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 Life sketches of executive officers, and 
 
 3 1924 018 765 804 
 
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 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
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LIFE SKETCHES 
 
 EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE 
 
 STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 N ^k 
 
 BY H. H. BOOJfE, A. M., AJfD THEODOEE P. COOK. 
 
 ALBANY : 
 
 WEED, PAKSONS AND COMPANY, PRINTERS. 
 1870. 
 
o^yz/'^v 
 
 Entered according to act of Congress, in the year eigiitcen hundred and seventy, 
 
 By S. C. HUTCHINS anb H. H. BOONE, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Northern 
 
 District of New York. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 Life Sketches originated in 1866, and the first volume was pub- 
 lished in 1867, containing concise records of the lives of the State 
 Officers and ilembers of the Legislature of that year. Its success 
 justified its continuation. The aim of its Editors has been to make 
 it authentic in its facts and dates, and no pains have been spared 
 to render it so, though occasional errors may possibly be found. 
 It has also been the desire of the Editors to indulge in no unde- 
 served praise or fulsome laudation, but to give every man credit 
 honestly for all he is in himself personally, and all he has been able 
 to accomplish, and thus bring out the distinguishing traits of each 
 man. It is possible that some may have been over-estimated, and 
 others not sufficiently credited. But, in the main, we believe it 
 can be said that the work is reliable in its estimates of character. 
 
 The Editors renew their thanks to many gentlemen who have 
 rendered invaluable assistance in furnishing incidents and dates for 
 the compilation of these Sketches. 
 
 They would also acknowledge the kind favors of the Press in 
 1867 and 1868, all, without exception, having borne flattering testi- 
 monials to the merits of the work. Their publication is unnecessary. 
 
 It will be seen that the Sketches of the Members of the Legis- 
 lature are alphabetically arranged, thus removing the necessity for 
 an index. 
 
LIFE SKETCHES 
 
 JOHN T. HOFFMAN, 
 
 GtOVERNOB. 
 
 John T. Hoffman, twenty-third Governor of the State 
 of New York, was born at the village of Sing Sing on the 
 10th day of January, 1828. 
 
 His grandfather, Philip Livingston Hoffman, was a 
 resident of Columbia county, where he was educated to 
 the law. He married Helena Kissam, a lady whose family 
 was well known throughout the State. 
 
 Adkian Kissam Hoffman, the father of the subject of 
 this sketch, was born in Columbia county. The familv 
 subsequently moved to Montgomery county, where he 
 studied medicine. After completing his studies, Dr. 
 Hoffman married the daughter of Dr. John Thompson 
 of Saratoga county, and removed to Westchester county, 
 where he entered upon the practice of his profession. He 
 is still living and is widely known and universally respected, 
 both for his skill as a physician and for his character as a 
 man. 
 
 John Thompson Hoffman, as a boy, displayed the 
 germs of those qualities which, ripening in the growth of 
 later years, have rendered his name famous. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Prime, editor of the New York Observer, 
 who was the Governor's first teacher, spoke, a few years 
 ago, in the following terms of his former pupil: 
 
6 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 " While yet a student he won some reputation as a pub- 
 lic speaker. But his calm self-possession, independence of 
 association, and deliberate judgment, with great firmness 
 of adherence to conclusions reached after careful examina- 
 tion, were qualities so rarely developed in a young man 
 that he early attracted attention as one in whom high 
 trusts could be safely confided. *****! take 
 no credit to myself for his career. The man at the head 
 of the school, my father, had exalted ideas of justice, and 
 inculcated in his daily instructions those notions of stern 
 integrity, the inflexibility of principle, the abstract duty 
 of doing right irrespective of expediency, that go to make 
 up the character of every really great man." 
 
 With such instruction at school, and with Christian 
 precepts and worthy examples to guide his footsteps at 
 home, young Hoffman's early boyhood was passed. 
 
 At the age of fifteen he entered the Junior class of 
 Union College. This was in 1843, at a time when Dr. 
 E"oTT was in the full enjoyment of his well-deserved fame. 
 The practical lessons of that sound old philosopher pro- 
 duced a lasting impression on the mind of the youthful 
 collegian, who, in despite of uncertain health, which com- 
 pelled him to suspend his college course for one year, 
 made rapid progress in his studies. He was graduated 
 with the honors of the institution in 1846. His oration 
 on that occasion rose so much above the ordinary level of 
 such efforts as to be noteworthy. He chose for his theme 
 "Sectional Prejudices," and in the treatment of the subject 
 he displayed a breadth of reasoning power and a knowl- 
 edge of political science quite remarkable. 
 
 With the ardor of boyhood he espoused, then, the cause 
 of Democracy, and to its principles he has remained stead- 
 fast always. 
 
 After leaving college Mr. Hoffman- commenced the 
 
JOHN T. HOFFMAN. 7 
 
 study of law in the office of Gen. Aaeon Waed and 
 Judge Albbet Lockwood at Sing Sing. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman's political career began before he had 
 attained his majority. In the year 1848, at the age of 
 twenty, he was made a member of the State Central Com- 
 mittee by the Convention of Hunker or Hard Shell 
 Democracy. That year will long be remembered in the 
 political history of the State. Maetin Van Btjeen's can- 
 didacy for the office of President divided the Democracy 
 of New York, causing strong and bitt* feeling between 
 his supporters and those of the regular nominee, Lewis 
 Cass, and resulting in the overwhelming triumph of the 
 Whig party. Tayloe carried the State by a plurality of 
 about 100,000, and Hamilton Fish was elected Governor. 
 This, in face of the fact that the aggregate Democratic 
 vote exceeded that of the Whigs. Pending the canvass, 
 the State Committee, of which Mr. Hoffman was a mem- 
 ber, put forth "An Address to the People," in which the 
 claims of their principles and of their candidates were 
 advocated with marked ability. Although not then a 
 voter, Mr. Hoffman took the stump for Cass and Wal- 
 "WOETH and did effective service as a speaker. 
 
 On the 10th of .Tanuary, 1849 — his twenty-first birth- 
 day — Mr. Hoffman was admitted to the bar. 
 
 In October of that year he removed to N"ew York, 
 where, soon after, he formed a law partnership with the 
 late Samuel M. Woodettff and Judge William H. Leon- 
 AED, the firm name being Woodeuff, Leonaed & Hoff- 
 man. 
 
 For ten years Mr. Hoffman devoted himself to the 
 practice of his profession, and so marked was his success 
 that in 1859 he was urged by some of the most prominent 
 citizens of New York for the position of United States 
 District Attorney. But President Buchanan objected to 
 
8 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 him on account of his youth, and Judge Roosetelt was 
 appointed to the place. 
 
 In the jrear 1860 Mr. Hoffman was nominated for 
 Recorder of the city of New York, and after a spirited 
 canvass was elected to that position. In this instance the 
 office sought the man. Mr. Hoffman had declined to 
 have his name presented as a candidate, but he was, never- 
 theless, nominated by the Tammany Convention, on the 
 second formal ballot. At the election which followed he 
 Avas the only candidate on the Tammany ticket who, with- 
 out the support of other organizations, was chosen by the 
 people. He entered upon his duties as Recorder on the 1 st 
 of January, 1861, None so young as he had ever before 
 filled the place, but none made a deeper and more favor- 
 able impression on the public mind. 
 
 His strict ideas of justice, tempered by the influence of 
 a merciful heart; his ample legal acquirements, laid on the 
 foundation of rare good sense ; his unhalting firmness in 
 the discharge of duty and his unquestioned integrity, 
 combined to render him a good and upright judge. So 
 firm a hold did he gain on the popular heart during his 
 first term as Recorder, in the course of which he tried and 
 sentenced many of those engaged in the famous riots of 
 July, 1863, that the Republican Judiciary Convention 
 named him, on the 12th of October, 1863, for reelection. 
 Tammany and Mozart also united on him ; the newspaper 
 press, regardless of party affiliations, indorsed him, and 
 the people rallied enthusiastically to his support and for- 
 got party prejudice in their admiration for an honest man. 
 Under such flattering circumstances he was again chosen 
 Recorder by an almost unanimous vote of the electors. 
 
 On the 21st of November, 1865, John T. Hoffman was 
 nominated for the office of Mayor of the city of New 
 York by the Tammany Hall Democratic Convention. An 
 
JOHN T. HOFFMAN. 
 
 effort to unite the then hostile factions of Tammany and 
 Mozart had proved unsuccessful. Fernando Wood was 
 nominated by the last named organization, but declined in 
 favor of John Heckee, the candidate of the Citizens 
 Association, who was warmly advocated by the New York 
 7Vibu?ie. C. Godfrey Gunthee, the then incumbent, had 
 previously announced himself as a candidate for reelection, 
 and his claims were indorsed by what was known as the 
 McKeon Democracy. The Republicans saw in the divis- 
 ion of the Democratic vote a chance for their own success. 
 They nominated Marshall O. Roberts, and under his 
 leadership they inaugurated a most vigorous campaign. 
 At the election which followed 81,702 votes were cast, of 
 which Judge Hoffman received 32,820 ; Mr. Robeets, 
 31,657 ; Mr. Heckee, 10,390, and Mayor Gunthee, 0,758. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1866, Mr. Hoffman entered 
 upon his duties as Mayor. His administration of this 
 office, joined with his previous reputation as Recorder, 
 rendered his name familiar throughout the State, and dur- 
 ing the summer he was frequently mentioned as the prob- 
 able candidate of the Democracy for Governor. 
 
 The Convention which assembled at Albany on the llth 
 of September was found to be composed of elements which 
 had never before mingled in State politics. Old line Dem- 
 ocrats joined hands with Conservative Republicans in an 
 effort to unite all the varied forces which opposed the Radical 
 course of Congress. One-third of the delegates had acted 
 up to that time with the Republican party. These were 
 they who favored Andrew Johnson's policy and indorsed 
 the Philadelphia Convention. They scarcely had faith, how- 
 ever, in the President's ability to carry his ideas to a suc- 
 cessful issue. They were inclined to sing with Tennyson — 
 
 " 'Tis true we have a faithful ally. 
 
 But only the Devil knows what he means." 
 
10 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 The Democrats had just lost their great organizing leader, 
 Dean Richmond, and these accessions to their ranks, at 
 such a juncture, did not promise to promote harmony. 
 But the Convention at Albany was a very large one and 
 it soon became apparent that if a proper nommation were 
 made for Governor, a vigorous campaign could be prose- 
 cuted with a reasonable hope of success. Under these 
 circumstances an unusual number of distinguished names 
 were canvassed by the delegates. Sanpoed E. Church, 
 Henet C. Muehht, William F. Allen, John T. Hoff- 
 man, Heney W. Slocum:, John A. Dix, William Kellt, 
 and others were mentioned as available candidates. After 
 a fair interchange of opinion it was found that a majority 
 of the Convention favored the choice of Mayor Hoffman, 
 and on the second day he was nominated by acclamation, 
 amidst the wildest enthusiasm. The Convention then 
 adjourned until afternoon, and on reassembling it was 
 addressed by the candidate himself, who had been tele- 
 graphed for. His manly speech on that occasion made a 
 lasting impression on the minds of the delegates, many of 
 whom saw him then for the first time. 
 
 After his nomination Mayor Hoffman canvassed the 
 State, speaking at Elmira, Syracuse, Rochester, Bufialo, 
 Binghamton, Brooklyn, New York and other places. His 
 earnest and convincing arguments were well received by 
 the masses of the people everywhere. But frequent defeat 
 had engendered amongst the Democrats a want of confi- 
 dence in their ability to succeed, and the ill-timed tour of 
 Johnson and Geant united the columns of the opposition 
 while it inj-ured rather than benefitted the party whose 
 interests the President sought to subserve. But, notwith- 
 standing these disheartening circumstances, the election 
 returns showed a decided gain in the Democratic vote 
 over the preceding year. After the election the Democrats 
 
JOHN T. HOFFMAN. 11 
 
 awoke to the knowledge of the fact that, had they made 
 more effort, they might have overcome the small majority 
 by which Governor Fenton was re-elected. The lesson 
 came late, but it was not altogether lost, as the next 
 yeai-'s contest showed. 
 
 In the fall of 186';' Mayor Hoffman was chosen tempo- 
 rary Chairman of the Democratic State Convention, and 
 delivered a speech on that occasion in which he enume- 
 rated with admirable succinctness the governing principles 
 of the party, and defined its attitude in relation to cur- 
 rent questions with remarkable clearness. 
 
 The ticket nominated by this Convention, headed by 
 the Hon. Homee A. Nelson for Secretary of State, was 
 successful at the ensuing election, its candidates being 
 chosen by an average mnjority of over 47,000. 
 
 Mr. Hoffman's first term as Mayor was then drawing 
 to a close. The popularity which he had gained in the 
 discharge of his duties made his renomination a foregone 
 conclusion. The Tammany Convention met on the Satur_ 
 day evening succeeding the State election. A great con. 
 course of people gathered around the hall and when it 
 was announced that Hoffman had been nominated with- 
 out a dissenting voice, the air rang with the cheers of the 
 satisfied populace. In this canvass Mayor Hoffman had 
 two competitors, Fernando Wood, Mozart Democrat, 
 and Wm. A. Dakling, Republican. The result of the 
 election was significant. Hoffman carried every ward 
 in the city. His vote was the largest ever given to any 
 candidate in New York. His majority over both his com- 
 petitors was nearly equal to the total vote of either. 
 With this unmistakable indorsement he entered upon his 
 second term as Mayor, on the first of January, 1808. 
 * His third annual message as Mayor contained a reitera- 
 ,tion of Kis views on the question of city government; 
 
12 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 which views were simply the old theory of Jeffeeson, 
 that in local afFairs the local authorities should rule. 
 Simple and sensible as this doctrine appears its enuncia- 
 tion gained the Mayor some vigorous abuse from his 
 political opponents. 
 
 But in despite of this, his popularity had grown so great 
 that when the National Democratic Convention met at 
 New York in July, Mayor Hoffman's name was suggested 
 by many of the western delegates in connection with the 
 vice-presidency. But he neither sought nor desired this 
 honor, and the nomination of Governor Setmotje for 
 President placed it out of the power of the Convention 
 to urge it upon him. 
 
 On the 13th of August, 1868, the State Committee, 
 together with many prominent Democrats, met in Utica, 
 for consultation. This meeting developed the fact that 
 Mayor Hoffman would again be the Democratic candi- 
 date for Governor. The canvass of 1866 had brought 
 him in contact with the people who, everywhere, felt that 
 he had earned this honor, by the earnest and effective 
 service he performed in that disastrous year. 
 
 When the Convention met in September the name of 
 Senator Muephy, who was Mayor Hoffman's chief com- 
 petitor, was withdrawn and John T. Hoffman was, for a 
 second time, nominated by acclamation, for Governor of 
 the State of New York. 
 
 The Republicans had previously placed in nomination 
 John A. Geiswold, of Rensselaer. He was heralded as 
 the builder of the first " Monitor," and this service, to- 
 gether with his record in Congress, were dwelt upon until 
 considerable enthusiasm was aroused among the people 
 in his behalf. 
 
 Both the candidates were young men, and the personal 
 qualifications of each were admitted by all ; but the can-. 
 
JOHN T. HOFFMAIT. 13 
 
 vass was one of peculiar bitterness. Victory seemed 
 within the grasp of either party, and the pendency of the 
 Presidential campaign roused partisans to extraordinary 
 efforts and lent additional interest to the gubernatorial 
 contest. 
 
 Mayor HoPFitAN canvassed the State in person and 
 addressed the electors at many of the principal towns. 
 His presence inspired confidence among his supporters, 
 and his speeches, although they evoked sharp criticism 
 from Republican sources, cemented the elements of his 
 strength. 
 
 At the election which occurred on the 2d of November, 
 1868, he was chosen Governor by a majority of 27,946. 
 But opposition to Governor Hoffman did not cease with 
 the closing of the polls. The cry of " fraud " was set up 
 and persisted in by those whose candidates had met defeat. 
 This cry is no new catch-word for politicians of either 
 party ; but the vigor with which it was pressed in this 
 particular instance made it somewhat efiective in pro- 
 ducing a feeling of popular prejudice against Governor 
 Hoffman. 
 
 How quickly this feeling was dissipated, after the 
 Governor had taken his seat, is a matter of common 
 knowledge. His bitterest enemies became his eulogists ; 
 Republican newspapers commended his course, and an 
 opposition Legislature indorsed, almost without a dissent- 
 ing voice, every veto message which he submitted to their 
 consideration. 
 
 These vetoes were numerous and were aimed chiefly at 
 the evil system of Special Legislation which cumbers our 
 statute books with innumerable unnecessary laws that sel- 
 dom prove beneficial except to individuals whose personal 
 schemes are accomplished at the cost of the tax payers. 
 
 In personal appearance Governor Hoffman is above the 
 
14 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 medium height and has a strong well-knit frame. His 
 weight is, perhaps, a hundred and seventy pounds. His 
 hair is dark and abundant ; his forehead is broad and par- 
 ticularly developed in what phrenologists call the percep- 
 tive faculties ; his eyes are of a deep brown color ; his 
 nose is large ; his chin prominent, and his mouth shapely 
 and indicative of firmness. He wears a full moustache 
 but no beard. 
 
 As a speaker he is plain, clear and straightforward in 
 manner as well as in matter. His voice is full, round 
 and sonorous, but he practices few of the tricks of the 
 orator and seldom embellishes his speeches with rhetorical 
 flourishes. 
 
 As a writer he is argumentative rather than imaginative, 
 and his style is too analytical to be florid. He possesses, 
 however, a certain happy power of poetical description, 
 which he displayed to good advantage in the Agricultural 
 Address delivered by him before the Ulster County Fair, 
 last September. 
 
 In his intercourse with his fellow men Governor Hoff- 
 man is frank and genial; he has nothing of the dema- 
 gogue's overbearing pomposity, and he is free from the 
 sycophant's afiectation of cordiality. He makes no prom- 
 ises which he does not keep ; he holds out no false hopes 
 to applicants for his favor ; he is loyal to truth, and he 
 cherishes his personal integrity as something more valu- 
 able than any political power. 
 
ALLEN C. BEACH, 
 
 LIEtTTEN ANT-GO VEBNOE. 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor Beach has arisen from a com- 
 paratively obscure boyhood to his present position of trust 
 and power, not by the appliances which wealth, inherited 
 from an aristocratic ancestry, can afford, but by the sheer 
 force of industry and genuine uprightness of character 
 In fact, his early training was of such a nature as to 
 develop a higher moral sense than pecuniaiy advantages 
 could ever have produced ; for he was the son of a minister 
 of the gospel who, though he never aspired to perma- 
 nently occupy pulpits of the metropolis, yet, for over 
 thirty years, has expounded sound Baptist doctrines to 
 congregations in the small towns of Montgomery, Herki- 
 mer and Madison counties. He now, at an advanced age, 
 resides at Hamilton, N. T. 
 
 AiLEN C. Beach was born at Fairfield, Herkimer 
 county, on the 9th day of October, 1828. He manifested 
 a love for study in his earlier years, often subjecting him- 
 self to great inconvenience for the purpose of procuring 
 books that would interest and improve his mind. Having 
 left home, at the age of twelve years, for the purpose of 
 earning his livelihood, he began work on a farm. But 
 while he worked he thought ; and the limited education 
 which he had received in the village school gave him 
 determination to acquire sufiicient knowledge to rise to a 
 higher sphere of usefulness. Such was his studiousness 
 he was fitted to teach school before he was sixteen years 
 old. The money obtained by teaching during the winter 
 months was devoted to clothing himself and paying his 
 
16 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 tuition at the Jordan Academj':, in Onondaga county, dur- 
 ing the following summer. Having spent several years in 
 this manner, alternating between teaching and studying, 
 he finally fitted himself for college at the Mexico Academy, 
 entering Union College in 1846. He graduated in 1849, 
 receiving distinguished honors. He thereupon obtained a 
 situation as assistant teacher in the Watertown Academy, 
 and also began the study of law with the late Joshua 
 MooEB, a lawyer of wide repute in that section of the 
 State. Mr. Beach was admitted to the bar in 1852; and 
 after the death of Mr. Moore he formed a partnership 
 with Levi H. Beown, under the name of Bkown & 
 ^EACH. This firm is the synonym for ability and integ- 
 rity wherever it is known. 
 
 The first prominent part which Mr. Beach assumed in 
 politics was in 1860, when he was a delegate to the 
 National Democratic Convention held at Charleston. In 
 that capacity he advocated the nomination of Stephen A. 
 Douglas for the Presidency, at Charleston and subse- 
 quently at Baltimore. His legal abilities were politically 
 recognized in 1863, when he was nominated for County 
 Judge by the Democratic party. His defeat, however, 
 was a foregone conclusion, for Jefferson county gave, at 
 that time, about three thousand Republican majority. Yet 
 he had the gratification of running ahead of his ticket. 
 During that year, it will be remembered, no little excite- 
 ment was aroused in consequence of the military arrest 
 and imprisonment of individuals. Mr. Beach, in common 
 with others of his party, opposed the measure most strenu- 
 ously ; and he delivered a speech in Jefferson county, on 
 that subject, which set forth his views in a masterly man- 
 ner. His local popularity has been proved on numerous 
 occasions, by the positions of trust which have been given 
 to him. He has several times been Chairman of the 
 
AXLBN C. BEACH. 11 
 
 Democratic County Committee, displaying fine abilities 
 for the organization of political campaigns ; and his party 
 have also frequently sent him as delegate to State Conven- 
 tions, in which he participated with ardor and exhibited a 
 thorough intimacy with the workings of political machinery. 
 In 1867 he received the nomination as delegate to the 
 recent State Constitutional Convention. Although he was 
 unsuccessful in the issue, yet the vote which he received 
 was complimentary both to his qualities as a gentleman of 
 culture and to his legal acumen ; for, in a county which, 
 the previous year, had given nearly three thousand major- 
 ity, he was defeated by only four hundred votes. 
 
 Soon after the National Democratic Convention, held in 
 the city of New York, July 4th, 1868, to which Mr. 
 Beach was a delegate, his name was presented to the 
 public, through the columns of the New York World, for 
 the office of Lieutenant-Governor. "When the State Con- 
 vention was subsequently held at Albany, this measure 
 assumed a more particular form, and found many adher- 
 ents among the most influential men of his party. As a 
 matter of course there were several other aspirants. Mr. 
 Beach, however, received the nomination on the first bal- 
 lot, the vote being sixty-eight for A. C. Beach against fifty- 
 six as the aggregate vote of the other candidates. As 
 might well be expected, he was called out by the Conven- 
 tion, and appropriately acknowledged the honor conferred 
 upon him. When he returned home the citizens of Water- 
 town welcomed him, in large numbers, irrespective of 
 party. Their congratulations took definite form in an 
 address delivered by Jambs F. Staebuck, Esq. Mr. 
 Beach's response was as follows : 
 
 Citizens op Watertown: — I thank you for tliis spontaneous 
 
 expression of your kindness. I can find no fitting words in which to 
 
 tell you how deeply I am affected by it and by the very flattering 
 
 terms in which you have been pleased to convey that expression 
 
 3 
 
18 MFE SKETCHES. 
 
 through the eloquent and esteemed fellow-citizen who has spoken in 
 your behalf. I came among you nearly twenty years ago, a stranger 
 to you all. Through all those long years you have treated me with 
 uniform kindness and consideration. Ever since my name was first 
 publicly mentioned in connection with the office to which I have 
 been nominated, it has been the hope and the wish, I believe, of all 
 the citizens of Watertown that I should receive that nomination. 
 At the Convention, every man who was there from Jefferson county, 
 as well as a host of warm-hearted friends from other counties, labored 
 in my behalf with the zeal and enthusiasm of brothers ; and never, 
 never while memory remains, can I forget their devotion to me. 
 Fellow-citizens, I never cast a vote anywhere except in Watertown. 
 Of all people in the world, therefore, you best know my political 
 record ; whether it is an honest one, I leave to your judgment, and 
 by that judgment I will cheerfully abide. The present condition of 
 our country is certainly not a happy one. Immense burdens of debt 
 and taxation are resting with crushing weight upon the productive 
 industry of our land. The relations of the States of our Union to 
 each other and to the general government, all concede are not what 
 they should be. Let us, then, laying aside all passion, prejudice 
 and partisanship, endeavor to ascertain and adopt the wisest and 
 surest means of restoring our beloved country to a condition of peace 
 and prosperity. Again thanking you for this manifestation of your 
 good will, I wish you a very good night. 
 
 The results of the election are familiar to all. The 
 Democratic ticket was elected hj immense majorities. 
 Mr. Beach received the highest number of votes of any 
 candidate on his ticket, and his majority was second only 
 to that of Governor Hoffman. He entered upon his 
 duties as President of the Senate with little practical 
 knowledge of parliamentary rules ; and yet, in a short 
 time, he mastered the requirements of his position, quickly 
 evincing a keenness of perception, a readiness in the dis- 
 patch of business, which are acquired by some only by 
 long practice. As a presiding officer he is courteous and 
 dignified, combining suavity with firmness. His personal 
 appearance goes far in awakening a favorable opinion of 
 him in the mind of the spectator. He has a powerful 
 
ALLBN C. BEACH. 19 
 
 physical frame and a face full of character, indicative of 
 the determined will which has gained for him fine legal 
 attainments, good scholarship, and an enviable public 
 position. 
 
 As an advocate of democratic measures and principles, 
 Mr. Beach stands unquestioned ; and his complete identi- 
 fication with them, both in the past and the present, has 
 been rewarded with the entire confidence of his party. 
 This fact was recently exemplified by the position which 
 he held as Chairman of the Democratic State Executive 
 Committee during the last political campaign. 
 
 We cannot close this sketch without saying that the 
 subject of education has been of deep interest to him, 
 receiving his support in all of its progressive tendencies, 
 and finding a champion that can well appreciate its bene- 
 fits. As President of 'the Board of Education of Water- 
 town he has ample opportunities for advancing the educa- 
 tional interests of that city. 
 
HOMER A. NELSON, 
 
 SBCRETAET OF 6TATB, 
 
 HoMEB A. Nelson was born in Poughkeepsie, on the 
 3l8t day of August, 1829. He acquired his education at 
 the District Schools and at the Dutchess County Academy, 
 When not quite sixteen years of age, he entered the law 
 office of Messrs. Tallman' and Dean, in his native village, 
 as clerk and student ; and in that capacity he afterward 
 pursued his legal studies in the office of the Hon. Charles 
 H. RiTGGLES, Vice-Chancellor and Circuit Judge of the 
 Second District of New York, and subsequently in the 
 office of Messrs. Vabick and Eldeidge. 
 
 He was duly admitted to practice as an attorney and 
 Counselor-at-law in all the courts of the State of New 
 York, after due examination before the General Term of 
 the Supreme Court of the Second Judicial District, on the 
 ^th day of October, 1850; and in December following, 
 opened an office at Poughkeepsie and commenced the prac- 
 tice cf his profession. 
 
 His fine legal mind and attainments, and his indefatigable 
 industry and perseverance, soon gained for him prominence 
 at the bar of his native county, a county which has ever 
 been noted for the high character, learning and ability of 
 its lawyers. In 1854, enjoying a practice and a degree 
 of success in his profession rarely so early attained, he 
 entered into a co-partnership with his former preceptor, 
 the Hon. Gilbert Dean, which continued until the 
 appointment of Mr. Dean as Justice of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
HOMER A. NELSOK. 21 
 
 Politically, he has always been an active member of the 
 Democratic party. In 1855, he was, by a large majority, 
 elected County Judge of Dutchess county, and discharged 
 the duties of that position with such marked ability, and 
 so acceptably to the bar and the public, that, on the expi- 
 ration of his first term, in 1859, he received a unanimous 
 re-nomination by the Democratic party, and was re-elected 
 by a large majority, notwithstanding all the other candi- 
 dates upon the Democratic ticket were defeated by major- 
 ities ranging above nine hundred. While performing the 
 duties of County Judge, he was also engaged in a large 
 and successful practice in the higher courts of the State. 
 In 1857, Rutger's College, of New Jersey, conferred upon 
 him the honorary degree of Master of Arts. In February, 
 1859, on motion of Hon. Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, he 
 was admitted as Attorney and Counselor of the United 
 States Supreme Court. 
 
 At the breaking out of the rebellion in 1861, he at once 
 took a decided stand in favor of its suppression by the 
 Government, and was active and strenuous in his advocacy 
 of a vigorous prosecution of the war, addressing numerous 
 public meetings held in Poughkeepsie and throughout 
 Dutchess county, on that subject, maintaining that it was 
 the duty of the people, and especially of the Democratic 
 party, to insist on the perpetuity of the Union, and to 
 resist separation to the utmost power of the Government. 
 
 In 1862, Judge Nelsok was recommended by the War 
 Committee of Dutchess and Columbia counties, to Gov- 
 ernor MoEGAN, for appointment as Colonel of the IBYth 
 Regiment N. Y. Volunteers, then about to be raised. In 
 accordance with this recommendation, he was duly com- 
 missioned to raise such regiment, and with characteristic 
 energy at once proceeded to the performance of that duty, 
 establishing his headquarters at Hudson. Besides con- 
 tributing liberally of his means, he devoted his entire 
 
22 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 time to the patriotic work, and with untiring zeal can- 
 vassed the whole district for the accomplishment of it. 
 When about six hundred volunteers had been raised, his 
 regiment was consolidated with the IS 9th, by which num- 
 ber it was mustered into the United States service, and 
 Judge Nelson was commissioned as its Colonel. 
 
 In November, 1862, he was elected by the Democratic 
 party, representative in Congress from the 12th Congres- 
 sional District of New York, running handsomely ahead 
 of the State ticket in his district. At the earnest solicita- 
 tion of his friends, who believed that his services would 
 be of more value at that ci'isis in the halls of legislation 
 than in the field, he was induced to resign his commission 
 as Colonel, in order that he might take his seat in the 
 House of Kepresentatives, which he did in December, 
 1863. He also resigned the position of County Judge, 
 which he then held. In Congress, he served on the Com- 
 mittee on Indian Affairs and the Committee on Unfinished 
 Business. 
 
 During his entire Congressional term he warmly advo- 
 cated and supported all measui-es for the vigorous prose- 
 cution of the war for the suppression of the rebellion. 
 Shortly after the opeiling of the Second Session of the 
 38th Congress, he openly announced his intention to vote 
 in favor of the adoption of the Constitutional Amendment 
 for the abolition of Slavery. The adoption of this great 
 measure, which gave liberty to millions, without undue 
 assumption, may be considered largely due to the vote 
 and personal efforts of Mr. NELSoif. The Republican 
 party was united and earnest in its support, and the Dem- 
 ocratic party presented an almost unbroken front in 
 opposition ; but Mr. Nelson, with a wise foresight, just 
 appreciation, and commendable independence, gave the 
 measure a resolute and active support, and by his personal 
 
HOMER A. NELSON. 28 
 
 influence induced others to unite with him ; and, had it not 
 been for the vital aid thus rendered, the requisite vote 
 would not have been obtained. 
 
 In the fall of 1865 Judge Nelson was unanimously 
 renominated for Congress, but the district having become 
 overwhelmingly Republican, he failed of re-election. 
 
 At the close of his term in Congress, Judge Nelson 
 returned to the practice of his profession in his native 
 place (declining an important appointment tendered him 
 by the administration of President Lincoln) and by unre- 
 mitting attention and devotion to it, attained the acknowl- 
 edged leadership of the Bar of Dutchess county, as a 
 glance at the court calendar of that county at once shows. 
 
 Prior to the election of delegates to the State Constitu- 
 tional Convention in the spring of IseY, Judge Nelson's 
 name was prominently canvassed before the people, and 
 he was nominated as one of the delegates at large by the 
 Democratic State Convention. 
 
 In that body he served upon one of its most important 
 committees — Finance — and in the discussion of the 
 great questions coming before it he took a conspicuous 
 part, bringing to the consideration of the important 
 subjects submitted to it an ability and attainments which 
 placed him in the front rank of its distinguished members. 
 
 Without any previous canvass on his part, but solely 
 on his merits, and owing to his popularity as a represent- 
 ative man of the Democracy, he was, at the Democratic 
 State Convention in September, 1867, nominated on the 
 first ballot for Secretary of State. 
 
 The verdict of the State Convention was ratified by 
 the people on the 5th day of November, 1867, Judge 
 Nelson leading his ticket handsomely, and his vote 
 (.373,029) being larger than ever before cast for a Demo- 
 cratic nominee for a State office. 
 
24 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 The administration of Secretary Nelsok was marked 
 by a rigid economy, and for promptness and vigilance in 
 the discharge of official duty. 
 
 During the canvass for the renomination of State officers 
 in the fall of 1869, such had been the complete satisfaction 
 given in the discharge of official duty, and as a member 
 of the Canal Board, the Commissioners of the Canal Fund 
 and of the Land Office, and other boards, by Secretary 
 Nelson and his associates, that the entire ticket of 1867 
 was renominated by acclamation at the State Convention 
 held at Syracuse in September, 1869. 
 
 The Republican nomination for Secretary of State, 
 General Feanz Sigel, was a remarkably strong one, and 
 a vigorous canvass was made, which resulted, however, in 
 the re-election of Secretary Nelson and the whole Demo- 
 cratic State ticket headed by him by over twenty thousand 
 majority. 
 
 Affable and pleasing in his address, unpretentious and 
 unostentatious in his demeanor, yet with a quiet dignity 
 and force of character that never fail to win him the 
 place his merits claim, Judge Nelson is generally and 
 deservedly popular. The important trusts which have 
 been committed to his charge, and the eminent position 
 which he now occupies so early in life, furnish another 
 instance of the successful self-made man which is the 
 glory of our republican institutions. 
 
WILLIAM F. ALLEN, 
 
 COMPTEOLLBE. 
 
 The present Comptroller, Judge William F, Allen, 
 was born in Windham county, Connecticut. In 1816, he 
 came with his father and family to reside in Duanesburgh, 
 Schenectady county, in this State, where he passed his 
 younger years. His preparatory studies for college were 
 mostly pursued under private tutors, and he entered 
 Union College two years in advance, in 1825, and gradu- 
 ated two years later, standing high in the honors of his 
 class. 
 
 After graduating, he entered the office, as a student of 
 law, of the late Comptroller, the Hon. John C. Weight, 
 of Schenectady, where he spent some time, but finally 
 finished his clerkship in the office of the late Chaeles M. 
 Lee, of Rochester, one of the most prominent and able 
 lawyers of Western New York, and was admitted to prac- 
 tice in 1829. 
 
 Mr. Allen went to Oswego to practice his profession 
 in 1830, at first entering into partnership with the late 
 Geo. Fishee, who was then contesting a seat in the House 
 of Representatives. Soon after Mr. Allen entered into a 
 law partnership with Hon. A. P. Geant, then and still of 
 Oswego ; and up to the time when he was elected a Jus- 
 tice of the Supreme Court, and of course had to surrender 
 his legal practice, the firm of Geant & Allen was known 
 as one of the most enterprising, able and successful law 
 firms in northern New York. 
 
 Mr. Allen's success in his profession, together with his 
 sociable and amiable qualities, made him very popular with 
 4 
 
26 LIFE SKBXCEES. 
 
 hia party and the public, and he was early looked upon as 
 a very promising young man. Any ofSce within the gift 
 of those by whom he was surrounded might have been 
 his on his acceptance, but he steadily refused all places, 
 however honorable, calculated to lure him from the pursuit 
 of his profession, or which might be an obstacle to his ele- 
 vation .therein. Under the Constitution of 1821, he was, 
 early in his professional career, appointed to the offices of 
 Master and Examiner in Chancery. In 1842, he accepted 
 the Democratic nomination for Member of Assembly, and 
 was elected. He was awarded the important position of 
 Chairman of Committee of Ways and Means in 1843, a 
 rare compliment to a new member in a body composed of 
 very able men.. In 1844, he was re-elected and made 
 Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a position which 
 his legal acquirements enabled him to fill with great 
 credit. 
 
 Something of the rank Mr. Allen held during his brief 
 career as a legislator may be estimated from the position 
 he was awarded in an Assembly in which seats were held 
 by such men as Michael Hoffman, Samuel Young, Claek 
 B. CocHEANE, HoEATio Seymoue, Thos. G. Alvoed and 
 Calvin T. Hulbukd, names then and since prominent 
 among the most distinguished men of New York. 
 
 In 1845, Mr. Allen was appointed by President Polk 
 United States District Attorney for the Northern District 
 of the State of New York, the duties of which position he 
 continued to discharge until after the adoption of the State 
 Constitution of 1846, when he was elected, for a term of 
 eight years, one of the first Justices of the Supreme Court 
 for the Fifth Judicial District of the State, his associates 
 upon the bench being Hon. Chaeles Geat, of Herkimer ; 
 Hon. Daniel Peatt, of Syracuse, and Hon. Philo Geid- 
 LKT, of Utica. 
 
•WHXIAM F. AXLEJT. 21 
 
 It is as a Judge that Mr. Allen is best known, and upon 
 the Bench that he has won the most honorable distinction. 
 It was with much hesitation that the members of the Con- 
 vention of 1846 created an elective judiciary, but the 
 wisdom of that provision was fully vindicated in the ele- 
 vation of such men as Judge Allen to the Bench. His 
 impartial administration, searching investigations, and 
 convincing decisions, established him to such a remarkable 
 degree in public estimation, that, at the expiration of his 
 first term of eight years, he was, regardless of political 
 considerations, unanimously recommended by the Bar of 
 his District for re-election, and his political opponents, 
 in a district where they had the majority, paid him the 
 extraordinary compliment of a unanimous election. As 
 the first had been, so was the second term of Judge Allen, 
 eight years of successful labor. During the last year of 
 each term he, by provision of the Constitution, occupied 
 a seat in the Court of Appeals. There, as elsewhere, he 
 was distinguished for his legal acumen, his discrimination, 
 learning and ability. For sixteen years he was generally 
 acknowledged to be among the ablest, most successful and 
 popular jurists of the State. 
 
 On retiring from the Bench, Judge Allen went to New 
 York city, where he resumed the labors of his profession. 
 His reputation immediately gave him all the practice that 
 it was possible for him to attend to, and he was intrusted 
 with the management of the most important causes. 
 
 Judge Allen's popularity in his own district, and his 
 standing in his party in the State, have made him a marked 
 man. Often has his party made attempts to lure him 
 fi"ora his profession. At one time, his party in his own 
 Congressional district nominated him for Congress, but he 
 promptly and peremptorily declined. Quite frequently 
 
28 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 has his name heen prominently suggested for the exalted 
 position of Governor of the State. 
 
 In 1864, he was appointed by the Secretary of War one 
 of a commission to adjust the matter of credits for recruits 
 due to this State, a matter which had become involved in 
 seemingly inextricable confusion. His associates in this 
 commission were Hon. Chatjkcet Smith of Massachusetts, 
 and Hon. John Love of Indiana. The duty was dis- 
 charged in a manner which called expressions of thanks 
 and gratitude from all classes of people in the State. 
 
 During the summer of 1867, Judge Allen again 
 removed his residence to Oswego, where he was residing 
 when his party nominated him for the important and re- 
 sponsible office to which he was elected in November last. 
 That a large pecuniary sacrifice was involved in his accept- 
 ance of the position no one can doubt. But he sniTen- 
 dered his individual wishes and interests to the judgment 
 of his political friends. His department is one of the most 
 important in the political economy of the State. The 
 same success and fidelity to the public interests has dis- 
 tinguished him in that position which has through life 
 characterized his public career, no one who knows him can 
 doubt. He was re-elected at the last election. 
 
 In private life Judge Allen is genial, friendly and popu- 
 lar. He has been an unwavering, life-long Democrat. He 
 has been for many years a prominent and consistent member 
 of the Presbyterian Church of his own city, and in all the 
 relations of society he sustains the reputation and the char- 
 acter of a consistent Christian and a good citizen. 
 
MARSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN, 
 
 ATTOENEY-GBNEEAL. 
 
 Maeshali, Bolds Champi-ain, Attorney-General of tho 
 State, is a direct descendant from the discoverer of Lake 
 Champlain, and is therefore, on his father's side, of French 
 extraction. His mother's family were originally from Ire- 
 land. He unites in himself the ease and affability of the 
 former nation with the fervency and ardor of the latter 
 race. His father, Gilbeet B. Champlain, was a success- 
 ful physician, who served as a hospital surgeon during the 
 war of 1812, and subsequently, for thirty years, enjoyed 
 an extensive practice in the western part of the State. He 
 was a man of great energy of character, and brilliant and 
 cultivated mind. He died in 1852. 
 
 Mr. Champlain was born in Stafford, Genesee county, 
 December 22, 1824, In his early years the family removed 
 to Cuba, Allegany county, where he has since continued 
 to reside. His education was confined, so far as scholastic 
 instruction was concerned, to the common schools, except 
 when, for a short period, he attended the Middlebury 
 Academy, in Wyoming county. But what young Cham- 
 plain lacked in the advantages afforded by academies and 
 colleges, he made up by that without which even those 
 aids are useless — a determination to acquire knowledge, 
 and untiring assiduity in its pursuit. His father could 
 not aid him pecuniarily, and he received no help from 
 friends. But the obstacles of poverty were nothing to his 
 will, and the fountain of knowledge could not remain 
 unreached by him. 
 
 The young student read law with Jambs A. Gueenset, 
 of Pittgford, Monroe County, and Hon, A, S. Divbn, 
 
30 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 of Angelica, and at the early age of eighteen was gratified 
 by being admitted to the Bar, and was soon rewarded by 
 a good practice, which rapidly extended throughout Alle- 
 gany and the adjoining counties. The youthful practi- 
 tioner was not long in attracting the attention of the 
 leading men in his section, and in January, 1845, he was 
 appointed by the Allegany Court of Common Pleas to the 
 position of District Attorney of the county. He was ad- 
 mitted a Counsellor of the Supreme Court, " ex gratia," 
 to enable him to accept the office, which he filled four 
 years. While he held that position, he was of course 
 brought more prominently to the attention of the public. 
 His personal appearance and manner were calculated to 
 impress a jury as but few criminal pleaders are able to do. 
 Of medium height and erect carriage, piercing eye, dark 
 hair, and dark olive complexion, with a countenance ex- 
 pressing intelligence and confidence, when h^ arose for a 
 forensic effort, not even his youth could prevent a stranger 
 from expecting a superior display of oratorial ability and 
 legal acumen. And no disappointment followed. His 
 voice swelled full and clear, his statements of fact were 
 concentrated, earnest and plain, and as he warmed with 
 his subject, he would become impressive and fervent, play- 
 ing upon the sympathies and passions of listeners with a 
 master's hand. At the end of four years he retired from 
 the office of District Attorney to the prosecution of an 
 extensive and remunerative practice. 
 
 Such marked talents necessarily commended their pos- 
 sessor for political preferment. In 1851, he was prevailed 
 upon to accept a nomination for State Senator. The dis- 
 trict was strongly Whig, by a usual majority of 1,500. 
 The previous candidate wa,s James R. Doolittle, now 
 United States Senator from Wisconsin. His opponent was 
 General John A. McElwain, of Wyoming county, who 
 
MAESHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. , 31 
 
 was elected by a majority of only 232 votes. Mr. Cham- 
 plain's popularity having been thus attested, he -was 
 nominated the following year for Member of Assembly 
 for Allegany county, and was elected by a large majority. 
 He was the last Democratic member chosen from that 
 county. 
 
 The Assembly of 1853 was one of the most important, 
 in the business that came before it, of any that has ever 
 convened. In it, Mr. Champlahst attained a brilliant repu- 
 tation. His perceptions were quick and strong ; his mind 
 clear and discriminating ; his judgment sagacious and 
 prudent ; his reasoning logical and convincing. Besides, 
 he soon acquired an intimate knowledge of parliamentary 
 law, and was from the first a ready as well as an able 
 debater. A newspaper of that day of opposing politics, 
 said of him : " He is a young man of much promise, and, 
 unless we much mistake, will yet distinguish himself 
 among the public men of the State." He was a member 
 of the Canal Committee, and made a vigorous speech in 
 defense of the canal policy of Hoeatio Setmoue, then 
 Governor of the State. The occasion of his first partici- 
 pation, in any marked manner, in the proceedings of the 
 House, was an interesting one. On the discussion of some 
 financial resolutions the excitement ran high, and one 
 member refused to vote when his name was called. The 
 Speaker, Hon. Williast H. Ludlow, at once ordered him 
 under arrest. General BuEEOtrGHS, of Orleans, who led 
 the oppositiO|n, thought to avail himself of the occurrence 
 to intensify the feeling, widen a breach in the majority, 
 and compel the Speaker to resign. At the opening of the 
 session the next morning, he ofiered, as a privileged ques- 
 tion, a resolution of censure, declaring the act of the 
 Speaker an exercise of arbitrary power, unwarranted by 
 the laws and Constitution of the State, and supported the 
 
32 , LIFE SKBTCHBS. 
 
 resolution in a speech of great force. Mr. Ohamplain 
 responded in defense of the Speaker. It was off-hand, but 
 clear and irresistible in its exposition of parliamentary- 
 law. Before his speech, it seemed that the combination of 
 factions, supported by the able effort of Mr. Bueeoughs, 
 would be successful, but Mr. Champlain turned the tide, 
 and the Speaker was sustained by an almost unanimous 
 vote. 
 
 No more significant evidence of the estimation in which 
 Mr. Champlain was held can be given than the position 
 assigned him in the corruption and impeachment proceed- 
 ings of the session. He was Chairman of the Select 
 Committee ordered to inquire into the conduct of the State 
 oflScers, and submitted a report which resulted in a resolu- 
 tion impeaching Canal Commissioner John C. Mathek. 
 His speech in support of his resolution exhibited great 
 research, eloquence and power. We make short extracts, 
 showing at once what he regarded as the hope and danger 
 of our institutions. Would that its admonitions might be 
 more generally heeded ! He said : 
 
 " New York lias a mission to perform. It is to advance this Re- 
 public to the highest position of nations,! glory, or to sink it to the 
 lowest depths of national degradation. New York shall mould 
 the destiny of this empire. Her morals, her policy, her public order, 
 and her justice and liberty shall impress and give direction to the 
 American Republic. 
 
 " Sir, I have nearly done. I do not demand the condemnation of 
 John C. Mathek — I have no right to demand it — you have no power 
 to grant it. Were I his enemy, which I am not, were all the hate, 
 personal or political, rankling in any human bosom against him, 
 concentrated in my own ; and did I stand upon this floor to gratify 
 that hate, and blast his earthly hopes, I would not dare to demand 
 more than his trial — a fair, impartial trial, I do not know that he 
 has an enemy in the world — whatever of party hate and party 
 asperity may exist elsewhere, I implore you to let it not enter these 
 halls. We have a consolation in the reflection, that, if we adopt 
 
MARSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. 33 
 
 this resolution, we shall commit his case to a tribunal high above 
 such unhallowed influences. While, on the one hand, we throw 
 around the case of the accused a generous and noble sympathy — 
 while we guard with vigilance private right and personal liberty, 
 we must remember that we have no tears to weep over buried hopes ; 
 that we cannot twine myrtle to decorate the funeral car of a declin- 
 ing political reputation — that we cannot lay in a common grave the 
 sacred trust committed to our hands by the laws and Constitution 
 of our country. But seventy-seven years have gone down the rapid 
 tide of time since 
 
 " ' The bonnding isles of the dim woods rang with anthems of the free. 
 "Have we proved the duration of our system of free government? 
 Need I refer you to the republics of the Old World ? We are famil- 
 iar with their fabled history, we have read of their splendors, their 
 glories, their trophies, their temples, their triumphal arches, the free 
 spirit of liberty that pervaded them, their decline and their ruin. 
 How they crumbled and passed away in the melancholy drama of 
 destruction. One startling truth has been recorded o'er the ruin 
 upon the sacred cenotaph of time. History tells us that ' all the 
 illusions of ambition realized, all the wealth of a universal commerce, 
 all the achievements of successful heroism, or all the establishments 
 of this world's wisdom, cannot secure to empire the jiermanency of 
 its possession.' * » * * 
 
 " If property is invaded, if laws are violated, if personal liberty is 
 compromised — the people appeal with a firm confidence to the 
 courts — the judicial tribunals of the land. If the judgment seat 
 becomes corrupted, its ermine sullied, they appeal to the Assembly. 
 If public officers are guilty of a dereliction of oificial duty, if public 
 laws are disobeyed and the public weal neglected, they come with 
 strong reliance upon the purity, the firmness of the People's Assem- 
 bly. There is no other tribunal to which the}' can appeal. Here, 
 in the jury box of the grand inquest of the commonwealth, their 
 dearest hopes are centered. Here shall be the last great struggle 
 between that confiding people and the destroyer — the corrupting 
 moneyed power, which is filing off the iron bars of your Constitu- 
 tion. Here is the palladium of their liberties. Here that liberty, if 
 ever subverted, akaJl be cloven down." 
 
 The resolution of impeachment was adopted by more 
 than a two-third vote. 
 
 5 
 
34 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. Champlain was selected by the Assembly as one of 
 its Managers, to conduct the trial before the High Court 
 of Impeachmeut. John K. Poetbe was selected as coun- 
 sel for the Managers. They were opposed by Hon. Rurus 
 W. Peckham, Hon. James T. Beady and Hon. John H. 
 Reynolds, who appeared as counsel for the accused. Mr. 
 Champlain took an important part in the debate. His 
 argument in regard to the general law governing impeach- 
 ment cases is so cogent and able that we make liberal 
 extracts from it. Events which have recently excited the 
 country impart to his remarks fresh interest. He said : 
 
 " All power is inherent in the people. They have granted to their 
 immediate representatives, the Assembly, the right of impeachment. 
 This branch of government is nearest to them, and reflects their 
 wants, and will the more vigilantly guard their rights. It is a power 
 to accuse; to say what acts in a public officer are sufficient in turpi- 
 tude to demand his removal from office ; what acts disgrace the 
 official and dishonor the State. The Constitution gives this tribunal 
 simply the power to try the fact and pronounce the judgment. If 
 you have jurisdiction of the officer, then the duty is solemnly en- 
 joined to try the accusation preferred, and if proven to be true in 
 point of fact, to declare the j udgment. 
 
 " The Constitution does not vest the power to impeach or accuse 
 conjointly in the Assembly and the Court. Tt is exclusive with the 
 Assembly. If the Court may revise and modify the articles of im- 
 peachment, or strike out accusations, what is it but a reversal of the 
 action of the Assembly, and an exercise of the function of impeach- 
 ment? We claim it would be a usurpation of a constitutional pre- 
 rogative of the Assembly, and an invasion of the solemn rights of 
 the people. No court can despoil the popular branch of the Legis- 
 lature of this power. Judicial opinion, the waves of partisan 
 prej udice, or passion, may beat upon it in vain, but they cannot 
 subvert it. It is founded in the Constitution itself, and upheld by 
 the spirit and /power of a free-born people. As a precedent, such 
 an adjudication is full of danger. Suppose that the people by their 
 verdict, which would be the judgment of the highest tribunal in 
 the world, should reassert this prerogative ; that, rising in their 
 
MARSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. 35 
 
 primitive power and energy, they should affirm that the riglit of 
 ira peacliment is vested alone by the Constitution in the Assembly, 
 actinor through their immediate representatives, they place the pro- 
 mulgation of that constitutional right in the solemn form of an 
 impeachment against the judges who have invaded it I This tribu- 
 nal could again usurp a jurisdiction they do not possess; again 
 invade the prerogatives of the House ; again mutilate the record of 
 accusation ; again strike out the articles that impugned them, declare 
 their own immunity, and beat down in the dust the constitutional 
 power of the people and their Assembly ; and thus the order and 
 harmony of the government would be subverted. The great bul- 
 wark of the people, reared against vice and corruption in the gov- 
 ernment, would be annihilated, and a revolution only could , apply 
 the remedy. 
 
 " Sir, standing here in the highest tribunal of the commonwealth 
 whose humble agent I am, the dictates of a high duty compel me 
 most solemnly to protest against the exercise of this power. Its 
 usurpation now and in this case, may not fix the public attention or 
 arouse the public fears. The event may pass from the public mind 
 like the fleeting clouds upon the horizon, but a conviction weighs 
 upon me that the time shall come, and come as swiftly as the en- 
 gendering corruptions of the age can bring it, when this sacred 
 principle ol constitutional right in the Assembly will be vindicated 
 by the recuperative power in the people. The fair fabric of civil 
 government may totter to the fall. The absence of public virtue 
 in government officials may enshroud all in gloom. The darkness 
 of political decay and ruin may o'ershadow the land. But this great 
 principle regenerated, breaking forth like the bright effulgence of 
 morning, shall dispel the darkness, and give back to the people's 
 Assembly the high prerogative of which they had been despoiled, 
 and restore to a violated Constitution its departed splendor. 
 
 " This brings me to the examination of the question raised by 
 the counsel, whether an act to be impeachable must be an indicta- 
 ble offense. We shall maintain, that, by the Common Law, to 
 which the counsel has appealed, by the usage of Parliament, by all 
 the authorities upon this subject, it is not necessary that an act, in 
 order to be impeacTidble, sJiould be indictable as a crime at Common 
 Law, or by any Statute. We can follow the counsel in his argu- 
 ment, until he refers to the Common Law, to define impeachable 
 acts, and then we choose to refer to one branch of that Law, and he 
 
36 lilFE SKETCHES. 
 
 to another. He goes to the provisions of the Common Law, which 
 define indictable crimes — felonies and misdemeanors as such. We 
 prefer to go to that portion which defines what shall constitute im- 
 peachcAle crimes and misdemeanors ; and we claim that the Common 
 Law of impeachments, the usage of Parliament, clearly establishes, 
 from the very nature of the proceeding, that the act for which an 
 impeachment may be instituted need not consist of an indictable 
 crime." 
 
 Citations of several cases follo-w. 
 
 "It will be perceived that these cases fully establish the doctrine 
 that an impeachment may be preferred for a usurpatibu of power, 
 for an excess of iurisdiction, and, as Mr. Justice Stort says, for neg- 
 lects or malversations in office. What those neglects or malversa- 
 tions shaU he is not defined, and I think the counsel will nowhere 
 find, by the authority of any tribunal, that the precise class of acts 
 of official misconduct, which are impeachable, have been specified. 
 They cannot be laid down, for the reason that it is a matter which 
 cannot be exactly defined. It may vary with the varying interests 
 of the community, or the changing policy of government. The 
 right is reserved to the impeaching body to judge for what sort of 
 misconduct, or for what magnitude of misconduct, an impeachment 
 may be preferred. When the policy of a government becomes 
 fixed, whatever is opposed to that policy, whatever acts in a public 
 office conflict with and affect adversely the public weal, those acts 
 become impeachable. The officer is bound to support the laws, 
 the policy, the prosperity and the honor of the government he repre- 
 sents. When he neglects this, or acts in direct conflict with them, 
 then he forfeits his trust, he violates the compact under which he 
 accepted the franchise, and becomes liable to be removed by impeach- 
 ment." 
 
 " The theory of this motion is not only that the official who is 
 upon trial has usurped an important prerogative, not only that he 
 has been guilty of a gross excess of official power, but that the dark 
 outline of his acts has been filled up by corruption — ^foul corruption. 
 This is conceded by the motion ; and it at the same time asserts that 
 he is not liable to trial or removal. We charge him, in the first five 
 articles, with having awarded contracts for $6,000,000 of work. His 
 counsel come before this tribunal and say this was a usurpation of 
 power ; he had no right to do it. They strike from around hirn all 
 
MABSHAT.T, B. CHAMPLAIN. 37 
 
 semblance of law, all semblance of official authority. They concede 
 that, in the usurpation of that power, and in its exercise, he disgraced 
 his office and was guilty of corruption. And yet, the startling and 
 monstrous doctrine is advanced, that the State is powerless to dis- 
 solve its connection with this delinquent. Mr. Justice Story says 
 that it is the purpose of an impeachment to withdraw from the hands 
 of an official a trust that he has betrayed. It is the purpose of an 
 impeachment to take back from an officer an office that the people 
 have conferred upon him, when, by any act in the exercise of that 
 office, usurped or not, assumed or not, indictable or not, he has shown 
 himself unworthy longer to hold it. Why, sir, it seems to me, that, 
 if this doctrine is to be maintained, disgrace and infamy, long and 
 lasting, may be inflicted upon the fair escutcheon of a State or 
 Nation, with no power in the government of either to rid itself of 
 the unworthy official. Shall it be said that a conspiracy, a corrup- 
 tion, under even an assumed power, is not a disgrace to the officer ? 
 Shall it be said that it is not official misconduct? Shall it be said 
 that it is not dishonorable ? It is dishonorable to all to whom honor 
 is dear. Shall it be said that an officer may not show himself, by the 
 manner in which he executes an unconstitutional law, entirely unfit 
 to execute a valid law ? Why, sir, crime, in the conduct of high offi- 
 cials, has but to be ingenious and studiously avoid the inhibitions of 
 criminal law, by steering clear of an indictment, and, according to 
 this doctrine, the State would be utterly powerless to discharge from 
 her temples the unworthy official, or dissolve her connection with 
 him. It is not enough that the commonwealth has suffered a deep 
 pecuniary inj ury. It is not enough that a dark cloud has been thrown 
 athwart the pathway of her advancement in public glory. It is not 
 enough that the generous sensibilities of her citizens have been 
 deeply wounded by her dishonor. But you are called upon solemnly 
 to declare that she cannot divorce herself from the unworthy agent 
 who has betrayed her ; that she must, although struggling to avert 
 the catastrophe, become an accomplice in the crime, by continuing 
 the official character of the criminal." 
 
 The court denied the motion against which the argu- 
 ment of Mr. Champlain had been directed. 
 
 Mr. Champlain's coolness and skill on the floor, with 
 his superior abilities, secured for him the acknowledged 
 
38 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 position of leader of his party in the House. It was dur- 
 ing this session that dissensions began in the Democratic 
 party. The inaugural address of President Pierce was 
 the occasion for a development of this division. Resolu- 
 tions indorsing the Inaugural were introduced, but they 
 were deemed too faltering and cold by others, and addi- 
 tional resolutions more full and hearty were offered. These 
 were sustained by Mr. Champlain in an eloquent 
 impromptu speech, which was copied by the leading Demo- 
 cratic papers of the country, and elicited the warmest 
 encomiums from the friends of the President. 
 
 Mr. Champlain has always been a consistent Democrat. 
 His first participation in politics was in 1844, when he took 
 the stump for James K. Poi-k, as he also did in 1848 for 
 Lewis Cass. He has supported every Democratic candi- 
 date for the Presidency since that time. He was admitted 
 to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1858, on 
 motion of Mr. Black. He was a delegate to the Charles- 
 ton Convention in 1860, supported Douglas, and was 
 chosen to present the claims of the N'ew York delegates. 
 In 1861, upon the withdrawal of Hon. Lyman Teemain 
 as candidate for Attorney-General, Mr. Champlain was 
 substituted. In July, 1862, Governor Moegan appointed 
 him a member of the War Committee of his Congressional 
 District, and, in conjunction with Hon. Maetin Geovee 
 and Hon. Wilkes Angel, the duty was well and faithfully 
 performed. He was again nominated for Attorney-Gen- 
 eral in 1863. In 1864, he was a delegate to the Chicago 
 Convention, favoring the nomination of Gen. McClellan. 
 In April, 186'?, he was elected a Delegate at Large to the 
 Constitutional Convention of this State, where his partici- 
 pation in the debates exhibited the same finish, clearness 
 and power which has always characterized his efforts. 
 His sneeches upon the Rights of Naturalized Citizens, 
 
MARSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. 39 
 
 Suffrage, National Banks and in Defense of Personal 
 Liberty, attracted wide attention for their forcible declara- 
 tion of his sentiments on those subjects. That upon 
 " Personal Liberty " has been extensively published in 
 Democratic papers from Maine to California. He was 
 elected Attorney-General in the fall of 1867. His popular- 
 ity in his own section of the State was attested by the fact 
 that, in the town in which he resides, he ran 150 ahead of 
 his ticket ; in the county about five hundred, and largely 
 also in the adjoining counties; and his course justified his 
 selection for the same position for another term. 
 
 Mr. Champlain has served out his term of tAvo years, 
 as Attorney-General, with distinguished ability. 
 
 In March, 1868, the Democratic State Convention as- 
 sembled at Tweddle Hall, Albany, to choose delegates to 
 the National Convention. 
 
 It was an assemblage of the ablest men in the party. 
 The Convention was organized by the appointment of Mr, 
 Champlain as its permanent President, — waiving the 
 usual temporary organization, a compliment so rare in 
 the history of the conventions of his party, that it was 
 only once before conferred, upon Governor Seymour, a 
 flattering evidence of the great popularity of the recipi- 
 ent. 
 
 His opening speech, beginning with the exordium ad- 
 dressed to the representatives of the Democracy, "We 
 have met to collect the tangled shreds of American liberty 
 and weave anew the shattered fabric of the republic," was 
 a model of power and eloquence. 
 
 Mr. Champlain has, during his official term, participated 
 in many important trials. He has met in the forum the 
 giants of the legal profession in the State, and has been 
 able to cope with them, advancing his professional reputa- 
 tion. 
 
40 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 His first appearance in a capital case (by order of Gov- 
 ernor Fenton) was on the trial of Joseph Bkown before 
 the oyfer and terminer of Columbia county in April, 1868. 
 This case stands as one of the most celebrated in the annals 
 of criminal jurisprudence. Brown had abducted a little 
 girl eleven years old from Ohio, — insured her life for 
 $5,000, — taken her to an obscure town in Columbia 
 county, — murdered her and then fired the house to con- 
 ceal the crime and buried the charred remains in the State 
 of Connecticut. Three States were made the theatre of 
 his crime, which involved abduction, fraud, peijury, arson 
 and murder. A charge involving such gradations of turpi- 
 tude and to be supported by circumstantial evidence alone, 
 would call, in its investigation, for the highest legal talent 
 and professional skill. Mr. Champlain in his conduct of 
 the case, in aid of the District Attorney, more than justi- 
 fied the expectations of his friends. 
 
 Brown was convicted and executed. 
 
 A paper, opposed to Mr. Champlain, politically, thus 
 speaks of his efibrt : 
 
 " The first appearance of Attorney-General Champlain 
 in an important case was in the trial of the murderer 
 Brown, at Hudson. The trial excited great interest, and 
 was concluded on the fourth day, resulting in the convic- 
 tion of the accused. The papers speak in the highest 
 terms of the management of the case by the Attorney- 
 General. The correspondent of the Poughkeepsie EagU 
 (Rep.) refers to the summing up as follows : 
 
 " When Mr. Andrews, the counsel for the prisoners, had 
 concluded, Attorney-General Marshall B. Champlain then 
 summed up for the prosecution. His was, indeed, an 
 eloquent address. Step by step, he followed the Browns 
 from Dayton, Ohio, then to Cleveland, where the |5,000 
 insurance was efiected on Angle Brown's life; then to 
 Caanan, where, in September, Brown hired a house for a 
 month, and then to the tea table half an hour before the 
 
MAKSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. 41 
 
 fire and the death of Angle Brown occurred. After that 
 came the eloquence. The counsel, in harrowing language, 
 pictured the remains of the dead child and the evidence of 
 guilt so graphically, that for a moment one-half of the 
 audience was in tears." 
 
 He was appointed by Governor Fenton to assist upon 
 the trial of Thompson, at Troy, — a case that, from its 
 attendant circumstances, excited great public interest. 
 The Troy Times, the leading Republican organ in that 
 county, paid him the following merited compliment in 
 regard to his effort before the jury: 
 
 " There was great anxiety to hear this gentleman, who 
 sat by dui'ing the progress of the trial apparently quite an 
 indifferent spectator of the scene. He spoke with great 
 eloquence and power, and made some strong points in his 
 analysis of the testimony. He said he did not come here 
 to prosecute the prisoner, seeking his life's blood, but to 
 preserve, if possible, the integrity of the law, and to see 
 to it that the public justice is administered. The jury 
 must not permit sympathy for the prisoner's wife and 
 mother to exercise any influence upon their minds, and 
 they must remember that there is another widowed mother 
 mourning over the desolation of her household, and a 
 young wife waiting, waiting, not for the return of her hus- 
 band, but for the time when she shall be called to him in 
 the region beyond the skies. At times the Attorney-Gen- 
 eral was very eloquent, and more than justified the antici- 
 pations which his reputation had created in the minds of 
 those who heard him for the first time. Judge Hogeboom 
 was an attentive listener throughout Mr. Champlain's 
 address — a compliment rarely paid by the court to 
 counsel." 
 
