USA > New York > The Empire State: a compendious history of the commonwealth of New York > Part 58
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most conspicuous. The latest and most trustworthy writer on the Iroquois Confederacy was Louis Morgan, who died in 1881.
In the realm of poetry New York is most prominently represented by William Cullen Bryant. Though a native of another State, he was a resident of this commonwealth from his young manhood. George P. Morris, also a resident from the period of his young manhood, ranks among its best song-writers.
Among scientific writers, Drs. Samuel L. Mitchell, David Hosack, John W. Francis, John Torrey, Professor James Renwick, and Dr. John W. Draper (all but the latter natives of New York) appear most conspicuous.
In no State in the Union are the fine arts more widely cultivated and fostered than in the commonwealth of New York. Besides the vast treasures of art found in New York City," other cities and villages and private homes in various parts of the State exhibit rare and costly works of painters, sculptors, and engravers, while in every direction great taste in architecture is displayed.
Some of the more eminent resident artists of New York have not been natives of the State. Colonel J. Trumbull was born in Connecticut ; John Wesley Jarvis and Thomas Cole came from England ; Professor S. F. B. Morse (made more famous than any others by his scientific achievements in electro-magnetic telegraphy) was a native of Massa- chusetts, and A. B. Durand, the most eminent American engraver on steel, t was born in New Jersey. But Henry Inman and Charles L.
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art in the city of New York, under the direction of General L. P. di Cesnola, has already become the most attractive and important deposi- tory of rare works of art on this continent. Within the space of three months, in the spring of 1887, it was enriched by paintings from the studios of the most famous artists in the world, presented to the institution by generous citizens of the metropolis. The aggregate value of these gifts amounted to almost $1,000,000. Other valuable pictures have since been given.
+ New York City was the birthplace of Alexander Anderson, the pioneer engraver on wood in America, who was born in April, 1775. His father was a Scotchman, and the publisher of a small Whig newspaper in New York entitled The Constitutional Gazette. He fled to Connecticut with his types and his family when the British took New York in 1776. Young Anderson graduated at the Medical School of Columbia Col- lege, and was a practising physician for a while ; but, preferring art, he devoted himself to engraving first on type-metal and copper. His first knowledge of the use of wood for engraving pictures upon was derived from a copy of Bewiek's Birds. He had then com- pleted, on type-metal, about one half of the illustrations of the Looking-glass for the Mind, when he abandoned the metal and made the rest on wood. He practised that branch of art all the rest of his life. His last engraving was left half finished, when he was in the ninety-fifth year of his age. I have two of his first wood-engravings ; also the half-finished one, his last. They were executed seventy-five years apart. He died in Jersey City, N. J., in January, 1870.
576
THE EMPIRE STATE.
Elliott, the foremost portrait painters of their day, Robert W. Weir and Daniel Huntington, eminent portrait, historical, and genre painters, and Thomas Crawford, the sculptor, were all born in the State of New York. Professor Morse was the chief founder of the National Academy of the Arts of Design at New York, and Mr. Huntington is now (1887) its president. General Thomas S. Cummings, who for a generation or more was the leading painter of portraits in miniature in New York City, and was for forty years the treasurer of the Academy, is now, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, the sole survivor of the founders of that institution.
THE END.
576a
CONCLUSION.
CHAPTER XLII.
CONCLUSION.
To delincate with precision the kaleidoscopic features of contempo- raneous history is a most difficult task, and the historian prefers to treat that period in the character of a mere annalist, for, as already observed, all events before that period have passed into the realm of completed and permanent history ; all since that period are components of current his- tory, with ever-changing phases, in which living men and women are persons of the drama.
Yielding to the counsels of others, I depart from the original design of closing this history at an earlier period, and bring the narrative down to the time of this writing-the later days of the year 1887.
The energetic actions of Governor Tilden in his dealings with the " Canal Ring" (see p. 554) were generally commended, and he became very popular, for the people had become impatient for better work in the public service. Mr. Tilden was regarded as an aggressive champion of reform. The Democratic State Convention in 1876 commended him to the National Democratic Convention for nomination for the Presidency of the Republic, with assurances that he could command a majority of the votes of the great State of New York. His nomination was secured in the face of bitter opposition from a powerful faction in his own party.
