USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Albany bi-centennial. Historical memoirs > Part 29
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ANOTHER NOTED NAME.
There was another name connected with this latter regency, that of William H. Seward, who often declared that Albany was his second home. It was here he arose from one position of political eminence to another, from a State Senator to the Executive Chair of the State; from thence to the Senate of the Nation, and then to become Premier of a Presidential Cabinet. On his return from his notable journey around the world he said Albany, next to his own loved Auburn, was a resting-place from his toils, the center of memories which left their impress on almost every page of the history of his life. Upon his death it was fitting that the Legislature of the State joined, as it did, with the citizens of this city in honoring his memory by an appro- priate memorial service, held in the North Reformed Dutch Church, April 18, 1873, at which the distinguished orator, Charles Francis Adams, delivered a most eloquent and able address. Albany is everywhere full of the recollections of men great in its own history, great in the history of the State, and great in the history of the Nation. We open one page of history and there is recorded the career of William
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L. Marcy ; another page is adorned by the great name of Horatio Seymour, a name that will ever grow brighter and more illustrious as the years pass by.
Here has been the permanent location of the Legislature or law-making department of the State for nearly a century. For good or for evil the laws which have been here enacted have made their impress upon the history and affected the destiny of our Commonwealth. Whatever of them have aided to safely, wisely and successfully guide and administer the affairs of this great State-a State which in its extent, resources and power is almost a Nation of itself-may be attributable in part to the wholesome influence of the local associations which have surrounded this law-abiding and peace-loving city.
MEMORIES OF THE OLD CAPITOL.
Near the very spot where we stand the corner-stone of the Old Capitol was laid in 1806 by Philip S. Van Rensselaer, who was the Mayor of the city, in the presence of the Chancellor, the judges of the higher courts and prominent citizens. To this Old Capitol, first occupied in 1808, came over nine hundred Senators and over five thousand Assemblymen during the whole period of its use. What a multitude of law-makers! The elder of them have long since been gathered to the homes of their ancestors, and those who survive have, during this anniversary week, assembled here in large numbers to unite with you in this demonstration. The Old Capitol has gone, with all its pleasant associations and tender memories. How frequently its walls resounded with brilliant legislative oratory and parliamentary debate ! There were often heard the voices of Tallmadge, Butler, Emmet, Seward, Dix, Seymour and a hundred others whose names come crowding upon our memories. Twice on its steps stood the immortal Webster, in 1844 and in 1851, and addressed the citizens of Albany in that grand eloquence, never equaled in modern times, and seldom excelled in the best efforts of the famous orators of antiquity. Hear him as he exclaimed to the young men of the city: "Go on, young men of Albany ; early manhood is the chief prop and support, the great reliance and hope for the perservation of public liberty and the institutions of the land. It looks for- ward to a long life of honor or dishonor; and it means that it shall, by the blessing of God, be a life of honor, usefulness
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and success in all the professions and pursuits of life ; in all that would bring happiness and prosperity to your beautiful city. You are manly ; you are bold; you fear nothing but to do wrong - dread nothing but to be recreant to your country."
THE NEW CAPITOL.
In the place of the old building the State has erected and is now engaged in completing a new Capitol. (I venture to indulge in the hope that it may be fully completed by your next Centennial Day.) While it has occupied many long years in its construction, and has cost up to the present time about seventeen millions of dollars, and while it has many defects and might well have been better adapted to the practical uses of the State, yet, admitting all these things, it is one of the most important structures upon the continent. Its appearance is grand and imposing ; its splendid architecture, in some respects, equals anything in the world ; its magnificent corridors, its unrivaled stairways, its beautiful legislative chambers, its admirable court-rooms and elegant public offices, render it, all in all, the greatest of modern buildings. I make the prediction that if it shall be permitted to be finished according to the designs pro- posed by its present able and most accomplished architect and builder, it will be an ornament not only to the city, but to the State and country as well, and will provide the State with a Capitol of which all its citizens may justly be proud.