 Prom the many testimonials of approval by the press, 
 without distinction of party, with which Mr. Champlain 
 has been favored during his official term, we will only add 
 that, upon the trial of Higgins, for murder in Jefferson 
 county in December last, in the afternoon, the large court 
 6 
 
42 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 room was filled to overflowing, and many were obliged to 
 go away unable to find admission. This large crowd was 
 in anticipation of the speech of Attorney-General Cham- 
 plain. A large number of ladies were present, comprising 
 a great share of the grace and beauty of Watertown. 
 
 At the close of Judge Hubbaed's speech, Attorney- 
 General Champlain summed up for the prosecution, in a 
 masterly speech. He rapidly reviewed the testimony, 
 making his points briefly and clearly, and in a most elo- 
 quent and impressive manner, bringing his arguments 
 home to the minds of all who heard him. The medical 
 testimony was handled in an able manner, and the stories 
 of the various witnesses were linked together, showing the 
 progress of the tragedy, step by step, until tbe victim 
 expired in death. Judge Hubbard had summed up the 
 case for the defense with great earnestness and rare 
 ingenuity. But all were charmed with the efiect of the 
 effort of the Attorney-General, and it was the universal 
 voice when he had concluded, that his speech was the most 
 effective and able ever delivered in that hall. Higgins 
 was convicted of manslaughter and sent to State Prison 
 for a term of years. 
 
 Mr. Champlain" was renominated for Attorney-General 
 at the State Convention of his party in the fall of 1869, 
 with the other State officers by acclamation. 
 
 It is a flattering compliment to Mr. Champlain, who 
 was reelected on increased vote, that it was mainly all 
 received in the section of the State in which he resides. 
 He ran a thousand ahead in Allegany county, and received 
 nearly the entire vote in the town of his residence, and led 
 his ticket handsomely in all the adjoining counties. 
 
 Fearless, able, firm and upright in public life, Mr. Cham- 
 plain is also honored in private life. As a neighbor and 
 citizen, he is honored; his social qualities render him a 
 
MARSHALL B. CHAMPLAIN. 43 
 
 favorite in society, and his kindliness of heart, manifested 
 in practical deeds of love, have attached him to the more 
 humble. 
 
WHEELER H. BRISTOL, 
 
 STATE TEEASUKEE. 
 
 Mr. Beisxol was 'born in Canaan, Colum'bia county, 
 New York, January 16, 1818. He had none of the advan- 
 tages of education except such as were derived from the 
 common schools of the country. During his boyhood ho 
 devoted his time to agricultural pursuits. At the age of 
 eighteen he left home and became engaged with an 
 engineering party upon the construction of the Utica and 
 Schenectady railroad. Upon the completion of that work 
 he went to Ohio and was engaged in various kinds of 
 business until 1847, when he became engaged upon the 
 construction of the New York and Erie railroad, where 
 he remained until 1854, when he was appointed Assistant 
 Superintendent of the Ohio and Mississippi railroad at 
 Cincinnati, and continued upon that road until 1857, when 
 he became one of the firm known as the McCallum Bridge 
 Company in Cincinnati, and has continued as such during 
 the past ten years, spending most of his time in the con- 
 struction of bridges in the Western and Southern States. 
 In 1863 and 1864, he was engaged in re-building bridges 
 for the Government, which had been destroyed by the 
 Confederate army to impede the progress of our soldiers. 
 Among the prominent bridges re-constructed were the 
 bridges at Bridgeport, Alabama, and London, Tennessee, 
 and many others in the same States. In 1853, he was 
 appointed by Governor Seymoue to fill the vacancy in the 
 office of State Engineer, caused by the resignation of W. 
 J. McAlpine, but business arrangements compelled him 
 to decline the appointment. He was nominated upon the 
 
"WHEELEB H. BRISTOL. 45 
 
 Democratic ticket in 1853, for State Engineer, but the 
 election resulted in the success of John T. Claek, 
 the "Whig candidate. The Democrats of Tioga county- 
 nominated him for Member of Assembly in 1863 and 1864, 
 and although defeated in both elections, he ran largely 
 ahead of his ticket, reducing the usual majority of 1,200 
 to about 350. He has held the oiBce of Supervisor of the 
 town of Tioga for the past two years, and was the only 
 Democratic Supervisor in the county. 
 
 Mr. Bristol has always acted with the Democratic 
 party. He gave liberally toward the support of the 
 Government during the war, and sustained the Adminis- 
 tration in its efforts to maintain the Union. He has 
 always been steadfast and firm in his devotion to the Con- 
 stitution, and opposed to every infringement of this heri- 
 tage of the Nation. Possessed of ample means, mainly the 
 result of his own remarkable energy, his liberal hand is 
 ever open to the poor, and ready to help forward the 
 enterprise of his neighbors. Whatever is of public interest 
 finds in him ready co-operation. Though largely engaged 
 in business, both in Cincinnati and Owego, at which latter 
 place he has entensive iron works, he yet finds time to take 
 an active part in all matters of local interest, political and 
 social. He is a vestryman in his parish church, and gives 
 to it a sincere interest and most liberal support, though 
 not a communicant. The beauty of his residence at Glen 
 Mary, near Owego, the former home of N. P. Willis, and 
 named by him, is not more attractive than the hearty 
 hospitality that generously awaits those who visit it. 
 His character is read in his fine frank face, as a man 
 who despises sham. He is outspoken and fearless, never 
 courting popularity, and in consequence possessed of 
 the more. He is untiring in energy, and courageous in 
 what he believes to be his duty. Of the high estimate in 
 
46 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 which his character is held as a citizen and man by those 
 who know him best, no stronger assurance could be given 
 than the vote of his county, which is strongly Republican, 
 where he ran largely ahead of his ticket in the hitc can- 
 vass. 
 
 He was elected Treasurer of the State of New York in 
 November, 1867, on the Democratic ticket, by a majority 
 of 48,000. He discharged his duties faithfully and well, 
 and was re-elected with his fellow State Officers in 1860. 
 
VAN RENSSELAER RICHMOND, 
 
 STATE ENGINEER AND SURVEYOR. 
 
 Van R. Richmond is a life-long engineer. He is thor- 
 oughly conversant with all the duties of that position on 
 the canals. He was born in Preston, Chenango county, 
 in January, 1812, being the eldest son of Oliver Rich- 
 mond. His father was a farmer, who died in 1853, at an 
 advanced age. The son was educated at the Academy in 
 Oxford, Chenango county, receiving a first rate practical 
 business education. 
 
 Mr. Richmond, on attaining his majority, became engaged 
 upon the Chenango canal, then in process of construction, 
 and received from the State the appointment of Chairman 
 in the engineering force. He remained on this canal, 
 gradually rising in point of rank, until 18.37, when he was 
 appointed Resident Engineer on the Erie canal, and took 
 up his residence in Lyons. In 1842, he was placed in 
 charge of the entire Middle Division, under Jonas Eaki.l 
 and Daniel P. Bissell, as Canal Commissioners. He held 
 this position until 1848, when he resigned, in order to 
 accept an appointment on the Oswego railroad. 
 
 About this time, the Canal Board decided to run a line 
 for the enlarged canal from Jordan to the Cayuga Marshes. 
 This work, including the aqueduct across the Seneca 
 river, will be recognized as one of the most important 
 along the entire canal. The Board, appreciating the neces- 
 sity of having the most accomplished engineer to design 
 the construction, after canvassing the merits of every man 
 in their employ, and, in fact, of all the leading engineers 
 of the State, selected Mr. Richmond as the man to Avhom 
 
48 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 the trust could be most safely confided. The value of this 
 choice will be the more readily understood, when we state 
 that the Board was Whig in politics, while Mr. R. had 
 never been any thing else than a Democrat. He accepted 
 an appointment so flattering;- perfected his plans, including 
 the aqueduct, submitted them, and they were approved. 
 They still remain, the most telling evidences of the skill, 
 capacity and genius of their designer. Having satisfac- 
 torily arranged the plan, Mr. R. resigned in 1850. 
 
 He was at once tendered, and accepted, the office of 
 Division Engineer of the Syracuse and Rochester direct 
 railroad, which he held until 1852, when he was again 
 appointed Division Engineer of the Middle Division of 
 the Canals. A Whig Canal Board was again elected in the 
 fall of 1853, the Hon. John T. Claek being chosen State 
 Engineer. Very persistent efibrts were made to secure 
 the removal of Mr. Richmond, but Mr. Clakk turned 
 away the most powerful influences, deciding to retain his 
 services, a fact than which none could bear stronger testi- 
 mony to his personal fitness and worth. The American 
 party assumed control of the Canal Board in 1856, and at 
 once removed Mr. R., for the only time in his life. He 
 thereupon retired to his home in Lyons, where he resided 
 until January, 1858, when, in obedience to the voice of the 
 people, as expressed in the election of the preceding fall, he 
 entered upon the discharge of the duties of the ofiice of State 
 Engineer and Surveyor. He acquitted himself to the entire 
 satisfaction of the business public during the two years of his 
 term, retiring with honor and additional credit. He was 
 again elected in 1867. He is, of course, rendering entire 
 satisfaction to the public in the method of his administra- 
 tion. 
 
 Of Mr. Richmond's superior abilities as an engineer we 
 need not speak. The tributes to his capacities which we 
 
VAN EENSSEtAEE RICHMOND. 49 
 
 have recorded are a sufficient attestation. He is also 
 industrious, upright, faithful and energetic. He is of a 
 tall and slender form, but is, nevertheless, capable of much 
 physical endurance. His complexion is fair, hair light, 
 eyes light blue. In short, he is an athlete, in mind and 
 body. 
 
SENATORS. 
 
 A. BLEECKEK BANKS. 
 
 A. Blbeckee Banks, the Senator from the Thirteenth 
 District, was born in the city of New York March 7, ] 835. 
 His father, David Banks, is one of the oldest business 
 men of New York, having established a law book publish- 
 ing house in that city as eiirly as 1802, and soon after 
 connected with the same a br.anch house at Albany, the 
 capital of the State. These establishments are now car- 
 ried on by the sons of the founder, the present Senator 
 being at the head of the branch house at Albany. 
 
 Mr. Banks was educated to business, and at an early 
 age became familiar with all the various branches of trade 
 connected Tvith printing and publishing books. The char- 
 acter of the business in which his father was engaged 
 brought him in contact with men of the highest reputa- 
 tion, and made him familiar with authors whose woi'ks 
 must continue to remain the standard of law literature for 
 many generations to come. The influence thus exerted 
 over his mind was not lost. It tended to shape his future 
 course and inspired him with an ambition to make his 
 own influence felt among those with whom he might be 
 called upon to associate. At the age of nineteen he 
 entered Columbia College and enjoyed the benefits of that 
 
52 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 renowned institution. In 1 85 V, when but twenty-two years 
 of age, he assumed the management of the Albany-pub- 
 lishing house of Banks & Beothbes, and became one of 
 the partners. In 1860 he was the Democratic candidate 
 for the Assembly in the Second District, Albany county. 
 The odds were vastly against him, but his popularity was 
 such that he cut down the large Republican majority of 
 the previous year to 265. In 1861 he changed his resi- 
 dence to the Third, or what is better known as the City 
 District, and was again put in nomination for the Assem- 
 bly. This effort proved a success, and he was elected by 
 a majority of 447. He was one of the youngest members 
 of the House that year, but, from his knowledge of public 
 men and mea-sures, took rank at once as a man of influ- 
 ence ; and although in a political minority was accorded 
 places upon important committees. 
 
 In 1867, after a residence of ten years in Albany, his 
 friends brought forward his name as a candidate for Sena- 
 tor. After a somewhat active canvass, he was nominated 
 for that office by the County Convention, and was elected 
 over Charles H. Adams, by a majority of 1,166. He 
 was re-elected last fall over Hon. Loeenzo D. CoLLi]srs, 
 one of the most popular Republicans in his district, by an 
 increased majority. 
 
 Senator Banks does not make pretensions to oratory. 
 His power to influence men lies in his activity, his keen 
 discernment, quick judgment and careful analysis of char- 
 acter. He is ready to give his energies in aid of public 
 enterprises, and uniformly acquires the position of a leader 
 in whatever he undertakes. Always a favorite among 
 those who know him best, he cannot fail to become popular 
 with his associates in the Senate, and with the widening 
 circle of acquaintance to which his position must introduce 
 him. 
 
ISAIAH BLOOD. 
 
 Isaiah Blood, Senator from the Fifteenth District, was 
 born at Ballston, Saratoga county, February IS, 1810. 
 His father, Sylvester Blood, was a manufacturer of 
 scythes, a business which he established upwards of sixty 
 years ago. 
 
 Isaiah received only a district school education. Leav- 
 ing school, he entered his father's establishment as an 
 apprentice to the trade. His energetic industry was early 
 developed. He worked as no other boy in the shop 
 worked. When he had mastered the calling he took his 
 place as a journeyman, receiving as wages eighty-seven 
 cents a day. 
 
 In February, 1831, Mr. Blood was united in marriage 
 to Miss Gates, of Ballston. At this time his father had a 
 branch establishment some three miles from his principal 
 place in a lonely region known as " The Hollow," on the 
 road between Ballston and Saratoga. When Isaiah was 
 married, his father offered him a choice between taking 
 charge of the shops in the Hollow or of a store in which 
 he had an interest. The son chose the shops, and the 
 newly married couple moved to a house adjoining the 
 works. Here, still working for eighty-seven cents a day, 
 Isaiah Blood labored for three years, and his wife, a true 
 helpmeet and a noble woman, eked out her husband's 
 scanty income by taking the workmen as boarders. 
 
 Thus these two, whose later lives have been blessed 
 with abundant wealth, toiled bravely and cheerfully 
 through the time that tested, best of all, the quality of 
 their hearts. Before the end of the three years Mr. 
 Blood had gained an enviable reputation as a workman. 
 
54 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 His constant endeavor was to improve the quality of 
 the goods turned out at his father's establishment. His 
 skill did not escape observation, and after a time there 
 came to the young mechanic a capitalist from Watertown, 
 N. Y., who offered to lend him $10,000 and to set him 
 up in business in that city. When this fact reached the 
 ears of the elder Mr. Blood he sensibly concluded that it 
 was desirable to retain his son's services, so he offered him 
 a partnership, which Isaiah accepted. 
 
 The spirit of enterprise which possessed the young man, 
 obtained now a fuller scope for action. He soon proposed 
 to erect new buildings, repair the old ones, improve the 
 machinery, employ more hands and extend the business 
 far beyond what were then its limits. His father doubted 
 the expediency of these innovations, whereupon the son, 
 backed by his fortune, which consisted then almost solely 
 of pluek and industry, offered to buy out the whole estab- 
 lishment and pay for it a given sum within a fixed time. 
 
 The bargain was struck, and before the time had expired 
 the money was paid. 
 
 In the meantime Blood's scythes were acquiring a great 
 reputation with the farmers not only of New York but of 
 adjoining States. In 1852, the manufacture of axes was 
 added to the business. At the present time there is scarcely 
 a farmer in the country but speaks of these implements in 
 terms of high praise. The enormous growth of Senator 
 Blood's business, since he assumed its sole management, 
 affords a striking illustration of what can be done by 
 industry and enterprise when these qualities are united to 
 integrity and liberality. His trade now extends through 
 all the southern and western States, including California 
 and Oregon, and he exports scythes in large quantities to 
 Australia as well as to Canada. An idea of its magnitude 
 may be gleaned from the fact that a single firm in St. Louis 
 
ISAIAH BLOOD. 55 
 
 sold, last year, two thousand dozen of Blood's axes. In 
 these two branches of industry he employs more than two 
 hundred men. His manufactory of scythes is the largest 
 of the kind in the world. 
 
 In politics Senator Blood has been a life-long and con- 
 sistent Democrat. He was chosen at an early age super- 
 visor of the town of Milton (in which Ballston is located), 
 and this office has been conferred upon him very many 
 times since. In 1859 he was nominated for State Senator, 
 and although the district had usually gone strongly 
 Republican, he was nevertheless elected by a handsome 
 majority. He had had some experiences in military mat- 
 ters, having attained to the rank of major in the State 
 militia, and was therefore placed on the Military commit- 
 tee of the Senate. This appointment seemed of little 
 significance when it was made, but subsequent events gave 
 to the acts of that committee a great and lasting import- 
 ance. It was during Mr. Blood's first term in the Senate 
 that Sumter was fired upon and the war began. He 
 entered, with all the remarkable energy of his character, 
 into the patriotic ardor which that event inspired. It was 
 largely owing to his efforts that the Military committee, 
 with unexampled promptness, reported a bill pledging the 
 credit of the State for the necessary expense of putting in 
 the field New York's full quota of volunteers. 
 
 Retiring from the Senate at the close of the year 1861, 
 Mr. Blood devoted his attention, once more, to his busi- 
 ness, but he continued to take a deep interest in the welfare 
 of our troops. From his ample fortune he contributed most 
 liberally to the aid of the families of our soldier's. His 
 charity, however, was most unostentatious. The well- 
 spring of his bounty was a kindly heart and not the mere 
 love of approbation. Many a poor family in Saratoga 
 county blesses the name of Isaiah Blood to-day, but his 
 good deeds are not advertised in public places. 
 
66 LIFE SKETCHES. , 
 
 When the political canvass of 1869 commenced, great 
 interest was manifested by both parties in regard to the 
 possession of the doubtful senatorial districts. The Demo- 
 crats, apparently, had small chance of success in the 
 fifteenth, but when it was announced that Mr. Blood had 
 consented to become a candidate the hopes of his friends 
 were ' greatly raised. Nor were these hopes doomed to 
 disappointment, for, at the election which followed. Sena- 
 tor Blood received more than two thousand majority over 
 his competitor, the Hon. TEUMAisr G, Younglove, late 
 Speaker of the Assembly. 
 
 As a Senator Mr. Blood is a hard-working, conscientious 
 representative of the will of his constituents ; not given to 
 speech-making, but faithful in his attention to duty. 
 
 In personal appearance he is of medium height, of vigor- 
 ous frame and of fine complexion. He wears the weight 
 of his years lightly and does not appear to be more than 
 fifty years old. His eyes are bright and clear, his features 
 regular and his forehead broad and high. His hair, which 
 originally was of a light brown color, is beginning to turn 
 grey. 
 
 Senator Blood has only one child living, a daughter, 
 who is married to Henet Knickeebockee, Esq., a distin- 
 guished broker of the city of New York. She is a lady of 
 rare graces and accomplishments. 
 
 The following estimate of Senator Blood's character 
 was kindly furnished to the compiler of this volume by 
 Judge Geo. O. SpoTT, of Saratoga: 
 
 Mr. Blood was born sixty years ago. Although in 
 years the Nestor of the Senate, he is nevertheless, in 
 physical and mental vigor, as well as in personal appear- 
 ance, a young man — younger indeed than many at forty- 
 five. He comes from a long-lived stock. His grandfather 
 was yet living when he (Mr. Blood) was also a grand- 
 
ISAIAH BLOOD. 5V 
 
 father. The instance of Jive generations, by direct descent, 
 in one family, all living at the same time, has not often 
 occurred since the days of the antediluvians. 
 
 Senator Blood is a native of the old Democratic town 
 of BallstOD, and the eldest child of the late Sylvester 
 Blood. He received a good common school education, 
 and was brought up to the business of his father, to wit : 
 manufacturing scythes. About 1831 he bought out his 
 father, who owned a small scythe factory upon the Kaya- 
 derosseras, at " Blood's Hollow," now " Bloodville," a mile 
 and a half north of Ballston Spa. By strict attention to 
 his business, he was enabled in a few years to enlarge his 
 establishment to its present capacity, including the addi- 
 tional business of manufacturing axes. "Blood's scythes " 
 and " Blood's axes " are favorably known throughout most 
 of the agricultural portions of North America. By this 
 business, in connection with some fortunate speculations, 
 he has succeeded in amassing a large fortune. We do not 
 venture to set down the figures, for we might miss them 
 by half a million. 
 
 Senator Blood has an iron constitution, and an indomi- 
 table wUl. His capacity for the rapid transaction of busi- 
 ness is marvellous, and whatever he does is invariably 
 well done. He seems intuitively to thoroughly under- 
 stand every one with whom he comes in contact. 
 
 He is foremost in the promotion of all public enterprises, 
 and responds liberally to the demands incessantly made 
 upon him for religious and charitable purposes. 
 
 It is fortunate to the State to have such men as Senator 
 Blood in the Legislature. But extraordinary business 
 capacity and accurate knowledge of men, such as he pos- 
 sesses, are peculiarly adapted to arduous and responsible 
 administrative positions. 
 
 He was born and educated a Democrat, and has always 
 8 
 
58 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 adhered to the faith. His debut in politics was in 1847, 
 "When he was elected supervisor of the Whig town of 
 Milton hy 147 majority. In 1851, he was elected mem- 
 ber of assembly from the first assembly district of Sara- 
 toga county; in the spring of 1859, again supervisor 
 of Milton ; and in the fall of that year. Senator from the 
 fifteenth district, then composed of the present fifteenth 
 district, except Schenectady. In 1862 he was the Demo- 
 cratic candidate for Representative in Congress for the 
 eighteenth congressional district, but the adverse cur- 
 rent was too potent for flesh and hlood to stem; never- 
 theless he made a gallant resistance. Four or five years 
 ago, the Republicans captured Milton from the Demo- 
 crats, who had then held the town for several years, 
 and the conquerors bore sway as if their dominion were 
 permanent. But in 1869 Mr. Blood was brought out 
 against their strongest man for the supervisorship, and 
 elected by twenty-seven majority. Last fall he car- 
 ried the fifteenth senate district by a majority of 2,000 
 over the Republican Achilles, speaker Yotinglove, revers- 
 ing the majority of 1868, and carrying with him^^'ye Demo- 
 cratic members of assembly, in the place oifive Republican 
 members of the previous year. This extraordinary result 
 demonstrated his strength before the people, has attracted 
 the attention of politicians, and placed him prominently 
 on the list of the coming men of the Empire State. 
 
 Since writing the above, Mr. Blood has been re-elected 
 Supervisor by a majority of 429, a gain of 402 over his 
 majority in 1869. 
 
GEOEGE BOWEN. 
 
 Mr. BowEN represents the Twenty-ninth Senatorial Dis- 
 trict, which is composed of the counties of Niagara, Orleans 
 and Genesee. This district, for the last two terms, was 
 ably represented by Hon. Richard Ceowlet; and, judg- 
 ing from what we have been able to learn of Mr. Bowen, 
 we are satisfied that the mantle of responsibility has fallen 
 on good shoulders. As Mr. Bowejst belongs to the Repub- 
 lican minority, there is not that opportunity for him to 
 distinguish himself which would otherwise exist ; but he 
 exhibits a wide-awake attention to the wants of his con- 
 stituency, and to the general welfare, and an ability to 
 make the most of the opportunities afforded him for urging 
 his claims for a hearing, which cannot be gainsaid. 
 
 Mr. BowEN is in the prime of life ; just that age when 
 the maturity of thought and the vigor of youth blend in a 
 harmonious effectiveness. He was born at Shelby, Orleans 
 county, N". Y., September 28th, 1831. His mother's maiden 
 name was Anna Cone; and his father was Dr. AbieIj 
 BowEN, who, in his earlier years was a practicing physician, 
 but for the last twenty years of his life was a farmer. 
 
 Until Mr. Bowen was fourteen years of age, he enjoyed 
 only the ediicational advantages of the common school. 
 After that time, he attended the Millville Academy in 
 Orleans county, and the Gary Collegiate Institute in Gene- 
 see county. He also taught school a couple of winters. 
 But his chief aim was to adopt the practice of the law for 
 his profession ; and, with that end in view, he studied with 
 Hon. John .H. Maetindale, Hon. Sbth Wakeman, and 
 W. G. Betan, at Batavia, being admitted to practice in 
 December, 1852, at Rochester. Among his examiners on 
 
60 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 that occasion was Senator James Wood, of Geneseo. Four 
 years after his admission to the bar, his legal abilities re- 
 ceived recognition from the Republican party by an election 
 to the office of District Attorney for Genesee county. In 
 1862 he was appointed Postmaster at Batavia by President 
 Lincoln, and remained in that capacity for four yeai-s. 
 
 In Batavia, Mr. Bowbn is recognized as a first-class 
 business man. He is a Director of the First National 
 Bank of Batavia, and of the Holland Purchase Insurance 
 Company. He is also one of the Trustees of the State 
 Institution for the Blind at Batavia, having been appointed 
 to the latter position of trust by Governor Hoffman. 
 These places of prominent importance which are held by 
 Mr. BowEN, are the best commentary on his character. 
 They bespeak a confidence on the part of the public which 
 requires no words of praise to give an estimate of his 
 worth and excellence. Mr. Bowen has an eminently legal 
 mind, and though he seldom takes the floor, when he does 
 so, he speaks with much clearness, fluency and force, com- 
 manding at all times a most respectful attention. 
 
 He serves on the Committees on Claims and Printing. 
 
JOHN J. BKADLEY, 
 
 Senator Bradley is the representative of the Seventh 
 Senatorial District, comprising the Eighteenth, Twentieth 
 and Twenty-first Wards of the city of New York, a dis- 
 trict which embraces more wealth than any other district 
 of the State. He is a native of the city of New York, and 
 was born in the Third Ward in March, 1831. He will 
 therefore be thirty-nine years of age before the close of the 
 present session. His parents were Irish, and came to this 
 country from Ireland in 1827. 
 
 Mr. Bradley was educated at the grammar school of 
 Columbia College. At the age of sixteen, he entered into 
 the employ of the importing house of George Peaece & 
 Co., as a clerk, where he remained for five years, occupying, 
 most of the time, the most confidential position in that 
 house. He then engaged in the livery stable business at 
 the corner of Fourth avenue and Eighteenth street, and is 
 now one of the most enterprising livery stable proprietors 
 in the city of New York. 
 
 In 1855, when twenty-four years of age, he, at the urgent 
 solicitation of the Democrats of the Eighteenth Ward, 
 became a candidate for Councilman. The district was 
 considered a forlorn hope, but Mr. Bradley was elected 
 by a majority of three votes, and held the position for three 
 years. In 1857 he recieved the nomination for Alderman 
 in the Fourteenth Aldermanic District, and was elected by 
 a large majority. His course, while holding that position, 
 was such as to meet the commendation of business men 
 of the district. In fact he was one of the most influential 
 members of the Board. 
 
62 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 In 1861 lie was nominated by the Democrats of the Sixth 
 Senatorial District, then composed of the Ninth, Fifteenth, 
 Sixteenth and Eighteenth Wards of the city of New Tort. 
 This was the first year of the war. Both wings of the 
 party united in his support, and, although the district was 
 the stronghold of the Kepublican party in the city, Mr. 
 Beadlet was elected by a handsome vote. The Republi- 
 can party, however, ran two candidates, Mr. Mannieee and 
 Mr. Smith, enabling Mr. Beadlet to secure his election by 
 a plurality of about one thousand votes. He took an active 
 part in the Senate during the sessions of 1862 and 1863, 
 making one of the most attentive and industrious mem- 
 bers of that body. He served on three committees, being 
 chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures, a 
 position to which he was assigned by Lieutenant-Governor 
 Campbell, and was also a member of the Committees on 
 Claims and on Indian Affairs. 
 
 In 1866 he was nominated by Mayor Hoffmak and con- 
 firmed by the Board of Aldermen'as President of the Cro- 
 ton Aqueduct Department. The incumbent of that office 
 held on the position, claiming the right to do so under one 
 of those clauses in the tax levy which the Legislature 
 placed in that bill at the close of the session of that year. 
 A mandamus being refused by the courts, Mr. Beadlet 
 . gave up the contest. 
 
 In the year 1867 he was nominated by Tammany Hall 
 as the representative of the Seventh Senatorial District. 
 The Mozart and Democratic Union factions of the Demo- 
 cratic party nominated John Haedt, a young man who 
 has heretofore shown himself a man of great strength 
 before the people in one portion of the district. The Re- 
 publicans united on Cheistophee PuLLMAi^r, who had made 
 considerable reputation in the Board of Councilmen. The 
 contest in the district was a spirited one, and one of the 
 
JOHN J. BKADLET. 63 
 
 most hotly fought of any district in the State. Mr. Bbad- 
 LET not only came out successful, but lacked only fifty-eight 
 votes of receiving a majority over both of his opponents. 
 
 In the campaign of 1869, Mr. Bbadlet ran against Hon. 
 Rtjeus F. Andrews, Republican, and Richard O'Brien, 
 Democrat, and was re-elected by a majority of 6,654 over 
 the combined vote of both of his opponents. He is Chair- 
 man of the Committees on Insurance, and Privileges and 
 Elections, and is a member of the Committee on Salt. 
 
 In person Senator Bbadlet is of medium size and 
 height ; has light brown hair, blue eyes and fresh counte- 
 nance. He is a gentleman of considerable wealth, which 
 he has accumulated by his superior business attainments 
 and strict attention to whatever he undertakes. 
 
WILLIAM H. BEAND. 
 
 Senator Beand, of the twenty-first senatorial district, 
 was born at Leonardsville, Madison county, on the twen- 
 tieth day of April, 1824. His parents were of English 
 and Scotch descent, and were natives of Brand's Iron 
 Works, in the State of Rhode Island. He recited his first 
 lesson at the district school-house in his native village; 
 and prosecuted his maturer studies at Whitestown Sem- 
 inary. He remained at this flourishing institution, then 
 known under the corporate name of Clinton Seminary, for 
 three years, applying himself indefatigably to his books ; 
 and it was here that he laid the foundation of that solid, 
 substantial education, which has prepared him so well for 
 his life of influence and usefulness. Subsequently, he 
 employed his time in teaching, then as a clerk in a country 
 store, and finally as a merchant. His honesty, and strait- 
 forward integrity of purpose won him hosts of personal 
 friends. Various oflices of trust were conferred upon him, 
 while he was still quite young, and he discharged the 
 duties they imposed, so honorably and well, that he soon 
 gained for himself a large place in the confidence of the 
 public. 
 
 In 1851, he was appointed deputy sherifi"; in 1855, 
 census marshal, and in the meantime, he was frequently 
 presented by the Whig party as its candidate for super- 
 intendent of schools. His thorough acquaintance with 
 the political history of the country, and his ability 
 to serve his county, being recognized by all, he was 
 nominated by the Republicans of the first district of 
 Madison county in 1861, for member of assembly, and 
 
WILLIAM H. BEAOT), 65 
 
 was elected by a majority of 71 votes, over Charles 
 Geebn, Esq., of the town of Hamilton. His opponent, up 
 to this time, had been a Republican ; but became the can- 
 didate of those whose platform had just announced as the 
 great panacea of all our political ills, that rebels in arms 
 for the destruction of our free institutions, "should be 
 approached with the olive branch in one hand, and with 
 liberal proffers of peace in the other." Mr. Bkand took 
 Ms seat on the first Tuesday in January, 1862, and met and 
 defeated the powerful effort then made for the division of 
 Madison county. He showed, in his speeches, the great 
 difficulty, expense, and utter inexpediency of such a measure 
 and put an end forever to all attempts at the division of 
 the county. His ability, unquestioned honesty and acknowl- 
 edged fidelity to the interests of his constituency, secured 
 his re-election, in 1862, by a majority of 1504, over Colonel 
 John B. Cob, his Democratic competitor. On retaking 
 his seat in 1863, he devoted himself with renewed zeal 
 to the interests of his party, and was active in secur- 
 ing the election of a Republican United States Senator. 
 Throughout his term of office, his voice and votes were 
 found in favor of the doctrine, "that the shortest way 
 to peace was in the most stupendous preparations for 
 war," that slavery, being the primal cause of our civil war, 
 should be permitted to die by its own suicidal hand, and 
 that resistance to the rebellious enemies of our country 
 was obedience to God. Whether in legislative halls, or at 
 home, he was always active and out-spoken in his approval 
 of the administration of Lincolit, and a vigorous prosecu- 
 tion of the war, and often advocated to the public, that no 
 sacrifice, however great, whether of treasures or of blood, 
 should be withheld, which was necessary to the preserva- 
 tion of the Union. In 1862, Mr. Bband assisted in recruit- 
 ing, was a member of the war loan committee of his town, 
 9 
 
66 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 and delivered an earnest and eloquent address to the sol- 
 diers on their departure for the field. Through all the 
 reverses and triumphs, while engaged in its struggle for 
 national life, the country found in him a loyal heart, the 
 Republican party a steadfast supporter, and the soldiers a 
 true, appreciative, patriotic friend. In 1867, 1868, and 
 1869, Mr. Brand served his town on the board of super- 
 visors of Madison county, and was a member of the com- 
 mittee on equalization of assessments during those years. 
 He was formerly a free soil whig, or as they were then 
 scornfully called " a woolly head." He became a member 
 of the Republican party at its formation ; and he has been 
 several times a member of its State conventions. He was 
 nominated at the senatorial convention of the twenty-first 
 district, held at Syracuse, on the twenty-ninth day of Sep- 
 tember, 1869; and received on the first formal ballot 25 
 votes; thus becoming the unanimous choice of the con- 
 vention. He received in his district 11,645 votes, and 
 Chaeles S. Faiechilds, Democrat, received '7,769 votes ; 
 thus electing him by a majority of 3,876 votes over his 
 Democratic opponent. 
 
 As a politician, Mr. Brand's reputation is honorable; as 
 a man, unexceptionable ; and justly entitling him to the 
 confidence so generously bestowed upon him by his con- 
 stituents. 
 
WILLIAM CAULDWELL. 
 
 William Cauldwell, Senator from the ninth district, 
 was born in New York city on the twelfth of October, 
 1S24, anil is consequently in the forty-sixth year of his age. 
 His i'ather was a native of Scotland, and his mother, like 
 himself, was born in the metropolis. Like so many men 
 who have carved out by personal industry and indomitable 
 will, a reputation, and secured a competence, Mr Cauld- 
 well had only the benefits of a common school education. 
 Eirly in life he began to learn the trade of a printer ; and 
 this, probably as much as any thing else, was the basis of 
 his future success. He is now one of the editors and pub- 
 lishers of the New York Sunday Mercury, one of the most 
 widely circulated journals in the Union, having become 
 connected with it in 1860. 
 
 Senator Cauldwell has always taken an active interest 
 in politics, and yet has often refused many oflfers of politi- 
 cal advancement. One of the earliest residents of the 
 ■village of Morrisania, in Westchester county, which was 
 dedicated in the year 1848, and in which the father of 
 Senator Cauldwell erected the first dwelling, he has 
 aided in making it one of the most prosperous and notice- 
 able places in the State, it now being, in all respects, a 
 city, having a population of upwards of 20,000, and an 
 assessed valuation of nearly $5,000,000. For thirteen con- 
 secutive years he has been its supervisor, chosen often 
 without opposition, and always by an overwhelming 
 majority. For four years, of that period, he has held the 
 position of President of the Board of Trustees of the 
 town, and for three consecutive years filled the responsible 
 position of Cliairman of the Board of Supervisors of 
 Westchester county. He has also taken a deep interest 
 
68 LITE SKETCHES. 
 
 in the cause of public education, serving for nine or ten 
 years in the board of education of his town, and had aided 
 materially in promoting the facilities now enjoyed by the 
 people for popular education. In short, his name is con- 
 nected with almost everything pertaining to the improve- 
 ment, growth and prosperity of his section of Westchester, 
 and throughout the county he enjoys in an eminent degree 
 the confidence of the people. 
 
 Mr. Cauldwell was presented for the position of State 
 Senator in 1867, not entirely with his own consent. But 
 once nominated he entered into the canvass with spirit, 
 and was elected by the largest majority ever before given 
 for any man in the district, which comprises the counties 
 of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam. Mr. Cauldwell 
 is and always has been a Democrat^ and enjoys, in no 
 restricted way, the confidence and esteem of his associates. 
 Among the members of the Senate there are few who pos- 
 sess a more practical mind, or bring to their aid a more 
 extended experience. He was re-elected to the present 
 senate by 2,274 majority. He is Chairman of the Com- 
 mittees on State Prisons, and Roads and Bridges, two of 
 the most important and laborious committees in the Senate. 
 He is also a member of the Committees on Villages and 
 Public Printing. No district in the State presents such a 
 mass of legislation as the ninth senatorial district. The 
 suburban character of a large portion of Westchester 
 county is productive of measures partaking of mixed city 
 and rural features ; and they are presented in a maze of 
 bewildering confusion. It is vital, in such a case, to have 
 a representative industrious, clear-headed and sagacious, 
 and such a man is Senator Cauldwell, in an eminent 
 degree. Although having more interests intrusted to him 
 than any Senator around the circle, he rarely loses a bill, 
 and never fails to advance his measures with singular 
 rapidity. 
 
ORLOW W. CHAPMAN. 
 
 Senator Chapman, representing the twenty-fourth difr- 
 trict (Broome, Tioga and Tompkins counties) is one of 
 the younger members of the senate. His age is thirty- 
 seven years. He. was born in Ellington, Connecticut, on 
 the seventh of January, 1832. His father Calvin Chap- 
 man, was a farmer. Young Chapman, having acquired a 
 good ordinary education at the Ellington Academy, began 
 by teaching a district school at Tolland, Connecticut, when 
 he was seventeen years of age ; and during three suc- 
 ceeding winters he taught at East Long Meadow, Massa- 
 chusetts. Entering Union College in this State as a 
 sophomore in 1851, he was graduated with his class in 
 1854, though he had occupied a part of his time in teach- 
 ing. Subsequently he was engaged at Fergusonville 
 Academy, Delaware county, as Professor of Languages. 
 In 1856, Mr. Chapman began the study of the law with 
 RoBBET Paekbe, formerly a partner of the Hon. Amasa 
 J. Paekee, and finishing his course removed to Bingham- 
 ton, where he was wholly unacquainted, in 1868, and 
 established himself in the practice of his profession. 
 Among the men of talent and reputation practicing law 
 in Binghamton at that time were Lewis Seymoue, Giles 
 W. HoTCHKiss, afterward member of congress, and the 
 late Hon. D. S. Dickjnson. The young lawyer rapidly 
 gained position, and in the summer of 1862, in accordance 
 with a petition of the bar of Binghamton, he was ap- 
 pointed district attorney, for the unexpired term of 
 Geoege Noetheup, deceased. In the fall of the same 
 year he was elected to fill the oflSce, and in 1865 was rp- 
 
VO LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 elected, leading his ticket. At the time when he was 
 chosen senator- in the year 1867, one year of his official 
 term as district attorney remained to be filled. Politically 
 Mr. CHAPMAif has always been a staunch Republican. 
 
 Mr. Chapman's time has been almost exclusively given 
 to the duties of his profession. 
 
 As district attorney, Mr. Chapman's record was singu- 
 larly good. His faithfulness and ability were conceded, 
 and were conspicuously shown in many important cases. 
 His re-election to the senate, in the campaign of 1869, was 
 accomplished by 3,319 majority over Alanson Mfngeb. 
 
 As a citizen and' public officer Mr. Chapman enjoys 
 universal esteem. He resides permanently in Binghamton. 
 In the senate he is a member of the committees on litera- 
 ture and judiciary. 
 
THOMAS J. CREAMER. 
 
 Senator Cbeamee is the youngest member of the present 
 senate, and, perhaps the youngest man that has ever held 
 a seat in that body. He is of Irish descent, and was born 
 on the twenty-sixth day of May, 1842, and is, therefore, in 
 his twenty-eighth year. 
 
 Mr. Cbeamek may traly be termed a self-made man, 
 having, by his own energy and perseverance, worked his 
 way to the present prominent position he occupies in the 
 councils of the State without the advantage of a collegiate 
 education, which many of our public men have had, and 
 without even the privilege of a common school education, 
 which most of the young men of the present time possess. 
 He has, nevertheless, by close application and untiring 
 energy, fitted himself for the duties of the high position 
 which he now holds, far better than most men upon whom 
 a small fbrtune has been expended in academical training. 
 
 At the age of ten years he left the public schools in the 
 city of New York, and engaged as an errand boy in a dry 
 goods establishment, where he remained several years. 
 
 Few have ever started to fight life's battles at an earlier 
 age, and few men have achieved the same success within 
 such a short period. Mercantile life did not suit his tastes, 
 and he resolved upon a change to that of a professional. 
 The profession of law being more in accordance with his 
 turn of mind, he applied himself diligently night and day 
 to his studies, and at the age of twenty-one was admitted 
 as a member of the New York bar. Soon after this he 
 commenced taking an active part in politics, and was 
 elected a member of assembly in the fall of 1864, polling 
 the largest vote ever cast for a candidate in the district. 
 
12 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 In the Legislature of 1865, lie took an active part in the 
 debates on all questions relating to the city of New York, 
 and delivered several able speeches in opposition to the 
 establishment of commission government. He served 
 during that session on the committees on claims and roads 
 and bridges. He was re-elected in the fall of 1865, by 
 over 2,000 majority, and was one of the most active mem- 
 bers on the Democratic side during the session of 1866. 
 He served on the committees on railroads, claims and 
 engrossed bills, and won for himself, while a member, the 
 friendship of even his political opponents, by his straight- 
 forward and manly defense of his principles. During that 
 session he was a strong advocate of a change in our militia 
 law, in order to place the old fogy generals on the retired 
 list, and did more to bring about the desired change than 
 any other member of the Legislature. 
 
 Mr. Cbeamee was re-elected in the fall of 1866 by a 
 unanimous vote, no one in the district being willing to 
 run in opposition to him. In the session of 1867 he served 
 on the committees on insurance and on privileges and elec- 
 tions, and also was a member of the grinding committee. 
 He was chairman of a committee to investigate the affairs 
 of the Pacific Mail Steamship company, and made a very 
 able report to the assembly in connection with the same. 
 During the session he developed a talent as a legislator far 
 better than at any former period, and was universally 
 acknowledged as one of the most upright, efficient and 
 capable members on the floor. 
 
 Few men in the assembly commanded that universal 
 respect and confidence of all connected with the Lefisla' 
 ture as did " Tom " Ceeamee. During his career in the 
 assembly not a breath of suspicion has ever been raised 
 against him — he has passed through all the temptations 
 and trying ordeals of three sessions, and that too when, 
 
THOMAS J. CEEAMEK. 73 
 
 according to general report, corruption was the rale and 
 honesty the exception. In the fall of 1867, Mr. Ckbambr 
 was unanimously nominated by the Tammany Democracy 
 of the sixth senatorial district, comprising the tenth, 
 eleventh, and seventeenth wards of the city of New York, 
 and was elected by a majority of 12,500, the largest 
 majority ever received by a senator, and was re-elected in 
 1869 by a majority of 10,600. In the senate he is a 
 member of the important committees on municipal afifairs 
 and judiciary, and is chairman of the committee on 
 printing, and although the youngest man in that body, 
 he has already taken a prominent position, and is one of 
 the most influential members on the Democratic side. 
 Mr. Ceeamek is a good general debater, and though not 
 gifted with that plethora of language which characterizes 
 many of our public men, yet he is possessed of those more 
 essential qualities of a practical and successful legislator 
 — a clear and attractive manner of presenting a question, 
 concise and logical method of exposition, quickness of 
 perception both as to his own position and opportunities, 
 as well as those of his opponents. He is an argumentative 
 and forcible speaker, carrying with him that earnestness 
 which is almost certain of conviction ; has thorough knowl- 
 edge of parliamentary rules, and a personal bearing to all 
 with whom he comes in contact calculated to rally strong 
 support. He is a firm friend, adhering with great tenacity 
 to those whom he classifies as his personal friends. Mr. 
 Ceeamek is a member of the Tammany Hall general com- 
 mittee in New York, and with the same care in the future 
 as in the past, is destined to win still higher honors and 
 wield an important influence in the politics of his city and 
 State. 
 
 He is above the medium height, standing nearly six feet, 
 slim built, and weighing about one hundred and sixty 
 
 10 
 
74 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 pounds, dresses with scrupulous care and good taste, has 
 dai-k brown hair, dark gray eyes, light complexion and 
 gentlemanly manner. He is unmarried, but too young to 
 be classified in the list of bachelors. 
 
AUGUSTUS R. ELWOOD. 
 
 Hon. A. R. Elwood is the successor of Mr. Vak 
 Pktten, and represents the Twentieth Senatorial District, 
 comprising the counties of Herkimer and Otsego. He 
 ■was born at Richfield Springs, Otsego county, October 
 18, 1819, where he still resides. He is of English and 
 German descent upon his father's side. His maternal 
 ancestors came from Connecticut. His family were old 
 settlers of Otsego, and its members have been among its 
 most staunch residents. His father was an industrious and 
 successful farmer. Mr. Elwood commenced life as a 
 merchant, in which pursuit, by his active business habits, 
 his resolute will and exemplary character, he won the con- 
 fidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. Owing to 
 ill-health, he withdrew from personal participation in 
 mercantile pursuits a few years since, although still retain- 
 ing his interest in the establishment. 
 
 Mr. Elwood, even before he became of age, took a warm 
 interest in politics. In early life he was a Democrat, and 
 contributed largely to the success of that party in his 
 section. He was appointed Postmaster of Richfield 
 Springs in 1842, and held the office until 1848. He was 
 also Deputy Sherifi" of the county in 1841. In the con- 
 troversies of the period, within the Democratic ranks, Mr. 
 Elwood zealously supported Free Soil principles. He 
 was a member of the famous Buffalo Convention, and has 
 ever remained a consistent and zealous exponent of its 
 cardinal ideas. He supported Maetin Van Bfeen for 
 President in 1 848, for which offense he was removed from 
 the office of Postmaster by President Polk, whom he had 
 helped to elect. 
 
^6 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. Elwood's political tact, discerning judgment, organ- 
 izing talent, and ability to shrewdly forecast events, led 
 the people frequently to send hina to the Conventions of 
 his party ; and he has thus taken a prominent part in the 
 initiative of many important public movements. He was 
 a member of the Convention held at Saratoga Springs in 
 185-5, and assisted in the organization of the National 
 Republican Party in Philadelphia, in 18^6, voting for the 
 nomination of John C. Feemont. He was also a delegate 
 to the Chicago Convention in 1860, casting his vote for 
 Abraham Lincoln. In 1862 and 1863, he was Chairman 
 of the Republican County Committee, in which capacity 
 he exhibited marked sagacity and resources as a party 
 manager. 
 
 Mr. Elwood is very popular in his native county, not- 
 withstanding the Republican party there, unfortunately 
 for itself, has been fearfully torn by warring factions. He 
 held the office of County Clerk during the term beginning 
 in 1859 and expiring in 1861 ; and was Supervisor of his 
 town from 1865 to 1868, and for two years served as 
 Chairman of the Board. EflForts have been frequently 
 made to induce him to allow the use of his name for var- 
 ious honorable positions, but he has uniformly declined. 
 During the late political campaign, Mr. Elwood contested 
 for the nomination of the Republican Convention with 
 Hon. Wm. W. Campbell, formerly Justice of the Supreme 
 Court, and Member of Assembly in 1869. The canvass 
 was a brisk one, resulting in the nomination and triumph- 
 ant election of the former. Mr. Elwood is not a debater, 
 in the ordinary acceptation of the term, although, when 
 occasion demands, he expresses his views with great clear- 
 ness and cogency. He has, also, those higher qualifications 
 necessary to a successful legislator, and which are peculiar 
 to organizing and executive minds. 
 
AUGUSTUS E. ELWOOD. 77 
 
 Mr. Elwood, in 1846, married a daughter of the late 
 Hon. James Hyde, an estimable and educated lady, whose 
 occasional contributions to the literature of the day dis- 
 play marked originality of conception, deep thought and 
 beauty of diction. Mr. Elwood is of medium stature 
 and slender build, but of that wiry and nervous organi- 
 zation which but needs a moderate degree of health to 
 accomplish great results. 
 
SAMUEL H. FROST. 
 
 Amonp; the earlier settlers of Long Island were a Quaker 
 family named Frost, the ancestors of the present Senator 
 from the First District. 
 
 Samukl Frost, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
 did not embrace the peculiar religious views of the 
 Friends ; but he possessed much of the direct earnestness 
 of manner and integrity of purpose which so frequently 
 chMractei'ize the descendants of that peaceful sect. He 
 was, by calling, a mechanic, and resided in New York 
 city, where, on the second day of August, 1818, Samuel 
 II. Frost was born. 
 
 He was educated at the White Plains Acddemy, where 
 he spent some three years. After leaving scliool he returned 
 to New York, and was engaged for several years in busi- 
 ness, meeting with more than ordinary success. 
 
 About the year 1840 Mr. Frost removed to Richmond 
 county, where he owns a fine farm, on which, ever since 
 that time, he has resided. 
 
 In his political convictions Mr. Fkost formerly affiliated 
 with the Whig party. He was an enthusiastic admirer of 
 Henry Clay, and he still recurs with pride and pleasure 
 to the diiys of '44, when Kentucky's greatest orator led 
 the hosts of his party in that gallant but unsuccessful 
 struggle for the Presidency. 
 
 New questions iirose after the death of the Whig party, 
 and on these Mr. Frost found his sentiments in sympathy, 
 with those of the Democracy, in which party he has been 
 a faithful and active worker for nearly twenty years. 
 
 He was chosen for six successive terms Supervisor for 
 
SAMUEL H. FEOST. "79 
 
 the town of Marshland, where he resides, and for twelve 
 years he has been Superintendent of the Poor of Richmond 
 county. 
 
 He was elected to the Senate in the fall of 1869, receiv- 
 ing a majority of 858 votes over his Republican competi- 
 tor, Gilbert C. Deane. 
 
 In personal appearance, Senator Frost is rather below 
 the medium height, with dark hair and eyes, and full beard. 
 His face indicates firmness and decision of character. 
 
HENRY WEBB GENET. 
 
 Senator Genet was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut, 
 February 27th, 1828. His father was Johk M. Genet, a 
 native of France, who came to America during the troubles 
 which ensued upon the French Revolution. His mother 
 was a native of Ireland,' who emigrated to this country in 
 childhood. Mr. Genet, the elder, removed to Albany 
 when his son was about one year of age, and went into 
 commercial business near the river. Hbnet attended 
 school in Albany for several years, and then taking a fancy 
 for the life of an agriculturist, was placed upon a farm in 
 the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, where he remained 
 four or five years, diligently prosecuting his literary 
 studies during the winter months. When about sixteen 
 years of age he left the farm and entered the Glens Falls 
 Academy, where he remained about a year and a half, 
 when he went to the city of New. York, where his father 
 was then residing. 
 
 When about nineteen years of age, he entered the Uni- 
 versity of the city of New York, at which he remained 
 two years, and then entered the law ofBce of Mr. Hast- 
 ings, in that city, and was, in due time, admitted, finish- 
 ing his preparatory studies in the office of McCunn & 
 MoNCKiFF. He was, in early life, an enthusiastic admirer 
 of Henry Clat, and, during the life of that great man, 
 naturally acted with the Whig party. On the dissolution 
 of that organization, he joined the Democracy, with which 
 he has ever since co-operated. In 1857, he was elected on 
 the Democratic ticket to the Board of Conncilmen from 
 the Twelfth Ward of New York. The following year he 
 was elected Alderman, and re-elected two years after, being 
 
HENRY WEBB GENET. 81 
 
 chosen President of the Board during the last two years of 
 his term. In 1861 he was elected to the responsible office 
 of County Clerk, the duties of which he faithfully dis- 
 charged during the years 1862, 1863 and 1864. 
 
 During the three, most important years of the war, viz. : 
 the years ending January 1st, 1864, Mr. Genet, as Presi- 
 dent of the Board of Aldermen, was, ex officio, a member 
 of the War Fund Committee, of which the Mayor of the 
 city and the President of the Board of Councilmen were 
 also ex officio members. Every one remembers the con- 
 stant and valuable aid rendered by this organization to 
 the National Government, during the dark era of our his- 
 tory, and there was, on the Committee, no one who pri- 
 vately, or in his public capacity, was found more ready to 
 support every measure dictated by patriotism than Mr. 
 Genet; and his votes will always be found in favor of 
 the most lavish support, in blood and treasure, of our 
 threatened nationality. 
 
 Mr. Genet represented the 21st Assembly District of 
 New York in the Assembly of 1866. He was closely 
 attentive to the business of the House, and took interest 
 in all matters of general legislation. His genial warmth 
 won for him many friends, who sustained him in matters 
 affecting his own district, in which he took a special and 
 lively interest, resulting usually in success. He was a 
 most efficient worker. He was elected to the Senate in 
 1867, and re-elected in 1869, in evidence of the apprecia- 
 tion of his excellent services. Mr. Genet is a thorough 
 politician, of potent influence, and is popular outside of 
 his own party for his lack of narrow and exclusively 
 partisan notions. He has shown himself thoroughlv active 
 during the present session. He occupies the important 
 position of Chairman of the Railroad Committee, and is 
 also a member of the Committees on Militia and on En- 
 grossed Bills. 
 
 11 
 
WILLIAM M. GKAHAM. 
 
 Senator Graham was Lorn in the town of Minisink, 
 Orange county, September 8, 1819. His paternal ances- 
 tors came to this country from Ireland, while those of his 
 mother were Holland immigrants. In his qualities of 
 mind and person, he combines the excellent characteristics 
 of these two nations. He has all the solidity, industry 
 and persistence of the Hollander, with the genial warmth, 
 unselfish benevolence and patriotic ardor of the intelli- 
 gent Irishman. He received an academic education at the 
 Montgomery (Orange county) and Ridgebury (New Jer- 
 sey) Academies. 
 
 Mr. Graham's business life has been confined to that 
 of banking. He entered the Middletown Bank in 1841 as 
 Teller, and in 1844 was made its Cashier. It was in this 
 institution that he achieved a reputation as a financier of 
 superior qualities — an inflexibly honest banker, and a 
 faithful and laborious officer. He necessarily acquired an 
 intimate acquaintance with the business men of Orange 
 and other counties, who were won by his courtesy and 
 fair dealing, and esteemed him for his personal worth and 
 capacities. After twenty years of faithful service in this 
 institution, he was (in 1860) chosen President of the Wall- 
 kill Bank, which position he still holds, retaining the 
 approval of all for his careful discharge of his responsi- 
 bilities, his uprightness and sound judgment. 
 
 Mr. Geaham has but twice before held public office, 
 and the large majority by which he was then chosen was 
 practical evidence of the appreciation in which he was 
 held. In 1857, he was elected County Treasurer of Orange 
 county, and re-elected at the close of his first term. 
 
WILLIAM M. GRAHAM. 83 
 
 During the six years that he discharged the duties of the 
 office, he showed himself not unworthy the trust reposed 
 in him. He entered the canvass for Senator in 1867 under 
 serious disadvantages. The district in which he was nomi- 
 nated, and which he now represents, had for three succes- 
 sive terms sent to the Senate Hon. Henky R. Low (well 
 known to many of our readers), the last time by a majority 
 of 551. Mr. Low's prestige was, therefore, against Sen- 
 ator Graham. But he was so strong in the confidence of 
 the people that he gave additional impetus to the tide in 
 his own district, and was chosen by a majority of 633. 
 He was re-elected to the present Senate, over George 
 Clark, Republican, by a majority of 595. Mr. Graham 
 is not a man who has either the disposition or the art of 
 holding the Senate from the dispatch of business by fine 
 forensic talent, but he has those other and higher qualities 
 of a successful legislator — attentive application to business, 
 discriminating perception, and careful, quiet and persistent 
 management. His clear judgment is highly appreciated 
 and sought after, especially on questions of finance. 
 Lieutenant-Governor Beach but gave appropriate recog- 
 nition at once to his powers and uprightness, when he 
 made him Chairman of two responsible Committees in the 
 Senate — those of Banks and Public Expenditures. 
 
 Senator Graham's private and social life adds to his 
 honor. The friends of benevolent and humane move- 
 ments rely upon him as a wise counselor and willing con- 
 tributor. The sick and wounded heroes of the late conflict 
 with armed treason, had their sufierings frequently relieved 
 by his kind offices. He has always been a firm Democrat, 
 but never a bigoted partisan. 
 
JACOB HARDENBURGH. 
 
 Jacob Haedenbuegh was born at 'New Paltz, Ulster 
 county, 1823. His father, Richard Haedenbuegh, was a 
 farmer of Dutch descent, who, while he earned his bread 
 by the sweat of his brow, appreciated the value of bookish 
 lore, and sought to give to his son a liberal education. 
 
 When Jacob was six years old, the family removed to 
 Shawangunk, in Ulster county. Here he obtained the 
 rudiments of his education, and subsequently, at the New 
 Paltz Academy, he prepared himself for a collegiate course. 
 He entered Rutger's College, New Jersey, in the year 
 1841, and was graduated, with the honors of the institu- 
 tion, in 1844. 
 
 After leaving college, Mr. Haedenbuegh began the 
 double duty of earning his living and preparing himself 
 for his chosen profession — the law. He removed to Fonda, 
 Montgomery county, where he entered into an engagement 
 as teacher in the academy there. As an instructor, he 
 was not only very capable but very popular. Wholly free 
 from the assumption of undue authority, modest almost to 
 a fault, genial and frank-hearted, Mr. Haedenbuegh greatly 
 endeared himself to his pupils, who remember him as one 
 possessing a rare faculty for imparting knowledge united 
 to a personal character of unusual attractiveness. 
 
 While thus wielding the power, and discarding the rod, 
 of the pedagogue, Mr. Haedenbuegh devoted his spare 
 time to the prosecution of his legal studies. He laid deep 
 the foundations of his professional acquirements. He had 
 resolved to dedicate his life to the law, and he was not 
 content to skim the authorities for the mere purpose of 
 gaining the right to practice. While " teaching the young 
 
JACOB HARDENBUEGH. 85 
 
 idea how to shoot," he appropriated to himself the lessons 
 of studious industry which he inculcated, and subjected 
 himself to mental discipline of a much severer character 
 than he demanded from others. So five years passed, and, 
 in 1849, at the General Term of the Supreme Court, held 
 at Cooperstown, Jacob Haedenbuegh was admitted to 
 the bar. He was at this time in his twenty-seventh year. 
 He soon afterward removed to Kingston, in his native 
 county, and entered upon the active duties of his profession. 
 So thorough had been the work of his preparation, that Mr. 
 Haedenbuegh's qualifications as an attorney and counselor 
 were quickly discerned, and he obtained, almost from the 
 first, an extensive practice. While he was yet a student, 
 the Constitution of 1846 had been framed, and the Code 
 of Procedure adopted. He had made himself familiar 
 with the provisions of this Code, and, as some of the older 
 lawyers hesitated to avail themselves of the simpler system 
 of practice which it substituted for the " traditions of the 
 elders," Mr. Haedenbuegh was really better informed, 
 professionally, than many whose experience was far greater 
 than his. 
 
 Although his early affiliations were with the Whig party, 
 Mr. Haedenbuegh is a thoroughgoing Democrat. He 
 has been sent very many times as a delegate to Democratic 
 State Conventions, and was a member at large of the 
 Constitutional Convention of 1867-8. In that body, he 
 was influential in securing the passage of the Judiciary 
 Article, which was subsequently adopted by the people. 
 He was also active in seeking to secure some reform in the 
 management of the canals. 
 
 Mr. Haedenbtjegh was elected to the Senate last fall 
 from, the Fourteenth District, consisting of the counties 
 of Greene and Ulster, by a majority of 2,552. This is the 
 only political office he has ever held, or for which he has 
 
86 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 been a candidate. He ran considerably ahead of the 
 State ticket. 
 
 He is Chairman of the Committee on Canals, a place for 
 which he is admirably qualified. 
 
 In personal appearance, Senator Haedenbtjbgh is of 
 medium height, rather slender, with light complexion and 
 blue eyes. His hair and beard are of a brownish hue, 
 with a suggestion of gray. 
 
 As a speaker, his style is peculiarly adapted to the Sen- 
 ate chamber. He is quiet and modest in manner, but his 
 remarks are always clear and forcible, and frequently 
 pungent and epigrammatic. He is a ready debater, and 
 his speeches invariably secure marked attention. 
 
ABRAM V. HARPENDING. 
 
 The twenty-sixth Senatorial district is composed of the 
 counties of Ontario, Yates and Seneca, and is represented 
 by Abeam V. Haepending, of Penn Yan, Yates county. 
 Mr. H. was born in Dundee, in the latter county, July 9, 
 1816, and is, therefore, fifty-four years of age. By pro- 
 fession he is a lawyer, and in 1854, he held the office of 
 District Attorney of Yates county. In 1857, he repre- 
 sented his district in the Assembly, and was a prominent 
 supporter of the excise law passed that year, which he 
 again defended by a speech during the present session of 
 the Senate. He was a Whig in politics until the formation 
 of the Republican party, when he became an ardent fol- 
 lower of the latter. 
 
 Quiet, unassuming and gentlemanly in his manners, Mr. 
 HAEPENDrtTG commands the respect and esteem of all his 
 acquaintances. Seldom making speeches ; when he does so, 
 he reasons with marked clearness and excellent logic. He 
 succeeds Hon. C. J. Folgee, resigned, as Senator from the 
 26th, receiving a vote, at the special election, of 5,736 
 against 5,404 for G. W. Nichols, Democrat. 
 
JOHN F. HUBBARD, JR. 
 
 Senator Hubbaed was born in Norwich, Chenango 
 county, October 14, 1822. His father, John F. Hubbakd, 
 Sr., who is still living at the date of this sketch, ably 
 represented the Sixth Senatorial District, under the pre- 
 ceding Constitution, from 1829 to 1837. 
 
 The present Senator received an ordinary academic 
 education, and afterward read law, but never entered upon 
 the practice of the profession. 
 
 After some years spent in editorial life, he received, in 
 1847, from Hon. W. L. Marcy, an appointment in the 
 War Department at "Washington. He remained in that 
 city, holding various suboi'dinate positions in the Govern- 
 ment service, until about 1854, when he resigned, and 
 again took up his residence at Norwich. 
 
 In 1860, he was chosen a delegate to the Democratic 
 National Convention, held at Charleston, from the then 
 Twenty-first District of this State, and participated in the 
 proceedings of that body. In 1868 he was again a dele- 
 gate to the Democratic National Convention. 
 
 In 1866, he was appointed Assessor of Internal Revenue, 
 by President Johnson, for the Nineteenth District of New 
 York, but not being confirmed by the United States 
 Senate, his time as Assessor expired on the 4th of March, 
 following. 
 
 In the fall of 1867, he was, unexpectedly to himself, 
 nominated for the office of Senator, to represent the 
 Twenty-third District, and was elected by a majority of 
 247 votes. His competitor was Hon. Daniel Wateebuet, 
 of Delaware county. At the same election the Republican 
 
JOHN F. HUBBAED, JE. 89 
 
 majority on the State ticket in the district was 52 ; the 
 year previous it was 1,421. He was returned to the 
 present Senate over Hon. Lewis Kingsley, of Norwich, 
 an able and popular Repuhlican, by a majority of 1,352. 
 Mr. HuBBAED leading his ticket in almost every town in 
 the district. On most of the State candidates, indeed, the 
 same year, the district gave a Republican majority. The 
 year previous, the same counties gave Geant, for Presi- 
 dent, a majority of 1,663 votes. Mr. Hubbaed is Chairman 
 of the Committees on Affairs of Villages and Engrossed 
 Bills, and also serves on the Committees on Railroads, 
 Literature and Retrenchment. 
 
