USA > Pennsylvania > Lives of the governors of Pennsylvania : with the incidental history of the state, from 1609 to 1873 > Part 37
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nation stood appalled, and the capital was exposed to the attacks of the enemy, Pennsylvania had a military force well organized and equipped for the field to march at once to strengthen and reinspire the Union Army.
The reputation of the State for promptness in furnishing troops when called for by the National Government, was thus maintained throughout the entire period of the struggle. While thus zealous in the nation's cause, he was mindful also that Pennsylvania was an empire in itself, and that its vast wealth and resources were constantly tempting the enemy to devastate it. He never asked that the armies in the field should be diminished to protect the State, or main- tain its authority ; but while promptly forwarding troops to the front as fast as called for, he was always anxious to raise forces for local protection in addition to these. In 1864 he had just completed the organization of five thousand men for the defence of the southern border; but the disasters which overtook General Hunter in the upper Shenandoah Valley rendered necessary that they should be sent to the relief of his shattered army. The border being thus stripped of de- fenders, the enemy made a sudden incursion and laid in ruins the town of Chambersburg.
Governor Curtin's administration was likewise conspicuous for the beneficent and merciful policy adopted to temper the terrible scourge of war. He was ceaseless in his devotion to the interests and the wants of those whom the State had given for the national defence. He went to the field, and visited them in their camps, - not with pomp and ceremony, but to encourage them by personal intercourse. In the hos- pital he solaced the dying, gave words of hope to the wounded and suffering, and bore messages of affection to and from loved ones at home. No letter from a soldier at the front, whether officer or private, was ever received without being promptly answered. It mattered not how impossible was the request, if it could not be granted, the reason of the refusal was kindly told. In every time of suffering and discourage ment the soldier felt that he who represented the power and
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majesty of the Commonwealth at home was mindful of him. Wherever were sickness, or wounds, or death, there was the official agent of the State to perform every duty to the living and the last rites to the dead. The bodies of the deceased were brought back to sleep with their kindred, and their names enrolled in the lists of the martyred patriots.
Nor was the solicitude of the Governor confined to the soldier. He beheld his family broken, and left without support and protection by his death. The desolate hearth- stone and the moans of the bereaved excited his sym- pathy, and he applied himself vigorously to the originating of a system of care and instruction for the orphans of the fallen slain, which should make the State their guardian and supporter until of sufficient age to provide for themselves. He was successful in his humane and patriotic endeavors. The Legislature gave an attentive ear to his appeals, and has voted liberally millions of money for this worthy object. The fruits of this expenditure will be most abundant. A body of well-instructed and morally trained young men and women will be given to the Commonwealth, instead of an equal number of the offspring of ignorance and want, which would almost inevitably have been the result had they been left to neglect. Besides, it was a just debt which the State owed to the brave men who had fallen in its defence that their children should be cared for at its expense.
At the laying of the corner-stone of one of the institutions established for their education, that at McAllisterville, pre- sided over by Colonel George F. McFarland, himself a maimed soldier, one of the speakers on that occasion said : " Amid the vicissitudes of the camp, and the march, and the carnage of the battle-field, many of them fell never more to return to their homes, to their friends, and to their once happy families. The children of many of these fallen patriots were left without either father or mother, and often with no one to care for or protect them. Ignorant of a mother's love, and robbed of a father's tender care, the cry of the orphan appealed for pity ; and, thanks to a kind Providence, the ear
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of one man in Pennsylvania was not heavy. That man was Governor Curtin! He whose sympathies were the first to be touched, and whose generous nature first responded to the cry, was our honored Chief Magistrate. He first conceived the idea of making the orphans of the soldiers the children of the State! And through evil report and through good report, he has clung to that idea with a lion-hearted resolu- tion, until he has seen his plan successfully consummated. For his arduous and patriotic labors during the past six years, and for his many services to the State, the name of Andrew G. Curtin will be illustrious in its annals. But when, in the fulness of his years, he shall be laid in an honored grave, no prouder line will be found inscribed upon his tombstone than this : ' HE MADE THE ORPHANS OF THE SOLDIERS THE CHILDREN OF THE STATE! '"
In 1863, Governor Curtin was, from his arduous labors, broken in health, and was compelled to give himself, for weeks at a time, to the exclusive care of an eminent physi- cian in New York. President Lincoln, appreciating his ser- vices, and recognizing the necessity of a change of climate and employment, formally tendered him a first-class Foreign Mission, which the Governor signified his willingness to accept when his term should expire. But in the meantime he was nominated for re-election ; and relinquishing his in- tention of going abroad, he accepted the call of his fellow- citizens, and again entered upon the canvass. Thousands of voters were beyond the limits of the Commonwealth, facing a still defiant foe; but they generally favored the re-election of Governor Curtin ; and few letters were dispatched by them to friends at home that did not contain appeals to support the man who was generally known at the front as the " Soldier's Friend." He was re-elected by a majority of over fifteen thousand votes.
