Historical and biographical record of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Part 1

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) cn
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Chicago : Inter-state publishing company
Number of Pages: 640


USA > Iowa > Black Hawk County > Historical and biographical record of Black Hawk County, Iowa > Part 1


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Gc 977.701 B56his 1535254


M. L.


40


GENEALOGY COLLECTION


2


ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01080 9900


Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2018


https://archive.org/details/historicalbiogra00inte


HISTORICAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD


OF


-


Black Hawk County, lowa.


5


CONTAINING PORTRAITS OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES FROM WASHINGTON TO CLEVELAND, WITH ACCOMPANYING BIOGRAPHIES OF EACH ; A CONDENSED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA; PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF THE GOVERNORS OF THE STATE; ENGRAVINGS OF THE PIONEERS AND MEN OF MARK IN BLACK HAWK COUNTY, WITH PERSONAL HISTORIES OF MANY OF THE LEADING FAMILIES, AND A COMPLETE HISTORY OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY, AND ITS CITIES AND VILLAGES.


THE INTER-STATE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 113 ADAMS STREET, CHICAGO. 1886. 38


PREFATORY.


1535254


PREFATORY


N placing this volume before their patrons, the publishers feel that their work will stand the test of can- did criticism, and that the BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF BLACK HAWK COUNTY will be received and perused with pleas- ure by. all. This is not merely a local work, but one which in some measure is interesting to every true citizen of the United States. The Nation justly is proud of its rulers, and their protraits and biographies will prove of interest in every American home. A State looks with pride over its develop- ment and growth from a barren tract to its present position among its sisters, and is interested in knowing something of the men who have stood at the head of its affairs ; and in like manner the citizens of a county are interested in hearing and reading of those who have labored to make their county and its cities what they are to-day. Thus we have endeavored to meet all these desires and have prepared this volume. It may contain some errors, as perfection is not attainable in this world, but we trust they are so trivial that they will be over- shadowed by the many entertaining and in-


structive points that are free from error. In some instances we have noticed that members of the same family differ in the spelling of the name, and also in the dates of certain events. In these cases we have tried to " follow copy," not knowing which was correct. Thus it will be seen that if members of the same family differ, mem- bers of a community also will not agree in relating the same circumstance, and the historian is often at a loss to know which statement to record. We have tried to prove all things and to give to our readers those items which are of interest in as re- liable a form as is possible.


We are glad to be able to give to the citi- zens of Black Hawk County this RECORD, and feel sure that as the years go by it will grow in interest and value, giving the ris- ing generation an account of the lives and adventures of their forefathers-the pio- neers, who labored to make the homes they now enjoy. Many of these, were it not for works of this kind, would soon be forgotten, and the part they took in the early days would in many cases be ascribed to others ; but in after years, when the his- torian is gathering data he will examine and cull from this RECORD the items with which to prepare a memorial of the early settlers of Black Hawk County.


THE PUBLISHERS.


CHICAGO, July, 1886.


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


PRESIDENTS*OF*THE *UNITEDSTATES.


George Washington. 9


John Adams. 14


Thomas Jefferson 20


James Madison.


26


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. 84


Andrew Johnson 93


Ulysses S. Grant. . 96


Rutherford B. Hayes


102


James A. Garfield . 109


Chester A. Arthur


.113


Grover Cleveland . .II7


HISTORY * OF * IOWA.k


Aboriginal. . 123


Caucasian . .124


Indian Treaties .127


Early Settlers 131


Pioneer Life.


I33


Louisiana Territory.


137


Iowa Territory . 139


State Organization and Subsequent History . .141


Patriotism.


.146


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


164


State Officers


165


GOVERNORS * OF *IOWA,k


Robert Lucas.


171


John Chambers. 173


James Clarke. 175


Ansel Briggs.


179


Stephen Hempstead. 183


James W. Grimes .187


Ralph P. Lowe ...


.191


Samuel J. Kirkwood,


195


William M. Stone.


Samuel Merrill.


.203


Cyrus C. Carpenter.


.207


Joshua G. Newbold.


.. 211


John H. Gear. .


.215


Buren R. Sherman.


.219


William Larrabee


.223


*+HISTORY OF BLACK HALE COUNTY.+


BIOGRAPHICAL *SKETCHES.k


A.


B.


Albert, J. P


.306


Babcock, J. E. .438


Ashley, C. E.


.411


Bahr, Benjamin


. 322


Ashley, H. M. .425


Bailey, H. M. . 252


Asquith, Charles. 409


Baker, John. 329


Aunger, Thomas.


