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THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIDPARY
ASTOR, LEMON TILDEN F&JND . TION-
HowBuckingham
1
ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF
CONNECTICUT BIOGRAPHY GENEALOGICAL-MEMORIAL
REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS
Compiled with assistance of the following
ADVISORY COMMITTEE
SAMUEL HART, D.D., D.C.L.
Dean of Berkeley Divinity School; President of Connecticut Historical Society.
THOMAS SNELL WEAVER
Superintendent of City Schools, Hartford; Journalist, former Editor Willimantic Jour- nal, and associated with New Haven Register, Boston Globe, Hartford Post and Hartford Courant. Member of Library Committee Con- necticut Historical Society.
JOSEPH ANDERSON, D.D.
President of Mattatuck Historical Society; forty years pastor of First Congregational Church, Waterbury; Editor Anderson's His- tory of Waterbury.
WALTER RALPH STEINER, M.D.
Member of State Historical Society; Member of State Medical Society; Fellow of American Medical Association; Secretary Congress of American Physicians and Surgeons; Librarian Hartford Medical Society.
HADLAI AUSTIN HULL, LL.B.
Attorney, New London; Major in Spanish- American War.
STORRS OZIAS SEYMOUR, D.D.
President of Litchfield Historical Society; President of Wolcott and Litchfield Library Association; Rector Emeritus of St. Michael's (P. E.) Church, Litchfield (23 years active rector ).
JOHN GAYLORD DAVENPORT, D.D.
Pastor Emeritus Second Church of Waterbury (30 years active) ; Member of Connecticut His- torical Society; Member of Mattatuck Histori- cal Society ; ex-Governor and Chaplain of Con- necticut Society, Sons of Founders and Pa- triots; ex-Deputy Governor National Society, same order.
GEORGE CURTIS WALDO, A.M., LITT.D.
Editor of Bridgeport Standard 49 years; one of Founders of Bridgeport Scientific Society; ex-Vice-President of Fairfield County Histori- cal Society; Author of History of Bridgeport.
FREDERICK BOSTWICK
Librarian New Haven Colony Historical Soci- ety; Register S. A. R., Connecticut; Honorary Member of National Genealogical Society; Member of Connecticut Historical Society, Connecticut Library Association, Mississippi Valley Historical Association; Associate Edi- tor Genealogical History of Connecticut; ex- President New Haven-Chautauqua Union.
GUILFORD SMITH
President of Windham National Bank; Mem- ber of Connecticut Society, Mayflower De- scendants.
LEWIS ELIOT STANTON, A.B.
( Yale, 1855). Member of American Bar Asso- ciation and State Bar Association; Assistant United States Attorney 1870-1885; United States Attorney District of Connecticut 1885- 1888 (resigned); Representative Hartford, 1880.
ILLUSTRATED
THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY INCORPORATED
BOSTON
NEW YORK CHICAGO
1917
3. , NEW YORK FURLLC LIBRARY
2 .
ASTOR LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS
L
1918
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Foreword
E ACH one of us is "the heir of all the ages, in the foremost files of time." We build upon the solid foundations laid by the strenuous efforts of the fathers who have gone before us. Nothing is more fitting, and indeed more important. than that we should familiarize ourselves with their work and personality; for it is they who have lifted us up to the lofty positions from which we are working out our separate careers. "Lest we forget," it is important that we gather up the fleeting memories of the past and give them permanent record in well-chosen words of biography, and in such repro- duction of the long lost faces as modern science makes possible.
SAMUEL HART.
.
BIOGRAPHICAL
THE M rTT PIRMIE LIBRARY
O. LEROY NEC EDITIONS عدوين الأسهـ
Orville Ht, Platt
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
PLATT, Orville Hitchcock.
Distinguished Statesman.
