USA > Pennsylvania > Luzerne County > Families of the Wyoming Valley: biographical, genealogical and historical. Sketches of the bench and bar of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, vol. I > Part 8
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HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
Colonel Hill, in his report to General Tarryhill of one of the engagements, says:
"I cannot close this report without bearing testimony of the good conduct of this company. This being the first time the 'company was ever under fire, it was hardly to be expected that their conduct would come up to the standard of tried and prac- tical veterans. Great praise is due to Capt. Thomas and Lieut. Hoyt for their cool bravery and soldier-like bearing."
Lieut. Hoyt afterwards accompanied Gen. Harrison to the river Thames, where he participated in that battle. The British were under Gen. Proctor, and the Indians under Tecumseh.
These were the ancestors of Henry M. Hoyt. At a family reunion, held at Stamford, Conn., in 1866, at which there were six hundred persons of the name of Hoyt present, Gen. Hoyt said:
"I come from Pennsylvania, strong and great, the keystone of the federal arch; I come as one of her delegates, as a ' Pennsyl- vania Dutchman,' if you please, and, if necessary, to vindicate her thrift, her steadfastness, and her institutions, not in competition or contrast with Connecticut, but as a co-equal and a co-worker in the field of ideas, of which New England is not the exclusive proprietor. We are all 'Yankees,' and the Yankee should, will, and must dominate the country and the age. These hills have borne great crops of great men-which at last is the best pro- duct-men attuned to the keynote of our social structure: the importance, the inviolability, the integrity of the manhood of the individual. I am in entire accord with all I have heard said here of Connecticut and Massachusetts; but, within the proper limits of 'State rights,' I am for my own Commonwealth. I revere and love the solidity of the mountains, the men, and the civiliza- tion of the State of my birth. I hold that my grandfather did a smart thing, if he never did a great thing, to wit, when he left Danbury, Fairfield county, Connecticut, and went to the Wyom- ing Valley, in Pennsylvania."
Bishop Peck, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, Gen. W. T. Sherman and Senator John Sherman are relatives of Governor Hoyt, their mothers being Hoyts, as are also Hon. Joseph G. Hoyt, of Maine; Dr. Enos Hoyt, of Framingham, Mass .; Dr. William H. Hoyt, of Syracuse, N. Y .; Rev. James Hoyt, of Orange, N. J .; Rev. Cornelius A. Hoyt, of Oberlin, Ohio; Rev. James W. Hoyt, of Nashville, Tenn .; Rev. O. P. Hoyt, D. D., of Kalamazoo, Mich., and other distinguished Hoyts.
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HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
General Hoyt remained at home working on his father's farm until the age of fourteen, when he entered the old Wilkes-Barre Academy, and subsequently Wyoming Seminary, where he pre- pared for college. He entered Lafayette College, at Easton, Pa., where he remained for two years. At the end of that period, through the retirement of Dr. Junkin, the college was for a while closed, and Mr. Hoyt then entered Williams College, at Williams- town, Mass., and graduated in 1849. In 1850 he was a teacher in the Academy at Towanda, and in the subsequent year he returned to Kingston, having been elected Professor of Mathe- matics in the Wyoming Seminary, which position he held for another year. He also taught the Graded School in Memphis. Tenn., for one year. Subsequently he became a student at law in the office of the late George W. Woodward, ex-Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. After the appointment of Judge Woodward to the bench, Mr. Hoyt continued his studies in the office of the late Hon. Warren J. Woodward, and was admitted to the Luzerne county bar April 4, 1853. In 1855 he was a candidate for District Attorney on the Whig ticket, but was defeated by Gen. Winchester by a small majority, and in 1856 he took part in the Fremont campaign.
