USA > New Hampshire > Sullivan County > Newport > The history of Newport, New Hampshire, from 1766 to 1878 > Part 15
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At the close of Mr. Burke's congressional career, which was in the spring of 1845, his party having been successful in the preceding presidential election, he was, without solicitation or knowledge on his part, tendered by Mr. Polk, the new presi- dent, the office of commissioner of patents, which he accepted, and upon the duties of which he entered on the 5th day of May, 1845. He continued to perform the duties of that office until the accession of Gen. Taylor to the presidency, when he was superseded by Mr. Ewbank, of New York. In the discharge
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of the duties of this office, Mr. Burke displayed the same inde- fatigable habits of industry, and the same close and critical research, which had distinguished him in other positions. His reports, while commissioner of patents, embraced a vast amount of valuable information, gathered from a wide field of investiga- tion, and presented in a form which made them both accepta- ble and popular with the country. Under Mr. Burke's admin- istration the patent office assumed a position and importance which it had never before enjoyed, and contributed its full share to the popularity of Mr. Polk's administration.
But while Mr. Burke held the office of commissioner of pat- ents, his labors were not altogether confined to the mere duties of his office. During that period he wrote those papers upon the tariff, entitled the " Bundelcund Essays," originally pub- lished in the Washington Union, but subsequently in pamphlet form, and circulated by tens of thousands in every state in the Republic. Referring to these papers, a writer in the Dem- ocratic Review says,-"After the close of the session of 1844 and 1845, when some of our timid friends began to express doubts as to the propriety of attempting to carry out the pledge of the Baltimore Democratic convention upon the question of the tariff, Mr. Burke, appreciating the danger which this hesita- tion threatened to the policy of the Democratic party, boldly stepped forward as its champion, and contributed to the col- umns of the Union the well-known series of essays on, or, rather, against, the protection system, published over the sig- nature of . Bundeleund.' Nothing before, emanating from his fruitful pen, had so served to spread his fame, for they were immediately republished, wholly or in part, in nearly every Democratic paper in the Union, and, from their appearance until the final vote on the tariff in 1846, were the object of in- cessant and virulent attacks from the opposition. The Dem- ocratic party, with few exceptions, planted themselves firmly on the principles there laid down by Mr. Burke, which, being adopted by the committee of ways and means of the house of representatives, and by the treasury department, were made the basis of the revenue law so triumphantly passed on the 30th of July, 1846."
After Mr. Burke retired from the patent-office, he formed a
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connection with the late celebrated Thomas Richie, by which he became a joint editor of the Washington Union. He re- mained connected with the Union one year, during which he contributed a large amount of the editorial matter which ap- peared in its columns. He had, also, while he was at the head of the patent-office, been a liberal contributor to that paper, as well to its editorial columns as in the shape of communications. And we may truthfully add, that he has, for the last thirty years, been an industrious and fertile writer, as the columns of many newspapers can attest, and has achieved, by his labors in connection with the press, a high position among the editorial profession.
The term of Mr. Burke's connection with the Washington Union having expired, he, in the summer of 1850, returned, with his family, to his residence in this town, where he now remains in the practice of his profession, and employing him- self in those literary pursuits congenial to a man of taste, and necessary to an active mind imbued with a desire for the accumulation of knowledge.
In conclusion, we will add, that Mr. Burke is truly a self- made man. In the outset of his career he had no friends pos- sessed of wealth and influence to aid him. He had to depend upon himself alone. The writer of this has heard him remark that he graduated at a common village school, having never at- tended an academy or college a day in his life, and having had no other assistance or tuition than that which he received while acquiring a sufficiency of Latin preparatory to entering upon his legal studies. And he has informed us that he ceased to attend the village school at the age of fourteen, having never attended any school subsequent to that period. His success in life is a bright example of industry, perseverance, and energy, which we commend to the youth in humble circumstances who has the ambition to aspire to the higher positions of usefulness and honor in society.
He married, Dec. 1, 1840, Ann Matson [see following sketch] ; married, 2d, Nov. 29, 1866, Mary Elizabeth Whit- ney, born Sept. 14, 1834. Had one daughter by first wife,- Frances Matson, born Oct. 7, 1847 ; married Col. George H. Dana.
