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 6
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great length on any subject, thereby setting a com- mendable example to some of his fellow-legislators, and earning the gratitude of those who have suffered from a prolonged tax upon time and attention without reali- zing any benefit therefrom. His manners in social life, like his demeanor in public, are quiet and unassuming. He still officiates occasionally as a clergyman, and responds promptly to any demand upon his services by his brethren.
In August, 1832, Senator Little married Miss Nancy Blair, of Cambridge, Washington county, and is said to be perfectly happy in all his domestic relations. In person he is of medium size, with very dark hair and whiskers, black eyes, and a mild, rather good looking countenance.
HENRY R. LOW.
SENATOR Low was born in Fallsburgh, Sullivan county, N. Y., on the 23d of September, 1827, and is of English descent. His paternal ancestors were Huguenots, origi- nally from France, whence, in consequence of religious persecution, they were compelled to emigrate to Holland, from which country they came to New York, at an early period of our history, and settled in Huguenot, Ulster county. His maternal grandfather was one of the old Continentals, and served under Washington in the Revo- lution. His father was born in Ulster county, and died
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a short time since, at the age of sixty-three. His mother whose maiden name was Charlotte Drake, died in 1848.
Senator Low's education was principally obtained in the district school ; though he spent some time in the Collegiate school at Napanock, under the charge of Charles F. Maurice, and finished his academic course at the State Normal School in the city of Albany. Select- ing the law for his profession, he entered the office of the Hon. A. C. Niven, at Monticello, Sullivan county, where he remained until he was admitted to the bar, and where he still resides. In 1852 he entered into co- partnership with Mr. Niven, which continued until 1856, when he was elected County Judge and Surrogate. In 1860 he was re-elected, and held the office until he was elected Senator in 1862, when he resigned. He was mar- ried in 1854 to Mary C. Watkins, daughter of Hon. J. D. Watkins, formerly State Senator from that district, and is an attendant on the Presbyterian church.
In politics, Mr. Low was, originally, a Democrat, but left that party on the formation of the American organi- zation, to which he attached himself. Subsequently he returned to the Democratic fold, and, under the lead of Stephen A. Douglas, served under its banner during the great Presidential struggle, which resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln. He continued with the Democrats until the war of the rebellion formally broke out, by the attack upon, and the capture of, Fort Sumter, when, as a Union Democrat, he united with the Republicans, and has ever since acted with that party. He takes strong ground in favor of the National Administration, and fully sustains the President in his Emancipation
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Proclamation. He was elected to the Senate on the Union ticket, against a straight Democrat, and is Chair- man of the Union State Central Committee. His several political changes may subject him to the charge of in- consistency, or unreliability ; but he contends that he has remained true to Democratic principles. Never- theless, it cannot be denied that the vacillation of his political course has destroyed much of his original politi- cal popularity in his District, and that for some time to come, at least, he will be compelled to gratify his political ambition by seeking support elsewhere.
Senator Low's personal appearance is not very pre- possessing, being rather slender, not exactly erect, and of medium height. His complexion is florid, his hair brown, with a reddish tinge, with ample mustache and whiskers of the same color; but his countenance is in- telligent and expressive
He is a fluent debater, rather rapid in his utterance, never embarrassed ; but does not always state his points clearly or argue them logically. He exhibits a good deal of industry and research in gathering his materials for a speech, and is always ready for a passage at arms. His principal fault, however, is much speaking, which detracts somewhat from the attention that he would otherwise command. As a private citizen, he stands deservedly high, enjoying the entire confidence of the community in which he resides, but is not generally regarded by those who know him best as altogether re- liable in matters of purely a partisan character.
On the whole, Mr. Low is an industrious, useful and intelligent Senator. He is seldom out of his seat; watches
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closely the proceedings, and is ever ready to discuss any topic that comes before the Senate. His constituents are well and faithfully served, and nothing pertaining to their particular interests, or the general welfare, escapes his observation.
CHARLES C. MONTGOMERY.
