COLUMBIA LIBRARIES OFFSITE 
 
 AVERY FINE ARTS RESTRICTED 
 
 AR01 395602 
 
 "" 1 
 
 
 mmm 
 
 MORGAN 
 
 
 ^^^S 
 
 ^•«.*i^>^ 
 
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 

 3 
 
 T^.fcv 
 
 ^U^^"^^^ -y^ 
 
\ 
 
 l'^^' 
 
Sii iWemortam. 
 
 JlbtDin I^Fnison ISopgan 
 
 iBcirn jTcbumrn 36, 1811. 
 ?Ilieb Jtbiuavn I'itI), 1883. 
 
'J 
 
 ^* t' ^ 
 
 (r^ 
 
 ^. 
 
 'J>^t4'<iy*^--^ 
 
 E 
 
 I-: 
 
 i^fl 
 
 1 
 
 PitINT OF J. 1{. IIlTH, 372 PEAHI. STI!KKT. N. Y, 
 
fmxttal Seitkee. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/inmemoriamedwindOOunse 
 
The funeral of Edwin Denison Morgan was 
 celebrated at the Brick Presbyterian Church, Fifth 
 Avenue and Thirty-seventh Street, New York, 
 on Friday, February i6th, 1883, at three o'clock 
 in the afternoon. The day was dark and stormy, 
 but long before the hour appointed for the ser- 
 vices a great number of people had gathered 
 at the church. The relatives and many of the 
 intimate friends of the departed were assembled 
 at his late residence, and there a brief prayer 
 was offered by his pastor, who besought the 
 presence and comfort of the Divine Spirit for 
 the bereaved family and the blessing of God 
 upon the funeral services. Then the coffin was 
 closed ; the palms of victory and the lilies of 
 peace were laid upon it ; and the body of the 
 master of the house was carried forth from his 
 earthly home to the House of God which he 
 had loved so well, and where he had so often 
 worshipped. 
 
6 
 
 The clergymen walked before the coffin. The 
 
 pall-bearers who followed were : 
 
 Chester A. Arthur, Ulysses S. Grant, 
 
 Hamilton Fish, John Jacob Astor, 
 Robert Lenox Kennedy, Franklin Carter, 
 
 John A. Stewart, William H. Macy, 
 
 Augustus Schell, J. Pierpont Morgan, 
 
 S. O. Vanderpoel, Cornelius R. Agnew, 
 
 John D. Jones, Henry Day, 
 
 Thomas C. Acton, ' Benj. F. Dunning, 
 
 John E. Parsons, Thomas Hillhouse, 
 
 A. A. Low, Hugh J. Jewett. 
 
 The members of the family present were : 
 
 Mrs. E. D. Morgan ; Mr. and Mrs. E. D. Morgan, 
 Jr. ; Mr. and Mrs. Dresbach ; Mrs. McCorkle, of Phila- 
 delphia ; Major and Mrs. A. E. Bates, of Washington ; 
 Mr. and Mrs. George Rowland ; Mr. and Mrs. J. Bay- 
 ard Henry, of Philadelphia ; Master Morgan Water- 
 man ; Miss Ida Waterman ; Mrs. Henry Waterman ; the 
 Rev. Dr. W. F. and Miss Morgan ; Mrs. Dahlgren ; 
 Lieutenant Governor W. G. Bulkeley, of Hartford ; 
 Mayor Morgan Bulkeley, of Hartford ; H. K. Morgan, 
 Jr., of Hartford ; Mr. and Mrs. George D. Morgan ; Mr. 
 and Mrs. H. P. Morgan and Miss Morgan, of Brook- 
 lyn ; Mr. and Mrs. N. D. Morgan; Mr. and Mrs. G. H. 
 Morgan ; William F. A. Sill, of Windsor, Conn. ; Mr. 
 and Miss Joslyn ; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Vyse, Jr., of 
 Staten Island ; Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Morgan, of Brooklyn ; 
 Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Sterling ; Frederick Green and 
 Henry Green, of Orange, N. J. 
 
As the funeral procession entered the mid- 
 dle aisle, the great congregation, which filled 
 every part of the church, rose and remained 
 standinof in silence until the coffin was laid 
 before the pulpit and the music of the dirge 
 had died away. 
 
 The funeral services were conducted by the 
 Rev. Henry J. van Dyke, Jr., the pastor of the 
 Brick Church. Addresses were made by the 
 Rev. Dr. Roswell D. Hitchcock, President of 
 Union Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. 
 James O. Murray, of Princeton College. The 
 Rev. Dr. John Hall, of the P^ifth Avenue Pres- 
 byterian Church, offered the closing prayer. 
 
THE SERVICES, 
 
 '' * The Lord irave : the Lord hath taken 
 away : blessed be the name of the Lord.' Let 
 us pray : 
 
 '' Eternal and ever-blessed God, Thou art our 
 refuge and our strength, a very present help 
 in time of trouble. In the dark and cloudy 
 day we look to Thee for light. In the hour 
 of pain and grief we come to Thee for com- 
 fort. Have mercy upon us, good Lord, we 
 beseech Thee ; have mercy upon us, and help 
 us, and save us. Shine Thou upon us with 
 the light of Thy love in the face of Jesus 
 Christ. May our faith in Him support and 
 console us. May Thy Holy Spirit, the Com- 
 forter, descend and dwell with us in this hour. 
 Yea, even in the presence of death and in the 
 day of bereavement may our hearts be filled 
 with that peace which passeth understanding, 
 through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, 
 Amen." 
 
HYMN. 
 
 My faith looks up to Thee, 
 Thou Lamb of Calvary, 
 
 Saviour divine ! 
 Now hear me while I pray; 
 Take all my guilt away ; 
 O, let me from this day 
 
 Be wholly Thine. 
 
 While Life's dark maze I tread. 
 And griefs around me spread, 
 
 Be Thou my guide ; 
 Bid darkness turn to day. 
 Wipe sorrow's tears away, 
 Nor let me ever stray 
 
 From Thee aside. 
 
 When ends life's transient dream, 
 When death's cold, sullen stream 
 
 Shall o'er me roll. 
 Blest Saviour, then in love, 
 Fear and distrust remove ; 
 O, bear me safe above, 
 
 A ransomed soul ! 
 
lO 
 SCRIPTURE LESSONS. 
 
 Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all genera- 
 tions. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever 
 Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from ever- 
 lasting to everlasting. Thou art God. Thou turnest man to 
 destruction, and sayest. Return, ye children of men. For a 
 thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is 
 past, and as a watch in the night. Thou carriest them away 
 as with a flood ; they are as a sleep ; in the morning they 
 are like grass which groweth up. In the morning it flourish- 
 eth and groweth up ; in the evening it is cut down and 
 withereth. The days of our years are threescore years and 
 ten ; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, 
 yet is their strength labor and sorrow ; for it is soon cut off, 
 and we fly away. So teach us to number our days, that we 
 may apply our hearts unto wisdom. O satisfy us early with 
 Thy mercy, that we may rejoice, and be glad all our days. 
 
 Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end 
 of that man is peace. Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full 
 age, like as a shock of corn cometh in his season. And even 
 to your old age I am He ; and even to hoar hairs will I carry 
 you ; I have made and I will bear ; even I will carry, and I 
 will deliver you. 
 
 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh 
 me to lie down in green pastures ; He leadeth me beside the 
 still waters. He restoreth my soul ; He leadeth me in the 
 paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, though I 
 walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no 
 evil ; for Thou art with me ; Thy rod and Thy staff they 
 comfort me. 
 
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who com- 
 forteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to com- 
 fort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith 
 we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of 
 Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by 
 Christ. Now, no chastening for the present seemeth to be 
 joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the 
 peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised 
 thereby. 
 
 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up ? 
 and with what body do they come ? Thou fool ; that which 
 thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. And that which 
 thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but 
 bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain. 
 But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to every 
 seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh ; but there 
 is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another 
 of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial 
 bodies, and bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestial is 
 one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one 
 glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another 
 glory of the stars ; for one star differeth from another star in 
 glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in 
 corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dis- 
 honor, it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is raised 
 in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual 
 body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 
 Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit 
 the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit incor- 
 ruption. Behold I show you a mystery. We shall not all 
 
12 
 
 sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the 
 twinkling of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall 
 sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall 
 be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, 
 and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this cor- 
 ruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall 
 have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the 
 saying that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. O 
 death, where is thy sting ? O grave, where is thy victory ? 
 The sting of death is sin ; and the strength of sin is the law. 
 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, of all nations, 
 and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the 
 throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
 palms in their hands, and cried with a loud voice, saying : 
 Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
 the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, 
 and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the 
 throne on their faces, and worshipped God. Saying : Amen ; 
 blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, 
 and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. 
 Amen. And one of the elders answered, saying unto me : 
 What are these which are arrayed in white robes ? and 
 whence came they ? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. 
 And he said to me : These are they which came out of great 
 tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them 
 white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before 
 the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; 
 and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 
 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
 
^3 
 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall 
 wipe away all tears from their eyes. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. van Dyke then said : 
 '' How noble and how clear is the lesson of 
 a good life! How solemn and how sweet the 
 memory of a Christian death ! How precious 
 the hopes of immortality and reunion through 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ! These are ours to-day. 
 I cannot now speak to you of the departed. 
 Other and more worthy lips will pay the tribute 
 of honor to his memory ; but for myself I would 
 hush the voice of grief, and upon that great, 
 loving heart, now at rest after sharp anguish, 
 I would lay the tribute of a deep and lasting 
 affection. Blessed are the dead who die in 
 the Lord. Yea, saith the Spirit, for they rest 
 from their labors and their works do follow 
 them." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Murray spoke as follows : 
 '' We assemble in the House of God to- 
 day under circumstances of unusual solemnity. 
 For abroad and at home, so many eminent 
 
men — eminent In all callings of life — have 
 died within recent months and days, that 
 thoughtful men give pause, and brought thus 
 consciously under the * power from endless life,' 
 are moved to humble themselves under the 
 mighty hand of God. 
 
 '' Of these noteworthy men, Governor Mor- 
 gan, the last who has fallen, deserves in these 
 funeral services some earnest tribute from those 
 who knew him and honored him. A more ex- 
 tended memorial of his life and career will ap- 
 propriately be given by his pastor on the com- 
 ing Sabbath. Now, and for these services, it 
 is only incumbent on me to traverse rapidly the 
 steps of that ascending career, in order to es- 
 timate duly the life in its wholeness : still fur- 
 ther, to give some full and tender utterance to 
 the public sentiment of loss and grief and 
 veneration. He was born amid the hills of 
 Berkshire, Massachusetts, the son of a New 
 England farmer, in 1811. He had, as his capi- 
 tal in life, what a New England home and a 
 New England training have given to so many 
 men of mark in our country, capacity for self- 
 
T5 
 
 development. He had his own way to make in 
 Hfe, but he had been taught — and he never for- 
 got the lesson — that all paths to great success, that 
 is, success won on the highest levels of achieve- 
 ment, lie open to industry, integrity, grasp of 
 intellect and inflexible will. Beginning his ca- 
 reer in the year 1828, at the City of Hartford, 
 Conn., as a mercantile apprentice, he at once 
 proved that he had naturally and by training 
 every quality of a successful man of business. 
 Nay more, he seems even then, in this early 
 stage of his life, to have shown something of 
 that large aptitude for civic affairs which his 
 later years brought out so conspicuously. For 
 he had hardly passed his majority when he 
 was elected a member of the City Council of 
 Hartford. However it may be to-day, the tra- 
 ditional policy of New England towns then 
 stringently exacted of their officials ability and 
 integrity. They were by apt phraseology called 
 select men. 
 
