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THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

t/cts>^iA-j>-/_ Cs.

LIFE SKETCHES

GOVERNMENT OFFICERS

MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE

STATE OF NEW YORK

1875.

' \

BY W. H.,MoELROY AND ALEX. MoBBIDE.

ALBANY :

WEED, PARSONS AND COMPANY, PRINTERS.

1875.

Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred aud seventy-five,

BY w. H. MCELROY AND ALEX. MCBRIDE,

In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

ALBANY, N. T.

WEED. PARSON'S AND COMPANY,

PRINTERS, STEREOTYPERS

AND PUBLISHERS.

F

IKTEODTJOTIOlir.

The publication of " Life Sketches " began in 1858, and has been continued, with an occasional hiatus, ever since. Each volume contains a condensed biographical sketch of the Governor, Lieutenant-G-overnor, State Officers and Members of both branches of the Legislature, and thus fills its niche and has its value in the not unimportant department of works of reference. The present editors prepared the annual for '73 and '74, and met with such encouragement and suc- cess as induced them to continue the series. The editor of Life Sketches for 1858 expressed the aim and limitation of all the volumes when he wrote, in his preface: " Beyond its usefulness as a work of reference, it is, comparatively, of but little interest to the public. The private details embodied in the sketches are designed only to give it interest as a volume for private circulation among the friends of those whose lives constitute its pages."

As regards the merits of the present volume, the editors have only to say that they have taken great pains to avoid errors, either of fact or date, and to render the sketches as complete as possible within the limits prescribed.

It will be noticed that, the sketches being arranged alpha- betically, the necessity of an index is removed.

LIFE SKETCHES.

SAMUEL J. TILDEIST,

GOVERNOR.

The tendencies of youth often point unerringly to the future career. It is related of Sir WALTER SCOTT that he would sit among his young companions and tell them little stories by the hour. So it was with the subject of this sketch. His earliest associations with public affairs, amid the men of note who visited and held familiar converse in the paternal home, developed the youthful love of aifairs which has since ripened into the higher and broader statesmanship. The public record of SAMUEL JONES TILDEN, twenty-fifth Gov- ernor of New York, was inspired in youth, and has been shaped after the simplest and purest models of character among our earliest and best statesmen. He was born in 1814, near the close of the last war with England, at New Lebanon, Columbia county, N. Y., and descends from the best Puritan stock. NATHANIEL ' TILDEN, his ancestor, was a brother of one of the consignors of the May Flower. This ancestor, three years later, came to America in the ship Ann with nine other gentlemen from Kent, England, and founded the town of Scituate, Mass.

Mr. TILDEN'S grandfather, JOHN TILDEN, came from Connecticut and settled in Columbia county, N. Y., in 1790. His father, a farmer and merchant in New Lebanon, was a man of great natural ability and sound practical sense, who, when SAMUEL was fitted to enter Yale College, had already become a prominent man in the county, the correspondent and intimate friend of SILAS WRIGHT, MARTIN VAN BUREN, MICHAEL HOFFMAN, the LIVINGSTONS, WILLIAM L. MARCY and others. By these associations young TILDEN was

6 LIFE SKETCHES.

inspired to become a student of the great questions of gov- ernment and political affairs. It determined his profession and his career. The record of his rapid progress, the inci- dents and some of the salient anecdotes of his student life, and of his first bold adventures, in the ardor of his early man- hood, into political life become a matter of deep interest to the people as they study the quality of that riper mind, that purity and strength of character, that breadth of statesman- ship which the exigency of the times demand in a Governor of the Empire State. These earlier years' disclosed the quality of the germ which has ripened into the inflexibly upright and rare legal mind, the highest capacity and moral purpose in legislation and administration.

At the age of eighteen he was prepared for college. In the contest of that year, which resulted in the second elec- tion of Gen. JACKSON as President, VAN BUREN, Vice-Presi- dent, and MARCY, Governor, there was a coalition between the National Republicans and Anti-Masons. The success of the Democratic party depended on breaking it. Young TIL- DEN had even then mastered the leading questions of govern- ment, and of his own motion quietly wrote a powerful analy- sis of the political situation, showing that there could be no honest alliance. It was published in the Albany Argus, and was found to be so finished and vigorous that it was attribu- ted to the facile and able pen of Mr. VAN BUREN. His authorship was denied in self-defense, and when the real author was discovered it brought him at onoe into full fel- lowship with all his father's distinguished friends, who com- posed the Albany Regency. It gave him high rank among the seniors of the party, which he held for a period of twenty years, up to the decease of DEAN RICHMOND, when he became its head and trusted leader. It was among these asso- ciations, with the best men of the State, that he stepped thus early upon the public stage.

Two years later Mr. TILDEN entered Yale College, in the noted class in which were War. M. EVARTS, Chief Justice

SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 7

WAITE, Professors LYMAN and SILLIMAN, EDWARDS PIERRE- PONT and STEPHEN YERKS. Here he became a proficient in all branches, and continued his studies with such close application that in a short time his health seemed irretriev- ably gone. He was taken home by his father, and abandoned the idea of ever returning. That was the year of the great contest of General JACKSON with the Bank of the United States, popularly known as the Panic year in finance. Mr. TILDEN had so far recovered his strength iu the fall that he appeared in various parts of his native county and addressed the people.

In 1834 he entered the University of New York. In view of his partially restored health, and the study of the law as his profession, he found here some peculiar advantages. A pleasant anecdote is told of one of his first recitations, show- ing how thoroughly he mastered every study in hand. The lesson was in- the Latin of Juvenal. Prof. TAPPAN called upon Mr. TILDEN to recite the first four lines. So finished in style, and yet so fully did he give the meaning of the author, that the Professor had him proceed with the transla- tion of the whole lesson. He did so to the delight of pre- ceptor and class-mates. At the advent of MARTIN VAN BUREN as President, in 1837, occurred the great financial revulsion. During TILDEN'S summer vacation at the Uni- versity, Mr. VAN BUREN issued a message calling for a special session of Congress in September. He recommended the separation of the government from the banks, and the creation of a fiscal system known as the Independent Treas- ury, There arose a controversy upon this in the Albany Argus, in which young TILDEN wrote a series of able papers advocating the measure, and requiring the bills to be redeemed in specie.

In the following year (1838) United States Senator TALL- MAGE, who had left the Democratic party and gone over to the Whigs, went to Columbia county to address his new friends. At the conclusion of his speech, the leading Whig of that vicinity and the manager of the meeting rose and

8 LIFE SKETCHES.

said that if there were any persons present who desired to reply to the Senator, the meeting would be happy to hear him. This challenge was generally understood to be aimed at Mr. TILDEN.

The young Democrats in the rear of the hall, comprising, perhaps, one fourth of the assembly, shouted for TILDEN. who found himself compelled to speak.

After an able argument upon the question in controversy, he passed to the personal aspects of the Senator's speech : he alluded to the Senator's statement that the Democrats had changed position, while he himself had remained consistent. Then turning to the Whigs, he asked if they found them- selves now in unison with the Senator who had been opposed to them in the contest he had narrated? He earnestly appealed to them to know if they, and not the Senator, had changed. He then addressed the chairman of the meeting, a venerable citizen of near eighty, and pressed him in a tone of mingled compliment and expostulation, until in the excite- ment of the occasion he declared audibly that he had not changed. Of this declaration Mr. TILDES availed himself to the utmost and applied it to the Senator in a strain of masterly sarcasm and irony. It is enough to say that this scene was electric. It thrilled the assembly. The youth of twenty-four had given the Senator a Eoland for his Oliver. The effect of this speech was so powerful that when young TILDES was requested to address another meeting to be held a few miles distant, the young Whigs declared, it is said, that if he did they would "whip him."

ELAM TILDES' wrote an account of this meeting to SILAS WRIGHT, who responded in a letter highly appreciative of the talent and pluck of young SAMUEL J. TILDEN.

Having finished his course at the University, Mr. TILDEN entered the law school of the late BENJAMIN F. BUTLEK, and the law office of Judge JOHN W. EDMONDS. Mr. TIL- DEN'S father, was a man of clear, practical mind, and when his son entered upon the study of the law he impressed upon him the importance of looking carefully and critically into

SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 9

the reason of every principle he studied. It is from this habit in the study of his profession that he has blended with its practice the study of metaphysics, political economy, and other branches which shed strong light upon the higher grounds on which the law rests. Hence, the study of law as it relates to a wise and beneficent government and to the duties and welfare of society, has been with him a subject of profound investigation. This has had its effect in induc- ing him to prefer to a general practice a line of cases embrac- ing the broader views of law and its principles as a science* This has led to the prolonged and thorough study of both financial questions, and the financial aspects of political economy.

It has induced him to engage largely in important cases which have required argument in the higher courts — cases which have led to a review of principles of law, that fitted a body of developed facts, which often required the development of facts themselves from various sources in the order of their legal value. It has often been said of DAXIEL WEBSTER that his simple, masterly arrangement of the fac^s of a case in the exact order of their legal value was in itself an irre- sistible argument. JUDGE HOGEBOOM once said of Mr. TILDES in a case where he had summed up during a day and a-half with similar force and power of statement, that he spoke as if in a trance.

The long series of important cases in which Mr. TILDES has been engaged before all our higher courts, if reported only in the outline would extend this sketch beyond all pro- per limits. A few of the most significant are referred to, which show his keenly analytic and logical mind, and his high moral purpose in gaining the ends of right and justice.

In 1855. AZARIAH 0. FLAGG received the certificate of election as Comptroller of the city of New York. His title to the office was contested by his opponent by the legal pro- cess termed quo warranto. The vote had been so close that a change in the return of a single election district would

10 LIFE SKETCHES.

alter the result. Upon a fraud inserted here this opponent proceeded. From the very data of the contestant, Mr. TIL- DEN, by a mathematical and logical analysis, reconstructed a lost tally list showing the number of tickets, candidates and aggregate votes, and proved conclusively that the return for Mr. FLAGG was correct, and won the case on his opening.

As counsel for the BUEDELL heirs in the American rival of the TICHBOENE case, Mr. TILDEN tore to tatters the won- derful tissue of falsehoods of the claimant — Mrs. CUNNING- HAM— by an adroit examination of one hundred and forty- two witnesses, and' developed a series of circumstances which struck the mind of the judge with irresistible force, and led him to the conviction that the asserted marriage had never taken place.

More than half of the railroad enterprises of the West, north of the Ohio, and between the Hudson and Missouri rivers during the last twenty years have, in one way or the another, stood in the relation of clientage to Mr. TILDEN. From 1855 to 1860, many of them became insolvent, and so put in peril the interests of people of all conditions who were their creditors. His legal knowledge and broad views of legislation were brought into requisition for the benefit of many of them in reorganization. He had a thorough knowl- edge of their history and requirements, and had made a thorough mastery as well of all the questions which could arise in their financial administration.

To other of his great legal triumphs we can but refer to in passing. In an important case of the Cumberland Coal Company in Maryland, he established the application of the legal principle that a trustee cannot deal with trust property, to the directors of all corporations. In the defense in the leading case of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, against the Pennsylvania Coal Com- pany, Mr. TILDEN occupied twelve clerks for a year in gathering all the statistics and facts of canal navigation, covering a period of many years, and by carefully applying

SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 11

the law of average, he settled one of the most important economic principles in canal navigation, and gained this case against the canal company.

He had, also, in this long period, settled all the important principles involved in the management of our canals. He had in this work obtained a clear view of all the relations of both canals and railroads to the interests of the people and the State. Mr. TILDEN'S power of analysis and combina- tion is rare. He has great skill in intricate research in bringing to light in consecutive order from a mass of chaotic material all the strong facts of a case. In this work he developes his force and acumen in analysis. Then comes into play the rarer gift of combination and organization, without which the results of analysis are never gathered up and applied to beneficent ends.

MARTIN VAN BUREN was an eminent example of this power. Mr. TILDES, even in youth, was spoken ot by this statesman and his compeers as one " who had a plan " and a vigor which attracted their attention.

In 1864, Mr. TILDEN was returned from New York city, as member of the Assembly, and also as member of the Consti- tutional Convention. In all the most important discussions in the two revisions of the State Constitution, 1846 and 1867, Mr. TILDEN bore a conspicuous part.

In the Constitutional Convention of 1846 he was next to MICHAEL HOFFMAN in the Committee on Canals and the Financial Obligations of the State, and did much to shape our subsequent policy respecting finance and the canals. A speech on the currency will be found in the printed debates which contains the germs .of the opinions now adopted by the best thinkers in Great Britain against the celebrated bill of Sir ROBERT PEEL, passed as the basis of the Bank of Eng- land in 1844. He was also a leading member of the Consti- tutional Convention of 1867, taking a particularly active part in relation to financial and legal subjects.

12 LIFE SKETCHES.

Notwithstanding the engrossing nature of his profession and the absorbing demands of a large practice, Mr. TILDEST in these and other public councils has taken an active inter- est and share in the affairs of the State and Union. For more than thirty years he has been a trusted adviser in the councils of the leading men of the State, and in their ranks no man stands higher as an apt judge of men and motives, as a skillful and effective organizer, and as a hard worker who knows how to make others work hard also. Probably no other man since VAN" BUKEN'S day has enjoyed a wider per- sonal acquaintance in this State.

During the height of the power of the Ring, in 1869, an effort was made to supersede him as head of the State Com- mittee. He accepted the contest, and was sustained by nearly seven-eighths of the convention. Early in 1870 be- gan the celebrated controversy concerning the new charter of the city of New York. The Ring had succeeded in mis- leading a majority of the best citizens, but although stand- ing well nigh alone, Mr. TILDEIST went to Albany, and on April 5, 1870, made a speech in scathing denunciation of the charter which restored the TWEED dynasty to power, not by the voice of the people, but by the vote of the Legislature. As it turned out, the bill was passed almost unanimously, and under it occurred the notorious six million robbery.

In 1871 he led the revolt of forty thousand Democrats against the Ring in the city of New York. Notwithstand- ing he was then at the head of the party in the State, he openly announced to the convention that he should oppose the TWEED nominees and endeavor to crush their power in the legislative bodies of the State, declaring further that if this were considered irregular he should resign his chairman- ship of the State Committee, and, going among his plundered fellow-citizens make common cause with them for emanci- pation. That autumn he was elected to the Assembly for the avowed and express purpose of purifying the judiciary. Tne successful result of this, the most burdensome contest

SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 13

of his whole career, is too well known to be brought on here. He was watchful and untiring until he saw the Bench was purified by the resignation of some and impeachment of others.

By his famous analysis of the accounts of the Broadway Bank, and subsequent investigation of a similar character, Mr. TILDEN furnished all the judicial evidence by which the suits against the Ring, whether by State or County, could be maintained. At the end of eighteen months' gratuitous labor — for both he and Mr. O'CoNOR, not only received no professional compensation, but even paid their own traveling expenses — he accomplished his object. While pursuing it he had completely retired from his lucrative practice and from attention to his personal business.

Mr. TILDEN was nominated to the high office which he now fills by the Democratic State Convention which met in Syracuse in September last. Chief-Justice CHURCH, of the Court of Appeals, and Hon. A. J. PARKER, late Judge of the Supreme Court, had many warm supporters among the delegates, but Mr. TILDEN was the choice of the majority, and was unanimously named as the choice of the conven- tion amid much enthusiasm. In the election that followed he defeated General JOHN A. Dix, the Republican candi- date for Governor, by a majority of 50,317. General Dix had been elected two years before by a majority of 55,451.

In the brief period which, at this writing (April 1st), has elapsed since his entrance upon his gubernatorial duties, Mr. TILDEN has accomplished notable things, and given earnest of an administration which cannot but redown to the best interests of the State, gladden all friends of reform and honest government, and write his name high among New York's wisest and most efficient governors. His message to the Legislature, of March 19th, relative to the canals of the State, produced, it is safe to say, a profounder sensation than any similar paper that ever emanated from the Executive Chamber. The message had its origin in a petition received by Governor TILDEN from forwarders, boatmen and others

14 LIFE SKETCHES.

engaged in transportation on the canals. They represented to him that the depressed state of their business called for legislation, and necessitated a reduction of tolls, and requested him to look into the condition of the canal commerce, and to make such recommendations to the Legislature as would, in his opinion, lead to measures of relief. In response, Governor TILDES sent into the Legislature a message brist- ling with points, which at once arrested the attention of the people and the public press, irrespective of party affiliations, from Lake Erie to Montauk Point.

It presents a startling array of facts and figures, grouped and arranged with characteristic skill, showing the grave faults inherent in the present system of canal management, the gigantic frauds that had grown up under it, and con- cludes by offering, for the consideration of the Legislature, a number of valuable suggestions, designed to remedy the evils pointed out Every citizen, as he read the message, could not but feel impressed with the cheering fact that the time for reform in canal management, long delayed, had at length arrived, and that the man whose name was indissolubly associated with the downfall of the Tweed Eing was deter- mined to use the might, with which he was clothed as Gov- ernor, to compass the destruction of what has been called " the spinal cord of the political evil in New York State " — the Canal Eing. The first fruits of the message have already appeared in the appointment of a Commission by the Gov- ernor and Senate, and a Committee of the Legislature, charged with the duty of thoroughly investigating the canal system from every possible standpoint. Guided by the light furnished by their reports, the Legislature will be enabled to frame the laws necessary to correct the fault in the canal system, and the proper tribunal to punish those who will be proven guilty of plundering from the public treasury. It will thus be seen that the message on the canals, considered by itself, would suffice to render Mr. TILDEN'S term of office as Governor, memorable in the history of the State.

SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 15

Mr. TILDEN has never been an office-holder. A bachelor, he has been able to devote a very large share of his time to the pursuit of his profession and the discharge of his pro- fessional duties. He is a man of cultivated literary and artistic tastes, and intimate with many literary men. His law library is excelled by but erne in the city of New York, and he possesses also a rare collection of books on finance and political economy and in general literature. His health he preserves by out-door exercise, of which he is very fond, taking frequent horseback rides and being often seen behind his well-known trotters. A recent trip to Europe, on leav- ing for which he resigned the chair of the Democratic State Central Committee, to be rechosen on his return, is the only extended vacation he has had time to take of late.

Mr. TILDEN'S personal and professional character is abso- lutely unassailable ; his eminent ability is universally con- ceded, and his distinguished and invaluable services in the interest of pure government have long compelled admiring recognition from friend and foe alike.

THE GOVERNOR'S STAFF.

Maj.-Gen. FRANKLIN TOWNSEND, of Albany, Adjutant- General,

Brevet-Maj.-Gen. JOHN B. WOODWARD, of Brooklyn, Inspector- General.

Brig.-Gen. KILBURN KNOX, of New York, Commissary- General and Chief of Ordnance.

Brig.-Gen. EDGAR M. CULLEN, of Brooklyn, Engineer-in- Chief.

Brig.-Gen. CHARLES HUGHES, of Sandy Hill, Judge-Advo- cate General.

Brig.-Gen. AUSTIN FLINT, JR., of New York, Surgeon- General.

16 LIFE SKETCHES.

Brig.-Gen. S. STEWART ELLSWORTH, of Perm Yan, Quar- termaster- General.

Brig.-Gen. HERMANN UHL, of New York, Paymaster- General.

Brig.-Gen. CHARLES H. SMYTH, of Oneida, Commissary- General of Subsistence.

Col. CHARLES TRACET, Aide-de-camp.

Col. LATHAM C. STRONG, Aide-de-camp.

Col. JAMES B. PEARSALL, Aide-de-camp.

Col. THOMAS STOKES, Aide-de-camp.

Col. CLIFFORD A. H. BARTLETT, Aide-de-camp.

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER. 17

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER,

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER was born in Lyons, Wayne county, New York, February 5, 1832, his father, PHILIP DORSHEIMER, afterward Treasurer of this State, having been a native of West Germany. When four years of age young DORSHEIMER was brought to Buffalo, which thenceforth continued the resi- dence of himself and family. He was fitted for college at Andover, Massachusetts, and entered Harvard as freshman in 1849. Two years afterward a prolonged illness threw him out of his class and prevented his being graduated. Keturn- ing to Buffalo, he began the study of law, and in 1854 was admitted to the bar. From that time forward he practiced his profession, and, in 1859, became the law partner of the late Hon. SOLOMON G. HAVEN.

Mr. DORSHEIMER'S tastes early drew him to literary work and study, and in 1858, he being then twenty-six years of age, two papers from his pen were published in the Atlantic Monthly. They were reviews of PARTON'S " Life of Aaron Burr " and " Life of Jefferson," respectively, and the lite- rary culture, the critical grasp and the historical research they displayed at once attracted attention. Among other recognitions of their merit was the bestowal, by Harvard, upon their author of the honorary degree of master of arts.

Years, however, before the appearance of his intensely appreciative essay on JEFFERSON, Mr. DORSHEIMER had given a warm adhesion to the doctrines of the great states- mail and had molded his political faith on that of the sage of Monticello. Always an earnest Democrat in his notions of government and administration, his first vote was cast, in 1854, for HORATIO. SEYMOUR as candidate for Governor, and his first political speech was made in behalf of Judge MAS- 2

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TEN, then running an anti-Know-nothing and Democratic candidate for judge of the Superior Court. His debut on the political rostrum, therefore, was made in support of the truly Democratic doctrine of the equal rights of the adopted citizen with those of the " native American."

But the Know-nothing excitement was soon merged in the vaster and more radical agitation of the slavery question, and upon this issue young DOESHEIMER saw it to be his duty to bid farewell for a time to the party with which he had first associated himself, albeit to its fundamental political doctrines he never ceased to cling. In making this change of sides, whatever else of criticism he may incur, it cannot be said that he went with the multitude, or studied his per- sonal interests, for he joined the Eepublican party in 1855, in the very infancy of its organization, and voted its tickets when its force in the city of Buffalo comprised barely six hundred voters. The following year he campaigned for Fre- mont, and in 1860 voted and worked for Lincoln.

In 1861 Mr. DORSHEIMER entered the military service of the country. He was appointed by Mr. LINCOLN an aide- de-camp, with the rank of major, and was assigned to duty on the staff of Gen. FREMONT. At the close of that officers brief campaign in Missouri the members of his staff were retired from service, and Mr. DORSHEIMER returning to civil life, shortly after published in the Atlantic the well- known and interesting series of articles entitled "Fremont's Hundred Days in Missouri," which warmly vindicated both the military and political policy of that commander.

In 1867 Mr. DORSHEIMER was appointed United States District Attorney for the Northern District of New York, the duties of which position, as even his enemies admit, he discharged with signal ability. His term expired in 1871, and he did not seek a re-appointment. In the spring of 1872, arguing that the reasons which led him into the Kepublican party in 1855 no longer existed to retain him there, Mr. DOHSHEIMER found himself sympathizing warmly

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER. 19

with the various movements which led to the inception of the Liberal Republican exodus. Once more casting his lot with an apparently hopeless political minority, he was the first person to take affirmative part in the Liberal movement in the State of New York. A letter signifying adhesion to the principles of the Missouri call and accepting the invitation to the Cin- cinnati Convention, and which was signed by HOEACE GKEELEY, HENEY R. SELDEIST and others, was drawn up by Mr. DOBSHEIMEE and by him submitted to numerous gen- tlemen who participated in the departure. Mr. DOBSHEI- MEE was prominent as one of the New York delegates in the Cincinnati Convention, and on his return to Buffalo made the first ratification speech for GEEELEY. His pow- erful and eloquent addresses, delivered during the campaign of 1 872, were listened to by tens of thousands of persons in this and other States.

Mr. DOESHEIMEE was nominated for Lieutenant-Go vernor by Hon. De WITT C. LITTLEJOHN, five times Speaker of the Assembly, in the Democratic State Convention which met in Syracuse in September. Mr. LITTLEJOHN claimed the nomination " in behalf of the thirty thousand Liberals of the State," and presented his candidate in a characteristically vigorous and magnetic speech. The nomination was seconded by Hon. A. P. LANING, of Buffalo, at present sit- ting in the Senate from the thirty-first district, and ratified by the convention. Mr. DOESHEIMEE was nominated on the first ballot, and a motion to make the nomination unani- mous was adopted with three cheers. In the election that followed he defeated General JOHN" C. ROBINSON, by the rousing majority of 51, 488.

The Lieutenant-Governor is President of the Senate and has the casting vote therein ; is a member of the Canal Board ; is one of the Commissioners of the Land Office ; is one of the Commissioners of the Canal Fund ; is one of the Trustees respectively, of the Capitol, the Idiot Asylum and the State

20 LIFE SKETCHES.

Hall. He is also, ex officio, one of the Regents of the Uni- versity.

Mr. DOKSHEIMER is an honored citizen of Buffalo. One of the founders and original officers of the Fine Arts Academy and of the Buffalo Historical Society, he has borne a part and done his full share, with brain and purse, in pretty much all that has been achieved for the improvement and elevation of the city since he came to man's estate.

The Buffalo Courier, in commenting upon his nomina- tion, expressed itself as follows :

" In the election of the Hon WILLIAM DORSHEIMER, Esq., of this city, as the Liberal Democratic candidate for Lieu- tenant-Governor, the convention has appropriately recog- nized the claims of a gentleman whose distinguished ability, rare culture and influence in public affairs long since secured for him more than a State reputation. With a strong natu- ral aptitude for the pursuit of politics in their higher sense, Mr. DOKSHEIMER brings to their discussion a keen intelligence, a rare culture and grace in expression which have secured to him a high rank among the orators and leading men of the State. A lawyer by profession, he early won and has since retained an honorable place among the most distinguished members of the bar. As a citizen, as a lawyer, as a states- man, Mr. Dorsheimer is entitled to and enjoys in an unusual degree, the confidence, the respect, and the admiration of the people."

Mr. DORSHEIMER'S inaugural address, on assuming the Presidency, is a model paper of its kind — short and pointed. We give it entire, in concluding this sketch :

" SENATORS : I appear here to enter upon the duty which the law imposes upon me of presiding over the sessions of the Senate.

" I am without the training which legislative experience alone can give, and which most of my predecessors have had. I shall, therefore, need your indulgence and assistance, in return for which I assure you that I shall endeavor to do my duties without partiality or prejudice.

WILLIAM DORSHEIMER. 21

" Insomuch as it is only under special and infrequent cir- cumstances that 1 am called upon to take part in your action, it would not be suitable for me to discuss any of the matters that are likely to engage your attention, but I will venture to express the hope, which I am confident will be fully real- ized, that your labors here may meet with the approval of your several constituencies, and tend to the prosperity and advancement of the State."

22 LIFE SKETCHES.

DIEDRICH WILLERS, JR.

SECRETARY OF STATE.

In the person of the present Secretary of State, we have the first example, under our present State Constitution, of an elective State officer who has arisen through the various gradations, from the lowest round of the ladder to the top- most, through the positions of Clerk and Deputy, to that of head of the Department, a notable instance of the workings of " Civil Service Eeform."

Mr. WILLERS was born of German parentage, in the town of Varick, county of Seneca, where he still resides, on the third day of November, 1833.

His father, Reverend DIEDRICH WILLERS, D. D., a native of Bremen, Germany, who is still living at the advanced age of seventy-seven years (left an orphan in early childhood), was educated in the public schools of his native city, and at the age of sixteen years enlisted in the army of Hanover, for the defense of his fatherland, against the French invader. He was an active participant with the allied forces under the Duke of Wellington at the memorable three days' battle of Waterloo, in Belgium, in June, 1815, against Napoleon Bonaparte, and received a silver medal for bravery in action.

After a military service of five years, he left the army, and having spent a short time with his friends, he embarked for America, in the year 1819, and landed in Baltimore, Mary- land, in November of that year, with only a few dollars in his pocket, but possessed of industry and perseverence, those indispensable requisites to success. Following a purpose formed in early life, he took up the study of theology, to which he had previously given much thought and reading. After a course of study under private tutors, he was licensed in the ministry and accepted a call to preach to congrega- tions in Seneca county, New York, in April, 1821, and has

Respectfully yours

Sc&rtfary of Sl>a3>6

DlEDRlCH WlLLEBS, Jit. 23

continued in the uninterrupted discharge of ministerial duty, preaching in the German and English languages, to his con- gregations in that county, to the present time, a continuous period of nearly fifty-four years. *

As a clergyman he is highly esteemed and influential in his denomination, and a number of years ago received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, from Franklin and Marshall College, at Lancaster, Penn.

The mother of Secretary WILLERS, still living, was born in New Holland, Lancaster county, Penn., of German parent- age, her ancestry having migrated to this country, from the Palatinate, over 150 years ago.

The subject of our sketch was the sixth of a family of eight children. Every one familiar with " life in a country parsonage " will know something of the trials and privations of the hard-worked and poorly-paid country pastor.

It is not to be wondered at, that young WILLERS thus early became accustomed to a life of toil. Residing in a rural community, his time was divided between working upon a farm in summer and attending a district school in winter.

With the exception of two terms of instruction at the Seneca Falls Academy, during one of which, in 1853, he recited to Gilbert C. Walker, late Governor of the State of Virginia, his course of study was confined to the district school, and to instruction in German and the classics with his father. When inquiry is made as to his Alma Mater, Mr. WILLERS always frankly answers that he is a graduate of a people's college, " School District Number Two, Varick."

Subsequently, Mr. WILLERS engaged in teaching in the district schools of his town, commencing his first term at the early age of sixteen, at a compensation of twelve dollars per month, and boarding himself, and continued in this vocation, when not laboring upon a farm, during five or six years.

After Mr. WILLERS had arrived at the age of twenty-two years, he entered a printing office with a view to learn the printing business, and to enter upon an editorial career, he

24 LIFE SKETCHES.

having been a frequent contributor to the political press; but, after a service at the printer's case of about two months, he was reluctantly compelled to abandon a cherished pursuit, oy reason of ill -health, from which he suffered for several years.

Having, at intervals of toil, devoted himself to the read- ing of law and attended a course of instruction at the Albany Law University, he was admitted to practice as an attorney at law a number of years ago, but he has never actively engaged in the practice of his profession.

Designed by his father for the ministry, he however early took a decided interest in politics, and long before he was twenty-one years of age, espoused the cause of the Demo- cratic party, identifying himself with the Hard-Shell branch of the Democracy, and casting his first vote for Judge GREENE C. BRONSON, for Governor, in 1854. After the re- union of the party in 1856, Mr. WILLERS took a very active part in the presidential canvass of that year, as well as in the canvass of 1857.

Upon the election of the Democratic State ticket, in the fall of 1857, Mr. W. was appointed by Hon. GIDEON J. TUCKER, Secretary of State, to a clerkship in his office, upon the duties of which position he entered in January following, and in which, by industry and faithfulness, he soon won the confidence of his chief, and was re-appointed by Hon. DAVID R. FLOYD JONES, and served with him during his term as Secretary of State in 1860 and 1861.

Although Mr. WILLERS actively supported Mr. JONES for re-election, and the entire Democratic ticket, in the cam- paign of November, 1861, he was, without solicitation on his part, re-appointed by Hon. HORATIO BALLARD, and remained in the office of the Secretary of State during the years 1862 and 1863.

Upon the expiration of Mr. BALLARD'S term, Mr. WILLERS was appointed by Governor SEYMOUR as his Private Secre- tary, and served as such during the most trying period of the late civil war.

DlEDRWH WlLLERS, JR. 25

How well Mr. WILLERS served in this capacity, the com- plimentary remarks made by Governor SEYMOUR, in the .Democratic State Convention at Utica, in October, 1873,. upon the occasion of Mr. WILLERS' second nomination for Secretary of State, will best attest, when he said :

" Havfng known Mr. WILLERS for many years, having been closely associated with him in the discharge of duty, I can say that in my opinion there is no man in the State whom I conld vote for, for this position, with more pleasure than I can vote for DIEDRICH WILLERS, Jr. He is not only an honorable, capable and honest man, but a faithful one. Dur- ing all the time he was in that office, he was never known to be absent from his post of duty. For this office you want a man who will faithfully discharge its duties himself, and Mr. WILLERS is the man of all others to do this. It is no mere form, when we take up a man who has performed his duties at the lowest round of the ladder, and lift him to the highest. It means that there is true merit in the man. I have known Mr. WILLERS long and well, as I have already said. I knew him all through the trying time, when I was Governor, and of all the men surrounding me and my office, I found no man upon whom I could rely with more implicit confidence."

Keturning, at the close of his term of service with Governor SEYMOUR in December, 1864, to his home in Seneca county, Mr. WILLERS resumed his old occupation as a farmer, and in March, 1865, was elected supervisor of his native town, and was re-elected the year following, serving as chairman of the board both years, and rendering great assistance to his town and county in the adjustment of war accounts, at the close of the war.

In March, 1867, Mr. WILLERS was appointed, by President JOHNSON, to a clerkship in the office of the Second Auditor of the Treasury, at Washington, D. C., which position he held to the close of that year.

The Democratic State ticket having been elected in the fall of 1867, Mr. WILLERS was appointed as Deputy Secre- tary of State, by Hon. HOMER A. NELSON, which position he

26 LIFE SKETCHES.

filled with great acceptance to the public for four years, developing executive ability of a high order.

In the summer of 1871, the name of Mr. WILLERS was extensively canvassed by the Democratic press for the nomin- ation of Secretary of State, Secretary NELSON declining a reuomination in favor of his deputy.

After a sharp preliminary canvass, during which Nearly all the older or managing politicians of the party opposed his nomination, the friends of Mr. WILLERS being strongly in the ascendancy at the Democratic State Convention at Roch- ester, he was nominated by acclamation for Secretary of State.

Although the Democratic State ticket was borne down by adverse circumstances in the disastrous campaign of 1871, Mr. WILLERS handsomely led his associates upon the ticket, receiving the highest vote cast for any nominee of his party in that year.

At the beginning of the year 1872, Mr. WILLERS received from Governor HOFFMAN the appointment of Assistant Pay- master General with the rank of Colonel, and was detailed for duty in the Executive Chamber, in charge of the exam- ination of bills passed by the Legislature, for which his extensive acquaintance with statutory law and the machinery of our State Government particularly fitted him.

Upon retiring from the Executive Chamber, Mr. WILLERS received, in January, 1873, an appointment as one of the Secretaries of the Constitutional Commission, then in session at Albany.

After the final adjournment of the Commission in March, 1873, Mr. WILLERS returned to his home, where he devoted himself to the active duties of farm life during the year.

His name having been canvassed by the Democratic press in the summer of 1873 for the nomination of Secretary of State, Mr. WILLERS was again strongly opposed by active leading political managers who usually make up the party slates, but after a sharp canvass, and notwithstanding a fac- tious opposition in the Convention, he was again unan-

DlEDRICH WlLLERS, JR. 27

imonsly nominated by the Democratic State Convention held at Utica, and his nomination was indorsed at the Liberal Kepublican State Convention held at Elmira, in the same month.

The result of the election was favorable to the Democracy, and Mr. WILLERS was declared elected Secretary of State by about 10,000 majority over Hon. FRAXCIS S. THAYEE, one of the most popular Republicans in the State.

Mr. WILLERS entered upon his office with an intimate knowledge of the duties thereof and of the machinery of the State Government, and having an extensive acquaintance with the politics and public men of the State.

Emphatically a man of the people, self-made, a determined enemy of all rings and monopolies, aiming at the rights of the people ; courteous, attentive, faithful and capable, he entered upon office under the most favorable auspices. Dur- ing the first year of his term he has been constant in his attendance at his office (giving his personal attention to the daily routine of business), and at the meetings of State Boards of which he is a member, his votes having always been cast in the interest of economy, reform and the best interests of the people.

Although active as a Democratic politician, and a frequent delegate at State and County Conventions, he has preserved a deserved personal popularity wherever he is best known, and when running as a candidate he received the highest majority ever given to a Democratic nominee in his town and county.

Reserved and modest in demeanor, firm and decided in his convictions of duty, Mr. WILLERS has always carefully guarded the public interests, and is, in the true sense of the term, a " Reformer."

The career of Mr. WILLERS affords another illustration how, under our form of Government, the humblest citizen may, by pursuing right paths, attain to high positions of honor and trust.

28 LIFE SKETCHES.

NELSON K. HOPKINS,

COMPTROLLER.

The family of Hon. NELSON K. HOPKINS, Comptroller of the State, was of New England origin. His father, General TIMOTHY S. HOPKINS, emigrated in the year 1800 from Great Barrington, Mass., to Williamsville, a small town in the vicinity of Buffalo, in the then county of Niagara. By occupation a farmer, he was a man of sterling sense and worth, and held various public offices of trust and honor, both in the civil and military service. He was commis- sioned as a Captain by Gov. GEORGE CLINTON, as Major, by Gov. MORGAN LEWIS, and as Lieutenant-Colonel and Briga- dier-General, by Gov. DANIEL D. TOMPKINS. NELSON, the second of the five sons now living, was born on the 2d of March, 1819. He remained on the farm until he was about sixteen years of age, when he attended school for a time at Fredonia, in the county of Chautauqua. From 1838 to 1840, he was a student in the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, at Lima, where he completed his collegiate preparations, and in the spring of the latter year entered the sophomore class of Union College, graduating in 1842 with high standing. Among his classmates were several who have since attained distinction, including Hon. CLARKSON N. POTTER, member of Congress, and Hon. JAMES WOOD, late of the State Senate. In connection with the latter, an interesting circumstance is related of young HOPKINS. The two students, as was not unfrequent among their associates, visited Albany on one occasion, and neither being blessed with a surplus of money, they found themselves, at the close of their stay, without the means of returning. In this exigency, nothing daunted, the spirited young men started on foot, and faithfully trudged all the way from Albany to Schenectady.

NELSON K. HOPKINS. 29

Even before entering college, the subject of this sketch had evinced strong force of character and energy of pur- pose. At the age of nineteen, he had been elected captain of a company in the State militia, and at the time of the "Patriot War," which centered about the Niagara river, though still a student at Lima, he was called home to enter the service with his company, and for a month had command of Black Kock, in the vicinity of Buffalo. Eeturning from college, Mr. HOPKINS began the study of law in the office of Hon. ELBRIDGE G-. SPAULDING, at Buffalo, and, in 1846, was admitted as an attorney. From the very first, he has en- joyed an honorable1 and lucrative practice. He has especially had confided to him the most delicate duties in the settle- ment of estates, the establishment of titles and all that branch of professional service, and, in these positions of fiduciary trust, has secured the highest respect for his honor, fidelity and capacity. In 1848, he married the only daughter of Hon. ORLANDO ALLEN. This union was severed by death in 1853. In 1855 he married his present wife, who is the eldest daughter of the late Hon. HIKAM PRATT, and a most estim- able lady. His family consists of five children, one by his first wife and four by his second.

Although Mr. HOPKINS has always been actively engaged in professional labors, he has, at various times, been called to serve his fellow-citizens. Frequently elected supervisor and alderman, he was also one year president of the common council. In 1866, he was appointed Collector of Internal Kevenue, and filled that position with credit and satisfac- tion. He has also been for many years a director and attor- ney of White's Bank at Buffalo ; attorney for the Western Savings Bank ; life-member of the Young Men's Association ; trustee of the Free Grosvenor Library, and has held many positions o'f public and professional trust, attesting the high esteem with which he is regarded by the community where he lives. Such was the great respect entertained for him by those among whom he has always resided, and such their

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elevated opinion, especially of the conscientiousness and ability for financial administration which he has displayed through his career, that without his own solicitation or knowl- edge, he was unanimously presented by the Erie delegation at the Kepublican State Convention of 1871, as a candidate for Comptroller, and promptly nominated. He and his as- sociates were recognized as embodying the reform sentiment then so pronounced among the people, and the ticket was elected by a handsome majority.

Mr. HOPKINS having served the State for two years, and made a shining reputation for ability and integrity, the dele- gates to the Kepublican State Convention of 1873, were unanimously of the opinion that one good term, such as his, pre-eminently deserved another, and accordingly, when the time came to name a candidate for Comptroller, NELSON K. HOPKINS was renominated by acclamation, amid the hearty applause of the convention. This nomination was also made by the Liberals, and on election day, the people handsomely ratified it. Mr. HOPKINS, although he was figured out badly defeated the morning after the November election, was a few days after shown, by the official vote, to have been successful by a majority of 4,065. This result, in view of the fact that the rest of the State ticket met with very "heavy weather," was peculiarly gratifying. It was celebrated in a befitting manner by the members of the Re- publican General Committee and the Unconditional Political Club of Albany, who, accompanied by a goodly number of the other leading Eepublicans of the city, serenaded, paid their respects and offered their congratulations to Mr. HOP- KINS a few evenings ai'ter his election. Ex-Governor Dix, who was serenaded on the route, made a speech, in which he said :

FELLOW-CITIZENS — I am greatly obliged to you for this friendly call on me. It is the more gratifying because it affords me the opportunity of saying to you how cordially I concur in the principal object of your demonstration to-night — to

NELSON K. HOPKINS. 31

congratulate Mr. HOPKINS on his re-election to the office of Comptroller of the State. His success, and the popular approval he has received, are a just and well-merited tribute to a faithful, efficient and conscientious public officer. In- deed, I should have regarded his defeat, at this juncture, as a calamity to the State. We all know that in past years, and years not very remote, there has been in the administration of our finances much which was loose, much which was unau- thorized and wasteful, and some things which, in my judg- ment, were in violation of our faith to public creditors. These wrongs I know Mr. HOPKINS to be earnestly desirous of redressing, and I do not doubt that, with the co-opera- tion of the Legislature, the good work may be accomplished within the time for which he has been re-elected.

The Comptroller himself was found in one of the spacious parlors of Congress Hall, and an informal reception was held, during which nearly all of the Eepublicans present took advantage of the opportunity afforded to personally congratulate him on his re-election and the victory he had achieved. Hand-shaking over, the party proceeded to the front of the building, and after several airs had been per- formed by the band, Mr. H. made his appearance on the piazza, and after being introduced to the large crowd in attendance by the Chairman of the Central Committee, he spoke as follows:

CITIZENS OF ALBANY — Accept my sincere thanks for the compliment of this beautiful serenade. I do not receive it as personal to myself, but as an expression of your satis- faction at the popular indorsement, so far as they were rep- resented in my candidacy, of the principles and the public policy to which we are all equally attached. However glad I should personally feel to be relieved of the onerous duties of the Comptrollership, I share your congratulations upon the measure of success which attends our good cause. Beyond sincerely shrinking from another term of the always exact- ing and seldom agreeable labors of the office, my gratifi- cation in this hour of rejoicing, like yours, is only tem- pered by the reflection that some of your excellent and worthy candidates have been defeated at the polls. But it is a matter of satisfaction that the canvass through which we have passed has been marked, on both sides, by so little

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of personal criticism, and has left so little of personal feel- ing, and I trust that it may be found that the officers you have chosen, and who will be associated in the administra- tion of public affairs, however much they maylliffer in their political affiliations, will be able to rise above all merely par- tizan considerations and work together in harmony for the public good.

The great need of the present timeis honesty and economy in the management of public trusts. It is a time to enforce retrenchment of expenditures, reduction of taxation and re- lief of the popular burdens whenever practicable. During the period of my service I have tried faithfully to fulfill these duties, and, so far as the popular expression is an ap- proval of thafce labors, it will be an encouragement and a stimulus to still more earnest efforts in the same direction.

None of his predecessors have received more general and cordial commendation than Mr. HOPKINS has for the sleep- less vigilance with which he has guarded the interests of the State, and the marked ability with which he has administered its finances. At the outset, Mr. HOPKINS adopted the rule of giving the most careful scrutiny to every matter coming before him, and this rule he has scrupulously observed, transacting the business of the State with the same care and watchfulness and frugality which he would carry into the conduct of private business. • He reduced the number of assistants in his office, subjected every claim to rigorous in- spection, and made the auditing of accounts something more than a mere ministerial duty. So great is the confi- dence felt in his integrity and discretion that the Legislature has invested him with larger powers over the expenditures of appropriations in connection with public institutions than were ever before confided to the Comptroller and it is not an undue estimate to say that by his prudence and firmness he has saved the State at least half a million dollars. Not only in his practical administration of the department, but in his official discussions and recommendations, he has shown conspicuous talent for the position. His annual re- ports presented to the Legislature have attracted unusual

NELSON K. HOPKINS. 33

attention, and commanded the hearty and unreserved ap- probation of men and journals of all parties, for their in- comparably clear exposition of State finances, and their val- uable suggestions. The general judgment is that they fairly rank among the best of our State papers.

Always among his own neighbors, and now throughout the State, Comptroller HOPKINS is respected for his un- swerving probity, his sound judgment, and his large ability. Personally he is a man of strong friendships, warmly at- taching to himself those with whom he is brought into con- tact. Frank, direct and outspoken, he is at the same time cordial and unaffected, and his fine, clear-cut features ex- press at once a firm decision of character and winning amia- bility of disposition.- 3

34 LIFE SKETCHES.

DANIEL PRATT,

ATTORNEY-GENERAL.

Hon. DANIEL PRATT, Attorney-General, was born in Washington county in 1806 — a county which gave birth to such well known men as Judges SAVAGE, COWAN, GRAY, PARKER, BACON and Judge NELSON of the Supreme Court of the United States. The parents of Judge PRATT were of New England origin, and in early life the mind of their son was embued with the positive qualities and sturdy strength that characterized the descendants of the Pilgrims. Judge PRATT'S boyhood was passed in attending school in the winter, and working on his father's farm at other times. At school he easily led all the scholars, and was recognized as the brightest boy in all the region round. At the age of eighteen he taught a district school, and was looked upon by every one as a prodigy.

In early life he .placed his mark high and determined to work his way up to it, unaided by any one. Entering Cam- bridge Academy, Washington county, at the age of twenty- one, he remained there fifteen months. In 1833, he entered the junior class of Union College — a class of which, it is interesting to note, WILLIAM CASSIDY, the late brilliant and accomplished editor of the Argus, was a member. So complete and thorough was his preparation that he found no difficulty in entering this advanced class. Mathematics and Greek were his favorite studies, and to these and the rest of his curriculum, he devoted twelve hours out of every twen- ty-four. He graduated in 1835, taking the highest honors in his class. Then the struggle with the world for fame really began. He determined to strike out into new fields, and journeyed to Memphis on a visit to an acquaintance. He remained there some time employed in teaching a select school, where he made the acquaintance of the late D. D.

DANIEL PRATT. 35

HILLS, at that time a lawyer in Camillas. Mr. HILLS was greatly impressed by the strength of mind and brilliant tal- ents of his new acquaintance, and invited him to study law in his office.

Judge PEATT studied hard and determined to master the intricacies of his arduous profession, not content with merely grasping the rudiments. In 1836 he was admitted to prac- tice in the Supreme Court. He removed with Mr. HILLS to Syracuse, and formed a copartnership with him. The firm at once took a front rank in a profession already over- crowded and adorned by leading minds. Their business relations continued until 1843.

Under the Constitution prior to 1846, the judges were appointed by the Governor and Senate, and in 1843, Gov- ernoi^ WILLIAM C. BOUCK appointed DANIEL PEATT Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Onondaga county, a posi- tion he held until the Constitution of 1846 went into opera- tion in the beginning of 1848. For four years he held this position, discharging his onerous duties with an impartiality, fairness and justice that won the admiration of the entire bar of the State. His opinions and decisions, officially pro- mulgated, were characterized by sound judgment, practical common sense and eminent learning, which characteristics are the important elements of his character. The Constitu- tion of 1846 divided the State into eight judicial districts, and the Democracy of the counties of Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego, Herkimer, Jefferson and Lewis, forming the Fifth Judicial District, nominated Mr. PEATT as one of their can- didates for Supreme Court Judge. He was triumphantly elected, and discharged the duties so acceptably that he was renominated in 1851, and re-elected, serving until January, 1859. His career as a judge met the approval of all parties by reason of his impartiality, while his opinions on cases brought before him were considered among the ablest that issued from any judge on the bench of the State.

Upon his retirement from the bench, Judge PEATT formed

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a partnership with D. J. MITCHELL, Esq., one of the most brilliant advocates in the State, and WILBER M. BROWN, an eminent office lawyer. The firm at once took a com- manding position as one of the strongest in the State, and still continues. Judge PRATT was appointed by Governor HOFFMAN a member of the Constitutional Commission, where he at once took a leading position by his sound judgment, his great legal ability, and his eminent learning. His posi- tion in the profession is also shown by the fact that the Impeachment Committee of the Assembly of 1872 selected him as one of their counsel to conduct the celebrated trial of the notorious Judge BARNARD. In politics Judge PRATT has always been a Democrat and an unwavering supporter of the party.

Judge PRATT was elected to his present honorable and re- sponsible position by a majority of 10,111 over BENJAMIN D. SILLIMAN. The Syracuse Courier, to whom we are indebted for many of the facts in the above sketch, in summing up a brief biographical notice of the present Attorney-General of the State, says :

Judge PRATT is a positive man whose clear and quick per- ceptions, sound judgment and practical common sense impress most forcibly all who come in contact with him. As a citizen he is universally esteemed and respected, while his charitable nature always displayed in an unostentatious manner has endeared him to those toward whom it has been exercised. As a lawyer, Judge PRATT occupies the front rank in the profession. Firm as a rock when bat- tling for the right, his mind is unswayed by extraneous circumstances. His integrity is acknowledged by all, and not a breath of suspicion was ever raised by a political or legal foe. Judge PRATT is a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school. He is a Democrat from principle, and his wisdom and counsels are often consulted by party leaders. He adds dignity to the office.

THOMAS RAINES. 37

THOMAS KAINES,

STATE TBEASUBEB.

THOMAS RAINES, the present Treasurer of the State of New York, is one of the youngest men ever chosen by the people for a position of so much importance. He is now in his thirty-second year, and was first called to preside over the Treasury when but twenty-nine. The American people, however, have regard rather to ability than years, agreeing with the Earl of Chatham, that youth is not that sort of an " atrocious crime " which stands in need of any palliation or denial.

Mr. RAINES was born at Canandaigua, Ontario county, N. Y., on the 13th of August, 1842. He is of English descent on his father's side, and Scotch on his mother's. His grandfather, JOHN" RAINES, a sturdy Englishman, was born in 1784. At the early age of twenty-eight he had acquired a large fortune in mercantile pursuits, and, notwithstanding the cares of business, had found time while amassing it to fulfill the duties of the sacred office. He was the regularly installed minister of a Methodist congregation, and had inti- mate relations with the celebrated divine, ROBERT HALL, and other illustrious contemporaries.

We believe the historians are not at one, as yet, as to the cause that induced the return of Napoleon from his island retreat at Elba, but very many men in England, France and elsewhere, knew too well the effect of the re-appearance of the Little Corporal. JOHN RAINES was one of these, and his financial losses were so heavy as to induce him to gather up the remnants of his broken fortune and try to better his con- dition in America. In the year 1821, the merchant-minister arrived at Philadelphia, and soon after commenced the busi- ness of manufacturing at that point. The usual ups and downs marked his life in the City of Brotherly Love, and

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after being twice burned out, and declining an offer of part- nership from the since celebrated THOMAS TASKER, he aban- doned the Keystone for the Empire State, and took up his residence at Canandaigua.

The father of the Treasurer, another JOHN" RAINES, was born at Hull, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in the year 1818. While yet an infant he was brought to this country by his parents, and here he has resided ever since.

After leaving school, and until his twenty-seventh year, he followed farming for a living. He then abandoned secular pursuits and entered the ministry. For many years he was widely known in Western New York, being recognized as standing among the foremost of his Methodist brethren. Mrs. RAINES, the mother of the subject of our sketch, was a Miss MARY REMINGTON. Her ancestors came from New England, but she herself was born near Canandaigua.

The leading facts in the life of the Treasurer are about as follows :

After receiving the usual common school education, and supplementing it with a good deal of self-taught instruction, he closed his text-books at the early age of fourteen. Those who think they can see the coming oak in every acorn, will be interested in knowing that the future financial head of the State left behind him, at the common school from which he graduated, a reputation for unusual proficiency in mathe- matics. Commencing his business life on the bottom round of the long ladder, he accepted a clerkship in a store at Lyons, Wayne county, in this State, at an annual salary of one hundred dollars. His industry, talents and determina- tion soon led to his promotion, and at the age of sixteen he had charge of the books of a large mercantile establishment. A little later we find him book-keeper in the Bank of Canan- daigua, in which institution his education in fiscal matters fairly commenced. Keeping the books of the bank for a year, he developed so much capacity as a banker that he was pro- moted to be acting cashier.

THOMAS RAINES. 39

At the age of twenty, Mr. RAINES had attained a broad and accurate knowledge of the important and intricate branch of business to which he had resolved to devote his future, and, in connection with a number of capitalists of western New York, he then proceeded to start a National Bank, one of the first, it may be remarked, ever organized in the country. This bank was located at Geneva, Ontario county, and, under the management of Mr. RAINES, enjoyed a high degree of prosperity.

In 1867 he removed to Eochester, and at the age of twenty-four, became financial officer of the Farmers and Mechanics' National Bank of Rochester. In this position he continued until his election as Treasurer of the State of New York.

On the 29th of December, 1864, Mr. RAINES was married to CHAEEIE, daughter of Hon. JOSEPH HALSTEAD, of Columbia county. She died on the 5th of March, 1870, to the poignant grief of a large circle of friends. A lady of high intellectual endowment, and the possessor of varied accomplishments, she was in very deed and truth a helpmeet for her husband. She left one child, a girl, who died in August, 1874. In September, 1874, he was married to Miss AGNES BULTEE, a lady of rare cultivation, and held in high esteem by all who know her.

At the Republican State Convention, which met at Syracuse, in September, 1871, Mr. RAINES was nominated by acclamation for the position which he now holds. In the canvass that followed, he made a most gallant fight, and gained the day by an overwhelming majority. The estimation in which he is held by his fellow-citizens is shown in the fact of his running nearly a thousand ahead of the State ticket in Rochester. Almost the entire vote of the ward, in which he resided, was cast for him; a mark of esteem and confidence of which any man might justly be proud. Mr. RAINES' entire

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majority in the State was 21,784; he polled the highest vote on the ticket.

Mr. EAINES was for many years an active and ardent Ee- publican. Sympathizing, however, with the Liberal move- ment, he attended the Cincinnati Convention and helped place HORACE GEEELET in nomination for the Presidency. His position and ability received suitable recognition from the Convention, he being chosen one of its Vice-Presidents. Since that time Mr. EAIKES has acted with the Liberals, and is recognized as one of the leaders of his party in this State. At the Democratic Convention, called to nominate a State ticket, at Utica, in September last, Mr. EAINES was named by acclamation for the office which he now holds, by virtue of a re-election. The mutations of our politics is thus strikingly illustrated — a renomination and election at the hands of Democrats and Liberals following directly after a nomination and election at the hands of Eepublicans ! Although he was. embarrassed in his canvass by the defalca- tion of one of his clerks, which came to light soon after his name was hoisted, yet, nevertheless, he led all the nominees on the State ticket, save the State Engineer, and secured his election by the handsome majority of 12,630.

Since his induction into the office which he now holds, Mr. EAINES has justified the high expectations of his friends, demonstrating both his capacity and disposition to wisely administer the finances of the State.

Entering office without particular political experience, but with the training and aptitude of a successful banker, he at once displayed quick apprehensions, a ready grasp of public questions, a clear insight into State polity and a broad under- standing, especially of its fiscal interests and public works. He initiated in the Canal Board, at an early day, a direct movement for the repeal of the repair contracts. Mr. EAIKTES undertook the task of pushing it into operation, and brought the question to a direct issue by a series of resolutions, pre- sented in the board shortly after his entrance into office. He

THOMAS RAINES. 41

advocated, in 1872, '73 and '74, the continuation of the low toll policy. In 1875 he opposed the further reduction, upon the ground of constitutional violation and the insufficiency of the reduction, it failing to meet the railroad tariff. He is opposed to levying taxes upon commerce and also to taxing people for canal expenses. He does not believe in the policy of the State owning canals or railroads. He advocated the payment of the debt of the State in coin. This act alone entitles him to the gratitude of all who are interested in the elevation of the standard of public morality. The estima- tion in which Mr. RAINES was held by those who differed with him politically, is shown in the tribute paid him by the Democrat and Chronicle, the leading Republican paper of Rochester, in the fall of 1873, when the danger of his becoming the nominee of the Democracy was among the possibilities. The following is an extract from the Democrat and Chronicle, September 15, of that year :

" He made, early in his career, an earnest effort to secure a thorough investigation of the whole management of canal affairs. Believing, from personal observation, and the inspec- tion of the records of his department, that the popular sus- picions as to its extravagance and corruption were not unfounded, he called upon the Legislature for a complete examination. His speeches delivered before the Canal Com- mittee of the Assembly, last winter, on the necessity of re- trenchment in canal expenditures, created universal interest. Mr. RAINES carried his point in reducing the appropriations to the extent of a million dollars, a curtailment due almost entirely to his individual efforts. In the Canal Board he has steadily opposed all fraudulent claims, extravagant allowances and profligate jobs, exercising ceaseless vigilance in detecting and baffling every species of dishonesty which is continually endeavoring to obtain a foothold in this department of the public works."

42 SYLVANUS H. SWEET.

SYLVANUS H. SWEET,

STATE ENGINEER AND SUBVEYOK.

SYLVANUS H. SWEET, State Engineer and Surveyor, is a native of Oswego county, New York, and is a son of the late GAEKET C. SWEET, of Phoenix, Oswego county. He com- menced his professional career under 0. W. CHILDS, Esq., in the year 1847. In 1850 and 1851, he was engaged under Mr. CHILDS in making a survey for a Ship Canal across the Isthmus of Nicaragua, in Central America, and opening of the Nicaragua Transit Eoute, for California traffic and travel, under Commodore VANDEKBILT.

Upon his return, he received an appointment upon the New York State canals, in 1852, where, owing to great dili- gence and application, he remained undisturbed through all the political changes of the next eight years, and in 1860, through the earnest application and recommendation of Hon. VAN E. KICHMOND, the then State Engineer and Surveyor, was appointed by a Republican Canal Board Resident Engineer at Syracuse. While holding this position, he compiled and perfected a complete set of plans of the most important canal structures, which were published in connection with the State Engineer's report for 1860.

Upon his removal, Mr. RICHMOND appointed him principal assistant, under 0. W. CHILDS, on the " New York Harbor En- croachment Survey. " By reason of his skill and characteristic energy, Mr. SWEET had the honor of being the first to estab- lish, successfully, the original high and low water lines around Manhattan Island and the shores of Brooklyn, from which the first map was published in 1861, showing these lines.

Upon the election of WILLIAM B. TAYLOR as State Engineer, in 1862, he was tendered and accepted the position of Deputy State Engineer. During his term as Deputy, Mr. SWEET devoted his leisure hours to writing a complete " History of the New York Canals," a work embracing 384

ii> (5j/vc^Vo

IVVIV

LIFE SKETCHES. 43

pages ; also a history of the Hudson Kiver Improvements, some thirty or forty pages in length, and a scientific report of great practical value on coal. This last work, contained in about 100 pages, set forth the cost of coal over diflFerent routes to market. It was furnished, upon call, to the Senate during the session of 1864, and was read with interest by coal consumers generally, since it contained all the informa- tion necessary to a full and clear understanding of the actual cost of the commodity treated of in market.

During the war (1865), he was the nominee of the Demo- cratic party for the same position he now holds, and although running ahead of the ticket about 4,000, was defeated with his party when all placed upon the ticket — made up of JOHN VAN BUKEN, Gen. H. W. SLOCUM, Lucius KOBINSON, etc. — were vanquished by the war cry.

In 1865-6, Mr. SWEET had charge of surveys, plans and estimates for a canal across the State of Maryland, from Washington to Annapolis, thence along the shore of Chesa- peake to Baltimore, thereby saving in distance between these points 190 miles, and the danger of navigating the bay with small crafts, and perfecting an inland canal navigation from Albany or New York to Washington, upon a scale of navi- gation equal to the Delaware & Earitan.

