Representatives who Voted for the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, Abolishing Slavery, 38th Congress

KASSON, John Adam, 1822-1910, lawyer, diplomat.   Supporter of the Free-Soil Party. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa.  Served as a Congressman from 1863-1867, 1873-1877, 1881-1884.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


JOHN A. KASSON was born near Burlington, Vermont, January 11, 1822. Having graduated at the University of Vermont, he studied law in Massachusetts, and practiced the profession for a time in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1857 he removed to Iowa, and was appointed a Commissioner to report upon the condition of the Executive Departments of Iowa. As early as 1848 he had shown an interest in the slavery question and had gone as a delegate to the Free-Soil convention in Buffalo. He now became an active Republican and chairman of the Republican state committee. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention of 1860, and as a member of the drafting committee shared with Horace Greeley the chief responsibility for the platform finally adopted. In 1861 he was appointed Assistant Postmaster-General, but resigned the position in the following year, when he was elected a Representative to Congress from Iowa. He was re-elected in 1864 to the Thirty-Ninth Congress. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is Grenville M. Dodge.

In the post-bellum controversy over reconstruction he clearly belonged to the moderate wing of his party, but, to judge from his frequent abstentions from voting, he lacked the courage vigorously to oppose the radicals, and he withdrew from Congress in 1866. He was elected to the state legislature, serving from t868 to 1872 and taking a leading part in the successful fight for a new state capitol. In 1872 he was again a candidate for Congress, and served from 1873 to 1877. He voted for resumption of specie payments, and for the Civil Rights Bill, but against the Force Bill of 1875. In 1877 he was appointed by President Hayes as minister to Austria-Hungary, and in that post gained great popularity. Returning to the United States, he again entered the House, serving from 1881 to 1884. A member of the committee which drafted the Civil Service Act of 1883, he piloted it through the debates to final passage.

History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States. By William H. Barnes, 1868, pp. 72, 863, 525. Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 2, pp. 260-261.



KELLEY, William Darrah, 1814-1890, lawyer, jurist, abolitionist.  Kelley always opposed slavery and, with the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, abandoned the Democratic party to become one of the founders of the Republican organization. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.  Elected in 1860.  Called the “Father of the House.”  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Urged Congress to use negro soldiers. He supported all measures for the abolition of slavery and extension of suffrage to the freedmen; he believed in the "state suicide" theory and in military reconstruction.  


WILLIAM DARRAH KELLEY was born in Philadelphia in the spring of 1814. He was left an orphan when very young, dependent for support and education wholly upon his own resources. Having been errand-boy in a book-store, and copy-reader in a printing-office, in his fourteenth year he apprenticed himself in a jewelry establishment. Having learned his trade, he removed to Boston, where he remained four years working at his trade, and giving, meanwhile, considerable time to reading and study. Returning to Philadelphia, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1841. From 1846 for a period of ten years he held the office of Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia. In 1856, on the repeal of the Missouri Compromise, he left the Democratic party, and became the Republican candidate for Congress, but was defeated. In 1860 he was a delegate to the Chicago Republican Convention, and was, in the fall of the same year, elected a Representative from Pennsylvania to the Thirty-Seventh Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-Eighth, Thirty-Ninth, and Fortieth Congresses.

Although exempt from military service, he answered the emergency call of September 1862, and joined an artillery company just before the battle of Antietam, but never took part in an engagement. He favored a vigorous prosecution of the war, and boldly criticized the dilatory practices of General McClellan; he favored conscription and urged Congress to use negro soldiers. He supported all measures for the abolition of slavery and extension of suffrage to the freedmen; he believed in the "state suicide" theory and in military reconstruction.

History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States. By William H. Barnes, 1868; Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 5, Pt. 2, pp. 299-300.




