USA > New York > Encyclopedia of biography of New York, a life record of men and women whose sterling character and energy and industry have made them pre?minent in their own and many other states. V.6 > Part 3
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His journey through Europe had been a royal progress and he was received on every hand with great acclaim as the champion of the doctrine of equality, of opportunity for all men irrespective of race, creed or color. The single exception to this was in Rome, where the Pope coupled with his grant of an audience a condition with which Mr. Roosevelt would not comply. The ex-president met this issue squarely and in so doing took the risk of offending both the Catholics and Methodists of the United States. He had been advised and urged not to go to Rome and thus avoid trouble, but he said he would not invite trouble nor would he go a hand's breadth out of his way to avoid trouble when he knew that he was in the right. He reached New York June 18, 1910, and received a royal welcome,
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reaching, according to human standards, on that day, the zenith of his fame.
President Roosevelt ardently cham- pioned the nomination of William H. Taft in 1908, and stood sponsor for him to the nation in these words: "There is no other man so well qualified for the office of president of the United States." The power of the administration was used in his favor and the South sent to the con- vention solid Taft delegations. Not only that, but every precaution was taken to prevent the stampeding of the convention to President Roosevelt, of which there was always danger. His trusted per- sonal friend, Henry Cabot Lodge, was chairman of the convention, who in his speech said :
That man is no friend of Theodore Roosevelt and does not cherish his name and fame who, now, from any motive, seeks to urge him as a candidate for the great office which he has finally refused. The President has refused what his countrymen would have gladly given him. He says what he means and means what he says and his party and his country will respect his wishes, as they honor his high character and his great public services.
Mr. Taft was nominated and elected, but sometime in some way, during his administration he and Colonel Roosevelt came to the parting of the ways, no sin- gle act so far as known being the cause of their estrangement.
In October, 1910, Colonel Roosevelt was chairman of the New York Republi- can State Convention and in full control. He compassed the defeat of James S. Sherman, vice-president of the United States, and forced the nomination of Mr. Stimson as a Roosevelt candidate, John Alden Dix, the Democratic candi- date, being elected Governor by 100,000 votes. There was great pressure brought to bear upon Colonel Roosevelt to become a candidate for the presidency for a third term in 1912, and gradually he became
convinced through interviews, the news- papers, letters and other communications that two-thirds of the rank and file of the Republican party wished him as their candidate; and that unless he made the fight for the principles in which he be- lieved with all his heart and soul there would be no fight made for them. He was in that state of mind when on February 10, 1912, at a meeting in Chicago, the Re- publican Governors of seven States, West Virginia, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Michigan, Kansas and Mis- souri, asked him in a formal letter to be- come a candidate for the presidency. He made the race, lost the Republican nomi- nation, then accepted that of the Pro- gressive party and made the election of 1912, a triangular contest between Wil- liam H. Taft, the regular Republican nominee; Theodore Roosevelt, the choice of the Progressive party, and Woodrow Wilson, the standard bearer of the De- mocracy, the last named being returned the victor over his two distinguished opponents.
Mr. Roosevelt's political creed is con- tained in his Carnegie Hall address of March 20, 1912, in which he said toward the close :
In order to succeed we need leaders of inspired idealism, leaders who are granted great visions, who dream greatly and strive to make their dreams come true; who can kindle the people with the fire from their own burning souls. The leader for the time being whoever he may be is but an instru- ment to be used until broken and then to be cast aside; and if he worth his salt he will care no more when he is broken than a soldier cares when he is sent where his life is forfeit in order that the victory may be won. In the long fight for right- eousness the watchword for all of us is spend and be spent. It is of little matter whether any one man fails or succeeds; but the cause shall not fail for it is the cause of mankind.