 '' Next, in the unfolding of his life, comes the 
 change of business arena, from Hartford to 
 this city, in the year 1836. The scene was 
 
i6 
 
 changed, but it brought no change in the es- 
 sential characteristics of the man. He brought 
 with him here his abihties, his experience, his 
 high ambition, and his principles. There is one 
 act of his early career here, to which the city 
 press has rightly called attention, and which 
 should be again emphasized in this hour and 
 place. When this metropolis was visited by the 
 cholera in 1849, Governor Morgan promptly re- 
 fused to leave the stricken city. He brought at 
 once to the service of the sick and the dying his 
 calm courage, his wise, unwasting energy, his 
 personal devotion. Increased hospital room was 
 an absolute necessity, and his force and wisdom 
 secured it in the use of the public school build- 
 ings for that purpose. It was only a prophecy 
 of what was in the man by way of resources, 
 when in the time of our imperilled national 
 life he was fulfilling the high office of Governor 
 of the State of New York. For above all else, 
 that time called for men who could calmly, 
 wisely and efficiently meet great exigencies. No 
 man, who has not lived through those times of 
 high excitement, fearful suspense, wearing anxiety. 
 
17 
 
 and, by consequence, been endowed with a keener 
 sense of the great issues involved, can ever fully 
 appreciate what the nation owes to such men as 
 Governor Moro^an. All his sicrnal business ca- 
 pacities, and all his ample stock of cool, delib- 
 erate, patient energy, his wise comprehension 
 of the drift of events, his clear-sighted instinct 
 of the right men for the right place — all were 
 brought into play, and he has, perhaps, won his 
 most enduring fame in the great services ren- 
 dered his country through his office as Gov- 
 ernor of the State of New York. 
 
 '' It was but in fittinor recoo^nition of these 
 services as deserving high tokens of public ap- 
 proval, that he was chosen a Senator from the 
 State of New York. His gubernatorial career 
 covers the period between the years 1858 and 
 1863 ; his senatorial career, that from 1863 to 
 1869. Years more critical in our national history 
 cannot be found, unless we find them in some 
 years immediately following the adoption of the 
 Constitution, when the cabinet of Washington 
 was rent by feuds, and tendencies toward dis- 
 ruption began to show themselves. It seems 
 
i8 
 
 enough now to say of his pubHc career, that it 
 bears all through the marks of stainless purity. 
 That is high praise. But beyond this it must 
 be said that Governor Morgan, by his integrity 
 and force of character, has been singularly and 
 happily exempt from the shafts of political 
 opponents. 
 
 '' Governor Morgan, It will have been seen, 
 belonged to the class known as successful mer- 
 chants. From first to last, he won a large and 
 influential success. Three centuries ago, the 
 ablest pen in English literature described them 
 as ' royal ' merchants. We reach a nobler 
 designation when we can describe them as 
 Christian merchants. For surely the Christian 
 philanthropy of such men as Amos and Abbot 
 Lawrence, of Boston, John F. Slater, of Nor- 
 wich, Conn., William E. Dodge and Governor 
 Morgan of New York, deserves such a title. It 
 is therefore with blessed satisfaction that we 
 may turn from all business successes, however 
 brilliant — from all services to the nation, how- 
 ever lofty — and trace briefly his career as a 
 Christian. What to him now is all that human 
 
19 
 
 truth can utter or human hearts feel ! What is 
 not to him now his faith in the gospel of 
 Christ — any service, the humblest as well as the 
 greatest, he was permitted to render the cause 
 of his Divine Master on earth ! 
 
 *' He first made a public profession of his 
 faith in Christ in the year 1847, connecting 
 himself with the University Place church, then 
 under the care of the Reverend Dr. Potts. On 
 his removal to the upper part of the city, 
 having purchased a residence directly opposite 
 the Brick Church, then under the pastoral care 
 of the Reverend Dr. Spring, he became a 
 member of it. Coming to this city in 1865 as 
 associate pastor of the Brick Church, I found 
 him among my parishioners. For several years 
 his public duties called him away from the city 
 during the greater part of the year. As he laid 
 aside his public cares, he gave himself more 
 and more to care for the church. He gave his 
 time and means and counsels to promote its 
 welfare. He was elected a member of its 
 session ; declining that office, he discharged for 
 years the responsible duties of president of its 
 
20 
 
 board of trustees. He was never a man of 
 mere religious emotions. He was a regular and 
 punctual attendant on the church services, re- 
 buking decidedly on one occasion — a time of 
 high political excitement— an attempt to take 
 him from the house of God, In order to consult 
 on some public issue. But though he gave few 
 outward signs of religious emotion, he would be 
 strangely misjudged If he were supposed to have 
 only a religion of frigid principles or decorous 
 form. On fit occasions genuine emotion could 
 be displayed, as those who have known him in 
 the Intercourse of his home, and as his dying 
 utterances abundantly testify. His last years 
 were overshadowed by two great griefs, the 
 loss of his only son and the loss of his most 
 tenderly beloved daughter-in-law. These griefs 
 followed each other in quick, sharp succession. 
 He bore them with that well known outward 
 demeanor of calmness and courage. But his 
 sensibilities quivered under the shocks, and his 
 character softened and mellowed under the 
 strokes. The closing years of his life were most 
 mark(;d b)' this Interest In spiritual things — 
 
21 
 
 Specially by increasing devotion to the welfare 
 of this church. I utter the sentiment of a 
 congregation and pastor grateful for what he 
 has done to promote the interests of the Brick 
 Church. I express the sense of a profound and 
 almost irreparable loss in this stage of the 
 church's history. 
 
 " The end came to him not wholly unex- 
 pected. It was said to me last autumn, by 
 one who knew him well, that he was looking 
 death in the face, and that he was as ever 
 brave, but solemn, in view of the end. He 
 knew a not much longer life was appointed him. 
 But he did well in keeping to his activities. 
 Having set his house in order — having reposed 
 his trust for many years in the mercy of his 
 Saviour Jesus Christ, believing simply, but 
 deeply, in the truths of the blessed Gospel — he 
 was ready for the final summons. A fortnight 
 ago he found his accustomed way to the house 
 of God, but with evident feebleness and diffi- 
 culty. Then came on last Sunday the vain at- 
 tempt to take once more his place among the 
 gathering worshippers. Then, and how soon 
 
22 
 
 after, the sharp, final agony of dying ; and then 
 the struggle, borne so patiently ; and then the 
 brief unconsciousness ; and then, and forever 
 and ever, the ' rest that remaineth to the peo- 
 ple of God,' the ' eternal weight of glory.' 
 
 ''This brief memorial and tribute would be 
 incomplete without some reference to the char- 
 acteristic Christian services of Governor Mor- 
 gan in his late liberal charities to institutions 
 in this city and elsewhere. The ampler and 
 worthier notice will be undertaken by other 
 hands. It is, however, In place for me now, 
 from my personal knowledge of him and from 
 conversations with him, to emphasize his motive 
 for his philanthropies as distinctively the Chris- 
 tian motive. ' Two things,' he said to me once, 
 ' have led me to turn some portion of my 
 wealth Into these channels. First, it seemed to 
 me the part of one who had amassed his prop- 
 erty in a great city, to do something for its 
 welfare — for institutions in its bounds. Secondly, 
 in my gifts to the Union Theological Seminary 
 I was desirous of promoting interests of the 
 Christian church, and thouii^ht I could do this 
 
23 
 
 In no way so well as by providlni^ for the 
 higher education, especially for the training of 
 its ministers.' 
 
 ''On expressing to him my appreciation of the 
 objects and motives of his gifts, he then added : 
 ' I only wish I had begun earlier this distri- 
 bution of my wealth. It would have been 
 easier, and I should have enjoyed more, what I 
 have lately learned to enjoy, in giving.' 
 
 *' Allusion has already been made to a class 
 of philanthropists like Abbot Lawrence, George 
 Peabody, James Lenox, Robert L. Stuart, Wil- 
 liam E. Dodge, and Governor Morgan, most 
 of them merchants, most of them trained under 
 conditions of business education, which tended 
 to develop nobly such character in those who 
 accepted its conditions. They gave their wealth 
 for the public good in various ways, some by 
 diffusion, others by concentration on great ob- 
 jects — recognizing the appeal which a great city 
 makes on men of wealth for large and fruitful 
 charitable endowments. And I think I should 
 be faithless to my trust to-day, if addressing, as 
 I do, some who have by God's bounty acquired 
 
24 
 
 In this city great fortunes, I did not express a 
 growing public sentiment. It is no clamorous 
 beggar with open palm demanding gifts. It is 
 no presumptuous dictator, prescribing how men 
 shall act with their own. But it Is — deeply and 
 feelingly it is — the grateful recognition of all 
 such charitable efforts — the honored remem- 
 brance of it — and Its voice Is, ' Go ye also and 
 do likeiuise' Care for the poverty, the sin, the 
 suffering in this great city. Rear Institutions 
 for the relief of all human woe. Help those 
 that need more liberal equipment and support. 
 Beautify the city by art In public places If you 
 will — but do not go from the world till you 
 have consecrated some part of your wealth In 
 the service of Christian philanthropy in this 
 metropolis." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Hitchcock delivered the follow- 
 ing address : 
 
 '' It was the custom of an ancient Thraclan 
 tribe, as reported by Herodotus, to sit and 
 weep when a child was born, but to laugh and 
 rejoice when a man was buried. To them, as 
 
25 
 
 to us, the life just begun was an impending- 
 battle, whose issue was uncertain ; while the life 
 just ended was a battle won. We have no 
 fears to-day for a battle impending, but only 
 gratitude and rejoicing for the battle won. 
 Even when, so recently, our honored friend for 
 the last time climbed the stairway to his office, 
 there still was something remaining of the 
 unsolved problem. The books were not yet 
 closed. Character was not yet quite sealed and 
 stamped ; the last act was not yet performed, 
 nor the last word spoken. Now all is finished, 
 and all, thank God ! is safe. Another man has 
 died ; another form lies motionless before us. 
 And a triple life is ended. We have lost a 
 merchant, a statesman, and a philanthropist. 
 
 '' The great mystery of character and achieve- 
 ment will never cease. Men are cradled to- 
 gether in the same village by the seaside, or 
 among the hills ; attend the same schools and 
 churches ; have apparently the same opportuni- 
 ties ; but come out at last as wide apart as 
 poverty and wealth, obscurity and fame. Just 
 what makes the difference — exactly what the 
 
26 
 
 vital, impelling, decisive force in superlative 
 achievement may be — no analysis altogether ex- 
 plains. Exceptional clearness of vision certainly 
 there must have been, with manifest sincrleness 
 of purpose ; but above all, perhaps, a straight 
 onward, determined, crushing power of will, 
 which, when the crisis came, brooked no con- 
 tradiction and feared no odds. After all, great- 
 ness is only another name for pre-eminent 
 success ; so that greatness can never be meas- 
 ured exactly till its work is done. 
 
 '' No one ever came fairly in contact with 
 Governor Morgan on a grave occasion without 
 getting the impression of a ponderous and pow- 
 erful personality. The massive form evidently 
 incarnated a massive, character. His early school 
 advantages were scant. One term in Bacon 
 Academy, in Colchester, Conn., in 1826, was all 
 the higher training he received. He never tried 
 to be an orator. But he instinctively saw 
 things as they were in themselves, in their re- 
 lations to one another, and above all, in their 
 relation to the higher laws. He could wait for 
 others to be heard. But no sophistry deceived 
 
27 
 
 him, and when It became his turn to speak, his 
 words rang Hke blows upon an anvil. Scarcely 
 another prominent man of our time has made 
 so few mistakes. In every relation he used his 
 faculties in a large, grand way. As I have 
 heard it remarked by one w^ho has known him 
 well, ' He never did a small thing.' And he 
 never did a rash or foolish thing. Boldness 
 there often was, but always boldness with pru- 
 dence. He never sailed into any harbor with- 
 out taking the soundings as he went along ; 
 never went into battle without reserves. 
 
