USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 69
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 69
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BIOGRAPHICAL.
regard to the payment of such taxes was severely punished, and that the United States district attorney was charged with the enforcement of these laws, by the re- covery of penalties and criminal prosecutions.
The frontier line of the district extended from Rouse's Point to Dunkirk, and had to be watched to guard it against smuggling.
Clay, Saunders, and Thompson and many other leading confederates were refu- gees in Canada, fertile in expedients to injure the government and people of the United States. The district attorney's office, in connection with the Secret Service Bureau, watched them and took measures to guard against their incursions from Canada for robbing banks, and committing other depredations in the United States.
It took the government some time to understand and get used to the increase in the business of the office that the war had made. For the first three years Mr. Tappan was the only assistant allowed in the office. For the remainder of the time, an addi- tional assistant was allowed.
Before the war the United States Courts in the district usually sat from one to five days, but while it was in progress they sat from two to six weeks, with seven terms a year.
It often became the duty of the district attorney to advise the government as to the propriety of sending citizens, who were by their influence doing injury to the Union cause, from their home to Fort Lafayette; such removals were sparingly advised, and never where the persons offending had a mere local influence. Many citizens through the influence of Mr. Dart were saved that humiliation.
Applications for habeas corpus to discharge soldiers from service in the army, were made to, and granted by State judges.
A test case was made before Mr. Justice Bacon at Utica. Mr. Dart procured the late Roscoe Conkling to assist him in the argument. Judge Bacon in an elaborate opinion held that a State judge had no jurisdiction in such cases. For this service the War Department paid Mr. Conkling, and that was one of the points Mr. Blaine made against him, in their set-to in the House of Representatives, that alienated those two eminent men forever.
Mr. Dart was reappointed United States district attorney at the close of his term, April, 1865. Having no competitor for his place, the nomination was confirmed without a reference.
Early in April, 1866, he was directed, with the aid of the marshals, to ascertain and report to the government whether the Fenian organization really intended to make a demonstration into Canada. It was evident they did so intend, and that Buffalo would be the point from which the first demonstration would be made. The entire chrage of suppressing this invasion was placed in Mr. Dart's hands, and in this he succeeded so well that he received the warm thanks of the government. He was however a few months afterwards removed from office by President Johnson, partly because he refused to follow Mr. Johnson over into the Democratic party, and part- ly in the hope of conciliating the Irish Democrats, who were indignant at the action of the government.
Upon the succession of General Grant to the presidency in April, 1869, Mr. Dart was appointed consul-general for the British Provinces of North America with con- sulate at Montreal. Then there was but one consul-general in those Provinces, now there are three such officers. This office he held from the spring of 1869 until March,
20
HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
1878. He then returned to Potsdam and resumed the practice of the law, entering into a partnership with his son-in-law, Hon. Geo. Z. Erwin, which was continued to within a few weeks before his death, when Mr. Erwin withdrew and was succeeded by Mr. Edward A. Everett. Mr. Dart was a lawyer fifty-one years, and when at practice resided at Potsdam.
He was a vestryman of Trinity Church, Potsdam, in 1844, and continuously held that office from Easter Monday, 1879, until his death.
The rector, warden and vestrymen of that church, and the members of the bar of the village of Potsdam, at meetings held after his death, passed resolutions to per- petuate the memory of his worth as a man and the value of his professional and pub- lic services.
Mr. Dart was pre-eminently a social man. He loved the society and companion- ship of his fellowmen and was beloved by thein. He enjoyed encounters with keen bright minds. He loved a good story and was apt and witty in responding with a better one, pat to the occasion. He was a busy, industrious man, diligent in accu- mulating general knowledge, and he imparted it to his friends most delightfully.
He was faithful to duty in every relation in life, and died without a stain upon his record as a man, a citizen or a public officer, with the love and respect of all who knew him. He ranked among the solid men of St. Lawrence county in respect to ability, strength of character and excellence of judgment.
Mr. Dart's wife, Harriet S. Dart, and his two daughters, Mrs. Geo. Z. Erwin and Miss Harriet F., survived him. . Mrs. Dart died December 17, 1893.
