USA > New York > Biographical sketches of the state officers and members of the legislature of the state of New York in 1862 and '63 > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25
Gc 974.7 M95b 1507885
M.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01177 9722
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
1
https://archive.org/details/biographicalsket00murp_0
>
U
-.. .
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OF THE
STATE OFFICERS
AND
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE
STATE OF NEW YORK,
In 1862 and '63.
BY WM. D. MURPHY,
AUTHOR OF "BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES," ETC., IN 1858, '59, '60 AND '61.
ALBANY : PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1863.
Entered, according to an Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by WILLIAM D. MURPHY,
in the Clerk's office of the Northern District of New York.
1507885
INTRODUCTION.
This is a combination of two volumes of a series which the author commenced publishing, annually, in 1858. The object of the work is to give impartial, truthful, and condensed biographi- cal sketches of the Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, State Officers, and Members of both branches of the Legislature-an object which has thus far been successfully carried out.
After the publication of the fourth volume in 1861, owing to a want of proper time to continue the enterprise, the author reluc- tantly concluded to abandon it. It will be seen, however, by the following correspondence, about the opening of the session of the Legislature in 1862, that he reconsidered his determination :
"ALBANY, Jan. 30, 1862. WM. D. MURPHY, Esq. :
DEAR SIR-Having understood that you do not design writing the Biographical sketches of the Members of this, as you did those of the last and the three preceding Legislatures, we feel authorized in appealing to you not to abandon an enterprise which you have so ably and impartially begun. As a book of reference, aside from its interest in various other respects, the four volumes already issued by you have been found to possess invaluable interest, and we find that a discontinuance of the work would be universally regarded as a very serious loss to the politi- cal history of the State. We earnestly beg you, therefore, to reconsider your determination in the premises, and again resume the work. Should your desire to abandon it arise from any lack of time in its preparation, as intimated in the preface to your last volume, we would suggest the idea of your not issuing it until after the adjournment of the Legislature. This will afford you
4
INTRODUCTION.
ample time for its perfection, as well as enable you, by becoming fully acquainted with the members of each House, to do the sketches ample justice."
This communication was signed by a large number of the prominent members of the Legislature of that and the preceding year, to whom the author replied as follows :
" ALBANY, Feb. 3, 1862.
GENTLEMEN -I thank you for the compliment of your com- munication. I shall endeavor, in compliance with your request, 'to take the lives' of the present State Officers and Members of the Legislature, but apprehend that I shall not find time, in con- sequence of other engagements, to complete the work till after your adjournment. This, as you very properly suggest, will enable me to devote myself more thoroughly to the preparation of the work than I have hitherto found time to do, while the book can be delivered as well after as before the adjournment of the Legislature.
Very respectfully yours, WILLIAM D. MURPHY."
Owing to an unusual pressure of professional engagements, however, during the following summer, which the author could not avoid, he was compelled to defer issuing the volume for that year until now, which accounts for the present combination of two volumes in one. In pursuing this course, however, it has not been deemed necessary to repeat in both volumes, the sketches of the State Officers and Senators, who occupy their positions, during both years. It will be seen, therefore, that the sketches of those for 1862, who are not now members of the Legislature are conveniently combined with the sketches of the present State Officers and Members of the Legislature. By a similar arrange- ment the author will endeavor hereafter to continue the publica- tion of the work.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HORATIO SEYMOUR,
GOVERNOR.
THE political history of Governor Seymour, from its earliest commencement till now, is marked throughout by an almost unbroken series of brilliant successes. In every sphere of his public life he has been found not only efficient, but more than equal to the most trying emergencies and the most difficult, dangerous, and delicate tasks. Previous to his success, at the late election, for the distinguished position he now holds for the second time, he was the last of the Democratic Governors of New York -perhaps, in the estimation of a majority of her people, the first of her living statesmen - and is to-day the unquestioned leader of the Democracy of the State, if not of the Nation. Un- bounded confidence in him, and a firm belief that for him are reserved the highest honors of the Republic, seem now to be regarded as part of the creed of every true Democrat in the Empire State, and whatever may be the action of the next Democratic National Conven- tion, there is every reason to believe that this sentiment,
*1
6
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
like the sentence of an ancient oracle, will, sooner or later, work out its own fulfillment.