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MIrs. Ann Matson Burke, who is the subject of the follow- ing sketch, was the first wife of Hon. Edmund Burke, of this town. She was the daughter of the late Francis and Susan Matson, of Stoddard, N. H., and grand-daughter of the late IIon. Aaron Matson,-a man of property, influence, and note in his day ; a member of congress from this state, besides holding many other offices of honor and responsibility under the gov- ernments of the state and the United States. Mrs. Burke was born in Stoddard, on the 20th day of June, IS23 ; was married to Mr. Burke on the Ist day of December, IS40; and died in this town on the 25th day of January, 1857, in the very prime and bloom of womanhood, being in the 34th year of her age at the time of her decease. Her grandmother, on her father's side, whose maiden name was Frances Carpenter, was a direct lineal descendant of Peregrine White, who was born on the Mayflower on its passage from England to this country, bring- ing its freight of pilgrims seeking a home and "freedom to worship God," who subsequently landed on Plymouth Rock, in Massachusetts, Dec. 20, 1620. Mrs. Aaron Matson, who, with her venerable and honored husband, spent the last years of her life in this town, in the immediate neighborhood and society of their grand-daughter and sole descendant, was a woman gifted with much more than ordinary ability. She received a supe- rior education for the time in which she lived, and was possess- ed of many of the graces of character and manners which af- terwards shone so conspicuously in her grand-daughter. As an incident, it is proper to remark that Mrs. Burke, in her life- time, was the possessor of a copper tea-kettle, which, accord- ing to tradition in the family, was brought over in the May- flower by the family of Mr. White, became the property of Peregrine, and from him has been handed down in a direct line of descent until it has come into the possession of Mrs. Frances M. Dana, the only daughter and child of Mr. and Mrs. Burke.
Mrs. Burke was educated at the academy of Miss Fiske, of Keene, N. II., one of the most celebrated seminaries for the education of ladies then known in New England, from which she graduated with high honor. Miss Fiske was a lady who did not forget the accomplishments of manner and person in
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her system of education ; and of these Mrs. Burke acquired her full share.
Immediately after her marriage, she went to Washington with her husband, where she spent the winter, and subsequent- ly was with him during other seasons, while he was in con- gress ; and while he was at the head of the patent office, and during the time he was connected with the Washington Union, she was a permanent resident of that city. The official posi- tion of her husband gave her access to the most refined and polished circles of the political metropolis of the Union, an opportunity and advantage which she was quick to appropriate and improve.
Although the life of Mrs. Burke was of comparatively brief duration, she lived long enough to make a deep impression upon the social circle in which she moved, and upon her more intimate relatives and friends, inspiring in the hearts of the lat- ter the most devoted love and attachment. She was a woman possessed of great beauty of person, and the most charming qualities of mind and disposition. She was gifted with con- versational powers of great brilliancy ; and in social converse with her friends, her whole soul seemed to be transfused into her countenance, giving her an animation, charm, and grace which won and captivated all who came within the circle of her presence. Her life was the constant expression of a beau- tiful character. She was always mild, amiable, and sympathiz- ing, never uttering an expression to any one which could wound or offend. She was the idol of her own family circle, always swaying the sceptre of her domestic realm with love and gentleness. She was always forbearing and for peace. "Speak gently," and "a soft answer turneth away wrath," were the constant maxims by which her intercourse with others was guided. To the poor, and especially to those of her own sex, she was a ministering angel in their afflictions, always bestow- ing acts of kindness and charity, and personal services when needed. Notwithstanding her long residence in Washington, during which she mingled with the gayest and most cultivated circles of society, which might inspire in some persons a spirit of exclusiveness in her social relations, to her honor be it said, that to the influence of her example, more than to any other
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one cause, are we indebted for the absence of that spirit which would divide society into exclusive circles founded upon imag- inary superiority, which has been the bane of so many towns, and the absence of which has rendered Newport the charmed village of New Hampshire.
