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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY

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Portrait and biographical record of Montgomery, Parke and Fountain . . .

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Montgomery, Parke and

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INDIANA

CONTAINING

Biographical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens,

TOGETHER WITH BIOGRAPHIES AND PORTRAITS OF ALL THE

m Presidents of the United ^States.®

CHICAGO G^JLJ^Fls^A.l^r BROS.

1893

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5HE greatest of English historians, Macaulat, and one of the most brilliant writers of the present century, has said: "The history of a country is best told in a record of the lives of its people." In conformity with this idea the Portrait and Biographical Record 0f t,uis county has been prepared. Instead of going to musty records, and taking therefrom dry statistical matter that can be appreciated by but few, our corps of writers have gone to the people, the men and women who have, by their enterprise and industry, brought the county to rank second to none among those comprising this great and noble State, and from their lips have the story of their life struggles. No more interesting or instructive matter could be presented to an intelli- gent public. In this volume will be found a record of many whose lives are worthy the imitation of coming generations. It tells how some, commencing life in poverty, by industry and economy have accumulated wealth. It tells how others, with limited advantages for securing an education, have become learned men and women, with an influence extending throughout the length and breadth of the land. It tells of men who have risen from the lower walks of life to eminence as statesmen, and whose names have become famous. It tells of those in every walk in life who have striven to succeed, and records how that success has usually crowned their efforts. It tells also of many, very man}r, who, not seeking the applause of the world, have pursued "the even tenor of their way," content to have it said of them as Christ said of the woman performing a deed of mercy — "they have done what they could." It tells how that many in the pride and strength Of 3roung manhood left the plow and the anvil, the lawyer's office and the counting-room, left every trade and profession, and at their country's call went forth valiantly "to do or die," and how through their efforts the Union was restored and peace once more reigned in the land. In the life of every man and of every woman is a lesson that should not be lost upon those who follow after.

Coming generations will appreciate this volume and preserve it as a sacred treasure, from the fact that it contains so much that would never find its way into public records, and which would otherwise be inaccessible. Great care has been taken in the compilation of the work and every opportunity possibk given to those represented to insure correctness in what has been written, and the publishers flatter them selves that they give to their readers a work with few errors of consequence. In addition to the biogranr ical sketches, portraits of a number of representative citizens are given.

The faces of some, and biographical sketches of many, will be missed in this volume. For this the publishers are not to blame. Not having a proper conception of the work, some refused to give the information necessary to compile a sketch, while others were indifferent. Occasionally some member of the family would oppose the enterprise, and on account of such opposition the support of the interested one would be withheld. In a few instances men could never be found, though repeated calls were made at their residence or place of business.

July, 18'J3. CHAPMAN BROS.

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FIRST PRESIDENT.

HE Father of our Country was born in Westmorland Co., Va., Feb. 22, 1732. His parents were Augustine and Mary (Ball) Washington. The family to which he belonged has not been satisfactorily traced in England. His great-grand- father, John Washington, em- igrated to Virginia about 1657, and became a prosperous planter. He had two sons, Lawrence and John. The former married Mildred Warner and had three children, John, Augustine and Mildred. Augus- tine, the father of George, first married Jane Butler, who bore him four children, two of whom, Lawrence and Augustine, reached maturity. Of six children by his second marriage, George was the eldest, the others being Betty, Samuel, John Augustine, Charles and Mildred. A.ugustine Washington, the father of George, died in T743, leaving a large landed property. To his eldest son, Lawrence, he bequeathed an estate on the Patomac, afterwards known as Mount Vernon, and to George he left the parental residence. George received only such education as the neighborhood schools afforded, save for a short time after he left school, when he received private instruction in mathematics. His spelling was rather defective.

Remarkable stories are told of his great physical strength and development at an early age. He was an acknowledged leader among his companions, and was early noted for that nobleness of character, fair- ness and veracity which characterized his whole life.