 Li politics, Senator Httbbaed is and has been all his life 
 a decided Democrat. He is a careful politician, bold and 
 undisguised in his political sentiments, yet affable in his 
 personal address. He is energetic and of sound practical 
 talents, and gives every evidence of becoming a sagacious 
 and successful legislator. 
 
 12 
 
GEORGE NELSON KENNEDY, 
 
 Gbokgb Nelson Kenstedt, Senator from the Twenty- 
 second (Onondaga and Cortland) District, is a native of 
 Marcellus, Onondaga county, New York, where he was 
 born, September 11, 1822. His paternal grandfather 
 emigrated from Ireland in 1760, and his maternal grand- 
 father was an immediate descendant of the Puritan set- 
 tlers of New England. Both were active participants in 
 the Revolutionary struggle, as soldiers in the ai"my of the 
 young Republic. His mother's grandfather was killed in 
 the battle of Saratoga; and both his grandfathers were 
 also engaged in that conflict. His father, in early man- 
 hood, removed to Marcellus, and was a fanner in moderate 
 circumstances. In 1831 he removed, with his family, to 
 Skaneateles, in the same county, where he remained three 
 years, in order to give his children the advantages of the 
 academy at that place. "When Geoege was eighteen 
 years of age, he was thrown upon his own resources, and 
 his fortune and honorable career have been achieved 
 through his own unaided exertions. Throughout his life, 
 he has adhered strictly to the principles of honor and 
 comity that mark the true gentleman, and has aimed to 
 live for the good of those about him rather than for self- 
 aggrandizement. 
 
 Mr. Ken^nedt began the study of the law with Edmund 
 AiKisr, a lawyer at Marcellus ; was admitted to practice 
 in the Court of Common Pleas of Onondaga county, in 
 1842, and to the Supreme Court two years later. He 
 remained at Marcellus, engaged in the practice of his pro- 
 fession, and doing an extensive business, until 1854, when 
 
GEOEGE JSTELSOIT KENNEDY. 91 
 
 he removed to the city of Syracuse, his present place 
 of residence, and entered into a law partnership with 
 Ohaelbs B. Sedgwick and Chaeles Andeews, forming 
 the firm of Sedgwick, Andeews & Kennedy, which has 
 been and still is a leading law firm in Onondaga county, 
 and one of the foremost in the profession in the Fifth 
 Judicial District. Mr. Kennedy has a prominent posi- 
 tion at the bar of Onondaga county. He has been an 
 active, energetic practitioner ; and to his credit, it is said 
 by his professional compeers, that no more honorable 
 adversary is found in the legal ranks of Central New 
 York. He is able both as counselor and as advocate ; he 
 is a sound adviser in the oifice, and a strong, convincing 
 speaker before the court and the jury. Since he has 
 resided in Syracuse he has devoted himself assiduously to 
 his profession ; and for more than half this period he has 
 been engaged in a majority of the important legal contro- 
 versies that have claimed the attention of the courts of 
 Onondaga county. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy cast his first vote for James K. Polk for 
 President, in 1844. Four years later he was a member of 
 the Buffalo Convention, which nominated Van Bueen 
 and Adams as the Free Soil candidates. Subsequently he 
 acted with the Democratic party until 1854, when he was 
 among the earliest of those, who, impelled by a sense of 
 duty and patriotism, disconnected themselves from that 
 organization, because of its favoring the extension of 
 slavery over free territory, and joined the Republican 
 party, to whose principles he gave an earnest and efficient 
 support, and with which he has since steadfastly acted. 
 Until his election as Senator he held no public station. 
 He had several times been pressed for nominations by his 
 party, but waived his claims to subserve what he deemed 
 its best interests. For several years he was at the head 
 
92 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 of the party organization in Onondaga county, holding 
 the chairmanship of the Republican County Committee, the 
 duties of which he discharged with ability and thorough- 
 ness, and thereby did much to secure the proud success of 
 his party in that locality. When a candidate for Senator, 
 the best evidences of his personal popularity were afforded 
 in the vote he received, which was greater than that of his 
 party for the State ticket in the Ward, City and County 
 where he resides. He was re-elected by 3,393 majority. 
 
 During the war to suppress the rebellion, no citizen was 
 more earnest and laborious in prosecuting the work of 
 raising troops for the Government, and in providing means 
 of support for the families of absent soldiers, than Mr. 
 Kennedy. His voice was heard at the war meetings in 
 city and country, and his means were liberally given to 
 aid the cause of the nation. Few men who did not 
 actually participate in the strife of the battle-field did 
 more for his country than he; and his work was done 
 without ostentation ; his aid was extended without parade. 
 
 Mr. Kennedy has achieved a gratifying professional and 
 pecuniary success. The practice of his profession, to which 
 he is enthusiastically devoted, has secured to him a hand- 
 some competency, and his other business operations have 
 been uniformly successful. He has the proud satisfaction 
 of knowing that he has been, in the fullest degree, " the 
 architect of his own fortune." He possesses all the attri- 
 butes requisite to the attainment of high success in legis- 
 lative bodies. His ability as a speaker, his thoroughness 
 as a business man, his uniform courtesy and manliness, 
 combined with, imremitting industry and rare energy, are 
 qualities that indicate for him a bright and honorable 
 career in the halls of legislation. 
 
 In the late Senate, Mr. Kennedy was Chairman of the 
 Committees on Salt and Privileges and Elections, and a 
 
GEOEGE NELSON KENNEDY. 93 
 
 member of the Committees on Municipal Affairs and Indian 
 Affairs. In the present Senate he is a member of the 
 Committees on Municipal Affairs, Salt and the Erection 
 and Division of Towns and Counties. Mr. K. has rendered 
 important service to his constituents and the general 
 public since he accepted the burdens of his present posi- 
 tion. Thoroughly versed in the politics of the State, 
 familiar with legislative practice, quick to discern the 
 movements of the most wily foe, he has obstructed the 
 passage of many bad laws, contributed to the purity of 
 legislation, and urged to final enactment many important 
 measures. 
 
LORAN L. LEWIS. 
 
 The Senator from the Thirty-first District, consisting 
 of the County of Erie, is Hon. Loran L. Lewis, who was 
 born in 1825, near the city of Auburn, Cayuga county. 
 Of five children, LoEAiir L. was the third ; Dr. Dig Lewis, 
 of Boston, well known as an author and lecturer on 
 physiology, and the laws of life and health, is an elder 
 brother, and Dr. Geoege W. Lewis, of Bufialo, a younger. 
 His two sisters reside at the West. One of them is the 
 wife of Dr. Tisdale, of Indianapolis. 
 
 The subject of this sketch shared in serious pecuniary 
 misfortunes which befel the family, and, therefore, com- 
 pelled, in his case, a painful contact with the rough side 
 of life. When about eighteen years of age, he warmly 
 enlisted in the Washingtonian Temperance movement, and 
 was recognized as one of the most efiective speakers of 
 that organization in the county where he resided. This 
 fact is mentioned, not because of its importance per se, 
 but to give the key-note to his whole life. In all situa- 
 tions he has been an earnest, practical, working American 
 citizen. 
 
 Mr. L. was educated at Auburn, receiving the advan- 
 tages of an academical course. He then studied law with 
 Judge HuLBEET, and finished his legal course in the office 
 of Sewaed & Blatohfoed, of that city. After his ad- 
 mission to the bar, in 1848, he removed to Bufialo, and 
 devoted himself, with singular zeal, to the practice of his 
 profession. Achieving but moderate success for a few 
 years, he toiled on, occupying an obscure ofiice, accepting 
 no adventitious aids, unwavering in the faith that integ- 
 
LOEAN L. LEWIS. 95 
 
 rity and fidelity would eventually command success. The 
 result has fully justified his confidence. For several years 
 past he has had a large and lucrative practice, and has 
 devoted his entire attention and time to the trial of causes, 
 civil and criminal, in the courts of Erie and adjoining 
 counties. A large proportion of his cases have been those 
 in which he has acted as counsel for other lawyers. It 
 may be added, that, with this success, Mr. L. has laid the 
 foundation of a considerable fortune, which, with his wife 
 and large family, he uses as one who comprehends the true 
 value of wealth. 
 
 Although taking considerable interest in political afiairs, 
 Mr. L. has never been a politician. Devoting himself 
 entirely to his profession, he has steadily declined nomina- 
 tions to ofiice, though frequently tendered him, until, in 
 the late canvass, he consented to accept the nomination 
 for the office he now holds, which was given him by 
 acclamation, without any solicitation on his part. Origi- 
 nally a Free Soil Democrat, upon the organization of the 
 Republican party he became a member thereof, and has 
 acted with it since that time. He succeeds Hon. A. P. 
 Nichols, a Democrat, who was elected two years pre- 
 viously by 1,400 majority. The majority of Mr. Lewis 
 was 269 — a circumstance which shows conclusively the 
 estimation in which he is held by those who know 
 him best. 
 
JARVIS LORD. 
 
 Me. Loed, the Senator from the Twenty-eighth District, 
 was born at Ballston, Saratoga county, February 10, 1816. 
 He is in the prime of life, and as vigorous as he was at 
 twenty-five ; of good physical proportions, and an excel- 
 lent constitution, and a temperament adapted to both 
 mental and physical endurance ; he has been favored with 
 excellent health, and seldom tires by active labor. 
 
 Mr. Loed was the son of poor parents, and had no 
 other educational advantages than those afl!brded by the 
 common schools in the days of his boyhood. He availed 
 himself of these, however, so far as to acquire a tolerable 
 knowledge of those branches which were to be most 
 essential to him in business life. He adopted the avoca- 
 tion of a farmer, and, though he has most of the time had 
 large interests in other pursuits, he has made the farm his 
 home, and has taken a pride in the culture of the soil. He 
 has resided, for twenty-eight years or more^at Pittsford, 
 seven miles from Rochester, and has there one of the best 
 cultivated and most productive farms in Monroe county. 
 He takes delight in the cultivation of fruit, and the raising 
 of stock, particularly horses, of which he is a great admirer. 
 Mr. Loed has always been a Democrat of the Jackson 
 and Weight school. Devoted to the Union, he warmly 
 espoused the Federal cause at the beginnirig of the re- 
 bellion, and gave freely to promote the national interests, 
 and, it is said, did more than any other man in his town 
 to keep the calls for men filled, and to help the soldiers in 
 the field and at home. He has enjoyed a personal popu- 
 larity at home, equaled by few men. When nominated 
 for office, his neighbors support him with enthusiasm. He 
 
JAEVIS LORD. 97 
 
 ■was elected to the Assembly, in 1858, on the Democratic 
 ticket, when the District went Republican by several hun- 
 dreds. He was elected again in 1866, by a majority of 
 fifteen over a strong opponent, when the District gave 
 Governor PEXTOiir six hundred majority. At the opening 
 of the Legislatm-e, in 1867, his party presented him as the 
 Democratic candidate for Speaker, and sustained him by 
 an unbroken vote ; but the Eepublican majority in the 
 House accomplished the election of Mr. Pitts. He has, 
 once or more, served as Supervisor. 
 
 Mr. Lord has been engaged for many years in building 
 canals in this State, and he enjoys a wide reputation as a 
 contractor. He is now President of the Bank of Monroe 
 of Rochester, a sound and reliable institution. As a citi- 
 zen, Mr. LoKD has a spotless character, and, as a business 
 man, his reputation is excellent all over Central and 
 Western New York. 
 
 Mr. Lord does not claim to be an orator ; his attention 
 has never been bestowed on the embellishments of rhetoric 
 and elocution. Whenever he has an opinion to utter, he 
 delivers it point blank, and usually with very good aim. 
 His shrewdness and plain sense are his leading character- 
 istics ; and they serve him well in the accomplishment of 
 his purposes in the Senate. He is influential as a Senator 
 among the majority who control that branch of the Legis- 
 lature, and generally succeeds in procuring the passage of 
 measures intrusted to his charge. He is Chairman of the 
 Finance Committee, for which position he seems eminently 
 fitted. His efforts in that capacity, thus far, have given 
 unusual satisfaction. His report on the payment of a por- 
 tion of the State debt in coin, made during the present 
 session, was a paper of remarkable clearness and force, 
 and it will, doubtless, be used as a leading argument in favor 
 of the Democratic party during the forthcoming canvass. 
 13 
 
THEODOEE L. MINIER. 
 
 The Twenty-seventh Senatorial District, composed of 
 the counties of Schuyler and Steuben, is represented by 
 Hon. Theodore L. Miniee. He resides in the town of 
 Havana, where he has won the distinguished regard of the 
 citizens of that place, both by his unremitting industry 
 and his business integrity. 
 
 Mr. Miniee was born in Ulster, Bradford county, Penn., 
 December 16, 1819. He received a common school edu- 
 cation, and was bred a farmer, until he was eighteen years 
 of age, at which time he left home and went to Horse- 
 heads, Chemung county, N. Y. He there discharged the 
 duties of Deputy Collector of canal tolls, during the 
 years 1839, '40 and 41. About twenty-five years ago, he 
 accepted the position of teller in the Chemung Canal bank. 
 His business capacity there became so noticeable as to 
 attract very general attention. Such were the traits of 
 ability exhibited by him, public opinion readily expressed 
 itself in favor of placing him in a place where he could 
 have a wider field of operations. Therefore, he was 
 selected, at a later day, as the principal agent at Elmira, 
 of the Erie Railway Company. Not long subsequent to 
 this appointment, his services were required at the princi- 
 pal office of the same company, in New York, where he 
 remained for a considerable time, giving general satisfac- 
 tion to the company by which he was employed. 
 
 The extensive business operations in railroad matters, 
 which were conducted by Gen. A. S. Diven and partners, 
 are well known in the southern tier of counties of this 
 State. The tact and energetic qualities possessed by Mr. 
 
THEODOEE L. MINIEE. 99 
 
 MiNiER attracted the notice of Gen. Diven, who secured 
 Mr. MiNiEB to take charge of his railroad afiairs. The 
 post was one of the deepest importance. Honesty, fore- 
 sight and ready adaptation were brought to the test. But 
 in all these, he proved as true as steel ; and the success 
 which he achieved was such as to draw forth high encomi- 
 ums from those by whom he was employed. On one 
 occasion a fine service of silver plate was presented to 
 him, on their behalf; and, at that time, Gen. Diven stated 
 that in all their immense operations, which involved 
 hundreds of thousands, and perhaps millions of dollars, all 
 of which were under the exclusive and unlimited charge 
 of Mr. MiNiEE, there never was an instance in which his 
 accounts were not accurate to the last penny, and his 
 balance sheet was always promptly ready. Surely, no 
 better compliment to business integrity could be be- 
 stowed. 
 
 About fifteen years ago, he became cashier of the bank 
 at Havana, having been urged to accept the position by 
 Hon. Chaeles Cook, who was largely interested in that 
 institution. During Mr. Cook's life-time, Mr. Minier 
 enjoyed the confidence of that gentleman, who intrusted 
 him with much of his business, and frequently bestowed 
 upon him substantial tokens of his regard for him. 
 Throughout the many years during which he has dis- 
 charged the office of cashier of the bank at Havana, he 
 has continuously retained the confidence of the community 
 whose pecuniary interests were intrusted to him to such a 
 large extent. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Miniee was formerly a staunch Whig, 
 and afterward became a Republican. He has never 
 wavered in his political faith ; but has always stood ready 
 to advance the cause of his party in every honorable way. 
 At the 27th Senatorial Convention, which was held at 
 
100 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Corning, October 6, 1869, Mr. Miniee was nominated to 
 fill the place made vacant by the expiration of the sena- 
 torial term of Hon. John I. Nicks. The following reso- 
 lutions were unanimously adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That this Convention, in behalf of the Repub- 
 licans of this Senatorial District, extend to Senator JoHi«r 
 I. Nicks our warmest, heartfelt thanks, for the honest, 
 upright and faithful manner he has discharged the duties 
 of that office during the past three years, and our best 
 wishes go with him for future prosperity. 
 
 Resolved, That Mr. Theodoeb L. Miniee, this day nom- 
 inated for Senator, shall have the united support of the 
 Republicans of this district, and a certain election by a 
 rousing majority. 
 
 Mr. Miniee was elected by 607 majority. In the Senate 
 he serves on the Committees on Railroads and Grievances. 
 
GEOEGE MORGAN. 
 
 The years which immediately followed the close of our 
 last war with Great Britain brought unusual and bitter 
 suffering to the poorer classes. From 1815 to 1820 trade 
 was stagnant and provisions were scarce. Capital was 
 hoarded, labor undemanded and the spirit of enterprise 
 seemed to have died out from the hearts of the people. 
 
 During this doleful period, on the 16th of July, 1816, 
 Geobge Morgan was born at Chatham, Columbia county, 
 in this State. 
 
 His father, William Mokgast, had come from Hartford, 
 Connecticut, where the family from which he sprung was 
 and is known and honored. He was a farmer and a 
 clothier ; but, notwitstanding the fact that he excelled in 
 both callings, he found it no easy matter to support his 
 family through the hard times to which we have referred. 
 In the hope of bettering his condition he removed in 1819 
 to Salisbury, Connecticut, where the early years of 
 Geoege Moegan's life were passed. 
 
 Geoege worked on the farm in the summer and eager- 
 ly improved the few months of schooling which were 
 granted him in the winter-time. An education obtained 
 under such circumstances is usually scant but valuable. 
 He who gets it, while lacking the polish and finish which 
 much learning gives, is often better grounded in the sub- 
 stantial elements of knowledge than are they who possess 
 large opportunities but who lack the ambition which 
 poverty very frequently inspires. 
 
 At the age of seventeen Geoege Moegan left home to 
 spend a term of three months at the well-known Academy 
 
102 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 at Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He had saved the money 
 necessary to pay his tuition and board from the small 
 wages allowed him for hard work. Under the blazing 
 summer sun and through the bleak, cold New England 
 winter this boy had wrought patiently to gain a little 
 sum, all of which he willingly gave for the better disci- 
 pline and development of his mind. 
 
 The three months passed away and his money was gone. 
 But he found that by sawing wood and doing " chores " 
 he could pay his way for another quarter. So he took off 
 his coat and went to work ; securing by his labor another 
 term at the academy. 
 
 After leaving school he came into this State and settled 
 irl Dutchess county, where he found employment as clerk 
 in a country store at Pine Plains, at the very moderate 
 salary of twelve dollars per month. But habits of econ- 
 omy joined to an enterprising spirit proved amply suffi- 
 cient to overcome all obstacles in the road to success, and 
 by the time he was thirty years old Mr. Moegan had 
 accumulated twenty thousand dollars. With this amount 
 he went to New York and entered into business. Here, 
 however, owing to circumstances quite beyond his own 
 control, he was very unsuccessful, and in a short time he 
 lost nearly the whole of his fortune. Undismayed by 
 this turn in affairs he left the city and removed to Colum- 
 bia county, where he purchased a farm and again went to 
 work. This was about the year 1846. In 1848, Mr. 
 MoEGAK was elected a justice of the peace, which office 
 he held for the term of four years. In 1857 he took up 
 his residence on a farm in Dutchess county. He continued 
 to live there until 1861, when he removed to Poughkeepsie. 
 In the meantime he had made several fortunate invest- 
 ments in real estate, and found himself once more in easy 
 circumstances, financially. 
 
GEORGE MOKGAN. 103 
 
 Mr. MoKGAN has always been a Democrat. While tak- 
 ing a deep interest in political matters, and contributing 
 liberally to the support of his party, he has never sought 
 office. 
 
 He served at one time as mayor of Poughkeepsie, being 
 the first Democrat ever elected to that position. 
 
 He had filled no other public places, excepting those 
 already mentioned, up to the time that he was chosen 
 Senator. 
 
 The Eleventh District, which he represents, was closely 
 contested at the last election. It had returned a Republi- 
 can Senator m 1867, by over seven hundred majority. Mr. 
 Morgan's majority was one hundred and eighty-seven. 
 
 In personal appearance, the Senator is a strong, well- 
 built man, nearly six feet in height, and weighing about 
 two hundred pounds. 
 
 He has a frank, pleasant face, is a genial companion, a 
 firm, reliable friend, and a generous, kind-hearted man. 
 
 In the Senate he serves as Chairman of the Committee 
 on Claims, and as a member of the Committee on Manu- 
 factures. 
 
 He is faithful in the discharge of his duties, and true to 
 the policy which he believes to be for the best interests 
 of the people. 
 
HENRY CRUSE MURPHY. 
 
 Timothy Muephy, grandfather of the Senator, emigrated 
 to America, from Ireland, in the year 1769, and settled in 
 Monmouth county, New Jersey, where he married Mary 
 Gaeeison, granddaughter of Riohaed Haetshoene, of 
 Middletown, for several years member of the Council, and 
 Representative of the Assembly of that Province. On 
 the breaking out of the Revolution, the above mentioned 
 Timothy Muephy warmly espoused the American cause, 
 and took up arms in defense of those principles which he 
 cherished, and transmitted to his descendants. He left 
 eight children, four of whom were sons, viz. : William, 
 John Gaeeison, Feancis and Joseph. 
 
 John Gaeeison Murphy married Claeissa Runyon, of 
 Princeton, New Jersey, and settled, about the year ] 808, 
 in Brooklyn, where he died in 1854, in the seventieth year 
 of his age, leaving two sons and four daughters. 
 
 Heney C. Muephy, the eldest of these children, was 
 born in Brooklyn in 1810, and has ever since been a resident 
 of that city. After receiving a preparatory education, he 
 entered Columbia college, from which he graduated in 1830. 
 He then commenced the study of the law, with the late 
 Petbe W. Radclipfe, of New York, and was admitted to 
 the bar in 1833. In the year following, he married Miss 
 Amelia Geeenwood, daughter of Richaed Geeenwood, 
 of Haverstraw, Rockland county. New York. Though 
 applying himself assiduously to the duties of his profes- 
 sion, Mr. Muephy found time to bestow on literary and 
 political subjects, and was a frequent contributor to several 
 periodicals of the day. He thus early became known in 
 
HENET CEUSE MUEPHT. 105 
 
 political circles, in which he has since occupied a foremost 
 position. 
 
 At the time Mr. Muepht entered public life, the State 
 of New York had been long pursuing, in regard to its 
 moneyed interests, a policy which had placed the banks, 
 in every section of the State, under the control of petty 
 monopolists, created by political favoritism. A conven- 
 tion of the young men of the day assembled at Herkimer, 
 in 1834, to which Mr. Murphy was elected a delegate. 
 On its organization, he was appointed Chairman on Reso- 
 lutions, and then, for the first time, exhibited that fore- 
 sight and energy of character for which he has since been 
 distinguished. He took occasion at once to introduce in 
 the Committee, and subsequently in the Convention, a 
 resolution denouncing the above policy, although the 
 patronage which it created had been distributed for the 
 benefit of his own party. Violent opposition was made 
 to the adoption of the resolution, but it finally passed, 
 with some modification. It was, however, never permitted 
 to see the light, having been suppressed in the official 
 report of the proceedings of the Convention. Still it had 
 its effect. The fact that the resolution had been sup- 
 pressed, soon became known. The New York Evening 
 Post, then edited by the late William Leggett, and 
 many other journals, exposed the unfair proceeding, took 
 up the doctrine, and gave it a strength and popularity 
 which resulted, in a few years, in the utter prostration 
 of the system of monopolized banking in the State of 
 New York. 
 
 Mr. Muepht was, soon after, appointed Attorney and 
 Counsel to the Corporation of his native city, and, conse- 
 quently, became familiar with the nature and operation of 
 municipal corporations generally. In 1842, he was elected 
 Mayor of Brooklyn. During his administration he intro- 
 14 
 
106 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 duced a system of retrenchment, which actually kept the 
 expenditures of that city within its income. He com- 
 menced this retrenchment by the reduction of his own 
 salary. Before the expiration of his term of office as 
 Mayor, he was elected member of the Twenty-eighth 
 Congress, and took his seat accordingly in the House of 
 Representatives in 1843. Although one of its youngest 
 members, he at once occupied a high position in that 
 body ; and, on the tariff question, advocated a system of 
 duties for revenue purposes only, and thus incidentally 
 indorsed the doctrine of free trade. 
 
 On the question of the annexation of Texas, he was in 
 favor of the measure, but advised its postponement, in 
 order that Mexico might be afforded an opportunity to 
 give her assent, and that more unanimity might be secured 
 thereby in favor of it in the United States. In view of 
 the events which have since transpired, the wisdom 
 of this recommendation must be admitted. On other 
 questions of public policy, he took an equally prominent 
 position ; and, with ability, opposed the alteration of the 
 Naturalization Laws, and demonstrated the inconsistency 
 of such a measure with the genius of our government, 
 and its bad effects on the settlement of the public domain. 
 For the splendid Dry Dock which has been constructed at 
 Wallabout bay, the port of New York is entirely indebted 
 to Mr. Muepht's zeal and perseverance. 
 
 The most notable position in State politics which this 
 gentleman has occupied was that of member of the Con- 
 vention which assembled in 1846, to frame a new Consti- 
 tution for this State. Here he brought forward several 
 important provisions, some of which were eventually 
 incorporated into that instrument. His course on this, as 
 on most occasions, met the approbation of his constituents, 
 and on his return from the Convention he was again 
 
HENRY CEtrSE MtJEPHY. 107 
 
 elected to Congress by the largest vote ever previously- 
 polled in his district. 
 
 On the accession of Mr. Buchanan to the Presidency, 
 Mr. MuKPHT received the appointment of Minister to the 
 Hague. Identified, as he had long been, with the efibrts 
 made to rescue from oblivion the early history of our 
 State, particularly that portion of it which relates to its 
 first colonization by Holland, the selection elicited general 
 approval. When the rebellion broke out, Mr. Muephy 
 was still Minister of the United States to the Netherlands. 
 It was exceedingly important, at the time, that the gov- 
 ernments of Europe should be correctly informed of the 
 precise facts of the case, and of the real relation of the 
 States to the Federal Government, in order that foreign 
 powers might readily see and adhere to their well-estab- 
 lished line of duty. Accordingly, Minister Muephy 
 addressed to the Government of the N"etherlands an 
 elaborate exposition of that relationship, and clearly 
 pointed out the absolute supremacy of the General Gov- 
 ernment in all matters committed to it by the Constitu- 
 tion, and the equally absolute rights of the States over 
 all matters not delegated to the United States by that 
 instrument. He seized the oppoi-tunity to show, at the 
 same time, that the rebellion owed its origin chiefly to 
 sectional hate and the ambition of the leaders. This paper 
 was printed at length in the Diplomatic Correspondence 
 of 1861 and 1862, and was highly praised by men of 
 all parties. Upon his return to the United States, he 
 announced his determination to uphold the National flag 
 ao^ainst secession, and was immediately elected to the Sen- 
 ate of the State as a Union man. At the State Convention 
 of the Democratic party in 1862, he was chosen temporary 
 Chairman, and insisted that all citizens, without distinc- 
 tion of party, should support the Administration in 
 
108 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 putting down the rebellion. In the annual oration before 
 the Tammany Society, on the 4th of July, 1863, he took 
 no less patriotic ground in behalf of the Union. Indeed, 
 he was no less zealous in acts than in words ; for mainly 
 by his exertions, the Third Senatorial Regiment — the 
 159th New York State Volunteers, Colonel MoLiNBtrx — 
 was raised, and the bounties paid to the men, without 
 calling upon either the State, city or county authorities for 
 that purpose. Such, in brief, is the history of his action 
 in regard to the rebellion. 
 
 Mr. MuEPHT has been elected five times to the Senate, 
 for successive terms, and is now in his ninth year of ser- 
 vice in that body. He has taken a conspicuous part in 
 all important debates and discussions, and particularly 
 distinguished himself in his efforts to repeal the bill in 
 regard to ecclesiastical tenures, and to establish the quar- 
 antine in the lower bay of New York — measures which 
 he successfully carried through. He also was in favor of 
 sustaining the different internal improvements throughout 
 the State, without regard to the section where they were 
 proposed, provided they contributed to the general pros- 
 perity. Having always been a strict constructionist, Mr. 
 MuEPHT voted against ratifying the Amendment to the 
 Constitution of the United States abolishing Slavery. He 
 holds that, as the Federal Government is one of delegated 
 powers exclusively, and as the subject of slavery was not 
 embraced in the Constitution, and was to be disposed of 
 only by the States where it existed, the power of amend- 
 ment is necessarily limited to the subjects embraced in the 
 Constitution, and does not legitimately apply to that of 
 abolishing slavery. 
 
 Senator Mukphy is the acknowledged representative of 
 his party in the Senate. In 1867, and again in 1869, 
 he received the nomination for United States Senator 
 
HBIIET CEXTSE MUEPHT. 109 
 
 from the Democratic members of the Legislature. He 
 was a leading member of the late Constitutional Conven- 
 tion, and took prominent part in all its proceedings. 
 
 In debate, Senator Muepht always speaks extempora- 
 neously ; in argument he is close and logical ; in manner, 
 earnest and apparently severe ; and, when he warms to 
 his subject, history, precedent and analogy, all seem to 
 rise unbidden to fortify the positions he assumes. In pri- 
 vate character, he possesses in an eminent degree all the 
 essential elements of a high toned and honorable gentle- 
 man ; and no public man has, probably, passed thus far 
 through the trying ordeal of a legislative career, so 
 entirely free from the taint of corruption. Though 
 eminently a practical man, taking a deep and active 
 interest in public affairs — a man of the people — he is 
 a scholar, "and a ripe good one." To the gratification of 
 this taste Mr. Muepht has given much of his time and 
 means. During his travels, at home and abroad, he has 
 accumulated one of the finest private libraries in America, 
 and possesses the full power to appreciate and enjoy it; 
 and however much he may win honor and fame as a public 
 spirited citizen, or a successful political leader, his claims 
 as one the literati can never be lost sight of, and will con- 
 stitute his most enduring fame. Mr. Mtjepht's contribu- 
 tions to literature are of a very valuable character, and 
 include a number of translations from the Dutch language, 
 of which he is a perfect master. 
 
CHRISTOPHER F. NORTON. 
 
 In 1869, at the November election, the voters of the 
 Sixteenth Senatorial District chose, as their representative 
 in the State Senate, a man who never before had held a 
 political office, and who belonged to a party which, in the 
 counties composing the district, had constituted for years 
 a seemingly hopeless minority. 
 
 In IseV the Republicans had elected their Senator by a 
 majority of 1,496, and yet, in 1869, Cheistophbe F. Nor- 
 ton was chosen, as a Democrat, by a majority exceeding 
 2,000. A political revolution so complete must be ascribed, 
 in great part, to the strong personal popularity of the 
 candidate, rather than to a permanent change in the prin- 
 ciples of the people. And no more apt illustration of the 
 power of personal strength in politics could well be shown 
 than that drawn from Senator Nokton's candidacy and 
 election. 
 
 Christopher F. Norton was born in Fredonia, Chau- 
 tauqua county, July 23, 1821. His father. Jambs Norton, 
 belonged to a Connecticut family, which had early emi- 
 grated to Oneida county in this State, and had removed 
 from there to Chautauqua county, where they were among 
 the pioneer settlers of Fredonia. The elder Mr. Norton 
 was a woolen manufacturer, who commenced life poor, but 
 who, by industry and business tact, acquired a competency 
 before his death. Christopher received his early educa- 
 tion at the district school of his native town, and subse- 
 quently at the academy there. 
 
 Leaving school, he entered a store as a clerk, where he 
 remained several years. In 1843 he was married to Miss 
 Sarah Chase, of Claremont, New Hampshire. 
 
CHEISTOPHKK F. NOBXON. Ill 
 
 In 1845, at the age of twenty-four, Mr. Norton left his 
 native town and moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, where he 
 entered upon the manufacture of lumber, on the Erie 
 Extension Canal, which runs from Erie to the Ohio river. 
 
 His business prospered, and in the course of ten years 
 he had amassed a moderate fortune. 
 
 In 1856 he sold out his establishment and removed to 
 Plattsburgh, New York. Before that time, several attempts 
 to obtain lumber from the Saranac lakes, and float it down 
 the Saranac river to Plattsburgh, had proved, financially, 
 unsuccessful. When Mr. Noeton renewed this attempt, 
 many of his neighbors considered his scheme visionary, 
 and sought to dissuade him from investing his capital in 
 what seemed so pei-ilous an undertaking. But he had 
 satisfied himself that the business was practicable, and he 
 threw all his energy as well as all his money into the 
 work. The result demonstrated his wisdom. He com- 
 menced by making five millions of feet of lumber in a 
 year, and his business has grown so steadily and profitably, 
 that he is now enabled to manufacture between twenty- 
 five and thirty millions of feet per annum. His establish- 
 ment is the largest of the kind (with perhaps a single 
 exception) in the State of New York. 
 
 In politics Mr. Noeton was orignally a Henet Clay 
 Whig. On the disruption of the Whig pai-ty he became 
 a Democrat. As has already been stated, he never held a 
 political ofiice, of any kind, until he was elected to the 
 Senate, but he has always taken a deep interest in public 
 affairs and possesses a comprehensive knowledge of public 
 questions. 
 
 During our late civil conflict, Mr. Noeton was classed 
 with the War Democrats. He contributed very liberally 
 to the support of families of volunteers, and was energetic 
 in his efforts to raise troops. His charity was unostenta- 
 
112 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 tious and his work effective. His popularity in his district 
 is no doubt in part attibutable to the services he rendered 
 to the Union cause during those dark days of our country's 
 history. 
 
 Mr. IsToBTON is one of the finest' looking men in the 
 Senate. He is tall, erect and well proportioned. His 
 complexion is remarkably clear, his eyes are blue, his 
 nose is shapely and his mouth handsome and benignant in 
 expression. 
 
 Senator Norton is not a ready debater, but he states 
 his views concisely and pointedly. 
 
 He is an indefatigable worker and gives his whole time 
 conscientiously to the duties of his position. He is 
 Chairman of the committees on Militia and on Erection 
 and Division of Towns and Counties, and is a member 
 of the committees on Canals, on State Prisons and on 
 Grievances. i 
 
MICHAEL NORTON. 
 
 Senator Xorto>^ is the representative of the Fifth Dis- 
 trict, and in every particular is a self-made man. His 
 career shows what a^nian with little or no advantages can 
 accomplish with enericy and determination. 
 
 Mr. Norton was horn in Ii-eland, on the 25th day of 
 Deceinber, 18M9. His p;irents came to this country when 
 he WMs only about five months old, became residents of 
 the city of New York, and lived there until their death. 
 He is entirely self-educated, never having attended school 
 over six months. His parents being in moderate circum- 
 stances, he was obliged at an early day to earn his own 
 living. He has had a varied life, but yet active, and 
 has seen the world in a variety of phases. Possessing 
 a strong practical turn of mind and an excellent memory, 
 life has lieen a school from which he has drawn far more 
 knowledge than others would gain by close study. He 
 commenced working out when but eight years old, his 
 first situation being in a cracker factory, where he 
 remained three years. At the age of eleven he went into 
 the employ of Swift & Co., sugar refiners, where he 
 remained five years. He then engaged on the ocean 
 steamer Atlantic, of the Collins line, as a mess boy, and 
 made six trips across the Atlantic in that capacity. At 
 the expiration of his service on that vessel he learned the 
 cooper's trade. 
 
 In 1861 he enlisted in the volunteer service, and was 
 elected Captain of Company D, of the Twenty-fifth Regi- 
 ment. He was mustered in the service in Ma}' of that 
 year, thus being one of the earliest to respond to the call 
 15 
 
114 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 of the country. While in this service he received the 
 news of the death of his father and the severe illness of 
 his mother. This threw the care of his father's family 
 upon his shoulders, and compelled him to resign his posi- 
 tion in the army and return to New York, which he did 
 in November of that year. 
 
 In 1862, he ran for Alderman in the Third Aldermanic 
 District. There were four Democratic candidates running, 
 and Mr. Noeton was second in the race, being defeated 
 by John T. Henby. He was again a candidate in 1864, 
 and elected; was re-elected in 1866, and still holds his 
 position, his second term expiring on the 1st of January, 
 1869. Since he has been a member of that board, he has 
 served on some of the most important committees, having 
 held the position of Chairman of the Committee on 
 Streets, of Lamps and Gas, and of the Joint Committee 
 on Accounts. He has also been a member of the Com- 
 mittee on Finance, and Wharves and Piers. 
 
 In political affiliations he is identified with Tammany 
 Hall, and connected with both the ward and general 
 committees of that organization, at the present time 
 heading the delegation from the eighth ward in the 
 General Committee. He is an active worker in his party, 
 and generally acknowledged as one of the strongest men 
 in the organization of that ward. He was a delegate to 
 the National Convention held in New York city, July 4, 
 1869. 
 
 Mr. NoETON is a man of strong practical common sense, 
 and knows how to make his knowledge of politics availa- 
 ble. Few men of his education can compare with him in 
 his control of men to carry his points. In securing his 
 nomination for the position of Senator, he exhibited this 
 talent to a degree seldom equaled, even by those who 
 profess to be experienced political tacticians. He makes 
 
MICHAEL NORTON. 115 
 
 no pretensions to speech-making, and is a man of fe-w 
 words. His district comprises the Eighth, Ninth, Fif- 
 teenth and Sixteenth wards of New York, a district in 
 which the Republicans have more strength than any other 
 in the city. He ran for the Senate, on the Tammany nomi- 
 nation in 1867, with Chaeles Blauvelt, as the Mozart 
 candidate, and two Republican candidates against him. 
 The result at the time of his nomination was considered 
 doubtful, but he came out of the conflict with seven hun- 
 dred and thirty-three more votes than received by all his 
 competitors combined. 
 
 In 1869, he was re-elected by a handsome majority over 
 the three candidates running against him. He is Chair- 
 man of the committees on Health, and Towns and 
 Counties, and a member of the committees on Claims, 
 and Privileges and Elections. 
 
 In personal appearance, he is a man above the medium 
 size, stout, muscular and powerfully built, with smoothly 
 shaven face, brown hair and florid complexion. 
 
ABRAHAM X. PARKER. 
 
 Senator Parkek was born in the year 1831, in Addison 
 county, Vermont. Although tis career has been brief, it 
 has demonstrated that he is possessed of commanding 
 qualities, and is destined to take front rank with New 
 Yoi'k's most honored and admired sons. The branch of 
 the family from which he descended, settled originally, 
 before tlie Revolution, near Boston. He was educated in 
 the St. Lawrence Academy, at Potsdam, and subse- 
 quently studied law for a year with Hon. Henry L. 
 Knowles, of that place. In 1854, he attended the 
 lectures at the Albany Law School, and was then admit- 
 ted as Attorney. He subsequetly practiced for six 
 months in the office of Hon. Eli Cook and Freeman J. 
 F'lTHiAN, then in the full tide of a large practice, at 
 Buffalo, and was, for a considerable time, in the office of 
 James Noxon, at Syracuse. 
 
 Mr. Parker opened an office in Potsdam, in 1856, 
 where he has since continued in the practice of his profes- 
 sion. He is regarded as an eminently safe counselor, and 
 is an exceedingly effective practitioner at the bar. He 
 enjoys the extensive practice such talents are sure to com- 
 mand. From the time of his location in Potsdam to the 
 present, each year, including that of 1856, found Mr. 
 Parker on the stump, a fearless yet discreet champion of 
 the principles of the Republican party. He has never 
 been any thing else but a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Parker was, for many years, chief engineer of 
 the fire department of Potsdam, and a trustee of St. Law- 
 rence Academy. He is President of the village, and has 
 
ABEAHAM X. PABKEE. Ill 
 
 t 
 
 held the position several preceding years. He is a mem- 
 ber of the local board of managers of the State Normal 
 School, located at Potsdam. He was a Justice of the 
 Peace from 1857 to 1861, when he resigned. In all these 
 positions he has commended himself to his fellow citizens 
 by his able and faithful discharge of the trusts reposed 
 in him. 
 
 He was a member of the Assembly in 1863, and, 
 although a new member, was at once given the Chair- 
 m.anship of a very important committee, that of Claims, 
 and he fulfilled the delicate and responsible duties of the 
 arduous position with signal credit. The following year 
 he was re-elected, and was appointed Chairman of the 
 Committee on Commerce and Navigation, a position 
 requiring a high order of talent, and the strictest integ- 
 rity, and it found in Mr. Paekee a man every way 
 adapted to the place. He entered a special protest 
 against renomination in 1865, but his constituents so 
 highly appreciated his earnest and successful efforts in 
 their behalf, as well as the advanced position he held 
 in the Assembly as a general legislator, and ready and 
 effective debater, that he was renominated by acclama- 
 tion. He was, however, compelled peremptorily to de- 
 cline, by reason of business engagements. He was 
 appointed Postmaster of Potsdam in the spring of 1866, 
 and in the fall of 1866 was removed, for opposing the 
 Hoffman and Peittn ticket. He was unanimously nomi- 
 nated for the Senate in 1867, and was elected by over six 
 thousand majority. During that term, he held the honor- 
 able positions of Chairman of the Committee on Insurance 
 and Public Health, and is a member of the committees on 
 Railroads and Public Expenditures. He is one of the 
 most reliable and useful members of the Senate, and is a 
 man of acknowledged power and ability. During the 
 
118 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 canvass, the New Tovk World well said of him, that " he 
 was considered one of the most straightforward members 
 during the sessions of 1863-4. He is a zealous Republican, 
 but free from bigotry. He was a candidate for Clerk of 
 Assembly in 1867, and received a large vote in the 
 Republican caucus. He is an able, industrious and incor- 
 ruptible Senator." This tribute from a political opponent 
 is worth more than any commendation of ours. He was 
 re-elected to the present Senate by about the same major- 
 ity. He is a member of the committees on Finance, 
 Engrossed Bills, and Rules. Mr. Parker is one of the 
 ablest of the present Republican Senators ; and, indeed, 
 there are many who consider him eminently qualified to 
 take the lead in public measures. 
 
JAMES F, PIERCE. 
 
 The Second Senatorial District is again represented by 
 a Democrat, in the person of James F. Pierce. He was 
 born in Madrid, St. Lawrence county, on the 8th day of 
 April, 1830. His parents were natives of New England. 
 His father was a physician and a graduate of Dartmouth 
 College, New Hampshire. 
 
 Mr. PiEECE at an early age prepared to enter college, 
 taking the preliminary steps for a collegiate course in the 
 St. Lawrence Academy; but his health failing him, he 
 was compelled to abandon all ideas of a collegiate educa- 
 tion. This proved a great drawback to his advancement 
 and ambition. A few years of self-denial and careful 
 attention to his health, enabled him to so far regain it 
 that he entered upon the study of law in the oflSce of 
 Judge Henet L. Knowxes, of Potsdam. He remained 
 there pursuing his studies about fifteen months, when 
 circumstances opened to him a wider field, and he was 
 able to secure for himself better advantages, by going to 
 the city of Troy, and entering the law office of Hon. Job 
 PiEESOif and Wm. A. Beach, where his law studies were 
 completed. He was admitted to the bar at Albany, in 
 the year 1851, when only twenty-one years of age. 
 
 After his admission it was discovered that a pulmonary 
 difficulty was making serious inroads upon his health, and 
 there being a family predisposition in this direction, after 
 consultation with, and under the advice of some of our 
 most eminent physicians, he sought the mild and genial 
 climate of St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained 
 
120 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 three years. Sea bathing, with the balmy air of that 
 locality, and such remedial agents as were prescribed by 
 his physicians, had the desired effect, and he was restored 
 to his usual health. While at St. Augustine, Mr. Pikecb 
 occupied an office with the Hon. Isaac H. Bronson, now 
 deceased, then United States Judge for the Eastern Dis- 
 trict of Florida, whose friendship he retained up to the 
 period of his death. Among the visitors to that section 
 was Govei'nor Makcy, whose acquaintance Mr. Piekce 
 formed, which grew into intimate personal relHtions. 
 During the campaign which resulted in the election of 
 Feankltn Pierce as President, he took an active part on 
 the stump and otherwise, and w."is a frequent contributor 
 to the " Ancient City," the only Democratic paper pub- 
 lished at St. Augustine. 
 
 On tis return from Florida, he again resumed the 
 practice of his profession, and in 1S56 took up his resi- 
 dence at Canton, St. Lawrence county, the home of Silas 
 Weight. 
 
 At the hazard of paying Mr. Pierce an equivocal com- 
 pliment, it may be said of him that he is by instinct a 
 politician ; he early formed a taste for politics, and the 
 excitement incident to political life has always h.id a 
 charm for him. For years he was the regular delegate tt) 
 the Democratic State Convention from his district, and in 
 this way became intimately acquainted with the represent- 
 ative men of the party in the State, whose confidence he 
 enjoys. 
 
 At the commencement of the war, Mr. Pierce, believing 
 that the Union ought to be preserved, took an active part 
 in raising troops, speaking in almost every town in his 
 county, and taking hold with a zeal equaled by few men 
 in that locality. Mr. Pierce, however, remained f lithful 
 and unswerving in his adherence to his party and its 
 
JAMES P. PIERCE. 121 
 
 jorinoiples, to wliieh he has ever been warmly and devot- 
 edly iittached. In 18B2, the party being in a hopeless 
 iTiinoiity, a Union ticket was formed, Mr. Pierce being 
 placed on it as a candidate for County Clerk, on account 
 of the work which he had performed, his activity in rais- 
 ing troops, and the interest which he took in the cause of 
 the Union. A strong effort was made to defeat him, but 
 he came out of the contest successfully, his majority being 
 about one thousand. His appearance at the Democratic 
 State Convention while holding that position, was hniled 
 with a perfect ovation. The idea of a Democrat being 
 elected to a county office in St. Lawrence county, was 
 looked upon as a remarkable event, and the person so 
 elected a curiosity. 
 
 In 1 865, Mr. Pierce removed to the city of New York, 
 and there engaged in the practice of his profession. Soon 
 after this he was employed as counsel to the Merchants' 
 Union Express Company, which position he still holds. 
 In the fall of 1866, he took up his residence in Brooklyn, 
 and, in the fall of 1867, was nominated by the Democrats 
 of the Second Senatorial district, a district which had 
 hitherto been represented by a Republican ; and although 
 comparatively a stranger in the district, he was elected by 
 nearly four thousand majority. During the last session, 
 he was placed by the Lieutenant-Governor on the commit- 
 tees on Commerce and Navigation, and Retrenchment. 
 In the present Senate he is Chairman of the committees on 
 Commerce and Navigation, and Retrenchment, is a mem- 
 ber of the committees on Railroaids, and Insurance. 
 
 In person, he is above the medium height, slim built, 
 straight and upright figure, large, full bluish gray eyes, 
 dark brown hair, and wears a moustache. He is a person 
 of cultivated manners, a clear head, fine social qualities, 
 warm and sincere in his attachments, calculated to make 
 16 
 
122 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 friends wherever he goes, and to become popular in the 
 Senate. There was no person nominated for the Senate 
 in 1867 who received so universal commendation from the 
 press of all parties, as did Mr. Pieece. 
 
GEQRGE H. SANFORD. 
 
 Mr. Sanfokd is a native of the town of Queensbury, 
 Warren county, New York, where he was born, December 
 J 4, 1836. He is of English extraction. His maternal 
 grandfather removed from Lebanon, Connecticut, to Wash- 
 ington county, New York, about the year 1785, and jnar- 
 ried a daughter of William Robakds, who was an officer 
 in the French war, and was taken prisoner to Canada by 
 the Indians, but afterward escaped by running the gaunt- 
 let. His paternal grandfather, David Sanford, in ll9S, 
 emigrated from New Milford, Connecticut, to Queensbury, 
 New York, where the father of Geoegb H. Sanfoed was 
 born, and who represented Warren county in the Legisla- 
 ture of 1841. 
 
 Mr. Sanford lived with his parents at Glen's Falls, and, 
 at the age of twelve, entered the store of a merchant as 
 clerk, serving in that capacity, during the summer season, 
 for two years, and attending school during the winter time. 
 When he was fourteen, his parents changed their residence 
 to Ballston, New York, and he went to Albany and found 
 employment as receiving and shipping clerk in the whole- 
 sale lumber trade. He continued in the employ of the 
 same firm for six years, during the season of navigation, 
 excepting one year, while attending the Rensselaer Poly- 
 technic Institute. During two winters of this time, he 
 attended other schools, and the remaining three winters 
 he was engaged in lumbering, in a moderate way, on his 
 own account, in Genesee county. New York, and Potter 
 county, Pennsylvania. When twenty years of age, Mr. 
 Sanfoed left Albany, and gave his whole attention to his 
 own business plans. 
 
124 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Having made Syracuse, New York, his residence, he 
 there entered into the lumber and salt trade, combining, 
 also, the manufacture of lumber at Saginaw, Michigan, 
 and locating pine lands in that State. He was one of the 
 company first organized, in 1858, to bore for salt water in 
 the Saginaw Valley. In the spring of 1862, he withdrew 
 temporarily from active business, invested his means in 
 real estate, and removed from Syracuse, New York, to 
 near Oneida, his present place of residence. He is Vice- 
 President of the Oneida Savings Bank, and a Director in 
 the Oneida Valley National Bank, and Rome and Clinton 
 railroad. He has been engaged in the lumber trade, at 
 Rome, since 18G7. He was elected Supervisor of the town 
 of Verona, on the Democratic ticket, in 1865 and 1860, by 
 majorities of one hundred and fifty-nine and three hundred 
 and eighty-nine, respectively, though it was a strong Re- 
 publican town. In the Democratic Convention of the 
 Third Assembly District of Oneida county, in 1866, he 
 was unanimously nominated for Member of Assembly, and 
 elected by a majority of four hundred and ninety, although 
 his Republican predecessor, Hon. B. N. Huntington, had 
 been elected the previous year by a majority of 741. He 
 served as a member of the Committee on Banks. In 186 7 
 Mr. Sanford was the Democratic candidate for Senator in 
 the Oneida district, and though running largely ahead of 
 his ticket was defeated by the Hon. Samuel Campbell 
 who was elected by 259 majority, and who, two years 
 previously, carried the district by a majority of 2,196. 
 In 1869 the Democratic Convention of Oneida county 
 nominated Mr. Sanford by acclamation for the office of 
 Senator, his opponent being Daniel B. Goodwin, a pop- 
 ular candidate and a representative man in his party. 
 
 Mr. Sanford was elected by a majority of 26, while the 
 Republican candidate for Secretary of State received a 
 
GEORGE H. SANFORD. 125 
 
 majority of 1,023 in the same district. He is the only 
 Democratic Senator elected from the Oneida district since 
 1 849, or during the organization of the Republican party. 
 Mr. Sanford was a delegate to the Democratic National 
 Convention held at Chicago in 1864, at which General 
 McClellan was nominated for the Presidency, and also 
 at the National Convention held at New York in 1868, 
 where Horatio Seymour was nominated. During 1867, 
 '68 and '69, he was a member of the Democratic State 
 Central Committee, and has repeatedly represented his 
 party as delegate to their Slate Conventions. 
 
 ]V[r. Sanford has received a gratifying recognition of 
 his influence and ability, from the President of the Senate, 
 by being placed on some of the most important committees. 
 He serves on the committees on Finance, Canals, and is 
 Chairman of the Committees on Rules and Indian Affairs. 
 
ALLEN D. SCOTT. 
 
 The Senator from the thirty-second district — Allen D. 
 Scott — was horn at Springville, Erie county, New York, 
 January 15, 1831. His father, while Allen was in his 
 infancy, removed to the county of Cattaraugus, and located 
 in Otto, where he still resides, and is a large and successful 
 farmer. The boyhood years of the subject of our sketch 
 were spent on his father's farm, and his education was 
 acquired during the winter months at the district school in 
 the neighborhood. From that same district school, about 
 that time, and during the few preceding years, also grad- 
 uated Ex-Senator John P. Darling, Hon. A. G. Rice, 
 now of the New York bar, Hon. B. F. Rice, now United 
 States Senator from Arkansas, Ex-Governor A. C. Gibbs 
 of Oregon, and Hon. Romanzo Bunn, now a Justice of 
 the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. It was in such a neigh- 
 borhood and in such a district school that the Senator was 
 reared and educated. Like his predecessors, his education 
 was finished with a few terms at the old academy at 
 Springville, and a single year at Lima. 
 
 After leaving the academy, Mr. Scott engaged in teach- 
 ing for a year or two, and then commenced the study of 
 the law with Hon. Chester Howe, completing his studies, 
 however, with Hon. Nelson Cobb, then County Judge of 
 Cattaraugus county. He was admitted to the bar of the 
 Supreme Court in the year 186 7, and commenced practice 
 at EUicottville, the county seat of Cattaraugus county. 
 He soon attained position at the bar, and secured the con- 
 fidence of the court and of the business community. In 
 1861 he became a member of the law firm of Rice & 
 
ALLEN D. SCOTT. 12T 
 
 Scott, long a leading and influential legal firm in the 
 western part of the State. When Mr. Eice removed to 
 New York in 1867, Mr. Scott succeeded to the business 
 of that firm, and now, as a member of the law firm of 
 Scott & Laidlaw, occupies a position in the front rank 
 of the profession in his part of the State. 
 
 Mr. Scott was twice elected surrogate of his county, 
 and held that ofiice one year by appointment, making a 
 term of service of nine years in all. He was appointed 
 County Judge in the fall of 1860, by Governor Moegan, 
 to serve out the unexpired term of Judge Cobb, who had 
 removed from the State. A thorough Whig by education 
 and conviction, he became a Republican on the organiza- 
 tion of that party in 1855, and has since been an active 
 and influential member of that party. His nomination for 
 Senator, in the fall of 1869, was extremely distasteful to a 
 large number of the officers of the general government 
 residing in his district, but the result showed the popular- 
 ity and strength of Mr. Scott, and the weakness of his 
 opponents. In the entire district, he received more votes 
 than were given to General Sigel, who headed and led the 
 Republican State ticket. His majority over Hon. Jokas 
 K. Button, the Democratic candidate, was 4,790. 
 
 In all respects. Senator Scott's character is above 
 reproach. Gentlemanly and courteous in his manners, 
 faithful and untiring in behalf of the cause he espouses, 
 he combines many elements of character to insure success 
 in life. 
 
 Mr. Scott serves upon the Committee of Finance, the 
 leading committee of the Senate, and has proved an 
 indefatigable worker thereon. His appointment to this 
 committee by the Lieutenant-Governor — a political an- 
 tagonist — was a recognition of his talent and eminent 
 fitness for the position. 
 
FRANCIS S. THAYER. 
 
 This gentleman, Avho represents the Twelfth Distiict in 
 the 8tate Senate, comes of the old iMassachnsetts Puritan 
 stock. His father came from the Bay Slate to Vermont, 
 and in Dummei'stown, Windham county, in the Green 
 Mountain State, the subject of this sketch was born on 
 the II th of September, 1822. He is one of a family of 
 eleven brothers and sisters. He lived in that county 
 until he was nineteen years old, enjoying the ordinary 
 advantages of education then usually falling to the lot of 
 sons of that State. Here was ripened a rngged constitu- 
 tion, and those habits of industry, thrift and good morals 
 were formed which laid the foundation for future strength 
 of character and usefulness. At eighteen years of age he 
 was elected captain of a military company, and held that 
 position until he left the State. Up to nineteen years of 
 age he had worked on a farm, and for a time was a clerk 
 in a country store. In the summer of 1841. he came to 
 Hoosic Falls, Rensselaer county,- New York, where his 
 father had removed. He remained a few weeks here, 
 and then went to Cambridge Academy, in the adjoining 
 county of Washington, where he received instruction for 
 four months, and acquired a fair education in all the 
 English branches. 
 
 In the winter of 1842, he taught school in the village of 
 North Bennington, Vermont, and " boarded around " in 
 families of the scholars. In those days, no young man's 
 education was considered "complete" without this expe- 
 rience. In the spring of 1 842 Mr. Thayer came to Troy, 
 and was employed as a clerk in the flour store of Howland 
 
FRANCIS S. THATEE. 129 
 
 & Bills, the first year receiving only one hundred dollars 
 and board. But he soon mastered the business, and his 
 aptitude, discretion, foresight, judgment and business 
 qualifications were of so high an order that he was 
 admitted a partner in the firm at the end of five years. 
 Mr. Thatek has remained in the flour and milling business 
 ever since, being extensively and heavily engaged in the 
 manufacture of flour, and has acquired, as the result of 
 good judgment and proper attention to business, a hand- 
 some competency. His firm has from the first been one of 
 the largest concerns in his line of business in the city 
 of Troy. The brands of flour from his mills are widely 
 known in the markets of the country as among the best 
 known as Troy flour. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Thatee was a Whig from first man- 
 hood until the old Whig party had " outlived its useful- 
 ness," and was mainly absorbed into the Republican 
 organization. His first vote was cast for Heney Clay, 
 of whom he was a staunch supporter, in 1844. Since the 
 formation of the Republican party, he has been one of its 
 most ardent and unflinching members. Mr. Thayee has 
 been several times a delegate to State and local conven- 
 tions, but beyond this, he has steadily declined political 
 honors, until his acceptance of the nomination for Senator 
 in the fall of 1867, when he was elected by 1,600 majority, 
 running 532 votes ahead of his ticket in his own county. 
 
 Mr. Thayee is a warm friend of the canals of the State, 
 and takes especial interest in the welfare of the Cham- 
 plain canal. His marked integrity, sound judgment, 
 practical knowledge, and unwavering support of whatever 
 cause he espouses, will render his services of the most 
 valuable character in defending, protecting and fostering 
 in the Senate, not only the canal interests of his constitu- 
 ents, but also all others, whether of a local or general 
 17 
 
130 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 character, which may be affected by State legislation. 
 Self-reliant, discreet, clear-headed, and with an unerring 
 judgment, and a wide practical knowledge of public 
 interests and public wants, he will prove a most valuable 
 member of the Senate, no less than a prominent and influ- 
 ential associate in the leading counsels of the Republican 
 party of the State. 
 
 During the last Senate, he served as Chairman of Com- 
 mittee on Manufactures and Public Expenditures, and as 
 a member of Committee on Canals, Commerce and Navi- 
 gation, and Public Buildings. He was re-elected by a 
 majority of 1,196 over Hon. E. Smith Steait. The ma- 
 jority against Mr. Thatbe in the city of Troy, where he 
 resides, was 382 less than in 1867, and there was a gain, in 
 his own ward, of 289. 
 
 In the present Senate, Mr. Thatee serves on the com- 
 mittees on Canals, Commerce and Navigation, and Public 
 Buildings. 
 
WILLIAM M. TWEED. 
 
 Were we called upon to select from among the many 
 able and distinguished men in the Senate the most 
 remarkable man of them all, we should, unhesitatingly, 
 name William M. Twekd. Not that he would be picked 
 out as such by a stranger, visiting the Senate Chamber. 
 There are others who would undoubtedly be awarded the 
 meed of superiority, as they would certainly be entitled to 
 it, in regard to a number of the qualities that enter into 
 the character of an able, eloquent, laborious and influen- 
 tial Senator. Nevertheless, the capacities of Mr. Tweed's 
 mind are so peculiar and strong, and his achievements so 
 marked and unusual, that we are justified in setting him 
 down as the most remarkable man in the Senate. 
 
 Mr. Tweed was born in New York city April 3d, 1823. 
 Both his father and mother were of Scotch descent. The 
 former was born in New York city and the latter on Long 
 Island. He commenced preparation for active life by 
 studying law, and graduated at the law school of the 
 New York University. He was for a number of years 
 extensively engaged in the manufacture of chairs, but is 
 now practicing law. 
 
 Mr. Tweed's first official position was that of Alderman 
 of the Seventh Ward, New York city, which he held in 
 1852 and 1853. The following year he was nominated 
 and elected to the Thirty-third Congress, and held a seat 
 in that body in 1855 and 1856. He was School Commis- 
 sioner of the Seventh Ward in 1856 and 1857, evincing a 
 warm interest in the cause of education, and excellent 
 judgment, and was very successful in the management of 
 
132 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 schools under his charge. He has been a Supervisor of the 
 city of New York since 1856, and has been Chairman of 
 the Board. In all these positions, Mr. Tweed has shown a 
 keen insight into the motives of men, ready tact in mould- 
 ing them to his purposes, and singular power as an organizer 
 and director of legislative bodies. He Was Deputy Street 
 Commissioner of New York city from 1861 to 1810, and 
 gave to the position untiring industry, wise direction and 
 stirring energy. He was elected to the Senate in 1867 by 
 a majority of about twelve thousand, where he fully main- 
 tained his reputation as a superior parliamentary leader. 
 As a member of the Committee on Finance, his experi- 
 enced counsels were invaluable. The present session, he 
 is Chairman of the Committees on Municipal Affairs, Char- 
 itable and Religious Societies,, and General Orders. 
 
 But it is not with Mr. Tweed, principally or chiefly as a 
 successful officer, that we have to do. He stands unsur- 
 passed as a political organizer. He has held, since 1861, 
 the Chairmanship of the Tammany Hall General Com- 
 mittee, an organization than which there exists none more 
 powerful, compact and overshadowing. Its sway cannot 
 be successfully resisted in the city of New York, either in 
 the Democratic party or out of it, and it wields a powerfiil 
 influence in State and National politics. Its plans are 
 admirably laid and thoroughly executed. Mr. Tweed is 
 the executive head of this organization. We need bring 
 no other fact than this to fully justify our opening remark. 
 The man who can maintain himself at the head of Tam- 
 many Hall, as its acknowledged leader, must be a 
 remarkable man. A casual observer would fail to perceive 
 in Mr. Tweed the elements of his success. His rotund, 
 corpulent form, quiet movements, and not extraordinary 
 countenance, give no evidence of superior talent. But 
 behind that unimpressive exterior there is both an engine 
 
WILLIAM M. TWEED. 133 
 
 and an engineer of motive and guiding powers unsur- 
 passed. It may be difficult to designate the true secret of 
 Mr. Tweed's great success as an organizing politician. 
 His intellect is quick and active ; his perceptive faculties 
 are very keen ; he has rare discrimination in the choice of 
 his agencies, and is ever true to his engagements and loyal 
 to his friends. He is magnanimous to a fault, where 
 magnanimity is appreciated, and unrelenting to those who 
 insist on his hostility. He seeks the advancement of 
 young men, and chooses wise and experienced counselors 
 as his intimates ; his temperament is of the nervous, 
 sanguine order, which knows no faltering nor doubt, and 
 he is sagacious, cool and determined. 
 
 These are some of the characteristics which place Mr. 
 Tweed in the front rank as a remarkably effective 
 organizer. We believe we will not be regarded as over- 
 estimating the man by those who know him best. 
 
 During the present session of the Legislature Mr. 
 Tweed was made the object of bitter hostility from men 
 within the ranks of his own party, who had been nurtured 
 into political prominence by him. He had made them his 
 lieutenants, sharing the honors and rewards of office with 
 them ; but they became ambitious to supplant him and 
 wield the scepter of authority. So they formed a power- 
 ful combination, and sought the overthrow of their bene- 
 factor. Several bills were introduced into the Legislature, 
 which became known as the huckleberry scheme for re- 
 organizing the government of New York city, and they 
 were defeated in the Houses through a conference of 
 Republicans and Democrats from the country, whereupon 
 their enraged framers demanded of Street Commissioner 
 McLean the dismissal of his nominal Deputy, but real 
 superior. In a fatal moment of weakness the Commis- 
 sioner yielded. This was followed by a call for the meet- 
 
134 LIBE SKETCHES. 
 
 ing of Tammany Hall General Committee, but the 
 Sachems, by a clever coup d^etat, put the police in posses- 
 sion and left the committee outside. Mr. Tweed there- 
 upon introduced into the Senate several measures for 
 reorganizing the municipal government of New York, 
 counseled certain concessions to the Republicans, and 
 favored a stringent election law, perfected by them. The 
 result was, the speedy passage of the various bills, and an 
 overwhelming triumph for one of the greatest political 
 generals of the day. Under the new charter Mayor Hall 
 appointed Mr. Tweed Commissioner of the Department 
 of Public Works, who has in charge the supervision of 
 the streets, the supply of the city with water and the light- 
 ing of it ; being a consolidation of the Street and Croton 
 Aqueduct Departments. 
 