In 1864, Governor Curtin was so much reduced by sick- ness that his life was despaired of; and in November of that year he was ordered by his physicians to spend the severe winter months in Cuba, and thither he sailed. President
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Johnson tendered him a Foreign Mission, but he felt that he could not accept it without compromising his position before the people, and he declined. In 1867, he was a prominent candidate for the United States Senate, where a large circle of his friends were desirous of placing him; and in 1868, he was warmly supported for Vice-President in connection with General Grant. Soon after the latter's inauguration, he nominated Governor Curtin for Minister to Russia, and the nomination was promptly confirmed by the Senate. Just before embarking for his new duty he was the recipient of a marked evidence of devotion. The Councils of Philadelphia unanimously invited him to a public reception in Indepen- dence Hall, and, in addition, the leading citizens, without distinction of party, united in giving him a banquet at the Academy of Music, that has perhaps never been equalled for elegance and every manifestation of popular affection and applause.
He sailed in June, 1869, and in the discharge of his diplo- matic duties he has proven himself one of the most popular representatives which the nation has sent abroad. In the convention of the Liberal Republicans held in Cincinnati in May, 1872, as well as in that of the regular Republican Con- vention at Philadelphia, shortly afterwards, Governor Curtin had a highly respectable number of delegates who were de- . sirous of nominating him for the Vice-Presidency. In senti- ment, Governor Curtin, while adhering firmly to those car- dinal doctrines of the Republic, which he believes conducive to personal liberty and equality before the law, and a general government, on the other hand, respected at home and abroad for its inherent strength, nevertheless inclines to a conservative exercise of both prerogative and power.
In person, Governor Curtin is tall and commanding, with a broad, massive head, and deep chest, indicative of great power, blue eyes, and, in youth, chestnut hair. His appear- ance before a popular audience is inspiring; his eye is lit with the fires of enthusiasm, his nostrils are dilated, and his action bold and commanding, suggesting the model of oratory in the best of the classic days.
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Governor Curtin married Catharine, daughter of William J. Wilson, M. D., of Centre County. They have one son and four daughters. Within a few days past, August, 1872, Minister Curtin, with his family, has returned to this country. His many friends were anxious to accord him a most hearty welcome; but with sorrow they read the announcement flashed over the continent by the electric current, that his health is greatly impaired, and that his physicians have en- joined seclusion and rest. 30
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JOHN W. GEARY.
GOVERNOR UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1838. January 15, 1867, to January 21, 1873.