KELLOGG, Francis W., 1810-1878, Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.  Served in Congress 1859-1865, 1868-1869.  Raised six regiments of cavalry for the Union Army.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


FRANCIS W. KELLOGG was born in Worthington, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, May 30, 1810. Having received a limited education, he removed to Michigan and engaged in the lumber trade. In 1856-57 he was a member of the Michigan Legislature. He was elected a Representative from Michigan to the Thirty-sixth Congress, and served on the Committee on Invalid Pensions. He was re-elected to the Thirty-seventh Congress, during which he served on the Committee on Public Lands and Expenditures in the Post-office Department. He was also re-elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and served on the Committee on Military Affairs. In 1865 he was appointed by President Lincoln collector of Internal Revenue for the Southern District of Alabama, whereupon he removed to Mobile. He was elected a Representative from Alabama to the Fortieth Congress, and on the 21st of July, 1868, was admitted to take the oath of office.

Mr. Kellogg thereupon took his seat in the Fortieth Congress, and was appointed to the Committee on Commerce. He took an active part during the brief period of his service, introducing several measures designed to benefit the region which he represented, for instance: a bill to provide for the improvement of the bay and harbor of Mobile; a bill granting the New Orleans, Mobile and Chattanooga Railroad the right of way through the public lands; and a bill to renew the grant of lands to aid in the construction of a railroad from Selma to Gadsden in the State of Alabama. He also introduced a resolution directing the Postmaster-general to open negotiations with the several European governments with whom we have postal treaties for a further reduction of the rates of international postage.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



KELLOGG, Orlando.  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth and Thirty-ninth Congresses and served from March 4, 1863, until his death


KELLOGG, ORLANDO, a Representative from New York; born in Elizabethtown, Essex County, New York, June 18, 1809; pursued an academic course; engaged in the carpenter's trade in early youth; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1838 and commenced practice in Elizabethtown; surrogate of Essex County 1840-1844; elected as a Whig to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847-March 3, 1849); was not a candidate for renomination in 1848; resumed the practice of his profession in Elizabethtown, New York; delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth and Thirty-ninth Congresses and served from March 4, 1863, until his death in Elizabethtown, New York, August 24, 1865; interment in Riverside Cemetery.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



KING, Austin A.  1802-1870, statesman, lawyer, jurist.  Democratic Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri.  Served as Congressman December 1863-March 1865, and as Governor of Missouri.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


KING, AUSTIN AUGUSTUS, a Representative from Missouri; born in Sullivan County, Tenn., September 21, 1802; attended the public schools; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1822 and commenced practice in Jackson, Tenn.; moved to Columbia, Missouri, in 1830 and continued the practice of law; served as a colonel in the Black Hawk War; member of the State house of representatives in 1834 and 1836; moved to Richmond, Missouri, in 1837, having been appointed circuit judge of the fifth circuit, and served until 1848; Governor of Missouri 1848-1853; unsuccessful candidate for election to the Thirty-third Congress in 1852; resumed the practice of law in Richmond, Missouri; delegate to the Democratic National Conventions at Charleston and Baltimore in 1860; again circuit judge from 1862 until 1863, when he resigned; elected as a Unionist to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress; resumed the practice of law; died in St. Louis, Missouri, April 22, 1870; interment in Richmond Cemetery, Richmond, Ray County, Mo. 

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



KNOX, Samuel   Lawyer, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected as an Unconditional Unionist to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served from June 10, 1864, to March 3, 1865; voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


KNOX, SAMUEL, a Representative from Missouri; born in Blandford, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1815; attended the common schools; was graduated from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1836 and from the law department of Harvard University in 1838; moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1838; was admitted to the bar and practiced; city counselor in 1845; successfully contested as an Unconditional Unionist the election of Francis P. Blair, Jr., to the Thirty-eighth Congress and served from June 10, 1864, to March 3, 1865; unsuccessful for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress; resumed the practice of law in St. Louis, Missouri; returned to Blandford, Massachusetts, where he died March 7, 1905; interment in Peabody Cemetery, Springfield, Massachusetts  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



LITTLEJOHN, DeWitt C. (1818-1892)  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (Thirty-eighth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


