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"It is a proud fact in the history of New Jer- sey," said Senator Samuel L. Southard before the Legislature on this same occasion, "that every foot of her soil has been obtained from the Indians by voluntary purchase and transfer, a fact no other State of the Union, not even the land which bears the name of Penn can boast of." For these as well as for other reasons it has seemed to me to be pre-eminently proper that New Jersey should possess this magnificent monument cast in honor of the American Indian."
With your sanction I will have it brought to Newark and have it placed on a suitably pre- pared foundation, all at my own individual ex- pense, in the locality we shall decide upon. Await- ing your reply, I am, with great respect,
Yours sincerely,
To the above was sent the following reply :
Office of the Mayor, City Hall, Newark, N. J., Sept. 13, 1895.
Dr. Jonathan Ackerman Coles, 222 Market Street, City :
Dear Sir-The communication directed to the Mayor of the City of Newark, dated September 4, 1895, and containing your munificent offer to present to the city a handsome bronze group, was referred to the Common Council at its last meet- ing, held Friday, September 6, accompanied by a message which read as follows :
İ9
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
Office of the Mayor, City Hall, Newark, September 6, 1895.
To the Honorable the Common Council of the City of Newark :
Gentlemen-I have the honor and pleasure to transmit herewith a communication which I received yesterday from Dr. Jonathan Ackerman Coles. In it he offers, as a gift to the city of Newark, a work of art, by an American sculptor of note, being a group in bronze which marks a most interesting historical event, and as a me- morial will recall the valuable services rendered in the interests of science and education by his distinguished father, the late Dr. Abraham Coles.
I respectfully recommend that action be taken by your honorable body to acknowledge the valu- able and interesting gift, and to co-operate with the donor in providing a suitable place for its erection.
Yours very truly,
J. A. LEBKUECHER, Mayor.
It was received and read with great gratifica- tion, and in response thereto the following resolu- tion of acknowledgment and acceptance was un- animously adopted :
"Whereas, A beautiful work of art, by a sculptor of distinction, has been presented to the city of Newark by Dr. Jonathan Ackerman Coles; there- fore, be it
"Resolved, That the Mayor be instructed to convey to the donor the sincere sense of apprecia- tion in which this gift is received by the municipal government and people of the city of Newark; and be it further
"Resolved, That a committee of five, of whom the Mayor and the President of the Common Council shall be members, be appointed to act with the donor in the selection of a suitable site for the placing of this valuable gift."
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In pursuance of the above resolution I have the honor to extend to you, in behalf of the municipal government, the assurance of its high appreciation of your generous gift, and as Chief Executive to tender to you the thanks of its citizens.
The spirit which prompts the presentation of this artistic group of bronze to the city is worthy of the greatest commendation. It gives me much pleasure to acknowledge for the first time in the history of the city a gift from one of its private citizens, which shall be for many generations a civic monument of beauty and a source of pride to the residents of Newark.
I have the honor to be yours very truly, J. A. LEBKUECHER, Mayor.
The committee, which consisted of Mayor Julius A. Lebkuecher, Mr. David D. Bragaw, President
of the Common Council; Aldermen William Har- rigan, Sidney N. Ogden and Winton C. Garrison, after visiting the different parks in company with the donor, finally decided upon the North End of Lincoln park as the most suitable site for the bronze.
Subsequently the Mayor and Common Council presented Dr. Coles with a testimonial of the city's appreciation of his gift. This Memorial the "New York Tribune" describes as "a beautiful specimen of the art of engrossing. It is in an album form, bound in dark leather of the finest quality, the flyleaves being of rich white moire silk. The body of the memorial contains the com- munication of the Mayor to the Common Council announcing the offer of Dr. Coles, the resolutions passed by the Council in accepting the gift, and the announcement by Mayor Lebkuecher to Dr. Coles of the acceptance. The delineator is Mr. John H. Morris, Secretary of the Board of Assessments."
The Rt. Rev. John Williams, D. D., LL.D., Bishop of the Diocese of Connecti- cut,* Chancellor of Trinity College, etc., etc., in a letter to the son of the late Dr. Abraham Coles, referring to the bronze and its pedestal, said :
"An inscription of the last stanzas of your father's beautiful National hymns, 'Columbia, the Land of the Free,' and 'My Native Land,' upon the marble pedestal of the bronze historical group you are about to present to the City of Newark, N. J., would not only be a graceful trib- ute to your father's memory, but would also give a National as well as local value to the gift."