In 1861 Gen. Hoyt was active in raising the 52d Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers. The national cause found no more ready supporter than Mr. Hoyt, and he was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the 52d Regiment in August, 1861. In 1863 he was appointed Colonel. On the Peninsula he was of Naglee's Brigade, and participated in the reconnoissance from Bottom's Bridge to Seven Pines in advance of the whole army, and commanded the party which constructed the bridges across the Chickahominy. When the battle of Fair Oaks opened, he rendered signal service by communicating to Gen. Sumner the exact position of the Union troops, joining Sumner's column as it moved to the support of Heintzelman in that battle, and fight- ing under him to the end. This brigade had the honor of being selected to hold the enemy in check at the passages of the Chickahominy, and when recalled joined Franklin at White Oak Swamp, in both situations exhibiting the most undaunted courage, At the close of this campaign, Col. Hoyt was ordered first to
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HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
North Carolina, and thence to South Carolina, where he was engaged in the siege of Fort Wagner, the first serious obstacle to the reduction of Charleston. The operations were laborious, and conducted under the terrible fire of the enemy, and the more wasting effect of the summer's heat. For forty days the work was pushed. When all was ready a hundred heavy guns opened upon devoted Wagner, and the troops were held in readiness to assault, Col. Hoyt having been assigned the task of charging Fort Gregg; but before the time for the movement had come, the enemy evacuated and the stronghold fell without a blow. In June, 1864, a plan was devised to capture Charleston by surpris- ing the garrison guarding its approaches. The attempt was made on the night of July 3d, 1864. The following extract from the Charleston Mercury, of July 6th, 1864, says:
"The second column, under the immediate command of Col. Iloyt, of the 52d Pennsylvania Regiment, attacked the Brooke gun and landing in overwhelming numbers. Lieut. Roworth, of the 2d South Carolina Artillery, was compelled to fall back, after himself and men fighting bravely. The enemy, cheered by this success, with their commander at their head waving his sword, advanced in heavy force upon Fort Johnson, but there they were received with a terrific fire by the light and heavy batteries on the line."
The "overwhelming numbers" therein referred to were Hoyt's one hundred and twenty men against the four hundred Confederate garrison. Col. Hoyt was highly complimented for his deport- ment in this action by a General Order issued by Gon. Foster, commanding. In this encounter Col. Hoyt and nearly the whole of the command were captured. Gen. Foster says:
"Col. Hoyt bestows unqualified praise on the officers and men who landed with him; of these seven were killed and sixteen wounded. He himself deserves great credit for his energy in urging the boats forward and bringing them through the narrow channel, and the feeling which led him to land at the head of his men was the promptings of a gallant spirit, which deserves to find more imitators."
Gen. Schemmelfinnig said of Col. Hoyt, after recounting the preliminaries:
"After this you placed yourself at the head of the column, and led them most gallantly, faithfully carrying out, as far as possible
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with the small number of men who landed with you, the orders given you by me. Had you been supported, as your brave con- duct deserved, it would have ensured the success of the important operations then being carried on in front of Charleston."
Col. Hoyt, with other Union officers, was sent to Macon, Georgia, and subsequently to Charleston. While enroute from Macon to Charleston Col. Hoyt, with four other officers, escaped from the cars. After several days and nights of wearisome, but fruitless, efforts for liberty they were recaptured by the rebels with the aid of bloodhounds. He was one of the fifty officers, including Brigadier Generals, Colonels, Lieutenant Colonels, and Majors (Gen. Dana and Lieut. Col. Conyngham being among the number), who were placed under the fire of our own guns in retaliation for some supposed violation of the usages of war by the Federal Government in the siege of that city. After his exchange he returned to his regiment, and at the close of hostil- ities, which occurred not long afterwards, resumed the practice of his profession. Col. Hoyt was breveted Brigadier General for meritorious conduct, and his old comrades join heartily in declaring that it was well earned.
In 1866 Col. Hoyt was elected a member of the School Board of this city in connection with Hon. Henry W. Palmer, and dur -. ing his incumbency the present Franklin street school building was erected. Hon. D. L. Rhone and Geo. B. Kulp were also members of the same board, and principally through their efforts the present Washington street school building was erected. This was before the election of Messrs. Hoyt and Palmer to the School Board.
In 1867 he was appointed Additional Law Judge of the county of Luzerne. His record on the bench was of the first order. He was able, fearless, faithful, and dignified. In the fall of the same year he received the nomination of the Republican party for the same position, and, although running largely ahead of his ticket, was defeated by Gen. Dana, the Democratic candidate. The county, at that time, was strongly Democratic.