LITTLEJOHN, DE WITT CLINTON, a Representative from New York; born in Bridgewater, Oneida County, New York, February 7, 1818; pursued an academic course; engaged in mercantile pursuits and in the manufacture of flour at Oswego, New York; mayor of the city in 1849 and 1850; member of the State assembly 1853-1855, 1857, 1859-1861, 1866, 1867, 1870, and 1871, and served as speaker 1859-1861, 1866, 1867, 1870, and 1871; during the Civil War served as colonel of the One Hundred and Tenth New York Volunteer Infantry; resigned February 3, 1863; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); chairman, Committee on Revolutionary Pensions (Thirty-eighth Congress); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; brevetted brigadier general of Volunteers March 13, 1865; again a member of the State assembly in 1884; died in Oswego, Oswego County, New York, October 27, 1892; interment in Riverside Cemetery.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



LOAN, Benjamin F.  Union officer, member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Missouri to the Thirty-eighth Congress. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. He was subsequently re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses.


BENJAMIN F. LOAN was born in Hardinsburg, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, October 4, 1819. He received an academical education, studied law, and removed to Missouri in 1838, settling in St. Joseph for the practise of his profession. On the breaking out of the rebellion, he actively espoused the cause of the Union, and entering the army did active service as a brigadier-general. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Missouri to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and after his admission he was reported against by the Committee on Elections, but the action of the Committee was not sustained by the House, and he retained his seat. He was subsequently re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, receiving in the last election 10,942 votes against 3,980 for the opposing candidate. In the course of his three terms in Congress he served on the Committees on Military Affairs, the Pacific Railroad, Freedmen's Affairs, and the Debts of the Loyal States; and in the Fortieth Congress as chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. Mr. Loan gave expression to radical views on most of the great questions which came before Congress. In a speech on the Supplementary Reconstruction bill, he maintained that" no reconstruction can be successful that contemplates a union of authority of loyalists and traitors." He opposed the bill for the admission of Alabama, asserting that he was "not willing to release the grasp of the Federal Government placed upon the rebel States so long as the rebel spirit shall rule in those States." He pronounced boldly and decidedly against the purchase of Alaska, declaring that "when Russia comes in the character of a ' Jeremy Diddler,' claiming the fruits of the confidence game which he has been playing, I respectfully ask to be excused from acceding to his unjust demands."

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



LONGYEAR, John Westley, 1820-1875, jurist, lawyer.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan.  Served in Congress 1863-1867.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


JOHN W. LONGYEAR was born in Shandaken, Ulster County, New York, October 22, 1820. Having acquired an academical education, he removed to Michigan in 1844. He studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1846. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Michigan to the Thirty-Eighth Congress, and was re-elected in 1864. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is Austin Blair.  During both terms in congress he was chairman of the committee on expenditures on the public buildings. He was a delegate to the Loyalists' convention in Philadelphia in 1866, a member of the Michigan constitutional convention in 1867, and in 1870 became U. S. judge of the southern district of the state. His decisions, especially those in admiralty and bankruptcy cases, were extensively quoted. 

History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States. By William H. Barnes, 1868, p. 447; Appleton’s Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 1888, Volume IV, pp. 17



MARVIN, James M. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


JAMES M. MARVIN was born at Ballston, Saratoga County, New York, February 27, 1809. He spent his boyhood on a farm, and subsequently enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education. He embarked successfully in business, and became proprietor of the United States Hotel at Saratoga Springs. In 1846 he was elected to the New York Assembly, and subsequently held the office of County Supervisor for three terms. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. He served as a member of the Committee on Territories, and as chairman of the Committee on Expenses in the Treasury Department. Elected as a Republican, Mr. Marvin acted steadily with the majority in the great work of reconstructing the South, and restoring the country to a condition of peace and prosperity. He indicated his interest in the development of the region which he represented by introducing a bill to aid in the construction of a railroad for military and postal purposes through the wilderness of Northern New York, from Schenectady to the St. Lawrence river. Mr. Marvin was strictly a silent member of Congress, making no speeches on the floor of the House. As the only representative of a profession designated as " hotel keeper" in the catalogue of the House, he left the talking to the lawyers, who constituted the great majority of the members. Though not appearing conspicuously in the arena of debate, Mr. Marvin brought to bear in Congress a practical experience in finance of much value in shaping measures to meet emergencies which tested the strength of the government as thoroughly as the war itself.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



