USA > Indiana > Vermillion County > Biographical and historical record of Vermillion County, Indiana : 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 Indiana; portraits and biographies of some of the prominent men of the state; engravings of prominent citizens in Vermillion county, with personal histories of many of the leading families, and a concise history of the county and its villages > Part 1
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GEN
3 ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY
3 1833 00097 5984
Gc 977.201 V59B
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL RECORD OF VERMILLION Co. , INC.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center
http://www.archive.org/details/biographicalhist00inchic
BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
G
RECORD
OF
VERMILLION COUNTY, INDIANA.
CONTAINING PORTRAITS OF ALL THE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES FROM WASHIINGTON TO CLEVELAND, WITH ACCOMPANYING BIOGRAPHIES OF EACH; A CONDENSED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF INDIANA; PORTRAITS AND BIOGRAPHIES OF SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN OF THE STATE; ENGRAVINGS OF PROMINENT CITIZENS IN VERMILLION COUNTY, WITH PERSONAL HISTORIES OF MANY OF THE LEADING FAMILIES, AND A CONCISE HIS- TORY OF THE COUNTY AND ITS CITIES AND VILLAGES.
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY, 113 ADAMS STREET, CHICAGO. 1888.
CONTENTS.
1248182
ENTS
PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES.
George Washington 9
John Adams .. 14
Thomas Jefferson 20
James Madison. 26
James Monroe ..
23
Jolin Quincy Adams.
38
Andrew Jackson.
47
Martin Van Buren 52
William Henry Harrison. 56
Jolın Tyler.
60
James K. Polk. 61
Zachary Taylor. 68
Franklin Pierce
72
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.
117
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Former Occupants. 123
Expeditions of St. Clair and
Millard Fillmore
73
Wayne.
.132
Organization of Indiana Terri-
tory . . 133
Governor Harrison and the In-
dians.
134
Civil Matters
136
General Review .136
Organization of the State ... . .. 137 Indiana in the Mexican War .. 138 Indiana in the War for the Union. 198
Financial
148
Internal Improvements
149
Geology
150
Exploration by the Whites
125
Educational
151
Benevolent and Penal Institu-
tions
154
PROMINENT MEX OF INDIANA.
Oliver P. Morton .161
Thomas A. Hendricks
165
Schuyler Colfax.
169
James D. Williams .
173
Robert Dale Owen
177
HISTORY OF VERMILLION COUNTY, BEER-
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
A.
Anderson, N. C. 337
Anderson, P. Z 473
Andrews, John. .435
Asbury, James .482
Aye, H. H .. . 410
Aye, Henry 415
B.
Bales, Caleb .500
Bales, Caleb .502
Bales, Robert .429
Bales, W. F 508
Bales, William. 427
Beauchamp, J. W. .436
Beck, A. J. 435
Beckman, L. H 355
Bell, D. W
.318
Bell, T. W 326
Bell, W. M. 500
Benefiel, W. H. 465
Bertolet, J. R .. 516
Betson, A. J .. 361
Betson, Ilamilton 467
Bilsland, J. E 347
Bilsland, John 416
Bishop, F. M 324
Bishop, L. O 238
Blair, James .512
Bogart, J. H. 326
Bogart, W. C. .518
Bowman, Moses 460
Bremer, W. P. 416
Brindley, Eli. 518
Brindley, John 323
Burns, Joseplı. 397
Burnside, J. II. 516
Cade, IIenry 498
C'ady, Il. S. 409
Campbell, J. G. 346
Carmack, J. F. 374
Carmack, W. P. 410
Carter, M. B. . 323
Carithers, Jonathan 482
Casebeer, Hezekiah .314
Casebeer, J. W. .371
Cates, W. H. 461
Clark, John. 390
Clover, J. A 375
Coffin, S. W 888
Coil, Lewis. 453
Collett, Jolm .311
Collett, John.
441
Collett, Josephus 447
Pre-Historic Races.
123
Agricultural
151
National Policies .. 126 Expeditions of Colonel George R. Clark. .137
Government of the Northwest .. 139
CONTENTS.