Her last illness, which terminated in her death, and during which she was at times a great sufferer, was borne with heroic patience and resignation ; and when the inevitable hour came, she sank into the arms of her Heavenly Father without a mur- mur, assuring her weeping relatives, in her last moments, that it was not hard to die. It is not strange that such a woman should be warmly loved in life, and deeply lamented in death. Her untimely departure from the scene of her earthly pilgrim- age was felt to be a great loss to society as well as to her family, to whom she was endeared by the strongest ties of love and affection.
DAVID ALLEN, JR., was born Dec. 1, ISO5. He spent most of his minority with his father at farm work. He was educated at the common-school and at the Newport academy ; after which he went to Johnstown, N. Y., and spent several years in teach- ing. He turned his attention to the law, the studies of which he pursued with Hon. Edmund Burke, of this town, and with Hon. Ebenezer Allen, a brother, then at Orono, Me. After being admitted to the bar, he opened an office at Perrysburg, Ohio, but shortly returned to this town and took the office and law business of Hon. Edmund Burke, who was absent at Washington, D. C., where he was a member of congress and a commissioner of patents, and here continued the practice of his profession until his death, which occurred Sept. 1, IS51. He was a representative in 1849 and IS50, and was also a su- perintending school committee. Married Emeline B. Sanborn, of Sanbornton.
LEWIS SMITIT, a nephew of Capt. Seth Richards, was born in Eastford, Conn., June 5, 1815. He fitted for college at Union academy. Bennington, Vt. ; studied law two years in Vermont and two years with the Hon. Edmund Burke in this town, and was here admitted to the bar and commenced practice. He
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opened an office at Henniker in IS41, where he remained ten years ; was five years at Nashua ; since which time he has been at Hastings, Minn. In each place he has enjoyed a wide practice. He was clerk and assistant clerk of the New Hamp- shire house of representatives six years ; was a member of the house and of the constitutional convention while at Henniker ; secretary of the territorial council of Minnesota in 1857; and at different times has represented the county of Dakotah in each branch of the legislature.
DAVID DICKEY, a graduate at Dartmouth college, was in practice here for several years, commencing in 1842, when he removed to Haverhill.
AUSTIN CORBIN, son of Hon. Austin Corbin, was born July 11, 1827. He was well educated, and at the age of nineteen commenced the study of the law, pursuing the same with Hon. Edmund L. Cushing, of Charlestown, since chief-justice of New Hampshire, and later with Hon. Ralph Metcalf, afterwards governor of the state. His legal education was completed at the Harvard Law School, where he received his degree in 1849. In that year he was admitted to the bar, and at once began practice as the partner of his former teacher, Mr. Metcalf. Here he practised for two years, and with great success, but, desiring a wider field, determined to remove to the West, which he did in the fall of 1851, locating himself at Davenport, Iowa.
In Davenport he resided till 1865. During all this time he was engaged in the practice of his profession,-first, alone, then as the senior partner of the firm of Corbin & Dow, and after- wards of Corbin, Dow & Brown. These firms took high rank in the state ; and for some years no law firm in Iowa had a more extensive or more successful practice. During the later years, however, Mr. Corbin had very little to do in the active practice of his profession. In 1854 he became interested in banking, as the partner of Mr. Louis A . Macklot, under the firm name of Macklot & Corbin ; and from that time on he oc- cupied a very prominent position in the state in that business. In 1857 there were seven banks and banking-houses in the city ; and in the severe times that followed the financial troubles of
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that year, every one suspended except that of Macklot & Cor- bin. That house met all demands promptly, and paid deposit- ors in full.
In 1861. Mr. Corbin sold his interest in the house to his part- ner, and retired from the business ; but in 1863, immediately upon the passage of the national currency act, he organized the First National Bank of Davenport, became its president, and commenced business on the 29th day of June, 1863, which was two days in advance of any national bank in the United States. The result of the organization of this bank was also most suc- cessful. In June, 1865, after the bank had been in business two years, and had paid dividends of 15 per cent. per annum, its stock was worth $250 on the books, and very soon thereafter sold for $300.
