cure from all except northerly winds, while
the two arms of the bay are not seriously
disturbed by storms from any direction.
The shores of the bay, however, present a
number of harbors in which vessels ma\ at
all times lie in perfect safety.
Entering' the bay at its mouth and pro-
ceeding along the western shore, the first
important harbor reached is Northport,
which opens towards the south, being sepa-
rated from the bay by a t< mgue of land called
Carrying Point. This harbor is about two
miles wide and nearly three miles deep and is
a frequent resort for vessels overtaken by
storm on the lake, the water being of
sufficient depth for the Largest vessels. Be-
sides the steamboat docks here are located
the car-ferry slips for the transfer of cars
from the Traverse City, Leelanaw & Manis-
tiquc Railroad between Northport and Man-
istique.
Proceeding southward, twelve miles
from the mouth of the bay we reach Xew
.Mission or Omena Harbor, also opening
southward and separated from the bay by
Shabawasson Point. This harbor is a mile
and a half wide and a mile deep, with plenty
of water for navigation. The village of
Omena at this point is the terminus of the
Leelanaw count)' branch of the Manistee &
Northeastern Railroad. Four miles further
south is Sutton's bay, opening toward the
northeast and separated from the bay by
Stony Point. This harbor is three miles long
and a mile and a half wide, with plenty ol
water. On this harbor the flourishing village
of Sutton's Bay is situated. Lee's point,
eleven miles from the head of the west arm,
forms another shall >w harbor.
Bower's harbor, on the west side of the
peninsula, opens to the southwest, being'
isolated from the west arm by Traverse
Point, to the south of which is Harbor isl-
and, forming, in connection with the point, a
harbor about three miles in length by one
and a half in width. On the north side of
this harbor is located the beautiful and pop-
ular summer resi >rt, Xe-ah-at-w anta.
On the east side of the peninsula, near
the point, is ( >ld Mission harbor, having a
capacity of about one square mile.
Going southward from the mouth of
( '.rami Traverse bay along the shores of Lake
Michigan, we find a broad indentation at the
mouth of Carp river, where is located Le-
land, the count) seat of Leelanaw county,
opening towards the northwest and partially
protected from west and southwest winds by
the highlands of .Mount Carp. Between
Mount Carp and North Unity is Good Har-
bor, a broad bay about five miles deep, af-
fording protection from all winds except
those proceeding from the north and north-
west. Between North Unity and Sleeping
Bear Point is another broad bay about four
miles deep, forming the harbor of (den
Arbor and Glen Haven, affording shelter
from all except north and northwest winds.
All the harbors mentioned above em-
braced within the Grand Traverse region arc
just as nature formed them, as not a dollar of
money has ever been expended by the gov-
ernment for the improvement of any of them.
CHAPTER II.
THE NATIVE OCCUPANTS.
Fi '1' many centuries prior to the settle-
ment by the whites the entire region about
Grand Traverse bay and on the borders of
Lake Michigan had been inhabited by the
Indians. The deep and well-worn trails in
various directions through the country, the
old clearings at Old Mission, Cat Head
Point and other places, the old scars on maple
tress, deeply imbedded in the wood and near-
ly grown over where they had been tapped
for sugar many generations before, which
were observed by the earliest white settlers,
corroborate the statements made by the old-
est Indians that this country had from a
very remote period been a favorite resort
for the aborigines.
According to the most reliable traditions
the remnant of the tribes of Indians which
still remain in Leelanaw county and other
parts of the region first acquired possession
of the country nearly two hundred years ago.
The fact is very well established that in the
year that Quebec was founded by the
French. 1608, a party of Indians belonging
to the Chippeways, which then inhabited
Grand Manitoulin Island on the northeas-
tern coast of Lake Huron, set sail in canoes
in search of the white settlements on the St.
Lawrence, being led to undertake the enter-
prise by the dream of one of the old men of
the tribe, who informed them that a strange
people from the region of the sun had ap-
peared on the banks of that river. They
proceeded on their journey in their frail
crafts, little dreaming that the time would
come when the waters through which they
passed would be covered with great steam-
ships bearing the commerce of a mighty na-
tion. When they at length arrived opposite
the site of the present city of Quebec they
discovered the French, who invited them to
land and treated them in a friendly manner,
furnishing them with clothing such as they
themselves wore, and giving them fire-arms
and merchandise in exchange for furs. The
Indians were highly pleased with the treat-
ment they received and after remaining some
days, went home, having promised to
return soon and bring with them a quantity
<>f furs, which the French agreed to pur-
chase. In this way a trade of considerable
magnitude sprung up between the French
and the boldest and most energetic of the
Chippeways, who in their frequent voyages
between their country and Quebec, learned
something of the manners and customs of
civilization, which they appear to have made
use of to good advantage, as in time they
gained a decided superiority over those In-
dians who remained at home and took no
222
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
part in these commercial expeditions and
transactions.
The envy of those who remained at home
and took no part in this commercial trade
with the French was soon aroused to such
a degree that the traders were finally com-
pelled to abandon the Great Manitoulin Isl-
and. Upon their separation from the rest
of the tribe they took the name of Ottawas
and located on Mackinaw Island and on the
main land south of the straits. After be-
coming well established in their new home
they made excursions to the south and in
the neighborhood of what is now Cross Vil-
lage, Emmet county, encountered a hostile
tribe of the Prairie Indians, who then occu-
pied the Grand Traverse region. A fierce bat-
tle ensued, in which the Prairies were over-
come and fled. The Ottawas followed up
the advantage which they had gained princi-
pally by means of firearms they had ob-
tained from the French and which their ad-
versaries did not possess. The)' pursued the
Prairies to Sleeping Bear Point, in the south-
west corner of Leelanaw county, and again
attacked and repulsed them with considerable
loss, so that they were compelled to fly with
such precipitance as to, leave much of their
camp equipage behind. They were hotly
pursued by the Ottawas until they reached
Pere Marquette, where they were hemmed
in < m a narrow point between Lake Michi-
gan and Marquette lake, and where the final
and decisive battle was fought, resulting in
the almost total distinction of the Prairies, a
few only escaping by swimming the river.
The Ottawas were thus left in the undis-
puted possession of the country.
In a course of time a reconciliation took
place between the Chippeways. which was
then one of the most numerous ami powerful
tribes of the northwest, and the Ottawas, by
which the former were allowed a joint oc-
cupancy of the Grand Traverse region with
the latter, and the two tribes have continued
to dwell together to the present time. The
remnants of these bands in Leelanaw county
have never made rapid strides in civilization,
but have copied the vices rather than the
virtues of the white man, and their numbers
are fast fading away, and the red man who
so proudly roamed the forests of this region
in the early days will soon have disappeared
forever.
The late Rev. George N. Smith, a mis-
sionary among the Indians at Northport,
whose work will receive more elaborate
mention later, tells of having visited the
place of the battle at Sleeping Bear and
found there buried in the drifting sands
the clay kettles set upon stones, as they had
been left by the Indians in their flight.
FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT IN MICHIGAN.
In 1668 Father Claude Allouez founded
the first white settlement on Lake Superior
and Father Marquette, having been sent to
this Ottawa Mission, as it was called, ar-
rived at Sault Ste Marie in the spring of
1668, and began his work on the American
side. The following year Father Dablon,
the superior of the mission, joined him, and
this, according to the best information, was
the first permanent settlement made on the
soil of Michigan by the whites. The Indians
had inhabited Mackinaw Island at least some
years previous to this. Father Marquette
came to Mackinaw in 1670 and in the fol-
lowing year established the mission at St.
Ignace.
From the autobiography of Alexander
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
223
Henry, the first English fur trader who ven-
tured among the Indians at Mackinaw, we
get the first mention of Grand Traverse, al-
though we have good reason for believing
that the Jesnit missionaries already men-
tioned had visited the region all along the
shores of Lake Michigan and its bays. The
missionaries combined with their religions
fervor a zeal for exploration, which has
given them a foremost place in the history
of the new world, and we have good author-
ity for believing that "Le Grande Traverse"
was so called by Father Marquette and his
co-laborers.
Dr. Leach in his history thinks there is
no evidence that Father Marquette ever
visited the wilderness bordering upon
Grand Traverse bay and that his first tour of
discovery from St. lgnace to the west and
south was made two years after he took up
his residence at St. lgnace, when he set out,
in company with Joliet and "passed westward
to Green bay, and then to the Mississippi by
the way of the Fox and Wisconsin rivers.
Returning, he passed up the Illinois and
Des Plaines rivers, crossed the Portage to the
Chicago, and from the mouth of that stream
coasted along the western shore of the lake
to Green bay. After spending the winter
and summer there, he set out on a visit to the
Illinois, taking the route of the western shore
of the lake and the portage to the Des
Plaines. On his return, in the spring of
j<>75, he started to coast for the first
time along the eastern shore of the lake. A
disease from which he had long been a suf-
ferer, assumed increased violence, and it soon
became evident that he could not long sur-
vive. At the mouth of a little river, sup-
posed to be somewhere north of the river that
bears his name, he peacefully passed away,
and was buried by his faithful attendants,
Pierre and Jacques, who then pursued their
lonely journey to St. lgnace. A year after-
wards a party of Ottawas, returning from
their annual winter hunt, opened the grave,
washed and dried the bones, enclosed them
in a box of birch bark, and carried them to
St. lgnace, where they were received with
solemn ceremony, and buried beneath the
floor of the little chapel of the mission."
From the time of the death of Pere Mar-
quette, in 1675, up to the massacre of Fort
Mackinaw, in 1763, we know very little re-
garding the occupancy of Grand Traverse
and Leelanaw by the Indians, but that they
were so occupied at the latter date is very
certain, as the fur trader, Henry, who began
his traffic with the Indians at Mackinaw in
1761 and was a captive carried away at the
time of the massacre, and having spent the
winter of 1763 in the region of Aux Sauble
river hunting with his captors, gives an ac-
count of meeting with a band of Indians
from this region. He says: "At the
Grand Traverse we met a large party of In-
dians who appeared to labor, like ourselves,
under considerable alarm, and who dared
proceed no further lest they should be de-
stroyed by the English. Frequent councils
were held and I told them that if ever my
countrymen returned to Mackinaw I would
recommend them to their favor, on account
of the good treatment I had received from
them. Thus encouraged, they embarked at
an early hour the next morning. In cross-
ing the bay we experienced a storm of
thunder and lightning. Our port was the
village of L'Arbre Croche [Cross Village],
which we reached in safety."
CHAPTER III.
ACTUAL SETTLEMENT BY THE WHITES.
The last chapter closed the account of
the traditional settlement of this region by
the Indians, and its discovery by the Jesuit
missionaries. We now come to the time of
its actual occupancy by the whites. Rev.
Dr. Morse, father of the inventor of the tele-
graph, visited Mackinaw in June, 1820, and
preached the first Protestant sermon ever de-
livered in this part of the Northwest. He
became interested in the condition of the
traders and natives and made to the United
Foreign Missionary Society, of Xew York,
a report of his visit, the result of which was
that Rev. William M. Ferry was sent in [822
to explore the field, which resulted in the
establishment of a school, which was kept
up until 1837, by which time the popula-
tion had so changed around Mackinaw that
it was thought to he no longer desirable for
an Indian mission.
At this time the Indians had permanent
settlements at various points in the region.
There were gardens on the peninsula in
Grand Traverse hay and a village at Old
Mission, while west of the bay, in Leelanaw
count}-, a small band had their home on the
point afterwards known as Xew Mission,
now Omena. and another on the shore of
Lake Michigan not far from the present
A'illage of Leland. Dr. Leach thus de-
scribes their dwellings and mode of living at
this time.
"Their dwellings were of various sizes
and shapes, and were constructed of a varie-
ty of materials. The most substantial and
permanent consisted of a frame of cedar
poles, covered with cedar bark. One of these
called, o-maw-gay-ko-gaw-mig. was square
or oblong, with perpendicular walls, and a
roof with a slope in opposite directions,
like the simplest form of frame hi uises among
white men. Another, the ke-no-day-we-
gaw-mig, had perpendicular end walls, but
the side walls in the upper part were bent in-
ward, meeting along the middle line, thus
forming the roof in the shape of a broad
arch. Hi tuses of this kind were sometimes
fifty or sixty feet long, and had places for
three fires. The ne-saw-wah-e-gun and
the wah-ge-no-gawn were light* but very
serviceable houses, consisting of frames of
poles covered with mats. The former was
cone-shaped; the latter regularly convex at
the top. The mats, ten or twelve feet long
and three or four wide, were made of the
long, slender leaves of the cat-tail flag
(Typha), properly cured and carefully
sewed together. When suitably adjusted 1 >n
frames, with the edges lapping, they made a
serviceable roof. Being light and, when
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
225
rolled up, not inconvenient to carry, they
were used for traveling tents. Houses of
mats were often used for winter residence in
the woods, and were not uncomfortable.
The ah-go-beem-wah-gun was a small sum-
mer house for young men, usually con-
structed of cedar bark, on an elevated plat-
form resting, on posts, reached only by as-
cending a ladder. Winter ' houses in the
woods were sometimes built of slab-, or
plank of split timber. They were often
Ci >ne shaped, and were made tight and warm.
They were called pe-no-gawn. In the
woods, even in winter, they sometimes lived
in temporary wigwams of evergreen boughs,
which they managed to make comfortable.
"The Indian houses were without win-
dows. The fire was built upon the ground,
in the center if the lodge was small ; or there
was a row of fires down the middle line, in
a long ke-no-day-we-gaw-mig. A hole in
the roof, above each fire, served for the es-
cape of the smoke. A raised platform, a foot
or a foot and a half high, covered with mats,
along the sides of the room, served fi >r a
seat during the day and for a sleeping place
at night. The mats, some of them beautifully
ornamented with colors, were made of
rushes found growing in shallow lakes, in-
geniously woven together with twine manu-
factured from the bark of the slippery elm.
"In their gardens thev cultivated corn,
pumpkins, beans and potatoes. Apple trees,
the seed for which was originally obtained
from the whites, either the Jesuit mission-
aries or the fur traders, were planted in
every clearing. Wild fruits, especially
choice varieties of wild plums, were grown
from seed introduced from their distant
southern hunting grounds. The gardens
were frequently some distance from the vil-
lages. The owners resorted to them at
proper season, to do the necessary work.
living tor the time in portable lodges or in
temporary structures erected for the occa-
-ii in.
"Though they hunted more or less at
all times, winter was the season devoted
more especially to that pursuit. Then the
greater part of the population left the \ il-
lages, and scattered through the forest. The
chain of inland lakes in Antrim county,
having its outlet at Elk Rapids, was a fav-
orite resort, on account of the facilities
for fishing, as well as for hunting and trap-
ping. .Many plunged into the deeper soli-
tudes of the forest, and fixed their winter
abode on the Manistee, the Muskegon,
or the Sauble. Others embarked in ca-
noes, and coasted along Lake Michigan
to its southern extremity, from there mak-
ing their way to the marshes of the
Kankakee and the hunting ground- of
northern Indiana and Illinois. Several
families had their favorite winter camping
place on the northeastern shore of Hoard-
man Lake, within the present corporate
limits of Traverse City."
CHAPTER IV.
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST PROTESTANT MISSION IN
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY.
In May, 1839. Rev. John Fleming and
Rev. Peter Dougherty, missionaries of the
Presbyterian Board of Missions, having
spent the previous winter at Mackinaw, came
to Grand Traverse hay to found a school
for the education of the Indians. They
brought supplies with them, including doors
and windows for a house. They landed in
Old Mission harbor, where the Indians had
a village, but found only a few lone Indians
there, who informed them that the main
band were encamped at the mouth of what
is now known as Elk river, on the opposite
side of the bay. The next day a chief, with
a number of men, came over. The mission-
aries told him that they had come by direc-
tion of their agent at Mackinaw, and by per-
mission of their great father, the President,
to establish a school among them for the edu-
cation of their children, and to teach them a
knowledge of the Savior. They were in-
formed that the head chief, with his men,
would come in a few days, and then they
would give an answer.
The chief came and the council was held
and the missionaries were informed that the
Indians had decided to unite all the bands
living in the vicinity, and locate near the
river on the east side of the l>av. If the
missionaries would go with them they would
sin iw them the intended location of their new
village and gardens, so they could select a
good central place for their dwelling and
school. Accordingly, about the twentieth
of the month, the missionaries, in their
Mackinaw boat, accompanied by a fleet of
Indian canoes, crossed the bay, landing at
what is now Elk Rapids, then called by the
Indians Tawassing. The missionaries chose
a location about a quarter of a mile south of
Elk river and immediately proceeded to cut
logs and erect a building. The body of the
house was not much more than erected be-
fore a messenger came from Mackinaw with
the intelligence that Mr. Fleming's wife had
suddenly died at that place. Mr. Fleming
immediately embarked in the boat bringing
the sad news, and returned to Mackinaw.
He never returned to the mission. Dr.
Leach says :
"After the departure of his comrade, Mr.
Dougherty, with the assistance of Peter
Greenskv. the interpreter, busied himself
with the work of finishing the house and
clearing away the brush in the vicinity.
Once or twice the cedar bark of the roof
took fire from the stove pipe, hut fortunately
the accident was discovered before any ser-
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
227
ious damage was done. The old chief Aish-
qua-gwon-a-ba and his wife, perhaps to show
their friendliness and make it less lonely for
the missionary, came and stayed with him
several days in his new house.
"About the 20th of June, Henry R.
Schoolcraft, Indian agent at Mackinaw, ar-
rived in a small vessel, accompanied by his
interpreter, Robert Graverat, and Isaac
George as Indian blacksmith. From infor-
mati< hi received at Mackinaw, Mr. School-
craft had come impressed with the notion
that the harbor near the little island, on the
west side i if the peninsula (Bowers' Harbor) ,
would be a suitable point at which to locate
the blacksmith, carpenter and farmer that,
by terms of the recent treaty, the government
-was obliged to furnish for the benefit of the
Indians. Looking over the ground, and
consulting the wishes of the Indians, he
finally came to the conclusion that Missi< in
I ! arbor was a more suitable place. Accord-
ingly Mr. George was left to commence op-
erations, and Mr. Schoolcraft returned to
Mackinaw.
"Soon after the departure of Mr. School-
craft Ah-go-sa, the chief at Mission Harbor,
accompanied by the principal men of his
band, visited Mr. Dougherty, saying that
must of the Indians at that place were unwill-
ing to move over to the east side of the bay,
and offering to transport him and his goods
across to Mission Harbor, and furnish him
a house to live in, if he would take up his
residence with them. Convinced that, all
things considered, the harbor was a more
eligible site for the mission, Mr. Dougherty
at once accepted the proposal. Leaving
what things were not needed for immediate
use. and loading the balance in Indian canoes
he was ferried across the bay to the scene
1 if his future labors — the place where he
had first landed nut many weeks before, and
which, under the name of Old Mission, has
since become famous as a center of develop-
ment of the agricultural interests of north-
western Michigan.
"The next day arrangements were made
for opening a school, with interpreter Green-
sky as teacher, in the little bark wigwam
that the Indians had vacated for Mr. Dough-
erty's use. Then followed a hard summer's
w 1 irk. Mr. Dougherty and Mr. George com-
menced the construction of a house for them-
selves. The logs for the building were cut
close along the border of the harbor, floated
to a point near where they were to be used,
and then dragged to the site of the building
by hand. Of course the work could never
have been accomplished without the aid of
the Indians. The house was covered with
shingles, such as the two inexperienced men
were able to make, and a few boards brought
from Mackinaw with their supplies. The
building was so nearly completed that the
men found themselves comfortably housed
before winter fairly set in.
"Desiring not to be left alone while the
Indians were absent on* their annual winter
hunt, Mr, Dougherty induced the chief Ah-
go-sa and two others, with their families,
to remain till sugar making time in the
spring, by offering to help them put up com-
fi irtable houses for winter. There is some
uncertainty about the style of these houses.
We are informed that the offer was to help
them put up log or slab shanties. If finally
the latter was determined on, the slabs must
have been rough planks, split out of suitable
logs with beetle and wedges, and smoothed
with an ax. Whether the shanties were
built cone shape or not. by placing the planks
228
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
i a] end in a circle, v\ ith t< ips inclining inw ard
like the Ottawa pe-bo-ne-gawn, does not ap-
pear. Before they were finished, the
weather had become so cold that boiling
water had to be used to thaw the clay for
plastering the chinks in the walls. Mr.
! >ougherty's house stood on the hank of the
harbor, east of the site afterwards occupied
by the mure commodious and comfortable
mission house. The chief's shanty was built
on the south side of the little lake lying a
short distance northwest of the harbor. The
cabins of the other two Indian families were
located a little way south of where the mis-
sion church was afterwards built.
"In the fall John Johnston arrived at the
mission, having come, by appointment of
Mr. Schoolcraft, to reside there as Indian
farmer. ! luring the winter the mission
family consisted of the four men — Dough-
erty, George, Greensky and Johnston. Mr.
Johnston had brought with him a yoke >>i
oxen, for use in Indian farming. There was
ii" fodder in the country, unless he may have
brought a little with him. Be that as it may,
he found it necessary to browse his cattle all
winter.
"In the spring of 1S40 the log house
which had been built at Elk Rapids the pre-
vious year was taken down, and the mater-
ial- were transported across the bay and used
in the construction of a school h<>u^e and
wood -lied. Until the mission church was
built, a year or two after, the school house
was used for holding religious services, as
well as for school.
"In the fall oi 1N41. besides Indian wig-
wams, there were five buildings at the mis-
sion — the school house and four dwellings.
All were built of logs, and all. except Mr.
Dougherty's house, were covered with cedar
bark. The dwellings were occupied by Mr.
Dougherty, missionary, Henry Bradley,
mission teacher. John Johnson. Indian farm-
re, and David McGulpin, assistant farmer.
Mr. George was still there, and there had
been another addition to the community in
the person of George Johnston, who had
come in the capacity of Indian carpenter.
As regards race, the little community, the
only representatives of Christian civilization
in the heart of a savage wilderness, was
somewhat mixed. John Johnston was half
Indian with a white wife; McGulpin was a
white man with an Indian wife. All the
others, except Greensky, the interpreter,
were whites.
"As the little community represented two
races, so also it represented two distinct
agencies, working in harmony for the im-
provement of the physical, intellectual and
moral condition of the Indians. The
blacksmith, carpenter and farmer were em-
ployes of the United States government,
appointed by the Indian agent at Mackinaw,
and subject to his control. It was their
duty to instruct the Indians in the simpler
and more necessary arts of civilization. The
missionary and his assistants, the interpreter
and teacher, were employed by the Presby-
terian board and supported by missionary
funds. The only assistance they received
from the government was an allowance for
medicines dispensed to the Indians.
"In the fall of 1841 an event occurred
that must have created a little flutter of ex-
citement in the quiet ami isolated settle-
ment at the mission. It was on a pleasant
iii" irning in September that the little schooner
"Supply" came into the harbor, having on
board as passengers, besides Mr. ami Mrs.
Dousrbertv and their infant daughter, Hen-
GRAXD TRAJ'ERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
229
rietta, two persons whose names have since
become intimately associated with the
events of the early history of the Grand
Traverse country. Those two persons were
Deacon Joseph Dame and Lewis Miller.
"We are not informed at which time Mrs.
Dougherty first came to the mission. On
the occasion referred to she and her husband
were returning from a visit to Mackinaw,
where they had gone some time previously,
in order to be within reach of suitable assist-
ance at the period of Mrs. Dougherty's con-
finement. Deacon I lame had received the
appointment of Indian farmer, as successor
to John Johnston, and came to enter upon
the duties of his office. With him were Mrs.
Dame, their eldest son, Eusebius F., and two
daughters, Almira and Mary. Another
daughter, Olive M., came the following year.
Lewis Miller was an orphan, left alone to
make his way in the world. His birthplace
was Waterloo, Canada West ; the date of his
birth September 14, 1824. The year [839
found him in Chicago. From that city, in
1840. he made his way to Mackinaw. 1 [ere
be became acquainted with the Dames. A
strong friendship grew up between him and
Mr. and Mrs. Dame. When, in 1841, Dea-
con Dame received his appointment as In-
dian farmer, and commenced preparations
for removal to his new field of labor, Miller,
then seventeen years of age, resolved to ac-
company him, more for the novelty of the
thing than from any definite purpose with
reference to the future. Except the children
who came with their parents, he was the
first white settler in the < .rand Traverse
mntrv who did not come in consequence of
an appointment from the Presbyterian board
on the Mackinaw Indian agency. Eusebius
and Almira Dame were in their teens: Mary
was younger. During some portion of the
time for the next year or two, the three, with
young Miller, were pupils in the mission
school. Except the Catholic mission school
at Little Traverse, it was the first in the
Grand Traverse country.
"About 1842, the construction of a more
commodious dwelling and a mission church
was commenced by Mr. Dougherty. The
dwelling, since known as the mission house,
was the first frame building erected in the
( irand Traverse country. The church had
solid walls of hewn cedar timbers laid one
upon another and kept in place by the em Is
being fitted into grooves in upright posts.
The timbers were brought from the east side
of the bay. in a huge log canoe, or dug-out,'
called the 'Pe-to-be-go.' which was thirty
feet long, and, it is said, was capable of car-
rying twenty barrels of Hour."
At the present writing, sixty years after
the completion of these buildings, the Mission
House, enlarged and greatly improved, is
owned and occupied by Mr. Rushmore, ami
known as the Rushmore House, and is used
and well patronized as a hotel for summer
visitors. The church has been moved fn mi
its original location near the beach, up to
front the street, sided up, painted and put in
good repair, and is owned and used by the
Methodist Episcopal church at Old Mission
as a place of worship. The little log school-
house, in which Mr. Bradley taught J
Miller and the young Dames, in connection
with the Indian boys and girls, was de-
stroyed by fire many years ago.
During the ten years between 1842 and
[852 some changes occurred at the mission.
Mr. Bradlev as teacher was succeeded by a
230
GRAXD TR.U'ERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
gentleman by the name of Whiteside. Not
liking the position. Mr. Whiteside soon re-
signed, and was followed by Andrew Porter.
Changes were also made, from time to
time, among the. employes of the Indian
agency. Some of them remained in the coun-
tr) after their connection with the agency
had terminated, and turned their attention
to farming or other pursuits. Among such
appear the names of John Campbell. Robert
Campbell, William R. Stone and J. M. Pratt.
Among the earlier settlers not connected
with the mission or the agency were H. K.
Coles, John Swaney and Martin S. Wait.
O. P. Ladd and his brother-in-law, Orlin
Hughson, settled on the peninsula as early
as 1850, but remained only two or three
years. E. P. Ladd, having come on a visit
to his sister, Mrs. Hughson, in May, 1852.
was so well pleased with the country that he
at once determined to make his home here.
G. A. Craker arrived in April of the same
year, and immediately hired out to Mr.
Dougherty.
The little group of wigwams and log
cabins at the harbor had grown to a village
of considerable size. The Indians had gen-
erally abandoned their early style of wig-
wams and were living in houses built of hewn
logs and whitewashed on the inside. Seen
from a distance, the village presented a pret-
ty and inviting appearance; a close inspec-
tion did not always confirm first impressions.
According to their original custom, the In-
dians hved in the village, and cultivated gar-
dens some distance away.
The gardens, or patches of cultivated
ground, were of all sizes, from one acre to
mx. The Indians had no legal title to the
soil. By the terms of treat}', the peninsula
had been reserved for their exclusive occu-
pation for a period of five years, and after
that they were to be permitted to remain
during the pleasure of the government. The
period of five years had long since expired.
Their landed property was held by suffrance
and was liable at any moment to be taken
away. The project of removing them be-
yond the Mississippi was at one time serious-
ly entertained by the government, or at least
it was so understood. The prospect was not
pleasing to the Indians. A deputation sent
to examine their proposed new home in the
west reported unfavorably. They determined
not to be removed, preferring to take ref-
uge in Canada, as a large part of the Indian
population of Emmet county had done sever-
al years before.
At this juncture, the adoption of the re-
vised state constitution of 1850 made citizens
of all civilized persons of Indian descent, not
members of any tribe. Here was a way out
of the difficulty. They could purchase land
of the government, settle do\\ # n upon it, and
claim the protection of the state and the
general government as citizens. The land
on the peninsula was not yet in market ; that
on the west shore of the bay was. By the ad-
vice of Mr. Dougherty, several families
agreed to set apart a certain amount of their
next annual payment, for the purchase of
land. A list of names was made, and the
chief was authorized to receive the money
from the agent at Mackinaw, which he
brought to Mr. Dougherty for safe keeping.
Having made their selections, on the west
side of the bay, some of their most trusty
men were sent to the land office, at Ionia, the
following spring, to make the purchase.
If the general government ever seriously
entertained the project of removing the In-
dians of the Grand Traverse country bevond
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAU' COUNTIES.
231
the Mississippi, it was abandoned, and sever-
al townships, in what are now the comities
of Leelanaw, Charlevoix and Emmet, were
withdrawn from market and set apart as res-
ervations for their benefit. Within the limits
of these reservations, each head of a family
and each single person of mature age was
permitted to select a parcel of land, to be
held for his own use, and eventually to be-
come his property in fee simple.
As already indicated, the lands on the
peninsula were not yet in market. The In-
dians held possession of considerable por-
tions, but could give no legal title to the soil.
They could, however, sell their possessory
rights, and white men, recognizing the eli-
gibility of the location for agricultural pur-
suits, were not backward in becoming pur-
chasers, taking the chances of obtaining a
title from the government at a future time.
MISSION MOVED TO OMEXA.
The combined effect of the several cir-
cumstances narrated above was to cause a
gradual scattering of the Indians of the mis-
sion settlement. Those who had purchased
land on the west side of the bay removed to
the lands they had selected in the reserved
townships. Seeing that the Indian commu-
nity at the mission would finally be broken
up. Air. Dougherty wisely concluded to
change the location of the mission itself.
Accordingly purchase was made of an eligi-
ble tract of land, suitable for a farm and
manual labor school, on Mission Point, near
the place now called Omena, in Leelanaw
countv, to which he removed early in the
spring of 1852.
Considering the scattered condition and
migratory habits of the Indians, it was
thought that the most effective work for their
Christianization and civilization could be
done by gathering the youth into one family,
where they would be constantly and fur a
term of years under the direct supervision
and influence of teachers. And then, a well
managed industrial school, it was thought,
could not fail to exert, in some degree, a ben-
eficial influence on the parents and youth of
the vicinity, who did not attend, by a practi-
cal exhibitii >n of the advantages of education
and industry. In this respect the new loca-
tion of the mission was well chosen, being"
in the vicinity of those families who had pur-
chased land of the government and who, it
might reasonably be expected, would profit
by its example.
Mission Point had been occupied by a
band of Indians, called, from the name of
their chief. Shawb-wah-sun's band, some of
whose gardens were included in the tract
purchased by Mr. Dougherty. There were
apple trees growing there, at the time of the
purchase, as large as a man's body. Tradi-
tion says that the band had inhabited the
western shore of the bay for a long time/and
had once been numerous and powerful.
The manual labor school was opened in
the fall following the removal. The number
of pupils was limited to fifty — twenty-five of
each sex. Young children were not received,
except in one instance, when the rule was
suspended in favor of two homeless orphan-.
When received into the school, the pupils
were first washed and clothed. The common
clothing of both sexes consisted of coarse
but decent and serviceable material. The If >ys
were employed on the farm : the girls in
housework and sewing. At five o'clock in
the morning the bell rang for all to rise. At
six it called all together for worship. Soon
232
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAU' COUNTIES.
after worship breakfast was served, the boys
sitting at i me table, the girls at another. Af-
ter breakfast all repaired to their daily labor
and worked till half past eight, when the
school bell gave warning to assemble at the
scl 1-room. The boys worked under the
supervision of Mr. C raker. Every boy had
suitable tools assigned him, which he was
required to care for and keep in their prop-
er places. Mr. Craker kept the tools in
order, so that they were always read_\- for use,
and each boy could go to his work promptly.
A ci msiderable portion of the missii in farm
was cleared, and afterwards cultivated, by the
labor of the boys. The girls were divided in-
t< ■ classes, or companies, to each of which was
assigned some particular department of do-
mestic labor, changes being made weekly, so
that all could be instructed in every depart-
ment
In the school-room were two teachers,
one for the boys and another for the girls.
Mi-- Isabella Morrison, of Xew Haven,
Connecticut, was for many years the girls'
teacher. After her resignation the place was
filled by Miss Catherine Gibson till the mis-
sion was discontinued. Miss Gibson was
from Pennsylvania. In the boys' department,
the teachers were successively Miss Harriet
Cowles, Miss Beach, John Porter, and Miss
! fenrietta Dougherty. Miss Cowles came
from near Batavia, Xew York, Miss Beach
from White Lake, New York, and Mr. Por-
ter from Pennsylvania.
Concerning the mission, it only remains
to mention that the financial embarrassment
of the board, growing out of the war of the
Rebellion, necessitated the discontinuance of
the work. The school was finally broken up,
and the mission farm passed into other
hands and is now owned by a Cincinnati
company, who have changed the building in-
to a summer hotel, giving it the name of
"The Leelanaw."
Omena has in fact become an ideal sum-
mer resort. "The Inn" is another resort
hotel built upon Omena Point, which is filled
every summer with visitors from the south.
A large number of very handsome cottages
have already been built about Omena bay,
and many more are likely to be added in the
near future. The village is also likely to be-
come a town of considerable importance, not
only on this account, but because the Manis-
tee & Northeastern Railroad will undoubt-
edly soon extend its road to this place. The
new Traverse City. Leelanaw & Manistique
road also touches at this place.
CHAPTER V.
MR. DOUGHERTY'S WORK IN THE SETTLEMENTS.
During the period of Mr. Dougherty's
residence at Old Mission, there being no phy-
sician in the country, he was often applied to
for medicine and advice for the sick. On one
occasion, after Mr. Boardman had establish-
ed himself at the head of the bay, at the place
where Traverse City now stands, he was
called to prescribe for Mrs. Duncan, who
was keeping the boarding house at that
place. He found Mrs. Duncan very sick.
Two or three days after, not having heard
from his patient in the interval, he became
anxious for her safety, and resolved to get
some information in regard to her a mditii >n.
and to send a further supply of medicine,
or repeat his visit.
There were some men from Boardman's
establishment getting out timber at the har-
bor on the west side of the peninsula ( Bow-
ers' Harbor), which they were conveying
home in a boat. Hoping to get the desired
information from them, and to send the
necessary medicine by their hand, he walked
across the peninsula to their place of labor.
The men had gone home with a cargo.
Thinking he might get to Boardman's in
time to return with them on their next trip,
he started, for the head of the bay on foot,
making his way as rapidly as possible along
the beach. There was no bridge over
Boardman river near the boarding-house,
and, on his arrival, the skiff used for crossing
was i m the other side. There was no time to
lose. Not to be delayed, he quickly entered
the stream and waded across, the cold water
coming up to his chin. Fortunately he found
his patient much improved; unfortunately,
the boat in which he had hoped to return
was already nearly out of sight, on its way
back to the peninsula.
Mr. Dougherty would have been hospita-
bly entertained, could he have been persuad-
ed to remain, but he felt that he must return
home. Not stopping to put on a dry suit
that was offered him, he partook of a hasty
lunch, and set out on his return. Some one
>et him across the river in the skiff. As soon
as he was out of sight in the woods, he re-
solved to dry his clothes, without hindering
himself in the journey. Taking off his shirt,
he hung it on a stick carried in the hand,
spreading - it to the sun and air, as he walked
rapidly along. The day was warm, and the
, sun shone brightly. When the shirt was
partly dry, he exchanged it for his flannel,
putting on the shirt and hanging the
j flannel on the stick. It was near sundown
when he reached home, thoroughly fatigued,
234
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
but happy in the thought that his patient was
getting well. The next day he was so sore
and stiff as to be scarcely able to move.
Some years later, after the removal of
the mission to the west side of the bay, Mr.