NORRIS WINSLOW. 
 
 Senator Winslow represents the Eighteenth Senatorial 
 district, composed of the counties of Jefferson and Lewis. 
 His father, John Winslow, was formerly member of the 
 Assembly, and is at present one of the Supervisors of 
 Watertown, of which city he is a respected and influential 
 citizen. His son, the present Senator, was born in Water- 
 town in May, 1835, and is emphatically a self-made man. 
 After attending the common schools and academy in his 
 native place, he entered a dry goods store in Watertown, 
 as clerk, on a salary of two dollars a week. He was 
 engaged in the mercantile business from 1855 to 1865, 
 when he became proprietor of the Merchants' Bank, which 
 remained an individual institution until April of the present 
 year, when a stock company was organized, of which he is 
 president. Mr. Winslow is extensively engaged in man- 
 ufacturing, leading in many important enterprises, and an 
 energetic patron of every movement calculated to promote 
 the material or moral prosperity of the community. He is 
 president of the Watertown Fire Insurance Company, and 
 also holds a large interest in the Agricultural Insurance 
 Company of the same city. He is president of the Hoard 
 American Spinner Manufacturing Company, and is likewise 
 extensively engaged in the manufacture of the Davis 
 sewing machine. 
 
 Senator Winslow is still in early manhood. His mental 
 powers, however, have ever been active. By diligent 
 reading, and what is not less important, by the habit of 
 severe thinking, he has acquired a large measure of infor- 
 mation, which, with ready tact, he is able to make available 
 
1S6 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 in the practical works of legislation. He is active in 
 thought, and disposition for thorough research has devel- 
 oped the finished educational structure, the foundations of 
 which were laid in his academical career. 
 
 There is nothing of the pedant about Mr. Winslow ; 
 but he is a thoroughly well-informed gentleman. His 
 wealth and intelligence have always been cast on the side 
 of right, and have been a great potency in his native 
 place, with the wants and interests of which he is 
 thoroughly conversant, 
 
 Mr. WiNSLOw's first vote was cast for John C. Fre- 
 mont, for President in 1856. Since then he has uniformly 
 adhered to the Republican party ; and during the rebel- 
 lion he was one of thousands of other patriotic men who 
 did the most they could to put down the lerrible civil 
 revolution. He was a candidate for Presidential Elector 
 upon the Republican ticket in 1868, and is Supervisor of 
 the Second ward of Watertown at present. 
 
 In the Senate Mr. Winslow very properly holds a 
 position on the Committee on Banks, and his experience 
 as a banker is invaluable to him in the performance of his 
 duties on that committee. He also serves on the commits 
 tees on Charitable and Religious Societies, and Joint 
 Library. 
 
 If it shall please God to prolong his life for still many 
 years, and continue him in vigorous health, Mr. Winslow 
 has before him a career of increased usefulness and honor. 
 He possesses sterling qualities of mind and heart, quali- 
 ties, indeed, that will ever command the admiration and 
 respect of his fellow-citizens. 
 
JAMES WOOD. 
 
 An English family bearing the name of Wood, were 
 among the stout-hearted and hard-headed Puritans who, 
 two centuries ago, sought the inhospitable shores of 
 Massachusetts. These pilgrims came filled with the 
 anomalous desire of enjoying free worship themselves and 
 of dictating the worship of others. 
 
 From out of this colony a little band explored the then 
 unbroken forests to the north, and established a settlement 
 in what is now known as the State of New Hampshire. 
 The Wood family accompanied this party of pioneers. 
 They were honest, industrious people, practical in worldly 
 affairs, and enthusiasts in matters pertaining to religion. 
 
 From this worthy stock sprang the Senator from the 
 Thirtieth District. 
 
 James Wood was born at Alstead, New Hampshire, 
 April 4, 1820, His father was a poor man, who earned a 
 scanty subsistence by tilling that soil which Daniel 
 Webster described as being so stony that it was common 
 to sharpen the sheep's noses to enable them to nibble the 
 blades of grass which grow between the rocks. 
 
 In the year 1824, seeking to better his condition, the 
 elder Mr. Wood emigrated with his family to the State 
 of New York, where, after several changes of residence, he 
 finally settled, in the year 1829, at Lima, in Livingston 
 county. 
 
 Here James attended a district school, and subsequently 
 entered the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, where he com- 
 pleted an academic course. He then went to Auburn, 
 with the intention of reading law, but reaching the con- 
 18 
 
138 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 elusion that a more thorough preliminary education was 
 desirable, he changed his plans and went to Union Col- 
 lege, where he graduated, with the honors of the institu- 
 tion, in the year 1842. 
 
 Immediately after leaving college, Mr. Wood entered 
 the office of the Hon. John Young, then a practicing 
 lawyer at Geneseo, in Livingston county, as a student. 
 In 1843 he was admitted to the bar and became a partner 
 of his patron. In 1846 Mr. Young was elected Governor 
 of the State of New York, and, on coming to Albany, 
 relinquished his professional business to Mr. Wood, who 
 has ever since made Geneseo his residence. 
 
 In 1854 he was elected District- Attorney of Livingston 
 county, and served one term with great acceptance to the 
 people. He declined a renomination, which was proffered 
 him, and returned to the regular duties of his profes- 
 sion. 
 
 Mr. Wood developed at an early age great taste for 
 matters pertaining to military affairs. While yet a boy at 
 school he was elected the captain of a regularly organized 
 company of militia. During his college days he was 
 made lieutenant-colonel, and in the year 1843 he was com- 
 missioned colonel by Governor Bouck. In 1860 he was 
 instrumental in securing the passage of the law for 
 uniforming the militia. In the fall of that year his 
 regiment, duly armed, equipped and uniformed, held an 
 encampment at Mt. Morris, in the county of Livingston — 
 the first ever held in the State. The next year General 
 Wool reviewed this regiment, and complimented it highly 
 on the excellence of its discipline. 
 
 In 1854 Colonel Wood drafted the law authorizing the 
 appointment of an inspector-general — an officer whose 
 power has been largely instrumental in raising our 
 National Guard to its present high standard. 
 
JAMES WOOD, 139 
 
 In 1855 the rank of brigadier-general was conferred 
 on him. 
 
 When the war for the Union commenced, in 1861, Gen- 
 eral Wood entered heartily into the patriotic spirit which 
 actuated the people, and devoted much of his time during 
 the first year to the work of organizing troops. It was 
 mainly through his efforts that the One Hundred and 
 Thirty-sixth Regiment was raised, and in August, 1862, 
 he was offered the command of it, and accepted the same. 
 He was shortly after ordered to join the Eleventh Corps, 
 with which body he participated in much hard fighting. 
 He led his men at the battles of Chancellorsville, Gettys- 
 burg, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, 
 Knoxville, Resaca, Cassville, Dallas, Kenesaw Mountain, 
 Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta, Milledgeville, Savannah, 
 Charleston, Averysburgh and Bentonville. 
 
 The first man killed in the Atlanta campaign was from 
 his regiment, and he commanded a brigade in the last 
 battle of Sherman's famous march to the sea. 
 
 For his distinguished service's in the army, Colonel 
 Wood was breveted Major-General of United States 
 Volunteers. 
 
 In 1865 he returned to his home in Geneseo and 
 resumed the practice of law. 
 
 He was elected to the Senate from the Thirtieth District 
 at the election of 1869, having a majority of 4,694 over 
 Jeremiah H. Vikcent, his Democratic competitor. 
 
 In politics Senator Wood may properly be classed 
 with the Conservative Republicans. He has never advo- 
 cated violent or bitterly partisan measui'es, and his early 
 training as a Whig placed him out of sympathy witli the 
 class known as " agitators," of which Wendell Phillips 
 is the best type. 
 
 The Senator socially is an affable, agreeable man, and 
 
140 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 possesses a fine personal appearance. He is fully six feet 
 in height, with erect, soldierly bearing. His eyes are of a 
 dark hazel color and his hair and beard of iron gray. 
 
 As a debater he is usually calm, and dispassionate, and, 
 in the best sense of the word, senatorial. 
 
 He is a patient and faithful worker, and has proved to 
 be a valuable and eflBcient member of the Judiciary Com- 
 mittee, on which he serves. 
 
WILLIAM B. WOODIN. 
 
 The twenty-fifth senatorial district is composed of the 
 counties of Cayuga and Wayne. The Senator, Hon, 
 William B. Woodin, who now represents this district, 
 was horn in Genoa, Cayuga county, on the 25th of 
 September, 1824. He is, therefore, forty-six years of age. 
 Receiving a thorough academic education, he early ap- 
 plied himself to the study of the law, and after being 
 admitted to practice soon rose to a prominent position 
 among the members of the legal profession. In 1855, he 
 represented the second district of Cayuga in the Assembly. 
 His eminent legal ability being recognized by all, in 1859 
 he was elected Surrogate of Cayuga county, and has held 
 the office since that time, having been twice re-elected. 
 Mr. WooDiN has brought to the discharge of the difficult 
 duties incident to the settling up of estates and the care 
 and guardianship of private rights, so much patience, 
 industry and legal ability, that his re-election to the office 
 of surrogate was almost a matter of course, and his accept- 
 ance of the position of Senator, tendered him in the fall 
 of 1869, was coupled with the urgent request that he 
 should still continue to discharge the duties of surrogate. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Woodin was an active Whig during 
 the life-time of that party. On the organization of the 
 Republican party, he was among its earliest supporters, 
 and still continues in that faith. In his own county he 
 has been a prominent advocate of Republican principles, 
 " on the stump," in nearly every political canvass. 
 
 Though serving his first term in the Senate, Mr. 
 WooDiN at once took high rank as a debater. On the 
 
142 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 second day of the session he made an able argunaent on 
 the right or power of one legislature to rescind favorable 
 action by a previous legislature in relation to amendments 
 to the United States Constitution — an argument which 
 was pronounced almost exhaustive, although delivered with 
 only a few hours' preparation. His legal acumen, clear- 
 ness and vigor, rendering him quick to perceive the points 
 upon which any controversy must turn, combine to make 
 his influence felt upon all questions that come before the 
 Senate, and although in a political minority, few Senators 
 have been more influential in shaping legislation. 
 
HIRAM CALKINS, 
 
 CLEEK OP THE SENATE. 
 
 The subject of this sketch, the present Clerk of the 
 Senate, is no stranger around the legislative halls, having 
 for several years been a correspondent for some of the 
 principal New York dailies. 
 
 He is a native of Wyoming county of this State, and 
 was born in the town of Gainesville on the 28th day of 
 December, 1833, and was therefore thirty-six years of age 
 at the close of the year 1869. His father, Elisha D. 
 Caikins, was one of the earliest settlers of that section of 
 the State. He left Saratoga county in 1813, and purchased 
 a tract of land in the town of Gainesville, and moved his 
 family upon it in 1815, when there were but few in the 
 neighborhood, and converted out of that wilderness one 
 of the most productive farms in that region. 
 
 The ancestors of Mr. Calkins, both paternal and mater- 
 nal, were prominently connected with the events of the 
 country in its early history. On his father's side they 
 came from Wales, England, about the middle of the 
 seventeenth century, and were for years members of 
 the colonial council of Massachusetts. During the Revo- 
 lutionary war they were foremost in the ranks of the 
 colonial array. The great-grandfather of Mr. Calkins 
 was with Ethan Allen in the capture of Fort Ticon- 
 deroga, and subsequently died in the service at that point. 
 
 His ancestors on his mother's side came from England 
 in the early part of the eighteenth century, and settled in 
 Connecticut in the vicinity of Norwalk. His mother's 
 name was Lockwood, a name familiar to all conversant 
 
144 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 with the early history of Western Connecticut. His 
 great-grandfather on his mother's side was a General in 
 the Connecticut militia during the Revolutionary war, 
 and as such was a special favorite of General Washing- 
 ton during his campaigns in New England. 
 
 The early boyhood of Mr. Calkins was spent on the 
 farm. He was disciplined to all the labors incident to 
 a farm life. His father died when the subject of this 
 sketch was only seventeen years of age, leaving him, 
 although the fifth son, and next to the youngest in the 
 family, the oldest that was at home. Upon him devolved 
 the care, superintendence and cultivation of a large farm 
 in that grain-growing section of the State. Although 
 young in years, he was found equal to the task, and, until 
 he reached his majority, remained with his mother on the 
 homestead, solely responsible for the management of the 
 farm. Prior to the death of his father, the only educa- 
 tional advantages that he possessed were such as the 
 district-school ofiered. 
 
 Those conversant with the duties of the care and man- 
 agement of a large farm, would infer that he could have 
 had no better advantage after that period. But, with all 
 the responsibilities upon his shoulders, he found time to 
 attend to the cultivation of his mind. Havinsr access 
 to one of the best libraries in that section, every leisure 
 moment was spent in reading, and during the winter 
 months, until he was twenty-one, he could be seen every 
 morning wending his way to the village of Castile, to 
 attend a select school at that place. Early to rise and 
 systematic in his habits, he found time to see that the 
 stock were all cared for, his lessons learned, and then walk 
 two miles to school every morning, and home again in 
 lime to look after the stock and herds at night, frequently 
 returning to the village again in the evening to attend the 
 
HIRAM CALKINS. 145 
 
 debating societies. For four successive winters he at- 
 tended school in this manner. Neither sleet nor snow 
 prevented his being in his class, with his lessons perfect, 
 and all of that period foremost with his fellow-students, 
 and the general favorite of the principal and his associate 
 students. The midnight oil and the morning lamp were 
 always burning by his side, and lighted the pages of his 
 books. There was a determination to excel in every 
 branch of study, a determination which he never failed 
 to carry out, it mattered not how great the effort. 
 
 On arriving at his majority he conceived the idea of 
 travel, and became anxious to see something of the world. 
 He traveled through several of the western States, and 
 finally brought up in Harrisburgb, Pennsylvania, where 
 he engaged in book-keeping and corresponding for the 
 Philadelphia Sun, and other papers, during the session 
 of the legislature. He was then a Whig, having been 
 educated in that school of politics.. At the age of twenty- 
 three he was elected chairman of the Whig county com- 
 mittee of Dauphin county. He made one of the most 
 thorough canvasses of the county that was ever made, 
 personally organizing in every school-district of the 
 county, and succeeded in obtaining for Governor Pollock 
 and the balance of the ticket the largest majority that 
 was ever, either before or since, given in that county. At 
 the death of the Whig party, and the organization of the 
 Republican party, he retired for a time from active parti- 
 cipation in politics, and soon after commenced identifying 
 himself with the Democracy. His first Presidential vote 
 was cast for Millaed Fillmoee, in 1856. About that time 
 he commenced corresponding for the New York Herald, 
 and was so successful that Mr. Hudsoist, then the managing 
 editor of that paper, offered him a situation on the paper 
 in New York. In the fall of 1857, he went to Milwaukee, 
 19 
 
146 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Wisconsin, with the view of purchasing a paper at that 
 place. But the panic of that year coming on at that time, 
 he abandoned the idea and engaged in other business. In 
 January, 1859, he left Milwaukee and took up his resi- 
 dence in New York, where he soon after accepted a 
 situation on the New York Herald. At the commencement 
 of the session of the Legislature of 1860, he was sent to 
 Albany, as the representative of the Herald in the Legisla- 
 ture, and soon attracted universal attention by his spicy 
 letters and exposures of the inside workings of the Legis- 
 lature. Independent and fearless in his course, his letters 
 soon became the feature of the session. He gave the 
 name of " Gridiron " to the city railroad legislation of 
 that session. He was the legislative correspondent of the 
 Herald for four sessions of the Legislature, and during 
 that period had the reputation of presenting the most 
 complete and truthful reports given by any of the corres- 
 pondents of the New York papers. 
 
 In the fall of 1 864, Mr. Bennett sent him to Washing- 
 ton, to represent the paper at the National Capital. He 
 soon obtained the reputation of being the best posted of 
 any newspaper man at that point, and established confi- 
 dential relations with the President and the members of 
 the Cabinet, and for a long time was the only correspond- 
 ent whom Secretary Stanton would permit about his 
 office or communicate with. He had free access to Mr. 
 Stanton's office at all times. He was in Washington at 
 the time of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, and on the 
 evening previous was invited by Mr. Lincoln to accom- 
 pany him to the theater on the eventful night. He was 
 present at the death of Mr. Lincoln ; his description of 
 the scenes of that night and the death of Mr. Lincoln 
 were the most graphic ever published. The long account 
 of the affair which appeared in the Herald, embracing. 
 
HIBAM CALKINS, 147 
 
 nine columns, was sent by him by telegraph on Saturday, 
 So great was the demand for his report that one hundred 
 and sixty-one thousand copies of the Herald were sold on 
 Sunday morning. During that summer and the following 
 winter, he visited Washington regularly once each month, 
 and was present at every important event of that year. 
 Just before the organization of the Congress of 1865, he 
 gave a full description of the proposed conflict of Congress 
 with the President, and gave Mr. Stevens' programme 
 for bringing on that contest, which was subsequently 
 carried out in detail. During that period he was the 
 medium through which Mr. Bennett communicated with 
 the leading men at "Washington, and thus personally ob- 
 tained a more intimate knowledge of the public men both 
 in Congress and Cabinet, than any other person connected 
 with the press outside of Washington, Few knew better 
 than he the inner workings, the secrets, the conspiracies 
 and the schemes of that period than Mr. Calkins. 
 
 In the fall of 1866, he severed his connection with the 
 Herald and engaged on the World, with which edito- 
 rial staff he was connected until his election to his 
 present position. At the session of the Legislature of 
 1866, he again went to Albany as the representative 
 of the World, Hardly had the session commenced before 
 he began an exposure of the canal ring, their secret meet- 
 ings and division of the spoil, which had the effect 
 of arousing the people of the State. These exposures led 
 to subsequent investigation, a change in the canal offi- 
 cers and an almost universal demand for the abolition of 
 the contract system. Those who read the prospectus which 
 he published in the World, of the Canal Academy at Little 
 Falls, will never forget it. Its satire and practical hits 
 upon the men referred to, have been pronounced unequaled. 
 
 In the fall of 1868, soon after the death of Miles 
 
148 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 O'Reilet, he became editor of the New York Citizen, 
 and exhibited rare journalistic talents in conducting that 
 paper. His description of the senatorial contest of last 
 winter, dressed up in a military style, has never been 
 equaled, and has attracted universal attention throughout 
 the country. His knowledge of the men, their weak 
 points and general characteristics, and his measure of the 
 capacity and importance of the men who figured in that 
 contest, has had no equal in modern journalism. 
 
 As a journalist he is bold and fearless, never hesitating 
 to call things by their right names, and has long been 
 recognized as occupying the front rank in the State. He 
 has for years been a regular attendant upon the State 
 conventions of both parties, and he is noted for giving 
 the inside workings of those bodies. There is always 
 exhibited in his articles more care for facts and substance 
 than for polish. In the local politics of New York city, 
 so difficult to comprehend, he has been for years recog- 
 nized as the best posted of any pei-son connected with the 
 press of that city. And his intimate knowledge of public 
 men give him a superiority over most newspaper men in 
 the politics of the State. 
 
 Mr. Calkins was, at the commencement of this session, 
 unanimously nominated by the Democratic Senatorial 
 Caucus, for Clerk of the Senate, a selection that gave 
 satisfaction to men of all parties in the Senate. This is 
 the first office that he has ever held. He has discharged 
 its duties with marked ability, devoting his entire time to 
 it, and as in all other things which he undertakes, bring- 
 ing to his task great energy, close application, and 
 exhibiting an executive talent beyond that which his 
 most sanguine friends anticipated. 
 
 Mr. Calkins was married in January, 1858, to M. 
 Jennie Paetch, of Bennington, Vermont. 
 
MEMBERS Of THE ASSEMBLY. 
 
 WILLIAM HITCHMAN, 
 
 SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY. 
 
 The Speakee of the House is one of that class of men, 
 now very common, who have pressed their own way to the 
 front, over many and serious obstacles. Indeed, of nearly 
 all our public men, can the American people, with excusable 
 pride, boastingly say, they carved their own way to fortune 
 and to fame. It is the genius of our institutions that 
 young men, born ■with noble impulses and honorable 
 ambitions, as they press energetically on to the goal of 
 their hopes, find the way opening clearer and brighter 
 before them. The first hills only need bravery and toil 
 in the surmounting — ever after, the race is only limited 
 by the endurance. The Speaker is of those who find no 
 limit to their determinations, having before them only 
 steady, persistent, earnest struggling, and a preparation 
 and cultivation for their rewards. 
 
 William Hitchman is a native of New York city, hav- 
 ing been born in Pearl street, near New street, November 
 18, 1830. His father, at that time, kept a livery stable in 
 the last named street; but being unsuccessful there, he 
 soon after removed to Yorkville. Willie Hitchman 
 was a favorite pupil in the public school in Eighty-sixth 
 street, where he received his early education. His conduct 
 record was always of the highest, and the head of the 
 class the usual reward of his natural intelligence and appli- 
 cation to study. The old gentleman, with an amount of 
 
150 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 sound common sense rarely to be found, determined that 
 his son should have a trade. The teacher, Mr. Thomas 
 Spoffoed — afterward Alderman and member of Assem- 
 bly — remonstrated earnestly, that the lad's superior men- 
 tal powers fitted him for a profession, and begged that one 
 be chosen for him. The father's answer deserves to be 
 written in gold and set in a framework of diamonds, to 
 be placed in the home of every father and every son in 
 the land : " Let him get a tkade to baen his beead, 
 
 AND THEN THE PKOFESSION AFTEEWAED, IF HE CHOOSES." 
 
 And the trade was learned. "Willie seemed to have a 
 taste for carriage painting, and he was apprenticed to 
 James Fltnn, whose shop was at that time in Eighty- 
 sixth street, near Third avenue. He entered upon the 
 calling with industry, and mastered all the mysteries and 
 intricacies of the craft, in a comparatively short time. 
 Young HiTCHMAN possessed the very common attachment 
 to " the machine," and served a full term as member of 
 Engine Forty-five, filling the position of Secretary most 
 of the time. 
 
 His apprenticeship being ended, he entered the carriage 
 manufactory of Isaac Lockwood, at the North End, where 
 he worked some time, but the avocation not agreeing with 
 his health, he determined on a change. He secured a 
 position in the old Municipal Police Department of New 
 York city. He was almost immediately promoted to a 
 Sergeantcy, and held the office of Lieutenant of the Nine- 
 teenth Ward Police, at the time of the institution of the 
 Metropolitan Police system. He then, while the litigation 
 between the two Departments was pending, entered the 
 office of Dennis McCaetht, United States Weigher, as 
 clerk, and conducted the business for a year in a masterly 
 manner. Thus far we find Mr. Hitchman filling with 
 fidelity the various subordinate trusts committed to him. 
 
WILLIAM HITOHMAN. 151 
 
 We now come to the turning point in his career. We 
 find, as in all cases of the advance of young men, that the 
 opportunity which made elevation possible to Mr. Hitch- 
 man, was of the most ordinary kind, and that it was merely 
 his own energy, industry and perception that secured 
 advancement. In 1859, he was appointed engrossing clerk 
 of the Board of Aldermen of New York city, and held 
 the position over eight years, discharging the duty with 
 ability and usefulness. That was his opportunity. Young 
 men are found on every hand with opportunities equally 
 or more conducive to success. The chance it gave was 
 simply the opportunity for self-improvement ; and, surely, 
 many have that. His desk was located in the City Library. 
 While his time was well occupied in his public duties, he 
 yet had leisure hours, and those hours were devoted to 
 laying the foundation for higher positions. Manuals of 
 Parliamentary practice, debates in Congress, political, 
 statistical, historical and scientific works, were not only 
 read but studied. Thus he stored his mind with valuable 
 material, while day by day he made his mental acquire- 
 ments the more valuable, by a constantly augmenting 
 practical experience with the world. 
 
 Mr. HiTCHMAN was elected a member of the Board of 
 School Trustees of the Nineteenth Ward, in 1860, and was 
 re-elected. At the close of his second term, he was chosen 
 School Commissioner, and held the office during the term, 
 which expired shortly after the opening of the Assembly. 
 He was a wise and discriminating officer, and won the 
 affections of both scholars and teachers. Mr. Hitchman's 
 Democracy is of the kind that favored the vigorous crush- 
 ing of rebellion, and the speedy reunion of the country, 
 under but one, and that the good old flag. During the 
 draft riots in New York, he opened his house and took in 
 a Methodist minister, his family and furniture, who resided 
 
152 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 opposite, to protect him from the rioters. He draped his 
 residence in mourning for the death of President Lincoln, 
 and was threatened to be mobbed for so doing. He has 
 been a valuable member of Tammany Hall General Com- 
 mittee since 1861, and its efficient Secretary since 1863. 
 He was elected a Trustee of the Fire Department in 1864. 
 Under the new charter he was the first named by Mayor 
 Hall, among the five gentlemen appointed as Commission- 
 ers of the Fire Department for New York city. He was 
 chosen member of the Constitutional Convention in the 
 spring of 1867, and served in that body on several im- 
 portant committees. His wise appreciation of correct 
 fundamental principles, keen perceptions and cultivated 
 judgment, won for him many friends in that body. 
 
 Mr. Hitchman's nomination to the Assembly in 1868 
 attests his popularity. He had no thought toward nor aspi- 
 ration for the oflBce, but each of the two wards in his dis- 
 trict had their favorite candidate, and the struggle for 
 success became so earnest that it was impossible for either 
 to break the tie in the Convention. In this critical period, 
 and within but a few days of the election, Mr. Hitchman's 
 name was suggested as a compromise, and was received 
 with warmth by both the candidates and their supporters. 
 He finally, with reluctance, yielded to the logic of the 
 position and the urgency of his frends, and accepted the 
 nomination. The canvass was no easy one, but he was 
 triumphantly elected. The Speakership was still less 
 anticipated or sought. But, his party being in the ascend- 
 ancy, many leading minds turned to him as best fitted, by 
 accomplishments and position, to fill the post. In the 
 canvass he had to contend with the prestige of the legisla- 
 tive experience of Mr. Jacobs, the strength of Mr. Flagg 
 in the interior, and the powerful influences operating in 
 favor of both. He succeeded, after an interesting strug- 
 
WILLIAM HITCHMAN. 153 
 
 gle, in caucus. His only drawback to the highest and 
 most immediate success as a presiding officer, was his lack 
 of experience in the Assembly. But he brought to the 
 discharge of the duties a well trained intellect, a cool and 
 quick mind, and a firm and unyielding resolution. He 
 was re-elected to the Legislature of 1869, and again to 
 the Legislature of 1870, serving again as Speaker. His 
 success has been remarkable. Prompt, decided and impar- 
 tial, even his strongest opponents can find nothing in 
 him worthy of censure. His mistakes, even at the outset, 
 were few and unimportant, and his determined efibrt to 
 become efiicient in the routine duties of the Chair, and a 
 master of the rules by which it is governed, was crowned 
 with the highest success. His unaffected but cordial 
 courtesy, bland manners, and firm but pleasant administra- 
 tion, have made for him friends of the whole membership 
 of the House. His voice is fluent, pleasant and correct. 
 In the designation of his appointees, and selection of his 
 committees he was very successful. He is a man about the 
 ordinary size, well built, but neither stout nor tall, of long 
 features, fair complexion, mild eye, and bold development 
 of the head. In public life he is charitable and elevated 
 in tone, while in his domestic relations he is affectionate 
 and kind. At home, beloved ; abroad, respected and hon- 
 ored, the career of life but just opens before him. It can 
 be nothing else than a prosperous and happy one. 
 
 20 
 
SEYMOUR AINSWORTH. 
 
 Mr. AiNSwoETH was born in the town of Woodbury, 
 Vt., on the I7th day of May, 1821. His ancestors, on 
 the paternal side, were of English, and on the maternal 
 side, of Scotch origin, and were among the New England 
 pioneers who settled in the valley of the Connecticut at a 
 very early day. Like most of the young men of the Green 
 Mountain State, young Ainswoeth early recognized the 
 dignity of manual labor, and to that end his youthful days 
 were assiduously directed. His educational advantages 
 were limited to a few months in the common district 
 school, during his early boyhood days. Intent on learn- 
 ing some trade whereby he could secure a respectable 
 livelihood, at the age of fourteen he left the parental 
 home, under a contract with his father by which he pur- 
 chased his minority, and at once apprenticed himself to 
 Asaph Town in the business of builder and carriage- 
 maker. He served the usual period of apprenticeship, 
 and took his position as foreman of the shop in which 
 he had learned his trade, and continued such for two or 
 three years. 
 
 When nineteen years of age, he left his native State 
 and migrated to Saratoga Springs, where he began busi- 
 ness for himself, without an acquaintance or a friend to aid 
 him, and no other capital than his trade and a fair char- 
 acter with which to start. He soon found employment with 
 R. & W. Putnam, then the proprietors of one of the 
 leading hotels, where for several years he was the chief 
 artisan and director of the improvements about that 
 establishment ; and finally became one of its proprietors 
 
SETMOTJE AINSWOETH. 155 
 
 and keepers, in the management of which, it is needless 
 to say, he was pre-eminently successful, and only retired 
 to embark in broader fields of enterprise. He was always 
 awake to every enterprise and improvement designed to 
 build up the town and promote its local prosperity. Mr. 
 AiNswoETH was one of the originators and first directors 
 of the Commercial Bank (now Commercial National Bank) 
 of Saratoga. He has been instrumental in the erection of 
 more edifices of a public and private na~ture, than any other 
 man at Saratoga. He is now largely engaged in the manu- 
 facture of brick, having invested $25,000 or $30,000 in the 
 business, and giving employment to fifty or sixty men, 
 during the brick-making season. He is also engaged in 
 the mercantile business, and has one of the most elegant 
 and extensive retail establishments north of New York, 
 chiefly composed of fancy goods, and giving employment 
 to forty or fifty people, during the entire year. 
 
 As a successful business man he has no superior, and 
 but few equals. Self-made and self-reliant, he moves 
 straight forward, taking counsel of himself and pursuing 
 his purpose with a directness which yields to no obstacles, 
 and with a will that never tires. 
 
 He is the laboring man's friend. » 
 
 He has never seemed to have any desire for public 
 office, although he has held various places of public trust, 
 such as town assessor and village trustee, as long as he 
 could be persuaded to hold them. He was the first Assist- 
 ant Assessor of internal revenue under the present law, 
 and held it some three or four years, when he resigned on 
 account of the inadequacy of compensation, and because 
 his own private business required his whole attention. He 
 would never consent to hold office, whether it paid more or 
 less, when he felt that he could not discharge his duty to 
 the public to the fullest extent, even though involving the 
 
156 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 neglect of his own business. Whenever he has heen a 
 candidate for office, he has always received a much larger 
 vote than that of his own party. His election to the 
 present Assembly is a remarkable instance of his popular- 
 ity with the masses. His is the first election of a Demo- 
 crat in this district, within the last fifteen years. The 
 Republican majority is about 1,000. His competitor in 
 the late canvass was elected last year by 960 majority, 
 and 16 '7 majority in the town where Mr. Ainswoeth 
 resides. The late canvass shows a majority of 430 for Mr. 
 AiNSWOETH in the Assembly District, and 567 in his own 
 town. He is Chairman of the Committee on Affairs of 
 Villages, and is a member of the Committees on Civil 
 Divisions and Roads and Bridges. 
 
ORSON M. ALLABEN 
 
 Mr. Allaben was born in the town of Delhi, Delaware 
 county, N. Y., on the banks of the Delaware river, on 5th 
 of August, 1808. His ancestors early settled upon the 
 eastern end of Long Island ; and several of their names 
 may be found in the colonial records among the list of tax 
 payers of the town of Southold for the year 1688. Sub- 
 sequently, they settled at Blue Point, on the southern 
 shore of the Island, where Mr. Allabbn's great-grand- 
 father kept a hotel, and where his father was born. 
 They were probably of Saxon origin ; and, as indicated 
 by the name, emigrated westward from the Levant, or 
 eastern shore of the Mediterranean. The name is com- 
 posed of two Eastern or Arabic words, "Alia" and 
 " Ben," tantamount, in English, to " Godson," and is 
 said to be still found among some of the German tribes. 
 His maternal ancestors were Protestant Irish, and settled 
 very early at Springfield, Mass. 
 
 While he was an infant, his parents moved into the town 
 of Roxbury, Delaware county, where he lived out his 
 minority. His father moved upon a new and unimproved 
 farm, which he assisted in " clearing up," sufiering all the 
 privations and hardships incident to a backwoods neigh- 
 borhood of that period. His mother was a very exem- 
 plary woman, and instilled in the minds of her children 
 principles of the strictest integrity. They have all carried 
 through their lives, so far, these characteristics of early 
 training. His advantages for procuring an education, at 
 the age of sixteen, had been extremely limited, as he had 
 never lived nearer than two miles to any school-house, and 
 
158 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 his attendance at school had been confined to the winter 
 season from early childhood ; still, in the common educa- 
 tional branches then taught, he was considered proficient. 
 He engaged in teaching in his seventeenth year, and con- 
 tinued in that business for about three years, when he 
 entered the office of Dr. J. B. Cowles, of Roxbury, and 
 engaged in the study of medicine. He had attended two 
 terms at the Delaware Academy, paying his own board 
 and tuition, to finish his preliminary education. His 
 parents were poor anc^ had a large family, and, up to the 
 period of his entering the medical office, his wages had all 
 gone to his father's family, except what was necessary for 
 his own support ; and he entered upon the study of medi- 
 cine, in December, 1827, with a single dollar in his pocket. 
 His medical education was finally finished in 1830, he 
 having been assisted by a maternal uncle, whom he subse- 
 quently paid to the last farthing. Having graduated with 
 the usual honors of a first class student, he settled down 
 in practice, in the town of Middletown, Delaware county, 
 in 1831, where he married and has ever since resided. 
 
 Mr. Allabbk has practiced medicine in Middletown 
 steadily for thirty-nine years, and has always been fully 
 employed. He has never refused to attend a patient on 
 account of poverty. In every instance he has been on 
 terms of closest friendship with his professional brethren, 
 discarding all jealousy, and holding that the world was 
 wide enough to give them all employment. He has twice 
 been President of the Delaware County Medical Society, 
 and has been a permanent member of the New York State 
 Medical Society for nearly twenty years. 
 
 In politics he has always been a Democrat, and cast his 
 first presidential vote for Andrew Jackson. He has been 
 Supervisor of the town of Middletown seven years ; and 
 has several times been elected when the majorities at the 
 
OESON M. ALLABEN. 159 
 
 fall election were adverse to the Democrats. He has 
 held the office of Coroner, and was once a candidate for 
 county clerk, but was beaten by the Anti-renters, which 
 organization he always opposed. In 1850, he was a candi- 
 date for Congress, and was again beaten by the Anti- 
 renters. In 1864 and 1865, he was a member of the State 
 Senate, and served on the Finance Committee, the com- 
 mittee on Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties, the 
 committee on Poor Laws and on Public Health, of which 
 he was chairman. Again, in 1869, he was elected to the 
 Assembly by 328 majority, in a district which the pi-evious 
 year gave a Republican majority of nearly three hundred. 
 
 Mr. Allaben has taken a very active part in public im- 
 provements, especially in his own town, and more particu- 
 larly in altering and improving the highways. In 1840, 
 he procured the passage of a turnpike charter, leading from 
 the Ulster county line to Delhi, and passing through Mid- 
 dletown ; he was appointed a commissioner under it. In 
 1865, while in the Senate, he procured the passage of a 
 joint resolution, advisory of granting $500,000 State aid 
 to tunnel Pine Hill, should a railroad be constructed to 
 pass that point through Delaware county. He has been 
 a strong advocate of the same measure during the present 
 term. After the adjournment, in 1865, he called meetings 
 and advocated the construction of the Rondout and 
 Oswego railroad to pass that point, and he has used his 
 influence in bonding the towns for its construction, and in 
 pushing it forward to its present status. It is now under 
 contract and in process of construction, and in the condi- 
 tion contemplated by the resolution entitling it to State aid. 
 
 He has attended several State conventions as delegate. 
 In 1863, while Supervisor, he was elected chairman of the 
 board, although, politically, it stood 11 Republicans to 
 1 Democrats. 
 
160 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 In 1843, he purchased and moved upon the locality 
 where the village of Margaretville, now comprising about 
 400 inhabitants, stands. At that time there was not even 
 a public highway in that locality. He afterward procured 
 a post-office, and was appointed the first Postmaster. In 
 1863 he established a newspaper there, entitled "The 
 Utilitarian," and edited it for over five years. He also 
 erected a building for a select school, at his own expense. 
 
 Mr. Allaben- has dealt largely in real estate, and in the 
 manufacture of lumber. At present he is one of the 
 directors of the Rondout and Oswego railroad. He serves 
 on the committees on Public Lands, Public Health, and 
 Manufacture of Salt, and is Chairman of the first men- 
 tioned committee. 
 
THOMAS G. ALVORD, 
 
 Mr. Alvoed ranks among the foremost men of the 
 Legislature for ahility, experience and foresight. These 
 three qualifications' combined are essential to a successful 
 legislator; for no one can hope to attain to any great 
 degree of success in the absence of any one of them. Mr. 
 Alvoed's legislative career has not been distinguished so 
 much for that brilliancy which captivates people for a 
 time, as for a plain, matter-of-fact course which has not 
 been interrupted by many mistakes, and has been almost 
 always characterized by those efforts that have a telling 
 effect upon men. He is to be regarded as an eminently 
 practical legislator. But we shall speak of his qualifica- 
 tions at greater length further on in this sketch. 
 
 Mr. Alvoed is a native of Onondaga, Onondaga county, 
 E". Y., and has just entered on his sixty-first year. His 
 paternal ancestry was English, and his maternal ancestors 
 were Hollanders. The combination of the two national 
 characteristics is very apparent in the composition of Mr. 
 Alvoed's mind. His grandfather on his father's side was 
 a soldier in the Revolution, and his maternal grandfather 
 was a Captain in the campaign which resulted in Bue- 
 goyne's surrender. Both survived the dangers of the 
 war and were pensioners. 
 
 Mr. Alvoed graduated from Yale College, in 1828. 
 Having comj)leted his collegiate course, he studied law, 
 for two years, with Thomas A. Tomlinson and Gboegb 
 A. Simmons, at Keeseville, Essex county, N". Y., and one 
 year with Chaeles P. Kiekland and William J. Bacon, 
 at TJtica, N. Y. He began the practice of his profession 
 21 
 
162 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Jflnuary 1, 1833, at Salina, now the firet wai-d of the cify 
 of Syracuse. He continued in the business of the law 
 until 1846. Since that time he has been a lunibennan and 
 a manufacturer of salt, and has enjoyed excellent success 
 in business. 
 
 In politics Mr. Alvoed was originally a hard-shell 
 Democrat; he united with the Republicans in 1861. In 
 1844, the year after he gave up his profession, he was 
 elected to the Assembly, and he also served in that body 
 in 1858, '62, '64 and '70. Mr. Alvorh's most distinguish- 
 ing abilities, in the Assembly, have been the thorough 
 mastery of parliamentary I'ules and his almost intuitive 
 application of them. Few men attain the proficiency 
 possessed by him, and even then, only after hard study 
 and close application. He was Speaker of the House in 
 18.58 and '64, and in that capacity gained great popu- 
 larity. 
 
 In 1 864, he was elected Lieutenant-Governor, running on 
 the ticket with Governor Fenton, and served through 
 186.5-'66. As President of the Senate he presided with 
 dignity, evincing good judgment, deciding questions with 
 discrimination, ruling with impartiality and very gen- 
 erally winning the respect of Senators of both parties. 
 
 He represented his native county, Onondaga, in the 
 State Constitutional Convention of 1867-'68. As a mem- 
 ber of that Convention, which was composed of some of 
 the most able gentlemen in the State, as well as the most 
 loquacious, Mr. Alvokd ranked among those of superior 
 abilities. His familiarity with parliamentary rules enabled 
 him to readily discover the irregularity of proceedings, 
 and his opinion on points of order and the wisdom of 
 measures, was' highly respected. 
 
 He was elected by the Republicans to the present 
 Assembly, by 1,155 majority. 
 
THOMAS G. ALVOED. 163 
 
 The Speaker recognized Mr. Alvoed's fine abilities 
 by placing him, though belonging to the minority, on the 
 important committees on Canals and Judiciary; and his 
 position on tlie Committee on Grievances will be rendered 
 memorable liy the famous arraignment of Judge Potter 
 at the bar of the House for causing the arrest of one of 
 the members. 
 
ISAAC V. BAKER, JR. 
 
 Mr. Bakee was born August 15, 1843, at Comstoek's 
 Landing, Washington county, N". T., a place founded by 
 his maternal grandfather, Petbe Comstock, well known 
 throughout Northern New York as an energetic, go-ahead 
 business man, who took the first raft through the Cham- 
 plain canal, and was largely engaged in the forwarding 
 and transportation business, for many years, in connection 
 with the father of the subject of .this sketch. 
 
 Isaac V. Bakee, Sr. (now general superintendent of the 
 lines comprising the Rensselaer and Saratoga railroad), 
 formerly owned and ran a line of packets on the Cham- 
 plain canal, also the canal boats comprising the northern 
 transportation line, together with the old Redbird line of 
 stages running from Montreal to New York. 
 
 Mr. Bakee inherits the energy, enterprise and business 
 qualifications of his father and grandfather in a great 
 degree, and has, at his early age, acquired a reputation 
 for himself enjoyed by few men of more mature years. 
 His school days were passed in the North Granville 
 Academy and in the Brooklyn Polytechnic and Collegiate 
 Institute. He then obtained a fair classical education. 
 He started in business, at the age of seventeen, as a mer- 
 chant, in his native town, and retains his interest in the 
 business at the present date. He early interested himself 
 in agriculture, and especially in breeding merino sheep, in 
 which Bakee & Haeeigan have acquired a national repu- 
 tation, selling choice specimens of their fiock into nearly 
 every State in the Union, and also Australia. Mr. Bakee 
 has been secretary of the Washington County Sheep 
 
ISAAC V. BAKEE, JE. 165 
 
 Breeders and "Wool Growers' Association since its organ- 
 ization, some iive years ; and is president of the Washing- 
 ton County Agricultural Society. He was nominated for 
 metuher of Assembly, in 1868, when but twenty-five years 
 of age, and elected by the largest majority ever given in 
 that district, running over three hundred ahead of the 
 State ticket. He served in the Assembly of 1869, on the 
 railroad committee, also on the special gas investigating 
 committee, taking good rank in the house. Many bills 
 important to his district were passed through his exer- 
 tions. So well pleased were his constituents with his 
 course that he was renominated by acclamation, and again 
 elected by an overwhelming majority. 
 
 It is perhaps due to Mr. Baker to mention that this is 
 the first time a member has ever been returned the suc- 
 ceeding year from that district. At the last election, he 
 carried every town in his district, even the town of White- 
 hall, a Democratic stronghold, by 116 majority, running 
 ahead of the State ticket 427. 
 
 Mr. Bakbe's popularity is due to his intergrity, energy 
 and enterprise, and he is looked upon as a rising young 
 man. His constituents hnow they can depend upon their 
 member, and that he rarely fails to carry out any thing he 
 undertakes. His capacities were justly recognized by 
 Speaker Hitchman in making him a member of the com- 
 mittee on Canals and Civil Divisions. 
 
FRANCIS B. BALDWIN, 
 
 Francis B. Baldwin, who represents the second district 
 of Queens county, in the Assembly, is a gentleman, who, 
 by patient years of industrious labor, has acquired a large 
 fortune. 
 
 He is about fifty years old, and was born in Baldwinsville, 
 Queens county. He received a common school education, 
 and at the age of eighteen entered the extensive clothing 
 establishment of Brown, Styles & How, in the city of 
 New Vork, where he remained three years. Tlien returning 
 to his native town, he entered into partnership with his 
 father, and opened a country store ; after a successful 
 experience of three years in this business he I'eturned to 
 New York, where he became connected with the well 
 known clothing house of Brooks Brothers, with whom 
 he remained twelve years. He next formed a partnership 
 with Charles Fox, Esq., and they opened a large cloth- 
 ing establishment at Nos. 70 and 12 Bowery, in a building 
 erected expressly for their use by William B. Astoe. 
 
 Retiring from business in February, 1868, Mr. Baldwin 
 found himself in the possession of an amfile fortune — the 
 result of more than thirty years' work. 
 
 He returned to his country home in his native village 
 where he purchased a tract of land embracing over 200 
 acres. He has devoted the past two years to the work of 
 improving and beautifying this land, which he intends to 
 lay out in villa plots. It is pronounced by those con- 
 versant with its advantages the most desirable property 
 on the south side of Long Island. 
 
FEANCIS B. BALDWIN. 167 
 
 Mr. Baldwin lias a large interest in the Long Island 
 railroad, and was one of its original directors. 
 
 He has always been a reliable Democrat, although he 
 took no active part in politics until he was pressed into 
 afCf.'pting the nomination of his party for the Assembly. 
 lie was elected by a majority of 908, in a total vote of 
 3,500, running considerably ahead of his ticket. Mr. 
 Bai^win serves npon the committees on Railroads, on Pub- 
 lic Printing, and on Two-thirds and Three-fifths Bills. 
 
GEOKGE J. BAMLER. 
 
 Mr. BamIiEb is the representative from the first district 
 of Erie county, and was elected to the Assemhly in 1867, 
 on the Democratic ticket, by a majority of 156 over John 
 Hot, Republican. 
 
 He was a member of the last House, serving on the 
 committees on Salt and Manufactures of Salt. He was 
 again elected, last fall, by 694 majority. His position as 
 chairman of the Committee on Canals is one of the most 
 responsible in the House. He likewise serves on the com- 
 mittee on Indian Affairs. 
 
 Ml'. Bamiee is a native of Bavaria, in which country he 
 was born April 21, 1835. When eight years old his family 
 emigrated to this country, and settled in Buffalo, where he 
 lias ever since resided, and is now engaged in mercantile 
 business in that city. He is known as an active and 
 influential Democratic politician in his locality, and exer- 
 cises great influence among his G-erman friends. In 1863, 
 he was elected a member of the Common Council of 
 Buffalo, and re-elected in 1865. In the Assembly he is a 
 member of the committees on Cities, and Trade and Manu- 
 factures, and is a faithful and intelligent member. 
 
GEKSHOM BANKER. 
 
 The repepresentative of Schenectady county is Geeshom 
 Bankee, Democrat. He was elected by a vote of 2,342 
 against 2,081 for L. A. Young, Republican. 
 
 DANIEL D. BARNES. 
 
 Among the farmer representatives of the hayloft and 
 cheese-press Democracy, in the Assembly, is Daniel D. 
 Baenes, from the second District of Columbia county. 
 
 Mr. Baenes was born on the 9th of October, 1809, in 
 the village of Canaan Pour Corners, where he still resides. 
 His father was a farmer ; and the son, as he grew up, 
 divided his time, as most country lads do, between work- 
 ing on the farm in summer and attending the district 
 school in winter. He still follows the honorable calling to 
 which he was thus early trained. 
 
 Mr. Baenes is a strong adherent to the political principles 
 of the Democratic party. By that party he has been elected 
 several times Supervisor and Assessor of his native town. 
 
 He was nominated for the Assembly last October, and at 
 the ensuing November election was chosen by a majority of 
 eighty-two in a closely contested canvass. He serves upon 
 the committees on Public Education and on Public Lands. 
 
 Mr. Baenes has a good reputation for industry and 
 honesty. He is not a ready debater, but gives close atten- 
 tion to the duties of his position, and is faithful to the 
 interests of his constituents. 
 22 
 
MATTHEW P. BEMUS. 
 
 Mr. Bemus is descended from a family of some note in 
 colonial New York. His father, Captain Charles Bbsics, 
 commanded a company during the War of 1812 ; and Mr. 
 William Bemur, his grandfather, was a prominent citizen 
 of the county of Renssleaer, and an e.irly settler of Chau- 
 tauqua county. He married Miss Mary Prendergast, so 
 that the subject of this sketch is a lineal descendant of 
 one of the most reputable families of Western New York. 
 
 Matihbw p. Bemus was born in the town of EUeiy on 
 the 3d of Jaiiunry, 1818. He received a common school 
 education, displaying extraordinary tact, shrewdness and 
 proficiency. On arriving at maturity, he engnged in mer- 
 cantile business, which he prosecuted for ten years. 
 
 He early took an active interest in politics, and was a 
 zealous Whig, first taking the field in favor of the election 
 of General William Henry Harrison for President, and 
 William H. Seward for Governor. In 1840 he received 
 the appointment of County Treasurer, and held the office 
 for six years. He was then nominated for County Clerk 
 and elected. At this time he was regarded as one of the 
 most promising and energetic young men in the county. 
 
 About this time he made a purchase of a tract of land in 
 the town of Chautauqua, 1,400 acres in area, and engaged 
 in as;riculture. For ten years ensuing, he pretty much 
 withdrew from prominence in political matters, to give his 
 attention to private business. But he could not remain 
 inert, and finally engaged upon an extended field of opera- 
 tions, embracing local improvements both at home and 
 elsewhere. Several of the most prominent measures 
 
MATTHEW P. BEMUS. IVI 
 
 which were acted upon by the Legislature of 1860 and 
 subsequently, received their impress from his active efiforts ; 
 and, upon the breaking out of the rebellion, he entered 
 more actively than ever into the political and other move- 
 ments required for supporting the national administration. 
 Five yearls since he became the treasurer of the Buffalo, 
 Corry and Pittsburgh railroad, and is now its president. 
 This road extends from Brocton to Corry, and is designed 
 to aflford another route for coal, oil and other products of 
 "Western Pennsylvania to Buffalo. The future prosperity 
 of Chautauqua county is closely associated with this 
 enterprise, which Mr. Bemus is so conspicuously prose- 
 cuting. It is hardly necessary to add that such energy 
 and public spirit have won favor and general popularity 
 among his fellow-citizens. In the spring of 1867, he was 
 elected Supervisor of the town of Chautauqua, there being 
 no opposing candidate, and has since been elected every 
 year and is now supervisor of Chautauqua, In the ensu- 
 ing autumn, he became the Republican candidate for 
 member of Assembly. Extraneous circumstances gave 
 rise to a violent opposition to his election, and an inde- 
 pendent Republican candidate was placed in the field. 
 Mr. Bemus, however, received a majority of 376. The 
 next spring he was unanimously re-elected Supervisor of 
 Chautauqua. He was a member of the House last year 
 and served on the committee on the Affairs of Cities, and 
 was elected to the present Assembly by 575 majority. He 
 serves on the committee on Railroads. His identification 
 with the material interests of the county, his great energy 
 and perseverance, and his personal suavity of manner, 
 account for his influence and popularity. He possesses 
 rare power of calculating chances, and so is seldom dis- 
 appointed. His life has been a continued succession of 
 struggles, and generally of successes. 
 
JAMES G. BENNETT. 
 
 Mr. Bennett is a native of the State of New York, 
 He was born in Cohoeton, August 16, 1825. 
 
 His father was a blacksmith, and to that trade James 
 was apprenticed, after receiving a common school educa- 
 tion. When he was fifteen years old, the family removed 
 to Wayland, where Mr. Bennett has ever since resided. 
 He continued to work at his trade until 1855, when he was 
 appointed railroad and express agent at the Wayland 
 station, which position he still holds. 
 
 Mr. Bennett is a life-long Democrat. He has always 
 taken a deep interest in politics, and as he possesses, to an 
 unusual degree, the confidence of his fellow townsmen, he 
 has frequently been chosen to local offices. He was Asses- 
 sor in the years 1851, '52 and '53 ; Justice of the Peace in 
 '52, '53, '54 and '55 ; was Postmaster under Pierce's admin- 
 istration; ^nd was Supervisor in 1858, '59 '60, '61, '62, '63 
 and 65. 
 
 The Assembly District which Mr. Bennett represents 
 comprises the towns of Avoca, Bath, Bradford, Cohoeton, 
 Dansville, Fremont, Howard, Prattsburgh, Pultney, Ur- 
 bana, Wayland, Wayne and Wheeler, and form the First 
 District of Steuben county. It is closely contested, and 
 was represented last year by a Republican. Mr. Ben- 
 nett's majority at the election of 1869 was 11. As a 
 legislator Mr. Bennett is painstaking, industrious and 
 faithful. He serves creditably as Chairman of the com- 
 mittee on Two-thirds and Three-fifths Bills, and as a mem- 
 ber of the committees on State Prisons and Public Lands, 
 and on what is popularly known as the " Grinding Com- 
 mittee." 
 
WILLIAM G. BERGEN. 
 
 Mr. Beegen was born in Ireland, February 17, 1829. 
 His parents emigrated to America in the year 1830, set- 
 tling in the city of New York, where they still reside. 
 Mr. BEEGEisr was early sent to a private school, in which he 
 pursued his studies until the age of fourteen years, when 
 he obtained employment in the ofBce of the Courier and 
 Enquirer newspaper. He served in the capacity of office 
 boy in the editorial department of this establishment, 
 until, desiring to learn the printer's art, he became an 
 apprentice to the business. In consequence of ill health, 
 he was obliged to abandon the craft for one more labori- 
 ous, and to him more healthful. He finally learned the 
 trade of a mason, which he now follows. 
 
 In 186Y, Mr. Bbkgbn was elected to the Assembly from 
 the Ninth Assembly district, comprising the Ninth and 
 part of the Sixteenth wards of the city of New York, 
 receiving a decided majority. During the session of 1868, 
 he was a member of the committees on Public Printing, 
 and Charitable and Religious Societies. He was re-elected 
 to the Legislature of 1869, and served with much accept- 
 ance to his constituents. He was again re-elected to the 
 present Assembly by a small majority, running against 
 two candidates. He serves on the important committee 
 on Ways and Means, also on Commerce and Navigation, 
 Privileges and Elections, and Public Health. 
 
 Mr. Bergbit is quiet and retiring in his manners, fond 
 of study, but withal a pleasant and agreeable gentleman, 
 having a large circle of earnest friends, amongst whom he 
 is very popular. He has been a life-long, earnest Demo- 
 
174 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 crat. He has never sought any prominence as an active 
 worker for his party, and has never held any political 
 office whatever, before being elected to his present posi- 
 tion, in 1867. But three years of experience have proved 
 of great service to him, and he now is regarded as an 
 able member of the House. 
 
 JOHN BERRY. 
 
 The county of Orleans is represented in the Assembly 
 by Hon. John Bekby, who resides at Holly. He was born 
 in Berlin, Rensselaer county, October 11, 1812. In early 
 years, compelled to struggle with poverty, he nevertheless 
 received such an education as the common schools could 
 give him. Like many of the self-made men of the Legis- 
 lature, he taught school during the winter months, and, 
 previous to the introduction of the Superintendent system, 
 he was, for a number of years. Inspector of Common 
 Schools. In 1845, he represented his town (Murray) in the 
 Board of Supervisors. For the past seven years, he has 
 been a Commissioner of Excise for Orleans county. 
 
 Mr. Berry has always been prominent in promoting the 
 interests of education. lie was one of the founders of 
 Holly Academy, was a member of the building committee, 
 and after its completion was senior trustee, and for twenty 
 years secretary. He has also taken great interest in mili- 
 tary affairs, and at different periods has been Captain, 
 Adjutant and Colonel of the Two Hundred and Fifteenth 
 Regiment, N. Y. S. M. At the time of holding the 
 Colonelcy of the Two Hundred and Fifteenth, he belonged 
 
JOHX J. BLAIE. 175 
 
 to a brigade composed of the Two Hundred and Four- 
 teenth IJegiinent, Lieutenant-Governor Sanford E. 
 Church, Colonel; Two Hundred and Fifteenth, John 
 Bkrrt, Colonel ; and One Hundred and Sixty-ninth, 
 S:i,AS M. Burroughs, Colonel. 
 
 Mr. Berry was originally a Free Soil Democrat of the 
 old school, but joined the Hepublican party at its forma- 
 tion, and has continued steadfast and zealous in that 
 politic.il faith. He has always been active and influential 
 in this, and also in the Temperance cau-se, treating the 
 latter, however, as a moral and not as a political question. 
 
 Mr. B. was elected to the Assembly of 1870, by a vote 
 of 2,898, against 1,878 for George W. Peck, Democrat. 
 As an indica;ion of his standing where best known, it may 
 be mentioned that the town of Muri'ay, where he resides, 
 usually gives about 75 Democratic majority. Mr. Berry, 
 however, received 48 majority over his Democratic com- 
 petitor residing in the same town. 
 
 JOHN J. BLAIR. 
 
 The member from the Fourth District of New York 
 was born in the city of which he is a representative, 
 on the 17th of April, 1833. His parents were natives 
 of Ireland, and offered their son every opportunity for 
 an excellent education, but, like many others, he was 
 ambitious of becoming a workman while yet a boy, and 
 so merely availed himself of the adv.antages presented by 
 the common schools. At the age of sixteen years, he 
 was apprenticed at the Allaire Works, one of tlie most 
 
1^6 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 extensive machine shops in the country, and soon became 
 a proficient at his trade. Mr. Blaib early took an interest 
 in politics, being elected constable of the Seventh ward, 
 at the age of twenty years and six months, being com- 
 pelled to wait until he had arrived at manhood's estate 
 before he could qualify. At the age of twenty-two, he 
 became Assistant Captain of the Seventh Ward Police, 
 under the old municipal system. In this position he was 
 popular with the men under him, and with the citizens 
 generally. He held the place until the Metropolitan 
 Police Law went into effect, and though offered a 
 captaincy in the new force, declined upon principle, and 
 held to the old organization until it was disbanded. Mr. 
 Blaik then returned to his trade, working at it until the 
 famous machinists' strike of 1864, when he made a pledge 
 never to return to the bench until the demands of the 
 mechanics were granted by their employers. The work- 
 ingmen were finally forced by circumstances to submit, 
 but Mr. Blaib kept his word. 
 
 In 1862 Mr. Blaie went to Hilton Head, in the employ 
 of the Naval Department, and remained there one year, 
 as superintendent of repairs of machinery and repairs of 
 gunboats. Here he was of great service to the country. 
 In 1853 he took part in an expedition to explore the 
 Amazon river, which failed owing to the objections of the 
 Brazilian Government. Several of his companions were 
 lost in the expedition. 
 
 He afterward became connected with the Fifth District 
 Judicial Court, and remained there until elected to the 
 Assembly of 1867, to which he was first nominated by 
 the workingmen, afterward being indorsed by the Repub- 
 licans and by the Union Democracy. His election was 
 regarded as a great triumph over Tammany Hall, as that 
 organization considered the district one of the surest for 
 
AI,BEET H. BLOSSOM. IVT 
 
 their ticket in the city. But the .workingmen were a unit 
 for Mr. Blaik, and this settled the question. He is, and 
 he always has been, a Democrat. 
 
 In the autumn of 1868, Mr. Blaie was again elected to 
 the Assembly. His re-election to the present House on 
 the Tammany ticket demonstrated much personal popu- 
 larity and political strength in his district. He serves on 
 the committees on Railroads and Indian Affairs, 
 
 ALBERT H. BLOSSOM. 
 
 Mr. Blossom was born in Monmouth, Kenebec county, 
 Maine, August 14th, 1833. When six years of age his 
 father moved with his family to Buffalo, where he died 
 two years after, leaving a widow and six children depend- 
 ent on themselves for support. Albert attended the village 
 schools of Black Rock and vicinity, until he was fourteen 
 years of age, when he went to work in a woollen factory 
 to help support the family. He continued in this employ- 
 ment four • years, and then entered a store in Buffalo, as 
 clerk, where he remained three years, and, meantime, 
 learned the art of book-keeping. In 1854, he accepted a 
 situation as clerk in the Canal Collector's office of Buffalo, 
 and, with the exception of a short time spent in Chicago, 
 held the situation till 1859. In 1859 and 1860 he was book- 
 keeper for Hon. Jas. A. Chase, member of the Assembly 
 for 1869; and in 1861 he entered the office of the City 
 Assessors of Buffalo as chief clerk, where he remained five 
 years. In 1866, '67 and '68 he was again employed as 
 clerk in the Canal Collector's office, and in the fall of the 
 23 
 
178 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 latter year was nominated by the Republican party for 
 City Assessor, and, though running 1,200 votes ahead of 
 his ticket, was defeated. During the session of 1869, he 
 was Librarian of the Assembly, in which position he won 
 the regard and esteem of all with whom he came in con- 
 tact. At the conclusion of the session, he was appointed 
 deputy collector and entry clerk of the Buffalo Custom 
 House, which office he now holds. At the State election 
 of 1869, he was nominated by the Republicans as candi- 
 date for the Assembly from the Third District of Buffalo, 
 and was elected by 333 majority over Hon. Israel T. 
 Hatch, Democratic and Independent candidate. He is a 
 member of the committee on Internal Affairs of Towns 
 and Counties, and ranks among the most gentlemanly, 
 reliable and popular men in the Assembly. Since occupy- 
 ing a seat as member, he married the daughter of Noeman 
 R. Dewet, Esq., of Buffalo. 
 
 ALPHEUS BOLT. 
 
 The First District of Delaware county is represented by 
 Hon. Alphetjs Bolt, Republican, who resides %,t Mason- 
 ville, where he was born, October 15, 1820. He received 
 a common school education, completing with an academ- 
 ical course of three years at Gilbertsville Academy. He 
 first turned his attention to the study of the science of 
 medicine, but abandoned it for the more quiet and inde- 
 pendent occupation of farming. During the winter months 
 he taught school, and continued this occupation for no 
 less than seventeen successive winters. His interest in 
 
■WILLIAM BEADFOED. 179 
 
 public education suggested him as a fitting person for 
 Superintendent of Common Schools, to which he was 
 elected, holding the office for ten years. He has served 
 his town in the Board of Supervisors four years. He was 
 elected to his present position as a member of Assembly 
 by a vote of 2,281, against 1,709 for Chaeles B. Wade, 
 Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Bolt is honest, conscientious and faithful in the dis- 
 charge of his legislative duties, and proves himself a valu- 
 able member. 
 
 WILLIAM BEADFORD. 
 
 The Third District of St. Lawrence county is repre- 
 sented by William Beadpoed, of Louisville, who wq,s 
 born November I7th, 1834. 
 
 He is of mixed Irish and New England parentage. His 
 grandfather, Joseph Bkadfokd, came from Ireland to 
 America in 1786, and settled in Louisville in 1806. His 
 father, Samuel Beadfoed, was born in Pawlet, Vermont, 
 and came to Louisville with his parents when nine years 
 old. He has always taken a lively interest in politics, and 
 •was a very earnest believer in the doctrines of the old 
 Whig party as expounded by Heney Clay. He partici- 
 pated in the organization of the Republican party, and his 
 name was attached to the call for the first Republican 
 Convention held in St. Lawrence county, of which he was 
 subsequently a member. The mother of William Bead- 
 foed was a daughter of the late J. E. Peekins, of Mas- 
 sena, and a niece of Hon. Bishop Peekins. The latter 
 were descendants of John Peekins, who emigrated from 
 
180 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Gloucester, England, in 1631, and settled at Ipswich, 
 Massachusetts. 
 
 "William Bkabford received such an edcuation as the 
 common schools afforded, and has pursued the business of 
 farming. He has always manifested a lively interest in 
 political matters, and cast his first vote for Gen. Febmont 
 in 1856, acting since that time with the Republican party, 
 and is a very zealous supporter of its principles. He was 
 elected Supervisor in 1866, and held that office for three 
 years, being defeated by the Democratic candidate in 
 1869. His name was before the Republican Assembly 
 District Convention in 1861, when Hon. C. T. Htjbbaed 
 was nominated. 
 
 In 1869, much interest and feeling was excited in Louis- 
 ville over the Assembly District delegation, friends of 
 different gentlemen desiring to present the names of their 
 candidates. . A large vote was polled at the caucus, but 
 Mr. Bradford secured a handsome majority. The preju- 
 dices produced by this contest, and pther matters, some- 
 what reduced his home vote at the following election, but 
 he still ran slightly ahead of his ticket in his town, having 
 a majority of 67, the highest majority on the State ticket 
 being 59. He received in the district a vote of 2,331, 
 against 625 for William H. Paddock, Democrat. 
 