Gen. Hoyt's reputation as a lawyer is second to none. His legal knowledge is not only broad and comprehensive, but accu- rate to the slightest detail. His arguments are concise, logical,
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and philosophical-too much so, perhaps, for success before juries, but of the utmost value and importance in legal discus- sions before the courts. He is truly learned in the law. As a counselor, he is preeminently valuable. During the time he practiced at the bar his advice was sought after by his brethren in important and critical emergencies, and, when given, all who knew him knew it might be relied upon. His knowledge of the fundamental principles was so thorough that the greatest respect was always expressed by lawyers for even an "off-hand" opinion on matters under discussion at the various meetings of the mem- bers of the bar. He was attorney for many of the large banking, mining, and railroad corporations. But his education and study were by means confined to legal matters. Mathematics, in its highest branches, is his favorite pursuit; while history, philoso- phy, science, theology, and general literature are alike studied with great zeal and relish, all contributing abundantly to enrich a mind well capable of enjoying their most hidden treasures.
The training which Governor Hoyt received in early life as farmer boy, as scholar, and as teacher, always within the influence of his father's example, taught him, at least, the value of thor- oughness -and accuracy in whatever is undertaken. And it may well be stated, as characteristic of the man, that to whatever sub- ject he has given his attention he has spared no effort to reach the very marrow of it, and understand it in all its details. His library is large, and extends over a very broad field of literature.
In 1869 Col. Hoyt was appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for the counties of Luzerne and Susquehanna, but resigned the position in 1873.
In 1875 he became Chairman of the Republican State Com- mittee, and he conducted the campaigns of that and the succeed- ing year with success.
In 1878 he was nominated by the Republican party for the position of Governor of the State of Pennsylvania. It was at the time of the greatest excitement in the State on the question of the resumption of specie payments. Many believed that no one could be elected on an unqualified hard money campaign; but the General, scorning all subterfuges, sounded the keynote of the
HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
campaign in his first address by declaring: "Professing to be an honest man, and the candidate of an honest party, I believe in honest money." In June of the same year, in some remarks he made at the Du Quesne Club, at Pittsburg, he used the identical language. We make this statement because it is generally sup- posed that Hon. Galusha A. Grow is the author of the sentiment. He was elected by a large plurality, and inaugurated January 14, 1879. His term is for four years, he being the first Governor who, in pursuance of the new constitution, serves for that period. The oath of office was administered by the late Hon. Warren J. Woodward, his former instructor, and then a Judge of the Supreme Court of the State.
Subsequent to his election, Governor Hoyt wrote for the Historical Society of Pennsylvania a "Brief of a Title in the Seventeen Townships in the County of Luzerne: A Syllabus of the Controversy between Connecticut and Pennsylvania."
Being positive by nature in all the habits of his mind, he is naturally positive in his political views; but in all political dis- cussion he has shown that his positiveness is not a result of partisan bitterness, but a conclusion from a thorough and careful study of the constitution and history of his country.
His official correspondence and veto messages abundantly illustrate the accuracy of thought and legal ability above men- tioned. They are models of conciseness, and, so far as they go, are studies in the science of government. No bill was ever passed over his veto; but, on the contrary, the vetoed bill inva- riably showed a loss of strength after the reasons for the veto had been made known.
During Governor Hoyt's administration no extraordinary or unusual opportunity has presented itself for the display of execu- tive ability, but it will be marked as among the most peaceful and successful the State has enjoyed. At the time of his inaugura- tion, through a variety of causes, the treasury was in an unsatis- factory condition, several hundred thousand dollars of dishonored school warrants being afloat for want of sufficient funds for their redemption. By wise adjustment of the revenue laws, and a vigorous collection of delinquent taxes, the finances of the State have been brought into excellent condition, so that now every
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HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
demand is promptly met, and when he retires sufficient funds will be on hand for every purpose of governmental expense, besides large annual additions to the sinking fund. The State debt falling due during his term has been refunded at very favor- able rates of interest, so that hereafter an annual saving of several hundred thousand dollars will be made in the interest account. The credit of the State has never been so good as at the present time, and is fully equal to that of the general government.