SENATOR MONTGOMERY was born in the town of Ma- drid, St. Lawrence county, N. Y., August 19, 1818. His parents were natives of Vermont, a state celebrated for the production of stalwart and powerful six-footers, of which the subject of this sketch is a genuine sample, his height measuring some six feet and three inches. He is of good Revolutionary stock, and was reared under the influence of the principles of freedom, as expounded and enforced by the fathers of our National Indepen- dence ; and hence his attachment to our liberal institu- tions and the glorious emblem of our Union-the Star Spangled Banner. His father was a successful farmer, and died May 5, 1843, at the age of sixty-three. His mother departed June 7th of the same year, aged fifty-six.
Senator Montgomery was formerly a Democrat, but in the year 1848, after the nomination of Lewis Cass for the Presidency, he left the main body of his old friends and, with the Free Soil Whigs, gave his support to Martin Van Buren. With his ideas of freedom he spurned the party platform of that day, which, in his
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judgment, was framed exclusively to suit Southern pol- iticians. He dissented from the Democratic policy also on the Kansas-Nebraska question and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, and entered cordially into the project of forming a new political organization, which resulted in the establishment of the Republican party, to which he has ever since been attached. He is highly conservative in his views on all the great questions of State or National policy ; and, though he acts with his party, never stultifies his private sentiments by voting against his own judgment and sense of propriety. He seldom mingles in debate in the Senate, though, it is said, he speaks forcibly and pungently when he becomes thoroughly awakened to the importance of the subject and the necessity of making an effort.
Senator Montgomery has always enjoyed an enviable popularity at home, and has received many proofs of the approbation of his townsmen. He has been twice elected Justice of the Peace, and four times Town Su- perintendent of Common Schools In 1857, '58, and '59 he was elected Supervisor of the town, in the latter year receiving every vote cast at the election. He was chairman of the Board of Supervisors in 1858; and in all his official acts performed his duties satisfactorily to the people of his town and county.
In the fall of 1859 Senator Montgomery was elected State Senator, and in 1861 he was re-elected to the same office. He is one of the most useful, and, we may say, retiring and unpretending men in the Senate, in his general habits and conduct, and commands the entire respect of every member of that body. He is Chair-
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man of the Standing Committee on Indian Affairs ; and also a prominent member of the Committee on State Prisons, Public Printing, and the Erection and Division of Towns and Counties. Though he will not, proba- bly, be remembered for any brilliant display of Sena- torial eloquence, during his term of office, his high moral qualities, dignified and courteous bearing, unbending patriotism and assiduous attention to his duties, can be held up as an example for those who come after him.
Senator Montgomery is truly one of "Nature's no- blemen," being tall, straight, and well-proportioned in his person, dignified, modest, unassuming and amiable in his deportment, and firm, consistent and honest in his political opinions. His mind is well stored with useful knowledge, and in his conversation, if opportunity be given, he is not sparing in the use of it. He is a man of observation and intelligence, hoarding up for future use whatever comes within his range; and, therefore, is conversant with the general topics of the day, which renders him an agreeable and valuable companion. Though possessed of handsome talents and sound judg- ment, he is not what is termed a fluent man ; but his quiet demeanor is rather the fruit of innate modesty and distrust of his own powers, than a want of intelligence or information. On occasions when it becomes neces- sary for him to speak out, the storehouse of his mind is opened, its resources are developed, and his friends are regaled with a copious flow of " thoughts that breathe and words that burn." He is, in every respect, a gentle- man-kind, genial, dispassionate ; he provokes no con- troversies, but conciliates all around him by the pro-
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priety of his own demeanor. But with all his excellent qualities, the Senator has one great fault, which is a serious drawback on his usefulness-he is a bachelor ! This error, however, he can easily conquer ; he has only to select a heart to attack, and then rush-to arms ! He attends the Episcopal church.
ALLEN MUNROE.