 '' The blood was Celtic. Morgan is Welsh, 
 and means 'sea-born.' The Greeks in the fifth 
 century made it Pelagius. The first ancestor of 
 the family on this side of the Atlantic was 
 James Morgan, who was born probably at 
 Llandaff, in Wales, in 1607, went to Boston 
 with two younger brothers in 1636, in 1650 
 removed to Pequot (now New London), in 
 Connecticut, and seven years later removed 
 again to Groton, where he died in 1685. 
 Edwin Denison Morgan was in the eighth gen- 
 eration of this descent. 
 
28 
 
 ** Eight days ago our friend was just seventy- 
 two years of age ; and had he Hved but a few 
 months longer, would have celebrated the 
 golden anniversary of a singularly happy mar- 
 riage. The faithful companion of the long pil- 
 grimage finds herself suddenly alone. Of fivG 
 children, four died in infancy, and the eldest 
 not long ago, leaving only one grandchild to 
 alleviate the bitter, blinding, solitary grief. It 
 is when we thus stand where river and ocean 
 meet that our thoughts fly back most swiftly 
 to the fountain from which the river starts. 
 On the 8th day of February, iSii, Edwin 
 Denlson Morgan first drew breath, in Massachu- 
 setts, among the Berkshire Hills. Washington 
 Is the name of the township. That little 
 hamlet, of considerably less than a thousand 
 souls, will be known hereafter as the place 
 where he was born. Connecticut was, however, 
 the proper home of the family, and thither the 
 parents of Edwin soon returned. 
 
 '' His merchant life began at Hartford In 1828, 
 when he was only seventeen years old, and a 
 clerk. In 1831 he was a partner in the con- 
 
29 
 
 cern, and in 1836 he came to New York. Both 
 In Hartford and here he went stralcrht to the 
 front. His ventures were bold and large, and 
 everything he put his hand to was a success. 
 His great fortune was of no mere good luck, 
 but of quick, far-sighted sagacity, backed by a 
 force and steadiness of purpose that never fal- 
 tered. He built his great fortune stone by 
 stone, as Cheops built his Pyramid. 
 
 "In statesmanship his opportunities were sin- 
 gularly happy, such as rarely happen anywhere, 
 and may not happen on this continent again 
 for generations. In any case, under ordinary 
 conditions, he would have been no doubt a 
 model governor of the State of his adoption. 
 But his two terms of service were in a stormy 
 time. For two years he saw the tempest 
 gathering. For two years more he faced it. 
 Of the governors of the loyal States, three 
 men became pre-eminently historic. These three 
 men were Governor Andrew of Massachusetts, 
 Governor Morgan of New York, and Governor 
 Morton of Indiana. The name of Edwin Deni- 
 son Morgan is beyond the reach of shifting 
 
30 
 
 events and parties and policies. His solid 
 monument Is built. On It is Inscribed ' The 
 Great War Governor of the Empire State.' 
 From 1863 to 1869 he represented New York 
 In the Senate of the United States. Twice he 
 was offered the Secretaryship of the Treasury, 
 once by the martyred President, who had so 
 leaned upon his judgment and courage In the 
 stormy days ; and again by him who dignifies 
 this occasion by his courtly presence, and 
 whom all our hearts and all our voices now 
 salute with benediction as the bosom friend of 
 the man we love and mourn. 
 
 " It remains to speak briefly of his philan- 
 thropy. Those who met him only In public 
 places, may have thought him reserved and 
 cold. But he had a great heart. Some eight 
 or ten days ago, as he was looking at the por- 
 trait of his daughter-in-law, whom he loved most 
 tenderly, he said, ' I would give a million of 
 dollars to have that dear child back again : and 
 I would keep her only one day.' He was 
 instinctively luunanc^ llie welfare of common 
 people was very precious to him. If he never 
 
31 
 
 flattered, he surely never forgot, the masses. 
 His sense of right was simply imperial. Poli- 
 ticians tried again and again to bend him to 
 their purposes, reminded him of his obligations 
 to them for office and honor, and threatened 
 him with their displeasure and hostility. But 
 never to any purpose. His sturdy Puritan con- 
 science stood out against them like a granite 
 cliff. Merchant as he was, he indignantly re- 
 fused to make money out of the war. One day 
 at his own table, to his wife he said, holding 
 up a bit of bread, ' Not the worth of this will 
 I make out of this war.' 
 
 ** But he was more than a man of conscience; 
 he was a devout, consistent Christian believer 
 and communicant. And as he drew near the 
 end of his busy and eventful career, his heart 
 opened itself more and more to Christian feel- 
 ing. Christian purpose and Christian work. Re- 
 membering his birthplace among the Berkshire 
 hills, he built for the Berkshire College the 
 splendid dormitory that is to bear down his 
 name to the remotest generations. Recognizing 
 in this commercial metropolis of the nation the 
 
32 
 
 fittest place for professional training of every 
 kind, confessing his obligation to bestow a part 
 of his fortune where all of it had been accu- 
 mulated, and with a profound and lively interest 
 in the advancement of Christian life and litrht 
 and love over all the earth, he has made the 
 Union Theological Seminary in a very special 
 manner a monument to his memory. And I 
 have obtained leave to report a more private 
 charity. Not long ago he ascertained the 
 names and residences of all his surviving 
 nephews and nieces (thirty-three in all) from 
 Massachusetts to Texas and Oregon, and gave 
 them hvQ thousand dollars each. 
 
 '' And so this triple life is ended : Merchant, 
 Statesman, Philanthropist, thy work is finished 
 and thy reward begun." 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Hall then offered prayer as 
 follows : 
 
 ''Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we 
 have been giving heed to the words spoken unto 
 us by Thy servants. Impress them upon our 
 hearts, and make us faithful followers of them 
 
33 
 
 who through faith and patience now inherit the 
 promises. Now we come to Thee. We worship 
 Thee, the author of hfe, the Supreme and 
 Sovereign Lord. We worship Thee in Him in 
 whom Thou dost reveal Thyself, our Advocate 
 and Saviour. We ask the teaching and the 
 help of the Divine Spirit, the Comforter. 
 Taught by Him, we would be in subjection of 
 spirit unto Thee. The gift Thou didst give 
 Thou hast the right to take back. . Thou gavest ; 
 Thou hast taken away ; blessed be Thy name. 
 
 '' Our Divine Father, we wait at Thy throne, 
 that we may be taught by Thee. Show us how 
 frail we are. The place that knows us now will 
 soon know us no more. But we thank Thee 
 for the hope of life eternal with Thee. We 
 praise Thee that our being is redeemed from 
 its transiency and its littleness by that which 
 Thy grace has provided and revealed, that 
 eternity of service and of happiness with Thy- 
 self which Thou hast set before us. Help us 
 so to bear ourselves here — so to consecrate 
 talents and time to Thy service — that there 
 shall be true unity between this life and the 
 
34 
 
 next ; that living and dying, we may be Thine. 
 Lead us in the steps of Thy Son, in whom we 
 trust. Make our natures temples of the Divine 
 Comforter, and set upon us on the earth the 
 seal of a holy character, so making us meet for 
 the inheritance of the saints in light. Let Thy 
 solemn and righteous deeds, in the removal of 
 those whom we have known and loved, bring 
 us more under the power of the world to come. 
 Make Him, whom Thou lovest, Thy Son our 
 Redeemer, more precious to us, and let His 
 person be so real and so great to us, that we 
 shall ever rejoice in the hope of His glory. 
 So let power and grace from Him sustain and 
 consecrate us, and let us be with Him, and 
 with the general assembly of the first-born, 
 whose names are written in heaven, forever and 
 ever. All this, and whatever else we need, 
 though we ask it not in words, grant Thou 
 unto us, O merciful Father, for our Saviour's 
 sake. 
 
 ''And now, O living and gracious Father, we 
 give Thee thanks for Thy goodness in the life 
 that has closed. We thank Thee that it has 
 
35 
 
 been stainless. We praise Thee for usefulness 
 given, for good influence wielded, for service 
 rendered, through Thy grace, to the city, to 
 the State, and to the nation. We thank Thee 
 for his knowledge of the truth, for his sub- 
 mission to it, for the guidance it afforded him 
 in life and the comfort in death. And now we 
 make our united prayer to Thee on behalf of 
 her whose life has for so long been bound up 
 with his. When the tender fellowship of all 
 these years is hers no more, give to her. Thou 
 God of grace, communion with Thyself and 
 with Thy Son. So let her be helped, upheld, 
 and comforted. Even so we commend to Thee 
 him who bears Thy servant's name, that he 
 may be guided from above, and led in the way 
 of peace in Thy noble and exalted service. 
 Grant heavenly consolation to all here and else- 
 where who are afflicted by this removal. Speak 
 through It to men busily engaged In life's 
 duties. Let Thy blessing come upon all In au- 
 thority, the President of the United States, and 
 all who are intrusted with the management of 
 ereat common interests, that truth and honor, 
 
36 
 
 Integrity and purity, may mark them, and that 
 so favor and blessing may come to all the 
 people. 
 
 " Be pleased, Almighty God, to keep those 
 who shall carry these mortal remains to their 
 last resting place with the loved ones who have 
 gone before ; and help them, as they look Into 
 the open grave, to remember Him who is the 
 Resurrection and the Life, who will come 
 again, bringing His saints with Him. Almighty 
 Father, we offer these, our petitions, and our 
 Intercessions, In the name of our great High 
 Priest, who hath passed Into the heavens. In 
 whom we trust, to whom we look for victory 
 over death, and for perfected character and 
 eternal felicity In the life above ; and to 
 whom, with Thyself and the Divine Spirit, one 
 Jehovah, be all praise and glory for evermore. 
 Amen." 
 
Zl 
 
 HYMN, 
 
 Abide with me I Fast falls the eventide ; 
 The darkness deepens ; Lord, with me abide ! 
 When other helpers fail, and comforts flee. 
 Help of the helpless, O, abide with me ! 
 
 Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day ; 
 Earth's joys grow dim ; its glories pass away ; 
 Change and decay in all around I see ; 
 O Thou who changest not, abide with me ! 
 
 Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes, 
 Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies ; 
 Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee 
 In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me ! 
 
 BENEDICTION. 
 
 The peace of God, which passeth all under- 
 standing, keep your hearts and minds, through 
 Christ Jesus; and the blessing of God Almighty, 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, be amongst you 
 and remain with you, now and forevermore. 
 Amen. 
 
38 
 
 The remains of ex-Governor Morgan rested 
 all night in the church, watched by some of his 
 faithful and attached servants and attendants. 
 
 On Saturday, a special train conveyed the 
 family and many of the immediate friends, with 
 the remains of the departed, to Hartford, Con- 
 necticut. The services at the family vault were 
 very simple. The Rev. Dr. W. F. Morgan, of 
 New York, read the solemn words of committal 
 to the dust, and the Rev. Henry J. van Dyke, 
 Jr., offered the prayer and pronounced the 
 benediction. As the last words were spoken, 
 the sun, which had been hidden all the morn- 
 ing by a heavy mist, shone out clear and 
 bright, and the rays of light fell like a bless- 
 ing from above upon the little company of 
 mourners. Thus, under mingled clouds of sorrow 
 and sunshine of hope, all that was mortal of 
 Edwin Denison Morgan was committed to the 
 grave, in the sure and blessed expectation of 
 a glorious resurrection. 
 
;;Wenioiial Sermon. 
 
DEATH, THE END AND THE 
 BEGINNING. 
 
 A MEMORIAL SERMON FOR EDWIN D. MORGAN, PREACHED BY 
 REV. HENRY J. VAN DYKE, JR., AT THE BRICK CHURCH 
 FEBRUARY 1 8, 1 883. 
 
 " I must Work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day ; 
 the night cometh, when no man can work." St. John ix. 4 
 " And there shall be no night there." Rev. xxii. 5. 
 