GEORGE ZALMON ERWIN.
This distinguished citizen of Potsdam was born in the town of Madrid, St. Law- rence county, January 15, 1840. He was descended from Irish ancestry, his great- grandfather having emigrated from Ireland to become a settler in New Hampshire, where he had a son born, named Joseph Erwin, who settled at what has been known as Trout Brook, in the town of Madrid, when the surrounding region was a wilder- ness. There George Erwin, father of our subject, was born, September 21, 1813. He was a man of more than ordinary native ability, a man of considerable note in in the community, and whose intelligence was in advance of his surroundings. He obtained an education, in spite of serious obstacles, sufficient to enable him to teach school in his younger years, while in later life he devoted hiniself to farming. He is now a resident of Potsdam, and at more than eighty. years of age, is active in body, clear in intellect and enjoys the respect of the community where his long life has been passed. The mother of George Z. Erwin was a descendant of General Bayley of Revolutionary fame, who distinguished himself in the New England States during the struggle for independence.
George Z. Erwin's early life was spent on his father's farm and in attendance at the district schools. When he was fourteen he went into a drug store in Madrid village, where he served as clerk two years. He then entered St. Lawrence Academy at Potsdam and gave four years to assiduous study, at the expiration of which he began a
21
BIOGRAPHICAL.
course at Middlebury College, Vermont, where he graduated in August, 1865. In or- der to aid in defraying the expense of his college course he taught school winters, thus laying the foundations of an independent spirit and confidence in his own powers which characterized his later life. Long before his graduation from college Mr. Erwin had determined to make the legal profession his life work, and accordingly he spent a year and a half directly after leaving school in the office of the United States district attorney for Northern New York, which was then in the hands of that eminent attorney, William A. Dart, with whom was associated Charles O. Tappan. Mr. Erwin was admitted to the bar in the fall of 1867. On the 1st of January, 1868, he became a partner with Samuel B. Gordon, in Potsdam, which connection contin- ued one year. In the spring of 1869 he took the vacated place of William A. Dart in the firm of Dart & Tappan, succeeding which the firm of Tappan & Erwin continued ten years. Mr. Tappan was elevated to the bench in 1878, retiring from the law firm ; meanwhile Mr. Dart returned to Potsdam and joined Mr. Erwin in the formation of the firm of Dart & Erwin, which continued until Mr. Erwin's withdrawal from active practice. It need hardly be said that it was eminently complimentary that Mr. Er- win was called to associate himself so early in his professional career with such men as Charles O. Tappan and William Dart-men who then and later stood in the front rank of the profession in Northern New York.
The two firms of Tappan & Erwin and Dart & Erwin commanded an extensive practice, much of it in the higher courts and in cases where large interests were at stake, and they were more than ordinarily successful.
As a lawyer Mr. Erwin was indefatigable, and his efforts to master his profession and to secure every possible advantage for his clients by untiring industry and the most careful preparation before going into court, were never relaxed. Before court or jury he was a forcible speaker and possessed in an unusual degree the power to in- fluence men towards his line of thought, as well as to control their subsequent ac- tion. This faculty made him conspicuous a few years later in the halls of State gov- ernment.
In Novenber, 1881, he was elected to the Assembly from the Third District of St. Lawrence county, and was re-elected for five successive terms. In his first term, though in a Democratic Assembly, his ability as a legislator was recognized by his being placed on the Ways and Means Committee and also on several investigating committees. Before the close of his first session, his well ordered mind, knowledge of political history and his natural aptitude as a leader of men had gained for him a very creditable and prominent position as a legislator.
In the session of 1883 he served on the Ways and Means Committee; also on that of Railroads and Privileges and Elections, and by his tact, ability as a debater and indomitable energy gained still greater prominence as a party leader and legislator.
In 1884 he was a strong candidate for the position of speaker, but was defeated by the Hon. Titus Sheard. He was again placed on important committees: and during the session, on a special committee to investigate the Public Works Department of New York city, in which he acquitted himself with great credit as a cross-examiner and investigator.