When George was 14 years old he had a desire to go to sea, and a midshipman's warrant was secured for him, but through the opposition of his mother the idea was abandoned. Two years later he was appointed surveyor to the immense estate of Lord Fairfax. In this business he spent three years in a rough frontier life, gaining experience which afterwards proved very essential to him. In r75r, though only 19 years of age, he was appointed adjutant with the rank of major in the Virginia militia, then being trained for active service against the French and Indians. Soon after this he sailed to the West Indies with his brother Lawrence, who went there to restore his health They soon returned, and in the summer of ^52 Lawrence died, leaving a large fortune to an infant daughter who did not long survive him. On her demise the estate of Mount Vernon was given to George.

Upon the arrival of Robert Dinwiddie, as Lieuten- ant-Governor of Virginia, in 1752, the militia was reorganized, and the province divided into four mili- tary districts, of which the northern was assigned to Washington as adjutant general. Shortly after this a very perilous mission was assigned him and ac- cepted, which others had refused. .This was to pro- ceed to the French post near Lake Erie in North- western Pennsylvania. The distance to be traversed was between 500 and 600 miles. Winter was at hand, and the journey was to be made without military escort, through a territory occupied by Indians. The

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

trip was a perilous one, and several limes he came near losing his life, yet he returned in safety and furnished a full and useful report of his expedition. A regiment of 300 men was raised in Virginia and put in com- mand of Col. Joshua Fry, and Major Washington was commissioned lieutenant-colonel. Active war was then begun against the French and Indians, in which Washington took a most important part. In the memorable event of July 9, 1755, known as Brad- dock's defeat, Washington was almost the only officer of distinction who escaped from the calamities of the day with life and honor. The other aids of Braddock were disabled early in the action, and Washington alone was left in that capacity on the field. In a letter to his brother he says : " I had four bullets through my coat, and two horses shot under me, yet I escaped unhurt, though death was leveling my companions on every side." An Indian sharpshooter said he was not born to be killed by a bullet, for he had taken direct aim at him seventeen times, and failed to hit him.

After having been five years in the military service, and vainly sought promotion in the royal army, he look advantage of the fall of Fort Duquesne and the expulsion of the French from the valley of the Ohio, to resign his commission. Soon after he entered the Legislature, where, although not a leader, he took an active and important part. January 17, 1759, he married Mrs. Martha (Dandridge) Custis, the wealthy widow of John Parke Custis.

When the British Parliament had closed the port ^f Boston, the cry went up throughout the provinces that "The cause of Boston is the cause of us all." It was then, at the suggestion of Virginia, that a Con- gress of all the colonies was called to meet at Phila- delphia,Sept. 5, 1774, to secure their common liberties, peaceably if possible. To this Congress Col. Wash- ington was sent as a delegate. On May 10, 1775, the Congress re-assembled, when the hostile intentions of England were plainly apparent. The battles of Con- cord and Lexington had been fought. Among the first acts of this Congress was the election of a com- mander-in-chief of the colonial forces. This high and responsible office was conferred upon Washington, who was still a member of the Congress. He accepted it on June 19, but upon the express condition that he receive no salary. He would keep an exact account of expenses and expect Congress lo pay them and nothing more. It is not the object of this sketch to trace the military acts of Washington, to whom the fortunes and liberties of the people of this country were so long confided. The war was conducted by him under every possible disadvantage, and while his forces often met with reverses, yet he overcame every obstacle, and after seven years of heroic devotion and matchless skill he gained liberty for the greatest nation of earth. On Dec. 23, 1783, Washington, in a parting address of surpassing beauty, resigned his

commission as commander-in-chief of the army 10 to the Continental Congress sitting at Annapolis. H. retired immediately to Mount Vernon and resumeu his occupation as a farmer and planter, shunning all connection with public life.