MCALLISTER, Archibald   Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


MCALLISTER, ARCHIBALD, (grandson of John Andre Hanna), a Representative from Pennsylvania; born at Fort Hunter, near Rockville, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, October 12, 1813; attended the common schools and Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania; moved to Blair County, Pennsylvania, in 1842 and engaged in manufacturing charcoal iron at Springfield Furnace; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; resumed the manufacture of iron; died in Royer, Blair County, Pennsylvania, July 18, 1883; interment in Mountain Cemetery.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



MCBRIDE, John R.   Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


MCBRIDE, JOHN ROGERS, (brother of George Wycliffe McBride), a Representative from Oregon; born near St. Louis, in Franklin County, Missouri, August 22, 1832; attended the country schools in Missouri and Oregon; moved to Oregon in 1851 with his parents, who settled near Lafayette, in Yamhill County; superintendent of schools in 1854; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1855 and commenced practice in Lafayette; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1857; member of the State senate 1860-1862; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1864; appointed by President Lincoln in 1865 to be chief justice of Idaho Territory; appointed by President Grant in 1869 to be superintendent of the United States assay office at Boise, Idaho; practiced law in Boise, Idaho, and Salt Lake City, Utah; moved to Spokane, Wash., and continued the practice of his profession; member of the Republican National Committee 1880-1892; died in Spokane, Wash., July 20, 1904; interment in Germany Hill Cemetery, St. Helens, Oregon.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



MCCLURG, Joseph Washington,  1818-1900, lawyer, legislator, soldier.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri.  Served in Congress December 1863-1868.  Elected Governor of Missouri in 1868.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. Though opposed to slavery in principle, he did not liberate the slaves which his wife had inherited until shortly before Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. In the House of Representatives he became an ardent disciple of Thaddeus Stevens [q.v.], one the leaders of radical Republicanism and emancipation.


MCCLURG, JOSEPH WASHINGTON, a Representative from Missouri; born near Lebanon, St. Louis County, Missouri, February 22, 1818; attended Xenia (Ohio) Academy and Oxford (Ohio) College; taught school in Louisiana and Mississippi in 1835 and 1836; moved to Texas in 1839; studied law and was admitted to practice at Columbus, Tex.; clerk of the circuit court in 1840; returned to Missouri in 1841 and engaged in mercantile pursuits; served during the Civil War as colonel of Cavalry in the Union Army; member of the State convention 1861-1863; elected as an Unconditional Unionist to the Thirty-eighth Congress; reelected as a Republican to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses and served from March 3, 1863, until his resignation in July 1868, having been elected Governor; elected as a Republican Governor of Missouri and served from January 31, 1869, to January 31, 1871; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; resumed mercantile pursuits at Linn Creek, Missouri, and also engaged in steamboating and lead mining; register of the land office at Springfield, Missouri, in 1889; died in London, Missouri, on December 2, 1900; interment in Lebanon Cemetery.   Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



MILLER, Samuel F.,  1827-1892, lawyer, soldier. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Supported emancipation.  Elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); member of the State constitutional convention in 1867; elected to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877);


MILLER, SAMUEL FRANKLIN, a Representative from New York; born in Franklin, Delaware County, New York, May 27, 1827; was graduated from the Delaware Literary Institute and Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1852; studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1853, but did not engage in extensive practice; engaged in farming and lumbering; member of the State assembly in 1854; served as a colonel in the State militia; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); member of the State constitutional convention in 1867; district collector of internal revenue 1869-1873; member of the State board of charities 1869-1877; elected to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877); continued agricultural pursuits and lumbering; died in Franklin, New York, on March 16, 1892; interment in Ouleout Valley Cemetery.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



MOORHEAD, James Kennedy, 1806-1884.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In Congress from December 1859-March, 1869.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