In that spirit he made the fight and became the leader of the Progressive
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forces. Many of his friends would have preferred to have him preserve the fame that was his, undimmed by further politi- cal conflict, but he chose the other course and in the campaign inflicted and received many wounds, caused suffering and suf- fered much himself. His friend and biog- rapher, Charles G. Washburn, in his work, "Theodore Roosevelt," "The Logic of his Career," from which extracts have been made for this review, thus sums up Col- onel Roosevelt's action at that time :
No one would feel more keenly than he the loss of the political sympathy and support of those of his old friends who did not follow him and this is to me convincing proof of his confidence in the righteousness of his canse. To many of them, to me, I am sure, parting company with him was deeply painful. I count it among the sorrows of my life. He was imbued with the spirit of the crusader; he believed he was leading a great cause, and that in doing so he was serving the best interests of his countrymen. A leader on the field of battle sees nothing but his good and in his progress tramples alike on friend and foe. Such was Roosevelt's relation to the conflict. This is the reply to the charge that he wantonly maimed and bruised many of his former associates who differed with him politically. .... "Spend and be spent" was the motto emblazoned on his shield which was always found in the forefront of battle. Who will say that he should or could have fol- lowed any other course; or with one poor mortal vision, that in the end his countrymen may not profit by what his friends then regarded as his great sacrifice. The result of the balloting in 1912 is interesting. Wilson, 6,293,019; Roosevelt, 4,119,507; Taft, 3,484,956.
In 1916 Colonel Roosevelt was again the nominee of the Progressive party, but finally declined the honor and supported the Republican nominee, Charles Evans Hughes, who was defeated by President Wilson. After the defeat of Judge Hughes, Colonel Roosevelt who had vig- orously advocated preparedness for war with Germany seemed to regain a portion of his popularity and prior to his death he was regarded by many as the logical
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nominee of the Republican party for the presidency in 1920, at all events he was sought in council by party leaders, and a partial reconciliation was brought about between him and his former close friend, ex-President Taft. Colonel Roosevelt offered his services to the government, and his right to be sent to France as an officer of high rank was strongly urged, through the press of the country. But his age was against him, and as a civilian he rendered valuable home service. He con- tinued a power in the party which both made and broke him until the hour of his death and Sagamore Hill was ever a news center.
Colonel Roosevelt was long a contribu- tor to magazines and newspapers, and when about to retire from the presidency accepted a position on the editorial staff of the "Outlook," declining the presidency of a corporation offering him $100,000 annual salary, to accept the "Outlook's" $12,000, so determined was he to make no commercial use of his name. He con- tinued his connection with the "Outlook" as special contributing editor until June, 1914, and was also a writer on the staff of several newspapers, notably the "Kan- sas City Star." He was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His published works are: "History of the Naval War of 1812;" "Hunting trips of a Ranchman"; "Life of Thomas Hart Ben- ton"; "Life of Gouverneur Morris"; "Ranch Life and Hunting Trails"; "Win- ning of the West," 1889; "History of New York"; "The Wilderness Hunter"; "American Ideals and Other Essays"; "The Rough Riders"; "Life of Oliver Cromwell"; "The Strenuous Life"; "Works" (8 volumes) ; "Outdoor Pas- times of an American Hunter"; "Good Hunting"; "True Americanism"; "Afri- can and European Addresses"; "African
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Game Trails"; "The New Nationalism"; of 1912, charged him with intoxication. "Realizable Ideals" (The Earl Lectures) ; "Conservation of Womanhood and Child- hood"; "History of Literature and Other Essays"; "Theodore Roosevelt, an Auto- biography"; "Life Histories of African Game Animals," (2 vols.) ; "Through the Brazilian Wilderness"; "America and the World War"; "A Booklover's Holi- days in the open"; "Fear God and Take Your Own Part"; "Foes of Our Own Household"; "National Strength and International Duty" (Stafford Little Lec- tures) : "Hero Tales from American History" (in Collaboration with Henry Cabot Lodge).
In 1881, Colonel Roosevelt made his first trip to Europe and while in Switzer- land made the ascent of the Matterhorn and the Jungfrau. Another trip of espe- cial moment was as special ambassador of the United States at the funeral of King Edward of England, in 1910.
In 1913 Colonel Roosevelt visited South America and delivered addresses before universities and learned societies. He headed an exploring party to Brazil in 1914, there discovering and, between Feb- ruary 27 and April 26, 1914, exploring for a distance of about 600 miles a territory of the Maderia river, subsequently named in his honor, by the Brazilian govern- ment, "Reo Teodoro." This expedition added much to the knowledge of the geography, the flora and the fauna of the South American jungle. The same year (1914) he visited Spain and in June he lectured before the Royal Geographic Society, London, England.
