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1800
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POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY COURT HOUSE.
2
KIMB
BIOGRAPHICAL HISTORY
-OF-
IOWA.
Containing Portraits of all the Presidents of the United States, with accompanying Biographies of each; a Condensed History of lowa, with Portraits and Biographies of the Governors of the State; and Engravings of Prominent Citizens of Pottawattamie County, with Personal Histories of many of the Early Settlers and Leading Families.
" Biography is the only true history."- Emerson.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1896
CITY OF WASHINGTON
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY.
1891.
4
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
George Washington.
9
John Adams .... 14
Thomas Jefferson 20
James Madison .. .
20
James Monroe.
32
John Quincy Adams. 38
Andrew Jackson.
47
Martin Van Buren. 52
William Henry Harrison 56
John Tyler. .
60
James K. Polk. 64
Zachary Taylor. 68
Millard Fillmore 72
Franklin Pierce.
76
James Buchanan.
80
Abraham Lincoln 81
Andrew Johnson 93
Ulysses S. Grant. .
96
Rutherford B. Hayes
102
James A. Garfield .109
Chester A. Arthur.
.113
Grover Cleveland.
.117
Benjamin Harrison ..
120
HISTORY OF IOWA.
Aboriginal
123
Caucasian 124
Pioneer Life.
133
Louisiana Territory
137
lowa Territory ...
139
State Organization and Subse- quent History 141
Patriotism .. 140
Iowa Since the War 151
State Institutions. 151
Educational
154
Statistical.
157
Physical Features. 158
Geology
158
Climate. 163
Census of Iowa. .164
Territorial officers. 161
State Officers
165
GOVERNORS OF IOWA.
-Robert Lucas
171
John Chambers 173
James Clarke
175
Ansel Briggs.
179
Stephen llempstead
183
James W. Grimes 187
Ralph P. Lowe.
191
Samuel J. Kirk wood.
195
William M. Stone
199
Samuel Merrill 203
Cyrus C. Carpenter 207
Joshua G. Newbold
211
John Il Gear. 215
Buren R. Sherman
219
William Larrabee.
Ilorace Boies. .
.225
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Abbott, E. J .
.539
Bair, I. F. 408
Beyer, Win .. 567
Abel, Joseph
.629
Baldwin, Caleb 231
Bisbee, A. C. 286
Ackels, Paul.
,689
Baldwin, J. N 279
Bixby, B. F 530
Acker, W. C. 694
Baldwin, J. T Ball, W. D.
413
Blain, David. 591
Agnew, S. G. 599
Aldridge, H. L 267
Barnett, E. S. 412
Blanchard, W. A
451
Alexander, C. 376
Barstow, J. M 583
Barstow, Samuel 945
Barton, J. J. 633
Bloomer, D. C.
241
Alston, Joshua .. 669
Battin, Vincent. 434
Beck, C. H. .258
Bolton, C. HI. 578
Anderson, Andrew 590
Beezley, Paul. 562
Bolton, George 209
Avery, A. E. 535
Beezley, William. 666
Bell & Berlingbof. 485
Book, Jobn. 460
Axtell, L. S. .
317
Bellinger, F. P. & M. J. 486
Boren, I. A. .417
Aylesworth, E. E.
688
Bevan, S. E. 275
679
Blakely, John. 235
Bloom, J. C .. 455
Allee, F. M 388
Allen, A. L. . 540
Allensworth, J. P. 246
Barton, Renben 417
Boiler, Cyrus. 335
Boiler, James 259
Altmannsperger, C. A. 632
Axtell, J. M. 364
Bolton, J. M. 439
Boren, J. B.
508
Bloomer, Amelia 212
iv
CONTENTS.
Boruff, D. W. 302
Craft, W. P. .505
Gertz, II. P. 695
Boruff, J. C. .598
Crippen C. M. .379
Gittens, IIenry.
354
Bosen, C ....
.403
Croghan, J. M .. .236
Glynn, A. .409
Bosted, August 442
Cuppy, Wm. B .635
Godfrey, C .. 645
Boulden, J. P 306
332
Currie, Robert. 681
Gorrell, J. V. 593
Bowman, Thomas.