.400


Baldwin, A. T. .411


. 199


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


Baldwin, Warren. . . 409


C.


Ball, John. . .242


Bancroft, Joseph 445


Bannister, A. G. 413


Camp, Edward . 298


Campbell, Duncan.


.455


Campbell, Robert.


.437


Carnes, J. E.


302


Barrett, J. E. .243


Bartlett, M. W. .241


Bateman, Marcus .342


Bauler, William 485


Beale, J. L. .304


Beaty, William .. 326


Becker, C. D.


.242


Becker, Henry 484


Churchill, Randal


.234


Clark, A. D 4.56


.429


Bennett, C. F


.283


Bennett, James.


.28I


Clark, R. H.


.335


Bentz, I. E.


. 264


Berry, Samuel 421


Bingham, A. F .478


.423


Bisbee, S. A.


236


Bitterly, Simon


.434


Blake, Thomas


.412


Boehmler, G. H.


.309


Bowden, J. J .


352


Cooper, S. P


. 408


Cotton, A. J.


.290


Cotton, Frank.


.479


Cotton, John . 283


Cottrell, Amasa .444


Couch, C. F .234


Croty, S. R. 460


Crouse, D. W


244


Culver, Byron 250


D.


Darling, J. B. .331


Dean, C. L. .479


Deeming, George. 489


Deeming, William . 244


Denny, Thurman .416


Dewey, J. D .369


De Witt, H. H .285


Dickey, A. R.


.333


Dilger, Adam. .275


Dobson, John. .309


Dobson, Thomas .293


Doxey, T. B.


.307


Dreese, Henry.


.481


Du Foe, N. H. .419


E.


Eberhart, G. E. .434


286


Edgington, J. T.


Burr, Hudson


478


Byers, William.


462


Cain, Samuel. .350


Call, John .. 291


Barber, P. J. 282


Barclay, H. M.


403


Barker, John .418


Carpenter, F. A. .393


Carpenter, T. B. .319


Carr, J. J . 382


Cascaden, Th .235


Casteel, Perry 259


Choate, N. B. .254


Churchill, J. P. 239


Beebe, N. A. .466


Bender, D. A.


.277


Clark, Andrew


478


Clark, William. 480


Cleveland, H. W .332


Clos, Adam .373


Clough, W. C.


246


Colburn, A. P. .315


Cole, Jacob. .395


Cook, D. C. 4.36


Cooper, Jesse.


.459


Bowen, S C. 371


Bown, William


480


Bozarth, Clinton


288


Bradfield, Carey .


.473


Bradfield, W. R


-453


Brandhorst, C. F.


299


Brandhorst, C. H.


.465


Braniger, William


.393


Braniger, W. A.


.391


Brenizer, E. K.


.319


Bridler, John.


.475


Brooks, Thomas


354


Brown, A. E.


.454


Brown, A. H


.415


Brown, B. F


.330


Brown, H. R .471


Brown, W. F . 240


Bruner, Joseph. 384


.261


Bryant, N. C


Bryant, W. A .261


Bucher, H. W.


.290


Bunton, Thomas.


.468


Burgoon, Francis


.395


Burk, John. .404


.435


Burnham, J. C.


Burnham, Mark


.416


Edgington, W. W.


267


1


Birdsall, G. B.


Clark, Lewis


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


Edwards, A. J. .239


Edwards, J. B. .308


Edwards, Thomas .433


Eighmey, C. W. .424


Halley, J. S. .370


Halliday, William 260


Hallman, Samuel. .428


Hammer, A. D. 283


Hanna, G. W .284


Hardtman, John. .485


Harvey, Solomon .448


Hathaway, T. P. 304


Hauger, J. S. .450


Hawver, L. M.


.332


Hayzlett, G. W


.421


Hazel, H. L .. .322


.424


.25I


Helm, Alonzo.


293


Helm, William


323


Hemenway, H. C.


.315


Henry, D. C. 446


Herman, John. .359


.394


Fields, C. J


.. 377


Fields, W. M.


.377


Filkins, T. H.


404


Fish, D. H.


.455


Fish, E. W


334


Foote, D. W.


281


Ford, Curlis.


374 365


For i, H. D.


241


Ford, Reuben.


349


Foss, B. V.


408


Fox, D. B.


.406


Fox, W. L.


.440


French, E. J .


.376


Frisby, E. P


476


G.


Gardner, J. B. . . 323


Garner, Samuel .306


Ingalls, Naaman


. 445


Irish, Elias.