In February, 1 7 89, Washington was unanimously elected President. In his presidential career he was subject to the peculiar trials incidental to a new government ; trials from lack of confidence on the part of other governments; trials from want of harmony between the different sections of our own country; trials from the impoverished condition of the country, owing to the war and want of credit; trials from the beginnings of party strife. He was no partisan. His clear judgment could discern the golden mean; and while perhaps this alone kept our government from sinking at the very outset, it left him exposed to attacks from both sides, which were often bitter and very annoying.

At the expiration of his first term he was unani- mously re-elected. At the end of this term many were anxious that he be re-elected, but he absolutely refused a third nomination. On the fourth of Marth, 1797, at the expiraton of his second term as Presi- dent, he returned to his home, hoping to pass there his few remaining years free from the annoyances of public life. Later in the year, however, his repose seemed likely to be interrupted by war with France. At the prospect of such a war he was again urged to take command of the armies. He chose his sul - ordinate officers and left to them the charge of mat ters in the field, which he superintended from his home. In accepting the command he made the reservation that he was not to be in the field until it was necessary. In the midst of these preparations his life was suddenly cut off. December 1 2, he took a severe cold from a ride in the rain, which, settling in his throat, produced inflammation, and terminated fatally on the night of the fourteenth. On the eigh- teenth his body was borne wi'h military honors to its final resting place, and interred in the family vault at Mount Vernon.

Of the character of Washington it is impossible to speak but in terms of the highest respect and ad- miration. The more we see of the operations of our government, and the more deeply we feel the difficulty of uniting all opinions in a common interest, the more highly we must estimate the force of his tal- ent and character, which have be<*n able to challenge the reverence of all parties, and principles, and na- tions, and to win a fame as extended as the limits of the globe, and which we cannot but believe will be as lasting as the existence of man.

The person of Washington was unusally tan, erecl and well proportioned. His muscular strength was great. His features were of a beautiful symmetry He commanded respect without any appearance of haughtiness, and ever serious without heing dull.

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SECOND PRESIDENT.

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OHN ADAMS, the second .President and the first Vice- President of the United States, was born in Braintree ( now Quincy),Mass., and about ten "^ miles from Boston, Oct. 19, 1735. His great-grandfather, Henry- Adams, emigrated from England about 1640, with a family of eight sons, and settled at Braintree. The parents of John were John and Susannah (Boylston) Adams. His father was a farmer of limited means, to which he added the bus- iness of shoemaking. He gave his eldest son, John, a classical educa- tion at Harvard College. John graduated in 1755, and at once took charge of the school in Worcester, Mass. This he found but a 'school of affliction," from which he endeavored to gain relief by devoting himself, in addition, to the study of law. For this purpose he placed himself under the tuition of the only lawyer in the town. He had thought seriously of the clerical profession but seems to have been turned from this by what he termed " the frightful engines of ecclesiastical coun- jils, of diabolical malice, and Calvanistic good nature,'' of the operations of which he had been a witness in his native town. He was well fitted for the legal profession, possessing a clear, sonorous voice, being ready and fluent of speech, and having quick percep- tive powers. He gradually gained practice, and in 1764 married Abigail Smith, a daughter of a minister, and a lady of superior intelligence. Shortly after his marriage, (1765), the attempt of Parliamentary taxa- tion turned him from law to politics. He took initial steps toward holdir._, a town meeting, and the resolu-

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tions he offered on the subject became very popular throughout the Province, and were adopted word for word by over forty different towns. He moved to Bos ton in 1768, and became one of the most courageous and prominent advocates of the popular cause, and was chosen a member of the General Court (the Leg- lislature) in 1770.

Mr. Adams was chosen one of the first delegates from Massachusetts to the first Continental Congress, which met in 1774. Here he distinguished himselt by his capacity for business and for debate, and ad- vocated the movement for independence against the majority of the members. In May, 1776, he moved and carried a resolution in Congress that the Colonies should assume the duties of self-government. He. was a prominent member of the committee of avei appointed June 1 1 , to prepare a declaration of inde- pendence. This article was drawn by Jefferson, but on Adams devolved the task of battling it through Congress in a three days debate.