TOHN WHITE GEARY, the youngest of four sons, was born near Mount Pleasant, Westmoreland County, Penn- sylvania, on the 30th of December, 1819. The family was English and Scotch-Irish, but for several generations his ancestors had enjoyed the privileges and honors of Amer- ican birth. Richard Geary, his father, a native of Franklin County, received a liberal education, and was a man of re- fined tastes, amiable disposition, and superior moral excel- lence. His mother, Margaret White, was born in Washington County, Maryland, and was in all respects worthy to be the companion and help meet of her husband. They removed to Western Pennsylvania soon after their marriage, where Mr. Geary's attention being directed to the mineral wealth of that section, he was induced to engage in the manufacture of iron. This business, which has always been attended with serious risks, was much more precarious then than now; and, like many of the iron manufacturers of that period, he was unsuccessful, lost the whole of his original investment, and after resigning everything into the hands of his creditors, was left under pecuniary liabilities, which he was unable to discharge. In this trying situation he fell back upon the re- sources of his early education, and opened a select school in Westmoreland County. The remainder of his life was there devoted to a profession at all times honorable, and imposing the gravest responsibilities, but seldom lucrative; and from his previous failure in business, he died insolvent, leaving his family entirely dependent upon their own exertions for support.
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In the midst of their bereavement, they were, however, consoled by the remembrance that he whom they mourned had led a life of integrity and virtue, and had thus bequeathed an inheritance compared with which silver and gold are but as dross.
Mrs. Richard Geary inherited several families of slaves, whom she first educated and then manumitted. The manu- mission of slaves was not an event of frequent occurrence at that period; and more rarely still was the gift of freedom preceded by an education that would enable its recipients to make the most of its advantages. This incident, though probably not deemed noteworthy at the time, became sug- gestive, long after the mother had gone down to her grave, of the source whence her distinguished son drew that love of liberty and justice which has ever been one of the most promi- nent characteristics of his eventful life.
Being himself possessed of liberal culture, it was the earnest desire of the father that his sons should receive a col- legiate education. Prompted by parental love, every sacrifice possible was made to compass this end; and, after passing the usual course of preliminary studies, the youngest son was entered a student of Jefferson College, at Canonsburg, Penn- sylvania. By the sudden death of the father, the career of the son was for a time interrupted. That he might suitably protect and provide for his mother, he left college, and opened a school on his own account. Favored by the smile of Providence in his self-sacrificing course of filial duty, he was enabled to discharge the sacred trust he had assumed, and subsequently to return to his place in college, where in due course he received the honors of graduation.
For a time his thoughts turned to commercial pursuits; but convinced by a short experience in a wholesale house in Pittsburgh that this would not prove to him a satisfactory sphere of life, he yielded to his natural predilections for mathematics, and applied himself to the study of Civil En- gineering. Having mastered the principles of that profes- sion, he commenced the study of the law, in the belief that
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it would increase the chances of a successful career, and was admitted to the bar, though intending to adopt engineering as his fixed vocation. With this end in view he went to Kentucky, where he was engaged, partly in the employ of the Commonwealth, and partly in that of the Green River Railroad Company, to make a survey of several important lines of public works. The compensation for these services, with the success of a small land speculation, enabled him to execute a long-cherished, but undisclosed purpose of his heart. When he returned from Kentucky he laid in the lap of his mother a sum of money sufficient to discharge the whole amount of his deceased father's indebtedness; and then for the first time revealed to her what had always been his fixed intention.
His success in the Southwest opened the way to advance- ment in his native State; and he soon after became Assistant Superintendent and Engineer of the Alleghany Portage Railroad. While occupied with the duties of this position, events were maturing that were soon to thrill the heart of the nation, and to test the character of many of its sons. In the month of May, 1846, President Polk sent a message to Con- gress, informing that body that " war existed with this coun- try by the act of Mexico," and asking for men and money to enable him to maintain the rights and vindicate the honor of the Government. The burst of enthusiasm was instantaneous and general. Possessing naturally the military instinct, and actuated by the patriotic impulse of the hour, Geary was among the first who responded to the call for volunteers, and in a short time raised a company in Cambria County, to which he gave the name of American Highlanders. At Pittsburgh, his command was incorporated with the Second Pennsylvania Regiment, commanded by Colonel Roberts, of which he was immediately elected Lieutenant-Colonel. The regiment joined the army of General Scott at Vera Cruz, and served with conspicuous gallantry in Quitman's division during the memorable advance upon the Mexican capital. Lieutenant-Colonel Geary's first experience of actual war was
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in the partial, though spirited, action of the Pass of La Hoya. In the storming of Chapultepec he was wounded; and in the assault upon the immediate defences of the city, at the Garita de Belen, he again led his regiment with so much judgment, coolness, and intrepidity, that, upon the capture, he was assigned to the command of the great citadel as a mark of Quitman's appreciation of his services. From the time when the army entered the valley of Mexico, Colonel Roberts was disqualified for duty by sickness, and the com- mand of the regiment devolved upon the Lieutenant-Colonel. Shortly after the surrender of the capital, Colonel Roberts died, and Lieutenant-Colonel Geary was elected to succeed him. The duties of his command were discharged with entire satisfaction to its officers and men. During the home- ward march discipline was strictly preserved; and when the troops and their commander separated at Pittsburgh, the parting was attended with many signs of deep feeling and expressions of mutual esteem and regret.