 These two verses reveal the Inmost meaning 
 of the great mystery of death. It has a double 
 aspect. Seen from the earthly side, It Is the 
 termination of mortal existence and activity, 
 the certain end which must come to every 
 life, the silent shadow Into which each one 
 of us, and all whom we know, amd all who 
 see the sun, must some day pass and disap- 
 pear. Seen from the heavenly side, It Is the 
 entrance of the Immortal and redeemed spirit 
 Into a world of pure, unclouded, and eternal 
 
42 
 
 light. Both of these views are true, and on 
 both of them our minds should dwell with 
 reverence at a time like this. A life that we 
 have known and touched, a strong, and noble, 
 and precious life, has just been closed, has 
 vanished from our vision in the darkness. 
 The door of the sepulchre is shut, and now, 
 with calm and reverent minds, let us ponder 
 the significance of death ; let us understand its 
 meaning both for this world and for that 
 which is to come. 
 
 As we look at death from the earthly side, 
 how wondrous and how beautiful are these 
 words of Christ ! He, the Lord of light and 
 life, who dwelt from all eternity in the Father's 
 bosom, has humbled Himself to our mortality. 
 He stands beside us in this land of shadows, 
 and looking forward with human eyes to the 
 inevitable darkness of death, tells us its mean- 
 ing and its lesson. 
 
 Every day on earth ends in night. The 
 sun riding in strength and glory through the 
 heavens, sinks at his appointed hour to the 
 western horizon. The shadows lengthen. The 
 
43 
 
 light fades. Darkness settles like a pall upon 
 the world. The busy hands are folded ; the 
 active feet are still ; the day's work is done ; 
 now come silence and rest. So every human 
 life ends in a deeper shadow, in a more pro- 
 found stillness — the shadow and stillness of 
 the grave. When we enter there the eyes 
 are closed, the tongue is hushed, the brain 
 sleeps, the hand is powerless. All our oppor- 
 tunities are ended, all our labors are laid 
 aside, all our possessions are given up ; for 
 the day is over, and the night is come when 
 no man can work. 
 
 What shall we think of this? What in- 
 fluence shall it have upon our lives ? What 
 shall we do with this great, solemn truth ? Shall 
 we shrink from it with horror, putting it 
 away from us, shutting our eyes to it, for- 
 getting it, and living as though for us it had 
 no reality? Nay, surely this is folly and sin. 
 For a mortal man to live in this world as 
 though he could remain in it forever, — as 
 though his powers were inexhaustible, his 
 opportunities endless, his days unnumbered. 
 
44 
 
 and secure, — this Is the conduct of a madman. 
 And yet how many there are, In all other re- 
 spects sane and wise, who live thus and die 
 thus ! These are the wasted lives, fruitless and 
 Incomplete, for whom the fittest monument Is 
 the broken column, sad emblem of failure and 
 loss. 
 
 But must we then keep this thought of 
 death, the end of all things, ever before us 
 as a stern and dreadful presence ? Must It 
 ever dwell upon us like a shadow of coming 
 gloom, turning all our mirth Into bitterness, 
 and making all our labor vain and heartless ? 
 Not so, salth the Lord. But as a strong and 
 earnest man, rising with the day to his duties 
 and his tolls, counts Its hours with joy, say- 
 ing, ''Thus and thus will I do, with God's 
 help, before the night cometh and I sleep," so 
 the wise soul looks forward gladly to Its op- 
 portunities, gives Itself eagerly to Its labors, 
 steadied, strengthened, and stimulated by the 
 desire to accomplish the most that can be done 
 before the sun sets. 
 
 *' I must work the works of Him that sent 
 
45 
 
 me, while It Is day." Who does not feel the 
 vigor and courage of these words ? Life Is 
 given us for activity. Not for selfish pleasure, 
 not for Idle dreaming, has God sent us Into 
 the world. The man who suffers his powers 
 of mind or body to rust unused, who spends 
 his days In careless sloth or passive enjoyment, 
 squanders God's priceless gift. 
 
 " His hand, 
 Like the base Indian, throws a pearl away 
 Richer than all his tribe." 
 
 Man Is born, and dowered with strength 
 and reason, and sent forth Into this world of 
 labor and struggle. In order that he may do 
 something, — accomplish some work, perform 
 some task. To find this and to fulfil It, to 
 do It thoroughly and well, to take delight both 
 In the doing and the result, — this Is the true 
 purpose and the highest happiness of human 
 life. And this Is possible only to him who 
 realizes that he has but a single life, and 
 therefore rouses all his energies and bends all 
 his powers to that which Is before him. Work, 
 
46 
 
 which may have been the primal curse, is now 
 the blessing, the refuge, the joy of man, for 
 it is only in earnest and vigorous work that 
 his soul and body find health and peace. 
 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with 
 thy might, for there is no work nor device in 
 the grave, whither thou goest. 
 
 But, surely, he who feels this will feel also 
 that his life is given to him for beneficent 
 work. Since we can live but once, since all 
 possibility of our doing good work in the 
 world, so far as we can see, is bounded by 
 the grave, we ought to strive instantly to 
 spend our days and our powers in the highest 
 service and for the noblest ends. To do God's 
 will on earth, to join ourselves to Him in 
 desire and endeavor, so that from the primal 
 source of good, blessings shall flow out through 
 us to our fellow men, this is what we should 
 long for as our best success. Wealth is good, 
 if we can use it for the comfort and help of 
 others. Power is good, if we can direct it to 
 the defence of truth and right, the protection 
 of th(^ innocent, the j)unishment of the guilty. 
 
47 
 
 Life is good, if we can make the world purer 
 and happier for having Hved in it. But 
 without this, what is it all worth? Is there 
 anything to rest upon, is there anything to 
 satisfy the soul when the day is done and 
 the night falls, is there anything to give 
 peace and gladness, except the memory of 
 doing good ? Ah ! believe me, when from that 
 shadowy portal the departing spirit turns to 
 look back upon the landscape of the past, — one 
 last look before it fades forever, — all will be 
 darkness, save those places where a gentle 
 deed, a kind word, a generous gift, an un- 
 selfish service to God or man, still shine star- 
 like with the light of heaven. 
 
 But how can we rightly use this brief and 
 fleeting day of our life, how can we enter upon 
 its labors in the true spirit, how can we accom- 
 plish any real and lasting good in it, unless 
 we first of all use it as our only opportunity of 
 knowing God as our Father, and entering into 
 true and vital union with Him? This, after 
 all, is the most important thing for every soul, 
 and it is in this connection that the thouorht 
 
48 
 
 of death as the approaching night, becomes 
 most solemn. Here, In our earthly day, the 
 light of God's pardoning love shines in the 
 face of Jesus Christ. Receive it now, I beseech 
 you. Into your hearts, for In the grave all Is 
 darkness. Where shall you find light If you 
 shut this out ? What hope have you if you 
 despise this ? Here, In our earthly day, 
 the voice of the Son of God comes to us, 
 pleading with us to accept, and confess, and 
 serve Him. In the silence of the erave there 
 is no gracious invitation, there Is no confession, 
 there is no service. Oh ! to-day, if ye will hear 
 His voice, be reconciled to God through Jesus 
 Christ, enter His service, spend the rest of 
 your life In His work, and then when the 
 night comes it will find you ready to sleep in 
 Him. 
 
 A true and noble life, strong, high, com- 
 plete. Is only possible to him who learns this 
 lesson of Christ, and, looking forward to the 
 night which must surely come, spends his day 
 earnestly and bravely in the service of God 
 and of man. Such a life was that of I^dwin 
 
49 
 
 D. Morgan. He lived as a man who knew that 
 he could live but once, with his peace made 
 with God, with his heart set on doing good 
 work, and with all his energies quickened and 
 bent on the accomplishment of that which was 
 before him. Let me make mention of his life 
 here with unfeigned honor, endeavoring not so 
 much to record its outward circumstances and 
 its temporal successes, as to grasp the inmost 
 and enduring significance of that which by 
 God's grace he was enabled to be and to do. 
 And may this imperfect but affectionate memo- 
 rial of his character as a man and a Christian, 
 be to every one of us a help, a stimulus, and 
 an encouragement to vigorous effort and high 
 achievement. 
 
 I. He was a strong man. His natural gifts 
 were far greater and more valuable than those 
 often overpraised qualities of subtle wit and 
 sounding eloquence ; they were the endowments 
 of one who is fitted to be a leader and a 
 governor among men. He was a son of the 
 hills, and he had in his personality something 
 of their solidity, and grandeur, and endurance. 
 
50 
 
 His noble presence of body was not a mere 
 mask to conceal the absence of mind, it was 
 the true Image of the man himself. His large, 
 physical strength was dominated by a yet greater 
 strength of spirit. With a clear, sane Intellect, 
 a well balanced judgment, a vigorous and In- 
 domitable will, he entered forcefully Into the 
 activities of life, and made his presence and 
 his Influence felt. He did not waste himself in 
 idleness or self indulgence. He made the most 
 of his powers and his opportunities. Life to 
 him was real and earnest ; and he lived It with 
 purpose and vigor, as one who knows that the 
 day Is short. 
 
 As a clerk In the employment of his uncle, 
 as a young man working his way upwards, as 
 an active merchant In this great city, as a lead- 
 ing citizen of the metropolis, intrusted with 
 large interests and called to works of public 
 policy and beneficence, as a law maker, and 
 then as the Chief Magistrate of this common- 
 wealth, as a Senator of the Republic, — In every 
 position, from the humblest to the highest, in 
 every duty (for all were to him alike honor- 
 
51 
 
 able), In every responsibility and in every labor, 
 he was diligent in business, doing what his 
 hand found to do with his might, and thus 
 reaping the reward of true success. 
 
 This is not the character which dazzles and 
 astounds the populace for a moment, as it 
 sweeps with unsteady glare across the sky ; it 
 is rather that which shines with a fixed and 
 growing light. It is a character of the same 
 clear, and sane, and lofty type as that of him 
 whose name stands first upon our country's roll 
 of honor. Such a character and such works 
 are possible only to those who feel the earnest- 
 ness and the brevity of life, and throw them- 
 selves into it with vigorous and untiring re- 
 solve to make the best of it. 
 
 2. Come a step higher in this character which 
 we are recalling. Gova^nor Morgan was an 
 honest man. His life was not built on shift- 
 ing sands, or on the dark and loathsome 
 morass. It was founded on the rock of 
 Righteousness. He had convictions, and he 
 was not ashamed of them. He had prin- 
 ciples, and he endeavored faithfully to live 
 
52 
 
 by them. Of his commercial Integrity others 
 may and will speak. But I would pay the 
 tribute of veneration here to a man who 
 went Into politics and came out with clean 
 hands. He honored his office more than his 
 office honored him. He did not think that to 
 make laws for men absolves one from the ob- 
 ligation to obey the laws of God. He did not 
 think that a State can honorably do a dis- 
 honorable thlncr. He reckoned that the credit 
 of this commonwealth, and of Its citizens, was 
 no whit less precious than the preservation of 
 the Union. And In all his strenuous and suc- 
 cessful efforts for that end, he ever strove to 
 reach It by the path of rectitude and justice. 
 The Immediate jewel of his soul he did not 
 barter for place or gold, he did not lose In 
 the dust of the arena, but brought it back with 
 him, unbroken and untarnished, to be the orna- 
 ment of his old age, and the priceless heritage 
 of his descendants. How noble Is the record 
 of such integrity ! As I speak of It, I recall 
 the words of Samuel, the Governor of Israel, 
 when, in the fulness of his years, after long 
 
53 
 
 and faithful service, he laid aside the robes of 
 office. Standing before all the people, he said : 
 
 '' ' Behold, here I am ! Witness against me 
 before the Lord and before His anointed. 
 Whose ox have I taken ? or whose ass have 
 I taken ? or whom have I defrauded ? whom 
 have I oppressed ? of whose hand have I re- 
 ceived any bribe to blind mine eyes therewith ? 
 and I will restore it to you ? ' And all the 
 people said : ' Thou hast not defrauded us nor 
 oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of 
 any man's hand.' God is witness." 
 