335
Goudie, M. C. .513
Braden, Peter,
528
Dailey, D. B 467
Bradley, J. G
Davis, Fred
651
Graff, W. II
555
Bray, Theodore
.650
Davis, J. C. .386
Breneman, N. E.
610
Davis, J. II . 691
Graybill. S.
481
Briggs, D. M
509
Dean, Warren .250
Graybill, G. IF
602
Brown, A. L
604
Dean, W. L. .254
Green, Charles.
511
Brown, Wm .514
Dentler, B. B.
Green, Norman
.382
Brown, Wm. R
437
Devol, P. C. .
327
Gregg, J. II
280
Devol, David
.397
Bullis, Allen
De Witt, W. 809
Bunker, W. W
.620
Bunnell, J. A
.582
Burckhalter, D A
574
Burckhalter, J. W
.352
Doner, II. A.
.616
Burke, Finley .417
Doner, Jacob.
.377
Burke, F. A.
446
Doner, I. E ..
.402
Dool, Thomas.
.580
Dorton, J. M
.371
HIall, A. J. .521
Hamilton, G W 568
Cady, T. J. 371
Campbell, Lyman 381
Campbell, Rasmus. .382
Carley, E. B 591
Carson, George 475
Carson, A. S 710
.692
Edie, Wm. S .. .270
Ilarding, B. G.
.659
Casady, J P
.431
Ellis, F. M. & Co. .652
Harding, John
680
Casady, T. E .439
Ellis, M. P. .637
Ilarl, C. M
.305
Cater, E. II
.334
Elswick, J. C. 374
Harle, M. E. .568
Harris, A .689
Champ, G. II
477
Evans, Joseph. .682
Hartwell, T. J. .656
Chaney, C. Il
.595
Evans, T. J. 171
latswell, L. A. .657
Chaney, Win. I.
.345
Cheney, MI. J.
381
Exchange Bank. .702
Heileman, Wm .585
Hellman, Andrew
466
Clark, D. B .311
Ferguson, M. W.
.672
Hendricks, I. F
402
Clark, F. C.
487 .563
Flint, John .518
llenry , J. H
702
Clark, Jolın
Flood, Thomas
Iletzel, F. G.
G16
Clark, J. H. E .391
Ford, Fred. .276
Hewitt, G. W.
415
Hicks, G. W.
204
C'oe, D. A
.570
Foster, C. P 461
Hitchcock, F. G
.479
Cole, W. T. .651
Foster. J. B .657
Hoffmayer, J. C.
338
Foster, S. H 465
Holmes, G. A.
375
Coleman, W. J
.611
Foxley, A. R. 493
Hoogewoning, A
436
Collard, Frank 313
Frank. J. A. 361
Hooker, J. I)
Hoops, Isaac. .602
.592
Confarr, W. N
.544
Frisbie, M. B
Hose Co. No. 3.
479
Conklin, J F.
658
Frizzell. A. L. 266
Hotchkiss, O. O
.628
Consigny, E. A
,623
Frizzell, J. O. 563
Ilough, 11. C.
.613
Converse, Wm 500
.652
Fuller, A E. 534
lTough, J. R. .
321
Cook. 11. C.
Cool, John . . 344
Gardner, I. N 536
Ilongh, Warren. .390
Coons, J M .315
433
Garner, F. (
longhion, F. W .687
Garner, Win.
Hughes, Martin .159
Cooper, W. A. .541
Copeland, T N .316
Gault, .I. D. 456
luff, A. M .. 690
Gault, T O 250
Hutchinson, A A ... . 605
Council Bluffs Lumber Co. . 631
506
Everson, J. W. .679
lleagney, C. F .201
Chicago Lumber Co.
Citizens' Bank of Oakland
260
City Roller Mills 938
Fay, Wooster 253
Hendricks, A. L
.407
Clayton, B. F
458
Everett, Ilorace 519
Ilazleton, A. S. 308
Charles, Win.
Everett, Leonard. .615
347
Hammer, Lewis. 649
Dunn, S. T.
.581
IIancheti, A. P'. 379
Durham, W. E.