The Bishop's suggestion was carried out. On the front of the pedestal were cut the following words :-
From our borders expel all oppression and wrong, Oh! Thou, who did'st plant us and make us a Nation !
In the strength of Thine arm make us evermore strong ;
On our gates inscribe Praise, on our walls write Salvation !
May Thyself be our Light, from Thy heavenly height
Ever flashing new splendors and chasing our night,
That united and happy we ever may be
To the end of all time, still the Land of the Free!
*(In 1666 Newark was settled by people from Connecticut.)
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THE COLES MEMORIAL
THE COLES MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL - KURNOOL, SOUTH INDIA. A. D. 1908.
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
On the back of the pedestal the stanza cut in the granite is :-
God of our fathers ! bless, Exalt in righteousness This Land of ours ! Be Right our lofty aim, Our title and our claim, To high and higher fame Among the Powers.
Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1895, was selected by the Common Council Com- mittee and Dr. Coles as the time most ap- propriate for the unveiling exercises.
The following was the order of exer- cises :
Music under the direction of Mr. Frank E. Drake; Prof. Thomas Bott, bass; James V. Orchard, tenor, and Mr. David B. Dana, cornetist.
I. National Hymn, "My Native Land," Abraham Coles. The children, teachers and friends of the Public and Private Schools of Newark, and from elsewhere in the State, led by Prof. Bott, Mr. Orchard, Mr. Dana, cornetist, and Mr. Drake.
2. Unveiling of the Bronze Historic Group and Pedestal, by Miss Lucy Depue Ogden, grand- daughter of the Hon. David Ayres Depue. LL.D., Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and Master Robert B. Bradley, grandson of the late Hon. Joseph P. Bradley, LL.D., Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
3. Presentation Address by Dr. J. A. Coles.
4. Address by the Hon. Julius A. Lebkuecher, Mayor of the City of Newark, accepting the gift, and turning it over to the Board of Works.
5. Address by Mr. Harrison Van Duyne, Presi- dent of the Board of Works.
6. Delivery of Keys of Boxes in Marble Pedestal, Miss Grace E. Bates, grand-niece of David D. Bragaw, President of the Common Council.
7. Receiving of the Keys by Miss Helen Coyken- dall, granddaughter of Henry Hopper, Chief of Police, who will subsequently, for safe keep- ing, drop them from the Bridge street bridge into the waters of the Passaic.
8. National Hymn, "Columbia, the Land of the Free," Abraham Coles, 1853. School children and audience, led by Prof. Bott, Mr. Orchard, Mr. Dana. and Mr. Drake.
9. Address by Dr. Henry J. Anderson, President of the Board of Education.
10. National Hymn, "The Fourth of July," Abra- ham Coles, 1851. School children and audience,
led by Prof. Bott, Mr. Orchard, Mr. Dana, and Mr. Drake.
II. Address by Dr. William N. Barringer, Super- intendent of Public Schools. Subject: "A Nation's History as shown in its Monuments."
12. National Hymn, "Our Country's Banner," Abraham Coles, 1861. School children and audience, led by Prof. Bott, Mr. Orchard, Mr. Dana, and Mr. Drake.
13. Address by David R. Frazer, D. D., pastor of the First Presbyterian Church. In honor of the Rev. Mr. Pierson, the first minister of this church, Newark is said to have received its name, he having been educated in Newark, Eng- land.
14. Bi-Centennial Ode, "Two Hundred Years Ago," Abraham Coles, 1866. School children and audience, led by Prof. Bott, Mr. Orchard, Mr. Dana, and Mr. Drake.
15. Benediction (1:30 P. M.), by Robert M. Luther, D. D., pastor of the South Baptist Church.
In referring to the "Coles Memorial High School" building at Kurnool, "The Madras Mail," of Madras, India, Decem- ber 19, 1908, says :
"His Excellency, the Honorable Sir Arthur Lawley, G. C., I. E., K. C., M. G., Governor of Fort George, after formally declaring the Memorial High School building open, was con- ducted to the principal hall, where the élite of Kurnool interested in the noble educational work of the American Missionaries in the District were assembled to show their sympathy with their activities. The Rev. Dr. A. W. Stanton, the missionary in charge, had prepared an in- teresting programme of songs and recitations by the children, who entered with great zest and feeling into the performance, which wound up with a statement from Mr. Stanton giving a his- tory of the school. His Excellency delivered one of his characteristic addresses, full of wise coun- sel and deep interest in the rising generation of India. His Excellency spoke as follows :
"'Mr. Stanton, Ladies and Gentlemen: I as- sure you that I esteem it a very great pleasure and a very great honor to have been able to formally open the "Coles Memorial High School" building, and to express my sense of admiration at the noble purpose and the great generosity of those by whom this building was erected.
