USA > Ohio > Putnam County > A Portrait and biographical record of Allen and Putnam counties, Ohio, containing biographical sketches of many prominent and representative citizens, together with biographies and portraits of all the presidents of the United States, and biographies of the governors of Ohio, pt 1 > Part 7
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Election day came and Mr. Lincoln re- ceived 180 electoral votes out of 203 cast, and was, therefore, constitutionally elected presi- dent of the United States. The tirade of abuse that was poured upon this good and merciful man, especially by the slaveholders, was greater than upon any other man ever elected to this high position. In February, 1861, Mr. Lincoln started for Washington, stopping in all the large cities on his way, making speeches. The whole journey was fraught with much danger. Many of the southern states had already seceded, and sev- eral attempts at assassination were afterward brought to light. A gang in Baltimore had arranged, upon his arrival, to " get up a row,"
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and in the confusion to make sure of his death with revolvers and hand grenades. A detect- ive unraveled the plot. A secret and special train was provided to take him from Harris- burg, through Baltimore, at an unexpected hour of the night. The train started at half- past ten; and to prevent any possible com- munication on the part of the secessionists with their confederate gang in Baltimore, as soon as the train had started the telegraph wires were cut. Mr. Lincoln reached Wash- ington in safety and was inaugurated, although great anxiety was felt by all loyal people.
In the selection of his cabinet Mr. Lincoln gave to Mr. Seward the department of state, and to other prominent opponents before the convention he gave important positions.
During no other administration have the duties devolving upon the president been so manifold, and the responsibilities so great, as those which fell to the lot of President Lincoln. Knowing this, and feeling his own weakness and inability to meet, and in his own strength to cope with the difficulties, he early learned to seek Divine wisdom and guidance in deter- mining his plans, and Divine comfort in all his trials, both personal and national. Contrary to his own estimate of himself, Mr. Lincoln was one of the most courageous of men. He went directly into the rebel capital just as the retreating foe was leaving, with no guard but a few sailors. From the time he had left Springfield, in 1361, however, plans had been made for his assassination, and he at last fell a victim to one of them. April 14, 1865, he, with General Grant, was urgently invited to attend Ford's theater. It was announced that they would be present. Gen. Grant, however, left the city. Pres. Lincoln, feeling, with his characteristic kindliness of heart, that it would be a disappointment if he should fail them, very reluctantly consented to go. While listening to the play an actor by the name of
John Wilkes Booth entered the box where the president and family were seated, and fired a bullet into his brains. He died the next morn- ing at seven o'clock, and now, if never before, the nation was plunged into the deepest mourning, and truly mourned the "country's loss."
A NDREW JOHNSON, the seventeenth president of the United States, was born December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, N. C. When Andrew was five years of age, his father accidentally lost his life while heroically endeavoring to save a friend from drowning. Until ten years of age, An- drew was a ragged boy about the streets, sup- ported by the labor of his mother, who ob- tained her living with her own hands. He then, having never attended a school one day, and being unable either to read or write. was apprenticed to a tailor in his native town. A gentleman was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop occasionally and reading to the boys at work there. He often read from the speeches of distinguished British statesmen. Andrew, who was endowed with a mind of more than ordinary native ability, became much interested in these speeches; his ambi- tion was roused, and he was inspired with a strong desire to learn to read. He according- ly applied himself to the alphabet, and, with the assistance of some of his fellow-workmen, learned his letters. He then called upon the gentleman to borrow the book of speeches. The owner, pleased with his zeal, not only gave him the book, but assisted him in learn- ing to combine the letters into words. Under such difficulties he pressed onward laboriously, spending usually ten or twelve hours at work in the shop, and then robbing himself of rest and recreation to devote suchi time as he could to reading.
ANDREW JOHNSON.
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He went to Tennessee in 1826 and located at Greenville, where he married a young lady who possessed some education. Under her instructions lie learned to write and cipher. He became prominent in the village debating society, and a favorite with the students of Greenville college. In 1828 he organized a workingman's party, which elected him alder- man, and in 1830 elected him mayor, which position he held three years. He now began to take a lively interest in political affairs, identifying himself with the working classes to which he belonged. In 1835 he was elected a member of the house of representatives of Tennessee. He was then just twenty-seven years of age. He became a very active mem- ber of the legislature, gave his adhesion to the democratic party, and in 1840 "stumped the state," advocating Martin Van Buren's claims to the presidency in opposition to those of Gen. Harrison. In this campaign he ac- quired much readiness as a speaker, and ex- tended and increased his reputation.