The family of which Governor Seymour is a distin- guished member is descended from Richard Seymour, who was one of the original settlers of Hartford, Con- necticut, where he, and two or three subsequent genera- tions, lived, and died, and where, also, a large portion of the family, in its various branches, still reside. Major Moses Seymour, his fourth lineal descendant, served with patriotic zeal in the revolutionary war, being present at the surrender of Burgoyne, after which he represented the town of Litchfield in the Legislature of Connecticut for seventeen years, with great credit to himself, and the most entire satisfaction to his con- stituents. At his death, he left five sons, of whom one was Henry Seymour, the father of our present subject. This gentleman was born in 1780, and on his arrival at man's estate, removed to Onondaga county in this State, whence, soon after the birth of Horatio, he removed to Utica, at which place - after serving the State with great ability in the Legislature, and for many years as one of our earliest and most efficient Canal Commission- ers -he died, leaving as a heritage to his children a most deservedly enviable reputation. One of his bro- thers was a distinguished member of the United States Senate from Vermont, for twelve years. The Hon. Origen S. Seymour, for some time Representative in Congress from the Litchfield District of Connecticut, was the son of another brother, named Ozias. The late Governor Seymour, of Connecticut, and the Hon. David L. Seymour, for some time a member of Congress from
7
BIOGRAPHIICAL SKETCHES.
the Rensselaer district, of this State, are connected with him. His maternal grandfather, Col. Forman, served through the Revolutionary war in the New Jersey line.
Governor Seymour was born in Pompey, Onondaga county, N. Y., in the year 1811. After receiving a liberal education, for which the ample means of his father gave most enviable facility, he took up the study of the law, and being admitted to the bar, early in life, com- menced the practice of his profession, in the city of Utica. The cares of a large and widely extended estate, however, devolving upon him on the death of his father, together with that of the late John R. Bleecker, Esq., the father of his wife, requiring, as it did, all his time and attention, and taxing his exertions to the utmost for a number of the best years of his life, compelled him to relinquish his profession.
From his youth, as were his ancestors before him, he has always been strongly attached to the Democratic party, and in the spring of 1842, when only thirty years of age, he was elected Mayor of the city of Utica, in which the Whigs were then largely in the ascendancy. In the fall of the preceding year, however, he consented to the use of his name as a candidate for the Assembly, and was triumphantly elected. Among his legislative associates, during the session that followed, were such men as John A. Dix, Michael Hoffman, David R. Floyd Jones, George R. Davis, Lemuel Stetson, and Calvin T. Hulburd, and the following extract from the "Political History of New York," will give some idea of the esti- mation in which he was then held :
8
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
" We have seldom known a man who possessed higher and better qualifications for usefulness and suc- cess in a popular government than Horatio Seymour. Kind and social by nature, affable in his deportment, possessing a shrewd, discerning mind, fluent, and at times eloquent in debate, enlarged in his views, liberal almost to a fault to his opponents, and fascinating in his address, no man seemed better calculated to acquire an influence in a legislative body than he, and few, indeed, at his time of life, have acquired a better standing or more substantial moral power. He had early made himself well acquainted with the great and varied in- terests of the State of New York, an acquisition which aided him much in debate, and gave him an advantage over older members, and which, at the same time enabled him to render services in legislation highly useful and beneficial to the State."
It should be sufficient evidence of the character and ability of Governor Seymour, that although at that time but thirty years of age, he at once took rank as a prominent and leading member of the Legislature, even among those whose names have been mentioned. At that time the Democrats had the ascendancy in both branches of that body, and the great measure of the session was Michael Hoffman's celebrated bill in rela- tion to finances, which passed, and which had such a powerful effect in restoring the depreciated financial credit of the State. This measure was supported with great unanimity by the Democrats, but met with violent opposition from the Whigs. It was at this session that a chism began to manifest itself in the Democratic ranks, though it did not show itself in debates, nor in action upon legislative matters. Strange tests of political faith were talked of-a new dispensation seemed about
9
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
to dawn-and in place of the time-honored principles on which the party had been based by its fathers and apostles, certain crude notions seemed likely to be sub- stituted. The fire was, however, sufficiently smothered to admit of the re-election of Governor Bouck and Lieutenant-Governor Dickinson.