670
Hansen, Isaac. 310
Dye Bros. & Co .668
Ilarbert, B. F 315
Harcourt, B .307
Ilardenbergh, Otis
539
Earnest, Solomon 2.10
Hardin, W. D
455
Carter, I. G
Dingman, J B .453
Grout, Alonzo.
547
Guittar, Francis 565
Guittar, TheoJore 561
Gustin, Wm
288
Burke, J. P'
703
Burnett, G. V 500
Bybee, Alfred.
664
Dowty, Joseph
.612
Dunkle, David
Gress, Bernhard .598
Dial, W. II . . .655
Groneweg, Wm.
449
Dohany, John .328
Green, John. 686
Bryant, T. G.
.554 .599
Currie, John, Jr. .683
Gordon, O. W 429
Boulden, J. R.
Gould, J. IF. 644
479
Graham. O. W. 414
Grass, F 189
Brown, (. 11. .527
.393
Dellart, F. A
.348
Dye, G. S. .543
Chambers, II. J 458
Evans, John. . .653
leadlee, Joseph. .365
Collins, N. S. 570
Frazier, Alfred .642
Comer, S. K. 628
Freeman B. F. 260
Horner, Albert
Hough, Morris. 653
Cooper, A. P.
Forsyth, Mrs. S. 429
Coleman, Frank,. 504
.481
IIaines, David. .399
V
CONTENTS.
Ingram, Robert .. .673
Martin, Andrew
330
Peterson, H. H 558
Irwin, H. T. .399
Martin, I. L .. .462 1 Peterson, M. P.
312
Martin, Martha. 531
Phillips, John M. .346
Martin, W. J. .641
Pieper, JIenry
546
Jameson Bros.
.387
Maxfield, Wm. Il. .380
Pierce, O. W
254
Jameson, W. J.
507
Maxwell, W. E. .595
Pilling, T. A .. 450
Jefferson, T. JI . 235
Mayne, W. S.
285
Pinney, C. H
272
Johns, T. J.
661
Mc Donald, J. H.
561
Plank, M. V.
.575
Johannsen, J. B
.698
McDonald, Win McFall, S. T .. 641
590
Johnson, A W.
329
Johnson, F. T. (
.708
McGee, II. G
.486
Plumer, H. F .651
Jones, J. G.
325
McGee, J. E. F 407
Plummer, A.
608
Jones, L. G .330
McGinnis, Joseph. 540
Jones, O. W
.349
Jones, R. F
.359
Mckeown, Wm.
356
Potter, L. F 260
Jones, T. J.
440
Judd, C. B.
324
Mc Menomy, B. P 247
Pratt, C. F 670
Kaven, August GI1
McMullen, C. E.
.234
Keast, Thomas 704
McPherron, F. T
.428
Kenedy, Alex
549
Kerney, Lawrence 295
Meneray, F. W. 454
453
Quick, W. S. 677
Kiel Stables.
.651
Killion, I. C
.610
Mikesill, J. W
.630
Killion, J. A. .496
Miller, .I. W
400
Rankin, S. L. .298
Killpack, James. 304
Miller, Robert
499
Read, S. R.
372
Kimball, J. F.
Mitchell, A. I.
310
Reed, J. R.
609
Kinneban, L
474
Kirby, Joseph.
.515
Kirk wood, Robert
478
Morrison, S .. .480
Reynolds, C.
991
Knepher, W. [I. .630
Muller, Julins.
Reynolds, S. W 526
Knotts, L. G. .494
Murphy, J. A. 503
Riss, F. X .275
Ritter, Adam. 451
Robbins, T. M
.313
Lacy, Patrick 412
Lainson, A. T .536
Lange, J. C. .474
Larson, C. A. .389
Nixon, Wm. 289
Rodenbough, J. J
.278
Lebeck, A. .. 699
Nusum, J. W. .4.1 1
Rohrer, M. F
.255
Leland, L. S ...
591
Leonard, Thomas
288
Lerette N .. .511
Leslie, F. N 558
Levin, F. R. .644
Orr, William
.675
Lewis, Jackson .510
Osler, Alex
.320
Lewis, Wm 512
Lewis, Wm .681
Packard, W. S .. .557
Painter, Lewis. .490
Palmer, M .695
Schmoock, A. C
362
Long, Wm. C .. .239
Parker, D. K. 441
Scott, G. W.