On the 22d of January, 1849, President Polk, in grateful recognition of his services in the Mexican War, appointed Colonel Geary Postmaster of San Francisco, and Mail Agent for the Pacific coast, with authority to create Post Offices, ap- point Postmasters, establish mail routes, and make contracts for carrying the mails throughout California. Having re- ceived his commission, with his customary promptness, he re- turned to his home in Westmoreland, closed up his business, and, on the 1st of February, in company with his wife and child, sailed from New York for the Pacific coast. On the 1st of April, but a little more than two months from the date of his commission, he landed safely at San Francisco, and . entered at once upon the discharge of his duties. For a time he was obliged to content himself with the rudest accommo- dations, and to perform his work under many disadvantages. But here, as in all previous situations, his methodical turn and practical tact soon enabled him to improvise all needful facilities, and brought the labors of the office under an easy and expeditious management. Scarcely, however, had these
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arrangements been perfected, when he learned that General Taylor, Mr. Polk's successor in the Presidency, had appointed Jacob B. Moore to the position which he had so briefly but efficiently occupied.
The intelligent and obliging dispatch with which Colonel Geary had discharged his duties as Postmaster and Mail Agent so won the confidence and esteem of the people of San Francisco, that when the time arrived for the election of town officers, he was unanimously chosen First Alcalde, though there were ten different tickets submitted to the choice of the voters. This was only eight days after his re- moval from the office of Postmaster. Shortly afterwards, this mark of appreciation, on the part of the citizens, was fol- lowed by another equally flattering on the part of the Military Governor of the Territory, Brigadier-General Riley, who appointed him Judge of First Instance. These offices were of Mexican origin, and they imposed onerous and important duties. The Alcalde was Sheriff, Probate Judge, Recorder, Notary Public, and Coroner. The Court of First Instance exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction throughout the city, and besides this, adjudicated all those cases arising under the port regulations which usually fall within the cognizance of. Courts of Admiralty. In fact, Judge Geary was, by virtue of his double function, general curator of the public, and did nearly everything that was to be done either in the department of civil or criminal business. For a considerable length of time he was the sole magistrate, and officiated as such until the rapid increase of business obliged him to re- quest the appointment of an assistant, when W. B. Almond was created Judge of First Instance, with civil jurisdiction only. In the discharge of the manifold duties of his judicial office, Judge Geary was eminently successful. Of twenty- five hundred civil and criminal cases tried by him, not more than a dozen appeals were taken from his decision, and none of these were sustained. At the close of his first term he was re-elected, receiving all but four votes of the whole number cast, and continued in office until the Mexican institutions
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were superseded by the American forms of municipal gov- ernment.