 Mr. Bradford is a gentleman of much intelligence, pos- 
 sessing a clear and active mind, enriched by extensive 
 reading and careful reflection. He proves an industrious 
 and valuable member. 
 
JOHN BEOWN, 
 
 John Bjbown is a native of New York city. He was 
 born in the year 1816. Both his parents dying while he 
 was an infant, Johit was brought up and educated in the 
 Orphan Asylum. When he had reached the proper age 
 he was apprenticed to Samuel Ackeemait, to learn the 
 printer's trade. Having served his time he went to work 
 at the case as a journeyman. Enjoying and suffering the 
 varied experiences of a typo's life, he continued to follow 
 the trade, uninterruptedly, until 1852. In November 
 of that year he was elected to the Assembly from the 
 Seventh Ward, running on the ticket with Senator Wil- 
 liam M. Tweed, who was then a candidate for Alderman, 
 and who, like Mr. Brown, commenced his political career 
 at that time. He served through the session of 1853 with 
 acceptance to his constituents. Soon after the adjourn- 
 ment of the Legislature he was appointed Naturalization 
 Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, and for seventeen 
 years has occupied that posititon. 
 
 Until recently, the issuing of naturalization papers in 
 the city of New York was confined almost exclusively to 
 the Court of Common Pleas, and the duties of Mr. Brown, 
 on whom the principal work devolved, were laborious and 
 manifold. He performed these duties faithfully and con- 
 scientiously, and the Congressional Committee, instituted 
 to investigate alleged frauds, bore testimony to his accu- 
 racy and fidelity. 
 
 Mr. Bkown was elected to the Assembly last November 
 by a plui-ality of 418. He serves as chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on State Charitable Institutions, and as a member 
 
182 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 of the committees on the Internal Affairs of Towns and 
 Counties, and on Petitions of Aliens. 
 
 He is an untiring worker, an intelligent legislator, and 
 a good, true-hearted man. 
 
 SAMUEL L. BEOWN. 
 
 Mr. Beown represents Chenango county in the Assem« 
 bly. He is one of the most attentive members in the 
 House, always at his post, and careful and conscientious 
 in the discharge of his duty. He was born at Brookfield, 
 Madison county, December 1, 1815. He is of Anglo- 
 Saxon parentage, and the family is among the oldest in 
 ^hat section of the State. He removed to Chenango 
 county in 1846. He is by occupation a farmer, and has 
 always enjoyed the confidence of the public. In early 
 life he held the office of Assessor. For sixteen years he 
 was Justice of the Peace, in which position his clear per- 
 ception and impartial conduct won for him the regard of 
 every one. He is Supervisor of the town of Columbia, 
 serving with marked fidelity. In the Assembly he is a 
 member of the Committee on Militia and Public Defense. 
 His post-office address is South Edmeston, Otsego county. 
 
VOLNEY P. BROWN. 
 
 Mr. V. P. BEOwiir, the representative of the Third 
 district of Monroe county, was born in the town of 
 Wheatland, where he now resides, October 11, 1824. His 
 father served with marked distinction in the war of 1812, 
 entering the ranks as a private, and advancing by steady 
 promotion to the grade of brigadier-general. The son 
 inherited the old gentleman's patriotic fire, and became 
 connected with a military organization known as the Old 
 Floodwood company, which dated its origin back to the 
 closing days of the last war with England. Mr. Beown 
 is a farmer, received a common school education, and has 
 been from his earliest days one of the leading men in his 
 native town. He has held every office up to and including 
 Supervisor, and is now Justice of the Peace. In every 
 position he has held he has shown himself worthy of the 
 public trust reposed in him. During the war he was a 
 member of the town board, and rendered important service 
 in filling the quota of his town, which responded cordially 
 to every call. He is a member of the Committee on 
 Federal Relations. 
 
 DENNIS BURNS. 
 
 Mr. Burns is the representative from the Second dis- 
 trict of New York. He was born in Ireland in the year 
 1827, and came to New York when ten years of age, and 
 
184 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 has ever since resided in that city. He learned the trade 
 of a stone-cutter, but some years since was compelled to 
 relinquish it on account of his health. In 1867, he was 
 elected to the Assembly on the Democratic ticket (Tam- 
 many), and was chosen by a plurality of 1,101 votes over 
 James Doxovaut and Constantine Donohob, Union 
 Democrats. That was the first elective position he ever 
 held, and previous to that time was never a candidate for 
 any office. He was a member of two important commit- 
 tees. Banks and Claims, in the Legislature of 1868. He 
 was renominated in the Autumn of 1868, and elected by 
 6,191 majority over his Rej)ublican opponent; and was 
 again re-elected in 1869 by 5,409 majority, there being a 
 falling-ofi" in both the Republican and Democratic vote. 
 He holds the Chairmanship of the Committee on Insur- 
 ance, and is on the Committee on Charitable and Religious 
 Societies. 
 
 Mr. Burns is kind-hearted, sociable, enjoys a good joke, 
 and has the faculty of making plenty of friends. He is 
 an energetic member, and closely scrutinizes every mea- 
 sure which comes up for consideration. 
 
 WILLIAM W. BUTTERFIELD. 
 
 This is Mr. Butthepield's second year in the Assembly, 
 having been a member in 1869. During the session of 
 that year he served on the committees on Banks, and 
 Trade and Manufactures, and his worth and excellence as 
 a representative of his constituents of the Second district 
 of Jefferson county, were never disputed. There are 
 
■WILLIAM W. BUTTEEFIELD. 185 
 
 members of the house who take more prominent action in 
 legislation ; but there are none who are more faithful and 
 conscientous in their oflScial acts. He is quiet, but practi- 
 cal and discreet. He is a member of the Committee on 
 Claims. 
 
 Mr. BuTTBEFiELD was born in Jefferson, New York, 
 March 24, 1822. His education was acquired in the com- 
 mon school, but he nevertheless attained to a good degree 
 of scholarship. In 1842, when he was twenty years old, 
 he commenced selling goods in St. Lawrence county ; and 
 he has been in the mercantile trade for nearly twenty-five 
 . years. He removed from St. Lawrence county to Red- 
 wood, in 1854, and continued trade as a merchant. He is 
 now a manufacturer of cylinder glass and of lumber, 
 dealing largely also in lands. Mr. Buttbefteld's business 
 is so extensive as to require the services of from sixty to 
 one hundred employees. In business matters he is careful 
 and methodical, keeping the run of the lesser details of his 
 various interests, with all the precision so essential to suc- 
 cess. • 
 
 Politically Mr. Butteefield was once a Whig. He 
 was among the first in the organization of the Republican 
 party, and has adhered to it to the present day, always 
 indorsing its measures, and seeking to properly enforce 
 them. While he was a residenfof St. Lawrence county 
 he was elected Justice of the Peace; and he served as 
 Supervisor of the town of Alexandria, Jefierson county, 
 five or six years. On difierent occasions, also, he has 
 represented his district in State Conventions. Although 
 the party to which Mr. Butteefield belongs is in the 
 minority, yet he commands sufficient influence in tlie House 
 to succeed in carrying all local measures needful to his As- 
 sembly district. 
 
 24 
 
TIMOTHY J. CAMPBELL. 
 
 Mr. Campbell, who represents the Sixth district of the 
 county of New York, is one of the young men of the 
 Assembly, having first been elected to the Assembly at 
 the age of twenty-seven. Born of Scotch-Irish ancestry, 
 in the county of Cavan, Ireland, in January, 1840, he was 
 brought by his parents to the city of New York when a 
 child of five years. At the proper age, young Campbell 
 was placed in the public schools of his adopted city, and 
 continued therein until he was twelve years old. Impelled 
 by a laudable ambition to be independent of the support of 
 his parents, who were in humble circumstances, he left 
 school at that early age, and connected himself with an 
 institution not less worthy of being ranked as an edu- 
 cator — the printing press. Thus early thrown upon his 
 own resources, whatever success in life he has since 
 attained is due to his own exertion. Meanwhile, the 
 labors of the day at the press being ended, young Camp- 
 bell, desirous to make up for the deficiency of early 
 training at the public schools, added to his practical 
 business education a futther book knowledge gained by 
 attending evening schools. He also joined a debating 
 club, and by participating in its weekly disputations he 
 familiarized himself with the prominent political and 
 social topics of the day, and there doubtless laid the 
 foundation of his future success. In the mean time he 
 rose thi'ough the various gradations of a printing ofiice, 
 from " fly boy " at the press, up to general office manager, 
 serving at times in job offices, and again in various 
 newspaper offices, including the Herald, Express and 
 Times. 
 
TIMOTHY J. CAMPBELL. 187 
 
 During a portion of the year 1860, while the dark and 
 threatening war clouds were rolling up, obscuring our 
 political horizon, we find Mr. Campbell living in Augusta, 
 Georgia, and connected with the office of the Dispatch, 
 there published. He soon, however, returned to New 
 York, where, with the exception of the few months spent 
 in the South, he has always resided since coming to 
 America. For several years, ignoring types and cases, 
 Mr. Campbell was a clerk in the office of the County 
 Clerk of New York. Mr. Campbell has for some years 
 been active in local municipal politics, and is now a mem- 
 ber of the General Committee of Tammany Hall. As a 
 member of the Fire Department in the good old days of 
 the " volunteer " system, he had his share of " perilous 
 adventure and hairbreadth 'scapes." 
 
 He was first elected to the Assembly of 1867. During 
 his first term in the Assembly, the speaker recognized the 
 ability of Mr. Campbell by placing him at the head of 
 the Committee on Roads and Bridges, and also making 
 him a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs of 
 Towns and Counties. He served with such acceptance as 
 to be returned by his constituents the next year, and he 
 is now serving his third term in the House. Mr. Camp- 
 bell is Chairman of the Committee on Petitions of Aliens 
 and is a member of the Committee on the Affairs of 
 Cities. 
 
 Socially, Mr. Campbell is one of the most genial of 
 men, uniting with the firmness, pertinacity and frankness 
 of the Scotch, the characteristic humor, hearty friendship 
 and unswerving fidelity of the Irish. Possessed of such a 
 happily compounded nature, it is not surprising that his 
 friends are many, and grappled with " hooks of steel." 
 
JOHN CAREY. 
 
 John Caebt, who represents the Seventh district of 
 the city of New York in the Assembly, was born in Mead 
 county, Ireland, on the 25th of April, 1836. In the year 
 1850, at the age of fourteen, he immigrated to this country, 
 with his parents. He enjoyed the advantages of an 
 education in the public schools of New York, where he, 
 developed more than ordinary capacity for learning. 
 
 At an early age he entered into business as a wholesale 
 and retail liquor dealer, and in this calling he has been 
 eminently successful. 
 
 He was nominated for the Assembly last fall by the 
 Tammany branch of the Democracy, and was elected by a 
 plurality of 584 votes. 
 
 This is the first political office he has ever held. Mr. 
 Caret is faithful to the principles of his party, and to the 
 interests of his constituents. He is a man of excellent 
 habits, of fine appearance and of undoubted integrity. He 
 gives promise of becoming a successful and valuable legisla- 
 tor. He is a member of the Committee on Claims, and also 
 of the Committee on Charitable and Religious Societies. 
 
OWEN CAVANAGH. 
 
 The factions into which the Democratic party of the 
 city of New York is divided are so numerous, that a can- 
 didate for office frequently finds himself compelled to 
 contest with several competitors, outside the ranks of the 
 opposition. Thus, at the last election, Owen Cavanagh, of 
 the Third New York Assembly district, was opposed by 
 one Republican and by two Democratic candidates. He 
 succeeded, however, in obtaining the handsome majority 
 of 2,535 over the aggregate vote of all the others. 
 
 Mr. Cavanagh was born in county Monaghan, Ireland, 
 on the 3d of March, 1839. Immigrating to this country at 
 an early age, he was educated, in the public schools of 
 New York. He entered early into political life, and at 
 the age of twenty-three was appointed Clerk of the Board 
 of Councilmen, an office which he held until the year 1867. 
 In 1868 he was elected to the Assembly, serving upon tlie 
 Committee on Public Lands. In the present House he is a 
 member of the committees on Commerce and Navigation, 
 on Claims, and on Privileges and Elections. 
 
HUGH M. CLARK. 
 
 The rapid growth and cosmopolitan character of the 
 city of New York finds one illustration in the fact, that 
 few of the men who represent the State in public positions 
 were born in the metropolis. But, nevertheless, the native 
 New Yorker, as a rule, is possessed of unusual energy, 
 liberal views and an enterprising spirit. A gentleman 
 who combines these characteristics in an unusual degree 
 may be found in the person of Hitgh M. Claek, who 
 was born in New York city, on the 18th day of December, 
 1829. 
 
 Mr. Clark is by occupation an iron merchant. He has 
 reaped the reward which strict attention to duty merits, 
 and is now in possession of a comfortable fortune. He 
 has made Brooklyn his place of residence for many years. 
 Mr. Claek is a Democrat, but has not mingled very much 
 in politics. He was elected to the Assembly in 1868, and 
 served with credit. He was re-elected last November by a 
 largely increased majority. He serves during the present 
 session upon the committees on Commerce and Navigation, 
 on Banks, on Militia and Public Defense, and on Eoads 
 and Bridges. He is popular among his fellow members, 
 and enjoys the confidence of his constituents. 
 
WILLIAM W. COOK. 
 
 The workingmen of the State of New York are not 
 lacking in able representatives, from their own class, in 
 the halls of legislation. Among this number may 
 properly be reckoned William W. Cook, who represents 
 the Twelfth district of the city of New York, in the 
 Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Cook was born in Philadelphia on the 12th day of 
 October, 1832. Two years later, his parents moved to New 
 York, where the subject of this sketch has always since 
 resided. He received a good education, in the English 
 branches, at Public School No. 4. Leaving school at the 
 age of fourteen, he was apprenticed to the mason and 
 bricklayer's trade. He served his time faithfully for four 
 years, but has not followed the trade since. 
 
 In 1854, Mr. CooK received an appointment in the 
 melting and refining department of the United States 
 Assay Ofi&ce. This position he held until he was elected 
 to the Assembly last November. 
 
 While in the Assay OflBce, he gained the confidence and 
 respect of all who knew him by his strict attention to the 
 duties of his calling. He was nominated for his present 
 position by the Tammany Democracy, and was elected 
 over two competitors, by a majority of about fifteen hun- 
 dred votes. 
 
 This is Mr. Cook's first experience in public office, but 
 he gives promise of becoming a useful and successful 
 legislator. 
 
 He serves upon the committees on Banks, on Health, 
 and on Two-thirds and Three-fifths Bills. 
 
WILLIAM CLARK COON, 
 
 William C. Ooosr was born on the 16th day of July, 
 1835, near Burdett, his present place of residence, in the 
 town of Hector, Schuyler county. His ancestry were of 
 German stock. His father, Thomas Coon, was born on a 
 farm in Somerset county, N"ew Jersey, which had been in 
 possession of the family for five generations. 
 
 Thomas and Eliza Cook emigrated from 'New Jersey 
 to the town of Hector in 1818, and commenced as pioneers 
 in a comparatively new country, and contended with the 
 vicissitudes incident to a life in the woods, establishing 
 themselves, finally, as farmers, with a farmer's small com- 
 petence. The mothe'r of this sketch is still living, in her 
 eightieth year, hale and bright. The father died in 1858. 
 
 William's early advantages for an education were of the 
 kind at that time common to boys of his age, in a back 
 country school district; but he improved them well, 
 a-lways leading pupils of his age in the length and accu- 
 racy of his lessons — so much so, as, at times, to draw upon 
 him the envy and persecution of some small minds among 
 his playmates. Early acquiring in this w%.y a common 
 school education, he taught a number t>f terras in a dis- 
 trict school, before the age of twenty — working on the 
 farm summers; and when twenty years old, he resolved 
 upon acquiring a liberal or collegiate education, and with 
 that view attended, in the summer of 1845, an academic 
 school in Ithaca. The close application to study that sum- 
 mer, followed by tasking himself too greatly in charge of 
 a very large school the following winter, undermined his 
 health, rendering him unable to perform any labor for 
 
WIIilAM CLAEK COON. 193 
 
 nearly a year following. Under the advice of physicians 
 he gave np study and went to farming, which he followed 
 from 1847 to 1851, teaching one or two terms of school, 
 during winters, in the meantime. 
 
 In 1849 he became the Democratic candidate for town 
 Superintendent of Common Schools, for the town of Hec- 
 tor, and, notwithstanding his party was in a minority of 
 about one hundred, he was elected for the term of two 
 years, and discharged its duties with fidelity and very gen- 
 eral satisfaction. In 1851 Mr. Cook abandoned farming, 
 and purchased the old Grist MiU property at Burdett. 
 
 He married in 1852, a daughter of the late Judge Johk 
 Satles, of the same town, a woman of more than ordinary 
 good sense, and rare domestic virtues, and settled at Bur- 
 dett, where he now resides, engaged still in the gristing 
 and flouring mill business, being the proprietor of the well 
 known "Willow Grove MiUs." He has also connected 
 with the same, since 1856, a general retail grocery and 
 provision store. 
 
 In the autumn of 1855, he was elected to the Assembly 
 of this State for the session of 1856, being made the can- 
 didate of the American party, representing the Second 
 Assembly district of Tompkins county, and before the 
 apportionment of a member for Schuyler county was made, 
 he was elected by a large majority. In the winter of 1861, 
 he represented the county of Schuyler, in a State Demo- 
 cratic Convention held at Albany, to give some expression 
 to the position of the party, in relation to events which 
 soon culminated in the late rebellion. 
 
 He has served his town as Supervisor, and his district 
 in State Conventions. He was elected to the Assembly by 
 sixty-six majority, being the first regularly nominated and 
 elected Democratic member from Schuyler county, since its 
 organization in 1854. 
 25 
 
194 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. Coon, has frequently been called to ofiBciate as 
 orator at fourth of July celebrations, and, vitliout losing 
 caste with the ultras of his own party, has succeeded in 
 commending himself, on such occasions, to his political 
 opponents. 
 
 Mr. Coon is not a bitter political partisan, but very 
 decided in his political conTictions. He supported the 
 goyernment during the late ciyil war, though often differ- 
 ing with the administration, as to yarious issues growing 
 out of the contest. He serves on the important commit- 
 tees of Ways and Means, and Internal Affairs. 
 
 HENRY J. CULLEN, JR. 
 
 Henry J. Ctjllen, Jr., was born in the city of Brook- 
 lyn, on the 26th of September, 1841. His father Dr. 
 Hbnet J. CuLLEN, an eminent physician, belongs to that 
 sturdy race who settled in the North of Ireland, and who 
 combine some of the best characteristics of the Saxon and 
 the Celt. Dr. Cttllen emigrated to this country at an 
 early age. He married a lady born in New York, but of 
 Scotch-Irish origin. They made Brooklyn their home, and 
 there, by years of patient devotion to his professional duties. 
 Dr. Ctjllbn has acquired a wide reputation and no incon- 
 siderable wealth. 
 
 The subject 'of this sketch received his education in the 
 elementary branches in the public schools of Brooklyn. 
 He was then sent to Kinderhook Academy, where, under 
 the excellent instruction of Prof. "Watson, he was prepared 
 for college. In the year 1857 he entered the Sophmore 
 
HENEY J. CTJLLEN, JE. 195 
 
 class of Columbia College, remaining there two years. The 
 senior year of his college life was passed at Union, from 
 which institution he graduated in July, 1860, at the age of 
 eighteen. His close attention to study had somewhat 
 impaired his health. With the idea of regaining his 
 strength, he devoted the next two years to travel. He vis- 
 ited South America, the Pacific coast, China, Japan and 
 India. This long journey accomplished the desirable 
 object for which it had been undertaken. Mr. CuLLEif 
 returned strong and well, with his mind enriched by a com- 
 prehensive knowledge of the workings of other govern- 
 ments and the customs of other lands. 
 
 In 1863 he entered upon the study of law in the office of 
 FosTEE & Thomson-, in the city of New York. He was 
 admitted to the bar in December, 1863, and since that time 
 he has gained a remunerative and growing practice. 
 
 Mr. CuLLEK served five years in the ranks of the 
 National Guard as a private soldier. He was appointed in 
 1869 Judge-Advocate-General, with the rank of Colonel, 
 on the staff of Major-General Woodward, which position 
 he still holds. 
 
 In 1868 Mr. CuLLEifr was nominated for the Assembly 
 by the Democracy of the Second Brooklyn District, and 
 was elected by a majority of more than four hundred. He 
 served with credit on the Judiciary Committee, and made 
 for himself a reputation as a faithful legislator and as an 
 honest man. He was returned to the present Legislature 
 at the election last fall. He serves again this year on the 
 Judiciary Committee, where his experience and his legal 
 attainments enable him to render effective service. 
 
 With one exception ( Mr. KiBENAiir, of New York) Mr. 
 CuLLEN is the youngest man in the Assembly. In per- 
 sonal appearance he is of medium height, rather stout, and 
 with a face that may properly be described as Napoleonic. 
 
196 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. Cttllbst is a general favorite among the members. 
 He is a faithful friend, a genial companion, and a polished, 
 scholarly gentleman. 
 
 JOHN DAVIS. 
 
 Mr. Davis represents the Second Assembly district of 
 Steuben county. He has heretofore held a position as a 
 member of the Board of Supervisors in his county, for 
 some years, and therefore brings some experience in legis- 
 lation to the discharge of higher duties. His occupation 
 has been of a mercantile nature, ever since his boyhood, in 
 connection with farming, but he has paid close attention 
 to public events, as they have from time to time developed, 
 and has formed decided opinions with reference thereto. 
 He is a Democrat, and sustains the 'principles of his party 
 on all occasions. At home, he is considered the soul of 
 integrity, and his past record is free from even the sus- 
 picion of wrong. He ran ahead of his ticket at the elec- 
 tion which made him member of Assembly, because of the 
 faith the people had in him. His practical views will, of 
 course, have due weight in promoting the wishes of his 
 constituents. He is Chairman of the Committee on Roads 
 and Bridges, and is a member of the Committee on Banks. 
 
 Mr. Davis was born in Dryden, Tompkins county, N. 
 Y., October 10th, 1824. Besides a common school educa- 
 tion, he had the benefit of one term at the Groton Acad- 
 emy in Tompkins county, and two terms at the Alfred 
 Academy in Allegany county. His parents moved from 
 Dryden to Greenwood, Steuben county, during his infancy. 
 
J. THOMAS DAVIS. 197 
 
 and settled in what was then a wilderness. His father 
 began by clearing up a spot of ground large enough for 
 the erection of a log-house, which was to be their home. 
 The distance to any place of business was then, and for 
 many years afterward, over nine miles ; and, such was the 
 condition of the roads, it took about all day to pass oyer 
 the intervening distance, with a team. The priyations 
 and hardships of Mr. Davis' early life were seyere, as may 
 easily be imagined by those who know anything of pioneer 
 experiences. But things have changed since then ; success 
 has attended Mr. Davis' efforts, and he possesses sufficient 
 to make life attractive and agreeable to him. 
 
 J. THOMAS DAVIS. 
 
 Mr. Davis is a gentleman of great geniality of nature, 
 though not of the very demonstrative kind that is consid- 
 ered " hale fellow, well met," on every occasion. He belongs 
 rather to that class of men who receive friends with a quiet 
 cordiality, which is thoroughly sincere in every respect, 
 and which means no more and no less than is outwardly 
 exhibited. Such are his qualities as a gentleman. 
 
 As a public officer who has held several responsible posi- 
 tions in the gift of the people, he has always proved him- 
 self worthy of the honors conferred upon him, and has 
 shown, by his urbanity and comprehension of his duties, 
 that the gentleman and the efficient officer should be one 
 and inseparable. 
 
 Mr. Davis is a native of Hoosick Falls, Eensselaer county, 
 N. Y., where he was born, July 8, 1835. He received an 
 
198 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 excellent education at the Troy Academy, which fitted him 
 to enter upon the life which opened to him after the com- 
 pletion of his studies. He is the son of the late Judge 
 George R. Davis, who was well and favorably known for 
 many years in legal and political circles. Mr. Davis in- 
 herited some of the qualities of his father, among which 
 was independence and resoluteness of character; therefore 
 he early sought to win his own way. He went to the city 
 of New York, secured a clerkship in a wholesale store, and 
 soon developed into an attentive and faithful clerk. After 
 a few years in the service of the firm by which he was first 
 employed, they gave him credit for a stock of goods, which 
 enabled him to begin business for himself, at Hancock, 
 Mass. He remained in business, however, at that place, 
 only a couple of years, in the meantime receiving the ap- 
 pointment of Postmaster of Hancock. 
 
 Perhaps we should say, at this point, that Mr. Davis 
 studied law before going to New York, and was admitted 
 to practice in the Court of Common Pleas, in 1846. But 
 his tastes prevented him from adopting the law for his pro- 
 fession, and he therefore wisely abandoned it. 
 
 He moved from Hancock to the city of Troy, where he 
 again engaged in mercantile business, but sold out his 
 interest after a couple of years. His course of life was 
 somewhat changed by his appointment as Collector of Canal 
 Tolls at West Troy, in 1852. He held that ofiBce through 
 the years 1852, '53, '56 and '57. The duties, though at 
 first comparatively new to him, were discharged with 
 fidelity and ability. He rendered most excellent service to 
 the State, in his detection of the frauds in the measure- 
 ment of lumber, the correction of which increased the 
 tolls at the "West Troy ofiBce, ia a single week, one thou- 
 sand dollars, and which, in the aggregate, amounted to more 
 than thirty thousand dollars in a year. 
 
JOHN DECKBE. 199 
 
 In 1859 Mr. Davis was elected, by a large majority, aa 
 County Clerk of Eensselaer county. He was yery popu- 
 lar tkrougli his term of three years. He was again elected 
 to the same position in 1865, serving with the same accepta- 
 bility as hitherto, and, in fact, increasing his popularity in 
 his native county. We had favorable opportunities for 
 knowing of the esteem in which he was held, and were 
 deeply gratified with the success which crowned his efforts 
 to meet the wants of the public. 
 
 Mr. Datis was Colonel of the 72d Eegiment, IST. Y. S. 
 N". G., until it was disbanded. As a military officer he 
 was regarded as competent in all respects. 
 
 The Republicans ran Mr. Davis for the Assembly in 
 1868, and he was defeated by only 150 votes, though the 
 Democratic majority, in 1867, had been 683. He was re- 
 nominated in 1869, and elected by 64 majority — the best 
 evidence of his popularity. Mr. Davis makes a faithful 
 member of the House. He serves on the committees on 
 Public Education, and Expenditures of the Executive 
 Department. 
 
 JOHN DECKER. 
 
 Mr. Decker is perhaps more -widely known in the city 
 of New York than any of her representatives. He was 
 born in the Third ward in February, 1823; and, when 
 old enough, was sent by his parents to the public school 
 in Pulton street. At the age of fifteen he shipped as cook 
 on board of a vessel employed in the coasting trade. But, 
 though of an adventurous turh, he did not relish this 
 mode of life, and accordingly returned home the next 
 
200 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 year, where he remained till lie became of age. In 1844 
 he joined the Volunteer Fire Department of the city of 
 New York, and belonged to Engine 14. In 1848 he was 
 elected Assistant Foreman, and re-elected in 1849. The 
 next year he became Foreman, but declined a second 
 election. In 1853 he was chosen Assistant Engineer, and 
 was re-elected in 1856 and 1859. At this period he was 
 perhaps the most popular man in the Fire Department. 
 He was elected Chief Engineer in 1861, and again in 1863. 
 Two years afterward, the Metropolitan Fire Department 
 was established by the Legislatiire, and Mr. Decker was 
 thus removed from office. He made his residence at Port 
 Eichmond, on Staten Island, and has been ever since 
 engaged in real estate business. In the Fall of 1867 he 
 was nominated by the Democrats to represent Richmond 
 county in the Assembly, and received 2,336 votes, a 
 majority of 1,096. In the House of 1868, he was a mem- 
 ber of the Committee on State Prisons, and Sub-Com- 
 mittee of the Whole. He was re-elected to the Legislature 
 of 1869, and served on the Committee on Expenditures of 
 the Executive Department. In the present House, he 
 serves on the committees of Commerce and Navigation, 
 and Privileges and Elections. 
 
 Mr. Deckee took an active part in the organization of 
 the 1st and 2d Regiments of Fire Zouaves, and was elected 
 Colonel of the Second. He held the position while the 
 incipient steps were taken, and then resigned. He was 
 often at the seat of war, attending to the wants of his for- 
 mer associates, particularly after they had been engaged in 
 battle. In this way, as well as by his unfailing courtesy 
 and obliging temper, he became regarded as the father and 
 counselor of the firemen and their friends. 
 
 Mr. Decker is ahard-working and popular representative. 
 He assumes no " airs," but goes straight forward to business. 
 
CLAYTON H. DE LANO. 
 
 Clattok H. De Lano was born at Ticonderoga, K Y., 
 February 8, 1836. His parents were respectably connected, 
 bis fatber being a cousin of tbe Hon. Columbus De Laij o, 
 Commissioner of Internal Eevenue, and bis motber, a 
 cousin of tbe Hon. Townsend Harris, late Minister of 
 tbe United States at Japan. 
 
 In 1860 Mr. De Lano was graduated from tbe Albany 
 Law Scbool, witb bonors belonging to a course of unusu- 
 ally severe and successful study. Preriously to entering 
 tbe Law Scbool, be bad studied law in tbe office of Hon. 
 A. C. Hand, at Elizabetbtown, N. Y. He was admitted 
 to tbe bar in 1860 ; but, on account of bis bealtb, wbicb 
 bad become impaired by severe application, be did not 
 enter upon tbe practice of bis profession, but engaged in 
 farming at Ticonderoga. 
 
 He commenced political life as a member of tbe Demo- 
 cratic party ; baving been, as it were, born in tbat political 
 faitb, bis fatber being a Democrat of tbe old scbool. Mr. 
 De Lano, in 1860 and 1861, contributed, as a Democrat, 
 a series of political articles to a leading New York journal, 
 wbicb were marked by vigor of tbougbt and clearness of 
 style, and particularly by a fairness and dignity of tone. 
 
 Differing witb tbe Democratic organization, during tbe 
 war, be joined tbe Eepublican party, in tbe interest of 
 wbicb be spoke from town to town, making the tour 
 of Essex county in tbe memorable campaign of 1864; a 
 second time in 1866; and a tbird time in 1868. His 
 addresses met witb bigb acceptation ; tbey were of import- 
 ant service to tbe Eepublican party in Nortbern New 
 26 
 
202 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 York; and gave him the reputation of being the best 
 political speaker of his county. 
 
 Mr. De Lano is the author of numerous addresses on 
 agi'iculture and temperance, delivered at different places 
 during the last ten years ; and also of an elaborate centen- 
 nial poem, read at the celebration, in July, 1864, of the 
 hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Ticonderoga. 
 The Farmers' and Mechanics' Association of Ticonderoga, 
 of which he has been president or secretary almost con- 
 stantly for ten years, has owed to him a success that has 
 made its annual fairs among the best of the class of town 
 fairs in northern New York. The Ticonderoga Academy, 
 founded in 1858, had, from the very first, Mr. De Lang's 
 most vigorous support, and he has been one of its most 
 efBcient trustees for ten years. The organization of Good 
 Templars, of which the success in Ticonderoga has been 
 very remarkable, owes much to his eflfprts. Previously to the 
 organization of the Good Templars, Mr. De Lang's sup- 
 port of the cause of temperance in Ticonderoga had been 
 of the most efficient character, he having carried some 
 twenty suits through the county courts at his own expense, 
 in order to repress the evils of illegal sales of liquor in 
 Ticonderoga. Mr. De Lastg's character in his own town 
 is that of efficiency, trenchant good sense, high public 
 spirit, and commanding moral integrity. He has been a 
 member of the Board of Supervisors of Essex county for 
 the past four years, and was elected member of Assembly 
 over a formidable competitor by eight hundred and ten 
 majority, thus leading the State ticket a number of votes. 
 He serves on the Committee on Public Health ; during 
 the session of the Legislature he has been attentive to the 
 routine of legislation, and has become fully acquainted 
 with the details which are so important in carrying meas- 
 ures through. 
 
JOHN H. DEMING. 
 
 Mr. Deming is one of the most watchful and attentive 
 members of the House. He served his constituents -of 
 Tioga county with scrupulous care in the Assembly of 1866, 
 and his experience therein has given additional value to his 
 labors the present session. Mr. Deming was bom in 
 Great Barrington, Vermont, March 1, 1819, and removed 
 to Eichford, his present place of residence, in 18 — . Here 
 he engaged in mercantile business, and, by his probity of 
 character and industrious habits, became an honored and 
 valuable member of community. He has been a member 
 of the Board of Supervisors since 1860, in which body he 
 has rendered signal service to the county. He is a member 
 of the Committee on Petitions of Aliens. 
 
 JAY DIMICK. 
 
 The First Assembly district of Jefferson county is com- 
 posed of the towns of Adams, Champion, EUisburgh, Hen- 
 derson, Hounsfield, Lorraine, Kodman, Eutland,'Watertown 
 and Worth. The district is represented by Hon. Jay 
 DiMiCK, who resides at Stowell's Comers. He was born 
 in Oswego county, April, 1831, and is, therefore, 49 years 
 of age. By trade he is a carpenter and joiner, but he 
 follows the occupation of farming chiefly. In 1848, he 
 was town Superintendent of Common Schools. He has 
 
204 LIEE SKETCHES. 
 
 also been Justice of the Peace for years, and represented 
 his town (HoTinsfield) in the Board of Supervisors of 
 Jefferson county from 1865 to 1868, inclusive. 
 
 Originally a Free Soil Democrat, on the organization of 
 the Eepublican party Mr. Dimick became an active and 
 working member thereof. He was elected a member of 
 the Assembly of 1869, and served with credit on the com- 
 mittees on Eoads and Bridges, and Public Printing. He 
 was re-elected by a vote of 3,830 against 2,091, for Philo 
 M. BEOWif, Democrat. 
 
 DANIEL G, DODGE. 
 
 Daniel G. Dodge, the subject of this sketch, was born 
 at Pembroke, N. H., on the ith of April, 1825, where his 
 earliest childhood was spent. His father. Dr. Daniel 
 Dodge, was a native of Hanover, N. H., and a graduate of 
 Dartmouth Medical College in that place. His mother 
 was bom at Stow, Mass. Her maiden name was Judith 
 Gates, she being a daughter of Eev. Abkaham Gates, a 
 clergyman of the Baptist denomination, and related by 
 blood to Major-General Hokatio Gates, of Revolutionary 
 celebrity. Elder Gates settled at Bow, in New Hampshire, 
 where he had charge of a Baptist church for twenty-five 
 years. 
 
 While Daniel was still very young, his parents removed 
 from Pembroke to Salem, N. H., and from there to New- 
 port, in the same State, afterwards taking up a short resi- 
 dence at Stillwater, N. Y. From this place they went to 
 Clinton county, in this State, becoming permanently set- 
 
DANIEL G. DODGE. 205 
 
 tied at "West Chazy, -where, in 1864, Dr. Dodge departed 
 this life, with the reputation of having been a skillful phy- 
 sician, an honest man and a Christian — ^having had a resi- 
 dence of thirty years in the town where he died, during 
 which time he was chosen to fill Tarious town and county 
 ofiBces, for which, cultured talent and a good education had 
 well qualified him. His wife, Judith, is still living, a 
 woman of strong and pious mind, a devoted mother, full 
 of maternal tenderness and Christian experience. 
 
 Daniel G. Dodge was a pupil both in district and in 
 private schools for some years, subsequently receiving 
 instruction at a high school in Fort Covington, in North- 
 ern New York. During the winter of 1843-43, and 1844, 
 he was engaged in teaching the district schools in the vicin- 
 ity of his father's residence, meanwhile perfecting his edu- 
 cation in all the common English branches at various 
 Academies in adjoining towns. As a youth at school he 
 won troops of friends, and was noted for a quick mental 
 apprehension and a manly utterance. 
 
 It was in the spring of 1845, at the age of twenty, that 
 he was persuaded to commence the study of medicine with 
 his father, remaining under his tuition for a term of one 
 year, when he entered the office of Dr. Aldejst Maech, of 
 Albany, N. Y., as his private pupil, continuing with him 
 until the winter of 1849, when he graduated with honor at 
 the Albany Medical College, receiving a good public and 
 private recommend from his eminent medical tutor. The 
 following summer Dr. Dodge located at House's Point, N. Y. 
 where, after a successful practice of twenty years, and with 
 a mind enriched by constant reading, he has justly acquired 
 the reputation of a skillful surgeon and a good practitioner 
 of medicine. He was married in February, 1860, to Miss 
 Kate L. Stbattok, a native of Eouse's Point, a lady of 
 fine domestic qualities. 
 
206 LIFE SKETCHES 
 
 His only brother, Dr. L. C. Dodge, having graduated 
 at the Albany Medical College, and, in 1863, become 
 House Physician and Surgeon to the Albany City Hospi- 
 tal, and still later, in 1864-5, Assistant-Surgeon United 
 States army at Lincoln General Hospital, Washington, 
 D. C, in 1866, became a partner with Daniel in the 
 medical profession at Rouse's Point, where he still is in 
 practice. In politics he is a Eepublican. 
 
 Dr. D. G. Dodge was, in the month of May^ 1866, 
 elected to hold the office of President of the Clinton 
 County Medical Society. The Society chose him in May, 
 
 1868, as delegate to represent them at the State Medical 
 Society for a period of four years. These positions of 
 trust were filled to the satisfaction of his ;grofessional 
 brethren. 
 
 In the fall of 1868, the Democratic County Convention 
 put him in nomination as candidate for Member of Assem- 
 bly, with a slim prospect for success. He was beaten by 
 his opponent (Daniel Stewart) by 184 votes, .running 
 ahead of his ticket, in the county, 320 votes, while, in the 
 town of Champlain, in which town he resides, he had a 
 handsome majority of 76 votes, the Eepublicans carrying 
 the town on the general ticket by 93 majority. 
 
 Better success crowned the Doctor, when, in the fall of 
 
 1869, he was, by the same party, nominated to the same 
 office, and elected by 543, running ahead of his ticket 120 
 votes. 
 
 Dr. Dodge is a little above the medium in stature, pos- 
 sesses a quick, energetic and resolute temperament, with 
 keen powers of penetration, and good executive abilities. 
 As a physician, he has won a good record ; while, in the 
 department of surgical skill, he has the reputation of hav- 
 ing scarcely an equal, and certainly no superior, in N"orth- 
 ern New York. Tender hearted as a woman, still he 
 
JOSEPH DEOLL. 207 
 
 neyer eymees timidity or hesitation at the bed-side of his 
 patients in the extremest cases. Of stern ways and a dis- 
 position frank, almost to bluntness, he is yet kind and 
 genial. In all the affairs of life he is self-reliant, open 
 hearted and out-spoken, of good judgment, intrepid in 
 proposing his measures, and earnest in coming to his con- 
 clusions ; his constituents believe him to be capable of ' 
 making his mark, and of acting well and honestly his part 
 in the performance of the onerous duties involved in the 
 political councils of the State. 
 
 Mr. Dodge is Chairman of the Committee on Public 
 Health, and is an able member of the Ways and Means 
 Committee. He is recognized as a capable member, who 
 watches the interests of his constituents and those of the 
 State with equal vigilance. 
 
 JOSEPH DEOLL. 
 
 In Bavaria, Germany, on the 14th of January, 1833, 
 Joseph Droll was bom. While he was yet a child, his 
 parents emigrated to this country and settled in the city 
 of New York. Joseph, therefore, enjoyed the advantages 
 of an education in the public schools of the metropolis. He 
 has been many years engaged in business as a fruit merchant. 
 
 In politics Mr. Deoll is a Democrat. He is at the pres- 
 ent time a member of the Kings County Board of Super- 
 visors, and has been President of a Democratic Ward Asso- 
 ciation for two years. He was elected to the Assembly 
 last fall by a majority of eighty-eight over a strong and 
 popular competitor. He serves upon the committees on 
 Claims, on the Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties, 
 and on Trade and Manufactures. 
 
WILLIAM HULBERT EAKER. 
 
 Mr. Eakee's maternal grandfather, Noeman Peters, 
 came from the State of Connecticut and settled in the 
 town of Cato, iN". Y., at an early day. At the time of the 
 building of the Erie Canal, he was a constructor of some 
 portions of it. Mr. Peters was a life-long abolitionist, 
 and, for many years, stood almost alone, in the town of his 
 adoption, in his political views. 
 
 The paternal grandfather of Mr. Eakee, whose name 
 was Nicholas Eaker, moved from Montgomery county, 
 in this State, in the year 1817, and settled on a farm, in 
 the town of Cato, about a mile south of the village of the 
 same name. He resided there till the time of his death, in 
 1821, leaving a family of three children, among whom was 
 JosiAH Eaker, at that period about ten years of age, and 
 afterward the father of the subject of this sketch. In 1831, 
 JosiAH Eaker married Abigail Peters, and, two years 
 subsequently, settled on a farm in the southwest part of 
 Cato, where William H. Eakek was born, September 21st, 
 1838, and where he still resides, having amassed a fair 
 competency, as a farmer, in conjunction with his father. 
 JosiAH Eaker was a Whig, and since a strong Republican. 
 The son in question, married a daughter of Lewis Eam- 
 SET, of the village of Meridian, N. Y., in 1864. 
 
 Mr. Eaker has always been a Republican ; and is recog- 
 nized among his political friends, as well as enemies, as a 
 Radical of the strictest type. As a politician, he is consid- 
 ered as one of the rising and prominent leaders of the 
 Republican party in the northern part of Cayuga county. 
 The first official position held by Mr. Eaker, was in 1866, 
 
"WILLIAM M. ELY. 209 
 
 when he was elected as Collector of his native town. In 
 the spring of 1868, he was elected as Supervisor of his 
 town, by a handsome majority, notwithstanding the efforts 
 of the strenuous opposition, coupled with the operations of 
 two or three older political "hacks," who were jealous of 
 the success of younger men. In 1869, he was renominated, 
 and elected by a majority nearly double that which he 
 received at the preceding town meeting, thereby winning 
 a most emphatic indorsement from his constituents as to 
 his course of action in the Board of Supervisors. 
 
 Last fall he received the nomination for member of As- 
 sembly, and was elected by a fine majority. He ranks 
 among the substantial and unassuming members of the 
 House, and possesses the elements of firmness and deter- 
 mination. 
 
 WILLIAM M. ELY. 
 
 Wm. M. Ely was born in Binghamton, Broome county, 
 N. Y., July 26th, 1818. His ancestors were of English 
 and French origin, and emigrated to America in 1680. 
 His English ancestors are descended from one of the 
 French Huguenots who escaped the massacre of St. Bar- 
 tholemew, under the safe conduct of Charles IX, who gave 
 him, in pledge of safety, his own signet-ring, which is still 
 in possession of the family. Strong Eepublicans, they 
 zealously espoused the cause of the Eevolution of 1643, 
 and were staunch supporters of Ceomwell and Hampdej^, 
 and did good service in the wars of the Commonwealth. 
 After the Kestoration, their prominence in the struggle for 
 liberty subjected them to tyranny and oppression, and 
 27 
 
210 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 finally resulted in their exile. The emigrants, on landing, 
 settled at what now is Old Lynne, at the mouth of the 
 Connecticut river. They brought with them from their 
 composite origin an industry and ability sharpened by the 
 memorable trials and fortunes through which they had 
 passed. With their Puritan habits of virtue, temperance 
 and activity, they were eminently fitted to enter as pioneers 
 of civilization the land of their adoption. Purchasing a 
 tract of land, a few years saw them with a competence for 
 themselves and children. In Colonial times, they filled 
 many important positions, both of public and private 
 trust. In the diflferent professions, they were ably repre- 
 sented, and in theology they held no mean rank among the 
 cotemporaries of their day. When the war of the Eevolu- 
 tion came, they embarked their lives and fortunes in the 
 struggle of the Colonies, and were staunch adherents, as 
 they had been in the old world, to the cause of liberty, 
 throughout the whole of the war. The grandfather of the 
 present sketch, after enduring the vicissitudes of these 
 seven years, was present at the head of his command at 
 the surrender of Buegotke. Many instances of their 
 loyalty, privations and sacrifices made by the family, and 
 their devotion to the principles they had espoused, are 
 held in grateful recollection by their numerous descend- 
 ants. After the close of the war, little was left of the 
 wealth they had accumulated. All but their land was 
 gone, and patriotism and loyalty had mortgaged even that 
 beyond twice its value. Means of support were wanted. 
 The old stock were worn out by their sufferings and pri- 
 vations, and they could not afford a patrimony to their 
 children, and, besides, their energy was gone in the pro- 
 tracted struggle, and that scanty pittance was needed for 
 those at home. The younger members must take care of 
 themselves. The father of the sketch turned his face upon 
 
WILLIAM M. ELY. 211 
 
 the old homestead and came to Broome county, New York. 
 Teaching and rigid economy gaye him the means of pur- 
 chasing land in, and in the vicinity of, the township. A 
 country store added to his means, and with strict habits of 
 business and industry, he steadily advanced to fortune. 
 Only once did he ^ visit his birth-place, returning with 
 the wife of his choice. They came in the old-fashioned 
 primitive style, on horse-back, across the country. Of the 
 children that were born, three survive. The oldest, the 
 subject of this sketch, received his preliminary and subse- 
 quent education at Amherst. After its completion, he 
 entered into business with his father. Ill health in a few 
 years compelled him to abandon mercantile pursuits, and 
 he became a farmer. For many years he was Supervisor 
 of his town, and for several years was chairman of that 
 body. His attention to agriculture identified him with 
 the farming interests of the county. Through his exer- 
 tions the Broome County Agricultural Fair was instituted, 
 of which he was for several years president, secretary and 
 treasurer. For the last four years he has held a promi- 
 nent position in the State Agricultural Society, of which 
 body he is now one of the vice-presidents. He was Ee- 
 publican member of the State Legislature for the year 
 1868, and was elected for the session of 1869 and '70 by a 
 majority of over 1,800, running largely ahead of his ticket. 
 Many local positions of trust he has held in his native 
 place. His devotion to the agi-icultural interests of his 
 county has exerted a most favorable and beneficial influ- 
 ence upon the farming status of the community, while his 
 connection with the State Society has been the means of 
 introducing the most approved labor-saving farming im- 
 plements to the attention of the farmers of the vicinity. 
 All improvements relating to farm tillage, rotation of 
 crops, fertilizers, drainage, and the improvement of stock, 
 
212 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 have been studied by him with the spirit of scientific 
 attention and inquiry. In fact, nothing relating to the 
 successful and practical detail of agricultural manage- 
 ment has been neglected, and he stands as one thoroughly 
 identified with its pursuits. He is a member of the Com- 
 mittee on Cities. 
 
 JOHN F. EMPIE. 
 
 The little county of Hamilton is too sparsely settled to 
 entitled it to an exclusive representation on the floor of 
 the Assembly. In fact it contained at the time the last 
 census was taken only 2,653 inhabitants. Joined to Fulton 
 county (population 24,600), a respectable sized district is 
 obtained, which is ably represented by Johk F. Empie, the 
 only member who counts his constituents in two counties. 
 
 Mr. Empie was born in the town of Ephratah, in the 
 county of Fulton, where he now resides, on the 10th day 
 of March, 1821. 
 
 He received his education in the district school of his 
 native town. 
 
 He subsequently removed to Montgomery county, and 
 settled at Palatine, where he held the ofiBce of Overseer of 
 the Poor. 
 
 Some years ago he returned to Ephratah, where he con- 
 ducts an extensive farm and dairy. He is also a dealer in 
 live stock. Mr. Empie is a consistent and reliable Demo- 
 crat. He has been a member of the Board of Supervisors 
 of Fulton county. 
 
 Mr. Empie's personal popularity finds ample proof in the 
 fact of his election. His District returned a Eepublican to 
 
THOMAS C. FIELDS. 213 
 
 the last Assembly, by a majority of about 400, but not-with- 
 standing this, Mr. Empie was chosen by a majority of 165. 
 He serves upon the committees on Trade and Manufac- 
 tures, on the Manu&cture of Salt, and on Charitable and 
 Keligious Societies. 
 
 THOMAS C. FIELDS. 
 
 The Nineteenth Assembly district of the city of 'New 
 York is composed of parts of the Twelfth, Nineteenth and 
 Twenty-second wards in that city. Thomas C. Fields, 
 the representative from that district to the Assembly of 
 1870, was born in St. Lawrence county, in the State of New 
 York, on the 9th of November, 1825. He is the youngest 
 of ten children, nine of whom are still living. He was 
 educated at the Delaware Academy, located in Delhi, Dela- 
 ware county, in this State. 
 
 He left school, in the spring of 1840, to reside in the 
 city of New York with an elder brother, then in business 
 in that city. After remaining in the city for a short pe- 
 riod, Mr. Fields went to the State of Georgia, where he 
 resided for about two years, and then returned to the city 
 of New York. He entered the law office of the Hon. EoB- 
 EKT H. MoEKis, as a student, and, after the usual course 
 of study, was admitted to the bar in 1846. He has con- 
 tinuously practiced the profession of the law ever since. 
 In December, 1857, Mr. Fields was appointed Public Ad- 
 ministrator of the city of New York, and held that office 
 until January 1, 1860. When the Board of Commissioners 
 of the Central Park was organized, he was appointed one 
 of the commissioners, and has remained such to the present 
 time. He was a member of Assembly from the city of 
 
214 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 New York, in 1863 ; was elected to the" Senate from the 
 Seventh Senatorial district, in the fall of 1863, and served 
 two years ; was defeated for re-elebtioii in 1865 ; and was 
 appointed Corporation Attorney of the city of New York, 
 on the 1st of April, 1868, which office he now holds. He 
 has always been a member of the Democratic party. 
 
 In 1848, he was a Hunker,' giving all the aid in his 
 power to the election of General Cass. In 1852, he was 
 also actively engaged iinlp^o'ifao ting the success of General 
 PiBECE, though later, -when -the influence of Pieeoe's ad- 
 ministration was '.given to .the Barnburners, Mr. Fields, 
 with many other; Democrats, opposed his policy. He was, 
 for fifteen'' years prior to the death of Stephest A. Douglas^ 
 a firm and 'devoted- friend of that gentleman, and enjoyed, 
 during ',that -tiiiie,' ,the confidence of that distinguished 
 statesman;' arid- he gave to Mr. Douglas, during his can- 
 vass for thesPresidency in 1860, a vigorous support. 
 
 Du^ing^theiwar, Mr. J'iblds was known as a War Dem- 
 ocrat, giving the weight of his influence to all measures 
 calculated- to bring the rebellion to a speedy and successful 
 issue. ' Mr.'fPiELDS is now one of the leading members of 
 the organization of Tammany Hall. He was elected to the 
 Assembly, at the last election, by a majority of 746 votes, 
 over EoswELL D. Hatch, who was the nominee of all the 
 outside Democratic organizations, and who received also 
 the support of the Eepublican' party of the district. 
 
 Mr. Fields is Chairman of the committees on Judiciary 
 and on Grievances, and, as chairman of the latter, took a 
 prominent part in investigating the famous case against 
 Judge POTTEK, which resulted'! in. the larraignment of the 
 Judge at the Bar of the House, and.theipstssage of resolu- 
 tions that he had injured the 'dignity; of 'the Assembly by 
 ordering the arrest of one of its members.' He also serves 
 on the Committee on Insurance. : 
 
JOHN LAMSON FLAGG. 
 
 Mr. Flagg -was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, Sep- 
 tember nth, 1836. His boyhood, up to the age of twelve, 
 was spent in the place of his nativity. In 1848, his 
 parents removed with him to Troy, New York, where he 
 has ever since resided. Being desirous of obtaining a 
 good classical education, he prepared for college in the 
 schools of Troy, and, in 1853, entered Harvard. While at 
 that institution he ranked well as a student, and was 
 highly esteemed for his gentlemanly qualities. He gradu- 
 ated in 1857. Soon afterwards, as a first step toward the 
 study of the profession of the law, Mr. Flagg entered the 
 law ofl&ce of the late Hon. David L. Setmouk, who was 
 then in business with Hon. George Van Santvooed, 
 both of whom had a wide reputation for their vigorous 
 legal acumen. Meanwhile, he attended lectures at the 
 Albany Law School. In the month of December, 1858, 
 the degree of LL. B. was conferred upon him by that 
 institution, and he was thereupon admitted to the bar. 
 A short time subsequent, a partnership was formed 
 between himself and the late Hon. Job Pieeson, a law- 
 yer of repute. This partnership was terminated by the 
 death of Mr. Pieeson, in 1861. Shortly after that occur- 
 rence, Mr. Flagg formed a partnership with Jacob Geb- 
 HAED EuKKLE, of Schoharie county, under the name of 
 EuNKLB & Flagg, which still exists. At about this time 
 he received the degree of A. M. at Harvard ; and, in 1867, 
 the honorary degree of A. M. from Union. At the bar, 
 he is recognized as a lawyer of sound judgment and many 
 acquirements; and is remarkable for his equanimity of 
 temper, even when points go against his cause. 
 
216 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 But, in addition to his knowledge of the law, he has 
 taken pains to cultivate a fine literary taste. He early 
 identified himself with the Young Men's Association of 
 Troy,«an organization well known in literary circles as 
 being one of the most active and flourishing in the Union. 
 The Debating Society connected therewith first elected 
 him as its President. Subsequently he was elected Corres- 
 ponding Secretary of the Association proper, and, in that 
 capacity, he arranged a course of lectures. The Associa- 
 tion afterwards still further honored him by electing him 
 President. 
 
 Mr. Flagg has always been a Democrat. Under the 
 auspices of the Democracy, he was elected member of the 
 Board of Education, in March, 1860, and served two years, 
 representing the Third Ward of his city. He proved to 
 be an eflficient ofi&cer, having the true educational interests 
 of the people at heart, by introducing many reformatory 
 measures into the schools. He was among the leading 
 members of the Board. 
 
 In March, 1863, he was elected Police Justice of Troy, 
 by a large majority — ^in which capacity he served for three 
 years. As Police Justice he acquired a reputation for 
 vigorously enforcing the laws against persons who were 
 clearly guilty ; and toward the close of his term, many a 
 villainous fellow who had broken the laws, knew that he 
 would have a good measure of justice meted out to him by 
 Justice Flagg. Such measures were indeed essential to 
 the good of society, for crime seemed rampant in that 
 locality. 
 
 In the spring of 1866, the ofQce of Mayor of the city of 
 Troy was conferred upon him by a majority of 350 against 
 his opponent, though his predecessor was of the opposite 
 political faith, and the city was in the hands of the 
 Eepublicans. 
 
JOHN LAMSON FLAGG. 217 
 
 During the year of his mayoralty, the Common Council 
 over which he presided, was politically a tie, there being 
 eleven members of each party ; and a sharp contest was 
 kept np for the control of the local legislation. On those 
 occasions, he displayed an intimate knowledge of parlia- 
 mentary rules, and good executive ability. This state of 
 affairs concerning the Common Council, of course became 
 very unpleasant, therefore, during the session of the 
 Legislature, in 1867, a bill was introduced to take away 
 the right of the mayor to vote. The passage of such 
 a law would have broken the tie in the Common Council 
 of Troy. The proposed measure caused no small excite- 
 ment in that city, and had the effect to produce an elabo- 
 rate presentation of the subject before the Committee on 
 Cities, by which the bill was favorably reported to the 
 Assembly ; but it never became a law. 
 
 At the city election, in March, 1867, Mr. Flagg was re- 
 elected Mayor by five hundred majority; and, inasmuch 
 as his party also secured a majority in the Common Coun- 
 cil, he probably had a pleasanter oflScial year than before. 
 
 In 1867, he was elected to the Assembly by a majority 
 of ten hundred and forty, although his predecessor, who 
 was a Republican, had received a majority of eight hun- 
 dred and fourteen. On the organization of the Legislature 
 in 1868, his name was prominently used as candidate for 
 Speaker. Mr. Hitchman, however, was the choice of the 
 majority; and consequently, Mr. Flagg was rightfully 
 made chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, the 
 most important position below the Speakership. He was 
 likewise a member of the Committee on Federal Eelations. 
 
 Mr. Flagg was re-elected to the Legislature of 1869 ; 
 
 and he maintained a high position in that body. The 
 
 Democracy of Troy again complimented his devotion to 
 
 his party with another re-election last Fall. He is chair- 
 
 28 
 
218 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 man of the Committee on Education, and also serves on 
 the Committee on Affairs of Cities. Mr. Flagg is an in- 
 dustrious member, in capacity above the average of legis- 
 lators. He shows a fair and courteous spirit in debate, 
 and makes friends in both parties. 
 
 He is a director of the Troy City National Bank, and is 
 ailso an officer of the Troy and Lansingburgh Horse Eail- 
 road company, and president of the Kensselaer Park 
 association. His father, John' Flagg, Esq., has for years 
 held a position of wealth and influence in Troy; and 
 to-day is counted among the leading citizens of that city. 
 In 1860, Mr. Elagg, the subject of this article, married 
 Miss Ellek H. BaowN, of JProvidence, Ehode Island, a 
 lady of superior accomplishments, possessing excellent 
 taste in literature and art. Her name is known to the 
 public as that of a poetess ; and her pleasant social attain- 
 ments are appreciated by a wide circle of friends. 
 
 RICHARD FLANAGAN. 
 
 EicHARD Flanagan, who represents the Thu-teenth 
 District of New York city in the Assembly, was born in 
 that city on the 18th of December, 1835. He was educated 
 in the public schools, and after leaving school was appren- 
 ticed to the plasterer's trade, at which he served his time. 
 
 From an early age he has taken an active interest in 
 politics, and has always acted with the Democratic party. 
 
 Six years ago he was made Clerk of the Second District 
 Police Court of the city of New York, which position he 
 still holds. 
 
CHARLES N. FLENAGIN. 219 
 
 He was- elected to the present Legislature by a plurality 
 of 333 oYer his principal competitor, and by a majority of 
 sixty-one over all in a district for which the seat in the 
 Assembly was last year awarded to a Republican. 
 
 Mr. Flakagan" serves upon the committees on Insur- 
 rance, on Military and Public Defense, on Eoads and 
 Bridges, and on Expenditures of the House. 
 
 He is a faithful, hard-working member, and has already 
 acquired a good reputation as a legislator. 
 
 CHARLES N. FLENAGIN- 
 
 Mr. FLEiiTAGiN represents the county of Allegany, and 
 is one of the youngest members in the House. He was 
 born in Hume, September 30th, 1839. Mr. Flenagin was 
 educated at Genesee Conference Seminary, Pike, Wyoming 
 county, and after he graduated, prepared himself for the 
 legal profession, and is 'now a successful lawyer. He has 
 led an active political life from the time he attained his 
 majority, and has been Clerk and Justice of the Peace in 
 his native town, discharging the duties of the office with 
 a strict sense of its responsibilities, and entire regard for 
 the rights of all. He represented Hume in the Board of 
 Supervisors two years, and was Attorney for the Board of 
 Excise of Allegany county until the law was changed at 
 the present session of the Legislature. He is a member 
 of the Committee on State Prisons. 
 
PATKICK J. FLYNN. 
 
 Patkick J. FLTiiTK, who represents the First district 
 of Ulster county in the Assembly, was born in county 
 Leitrim, Ireland, on the 19th of November, 1823. He 
 emigrated to this country at an early age, and for many 
 years has resided at Eondout. He is engaged in mercantile 
 pursuits, and has been moderately successful in business. 
 
 He joined the 30th Eegiment, N. Y. S. M., in 1853, and 
 was appointed Captain in 1857. He entered the United 
 States seryice in 1861, as Captain in the same regiment, 
 and is at present its Colonel. 
 
 In polities, Mr. Fltnn is, and always has been, a Demo- 
 crat. He has held the ofi&ce of village Trustee, and has 
 been Overseer of the Poor for several years. 
 
 He was a member of the last House, serving upon the 
 Committee on Trades and Manufactures. He was re-elected 
 by a largely increased majority, and during the present 
 session serves as chairman of the Committee on Expendi- 
 tures of the Executive Department, and as a member of 
 the committees on Militia and Public Defense, on State 
 Prisons, and on Agriculture. 
 
 Mr. Flynn is a genial, frank, generous man; hearty 
 and outspoken. To the hosts of friends that he already 
 possessed he has added many, during his two years expe- 
 rience as a legislator in Albany. 
 
CHARLES FOSTEE. 
 
 Mr. Poster represents the county of Cortland. He 
 was born in Lansingburgh, Eensselaer county, September 
 2, 1823. After thorough preparatory education, he entered 
 Yale College, from which he graduated with honor in 
 August, 1844. He then began the study of Law, and was 
 soon admitted to practice, becoming in a few years quite emi- 
 nent in the profession. He is a man of energy and probity 
 of character, enjoying in a marked degree the esteem of 
 his fellow citizens, as is shown by his successive elections 
 as President of the village of Cortland. He was formerly 
 a Whig, and has been a staunch Eepublican since the 
 organization of that party, and was, indeed, influential in 
 its formation. He is a member of the Committee on 
 Public Lands. 
 
 JAMES FRANKLIN. 
 
 Mr. FBANKLiif is a sturdy champion of the right as he 
 understands it, inflexibly opposed to all dishonesty and 
 trickery, and thoroughly conversant with the science of 
 political economy. He was born at Preston, England, 
 December 7, 1811, and his connection with the factories of 
 fatherland, taught him the necessities and rendered him 
 familiar with the wants and woes of the laboring classes. 
 Although his early education was limited, he has what is 
 more valuable — a practical knowledge of the world and its 
 
222 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 ways. He emigrated to this country in 1848, settling in 
 the vicinity of Buffalo, where he now resides, and became 
 a farmer. Taking a deep interest in good government, he 
 became identified with the Democratic party. Being of 
 Free Soil proclivities, he followed his convictions during 
 the campaign of 1853, in consequence of feeling that the 
 Democracy was too thoroughly identified with the institu- 
 tion of Slavery. He remained connected with the "Whig 
 party until it dissolved, when he united with the Eepub- 
 lican party. 
 
 ALEXANDEE FREAR. 
 
 In the seventeenth century, three brothers. Huguenots, 
 bearing the name of Feeae, obtained from the United 
 States of Holland a grant of lands on the Hudson river, 
 now embraced in the counties of Ulster and Dutchess. 
 Their descendants are still numerous in that region, and 
 are generally thrifty, prosperous citizens. Several of them 
 have been characterized by their deep interest in politics. 
 When the Eepublicans of this State were divided between 
 the supporters of General Dan^iel D. ToMPEiiirs and the 
 friends of DeWitt Clintoit, partisan feeling ran very 
 high. Mr. James B. Feeae, of Poughkeepsie, a man of 
 active mind and character, was foremost among the 
 " Bucktails," and retained the ascendency in the party in 
 Dutchess county, till the period of his death, in 1833. He 
 was the father of the present member from New York. 
 
 Alexandee Feeae was born at Poughkeepsie, on the 
 18th day of August, 1830. He received a common school 
 education, and also attended the academy in his native 
 
ALEXANDER FKBAE. 223 
 
 town. He began at an early age to display an aptness for 
 business. At fourteen he was a clerk in a store in Pough- 
 keepsie, and three years later went to New York "to seek 
 his fortune." When only nineteen, he became a partner in 
 the house of Sheldon & Company, in Pearl street. He 
 remained there till 1848, when he established the import- 
 ing house of Alexander Fkeak & Company, in New 
 York, with branches in Chicago and Galena. This firm 
 carried on a heavy busiaess with great success, till the 
 financial revulsion of 1857. The effects of this crisis were 
 even more disastrous at the West than in New York, and 
 the establishment was compelled to close up its affairs. 
 