On the day after the Declaration of Independence was passed, while his soul was yet warm with ths glow of excited feeling, he wrote a letter to his wife which, as we read it now, seems to have been dictated by the spirit of prophecy. "Yesterday," he says, "the greatest question was decided that ever was debated in America; and greater, perhaps, never -was or wiL be decided among men. A resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, ' that these United States are, and of right ought to be, free and hide- pendent states.' The day is passed. The fourth of July, 1776, will be a memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe it will be celebrated by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary, festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of' deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to Almighty God. It ought to be solemnized with pomp, shows-

JOHN ADAMS.

games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward for ever. You will think me transported with enthusiasm, but I am not. I am well aware of the toil, and blood and treasure, that it will cost to maintain this declaration, and support and defend these States; yet, through all the gloom, I can see the rays of light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means; and that posterity will triumph, although you and I may rue, which I hope we shall not."

In November, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a delegate to France, and to co-operate with Bemjamin Franklin and Arthur Lee, who were then in Paris, in the endeavor to obtain assistance in arms and money from the French Government. This was a severe trial to his patriotism, as it separated him from his home, compelled him to cross the ocean in winter, and ex- posed him to great peril of capture by the British cruis- ers, who were seeking him. He left France June 17, 1779. In September of the same year he was again chosen to go to Paris, and there hold himself in readi- ness to negotiate a treaty of peace and of commerce with Great Britian, as soon as the British Cabinet might be found willing to listen to such pioposels. He sailed for France in November, from there he went to Holland, where he negotiated important loans and formed important commercial treaties.

Finally a treaty of peace with England was signed Jan. 21, 1783. The re-action from the excitement, toil and anxiety through which Mr. Adams had passed threw him into a fever. After suffering from a con- tinued fever and becoming feeble and emaciated he was advised to goto England to drink the waters of Bath. While in England, still drooping anddespond- ing, he received dispatches from his own government urging the necessity of his going to Amsterdam to negotiate another loan. It was winter, his health was delicate, yet he immediately set out, and through storm, on sea, on horseback and foot,he made the trip.

February 24, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams envoy to the Court of St. James. Here he met face to face the King of England, who had so long re- garded him as a traitor. As England did not condescend to appoint a minister to the United States, and as Mr. Adams felt that he was accom- plishing but little, he sought permission to return to his own country, where he arrived in June, 1788.

When Washington was first chosen President, John Adams, rendered illustiious by his signal services at home and abroad, was chosen Vice President. Again at the second election of Washington as President, Adams was chosen Vice President. In 17 96, Wash- ington retired from public life, and Mr. Adams was elected President,though not without much opposition. Serving in this office four years, he was succeeded by Mr. Jefferson, his opponent in politics.

While Mr. Adams was Vice President the great

French Revolution shook the continent of Europe, and it was upon this point which he was atissuj with the majority of his countrymen led by Mr. Jefferson. Mr. Adams felt no sympathy with the French people in their struggle, for he had no confidence in their power of self-government, and he utterly abhored the classof atheist philosophers who he claimed caused it. On the other hand Jefferson's sympathies were strongly enlisted in behalf of the French people. Hence or- iginated the alienation between these distinguished men, and two powerful parties were thus soon organ- ized, Adams at the head of the one whose sympathies were with England and Jefferson led the other in sympathy with France.

The world has seldom seen a spectacle of more moral beauty and grandeur, than was presented by the old age of Mr. Adams. The violence of party feeling had died away, and he had begun to receive that just appreciation which, to most men, is not accorded till after death. No one could look upon his venerable form, and think of what he had done and suffered, and how he had given up all the prime and strength of his life to the public good, without the deepest emotion of gratitude and respect. It was his peculiar good fortune to witness the complete success of the institution which he had been so active in creating and supporting. In 1824, his cup of happiness was filled to the brim, by seeing his son elevated to the highest station in the gift of the people.