.269
Seward, L. D.
.350
Parker, Joseph.
.488
Seybert, F. T.
711
Sheldon, L .. 470
MacConnell, S. P .381
Pearce, A. W. .283
Sherraden, C. II 706
MacKay, T. J .522
Peck, G. W. .660
Shinn, Frank 603
Mackland, Elizabeth, .282
Perkins, A. B .674
Sidener, Wm. 659
Macrae, Donald .. .271
Peters, Wm
290
Sides, John.
614
Manhattan, The. 492 Peterson, E. W .457 Siedentopf, Wm .567
.373
Reed, J. I
.597
Kincaid, A. E.
566
Montgomery, HI.
308
Reel, C. D. 301
Montgomery, P. J
372
Reichart, E
662
Reimer. Max
515
Kleppinger, W. C .. 496
Mulholland, J. P .396
Reynolds, Simon 311
Knotts, Joseph .493
Murchison, J. K. .552
Rishton, Ileny :162
Kuhn, W. II. .685
Lacey, T. B. 434
Mynster, W. A 687
Robinson, C. S
.572
Nicholas. A. B .318
Rock, Wm. V.
517
Lathan, Edmond. .675
Nordyke, Albert .321
Rodwell, John
.281
Leland, II. C. .599
Rollins, J. Q.
.248
O'Brien, N. .492
Officer, Thomas .495
Roosa, Isaiah
679
Olds, James. .413
Ross, L. W.
.351
Rush, J. W .452
Rust, S. S. 260
Saint, James 643
Sanderson, Charles 180
Sapp, W. F .423
Sarr, IT. M. 401
Schlicht, John. .480
Lodge, O. F .535
London Bros .370
Parish, E. .292
Schultz, J. II. .. 263
Loudenbeck, J. A .483
Lowe, Il. G. .350
Passmore, S. B. 251
Roop, M. S. .342
Olney, J. J. .213
Lewis, F. M. .318
Osborn, G. Il. . .684
Lewis, Nelson. .252
Owens, F. M 684
Livingston, James. .579
Nellis, L. D. 393
Robinson, James
Rainbow, James .596
Randall, A. A. 550
Kimball, Caleb.
.368 .416
MeMillen, W. A 483
Prentice, A. R.
463
Keller, A. II.
MeReynolds, L. .357
Putnam, A. I)
977
Merriam, F. 237
Quick, Wm 646
Kerney, Perry 191.
Metcalf, George
Mickelwait & Young. .340
Plunket, W. F .678
Mckenzie, K .. .577
Poland, G. W ,600
McMaster, D. B .. 336
Powell, Isaac 400
Price, C. S. 577
Pusey, W. U. M 487
Minahan, M
Morris, F. .274
Murray, James. .631
Mynster, C. O. .319
Robertson, J. C 365
Pleak, D. S. .899
Plumb, George. .246
Jack, II. B. 606
Parker, Henry 464
1
vi
CONTENTS.
Sims, Jacob
.262
Vallier, Alex. 264
Young, J. F., Jr 651
Sivers, J. II . .396
Van, S. F. .516
Young, J. N. 697
Smart, G. F. C 560
Van, W. II. 488
Young, T. J. 340
Smith, E. C. 263
Van Brunt, II. II .383
Young, W. O. 529
Smith, J. F. .605
Vandruff, C. II. 614
Zahner, Jacob. 271
Smith, Peter. .421
Smith, W. I
249
Snyder, C. W.
323
Wadsworth, S. B .. .287
Waldo, Mary A 709
Baldwin, Caleb. 231
Baldwin, J. N. 279
Barstow, J. M. 583
'Bloomer, Amelia. .241
Stephens, S. L.
.664
Waterman, E. T. 403
Bloomer, D. C. . .241
Stephenson, A. J .