Upon the election of Hon. VAN K. KICHMOND for State Engineer and Surveyor, in 1868, Mr. SWEET was tendered and accepted the position of Deputy, which he held during the two terms of Mr. KICHMOND'S administration, serving also as Engineer and Inspector of the New Capitol, which latter position he retained after the defeat of his party in the fall of 1871.

Mr. SWEET received the nomination from the Democratic party at the convention held at Utica, in the fall of 1873, for State Engineer and Surveyor, and was likewise the choice of the Liberal convention held at Elmira the same fall for that office. He was triumphantly elected, his majority being some 4,000 greater than that of any of his associates on th« ticket.

SENATORS,

JAMES W. BOOTH.

The fifth Senatorial district consists of the eighth, ninth, fifteenth and sixteenth wards of the city of New York. It is represented in the present Senate by JAMES W. BOOTH who was born in the city of New York, on the ninth of September, 1822. After receiving a good education in various private schools in that city, he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits with marked success. As a dyer and manufacturer of cotton goods he was long known to the world of trade no less for his business sagacity than for his integrity. At present Mr. BOOTH is not actively engaged in business, being one of those fortunate mortals to whom effort has brought the wherewithal on which to complacently retire from the noisy marts of trade.

In politics Mr. BOOTH was for many years a Whig, but since the formation of the Kepublican party he has been an ardent supporter of that organization. Until nominated for the Senate he had never been prevailed upon to accept a political office, although for many years he has been devoted, with his time and his means, to the support of honesty and efficiency in public affairs. In him the cause of education has ever had a warm friend, and to it he has given a long term of service. From 1850 until 1870 he was trustee of the Common Schools of the Ninth ward of New York. On the organization of the Fire Department, under its present system, he was made one of the Commissioners, a position which he held for three months and then resigned. In 1873,

46 LIFE SKETCHES.

when the Legislature was called upon to name a Eegent of the University in place of OSWALD OTTENDORFER, Mr. BOOTH received the unanimous nomination of the Republi- cans and was duly elected. In the election which resulted in placing him in his present position of Senator he ran against VIXCENT C. KIXG and received a majority of 2,437. Mr. BOOTH is Chairman of the Committees on Literature and Public Health, and is also a member of the Committees on Cities, and Commerce and Navigation.

GEORGE B. BRADLEY

GEORGE B. BRADLEY, who now represents the Steuben, Chemung and Schuyler district, was a candidate for the position which he now holds two years ago. At that time he made a gallant, but an unsuccessful fight. Although the Republican majority in that district had been counted by the thousands, he was beaten by a scratch, his opponent being chosen by a majority of seven.

Senator BRADLEY was born in the town of Greene, county of Chenango, on the fifth day of February, 1825, and conse- quently he is now in the full maturity of his powers. His father, ORLO F. BRADLEY, now dead, came from Litchfield county, Connecticut. The Senator spent the early years of his life on a farm which his father had purchased in Chenango county, after leaving New England. Receiving a good com- mon school and academic education, he turned his attention to law, and after pursuing the usual preparatory studies, was admitted to practice. For the last twenty-five years he has occupied a prominent position at the bar of this State, being recognized in the profession as one of the ablest lawyers of the southern tier.

The Senator was married in July, 1850, to Miss LATTIMER, of Stenben county.

GEORGE B. BRADLEY. 47

He and Judge RUMSEY of the Supreme Court were the representatives of their respective parties from the southern counties of their judicial district in the late Constitutional Commission. The Judge resigned when appointed to fill a vacancy, but Mr. BRADLEY served, and no man in the Com- mission made a more favorable impression upon all those amiliar with the work of that body.

Mr. BEADLEY was placed in nomination by the Democrats and Liberal Republicans. It was a significant fact that his Republican opponent of two years ago, Hon. GABRIEL T. HARROWER, was one of his most ardent supporters through- out the canvass. He was triumphantly elected, carrying every county in the district, by a majority of 2,859 over EATON" N. FRISBIE.

Mr. BRADLEY is an easy, effective speaker, and takes a prominent part in all the debates of moment. He signalized his entrance into the Senate by his minority report from the Committee on Privileges and Elections, on the ABBOTT-MAD- DEN contested election case. He favored the retention of AB- BOTT as sitting-member until all the evidence in the case had been offered and reported on by the committee. His speech in support of his report was the most able and eloquent presen- tation of Mr. ABBOTT'S claims that was addressed to the Senate.

Mr. BRADLEY is a member of the Committees on Judiciary, State Prisons, and Privileges and Elections.

48 LIFE SKETCHES.

JOHN W. COE.

The Second Senatorial district of the State of New York consists of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, seventh, eleventh, thirteenth, fifteenth, nineteenth and twentieth wards of the city of Brooklyn. The Senator is JOHN" W. COE.

JOHN "W". COE was born in the city of New York, on the 26th of May, 1839. He received a good common school education, and then turned his attention to mercantile pur- suits. At the present time he is engaged in business as a manufacturer. He was married in 1862.

The Senator has always taken a deep interest in politics, and has held some prominent public positions. He was for many years an active Eepublican, and, in 1872, embraced the Cincinnati movement, so called. He was a delegate to the convention that laid down the Liberal platform and nom- inated HORACE GKEELEY for the Presidency. In his own county of Kings, he has long enjoyed a high degree of polit- ical prosperity. In 1870 he was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors, and proved such a popular representa- tive, that, in 1872, the Liberal Eepublicans returned him to the Board from a strong Eepublican district. His second term as Supervisor was signalized by a most stubborn con- test for the Chairmanship of the Board. After a campaign, lasting five months, Mr. COE was elected to that office.

In the fall of 1873, the Liberal Eepublicans placed him in nomination for Senator. The action of the convention was indorsed by the Democracy, and the result was his election over Hon. JOHN 0. PERRY, who was chosen to the last Senate by a majority of 1,968. Mr. COE'S majority was 1,414.

Mr. COE'S political position in the Senate is a peculiarly

DAN H. COLE. 49

"independent" one. He was first nominated, as we have said, by a distinctively Liberal Eepublican convention, and afterward was indorsed by the Democrats. He made no pledges whatever to the latter, and, in refusing to do so, told them that they had simply to choose between him and his Eepublican opponent. As a consequence, party ties sit very loosely upon him, and he is left free to follow the promptings of an unbiased judgment in considering all questions brought before the Senate. He came to the Legislature with the reputation of having materially assisted in unearthing the labyrinth of frauds in the jail of Kings county, through which the public were swindled out of thousands of dollars annually. He signalized his entrance into the Senate by casting his vote in favor of awarding the contested seat of the tenth district to Mr. MADDEN". His speech, in explanation of his action, proved him to be a clear and cogent speaker.

Senator COE is a member of the Committees on Cities and Public Health.

DAN H. COLE.

The Twenty-ninth Senatorial district of the State of New York consists of the counties of Genesee, Niagara and Orleans. The Senator is DAN H. COLE, of Albion, Orleans county.

Senator COLE was born at Auburn, Cayuga county, in the year 1814. He is descended from New England stock, both of his parents being natives of Sharon, Conn., where his father followed the profession of medicine for many years. After receiving a good substantial education in the common school and academy, he applied himself to the study of law. He was for some time a student in the office of his brother, Hon. A. HYDE COLE, who, it is interesting to note, occupied a seat in the Senate in 1848-9. After being admitted to the bar. the Senator entered upon the practice of his profession

60 LIFE SKETCHES.

at Albion. Since 1850, other duties occupying his attention, he has not been actively engaged at the law. Of late years he has been prominently engaged in several important business enterprises, among others with the Curtis Agricul- tural Works, of which he is President.

The Senator has had considerable experience of a varied nature in public life. In 1840 he was appointed by Gov. Seward Surrogate of his county, and held the office four years. In the fall of 1846, he was elected to the responsible and honorable position of County Clerk, and remained as such two terms, six years. In 1855, on the death of Judge H. R. CURTIS, he was appointed County Judge and Surrogate, and in the fall of the same year was nominated and elected a member of Assembly from Orleans county. As a member of the lower House of 1856, he participated in the long and exciting contest for Speaker, which ended, on the forty-ninth ballot, in the election of OEVILLB ROBINSON. In all these positions, Mr. COLE served the people to their entire satisfac- tion, and established an enviable reputation for capacity and integrity.

The Senator is now serving his second term as a member of the Senate. He was first elected to that body in 1863, and, during 1864-65, held the same important Chairmanship which he now holds, of Canals. He was also Chairman of the Canal Committee when in the Assembly, and thus brings to bear in the discharge of his duties during the present session a perfect familiarity with the duties of his responsible position. He has also figured prominently, this session, as Chairman of the Committee of Privileges and Elections. There being no less than three contested election cases in the present Senate, that committee has its hands full. Senator COLE presented the majority report in the ABBOTT-MADDEN case, which excited so much interest all over the State, and which the Senate, after an exciting debate, adopted.

Senator COLE was married, in 1836, to FEANCES M. ELLIOTT.

HENRY C. CONNELLY. 51

HENRY C. CONNELLY.

The Fourteenth Senatorial district consists of the counties of Greene and Ulster. The Senator is HENRY 0. CON- NELLY.

Senator CONNELLY was born at Shandaken, Ulster county, on the 25th of September, 1832, consequently he is now in the full maturity of his powers. Shortly after his birth the family removed to Esopus, in the same county, which has remained the Senator's home ever since. His father and his father's father were both born in the town of Olive, Ulster county. His grandfather was a physician and Baptist min- ister, and his father a farmer. The latter is still living at the age of 66.

The Senator's education was received, for the most part, at the common schools of his county. A portion of one year he attended the Charlotteville Seminary at Schoharie. At the early age of 15 he began to learn the great lesson of self- dependence, and we find him teaching the young ideas to shoot. He followed teaching for three months, and then went to clerking it at Kondout. Here he remained four years, and then removed to Eddyville, Ulster county, where he spent some time in mercantile pursuits. * In 1856 he embarked in business on his own account, and to-day finds him in the same place in which he commenced, a successful and respected merchant. The firm of CONNELLY & SHAFER is widely known as manufacturers of Rosendale cement.

In politics, the Senator, although brought up under Free Soil Democrat influences, has always been a Republican. For four successive years his friends and neighbors showed their regard for him as a man of capacity and integrity by electing him to represent his town in the Board of Super- visors of Ulster county. He cares very little for public life,

52 LIKE SKETCHES.

and never asked for an office in his life. Whenever he hag consented to represent the people the office has sought him, not he the office.

Thoroughly known throughout the Fourteenth district, and everywhere, as a man fitted, by his sound business capa- city and inflexible integrity, to make a useful legislator, it was not strange that his party friends placed him in nomina- tion for Senator. The district had been counted unfailingly Democratic, and yet, although Greene county went against Mr. CONNELLY 543, his own county of Ulster gave him the handsome majority of 809, thus securing his election by 266 over JACOB H. MEECH. In 1871 a Democratic Senator was elected by 828 majority.

Senator CONNELLY is Chairman of two Committees, Erec- tion and Division of Towns and Counties and Charitable and Religious Societies ; he is also a member of Roads and Bridges and Printing.

The Senator has been twice married. He was married to his present wife, a daughter of LEVI MANNING, of "West Park, Ulster county, in 1858. He has been connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1852.

JESSE C. DAYTON.

JESSE C. DAYTON, of Watervliet, represents the Thirteenth Senatorial district, which consists of the county of Albany.

The Senator's ancestors were English, and as far back as 1600, certain of them emigrated from England and settled near what is now East Hampton, Long Island, where his father was born. His grandfather removed to Rensselaer- ville in 1800.

The subject of this sketch was born at Westerlo, Albany county, in the year 1825. His life has been spent in Westerlo,

JESSE C. DAYTON. 53

Knowersville, Watervliet and New York city. After receiving » good substantial education, he turned his attention to mer- cantile pursuits, and in 1844, being then in his nineteenth year, went to New York as a clerk. Developing good busi- ness qualities, it was not long before he passed from the position of clerk to the head of a nourishing house of his own. He is still actively engaged in business in the metropolis, but has his home away from its rush and roar in tranquil Water- vliet, where he has an extensive farm.

The Senator takes a lively interest in politics, and has always been identified with the Democratic party. Last spring his friends and neighbors brought him forward as a candidate for Supervisor. He accepted the nomination and was elected by a majority of five hundred, in a town which had been previously carried by the Republicans. In com- menting upon his nomination for Senator, the Albany Argu* bore witness to the faithfulness and vigilance with which he had represented his constituents in the Board of Supervisors. It added, " taking his election for granted, he will be a credit to Albany upon the floor of the Senate, and a valuable servant in committees and all routine legislation. And his character is as exemplary as his qualifications for the position of Senator are superior."

The Troy Press, a newspaper published outside of the Four- teenth district, noticed the nomination of Mr. DAYTON for Senator, as follows : " The Democracy of Albany county have nominated JESSE C. DAYTON, of Watervliet, for Senator. Mr. DAYTON" is not an office-seeker, nor is he a man that office can corrupt. He last spring accepted the nomination for Super- visor in a Radical district, and illustrated his popularity by carrying his election with nearly five hundred majority. In the Board he has been one of the most vigilant members, watching the interests of the people with constant care. Being a man of wealth, he has personal interests that are opposed to extravagant legislation, and that is one of the strongest guards that can be put upon a legislator. As there

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is no doubt of Mr. DAYTON'S election, we congratulate onr Bister county upon the wise action of its convention."

Mr. DAYTON was nominated for the honorable position which he now holds by acclamation, and elicited a hearty support. He was elected over CHARLES P. EASTON, Repub- lican, by a majority of 2,152. In 1871, CHARLES H. ADAMS, Eepublican, was elected by a majority of 656, leading the State ticket by 1,911.

Mr. DAYTON was assigned, by the President of the Senate, to the following committees : Printing, Public Buildings, and Indian Affairs. He is a man of quiet manner and modest bearing. v Although not a talking member, as a general rule, he is always ready to take the floor when the success of any measures which he has in charge seems to require it.

WELLS S. DICKINSON.

The seventeenth Senatorial district, comprising the counties of Franklin and St. Lawrence, is represented by WELLS S. DICKINSON, of Franklin. He comes from a section of the Empire State which has always been in the van of liberal and progressive ideas, a section proud of its PRESTON KING, its SILAS WRIGHT, and which has produced many sons who have been potent in shaping the policy of State and nation.

The subject of this sketch was born at Bangor, Franklin county, where he still resides, in the year 1827, and is of gen- uine American descent. After receiving the rudiments of his education at a common school, he entered the Franklin academy in his native county, where he remained two years. He then, in the year 1846, laid aside his books, and engaged in mercantile pursuits with his father, whom he joined as partner in 1850. In 1851 he took to himself a wife, marry- ing Miss THUSA FISH. In 1853 he bought out his father's

WELLS 8. DICKINSON. 55

interest in the business and associated Mr. A. 0. PATTERSON with himself. The copartnership thus formed continued until the year 1865, when he also admitted Mr. CHARLES WHITNEY into the firm, and carried on business under the name of PATTERSON, WHITNEY & Co. In 1857, Mr. WHIT- NEY went out of the concern and Mr. DICKINSON'S brother took his place. During all this time, however, Mr. DICKIN- SON had devoted himself chiefly to his private and individual business, the manufacture of potato starch and speculation in starch, hops, etc. In addition to the pursuits thus indicated, Mr. DICKINSON ran for some years extensive grist and saw mills, of which he was the owner, and had business interests at Bed Wing, Minnesota, as member of the firm of SMITH, MEIGS & Co.

Thus much for the Senator's business history, and now a glance at his public and political life. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but he now is and has been for years an active and ardent Eepublican. His personal popularity at home is shown in the fact that for three successive years, 1857-8-9, he was elected Supervisor of his native town. In 1859 the Legislature of New York appointed him one of the Commissioners to whom was intrusted the settlement of the claim and damages arising on the contract between the State and J. D. KINGSLAND relative to convict labor.

Senator DICKINSON began his legislative career some years ago. In 1860 he represented the county of Franklin in the Assembly in a manner at once creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents. He was a member of one of the most important committees in the House, that on Eailroads. In 1864 he was a delegate to the memorable Ee- publican National Convention which met at Baltimore and renominated ABRAHAM LINCOLN for the Presidency.

Senator DICKINSON has already had one term's experience in the Senate. In the fall of 1871 he was first nominated for the office, going into the convention as the unanimous choice of Franklin county, and proving entirely acceptable

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to the St. Lawrence delegates. Two years previous, when his name had been presented by his county, the convention paid him the marked compliment of passing a resolution recognizing him as "an upright and patriotic citizen, a reliable and active Eepublican, and one whom the people of the seventeenth district hold in high respect." He entered actively into the campaign and was elected by the handsome majority of 6,925. He was chairman of the Committee on Villages and Indian affairs, and a member of the Com- mittees on Claims, Eoads and Bridges and State Prisons.

Mr. DICKINSON made so good a record in 1872 and 1873 that the electors of the seventeenth district decided that he well deserved to be returned. The New York Times, in an editorial article on the senatorial nominations of last fall, commended Senator DICKINSON" as a gentleman who had had much experience in public affairs and who enjoyed the confidence and respect of the Republicans among whom he lived. He was re-elected by the comfortable majority of 4,626 over his Democratic competitor.

As a politician Mr. DICKINSON has an honorable reputa- tion and his course since he has been Senator has been such as to entitle him to thorough confidence and respect reposed in him by his constituents. He is chairman of two import- ant Committees in the present Senate, Claims and Villages, and is a member of Affairs of Cities and State Prisons.

ALBERT G. Dow. 57

ALBERT G. DOW.

The Thirty-second Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Cattaraugus and Chautauqua, is represented by ALBERT G. Dow, of Eandolph, Cattaraugus county.

The salient facts of his history are as follows : ALBERT G. Dow was born in Plainfield, Cheshire county, New Hamp- shire, on the 16th of August, 1808. His father, SOLOMON Dow, who was also a native of " the Granite State," followed farming for a living. The Senator received his education in the " common " and " select " schools, so called, of Vermont and western New York, and after leaving his books, turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. During many years lie was engaged in the hardware business, and he was rewarded with a fair degree of success ; of late he has fol- lowed the business of banking. It may be added, just here, that he has been twice married, and has been a member of the Congregational church for over thirty years.

The Senator's political history repeats that of a great many of his contemporaries. Until the breaking out of the late war he was a Democrat, and since that time has acted with the Eepublican party. He has had considerable experi- ence in public life, and evidently is held in high regard by those who know him best. For ten years he represented the town of Randolph in the Board of Supervisors of Cattarau- gus county, a fact that speaks emphatically of his capacity for affairs and his reputation for integrity. In the fall of 1862 he was elected to the Assembly from the Second district of Cattaraugus county as a Union Democrat, by a majority of 971 over LEMUEL S. JENKS. He made such a satisfactory record that he was returned the next year. When we have added that the Senator filled the office of Justice of the

Peace for twelve vears. and was. from 1857 to 1863, a Com-

8 *

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missioner of Excise, it will be seen that his experience of public service has been long and varied.

The Senator was elected to his present position by a majority of 2,458 over DAVID N. BROWN, who ran on the Democratic ticket. He is Chairman of the Committee on Grievances ; also of that on Indian Affairs ; and is a member of the committees on Public Health and Manufactures.

Senator Dow is a careful and sound legislator, always keenly alive to the material and moral advancement of his own locality in particular, and of the State in general. Making no pretensions to oratory, he nevertheless has the faculty of presenting his views clearly and forcibly. During the present session his speech in favor of the appropriation to academies was an able and well-considered effort. The Senator held that it would be in accordance with the dic- tates of sound policy for the State to distribute $125,000 among the academies of the State, and supported his posi- tion with quite an array of facts and figures. Whether or no he is right or wrong is an open question, but he made one thing certain beyond a cavil — his interest in the educational interests of the State.

JOHN FOX.

The seat of the Fourth Senatorial district, which remained vacant during the whole of last term by reason of the non- appearance of the Senator elect, WILLIAM M. TWEED, is occupied this session by JOHN Fox. The district includes the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, thirteenth and fourteenth wards of New York.

Senator JOHN Fox was born at Frederickton, New Bruns- wick. His father, PATRICK Fox, and his mother, CATHARINE AHERN, were both natives of Ireland. The Senator received

JOHN Fox. 59

a common school education, attending school number twenty- nine, New York city. After throwing aside his books he commenced, while yet a mere boy, the great battle of life, and the development of those qualities of self-reliance and energy of character which have since marked his career.

Until he was twenty-three years of age he was a block and pump maker. After that, thinking that he knew how to keep a hotel, he tried that line of business for two years. Since abandoning hotel keeping he has been engaged in the real estate and brokerage business.

JOHN Fox is a name that has long been familiar in the ears of those at all acquainted with politics in the city of New York. Few men of his years have been as long in pub- lic life, in various positions of honor and trust, as the Senator. Always an uncompromising Democrat, he has been frequently called by his political friends to represent them. In 1861 he was elected Alderman, defeating one of the most popular men in New York, the late widely lamented .HENRY SMITH, Police Commissioner, by a majority of 800. Tn 1864 he was chosen to the Board of Supervisors of New York county by the overwhelming majority of 17,000. In 1866 he defeated HORACE GREELEY for Congress, and in 1868 was re-elected over General LEWIS by a majority of over 16,000. In Congress he served on the committees on Post-offices, Post Eoads and Invalid Pensions. The Senator's position in the State councils of his party is shown in the fact that in 1873 he was made Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Democratic State Central Committee. He has long been a regular attendant at the State and National Conventions of the Democracy. He was a delegate to the National Con- ventions of 1868 and 1872, and has been present in similar capacity at every State Convention held during the past ten years, saving only the year 1871, when the TWEED ring defeated him and put in his place a man of their own.

The Senator was married in 1861, in New York city, to Miss ELLEN BYRNE. He attends the Catholic church.

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In the canvass which resulted in placing him in the seat which he now occupies he was opposed by MORGAN JONES, and defeated him by a majority of 6,063. He is a member of the Committee on Cities, Erection and Division of Towns and Counties, and Rules.

JACOB A. GROSS.

The Sixth Senatorial district of the State of New York consists of the tenth, eleventh and seventeenth wards of the city of New York. The Senator is JACOB A. GROSS.

Senator GROSS is one of the youngest members of the present Senate, having been born in 1842. He is a New Yorker, and the son of MARTIN GROSS, deceased. After receiving his preliminary education in the private schools of the metropolis, he devoted some time to the study of law at the well-known Columbia College Law School. He gradu- ated in 1864 with the degree of LL. B., and the next year was made LL. M., by the same college. He has devoted himself ever since to law as his profession, and has been rewarded with a fair degree of success.

In politics the Senator has always been a Democrat, but never a member of Tammany Hall until its re-organization a few years ago. He is now a prominent member of the Tammany General Committee.

The Senator was elected to the position which he now occupies by a majority of 3,312"votes over GEORGE HENCKEN, Jr., the nominee of the Republican party. In 1871 there was a Democratic plurality in the district of 2,425.

JACOB A. GROSS. 61

Senator GEOSS is an easy and fluent debater, and takes an active part in the discussions arising on the important measures presented for the consideration of the Senate. As a legislator, he may be denominated cautious, deliberate and conscientious. He speaks often, but seldom at any length, and always with clearness and earnestness. He is a member of the Committee on Banks, the Committee on Charitable and Religious Societies, and the Committee on Villages.

Senator GEOSS is unmarried, and attends the Catholic church.

JOHN C. JACOBS.

The Senator from the third district of Kings county, having served in the lower House during the years 1867, '68, '69, '70, '71, '72 and '73, was abundantly qualified, by legislative experience and knowledge, to respond to the call which came to him last fall from his constituents, " Friend, come up higher." A leader in the Assembly for seven years, it was to be expected, on the retirement of Hon. HENEY C. MUEPHT from the seat which he had filled so ably for twelve successive years, that he would be given the succession. Mr. JACOBS was elected to the Senate by a majority of 3,984 over JOHN F. HENEY.

The salient points in his history may be stated as follows: He was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, on the 10th of December, 1838, and is therefore now in the thirty-fifth year of his age. His paternal ancestors were of the old New England Revolutionary stock, and several of them partici- pated with honor in the memorable struggle for independ- ence. Mr. JACOBS' mother was born in Pennsylvania, and was of German origin, one of her progenitors having held a high position under Frederick the Great of Prussia.

"When Mr. JACOBS was quite young his parents removed to

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Brooklyn, where he was placed in a select school as soon as he had reached a sufficient age. The family removed to Phila- delphia a few years later, and his school studies may be said to have closed when he attained the age of twelve. He was, nevertheless, able to turn every opportunity of obtaining knowledge to account, and the loss occasioned by the check thus given to his educational progress, is not as apparent as it might be in a duller man. Eeturning to Brooklyn, after a year's stay in Philadelphia, he entered a lawyer's office as a messenger boy. The drudgery there required of him was, however, very repugnant to his somewhat high-strung nature, and he left it after a short experience, and sought and obtained a position as copy-holder in the large printing establishment of JOHN A. GRAY & Co., New York. A large number of journals being issued from the establish- ment, Mr. JACOBS naturally came in contact with many newspaper men, and he soon developed a taste for journal- istic life. At the age of eighteen he became a reporter for the New York Express. He showed great aptitude and ability in the arduous duties belonging to the life he had now entered, and was gradually promoted on the Express staff, until he was given charge of the political news columns. In 1859 he became correspondent of the same paper at Albany, remaining with it until 1865, when, in the same capacity, he represented the New YorK World. He also won distinction as a war correspondent, volunteering in 1862 to accompany MCCLELLAN'S army to the Peninsula. Becoming attached to the 1st New York Volunteers, then in KEARNEY'S division, he had a chance to see and participate in some of the hardest fighting of the war. His account of the evacua- tion of Harrison's Landing and the march to Yorktown, which he sent to the Express, was extensively copied by the press of the country.

Mr. JACOBS began his political life when a mere boy. In 1856, when but eighteen years of age, he was active in his opposition to FREMONT'S election. In 1860 he was well known

JOHN C. JACOBS. 63

in Brooklyn as a leader among the young men who com- bined against the LINCOLN" ticket. In 1863 he received the regular Democratic nomination for Assembly, against JOHN" C. PERRY, Eepublican member of the last Senate. THE- OPHILUS C. CALLICOTT ran as an Independent Democratic candidate, however, and the split thereby occasioned defeated him. In 1865 he also ran, being again defeated by WILLIAM W. GOODRICH, after an unusually spirited contest. Mr. JACOBS' friends insisted that he should run again in 1866, and the Democratic Convention nominated him by acclama- tion. A strong effort was made by the Eepublican s to defeat him, but the plucky young journalist was successful this time by 900 majority. From that time until his elevation to the Senate^ he was regularly returned every fall to the Assembly, his majority being usually larger than the State ticket received.

In 1869 he served on the Committee on Commerce and Navigation, and on several special committees. In 1870 he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, and a member of the Committees on Insurance, and Grievances. In 1871 he was a member of the Committees on Grievances, Judiciary, and Ways and Means, and Chairman of the latter. In 1872 he was a member of the Committee of Ways and Means, and Petitions of Aliens ; and in the last House he vas a member of Ways and Means, Insurance, and Eules. During the session of 1872 Mr. JACOBS was honored by being chosen as one of the managers to conduct the trials of Judges BARNARD and McCinor. In the years when the Democrats held the majority in the House, Mr. JACOBS displayed great effectiveness as a leader and party manager, winning deserved repute for his readiness and ability in debate, his tireless activity and his dauntless courage in battling for political principles. Two or three times he has been a candidate for the Speakership, but in the year when the party majority was with him, the Tammany interest of !STew York city, with which he was not always in entire accord, succeeded in

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defeating him. He was the candidate of the Democratic minority for the position in the session of 1872, and also in the last one, receiving the entire vote of his party. Inas- much as he possesses peculiar qualifications for the post of presiding officer, and is thoroughly versed in parliamentary law, the compliment thus twice given him was in every way deserved.

Mr. JACOBS is a great favorite among all his friends. Though he is an ardent and active partisan, there is yet a courteousness of manner and a frankness of language in all his political endeavors, which invariably extorts admiration ' and respect from his most decided opponents. He is a man of large heart and warm sympathies to his friends, and gen- erous to his foes, very few of the latter being such in other than a political sense. In legislative matters he devotes the largest share of his attention to local affairs ; but his ring- ing voice is often heard, also, in defense of party policy, and in denunciation of Republican measures and schemes. He is very fluent in debate, occasionally rising to heights of ora- torical eloquence ; and he never fails to command the atten- tion of the Senate when once warmed up with his subject. He unquestionably stands among the foremost members of a minority which includes a number of very able men.

The Senator is a member of the important Committees on Finance, and Affairs of Cities.

WILLIAM JOHNSON. 65

WILLIAM JOHNSON.

Senator JOHNSON probably does more than any other man in the Senate to promote a general good feeling all around the circle. Jolly himself, he is the cause of jollity in others. He has a keen sense of the ludicrous, and frequently chooses to place an adversary hors du combat by a racy repartee, rather than force his surrender by the slow processes of logi- cal reasoning. He rarely allows a subject to be disposed of without putting his mark upon it, and

" is so full of pleasing anecdote,

So rich, so gay, so poignant in his wit, Time vanishes before him as he speaks."

Urbane and pleasant in his address, and carrying around with him "the atmosphere of gay, good cheer," he is a very popular gentleman. A natural talker, fluent and ready on a great variety of subjects, he is one of the marked men of the Senate.

Senator JOHNSON represents the Twenty-sixth district, including within its territory the counties of Ontario, Seneca and Yates. He is a native of the good old Bay State, and is now not far from 50 years of age. He is of unmixed English descent, the son of DAVID and OLIVE STODAKD JOHNSON. His father died in 1825, at Herkimer, Herkimer county, this State. The subject of our sketch came to New York while he was yet an infant, with his parents, who took up their residence in Herkimer county. He received a com- mon school education, and subsequently was engaged some five years in mercantile pursuits. From 1349 until 1856 he followed the business of jobbing, as a contractor on the canals, and afterward was engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods at Seneca Falls, where he now resides. Of late

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years, he has become prominently known as a railroad con- tractor.

The story of his life, as he himself tells it in familiar con- versation, shows that his career has been indeed a chequered one. Full of ups and downs, of fortunes made and fortunes lost, it has been marked throughout by an unflagging energy and a disposition to make the best of the allotments of Fate, be the same fair or foul. Having tried his hand at a great variety of pursuits he has accumulated a stock of experience of a rich and varied nature.

• In 1862, having the year previous represented the county of Seneca in the Assembly, he felt moved to do his share in putting down the rebellion, arguing, doubtless, that it was useless to concern oneself about making laws for a country nntil it had first been conclusively settled in the minds of all men that there was, and was to be, a country capable of enforcing obedience to its laws and maintaining its own exist- ence. He raised the 148th regiment New York State volun- teers and commanded it until near the close of the year 1863, when he resigned and returned to civil life.

In the Assembly of 1861 he was assigned a place on two important committees, Canals and Commerce and Naviga- tion, and made an intelligent and useful legislator. He was adjudged to have possessed a large degree of representative ability, and to have faithfully and efficiently discharged his official duties.

Mr. JOHNSON has been elected and re-elected to the Senate from a district usually carried by his political opponents, and his success under the circumstances was a signal proof of great popularity. Notwithstanding the other side had a rec- ord of 332 majority for 1869 to take heart with, he succeeded in 1871 in wiping those figures out and gaining the Senator- ship by a majority of 964. In the last Senate he was on the Standing Committees on Canals, Manufactures and Griev- ances, and was Chairman of the Special Committee appointed to investigate the charges against Tweed.

CHARLES KELLOGG. 67

The record made by the Senator during the last two years commending itself to his constituents, he was unanimously and by acclamation renominated to represent the Twenty- sixth district. After an exciting and closely contested can- vass he was re-elected over his Republican opponent, NES- TOR WOODWORTH, by a majority of 174. He is a member of the important Committees on Canals and Manufactures, also of the Militia Committee.

The Senator was married in the summer of 1855, to ANGELINE CHAMBERLAIN, daughter of the late Hon. JACOB P. CHAMBERLAIN.

CHARLES KELLOGG.

The Twenty-first Senatorial district of the State of New York consists of the counties of Madison and Oswego. The Senator is CHARLES KELLOGG.

Senator KELLOGG, one of the youngest members of the present body, was born in Minden, Montgomery county, on the 4th of December, 1839. His father, DANIEL F. KEL- LOGG, was a member of the Assembly in 1864. After receiv- ing a thorough education at the Yates Polytechnic Institute at Chittenango, the subject of this sketch applied himself to the study of law. He attended a full course of lectures at the Albany Law School and graduated from that institu- tion in 1863. He has ever since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. At the present time he is a member of the law firm of LANSING & KELLOGG, at Chit- tenango, Madison county.

Mr. KELLOGG has always taken a deep interest in politics. Believing in the principles of the Republican party he has devoted himself as opportunity offered to the advancement of its interests, and is now recognized as one of the leaders of the organization in Madison county. Though still a

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young man, being but a little past thirty, he is well and favorably known throughout the Twenty-first district.

Mr. KELLOGG was elected to the high position which he now holds by a majority of 1,443 over MATHEW J. SCHOE- CRAFT, his Democratic opponent. In arranging his Standing Committees, the President of the Senate named the Senator for several important places. He is chairman of Eoads and Bridges and a member of two other of the most important committees of the Legislature, Judiciary and Canals. He is also a member of the Committee on Salt.

Mr. KELLOGG is quiet and unassuming in his manner, and extremely courteous and affable to all with whom he is brought in contact. As a legislator he is capable and effici- ent ; seldom absent from his seat in the Senate chamber, he keeps a sharp watch on all that is going on. Although not a frequent speech-maker, he is by no means lacking in ability, to express himself with clearness and force.

JOHN A. KING.

THE First Senatorial district consists of the counties of Suffolk, Queens and Eichmond. The Senator is JOHN A. KING.

JOHN A. KING was born in Jamaica, Long Island, July 14, 1817. He is the son of JOHN A. KING, Governor of New York in 1857 and 1858, and grandson of RUFUS KING, who filled so large and honorable a place in the early annals of this State and of the Union.

After attending Union Hall Academy at Jamaica for ten years, from 1822 to 1832, he entered the Sophomore class at Harvard College, from which institution he graduated in 1835. For a short time following his graduation he engaged in mercantile pursuits, and then applied himself to the study of law, and in due course of time was admitted to the bar.

JOHN A. KING. 69

For the past twenty years he has been an agriculturist, seeming to take great pleasure in the pursuit so dear to his ancestors.

In politics, Mr. KING was a Whig until the formation of the Eepublican party. Since then he has been an unswerving and ardent Republican. He has been a delegate to a number of the State conventions of his party, and assisted at the nomination of GKANT and WILSON, at Philadelphia, in 1872. He was elected Republican Presidential elector for the First Congressional district of the State in the fall of the same year.

Mr. KING was termed by the parties opposed to him in his canvass for Senator, as " the ancestral candidate," a title of which he had no reason to be ashamed. A brief sketch of his distinguished father and grandfather will not be con- sidered out of place in this connection.

RUFUS KING was born in Massachusetts, and filled con- secutively the office of representative in the State Legislature and delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was, also, a member of the convention which framed the present Federal Constitution in 1787, and enacted an influential and conspicuous part in its important and difficult deliberations. In the same year, he removed to New York and became the first United States Senator elected from that State. In the Senate he was a recognized leader of the Federalists, or anti- Democratic party. He aided in the expulsion of ALBERT GALLATIN from that body, and subsequently, when he and ALEXANDER HAMILTON attempted to address a public meet- ing in the city of New York, called to uphold the celebrated "Jay Treaty" with Great Britain, the citizens refused to hear them lest they might defeat the treaty. They, how- ever, accomplished their purpose by publishing a series of articles in the newspapers of the day. Mr. KING was again elected to the Senate in 1795, and in 1796 resigned to accept the mission to England from President WASHINGTON. In 1813, and again in 1820, he was returned to the Senate. In

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1816 he was nominated for Governor by his party. In 1816 he ran unsuccessfully against JAMES MONROE for President. In 1821 he sat in the New York State Constitutional Con- vention. He died in 1828 at the ripe old age of seventy- three.

His friends claim for RUFUS KING, that he was the origi- nator of the celebrated Congressional ordinance of 1787, by which negro slavery was abolished in the North-west Terri- tories. "When in Congress in 1820, he also opposed the Missouri proviso or " Compromise," and was prominent in opposition to the admission of that State into the Union. THOMAS H. BENTON in his " Thirty Years' View " does full justice to the career of RUFUS KING.

JOHN A. KING, father of the Senator, was mustered into the service of the United States in 1812, and held the rank of lieutenant in the militia during the war. He six times represented the county of Queens in the Assembly during the years 1812, 1820, 1821, 1832, 1838 and 1840, and was a member of the State Senate in 1823. In 1825 he was Secre- tary of Legation at London under his father. He was a member of the Thirty-first Congress, where he highly dis- tinguished himself in debate. He opposed the Compromise measures of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law with much ability and zeal. In 1856 he was a delegate to the Republi- can Presidential Convention at Philadelphia, and his name was suggested for the Vice-Presidential nomination on the ticket with Col. FREMONT. It is said he had only to signify his willingness to accept to have secured the nomination which was given to Mr. DAYTON, of New Jersey. He was elected Governor of the State of New York in 1856, defeat- ing Hon. A. J. PARKER, the Democratic nominee, by a majority of 65,784

For the following brief sketch of the Senator, we are indebted to the Long Island Farmer. Writing of his nomi- nation, it said :

JOHN A. KING. 71

"Senator JOHN" A. KING, eldest son of the Governor, was born in Jamaica, at the old place on Beaver Pond, lately occupied by the Hon. WILLIAM J. COGSWELL. The house was destroyed by fire and the present one erected by the late TUNIS VAN BBUNT. Mr. KING graduated at Harvard Col- lege, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the summer of 1835. He was married some few years after, and for a long time has resided at Great Neck, taking great pleasure in the pursuits so dear to his ancestors. From the retirement of his life as a gentleman farmer, he now comes forth for the first time, to occupy an important political position. His classical education, together with great familiarity with affairs of State, gained by seasons of residence in Washington, and by association with the most honorable of public men, makes him eminently fitted to fill with great success the place of State Senator. Inheriting not only the outward appearance of his noble father, but similar traits of character, we know that the First district will look with pride upon the career of its representative during the next two years, and at the end of that time, we doubt not that our party will unite in nominating JOHN A. KING as candidate for the National Congress, where his grandfather, father and uncle had been before him."

The high esteem in which the Senator is held by those who know him best, is shown in the extraordinary vote he received in his senatorial canvass. He had a majority of 1,707 in a district which had been known as a Democratic stronghold. It never had elected a Republican Senator before, and then only through a division in the Democracy with two Democratic candidates running.

LIFE SKETCHES. ALBERT P. LANINGK

The Thirty-First Senatorial district consists of the county of Erie, and the Senator is ALBERT P. LADING, of Buffalo. He was elected to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of the brilliant and widely lamented JOHN GANSON, who was suddenly stricken down last fall in the midst of his years and his usefulness.

Mr. LANING was born in Burlington, in the county of Otsego, New York, in the year 1820, and is of English and Irish descent. His father, who was a Methodist minister and a member of the Genesee Conference some forty years ago, was a native of New Jersey, and settled in Tompkins county, New York, in the year 1799. The Senator received a common school and academic education, and during the years 1838-39" attended the Oneida Conference Seminary, situated at Cazenovia. Leaving school, he determined on law as a profession and entered the office of Judge SHANK- LAND, of Courtland county. In 1845 he was admitted to the bar, and at once entered upon the practice of his pro- fession. After ten years or more spent in Allegany county, he removed to Buffalo, where he succeeded to the practice of Judge MASTEN of the Supreme Court. In Buffalo he has resided ever since, and, as a result of his talents and industry, has long been recognized as among the foremost lawyers of western New York.

Senator LANIKG made his entrance into public life in 1858, when he represented Erie county in the Lower House. His character and ability was appropriately racognized by Governor ALVORD, who was Speaker of the Assembly tha^ year, who gave him the Chairmanship of the Committee of Ways and Means. It is interesting to note that a fellow Assemblyman of that session, Hon. JARVIS LORD, of Monroe, is now one of Mr. LANING'S fellow Senators. Mr. LANING

ALBERT P. LANING. 73

has always taken a deep interest in politics, and has long been held in high esteem in the councils of his (the Democratic) party. He was, from 1854 until 1868, a member of the Democratic State Committee, and also a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1864 that nominated McClellan and Pendelton. He served besides as alternate Delegate-at-Large to Conventions in 1868, 1872.

At present Mr. LADING is associated in business with Mr. WILLETT, under the firm name of LANING & WILLE.TT. He was elected to the Senate over FRANK A. ALBERGER, by a majority of 984. His predecessor, Mr. GANSON, was elected by a majority of 708 over Hon. L. L. LEWIS, who had been chosen to the preceding Senate by 1,845.

Mr. LANING is a member of the following important Committees : Judiciary, Commerce and Navigation and Claims. He is a fluent and forcible speaker ; scans closely all the measures presented to the Senate, and may justly be regarded as one of the most able and useful members of that body.

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THOMAS A. LEDWITH.

The Seventh Senatorial district consists of the 18th, 20th, and 21st wards of the city of New York, and its present representative is THOMAS A. LEDWITH. Mr. LEDWITH was born in the city from whence he now hails on the 14th of February, 1840. He was educated at St. Francis Xavier College, New York, and graduated therefrom in 1856. He at once applied himself to the study of the law, which he had chosen for his profession, and in 1861 he was admitted to practice. "With him law and politics went hand in hand, and in 1862 he was sent to the Assembly from the Eleventh district of the metropolis, being elected by a majority of over 2,000. He enjoyed the distinction of being the youngest member of the lower house of 1863, and signalized his entrance into legislative life by his opposition to the Broadway railroad bill, which passed and was vetoed by Governor SETMOUE. He was assigned a place on the important committee of the judiciary. The author of the " Biographical Sketches" pub- lished in 1863, speaking of Mr. LEDWITH, says : " He is said to be a young gentleman of excellent attainments, and prom- ises to rise early in his profession. He possesses a pleasant exterior, never attempts any forensic display, has many friends in the legislative circle, and serves his constituents truly and faithfully, being in every way worthy of their confidence and esteem."

In the fall of 1863, Mr. LEDWITH, fresh from the Legisla- ture, was again honored with a testimonial of the regard in which he was held by his political friends. The Democracy nominated and elected him to the important and honorable position of police justice. His administration on the bench gave such satisfaction that, at the expiration of his term of office, he was in 1869 re-elected, notwithstanding the stubborn

JAR vis LORD. 75

opposition of Tammany Hall, which was then at the zenith of its power.

In 1870 the Young Democracy of New York city made him their candidate for mayor, in opposition to A. OAKEY HALL. He made a spirited canvass, but did not succeed in securing the election. Mr. LEDWITH was elected to the Senate by a" majority of 680 over JAMES EVERAED, the Republican candidate, who also drew to his support the Apollo Hall branch of the Democracy.

Senator LEDWITH is a thorough Democrat, following strictly party lines on all leading questions coming before the Senate. He is a member of the following committees : Insurance, Public Expenditures, and Engrossed Bills.

JARVIS LORD.

Mr. LOED, the Senator from the twenty-eighth district, was born at Ballston, Saratoga county, February 10, 1816. He is in the prime of life, and as vigorous as he was at twenty-five ; of good physical proportions, an excellent con- stitution, and a temperament adapted to severe endurance, both of body and mind; he has been favored with good health, and seldom tires by active labor.

Mr. LOED was the son of poor parents, and had no other educational advantages than those afforded by the common schools in the days of his boyhood. He availed himself of these, however, so far as to acquire a tolerable knowledge of those branches which were to be most essential to his future success in business life. He early adopted the avocation of farming, and though, during most of his subsequent life, he has had large interests in other pursuits, he has made the farm his home, and has taken a pride in the culture of the

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Boil. He has resided, for thirty years or more, at Pittsford, seven miles from Rochester, and has there one of the best cultivated and most productive farms in Monroe county. He takes delight in the cultivation of fruit and the raising of stock, devoting himself particularly to horses, of which he is a great admirer.

Mr. LORD has always been a Democrat of the JACKSON and WRIGHT school. Devoted to the Union, he warmly espoused the Federal cause at the beginning of the rebellion, and gave freely to promote the national interests, and, it is said, did more than any other man in his town to keep the calls for men filled, and to help the soldiers in the field and at home. He has enjoyed a personal popularity in his own town equaled by few men, and when nominated for office, his neighbors have supported him with enthusiasm. He was made the recipient of a testimonial in the spring of 1871, which spoke volumes as to his success in office, and his assured place in the confidence of those who had intrusted vital interests to his keeping. Serving two terms in the lower House, and one term in the upper one, he had devel- oped signal legislative capacity, and an unfaltering devotion to the best interests of his constituents. On his return home in 1871, at the end of his first Senatorial term, his constituents, without distinction of party, gave expression to their appreciation of their gratitude for his services in their regard by affording for his acceptance a testimonial in the shape of an elaborate service of plate. The presentation cer- emonies took place at the Senator's residence at Pittsford, and a special train was run from Rochester for the accommoda- tion of the large number who desired to be present on the interesting occasion. The presentation speech was made by WILLIAM N". SAGE, and Senator LORD made an appropriate, •eloquent and feeling response. Letters were read from prominent gentlemen regretting their inability to be present on the interesting occasion, and expressing their congratula- tions.

JAR vis LORD. 77

The formality of presentation over, the presents were inspected and admired. The testimonial consisted of the following articles : Silver server, coffee urn, two tea pots, sugar bowl, cream pitcher, slop bowl, card dish, fruit stand and soup tureen. The articles are all solid sterling silver, hand- somely engraved and gold lined. The silver is marked :

" Hon. JAEVIS LORD, from the citizens of the twenty-eighth Senatorial district of New York, as an acknowledgment of faithful services.*

All the articles named are marked with the monogram, "J. L." in handsome old English letter. The cost of the testimonial was $2,500.

And now a few details of that legislative career of which we have spoken, and a word as to the Senator's business his- tory. He was elected to the Assembly in 1858, on the Demo- cratic ticket, when the district went Eepublican by several hundreds. He was elected again in 1866, by a majority of fifteen over a strong opponent, when the district gave Governor FENTON" 600 majority. At the opening of the Legislature, in 1867, his party presented him as the Democratic candi- date for Speaker, and sustained him by an unbroken vote ; but the Kepublican majority in the House accomplished the election of Mr. PITTS. He has once or more served as Super- visor.

Mr. LORD has been engaged for many years in building canals in this State, and he is very widely known as a contractor. He is President of the Bank of Monroe, of Kochester, a sound and reliable institution, and as a business man is well and favorably known all over central and western New York.

Mr. LORD has been a member of the Senate since 1870, and in that year was made Chairman of the Finance Com- mittee. Although a new man in that body, at that time, he took a leading position from the start, and gave evidence of an extensive knowledge of the wants and resources of the State. His report on the payment of a portion of the State

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debt in coin, made during the first year of his term, was regarded as a paper of great clearness and force. The Senator was renominated in 1871, and again in 1873, under circum- stances which must have been peculiarly gratifying to him, indicating, as they did, that his course as a legislator met with the hearty approval of his constituents. Before the renomination was made in 1871, a letter was read to the convention from him, declining another senatorial term, and giving his reasons therefor. The convention not seeing eye to eye with Mr. LOKD on that point, and having nominated him by acclamation, sent a committee to inform the nominee of their action, whereof the Senator appeared in the conven- tion and said if his letter of declination would not suffice, he would yield to the wishes of his constituents and take the field. He was elected by a majority of 1,838, an increase of 1,138 on his majority of 1869. He was elected to the present Senate by a still larger majority, 3,384, an increase of 1,546 over the majority of 1871, and an increase of 2,684 over the figures for 1869.

Mr. LOED does not claim to be an orator. His attention has never been bestowed on the embellishments of rhetoric and elocution. Whenever he has an opinion to utter he delivers it point blank and with force, if not with grace. His shrewdness, plain sense and knowledge of the world are his leading characteristics, and they serve him well in the accomplishment of his ends as a Senator.

SAMUEL S. LOWERY. 79

SAMUEL S. LOWERY.

SAMUEL S. LOWERY, of Utica, who represents the Nine- teenth Senatorial District, consisting of the county of Oneida was born in county Down, Ireland, on the 5th day of Feb- ruary, 1831. It would, therefore, be a Hibernicism to say that he is a Scotchman, but his ancestry, not less than his characteristics, stamp him as one who is more a Gael than a Celt.

Senator LOWERY'S parents emigrated to this country when SAMUEL was about fourteen years old, and settled in Oneida, county. He received a good common school education in Ireland, and, by reason of a strong taste for books, he has acquired, during his later years in this country, an extensive fund of knowledge.

The Senator is, by occupation, a manufacturer of woolen goods. In this business he has been quite successful, and conducts, at the present time, an extensive establishment, in which he employs a large number of hands. He settled in Whitestown, Oneida county, on his arrival in this country, and there remained until the year 1848. From thence, he went to Manchester, New Hampshire, where he was con- nected with a woolen mill until 1855, when he left and came to Utica, and engaged in the dry goods business. Success crowned his efforts, and, in 1861, he abandoned dry goods to become a wool dealer, and, two years later, started the mill which he has since run.

In politics Senator LOWERY, although a strict believer in the principles of the Eepublican organization, is never bit- terly partisan. Until his election to the Assembly in 1870, he neither held nor sought office. He was chosen to that body by a majority of 448, over a worthy and popular com-

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petitor, in a district where the Eepublican majority, in the previous year, was less than 50. Serving upon the Commit- tees on Public Education, State Charitable Institutions, and Eoads and Bridges, he proved faithful to the interest of his constituents, and exhibited a comprehensive knowledge of the duties of a legislator. As a member of the Committee on Education, he was especially distinguished for his sturdy and unflinching opposition to the policy of sectarian appro- priations.

Mr. LOWERY was elected to the last Senate by a majority of 1,591 over his opponent (who had been a member of the preceding Senate, and was elected by a majority of 52), in a canvass in which the Republican candidate for Secretary of State received a majority of 1,023, in the Nineteenth Sena- torial District. Senater LOWERY was very properly placed at the head of the Committee on Manufactures; he was also Chairman of the State Prison Committee, and a member of several other important committees. He had the honor of renominating ROSCOE CONKLING for United States Senator, and his speech, in joint caucus of the Republican members of the Senate and Assembly, in presenting that gentleman, was an able and eloquent effort.

His name having been mentioned in connection with the mayoralty of Utica last year, the Senator informed his friends that, while representing the Nineteenth Senatorial District, he felt in obligation bound to decline any other office, the holding of which might interfere with his Sena- torial duties.

The Senator was not ungrateful for the honor sought to be conferred upon him by his fellow-townsmen, but he wisely chose not to accept an office which might divide his atten- tion, caring first to redeem, to the satisfaction of the most strict constructionist, the obligations assumed with the office of Senator.

Mr. LOWERY was renominated for the position which he now holds without so much as even the mention of a com-

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petitor, or the suggestion of opposition in the convention that named him. He was elected by a majority of 2,829 orer ENOCH B. ARMSTRONG, running 1,200 ahead of the State ticket majority in 1871, which was 1,591. Commenting upon his renomination, the Albany Evening Journal paid him this handsome and well-deserved tribute :

" Senator LOWERY is universally known, first of all, as a scrupulously honest and upright representative, the inflexi- ble foe of all jobbery, and the sworn enemy of the lobby. With this most important of qualifications, he unites sound judgment, ample ability and large acquaintance with the wants and interests of the State. As an influential member of the Finance Committee, Mr. LOWERY has faithfully co- operated in every effort to protect the treasury and defeat all improper demands upon it. He has met all questions with a conscientious sense of public duty, and his whole influence and action as a legislator have been wholesome."

EDWARD M. MADDEN.

There are some men who, remembering the implied injunc- tion of Holy Writ contained in the exclamation, " I would thou wert either cold or hot," do whatsoever their hands find to do with unqualified fervency. They recognize no such things in the world as half-truths; to them whatever is not radically right is radically wrong, and vice versa. Their trumpets never give forth an uncertain sound or one wanting in volume, and if all the Jericho walls at which their efforts are directed do not tumble, they — gazing upon some stub- born piece of masonry on which their trumpeting makes no impression — have the consolation that goes with the con- sciousness of always making a red-hot and never a luke- warm fight.

Senator MADDEN belongs to this school of men. He has decided convictions, and is very decided in expressing them. 11

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Once his mind is made up, h« is extremely hard to move from his position, and whoever questions the faith that is in him is sure to hear the reasons on which that faith rests couched in unequivocal language. His aye and nay are like a woman's :

" When he wills, he wills, you may depend on't. And if he wont, he wont, so there's an end on't."

GEORGE W. BUNG AT, the poet, in a volume of " Pen and Ink Portraits," issued in 1857, has a readable sketch of the subject of this biography, from which we take the following:

" Senator MADDEN represents the county of Orange, where he was born, has always lived, and where he will probably die, unless political events so shape themselves that his unquenchable love of liberty, and intense hatred of slavery, should induce him to leave his Lares and Penates, and migrate to Kansas.* Like many other men of mark, he is wholly the artificer of his own fortune. He had no advan- tages of early education. From the age of nine to fourteen he commenced fitting himself for the great battle of life as an operative in a cotton factory; thence he pursued his studies as an apprentice in a tin shop ; graduated in a hardware store, and took his final degree, as a retail merchant, at Mid- dletown, where he now has a very extensive saw factory. Nature has done much for him. Gifted with a fine consti- tution, his iron will, unbending energy, indomitable perse- verance and unflagging industry have combined to make him a hard student and a well-read man. His mind is well stored with practical knowledge, and few men are so thor- oughly posted in the political history of our State or country. There is no man in the Senate of greater pluck or nerve. Governed in all his actions by fixed principles, nothing ever turns him from his purpose, when his course is once marked out. The State never had a more watchful guardian over its interests. He is extremely sensitive and jealous about all

• He probably has given up the idea of going to Kansas.— [Ed.

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inroads upon the treasury — more so than if it were his own private purse. His active business habits make him invalu- able on committees, and woe betide the unlucky wight who comes before him with a doubtful claim. He participates freely in all debates, dissecting the subtleties and sophistries of lawyers with the sharp scalpel of common sense. He is a nervous, rapid speaker, and no man in the Senate is more earnest, energetic, forcible or convincing. He goes in a straight geometrical line right to the point, without any flowers of rhetoric, but with a directness that there is no mistaking. He uses no pearls of poetry, or flights of fancy, but deals altogether in the purest and strongest Anglo-Saxon. He always votes in accordance with his convictions^ No motives of policy, expediency or interest ; no regard for individuals or localities ; no personal friendships, can make him swerve one hair's breadth from his line of duty. He engages in no * log rolling,' never aiding any project of doubt- ful propriety to secure assistance in measures of real merit."

Senator MADDEN was formerly a Democrat, and was elected to the Senate in 1856-7 as an an ti- Nebraska man. He was Chairman of the Insurance Committee in that body, and a member of the Finance, Claims, and Commerce and Naviga- tion Committees. He made a good record, proving himself to be a strong, popular, earnest man. He was elected to the last Senate by a majority of 2,085 over his opponent, GEORGE M. BEEBE, a member of the present Assembly.

In the election for Senator in the Tenth district, in Novem- ber last, the board of canvassers gave the certificate to FRANK ABBOTT, thereby declaring him elected, and Mr. MADDEN, his opponent, defeated. Mr. MADDEN claimed that the inspectors wrongfully rejected two sets of returns from Sul- livan county, whose admission would have made him the sitting member for the Tenth district. His petition, claim- ing the seat, was referred to the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the Senate, who presented a majority report, recommending that the seat be awarded to Mr. MADDEN. A

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minority report, recommending that, pending a thorough investigation, Mr. ABBOTT retain his seat, was also presented. The Senate, after an exciting debate, adopted the majority report, whereupon Mr. MADDEN" appeared, was sworn in, and took his seat.

Mr. MADDEN has great personal strength in the Tenth district, otherwise he could not so often overcome the fre- quently adverse majority in his own county. He is always careful of the interests of his constituents, and, as we have already indicated, frank and fearless in the expression of his own views on all questions which bear upon the interests of the whole State.

ARCHIBALD C. McGOWAN.

ARCHIBALD 0. McGowAN was born in Pownal, Benning- ton county, Vt, August 26, 1825. His grandfather, JAMES McGowAN", was born in Scotland in 1750, and emigrated to the Colonies before the ^Revolution. He served in the Continental army and participated in the battle of Ben- nington. Before the war he settled in Hoosick, Eenssalaer Co., where CLARK McGowAN", the father of ARCHIBALD, was born. The parents of the Senator died while he was an infant, leaving him an orphan and the youngest of the family. He was taken in charge by his relatives and given a common school education. At the age of 17 years he obtained employment as a clerk and procured the means to attend the Jonesville Academy, in Saratoga county. After leaving school he returned to his employment as a clerk and followed it for a few years, and then engaged in business for himself as a merchant, also attending to and carrying on tha business of farmer, boat builder, and dealer in lumber ai.d coal. At the age of 25 he was married to Miss MARY

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LOUISA EOGERS, daughter of H. H. ROGERS, of Saratoga county, and his partner in business for many years.

The Senator, in politics, was a Democrat until 1856, when he voted for MILLARD FILLMORE, but in 1858 united with the Republican party, to which party he has ever since adhered. He represented the town of Frankfort in the Board of Supervisors of Herkimer county, for several years, and in 1862 was elected a member of the Assembly from the county and served on the committee on canals. At the Assembly District Convention, 1863, he was tendered a renomination, which he declined, and the following resolu- tions were unanimously adopted by the Convention:

Resolved, That this Convention cordially endorses the official course of Hon. A. C. McGowAN, as the Representa- tive of the 2d District of Herkimer county in the State Assembly at its last session ; that we are proud of the past ; that amid so general corruption in that Assembly, he stood pure and firm against all the seductive influences around him, and came back to us with an unimpeached integrity ; that we especially indorse the. course he pursued on the Broadway Rail Road and Erie Canal Lock questions, and the vote he cast relative to those measures, and we view with reprehension the attempts that were made to damage his reputation as a member of that Assembly, in consequence of the correct views he expressed and the sound policy he adopted respecting the great Canal interests of our State.

In 1865 he was again sent to the Assembly from the same District and served on the Committees on Census and Ap- portionment, Engrossed Bills and was the Chairman of the Joint Library Committee. His official course in that session was such that when he returned home, his conduct was cordially indorsed by his constituents. He has several times represented his party in State Conventions.

At the County Convention held at Herkimer, in 1869, delegates favorable to his nomination for Senator in the 20th ' Senatorial District were unanimously chosen and the follow- ing resolutions passed :

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Resolved, That appreciating political integrity and moral worth, and pointing with pride to the course of A. C. McGowAN" during his service of two years in the Assembly of the State, we do hereby present him to the Delegates of the Eepublican Union Senatorial Convention to be held at Richfield Springs, October 8th, as a gentleman of ability and of integrity, unassailable either in his private or official life, and as a most fitting representative of the Republicans in this District in the next Senate.

Resolved, That, challenging the closest scrutiny of the entire career of the Hon. A. 0. McGowAN", we do hereby name him as our choice for next Senator for this district, and for the purpose of furthering this end to the interest of the whole people, and with the purpose to attest our appre- ciation of his honest, tried, official life, we do hereby appoint our delegates to the convention above named, relying upon their fidelity to carry out the wishes hereby expressed.