Dougherty had an adventure that may
serve to illustrate the wild character of the
country and the shifts to which the settlers
were sometimes reduced. While seeking
supplies for his school, one spring, he heard
that a vessel, carrying a cargo of provisions,
had been wrecked on the shore of Lake
Michigan, somewhere south of Sleeping
Bear Point, and that consequently there was
flour for sale there at a reasonable price. In
those days the wrecking on the shore of a
vessel with such a cargo, while it was, as
now, a misfortune to the owners and under-
writers, was not unfrequently a blessing of
no small magnitude to the inhabitants. The
captain of the unfortunate craft was usually
willing and even anxious to sell, at a moder-
ate price, such provisions as could be saved
from the wreck, and the people were only
too glad to buy.
Starting early one morning, Mr. Dough-
erty walked across the country to the Indi-
an village of Che-ma-go-bing, near the site
of the present village of Leland. From Che-
ma-go-bing he followed the shore round the
bay since marked on the maps as Good Har-
bor, past the place afterwards called North
Unity, and round the point separating Good
Harbor from what was then known as Sleep-
ing Bear bay, but since called Glen Arbor
bay, his point of destination being the resi-
dence of John Lerue, who he knew lived on
the shore somewhere in that region.
The walk was long and fatiguing. When
the shades of evening fell upon the landscape
he had not reached Mr. Lerue's cabin. At
ten o'clock he came to a small shed on the
beach, where some cooper had been mak-
i ing barrels for the fishermen on the coast.
It was now too dark to travel, and he re-
solved to pass the night there. The air was
chilly, but everything was very dry, and he
feared to make a fire, lest the shed should
be burned. One less conscientious than Mr.
Dougherty, and less careful of the rights
of others, would not have hesitated for such
a reason, but he preferred a night of discom-
fort to the risk of injuring a fellow-being.
A backwoodsman of more experience would,
no doubt, have found a method to make
everything safe, while enjoying the luxury
of a camp fire. Looking about for the best
means of protection from the cold, he found
two empty barrels, each with a head out.
It occurred to him that these might be con-
verted into a sleqiing apartment. It required
some little ingenuity to get into both at once,
but after considerable effort he succeeded.
Bringing the second barrel so near he could
reach the open end, he worked his head and
shoulders into the first, and placing his feet
and legs in the second, drew it up as close
to the first as possible. In telling the st<>ry
years afterwards, Mr. Dougherty declared
that he slept, and could not recollect his
dreams, but, as his business was urgent,
the luxury of his bed did not keep him long
; the next morning. He was out early and
I soon found Mr. Lerue's house, which was
nut far off.
He now learned, what would have saved
him a toilsome journey had he known it a
day earlier, that the flour had been removed
tn Northport, which was only a few miles
fnun the mission. After breakfast, Mr.
Lerue guided him across the point that sepa-
rates the bays, and he set out for Northport.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
235
Arriving there after dark, he was disap-
pointed with the information that the flour
had all been sold. After a night's rest, not
in barrels on the beach, he had no alterna-
tive but to return home empty-handed.
Mr. i )< ittgherty was a graduate of ] 'rince-
ton Theological Seminary. He was a persi m
of strong convictions, energetic and perse-
vering in labor, in manner gentle and pleas-
ing. His life work was well done. Blessed
with a companion of superior natural and
educational endowments, and the sincerety,
sweet disposition and polished manners of
the ideal Christian lady, the social atmos-
phere of his home produced a healthful
moral effect on all who came within the
sphere of its influence. Mr. and Mrs. Dough-
erty were fortunate in their children, of
whom there were nine — one son and eight
daughters. Two of the daughters died in
childhood. The other children grew up to
be an honor to their parents and a blessing
to the communities in which their lots were
cast. At the proper age, most of them were
sent east, for a few years, for the sake of the
educational advantages that could not be had
at home. The society of the early days of
the Grand Traverse country was largely in-
debted to the Doughertys for the refinement
that distinguished it from the coarseness
too often found in border settlements.
FIRST MARRIAGE CEREMOXV.
Those earl)- days had their romance, as
well as their stern realities of hardships and
endurance. The first wedding in the Grand
Traverse country would, no doubt, form a
pleasing episode in the history we are tracing,
were all the incidents of the affair placed at
the disposal of some one capable of weaving
them into shape with an artistic hand.
14
It has been already mentioned that Dea-
con I bine's oldest daughter, Olive M., came
to Old Mission the summer following
the arrival of the family. She had passed the
winter in Wisconsin, where she had been
betrothed to Mr. Ansel Salisbury. In the
fall after her arrival Mr. Salisbury came to
I (Id Mission to claim his bride. Mr. Dough-
erty was anxious that the Indians of hi-- flock
should profit by acquaintance with the insti-
tutions of Christian civilization. The op-
portunity to show them a form of marriage
recognized by the wdiite man and the church
was too important to let slip; consequently,
by the consent of all parties, it was arranged
that the ceremony should take place in public.
At a convenient hour in the morning, the
little schoolhouse was filled with a mixed
company of whites and Indians. There was
n< i newspaper reporter present to describe the
trousseau of the bride or the costumes of
distinguished guests. We must draw upon
the imagination for a picture of the same.
We see the bride in simple attire, as became
the occasion and the surroundings. There
are the Indian women, in their brighest
shawls and elaborately beaded moccasins,
and the Indian men, some of them clothed in
a style only a degree or two removed from
the most primitive undress, all looking
gravel} on, apparently unmoved, yet keenly
observant of all that passes. The whites are
dressed in their Sunday best, which, to tell
the truth, is in most cases somewhat rusty,
their hilarity scarcely veiled by the gravity
inspired by the solemnity of the occasion.
The hymeneal rite is simple and impressive
— the more impressive from the simple earn-
estness of its administration. Then we see
the group of friends on the shore, waving
adieus amid smiles and tears, as the newly
236
GRAXD TR A J 'ERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
married couple float away in their canoe on
i he bridal tour.
Mrs. Dame accompanied her daughter as
far as Mackinaw. The craft in which the
company embarked was a large birch bark
canoe, navigated by four Indians. They pro-
ceeded directly across the bay to the east
shore. There the Indians got out a long line
manufactured from basswood bark, and run-
ning along the beach, towed the canoe rapidly
after them. At night they had reached the
mi »uth of Pine river, where they made their
camp. The next morning, the Indians hoist-
ed a large, square sail, and, running before a
fair wind, they reached Mackinaw at night.
Mrs. Dame returned in the canoe, with the
Indians, to Old Mission. Mr. and Mrs. Salis-
bury remained a few days at Mackinaw, and
then embarked on a steamboat for their home
in Wisconsin.
CHAPTER VI.
INCIDENTS CONNECTED WITH LEWIS MILLER'S TRADE WITH
THE INDIANS.
It has already been stated that Lewis
Miller came to Old Mission in company with
the Dame family, more for the novelty of the
thing than because of any definite plan for
the future. At that time the fur trade, hav-
ing its center at Mackinaw, was still profit-
able. When young Miller had been at the
Mission about a year, he entered into an ar-
rangement with Mr. Herrick, a merchant of
Mackinaw, to open trade with the Indians
on the bay. Mr. Herrick was to furnish the
goods, Miller to conduct the business. A
wigwam, rented of an Indian, served for a
storehouse at the Mission.
To carry on trade with the Indians suc-
cessfully and profitably involved a great deal
of hard labor. Frequent journeys had to he
made to Mackinaw, and to various points
along the shore, at all seasons of the year.
When the lake was open Indian canoes or
Mackinaw boats were used; when it was
closed there was no way but to travel on
snow-shoes, on the ice or along the beach.
The winter journeys were always attended
with hardships, sometimes with danger. Mr.
Miller was usually accompanied by a man in
his employ, and not unfrequently by two —
half-breeds or Indians. When overtaken by
night, a camping place was selected on the
shore, where there was plenty of fuel at hand,
and where some thicket would, in a measure,
break the fury of the wintry wind. With
their snow-shoes for ^ln>\ds. the travelers
cleared away the snow down to the surface
of the ground — not an easy task when, as
was sometimes the case, it was three feet or
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
237
more in depth. Then evergreen boughs
were set up around the cleared space, as a
further protection from the wind, and a thick
carpet of twigs was spread on the ground.
A fire was built, the kettle hung above it, and
tea made. After supper the tired wanderers,
each wrapped in two or three Mackinaw
blankets, lay down to rest. On one of his
journeys to Mackinaw, in the depth of win-
ter, Mr. Miller and his companions waded
Pine river, where Charlevoix is now situated,
both going and returning.
Stopping over at Little Traverse, when
on a boat journey in December. Mr. Miller
was informed by the Indians that a vessel
had gone ashore, near the "Big Stone." on
the south side of Little Traverse bay. It was
already dark, but. procuring a boat and two
Indians to row, he lost no time in crossing the
bay to the scene of the disaster. He found
the vessel without difficulty. There was no
one remaining on board, but a light could be
seen, among the trees, some distance back
from the beach. Making his way to it. he
found gathered round a camp fire the crew
of the vessel, which proved to be the ''Cham-
pion." and eighteen passengers. Had he
dropped from the clouds into their midst,
the company would have been scarcely more
surprised. He was immediately overwhelmed
with questions as to who he was, where he
came from, and especially where they were.
Neither captain, crew nor passengers had any
definite notion of the locality they were in.
Learning their exact position, the}' set about
making arrangements to get out of the wil-
derness. The captain willingly sold to Mr.
Miller, at a low price, such supplies as the
latter wished to purchase. Si »me of them
bought floats of the Indians and made their
way to Mackinaw. A party, led by the cap-
tain, crossed Grand Traverse bay, landing in
the vicinity of Omena, and proceeded south,
on foot, along the shore of Lake Michigan.
As far as known, crew and passengers all
eventually reached their homes, but not with-
i mt undergoing considerable hardship. For-
tunately there were no women or children on
board the "Champion."
The first bride who came to the Grand
Traverse country on her wedding tour was
Mrs. Lewis Miller, whose maiden name was
Catherine Kiley. She was a native of Lon-
don, England, and, like her husband, had
been left an orphan. Somehow she had
found her way to America, and then to the
outpost of civilization at Mackinaw. During
Air. Miller's frequent visits to that place, an
attachment had grown up between them,
which finally resulted in marriage. The wed-
ding took place in September, 1845.
Immediately after the marriage they set
sail in the little sloop "Lady of the Lake" for
their home in the wilderness. Mr. Miller had
chartered the vessel for the occasion, and had
loaded her with goods for the Indian trade,
furniture and supplies for housekeeping.
The "Lady" was a bit of a craft, but she
was a perfect duck on the water and fleet be-
fore anything like a favorable wind. The
fates, however, if the fates have anything
to do with regulating wedding trips, decreed
a long and tempestuous voyage. It was the
season when the god of the winds, on the
northern lakes, delights to ornament their
surface with foaming waves, and tantalize
the impatient mariner with variable breezes
and the most disappointing kinds of weather.
The first day they made the island of St. Hel-
ena, where thev were compelled to seek the
shelter of the harbor. There were a dozen
sail or more there, waiting for a favorable
238
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
change. Several times the "Lady" ventured
out, but was a^ often compelled to put back.
Finally, seizing the must favorable opportu-
nity, shy was able to reach Little Traverse.
Here she was compelled t< i remain four days.
The newly married couple went on shore and
found comfortable quarters in an Indian
house. The woman of the house had been
brought up in a white family in Mackinaw,
and. being able to understand the wants
of her guests, was in a degree successful
in her kind endeavors to make their stay
pleasant.
Leaving Little Traverse, the vessel
reached the mouth of Grand Traverse bay,
■ when site was again driven back. At the sec-
ond attempt she was obliged to heave to in
the mouth of the bay. the captain remaining
all night at the helm. As Miller came on deck
in the morning, dull, leaden clouds obscured
the sky, and the air was filled with snow
Hakes. He proposed to take the captain's
place at the helm, while the latter should
turn in for a little rest. The captain gladly
consented. Once installed in authority. Mil-
ler made sail, and let the captain sleep till the
"Lady" was safely moored in the harbor at
Old Mission.
A young bride, coming for the first time
to the home of her husband, naturally looks
with a great deal of interest at the surround-
ings. Sometimes there is disappointment.
There was probably no serious disappoint-
ment in this case, but it is a part of the tradi-
tional family history that as Mrs. Miller
came on deck, that gloomy September morn-
ing, and loc iked anxiously out upon the scene,
beautiful in its gloominess, and saw only the
forest-skirted shore and the smoke curling
upward from the log houses of the whites and
a few Indian wigwams, the first question she
risked her husband was, "Where is the
town?"
Mr. Miller's oldest son, Henry L.. was
the first white child born in the Grand Tra-
verse country.
CHAPTER VII.
THE SITE OF TRAVERSE CITY.
Not far south of the shore of Grand Tra-
verse bay, at the head of its western arm,
lies Boardman lake, a sheet of water a square
mile or more in extent. From its northwest-
ern angle issues the Boardman river, which
flows for some distance in a northwesterly
direction, then turns sharply round toward
the east, and. after running along nearly
parallel with the bay shore, enters the bay
at a point nearly opposite that at which it
issues from the lake. Its course from the
lake to the bay is not unlike the letter V, with
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
239
its sharp angle turned towards the west. The
site of Traverse City lies between the lake and
the hay. and extends some distance both east
and west, embracing at the present time,
1903. the whole of sections 1, 2, 3, the east
half of 4 and 9, and all of 10, 11 and 12,
town 2~ north of range 1 1 west.
All accounts agree in the statement that
before so-called improvements of civiliza-
tion had marred the adornments of na-
ture this was a most beautiful spot. The
waters of Boardman lake were clear as crys-
tal. The river, without driftwood or the un-
sightly obstructions of fallen trees, ran with
a swift current through an open forest of
pines, which occupied all the space between
the lake and the bay. There was no under-
brush nor herbage — only a brown carpet of
dead pine leaves upon the ground. So open
and park-like was the forest that one could
ride through it in all directions on horseback
at a rapid pace.
On the right bank of the river, a few rods
below its exit from the lake, just where the
land slopes gently down to the water, there
was a little open space covered with grass,
where the Indians sometimes landed from
their canoes. On the higher land above
were some Indian graves, of no great age,
«ach with a stake at the head and foot. Not
far away were other graves, of a circular,
mound-like form, the work, probably, of a
more ancient people. On the northeastern
shi ire of the lake were a few bark wigwams,
where the women and children of some In-
dian families usually passed the winter, while
the men were absent on their annual hunt.
With these exceptions, there was n< < mark to
indicate that the foot of man had ever trod
these solitudes, or that his voice had ever
been heard above 'the rippling music of the
river or the singing of the north wind in the
tops of the pine trees.
However, it was not the beauty of the
place, nor its attractive solitudes, so near to
nature's heart, hut its promised advantages
for gain, that brought the first adventurous
settler to fix his abode there.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
In 1847 Captain Boardman. a thrifty
farmer living near Xapierville, Illinois, pur-
chased of the United States government a
small tract of land at the mouth of the river,
and furnished means to his son, Horace
Boardman, to build a saw-mill. The latter,
with two or three men in his employ, arrived
at the river in the early part of June of that
year, and immediately commenced the con-
struction of a dwelling. The place selected
was on the right bank of the stream, a little
way below where it issues from Boardman
lake, but a few steps from the grass plat and
canoe landing above alluded to. The exact
location of the building was in what is now
East Eighth street, between the center of the
street and its southern boundary, just east of
the eastern boundary of Boardman avenue.
It was a house of modest pretensions as to
size, being only sixteen feet by twenty-four,
and one story high. The material for the
walls was pine logs hewn square with the
broad ax. In after years it was known to the
inhabitants of the village as the "Old Block-
house." It was eventually destroyed by fire.
On the 20th of June, a week or more af-
ter Mr. Boardman's arrival, the "Lady of the
Lake." owned by him and sailed by Michael
( iay, one of his employes, arrived in the
mouth of the river, witli supplies. There
came with Gav a man by the name of Dun-
240
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
ham, who, having been in the hay on a pre-
vious occasion, acted as pilot.
The "Lady of the Lake," which should
not he confounded with another vessel of the
same name, in which Lewis Miller returned
to Old Mission after his marriage, was a
craft of only a few tons burthen, and had
originally been a pleasure yacht. She was
sharp built, slim]) rigged and a fast sailer.
Having become old and rotten, and therefore
undesirable for the purpose for which she
was originally intended, Mr. Boardman had
been able to purchase her cheaply, as a ves-
sel to answer his present convenience. Her
only fault was that, on account of her de-
cayed condition, she was unsafe in a storm.
After assisting for a few days in the
building of the house, Gay was dispatched
with the little vessel to the Manitou islands,
to bring on a party of employes, who, it had
been arranged, should come as far as the
islands by steamer. Returning, the '"Lady"
entered the river on the 5th of July. There
came in her as passengers Mr. Gay's young
wife, then only about fifteen or sixteen
years of age, ami her fourteen months' old
baby, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, a hired girl
named Ann Van Amburg, and several
carpenters.
Only the walls of the house had as yet
been erected. The building was withi ml r< >i if.
floors, doors or windows, A sort of lean to,
or open shed, with a floor of hewn planks,
had been built fur a temporay kitchen,
against one side of the house, in which a cook
stove had been set up. A tent was now con-
structed of some spare sails, inside the un-
finished kitchen, for the accommodation of
two married couples and the girl. The
single men shifted for themselves as best
they could. The company lived in this man-
ner during the remainder of the summer.
The house was not finished till the saw-mill
was so far completed as to saw lumber with
which to finish it.
It was only a day or two after their ar-
rival that the women, being alone, were
alarmed by the sound of the trampling of
horses, followed by a confusion of discord-
ant yells, which their excited imagination
magnified into the terrific warwhoop of a
multitude of bloodthirsty savages hankering
after scalps. Mrs. Duncan and Ann cow-
ered within the tent. Mrs. Gay, though
scarcely less frightened, thought it policy to
put on a semblance of bravery. She accord-
ingly went out and spoke to the Indians in
their own language, a few words of which
she had learned while living near Grand
Rapids. To the relief of the women, the In-
dians proved to be friendly. They had seen
the "Lady of the Lake" sailing up the bay,
and had come to visit the white man's camp,
prompted mainly by curiosity, but had
brought for traffic sugar, fish and potatoes,,
which they were glad to exchange for such
commodities as the whites had to dispose of.
They were particularly fond of pork, and
were especially glad to give any of their
own fund in exchange for it. The trade
with the Indians became afterwards an im-
portant source of supply, when the failure
of provisions threatened the little colony
with famine.
Mrs. Gay was a French woman who not
only spoke the English language, but the
French as well, and one of the Indian women
also spoke French fluently, and in future-
transactions the two acted as interpreters,
Mrs. Gay translating the English into
French and the Indian woman the French
into Indian, the response being conveyed
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
241
back in a similar manner, through a double
translation.
How much of homesickness there was in
the little colony we are left in a great meas-
ure to conjecture. It may be related on Mrs.
Gay's own authority that, as for herself,
she time and again sat for hours by the little
grass plot at the canoe landing, the only
place she could find that had a look of civili-
zation, shedding tears over her separation
from the associations of her former home.
Mrs. Duncan was fortunate enough to pay
a visit to the ladies at Old Mission the fall
succeeding - her arrival at the river, but Mrs.
Gay had been here more than two years be-
fore she had the pleasure of looking upon the
face of a civilized woman other than the two
with whom she came.
THE FIRST MILL.
It had been Mr. Boardman's intention to
throw a dam across the Boardman river, at
some point not far below the lake, and build
a saw-mill on that stream. The convenience
of residing near the mill bad been the main
consideration that determined the location of
the block-house. After a more thorough
exploration of the country, however, an<l an
estimate of the probable difficulties in the
way of building, he was led to modify his
plan. Mill creek, a small stream that has
its source in the bills to the south and west
of the bay, and enters the Boardman at the
western angle of its bend, seemed to offer
facilities for cheaply building a small mill
that should answer present purposes. He
therefore determined to build on that stream,
with the intention of erecting afterwards a
larger and more permanent structure on the
Boardman. By that plan he would have the
advantage of the smaller mill for making
boards, planks and timbers for the larger,
thus avoiding the difficulty of obtaining
from a distance the lumber it would be neces-
sary to have before a large mill could be
put into condition for service. There was
no place nearer than Manistee where lumber
could be obtained, and the "Lady of the
Lake" was too small and too unsafe to be
relied on for bringing any large quantity
such a distance. It was not easy, at that
time, to induce vessel masters to enter the
bay, which to them was an unexplored sea.
Immediately after the arrival of the car-
penters, all hands were set to work upon the
mill. The "Lady of the Lake" made a trip
to Manistee after plank for the flume. When
the frame was ready, all the white men at
Old Mission and several Indians came to
help raise it. It took three days to get it up.
it was finally got into a condition to be set
running about the first of October. Then
some of the first boards made were used
to complete the block-house, which up t < » that
time had remained unfinished.
It was a long walk from the house to the
mill. The path from one to the other ran
along the southwestern bank of the Board-
man. For convenience of reaching it from
the house, a foot-bridge of poles was thrown
across the river at the canoe landing, near
the point now occupied by the East Eighth
street bridge.
This mill was afterwards used for a
flouring-mill, the first one in Traverse City,
and later by J. E. Greilick & Company, of
which firm the present J. E. Greilick Com-
pany is the successor, for a planing-mill
and sash, door and blinds factory. The
building has now disappeared, as well as
the dam across the creek, and the place oc-
242
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
cupied by the pond is now nearly all built
up and occupied with good and comfortable
dwellings.
SHIPWRECK.
The mill having been completed, and
there nn lunger being suitable employment
for the mechanics who had been engaged
upon it. it became necessary to provide for
their conveyance home. It was arranged
that Mr. Roardman should take them in the
"Lady «'i' the Lake" to the Manitous, where
they could get passage on one of the steam-
ers that were in the habit of touching there,
lie would then freight his vessel with sup-
plies, which he expected to find waiting-
there, and return.
It was about the ioth of October that
the "Lady of the Lake" sailed on this her
last \ i lyage. While waiting for the supplies,
which had not arrived after landing
her passengers, the little vessel was
caught in a storm, driven upon the beach
and totally wrecked. The supplies came.
but Mr. Boardman searched in vain for
means to transport them to Grand Traverse
bay. Convinced at last that be could ac-
complish nothing by remaining at the
islands, he took passage on a steamer for
Mackinaw. Here he found means to cross
to the mainland, and then set out on foot on
his toilsome journey home. The route lay
for more than a hundred miles along the
beach, mosl of the way without even a sem-
blance of a foot-path, and without a civilized
dwelling, except at the missions of Cross
Village and Little Traverse, at which he
could ask for a night's shelter or a morsel of
i 1,
In the meantime the people at home be-
came alarmed at his long absence. Then in-
formation reached them, through the agency
of some fishermen, that the vessel was lost.
Jt was late in the season. Navigation would
si « m be closed. Something must be done,
and done quickly. A consultation was held,
the result of which was an agreement that
Mr. Gay should go to Old Mission, get a
boat there, if possible, and endeavor to reach
the .Manitous and bring away such supplies
as he might be able to find.
HAVING A FEAST.
Mrs. Duncan accompanied Mr. Duncan
to Old Mission, for a visit to the ladies
there. The day after their departure Mrs.
( ray and Ann, perhaps not having the fear
of famine before their eyes, or perhaps ex-
pecting to perish with hunger but believing
in the maxim "live while you live," resolved
to have one more good dinner. An examin-
ation of the larder showed on hand a small
supply of musty flour, some sour yeast, a
little maple sugar, and fish enough for a
meal — not a very promising stock, to he
sure, out of which to prepare a tempting
dinner. Among the men was one named Joe
Mead. Joe had a contract with Mr. Board-
man to cut logs for the next winter. To
make sure of provisions for his hands, he
hail scoured the country — that is. he had
been to Old Mission, the only settlement in
the region, and brought back all the supplies
he could get, the chief item of which was a
barrel of hogs' heads. It was known, too>,
that Joe had some saleratus among his
stores. A dinner without meat would be
lacking, and sour yeast without an alkali
would not raise must}- flour. The women
applied for a hog's head and a bit of saler-
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
243
atus, but Jul- would give them neither, so
they were fain to make the best of it. Lye
made of ashes, with the sour yeast, served
to make ihe dough light, and some sugar
was converted into syrup ; so they had, after
all, a respectable dinner for the time and
place — pancakes of musty dour, maple
syrup and fish.
The meal was scarcely ready, when they
were agreably surprised by the arrival of
Mr. Boardman, foot-sore and exhausted
and glad to be again at home. At table tears
of thankfulness ran down his cheeks, as he
partook with a keen relish of the homely
fare they had unintentionally prepared for
him in their efforts to get up a "good
dinner."
SUPPLIES OBTAINED BY MR. GAY.
Mr. Gay was successful in his expedition.
At Old Mission he obtained the little
schooner "Arrow," her owner, A. K.
Cowles, with Robert Campbell and several
others, volunteering to accompany him to
the Manitous. Having loaded with the sup-
plies, at the latter place, he returned in
safety, reaching Old Mission on Thanks-
giving day and the river on the day follow-
ing.
It was found that the block-house was
too far from the mill for convenience. After
Mr. Gay's return from the Manitous he built
a small log house for the use of his own
family, near the mill. Both families, how-
ever, and all the hands, were accommodated
in it for a short time, tili a small plank house
could be built for Mr. and Mrs. Duncan and
the men.
On examining the stores brought in by
the "Arrow." it was found that a box of
boots and shoes intended for winter use had
been left behind. Only one pair of sin >es had
come, which had been ordered expressly for
Mrs. Gay, and these proved to be not a pair,
1 » ith of them being shaped for one foot. We
are not informed how the men managed
for the winter, but Mrs. Gay resolved that
the women should not go barefoot. Apply-
ing to Mr. Boardman, she obtained permis-
sion to use some spare belt leather belonging
to the machinery of the mill for soles, and
some heavy gray cloth found among the
stores for vamps and quarters. One of the
men made her a last. Then ripping
to pieces one of the useless odd shoes
t<> "btain patterns, she made a pair each for
Mrs. Duncan, Ann and herself. Though
not remarkable for beauty, they proved serv-
iceable and comfortable.
And now the little community was shut
in for the winter. All connection with the
great world outside was severed, except an
irregular and uncertain communication by
way of Old Mission and Mackinac. Many
were the incidents, however, novel, sad,
cheerful and ludicrous, that occurred to
break the monotony of their hermit-like
existence.
Among these incidents a rather exciting
one occurred in which Mrs. Gay gave an ex-
hibition of her courage that is well worth re-
cording. Fur-bearing animals were quite
plenty and Mr. Gay was an expert trapper
and spent some of his time in trapping. One
day while he was out looking after his traps,
all of the other men being also away with
none in the bouse except Mrs. Duncan. Ann
and Mrs. Gay, an Indian came to the house
and, seeing mine of the men about, asked
where Mike was. Mrs. Gay told him that
he was out visiting his traps, whereupon he
244
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
promptly demanded that lie should be given
something to eat, and on Mrs. Gay inform-
ing him that she had nothing for him threat-
ened to kill her unless she complied with his
his demands. Fortunately there was an axe
standing in the house only a few feet away
from Mrs. Gay when the Indian made his
threat. The threat was no sooner made than
Mrs. Gay sprang for the axe and raised it to
strike the Indian, who, realizing that his
threat to obtain a meal had failed, thought
discretion the better part of valor, rushed
out of doors and left hurriedly. Afterwards,
when Mr. Gay met the Indian and took him
to task for his action, he claimed that he did
not intend to harm the women and only did
it as a joke, which is probably true so far as
doing them any personal injury was con-
cerned, but he probably thought he could
scare them into giving him a dinner, but,
when he found that it did not work, was
glad to escape with a whole skin.
In the summer of 1848 a small wharf
was commenced at the shoreof the bay, and
a tram-way built for the purpose of trans-
porting lumber to it from the mill. The next
winter a beginning was made towards get-
ting out timber for the construction of the
contemplated large mill on the river. Mr.
Boardman from time to time varied his busi-
ness by getting out shingle bolts, and hem-
lock bark for tanning purposes, for the Chi-
cago market. He cleared three or four
acres of land, and was successful in the cul-
tivation of garden vegetables.
The summer of 1849 was marked by sev-
eral incidents that added interest to the life
of the settlement. A man of the name of
Freeman came out and got a considerable
quantity of hemlock bark for shipment, em-
ploying Indians to perform most of the
labor. The bark, of course, was stripped from
trees growing upon government land. There
was no one in this remote region whose in-
terest it was, or who considered it his duty,
to prevent the spoliations of the public prop-
erty. The government had found it neces-
sary to order a re-survey of the lands in the
vicinity of the bay. For some time the sur-
veyors' camps were pitched in the vicinity,
the settlement being for them a sort of head-
quarters and base of supplies.
In the employ of Risdon, one of the
surveyors, was Henry Rutherford, after-
wards well known in the settlement, having
his wife with him. Word was brought to
the women at the mill, one evening, that
there was a woman in Risdon's camp. The
announcement was sufficient to produce a
flutter of excitement. Mrs. Duncan had vis-
ited the. ladies at Old Mission, but Mrs. Gay,
since her arrival at the river, had not seen
the face of a civilized person of her own sex,
except the two who had come with her. Set-
ting out alone the next morning, she found
her way to the surveyors' camp, and spent
the afternoon with Mrs. Rutherford, re-
maining to dinner in response to a cordial
invitation from the latter. The cloth was
spread on the ground, where there was a
bit of clean grass, outside the tent, the com-
pany sitting round it in oriental fashion. The
viands consisted of pork and potatoes, fried,
with huckleberries for dessert. The next day
Mrs. Rutherford returned the visit, dining
with Mrs. Gay. Mrs. Rutherford was
partly of Indian blood, nevertheless she was
regarded as an important acquisition to the
society of the colony.
CHAPTER VIII.
HANNAH, LAY & COMPANY APPEAR ON THE SCENE.
In the month of May, 1850. three enter-
prising young men, in the city of Chicago,
entered into partnership, under the firm
name of Hannah, Lay & Company, for the
purpose of carrying on the lumber trade.
The names of the partners were Perry Han-
nah, Albert Tracy Lay and James Morgan.
The firm opened business on the corner of
Jackson and Canal streets, buying their stock
by the cargo, in the harbor.
Early in 185 1 they conceived the project
of having, somewhere, a saw-mill of their
own for making lumber, thus saving to
themselves the profit they were now paying
to the manufacturer. Falling in with a man
of the name of Curtis, one of the mechanics
who had built Mr. Boardman's mill, they
obtained from him their first knowledge of
the country on Grand Traverse bay. In the
meantime the price of lumber had gone down
to a very low figure. Captain Boardman
found that his mill, as managed by his son,
was not profitable. Concluding that it would
be wise to dispose of the property he pro-
posed to sell it to the new firm.
In the spring Mr. Hannah, accompanied
by William Morgan and Captain Boardman,
took passage on the little schooner "Venus,"
bound for the bay, for the purpose of view-
ing the property. The '"Venus" was com-
manded by Captain Peter Nelson, a Dane
by birth, afterwards well known in the
Grand Traverse county, for many years
keeper of the light-house near Northport.
The voyage was tempestuous. After riding
out a gale of three clays' duration on Lake
Michigan, they finally entered the bay and
made Old Mission harbor in pleasant
weather.
The scene before them, as the vessel
rounded to in the harbor, appeared to the
tempest-tossed voyagers the loveliest ever
beheld by mortal eyes. The sun was just
sinking behind the western hills, the white-
washed houses of the Indian village gleam-
ing brightly in his parting rays, while
the tops of the forest trees seemed
bathed in a floating mist of gold. On
the banks sat a picturesque group 1 if In-
dian men, enjoying the fragrant fumes ot the
pipe. The women were seen engaged in
the feminie avocations pertaining to their
simple modes of life. The shouting of a
company of children in gleeful play, mingled
with the sound of tinkling bells from a herd
of ponies feeding on the hill-side beyond,
made music in harmony with the quiet
beauty of the scene. The restless spirit of
the white man had not yet brought discon-
tent to these simple children of the forest —
246
GRAND TRAJ'ERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
the baleful effects of the destroying "fire-
water" were yet comparatively unknown.
After remaining two hours at Old Mis-
sion, the "Venus" set sail for her destina-
tion, the head of the west arm of the hay.
The night was beautiful, with a glorious
moon shining brightly in the heavens. When
a mile out. with the vessel's prow turned to-
wards the north, and a gentle breeze from
ihe south filling her sails. Captain Nelson,
who had been worn out with labor and
watching during the gale, gave directions to
the man at the helm, wrapped himself in a
blanket, and lay down on the quarter deck,
to get a little rest. Fatigued as he was, he
seemed to have scarcely more than touched
the deck, when a loud snoring indicated that
he was in a sound sleep. The instructions
given to the man at the helm were to hold
to a north course till well down past the
point of the peninsula, and then call the cap-
tain, before tacking to the west. The kind-
hearted sailor, knowing how hard a time
the captain had had, and desiring to give
him all possible opportunity to rest, could
see no reason why he should not guide the
vessel round the point, as there was but little
wind and all looked clear. As he brought
her round, at a sufficient distance beyond the
point, as he supposed, sailing not more than
a mile an hour, the sudden thumping of her
bottom on the rocks alarmed all hands, and
brought the captain quickly to his feet. Then
such a chiding as the poor sailor received for
his disobedience of orders is seldom heard
in any dialect of the Scandinavian tongue.
The vessel la)' quiet, but was stuck fast.
Sounding revealed the curious fact that her
keel rested on a sunken rock, with not less
than twenty feet of water all round. On
making further soundings from the boat,
which was got out for the purpose, it was
found that the rock on which she rested was
situated in a pool of clear, deep water, sur-
rounded by rocks on all sides, and that the
■ oily way of escape was to draw her back, by
means of a kedge anchor, through the nar-
row and shallow passage by which she had
entered. Several hours of tedious labor
were required to liberate her from her peril-
ous position. The captain slept no more till
his vessel was moored to the slab wharf, at
the head of the bay.
The only opening in the forest visible to
the party, as they landed, was the narrow^
clearing which had been made for the tram-
road. Following this. Captain Boardman
keeping well in advance, they soon arrived
at the mill. The mill was not running. On
entering the house the hands were all found
there, amusing themselves with the game of
old sledge. After shaking hands all round,
Captain Boardman said to his son : "Horace,
how is this, that you are not running the
mill?" The reply was, "Father, it was a
little rainy today; the boys outside couldn't
work verv well, and they wanted the men in
the mill to make up the number for the
game: so I concluded to shut down for a
lime, in order that they might have a little
fun." This easy way of doing business did
| not suit the energetic old farmer. Captain
Boardman, who was now more fully con-
vinced that the property had best be sold.
After looking over the premises for a
day. a party, consisting of Mr. Hannah,
: I "nice Boardman. Mr. Morgan and a man
named Whitcher, with packs of blankets and
provisions, set i nit to explore the country and
examine the timber along the Boardman
river. At the end of a week Mr. Hannah
estimated that they had seen at least a hun-
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
247
dred million feet of pine, on government
land open to sale. This was a sufficient in-
ducement to the firm to accept Captain
Boardman's proposition to sell them his en-
tire interest in the property, consisting of
the saw-mill, the cheap buildings that had
been erected, and about two hundred acres
of land, on which the village plat was after-
wards located, for forty-five hundred dollars.
The first work done by the new owners
was to construct a tram-mad from the bend
of the Boardman to the mill, so that logs
floated down the stream could he hauled
out at the bend, and transported over land to
the mill, whence the lumber, as formerly,
could be run down to the slab wharf for
shipment.
The next task performed, which proved
to be one of no small magnitude, was the
clearing of the river, so that logs could be
floated down from the immense tracts of
pine on the upper waters. It was not merely
here and there that a fallen tree had to be
removed. In some places the stream was so
covered and hidden with a mass of fallen
trees, and the vegetation which had taken
root and was flourishing on their decaying
trunks, that no water could be seen. Ten
long miles of the channel had to be cleared
before the first pine was reached. With
an energy and a steadfastness of purpose
that ever after marked the transactions of the
firm, the work was rushed on till logs could
be run down the stream.
FIRST STEAM SAW-MILL.
The saw-mill had only a single muley
saw. Finding from a few months' experi-
ence that it was too small and too slow for
their purpose, Hannah, Lay & Company
determined to construct a new one, to be run
by steam power. \ site was selected on the
narrow strip of land lying between the
lower part of the river and the ha}-, where,
on the one hand, lugs could be floated in
the stream directly to the mill, and, on the
other, the lumber could be loaded on vessels
by being conveyed only a short distance on
trucks. The project was executed in 1852,
and the next year the null went into success-
ful operation. This mill, which stood a few-
rods west of the mill now owned and oper-
ated by J. H. Ott & Company, was torn
down several years ago. About the first
work done by the steam mill was to saw up
the pine timber on that portion of Traverse
City that was originally laid out and platted
into a village.