445
Stevenson, Henry . 631
Weaver, J. P. F .343
Casady, J. P. .431
St. Francis Xavier Church. .247
Weeks, F. G. 387
Casady, T. E 439
TClark, D. B 3111
Stillings, Origan. 553
Wells, Wm. S 410
-Clark, Eleanor
Clark, J. II. E 391
Stone, Albert. 354
Westcott, J. II. 411
Devol, P. C
3.7
Stone, C. E. 400
Western Lumber & Supply Co. . 649
Wheeler, Wm. J 358
548
Everett, Leonard. 615
Grand Hotel. 477
399
Sullivan & Virtue. .668
Wickham, O. P
.642
Hewitt, George W
415
Sylvester, J. A. .420
Wicks, N. B
479
IloImes, G. A
.375
Taylor, J. A. .502
Williams, J. E
300
Macrae, Donald 271
Taylor, W. II. 524
Williams, N. W
538
McGee, J. E. F 407
Templeton, J. L
.649
Terry, Il. A. .472
Wilson, II. M.
618
Murphy, J. A.
503
Thayer, John. 483
Wilson, James. .505
Mynster, C. O. and Mrs. M.
319
Thomas, F. S.
369
Winans, J. H. .601
Pusey, W. H. M
487
Thompson, Joseph. .398
Wind, P. H. 359
Ross, L. W
351
Tilton, Preston. 705
Winterstein, Wm. 497
Sapp, W. F.
.423
Timberman, Isaiah .607
Wolf, J. A. .552
Smith, E. C.
263
Tinley, Emmet. 392
Wood, Alex 539
Treynor, I. M.
.303
Tipton, J. G. . .331
Wood, E. A .545
Van Brunt, HI. II.
383
Tittsworth, W. G. 584
Woodbury, E. I 406
Wadsworth, S. B. 287
Tompkin, Wm. .667
Wright, Fred. 317
Ware, W. HI. .367
Tostevin, Thomas
Wright, George 314
Weaver, J. P. F 343
Treynor, I. M . .303
Wright, G. F. .295
Wells, Lucius .551
Underwood, S. G 619
Wyland, J. M. 569
Wind, P. II. 359
Utterback, W. C ..
.384
Wyman, A. W 621
Wright, G. F
.295
Evans, T. J. 471
Strong, S. C .. .571
Straub, Christian 701
Stuur, J. II. C. .438
Whitney, Wm.
268
Stuhr, J. P
435
Wickham, James
648
Haines, David.
Wilding, David
639
Lodge, O. F
.535
Williams, W. S.
367
McMenomy, B. P .247
Officer, Thomas 495
Thomas, Zeph. 640
Winchester, B. 542
Rohrer, M. F ..
255
Throp, W. L .673
421
Spetman, F. W
.528
Ware, Mrs. E. 397
Steele, Wm ..
521
Ware, W. II 367
Way, W. J .627
Bowman, Thomas 335
Weak, A. L. 484
Burke, Finley 447
Stevenson, Wm .. 595
Stidham, Wm 647
Wells, Lucius 551
Stoker, Margaret . .385
West, II. S. 416
Everett, Horace .519
White, R. M
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Snyder, Wesley .633
Walker, R. F 555
Spetman, II. II.
Voorhis, Cornelius. 711
·
Graphingter. C r
9
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
EORGE WASHING- TON, the " Father of his Country" and its first President, 1789- '97, was born Febru- ary 22, 1732, in Wash- ington Parish, West- moreland County, Virginia. His father, Augustine Wash- ington, first married Janc But- ler, who bore him four chil- dren, and March 6, 1730, hc married Mary Ball. Of six children by his second mar- riage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Samuel, John, Au- gustine, Charles and Mildred, of whom the youngest died in infancy. Little is known of the early years of Washington, beyond the fact that the house in which he was born was burned during his early child- hood, and that his father thereupon moved to another farm, inherited from his paternal ancestors, situated in Stafford County, on the north bank of the Rappahannock, where he acted as agent of the Principio Iron Works in the immediate vicinity, and died there in 1743.