PROVERBIAL HOSPITALITY.
The patriotism and hospitality of the citizens of Albany have been proverbial from its early history. I can speak without reserve upon this subject, not being a resident of your city, but having only an official habitation among you. The stranger has ever found a most cordial welcome at the homes of your citizens and the right hand of fellowship is always extended. The State officers, the judges of your courts, the thousands of prominent citizens from all parts of the State who have respectively served in the Legislature during the century just closing and passed their winters here, can testify their appreciation of the innumerable acts of kindness, the unaffected politeness, the pleasant courtesies and the genuine hospitality of which they have been the
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grateful recipients at the hands of the good people of this Capitol City. The brilliant receptions of the Fort Orange Club, given in later years upon every memorable occasion and extended not only to the most distinguished men of the Nation visiting Albany, but annually to the Legislature of the State, have established for your city a reputation for elegant civilities and generous entertainment to your visitors as far-famed as it is deserved. The liberal and hospitable spirit to which I refer, manifested itself as early as General Washington's visit to Albany on June 27, 1782, when he was presented by the city authorities with the freedom of the city and an address of welcome, "the document being con- tained in a gold box." The bells of all the churches were rung, a salute of thirteen guns was fired from the fort, and at night the city was illuminated. Afterwards, on the occa- sion of another visit of General Washington, accompanied by Governor Clinton, on July 19, 1783, they were received as the guests of the city, and invited by the Common Council to a public dinner, which they accepted, "the city officers going in a body to the inn of Hugh Denniston, where an address was presented to the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army," to which Washington responded, say- ing, among other things: " While I contemplate with irre- pressible pleasure the future tranquillity and glory of our common country, I cannot but take a peculiar interest in the anticipation of the increase in prosperity and greatness of this ancient and respectable city of Albany, from whose citizens I have received such distinguished tokens of their approbation and affection." Forty-two years afterwards Albany welcomed to her borders the compatriot of Washing- ton, the immortal La Fayette, who arrived in the city from Vermont on July 1, 1825, accompanied by the Governor of the State and a military escort from Troy. At four o'clock in the afternoon a dinner was served in his honor by the citizens in the Capitol, at which Judge Story and Daniel Webster of Boston, John Woodworth, Ambrose Spencer and Stephen Van Rensselaer are mentioned among the guests of distinction, and among the toasts was the following, proposed by La Fayette himself: "Albany as I have known it, and Albany as it is now - a comparative standard between royal guardianship and the self-government of the people; may this difference be more and more illustrated at home and understood abroad." Upon the same occasion
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Daniel Webster proposed this toast: "The ancient and hospitable city of Albany ; where General La Fayette found his head-quarters in 1778, and where men of his principles find good quarters at all times."
The hospitality to which I refer has endeared Albany to all the Governors of the State, and to none more than to my immediate predecessor, who, upon every occasion, has kindly referred to the pleasantness of his home when here among you, and the warm place that Albany ever holds in his memory. That esteem and that warnith of recollection have led him to come here to-day to join with you in rejoicings, and as the Chief Magistrate of the Nation to honor the cele- bration of the beginning of the third century of your life as a city. And with him he has brought to the home of the distinguished Secretary of the Treasury two others, honored members of his Cabinet, to all of whom the citizens of Al- bany and all here assembled extend a most cordial welcome.
THE GREAT SANITARY BAZAAR.