Senator Roscoe Conkling, a leader of the Republican Party in New York, was a candidate before the National Republican Convention for nomination for the same high office, but failed to receive it. Rutherford B. Hayes, of Ohio, was nominated, with William A. Wheeler, of New York, for Vice-President. The canvass was close and hotly contested. Hayes and Wheeler won the prizes. Mr. Tilden's friends claimed the victory for him. Much excitement ensued, and at one time the public peace throughout the nation was menaced.
In 1876 Lncins Robinson was elected by the Democrats Governor of New York, by a majority of more than thirty thousand votes over ex- Governor E. D. Morgan, the Republican candidate. The policy of the national administration in 1877 concerning the Southern States and reform in the civil service caused a division in the Republican ranks in New York, and the Democrats elected the State officers that year. The
576b
THE EMPIRE STATE.
next year the Greenback Party polled over seventy-five thousand votes, and the Republicans obtained a plurality of nearly thirty-five thousand votes for justice of the Court of Appeals, the only State office to be filled that year.
In 1878 the Court of Appeals declared the Civil Damage Act passed in 1873 to be constitutional. It holds the owner of a building wherein intoxicating liquors are sold liable for damages consequent upon such sale. The court declared that " all property is held subject to the power of the State to regulate or control its use to secure the general safety and the public welfare." Consonant with this opinion and applicable to every State in the Union was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, given early in December, 1887.
The new Capitol of the State was first occupied by the Legislature in 1879, though the edifice was then far from being completed. It is not yet (1887) finished, though nearly $20,000,000 have been expended on it.
True to their character as ever-changing in political complexion, a majority of the people of New York elected a Republican for governor of the commonwealth in 1879. They chose Alonzo B. Cornell, son of the founder of Cornell University. The Democratic Party had been severely rent by factions that year. A Tammany delegation to the State Convention protested against the renomination of Governor Robinson. Foiled, the delegation seceded, formed a new convention, and nominated John Kelly for governor. The vote for the three candidates in the field at the November election was as follows : Cornell, 418,567 ; Robinson, 375,790 ; Kelly, 77,566. Cornell's administration was a quiet one, marked by the general prosperity of the people.
Now appeared symptoms of the revolt in the Republican Party of New York, which became unparalleled in extent in the history of politics in that commonwealth. In 1880 the name of General Grant was presented to the National Republican Convention at Chicago as a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic for a third term. There was so much oppo- sition everywhere to the idea of a third term, that the choice of delegates to the National Convention had been rendered a difficult task. Much controversy arose in New York concerning the independence of delegates in such a convention, some contending that each delegate should be free to vote as his judgment might dictate, while others insisted that delegates should be instructed as to who they should vote for, and obey such instructions.
The New York State Convention, by a considerable majority, in- structed the delegates from the several districts to " use their most ear-
576c
CONCLUSION.
nest and united efforts to secure the nomination of U. S. Grant." The New York delegation in the convention at Chicago was divided in its choice of a Presidential candidate, for many refused to obey the instruc- tions.
James A. Garfield, of Ohio, was nominated for President, and Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for Vice-President. They were elected, and entered upon their duties in the spring of 1881. At that time Roscoe Conkling and Thomas C. Platt represented the State of New York in the United States Senate. President Garfield sent to the Senate the name of State Senator W. H. Robertson as Collector of the Port of New York. The Vice-President and the Postmaster-General (Thomas L. James), both of New York, and the two Senators joined in a request for the withdrawal of the nomination of Senator Robertson. The Presi- dent declined to do so, whereupon the two Senators transmitted (May 14tlı, 1881) to the Governor of New York their resignation, departed from Washington, and left the commonwealth unrepresented in the national Senate.
This movement created intense excitement throughout the State and beyond. The two Senators became candidates for re-election, but their seats were filled, after forty-eight ballots between May 31st and July 17th, by Elbridge G. Lapham and Warner Miller. The former was soon sneceeded by William M. Evarts, and the latter, in 1887, by Frank Hiscoek.
On July 2d, while this controversy was at its height, an incipient lunatic named Guiteau, crazed by the political excitement, shot Presi- dent Garfield with a pistol at the railway station at Washington. The President died on September 19th, and was succeeded in office by Mr. Arthur.