From earliest childhood George devel- oped a noble character. He had a vigorous constitution, a fine form, and great bodily strength. His education was somewhat de-
fective, being confined to the elementary branches taught him by his mother and at a neighboring school. He developed, how- ever, a fondness for mathematics, and en- joyed in that branch the instructions of a private teacher. On leaving school he re- sided for some time at Mount Vernon with his half brother, Lawrence, who acted as his guardian, and who had married a daugh- ter of his neighbor at Belvoir on the Poto- mac, the wealthy William Fairfax, for some time president of the cxecutive council of the colony. Both Fairfax and his son-in-law, Lawrence Washington, had served with dis- tinction in 1740 as officers of an American battalion at the siege of Carthagena, and were friends and correspondents of Admiral Vernon, for whom the latter's residence on the Potomac has been named. George's inclinations were for a similar career, and a midshipman's warrant was procured for him, probably through the influence of the Admiral; but through the opposition of his mother the project was abandoned. The family connection with the Fairfaxes, how- ever, opened another career for the young man, who, at the age of sixteen, was ap- pointed surveyor to the immense estates of the eccentric Lord Fairfax, who was then on a visit at Belvoir, and who shortly after- ward established his baronial residence at Greenway Court, in the Shenandoah Valley.
.
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
Three years were passed by young Wash- ington in a rough frontier life, gaining ex- perience which afterward proved very es- sential to him.
In 1751, when the Virginia militia were put under training with a view to active service against France, Washington, though only nineteen years of age, was appointed Adjutant with the rank of Major. In Sep- tember of that year the failing health of Lawrence Washington rendered it neces- sary for him to seek a warmer climate, and George accompanied him in a voyage to Baradoes. They returned early in 1752, and Lawrence shortly afterward died, leav- ing his large property to an infant daughter. In his will George was named one of the executors and as eventual heir to Mount Vernon, and by the death of the infant niece soon succeeded to that estate.
On the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie as Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia in 1752 the militia was reorganized, and the prov- ince divided into four districts. Washing- ton was commissioned by Dinwiddie Adju- tant-General of the Northern District in 1753, and in November of that year a most important as well as hazardous mission was assigned him. This was to proceed to the Canadian posts recently established on French Creek, near Lake Erie, to demand in the name of the King of England the withdrawal of the French from a territory claimed by Virginia. This enterprise had been declined by more than one officer, since it involved a journey through an ex- tensive and almost unexplored wilderness in the occupancy of savage Indian tribes, either hostile to the English, or of doubtful attachment. Major Washington, however, accepted the commission with alacrity ; and, accompanied by Captain Gist, he reached Fort Le Bœuf on French Creek, delivered his dispatches and received reply, which, of course, was a polite refusal to surrender the posts. This reply was of such a character
as to induce the Assembly of Virginia to authorize the executive to raise a regiment of 300 men for the purpose of maintaining the asserted rights of the British crown over the territory claimed. As Washing- ton declined to be a candidate for that post, the command of this regiment was given to Colonel Joshua Fry, and Major Washing- ton, at his own request, was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel. On the march to Ohio, news was received that a party previously sent to build a fort at the confluence of the Monongahela with the Ohio had been driven back by a considerable French force, which had completed the work there be- gun, and named it Fort Duquesne, in honor of the Marquis Duquesne, then Governor of Canada. This was the beginning of the great "French and Indian war," which con- tinued seven years. On the death of Colonel Fry, Washington succeeded to the con- mand of the regiment, and so well did he fulfill his trust that the Virginia Assembly commissioned him as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces raised in the colony.
A cessation of all Indian hostility on the frontier having followed the expulsion of the French from the Ohio, the object of Washington was accomplished and he re- signed his commission as Commander-in- Chief of the Virginia forces. He then pro- ceeded to Williamsburg to take his seat in the General Assembly, of which he had been elected a member.
January 17, 1759, Washington married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, a young and beautiful widow of great wealth, and de- voted himself for the ensuing fifteen years to the quiet pursuits of agriculture, inter- rupted only by his annual attendance in winter upon the Colonial Legislature at Williamsburg, until summoned by his country to enter upon that other arena in which his fame was to become world wide.