 Grand words ! worthy to be written upon the 
 finished column of the life which we commemo- 
 rate. Happy the State which has such men 
 among her chosen rulers ; and well deserved 
 the honor which she still pays to his upright 
 memory. 
 
 3. But he was more than upright ; /le luas 
 a good man. The natural kindness of his heart 
 was deepened and enlarged by the Spirit of 
 God, and flowed out in generous benefactions 
 and large services to his fellow men. Ad- 
 vancing years did not harden and close his 
 
54 
 
 heart, but rather opened it the wider and made 
 it the more tender, as he felt that the time 
 was short. Often has he spoken to me, in 
 these last months, of his desire to spend the 
 rest of his life in doing good. 
 
 The record of his public gifts is written 
 where you may read it. But the record of 
 his private charity is written in secret, in many 
 a home of want, which he has relieved, in 
 many a grateful heart, which cherishes the 
 memory of his aid in the dark hour of necessity. 
 
 And shall I be silent here in regard to that 
 inmost side of his nature which was necessarily 
 known only to those who stood nearest to him, 
 and felt the warmth of his great heart? Nay, 
 for if there be any place in which we may, 
 with propriety, speak of this, it is here, in this 
 house which is devoted to the worship of that 
 God whose dearest name is Father, whose per- 
 fect revelation is given to us in the person of 
 Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, and whose 
 religion finds its highest fruit in the faithful 
 discharge of the sacred offices of human love 
 and friendship. 
 
55 
 
 Here, then, we record the testimony of his 
 companions and associates In business, who bear 
 witness to forty years of unbroken Intercourse 
 In kindness and fideHty. Here we speak for 
 those who knew and loved him as a true, 
 and warm, and loyal friend. Here, above all, 
 we speak for her who was the nearest and 
 the dearest, his true helpmate ; we lay the 
 crown of honor, which Christ himself has 
 blessed, on half a century of wedded love. 
 The fiftieth anniversary to which that faithful 
 heart looked forward Is Indeed deferred ; but 
 every return of that wedding day was truly 
 golden, for they were all Irradiated with the 
 heavenly light of pure affection, growing ever 
 clearer and richer unto the end. O, good, gray 
 head, no more to enter our doors ! O, kind, 
 strong hand, no more to clasp our own ! O, 
 warm, true heart, no more to beat In friend- 
 ship or affection here on earth ! Into the dark- 
 ness a blessing follows you — the blessing of 
 love ! 
 
 4. Once more I say, he zvJiom zue commemo- 
 rate to-day was a Christian man. His best 
 
56 
 
 quality, his most precious possession, was his 
 strong and simple belief in Jesus Christ, the 
 Son of God, as his divine Saviour and Master. 
 I do not speak unadvisedly in saying this. / 
 knozu that he himself wottld say that infinitely 
 beyond a?iything else in value, more precioits 
 than all that he had earned in wealth or honor, 
 zuas his faith in the Lord Jesics. It was the 
 deepest source of his strength, the sure pillar 
 of his integrity, the fountain of his kindness 
 and beneficence, the light and comfort of his 
 declining days. 
 
 In early manhood he chose Christ for his 
 Lord and Saviour, and made an open confession 
 of faith in Him. He took his place among 
 the disciples of the Lord Jesus. There was 
 no doubt as to which side he stood on in 
 the great conflict between light and darkness. 
 He threw all the weight of his fortune and 
 his influence on the side of Christianity. He 
 was a member of the Church, not in name 
 only, but in deed and in truth. He sought 
 her honor and usefulness, he supported her 
 with his purse and with his presence, he for- 
 
57 
 
 sook not the house of God, nor the place of 
 prayer. He desired and endeavored In all 
 things to approve himself a faithful follower 
 of Christ. 
 
 During the last months of his earthly life 
 there was a wondrous quickening of faith and 
 love in his soul. He felt the shadows gather- 
 ing around him ; he knew that the day was 
 almost over ; but he knew it not with gloom 
 or despair, but with a calm and peaceful hope, 
 for in his experience was fulfilled that blessed 
 word of Scripture: ''At evening time it shall 
 be light." 
 
 With reverent hand would I lift for a 
 moment the curtain which shades the bed of 
 death, and pray that the light which I saw 
 there may shine into all our hearts. As I 
 stood for the last time beside his couch, on 
 the closing day of his life, remembering 
 many sacred interviews that had gone before, 
 and knowing that this was the end, he spoke 
 to me simply and quietly of his readiness to 
 depart. He said, ''I am ready to go now if 
 it is God's will — for it is better, it is better 
 
58 
 
 with Him." His confidence was not in him- 
 self, nor in his own righteousness. He said, 
 '' I am not a good man, I have done nothing 
 to deserve God's favor. All my trust is in 
 Christ and His mercy." In answer to a ques- 
 tion whether he felt secure in that, he said, 
 ** I do, I do ; I feel that Christ has died to 
 make my peace with God. I have never felt 
 this as I feel it now. It is my comfort, my 
 peace. I leave myself in His hands, for there 
 I am safe. The blood of Christ cleanseth us 
 from all sin." And when the last simple words 
 of prayer had been spoken, he lifted himself 
 and said : " How sweet, how precious, how 
 comforting, Christ is my Saviour." 
 
 A few more hours of tossing, and pain, 
 and weariness, during which his soul often took 
 refuge in prayer, and his broken voice spoke 
 the last words of faith and love, and then, — 
 quiet fell upon the tired heart. The night 
 came. And at morning he was still asleep. 
 
 But Is this all, — this peaceful end of a good 
 life, this soft descent of darkness, this well 
 earned repose, and is the rest silence ? No ; 
 
59 
 
 thank God, It is not all. For that death which 
 seems to us like a curtain, falling so swiftly 
 and so silently as the last breath departs, is 
 bright on the other side with the ineffable and 
 fadeless glories of the heavenly world. The 
 body has fallen asleep, but the spirit has 
 awakened, instantly, joyously, to a full and 
 perfect life. 
 
 The fourteenth day of February dawned for 
 us with dark clouds and heavy tears of rain, 
 but he who has departed knew 
 
 " A brighter morn than ours." 
 
 The power of an endless life, begun here by 
 faith amid the shadows, and uncertainties, and 
 oft recurring nights of mortality, continued 
 yonder in a land where there is no night, — 
 this is the heavenly significance of a Christian 
 death. For him who has used the day of his 
 grace aright, who has made his peace with 
 God through Christ, and lived in faithful obe- 
 dience to Him, death comes not as the end 
 of all things, but as the beginning of a new 
 and glorious existence. And we who sorrow for 
 
6o 
 
 those who sleep In Christ, ought not to think 
 of their Hves as gone out in darkness, but 
 rather to look up, and say in- the words of 
 the sweet old poet : 
 
 " They are all gone into the world of light, 
 
 And I alone sit lingering here ; 
 Their very memory is fair and bright, 
 
 And my sad thoughts doth clear. 
 
 " I see them walking in an air of glory, 
 Whose light doth trample on my days. 
 
 My days which are at best but dull and hoary. 
 Mere glimmerings and decays. 
 
 " O holy Hope and high Humility — 
 
 High as the heavens above ; 
 These are your walks, and you have showed them me 
 
 To kindle my cold love." 
 
 There is no night there. I cannot under- 
 stand just what heaven is, but I think I can 
 feel something of the meaning of these words. 
 They mean that there is no weariness in that 
 blessed abode. The inhabitants of that country, 
 employed in higher and more glorious activities 
 than earth can ever know, speeding ever with 
 glad motion on their joyous tasks, feel no 
 fatigue nor weakness. They faint not, neither 
 
6i 
 
 need to sleep. For they are delivered from 
 the weary burdens of the flesh. They are free 
 and tireless spirits. Their po\Vers and their 
 joys are endless and unbroken. 
 
 There is no nigJit there. No sin, no 
 shame, no guilt. Dark, dark and heavy Is the 
 shadow of evil that rests upon us here, a 
 shadow full of bitterness and grief, clouding 
 our brightest days and hiding the face of our 
 God from us. But there, all Is pure and 
 clear ; no more stains upon the soul, no more 
 barriers between us and God. The light of 
 His holiness shall flow through and through 
 us, as the sunlight flows through the rainbow's 
 glittering arch, making every drop shine like a 
 flawless jewel. 
 
 TJiere is no night tJiere. No death, no 
 separation. Loving hearts there united, are 
 parted nevermore. They understand each 
 other perfectly ; they possess each other 
 eternally. The glow of affection fades not, 
 the joy of Intercourse is not broken. They 
 dwell forever in the light of love. 
 
 There is no night there. No sorrow, no 
 
62 
 
 fear, no unbelief. All questionings and mis- 
 givings, all mysteries and doubts are swal- 
 lowed up and lost in the flood of radiance 
 that streams from the Lamb in the midst of 
 the throne. There is no more darkness, no 
 more trembling, no more mistrust. For to be 
 absent from the body is to be present with 
 the Lord, and the ransomed spirit beholding 
 in unspeakable rapture the blessed face of the 
 Son of God, is satisfied when it awakes in 
 His likeness. 
 
 Glorious awakening ! God grant it to us. 
 When the night of death comes to you and 
 to me, may it come as it came to him whom 
 we now remember, the peaceful close of a well- 
 spent day, and the welcome passage 
 
 "To where, beyond these shadows, there is Light." 
 
Resolutions, 
 
NATIONAL BANK OF COMMERCE. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Board of Direc- 
 tors of the National Bank of Commerce, In 
 New York, held on Thursday, February 15, 
 1883, the death of the Hon. Edwin D. Morgan 
 was announced as having occurred at 8 a. m., 
 on Wednesday, February 14 ; whereupon It was 
 
 Resolved, That the Board of Directors of the 
 National Bank of Commerce, In New York, 
 feeling profoundly the great loss they have 
 sustained in the death of their late associate 
 and friend, Edwin D. Morgan, and beinor moved 
 by a pervading sorrow, would extend to the 
 afflicted widow of the deceased their heartfelt 
 sympathy. 
 
 Resolved, That by the death of Governor 
 Morgan this bank is deprived of one of Its 
 
66 
 
 oldest and most useful directors, who was 
 always recognized by his fellow members as a 
 man of much force, of extensive knowledge 
 and controlling influence ; alike vigilant and 
 faithful ; and, being gifted with superior abilities, 
 he was valued here as an efficient co-worker, 
 while he was endeared to his associates by 
 the manly graces which adorned his character 
 and life, and lent a charm to his intercourse 
 with all. 
 
 Resolved, That as a token of respect to the 
 memory of the deceased, the following minute 
 be entered at length on our book of records. 
 
 Resolved, That the members of this Board 
 will attend the funeral in a body ; and a 
 committee will accompany the remains to their 
 final resting place at Hartford. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings 
 be sent to Mrs. Morgan. 
 
67 
 
 IN MEMORIAM, 
 
 Edwin D. Morgan, who died in this city, 
 on Wednesday, the 14th inst., at 8 a. m., was 
 born in Washington, Berkshire County, Massa- 
 chusetts, on the 3d day of February, 181 1. 
 
 At the age of seventeen, having enjoyed 
 but Hmited opportunities of acquiring an edu- 
 cation, he entered the store of his uncle, 
 Nathan Morgan, with whom, in about three 
 years, he became a partner. 
 
 In 1836 he removed to New York, and 
 engaged in business on his own account, as a 
 grocer, in Front Street. From that time to the 
 present his Hfe may be divided into three 
 periods more or less distinct : The first embraced 
 about twenty years, during which he was most 
 active as a merchant, extending his operations 
 from our own to foreign countries, and becoming 
 known as a large importer of teas, sugars and 
 coffee. His connection with the firm of E. D. 
 Morgan & Co., as senior partner, was continued 
 through various changes in its organization, 
 
68 
 
 and only ceased with his death. For an equal 
 period of about twenty years, Including a portion 
 of the years allotted to his active business 
 career, he was largely Identified with the politi- 
 cal life of our City and State, and of the 
 United States — being at one time a member 
 of the Board of Assistant Aldermen of New 
 York ; twice State Senator ; a delegate to a 
 conference assembled at Pittsburgh In 1856 ; 
 chairman of the convention that followexl at 
 Philadelphia ; and afterward chairman of the 
 National Republican Committee ; tiuicc a Gov- 
 ernor of the State of New York ; and, finally, 
 a Senator of the United States. 
 