Great bitterness of feeling continued to exist in the Republican Party, and when, in September, 1882, Judge C. J. Folger was nominated for Governor of New York by a State Convention to succeed Governor Cornell, the agitation and divisions in the convention and afterward among the people were most remarkable. In that convention a member of the State Republican Committee was represented by a substitute-a professed proxy-whose influence secured the nomination of Judge Folger. It was afterward proven that the proxy was a forgery. The nominee, innocent of all wrong, was denounced as a candidate of the national administration, opposed to the renomination of Cornell, and forced upon the convention by fraud. There was a general revolt at the polls in November, and Mr. Folger was defeated by a plurality of almost one hundred and ninety-three thousand votes. The Prohibition
576d
THE EMPIRE STATE.
and Greenback parties also presented candidates. Grover Cleveland, the Democratic nominee for governor, received the unprecedented plurality of votes, and the Democrats secured a majority in both branches of the Legislature. The next year they elected their candidates for State officers.
The immense majority of votes given to Mr. Cleveland for Governor of New York made him a prominent candidate for nomination for the Presidency of the United States at the National Democratic Convention in 1884. He was nominated, but he was not the choice of all the New York delegates in that convention.
The Republicans nominated James G. Blaine, of Maine, for the Presi- dency. The canvass was a very active one, especially in the State of New York. Independent Republicans organized in favor of Cleveland, or omitted to vote. Upon the vote in the State of New York depended the fate of the candidates of the two great parties. The Greenback and Prohibition parties were also active in favor of their respective nominees.
On the eve of the election a remark made by a elergyman at a Repub- lican banquet in New York City offended a large number of Roman Cath- olics who intended to vote for Mr. Blaine. It drove them to the other side in numbers, possibly, sufficient to defeat Mr. Blaine. Mr. Cleveland received about eleven hundred majority in the State of New York, and so won the great prize.
Lientenant-Governor David B. Hill took the chair of State when Governor Cleveland left it, in the spring of 1885, and in the autumn he was elected governor of the commonwealth, which position he still (1887) holds. During his administration efforts were made to have a conven- tion to revise the State Constitution, also to have the usual decennial census taken, the last having been accomplished in 1875. Neither of these measures has been effected.
Powerful and persistent efforts have been made in the State, in various ways, for the suppression of intemperance. Laws for the purpose have been made, but the fearful evil is yet strong. In 1886 a large number of Republicans formed a " Republican Anti-Saloon League," for the purpose of effecting the great reform by the action of that party. It was expanded to a national league. Meanwhile the Republicans had secured a working majority in both branches of the Legislature of the State, and efforts were made to obtain from the Legislature authority for submitting to the consideration of the people the propriety of holding a convention to amend the State Constitution in the interest of sobriety. These efforts failed. In the session of 1887 some temperance measures were adopted, but were annulled by executive interference.
EX-GOV. CLEVELAND.
GOV. DAVID B. HILL.
576e
CONCLUSION.
The Republican State Convention, held early in the fall of 1887, adopted a resolution in favor of temperance measures. In the political canvass that ensued the liquor interest became very active ; so, also, did the Prohibitionists, who won a much larger vote in the State than ever before. There were five parties in the field, with their candidates. The Democratic Party elected the State officers, while the Republicans again secured a working majority in both branches of the Legislature.
During the last decade the Empire State has made immense progress in population, wealth, and influence. Its people have produced monu- ments which will forever commemorate their strength and enlightened civilization. In 1883 the two great commercial cities near the sea were united by an unrivalled work of human skill. They have established a vast park in the grand mountain region of the north. They have made the sublime cataract of Niagara and its surroundings a free pleasure resort ; and a corporation has bridged the beautiful Hudson River at the middle of its tide-water with a structure which overtops the highest masts of ocean ships, and connects, with railroads, populous and busy New England with the vast coal regions of Pennsylvania and the com- merce of the West.
The population of the commonwealth of New York is probably not less than six millions at this time, while its industries, its charities, and its benevolent and religious work are commensurate.
APPENDIX.
I.
COUNTIES OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK.
ON pages 97, 98 are given brief accounts of the organization of the ten counties in New York which were first established, with delineations of their respective seals .* Below may be found similar accounts of the remaining fifty counties with the population of each in 1875 and 1880.
ALLEGANY COUNTY was formed from Genesee County, April 11th, 1806. A portion of Steuben County was annexed, March 11th, 1808. Portions of it were given to Genesee in 1811, to Wyoming and Living- ston in 1846, and again to Livingston in 1856. Population in 1875 was 41,721 ; in 1880 it was 41,810.