At the Senatorial Convention held soon thereafter, the delegates from Herkimer county, in accordance with those resolutions, presented the name of the Hon. A. C. McGowAN, and the Otsego delegates presented the name of the Hon. A. B. ELLWOOD, and, each county having the same number of delegates, the balloting stood a tie between them for a great number of times. Otsego county claimed the candidate to be located in said county, according to the established usages of the party, and, by his request, Mr. McGowAN's delegates withdrew his name from the canvass, and Mr. ELLWOOD was unanimously nominated.

At the next Senatorial nominating convention held in 1871, Mr. McGowAN was again the unanimous choice of his own county for senator, and, after a few complimentary votes for Mr. ELLWOOD by Otsego delegates, his name was withdrawn, and Mr. McGowAN received a unanimous nomination.

The Journal and Courier, the leading Republican paper published at Little Falls, indorsed his nomination in the following editorial :

" Of Mr. McGowAN, it is hardly necessary to record our' indorsement. He has long been known to the people of this county. He has been tried, and found not wanting, in those

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sterling qualities which endear a representative to his con- stituents. Mr. McGowAN is emphatically a self-made man. Thrown upon his own resources at an early age, he has won his way to a proud position in the esteem of the people of this locality. For several years he was a member of the Board of Supervisors of the county, and for two terms he repre- sented his district in the Assembly of the State, in each posi- tion performing his duties faithfully, without even the breath of suspicion upon his integrity, and with that respect of his associates which intelligence and uprightness always com- mand."

The Eichfield Springs Mercury, a leading and influential paper of Otsego county (neutral in politics), gave him the following handsome compliment :

" Mr. McGowA N" is a gentleman of fine abilities. He is what may be called a worker in his party. He represented Herki- mer county in the legislative halls, and returned to his con- stituents with a clean record. He is a gentleman who frowns upon stealing in high or low places, and we believe him to be incorruptible in private or public life. He is a man of sterling worth and will honor his district. We do not intend to take up the political gauntlet, but we have said this much for Mr. McGowAsr, for we know whereof we speak, having had a personal acquaintance with him for the past seventeen years. We hope he will have a rousing majority."

JOHN" F. SCOTT, a wealthy and popular man, who, by a wide circle of acquaintances, was well known in Otsego county, was the opposing candidate. He threw his whole strength into the contest, and made an active and stirring canvass against Mr. McGowAN", and carried his own county by a majority of 680. But Mr. McGowAX was so popular in his own county, and his public record so clear, that he received a majority of 1323, the highest given to any candi- date on the ticket in that canvass in the county, and was elected. He was placed on five committees, Canals, Salt, Agriculture, Select Committee of Nine, General Orders and Congressional Apportionment. He was Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, and it was through him as such

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Chairman that all the Agricultural Societies of the State presented their affairs to the Senate.

His official course during his entire Senatorial term was so satisfactory to his constituents, that, at the Senatorial Con- vention in 1873, to' nominate a candidate, Otsego county yielded her claims, and Mr. McGowAN" received the high compliment of a renomination for another Senatorial term. The opposing candidate this time was DAVID A. AVERT, of Cooperstown, a popular banker of that place. There was a full State ticket in the field which called out a full vote, and Mr. AVEEY with his friends entered on the canvass with much zeal. But Mr. McG-owAN had so well established his reputation as a wise and careful legislator, and kept his record so clear, that the majority in Otsego county against him was reduced to about 200, and he was triumphantly re-elected to the Senate. He ran ahead of his own ticket in both counties. His success demonstrates that honesty, even in politics, is the best policy.

ANDREW C. MIDDLETON.

ANDREW 0. MIDDLETO^ represents the eighteenth Sena- torial district, composed of the counties of Jefferson and Lewis. His father, SAMUEL MIDDLETON, was born in the town of Charleston, Montgomery county, in the year 1796. He moved •to Eutland, Jefferson county, in the spring of 1807, and in the fall of the same year settled on the farm where he con- tinued to reside until his death in November, 1873, a period of sixty-six years. In those days of restlessness, when the first of each recurring May means moving to so many Americans, the fact of a man's living in the same place for the space of sixty-six years is indeed noteworthy. SERAPH MIDDLETON, the mother of the Senator, was born in Eut-

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land in 1802, and was married to SAMUEL MIDDLETON April 26, 1821. A family of six children was the fruit of the union, all of whom are living, with the exception of one daughter.

ANDREW, the second son, was born April 5, 1824. He was brought up on a farm, and has always made farming his main business. He received a common school and academic education, and after ceasing to be taught, continued in school as a teacher for a number of winters. In 1849 he became Town Superintendent of common schools, a position which he filled satisfactorily for two years. In the year 1858 he was elected Supervisor for the town of Eutland, and was continued as such during the two following years. Again, in 1868, he occupied the same position. During the war he was appointed Deputy Collector of Internal Revenue. For the years 1872 and 1873 he was President of the Jefferson County Farmers' Club. This record of service indicates that the Senator is held in high esteem by his neighbors and friends. Mr. MIDDLETON is prominently identified with the Grange organization in this State, and at a meeting of the Independent Grangers of New York, held in Albany on the 4th of March, he was honored by being elected President of the State Council.

Senator MIDDLETON cast his first vote in the fall of 1845 in favor of the Whig ticket, and a Whig he remained until the organization of the Republican party. In our later politics he has cast his vote for FREMONT, LINCOLN and GRANT.

The nomination which resulted in the election of Mr. MIDDLETON to the Senate was made October 20, 1873, by a convention of farmers in the interest of reform, and bent on furthering the cause of the industrial classes. The call for the Convention was signed by over one hundred practical farmers. The Democratic Senatorial Convention which met soon after resolved not to make any nomination but earnestly recommended the Democratic and Liberal 12

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Republican electors of the District " to vote for the farmers' and industrial men's candidate." Mr. MIDDLKTON was elected by a majority of 903 over NOEKIS WINSLOW, who had been chosen to the previous Senate by a majority of 1,771. Mr. MIDDLETOK is very properly placed at the head of the Committee on Agriculture. He is also a member of the Committees on Public Expenditures and Grievances.

HUGH H. MOORE. 91

HUGH H. MOORE.

The Eight Senatorial district, composed of the Twelfth, Nineteenth and Twenty-second wards of the city of New York, is represented by HUGH H. MOORE, the youngest member of the upper House. He was born in Ireland in the county of Limerick, on the 4th of June, 1844. Both his parents also were born in Ireland and are still living.

The Senator was educated in St. Steven's church school in Canada, and in one of the many good schools of the city of New York. After leaving his books he learned his trade as a painter, but for many years he has been principally jknown in business circles as an extensive contractor.

In the late war for the defense of the Union, Senator Moore bore his part manfully. He served in the One Hun- dred and Thirty-third New York Begiment under Generals BUTLER and BANKS, and participated in a number of the engagements that preceded the siege at Port Hudson. His army history is unique in one respect, he never actually enlisted. Having a brother in the One Hundred and Thirty-third regiment, he ran away from home, being at the time but a mere lad, and joined that command without go- ing through the form of enlisting.

The seat of the Eight Senatorial district in the first public position ever held by Mr. MOORE. He did, indeed run for Alderman in New York in the years 1869 and 1870, as the Anti-Tammany candidaLe, and in the opinion of many well informed in the premises, would have been declared elected at least on one of those occasions, if the votes had been fairly canvassed. He was, however, declared defeated.

Severe illness, which at one time threatened to terminate his life, kept the Senator out of the Senate nearly the whole of the last session of that body. This year, however, he has

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enjoyed vigorous health, and has been able to attend to his duties without interruption.

Senator MOORE'S seat was contested by WALTER S. PINKNEY, his Eepublican competitor in the Senatorial can- vass. The petition of Mr. PINCKNEY claiming the seat, and Mr. MOORE'S answer were referred to the Committee on Privileges and Election of the Senate, who made a thorough investigation of the case. On the 12th of February, 1875, they reported that having taken the proofs and heard argu- ments of counsel on both sides fully and carefully, they unanimously came to the conclusion that Mr. PINCKNEY was not, and that Mr. MOORE was elected Senator. In course of their report the committee took occasion to express them- selves as follows : Inasmuch as it has been alleged and some evidence has been given tending to show irregularities at some of the polling places in that district at such election, your committee deem it but just to Mr. MOORE, who repre- sents that district in the Senate, to add that during the in- vestigation, which was full and thorough, nothing appeared to cast any reflection or imputation upon him of any act of impropriety on his part ; and your committee by their exami- nation of the matter are satisfied that he is no manner caused, consented to or countenanced any improper action or irregularities at such election, and they can say no less in behalf of Mr. PINCZNEY.

Senator MOORE is a member of the following standing committees of the Senate: Commerce and Navigation, Poor Laws, and Retrenchment.

•He was married in May 1868 to Miss ANNA L. McG-uiRE, and attends the Roman Catholic church.

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ROSWELL A. PARMENTER.

The twelfth Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Eensselaer and Washington, is represented by ROSWELL A. PARMENTER.

Mr. PARMENTER is the eldest son of the late Dr. AZEL F. PARMENTER, was born in Pittstown, Eensselaer county, is now about forty-five years of age, and in the full strength of useful manhood. He is emphatically a self-made man, and never received a dollar that was not earned by hard labor. In boyhood he worked upon a farm for wages, and in the winter seasons taught school to defray the expenses of his education ; and few men have been more thoroughly educated in the natural sciences and in the classics than he. Coming to Troy about the year 1848, with scarcely an acquaintance in the city, he soon made his way, formed a copartnership with the late Judge McCoNiHE, and rapidly built up a large and lucrative practice. He entered at once on the trial of his own causes, without falling into the common error of young lawyers, of employing assistant counsel, and on appeal to the General Term and Court of Appeals argued his causes in those courts with the first lawyers in the State as adversaries. By such means he acquired that experience and thorough use of every legal weapon that have since made him so distinguished as a suc- cessful lawyer and advocate.

In the celebrated case of the Corn Exchange Insurance Company against Babcock, argued by Mr. PARMENTER in the Court of Appeals, a few years ago, that court paid him the high compliment of adopting his points as the law gov- erning the case, thus settling forever in this State the long agitated and vexed question as to the legal liability of a married woman as indorser for her husband. Mr. PARMEN-

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TER also received a letter of thanks and congratulation from many of the leading lawyers of the State, for his efforts in procuring the satisfactory settlement of that highly impor- tant and most vexatious question. Aside from his legal ability and acquirements, Mr. PARMEISTTER is a man of exten- sive reading and information, of great diversity of talent, with a mind cultivated by the refinements of literature, and enlarged and matured by study and reflection. He has fre- quently been invited to address literary associations, but has never accepted the invitation except upon two or three occasions, the habits of his mind being too severely logical to make that kind of composition attractive to his tastes. Mr. PARMENTER has often been designated by the Democratic State Central Committee as one of the public speakers, and in that capacity has on many occasions addressed the people upon the political issues of the day, at their mass meetings in different parts of the State ; and last fall, at the request of the Liberal Republican State Central Committee, he devoted two or three weeks to the same object. And when the South raised its parricidal hand against the life of the nation, Mr. PARMENTER did not hesitate as to his course, nor stand idly by. He subscribed largely to aid the raising of recruits for the Federal army, and to the Soldiers' Belief Fund. Nor did his assistance stop here ; he traveled over the State, making war speeches at many of the large meetings held for the purpose of encouraging enlistments; and his lengthy and telling speech at the immense war meeting in Seminary Park, in Troy, during a dark period in our national affairs, is still fresh in the minds of those who heard it.

As a political speaker Mr. PARMENTER is earnest, forcible and entertaining. Full of ideas and anecdote, clear and logical in argument, quick to catch the humor of the crowd and turn it to advantage, fluent and apt at illustration, he never fails to hold his audience. Besides, as we have said, he is an unflagging worker. The amount of professional toil that he has performed within the last twenty years bears witness to

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this fact. As no member of the Troy bar has a larger or more important practice, so none devotes more hours to the stern demands of his profession. Mr. PARMENTER is now City Attorney of that city. When appointed to that respon- sible office, in the spring of 1871, he found a vast number of important suits pending against the city, some of which had been upon the calendar for years, involving in the aggre- gate about $50,000. With his usual zeal and energy he set about the herculean task of freeing the city from this enor- mous load of litigation, and succeeded so well that in two years he had disposed of forty cases, two of which had each occupied over thirty days in preparation, in taking evidence and in summing up. For these successful and arduous official duties he received the public acknowledgments of Mayor Kemp, a political opponent, and a unanimous vote of thanks from the common council.

Mr. PARMENTER was elected to the Senate after an exciting and closely contested canvass, beating his opponent, Hon. I. V. BAKER, Jr., who was chosen to the last Senate by a majority of 4,458, by 828. He is a member of the committees on Canals, Literature, and Engrossed Bills.

BENJAMIN RAY.

The eleventh Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Columbia and Dutchess, is represented by BENJAMIN EAT, of Hudson, who is well known in the eastern section of the State as a sound and trustworthy member of the Democracy. His father, Captain SAMUEL RAY, was a native of Dutchess county, a member of the Society of Friends, and a prominent man of his time. BENJAMIN was born in the city of Hudson in 1819, and descended from Scotch-Irish stock. In early life he commenced boating on the river, and followed this until about sixteen years of age, when he

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apprenticed himself to a blacksmith in New York city. It was here that he first realized the importance^ gaining an educa- tion, and accordingly he devoted himself to its acquisition with all his youthful ardor, and laid the foundation for that general information on important topics, which has so well qualified him for the prominent positions he has since filled. During the winter months he attended select schools, paying for his tuition from his scanty earnings, and passed his evenings in hard study in his room, the small hours of morning frequently finding him poring over his books, or elucidating some difficult problem. His general reading was confined to works treating of the lives of public men, and the theories of government. Thus the future legislator passed the weary years of his apprenticeship, and soon after he reached his majority he entered the establishment of E. L. STEVENS, the celebrated boiler and boat builder. While employed here, Mr. RAY superintended the construction of the largest iron steamship that had been built at that time, and won considerable fame by his achievement.

In the fall of 1849, at the breaking out of the "gold fever," Mr. EAT went to California, where he remained for four years. San Francisco was then a place of lawlessness and disorder, and the lives and property of the citizens were at the mercy of the mob. Mr. RAY was appointed the first Chief of Police, and organized the first police force and the first fire department in the "City of the Pacific," and so thoroughly did he perform his work, that both departments are still conducted upon the admirable system he adopted. It was an arduous task to subdue the army of roughs from all quarters of the globe that then infested the new settlement, but Mr. RAY proved equal to the emergency, and soon suc- ceeded in bringing order out of confusion and compelling a due obedience to the laws. While in the performance of these duties, he was seriously injured by the infuriated mob, and for some time his life was despaired of.

He was subsequently appointed to the office of Inspector

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of Steam Vessels for the Territory of California, and so well did he perform his duties, that after it was admitted as a State, he was tendered the same position by the general government, under President TAYLOR'S administration, al- though a prominent and active Democrat. Business calling him to the Atlantic States, he declined the place.

In 1853, Mr. RAY returned to New York city, where he held various offices of public trust, among others, that of official appraiser for the city and county of New York, hav- ing in charge the adjustment and appraisement of estates of deceased persons, many of them of vast amounts and in- volving great responsibilities ; but in the settlement of these large and in some cases complicated interests, not a dollar was ever misapplied or lost, and no difficulty ever arose between the appraiser and the executors.

In 1855, Mr. RAY was elected to the State Assembly from the Second district of New York city, and served his term with conceded ability. His constituents would gladly have re- turned him for many successive years, but important business interests at that time prevented him from accepting the honors.

A few years ago he resumed his residence in Hudson, and in 1870 was elected to the Assembly from this district, and so faithfully did he serve his constituents that he was re-elected in 1871 and 1872.

Having proved capable and faithful in the performance of the public trusts already imposed upon him, an appreciative people selected him for still higher honors and more important trusts, and hence his election to the Senate. He ran against JOHIT C. HOGEBOOM and was chosen by a ma- jority of 1,945. In 1871, the Republican majority of A. W- PALMER, his predecessor in the Senate, was 8,572. Mr. RAY'S voice is not often heard in debate, but he is capable of making a speech when he elects so to do. He is thorough- ly informed on all the details of legislation. 13

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WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON.

The ninth Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Putnam, Rockland and Westchester, is represented by WILLIAM H. ROBERTSON, of Katonah, Westchester county, one of the most able and dignified members of the present Senate, and its President pro tern. He was born at Bedford, in the county in which he now resides, October 10, 1823. His father, HENRY ROBERTSON, who was born in 1791, at Bed- ford, is still living. After pursuing his preliminary studies at Union Academy, Bedford, he read law, and in 1847 was admitted to the bar.

The Senator has had a long and honorable career as a public man. The confidence so often reposed in him by the people has never been violated ; the interests committed to his hands never neglected. Beginning as Town Superin- tendent of the Bedford Common Schools, he subsequently served for four years as Supervisor and on two occasions was Chairman of the Board — the only Republican who ever held that position. Rising rapidly in his profession, he was early elected County Judge of Westchester, and served in that capacity for three terms, twelve years.

His experience as a legislator has been long and raried. He represented Westchester county in the Assembly, in 1849 and 1850; and the ninth Senatorial district in the Senate of 1854-55. Later he was a representative in the fortieth Congress. In politics Mr. ROBERTSON is a represen- tative Republican, and has long been prominently identified with the organization of his choice. Until the year 1855 he was a Whig, and since that date has given his vote and influence to the party to which he now belongs. For three years he was a member of the Republican State Committee,

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and in 1864 attended the Eepublican National Convention as a delegate. He has also on many occasions attended the Whig and Republican State Conventions as delegate.

The Senator did efficient service during the late war. He was Chairman of the Military Committee appointed by Governor MOKGAN", in 1862, to raise and organize State troops in the eighth Senatorial district. Later on he filled the important position of Commissioner to superintend the draft' in Westchester county, under an appointment of the Governor. For six years he was Brigade Inspector of the Seventh Brigade, New York State National Guard.

He was elected to the last Senate by a most nattering vote. Running in a strong Democratic district, his defeat would have been a matter of course, had he not been conspicuous for his great ability, and as popular as he was worthy. As it was, he received a handsome majority in every town of West- Chester, and succeeded in carrying Rockland and Putnam counties as well — his total majority being 5,851 over WILLIAM CAULDWELL, who had been chosen to the preceding Senate by a majority of 2,274.

In the fall of 1872 the Senator's name was among the fore- most of those presented at the Utica Republican Convention for the office of Governor. As soon, however, as it was found that General Dix would accept the nomination, it was withdrawn in the interests of harmony.

The Senator was elected to the present Senate by a majority of 2,364 — figures that indicate great personal popularity in a district giving a large Democratic majority on the State ticket. The New York Commercial, in commenting upon his election, justly observed: "There must be some thing most extraordinary in a man's character, who can break down a Democratic majority of two or three thousand in his district on every occasion he is made a candidate, and carry it in his favor by the same majority." Senator ROBEETSOK was chosen President pro tern, of the Senate by a unanimous vote. Senator WOODIN, who held the position in the last

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Senate, moved the nomination in caucus and the resolution of election, and it had the cordial approval of every Bepub- lican Senator. The concurrence of the Democratic Senators was a handsome personal tribute and a graceful testimony to the esteem in which Senator KOBERTSOJS" is held. He has had long experience in parliamentary practice, and makes an admirable presiding officer.

Senator KOBERTSON has rendered the State signal service this year as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, lie has proved himself an unrelenting foe of hasty and improvident legislation, and has strangled many a measure which, but for his challenge, might have succeeded in getting upon the statute book.

JOHN H. SELKREG.

Mr. SELKKEG has been a practical printer, and, conse- quently, has had all the varieties of experience and change appertaining to that occupation. He is editor and proprietor of the Ithaca Journal, a paper which has effectively aided in the achievement of many a hard-fought battle. He has published the Journal since 1841.

He was born in Staatsburgh, Dutchess county, in 1817. His parents died when he was a mere boy (the youngest of a family of five children), and left him to the care of the older members of the family. He never attended school after he was eleven years old, and what little education he had gained up to that time had been acquired in the district school at Staatsburgh. His disposition, at the age of thirteen, rather inclined to printing as an occupation ; therefore, having left his brother-in-law, with whom he had been living, he began an apprenticeship in the printing office of the Poughkeepsie Telegraph, then published by Messrs. KILLEY & Low, and which was at that time the Democratic organ of Dutchess

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county. He continued there until the year 1838. Having arrived at that point where he thought himself sufficiently proficient to commence life on his own responsibility, he became a resident of Brooklyn, and, there entered into a partnership with the firm of Messrs. ARNOLD, VAN ANDEN & Co., publishers of the Brooklyn Eagle. Not being entirely satisfied with his business relations, he returned to Pough- keepsie in 1839, and published the Poughkeepksie Casket, a literary paper.

Two years subsequently, he purchased an interest in the Ithaca Journal, and, in connection with Hon. A. WELLS, continued its publication for several years. He afterward became sole proprietor of the establishment.

The Ithaca Journal was once a Democratic organ of Tomp- kins county. In 1848, Mr. SELKKEG refused to support Mr. CASS, and ran up Mr. VAN BUREN'S name. The HUNKERS established the Flag of the Union to break down the Journal; but, not succeeding in the attempt, the " Flag" was lowered, and the Journal still continued to be the exponent of the Democracy. From the year 1850 to 1856, Mr. SELK- REG saw that a great change was being "wrought in the Democratic party. The repeal of the Missouri compromise seemed to him an outrage upon political honor. Such was the drift of affairs, he refused to support BUCHANAN, and advocated the claims of FREMONT, thus undoubtedly carry- ing over the county to the " Path Finder," inasmuch as the Republican vote ran up, in a single year, from 1,460 to 4,030.

From 1857 to 1861, he discharged the duties of Commis- sioner of Loans. President LINCOLN made him Postmaster of Ithaca in 1861. He was re-appointed, in 1865, by ANDREW JOHNSON, who, in the most nonchalant manner, subjected him to the guillotine on the 25th of August, 1866, for refus- ing to adopt Mr. JOHNSON'S peculiar views. Mr. SELKREG survived the shock, and, under the warm pressure of his friends, accepted the nomination for Member of Assembly, being elected by a majority of 1,472. Having once got him

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in the Assembly, his constituents, finding him to be the right man in the right place, kept him there for five successive years. He was a Member of the lower House in 1867, 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1871. During the session of 1869, he was Chairman of "Ways and Means, and, during all the years mentioned, was a member of that leading committee.

Mr. SELKREG has held several offices of business interest. At one time, he was President of the Ithaca and Bingham- ton Telegraph Company, and, later, has been President of the Ithaca Calendar Clock Company.

Mr. SELKREG was elected to his present position by a majority of 1,442 over GEORGE W. SCHUYLER. He heads two of the most important committees of the Senate — Kail- roads and Public Printing. Thoroughly familiar with the varied interests and public policy of the State, Senator SELK- REG is a most useful and influential legislator.

JAMES G. THOMPSON.

The twenty-third Senatorial district, which is composed of the counties of Chenango, Delaware and Schoharie, is represented by JAMES G-. THOMPSON", of Norwich, Chenango county. Mr. THOMPSON" was born at Sharon, Schoharie county, on the 15th of January, 1829. His father, Dr. THOMPSON, was born and resided at Duanesburgh, Schenec- tady county. His mother was a daughter of PETER B. GUERNSEY, of Norwich. Both his parents are now deau. In 1857 he married JULIA FRANCES FOOTE, daughter of Dr. LYMAN" FOOTE, of Syracuse. After finishing his rudi- mental studies, the subject of this sketch entered the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, with the design of fitting himself for the profession of Civil Engineering. This design he abandoned, however, after his graduation, and

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after spending some time in teaching he embarked in the book and stationery business, which he has since made his leading support.

Mr. THOMPSON'S standing among those who have the best opportunity for forming a correct judgment is shown in the positions of trust and responsibility which he has been called upon to fill. For five terms, extending orer a period of fifteen years, he was County Clerk of Chenango county. He has also served the county one term as County Treasurer, and two terms as Superintendent of Schools. At the present time he is Supervisor of his town.

The convention that nominated Mr. THOMPSON for Senator was one of the most " complex " organizations ever assem- bled in the district. Schoharie, Delaware and Chenango each had a candidate, and each felt inclined to fight the thing out if it took innumerable ballotings. Mr. THOMPSON was not originally a candidate for the position which was so hotly contested, and the state of his health forbade him taking a very active part in the canvass. The preliminary contest was long and spirited, but at length on the one hun- dred and forty-third ballot Mr. THOMPSON was nominated. Hon. JAMES H. GKAHAM, Hon. J. H. EAMSET, .Captain CHAELES C. KEOMEK, and other prominent gentlemen, had their warm friends and supporters, but it was finally thought best to unite on a gentleman who has been called " the most popular man in Chenango." At the desire of the Schoharie delegation, that Delaware should agree with Chenango in the choice of a candidate, Mr. THOMPSON was finally nominated and nominated unanimously. Commenting on the nomina- tion, the Oneonta Herald said :

" We suppose there is not a man in Chenango county who can poll a larger vote than Mr. THOMPSON. Five times he has been elected Clerk of the County, always running ahead of the ticket. He has served as County Treasurer, Superin- tendent of Schools, and is the present Supervisor of Norwich. He is of Schoharie birth, and the Eepublicans of that county ought to congratulate themselves that they have a

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candidate of such eminent fitness. As a Senator, Mr. THOMPSON will have few superiors ; for he is a gentleman of education, extensive information, and practical common sense. He will talk enough and not too much, and work with satisfactory results every time. It is an honor to the district to have so able and honest a Senator."

The figures of Mr. THOMPSON'S election are eloquent with the lesson of the necessity of getting out all the voters on election day, and speak forcibly of the importance sometimes of a single vote. Mr. THOMPSON beat his competitor, Mr. YEOMANS, by one vote ! Mr. YEOMANS is now engaged in contesting the seat before the Committee on Privileges and Elections of the Senate.

Mr. THOMPSON is in the prime of life, possesses unusual aptness for the intelligent discharge of public business, and devotes himself with zeal and earnestness to his Senatorial duties. He is Chairman of two Committees, Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties and Poor Laws, and is a member of the committees on Militia and Literature.

FRANKLIN W. TOBEY.

The sixteenth Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Warren, Essex and Clinton, is represented by FRANKLIN W. TOBEY, of Port Henry, Essex county. Mr. TOBEY enjoys the distinction of being the youngest member of the Senate ; he is now in his thirtieth year. He received no educational advantages in his boyhood, except those offered by the common schools. His father, ISAAC TOBEY, was, and is still, a plain Essex county farmer, and young TOBEY was trained to hard labor on the paternal acres. But he made diligent use of opportunities within reach, and suc- ceeded in acquiring knowledge to such a degree, that before he reached his majority he was permitted to study law in the

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office of Judge AUGUSTUS C. HAND. He made good pro- gress, and in 1868 he was admitted to the bar, and has since been engaged in the practice of the law in the firm of WALDO, TOBEY & BECKWITH, at Port Henry. Several years ago he married the daughter of Eev. C. RANSOM, a Presby- terian clergyman, now Chaplain of Clinton State Prison. Mr. TOBEY'S political life does not extend very far into the past, but it has been remarkably successful. Always a Re- publican, he has taken an active part in local politics since his eighteenth year. In 1869 he was elected Supervisor, and on his being re-elected in 1870, was made Chairman of the Board. In the fall of 1871 he was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 1,406, and re-elected in 1872 by 1,981 majority.

His services during the session of 1872 are so well-known, that it seems almost needless to refer to them. On making his first appearance at Albany he was regarded as a beardless youth of no great account, but he soon showed his mettle. Speaker SMITH knew something about him, and assigned him the second place on the Insurance Committee, and also made him a member of the Judiciary Committee, which, as the event proved, were the two most important Committees of that Assembly. It fell to the lot of Mr. TOBEY to act as Chairman of the Sub-committee which conducted the long and arduous investigation into the official conduct of the then Superintendent of the Insurance Department. Weeks were occupied in the examination of witnesses, and the tes- timony taken constituted one of the most bulky documents of the session. Much of the examination was conducted by Mr. TOBEY in person, and it is but just to say that he efficiently discharged the difficult and delicate task devolving upon him. The result of that investigation is now a matter of history ; but the unanimity with which the Republican majority of the Assembly promptly indorsed the conclusions of the Committee, was a marked compliment, not only to Mr. TOBEY, but to every member of the Committee signing 14

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the report. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, it was Mr. TOBEY'S privilege to play a prominent part in what was pre-eminently the distinguishing achievement of the Legislature of 1872, namely, the impeachment, trial and ex- pulsion of the corrupt New York judges. The offenses of these men had long been a stench" in the people's nostrils, and it was peculiarly the province of a "reform" Legislature to bring about a needed change for the better in the judiciary. If the Legislature of 1872 had accomplished no other act worthy of commendation, the fact that it did effect this re- form should entitle it to the gratitude of the long-suffering people of the State. When the charges had been made against Judges BARNAED, CAEDOZO and McCuNsr, it de- volved upon the Judiciary Committee to investigate them, and to prepare articles of impeachment in case they were well founded. The committee -entered upon its work with alacrity, and prosecuted it with thoroughness. They proceeded to New York, where they took a great mass of evidence, and, except on one or two minor points, were unanimous in recommending the impeachment of the judges for mal and corrupt conduct. The impeachment articles were prepared and adopted by the Assembly, and the result of the protracted trial, which took place in the summer of 1872, is familiar to every one. In all these proceedings Mr. TOBEY bore a con- spicuous and honorable part, and won a reputation which few realize who spend long years in public service. Of course, with such a record as the result of a single session, his con- stituents had no choice but to return him by a largely in- creased majority, and they did so. In the Assembly of last year he was Chairman of the Committees on Insurance and Eules, and was a member of the Judiciary Committee. When it became evident that Mr. AMES, who represented the Sixteenth district in the last Senate, would be compelled to decline a re-election, on account of ill-health, Mr. TOBEY'S name became at once prominent as his successor. His nomi- nation was received with words of hearty approval by the

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press in different parts of the State. The New York Times said, " Mr. TOBEY has experience in legislation, and in his two terms of service in the Assembly has won an enviable reputation for unwavering integrity, great watchfulness, and shrewd activity. No man ever thought of offering Mr. TOBEY a bribe, no matter how speciously the bait was gilded." Mr. TOBEY occupies the important and responsible position of Chairman of the Insurance Committee, and is a member of the Judiciary, Eailroads, and Privileges and Elections.

WEBSTER WAGNER.

WEBSTER WAGNER, to whom, in the present Senate, the interests of the fifteenth Senatorial district are committed, is descended from German parents, and was born at Pala- tine Bridge, Montgomery county, this State, where he still resides, in the year 1817. After receiving a common school education, he was apprenticed to his brother JAMES to learn the trade of wagon and carriage building. His apprentice- ship ended, and a good knowledge of the business acquired, he continued to devote himself to wagon and carriage making for a number of years. In 1845 he received the appoint- ment of station agent at Palatine Bridge for the Utica and Schenectady Eailroad, a position which he occupied until the year 1860.

While acting as station agent, and watching the trains coming and going, he proposed to himself a problem, the successful solution of which has done so much for the com- fort of the traveling public, and made the name of WEBSTER WAGNER well known all over the country. The Senator would, doubtless, shrink from being designated by that much abused term " philanthropist," and yet if love for one's fellow men is to be inferred from benefits conferred on them, it is

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difficult to see why he should not in all justice be named a philanthropist in virtue of his Wagner Palace Cars.

With the appearance of the sleeping and drawing-room car as part of the regular railway train, the comfort and con- venience of travel was increased a hundred fold. Looking back a few years to the order of things that then prevailed, we wonder how it was that we ever rested content with the old time unsightly and uncomfortable cars. In virtue of the improvements, of which Mr. WAGNER was one of the pioneers, the terror of railroad traveling has been removed, and now, seated in a drawing-room car, or reposing in a sleeping-car, one approximates very nearly to the comfort and ease of a well-appointed home.

Mr. WAGNER was on0 of the original inventors, and the first to put in operation the drawing-room and sleeping-cars, which have grown to be a necessity with those who travel by rail. His long experience at wagon and carriage building enabled him to proceed unerringly with his plans for an easy- riding car, while his taste and judgment suggested the proper interior arrangements. The result of his labors in this re- gard was first made manifest on the 1st of September, 1858, when he introduced the first sleeping-car on the Utica and Schenectady Eailroad. This effort proved eminently success- ful, and encouraged him to still farther exertions in the same direction. Having provided the means of accommodation and comfort for those who journeyed by night, he set himself to work in the interest of day passengers. Consummate skill, joined to great energy and perseverance, compassed the desired object, and on the 20th day of August, 1867, he pre- sented to an admiring and delighted public the first drawing- room, car that was ever built in America.

These drawing-room or palace cars have introduced an entirely new element of pleasure into traveling in the United States, have indeed reduced it to a fine art. Taking one of these magnificent conveyances in New York on Monday, a pleasure-seeker can find himself in San Francisco in a week,

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not the least fatigued by travel or otherwise, and scarcely less fresh than when he popped his head out at Spuyten Duyvil Creek.

The first sleeping-car that was ever built in America and used by Mr. WAGNER, cost but $3,000, whereas those used now-a-days cost 16,000to16,000 to 16,000to20,000 each, the difference in the figures representing the progress made in railway comfort and accommodation since 1857. Mr. WAGNER has now forty-nine drawing-room cars in active use, each of which cost near upon $14,000.

The WAGNER Sleeping Car Company are now running sixty sleeping cars, which cost three-quarters of a million dollars.

Senator WAGNER'S legislative career commenced in 1871, when he was sent to the Assembly from Montgomery county. Running with the odds against him, he was elected by a handsome majority, his vote being much ahead of that given to the general Republican ticket. He served on the com- mittee on Banks, and made a record as a legislator so satis- factory to his constituents, that in the Senatorial Convention of 1871, he was unanimously nominated to represent the Fifteenth district. Two years previous, the Fifteenth district had been lost to the Republicans by an unfortunate division among themselves, and the selection of Mr. WAGNER, who was not a politician, and represented neither faction, was considered a guarantee that the Democratic majority in 1869, of 2,003, was to be overcome. And overcome it was. Mr. WAGNER was elected over ISAIAH FULLER, his Democratic opponent, by the rousing majority of 3,222.

So well satisfied were the people of his district with the manner in which he had looked after their interests and the interests of the State, that he was renominated by the Re- 'publicans, by acclamation. The sentiment was universal that his election was due equally to him and the district. Indeed, the Democracy, at their convention, called to nomi- nate a Senator, resolved that it was inexpedient to nominate

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a candidate against him, and accordingly he was elected, without opposition.

Mr. WAGNER makes a faithful and good working Senator. He is attentive to the wants and interests of his own con- stituents, and intelligent and straightforward in his course upon matters of general legislation. He is direct, out-spoken and unequivocal upon all subjects, and no one will venture to cast reproach upon the purity and integrity of his action. You know where to find him every time. Without making any ostentatious pretentions, he has been an efficient and successful representative. His sound sense and practical ability have given him large influence among his associates.

ABU AH J. WELLMAN.

Colonel ABIJAH J. WELLMAN represents the thirtieth Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Wyoming, Livingston and Allegany. He was born at Friendship, Alle- gany county, on the 6th of May, 1836. His father, JONAS WELLMAST, was born in Vermont, and was of English parent- age. He resided in Friendship for fifteen years, and for a long period prior to his death, which occurred in 1844, was an eminently successful and highly respected physician. The subject of this sketch enjoyed, after receiving the usual rudimental instruction, an academic course, and afterward entered the Oberlin Ohio College. In 1855, he entered into mercantile business, and a few years after took up the bank- ing business. In 1864, he started in at lumbering. At the present time, he has all these irons in the fire, and is suc- cessfully managing them. Col. WELLMAN has a war record of which he may well be proud. In September, 1861, he was appointed Captain of the Eighty-fifth New York. A few months subsequently, he was promoted to be Major, and, on

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tlie 8th of February, 1862, was again promoted to be Lieu- tenant-Colonel. He took part in the memorable battle of Fair Oaks, and was severely wounded on the 31st of May, 1862. He also participated in the battles of Goldsboro, Kinston and Whitehall, and remained in command of his regiment as long as it was in service.

Col. WELLMAN has always taken a deep interest in politics, and has been an active Eepublican since the organization of the party. For seven successive years, commencing in 1866, he was Supervisor of Friendship. For three years in succes- sion he was chosen Chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany county. In 1872, he attended as delegate to the Philadelphia Convention that nominated Grant and Wilson.

Colonel WELLMAN" was married, in September, 1863, at Friendship, to KATE, daughter of ASHEB W. MIXER, of that place. Early in life he united with the Baptist church, and, for the past eight years, he has been Superintendent of a nourishing Sunday-school.

The nomination of Colonel WELLMAN for the Senate was received with hearty expressions of satisfaction. The Roches- ter Democrat and Chronicle pronounced it " one in every way fit to be made." It added :

" Those who served with Colonel WELLMAN" in the army speak of him in the highest terms as an officer and as a man. He was idolized by the troops. Colonel WELLMAN will make a Senator of the right stamp, and he is sure to be elected by a large majority."

The Warsaw New- Yorker said :

" Col. WELLMAN", our next Senator, is a man of excellent ability, of culture and refinement ; served in the war with distinction, winning in an unusual degree the confidence of his generals and the love of his soldiers; is thoroughly trusted and believed in by all who know him, irrespective of party relations, and, by his high character and proved ability, is as well fitted to serve his district acceptably and well in the Senate as any new man in his county."

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Colonel WELLMAN was elected by a majority of 3,297 over EDWARD FARNUM. He serves in the Senate on four im- portant committees. He is very properly Chairman on Militia ; he is also Chairman of State Prisons, and a member on Banks and Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties.

DANIEL P. WOOD.

DANIEL WOOD, the father of the subject of this sketch, came, in 1800, to Pompey, Onondaga county, from the Berk- shire Hills. DANIEL P. WOOD is of New England, Massa- chusetts stock. And this implies more than many men, whose minds are biased by religious, sectional or political antagonisms, are willing to admit.

Massachusetts is, in some important respects, the inferior of this our native State. She has many faults of history and character. She has given birth to not a few unworthy sons and daughters. But, after all, in spite of what may be truthfully said about the Puritan sternness and Calvinistic bigotry, the persecution of Baptists and Quakers, the Cotton Mathers and Salem witches of the 'past, or the lax notions and heresies of the present, spite of all the business and political sins fairly or unfairly laid at her door, Massa- chusetts is a commonwealth eminent among her sisters for the nobler qualities. Considering her population, and the extent of her territory, her history cannot easily be sur- passed for variety of excellence. Her children get from her a moral and intellectual training, a personal independence and love of liberty, and a political education which subordinates the State to the nation, the interests of the individual to the interest of the masses, which holds the home prosperity as bound up in, and inseparable from, the prosperity of neigh-

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bors and sisters. Such sons of hers who go wrong are unjust to their mother and share nothing of her spirit.

Hon. DANIEL P. WOOD inherited, and has exhibited through life, the New England traits — readiness to labor and to learn, strength of will, forecast and sympathy with those movements which have for their end the well-being of the country — for their means to that end the advancing condi- tion of all classes and races. His father was a lawyer and farmer, farming being his main occupation. Mr. WOOD worked diligently on the farm till he was twenty years old, acquiring a vigor of constitution which has since enabled him to endure the severest mental labor. After a preparatory course at Pompey Hill Academy, he entered Hamilton College. There he not only disciplined his mind by a mastering of the class studies, but expanded it by a wide range of reading. He studied law at Pompey, with VICTOEY BIRDSEYE, and in 1846 commenced the practice of law at Syracuse. His industry and skill were not long in securing him great success. He was Corporation Attorney for three years, and his general business was so large, and attended to with such fidelity, that in 1853 his health broke down, and in the year 1854, he consented to represent his district in the Assembly, in the hope of benefit from lighter labors and a change of occupation. But the legislation of those years was very important, and Mr. WOOD was too earnest and active to give the needed rest to his worn-out frame. In 1853, he was Chairman of the Com- mittee on Salt, and was on the Committee on Claims and the Code. On this last Committee was ARPHAXAD LOOMIS, while DAVID DUDLEY FIELD, another codifier, was often present at its sessions. The Committee sat many hours each day, entertaining the most important discussions, de- manding for their proper handling severe thought and wide knowledge, Mr. WOOD brought to them his legal acumen and conscientious industry.

In addition, the canal policy came up for review and 15

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determination. The Legislature of this year submitted the question of debt for the completion of the enlargement to the people, and in the long, exciting and able debates, Mr. WOOD was prominent and influential. He was one of the Managers, on the part of the assembly, of the impeachment of Canal Commissioner JOHN C. MATHER. To have been assigned such important posts by a House politically opposed to him, and during his first year as a legislator, was no light tribute to his reputation and capacity.

In 1854, as Chairman of the Committee on Colleges, Academies, etc., he matured and carried through the act creating the Department of Public Instruction. He was, this year, a member of the Committee of Ways and Means. He attended moderately to his profession during the three years immediately following; but, in 1857, a hemorrhage of the throat or lungs brought him to the borders of the grave. Most men would have given way, but the will of Mr. WOOD triumphed over disease, and as soon as /he became convalescent, he started for South Carolina, returning thence on horseback.

In 1864, '65, '66, he was elected to the Assembly, as Repre- sentative from the Second district of Onondaga county. In 1865 and 1866 he was Chairman of the Committee on Canals, a position requiring almost ceaseless labor. He understood the canals, and defended their interests with honor to him- self and usefulness to the State. In 1865 he was Chairman of the Committee to receive the remains of President LIN- COLN, at the city of New York, and conduct them through the State. He was also on the Ways and Means, a com- mittee of which, in the following year, he was Chairman.

Mr. WOOD was a Whig; then a Eepublican. During the war he labored without ceasing. The first regiment which went from Syracuse was raised in one week. In the same period, mainly through the exertions of Mr. WOOD, nearly §20,000 was contributed on behalf of the soldiers and their families. His patriotism knew no fear or faltering ; he kept

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up his patience and his hope, speaking words of good cheer all the more when hours were darkest.

Mr. WOOD made such a magnificent record during his preceding term in the Senate that his renomination was a matter of course. He was renominated by acclamation and elected by a majority of 12,761, as against 3,991 received in 1871. The Democracy made no nomination against him, and the only organized opposition of any kind was repre- sented by CHARLES D. B. MILLS, supported by the distinc- tively temperance vote.

Mr. WOOD holds in this Senate, as he did in the last, the leading and important position of Chairman of the Finance Committee, which has required him to act upon the vast fiscal interests, claims and necessities of the State, and has given him a great weight in determining its public policy. He has used all the power of this place in enforcing retrench- ment, resisting unjust and unworthy claims, fighting ex- travagance and prodigality of expenditure, and relieving the burdens of the people. All who have any close knowledge of public affairs, know that to his firmness and courage and persistency the State is indebted for saving hundreds of thousands during the last session alone.

In his more general duties as a member of the Senate, Mr. WOOD has shown himself equally watchful and straight- forward. He has stoutly opposed all corrupt and question- able measures, and has uniformly been on the side of honest and economical legislation.

In April, 1874, the Governor appointed the senator Major- General of the Sixth Division of the National Guard. As a recognition of faithful and able public service, the compli- ment was well deserved.

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WILLIAM B. WOODEN".

WILLIAM B. WOODI:N", of Auburn, represents the twenty- fifth Senatorial district, consisting of the counties of Cayuga and Wayne. He was born at Genoa, in the county of Cayuga, on the 25th of September, 1824. After receiving a thorough academic education, and graduating at the Cortland Academy, he applied himself to the study of the law with so much suc- cess that, once admitted to practice, it was not long before he rose to a prominent place among his brethren at the bar.

In 1859, his high character and conspicuous legal abilities secured his election to the office of Surrogate of Cayuga county. He brought to the discharge of the delicate and responsible duties incident to settling up estates, so much patience, industry and intelligence, that his re-election as Surrogate followed almost as a matter of course. A second re-election resulted at the proper time, and when Mr.WooDiN was elevated to the Senate, in 1869, there was a general and urgent request made of him to continue to discharge the duties of Surrogate. He may well be proud of the indorse- ment which he has thus received from home.

The Senator's first experience as a law-maker for the Empire State dates back to 1855. In that year he repre- sented the second district of Cayuga county in the Assembly to the satisfaction of those who sent him there. He is now serving his third term in the Senate, haying been a member of that body in 1870, 1871, 1872, 1873. During his first term he took high rank as a legislator, especially distinguishing himself from the very start as a debate-r. On the second day of the session of 1871, he made an able argument on the right or power of one Legislature to rescind the action of a previous Legislature in relation to amendments to the Constitution of the United States, an argument which, although delivered

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after a very slight preparation, commanded great attention, and was pronounced by those who heard it as an exhaustive treatment of the subject under discussion.

Having, in his two years' service in the former Senate, taken rank among the foremost as an able, judicious and honest legislator, possessing both business and forensic capac- ity, he was, in the fall of 1871, renominated as Senator by acclamation. In the last Senate, Mr. WOODIN" played a very prominent part. The session of 1872 was presided over by Lieutenant-Governor BEACH, and, that gentleman being opposed politically to the majority, was, very naturally, desirous of being relieved from the responsibility of naming the standing committees. Accordingly, the task of commit- tee-making fell to Senator WOODIN", who had been chosen by his associates President pro tern, of the Senate. Probably no more thankless or delicate task can well be conceived of than that of forming standing committees. AETEMUS WAED thought he could achieve a military success by raising a regi- ment to be composed entirely of major-generals. The plan is more felicitous than feasible, but if something similar to it could be contrived for legislative bodies, in virtue of which every honorable gentleman should have a chairmanship, Mr. President and Mr. Speaker would have considerable less worry than under the present limitations. We believe Senator WOODIN gave general satisfaction with his make-up of the Senate committees for 1872 — the chief if not the only point of criticism that developed itself being that he gave himself no appointments.

Lieutenant-Governor KOBINSON, in arranging the Senate committees for 1873, designated Senator WOODIN as Chair- man on the Committee of Cities, .a position which was an appropriate recognition of his standing among his associates and his signal legislative capacity, but which is exceedingly responsible and onerous. It was impossible to satisfy all the conflicting interests and views that came up in connection with the New York charter and other leading measures, but

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the vigor and capacity displayed by Senator WOODIN are nowhere disputed.

He was elected to the present Senate by a plurality of 388 over GEORGE W. CTJYLER, Democrat, and DEWITT C. PAR- SHALL, Independent Kepublican. He retains his position as Chairman of the Committee on Cities, and has demonstrated anew his signal ability, industry as a legislator, accomplish- ments as a lawyer, and his ready comprehension of public questions.

HENRY A. GLIDDEN,

CLERK OF THE SENATE.

The duties of the Clerk of such a body as the Senate are not solely or chiefly clerical, in the ordinary acceptation of the word. Very much more is required of him than keeping the diary of each day's legislative doings in a large, legible hand; very much more than filing petitions, bills, reports and all that sort of thing in appropriate pigeon holes, and producing them when required ; very much more than tak- ing charge of that important but imaginary table attached to his desk, upon which so many documents of one kind and another are temporarily or permanently " laid ; " very much more than proclaiming, with stentorian voice, all the wisdom which " The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact."

A man may give satisfaction as regards all the points indicated, and, nevertheless, fall short of the stature of a Clerk of the requisite capacity and accomplishments. A thoroughly capable Clerk — such an one, for instance, as he whose name stands at the head of this article — is, on occas- ion, and must always stand ready to be, the prompter, if not the power, behind the Chair. When new and inexperienced legislators for the first time are called upon to preside over

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Senate or Committee of the Whole, where would they be — what would become of them but for the friendly and incessant whispers of the clerk ? When a knotty point in parliament- ary law is brought forward to the disagreement of the Sena- tors, the Clerk who, on being consulted, fails to produce from his tongue's end a solution of the difficulty, is apt to be looked upon with a measure of disapprobation; as one not entirely fortified in his position. In addition to all this, the Clerk is expected to name, on the instant that a bill is intro- duced—no matter how queer and outlandish the bill — the very committee set apart for its reception ; to keep in mind the title of every act " entitled an act " introduced from the commencement to the close of the session, includ- ing, as germain to the subject, the name of the committee to whom referred, and the date of subsequent report. Having added that, he must be as ready with answers to all sorts of questions as a metropolitan hotel clerk; that his legislative ability would avail him but little unless combined with great executive talents ; that it behooves him to have a knowledge of men as well as of affairs ; to be the possessor of the social virtue of unfailing good nature; and, as it were, to be a walking edition of the blue and red book. We refrain from further definition, and, merely repeating our preliminary observation, that the duties of the Clerk of the Senate are not solely or chiefly clerical, we pass on to give a brief sketch of the present efficient Clerk of the Senate, HENRY A. GLIBBER.

HESTRY A. GLIDDEN was born at Clarendon, in the county of Orleans, on the 21st of August, 1830. He received a good academical education, and graduated at the State Normal School, at Albany, in 1848. After leaving school, he applied himself to the study of the law, studying with Hon. SANFORD E. CHURCH and Hon. NOAH DAVIS, at Albion. He also availed himself of the benefit to be derived from attendance at the law school in Albany. He was admitted to the bar in 1852, but the press of business in

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other directions has given him very little time for the prac tice of his profession.

Mr. GLIDDEJST has always been an active politician. Start- ing as a Whig, he cast his lot with the Republican party as soon as it was organized, and has remained a Republican ever since. His official experience outside of the Senate is included in a three years term as Supervisor of the town of Ridgeway, Orleans county.

Mr. GLIDDEN has long been a familiar presence to those attending the sessions of the Legislature. For eight years he occupied the position of assistant clerk of the Senate, being retained under some administrations opposed to him politically. His retention for so many years of a position for which there is always such a crowd of applicants speaks well for his reputation for capacity and integrity. His elec- tion to the position which he now holds was a compliment of which he might well be proud. He was chosen by a unanimous vote, Democrats as well as Republicans recording themselves heartily in favor of a man whom they knew to be thoroughly equipped for the competent discharge of the many responsible duties devolving upon a Clerk.

Mr. GrLiDDEN is prompt, intelligent, patient and courteous, and is as popular in his new position as he was always faith- ful in every public duty hitherto assigned him.

MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY.

JEREMIAH McGUIRE,

SPEAKEB.

From the moment, almost, when the result of the Novem- ber election was known, Mr. McG-uiKE was talked of in all parts of the State for the Speakership of the new Assembly. Other worthy and able men were named for the position, and among them was one of commanding intellectual stature, who has since passed from earth, but none better united the essential qualifications required than the member from Chemung. Long before the House convened, Mr. McGuiRE virtually had the field to himself, and his was the only name presented to the Democratic caucus for the Speakership, the choice of that CAUCUS being, of course, equivalent to an elec- tion. On assuming the chair as presiding officer, he made a brief and exceedingly judicious speech, succinctly outlining the principles which would govern him in guiding the delib- erations of the Assembly. The following extract will show the spirit of this address, which was received with strong manifestations of approval from the members of both par- ties:

OF THE ASSEMBLY — It is not affectation when I say that it is with the greatest diffidence that I accept and enter upon the performance of the duties of the position to which your partiality has assigned me. I am not unmind- ful of the perplexing duties, the harrassing cares, and the peculiar responsibilities of the place. Confessing and admit- ting my inexperience, and it may be a lack of some of the

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requisite qualifications, I have no misgiving or doubt but that I can preside with the strictest impartiality, ignoring all par- tisanship, administer your rules with the utmost fairness, recognizing the rights of the minority, respecting the privi- leges of each individual member, and regarding and treating each as the peer of his fellow. * * * We have met under peculiar and delicate circumstances, at a time when trade is struck with the blight of stagnation ; when the business inter- ests of the State are in a measure prostrated, and industries are in a state of partial paralysis ; at a time when the public pulse is feverish and excited, and the eyes of the people are turned to their servants ; at a time when there is a wide-spread and deep-rooted suspicion — if not an absolute conviction — that government has been perverted from its true ends, aims and purposes ; that it has been administered in the interest of the few, at the expense of the many ; at a time when our proceedings will be, by all classes of our constituents, closely watched, canvassed and criticised ; at a time when there is a stern and inflexible purpose being formed and maturing in the public mind, to hold all officers to a strict accountability for the proper execution of the trust committed to them. With the argus eyes of the press upon us, ready to shoot from its quiver the barbed arrows of censure and condemna- tion if we err; with a watchful and vigilant people firmly resolving that hereafter their business, not ours, must be con- scientiously performed, it behooves us to move and act with wisdom, prudence and caution, and above all with honesty, fairness and integrity, and an eye single to the public good and welfare, resisting in legislation all evil, or appearance of evil.

" It is expected, nay, it is imperatively demanded of us, that as we hold the keys of the public treasury, we be prudent in appropriations and economical in expenditures, that all extravagance and prodigality, all exclusively personal and selfish schemes be ignored, scouted and condemned ; that the corner-stone and fundamental principle of our action must be such legislation as shall conduce to good govern- ment and in the interests of the people at large — recogniz- ing, respecting and guaranteeing the rights of corporations to manage their own affairs and control their own proceed- ings and actions, whether such corporations be moneyed or municipal, at the same time protecting the people against overshadowing monopolies or the encroachments of large and powerful associations. * * *

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" The majority of this body is responsible for its legislation. For a failure to execute the will of the people, as recently by them unmistakably expressed, for all bad and vicious enactments, you, gentlemen of the majority, must account to your constituents. Let there be no shrinking, no dodg- ing of responsibility. In view of the pledge that each of you gave when you accepted a nomination for a seat in this body, that you would be so accountable and responsible, let me entreat you to watch with more than ordinary care and vigilance to see that no improper or questionable legislation passes this body to bring discredit upon us, and thus render our professions a sham and delusion. Our constant aim and endeavor should be to elevate the standard of official life. It should be a high, proud and honorable position to be a lawgiver of the State of New York. In the early days it was so considered and regarded. Can we not, by the prac- tice of economy and retrenchment, remembering that it is for the large body of the people that we legislate and not for a favored few, exacting honesty and integrity in official life, acting only for the welfare of all and the prosperity of the State, bring back our Legislature to the high place it occu- pied when presided over by a SPENCER, a LIVINGSTON, and our own living and honored statesman, HORATIO SEYMOUR, instead of allowing it to sink, sink, until it becomes a by- word and reproach ? Majority and- minority are alike inter- ested in good laws, careful and prudent expenditures, an absence of all suspicion, or taint of suspicion, around this capitol. In this respect we can exclaim with one of the fathers of the Kepublic : " We are all Democrats ; we are all Kepublicans."

Mr. McGuiRE was born in Ireland, in the year 1825, and came to this country at quite an early age. We are without details of his early youth and education, and can only state in a general way that, though deprived of many of the advantages of obtaining knowledge possessed by the youth of the present day, his energy and ambition enabled him to surmount all the difficulties which lay in his way in that respect. As a result he is to-day regarded as one of the best read lawyers of the State, being especially eminent as an advocate. In the management of intricate land cases he has

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acquired wide fame, his success in that line of legal practice being very great. He has practiced for mauy~years in the courts of central and southern New York, and has, in fact, been connected with more celebrated causes than usually fall to the lot of lawyers outside of the great cities. He has had charge from their commencement of several heavy suits, which have been in litigation many years, and involve immense estates.

His first and only legislative service, prior to the present year, was obtained in the Assembly of 1873. In that body he served on the Judiciary committee, and also on those on Local and Special Laws, and Claims. In the Judiciary com- mittee, though a minority member, he was exceedingly efficient, his experience and legal knowledge enabling him to render valuable aid in perfecting the important legisla- tion which came before that committee. He was conspicuous also on the floor, and his famous attack on the Cornell University land grant, which led to the appointment of a special commission by the Governor and an elaborate inves- tigation of the whole matter, is still fresh in the minds of those who watch public affairs. His speech on that occasion was an impressive and powerful effort, not only on account of the startling allegations which it contained, but because of the deliberate and earnest delivery of its carefully worded sentences, and the tone of scathing invective which charac- terized it throughout. Kegarded purely as a forensic effort, the speech was worthy of much praise, and it certainly added largely to Mr. McGuiRE's repute throughout the State. Of its subject-matter and the result of the subsequent investi- gation it does not become us to speak, further than to remark that while the vindication of the late EZRA CORNELL has been complete, no one has ventured to question, in the slightest degree, the motives of Mr. McGu-iRE in making the charges.

In performing the difficult and oftentimes very perplexing duties belonging to his present position, Speaker McGuiRE

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has won the praise of all parties. His rulings are uniformly fair and just, swayed a little, perhaps, by party sympathy, but never to an extent to provoke well-founded complaint from the individual who happens to be the victim of an adverse decision. In the chair he displays a serenity and coolness which are undisturbed by the most heated contro- versies on the floor. To a casual observer his manner is apparently over-deliberate, but the record will show that business has progressed with all desirable rapidity. At all events very few of those blunders attributable to undue haste are to be noted.

Occasionally the Speaker descends to the floor and effect- ively takes part in the discussion of important measures. At such times his words possess controlling weight. His participation in the debate on the " Costigan bill," relating to New York city government, is one of the memorable incidents of the present session, and his withering denuncia- tion of certain Democratic members who arrayed them- selves in opposition to the bill, will long be remembered by those who heard it. That it was effective is sufficiently shown by the fact that most of the gentlemen referred to finally voted for the bill.

Speaker McG-triKE has resided in Elmira about a year, and was formerly a resident of Schuyler county, which he represented during his first term in the Assembly. He enjoys the respect and esteem of a large acquaintanceship, not only where he resides, but throughout the State. His qualities of head and heart are such as to invite friendship and regard. In his manner he is always courteous and agreeable. Very little of the politician or the lawyer appears in his social intercourse, and he is in all respects a culti- vated gentleman, with something of the old school tinge per- ceptible in his bearing and conversation. His career as a politician, as a lawyer and as a man, is alike honorable to himself and to the community where he resides.

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THOMAS GK ALVOKD.

It seems well nigh a superfluous task to attempt a biographical sketch of the venerable and well known Mem- ber from Onondaga. The record of his long and honorable legislative career is part of the history of the State, and there ought to be very few people who need to be told who or what he is. While a member of the Legislature he has always ranked among its foremost men in point of ability, while his experience, tact and foresight have rendered him an exceedingly valuable and efficient member. His legisla- tive career has not been distinguished so much for that brilliancy Avhich captivates people for a time as for a plain matter-of-fact course, which has not been greatly interrupted by mistakes, and being almost invariably characterized by those efforts wtiich have a telling effect upon men. There is nothing visionary about Mr. ALVORD. If he theorizes, his theories are based upon substantial facts and lead to obvious conclusions, while his views upon every question are well considered and practical. As a " floor " member of the lower branch of the Legislature, Mr. ALVORD has had very- few, if any, superiors. He is always at his post, watches closely every step in legislative progress, always has a ready argument at his tongue's end, no matter what the topic which may call it forth, is fertile in expedients, in ready replies, or in daring parliamentary maneuvers, and is in every way a shrewd political manager and formidable opponent. Though he is reputed to be somewhat unscrupulous in his hostility to men and measures, he never seeks to gain an advantage by the questionable tactics sometimes resorted to by less skillful politicians. His great strength lies in his splendid oratorical ability, his practical and well nigh exhaustive legal and politi- cal 'knowledge, and his thorough mastery of parliamentary rules. In the latter respect he is almost without a peer, and

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his opinion upon points of order is rarely questioned by the most self-sufficient opponent.