In 1841 he was elected state senator; in 1843 he was elected a member of congress, and by successive elections held that important post for ten years. In 1853 he was elected governor of Tennessee, and was re-elected in 1855. In all these responsible positions he discharged his duties with distinguished ability and proved himself the friend of the working classes. In 1857 Mr. Johnson was elected a United States senator.
Years before, in 1845, he had warmly ad- vocated the annexation of Texas, stating however, as his reason, that he thought this annexation would probably prove "to be the gateway out of which the sable sons of Africa are to pass from bondage to freedom, and be- come merged in a population congenial to themselves." In 1850 he also supported the compromise measures, the two essential fea-
tures of which were, that the white people of the territories should be permitted to de- cide for themselves whether they would en- slave the colored people or not, and that the free states of the north should return to the south persons who attempted to escape from slavery.
Mr. Johnson was never ashamed of his lowly origin; on the contrary he often took pride in avowing that he owed his distinction to his own exertions. "Sir," said he on the floor of the senate, "I do not forget that I am a mechanic; neither do I forget that Adam was a tailor and sewed fig leaves, and that our Savior was the son of a carpenter."
In the Charleston-Baltimore convention of 1860, he was the choice of the Tennessee democrats for the presidency. In 1861, when the purpose of the southern democracy became apparent, he took a decided stand in favor of the Union, and held "slavery must be held subordinate to the Union at whatever cost." He returned to Tennessee, and repeatedly im- periled his own life to protect the Unionists of Tennessee. Tennessee having seceded from the Union, President Lincoln, on March 4, 1862, appointed him military governor of the state, and he established the most stringent military rule. His numerous proclamations attracted wide attention. In 1864 he was elected vice president of the United States, and upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, April 15, 1865, became president. In a speech two days later he said: "The American people must be taught, if they do not already feel, that trea- son is a crime and must be punished; that the government will not always bear with its ene- mies; that it is strong not only to protect, but to punish. * * The people must under- stand that it (treason) is the blackest of crimes . and will surely be punished." Yet his whole administration, the history of which is so well
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known, was in utter inconsistency with, and the most violent opposition to, the principles laid down in that speech.
In his loose policy of reconstruction and general amnesty he was opposed by congress; and he characterized congress as a new rebel- lion, and lawlessly defied it in everything pos- sible to the utinost. In the beginning of 1868, on account of "high crimes and misdemean- ors," the principal of which was the removal of Secretary Stanton, in violation of the Ten- ure of Office act, articles of impeachment were preferred against him, and the trial began March 23.
It was very tedious, continuing for nearly three months. A test article of the impeach- ment was at length submitted to the court for its action. It was certain that as the court voted upon that article, so would it vote upon all. Thirty-four voices pronounced the presi- dent guilty. As a two-thirds vote was neces- sary to his condemnation, he was pronounced acquitted, notwithstanding the great majority against him. The change of one vote from the not guilty side would have sustained the impeachment.
The president for the remainder of his term was but little regarded. He continued, though impotently, his conflict with congress. His own party did not think it expedient to renominate him for the presidency. The bul- let of the assassin introduced him to the presi- dent's chair. Notwithstanding this, never was there presented to a man a better oppor- tunity to immortalize his name and win the gratitude of a nation. He failed utterly. He retired to his home in Greenville, Tenn., tak- ing no very active part in politics until 1875. On January 26, after an exciting struggle, he was chosed by the legislature of Tennessee United States senator in the forty-fourth con- gress; and took his seat in that body at the special session convened by President Grant
on the 5th of March. On the 27th of July, 1875, the ex-president made a visit to his daughter's home, near Carter Station, Tenn. When he started on his journey he was appar- ently in his usual vigorous health, but on reaching the residence of his child the follow- ing day was stricken with paralysis, rendering him unconscious. He rallied occasionally, but finally passed away at 2 A. M., July 31, aged sixty-seven years. He was buried at Green- ville, on the 3d of August, 1875.