The patriotism exhibited by the citizens of Albany during the war of the Rebellion needs no eulogy at my hands. The pen of history has well performed the noble task of re- cording the important part which this city took in that memorable contest. Being the seat of the State govern- ment, it was early made a military rendezvous - ordinary business was greatly suspended ; its streets resounded with the tread of armed men; the appeals of the government were loyally answered, and in the matter of voluntary con- tributions for the comfort of our soldiers and their families, and for the sick and wounded in camps and hospitals, the citizens of Albany manifested the greatest liberality during the entire period of the struggle, and poured forth their treasures like water. It was in part due to the extraordinary exertions of your local officials in aiding the efforts of the State administration in the prompt raising of troops, that it was the glory of New York to be enabled to be always in advance of the calls upon her by the government for men. In the endeavors which were made to provide for the fami- lies of soldiers needing assistance, a committee was appointed to raise a fund called the " Citizens' Military Relief Fund," and this was soon supplemented by the " Ladies' Army Re- lief Association of Albany," which was organized in Novem . ber, 1861, to co-operate with the United States Sanitary
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Commission in aid of the sick and wounded, the first presi- dent of such association being the wife of Governor Morgan, and its first executive committee being composed of the leading ladies of the city.
In the months of February and March, 1864, there was held in the city the great Sanitary Fair, in a beautiful build- ing erected for this special purpose in the Academy park, it being designated as " The Army Relief Bazaar," and the credit for the organization of which belonged to the patriotic ladies of the Army Relief Association. On February 22, 1864, the fair was inaugurated amid the greatest enthusiasm, before an immense audience and under brilliant auspices, an eloquent and appropriate introductory address being deliv- ered by the president of the fair, ex-Mayor George H. Thacher, the father of the present Mayor of this city, who so ably and gracefully presides upon this occasion, followed by an address from Horatio Seymour, then Governor of the State - the city and State then, as now, cordially uniting in all that conduces to the welfare and honor of the Capital City. Governor Seymour's remarks were, as usual, scholarly and most admirable, his opening sentences being as follows : " Upon a day sacred to the memory of our greatest and purest statesmen, upon a spot made famous by historical incidents, we meet for a purpose which appeals to our liveli- est sympathy. It is fit that the capital of a great State which furnishes so large a share of the armies of the country, and which is so numerously represented amid the sick and wounded of our hospitals and among the graves of our battle fields should be prominent in efforts to soften the calamities of war. Upon this occasion the historical events connected with this city and the adjacent towns are brought back to our memories." He then referred to several histori- cal matters of interest, and among other things mentioned the fact that the first colonial congress or convention presided over by Benjamin Franklin was held here, and said ; " This was the first distinct movement to a union among the colo- nies looking to strength and protection from united counsels and combined efforts. Thus Albany became the birth-place of our Union. In God's name, then, let it be upheld and cherished here. The first time that the stars and stripes were ever displayed upon our national banner-the first time that its emblems of State sovereignties and national unity were ever given to the winds of heaven -the first
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time that that flag was ever displayed which now kindles the enthusiasm and patriotism of the American in whatever part of the world he may see it, and under whose folds, in devo- tion to its sacred import, a million of men have battled within the last three years -that flag was first borne into the dangers of the battle field in the defense of this city. It was also first used to defeat an effort to divide the united colonies." * * * " This most formidable attempt " (which he had previously described), " upon our national existence, was defeated upon the plains of Saratoga, and the three-fold attack upon Albany was baffled and defeated. It was in that battle of Saratoga that our national flag was first used. If we regard, then, the object for which we are assembled, and the relationship which that object bears to the union of our country and its glorious flag, we find that the associations which cluster around this spot are all in fit keeping, and well calculated to excite our interest and our enthusiasm."
ALBANY'S PROMINENCE IN EDUCATION AND ART.