Mr. ALVORD was born in Onondaga, Onondaga county, on the 20th of December, 1810. He is, therefore, a little over sixty-four years of age. His father, ELISHA ALVORD, was a merchant, and formerly resided in Lansingburgh, Kensselaer county. The ALVORD family are of English descent, their ancestors emigrating to this country in the year 1638. His mother's name was HELEN" LANSING, of Holland ancestry, and both his grandfathers were revolutionary pensioners, his maternal grandfather being a captain in the campaign which resulted in Burgoyne's surrender. The combination of the two national characteristics — English and Dutch — is quite apparent in the subject of our sketch.

Mr. ALVORD graduated from Yale College in 1828, his previous preparatory education having been gained at the Lansingburgh academy. Having completed his collegiate course, he studied law for two years with THOMAS A. TOMLINSON and GEORGE A. SIMMONS, at Keeseville, Essex county, and one year with CHARLES P. KIRKLAND and WM. J. BACON, at Utica, N. Y. He began the practice of his pro- fession January 1, 1833, at Salina, now the first ward of the city of Syracuse, and continued until 1846. Since that time he has been a lumberman and salt manufacturer, and has been quite successful, though he has devoted much of his time to politics and legislation.

In politics he was originally a hard-shell Democrat; but he united with the Kepublicans in 1864. When the war broke out he was conspicuous in his adherence to the Union cause, and was twice elected to the Assembly as a Union and War Democrat. Since that time he has been a Eepublican of independent proclivities. In the Presidential campaign of 1872 he acted with the Liberals and voted for HORACE GREELEY. In 1873 he was elected to the Assembly mainly by Democratic and Liberal votes, though he made no pledges and was recognized throughout the session as an independent

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Republican in the fullest sense. Last fall he was re-elected on the regular Republican ticket. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1844, and he also served in that body in 1858, 1862, 1864. 1870, 1871, 1872, and now 1874 and 1875. He was Speaker of the House in 1858 and 1864, and in that capacity gained great popularity.

In 1864 he was elected Lieutenant-Gorernor, running on the ticket with Governor FEXTON", and served through 1865 and 1866. As president of the Senate he presided with dig- nity, judgment and discrimination, ruling with uniform impartiality, and very generally winning the respect of Senators of both parties. He also represented his native county, Onondaga, in the State Constitutional Convention of 1868, '69. In the deliberations of that convention, which was composed of some of the ablest gentlemen in the State, Mr. ALVOED played a prominent part and won a deserved reputation as a skillful debater.

During his service in the Assembly, Mr. ALVORD has served on many of its most important committees, having been Chairman of Ways and Means, and member at diiferent times of Canals, Judiciary, Grievances and others. In the last House, he was on the Ways and Means and Canal Commit- tees, and this year he is on Ways and Means, Canals, General and Special Laws, and Rules. His vote in 1873 stood 2,851 against 2,571 for WM. H. H. GERE, Republican, by whom he was defeated in 1872 by over four hundred majority. Last fall he received a plurality of 1,188, his opponents being JABKZ H. NORTON, Democrat, and WARREN S. WHITE, Prohibition.

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JOHN P. BADGER.

JOH.N" PBASLEE BADGEK, who is now serving his third term, was born in Ossipee, Carroll county, N. H., August 3, 1834. He is a son of WM. P. C. BADGEK, a native of Comp- ton, P. Q., but born of American parents. While yet in early infancy he came with his parents to this State, and is consequently a New Yorker to all intents and purposes. His father and mother are still living in comfortable circum- stances, the former being about sixty years of age. Young BADGEK was educated in the common schools, and though his early life was spent upon the farm and in a country store, of which he was proprietor for several years, he availed himself of every opportunity to prepare himself for the legal profession, to which he looked forward as his chosen pursuit. He finally entered the Albany Law School, graduated with credit in November, 1871, and shortly afterward was admit- ted to the bar. Since that time he has practiced law with success, taking a respectable rank among the lawyers of his county.

Mr. BADGER learned his first political lessons in the Amer- ican party, and was an ardent member of that party during its brief existence, voting for MILLARD FILLMORE for Presi- dent. When its elements were scattered he identified himself with the Eepublicans, with whom he has continued to act up to the present time. He is, constitutionally, quite an active man, and has therefore been a participant in Franklin county politics for a number of years past. Twice he has been elected to represent his town in the Board of Supervisors — in 1870 and 1872. Though his town was formerly Demo- cratic, he carried it when first elected by a majority of 32. In his second canvass his majority was 46, in a total vote of 300; and in the fall of 1872 he carried it in the Assembly canvass by the gratifying majority of 141, his entire majority 17

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in the county over W. W. PADDOCK, being I,x514, or about 40 votes ahead of the State ticket. In 1873 his majority over BAKER STEVENS was 1,067, the majority for the State ticket being about 900; and last fall he received a plurality of 1,044, his opponents being THOS. W. CANTWELL, Demo- crat, and EDWIN A. TAYLOR, Prohibition. These figures speak well for the popularity of the Franklin county Member at home.

Mr. BADGER'S frank and modest deportment and evident ability attracted popular regard very early in his legislative career. He developed great aptitude for legislative duties, being not only an excellent speaker, but an invaluable com- mitteeman. As member of the committees on State Prisons, Federal Relations, and Engrossed Bills, in 1873, he made an excellent record. Last year he was chairman of State Prisons, and member of Grievances and Sub-committee of the Whole, and at present is on Railroads and Sub-com- mittee of the Whole.

He is a consistent and earnest member of the Methodist church, and possesses a character entirely above reproach. He was married in January, 1855, to Miss EMILY E. PHELPS.

BENJAMIN F. BARKLEY.

Mr. BARKLEY represents the county of Greene, and is known as a plain and unostentatious but exceedingly indus- trious member, watchful of the welfare of his constituents. He was born in Lexington, Greene county, December 14, 1831, of American and German ancestry. His father, JOHN BARKLEY, a worthy farmer, and his mother, ROXINA, are still living at Windham in the same county. He received a common school education, and was reared on his father's farm. In the spring of 1853 he was infected with the California fever, and went to that State, arriving during

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the height of the mining excitement. He remained in the mines until 1857, when he returned to his native town. Subsequently he removed to the town of Jewett, where he still resides, prosecuting his old occupation, that of farming.

Mr. BARKLEY has always belonged to the Democratic party,. and is one of the leading Democrats in Greene county. Besides being Supervisor two years, in 1865 and 1866, he has held the office of Sheriff, being elected in 1870 by a majority of 684 over JOHN J. FINDER. In last fall's canvass for the Assenrbly he was chosen by a majority of 564 over HORATIO S. LOCKWOOD, who represented the district last year. He is a member of the committees on Claims, Manufacture of Salt and Expenditures of the Executive Department.

A Baptist in religious connection, Mr. BARKLEY is always foremost in every enterprise designed for the social or moral welfare of the community. He was married November 28, 1860, to Miss ELLEN J. PECK.

GEORGE BARROW.

GEORGE BARROW was born in the brick house, still stand- ing, on the north-east corner of Clinton and Henry streets, New York city, March 14, 1839. He is a direct lineal descendant of EGBERT BARROW, who was baptized at Cart- mel Priory church, Lancashire, England, in the year 1530. The records of this church (endowed by the Earl of Pem- broke, A. D. 1187), do not extend back of this period. JOHN BARROW, the grandfather of Mr. BARROW, left Lancashire early in life for the West Indies, but shortly afterward came to Long Island, and subsequently, for many years, resided upon Pearl street, then a fashionable street in the city of New York, engaged in manufacturing, and afterward in insurance as President of the City Fire Insurance Company of New

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York. JOHN BARKOW, the father, was born here in 1797, and, at the age of twenty-five years, was married to ELIZA- BETH M. PRIOR, who became the mother of the subject of this sketch, and nine other children. JOHN BARROW died in February, 1873, at an advanced age and greatly respected. ELIZABETH M. PRIOR is a lineal descendant of EDMUND PRIOR. He was a sterling old Quaker of anti-slavery fame, a puritan preacher, who came to America shortly after the arrival of the " Mayflower." Subsequently his family espoused the faith of the Society of Friends, and removed, for greater religious freedom, to the vicinity of Huntington, Long Island. EDMUND PRIOR, grandfather of Mr. BARROW, was a banker and merchant, residing in New York city, doing an extensive business, and having among his customers such men as Baron STEUBEN, LA FAYETTE, etc.

Four of the brothers of Mr. BARROW died in early man- hood. EDMUND P. BARROW, who attained the greatest age of the four, was at the age of twenty-four a member of the Assembly of 1854, from the Fifth New York district, elected on a reform ticket. He died in the year 1857, at the age of twenty-eight. Mr. BARROW'S mother is still living in good health, at the age of seventy-eight years.

Mr. BARROW'S only educational advantages have been com- mon school, with one or two terms at private school, and the general advantages of a cultured home. He studied law in the office of BENONI LEE, Esq., ac Skaneateles, and subse- quently in the office of SEDGWICK, ANDREWS & KENNEDY, at Syracuse, and was admitted to practice October 4, 1860. Since that time he has practiced law at Skaneateles with good success. He became interested in politics at the time of the formation of the Republican party, and has since been an active and ardent Republican, inclined to partizanship rather than liberalism. He has held several town offices. In 1863, he was elected justice of the peace for the town of Skaneateles, but the office interfering with the practice of his profession, he resigned it the same year. In 1865, his.

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name was presented to the Eepublican convention for mem- ber of Assembly, but Mr. KANNY, a former member, was renominated by a majority of one. He has repeatedly been a member of the Republican County Committee, and, during several active campaigns, a " stump speaker."

During the late war Mr. BARROW was an active home- .worker, his office for about two years being practically a recruiting office.

In the canvass of 1873, two candidates were arrayed against him, MATHIAS BRITTON, Democrat, and DANIEL PIBTCKNEY, 'Temperance. He received a plurality, however, of 279, and a majority over both of 33. Last fall his plurality was in- creased to 417, and his majority to 291, his opponents being MATHIAS BRITTON, Democrat, and L. 1ST. STRATTON, Pro- hibition. Last year he was a member of the Committees on Villages, Banks and Engrossed Bills, and this year he serves on Villages and Engrossed Bills.

Mr. BARROW was married September 29, 1863, to CARO- LINE M. TYLER, of Skaneateles. He is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He has been a frequent con- tributor of editorials to the public journals, and as a writer of fiction has contributed to the Atlantic Monthly and other leading magazines.

Mr. BARROW is a fluent and agreeable speaker, and a man of varied learning. During his student life his inclinations were of a literary nature, and he frequently lectured before the lyceums and literary societies of his own and neighbor- ing towns. He possesses, in a large degree, those qualities of head and heart which win favor and popularity, and he evidently has a brilliant career yet before him. In business matters he is the soul of honor, and socially he is genial and companionable — a cultivated and courteous gentleman. His constituency may well felicitate itself upon being well and effectively represented at the capitol.

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A. NELSON BEACH.

Mr. BEACH represents the Thirteenth district of New York, and except Mr. STAUF, is the youngest member of the metropolitan delegation.

He was born in Gooperstown, Otsego county, July 12, 1848, where he lived until he was five years of age. Since that time he has resided continuously in the Sixteenth ward of New York city. He attended the school of Dr. G-EOKGE PAYIST QUACKENBUSH, and for five years attended the Medi- cal lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College. At the age of 21, he graduated with high honor. He has now been engaged a number of years in the practice of medicine, and has already attained considerable repute. During three years, 1870-1873, he filled with credit the post of Surgeon of the Police Department, in New York city. He has always been identified with the Democratic party, in which he has displayed a good deal of activity and usefulness. His present service in the Assembly, however, constitutes his first experience in an elective office. Inasmuch as he is a young man of great activity and efficiency, with most of the qual- ities which win popularity, he is probably at the threshold of a brilliant public career.

Dr. BEACH is a grandson of the late SAMUEL NELSON", Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In the canvass of last fall, Dr. BEACH received a majority of 68 over CHARLES BLACKIE, a former ^Republican mem- ber of the House ; the Eepublican plurality the previous year being 687. The contest was a very close and exciting one.

CHARLES 8. BEARDSLEY, JR. 135

CHAELES S. BEARDSLEY, JR.

Mr. BEARDSLEY, though a Democrat, has the honor of repre- senting a strong Eepublican district, the First, of Cay- uga, his opponent, LEONARD F. HARDY, baring previously been twice elected to the House by very large majorities. The district, however, will suffer no dishonor through his legislative action, as he is a young man of strict integrity and very decided ability.

He is a native and life-long resident of Cayuga county, and was born in Auburn, March 7, 1845. His early studies were prosecuted in the public schools, and later he attended Auburn Academy. Deciding to embrace the law as his pro- fession, he then passed through the usual course of study in the Albany Law School. From thence he graduated with honor, was duly admitted to the bar, and for several years practiced ' at Auburn. He subsequently became connected with journalism, editing for some time the Auburn Courier, and latterly he has been engaged in iron manufacturing.

He has always been known as an active Democrat, and enjoys in large measure the confidence and esteem of his fel- low-citizens. In 1872 he was a delegate to the State Conven- tion, and he also represented his ward in the Board of Alder- men for several years. In the House he is a member of the Committees on Internal Affairs, Militia and State Prisons, and has thus far shown himself to be an exceedingly capable legislator.

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SAMUEL T. BENEDICT.

SAMUEL T. BENEDICT, who represents the county of Schenectady in the present Assembly, is not a politician, in the ordinary acceptance of that word. He is, indeed, warmly devoted to the interests of the Democratic party — a party with which he has always been identified — but to him politics does not mean wire-pulling and place-seeking.

The salient facts in his history may be briefly stated as follows : SAMUEL T. BENEDICT was born in Danbury, Conn., on the 8th of September, 1837, and consequently is now in the full vigor of manhood. His father, RUSSELL BENE- DICT, a retired merchant, is still living and resides in the city of New York. SAMUEL received the first rudiments of his education at the Institute at "White Plains, New York, and remained at the institution until his preparation for the Freshman class of college was finished. In 1856 he entered Union College, and from thence he graduated in 1860, his being one of the last classes at whose graduation the great Dr. NOTT presided.

Having determined to adopt Law as his profession, Mr. BENEDICT, directly after leaving Union College, connected himself with the well-known Harvard law school at Cam- bridge, Mass., from which he emerged with his graduating diploma in 1862. After some months spent in the office of STEDMAN & STRONG, a legal firm at Albany, he removed to New York and there remained engaged in the practice of his profession until 1865, when he returned to Schenectady, where he has since resided.

In 1865 Mr. BENEDICT was married to Miss JULIA JACK- SON, daughter of Dr. ISAAC W. JACKSON, of Union College.

Mr. BENEDICT is still engaged in the practice of his pro- fession at Schenectady, and holds the office of United States

WARREN C. BENNETT. 137

Commissioner and Examiner in Chancery, to which he was appointed by the United States Circuit Court. He was elected to the Assembly by the substantial majority of 856 over CHAELES STANFOBD, his Eepublican opponent. As a legislator he is faithtul and dilligent, very seldom indulging in elaborate speech-making, but keeping a close .watch on all the measures presented to the House of which he is a mem- ber.

WAKREN C. BENNETT.

Mr. BENNETT ranks among the quieter class of legislators — possessing no marked gift for public speaking ; but there are, perhaps, few men in the capitol more watchful of legis- lation, or better able, as a rule, to vote understandingly upon the multifarious measures which come up for action. He is wide awake, practicaf and discreet — three qualities of inesti- mable value, and, as he is scarcely erer absent from his seat, his constituents may be congratulated upon the possession of a faithful and useful representative.

Mr. BENNETT was born in New York city, July 25, 1836, of American parents. He attended the Mount Washington Collegiate School conducted by Hon. GEO. W. CLAEKE, and received a good education in the higher English branches. Since his majority he has been engaged in commercial pur- suits in New York, being for many years clerk in a large dry goods house.

During the war he served a three months term with the Seventh Eegiment at Baltimore, and was a member of that famous regiment for a number of years. During a period of ten years he was a member of the Volunteer Fire Depart- ment. Though always a Democrat, Mr. BENNETT has never before been an incumbent of any office. He has, however, been prominent and active in local politics, being a trusted 18

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member of the Tammany Society. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 995, to succeed AUSTIN LEAKE, a Kepublican, whose plurality was 782.

Mr. B., as we have intimated, is a man of quiet disposi- tion, but he, nevertheless, possesses fine social qualities, and is a favorite with all who have occasion to know him.

GEORGE BERRY.

Mr. BEEKY is well known as a prominent politician and reliable business man of Madison county. He represents the second district of that county, which is ordinarily Eepublican by several hundred majority. He was born in the county on the 12th of November, 1820, and had the benefit of a fair common school education. He was, however, obliged to begin early the struggle of life, and thus acquired habits of self-reliance which have since been of great value to him. His occupation is that of a tanner, to which he was brought up, but he has large and varied business interests in Oneida, where he resides, and is a director of the bank in that village. He has always taken an active part in the affairs of the county, political and otherwise, and is regarded as a man of sound judgment and unimpeachable character. He has never been in the Assembly before, but he served one term as Justice of the Peace, in 1856, and during three terms has represented his town in the Board of Supervisors, being now a member of the Board. He has also been president of the village and trustee for several years. He is a man of large physique, with a kindly face, and plain but courteous and agreeable manners. He wields a good deal of influence in the Assembly, being a member of the Committees on Banks and Agriculture and Chairman of the Committee on Expenditures of the House.

JAMES BISHOP. 139

It is worthy of note that the canvass, which resulted in his election to the Assembly, was one of the most exciting and closely contested in the history of the district. His opponent was J. WATSOJT ARMOUK, a very able Eepublican ; but he defeated him by a majority of 27, although the other side put forth extraordinary efforts. The Republican ma- jority, in 1873, was 404.

JAMES BISHOP.

Mr. BISHOP, the " gentleman from Tioga," as he is styled in parliamentary parlance, is a man of few words, but he is evidently a solid man of business and able and efficient in whatever position he may be placed. He has long been a prominent member of the Methodist Church, is one of the most influential citizens of Owego, where he has resided many years, and is well known as a man of cool and sound judgment and earnest impulses. He has long- been promi- nent among the Republicans of his town and county.

He was born in Middletown, Conn., October 6, 1823, and received a Connecticut education, attending public and pri- vate schools at Middletown until his seventeenth year. After reaching man's estate, he came to Owego and became super- intendent of bridges and buildings upon the Erie railway. This responsible position he held for twenty-five years or .more, up to September, 1874, when he resigned it and is now successfully engaged in the lumber manufacturing business.

During his early years, Mr. BISHOP was a Democrat in politics; but the repeal of the Missouri compromise and other indications of the aggressive designs of the slave power led him to renounce his allegiance to that party, and when the Republican party was formed he promptly joined it. Since then he has uniformly voted and acted with the Republicans, supporting earnestly all the measures for the

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perservation of the Union when its safety was threatened by armed treason.

Mr. BISHOP has frequently been honored, by his fellow- citizens, with important and responsible trusts. During five years, from 1865 to 1870, he was Supervisor of the town of Owego. He has also held the office of School Commis- sioner, and in 1871 was President of the village of Owego. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 113, defeat- ing FREDERICK 0. CABLE, a popular Democrat, and is. a member of the Committees on Trade and Manufactures and Joint Library.

ORVILLE C. BORDWELL.

Mr. BORDWELL is one of the most respected and best known citizens of Niagara county, and capably represents the Second district of that county in the present Assembly. His father, ENOCH W. BORDWELL, still living, and a resident of Hartland, Niagara county, is a native of Yates county. His mother, whose maiden name was MALAH STEBBIN"S, is of Massachusetts descent. Mr. BORDWELL'S grandfather was one of the first settlers of Yates county. He was a carpen- ter by trade, and it is related of him that on one occasion he traveled on foot through the wilderness to Niagara Falls, where he helped to erect the first building put up in the place.

The subject of this notice was born in the town of Potter, Yates county, on the 13th of June, 1832. He received a good education in the common schools during his youth, and conceiving a liking for the medical profession, he attended the Eclectic Medical Institute, in Cincinnati, in 1859 and 1860. He practiced with very good success from that time until 1867, but since then he has been engaged in farming and fruit growing, occupations which are congenial to his

ORVILLE C. BORDWELL. 141

rural tastes, and from which he has reaped an ample pecun- iary reward.

Mr. BOKDWELL has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was united in Royalton, on the 25th of March, 1857, was SAEAH J. DAY, an estimable lady. She died in April, 1861, and, in July, 1862, he married EMMA A. ELDEBKIN, at Lockport.

In politics Mr. BOEDWELL has always been a Republican. He has occasionally filled public positions, and has generally been quite active in the counsels of his party, but he has never been a seeker after office. In the year 1869 he was Overseer of the Poor of his town. The next year he was a candidate for the office of Supervisor, but was defeated by four votes, owing to the fact that the Democratic board of canvassers threw out five of his votes, because his name was misspelled. At the present time he holds the office of Assessor, to which he was elected by a majority of 82, the Democratic candidate receiving a majority of 84. He was elected to the Assembly in the fall of 1873, by a major- ity of 445 over ELTON T. RANSOM, Democrat, and served as member of the Committees on Roads and Bridges and Agri- culture. Last fall he was re-elected by a plurality of 455, nis opponents being HENEY F. PIEECE, Democrat, and BEN- JAMIN S. LOUGHLIN, Prohibition. In the present House he is a member of Roads and Bridges and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

Mr. BOEDWELL, though brought up in the Free Will Baptist persuasion, has never made a profession of religion. He is a man of enlarged views upon all questions. Socially he is a favorite with everybody, and few men in the present House are more highly esteemed than the member from Niagara.

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SHEPARD P. BOWEN.

Mr. BOWEN comes from northern New York, from the district (Clinton county) which for two or three terms has been represented by Hon. SMITH M. WEED. He was born in Canada, March 28, 1824. When quite young his parents removed to Troy, Vt., where his youth was spent, and where, as he became old enough, he alternated study with work upon, his father's farm. He managed, however, to obtain a good common school and academic education. After reaching his majority he worked on a farm for a while, and afterward engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he has since followed with success, being now a wealthy merchant and iron manu- facturer at Plattsburgh.

He is an influential and exceedingly active Eepublican of Clinton county, and enjoys the confidence of his fellow- citizens, having served in the Board of Supervisors nearly continuously from 1855 to 1857. His majority over GEOEGE ADGATE, Democrat, was 2,447, against a Democratic majority for Mr. WEED in 1873, of 1,245. Such a change of votes in a single Assembly district is almost without precedent, and it very clearly indicates the estimation in which he is held by his constituents.

He is a member of State Prisons and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

DANIEL BRADLEY. 143

DANIEL BRADLEY.

Mr. BRADLEY is a Democrat of the old school, but quite independent in his views, and is a gentleman of decided force of character, as well as considerable ability. He resides at No. 184 York street, Brooklyn, and represents the First dis- trict of Kings county. He was born in Londonderry, Ire- land, March 17, 1833. He was educated mainly in one of the parochial schools in his native city, and came to this country when quite young. After settling here he engaged in the tobacco business, which he continued for five years. At present he is a prosperous dealer in stoves and tin-ware. He is well known in military circles, having been for several years Captain of Co. G., Fourteenth Eegiment, National Guard. He has always evinced a warm interest in political matters, but has never before held an elective office. In 1868, he was chairman of the Democratic General Committee of Kings county, and rendered efficient service in the Presidential campaign of that year. In the Assembly canvass he ran against the regular Democratic nominee, JOHN" CON^ELL, defeating him by a majority of 91.

Mr. BRADLEY has been absent from the House a good deal by reason of sickness, but he has shown that he posses- ses more than average legislative capacity, being a fair speaker, and a man of sound practical judgment.

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WATERS W. BRAMAN.

The present House contains very few more careful or con- scientious members than WATERS W. BRAMAN, of West Troy, Albany county. Though he is entirely new to legisla- tive duties, he has elicited the praise of veterans at the capi- tol, by the aptitude he has shown in mastering the details of his position. Always at his post in the House and in the committee room, he watches the progress of legislation with keen attention, and often discovers defects in matters under consideration which escape the scrutiny of older members. Especially do the interests of his immediate constituency, which is an unusually large one, receive his unremitting attention, as is evidenced by the fact that a large number of measures for the welfare of West Troy and Cohoes have been initiated since he has been in the Assembly. Maj. BRAMAN is not what may be termed a trained orator, but he is not by any means a silent member, being able to express his views pointedly and briefly when occasion requires. He is a man of rather commanding appearance, \vith a pleasant face and genial manner, and is in every respect an honor to the dis- trict which he represents.

WATERS WHIPPLE BRAMAN was born in Troy, N. Y., on the 20th of April, 1840. His parents, both of whom are dead, were HORACE and CAROLINE E. BRAMAN", the maiden name of the latter being WHIPPLE. His mother died when he was but five years of age, giving him away on her death bed to her brother, WATERS W. WHIPPLE, of Troy, who had been a father to her. Mr. WHIPPLE faithfully performed the trust reposed in him, and cared for young BRAMAN as well as if he had been an own son, looking after his educa- tion and welfare until his marriage, which took place in 1865, after his return from the army. Maj. BRAMAN'S pre- liminary education was obtained in a common school, and

WATERS W. B RAM AN. 145

from thence he went to the Troy High School, being one of the first scholars admitted into that institution. Having obtained an excellent English education, he left school at the age of seventeen to learn the lumber business, which he mastered in all its branches, and has continued to follow up to the present time. In the year 1860 he became a member of the firm of BELKNAP & BRAMAN, lumber dealers. The war, which broke out soon after, aroused his patriotism, however, and in the following year he sold out his business interest in order to enter the army. While closing up his business in the fall of 1861, he was a member of the Albany Board for the examination of volunteer officers. In the meantime he was engaged in enlisting men, and, on the 7th of December, 1861, was mustered into the United States ser- vice, and commissioned First Lieutenant of company C, 93d Kegiment N. Y. Vols., on the 15th of January, 1862. Soon thereafter, he proceeded with his command to the front, and it was his fortune to participate, in a greater or less degree, in all the battles fought by the Army of the Potomac. During his long and arduous service he was never an inmate of a hospital. He was repeatedly struck by rebel bullets, but was never wounded severely enough to incapacitate him from duty. In the Wilderness battles of May 5, 6 and 7, 1864, he was hit no less than five times. On the 23d of March, 1864, he was promoted to Captain of H company in the same regiment, and was mustered out, February 14, 1865, by reason of expiration of term of service. On the 17th of October, 1866, he was breveted Major for gallant and meri- torious service, his muster out rank being that of Captain. Thus is briefly outlined the main facts in a military career which was in every respect honorable and praiseworthy. He was a brave and faithful officer, his sole ambition being to perfoi'm his duty to his imperiled country.

On laying aside the sword, at the close of the struggle in which he had taken such an active part, Major BRAMAN

immediately resumed his old business pursuit. In the Octo- 19

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ber following his retirement from the army he was married to MARGARET J. GETTY, at West Troy, and about the same time became a member of the lumber firm of WATERS W. WHIPPLE & Co., in which he is still an active partner. Aside from this, however, he at present carries on a manufacturing enterprise in Clinton county.

Mr. B RAMAN'S political history is briefly told. He cast his first vote, by proxy, in front of Petersburg, Va., and it was cast for the re-election of ABRAHAM LINCOLN. Since then he has been an active Eepublican. He is now a Trustee of the village of West Troy, but other than that and his present legislative position, he has never held any elective office. He is, however, an earnest worker in the Eepublican ranks on all occasions, and is a man of considerable influence in the party councils. In the Assembly canvass of 1873 he had two Democratic opponents, DANIEL McELWAiN and PETER D. NIVER, whose combined vote was 4,422. Maj. BRAMAN'S plurality was 30, the district being usually strongly Demo- cratic. Last fall he again had two Democratic opponents, GEORGE T. SIMMONS and JAMES F. McGuiRK, but he in- creased his plurality to 373. He was placed last year on Cities, Public Printing and Expenditures of the Executive Department, and is on the same committees this year.

BENJAMIN S. BROAS.

Mr. BROAS, the representative of the Second district of Dutchess county, was born in Poughkeepsie, September 20, 1838. He is a son of WILLIAM BROAS, now deceased, who was of German ancestry. His education was obtained at the Dutchess County Academy, and at the Poughkeepsie Col- legiate Institute, under the late CHARLES BARTLETT. He married at Little Rest, Dutchess county, CATHARINE TITUS, a daughter of the late OBADIAH TITUS, who represented the Thirteenth district in Congress for two terms.

BENJAMIN 8. BROAS. 147

Mr. BROAS entered a mercantile business in 1858, and con- tinued it until 1867, when he engaged in the banking and brokerage business in New York as a member of the firm of HUTCHINSON & BROAS. This he continued until 1862. In that year he returned to Poughkeepsie, and established himself in the same business, which he still carries on very successfully.

Mr. BROAS served honorably in the late war. In 1862 he raised a company in Col. J. H. KETCHAM'S regiment, the 150th N. Y. V., and went to the front with the rank of Cap- tain. He remained in the service about eighteen months, when he was compelled to resign at Normansby, Tenn., on account of ill health.

In politics, Mr. BROAS was a Republican until 1867. In that year he became a Democrat. In 1872 he received the Democratic nomination for county Treasurer, with WALTER C. FONDA as his Republican opponent, and was supposed to be elected, the opposition journals conceding his success by a majority of between five and six hundred. When the Supervisors met to canvass the votes, however, his majority was swept away and the election given to his opponent by a majority of 34. In 1873 he was nominated for member of Assembly against HARVEY Gr. EASTMAN, then Mayor of the city of Poughkeepsie. He carried every election district in the county, coming into the city with a majority of 431, but owing to local issues, mainly relating to the new bridge and the Poughkeepsie and Eastern Railway, in which Major EASTMAN was largely interested, he was defeated by a majority of 126. Last fall he was again nominated, against VIRGIL C. TRAVER, and carried every town with the excep- tion of Rhinebeck, where his opponent resided, receiving the handsome majority of 1,475. Mr. BROAS is making a creditable record in the Assembly, being active in looking after the interests of his constituency, and preserves, in his intercourse at Albany, an agreeable courtesy of manners which wins him the friendship of all who make his acauaintance.

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JOHN C. BEOGAN.

Mr. BROGAN is one of the most promising of the new members of the House, and capably represents the Third New- York district. He was born in Ireland in March, 1840, and emigrated to this country at the age of six. He took up his residence in New York, where he obtained a good common school education, and finally became engaged in the manufacture of hats, and still follows that branch of industry. He served with honor in the war of the rebellion, enlisting as a private in the Fifth New York Volunteers. After two years service in the ranks, he was promoted to the Captaincy of Company I, and on a number of occasions subsequently he was distinguished by undaunted bravery in action.

Mr. BROGAN is a thorough Democrat, and gives much of his time and influence to the party cause. He never before held a public position, but so well has he acquitted himself in the Assembly, that it is safe enough to predict that further honors are in store for him.

Mr. BROGAN stands very high as a young man of charac- ter and pure purpose, and seems to possess all the qualities essential to the efficient law-maker. He has scarce succeeded as yet in wearing off a natural and excusable diffidence ; but he nevertheless shows power and facility in debate which betoken gratifying triumphs in the future.

He was elected by a plurality of 670, his opponents being JAMES J. SLEVIJT, Independent Democrat, and THOMAS H. KEILI/X, Republican. He is a member of the committees on State Charitable Institutions, Expenditures of the House, and Engrossed Bills.

JAMES C. BROWN. 149

JAMES C. BROWN.

Mr. BROWN represents the county of Rockland, and is a prominent and widely esteemed business man of that section. He is a native of Otsego county, and was educated at Hart- wick and other seminaries in that county. After reaching his majority he engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he has since followed successfully. He resided and did business in New York during a period of seventeen years. In Kock- land county he is known as an active Democrat. He has never before held an elective office, but in 1873 he was Chairman of the County Central Committee, and managed the campaign of that year with much skill. Owing to his personal efforts last fall, the Democratic majority in the county was materially increased.

Mr. BROWN is a quiet member, and contents himself with faithfully watching and caring for the interests of his constituents. He is a member of the committees on Insur- ance, Petitions of Aliens, and Federal Eelations.

JOHN H. BURTIS.

Mr. BURTIS is one of the two Republicans in the Brook- lyn delegation, representing the Fifth district. He is a finely educated gentleman, an excellent debater, a polished speaker, and well informed upon all subjects which come up for legislative action. Hence he is recognized as a valuable member of the minority. He was born in Hoosick Falls, N. Y., September 5, 1832. His parents, however, removed to Washington county when he was but five years of age, and consequently his early life was spent in that section of the

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State. He received a liberal education, attending a district school until his eleventh year, and fitting himself for college at Cambridge academy. Subsequently he entered Union College at Schenectady, and graduated from that institution in the class of 1854. He intended to adopt a professional career, but an unfortunate partial paralysis of one of his eyes which then intervened, prevented the realization of his hopes in this respect. After graduating he spent several years in teaching, and during two years he was principal of the Cambridge academy. Then he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, which he has since followed, being now a successful merchant in New York. He is also President of the Brooklyn Elevated Eailroad Company, and is largely identified with the interests of the City of Churches.

Mr. BUBTIS has never before held an office of a political nature, having always peremptorily refused honors of that character. Last fall he declined the Assembly nomination, which was tendered by the unanimous vote of the district convention, and only consented to serve after he had been again nominated and induced to believe that it was his duty to accept. He was born into the Democratic party, as it were, his father being of that political faith, and up to the com- mencement of the war of the rebellion he acted with it. He, however, found himself unable to indorse the position of the party on the union question, and since 1861 he has been a Eepublican. In the late election he defeated his Democratic opponent, W. B. C. THORNTON", by a majority of 884, carry- ing the Democratic ward of his district, , which gave Gov. TILDEN" a majority of 60. He is an exceedingly efficient member of th« committees on Charitable and Keligious Socie- ties and Public Education.

Like a large majority of those Americans who achieve suc- cess, Mr. BURTIS was born in poverty, and worked hard in early life to defray the expense of his education. He there- fore learned early to cultivate the qualities of self reliance and persevering energy, and these qualities are leading fea-

WILLIAM E. CALKINS. 151

tures of his character. He is gifted also with excellent judg- ment and a mind capable of keen analysis, so that he is gener- ally able to detect the true bearings of all questions- which come before him, and vote upon them understandingly. In debate he is ever courteous and refined, never descending to personality or acrimonious disputation, while his short and pointed speeches are almost invariably enriched by humor- ous anecdote and witty allusion. He enjoys in very large measure the esteem of his fellow-members on the floor, friends as well as opponents.

Mr. BUETIS was married on the 4th of October, 1864, to Miss MARY GARDINER THOMSON, of New York, daughter of JAMES B. THOMSON, LL. D., a well-known arithmetician, whose text books are extensively used in schools.

WILLIAM E. CALKINS.

Mr. CALKINS is a Vermonter by birth, but has resided in Essex county during most of his life, and represents that county in the Assembly. He treats all with whom he asso- ciates in a gentlemanly manner, and in the House is quietly watchful of the interest of his constituents. He was born in Burlington, Vt., December 23, 1816. Mr. CALKINS' father, WILLIAM CALKINS, was a descendant of HUGH and ANNIE CALKINS, who came from Monmouth county, Eng- land, and landed at Plymouth, Mass., in 1 640. He was edu- cated at Eandolph, Vt. and Dartmouth College. He was a teacher for some twenty-five years, laboring in Burlington, "Waterbury and Stowe, Vt., then teaching school in Whitehall about four years, and finally settling in Ticonderoga, where he practiced law until his death in 1855.

On his mother's side he is of Scotch descent, his maternal grand-father, THOMAS CRAIG, having emigrated from Scot-

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land, and settled in Massachusetts, where he married a daughter of JOSEPH ALLEN", of Northampton. His mother is still living at the advanced age of ninety-one, and exceed- ingly active for a woman of her age. Mr. CALKINS' wife, to whom he was married in May, 1843, was AMANDA WEED, daughter of JOSEPH WEED, a merchant and lumber manu • facturer of Ticonderoga.

Until the age of sixteen, Mr. CALKINS was educated by his father. He was then bred to mercantile and general business pursuits, which he followed at Ticonderoga, as clerk and principal from 1832 to 1860, with varied success. During a portion of the time he was connected with a heavy lumber trade. Finally he purchased some valuable real estate, and for several years past he has given a portion of his time to the management of a farm, and though not educated as lawyer, is frequently called upon to act as ref- eree, to settle estates, draw wills, conveyancing, and to attend to real estate matters in general.

During his long business career he has acquired wide repute as a man of strict integrity and high character, and has attained a foremost position in his county. During the later years of his life he has given a good deal of his time to the service of the publie. Formerly a Whig, he became a Republican on the formation of the party, and has ever since acted and voted with that organization. The public trusts he has filled have been numerous. In 1843 he was elected Town Clerk of Ticonderoga, holding the office three years, from 1846 to 1848, and Inspector of Elections in 1848 and 1849. In 1851 he was chosen Supervisor, also in 1853, 1854, 1858. He was again chosen in 1873, and has been in the Board until the present time, having been re-elected in the recent election. In the years 1853, 1854, 1873 and 1874, he was Chairman of the Board. During four consecutive terms he filled the office of Coroner of Essex county, and in 1860 he was elected County Clerk and held the office up to 1873. Besides the above he was a delegate to the Republican

WILLIAM E. CALKINS. 153

State Convention in 1868, an alternate delegate to the con- vention which nominated General GBANT for President, and also a delegate to the Judicial Convention at Rochester, in 1870. For the last eight years he has been a Notary Public. He has run for town- and county office twenty-four times, and was never beaten.

As far back as 1842 he served in the State Militia, holding the rank of Colonel. During the recent rebellion he was a member of the County War Committee, and contributed largely in money, influence and active labor to uphold the flag. He has also been a leading member of the local Agri- cultural Societies of Essex county, being President of the Ticonderoga Farmers and Mechanics' Association, and of the Essex county Agricultural Society for several years, including in the latter 1873 and 1874. Twice, in 1871 and 1874, he delivered the annual address of the county society. -From this resume it will be observed that Mr. CALKIHS has been in the public service nearly continuously for more than a quarter of a century. It is to be said that at all times and in every capacity he has been faithful to whatever duty was imposed upon him.

He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 264 over EDWAED F. EDGEELT, his Democratic opponent, adding over 200 votes to the Republican majority of the previous year. He is a member of the Committees on Insurance and Expenditures of the Executive Department. Exceedingly quiet and unassuming in his deportment, Mr. CALKINS represents his district most effectively in the Assembly. He shows no undue anxiety to consume the time of the House in speech-making, but he is nevertheless well able to express his sentiments when the occasion requires such an expres- sion, and, seldom missing a session, he acts and votes intelli- gently'upon all matters which come before him. Whether at home or in the legislative hall, he is a man who is above suspicion, and worthy to be intrusted with the most import- ant interests.

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THOMAS C. CAMPBELL.

THOMAS COOPER CAMPBELL represents the Eighteenth District of New York city. He is a lawyer of brilliant abili- ties, and occupies a leading position in the present Assembly. He ranks as one of the best debaters on the side of the major- ity, possessing remarkable facility and skill in the percep- tion and grouping of points. Quick to perceive an advantage, he is adroit in turning it to account, and no man on the floor is more ready in understanding the precise bearing and drift of the complex mutations which original propositions oftentimes undergo during a debate. But while quick to discover weak spots in the armor of his antagonist, he is never guilty of resorting to unfair or questionable tactics to gain a point. His conduct is always governed by a strict sense of honor, and even when heated to the point of anger, his inbred courtesy never deserts him. He is somewhat of a terror to reporters, inasmuch as he speaks with almost nervous rapidity of utterance, but his ideas are so clearly and solidly stated, that to the ordinary listener his rapid enunciation is rather desirable than otherwise, as it gives to his sentences, which are sometimes quite long, and involved with extended parenthetical clauses, the effect, as it were, of a series of mind photographs. Mr. CAMPBELL also pos- sesses an excellent judgment, is thoroughly posted with regard to the public questions of the day, well versed in legal and general knowledge, and is completely equipped in all that goes to constitute the efficient legislator.

Mr. CAMPBELL was born in Albany, August 26, 1845. He is a son of ALLAN CAMPBELL, of New York, and a grandson of ARCHIBALD CAMPBELL, of Albany, who filled the office of Deputy Secretary of State during a period of forty years. He had the benefit of a most liberal course of education. Commencing in the Albany Academy about the usual age, he

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soon obtained the essential rudimentary knowledge, and after- ward entered the Columbia College Grammar School, New York, and was for a time there under the tuition of that eminent scholar, the late Professor CHARLES ANTHON. He then passed through a course of study at Columbia College, and graduated with honor in 1865, his twentieth year. After this he went to Europe and completed his studies at the Berlin University. On his return he entered the office of WILLIAM M. EVAETS as a law student, and after a period of diligent application, was admitted to the bar. For several years past he has been engaged in legal practice, and has already gained excellent repute among the members of the metropolitan bar.

Mr. CAMPBELL has always acted with the Democratic party, and is ardent and even enthusiastic in the advocacy of its principles. He took an active part in the overthrow of the Tweed ring, and generally has labored earnestly in behalf of reform and good government. About a year since he became a member of the Tammany Hall General Com- mittee, and was counsel for Tammany in the recent prose- cution of Police Commissioners CHAELICK and GARDNER. He is also a member of the Tammany Society. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 161 over BERNARD BIGLIN, Eepublican, who has twice represented the district. He serves on the important Committees on Banks and Gen- eral Laws. During the discussion of the General Savings Bank Bill, he effectively seconded the eiforts of Mr. SCHUY- LER in its behalf.

Mr. CAMPBELL rarely misses a session of the House. He habitually gives close attention to every detail of legislation, and is especially watchful of the interests of the metropolis. No member of the present House will make a better record, on the whole, than the representative of the Eighteenth District.

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TIMOTHY J. CAMPBELL.

The pleasant face of the genial and popular member from the Sixth district of New York is as familiar to the regular habitu'es of the capitol as is the appearance of the venerable pile itself. Though he missed last year, he boasts a longer continuous service than any other member except Mr. HUSTED, and with him he ranks even in point of consecutive years. Mr..ALVOKD shows a longer roll of service, but it is not continuous. Though he ranks as to age with the younger members, his long experience and close habits of observation have rendered him an adroit politician. He sprang from Scottish-Irish ancestry, and unites the firmness, persistence and frankness of the Scotch character, with the characteristic humor, hearty friendship and unswerving fidelity of the Irish. With a nature combined with such sterling qualities, it is not strange that Mr. CAMPBELL has troops of friends in the metropolis and elsewhere.

Born in the county of Cavan, Ireland, in January, 1840, young CAMPBELL was brought to New York by his parents, when he was but five years old. At suitable age, he was placed at a common school, where he remained until the age of 12. His parents were in straightened circumstances, how- ever, and this fact, as well as his restless and ambitious spirit, impelled him to seek a means by which to earn his own livelihood. Leaving school, therefore, before he had fully realized its benefits, he entered a printing office. By his own act, as well as by the necessities of the case, he was thrown upon his own resources, and, under the tuition of stern necessity, he learned the habits of industry and self- reliance which have brought him to his present position- Always watchful and studious, he availed himself fully of the many opportunities for acquiring general knowledge

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afforded by a printing office, gradually making up for early deficiencies in book learning by attending evening schools. He also joined a debating club, gaining, by active participa- tion in its discussions, that familiarity with parliamentary practice, and with the social and political topics of the day, which has since been very valuable to him. In the mean- time he passed through all the grades of the printer's craft, from the fly boy of the press to general office manager. On completing his apprenticeship, he worked several years at the trade, serving in several job offices in New York, and also in the various newspaper offices, including the Herald, Express and News.

During a portion of the year 1860, while portentous war- clouds were rolling up from the southern horizon, Mr. CAMPBELL sojourned at Augusta, Ga., and was connected with the office of the Despatch of that city. He returned to New York, however, before the storm burst upon the coun- try, and has since resided there, serving during several years as a clerk in the county clerk's office.

Mr. CAMPBELL has for a number of years past been active in metropolitan politics, his ability as a local manager securing him a position as chairman of his district on the Tammany Ward Committee, which he still holds. He has always been a steadfast adherent of the Tammany wing of the Democracy, and so popular has he been in his Assembly district, that, during all the mutations of politics in New York, no serious inroad has ever been made in the bulk of the majority by which he is regularly returned to the Assembly.

Mr. CAMPBELL was a member of the fire department in the good old days of the "volunteer" system. In that capacity he was behind none in enthusiasm and daring.

He is now serving his seventh term as a member of the House, having been first elected in 1867. During his first year of service, he acted as Chairman of the Committee on Koads and Bridges, and a member of Internal Affairs. Since

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then he has served several years on Cities, and also on Peti- tions of Aliens and State Charitable Institutions.

Mr. CAMPBELL is a man of medium size, compactly built, well proportioned, and quite prepossessing in appearance.

WILLIAM H. CHRISTOPHER.

Capt. CHRISTOPHER needs very little introduction to our readers. Those who have had occasion to make an occa- sional night boat trip between Albany and New York, are familiar with his benign countenance as commander of the People's Line Steamers, and have had personal experience of his thoughtful care for their comfort. Few river captains, it may be said, have earned the gratitude and regard of the traveling public in greater degree than Capt. CHRISTOPHER, and none can- boast more honorable or faithful service in that capacity.

He was born in Hunterdon county, N. J., on the 12th of October, 1807. He received a good education in the New Jersey common schools, and, during the early years of his manhood, he followed several avocations. He finally engaged in river navigation, gained a reputation as a careful and com- petent officer, as well as a whole-souled, genial gentleman, and, as a result, he has for many years been the favorite com- mander of the huge floating palaces of the Hudson. Though always a Democrat of the old school, Capt. CHRISTOPHER has never mingled much in politics — indeed, the strifes and ambitions of party rivalry have been foreign to his nature. He has always, nevertheless, held decided opinions with refer- ence to the questions of the day, and his vote and influence have invariably been given conscientiously in accordance with his convictions. Though he has reached a somewhat advanced age, his present service in the Assembly is his first experience in official life. Last fall, at the earnest solicitation of his

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friends, he consented to become a candidate for the Assembly, and, though a very popular Eepublican — Hon. HAMILTON FISH, Jr. — ran against him, he was elected by a majority of 163. He is Chairman of Civil Divisions, and member of Commerce and Navigation, and Sub-committee of the Whole. Though he says little upon the floor, he is one of the most attentive of members during the sessions, and performs his manifold duties intelligently and efficiently.

WILLIAM H. CLARK.

The First District of Wayne county is represented by WILLIAM HEERMAHS CLARK, who was born in the village of Lyons, in that county, on the 12th of August, 1848. He is the older son of Hon. WILLIAM CLAKK, State Senator from the Wayne and Cayuga district in 1854-5, and Chair- man of the Judiciary Committee.* On the side of his father, Mr. CLARK is of English and Welsh deseen-t. Both of his paternal great-grandfathers served with credit in the revolu- tionary war. On the side of his mother, he is a descendant of the early Dutch settlers of this State, and has also a slight intermixture of German blood. His mother's father, Col. WM. P. HEERMANS, represented Rensselaer county in the Legislature, in 1829, and was for many years one of the largest manufacturers in the State. Mr. CLARK received his early education at the excellent union school in his native village, making such use of its advantages that, at the age of sixteen, he entered the Sophomore Class in Hamilton College. He remained at Hamilton one year and then entered the Junior Class in Union College; from which institution he graduated in 1868. His college course was a most brilliant and successful one. At the close of his junior year at Union, he received the second prize for oratory, and

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at graduation was awarded the " Warner Prize " for " reach- ing the highest standing in the performance of collegiate duties, and at the same time sustaining the best character for moral rectitude and deportment ; " the " Ingham Prize " for the best essay on the " "Writings of John Milton," and one of the two prizes awarded to members of his class who presented the best essays on English literature on subjects previously assigned ; he also received honorable mention from the committee awarding the " Blatchford Medals " to the two members of the graduating class who delivered the best orations. The total amount in prizes, distributed to his class at graduation, was $210, of which the prizes awarded to Mr. CLAEK represented $130, and were more in number than have been awarded to any other student at any com- mencement since the college was founded. In 1871, he was invited by the Faculty to deliver the Master's Oration on commencement day, and represented his class on that occasion.

Eeturning home from college, after a brief period of rest and recreation, he began tlie study of law in his father's office, and in December of the following year (1869) was admitted to the bar. He was soon after taken into partner- ship with his father, and has since been engaged in the prac- tice of his profession in his native place.

In politics, Mr. CLAEK is an ardent Republican, and has done his party good service with voice and pen. He stumped Wayne county in 1870 and 1872, and was regarded by the Eepublican Committee as one of their most effective and interesting speakers. He has also delivered addresses and orations on various occasions, and has been a frequent contributor to the press, evinc- ing a taste and capacity for journalism, which could scarcely have failed of making him distinguished in that profession had he chosen it. His present office is the first which he has ever held. He was elected by a majority of 101 after the hardest fought contest ever known in his

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district. The district is in reality Kepublican, yet, in 1873, the Democratic candidate for member was elected by a ma- jority of 285, and in the last campaign a most determined effort was made to retain the advantage thus gained.

Though the youngest of the members (save one), Mr. CLARK has taken a most creditable position in the House. He serves with acceptance on the committees on Commerce and Navigation, and on Public Lands, is regular and faithful in his attendance upon his legislative duties, is vigilant in watching the interests of his constituents, and, though not given to continual talking, is always ready to take the floor when occasion demands. Shortly after the disturbances at- tending the meeting of the Louisiana legislature in January of the present year, he delivered in the Assembly a some- what lengthy and very able speech on national questions. This speech was published in full in some of the leading Re- publican journals of the State — receiving the highest encomiums from the Republican press and party, and adding to the reputation he already enjoyed as a forcible and finished writer and speaker.

In person Mr. CLARK is quite tall, standing over six feet, well proportioned, and of prepossessing countenance. He is modest and unassuming in manners, and socially, is genial and companionable. A gentleman of fine accomplishments and the highest character, he unites with these, energy, in- dustry and a conscientious thoroughness in the performance of whatever he undertakes. He is a member of the First Presbyterian church in his native place and is unmarried.

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WILLIAM V. CLEARY.

Mr. CLEARY, a young and active Democrat, represents, for the third term, the city of Troy, where he has resided all his life, and for several years past nas been identified with its business interests. Born in Troy on the 12th of September, 1847, he is still quite a young man, but he takes naturally to political life, and occupies quite a prominent position in the local councils of his party. His father, KYRAN CLEARY, who died in 1861, at the age of 45, was also active in politics and was once a member of the Board of Aldermen. The younger CLEARY received a good education in the common schools, and was brought up in the business followed by his father, the manufacture of ale and porter, and on his father's death, he took sole charge of his large establishment, con- ducting it with success up to the present time.

Mr. CLEARY has already held a number of positions in the gift of his party. During two terms he occupied a seat in the Troy Board of Aldermen, and was chosen unanimously at his last election. In 1870 he was President of the Board of Common Council, and filled the position satisfactorily to the people, and with credit to himself. Three years ago he was Chairman of the Democratic Central Committee. He was elected to the Assembly of 1873 by a majority of 1,485> over DENNIS O'LOUGHLIN, an independent candidate, and served in that body on the Committees on Trade and Manu- factures and Federal Relations. In the last House, to which he was elected by a majority of 881, over EGBERT B. RANKIN, a popular Republican, he served on the Committees on Trade and Manufactures and Indian Affairs, and in the pres- ent House, to which he was elected by the largely increased majority of 1,510 over JOSEPH EQOLF, Republican, he serves on the Committees on Cities, Privileges and Elections, and

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Trade and Manufactures, and is Chairman of the latter. He is not particularly distinguished as a public speaker, but he watches closely the interests of his constituents. Young, vigorous, intelligent and capable, Mr. CLEABT evidently has a bright future before him. He is still unmarried, and is a member of the Roman Catholic church.

MICHAEL COFFEY.

Mr. COFFEY, who is serving his second term from the Third district of Kings county, is a young man of energy and ability, who wields considerable influence in Brooklyn politics, especially in the ward in which he resides. He was born in Ireland in 1843, and received a good education in the common schools. From 1861- to 1864 he was in the naval service of the United States, and during a por- tion of the time since his discharge has been a liquor dealer in Brooklyn. He served continuously in the Brooklyn Board of Aldermen from 1868 to 1872, being elected each year against five opponents. He was nominated by the Democrats in the fall of 1873, and chosen to the Assembly by a unanimous vote, which is certainly the strongest evi- dence of popularity that could be afforded. Last fall he was re-elected by a plurality of 1,165, PHILIP CLAKE, Inde- pendent, and A. E. MASTERS, Republican, being his oppo- nents. He served on the Committees on Claims and Public Health, and this year he is Chairman of Claims, and mem- ber of Railroads. Mr. COFFEY possesses many of those qualities which win popular regard, and evidently has a suc- cessful political future before him. In religious faith he is a Roman Catholic.

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RICHARD D. COLE.

Mr. COLE, representing the First district of Monroe county, was born in Mendon, in the same county, June 27, 1837, and has all his life lived in the district. . He was edu- cated in the district schools and Rochester Collegiate Insti- tute. He is a farmer of intelligence and industry, and also deals quite largely in country produce, doing business in Kochester. He has always been a consistent Democrat, and, in whatever position he has been placed, he has never failed to acquit himself faithfully. For four years in succession, from 1867 to 1870, he represented his town, Irondequoit, in the Board of Supervisors. In 1871, he was a member of Assembly, being elected by a handsome majority over the Republican nominee, although the Eepublican State ticket received a majority in the district of nearly 500. In last fall's canvass, he was chosen by a majority of 145 over GEO. A. Goss, who represented the district in 1872, 1873 and 1874. Mr. COLE is recognized wherever he is known as an honest and upright man, and he certainly fully sustains that char- acter by his service at the State capitol.

ARTEMAS W. COMSTOCK.

Niagara county is represented by excellent men in both districts. Mr. COMSTOCK, of the First District, is a substan- tial farmer and extensive dairyman, residing near Lockport. He is a gentleman of high character and pure motives, and in short, precisely such a man as an intelligent New York constituency should send to the Legislature. He was born in the town of Cambria on the 15th of December, 1827. His

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father, THOMAS COMSTOCK, was a Rhode Island farmer, in comfortable circumstances, who, soon after his marriage to TRYPHANA CARPENTER, of Pennsylvania, settled in Nia- gara connty and purchased of the Holland Land Company the farm in Cambria which the son now occupies. He died in 1864. Young COMSTOCK enjoyed ample educational op- portunities during his youth, attending the common schools, and also the academy at Yates Center, Orleans county. On completing his education he wisely chose his father's pursuit, and succeeding to the paternal estate, he now owns a fine farm of 370 acres, lying adjacent to the New York Central railroad, about four miles from Lockport.

Mr. COMSTOCK has always felt a warm interest in the political movements of the day, giving to his party earnest counsel and active co-operation. He commenced his politi- cal life as a Whig, and when the Eepublican party came into existence he promptly identified himself with it, and was, in fact, one of its active organizers. In 1863 he was elected a member of the Niagara county Board of Supervisors, serving, except during an interval of one year, until 1868. He was thus a member of the Board during two of the war years. He felt strongly in reference to the issues which divided the country during those memorable years, but not being in a position to go to the front himself, he sent a substitute who served during the war.

Mr. COMSTOCK, now serving his second term, has been nominated on both occasions with gratifying unanimity. His life-long residence in the county, his spotless character, and his sterling qualities of mind and heart, render him in all respects a fitting representative of a constituency which habitually sends to the Assembly men much above the aver- age. He was elected in 1873 by a majority of 686 over IRA FARNSWORTH, a prominent and able Democrat, his vote be- ing some 385 in excess of that received by the Republican State ticket, and re-elected by a majority of 878, R. M. SKEELS, Democrat, and J. W. G-ROSVENOR, Prohibition, be-

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ing his opponents. He was a member last year of the Com- mittees on Banks and Manufacture of Salt, and this year of those on Claims and Banks.

Mr. COMSTOCK was married on the 10th of March, 1857, to Miss EVELINE FOKSYTH, of Lockport, and is a member of the Congregational church at Cambria.

JAMES E. COOKE.

Mr. COOKE is a well-known banker of Morris, Otsego county, and is serving his first term in the Assembly. He is a gentleman of much ability and character, and capably represents his district at Albany. He was born in German, Chenango county, July 16, 1837, and is therefore in the early prime of manhood, and probably at the threshold of a successful and brilliant political career. His father, JASON COOKE, now deceased, was a reputable citizen of Otsego county, and followed agricultural pursuits during most of his life.

Young COOKE received a good common-school education, and engaged in mercantile pursuits at an early age, being for several years a merchant at Morris. At present he is engaged in banking. He is a Democrat, but, beyond serving in the Board of Supervisors in 1873, he never before held office. He was married April 23, 1864, to VICTORINE MOOKE, of Morris. He is a member of the Committees on Charitable and Eeligious Societies, Militia and Engrossed Bills.

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THOMAS COSTIQAN.

Mr. COSTIGAN, who represents the Fifteenth district of New York city, and has taken a very prominent part during the session in legislation affecting the metropolis, is a native of Queens county, Ireland, where he was born March 9, 1843. His father, THOS. COSTIGAN, now deceased, was an extensive farmer in Ireland, and for many years held the office of guardian of his parish, a position equivalent to our supervisors of towns. He was educated first at the National schools of Ireland, and subsequently at the Queen's Uni- versity, G-alway, where he graduated with first honors in 1863. He, however, found that the legal profession, for which his parents designed him, was greatly overcrowded, and he attached himself to the newspaper press. For three or four years subsequently he filled several responsible edito- rial and reportorial positions on Irish newspapers, displaying marked talent and aptitude for journalistic work. In 1867, he sought a wider field, and came to New York, where, for the past several years, he has been connected at different times with nearly all the leading journals. During his career on the New York press, he has established a reputa- tion as a polished and forcible writer, being especially strong on political topics. In addition to his journalistic labors, he also devoted some time to the practice of the law.

Since his residence in this country, Mr. COSTIGAN" has been a firm Democrat. At the outset of the ring difficulties, he took strong ground in favor of reform within the party, and cautioned his fellow-citizens against being inveigled into the Republican ranks under the specious cry of reform. His advice was disregarded for a time, but with years the convic- tion came to the Democratic leaders that his policy was the true one for the party to follow, and, in recognition of his

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foresight and of the correctness of his views, he was nomi- nated and elected to the Assembly with great unanimity, being the candidate of the reorganized Tammany Hall, with which he is now identified. In the Assembly, he has become famous as the author of the " Costigan Bill," which sought to regulate the powers of the mayor over heads of depart- ments and other city officers. The bill attracted very great attention and discussion, and probably elicited more deter- mined opposition than any other bill before the present legislature.

Mr. COSTIGAN was married in Ireland, in 1867, to MAET GEE. He is a good representative of the educated Irish gen- tleman, being chivalrous, whole-souled, generous to a fault, brilliant in conversation, quick to resent or condemn a wrong, and a genial, entertaining companion. He is constantly in his seat in the House, and, though not often upon his feet, occasionally takes effective part in the debates on New York city matters. He is a member of the Committees on Insurance and Public Printing.

HENRY J. DAGGETT.