SENATOR MUNROE is now on the last year of his second term in the Senate, having been first elected in the fall of 1859, by a very large majority, and re-elected in 1861 by a plurality of votes-there having been three tickets in the field. He was the straight Republican candidate, and ran against Hon. George Geddes, the Union nominee, and an exclusive Democratic ticket. He is a younger brother of Hon. James Munroe, who also represented the same district in the Senate two terms, from 1852 to 1856 ; and the son of Nathan Mun- roe, a merchant of enterprise and wealth, who died July 5th, 1839, in the forty-ninth year of his age. His mother is still living in Syracuse.
Senator Munroe was born in Elbridge, Onondaga county, N. Y., on the 10th of March, 1819, and is of Scotch descent. His grandfather emigrated from Scot- land when a boy, and his grandmother was the daugh- ter of Col. Benjamin Church, a distinguished officer in
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King Philip's war. He was educated at the Munroe Academy in his native village, an institution established and endowed by his father. Here he was fitted for the junior class in college ; but at the age of eighteen his purpose was changed, and he was placed in charge of an experienced merchant in the city of Auburn, to be taught the mercantile business. Three years afterwards,
in the spring of 1840, he established himself in business in the village of Elbridge, in the store which had long been occupied by his father. He continued in trade some seven years, when he married Miss Julia Town- send, daughter of John Townsend, Esq., of Albany. After his marriage he made the tour of Europe, and on his return settled in Syracuse, where he accepted the agency of the Syracuse Company, and engaged in milling and the manufacture of salt.
In the spring of 1854 Senator Munroe was elected Mayor of the city of Syracuse, and held the position one year. He is now a trustee of the Munroe Collegiate Institute at Elbridge ; President of the Onondaga county Savings Bank; a director of the Bank of Salina; a trustee of the Asylum for Idiots, at Syracuse ; a trus- tee of the Asylum for Inebriates at Binghamton ; a trustee of the Onondaga County Orphan Asylum ; a trustee of the Oakwood Cemetery at Syracuse ; Vice- President of the Oswego and Syracuse Rail Road Com- pany, and a director in the Gas Light Company of that city. He also occupies several other public positions, to which he has been called by his fellow-citizens, on account of his capacity and sterling integrity.
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Senator Munroe was formerly a Whig, but when that party ceased to exist he joined the movement for a new organization, which resulted in the establishment of the Republican party. He was prominent as a Whig, and was one of the State Central Committee of that party several years- a position that he has also occupied in the Republican organization. He is firm and decided in his political opinions, though not a bitter partisan ; and has always been popular with the masses. Though not a speaker, he yet exercises a good deal of influence in the Senate by his known integrity and dignified and courteous bearing. He is a man of excellent judgment, and his business qualifications are of a superior order, as his success in life clearly shows. As a legislator he is cautious, deliberate and intelligent, committing himself to no rash measures, but acting solely in reference to the interests of his constituents, and the benefits of the people of the whole State. He is a practical man, and he carries with him in the discharge of his legislative duties the same amount of industry, economy and sys- tematic arrangement that characterizes his course in private life. There is method in all that he does, and he engages in everything with a mathematical precision that is always the sure harbinger of success.
Since he has been in the Senate he has been Chairman of the Standing Committee on State Prisons, and a member of the Committees on Privileges and Elections and Joint Library, the duties of which he has diligently and faithfully performed. In a word, Mr. Munroe is a useful Senator and a reliable man.
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In person the Senator is tall and slender with blue eyes and hair of a shade between gold color and dark brown. His countenance is expressive, intelligent and good-humored, and he may be set down as a good looking man. He is an attendant of the Presbyterian Church.
HENRY C. MURPHY.
SENATOR MURPHY ranks prominently among the ablest men in the Senate, and has had far more legislative ex- perience than any other man in that body. He was a leading and influential member of the twenty-eighth Congress, and by his successful and distinguished course in that body, secured a re-election to the thirtieth Con- gress. The Brooklyn Dry Dock project was one of his pet measures, and to his efforts, more than to those of any other man in Congress, did it owe its success. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1846, in which he played a leading part, and held the respon- sible position of Minister to Holland during the Admin- istration of Mr. Buchanan.