a LYSSES S. GRANT, the eighteenth president of the United States, was born on the 29th of April, 1822, of christian parents, in a humble home, at Point Pleasant, Va., on the banks of the Ohio. Shortly after his father moved to Georgetown, Brown county, Ohio. In this remote frontier hamlet, Ulysses received a common school education. At the age of seventeen, in the year 1839, he entered the Military academy at West Point. Here he was regarded as a solid, sensible young man of fair abillties, and of sturdy, honest character. He took respect- able rank as a scholar. In June, 1843, he graduated, about the middle in his class, and was sent as lieutenant of infantry to one of the distant military posts in the Missouri terri- tory. Two years he passed in these dreary solitudes, watching the vagabond and exasper -. ating Indians.
The war with Mexico came. Lieut. Grant was sent with his regiment to Corpus Christi. His first battle was at Palo Alto. There was no chance here for the exhibition of either skill or heroism, nor at Resaca de la Palma, his second battle. At the battle of Monterey, his third engagement, it is said that he per- formed a signal service of daring and skillful horsemanship. His brigade had exhausted its ammunition. A messenger must be sent for
ULYSSES S. GRANT.
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more, along a route exposed to the bullets of the foe. Lieut. Grant, adopting an expedient learned of the Indians, grasped the mane of his horse, and hanging upon one side of the animal, ran the gauntlet in entire safety. From Monterey he was sent, with the Fourth infantry, to aid Gen. Scott, at the siege of Vera Cruz. In preparation for the march to the city of Mexico, he was appointed quarter- master of his regiment. At the battle of Molino del Rey, he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and was brevetted captain at Chapultepec.
At the close of the Mexican war, Capt. Grant returned with his regiment to New York, and was again sent to one of the mili- tary posts on the frontier. The discovery of gold in California causing an immense tide of emigration to flow to the Pacific shores, Capt. Grant was sent, with a battalion, to Fort Dallas, in Oregon, for the protection of the interests of the emigrants. Life was weari- some in those wilds. Capt. Grant resigned his commission and returned to the states; and having married, entered upon the cultiva- tion of a small farm near St. Louis, Mo. He had but little skill as a farmer. Finding his toil not remunerative, he turned to mercantile life, entering into the leather business, with a younger brother at Galena, Ill. This was in the year 1860. As the tidings of the rebels firing on Fort Sumter reached the ears of Capt. Grant in his counting room, he said- "Uncle Sam has educated me for the army; though I have served him through one war, I do not feel that I have yet repaid the debt. I am still ready to discharge my obligations. I shall therefore buckle on my sword and see Uncle Sam through this war, too."
He went into the streets, raised a company of volunteers, and led them, as their captain, to Springfield, the capital of the state, where their services were offered to Gov. Yates. The
governor, impressed by the zeal and straight- forward executive ability of Capt. Grant, gave him a desk in his office, to assist in the voluin- teer organization that was being formed in the state in behalf of the government. On the 15th of June, 1861, Capt. Grant received a commission as colonel of the Twenty-first regiment of Illinois volunteers. His merits as a West Point graduate, who had served for fifteen years in the regular army, were such that he was soon promoted to the rank of brigadier general and was placed in command at Cairo. The rebels raised their flag at Pa- ducah, near the mouth of the Tennessee river. Scarcely had its folds appeared ere Gen. Grant was there. The rebels fled. Their banner fell, and the stars and stripes were unfurled in its stead.
At Belmont, a few days later, he sur- prised and routed the rebels, then at Fort Henry won another victory. Then came the brilliant fight at Fort Donelson. The nation was electrified by the victory, and the brave leader of the boys in blue was immediately made a major general, and the military district of Tennessee was assigned to him.
Like all great captains, Gen. Grant knew well how to secure the results of a victory. He immediately pushed on to the enemy's lines. Then came the terrible battles of Pittsburg Landing, Corinth, and the siege of Vicksburg, where Gen. Pemberton made an unconditional surrender of the city with over 30,000 men and 172 cannon. The fall of Vicksburg was by far the most severe blow which the rebels had thus far encountered, and opened up the Mississippi from Cario to the gulf.