In 1885 his ability as a legislator and party manager was recognized throughout the State, and he was easily elected speaker of the Assembly. In this position he presided with great fairness and impartiality. His tact, knowledge of parliamentary
22
HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
law and fertility of resources enabled him to conduct the deliberations of the Assem- bly with much credit to himself.
In the sessions of 1886 and 1887 he was recognized as the Republican leader in the Assembly, in which position he achieved still greater distinction. Mr. Erwin was a born leader. Sagacious in determining the policy his party should adopt, the course it should pursue, he was fearless in accomplishing the end once settled upon. No- thing could or would swerve him from this.
In 1887 he received the unanimous nomination in the Republican Senatorial Con- vention for senator from the Twentieth District, and was of course elected. For three terms, from 1888 to 1893, he was a distinguished member of the State Senate, and had no Democratic opponent when a candidate for his third term. His ability as a legislator and leader gained during his six years' service in the Assembly well fitted him for the duties of senator. During his service in the Senate he was the peer of any of his colleagues, and in the sessions of 1892 and 1893 was the Republican lead er of the body. His native pugnacity, his unswerving persistence in any course once determined upon, and his coolness and magnetic influence in debate gave him a high position as a leader, legislator, and in the State councils of his party.
The career of Mr. Erwin as a legislator was one of much honor to himself, credit to his constituents and usefulness to the State. During the last eight or ten years of his service in the Legislature he was one of the ablest, strongest and most influential of its members. Few, if any, members during that time did more to enact beneficial laws. To him is principally due the credit of organizing the Dairy Department, for suppressing the manufacture and sale as butter of oleomargarine; also the bill pre- venting the sale of liquor in quantities of five gallons in towns which had no license. He was also active in overhauling insurance receiverships and in the reduction of re- ceivers' fees. He also rendered notable service as a member of the Chapin Commit- tee in 1883, which investigated the matter of receivers of insurance companies, the sheriff's office and Police Department of New York city. Again, in 1882, as a mem- ber of a special committee to investigate the sheriff's office of New York, he ably sec- onded the efforts of the Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, chairman of the committee.
Perhaps in no one instance during his whole legislative career did he exhibit his wonderful powers as a leader more conspicuously than in the candidacy and election of the Hon. Frank Hiscock to the United States Senate. In that contest he was the leader of his forces and displayed great. skill and great tact, holding his forces in line to the end. His leadership in that struggle was Napoleonic in its originality and dash.
In 1891 he was chairman of the General Laws Committee, and made interesting in- vestigations into the subject of electricity for lighting and power purposes. During the same session he was chairman of a special committee to investigate the sugar trust, and the results of the investigation attracted widespread attention.
One of the most notable of Mr. Erwin's achievements as a legislator was in securing the passage of the act in 1888 creating and locating the new and modern Asylum for the Insane at Ogdensburg, N. Y. Its location at this place was strongly and ably opposed, other places seeking it. Mr. Erwin's great skill, influence in the Legisla- ture and indomitable energy finally prevailed. The asylum is now nearly completed, is one of the finest institutions of its kind in this country, and will stand as a monu- ment to Mr. Erwin's power as a legislator, and influence in the Legislature.
23
BIOGRAPHICAL.
In the session of 1892, when Republican leader, he made a gallant but unsuccess- ful fight against a reapportionment of the State, and for his refusal to vote on an enumeration bill appropriating almost a half million dollars and with the provisions of which no senator was or could be familiar, he, with Senators Saxton and O'Conner, was declared guilty of contempt by Lieutenant-Governor Sheehan, and his name tak- en from the Senate roll. The Judiciary Committee, to which the matter was referred, passed a resolution of censure, and the three senators who had unflinchingly stood by their convictions were purged of contempt and their names restored to the roll.
One of the latest acts of Senator Erwin affecting Northern New York was the se- curing in five days of an appropriation, in 1893, of $181,000 to restore the asylum buildings at Ogdensburg, burned March 4, 1893.