This year Mr. Corbin sold out all his stock, and nearly all the property he had in that county, and removed to New York, where he established himself in the banking business, and where he has since been. His first partner in New York was Mr. Gilman S. Moulton. He retired in 1870; and then Mr. Corbin organized " The Corbin Banking Company." This is a private company, under the laws of New York, issuing no notes, but with stock, as in other banks, except that all share- holders are individually liable to the extent of their entire es- tates for the debts of the company. Connected with him are several prominent capitalists ; and the company stands high, as well in New York as in the West, where they do a very large business. A large part of this is the lending of money upon farms ; and they are reported to have on their books collections of this character amounting to over $15.000,000. In this spe- cial class of investments they have larger dealings than any other firm in the world.
Mr. Corbin is also largely interested in stock companies for the investment of capital, outside of his own,-" The New Eng- land Loan Company," at Manchester, N. H., and the .. New England Mortgage Security Company," at Boston. He has also large holdings of stock in the " American Mortgage Com- pany of Scotland," at Edinburgh, the Corbin Banking Com- pany being its American correspondents.
But probably no undertaking of his life has met with such
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immediate and signal success as the organization of the Man- hattan Beach enterprise near New York city. In 1873 he was compelled, under the advice of his physician, to go at once, with his sick child, to the seashore; and taking the nearest one at hand, went to Coney island. Here the family remained most of the summer, and during his sojourn he was astonished to find, within an hour of New York city, the finest sea-beach on the Atlantic coast. But its proximity to the great city had made it largely the resort of the worst portions of society ; and, so far as its front was occupied, it was constructed of poor buildings. A portion-nearly half the island, and the best part- was wholly unoccupied, the titles being in very great dis- order. This portion Mr. Corbin determined to secure. redeem from its bad reputation, and build up and preserve for the better classes of New York. After three years of work, and at great expense, he acquired all the titles, and had under his con- trol an ocean front of 23 miles, and a territory of over 500 acres, extending from ocean to bay. He then organized a rail- way company, to which the whole was conveyed ; and in 1877, on the 19th day of July, it was opened to the public. On the ocean a magnificent hotel-the finest seaside hotel in America -had been erected ; extensive bathing-houses had been built ; and the Railway hotel and grounds were crowded with guests the balance of the season. During the years 1877 and IS78, the railway carried over 1,600,000 people. It has been already a very great, and is destined in the future to be a much greater, blessing to the citizens of New York. Its hotel, its bathing facilities, and its police system, are unequalled in any city on this continent. Mr. Corbin has received from every source, public and private, high praise for the conception of this grand idea, and the grand manner in which it has been carried out. [See Genealogy.]
SAMUEL H. EDES, son of Amasa Edes, Esq., was born in Newport, March 31, 1825. After a preparatory course at Kim- ball Union Academy, he entered Dartmouth college, graduat- ing in 1844, the youngest member of his class; studied the profession of law in his father's office, and was admitted to Sul- livan county bar in 1851. He has twice held the office of
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county solicitor, having been appointed in the years 1854 and 1874 ; and was chosen to represent the town in the legislature in 1860. He was an untiring and zealous workman in the cause of the common-schools of the town, and did much towards pro- moting the Union district scheme of the village schools, and is now an officer of its board of education. He was also ac- tively engaged in the organization of the fire department of Newport on its present efficient basis. In addition to the busi- ness of his profession, he has been quite largely engaged in farming, and since 1865 as a manufacturer of flannels at the Eagle Flannel Mills in Newport; also in the dry goods and millinery trade, in connection with his son, George C. Edes. The aqueduct supplying pure water to the village from Cold spring, about one mile in length, was constructed by him in 1856, and relaid with New Jersey patent iron and cement pipes in 1862,-the first laid in the state.