 After fulfilling the term for which he was 
 elected to this last high office, ending In 1869, 
 Governor Morgan directed his energies largely 
 to the various institutions with which he was 
 connected as a director ; notably the United 
 States Trust Company, the New York, Lake 
 Erie & Western R.R. Co., the Western Union 
 Telegraph Co., and the National Bank of Com- 
 merce, in New York. 
 
 In his lontr active and varied career as 
 
69 
 
 merchant, statesman and trustee, he enjoyed 
 a high character for Integrity, ability and good 
 judgment ; commanding In all these relations 
 the confidence of his fellow man. 
 
 He was twice tendered the office of Secretary 
 of the Treasury, and twice he declined the 
 honor. (His nomination by President Arthur 
 was confirmed by the Senate.) 
 
 His Interest In political affairs did not cease 
 with his retirement from the United States 
 Senate, but his counsel has been ever at the 
 command of those filling the highest offices In 
 public life, and Is believed to have been In 
 these latter days eminently wise and salutary. 
 
 In the critical period of our civil war, during 
 which he was the Governor of this State, his 
 services were as Important as they were pa- 
 triotic ; contributing largely to the final success 
 of the war. 
 
 It does not fall within the purpose of this 
 minute to recall and recite the offices 
 that were filled by Governor Morgan In 
 social and religious life, nor to speak of 
 his munificent gifts to Institutions of learning 
 
70 
 
 in this and other States ; these and what 
 he did to promote the cause of rehgion and 
 philanthropy will more naturally fall to the 
 office of the biographer. 
 
 Governor Morgan was elected a director of 
 this bank the 24th of June, 1843, to fill a va- 
 cancy caused by the resignation of the late Jona- 
 than Sturges ; and this record would be incom- 
 plete did it not testify to the faithfulness 
 with which he discharged his duty, especially 
 as chairman of the committee on the state 
 of the bank, and did it not show how, with 
 advancing years, he won upon the respect and 
 admiration of his associates of the bank, who 
 now mourn the loss of an upright, dignified 
 and judicious counsellor and friend. 
 
71 
 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 
 
 At a meeting of the Executive Committee 
 of the American Tract Society, held F^ebruary 
 19, 1883, it was 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of the Hon. 
 Edwin Denison Morgan, the Tract Society 
 laments the loss of a steadfast and efficient 
 friend, whose aid could always be relied upon 
 and whose name was a tower of strength. He 
 was born in Washington, Mass., among the 
 Berkshire Hills, February 3, 181 1, but spent 
 his early life in Connecticut, and came from 
 Hartford to New York in 1836, where the 
 business energy, boldness and sagacity he had 
 already shown found a wider field and secured 
 large and rapidly growing successes. The same 
 qualities that gained him eminence as a mer- 
 chant prince, also made him prominent in 
 
72 
 
 various corporations with which he was associ- 
 ated, and prepared him for the faithful and 
 most Important services he was enabled In 
 God's providence to render to the country, as 
 Governor of the Empire State during two 
 critical terms In our national history, and after- 
 ward as United States Senator from this State, 
 from 1863 to 1869. He scorned to enrich 
 himself at the cost of his country In the hour 
 of her sore perplexity and need ; and his 
 inflexible Integrity and honor stood as a barrier 
 against many corrupt schemes. As a Christian 
 merchant he was an honor to the name. 
 
 For eight years, beginning In 1875, he has 
 been officially connected with the Tract Society 
 as a Vice President, a regular and liberal con- 
 tributor to Its funds, and often cheering the 
 anniversary hour with his attentive presence. 
 The Union Theological Seminary In this city, 
 as well as Williams College and other institu- 
 tions, found in him a most liberal benefactor. 
 His well rounded life terminated in Christian 
 peace, February 14, and an almost unexampled 
 concourse of men of distinction in the Church 
 
and In the State did him honor at his burial. 
 Yet nothing in his useful life gave him more 
 satisfaction, at its close, than what he had done 
 and given distinctively for the cause of Christ. 
 Resolved, That a copy of this minute be sent 
 to the family of Mr. Morgan, with the ex- 
 pression of the heartfelt and respectful sym- 
 pathy of the committee and officers of the 
 society. 
 
 A true copy from the minutes. 
 
 Wm. W. Rand, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
74 
 
 ASSEMBLY, STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF NEW 
 YORK, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY I9, 1883, UPON 
 
 THE OCCASION OF THE SPECIAL ORDER OF THE DAY 
 
 THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO DRAFT 
 RESOLUTIONS OF RESPECT FOR THE MEMORY OF EDWIN 
 D. MORGAN, FORMERLY GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 The Speaker having, on a previous occasion, 
 appointed the following gentlemen a select com- 
 mittee to draft resolutions, viz. : Messrs. Eras- 
 tus Brooks, Walter Howe, William A. Poucher, 
 George H. Roesch, Stafford C. Cleveland, Mr. 
 Brooks, from that committee, reported the fol- 
 lowing resolutions : 
 
 Resolved, That the Assembly learn with pro- 
 found sorrow of the sudden death of the Hon. 
 EiJWiN D. M()Kc;an, twice the chief magis- 
 trate of the State, twice a Senator in the 
 
75 
 
 Legislature, and once, by the votes of the 
 two houses of the Legislature, Senator of the 
 State in the Congress of the United States. 
 
 In all these important offices, filled by the 
 votes of constituents at home, by the voice of 
 the people at large, and by the votes of the 
 representatives of the people in the two houses 
 of the Legislature, the present Assembly recall 
 very many patriotic and eminent services ren- 
 dered to the people of this commonwealth 
 and to the people of the United States. 
 
 In the Civil War no man was more faith- 
 ful in his devotion to the honor of the State, 
 and no one more liberal in providing for its 
 support. In his official life, as the Governor 
 of the State, he directed and encouraged all 
 honorable means to maintain the integrity of 
 the union of the States ; and, as the chief citi- 
 zen of this commonwealth, by precept and by 
 example, in work, hope and faith, he encour- 
 aged his fellow citizens in defending the flag of 
 his country until the Union was restored, and 
 peace and good will re-established among the 
 whole people. 
 
76 
 
 The Assembly of this State, while deeply 
 lamenting the sudden death and loss of one 
 so long in the public service, take great sat- 
 isfaction in expressing, in this public manner, 
 their regard for his distinguished patriotism, 
 their respect for his philanthropy, and their 
 esteem for that constant display of practical 
 Christian charity which marked, in an especial 
 manner, the years of his long life. 
 
 He gave liberally to relieve human suf- 
 fering, and to promote Christian education 
 throughout the State and country. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these proceedings 
 be entered upon the journal of this House, 
 and forwarded to the family of the deceased. 
 
n 
 
 ASSOCIA TION 
 
 FOR THE RELIEF OF RESPECTABLE 
 
 AGED INDIGENT FEMALES. 
 
 Asylum, 226 East 2oth St., ) 
 
 New York, February 75, 1883 
 
 My dear Mrs. Morgan: 
 
 It becomes my sad duty to express to you 
 and your family the sympathy of the Board of 
 Managers of the Association for the ReHef of 
 Respectable Aged Indigent Females, as ex- 
 pressed at a special meeting held this day, in 
 your and their bereavement In the loss of 
 your honored husband. 
 
 We realize that in the death of Mr. Mor- 
 gan we have lost a wise counsellor and adviser, 
 whose time has been freely given, and whose 
 energies have been devoted to our best 
 interests. 
 
78 
 
 We do not desire to wound afresh by re- 
 counting his many virtues, but, as fellow work- 
 ers with you, we personally mourn his loss, and 
 wish to record this tribute of respect and re- 
 gard for our valued friend and associate. 
 
 Recopfnizlnof In his loss the hand of God, 
 we tender to you and your family our deep 
 and earnest sympathy. 
 
 By order of the Board, 
 
 K. H. Hamlin, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
79 
 
 WOMAN'S HOSPITAL, IN THE 
 STATE OF NEW YORK, 
 
 Cor. of 49TH St. and 4TH Ave., 
 New York, February ig^ i88j. 
 
 Dear Madam : 
 
 I beg to send you a copy of a minute 
 which was adopted at a special meeting of the 
 Board of Governors of the Woman's Hospital, 
 In the State of New York, held on the 14th 
 instant. 
 
 *' The Board of Governors of the Woman's 
 Hospital, in the State of New York, convened 
 to take action in reference to the death of 
 Hon. E. D. Morgan, their late president, 
 direct this minute to be made : 
 
 '' Governor Morgan was one of the Incor- 
 porators of this institution, and served as a 
 governor from 1857 to 1859, when he re- 
 signed, and was again elected a member of 
 
8o 
 
 the Board in 1871, and, In 1877, ^^ the 
 death of our former president, James W. 
 Beekman, was elected to the vacant position. 
 " Governor Morgan has administered the 
 duties of the office from that time until his 
 death, which occurred February 14, 1883, with 
 that distinguished ability and generosity which 
 he has shown throughout his eventful and 
 Illustrious life. During the period of his 
 administration as president he has contributed 
 most liberally to the support of the hospital, 
 and, through his Influence and' example, others 
 have been Induced to give largely when the wants 
 of the Institution were most pressing. Wise 
 In counsel, discreet and discriminating In the 
 choice of his benefactions, his aim was always 
 to so give that his generosity should accom- 
 plish permanent good. As president of the 
 hospital, In the midst of his other pressing 
 private and public engagements. Governor 
 Morgan gave his personal attention to the 
 duties of the office, was present at Its meet- 
 ings, except in rare instances when actual sick- 
 ness prevented, and though at an age when, 
 
8i 
 
 after so remarkable a career, he had a right 
 to rest, gave most cheerfully to the many diffi- 
 cult questions arising in the administration of 
 this trust, that careful thought and the bene- 
 fit of that large experience which has ranked 
 his name so high as a merchant and a citi- 
 zen, and which, in the dark days of our 
 internal conflict, made him, as chief magistrate 
 of this commonwealth, a tower of strength. 
 
 ''He died as he had lived — a firm believer 
 in that faith of which he had long ago, in 
 the days of his greatest activity, made a full 
 profession. 
 
 ''We here tender to the members of his 
 family our most profound and respectful 
 sympathy. 
 
 " At the same meeting it was 
 
 ''Resolved, That the members of the Board 
 attend the funeral services at the church in a 
 body, and that a committee from the Board 
 accompany the remains to Hartford." 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 C. N. Talikjt, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
82 
 
 IVOMAA^'S HOSP/TAL, IN THE 
 STATE OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Cor. 49TH St. and 4TH Ave., ( 
 New York, March j>, 1883. S 
 
 As the Board of Lady Supervisors of the 
 Woman's Hospital met to-day, our first im- 
 pulse, as well as our first duty, was to ex- 
 press our profound sense of the loss we have 
 experienced in the death of the President of 
 our Board of Governors, the Hon. E. D. 
 Morgan. 
 
 He was for many years closely associated 
 with us, and his interest in our work was 
 unfailing. If we could coin golden words 
 from the love and reverence of our hearts, 
 they might form some fitting tribute to his 
 memory. But words can poorly express his 
 worth — a man wise in counsel, just in decision, 
 
83 
 
 firm In friendship, princely In liberality, and 
 with a largeness of Christian character which 
 permeated the whole. ''The Lord gave and 
 the Lord hath taken away." ''He has gone 
 to that city where the Inhabitants shall no 
 more say, 'I am sick,'" and "where God 
 shall wipe the tears from all eyes." 
 