Colonel Roosevelt was often a storm center and two of his controversies which reached the courts are of interest. He was the plaintiff in a suit for libel against G. H. Newett, who had in a newspaper article during the presidential campaign
The case came to trial but after submis- sion of the defendant's witnesses the charge was withdrawn in open court and judgment rendered the plaintiff, thus completely exonerating him from a charge which all knew was utterly without foun- dation. In 1914 Colonel Roosevelt was defendant in a suit brought by William Barnes, Jr., of Albany, New York, for alleged libelous utterances contained in a statement made on July 22, 1914, charg- ing among other things that the "rotten- ness" of the New York State government was due directly "to the dominance in politics of Charles F. Murphy, Tammany Hall leader and his sub bosses, aided and abetted by Mr. Barnes and the sub bosses of Mr. Barnes, and that there was an in- visible government of party bosses work- ing through an alliance between crooked business and crooked politics." A ver- dict was rendered at Syracuse, New York, May 22, 1915, in favor of the defendant.
Another incident of this wonderful life, more tragic yet with as happy an ending, was his attempted assassination in Mil- waukee in October, 1912, while delivering a speech. The shot was fired by John Schrank, who later was adjudged insane. The ball entered the Colonel's body in what was feared a fatal spot, but after an examination he returned to the stage and finished the delivery of his speech, although warned not to do so by the physicians and his friends.
The degree of LL. D. was first con- ferred upon Colonel Roosevelt by Colum- bia University in 1899, followed by Hope College in 1901, Yale University, 1901, Harvard University, 1902, Northwestern University, 1903, Chicago University, 1903, University of California, 1903, Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, 1905, Clark University, 1905, George Washington
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University, 1910, Cambridge University, citizens who had endeared himself to the 1910, Oxford University conferred D. C. L. in 1910, the University of Berlin, Ph. D., 1910.
Colonel Roosevelt married, October 27, 1880, Alice Hathaway Lee, who died February 14, 1884, daughter of George Cabot Lee, of Boston. He married in London, England, December 2, 1886, Edith Kermit Carow, daughter of Charles Carow, of New York. Children: Alice Lee, wife of Nicholas Longworth, Con- gressman; Theodore (3), lieutenant- colonel in the United States army during the World War, wounded in battle; Kermit, enlisted first in the British army, later commissioned in the United States army, served with the American Expe- ditionary Forces in France; Ethel, wife of Dr. Richard Derby, a member of the Medical Reserve Corps, American Expe- ditionary Forces; Archibald, decorated and promoted to a captaincy on the field of battle in France; Quintin, who sleeps in a soldier's grave in France, was an aviator holding the rank of lieutenant, killed in aerial conflict with German fliers.
No one characteristic shone forth more prominently in Colonel Roosevelt's life than his great love of family and home. Hence it was most fitting that he should be laid to rest by those who knew and loved him and not with the pomp and circumstance of a military funeral which was offered. The funeral services were held in the little Episcopal Church at Oyster Bay, the only persons present, the family and perhaps 500 personal friends. The grave is on the hillside in the village cemetery overlooking Long Island Sound and near the home of his boyhood and later home "Sagamore Hill." President Wilson sent his respects in the following words: "The United States has lost one of its most distinguished and patriotic
people by his strenuous devotion to their interests and to the public interests of his countrymen. ... His private life was characterized by a simplicity, a virtue and an affection worthy of all admiration by the people of America. .. . " Similar messages came from all over the United States, from European, South American and other countries of the world.
Sunday, February 9, 1919, was observed all over the United States as Roosevelt Memorial Day. Special services were also held in England and in France. At almost every church in the United States special services were held in which the memory of Colonel Roosevelt was hon- ored by addresses or remarks or some form of ritual.
The most important observance was that in the chamber of the House of Rep- resentatives in the afternoon, attended by Senators, Congressmen, members of the Cabinet, the Diplomatic Corps, Justices of the Supreme Court, the Vice-President of the United States, the Speaker of the House and other distinguished persons. The memorial oration was delivered by Senator Lodge, who pronounced the eulogy from a full heart and from inti- mate knowledge.