In a time when political and govern- mental corruption has become a byword and the term politician a reproach it is refreshing, indeed, to turn to the record of such a man as Senator Orville Hitch- cock Platt, of Connecticut, a record un- sullied by the smallest lapse in the faith- ful discharge of his high duties, by any in- directness or intrigue, or by the plausible setting up of political expediency in the place of the public interest, a record marked by faithful service and faithful devotion to principle. Senator Platt was the scion of a very old and illustrious family which, even before its early advent in the country, was already prominent in the affairs of the Old World. As early as 1326 a Platt was accorded a coat-of-arms in England and several branches of the family received this mark of distinction between that time and the reign of Eliza- beth. It is in America, however, that the name has won the brightest lustre where, ever since its founding here by Deacon Richard Platt prior to 1638, the men who have borne it have proved themselves of sturdy patriotism, holders of the beliefs and doers of the deeds that finally made this a free and independent Nation. Two of the Platts, one a direct ancestor of Sen- ator Platt, were imprisoned by Governor Andros of New York on account of their sturdy independence, and his grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War, and was one of those to suffer on the terrible prison ships in New York harbor. The Platts as a general thing followed farm- ing throughout their long residence in
New England and the father of Senator Platt was engaged in this occupation all his life at Washington, Connecticut. He was a man of parts and in addition to his farming was active in the affairs of his community, serving as deputy sheriff of the county and judge of probate and at times exhibiting the versatility of his talents by teaching school. He was mar- ried to Almyra Hitchcock in 1817 and Orville Hitchcock Platt was the second son and child of this union.
Orville Hitchcock Platt was born July 19, 1827, in the town of Washington, Con- necticut. He received the training com- mon to the sons of farmers in that day. namely, his winters spent in school and his summers at work on his father's acres. It was a hard life, but it bred a stalwart race. He first attended the local public schools, but later went to the academy in his home town, where he came in con- tact with a remarkable personality and one that was destined to have a strong and beneficent influence upon his own de- velopment. This personality was that of Frederick W. Gunn, the principal of the academy, from whom it derived the name of "The Gunnery," and by which it has since been known far and wide. Fred- erick W. Gunn was a man of great mental strength and rare individuality. He was greatly beloved and honored by his pupils, and he did much to train them into the simple, straightforward manhood that was his ideal, and which he, himself, so well exemplified. Mr. Platt was at the impressionable age of thirteen when he first attended Mr. Gunn's school, which then was situated at Judea, Connecticut, and for a number of years thereafter came
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
into the closest association with him both in the school and in his family life. Mr. Gunn was one of eight children, all of whom became prominently connected with the Abolitionist movement, so that his pupils diminished greatly in number and at one time were reduced to nine, all the children of Abolitionists, so that he was forced to move his school to smaller quarters, locating on the site of the present "Gunnery." During this time Mr. Platt lived in the home of Mr. Gunn in the winter and after the second year of the school in its new location acted as an assistant instructor. Later Mr. Gunn was chosen principal of a large school in Towanda and persuaded Mr. Platt, to whom he was deeply attached, to accom- pany him as his assistant. These years of strong devotion to a character of such a splendid type were happy ones for the young man and valuable also, his char- acter forming under these fortunate cir- cumstances, for there are but few things that affect a young man's life more strongly than such a period of hero-wor- ship if it be centered upon a worthy object. How strong were his feelings may be seen in the article penned by him for a memorial volume brought out in honor of Mr. Gunn shortly after his death, in which he states that, "He was more to me than a teacher; my love for him was the love one has for father, brother and friend." At length, however, this ideal association had to be broken to a large extent, Mr. Platt's choice of a profession being the law, which claimed the major part of his time and energies. He was twenty years of age when he took up reading law in the office of Hon. Gideon H. Hollister, of Litchfield, Connecticut, profiting greatly under the preceptorship of this able attorney. He was admitted to the bar in Litchfield county, and after- wards in Bradford county, Pennsylvania. returning to the town of Towanda, where
he began his active practice in the office of Hon. Ulysses Mercur, afterwards of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. In 1851 he returned to Connecticut and established himself in the practice of his profession at Meriden, which also was his legal residence, notwithstanding that he always looked upon Washington as one of his homes.