Gen. Grant was next ordered to co-operate with Gen. Banks in a movement upon Texas, and proceeded to New Orleans, where he was thrown from his horse and received severe in- juries, from which he was laid up for months. He then rushed to the aid of Gens. Rosecrans
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and Thomas at Chattanooga, and by a won- derful series of strategtic and technical measures put the Union army in fighting condition. Then followed the bloody battles of Chatta- nooga, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, in which the rebels were routed with great loss. This won for him unbounded praise in the north. On the 4th of February, 1864, congress revived the grade of lieutenant general, and the rank was conferred on Gen. Grant. He repaired to Washington to receive : his credentials and enter upon the duties of his new office.
Gen. Grant decided as soon as he took charge of the army to concentrate the widely dispersed national troops for an attack on Richmond, the nominal capital of the rebel- lion, and endeavor there to destroy the rebel armies which would be promptly assembled from all quarters for its defense. The whole continent seemed to tremble under the tramp of these majestic armies, rushing to the deci- sive battle-field. Steamers were crowded with troops; railway trains were burdened with closely packed thousands. His plans were comprehensive and involved a series of cam- paigns, which were executed with remarkable energy and ability, and were consummated at the surrender of Lee, April 9, 1865.
The war was ended. The Union was saved. The almost unanimous voice of the nation de- clared Gen. Grant to be the most prominent instrument in its salvation. The eminent services he had thus rendered the country brought him conspicuously forward as the re- publican candidate for the presidential chaif. At the republican convention held at Chicago, May 21, 1868, he was unanimously nominated for the presidency, and at the autumn elec- tion received a majority of the popular vote, and 214 out of 294 electoral votes. The national convention of the republican party which inet at Philadelphia on the 5th of June,
1872, placed Gen. Grant in nomination for a second term by a unanimous vote. The selec- tion was emphatically endorsed by the people five months later, 292 electoral votes being cast for him.
Soon after the close of his second term, Gen. Grant started upon his famous trip around the world. He visited almost every country of the civilized world, and was every- where received with such ovations and demon- strations of respect and honor, private, as well as public and official, as were never before bestowed upon any citizen of the United States.
He was the most prominent candidate before the republican national convention in . 1880 for a renomination for president. But he went to New York and embarked in the brokerage business under the firm name of Grant & Ward. The latter proved a villain, wrecked Grant's fortune, and for larceny was sent to the penitentiary. The general was attacked with cancer in the throat, but suffered in his stoic-like manner, never complaining. He was re-instated general of the army and retired by congress. The cancer soon finished its deadly work, and July 23, 1885, the nation went in mourning over the death of the illus- trious general.
UTHERFORD B. HAYES, the nine- teenth president of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio, October 4. 1852, almost three months after the death of his father, Rutherford Hayes. His ancestry, an both the paternal and mater- nal sides, was of the most honorable character. It can be traced, it is said, as far back as 1280, when Hayes and Rutherford were two Scottish chieftains, fighting side by side with Baliol, William Wallace and Robert Bruce. Both families belonged to the nobility, owned extensive estates, and had a large following.
RUTHERFORD]B. HAYES.
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Misfortune overtaking the family, George Hayes left Scotland in 1680, and settled in Windsor, Conn. His son George was born in Windsor, and remained there during his life. Daniel Hayes, son of the latter, married Sarah Lee, and lived from the time of his marriage until his death in Simsbury, Conn. Ezekiel, son of Daniel, was born in 1724, and was a manufacturer of scythes at Bradford, Conn. Rutherford Hayes. son of Ezekiel and grandfather of President Hayes, was born in New Haven, in August, 1756. He was a fariner, blacksmith and tavern-keeper. He emigrated to Vermont at an unknown date, settling in Brattleboro, where he established a hotel. Here his son, Rutherford Hayes, the father of President Hayes, was born. He was married, in September, 1813, to Sophia Bir- chard, of Wilmington, Vt., whose ancestors emigrated thither from Connecticut, they hav- ing been among the wealthiest and best fami- lies of Norwich. Her ancestry on the male side are traced back to 1635, to John Bir- chard, one of the principal founders of Nor- wich. Both of her grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary war.