LEVI W. BARTON, son of Bazalcel Barton, 2d, was born in Croydon. March 1, ISIS. The pecuniary condition of his fa- ther's family was such as to demand his time and labor in early boyhood ; and hence his attendance upon the district school was restricted to short terms in the winter season-and these with occasional interruptions-until his eighteenth birth-day, after which he attended several terms at the academy at Unity. In 1839 he married Miss Mary A. Pike, of Newport. She died the following year. After securing a home for his infant son -afterwards the late Col. Ira McL. Barton-in the family of a sister, Mrs. Amos Kidder, then at Canaan, he commenced a preparatory course of study at Kimball Union Academy, with a zeal which would listen to no discouragements. He entered Dartmouth college in July, 1844, and was graduated in the class of 1848. During his senior year at college he began reading law with Hon. Daniel Blaisdell, of Hanover. Immediately af- ter graduating he commenced teaching in the Canaan academy, and at the same time entered, as a student, the law office of HIon. Jonathan Kittredge,-since a judge of the supreme court, -where he remained till January, IS51, when he came to Newport, and finished his course of legal study with Messrs. Metcalf & Corbin, and was here admitted to the bar in July of
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the same year. He immediately opened an office in Newport, where he has since been actively engaged in the practice of his profession. . He was a law partner of Hon. Ralph Metcalf at the time of his election as governor in 1855. While his profes- sional duties have claimed a large share of his attention, he has found time to engage, to some extent, in farming, stock- raising, and fruit-growing.
In 1855, '56, and '57, he was register of deeds for Sullivan county ; was county solicitor from 1859 to 1864; was repre- sentative in 1863, 1864, IS75, 1876, and 1877; and was state senator in 1867 and IS6S. He has held a leading position in the house and senate ; and, during his entire term of service in both branches, has been a member of the judiciary committee, and for five years its chairman. During the sessions of IS75 and 1876 he was chairman of the Republican legislative caucus, and as such did much towards moulding legislation, and the avoidance of extreme measures which might have resulted in injury. In 1866 he was chairman of a board of commissioners appointed by the governor to audit and report the war indebt- edness of the state. He was a member of the convention for the revision of the state constitution in IS76, and the same year one of the Republican electors of president and vice- president of the United States. He was appointed bank com- missioner by Gov. Harriman, but declined. He was appointed in 1877 one of the commission to revise and codify the laws of New Hampshire, which duty he performed. He has been twice a candidate for congress, and, though failing of a nomi- nation, received a liberal support. August 25, 1852, he was again married to Miss Lizzie F. Jewett, of Nashua. [See Genealogy.]
SAMUEL METCALF WHEELER, son of Albira, and grand- son of Dea. Abel Wheeler, was born August 9. IS23. in Newport. He was educated mainly at our common-schools, with subsequent advantages afforded him at academies in Vermont, his father having removed to Royalton in that state in 1841. Choosing law as his profession, he commenced its study in the office of Tracy & Converse, then the leading law- yers of the state, at Woodstock, Vt. He returned to Newport
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and, after spending several months in the office of Metcalf & Corbin, was here admitted to the bar in IS47. He then opened an office here. After a brief but successful practice of three years here, he removed to Concord, and from thence, shortly after, in 1853, to Dover, where he soon became a leading mem- ber of the Strafford county bar, a position which he has main- tained for twenty-five years, and which he still retains. Since his residence in Dover, he has been connected nearly all of the time with the banking institutions of that city, as director or trustec. In January, IS5S, he was elected president of the Langdon Bank, as he was also that of the Dover National Bank upon its formation in 1865. He has been a member of the leg- islature five years, and in 1869 and 1870 was speaker of the house. He was a member of the staff of Gov. Stearns, and at one time was a prominent candidate for member of congress. He was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1876, and took an active part in its deliberations. He married, May 17, IS52, Priscilla E. Clement, of Franklin, a lady of culture. He has two daughters, both of whom are educated,-Sarah A., born Nov. 10, 1854, and Betsey f., born April 1, 1856.
ALBERT S. WAIT was born April 14, IS21, in Chester, Vt. He studied law with Hon. Daniel Kellogg, in the village of Saxton's River ; was admitted to the bar at Newfane, Vt., in April, IS46, and immediately after entered upon the practice of law at Alstead, N. H. He removed to Newport in May, IS57. In June, 1865, he received the honorary degree of A. M. at Dartmouth college. He is an active Free Mason, in the va- rious bodies of which he has held several prominent offices, and is now (1878) Grand Commander of the Knights Templars of the state. He was a delegate to the Chicago Democratic national convention in 1864; three times a candidate of his party for representative to the general court, and twice for state senator ; but his party being in the minority, he was never elected. [See Literature.]
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