"'My admiration of the building itself is great and my fervent hope and prayer is that God may bless Dr. Coles and his sister, by whose in- strumentality this building has been brought into existence. I pray too that His blessing may be
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CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
upon those who control the destinies of this school, and have the advantage of working within these walls. You have shown me this evening, sir, a most beautiful building of brick and stone, and you tell me it will shortly be equipped with. every modern requirement. I congratulate you on what you have achieved, without Government help. It is, believe me, in my opinion, most prais- worthy.'"
The tablet on the building reads :
To the Glory of God, And in loving memory of Abraham Coles, A. M., M. D., Ph.D., LL.D., and of his wife Caroline E. Ackerman Coles, This building is erected by their son, Jonathan Ackerman Coles, M. D., LL.D., and their daughter, Emilie S. Coles.
"With the singing of Dr. Abraham Coles' fine old hymn, 'O all ye lands unite your joys,' to the tune of 'Old Hundred,' followed by the National anthem, the exercises closed. With a hearty hand-shake the Governor took his de- parture, amid the shouts of the school children, the waving of flags and the ringing of the school building's bronze bell."
Reference has been made to Dr. Coles' "New Rendering of the Hebrew Psalms into English Verse," and we give herewith his version of Psalm XIX, concerning which he says: There are two voices-one inaudible-declaring the glory of God, the other audible, declaring His will. It forms a fit companion piece to Psalm VIII. We have thus a day-piece and a night-piece by the same hand. The pastoral life is fav- orable to meditation. Spent in the open air, all natural sights and sounds grow fam- iliar. David in both Psalms recalls the peaceful time, when, a shepherd lad, al- ready skilled in the use of his rustic lyre, and accustomed to give vent to his pious rapture in holy song, he lay on summer nights on the pleasant hill-sides of Beth- lehem watching his flock, and, looking up, saw "the heavens sowed with stars, thick as a field"; and, as the night wore away, saw the grey dawn, and the kindling fires of day-break, till, all at once, the sun, the regent of day, shot suddenly up from be- hind the mountains of Moab.
PSALM XIX
I The rolling skies with lips of flame Their Maker's power and skill proclaim:
2 Day speaks to day, and night to night Shows knowledge writ in beams of light.
3 And though no voice, no spoken word Can by the outward ear be heard,
4 The witness of a travelling sound. Reverberates the world around.
In the bright east with gold enriched He for the sun a tent has pitched,
5 That, like a bridegroom after rest, Comes from his chamber richly drest, An athlete strong and full of grace, And glad to run the heavenly race,-
6 Completes his round with tireless feet, And naught is hidden from his heat.
7 But, Nature's book sums not the whole : God's perfect law converts the soul; His sure unerring word supplies The means to make the simple wise ;
8 His precepts are divinely right, An inspiration and delight ; His pure commandment makes all clear,
9 Clean and enduring in His fear. The judgments of the Lord are true, And righteous wholly through and through;
10 More to be coveted than gold, Of higher worth a thousand fold; More sweet than sweetest honey far, Th' unfoldings of their sweetness are:
II They warn Thy servant, and they guard; In keeping them there's great reward.
12 Who can his errors understand? My secret faults are as the sand : From these me cleanse, make pure within,
13 And keep me from presumptuous sin ; Lest sin me rule and fetter fast, And I unpardoned die at last.
14 My words and meditation be O Lord, my Rock, approved of Thee.
In the Highland Home for Children, erected in memory of Dr. Coles and of his brother-in-law, Mr. Warren Ackerman, is a stained glass window, illustrating the Study of Nature, whereon is inscribed :- "The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament sheweth His handy- work. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer."
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VERDENS NICALAND HOME
CHILDRENS HIGHLAND HOME Given by Miss Emilio S. Coles in remembrance of her father. Dr.Abraham Colesand of her andle Mr. Warren Ackerman
Zawis Historical Pub Co
Photo Genyrighted by Pach Bros
Eng by E & Williams & Bro NY
CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
CLEVELAND, Grover,
Lawyer, Statesman, President.