 Mr. Feeab now entered more deeply into politics, and 
 was elected to the Board of Councilmen from the Seventh 
 Senatorial district. The next year he was chosen Alder- 
 man for the Eleventh district, consisting of the Twentieth 
 ward of the city of New York. In his ofiicial duties he 
 displayed energy as indefatigable as that which had 
 characterized him as a man of business. 
 
 When the rebellion broke out he was among the fore- 
 most in sustaining the Government, and employed his 
 ofiBcial as well as personal influence to secure the adoption 
 of measures for furnishing men and money for the service 
 of the country. His zeal in the matter disturbed for a 
 time his political relations, and he took the lead in organ- 
 izing a Union Association in the Twentieth ward, in the 
 autumn of 1861, comprising Democrats and Eepublicans, 
 and electing its candidate for the Assembly and other offices. 
 
 In 1865, Mr. Feeae was the Tammany candidate for the 
 Assembly, and was elected by a plurality of about 800 votes 
 over Oliver Charlick, the Mozart candidate, who had 
 also a Eepublican nomination. He has served in each suc- 
 cessive Assembly, every year since that of 1866. By virtue 
 of his position and his known sagacity, he is recognized as 
 
224 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 one of the leaders of the House. He is always on hand, wary 
 and indefatigable, and directs the principal movements of 
 his political associates. Though never distinguished as a 
 debater, he is one of the effective and successful men that 
 ever engaged in public business, and he always has enough 
 on hand to occupy his attention. To superintend the 
 details of party management, bridg up the wayward and 
 lagging, and see that everything receives attention in its 
 turn, are duties constantly devolving upon him and 
 thoroughly discharged. Yet he generally makes friends, 
 and has always been as popular with his political adversa- 
 ries as with his own associates. He is chairman of the 
 Committee on Cities — a very responsible position. 
 
 ISAIAH FULLER. 
 
 Isaiah Fuller, who represents the First Assembly dis- 
 trict of Saratoga county^ resides at Galway, where he was 
 bom in the year 1840. 
 
 He was educated at the Fort Edward Academy, and is 
 by occupation a farmer. 
 
 Mr. Fuller has always been a Democrat, but has never 
 before held an office. 
 
 He was elected to the Assembly last fall, by a majority 
 of 369, in a district which the previous year had returnecl a 
 Eepublican. This would seem sufficient proof that Mr. 
 Fuller is " the man for Galway." He is a member of the 
 Committee on Canals, and on Engrossed Bills. 
 
 Mr. Fuller is an attentive, hard-working member, well- 
 informed on matters pertaining to the interests of the 
 State, popular with his associates, and modest and unas- 
 suming in his demeanor. 
 
GEORGE M. GLEASON. 
 
 This gentleman, representing tlie First District of St. 
 Lawrence county, was born in what was then called Poto 
 Ferry, and which is now the town of Pitcairn, New York. 
 He is thirty-eight years of age. 
 
 Mr. Gleason enjoyed good educational privileges until 
 eighteen years of age, and commenced life as a teacher, 
 which occupation he followed for ten years. Since that 
 time he has been engaged in farming. While attending 
 with energy to his personal affairs, he has devoted no little 
 of his time to matters affecting the interests of the locality 
 in which he resides ; and has five times been chosen Super- 
 visor of the town of Pitcairn ; has served five years as 
 Justice of the Peace, and four years as Town Superin- 
 tendent of public schools. 
 
 In September, 1861, Mr. G-leason" enlisted in the ser- 
 vice of the United States, as a private in Company " D," 
 COth Eegiment, New York Volunteers. In October fol- 
 lowing, he was promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant, 
 in which capacity he served either with his company, then 
 stationed at the Relay House, Maryland, guarding the 
 Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, or in recruiting service at 
 Ogdensburgh, until May, 1863, when his regiment was 
 ordered to report to Gen. SiGEL at Harpers Ferry. Soon 
 after their arrival, he was appointed Assistant Quarter- 
 master of the regiment, and accompanied it in its marches 
 through the Shenandoah and Rappahannock valleys until 
 August, when he was attacked with typhoid fever, in con- 
 sequence of which he was reduced from one hundred and 
 ninety pounds to one hundi'ed and eight. The surgeon in 
 29 
 
226 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 charge informed him that there was no probability of his 
 recovering his health while in active service, and he there- 
 fore tendered his resignation, accompanied by the surgeon's 
 certificate of disability, which was accepted. In his ema- 
 ciated condition he returned home. 
 
 About this time, it was ascertained that, although one- 
 half of those liable to military duty in his town had 
 already enlisted, no credits to the town had been made ; 
 and, after partially recovering his health, he visited Albany 
 and Washington, and succeeded in having those who had 
 entered the military service from that locality duly cred- 
 ited. He continued active in every movement set on foot 
 with a view of reinforcing the army ; aided the families 
 of soldiers, and attended personally to the filling of the 
 quotas of the town of Pitcairn ; and also, under appoint- 
 ment from the Board of Supervisors, acted as one of the 
 county recruiting agents for St. Lawrence county. 
 
 Mr. Gleason first entered the Legislature in 1866 ; was 
 re-elected to the Assembly of 1867 by an increased 
 majority, and has been re-elected at each election ever 
 since, sometimes with larger majorities than any other 
 candidates on the tickets. He is a member of the Insur- 
 ance and Judiciary committees. He enjoys the confidence 
 and esteem of his constituents ; is well informed in regard 
 to the affairs of the State; is an undemonstrative but 
 effective speaker, and having the advantage of experience, 
 is one of the most useful of the members of the present 
 Assembly. 
 
JAMES S. GRAHAM. 
 
 Mr. Graham is a native of Scotland, having been born 
 in tbe city of Edinburgh, on the 28th of Mayy 1836. His 
 parents immigrated to this country about three years after 
 his birth, landing in the city of New York, whence they 
 removed to Eochester, N. Y., where they still reside. It 
 will be seen, therefore, that most of Mr. G-raham's life has 
 been spent in this State, and that his interests are com- 
 pletely identified with the interests of his constituents. 
 After receiving a good practical education, he was appren- 
 ticed, at the age of sixteen, to learn the machine trade. 
 Having served four years, he worked as a journeyman 
 machinist, until April 23, 1861, when he enlisted as pri- 
 vate, for two years, in Company " A," 13th Eegiment New 
 York Volunteers. He was promoted by General Martin- 
 dale, to Second Lieutenant, November 1, 1861, in the 25th 
 Eegiment, New York Volunteers. In the early part of 
 1862, he was promoted to First Lieutenant, and soon after- 
 wards to Captain. He was mustered out with his regi- 
 ment July, 10, 1863, by virtue of the expiration of his 
 term of service, having served about twenty-six months. 
 
 But about the middle of August, 1863, he commenced 
 to raise a company of cavalry, for the 21st New York 
 Volunteer Cavalry, Colonel Tibbits commanding. He 
 was mustered in as Captain (Company " H,") the follow- 
 ing October, and served as such until General JoHNSOiir's 
 surrender. The war being at an end, and his health being 
 much impaired, he resigned his position, and was honora- 
 bly discharged. 
 
228 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 While in the Thirteenth Eegiment, in 1861, he was in 
 the engagement at Blackburn's Ford, and in the disastrous 
 battle of Bull Run. In 1863, he participated in the siege 
 of Yorktown, the fight at Hanover, the battles of Antietam, 
 Shepardstown Ford, Fredericksburg, and Chancellors- 
 ville. In 1864, while in the cavalry regiment, he was 
 actively engaged in the battles of Moorfield, Martinsburg, 
 where he had a horse shot under him. Pleasant Valley, 
 Winchester, where he lost another horse, Edinburg, and 
 near Gordonsville. 
 
 Although Captain Graham saw so much active service, 
 and was exposed to so many dangers, he was never 
 wounded, nor was he ever in the hospital. He served as 
 Aid on Major-General Stahl's staff for some time, and was 
 Acting Assistant Inspector-General on the staff of Briga- 
 dier-General TiBBiTS. His bravery and efficiency were 
 never questioned. 
 
 After Mr. Graham's return home, he resumed his trade 
 as a machinist, manufacturing telegraph instruments. In 
 July, 1865, he accepted the position of foreman of C. E. 
 Tompkins' machine shop in Eochester. He became a 
 member of the firm of " Cornell & Gleason," machinists, 
 in May, 1867, under the new firm name of" Cornell, Glea- 
 SON & Graham." The business copartnership still con- 
 tinues. Mr. Graham makes a speciality of wood-working 
 machinery, of which, as a designer and inventor, he has 
 been quite successful. 
 
 He has mingled but little in party politics ; and though 
 he is a,' very radical Eepublican, he has generally taken a 
 leading position among the advocates of Trades Unions 
 and Labor Eeform. He never held any public office or 
 trust until February, 1869, when, being pressed by the 
 workingmen, he was nominated by Governor Hoffman as 
 one of the Board of Managetoient of the Western House 
 
STEPHEN C. GREEN. 229 
 
 of Refuge, and was duly confirmed by the Senate. Last 
 fall lie was nominated for the Assembly, by the Eepubli- 
 cans of his district, and was supported, both by his party, 
 and many Democratic workingmen. His majority was 
 larger than that received by any previous candidate for 
 many years. 
 
 Mr. Graham's war record, his sympathies with the 
 movements of Labor Reform, his adherence to Republican 
 principles, and his sound, practical sense, deservedly render 
 him popular in Rochester and elsewhere. He is well 
 regarded by his fellow members. The Speaker properly 
 assigned him a position on the Committee on Canals, and 
 Trade and Manufactures, in view of his sound practical 
 sense. 
 
 STEPHEN C. GREEN. 
 
 Mr. Geeek represents the Second district of Cattarau- 
 gus county, residing in Little Valley. He was born in 
 Tompkins county, January 1, 1838, and was educated in 
 Jamestown, Chautauqua county. He was instructed in the 
 art of printing, but left its practice at the age of eighteen. 
 At twenty-two he became a merchant, in which avocation 
 he achieved success and acquired honorable reputation. 
 He was formerly a Whig, and entered heartily into the 
 organization of the Republican party. He has been Super- 
 visor during two terms, and now holds the office of Superin- 
 intendent of Poor. Mr. Geeen is a gentleman of good 
 attainments and indomitable energy, rendering valuable 
 service to his constituents, and building up for himself an 
 enviable record. 
 
AMASA HALL. 
 
 Mr. Hall, the representatiye for the Second district, 
 Wayne county, is a gentleman of exemplary character — 
 quiet, hut deyoted to the duties dcTolving upon him. He 
 resides at Hall Center, and was horn in Marion, January 
 11, 1816. He received his education at Cazenovia, and is 
 by ayocation a farmer. 
 
 ABRAHAM E. HASBROUCK. 
 
 Mr. Hasbeouck represents the Second Assembly dis- 
 trict of Ulster. He is a descendant of one of the original 
 French Huguenots, who came to this country in 1680, and 
 settled at Kingston, Ulster county, and afterwards became 
 one of the proprietors, or "twelve men," to whom was 
 granted the Paltz Patent. He was born July 7th, 1832. 
 He received a good common school education, and passed 
 one winter at Professor Fat's Academy at Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Mr. Hasbrouck has been for the past eighteen years 
 largely engaged in the freighting business from New Paltz 
 Landing to New York city, running the barge "Ulster 
 County," one of the largest of its class on the Hudson 
 river, and carrying to market the agricultural products of 
 the fertile valley of the Walkill. In this capacity he gave 
 general satisfaction to the farmers and business men of 
 that locality. 
 
ODKLL S. HATHAWAY. 231 
 
 Mr. Hasbrouck became interested in politics about 
 the time of the organization of the American party, with 
 ■which he identified himself, and became an active member. 
 When that party ceased to exist, he entered the ranks of 
 the Democratic party, and has remained ever since one 
 of its strongest supporters. He has held several town 
 offices, and has often been pressed by his fellow townsmen 
 to accept the nomination for the office of Supervisor, but 
 would never consent to take it. In the fall of 1866, he 
 was the candidate of the Democratic party for the office 
 he now holds, but his district being strongly Eepublican 
 and his opponent being a remarkably strong one — Hon. 
 Jacob Le Fetes — he was defeated. In 1867 he was 
 again put in nomination, and was elected by a majority 
 of 470, running about 200 ahead of his ticket. He was 
 member last year ; and was again elected to the present 
 House by a good majority. 
 
 He is chairman of the Committee on Civil Divisions, 
 and is a member of the committees on Agriculture, and 
 Expenditures of the House. 
 
 Mr. Hasbrouck is an active working member, both in 
 committees and in the House. 
 
 ODELL S. HATHAWAY. 
 
 Mr. Hathaway is one one of the older members of the 
 House, having been bom in Newburgh, Orange county, 
 N. Y., September 1st, 1802. At the age of seven years, he 
 was deprived of his father by death. Thereupon his 
 uncle, Seth G-rbgort, took the lad into his own home, 
 in Morris, Jf. J., with whom he lived for several years. 
 
232 UPE SKETCHES. ' 
 
 acquiring an ordinary common school education. When 
 his residence with Mr. Gkegoey terminated, he returned 
 to the town of Newburgh, and entered upon a clerkship 
 in the store of Samuel Q. Skeden, serving in that capac- 
 ity until he was twenty-one years of age, his compensation 
 being the decidedly parsimonious remuneration, his board 
 and clothes. Such things are not done at the present day ; 
 and, indeed, we question both the justice and the expedi- 
 ency of such a course. Yet, such was the custom of the 
 times, which severely tested the honesty of the employee, 
 if it did nothing more. For ourselves, we belong to that 
 class of people who believe that honest toil should have its 
 recompense. 
 
 After Mr. Hathattat had. attained his majority, he was 
 regularly employed by Mr. Snedeit, receiving for his ser- 
 vices his board and $60 per annum — this last item of 
 remuneration was to take the place of the clothes which he 
 received during his apprenticeship. Yet Mr. Hathaway 
 had no idea of complaint, either in mind or heart. He 
 cheerfully accepted the situation, for, through it, he saw 
 his chances for promotion, and he has no spirit of com- 
 plaint. The result which followed this clerical position, was 
 his promotion to a partnership in the business. On the death 
 of Mr. Sjteden', he succeeded him in the entire business. 
 
 Throughout all his business life, Mr. Hathaway has 
 always evinced promptness and reliability in his dealings 
 with his fellow citizens. He has so lived as to win the 
 confidence of those with whom he has been associated. 
 His aptitude for business has found a high reward in the 
 pecuniary trusts which have often been reposec^ in him. 
 He has been a bank director, and is now president of the 
 Quassaick National Bank of Newburgh. 
 
 Under the old military regime, Mr. Hathaway held 
 commissions from the ofiBice of Ensign, dated June 10th, 
 
OLBLL S. HATHAWAY. 233 
 
 1829, and signed by Governor E. T. Theoop, to the office 
 of Colonel, with commission dated October 35th, 1838, 
 signed by Governor Maroy. By personal request, he was 
 honorably discharged, August 14th, 1843, his discharge 
 being signed by Adjutant-General A. C. NiVEsr. 
 
 Mr. Hathaway, during the war, served very faithfully 
 as chairman of a special committee appointed to raise vol- 
 unteers to fill the quota of his town, under the call of the 
 President. The following resolution exhibits the faithful- 
 ness with* which he discharged- his arduous and delicate 
 duty: 
 To the Chairman of tlie Board of Supervisors : 
 
 The Special Committee appointed to settle with the Volunteer Com- 
 mittee, appointed at the last annual meeting of the Board of Super- 
 visors, have the pleasure to report that they have examined the 
 statements and vouchers presented to them, and find the same correct 
 in every particular, and that we find a balance due Odell S. Hatha- 
 way, the very efficient chairman of said committee, of $146.10, all of 
 which is respectfully submitted. 
 
 JOHN H. REEVE, 
 MORGAN SHUlf, 
 C. S. WOODWARD, 
 
 Committee. 
 
 Mr. Hathaway is chairman of the Committee on 
 Banks, and ranks among the best practical members of 
 the House. He is methodical in the performance of his 
 duties, and upright in his actions. 
 
 30 
 
BERNARD HAVER. 
 
 BBRi>rAED Havbk, who represents the Williamsburgh 
 (6th district), of Kings county, in the Assembly, was born 
 in France on the first day of January, 1821. He is of 
 French-German origin, and is blessed personally in possess- 
 ing the Tivacity of the Gaul and the enduring industry 
 and thrift of the Teuton. Mr. Haver's parents came to the 
 United States while Berna];d was yet a child. They set- 
 tled upon a farm at Palatine, Montgomery county, New 
 York. About the year 1833 they remoTcd to the city of 
 New York, and Bernard receiTed the advantages of an 
 education in the public schools of the metropolis. At the 
 age of twenty-four he went into business for himself as a 
 produce broker. He obtained a stand in the Washington 
 market, and there he has continued for nearly a quarter 
 of a century. In the year 1857 he changed his residence 
 to Brooklyn, where he now lives. 
 
 Mr. Hater, although always taking an active jnterest 
 in politics, has never before sought nor held oflEice. The 
 wide acquaintance which his business gave him, the 
 probity of his personal character, and above all his estab- 
 lished popularity with his fellow citizens, served to render 
 him the most available candidate that the Democrats could 
 present to the electors of the district. The result demon- 
 strated the wisdom of their choice. He was chosen by a 
 majority of 201, notwithstanding the fact that in 1868 the 
 Bepublican candidate received a majority of forty-five. 
 
 Although a new member, Mr. Hater shows rare adapta- 
 tion to legislative business. He serves as a member of the 
 Committee on Expenditures of the House. 
 
JOHN K. HENESSEY. 
 
 The workingmen of the State hare few adyocates who 
 are more earnest and worthy than JoHiir E. HEirJrESSEY, 
 who represents the Fourteenth district of the city of New 
 York in the Assembly. 
 
 Mr. Henkesset was born in Ireland on the 7th of May, 
 1838. He came to this country at a very early age and 
 receiyed his education in the public schools of New York. 
 After leaving school he learned the trade of a plasterer and 
 decorator. He has always acted with the Democratic party. 
 During the Kebellion he gave good proof of being a "War 
 Democrat by entering the army and fighting for two years 
 with the Ellsworth Zouaves. 
 
 He has been School Trustee of the Seventh ward. In 
 1868 he was elected a member of the Board of Education 
 by a large majority over two competitors. 
 
 He was elected to the Legislature last November, by a 
 majority of 731. Although this is Mr. Heutnesset's first 
 year in the Assembly, he has taken prominent rank among 
 the members from New York city. He serves as chairman 
 of the Committee on Trades and Manufactures, and as a 
 member of the Committee on the Petitions of Aliens. 
 
STEPHEN S. HEWITT. 
 
 Mr. Hewitt, the Representative for the Second district 
 in Cayuga county, was born in Genoa, June 9, 1831, where 
 he still resides. He was educated at Geneva College and 
 Buffalo University, graduating from both with marked 
 honors. He qualified himself for medical practice, and has 
 a large and extended circle of patrons. He was formerly a 
 member of the Whig party, and decided to share the for- 
 tunes of the Eepublican party when it was organized. He 
 served in the Board of Supervisors to the entire satisfaction 
 of the community for six years, and was twice chairman of 
 the Board, presiding with entire impartiality and success. 
 He is a member of the Committee on State Charitable 
 Institutions. 
 
 MORGAN HORTON. 
 
 Putnam county sends to the assembly a worthy Demo- 
 cratic farmer, in the person of Morgan Hokton', who was 
 born in the district he represents on the 34:th day of April, 
 1819. 
 
 He received his education at the district school of South- 
 east, his native town. 
 
 From an early age he has been honored with the con- 
 fidence of his fellow citizens, and has been called upon to 
 fill many positions of public trust and responsibility. He 
 
ABRAHAM HOWE. 237 
 
 has been four times a member of the board of superrisors 
 of Putnam county, and twice its chairman ; has held the 
 cflBce of excise commissioner, and has been county super- 
 intendent of schools for four years; he was one of the 
 commissioners appointed by Governor Setmouk to enroll 
 the militia; and he was a member of the last House 
 (elected by a majority of 141), where he served upon the 
 committees on Expenditures of the House and on Joint 
 Library. He was re-elected by an increased majority, and 
 serves during the present session upon the Committee on 
 Banks. 
 
 ABRAHAM HOWE. 
 
 Mr. Howe resides at Fulton, Oswego county, N. Y., at 
 which place he was for several years engaged in the manu- 
 facture of starch, at the " Oswego Eiver Starch Factory." 
 In 1861, however, the factory was destroyed by fire ; and 
 since that time, Mr. Howe has, at different intervals, been 
 a dealer in real estate, and in the flour and grain trade. 
 He is a well informed business man, and thoroughly prac- 
 tical in his tendencies. 
 
 Mr. Howe was bom at Marlboro, Mass., February 18, 
 1824, and was taken by his parents to the town of Granby, 
 !N". Y., in the fall of 1835. The town was, at that time, 
 almost an unbroken wilderness. His father there carried 
 on a farm and the manufacture of potash ; and Mr. Howe's 
 first recollections of his home in Granby were the bright 
 fires which brought into strong relief the giant trees of the 
 surrounding forest. He began his education when only 
 three years old ; but could only go to school in tte sum- 
 mer time, as the school-house was a mile away. When 
 
238 LILK SKETCHES. 
 
 eight years old, he was kept at home to work on the farm, 
 excepting three months in the winter. It was at that 
 time that he was so fortunate as to meet that model teacher 
 and excellent man, the Kev. Charles Mbbritt, and to be 
 under his instruction for four or five winters. 
 
 When the boy was only fourteen, years of age, Mr. Mee- 
 KiTT said that he was qualified to teach ; and when he 
 was fifteen he began teaching in the district adjoining the 
 one in which he resided, then known as the " Cody dis- 
 trict. " Although he had scholars from five to ten years 
 older than himself, yet it is said that he "kept" a good 
 school. The next winter he taught at Ira, Cayuga county, 
 and the next, at Oswego city, where he was a teacher for 
 three years. During that time he paid his father eighteen 
 dollars per month, and managed to save enough to prepare 
 for college, at Fulton. After attending the Fulton Acad- 
 emy six months, he was told by the principal that he was 
 ready for college. He went to Oberlin, Ohio, but not 
 liking the school, or their vegetable diet, remained 
 but one year. He then began the study of law, at the 
 office of the Hon. A. A. Bliss, of Elyria, teaching winters 
 and studying law summers, until 1848, when, as has been 
 previously stated, he took up his residence at Fulton. Mr. 
 Howe has mingled considerably in the politics of his dis- 
 trict. In 1849 he was appointed Deputy Sherifij and held 
 the office six years. He has -been Town Assessor for a 
 like time; 'and during last year was a member of the 
 Board of Supervisors. In his election to the Assembly, he 
 ran six hundred and forty-nine ahead of the State ticket. 
 He is a member of the Democratic party ; and has posi- 
 tions on the committees on Canals, Salt, and Roads and 
 Bridges. As a member of the House, he is attentive to the 
 progress of business and alive to the interests of those 
 whom he represents. 
 
MARCUS A. HULL. 
 
 Mr. Hull, who represents the county of Wyoming, is 
 one of the quiet, but efficient workers of the Assembly. 
 His father, Dr. Lauren's Hull, represented Allegany in 
 the Senate from 1838 to 1841 with credit. Mr. Hull was 
 born in Bridgewater, Oneida county, December 26, 1819. 
 He was engaged in the successful prosecution of the busi- 
 ness of manufacturing woolen goods for twenty-five years in 
 Pike, where he now resides, and then withdrew, establishing 
 himself as a dealer, and engaging in the occupation of farm- 
 ing. He cast his first vote for Hen ky Clay, and remained a 
 Whig until the organization of the Eepublican party. 
 Through the justifiable favor of his fellow citizens, he is 
 now serving his sixth tenn in the Board of Supervisors, 
 rendering important service to his constituents.. He was 
 a member of Assembly in 1869, serving on the committees 
 on Insurance, and Trade, and Manufactures. He is this 
 session a member of the Committee on Cities. 
 
 JAMES W. HUSTED, 
 
 Mr. HuSTED is really one of the most original and bril- 
 liant members of the House. He has a certain dash of 
 manner, mingled with an acuteness of perception and a 
 power of sarcasm, which make his opponents wary about 
 stirring him up to retort. But whenever any member 
 ventures to unfairly oppose and misrepresent a question 
 
240 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 whicli Mr. Husted is advocating, he is driven back from 
 his assailing position witli all the weapons of debate which 
 Mr. Husted has at his command — and they are not a few. 
 And yet he is not discourteous and rough in his language ; 
 on the contrary, he chooses the most felegant sentences, 
 filled with classical allusions and apt illustrations, but, • 
 withal, convincing and logical. 
 
 Mr. Husted was born at Bedford, N". Y., October 31, 
 1833. His ancestors were of marked honesty and respect- 
 ability, and belonged, politically, to the old Whig party. 
 The incidents of Mr. Husted's boyhood were very much 
 like those of other boys. He prepared for college at the 
 Bedford Academy, in his native town, and graduated from 
 Yale College in 1854. While in college he stood well in 
 his class, and was complimented with University honors 
 when he graduated. At the close of his college life, he 
 studied law with Edwaed Wells, of Peekskill. As a 
 lawyer, he is now regarded with confidence and respect, 
 and is conceded to possess very fine abilities. 
 
 Mr. Husted's political history is quite varied. He 
 started as a Know Nothing ; and for two years was Secre- 
 tary of the American State Council. He was elected 
 Town Superintendent of common schools, in 1855, on the 
 Know Nothing ticket ; and in 1858, he was chosen by the 
 same party as one of the School Commissioners of Westches- 
 ter comity. But in 1859, the test of a mah's "American- 
 ism" being a willingness to "plough with a Democratic 
 heifer," Mr. Husted protested against the betrayal of the 
 principles upon which the party was founded. During 
 the Utica Convention held in that year, when the Hybrid 
 ticket was formed, he published a protest against it, and 
 left the organization, joining the Eepublican party. In 
 1860, he was appointed Deputy Superintendent of the 
 State Insurance Department, by Hon. iBuperintendent 
 
JAMES "W, HUSTED. 241 
 
 William Barnes. Since 1862, Mr. Husted has been 
 Harbor Master in the city of New York ; and until yery 
 recejitly was Deputy Captain of the Port of the same city, 
 for 1866. 
 
 In the fall of 1868, Mr. Husted was elected to the 
 Assembly from the Third district of "Westchester county 
 by 307 majority. In the Legislature of 1869, he made an 
 honorable record as a debater and legislator. The Speaker 
 made him chairman of the Committee on Federal Kelations, 
 and member of the Committee on Commerce and Nayiga- 
 tion. He was re-elected at the last election, by 1,144 
 majority, running 837 ahead of his ticket, and 417 ahead 
 in his own town — Peekskill. No further commentary on 
 his immense popularity is needed. The sources of Mr. 
 Husted's popularity are easily traced. He is genial, bril- 
 liant, talented, and true to his friends, and as a sequence, 
 his friends are true to him. The party to which he belongs 
 has repeatedly honored him with responsible positions, and 
 he, in turn, has honored the party with his best efforts. 
 He is Secretary of the Eepublican State Central Com- 
 mittee, and has already evinced a ready adaptability to the 
 place. Mr. Husted's sphere of useful actiyity has not 
 beeii confined to politics. Among the Masonic Fraternity 
 he has for some time held prominent places in the Order, 
 haying attained the rank of t). D. G. M. ; he also has been 
 Judge Advocate of the 7th Brigade N. Y. S. M. 
 
 He serves on the committees of Ways and Means, Com- 
 merce and Navigation, and Grievances. 
 
 31 
 
EUGENE HYATT. 
 
 Eugene Hyatt, member of Assembly from the Second 
 district of Rensselaer county, was born on the 18th day of 
 May, 1829, at Stratford, in the county of Montgomery 
 (now Fulton,) in this State. He is the son of JoHif S. 
 Hyatt, who now lives at Verona, in the county of Oneida. 
 His mother's maiden name was Lucretia "Wakker ; she 
 died on the 8th day of May, 1858. Eugene was the eldest 
 of four children, two of whom died in childhood. He now 
 has one sister living, Mrs. JuLiA Raksom, wife of Louis 
 Eansom, also residing in Lansingburgh. At the time of 
 Eugene's birth, his parents were in quite poor circum- 
 stances, his father carrying on a small tannery, the family 
 living on the second floor of the building in which the 
 business was conducted. 
 
 When Eugene was but a few months of age, his parents 
 removed to Northwestern Pennsylvania, in the county of 
 Clearfield, now Elk. 
 
 When Eugene was in his sixth year his parents removed 
 back to Stratford, where they continued to reside down to 
 the time of the death of his mother. The father was 
 engaged in various pursuits, principally that of a carpenter, 
 which trade he taught his boy, when quite young. 
 
 The boy was sent to district school, and when but a 
 mere lad, he became the leading scholar in the common 
 schools of that vicinity. He was then sent to Faii-field 
 Academy, at Fairfield, Herkimer county. New York, where 
 he remained part of two years. His school days closed at 
 the age of sixteen. His parents were unable to give him a 
 classical education ; and although his opportunities were 
 
EUGENE HYATT, 243 
 
 good for an English education, and were well improved by 
 him, he now feels greatly the need of a more thorough 
 education. 
 
 His father having engaged in lumber and mercantile, 
 business in company with Aakon Baktlett, Eugene was, at 
 the age of seventeen, put in charge of the store of Baktlett 
 & Hyatt, where, he remained for two years ; the firm was 
 then dissolved, and Eugene went iti the employ of 
 P. Ives, & Co., merchants and cheese dealers, at Salisbury, 
 Herkimer county. 
 
 He remained with them for nearly a year, when, think- 
 ing that steady confinement in a store was wearing upon 
 his health, he went back home, and from that time until 
 he commenced the study of law, worked with his father, 
 summers, and taught school winters. During this time 
 the father and son engaged in general jobbing ; building 
 dwellings, saw-mills, leather factories, mill-dams, bridges, 
 plank-roads, &c., &c. The former also held the office of 
 town superintendent of common schools, in his native 
 town. 
 
 In the autumn of 1851, the son commenced the study 
 of law, in the office of NoLTO]sr & Lake (Hon. Hikam 
 NoLTON, and Jarvis N. Lake, Esqs.), at Little Falls, N. Y. 
 He remained with them only until the next spring, when 
 receiving an offer from the clerk of Pulton county, Peter 
 W. Plantz, Esq., he entered his office as deputy clerk. He 
 remained in this office until the first of January, 1864, 
 when in consequence of a change in the political complex- 
 ion of the office, he left, Mr. Plantz having been defeated 
 by his Whig opponent, Aechd. Andersok, Esq. 
 
 Mr. Hyatt then removed to Lansingburgh, entering the 
 office of H. Bleekmak, Esq., as law clerk, and in Septem- 
 ber following passed an examination in Albany, and was 
 admitted to the bar. Soon thereafter he became a partner 
 
244 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 ■with Mr. Blbekman', who shortly removed to the city of 
 New York, leaving the Lausingburgh business in charge 
 of Mr. Hyatt. 
 
 With the exception of a few months spent in the law 
 business, in New York, Mr. Hyatt has continued to reside 
 in Lansingburgh. 
 
 In October, 1859, Mr. Hyatt was married to Miss E. 
 Amelia Ferkis, a* Auburn, in this State. In March, 1861, 
 he removed back to Lansingburgh, where he has since 
 resided and practiced his profession. He is known as a 
 clear-headed, candid, upright, reliable lawyer»a fair speaker, 
 usually talking to the subject, spending no unnecessary 
 time in making speeches. 
 
 He is at present the senior member of the firm of Hyatt 
 & CoMSTOCK (A. C. CoMSTOCK, Esq.), attorneys, etc., doing 
 business in Lansingburgh. He was corporation counsel 
 for several years, and one term held the office of Justice of 
 the Peace, refusing to run the second time. 
 
 In 1867. he was the Kepublican nominee for Surrogate 
 of Eensselaer county, but was defeated, "as was the whole 
 Republican county ticket ; the Hon. E. Smith Strait, the 
 present popular Surrogate of that county, being his 
 opponent. 
 
 He was unanimously nominated as the Eepublican can- 
 didate for Member of Assembly for the Second district of 
 Rensselaer county in 1869, without his consent or knowl- 
 edge, and although a desperate effort was made to defeat 
 him, he received 3,160 votes, his opponent, Elisha S. 
 Baucus, Esq., receiving 3,063, electing Mr. Hyatt by 98 
 majority. 
 
 Before the organization of the Republican party, Mr. 
 Hyatt voted the Democratic ticket, always, however, being 
 identified with the Free-soil Aving of the party. He early 
 learned from his mother, who was a woman of very strong 
 
JAMES IRVING. 245 
 
 conYietions, to abhor slavery and oppression of every kind. 
 This sentiment clung to him in manhood, and upon the 
 organization of the Republican party he found himself in 
 full sympathy with its principles. 
 
 JAMES IKVING. 
 
 Mr. Ieving represents the Sixteenth Assembly district 
 of New York, in which city he was born, on the 6th of 
 July, 1821. He belongs to a " Scotch-Irish" family, and 
 his father emigrated from Londonderry, in the north 
 of Ireland, in 1808. His mother was a native of this 
 country. 
 
 Mr. Irving was a pupil, during boyhood, in several pri- 
 vate schools, also attending several seasons at the public 
 and high schools. He was a bold lad, active, fond 
 of adventure, and, true to his Scotch blood, always 
 regardful of business. Leaving school, he went into the 
 employment of the noted " Chkis. G-uiee," in Washing- 
 ton Market, remaining with him ten years, and sustaining 
 a good reputation for industry and fidelity. In 1847, he 
 engaged a market-stand, and set up in business on his 
 own account. He speedily became a leadin'g man among 
 the butchers of New York, buying and selling, on the 
 average, one hundred head of cattle a week, for sixteen 
 years. His sagacity in making, purchases was unrivaled. 
 He seldom varied five pounds from a correct estimate of 
 the weight of an animal. This and his great industry 
 soon secured his prosperity, and, in 1857, he had accumu- 
 lated the handsome fortune of $400,000. He held large 
 Contracts for supplying the institutions on Ward's and 
 
246 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Blackwell's Island, and also obtained yaluable contracts 
 for supplies for the army and navy. But the fluctuating 
 prices of 1857 seriously affected him, and half of his 
 property was swallowed up by the disasters of that year. 
 He continued in business, however, till 1863. 
 
 In 1847, Mr. Ievistg was married to Miss Hajstkah 
 Leonard, a sister of the present well-known Inspector 
 of the Metropolitan police. The mother of Mrs. laviifG 
 was a Eoman Catholic, a woman of superior intellect and 
 of strictly conscientious principles, and carefully instructed 
 her children in religious duties. Mrs. Ievii^g admirably 
 displays the effect of her early culture, in her careful ma- 
 ternal supervision of the conduct of her oivn children, six 
 in number. In these matters she has the full concurrence 
 of her husband, who, professing no religious faith himself, 
 is liberal to all who do. 
 
 Mr. Ibving has been for many years actively interested 
 in politics, belonging to the Tammany wing of the Demo- 
 cratic party. Although several times in the field as a 
 candidate, he was never regularly nominated, and always 
 was obliged to encounter a powerful combination of the 
 factions against him. It is his boast, however, that he has 
 always received a higher vote than the opposing Demo- 
 cratic candidate. In 1865 he was a candidate for Alder- 
 man in the Fourteenth district, receiving double the vote 
 of the regular Democratic candidate, although defeated by 
 Mr. Joseph B. Varnum, Eepublican, by a small majority. . 
 In 1866 he was elected to the Assembly, and by three suc- 
 cessive re-elections has served up to the present time. 
 
 Mr. Ikying is a member of the committees on Eailroads 
 and on Agriculture. He is attentive to his duties, strong 
 in his political convictions, and popular with his constitu- 
 ents and fellow members. 
 
JOHN C, JACOBS. 
 
 Mr. JACOBS is the acknowledged leader of the majority 
 in the House. For mtoy years he has been a constant 
 attendant upon both branches of the Legislature in the 
 capacity of special correspondent for some leading news- 
 paper. This is also his second term a member of the 
 House. Added to this long and varied experience, is his 
 effectiveness as a party manager, and his readiness and 
 ability in debate; his tireless activity and his dauntless 
 courage in battling for his political principles. In short, 
 there is that in his constitution and in his training which 
 admirably fits him for the position of leadership which has 
 been readily accorded him by his political brethren in the 
 House. He was a prominent candidate for the Speakership, 
 and would have filled that position well, but the Tammany 
 men of New York city were opposed to him, and, as they 
 succeeded in securing a majority of the country members, 
 he was defeated. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs was bom December 16, 1838, in Lancaster 
 county, Pa. The paternal ancestors of Mr. Jacobs were 
 of the old New England revolutionary stock, and several 
 of them participated in the struggle for independence; 
 the maternal, side were of German origin, one of them 
 having held a high position under Pkedbeick the Great, 
 of Pi'ussia. 
 
 "When Mr. Jacobs was quite young, his parents removed 
 to the city of Brooklyn, where, with the exception of a 
 year, he has since resided. At an early age he went to a 
 select school, and was progressing rapidly, when his family 
 removed to Philadelphia, which broke in upon his educa- 
 
248 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 tional progress ; and from his twelfth year, it may be said 
 that his school-house studies ended. Eeturning to Brook- 
 lyn, he entered a lawyer's office, but growing dissatisfied 
 with the day labor there laid out for him, sought and 
 obtained a place in the large printing establishment of 
 JoHiir A. Geay & Co., in New York. Here, as copy- 
 holder, he became acquainted with many newspaper men 
 of prominence — their journals being issued from the estab- 
 lishment — and soon cultivated a taste for the profession of 
 a journalist. When eighteen years of age he commenced 
 newspaper life as a reporter on the New York Express, 
 and rapidly advanced, until he had charge of the political 
 news columns. In 1860 he became correspondent of the 
 same paper, in Albany, remaining with it until 1866, when, 
 in the same capacity, he represented the New York World. 
 In 1862, Mr. Jacobs volunteered to accompany McClbl- 
 lan's army, on its famous Peninsular campaign, as a cor- 
 respondent, and, becoming attached to the 1st New York 
 Volunteers, then in Keaent's Division, he had a chance 
 to see and participate in some of the hardest fighting of 
 the war. His account of the evacuation of Harrison's 
 Landing, and the march to Yorktown, published in the 
 Express, was extensively copied by the press throughout 
 the country. 
 
 Mr. Jacobs began his political life early. In the cam- 
 paign of 1856, though but a boy, he was active in the 
 opposition to Eebmont's election, and, in 1860, was well 
 known in Brooklyn as a leader among the young men who 
 combined against the Lincoln" ticket. In 1863, he was 
 nominated by the Democrats for Assembly, Johk C. Perey 
 being the Eepublican candidate, Theophilus C. Callicot 
 and an independent Democrat also running. This split 
 defeated him. In 1865, he also ran, being again defeated 
 by William W. Goodeich, after a contest of great 
 
ST, PIEEEB JEREED. 249 
 
 severity. Mr. Jacobs' friends insisted that he should 
 again run in 1866, and the Democratic convention nomi- 
 nated him by acclamation. The Eepublicans made every 
 effort to defeat him, but this time he won by a majority 
 of nearly nine hundred. He has been a member of the 
 House ever since. In the last Assembly he was an active 
 member, but devoted Inost of his time to local matters. 
 He was re-elected to the present House by a large majority, 
 and is Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means, and 
 a member of the committees on Insurance, and Grievances. 
 Personally, Mr. Jacobs is a great favorite with all his 
 acquaintances. Though an ardent and active partisan, 
 pushing all party measures with vigor, there is yet a 
 courteousness of manner, a fairness of dealing and a frank- 
 ness of language in all his political endeavors, that does 
 not fail to make even his opponents yield him a large 
 share of admiration and respect. He is a man of large 
 heart and warm sympathies, true to his friends and 
 generous to his foes. 
 
 ST, PIEKRE JERRED. 
 
 St. Pibkkb Jeered represents the Third district of 
 Oneida county. In despite of his French-sounding name 
 he is a good specimen of the American farmer ; — a broad- 
 shouldered, well-built, energetic man, not much given to 
 talk, but self-reliant and firm. With the ready adaptation 
 of the genuine Yankee, Mr. Jereed unites to his agricul- 
 tural pursuits the trade of a cooper, and the judicial 
 functions of a Justice of the Peace. And what is more, 
 he performs all his varied duties well and acceptably. " 
 32 
 
250 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 He was bom at New Haven, in Oswego county, on the 
 10th day of December, 1838. His grandfather came to 
 this country from England, during the Revolutionary 
 War, as a soldier in Burgoyne's command. He subsequently 
 deserted the British and joined the patriot forces, with 
 whom he did good service until the acknowledgment of our 
 independence. 
 
 The subject of this sketch received a common school 
 education in his native village, and subsequently served 
 his time as an apprentice at the cooper's trade. He con- 
 tinued to reside at New Haven until the year 1856, when 
 he removed to Oneida county, and settled in the town of 
 Florence. 
 
 Mr. Jeered is a life-long and active Democrat. He 
 has been three times elected Justice of the Beace, and has 
 served one term as Justice of the Sessions. 
 
 He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 620, 
 and serves as a member of the committees on Claims and 
 on Public Lands. 
 
 RICHARD JOHNSON. 
 
 Richard Johnsoit, who represents Livingston county 
 in the Assembly, was born at Groveland on the 25th day 
 of November, 1815. 
 
 In an old log school-house of that town he received the 
 rudiments of an education — an education scanty in itself 
 but sufficient to inspire a love of knowledge — a love which 
 Mr. Johnson has since gratified by an unusually exten- 
 sive course of reading. 
 
 Mr. Johnson' is, by occupation, a farmer. He has not 
 only proved himself ready and willing to do the hard 
 
EICHABD JOHNSON. 251 
 
 work which agricultural pursuits demand, but he likewise 
 takes a deep interest in the development of the resources 
 of the whole country. He has been, for three years, cor- 
 respondent, for Livingston county, with the Agricultural 
 Department at Washington, and has distributed seeds in 
 all parts of the northern States. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Johnson acted with the Whig party 
 while there was a Whig party to act with, and after that 
 he joined the Republicans — to whose newly-formed camp 
 his opposition to slave-labor naturally drew him. 
 
 Mr. Johnson has enjoyed, to an unusual degree, the 
 confidence of his fellow-citizens — a confidence which they 
 have manifested by electing him to various positions of 
 responsib.ility and trust. He was Justice of the Peace in 
 1852; Justice of the Sessions in 1854 and 1855, and has 
 been Excise Commissioner since 1857. In 1854, he was a 
 delegate to the Whig State Convention. In 1863, he was 
 appointed by President Lincoln, United States Assessor 
 for the revenue district in which he resides. He was elect- 
 ed to the Legislature last November, by a plurality of 679 
 votes over his highest competitor, and by a majority of 
 324 over all. 
 
 Mr. Johnson serves upon the Committee on Militia and 
 Public Defense. 
 
WILLIAM C. JONES. 
 
 Mr. Jones represents the Fifth district of Kings county, 
 a district which in 1866 gave a Republican majority of 800, 
 and in 1867 reversed it, by giving Mr. Jones a majority 
 of 500, a result attributable more, perhaps, to his personal 
 popularity than sympathy with his political principles. 
 Last fall he ran against W. W. Goodkich (Eepublican), 
 and was elected to the Assembly by 10 majority. He is a 
 member of the committees on Charitable and Religious 
 Societies, and Commerce and Navigation. He was born 
 in New York city, October 19,1822. His. father was a 
 native of Pennsylvania, and served in the war of 1813. 
 His mother was a native of New York: both were of 
 English ancestry. He received a good education, passed 
 several years as clerk in a store, and then engaged in the 
 granite business. Mr. Jones was, for many- years, con- 
 nected with the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and discharged his 
 duties very efficiently, always having the confidence of the 
 commanding officers. He is now a lessee of Government 
 docks in Brooklyn* He was a member of Assembly in 1860, 
 serving on the Committee on The Affairs of Cities. During 
 the rebellion, he was in the South Atlantic Blockading 
 Squadron, serving on the staff of Fleet Engineer Eobeet 
 Danbt, whose fleet consisted of one hundred vessels. 
 Mr. Jones is what is properly termed a working member 
 of the House. He is very attentive to the duties of the 
 committee room, the place where legislation is really 
 shaped. He is an intelligent and valuable member of 
 the committees on which he .serves. He is pleasing in his 
 personal manners, and makes many friends. His opinions 
 
LAWEBNCE D. KIEENAN. 253 
 
 are listened to with, respect, and his counsels sought. He 
 is of the class of men who practically impress much of 
 their indiyiduality on legislation. 
 
 LAWRENCE D. KIERNAN, 
 
 Mr. KiERKAN was bom February 12, 1844, about a mile 
 from a small Tillage known as Bdgeworthstown, in the 
 county Longford,* Ireland. His parents were in moderate 
 circumstances, his father being a farmer of limited means. • 
 After the death of both his parents, and about twelve 
 years since, he emigrated to this country, and has since 
 resided in liTew York city. 
 
 After attending the public school for a year, Mr. Kiee- 
 NAK was admitted to the Free Academy. Here he distin- 
 guished himself by his application to and proficiency in 
 his studies, and, on graduating with the highest honors in 
 1861, he received the first prize for public speaking. He 
 at once entered on the study of the law, and in about six 
 months was" appointed a teacher in Grammar School 
 eighteen, in which capacity he served with marked success 
 and acceptability until his election to the Legislature. He 
 continued the study of the law while employed as teacher, 
 graduating from the Law Department of the New York 
 University in 1865. During the Eebellion he was desig- 
 nated Private Secretary to the Irish Brigade, then coni- 
 manded by General Thomas FEAiircis Meaghee, but 
 never entered on the discharge of the duties of the olHce, 
 owing to family embarrassments. He received the degree 
 of Master of Arts from the New York College in 1864, 
 and is now a member of the Alumni Committee on the 
 
254 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 relations of Alma Mater with kindred institutions. He 
 was elected to the Assembly in 1867, serring in the House 
 of 1868. He was re-elected to the Assembly of 1869 ; and 
 again re-elected to the present House by a flattering 
 majority. He is Chairman of the Committee on Com- 
 merce and Navigation, and also serves on the committees 
 on Education and Judiciary. 
 
 The record of Mr. Kibknan's life, it will be thus seen, 
 is but the recounting of a preparation for active life. He 
 stands on the threshold of a career which bids fair to be 
 bright and prosperous. His first introduction to political 
 life in Albany was in the presentation of the name of 
 William Hitchmak, as candidate for Speaker to the 
 Democratic caucus in 1868. It was a brilliant effort, and 
 contributed largely to the success of his nominee. Mr. 
 Kieknan's voice is clear, round and penetrating, and his 
 enunciation accurate. He has a discriminating, logical, 
 judicial mind, which will enable him to succeed as a coun- 
 selor, while his powers of oratory will make him a suc- 
 cessful pleader. He finds an appropriate place in the 
 Judiciary Committee room. If he maintains the well- 
 balanced intellect he now possesses, and observes as closely 
 and acts as intelligently through life, Mr. Kieenan's 
 career will be a proud one in the annals of our nation's 
 history. 
 
LEONARD 0. KILHAM.„ 
 
 Leonard C. Kilham, member of Assembly from Madi- 
 son county, was born in Turin, Lewis county, New Yorkj 
 May 6th, 1836. He was early thrown upon his own 
 resources, through the financial misfortunes of his father. 
 He struggled hard for an education, working upon a farm, 
 and at mechanical employment, summers, and attending 
 school winters, until he arrived at the age of seventeen, 
 whqn he commenced teaching ; and taught school winters, 
 attending school summers for several years. He finished 
 his education at the Lowville and Whitestown academies. 
 Choosing law as a profession, he went into the Law oflBce 
 of Hon. Wm. L Coekwell, of Cayuga county, in the 
 spring of 1848, and remained there for two years. In the 
 spring of 1850 he went into the Law oflftce of A. H. 
 Barnes, Esq., Martinsburgh, Lewis county. 
 
 He was admitted to practice in the State courts Octo- 
 ber, 1853, and to the United States courts in March, 
 1855. Mr. Kilham practiced his profession, for ten 
 years, in Lewis county; and there he oflBciated as Su- 
 perintendent of Schools, Commissioner of the United 
 States Deposit Fund and District Attorney for terms of 
 three years each. He was a Whig up to the formation of 
 the Kepublican party; since then he has been a zealous 
 advocate of its principles. 
 
 In the spring of 1864 he took up his residence in the 
 village of Oneida, Madison county, where he now resides. 
 He was elected member of Assembly in the fall of 1868, 
 receiving a vote of 3,061 against 2,319 for Duncak Mc- 
 DuGALL, the (so-called) "war-horse of democracy," having 
 
256 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 a majority of 842, and leading his ticket in the district by 
 252 votes. In his election district (Oneida village), he 
 received a majority of 191, being ahead of the electoral 
 ticket 88 votes. He served on the Judiciary Committee 
 in the Legislature of 1869, and on the Committee on Federal 
 Eelations; and to his efforts, in connection with other 
 members of the Judiciary Committee, may be credited, in 
 a great measure, the generalizing of legislation, so as to rid 
 the Legislature of the curse of passing special laws for par- 
 ticular localities, and for special cases. The New York 
 Express (Dem.), in speaking of Mr. Kilham as a legisla- 
 tor, said that " his leading position on the Judiciary Com- 
 mittee is a proof of the position he holds in the judgnlent 
 of the House." At the close of the session, the Oneida 
 Dispatch said : " The Legislature adjourned sine die Mon- 
 day night, May 10th. Mr. Kilham, our member, as one 
 of the Judiciary Committee, established for himself a high 
 record for legal ability, fairness and honor. The corrupt 
 legislation that has been enacted leaves not even the sem- 
 blance of corruption upon his garments." 
 
 The Second Assembly district Convention of Madison 
 county, which convened on the 23d day of September, 1869, 
 at Canastota, indorsed Mr. Kilham as a legislator by 
 adopting the following resolution : 
 
 Resolved, " That the straightforward, manly and patriotic 
 course pursued by the Hon. Leoi^aed C. Kilham, as a 
 member of the last Legislature for the Second Assembly 
 district of Madison county, not only entitles him to a 
 recognition at the hands of this convention as an able and 
 honest legislator, but to the praise and commendation of 
 the Kepublican party of said district." 
 
 Mr. Kilham was made chairman of the delegation to 
 the State Convention of 1869, by acclamation, and served 
 as a member of the committee on contested seats in said 
 State Convention. Subsequently, and on the 9th of Octo- 
 
CHARLES H. l^EACK. 257 
 
 ber, 1869, Mr. Kilham's district, in convention assembled, 
 gave him emphatic indorsement by a re-nomination to 
 the Assembly by acclamation. 
 
 His re-nomination was noticed and commended in most 
 flattering terms by the IJtica Herald, Syracuse Standard, 
 Syracuse Journal and the Oneida Despatch. 
 
 The Journal, in speaking of Mr. Kilham's renomination 
 says : " The Kepublicans of the Second Assefiibly district 
 of Madison county have paid a deserved tribute to an able 
 and incorruptible legislator by the re-nomination of Hon. 
 L. C. KiLHAM. Tried and true, energetic and capable, Mr. 
 KiLHAM stands a representative of the young Eepublicans 
 of Central New York. His future career will do honor 
 not only to himself but to his constituents." 
 
 The result at the polls shows Mr. Kilham's popularity. 
 He received a vote of 3,399 against 1,628 for DuiircA]sr 
 McDxTGALL (Democrat), giving him a majority of 771, 
 and leading the Eepublican ticket in his district by 363 
 votes. 
 
 CHAKLES H. KRACK. 
 
 Mr. Keack was born in Hanover, Germany, in the year 
 1828. At the age of seven years he was sent to the com- 
 mon school of Hanover, and subsequently graduated from 
 a military school. He served in the army three years, and 
 then came to America, and procured the position of pilot 
 on one of the Hudson River steamboats, serving in that 
 capacity until the breaking out of the Mexican war, when 
 he enlisted in the army. Before starting for Mexico he 
 was promoted Captain of a company of dragoons. He 
 33 
 
258 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 served with great gallantry under General Scott, during 
 the war, and, in the mean time, was promoted to a Colo- 
 nelcy, on account of his bravery. After the war was over, 
 Mr. Kkack went to Charleston, S. C, and was overseer of 
 a cotton plantation for some time, but, on the breaking 
 out of the yellow fever, he started for New York city, by 
 land, being ninety days on the way. On his arrival in 
 New York, He again resumed his former employment as 
 pilot, this time securing a place on one of the East Eiver 
 boats. After three years, he went to Galveston, Texas, 
 and thence overland to San Francisco, Cal. Joining a 
 party of hunters, he traveled over all the Western States, 
 meeting with many exciting adventures in the Eocky 
 Mountains. Having met a friend in St. Paul, Minn., he 
 again returned to the city of !N"ew York, where he engaged 
 in the hotel business, which he followed for several years. 
 At last he sold out his hotel, and bought a floating bath 
 house, which he conducts at the present time. Mr. Keack 
 owns a fine country seat on the Hudson, where he resides 
 during the summer months. He represents the Third 
 Assembly district of Ulster, having been elected on the 
 Democratic ticket by four hundred and sixty-six majority. 
 He has always earnestly supported the principles of the 
 Democracy. In the House, he serves on the Committees 
 on Public Health, and Affairs of Villages. 
 
JAMES L. LA MOREE. 
 
 The paternal ancestors of Dr. La Morbe, who represents 
 the county of SuUiyan in the Assembly, were Huguenots. 
 His mother's family were of Scotch origin. 
 
 He was born in Dutchess county, February 2, 1821. He 
 was educated at the Westfield Academy, Massachusetts, 
 and subsequently graduated at the College of Physicians 
 and Surgeons in the city of New York. He resides at 
 Grahamville, Sullivan county, where he has gained a 
 large and lucrative professional practice, ranking among 
 the foremost physicians in that section of the State. He 
 has been president of the county Medical Society, and an 
 addi-ess delivered by him before that body was highly com- 
 mended, and was published in the county newspapers. 
 He has been for the past two years, and is now, a delegate 
 to the State Medical Society. 
 
 In politics Dr. La Moree was formerly an " old line " 
 Whig. He was an earnest admirer of Henry Clay, and 
 cast his first vote, for President, for the great Kentucky 
 orator. When the Whig party ceased to exist, Dr. La Mo- 
 eee's principles and sympathies carried him into the ranks 
 of the Democracy, with whom he has acted since 1854. 
 He has always been firm in his devotion to the union of 
 the States, and during the rebellion he favored a vigorous 
 prosecution of the war, not doubting the final and glorious 
 result. 
 
 The Doctor is a man who seems to inherit something of 
 the religious fervor of his ancestors. He has been an 
 Elder in the Keformed Protestant Dutch Church for the 
 past fifteen years, and has represented the church in all of 
 its various ecclesiastical courts. 
 
260 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Dr. La Moeeb was elected to the Assembly in 1868 by a 
 majority of 496 votes. He was re-elected last November 
 by a majority of 757. He serves during the present session 
 upon the committees on Public Health, and on Internal 
 Affairs. 
 
 It is the fortune of the State to number among its public 
 servants few men who are the superiors of Dr. La Moeeb 
 in strong sense. He has the sturdy self-reliance of the 
 Scotchman, the enduring faith of the French Huguenot, 
 and the expanded mind of the true American citizen. 
 
 THOMAS J. LANAHAN. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in the old Third 
 ward, Albany, on November 15, 1836, and he is therefore in 
 his thirty-fourth year. His parents emigrated to this country 
 from the county of Cork, Ireland. Though not having 
 had the advantage of a collegiate or academic education, 
 he is a good scholar, and a graceful and fluent speaker. 
 He was educated at St. John's and St. Joseph's schools, 
 under the tuition of Major O'Sullivajt. In his fourteenth 
 year he began his career as messenger in the ofiQce of the 
 Albany Evening Journal, under the auspices of Thublow 
 Weed, in which capacity he had an opportunity to indulge 
 his desire for literature, by the perusal of the books which, 
 from time to time, were submitted to the editor for notice 
 and review. From a copy of Shakspeare which fell into 
 his hands, he acquired a taste for theatricals, which in- 
 duced him to form dramatic clubs among his companions, 
 who, under his leadership, gave creditable exhibitions of 
 their talent, exclusively for the promotion and support of 
 
THOMAS J. LAJfAHAN'. 261 
 
 cliaritable objects, without any pecuniary advantage to 
 themselYes. His Dramatic Keadings, for similar purposes, 
 have been given in Albany and elsewhere, and could favor- 
 ably compare with those of men high in public estimation, 
 who are acquiring wealth and fame. His dislike to be re- 
 cognized as a professional actor is the only reason why he 
 has not long since adopted the stage as a profession. 
 
 Mr. EASTAHAiir is, by trade, a painter ; but, for many 
 years, he has been employed as Clerk by the Central Rail- 
 road company. He is a Democrat in politics, and was 
 elected to represent the Second Assembly district of the 
 county of Albany, by a majority of 364. He is a prominent 
 member of the Young Men's Catholic Institute, attached 
 to the Cathedral in Albany, in which society he has dis- 
 tinguished himself in the debates on all questions submit- 
 ted to the members for discussion. He carries with him, 
 in his entrance into public life, the best wishes of all 
 who know him, irrespective of party ; his friends antici- 
 pate for him an honorable and brilliant career, and his 
 antecedents indicate that they will not be disappointed. 
 He serves on the committees on Affairs of Cities, Affairs 
 of Villages, and Expenditures of the Executive Department. 
 
EDWARD D. LAWRENCE. 
 
 Edwakd D. Laweekce was born at Flushing, Long 
 Island, on the 10th day of February, 1828. His parents 
 removed to New York while he was a boy. He was educated 
 at the Hyde Park Institute and at Columbia College, in 
 the city of New York, where he graduated. 
 
 Mr. Laweence for many years has been engaged in 
 business as a real estate agent. By strict attention to his 
 duties he has acquired a moderate fortune. In 1861 he 
 removed with his family to East Chester, Westchester 
 county, where he has since resided. He continues, how- 
 ever, to conduct his business in New York. 
 
 In early life Mr. Lawrekce was an " old line " Whig. As 
 a young man he was an enthusiastic admirer of Henet 
 Clay, and he remained true to Clay's party as long as 
 the great statesman and the party lived. Since then he has 
 acted with the Democracy, and has been firm and faithful 
 in the advocacy of its principles. 
 
 The present is Mr. Laweence's second term in the As- 
 sembly. He served in the last House as a member of the 
 Committee on Koads and Bridges. 
 
 In the present session he is chairman of the Committee 
 on State Prisons, and a member of the committees on 
 Banks and on Engrossed Bills. 
 
DEWITT C, LITTLEJOHN 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in 1818, in the 
 town of Bridgewater, Oneida county, New York. Of his 
 early years the writer of this has little knowledge, beyond 
 the fact that he passed creditably through such schools 
 as the country then afforded, and pursued an academic 
 course until he was prepared to enter the Sophomore class 
 in college. Instead of pursuing a collegiate course, how- 
 ever, he surrendered the student's form for the desk of the 
 counting-room, and his life, so far, has been devoted mainly 
 to commercial pursuits. 
 
 In 1839, at the age of twenty-one, Mr. Littejohn went 
 to Oswego, then a growing village of but five thousand 
 inhabitants, taking with him vigor, integrity of character, 
 perseverance and shrewd business tact — characteristics 
 which have adhered to him through life. His removal to 
 Oswego was for the purpose of entering into business 
 relations with the late Hon. Henry Pitzhugh. Though 
 not the pioneers of the lake trade, the energy of this firm 
 did much toward developing and bringing into existence 
 that immense internal commerce with the West, by the way 
 of the lakes, which is among the wonders of modern times. 
 
 Mr. LiTTLEJOHN has always taken an active interest in 
 the prosperity and growth of his city. This activity was 
 early marked by the people among whom he had made his 
 home; he was elected, while still a "new comer," a trustee 
 of Oswego Village, and was one of the first Mayors when 
 the village became a city. 
 
 In the midst of active habits and pressing business 
 relations, politics for him had few allurements. And, 
 indeed, it will be found that, whenever he has taken office, 
 
264 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 it has been for the opportunity it afforded for the accom- 
 plishment of some important public end. In the early 
 classification of the political parties of his day, Mr. LiT- 
 TLEJOHS was a "Free Soil" or Anti-slavery "Whig; and 
 he has always hated slavery with the full intensity of his 
 nature. While many of the prominent men of his party 
 with whom he was,- in those days, on intimate terms, 
 embraced " Conservative" views, and finally gravitated into 
 the Pro-slavery party, he stood by his avowed and early 
 convictions, and, without doubt, exerted no little influence 
 in moulding the Eadical sentiment which now character- 
 izes his district and county. When the Whig party was 
 shipwrecked upon the rock of mistaken expediency, Mr. 
 LiTTlEJOHK was found ready to enter zealously into the 
 Eepublican organization, and, from that date, he has 
 labored to promote its distinctive principles and measures. 
 In his own district and county, there is no other voice 
 which has been more frequently heard from the rostrum, 
 and none which the people so delight to hear, or which 
 arouses them to such degrees of enthusiasm. It is, how- 
 ever, in the character of a legislator that Mr. Littlejohk" 
 has won the greatest distinction, and is now the most 
 favorably known. 
 
 By the State Constitution of 1846, provision was made 
 for the enlargement of the Erie canal; but no such 
 provision was made for the Oswego canal. It is not sur- 
 prising that the people of Oswego county were alarmed. 
 In this emergency, in 1853, Mr. Littlejohn' was selected 
 as the best man to go to the Assembly, to obtain that 
 justice in the Legislature which had been denied in the 
 Constitutional Convention. His familiarity with commer- 
 cial matters brought him into immediate notice, in the 
 Legislature, in connection with the measures for the com- 
 pletion of the enlargement of the Erie canal, then sus- 
 
DBWITT C. LITTLEJOHX. 265 
 
 pended for the want of means, and the enlargement of 
 the Oswego canal, which had not been provided for by the 
 Constitutional Convention. An amendment to the Con- 
 stitution was required to meet the case. Of the Committee 
 of the House to effect this, Mr. LiTTLEJOHifr was an active 
 member, as he was also of the Joint Committee of both 
 Houses, appointed to advance the same end. 
 
 The people of the State having ratified the amendment, 
 Mr. LiTTLEJOH]sr, in 1854, was again elected by his district 
 to assist in giving effect to the provisions of the amended 
 Constitution. In this Assembly, he was placed in the 
 responsible position of Chairman of the Canal Committee; 
 and, as such, he reported the measures by which the 
 enlargement of the Erie canal was completed, and pro- 
 visions made for the simultaneous enlargement of the 
 Oswego and Seneca and Cayuga canals, and the locks of the 
 Champlain canal. On the opening of the Legislature of 
 1855, he was placed in the Speaker's chair. It was during 
 this term that the memorable strife occurred in the re-elec- 
 tion of Hon. William H. Sewaed to the United States 
 Senate. Mr. Littlejohn threw himself into the contest 
 with his well-known strength of purpose. It was conceded 
 that his individual efforts turned the scale, and William 
 H. Sewakd, in that critical period, when public opinion 
 was just begining to be aroused to the dangerous encroach- 
 ments of the slave power, was selected as the leader of the 
 cause in the United States Senate. Mr. Littlejohn' was 
 held responsible for the result. Nowhere was the feeling 
 more vindictive than in his own city. The anti-slavery 
 sentiment, however, was no less fully aroused. His friends 
 rallied to his support, and his course was most emphatically 
 indorsed by his triumphant election to the office of Mayor 
 of Oswego, after one of the most violently contested can- 
 vasses which that city has ever experienced. 
 34 
 
266 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. LiTTLEJOHisr was again elected in 1857, '59, '60, and 
 '61, in each of which years, he, with little opposition, occu- 
 pied the Speaker's chair; and, during these years in the 
 Assembly, he established a reputation as an eloquent 
 debater, and an ability as a parliamentarian and legislator, 
 which has never been excelled by any other citizen of this 
 State. As a presiding officer, he has been particularly 
 popular, and, as such, he has had few equals. 
 