To get a full history and knowledge of what he did in his twelve years of legisla- tive life one must consult the journals of the Legislature. During his legislative ca- reer he was able to, and often did, render not only his native village, but many other communities in Northern New York, valuable assistance in legislation. In all his varied and multiplied duties he never forgot to look after his constituents and people. It is quite safe to say that the people of Northern New York have not had in years a representative at Albany so capable in securing their rights and protecting their in- terests as was the subject of this sketch.
Aside from his labors as a legislator, Mr. Erwin took a deep interest in the welfare and prosperity of the village where he resided. In the struggle to locate the State Normal School at Potsdam he labored assiduously. He was made a member of the Local Board, and for years had been its treasurer. He aided the school often in se curing appropriations and in other needed legislation. He assisted in organizing the Fair Society at Potsdam, was for several years one of its board, and one year was president of the society. He was a member of the Fire Department and one or more terms its chief. He was one of the leaders in putting in the water supply system in 1870, and in the building of the Opera House in his village. He also took an active part in the sewering and draining of his village in 1886, securing necessary legislation, etc.
Ever ready to help any public movement he was equally ready to help with purse and hand any private enterprise or business which bid fair of success. He was one of the promoters and chief organizers of the Thatcher Manufacturing Company, and had been, up to the time of his death, the vice-president of the company. He also took an active part in the formation and promotion of the High Falls Sulphite Pulp and Mining Company and was the president of the company. Much of the success of the enterprise was due to his labor and efforts. He was also connected with several other industrial enterprises in other sections of the State.
And withal he was an especially social person. He was fond of sports and games of all kinds, hunting, fishing, athletic sports, etc. No one excelled him in generous, liearty good nature. He had a kind word and a warm word for all. There was no- thing of the snob or aristocrat in his makeup or nature. He would step out of his way to greet a poor, struggling old friend as readily as he would to meet those in the upper walks of life, aud do it with cqual warmth and goodfellowship. Into whatever set, gathering or party he came he brought good cheer and good nature and was al- ways most welcome. And what is more, perhaps, than all the rest, no whisper against his personal and political integrity has ever been heard.
24
HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
Mr. Erwin joined the Episcopal church in 1891, and was confirmed on Thanksgiv- ing Day, 1893, by Bishop Doane.
His illness was due to a heart trouble which at times caused him intense suffering. The end came suddenly and peacefully, January 16, 1894. The news of his death rapidly spread over the State, and heartfelt sorrow was expressed in the entire press of the State.
The Senate and Assembly each passed appropriate resolutions on his death, and appointed committees to attend his funeral. Lieutenant-Governor Sheehan and other prominent men from abroad accompanied the committees to Potsdam. The leading men from every village in St. Lawrence county were present at the funeral, as also delegations from Franklin and Jefferson counties. The bar of the county attended in a body, the faculty of the Normal School, the Masons, the firemen, and other mni- nor organizations. On his death resolutions of respect and sorrow were passed by the Common Council of the city of Ogdensburg, by the bar of Gouverneur, by the bar of Potsdam, by the Raquette River Lodge, by the Local Board of the State Nor- mal School, by the Fire Department, by the Thatcher Manufacturing Company, and by the High Falls Sulphite Pulp and Mining Company.
Mr. Erwin married Miss Caroline C. Dart, daughter of William A. Dart, in 1868, who survives him.
CHARLES O. TAPPAN.
CHARLES O. TAPPAN was born in Addison, Vt., on the 17th of April, 1831. In the same year his parents removed to Essex county, N. Y., where the son grew to man- hood. His grandfather, Silas Tappan, removed from New Jersey about the year 1800 and settled in Panton, Vt., where he passed his life and died at the age of nine- ty years. He was for many years a magistrate of that town and was frequently sent to the Legislature by his fellow citizens. He was a farmer by occupation, plain, un- assuming, possessed of good judgment and sterling common sense, of unquestioned integrity, and much respected by all who knew him.