The Third district of Oswego county is represented this year by HENRY JEFFERSON DAGGETT, a prominent .Repub- lican of the town of New Haven. He was born in Boston, Mass., August 16, 1827, and is therefore in the vigorous prime of life. He has had large experience among men, and is an able and judicious legislator, doing the work before him quietly and effectively. Both his parents, HENRY and MARY DAGGETT, were natives of Boston, and are now de- ceased. He was taught at the public schools at Newbury- port, Mass., and at the Academy and High School at Os- wego, and obtained a good English education. He is now engaged in farming, but for twenty years he has navigated

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the Western lakes, and at different times has owned a num- ber of large class sailing vessels. In politics he has never been other than a straightforward earnest Republican, be- ing content as a rule to labor in the ranks. For the past three years, however, he has occupied a seat in the Board of Supervisors of Oswego county, and was re-elected at the last town election (1875.) In the House he serves on the Com- mittees on Commerce and Navigation, and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

He was married in 1860, to FBANCES L. HOLLY, of New Haven, N. Y. He is a prominent member of the Masonic order, being well advanced in the degrees, believes in a Supreme Being, but is connected with no particular religious denomination, and is in every respect an upright and worthy citizen, one who cannot fail to reflect honor upon his con- stituency.

JAMES DALY.

Mr. DALY represents the Fourteenth district of New York city, and ranks as one of the ablest members of the metropo- litan delegation. He is a native of Ireland, where he was born about the year 1843. His parents, still living, belong to the agricultural class in the old country. He received an excellent collegiate education, and was at first intended for holy orders, but though he is a consistent Roman Catho- lic, his mind took another bent, and since the completion of his studies he has been engaged in mercantile pursuits. He did not identify himself very prominently with politics until the year 1870, when he joined the Reform movement inau- gurated in New York that year, the object of which was the overthrow of the corrupt Tammany regime. He threw him- self into this movement with a good .deal of enthusiasm, and rendered efficient aid to those who were caraying on the good

work. He held no political office, however, until he was 22

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ohosen member of Assembly, in 1873, by a plurality of 636, and last fall was re-elected by a plurality of 849.

Mr. DALY'S career upon the floor of the Assembly has shown that he possesses unusual ability. Modest and unas- suming in deportment, he is an extremely clear and forcible speaker, and his efforts are usually embellished with much oratorical grace. He speaks with studied carefulness, and uses well chosen and exceedingly appropriate language. He attracted attention in the early portion of the last session by his championship of the bill to settle the vexed question relative to the powers of the common council and certain departments over public works. During the present session he has been regarded as one of the leaders of the majority on the floor, and in that capacity he evinces much judgment and circumspection. Last year he served on Charitable and Eeligious Societies, and Trade and Manufactures, and this year he is Chairman of Cities, and member of Ways and Means, and Rules.

EMERSON E. DAVIS.

Mr. DAVIS is a conceded representative of the commercial interests of the State. He is largely engaged in the lumber and transportation business in Whitehall ; and, though a Democrat, has been twice elected by a decided majority from a strong Republican district. No man in the State, perhaps, is better acquainted with the needs of the canals, or the intricacies of their management, than Mr. DAVIS. He has made the transportation problem the study of the larger portion of his lifetime, and, just at this time, when that question is attracting unwonted attention, his presence in the Assembly may be deemed fortunate for the people of the State. During the debate- in the last Assembly upon the

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proposed Fifth Article of the Constitution, he took decided ground in favor of it, mainly because it would place the appointment of the Canal Commissioners in the hands of the Governor, and thus do away with the existing irrespon- sibility and clashing of authority.

He also submitted and warmly advocated a bill abolishing the office of superintendent of canal repairs, giving to each canal commissioner entire control over his own division, and embodying other important reforms. The bill aroused bitter opposition, and failed in the Senate after passing the Assem- bly. In the course of his extended arguments in its behalf, Mr. DAVIS made a scathing arraignment of derelict canal officials, and presented a startling exhibit of the mismanage- ment connected with the existing system of canal lettings.

At the beginning of the present session he promptly re- opened his apparently hopeless warfare by again introduc- ing his bill, but it met, at first, with as little favor as before. He, however, made quiet preparation for the approaching onset against the Canal Ring, and extended important aid in the procurement and arrangement of the facts embodied in the Governor's Canal Message. The effect and result of that message are familiar to the public. Ample credit is and should be given to Governor TILDES for his bold and trenchant exposure of the shameful frauds which are now subjects of investigation, but it must not be forgotten that Mr. DAVIS was very largely instrumental in originating the movement. His speeches of last winter furnished the ground work of the Executive document, and it is but jus- tice to Mr. DAVIS to say that those speeches have been sup- plemented by efficient personal co-operation in the work of reform. As a result several important canal measures, including the one already referred to, have passed that body. It is noteworthy that both parties are now in substantial accord with him in this matter, though but recently he was deemed to be almost without the pale of party fellowship.

He also attained wide prominence because of his determined

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hostility to the " COSTIGAN " amendment to the New York charter, and he has been a conspicuous participant in some of the most exciting debates of the present session.

Mr. DAVIS was born in Hampton, Washington county, September 1, 1823, and is therefore now in the full prime of life. His education was mainly obtained at Granville Academy. Soon after leaving school he read law for a time with BOYD & BILLINGS, in Whitehall, and qualified himself to that extent that he was admitted to the bar in January, 1846. He practiced more or less for a number of years, but he finally became engaged in commercial life at Whitehall, and he is now one of the most successful lumber merchants and forwarders in that thriving city.

He has long been a leading Democrat in Washington county, but we believe he never held any public ofiice of importance until he came to the Assembly. He was elected to that body in 1873, by a majority of 393 over JOHN" HALL, the Kepublican candidate, and was re-elected by a majority of 547 over WM. H. TEFT, Republican. He has been a member of the Canal Committee during both ses- sions, and also serves this year as member of Ways and Means, and Chairman of Privileges and Elections.

Mr. DAVIS is noted as being one of the most thoughtful and attentive members of the House ; and though he votes with his party on most party questions, his action on public measures in general is dictated by a regard for the welfare of the whole people. He is a man above the average height, of agreeable presence and courteous manners. His complexion is somewhat dark and his features spare, but his face habitu- ally wears a mild and thoughtful expression, and his general appearance is that of a studious and cultivated gentleman. He is a good speaker, and a clear, incisive reasoner, but he deals in facts, and the conclusions therefrom, rather than the meretricious graces of oratory. His speeches embrace the results of deep thought and mature conviction, and are, therefore, generally logical and sound. He is a valuable mem- ber, and his ability is acknowledged even by his opponents.

GEORGE G. DECKER. 173

GEORGE G. DECKER.

GEOEGE G. DECKEE was born at Eoxbury, Delaware county, N. Y., February 15, 1824, and was married at the same place to CATHABINE H. MORE, September 5, 1849.

His maternal grandfather, Hon. JAMES MOEE, was a son of JOHN MOEE, one of the first settlers of Delaware county, having emigrated to this State from Scotland a few years prior to the war of the revolution. His father, WILLIAM DECKEK, was of Dutch and Huguenot parentage, and was born in Columbia county, N. Y. In early life he settled in Koxbury, N. Y., and engaged in mercantile business and farming. Having lost his store stock of goods, and all his books and papers, by a fire in 1831, he then removed to Andes, N". Y., where he died in 1852.

Mr. DECKER was educated at the common schools, and at Delaware Academy, at Delhi, N. Y., from which he gradu- ated in 1840 with its usual honors. He has been in the mer- cantile business since 1840, beginning as clerk with his uncle, Hon. E. I. BUEHANS (a former member of the Assembly and Senate of this State), which position he held till 1846, when he became a member of the firm. In 1849, a branch store was started at Margaret ville, N. Y., of which Mr. DECKER took the sole charge till 1856, when he pur- chased Mr. BUBHANS' interest, since which time he has been pushing mercantile pursuits among hosts of opponents. Mr. DECKEE has made a good deal of money, but has not hoarded it. He is neither rich nor poor in the modern acceptation of the term; but has ample means for the necessary wants and comforts for himself and family.

He was formerly a Free Soil Democrat, and acted and voted with that wing of the Democratic party till the forma- tion of the Eepublican party. Since then he has always

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voted with that party on all National and State issues. His town is largely Democratic, and he has the honor of being the only Republican in the town (save one) that was ever elected to the office of supervisor. He also held the office of school commissioner of the town for a number of years, and was the first post-master of the village of Margaretville. He was appointed a deputy collector of internal revenue for the larger portion of the Second Assembly district of Dela- ware county, holding the position for two years. He has been one of the railroad commissioners of his town for the last nine years, still holding that position, and for the last two or three years has served as a director of the Delhi and Middletown railroad.

Mr. DECKER experienced religion in 1848, and united with the Methodist Episcopal church. He was founder of the Methodist Episcopal church at Margaretville, there being no church in the village when he went there in 1849. He has been a class leader, steward, and Sunday school superintendent in that church since its organization, and was elected alter- nate delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church from the New York Conference in 1 872. He was elected to the present Assembly from the Second Assembly district of Delaware county, comprising ten towns, over APOLLOS C. EDGERTON", his Democratic oppo- nent, by the unprecedented majority of 699, it being more than double the majority any candidate in that district ever before received. He is in all respects a straight-forward, solid man of business, upright in all his dealings, and thor- oughly capable of filling any position in which he may be placed. It is no disparagement to previous members from that locality to say that Delaware county has never before sent a better representative to the capitol at Albany.

LEO C. DESSAR. 175

LEO C. DESSAR.

The subject of this sketch is one of the youngest and most active members of the House. He represents the Seventeenth district of New York. Apparently familiar with every topic of legislative discussion, he is a good public speaker, and does not hesitate to measure lances with the veteran parliamentarians of the Assembly. It is not fre- quently the case that so young a man as he succeeds in con- quering a recognized position among those who habitually debate the public questions which come before the Legisla- ture. Mr. DESSAE, however, has views of his own, usually sound and eminently sensible and practical, upon all the questions of the day. Possessing the gift of oratory, he but performs a manifest duty, therefore, in giving utterance to them.

Mr. DESSAE was born in Bavaria in 1846, and came to this country with his parents while an infant. His father, Dr. JULIUS H. DESSAE, was a distinguished German philoso- pher, and was the author of many philosophical and other literary works. He was professor for many years of one of the first universities in Europe, and also in Cincinnati, Ohio. Many of his works are now used in Western colleges. His son, the present Assemblyman, received a thorough collegi- ate education, after which he studied law and graduated with high honor at Columbia College Law School. Since then he has established an extensive legal practice in the metropo- lis. While yet a mere boy, during his college days, he left his studies to take part in the war for the Union, joining the three months' volunteers, and performing honorable ser- vice in Kentucky. Since the war he has held the positions of Lieutenant and Adjutant in the Ninety-sixth regiment, National Guard.

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He has obtained repute as a well-read and able lawyer, and has been connected with a number of important cases. It is worthy of mention here, that he was one of the attorneys in the contested seat case of Killian v. Frear, in the Assem- bly of 1872, which at the time attracted considerable atten- tion.

Mr. DESSAR has always been an actire working Demo- crat, and during exciting campaigns has given his best ener- gies to the effective prosecution of the canvass. For two years past he has been Corresponding Secretary of the Tam- many Hall General Committee, and has been a member of the Tammany organization since the demolition of the ring, being one of its most effective campaign speakers. His elec- tion-last fall was the result of one of the most exciting can- vasses on record in the district. Not only the strongest Republican, but two of the strongest Independent Demo- cratic candidates ran against him. He delivered in all some seventy-five speeches during the canvass. The attention of all the prominent politicians in the city was directed to the unusually spirited contest, and his election, by a plurality of 169, was received with great satisfaction by his political friends. He serves on Judiciary, Aliens and sub-Committee, of the Whole.

Young, ambitious, talented and popular, few members of the Assembly have a fairer prospect for the future than Mr. DESSAR. It is not often that old members show so thorough a familiarity with legislative requirements. Added to this he possesses what is no less a requirement to the appreciation of the public and the esteem of his fellows, a habitual cour- tesy of manner and pleasant disposition, with a character entirely above reproach.

OBED EDSON. 177

OBED EDSON.

Mr. EDSON, of Chautauqua, is a descendant of SAMUEL EDSON, who came from England in 1638 or 1639, and set- tled at Salem, Massachusetts, and afterward became an original proprietor, and first settler of Bridgewater, Plymouth county, in that State. His father Hon. JOHN M. EDSON, formerly a Judge of Chautauqua county, was a native of Madison county, in this State, but came with the family of Maj. SAMUEL SINCLAIR, to Sinclairville, in Chautauqua county in 1810, where he has since resided. His mother is a native of Vermont.

He was born in Sinclairville, February 18, 1832, and ob- tained a good education at the common schools in Sinclair- ville, and at the Fredonia Academy. In 1851 he commenced the study of law at Sinclairville, and in 1853 attended the Albany Law University. He was admitted to the bar April 8, 1853, and has since then practiced law in his native village. At intervals his business has been that of a practical surveyor, and to some extent that of civil engineer also, having assist- ed in the survey of several railroads in New York and Penn- sylvania. Although Mr. EDSON has always been an earnest and unwavering Democrat, yet his attention has not here- tofore been principally devoted to politics, but more especially to the practice of his profession. He was, however, soon after attaining his majority, elected for two years Superin- tendent of Common Schools of his town, and in 1856 was chosen Justice of the Peace, which office he has since held. In 1857 and 1858, he was Justice of Sessions of the county, in 1865 the Democratic candidate for District Attorney, and in 1867 he was elected Supervisor of his native town. In 1873 he was the Democratic candidate for member of As- sembly against the Hon. JOHN D. HILLER, who was elected 23

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by a majority of but seventy-two ; the Eepublican majority upon the State ticket in the district then being between 400 and 500. In 1874 he was elected to the Assembly by a ma- jority of 225, over HARVEY S. ELKINS, the Republican candidate, notwithstanding the Republican majority for Governor in the assembly district at that election was 1,059. He is the ouly Democratic member of Assembly that has been elected from Chautauqua county in the last thirty years. In the present Assembly he is Chairman of the Com- mitteee upon Petition of Aliens, and a member of Claims, and Roads and Bridges.

He has devoted considerable attention to local historical research. Of A. M. YOUNG'S elaborate history of Chautauqua county, soon to be issued, the first part, giving a history of the Indian tribes, and of the explorations of the French missionaries and trayelers, and of the operations of the French and English in the western part of the State during the French and Indian, and Revolutionary wars, was written by Mr. EDSON, and he has also made other contributions to the early and local history of western New York.

In 1859 Mr. EDSON was married to EMILY A. ALLEN, the daughter of Hon. C. J. ALLEN, formerly of New London, Connecticut. He is rather a quiet member, unassuming in his manner, but he has made an excellent impression thus far. In the practice of his profession he has been somewhat in the habit of public speaking, but he is not prone to ora- tory unless the occasion demands it, and he fully understands his subject. The votes he has received when before the peo- ple for their suffrages, indicate that he enjoys wide popular- ity at home.

WILLIAM H. ELY. 179

WILLIAM H. ELY.

Mr. ELY is a quiet but extremely attentive member, repre- senting the first district of Otsego countv for the second term. He is well known throughout Otsego county, where he has resided all his life, and enjoys deserved popularity. He was born in Middlefield, Otsego county, on the 2d of October, 1829, being the son of Hon. SUMNER ELY, now deceased, who was a prominent physician, and at one time President of the State Medical Society. He was also a mem- ber of the State Senate from 1840 to 1843, both years inclu- sive, a member of the Assembly in 1836, and has filled numer- ous other positions.

Mr. ELY, the pre sent member, was educated in common and select schools, and brought up to mercantile pursuits. He was married, in 1855, to Miss ELLA CARYL, of New York city. Establishing himself in business, he followed it suc- cessfully until a few years ago. when he turned his attention to farming, and is now the owner of a desirable estate at East Worcester, where he resides.

He has always been a Democrat, and has from an early age been more or less in politics. Possessing, as he does, a rare degree of tact and judgment, his co-operation and counsel have been highly esteemed by his party. During a period of six years, commencing in 1863 and omitting 1867, he served in the Otsego Board of Supervisors, making an excellent record for integrity and legislative capacity. So well satisfied were his constituents, indeed, that he was twice returned to the board without opposition.

He was elected to the last Assembly by a majority of 486, over an extremely popular Republican, Hon. WM. W. CAMP- BELL, and re-elected by a plurality of 406, his opponents be- ing H. W. BROWJT, Eepublican, and GEO. D. HYDE, Prohi-

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bition. He was a member of the Committee on Roads and Bridges last year, and is now Chairman of Roads and Bridges, and member of Grievances and Two-Thirds and Three-Fifths Bills.

ALONZO H. FARRAR.

Mr. FARRAR is young man who has as fair a future before him as any other in the Assembly. He has but recently made his entry into public life, and being in the flush of early manhood, and possessed of much more than ordinary abilities, it is reasonable to anticipate for him a brilliant and useful career. Personally, he is one of those whole-souled fellows who are popular with everybody. He is quick of perception, pleasing of address, keenly appreciative of the ludicrous side of human nature, and an excellent talker. It is not surprising, therefore, that he should be a general favorite. In point of solid attainments, also, he is fitted to rank with the most accomplished members of the House, and he is in all respects a gentleman whose character it is a pleasure to contemplate.

ALONZO HAWLEY FARRAR was born in Middletown, Vt., on the 29th of March, 1843, and is, therefore, thirty-two years of age. His father, FRAXKLIN A. FARRAR, still resides at West Rupert, Vt, and is a retired farmer. His mother's maiden name was MARY A. HAWLEY. Young FARRAR received his education at Fort Edward Institute, Burr & Burton Seminary, Manchester, Vt., and the Albany Law School. Graduating from the latter institution with honor, he was admitted to the bar in 1864. Soon after, he commenced practicing law at Kiuderhook, Columbia county, and has met with gratifying success. In December, 1868, he was married to ANNA. C. MESICK, of Kinderhook. As the result of his eight or nine years of practice, Mr. FARRAR

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enjoys wide repute as an advocate, and is to-day one of the most brilliant members of the Columbia county bar.

Since attaining his majority, Mr. FARRAR has taken a warm interest in politics, being always identified with the Kepublican party. He never ran for office, however, until 1873, *when he was opposed in the Assembly canvass by a popular Democrat, PETER F. MESICK, and elected by a ma- jority of 307, in a district which was Democratic the pre- vious year by 224 majority. Last fall he was re-elected by a majority of 186 over HENRY H. GIBBS, Democrat.

Mr. FARRAR holds orthodox views in religion, and posses- ses a character, in all respects, above reproach. Since he has taken his seat in the Assembly, he has made an excel- lent record. His maiden speech last year, made in opposi- tion to the proposed amendment to the Fifth Article of the Constitution, attracted general attention, and not only placed him in the front rank of debaters, but gave indication of his independent spirit, his action not being in accordance with what' was regarded as the policy of his party. He, however, deemed it his duty to enter his protest against any attempt to take the powers of government out of the hands of the people, and the fact that the proposition was defeated was undoubtedly due to the strenuous opposition of Mr. FAR- RAR and Col. CHARLES S. SPENCER, of New York, both Kepublicans. Since then and during the present session, Mr. FARRAR has frequently participated in the discussions, always placing himself upon the side of such measures as are calculated to improve the tone of government and society. Among the measures which received his warm ad- vocacy was the compulsory education law of last year. In the last House he was a member of the Committees on Judiciary, Grievances, and Local and Special Laws. This year he is on Insurance and Grievances.

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JAMES FAULKNER, JR.

Mr. FAULKNER is a banker, residing in Dansville, Lijving- ston county. He is a man of much ability, and being of extremely social disposition and agreeable personal manners, he is a universal favorite in the Assembly, and quite popular and influential. He was born at Dansville, January 22, 1833, and comes of good stock, his father, JAMES FAULKNER, hav- ing been a member of Assembly in the years 1825 and 1826, and State Senator from 1841 to 1845. JAMES FAULKNER, Sr., is still living, and was very active last fall in assisting at the election of the subject of this sketch.

Young FAULKNER received his preliminary education in the common schools, and afterwards entered Yale College, graduated from that institution in 1859, with two brothers in the same class, and has since been engaged mainly in com- mercial pursuits and banking. He has always been an active Democrat, and stands high in the councils of his party in Livingston county. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 302, defeating JONATHAN B. MOREY, Repub- lican, who was elected to the previous House by a majority of 1,197, and A. M. BINGHAM, Prohibition. A man who can effect such an extraordinary change of votes cannot be otherwise than popular. He is Chairman of the Insurance Committee, member of Public Education and Expenditures of the Executive Department, and also chairman of the Assembly portion of the Joint Committee to investigate the canal frauds.

Mr. FAULKNER is an excellent speaker, and frequently takes part in debates, ranking as a very able member of the House.

GEORGE W. FAY. 183

GEORGE W. FAY.

Mr. FAT is a native of Westboro, Worcester county, Mass., where he was born December 25, 1834. His father is GrEO. FAY, a reputable mechanic of Framingham, Mass. His mother died in 1868. After obtaining a good education in the common schools and Framingham Academy, Mr. FAY was employed for five years as clerk in the Suffolk Bank of Boston, thus acquiring an, excellent business training. Afterward he removed to G-loversville, and engaged in the clothing trade, which he has continued until the present time, and is now one of the oldest established merchants in the place. He has uniformly been very successful in business, a fact due to his energy and sagacity, and a fact also gratify- ing in view of the circumstance that he has been the archi- tect of his own fortune. He was married on the 6th of March, 1861, to ELECTA A. HILDRETH, youngest daughter of S. G-. HILDRETH, Esq.

As may be gathered from this brief reference to his career, Mr. FAY is an energetic, shrewd and capable man, fitted for almost any emergency, and especially fitted for the varied requirements of legislation. Thus far he has acquitted himself well in the Assembly. He is not over anxious to display himself in debate, but he is faithful in attendance at the sessions of the House, sound as regards political action, and watchful of the interests of his constituents. He has always been a Eepublican, invariably giving his support to the regular nominations, and aside from a few unimportant local positions, has never before held office.

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WILLIAM H. FISH.

The seat occupied by Dr. FISH, of Schuyler, is seldom vacant during the hours of legislative business. He performs his duties quietly and unostentatiously, and it is evident that when the record shall be made up, few members will be awarded credit for greater faithfulness than he. Dr. FISH is well and favorably known in Schuyler county, where he has resided all his life. Personally, he is genial and social, and has a habit of making warm friends of all with whom he comes in contact. Furthermore, he is quick of percep- tion, pleasing of address, and thoroughly humane and kindly in all his characteristics. No man enjoys a joko with greater relish, and few are more ready to sympathize with mis- fortune.

Though he is not particularly distinguished as a floor debater, the Doctor is fluent in conversation, and able to express his sentiments freely, when the occasion requires. No blot or stain rests on his character as a Democrat or citi- zen, and he enjoys fully the confidence and esteem of his neighbors and friends.

Dr. FISH was born at Mecklenburgh, in what is now Schuyler county, April 14, 1827. His father, Dr. HENRY FISH, was from Bennington, Vt, and settled in Mecklen- burgh, as a physician, in the year 1821, residing there until his death, in April, 1873. He was a prominent Democratic politician, and served his town as Supervisor several terms, both before and after it was merged in Schuyler county. His mother, whose maiden name was MARY COLONY, was from Connecticut.

Mr. W. H. FISH was educated at the common schools, and at the Ithaca Academy. He studied medicine with his father, attended lectures, and graduated in medicine at the

WILLIAM H. FISH. 185

University of Buffalo in 1851, and has since practiced medi- cine in his native place. It is said a prophet is not without honor save in his own country. His case is an exception to the rule, he having had a very extensive practice for the last twenty years, being regarded as the leading physician and sur- geon in that section, and having performed some delicate and difficult operations in surgery. He has been president of the County Medical Society, is a permanent member of the State Medical Society, and a curator of the University of Buffalo.

In politics he has always been a Democrat, and an active worker with the rank and file. He has never consented to accept any nominations to office until within the last four years.

In 1864 he was chosen delegate to the Convention by the Democracy of Schuyler, and was nominated for member of Assembly in 1867, but declined the honor. He was elected Supervisor of Hector in 1871 by 32 majority, and was the only successful candidate on his ticket. He was re-elected in 1872, 1873 and 1874, by majorities averaging over 200 in a town that usually gives over 200 Kepublican majority. While in the Board of Supervisors he gained considerable reputation by taking a bold stand against the payment of the county war bonds, claiming that they were forgeries. He carried the fight successfully through the courts, and rid the county of the bonds, thus saving many thousands of dollars of unjust taxation.

During the war he was regarded as a "War Democrat, hav- ing assisted in raising volunteers to fill the quotas. Under the government call for surgeons after the second battle of Bull Kun, he was sent by the District War Committee to help meet the exigencies of the hour. He was married in 1858 to Miss ELIZA C. NOTES, of Starkey, Yates county. He was elected to the present Legislature by a majority of 606 over H. L. GKEGOEY, a member of the last House. 24

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JOHN FREAM.

Mr. FREAM, who represents the First district of Ulster, is a retired steamboat man and forwarder, of large means. For many years he has been actively interested in the trans- portation business on the Hudson river, and he enjoys the highest reputation for personal integrity and business capa- city. His father, JOHN FREAM, was a life-long Democrat, and was at one time very prominent in New York politics, being in 1827 a candidate for the Shrievalty nomination, but was beaten in the convention, through a trick, by Major NOAH of the Courier and Enquirer. The circumstance gave great dissatisfaction to the rank and file of the party, and a people's convention, which was immediately called, offered the nomination to Mr. FREAM. He declined, however, and the honor was bestowed upon a Mr. SHAW, who was tri- umphantly elected. In the year 1828 the elder Mr. FREAM procured, mainly at his own expense, a fine hickory tree, which grew near what is now 90th street, and planted it on the corner of Grand and Ludlow streets, it being the first of the forest of hickory poles raised in honor of Gen. JACK- SON during the ensuing exciting campaign.

The subject of this sketch, and the present member of Assembly, was born in New York on the 31st of March, 1812, and was educated in private first-class schools in the metropolis, and at a boarding academy in Bedford, West- chester county. He, therefore, acquired a good English edu- cation. After leaving school, he remained a couple of years under parental instruction as a mechanic, and was afterward with a brother-in-law, WILLIAM HAISELL, until he reached his majority. For several years he was a mem- ber of the Volunteer Fire department, and became popu- lar and well known in the Fifth and Eighth wards. In

JOHN FREAM. 187

1835, he bought out his employer, and carried on business on his own account for five years. From 1840 to 1845, he dealt in paints, oils and glass, as a member of the firm of HANN, SMITH & FEEAM, the SMITH being J. LEE SMITH, president of the Stockholders' Bank of New York. About the y§ar 1845, he settled in Saugerties, and became engaged in the passage, freight and towing business from Saugerties to New York, owning and running the steamer "K. L. Stevens." This he continued successfully until 1852, when he retired from active business. In 1863, he purchased a half interest in the Tivoli freighting, produce and commis- sion business, the firm name being SILVER & Co.'s New York and Tivoli Freight Line. Two years later, he purchased the steamer "Ansonia" on his own account, and organized, under State law, the New York and Saugerties Transporta- tion Company, serving until January, 1873, as its president, and subsequently as director. In April, 1874, he sold his entire interest in the Tivoli freighting establishment, and until drawn into politics last fall, was free from all business relations.

Mr. FREAM has been a Democrat all his life, and an exceedingly active and influential one, being on terms of intimacy with most of the leading politicians of the times. We believe, however, that this is his first entry into public official life. He was elected last fall over MOSES STONE, Eepublican, by a majority of 573. He is a member of the Committees on Commerce and Navigation, Civil Division and Engrossed Bills, and is regarded as a capable and ener getic legislator.

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JOSEPH D. FRIEND.

Mr. FRIEND represents the Second district of Orange county. He was born in Salem, Mass, November 12, 1819. Most of his boyhood was spent in Hartford, and in that city and in Hamilton, N. Y., he obtained his early education ; when he reached a proper age, he commenced the study of medicine, which he prosecuted for some time in the schools of Hartford and New Haven. About the year 1841, he com- menced the practice of medicine in Middletown, and there he has since resided, having established a large and successful practice.

Mr. FRIEND is widely known as a writer and journ- alist. For several years, he was editor of the Middletown Mail, and, on the consolidation of that paper with the Middletown Mercury, was editor of the new journal, and evinced much ability. He has the reputation of being one of the ablest political writers in his Congressional district. Besides his labors in this regard, he has, in his intervals of leisure, contributed largely to the literary and medical pub- lications of the day. He is consequently favorably known beyond the circle of Middletown life. During a period of five years, he was Professor of Obstetrics in the Metropolitan Medical College of New York. For several years, also, he has been a member of the Board of Education of Middle- town, and now holds the position of health officer of that village.

He has always been prominent as a Democrat, and gen- erally active in local politics. He was elected to the Assem- bly by a majority of 585 over ELLIS HARRIKG, Republican, and is Chairman of the Committee on Printing, and mem- ber of Public Education and Charitable Institutions.

EDWARD GALLAGHER. 189

EDWARD GALLAGHER.

Mr. GALLAGHER succeeds Hon. F. A. ALBERGER as the representative of the Third Erie district, and, though not given to oratory, is a clear-headed, practical man, and fully alive to the true interests of his city. Previous to 1856, he was a Democrat, but he joined the ^Republican party on its organization, and has ever since acted with it. He is new to the business of legislation, and, in fact, has not been in the habit of accepting political offices of any kind ; but he has already taken rank in the House as an honest, intelligent and useful working member.

He was born in Albany on the 20th of December, 1829, and received a good education in the public schools. For many years he has been extensively engaged in Buffalo as a forwarding and commission merchant; his business being mainly on the canals. He has been a member of the Board of Trade for 14 years, serving two years in the Board of Trus- tees. His knowledge of New York's great water-way is, therefore, of a practical character, and renders his services in the Assembly of especial value. In the canvass last fall he received a majority of 1,190 over GEORGE SAHDROCK, the Democratic candidate. He is a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs.

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WILLIAM H. GEDNEY.

Mr. GBDNEY is one of the ^Republican members of the New York delegation, a practical man of business, and though not often occupying the time of the House in speeches, is a capable and influential member of the Legisla- ture. He was born in Harrison township, Westchester county, June 14, 1818. He was well educated in the com- mon schools of Westchester and Chemung counties, and in New York city. During boyhood he worked on his father's farm, but he subsequently learned the carpenter's trade, and during the greater portion of his life he has been a builder, meeting with uniform success in his undertakings.

In politics, Mr. GEDNEY was formerly a Whig, and for many years he has acted with the Eepublican party, holding several offices of responsibility. In 1861, he was a member of the New York Common Council. Later, in 1865 and 1866, he was a member of the Board of Aldermen, and during a period of thirteen years he was School Trustee of the Ninth ward of New York. He is serving his first term in the As- sembly, to which he was elected by a majority of 140 over KANSOM PAKKER, Jr., Democrat. He is assigned to the Committees on State Prisons and Federal Kelations.

NEWTON H. GREEN. 191

NEWTON H. GREEN.

Mr. GREEN is the son of ANDREW H. GREEN, an eminent citizen, who came from Columbia county to Genesee in 1809, and died at Byron, in January last, at the age of 77. He was a member. of Assembly in 1838, '39. His brother, LORREN GREEN, was member of Assembly in 1862-63.

Mr. GREEN was born in Byron, his present place of resi- dence, September 16, 1828. He was educated in the common schools, and has followed farming all his life, though he taught school during winter months from 1843 to 1853. He was married October i7, 1855, to SYLVINA M. DEWET, of Byron. He is a man of high character, and has always been active in local politics, having been a straightforward Kepublican since the formation of the party. Previous to to 1856 he was a Whig. He has held the offices of Town Superintendent of Schools from 1843 to 1853, Assessor, from 1856 to 1862, and Supervisor from 1872 to 1875, being recently re-elected. He is a member of the Committees on State Charitable Institutions and Indian Affairs, and is re- garded as a careful and judicious member.

STEPHEN GRIFFIN.

Mr. GRIFFIN, who is a plain and unassuming gentleman considerably past middle age, represents the county of War- ren, of which he is a native and life-long resident. He has had a somewhat checkered life, but spite of misfortune and discouraging obstacles, he is now comfortably situated and possesses an ample fortune.

He was born in Warrensburgh, where he still resides, Octo- ber 18, 1812. His father, JOHN GRIFFIN, was a native of

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Dutchess county, followed farming and lumbering, and died in 1827. He was of Dutch ancestry. His mother, who died in 1840, was a native of Warren county, and of Scotch descent. They were frugal, honest people, and though they worked hard all their lives, they were in comparatively straightened circumstances. The subject of our sketch was the oldest of a family of twelve, and at the age of fifteen, when his father died, the care and education of the entire family devolved upon him. He had very little opportunity therefore of securing an education himself, but at an age when other boys are engaged in study, he went to work with energy to acquit himself of the trust. He had a hard strug- gle for several years, but he succeeded not only in properly educating his younger brothers and sisters, and starting them fairly in life, but became prosperous and wealthy him- self, and had the satisfaction of furnishing his mother with a comfortable home while she lived. In 1838, he mar- ried Miss MAKIA COMAN, of Ehode Island ancestry. He was brought up as a farmer and lumberman, and is now en- gaged in those pursuits, but he has also followed other branches of business, having kept a hotel several years, and for a long period he was engaged in mercantile life. He had the mis- fortune to lose a large portion of his savings in the panic of 1857, but his energy and industry soon made the loss good. It will be seen from this hasty resume, that Mr. GEIFFIN is in the nature of things a self-made man, thoroughly self-re- liant, and capable of acquitting himself with credit in what- ever situation he may be placed .

In politics he is a Democrat of the old school, faithful to party traditions, and unswerving in his allegiance. For many years he has occupied a leading position among the Democrats of Warren county, possessing in fact a controlling influence in the caucuses and conventions of the party. Dur- ing most of his life he has served his town in official capaci- ties, holding at different times various town offices. For six years he was County Superintendent of the Poor, and dur-

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ing three terms he represented his town in the Board of Supervisors. His present service in the Legislature is his first essay in State politics, and though not giving to speech- making, he has shown himself thus far to be a faithful and efficient member of the lower House. He was elected by a majority of 246 over G-EO. W. WAIT, his Eepublican opponent, and serves on the Committees on Roads and Bridges, Public Lands, and Trade and Manufactures.

Mr. GRIFFIN'S parents were Methodists, and though he himself has never united with the church, he is a regular attendant at the religious services of that denomination.

STEPHEN H. HAMMOND.

STEPHEN H. HAMMOND, the efficient Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, was born in Groton, Tompkins county, ]ST. Y., on the 24th day of November, 1828. His father, CLARK HAMMOND, came, early in life, from Vermont, and settled in Tompkins county, where he married a sister of the Hon. E. G. SPAULDING, now of Buffalo, N. Y., and the mother of the subject of this sketch. The first part of Mr. HAMMOND'S life was spent at Ithaca in attendance, in due time, at the common schools and at the Ithaca Academy, with the usual struggles and accompaniments which follow youth in humble life. He acquired, however, quite early, much general information, from books and otherwise, outside of the routine of mere school life, and his intelligence, and varied and extensive reading, soon made him the welcome companion of his seniors — drawn together bytthe common tie of a love for literature. His law studies were commenced at this time, and progressed with a good degree of success. His literary attainments were abundantly recognized, and when,

at the age of twenty, he was announced to lecture in the 25

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regular winter course at Ithaca, the large hall, on the even- ing appointed for the lecture, was crowded to overflowing, and hundreds were unable to gain admittance. This success' stimulated him to make the effort to secure a more complete education, and he accordingly prepared for college, and in September, 1850, entered as a student at Geneva (now Hobart) College, from which he graduated, in 1854, with distinguished honor. Mr. HAMMOND spent a portion of his last college year in the State Treasurer's office, his uncle, Hon. E. G. SPAULDING, being then Treasurer.

In the meantime, Mr. HAMMOND had been admitted to practice in all the courts, and in January, 1856, he received the appointment of Deputy Attorney-General of the State, which office he held continuously for sixteen years, under all shades of party administration, thus being brought into inti- mate relations with prominent public men and affairs during a very memorable period of the history of the State.

Mr. H. married, in 1856, the second daughter of the late Hon. A. W. LANGDON, of Geneva, in this State, where he now resides.

Mr. HAMMOND was selected to deliver the address before the Alumni of Hobart College, in July, 1871, and acquitted himself with great credit. The correspondent of the Neio York Tribune thus referred to the oration on that occasion:

" His theme may be designated as ' The Philosophy of the Times.' It was an exposition, at once learned and popular, of the genius and characteristics of the age. He signalized the more potent forces of cotemporary history, indicated the fundamental distinctions between the present times and other times, and showed, by the great transforming move- ments in politics, science, industry, society and war, that our age, from a philosophical point of view, must be recognized as among the wonderful ages of the world's history. About one half of his discourse was devoted to a consideration of the subject of war as a historical phenomenon. Here his knowledge of history, his powers of description, his ability in generalization, had full scope. He concluded by showing

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that, though the enthusiastic hopes of philanthropists had not been realized, that though in fact the last twenty years had been one of the most sanguinery periods- of history, there were yet the profoundest reasons for faith in the approach of an era of universal peace. His delivery was admirable, and the audience rewarded him by its attention and ap- plause."

Mr. H. is serving his second term in the Assembly. Hia great familiarity with public affairs, in consequence of his connection with the Attorney-General's office for so long a time, adds greatly to his usefulness in the Assembly ; and Speaker McGuiRE's choice, in placing him at the head of the leading Committee of the House, is universally approved.

Last year he served on the Judiciary Committee, and also on the Committee on Public Printing. Besides his Chair- manship of the Ways and Means, he serves this year on Judiciary and Public Printing. His election as a Democrat, by a round majority, from a district usually largely Repub- lican (Mr. H. being the third only in a quarter of a century), is an endorsement which any man might covet. His major- ities were, in 1873, 236 ; and in 1874, 678. During this and the last session, Mr. HAMMOND has been prominent as the advocate of a bill, which he originated, to reform abuses in the County Treasurers' offices, and to simplify the mode of paying the State taxes. He has also initiated several bills designed to improve the practice in the courts of the State. He is, in short, one of the most active and valuable members of the majority, and few legislators, enjoy a better reputation in every way. In religion, Mr. H. is an Episcopalian.

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PATRICK HANRAHAN.

PATRICK HANRAHAN, who represents the First District of Erie county, was born in county Clare, Ireland, in the year 1843. He was educated in the common schools, came to this country at an early age, and is at present engaged in the grocery business in Buffalo. He is a Roman Catholic in religious belief, and has been a life-long Democrat and quite active in the local politics of Buffalo, though he never held office until he was elected to the Assembly in 1873. He was chosen in that year over JOHN" O'BRIAN, who previously represented the district, by a majority of 469, and was re- elected by a majority of 1,187 over the same opponent. He was a member, last year, of the Joint Library Committee and Sub-committee of the Whole, and this year is on Com- merce and Navigation, Grievances and Two-Thirds and Three-Fifths Bills.

GERMAIN HAUSCHEL,

Mr. HAUSCHEL is one of the most watchful of members. Always in his seat with a well-thumbed file of bills before him, he keenly watches the progress of law-making, and is therefore prepared to act understandingly when his vote is called for. He is, also, a man of much force of character and keen judgment, and though not to be ranked with those who have the trickeries of parliamentary debate at their tongue's end, he nevertheless combines within himself much of the material of which statesmen are made ; and when he addresses the House, he does so in pointed sentences and plain common-sense language. He represents an important dis- trict of the metropolis, and attends faithfully to its interests.

GERMAIN HAUSCHEL. 197

Mr. HAUSCHEL is a German by birth and partly by educa- tion. He was born at Wendelsheim, a village in Wurtem- berg, southern Germany, on the 22d of September, 1839. JOSEPH HAUSCHEL, his father, was a school teacher in Ger- many, and also taught in this country, in Eichmond, Va., and Cincinnati, 0. He is still living ; his mother died when he was but five years old. Young HAUSCHEL emigrated to America with his father in 1854, previous to which he had attended the Latin school or gymnasium at Eottenburg. In this country he attended St. Charles College, Howard county, Md., and St. Peter's Academy at Cumberland, Md. He was intended for the ministry, but abandoned it because he felt inclined for a more active career than is afforded by pul- pit or pastoral labor. He completed his collegiate studies in 1858, and during the next four years taught school at Allegheny City, Pa., and read law with the firm of KIRK- PATEICK & MELLON. Subsequently, for a couple of years, he edited the Pittsburgh Republican, the daily Democratic organ of the Germans in that city. In 1865 he removed to New York city, where, for three or four years, he followed teaching, prosecuting his legal studies meanwhile with Judge GROSS of the Marine court. In December, 1869, he was admitted to the bar, and has practiced law ever since.

During most of his adult life, Mr. HAUSCHEL has been a Democrat. He cast his first vote for President LINCOLN" and Governor ANDREW G. CURTIN, being strongly opposed to slavery. He found himself unable, however, to indorse all the measures adopted by the administration during the spring and summer of 1861, and became a Democrat, and with that party he has since steadfastly acted, taking a very active part in most of the elections which have been held, especially in the MCCLELLAN, SEYMOUR and GREELEY cam- paigns. At present he is a member of Tammany Hall, and is Chairman of the District Committee. He never before held an elective office.

His success in the recent canvass was very gratifying

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to himself and his friends. He was opposed by JAMES A. DEERING, a former member of Assembly, and SIXTUS CHARLES KAPFF, a popular young German, who together combined against him the influence of some of the repre- sentatives of the old Tammany Ring interest, the Republi- cans and the Department of Public Works. Nevertheless he was elected by a plurality of 265.

Mr. HAUSCHEL was married October 25, 1860, to Miss EMMA A. GANTER, a native of Allegheny City, Pa. In religious faith he is a Roman Catholic, and is a gentleman of high character, refinement and culture. Though he was brought up in comparative poverty, and was obliged to teach school for a living while prosecuting his legal studies, he oc- cupies a high position among the lawyers of New York, and has been very successful.

A. BARTON HEPBURN.

Mr. HEPBURN, one of the younger members of the House, is a lawyer in good practice, and resides in Colton, St. Law- rence county, representing the Second district of that county. He is a young man of ability, and takes an active part in the deliberations of the Assembly. He was born in Colton, July 24, 1846. His father was one of the pioneers of St. Lawrence county. Mr. HEPBURN, the elder, was a man of strict probity of character and great industry, gaining nothing except as the reward of hard and persistent labor. He died in the fall of 1874. Mr. HEPBURN'S mother, who is still living, is a sister of Hon. N. A. GRAY of Washington, D. C., and of J. W. GRAY, a well-known journalist and founder of the Cleveland Plaindealer.

Mr. HEPBURN is liberally educated, and, like a good many prominent Americans, his education is due mainly to his own

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exertions. He left home at the age of sixteen, and begun unaided the task of acquiring knowledge, that being then the supreme desire of his life. To secure the means he had recourse to teaching in winter, and farm work in summer. He spent a preparatory period in Falley Seminary and St. Lawrence Academy, and entered Middlebury College, Vt., in 1867. He went no further than the beginning of the Sophomore year, however, as ill health compelled him to re- linquish his studies. Subsequently, he became Professor of mathematics and physical science in the St. Lawrence Aca- demy, and later, in 1870, we find him Principal of the Ogdensburgh Educational Institute. He read law for a time with FOOT & JAMES at Ogdensburgh, and in November 1871, he was admitted to the bar ; since which time he has been engaged in legal practice at Colton.

Mr. HEPBUBN has always acted with the Kepublican party, casting his first vote for candidates of that political persua- sion, and has been quite active in the political councils of his county. At the time of his election he held the office of School Commissioner, which he had held since July, 1871, but he resigned the position in order to take his seat in the Assembly. He was elected to that body by a plurality of 1,551 over Democratic and Prohibition opponents, and serves acceptably on the Committees on Affairs of Villages and Education.

Mr. HEPBURN was married in December, 1873. He is a man of earnest impulses, unimpeachable character and pleasing exterior, possessing many of the traits of his highly respected father, and is much esteemed by those who know him. Three older brothers were captains in the Union Army during the rebellion, and all of them served with credit.

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JACOB HESS.

Mr. HESS is one of the youngest and most active members of the lower House. He represents the Twentieth District of New York, and is one of the four Eepublican members of the metropolitan delegation. He was born in Hesse Darm- stadt, Germany, 'November 18, 1847. He was brought to this country by his parents when only three years old, and having resided in New York city all his life, he is, to all intents and purposes, an American in education and feeling. He received a good education in the public schools and pri- vate academies of New York city, and early became engaged in mercantile pursuits, in which he has continued to the present time, being now a prosperous commission merchant in West Washington market. He started in business with- out capital save an energetic and determined spirit, and is well known and highly esteemed in New York commercial circles. In the politics of his district, he has always identi- fied himself with the Eepublicans, exercising, however, con- siderable independence in his support of men and measures. He has never before held office; but the fact that he was elected by over 700 majority, in a district ordinarily Demo- cratic by a very large preponderance, ought to encourage him to continue in public life. He is very popular among his German fellow-citizens, and indeed, among all classes. In the Assembly he is prominent and popular, and is an efficient member of the Committee on Cities.

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OTIS D. HINCKLEY.

The representative of the First Chautauqua District is a pleasant appearing gentleman of middle age. His voice is not often heard upon the floor, but he is, nevertheless, active and wide awake in behalf of local legislation, as well as fully posted as regards the general business of the House.

Mr. OTIS D. HINCKLET was born in Leicester, Livingston county, August 12, 1827. He is of English descent, his an- cestry on both sides having settled in Massachusetts at an early period in the history of that commonwealth. He was edu- cated mainly in the Westfield and Fredonia academies, and on completing his studies, turned his attention to mercantile pursuits. These he followed a number of years, but for some time past he has been a civil engineer.

Mr. HINCKLEY was brought up in the old Whig party, being attached to the HENRY CLAY wing; but, on the organization of the Republican party, he joined it, and has remained with it to the present day. He has always been active in politics, and has held several important local offices in his county. For 22 years past he has held the office of Justice of the Peace, being regularly re-elected, sometimes without opposition. He has also been Deputy Clerk of Chautauqua county, and Justice of Sessions. In the winter of 1869, he was Clerk of the Engrossing Committee of the Assembly. He was elected to the Assembly last fall, after a very close contest with his Democratic opponent, THEO. S. Moss, and serves on the Committee on Public Health.

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WILLIAM HOGAN.

Mr. HOGAN is a wide-awake and influential Democrat of Seneca county. He was born in Fayette, in that county, April 15, 1822, and received a liberal education in the com- mon schools of Fayette and Waterloo, and at the University of St. Louis. Early in his career, he followed* teaching, but he subsequently turned his attention to farming, and then to mercantile pursuits. In all of them, he has displayed marked ability, and won a fair degree of success.

He has been prominent in Seneca county politics for many years, and has held numerous offices of responsibility. He served as Town Superintendent of Schools for two terms ; was County Superintendent of Schools in 1847, Justice of the Peace during four terms, and School Commissioner of Seneca county during two terms, in 1857 and 1870. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 135 over MARTIN L. ALLEN", the Republican candidate.

Mr. HOGAN is able to talk, and to talk well, upon the floor, but he seldom addresses the House, being content to perform his duties quietly and modestly. He is a man some- what above the medium height, with jet black hair and whiskers, dark complexion, and grave and intellectual cast of countenance. He is a member of the Committees on Canals, Public Education and Joint Library.

DANIEL M. HOLMES. 203

DANIEL M. HOLMES.

Mr." HOLMES has the honor of representing a Republican district, though at times, as was the case last fall, the figures are pretty close. He was born in New London county, Conn., November 7, 1818. He was educated partly in com- mon schools, and partly in Mystic Academy, in Connecticut. At the age of 18, he removed to Chenango county, and for several years he taught school winters and worked at farm- ing summers. Finally he engaged in a mercantile business, which he continued successfully for a period of 26 years. He has in the meantime held numerous local positions of trust. He was School Inspector under the old school law, and when the new law was passed about the year 1842, he was the first Town Superintendent of his locality under it. He has been Trustee of the village of Norwich six consecu- tive years, and during the entire period of the war, was Supervisor of the town of Norwich, and a member of the County Committee of Three, for paying the county bounty to volunteers. He was also Chairman of the Town Committee during the war, for recruiting and paying boun- ties to volunteers. In the performance of this duty, fully half a million dollars passed through his hands. At the present time, he is a member of the Board of Education of Norwich Academy and Union Free School, and was formerly Trustee of Norwich Academy.

Mr. HOLMES has always been a Democrat, and occupies a leading position in his county. Last fall the Assembly canvass was hotly contested on both sides, but he received the handsome majority of 326 over E. J. LOOMIS, the Repub- lican candidate, against the Republican majority the pre- vious year of 136, and also in face of the fact that Gov. Dix's majority in the district was 654. It may therefore be as- sumed that he enjoys some popularity at home.

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Since his advent at Albany, he has taken part in a number of important discussions on the floor, and his strong speeches in opposition to the repeal of the Midland tax exemption bill created a marked impression.

NATHANIEL M. HOUGHTON.

Dr. HOUGHTON has acquired considerable familiarity with legislation, the present being his fourth term of service in the Legislature. He is a man of the sternest honesty of character, and though he says very little, and is even a trifle ungraceful in his speech, his unfrequent remarks are always straight to the point, and embody wholesome truths. He is a vigilant representative of the interests of his constitu- ents, and though he occupies in the Assembly chamber the farthest corner of " Sleepy Hollow," he does not permit him- self to be caught napping.

NATHANIEL MITCHELL HOUGHTON was born in Corinth, Saratoga county, on the 23d of January, 1816. His father was a native of Worcester, Mass., and was a farm and stock dealer. His mother, whose maiden name was MITCHELL, was born and reared at Proctorsville, Vt. Mr. HOUGHTON'S early educational advantages were very limited. Six or eight months at a district school embraced the extent of his op- portunities. He is therefrom a self-taught and self-made man, owing much of his early training, however, to the teachings of his mother. Later he pursued the study of medicine in the Castleton Medical College of Vermont, from which he graduated in 1843. He then practiced as a physi- cian for many years with marked success, but was compelled a few years ago, to abandon the profession on account of impaired health. During ten years past he has been engaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber, and also in agricul- tural pursuits, in both of which he has been very successful.

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Dr. HOTJGHTON was a "Whig until the organization of the Republican party, and has since been a firm and uncompro- mising Republican, having the reputation of being somewhat radical in his ideas. He has never swerved from his allegiance, however, being always an ardent Whig as long as the party lasted, and afterward an equally ardent Republican. Being always active and thoroughly reliable in his political attach- ment, he has frequently been selected to fill important offi- ces. He has held the office of Superintendent of Schools of his town four or five times, and has also been Supervisor, and an incumbent of other local positions. As already inti- mated, the present is his fourth term of service in the Assem- bly, having thus represented his district in 1862, 1863, 1872, and now 1875. His majorities ranged from 969 to 1,430. His course in the Assembly has been exceedingly satisfactory to his constituents, among whom he is held in the highest regard. His personal manner is marked by eccentric char- acteristics, and his exterior is rough, and to a stranger rather uninviting, but a closer acquaintance develops true qualities of head and heart, and no man in the House possesses a more kindly disposition, or more native courtesy of manner than the gentleman from Saratoga.

He was married in 1846, to Miss 0. A. DAYTON, of War- ren county, N. Y. Though he is a member of no religious organization, he is a firm believer in the orthodox doctrines held by evangelical denominations.

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ERASTUS H. HUSSEY.

Mr. HUSSEY is a native and life-long resident of the town of Ledyard, Cayuga county, and owns a fine farm near the village of Aurora. He was born, January 19, 1827, and though he has thus reached his forty-seventh year, he has never married. He has been a farmer since boyhood, and during his early years was fortunate enough to secure a good common school and academic education. Being also a good reader and keen observer, he is, in addition to being a persistent and hard-working agriculturist, a gentleman of considerable culture, and well posted upon public affairs. He is a man of sound judgment and unusually sensible views upon all questions, and few men in his locality are more highly esteemed. The confidence felt in him by the com- munity is perhaps sufficiently indicated by the fact that he has been regularly elected a member of the Board of Super- visors since the year 1867. He was elected to the Assembly, in 1873, by a majority of 1,292, though two candidates ran against him, EFFINGHAM T. BROWN, Democrat, and WM. H. MANCHESTER, Temperance. The vote was an extraordinary light one, and, under the circumstances, the large majority he received was exceedingly gratifying. Last fall he was re-elected by a majority of 440 over JEROME S. FULLER, who received the Democratic and Prohibition vote. He is to be ranked rather among the workers than among the talkers of the Assembly, and served acceptably, last year, upon the Committees on Villages, and Trade and Manufactures, and this year on Villages, and Privileges and Elections.

Mr. HUSSEY has been uniformly successful in his farming operations, and is therefore in comfortable circumstances. The fact that he is a member of the Society of Friends, and that he endeavors conscientiously to square his life in accord- ance with the precepts of that sect, is, perhaps, a sufficient indication of his personal character.

JAMES W. HUSTED. 20?

JAMES W. HUSTED.

Gen. HUSTED'S personal record, during the twenty years or more he has mingled in the politics of the State, has been a brilliant one. Born in Bedford, in this State, on the 31st of October, 1833, and descended from an ancestry chiefly re- markable for honesty and respectability, he enjoyed fair opportunities during his youth. He prepared for college at the Bedford Academy, in his native town, and at quife an early age entered Yale College, from which he graduated on reaching his majority in 1854. While in college he stood well with his class, and was complimented with university honors when he graduated. Subsequently, he studied law with EDWARD WELLS, of Peekskill, and was admitted to the bar in 1857. As a lawyer he possesses fine abilities, and is re- garded with confidence and respect. His political life has been somewhat varied, and not entirely devoid of vicissitudes. In the early years of his career he was identified with the American party and served two years as Secretary of the State Council of that short-lived organization. He was selected Town Superintendent of Common Schools, in 1855, on the Know-Nothing ticket, 'and in 1858 he was chosen by the same party as one of the School Commissioners of West- dhester county. But in 1859 " Know-Nothingism " degen- erated into a mere tender to the Democratic party of the day, and Mr. HUSTED became disgusted and left it, feeling justly that he could not consent to a betrayal of the princi- ples upon which the party was founded.

During the Utica Convention, held in that year, when the " Hybrid " ticket was formed, he published a protest against it and joined the Eepublican party. In 1860 he was appointed Deputy Superintendent of the State Insur- ance Department by Hon. WILLIAM BARNES, the then

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Superintendent, and during the presidential campaign of that year was Vice-President of the large and flourishing club of Albany " Wide Awakes," of which Hon. J. MEREDITH BEAD, Jr., now minister to Greece, was President. During this campaign Mr.HusxED performed effective service for the Republican cause. Since 1862 he has been Harbor Master of the city of New York, and until recently, was Deputy Captain of the port.

In the fall of 1868 Mr. HUSTED was elected to the Assem- bly from the Third district of Westchester county by 307 majority. He made an honorable record as a debater and as a legislator during his first session, being Chairman of the Committee on Federal Relations, and member of the Committee on Commerce and Navigation. The next year he was re-elected by 1,144 majority, running 837 ahead of his ticket, and 417 ahead in his own town. Since then he has been regularly re-elected, his majority in 1871 reaching the unprecedented figure of 1,509. In 1872, owing to local complications and the defection of Liberal Republicans, it was reduced to 502, but in 1873 he again demonstrated his popularity and astonished friends as well as opponents by achieving a majority of 1,864. Last fall the "tidal wave" had its effect upon his district, and his majority was reduced to 444, two candidates running against him. He has served on the Committees on Commerce and Navigation, Insur- ance, Militia, Ways and Means, Grievances, Rules and Fed- eral Relations, being again Chairman of the latter Committee in 1872, and Chairman of Education in 1873. In 1872 he was also Chairman of Rules, Local and Special Laws, and Congressional Apportionment, being again Chairman of Congressional Apportionment in 1873.

Last year, as Speaker of the House, General HTJSTED added greatly to his reputation as an able parliamentarian, and won the high praise as well as the formal thanks of minority and majority members alike, for the impartiality of his rulings, and the uniform dignity, courtesy and ability

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with which he discharged his exceedingly difficult duties in the chair.

Gen. HUSTED has been frequently honored with responsible positions by the party to which he belongs, and he in turn has honored the party with his best efforts, but his sphere of useful activity has not been confined to politics. He is one of the most prominent members of the Masonic Fraternity in the State, and has reached to the highest honors in the order, being a member of the Order of Knights Templar, and entitled to wear the jewel of the 33d degree. For several years he has held the rank of D. D. G. M., and is now Junior Grand Warden. He has also been Judge Advocate on the staff of the Seventh Brigade, New York State Militia.

On March 26, 1873, he was nominated by Gov. Dix to be Major-General of the Fifth Division of the National Guard, in place of Gen. GATES, who had resigned, and he was imme- diately confirmed by the Senate. The appointment was universally recognized as an eminently fit one, and none were more hearty in their congratulations than his fellow mem- bers of the Assembly. On the evening after the announce- ment of his appointment, the following resolution was offered by a Democratic member (Mr. McGuiKE), and unanimously adopted :

Resolved, That always feeling a deep interest in the per- sonal and official relations of our fellow-members, and a warm regard for them individually, we desire to express our heart- felt thanks to Gov. Dix for his promotion of the Hon. JAMES W. HUSTED to the command of the military forces of the Fifth Division, and that, as he has been first in peace, we know he will, in the event of a great military necessity, be first in war, and in the future first in the hearts of his coun- trymen.

The General's popularity among the members of the National Guard is well shown by the fact that he was unani- mously elected, in January, 1874, as President of the State 27

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Military Association. During the present session, he has actively promoted the passage of important amendments to the military code.

General HUSTED has enjoyed a pre-eminence among poli- ticians and legislators by reason of his splendid abilities. Few men in the State excel him in those accomplishments which mark the successful statesman. He possesses a clear and brilliant intellect, sound judgment, a ready off-hand manner, and is, withal, an acute reasoner and polished orator ; and when we add that his gifts of mind and heart are never used to further corrupt or doubtful schemes, we complete a catalogue which is infinitely to the credit of our subject.

His dashing style of debate, and the lightning-like rapidity with which he grasps the situation of the moment, together with his bold, concise and incisive mode of argument, and sometimes startling readiness at repartee, render him not only formidable to his opponents, but exceedingly popular among all classes of men. He is a master of the art of sarcasm, and, as he usually veils his keen and merciless retorts in elegant language and apt classical allusion, the wounds made by his sharp thursts produce much more pleasure than pain, even to those upon whom they are inflicted. In the most exciting passages of partisan debate, Mr. HUSTED is ever courteous and cool, while in argument he is clear, connected and logical, his more ambitious speeches being frequently enriched with pointed anecdote and scholarly illustration. He speaks very rapidly, and has surprising command of language, while his thorough knowledge of parliamentary rules enables him to be perfectly at home in the most bewildering cross-fire of motions and counter-motions characteristic of legislative fillibustering and bushwhacking.

Socially, the ex-Speaker possesses rare gifts. 'Genial and talented, a brilliant conversationalist, and an adept in all the accomplishments and qualities which constitute the gentle- man, he is peculiarly fitted to ornament society and win . friendship and esteem. His unaffected manners and sterling

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qualities have rendered him extremely popular with the peo- ple at large, while the same traits, in connection with his solid attainments, have secured him hosts of friends in the fields of letters and politics.

SILAS T. IVES.

Mr. IVES is the representative of the Second district of Oneida county. He is a fine looking gentleman, large of frame, benevolent of countenance, and of attractive man- ners and address. He is, besides, a sterling and faithful Democrat, self-made in the largest acceptation of the phrase, and in every way an earnest and efficient member of the lower House. He was born in Clinton, Oneida county, December [26, 1828, his parents originally coming from Connecticut. He received a good English education in the district schools of his native place, and in the Clinton Liberal Institute, and has followed the business of a butcher during most of his life, though he has also engaged in other pursuits at different times.