 Mr. LiTTLBJOHK labored zealously for the election of 
 Fremont, in 1856, and Lincoln, in 1860. The estimation 
 in which his services were held at "Washington may be 
 judged from the fact, that, on the accession of Mr. Lincoln 
 to the Presidency, he appointed Mr. Littlbjohn to the 
 highly responsible and lucrative office of United States 
 Consul at Liverpool, a position which he promptly declined, 
 not desiring to leave the country at a time when the gov- 
 ernment was liable to need the services of its citizens. 
 
 In 1863 the President issued calls for six hundred thou- 
 sand fresh troops, and this levy required from Oswego 
 county two full regiments, in addition to the two already 
 in. the field. The colonelcy of a regiment was urged upon 
 Mr. Littlbjohn, by the "War Committee of the county. 
 Although in no sense a military man, such was the urgency 
 of the case that he did not hesitate, and, in ten days from 
 the time he accepted the appointment, he raised the 110th 
 regiment. 
 
 His command was designated as a portion of the great 
 expedition to New Orleans, under Major-General Banks ; 
 and Colonel Littlbjohn and his regiment went on board 
 the steamship Ericsson, which was placed under his com- 
 mand for the voyage. The expedition consisted of some 
 twenty or thirty steamships, formed in two lines, and 
 Colonel Littlbjohn was ordered to place the Ericsson in 
 the rear of one of the lines, to succor any of the vessels 
 
DEWITT C. LITTLEJOHN. 261 
 
 which might be disabled. The line of sailing was soon 
 broken by a storm which came up with great violence and 
 dispersed the fleet. The propeller Thames, with the 114:th 
 Eegiment, New York Volunteers, on board, became disa- 
 bled, and the Ericsson took her in tow. In the fury of the 
 storm, the task of saving the vessel became not only diffi- 
 cult, but extremely perilous. Twice the hawsers parted, 
 and twice the two steamships collided, at the imminent 
 risk of sinking both. For forty-eight hours. Colonel Lit- 
 TLEJOHN never left the deck of the Ericsson, giving direc- 
 tions for the safety of the steamers. The result was, that 
 the Ericsson towed the Thames into Port Eoyal, with every 
 man on board saved. Colotiel Littlejohn's regiment 
 went into camp at Carrolton, near New Orleans, in Decem- 
 ber, 1862. It was under the command of General Banks, 
 during his administration of the affairs of the Gulf, doing 
 admirable duty at the memorable seige of Port Hudson, 
 and elsewhere; and, when much reduced, was finally 
 ordered to Port Jefferson, Tortugas Islands, for guard duty, 
 where it was finally discharged, at the close of the war. 
 
 In November, 1862, while with his regiment. Colonel 
 LiTTLEJOHN" was elected a representative to the Thirty- 
 eighth Congress. Before the close of the Thirty-seventh 
 Congress, that body adopted a resolution, that, under the 
 constitution, no member could hold a commission in the 
 army, and that for a member to accept and hold such a 
 commission would vacate his seat. Mr. Littlejohk, 
 therefore, just before the 4th of March, 1863, resigned his 
 commission, that there might be no question of his eligi- 
 bility to his seat. His health was failing, and his subse- 
 quent dangerous and protracted sickness sufficiently proves, 
 that, by a continuance in the service, his life would have 
 been the penalty. But he has always justified his action 
 solely upon the ground of duty to his government, and to 
 
268 tlFE SKETCHES. 
 
 the cause, the success of which he had no right to imperil. 
 No commander was eyer more popular with his regiment 
 than was Colonel LiTTLEJOHif, as no one ever looked more 
 closely after the wants and welfare of his men. 
 
 Mr. LiTTLEJOHN was present at the organization of the 
 Thirty-eighth Congress, but was immediately taken sick, 
 and was detained for five months. Eeturniag to his seat 
 in his feeble state of health, he signalized his first term 
 by maturing and procuring the passage of a law which 
 appropriated $300,000 to the preservation of the Lake 
 Harbors, after Congress had avowed its purpose to appro- 
 priate no moneys, except for war purposes. Earely, 
 indeed, has a new member been more honorably noticed 
 in the organization of the House than was Mr. Lit1:lb- 
 JOHsr. He held a prominent position on the Commit- 
 tee on the Eules of the House, was chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Pensions, second on Roads and Canals, and held 
 an important place on the Committee on Ways and Means. 
 During the short term, his health having improved, Mr. 
 LiTTLEjOHif brought forward his measure for the construc- 
 tion of a ship canal around the Palls of Niagara. This 
 measure he carried through the House, and at one time 
 there seemed little doubt that it would also pass the 
 Senate. In the settlement of the other great questions 
 which came up for consideration in the Thirty-eighth 
 Congress, Mr. Littlejohn took an active part. He sus- 
 tained the amendment to the Constitution of the United 
 States, which abolished slavery. He was a warm friend of 
 the policy of President Likcoln, at that time the subject 
 of severe criticism on the part of even some prominent 
 members of the Eepublican organization. Mr. Little- 
 JOHsr had faith in his prudence, his wisdom, and his pat- 
 riotism, and frequently his eloquent voice rang out in 
 defense of the Administration. It will be remembered. 
 
DEWITT C. LITTLE JOHN. 269 
 
 that among the closing scenes of the Thirty-eighth Con- 
 gress was a spirited discussion upon the policy of the 
 President, between the late Hon. HEifET Wiktbe Davis 
 and Mr. Littlejohn. 
 
 In the winter of 1866 Mr. Littlejohn again became a 
 member of the Assembly of this State. He was chairman 
 of the Committee on Commerce and Navigation, chairman 
 of the Special Committee to Eevise the Eules of the House, 
 chairman of the Select Committee on Census and Appor- 
 tionment, second on the Committee on Canals, and, after 
 the House had been in session a few weeks, was elected 
 Speaker -pro tern., and, during much of the time, occupied 
 the Chair. The crowning triumph of the session, how- 
 ever, and that which most signalized his ability and power 
 as a legislator, was the passage, by the House, of a bill 
 chartering a company to construct the Niagara Ship canal. 
 The passage of this bill, under the circumstances attend- 
 ing it, was regarded the greatest personal triumph ever 
 achieved in the Legislature of the State. There were con- 
 ditions attached to the bill by the Senate, however, which 
 rendered it inoperative. 
 
 At the close of the session Mr. Littlejohk was greeted 
 with a public reception by his constituents, such as is sel- 
 dom awarded a public servant. In token of their appreci- 
 ation of his labors, he was presented with a Silver Dinner 
 Service, the cost of which was $4,500. At the proper 
 time, he was unanimously elected to the Legislature of 
 1867 by the people of his district. 
 
 Mr. LiTTLEJOHN is a member of the Board of Trade of 
 the city of Oswego, has been at times its presiding officer, 
 and headed its delegation in the Commercial Convention, 
 held in Detroit, in 1864, composed of the leading commer- 
 cial minds of the nation, and it is not too much to say 
 that he was one of the leading spirits of that body. 
 
270 XIFB SKETCHES. 
 
 During the summer of 1865 a project originated in 
 some of the inland counties of the State to construct a 
 railroad from Lake Ontario to the Hudson riyer, opposite 
 New York. A company was organized, under the name 
 of " The Midland Eailroad Company," and in February, 
 1866, Mr. LiTTLEJOHN was elected its president. During 
 the summer following, he, in concert with other directors, 
 spent much time in awakening an interest in its construc- 
 tion, along the line of the projected road, with the most 
 flattering promise of success. 
 
 He was elected to the present Assembly by 1,378 ma- 
 jority. He ably represents the minority on the commit- 
 tees on Ways and Means, Eailroads, and G-rievances. 
 
 In personelle Mr. Littlejohn is tall, straight, and some- 
 what spare. He has a piercing eye, and upon the floor, 
 his voice and manner, in any public assemblage, always 
 attract the most lively interest. In habits, he is strictly 
 temperate, and in personal appearance and dress, plain and 
 unassuming. His private life, in all respects, is unques- 
 tionable, and few men have a greater power of winning 
 and establishing strong personal friendships. 
 
 SAMUEL S. LOWERY. 
 
 Samuel S. Lowbey, of Utica, who represents the First 
 Assembly district of Oneida county, was born in county 
 Down, Ireland, on the 5th day of February, 1831. It 
 would, therefore, be an Hibernicism to say that he is a 
 Scotchman, but his ancestry, not less than his characteris- 
 tics, stamp him as one who is more a Gael than a Celt. 
 
SAMUEL S. LOWEET. 271 
 
 Mr. Lowery's parents emigrated to this country when 
 Samuel was about fourteen years old, and settled in 
 Oneida county. Mr. L. receiyed a good common school 
 education, and, having a strong taste for books, he has 
 acquired during his latter years an extensiye fund of 
 knowledge. 
 
 He is, by occupation, a manufacturer of woollen goods. 
 In this business he has been quite successful, and conducts 
 at the present time an extensive establishment, in which 
 he employs a large number of hands. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Loweet, although a strict believer in 
 the principles of the Eepublican organization, is never bit- 
 terly partisan. Until his election to the Assembly he 
 never held nor sought an office. He was chosen, by a 
 majority of 448, over a worthy and popular competitor, in 
 a district where the Eepublican majority in the previous 
 year was less than fifty. 
 
 Mr. LowERT serves upon the committees on Public 
 Education, on State Charitable Institutions, and on Eoads 
 and Bridges. 
 
 He has proved, thus far in the session, remarkably faith- 
 ful to the interests of his constituents, and has shown a 
 comprehensive knowledge of the duties of a legislator. 
 
 He is a gentleman of fine personal bearing, is a good 
 debater, and has made himself popular among his col- 
 leagues by his genial manners, and by his unassuming 
 attention to his official duties. 
 
THOMAS J. LYON. 
 
 Thomas J. Lyon, who represents the Second district of 
 Orange county in the Assembly, was born at Newark, 
 New Jersey, on the 30th day of June, 1817. 
 
 He is by profession a lawyer, and has an extensive prac- 
 tice in Port Jervis, where he now lives. 
 
 Mr. Ltost is a life-long Democrat. He cast his first 
 vote for Andrew Jackson, for President, at Old Hickory's 
 second election. Under the administration of Polk, and 
 again under Pibkce, he held the oflSce of Postmaster of 
 Port Jervis.. 
 
 The district in which he lives is very closely contested. 
 The Democrats settled upon Mr. Lyon as their strongest 
 available candidate for the Assembly in 1868, and after a 
 spirited canvass he was elected — giving the district to his 
 party by the bare majority of nine votes. 
 
 He served in the last House as a member of the Com- 
 mittee on Ways and Means — a position seldom awarded 
 to a new member, pa!rticularly when he belongs to the 
 minority. He was returned to the Legislature at the last 
 election by a majority of one hundred and twenty-four, 
 which may be taken as proof that his constituents were 
 well pleased with his record. 
 
 In the present Assembly he serves as Chairman of the 
 committee on Federal Eelations and as a member of the 
 committees on Judiciary, and on the Petitions of Aliens. 
 Mr. Lyon is a dignified and affable gentleman, a well- 
 educated lawyer, and an active and efficient legislator. 
 
SAMUEL T. MADDOX. 
 
 The career of this gentleman furnishes another proof of 
 the oft repeated assertion, that in this country the poorest 
 and humblest may aspire to and attain positions of trust 
 and honor. 
 
 Mr. Maddox was horn in the city of 'New York, on the 
 30th of May, 1830. He is of pure English stock ; his 
 ancestors figured prominently in the stirring times of the 
 " Commonwealth," which they sustained with a full share 
 of the zeal which marked the followers of Hampden and 
 his compatriots. His parents were poor, and could do but 
 little toward giving him a start in the world. He laid 
 the foundation of his education in the public schools of 
 his native city ; but, at the age of eight years, the death of 
 his father compelled him to battle with the world. He 
 commenced work, at this age, in a rope-walk. This busi- 
 ness not suiting his taste, he abandoned it, and learned the 
 trade of boat-builder. He removed to Williamsburgh, 
 ]Sr. Y., in 1841. 
 
 At the age of eighteen he joined the Brooklyn Fire 
 Department and steadily rose in it to various honorable 
 positions, and was twice elected President of the Eastern 
 District Department. He was looked upon by the whole 
 department as a wise counselor and true friend, and did 
 much to elevate the character of the organization. Mr. 
 Maddox began early to take an interest in political aifairs, 
 and long before he was a voter took an active part in behalf 
 of the principles of the " Free Sellers." His first vote was 
 cast for the Democratic ticket, but the events of '54, in 
 Kansas, developed his traditionary love of liberty, and, 
 35 
 
274 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 upon the organization of the Republican party, and the 
 nomination of John C. Fremont, Mr. Maddox at once 
 took his place in that organization. He at once took 
 a leading position in its general committee, and was 
 chairman of the Young Men's General Committee of 
 Kings county, in 1862, and President of the Republican 
 General Committee for 1865. 
 
 At the breaking out of the rebellion, Mr. Maddox 
 assisted in raising a company of volunteers for the Thir- 
 teenth regiment, under the command of the late Colonel 
 Smith. He went with the company as a private, and 
 served three months, the period for which he volunteered. 
 Both as a fireman and a soldier, he was exceedingly popular 
 among his associates. On the return of his regiment from 
 the seat of war, the friends of Mr. Maddox presented him 
 as a candidate to the Assembly. He was nominated as a 
 Republican, and, notwithstanding the district had always 
 been strongly Democratic, he was handsomely elected to 
 the Assembly of 1862. He was among the most active and 
 efi&cient members of the House. During the session he 
 distinguished himself by many practical suggestions, and 
 his speech on the defense of the coast and frontiers at- 
 tracted marked attention. Mr. Maddox was the candidate 
 of his party for re-election in 1862, but the political 
 reaction of that year prevented his election, although he 
 received a largely increased vote. He had scarcely left his 
 seat in the Assembly when the country was again called 
 upon to respond to a sudden call for troops, the Capital 
 being for the second time seriously threatened. Mr. 
 Maddox united with the Forty-seventh Regiment of 
 N. Y. S. M., which was ordered to Port McHenry, 
 where Mr. Maddox served as first lieutenant, until the 
 discharge of the regiment at the expiration of the term of 
 enlistment. 
 
SAMUEL T. MADDOX. 275 
 
 In April, 1863, he was appointed provost marshal of 
 the Second Congressional district, and discharged the duties 
 of that office to the satisfaction of the government and his 
 district. This was proved in 1864, when Captain Maddox 
 received the nomination of his party for Congress, and ran 
 largely ahead of his ticket, although an always overwhelm- 
 ing opposition majority prevented his election. 
 
 Mr. Maddox was Assessor of Internal Revenue in 1868 
 and 1869, for the Third district of New York, and was a 
 faithful officer. He was a candidate for Assembly in 1868, 
 and in consequence of the pending struggle for United 
 States Senator, and the treachery of a handful of soreheads, 
 he was defeated, having again shown an extraordinary 
 strength; failing of election by only 300 votes. In 1869, 
 in a canvass of only four days, he was handsomely elected, 
 with a stump candidate again against him. This time his 
 friends in his own ward sent him out of it with a handsome 
 majority, although it gave the Democratic ticket 1700 
 majority. Mr. Maddox is a plain, unobtrusive, bold, and 
 true man, sincere as a friend, unmistakable as an enemy. 
 He is regarded as the leader of young working Republicans 
 of Kings county. He has always been found honest and 
 faithful in his undertakings. Throughout the city of 
 Brooklyn, Sam Maddox, as he is familiarly called, is the 
 name you will hear more frequently appealed to than any 
 other. 
 
 Mr. Maddox was married in 1852 to Miss Sarah T. 
 Bates, an amiable woman, to whose influence he has 
 always attributed a large share of his success in life. She 
 was truly a companion and "help-meet," for him. The 
 poor and distressed always found in her a friend; and her 
 noble qualities, with the generosity of her husband, are the 
 theme of the community. Mrs. Maddox died suddenly 
 during the session of the present Legislature. The largest 
 
276 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 cortege ever seen at a private funeral attested the universal 
 respect in which she was held, and the sympathy of the 
 community with her bereaved husband. 
 
 GODFKEY K. MAETINE. 
 
 The county of Warren, which contained a population in 
 1865 of 31,138, is closely contested, politically, and sends 
 one member to the Assembly. The present member is 
 GoDPKET K. Maetinb, who was born in Troy, Eensselaer 
 county, on the 27th of April, 1839. He was educated at 
 the State Kormal School at Albany. He is a physician, 
 and graduated in the Medical Department of the Univer- 
 sity of Vermont in 1863. He subsequently removed to 
 Johnsburgh, in Warren county, where he has since prac- 
 ticed his profession. 
 
 In politics. Dr. Maetiije is a Democrat. He is a 
 strenuous opponent of the war policy under any -and all 
 circumstances. He believes that all questions, however 
 perplexing, arising between nations might be, and ought 
 to be, settled without recourse to the bullet. This is a 
 ■ theory founded on Christian principles, and is popular 
 enough — in time of peace. Dr. Maetine is the only Life 
 Member of the American Peace Society, in Warren county. 
 
 In 1867 he was nominated for the Assembly, and again 
 in 1868. Both times he was defeated by ex-Senator and 
 ex-Assemblyman N"icholas B. La Batj.. In 1869 he was 
 again nominated, and after a spirited canvass was elected 
 by a majority of 339. 
 
 He serves upon the committees on Banks, on Public 
 Health, and on the Affairs of Villages. 
 
JOSEPH WARREN MERCHANT. 
 
 It is a fact ivorthy of note that some of our most suc- 
 cessful business men are those who hare been reared to 
 farm life. Doubtless the habits of industry and punctual- 
 ity which every successful farmer instills into the minds of 
 his children lay the foundation for success in after life. 
 Joseph Warren Merchant was born in De Ruyter, Mad- 
 ison Co., New York, Sept. 5th, 1827. His father, Brad- 
 let Merchas't, Esq., was one of the early settlers of that 
 town, and one of the most enterprising farmers in the rich 
 agricultural region of Central New York. By his own 
 eflforts he accumulated a large property in real estate, in 
 the town of his adoption. The early years of the subject 
 of our sketch were spent in the ordinary routine of a 
 farmer's life. His father employing much hired help, he 
 was early trained to assist in the responsibility of man- 
 agement. After attending the district school until of a 
 suitable age, he received an Academic education at De 
 Ruyter Institute and Cazenovia Seminary. He afterwards 
 entered a store as clerk, and was admitted as partner when 
 but little over twenty-one years of age. Mr. Merchant 
 continued in business until the Fall of 1865, when he dis- 
 posed of his store and goods, having succeeded in acquir- 
 iiig a handsome competence. 
 
 His political convictions were early enlisted in favor of 
 the Whig party, but he was always opposed to the exten- 
 sion of human ^bondage. Upon the breaking up of the 
 Whig party, Mr. Merchant naturally afiiliated with the 
 Republicans. Although not a noisy politician, yet he was 
 always a quiet and effective worker. In 1864 he was 
 
278 LIFE SKETCHKS. 
 
 nominated for Supervisor of his native town, and, although 
 opposed by a strong candidate, he was elected by a large 
 majority. The system of paying each recruit for the army 
 a heavy bounty, which prevailed at this time, involved, 
 especially for country towns, the expenditure of a very 
 unusual amount of money, and the task of raising funds 
 sufficient to meet the requirements of the enlisted men 
 was an arduous one. Mr. Meechant did not hesitate to 
 lend his own private credit to meet the wants of his town, 
 as freely as he had always contributed of his private means 
 to aid the soldiers. At the annual meeting of the Board 
 of Supervisors he successfully advocated the prompt pay- 
 ment of the war debt of the county, a measure which has 
 been the subject of congratulation by the citizens of 
 Madison county. In 1865 he was re-elected. 
 
 During the same year the project of a railroad through 
 the midland counties of the State began to be agitated. 
 Among the towns first to move in the matter, was DeRuyter. 
 Several preliminary meetings were held at various points ; 
 and finally, in December, 1865, at a meeting held at the 
 St. Nicholas hotel, New York city, the New York and 
 Oswego Midland Eailroad Company was organized. Mr. 
 Mbrchakt had been a warm friend of the enterprise from 
 its first inception, and was elected a member of the Board 
 of Directors of the road, a position which he still continues 
 to occupy. On account of the conflicting claims of diflfer- 
 ent localities, much vexatious delay ensued in locating the 
 road. In raising means to prosecute this great work, ho 
 was very efficient, by inducing people to subscribe to the 
 capital stock of the company by obtaining town bonds; 
 and, when the existence of the company itself was in peril, 
 by promptly taking personally a large amount of stock. 
 When the construction of the road was commenced he 
 was appointed special agent of the company, and much of 
 
DAVID MOESB MINEE. 279 
 
 the unparalleled success of the Midland Kailroad is due to 
 his business sagacity. In making contracts, securing the 
 right of way, etc., he has been untiring in promoting the 
 interests of the company. He is now a member of the 
 Executive Committee of the Midland Eailroad Company. 
 At the Assembly District Convention of the Republican 
 party, in 1869, Mr. Merchant was unanimously nominated 
 for member oi Assembly. In his own town there were 
 but few votes against him. Personally, Mr. Merchant is 
 of medium size, hair slightly gray, and has a keen, spark- 
 ling eye. He exhibits good perceptive faculties to the 
 observer, who will readily class him as an enterprising 
 business man. 
 
 DAVID MORSE MINER, 
 
 Mr. Miner's ancestry can be traced back to Henrt 
 Miner who, with one hundred servants, fought under 
 Henry III of England, against the French. He died in 
 1359. An English Herauldacall Essay runs back to 1608 
 when Thomas Miner was born, who emigrated to N"ew 
 England in 1630, in the days of Governor Winthrop. The 
 American history of the family from that date to the 
 present time is exceedingly interesting. Some fought in 
 the Revolution, and some in the war of 1813. One fell at 
 Winchester, another at Chancellorsville, and another at 
 Eesaca, Georgia, with Sherman in his " march to the sea." 
 The family has also been noted for producing a large 
 number of teachers and clergymen. 
 
 Another fact worth mentioning should be noted at this 
 point. In 1480, lived one William Miner who was called 
 
280 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 the flower of chivalry, and who avenged the death (Jf the 
 two young Princes, by taking vengeance on their inhuman 
 uncle Eichard III. 
 
 The marked characteristics and abilities of the Minek 
 family have been wonderfully preserved for centuries, and 
 some of the members at the present time evince rare quali- 
 ties of excellence which compare favorably with the past. 
 Miss Myetilla Minee, a sister of Assemblyman Minee, 
 originated the plan for the colored school at Washington, 
 and carried it into execution. She afterward conducted it 
 as teacher. This school attracted wide attention ; and it 
 Avas an effort worthy of any American woman. 
 
 David M. Minee is now in his sixtieth year, having 
 been born the 4th of January, 1811. His birth-place is 
 North Brookfield, Madison county, JSTew York. With the 
 exception of two and a half terms at tha Waterville Acad- 
 emy, he received his education in the common school. 
 But his mind is well stored with useful information upon 
 all vital questions of the day, as well as with scientific and 
 historical knowledge. His profession, as a teacher, for 
 seventeen winters and eight summers, gave him independ- 
 ence of thought, and a well-settled judgment, which is 
 very available in more active life. His early years, until 
 he was nineteen, were spent on a farm, and yet, Mr. 
 MiNEE by no means considers them thrown away. He is 
 now a Eailroad Commissioner, and a director of the TJtica, 
 Clinton and Binghamton Railroad, and is a Notary Pub- 
 lic, surveyor and farmer. 
 
 Mr. MiJSTEE has held the oflfices of Inspector, Commis- 
 sioner and Superintendent of Common Schools, and also 
 of Supervisor ; always exhibiting more than average ability 
 in his official acts. He likewise once held a Captain's 
 commission, under William H. Sewaed, dated July 25, 
 1840. 
 
PETER MITCHELL. 281 
 
 In the palmy days of the Democracy, Mr. Minek acted 
 with that party ; but, when the Republican party came into 
 existence, he joined the new organization, and has ever 
 since acted with it — giving it his best support. 
 
 Mr. Minek was elected by the Republicans of the Sec- 
 ond Assembly district of Oneida county, over Lewis H. 
 Shattuck, Democrat, by 408 majority. The Republican 
 majority the previous year was forty-five. He serves on 
 the committees on Indian Afifairs, and Charitable and 
 Religious Societies. 
 
 PETER MITCHELL. 
 
 A tall, slender young man, pale-faced, with dark hair and 
 sandy moustache, represents the Fifth Assembly district 
 of the city of New York. His name is Peteb Mitchell, 
 and he was born in Scotland on the 23d day of December, 
 1839. 
 
 His parents emigrated to this country when he was a 
 child, and settled at Berwick, Maine. They subsequently 
 removed to Salmon Falls, N. H. At both places Peter 
 attended school and received a good English education. 
 
 He removed from Salmon Falls to New York before he 
 had attained his majority, and has resided in that city since. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell is, by profession, a lawyer, having been 
 admitted to practice quite recently. He was formerly a 
 liquor dealer and acquired some wealth in that business. 
 He has been an active city politician for several years, 
 always acting with the Democratic party. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell was a member of the last House, and 
 served as Chairman of the special committee to investigate 
 36 
 
282 LIKE SKETCHES. 
 
 the gas monopoly of New York and other cities. This 
 service brought him somewhat prominently into notice. 
 He was returned to the Assembly by a plurality of 1,403 
 orer his strongest competitor, and by a majority of 100 
 oyer all. During the present session Mr. Mitchell serves 
 as a member of the committees on the Aifairs of Cities, on 
 Eailroads, and on Federal Kelations. 
 
 He was an active leader of the Young Democracy during 
 the brief but brilliant glory of that ill-fated faction. 
 
 He is a ready debater, a rather pleasing speaker, and an 
 active and energetic worker. 
 
 JAMES J. MOONEY. 
 
 James J. Moonet, who represents the First district of 
 Westchester county in the Assembly, was born in Scotland 
 on the 8th day of May, 1837. He came to this country 
 when a boy, and was educated in the public schools of the 
 city of New York. 
 
 He now lives at Morrisania, of which town he has been 
 a trustee, and where he is the proprietor of a hotel. 
 
 When the war commenced in 1861, Mr. Moon^et left his 
 business to give his services to the cause of the Union. 
 He assisted in the formation of the Tammany regiment, 
 the 42d New York Volunteers, and was commissioned 
 Captain of Company "A," in 1861. He took the field 
 with his regiment, and was promoted to Major, and subse- 
 quently to Lieutenant-Colonel. During most of McClel- 
 LAN^'s campaign. Col. Moon'et commanded his regiment 
 and participated in nearly all the battles of the Army of 
 the Potomac. He made for himself a splendid record as an 
 
WILLIAM W. MOSELEY. 283 
 
 officer and as a soldier, winning the respect of his men, and 
 the esteem of his superiors in command. After two years' 
 service he returned to his former occupation. 
 
 In 1869 he was elected to the Assembly on the Demo- 
 cratic ticket by the flattering vote of 2,136, against 240 for 
 his Republican competitor. 
 
 He serves as Chairman of the Committee on the Inter- 
 nal Affairs of Towns and Counties, and as a member of 
 the Committee on Civil Divisions. 
 
 WILLIAM W. MOSELEY. 
 
 Mr. MosELET, who represents the Fourth Assembly dis- 
 trict of Kings county, was born in Grlastenbury, Hartford 
 county, Conn., October 18th, 1836, and spent his early life 
 on his father's farm. He had the benefit of a good common 
 school education ; and also attended, for the greater part of 
 two years, the Oneida Conference Seminary, at Cazenovia, N. 
 Y. In 1853, he went to Binghamton, N. Y., and was em- 
 ployed as clerk in a grocery store ; but, in April, 1855, not 
 liking the business, he removed to Syracuse, and entered 
 the Mechanics Bank, as discount clerk, soon becoming 
 book-keeper. He remained there until September, 1863, 
 when he took part in the raising of the 149th regiment 
 N. Y. Vols., and was commissioned second lieutenant of 
 company D. Shortly after the regiment arrived in the field, 
 he was detailed on the Staff of Major-General H. W. Slo- 
 CUM, commanding 12th Army Corps, as Aid-de-Camp, and 
 was soon commissioned Captain and Aid-de-Camp by 
 President LiifCOMf, thus vacating his regimental commis- 
 sion. 
 
284 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 In his position on the staff of General Slocum, he par- 
 ticipated in the fall campaign of 1863, and the mud cam- 
 paign of General Bubnside. The next year he took part 
 in the battles of ChancellorsTille and Gettysburg, with the 
 attendant marches and skirmishes. September, 1862, 
 General Slocum's Corps was ordered West to the relief of 
 EosBKBANS, and spent the fall and winter in guarding the 
 line of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, and repress- 
 ing any disorders in Middle Tennessee. In the spring, Cap- 
 tain MosELEY accompanied General Slocum to his new 
 command at Vicksburg, and was there until August, when 
 General Slocum was again put in command of his old 
 Corps and receiyed the surrender of Atlanta, September 
 3d, 1864. 
 
 Captain Moseley took part in Sheeman's march to the 
 sea, and the campaign of the Carolinas, being brevetted 
 Major for gallant services at the battle of Bentonville, N. 
 C, March 19th, 1865. After hostilities had ceased, he 
 remained in the army a few months, doing duty at Vicks- 
 burg, Miss., but was honorably discharged October, 1865. 
 
 In the summer of 1866 he was appointed United States 
 Internal Eevenue Collector of the 23d district of New 
 York, but being a Democrat was rejected by the Senate, 
 vacating the office March 4th, 1867, and immediately 
 removing to New York, where he became connected with 
 the express business, in which he is still engaged. In the 
 Presidential campaign of 1868 he took an active part in 
 the canvass of Kings county, speaking two or three nights 
 in a week, although, before this, he had never made a 
 speech in his life. At the Assembly Convention of the 
 4th Assembly district in October, 1868, he was nominated, 
 and at the following election elected by 1,351 majority^ 
 He was renominated in 1869, and elected by 1,745 majority, 
 on a very light vote. In the Assembly of 1869, Mr. 
 
DAVID H. MULFOED. 285 
 
 MoSELET sei-ved on the committees of Eoads and Bridges, 
 and Priyileges and Elections, being the only Democrat on 
 the latter Committee. He delivered speeches relative to 
 the Fifteenth Amendment, Kegistry Law and in the 
 Decker and Hawktn's contested case. 
 
 In the present Assembly, Mr. Moselet is Chairman on 
 the Committee on the Manufacture of Salt, and also serves 
 on the committees on Affairs of Cities, and Militia and 
 Public Defense. 
 
 DAVID H. MULFOED. 
 
 Mr. MuLFORD, who represents the Second district of 
 Dutchess, with credit to himself and honor to his constit- 
 uents, was born in Hyde Park, March 11, 1833. A singular 
 fact in connection with his ancestors is worthy of special 
 notice. His great-grandfather bought the family home- 
 stead, consisting of a farm of six hundred and forty acres, 
 for three dollars per acre, and it has continued in the 
 hands of the family from that time to the present, his sons 
 now occupying it. It is now one of the most valuable 
 and productive farms in Dutchess county. It is seldom 
 that five successive generations have remained occupants 
 of the same homestead. Mr. Mulford continued the cul- 
 tivation of the farm until he was thirty-five years of age. 
 For fifteen years he has been a produce forwarder and ice 
 dealer. He was a member of the Board of Supervisors in 
 1860, '61 and '68, when his practical mind, familiarity 
 with the wants of the county, and strict integrity, ren- 
 dered his services of value to the community. 
 
M. C. MURPHY. 
 
 Mr. MuBPHT, though still young, has experienced many 
 exciting adventures, and has won military distinction in 
 defending his adopted country. He is a native of Kilmal- 
 lock, Limerick county, Ireland, where he was born March 
 7th, 1839. When about eight years of age he came to 
 America, arriving in New York city November, 1847. 
 When he reached a suitable age he learned the printer's 
 trade. At the opening of the civil war in this country, 
 Mr. MuKPHT, in common with hundreds of others from the 
 same avocation, enlisted in the army. April 20th, 1861, he 
 was commissioned as Captain in the Ellsworth Kegiment 
 of Fire Zouaves. After the release of General Cokcoran 
 from the rebel prison. Captain Murphy resigned his com- 
 mission in the Regiment of Zouaves, and joined the " Irish 
 Legion" as Captain. He was promoted January 4th, 
 1863, to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the 2d Eegiment of the 
 " Legion." He was closely identified with the movements 
 of General Corcoean's command, until he was dismissed 
 from the service by order of General Meade, to date from 
 June 9th, 1864, for sending a flag of truce to the skirmish- 
 ing line of the enemy, in an endeavor to save the lives of 
 one hundred and five privates and seven officers who were 
 wounded and lying between both lines. This took place 
 May 24th, 1864, while he was in command of the advance 
 line of the Second Division of the Second Army Coi^ps. 
 When this dismissal was brought to the notice of General 
 GRA2fT, and the facts of the case were clearly presented to 
 to him, he justified the course of Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Murphy, who was immediately restored to his rank by 
 
OWEN MUEPHY. 28T 
 
 order of President Lincoln. He left the service in March, 
 1865, in consequence of ill-health. 
 
 Mr. Murphy was General of that portion of the Fenian 
 army, in May and June, 1866, which was concentrated at 
 Malone, New York, and was intended for the assaulting 
 column against Montreal. Every reader is familiar with 
 the failure of that undertaking, the causes of which it is 
 neither our place nor purpose to discuss. 
 
 In November, 1866, Colonel Mukphy was elected to the 
 Assembly by the Democrats of the First district of the city 
 of New York ; he was re-elected in 1867. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Assembly last year, and was again elected at the 
 last election. He is Chairman of the Militia Committee, 
 and a member of the committees on Claims, and Federal 
 Relations. 
 
 OWEN MURPHY. 
 
 Owen Murphy was born at Carrickmacross, County 
 Monaghan, Ireland, on the 15th day of September, 1835. 
 His parents emigrated to this country when Owen was 
 a child, and he was educated in the public schools of the 
 city of New York. After leaving school he learned the 
 trade of plumber and metal-roofer, which occupation he 
 still follows. In 1861 Mr. Murphy was appointed to a 
 position in the Department of the Superintendent of 
 Piers and Wharves, and remained there four years, at the 
 end of which time he returned to his trade. In 1866 he 
 was elected to the Assembly, and served during one ses- 
 sion. In 1869 he was elected to the present House by a 
 plurality of six hundred and seven, in a triangular con- 
 test. He serves upon the Committee on Federal Relations. 
 
288 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Owen- Mukphy is emphatically a working man. A 
 poor lad straggling singled-handed, in a great city, iirst 
 for bread, and then for something of fame, lie has risen, 
 hy his untiring energy and faithful devotion to duty, to a 
 position of moderate wealth and of public responsibility. 
 And it redounds to his credit, that, in business and in 
 politics, Mr. MuEPHT has ever been true to his friends, 
 prompt in the fulfillment of his engagements, and honest 
 in all his dealings. He is devoted to the interests of his 
 constituents, and he enjoys, in return, their thorough con- 
 fidence. 
 
 Mr. Murphy possesses all of an Irishman's ready wit, 
 quick speech and genial manner. His popularity, both in 
 the metropolis and in Albany, rests securely on a substan- 
 tial foundation. 
 
 WILLIAM D. MURPHY, 
 
 William D. Muephy was born on the 15th of April, 
 1832, at Leitersburgh, Washington county, Maryland, a 
 village on the banks of the Ahtietam, near to the scene of 
 the famous battle. 
 
 His parents were poor, but respectable, people. He 
 attended the district school of his native village until he 
 had reached the age of sixteen, at which time he became a 
 clerk in a store. Here he remained two years, and, by 
 patient industry, prepared himself for college, by devoting 
 his leisure hours to study. 
 
 In 1850 lie entered the Wittenberg College, Springfield, 
 Ohio, where, by dint of hard work and the most rigid 
 economy, he passed through the Sophomore year. Becom- 
 
WILLIAM D. MUEPHY. 289 
 
 ing dissatisfied, however, with the sectarian character of 
 the institution, he left it about this time, and went to 
 TJnion College, at Schenectady, N. Y., where he graduated 
 in 1854, with one of the first honors of his class. Senator 
 0. W. Chapman and Geo. "W. Chapman, Canal Commis- 
 sioner, were both his class-mates. 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Murphy entered the law office of Judge 
 RuFTJS W. Peckham and the Hon. Lyman Tremain, who 
 were, at that time, partners. He was admitted to the bar 
 in 1858, and, during the pursuit of his legal studies, sup- 
 ported himself by acting as private tutor to the eldest son 
 of Wm. E. Bleeker, then president of the National Bank 
 of Albany. Shortly after his admission to the bar, he 
 began the practice of his profession, which he followed 
 with marked success until the breaking out of the war in 
 1861, when his attention was called away from his busi- 
 ness by the condition of his friends and relatives in Mary- 
 land. Owing to this interruption, he prosecuted his pro- 
 fessional duties with but indifferent success until the close 
 of the war. Since then he has* resided mostly upon a farm 
 a short distance from Albany, and has combined agricul- 
 tural with legal pursuits. 
 
 Mr. Murphy has always taken a deep interest in politics. 
 In 1860 he was a delegate to the National Convention at 
 Baltimore, which nominated John Bell for the presi- 
 dency, and during the canvass which followed was presi- 
 dent of the Bell and Everett club of Albany. About the 
 same time he was nominated for the Assembly, but 
 declined in favor of the nominee of the Democracy, with 
 which party he has always since acted. 
 
 Mr. MuEPHY is a ready debater and a fluent speaker. In 
 1864, under the direction of the National Executive Com- 
 mittee, he stumped Indiana and Ohio, and under the same 
 authority canvassed Pennsylvania in 1868. 
 37 
 
290 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Mr. Murphy represents the first district of Albany 
 county in the Assembly. His personal popularity was 
 shown by his election on the Democratic ticket, in a dis- 
 trict which gave the Eepublican candidates for State offi- 
 cers about 300 majority. 
 
 Mr. MuKPHT is a member of the Committee on "Ways 
 and Means. • 
 
 MARTIN NAOHTMANN. 
 
 The Eighth Assembly district (parts of the 10th and 
 17th Wards) is largely populated by adopted citizens of 
 German birth. It is not unnatural, therefore, that they 
 should choose a representative of Teutonic origin. Their 
 present Assemblyman is Maetin' Nachtmas^n, who was 
 born at Eottenbach, Bavaria, on the 29th of September, 
 1836. He attended a German country school for about 
 five years. He came to the United States when he was 
 fifteen years of age, and soon after entered the printing 
 ofl&ce of Harper Brothers, where he has been employed for 
 seventeen years. He is an Adams press printer, and is 
 remarkably proficient in his calling. 
 
 In 1868, he was elected to the JJegislature as an Inde- 
 pendent candidate, serving on the Committee on Public 
 Printing. He was returned as the regular nominee to the 
 present Assembly, where he serves as a member of the 
 committees on Commerce and ^Navigation, and on Roads 
 and Bridges. He is chairman of the Committee on Pub- 
 lic Printing. 
 
JAMES M. NELSON. 
 
 One day in the year 1609, Sir Thomas Nelson, a youiig 
 man of twenty-one, who had recently entered Parliament in 
 England, made a speech in which he boldly arraigned and 
 bitterly attacked the then reigning monarch, Charles the 
 First. As he was leaving the Parliament House, a friend 
 approached him, and, whispering, told him that the speech 
 would cost him his life unless he fled from the wrath of the 
 angry king. Finding soon after that the troopers were 
 actually upon his track, he secreted himself for a few days, 
 and then made his way to Portsmouth, whence he embarked 
 for America. He settled amongst the struggling colonists 
 of Jamestown, Virginia. Sir Thomas Nelson was the 
 oldest of twelve children. His eight brothers and three 
 sisters, after completing their education, joined him, one 
 by one, in his home in the New World, and thus was laid 
 the foundation of one of the oldest and most powerful 
 families in the United States. 
 
 From this family James Madisok Nelson, who repre- 
 sents the county of Rockland, in the Assembly, is directly 
 descended. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Clark county, 
 Kentucky, on the 25th day of February, 1825. His father 
 was a lawyer, practicing at Winchester, the county seat, 
 a town of eight hundred or one thousand inhabitants. 
 There James attended school and was prepared for college. 
 He entered Augusta College, Bracken county, Ky. While 
 there his father died, and James was taken in charge by 
 his uncle, the Hon. John Nelson, of Maryland. He 
 completed his education at St. John's College, Annapolis, 
 
292 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Maryland. Leaving College, Mr. Nelson went to Louis- 
 ville, Kentucky, where he read law. At the end of two 
 years he was admitted to the bar, and removed to Indian- 
 apolis, Indiana, where he commenced the practice of his 
 profession. This was in 1847. While there, in the inter- 
 est of a client, he visited Europe, spending some time in 
 England. In 1849 he closed his law ofiBce, bought a mule, 
 and went to California overland. He was one of a large 
 party who were convoyed over the plains by Capt. Owen, 
 of Missouri. On this trip Mr. Welson had for his com- 
 panion and messmate Lord Stanley, now Earl of Derby, 
 the leader of the Tory faction in the British House of 
 Lords. Stanley, at that time, was a young man, full of 
 adventurous spirit, who bore cheerfully the hardships of 
 the trip, and defied its dangers, sensibly keeping his title 
 to himself. His rank was known only to Mr. Nelson, to 
 whom he had been introduced by Heney Clay. 
 
 Beaching California, Mr. Nelson went out into the 
 diggings on Bidwell's bar, and was quite successful in 
 obtaining gold. He remained there until the Constitu- 
 tion of California was adopted and the courts established. 
 Many a time and oft, .during 'those wild days in the 
 " diggins," Mr. Nelson was forced to preside over primitive 
 tribunals of justice, where the jury was a vigilance com- 
 mittee, and where a piece of rope and the nearest tree 
 served as instruments for enforcing penalties. 
 
 Afterwards (Mr. Nelson being among the pioneer law- 
 yers of Sacramento) his professional success in that new 
 region was great. 
 
 He returned to the "States" (as the Califomians to this 
 day call the East) in the year 1852, bringing with him 
 $71,000 — the accumulation of three years' work. This 
 sum he invested in business in Greytown, Nicaragua. 
 The active management of the establishment was in the 
 
JAMES M. NELSON. 293 
 
 hands of a partner, and Mr. Nelson made the purchases in 
 N e-w York. For the first year this business thrived beyond 
 all expectation, and the firm realized $95,000, which they 
 immediately invested in increasing their facilities for trade. 
 
 At this time Mr. Nelson made his second trip to 
 Europe. He visited the old castle from which, two hun- 
 dred and forty years before, his great ancestor had fled. 
 It was still in the possession of the Nelson family. He 
 presented himself to the proprietor. Sir Henry Nelson, 
 who welcomed his "American cousin" kindly, and ex- 
 tended to him every hospitality. One day these two — a 
 blufij good-natured " stocky" English knight and a dark- 
 eyed, lean-faced, six-foot Kentucky lawyer — were talking 
 on matters of common interest, when the Englishman 
 asked : " Are you not proud, sometimes, to think that you 
 are even remotely connected with our great Admiral 
 Nelson ? " 
 
 Then the Kentuckian answered, bluntly : " No ; I never 
 thought much of soldiers and sailors anyhow. Besides, I 
 have so many nearer relatives, in my own country, who 
 were greater men than this British admiral, that I don't 
 get time to think of him." 
 
 "Indeed!" said Sir Henkt, dubiously, "pray what did 
 these mighty men do ? " 
 
 " Well," answered his visitor, who was not at all dismayed 
 by the question: "There was my great-grandfather, 
 Thomas Nelson, Jr. ; he signed the Declaration of Inde- 
 pendence ; was a general in "Washington's army, and was 
 thirteen times Governor of Virginia. There was my 
 grandfather, Thomas Nelson; he was elected thirteen 
 times to the Kentucky Legislature, and served thirty 
 straight years in Congress ; he lived to be ninety-four, and 
 three days before his death was as active as a young man; 
 and he had a full head of hair and a perfect set of teeth 
 
294 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 when he died. There was my uncle, John N'elsok, of 
 Maryland; he was Attorney-General under Tyler, and 
 Minister to Naples, and Judge of the Court of Appeals of 
 his native State, and a great lawyer. There was ." 
 
 The English cousin was quite satisfied, by this time, 
 that the branch of the family which emigrated to America 
 had brought no disgrace on the name of Welsok, but had 
 added to it new glory and new luster. 
 
 After leaving England, Mr. Nelson visited other por- 
 tions of Europe. "W^hile sojourning in Eussia, news 
 reached him that the government had destroyed Grey- 
 town ; that his establishment was burned and his property 
 there all gone. 
 
 He immediately returned to New York and met the 
 business obligations that he had incurred. This left him 
 penniless. He entered once more upon the practice of his 
 profession, this time in the city of New York. Success has 
 attended his efforts, and he is now in the enjoyment of a 
 good practice, which pays him a fair income. 
 
 Mr. Nelson was a warm personal friend of Henet Clay. 
 When he was a boy Clay took him to Washington, and 
 employed him as an amanuensis, and often after that, when 
 Mr. Nelson could snatch the time from his own active 
 pursuits, he visited Washington, always as the guest and 
 friend of the great Kentucky statesman. 
 
 Mr. Nelson's reminiscences of Clay and Webstek, of 
 Calhoun and Jackson, and of other public men, are ex- 
 tremely interesting. 
 
 As might be supposed, Mr. Nelson was an earnest Whig 
 while Clay lived. After the dissolution of the Whig party 
 he joined the Democrats, with whom he has since acted. 
 
 In 1862 he was married, and shortly after purchased a 
 house at Stony Point, Eockland county, where he now 
 lives.- He continues his practice, however, in New York. 
 
DANIEL A. NOETHUP. 295 
 
 He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 496. 
 He serves as chairman of the Committee on Privileges and 
 Elections, and as a member of the committees on Judiciai-y 
 and Federal Eelations. 
 
 DANIEL A. NORTHRUP. 
 
 Mr. NoETHTJP, the Eepresentative for Herkimer county, 
 "Was born in Oppenheim, Fulton county, June 17, 1817. 
 He is emphatically a self-made man, having been com- 
 pelled to work by the month all summer, during his 
 younger days, while he attended school during the winter. 
 He is by occupation a merchant, doing a thriving business. 
 He was formerly a Democrat, but felt impelled, by what he 
 believed the oppressions of the slave power controlling the 
 party of his first choice, to become connected with the 
 Eepublican organization. For six years he has held the 
 office of Supervisor, discharging his trust to the entire 
 satisfaction of the people. He has been Postmaster at 
 Salisbury Center since 1863. 
 
 LYMAN OATMAN. 
 
 Mr. Oatmast, the member from the Fifth district of Brie 
 county, was born in Hartford, Washington county, October 
 16th, 1816. He was educated in the common schools. He 
 subsequently removed to Angola, where he now resides, 
 and conducts a thriving mercantile business. He was 
 
296 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 formerly a Whig, uniting himself with the Kepublican 
 party upon its organization, and since remaining one of 
 its most valuable supporters. As a member of the Board 
 of Supervisors in 1863 and 1865, he served the county 
 with the same scrupulous fidelity which characterizes his 
 discharge of his present trust. * 
 
 DENNIS O'KEEFE. 
 
 In the annals of Limerick, and in the history of Ireland, 
 the family of O'Keefe stand amongst the highest and the 
 proudest- From this family, famous in the legendary 
 days of Erin's history, the Assemblyman from the third 
 district, of King's county, is descended. 
 
 Dennis O'Keefe was born in Limerick, Ireland, on 
 the 33d, day of January, 1835. He was educated at the 
 Jesuit college of that city.. He came to this country, a 
 young man, full of hope and enterprise, qualitieg which in 
 themselves are an inheritance better than money. He 
 learned the trade of a shipwright, and being skillful, and 
 well educated, he found plenty of work at good wages. 
 After a time he left his trade, and went into business as a 
 hotel keeper, in the city of Brooklyn. Possessing an Irish- 
 man's usual fondness for " a bit of a talk," he was drawn 
 early into the discussion of political questions, and soon 
 became an active Democrat. His fellow-citizens, appre- 
 ciating his abilities, elected him to the Brooklyn Board of 
 Aldermen, where he has served eight years. 
 
 In 1868, he ran as " stump " candidate for the Assembly, 
 against both the regular nominees, and was elected, an 
 unusual thing in these days of strict party discipline. 
 
JtTLlUS M. PALMER. 297 
 
 This demonsti-ated his strength, and his legislative career 
 proving satifactory to his constituents, he received the 
 regular nomination in 1869, and was returned by a 
 majority of 3,033. 
 
 Mr. O'Keefe serves as chairman of the Committee on 
 Expenditures of the House, and as a member of the 
 committees on Eailroads, and on State Charitable Insti- 
 tutions. 
 
 He is a ready debater, and has plenty of Irish wit. 
 
 JULIUS M. PALMEE. 
 
 Mr. Palmek, who represents the Second district of St. 
 Lawrence county, is serving his third term in the Assembly. 
 Mr. Palmer is a native of New York State, and was born 
 in Wilna, Jefferson county, December 11, 1830. He re- 
 ceived a good education, and at the age of eighteen went to 
 Eussell, St. Lawrence county, where he acquired a knowledge 
 of surveying, and followed the business for several years. In 
 1851 he engaged in trade as a merchant, in which occupa- 
 tion he has been successful, and is a prosperous business, 
 man ; his partner at present being Hon. Benjamik Smith, 
 who formerly represented the same district in the Assem- 
 bly during two terms. 
 
 Mr. Palmer has taken an active interest in all matters 
 of public concern in the locality where he resides ; was 
 chosen Clerk of the town of Eussell in 1856, and held the 
 position for six years. He was elected Supervisor in 1863, 
 the duties of which position he discharged for five years, 
 and until he declined further service. During his connec- 
 tion with the Board of Supervisors, Mr. Palmer was chair- 
 38 
 
298 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 man of several important committees, and also of the 
 Commission, appointed in 1866, to equalize the assessment 
 of the county, whose report he wrote, and which has re- 
 ceived very general approval. During the war he gave 
 much of his time in aid of all enterprises looking to the 
 support of the government, and, in common with his fel- 
 low-citizens, has given his town a record which shows it to 
 be one of the most patriotic in St. Lawrence county. He 
 was recruiting agent and Treasurer of the " Eussell Vol- 
 unteer Association." He was appointed Postmaster in 
 May, 1861, by President Lincoln, and was removed in 
 November, 1866, by President Johnson. 
 
 Mr. Palmbe is an ardent and active Eepublican, and 
 was chosen to represent his district in the Assembly of 
 1868 and 1869, by a majority of 2,131. He was a member 
 of the Committee on the Expenditures of the Executive 
 Department, in 1868, and in 1869 was chairman of the 
 Committee on Internal .MUirs, and a member of the Com- 
 mittee on Indian Affairs. He was re-elected, at the last 
 election, by 1,769 majority, the vote of both parties being 
 very light compared with the previous year. 
 
 Mr. Palmer is a gentleman of quiet habits, of excellent 
 judgment, and of unimpeachable integrity. 
 
JOHN PARKEE. 
 
 Mr. Parker, the member for the Third district of 
 Oswego, was born in Steuben, Oneida county, December 
 27, 1810. His education, like so many others of our most 
 successful citizens, was limited to the common schools. 
 He was married, in 1833, and commenced life on his oi\ti 
 account by working land on shares in his native county. 
 Two years afterward he removed to Oswego county. The 
 country was then quite new. He settled on a piece of 
 wild land, paying for and clearing a farm of three hun- 
 dred acres, which he still occupies. He has been one of 
 the leading men of his section, and has held various posi- 
 tions of public trust in the town, meeting all the obliga- 
 ' tions devolved upon him with marked fidelity. His first 
 vote was cast for General Jacksost. He was a delegate to the 
 first Republican State convention, believing that, by attach- 
 ing himself to that party, he consistently carried out his 
 principles. He served in the Assembly of 1866, and then, 
 as now, with scrupulous regard to the eights of his con- 
 stituents and the people of the State. 
 
EDWARD L. PATRICK. 
 
 Edward L. Patrick was bora at Athens, Pa., on the 
 5th day of July, 1840. His family is of Scotch origin and 
 is descended from the Kirk Patricks of Scotland. 
 
 His mother, who died in 1843, was a natiye of the State 
 of Pennsylvania. His father, who was born at Litchfield, 
 Conn., was a distinguished lawyer, educated at Hamilton 
 College, who commenced the practice of his profession at 
 Philadelphia. Afterward, coming into possession of a large 
 estate in Bradford county, Pennsylvania, he settled at 
 Athens, where he still resides. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was educated at Mansfield 
 Seminary, Wyoming county, and while still young 
 entered the University of Pennsylvania. He was admitted 
 to the bar at the age of nineteen, and commenced the 
 practice of the law at Philadelphia. 
 
 In 1861, he entered the three months' service in the war, 
 at the end of which time he took up his residence at 
 Elmira, N. Y. In the Spring of 1862 he raised a company 
 of recruits, and was made captain in the 141st Regiment N. 
 Y. Volunteers, and soon thereafter was promoted to major 
 and lieutenant-colonel. He was through the Peninsula 
 campaign with Gen. Dix, and in September, 1863, took 
 command of the 141st regiment. Under Gen. Hooker he 
 commanded the 3d Brigade of Gen. Crzyanowski's 
 division, during the time that the army was moving from 
 the Potomac to the relief of the army at Chattanooga. He 
 commanded his regiment during the fierce engagements in 
 the Lookout Valley and at the battle of Wauhatchie, where 
 his regiment won great distinction. He was engaged in 
 
EDWAED L. PATRICK. 301 
 
 the battles under Lookout Mountain, at Mission Ridge, 
 Chickamauga, and in the campaign for the relief of Knox- 
 Tille, Tenn. ' ' 
 
 In 1864, having left the army, he continued the practice 
 of the law at Elmira, and took an active part in the 
 McClellan canvass — addressing meetings in different 
 parts of the State. In 1866 he was nominated for the 
 Assembly by the Democrats of Chemung county, and suc- 
 ceeded, through his personal popularity, in largely reducing 
 the Republican vote. In 1868, he v^as again nominated, 
 and this time was elected over his Republican competitor, 
 by 184 majority. In 1869 he was re-elected by a majority 
 of 436. 
 
 Mr. Patrick's ability as a debater, and his extensive 
 knowledge of parliamentary law, advanced him to a prom- 
 inent position in the Legislature of 1869. When these 
 were supplemented by the experience and the acquaint- 
 ance which a year's service gave him, it is not surprising 
 that his name was mentioned in connection with the 
 Speakership, at the opening of the present session. But 
 he modestly withdrew from the contest and recommended 
 his friends to vote for Mr. Hitchmak, whom he nomi- 
 nated in caucus. 
 
 Mr. Patkick serves in the very responsible position of 
 chairman of the Committee on Railroads, and is also a 
 member of the Judiciary Committee. 
 
LEWIS S. PAYNE. 
 
 Mr. Patite was born in the town of Riga, Monroe 
 county, 'NeM York, in 1819. His parents being poor, he 
 had no advantages of education, except those obtained 
 by his own industry and perseverance. When sixteen 
 years of age, he left his home and found employment at 
 Tonawanda, New York, as clerk in a store. At the age of 
 twenty-one, he succeeded his employers in the mercantile 
 business, and afterward became engaged in the lumber 
 business, and in 1847 built the first steam saw-mill 
 erected in Tonawanda. In 1855 Mr. Payne engaged in 
 the forwarding, shipping and commission business with 
 the extensive Elevator and Docks at Tonawanda; and 
 subsequently, in 1858, devoted his attention to farming, 
 which is his present occupation. 
 
 In 1841 he changed his place of residence from the Erie 
 county side (of the Tonawanda creek) to the Niagara 
 county side, in the village of Tonawanda (town of Wheat- 
 field), where he still resides. In the same year, he was 
 elected Supervisor of his town, and for many years after- 
 ward repi-esented his town in that capacity, always being 
 elected by heavy majorities, and on two occasions with not 
 an opposing vote. In 1849 he was appointed Collector of 
 Canal Tolls at Tonawanda, being the first appointment at 
 that place; and in 1850 was reappointed to the same 
 position. 
 
 He was elected County Clerk of Niagara county in ] 850, 
 and in 1855, at the end of his term, retired with the appro- 
 bation of the citizens of the county universally, for the 
 very prompt and courteous manner in which he had dis- 
 charged the duties of his oflBce. 
 
LEWIS S. PAYNE. 303 
 
 In the fall of 1860 he raised, at his own expense, a com- 
 pany of volunteers, and formed a part of the One Hun- 
 dredth regiment of. New York Volunteers, which was 
 recruited from Western New York, at Buffalo. In April, 
 1862, with his regiment, he landed at Newport News, and 
 formed a part of Casey's Division of McClellan's Army, in 
 his famous campaign up the Peninsula. With his regiment 
 he was the second to cross the Chickahominy, and the first 
 to take up position at White Oak Station. 
 
 Mr. Payn'e was in the battle of Williamsburg and Seven 
 Pines ; and afterwards was in the famous seven days' retreat. 
 He participated in the battles of White Oak Swamp and 
 Malvern Hill; and in August returned to Gloucester 
 Point, after a severe campaign of less than four months, 
 in which he lost forty-two out of his company of one 
 hundred and four men. In the winter following he was 
 in North Carolina, in General Foster's Army Corps. 
 Early in the spring of 1863 he was sent to Hilton Head ; 
 thence to St. Helena Island, in General Huntek's De- 
 partment ; thence sent up to Cole's Island with, his 
 regiment as a corps of observation in the vicinity of 
 Charleston. It was from this point that he was ordered out 
 and made his many bold and daring expeditions and scouts 
 with his company, and learned the whole nature of the 
 country, the positions, situation and strength of the enemy 
 in their various localities and stations. On the nights 
 of the 5th and 6th of April, 1863, he led the advance up 
 Folly Island under General Sbymoue, to support the 
 attack of Admiral Dupont on Fort Sumter, made with 
 his iron Monitors on the 7th of April, 1863. On the 
 10th of May he led the advance, and piloted and con- 
 ducted our forces to the point of attack, and was first in 
 the engagement. They carried and took possession of the 
 south end of Morris Island, and soon after he, with his 
 
30i LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 company, succeeded in reaching and burning the steamer 
 Manigault in Charleston harbor, engaged in supplying 
 Sumter, Moultrie, and Battery Wagner, and Cumming's 
 Point. 
 
 On the night of the 3d of August, 1863, while engaged 
 in intercepting communications of the enemy with Fort 
 Sumter and other points, he was attacked by a superior 
 force, and, after a most desperate engagement, he was 
 wounded and taken prisoner. He was confined in Queen 
 Street Hospital, Charleston, until he was better in health, 
 when he was removed to Columbia, and there kept in close 
 confinement until the 14th of February, 1865, when he 
 was, with others, moved North for exchange. On the 5th 
 of March, 1865, he was exchanged, reaching home on the 
 1st of April, after an absence of three years and three 
 months. In the fall of 1865 he ran on the Democratic 
 ticket in Niagara county for County Clerk, and was elected, 
 though in a county giving several hundred Republican 
 majority. He served his term of three years ; and in the 
 fall following, 1869, was elected member of Assembly from 
 his district, being chairman of the Committee on Claims, 
 and on the committees on Canals, and Military Affairs. 
 
JAMES B. PEARSALL. 
 
 It is the fortune of few men, in public life, to receiye a 
 unanimous indorsement of their conduct at the hands 
 of their constituents. This rare compliment was paid to 
 Mr. Pbaesall, at the last election, in the first district of 
 Queens county. 
 
 He was chosen to the Assembly on the Democratic 
 ticket in the year 1868. The following year he was 
 returned without opposition. 
 
 James B. Peaesall was bom at Koslyn, on the 14th 
 day of March, 1837. His ancestors were among the 
 earliest settlers of Queens, one of them, N'athaniel Peab- 
 SALL, having represented the county in the Colonial 
 Council of 1690-91. He is also related to those eminent 
 New York merchants Thomas Peaesall and Thomas 
 BucHANAK, whose business career, extending over a period 
 of half a century, from 1820, has contributed in no small 
 degree to the development of the commercial resources 
 of the metropolis. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is a man of liberal education, 
 and, on political subjects, is an independent thinker. In 
 the conscientious discharge of what he considers his duty, 
 Mr. Peaesall has felt compelled on more than one occa- 
 sion to vote in opposition to the majority of his party. 
 But the purity of his motives was never doubted, 
 nor was his fidelity to the principles of Democracy ever 
 questioned. He is a straightforward, out-spoken, honest 
 man, who has won the esteem of his colleagues, and the 
 respect of the community. 
 
 Mr. Peaesall serves upon the committees on Public 
 Education, and on the Affairs of Villages. 
 39 
 
306 LIFB SKETCHES. 
 
 In committee he is a faithful worker, and on the floor a 
 ready debater, though not a Toluble speaker. 
 
 To judge from his personal appearance, one would not 
 imagine Mr. Peaesall to be more than thirty-five years 
 old. He has a fresh, youthful, almost boyish appearance. 
 But the record, neTertheless, attests the fact that he has 
 entered his forty-fourth year. 
 
 JAY A. PEASE, 
 
 Jay a. Pease, who represents Lewis county in the 
 Assembly, was born in West Leyden, in that county, Janu- 
 ary 1, 1838. His ancestors were among the earliest set- 
 tlers of Connecticut, from which State the branch of the 
 family to which the Assemblyman belongs emigrated to 
 New York early in the present century. 
 
 Mr. Pease was educated at the Whitestown Seminary, 
 and subsequently graduated at the Albany Law School, 
 from which institution he received the degree of LL.B., in 
 the year 1861. He soon after entered upon the practice 
 of his profession in his native village, where he has met 
 with more than ordinary success. 
 
 In 1863 Mr. Pease was elected Supervisor of the town 
 of Lewis, and through eight successive years he has been 
 annually re-elected to that position — for the last six years 
 by the unanimous vote of both political parties. This fact 
 well illustrates the confidence which his fellow-citizens 
 repose in him. 
 
 In 1869 Mr. Pease was nominated for the Assembly, 
 as the most available candidate the Democracy could pre- 
 
JAltES H. FISBCE. 307 
 
 sent, in a district closely contested. He was elected by a 
 small majority over a popular competitor, notwithstanding 
 the fact that the Eepublican candidates led the Democratic 
 on the State ticket in Lewis county. 
 
 As a legislator, Mr. Pease is conscientious, painstaking 
 and industrious. He serves with credit on the commit- 
 tees on Affairs of Villages and on Public Education. 
 
 JAMES H. PIEKCE. 
 
 Mr. PiEECE, who represents the county of Franklin, is 
 of active business habits and persistent energy. He was 
 born in New Sweden, Clinton county, August 37, 1836, 
 and received a common school education. He subsequently 
 removed into Essex county, where his public enterprise and 
 integrity secured him the favor of the electors of the town 
 in which he resided, by whom he was chosen six succes- 
 sive years as a member of the Board of Supervisors. He 
 presided over the deliberations of that body three terms 
 with entire satisfaction. He subsequently removed into 
 Franklin county (his post-office address remaining Bloom- 
 ingdale, Essex county), where he was twice elected to the 
 Board of Supervisors. He was formerly a Whig ; voted for 
 Millard Fillmore, and has since been a zealous and efficient 
 Eepublican. When the rebels struck at the life of the 
 nation, Pierce responded with alacrity to the call of the 
 country, and served as captain of the 118th New York State 
 Volunteers, from August, 1863, to February, 1865, with 
 signal bravery. He participated in the siege of Suffolk, and 
 battles of South Anne Bridge and Drury's Bluff. He was 
 
308 LIFE SKETCHES, 
 
 captured during the last engagement, and suflfered the 
 horrors of a rebel prison for seven months. Ketuming 
 home after his liberation, the people have rewarded his 
 heroism, and he has returned the confidence reposed in 
 him with strict regard to the rights and interests of the 
 public. 
 