In those days the lumber was all carried
across the lake in sail craft. The first vessel
that carried for the firm, and brought in the
boilers for the steam mill, was the "Maria
Hilliard." Xo lake surveys had been made
in the region of Grand Traverse bay and the
masters of vessels were guided more by
guess than by charts. Amusing anecdotes
are told of their experiences, one 1 if which we
repeat. The "Richmond." one very dark
night, was beating up the bay against a light
head wind. On attempting to tack, for some
unaccountable reason she would not come
in stays, and. as she seemed to be fast, the
captain was forced reluctantly to let her re-
main. When daylight revealed the situa-
tion, what was his surprise to find his vessel
lying close to a bold, wooded shore with her
U iwsprit entangled among the trees.
When the pine in the immediate vicinity
of the mill had been worked up. Hannah,
Lay & Company commenced the system of
lumbering common at that time on all the
248
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
streams of northern Michigan. A short de-
scription of a lumber camp in those early
clays and the way the work of getting out
the logs and floating them to the mill m'av
not be uninteresting to the present reader.
The Boardman river had been cleared
as far up as the pine forests. At the begin-
ning of winter gangs of men were sent into
the woods to establish camps. A gang con-
sisted of twenty men. more or less, a fore-
man, or boss, a cook, a stable-boss, and per-
haps a chore-boy. A number of teams,
either horses or oxen, were kept at the camp.
A house was built of pine logs, large enough
to accommodate the company. A part of the
interior, perhaps separated from the rest
only by a simple railing, constituted the do-
main of the cook, upon which no one was
allowed to trespass. Another part was de-
voted to the accommodation of the men.
Bunks were arranged in tiers, one above
another, against the wall, for sleeping places.
A huge stove made the apartment comfort-
able in the coldest weather. Rough benches
for seats, and a long table, with the plainest
and most durable kinds of dishes, consti-
tuted the bulk of the furniture. A larg-e
stable, built also of logs, afforded shelter
for the animals. Provisions for the men and
forage for the animals were brought to the
camp from time to time, during the winter,
by teams employed for the purpose.
The first faint gleam of day usually
found the men at their work and, except for
dinner, there was no cessation of labor till
night had again spread her dark mantle over
the scene. Some cut down the pine trees,
others divided them with the saw into logs
of suitable length, and others again loaded
the logs on huge sleds and drew them to the
river bank, where they were tumbled into
the stream. When the work of the day was
done, the teamsters took care of their ani-
mals, receiving from the stable-boss the ra-
tions to which they were entitled. In the
house, wet garments were hung up to dry,
every man made himself as comfortable as
he might without intruding on his neighbor.
When supper was over, various amusements
served to while away the time till the hour
for retiring. Some read, by the light of a
lamp, such books and papers as they could
get, some played cards, chess, or checkers,
and sometimes a song enlivened the spirits
of those who sang, if not of those who heard,
joke, raillery and repartee passed freely
round. If a visitor called, he was made wel-
come and hospitably entertained. If a min-
ister of the gospel paid them a visit some-
time in the winter, all amusement was laid
aside to listen to a sermon in the evening-,
and when he departed the following morning
he was not allowed to go away empty
handed.
When spring opened, the camp was de-
serted. The men, except the log-drivers, re-
turned to work in the mill, which was now
put in operation for the season, or went to
their several homes.
It was the business of the log-drivers,
or river-drivers, as they were sometimes
called, to run the logs down the river to the
mill. Not infrequently, at the place where
the logs had been put into the stream, the
channel was filled with them from bank to
bank to a great height. To break this
"jam." or loosen the logs so that they would
be carried away by the current, which was
usually strong from the melting of the snow
at this season, involved no small amount of
labor, ami was sometimes dangerous. When
the logs were all finally afloat in the stream,
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
249
the drivers followed them down, pushing off
those that stranded on the shore, and break-
ing the temporary "jams" that formed
wherever obstructions were met with. Fre-
quently the men rode considerable distances
on the floating logs, keeping their position
by the aid of sharp spikes in the thick soles
of their boots, and by balancing themselves
with their long pike poles. At night they
slept in temporary camps on the bank of the
river, to which supplies were conveyed for
their use.
CHAPTER IX.
MORE OF THE FIRM OF HANNAH, LAY & COMPANY.
In 1852 a fourth partner, William Mor-
gan, who had accompanied Mr. Hannah on
his prospecting tour, was received into the
firm of Hannah, Lay & Company. After-
wards, in 1859, Mr. Smith Barnes, a former^
resident of Port Huron, was admitted to
partnership in the mercantile department,
but without any connection with the lumber
trade.
Francis Hannah, a brother of the mem-
ber of the firm, came to the bay in the fall
of 1 85 1, with a view of becoming a partner.
After spending the winter in the settlement.
he concluded that the financial advantages
of a connection with the firm would not be
a sufficient compensation for the seclusion
of a life in the wilderness, and finally de-
clined the proffered partnership. While
there he had charge of the business of the
firm.
After Francis Hannah retired from the
employ of the firm, Mr. Lay and Mr. Han-
nah for several vears took turns in the man-
agement of the business at the bay and in
Chicago, Mr. Lay remaining at the former
place during the summer and Mr. Hannah
in Chicago, the two changing places for the
winter. Finally the oversight of their inter-
ests was permanently divided between them,
Mr. Hannah residing constantly in Traverse
City and Mr. Lay in Chicago.
COMMENCEMENT OF MERCHANDISING IN
TRAVERSE CITY.
From the commencement of their busi-
ness at the bay, they kept a small stock of
goods for supplying the wants of persons in
their employ. Their first store was kept in
a log building, sixteen feet long and twelve
wide, that stood at the side of the old
Boardman boarding-house, near the water
mill on Mill creek. From that they removed
t<> a small frame building, erected for the
purpose, on the north side of the river, just
east of what is now the corner of Bay and
250
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Union streets. In order to make room for
a larger structure, as business increased, the
building was afterward moved to the mirth
side of Bay street, and was for many years
used as a tin shop. A lady who went shop-
ping to this building in 1853, described the
stock as consisting of "few pieces of calico,
and just dry goods enough to supply the lit-
tle community."
\fter the erection of the steam saw-mill
it was found convenient to have some place
near it where those employed by the firm
who were without families could be accom-
modated with board and lodging. Accord-
ingly a boarding-house was commenced' in
1 lie spring of 1 854, and 1>v the last of August
was so far advanced as to be habitable. The
original building, with its subsequent addi-
tions, occupied a site on the south side of
Bay street, a short distance west of the corner
of Bay and Union streets, and a little north
of the present Manistee & Northeastern
depot. After its use for a boarding-house
was abandoned by Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany it was for many years used as a hotel,
at first by William Fowle, as the Bay House,
and afterwards by Mr. Pangborne and
others as the Pangborne House. Having
served its purpose well, it was razed to the
"round and removed several months agfi >.
CHAPTER X.
PIONEERS OF TRAVERSE CITY.
The names of all who came to the new
settlement in an early day have not been
preserved. Some remained only a short
time ami then returned to the places whence
they came or wandered to other parts; others
identified themselves with the interests of the
community and became permanent citizens.
At the setting in of winter, in 1851, the
following families are known to have been in
the settlement : Michael < ray's, John Lake's,
Henry Rutherford's. Benjamin Austin's. T.
D. Hillery's. William Voice's, Seth Nor-
ris's, Robert Pott's, a family named Barnes,
a German family whose name has been fi ir-
gotten and an old couple of the name of
Lowery. The following names of unmar-
ried persons, residents at that time, have
been preserved : Henrietta Baxter, who aft-
erwards became Mrs. J. K. Gunton; Cath-
erine Carmichael ami Flora Carmichael,
sisters to Mrs. Hillery and the former after-
wards wife of H. D. Campbell; Dominic
Dunn, William Rennie. Cuyler Germaine,
Dougald Carmichael. brother to Mrs. Hill-
ery. James K. Gunton and Richard Meagher.
Francis Hannah was also there, having
charge of the business of Hannah, Lay <S:
Company, D. C. Curtis, foreman in the em-
ploy of the firm, Thomas Cutler, who had
come out as engineer, to take charge of the
engine of the steam saw-mill about to be
built, and John B. Spencer, who was getting
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
251
out saw-logs for the mill and timber for
building a dock, and soon afterwards re-
moved to Elk Rapids. Thomas Cutler's
family arrived the following year. There ar-
rived also in 1852 John Garland and two
men of the name of Evans, with families,
and. unmarried. Henry D. Campbell,
Thomas A. Hitchcock, R. McLellan and
Hugh McGinnis. Dr. Charles Holton and
wife came either in the spring of 1852 or
the fall previous. Dr. I). C. Goodale, with
his family, arrived in April, 1853. Many of
the persons named came for the purpose of
entering the employ of Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany, and most of them were, at one time
of another, engaged in some capacity in the
service of the firm. Mr. Voice, who had
been in the country before, contemplated, in
connection with his partner, Luther Scofield,
the building of a' saw-mill at East Bay, a
project which was soon after carried into
successful 'execution.
The population of the settlement was yet
small. They were surrounded and shut in
by an almost impenetrable wilderness. But
few improvements not demanded by the im-
mediate exigencies of the lumber trade had
been attempted. Only one public road —
that from the head of the bay to Old Mission
— had been opened. This road had been
made in fulfillment of an agreement between
the inhabitants of the two places, entered in-
to, probably, at the raising of Boardman's
.saw-mill. The people at Old Mission were
pleased to have a mill so conveniently near,
and all could see that connection of the set-
tlements by means of a passable road would
be a public advantage. The inhabitants of
each settlement, by voluntary contributions
of labor, built the half of the road nearest
themselves.
15
ORIGIN OF THE NAME TRAVERSE Cm
Up to 1853 the postoffice at Old Mission
was the only one in a vast region of country
around the bay. In the winter of 1852-3,
Mr. Lav. while in Washington, was success-
ful in his efforts to get one established in the
new settlement. The name of the one at
Old Mission was Grand Traverse. The new
settlement at the head of the bay was begin-
ning to be known as Grand Traverse City.
When Mr. Lay proposed the latter name
for the new postoffice, the clerk with whom
he was transacting the business suggested
that "Grand" be dropped, and it be called
simply Traverse City, as the name would
have less resemblance to that of the office
at Old Mission, to which Mr. Lay acceded.
Thus originated the name Traverse City.
The mail was carried once a week, coming to
Traverse City from Manistee. Mr. Lay
was the first contractor, his compensation be-
ing- four hundred dollars per year. At first
it was carried by an Indian, called Old Joe,
in a pack upon his shoulders. Before the
expiration of Mr. Lay's contract, however,
the quantity of mail matter had so increased
that a horse had to be employed. Hugh Mc-
Ginnis was then employed as carrier, who
cut out a trail as far as Herring creek, the
first move in road-making between Traverse
City and the lake shore.
FIRST POSTMASTER.
Dr. Goodale was chosen the first post-
master, and chose H. D. Campbell as assist-
ant. Dr. Goodale continued to hold the
office until after Lincoln's election to the
presidency, when, in the course of events in-
cident to the change of administration, he
was removed.
252
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Previous to the establishment of the post-
office at Traverse City, whenever any one
had occasion to visit Old Mission he was ex-
pected to bring, on his return, whatever mail
matter was found waiting in the postoffke
there. Ann Dakin, a woman employed in
the boarding-house, had relatives at that
place, whom she frequently visited. Being
strong of frame and a pedestrian of great
endurance, she thought nothing of walking
to Old Mission at the end of a week's labor,
returning in time to enter promptly upon
the duties of the following week. On these
visits to her friends she was accustomed to
carry a satchel slung over her shoulder, in
which she brought back the mail for the
settlement.
The society of the settlement was pe-
culiar. Most of the married people were
vounsr. The unmarried men were intelli-
gent, moral and well disposed, but bent on
having their full share of sport. As not un-
frequently happens in border settlements,
where the male population is apt to greatly
outnumber that of the gentler sex, their
recreations sometimes assumed a somewhat
mischievous character.
On Xew Year's night, in the winter of
1851-2, "the boys" determined to amuse
themselves by waking up, in a startling man-
ner, the more sedate citizens. Secretly col-
lecting all the firearms, they found they
could muster thirteen guns. With these
they went round to several of the houses,
firing volleys under the windows, to the utter
msternation of the more timid inmates,
who, living in constant fear of a hostile visit
from the Mormons, thought their dreaded
enemy was upon them.
Card-playing and the habits of negli-
gence and idleness to which it leads, had
been among the causes that made Mr. Board-
man's enterprise unsuccessful. In the board-
ing house of Hannah, Lay & Company it
was strictly prohibited. Some of the young
men, however, were not to be easily deprived
of a favorite pastime. At Austin's they
found a convenient rendezvous, where card
playing and general hilarity, through the lat-
ter was sometimes a little boisterous, were
not considered out of order.
Michael Gay could play the violin and
play it very well, too, and usually as often
as once in two Keeks his services were put
in requisition. The ladies, married and
single, were invited and music and dancing
served to while away the long winter
evening.
It is not to be supposed that flirtations,
love-makings and courtships, generally un-
derstood to be normal accompaniments of
social parties in fashionable life, flourished
in a society where the men outnumbered the
women three of four to one, and where
nearly all of the latter were married, yet the
meetings at Austin's were not without their
romance. Jim Gunton, as he was familiarly
called, seems to have been the sly dog of the
pack. Henrietta Baxter lived at Austin's.
While his companions, deep in the attrac-
tions of euchre or old sledge, were oblivious
of all things around them, Jim. fully awake
to the main chance, found opportunities to
whisper unobserved in the maiden's ear that
which sometimes deepened the blush on her
cheek. Ere the winter had passed it became
known that there was an engagement of
marriage. Henrietta was the daughter of
a Mormon lady, who was a widow. Mrs.
Baxter had been inveigled into joining her
fortunes with those of the Mormons of
Beaver Island, only to find, in a short time,
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
253
her property held fast in the clutches of the
authorities of the Mormon church. The sit-
uation on the island for young, unmarried
women, not in full sympathy with the pecu-
liar doctrines and practices taught by Strang
and his associates was far from pleasant.
Henrietta found employment in the family
of James Cable, a "Gentile" living on the isl-
and, between whom and the Mormons there
existed a strong dislike, if not a bitter hatred.
]n common with some of the Gentiles with
whom she was associated, she at length be-
came alarmed for her personal safety. Her
fears, in their full extent, may not have been
well founded. Be that as it may, she resolved
to take advantage of the first opportunity to
escape. One day a vessel touched at the
wharf. Though its destination was to her
unknown, she determined, if possible, to get
on board, and take the chances of reaching
a desirable haven. As the vessel was about
to sail, she took in her hand a bundle of such
personal effects as she could carry, and
started on a run towards it. Before reach-
ing it, however, she was intercepted by some
of the Mormons, who took away her bundle,
after which she was allowed to proceed, glad
to get oft the island, even with nothing but
the garments upon her person. The next
port at which the vessel touched was Old
Mission, where the fugitive was set on shore.
Living in the vicinity of Old Mission was a
family of Mormons of the name of Bowers,
who. it was understood, had in some way
incurred the displeasure of Strang and his
associates, and had consequently been com-
pelled to leave the island. In this family
Henrietta found a home. From Bowers'
she came to the head of the bay, where she
found employment in the family of Austin,
who also was known as a Mormon exile.
As Henrietta regarded Bowers' house as
her home, it was arranged that the marriage
rite should be performed there, Rev. Dough-
erty to officiate. For a wedding party to get
there in the depth of winter was not easy.
The best preparation Mr. Gunton could
make was to procure from the Indians of
Old Mission two roughly made pungs, each
drawn by a diminutive, shaggy, half-starved
Indian pony. One pung was intended for
the conveyance of himself and bride, the
other for Mr. and Mrs. Austin. It was the
intention to return to Austin's at night, but
the ponies were slow, the roads in places
were almost impassable from drifted snow,
and it proved to be all they could do to reach
Bowers' in the course of the day, not to think
of returning. In the meantime, the "boys"
at the head of the bay prepared to give the
newly married couple a rousing charivari
on their return, watching for them in vain
till late into the night. When they finally
did return, the next day, the issuing of a
general invitation to a party at Austin's in
the evening turned the contemplated
charivari into a more civil and more enjoy-
able infair, the first ever held in what is now
Traverse City.
MARRIAGE, BIRTH AND DEATH.
The first marriage in which the ceremony
was performed within the limits of the set-
tlement was that of James Lee and Anna
Dakin, which took place, probably, in 1853.
William M. McKillip, a justice of the peace,
officiated.
The first white child born at Traverse
City was Josephine Gay, daughter of
Michael Gay, afterwards Mrs. Xeil Mor-
rison. The date of her birth was May 15,
1849.
254
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
There is something peculiarly sad in the
contemplation of death occurring in a small
and isolated community, cut off from the
sympathy of the great, kindly throbbing heart
of the world of humanity, and separated, it
may he, from the religious consolations that
come through the agency of those noble in-
stitutions of our Christian civilization, the
church and the Christian ministry.
In the winter of 1852-3 a young man was
accidentally killed at the camp on the Board-
man. Early in the following summer an-
other young man was taken sick in the
hoarding-house. He was kindly cared for,
under the supervision of Mr. Lay, and at-
tended by voting Dr. Holton, who, though
employed in the store of Hannah, Lay &:
Company, gave his attention, when called on,
to the few cases of sickness occurring in the
settlement. Comfortable quarters were pro-
vided for the sick man in the old Board-
man boarding-house, at Mill Creek, where,
after lingering for a few days, he passed
away. A little later in the season a vessel
came into the harbor, having on board a
family, in destitute circumstances, of the
name of Churchill. Mrs. Churchill was
taken ashore dangerously sick, and, though
everything that kindness could suggest was
clone by the women as nurses and Dr. Good-
ale as physician, she lived only a few days.
The three early victims of the grim mes-
senger were buried near the south bank of
Boardman river, nearly opposite the present
residence of Hon. Perry J lannah. This site
was used as a burying ground until 1861,
during which time some twenty or more per-
sons were buried here. In the summer of
1861 the township board of health, com-
posed of Hon. Perry Hannah, supervisor;
the late Governor Morgan Pates, justice of
the peace, and E. L. Sprague. located the
present Oakwood cemetery, the forty acres
comprising it being donated to the town by
Mr. J lannah. To this the bodies buried on
the hank of the Boardman were subsequently
removed at the expense of the township.
At the burial of the unfortunate young
man accidentally killed there was no funeral
service. At the burial of the one who died of
disease, religious services were conducted by
Rev. H. C. Scofield, a young Baptist min-
ister, who was residing for a time at Past
Bay, in charge of the business in which his
brother, Mr. Luther Scofield. was a partner.
At the funeral of Mrs. Churchill, Mr. Lay
read the Episcopal burial service at the
grave. There is a tradition, not well authen-
ticated, that Mr. Whitcher, who was early
in the employ of Mr. Boardman, sometimes
conducted religious services for the benefit
of the men, but the funeral of the young man
at the old hoarding-house is the earliest oc-
casion, so far as we have reliable proof, on
which such services were ever had in Trav-
erse City.
CHAPTER XI.
RELIGIOUS INTEREST AWAKENED— METHODIST EPISCOPAL
CLASS ORGANIZED AT OLD MISSION.
The several deaths occurring so near to-
gether produced, perhaps, a feeling of sol-
emnity in the community and a desire on the
part of some at least for regular religious
services. Mr. Scofield consented to preach.
An appointment was made for a certain Sun-
day at the log house which had been fitted
up for a school-house. Airs. Goodale, who
took an active interest in the matter, went
around and gave notice to the people.
To some of the residents a religious
meeting was a novelty. The children who
attended went to it with something of the
feeling of expectant curiosity with which
they would have visited a traveling show.
An amusing incident, preserved in mem-
orv by some who were present, illustrates
this fact. While Mr. Scofield was of-
fering opening prayer, two boys watched
him very attentively. As he pronounced
the "amen," one of them, with a comical
look, gave his companion a punch, and said,
so loud that all in the house could hear,
"There, didn't I tell you 'amen' would be the
last word he would say?"
Mr. Scofield preached a few times dur-
ing the summer of 1853. After that there
was no stated religious service at any point
in the Grand Traverse region till June, 1857,
except at the several Indian mission stations.
Rev. D. R. Latham, a young local
preacher licensed by the Methodist Episcopal
church, came from New York and on the
21st of June, 1857, began to hold regular
services in the mission church at Old Mis-
sion, the building which had been built and
occupied by Mr. Dougherty previous to his
removal to the west side of the bay. This
building has been moved to another location,
repaired, and is still owned and used by the
Methodists at Old Mission as their house of
worship.
The first class-meeting was held on the
19th of July, and the first class was organ-
ized on the following Sunday. This first
church organization for white people on
< irand Traverse bay consisted of the follow-
ing persons: Roxana Pratt, Eliza Merrill,
Mary A. Wait, June Chandler, Myron
Chandler. Peter Stewart and Joanna Stew-
art. The next Sunday two others were
added. Charles Avery and Catherine Mc-
Cluskey. The same day on which the class
was formed a Sunday school was organized,
of which Jerome M. Pratt was superintend-
ent. The teachers were Miss Louisa Col-
256
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
burn ( who was afterward Mrs. S. E. Wait)
and Mr. Latham.
The congregation sometimes presented
the scene of a curious mixture of races and
classes of people, and an assortment of cos-
tumes that to one having a keen sense of
the ludicrous might have been sufficient to
banish all thoughts of devotion. The United
States revenue cutter "Michigan" sometimes
anchored in the harbor and remained over
Sunday, when some of the sailors and ma-
rines would attend services in the church.
Old Mission still had a considerable Indian
population. One Indian used to attend,
wearing a large silver ornament suspended
from the cartilage of the nose. Another,
Asa-bun, who was credited with having been
seen eating a human heart torn from one of
the victims who fell in the unfortunate at-
tempt of the Americans to recapture Mack-
inaw, in the war of 1S12, was sometimes
present. Another, the chief Aish-qua-gwon-
a-ba, who was supposed to have a number
of white scalps safely hidden away in a cer-
tain old trunk, used to come, in warm weath-
er, clad in only a shirt and breech-cloth, and
sit through the service as stiff and sober as
an old-time deacon.
At the annual conference of 1857 two
circuits were formed on Grand Traverse bay
— Old Mission and Elk Rapids, and North-
port and Traverse City. Mr. Latham was
to supply the former and Rev. L. J. Griffin
was appointed to the latter. On learning the
relative situations of Northport and Traverse
City — forty miles apart — Mr. Griffin wrote
Mr. Latham, asking him to take Traverse
City off his hands, which he consented to
do. Mr. Griffin labored at Northport and
Carp River, forming classes at those places.
and Mr. Latham at Old Mission, Traverse
City and Elk -Rapids.
The first quarterly meeting of the circuit
of which Mr. Latham was now the regularly
appointed pastor, was held at Old Mission,
the presiding elder, Rev. II. Penfield. being-
present. J. M. Pratt had been appointed
class leader and was the only official member
on the circuit ; the quarterly conference there-
fore consisted of only three — the presiding
elder, the pastor and the class leader. It is
said that in making out the official list Mr.
Latham made the nominations, Mr. Pratt
did the voting, and the presiding elder de-
clared the result.
The first Methodist class in Traverse
City was organized by Mr. Latham on the
1 Mb day of April, 1858, consisting of Will-
iam Fowle, Mrs. Goodale and five others.
The meetings were held in the district school-
house, which had recently been built on the
ground now occupied by the Annex to Park
Place Hotel. This was the beginning of the
work of the Methodist Episcopal church in
the Grand Traverse region.
SUNDAY SCHOOL ORGANIZED IN TRAVERSE
CITY.
The first Sunday school in Traverse'
City was begun in June, 1853, in the little
log schoolhouse to be hereafter described. It
was under the supervision of Mr. Scofield.
assisted by Mrs. Goodale. Mr. Lay encour-
aged the enterprise by his presence and ap-
proval, and Miss Scofield, afterwards Mrs.
John Black, usually came with her brother,
though all the teaching was done by Mr.
Scofield and Mrs, Goodale. There was no
necessity, however, for a numerous corps of
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
257
teachers, as there were only eight pupils in
the school. Only two of these had ever been
in Sunday school before. There were no
Sunday school books or papers or singing-
books — nothing but the Bible. It is related
that on one occasion the four persons assem-
bled at the schoolhouse, and waited in vain
for the children, who failed to appear. At
length Mrs. Goodale, perhaps having a cor-
rect suspicion of the cause of their absence,
proposed that her companions should wait.
while she should go out and look for them.
She found them not far off, picking and eat-
ing huckleberries, their hands and faces all
stained with the purple juice, in which con-
dition she managed to gather them into the
schoolhouse. On questioning the children
as to what the parents knew concerning their
doings, it came out that the latter had all
gone out for a boat ride.
At the approach of cold weather in the
fall the Sunday school was closed. The next
summer it was reopened, but lacking the sup-
port of Mr. Lay and Mr. Scofield. neither of
whom was in the settlement, it was soon
abandoned. Sometime afterward Air. Lav's
mother sent eighty volumes of Sunday
schools books to Traverse City.
The next attempt at Sunday school work
was made in the fall of 1859, and proved
successful. The sessions of the school were
held in the new district schoolhouse. It
does not appear that there was a regular
superintendent, but Rev. YV. W. Johnson,
successor of Rev. D. R. Latham as pastor
of the Methodist Episcopal church at Old
Mission and Traverse City, and presiding el-
der of the newly formed Grand Traverse
district, who preached in the schoolhouse
every alternate Sunday morning, took charge
of the school when present. The teachers
were Mrs. Oscar Stevens, Mrs. Jacob Barns,
Mrs. Hathaway, Mrs. Goodale, and, later,
Miss Belle Hannah. At the opening session
Mr. Johnson prayed, ''Lord, send some one
to help the women." To these engaged in
the work, it was a pleasing circumstance
that among the children gathered into the
school were all of the eight pupils who had
constituted the classes in the log schoolhouse.
five years before.
In i860 the school was prosperous. Mr.
E. L. Sprague was superintendent. In the
spring of 1861, Mrs. Goodale and Miss Han-
nah collected, in four hours time, partly from
the men employed in the mill, about thirty
dollars, for the purchase of books. That year
the school took four Sunday school papers.
published by four different denominations.
Three were paid for by the school, and Mr.
Sprague donated the fourth. As at that time
the postage on papers had to be paid at the
office of delivery. Dr. Goodale relieved the
school of that item of expense by assuming
it himself.
This Sunday school seems to have been
truly non-sectarian and undenominational,
members of several churches and persons
not members of any church working har-
moniously together. It was the parent of
the several denominational Sunday schools
that have since graced Traverse City.
CHAPTER XII.
FIRST SCHOOL IN THE COUNTY.
Mr. S. E. Wait undoubtedly taught the
first school for white people in Grand Tra-
verse county, in the winter of 1851-52, ami
it was a very select affair, of which the ac-
d unit reads as follows :
"In November, 1851, five young men ar-
rived at Old Mission, in the schooner 'Made-
line.' with the intention of wintering in the
vicinity. Three of them were brothers, nam-
ed Fitzgerald. A fourth was called William
Bryce. The name of the fifth, who was em-
ployed by the others as cook, has been for-
gotten. The five were all good sailors, and
three of them had been masters of vessels
during the past season, but all were deficient
in education. None of them were even tol-
erable readers, and one of the number was
unable to write his name. An eager desire
to learn was the occasion of their coming.
Here in the wilderness they would be re-
moved from the allurements that might dis-
tract the attention in a popular port. It is
probable, also, that diffidence arising from a
consciousness of their own deficiencies made
them unwilling to enter a public school,
where their limited attainments would be dis-
played in painful contrast with those of
v< ainger pupils.
"At Old Mission, the man who had been
engaged as teacher failing to meet the con-
[ tract, S. E. Wait, then only nineteen years of
age, was employed, at twenty dollars per
month and board. Bryce and the Fitzger-
alds were to pay the bill, the cook receiving
his tuition in compensation for his services.
Idie 'Madeline' was brought round to Bow-
ers' Harbor, and securely anchored for the
winter. The after-hold was converted into
a kitchen and dining room, and the cabin
used as a school room. Regular hours
of study were observed, and the men volun-
tarily submitted to strict school discipline.
Out of school hours they had a plenty of ex-
ercise in cutting wood and bringing it on
board, to say nothing of the recreation of
snowballing, in which they sometimes en-
gaged with the delight of genuine school-
boys. The bay that year did not freeze over
till March. Previous to the freezing, the
wood was brought on hoard in the yawl-; af-
terwards it was conveyed over the ice. Ex-
cept by way of Old Mission, to which occa-
sional visits were made, the party was en-
tirely cut off from communication with the
outside world.
"The progress of Mr. Wait's pupils in
their studies was a credit to themselves and
their youthful teacher. Their after history is
not known, except that four of them were
captains of vessels the following season."
CHAPTER XIII.
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY ORGANIZED.
In 1840 that part of the state of Michi-
gan embraced in towns 25, 26 and 27 north,
of ranges 9. 10, 1 1 and 12 west, and town 28
of ranges 9 and 10 west, and all of the penin-
sula at the head of Grand Traverse bay. was
laid off into a separate count}', and designated
as Omena count}'. No county g< >vernment
was provided, however, as there' were few
white people to make use of such a thing at
this time.
An attempt was made to organize
Grand Traverse county by the legislature by
an act which passed that body and was ap-
proved April 7, 185 1, which reads as follows :
"The people of the state of Michigan en-
act, That all that portion of territory in the
county of Omena. included in the bounda-
ries hereinafter described, be, and is hereby,
set off and organized into a separate county
by the name of Grand Traverse, to-wit :
Beginning at a point on the east side of the
east arm of Grand Traverse bay. where the
township line between townships 27 and 28
north strikes said bay ; thence running east
to the range line between ranges 8 and 9;
thence south to the township line between
townships 24 and 25 north; thence west to
the range line between ranges 12 and 13
west : thence north to the township line
between townships 2j and .28 north;
1 then east to the west arm of Grand Traverse
bay: then following the shore of said bay
to the place of beginning; and the seat
of said county shall be at Boardman's Mills
on the east fraction of section No. 3, in
township 2j north of range 11 west, until
otherwise provided.
"There shall be elected in the said county
of Grand Traverse on the first Monday in
August, 185 1, the several county officers pro-
vided by law for the other organized coun-
ties of the state, who shall hold their offices
until the general election to be held in the
year 1852, and until their successors are
elected ami qualified.
"The election to lie held in pursuance of
the preceding section shall, in all respects,
be conducted and held in the manner pre-
scribed for holding elections for county and
state officers."
This law was very incomplete, inasmuch
as it made no provision for the organization
of any townships, or the choosing of inspec-
tors of election. Notwithstanding this de-
fect an election was held at the house of
Horace Boardman on the 4th of August.
1851, at which twenty-eight votes were cast
and the following county officers elected:
Sheriff. William H. Case; clerk and register,
L. O. Schofield : judge of probate, < ieorge \".
260
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Smith ; county judge, Joseph Dame; treasur-
er. Horace Boardman; prosecuting attorney,
Orlin P. Hughson.
In the winter of 1851-52 an act to com-
plete the organization of Grand Traverse
county was passed by the legislature, which
extended the boundary of the county so as to
include all of the original unorganized coun-
ty of Omeena. This act reads as follows :
"That all that part of the county of
Omeena which remained after the organiza-
tion of the county of Grand Traverse, is here-
by annexed to the county of Grand Traverse,
and shall forever be and remain a part and
parcel of said county.
"There shall be elected in the county of
Grand Traverse, on the first Tuesday of May
next, all the several officers to which, by law,
the county is entitled, and said election shall,
in all respects, be conducted and held in the
manner prescribed by law for holding elec-
tions for county and state officers. The can-
vass of said election shall be held at the ci uni-
ty seat of said county, the Monday next fol-
lowing the election, and the officers so elected
shall be qualified and enter upon the duties
of their offices immediately, and shall con-
tinue in office until their terms of office would
have expired had they been elected at the last
general election; but this section shall not lie
so construed as to deprive any officer duly
elected, and qualified to his office, or to au-
thorize the election of any one to fill his place.
"All that part of the peninsula, in Grand
Traverse bay, which lies north of the line
between towns 27 and 28 north, shall be or-
ganized into a separate township, by the name
of Peninsula, and the first township meet-
ing shall be held at the Old Mission.
"All that part of the county of Grand
Traverse not included in the township of
Peninsula shall be erected into a separate
township by the name of Traverse, and the
first township meeting shall be held at the
county seat.
"The counties of Antrim, Kalkaska,
Missaukee, Wexford, Manistee and Leela-
naw are hereby attached to Grand Traverse
for judicial and municipal purpose.
"The county of Antrim shall be and re-
main the township of Omeena, and the name
of said township is herebv changed to An-
trim, and the next township meeting therein
shall be held at the house of Abraham S.
Wadsworth.
"The county of Leelanaw is hereby erect-
ed into a township by the name of Leelanaw,
and the first township meeting therein shall
be held at the house of Peter Dougherty.
"The counties of Kalkaska and Missau-
kee are hereby attached to Antrim for town-
ship purposes, and the county of Wexford
to Traverse for township purposes."
In compliance with this act a special elec-
tion was held May 9, 1853, at which seventy-
one votes were cast, and the following coun-
ty officers elected : Judge of Probate. George
N. Smith ; sheriff, Norman B. Cowles ; clerk
and register, Thomas Cutler; treasurer, Hos-
mer R. Cowles ; prosecuting attorney, Robert
McLellan ; surveyor. Abraham S. Wads-
worth.
The first regular election was held No-
vember 7, 1S54. At this time the legislative
representative district comprised, not only
all of the territory mentioned above, but ex-
tended north to Mackinaw, including the
Beaver Islands. At this election Charles J.
Strang, the Mormon leader of the Beavers,
better known as "King Strang," was elected
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
261
as representative. The county officers elected
at this time and at the several elections since
have been as follows :
1854 — Judge of probate, Nicholas Bow-
er; sheriff, Henry L. Brown ; clerk and regis-
ter, Thomas Cutler; treasurer, W. M. Mc-
Killip ; prosecuting attorney, Solomon Case.
Highest number of votes cast, 299.
1856 — Judge of probate, Theophilas
Woodruff; sheriff, William R. Stone; clerk
and register. Theron Bostwick ; treasurer, A.
W. Langworthy; prosecuting attorney, Da-
vid C. Goodale. Highest number of votes
cast, 393.
1858 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, Henry H. Noble ; clerk and register,
Theron Bostwick ; treasurer, David C. Good-
ale; prosecuting attorney, Charles H. Hol-
den. Highest number of votes cast, 454.
i860 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, W. E. Sykes: clerk and register, The-
ron Bostwick ; treasurer, Morgan Bates ;
prosecuting attorney, C. H. Holden. High-
est number of votes cast, 607. In May,
1862, Mr. Sykes resigned the office of sheriff
and E. F. Dame was appointed to fill the
vacancy.
1862 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, E. F. Dame; clerk and register,
James P. Brand; treasurer, Morgan Bates;
prosecuting attorney, Charles H. Marsh.
1864 — Judge of probate. Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, A. P. Wheelock; clerk and register,
Jesse Cram ; treasurer, Morgan Bates ; prose-
cuting attorney, C. H. Marsh.
1866 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, Charles W. Day; clerk and register,
Jesse Cram ; treasurer, Morgan Bates ; prose-
cuting attorney, E. C. Tuttle. Mr. Tuttle
was succeeded by E. S. Pratt.
1 Si ,8 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler:
sheriff, W. W. Bartlett; clerk and register,
Jesse Cram ; treasurer, H. E. Steward ; prose-
cuting attorney, Frederick Brown.
1870 — Judge of probate, Curtis Fowler;
sheriff, Birney J. Morgan: clerk and register,
Jesse Cram ; treasurer, Henry E. Steward ;
prosecuting attorney, Edwin S. Pratt.