Mr. IVES has always been very active in local politics, ex- ercising a controlling influence in the Democratic councils of his town and county, and also at the party conventions. For a number of years past he has regularly attended the Democratic State Conventions, either as looker-on and ad- viser, or as delegate. He was a delegate to the Utica Con- vention of 1873. A Democrat by nature and education, he has always acted with the party, and is thoroughly embued with its principles.

He has held a number of local offices during his career, but has never before been in the Legislature. In 1870 he was Trustee of his village, and in 1872 was its President, and through his efforts the town was carried for GKEELEY by

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three majority, though it had not given a Democratic ma- jority in forty years. In 1873 and 1874 he served as Super- visor from the town of Kirkland, and was Chairman of the Sheriff Committee, through whose instrumentality very seri- ous charges were recently brought against Sheriff BENEDICT. He was also Village Trustee last year. In his public action he is a reformer, and he devotes much time and effort to weeding out abuses in the body politic. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 175 over JOHN W. BOTCE, Eepublican, and SILAS PUKDT, Prohibition. He serves on the Committees on Insurance, Militia and Indian Affairs. In religious matters he holds liberal views, while his integrity as a business man is unquestioned.

WILLARD JOHNSON.

Mr. JOHNSON is of New England parentage, his father, LOWELL JOHNSON, having been a native of Vermont, while his mother was born in Massachusetts. He was born in the town of Volney, Oswego county, on the 16th of May, 1820. He attended common school at an early age, and subse- quently attended the Mexico and Cazenovia academies, thus securing an excellent education. In the year 1852, he engaged in the lake and canal transportation business at Fulton, and continued it successfully for about twelve years. Afterward he became a contractor and has completed several important works for the State and national governments, among which may be mentioned the improvement of the Mississippi river at Rock Island, and the construction of a lock in the Illinois river, which is probably the largest in the world, being 350 feet long, 75 feet wide and 30 feet high, and capable of accommodating twelve ordinary canal boats at once. He has been largely engaged in work upon

WILLARD JOHNSON. 213

the canals, and has successfully completed contracts which amount, in the aggregate, to several millions of dollars.

Mr. JOHNSON has always been a Democrat of the old school, and for many years he has been prominent in the councils of that party. During the rebellion he was classed as a War Democrat, and gave his influence and means freely to the cause of the Union. In 1862 he was elected to the Assembly without opposition, and co-operated heartily in all the measures designed to sustain the national government in the contest which was then being waged against armed treason. Subsequently he served two years on the War Committee of Oswego county. He was also a member of the Board of Supervisors in the years 1861 and 1862. In 1860, he was a delegate to the memorable Charleston Convention, and was afterward also a delegate to the National Democratic Con- ventions at Chicago in 1864, in New York in 1868, and in Baltimore in 1872. During the five war years, he was a member of the State Committee. It will thus be seen that Mr. JOHNSON'S political experience is extensive and varied, and there are really few men in Central New York whose counsel is held in greater estimation. He still holds to the political creed of his earlier years, and is popular among the Democrats of Oswego, and, ittdeed, among men of all parties. This is shown by the fact that he was elected in 1872 by a majority of 189, over THOMAS W. GREEN, Eepub- lican, who represented the district the previous year, re- elected in 1873 by a majority of 747, CHARLES D. WALKUP being his opponent, and again elected last fall by a majority of 970 over HENRY C. HOWE, Eepublican. In 1873 he served on the Committees on Roads and Bridges, Internal Affairs and Militia ; in 1874 on Commerce and Navigation and Internal Affairs, and is at present Chairman of Internal Affairs and member of Ways and Means. He is a man of modest, unassuming deportment, and seldom addresses the House, being a man who believes in action rather than words. His large experience, ripe judgment and active

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mind are of great value, however, in the practical work of legislation. He was married, at the age of twenty-seven, to MAET GASPE, and as a result of his prudently managed business operations, he is quite wealthy.

WILLIAM A. JOHNSON.

WILLIAM ALFOED JOHNSON was born at Collins, Erie county, New York, on the 26th of May, 1834, upon the farm and in the house where he at present resides. His father, KENDALL JOHNSON, a farmer, was of New England descent, and was one of the pioneers of the town. The subject of our sketch is the youngest of a family of nine children. His father died a few months before his birth. His mother's maiden name was JULIA FORD, and is likewise of New Eng- land descent. She still survives, and resides at her old home with her son. Mr. JOHNSON owns and carries on the farm upon which he was born; but it is the least of his cares. His \name is inseparably identified with the cheese manufacturing interests of Western New York. The Marsh- field Cheese Factory, of which he owns a controlling interest, is, with its seventeen branch factories, the largest in the State, and probably the largest in the world. The main Marshfield factory, was the first undertaking of the kind in that part of the country, and, like Aaron's rod, it has swallowed up the most of its less ably managed competitors. It annually manufactures about 2,300,000 pounds of cheese. The proceeds of a single sale have reached $47,000. Mr. JOHN- SON has been too busy during his life to mingle much in politics. Hitherto he has been simply the modest, unassum- ing, successful man of business. He has never held an office other than the one he now holds. His business integ- rity, as well as ability, are too well known to be questioned

JOHN KEENAN. 215

by even his bitterest enemies, of whom, however, he has very few. He has not had more than ordinary common school advantages ; but from earliest childhood he displayed great aptitude and love for his studies. His especial forte was mathematics, and he has acquired a reputation as a correct and careful accountant, and from boyhood one of his chief pleasures has been derived from the solution of mathematical problems. But for an innate love of, and capacity for, busi- ness, he would have attained distinction in the walks of learning. Diffident to a fault, he has to be known, and known intimately, to be appreciated. In active life few men accomplish so much with so little noise.

Mr. JOHNSON'S parents were Baptists. He is orthodox in his religious views, though not a member of a church.

In politics he has ever been a Republican. He cast his first vote when the foundations of the party were being laid, and has supported it steadily ever since.

JOHN KEENAN.

Mr. KEENAN" represents the Twelfth New York district, and is a native of Ireland, where he was born February 27, 1844. He came to this country at an early age, however, and took up his residence in New York city. There he received his education in the public schools, and afterward became engaged in mercantile pursuits. He is at present a dealer in wines and liquors, and is doing a prosperous busi- ness. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 930, two candidates, JOSEPH AROHBOLD, Republican, and L. S. GOEBEL, Independent Democrat, being opposed to him. He is Chairman of the Committee on Public Lands and member of Expenditures of the Executive Department, and

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Trade and Manufactures. He has very little to say in the House, but he is seldom absent from the sessions, and is regarded as a very attentive and efficient member of the present Assembly.

JOHN R. KENNADAY.

Mr. KENNADAY may be regarded as one of the foremost members of the present majority in the State Assembly. He is always in his seat, closely watchful of the progress of legislation, and no measure which does not commend itself to his judgment passes unchallenged. I[e wields a com- manding influence in the House, and the manner in which he has thus far acquitted himself, shows that Speaker Mo GUIRE made a wise selection when he placed him at the head of what is now one of the most important committees in the Assembly, that on General Laws.

JOHN EGBERT KENNADAY was born in Kingston, N. T., on the 12th of September, 1830. Both his parents were na- tives of New York city, his father being the late Eev. JOHN KENNADAY, D. D., a prominent clergyman of the Methodist Episcopal church, and a colleague, and in some respects the counter-part, of Rev. Dr. BETHTJNE. The services of these two divines, as representing what is best in the life and his- tory of Brooklyn, and in brilliant and effective pulpit work, are a part of the most cherished record of the city of churches. Dr. KENNADAY, at the time of his death, in 1863, was presiding elder of the Long Island Conference district.

Young KENNADAY received an excellent preparation for college, and graduated at an early age with distinction from Dickinson College, Pennsylvania. He studied law after his matriculation with that eminent Philadelphia jurist, the late JOSIAH RANDALL, and he began his professional prac-

JOHN R. KENNADAY. 21 7

tice in New York with Mr. JAMES R. JESUP, now a dis- tinguished lawyer, with whom he is still associated. Mr. KENNADAY'S residence has ever since been in Brooklyn. His social and professional position is well known to be of the first order, and his discharge of the duties of a citizen has been marked by identification with the best institutions of Brooklyn. He is a member of the Historical Society, a patron and officer of the Art Association, and the Art Schools, and succeeded FRANKLIN WOODRUFF in the Presi- dency of the Mercantile Library Association.

In politics Mr. KENNADAY has always been a Democrat of the most thoughtful and progressive school, though with what is called " practical politics " he has not been identi- fied beyond the quiet discharge of his duties as a voter. Two years ago, Mr. KENNADAY was made a member of the Brook- lyn Committee of One Hundred. He has . served in that organization on the Committees of Law and Nominations. In the Hundred Mr. KENNADAY was active for good govern- ment and for economy and purity in administration. He is a son-in-law of Mr. JOHN T. MARTIN, a well-known citizen of Brooklyn, and in every personal, intellectual, social and political aspect, he is a man of exalted type.

Mr. KENNADAY'S district is strongly Republican, gener- ally from 600 to 800 majority, and the fact that he received 441 majority in a total vote of 6,000, is perhaps the best proof of his popularity we could cite. In his immediate neighborhood, the old Third ward, he received a majority of 3, in a total vote of 1,417, while Governor Dix's majority was 303. Besides his Chairmanship of General Laws, Mr. KENNADAY holds the second place on the Judiciary Com- mittee, and hence he wields a large influence in shaping the most important legislation of the present session.

While not much given to ambitious efforts in the way

of oratory, Mr. KENNADAY frequently takes part in the

debates, and expresses his views clearly and tersely, his legal

experience and varied information adding great value to

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his suggestions. In debate as well as in ordinary intercourse he is exceedingly courteous and refined in manner and speech, and his relations with all his fellow-members, with- out regard to party, are of the most pleasant and agreeable character.

WILLIAM P. KIEK.

Mr. KIRK, the representative of the Second New York district, is a man about whom there is no nonsense in any respect. He is a plain matter-of-fact gentleman, well-posted in most matters demanding the attention of the Legislature, and performs the duties which devolve upon him quietly and unassumingly. He was born in the city of New York on the llth of August, 1833. His father and mother were both born in Ireland, though they were married in New York city, having emigrated at an early age. The father is a carpenter, and is still living in New York city at the age of 75 years. The subject of our sketch was educated in the common schools of New York city, and, at the proper age, was apprenticed to a sawsmith. He followed this occupa- tion a number of years, but he finally became a wine mer- chant, and is successfully engaged in that business at present. He was married, about 19 years ago, to Miss ANNA L. QUINN, of New York city. He has always acted with the Tammany wing of the Democracy, and, being a life-long resident of New York city, he is well known in political circles. He was a Member of the Assembly of 1864, to which he was elected by a majority of 800, and also in 1874, his majority being 673, and his opponent being THOMAS WILD, a popular Republican. Last fall he was re-elected by a plurality of 1,124 over THOMAS WILD and CHARLES ZOLLER. Aside from his legislative positions, he has never

CHARLES H. KRACK. 219

held any very prominent public office, preferring rather to do effective work in the ranks of his party. He is a Roman Catholic, and, being a man of fine traits of character, he is greatly esteemed by his associates of the New York dele- gation.

CHARLES H. KRACK.

Mr. KEACK was born in Hanover, Prussia, in the year 1828. At the age of seven years he was sent to the common school of Hanover, and subsequently graduated at a military school. He served in the army three years, and then came to America, and procured the position of pilot on one of the Hudson River steamboats, serving in that capacity until the breaking out of the Mexican war, when he enlisted in the army. Before starting for Mexico, he was promoted captain of a company of dragoons. He served with great gallantry under General SCOTT during the entire war, participating, with few exceptions, in all the important engagements, and was promoted to the rank of colonel as a reward for bravery. He had the honor of being present at the capture of the city of Mexico.

At the close of the war, he went to Charleston, S. C., and was overseer of a cotton plantation for some time, but, on the breaking out of the yellow fever, he started for New York city by land, being ninety days on the way. On his arrival in New York, he resumed his old occupation, this time securing a place on one of the East Eiver boats. After three years, he went to Galveston, Texas, and thence overland to San Fran- cisco, Cal. Joining a party of hunters, he traveled extensively through the Western territories, and met with many exciting adventures in the wilds of the Eocky mountains. Finally, he returned to New York and engaged in the hotel business.

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He sold out, however, after a few years, and bought a farm, which he managed successfully, and finally he purchased the salt-water swimming baths in New York, which he owns and conducts at the present time. As a result of his ven- tures and undertakings, he has amassed a respectable fortune, most of which is judiciously invested in farm property. He owns a fine country residence near Woodstock, where he spends much of his time during the summer months.

In politics, Mr. KKACK is and always has been an old fashioned Jeffersonian Democrat, and as such he has several times received honors at the hands of his party. He is representing the Third district of Ulster county for the third time in the Assembly. He was chosen in the fall of 1869, by a majority of 381 over JACOB C. DEPUY, re-elected next year by 87 majority over MARTIN SCHUTT, and again elected last fall by 645 plurality over EDGAR KUSSELL, Ee- publican, and E. D. LOUNSBERY, Temperance. He serves this year as Chairman of the Committee on Grievances, and member of Expenditures of the House.

Mr. KRACK was married at Woodstock, in 1848, to Miss SARAH HARDER. He is a member of the Lutheran denomi- nation, and is a man of strict personal integrity, kindly impulses and benevolent disposition.

' LEOPOLD C. G. KS-HINKA.

Mr. KSHINKA, now serving his second term, is in every sense a self-made man. He occupies a high position in the bar of Albany county, solely as the result of his own exer- tions and persistent, unwearied industry. He is still a young man, and has, perhaps, the most brilliant portion of his career yet before him; but his decided ability and fine natural powers lead us to believe that he will fully realize

LEOPOLD C. G. KSHINKA. 221

the anticipations of those who know him best. He was born in Zerkwitz, province of Brandenburg, Prussia, June 9, 1835. His parents, MATHAUS K. and WILHELMI^A KSHINKA, emigrated to this country in 1850, and are still living on a farm in Bradford county, Pa. His father is finely educated, and for thirty years was an instructor in the provincial schools of Prussia, under a system which, in some respects, is probably the best in the world. He also took a leading part in the Revolution of 1848, and was chosen a Federal and State elector by the Liberal party.

The subject of our sketch received his early education in the Prussian common schools. During the years 1861 and 1862, he attended Fort Edward Institute, and in 1867, he graduated from the Albany Law School, being soon after admitted to the bar. Since then, he has been engaged in the practice of his chosen profession in the city of Albany, with a good and steadily increasing practice.

Upon reaching his majority, Mr. KSHIKKA identified himself with the Democratic party, and has since been stead- fast in his allegiance; but while he maintains his party fealty, his views in reference to all public questions are liberal and progressive, and he never permits partisan consid- erations to blind his sense of right and duty. He has had what may be deemed a preliminary legislative experience in the Board of Supervisors of Albany county, having been a member of that body since the spring of 1872, representing the Tenth ward of Albany city. Since he commenced his public career, the expressions of popular regard for him have been exceedingly gratifying. In 1872, when he was first chosen Supervisor, he ran largely ahead of his ticket, and in the spring of 1873, when he was re-elected, he carried his ward by a respectable majority, though it went Republican at the previous fall election. In the fall of 1873, he was elected member of Assembly from a district (the Second), which had elected Republican members for three successive years, by majorities ranging from 193 to 464. His majority over

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RICHARD B. ROCK, Republican, was 553. He was re-elected last fall by a majority of 426 over CHRISTIAN" SCHURR. The district, on a square party vote, is Democratic, and Mr. KSHIKKA enjoys the honor of having reclaimed it from the enemy. He has proved himself a very active member of the Legislature, especially in looking after the interests of the city of Albany.

He was married August 18, 1869, at Oorinth, Saratoga county, to MAGGIE N. EARLY, daughter of ELIJAH EARLY, Esq. He was brought up in the Evangelical faith, and is a man of deep convictions and high moral purpose.

ALEXANDER B. LAW.

The gentleman whose name heads this article is a plain, honest and substantial farmer, and ranks, in age, among the oldest men of the House. He was born in Salem, Washing- ton county, in October, 1809. His grandfather and father emigrated from the north of Ireland in the year 1769, and settled in what was then the town of New Perth, Albany county, now Salem, Washington county. They were well- to-do farmers, and the son naturally grew up to the same occupation. During his younger days he attended the com- mon schools and the academy at Cambridge, Washington county. He therefore received a fair English education, which, however, has been well supplemented by the knowl- edge derivable from observation and experience.

Mr. LAW was formerly a Whig, but since the Republican party was formed, he has been an earnest and active member thereof, and wields much influence in the town where he has all his life resided. Sufficient evidence of this is, we appre- hend, to be found in the fact that he has held the office of Justice of the Peace steadily for the past thirty years, hav-

HENRY LAWRENCE. 223

ing been first elected in 1845. He was also a member of Board of Supervisors from 1861 to 1866, both years inclu- sive, and for four years was Chairman of the Board. In his first Assembly canvass in 1873, he received all the votes cast in the First District of Washington county, no opp6nent be- ing in the field. Last fall he was elected by a majority of 693 over G-EO. SHANNON, Democrat.

A Protestant in religious belief, Mr. LAW is a man of large and liberal views upon all subjects. He is also gifted with common sense and sound judgment, and, being a man of unimpeachable private character and immovable princi- ples, he is in every respect a fit representative of such a con- stituency as that in the First District of Washington county.

He served last year on the Committees on Eoads and Bridges, Civil Divisions and Expenditures of the House, and is this year on Roads and Bridges and Expenditures of the House.

HENRY LAWRENCE.

The first district of Columbia county is represented by a man of very decided ability and experience, in the person of Hon. HENRY LAWRENCE, of Claverack, who is serving his second term. He was born in New York city, October 15, 1825. His father, PHILIP LAWRENCE, who resided in Col- umbia county many years, is now dead, but his mother is still living. Young LAWRENCE obtained a fair education at the common schools, and became a marine engineer, in which occupation he has visited nearly every country on the globe. He has, therefore, seen a good deal of the world, inasmuch as he has followed that pursuit about 30 years. During the last several years he has been a hotel proprietor at Claverack,

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and may be regarded as quite comfortably off. Since he closed his roving life, he has taken an active interest in poli- tics, being a Democrat. He has never before held office, however. He was elected to the Assembly, in 1873, by 334 majority over JOHN D. LANGDON, Ms Republican opponent, and served on the Committees on Expenditures of the Execu- tive Department and Public Lands. He was re-elected last fall by a majority of 764 over the same opponent, and now serves as Chairman of Indian Affairs, and member of State Prisons and Manufacture of Salt. He is not himself a mem- ber of any religious denomination, but his family are Dutch Eeformed. He is quiet and unassuming in the House, but his physiognomy indicates a good deal of force of character, and he is unquestionably a man of ability.

WILLIAM W. LAWSON.

Mr. LAWSON, of the Second Erie district, has, by his own unaided exertions, risen to a prominent position, both in the business community and in political circles. He is self-made, and possesses those sterling traits of character that win respect and admiration. Always conservative in his views, he is a strong advocate of the right. He possesses qualities which eminently fit him to occupy a place in the legislative halls of the State, and his record thus far in the Assembly is such as to reflect credit upon the city and county of Erie. He has twice served in the Board of Supervisors of that county, his straightforward course of conduct and his excellent business talents rendering him one of the most useful members of the board. The same talents and quali- fications he now employs with advantage in a wider field.

He was born in Buffalo, June 16, 1845, of English parents, his father, RICHARD LAWSON, emigrating from Liverpool.

WILLIAM. W. LAWSON. 225

Both his parents are now deceased. He was educated in the public schools, and at Bryant & Stratton's Commercial Col- lege at Buffalo, thus securing a good preparation for business life. After completing his studies he served as an apprentice with DAVID BELL, one of the largest manufacturers of steam engines in western New York. For some reason, however, he did not follow that occupation, as he subsequently entered into a business partnership with JAMES FABTHING, his father-in-law, one of the heaviest stock dealers in that sec- tion of the State. This connection, which has been exceed- ingly advantageous and successful, is still maintained, the firm also running a meat market, and being engaged in feed- ing cattle awaiting shipment.

He served seven years in the Buffalo Volunteer Fire De- partment, being a member of Eagle Hose, an old and crack organization. For some time he was treasurer of the com- pany, and has always been extremely popular among the " boys," to whose influence, in great measure, he attributes his political success. He accompanied the organization on its famous excursion to Philadelphia in 1867.

Mr. LAWSON'S political status is very easily defined. He cast his first vote for ABKAHAM LINCOLN for President, and ever since has been an ardent and active Kepublican, doing effective work for the party at every election. He is well known throughout his district as a man of ability and strong common sense, and enjoys wide popularity. Sufficient evi- dence of this is found in the fact that he was elected Super- visor in 1871, in a Democratic ward, and re-elected in 1872 by an increased majority, while, last fall, in spite of the " tidal wave," as it is termed, he succeeded in defeating, by a decided majority, a popular Democrat, who represented the same district in the last House. He is a member of the Committees on Privileges and Elections and Public Printing, and in the performance of his legislative duties, whether in the committee room or on the floor, he is able and efficient.

Mr. LAWSON was married, on the 4th of March, 1864, to 29

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Miss ADELIA J. FARTHIHG, of Buffalo. He is a man against whose character no word of reproach can be cast, and in every relation of life he strives to retain the esteem and good will of his fellows.

EDWARD LEWIS.

Mr. LEWIS, who represents the third district of Oneida county, was born in Newport, Herkimer county, on the 17th of December, 1846. His education was obtained at La Salle Academy, New York city, and at the Christian Brothers' Col- lege at St. Louis. He spent several years in the western States, and finally settled down to agriculture, being now engaged in the management of a fine farm at East Florence, Oneida county. In 1870 he held the office of Justice of the Peace. He also held the office of Justice of Sessions, for two years, in the county of Oneida. In the recent Assembly canvass he had two opponents, STEPHEN CROMWELL, Republican, and JAMES LONGLAJTD, Prohibition, but he succeeded in wiping out an adverse majority of nearly three hundred the previous year, and securing his election by a plurality of 446.

Mr. LEWIS has always been a Democrat and is very popular in Oneida county. He is a man of high standing and large influence, and is making an excellent record as a legislator. He is a member of the Committees on Affairs of Villages, Grievances and Civil Divisions.

HARRISON LILLYBRIDGE. 227

HARRISON LILLYBRIDGE.

Mr. LILLYBRIDGE is the son of IRA and LAURA LILLT- BDIDGE, who removed from Stafford Springs, Conn., in Jan- uary, 1824, settling upon the farm in the town of Annsville, Oneida county, on which the son still resides. Mr. LILLY- BKIDGE, Sr., died in April, 1848. HARRISON was born at Stafford Springs, on the 25th of December, 1821. He was brought up mainly upon the farm, obtaining, meanwhile, a good common-school education. He has always followed farming, his place at Saberg station being one of the finest farms in central New York. He has been very successful as an agriculturalist, mainly because of the fact that his farm- ing operations are conducted according to scientific as well as common-sense principles.

Previous to 1856, Mr. LILLYBRIDGE was a Democrat, but in the Fremont campaign he identified himself with the newly organized Eepublican party, and has acted with it ever since. He is a strong temperance man, however, taking an active interest in all practical measures for the advancement of the cause. He has also been active and influential in the Republican party for many years, occupying a leading posi- tion in the local organizations and conventions in Oneida county. He has never been anxious for office, however, his present service in the Assembly being, we believe, the first public position of importance he has held.

Mr. LILLYBRIDGE was married September 30, 1850, to MATILDA SWARTWOUT. His religious sentiments are Baptist. He may be regarded as in every respect a first class man, and is a gentleman of high character, large influence and great usefulness. He is always to be found on the side of reform and progress in public affairs, and, personally is genial, com- panionable, courteous and a typical country gentleman.

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CYRILLO S. LINCOLN.

Being a man of acknowledged ability, sound principles and inflexible integrity, and possessing a large share of per- sonal magnetism, Mr. LINCOLN wields an influence not inferior to that of any other member of the present Assembly. His habit of thinking and acting for himself on all important questions, at the same time maintaining an attitude of entire party fealty, and doing so with such tact and judgment as to commit no mistakes, has secured him the respect as well as the hearty esteem of friends and opponents.

Mr. LINCOLN was born in South Bristol, Ontario county, on the 18th of July, 1833. His father Lucius LINCOLN, was born in Otsego county, and is still living and engaged in farming. Young LINCOLN enjoyed ample educational advan- tages. At the age of twelve he entered the Genesee Wesley an Seminary, subsequently spent some time in the New York Conference Seminary, and, in 1855, entered Union College, graduating from that institution with honor in 1858. He then read law for a year or more at the office of F. L. DUE AND, in Rochester, and was very soon thereafter admitted to the bar. Since then he has practiced successfully, devoting much of his time, however, to grape-growing, owning one of the finest vineyards in that section of the State. In 1864, he was elected Justice of the peace, and held the office until 1871, when he was first elected to the Assembly.

His career in the Assembly has been most creditable to his constituents and to himself. He was elected in 1871 by a majority of 510, but in 1872, his majority reached 810, and, in 1873, in a very light vote, it was 355. Last fall, owing to local influences, and the extraordinary efforts made to defeat him, his majority was reduced to 10. His recognition in Albany has also been marked. Though he had been placed on no

C TRILL o 8. LINCOLN. 229

very important committees the first year, a deserved tribute was paid him by the House later in the session in choos- ing him as one of the managers in the BARNARD impeach- ment trial. The result of that trial is well known, and no one, with perhaps one or two exceptions, labored harder to bring it about than Mr. LINCOLN. In 1873 he was Chair- man of the Committee on Claims, and also a member of the Committee on Petitions of Aliens, of the Sub-Committee of the Whole, and of the special committee to investigate the affairs of the Erie Eailway Company. In 1874 he was Chair- man of Railroads and Eules, and Member of Ways and Means. In the present House he suffers the fate of a min- ority number, and is only on Claims and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

Mr. LINCOLN'S Republicanism is a part of his personality. It is " dyed in the wool." Since the party was organized he has steadily acted with it, voting for FREMONT in 1856, for LINCOLN twice and for GRANT twice. He is, in fact, one of the most active and influential Republicans of Ontario county. As a public speaker he has few superiors. With a voice full and sonorous, an easy and natural manner of de- livery and clear enunciation, he has no difficulty in securing the attention of the House, whatever the topic of discussion. He talks well on all subjects, and is also a clear and acute reasoner, holding, in the main, sound views on all the politi- cal, social and financial questions of the day.

Physically, Mr. LINCOLN is well built, and the embodi- ment of perfect health. His prepossessing countenance is a true index to the man, and harmonizes well with the broad intellectual forehead, luxuriant brown hair and clear blue eyes. The people of the Second district of Ontario are for- tunate in being so well represented in the Assembly.

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JAMES MACKIN.

Mr. MACKIN, a man of prepossessing appearance and pleasant address, represents the First district of Dutchess county for the fourth term. He is a lineal descendant of genuine Irish stock, though his parents were natives of this country, his father having been born in New York, and his mother in Newburgh. They both died, however, within three years of each 'other, before young MACKIN" had reached his eighth year, and he was left entirely without means. Compelled thus to struggle for his own support, from early youth, Mr. MACKIN is necessarily one of those practical self- made men, who contribute so largely to the prosperity of the country.

Born in Newburgh, Orange county, on the 25th of Decem- ber, 1823, he was educated in the common schools of New burgh and Fishkill, and has spent the greater portion of his life in the latter town, where he has had the care of a large estate. During the years 1860, 1861 and 1862, he conducted a mercantile establishment at Fishkill quite successfully. The responsibilities of the estate mentioned were, however, sufficient to give him ample occupation, and he retired from business. Subsequently, he became President of the First National Bank of Fishkill Landing, and still holds that position.

Mr. MACKIN has mingled largely in public and political life. He was an active and influential Whig of the Free Soil stamp, until the party was dissolved. He was not only a delegate to the convention which gave form and cohesion to the Eepublican organization, but, previous to 1866, he was several times a delegate to the conventions of that party, and has held a number of public positions. For four years he was postmaster at Fishkill, holding the position under the

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appointment of President FILLMOEE. In 1862 President LINCOLN" appointed him United States Assessor for the llth (now the 13th) district, and he held the office two years and a half. Four times he was elected Supervisor of his town, and once he was chosen President of the Board. In 1859 he represented his Assembly district in the Legislature, serv- ing on the Committee on Claims, and Internal Affairs of Towns and Counties.

During the past six or seven years, Mr. MACKIN has acted with the Democratic party, and was elected to the Assembly in 1872 as a member of that political organization, receiving a majority of 828 over EDWAKD M. GORING. In 1873 he was re-elected by a majority of 830 over SIDNEY E. BAR- TEAM, and he was re-elected last fall by a plurality of 1,993 over HENRY H. HUSTIS, Kepublican, and G-EOBGE POTTEE, Prohibition. He served in 1873 on the Committee on Kail- roads and Public Printing; in 1874 on Eailroads, Villages and Militia, and is now Chairman of Eailroads and member of Villages and State Charitable Institutions.

Though not greatly given to debate, Mr. MACKIN possesses excellent qualifications for legislative position. He enjoys a large degree of popularity, both in private and public life, and there are few men in his section of the State more deserving of public confidence. He was married in July, 1858, to Miss SAEAH E. WILTSIE, a very intelligent and accomplished lady, and a daughter of JAMES WILTSIE, an old and respected citizen of Fishkill. She was a devout member of the Reformed church, where Mr. MACKIN also worshiped. Her death took place in 1862, and her place in the family circle has never been filled. Mr. M. has been reasonably successful in all his business undertakings, and may be regarded as in quite comfortable circumstances.

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KNOX MCAFEE.

Mr. McAFEE represents the Eleventh New York district, and is a young New Yorker of unblemished character. He is of Scotch descent, both his parents, WILLIAM and ELIZA- BETH McAFEE, being also residents of the metropolis. Mr. McAFEE was born in New York city, January 3, 1843, and has resided there all his life. Aside, therefore, from his unquestioned ability and his qualifications in other respects, he is peculiarly well-fitted to represent the great city in the Legislature. Mr. McAFEE is finely educated, having gradu- ated from the College of the City of New York in the class of 1862, receiving the degree of A. B. Though a man of much literary culture and fine taste, his inclination has not led him to adopt either of the professions. During the past few years he has been in the real estate business, in which he has been reasonably successful.

During the war, Mr. McAFEE organized a company for the 12th New York Infantry, and was commissioned as Captain, April 29, 1862, being at the time but nineteen years of age. He proceeded to the front with the regiment. He was, how- ever, taken prisoner at Harper's Ferry, and paroled. On being exchanged early in 1863, he immediately returned to service with his regiment, and was promoted to the rank of Major and afterward to that of Lieutenant-Colonel, remaining with the Twelfth regiment during its term of service. His war record is, therefore, in the highest degree honorable. When he returned home he brought with him a youthful " contra- band," a bright, young fellow, who became devotedly attached to him. Col. McAFEE reciprocated the attachment by giving him a thorough education in New York city, and he is now filling a position of responsibility, being respected and trusted by all who know him.

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In politics, Mr. McAFEE has always been a Eepublican. He was never before a candidate for any elective office, but during four years he held the position of Deputy Collector of Internal Eevenue of the eighth district of New York, and for three years he was a United States Gauger in the Custom House. He resigned both positions, however, pre- ferring the emoluments of a business rather than an official career. He was greatly disinclined to accept the Assembly nomination, which had been repeatedly tendered by his friends, but, at the earnest solicitation of those friends, he finally consented to accept what was to him a personal sacri- fice. His majority in 1873 over the combined Tammany and Apollo Hall vote was 896, his opponent being OLIVER P. BUEL, and his plurality last fall over Mr. BUEL and C. H. COURTNEY, an independent Democrat, was 1,561. Such majorities are not frequently vouchsafed to Eepublican Assem- bly candidates in the metropolis, and it indicates the regard in which he is held by the voters of the eleventh district. Mr. M. served last year on the Committees on Cities and Militia, and is this year a member of Banking and Militia.

Adhering to the Presbyterian faith — the faith of his fathers — Mr. McAFEE is, in all respects, -a man of integrity and rectitude. His legislative action is, therefore, governed by principle, and his vote on every question may be regarded as the expression of what he conscientiously believes to be right. His course in the House is marked by a quiet and reserved demeanor, in strong contrast with the volubility of some other members of that body, but his keen black eye intently watches the progress of legislation, and he is able to vote understandingly when his name is called.

Mr. McAFEE was married on the 8th of June, 1870, to Miss OLLIE V. KIRBY, of New York.

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JOHN T. McGOWAlST.

Mr. McGowAN represents the sixteenth New York district, in which Governor TILDEN" resides, and is a wide awake and active member of the majority. He achieved some promi- nence early in the session because of his determined opposition to a couple of bills relating to the disposition of children.

He was born in Ireland, December 21, 1838, but came to this country with his parents at a rery early age. He was then bereft of both father and mother when but seven years old. Consequently he was obliged to depend upon his own resources at a very tender age, and it is greatly to his credit that he succeeded in acquiring an excellent education. This he obtained in the day and evening schools of the metropolis, improving to the utmost such advantages as were within his reach. On January 6, 1851, at the age of 12, he entered the law office of BEEBE, BETTS & DONOHUE. Five years later the firm was changed to BEEBE, DEAN & DOXOHUE, but he remained in the office until November, 1868, becoming at an early period general manager and having an interest in the firm, which had the largest clientage of any law firm in the country. He was duly admitted to the bar while con- nected with the firm1 mentioned, and is now practicing the profession on his own account with success. '

Mr. McGowAN has always been a Democrat, but he never before held any office in the gift of the party. In the recent canvass he became a candidate for the Assembly at the sug- gestion of Governor TILDES, and was elected by a plurality of 1,030, after a very exciting contest, his opponents being PETER WOODS, who has twice represented the district, and CHAS. E. L. HOLMES, a popular Eepublican.

Mr. McGowAN is a member of the Eoman Catholic Church, and is yet in a condition of single blessedness.

JOHN MCGROARTY.

JOHN McGEOARTY.

Mr. McGrKOARTY represents, for the second time, the dis- trict which, for several years, sent us the veteran JACOBS, who is promoted to the Senate. He is a well-known poli- tician of the Ninth "Ward, Brooklyn ; and though he is com- paratively a young man, he has mingled considerably in the local politics of the City of Churches, where he has resided all his life. He was born in Brooklyn on the 14th of Febru- ary, 1838, and educated in the public schools of that city. He learned the trade of a hatter, and followed that occupa- tion some years, but of late he has been engaged in the real estate business, and, pecuniarily, is quite well off. For sev- eral years he has been an Alderman for the Ninth Ward of Brooklyn.

He does not take a very active part in the Assembly, so far, at least, as the debates are concerned, but his name is attached to a good many measures designed to advance the inrerests of his constituents, and he makes a creditable record. His majority over JOHN" OAKET, the Republican candidate in 1873, was 714, a gain of nearly 150 over Mr. JACOBS' last majority, and, last fall, he was re-elected by the largely increased majority of 1,079 over JOHIS" STINSON, Republican. He has been a member of the Committee on Cities two years, and serves, also, this year, as chairman of the Sub-committee of the Whole and member of Federal Relations.

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JAMES A. MERWIN.

Mr. MERWIN, who serves in the Assembly for the first time, was born at Leyden, Lewis county, January 8, 1827, and still resides at Port Leyden, where he is a prominent and valued citizen. He was educated partly in the common schools, but mainly at Wileston Seminary, Massachusetts. Soon after reaching his majority he entered business life, and for many years he has been an extensive lumber dealer, and has been quite successful. He has served three years in the Lewis county Board of Supervisors. Though chosen from a district usually Kepublican, Mr. MERWIN is a life-long Demo- crat, and wields much influence in the councils of his party. He defeated SIDNEY SYLVESTER, a former member of the House, in the late canvass, by a majority of 302.

Mr. MERWIN possesses a fine physique, his physiognomy indicating strength of character, and a clear and well bal- anced judgment. He is a very capable member, and enjoys the esteem of his associates. He is a member of the Com- mittees on Roads and Bridges and Agriculture.

JAMES W. MILLER.

Mr. MILLER is one of those nervous and energetic indi- viduals who conquer success by sheer impetuosity. He is not brilliant, as the phrase goes, but he is able, courageous, and undaunted, and gifted with a large stock of common sense and discriminating judgment. These are prime quali- ties in mercantile life, and they are undoubtedly the secret of his success. Those who have marked his career in the

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Assembly thus far predict for him a pronounced success in the field of politics. He came to Albany with no legislative experience whatever. He never had made a speech before a public assembly in his life ; nevertheless he has taken fair rank as a debater, and has shown himself to be a good off- hand speaker. Inasmuch as he is a man of sterling honesty and high purpose, there is every prospect that he has a dis- tinguished career before him.

Mr. MILLER is the son of JAMES W. and ELZA MILLER, who resided in Newburgh all their lives, and lived and died much like the patriarchs of old, being simple and unosten- tatious in their habits, and greatly honored and respected by a wide circle of friends. He was born in Newburgh in the year 1830, and after receiving a fair education at home and in the common schools, followed the footsteps of his father and entered mercantile life. He still conducts the business established by his grandfather, and is able to boast a reason- able success.

In politics Mr. MILLER has always been a Democrat, and is an ardent advocate of the principles of free trade and home rule. He has always lived and voted in the first assembly district of Orange county, which, though usually Republican by from 400 to 1,200 majority, elected him to the Assembly by a plurality of 371 over the Eepublican and Temperance candidates. He is a member of the Presbyterian denomina- tion, is still unmarried, and is well known in Newburgh as an upright and public-spirited citizen.

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WARNER MILLER.

Though Mr. MILLER made his first appearance in public official life as a member of the last Legislature, he leaped at once into a prominent position in that body, and wields a large influence. He possesses marked ability, and is ex- tremely clear-headed and practical in his ideas. Accustomed to think and act for himself upon every question, his views are characterized by originality and boldness, and he does not hesitate to back up his opinions by arguments which are couched in the plainest and most effective language. Being an extensive manufacturer, whatever tends to advance the industrial interests of the State naturally enlists his warm sympathy, but at the same time his efforts in that direction are inspired by no selfish considerations. The welfare of the community at large is uppermost in his mind. He is also a warm friend of the common schools of the State, and is a steadfast opponent of any efforts to encourage other educa- tional systems at the expense of that which, in its scope and mission, is peculiarly adapted to the whole people. In the last session Mr. MILLER attracted attention because of the proposition, initiated by himself, to strike from the general appropriation bill the clause giving $125,000 to the academies of the State. He made a powerful speech in advocacy of his motion to strike out, and carried the House with him by a decided majority, but when the bill reached the Senate, the clause was re-inserted after protracted discussion. He gives to the consideration of every question great earnestness and deep thought, and his speeches are always direct and to the point.

Mr. MILLER was born in Oswego county, August 12, 1838. He is of German descent, his ancestors having emigrated to this country previous to the Revolutionary war. His great

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grandfather was a colonel in that memorable conflict, and his dwelling, which is still standing at White Plains, was occupied by Gen. WASHINGTON as- his head-quarters. ABRAHAM MIL- LER, an uncle of the present Assemblyman, represented Westchester county for fourteen successive years in the As- sembly.

Young MILLER was fortunate in the educational oppor- tunities he enjoyed. He passed through the usual common- school experience in early youth, and when he reached a proper age, entered Union College at Schenectady. From that institution he graduated in 1860, standing well with his class. After graduating, he taught for a short period at Fort Edward Institute. After the war broke out he enlisted as a private in the Third New York Cavalry, and was afterward promoted to the grade of Sergeant- Major. "He saw much arduous service in Virginia under SHERIDAN and others, and at the battle of Winchester he was taken prisoner by " STONEWALL" JACKSON'S brigade, and was paroled on the field. At this time he was acting Lieutenant. After receiv- ing an honorable discharge from the army, Mr. MILLER spent some time in Europe, gaining important knowledge concerning the manufacture of paper. On his return he es- tablished himself in the paper business at Herkimer, and is still carrying on that branch of manufacture successfully, employing a large number of hands. In July, 1864, he was married at Gloversville, N. Y., to CAROLINE CHURCHILL.

Mr. MILLER is known throughout Herkimer county as an active Republican, but he has never before accepted office. Of refined tastes, rare culture, and possessing excellent social qualities, he is deservedly popular. He is also widely re- spected and honored for his high character and strict prin- ciples. No man in the present Assembly is more entirely unsuspected, or free from contaminating influences than the member from Herkimer. He is a consistent member of the Methodist church, and in his private life is entirely without reproach. Last year he was a member of the Committees on

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Insurance, Engrossed Bills, and Sub-Committee of the Whole, and took rank among the most effective of the working members. This year he is a member of Ways and Means and Canals.

NICHOLAS MULLER.

The gentleman who represents the First district of New York merits a more extended notice than our space affords, as he is a man of marked characteristics in whatever light we regard him. Commencing his manhood amid penury and hardship, and beset by discouragements that would appal a less determined spirit, he fought his way step by step until he occupied a position of influence in the community, where he was able to extend a helping hand to others not so for- tunate. Very few residents of the lower wards of New York need to be told who NICHOLAS MULLER is. His public spirit, kindness of heart and fine social qualities are widely known, and hundreds have had occasion to know and appre- ciate the generosity and benevolence which are distinguishing characteristics of his nature. He is best known in the First ward, where he has spent thousands of dollars in rendering practical aid to his friends in misfortune. As a result, he possesses unbounded popularity, without much regard to party lines. He has resided in the ward about twenty- three years, and so thoroughly is he identified with its interests that he is undoubtedly the fittest representative that could be selected from its precincts.

NICHOLAS MULLER was born in the village of Differyange, near Metz, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, on the 15th of November, 1836. He is, therefore, now about thirty- eight years of age.

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His father, JOHN" MULLEE, was a man of considerable importance in the place, being a member of the Board of Councilmen, a position analogous to our municipal aldermen. He was a wholesale wine merchant, and pecu- niarily interested in a large iron foundry. In 1852 he emigrated to this country, and is now a wholesale grocer and liquor merchant at Savannah, Ga. Young MULLER obtained the rudiments of an education in the Luxem- bourg Athenaeum and in a private institution at Metz, and determining, at the age of fifteen, to try his for- tunes in America, he embarked for New York two years before his father, and landed in that city without a friend to whom he could look for counsel, ignorant of the Ian-' guage and customs of the new world, and possessing very little ready money. After a fruitless search for employment in the city he went to the interior of the State, and in the neighborhood of Schenectady he obtained employment on a farm at seven dollars a month, in the meantime diligently applying himself to the study of the English language. After a year spent in this way he returned to New York, and after some viscissitudes and spending a brief probation at minor duties, he obtained employment at Castle Garden as passenger agent of the Pennsylvania Central Kailroad Company. This was his starting point. Fidelity to his duties secured promotion, and he steadily advanced from one point of responsibility to another until he became one of the most valuable and efficient railroad men in the metropolis. The emigrant department was his speciality. When his engagement with the Pennsylvania Central closed, he entered into relations with the Central Eailroad of New Jersey, and mainly through his efforts a new system of the emigrant busi- ness was inaugurated, the object of which was to facilitate the rapid transit of passengers to their destination. Mr. MULLER visited the principal points of debarkation in Europe and established agencies. He also opened offices for the sale of tickets in all the principal cities and large towns 16

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of continental Europe, which enabled passengers to go direct to any part of the United States without delay or trouble. He thus established an immense and important business, in which he is still engaged, being, however, at present con- nected with the Erie Railway.

Mr. MULLEB is a Democrat of the old Jackson school, and for many years he has been exceedingly active and influ- ential in the politics of his district. He has been connected with the Apollo Hall wing of the Democracy, though for some time past he has been a member of Tammany Hall. Though contributing largely in time and means in support of the local organizations, he has never before held a political office. Last fall he accepted the Assembly can- didacy and was elected by the handsome majority of 1,178. He serves in the House on the Committees on Railroads, Salt, and Two-thirds and Three-fifths Bills, being Chairman of the latter. He is not a frequent speech -maker in the Assembly, preferring to win distinction in a more quiet and oftentimes more effective way, namely, by doing his whole duty toward his constituents without parade or ostentation. During the recent canvass a political club in the First ward was named in his honor, and he was also a member of several such organizations, being President of the Germania Demo- cratic Union, and also of the Magnus Gross Association.

In addition to his railroad connection, Mr. MULLER has other large interests, and has been a director in the Germania Bank since its organization. He is a man of family, having married an amiable and accomplished lady in the year 1859. In person, Mr. MULLEB is about five feet ten inches in height, of a robust and vigorous frame, full, round face, beaming with amiability and good nature, and features on which the best traits of humanity are indelibly stamped. He is the personifi- cation of health, his fresh complexion, and clear, sparkling eye, indicating exemplary habits. His character, socially and polit- ically, is above the slightest reproach, and his legislative career cannot fail to be honorable to himself and his constituents.

JAMES M. OAKLEY. 243

JAMES M. OAKLEY.

Mr. OAKLEY is now serving his fifth term as the represen- tative from the second district of Queens county, and ranks, in point of continuous service, as next to the oldest Demo- cratic member of the present Legislature. He was born in New York city, on the 19th of June, 1839, received a thorough academic education, and for several years was engaged in the buying and selling of real estate. Latterly he has, in a measure, retired from active business. He now resides at Jamaica, Queens county, where he is very popular among all classes.

Mr. OAKLEY has mingled considerably in politics, and enjoys the confidence of his party in a very large measure. He was a Republican previous to 1864, but in that year he voted for Gen. MCCLELLAN, and he has since been steadily identi- fied with the Democratic party. No other man in his district ever had' the fortune to be elected to the Assembly so many times in succession. In the canvass of 1872 extraordinary efforts were made to defeat him, but he received a majority of 141 over THEODORE J. COGSWELL, Republican, and was the only Democrat elected in Queens county. His majority in 1873 was 895, HENRY C. JOHNSON running against him, and last fall he was elected by a plurality of 1,058, his oppo- nents being H. H. ROWLAND, Republican, and OWEN S. GAVIN and H. T. BEDELL, Independents. Mr. OAKLEY is a man of unusually prepossessing appearance and genial man- ners. Well posted in the routine of legislation, though not a great talker, he is an efficient and valuable member, and much esteemed by all so fortunate as to possess his friendship.

He has served on the Committees on Roads and Bridges, Banks, Militia, Sub-Committee of the Whole, Commerce and

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Navigation and Public Printing, and this year he is Chair- man of Commerce and Navigation and member of Insurance. In 1873 his seat was contested by Mr. COGSWELL, but the committee unanimously decided in favor of Mr. OAKLEY, after a thorough investigation.

I

MICHAEL O'KEEFE.

Mr. O'KEEFE is a young man of much ability, and worthily represents the Seventh district of Kings county. He was born in Ireland, September 28, 1837, and came to this country at an early age. Locating with his parents in New York city, he received his education in the public schools of that city, and finally engaged in mercantile pursuits. For several years he was clerk in the office of a New York gas company. He is now a wholesale dealer in ales.

When the Eebellion broke out, Mr. O'KEEFE was among the first to volunteer, and went to the front on the 19th of April, 1861, with the famous Sixty-Ninth Regiment, New York State Militia. In the following May he was promoted to Lieutenant, and a few months later commissioned as Captain. He acquitted himself honorably during his term of service, and enjoyed the esteem of his comrades. Though long known as an active Democrat, Mr. O'KEEFE has not before held office. He was elected at a special election, held to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. STEPHEN J. COLAHAN, by a plurality of 120, J. C. DENCKE, Republican, and JOHN W. FLAHERTY, Democrat, being his opponents. He is a member of the Committees on Roads and Bridges and Public Health, and is regarded as an able and conscien- tious member of the House.

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ALANSON S. PAGE.

Mr. PAGE, who is now for the first time in the Assembly, is a well-known lumber manufacturer and dealer in Oswego ; a man of sound financial standing, unswerving integrity and high character, a fit representative of a city which deems it essential to her interests to invariably send one of her best men to the Legislature. With the progress and growth of that city, Mr. PAGE is intimately identified. He possesses, moreover, liberal ideas and comprehensive knowledge con- cerning her commercial needs and possibilities, and is fully awake to the nature of her business relations with other cities, and to what constitutes her rightful share in the volume of trade. His undoubted prominence in commercial and financial circles, and his knowledge of our great channels of intercommunication, led to his being placed at the head of the Canal Committee, and in that commanding position he has amply justified the confidence of the Speaker of the House and deserved the approbation of commercial men throughout the State.

Mr. PAGE, who is of New England stock, was born at Providence, Saratoga county, on the 30th of June, 1825. His father, DAVID PAGE, was one of the early contractors in the construction of the Erie canal, in connection with the late Hon. STEPHEN CLAEK and ALANSON SUMNEK, of Albany. He died about a year since, at the advanced age of 87. Mr. PAGE'S maternal ancestors were SUMMERS. His maternal grandfather, KOBEBT SUMNER, who was a man of marked ability, emigrated from Connecticut about the year 1795, and settled in the town of Edinburgh, Saracoga county, where he died at a very advanced age.

Mr. PAGE was educated at common schools until his six- teenth year. The next three years were spent in Galway

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academy and the Oneida Conference seminary at Cazenovia» He designed adopting the profession of J;he law, and with that object in view he entered the law office of Hon. CLARK S. GRINNELL, at Northampton, Fulton county, where he remained a student for some time. Afterward he studied with the well-known law firm of S. & C. STEVENS, in Albany, and was admitted to the bar in 1848. After practicing a year in the village of Salina, however, he abandoned the law and entered upon a business career, settling soon afterward in Oswego, and embarked in the manufacture of lumber, which he carried on very extensively, having large mills and extensive timber tracts of land in Canada and Michigan. He is still engaged in the lumber trade, and has- acquired a wide reputation as a business man of great ability.

Though gifted with abilities which fit him for any posi- tion of trust or responsibility, Mr. PAGE has generally declined the honors of public life, the only office he has held, previous to his present position, being that of Mayor of Oswego, which he filled during the years 18G9, 1870, 1871 and 1872. He won universal esteem from men of all parties for the discreet performance of his municipal duty, and his popularity steadily increased during each year of his incumbency. The fact of his popularity, however, needs no further evidence than is found in the circumstances attend- ing his election to the Assembly. He was placed in nomi- nation by a party which the previous year was in a minority to the extent of eleven hundred votes, to oppose a man (Mr. CHENEY AMES), whose qualifications were in all respects fully equal to his own, and he succeeded in defeating him by a majority pf 376. Such a mark of confidence is not fre- quently paid to public men, but it was no more than a just tribute to the sterling worth of ALANSON S. PAGE. Mr. PAGE has always been a sound Democrat, and has for many years occupied a leading position in the party. Besides being Chairman of the Canal Committee, he is member of the Committee on Charitable and Religious Societies. He is a

JOHN F. PECK. 247

man of few words, straightforward, practical and methodical in advancing legislation in his charge, and is habitually cour- teous and dignified in his manner. He was married in 1853, to ELSIE B., only daughter of the late Dr. D. M. BENSON, of Geddes.

JOHN F. PECK.

Mr. PECK comes from Jefferson county, where resides a constituency from whence is derived a steady-going and honest class of legislators, men whose mission it is to make laws that will benefit the people and not oppress them. Of this class, Mr. PECK is a fair representative. He has been a farmer all his life, as was his father before him, and like most of that class of citizens he is plain and practical in his ideas. Having resided all his life in Jefferson county, he is fully conversant with the interests and needs of that sec- tion of the State, and is well qualified to speak and vote in its behalf.

He was born on the 22d of September, 1824, in Cham- pion, Jefferson county, and married thirty-one years later to a Jefferson county lady, Miss EMILY A. GORDON". His fa- ther, JOSEPH PECK, Jr., also a native of the same county, and a farmer, resided during most of his life on the farm still occupied by the son, and died in 1846. JOSEPH PECK, his paternal grandfather, lived in the same town and was also a farmer. He served as an artificer during the Revolution- ary war, and the family still hold his honorable discharge, signed by Gen. WASHINGTON. The subject of the present narrative received a good education at the common schools, and also at the Black River Literary and Religious Insti- tute, and qualified himself thoroughly for the duties of man- hood. He was brought up as a Whig, receiving his politi- cal education from the Albany Weekly Journal, which he

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took for more than thirty years. He joined the Republican party on its organization, and has acted with it ever since. Besides representing his town in the Board of Supervisors, he has never before held any important office. He was elected last fall by 453 majority over ANDREW SMITH, his Demo- cratic opponent.

NATHAN D. PETTY.

Mr. PETTY is a prosperous and influential lawyer of River- head, Suffolk county. He is now serving his second term in the Assembly, and is well known to the bar of the State, and to the entire community in his section, as a man of fine ability and a wide-awake politician. He was born at Good- ground, Suffolk county, on the 6th of January, 1842, and is therefore still quite a young man. His parents, CHAKLES and HAREIET PETTY, are both living. His ancestors were American for two or three generations back, but they were originally English in both branches. His father is a farmer, and owns a valuable estate at Goodground. In 1857 young PETTY entered Sanbornton Bridge Seminary, N. H., and remained one year. Afterward he spent a term at Fort Edward Institute, and also a year at Eastman's Business College in Poughkeepsie, and deeming himself fully qualified, he entered Princeton College in 1860, graduating therefrom in June, 1865. In 1864, while a student at Princeton, he obtained a leave of absence from the Faculty, and stumped the States of New York and New Jersey in the Presidential canvass, making numerous exceedingly effective speeches for the Republican cause. He has always spoken in most of the campaigns since that time, and in this respect his service to the party has been invaluable. After graduating from Princeton with high honors, Mr. PETTY entered the Albanv

NATHAN D. PETTY. 249

Law School, from which he graduated the following year, and was admitted to the bar of the State, in May, 1866. He commenced practicing at Goodground the same year, but that locality not affording sufficient field for his talents, he removed to Kiverhead, his present place of residence, in 1868. He has been eminently successful in his profession, and is now enjoying a large and constantly increasing practice.

Mr. PETTY has been a Republican all his life, and from a very early age was actively engaged in politics. Never but once, however, did he hold public office previous to his elec- tion to the Assembly. In 1869 he was appointed Assistant Assessor of Internal Eevenue for Suffolk, and held the posi- tion until May, 1873, when the office was abolished. In 1873 he ran against WILSOK J. TERRY, the Democratic nominee, and EDWARD Y. REEVE, Prohibition, and was elected by what was, in proportion to the votes polled, the largest majority ever given to a candidate in Suffolk county. His majority over TERRY was 1,285, and over both TERRY and REEVE, 1,199. The total vote was 6,385. The Republi- can majority in the district the previous year was 1,302, but the total vote was 8,390. Last fall he was elected by a plurality of 411, his opponents being RICHARD JENFIHGS, Democrat, and DAVID M. EDWARDS, Prohibition.

Mr. PETTY'S personal appearance is quite striking, and, indeed, he may be regarded as one of the good-looking members of the House. His finely proportioned form, pale, but expressive countenance, well moulded features, and coal- black eyes and hair, make up an outward individuality which would attract attention anywhere. He is also an excellent speaker, and, whether it be on the political stump, in a court of law or on the floor of the Assembly Chamber, he is equally at home in the delivery of those short and pointed speeches which seem to exactly cover the point at issue, and carry conviction with them. His language is invariably chaste and well chosen, and his views are generally sound. His oratorical efforts are therefore quite effective.

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He is not, however, noted for " much speaking," and when he does rise to address the House, it is usually upon the spur or inspiration of the moment. In the last House he was especially earnest in his advocacy of the Compulsory Edu- cational bill, but he also took an active interest in all the important legislation of the session, and made several excel- lent speeches upon the constitutional amendments then under discussion. In the present House he is equally active and prominent, his brilliant oratorical efforts, and his judi- cious course as a member of the minority serving to greatly increase his reputation. A. number of his speeches have attracted newspaper comment, and some of them may be ranked among the best speeches of the session.

In religious faith, Mr. PETTY is a Congregationalist. His private character is, in all respects, irreproachable, and he is greatly respected in the community where he resides. He was married June 29, 1865, to CORNELIA BAIMAN, daughter of WILLIAM KAIMAN, of Newtown, R. I.

LUCIUS C. PIERSON.

Mr. PIERSON", the Democratic member from the Second district of Steuben county, is an influential citizen, and a man of considerable ability. He was born in Cameron on the 6th of December, 1833, and is, as the phrase goes, a self-made man, owing nothing to family or money influence. His parents were in limited circumstances and consequently he had no other educational advantages than those afforded by the common schools. His father, GEO. S. PIERSOST, was a lumberman in early life and finally turned his atten- tion to the practice of law. Mr. PIERSON readily saw, as he grew up, that his future prospects depended entirely upon himself, and he applied himself with energy to

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qualify himself for the battle of life. His steady habits and turn for business won confidence and esteem, and he soon made a place for himself. During most of his life he has been actively engaged in farming or mercantile pursuits, and has been reasonably successful in both. His main business at present is farming. He has also found time to serve the public in a number of capacities. He was elected Justice of the Peace at the age of twenty-one, and held the office eight years. Twice, in 1872 and 1873, he was elected Supervisor of the town of Cameron and served in the board with credit. In the larger field to which he has been transferred by his election to the Assembly, he is doing good work for his constituents, and bids fair to materially add to his already enviable repu- tation. He is a quiet and modest member, but very attentive. The fact that he, a Democrat, was elected by a plurality of over 800, in a Kepublican district, shows that he is well thought of at home. He is a member of the Committees on Claims, Manufacture of Salt and Civil Divisions.

Mr. PIERSON was married, on the 4th of August, 1860, to CHARLOTTE L. BRIGGS, of Corning. He* is a firm believer in the Christian religion, and is in all respects a quiet, useful citizen.

SETH G. POPE.

The most casual visitor to the Assembly chamber would scarcely fail to notice the tall and striking form of the mem- ber from Ogdensburgh. He is head and shoulders above the average of men in height, and his face, in which are strongly marked lines of character, is set in a flowing iron-gray beard. He gives the impression at once that he is a man of much ability, force of character, and tenacious purpose, and it is but just to observe that acquaintance strengthens such an impression.

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SETH GEISWOLD POPE was born in Great Harrington, Berkshire county, Mass., on the 14th of December, 1819.

His father, EBENEZER POPE, a native of Connecticut, moved in early life to Berkshire, Mass., where he lived until his death, in 1842, at the age of 68, and was a man of sterling worth and integrity. He was a Democrat of the Jeffersonian school, and as such represented his town several terms in the Legislature. His mother's maiden name was ZADT PED- DLE. She was widely known as a lady of exalted Chris- tian faith and character, remarkable alike for her kindly and loving disposition and large charity. She died in 1863, at the age of 84, leaving a large family, the young- est of whom is the subject of our sketch. Mr. POPE enjoyed rather limited educational advantages during his youth, though he obtained some instruction in a common school. Previous to his majority he served four years at the carpenter and joiner's trade, having charge of part of his employers' business before his term expired. At the age of twenty-two he commenced business for himself. During the eight years following, he built some of the best buildings in southern Berkshire, as well as several railroad bridges. He removed to Ogdensburgh in 1850, and engaged in the manu- facture of doors, sashes, blinds, and similar articles. This business he still successfully continues at Ogdensburgh. Since he has resided in Ogdensburgh, however, he has also been extensively engaged as a contractor, among his numer- ous works of magnitude being a portion of the new reservoir in Central Park, New York, and several grain warehouses and elevators in Canada. For some years he has been gen- eral agent for the King Iron Bridge Company in the eastern States, where he is well known. He is also engaged in the hardware business in Ogdensburgh. In all his multifarious enterprises he has been uniformly successful, and enjoys wide repute for strict integrity, rare business sagacity and indomitable energy.