Collett, Josephus. .450
Collett, S. S 369
Collett, S. S .377
Conley, II. H. 347
Conley, Jeremiah 488
Combes, F. C. 429
Cook, W. C. 459
Crabb, G. A. .362
Craig, R. A. 406
Curtis, Philo.
.513
Cusliman, Thomas
.321
D.
Dallas, Hugh .354
Davis, C. S. .459
Davis, F. M. 332
Davis, Robert. .501
Davis, S. B .. .267
Downing, Decatur. 319
Dungan, B. F. 277
Dunlap, J. R 495
Duzan, James
452
E.
Eaton, II. C .. .515
Edwards, G. W .398
Eggleston, J. L. .462
Elder, J. A. .322
Ellis, J. E. .413
F.
Finney, D. W. 340
Flaugher, E. . A .363
Fleshman, Amos .895
Foland, J. A.
.516
Foncanon, Tilghman
473
Ford, John .
402
Forman, Amos
465
Fortner, W. P 498
Fox, J. L. .491
G.
Gessie, R. J .336
Gibson, O. B. 452
Goff, Philander 388
Goodwin, L. L.
402
Goodwin, W. A.
407
Gouty, David
.438
Grimes, H. L. 417
Grimes, John. 485
Groves, W. C.
455
11.
Hall, S. J. 475
Hall, W. I .. .493
Hamilton, W. MI 449
Harkness, Philo. 412
Harlan, Eldridge
322
HIarlin, Jolin. .406
Harrison, Benjamin .318
Harrison,( J. B. .389
Harris n, Robert .477
Harrison, T. II
363
Haworth, G. F 499
Haworth, J. P. 423
Hedges, C. C .511
Hedges, Noah 385
Helt, Daniel. 14
Ilelt, Hiram. 510
Helt, Michael 390
Henderson, John .340
HIenderson, Josiah. 493
Hendricks, W. J .505
Ilerbert, W. J. 397
Ilighfill, John. 399
Ilill, Judge A. 315
Hollingsworth, Simeon. 486
HIoobler, John. 515
Hood, T. S. 496
Ilood, W. B. 508
Hood, W. H 451
Ilopkins, A. R.
Hopkins, G. R. 426
IIosford, M. G. 346
Hosford, Philo 353
Hosford, W. N 440
Hlouchin, Jesse 373
Houchin, J. S . 517
Hughes, Ehud. 492
Hughes, William 432
Hunt, Harvey 478
I.
Iles, Jacob.
.333
lles, J. B.
.339
J.
Jackson, G. W 451
Jackson, J. C .. . 351
Jacobs, Nathan. 487
James, Edmund 507
James, II. B.
407
James, II. 1I.
466
James, S. R 411
James, W. A. 372
James, Z. D 361
Jarvis, J. W. 497
Jenkins, J. M.
494
Jones, Wiley.
.455
Jones, William
519
K.
Kearns, J. S. 413
Kerns, A. H .. 519
Kerns, W. F 404
Keyes, C. F. 430
Keyes, O. M 480
Kibby, Thomas .. .358
Kinderman, Alexander .332
Knowles, C. B .. 343
Knowles, J. E 348
L.
Lacey, E. A .. .344
Lamb, Elias .. 386
Lamb, I. R. 403
Langston, J. F .380
Leiton, N. T.
383
Lewis, Joshua
.351
Lewis, J. C.
.396
Lewis, J. J. 377
Lindsey, John 379
Linn, J. H. 325
Little, R. P. 378
Lusadder, Homer
353
Lynn, J. C. 428
M.
Mack, A. L 409
Mack, Erastus .. .503
Malone, Mrs. Sarah .383
Malone, S. W. .499
Martin, Aaron. 417
Matthews, Claude 489
McBeth, David 870
McFall, W. D. 466
Mcknight, L. A 437
McNeill, G. H .317
Mc Neill, John .316
McNeill, J. R. 314
Merriman, P. M. 412
Metzger, Rezin. 329
Miller, Jacob 425
Mitchell, T. J 462
Mitchell, T. J 477
Mock, G. L .. .463
Moffatt, R. D. .518
Moore, Joseph. 481
Morehead, J. A. 428
Morey, W. L. . 351
Morgan, B. Il
444
Myers, T. B .514
N.