A valuable reform in the method of punishing persons con- victed of first offences, especially the young, has been adopted through the exertions of Governor Hoyt, and is to be carried into effect at the reformatory prison now in process of construc- tion at Huntington. To this subject of the punishment of con- victs, Governor Hoyt has given thorough examination and study. Through his influence exclusively the General Assembly were induced to change the plan of building a state penitentiary into one for constructing a reformatory on the most approved and successful models, for the purpose of providing a place where unfortunate criminals, not yet hardened in crime, might be brought under good influences, and at the end of their terms of punishment have a chance, at least, of restoration to society as useful and honest citizens. Whatever benefit results from this wise humanitarian effort, the State will owe to the forethought and industry of Governor Hoyt.
The extirpation of the so-called medical college, located in Philadelphia, which, by the sale of bogus diplomas, had, for a long period, brought disgrace on the State and Nation, as well as the destruction of upwards of two hundred fraudulent insur- ance companies, had the active co-operation and support of the Governor.
In addition to the literary work already mentioned, Governor Hoyt has delivered a number of addresses on different occasions which have secured for him the reputation of being the most scholarly and cultivated Executive the State has ever had. Nota- bly, one at the opening of the Pan-Presbyterian Synod in Phila- delphia, and one at an agricultural fair at the same place. The first attracted very general attention from theologians of this and other countries there assembled as displaying a remarkable fami-
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HENRY MARTYN HOYT.
liarity, not only with all church history, but also with the tangled and abstruse theological dogmas, disputes, and doctrines of ancient and modern times-not usually within the knowledge of laymen.
Among the last and most valuable of his acts will be regarded in the history of our times his opposition to a system of personal politics, which had grown to such proportions as to threaten the integrity and freedom of our institutions. In his letter declining to act as chairman of a distinctive political meeting while holding the office of Governor, written during the campaign of 1882, he stated his convictions, and asserted "the inherent right of the freemen of a Republic to declare the ends and aims of public conduct." He rose to the height of the inspiration of the founders of this Republic in his declaration that "where in all the space between abject submission and rebellion, no place is given for appeal, argument, or protest, revolution is an appropriate remedy." And he only repeated the lessons of the history of the abolition movement and many others when he asserted that "peace will never come until the moral forces in politics which you have organized prevail." His position was taken with great pain at the thought of the possibility of offending some sincere friends; but being satisfied of his duty, and knowing better than they could the dangers arising from the political system which used public trusts solely for private and personal schemes, he sounded the alarm, and took his place, as he did in the attack on Charles- ton, in front of his friends. However much men may, in the excitement incident to a hard political struggle, differ from him in judgment, no man, friend or foe, can deny the moral courage behind the act. As to that there is no room for debate.
In conclusion of the summary of the characteristics of Governor Hoyt, here feebly portrayed, we would say that in him there is not only the intellectual power manifest in his writings and his labors at the bar, but there is a rare intellectual and moral candor, an honesty of thought, an unselfishness of purpose, and a warmth of affection, known best to them who know him best, and appre- ciated by his friends. In conversation, he always says something worth remembering. It is a flash of insight into some object or other. Wit, energy, determination, sincerity, are his characteristic
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ALEXANDER FARNHAM.
qualities-a man who believes least of all in idle complainings and questionings. Dilettanteism has no place in his composition. Sincere in his conviction of the beneficence of the results, he has shown himself willing to adopt the best methods effectual for their attainment. If no sufficient aid of the kind most desirable is present or assistant, yet in no case is the alternative of idle laissez faire and complaint to be adopted. With clear insight into the heart of things, both as to their present bearing and future prospects, he has never been known to avoid a responsi- bility, or betray a friend. His unselfishness appears at times like a lack of self-appreciation, which might be, if it has not already been, taken advantage of by scheming, if less able, associates.
Governor Hoyt was married on the 25th of September, 1855, to Mary E. Loveland, daughter of Elijah Loveland, a native of Vermont, but who removed to Kingston in 1812. Her mother is of the ninth generation of the descendants of Thomas Buck- ingham, one of the Puritan fathers, who emigrated from England to Massachusetts among the first of his class, in June, 1637, and who is the ancestor of the vast family of American Buckinghams, so many of whom have gone high up the ladder of distinction in the professions and in politics in various sections of the Union. Mr. and Mrs. Hoyt have three children living, one son and two daughters. The son, Henry M., studied law in Philadelphia with Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, and graduated in the law depart- ment of the University of Pennsylvania. He is now a practicing lawyer in Pittsburg.