BROOME COUNTY was formed from Tioga, March 28th, 1806, and was so named in honor of Lieutenant-Governor John Broome, who gave it a silver seal. Oswego and Berkshire were annexed to Tioga County, March 21st, 1822. Population in 1875 was 47,913 ; in 1880 it was 49,483.
CATTARAUGUS COUNTY was formed from Genesee County, March 11th, 1808. Population in 1875 was 48,477 ; in 1880 it was 55,806.
CAYUGA COUNTY was formed from Onondaga County, March 8th, 1799. It is a long, narrow county. Its name is derived from one of the Six Nations. Population in 1875 was 61,213 ; in 1880 it was 65,081. .
CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY was formed from Genesee, March 8th, 1808. It lies upon the shore of Lake Erie in the southwest corner of the State. Population in 1875 was 64,869 ; in 1880 it was 65,342.
* In the accounts on pages 97, 98 the population of each of the ten counties is not given. The subjoined table will supply an omission :
POPULATION.
POPULATION.
COUNTIES.
1875.
1880.
1875.
1880.
Albany
147,530
154,890
Queens.
84,131
90,574
Duchess.
76,056
79,184
Richmond.
35,241
38,991
Kings. ..
509,216
599,495
Suffolk
52,088
53,888
New York
1,046,087
1,206,299
Ulster.
88,271
85,888
Orange.
85,252
88,220
Westchester
100,660
108,988
COUNTIES.
578
APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX.
CHEMUNG COUNTY was formed from Tioga County, March 29th, 1836. The name is derived from the Indian title of the principal stream trav- ersing it, and signifies, it is said, " Big horn in the water." Population in 1875 was 41,879 ; in 1880 it was 43,065.
CHENANGO COUNTY was formed from Herkimer and Tioga counties, March 15th, 1798. Sangerfield (Oneida County) was taken from it in 1804, and Madison County in 1806. It is an interior county. Popula- tion in 1875 was 39,937 ; in 1880 it was 39,891.
CLINTON COUNTY was formed from Washington, March 7th, 1788, and was so named in honor of Governor George Clinton. In 1799 Essex County was taken from it, St. Lawrence County was provisionally annexed to it in 1801, and taken off in 1802, and Franklin County was taken from it in 1808. It lies upon Lake Champlain, and is the northeast county of the State. Population in 1875 was 49, 761 ; in 1880 it was 50, 897.
COLUMBIA COUNTY was formed from Albany, April 4th, 1786. It lies on the east bank of the Hudson River, between Duchess and Rensselaer counties, and extends east to the Massachusetts line. Population in 1875 was 47,756 ; in 1880 it was 47,928.
CORTLAND COUNTY was formed from Onondaga, April Sth, 1808. It was named in honor of Pierre Van Cortlandt, the first Lieutenant- Governor of the State, who was an extensive owner of land in that region. It lies near the centre of the State. Population in 1875 was 24,500 ; in 1880 it was 25,825.
DELAWARE COUNTY was formed from Ulster and Otsego counties, March 1Qth, 1797. It lies upon the headwaters of the Delaware River. Population in 1875 was 42,149 ; in 1880 it was 42,721.
DUCHESS COUNTY. See page 98 and note, page 577.
ERIE COUNTY was formed from Niagara County, April 2d, 1821. It lies upon Lake Erie and Niagara River on the west line of the State. Population in 1875 was 199,570 ; in 1880 it was 219,884.
ESSEX COUNTY was formed from Clinton County, March 1st, 1799. In the erection of Franklin County in 1808 a corner was taken from Essex. It is upon Lake Champlain. Population in 1875 was 34,474 ; in 1880 it was 34,515.
FRANKLIN COUNTY was formed from Clinton County, March 11th, 1806. It was named in honor of Dr. Benjamin Franklin. On March 22d, 1822, a small portion of it was annexed to Essex County. Population in 1875 was 31,581 ; in 1880 it was 32,390.
FULTON COUNTY was formed from Montgomery County, April 18th, 1838, and was so named in honor of Robert Fulton. It lies north of the Mohawk River. Population in 1875 was 30,188 ; in 1880 it was 30,985.
581
APPENDIX.