Your city has always stood in the front rank of those of our State and land in the excellence of its provisions for the education of its children. The common schools take a place second to none in the whole State, and the numerous insti- tutions of learning which had their origin in the public spirit of private citizens, attest the interest which has been taken in this most important feature of the growth of a well- organized city. The Albany Academy is one of the oldest incorporated institutions of learning in the United States, and has sent far and wide its pupils to fill with credit to you and to it the places of responsibility and usefulness in which their fellow-citizens have placed them. Over its teachings have presided such men as Beck, the author of the well- known work on medical jurisprudence which bears his name; Bullions, the Latin and Greek grammarian, and Joseph Henry, the Henry now famous in history as the one who in that very academy was the first to practically demon- strate the availability of the principle of the magnetic tele- graph ; and from among the long array of the academy's students a hundred names come at once to your memory of those who have taken their stand among the citizens of New York, strong for the right and well-equipped to carry for- ward every just cause. The State Normal School, the first
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institution of that character in the State, whose new home overlooks the freshness and beauty of Washington park, has furnished the primary schools of the State with many of their best teachers. The influences for lives of integrity and helpful service thrown about those thousands of pupils while their home was among you who have borne fruit in the good citizenship of multitudes of men and women about you and in distant towns and villages throughout the State whom these teachers, in their turn, have influenced. To the Al- bany Female Academy, incorporated in 1821, whose classic front for many years has stood a feature in the now busy thoroughfare of North Pearl street, have come the daughters of our own and neighboring States, going out from here to join that company of noble and educated women whose is the power that so greatly controls the destinies of our Re- public. And in this fraternity of schools there are younger members whose names and characteristics I will not stop to mention, who are, with their older companions, yearly add- ing to the renown of Albany as one of the most effective educational centers of the State.
The medical and legal professions of the State and county also have been, and continue to be, indebted to the schools of medicine and law, situated here, for many of their inost active and able members. In the faculty of the Medical College have appeared the names of such honored Alba- nians as March, Armsby, Dean, who was also the author of a standard work on medical jurisprudence; James Mc- Naughton, Townsend, Mosher and Vanderpoel, all now passed away, but succeeded by professors no less able and faithful in the work. The Law School has had among its instructors, who were Albanians, Ira Harris, Amos Dean, Amasa J. Parker, Isaac Edwards, and with them, at various times, have been associated many of the judges of our highest tribunals, whose homes temporarily or permanently have been in this city.
Often as the birth-place, and often as the home of those skilled in art, with brush and with chisel, has Albany been famed. Their works on canvas, in marble and in bronze, are in every city in our land. In the notable collection of paintings and statuary appropriately gathered in the Acad- emy building, near at hand, Albany artists bear their part with honor and with praise. For half a century this has been the home of that distinguished among American
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sculptors - Palmer - whose grandest work adorns, in all its majesty, your neighboring city of the dead. Here lived Ezra Ames, whose stately portrait of the great first Gov- ernor of the State, General George Clinton, has for years occupied a conspicuous place of honor in the Executive Chamber of the Capitol. Time would fail me to enumerate all these noted artists and all their works. What memories awaken at the names of Brown and Hartley, and Thompson and Calverly ; of Boughton, Elliott, Gay, the Harts, Inman, McGrath, Twitchell, Ferguson and Kidd. And may those of our own years - Low, Martin, Lang, Palmer, Ochtman, Pennie, Engle, Davidson and the rest-fulfill the future that there works of to-day foreshadow.
THE FUTURE OF ALBANY.
What shall be said of the future of Albany? That it will largely share in the prosperity, growth, honor and renown that surely awaits this progressive country of ours in the years which are to follow, may be safely predicted. That it will remain the proud capital of the Empire State as long as the State itself shall endure may well be anticipated. There are too many pleasant associations connected with yonder square ; too many glorious incidents of history have occured there ; too much treasure has been expended on yonder structure (the Capitol building) ; too many eloquent words have been uttered and noble deeds performed on this sacred spot to think for a single moment that the people of this State will ever consent to a change of its present seat of government. As well might we rudely snatch the infant from its mother's arms as to attempt to take away from this venerable city the designation as the capital which it has cherished, protected and prized for nearly a century. The oldest city in the State deserves this recognition of its merits, based upon its antiquity, even if upon nothing else.
It has been said that Albany must necessarily be retarded or contracted in its growth, because it is not situated adjoin- ing the ocean or upon any of the great lakes. This is a mistake. Its natural advantages are ample and sufficient to ensure the greatest development, and, although not upon an ocean port, it is upon tide-water and upon a river capable of immense commerce. London is situated on the Thames sixty miles west from the sea. Paris is traversed by the Seine one hundred and eleven miles from its mouth on the
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ocean. Philadelphia adjoins the Delaware ninety-six miles from the waters of the Atlantic. It is thus to be seen that natural advantages alone do not make great municipalities.