Grover Cleveland, son of Rev. Richard Falley and Ann (Neal) Cleveland, was born March 18, 1837, in Caldwell, New Jer- sey, in a small two-story building which was the parsonage of the Presbyterian church of which his father was then pastor, and which is yet standing. He was named Stephen Grover for his father's predecessor in the pastorate, but in childhood the first name was dropped.
When he was three years old his parents removed to Fayetteville, Onondaga county, New York, where he lived until he was fourteen, attending the district school and academy. He was of studious habits, and his frank open disposition made him a fav- crite with both his teachers and fellows. He left the academy before he could com- plete the course, and took employment in a village store, his wages being fifty dollars for the first year and one hundred dollars for the second year, but soon after the be- ginning of the latter period he removed to Clinton, New York, whither his parents had preceded him, and resumed studies at the academy in preparation for admission to Hamilton College. The death of his father, however, disappointed this expectation, and mnade it necessary for him to enter upon self-support. He accordingly accepted a position as bookkeeper and assistant teacher in the New York Institution for the Blind, which he filled acceptably for a year. Start- ing west in search of more lucrative em- ployment, with twenty-five dollars to de- fray his expenses, he stopped on the way at Buffalo, New York, to make a farewell visit to his uncle, Lewis F. Allen, a stock farmer, who induced him to remain and aid him in the compilation of "Allen's American Shorthorn Herd Book." In return he re- ceived the sum of fifty dollars, and with this aid he entered the law offices of Rogers, Bowen & Rogers, at Buffalo, as a clerk and law student. His student life was one of arduous labor and vigorous economy and
self-denial. For a few months he served without compensation as a copyist, and then received a wage of four dollars a week. He became confidential clerk to his em- ployers, and was admitted to the bar in 1859.
Mr. Cleveland's public life began in 1863, when he was appointed assistant district attorney for Erie county. A staunch Democrat from his first studies in Ameri- can history and politics, he had been a sturdy supporter of his party and an indus- trious worker from the day in 1858 when he cast his first vote. In the office to which he was chosen he acquitted himself so well that at the expiration of his term he re- ceived the unanimous nomination for dis- trict attorney. He had for his Republican opponent a warm personal friend, Lyman K. Bass, who was elected by a plurality of five hundred; Mr. Cleveland, however, polled more than his party vote in all the city wards. Retiring from office in Janu- ary, 1866, he formed a law partnership with Isaac V. Vanderpoel, former State Treas- urer, under the firm name of Vanderpoel & Cleveland. In 1869 he became a member of the law firm of Laning, Cleveland & Fol- som, his partners being Albert P. Laning, former State Senator, and for years at- torney for the Canada Southern and Lake Shore railways, and Oscar Folsom, former United States District Attorney. As in pre- vious years, he sent the large portion of his earnings to his mother, to aid her in sup- port of her family. In 1870 at the earnest solicitation of his party friends, and against his own earnestly expressed desire, he con- sented to become candidate for sheriff, and was elected after a stubbornly contested canvass. His official conduct was warmly approved by the people. At the expiration of his term of office he resumed the prac- tice of law, in association with Lyman K. Bass and Wilson S. Bissell. Mr. Bass re- tired in 1879 on account of ill health, the firm becoming Cleveland & Bissell. In 1881 George J. Sicard was admitted to part-
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CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
nership. During all these changes Mr. Cleveland shared in a large and lucrative business, while he had attracted the admira- tion of bench and bar for the care with which he prepared his cases, and the ability and industry with which he contested them.
In 1881 Mr. Cleveland was nominated for Mayor of Buffalo on a platform advo- cating administrative reform and economy in municipal expenditures, and was elected by the largest majority ever given a candi- date for that office, and at an election where, although the Democrats carried their local ticket to success, the Republicans car- ried the city for their State ticket by more than one thousand plurality. His adminis- tration carried unstinted approval, for his courageous devotion to the interests of the people and his success in checking unwise, illegal and extravagant expenditures, sav- ing to the city a million dollars in the first six months of his term, and he was a popu- lar favorite as "The Veto Mayor." He was now a State celebrity, and the convention of his party held September 22, 1882, at Syra- cuse, nominated him for Governor. He was elected over the Republican nominee, Charles J. Folger, by the tremendous plu- rality of 192,854-the largest plurality ever given a gubernatorial candidate in any state in the Union. Among the chief acts of his administration were his approval of a bill to submit to the people a proposition to abolish contract prison labor ; his veto of a bill permitting wide latitude to savings bank directors in investment of deposits ; his veto of a similar bill respecting insurance com- panies ; and his veto of a bill to establish a monoply by limiting the right to construct certain street railways to companies here- tofore organized, to the exclusion of such as should hereafter obtain the consent of property owners and local authorities.