Jacob Tappan, father of Charles O., was born at Panton, Vt., October 23, 1801, and died there August 22, 1864. He resided in Essex county from 1831 to 1855, when he returned to Panton and lived there the remainder of his life. He also represented his town in the Vermont Legislature several years. He was a farmer and stock-raiser, to which occupation he was much devoted and which he thoroughly understood. Charlotte Adams, his wife, was a daughter of Benjamin Adams, at one time judge of the County Court of Grand Isle county, Vt., and was born at South Hero, in that county, October 6, 1802, and died at Essex, Essex county, N. Y., December 23, 1839.
Mr. Tappan's father was determined that his son should have a good English edu- cation, and after the boy had passed the primary stages in the public schools of the district, sent him for several successive terms to the Moriah Academy, a well known and reputable institution of learning in Essex county. After leaving that school Mr. Tappan took up the study of law, entering the office of John F. Havens at Moriah in the spring of 1851, and sustaining himself during his studies by teaching school. While thus engaged, and for some time afterward, he devoted his leisure to the study
25
BIOGRAPHICAL.
of the sciences and Latin, taking lessons on these subjects from his friend and fellow student, Edward M. Dewey, who was a graduate of Middlebury College. After three years of studying in summer and teaching in winter he had made such progress in the law that on the 4th of July, 1853, he was admitted to the bar at the General Term of the Supreme Court at Plattsburg, N. Y. In the following month he formed a partnership with his friend Dewey and together they entered on the practice of the profession in Potsdam. In the next year the young firm formed a connection with Hon. William A. Dart, then a prominent lawyer of Potsdam, who was very favorably impressed by the ability and industry of its members, the style adopted being Dart, Dewey & Tappan.
This business arrangement continued until 1856, when Mr. Dewey withdrew from the firm and sought a wider field of practice in the rising city of Chicago, where he died October 18, 1861. His former partners continued business in Potsdam with ex- cellent success. Mr. Tappan, like his partner, Mr. Dart, was an early and zealous Republican, and when the latter was appointed United States district attorney for the Northern District of New York, in 1861, he made Mr. Tappan assistant district attor- ney, which position he held until the retirement of Mr. Dart in the autumn of 1866, when he was for a short time acting U. S. district attorney for that district. In 1861 he was appointed United States commissioner for said district. In 1862 he was admitted to practice in the United States Circuit Court, and in 1864 in the United States District Court of that district.
The firm of Dart & Tappan remained actively in practice until 1869 when Mr, Dart was appointed United States consul-general to Canada. Mr. Tappan then associated himself with George Z. Erwin, and under the name of Tappan & Erwin, the firm be- came widely and favorably known and continued business down to January 1, 1878.
Although busied with a large practice, Mr. Tappan never lost sight of his duties as a citizen and a neighbor. In educational affairs he has been especially active. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Lawrence Academy for many years. He was zealous in the work of securing the location of a State Normal School at Potsdam. In 1866 he advocated the levy of the tax necessary to erect the buildings, before the Board of Supevisors of St. Lawrence county and meetings of the tax-pay- ers of the town and village of Potsdam. He attended to and defeated the object of the litigation by which it was sought to prevent the location of the school there, and drafted Chapter 6 of the Laws of 1867 under which taxes were levied, the buildings erected, and the school established at Potsdam. He was also one of the commission entrusted with the superintendence of the construction of the building, acting during its existence as its secretary. He was a member of the first Local Board, was its first secretary and continued to act in that capacity until January 1, 1878, when he be- came ineligible through assuming the office of justice of the Supreme Court. He was conspicuous in forming the Raquette Valley and St. Regis Valley Agricultural So- ciety in 1870 and was its president during the first three years of its existence. He was the first president of the St. Lawrence County Bar Association, organized in 1876, and continued such president until 1878. In the spring of 1886, the village of Potsdam where he resided, was in great need of sewers and drains. For want of them the removal of the State Normal School from that place was being agitated. At a meeting of the corporation called for the purpose of taking action upon that
D
26
HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
subject, he presented and advocated the passage of a law which he had drafted, for a system of drains and sewers, which was approved by the meeting, and afterwards enacted by the legislature into the law, chapter 374, of the laws of 1886, which gave that village its present complete and effective system.
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