The fourth of July, 1826, which completed the half century since the signing of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, arrived, and there were but three of the signers of that immortal instrument left upon the earth to hail its morning light. And, as it is well known, on that day two of these finished their earthly pilgrimage, a coincidence so remarkable as to seem miraculous. For a few days before Mr. Adams had been rapidly failing, and on the morning of the fourth he found himself too weak to rise from his bed. On being requested to name a toast for the customary celebration of the day, he exclaimed "In- dependence forever." When the day was ushered in, by the ringing of bells and the firing of cannons, he was asked by one of his attendants if he knew what day it was? He replied, "O yes; it is the glor- ious fourth of July — God bless it — God bless you all." In the course of the day he said, "It is a great and glorious day." The last words he uttered were, "Jefferson survives." But he had, at ore o'clock, re- signed his spirit into the hands of his God.

The personal appearance and manners of Mr Adams were not particularly prepossessing. His face, as his portrait manifests.was intellectual ard expres sive, but his figure was low and ungraceful, and h'S. manners were frequently abrupt and uncourteotis. He had neither the lofty dignity of Washington, nor the engaging elegance and gracefulness which marked the manners and address of Tefferson.

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THIRD PRESIDENT.

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HOMAS JEFFERSON was born April 2, 1743, at Shad- Pwell, Albermarle county, Va. His parents were Peter and Jane ( Randolph) Jefferson, the former a native of Wales, and the latter born in Lon- don. To them were born six daughters and two sons, of whom Thomas was the elder. When 14 years of age his father died. He received a most liberal education, hav- ing been kept diligently at school from the time he was five years of age. In 1760 he entered William rnd Mary College. Williamsburg was then the seat of the Colonial Court, and it was the obodeof fashion and splendor. Young Jefferson, who was then 17 years old, lived somewhat expensively, keeping fine horses, and much caressed by gay society, yet he was earnestly devoted to his studies, and irreproacha- able in his morals. It is strange, however, under such influences, that he was not ruined. In the sec- ond year of his college course, moved by some un- explained inward impulse, he discarded his horses, society, and even his favorite violin, to which he had previously given much time. He often devoted fifteen hours a day to hard study, allowing himself for ex- ercise only a run in the evening twilight of a mile out of the city and back again. He thus attained very high intellectual culture, alike excellence in philoso- phy and the languages. The most difficult Latin and Greek authors he read with facility. A more finished scholar has seldom gone forth from college halls; and

there was not to be found, perhaps, in all Virginia, a more pureminded, upright, gentlemanly young man.

Immediately upon leaving college he began the study of law. For the short time he continued in the practice of his profession he rose rapidly and distin- guished himself by his energy and accuteness as a lawyer. But the times called for greater action. The policy of England had awakened the spirit of resistance of the American Colonies, and the enlarged views which Jefferson had ever entertained, soon led him into active political life. In 1769 he was chosen a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses In r 77 2 he married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a very beauti- ful, wealthy and highly accomplished young widow

Upon Mr. Jefferson's large estate at Shadwell, thsre was a majestic swell of land, called Monticello, which commanded a prospect of wonderful extent and beauty. This spot Mr. Jefferson selected for his new home; and here he reared a mansion of modest yet elegant architecture, which, next to Mount Vernon became the most distinguished resort in our land.

In 1775 he was sent to the Cclonial Congress. where, though a silent member, his abilities as a writer and a reasoner soon become known, and he was placed upon a number of important committees, and was chairman of the one appointed for the draw- ing up of a declaration of independence. This com- mittee consisted of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston. Jefferson, as chairman, was appointed to draw up the paper. Franklin and Adams suggested a few verbal changes before it was submitted to Con- gress. On June 28, a few slight changes were made in it by Congress, and it was passed and signed July 4, 1776, What must have been the feelings of that

28

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

man — what the emotions that swelled his breast— - who was charged with the preparation of that Dec- laration, which, while it made known the wrongs of America, was also to publish her to the world, free, 60verign and independent. It is one of the most re- markable papers ever written ; and did no other effort of the mind of its author exist, that alone would be sufficient to stamp his name with immortality.