It is unnecessary here to trace the details of the struggle upon the question of local
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GEORGE WASHINGTON.
self-government, which, after ten years, cul- minated by act of Parliament of the port of Boston. It was at the instance of Virginia that a congress of all the colonies was called to meet at Philadelphia September 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties-if possible by peaceful means. To this Congress Colonel Washington was sent as a dele- gate. On dissolving in October, it recom- mended the colonies to send deputies to another Congress the following spring. In the meantime several of the colonies felt impelled to raise local forces to repel in- sults and aggressions on the part of British troops, so that on the assembling of the next Congress, May 10, 1775, the war prepara- tions of the mother country were unmis- takable. The battles of Concord and Lex- ington had been fought. Among the earliest acts, therefore, of the Congress was the selection of a commander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This office was unani- mously conferred upon Washington, still a member of the Congress. He accepted it on June 19, but on the express condition he should receive no salary.
He immediately repaired to the vicinity of Boston, against which point the British ministry had concentrated their forces. As early as April General Gage had 3,000 troops in and around this proscribed city. During the fall and winter the British policy clearly indicated a purpose to divide pub- lic sentiment and to build up a British party in the colonies. Those who sided with the ministry were stigmatized by the patriots as " Tories," while the patriots took to them- selves the name of " Whigs."
As early as 1776 the leading men had come to the conclusion that there was no hope except in separation and indepen- dence. In May of that year Washington wrote from the head of the army in New York: " A reconciliation with Great Brit- ain is impossible. When I took command of the army, I abhorred the idea
of independence ; but I am now fully satis- fied that nothing else will save us."
It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of the patriot hero, to whose hands the fortunes and liberties of the United States werc confided during the seven years' bloody struggle that ensued until the treaty of 1783, in which England acknowledged the independence of each of the thirteen States, and negotiated with them, jointly, as separate sovereignties. The merits of Washington as a military chief- tain have been considerably discussed, espe- cially by writers in his own country. Dur- ing the war he was most bitterly assailed for incompetency, and great efforts were made to displace him ; but he never for a moment lost the confidence of either the Congress or the people. December 4, 1783, the great commander took leave of his offi- cers in most affectionate and patriotic terms, and went to Annapolis, Maryland, where the Congress of the States was in session, and to that body, when peace and order prevailed everywhere, resigned his com- mission and retired to Mount Vernon.
It was in 1788 that Washington was called to the chief magistracy of the nation. He received every electoral vote cast in all the colleges of the States voting for the office of President. The 4th of March, 1789, was the time appointed for the Government of the United States to begin its operations, but several weeks elapsed before quorums of both the newly constituted houses of the Congress were assembled. The city of New York was the place where the Congress then met. April 16 Washington left his home to enter upon the discharge of his new duties. He set out with a purpose of traveling privately, and without attracting any public attention ; but this was impossi- ble. Everywhere on his way he was met with thronging crowds, eager to see the man whom they regarded as the chief de- fender of their liberties, and everywhere
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PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
he was hailed with those public manifesta- tions of joy, regard and love which spring spontaneously from the hearts of an affec- tionate and grateful people. His reception in New York was marked by a grandeur and an enthusiasm never before witnessed in that metropolis. The inauguration took place April 30, in the presence of an immense multitude which had assembled to witness the new and imposing ceremony. The oath of office was administered by Robert R. Livingston, Chancellor of the State. When this sacred pledge was given, he retired with the other officials into the Senate chamber, where he delivered his inaugural address to both houses of the newly con- stituted Congress in joint assembly.
In the manifold details of his civil ad- ministration, Washington proved himself equal to the requirements of his position. The greater portion of the first session of the first Congress was occupied in passing the necessary statutes for putting the new organization into complete operation. In the discussions brought up in the course of this legislation the nature and character of the new system came under general review. On no one of them did any decided antago- nism of opinion arise. All held it to be a limited government, clothed only with spe- cific powers conferred by delegation from the States. There was no change in the name of the legislative department ; it still remained "the Congress of the United States of America." There was no change in the original flag of the country, and none in the seal, which still remains with the Grecian escutcheon borne by the eagle, with other emblems, under the great and expressive motto, " E Pluribus Unum."
The first division of parties arose upon the manner of construing the powers dele- gated, and they were first styled "strict constructionists " and " latitudinarian con- structionists." The former were for con- fining the action of the Government strictly
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