Nebeker, Henry 474
Nebeker, Seymour 483
Newlin, A. R .345
Nichols, J. M 457
Nichols, T. J.
401
Nichols, William 350
Nixon, R. H. 381
Nolan, Madison
421
Norris, John
385
0.
Osborn, James
.498
Osmon, J. B
.479
P.
Parrett, J. W .356
Pearman, Adam .510
Peer, John .382
Peer, J. L.
.486
Peer, Robert.
502
Peters, J. C.
470
Peters, J. L. . 475
Pinson, A. J 507
Pinson, T. P. 504
Ponton, J. T. 359
Ponton, O. P. M .355
Porter, W. L. .342
Porter, W. W
380
Potts, C. P. .
.314
Pritchard, Elias
.313
SAMMAN
CONTENTS.
R.
Ranger, D. A 469
Redman, J. W 489
Reed, D. A. 373
Reed, L. JI 520
Reeder, J. W . .405
Reynolds, G. II.
.360
Rheuby, William. .415
Rhoads, M. G .327
Rice, Isaac. 474
Rice, W. Y. .460
Richardson, John .. 438
Richardson, J. B 381
Riley, F. M. 364
Roberts, James.
359
Rodgers, Elisha
.497
Rogers, J. O. .327
Rogers, J. S.
.333
Rucker, R. M. 487
Rudy, M. J ... 325
Runyan, Daniel .350
Rush, Fred. 338
Rush, James
.314
Russell, William
501
S.
Samuels, S. II. 391
Sanders, H. E. 456
Sanders, J. A. 492
Sawyer, J. C .335
Saxton, G. W.
.517
Scott, L. S. 418
Scott, M. W. 333
Sears, Daniel 456
Sears, R. B. .352
Sexton, Abel.
.433
Shelato, W. A.
483
Shepard, Lewis.
389
Shew, Eli
431
Shew, Henry. 491
Shew, Leonard. 430
Shute, Daniel.
339
Shute, Ephraim
440
Skidmore, G. F
423
Skidmore, John 509
Skidmore, Josiah .378
Skidmore, T. J .. 387
Skidmore, William .376
Skidmore, W. HI 399
Sla er, William 374
Smith, David .461
Smith, James .437
Smith, J. M. 427
Smith, J. L. 254
Sparks, E. G. 439
Sparks, G. B. . . 454
Spotswood, E. T. .467
Sprouls, Andrew 479
Stahl, J. R. 481
Stokes, R. B. 328
Strain, D. E .422
Stultz, G. W.
.424
Sturn, Henry
.349
Stutler, J. C .. .401
Swinehart, R. H.
372
Switzer, Wesley 434
T.
Thomas, J. L.
480
Thompson, Thomas
375
Tillotson, D. G.
476
Tillotson, G. B.
478
Tipton, Captain.
511
Todd, S. N. 464 |
U.
Underwood, Jacob.
. . 411
V.
Vansickle, Edgar
. . .
.50G
W.
Eugene Township. .278
Highland Township 288
Perrysville.
992
Pioneers
.302
PORTRAITS.
Adams, Jolın. 15
Adams, John Quincy 39
Arthur, Chester A. 112 Buchanan, James 81
Cleveland, Grover. .- 116
Colfax, Schuyler
168
Collett, John 310
Madison, James .. 27 Davis, S. B .. .266
Fillmore, Millard 73
Garfield, James A. 108
Grant, Ulysses S ...
97
Harrison, William Henry.
57
Hayes, Rutherford B. 103
Hendricks, Thomas A 164
Jackson, Andrew. 46
Jefferson, Thomas. 21
Johnson, Andrew.
92
Kinderman, Alexander
332
Lincoln, Abraham.
S5
Monroe, James 33
Morgan, B. H . . 445
Morton, Oliver P.
160
Owen, Robert Dale .:
176
Pierce, Franklin 77
Polk, James K. 65
Riley, F. M .. .366
Riley, Mrs. M. M 367
Taylor, Zachary 69
Tyler, John. 61
Van Buren, Martin. 53
Washington, George 8
Walker, Charles P. 419
Whitcomb, A. L .. 471
Williams, James D
172
Wright, William
393
Ward, C. W ... : .338
Washburn, J. Q. 341
Watkins, H. T. 424
Watson, G. L.