In a vote upon the first city charter and for officers to serve thereunder, taken May 1st, 1850, Judge Geary was elected first Mayor of San Francisco by a large majority. As Mayor, he rendered valuable service in perfecting the municipal or- ganization; in restraining the tendency to extravagant ex- penditure of the public funds; sustaining the city's credit by judicious management of its finances; and by an honest disposal of the public property saved to the corporation many millions of dollars. The result was that, as his official term drew to a close, the Mayor received a communication, numer- ously signed by business firms and influential citizens of all political parties, requesting that he would consent to be a candidate for re-election. But for urgent personal reasons he felt himself obliged to decline their request. He was prevailed on, however, to accept a place on the Board of Commissioners, which had been created by the Legislature for the management of the public debt of the city, and served as its President. In this position the measures he suggested tended to establish confidence in the city's securities, and assure creditors that it would keep its plighted faith.
On the 1st of September, 1849, a convention of delegates assembled at Monterey to form a State Constitution. The body included the best talent and ripest political experience of the Territory. In the brief period of six weeks its im- portant work was completed. Colonel Geary was not a member of the Convention, but occupied such a position in the eye of the public, and held such relations to the Demo- cratic party, as enabled him to exercise a potent influence upon its deliberations. How he exerted that influence is well known. As Chairman of the Democratic Territorial Com- mittee, he was instrumental in securing the free State clause in the Constitution, and the reference of that instrument to the people for their sanction. The triumph thus achieved secured California to the Union as a free State, and warding off the nightmare of slavery, confirmed to that young and prosperous
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Commonwealth the boon of perpetual freedom. The failing health of Mrs. Geary induced her husband to return to the Atlantic States sooner than he had anticipated. On the 1st of February, 1852, he sailed from San Francisco, intending to go back and remain permanently in California; but the death of his wife, and other circumstances unforeseen, caused him to change his purpose, and gave a new direction to his whole course of life.
Soon after abandoning his design of making his home on the Pacific coast, he embarked largely in farming and rearing of stock in his native county. These were pursuits in which he had always felt a lively interest, and when the opportu- nity at last presented itself for the gratification of his tastes, he entered into his new sphere with a purpose never to abandon it. But man's ways are often not of his own choosing. After having spent about three years in retire. ment, and had in a measure brought the condition of his farm into conformity with his own ideal of what such an estate should be, President Pierce invited him to Washington for the purpose of tendering to him the Governorship of Utah, which, after due acknowledgment of the compliment, he respectfully declined.
Not the government of Utah but of Kansas was the great problem of Mr. Pierce's administration. A bloody civil strife was being waged in that Territory, and the political state of the whole country was convulsed on the subject of its affairs. One Governor had been removed for refusing to conform strictly to the Federal policy in regard to slavery, and another was preparing to flee from the Territory through fear of assassination. In view of the pressing exigency, the thoughts of the President reverted to Colonel Geary; and summoning him by despatch to the Executive Mansion, he, in a long interview, set before him the state of affairs in Kansas; and appealing to him on the grounds of patriotism and of personal friendship, urged him to accept the Gov- ernorship of the Territory. The Colonel frankly stated what were his personal wishes and his plans for life, and begged
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that he might be excused from accepting a trust involving such grave responsibilities. But the President, answering his personal pleas by considerations of public duty, finally prevailed.
Colonel Geary was commissioned Governor of Kansas in July, and proceeded immediately to his new field of labor, arriving at Fort Leavenworth on the 9th of September, 1856. His administration extended only from that date to March, 1857. He found the Territory in arms. On the one hand was a party utterly reckless and violent, intent upon the triumph of their policy, in defiance alike of the Acts of Con- gress and the laws of their Territory; on the other, a party not altogether lawless, but equally determined to maintain their rights as citizens of the United States and of the Terri- tory of Kansas. The situation was sufficiently embarrassing and deplorable in itself; but the difficulties which the Governor was required to meet and overcome were greatly increased by the fact, that the sympathies and co-operation of the people of Missouri were fiercely enlisted in behalf of their Kansas pro-slavery brethren, and that the Legislature and the United States Judges of the Territory were com- mitted to the same side. In the conflict between the two parties, voters had committed perjury, houses had been burned, crops destroyed, churches desecrated, women out- raged, men murdered, and battles fought. Those scenes of violence foreshadowed fearful days !
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