L. BRADFORD PRINCE. 253

In early life Mr. POPE was a Free Soil Democrat, but he was one of the first to enlist in the Kepublican ranks, and he has since been a strong supporter of the principles of that organization. He was the first Republican President of the village of Ogdensburgh, and during the years 1863, 1864 and 1865, he represented the town of Oswegatchie in the Board of Supervisors. He invariably carries into every public position the same qualities which govern his conduct as a business man, and in him, therefore, the people have a clear-headed and capable representative. Lie was elected to the Assembly, in 1873, by a majority of 582 over EDWIN G. DODGE, and served on the Committee on Commerce and Navigation and Manufacture of Salt. Last fall he was re- elected by a plurality of 1,690, his opponents being LEWIS HASBROUCK, Democrat, and S. V. E. HENDRICK, Prohibition. He serves now on Trade and Manufactures and State Charitable Institutions.

Mr. POPE has been twice married. His first wife was ISABELLA M. CARTER of Whitesboro, Oneida county. She died in 1857, leaving one child. In 1860 he married Mrs. H. C. CHAPIN, daughter of B. F. HASKELL, of West Corn- wall, Vt. The result of this marriage is one son and one daughter.

. L. BRADFORD PRINCE.

In view of his five years' record as a legislator, his emi- nence in the legal profession, his prominence in literature and politics, and his honorable connection with societies and institutions of learning, Mr. PRINCE may be regarded as one of the prominent men of our State. A finely cultivated gentleman, a thorough scholar, a brilliant and forcible speaker, and a man of decided and advanced opinions in

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most departments of thought, he is well qualified to main- tain a leading position in a legislative body. Mr. PRINCE was born in Flushing, his present place of residence, on the 3d of July, 1840. He is a lineal descendant of Gov. WM. BRADFORD, of Plymouth, one of the "Men of the May- flower," and inherits many of the sturdy virtues of his Puritan ancestry. Both his grandfather and his great-grand- father, on the maternal side, were Governors of Rhode Island, and on the paternal side, he comes of the well-known PRINCE family, of horticultural fame. After spending much of his youth in South Carolina and Florida in search of health, he was engaged, for a short time, in horticultural pursuits at Flushing, but his tastes leading him to the law, he entered Columbia Law School, from which he graduated with the highest honors, receiving the $200 prize in Political Science. In 1868 he was complimented by being chosen as the Alumni orator, and is now President of the Alumni As- sociation of the Law School. As a lawyer he stands high, being a clear and incisive reasoner, and possessing rare ability as an advocate. He indulges in very little fanciful rhetoric, relying mainly upon carefully presented facts and well digested deductions therefrom.

Mr. PRINCE'S political career reaches over a period of more than sixteen years, embracing the whole history of the Republican party. His interest in political matters early developed itself, and as long ago as 1856 — in the Fremont campaign — he was an active writer and worker, receiving a special vote of thanks from the town club, of which he was too young to be a member. In 1860, though still not a voter, he acted as officer of the local organization, delegate, speaker, etc., enthusiastically supporting the Lincoln ticket. Since that time he has always been actively engaged in political work, though living in a county where the heavy Demo- cratic majority precluded all expectation of personal advance- ment ; and, as a political speaker, is well known in many sections of the State. Thirteen years ago he was chosen a

L. BRADFORD PRINCE. 255

member of the Republican Committee of Queens county, and has been its presiding officer for several years. He was also a delegate to the Chicago National Convention in 1868, and in the following year a member of the State Committee. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1870, when he received a majority of 1,415, although the district is about 600 Demo- cratic.

Mr, PRINCE'S popularity, in fact, has never been bounded by party lines, men of all shades of political belief recogniz- ing the fact that his splendid abilities are available for the welfare of the whole people. Though not entirely unknown in the State at large when he entered the Assembly, his talents commanded speedy recognition in that body, and his skill as a debater and his legislative efficiency were soon appa- rent. In the fall of 1871 he was again placed in nomina- tion, and though his opponent was the strongest Democrat in the district, and a man who had served two terms in the Assembly and one in the State Senate, Mr. PRINCE received a majority of 1,169. In the fall of 1872 he received the extraordinary compliment of a request for his continuance in office, signed by over 2,000 voters, irrespective of party. He was thereupon nominated by acclamation, and elected with- out opposition. Such a tribute to high personal character and exceptional official fidelity, is rarely extended to a public man, and all who know Mr. PRINCE will readily admit that it was in every way deserved. In the fall of 1873 he was tendered the Senatorial nomination, but he declined it for rea- sons in the highest degree honorable to him. He received a unanimous renomination for the Assembly, and was elected by a vote of 2,424 against 401, for his nominal opponent, J. H. WRIGHT. In the ensuing canvass for the Speakership, he was the opponent of Mr. HUSTED in the caucus. The con- test was close and exciting, but it was conducted with entire good feeling on both sides ; and though Mr. PRINCE was defeated, it furnished another proof of the high estimation in which he is held by the people. The fact that he was, in

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an especial sense, the candidate of .those desiring purity and reform in legislation, is exceedingly creditable to him. Last fall he was elected by a majority of 771 over SOLOMON" TOWNSEND, Democract.

His service in the Assembly has been an honorable one. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in 1872, 1873 and 1874 his labors were not only multifarious and arduous, but exceedingly valuable to the State. It was his province dur- ing the winter of 1872 to conduct the investigation into the official conduct of Judges BARNARD, CARDOZO and McCuNN. This investigation extended from February 19 to April 10, during which time 239 witnesses were examined, and over 2,400 pages of evidence taken. The thoroughness and fair- ness with which the investigation was prosecuted, secured the approbation of all parties, and its results form the brightest page in the history of that Legislature. The ver- dict of the committee was so evidently based upon justice and evidence, that- it met with very general acquiescence. The report in favor of impeaching two of the judges and removing the other, was adopted by the House, and, in the choice of managers to conduct the impeachment trial, which, as is known, resulted in the disgrace of Judge BARNARD, Mr. PRINCE received 110 of the 113 votes cast by the House, the others chosen varying from 104 to 50 each. He was also appointed to proceed to the Senate and formally impeach Judge BARNARD at its bar, for high crimes and misdemea- nors. He was active in the matter until the trial closed, and it is probably due to him more than any other one man, that the Judiciary of the State was relieved of the disgrace that would have attended BARNARD'S continuance on the Bench.

Mr. PRINCE has, during his whole legislative career, been the uncompromising foe of special legislation. He favors the passage of no act the object of which can be attained under a general law, or which can be taken care of by the boards of supervisors. As a result of his influence and

L. BRADFORD PRINCE. 257

efforts, the volume of annual legislation was, even before the adoption of the constitutional amendments, materially reduced, to the decided advantage of the State. In the last session, besides the Chairmanship of the Judiciary Com- mitttee (which committee annually considers nearly 400 bills, having over one-quarter of the legislation of the State referred to it), he was member of the Committee on Ways and Means and Eules, and this session he is on Judiciary and General, Local and Special Laws. During the last ses- sion he was especially active in securing the passage of the amendments to the Constitution, adopted by the people last fall, and he not only wrote a pamphlet explaining those amendments, but has rendered invaluable aid in framing the general laws required by the amended instrument.

It is not alone, however, in the field of politics or law that Mr. PRINCE has won honor and fame. He is well known, also, as a thoughtful writer and lecturer on various topics, among which, perhaps, those relating to Legislative and Govern- mental Eeform have attracted the widest notice. Several years ago he wrote a work entitled " E Pluribus Unum, or, American Nationality," which passed through several edi- tions, and was warmly commended by statesmen and political scientists. Something over a year since he delivered a lec- ture in New York and several other cities, in which some of the evils of the present system of law-making were severely handled. He inveighed very strongly, in particular, against special and local legislation, the bulk of which has compelled much of the important work of every session to be crudely and hastily performed. His suggestions attracted much atten- tion and some of them are embodied in the amended Con- stitution. Mr. PRINCE is also a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, having been D. D. Grand Master of Queens and Suffolk counties for three or four terms. For ten years he was Superintendent or Director of the Queens County Agricultural Society, and during nine years has been an officer of the Long Island Historical Society. With all his 17

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attainments, Mr. PRINCE is a quiet, courteous, unassuming gentleman, strictly conscientious in all his dealings with others, and it is evident that still greater honors are in store for him in the future.

HARRY B. RANSOM.

Mr. RANSOM modestly, but ably, represents the Fourth dis- trict of Erie county. He was born in Clarence, Erie county, November 20, 1834. He was educated in the common schools and afterward studied medicine, graduating from the Fourteenth Street College, in New York. He practiced a number of years, but finally abandoned the profession and now cultivates a farm at Grand Island.

Mr. RANSOM has always been a Democrat in politics, and though not what might be termed a thick-and-thin partisan, he has generally been quite active on that side, and has been honored a number of times with important official positions. During the years 1870 and 1871, he represented his district in the Assembly, and thus obtained a familiarity with legis- lative duties which is of great value to him now. He served with credit during both years, being on several important committees. He has also been a member of the Erie county board of supervisors during several years, being first elected in 1865. His majority in the Assembly canvass last fall was 288 over CHRISTOPH SCHWINGER, Republican, which is very gratifying, considering the fact that the district has been represented by a Republican for three years past. He is a member of the committees on Canals and State Prisons, and Chairman of that on Manufacture of Salt.

Rarely participating in debate, Mr. RANSOM occupies an influential position in the Assembly, not less by reason of his earnestness and sincerity, than by judgment and carefulness.

CHARLES REILLY. 259

He attends closely to the interests of his constituents and to the general business of the Legislature, and is a good repre- sentative of that class of quiet, thoughtful men on whom devolve the real work of the session.

CHARLES KEILLY.

Mr. KEILLY represents the Fourth district of Xew York city. He is a quiet member, having very little to say in the way of debate ; but he is influential and active, and valuable in connection with that necessary work of legislation which is not so apparent to the ordinary observer. He was born in Norwalk, Conn., February 22, 1844. After spending his youth in the public schools of New York, he learned the cooper's trade ; but he subsequently abandoned that avoca- tion for mercantile life, and he is now and has been for a number of years engaged in the wholesale and retail liquor business.

Mr. REILLY is in the Assembly as the representative of the regular Tammany organization, with which he has become identified since its rejuvenation. He never held an elective office before. In 1873, however, he was the candidate of the Apollo Hall Democracy for Assembly, and was defeated by 131 votes, and the year previous he was defeated in the aldermanic canvass in his district by a vote of 228. Last fall he was elected by a majority of over 4,000, over CHARLES E. ABBOTT, the Republican candidate. He is a capable member of the committee on Charitable and .Religious Societies.

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JOSIAH RICH.

Mr. RICH enjoys the distinction of being the first Demo- cratic Assemblyman ever elected in the third district of Monroe county. He was born in Ogden, Monroe county, December 23, 1833. His father was a native of Washington county, and settled, in 1825, upon the farm in Monroe county on which the son now resides. He was educated in the common schools, and has followed farming all his life. For eight years past he has represented his town in the Board of Supervisors, and is known as a capable and judicious mem- ber of the board. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 159 over the Republican and Temperance candi- dates, and serves on the Committees on Internal Affairs, Trade and Manufactures and Sub-Committee of the Whole. He is an attentive and intelligent member, and is doing good service for his district.

JOHN M. ROSCOE.

Schoharie's present representative is a successful farmer of the town of Carlisle, a man of wide popularity and influence. The fact that he has been elected Supervisor for nine terms in succession without opposition is a sufficient indication of his status at home. He is well educated, being a graduate of Carlisle Seminary, and after completing his studies he taught school several years. He was born in Carlisle on the the 8th of March, 1837, and is therefore young enough to anticipate a successful career in public life, for which he

ALLEN 8. RUSSELL. 261

seems well fitted. Aside from his service in the Board of Supervisors, of which he has been chairman, he has never held any important public position until he came to the Assembly. He was elected to that body by a majority of 1,887 over his Eepublican opponent, C. B. FEATHERS. He has always been a Democrat since he had a vote, but his political action is, as a rule, dictated by a regard for the inter- ests of the people rather than that of party. Hence his popularity with men of both parties. He serves in the House on the Committees on Villages, Internal Affairs, Grievances and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

ALLEN S. RUSSELL.

Mr. RUSSELL capably represents the Second district of Wayne county. Although he came to Albany without pre- vious legislative experience, he has developed much aptitude as a debater, and takes rank among the prominent members of an unusually able minority. It is worthy of note that up to the present writing (March 1), he has not been absent from the sessions of the House a single hour. Possessing numerous agreeable personal traits, and much native courtesy of manner, he is popular among the members, without regard to party, and has made many friends during his brief stay in Albany.

He was born in Williamson, Wayne county, on the 8th of June, 1834, and is therefore in the early prime of life. His parents are both living in Battle Creek, Mich., and on both sides he is able to boast a very illustrious ancestry. His father, MOSES B. RUSSELL, is descended from the Dukes of Bedford, of England, the line being traced back very dis- tinctly through a period of one thousand years. His mother

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is a descendant of John Rogers the Martyr. His ancestry, on both sides, took an active part in settling the country and defending it from its foes. His paternal grandfather, DANIEL RUSSELL, who came from Connecticut, settled in Wayne county, in 1796. His maternal great-grandfather perished in the terrible Indian massacre at Wyoming, and his mother's father was a soldier in the war of 1812. His mother's maiden name was ELEANOR L. STODDARD.

Mr. RUSSELL enjoyed the advantage of a liberal education. Until 1860, he attended the Marion Collegiate Institute ; subsequently he entered the University of Michigan, where he remained two years. In 1863 he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and graduated in 1864 with high honors. During 1860 and 1861 he was a teacher in the Marion Collegiate Institute, becoming in the latter year its Principal. Since his graduation, he has been a practicing physician aud surgeon, and owns an extensive drug store in Marion. In April, 1864, he entered the Union Army as an assistant-surgeon, being attached to the general hospital service, and it fell to his lot to gain his early experience in the terrible Wilderness battles, where he was active in caring for the wounded. After this he was on duty with the troops garrisoning the defenses of Washington, and in January, 1865, he was promoted to the rank of brigade-surgeon. He had the reputation of having the best field hospital in the army corps with which he was connected. He left the ser- vice in July, 1865. During his service he was placed on duty as a member of the Army Medical Board for the exam- ination and discharge of sick and disabled soldiers, and has been offered a commission, which he declined, in the medical corps of the United States army. He was in the defenses of Washington when President Lincoln was assassinated, and heard him deliver his last speech.

Mr. RUSSELL has always been a steadfast Republican, and has generally taken an active part in the politics of his dis- trict. He held the office of Justice of the Peace two years

JONAH SANFORD. 263

and then resigned it. At present he is Town Clerk of Marion, having been elected by a majority larger than any other candidate on the same ticket. He was elected to the Assem- bly by a majority of 767 over HIRAM WESTFALL, his Demo- cratic opponent, and serves on the Committees on Public Health and Federal Kelations.

Mr. RUSSELL is a member of the Baptist denomination, and was really designed for the ministry, but failing health interfered with his studies in that direction, and his mind was turned in another channel. Eight times in succession he has been elected superintendent of the largest Baptist Sunday school in his county. He believes in the largest liberty of opinion in religious matters. He was married to EMILY A. WEIGHT in 1856.

JONAH SANFORD.

JONAH SANFORD was born in Hopkinton, St. Lawrence county, New York, on the 24th of October, 1821. In 1847 he married CLARINDA RISDON, daughter of ELISHA RISDON, one of the earliest settlers of the town — a man of sterling integrity and unimpeachable character, and for many years a general land agent. Mr. SANFORD is a son of the late Judge JONAH SANFORD, a man who deserves more than a passing notice in this sketch. Judge SANFORD was one of the most remarkable men Northern New York has known. He was the intimate friend and associate of such men as SILAS WRIGHT and PRESTON KING, and it is but paying a just tribute to his memory, when we say, that no man labored more arduously and successfully for the advancement of the interests of his locality than he. He was the son, of Hon. BENJAMIN SANFORD, of Cornwall,

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Vermont, and was born November 30, 1790. His parents being poor, his early advantages were meagre indeed, and at the age of twenty he started westward with all his posses- sions upon his back, and selected a spot in Hopkinton, where he set to work to construct a home. Here he incessantly toiled, and, being a man of indefatigable industry, he suc- ceeded in wresting from stubborn nature a fine homestead, upon which he resided till his death, on the 25th of Decem- ber, 1867. Soon after settling in Hopkinton, he studied law, and for many years thereafter he was one of the most suc- cessful, if not one of the ablest practitioners of the law in Northern New York. He held many important civic and military positions; was Justice of the Peace and Supervisor of the town for several years, Member of the Legislature, Judge of the County Court, Member of Congress for the unexpired term of the late SILAS WRIGHT (when the latter was elected Comptroller) and a member of the Constitu- tional Convention of 1846. In the military service, he began as a volunteer in the war of 1812, and was present at the battle of Plattsburgh, September 11, 1814. By successive promotions he rose to the rank of Brigadier-General, being the successor in the latter capacity of Governor WEIGHT. In 1827 he was appointed a Commissioner to lay out and build the Port Kent Road through a wilderness of fifty miles, a work of great difficulty. But the noblest effort of his life, perhaps, was his organization, armament and disci- pline of the 92d New York Regiment of Volunteers when seventy-one years of age, and which he led as Colonel to the seat of war on the James. In politics he was a Democrat till the organization of the Republican party, with which he early united; and its principles found in him an earnest advocate and steadfast adherent. He was a man of noble figure and commanding presence, and a fluent and forcible speaker. His example and worth as a man will be long remembered.

JONAH SANFORD. 265

Mr. SANFORD, the son, attended school in the winters only of his boyhood, and completed liis education in the St. Law- rence Academy, at Potsdam, N. Y. On arriving at major- ity, he spent the first four years following as superintendent of his father's farm. He then moved upon a small farm of his own, and toiled with such perseverance that he was soon able to purchase a larger property, upon which he has since resided, and to which he has added extensively. He also turned his attention to manufacturing and speculation, and by the aid of good judgment and management has succeeded in accumulating a competence. In politics he was a Demo- crat up to the organization of the Eepublican party, to which he early united, and to which he has steadfastly ad- hered. His first vote as a Republican was for FREMOXT, in 1856. His townsmen have often called him to positions of trust, and have always re-elected him by an overwhelming vote. In 1862 he was appointed Assistant Assessor of Inter- nal Revenue, by the Secretary of the Treasury, which posi- tion he held till the consolidation of tl\e system, in 1872. As an Assessor he bore a high reputation for his prompt- ness in the performance of duty, his faithfulness to the government, and his exactness in the affairs of the office. At the termination of his service, the Assessor thanked him, in warm terms for the prompt and efficient manner in which he had performed his duties.

In August, 1862, he was appointed Enrolling Officer for his town. In 1867, some eighty enterprising and well-to-do farmers of the towns of Lawrence, Hopkinton, Parishville and Dickinson established a union store. Mr. S. was and still is its President. Under his judicious management it has prospered financially beyond expectation.

He was first elected Supervisor of his town in 1868, and has been annually elected by a two-third majority ever since, being the first who has held the position for more than two years in succession. The fact that he has been each time opposed by a Republican (except last year, when he had no

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opposition), speaks well for his performance of the duties of the trust. Mr. S. is, at the present time, a Vice-President of the St. Lawrence County Agricultural Society, and also a Director of the Kaquette Valley Agricultural Society.

He is serving his second term in the Assembly, his judici- ous, straightforward and honest course in the last House securing the warm approval of his constituents, who re- elected him last fall by a largely increased majority.

Mr. SANFOKD is an active, upright business man — a man of large and varied experience — affable in his manners, and pleasing in appearance. Though not of the " talking- machine " class, he expresses his opinion when he thinks it his duty, and always to the point. He is not one of those " who wear their heart out on their sleeve," but looks on the bright side of things generally. Few men enjoy with keener relish the pleasure of social intercourse. He gives freely to all benevolent and charitable purposes, and is a thoroughly public-spirited man. All movements for the benefit of the public, or undertakings to alleviate the dis- tresses of personal misfortune have his hearty support and pecuniary aid.

MARTIN SCHENCK.

Mr. SCHENCK is one of the young men of the House, and ably and intelligently represents the interests of Montgomery county. His ancestors came from Holland in 1665 and settled on Long Island, but his father, who died in 1873, resided in Montgomery county, and was a well-known farmer and lumber dealer. The subject of this sketch was born in Palatine, where he still resides, January 24, 1847. He received his preliminary education in the common schools at his native place and in the High School at Fonda.

CHARLES M. SCHIEFFELIN. 267

Afterward he entered Union College at Schenectady, and graduated in the class of 1862. For some years afterward he followed the profession of civil engineering, and during the years 1868 and 1869 he was engaged in the important work of locating the line of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Bail- road. At present he is engaged in the lumber trade and also in farming.

Mr. SCHENCK has always been an active Democrat, and although he held no official position previous to his elec- tion to the Assembly, he has played a prominent part in the politics of his district and has frequently held posts of honor in the county organization. His first vote was cast for HORATIO SEYMOUR in 1868, and he has since been unswerv- ing in his allegiance to the principles and candidates of the party.

He was elected over MARTIN L. STOVER, the Republican Member of the last House, by a majority of 781, and is a member of the Committees on Railroads and Militia.

A gentleman of fine presence, courteous manners and numerous graces of character, Mr. SCHENCK is quite popu- lar in the Assembly. He is a member of the Reformed Dutch Church, and is unmarried.

CHARLES M. SCHIEFFELIJST.

The present Assembly contains an unusual number of young men under thirty years of age, a fact which should not be lost sight of in any estimate of that body as a whole, as it will be found that a large proportion of the really progres- sive legislation is due to the influence and efforts of precisely that class, and upon them, also, mainly devolves much of the active work of the Assembly — that labor which calls

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especially for the exercise of alert and untiring energy. Among the young men of the House — those who have just entered public life, and have a promising future yet before them — none are more conspicuous than Mr. SCHIEFFELLN", of the Second district of Westchester county — a rising lawyer, and a gentleman of fine attainments and engaging personal manners. He has attracted much attention throughout the session, because of his straightforward course, his independent spirit, and his evident determina- tion to prove himself in all respects a faithful representative, not only of the interests of his own immediate constitu- ency, but of the State at large. Keenly watchful of the progress of legislation, and ready at all times to interpose an earnest and vigorous protest against impioper schemes, no matter whence they emanate, he is recognized as a man who proposes to discharge his duties zealously and conscientiously under all circumstances.

Mr. SCHIEFFELIN was born at Little Falls, N. J., June 14, 1847. He is really a New Yorker, however, as he has lived in the town of East Chester, Westchester county, since early childhood. He comes of excellent stock — the SCHIEFFELINS being an old and respected family — their ancestors having settled on Manhattan Island early in the year 1700. He received a classical education, and also graduated from the Columbia College Law School with the degree of LL. B. Subsequently, in the year 1870, he was admitted to the bar, and has since practiced in the courts of New York city and Westchester county with marked success, enjoying an excel- lent reputation and an extensive and remunerative practice. Notwithstanding the demands made upon his time by his increasing legal business, Mr. SCHIEFFELIN* is a diligent student and spends much of his time in his library. A short time since he made an extended tour in Europe, and made a very close study of the different shades of political opinion prevalent on the continent, rendering himself familiar with the views of all the leading statesmen of the old world.

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Such a study cannot be otherwise than profitable and inter- esting to a rising American politician, the mutations of parties in Europe affording material for many valuable lessons.

Mr. SCHIEFFELIN is a Democrat of liberal views. He frequently takes part in the discussions on the floor, his speeches being always exceedingly short and very pointed and vigorous in tone. At home he is deservedly popu- lar, as is shown by the fact that he was elected over two candidates by upward of 1,100 plurality in a district which for three years previously had sent a Republican to the House. As member of the important Committees on General Laws, Villages and Federal Relations, he is an exceedingly useful and able legislator.

Mr. SCHIEFFELIH is a man about the medium height, robust and well built,, and always genial and agreeable in his intercourse with his fellow-members. He married a lineal descendant of FREDERICK AUGUSTUS MUHLENBERG, first Speaker of the House of Representatives. He is a member in good standing in the Masonic order, and for seven years was an active and useful member of the National Guard of this State, having as a recognition of his efficiency as an organizer and disciplinarian, received a commission as Lieu- tenant-Colonel of the Sixth Infantry, N. G. S. N. Y., one of our best German regiments. The present is the only political office he has ever held.

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GEORGE W. SCHUYLER.

Mr. SCHUYLER is well known throughout the State as au exceedingly careful and shrewd financier, a judicious coun- sellor in political matters, and a successful man of business. His ripe judgment and rare executive ability have been of great value to the State in the responsible positions in which he has been placed, while there are none of our statesmen of the present day who rank higher than Mr. SCHUYLER in point of private character. Strict honesty has been the invariable rule of his business and official life, and though he had the control and care of the moneys of the Common- wealth at a trying period in its history, no word has ever been breathed that would express a doubt of his faithfulness or his capacity for the trust.

Mr. SCHUYLER was born in Stillwater, Saratoga county, on the 2d of February, 1810, and was educated in the common schools, Ithaca Academy and the University of the city of New York, graduating from the latter in the year 1837. His tastes led him into business life, and for many years past he has been at the head of a prosperous drug business in Ithaca. He has never before been a member of the Legisla- ture, and indeed has never courted public life, but yielding to the solicitations of friends, who knew his qualifications for the position, he, in 1863, allowed his name to be used for the State Treasurership, and was elected on the Eepublican ticket. His services in that capacity were so entirely satis- factory, that on the expiration of his two years term, he was induced to take the Superintendency of the Bank Depart- ment. That office he held four years, or until 1870. In these positions he gained an experience and knowledge con- cerning the finances of the State which stand him in good stead on the floor of the Assembly, and Speaker McGuiRE

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/

evinced wisdom in awarding him the Chairmanship of the Committee on Banks. His presence in the Assembly is especially valuable this session, inasmuch as the amendments to the constitution render necessary important general laws for the incorporation and regulation of banks of savings and discount. The general savings bank act, which seeks to es- tablish a uniform charter for all those institutions, and which at this writing is still under discussion, is largely the result of Mr. SCHUTLEB'S industry. The measure has elici- ted protracted and sharp debate, in which Mr. S. has borne himself with admirable tact and skill, not hesitating to cross swords with the leading parliamentarians of the House. His success in this respect is a subject of complimentary remark among those who have listened to the discussions referred to, while it is evident to all that he is thoroughly familiar with the intricacies of bank management in this State.

During eighteen successive years Mr. SCHUYLER was Trustee of the Public Schools in Ithaca, and during that long period there never occurred a serious difference of opin- ion in the Board.

In politics Mr. SCHUYLER is a Liberal Eepublican, though previous to 1872, when he supported the Cincin- nati movement, he was a Republican. In the late canvass he received the entire Democratic vote, and notwithstand- ing the fact that his opponent was WM. L. BOSTWICK, a very able and popular member of the House last year, he also received the support of many Eepublicans. His triumph was all the more gratifying, as he made no personal effort to secure his election, and indeed, consented very reluctantly to the use of his name.

Mr. SCHUYLER is in some respects a model legislator. He scarcely every misses a session, and is always watchful and alert. He is. not given to much speaking, but as he forms very decided opinions upon all questions which come before him, he is not chary about giving them expression when he thinks the occasion requires it. His speeches are short and

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to the point, and always courteous and pleasantly dignified in tone. His manner in private intercourse has the same characteristics, and few members of the House are more popular, socially speaking, than the member from Tomp- kins.

SAMUEL SCUDDER.

Mr. SCUDDER, a substantial farmer and lumberman of Cattaraugus county, is serving his first term in the Assembly. His popularity at home is sufficiently attested by the fact that he was elected by a majority of over 100 in a Republi- can district, defeating a Republican who has twice in succes- sion represented the district in the Assembly. Though elec- ted as the Democratic candidate, he has on several occasions shown on the floor of the Assembly that he is a man of inde- pendent views, and his legislative action is dictated rather by a regard for the welfare of the whole people than for any mere party advantage. This principle has evidently dictated his action during his entire political career, inasmuch as he has never allowed himself to be bound by his party connec- tion when it conflicted with his ideas of duty. Originally a Henry Clay Whig, he joined the Eepublican party at its organization, and up to 1872 acted with that party. In that year he was one of those who espoused the Cincinnati move- ment, and he gave earnest support to the Liberal cause. With other participants in that movement, he has gravitated toward the Democratic party, but styles himself a Liberal Repub- lican.

Mr. SCUDDER is of Scotch descent on the paternal side, though his mother was born and reared in the Mohawk Valley. Both his parents died within a few hours of each other. His father served in the war of 1812, and his grandfather in

FREDERICK W. SEWARD. 273

the Revolution. The son was born in Randolph, where he now resides, on the 3d of April 1830. Attending the com- mon schools, during early youth, and afterward the Chamber- lain Literary Institute, he acquired a good education, and has followed farming and kindred occupations all his life. Indom- itable energy and determination and sterling honesty are the chief features of his character, and as a result he has been successful in every thing he has undertaken.

He has several times been honored with public trusts, hav- ing held the office of Supervisor during a period of eight years, and being several times elected unanimously. During the rebellion he rendered important aid in filling the quota of volunteers. He was married on the 3d of June, 1853. His religious creed consists mainly in obedience to the injunc- tion, " Love thy neighbor as thyself," and in all the relations of life he is an upright and straightforward citizen.

FREDERICK W. SEWARD.

The Seventh Assembly district of the county of New York consists of parts of the ninth, fifteenth and sixteenth wards. The representative is FREDERICK W, SEWARD, one of the most capable, accomplished and eloquent members of the House. He was born in Auburn, Cayuga county, New York, on the 8th of July, 1830, and is a son of the late Governor WILLIAM H. SEWARD. He received his earliest schooling at the Auburn Academy, Prof. WILLIAM HOP- KINS, Principal, and, it is interesting to note, numbered ROSCOE CONKLING among his school-mates. Coming to Albany to reside while yet a mere lad, he was sent to the Pearl Street Academy — an institution that has long since vanished — and there attended recitations 'with MORGAN 35

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Dix and other boys, whose names have since become well and widely known. In the fall of 1845 he entered the Freshman Class of Union College, and, four years later, graduated from that ancient seat of learning. The Class of '49 contained not a few members that, in their subse- quent career, have done honor to their alma mater, and played a prominent part on the stage of the world. ALLEN C. BEACH, late Lieutenant-Governor of New York, DANIEL A. BUTTERFIELD, Major-General and Chief of HOOKER'S staff during the late war, ANSON G-. CHESTER, editor and poet, EGBERT POTTER, since Major-General POTTER, ALONZO FLACK, now Professor FLACK of Claverack, and ALBON MAN, were among the youths who graduated with the subject of our present sketch.

In the latter part of the year 1849 Mr. SEWARD went to Washington, where he spent a year or more as Private Sec- retary to his distinguished father, who at that time was one of New York's representatives in the United States Senate. While thus employed, as occasion offered at Washington, and during the Congressional recess, at Auburn, he devoted himself to the study of law, which he had adopted as his profession. In the spring of 1851, with a view of complet ing his preliminary legal studies, he took up his residence in New York, and entered the office of KENT and DAVIES as a student. In the latter part of the same year he was admit- ted to the bar at Kochester, but before he had time to enter actively upon the practice of his profession he received a letter from THURLOW WEED, inviting him to come to Albany, and embark in journalism. The invitation was accepted, and, before the close of the year 1851, Mr. SEWARD was enrolled on the editorial staff of the Albany Evening Jour- nal. He held the position of Associate Editor of that paper from that time until 1861. While living at Albany he took a 'deep and active interest in politics, espousing the side that enlisted his sympathy and judgment with much energy and efficiency, and was also alive to whatever tended or

FREDERICK W. 8s WARD. 275

seemed likely to tend to the best interests of the city. He heartily assisted in getting up the meeting that resulted in the foundation of the University of Albany, and presided at the meeting of the Young Men's Liberty Association, held in behalf of down-trodden Hungary. When KOSSUTH passed through the city he -was selected by the Association as their spokesman, and as such welcomed the distinguished exile to Albany.

In 1854, directly after the State of New York had gone "fusion" — the Whigs and Know Nothings electing their ticket — he was one of the many " malcontents" who met at Albany to inaugurate a Kepnblican party. That party had already found foothold in the New England and North- western States, and in the opinion of the school of politi- cians with which Mr. SEWARD was identified the time had come for the Republicans of New York to organize. The meeting, which was attended by JOHN L. SCHOOLCRAFT, BRADFORD K. WOOD, C. P. WILLIAMS, WILLIAM BARNES and many other well-known citizens representing different shades of political belief, was, it is believed, the first formal Eepublican gathering ever held in the State. It resulted in an invitation to Hon. HENRY WILSON, now Vice Presi- dent of the United States, to address the Republicans of Albany. He complied and soon afterward made an eloquent speech at the Capitol.

In 1857 WILLIAM H. SEWARD, PRESTON KING, F. B. BLAIR and FRANCIS E. SPINNER made a pleasure tour through Canada, and the subject of our sketch accompanied them. Having seen the sights of Canada, he and his father left the rest of the party, passed down the Gulf of St. Law- rence and so to Labrador. Three years previous young SEWARD had married Miss WHARTON, of Albany, and she accompanied her husband and father on their voyage to Labrador.

The election of ABRAHAM LINCOLN in 1860 and the consequent appointment of Governor SEWARD as Secretary

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of State in the spring of the next year, had an important influ- ence in shaping the story of FREDERICK W. SEWARD'S life. In February, 1861, he was requested by his father to leave Albany and join him at Washington. He did so without delay, and as confidential friend and adviser and secretary he was, we need not say, of immeasurable service to Governor SEWAED, who found himself confronted with the trying and many-phased problem of secession. He remained with his father constantly until after the inauguration of President LINCOLN". His was the memorable and historic mission from "Washington to Philadelphia to warn the President elect that he stood in grievous danger of being assassinated in passing to the National Capital, through Baltimore. The exciting story of the warning and the escape has been told so often that we will not stop to rehearse it here.

On the 4th day of Match, 1861, Mr. LINCOLN was inaugur- ated President, and on the following day submitted to the new Senate the name of WILLIAM H. SEWARD, as Secretary of State. A day later he nominated FREDERICK "W. SEWARD as Assistant Secretary of State, and the nominee had the pleasure of hearing, from the lips of CHARLES SUMMER, the first intelligence of his prompt and unanimous confirmation by the Senate. The Assistant Secretary's first duty was to assist his father in the delicate and arduous duty of weeding out the disloyal element from the Department of State. This was accomplished within the first week after the organi- zation of the new government so successfully, that during Mr. SEWARD'S entire term in the department, covering a period of eight years, ic was never found necessary to dismiss another clerk. The distribution of duties in the State department was such that the Secretary took charge of the diplomatic business, and the Assistant Secretary that con- nected with consuls, etc. Assistant secretaries of the various departments of government are usually commissioned to act for their superior officers in case of absence or sickness, and during the eight years of his service as Assistant Secretary

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of State, Mr. SEWARD was appointed by Presidents LINCOLN and JOHNSON, Acting Secretary of State some twenty times or more. An acting Secretary occupies his chiefs place in the Cabinet councils, and directs the business of the department. From 1861, when he became connected with the State department until 1869, when he resigned his office, FREDE- RICK W. SEWARD aggregated some six months as Secretary of State. As such he sat in the Cabinet meeting in the winter of 1862, when an advance along the lines was ordered, whose fruits were seen in the victories of Forts Donelson, Henry, etc. As acting Secretary of State, he also attended the important Cabinet meeting held after the second defeat of Bull Eun, at which LINCOLN decided to restore McCLEL- LAN to the command of the army, and sanctioned the movement which resulted in South Mountain and Antietam. Again he sat in the Cabinet on the great occasion when the policy of reconstruction was decided — on the day of the evening on which Mr. LINCOLN was assassinated. Parting with the President at the close of that meeting, Mr. SEWARD reminded him that a new British Minister was to be pre- sented and inquired if the ceremony should take place the next day. " Yes," replied Mr. LINCOLN, " I'll receive him at two o'clock in the Blue Boom." That was their last inter- view.

Mr. SEWARD was intimately connected with most of the important events in the history of the American Union of that stormy period included between the years 1861 and 1869.

In 1866 he was sent on a special mission to St. Domingo, by the government. The United States had long been desir- ous of obtaining a harbor for coaling, etc., in the West Indies, and the republic of St. Domingo had offered the Bay of Samana and asked that an envoy might be sent to treat with her for its transfer. Mr. SEWARD was intrusted with the mission, being clothed with plenipotentiary powers so as to enable him to conclude a treaty if he thought fit to do so.

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The Naval Department detailed Admiral POKTEB to examine and advise in regard to naval advantages that might arise from obtaining the harbor ; and Mr. SEWARD and he pro- ceeded to their destination in the vessel Gettysburgh, which was placed at their service. On their arrival at St. Domingo, they entered into negotiations with President CABEAL and his cabinet, and found what they were willing to concede. Concluding that it was not desirable for the United States to make the treaty required, they returned to "Washington and reported to that effect. Later, Senor PTJJOL, representing St. Domingo, brought word to the State Department that that republic was willing to make the treaty on the terms proposed by Assistant Secretary of State SEWARD, and Admi- ral PORTER. When his offer was made, however, the discord between the President and Congress had reached such a point that negotiations were no longer practicable.

For a detailed record of the scenes and events with which Mr. SEWARD was connected during his connection with the State Department as assistant Secretary of State, the treaties with England, China, Japan, and other foreign powers, the blockade of the southern ports, the assassination of the President, the attempted assassination of the Secretary of State and the Assistant Secretary, the impeachment of Presi- dent JOHNSON, etc., etc., we refer the reader to the biography of WILLIAM H. SEWARD, upon which the subject of this sketch is now engaged.

On the fourth of March 1869, he and his father resigned from the State Department. In June they made the journey across the continent, stopping at Utah and Colorado, and after a month in California, proceeded to Vancouver's Island, Puget Sound, Oregon, Washington Territory, British Colum- bia, and so up the inland passage to Alaska, where they remained a month. Eeturning to California by steamer, they next proceeded to Mexico. Here they spent three months, Governor SEWARD being the guest of the nation.

During the last few years Mr. SEWARD has resided most

STEPHEN D. SHATTUCK. 279

of the time at Montrose, Westchester county. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 342 over SMITH E. LAN~E, his Democratic competitor. He is a member of the Committee on Charitable and Keligious Societies, and Gen- eral, Local and Special Laws, and also of the Joint Committee charged with investigating the affairs of the canals.

STEPHEN D. SHATTUCK.

The First district of Steuben ranks among the " closely contested" localities of the State, and neither party can claim a monopoly of its representation. This year Mr. SHAT- TUCK, an able and well known Democrat, has the honor of representing it for the second time. He is a man about the middle age, rather undersized, active and full of vitality, and amply qualified to fill his responsible position. He was born in Cohocton, where he still resides, on the 5th of April, 1828. Educated mainly in the common schools, and being a man of keen powers of observation, he is well informed upon all subjects which would naturally engage the attention of the average legislator. He commenced his business life, at the age of 18, as clerk in a store, and going into business for himself in the course of time, he has followed mercantile pursuits ever since, being reasonably successful.

Always a straightforward and consistent Democrat, Mr. SHATTUCK has been active in politics since his youth. Dur- ing the Eebellion he was prominent as a War Democrat, giving his active co-operation to the work of filling the mil- itary quotas of his town and county. During his career in the present Assembly he has shown much independence of party dictation, being especially rebelliously inclined toward the demands of Tammany upon the rural members. When

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the famous "Costigan bill" was under discussion, he made one or two speeches which drew upon him the hostility of the party leaders on the floor, and at- tracted wide attention throughout the State. He has held several town offices, and during a period of five years was a member of the Steuben county Board of Supervisors. He was elected to the Assembly in 1873 by a majority of 455 over CHARLES K. MINOR, his Republican opponent, and re- elected last fall by 648 majority over HENRY SCHLY, Repub- lican. This year he is a member of the Committee on Banks and Internal Affairs, and last year was on Banks and Sub- Committee of the Whole. He is a Universalist in religious belief, and possesses many of those traits of character which win popularity and respect.

KICHAED U. SHERMAN.

RICHARD U. SHERMAN, the member from the First district of Oneida county, is a native of that county. He was born in 1819, and was educated for a merchant ; but on arriving at the age of manhood he adopted journalism as a profession, which he followed till 1851, when he was elected Clerk of the 'Assembly. While in that position he prepared the Clerk's Manual, which is considered an indispensable guide in legislative proceedings. He held the position five years, and was then elected Member- of the Assembly of 1857, in which he was Chairman of the Sub-Committee of the Whole and of the Special Committee of Suffrage, and member of Ways and Means and Commerce and Navigation. After serving one year he was nominated for the Senate, but declined. In 1860, he was appointed an Assistant Clerk of the House of Representatives. He served ten years, when he voluntarily resigned on account of pressing trust duties at home. In 1867, he was chosen a member of the Constitu-

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tional Convention of this State. In that body he was con- spicuous for his efforts to correct the evils of special legisla- tion, which had been brought prominently to his notice during his long public service.

Mr. SHERMAN has been engaged actively in politics for the last thirty years, and his skill as a party organizer has given him much prominence. He commenced political life as a Whig, and when the organization under that name ceased to exist, he became a Republican. In 1872, he joined the revolt of the Liberals, and was the candidate for Congress of the Democratic and Liberal alliance in the Oneida district. Since that time he has been identified with the Democratic party, and was elected as a Democrat to the present Assem- bly. He has held many official trusts in his native county, and is practically familiar with nearly every class of public business, being, in turn, Alderman, Supervisor, Brigadier- General of the National Guard, Justice of the Peace, and President of the village of New Hartford. This experience, together with his natural executive ability, renders him a valuable member. He is not a debater ; but as a writer is distinguished for terseness, elegance and force. In com- mittee duty he is one of the most efficient and useful mem- bers of the House. He is chairman of the Committees on Rules and State Prisons, a member of the Committee on General Laws, and of the Joint Select Committee to investi- gate Canal affairs.

Mr. SHERMAN'S name was prominently mentioned for the Speakership of the present House, an office for which his fitness was generally recognized ; but as this seemed to involve an antagonism with the interests of his friend and neighbor, Hon. FRANCIS KERNAN, who was a candidate for United States Senator, he declined to press a canvass that might otherwise have been successful.

Mr. SHERMAN'S counsel is much sought by the new members who desire advice and assistance in framing and forwarding their measures. He is affable, friendly and unpre- 36

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tending — qualities which make him warm friends every- where, and have given him at home a popularity which no political changes seem to affect. This popularity is shown by the fact that he defeated Mr. CHADWICK, the Republican member of last year, by a majority of 255, overcoming an adverse majority of 764, the district at the same time giving Dix -the Republican candidate for Governor, a majority.

GEORGE SHERWOOD.

Mr. SHERWOOD was born at McDonough Springs, Chenango county, January 18, 1820. His grandfather, on his father's side, was a soldier in the revolutionary war, and served during the seven years. His mother's father was Rev. DAVID BUD- LONG, a pioneer Baptist minister in Oneida county. His advantages for acquiring an education were limited, and consisted of very irregular attendance at a country common school, as such schools were thirty years ago. But notwith- standing his early disadvantages, he has absorbed, from much reading, a practical education, and acquired a good under- standing of the world, if not of the Latin and Greek classics.

He has always followed the occupation of a farmer, and now owns and resides upon a farm a short distance from Binghamton, and overlooking the city. His wife, whom he married twenty-five years ago, is a daughter of ALLEST C. JEFFORDS, a surveyor, and a citizen somewhat prominent in the northern part of Broome county. In personal appear- ance, Mr. SHERWOOD indicates that he is a laboring man in his occupation, and not in any sense a " fancy farmer." He is of medium height, somewhat stout, black, bushy hair and beard sprinkled with gray, piercing black eyes and well- marked features, which are unmistakable evidences of firmness.

Following, perhaps, the predilections of his mother, he early united with the Baptist Church, and has since been a

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communicant, although from settled convictions he has for several years refused to taste fermented wine at communion. For a time his refusal to touch the wine used in his church was regarded as a tentative, and was the subject of severe criticism. He was denounced as a " one-idea man ;" but his "one idea" was finally acknowledged to be singleness of pur- pose, and now his pastor, the Rev. LYMAIST WEIGHT, D. D., and a large portion of his congregation are fully in accord with Mr. SHERWOOD on the subject of communion wine.

As might be supposed from his views upon- the sacrament, Mr. SHERWOOD is a zealous temperance man. He has given much time to the cause, in lecturing, speaking and working for it. He holds no association more precious than the church, but the church usages, when they conflict with his views on temperance, must submit to a modification, or he dissents. It is so in politics and all things else. He was prominent in the Maine law movement in this State, and was a delegate to the convention that nominated Hon. MYRON" H. CLARK for Governor in 1854. His political antecedents had been with the original abolitionists, when to advocate the universal manumission of slaves required more nerve than it did subsequently to take up a musket and march with the "three hundred thousand more" to put down the slavery rebellion. So few were the abolition voters in his section that tickets were not distributed to them, and Mr. SHERWOOD frequently voted a ticket cut from a news- paper, or copied the names from posters. Still he voted, although nearly alone, for the abolitionists' principles, rather than for men, until the Republican party organized, in 1856, to vote with him. Since the Republican party has existed he has been one of its most ardent supporters.

Notwithstanding Mr. SHERWOOD has been elected to office, he was never an aspirant for political position. In 1870 he was chosen to represent his town — that of Binghamton — in the Board of Supervisors. The campaign in 1873, that resulted in his election to the Assembly, had features of

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peculiar interest. His nomination was unsought and unex- pected, and almost without his knowledge that his name was to be presented to the convention. In a speech accepting the nomination, he said that his motto was " Purity and Righteousness." The motto was acceptable to the Republi- cans of Broome, and Mr. SHERWOOD received 3,909 votes. His opponent was J. STEWART WELLS, a wealthy manufacturer. The Democrats made a special effort to elect Mr. WELLS, by concentrating their votes, means and tactics upon him. He received 3,364 votes. Last fall Mr. SHERWOOD was re-elected by the increased majority of 725, his opponent being BENJA- MIN S. CTJRRAN, Democrat. This indicates that the people approve his course as a legislator.

Mr. SHERWOOD'S career in the Assembly thus far has shown that he is faithfully endeavoring to act strictly in accordance with the principles embodied in his striking motto. His voice and his vote are invariably given upon the side of purity and righteousness, and his speeches, made in the interest of econ- omy in the expenditure of the people's money, have attracted wide attention. His oratorical efforts are quaintly original in their style, and the language is the strongest Anglo- Saxon, put with almost startling directness. He uses expres- sions, sometimes, which sound strangely, but no one can gainsay the truth of what he says, or withstand the force of his honest logic. He holds what now-a-days would be deemed old-fashioned views, but it would be vastly better for the country were such views more widely current among our public men.

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DENNIS R. SHIEL.

Mr. SHIEL is the son of PETER SHIEL, a well-known citi- zen of Auburn, having resided there since his emigration from Ireland, in 1839. He was born in Auburn, June 23, 1841, and was educated at St. John's College, Fordham, graduating in the class of 1865. Deciding to adopt the legal profession, he studied law with MICHAEL S. MYERS & JOHN T. PINGRU, and in 1869 was admitted to the bar, in Kochester. Soon thereafter he removed to Fordham, West- chester county, where he has since resided, practicing his profession with good success.

Mr. SHIEL served honorably in the Union Army during the war. He enlisted as a private in the Nineteenth New York Volunteers immediately after the storming of Fort Su niter, and was subsequently promoted to the grade of quartermaster-sergeant. He always retained the good opin- ion of both officers and men, and performed his duties faith- fully and satisfactorily.

Mr. SHIEL has always been a straightforward member of the Democratic party, and has usually made himself very active in local politics. The only office he has held, how- ever, is that of Justice of the Peace, to which he was twice elected, in the town of "West Farms (now Twenty-fourth ward of New York). He has yet one year to serve in that capacity. He was elected to the Assembly by a plurality of 1,338, EZEKIEL Y. BELL, Republican, and GEORGE F. TREMPER, Temperance, being his opponents.

He is an able and prominent member of the House, serv- ing acceptably as member of Judiciary and State Prisons and Chairman of Joint Library. He does not frequently address the House ; but when he does, he, clothes his ideas in well-chosen language, and is able to make a graceful and

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eloquent speech. He is popular among the members of both sides of the House, always pleasant and courteous in his intercourse with his fellows. In religious belief he is a Koman Catholic, and is a thorough adherent of the church.

BERNARD SILVERMAK

Mr. SILVERMAN is an able member of the Brooklyn dele- gation, representing the Eighth district, and residing at Greenpoint. He was born in New York city, August 30, 1838. His parents were natives of Bavaria, Germany, and came to this country in 1837, marrying after their arrival. Mr. S. was educated in the public schools, and also at Brook- lyn City Institute. During most of the time since reaching his majority he has followed the occupation of bookkeeper. He has always acted with the Democratic party, and is and has been quite prominent in its counsels, possessing a good deal of influence in his district, in which he has resided for the past eight years. He was also prominent in New York politics for several years. He was a delegate to the last Democratic State Convention at Syracuse, and has also been a member of several local and county conventions of his party. In 1873 he was a candidate for the Assembly nomi- nation, but was defeated by F. W. KALBFLEISCH, who was defeated at the election by GEORGE C. BENNETT, the Eepubli- can candidate. Last fall he was more successful, securing his election by a plurality of 1,219, defeating both the Repub- lican and Prohibition nominees.

He serves on the Committees on Commerce and Naviga- tion, and Banks, and is a quiet, modest and exceedingly able member.

PETER SLINGERLAND. 287

PETER SLINGERLAND.

Mr. SLIKGERLAND, of the First district of Albany county, is a prosperous farmer of New Scotland. He has always been quite active in politics, but has never before held office, though nominations have been frequently tendered by his party friends, and invariably declined. He has nevertheless performed efficient service for the party, having been for many years a worker at the polls, and ever ready to aid, both with money and personal efforts, the election of Eepublican candidates. He has been a Republican since the formation of the party, and previously acted with the Whigs.

Mr. SLINGERLAND was born September 20, 1829, in the town of New Scotland, and still resides there, on a portion of the tract of land purchased of the Indians by his great grand- father, TEUXIS SLISTGERLAND. His father, MAUS SLINGER- LAND, is still living in New Scotland at an advanced age. The land owned by the family has by careful and thorough management become very valuable, and affords its occupants a handsome income.

Mr. SLINGERLAND'S education was obtained chiefly in the common-schools, and at Coxsackie Academy. He is, how- ever, a man of much natural ability and shrewdness, and is capable of filling almost any position in life which calls for the exercise of good judgment and practical common sense. He was married at Albany on the 13th of June, 1 849, to RACHEL ANN' MOSHEK, and is a member of the Reformed church, of which his ancestors for several generations have been faithful and earnest supporters.

During the war Mr. SLINGERLAND was very active in rais- ing funds for the benefit of drafted men. Finally he vol- untarily procured a substitute, who represented him in the

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army. He was then and has ever since been a firm suppor- ter of the Administration.

Mr. SLIKGEKLAND'S seat in the House is seldom vacant during the sessions. He is not conspicuous in debate, but is well posted in the routine of legislation and represents his district effectively and intelligently. Socially, he is a favorite with all the members, being extremely pleasant and agreeable in his intercourse with others.

JOHN W. SMITH.

As is the case with quite a number of the members of the present Assembly, Mr. SMITH is holding his first elective office. He represents the Twenty-First district of New York city, and is a man of modest and unassuming deport- ment, but possessing many qualities which render him a valuable legislator. He is always at his post in the House, and bids fair to so continue to the eud of the session, as the ruddy and healthful hue of his complexion indicates that there is sufficient vitality in his constitution to withstand the mephitic atmosphere of the chamber.

He was born in New York city, on the 17th of February, 1839, and obtained a good education in the public schools and also in St. Stephen's Parochial school. He commenced life as a conductor on the Second Avenue Eailroad, in the city of New York, and has since occupied every position in the service of the company up to superintendent, which office he has filled for seven years past. This fact speaks volumes for his efficiency and faithful performance of duty. He has always been an active Democrat, being identified with the Apollo Hall wing of the party until the reform of the Tammany organization, since which he has been a Tarn-

ORRIN T. STACY. 289

many Hall man. He was elected last fall by the largest majority ever given to a candidate in the district, though two Democrats and one Republican were against him, his plurality being 1,550.

Mr. SMITH was married on the 8th of October, 1860, to Miss ANITA RABADAN, of New York. He is a consistent member of the Roman Catholic Church, and in all respects is an estimable and worthy citizen.

ORRIN T. STACY.

Among the more prominent of the Republican members of the Assembly, we may fairly rank Dr. ORRIN" T. STACY, of Allegany county. He does not frequently favor the House with speeches, but, when he does, he invariably commands attention, for he possesses a very engaging style of delivery. His eloquence is not of the soaring kind, but his speeches are plain and practical, couched in well chosen language, expressed with ease and grace. He is blessed with a fine physical development and exuberant health, and being a gentleman of thorough culture and correct principles, he constitutes a legislative character pleasant to contemplate. There are few members of the present House, more thor- oughly qualified for the duties devolving upon the law- maker, than Dr. STACY.

He was born in Centerville, in this State, November 5th, 1835. His father, WILLIAM A. STACY, was a native of Ver- mont, but removed to Allegany county in 1824, and followed the practice of medicine and surgery during a period of forty years. He died in 1867. The son, the present member, received a thorough academic and collegiate education, graduating from the Buffalo Medical College in March, 37

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1. Since that year he has been engaged in the practice of medicine. On June 25, 1862, he was married to Miss ANTOINETTE KENDALL. In 1863. in addition to his medical practice, he became interested in a dry goods store and also in a drug establishment, and in both a business and profes- sional sense he has been successful, so successful, in fact, that »he is now enabled to give the public the benefit of his talents in the field of statesmanship.

In politics he has always been a Republican, and an active and energetic one. He cast his first vote for FREMONT in 1856, and since then has never swerved in his allegiance to the party of his choice. His present position, however, is the first political office he has held, and we may safely venture the prediction that it will not be the last, as he shows unquestionable aptitude for public life. He was elected to the Assembly, in 1873, by a majority of 1,347, his Democratic opponent being 0. T. HIGGINS, and re-elected last fall by a majority of 1,595 over ITTAI J. ELLIOTT, Demo- crat. Last year he served on the Committees on Public Education, Public Health and Sub-committee of the Whole, and this year he is on Eailroads.

GEORGE A. STAUF.

Mr. STAUF comes from the Eighth District of New York city, and is one of the most active and popular members of the metropolitan delegation. He also enjoys the distinction of being the youngest member of the present House. He is a whole-souled, genial gentleman, liberal to a fault, and a favorite with all who possess his acquaintance or friendship. He is of German ancestry, his father being Col. ANDREW STAUF, the well-known brewer of 122 Delancey street.

STEPHEN D. STEPHENS, JR. 291

The latter served in the late rebellion, has been a member of the National Guard since 1850, and for a number of years past has commanded the 96th Regiment. Both parents are still living.

The subject of our sketch was born in New York city on the 18th of June, 1849, and obtained his education mainly in the public schools. He, however, qualified himself for a legal career, and is now practicing law with a good degree of success. For a number of years he has actively interested him- self in politics, being known as one of the most active young Democrats in his ward. In 1872 he was a candidate for Alderman, but was defeated by JOHN THEIS by 117 majority. In the late canvass he had three opponents, SOLON B. SMITH, Republican, who represented the district in 1872, and JOHN" THEIS and ALBERT ELDRIDGE, both of the latter being Democrats. He received a plurality of 900, and is the first Democrat elected from the district in four years.

Mr. STAUF is unmarried, but at his age it is not safe to predict that he will long remain in , that condition. He serves capably upon the Committees on Internal Aflairs and Indian Affairs.

STEPHEN D. STEPHENS, JR.

Mr. STEPHENS is an active and energetic young man, under thirty years of age, and represents the Democratic county of Richmond for the second time. He is a finely educated gentleman, a good public speaker, and owing to his industrious habits and executive ability, is exceedingly val- uable in the details of legislation and committee work. He was born in Richmond, Staten Island, where he still resides, April 19, 1845. His father and paternal ancestors, three generations back, were born in New York city, his ancestors

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on his mother's side being natives of Staten Island. Both his grandfathers, paternal and maternal, served in the war of 1812, while their fathers distinguished themselves in active service during the war of the revolution. Mr. STEPHENS pursued his preparatory studies at Trinity School, New York city, subsequently passed with honor through the several departments of Columbia College, and in 1866 he graduated from that institution with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Subsequently he entered the Columbia College Law School, and in 1868 graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. In the following year he received the degree of Master of Arts. He is now engaged in the practice of the law, and is meeting with such success as to indicate that the future has many honors in store for him.

In politics, Mr. STEPHENS is a Democrat, and during a number of years he has been an active worker in the ranks of his party. He has never before held a public position, however. He was a member last year of the important Committee on Eailroads, and also that of Vil- lages. This year he is Chairman of Villages, and member of Kailroads and Public Lands. He was brought up in the Episcopal denomination, of which he is still a member, and is unmarried.

HANFORD STRUBLE.

Mr. STKTJBLE is an able and prominent lawyer of Yates county, and a young man of more than ordinary ability. He is also a gentlemen of fine presence, and few would meet him casually without bestowing upon him an involuntary second glance. Physically, he is a fine specimen of man- hood. Deep-set and piercing black eyes, an ample mous- tache and a wealth of flowing black hair, serve to adorn a

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remarkably well-shaped head, every characteristic of which denotes force of character and a high degree of intellectual power. As an orator, Mr. STKUBLE has few, if any, superiors on the floor of the Assembly. To a deliberate and impres- sive^ style of delivery and a happy facility in the choice of language is united a deep and musical voice, whose tones penetrate every corner of the chamber, enabling him to com- mand the attention of all within hearing. He does not often address the House, but when he does, his words are worthy of attention.

Mr. STRUBLE was born in Milo, Yates county, on the 14th of May, 1842. He received his preliminary education in Starkey seminary from 1853 to 1857. Afterward he entered Genesee college, from which he graduated with honor in the class of 1861. For some time subsequently he followed teaching, being, in 1861 and 1862, principal of Dundee academy. After the war closed he studied law, and in 1867 received a diploma from the Albany Law school, and was duly admitted to the bar. From that time to the present, he has practiced the legal profession with a good degree of success.

In September, 1862, he entered the army as first lieuten- ant of company B, 148th New York Volunteers. Early in

1 863, he was appointed on the staff of General EGBERT VIELE, and for nearly a year subsequently, he was Provost Marshal of Portsmouth, Va. He then served with honor on the staffs, successively, of Generals WILD, POTTER and VOGDES, and so highly was he regarded by his superiors, that in January,

1864, he received from Secretary STANTON an appointment as permanent Aid on the staff of General GEO. F. SHEPLEY. In February of the following year he was assigned to duty before Eichmond, under General WEITZEL, and he entered that city with the victorious army on the 3d of April ensuing. At the close of the war, he held the rank of brevet-major, and he received his honorable discharge from the service in July, 1865. Major STRUBLE performed long and arduous

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service for the Union cause during the war, and his record as a soldier is without a blot.