In 1852, Senator Murphy came very near being chosen President of the United States - a fact hitherto not publicly known. After several days had been spent in the Baltimore Convention, in unsuccessful ballotings for a candidate for President, a private caucus of the ruling few was held to agree upon the name of some suitable man to be presented to the Convention as a compromise
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candidate. At this caucus Augustus Schell was one of the leading spirits. After canvassing the subject thoroughly, and carefully comparing the relative merits of the several names suggested, the choice of the caucus was finally narrowed down to Henry C. Murphy and Franklin Pierce. For a long time it appeared as though the former would be the lucky man, a majority of those present being evidently in his favor; but the military experience of the latter was finally raised as a point in his favor, which at once turned the scale in his behalf, and his name was presented to the Convention, instead of that of Mr. Murphy, and his election by the people triumphantly achieved.
Senator Murphy was born of Irish parentage, in 1811, in the city of Brooklyn, and is still a resident of that city. He is by profession a lawyer, and was for many years a member of the law firm of Lott, Murphy & Vanderbilt, at one time the leading firm in that place. His legal ability is of a high order, and previous to his advent into public life, he was actively and successfully engaged as a practitioner at the bar. As a debater, he is ready and pointed - forcible and severe in his man- ner, and when his whole soul becomes enlisted in his cause, makes his opponent quail before the cutting but classic and parliamentary rebukes of his eloquence. History, precedent, analogy, and illustration - all seem to rise unbidden to fortify the positions he assumes, and he always speaks extemporaneously. His speeches on the repeal of the Church Property bill, against the reso- lution advising the expulsion of Jesse D. Bright from the Senate of the United States, and on the Congres-
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sional Apportionment bill, were among the best that were made during the last session of the Legislature.
Politically Senator Murphy has always been a Dem- ocrat and although chosen to his present position on a Union ticket, still obeys the requirements of party dis- cipline. Like all great men he has his faults, and if there is any one defect in his political character more prominent than any other it is that he is too much of a politician to be always a safe legislator. He is some- times found sacrificing on the altar of party much of his natural strength, which otherwise would contribute largely to the best interests of the State. Still, he pos- sesses, in an eminent degree, all the essential elements of a high-toned and honorable gentleman, and would be the last man to be knowingly guilty of a mean and dis- reputable act. No one, too, in the Senate has, probably, passed thus far through the trying ordeal of his legis- lative career so entirely free from the filthy corruption which so frequently pollutes the official garments of our representatives at Albany, as has Senator Murphy.
JOHN V. L. PRUYN.
SENATOR PRUYN is of pure, old-fashioned Holland extraction, and is descended from one of the oldest, most respectable, and extensive families in the State, his ancestors having been prominent among its earliest settlers. He is-a native of the city of Albany, where
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he has always been an influential and leading citizen. His education was obtained chiefly in private select schools and at the Albany Academy, and subsequently he received a degree, though not in course, at Rutgers College, New Jersey. After leaving school he turned his attention to the study of the law, pursuing his studies, principally, in the office of the late James King, of Albany, and was admitted to the bar about the year 1832. Since then he has been actively and successfully engaged in the pursuit of his profession, and although not exclusively devoted to the practice, has acquired a prominent rank at the bar.
As a man of industry and indomitable perseverance in whatever he undertakes to accomplish, it is cheerfully conceded that Senator Pruyn has but few superiors. His ability and business capacities are of the highest order, and enable him to perform a great amount of labor. This is fully demonstrated by the various im- portant positions to which he has been called by the partiality of his fellow-citizens. In 1835 he was chosen Director and Counsel of the old Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad Company, and now holds the responsible position of General Counsel, and acting Treasurer of the New York Central Railroad Company. Perhaps no man in the State of his age has been longer or more successfully connected with railroads, and the executive skill and ability brought to bear by him in the discharge of his duties in such connection, have been alike credit- able to himself and satisfactory to those interested in these corporations.