The age was a stirring one in American affairs upon which Mr. Platt's youth had fallen, and less sensitive spirits than his were strongly affected by the problems that demanded solution of that genera- tion. Mr. Platt felt keenly the momen- tous character of these problems and how greatly their solution might affect the future of the country, and with the gen- erous ardor of youth he threw himself into the work of solution. His first direct effort in this direction was shortly after his coming to Meriden, when he became associate editor of "The Whig," a local paper given to the candid discussion of public issues and which continued for a period of some three years an influence in the community. These three years were of value to Mr. Platt as a training in the art of expression and in bringing him into contact with men of all kinds and the world of affairs. He did not abandon his practice of the law during this time, how- ever, although at first this was no ardu- ous task, the difficulties that usually at- tach to the working up of a legal prac- tice by no means sparing him. He was gradually gaining a name as a young man of originality and parts, however, and in 1853 found himself a candidate for judge of probate and was duly elected, serving three years. Work and. responsibilities began to pile up now, but he proved him- self amply capable of taking care of them and his reputation grew both in degree and extension. In 1855 he received the appointment to the clerkship of the Con- necticut State Senate and served in that
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
capacity. The great crisis in politics which was finally to become sectional and express itself in the terrible Civil War was now becoming definite and the year 1858 was marked by the formation of the Republican party, destined to play so great a part in the fortunes of the coun- try. Mr. Platt was one of the original members of the new political birth, and from that time until his death continued a staunch supporter of its principles and policies. His political career now took a great step forward, and with his election to the office of Secretary of State for Connecticut, he became a factor to be reckoned with in public affairs. He was already recognized at this early day as a man who could not be bought or influ- enced by any personal consideration in the discharge of his public duties, and this firm honor, a quality in high demand with new parties, quite as much as his marked ability, won him his election as State Senator in 1861. He served during that term and in 1864 was elected to the State Assembly. In this body he was made chairman of the judiciary com- mittee, a post that carried with it the acknowledged leadership of the party in the House. It was a time of the gravest responsibilities, with the Civil War at its height and the most violent feelings ex- isting between, not only the parties, but even between the factions of the same. But it was no common leader that the Republican members of the Connecticut House had in this young man for whom they conceived an increasing respect. One interesting contest at this time in which Mr. Platt took a decisive part was that connected with the proposition that the soldiers in the field be permitted to vote. A constitutional amendment was required for this, which in its turn required a two- thirds vote in the House. After a close debate the vote was taken and resulted in the two-thirds necessary for affirma-
tion, but an obstacle still stood in their way. A number of representatives were absent and the speaker ruled that a two- thirds vote of those present was not suf- ficient, the constitutional rule applying to the whole House in his contention. From this Mr. Platt appealed and eventually won his point and that of his party, and opened the way to casting the ballot for the soldiers engaged in actively defend- ing their State and the Union. Mr. Platt next held an important public office in 1869, when he was again elected to the Assembly and then chosen Speaker of the House. In this new capacity he displayed the qualities that had already placed him so high in the regard of his fellows, and under his firm and skillful guidance the Legislature transacted a very large vol- ume of important business in a manner greatly to the advantage of the commu- nity at large. His party associates were fully aware of how strong a candidate Mr. Platt would make for wellnigh any office and were keenly alive to the desir- ability of his continuance in politics, but at the close of this term in the Legisla- ture he found it desirable to withdraw temporarily.