Politically, Mr. STRUBLE has always been fully identified with the Eepublican party, and his activity and zeal have been of great advantage to the Republicans of Yates county. He is recognized as occupying a leading position, and his counsel is sought by men much older in politics than him- self. During two terms he has held the office of District- Attorney of Yates county, being elected in 1868 and 1871, and he discharged the- duties of the office with signal ability. He is making an excellent record during the pres- ent session of the Assembly, and, though in the minority, he is influential in shaping much important legislation. Early in the session he attracted attention by introducing a pro rata freight bill, and he has been quite persistent in his efforts to secure its passage, despite adverse influence. He is a wide-awake minority member of the Judiciary Com- mittee, and because of his agreeable personal traits, is very popular among members of both parties.

TUNIS V. P. TALMAGE.

The subject of this sketch, who represents the Fourth District of Kings county, is a very popular Democrat of Brooklyn, and a man who has long been identified with the prosperity of the city. He is not much given to words, but is a plain practical man of business, and bears an unblemished character.

TUNIS VAN PELT TALMAGE "was born in New York city on the 24th of July, 1832. His father shortly after removed to Brooklyn, and afterward became mayor of that city. His uncle, JACOB MILLER, represented New Jersey in the United

TUNIS V. P. TALMAGE. 295

States Senate during a period of sixteen years. Mr. TAL- MAGE was educated in the common schools, and also in the New Brunswick (N. J.) Grammar School. On reaching manhood he embraced a business life, and for twenty years he was a successful coal merchant. He is still in that busi- ness, but the greater portion of his time is devoted to real estate operations. He has taken a warm interest in the improvement and growth of Brooklyn, and every enter- prise having that object in view receives his encouragement and often his active co-operation. He was one of the origi- nators of Brooklyn's picturesque pleasure ground, Prospect Park, and was one of the building committee of the Kings County Court House.

Mr. TALMAGE has been all his life an active Democrat, but has not frequently held office, probably possessing very little ambition in that direction. From 1860 to 1862, how- ever, he was a member of the Board of Supervisors, and dur- ing the years 1863 and 1864 he was President of the Board of Aldermen. In both positions he gave great satisfaction to his friends, and materially augmented his growing popularity. In 1865 he was a candidate for mayor of the city in oppo- sition to the late MARTIN KALBFLEISCH, who defeated him by one vote. In the recent canvass he ran some seven hun- dred votes ahead of Governor TILDEN, and was elected by 2,208 majority over JOHN* F. CLTKE, Eepubiican, the major- ity being the largest ever given in the district. He is repre- senting his district faithfully, being instrumental in initiating much important legislation for the city of Brooklyn.

He occupies an important position on the committees, being chairman of Engrossed Bills and member of Ways and Means and Insurance.

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GEORGE TAYLOR.

Mr. TAYLOR is a successful Kochester business man, well fitted for the practical duties of legislation. He capably represents a second time the commercial interests of that important inland city, with which he has been identified many years. He was born in Stoddard, Cheshire county, N. H., November 26, 1832. He is therefore in the prime of a vigorous and finely-developed manhood. He is of English descent, his ancestors having emigrated to this country about the year 1700. He was educated in the common schools, Marlow Academy and Tubbs' Union Academy, at Washing- ton, N. H. His schooling was therefore very thorough, and enables him to be well armed, at all points, for the battle of life.

Mr. TAYLOR engaged in business pursuits very soon after reaching his majority, and by dint of industry and persever- ance he has become one of the "solid men" of Eochester. For several years he was engaged in the manufacture and sale of boots and shoes, and he built up a large trade in that line of business. A few years ago, however, he commenced the manufacture of thermometers, barometers and other meteorological instruments, and to this he mainly devotes his attention at present.

Mr. TAYLOR was born and educated a Democrat, and nothing has ever been able to swerve him from what he regards as the principles of that party. He has always, since an early age, taken an active part in the local politics of Rochester, and enjoys the confidence of his party in an unlim- ited degree. The proof of this is found in the fact that, for several years, he was a Member of the Eochester Board of Aldermen, and during one year was President of the Com- mon Council, and also in the fact that he was elected to the

WILLIAM F. TAYLOR. 297

Assembly in 1873 by the large majority of 1,054, the Peo- ple's ticket the previous year receiving a majority of 173, this majority being increased last fall to 1,427. He was opposed in his first canvass by JOHN BOWEK, a well-known Republican, and in his second, by NEWELL A. STONE.

Mr. TAYLOR obtrudes himself upon public notice very little, but he is known as a very efficient member of the Assembly.

WILLIAM F. TAYLOR.

Mr. TAYLOR is a representative business man of Rensselaer county, and is now in the Assembly for the first time. He was born in Berlin, where he still resides, on the 5th of October, 1830. He was educated in common and select schools in Berlin and also in Jefferson county. On reaching manhood he had very little capital beside ample capacity and an ener- getic, ambitious spirit, but he gradually established himself in business, both manufacturing and mercantile, in which he has been quite successful. At the present time he is engaged in the manufacture of shirts, and also operates quite extensively in real estate. As may be well supposed he has aided greatly the growth of the town, and is therefore to-day one of its most influental citizens.

Previous to 1860, Mr. TAYLOR was a Democrat, but as was the case with a good many others of that ilk, the issues of the war and the slavery question impelled him to act with the Republicans, and since that year, when he voted for ABRAHAM LINCOLN, he has been a steadfast member of the Republican organization and always votes for its can- didates. He has not frequently been induced to accept office, however. Last spring he was elected Supervisor of Berlin

without opposition, and was the second Republican Super- 38

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visor chosen by that town during a period of sixteen years. The nomination for the Assembly last year was entirely unsought on his part, and it was a discouraging fact that his opponent, Mr. PEEBLES, was in every respect a popular and worthy man. He went into the fight with energy, however, and succeeded in increasing the Republican majority in the district by 160 votes. In his own town, which polled 525 votes, he received all but 81, a fact which indicates very con- clusively the estimate in which he is held at home. The Troy Press, a Democratic paper, in commenting upon the result? shortly after the election, spoke as follows of the canvass :

" Mr. PEEBLES made a gallant fight, but he had a strong opponent in the person of Mr. TAYLOR, who is deservedly popular. There are few men who could have beaten Mr. PEEBLES, and Mr. T A YLOE deserves an ovation from his party for doing it." •

Mr. TAYLOR probably thinks that the votes of his fellow- citizens constitute ovation enough.

He is doing good service on the floor of the House, though he displays very little tendency to shine as an orator, and will undoubtedly make an excellent record. He is a member of the Committees on Militia and Public Lands.

Mr. TAYLOR has just been re-elected Supervisor of his town without opposition, and has been tendered the chairmanship of the Board. He, however, declined the honor in favor of a personal friend in the district.

SAMUEL W. TEWKSBURT. 299

SAMUEL W. TEWKSBUKY.

Wyoming county is again represented by SAMUEL WIL- LARD TEWKSBURY, of Perry Centre, he having served his district very efficiently last year. He is a plain, substantial farmer, past the meridian of life, and though he has fre- quently held political office, he maintains the character of a man who is thoroughly incorruptible and upright in all his dealings. He was born in York, Livingston county, on the 23d of July, 1820, and is of New England parentage. He received his education partly in the common schools and partly in Middleburgh Academy, which he attended during the years 1838 and 1839. After leaving school he turned his attention to teaching, and for several years he followed that honorable pursuit. He finally purchased the farm on which he now resides, and, during a long series of years, he has been known as a prosperous, hard-working agricultur- ist.

Mr. TEWKSBTTRY'S first political lessons were learned in the Whig party, with which he was identified until 1856. In that year he supported FREMONT for President, and since then he has been a straightforward, conscientious and active Eepublican, fully in sympathy with the efforts to extirpate the slave power, as well as with the distinctive principles of the Republican party. His sterling traits of character have evidently been known and marked by his neighbors and poli- tical friends, as he has frequently been called upon to fill local positions of responsibility. During a period of eleven years he was Town Superintendent of Common Schools, five times he was elected Justice of the Peace, and during six years he represented his town in the Board of Supervisors. In the important Republican State Conventions, held in 1868 and 1872, he was a delegate from Wyoming county. In

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all these positions he has invariably sought to perform his duties with a single eye to the public good, and he came to the Legislature, and will leave it, with a record that is not tarnished in any way.

In the canvass of 1873, he was chosen over EUSSELL C. MORDOFF, the Democratic candidate, by a majority of 640, a decided gain over the Republican majority the previous year. In 1870, the Liberals and Democrats carried the county, on Member, by 718 majority. Last fall he was re- elected by a majority of 508, over S. N. HOPKINS, Democrat. He was a Member last year of the Committees on Charitable and Religious Societies, and Agriculture, and is on the same committees this year. He does not often indulge him- self in speech-making, but in other and more effective ways he is an exceedingly valuable member.

CHARLES TREMAIN.

Mr. TREMAIN" is a young and energetic business man of Manlius, Onondaga county, and is thoroughly identified with the material interests of that thriving town. He pos- sesses full knowledge of the varied wants of his constituents, and has the ability, sagacity and determination necessary to secure for his locality proper recognition at Albany. In addition to his qualities as a business man, Mr. TREMAIN is an accomplished gentleman, with agreeable manners, and possesses every qualification necessary to make him success- ful and influential as a legislator.

He was born in Fayetteville, Onondaga county, on the 23d of April, 1843. His family connections are all of the high- est respectability, and some of his relatives have risen to high position. He is a grandson of Judge AUGUSTUS TRE-

COMMODORE P. VEDDER. 301

, who, in 1818, represented Columbia county in the Assembly, and who won deserved eminence for his legal attainments. His father, the late Hon. POETEK TEEMAIN, was also an eminent and esteemed citizen.

Mr. TBEMAIN received a good academic education, and entered business life at an early age. For some years he has been engaged in the manfacture of paper, cement and plas- ter, and has large business connections in Syracuse and other cities. He stands very high in the business community, and is in all respects a man to be trusted and relied upon in any emergency. His popularity is shown by the fact that he was elected to the Assembly from a Democratic district, in a Democratic year, over a popular Democratic opponent, who very capably represented the district last year. He received a plurality of 131, two candidates, CHABLES SIMON, Demo- crat, and D. L. SHEEWOOD, Prohibition, being in the field.

COMMODORE P. VEDDER.

Few members of the present Assembly exert a more com- manding influence or possess greater legislative talent than Mr. VEDDEE. He is known throughout the State as an active, earnest and independent Kepublican, who, while unswerving in his party fealty, is nevertheless incapable of being made the tool of cliques or rings. He is a man of exceptionally clear views of public interest as well as of party policy, while his convictions regarding all questions are the result of careful reflection and the exercise of sound judgment. When once formed they are tenaciously adhered to.

Mr. VEDDEE is the son of American parents, his father, JACOB VEDDEE, being an industrious Cattaraugus county farmer. He was born in Ellicottville, his present place of

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residence, on the 23d of February, 1838. Before reaching man's estate he spent five years as a sailor on the lakes. He secured a good education, partially in the common schools, but mainly in the Spriugville Academy, which he entered in his twentieth year. Afterward he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1866. In 1862, after teaching school a few months, he enlisted as a private in the 154th regiment, New York Volunteers, and remained with the regiment until the close of the war, participating with uniform credit to himself in the battles of Chancellorville, Wauhatchie, Lookout Valley, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Rocky- faced Eidge, Siege of Savannah, and Bentonville. He bore an honorable part in SHERMAN'S celebrated march to Atlanta and the sea, and for his gallant conduct in that cam- paign and at Lookout Mountain he was promoted succes- sively to Lieutenant-Colonel of Volunteers, 1st Lieutenant, Captain and Brevet-Major, U. S. A. His war record is therefore something to be proud of.

When the war ended Mr. VEDDER commenced the practice of the legal profession, in which he has continued to the present time with marked success. In 1867 he was appointed Register in Bankruptcy, and still holds the office. He was also Assessor of Internal Revenue from. May 10, 1869, until May 4, 1871, filling the office, as he fills every position, to the satisfaction of every one interested. In the fall of 1871, he was elected member of Assembly by a majority of 401, defeating CHARLES S. GARY, his Democratic competitor. In 1872 he defeated the same opponent by a majority of 688, after a very sharp canvass, in which the combined strength of the Liberal Republican and Democratic elements was brought against him, and herculean efforts made to defeat him. Tn 1873 he was elected over WM. F. WEED, by a major- ity of 386, and last fall his majority over DANIEL E. BART- LETT was 228.

Mr. VEDDER'S course in the Assembly has been in every way creditable to himself and his constituents. In 1872 he

COMMODORE P. VEDDER. 303

served on the Judiciary Committee, of which he is still a prom- inent member, and took an active part in the investigation into the conduct of the New York judges. He was also chairman of the committee which drew up the articles of impeachment against Judge BARXARD, and was one of the managers selected by the House to conduct the trial of that unworthy wearer of the ermine. His connection with these momentous proceedings aided largely in developing his fine legal talents, and added greatly to his reputation. He has been prominently identified with much of the important leg- islation of the last two sessions, serving on several commit- tees faithfully and well. Besides occupying the second place on the Judiciary Committee in the last session, he was Chair- man of Privileges and Elections, and Local and Special Laws, and being in the minority this year he is on Judiciary and Indian Affairs, with no chairmanship.

As an orator Mr. VEDDER has few equals. Though he always speaks extemporaneously, and often without prepara- tion, his efforts upon the floor are generally models of com- pact symmetrical argument. He clothes his ideas in direct and forcible yet elegant phraseology. Sometimes bold almost to audacity in his utterances, especially when discussing political questions, he frequently rises to heights of eloquence attained by few public speakers.

Previous to the war Mr. VEDDER was a Democrat, but the reverberation of the first gun at Sumter affected him much as it did thousands of other honest Democrats throughout the State. The so-called Democracy was effectually elimi- nated from his political constitution. He has since acted con- sistently with the Eepublican party, and is popular with men of all parties, as his personal and social qualities are of the most genial character. Whether we regard him in his private or public life, he is above reproach, and is in all respects an honest, able and efficient legislator. He is a man of fine personal appearance and unusually pleasing address, and evi- dently has a brilliant career yet before him.

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FRANCIS W. VOSBURGH.

For fifteen years past, Mr. VOSBUEGH has been engaged in the transportation business on the Hudson, being at the present time connected with the Schuyler Steam Tow Boat Line. He has therefore had a very extensive business ex- perience, of that sort which greatly adds to the efficiency of the legislator. His father was for many years a farmer at Kinderhook, Columbia county, and was a prominent Demo- crat, in 1837 representing his district in the Assembly ; sub- sequently he carried on business in New York as a wholesale commission merchant. Both father and mother died very advanced in life — the one being 81 and the other 79 at the time of their decease.

Mr. VOSBUKGH — or Capt. VOSBURGH — as he is known in Albany, was born in Kinderhook, on the llth of April, 1836, and was mainly educated in the Broadway Grammar School, in New York city. He commenced business life as a book- keeper in that city, but soon after reaching his majority he removed to Albany, where he married the daughter of Capt. SAMUEL SCHUYLEK, a leading citizen.

Capt. VOSBURGH has always been a straightforward and active Democrat, exceedingly popular among all classes, and a man of unexceptionable character. For some time past, he has been commander of the Albany Burgesses Corps, an organization of citizen soldiery which has a national reputa- tion and embraces in its ranks many of the best citizens of Albany. Though always more or less active in politics, Capt. VOSBURGH has never accepted official honors until now, and considering the circumstances of his election, his success may be regarded as a marked personal triumph. His opponents were Dr. JOHN SWINBURNE, formerly Health Officer of the port of New York, nominated by the Liberals

Louis C. WAEHNER. 305

and what is locally known as the Meegan wing of the Democracy, and HENRY W. DWIGHT, a very popular and well-known Kepublican. His plurality, after a very hotly contested canvass, was 111. Capt. VOSBURQH is Chairman of the Committee on Militia and Member of Ways and Means and Commerce and Navigation, thus occupying a very influential position in the House. He has proved to be an able legislator, both on the floor and in the Committee- room, 'and attends closely to his duties.

LOUIS C. WAEHNER.

The Tenth district of New York city is represented by a brilliant young lawyer, who, since his advent in legislative halls, has taken a front rank in point of ability and address. Louis C. WAEHNER was born in the city of New York in 1847. He is therefore one of the youngest members of the present House. He is of German parentage, both his par- ents being still living and residents of the metropolis. Mr. WAEHNER'S education was obtained almost wholly in the public schools of New York city, and it is apparent that the excellence and efficiency of those institutions can scarcely b« questioned if they habitually turn out such scholars as the subject of our sketch. On leaving school, he studied law for a time with STILLWELL & SWAIN, of New York city, and about six years' ago he was admitted to the bar.

Mr. WAEHNER'S political career, though brief, has been brilliant. He has always been a Democrat, and very decided in his convictions. His position as a legislator last year was the first office he had held, though he has generally been quite active in political campaigns, and in the fall of 1872 he ran as an independent candidate for the Assembly, and was defeated. 39

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In the last House he made an exceedingly honorable re- cord, his legal ability being so well demonstrated that he was selected without opposition as the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the present House. In that position he has acquitted himself well. With an unbounded earnestness and driving power, he is an indomitable worker, applying him- self closely to all matters to which his attention has been called, irrespective of the interests to be affected. He has a fine and rather commanding presence, a powerful and re- sonant voice, and a good delivery. He is also felicitous in choice of language while on the floor, and there are not a few who rank him among the best orators in the present As- sembly. As a tactician and debater he is clear-headed, quick to apprehend the gist of a question, direct and forcible, com- ing at once to the real point at issue. In manner he is suave, off-hand, genial, and has a dash that indicates cour- age, promptitude, great energy and independence. Thus far Mr. WAEHNEB'S record as a legislator gives promise of great future usefulness and distinction should he continue in pub- lic life.

D. GERRY WELLINGTON.

Mr. WELLINGTON is a straightforward Eepublican, and a clear-headed lawyer. He resides in Hamilton, Madison county, where he enjoys a lucrative practice, and possesses the confidence and esteem of his fellow-citizens. He was corn in Cazenovia, Madison county, on the 8th of January, 1838. He attended the Oneida Conference Seminary at Cazenovia until 1859, where he graduated with honor. He then entered Union College, and passed through the Sopho- more year, finishing his studies in the Albany Law School, from whence he graduated in 1861. In the fall of that year he opened a law office at Hamilton. In the following year,

D. GURRY WELLINGTON. 307

however, his patriotic impulses led him to abandon a prac- tice which had already grown with promising rapidity, and he enlisted as a private in the 176th Regiment, New York Volunteers, and was almost immediately elected Captain of Company E. His modest distrust of his abilities led him to decline such a responsibility at the outset of his military career, but he yielded to the earnest desire of the company that he should hold a leading position in their ranks, and he accepted the position of First Lieutenant. The regiment w/nt into camp at Jamaica, Long Island, and remained there until January, 1863, when it became a part of BANKS' expedition, and performed arduous service in Louisiana. Lieut. WELLINGTON was taken prisoner at Lafourche cross- ing, on the 23d of January, 1863, and taken to camp at Fort Tyler, Texas. There he was kept until exchanged in the summer of 1864, after being a prisoner thirteen months. In August, 1864, he was honorably discharged from service. Mr. WELLINGTON has always been a Republican, and gen- erally quite active in local politics. In 1865 he was elected Justice of the Peace of Hamilton, without opposition, and held the office two years. In 1868 he was a member of As- sembly from the district he now represents, and served with marked ability on the Railroad Committee. He was elected last fall by a majority of 1,389 over CHAKLES H. MAXSON, his Democratic opponent, the Republican majority the pre- vious year being but 928, and though not specially favored by the majority in respect to committee work, he is doing good service for his constituency on the floor of the Assem- bly. Thus far he has repeated the very excellent record made in 1868. He does not frequently indulge in speeches, but when he has any thing to say he presents his points , clearly, forcibly and effectively. Mr. WELLINGTON'S ability as a lawyer, his business qualities and sound judgment, and, not least in importance, his habitual courtesy and agreeable manners, have won him a host of friends, and there are few more popular men in the Assembly.

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ADOLPHUS E. WENZEL.

Mr. WENZEL is a prominent Democrat of Callicoon, Sul- livan county. He is;of German descent, and was born in New York city, on the 4th of March, 1837. His early life was spent in the metropolis in attendance at the public schools, though his education was largely obtained at Cazen- ovia seminary, in 1855 and 1856. He learned the machinist's trade ; but for sometime past he has been successfully en- gaged in lumbering and in the management of an extensive grist and saw mill at Callicoon.

Mr. WENZEL'S father was always active in politics, gener- ally acting with the Democratic party. In 1867 the son became interested in political matters, and has actively co-operated with the Democratic party ever since. Since the spring of 1872, he has served in the Sullivan County Board of Supervisors, being re-elected last year without opposition. This indicates his growing popularity at home. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 1,389, his Republican opponent being CHAELES JOHNSON", and he serves his constituents very efficiently as member of the Committees on Affairs of Villages, Expenditures of the Exec- utive Department and Sub-Committee of the Whole.

GEORGE WEST. 309

GEORGE WEST.

Mr. WEST is a fair representative of the successful busi- ness man. By dint of energy, sagacity and perserering industry, he has risen in a few years from comparative poverty to opulence, and is now one of the largest manufac- turers in the eastern section of the State. His career is instructive and worthy of emulation. Born in Keentsbeer, Devonshire county, England, on the 17th of February, 1823, of parents in very moderate circumstances, he had very little adventitious aid in making a future for himself. He received a good common school education, however, and inherited from his parents industrious habits and a robust constitution. "With these as his capital he commenced the battle of life. His father and uncle were paper makers, but he served a thorough apprenticeship with JOHN" DEWDNEY, one of the leading manufacturers in the west of England, learning the business in all its branches. Soon after reaching his majority he married an English girl, whose prudent management and wise, counsel, no doubt, contributed in no small degree to his success. He soon discovered that England failed to afford full scope for his abilities, and, in 1849, when he had reached his twenty-sixth year, he came with his young wife to this country. When he arrived on our shores he was almost pen- niless, but he possessed a good stock of indomitable pluck. He procured employment in New Jerse), where he worked about a year. From there he went to Massachusetts, where he obtained employment in a paper mill as an ordinary opera- tive, continuing in that capacity about three years. Ulti- mately his employers discerned and appreciated his value, and he soon found himself the responsible manager of one of the largest manufactories of writing paper in the Bay State. During several years' experience in that position, he rapidly

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developed the sterling qualities by which he finally won suc- cess ; and before he had been ten years in this country he became a partner in an extensive paper mill. In the year 1860 he sold out his business in Massachusetts, and seeing a favorable opening at Ballston Spa, removed thither. How well time has demonstrated the wisdom of his venture i& shown by the fact that he is now sole proprietor of six large paper mills, all of which are run exclusively on manilla paper, used in the manufacture of grocers' bags, and also a paper bag manufactory, which turns out from eighty to one hundred million of those bags per year, transacting in con- nection therewith a business which averages about $65,000 monthly. One of his mills was added last October, at an outlay of $60,000. He is also an equal partner in the firm of G-AIR & WEST, whose depot for the sale of paper, paper bags and twine is located at No. 143 Eeade street, New York, as well as director in the First National Bank of 'Ballston Spa, and the largest individual stockholder in the bank.

In personal appearance, Mr. WEST is a good specimen of the sturdy Briton. Though of short stature, his robust form and broad shoulders seem well able to carry the massive and well-developed head, which seems a fit repository for a brain of more than ordinary activity. He bears with him, how- ever, the air and manner of one who has earned the right to take the world easy, and the geniality characterizing his intercourse with others strengthens such an impression in the mind of one who judges men by first impressions. He is a man of much earnestness of character, and is still a hard worker, carrying much of his energy and thoroughness in the committee rooms, though he very rarely attempts to make more than a brief and pointed off-hand speech on the floor of the House.

Mr. WEST has always been an ardent ^Republican, and enjoys a large degree of popularity in his own district, as is evidenced by the fact that he was elected to the Assembly of

JOHN M. WETHERDEE. 311

1872 by the large majority of 1,166 over WILLIAM T. ODELL, his Democratic competitor. In the fall of 1872 he was re- elected without opposition, no other candidate being nomi- nated, and in the Legislature of 1873 was the only member of the Assembly having no vote against him. In the fall of that year, local issues which arose rendered him less for- tunate, his majority over GEORGE A. ENSIGN, his Demo- cratic opponent, being 420. Last fall he was elected by a majority of 709 over BEI* JAMIST H. KNAPP, Democrat. Mr WEST was last year Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Manufactures, and member of Public Printing and Pub- lic Lands. This year he is member of Public Printing and Trade and Manufactures.

JOHN M. WETHERBEE.

The seat allotted to Mr. WETHERBEE is rendered vacant by his death, which occurred in March last. Owing to ill health, he has not taken much part in legislation ; but had he been permitted, he would have doubtless occupied a prominent position, as he was a man of decided ability and unusually amiable character. He was born in Claren- don, Orleans county, September 12, 1838. His parents were of New England descent. His father, SAMUEL WETHER- BEE, is a well-to-do farmer, residing in Clarendon. Honesty, integrity and industry were the distinguishing characteris- tics of both father and mother.

Mr. WETHERBEE attended common schools until the age of fourteen. He then spent some time in a store, and in the y5ar 1856 entered Albion Academy. He prosecuted his studies for a time, and again engaged in mercantile pursuits, which he followed, except during a brief absence in the

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army, until 1869, when he was compelled to relinquish busi- ness life because of ill health.

In 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company G-, 151st New York Volunteers, and remained with the regiment in all the actions in which it was engaged, until he was dis- abled. On November 27, 1863, he was wounded in a skir- mish while on the advance to Mine Run. His leg was amputated on the field, and as eight days elapsed before he reached an hospital, he was utterly broken down, having suffered the keenest torture during that time. After nine months of hospital life, he came home with a ruined consti- tution, and a condition of health which was a serious obsta- cle to his business pursuits ever since. At the time he was wounded he was first sergeant of the company, and had established a reputation for bravery and excellent soldierly qualities.

Mr. "WETHEEBEE was always a Republican, and has held a number of positions of responsibility. In 1860, he was elected Town Clerk, and held the office two years. From 1864 to the spring of 1867, he was clerk in the treasury department at Washington. During 1870 and 1871, he acted as distillery surveyor on the Pacific coast, traveling exten- sively through the vineyard portion of the State, but returned to the eastern States in 1872, on account of the unfavorable nature of the climate at San Francisco. He was elected to the Assembly by a majority of 698 over URIEL TIMMERMAN, his Democratic opponent.

Mr. WETHERBEE was a man of unbounded energy and perseverance, always pushing through to a successful issue every thing he undertook ; but it was perhaps a fault with him that his indomitable will was apt to overtask his bodily strength. He was a believer in a large-hearted liberal Chris- tianity and was universally popular and respected, as & citizen.

DANIEL E. WHITMORE. 313

DANIEL E. WHITMORE.

The subject of the present sketch, who is an influential citizen of Cortland county, possesses abilities which have already commanded attention on the floor of the Assembly chamber. He is a clear and forcible speaker, generally sound in his judgment of men and measures, and quite decided and tenacious in his opinions. He is not, however, a politician in the ordinary sense of the term, and hence the purification of parties, and the advancement of the moral as well as the material welfare of the community are, with him, paramount objects of honorable effort.

He has been a popular educator for the better portion of his well spent life, and has labored with much more than ordinary success in elevating the Primary or Common Schools, with which he has been most intimately con- nected.

DANIEL E. WHITMORE was born in Columbus, Chenango county, N, Y., January 6th, 1825. He is descended from good and patriotic ancestry. His father's name was LUTHER WHITMORE ; his mother's maiden name was ELSIE PERKINS. His grandfathers on both sides were among the early settlers of Columbus, having emigrated there in 1796. His paternal grandfather was from Connecticut, and his maternal grand- father was from Khode Island. His father was alternately engaged in teaching, merchandising and farming, and lived to the age of seventy-six. He possessed a remarkable memory, and down to the last year of 'his life was able to repeat page after page of books which he had read in his youth. His mother was an exemplary woman, and remarka- bly'energetic in the performance of household and social duties.

Young WHITMORE commenced attending school at a very 40

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early age and learned rapidly. . At the age of ten, he had the misfortune to lose his left leg, as the result of an abscess which necessitated its amputation near the hip. He, how- ever, performed considerable work about the farm during his remaining years of minority, and in the meantime he studied diligently. At the age of fourteen, he entered the Sher- burne Academy, and a year later commenced teaching a dis- trict school, at ten dollars per month — boarding around among his pupils. He met with much to discourage him in this, his first experiment ; but he persevered, and achieved a success. After this, for several years, he alternated his win- ter terms of teaching with his studies in other schools, and he successively attended the Academy at Norwich, the Clin- ton Liberal Institute — and lastly, the Normal School at Albany, from whence he graduated in the fall of 1846, standing among the first in a class of forty-six, and excel- ling especially in mathematics. Among his classmates in the Normal School were ex-Senator HENRY E. LOWE, Hon. WILLIAM ORTON", now President of the Western Union Telegraph Company, DAVID P. PAYST, a popular educator, and G-EO. R. PERKINS, Professor of Mathematics. He was then engaged as Principal of the village school at Marathon, and was also, for a year or two, in charge of mathematics at the Chenango county Institute. In 1848, he took charge of the English Department of Cortland Academy, at the invi- tation of Prof. S. B. WOOLWORTH, then Principal of that institution. Among his pupils at Marathon was DAVID R. LOCKE, now famous as Petroleum V. Nasby.

On the 9th of July, 1850, Mr. WHITMORE was married to Miss LTDIA M. SHATTUCK, of Marathon, a young lady who had already distinguished herself as a teacher, and in the fall of the same year, Mr. and Mrs. WHITMORE — the one as Principal and the other as Preceptress — took charge of the Union School at Orleans, and conducted it successfully until late in the year 1853. He then taught a couple of years in Canandaigua and Marathon, when he relinquished teach-

DANIEL E. WHITMORE. 315

ing and turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, holding, for a couple of years, in the meantime, the office of Justice of the Peace, by appointment of Gov. CLARK. In the fall of 1857, he was elected School Commissioner, and held the office, by successive elections, for fifteen years. It is by his special efforts that the Cortland County Teachers' Institute has taken rank among the first in the State, and he always labored generously and incessantly in the discharge of his official duties — being almost always in attendance at State and local educational gatherings. In 1870, he was chosen Corresponding Secretary of the State Association of Commis- sioners and Superintendents, and at the meeting of the Association, held at Utica, in May, 1871, he delivered an able address on " School Visitation." In his annual reports, he has advocated a number of educational reforms. In 1872, as a fit recognition of his ability and learning, Hamilton College conferred upon him the degree of Master of Arts.

At the present time, Mr. WHITMORE is a wholesale produce dealer and insurance agent, having business relations with G-EO. B. WHITMORE of New York, and has been quite success- ful. He was one of the charter trustees of the Cortland Savings Bank, and acted as its secretary until it was fully organized. In politics he was originally a Whig, but he united with the Kepublican party on its organization, and has acted with it ever since. Twice he has been a delegate from Cortland county to the State conventions of the party — in 1871 and 1872. Last winter Mr. WHITMORE'S name was presented to the legislature for the office of Superin- tendent of Public Instruction, being backed by recommenda- tions from members of the Republican County Committee of Cortland county, and also by a large number of distinguished citizens. His qualifications were fully conceded, but another received the office, which he would have filled to universal satisfaction. He has not, however, been a seeker after office, and only entered the canvass last fall at the solicitation of his friends. That canvass was contested much more sharply

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than usual, but he succeeded in defeating his opponent, DANIEL S. LAMOOT, by a majority of 138.

In person, Mr. WHITMORE is of medium size, has a well compacted brain, a clear intelligent eye, and a well modu- lated voice ; his manners are courteous and agreeable ; his benevolence is commensurate with his means, while his hospi- tality is of that elegant kind which always makes its recip- ient at ease, and gives them an agreeable welcome. In short, he is a gentlemen of refined culture, character and influence, possessing the inborn sense and the outward graces of the polished scholar. He is an influential and consistent member of the Presbyterian Church, and has frequently been a delegate to the Presbytery. For three years he was Com- missioner and Examiner of the Auburn Theological Semi- nary. He was also a delegate to the General Assembly at Cincinnati in 1862, and he has from early manhood taken a deep interest in the success of Sabbath 'schools and temper- ance associations, holding the position of superintendent of the former for fifteen years.

WARREN G. WILLIS.

Mr. WILLIS represents the first district of Delaware county. He was born in Masonville, where he still resides, on the llth of March, 1827. He comes of an ancestry distinguished in two wars, his grandfather, SOLOMON WILLIS, having been an officer in the French war, and also in the Revolution, espousing in the latter the patriot cause. His father WEARAM WILLIS, came from Tolland county, Connecticut, to Delaware county when the latter was little more than wilderness and forest. He afterward held the office of Justice of the Peace and Supervisor many years, and became a prominent man.

WARREN G. WILLIS. 317

V

The subject of our sketch was educated in the district and select school? at Masonville and at Delaware Literary Insti- tute. Since his majority he has engaged in a number, of pur- suits, being at different times farmer, teacher, real estate conveyancer, and attorney at law, doing considerable business in settling estates and purchasing lands. At the present time he is a farmer. In 1850 he visited California and Cuba, and subsequently he sojourned a short time in the Western States. He has made a number of judicious real estate investments, and owns considerable land in Minnesota and New York, some of the latter being in Albany county.

in politics Mr. WILLIS was formerly a Whig and an admirer of HENRY CLAY. He voted for SCOTT in 1852 and FREMONT in 1856 for the Presidency, and though he has at times voted with the Temperance and Abolition organiza- tions, he has generally been in line with the Republican party. During most of the time from 1860 to 1871 he filled the office of Justice of the Peace in his town. In the years 1869, 1871 and 1872 he was a member of the Board of Super- visors, and has besides held a number of minor offices. In all of these positions he evinced ability of a high order, and performed his duty to the satisfaction of the public. As Supervisor he, in 1861, advocated a county bounty for volun- teers. He was elected to the Assembly over HENRY WELSH, Democrat, by a majority of 470, which was about the same as the previous year. He performs his duties in the Assembly with zeal and intelligence, and proves to be an excellent representative.

The speeches which he occasionally makes are fine speci- mens of homely, clear-cut common sense, going right to the heart of the subject in hand. He is especially eloquent when defending the interests of the farmer. He speaks with great facility of utterance, and possesses a powerful voice, which is heard in every part of the chamber.

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JACOB M. WITBECK.

Mr. WITBEOK is engaged extensively in milling at Nassau Rensselaer county, N. Y., where he resides, and is also a part- ner in a large brick business in Castleton. He was born on the 17th of September, 1820, in the town of Schodack, Rens- selaer county, and is of Dutch descent. His paternal grand- father came from Holland, and was one of the first settlers in Schodack, on the Van Eensselaer Manor. Mr. WITBECK may be styled a self-made man. At the age of eleven he was taken from school and left to work his own way in the world. His subsequent career as mechanic, farmer, hotel-keeper, brick manufacturer and miller, has been a success such as honesty and persevering industry only can secure.

Although a life-long Democrat, Mr. WITBECK was elected Supervisor of the town of Nassau, one of the strongest Eepublican towns in the county, in 1868, an undoubted tribute to his patriotic efforts in raising soldiers during the dark days of the war. His position throughout the community in which he is best known, is that of a man of influence, char- acter and real moral worth. Mr. WITBECK was married June 7, 1848, to Miss AMANDA NIVEE, of Kinderhook, Columbia county, N. Y., and attends the Reformed church.

He is an excellent working member of the House to which he has now been twice elected, and serves on the Committees on Claims and Agriculture, being last year on Federal Rela- tions, and Two-thirds and Three-fifths Bills.

JACOB WORTH. 319

JACOB WORTH.

Mr. WORTH is a resident of the sixteenth ward of Brook- lyn, and represents the Sixth district of Kings county in the Assembly. His parents emigrated from South Germany in the year 1837, locating in New York city ; five years later they removed to Brooklyn, and there the family have since resided.

Mr. WORTH was born in New York soon after his parents arrived in that city, and therefore he is now about thirty-six years of age. His father died when he was but seven years of age, and from that time he was practically obliged to depend upon his own efforts to earn a living, as well as to provide for his widowed mother. He thus had very little opportunity to obtain an education. In point of fact, the first time he ever saw the inside of a school-house was in 1863, when he was a candidate for legislative honors. He is, there- fore, self-made, as the phrase goes, and self-educated.

His life has been quite eventful. At the age of fifteen he went to sea, and, during an absence of three years, made the circuit of the globe. Soon after his return he entered the political arena, and at the early age of nineteen was elected to represent his ward in the Democratic General Committee. When the war broke out in 1861, he was enthusiastic in cham- pioning the Union cause, and since that time has been a firm and consistent Eepublican, devoting much time and effort in spreading a knowledge of the principles of his party among his fellow-countrymen. It is probably due to him more than to any other man that, in spite of adverse influences arising from excise laws and other issues, the Germans of the Eastern district of Brooklyn, comprising a large portion of the popu- lation of that section, have been kept true to Eepublicanism.

In September, 1862, Mr. WORTH was commissioned a First Lieutenant in Col. CROCK'S regiment, the ]39th New York,

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and went with his regiment to the front. Shortly after he was promoted to a Captaincy, and was given a command in the 84th New York regiment. He participated with credit in all the battles and skirmishes of the regiment until the latter part of 1863, when he resigned because of ill-health.

In the fall of the same year he was placed in the field as the Eepublican candidate for Assembly in the district com- prising the 7th, loth, 16th and 19th wards of Brooklyn, and succeeded in defeating FRANK SMITH, the Democratic can- didate, by over 1,000 majority. In 1864 he was re-elected by about 700 majority over JOHN HANSON, the district giving the Democratic State ticket at the same time 500 majority. In 1865 he was once more chosen to the Assembly, receiving about 1,200 majority, Judge EAMES, a very popular man on the Democratic side, being his opponent. In 1866 he was a candidate for Street Commissioner against EGBERT FURY, and was defeated by 1,400 votes, in a poll of more than 48,000, running 8,800 votes ahead of the Kepublican State ticket. In the fall of 1867 he was elected to the Assem- bly from the district composed of the 16th and 19th wards of Brooklyn, by 30 majority, the Democratic State ticket receiving over 1,100 majority. In 1868 he represented the Second Congressional district of this State in the Electoral College which gave Gen. GRANT the 34 votes of the Empire State. He ran again for Assembly in 1869, but was defeated by BERNARD HAVER, a Democrat, by 58 votes, owing to the fact that an Independent Republican was in the field, and polled some 458 votes. In 1872 he was elected to the Assem- bly, receiving a majority of 555 over AUGUST MERRINGER ; in 1873 by a plurality of 958 over JOHN RABER, Democrat, and JOHN HINMAN, Independent, and last fall he was again chosen to the Assembly by a plurality of 453 over JOHN MAERTZ, Democrat, and ISAAC N. HOLLY, independent, being now in his seventh term of service.

It is almost impossible to overcome his popularity in the 16th ward. He has suffered much detraction at the hands

JACOB D. WURTS. 321

of political opponents, but he is ever ready to meet his assail- ants face to face on any issue, and his manly course of action invariably compels respect and admiration. His energy and perseverance are distinguishing traits in his character, and the Committee of One Hundred showed obvious appreciation of his merit, by requesting him to champion their Eeform Charter through the Assembly in 1873. It is conceded that he worthily perfermed the task allotted to him, not hesitating to measure lances with the ablest debaters in the House. Mr. WORTH has been elected to represent the 16th ward in the Eepublican General Committee every year for the past twelve years, and during the past ten years has been the elected rep- resentative of his assembly district to all the State Conven- tions of the Republican party. He is a gentleman of good presence and commanding figure, standing six feet in height. If he lives to the usual age allotted to man, he bids fair to become as popular in the State as he is now in Brooklyn. He was married in 1861, and has two interesting children.

JACOB D. WURTS.

JACOB DAVID WURTS, from the second district of Ulster county, is a prominent physician of New Paltz, and a young man of ability and high character. He was born in New Paltz on the llth of May, 1846, and is of German and French extraction. His father, DAVID WURTS, now de- ceased, was a physician of eminence as well as a prominent Democrat, and held, during his life, numerous political positions. Young WURTS was educated in the common schools, Bellevue Medical College, and Geneva Medical Col- lege. He was obliged to rely largely upon his own resources in prosecuting his studies, and his attainments are, therefore, fairly the result of energetic effort and youthful perseverance. 41

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At the age of twenty-one he commenced practicing in his native village, and, though he had to work his way against two old physicians, he was not long in establishing a lucra- tive practice, and now his counsel and advice are frequently sought by his rivals.

Dr. WURTS has always been a Democrat, and has generally taken an active part in politics ; but with the exception of a few town offices, which have been pressed upon him, he has never held public position before. In the late canvass he was opposed by Eepublican and Temperance candidates, but received a plurality of 508 in a district usually giving about 300 Republican majority. He is chairman of the committee on Public Health, and member of Petitions of Aliens, and Two-thirds and Three-fifths bills.

In religion Mr. WURTS is a Protestant, and he is, in all respects, a sound and able man and good citizen, possessing, also, many of those peculiar qualifications which mark the successful and efficient legislator. He was married in New- burgh in 1867, to Miss ARABELLA D. BLOOMER.

GEORGE E. YOST.

Mr. YOST is serving his first term as a legislator, repre- senting the Second district of Jefferson county. He is well known in the business circles of Jefferson county, as a man of unquestioned probity of character, and marked ability as a financier and tradesman. He was born at Theresa, April 7, 1838, and received a good practical education in the dis- trict school, and at Theresa High School. Since reaching manhood he has been at different times a farmer, teacher, manufacturer and produce dealer, and is now engaged in banking. He has been quite successful in all his ventures,

HIRAM CALKINS. 323

and has reached an influential position in the community where he resides, solely as the result of his own ability and energy.

In politics Mr. YOST has always been a Kepublican, and a very active one. Since the spring of 1873 he has represented the town of Theresa in the Board of Supervisors, and in 1871 he was elected without opposition as the first President of the village of Theresa. Last year he was re-elected Super- visor without opposition. Last fall he received the assembly nomination with great unanimity, and was elected over JOHN JOHNSTON, his Democratic opponent, by a majority of 602. He ably serves his district on the floor of the House, and while not being a man of frequent speeches, is well able to sustain his share in the debates. He is a member of the Committee on Internal Affairs.

HIRAM CALKINS,

CLERK OF THE ASSEMBLY.

The subject of this sketch, the present Clerk of the Assembly, is familiar to legislative halls, having, besides being Clerk of the Senate, spent several years as Albany cor- respondent of the New York press.

He is a native of Wyoming county in this State, and was born in the town of Gainesville on the 28th of December, 1833. He has therefore passed his fortieth year. His father, ELISHA D. CALKINS, was one of the earliest settlers of that section of the State. He left Saratoga in 1813, and purchased a tract of land in the town of Gainesville, and moved his family upon it in 1815, when there were but few in the neighborhood. Out of the wilderness which he found, he gradually evoked one of the most productive farms in that region.

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The ancestors of Mr. CALKINS, both paternal and mater- nal, were prominently connected with the events of the country in its early history. On his father's side, they came from "Wales about the middle of the last century, and were for years members of the Colonial Council of Massachusetts. During the Revolutionary war they were foremost in the ranks of the patriot army. The great grandfather of Mr. CALKINS was with ETHAN ALLEN at the. capture of Ticon- deroga, and subsequently died in the service at that point.

His ancestors, on his mother's side, came from England in the early part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Con- necticut, in the village of Norwalk. His mother's name was LOCKWOOD, a name familiar to all conversant with the early history of western Connecticut. His great-grandfather, on his mother's side, was a general in the Connecticut Mili- tia during the Eevoluntary war, and, as such, was a special favorite of General Washington during his campaigns in New England.

The early boyhood of Mr. CALKINS was spent upon the farm. His father died when he was but seventeen years of age, and upon him devolved the superintendence of a large farm in that grain growing section of the State. He was equal to the task, however, and until he reached his majority, he remained with his mother on the homestead, solely responsible for the management of the farm. Prior to the death of his father, the only educational advantages he pos- sessed were those afforded by the district school.

Those conversant with farm duties would infer that he could have no better advantage after that period. But with all the responsibilities upon his shoulders, he found time to attend to the cultivation of his mind. Having access to one of the best libraries in that section, every leisure moment was spent in reading, and during the winter months, until he was twenty-one, he attended at Castile, studying dili- gently and with a determination to excel in every branch of

HIRAM CALKINS. 325

knowledge. As a result, he had secured a fair education by the time he reached his majority.

He then conceived the idea of travel, and became anxious to see something of the world. He took a trip through some of the western States, and finally brought up at Harris- burgh, Penn., where he engaged in book-keeping and corresponding for the Philadelphia Sun and other papers during the session of the legislature. He was then a Whig, having been educated in that school of politics. At the age of twenty-three he was elected Chairman of the Whig County Committee of Dauphin county. He made one of the most thorough canvasses of the county that was ever made, personally organizing in every school district of the county, and succeeded in obtaining for Gov. POLLOCK and the balance of the ticket the largest majority ever given, before or since, in that county. At the demise of the Whig party, and the organization of the Republican party, he retired, for a time, from active participation in politics, and soon after began to identify himself with the Democracy. His first Presidential vote was cast for MILLAED PILLMORE, in 1856. About that time he commenced corresponding for the New York Herald, and was so successful that Mr. HUD- SON, then managing editor of that journal, offered him a situation on the paper in New York. In the fall of 1857 he went to Milwaukee, Wis., with the view of purchasing a paper at that place. But in consequence of the panic of that year, he abandoned the idea and engaged in other business. In January, 1859, he left Milwaukee and took up his resi-» dence in New York, where he soon after accepted a situation on the Herald. During the session of the Legislature in 1860 he was sent to Albany as the representative of the Herald, and soon attracted universal attention by his spicy letters and exposures of the inside workings of the Legisla- ture. Independent and fearless in his course, his letters became the feature of the session. He gave the name of " Gridiron " to the city railroad legislation of that session.

326 LIFE SKETCHES.

He was the correspondent of the Herald during four sessions of the Legislature, and during that period had the reputation of presenting the most complete and truthful report given by any of the New York correspondents.

In the fall of 1864, Mr. BENNETT sent him to Washington to represent the paper at the national capital. He soon obtained the reputation of being the best posted of any man at that point. He established confidential relations with the President and the members of the cabinet, and for a long time was the only correspondent whom Secretary STANTON would permit about his office or communicate with. He had free access to Mr. STANTON'S office at all times. He was in Washington at the time of the assassination of Mr. LINCOLN, and on the evening previous was invited by Mr. LINCOLN to accompany him to the theater on that eventful night. He was present at the death of Mr. LINCOLN, and his description of the scenes attending that event were the most graphic that were published. The account of the affair which appeared in the Herald, embracing nine columns, was telegraphed by him on Saturday. So great was the demand for details that 161,000 copies of the Herald were sold on Sunday morning. Dur- ing that summer and the following winter, he visited Wash- ington regularly once each month and was present at every important event of that year. Just before the organization of the Congress of 1865, he gave a full description of the pro- posed conflict of Congress with the President, with Mr. STEVENS' programme for precipitating the contest, which was •subsequently carried out in detail. During that period he was the medium through which Mr. BENNETT commmuni- cated with the leading men at Washington, and thus per- sonally obtained a more intimate knowledge of the public men, both in Congress and Cabinet, than any other person connected with the press outside of Washington. Few knew better than Mr. CALKINS of the inner workings, the secrets, the schemes and the conspiracies of that period.

In the fall of 1866 he severed his connection with the

HIRAM CALKINS. 327

Herald and engaged on the World, with which he has been connected more or less continuously until the present time. He was the Albany representative of the World during the legislative session of 1866, when an exposure which he made of the canal ring created a sensation throughout the State. It led to an investigation, a number of changes among the canal officials, and an almost universal demand for the abo- lition of the contract system. Those who then read Mr. CALKINS' prospectus of the Canal Academy at Little Falls, will never forget its satire and practical hits upon the canal men of that day, many of whose names are mentioned quite freely in connection with the expose just set on foot by GOT. TILDES.

In the fall of 1868, soon after the death of MILES O'KiELLEY, Mr. CALKINS became editor of the New York Citizen, and some of the best literary work he has done was performed upon that journal. In 1870 he was chosen clerk of the Senate by the unanimous vote of the Democratic Senators, and in that responsible and difficult position he performed his duties to the satisfaction of all parties, and brought to his task great energy, close application, and an exhaustive talent much beyond that which his most sanguine friends anticipated.

In 1872 he was again the correspondent of the World at Albany, and has since remained in the service of the paper, except when engaged in the performance of official duties. In the winter of 1873 he was clerk of the Constitutional Com- mission, and rendered more aid than is generally supposed in reducing to presentable form the valuable suggestions of the distinguished men composing that commission, and at the close of its labors he received a unanimous vote of thanks for the ability and courtesy which had characterized his official conduct.

Long before the present Assembly convened, Mr. CALKINS was by all odds the favorite candidate for the clerkship, his well known ability and experience being strongly in his favor, and when the Democratic caucus met, there was virtually no

328 LIFE SKETCHES.

opposition. He was finally chosen unanimously, and received on the formal election the entire vote of his party. In his performance of the onerous duties which devolve upon him, he has fully vindicated the wisdom of the majority of the House in selecting him. The operations of the clerk's desk have progressed smoothly and orderly during the entire session, the legislative business being dispatched with con- siderable speed, and yet without unseemly haste or confusion. He has gathered about him a very excellent force of assist- ants, and has, in the main, avoided the blunders which sometimes occur even in the best regulated legislative bodies. He is also courteous and obliging to every mem- ber, officer and reporter in the House, and is esteemed by all.

Mr. CALKINS was married in January, 1858, to Miss JENNIE PAKTCH, of Burlington, Vt. She died, however, in the winter of 1872.

Mr. CALKINS' character is very correctly described in a sketch recently published in the New York Phrenological Journal. The writer sums him up as a penetrating observer and sharp critic, a rapid reasoner, a ready, off-hand worker, able to meet duties arising from a multiplicity of responsi- bilities ; is positive, steadfast and thorough in whatever he undertakes ; possesses considerable inventive talent, and, in short, has those capabilities indispensable to the man who occupies a position where accuracy of judgment and exten- sive knowledge are required.

MEMBERS OF THE SENATE. 329

SENATORS.

NAMES, DISTRICTS, COUNTIES IN WHICH THEY BESIDE, POST-OFFICE ADDRESS AND POLITICS.

Lieut.-Gov. WM. DOKSHEIMEB, President of the Senate.

5

Name of Senator.

County.

Post-office address.

Politics.

i

John A. King — .............

Suffolk

Great Neck

Republican.

2

John W. Coe

Kings .

Brooklyn

Democrat.

3

John C. Jacobs

Kings

Brooklyn

Democrat.

4

John Fox

New York

New York

Democrat.

5

James W. Booth

New York

New York

Republican.

0

New York

New York. . .. ....

Democrat.

7

Thomas A. Ledwlth

New York.

New York.

Democrat.

8

Hugh H. Moore

New York.

N«w York

Democrat.

9

William H. Robertson

Westchester . ..

Katonah

Republican.

10

Edward H Madden

Orange ...........

Middletown

Republican.

11

Benjamin Ray ........................

Columbia

Hudson

Democrat.

12

Roswell A. Parmenter.. ..........

Rensselaer

Troy.........................

Democrat.

13

Albany ...........

West Troy

Democrat.

H

Ulster _

Fly Mountain. .

Republican.

15

Webster Wagner . — _.

Montgomery ....

Palatine Bridge.

Republican.

16

Franklin W. Tobsy..................

Essex

Port Henry ......

Republican.

17

Wells 8. Dickinson..................

Franklin

Republican.

18

Andrew C. Middleton

Jefferson

Black River..............

Independent

19

Samuel S. Lowery .......

Onelda .............

TJtica

Republican.

20

Archibald C. McGowan ..

Herkimer .........

Frankfort

Republican.

21

Madison......

Chi ttenango.. .............

Republican.

22

Daniel P. Wood ......................

Ononda&a .........

Republican.

23

James G. Thompson...............

Chenango

Norwich

Republican.

24

John H. Selkreg. ............

Tompktns

Ithaca........................

Republican.

25

William B. Woodm ...............

Oayuga

Auburn

Republican.

•

William Johnson....................

Seneca

Seneca Falls...

Democrat.

27

George B. Bradley..................

Steuben ........ —

Corning ....................

Democrat.

28

Jarvis Lord......... ••••••.•••... ..••••

Monroe .........

Rochester .................

Democrat.

29

Ban H. Cole

Orleans . ............

Albion.....................

Republican.

30

Abljah J. Wellmaru

Allegany .........

Friendship ................

Republican.

31

Albert P. Laning.................

Brie

Buffalo ., HIM. .......

Democrat.

32

Albert G. Dow...................

Cattaraugn*.

Randolph

Republican.

330

LIFE SKETCHES.

MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY.

ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED, WITH THE DISTRICTS AND COUNTIES THEY REPRESENT, POST-OFFICE ADDRESS AND POLITICS.

Hon. JEREMIAH McGUIRE, Speaker.

Name.

County.

Post-office.

Politics.

Alvord, Thomas G—

Badger, John P „

Franklin

Burke

Barkley, Benjamin F
Barrow, George

Greene

Jewett

Democrat.

Beach, Alfred N

New York

Beardsley, Chas. S., Jr
Benedict, Samuel T
Bennett Warren C

Cayuga
Schenectady ....

Auburn
Schenectady

Democrat. Democrat.

Berry, George

Madison

Bishop, James „

Tioga

Tioga

Bordwell, Orville C.

Niagara

Bowen, Shepard P

Clinton

Plattsburgh

Republican.

Bradley, Daniel

Kings »

Braman, Waters W «

Albany

West Troy

Broas, Benjamin S

Dutchess

Brogan, John C

New York

New York city
Spring Valley

Democrat.

Burtis, John H
Calkins, William E

Kings
Essex ...t,

Brooklyn

Republican.

Campbell, Thomas C
Campbell, Timothy J
Christopher, William H
Clark, William H

New York
New York
Putnam
Wayne

New York city
New York city
Croton Falls, West. Co

Democrat. Democrat. Democrat.

Cleary, William V
Coffey, Michael
Cole, Eichard D

Eensselaer
Kings
Monroe

Troy ~
Brooklyn
Rochester

Democrat. Democrat. Democrat.

Cooke, James E
Cost! an, Thomas

Otsego
New York _

Morris -
New York city

Democrat. Democrat.

MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY.

331

4 5

Name.

County.

Post-office.

Politics.

3 14 2

Daggett, Henry J
Daly, James
Davis, Emerson £

Oswego
New York

New Haven
New York city
Whitehall

Be publican. Democrat.

2 17 2 1 2

Decker, George G -
Dessar, Leo C
Edson, Obed
Ely, William H

Delaware
New York
Chautauqua
Otsego

Margaretville
New York city
Sinclairville
Worcester

Republican. Democrat. Democrat- Democrat.

Faulkner, James, Jr
Fay, George W
Fish William H

Livingston
Fulton & Ham..

Dansville
Gloversville, Ful. Co.,

Democrat. Republican.

1

Fream, John

Ulster

2

3

Friend, Joseph D
Gallagher, Edward

Orange
Erie „

Mlddletown
Buffalo

Democrat. Republican.

9

Gedney, William H
Green, Newton H
Griffin, Stephen, 2d

New York
Genesee

New York city
Byron

Republican. Republican. Democrat .

1

Hammond, Stephen H.

Democrat.

1

Hanrahan, Patrick

Erie

Buffalo ~

Democrat.

1<»

Hauschel, Germain

Democrat-

VI

Hepburn, A. Barton

Colton

Republican.

80

Republican.

1

Hinckley, Otis D"

Republican.

1

Hogan, William
Holmes, Daniel M
Houghton, Nathaniel M

Seneca
Chenango

Waterloo
Norwich
Corinth

Democrat. Democrat. Republican.

•>

Hussey, Erastus H

Republican.

I

Husted, James W

Peekskill

Bepublican.

a

Ives, Silas T

Clinton

Democrat.

a

Johnson, Willard _

Fulton

Democrat.

ft

Johnson, William A

Erie

Collins Centre

Bepublican.

1°

New York .

New York city

2

71

Kennaday, John B
Kirk, William P

Kings
New York

Brooklyn
New York city

Democrat. Democrat.

3 H

Krack, Charles H „
Kshinka, Leopold C. G

Ulster -

Woodstock -

Democrat.

1

Law, Alexander B ....

Washington. ...

Shushan ...

Republican.

332

LIFE SKETCHES.

1

Name.

County.

Post-office.

Politics.

1

Lawrence, Henry

Democrat

2

3 4 2 1 11 If. 9

Lawson, William W
Lewis, Edward
Lillybridge, Harrison
Lincoln, Cyrillo S
Mackin, James
McAfee, Knox
McGowan, John T
McGroarty, John.

Erie
Oneida
Onelda
Ontario
Dutchess
New York.
New York.
Kings

Buffalo
East Florence
Blossvale.
Naples
Fishkill-on-the Hud. New York city
New York city
Brooklyn

Republican. Democrat. Republican. Republican. Democrat. Republican. Democrat. Democrat.

1

Miller James W

1 2

7

Miller, Warner
Muller, Nicholas,
Oakley, James M
O'Keeffe, Michael

Herklmer
New York....
Queens
Kings

Little Falls
New York city
Jamaica „
Brooklyn, E. D.

Republican. Democrat. Democrat.

1 1

2 ]

Page, Alanson 8
Peck, John F
Petty, Nathan D
Pierson, Lucius C
Pope Seth G

Oswego
Jefferson
Suffolk
Steuben

Oswego
Great Bend.
Riverhead
Cameron

Democrat. Republican. Republican. Democrat.

1 4

Prince, L. Bradford

Queens

Erie

Flushing

Republican.

4 3

Reilly, Charles.
Rich, Joslah

New York
Monroe.

New York city
Spencerport
Carlisle

Democrat. Democrat.

•>

3 ?

Sanford, Jonah
Schenck, Martin
Schieffelln, Charles M

St. Lawrence... Montgomery... Westchester

Hopklnton
Spraker's Basin
East Chester

Republican. Democrat.

Schuyler, George W

Tompkins

Liberal

o

Cattaraugus ...

Liberal

7

Seward Frederick W

New York

1

Shattuck, Stephen D

1

New Hartford

1

Shell Dennis R

Westchester

1

Sllverman. Bernard

Kines ....

Brooklyn. E. D

Democrat.

MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY.

333

i

5

Name.

County.

Post-office.

Politics.

\

Clarksvllle

21

Smith, John W „
Stacy Orrln T

New York
Allegany

New York city
Rushford

Democrat.

8 4

Stauf, George A
Stephens, Stephen D., Jr
Struble, HanforU
Talmadge, T. V. P

New York.
Richmond
Yates
glngs

New York city
Richmond
Penn Yan — Brooklyn

Democrat. Democrat. Republican.

0

Rochester

g

Taylor, William F

Tewksbury, Samuel W

Perry Center

3

1

Tremaln, Charles
Vedder, Commodore P_

Onondaga

Manllus
Ellicottville

Republican.

|

Vosburgh, Francis W

Albany

in

Waehner, Louis 0

New York city

Democrat.

i

Wellington, D. Gerry.

Hamilton

Republican.

Wenzel, Adolph E

Sullivan

Calllcoon

Democrat.

i

West, George
Wetherbee John M.* .

Saratoga.

Ballston Spa.

Republican. Republican.

Whltmore Daniel E

Republican.

1

Willis, Warren G.

Delaware

Masonville -

Republican.

i

Witbectc Jacob M

Democrat..

6

2 7

Worth, Jacob
Wurts, Jacob D

Kings
Ulster

Brooklyn, E. D
New Paltz

Republican. Democrat. Republican.

» Deceased.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY Los Angeles

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