1872 — Judge of probate, Charles T. Sco-
field; sheriff, Birney J. Morgan; clerk and
register, Jesse Cram ; treasurer, Henry E.
Steward; prosecuting attorney, Lovell H.
Gage.
1874 — Sheriff, Samuel K. Northam;
clerk and register, J. B. Haviland ; treasurer,
John T. Beadle; prosecuting attorney, L.
H. Gage.
1876 — Judge of probate, Charles T. Sco-
field; sheriff. Birney J. Morgan; clerk and
register, Joseph B. Haviland ; treasurer, John
T. Beadle ; prosecuting attorney, L. H. Gage.
1878 — Sheriff, Birney J. Morgan; clerk
and register, Joseph B. Haviland ; treasurer,
John T. Beadle; prosecuting attorney, Seth
C. Moffatt.
1880 — Judge of probate, Henry D.
Campbell ; sheriff, John Verly ; clerk and reg-
ister, Joseph B. Haviland ; treasurer, Mal-
com Winnie; prosecuting attorney, Lorin
Roberts.
1882 — Sheriff. John J. Dunn; clerk and
register. Oscar P. Carver ; treasurer, Mal-
com Winnie; prosecuting attorney, Lorin
Roberts.
1884 — Judge of probate, Henry D.
Campbell; sheriff. John J. Dunn; clerk and
register, O. P. Carver; treasurer. John T.
Beadle ; prosecuting attorney. Tin >mas \\ .
Browne.
1886 — Sheriff, Birney J. Morgan; clerk
262
GRAXD TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
and register. (). J'. Carver; treasurer. E.
II. Foster; prosecuting attorney, 1. \\ .
Bn wne.
1888 — Judge of probate, H. D. Camp-
bell ; sheriff, A. S. Dobson ; clerk and regis-
ter. ( ). ['. Carver; treasurer, James H. Mon-
roe : prosecuting attorney. L. Roberts.
[890 — Sheriff, A. S. Dobson; clerk and
register, Oscar P. Carver; treasurer. J. II.
Monroe ; prosecuting attorney. L. Roberts.
1892 — Judge of probate, James H. Mon-
roe; sheriff, Medad Vinton; clerk and regis-
ter, J. L. Gibbs; treasurer, J. H. Newton;
prosecuting attorney, W. H. Foster.
1894 — Sheriff, Medad Vinton; clerk. J.
L. Gibbs ; register, E. O. Ladd ; treasurer.
J. H. Newton; prosecuting attorney, W. H.
Foster.
1896 — Judge of probate, J. II. Monroe;
sheriff. Oscar Simpson ; clerk, J. L. Newton ;
register, O. E. Ladd; treasurer. George W.
Clyde; prosecuting attorney, John J. Twee-
die.
[898 — Sheriff. Oscar Simpson; clerk. J.
L. Newton ; register, O. C. Moffatt ; treas-
ney, Fred H. Pratt.
1900 — Judge of probate, John H. Loran-
ger; sheriff, D. G. Chandler; clerk, Robert E.
Walter; register, O. C. Moffatt; treasurer,
George W. Steward; prosecuting attorney.
Fred H. Pratt.
1902 — Sheriff. 13. G. Chandler: clerk.
Robert E. Walter; register, Frank Wilson;
treasurer, George W. Steward ; prosecuting
att irney, < ie >rge 1 1. ( "n >ss.
REPRESENTATIVES IN THE STATE LEGISLA-
TURE.
As has already been stated, when Grand
Traverse a unity was first < irganized the repre-
sentative district to which it was attached em-
braced almost the entire portion of the north-
western part of the lower peninsula north of
Grand Haven. Since then, as the country
has become more thickly populated, the terri-
tory has been gradually cut down, until the
legislature of 1901 gave Grand Traverse
county a representative by itself. The coun-
ty since its organization has been represent-
ed in the lower house of the legislature as
follows :
James J. Strang, Beaver Island, 1853-55 I
Perry Hannah, Traverse City, 1857; Philo
Beers, Northport, 1859; Thomas J: Rams-
dell, Manistee, 1861 ; John S. Dixon, Charle-
voix, 1863; Abijah B. Dunlap, Leelanaw,
1865-67; William H. C. Mitchell, East Bay,
1869-71 ; Thomas A. Ferguson. Sherman,
1873-75 : James Lee, Sutton's Bay, iXj^-Jj ;
James L. Gibbs, Mayfield, 1877; Henry F.
May. Cadillac, 1879; Seth C. Moffatt. Tra-
verse City, 1 88 1 ; Richard Knight, Atwood,
1883; David Vinton, Williamsburg, 1885;
B. 1 >. Ashton, Traverse City. 1887; J. S.
Tinklepaugh, Kalkaska, 1889-91 ; George G.
Covell, Traverse City, 1893-95: William H.
Foster, Traverse City, 1897-99; E. W. Hast-
ings, Traverse City, 1901 : James H. Mon-
roe, 1903.
STATE SENATORS.
When Grand Traverse county was or-
ganized in 1853 it was embraced in a sena-
torial district that extended on the west side
of the state from the straits of Mackinaw
south to the south line of Ottaway count,
and Grand Traverse was represented in the
state senate during the first eight years of its
organization by senators chosen from Otta-
wa countv. The following: is the list of men
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
263
who have been sent to the senate from the
district of which Grand Traverse lias formed
a part, from 1853 :
I. V. Harris, Ottawa. 1853; At. L. Hop-
kins. Ottawa, [855; Thomas \Y. Ferry. ( M
tawa. 1857; Henry Penoyer, Ottawa, 1N50;
Nelson Green, Muskegon, 1861 ; Charles
Mears, Mason, 1863 ; James B. Walker, Ben-
zonia, 1865; John W. Standish, Newaygo,
1867-69; Seth C. Moffatt, Leelanaw, 1871;
William H. C. Mitchell. Grand Traverse,
[873-75; bitch R. Williams, Antrim. 1877:
George W. Bell, Cheboygan, 1879; Archi-
bald Buttars, Charlevoix, 1881-S3; William
H. Frances, Benzie. 1885: Walter W. Bar-
ton, Leelanaw, 1887; Roswell Leavitt. An-
trim, 1889; Robert R. Wilkinson. Antrim.
1891 ; William Mears, Charlevoix. 1893;
Clyde C. Chittenden, Wexford, 1895;
George G. Covell, Grand Traverse, 1897;
James W. Milliken. Grand Traverse, 1899;
Ambrose E. Palmer, Kalkaska, 1901 ; Orra
C. Moffatt, Grand Traverse, 1903.
\\ KM BERS OF CONGRESS.
The following have represented Grand
Traverse county in the congress of the Uni-
ted States since 1853 :
George W. Peck, Lansing, ^^-^7', De-
wit C. Leach, Lansing, 1857-61 ; Rowland F.
Trowbridge. Ottawa, 1861-63; Francis W.
Kellogg, Ionia, 1S63-65; Thomas W. Ferry.
Ottawa, 1865-71 ; Wilder D. Foster, Grand
Rapids, 1871; Jay A. Hubbell, Houghton,
1873-81: Edward Breitung, 1883-85; Seth
C. Moffatt, Traverse City, 1885-89; William
C. Stevenson, 1889-93: John Avery. 1893-
97; William S. Mesick. Mancelona, 1897-99;
J. H. Darrah, 1899-1903.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
The first meeting of the board of super-
visors of the organized count}- of Grand
Traverse was held on Wednesday. July 27,
1853, at the store of Cowles iv Campbell, in
the town of Peninsula. It was a special
meeting called by the request of Robert
Campbell, of Peninsula, John S. Barker, of
Antrim, and S. G. Pice, of Leelanaw. At this
meeting the following supervisors were pres-
ent : Robert Campbell, Peninsula; John S.
Barker. Antrim; William McKillip, Tra-
verse. At this meeting, on motion of John
S. Barker. Willliam McKillip was elected
chairman, and in the absence of the county
clerk. Robert Campbell was elected clerk pro
tern. Thereupon the board immediately ad-
journed to meet the next day at the store
of Hannah, Lay & Company, Traverse City.
At this meeting Samuel G. Rice, supervisor
of Leelanaw, put in his appearance, but even
with this addition to their numbers, making
a full hoard, no business was transacted and
an adjournment was had until the next day.
At this third attempt considerable business
was transacted. A resolution was passed re-
questing the Governor to appoint Robert Mc-
Lellan circuit court commissioner. Orlin
P. Hnghson having escaped from the custo.lv
of the sheriff while under arrest, a reward
was offered for his capture.
A proposition received from Hannah,
Lay & Company offering to donate the
grounds now occupied by the court-house
and jail for county buildings, was accepted.
Another proposition to advance six hundred
dollars for the erection of a court-house and
jail was received from the same firm and ac-
cepted, and Robert Campbell. William Mc-
Killip and Thomas Cutler were appointed a
264
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEEEANAW COUNTIES.
committee to spend the six hundred dollars
in the erection of the building.
Even in these early days the fact had be-
gun to impress itself upon some of our people
that saw-dust in the streams was detrimental
to the well being of the nsh, a petition was
presented to the board against the practice
of throwing saw-dust into the bay. It was
promptly tabled, however, and it was not un-
til many years afterwards that the practice
was made unlawful.
More money being needed to complete
this county building, which was a court-
house, county offices and jail combined, at a
special meeting of the board of supervisors
held March 7, 1854, in the store of Cowles
& Campbell, Old Mission, a further proposi-
tion from the firm of Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany to advance three hundred dollars for
that purpose was accepted.
This first county building, erected in
1854, was destroyed by fire about eight years
afterwards, although fortunately nearly all
of the records were saved. Soon after this
a small wooden structure for a jail was erect-
ed on the county grounds, and county offices
rented.
A few years after this Hon. D. C. Leach
erected a building on the corner of Front and
Park streets, provided it with a room for
holding court, and with county offices and a
fire-proof safe for the deposits of the records.
This building was occupied for many years
for the county offices and the circuit court.
At the October session of the board of
supervisors held in 1882, it was decided to
build a jail and sheriff's residence of brick
during the following year. Work was com-
menced and the building was completed and
turned over to the county in February, 1884.
The building 1 is one of the best of the kind in
the state. It was built at a cost of something
over twenty thousand dollars.
About this time the existing contract be-
tween the county and Mr. Leach for the use
of his building for offices and the court-room
having expired, a resolution was passed by
the board of supervisors ordering the re-
moval of the county offices into the new jail
building, and they were removed according-
ly and occupied these premises until the erec-
tion and completion of the present court-
house. A contract was also made not long
after this by the board of supervisors with the
Patrons of Husbandry, by the terms of
which the latter was to erect a building on
Cass street suitable for court rooms and rent
the same to the county for court purposes
for a term of years.
A NEW COURT BOUSE.
The question of a new court-house had
been advocated for a number of years and
finally at a meeting of the board of supervi-
sors, held in January, 1898, a resolution was
adopted authorizing the bonding of the coun-
ty for the sum of thirty-five thousand dol-
lars — thirty thousand to be expended for the
erection of a court-house and five thousand
dollars for grading the grounds and furnish-
ing the building. The question of voting
these bonds was submitted to the electors at
the April election following, and was carried
by a good majority. The bonds sold at a
premium and the sum of thirty-five thousand
and four hundred dollars was realized from
their sale.
At a meeting of the supervisors held soon
after the bonds were voted, plans furnished
by Rush. Bowman & Rush, architects, of
Grand Rapids, were adopted, and the firm
COURT HOUSE, JAIL, AND SHERIFF'S RESIDENCE.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LE ELAN AW COUNTIES.
265
was engaged to let the contract and supen ise
the erection of the building.
The contract was let to J. E. Gibson, of
Logansport, Indiana, for the sum of twenty-
eight thousand, seven hundred and forty-nine
dollars. There had been considerable ques-
tion whether the kind of building proposed
in the plans could be erected for the sum
proposed, and the successful letting of the
contract so much inside of the appropriation
was an agreeable surprise to many people.
But, unfortunately, the building committee
in advertising for bids did not ask for
schedule bids and only lump sums were
named. This oversight on the part of the
committee very soon led to trouble, as the
foundation was hardly in before the claims
for extras on the part of the contractor had
reached some thousands of dollars, which
claims were duly approved by the architects.
County Clerk Newton, who had charge of
the issuing of orders for the payment of the
work, upon vouchers approved by the archi-
tects and the building committee, did not like
the looks of things and refused to issue the
orders asked for. The matter became pub-
lic and there was quite a scandal over the
matter, involving several persons, and the
work came to a stand-still.
At the October meeting of the board of
supervisors the matter came up and was
thoroughly investigated with the result that
the architects were discharged and C. M.
Trail appointed to supervise the work. The
claim for extras was compromised with the
contractor and work resumed. The delay,
however, prevented the completion of the
building until the following summer. Under
the new arrangement the building was com-
pleted, exclusive of furnishing, at an expense
of about thirty-six thousand dollars.
Since then the grounds have been graded
and beautified, and the court-room and offices
furnished, until now Grand Traverse county
has one of the best and most conveniently
arranged court-houses and county offices,
with fire-proof vaults, in the northern portion
of the lower peninsula. Grand Traverse
county is certainly to be congratulated upon
possessing such fine and commodious public
buildings as she does.
CHAPTER XIV.
THE CIRCUIT COURT.
The first term of circuit court was held in
the house of Thomas Cutler, then standing on
the corner of Front and Union streets on
the ground now occupied by the E. Wilhelm
block, by Judge George Martin, of the eighth
circuit, to which this county then belonged.
It was opened on the 27th of July, 1853.
Ebenezer Gould was appointed prosecuting
attorney by the court. A. S. Wadsworth was
foreman and Dr. D. C. Goodale clerk of
the first grand jury. Of the entire twenty-
four members comprising this jury only one,
Thomas A. Hitchcock, is now living. At
this term of court Robert McLellan, of Pen-
. insula, was admitted to the bar.
The first trial by jury of which we have
any record was that of James E. Scott, for
murder. It was commenced August 24.
[855, and ended the day following, the jury
finding him guilty of murder in the second
degree. He was sentenced to imprisonment
in the state prison for fifteen years.
Not long after this Grand Traverse be-
came a part of the ninth circuit, of which
Hon. Flavius J. Littlejohn was the judge.
The legislature of 1S65 organized the thir-
teenth circuit, embracing all the territory
west of the meridian line from the south line
of Mason county north to the straits of
Mackinaw, including Cheboygan county. Of
this new circuit Hon. Jonathan G. Ramsdell
was elected the first judge, which position he
held until 1875, when he was superseded by
Hon. Reuben Hatch, now of Grand Rapids,
then of the law firm of Pratt, Hatch & 1 )a-
vis. Traverse City, who served one term.
Judge Ramsdell was again elected in iNNi,
and again in 1887, holding the office until
January 1, 1894. In April, 1893, Roscoe
L. Corbett, of Charlevoix county, was
elected, taking possession of the office Janu-
ary 1 . 1894, which he held until November 6,
[898, when he was most unfortunately shot,
while on a hunting expedition in the Upper
Peninsula. In April. 1899. Frederick W.
Mayne, of Charleviox, was elected, and now
holds the position.
From time to time, since the organizatii in
of the thirteenth judicial district, new cir-
cuits have been formed and territory de-
tached until now the thirteenth circuit em-
braces only the counties of Grand Traverse,
Antrim. Charleviox and Leelanaw, and the
chances are, considering the rapid growth in
population, that it will be still further re-
duced at no very distant daw
N °* " "fil
CENTRAL SCHOOL BUILDING, TRAVERSE CITY
CHAPTER XV.
TRAVERSE CITY SCHOOLS.
The first school in Traverse City was
taught by Miss Helen Goodale, now Mrs.
T. A. Hitchcock, daughter of Dr. D. C.
Goodale. This was in 1853, before the or-
ganization of a school district. For her
services Miss Goodale was to receive the
munificent sum of one dollar a week and
the cost of her board. The amount was to
be paid by private subscription, and Mr. Lay,
in behalf of Hannah, Lay & Company,
agreed to make up any deficiency in the
amount raised.
A log building erected in 185 1, near the
present comer of Front and Wellington
streets by John B. Spencer for use in logging
operations, either for a stable or a dwelling,
was the only available building to be had
and was fitted up for a school room. As
has been stated, this was in 1853, about a
year before a school district was organized.
From a contribution from Mrs. Hitchcock
to the Eagle regarding this school, published
in 1896, we make the following extracts:
"As there was no organized school dis-
trict, it was simply hire a teacher and have
a school, supported by subscription. Thus
mine was never a part of the Michigan
school system. A certificate was not needed,
but I had one, and it may interest young as-
pirants to know that a printed certificate re-
16
ceived from the board of examiners and
signed by the principal of the Scammon pub-
lic school of West Madison street, Chicago,
entitled me to legally teach in Illinois."
After mentioning the securing of a
sch' » ilhouse and its fitting up by Mr. Lay,
the writer continues: "In a few days the
room was ready, and one bright sunny morn-
ing I started to find my school. It seems
that we never did have so many genial, de-
lightful days as that summer."
Arriving at the bank of the Boardman
and finding that the only provision for cross-
ing the stream, on the opposite bank of
which was the schoolhouse. was by means of
a boom constructed of sticks of timbers span-
ning the stream, she was assisted to cross on
this boom by a then young man employed
at the saw-mill, the late Judge Henry D.
Campbell, who made it a point while the
term of school lasted to be on hand to assist
the young teacher in crossing the stream
(in the boom. Reaching the opposite side
of the river, she took the path leading to the
school building, and says:
"That path along the bank of the river,
wandering away frbm every sound, the hush
of the forests ending only on the shores of
the Great Lakes, out and in and around the
wide oaks, which grouped into high hedge-
268
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
ways that rose to the branches of the tall
Norway pines. Long aisles, decorated here
and there with oak screen of leaf-bowers,
formed a frontage close to the bank, under
which the river ran so swiftly still. Beyond
and between the pines on Squaw Peninsula
glistened glimpses of the bay. 1 suddenly
came to a little space green with wild grass,
enclosed with the oaken hedge, save on the
north, its front opened revealing the river,
smoothly rounding the bare sand bar, then
tossing, rolling and foaming into the placid
bay. reaching off and off to the everywhere
green unbroken forest.
"In this space stood the cabin, its closed
door giving it that silent, deserted appear-
ance harmonizing so well with the unbroken
silence of the oasis.
"Entering my school room. I admired
the clean, artistic finish of the thin, light, un-
painted desk, continuous around the west
and south sides of the room, and built to the
log wall. Its supports were neat square
sticks, slanting from the desk to the wall.
Two long, neat benches were seats, not very
convenient, but there was little need for fac-
ing the desk, because we had but two win-
dows, one of which was over the teacher's
desk and against the door. A good box stove
and one or two chairs completed the furni-
ture. Our text books -were from Canada,
Vermont, New York, Illinois, Wisconsin,
and a few had been used in Mackinaw and
on the Beaver Islands, I suppose, for some of
my scholars had lived in the two latter
places.
"My scholars numbered twenty-one. as
I now recall them. Nine nice, neat girls, and
twelve sturdy boys; happy,- interested chil-
dren, some of them delighted with the n<>\ -
elty of the school in the woods, others with
the privilege of a school in their new home.
The irresistible impulse of a few to suddenly
jump and exclaim : 'Is this really a school?'
I never could suppress, nor did I try very
much, when convinced that it was a mere
exuberance of joy. Read, spell and write
twice a day. The studies were geography,
grammar, arithmetic, and history, too, I
think. Six full hours a day, and five full
days a week."
In perusing the recital of Mrs. Hitch-
cock and comparing the conditions with
those existing today, one cannot help but
remark the wisdom and careful thought
which prompted the early settlers to provide
intellectual training for the rising generation
of that period, and it may be said that that
was the beginning of the establishment of
an educational system which has become sec-
ond to none in the state, aside from the col-
leges.
After the close of the first term in the
log schoolhouse in the fall. Miss Goodale
went to Chicago, where she spent the winter
in study. Returning the following spring she
was again employed to teach in the log
schoolhouse, and was allowed the munificent
advance in salary of fifty cents a week.
After the abandonment of the humble
log building, and previous to the erection of
a new building for the purpose, school was
kept in the boarding-house of Hannah, Lay
& Company, a building that stood near the
corner of Union and Bay streets, but which
was torn down and removed about a year
ago.
Previous to 1854 there was no legal or-
ganization of a school district, but on
May 11. 1854. school district Xo. 1 was
formed, and on the 17th of the same month
the first district meeting was held in the
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAU' COUNTIES.
269
store of Hannah, Lay & Company, and the
following officers chosen: Moderator, Al-
vin Smith; director, David C. Goodale; as-
sessor. Thomas Cutler.
Miss Goodale afterwards became Airs.
Thomas A. Hitchcock, and she has lived to
see her little log schoolhonse — where many
happy and toilsome hours were spent, and
where the foundations were laid for careers
of honor and usefulness — swept away by
the onward march of improvement. She is
with us today, and is an esteemed matron, re-
siding with her husband and family on a
farm just west (if the thriving city which oc-
cupies the locality where the scenes of her
youthful labors is still a pleasant memory.
The first real schoolhonse in Traverse
City was erected in 1856, at a cost of two
hundred and fifty dollars, and it occupied the
corner on Park and State streets where now
stands Park Place hotel annex. The same
building now 7 stands on the corner of Union
and State streets, but has been changed and
added to until it now would not be recog-
nized as the one-time seat of learning for the
youth of the city. The new: schoolhi >use
answered the purpose for which it was
erected for several years, and not only for
that but as a place for holding religious serv-
ices and Sunday schools as well, but the
steady growth in population and improve-
ment of the city .soon demanded increased
facilities for the instruction of the children.
In 1869 another and more modern
school building was erected near the first, at
a cost of twelve hundred dollars, and these
two. with the addition of some other rented
rooms, answered the purposes of the district
until the first Union school building was
erected where the Central building now
stands, in 1877. This was built of woqd, at
a cost, including the furniture, of seven thou-
sand dollars. It has since been torn down
and removed.
From 1853 to 1861 the growth of the
town was slow, and the number of children
of school age had reached one hundred and
twenty-two, of which forty-eight were in
attendance at school. The school during that
summer w r as taught by Miss Belle Hannah,
sister of Hon. Perry Hannah. Various
teachers followed until the winter of 1868-9,
when Professor Young had charge. There
were one hundred and seventy-five names
enrolled, and the school census showed two
hundred and seventy in the district.
In the fall of 1873, under Judge Rob-
erts, who was principal, the enrollment had
increased to two hundred and twelve. In
1880 Mr. Roberts was succeeded by S. G.
Burkhead, who retired in 1884. At this time
there were seven school buildings, all wood,
and twelve teachers, besides a principal, and
the school census showed the number of chil-
dren to be eight hundred and sixty-eight,
though the number in attendance was much
less. The school board at that time was
composed of C. J. Kneeland. director; E. P.
Wilhelm, assessor; Perry Hannah, modera-
tor; George E. Steele and E. L. Sprague.
In the foregoing sketch of the public
schools of Traverse City many interesting
facts and incidents have been omitted.
Enough has been given to enable the reader
In have a fair idea of the progress of educa-
tion up to 1S84, at which time Prof. Charles
T. Grawn was engaged as superintendent,
which position he filled most successfully
for thirteen years, when he resigned to accept
a position as superintendent of the State
Normal School at Mt. Pleasant. During
these thirteen years rapid and substantial
270
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
advancement was made in the efficacy of the
public schools.
Prof. C. 11. Horn, who had as principal
of the high school for several years shown
himself an efficient and successful teacher,
succeeded Mr. Grawn as superintendent,
which position he held for three years.
Prof. I. B. Gilbert, formerly of St.
John's puhlic schools, followed Mr. Horn as
superintendent, commencing his work at the
opening of the schools in the fall of 1902.
Mr. Gilbert has proved himself a worthy suc-
cessor of our most successful superintend-
ents, and is recognized as one of the most
able educators of the state.
In 1886 the plan which had prevailed up
to that time of building school buildings
of wood was abandoned for the more sub-
stantial brick and stone, built after the most
modern style of architecture, and with due
regard for heat and ventilation. The Cen-
tral building, a large portion of which is oc-
cupied by the high school, is located upon a
beautiful square bounded by Pine, Seventh,
Eighth and Wadsworth streets, and is one
of the most complete for the purpose in
Michigan. The main building was erected
in 1886 at a cost of twenty-eight thousand
dollars. In 18Q3 a four-room addition was
built on the east end of this building, at a
cost of ten thousand eight hundred and
forty-five dollars. Since then the increased
demand for room has made it necessary to
erect a similar addition on the west side.
In 1S92 a new six-room building was
erected on Boardman avenue, between Web-
ster and F-ast Eighth streets, and another of
similar design on Elmwood avenue, between
Second and Randolph streets. The cost of
these two buildings aggregated twenty-five
thousand, five hundred dollars. Since then
four-room additions have been made to each
of these buildings.
In 1895 an eight-room building was
erected in the east part of the city, known as
the Oak Park school. It will not be long be-
fore additional room will be required, and
a site for a building in the south part of town
has already been secured by the board of ed-
ucation.
In addition to the four brick buildings
mentioned above, the city has four wood
buildings, each having a capacity of about
thirty pupils, which are located as follows :,
South Side primary, on Union street : the
Boon school, in the Boonville addition : State
street primary, and another on Elmwood
avenue. At present the two latter are not in
use, but are held for emergencies. There are
altogether fifty-three school rooms : eight in
the Oak Park building, ten each in the Elm-
wood and Boardman avenue buildings, twen-
ty-one in the Central and one each in the
four-wood buildings. The total value of the
buildings and grounds, at a conservative esti-
mate, is placed at one hundred and forty
thousand dollars.
The school census taken in September.
1902, showed two thousand seven hundred
and fifty-two persons of school age. The
total enrollment of pupils in all branches and
grades of the public schools of the city on
January 20, 1903, was one thousand nine
hundred and ninety-four. The number of
teachers, including the superintendent, for
the school year 1902-3 is fifty-three — two
more than for the previous year. There was
paid for teachers' salaries for the year
1901-2, twenty-two thousand three hundred
and eighty-eight dollars and sixty-six cents.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
271
The total annual expense of the public
schools of the city is now in excess of fifty
thousand dollars.
ST. FRANCIS SCHOOL.
By the exertions of Rev. Fr. Ziegler the
first Catholic schooj was established] in
Traverse City. He applied to the Sisters of
St. Dominic in New York, who in answer to
his petition sent six Sisters from their con-
vent to establish a branch house in Traverse
City. They arrived in the summer of 1S87,
and opened a school on the east side of
Union street, between Eighth and Ninth
streets. The building, which was used also
for a convent, was purchased by Rev. Fr.
Zeigler from his own purse at a cost of one
thousand dollars, and furnished by the peo-
ple at a cost of six hundred dollars. After
the present convent building was erected the
school was transferred to it, and when the
present church was built the parish school
was transferred to the old church building.
Rev. Fr. Bauer commenced the construc-
tion of the present fine eight-room parochial
school building on Cass street, south of the
church, in June. 1893, anc l ^ was completed
the following September, at a cost of eight
thousand three hundred and fifty-eight dol-
lars and sixty-six cents, and opened soon aft-
erwards with an attendance of one hundred
and fifty children. Since then the number
has increased until at the present there are
nearly three hundred enrolled.
CHAPTER XVI.
TRAVERSE CITY CHURCH HISTORY.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH.
The First Congregational church of
Traverse City was organized February 2,
1863, the way having been prepared for its
existence by the American Home Missionary
Society, which was giving its protecting care
to and keeping a watchful eye over the new
communities.
Through the liberality of this society
Rev. J. H. Crum and Rev. Leroy Warren,
two young ordained ministers from the Ob-
erlin Theological College, were sent into the
wilds of the Grand Traverse region to pre-
pare the earl}' pioneers for a formal church
organization. Mr. Crum remained at Trav-
erse City and Mr. Warren was sent to Elk
Rapids.
For three months Rev. Crum labored
arduously, preaching in the little schoolhouse
on the corner of Park and State streets,
where the annex to Park Place now stands,
which was at that time the only place for
religious gatherings in the town, and doing
pastoral visitations. At the expiration of
this time a council of Congregational minis-
ters in the region was called for the review-
ing of the articles of faith, covenant and by-
272
GRAXD TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
laws, as selected and framed by Mr. Crum,
which upon investigation proved perfectly
satisfactory, and the council proceeded to
the services of public organization.
About fifty persons were present on the
morning of the organization. The services
were conducted by Rev. George Bailc\ . of
Benzonia. At two o'clock in the afternoon
the little audience again assembled and lis-
tened to the sermon by Rev. George Thomp-
son, of Benzonia. After the sermon the
following named persons assented to the
articles of faith and covenant : Rev. J. H.
Crum and wife, Leroy C. Blood and Airs.
Fanny E. Blood, Amos and Mrs. Cecelia
Hill. Elvin L. Sprague, Mrs. Marie Grant,
Mrs. Mary E. Sprague and Mrs. Caroline
McLeod. Rev. Leroy Warren, of Elk Rap-
ids, further assisted in the services and in the
administration of the Lord's supper. The
officers chosen were Elvin L. Sprague. dea-
con, and L. C. Blood, clerk. The church
received its main support the first year from
its foster parent, the Home Missionary So-
ciety.
Rev. Crum remained here a little over
four years, when lie resigned and Rev. R.
Hatch, his successor, was called from Ben-
zonia. The membership of the church had
increased at this time from ten to twenty-
five, and it was agreed to raise the minister's
salary from six hundred dollars to eight hun-
dred. Rev. Hatch entered into the work
with his every energy, oftentimes overtax-
ing his strength with his zealousness. His
efforts were not confined entirely to pastoral
visitation and preaching, but he was anxious
for the church people to have a religious
home, and with this end in view made a he-
roic struggle to obtain one for diem. The
main part of the present building is the one
built under Mr. Hatch's supervision. Since
then its many additions have not added to
its architectural beauty. Preparations are
ii' >u being made by the church society to re-
place this whole structure with a larger and
much more imposing church building which
will doubtless be accomplished at no distant
day.
Mr. Hatch made application to the Con-
gregational Union for aid and received such
encouragement as to warrant the commence-
ment of the project and on April 5, 1867, the
building was begun, but it was only com-
pleted by repeated struggles and urgent re-
quests for more money from the people.
Rev. Hatch himself drove many a nail in the
structure and worked on it until he was
c< niipletely tired out physically. At length
the earnest prayers of the congregation were
answered, and on January 12, 1868, the First
Congregational church of Traverse City was
dedicated. The pastor was assisted in the
exercises by Rev. Draper, of the First Meth-
odist Episcopal church, and Rev. Leroy War-
ren, of Elk Rapids. On August 7, 1871. a
fine Troy bell, the first church bell in town,
was hung in the tower of the church at a
cost of six hundred dollars.
At the close of May, 1873, Mr. Hatch
preached his farewell sermon, and closed a
most successful pastorate of seven years'
duration. In September of the same year
a call was extended to Rev. O. H. Spoor, of
Vermontville, who accepted and remained
here four years. Changes seemed to follow
in quick succession, the following ministers
occupying the pulpit for a short time only:
Rev. Olney, Rev. O. W. Crow. Rev. W. R.
Seaver, Rev. W. G. Puddeyfoot and Rev.
George H. Cate. After nearly a year of va-
cancy, the pulpit was occupied 011 May 5,
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
273
1889. by a young man. Rev. Demas Cochlin,
who has for the past fourteen years watched
over the flock and heen instrumental in add-
ing" many new members to the fold. The
membership at this writing, February. 1903,
is two hundred and forty-eight.
The church has large and flourishing
auxiliary societies, together with a Sunday
school having an enrollment of about four
hundred and an average attendance of two
hundred and seventy-three.
FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
The First Methodist Episcopal church
bears the distinction of being the first Prot-
estant church organization to establish itself
in Traverse City, a class consisting of seven
having been organized by Rev. D. R. Lath-
am April 11, 1858. Like all the early re-
ligious nfovements. the work was fraught
with difficulties, not on account of the spir-
itual deficiencies of the pioneers, but for the
reason that the country which had to be
traversed was wild and much territory had
to be covered by one person ; then, too, funds
were lacking, but the spirit of God was not
only on the face of the waters but in the
forest along the way, and the expounders of
the Word were many times miraculously led
by an unseen hand through dangers and
hardships. In the soughing of the wind
through the lonely pines, the angry roar of
waters on the wild and picturesque shores,
through the wintry blasts of the ice and sleet,
suffering often from fatigue, hunger and
cold, there was but one voice heard through
it all. "Peace, be still," and on these men,
with charmed lives, as it were, went their
way, to be rewarded with abundant success
at the last.
Rev. Air. Latham was a licensed local
preacher and came to this country by mere
chance in search of renewed health. When
he arrived here and observed the spiritual
destitution of the people he felt it his duty
to remain. In the fall of 1858 Mr. Latham's
voluntary efforts ended, and he was ad-
mitted to conference and appointed to the
Elk Rapids circuit. The religious work in
this vicinity was not to cease, however, with
the removal of Mr. Latham. Through the
instrumentality of a preacher named Pen-
field, the attention of the conference of [858
was directed to the work being done in
Grand Traverse, the result of which was that
a new district was formed, called the Grand
Traverse district, Mr. Latham being suc-
ceeded as pastor by Rev. W. W. Johnson,
who was also appointed presiding elder. Mr.
Johnson made his home at Old Mission and
held services every alternate Sunday at
Traverse City. It is told in the annals of the
church that the privations and untold suffer-
ings endured by Air. Johnson were so wear-
ing upon him that he recommended confer-
ence to abandon the field, but. with true
Christian spirit, the conference refused to
desert those who had gathered around the
cross in this northern wilderness and se-
lected Rev. Solomon Steele to continue the
work. Air. Steele took up his residence in
this city in the fall of 1859 in a little shanty
on the west side, then known as "Slabtown."
The shanty consisted of three rooms and a
garret, and was named by the late Mrs. Per-
ry Hannah. "Palace Shanty."
The society here was now tin in Highly
organized and work begun on a systematic
basis. At this time ex-presiding elder J. W.
Miller was a young attorney living at Pent-
water. During the winter of 1858 he ex-
274
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELAXAW COUNTIES.
perienced religion and was given a license to
preach. After a time he was persuaded to go
to Acme, ami from there he ably assisted Mr.
Steele in the work of the district, preaching
in the homes of the people until Mr. Steele's
removal to Detroit in the fall of i860. It
was at this time that Mr. Miller was pre-
vailed upon to hold services in the school-
house here until the conference of i860,
when Rev. J. \Y. Robinson was appointed
for Traverse City. Rev. William Rork was
appointed pastor in the fall of 1862 and was
succeeded the following year by Rev. J. E.
McAllister. In 1863 Rev. G. W. Sherman
was appointed to this place, and after a pas-
torate of three years was succeeded, in 1866,
l>v Rev. V. G. Boynton. The conference of
[867 appointed Rev. G. C. Draper to take
up the work. In the fall of 1868 Rev. J. W.
Reid was appointed pastor and in 1869 he
was relieved by Rev. W. Prouty, who was
returned by the conference of 1870. In 1871
Rev. James Roberts was appointed by the
conference; he remained two years and was
succeeded in 1873 by Rev. David Engle. In
1874 Rev. Worthington was appointed and
remained two years. Rev. M. M. Callen
took charge of the work in 1876 and his
efforts were crowned with great success, and
after a pastorate of three years he was fol-
lowed by Rev. W. H. Thompson. Rev. W.
H. Carlisle was pastor for three years, from
the autumn of 1880 to 1883, when he was
succeeded by Rev. E. H. Day. The follow-
ing ministers have followed successively in
the order named up to the present time:
Revs. R. Shorts, \Y. Hansom, F. C. Lee, G.
1 ). ( liase, ( i. W. Sherman. W. A. Frye, J. A.
Bready, W. L. Laufman. The work of all
these last seven or eight is still fresh in the
minds of the people, and many of them
have hosts of warm friends here. Rev. \Y.
L. Laufman's pastorate has been notably suc-
cessful.
The presiding elders of the Grand Trav-
erse district have been Revs. S. Steele, J.
Boynton, A". G. Boynton, M. B. Camburn,
J. W. Miller, A. P. Moores, A. J. Eldred,
W. R. Stinchcomb, E. L. Kellogg, M. D.
Carrel.