Mr. Cleveland was nominated for Presi- dent by the Democratic National Conven- tion in Chicago, in July, 1884, receiving 683 votes out of a total of 820. His Republi-
can opponent was Hon. James G. Blaine. The campaign was remarkable for the dis- cussion of the personal characters and qual- ifications of the candidates rather than po- litical principles. At the election Mr. Cleve- land received a majority of thirty-seven in the Electoral College, and a majority in the popular vote of 23,005, out of a total of 10,067,610. At his inauguration, March 4, 1885, he delivered an admirable inaugural address, with flowing ease, and his modesty and sincerity impressed all hearers. He took his official oath upon a small moroc- co-bound, gilt-edged Bible, a gift from his mother when as a lad he first left home. Among the most important acts of his ad- ministration was his proclamation of March 13, 1885, for the removal of white intruders from Oklahoma, Indian Territory ; and, af- ter the burning of Aspinwall, Panama, by the revolutionists, March 31, 1885, his ord- ering a naval expedition to protect Ameri- can persons and property.
Mr. Cleveland was unanimously renom- inated for President in 1888, but was de- feated by Benjamin Harrison, Republican, although his plurality in the popular vote was more than 100,000. He then located in the city of New York and again took up his profession. In June, 1892, he was nom- inated for the Presidency a third time, by the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, receiving on the first ballot 617 I-3 votes out of 910, the nomination then being made unanimous. At the election he defeated Benjamin Harrison by a plurality of IIo in the Electoral College, and a plur- ality of 379,150 in the popular vote. He was inaugurated March 4, 1893, in the pres- ence of a vast multitude in midst of a blind- ing snowstorm. The military and civic pa- rade was more imposing than on any other similar occasion. His administration was marked by some most unusual features. His first important act was to call a special session of Congress, August 7, 1893, and in pursuance of his recommendation was re-
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CYCLOPEDIA OF NEW JERSEY
pealed the act of 1890 calling for the monthly purchase of $4,500,000 of silver bullion. In this he was opposed by the sil- ver wing of his party. Elected as he was on a tariff-reform platform, both houses of Congress were in accord with him on that issue, and in 1894 was passed the Wilson bill, a tariff-for-revenue-only measure. The industrial and financial stagnation of that period was ascribed by the Republicans to this measure, while the Free-Silver Demo- crats attributed it in large degree to the re- peal of the silver-purchase measure, and in November of the same year the Republi- cans won a protective tariff victory, with the result that during the latter half of President Cleveland's administration he had to deal with a Republican Congress. He performed invaluable service to law and order and protection to property by his firm stand with reference to the railroad riots in July, 1894, ordering United States troops to Chicago and other railroad centers to enforce the orders and processes of the Federal Courts, and to prevent interference with inter-state commerce and the transmis- sion of the United States mails. On Janu- ary I, 1895, he appointed, with the consent of the Senate, the commission to inquire in- to the Venezuelan boundary. During the insurrection in Cuba he took strong meas- ures against the violation of the neutrality laws. In February, in order to preserve the national credit, he ordered an issue of four per cent. thirty-year bonds to the amount of $62,000,000. May 29th he ve- toed the river and harbor bill calling for an immediate expenditure of $17,000,000, and authorizing contracts for the further sum of $62,000,000, but the bill was passed over his veto. In the summer of the same year he received the signal compliment of being chosen as arbitrator in the dispute between Italy and Colombia, in which the former claimed large pecuniary damages for in- juries sustained by Indians during the revo- lution of 1885. Late in 1895, in his annual message, he recommended a general reform
of banking and currency laws, and accom- plished the settlement of the Venezuelan boundary, the treaty being signed February 2, 1896. In the latter year he issued an ord- er under which thirty thousand additional posts in the civil service were placed under restrictions formulated by the Board of Civil Service Commissioners. In the same year he sent General Fitzhugh Lee to Ha- vana as consul-general-an appointment which was approved by a great mass of Union veterans almost as heartily as it was by the ex-Confederates. On June 16, 1896, he issued an open letter condemning the free-silver movement, and approving the principles of the Gold Wing of the Demo- cratic party, a document which had a salu- tary and far-reaching effect. Before the expiration of his official term he had the great pleasure of witnessing the execution of a treaty between the United States and Great Britain providing for the establish- ment of an international tribunal of general arbitration.
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