He said in the course of his address :
No man ever had a more abundant sense of humor. Joyous, irrepressible humor-and it never deserted him. Even at the most serious and even perilous moments if there was a glean of humor anywhere, he saw it, and rejoiced and helped himself with it over the hard places. He loved fun, loved to joke and chaff, and what is more uncommon greatly enjoyed being chaffed himself. He never by any chance bored the American people. They might laugh at him or laugh with him, they might like what he said or they might dislike it, they might agree with him or disagree with him, but they were never wearied of him and he never failed to inter- est them. He was never heavy, laborious or dull.
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This is but the barest outline of the career of one of America's greatest public men. He was generous and brave, a lion in the face of danger, yet moved to pity at the sight of suffering, a man of action and wonderful performance in statesman- ship ; in letters, in exploration, and in his philosophy of life, he impressed the world with his opinions. To him, Stevenson's requiem and epitaph seems most appro- priate :
Under the wide and starry sky Dig the grave and let me lie. Gladly did I live and gladly die, And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you grave for me : Here he lies where he longed to be. Home is the sailor home from the sea, And the hunter home from the hill.
PARKER, Alton Brooks, Jurist, Statesman.
Hon. Alton Brooks Parker, who was the Democratic nominee for the presi- dency in 1904, was born May 14, 1852, at Cortlandt, New York, son of John Brooks and Harriet F. (Stratton) Parker. Both parents were persons of more than ordi- nary intelligence and gentility-qualities which were reflected in the son. The Parker family was prominent in Massa- chusetts, and John Parker, paternal great-grandfather of Alton Brooks Par- ker, served for three years in the Revolu- tionary Army.
Alton Brooks Parker was educated in the public schools of his native town, the Cortlandt Academy, and the State Nor- mal School at the same place. He taught school for three years after concluding his studies, and then engaged in the study of law in the offices of Schoonmaker & Hardenbergh, both accomplished lawyers, and the first named soon afterward be- coming Attorney-General of the State. He subsequently took a course in the
Albany Law School, from which he grad- uated, and he was admitted to the bar on attaining his majority. He then formed a law partnership with W. S. Kenyon, of Kingston, an association which was maintained until 1878. Mean- time he had already entered upon a pub- lic career. In 1877, at the age of twenty- five, he was elected surrogate of Ulster County, the youngest surrogate ever elected in the county, and his popularity is attested by the fact that all other can- didates on his ticket (the Democratic) were defeated by upwards of a thousand votes. In 1885 Governor David B. Hill appointed him a Justice of the State Supreme Court to fill a vacancy occa- sioned by the death of Judge Theodore R. Westbrook, and on the expiration of the term he was elected to the place for the full fourteen year term, no Republican candidate being nominated against him. Meantime he had declined other prefer- ments-his party nomination for Secre- tary of State, and for Lieutenant-Gover- nor, and later the proffer of the position of First Assistant Postmaster-General by President Cleveland. In 1885, at the earnest solicitation of many of the princi- pal men of his party, he accepted the chairmanship of the executive committee of the Democratic State Committee, and in this position exhibited masterly quali- ties of leadership in the campaign which resulted in the election of David B. Hill as governor in succession to Grover Cleveland.
In 1889, under a division of the courts, Judge Parker was selected to serve upon the Court of Appeals in a special session -the youngest man to occupy that posi- tion. After the completion of this work, the judiciary of New York City requested Governor Flower to appoint Judge Parker to sit in the general term of the First
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Department. The Governor complied, and Judge Parker added to his celebrity as a jurist, and to such a degree that in 1897 he was made the Democratic nomi- nee for Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, and was elected by a majority of 60,889, over the distinguished Judge William J. Wallace (Republican), where- as in the election of the year before, the State had given William Mckinley a majority of 268,469. This great tribute to his character and talents gave Judge Parker great prestige, and in 1902 he was urgently requested to accept the Demo- cratic nomination for governor, but he was averse from leaving the bench, and declined. However, he had become a character of national importance, and in 1904 he was the logical candidate for the presidential nomination. In the conven- tion, no other name than his was seriously considered. But one ballot was taken, he receiving 689 out of the 869 ballots cast, and the nomination being made unanimous. He at once resigned from the bench, and retired to his home at Esopus, on the Hudson River, where during the campaign he received many delegations comprising the influential men of his party. His letter of acceptance was marked by modesty and dignity, as were his few public utterances during the Campaign. The election resulting in his defeat, he at once resumed his law practice in New York City, and in which he still continues. He has handled many impor- tant cases and represented many large in- terests. An incident of his practice was his appearance as counsel for the mana- gers of the impeachment trial of Governor Sulzer, in 1913.