In 1779 Mr. Jefferson was elected successor to Patrick Henry, as Governor of Virginia. At one time the British officer, Tarleton, sent a secret expedition to Monticello, to capture the Governor. Scarcely five minutes elapsed after the hurried escape of Mr. Jef- ferson and his family, ere his mansion was in posses- sion of the British troops. His wife's health, never very good, was much injured by this excitement, and in the summer of 1782 she died.

Mr. Jefferson was elected to Congress in 1783. Two years later he was appointed Minister Plenipo- tentiary to France. Returning to the United States in September, 1789, he became Secretary of State in Washington's cabinet. This position he resigned Jan. 1, 1794. In 1797, he was chosen Vice Presi- dent, and four years later was elected President over Mr. Adams, with Aaron Burr as Vice President. Ih 1804 he was re-elected with wonderful unanimity, and George Clinton, Vice President.

The early part of Mr. Jefferson's second adminstra- tion was disturbed by an event which threatened the tranquility and peace of the Union ; this was the con- spiracy of Aaron Burr. Defeated in the late election to the Vice Presidency, and led on by an unprincipled ambition, this extraordinary man formed the plan of a military expedition into the Spanish territories on our -southwestern frontier, for the purpose of forming there a new republic. This has been generally supposed was a mere pretext ; and although it has not been generally known what his real plans were, there is no doubt that they were of a far more dangerous character.

In 1809, at the expiration of the second term for which Mr. Jefferson had been elected, he determined to retire from political life. For a period of nearly forty years, he had been continually before the pub- lic, and all that time had been employed in offices of the greatest trust and responsibility. Having thus de- voted the best part of his life to the service of his country, he now felt desirous of that rest which his declining years required, and upon the organization of the new administration, in March, 1809, he bid fare- well forever to public life, and retired to Monticello.

Mr. Jefferson was profuse in his hospitality. Whole families came in their coaches with their horses, — fathers and mothers, boys and girls, babies and nurses, — and remained three and even six months. Life at Monticello, for years, resembled that at a fashionable watering-place.

The fourth of July, 1826, being the fiftieth anniver-

sary of the Declaration of American Independence, great preparations were made in every part of the Union for its celebration, as the nation's jubilee, and the citizens of Washington, to add to the solemnity of the occasion, invited Mr. Jefferson, as the framer, and one of the few surviving signers of the Declara- tion, to participate in their festivities. But an ill- ness, which had been of several weeks duration, and had been continually increasing, compelled him to decline the invitation.

On the second of July, the disease under which he was laboring left him, but in such a reduced state that his medical attendants, entertained nc hope of his recovery. From this time he was perfectly sensible that his last hour was at hand. On the next day, which was Monday, he asked of those around him, the day of the month, and on being told it was the third of July, he expressed the earnest wish tha'. he might be permitted to breathe the airof the fiftieth anniversary. His prayer was heard — that day, whose Sawn was hailed with such rapture through our land, burst upon his eyes, and then they were closed for- ever. And what a noble consummation of a noble life ! To die on that day, — the birthday of a nation,- - the day which his own name and his own act had rendered glorious; to die amidst the rejoicings and festivities of a whole nation, who looked up to him, as the author, under God, of their greatest blessings, was all that was wanting to fill up the record his life.

Almost at the same hour of his death, the kin- dred spirit of the venerable Adams, as if to bear him company, left trie scene of his earthly honors. Hand in hand they had stood forth, the champions of freedom ; hand in hand, during the dark and desper- ate struggle of the Revolution, they had cheered and animated their desponding countrymen; for half a century they had labored together for the good of the country; and now hand in hand" they depart. In their lives they had been united in the same great cause of liberty, and in their deaths they were not divided.