During the years that had passed he had given a very large percentage of his time to the public business and that in spite of the fact that his own legal prac- tice was growing greatly in proportions. His reputation as a lawyer had of course some effect upon the course of his politi- cal career, but perhaps the converse was even more true that his political career was a large factor in the increase of the practice. However this may be, the latter had developed so much that it was neces- sary to give it his undivided attention for a time and he was obliged to disregard the strong pressure brought to bear upon him and retired into private life. Of course the life of a prominent lawyer is in any case but semi-private and Mr.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Platt continued to come into contact with affairs to a certain extent. A great deal of very important litigation was entrusted to him at this epoch and the masterly manner in which he handled it but added fresh laurels to his name. He possessed many of the qualities associated with the ideal jurist, a clear and concise reason that enabled him to pick out the essential fact from amidst a mass of detail, great erudition in his subject and the capacity for long and close study which he be- stowed on every case. For eight years he continued to give his undivided attention to his practice and established himself as one of the leaders of the State bar, but in 1877 he accepted the appointment of State's Attorney for New Haven county and thus once more entered the stormy arena of politics and public affairs. This office was but the entering wedge, as it were, for two years later he was launched into the very thick of the matter by his election to the United States Senate. A Republican himself he succeeded Senator W. H. Barnum, a Democrat, but from that time onward until his death he con- tinued to hold this high office, his term being renewed at each successive elec- tion. There have been few periods in which the elements in national life strug- gling for control have been more varied and complex than during our recent political era, few periods in which selfish strife and interested motives have played a greater part in the conduct of affairs. Among these conflicting cross currents of pur- pose and action, the figure of Mr. Platt, actuated by no thought of self but the most impersonal desire to witness the right, rose conspicuously, winning for it- self the spontaneous admiration of all worthy men whether political friends or opponents. Mr. Platt spoke truly when he said during the course of a speech made at a reception in his honor shortly after his first election as Senator: "That
which is right is priceless to me; and in all the campaigns and achievements of the Republican party in which I have partici- pated I have never steered a middle course, but have done what I thought right."
As time went on Senator Platt grew to hold a more and more prominent place in the deliberations of the august body of which he was a member, and his voice to gain greater and greater weight with his confreres. This is well known by the very prominent part that he played in the important legislation of the period and the various committees upon which he served. It would be impossible to treat adequately the part played by him in the eventful years comprised in the last two decades of the century just passed and the opening of the present one, for to do so would necessitate a resumé of the legis- lation enacted in that period and the com. pass of a large volume. But the mere enumeration of the more important issues in the decision of which he was active will show him to have been beyond ques- tion one of the most conspicuous figures of that epoch. In all such issues none ever questioned his integrity of motive and his judgment was equally unques- tioned. One of the first of these great issues was that of international copyright (to established the right to brain prop- erty). A long and vigorous campaign had been waged by a group of right- minded men to promote this obviously righteous measure, yet so great was the opposition from certain corrupt sources and so great the indifference on the part of most men that their efforts had seemed almost unavailing. The question, how- ever, was very prominent in Congress and the final passage of a bill making possible the copyright bill, which gives the exclusive right of any author in his literary work, was due in a very large measure to his unwearied and able efforts.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
The patent question, adequate protection of our wards, the Indians, currency and financial matters, the protection of Amer- ican industries by tariff regulations, were also among the issues upon which he spoke with no uncertain voice and in which his influence was felt most po- tently. One of the greatest services ren- dered by him to the country, however. was through his action in the tangled problems arising out of our war with Spain and involving the matter of our right to acquire territory and our attitude towards colonies and dependent peoples. Especially was his attitude towards Cuba notable for its courage and disinterested- ness and culminated in the celebrated Platt amendment, which became a law on the second of March, 1901, and pro- vided the basis of the future relations of this country and the youthful republic that our efforts had created. His serv- ices as chairman of the committee on Cuban relations were followed by others of a no less notable kind. In the issue between labor and capital that was dis- turbing the country, and, indeed, still is, he played an important part and as chair- man of the judiciary committee in the Fifty-eighth Congress. the value of his work can hardly be overestimated. This Congress had a comparatively brief term, but the business before it was enormous in volume and extremely vital in char- acter, and this fact together with the very serious apprehension and anxiety felt by Senator Platt concerning the radical tend- encies then making themselves felt, exer- cised a deteriorating effect upon his health from which he never entirely recovered. The great mental concentration and the general demands made upon his energies by this session used up his nerve force too rapidly and this effect was brought to a climax by the impeachment of Judge Swayne, of Florida, by the House of Representatives. Already with more
work on their hands that they could con- veniently dispose of, the members of the Senate were obliged to sit as a high court upon the impeachment proceedings. Sen- ator Frye, the president pro tempore, was ill at the time and unable to preside at the trial and this most trying duty de- volved upon the shoulders of Mr. Platt as chairman of the judiciary committee. The latter might with equal reason have pleaded the same excuse, but his ex- ceedingly keen sense of duty made him go through with the ordeal although throughout the time he was battling with the sheer force of his will with a growing malady. He was able to complete his task, however, and furthermore to finish his share of the business which wellnigh crushed him and his colleagues before the inauguration of the new administration on March 4.