.327


J.


Janes, E. L. .333


Jay, Barton. .348


Johnson, Henry. 267


Jones, C. M. .443


Jones, H. E. .377


Jones, R. A.


443


Jordan, D. W.


.301


Joyner, A. H .38I


K.


Kallenbach, Casper.


.312


Kehe, John ..


469


King, D. W


387


Grundy, Alfred. .240


H.


Hagerman, J. L 387


Hall, Arad 361


Eighmey, H. B. 385


Eighmey, Orson


454


Eighmey, P. P


456


Eiler, George


487


Ellis, D. G. .269


Elwell, T. H.


488


Emery, W. J. 402


Emmert, J. J. .. 451


Emmert, Solomon 427


Esher, Christian. 447


281


F.


Fabrick, J. A. .297


Fairbairn, W. O. 238


Fairbrother, Abiather .303


Felmley, J. N .331


Fenton, A. C. .352


Ferris, J. D .355


Hetzler, John. .386


Higby, Newton


294


Hill, Elam


.389


Hills, H. H


3.56


Hitt, R. T.


.462


Hollis, F. R.


.237


Homer, H. P.


.282


Horting, Charles


484


Horton, William. .286


Howland, L. O.


457


Humphrey, T. J. 328


Humphreys, G. W 364


Hunt, H. C. . . 245


Hunter, L. S. .467


Hurd, W. H. 487


Husman, Joseph 472


Hutton, W. W. 276


I.


Garrett, John. 360


Gay, J. L.


.449


Gibbons, James.


.346


Gibson, Joseph .480


465


Gilbert, G. W


238


Gilchrist, J. C.


. 257


Gilkey, I. D. 253


Good, Christian


.428


Graham, J. T


. 401


Graham, W. R


.448


Grant, J. M. .473


Gray, Gregor.


484


Grossman, Gottlob .429


Gifford, A. B.


Ford, David.


Hershiser, H. J.


Evans, J. O


Heath, William Helfer, J. M


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


King, Henry . 367


King, John. 414


Kleckner, Charles . 449


Klingaman, S. L. 354


Knapp, Alvin


.262


Kuhns, J. H.


.280


L.


Landis, C. W .356


Law, W. McK. .477


Lawson, G. D . 420


Leeper, Clemance 254


Leeper, J. W. 442


Leland, George. .268


Leland, R. L.


. 433


Leversee, S. G .477


Lewis, Lyman.


390


Lichty, Ephraim 346


Loonan, Thomas


265


M.


Markley, H. H. 468


Marston, Samuel. .250


Mayes, T. L. . . 423


McManus, T. P. .417


McNally, Peter.


.470


Mc Nally, R. H.


364


McQuilkin, R. J


.439


Mears, Wesley.


276


Merner, John. .353


Merwin, E. F .301


Messinger, E. J.


.324


Messinger, J. F


.457


Messinger, Z. T. .321


Meyer, Jacob. . 472


Michaelson, John


461


Miller, Charles.


474


Miller, James


.367


Miller, Mathias


406


Miller, O. F.


490


Miller, S. H.


.245


Miller, William


. 344


Mills, Jerome


. 298


Miner, Geo. N. .359


Mixdorf, Frederick. .401


Moore, Andrew. .427


Moore, Andrew 489


Moore, John. 396 Reinhart, G. A. 260


Morgan, D. S .399


Morgan, Jesse. .388 Robe, C. F. .327


Morgan, Noah .410


Mosher, Jeremiah


.294


Mueller, Jacob.


.414


Murphy, J. H.


.390


Murphy, Samuel


.292


N.


Neely, Frank ..


.274


287


Newell, George 289


Newell, James 288


Newton, E. S. .436


Newton, M. L.


.425


Norris, A. J.


469


O.


O'Brien, Rev. T. F


.489


O'Keeffe, Dennis.


·305


O'Keeffe, P. M. .329


Oliver, Henry


. 361


.420


Oren, Jesse.


336


Osborn, John.


.415


Owen, Eli.


285


.362


Owens, M. T.


269


Owens, Samuel 263


P.


Packard, S. H.


.438


Page, F. L.


.407


Palmer, John. . 247


Palmer, Stephen .376


Palmer, W. H.


.248


Parrott, Hon. Matt. .231


Parsons, B. B


.279


Pashby, John. .289


Pashby, Thomas. .392


Pattee, John ..


. 287


Patterson, Samuel. 476


Pettit, W. H.