In person Mr. Jefferson was tall and thin, rather above six feet in height, but well formed; his eyes were light, his hair originally red, in after life became white and silvery ; his complexion was fair, his fore- head broad, and his whole countenance intelligent and thoughtful. He possessed great fortitude of mind as well as personal courage ; and }.:s command of tem- per was such that his oldest and most intimate friends never recollected to have seen him in a passion. His manners, though dignified, were simple and un- affected, and his hospitality was so unbounded that all found at his house a ready welcome. In conver- sation he was fluent, eloquent and enthusiastic; and his language was remarkably pure and correct. He was a finished classical scholar, and in his writings is discernable the care with which he formed his style upon the best models of antiquity.

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FOURTH PRESIDENT.

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AMES MADISON, "Father of the Constitution," and fourth ■f President of the United States, was born March 16, 1757, and died at his home in Virginia, June 28, 1836. The name of James Madison is inseparably con- nected with most of the important events in that heroic period of our country during which the founda- tions of this great republic were laid. He was the last of the founders of the Constitution of the United States to be called to his eternal reward.

The Madison family were among the early emigrants to the New World, landing upon the shores of the Chesa- peake but 15 years after the settle- ment of Jamestown. The father of James Madison was an opulent planter, residing upon a very fine es- tate called "Montpelier," Orange Co., Va. The mansion was situated in the midst of scenery highly pictur- esque and romantic, on the west side of South-west Mountain, at the foot of Blue Ridge. It was but 25 miles from the home of Jefferson at Monticello. The closest personal and political attachment existed between these illustrious men, from their early youth until death.

The early education of Mr. Madison was conducted mostly at home under a private tutor. At the age of 18 he was sent to Princeton College, in New Jersey. Here he applied himself to study with the most im-

prudent zeal; allowing himself, for months, but three hours' sleep out of the 24. His health thus became so seriously impaired that he never recovered any vigor of constitution. He graduated in 177 1, with a feeble body, with a character of utmost purity, and with a mind highly disciplined and richly stored with learning which embellished and gave proficiency to his subsf ■ quent career.

Returning to Virginia, he commenced the study of law and a course of extensive and systematic reading. This educational course, the spirit of the times in which he lived, and the society with which he asso- ciated, all combined to inspire him with a strong love of liberty, and to train him for his life-work ot a statesman. Being naturally of a religious turn of mind, and his frail health leading him to think that his life was not to be long, he directed especial atten- tion to theological studies. Endowed with a mind singularly free from passion and prejudice, and with almost unequalled powers of reasoning, he weighed all the arguments for and against revealed religion, until his faith became so established as never to be shaken.

In the spring of 1776, when 26 years of age, he was elected a member of the Virginia Convention, to frame the constitution of the State. The next year (T777)> ne was a candidate for the General Assembly. He refused to treat the whisky-lovir.g voters, and consequently lost his election ; but those who had witnessed the talent, energy and public spirit of the modest young man, enlisted themselves in his behalf, and he was appointed to the Executive Council.

Both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson were Governors of Virginia while Mr. Madison remained member of the Council ; and their appreciation of his

32

JAMES MADISON.

intellectual, social and moral worth, contributed not a little to his subsequent eminence. In the year 1780, he was elected a member of the Continental Congress. Here he met the most illustrious men in our land, and he was immediately assigned to one of the most conspicuous positions among them.

For three years Mr. Madison continued in Con- gress, one of its most active and influential members. In the year ^84, his term having expired, he was elected a member of the Virginia Legislature.

No man felt more deeply than Mr. Madison the utter inetficiency of the old confederacy, with no na- tional government, with no power to form treaties which would be binding, or to enforce law. There was not any State more prominent than Virginia in the declaration, that an efficient national government must be formed. In January, 1786, Mr. Madison carried a resolution through the Ceneral Assembly of Virginia, inviting the other States to appoint commis- sioners to meet in convention at Annapolis to discuss this subject. Five States only were represented. The convention, however, issued another call, drawn up by Mr. Madison, urging all the States to send their delegates to Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to draft a Constitution for the United States, to take the place of that Confederate League. The delegates met at the time appointed. Every State but Rhode Island was represented. George Washington was chosen president of the convention ; and the present Consti- tution of the United States was then and there formed. There was, perhaps, no mind and no pen more ac- tive in framing this immortal document than the mind and the pen of James Madison.