While Mr. Platt feared the growing force of certain radical tendencies, he was very far from a reactionist in his beliefs and was a strong supporter of the more progressive element in his party as repre- sented by Theodore Roosevelt, and dur- ing the administration of Mr. Roosevelt as President, strongly supported his poli- cies. Charles Henry Butler, reporter of the United States Supreme Court, had arranged to give Mr. Platt a dinner on March 18, 1905, in honor of his comple- tion of twenty-six years of continuous service as Senator, but this was frustrated by the death of General Hawley, the junior Senator from Connecticut. The invitations were withdrawn, but those who were bidden wrote letters of appre- ciation to the quest of honor, of which that of President Roosevelt, whose sec- ond term had just begun, is typical. President Roosevelt's letter ran as fol- lows: "My dear Mr. Butler: May I. through you, extend my heartiest greet- ings to the guest of the evening, Senator O. H. Platt? It is difficult to say what I
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
really think of Senator Platt without seeming to use extravagant expression. I do not know a man in public life who is more loved and honored, or who has done more substantial and disinterested service to the country. It makes one feel really proud as an American, to have such a man occupying such a place in the councils of the Nation. As for me per- sonally, I have now been associated with him intimately during four sessions of Congress, and I cannot overstate my obli- gations to him, not only for what he has done by speech and vote, but because It gives me heart and strength to see and consult with so fearless, high-minded, practicable, and far-sighted a public serv- ant. Wishing you a most pleasant even- ing, believe me, sincerely yours, Theo- dore Roosevelt." It was at the funeral of General Hawley, which Senator Platt at- tended shortly after, and at which he was obliged to stand hatless a long time in the blustering March weather, that he brought his illness to an active state from which he never recovered, and about a month later his own death occurred on Good Friday, April 21, 1905.
Senator Platt was twice married, the first time on May 15, 1850, to Annie Bull, of Towanda, Pennsylvania, the only daughter of James Perry and Ann (Wal- lis) Bull, of that place. To them were born two children: James Perry, who in 1902 was appointed a justice of the United States District Court, died January 26, 1913; and Daniel Gould, deceased in childhood. The first Mrs. Platt died in November, 1893, and on April 29, 1897, Mr. Platt was married to Mrs. Jeannie Penniman Hoyt, widow of George A. Hoyt, of Stamford, Connecticut, and daughter of Hon. Truman Smith, United States Senator from Connecticut. Mrs. Platt survives her husband and still re- sides at Washington, Connecticut, the
birthplace and home of Senator Platt for so many years.
It is out of the question to deal ade- quately with a personality at once so large and so many-sided as that of Sen- ator Platt. The sterling honor and in- tegrity which formed the very basis of it has been indicated to some extent in the foregoing account, but what has not and cannot be given is the effect produced upon all who associated with him by the character as a whole. Honest and sincere he was primarily, but he was also a man of the broadest charity and tolerance, kindly and responsive and full of ready sym- pathy for those who stood in need. One of his most strongly marked traits was his fondness for nature and out-of-door life, and this was a great asset to him throughout his whole career. He spent a considerable portion of the summer each year in the Adirondacks, living in the open air, fishing, hunting and blazing trails. He was a skillful fisherman and would often be gone for a whole day from camp following his favorite streams, yet it was said of him that it was more the delight of the woods through which he must wander and the sense of freedom and primitive life that lured him than the sport itself. There is little doubt that these wholesome, quiet summers were the cause of his being able to endure for so many years the tremendous strain of his work in Congress. An intelligent and witty conversationalist, a man of great culture and of wide reading, he was, as a matter of course, a delightful companion and his personal friends valued most highly the privilege of their intimate association with him. In spite of the immense amount of time and effort he was obliged to spend in 'the public service, he con- trived to find time and occasion for inter- course with family and friends, occasions which he enjoyed more than aught else.
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