The question of building a house of
worship was agitated by Rev. G. W. Sher-
man in 1867. Hon. Pern- Hannah gave the
site and the result was that, through the un-
tiring efforts and self-denial of a few zealous
people, an edifice was completed and ready
for dedication October 13. 1867. The exer-
cises were conducted by Rev. A. P. Mead, of
Jackson, and were very impressive. An ex-
tract from the Herald says :
"Mr. Mead had been three nights with-
out sleep and spent the whole of Saturday
night in an open boat on Grand Traverse
bay. Though greatly exhausted, he did not
shrink from the work he had undertaken.
The dedication sermon was exceedingly able
and eloquent, and made a deep impression on
the audience. At the close of the sermon it
was announced that the church had cost, ex-
clusive of the spire, which had not yet been
erected, four thousand dollars, and that of
this sum seven hundred dollars was yet to
be provided for. Mr. Mead proposed to raise
the sum in a few minutes and he did so."
The steeple was built during Rev. H. YVorth-
ington's stay, and the bell was purchased
and hung a few years later.
In 1802. during Rev. G. D. Chase's pas-~
torate, the seating capacity of the church
having been inadequate many times ro ac-
commodate those who sought to gain ad-
mission, the desirability of additional room
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEE LAN AW COUNTIES.
275
was discussed and resulted in the remodeling
of the building to its present dimensions, at
a cost of about rive thousand dollars. It is
now a fine building and has a seating capac-
ity of six hundred, but seven hundred can be
accommodated when occasion demands.
There are two auxiliary societies con-
nected with the church which are in a very
flourishing condition. They are the Ladies'
Aid Society and the Woman's Home and
Foreign Missionary Society. The church
parlors, in the rear of the church edifice, have
been built under the supervision of the La-
dies' Aid Society, at a cost of four hundred
dollars.
There are now five hundred and fifty
communicants enrolled on the church mem-
bership.
SECOND METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
Previous to the founding of what is
known as the Second Methodist Episcopal
church of Traverse City there existed the
Traverse City circuit, with appointments at
Bingham, Elmwood, Cedar Run, Birmley
school and Lone Tree. These appointments
were filled in turn by Rev. H. Downs, Rev.
George W. Youker, Rev. C. W. Smith, Rev.
A. D. Green and Rev. O. G. Whitman. In
September, 1887, Rev. W. A. Heath was ap-
pointed to this circuit and organized a class
of fifteen or sixteen members on the west
side of the citv, holding meeting's in the
Unii >n Chapel. The charge then became
known as West Traverse City, with ap-
pointments at West Traverse City, Bingham,
Lone Tree, Long Lake and Elmwood. In
September, 1888, Rev. S. Steele was ap-
pointed to the charge, with appointments at
West Traverse City, Long Lake, Lone Tree
and Birmley school. He served one year and
was succeeded by Rev. A. W. Bushee, who
also served one year from September, 1889,
to 1890. Rev. W. A. Taylor served from
September, 1890, to September, 1892, and
was succeeded by Rev. J. W. Miller, who
served from September, 1892, to 1895. Rev.
II. W. Smith was appointed to take charge
in 1895.
During the pastorate of Mr. Miller a lot
was purchased for a church location and
when Mr. Smith arrived he at once began to
make preparations for the erection of a place
of worship. He met with little encourage-
ment from the church people, as the most of
them were in very moderate circumstances,
some of them being considered poor. But
Mr. Smith was not a man to be discouraged
by such circumstances. He started out anew
and sought aid from other sources, and from
the contributions which he received he was
able to make a beginning, and, understand-
ing the carpenter's trade, he did a large por-
tion of the work himself. The late Rev. E.
L. Kellogg, presiding elder of the district,
was a liberal contributor. In the fall of
1896 the church was dedicated by Rev.
Washington Gardiner, and enough money
and subscriptions received to make the church
entirely free from debt and partially pay for
the parsonage, which was erected that same
year. Rev. M. E. Rousch was pastor in
1897-189S. The present pastor, Rev. Hugh
Kennedy, began his labors September 18,
1899. During the year 1900 the church and
parsonag-e were remodeled, enlarged and
completed. The society is in a flourishing
condition, the. membership having more than
doubled during the last three years, and at
this writing numbers two hundred and forty-
six.
276
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
THE FRIENDS I HURCH.
Something over twenty years agi i a
number of families of Friends from Win-
chester, Indiana, moved to northern Michi-
gan and located in Leelanaw and Grand
Traverse counties. They established two
meetings, one known as Round Top and
the other as Long Lake. These two united
in holding monthly meetings, alternating
between the two places. Other Friends came
from other points in Indiana and some from
southern Michigan, where the Friends have
lived for the greater part of a century. These
organized other meetings. The meeting
nearest Traverse City was held at Lone
Tree in Garfield township.
Prominent among the faithful ministers
of the gospel who have worked among
them for several years in this region are
Amos Kenworthy, Jonathan Hodgson, Jo-
siah P. White, Josiah Pennington and others,
whose work has borne rich fruit. But none
of the meetings had a regularly appointed
pastor until the winter of 1891, when a
young man was called to take charge of
Long Lake and Lone Tree meetings. Later
the Friends of Lone Tree and Long Lake
decided it would lie well to establish a meet-
ing place at Traverse City, so, under the
able leadership of Mead A. Kelsey. their
newly-called pastor, they began holding a
meeting each Sunday afternoon in the
United Brethren church on Elmwood ave-
nue. These meetings grew so rapidly that
it was soon necessary to secure the old
school building, on the same street, and es-
tablish regular meetings and a Bible school.
In [893 it was decided that greater g 1
could be done by building a permanent
h' 'in
his was made easier of accom-
plishment by many of the members pledging
large sums, to be paid in work and material.
It was especially their desire to build at
some distance from other English churches,
that persons might be enabled to hear the
gospel preached who were at that time pre-
vented by distance from so doing, and also
because the Friends have always sought to
reach the isolated parts of the earth.
Through the generosity of Perry Hannah
and others they were able to secure the
presene fine location. The building was com-
menced and the work progressed quite rap-
idly, and the Friends' meeting-house, which
is frequently spoken of by visitors to the
city as one of its most attractive church
buildings, was dedicated July 22, 1894.
The people who meet in this pleasant
house belong to the Indiana yearly meeting
of Friends, which is held every fall at Rich-
mond, Indiana. They are progressive
Friends, holding firmly to the spiritual
truths and simplicity of life as taught by
George Fox, Robert Barclay, William
Penn, and the other clear-minded leaders
of their society, but believing that the plain
language and dress are no longer a neces-
sarv testimony against worldliness, as at the
time of their adoption.
A larg-e number were added to the meet-
ing during the winter and spring of 1903.
and the society is now in a very flourishing
condition. Rev. Henry McKinley is the
present pastor.
GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.
While the Protestant Episcopal church
had no parish organization in Traverse
City until 1867, yet the services of that
church was among the very first, if not the
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
277
first, religious services to be held among
the early settlers. A. T. Lay, of the firm of
Hannah, Lay & Company, a very devout and
zealous churchman, who was the patron of
the first Sunday school in the city, used in
the early days of the settlement to fre-
quently give lay reading's for the spiritual
benefit of the people before a clergyman of
any denomination had been settled here.
No effort, however, was made to organize
a parish until 1867, when Rev. Dr. Brown,
of Detroit, who was sent here on missionary
work by Bishop McCrosky, of the Michigan
■ diocese, when a parish was organized, known
as St. Paul's parish. A vestry was elected,
but the parish was abandoned in a short
time, Dr. Brown remaining only a few
months, then going to Elk Rapids.
During the years 1870, '71 and '72
Rev. A. C. Lewis, of Elk Rapids, held oc-
casional services, and in 1873 another parish
was organized and the name of Grace
church was given to the corporation. The
signers of the articles of association were E.
L. Sprague, John E. Grant, Dr. S. S.
Wright, L. O. Sayler, Homer P. Daw and
Frank De Neveu. A vestry was subsequent-
ly elected, consisting of the same persons,
with the addition of Frank L. Furbish.
Of the first vestrymen but few remain, Mr.
Grant, Mr. Sayler, Dr. Wright and Mr.
Furbish having joined the church trium-
phant.
From December, 1873. to July, 1874,
monthly services were held by Rev. A. C.
Lewis in a hall in what was then known as
the Campbell House, now Park Place, which
has since been cut up into suites of sleeping
rooms, and from August until October in
Leach's Hall, in the building now known as
the Leelanaw Hotel.
The first time that a live bishop ever
visited Traverse City, so far as there is any
record, was August 19, 1N74. when the Rt.
Rev. Bishop McCrosky, of Detroit, came
and held evening services in the Congrega-
tional church, kindly loaned for that pur-
pose. He was assisted by Revs. Hush and
Lewis.
In May, 1S75. Rt. Rev. George D. Gil-
lespie, bishop of Western Michigan, visited
the parish and held divine services in
Leach's Hall and confirmed two persons.
The Bishop again visited the parish the 13th
of December, 1875, a111 ' held services in the
Congregational church, at which time he
baptized four adults and confirmed six.
In the spring of 1876 a site on State
street was donated by Hannah. Lay & Com-
pany for a church building. July 18th of
the same year the Bishop held a service on
the site and broke ground for the same
in lieu of laying a corner stone. The con-
tract for building was awarded to J. W.
Hilton, who put it up and completed it in
November at a cost of seventeen hundred
dollars. November 12th dedication services
were held and the building was consecrated
to the worship of Almighty God by the
bishop of the diocese, assisted by Rev. A. C.
Lewis.
The first clergyman called to the parish
was Rev. J. W. Sparling, formerly a minister
in the Methodist Episcopal church, then in
deacon's orders, who came January 3,
1877. During his two years' residence the
church grew rapidly and great interest was
manifest. Owing to ill health, Mr. Sparling
was forced to resign and Rev. Joseph S.
Large, of Big Rapids, was 'called to fill the
vacancy. Mr. Large came and. with his three
charming daughters, made friends rapidly
I 1 7 s
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
and enjoyed the esteem of all. After a lov-
ing service of seven years' duration -Mr.
Large was compelled through age and fail-
ing health to seek a change of climate.
In the meantime a large number of the
members of the parish having died or moved
away, the church was closed from 1886 to
1 89 1, with the exception of occasional ser-
vices. During a part of this time Rev. Dr.
Thrall and Rev. Luther Pardee, resident
clergymen of Elk Rapids, held alternate
services between Elk Rapids and Traverse
City. E. L. Sprague, senior warden, held
lay services for a time, but in 1891 Bishop
Gillespie responded to the desires of the par-
ish for a resident clergyman and sent Rev.
A. E. Wells. Mr. Wells resigned in the fall
of [897 and the present rector, Rev. Charles
T. Stout, was called by the vestry.
In 180.7. largely through the advice and
financial assistance of the late James Mor-
gan, of Chicago, the church building was
moved from its first location to the site now
occupied by it on the corner of Boardman
avenue and Washington street, at the ex-
pense of nearly one thousand dollars. Since
then many improvements have been added.
The grounds have been nicely fitted up, and
through the generosity of Mrs. James Mor-
gan, of Chicago, a fine vocallion has been
placed in the church and a wing built for
its reception. Many handsome furnishings
have been added to the interior. Five new
stained-glass windows have also been added.
Among the latter is a memorial window fur-
nished by Mrs. L. O. Sayler for her late
husband, one of the first vestrymen; a
beautiful altar by Mrs. Smith Barnes, a
memorial for Mr. Barnes; a beautiful cross
for the altar, a gift from Miss Allie Craw-
ford in memory of her father and mother,
and many other fine furnishings.
Mr. Stout came to his new field of work
with his family and begun his active duties
January 1, 1898. During Mr. Stout's rec-
torship a large number of communicants
have been added to the church register. The
church has a large vested choir of young
people, embracing many of the finest voices
in the city, nearly all of whom are communi-
cants.
There are three important societies con-
nected with the church, the Woman's Auxil-
liary. the Ladies' Guild and the Junior
Workers. The outlook for the future use-
fulness of the church is very bright.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Built of stone, the First Presbyterian
church, located on the corner of Washington
and Park streets, presents the most impos-
ing and substantial appearance of any church
in Traverse City.
The present pastor, Rev. Wiley K.
Wright, came to Traverse City the first day
of January, 1895. and on January 8th, just
ene week after his arrival, the Presbyterian
society was organized. The church was
started as a home mission charge, but be-
came self-supporting in April, 1897, two
years and three months after its organiza-
tion.
The building was erected in 1897 and the
first services were held in it January 23,
1898. In size the building is thirty-six by
fifty feet, with a high basement, a part of
which is used for Sunday school and society
meetings. The auditorium has a seating ca-
pacity of three hundred. The interior finish
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELAXAW COUXTIES.
279
is very fine. The decorations and frescoing
are all in soft colors, which blend beautifully
with the stained glass windows. Several of
the handsome windows are placed as me-
morials of prominent deceased members.
A flourishing Sunday school is the pride
of the church, as is also a thriving Chris-
tian Endeavor Society. The Woman's Mis-
sionary society has a large membership and
is doing an excellent work.
ST. FRANCIS CHURCH.
The history of the Catholic church in
Traverse City dates back to an early day.
Jn 1855 Rev. Fr. Mrack, who was in charge
of the work among the Indians at Cross Vil-
lage, was transferred to Pashabatown, Lee-
lanaw county, where he made his home
and established a school for the Indians.
From this point Father Mrack made regular
visits to mission fields, going as far north
as Petoskey, and in i860 he was notified to
include Traverse City in his rounds. There
•was no available place for holding services
here then excepting private houses, and these
were gladly offered by the members of the
Catholic church. Services were held most
frequently at the homes of Martin Sheridan,
Dominic Dunn and Frank Pohoral.
In 1869 Father Mrack was consecrated
Bishop of Marquette, and Rev. Father A.
Herbstreet succeeded him in this region,
making his home in Sutton's Bay, and visit-
ing Traverse City once a month. It was
through his efforts that the first church
building was begun in 1870, a frame build-
ing only twenty -four by thirty feet, but it
was amply large when completed for the lit-
tle body of communicants here at the time.
In the fall of 1870 Father Herbstreet was
transferred to Big Rapids and Rev. Father
Zorn succeeded him, also making his home
at Sutton's Bay. He attended to the work
of twenty-one missions. He said mass in the
little church building here for the first time
in December. 1870.
Thirty-three years has shown a wonder-
ful growth of the church here, which could
only come from sincerity of belief and close
application of each individual to his religious
duties, a very commendable characteristic
among Catholics. Tiie work of the first
priests in this community was attended with
hardships, but they were undaunted by these
and pressed forward, being followed by the
earnest prayers of their order and their peo-
ple, feeling that their duty called them to
surmount obstacles.
The successor of Father Zorn. who was
obliged to relinquish the Traverse City
charge owing to too large a territory, was
Rev. Father Shackeltown. who came here
from Big Rapids. He took temporary
charge of the mission here and after about
eight months he was relieved by Rev. Father
Zussa. who remained only three months.
Father Zorn again took charge and assumed
the duties of keeping the Catholic society to-
gether until 1877.
In the year 1877 Rev. Father Zeigler ar-
rived here. He made immediate prepara-
tions to organize the Catholics into a regu-
lar constituted parish. He knew the im-
portance of instructing the children in the
ways of the church and induced six St.
Dominic Sisters, of Xew York, to come here
and establish a branch school. A history of
this school is given elsewhere.
Father Zeigler's make-up was of the
kind that makes things "go" and soon after
his arrival here the orieinal church building
280
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
was outgrown and an addition became nec-
essary. This being - accomplished. Father
Zeigler built a parish residence of modest
dimensions on the site where the home of
Father Bauer stands. It was a neat cottage,
costing one thousand two hundred dollars.
Regular Sunday services have been held
here since the fall of 1883. Father Zeigler
labored here eight years, at the end of that
time resigning" and entering the Franciscan
Order at St. Louis, Missouri.
Many of even the younger generation re-
member Rev. Father Nyssen, who came here
in 1885. He held his first services here De-
cember 6th of that year. At the time of his
coming the little church, with its additions,
was again outgrown, and Father Nyssen's
ambition was to build a new one that should
be a credit to the society and to the city.
Me met with varying degrees of success and
finally procured the present site, on which
the foundation for the church was laid, but
the people were too 1 r to do more. At
length he became discouraged, resigned and
left the parish witln nit a priest. He sailed for
Europe and after spending a few months 111
travel, his heart turned again to Traverse
City and at his request he was again given
charge of the work here. He came back-
August 3, [888, and the following year, Au-
gust 1 8th, the present church was conse-
crated, the cost, including the altar and pews,
being seven thousand nine hundred and
forty dollars and forty-five cents.
Now that Father Xyssen's hopes had
been realized., he decided to satisfy his long-
ing for travel and a few weeks later found
himself in Europe again, and the people of
Si. Francis church were making the ac-
quaintance of Rev. Father Bauer, who had
been stationed at Provemont, and he as-
sumed charge on September 4, 1889.
A beautiful chime of four bells was pur-
chased in [897 and on the 10th of October
of that year were consecrated and within a
week were hung in the belfry of the church,
where they have since been doing constant
service in calling the people to the regular
church services.
Father Bauer has met with wonderful
success in his pastorate of over thirteen
years. The seating capacity of the church is
much the largest of any church building in
town, and yet it is taxed to the utmost, and
in fact many times it is insufficient to accom-
modate all the people.
In Rev. Father C. Emperor Father
Bauer has an able and zealous assistant
whose work in building up a second Catholic
parish in the west part of the city promises
to he crowned with success in the very near
future.
THE EVANGELICAL CHURCH.
The Evangelical society was organized
in Traverse City in 1892 by Rev. William
Yogel, an indefatigable worker. In two
years* time the pastor and people built their
beautiful little church, located on the corner
of Ninth and Wadsworth streets, at a cost
of three thousand three hundred dollars. In
the spring of 1895 Rev. Vogle moved to
Saginaw, and his successor. Rev. Furstenau,
spent the two following years here, moving
to Flint in 1897. He was followed by Rev.
S. Salsbery. who after a very successful
ministry was followed by the present pastor.
Rev. D. O. Ruth, under whose pastorate the
church continues in a flourishing condition,
and is adding constantly to its membership.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAJV COUNTIES.
281
THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH.
A preliminary meeting was held Febru-
ary 12, 1870, for the organization of a Bap-
tist society, hut the articles of association
were not perfected and filed until December
J, 1872. A Baptist Sunday school was or-
ganized April 10. 1870.
The society held its first meeting in the
little school house on the corner of Park
and State streets, which has frequently be-
fore been mentioned in this work, but later
secured Leach's hall for that purpose, and
in March, 1870. called Rev. E. Mills, of
Northport, to the pastorate. There were
fifteen members at this time, but the number
increased quite rapidly, and there are fre-
quent records of the congregation repairing
to the Boardman river, where the candidates
for admission to the church were baptized.
The church was formally recognized
May 12, 1870, by a council composed of
delegates from sister churches. On this oc-
casion Rev. A. K. Herrington preached the
sermon and Rev. J. C. Jordan gave the
charge to the church. Sunday, [March 12,
1871, Rev. E. Mills resigned the pastorate
and no regular services were maintained ful-
some time. Occasional services were held
by Rev. A. H. Harrington, of Monroe Cen-
ter. In June. 1873, a call was extended
to Rev. E. J. Stevens, of West Sutton, Mas-
sachusetts, to become the pastor at a salary
of one thousand dollars, which was accepted.
On July 3, 1S73, it was moved and carried at
a business meeting that the association build
a house of worship, and J. Gridley. H. J.
Wait and E. J. Stevens were appointed a
committee to procure plans and secure a
lot, also to circulate a subscription paper to
aid in the building.
Rev. Mr. Stevens was released from the
pastorate in April, 1874. In the meantime
the building had been erected, at a total
cjst of three thousand three hundred dollars,
and was dedicated July 26, 1874. Rev. A.
E. M unger, of Detroit, preached the dedica-
tion sermon and was called to the pastorate.
Rev. C. H. Rhodes, of Parma, was the next
pastor, coming to the church in December,
i 880. He met with great success, the mem-
bership being increased by an hundred dur-
ing his pastorate, which closed September
27. 1885. October 5. 1885, Rev. Groff, of
Coldwater, received a call, which he ac-
cepted. His stay was not long, though a
pleasant one. At the end of a year he
severed his connection with the church, and
on December 5, 1886, Rev. Dr. Van Alstine
preached his first sermon as Mr. Groff's suc-
cessor. Dr. Van Alstine was as universally
loved as any minister who has ever occupied
the Baptist pulpit, and his death, which oc-
curred in February, 1890, while he was still
engaged in the services of the local church,
was a matter of deep regret to the entire
community.
The next regularly appointed pastor was
Rev. H. W. Powell, who preached his first
sermon as pastor June 8, 1890. He resigned
April 0. 1892, and the vacancy was supplied
by Rev. G. S. Northrup, who received a
call January 22, 1803. Because of failing
health. Mr. Northrup resigned November
14, 1K97. and preached liis farewell sermon
November 21st. December 20 of I lie same
year Rev. J. C. Carman accepted a call and
entered upon his duties, tendering his resig-
nation a vear later, to take effect March 26,
1899. Mr. Carman's successor, the Rev.
W. T. Woodhouse. is still administering to
the wants of the people. His pastorate has
282
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
been very successful and his people seem to
feel greatly pleased with his work among
them.
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS.
The Seventh Day Adventists have two
church organizations in Grand Traverse
county — in Traverse City and in the town-
ship of Grant. Elder R. C. Horton com-
menced holding tent meetings in Wexford,
adjoining Grant, in October, 1887. In the
following month Elder F. I. Richardson or-
ganized the church in Grant, at the Kennedy
school house, with twenty-five members.
The church held its meetings in the school
house until 1898, when a house of worship
was built, which was dedicated the first of
August.
The church in Traverse City was organ-
ized in August, 1895, during the progress of
a campmeeting held there at the time. The
organization was due mainly to the influence
of Elder I. H. Evans, president of the Michi-
gan conference, asisted by Elder G. C. Ten-
uey and H. M. Kenyon, who were in attend-
ance at the campmeeting. The original
membership numbered twenty-two. A house
of worship was built in 1896.
In both orgaizations there have been
some changes of membership, but the num-
ber of members remain about the same as at
the beginning. Neither has enjoyed the ad-
vantage of having a settled minister, but
each has kept up the regular Sabbath meet-
ings and a Sabbath school. Usually in the
regular service a short discourse is given by
the church elder or some lay member, fol-
lowed by a social meeting. Both the church
in Grant and the one in Traverse City are
in the North Michigan conference, a new
conference created by the division of the
late Michigan conference.
CHAPTER XVII.
N TRAVERSE CITY NEWSPAPERS.
GRAND TRAVERSE HERALD.
The Grand Traverse Herald was the first
newspaper published in the Grand Traverse
region. The first number was issued No-
vember 8, 1858, the late Hon. Morgan Bates,
editor and proprietor. It was started as a
four-column folio on a sheet eighteen by
twenty-six inches in size, column seventeen
picas wide. It was started without a sin-
gle subscriber and with only one-fourth col-
umn of local advertising, but it has been a
success from the start. There were very few
people here at that time, but settlers soon be-
gan coming and of course the subscription
list began to swell, until today there are few
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
283
weekly newspapers in the country that have
a larger list of subscribers. The firm of
Hannah, Lay & Company began to advertise
in a small way in the third number of the
paper issued. About a year later the firm
greatly increased their patronage, and from
that day to this the firm has been liberal ad-
vertisers, not only in the Herald, but in the
Eagle and the daily papers issued from both
these offices as well.
In May, 1866, the columns of the paper
were increased two picas in width and two
inches in length. A year later a second en-
largement was made and then was a folio
twenty-four by thirty-six inches in size. A
year later the size was increased to a sheet
twenty-six by forty, and on the first of Jan-
uary, 1880, it was enlarged to a nine-column
folio, twenty-eight by forty-four. Not long
after coming into the hands of the present
proprietor it was again enlarged to an eight-
column quarto; in which size and form it has
been published for many years.
Morgan Bates continued to publish and
edit the paper until the close of the ninth
volume, December 20, 1867, when he sold
the office to Hon. D. C. Leach, who remained
as editor and publisher until May 11. 1S76,
when he sold to Thomas T. Bates, the pres-
ent owner and publisher.
In politics the Herald has always been
Republican. It has always labored very suc-
cessfully for the interests of the Grand Tra-
verse region, and especially for Traverse
City. The office is now one of the best
equipped print shops in the state, and, be-
sides printing the Herald and the Evening
Record, does an extensive amount of general
job printing. It has a large assortment of
presses, the latest Mergenthaler machines
and a full and complete stock of other things
necessary to carry on a successful business.
THE TRAVERSE BAY EAGLE.
The first number of the Traverse Bay
Eagle made its appearance in Elk Rapids
March 31, 1865, under the name of Elk
Rapids Eagle, Elvin L. Sprague, editor and
publisher. The first number was a very un-
pretentious affair, consisting of four pages of
three columns each, the columns being seven-
teen picas wide.
On January 1, 1866, the name of the
paper was changed to Traverse Bay Eagle,
which it has borne ever since, and the size
was increased to twenty-two by thirty-two
inches. In the spring of 1866 a larger press
was needed and a Northrup power press was
added to the plant. In the autumn of the
same year the plant was removed to Traverse
City and the paper enlarged to an eight-col-
umn folio. A year afterwards a steam en-
gine was purchased to run the press. Previ-
ous to that time the exercise of muscle was
the only power available. This steam engine
was the first to be used in the region in a
printing office, and was used continuously
until June, 1895. when the electricity of the
Boardman River Electric Light & Power
Company was brought into requisition, with
which power the plant has since been oper-
ated. A year previous to the addition of
steam power a job press was added to the
plant, the first one brought to the region.
In 1873 the paper was again enlarged to a
nine-column folio, and in 1878 a new cylin-
der press was purchased, manufactured in
Chicago by the late government printer, S.
P. Rounds, expressly for Mr. Sprague.
17
284
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Politically the Eagle was Republican un-
til the Greeley campaign, when it advocated
the election of Mr. Greeley, since which time
it has been Democratic. It is still edited by
its founder, Elvin L. Sprague, who has thus
been in continual service as a newspaper
editor for more than thirty-eight years.
At the risk of being charged with a little
egotism, we will say, and we believe most
truthfully, that the paper has always labored
faithfully and earnestly for the building up
ami developing of the entire Grand Traverse
region.
THE DAILY EAGLE.
In the spring of 1893 Mr. Sprague came
to the conclusion that Traverse City had
reached a size both in population and in busi-
ness importance to warrant the publication
•of a daily newspaper, and on March 28.
1893, the first number of the first daily news-
paper, the Daily Eagle, made its appearance,
Elvin L. Sprague, editor and publisher.
Although a good many people predicted
failure, the paper met with a very cordial
reception at the hands of the people and
of the business firms. So good was the
patronage of the advertisers that only one
year from the date of its initial number it
became necessary to enlarge it from a six-
column folio to one of seven columns. At
first the revenue was not sufficient to war-
rant the expense of wire service, and the
publisher had to depend entirely upon gath-
ering and printing the local news to make
the paper interesting to its patrons, in this
the paper proved a success, but when the war
with Spain came on the people demanded the
latest news from the scene of operations. This
demand was met by securing daily special
telegraph services, and while the expense of
getting out the paper was greatly increased
by this, the increased subscription list and
advertising patronage helped largely to meet
this expense. The wire service then in-
augurated has never been dropped, but rather
increased, as today the paper is receiving the
daily afternoon service of the Scripps-
AIcRae League.
Politically the Daily Eagle has never
allied itself with any political party, but has
always taken an independent course, advo-
cating what its editor thought was for the
best interest of Traverse City and of the
Grand Traverse region.
In September, 1898, a corporation was
formed under the name of the Eagle Press,
with a capital stock of ten thousand dollars,
of which E. L. Sprague, L. A. Pratt and E.
Sprague Pratt were the incorporators and
shareholders. Since then the paper and
plant has been owned and managed by this
corporation. Subsequently Messrs. E. E.
White and Harry Burr became the owners
of stock in the corporation. The officers
and managers of the association are. E. L.
Sprague, president ; E. Sprague Pratt, sec-
retary; L. A. Pratt, treasurer: E. E. White,
business manager ; Harry Burr, foreman of
the mechanical department.
About a year and a half after the in-
corporation of the establishment a Mergen-
thaler machine was installed, which was the
first type-setting machine in the lower pen-
insula north of Grand Rapids.
The size of the paper is now regularly
four pages of seven colums each, and fre-
quently six and sometimes eight pages, while
on Saturdays it is always eight, and often
twelve pages. Since its establishment the
city has increased greatly in population, and
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
285
the circulation of the paper has increased ac-
cordingly. The Daily Eagle was started
without a single subscriber, and for the first
week a copy was placed daily in every house
and business place in the city. Today the
actual paid list numbers more than five hun-
dred copies in excess of the number printed
and given away the first week. The Eagle
Press has a fine outfit of presses and material
and is having a fine patronage of job work.
THE EVENING RECORD.
The Record was first started as a morn-
ing paper by Thomas T. Bates and J. W.
Hannen, J. VV. Hannen, editor and business
manager, in April, 1897. When it first made
its appearance it was a five-column folio.
Since then it has been enlarged from time to
time until it has become a seven-column ft >lii 1.
and on Saturdays double that size. Addi-
tional pages also frequently appear other
days, made necessary by the advertising
patronage.
After a time, owing to the difficulty of
securing wire service for a morning paper
suitable to its size, and other matters that
made the expense of the publication of a
morning paper greater than an evening one,
the publishers changed the publication to the
Evening Record. In politics the paper has
always been Republican, and was never
known to waver in its support of the nomi-
nees of the Republican party. It has a fine
advertising patronage and a large subscrip-
tion list.
OTHER NEWSPAPERS.
There are now three other weekly news-
papers published in the county, the Hustler,
the Echo, and the Monitor, the two former
published at Kingsley and the latter at Fife
Lake, which will receive further mention in
another part of this volume.
During the time that the Elerald and the
Eagle have been printed, several attempts
have been made to establish other newspa-
pers in Traverse City, but all have proved
failures. In some cases a few months was
sufficient, and in others it took a few years
to demonstrate the fact that the Herald and
Eagle filled to the satisfaction of the people
the weekly field, and now it is quite evident
that the Daily Eagle and the Evening Record
furnish the people of the city with all that
is required in the way of daily newspapers.
Traverse City is proud of her newspapers.
There is not a city of its size in the union
that can compare in the quality of its news-
papers with those of Traverse City.
JOB PRINTING.
As lias been said, both the Herald and
Eagle offices do a large amount of job print-
ing. In addition to these Messrs. Ebner
Brothers have a well equipped job office fot
Ci immercial printing, and have built up a
good business. Charles E. Cooper also has
a job office and is doing considerable busi-
ness.
CHAPTER XVIII.
TRAVERSE CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
The people of Traverse City are pre-
eminently a reading people, as is evidenced
by her libraries and the patronage enjoyed
by them. The public library of the city is
the outgrowth of the Traverse township
library, which was started many years ago.
When the city was incorporated this was
turned over to the city and became the
nucleus of what is known as the Traverse
City public library. While it has always
been well patronized, during the past three
years it has become a very important factor
in promoting the educational facilities of the
city. During that time the public library
and reading rooms have been kept up. new
books and magazines been added, and the in-
stitution kept open every week day from one
o'clock until nine P. M. and from two until
five every Sunday, at an annual expense of
over two thousand dollars.
There are over five thousand five hun-
dred volumes in the library and during
the year ending April i, 1003, there were
thirty-eight thousand, eight hundred and
sixty-two books drawn out. The reading
room, which is kept supplied with the current
magazines, is well patronized. There are
two hundred and twenty-seven valuable ref-
erence books in the library and these are fre-
quently consulted.
LADIES LIBRARY ASSOCIATION.
This is one of the earliest institutions of
Traverse City. In fact it is the first woman's
organization of the city. July 23, 1869, in
response to a call by the late Mrs. Morgan
Bates, several ladies met to talk over the or-
ganization of a Ladies' Library Association,
and when a motion was made that there be
such an organization it was carried unani-
mously. "The names of the women who were
present at that meeting and to whom belong
the credit of the organization deserve to be
placed upon record for the information of
future generations. They were Mrs. Morgan
Bates, Mrs. Samuel W. Arnold, Mrs. B. D.
Ashton, Mrs. L. W. Hubbell. Airs. M. K.
Buck, Mrs. S. C. Fuller. Mrs. Oscar L.
Noble, Mrs. R. Hatch and Mrs. M. E. C.
Bates. Of those nine ladies, the five first
mentioned are deceased. Mrs. Noble re-
sides in Boston, Mrs. Fuller in the sunny
south and Mrs. Hatch in Grand Rapids.
Mrs. Bates is the only one still living in the
city, although the other three living mem-
bers still retain their interest in the organiza-
tion.
After the association was organized, the
next question was that of obtaining books to
carry out the design of the association. The
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
287
first few were donated and placed in one of
the rooms of the United States land office.
A few dollars were added from membership
dues, so that the first report of the associa-
tion, October i, 1869, showed seventy-nine
volumes, of which fifty-four were donated.
During the fiscal year the library was in-
creased to three hundred and twenty-nine
volumes.
Mrs. Morgan Bates was the first presi-
dent and held the office until her death, in
tS/2. In 1871 the association was incor-
porated, and the ladies, by putting- in lots of
hard work, saved up money obtained by
means of lectures, entertainments and socials
and in 1887 erected the building now oc-
cupied by it on Front street at a cost of one
thousand, nine hundred and forty dollars.
Though the front of the building at the pres-
ent time looks practically the same, it has
been enlarged and changed internally, and
kept up so that today the building is in good
condition, with steam heat and electric lights.
The first story is occupied by the library
rooms of the association and two offices.
The second story, which was built for a hall
and was for many years the largest assembly
room in the city, has been for the past three
years and is now occupied by the city public
library and reading rooms.
The library contains nearly three thous-
and, five hundred volumes, consisting mostly
of carefully selected fiction. The association
has one hundred and thirty-five members
and values its real estate at nearly seven
thousand dollars.
CHAPTER XIX.
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES BY WATER AND RAIL.
STEAMBOATS.
In the early days the people had to de-
pend entirely upon sailing vesels to reach
this region, and a few years later upon
steamers plying between Buffalo and Chi-
cago, that made stops at Northport for wood
and to leave and receive freight and passen-
gers. The firm of Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany also owned a steamer that for many
years made weekly round trips between
Traverse City' and Chicago, which was al-
ways very popular with the people. This
line was discontinued when the firm sold
out their lumber business, but its place is
filled by the Northern Transportation Com-
pany, which operates some of the finest pas-
senger boats on the lakes. Transportation
between all of the towns on the bay is fur-
nished, and has been for several years, by
2S8
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Captain Webb's line of boats, tbe "Cmn-
mings," tbe "Crescent" and the "Columbia."
RAILROADS.
Previous to tbe building of tbe Grand
Rapids & Indiana Railroad to Traverse City
the only way of getting in or out when water
navigation was closed was by going
through the woods to Bear Lake and then
follow the beach of Lake Michigan to Grand
Haven. Later, however, about 1864. a
state road was cut out through the woods
between Newaygo and Traverse City, and
over this road a stage line was established
by the late Judge Henry D. Campbell and
his brother Robert, running from Traverse
City to Big Rapids, where it connected with
the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad.
As soon as the road was completed as far
north as Cadillac (then called Clam Lake),
the stage route was shortened up accord-
ingly.
THE COMING OF THE RAILROAD.
Before the construction of any railroad
north from Grand Rapids, congress passed
a bill granting every alternate section of
land on either side of the line for the con-
struction of a railroad from Grand Rapids
to Traverse bay. This the managers of the
railroad company which was organized to
secure this land grant, succeeded in convinc-
ing the secretary of the interior meant Little
Traverse bay, and the line of the Grand
Rapids & Indiana was accordingly surveyed
from Grand Rapids to Little Traverse bay.
without coming nearer to Grand Traverse
bay than Walton, twenty-six miles distant.
At this time Traverse City was the most im-
portant town in this part of the state and
could not afford to let a railroad pass by
without stopping. A successful effort was
therefore made to secure tbe building of a
branch from Walton to Traverse City, at a
cost of forty thousand dollars to the citizens.