No one can foresee the possibilities which are open before this large, busy manufacturing and commercial town. Wealth and intelligence your citizens already have. Trade and com- merce are here to remain, if properly fostered and protected. Labor is here without limit to build up your industries, if it is suitably rewarded. The facilities for liberal education are nowhere better or more abundant. Your free schools and your generous charities are the pride of the State. The fifty-seven spires of your churches, pointing to the heavens, attest the religious character and piety of a Christian com- munity. Your city has furnished to the religious world an illustrious Archbishop and Cardinal and several Bishops, for this place was the scene of the early ministrations of some as well as the present abode of others. The future of this city depends, as does that of every other community, much upon the enterprise, the thrift, the industry, the ambitions and the virtues of the people themselves. It can almost be truthfully said that a city is what its citizens make it. Its honor, its purity, its enterprise, its glory - in fact its whole character- is greatly in its own keeping. A few leading citizens of public spirit and indomitable will can almost alone shape its fortunes and control its destinies. Even one resolute man alone can sometimes do much for good or evil in dictating the policy or progress of a municipality.
The inflexible purpose and iron will of Napoleon made him a leader even in his youth, and led to his subsepuently being made the Emperor of France. The scholarly and eloquent Wendell Phillips thus relates an interesting incident in the life of the Emperor, and says that : " We are apt to trace his control of France to some noted victory, to the time when he camped in the Tuilleries, or when he dissolved the Assembly by the stamp of his foot. He reigned, in fact, when his hand was first felt on the helm of the vessel of State, and that was far back of the time when he had con- quered in Italy, or his name had been echoed over two continents. It was on the day when five hundred irresolute men were met in that Assembly, which called itself and pre- tended to be the Government of France. They heard that the mob of Paris was coming the next morning, thirty thousand strong, to turn them, as was usual in those days,
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out of doors. And where did this seemingly great power go for its support and refuge ? They sent Tallien to seek out a boy lieutenant - the shadow of an officer-so thin and pallid that, when he was placed on the stand before them, President of the Assembly, fearful, if the fate of France rested on the slight form, the pale cheek before him, that all hope was gone, asked : 'Young man, can you protect the Assembly ? ' And the stern lips of the reserved and digni- fied Corsican boy parted only to reply : ' I always do what I undertake.' Then and there Napoleon may be deemed to have ascended his throne and the next day, from the steps of St. Roche, thundered forth the cannon which taught the mob of Paris for the first time that it had a master. That was, indeed, the commencement of the empire."
ALBANY ALWAYS DOES WELL.
Citizens of Albany, I cannot pay you a higher compli- ment upon this occasion than to say that from the time you, through your forefathers, first demanded from kingly power a royal charter for this city, and secured it ; and later sought to keep and bravely kept that city free from British subjection and control during substantially the whole Revolutionary period, and, later still, you aspired to make that beloved city the capital of your State and accomplished it; down to the eventful period when Albany capitalists projected the first railroad ever constructed in the State, if not in the country, and successfully built it from Schenectady to this place ; and during recent years in the planning and laying out by your public-spirited officials of those magnificent grounds in the western part of the city known as Washington park, which, although not great in extent, are unsurpassed for beauty and taste in the whole country; and in founding, by private munificence, of the far-famed Dudley Observatory, which is an honor and credit to the city, and a noble contribution to science ; in the designing and construction of yonder stately City Hall, one of the architectural successes of the age ; in the institution and successful maintenance in your city of one of the oldest banking institutions in the country ; in the organization and continuance, for over fifty years, of that renowned military organization known as the "Burgesses Corps," which has participated in nearly every prominent patriotic celebration that has occurred in our State and country during its existence ; in the increase of its railroad
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