454
Watson, G. W.
407
Weatherwax, Solomon 503
Wells, George. 488
Wells, Horace. 485
Whipple, L. R. .342
Whitcomb, A. L 470
Whitcomb, John 457
Staats, J. II . 512 White, J. A. 509
White, R. M. 387
Whited, J. W 494
Whitted, Enoch 400
Wilson, J. H.
463
Wood, William 408
Wright, F. M ... 403
Wright, L. H. 506
Wright, John. 315
Wright, Milton.
484
Wright, William
392
Z.
Zerner, Adam
....... 476
GENERAL HISTORY.
Introductory
183
Aboriginal ..
188
Governmental 200
The Civil War 214
Miscellaneous. .
221
Clinton Township. 230
Helt Township. 242
Vermillion Township. 257
Wade, A. H ..
.337
Walker, C. P.
.418
Walter, Frederick .334
Walthall, T. E .. 505
Walthall, W. B 443
PRESIDENTS
OF THE
IDIVED STATES.
- -
-
АЛАЛЛАЛААЛАЛ
9
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
YO
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.
10
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 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 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 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
-
İİ
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."
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
within its specific and limited sphere, while the others were for enlarging its powers by inference and implication. Hamilton and Jefferson, both members of the first cabinet. were regarded as the chief leaders, respect ively, of these rising antagonistic parties which have existed, under different names, from that day to this. Washington was re- garded as holding a neutral position between them, though, by mature deliberation, he vetoed the first apportionment bill, in 1790, passed by the party headed by Hamilton, which was based upon a principle construct- ively leading to centralization or consoli- dation. This was the first exercise of the veto power under the present Constitution. It created considerable excitement at the time. Another bill was soon passed in pur- suance of Mr. Jefferson's views, which has been adhered to in principle in every ap- portionment act passed since.
At the second session of the new Con- gress, Washington announced the gratify- ing fact of "the accession of North Caro- lina" to the Constitution of 1787, and June I of the same year he announced by special message the like " accession of the State of Rhode Island," with his congratulations on the happy event which " united under the general Government" all the States which were originally confederated.
In 1792, at the second Presidential elec- tion, Washington was desirous to retire ; but he yielded to the general wish of the country, and was again chosen President by the unanimous vote of every electoral college. At the third election, 1796, he was again most urgently entreated to consent to remain in the executive chair. This he positively refused. In September, before the election, he gave to his countrymen bis memorable Farewell Address, which in lan- guage, sentiment and patriotism was a fit and crowning glory of his illustrious life. After March 4, 1797, he again retired to Mount Vernon for peace, quiet and repose.
13
GEORGE WASHINGTON.
His administration for the two terms had been successful beyond the expectation and hopes of even the most sanguine of his friends. The finances of the country were no longer in an embarrassed condition, the public credit was fully restored, life was given to every department of industry, the workings of the new system in allowing Congress to raise revenue from duties on imports proved to be not only harmonious in its federal action, but astonishing in its results upon the commerce and trade of all the States. The exports from the Union increased from $19,000,000 to over $56,000,- 000 per annum, while the imports increased in about the same proportion. Three new members had been added to the Union. The progress of the States in their new career under their new organization thus far was exceedingly encouraging, not only to the friends of liberty within their own limits, but to their sympathizing allies in all climes and countries.
Of the call again made on this illustrious
chief to quit his repose at Mount Vernon and take command of all the United States forces, with the rank of Lieutenant-General, when war was threatened with France in 1798, nothing need here be stated, except to note the fact as an unmistakable testimo- nial of the high regard in which he was still held by his countrymen, of all shades of po- litical opinion. He patriotically accepted this trust, but a treaty of peace put a stop to all action under it. He again retired to Mount Vernon, where, after a short and severe illness, he died December 14, 1799, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The whole country was filled with gloom by this sad intelligence. Men of all parties in poli- tics and creeds in religion, in every State in the Union, united with Congress in " pay- ing honor to the man, first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- men."
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