Of this sum the firm of Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany subscribed twenty thousand dollars and
the citizens of the city and county the other
twenty thousand dollars. The road was
built and opened for business in 1S72, and
was for eighteen years the only railroad
that ran into Traverse City.
THE PERE MARQUETTE.
In 1S90 the Chicago & Western Michi-
gan, now the Pere Marquette, was extended
from Baldwin to Traverse City and proved
a great stimulus to the business and growth
of the town. Two years later it was ex-
tended north to Charlevoix and Petoskey,
with a branch to Elk Rapids.
THE MANISTEE & NORTHEASTERN.
In 1 89 1 the Manistee & Northeastern
road was completed to Traverse City and has
proved a very valuable addition to the trans-
portation facilities, and in bringing trade to
the city.
THE TRAVERSE CITY, LEELAXAW & MANIS-
TIQUE.
The road bed for the Traverse City,
Leelanaw & Manistique road was graded in
the fall of 1892 between Traverse City and
Xorthport. It is expected that the rails will
1 be laid and the road opened for business by
the first of July, 1903. It is expected that a
car ferry slip will be built at the latter place
in the near future and that a car ferry will
be operated between there and Manistique.
A large boat for this purpose has been built
and is completed at the present writing.
CHAPTER XX.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
GOVERNMENT POSTOFFICE.
About a year ago an appropriation of
six thousand dollars was made by congress
for the purchase of a site for a government
building in Traverse City. To this sum a
few public spirited citizens added sufficient
to purchase a most desirable site on the cor-
ner of State and Cass streets, at a cost of
about eleven thousand dollars. At the ses-
sion of congress just closed an appropriation
of fifty thousand dollars was made for the
erection of a building upon this site, and it
is quite probable that before this volume
leaves the printer's hands that the erection of
the structure will he under way.
PUBLIC LIBRARY BUILDING.
In April, 1902, Andrew Carnegie made
a proposition to donate twenty thousand dol-
lars to the city for the erection of a home for
the public library, on condition that the city
would agree to appropriate not less than
two thousand dollars annually for its main-
tainance and furnish a suitable site. The
offer was accepted, and two sites have been
offered, one of which was accepted by the
city council and the other by the board of
library trustees, and as there was a conflict
of authority the matter was referred to the
courts to settle, which body possessed the
power to act. At present time, April 15,
1903, the court has not given an opinion,
although the case was submitted several
weeks since. When a decision is reached
the building will undoubtedly be built.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN ASYLUM.
The Northern Michigan Asylum is one
of the finest public institutions of the state
and is located at Traverse City. The first
appropriation for the institution was made
by the Michigan legislature in 1881, and in
November, 1885, the structure was com-
pleted and the first patient received. At
first it was erected with a capacity to care
for five hundred patients, but it has been en-
larged and added to until at the present writ-
ing there are about forty buildings on the
grounds. These include the main building,
several cottages for patients, nurses' home,
finely equipped engine house and boiler
rooms, electric light plant, laundry, fire de-
partment, vegetable cellars, barns, tool
sheds, etc. The investment by the state up
to the present writing has been very nearly
one million dollars. The grounds are sit-
uated upon high ground southwest of the
290
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
city, from which a fine view of the bay and
of the city is obtained. The grounds are
beautifully laid out and cared for. There
are at the present time one thousand, one
hundred and twenty-five patients cared for
in the various buildings, and the total num-
ber of people employed are two hundred and
seventy-five. The annual pay roll for the
employes is not less than ninety thousand
dollars. Besides this amount paid in salar-
ies tc employes, the expenditure for main-
tainance aggregates two hundred thousand
dollars. More room is needed and an ap-
propriation will probably be made by the
legislature of 1903 for the erection of two
more cottages, and some other necessary im-
provements
The institution is under the immediate
charge of Dr. J. D. Munson, who has held
the position of medical superintendent from
the first opening of the buildings to patients
in November, 1885. The assistant superin-
tendent is Dr. A. S. Rowley. A large staff
of competent physicians are also employed.
C. L. Whitney has been for several years
steward of the institution, under whose man-
agement the extensive farm and gardens of
the institution have been made to blossom
as the rose and are models of their kind.
The stock of the institution is also some-
thing to be proud of. The trustees of the
asylum are Messrs. Thomas T. Bates and
Harry C. Davis. Traverse City ; George A.
Hart, Manistee; Charles F. Backus, De-
troit; W. W. Mitchell. Cadillac; C. F. Tem-
ple. Muskegon.
CHAPTER XXI.
MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.
The manufacture of pine lumber was the
first manufacturing industry started in Tra-
verse City. In the establishment of this
business the firm of Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany were the pioneers and for many years
the principal actors. In 1886 the firm sold
its timber and mills to J. M. Torrent.
Since that time the saw-mill plant in the
citv has changed owners a number of times,
during which the pine timber has all disap-
peared and the manufacture of hemlock and
hardwood has taken the place of the pine.
In 1899 the firm of John F. Ott & Com-
pany became the owners of that plant and
have operated it very successfully since. The
company gives employment to an average of
about nne hundred men.
The Oval Wood Dish Company moved
to Traverse City from Mamcelone in 1883.
It is an incorporated company and consists
of H. S. Hull, president; J. M. Longnecker,
secretary and treasurer, and A. L. black,
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
291
general agent. Three hundred and twenty-
five hands are employed, and the factory is
kept busy the year around. The establish-
ment manufactures oval wood dishes, wire
end dishes, wash boards, clothespins and
lumber, using fifteen milion feet of logs
every year. The dishes made in this factory
are used in every grocery store in the United
States.
\\ illiam Beitner was the pioneer in the
manufacture of hardwood lumber in Grand
Traverse county. He commenced opera-
tions by building a small mill about five miles
south of the city on what is known as Beit-
ner's creek. Besides the manufacture of
lumber, Mr. Beitner in a few years added
the manufacture of chair stock. About 1887
or 1888 the plant was removed to the city
and the business greatly increased. The
business was the manufacture of lumber,
chair stock and curtain poles. After operat-
ing here about five years and doing an ex-
tensive business, the plant and a large
amount of completed stock ready to ship was
destroyed by fire, the loss being between
seventy-five thousand dollars and eighty
thousand dollars, with but small insurance.
Inside of sixty days the plant was rebuilt
and again in running order, and has been
operated ever since, with constantly in-
creasing output. The curtain-pole branch,
which for a long time sent out the poles in
white, has been fitted with a finishing de-
partment and the product is now. sent out
complete in every detail. They are finished
in antique oak, natural oak, mahogany,
ebony, cherry, walnut, sycamore and white
maple. The plant gives employment to one
hundred hands.
About 1857 Messrs. Hannah. Lay &
Company purchased two portable grist-mills
and placed them in the building erected by
Mr. Boardman for a saw-mill, but which
was no longer in use as such. These were
the first mills for the manufacture of flour
in the region. They were operated by water
here, but a couple of years later were moved
into the lower story of the first steam saw-
mill built by the same company, the use of
which for the manufacture of lumber had
given place to a new and larger one built
where the present John F. Ott Company
plant stands, which consists in part of the
original frame. In 1S67 Hannah. Lay &
Company built a dam across the Boardman
river about, midway between Union and
Cass streets. In 1868 the foundation and
basement walls for the present flour mills
were laid, and during the following year the
mill was erected and completed. It is a large
wooden building, fifty by eighty feet, four
stories high and basement. At the time it
was built it was fitted up with the best ma-
chinery then in use. In 1885 it was over-
hauled and changed to the full roller system,
and in 1898 it was again overhauled, the
old water-wheels taken out and three new
Leffel wheels put in. at a cost of ten thous-
and dollars. The value of the plant is es-
timated at forty thousand dollars, and the
annual output is over one hundred thousand
dollars.
One of the important manufacturing es-
tablishments of the city is that of the J. E.
Greilick Company. The business was es-
tablished and for many years owned by
Joseph E. Greilick, and upon his death was
incorporated under the name of J. E. Grei-
lick Company, the stockholders being Mrs.
J. E. Greilick, Clarence L. Greilick and Ern-
est \Y. Greilick. It ranks among the first
factories of the kind in northern Michigan.
292
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
The annual output is now over one hundred
and forty-five thousand dollars. It gives
employment to an average of one hundred
hands the year around. The business of the
factory consists of the manufacture of sash,
doors, store fixtures and interior finishings,
and the company also owns and operates its
own lumber, lath and shingle mill.
The Traverse City Iron Works is the
pioneer foundry and machine shop of the
Grand Traverse region. It was established
in 1874 by William Holdsworth, the work
for several years being done almost entirely
by his son, the late Pereguin Holdsworth.
The business is now conducted by B. Thirlby
and W. F. Calkins, Mr. Thirlby entering
the firm in 1882 and Mr. Calkins in 1890.
The firm is now doing a business of over
forty thousand dollars a year, and employs
about twenty-five men. The concern makes a
speciality of the manufacture of saw and
shingle-mill machinery, and the greater por-
tion of machinery of this description used in
the Grand Traverse region is manufactured
by them. Of course it is supplied with a
complete outfit of all kinds of tools and ma-
chinery necessary to a first-class foundry and
machine shop.
Caldwell & Loudon, manufacturers of
wagons and sleighs and general black-
smiths, are among the old established firms
of the city. Having started in business
twenty years ago, there has been a steady
and gratifying growth from the start, their
trade gradually spreading out till it ad-
vanced beyond the 1 "Hinds of the city and be-
came a large manufacturing industry in-
stead of a merely local business. The firm
manufactures all kinds of vehicles, including
wagons, carriages, sleighs, delivery wagons,
drays, mill cart, and make a specialty of the
manufacture of sleighs, their annual output
being four hundred sets. Another branch
of the business which is a specialty with the
firm is the manufacture of big logging wheels
which are equipped with patent hubs of Air.
Loudon's own invention. Both the wood-
working and the blacksmithing departments
are fully equipped with the latest machinery.
Fifteen hands are employed, nearly all
skilled labor, in the various departments, who
are given steady work the year around.
The Potato Implement Company was
started originally as the Potato Planter
Company, organized to manufacture a potato
planter invented by Mr. Black, a farmer of
East Bay. In 1895 it was reorganized un-
der the present name. The officers are :
President, Charles K. Buck ; vice-president,
Charles P. Buck; secretary and treasurer, J.
W. Milliken. The plant is valued at thirty-
five thousand dollars, and occupies an entire
block on West Front street. There are
eleven different articles manufactured by the
company, including potato planters, corn
planters, sprayers for vines and for potatoes,
hand spray pumps, powder guns, etc. The
annual output reaches forty-two thousand
dollars. During the busy season fifty-five
hands are employed, running as low as ten
during the dull season. The payroll
amounts to about twelve thousand dollars a
year. Orders for the products of this estab-
lishment are received from all over the
United States, the bulk of the trade, how-
ever, being from St. Paul to St. Louis in the
west, and extending east to the Atlantic
coast. Besides this there is a lively demand
lor potato planters from New Zealand, Aus-
tralia and Finland, and for miscellaneous
shipments from England, German}-, the
Netherlands, Russia and Mexico.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
293
The basket factory of Wells-Higman
Company is one of the largest manufactur-
ing establishments in the city. It was estab-
lished in 1892, and employs three hundred
hands eight months in the rear. It consumes
about three million feet of logs during the
year, the most of the timber being basswood
and elm. The annual payroll amounts to
sixty thousand dollars. The goods manufac-
tured consist of the "Climax" peach and
grape baskets, bushel baskets, berry crates
and veneer. The annual output in packages
consists of three million peach and grape
baskets, six hundred thousand bushel baskets
one hundred thousand berry crates, besides
a few other styles of baskets and veneer.
William Jackson has been in business in
Traverse City over twenty years, eleven of
which he spent as partner in the Traverse
City Iron Works. In 1893 ne branched out
for himself. His business is the manufac-
ture of various kinds of machines and the re-
pairing of machinery, a large amount of
work being done in the latter line for the
factories in the city and surrounding coun-
try. He makes a specialty of basket ma-
chines, which were designed, patented and
built by himself, the patent being afterwards
sold to the Wells-Higman Company, who
are the largest basket manufacturers in the
United States. Previous to this invention
the baskets manufactured here were all made
by hand, but the machine was so practical
and proved so successful that the factory
has been fitted out with them, both for the
manufacture of the "Climax" and bushel
baskets. Formerly one man could make
from four hundred to five hundred "Cli-
max" baskets in a day; the machine has a
record of one thousand, six hundred and fifty
and instead of four hundred bushel baskets
by hand the machine can turn out from two
thousand to two thousand two hundred.
The Fulghum Manufacturing Company
was established in 1891, the firm at that time
consisting of E. J. Fulghum, L. Roberts and
M. C. Oviatt. In 1893 .Mr. Oviatt retired,
L. H. De Zoete taking his place, and in 1901
Mr. Roberts was succeeded by W. E. Will-
iams, of Reed City. For the first few years
the factory was devoted to the manufacture
of all kinds of building materials, with sev-
eral side issues, such as the making of fold-
ing tables, etc., a specialty being made of
maple flooring. The latter industry has de-
veloped to such an extent as to crowd out
all other departments, and the factory is now
running entirely along this line of work.
The annual payroll of the factory amounts
to thirty-three thousand dollars.
About twenty-two years ago the firm of
V. & A. J. Petertyl was formed and com-
menced the manufacture of buggies, car-
riages, wagons, cutters, sleighs and all kinds
of vehicles, as well as the carrying on of a
general blacksmithing and horseshoeing
business. About five years ago V. Petertyl
bought the interest of his cousin. A. J., and
has since carried on the business alone. The
concern enjoys an extensive trade, and
gives employment to nineteen hands, the an-
nual payroll amounting to ten thousand five
hundred dollars. Mr. Petertyl's output
amounts annually to over thirty-five thous-
and dollars.
A. J. Petertyl, who was for many years
in partnership with his cousin. Victor Peter-
tyl, in the manufacture of buggies, carriages,
wagons, cutters, sleighs and a general
blacksmithing business, a little over four
years ago went into the same kind of busi-
ness for himself. He purchased a lot on the
294
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
corner of State and Union streets and erected
thereon a line two-story brick shop. He has
already succeeded in building up a good
trade. He employs nine hands, the yearly
payroll amounting to about five thousand
dollars.
R. \Y. Round & Son started their foun-
dry in Traverse City a little over three years
ago, during which time they have built up a
large business. They make a specialty of
heavy castings, such as building columns,
door sills, etc. Orders for this kind of \v< irk
a.re received by the firm from all the towns
in the region.
One of the important industries of Trav-
erse City is the candy factory of Straub
Brothers & Amiotte, which was established
in 1899. From a comparatively small be-
ginning the institution has grown until it oc-
cupies an entire brick block on Front street,
fifty by eighty-five feet, two stories and base-
ment. The output is three thousand pounds a
day throughout the entire year, making a
total of nine hundred and thirty-six thousand
pounds for the year. Forty-one hands are
employed, a number of them girls. The
payroll amounts to fifteen thousand dollars
annually.
The factory of the Michigan Starch
Company was built originally for the manu-
facture of potato starch, with corn and wheat
starch as a side issue. This was in 1899.
The company was incorporated for fifty
thousand dollars. In the fall of 1903 the
company was reorganized with a capital of
two hundred thousand dollars, and the fac-
t> >rv changed from a potato to strictly corn
starch factory, with a capacity of three
thousand bushels of corn per clay, which will
produce one hundred thousand pounds of
starch. At the present writing the factory
is not in full operation.
There are six or eight cigar manufactur-
ing establishments in the city, of which that
of A. W. Jahraus is the largest and has been
the longest in business. His shop employs
twelve hands, at an annual payroll of twelve
thousand, four hundred and eighty dollars.
There are probably now over fifty hands em-
ployed in the manufacture of cigars in the
city.
The Traverse Manufacturing Company
i^ a new institution, having been in business
at this writing less than a year and a half.
The company has a fine plant and does a
general planing-mill business, and makes a
specialty of custom work, manufacturing
doors, window sash, and all sorts of store
and office fixtures. W. L. Brown is the
general manager. The other officers are
Allie P. Brown, president, and S. M. Brown,
vice-president. The concern gives employ-
ment to about twenty men.
The South Side Lumber Company is a
new concern, with a capital stock of twenty
thousand dollars, located on East Eighth
street and Lake avenue, for the manufacture
of all kinds of house finishings, both exterior
and interior. It has good buildings and is
equipped with all the necessary machinery
for its business.
One of the greatest factors in changing
the appearance of the main business streets
of Traverse City from a "Wooden Town"
to a brick one has been the brick manufactur-
ing establishment of J. \Y. Markham. While
Mr. Markham's brick yards are not located
in Traverse City or even in Grand Traverse
county, they are essentially a Traverse City
industry, as the great bulk of their product
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
295
is used in building up Traverse City in a
substantia] and lasting manner. Tbe yards
are located about two and a half miles north
of tbe city in Elmwood township, Leelanau*
county, and were purchased by Mr. Markham
of the Norris Brothers about 1880. At this
time almost nothing had been done in the way
of building with brick. Soon after this, how-
ever, the Hannah & Lay Mercantile Com-
pany erected their store, for which Mr.
Markham furnished all the brick. He also
furnished all of the face brick and a part of
the common brick for the main building of
the Northern Michigan Asylum. Since
that time the business has increased until
there are between- three and four million of
Mr. Markham's brick used annually in this
vicinity.
The marble and granite works of H. D.
Alley, which were established in 1893, and
of A. W. Rickerd, established in 1901, are
both important industries.
CHAPTER XXII.
TRAVERSE CITY BANKING ESTABLISHMENTS.
THE STATE BANK.
The Traverse City State Bank is the suc-
cessor of Hannah, Lay & Company, bankers.
which firm constituted the pioneer bankers of
Traverse City. The history of- the bank
dates back to 1856, when the lumber firm
of Hannah. Lay & Company had but recent-
ly started in the business of manufacturing
lumber in the then wilderness. All tbe busi-
ness there was to do was transacted through
this firm and gradually a little banking busi-
ness sprung up, which was conducted, not
so much for the profit to the firm, as for the
general accommodation of the people:
For many years the bank and the general
office of the lumber business and the store
were one and tbe same place. When the
business of tbe company outgrew the quarters
in the original buildings, on the corner of
Union and Bay streets, and the large brick
building was erected on the corner of Front
and Union streets, rooms were reserved in
the southwest corner of the first floor for the
bank, which consists of a large general bank-
ing room, private office for Mr. Hannah, and
vault for the safe keeping of the bank's valu-
ables.
The institution was incorporated under
the state law in 1892, for one hundred thous-
and dollars. From that time until the pres-
ent the business of the institution has in-
creased in volume year by year. On No-
vember 25. 1902, the deposits were $1,310,-
462.97, and the total footings?:. 491,983.76.
July 1, 1903, the capital stock of the bank
will lie doubled, the 'capitalization on that
date becoming two hundred thousand dollars.
The erection of a new home for this
bank is now in progress. It is located on
296
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
the northwest corner of Front and Union
streets. In size it is seventy-five feet on
Front and one hundred feet on Union street,
lour stories high, and an illuminated tower
above. It is constructed of red brick with
terra cotta trimmings, supported at the front
and side entrances with Vermont marble
columns. It will be erected at a cost of not
less than one hundred thousand dollars, and
when completed will undoubtedly be the
handsomest building in the city. It will be
not only modern but a model bank building
in every way. The officers of the bank are :
President, Perry Hannah; vice-president, A.
Tracy Lay; cashier, Julius T. Hannah; as-
sistant cashiers, Samuel Garland, Howard
Irish; board of directors, Perry Hannah, A.
Tracy Lay, J. T. Hannah, S. Garland and
Howard Irish.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
The First National Bank, which was
the second bank established in Traverse City,
was organized in 1885, starting in business
in what is known as the Leach building,
then standing on the corner of Front and
Park streets. The officers were, J. C. Lewis,
Whitehall, president; J. T. Beadle, vice-
president; C. A. Hammond, cashier; direc-
tors, J. C. Lewis, Hon. D. C. Leach, W. S.
Johnson, C. A. Hammond. Of the original
directors, J. T. Beadle is the only one re-
maining today, though the Lewis estate is
represented by M. B. Covell, of Whitehall.
On the death of Mr. Lewis in 1895, he was
succeeded by J. T. Beadle, who in turn was
followed by H. S. Hull in 1896. He re-
signed July 1, 1902, to take the position of
president of the new People's Savings Bank,
but still remains on the board of directors.
He was succeeded by J. T. Beadle as presi-
dent. The present officers are, J. T. Beadle,
president ; B. J. Morgan and Frank Hamil-
tin. vice-presidents; Leon F. Titus, cashier;
\V. M. Kellogg, assistant cashier. The di-
rectors are J. T. Beadle, B. J. Morgan, F.
Hamilton. H. S. Hull, Charles F. Read, M.
B. Covell, F. Weltofl.
C. A. Hammond was the first cashier,
resigning his position in 1888, to spend
some time in the west. He was succeeded by
his brother, W. L. Hammond, who, in 1893,
resigned to accept a similar position in what
is now the First National Bank of Luding-
ton. C. A. Hammond was again cashier from
that date until April, 1899, when ill health
caused him to resign. Frank Welton, who
was in the First National Bank of Benton
Harbor, then took the position, which he
filled very successfully until May 1, 1903,
resigning to accept the position of cashier
of the National City Bank of Grand Rapids.
Leon F. Titus, a Traverse City boy, who
had had fourteen years' experience in the
banking business, four years as assistant
cashier in this bank, was promoted to the
position of cashier.
The bank was incorporated for fifty
thousand dollars, and now has a surplus of
twenty-five thousand dollars. It has en-
joyed a very gratifying growth. On Janu-
ary 1, 1897, the deposits were $136,597.29,
and these increased by over fifty thousand
dollars a year until, on April 9, 1903, the
deposits had reached $496,704.54. The
footings exceeded six hundred thousand dol-
lars. The bank moved to its present loca-
tion about fourteen years ago, buying a valu-
able corner on Front and Cass streets,
twenty-four by sixty-five feet, and building
in connection with Frank Hamilton and J.
GRAND TRAVERSE AXD LEELANAW COUNTIES.
297
W. Milliken. The second iloor is used for of-
fices, the bank occupying the first floor and
basement. The bank is fitted up with all
modern improvements, including safe de-
posit vaults, to be found in the best institu-
tions of the kind.
people's savings bank.
The People's Savings Bank is the young-
est institution in the city. It was organized
in the early part of 1902, and built for itself
a home in the business center of the city.
The building is of stone and brick, three
stories and basement, built throughout in
the most substantial manner, with strictly
up-to-date appointments. It is an orna-
ment and a credit to the institution and the
city.
The capital stock of the institution is
sixty thousand dollars, all owned in Traverse
City and vicinity. The officers are as fol-
lows : H. S. Hull, president; H. C. Davis
and A. V. Friedrich, vice-presidents; C. A.
Hammond, cashier. The directors are H.
S. Hull, H. C. Davis, A. V. Friedrich, C.
A. Hammond, Benjamin Thirlby, F. C.
Desmond, J. O. Croster, C. L. Greilick,
Stephen Lautner, J. M. Huellmantel, George
W. Lardie, William Loudon, Charles Wil-
hehn. The bank was opened for business
November 25, 1902, and is fast building up
a splendid business.
CHAPTER XXIII.
PUBLIC UTILITIES.
TRAVERSE CITY WATER WORKS.
Soon after the incorporation of the vil-
lage of Traverse City by the legislature of
1880-1, the late Judge H. D. Campbell was
given a thirty-year franchise to establish a
water-works plant for supplying the people
with water, and for the purpose of fire pro-
tection. The works were installed and were
operated by Mr. Campbell until 1900, when
they were purchased by the city at the ap-
praised value of forty-three thousand, six
hundred and sixty-seven dollars, for which
the bonds of the city were issued. Subse-
quently bonds to the amount of twenty-five
thousand dollars were issued for the pur-
pose of making extensions. When the city
became the owner of the plant its manage-
ment was placed in the hands of a commis-
sion, consisting of five members, one from
each ward, under wdiose direction the mains
have been extended until a very large part
of the city has been covered.
ELECTRIC LIGHTING PLANT.
A few years after installing the water-
works in the city the proprietor, Judge
Campbell, inaugurated an electric lighting
plant in connection with the water-works
plant, from which he furnished lights to a
great number of the business houses and
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GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
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business portion of the city. Another im-
portant addition to the usefulness of the lines
of this company is the extension of its busi-
ness among the farming community of the
county. Already a good portion of the re-
gion is connected with the Traverse City
exchange, which is proving of great benefit
to the farmers. Both the Michigan (Bell)
Company and the Citizens' have long-dis-
tance lines extending all over the state.
CHAPTER XXIV.
MERCANTILE INTERESTS.
As has been stated in a previous chapter,
the lumber firm of Hannah, Lay & Company
were the pioneers in the mercantile business
of Traverse City. From the commencement
of their business the firm kept a small stock
of goods from which to supply the wants of
persons in their employ. As the country be-
came settled with whites the demand in-
creased, slowly at iirst, but from about 1S60
the increase was very rapid. The passage
by congress of the homestead law brought
settlers for the farming lands, and they in
turn became patrons of the store. The mer-
cantile business of the firm increased very
rapidly from that time. The iirst stock of
goods was kept in a little log building, twelve
by sixteen, located near the Boardman water
mill. Afterwards a small frame building,
sixteen by twenty, was erected on the north
side of the river, just east of what is now the
corner of Union and Bay streets. Business
increased and more room was needed and
about 1855 a two-story building, thirty by
ninety, was erected just cast of the small
18
store, into which the stock of goods was re-
moved and largely added to. This building
contained not only a general stock of mer-
chadise, but also the general business office
of the firm.
In 1858, Smith Barnes became general
manager of the mercantile department of this
firm, with an interest in the store business.
In the fall of i860 the writer entered the
employ of this firm as a salesman in the
store, and for three months during the sum-
in. 1 of 1 861 Mr. Barnes and the writer had
ii" difficulty in waiting upon all the custo-
mers who came to trade. Three years after
this, fourteen salesmen were kept busy. In
the fall of i860 the firm bought in a stock
of stoves, consisting of two cook stoves, two
parlor stoves and two box stoves. At the
spring invoice there were still on hand both
cook stoves, one parlor and one box stove.
Notwithstanding this small demand, three
years from that time the firm had added a
salesroom twenty-four by ninety, two-thirds
of which was devoted entirely to stoves.
300
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
This increased demand was caused by the
rapid increase of homestead settlers. During
the period mentioned three additions had
been added to the original two-story building,
each twenty-four by ninety, and a warehouse
is the street of the same size, all crowd-
ed to their fullest capacity with goods. The
business of the firm was carried on at this lo-
cation until, in 1882, the brick block now oc-
cupied by the company was erected. It is a
handsome and substantial structure of cream-
colored brick, is three stories and a basement,
with two hundred and twenty feet frontage
on Front street, and extending back on Un-
ion street one hundred and ten feet.
For many years the store, mills, bank,
boat line, and miscellaneous business was
conducted under the original firm name of
Hannah, Lay & Company, but in 1883 it
was decided to make a change and the Han-
nah & Lay Mercantile Company was organ-
ized and incorporated for two hundred thous-
and dollars. Mr. Smith Barnes continued
as the general manager until his death, in
1891, since which time Herbert Montague
has held the position.
This in the early days of Traverse City
being the only store in the place, it became
necessary that the proprietors should keep a
general assortment of merchandise, a plan
that the company has always pursued, being
literally what they claim to be, "dealers in
everything." As time passed other dealers
established themselves in business, not all of
whom, however, made a success of it.
Among those who are now in business, about
in the order in which they came, can be men-
tii med the following:
Dry goods and clothing, Frank Hamilton
and J. W. Milliken, Julius Steinberg, A. J.
Wilhelm, Emanuel Wilhelm, the Boston
Store, the Globe, the Economy. These are
the principal dealers in the lines mentioned.
The principal grocery stores are Wilhelm,
Bartak & Company, Frokop Kyselka, Jacob
Furtsch, John J. Brezina, Enterprise Gro-
cery, and at least a dozen others, some of
which are doing a large business.
Furniture and house furnishings, Joseph
Twombly, J. VV. Slater, Grand Rapids Fur-
niture Store, Miller & Morse, besides other
establishments that carry these lines in con-
nection with other stock.
Shelf hardware, stoves, etc., S. K. Nort-
ham, A. J. Montague, Julius Campbell,
William Hobbs. Amies & Cole carry a line
of goods and do a general business as
plumbers, gas fitters, furnace and steam
heaters.
Harness manufacturers and dealers, John
T. Beadle and Wilhelm, Bartak & Company,
the former of whom came in a very early day,
and the latter have been in business many
years. Besides these there are several other
smaller manufacturers and dealers in this
line.
Steinberg's grand opera house.
The erection of this building was com-
menced in 1891 and was completed the fol-
lowing year. It occupies the second and third
stories of a very fine brick block on the north
side of Front street, and is fitted up and fin-
ished in the most modern and convenient
style. It is in fact a most beautiful and tasty
structure. Its seating capacity is between
seven and eight hundred.
the city opera house.
The City Opera House occupies the most
of the second ami third stories of the Wil-
helm, Bartak & Company block, located on
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
301
the south side of Front street near Union.
It was commenced and completed during the
year 1891. It is finished in fine shape and
is the largest audience room in the city, hav-
ing a seating capacity of about one thousand
one hundred.
Previous to the erection of these opera
houses the principal room for use as a theater
or place for large gatherings was and had
been for many years the Ladies' Library
Hall, now in use for the public library, which
had a seating capacity of three hundred.
CHAPTER XXV.
SECRET ORDERS.
THE FREE MASONS.
The first secret society to be established
in Traverse City was a lodge of Masons.
Traverse City Lodge No. 222, Free and Ac-
cepted Masons, was instituted February 2,
1868, with nineteen charier members. A
public dedication and installation was held
in tlie Methodist Episcopal church, Thurs-
day evening, February 20th. The persons
acting as grand officers on that occasion
were Rev. J. Boynton, of Pentwater, wor-
shipful grand master; Mr. Dunham, Manis-
tee, deputy grand master; Rev. S. Steele,
then of Manistee, senior grand master; Mr.
Thurber, Manistee, junior grand master;
Rev. Mr. Ellis, of Pentwater, grand chaplain.
An oration upon the designs and principles
of Masonry was delivered by Rev. S. Steele.
The lodge was dedicated and the officers in-
stalled in form as follows: Charles W. Day,
worshipful master; James D. Harvey, senior
warden; S. W. Arnold, junior warden; S.
M. Edwards, treasurer; Edwin S. Pratt, sec-
retary ; Isaac G. Winnie, senior deacon ; Jo-
seph E. Greilick, junior deacon; Rev. Geo. N.
Smith, chaplain ; R. Johnson and G. W. Mc-
Clellan, stewards ; Prokop Kyselka, tyler. Of
the nineteen charter members, E. S. Pratt,
I. G. Winnie and Prokop Kyselka are still
living in Traverse City. The others are
either dead or have moved away.
At first and for a number of years the
lodge held its communications in the second
story of a building on Front street, the low-
er story of which was used for a drug store,
and later in the second story of what was
known as the Hulbard store. In 1890, how-
ever, a fine brick block was erected on the
corner of Front and Union streets, the third
and fourth stories of which were designed,
planned and built expressly to accommodate
the Masonic bodies, and here they have since
had an ample and most delightful home,
where all of the Masonic bodies of the city
hold their meetings, including the Order of
302
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
the Eastern Star, which has been instituted
since.
Traverse City Chapter No. 102 was in-
stituted in June, 1877, while Traverse City
Commandery was instituted only a few years
later.
OTHER FRATERNAL SOCIETIES.
The next fraternal society to be estab-
lished after the Masons was the Odd Fel-
lows. Grand Traverse Lodge No. 200 was
organized December 20, 1872. Since then
Canton Traverse No. 4, Traverse City En-
campment No. J5, and Grand Traverse
Lodge No. 192, Daughters of Rebekah, have
been organized.
Next after the Odd Fellows came the
Good Templars. Traverse Bay Lodge, In-
dependent Order of Good Templars, was or-
ganized January 19, 1876. It was in quite
a flourishing condition for a time, but the in-
terest waned, and the organization went
down for a while, but has since been re-
vived, and now Traverse City Lodge No.
421 holds regular meetings and is in a flour-
ishing condition.
Following the Good Templars came the
Grand Army of the Republic. McPherson
Post No. 18 was mustered in May 21, 1881,
and to this has since been added McPherson
Relief Corps No. 151.
The fraternal organizations already men-
tioned may be considered as the pioneers.
Since then the following organizations have
been established in the city : Grand Traverse
Lodge No. 169, Ancient Order of United
Workmen; Traverse City Lodge No. 323,
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; Trav-
erse City Ruling No. 524, Fraternal Mystic
Circle; Queen City Lodge No. 1401, Home
Forum; Court Traverse No. 853, Inde-
pendent Order of Forresters; Companion
Court Traverse No. 6; Traverse Bay Tent
No. 136, Knights of the Maccabees; Trav-
erse City Tent No. 871, Knights of the
Alaccabees; Amanda Hive No. 32, Ladies
of the Maccabees; Traverse Bay Hive No.
71, Ladies of the Maccabees; Traverse Bay
Lodge No. /T„ Knights of Pythias; Duchess
Camp No. 2345, Modern Woodmen of
America; Traverse City Lodge No. 139, O.
B. A.; Queen City Camp No. 573, Royal
Neighbors; Traverse City Lodge No. 7,
Swedish Sons of America ; Woodmen of the
World; Grand Traverse Grange No. 379,
Patrons of Husbandry.
In addition to the foregoing there are a
large number of trade labor organizations,
including carpenters' union, masons' union,
painters' union, cigarmakers' union, journey-
men barbers' union, retail clerks' union,
lumber shovers' union, master horseshoers'
union, typographical union, and the Central
I abor Union, made up from delegates from
the various other unions.
CHAPTER XXVI.
ORGANIZED TOWNSHIPS IN GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY.
There are in the county of Grand Trav-
erse now thirteen organized townships, as
follows : Acme, Blair, East Bay, Fife
Lake, Garfield, Grant, Green Lake, Long
Lake. Mayfiekl, Paradise, Peninsula, Union
and Whitewater. As has already been men-
tioned, when Grand Traverse county was
organized what is now the present county
was embraced in two organized townships:
Peninsula, which embraced all of the penin-
sula lying between the east and west arms of
Grand Traverse bay, and Traverse, which
took in, besides other territory, all of the
rest of the present county. As the county
settled up other townships were organized
until the township of Traverse became re-
duced so as to embrace only the following
described territory: All of fractional sec-
tions i, 2 and 3: the east half of fractional
section 4 and the southeast fractional quar-
ter of the northwest fractional quarter of
section 4; the east half of fractional section
9; all of fractional sections 10, 11 and 12,
all in township 27 north, of range 11 west;
also lot i and lot 2 in section 6 in town-
ship 27 north of range 10 west. By act of
the legislature approved May 18, 1895, all
of this territory was organized into the city
of Traverse City, thus wiping out the organ-
ized township of Traverse entirely.
PENINSULA.
Peninsula was organized at the same
time as the county and embraced the same
territory as now. Mapleton is a postoffice
and settlement in this township situated
twelve miles north of Traverse City. Here
two of the churches of the township are lo-
cated, the Methodist Episcopal and Roman
Catholic.
OLD MISSION.
This is now a beautiful summer resort
village, located in Peninsula township, eight-
een miles north of Traverse City, on Old
Mission harbor. It was the first place on
the bay settled by the whites. Peninsula has
for many years produced a great amount of
fruit and other farm products, which is
shipped largely from the docks owned by
William D. Bagley, at Old Mission. The
place possesses great historic interest. A
rural mail delivery line between Traverse
City and this point was established in 1902.
A line for an electric railroad has been sur-
veyed between the two places, but active
work has not yet been commenced in the
way of grading. Hotel Hedden and Rush-
more House are two hotels here. George
Lardie has a general store. There is a Meth-
304
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
odist Episcopal church and a Congrega-
tional church, the history of which is given
in another part of this work. There is a
Maccabee and Grange Hall at Old Mission.
