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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
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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."
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