He was again a member of the House during the session of 1843, and occupied the position until, and including the session of 1845. The session of 1844 opened with a strongly organized and vindictive op- position to the administration of Governor Bouck, which he himself strove to allay by every means in his power. Although this conciliatory course met with no response, still the disorganizing spirit did not extend so far as to prevent a united action in support of the nominations to the Legislature in the fall, by which a large and controlling Democratic majority was returned to both Houses. This session was an exciting and im- portant one; and, in the acrimonious contests which arose in the Assembly, our subject very soon was looked upon as the champion of the friends of the Administra- tion. But in Mr. Hoffman, the recognized leader of the Legislature in 1842, he had a powerful antagonist, and a most formidable opponent in debate, who, though dignified and chivalrous in manner, was exceedingly dogmatical and dictatorial, and, as a general thing, tyrannical in the exercise of his power over those who differed with him. Yet such was the charm of Gover- nor Seymour's manner, and such the manly frankness of his course, that he secured his opponent's most respect- ful consideration, and it was regarded as a most re-
10
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
markable and beautiful sight to behold the domineering dictator of the House deferring to the commanding courtesy of his competitor.
The session of 1845 opened with new spirit, based upon the victorious election of Mr. Polk to the Presi- dency. This session Governor Seymour was induced to accept the Speaker's chair, to which he was elected, not withstanding the violent opposition of the Division- ists. One of the prominent events of this session was the election of Daniel S. Dickinson to the United States Senate, in securing which he took an active part. He, also, engaged in the discussions relative to the call for a Convention to amend the Constitution, but voted against the bill for that purpose. With this session, however, his legislative career was brought to a close. The courtesy, liberality and generosity, marking his whole course as a member, contributed, in no small de- gree, to secure for him the position which his skill and ability in debate, combined with his admitted sagacity and tact, fairly entitled him to. The upholders of the integrity of his party owe him a lasting debt of grati- tude for the steadiness and power which he brought to bear in defense of sound principles of policy, and the time-honored landmarks of their political faith.
By the action of the Legislature of 1850, providing for the enlargement of the Erie Canal and appropriating the revenues of the State, in contravention to the pro- visions of the Constitution, Governor Seymour was again brought prominently before the people, and most earnestly resisted this effort to override the provisions of a Constitution so recently adopted. In 1850 he was,
11
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
for the first time, put in nomination for Governor of this State, in opposition to Hon. Washington Hunt, by whom he was defeated by two hundred and sixty-two votes -the ballot standing as follows :
Seymour, . 214,352 | Hunt, 214,614
In 1852 he was again put in nomination by the Demo- cratic party, with Washington Hunt, Whig, and Min- thorne Tompkins, Free Soil, with the following result : Seymour, . 264,121 Tompkins, . 19,299
Hunt, 239,736 -
In 1854 he was put up for re-election, with Myron H. Clark, Republican; Daniel Ullman, American, and Greene C. Bronson, Hard Shell Democrat, with the fol- lowing result :
Seymour, 156.495
Ullman, 122,282
Clark, ... 156,804
Bronson, 33,850
While occupying the gubernatorial chair in 1852, he vetoed the notorious Maine Law, and the correctness of his views as to the power of the Legislature to pass sumptuary laws, have since been fully established by a formal decision of the Court of Appeals.