 And now, while we mourn most sincerely 
 our own loss, we grieve still more deeply for 
 those members of his family and household, to 
 whom this bereavement comes with added 
 force, and therefore, as a Board and as Indi- 
 viduals, we hereby desire to express to them 
 our sincerest sympathy, praying that God may 
 be with them, and that His rod and His 
 staff may comfort them at this time and 
 forever. 
 
 Signed by order of the Board, 
 
 Phebe Lord Day, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
84 
 
 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. 
 
 Monthly Meeting, 
 
 Thursday, March /, i88j. 
 
 The regular monthly meeting of the Chamber 
 OF Commerce was held this day at one o'clock 
 p. m., at the Rooms of the Chamber, No. 63 
 William Street. Present — George W. Lane, 
 President ; James M. Brown, First Vice-Presi- 
 dent ; William H. Fogg, Second Vice-President; 
 George Wilson, Secretary ; and a quorum of 
 members. 
 
 On motion of Mr. William H. Fogg, the 
 regular order of business was suspended. Mr. 
 Fogg said that Mr. John Austin Stevens had 
 been requested to prepare a minute in regard 
 to the death of Ex-Governor Edwin D. Mor- 
 gan, which he would present for the action of 
 the Chamber. 
 
 Mr. Stevens submitted and read the following 
 niinute and accompanying resolutions : 
 
85 
 
 IN MEMORY OF EDWIN D. MORGAN. 
 
 Born Feb. 3, iSii. Dip:d Feh. 14, 1883. 
 
 The Chamber of Commerce this day record 
 their sense of the loss they, in common with 
 the entire body of merchants of this city and 
 the community at large, have sustained in the 
 death of their distinguished associate, the Hon. 
 Edwin Denlson Morgan. 
 
 Of the many illustrious members of this 
 ancient corporation, who have filled high public 
 offices, but three have been intrusted by the 
 people of this State with the supreme execu- 
 tive authority. And of these, Mr. Morgan only 
 was a merchant. To his honorable and success- 
 ful life we therefore point with the utmost pride. 
 That life, reachinof the full measure of the 
 span allotted to man, is a part of the history 
 of the country. From its study, generations of 
 our youth shall learn lessons of industry, saga- 
 city, inflexible determination and devotion to 
 duty. They shall find that republics are not 
 ungrateful, and that from modest origin the 
 path to highest honors lies open to him who 
 
86 
 
 treads with firm and unwavering step. They 
 shall find, also, that the pursuit of commerce 
 is not a bar to political distinction, but on the 
 contrary, when allied to a thorough under- 
 standing of economic principles, may prove a 
 sure qualification. 
 
 From early youth Mr. Morgan displayed the 
 grasp of mind, the strong self-confidence which 
 he carried into every enterprise, every business, 
 every office with which he later had to do. 
 No scheme was too large for his comprehension, 
 no difficulties too great for his mastery. He 
 was bold as he was wise. From a small 
 beginning in a special trade, he rapidly ex- 
 tended his operations over a wide field, and 
 became a merchant, in the broadest sense of 
 the term ; a banker and a financier. 
 
 Success rewarded his untiring and well directed 
 labor. He accumulated great wealth for himself, 
 and by his wise counsels promoted the pros- 
 perity of some of the most important financial 
 and industrial institutions of this City and 
 State. He was for many years a Director in 
 the National Hank of Commerce, the United 
 
87 
 
 States Trust Company, the New York, Lake 
 Erie and Western Railroad Company and the 
 Western Union Telegraph Company. 
 
 But business success did not satisfy the 
 measure of his ambition, and from his youth 
 he aimed at public honors. At twenty-one he 
 was a member of the City Council of Hart- 
 ford. In 1849 he was elected to the Board 
 of Assistant Aldermen of the City of New 
 York, and from this time forward was almost 
 without interruption in public service, rising 
 steadily in grades of trust. He represented 
 the Sixth District in the Senate of the State 
 in 1850 and 1852, and held the important 
 post of Chairman of the Committee on Finance. 
 He carried the bill establishing the Central 
 Park. From 1855 to 1858 he was Commis- 
 sioner of Emi<xration. One of the founders of 
 the Republican party, in which was consoli- 
 dated the Free Soil sentiment of this State, 
 he took early and important part in its 
 deliberations. In 1858 he was chosen Governor 
 of the State of New York, and re-elected by a 
 large majority in i860. His administration was 
 
88 
 
 distinguished by economy, strict accountability, 
 and a reduction of the pubHc debt. 
 
 On the secession of the Southern States, he 
 tendered to the President the resources of the 
 State, secured the necessary appropriation from 
 the Legislature, and immediately organized its 
 military forces. Aided by the gentleman, now 
 the distinoruished Chief Maofistrate of the United 
 States, he directed the enlistment and support 
 of the large armies which marched to the front 
 from New York in defence of the Union. Ten- 
 dered the appointment of Major-General of Volun- 
 teers, he accepted the rank, but declined any com- 
 pensation for his services. In 1862 he was 
 chosen Senator of the United States for New 
 York, a position which he held with honor and 
 credit till 1869. He was twice nominated to 
 the post of Secretary of the Treasury by Presi- 
 dent Lincoln, but declined the appointment ; 
 later, nominated by President Arthur, and unani- 
 mously confirmed by the Senate, he again re- 
 fused the signal honor. 
 
 In every sense Mr. Morgan was a merchant 
 prince, after the manner of the illustrious men 
 
89 
 
 who ruled the fortunes of the Italian States in 
 their days of power and glory ; like them, he 
 was a munificent patron of letters and of art. 
 His large gallery of paintings contains choice 
 works of the best of modern artists, native and 
 foreign, and his benefactions to colleges and 
 schools were on a princely scale, including 
 buildings, libraries and educational foundations. 
 His charities were equally extensive; his well- 
 devised and wisely distributed bequests reaching 
 to a tithe of his large estate. 
 
 Although Mr. Morgan at no time held any 
 office in this Chamber, he was alive to the 
 merit of its services to the true interests of 
 the nation, and in his executive and legislative 
 offices promoted its recommendations, as the 
 authoritative opinions of the merchants of New 
 York. He was, moreover, represented in the 
 councils of the Chamber by members of his 
 commercial firm. 
 
 In our deep sorrow for the great public loss 
 sustained in the death of this noble and upright 
 character, we remember the greater bereave- 
 ment to his family ; may they, as we, find 
 
90 
 
 consolation In the general honor paid by his 
 friends, his associates and his countrymen to 
 the merchant statesman. 
 
 Resolved, That this memorial minute be 
 entered upon the records of the Chamber, and 
 that a copy be sent to his Excellency the 
 Governor of the State of New York, to the 
 President of the Senate of the United States, 
 and to the President of the United States. 
 
 Resolved fitrthery That a copy be sent to 
 the family of Mr. Morgan, with the expression 
 of our sincere sympathy in their great bereave- 
 ment. 
 
91 
 
 MARITIME ASSOCIATION, PORT OF 
 NEW YORK, 
 
 New York, February /p, 1883. 
 
 i\t a meeting of the Board of Directors of this 
 Association, held this day, the following preamble 
 and resolutions were unanimously adopted : 
 
 Whereas, The recent decease of Hon. Edwin 
 D. Morgan calls for something more than ordinary 
 recognition from this Association, In view of the 
 prominent position he occupied for many years 
 past in the business community of New York ; 
 and. 
 
 Whereas, In common with the other mercantile 
 Interests of New York, we recognize the decease 
 of Edwin D. Morgan as creating a void not easily 
 filled ; therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That the Board of Directors of this 
 Association desire to place on record their appre- 
 
92 
 
 ciation of the loss the mercantile community has 
 sustained In the decease of so distinguished a 
 merchant and statesman as Edwin D. Morgan. It 
 is not usual to find combined in one nature the 
 qualities that make a man equally estimable in 
 both capacities. Mr. Morgan possessed them to 
 the largest extent, and in whatever light you view 
 his character, either as a merchant, as Governor of 
 this State, or as United States Senator, he exem- 
 plified by his acts in each capacity the simple fact 
 that he was always the right man and in the right 
 place. 
 
 Edwin D. Morgan, after a life of usefulness, 
 has gone to his long home. He had passed the 
 ''threescore years and ten" allotted to man. 
 
 This Association beers to add this slii^ht tribute 
 of regard, esteem and affection to his memory. 
 
 Charles F. Elwell, 
 
 President. 
 
 Henry A. Thomas, 
 
 Acting Secretary. 
 
93 
 
 UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 
 
 At a special meeting of the Board of Directors 
 of the Union Theological Seminary, In the City 
 of New York, held February 15, 1883, the follow- 
 ing minute was adopted unanimously, and ordered 
 to be placed upon the records : 
 
 Minute. 
 
 The death of ex-Governor Morgan has removed 
 from Influential circles one who, through a long and 
 consistent life, has been a faithful servant of both 
 the State and the Church. Beginning life upon 
 the common level, by Industry, Integrity and 
 fidelity to every trust, he rose steadily and without 
 any relapses, to high public confidence and honor. 
 His career makes an Important part of the com- 
 mercial and political history of his time. He 
 served the State of his adoption and the country 
 of his birth in times of peace and also of peril. In 
 
94 
 
 the great emergency he proved equal to the occa- 
 sion, and, Hke the great Enghsh commoner, was a 
 pilot who weathered the storm. The American 
 people will always remember his services and 
 cherish his name. 
 
 But the directors of the Union Seminary, repre- 
 senting, not political, but educational and religious 
 Interests, have a special reason for expressing their 
 grief at his death, and recording their respect for 
 the departed. 
 
 Governor Morgan, while engrossed as few have 
 been In commercial and mercantile pursuits, was 
 never blinded by them to the paramount Import- 
 ance of learning and religion. These always 
 elicited his respect and received his substantial 
 support. This spirit grew upon him as he ad- 
 vanced in years and drew nearer the time when 
 men must give an account of their stewardship. 
 
 In the distribution of large sums for benevolent 
 purposes, he remembered this Institution of sacred 
 learning, established In the metropolis where a 
 favoring providence had permitted him to amass 
 great wealth. The munificent gift of Governor 
 Morgan enabled the Union Theological Seminary 
 
95 
 
 to take a new departure, and crowning the previous 
 benefactions of Its generous patrons and friends, 
 placed its future beyond doubt and anxiety. In all 
 coming time any who shall either give or receive 
 Instruction In this Institution, and all who shall feel 
 any good Influence from It, will mention with 
 regard and veneration the name of Edwin D. 
 Morgan. 
 
 To his widowed companion for fifty years, and 
 to all his sorrowing kindred, the directors of Union 
 Seminary would express their sincere sympathy 
 and most respectful condolence. 
 
 Charles Butler, 
 
 President. 
 E. M. KiNGSLEY, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
96 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL, 
 
 The Board of Managers of the Presbyterian 
 Hospital are filled with profound grief by the 
 death of Its president, ex-Governor Edwin D. 
 Morgan, who rose by his own exertions and 
 merits to the highest positions — social, mercan- 
 tile, moral and political, In the City, State and 
 nation. His death Is an almost irreparable loss 
 to the community In which, during an active, 
 extremely useful and eventful life, he did so 
 much for his fellow men. It Is also an equally 
 great loss to the Presbyterian Hospital. 
 
 Governor Morgan was one of the most 
 liberal benefactors of the hospital, and one of 
 Its most active and useful managers, always 
 manifesting a hearty Interest In Its success and 
 prosperity. 
 
 Wherefore, this Board directs this minute to 
 be entered on its records of its high esti- 
 
97 
 
 matlon of their deceased president, and re- 
 solve that they will attend his funeral in a 
 body, and that a copy of this minute be sent 
 to the family of the deceased. 
 