Senator Pruyn was also Master of Chancery by the
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appointment of Governor Marcy, and held the position of Injunction Master of the Third Circuit, which ranked next to Vice-Chancellor. In 1844 he was selected on the same day with James S. Wadsworth a member of the Board of Regents, and, in January, 1862, Chancel- lor of the University. Since then he has discharged the duties of the latter position with ability and success, and has performed more labor than any of his prede- cessors for many years. He is peculiarly adapted to this position by the refinement of his literary taste and the correctness of his judgment in whatever pertains to the place, and is doubtless destined to prove himself an invaluable public servant in the capacity of Chancellor.
Politically, he has always been a Democrat of the olden school, though never a politician. His nomina- tion as Senator was entirely unsolicited, and it was with the greatest reluctance that he consented to accept the position. His career, however, in that body has already clearly proven that he is " the right man in the right place," and that he is the ablest and most valuable repre- tive the Albany district has had in the Senate for many years. The direct and energetic manner in which he carries out, in the discharge of his duties, whatever seems right and just to him has given him a power and influence in the Legislature which it is dangerous to disregard.
Although extensively engrossed with professional en- gagements he is always promptly at his post in the committee room, and is seldom, if ever, absent from his seat on the floor of the Senate. He stands high as a debater, but rejects all rhetorical ornament-all ostenta-
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tion and show. Stating his premises plainly and concise- ly, his reasoning leads to his conclusion as irresistibly as a strong and deep river tends to the sea. His style of language and manner is simple, vigorous and correct, and from the very necessities of his intellectual and moral organization, he is a sound as well as a just rea- soner.
The course of Senator Pruyn on all political questions coming before the Senate, has been eminently National. Looking neither toward the North or the South, he is straight-forward, consistent, and patriotic on all occa- sions, and discharges every duty devolving upon him with an eye single to the preservation of " the Union, the Constitution, and the enforcement of the laws," thus rendering himself a man the Nation now wants, in this hour of her greatest trial.
He is one of the most kind-hearted and benevolent men in the Senate, and at the close of the last session of the Legislature donated his entire year's salary as Senator to the benefit of the poor.
JOSEPH H. RAMSEY.
SENATOR RAMSEY is, physically, the smallest man in the Senate, being only about five feet four inches in height, and is, therefore, readily recognized by the stran- ger as he quietly occupies his place in the Senatorial circle. He was a member of the Assembly in 1855, and is now serving his third term in the Senate, having been
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a member of that body in 1856 and '57, and again in 1860 and '61. During his last term in the Senate, he was a member of the Railroad and other important committees, and at the expiration of his term went back to the practice of his profession. He was soon induced, however, to almost wholly abandon it by the deep inte- rest he took in the measure, giving a certain amount of money toward the completion of the Albany and Susque- hanna Railroad. His efforts, however, in behalf of the project having been temporarily defeated by the veto of the Governor, he appealed to the people again as a candi- date for the Senate on that issue, and was again elected. He immediately introduced the measure again into the Legislature, but notwithstanding a pledge of the Gov- ernor to the contrary, in his message at the opening of the session, it again encountered his veto after having again passed both Houses by large majorities. He again introduced the same measure at the opening of the last and preceding sessions, but although it passed again on both occasions, it again encountered the Executive veto.
Senator Ramsey was born on the 29th of January, 1816, in Sharon, Schoharie county, N. Y. He is of German and English descent. Both his parents are still living at Cobleskill, in his native county, his father, Frederick Ramsey, being now seventy-two years of age. He received a good, practical education, and at the age of twenty-five removed to Lawyersville, where he studied law with Jedediah Miller, and where he has since resided. Originally he was a Whig, of strong Freesoil proclivities, and was among the first to enlist in the organization of the Republican party. He was
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a delegate to the first Republican Convention ever held in the State, and has since been strong and unyielding in his advocacy of Republican principles. His ability as a lawyer and as a legislator is far above mediocrity, and he is a fluent and sensible speaker, wielding, at all times, no inconsiderable influence upon the deliberations of the Senate. He possesses a social temperament ; enjoys a large share of personal and political popularity, and is a general favorite among all classes of people at Albany.
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