ALEXANDER FARNHAM.
Like the larger number of those who have achieved especial distinction in the several walks of life in this section of Pennsyl- vania, Alexander Farnham, the subject of our present sketch, comes of New England ancestry. He was born January 12th, 1834, in Carbondale, at that time in Luzerne county, now Lack- awanna, and one of the oldest cities of the State-the sixth, we
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ALEXANDER FARNHAM.
believe, in point of age. His father was John P. Farnham, a native of the town of Oxford, N. Y., who was educated as a phy- sician, and removed to Carbondale when quite a young man, where he practiced his profession for a few years. His health failing him, he subsequently engaged in mercantile pursuits. His grandfather was a Captain in the Revolutionary war, and having been captured by the British, was imprisoned in one of the prison ships in New York harbor, and died soon after his release by reason of the hardships incurred. His father was Samuel Farn- ham, a native of Hampton, Conn., who afterwards lived in New London, from whence he removed to Oxford, N. Y., where he married Sarah Balcom, whose father was Colonel of a New Hamp- shire regiment during the Revolutionary war. The Farnhams are of an old English family, some of whom came with the first installment of Puritans to this country, and it is from them that this branch of the family descended. John P. Farnham married Mary Frances Steere (the mother of Alexander), of Norwich, N. Y., who was a daughter of Mark Steere, of Providence, R. I., who . for several years prior to the war of 1812 was engaged in the West India trade, and who during that war was captured in his own ship, the Comet. He was kept a prisoner in Jamaica, West Indies, for about a year, and was subsequently released by reason of his ship being captured in neutral waters. After the war he removed to Norwich, N. Y., where his father owned a large body of land, including the present site of the town. The father of Mark Steere was one of the Judges of Rhode Island, . and his grandfather was Chief Justice of that State.
Mr. Farnham was educated at Madison Academy, Waverly, Pa., and at Wyoming Seminary, Kingston. It is here worthy of remark, parenthetically, that the last named institution has laid the educational ground-work upon which the good names and reputations, and the business and professional successes of no small number of the very best men this portion of the State has produced, have been builded. The late Hon. Winthrop W. Ketcham was at this time one of the professors of Wyoming Seminary, and was Mr. Farnham's first Latin teacher. Young Farnham, having determined to enter the legal profession, sought and secured admission to the National Law School, at Ballston
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ALEXANDER FARNHAM.
Spa, N. Y., from which he graduated while yet in his minority, receiving his diploma from the hands of the late Chancellor Walworth. His studies for the bar were still further pursued in the office and under the tutelage of the then well known and successful law firm of Fuller & Harding, consisting of the late Hon. Henry M. Fuller and ex-Judge Harding. He was admitted just one day after becoming of age, that is, on January 13th, 1855, on the recommendation of Warren J. Woodward, Volney L. Maxwell, and Andrew T. McClintock, by whom he had been examined.
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At this time Mr. Farnham was quiet and unobtrusive, almost to an awkward shyness; but that he was well grounded in the law, as they say, and patient and persevering in the advocacy of a cause, soon made itself generally apparent, and it was not long until he had gathered about him an important and profitable clientage. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1870 was made the candidate of that party for District Attorney, but at the election ensuing was defeated by his Democratic opponent, the late E. L. Merriman. Three years later he was again made the nominee, and after a somewhat exciting canvass scored a victory over John B. Collings, who had been placed in nomination for the position by the Democrats. Too much can scarcely be said in praise of Mr. Farnham's conduct of this office. Upon the expiration of his term, we wrote:
We can say that he discharged his duties well, and that he retires with the entire confidence of the people. He managed the business of the office with consummate tact and ability, and has probably gained more popularity out of the difficult and trying position than any officer who ever preceded him. His efforts in behalf of the cause of morality, by the suppression, to a large extent, of a variety of crime, made him the terror of evil- doers, and all parties respect him for the firmness he displayed. But few men occupying a similar position ever retired with a brighter record, or more respected and esteemed by all classes with whom he came in contact in the official discharge of his duties, than Mr. Farnham.
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