 We hereby certify the foregoing to be a cor- 
 rect extract from the minutes of a meeting of 
 the Board of Managers of the Presbyterian 
 Hospital, held on the 15th day of February, 
 
 1883. 
 
 Geo. W. Lane, 
 
 Vice President. 
 
 Henry M. Tabor, 
 
 Recording Secretary. 
 
98 
 
 .VBJF YOKA\ LAKE ERIE & WESTERN 
 RAILROAD COMPANY. 
 
 At a meeting of the Board of Directors of 
 the New York, Lake Erie & Western Rail- 
 road Company, held February 15, 1883, Mr. 
 Jewett presiding, the following resolution was 
 adopted : 
 
 Resolved, That the death of the Hon. Edwin 
 D. Morgan has deprived this company of one 
 of its most valued and efficient officers. 
 
 As director and member of the Executive 
 Committee for a number of years past, his 
 interest in the affairs of the company has 
 ever been shown by wise counsels, by ready 
 aid and influence, and by unswerving confi- 
 dence in its ultimate i)rosperity. His personal 
 care and attention have been freely given, at 
 all times, to sustain the credit and the rcpu- 
 
99 
 
 tation of the company, and with the moral 
 weight of his name and reputation, have con- 
 tributed largely to the success which thus far 
 the company has attained. 
 
 His associates desire to recognize his un- 
 varying courtesy and his consideration for the 
 views of others, and, by formal entry upon 
 the records of the company, to perpetuate 
 evidence of their appreciation of his high 
 character, and of the great value of his past 
 services to the company. 
 
 Certified as a true copy from the records. 
 
 A. R. Macdonough, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
lOO 
 
 NEW YORK CITY MISSION, 
 
 No. 50 Bible House, \ 
 
 New York, March 5, 1883. ) 
 
 In regular meeting of the Executive Com- 
 mittee of the City Mission, held this day, ap- 
 propriate mention being made of the death of 
 prominent members. It was voted that the fol- 
 lowing minute be entered upon the records, and 
 a copy sent to the family of the departed : 
 
 ''The City Mission, called repeatedly to 
 mourn the loss of Its most distinguished mem- 
 bers, would bear grateful testimony to the 
 memory of the Hon. Edwin D. Morgan, 
 whose valuable life has just terminated. 
 
 ''Governor Morgan, prominent In the estima- 
 tion of all good citizens, for his many civic and 
 social virtues. Is most affectionately remembered 
 by this committee for his large hearted and 
 
lOI 
 
 generous interest In the cause of Christian 
 education and philanthropy. 
 
 **The Executive Committee would beg to as- 
 sure Mrs. Morgan of its most sincere sympathy 
 in this hour of bereavement and sorrow. 
 
 Morris K. Jesup, 
 
 President. 
 L. E. Jackson, 
 
 Secretary. 
 
I02 
 
 UNION LEAGUE CLUB. 
 
 RESOLUTIONS PREPARED BY HON. WM. M. EVARTS. 
 
 Resolved, That in the death of Edwin D. 
 Morgan, the community in which he so long 
 filled so prominent and so useful a position has 
 suffered the loss of one of its most eminent 
 citizens, a patriotic and public spirited statesman, 
 a generous public benefactor and an upright and 
 faithful man. 
 
 Resolved, That the career of Governor Mor- 
 gan, both in his private pursuits as a merchant, 
 and in the full round of his political employment 
 in the service of the City, the State and the 
 Nation, presents a signal instance of those sterl- 
 ing and steadfast qualities which, under our 
 beneficent institutions of government and society, 
 secure the highest honors to their possessors, 
 and the highest benefits to the community from 
 their exhibition and exercise. 
 
I03 
 
 Resolved, That the Union League Chib, be- 
 sides its share in this general bereavement and 
 grief, laments the removal from continued service 
 and fellowship of one of its most valued and 
 most honored members, one to whose earnest 
 support and wise and courageous counsels it 
 always looked with confidence in every critical 
 position of its affairs. 
 
 Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions, 
 signed by the President and Secretary of the 
 Club, be transmitted to the family of our de- 
 ceased friend and associate, with an expression 
 of our sincere condolence in their affliction. 
 
I04 
 
 BOARD OF ALDERMEN, CITY OF 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 By Alderman M. Duffy : 
 
 Whereas, In the demise of one so eminent In 
 the history of National, State and Municipal poli- 
 tics as Edwin D. Morgan, United States Senator, 
 Governor and Alderman, It Is but fitting that the 
 representatives of the metropolis of the Empire 
 State should make record of the fact and give 
 attestation to his many virtues, whilst expressing 
 earnest sympathy for his relatives and friends ; 
 therefore. 
 
 Resolved, That, recognizing with unfaltering 
 faith the Inscrutable wisdom of the '' Great Ruler 
 of the Universe" in that It Is declared to us '' He 
 doeth all things well," we cannot but deplore the 
 fiat which has removed from his earthly labors of 
 love and charity the lamented Edwin D. Morgan, 
 
I05 
 
 one so kind and generous by nature, so eminent In 
 national council, and we record herewith our recog- 
 nition that he was faithful to the trusts confided to 
 him by the State as Governor In the trying period 
 of a nation's peril, and earnest In the performance 
 of his duties as representative in the legislative 
 councils of this municipality. His unbounded 
 generosity and open handed charity are endearing 
 to memory, and we sorrow at his death, but glory 
 In the hope of his higher attainments. 
 
 Resolved, That we realize that no panegyric, 
 however eloquent, can add lustre to his fame, 
 which Is already historic, yet we may testify our 
 appreciation thereof, and of the fact that his 
 record thus attained will remain as Imperishable as 
 that of National, State or Municipal government. 
 
 Resolved, That we extend to the relatives and 
 friends of the lamented Senator, Governor and 
 Alderman our sincere condolence In their bereave- 
 ment ; that the Clerk be directed to appropriately 
 transmit the same to his family, and that in 
 respect to his memory this Board do now adjourn. 
 
 In seconding the adoption of the preamble and 
 resolutions, Aldermen FItzpatrick and Cochrane 
 
io6 
 
 adverted in glowing tributes to the private and 
 public worth and services of the deceased. 
 
 The President then put the question on the 
 preamble and all but the last resolution, which 
 was decided in the affirmative, unanimously. 
 The President then put the question whether 
 the Board would agree with the last resolution, 
 which was decided in the affirmative. And the 
 President announced that the Board stood ad- 
 journed until Tuesday, the 27th instant, at 12 
 o'clock m. 
 
 Francis J. Twomey, 
 
 Clerk. 
 
iWemoriate of Col>eir ©nes. 
 
(%1 
 
 WXmmm 
 
 OF THE LATE 
 
 EDWIN DENISON MORGAN, Jr., M. D., 
 
 BY C. R. AGNEW, M. D. 
 
 (Read before the Medical Society of the County of New York, 
 January, 1880.) 
 
 Edwin Denison Morgan, Jr., a late mem- 
 ber of our society, was born in 1834, at Hart- 
 ford, Connecticut, and died at Suffield, In the 
 same State, on the fifteenth of August, 1879. 
 His remains were buried In the family burial 
 place. In the Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford, on 
 the eighteenth of August, 1879. His life was 
 not what would be called a very eventful one, 
 but it had one great quality, that it grew 
 brighter and more beneficent as It advanced, 
 until it ripened under the benign Influence of 
 Christian faith, and closed, leaving a priceless 
 legacy to his family that there was a well- 
 founded hope of blessed Immortality. 
 
no 
 
 Dr. Morgan got his early education at 
 Greenwich, Connecticut. At fifteen years of 
 age he made a voyage around the world in a 
 sailing ship. At its close he entered the 
 Literary Institute at Suffield, Connecticut. At 
 nineteen years of age he married Sarah E. 
 Archer, of that town, to whom, under God, as 
 he was wont to say, he owed a debt of grati- 
 tude impossible to overestimate. 
 
 From i860 to 1862 he served as colonel 
 on the staff of his father, then Governor of 
 the State of New York, and saw something 
 of that political storm which burst upon our 
 country in the great civil war ; and the bold 
 and fearless stand which his patriotic father 
 took to cast the entire power of our State on 
 the side of our menaced national unity. 
 
 It was after that time that his life 
 became a more earnest one, and to be in- 
 spired with motives of a character which im- 
 pelled him to resist more actively the induce- 
 ments to luxurious ease, which abundant pe- 
 cuniary means so constantly presented, he 
 determined to devote the rest of his life to 
 
1 1 1 
 
 the arduous pursuits of our profession. He 
 went to Europe in 1867, returned at the end 
 of a year, and began the study of medicine, 
 at the age of thirty-three, with vigor, zeal, en- 
 thusiasm and pertinacity, under the direction of 
 Austin FHnt, M. D. He graduated from the 
 Bellevue Hospital Medical College in 1871. 
 He soon opened an office on the west side 
 of the city, near the quarters of the poor, 
 and from that moment until broken down in 
 health, in the spring of 1879, devoted him- 
 self, as the writer of this very well knows, to 
 the unpaid care of the sick poor. I take 
 back the word ''unpaid." He got his reward; 
 for, although he, with exemplary reticence and 
 meekness, tried to hide his beneficence from 
 the gaze and applause of his fellow men, it 
 was seen, we must believe, by One who never 
 allows a cup of cold water even to be given, 
 in true charity, to a sufferer without a note in 
 His book of remembrance against the da}' 
 when earth and sea shall give up their dead 
 for the final judgment. 
 
 After many months of distressing, deepen- 
 
112 
 
 Ing and weary weakness, and waiting, he passed 
 quietly away. 
 
 A star will mark his name In our hst here, 
 and let us fondly believe a star will be 
 added to the crown of that Master In Heaven, 
 through whose blood he trusted to be saved. 
 It was a noble thing for him to enter the 
 profession, as he did, at thirty-three years of 
 age, and to struggle that he might do good 
 to others. Let us not forget, then, that one 
 crowning, closing episode In his life. 
 
 No mere perfume of rhetoric can embalm 
 a human memory. It must live or die in 
 virtue of Its own intrinsic vitality. As we 
 turn away from the new grave of a departed 
 friend and colleague, let us ask, every man 
 ask himself, ''Who next, and whither?" — ''Who 
 next, and whither?" 
 
OF THE LATE 
 
 MRS. E. D. MORGAN, Jr. 
 
 On our busy and excited hearts death laid 
 his silence and chill, last Sunday morning, as 
 we heard that one of the loveliest, best of 
 women, had been taken from us, after twelve 
 hours' Illness. Mrs. Morgan was a delicate 
 woman, and had never recovered from the 
 shock and heart-break of her husband's death, 
 which occurred last August. But she was so 
 well as to be out on Saturday morning, and 
 was sitting dressed at her embroidery when 
 the fatal pain In the head announced the 
 coming end. So sudden and so shocking was 
 this speedy termination of a most valuable life, 
 that her family could hardly realize that she 
 had gone, as at six o'clock on Sunday only a 
 lifeless statue of beauty and repose lay before 
 
114 
 
 them. She was a woman of deHcate domestic 
 intuitions, and would have preferred a quiet 
 hfe. But the great distinction of her father-in- 
 law, as Governor and Senator, called her into 
 the gay and brilliant world for many years, 
 and once there she played the part with an 
 exceeding elegance. There was nothing done 
 that was not done well, and as a wife and 
 mother she was peerless. Her devotion to her 
 husband was beyond all words, and one may 
 really believe that her grief at his loss broke 
 her heart. Beautiful in life, she was beautiful 
 in death, as, lying in her widow's weeds on 
 her bed of flowers, in her own house, where 
 the picture of her husband hung above her, 
 still dressed with the flowers she had twined, 
 her friends took their last, tearful look of one 
 of the most perfect of women. Her only son, 
 Edwin D. Morgan, Jr., and the venerable Gov- 
 ernor and Mrs. Morgan, have the sympathy of 
 a vast community in their great, unexpected 
 and most afflictinir loss. 
 
 M. E. W. S. 
 
1/