There are now in the township of Penin-
sula seven school houses, embracing a total
of eight rooms. The township also owns a
town hall, erected at a cost of six hundred
dollars. The first supervisor of the township
was Robert Campbell.
WHITEWATER.
The township of Whitewater was or-
ganized by the board of supervisors in Octo-
ber, 1859, and now embraces the follow-
ing described territory : All that part
of sections 13, 14, 23 and 24, township 28
north of range 9 west, lying between Elk
and Round Lakes; the east half of sections
5, 8, 17. 20, 29, 32, and all of fractional
sections 3, 10, 15, 22, 23 and 24, and all of
sections 4. 9, 16. 21, 28, 33, 34, 35 and 36,
township 28 north, range 9 west; the west
three-fourths of section 5, the west half of
sections 18 and 19, and all of sections 1,
2. 3, 4, 8. q, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,
33, 34, 35 and 36, township 27 north, range
9 west. William H. Fife was the first
supervisor.
Angell is a postoffice in this township,
eighteen miles northeast of Traverse City,
on the Pere Marquette Railroad, established
when that road was built, and contains, be-
sides the postoffice, a small saw and shingle
mill. A Methodist Episcopal church is lo-
cated near this place.
WILLIAMSBURG.
This is a village twelve miles east of
Traverse City on the Pere Marquette Rail-
road, at its junction with the Elks Rapids
branch. Tt was established at an early day,
before the township was organized, and has
about one hundred and fifty inhabitants, and
is in the midst of a thriving farming com-
munity. It has a store, hotel, blacksmith
shop, drug store, saw and grist-mill, and a
Methodist Episcopal church, school-house,
etc.
The township has seven school buildings,
embracing eight rooms. It also has a town
hall, built at a cost of eight hundred dollars.
A Grange hall is also located in this town-
ship.
GRANT.
The township of Grant, embracing the
township of 25 north, range 12 west, was
organized by the board of supervisors in Oc-
tober, 1866. The first supervisor was P.
C. Hopkins. The town contains one Metho-
dist Episcopal and one Second Adventist
church, four school buildings and a town
hall, the latter built at a cost of eight hun-
dred dollars. There is one small saw-mill
in the town, employing about eight hands.
It is a thrifty farming community.
MAYFIELD.
Mayfield township was organized by the
board of supervisors in November, 1867. It
now embraces the following territory:
Township 25 north, range 11 west. Thomas
Wynkoop was the first supervisor.
This is one of the best townships of
farming lands in the county. There are
two postoffices in the township: Hannah,
on section 5, and Bartlett. on section 18.
There is one Roman Catholic and one Free
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
305
Methodist church in the town. The town
has five school-houses and a town hall, the
latter worth six hundred dollars. There are
three saw-mills in the town that give employ-
ment to about fifty men.
EAST BAY.
The township of East Bay was organ-
ized by the board of supervisors in January,
1867, and now embraces the following terri-
tory: Fractional sections 7 and 8 and
the west half of fractional 9, all of sec-
tions 13, 14. 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22,
23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, ^ 34.
35 and 36, township 27 north, range 10
west; and the east half of sections 18 and
19, township 27 north, range 9 west; also
sections 1, 2, 3, 4. 5, 9, 10. 11, 12, 13, 14,
15, 16, and the north half of the northeast
quarter of section 6, township 26 north,
range 10 west.
A dock and saw-mills were built at the
head of the bay in this township in the 'fifties,
but the timber .that was available has been
used up and the mill is out of commission.
When this township was organized it in-
cluded a portion of the present township of
Acme, and a resident of that portion, J. B.
Haviland, was the first supervisor. There-
are four school buildings in the township,
and one saw-mill that employs about fifteen
hands.
LONG LAKE.
This township was organized in Janu-
ary, 1867, and embraces the territory of
township 2/ north, range 12 east. The first
supervisor was Benjamin H. Durga.
Cedar Run is a postoffice ami station in
section 6, on the Manistee & Northwestern
Railroad, in this township. Neal is another
postoffice in this township, eight miles west
of Traverse City.
There is a Union church building in the
township, and a Friends meeting-house at
the head of Long Lake. There is also a
town hall, worth about five hundred dollars,
at the head of the lake. There are five school
buildings and two saw-mills in the township,
the mills employing from fifteen to twenty
men.
BLAIR.
The township of Blair was organized by
the board of supervisors in April, 1867. The
territory embraces township 26 north, range
1 1 west. The first supervisor was Thomas
H. Clyde.
The first settlement in this township was
made in 1859 at Monroe Center, a postoffice
011 the line between Blair and Green Lake,
thirteen miles south of Traverse City and
four miles south of Grawn, now the nearest
railroad point.
GRAWN.
This is a station on the Pere Marquette
Railroad, in Blair township, about eight
miles southeast of Traverse City. It has a
population of about two hundred, and con-
tains a hotel, stores, blacksmith shop, harness
and shoe shop. A daily stage runs between
here and Wexford. Keystone and Sleights
are two way stations in this township on the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad.
There are ■ two Methodist Episcopal
churches in this township, one at Monroe
Center and the cither at Grawn. There are
four school buildings in the township and
the town also owns a hall that cost eight
hundred dollars. There is also an Odd FeL
306
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
lows hall and dining room at Monroe Center
that cost ahout twenty-five hundred dollars.
PARADISE.
Paradise township was organized by the
board of supervisors in April, 1870. The
territory now embraced in the township is
township 25 north, range 10 west, and the
south half of township 26 north, range 10
west. The first supervisor was Thomas
Wynkoop.
There are three villages in the township,
Mayfield, Kingsley and Summit, only one,
however, Kingsley, being incorporated. All
are located on the Grand Rapids & Indiana
Railroad, and were started about the time
the road was built.
At a very early day Gibbs Brothers built
a saw-mill at Mayfield, and later a grist-mill.
The grist-mill was destroyed by fire some
years since. The manufacture of lumber
and shingles was carried on by the firm for
many years extensively. About four years
ago the firm was dissolved and the business
went into the hands of James L. Gibbs, who
continued it until his death, since which time
it has been conducted by his widow, Mrs.
Addie A. Gibbs. The saw-mill was de-
stroyed by fire only a few months since. The
population of the village does not now prob-
ably exceed one hundred. There is a Metho-
dist Episcopal church located at this point.
Summit, which is about nineteen miles
southeast of Traverse City, has a population
of about two hundred and fifty. The village
has three general stores, one school building
of two rooms, a Methodist Episcopal church,
and a flouring-mill, with a capacity of thirty-
five barrels per day. There are nine school
buildings, containing a total of twelve
rooms, in the township of Paradise.
KINGSLEY.
The village of Kingsley was first laid
out into lots by Mr. J. Kingsley from a por-
tion of his homestead on section 8. Subse-
quently Dr. M. S. Brownson laid out lots
on property adjoining on the west, which he
recorded as the village of Paradise. In the
year 1893 Dotn plats were incorporated as
the village of Kingsley, and in March, 1894,
a charter election was held, at which A. G.
Edwards was elected president. The village
has a population of about eight hundred, lo-
cated in the midst of a fine farming com-
munity. There are in the village five church
buildings, viz: Baptist, Methodist Episco-
pal, German Lutheran, Free Methodist and
the Church of the Latter-Day Saints.
There are two saw-mills located within
the village limits, that are doing a good
business. One is owned and operated by
Case & Crotser and the other by Wesley
Dunn. Dr. M. S. Brownson owns and oper-
ates a flouring-mill, roller process, that has
a capacity of seventy-five barrels per clay.
One of the important institutions of
Kingsley is the Brownson sanitarium, a large
three-story building erected several years
vears ago by Dr. Myron S. Brownson. and
run by him, of late, with the assistance of
his son. Dr. Jay J. Brownson. The building
is fitted up with baths and all the necessary
appliances for an institution of the kind,
and is having a good patronage. There are
three hotels in the village, the McCulley
House, Cottage Hotel and Hotel Brownson.
There are a number of general stores in the
place, and the village, being in the midst of
a gi 11 .< 1 farming community, is a good market
and shipping point for farm products, es-
pecially potatoes. Kingsley has two weekly
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
307
newspapers, the Hustler and the Kingsley
Echo. The Hustler was established in 1890
by Dr. M. S. Brownson. It is a six-column
folio, devoted especially to local affairs and
the interests of the village and county. It
appears to be receiving a very good adver-
tising- patronage. The Echo was established
in 1 90 1. It is a six-column quarto, neatly
printed and well filled with local news and
advertising. It is also patronized to a con-
siderable extent by Traverse City business
men.
Secret societies of the town are as fol-
lows: Otto Lodge No. 324, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, owns a hall of its
own in the second story of a building on
Brownson avenue, where it holds its meet-
ings. Rebekah Lodge No. 363 holds its
meetings in the same hall. Strict Account
Tent No. 662, Knights of the Maccabees,
holds meetings on the first and third Satur-
days of each month in a hall over L. D. En-
sign's store. Kingsley Industrial Hive No.
416, Ladies of the Maccabees, meets in the
same hall the second and fourth Saturdays
of each month. Camp X". 6789, Modern
Woodmen of America, meets every second
and fourth Saturday in each month.
FIFE LAKE.
This township was organized by act of
the legislature in the winter of 1873, and
now embraces township 25 north, range
west. The first supervisor was J. D. John-
son.
The village of Walton is located at the
junction of the Traverse City branch of the
Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad with the
main line, on section 33 of this township. It
was located at the time of the building of
the road and for a number of years was
quite an important lumbering point. It is
now a place of about one hundred and fifty
inhabitants, and has a hotel, store and rest-
aurant. The most important industry is
tlie growing of cranberries by Hon. D. C.
Leach, who has an extensive marsh under
cultivation with this fruit.
There are three school buildings in the
township outside of the village of Fife
Lake.
FIFE LAKE VILLAGE.
This village is located on the Grand
Rapids & Indiana Railroad, and takes its
name from the lake on the border of which
it is built. It was incorporated in 1889 ami
has a population of about seven hundred and
fifty. It was once a large manufacturing
point of pine lumber, and is now a very im-
portant shipping point.
There are three churches in the village,
Catholic, Methodist Episcopal and Presby-
terian. It has a graded school and a school
building - of four rooms, built at a cost of five
thousand dollars. It has two hotels, the
City Hotel and Fife Lake House, and a saw-
mill and a wood bowl and stave factory. It
has a town hall, built at a cost of five hun-
dred dollars, and an Odd Fellows lodge, a
• i 1 Templars lodge and a Grand Army
post. It also has, a live weekly newspaper,
the Fife Lake Monitor. It is a neatly
printed six-column quarto, in its twelfth
year of publication. It is ably edited and
published by Will A. Kent, and receives a
good advertising patronage from the busi-
men of Fife Lake, South Boardman,
Walton, Traverse Gity and Cadillac.
308
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
GARFIELD.
The township of Garfield was organized
by the hoard of supervisors in January,
[882, and now embraces the following de-
scribed territory: The west half of section
4. except the southeast quarter of the north-
west quarter, which belongs to Traverse
City, and the west half of section 9, v all of
sections 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 2J, 28, 29, 30, 31,
^2, 33, 34, 35 and 36, township 27 north,
range 1 1 west ; also section 6, except the
north half of the northeast quarter, and all
of sections 7, 8, 17 and 18, township 26
north of range 10 west. The first super-
visor was H. E. Steward.
There are seven school buildings in the
township and two churches, Methodist
Episcopal and Evangelical Alliance. The
dam and power-house of the Boardman
River Electric Light and Power Company
are located on the Boardman river in this
township. It is an excellent township of
farming and fruit lands. The celebrated
fruit farm of the late Judge Ramsdell, and
the market garden of the late James K.
Gunton are located in this township, as
well as many others.
GREEN LAKE.
The township of Green Lake was organ-
ized by the board of supervisors in Janu-
ary, 1883. and embraces all of township 26
north, range 12 west. The first supervisor
was George II. Wightman.
The village of Interlochen is located at
the junction of the Pere Marquette and
Manistee & Northeastern Railroads in the
center of section 16. The village has a pop-
ulation of about six hundred and fifty. The
most important industry of the village is
the Wyley Cooperage Company, which oper-
ates an extensive stave and heading factory,
giving employment to about one hundred
hands. There is also a shingle-mill at In-
terlochen. There is also a hotel, general
store, meat market, blacksmith shop and
drug store.
Besides the manufacturing at Interlochen
there are two other saw-mills in the town-
ship, one, giving employment to from twelve
to fifteen hands, one and one-half miles
south of Grawn, and one a mile west of
Grawn. There are six school buildings in
the township, with seven rooms.
UNION.
The township of Union was organized
by the board of supervisors in October,
1884, and embraces all of township 26 north,
range 9 west. The first supervisor was
Byron S. Shepard. There are no* villages in
the township. The township is all em-
braced in one school district, in which there
are located two school buildings.
ACME.
The township of Acme embraces the fol-
lowing territory : All of fractional town-
ship 28 north, range 10 west, the west half
of sections 5, 8, 17 and 20, and all of sec-
tions 6, 7, 18 and 19, township 28 north,
range 9 west, also sections 1, 2, 3, 9, 10, 11
and 12, township 27 north, range 10 west;
also the northeast quarter of the northwest
quarter, the west half of the northwest quar-
ter, and the west half of the southwest quar-
ter of section 5, all of sections 6 and 7, town-
ship 27 north, range 9 west. The township
was organized by the board of supervisors
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
309
in January, 1891, John Pulcipher being the
first supervisor.
There are three villages and postoffices
in this township. Acme village is a station
on the Pere Marquette Railroad, seven
miles east of Traverse City. It was settled
about 1855, and now has a saw-mill, a saw
and planing-mill, a shingle-mill, a general
store, a woolen-mill, blacksmith shop, etc.
There are in the township three saw-mills
and two shingle-mills. There is a town
hall in this village, built at an expense of
one thousand dollars, and also a Methodist
Episcopal church and a Masonic lodge. The
village has a population of about two hun-
dred.
Bates is a station in this township on the
Pere Marquette Railroad, eleven miles east
of Traverse City. It contains a general
store, postoffice and a cold storage ware-
house. A large amount of farm produce,
especially potatoes and fruit, is shipped from
this point.
Yuba is a postoffice located eleven miles
northeast of Traverse City on the wagon
road leading from Traverse City to Elk
Rapids. It is in the center of a flourishing
farming community. It has a Methodist
Episcopal and a Congregational church.
There are in the township of Acme three
public school buildings with a total of four
n nuns.
CHAPTER XXVII.
INCORPORATION OF TRAVERSE CITY.
THE VILLAGE CORPORATION.
The question of incorporating the village
of Traverse City was agitated for two or
three years, and finally, in the winter of
1 88 1, a bill to this effect was passed by the
legislature. The village corporation in-
cluded only a portion of the present city, em-
bracing the following described territory:
Lots 3 and 4, section 2; lots 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5,
section 3 ; lots 1 and 2 and the southwest
quarter of the northeast fractional quarter
and the southeast quarter of section 4; north
half of the northeast quarter of section 9;
lots 1, 13, 14 and 15, of section 11, town-
ship 27 north, range 11 west.
The first charter election was held on
the third Monday of April, 1881. At this
election two hundred and twenty-nine votes
were polled, and the following Citizens'
ticket was elected : President, Perry Han-
nah ; clerk, Thomas W. Browne; treasurer,
Myron E. Haskell ; assessor, Henry D.
Campbell; street commissioner, John Kelly;
constable, William J. Moody; trustees. Smith
Barnes, Seth C. Moffatt, Homer P. Daw,
310
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
Joseph B. Haviland, James Lee, Joseph E.
< ireilick. After holding the office for a cou-
ple of months, Mr. Browne resigned the
position of clerk and Harry C. Davis was
appointed to the place, a position which he
held continuously until the incorporation of
the town as a city in 1895. During the ex-
istence of the village corporation Hon. Per-
ry Hannah held the office of president, with
the exception of one year, when the posi-
tion was held by Dr. Benjamin D. Ashton.
THE CITY INCORPORATION.
At a public meeting of the citizens held
in the latter part of the summer of 1894, it
was decided that the time had come when
the size of the town demanded a citv govern-
ment, and a committee of citizens was ap-
pointed to draft a charter to present to the
legislature for that purpose. A good deal
of time was spent in the work and a draft of
a charter prepared, which was passed by the
legislature, and approved May 18, 1895.
The first election under the city charter
was held September 23, 1895, and resulted
in the choice of the following: Mayor, Per-
ry Hannah: city clerk, A. W. Rickerd; city
treasurer, Malcom Winnie; Alderman, B. J.
Morgan, W. J. Hobbs, R. Goodrich, C. L.
Greilick, W. W. Smith. W. A. Newton, P.
Kyselka, C. D. Kenyon, George P. Garrison.
\. \Y. Jaharaus
Mr. Hannah held the office of mayor
until Ma)- 1, 1896, when he was succeeded
by H. C. Davis, who held to May. 1807. He
was followed by William W. Smith who held
the office for two years. On May 1. [899,
frank" Hamilton took the position, holding
it until May 1, 1900, when he was succeeded
by Alfred V. Friedrich, followed in 1901 by
J. W. Patchin. O. P. Carver was elected in
1902, followed May 1, 1903, by John R.
Santo.
A. W. Rickerd held the office of city clerk
from the first city election until May 1, 1901,
when he was succeeded by Charles M. Beers,
who has held the position since. Malcom
Winnie held the position of treasurer dur-
ing Mr. Hannah's and the first year of Mr.
Smith's administration, when he was suc-
ceeded by Peter Wurzburg, who held the
place until May, 1903, when he was succeed-
ed by Myron E. Haskell, the first village
treasurer.
TRAVERSE CITY ITRE DErARTM ENT.
The Traverse City fire department dates
hack to the year 1877. March 16th of that
year a meeting was held at Leach's hall for
the purpose of effecting an organization. A
few months prior to that time a fund had
been raised by subscription, through the ef-
forts of Smith Barnes, and two hand fire en-
gines purchased. Two hose carts had also
been ordered. At this meeting the Traverse
Citv fire department was organized ami of-
ficers elected as follows: Fire marshal, S.
Barnes; assistant, H. D. Campbell; chief en-
gineer. W. V. Harvey; lire inspectors, S. C.
Despres and John Stevenson. Officers for
the engines "Wide Awake" and "Invincible"
were also elected.
With the introduction of the waterworks
in 1881, with direct pressure taking the place
of the hand engines, the system was fully in-
augurated. About this time S. C. Despres
was appointed to the position of fire chief,
;i place that he continued to fill for several
years, until he was succeeded by John Ren-
nie, the present incumbent.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
311
From the beginning the department has
been kept up to the full requirements of the
city, and Traverse City has today one of the
best equipped and best handled and efficient
fire departments of any city of its size in
Michigan.
The expense of running the department
from April I, 1902, to April 1, 1903, was
$4,330.99. The total amount of property on
hand belonging to the department April 1,
1902, was $22,518.42. To this was added
during the year ending .April 1, 1903, one
hose and ladder wagon and five hundred and
fifty feet of new hose, at a cost of $720.95,
making the total amount of property on
hand at the above date, which includes en-
gine house and lot on Cass street, two fire
steamers, one chemical engine, two combi-
nation lmse and ladder wagons, four hose
carts, four thousand nine hundred feet
1 >f hose, two pair of horses, and a large
amount of other fixtures, $26,239.37.
POLICE DEPARTMENT.
Traverse City has a very efficient police
department, although the force employed has
never been large for the size of the place.
The population of the city probably at the
present time exceeds twelve thousand. The
entire expense of the department for the
year ending- April 1, 1903. including dray and
hack hire, fuel, board of prisoners, painting
jail, and miscellaneous items, was $2,870.27.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
LAND PRODUCTS.
fine timber first attracted the white set-
tlers to Grand Traverse. Fortunately, how-
ever, while there was considerable excellent
pine .along the borders of Boardman river,
and about some of the other streams and
lakes, the great bulk of the county was thick-
ly covered with hardwood timber, mostly
beach and hard maple, interspersed with hem-
lock, basswood and elm, together with large
tracts of cedar, growing upon the lower
grounds, which when cleared became the best
of meadow land.
In the early days the pine lands were sup-
posed to be the most valuable, but the op-
posite has proved to be the case. The hard-
wood timber is now as valuable as was the
pine at the time it was cut, and the hardwood
ami cedar lauds when cleared from timber
are the must productive of farming and fruit
lands. The hardwood industry is more val-
uable than the pine ever was, although di-
vided among a much greater number of
people. Millions of feet are cut and manu-
factured into lumber and other articles every
year and shipped away.
In the meantime, with tlie removal of the
312
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
timber, farming and fruit growing have de-
veloped to a remarkable degree. In the line
of fruit, apples, pears, plums, peaches, cher-
ries and grapes are grown in abundance and
find a market all over the country, apples be-
ing shipped to Europe.
While wheat, oats and corn are grown
and produce well, the soil appears to be es-
pecially adapted to the growing of potatoes
of the highest quality, and for many years
it has been the principal crop, millions of
bushels being raised and marketed every
year. The sugar beet is now beginning to
receive considerable attention, and prom-
ises to become a reliable and well paying
crop.
CHAPTER XXIX.
SUMMER RESORTS.
With the completion of the railroad to
Traverse City in 1S7.2, or rather the summer
following, the people began to visit Traverse
City as a summer resort. With the exten-
sion of railroad and steamboat facilities the
business has been growing ever since, until
the whole of the Grand Traverse bay region,
including Petoskey, Charlevoix and Macki-
naw, has become a vast summer resort re-
gion, with Traverse City as one of the most
important distributing points.
Traverse City is of itself a favorite resort
for a great many people. Park Place, the
largest hotel in the city, is very popular with
resorters and is well filled with them during
the entire summer season. The Hotel Whit-
ing and the Columbia are also well patron-
ized by resorters.
Edgewood is on the east shore of West
Bay. three miles from Traverse City, on a
beautiful drive. The resort consists of quite
a number of nice cottages, and is very popu-
lar with those seeking a pleasant place of
rest.
Neahtawanta is ten miles north of Tra-
verse City, occupying a point of land extend-
ing into the West Bay, north of Harbor
Island, from the peninsula. Besides a large
'number of beautiful cottages, owned by
Grand Rapids people and others, the Neahta-
wanta Association owns a large tract of
land and a fine hotel, which is under the
management of the association and is well
patronized. The name, Neahtawanta, means
placid waters, and the water deepens so grad-
ually that it is an ideal place for children to
bathe. The bay steamers "Columbia" and
"Crescent" stop each way in their trips up
and down the bay, twice daily, besides which
the drive between Traverse City and this
point along the bay shore is a pleasant and
popular one.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LfiELANAW COUNTIES.
313
Old Mission is also a popular resort, a
number of. Lansing and Ann Arbor people
owning cottages and spending their summers
there. The harbor at this point is well shel-
tered and forms one of the most desirable
places for rowing in the region.
Skegemog Point is a peninsula that is al-
most an island, between Elk and Round
Lake. It is about eighteen miles from Tra-
verse City and seven miles by steamer from
Elk Rapids. This resort has been establish-
ed but a short time, but there are already
several nice cottages here. The fine fishing
in the immediate vicinity tends to make the
resort a popular one.
Forest Lodge is a beautiful private resort,
owned by Rockford, Chicago and Indian-
apolis people, who spend their summers here
with their families every season. There are
a number of fine and picturesque cottages.
It is located about six miles west of Traverse
City on the east shore of Long Lake, near the
head.
The resorts of Leelanaw county will re-
ceive due attention in another part of this
In >< ik.
CHAPTER XXX.
EARLY PIONEERS.
This chapter the author will devote to
biographical sketches of some of the early
pioneers who have crossed the river to the
great beyond. The author greatly regrets
that he cannot make these sketches much
more complete. He believes, however, that
such as they are they will be found interest-
ing to the rising generation and those who
shall come after.
Edwin Pulcipher was born in Jefferson
county, New York, in 1806, and was mar-
ried, in 1832, to Miss Matilda Watts, a native
of the same county. They came to Grand
Traverse in 1855, and settled on section 24,
township 28 north, range 10, in what is now
Acme township, where he located three hun-
dred and twenty acres of excellent land,
which, with the assistance of his two sons,
John and Harrison, he made into a very pro-
ductive fruit and grass farm. He died Au-
gust 16, 1884. Both of his sons survive him
and are prosperous farmers of Acme town-
ship.
Lyman Smith who was the first settler of
Grand Traverse county, south of Tra-
verse City, was born in Vermont in 1813.
He came to Grand Traverse in 1853
and bought lands in section 30, town
21 1. range 11, and section 25, town 26, range
12. He settled on Silver Lake, where he
also bought land, moving later upon the first
mentioned purchase. For the first nine
ai4
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
months after they settled em Silver Lake
Airs. Smith saw but two white women.
Neighbors they had none, being the only set-
tlers between Traverse City and Big Prairie,
New aygo county, the next comer being Will-
iam Munroe, who settled at what is now
Monroe Center, in 1859. In 1861 the fami-
ly lost a child, Albert, three years old, stolen
by the Indians, who was not recovered until
several years after Mr. Smith's death, which
occurred October 9, 1882. He left a family
of six children, the most of whom are resi-
dents of this region. The first trip of the
family from Traverse City to Silver Lake
was a two-days journey, as they were obliged
to cut out a road or trail the distance they
were obliged to go of eight miles.
Joseph L'. Haviland was one of the rep-
resentative men of Grand Traverse county
and an early settler of wdiat is now Acme
township. His death occurred December 19,
1881. He was burn March 23, 1836, in
Raisin, Lenawee county, Michigan, of Qua-
ker parentage, and when a young lad took an
active part in transferring negro slaves es-
caping from the south to Canada, from one
station to another via the "underground
railroad." The writer has heard him tell
of starting from his father's place many a
night after ten o'clock with a load of dar-
kies that had been in hiding all the day pre-
\ ii >us in his father's barn, landing there from
another station during the night previous,
carrying them ten miles to the next station
and returning home before daylight in order
to avoid suspicion, as in those days it was a
slate prison offense to assist a fugitive slave
to escape from his master. In March, 1859,
Mr. Haviland married Adeline L. Hoxsie,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. S. Hoxsie, af-
terwards residents of this county. In 1804
Air. Haviland removed to Acme, in company
with his wife's parents, and always consider-
ed that his home, although for seven years
before his death he lived in Traverse City,
the better to attend to his duties as a county
officer. In 187S he was appointed state
swamp land road commisioner for Michigan
and held the office continuously until his
death, an almost unexampled case in the offi-
cial records of the state. In 1874 he was
elected county clerk and register of deeds for
Grand Traverse county, and in 1880 he was
elected for the fourth term to that position.
He was an enthusiastic Mason and a prom-
inent member of the Methodist Episcopal
church. His widow, one son and two daugh-
ters survive him, all residents of Traverse
City.
Joseph E. Greilick, a native of Austria,
was born September 1 1, 1834, and came with
his parents to New York city in 1S48, and
thence to Grand Traverse in 1854. After
spending some years in carpenter work and
other industrial engagements, he entered into
the business of manufacturing sash, doors,
blinds, mouldings, frames, dressed lumber,
etc., in the spring of 1867, under the firm
name of Greilick & Co., Hannah, Lay & Com-
pany being partners in the business. In
1879 Mr. Greilick bought out the interests of
the other parties, and conducted the business
on his own account, building up an extensive
trade, which since his death, which occurred
September 2j, 1892, has been conducted by
his widow and two sons., tinder the name of
the J. E. Greilick Company.
The first regular physician to engage in
practice in Grand Traverse was Dr. David C.
Goodale, who, with his family, consisting of
his wife, two daughters, Helen, afterwards
Mrs. Thomas A. Hitchcock, and Agnes, and
DR. M. L. LEACH
MICHAEL GAY
MORGAN BATES
REV. S. STEELE
^O^J^NS
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
815
cue sun. Charles, arrived at Traverse City in
April, 1853, and was the first postmaster of
the place. Dr. Goodale was born in Way-
bridge, Vermont, \<>vember io, iSoy. In
June, 1835, he graduated in the medical col-
lege at Castleton, which at that time stood in
the front rank of the medical schools of the
country. Soon after graduating he mar-
ried Miss Charlott Isabelle Cheney, and com-
menced practice in Panton. He was for
many years secretary of the Addison County
Medical Society and took an honorable place
in the ranks of the profession. During the
political campaign of 1839-40 he published
the Green Mountain Argus. He came west
in 1852. On removing to Grand Traverse
county he determined to give up practice, but
the needs of the settlement induced him to
ieconsider his determination. For many
years he was the only physician in the vicini-
ty of Traverse City, until, in 1862, Dr. B. D.
Ashton came. For several years the Doctor
had charge of the Hannah. Lay & Company's
boardino--house. Traverse City has for sev-
eral years had free mail delivery, but as a
matter of fact free delivery was put into suc-
cessful operation by the first postmaster.
Dr. D. C. Goodale. although it was nut con-
tinued by subsequent postmasters. The Doc-
tor had his office at his bouse. Mails came
only once a week by Indian trail, overland by
the way of Manistee, and the time of its ar-
rival was quite uncertain, varying from a few
1 lours to as many days, hence, while people
were anxious to get their mail promptly.
they could not figure closely when to go to
the postoffice after it. So the Doctor, to ac-
commodate the people. established free deliv-
ery and collection of mail matter. As so< in as
the mail was received and assorted the post-
master put on his overcoat, having large
19
pockets on either side, and placing the mail
in one of them, start< d • >ut 1 in a trip afo mt the
village to deliver the same, visiting the store,
mill and boarding-house for that purpose,.
and at the same time collecting letters to be
sent away by the next mail out, which he
placed in the other pi icket 1 if his coat. It was
a very satisfactory arrangement and was ful-
ly appreciated by the patrons of the office.
There are one or two incidents of the-
early days of interest to the younger readers
of today, that may be related in connection
with this sketch of the Doctor, that go to il-
lustrate the character of the man and also
the way the early settlers had of doing things.
Notwithstanding the Doctor was a native of
Vermont, in those days there were a good
many Democrats and proslavery men in
the Green Mountain state, and the Doctor
was one of them. He considered that coax-
ing a negro to run away from his master was
as great a crime as to steal and run off with
a man's horse. Rev. George Thompson, a
native of New Jersey, in his younger days
taught school in the then slave-holding state
of Missouri. He was an active abolitionist
and considered it his duty to assist in any
way possible the negroes to escape from
their masters, a duty that he did not hesi-
tate to put into practice, with the result that
he was arrested, tried and convicted for
stealing negroes, and sentenced to a term of
years in the state prison of Missouri. After
serving out his sentence he went as a mission-
ary to the negroes in Africa, where he re-
mained some three years. On his return
home he brought back many curiosities from
Africa and wrote a very full account of his
work, which was published in a book en-
titled, "Palm Land." He also prepared a
entertaining lecture upon Africa, which he
31G
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
delivered in many places throughout the
northern stales. Soon after the settlement of
Benzonia by the Baileys in 1858, Rev.
Thompson also became a resident of the new
settlement. Among' other places, he was
quite anxious to deliver his lecture upon Af-
rica before the people of Traverse City, and
solicited the use of the school-house for that
purpose from the Doctor, who was school
director and as such had charge of the build-
ing. The Doctor at once and most emphati-
cally refused, saying that no man who had
served a term in prison for stealing (even if
the property stolen was negroes) could have
the school-house to deliver a lecture upon any
subject, even if, as in this case, it had no ref-
erence to the institution of slavery. Person-
all)- the writer of this sketch was quite anx-
ious to hear Mr. Thompson's lecture and
urged the Doctor to let him have the use of
the house, as that was the only place in town
where a meeting could be held, but it was of
no use and the lecture had to be given up.
This action of the Doctor no doubt seems
very strange to the pei >ple at the present day.
but he was perfectly honest in his convictions
and acted entirely o mscientiously in the mat-
ter. His was by no means an isolated case;
there were thousands of intelligent and well
informed people of the North that felt just
as he did. And yet notwithstanding his want
of sympathy for the enslaved negro, he was
one of the most benevolent and warm-hearted
men the writer ever knew. The secret of the
Doctor's proslavery views was that his love
of country and of the union was greater
than his love for the negro as a race. He
feared that the success of abolition would re-
sult in the dissolution of the Union. That
he had some grounds for his fears was
abundantly proven by the terrible war that
came on within a few months. The writer
cannot forbear to give the sequel of this lec-
ture incident. In the fall of the same year
that the Doctor had refused the use of the
school house to Mr. Thompson, when the
time came about for holding the annual
school meeting, the Doctor's term of office
expired. There were present at that meeting-
only three persons : Hon. Perry Hannah,
moderator; Dr. Goodale, director, and the
writer, who did not hold an}- office. The
assessor, Albert W. Bacon, was out of town.
We thought we had an opportunity to score
a point and proposed to the Doctor that we
would nominate him for re-election as
director if he would agree to let Rev. George
Thompson have the use of the schoolhouse
in which to deliver his lecture upon Afri-
ca. This the Doctor absolutely declined
to do, but promptly made a counter proposi-
tion that if we would agree that the house
sin >uld m >t be used by Mr. Thompson that he
would nominate the writer for the office.
This we declined to agree to, and we three sat
there until after nine o'clock, waiting for
some one to come in and break the deadlock.
Nobody came, and finally the Doctor nomi-
nated himself for the office and the chairman
supported the nomination. When the ques-
tion was put the Doctor voted yes, and the
writer voted no. The chairman, Mr. Han-
nah, broke the tie by voting yes. thus electing
the Doctor.
Onlv a few weeks after this the Doctor
and his son-in-law. Tin ■mas A. Hitchcock,
removed with their families to Detroit and
engaged in the hotel business, remaining- sev-
eral years, but afterward returning to Tra-
verse City, where the Doctor died and where
Mr. I titchcock still lives. Within a week af-
ter the Doctor's removal to Detroit the
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
317
writer received a letter from Rev. George
Thompson, asking him to secure the use
of the school house for his lecture. Mr.
Hannah and Mr. Bacon, the two remain-
ing officers, were seen, their consent obtained
and notices were immediately printed and
circulated appointing a time for the lecture,
which was delivered to a full house. The
writer at once mailed one of the notices of
the lecture to Doctor Goodale, at Detroit,
who acknowledged its receipt and gracefully
gave up beaten. The slavery question was
effectually settled by the war, which was
over before the Doctor's death, which oc-
curred November 13, 1878.
Rev. Merritt Bates was a twin brother of
the late Hon. Morgan Bates, and father of
Thomas T. Bates, publisher of the Grand
Traverse Herald, and of the late Morgan
Bates, author of several works, among the
number a very popular book entitled, "Mar-
tin Brook." There were also two daughters.
Merritt Bates was born in Queensbury, New
York, July 12, 1806. He commenced his
work as a minister in the Methodist Episco-
pal church in 1827, and became a member
of the Troy (New York) conference, where
he devoted thirty-six years of his life. In
JS63, at the earnest solicitation of his broth-
er, he assumed a superanuated relation to his
conference and came to Grand Traverse with
his family and settled down upon a piece of
heavily timbered but excellent farming land
in what is now Garfield township, which in
six years he made into one of the best farms
iii ( irand Traverse county. He died August
22, 1869. This sketch is brief, as the most
of Mr. Bates'public life work was done out-
side of Michigan and before he became a
resident of Grand Traverse county.
Hon. Morgan Bates, founder of the
Grand Traverse Herald, died at his resi-
dence in Traverse City, March 2, 1874, at
the age of sixty-eight years. Mr. Bates,
who was a twin brother of Rev. Merritt
Bates, was born near Glens Falls, New York,
July 1 j, 1806. Soon after the death of his
mother, which occurred when he was only
seven years old, the subject went to Sandy
Hill, New York, and became an apprentice
to the printing business. How long a time
he spent at Sandy Hill is not known to the
writer, but after leaving that place he
worked as a journeyman printer in Albany,
New York, and other places. In 1820, being
then only twenty years old, he engaged in
his first newspaper enterprise, starting a
paper at Warren, Pennsylvania, called the
Warren Gazette. While publishing the Ga-
zette Horace Greeley worked for him as a
journeyman printer. Just how long he pub-
lished the Gazette is not a matter of record,
hut we find that in 1828 he took possession
of the Chautauqua Republican, a paper pub-
lished at Jamestown, New York. While re-
siding in Jamestown he married Ali^s Janet
Cook, of Argyle, New York. After pub-
lishing the Republican some two years, he
removed to the city of New York and was
employed in one of the large printing offices
of that city. Not long after reaching the
city he worked for Greeley as foreman, as
Greeley had worked for him at Warren.