The Constitution, adopted by a vote 81 to 79, was to be presented to the several States for acceptance. But grave solicitude was felt. Should it be rejected we should be left but a conglomeration of independent States, with but little power at home and little respect abroad. Mr. Madison was selected by the conven- tion to draw up an address to the people of the United States, expounding the principles of the Constitution, and urging its adoption. There was great opposition to it at first, but it at length triumphed over all, and went into effect in 1789.

Mr. Madison was elected to the House of Repre- sentatives in the first Congress, and soon became the avowed leader of the Republican party. While in New York attending Congress, he met Mrs. Todd, a young widow of remarkable power of fascination, whom he married. She was in person and character queenly, and probably no lady has thus far occupied so prominent a position in the very peculiar society which has constituted our republican court as Mrs. Madison.

Mr. Madison served as Secretary of State under Jefferson, and at the close of his administration was chosen President. At this time the encroach- ments of England had brought us to the verge of war. ,

British orders in council destioyed our commerce, and our flag was exposed to constant insult. Mr. Madison was a man of peace. Scholarly in his taste, retiring in his disposition, war had no charms for him. But the meekest spirit can be roused. It makes one's blood boil, even now, to think of an American ship brought to, upon the ocean, by the guns of an English cruiser. A young lieutenant steps on board and orders the crew to be paraded before him. With great nonchal- ance he selects any number whom he may please to designate as British subjects ; orders them down the ship's side into his boat ; and places them on the gun- deck of his man-of-war, to fight, by compulsion, the battles of England. This right of search and im- pressment, no efforts of our Government could induce the British cabinet to relinquish.

On the 1 8th of June, 18 12, President Madison gave his approval to an act of Congress declaring war against Great Britain. Notwithstanding the bitter hostility of the Federal party to the war, the country in general approved; and Mr. Madison, on the 4th of March, i8i3> was re-elected by a large majority, and entered upon his second term of office. This is not the place to describe the various adventures of this war on the land and on the water. Our infan . navy then laid the foundations of its renown in grap- pling with the most formidable power which ever swept the seas. The contest commenced in earnest by the appearance of a British fleet, early in February, i8t3, in Chesapeake Bay, declaring nearly the whole coast of the United States under blockade.

The Emperor of Russia offered his services as me ditator. America accepted ; England refused. A Brit- ish force of five thousand men landed on the banks of the Patuxet River, near its entrance into Chesa- peake Bay, and marched rapidly, by way of Bladens- burg, upon Washington.

The straggling little city of Washington was thrown into consternation. The cannon of the brief conflict at Bladensburg echoed through the streets of the metropolis. The whole population fled from the city. The President, leaving Mrs. Madison in the White House, with her carriage drawn up at the doer to await his speedy return, hurried to meet the officers in a council of war. He met our troops utterly routed, and he could not go back without danger of being captured. But few hours elapsed ere the Presidential Mansion, the Capitol, and all the public buildings in Washington were in flames.

The war closed after two years of fighting, and on Feb. 13, i8i5,the treaty of peace was signed atGhent.

On the 4th of March, 1817, his second term of office expired, and he resigned the Presidential chair to his friend, James Monroe. He retired to his beau- tiful home at Montpelier, and there passed the re- mainder of his days. On June 28, 1836, then at the age of 85 years, he fell asleep in death. Mrs. Madi- son died July 12, 1849.

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FIFTH PRESIDENT.

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AMES MONROE, the fifth .Presidentof The United States, was born in Westmoreland Co., Va., April 28, 1758. His early life was passed at the place of nativity. His ancestors had for lany years resided in the prov- ince in which he was born. When, at 17 years of age, in the process