 GEORGE.W. PLUN-KETT. 
 
 Geokge W. Plttkkitt was born in the Twenty-second 
 ward of the city of New York, in what now constitutes a 
 portion of the Central Park, on the 17th day of November, 
 1843. His ancestors were Irish. He received in the pub- 
 lic schools a good education in the English branches. 
 
 By trade Mr. Plunkitt is a butcher, and has a stand at 
 No. 17 Washington market. Starting in life without in- 
 fluence or money, he has succeeded in acquiring a fair 
 share of both. He is a very affable man, gentlemanly in 
 his deportment, faithful in his duties, true to his princi- 
 ples, and of undoubted integrity. The present is his 
 second year in the Assembly. He represents a portion of 
 the ward in which he was born, and in which he has 
 always lived. As early as 1866 he was a candidate for the 
 ofllce which he now holds. He did not at that time, how- 
 ever, receive the indorsement of the regular Democratic 
 organization, and therefore failed of an election. But he 
 polled a vote of 1,858, which, considering the fact that he 
 was a " stump " candidate, shows that even then he pos- 
 sessed great personal popularity. In 1868, as the Tam- 
 many nominee, he was elected by a plurality of about 1,500, 
 in a triangular contest. He served during the session of 
 1869 as a member of the Committee on Two-thirds and 
 
HABBT B. BANSOM. 309 
 
 Three-fiftlis bills. He was re-elected last November, over 
 the Democratic union and the Republican candidates. 
 
 In the present Assembly he serves as chairman of the 
 Engrossing Committee, and as a member of the commit- 
 tees on Insurance, and on State Prisons. 
 
 In personal appearance Mr. Plukkitt is of medium 
 height, with fair complexion, blue eyes, dark hair and 
 regular features. He wears a moustache and side whiskers. 
 He dresses with extreme good taste. 
 
 Those who believe in " lucky numbers " may find some- 
 thing suggestive in the fact that Mr. Plunkitt was born 
 on the 17th of November, and that his place of business is 
 at No. 17 Washington market. 
 
 HARRY B. RANSOM. 
 
 Hakrt B. Raksom, of Erie county, is a resident of Ton- 
 awanda. He received, as the Democratic candidate for the 
 Assembly, a majority of over 600 in a district which had, 
 the year previous, elected a Republican. 
 
 Though he has always taken a deep interest in all ques- 
 tions affecting the interest of the State and Nation, he is 
 not, in the common use of the word, a politician. Rarely, 
 if ever, participating in debate, he has already, during his 
 brief service as a legislator, gained a position of influence 
 in the Assembly, not less by reason of his earnestness and 
 sincerity than by his judgment and carefulness. Closely 
 attending both to the interests of his constituents and to 
 the general business of the Legislature, he is a good repre- 
 sentative of that class of quiet, thoughtful men on whom 
 chiefly devolves the real work of the session. He is a 
 
310 UFB SKETCHES. 
 
 member of tlie Sub-Committee of the Whole, and of the 
 Committee on Trade and Manufactures. 
 
 Possessed of a sufficient amount of worldly goods to 
 raise him aboTe all temptation to turn his power to his own 
 interests, his position before his constituents and in the 
 House is an enyiable one. 
 
 HENRY RAY. 
 
 Mr. Eat was bom at Fenner, Madison county, New 
 York, on the 19th of September, 1837. His family were 
 from New England, and sustained an excellent reputation. 
 His education was obtained at the district school, and he 
 was a proficient scholar, except so far as his inextinguish- 
 able love of fun interfered between him and his books. 
 But he had the wit to make his way. 
 
 After marrying, Mr. Eat fixed his home in the town of 
 Phelps, Ontario county. Being ambitious, and of a restless 
 temper, he could not content himself with a common-place 
 life, but engaged in speculations, which generally proved 
 remunerative. In this way he has amassed a handsome 
 fortune, which he knows well how to enjoy. 
 
 In 1866 he was elected Supervisor of the town, receiv- 
 ing a majority of twenty-seven, and was re-elected in 1867. 
 His popularity had become general in the county, and in 
 the fall of 1867 he was made the Eepublican candidate for 
 member of Assembly for the First district. He was suc- 
 cessful in his election; and served so satisfactorily, his 
 constituents re-elected him for the succeeding term in 
 1869. He was re-elected to the present Assembly over 
 Jambs Pulvee (Democrat), by 339 majority. He is genial, 
 
WILLIAM T, EEMEE. 311 
 
 full to the brim of sport, but wide awake when the occa- 
 sion demands serious exertion. His personal reputation 
 is one of which he may well be proud. He is a member 
 of the Committee on Commerce and Navigation. 
 
 WILLIAM T. REMER. 
 
 Mr. Kemek, the representatire for Yates, was bom in 
 Benton, May 15, 1823. His father, Aabon Eembe, was a 
 member of Assembly in 1833, 1833, 1834, 1831 and 1833, 
 and the honorable record he made is treasured by his 
 family as among his most precious legacies. Mr. Eemee 
 was educated at Albany. 
 
 He is by occupation a farmer. He was Sheriff of Yates 
 county, 1859-1861, and Provost -Marshal of the Twenty- 
 fifth District in 1863-1865, in which positions his decis- 
 ion and indomitable energy enabled him to render valuable 
 services. 
 
JAMES EGBERTS. 
 
 Mr. Roberts represents the Fourth district of Oneida 
 county in the Assembly. He is a native of the town of 
 Steuben, Oneida county, where he was born, August 26, 
 1837. He removed to Eemsen in 1855, engaging in the 
 mercantile business, which he has prosecuted with dili- 
 gence and success. He has been identified with politics 
 from early manhood, contributing largely to "the success 
 of the Eepublican party. He held the oflSce of Town 
 Clerk several years, and several other oflSces, exhibiting 
 popular appreciation. He is strong in the confidence of 
 his constituents, and is highly respected by his associates on 
 the floor, for his sterling merits and probity of character. 
 
 EDWARD E. RONAN. 
 
 Mr. EoNAN is a native of Albany, and is about thirty 
 years old. He is of Irish descent. He was a poor boy, 
 but ambitious and studious. At the time the war com- 
 menced he was prepared to enter college, and had already 
 devoted some time to teaching, but, fired with the patriotism 
 which stirred the breasts of so many young men, he vol- 
 unteered in the Union army. He served in the Sixty-ninth 
 New York Volunteers in 1862, and in Alexander's Brigade 
 of Independent Artillery in 1863. Upon his discharge in 
 '64, he entered the Sophomore class of Union College, and 
 graduated with the highest honors of the institution in 
 July, 1867. 
 
LEE E. SANBOEN. 313 
 
 After teaching for a year in western New York he 
 returned to Albany, and entered the law office of Cagger, 
 Hand & Hale. He was shortly after admitted to the 
 bar, and is now practicing law in this city. 
 
 He was elected to the Assembly in 1869 by a majority 
 of six hundred and seventeen. He is a member of the 
 committees on Judiciary, on Federal Eelations, and on 
 State Prisons. Mr. RoirAU- is a young man of liberal edu- 
 cation and of more than ordinaiy abilities. He bids fair 
 to become a useful and successful legislator. 
 
 LEE R. SANBORN. 
 
 Mr. Sanboeit, the representative of the Second district 
 of Niagara county, is a native of Brockport, Monroe county, 
 where he was born August 8, 1831. He was educated in 
 that most elevating of institutions, the home circle, and in 
 the common schools. He subsequently removed to Niagara 
 county, where he is engaged in manufacturing pursuits, and 
 lumber business. He is likewise a commission merchant, 
 and proprietor of a flouring mill. He is a gentleman of 
 superior culture. His sterling probity of character, and 
 exemplary habits, commended him to the confidence of the 
 community in which he dwells. He has been Justice of 
 the Peace and Justice of Sessions, and was an active and 
 liberal supporter of the war. His discriminating judg- 
 ment, close attention to the progress of events, and assidu- 
 ous application to whatever he engages in, mark him for 
 further advancement in the appreciation and favor of his 
 fellow-citizens. His popularity at home is such that the 
 40 
 
314 MPE SKETCHES. 
 
 village in which he lived has been named Sanborn, in his 
 honor, and he has contributed largely to its business success 
 and moral improvement. 
 
 JOHN H. SELKREG. 
 
 Mr. Selkeeg has been a practical printer, and, conse- 
 quently, has had all the varieties of experience and 
 change appertaining to that occupation. He is editor 
 and proprietor of the Ithaca Journal, a paper which has 
 effectively aided m the achievement of many a hard 
 fought battle, and which still survives, as Mr. Selkbeg, 
 by his firm Scotch tenacity, has fully proven. 
 
 His parents died when he was a mere boy (the youngest 
 of a family of' five children), and left him to the care of 
 the older members of the family. He never attended 
 school after he was eleven years old, and what little 
 education he had gained up to that time, had been 
 acquired in the district school at Staatsburgh, New York, 
 his native place. His disposition, at the age of thirteen, 
 rather inclined to printing, as an occupation; therefore, 
 having left his brother-in-law, with whom he had been 
 living, he began an apprenticeship in the printing ofBce 
 of the Poughkeepsie Telegraph, then published by Messrs. 
 KiLLET & Lovf, and which was, at that time, as it now is, 
 the Democratic organ of Dutchess county. He continued 
 there until the year 1838. Having arrived at that point 
 where he thought himself sufiiciently proficient to com- 
 mence life on his own responsibility, he became a resident 
 of Brooklyn, and, for a few months, entered into a partner- 
 ship with the firm of Messrs. Aeb'old, Vait Akdeh" & Co., 
 publishers of the Brooklyn Eagle. !N"ot being entirely 
 
JOHN H. SELKBEG. 315 
 
 satisfied with his business relations, he returned to Pough- 
 keepsie in 1839, and published the Poughkeepsie Casket, a 
 literary paper. Two years subsequently, he purchased an 
 interest in the Ithaca Journal, and, in connection with Hon. 
 A. Wells, continued its publication for seyeral years. He 
 afterward became sole proprietor of the establishment. 
 
 The Ithaca Journal was once a Democratic organ of 
 Tompkins county. In 1848 Mr. Sblkreg Refused to sup- 
 port Mr. Cass, and ran up Mr. Van Bubeit's name. The 
 Hunkers established the Flag of the Union to break down 
 the Journal ; but, they not succeeding in the attempt, the 
 " Flag " was lowered, and the Journal still continued to be 
 the exponent of the Democracy. From the year 1850 to 
 1856 Mr. Selkeeg saw that a great change was being 
 wrought in the Democratic party. The repeal of the Mis- 
 souri Compromise seemed to him an outrage upon political 
 honor. Such was the drift of affairs, he refused to support 
 Btjchanan, and advocated the claims of Fremont, thus 
 undoubtedly carrying, oyer the county to the "Path 
 ■Finder," inasmuch as the Republican vote ran up in a 
 single year from 1,460 to 4,030. 
 
 From 1857 to 1861 he discharged the duties of Com- 
 missioner of Loans. President LiKCOLsr made him Post- 
 master of Ithaca, in 1861. He was re-appointed, in 1865, 
 by Andrew Johnson, who, in the most nonchalent man- 
 ner, subjected him to the guillotine, on the 25th of August, 
 1866, for refusing to adopt Mr. Johnson's peculiar views. 
 Mr. Selkrbg survived the shock; and, under the warm 
 pressure of his friends, accepted the nomination for mem- 
 ber of Assembly, being elected by a majority of 1,473. He 
 was re-elected to the present Assembly by a flattering 
 majority. 
 
 He has held several offices of business interest. At one 
 time he was president of the Ithaca and Binghamton Tele- 
 
316 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 graph company, and he is now president of the Ithaca 
 Calendar Clock company. 
 
 Mr. Sblkebg, during the session of 1867, was a member 
 of the committees of Ways and Means and on Banks, 
 two of the most important committees of the House, 
 In the Assembly of 1869 he was chairman of the Com- 
 mittee on Ways and Means, and he is a member of the 
 same committee this term, though the Eepublicans are in 
 the minority. 
 
 Mr. Sblkeeg possesses a sound, discriminating judg- 
 ment; has a good deal of dry humor, and is as keen as 
 steel. His vigilance is unremitting. In debate he is 
 forcible, concise and convincing, and always hits the " nail 
 on the head." Short but decisive, is his motto. He is a 
 very worthy and influential member, and of unquestioned 
 integrity. 
 
 JAMES A. SEWARD. 
 
 Mr. Seward cannot be properly classed as a politician. 
 His life has not been devoted to either a study of techni- 
 cal wire-pulling, or of scheming for place and power. 
 And yet, he is a strong party man, always intelligently 
 indorsing the leading measures of the Kepublican organi- 
 zation. The only oflB.ce which he has ever before held 
 was that of Alderman of the city of Poughkeepsie. It 
 must be gratifying to himself to know that the people 
 sought him out as candidate for member of Assembly; 
 and, after he had declined the honor, in favor of some 
 other candidate, still persisted in his acceptance of the 
 nomination. Such a course is rare in these days of scram- 
 
JAMES A. SEWAED. 317 
 
 Ming for place and spoils. The majority for Mr. Sb-waed 
 "was larger than any which has been given in the district for 
 several years. This result, in view of the general falling 
 off of the Republican vote last fall, must be considered a 
 personal compliment from Poughkeepsie. 
 
 Mr. Sewakd was born in the town of Fishkill, Dutchess 
 county, N. Y., January 3, 1836. His father was a plain, 
 substantial farmer ; and his parents were both possessed 
 of more than average intelligence. His paternal grand- 
 father was a clergyman, and also his great-grandfather, 
 who, at one time, held a commission as Chaplain in the 
 British army until the Declaration of Independence, when 
 he resigned to join the movement of the Colonies. 
 
 Mr. Sbwaed had no particular advantages for acquiring 
 an education beyond those of a good district school, and 
 one year and a half at the Academy at Fishkill, N". Y. 
 His father died when he was seventeen years old ; and, 
 soon afterward, he went to New York, in a wholesale cloth 
 house. But receiving scarcely any salary, and his expen- 
 ses being heavy, he went West, spending a year in Illinois. 
 He then returned East, and engaged in the merchant 
 tailoring and clothing business, in Poughkeepsie. In this 
 he was successful ; but, finding it was making inroads on 
 his health, he began the manufacture of carriage hardware 
 goods, and has done a thriving business in that line. 
 
 Mr. Sevtakd is a faithful representative, and is so 
 regarded by all who know him 
 
JAMES SHANAHAN. 
 
 Montgomery county, in 1868, elected a Eepublican 
 Assemblyman by nearly two hundred majority. When, 
 last fall, the Democrats of the 15th Senatorial district had 
 nominated Isaiah Blood for Senator, .against Tefmak 
 Gr. YouiTGLOVE, it was known that a most desperate effort 
 would be made to wrest this district, notwithstanding its 
 two thousand majority, from the Eepublicans. To do this 
 it was, first of all, necessary that the Democrats of each 
 Assembly district should nominate their strongest and 
 most popular man. Nor were the Eepublicans ignorant 
 of the nature of the contest on which they were entering, 
 and the necessity for a like care in the selection of their 
 candidates. In Montgomery county, the Democratic Con- 
 vention, having in view the necessity for the wisest action 
 and the strongest possible candidate, nominated James 
 SHAiq-AHAN, of Tribe's Hill. The result' justified the 
 selection. He received a majority of six hundred over his 
 Eepublican competitor ; changing the majority on the State 
 ticket from two hundred Eepublican (as it was in 1868) to 
 nearly four hundred Democratic. 
 
 Mr. Shanahas" is an effective worker, a man of cool 
 judgment and remarkable energy; a careful observer of 
 men and things, and is possessed of untiring perseverance. 
 
 The estimate in which he is held in the House may be 
 judged from the fact that, although a new member, he has 
 been placed on two of the most important committees, 
 viz. : the Committee on Canals, and the Sub-Committee of 
 the Whole. He is also a member of the Committee on 
 Public Printing. 
 
BRINLEY BERING SLEIGHT. 
 
 The subject of this brief sketch was bom at Sag Harbor, 
 Suffolk county, March 11, 1835. His paternal ancestors 
 were among the early Dutch settlers of the Hudson river, 
 and occupied positions of responsibility and trust in the 
 days of the Eevolution. His parents on his mother's side 
 "were prominent among the first English settlers of 'New 
 England and Long Island, and are a branch of a family 
 which traces its ancestry back to the time of the Saxon 
 kings. 
 
 Mr. Sleight was sent at an early age to Washington 
 Institute, New York city, where he remained seyeral years 
 preparing for a collegiate course of study. He subse- 
 quently entered Yale College, and after a full course 
 graduated in good standing in the class of 1858, having 
 received at the hands of his classmates several of the testi- 
 monials which it is customary to confer upon the most 
 popular and deserving of their fellows. 
 
 After graduation, he returned to his native place, and 
 the year following, as editor of the " The Corrector," a 
 weekly newspaper published at Sag Harbor, he established 
 his reputation as an easy and graceful writer. He has 
 since continued his labors in this direction with honor 
 and credit to himself and the profession. Although still 
 editing and publishing "The Corrector," he has also 
 embarked in several other like enterprises. In 1860 he 
 established a campaign daily at Sag Harbor, a paper which 
 obtained considerable eminence, and whose pungent and 
 terse editorials ran the entire round of the Democratic 
 press of the day. In 1865 he bought into " The Schoharie 
 
320 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Eepublican," and continued his connection with that paper 
 until 1869. 
 
 He received the Democratic nomination for the Assem- 
 bly in the First district of Suffolk county in 1860, and 
 was indorsed by the American party. The district, how- 
 ever, was overwhelmingly against him, and although making 
 a flattering canvass, leading his ticket in all the larger vil- 
 lages, yet he was beaten by a considerable majority. In 
 1869 the Democrats again placed him in nomination, and 
 he ran so far ahead of his ticket that he was elected, not- 
 withstanding the State ticket was successful on the opposite 
 side. In his own village he led the State ticket 168 votes. 
 Other localities showed a similar result, and this was all 
 the more gratifying from the fact that his opponent was 
 considered a very strong candidate, and had been twice 
 elected Clerk of the county. 
 
 Mr. Sleight early took a deep interest, not only in 
 general politics, but in every measure calculated to advance 
 the interests of his locality. He was one of the first 
 members of the Board of Education of Sag Harbor, and 
 for several years its secretary. 
 
 In political principles, he is a strict adherent of the 
 Democratic faith, but is considered moderate rather than 
 extreme or intolerant in his views ; of pleasing presence and 
 courteous address, he retains, wherever known, a popu- 
 larity which commenced with early boyhood, and meets 
 with the consideration always accorded to the gentleman 
 of generous instincts and culture. 
 
 He is a member of the committees on Insurance, 
 Engrossed Bills, and Indian Affairs. 
 
GUSTAVUS SNIPER. 
 
 General Skipek, the representative of the Third district 
 of Onondaga county, was born in Baden, Germany, June 
 11, 1836. He emigrated to this country with his parents 
 when he was about five years old, and as he approached 
 mature years became a tobacconist, in which business he 
 was engaged when the Rebellion was inaugurated. 
 
 On the first call to arms, in 1861, he raised a company, 
 but failed to get his position, as the quota was full; he 
 then raised a company for the 101st N. Y. V., as Captain, 
 was promoted to Major before he left the State, and after- 
 ward was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel on the field. 
 He served with the regiment until it was consolidated 
 with the 37th N. Y. V., and was then mustered out of ser- 
 vice. In August, 1864, he assisted in raising the 185th N. 
 Y. v., was appointed its Lieutenant-Colonel, and served as 
 such until February 1, 1865 ; was then promoted to Colonel, 
 and held that position until the close of the Rebellion. He 
 was brevetted Brigadier- General TJ. S. Yols. for meritorious 
 services March 29, 1865. He was with his regiment during 
 its entire service, participating in all its engagements, seven 
 in number, and some of them the most severe of the war. 
 In the action of the 39th of March, at ihe Quaker Road, 
 the regiment suffered severely, and, at one trying point. 
 Colonel Snipek grasped the colors just as the fourth color- 
 bearer was shot down, and shouting cheering words of 
 encouragement to his men, led them to victory. Includ- 
 ing those on the Peninsula with the 101st, he participated 
 in twenty regular battles. 
 
 General Sniper is an attentive and studious member of 
 
 the House. 
 
 41 
 
WILLIAM W. SNOW. 
 
 Mr. Snow was born in Heath, Franklin county, Massa- 
 chusetts, April 27, 1813. He is of English-Irish extrac- 
 tion. His mother was a finely educated woman ; she died 
 when he was born. His father was a good, plain, business 
 man, and was engaged in woollen manufacturing, at which 
 the son also worked when a boy, except when attending 
 the common school arid the academy. The boy was left at 
 seventeen, by the death of his father, to look out for his 
 own welfare. At nineteen he left home, and came into the 
 State of New York, working his own way without the aid 
 of relatives and acquaintances. At twenty years of age 
 he located in the town of Oneonta, Ostego county, 
 where he has resided ever since. For ten years he was 
 engaged in the woollen trade ; since that time he has been 
 engaged in law matters and farming. 
 
 When Mr. Snow was twenty-five he was elected Super- 
 visor of his town. He was elected to the Legislature in 
 1843, on the Democratic ticket, from Ostego county, run- 
 ning 300 ahead of his ticket. As a member of the Com- 
 mitttee on Joint Library, he rendered good service in 
 eflfecting the passage of a bill reorganizing the library, and 
 making appropriations for books. Mr. Snow, in the divi- 
 sion of the Democratic party, was known as a Hunker. He 
 was elected to Congress in 1850, from the district composed 
 of Ostego and Schoharie counties. He was a faithful 
 working member; but made few speeches, the only one 
 of importance being a speech in defense of what was 
 known as Bennett's Land Bill. 
 
"WILLIAM W. SNOW. 323 
 
 He was associated in Congress with Johit C. Bbeck- 
 
 EKTKIDGE, HUMPHREY MARSHALL, JeFF. jJAVIS, IsHAM 
 
 L. Harris, and other prominent secessionists, and under- 
 stood their views as regards a separation of the States. He 
 opposed their doctrines, and told them, in private, if they 
 attempted to form a confederacy they would " get a big 
 thrashing" — and they got it ! 
 
 When Fort Sumter was fired upon he took open and 
 strong ground in defense of the stars and stripes ; and 
 aided by public speeches and money in raising men to 
 defend our common heritage. He was instrumental in 
 getting up the Seventy-sixth regiment of infantry, also the 
 Third N. Y. Cavalry. His oldest son enlisted as a private, 
 without a bounty, for three years, and was honorably dis- 
 charged with a Captain's commission, never having been 
 in a hospital, nor had a furlough. 
 
 Mr. S2<row was the confidential correspondent of Gov. 
 "Wii. L. Maect, pending his being a candidate for the 
 nomination for President, at the time Gen. Pieroe was 
 nominated. He also was Mr. Marct's friend for the 
 Cabinet appointment of Secretary of State. 
 
 Mr. Skow knew Mr. Marcy well, and received very 
 friendly confidential letters from him. He was occasion- 
 ally before him for two years, attending to matters as 
 attorney, that came before his department, for settlement, 
 while Secretary of State. He was attorney for the owners 
 of the steamship Black Warrior, which was taken by the 
 Spanish Government at Havana ; also attorney for the own- 
 ers of the ship Defiance, 'N. Y., which was unlawfully 
 seized by the Peruvian Government; also attorney for 
 Hakgouse & Co., N. Y., who held, in connection with 
 Messrs. Asplekculles, the three million Mexican bonds, 
 issued by President Santa Anna, on the faith of being 
 paid by our Government when the boundary line should 
 
324 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 be settled as regarded New Mexico and California. Mr- 
 Snow was elected to the Assembly from the Second dis- 
 trict of Otsego county, which gave, the year previous, 
 three hundred and fifty Eepublican majority. But his 
 personal popularity elected him by sixty-five majority. 
 He serves on the committees on Eailroads and State Char- 
 itable Institutions, and is chairman of the Committee on 
 Indian Affairs. Mr. Sirow is one of the most energetic 
 and popular citizens in Oneonta. He was among the first 
 to see the benefits resulting from the construction of the 
 Albany and Susquehanna railroad, and has always been 
 its efiScient friend, contributing time, money and attention 
 to its interests. 
 
 EGBERT ROSS STEELE. 
 
 Mr. Steele's distant paternal ancestors were Irish, and 
 his maternal ancestors were English ; but his immediate 
 ancestors, both paternal and maternal, were natives of 
 New Jersey. Mr. Steele was born December 13, 1805, in 
 the town of Bridgewater, Somerset county, New Jersey. 
 His father, Alexander Steele, served in the New Jersey 
 militia during the Eevolutionary war, under General FrEt 
 lin&htjtsen^ and others. He was in the battle at Mon- 
 mouth and Springfield, and others of less importance. In 
 a sortie under Lord Stekliitg, on a British post on Staten 
 Island, he captured an English musket from the enemy 
 which is still retained in the family as a memento of those 
 times. 
 
 Mr. Steele's grandfather, on the maternal side, also par- 
 ticipated in the struggle of the Eevolution, and was taken 
 
EOBEET BOSS STEELE. 325 
 
 prisoner and carried to New York, being afterwards 
 liberated. 
 
 Mr. Steele emigrated with his parents, when about nine 
 years old, to Seneca county, W. Y., where he now resides. 
 After receiving an education in the common schools, he, 
 at the age of seventeen, returned to his native State, and 
 entered a country store as a clerk. In his twenty-fifth 
 year he established himself in mercantile business at the 
 same place, on his own account, where he continued in 
 business until the year 1840. In 1830, he married a most 
 estimable lady (Miss Amanda Tatlob), who is still living, 
 and highly esteemed. After a quite successful career of 
 business in New Jersey, and filling the most important 
 offices in the town, Mr. Steele again moved to Seneca 
 county in 1840, and established himself in mercantile 
 business, where he has continued to reside until the pres- 
 ent time. 
 
 Mr. Steele, since residing in Eomulus, has conducted 
 regularly a large and profitable business, giving it his per- 
 sonal attention. His sons have all been educated to the 
 same business. He also owns a farm of 300 acres, situated 
 near him. In all his business his firm maintains a high 
 standing and credit ; he has never had a note dishonored, 
 and seldom asks for a discount. His chief pride is in his 
 good name as a merchant and successful business man, an 
 example which he hopes to transmit unimpaired to his 
 children. 
 
 In politics, Mr. Steele is a Democrat. His first vote 
 was given for General Jackson". He has been Postmaster 
 at Eomulus for several years, and Supervisor of his town 
 a number of times. He was for three years Treasurer of 
 Seneca county, and was member of Assembly in 1853, 
 serving on the Committee of Cities and Villages, also on 
 the Select Committee to Eeport Bills Complete. Mr. Steele 
 
O'JO LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 is the only member returned for a second term from Seneca 
 county, for the past thirty years. He serves on the com- 
 mittees on Canals and State Charitable Institutions. 
 During the war he was active in sustaining the Govern- 
 ment, and aided in procuring recruits, and was appointed 
 by General MoEGAif to superintend the enrollment of his 
 town. 
 
 THOMAS STEVENSON. 
 
 Mr. STEVBifSoir, the member for the First district of 
 Washington county, was born in Salem, where he resides, 
 October 27, 1831. He is an enterprising farmer and a con- 
 scientious member of the House. He was formerly a Whig, 
 afterward became identified with the American party, and 
 is now an active and eflBcient Republican. He has labored 
 strenuously to advance the interests of his county, espe- 
 cially in regard to the canals, and has faithfully and 
 honorably represented his constituents. 
 
 , EDWAED STURGES. 
 
 Edwakd Stttkges, of Germantown, is a farmer, and has 
 twice been elected to represent the First district of Columbia 
 county in the Assembly. He was born in Copake — one of 
 the towns of which his district is composed — in the year 
 1833. He is, therefore, at the present time about forty-seven 
 years old, iu the full prime of mental and physical power. 
 
SILAS SWEET. 327 
 
 His life has been one of hard work, and his advantages in 
 boyhood's days were few. Bu-t his industry has been re- 
 warded, and his success has been commensurate with his 
 efforts. 
 
 Mr. Stukges is a Democrat of the straightest sect. He 
 believes heartily in the principles of his party, and is con- 
 sistent in their advocacy. He served in the Legislature of 
 1869 on the Committee on Internal Affairs. In the present 
 House he is a member of the committees on Expenditures 
 of the Executive Department, on Internal Affairs, and on 
 State Charitable Institutions. 
 
 SILAS SWEET. 
 
 Silas Sweet, the Assemblyman from Schoharie, was 
 born at Kensselaerville, Albany county, on the 31st of 
 March, 1833. He was educated at the New York Confer- 
 ence Seminary. He is by occupation a merchant, and 
 resides at the village of North Blenheim. 
 
 He was five times elected Supervisor of his town, and 
 for three years was Chairman of the Board of Supervisors 
 in his county. 
 
 He was elected to the Assembly last fall by the Demo- 
 cratic party, with which he has always acted. His major- 
 ity was 1,542, being a gain of more than a hundred on the 
 majority of the preceding year. 
 
 He serves upon the committees on Charitable and Eelig- 
 ious Societies, and on Public Education. 
 
 Mr. Sweet is a conscientious and worthy man, a good 
 presiding officer, and is well educated. His popularity at 
 home is assured, and he stands a fair prospect of becoming 
 better known in the councils of the State. 
 
NATHAN R. TEFT. 
 
 Mr. Tefft, the representatire of the Second district of 
 Onondaga county, was born in Greenwich, Washington 
 county, December 35, 1808. He received his education in 
 Lansingburgh, and became a physician and surgeon. For 
 about two years of the war, he was connected with the One 
 Hundred and Twenty-second regiment. New York State 
 "Volunteers, in which capacity his professional skill allevi- 
 ated the physical sufferings of the unfortunate, while his 
 kindliness of manner won for him the affections of the men. 
 He was formerly a Democrat, but left that party " when it 
 left him." He stands deservedly high in the confidence 
 and esteem of the House, and wields a strong influence. 
 
 JOHN TIGHE. 
 
 Mr. Tighe's boyhood was remarkable for singular 
 adventures and unusual experiences. He was born in 
 county Sligo, Ireland, on the 12th day of September, 1837. 
 His father is a physician, who acquired and still maintains 
 a wide reputation, in Ireland, in the specialty of cancer- 
 curing. His grandfather, who was also a doctor, was a 
 man of such wonderful physical power that his fame as 
 an athlete extended through all the counties round about 
 Sligo. He once hurled a sledge over a four-story building, 
 a feat remembered to this day by admiring descendants 
 and their neighbors. 
 
JOHN TIGHE. 329 
 
 When John was four years old his parents emigrated to 
 Canada, and resided for one year and a half at Quebec. 
 Afterward they returned to Ireland, but, in 1848, came to 
 America again, and, landing in New York, proceeded to 
 Troy, where, after a short stay, they went to Hamilton, 
 C. W. Here John atttended school until he had reached 
 the age of fourteen, when he was apprenticed to the coach- 
 trimmers' trade. Becoming dissatisfied after a time with 
 his " boss," and feeling that he was unfairly used, John 
 quietly packed his scant luggage one night, and took 
 '■ French leaye " of his master. He came to Troy, N. Y. 
 He subsequently removed to "West Troy. In 1859 he came 
 to Albany and opened a liquor store. In 1860 he took up 
 his residence at Green Island, where he remained for three 
 years, during which time he served one term in the Board 
 of Trustees of the village. In 1863 he moved to Cohoes, 
 where he purchased a brewery, which he still owns and 
 manages. In 1868 he was nominated for the Assembly 
 by the Democrats of the Fourth district of Albany county, 
 and was elected by a majority of 484 He served as a 
 member of the Committee oh Affairs of Villages, and, 
 although not a ready debater, he acquired a good reputation 
 as a legislator. He was re-elected in 1869 by a majority 
 of 271. He serves in the present Assembly on the Com- 
 mittee on Claims and also on Public Printing. 
 
 Mr. TiGHB is a man of fine personal appearance, of 
 great energy and perseverance, of fair ability and of 
 unquestioned integrity. 
 
 42 
 
HIKAM VAN STEENBUKGH. 
 
 HiKAM Van Stbbnbuegh was born on tlie lOtli day of 
 March, 1817, in East Durham, Greene county. He was 
 educated in the district school of his native village. He 
 subsequently removed to Catskill, where he now resides, 
 and where he is engaged in business as an ice dealer. 
 
 The changes in Mr. Vast Steenbuegh's political opin- 
 ions have been somewhat remarkable, but it is simple justice 
 to him to say that he was an earnest and honest believer 
 in each political creed — while he held it. At first he was 
 a Whig, then he became a Know-Ifothing. He was op- 
 posed to the war for the Union. He is now a Democrat. 
 He was elected to the Assembly last November by a ma- 
 jority of 930. He serves upon the committees on Trade 
 and Manufactures, and on Public Lands. 
 
 EDWARD 0. WALKER. 
 
 Mr. Walkeb was born in Byron, Genesee county, N. Y., 
 on the 14th day of June, 1837; graduated at Genesee 
 College in 1861, and soon after attended the Law school 
 at Albany ; was admitted to the practice of law the same 
 year, and has since resided in Batavia, where he has been 
 engaged in his profession, and in attending to his own 
 private business. In 1868 he was elected member of 
 Assembly from Genesee county, and was chairman of the 
 
JOHN HENRY WHITE. 331 
 
 Committee on Public Education. In 1869 he was unani- 
 mously nominated by the Republican party, and elected by 
 a large majority; this year being placed again on the 
 Committee on Public Education and also on Banks. He 
 is a gentleman of broad views, keen discrimination, sound 
 political judgment, and strict principle. 
 
 GEORGE N. WEST. 
 
 Mr. West was born in Cayuga county, September 25, 
 1820. He received a common school education, and after- 
 ward engaged in the mercantile business in West Valley, 
 Cattaraugus county. Receiving the confidence of the 
 administration, he was appointed Postmaster six years 
 since, in which capacity he rendered entire satisfaction. 
 He has been Supervisor two years, serving the people with 
 marked fidelity. He was formerly a Whig, and united with 
 the Republican party on its formation. He is zealous and 
 scrupulous in the discharge of every trust reposed in him. 
 
 JOHN HENRY WHITE, 
 
 Mr. White was born in Chesterfield, Cheshire county. 
 State of New Hampshire, December 16, 1821. At an early 
 age, his parents removed from New Hampshire, first to 
 Washington county in this State, and soon thereafter to 
 Hoosick Falls, Rensselaer county, where his parents con- 
 tinued to reside until the death of his father, which took 
 
332 LIFE SKETCHES. " 
 
 place about thirteen years ago. His mother and an only 
 brother, Hon. Marshall F. White, who represented the 
 Second district in that county in Assembly, in the years 
 1866 and 1867, still resides in that Tillage, and an only sis- 
 ter (Mrs. Charles H. Eobijstson') resides in Wilmington, 
 'S. 0. Mr. White received an academic education at Ben- 
 nington, Vt., and subsequently, in the year 1840, entered, 
 as a student, the Eensselaer Institute, at Troy, 'N. Y., where 
 he graduated under the professorship of the late Amos 
 Eatoist, receiving from Professor Eatok a special letter of 
 commendation, and was offered a tutorship in that insti- 
 tution. ^ 
 
 It was the intention of Mr. White to make civil engi- 
 neering his profession, but the depressed condition of public 
 improvements at that time made it, in that branch of pub- 
 lic service, extremely difl&cult to obtain, and he returned 
 to Hoosick Falls, where he engaged in mercantile pursuits 
 until the year 1842, when he sold out his interests to his 
 then partner, and removed to the city of Troy, where he 
 commenced the study of the law. 
 
 His studies were more or less interrupted during his 
 residence in Troy ; first, by having been elected Librarian 
 of the Troy Young Men's Association, which office he 
 held for two years ; and second, by an absence of several 
 months on a business excursion through the southern and 
 southwestern States. 
 
 On his return from the South in the spring of 1846, he 
 again resumed his studies ; but, soon after, July 1847, receiv- 
 ing an advantageous offer from a law firm in New York, he 
 removed to that city, where he has since resided. He was 
 admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in the winter of 
 1848, since which time he has made the practice of his 
 profession his sole business. In the fall of 1849- he was 
 elected to the Assembly from the First Assembly district 
 
JOHN HBNEY WHITE. 333 
 
 in the city of New York, on the Whig ticket, his first vote 
 haying been cast for Henry Clat. After being in the 
 Legislature one term, 1850, he was the following year 
 elected School Commissioner for the First ward, which 
 ofiBce he held until he removed from that ward. 
 
 In 1852 he ran on the Whig ticket as one of the candi- 
 dates for Judge of the Marine Court, and although run- 
 ning largely ahead of his ticket, he was defeated by a small 
 majority. 
 
 In 1854 he ran for Recorder of the city of New York, 
 and, although he received upwards of one thousand more 
 votes than were cast for the Whig Electoral ticket (Gen. 
 Scott), he was defeated by a greatly reduced majority. 
 
 In 1856 he was again put in nomination for the office of 
 City Judge, but unfortunately the Republicans nominated 
 an independent candidate, which drew ofi" from Mr. White 
 several thousand votes, and made the election of either 
 candidate hopeless. Mr. White, however, polled ten thou- 
 sand more votes than the regular Republican candidate, 
 and could have been easily elected, but for the fact that 
 the Republican and old Whig votes became divided. Since 
 that time, although Mr. White has been an active partici- 
 pant in the political contests that have taken place, he has 
 steadily refused to run for any public ofiSce, until his nom- 
 ination last fall for member of Assembly, and this nomina- 
 tion he accepted more as a duty, than from any desire on 
 his part to be returned to the Assembly. The district he 
 represents had been represented by a Democrat for the two 
 previous years, Mr. White asserting that the district ought 
 to be carried by the Republicans. In order to afford him 
 an opportunity to make good his statement, he was put in 
 nomination only five days before the election, and the result 
 showed that the district could be carried by the Eepubli- 
 cahs, with proper effort, for Mr. White was elected 
 
334 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 by upwards of 300 majority over his Democratic oppo- 
 nent. 
 
 His district is known as the Fifth Avenue district, a por- 
 tion of it taking in Fifth avenue as far as Fortieth street, 
 which is strongly Eepublican, but another portion, which 
 takes in a part of the Twentieth ward, is strongly Demo- 
 cratic, thus making the district a very close one in its polit- 
 ical characteristics. 
 
 Mr. White has been a member of the Republican Gen- 
 eral Committee for more than ten successive years; has 
 frequently represented his district in State conventions, 
 and has never been an aspirant for any State or Federal 
 office. He was an active participant in all the movements 
 which took place in the city of New York to raise troops, 
 develop Union sentiment, and thwart the machinations 
 of the disloyal element. He was chairman of the Sub- 
 Committee which developed the frauds which were proven 
 before the Congressional Committee to have taken place in 
 the canvass of 1868, by means of which fraudulent voting 
 through repeaters and naturalization, frauds were perpe- 
 trated by the thousands, and demonstrated, that General 
 Grant lost the electoral vote of the State of New York 
 through and by means of a system of gigantic frauds. 
 
 Mr. White is a careful and prudent legislator, attentive 
 to his duties, consistent and conscientious in their per- 
 formance, speaks forcibly and with logical conclusiveness, 
 always eonimanding the attention and respect of the mem- 
 bers. Being the only Eepublican member from New York 
 city, his responsibilty has been very great, and he has dis- 
 charged it with strict fidelity. His constituency really 
 embrace the whole island, with all its diversified interests 
 and wants. He has sought to act so as should prove of 
 advantage to the metropolis, with intelligence and energy. 
 
DAVID E. WILSON, 
 
 Mr. Wilson was born in Bristol, Ontario county, Sep- 
 tember 30, 1836. He was educated at Genesee College, 
 and then studied for the legal profession, but abandoned 
 his intentions and engaged in the more healthy avocation 
 of farming. Mr. "Wilson has received many flattering 
 evidences of the confidence of his fellow-citizens. 
 
 He was Town Clerk of Bristol in 1857 and 1858 ; School 
 Commissioner m 1859 and 1863, and now holds the ofiice 
 of Justice of the Peace. In these several positions his de- 
 votion to the best interests of the people, and strict integ- 
 rity of conduct, won for him the entire confidence of his 
 fellow-citizens, and caused his advancement to his present 
 honorable post of duty, where he has shown himself deserv- 
 ing their warmest commendation. 
 
 ORANGE SACKETT WINANS. 
 
 Mr. WiNANS, who represents the Second Assembly dis- 
 trict of Chautauqua county, was' born in the town of Chili, 
 Monroe county. New York, on the 37th of March, 1839. 
 His father, Elisha Winans, was one of the pioneers of 
 Western New York, having settled in Chili when it was a 
 dense wilderness, and the city of Rochester consisted of 
 one log cabin. The Winanses are of Dutch descent, their 
 ancestors having settled in Dutchess and Columbia coun- 
 ties, where many of that name still reside. 
 
336 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 Okahtge S. Winans, the youngest of nine children, all 
 of whom are now liying, is of sanguine temperament, and 
 of an hereditary strong and vigorous constitution. Hav- 
 ing early evinced a desire for mental culture, he was sent, 
 at the age of ten years, to a select school at Batavia, New 
 York ; and, at fifteen, to the G-enesee Wesleyan Seminary, 
 at Lima, New York. There he soon became a member of 
 the " Lyceum Association " connected with that institu- 
 tion, and was recognized as a forcible and leading debater. 
 Mathematics was his favorite study, and he thoroughly 
 mastered all its branches up to differential and integral 
 calculus, becoming proficient in civil engineering and sur- 
 veying. 
 
 Mr. WiHTAurs left- school at twenty, and soon afterwards 
 married and settled at Leroy, N. Y. In 1850, on the 
 opening of the Erie railway, he engaged in mercantile 
 business at Hornellsville, N. Y. He removed to Dunkirk, 
 however, in 1852, where he now resides, and engaged with 
 the Erie railway in the freight traffic department, with 
 which he is still connected. In consequence of his pro- 
 longed residence in Dunkirk, and from the nature of his 
 business, he has become acquainted with a large portion 
 of the electors of his district. In the successive years of 
 1867 and 1868, he was nominated by the Republicans for 
 the office of President of the village ; and though the place 
 was Democratic, yet he was elected over the most persist- 
 ent opposition. The vote of his town, at the recent elec- 
 tion, demonstrated his local popularity ; and the gain of 
 four hundred and eighteen over the Assembly vote of 
 1868, as well as the fact, that he ran far ahead of the 
 regular ticket, are alike indicative of his political strength. 
 He serves on the Committee on Internal Affairs. 
 
 Duri^ng the late rebellion he gave generously and liber- 
 ally of his means to support the government, and was 
 
ANSON S. WOOD. 337 
 
 among the most active in sending men and supplies to the 
 soldiers in the field. Public spirited and always watchful 
 of the wants and necessities of his locality, he has always 
 been foremost in securing Government aid and appro- 
 priations. 
 
 Of superior executive ability and energy, of persistent 
 zeal in the cause of justice, and possessed of an organiza 
 tion which renders his decisions bold and decisive, he has 
 met the most sanguine expectations of his constituency. 
 
 ANSON S, WOOD. 
 
 AKSOif S. Wood was born in the town of Camillus, 
 Onondaga county, N. Y., on the 23d day of October, 1834. 
 His grandfather, Nathan Wood, was one of the first 
 settlers of that town, having moved there from Milton, 
 Saratoga county, in 1802. His father, Alvin Wood, was at 
 that time eight years old. In 1842 his father moved to 
 Butler, Wayne county, where he has since resided. His 
 mother, Fanny Woodworth, was born in Goshen, Conn., 
 and is a genuine Yankee. His father came from old 
 English stock. 
 
 Mr. Wood received an academic education at Eed Creek 
 Union Academy, and in the spring of 1853 he entered a 
 law office in Syracuse, N. Y., where he remained till fall. 
 He taught school winters, and the two following summers 
 read law in Clyde, N. Y., first with 0. D. Lawton", Esq., 
 afterward with Hon. L. S. Ketchum, then County Judge 
 and Surrogate of Wayne county. He attended the Law 
 School at Albany in the fall of 1865, and at the December 
 term of the Supreme Court that year was admitted to the 
 43 
 
338 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 bar. He first opened a law ofifice at Soutli Butler, in the 
 town of Butler, Wayne county, in January, 1856, and in 
 March of that year was elected Superintendent of Common 
 Schools for the town by a large majority. In July, 1856, 
 he removed to Lyons, the county seat, and formed a law 
 partnership with Hon. Wm. Olabk, late State Senator, with 
 whom, and the Hon D. W. Parshall, late member of As- 
 sembly, he remained in the practice of his profession until 
 September, 1863. During this time he was twice elected 
 Town Clerk by large majorities, each time running far 
 ahead of his ticket. 
 
 In September, 1863, he entered the service as First Lieu- 
 tenant of " D " Company, 138th New York Volunteer 
 Infantry. This regiment was' afterwards known as the 
 9th New York Volunteer Artillery. Soon after the regi- 
 ment reached Washington he was made Adjutant, in 
 which position he served till July, 1863, when he was pro- 
 moted to Captain and sent on duty to the draft rendez- 
 vous at Elmira, N. Y., where he remained till May, 1864. 
 While at Elmira he served in several positions, and for 
 the last two months as Assistant Adjutant General of the 
 post. Being relieved from duty at Elmira, at his own 
 request, he joined his regiment, and commanded his com- 
 pany in the battles at Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Monocacy 
 and Sheridan's first fight at Winchester and Eisher's 
 Hill. In October, 1864, he was placed upon the staff of 
 General J. B. Eicketts, commanding 3d Division, 6th 
 Army Corps; and as such participated in the battle of 
 Cedar Creek, having a horse shot under him. He received 
 a flattering mention for gallantry in the report of the 
 Division commander. In the fight. General Eicketts 
 was severely wounded; and, shortly after. General Sey- 
 mour took command. Mi-. Wood was then made Judge- 
 Advocate of the Division, and served as such till some 
 
ANSON S. WOOD. 839 
 
 time in March, 1865. In February, 1865, he was made 
 Major of his regiment, and as such participated in the 
 taking of Petersburg and capture of Lee's Army. He 
 was made Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet for gallant and 
 meritorious services before Petersburg. In May, 1865, 
 the same day his regiment was ordered to be mustered out, 
 he resigned and returned home. 
 
 In the fall of 1865, he purchased a farm in Butler, on 
 which he resided till March, 1869, when he moved to Wol- 
 cott, where he resumed the law practice and yet resides. 
 In the spring of 1866, he was elected Supervisor of Butler 
 In March, 1867, he was appointed Assistant Assessor of 
 United States Internal Eevenue, performing the duties 
 until October, 1869, when he resigned. 
 
 He was put in nomination for the Assembly without 
 solicitation on his part, and with a view to strengthen the 
 ticket. At the election he ran largely ahead of his ticket 
 in his own town, but in the district fell behind the State 
 ticket, but was several hundred ahead of the candidate for 
 county clerk. 
 
 Col. Wood is an able speaker, and a lawyer of marked 
 abilities. He is vigilant and incorruptible. It is no 
 empty or unmeaning phrase when we say, that notwith- 
 standing the boldness, independence and determination of 
 his actions, Mr. "Wood is justly regarded as possessed of 
 capacities and powers which will achieve for him yet 
 higher honors and triumphs. 
 
CHAELES S. WRIGHT. 
 
 Mr. Wright represents the First Assembly district of 
 Monroe county, from which he was first elected to the 
 Legislature of 1860, running against Hon. Jarvis Lord, 
 who had formerly been member of Assembly from that 
 district. He was a member of the Committee on Banks, 
 in the House of '69. His legislative career was unspotted 
 by any act which was tainted with corruption, and was 
 marked by diligent attention, prompt attendance upon the 
 sessions of the House, and ofiicial industry. His course was 
 rewarded with a re-election over Horatio G. Warner, by 
 418 majority. 
 
 Mr. Wright's native place is the town of Bennington, 
 Genesee county, New York, where he was born June 19 
 1831. His parents were natives of Massachusetts. When 
 he was thirteen years old he was deprived of his mother by 
 death, and from that time he was compelled to provide for 
 himself This aflliction was sorely felt by him, mere boy 
 that he was, and made life wear a dark look for him 
 for a long time. But the buoyancy of youth aided him in 
 overcoming his grief, and enabled him to grapple with the 
 severe realities of life. He by degrees became " master of 
 the situation," and in reality was the "architect of his 
 own fortune." His occupation has been that of agricul- 
 tural pursuits ; and it has been successfully followed. 
 
 A common school education, combined with the general 
 information which a wide-awake man easily gathers from 
 day to day, has enabled him to act and live intelligently, 
 and to discharge the duties of public positions conferred 
 on him. 
 
JAMES YOUNG. 341 
 
 In 1855 Mr. Weight was elected Commissioner of 
 Highways for the town of Webster. He was Overseer of 
 the Poor from 1856 to 1859, inclusive, and was Supervisor 
 of Webster in 1860, '64, '65, '66 and '68. During three 
 years of that time, his efforts for the prosecution of the 
 war were particularly effective, and were highly satisfac- 
 tory to his constituents. 
 
 Mr. Wright serves on the committees on Agriculture 
 and Federal Eelations. 
 
 JAMES YOUNG. 
 
 James Young, who represents the First district of 
 Otsego county in the Assembly, unites the calling of a 
 farmer and the profession of a lawyer. 
 
 He was born in Springfield, a town which forms part of 
 his district, on the 6th day of March, 1823. He attended 
 the district school of his native village, and subsequently 
 graduated at the Fairfield Academy, one of the oldest and 
 most popular seminaries in the State. After leaving school 
 he entered upon the study of law, and was admitted to 
 practice. He has resided for many years in the town of 
 Cherry Valley. He has been elected Supervisor four times, 
 and the last year served as Chairman of the Board. He is 
 a reliable and thorough-going Democrat. In the year 1864 
 he represented his district in the Assembly. He was 
 elected to the Legislature last N"ovember by a majority of 
 153, although the Eepublicans had carried the district the 
 previous year by a majority of 68. He serves upon the 
 committees on Roads and Bridges and on Engrossed Bills. 
 
CORNELIUS W. ARMSTRONG, 
 
 CLEKK OF THE ASSEMBLY. 
 
 Mr. Armstkons is of Scotch and English descent. He 
 was born in Hoosick, Kensselaer county, December 18, 
 1827. He received a first rate common school education, 
 and at the age of sixteen became a clerk, in Penn Yan, 
 Yates county, where he remained about four years, and 
 then removed to Wayne county. He subsequently located 
 in the city of Albany, where he has been engaged in the 
 produce commission business for twenty years. He is one 
 of the most successful merchants of the city, driving his 
 business with energy, and exercising careful judgment in 
 its direction. He is a gentleman of sterling probity of 
 character, respected for his many public virtues by all. 
 He is a public spirited citizen, and Albany is deeply in- 
 debted to him for its prosperity. He received the honor 
 of an election to the Presidency of the Board of Trade, in 
 
 1867, an organization noted for the sterling character of 
 the men it intrusts with responsibilities, as well as for the 
 thrift, liberality and enterprise of its members. 
 
 Politically, Mr. Armstrong has always been an uncom- 
 promising Democrat of the hard shell school, so that there 
 was never any difficulty in placing him. He was a mem- 
 ber of the Assembly in 1858, in which body he was recog- 
 nized as one of its most able and influential members, and 
 was an acknowledged leader of his party. He was nomi- 
 nated for Canal Commissioner in 1865, on the Democratic 
 ticket, but failed of an election. He served as Clerk in 
 
 1868, when his systematic business habits kept the Clerk's 
 desk and room in the utmost order, and enabled him to 
 
CORNELIUS W. AEMSTEONG. 343 
 
 discharge the immense amoimt of lahor which devolved 
 upon him with ready dispatch and entire satisfaction. 
 His executive talents are of a high order. His voice is 
 penetrating, though not so heavy as some of his predeces- 
 sors in office. He is prepossessing in appearance, tall and 
 well proportioned. 
 
MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. 
 
 irUMBBR OF THEIR RESPECTIVE DISTRICTS, AND THE COUNTIES AND 
 WARDS COMPOSING THE SAME. 
 
 Lieut-Oovernor Allen C. Beach, Watertown, Jefferson Co. 
 Dist. Counties and Wards. Senators. 
 
 1. Counties of SufiTolk, Queens and Richmond Samuel H. Fbost. 
 
 2. First, Second, Tliird, Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, 
 
 Eleventh, Thirteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth and 
 Twentieth wards of the city of Brooklyn, in the 
 county of Kings Jakss F. Pieeck, 
 
 3. Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth, Fourteenth, 
 
 Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Twenty-first 
 and Twenty-second wards of the city of Brook- 
 lyn, and the towns of Flatbnsh, Flatlands, Graves- 
 end, New Lots and New Utrecht, of the county 
 of Kings Henry C. Mtjephy, 
 
 4. First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, 
 
 Thirteenth and Fourteenth wards of the city and 
 
 county of New York William M. Tweed. 
 
 5. Eighth, Ninth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth wards of the 
 
 city and county of New York Michael Noston. 
 
 6. Eleventh. Tenth and Seventeenth wards of the city 
 
 and county of New York Thomas J. Cbeameb. 
 
 7. Eighteenth, Twentieth and Twenty-first wards of 
 
 the city and county of New York John J. Beadley. 
 
 8. Twelfth, Nineteenth and Twenty-second wards of 
 
 the city and county of New York Henky W. Genet. 
 
 0. Counties of Westchester, Putnam and Rockland William Cauldwkll. 
 
 10. Counties of Orange and Sullivan William M. Gbahau, 
 
 11. Counties of Dutchess and Columbia Geoege Morgan. 
 
 12. Counties of Rensselaer and Washington Francis S. Thayer. 
 
 13. County of Albany A. Bleisckeb Banks. 
 
 44 
 
346 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 i4. Countiea of Greene and Ulster 'Jacob Haedknbubgh. 
 
 x5. Counties of Saratoga, Montgomery, Fulton, Ham- 
 ilton and ychenectady Isaiah Blood. 
 
 i6. Counties of "Warren, Essex and Clinton Christophkr F. Nokton. 
 
 j7. Counties of St. Lawrence and Franklin Abraham X. Paekee. 
 
 ±8. Counties of Jefferson and Lewis Noeris "Winslow. 
 
 i9. County of Oneida George H. San:fobd. 
 
 20. Counties of Herkimer and Otsego Augustus K. Elwood. 
 
 21. Counties of Oswego and Madison William H. Brand. 
 
 22. Counties of Onondaga and Cortland George N. Kennedy 
 
 2B. Counties of Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie John F. Hubbard, Jr. 
 
 24. Counties of Broome. Tioga and Tompkins Orlow W. Chapman. 
 
 25. Counties of Cayuga and Wayne William B. Woodin. 
 
 26. Counties of Ontario, Yates and Seneca AeeahamV.Harpendinq 
 
 27. Counties of Chemung, Schuyler and Steuben Theodore L. Minier. 
 
 28. County of Monroe „ Jabvis Lord. 
 
 29. Counties of Hlagara, Orleans and Genesee George Bowen. 
 
 30. Counties of Wyoming, Livingston and Allegany James Wood. 
 
 SI. County of Erie Loean L, Lewis. 
 
 32. Counties of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus AliiEX B. Scott. 
 
ALPHABETICAL LIST OF SENATORS, 
 
 THE COUNTIES IN "WHICH THEY RESIDE, POST-OFFICE ADDRESS, AND POLITICS. 
 
 Name of Senator. 
 
 County. 
 
 Post-office address. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 
 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Blood, Isaiah 
 
 Saratoga 
 
 Ballston Spa 
 
 
 Genesee „ 
 
 Batavia 
 
 Bepublican. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Eepublican. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 New York 
 
 
 Brand William H 
 
 Madison 
 
 
 
 Westchester. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 New York.., 
 
 
 
 Richfield Springs 
 
 
 
 Genet Henry "W.. 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Graham, William M 
 
 Orange 
 
 
 
 Ulster „ 
 
 
 Harpending, Abraham V 
 
 Yates 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 Bepublican. 
 
 
 Erie._ 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 
 Monroe „ 
 
 Pittaford 
 
 
 Schuyler 
 
 Havana 
 
 Bepublican. 
 
 
 
 
 • 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Plattsburgh 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ellicottville 
 
 Bepublican. 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 Tweed William M 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 
 Jefferson 
 
 Watertown 
 
 Republican, 
 Republican.^ 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 Woodin William B 
 
 Cayuga 
 
 Auburn 
 
 
 
 
ALPHABETICAL LIST 
 
 OF THE 
 
 MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY, 
 
 "WITH THE DISTRICTS AND COUNTIES THEY REPKESENT, POST-OPEICE 
 ADDIIESS AND POLITICS. 
 
 Hon. WILLIAM HITCHMAN, Speaker, New York. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Name. 
 
 County. 
 
 Post-office address. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 
 Ainswortb, Seymour 
 
 
 Saratoga Springs 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 Onondaga 
 
 Washington 
 
 
 Republicau. 
 Republican. 
 
 2 
 
 
 Conistock's Landing 
 Rockville Centre 
 
 •> 
 
 Baldwin, Francis B 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Schenectady ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 Canaan Pour Cor's.. 
 Mayville 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Chautauqua 
 
 Republicau. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 q 
 
 Bergen, "William G 
 
 New Tork 
 
 New York- 
 
 
 
 
 HoUey 
 
 Republican. 
 
 4 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Erie 
 
 New York 
 
 ^ 
 
 Blossom, Albert H . . 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 1 
 
 Bolt, Alpheus 
 
 Delaware 
 
 St. Lawrence... 
 
 New York 
 
 Chenango 
 
 Maaonville 
 
 ■^ 
 
 Bradford, William 
 
 
 V(l 
 
 
 New York 
 
 
 
 S. Edmeston, Otsego 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 :^ 
 
 Brown, Volney P 
 
 f, 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Jefferson 
 
 
 3 
 
 Butterfield, W. W 
 
 Redwood . 
 
 Kepublioan. 
 
 fi 
 
 Campbell, Timothy J „... 
 Carey, John 
 
 New York 
 
 New Yorlt. 
 
 New York 
 
 7 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat 
 
MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY. 
 
 349 
 
 
 Name. 
 
 County. 
 
 Post-ofBce address. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 a 
 
 Cavanagh, Owen 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 1 
 
 Clark, Hugh N- 
 
 Brooklyn 
 
 New York 
 
 
 V? 
 
 Cook, William "W 
 
 New York 
 
 Schuyler 
 
 
 
 Coon, 'William C 
 
 Burdett 
 
 
 o 
 
 Callen, Henry J., Jr 
 
 Davis, John 
 
 Kings 
 
 Brooklyn 
 
 
 " 
 
 Steuben 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 Davis, J. Thomas 
 
 Eensselaer 
 
 Richmond 
 
 East Greenbush 
 
 Mariner's Harbor ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 De Lano, Clayton H 
 
 
 
 
 Richford 
 
 Republican 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 Stowell's Corners 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ely, William M... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Fult. & Ham... 
 
 New York 
 
 Rensselaer 
 
 New York 
 
 Allegany 
 
 Ulster 
 
 Ephratah, Eult. Co.. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 Flenagin, Charles N 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Rondout 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 Cortland Village 
 
 Buffalo 
 
 Republican. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Erie 
 
 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Saratoga 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Hagadorn's Mills 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 St. Lawrence... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cattaraugus 
 
 Little Valley 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 Hall's Centre 
 
 Highland 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 Hasbrouck, Abraham E. 
 
 Ulster 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 Kings _ 
 
 Williamsburgh 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 14 
 
 Hennessey, John B 
 
 New York 
 
 
 
 Republican, 
 
 
 
 Putnam. 
 
 Brewster's Station.., 
 Fulton 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 2 
 
 Howe, Abraham 
 
 Oswego 
 
 Democrat. 
 
350 
 
 LIFE SKETCHES. 
 
 ■i 
 
 (5 
 
 Name 
 
 County. 
 
 Post-office address. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 
 
 Wyoming 
 
 Westchester.... 
 
 Rensselaer 
 
 New York 
 
 Kings 
 
 Pike- 
 
 Republican 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 Peekaklll 
 
 Republican. 
 
 •> 
 
 
 Lanslngburgh 
 
 Republican, 
 
 Iff 
 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Livingston 
 
 Kings 
 
 East Groveland 
 
 
 
 
 
 if> 
 
 Kiernan, Lawrence D 
 
 Kilham, Leonard C- 
 
 New York 
 
 Madison 
 
 
 
 0, 
 
 Oneida 
 
 Republican. 
 
 'T 
 
 Ulster 
 
 Woodstock 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 Lanahan, Thomas J 
 
 Lawrence, Edward B 
 
 Littlejohn De Witt C 
 
 
 
 
 ? 
 
 Westchester 
 
 East Chester 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Oneida 
 
 Orange 
 
 
 
 
 Lyon, Thomas J 
 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 7 
 
 Maddox, Samuel T 
 
 Martine, Godfrey R 
 
 Merchant, Joseph W 
 
 Miner, David M 
 
 Mitchell, Peter 
 
 Kings „ 
 
 Williamsburgh 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Madison 
 
 De Ruyter 
 
 Republican. 
 
 2 
 
 Oneida. 
 
 
 
 .'> 
 
 New York 
 
 Westchester 
 
 Kings - 
 
 New York 
 
 
 1 
 
 Mooney. James J 
 
 
 
 4 
 
 Moseley. William W 
 
 Mulford, David H 
 
 
 Democrat, 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 New York 
 
 New York 
 
 Albany 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 Murphy, Owen 
 
 New York 
 
 
 1 
 
 Murphy. William D 
 
 Natchmann, Martin 
 
 Nelson, James M 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 New York 
 
 Rockland 
 
 Herkimer 
 
 Erie 
 
 New York 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Northup, Daniel A 
 
 Salisbury Centre 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 
 5 
 
 
 3 
 
 O'Keefe, Denis 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Palmer, Julius M 
 
 St. Lawrence... 
 
 Oswego 
 
 Chemung 
 
 Russell 
 
 Republican. 
 Republican. 
 Democrat. 
 
 R 
 
 
 Orwell 
 
 Elmlra 1 
 
 
 Patrick, Edward L 
 
MEMBEES OF THE ASSEMBLT. 
 
 35] 
 
 5 
 
 Name. 
 
 County. 
 
 Post-office address. 
 
 Politics. 
 
 1 
 
 Payne, Lewis S 
 
 Niagara „. 
 
 Tonawanda, Erie Co 
 
 
 1 
 
 Pearsall, James B„ 
 
 Queens 
 
 
 
 Pease, Jay A 
 
 Lewis 
 
 
 
 
 Pierce, James H„ 
 
 Franlclln . 
 
 Bio omi'gdale, Essex 
 
 Republican. 
 
 17 
 
 Plunkitt, George W 
 
 New York 
 
 Erie 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ray, Henry 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 Yates 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Tompkins 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Montgomery... 
 Suffolk 
 
 Tribes' Hill 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Onondaga 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Stephenson, Thomas 
 
 Washington 
 
 Columbia 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Germantown.. 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 Schoharie 
 
 Onondaga- 
 
 North Blenheim 
 
 Onondaga 
 
 
 2 
 
 Tefft Nathan R 
 
 Republican. 
 
 4 
 
 
 Cohoes 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 "Van Steenburgh, Hiram 
 
 
 Catskill 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Cattaraugus 
 
 New York 
 
 Ontario 
 
 West "Valley. 
 
 
 Whitp John H 
 
 New York 
 
 Republican. 
 
 2 
 
 WilsinTi David E 
 
 East Bloomfield 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 Republican. 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 
 Chautauqua 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 Wolcott 
 
 Republican. 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 Otsego 
 
 Cherry Valley 
 
 Democrat. 
 
 
 
 
 

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