.305


Phifer, C. E. . 481


Philpot, George .470


Pierpont, J. W. 365


Pomeroy, A. L.


.320


Porter, J. R. .279


Poyner, James


.300


Poyner, Thomas


.300


Prouty, Joel


.253


Q.


Quackenbush, Edward.


439


R.


Rambach, George.


.394


Rarick, George. .316


Raymond, A. F .429


Reed, I. M.


. 396


Richards, W. O.


.441


Roberts, E. O. .472


Robinson, P. S. .392


Rodamar, B. J.


.342


Rodenberger, Edwin. .419


Round, J. M.


.278


Rownd, J. Q.


.233


Rownd, S. H.


. 270


Ryan, Jeremiah


363


Nemmers, J. P.


Oren, J. K ....


Owen, Henry. .


Miller, B. P. 482 Pomeroy, J. T. .284


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


S.


Saul, Elwood. .400


Sawyer, Edmond. .426


Walters, Henry .373


Walts, Marvin. .422


Ward, G. F .. .458


Washburn, D. B. .374


Washburn, J. H. . 382


Wasson, Jesse. . 430


Waterfield, William .312


Watton, Henry .349


Webster, A. T. .393


Webster, Daniel.


.475


Weeks, James


.402


Weisbard, Frederick


.459


Wells, Rollin


.426


West, J. S.


.375


Whitaker, R. A.


.378


White, B. F. . 360


Wilcox, R. H .488


Wiler, David. .467


Williams, Mahlon .446


.351 Wilson, G. I. .321


Wilson, James. .345


Wilson, John .314


Wilson, S. L. .369


Wilson, Samuel. 280 Withey, Elias 474


Wood, Enos .366


Wood, Philander 464


Woodley, A. W


.351


Wyatt, Robert. .343


GENERAL * HISTORY.k


Introductory


.495


Early and Civil History 499


Political History 515


Crushing the Rebellion .530


The Press . 544


Educational .550


Miscellaneous .559


Waterloo.,


.565


Cedar Falls.


596


La Porte City and Small Towns. .610


ILLUSTRATIONS.K


Gilchrist, J. C ..


256


Miner, George N. .358


Morgan, D. S. 398


Mosher, Jeremiah. .295


Oren, Dr. Jesse .337


Parrott, Matt. .330


Rarick, George.


.317


Rownd, S. H .. .271


Sells, Cato. 611


State Normal School. .557


Tobin, Prof. T.


. 553


Wasson, Dr. Jesse.


.431


Whitaker, R. A.


.379


Wagoner, S. A ...


368


Walker, William 464


Wallis, Nicholas. .447


Schildmeier, Christian. .426


Schmidt, J. G. .407


Sedgwick, C. C. .460


Sedgwick, J. E .460


Sergeant, Byron .370


Severance, E. W. .440


Severance, George. 436


Shane, T. J. .343


Shaulis, Emanuel. .482


Shaw, C. L. .347


Shaw, S. D .348


Shoemaker, F. M. .249


Smiley, Stuart. .452


Smith, A. S. 265


Smith, H. M.


.417


Smith, Samuel.


.403


Smith, S. L.


. 385


Snyder, E. A.


389


Sohner, Paul.


463


Stearns, G. J.


.275


Stears, Henry.


.. 345


Steimel, W. H.


.486


Stevens, W. H.


.251


Stewart, John.


.325


Stokes, W. S. .353


Strayer, G. W


.461 Streeter, Zimri.


.314


Sunderlin, M. V


.405


Switzer, A. D. .388


Switzer, J. D.


.471


Switzer, W. N


.237


T.


Taylor, J. A. .310


Tennyson, John. .307


Thomas, P. H ... .371


Thomas, Valorious 485


Thompson, Joseph. .450


Thompson, W. H. .368


Thompson, Rev. W. P.


.372


Tobias, D. M. .266


Todd, Thomas. . 268


Townsend, Edward. .266


Tuthill, George.


263


V.


Van Metre, Isaiah. 299


Vaughan, James. .383


Virden, James .483


Virden, Oscar 297


Vittum, Albert.


.453


Vroom, J. H.


.324


W.


Wagar, Hiram


.. 320


Speicher, D. J .


PRESIDENTSE


OF THE


22


VED STATE 2


Fyra thingter,


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 Jane But- ler, who bore him four chil- dren, and March 6, 1730, he 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 executive 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.


1C


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 Barbadoes. 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 niecc 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 com- 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 arcna 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


II


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 were 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


12


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."




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