GENESEE COUNTY was formed from Ontario, March 30th, 1802. It originally comprised all that part of the State lying west of the Genesee River, and a line extending due south from the junction of the Genesee and Canaseraga Creek to the southern line of the State. In 1806 Alle- gany was taken from it ; Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara in 1808 ; parts of Livingston and Monroe in 1821 ; Orleans in 1824, and Wyoming in 1841. Population in 1875 was 32,551 ; in 1880 it was 32,806.
GREENE COUNTY was formed from Albany and Ulster counties, March 25th, 1800, and named in honor of General Nathaniel Greene, of the Revolution. It lies upon the west bank of the Hudson River. Popu- lation in 1875 was 32,554 ; in 1880 it was 32,695.
HAMILTON COUNTY was formed from Montgomery County, February 12th, 1816. It was named in honor of Alexander Hamilton. The terri- tory was included in Herkimer County in 1791, but was reannexed to Montgomery in March, 1797. It occupies the central portion of the great northern wilderness. Its organization can only be complete when it has a population sufficient to entitle it to a Member of Assembly. Population in 1875 was 3,482 ; in 1880 it was 3,923.
HERKIMER COUNTY was formed from Montgomery, February 16th, 1791. " The name," says Dr. Hongh, "was originally spelled Erg- hemar." It was named in honor of General Herkimer, fatally wounded at Oriskany, who signed his name Herkheimer. Onondaga County was taken from Herkimer in 1794 ; Oneida and part of Chenango in 1798 ; parts of Montgomery County were annexed to it, April 7th, 1817 ; and parts of Richfield and Plainfield, of Otsego County, were annexed in forming the town of Winfield in 1816. Population in 1875 was 41,692 ; in 1880 it was 42, 669.
JEFFERSON COUNTY was formed from Oneida, March 28th, 1805, and named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States. Population in 1875 was 65,362 ; in 1880 it was 66,103.
KINGS COUNTY. See page 98 and note on page 577.
LEWIS COUNTY was formed from Oneida, March 28th, 1805, and named in honor of Morgan Lewis, the Governor of the State. Slight changes have been made in its boundary. It lies mostly within the Black River Valley. Population in 1875 was 29,236 ;. in 1880 it was 31,416.
LIVINGSTON COUNTY was formed from Genesee and Ontario, February 23d, 1821. In 1846 a portion of Allegany was annexed, and in 1856 another portion. Population in 1875 was 38,564 ; in 1880 it was 39,562.
MADISON COUNTY was formed from Chenango, March 21st, 1806, and named in honor of James Madison, afterward President of the United States. Population in 1875 was 42,490 ; in 1880 it was 44,112.
.
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APPENDIX.
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APPENDIX.
MONROE COUNTY was formed from Ontario and Genesee counties, February 23d, 1821, and named in honor of James Monroe, then Presi- dent of the United States. Population in 1875 was 134,534 ; in 1880 it was 144,903.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY was formed from Albany County, March 12th, 1772, under the name of Tryon County, so called in honor of the Royal Governor, William Tryon. Its name was changed on April 2d, 1784, in honor of General Richard Montgomery. Ontario was taken from it in 1789 ; Herkimer, Oswego, and Tioga in 1791; Hamilton in 1816, and Fulton in 1838. Population in 1875 was 35,200 ; in 1880 it was 38,315. NEW YORK COUNTY. See page 97 and note on page 577.
NIAGARA COUNTY was formed from Genesee, March 11th, 1808. Erie was taken from it April 2d, 1821. It lies in the angle formed by the junction of the Niagara River and Lake Ontario. Population in 1875 was 51,904 ; in 1880 it was 54,173.
ONEIDA COUNTY was formed from Herkimer, March 15th, 1798. In 1805 Lewis and Jefferson counties were taken from it, also a part of Oswego County in 1816. In 1801 portions of it were annexed to Clinton County, and some to Madison County in 1836. In 1804 a part of Chenango County was annexed. Its name is derived from one of the Six Nations. Population in 1875 was 113,967 ; in 1880 it was 115,475.
ONONDAGA COUNTY was formed from Herkimer, March 5th, 1794, and included the " Military Tract." Cayuga was taken from it, March 8th, 1799, Cortland, April Sth, 1808, and a part of Oswego, March 1st, 1816. Its name was derived from one of the Six Nations. Population in 1875 was 113,223 ; in 1880 it was 117,893.
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