The father of President Hayes was an in- dustrious, frugal and open-hearted man. He was of a mechanical turn, and could mend a plow, knit a stocking, or do almost any- thing else that he chose to undertake. He was a member of the church, active in all the benevolent enterprises of the town, and con- ducted his business on christian principles. After the close of the war of 1812, for reasons inexplicable to his neighbors, he resolved to emigrate to Ohio.
The journey from Vermont to Ohio in that day, when there were no canals, steamers, nor railways, was a very serious affair. A tour of inspection was first made, occupying four months. Mr. Hayes determined to move to Delaware, where the family arrived in 1817.
He died July 22, 1822, a victim of malarial fever, less than three months before the birth of the son, of whom we now write. Mrs. Hayes, in her sore bereavement, found the support she so much needed in her brother Sardis, who had been a member of the house- hold from the day of its departure from Ver- mont, and in an orphan girl whom she had adopted some time before as an act of charity.
Mrs. Hayes at this period was very weak, and the subject of this sketch was so feeble at birth that he was not expected to live beyond a month or two at most. As the months went by he grew weaker and weaker, so that the neighbors were in the habit of inquiring from time to time "if Mrs. Hayes' baby died last night." On one occasion a neighbor, who was on familiar terms with the family, after alluding to the boy's big head, and the moth- er's assiduous care of him, said in a bantering way,. "That's right! Stick to him. You have got him along so far, and I shouldn't wonder if he would really come to something yet."
"You need not laugh," said Mrs. Hayes. "You wait and see. You can't tell but I shall make him president of the United States yet." The boy lived in spite of the universal predictions of his speedy death; and when, in 1825, his older brother was drowned, he be- came, if possible, still dearer to his mother.
The boy was seven years old before he went to school. His education, however, was not neglected. He probably learned as much from his mother and sister as he would have done at school. His sports were almost wholly within doors, his playmates being his sister and her associates. His uncle Sardis Birchard took the deepest interest in his education; and as the boy's health had improved, and he was making good progress in his studies, he pro- posed to send him to college. His preparation commenced with a tutor at home; but he was afterward sent for one year to a professor in
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the Wesleyan university, in Middletown, Conn. He entered Kenyon college in 1838, at the age of sixteen, and was graduated at the head of his class in 1842.
Immediately after his graduation he began the study of law in the office of Thomas Spar- row, Esq., in Columbus. Finding his oppor- tunities for study in Columbus somewhat limited, he determined to enter the law school at Cambridge, Mass., where he remained two years. In 1845, after graduating at the law school, he was admitted to the bar at Marietta, Ohio, and shortly afterward went into practice as an attorney-at-law with Ralph P. Buck- land, of Fremont. Here he remained three years, acquiring but a limited practice, and apparently unambitious of distinction in his profession.
In 1849 he moved to Cincinnati, where his ambition found a new stimulus. Two events, occurring at this period, had a powerful influ- ence upon his subsequent life. One of these was his marriage with Miss Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of Dr. James Webb, of Chillicothe; the other was his introduction to the Cincin- nati Literary club, a body embracing among its members such men as Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Gen. John Pope, Gov. Edward F. Noyes, and many others hardly less distin- guished in after life. The marriage was a fortunate one in every respect, as everybody knows. Not one of all the wives of our presi- dents was more universally admired, rever- enced and beloved than was Mrs. Hayes, and no one did more than she to reflect honor upon American womanhood. The Literary- club brought Mr. Hayes into constant associa- tion with young men of high character and noble aims, and lured him to display the qualities so long hidden by his bashfulness and extreme modesty.
In 1856 he was nominated to the office of judge of the court of common pleas; but he
declined to accept the nomination. Two years later, the office of city solicitor becoming vacant, the city council elected him for the un- expired term.
In 1861, when the rebellion broke out, he was at the zenith of his professional life. His rank at the bar was among the first. But the news of the attack on Fort Sumter found him eager to take up arms for the defense of his beloved country.
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