In everything, tending towards a vigorous prosecu- tion of the war, Governor Seymour has given the Gov- ernment his most cordial support, freely giving his time, influence, and means to further the cause in hand. When the news of the fall of Fort Sumter burst like a thunderbolt over the silent expectancy of the land, he was in the capital of the State of Wisconsin. The Legislature was in session at the time, and many of its members, who stood upon the same ground with him,
12
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
consulted with him as to the most advisable course to be pursued. While there, he also contributed largely towards the speedy transmission to the National capi- tal from that far Western state, of as fine a body of men as ever marched. Returning home, he took as earnest an interest in the action of his own State. He spoke before the Legislature at our State Capital, for which speech, Governor Morgan himself moved a reso- lution of thanks ; spoke before various public assemblies, and contributed, both by word and deed, to further the vigorous action which has characterized our State. By the request of the Adjutant General, he not only named a committee to further enlistments in his own county, but, though greatly to the detriment of his own inte- rests, and the neglect of his own affairs, allowed himself to be placed at its head, and continued to promote the interest of everything pertaining to the cause-even up to his being placed again in nomination for Governor.
Governor Seymour, however, was strongly in favor of all honorable compromise before the rebellion broke out. He was anxiously in favor of the adoption of the Crit- tenden proposition, or some similar compromise, by Congress, and believes that such a course would have averted the present disastrous and unnatural civil war. In speaking upon this subject, however, his own lan- guage is doubtless the most appropriate, as will be seen by the following extract from his speech, delivered in the State Convention, at Albany, on the 31st of Janu- ary, 1861 :
" We do not ask concessions for men in open resist- ance to government, but to those who are struggling for the preservation of our Union. Shall we have no sym-
13
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
pathy for those upon whom the whole weight of this contest falls ? . Can we listen, unmoved, to the entreat- ies of the Governor of Maryland, or the Senator of Kentucky, or refuse to second the patriotic efforts of Virginia? Can we so entirely forget the past history of our country, that we can stand upon the point of pride against states whose citizens battled with our fathers, and poured out with them their blood upon the soil of our state, amid the Highlands of the Hud- son, and on the fields of Saratoga? I ask the old men within the sound of my voice, to what quarter did you look for sympathy during the last war with Great Britain, when New York was assailed upon the shores of Erie and Ontario, and when the disciplined troops, who had successfully fought Napoleon in the Peninsula, invaded us with co-operating fleets by the channel of Lake Champlain ? Was it not to the states of the South ? Is it well that states which then refused to allow their militia to pass their own borders to combat a common enemy, should be so prompt to tender them now to battle against our own countrymen ? "
On the occasion of his acceptance of the nomination for Governor, last fall, he again spoke as follows:
"We have been obedient, loyal and patient. We shall continue to be so under all circumstances. But let no man mistake this devotion to our country and its Constitution for unworthy fear. We have no greater stake in good order than other men. Our arms are as strong, our endurance as great, our fortitude as unwa- vering as that of our political opponents. But we seek the blessings of peace, of law, of order. We ask the public to mark our policy and our position. Opposed to the election of Mr. Lincoln, we have loyally sus- tained him. Differing from the Administration as to the course and conduct of the war, we have cheerfully responded to every demand made upon us. To-day we are putting forth our utmost efforts to reinforce our armies in the field. Without conditions or threats we
2
t- I
n
:.
E
14
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
are exerting our energies to strengthen the hands of government, and to replace it in the commanding posi- tion it held in the eyes of the world before recent disasters. We are pouring out our blood, our trea- sure, and our men, to rescue it from a position in which it can neither propose peace nor conduct successful war. And this support is free, and generously accorded. We wish to see our Union saved, our laws vindicated, and peace once more restored to our land. We do not claim more virtue or intelligence than we award to our opponents, but we now have the sad and bloody proof that we act under sounder principles of government. Animated by the motto we have placed upon our ban- ner : - 'The Union, the Constitution and the Laws'- we go into the political contest confident of the sup- port of a people who cannot be deaf or blind to the teachings of the last two years."
But while speaking of Governor Seymour politically, we must not forget that he has a high moral and reli- gious character, without which the other would be of but little worth. He has ever been a faithful, active and energetic member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, whose interests he has labored carnestly to promote, both as an individual member of her commu- nion, and as one of the ablest leaders of her legislative councils, in which his voice is often raised. But he takes especial interest in educational establishments, and those nurseries of Christian doctrine -- the Sunday Schools, whose usefulness he highly estimates, and to whose efforts he gives the heartiest encouragement.