While thus employed by Greeley he planned
the typographical form of the New Yorker,
which Greeley, or Greeley & McElrath, soon
after established, which was a wonderfully
popular paper in its day. In 1836 Mr. Biles
came to Detroit, then in the far west, and
was employed as foreman in the office of the
Detroit Advertiser. In 1836 he and George
Dawson, later of the Albany Journal,
818
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
bought tht.' Advertiser, and Mr. Bates con-
tinued to run it until 1844, in the meantime
acquiring Mr. Dawson's interests. The
Whig party, whose policy Air. Bates had
earnestly advocated, was defeated at the
presidential election of that year, anil the
future of the party being anything but Mat-
tering, he sold the Advertiser, and retired
from the publishing business. In 1849 Mr.
Bates joined the army of gold seekers and
went to California. Of course at that time
he went by the way of Cape Horn. Two
years afterwards he returned by the way of
the Isthmus. But again in 1852, taking his
wife with him, he sought the land of gold.
Mrs. Bates' health failing, she returned, in
1855 to her friends in Argyle and died on
the 19th of July of that year. Air. Bates
remained a year longer in California. Dur-
ing his second sojourn in California he was
for a year or more the sole owner and pub-
lisher of the Alta California]], daily and
weekly. Returning to Michigan in 1857, he
accepted a position in the auditor-general's
office at Lansing, which he held until his re-
moval to Traverse City. While residing in
Lansing Mr. Bates married Clymeno C.
Cole, whose active work in the organization
of the Ladies' Library Association is men-
tioned elsewhere in this volume. She died
in 1874. In 1858 Mr. Bates decided to try
the newspaper business again, and this time
selected about as new and wild a region as
ever a printer ventured to try his fortune in.
Traverse City was at that time scarcely a
village. It was one hundred and fifty miles
distant from any railroad, thirty miles from
any regular steamboat route, and an hun-
dred miles or more from even a backwoods
stage route. His success in establishing his
paper is given in the sketch of the Grand
Traverse Herald, and need not be repeated
here. .Mr. Bates was selected four times as
county treasurer of Grand Traverse, and
when Abraham Lincoln was elected Presi-
dent he appointed Mr. Bates register of the
United States land office at Traverse City.
After Andrew Johnson became President,
through the assassination of Air. Lincoln,
Mr. Bates refused to "swing around the
circle," and he was removed and Major Ly-
man G. Willcox appointed in his stead. Up-
on the election of President Grant, Mr.
Bates was reappointed and continued to hold
the position till his death. In 1868 Mr.
Bates was elected to the office of lieutenant-
governor of Michigan, and was re-elected in
1870. He was remarkable for his energy
and industry. He was a man of very posi-
tive convictions and a vigorous, although
not a prolific, writer. He could say more
With the fewest words than any man we
ever knew, and was noted also for his
shrewdness and business tact. With the Her-
ald he did much to settle and develop the
Grand Traverse region, and made a finan-
cial success in the conduct of his business
affairs, leaving a good property at the time
of his death.
Among the pioneers of Grand Traverse
few names are better known than that of
Judge Jonathan < i. Ramsdell. Judge
Ramsdell's parents were natives of Massa-
chusetts, who settled in Plymouth, Michi-
gan, in 1 827. The Judge, the third of four
sons, was born January 10, 1830. His early
life was divided between work on a farm
and attendance at school. He attended the
village academy at Northville and the acad-
emy at Plymouth, from which he went to
Albion College. On returning from Albion
he learned the trade of moulder and finisher.
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LE ELAN AW COUNTIES.
319
He then took a course in a commercial col-
lege, and after graduating became a book-
keeper for a Cincinnati commission house,
and later in banking houses in Detroit and
.Adrian. While at Adrian he commenced
the study of law with the late Hon. Fernan-
do C. Baeman. Close confinement and
study, however, undermined bis health, and
he spent a winter in the lumber woods, cut-
ting and skidding logs. In the spring be
helped run the river and through the sum-
mer was a tail sawyer. The next winter
be acted as head sawyer, and in the follow-
ing spring, having regained his health, re-
sumed the study of law with Judge Long-
year, of Lansing. In 1857 he was admitted
to the bar and was the same year appointed
circuit court commissioner for Ingham
•county, by Governor Bingham. He was
school inspector and chairman of the board
in the township of Lansing, and was elected
the first city clerk, holding the office one
month, when he resigned upon his appoint-
ment as clerk of the supreme court at Lans-
ing. This position he held until 1861, when
be resigned to enter the Agricultural Col-
lege as special lecturer on commercial cus-
toms and commercial law and bookkeeping.
On the completion of that course he removed
to Northport and, a few months later, to
Traverse City. Mr. Ramsdell was married
February 3, 1S61. to Mrs. Clara A. Phil-
lips*, of Lansing, and in the fall of 1861 they
came on horseback down the shore of Lake
Michigan to Frankfort, and across by trail
(there were no roads in northern Michigan
then ) to Traverse City, arriving there in
October, and going on down the bay to
Northport. Soon after this the Judge
bought from the government a tract of land
just west of Traverse City, which under his
cultivation he developed into the celebrated
Ramsdell fruit farm. On the organization
of the thirteenth judicial circuit Jonathan G.
Ramsdell was elected circuit judge, and was
re-elected at the next succeeding election,
being succeeded for one term by Judge Ru-
ben Hatch, during which time he was en-
gaged in practice and in looking after bis
fruit farm. He was again elected at the end
of six years, and served two more full terms,
when be retired permanently from the
bench, and spent the greater part of his time
thereafter until bis death, February 16,
J 903. in looking after the interests of bis
farm. Judge Ramsdell was president of the
( .rand Traverse Union Agricultural Society,
of the State Pomological Society, and of
the West Michigan Agricultural and Indus-
trial Society, of which latter he was a di-
rector: he was commissioner fur Michigan
to the American Pomological Society at
Chicago in 1875, and to Boston in 1879,
and a member of the Columbian fair com-
mittee for Michigan fruits. For many
years be was chairman of the executive c< mi-
mittee of the State Grange. Politically he
was originally an abolitionist and subse-
quently a Republican, but became known as
a Silver Republican in 1896, when he was
the Democratic-Combination candidate for
congress in the eleventh district, and was
chairman of the Silver Republican conven-
tion at Kansas City in 1900. Later he was
classed as a Democrat, and was nominated
for lieutenant governor by the Democratic
convention held at Detroit. July 25. 1000.
The Judge did much in the development of
the fruit interests of the Grand Traverse
region.
Henry D. Campbell. — David Campbell,
from whom Henry D. is descended, came
320
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
from Scotland in 162S and settled in New
Hampshire. The parents of Henry D.,
Robert A. and Harriet E. (Hitchcock)
Campbell, were farmers near Hogansbnrg,
Franklin county, New York, where Henry
D. was born .March n, 1S31. He spent his
youth and received his education in his na-
tive state. In November, 1852, he came to
Traverse City and entered into the employ
of Hannah. Lay & Company, with whom
he remained for eight years. In i860 he
engaged in agriculture, clearing up a fine
farm near Silver Lake, Garfield township,
which he owned and managed at the time of
his death. Soon after leaving the employ
of Hannah. Lay & Company -Mr. Campbell
became interested, in connection with his
brother, Robert A. Campbell, in a stage line
which they established, running- from Big-
Rapids to Cheboygan and centering at Tra-
verse City, it being managed by them until
1874. In 1873 Mr. Campbell built the
Campbell House, now that part of Park
Place hotel on the southeast corner of Park
and State streets, which was then the largest
hotel in this part of the state. This hotel he
managed until 1878, when, on account of
the ill health of his wife, he sold out. In
1881, under a franchise from the then vil-
lage of Traverse City, he built and operated
a water works plant, then one of the most
modern in Michigan, having twelve miles of
mains, which he sold to the city in 1900.
In 1880 he installed: in connection with his
water plant, an electric light plant, the first
one in the city. This he sold in May, iqoo.
and it was merged into and became a part
of the Boardman River Electric Light and
Power Company's plant. Mr. Campbell
was treasurer of Grand Traverse county for
eight years. He made the first settlement
ever made between the county and the state.
This was at a time when it required three
weeks to make the journey to Lansing and
back. He held the office of supervisor for
ten or twelve years. In 1880 he was elected
judge of probate of Grand Traverse county
and entered upon his duties as such the fol-
lowing January, in which capacity he con-
tinued to act for twelve successive years.
On July 2, 1 802. Mr. Campbell was married
to Miss Catherine A. Carmichael, of Tra-
verse City, who was born in Genesee county.
New York, in July, 1S39. The fruit of this
marriage was four sons and a daughter:
Donald F., Flora A., wife of J. YV. Hobbs,
Willard H. David R. and Wallie G. Judge
Campbell died quite suddenly of heart fail-
ure February 4. 1902, and his son. Donald
I'M died equally as suddenly April 19th fol-
lowing. The other children and his widow
survive him. Mr. Campbell was a Republi-
can and always took an active part in poli-
tico He was a member of the Masonic
fraternity, including the Knight Templar
degree. During his many years of active
life in northern Michigan he left his mark
upon the history of the Grand Traverse
region that will never be effaced.
Among the first farmers who came to
this country was Elisha P. Ladd, a native of
the state of New York. He arrived at Old
Mission May 10. 1853, and located between
two and three miles southwest of the har-
bor. At that time the little grain that was
raised was ground at a mill owned by An-
drew Porter, on Little Traverse Bay, near
where Petoskey now stands. Going to a
mill in an open boat a distance of fifty miles
late in the season, exposed to sudden storms
and tossed about by the fury of the waves,
was no small undertaking. At one time
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
321
Mr. Ladd embarked on the 3d of December
with a grist, and with difficulty succeeded
in reaching his destination, but he was de-
tained by severe weather and storms at the
mill until the 1st of January, when the bay
froze over and he was compelled to return
home on foot over the trail, leaving his grist
behind. This is mentioned as only one of
the many annoyances and difficulties under
which the early pioneers labored in their
efforts to plant settlements and cultivate
farms in the wilderness. Mr. Ladd, how-
ever, lived to see his efforts crowned with
success. During his lifetime the wilderness
become thickly settled with prosperous
farmers and immense orchards took the
place of the forests of beech, maple and elm
timber, he himself contributing not a little
to that result. Air. Ladd was a man of
liberal education and was prominent in pub-
lic affairs. He was many times elected su-
pervisor of his township, and held the office
of county superintendent of public schools
six years. Mrs. Ladd, who came to the
country with her husband, died in 1890 at
the age of sixty-four. Mr. Ladd died only
a few years since. Among his children is
Elmer O. Ladd, a prosperous farmer of
Peninsula, who was born in that township,
and has held the office of register of deeds
for Grand Traverse county four years.
Joseph Sours was a native of the state of
New York, born July 4, 1820. He first
came to Michigan in 1843 an d settled in the
southern part of the state. He came to
Grand Traverse in August, 1855. being one
of the first settlers in Whitewater township.
He located on section 4, where he made one
of the finest fruit, grass and grain farms in
the region. Mr. Sours was married in 1848
to Mary V. Lowell, a native of Chautauqua
county, New York. They had five children,
four of whom are living. Lowell, the eld-
est, whose farm adjoins that cleared up by
his father, was born in Battle Creek in 1852
and was married in the fall of 1880, to
Emma Sherman. Mr. Sours died in 1897,
while his widow is still living with her son
Frank on the old homestead.
Thomas Morgan Wynkoop was born in
Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, April 22. 1820,
of sturdy Dutch parentage. His father paid
for two hundred acres of land, which has
since proven to be the richest coal field in
the United States, but was defrauded of it
by being unacquainted with the state law,
which allowed two places of record of deeds,
and was left penniless. The family removed
to the then wilderness of western New
York, where Thomas suffered all the priva-
tions of the early pioneer, being obliged to
go barefoot until ten years of age. He had
the privilege of only three months of school,
yet he supplemented this with fireside
study sufficient to get a certificate and teach
school. After helping to build a comforta-
ble home for his parents in Niagara county,
New York, and clearing a farm of sixty
acres for himself, he sold this farm and en-
gaged in the mercantile business. Not suc-
ceeding in this, he sold his store and re-
moved with his wife, whom he had recently
married, and whose maiden name was
Kingsley, to Sycamore, Illinois, and located
on the prairie. Being a born child of the
woods and of the romantic and somewhat
poetical nature, he soon tired of the monot-
ony of the prairie, with its cheerless expanse
of grass and sky, and its sweeping winter
blizzards. He came to the north woods in
July. 1864, and located a homestead in sec-
tion 4, township 25 north, range 10 west,
322
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
and brought his family in November of the
same year to the Grand Traverse region,
where he resided until his death, September
17, pm>i. I lis was the first homestead en-
tered in the township, which he afterward
named Paradise. He always took an active
part in public affairs, holding the office of
supervisor in DeKalb township, Illinois, and
serving seven years in Paradise in the same
capacity, declining then to accept it longer.
Mr. Wynkoop was a reader and a thinker,
and always had implicit faith in the future
of this country. He gladly endured the
hardships incident to the life of the early
settler, always helping to bear the burdens
of his less fortunate neighbors. He loved
justice and right fur its own sake and
weighed all questions on the broad plane of
reason. Devoid of superstitions, his mind
was ever serene, always looking on the bright
side. He was familiar with the leading
writers, especially the poets, at one time
being able to repeat nearly the whole of
Burns' poems from memory. He wrote
several touching ballads, the sentiments of
which are pure and ennobling. His biog-
raphy of "Old Nick" and his "Heaven is
Where We Make It," "Seek Knowledge"
and "The Better Creed"' express in plain
but eloquent language the leading character-
istics of his life.
William II. C. Mitchell was born at
Mount Perry, < )hio, .May 30. 1825. His ed-
ucate m was received in the district schools of
Lima. Ohio. He was in direct descent from
George Mitchell, who came from Scotland in
L759 an( ' settled in York county, Pennsyl-
vania. His mother, Maria D. Bentley. was
from Winchester. Virginia. His parents
moved to Lima, Ohio, in 1831. being the sec-
ond family to settle there. In 1843 Mr.
Mitchell was sent to Crbana. Ohio, to learn
the trade of tinsmith, and served three year-.
working the first year for his board, and re-
ceiving four dollars and six dollars per
month respectively for the second and third
years. In the spring of 1846 he started out
as a journeyman tinner and was in New
( Means when the Mexican war was in prog-
ress, and tried to enlist in an Ohio regiment
when in that city on its way to the front. In
the spring of 1849 he j (lined the procession
that marched across the plains to California,
attracted by the gold discoveries, being the
first of the memorable migration from the
states to the Pacific coast. He arrived in
Sacramento August 17. 1849. and worked at
mining and at his trade until 1851 in Co-
loma, when he begun buying cattle and hogs.
He bought his hogs in Oregon and shipped
them to Sacramento and drove them from
there to Placerville (then called Hangtown ).
where he had his headquarters. He was suc-
cessful in the venture, and in June, 1853, he
returned to Ohio by the Central American
route. He built a grist-mill in Lima and
soon after became engaged in the manufac-
ture of sash, blinds and furniture. In [866
he removed to Traverse City, where he re-
sided until his death. February LI, 1901.
Here, at the head of East Bay. he engaged in
the manufacture of lumber, with his part-
ner. Morris Mahan, who died in 1883 and
who bad been associated with him since they
crossed the plains in 1849. In 1893 the busi-
ness was merged into a company incorpo-
rated as the East Pay Lumber Company, of
which Mr. Mitchell was secretary and treas-
urer from its organization until his death.
Since the death of Mr. Mahan his children
have been interested in the business, and
since the death of Mr. Mitchell his son Will-
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
323
iam has taken his place as secretary and treas-
urer of the company. Mr. .Mitchell's polit-
ical life will be a reminiscence to some per-
sons now living who were in active life dur-
ing the decade of 1850. His first public of-
fice was that of village trustee at Lima, in
1847. He was a candidate for township
clerk in iS^y on the American or Know-
Ni >thing ticket. He was a delegate to the na-
tional convention of that party at Philadel-
phia, February 22, 1856, which nominated
ex-President Fillmore for president and An-
drew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, for vice-
president. After that campaign he became a
Republican and was an active member of that
part} - until the end of his life. He was a del-
egate to the national convention in 1876
which nominated Rutherford B. Hayes for
president, and attended every Republican na-
tional convention since, including that which
nominated McKinley and Roosevelt. He
was receiver of the United States land office
at Reed City, from 1878 to 1887, when it
was consolidated with the office at Grayling.
He served two terms as representative in the
state legislature, 1867-70 and in 1871-2. and
two terms as senator, 1873-4 and 1875-6.
He held various local offices, including jus-
tice of the peace for fourteen years, school
inspector, member of board of review and
township treasurer. Mr. Mitchell was mar-
ried, in 1852, at Lima, Ohio, to Miss Isa-
bella Milligan, a daughter of Thomas Milli-
gan. They had two daughters and two sons,
all of whom are living with the exception of
the eldest daughter. Mrs. Mitchell is also
still living.
John Francis Grant was burn in England
in 182 1 and his occupation from boyhood
was bookkeeping. He was married. January
9, 1849, to Maria Woodhams. of Bucking-
hamshire, England, and the same year emi-
grated with his wife to Brooklyn, New
York, where they resided eight years, lie 1 ic-
ing employed as bookkeeper, hi 1856 he
moved to Lansing, Michigan, and thence to
Muskegon, where he remained one year, and
came to Traverse City in 1857. Here he en-
tered into the employ of Hannah, Lay &
Company, as bookkeeper, remaining with the
firm until his death. March 16, 1883. Soon
after coming to Grand Traverse he bought of
the government two hundred acres of land
in sections 8 and 9, Garfield township, where
he resided with his family fi >r the last twenty
years of his life. The family of Mr. Grant
consisted of himself, wife and five children,
three sons and two daughters, all of whom
survive him. Mrs. ('.rant living in Traverse
City and the others in the vicinity.
James Lee was born in England, March
10, 1816. He came to Detroit, Michigan, in
June, 1S32, and remained in that vicinity un-
til 1858, when he removed to Leelanaw coun-
ty and purchased a farm in what is now the
township of Bingham, which he cleared up
and made for himself and family a beautiful
home in the waving forest. He was among
the first to plant fruit trees in that part of
the county and was also one of the first to in-
troduce sheep. Mr. Lee was married, in
1839. to Miss Jane Ackley, also a native of
England, who died in 1873. While living in
Bingham Mr. Lee served seven years as su-
pervisor of the township, twelve years as
justice of the peace, ten or twelve years as
highway commissioner, six years as school
inspector, and also held various other offices.
In 1875 he was elected a member of the state
legislature, and was re-elected in 1877. Si » m
after this he retired from active farm work
and removed to Traverse City, where lie re-
324
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
mained until his death, October 1 1, 1888. In
Traverse City he served as highway commis-
sioner, justice of the peace ami member of
the village council. Two children survive
him, John A. Lee, a prosperous farmer of
Leelanaw county, and Miss Sarah Lee, who
lives in a beautiful residence on the corner
of Ninth and Union streets. Traverse City.
Smith Barnes, deceased, was one of the
pn iminent and respected citizens of Traverse
City. He was a gentleman of wide experi-
ence and unusual financial ability, and the
success of the mammoth mercantile concern
with which he was long identified is largely
attributed to his keen judgment and able
management. He was secretary', treasurer
and general manager of the Hannah & Lay
Mercantile Company. He was born in Mad-
ison county, New York, and died June 19,
1S91. He was the only son of Roswell and
Maria ( Adams) Barnes. The former was
also an only son, and as the subject of this
sketch had no children, his branch of the
family terminated with his death. Five years
of his boyhood were passed in Livingston
count}-. Michigan, after which he resided in
Oakland county six vears and for twelve
years in Port Huron, Michigan. From 1836
until his death his home was uninterruptedly
in Michigan, and his own history was inter-
woven with the development of the state. In
i860 Mr. Barnes came to Traverse City and
obtained employment with Hannah. Lay &
Company, taking sole charge of their mer-
cantile business. 1 luring the first year, in
company with one clerk, he made all the
sales, amounting to about sixteen thousand
dollars. He continued to manage the busi-
ness until 1881, when the Hannah & Lay
Mercantile Company was incorporated, of
which he became a large stockholder and
general manager, which position he held un-
til his death. He took great interest in local
affairs, and especially in providing fire pro-
tection for the then small village, and it was
largely through his efforts that the first at-
tempt to organize a fire department was
made, which resulted in planting the seed of
what has grown to be one of the best
equipped fire departments possessed by any
city of its size in the state. In 1852 Mr.
Barnes married Miss Lucinda M. Hart,
whose death occurred in 1870. The follow-
ing year he married Miss Catharine K.
Clarke, of Geneva. New York, who still
makes her home in Traverse City. Mrs.
Barnes is a native of Buffalo, New York,
and is a daughter of Grosvenor and Christine
(Kip) Clarke. She received a good educa-
tion and is a lady of culture and refinement.
Extensive travel in Europe as well as in all
parts of our own country tended to make
Mr. Barnes what all his friends found him, a
courteous, polished gentleman and an inter-
esting and entertaining conversationalist. In
politics he was a Republican, but never an
office-seeker.
Reuben Goodrich came from a remark-
able family and an illustrious ancestry,
whose lineage is traced back many genera-
tions to the owners of Goodrich Castle, in
England, the old feudal home of the Good-
rich race. The castle dates back to 1204.
The branch of the family from which the
subject of this sketch descended emigrated
to Connecticut in 1639. Levi Hamilton
Goodrich, the father of Reuben Goodrich,
was a native of Old Hadley, Massachusetts.
He had eight children, of whom Reuben, the
subject of this sketch, was the youngest.
The latter was b irti in Clarence, Erie county,
New York. June 28, 181 9, and was reared
GRAND' TRAVERSE AND LEEEANAW COUNTIES.
325
on the home farm, having limited opportuni-
ties for gaining an education. In boyhood
he worked hard, handling logs, driving ox
teams and performing the various duties in-
cident to farm life in those days. At the
age of seventeen he removed to Michigan,
and remained a resident of the state until his
death. The Goodrich family settled in Gen-
esee county, Michigan, in 1836, where they
purchased eleven hundred acres of land, the
village of Goodrich now standing on a part
of the purchase. In 1845 the brothers Enos
and Reuben Goodrich built the Goodrich
Flouring Mill, which was run by water
power. They succeeded in establishing a
large trade and excellent credit. While the
brothers were thus engaged the state bank-
ing law went into effect, and the so-called
"wildcat money" was issued. The law re-
quired that the issue must be secured by one-
third the amount of issue in specie; that is,
they must have one-third as much specie as
they issued paper, and the county judge and
clerk, with the sheriff, were to count the
same and certify to the fact. It so happened
that the same specie was used for the estab-
lishment of many different banks, and the se-
curity being thus found insufficient, the law
was amended, requiring real estate security
to the full amount of issue. Under the lat-
ter law the Goodrich brothers concluded to
establish a bank, and made a mortgage of
real estate to the state of Michigan for that
purpose. They opened the bank, but soon
the banks began to fail and were looked upon
with disfavor, which caused them to call in
the issue, pay up all claims and wind up the
bank. The banks were all required to pay
a specific state tax of one per cent, upon their
capital stock, and Reuben took the necessary
specie, fifty dollars, in a canvas bag to Gov-
ernor Mason, who was greatly surprised, and
inquired if the folks at < loodrich were crazy,
adding that it was the only bank in the state
that had paid the specific tax. The crisis of
1857 swept over the land and the most of
the hard earnings of twenty years were lost.
Mr. Goodrich was twice honored by election
to the state legislature, being in 1854 elected
from Genesee county to the senate, where he
was associated with such men as Austin
Blair, George Jerome and O. D. Conger.
The next two years he represented the first
district of Genesee county in the house of
representatives, and took an active part in
electing Zachariah Chandler to his first term
as United States senator. In his public life
the labors of Mr. Goodrich were character-
ized by the same energy that marked his
business career in his early days. At that
time one of the nn >>t momentous questions
the legislature had to deal with was the dis-
posal of about eight million acres of swamp
lands, in which Grand Traverse county, in
common with all the northern counties, was
I greatly interested. Assuming the ground
that these lands were granted by the general
government and accepted 1>v the state on the
specific condition that they or their proceeds
should be expended for the purpose of drain-
age, until, in the language of the grant, they
were rendered "tit for cultivation," he be-
came one of the foremost in the band of
northern statesmen who battled against the
fearful odds of the older counties, that were
determined to disregard the obligations of
the grant, and throw into all sorts of pet edu-
cational schemes the whole bequest. Such
an act would have been a palpable breach of
trust anil an injustice to the northern coun-
ties, and yet it was advocated at the start by
overwhelming numbers from the populous
826
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAW COUNTIES.
southern counties, and. in spite of the best
efforts of the defenders of the rights of the
northern counties, one-half of these lands
were taken from one trust fund, where a sa-
cred compact had placed them, and trans-
ferred to the school fund, where the plausible
plea of popular education had secured them.
In i860 Mr. Goodrich came to Traverse
City to look after his landed interests. The
following year President Lincoln appointed
him receiver of the United States land office,
but President Johnson removed him. Later
he was re-appointed by President Grant,
holding the position for nine years altogeth-
er. In the organization of new townships
and the establishing and upbuilding of mads
Mr. < ioodrich always took an active part. It
was under his supervision as highway com-
missioner that the stumps were cleared out
of Front street. Traverse City. It was said
of him that he never traveled through the
woods in any direction or for any purpose
that he did not have an eye out to note any
place where a road could be laid out to ad-
vantage. He was one of the three members
of the state highway commission selected by
the governor to prepare an amendment to
the state constitution, providing - for a county
road system, which was adopted by the legis-
lature, also by the popular vote at the state
election in 1X93. He served as highway com-
missii mer of Traverse township for twenty-
three years. He also served repeatedly upon
the board of education, and was a member of
the city council at the time of his death, Jan-
uary 8, 1899. Mr. Goodrich was married,
in 1851. to Miss Eliza J. Eastman. Four
children were born to them, two girls and
two boys. Clara, erne of the daughters, is
the wife of C. B. Atwood. now living in Cal-
ifornia. Frank is married and lives in Trav-
erse City. The other son and daughter are
dead. Mrs. Goodrich still survives and lives
with her daughter Clara. Mr. Goodrich was
truly one of the active pioneers of Grand
Traverse who did much to improve and de-
velop it.
Seth C. Moffatt was born in Battle
Creek, Michigan, August 1, 1841. He re-
ceived a common school education there, and
removed, in the fall of 1858, with his par-
ents, to Colon, St. Joseph county, where he
spent two years as a teacher in the seminary.
Pie graduated from the law department of
the Michigan University in 1803. After
graduation he entered the law office of Hon.
Byron D. Ball, at Grand Rapids. In the
spring of 1864 he removed to Lyons and
began the practice of law. From there he
went to Northport, Leelanaw county, in the
fall of 1866. He was at once elected pros-
ecuting attorney for that county and re-
elected in 1 808. In 1870 he was elected
state senator from the thirty-first district,
and served through the regular and extra ses-
sions of 1 87 1 -2. He was appointed a mem-
ber of the constitutional commission of
1873. In the spring of 1874 he was ap-
pointed register of the United States land
office at Traverse City, and held the office
until its removal to Reed City in 1878. In
that year he was elected prosecuting attorney
of Grand Traverse county. Having been
elected representative in the state legislature
in 1880, his name was at once mentioned in
connection with the speakership, to wdiich
responsible position he was elected from
among several prominent and capable candi-
dates. In 1884 he was elected to congress
fnun the eleventh district, and with such
success and satisfaction did he serve his con-
stituents that he was re-elected in 1886, but
<t, 7
-y\ O
I
WBTC
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LE ELAN AW COUNTIES.
327
befi >re the commencement of his second term
he died at Washington, December 22, [886.
Mr. Moffatt was married, in October, 1864,
to Miss Emma R. Linnell, who was born in
Wisconsin, her parents having removed to
that state from New York. She is a lady of
intelligence and refinement, and was a help-
mate and confidant of her husband in all his
undertakings. Their children, four in num-
ber, were Orlando C, now married and liv-
ing in Traverse City, state senator from this
district ; Henry, who died at fifteen years of
age; Lucius, who died at the age of eighteen,
and Edna, who is living with her mother in
a pleasant home in Traverse City. Mr.
Moffatt was a Republican in politics, and
was recognized as one of the most able lead-
ers of his party.
Samuel K. Northam, one of the very
early pioneers of Grand Traverse, was born
in WHliamstown, Berkshire county, Massa-
chusetts. December 11, 1S24. When fifteen
years of age he came to Michigan. In 1847,
in company with his brother-in-law, the late
Abram S. Wadsworth, and the latter*s fam-
ily, comprising Ins wife and two children,
they left Detroit on a propeller bound for
Mackinaw. From the straits they proceeded
on their journey in a schooner as far as
Cross Village, where, while waiting for a
storm to subside, they camped several days
on the beach. After the winds had abated
they set out in a small boat for Old Mission,
and at Middle Village again went into camp,
waiting for two days en account of rain.
Their next stop was made at Little Traverse,
where they Imped to obtain provisions from
the Indians, but they succeeded only in se-
curing a few potatoes and a single loaf of
bread. The little party had lived on fish un-
til thev could no longer bear the food, and
the children, especially, suffered for want
(if their accustomed diet. After leaving Lit-
tle Traverse they were favored with pleas-
ant weather, but the last day they were on
the bay the water was rough, and they feared
to cross from the eastern shore to Old Mis-
sum. Seeing smuke on the shore near Elk
River, they steered in that direction, and
found snme Indians with a seaworthy boat,
win) were about to cross the bay. Mrs.
Wadsworth and her children were placed in
the Indians' boat, which was navigated by
her husband and one of the Indians, while
.Mr. Northam and the other Indians occupied
the small boat. In a short time they were
safely landed at Old Mission, mi the 16th of
August, 1847. After reaching Old Mis-
sion . Mr. Xortham worked for some time
with the Indians, after which he went to
the present site of Elk Rapids, which was
then a wilderness. Here, hewing out s< ime
boards, he built a rude shelter, in which Mr.
Wadsworth and family, as well as himself,
took up their abode until a log cabin could
be constructed. The latter was placed on
the present site of the town hall. and. as far
as known, was the first dwelling erected by a
white man in that section, except that erected
by Rev. Peter Dougherty and abandoned
some years previous, as mentioned in an-
other place in this volume. In order to buy
some of the actual necessities of life, Mr.
Northam. assisted by some Indians, peeled
a quantity of hemlock . bark, which they
shipped to Racine. Wisconsin. It would take
a volume to give in detail the many adven-
tures and experiences, both pleasant and oth-
erwise, which fell to the lot oi Mr.
Northam. At Elk Rapids he. in connection
with Mr. Wadsworth, erected a shingle-mill.
The Indians were peaceable and were valu-
328
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
able allies of the early pioneers, and helped
in the building of this mill. In 1853 a por-
tion of the water power at Elk Rapids passed
into the hands of M. Craw & Company, who
built a saw -mill, that three years later be-
came the property of Dexter & Noble. Mr.
Northam had charge of this mill from the
time of its erection and supervised the lum-
bering- operations of the firm until 1870,
when he came to Traverse City, where for
several years he was engaged in successful
and extensive lumbering. He also bought
an interest in a hardware store, and when
five years had passed, purchased the whole
concern, which has been under the immedi-
ate management of A. H. Perry, husband of
a niece of Mr. Northam. Mr. Northam was
a very quiet, unassuming gentleman, but an
excellent business man, and succeeded in ac-
cumulating a very comfortable fortune with
very little stir or bluster. Mr. Northam
never married and he died in Traverse City
June 23, 1903.
OTHER DECEASED PIONEERS.
In addition to the pioneers of Grand
Traverse county already mentioned who are
deceased, the following may be mentioned
as among the number of those who first set-
tled in the county, very many of wdiose de-
scendants are either prominent farmers and
fruit growers or business men of the county.
John Wilhelm was horn in Austria, May
id, 1846, ami emigrated to the United
States with his parents in the fall of 1852,
landing in New York city, where he re-
mained some six years. He came to Trav-
erse City in the summer of 1858 and assisted
his father to clear up his farm in ( iarfield
township until 1S66, when he entered the
employ of Hannah, Lay & Company, and
continued until 1870. He then engaged for
two years in the manufacture and sale of
furniture. He afterwards conducted for
several years a dry goods and merchant
clothing store, and subsequently built, in con-
nection with the firm of Wilhelm, Bartak &
Company, the City Opera House block, and
owned an interest in the same at the time of
his death. He held the office of director of
the poor of Traverse City for several years
and also the office of supervisor of his ward,
both of which he managed to the entire sat-
isfaction of the people.
John D. Billings, a native of Maine, un-
der whose management the Park Place Ho-
tel became the most popular public house in
northern Michigan, came to Traverse City
with his family in 1879 and for many years
conducted the Park Place Hotel. His wid-
ow, a son, Ervin C. Billings, and daughter,
Bertie, survive him. Airs. Billings owns a
pleasant cottage at Elmwood, where she
spends her summers. Her son and daughter
tire with her a part of the time.
Wolcott F. Griffin, a native of the state
of New York, came to Traverse City in
1X71 1, where, after spending a short time in
the grocery business, he engaged in real es-
tate transactions. He platted Fernwood,
second Fernwood) Oakwood, Winnie & Grif-
fin's additions to Traverse City, and also that
of ( >ak Park.
William Fowle was born in England in
1833, ani ' came to Traverse City in June,
1854. He was for some time engaged as
baker in the boarding house of Hannah, Lay
& Company, and later was at various times
cook in their lumber camps. In May, 1857,
he took the Front Street House and ran it
some three years as the Traverse City
GRAND TRAVERSE AND LEELANAIV COUNTIES.
329
House. He was for three seasons cook on
the ill-fated steamer "Sunny Side," and
was on hoard when she was wrecked at the
mouth of Pine river in the fall of 1867. In
the spring of 1S68 he resumed charge of
Hannah. Lay & Company's boarding house,
and continued until 1874, when he rented
the building and conducted it on his own ac-
count for several years as the Bay House.
Later he moved to Grand Rapids, where he
died less than two years since. At the time
of his death he owned considerable property
in Traverse Citv and a farm of one hundred
and twenty acres in Elmwood.
John Black, one of the very early settlers
of the region, was a native of Scotland, born
in 1827. He came to Canada with his par-
ents in 1835 and moved to Wisconsin in
1850, and soon after to Manistee, Michigan.
In the spring of 1851 he came to Traverse
City and was engaged in the lumber business
until 1858, when he bought one hundred
and sixty acres of land on section 30, town-
ship 2/, range 10, where he resided and car-
ried on farming operations until his death.
He was married, in 1853. to Harriet A. Sco-
field, a native of New York, who died in
1862. They had three sons and one daugh-
ter. He was married a second time, in 1865,
to Helen McFarland, of Canada, who sur-
vives him and by whom he had one child.
A. K. Fairbanks was a native of the
state of New York. He came to Grand
Traverse county in 1861 and located a
farm in Whitewater township that he
cleared up and occupied until his death.
He was twice married. His first wife's
maiden name was Mary Thompson, who
died in 1855. leaving one daughter. In
J 859 he married Emeline Eastman, a na-
tive of New York, by whom he had one son,
Andrew. After his arrival ami settlement
in Whitewater Mr. Fairbanks was engaged
in trapping for about two years and thus ac-
quired a thorough acquaintance with the
country, ami aided new settlers very much
in the selection of lands. In April, 1865,
Mr. Fairbanks was in the office of the Trav-
erse Bay Eag"le when the first number of
the paper went to press, and became the
first subscriber to that paper, taking the first
number of the paper off the press home with
him. He remained a continuous subscriber
until his death, some thirty-six years after-
wards.
Jared W. Arnold, who at the time of his
death was a farmer of Acme township, was
a native of Rhode Island, who moved with
his parents to New York and afterwards to
Washtenaw county, Michigan, where he
lived until 1854, when he came to the Grand
Traverse region in company with the writer
and worked for Dexter & Noble in a saw-
mill 