From the year of his political defeat, he has been one of the principal leaders of his party. In 1908 he was a delegate- at-large to the National Democratic Con-
vention, and a member of its platform committee ; in the convention of 1912 he was again a delegate-at-large, and tem- porary chairman; and during the same years he occupied similar positions in the Democratic State Convention. He was president of the American Bar Associa- tion in 1906-07; of the New York County Lawyers' Association in 1900-II; of the New York State Bar Association in 1913; and first vice-president of the American Academy of Jurisprudence in 1914.
Alton B. Parker married (1), October 16, 1873, Mary L. Schoonmaker, daugh- ter of M. I. Schoonmaker, of Accord, New York. He married (2) Amelia Day Campbell.
DEPEW, Chauncey Mitchell, Well-Known Statesman.
In the annals of Westchester County appear some of the most illustrious names in American history, and prominent among names such as Verplanck, Van Cortlandt and Pelham-members of which famed families were cradled in Westchester-and later those of Reid, Gould and Mills, stands the world-known, world-renowned name of Depew. Chaun- cey Mitchell Depew, famous scion of a famous house, is one of Westchester County's noblest and best-loved sons. In foreign lands his name is synonymous with America. In America his name is synonymous with oratory, philanthropy and statesmanship, and decidedly antony- mous to all characteristics not compatible with a spotless public and private life. Westchester County in particular, and America generally, can be both thankful and grateful for the son who brought honour and prestige to his birthplace and his country, and whose life has left such a distinct and lasting impress on the history of the United States.
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Chauncey M. Depew is a descendant of a famous Huguenot family, the name in passing from France, through Holland and to America, having undergone vari- ous changes of spelling, among which the following are the more general: Original- ly Du Puy or De Puy, then Dupuis, Depui, De Pue, Depuy, De Pew, and final- ly Depew. History records that one of the earliest ancestors, Raphael Du Puy, served as an officer of the Holy Roman Empire under Conrad the Second, in 1030. From that time on, down through the centuries, the family has distinguished it- self in both State and church history. The Depews had their inception in America during the latter part of the seventeenth century, which advent was due to the re- ligious persecution accorded the Hugu- enots, of which religious faith the family was in sympathy. The progenitor of the American branch of the family was Francois Dupuis.
(1) Francois Dupuis fled from France to Holland to escape arrest and possible execution from the hands of the anti- Huguenots, and later came to America, arriving some years prior to 1661, the exact date not being obtainable. Old records, however, prove him to have been an early resident of Boswyck (Bushwick), for his name appears on a petition asking for certain privileges for that town under date of March 14, 1661, and in the year 1663, his name again appears on the muster rolls of a company of militia under command of Ryck Lykeker, which com- pany was probably organized to combat the depredations of the Indians. Francois Dupuis moved in succession from (Breuckelen) Brooklyn to Flatbush, from there to Haverstraw, and finally, in 1702, he crossed the Hudson River and settled in Westchester County on a tract of land purchased from the Indians. On a part
of this land was the village of Peekskill founded in 1764, the remainder being held in fee by its proprietor, Francois Depew, and the last of his share was given in 1896 by Chauncey M. Depew, to whom it had descended, to the village of Peekskill for a public park. On this land, which had been in the Depew family for two hundred and eleven years, there to-day stands a monument to Mr. Depew in the form of a statue of him in a speaking pose, a fitting tribute to a well-loved son. Francois Dupuis was married in Brook- lyn, on September 26, 1661, to Geertje Willems, daughter of Willem Jacobs Van Boerum, and of this marriage there were several children, some of whom settled and married throughout what is now the metropolitan section and Westchester County. The line continues through the eldest child, William, of whom further mention.
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