In point of physique, the subject of our sketch is about middle height, well made, and neat - but demo- cratically plain - in dress, manner and appearance. He has a large, finely shaped head, somewhat bald, with a
15
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
full broad forehead, beneath which a pair of dark hazel eyes, light and kindle as he converses, and, when he addresses an audience, flash and sparkle with most brilliant, meteoric scintillations. He has a full, large mouth, which ripples over with most genial smiles - sure exponents of a warm and generous heart.
DAVID R. FLOYD JONES,
LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR.
LIEUT .- GOVERNOR JONES has shown himself an effi- cient and capable presiding officer, and watches over the deliberations of the Senate with an air of graceful ease and dignity which contrasts favorably with that of some of his more prominent predecessors. In his per- sonal appearance he is equally adapted to the position, being tall and elegantly formed, with a full, round, well- developed head, thickly coated with short black hair, slightly tinged with gray ; heavy black whiskers, neatly trimmed ; brilliant black eyes, of intelligent expression ; and a countenance denoting unusual depth, earnestness and sincerity of thought. Although modest and unpre- tending to a degree seldom found in public men, he is well adapted to public life ; and has been honored, from time to time, by his fellow-citizens, with some of the most important official stations in the State. He is not a brilliant or attractive orator, seldom attempting a speech ; but when he does speak, he is entirely devoid
16
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of everything trashy or inane and all manner of poeti- cal hysterics. Great and mighty thoughts seldom leap from his mouth, as "Minerva sprang from the brain of Jove," but he never fails to put forth what is far better-plain, practical, philosophical, argumentative, correct, and classical reasoning.
Mr. Jones is a native of Fort Neck, Queens county, N. Y., where he was born on the 6th of April, 1813. His parents, Thomas Floyd Jones, and Cornelia Her- ring Jones, are both dead, the former having died in 1851, at the age of sixty three, and the latter in Decem- ber, 1839, at the age of forty-three. His ancestry has been traced as far back as Thomas Jones, who was a Major in the army of King James, and who, after being defeated at the battle of the Boyne, emigrated from Strabane, Ireland, to America, as early as 1592. Sub- sequently, he removed to Rhode Island, and after marry- ing a daughter of Thomas Townsend, settled at Fort Neck, where he resided until his death, in 1713. His son, David Jones, to whom his property at that place was devised, was born in September, 1699. He was chosen a member of the General Assembly, in 1737, and continued in that body until 1758, occupying the posi- tion of Speaker during a period of thirteen years. He was always the unyielding advocate of the rights of the people against every species of royal encroachment, and on one occasion, while Speaker, ordered the doors of the Assembly to be closed against the Governor until a bill, then under consideration, could be passed, which his Excellency had determined to prevent by an imine- diate prorogation. In 1758 he was appointed a judge
17
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
of the Supreme Court of the Colony, which he resigned in 1773, and died on the 1st of October, 1775.
Thomas Jones, the oldest son of David Jones, was also a judge of the Supreme Court of the Colony. He married Miss De Lancy, a daughter of Lieutenant-Gov- ernor James De Lancy, and sister of the father of the Right Rev. Bishop De Lancy, of Western New York, and died in England.
Samuel Jones, the grandson of Major Thomas Jones, and the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born on the 26th of July, 1734. He was a distin- guished lawyer, enjoying an extensive and lucrative practice, and was a model for all who aimed at distinc- tion in jurisprudence. His office was eagerly sought by students, and besides De Witt Clinton, he instructed many who afterwards attained distinction. He was a member of the Convention that adopted the Constitu- tion of the United States, of which body his intimate friend George Clinton, was president, and in 1789, was associated with Richard Varick in revising the statutes of the State of New York. He was the same year ap- pointed recorder of the city of New York, which he held until 1797, when he was succeeded by the Hon. James Kent. He was the first Comptroller ever appointed in the state, which office he organized at the request of Gov- ernor Jay, in 1796. He died on the 21st of November, 1819, leaving five sons, the eldest of whom, Samuel Jones, has been Chancellor of the State of New York, Chief Justice of the Superior Court of the city of New York, and a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. His second son, Major William Jones, the grandfather * 2
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.