JAMES K. MOORHEAD was born September 7, 1806, in Halifax, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. He received a limited education, and spent most of his youth upon a farm, and as an apprentice to a tanner. He was one of the contractors for building the Susquehanna branch of the Pennsylvania canal, and originated a passenger-packet line on said canal. He was also superintendent and supervisor on the Juniata canal. In 1836 he removed to Pittsburg, and there took an active part in improving the navigation of the Monongahela, and was made president of a company bearing that name, which position he retained for twenty-one years. In 1838 Mr. Moorhead held the office of adjutant-general of Pennsylvania, and subsequently to this took much interest in the business of telegraphing, becoming president of several telegraph companies. In 1859 he was elected a Representative from Pennsylvania to the Thirty-sixth Congress, serving as a member of the Committee on Commerce. In the Thirty-seventh Congress, to which he was also elected, he was made chairman of the Committee on National Armories. In the Thirty-eighth Congress we find him a member of the Committee on Naval Affairs, and also serving as chairman of the Committee on Manufactures. He retained this chairmanship in the Thirty-ninth Congress, and served also on the Committee of Ways and Means. He was re-elected to the Fortieth Congress, and served on the Committee of Ways and Means. In this Congress, among other efforts of Mr. Moorhead, was an elaborate speech on Financial affaire, and a brief speech on the question of Impeachment of President Johnson, February 24,1868. Up to this time he had strenuously resisted the measure, but now conceded its necessity to the welfare of the country, and gave his vote for the resolution.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



MORRILL, Justin Smith, 1810-1898, abolitionist.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Vermont.  Served as Congressman December 1855-March 1867.  U.S. Senator 1873-1891.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. In 1854 he was elected as an Anti-Slavery Whig to the House of Representatives, commencing an unbroken service of twelve years in the House and almost thirty-two years in the Senate, to which he was elected in 1866.


JUSTIN S. MORRILL was born in Strafford, Vermont, April 14, 1810. At fifteen years of age he was taken from an academy, where he was making rapid proficiency in study, and was placed in a country store. From that time he did not enjoy another day's schooling, though he has been a hard student all his life. After a year's experience as a merchant's clerk in his native village, having received for his services only $25, he went to Portland and was employed in an extensive dry goods establishment. All the money that could be saved from his meagre salary was spent for books, which were studied with great avidity at such hours as were not occupied in his regular labors. By thus improving his time he pursued a considerable course of classical studies, and read "Blackstone's Commentaries," but with no intention of becoming a lawyer. After three years spent in Portland, he returned to his native town, and formed a partnership in mercantile business with Judge Harris. Mr. Morrill continued in this business until 1848, when he turned his attention to agricultural pursuits.

In 1854, he was elected a Representative from Vermont in the Thirty-fourth Congress, and remained a member of the House by re-elections for twelve continuous years. He was a member of the Committees on Agriculture, and Ways and Means. Of the latter committee, during the Thirty-ninth Congress, he held the important position of chairman, thus becoming what is technically styled "Leader of the House."

He introduced a bill granting lands to agricultural colleges, which was passed by Congress, but was vetoed by President Buchanan. A similar bill, which finally became a law, was ably advocated by Mr. Morrill in a speech delivered June 6, 1862. In 1856, he opposed the admission of Kansas on the terms then proposed. Subsequently, as a member of a select committee of fifteen appointed to investigate matters in relation to Kansas, he prepared and presented a minority report against the Lecompton constitution.

His first speech on the tariff question was delivered in the House, Feb. 6, 1857, against a bill reported by Mr. Campbell of Ohio, the main grounds of Mr. Morrill's opposition being that it was too much in the interest of manufactures, and adverse to agriculture. The "Morrill Tariff" was introduced and explained by him in an elaborate speech, April 23, 1860. This tariff, which became a law in 1861, effected a change from ad valorem to specific duties on a large number of articles. Increasing the duties on wool and some other agricultural products, it added many articles to the free list.

February 4, 1862, Mr. Morrill made a speech maintaining the impolicy of making paper a legal tender, since this would lead to inflation, and make great difficulty in the return to specie payments. He proposed a system of issuing exchequer bills, which, if adopted, would have tended to prevent the great depreciation of the currency which ultimately occurred.

March 12, 1862, he made a speech explanatory of the Internal Tax Bill, which, as chairman of the sub-committee to whom the subject was referred, he had performed the principal labor in preparing. By this bill was originated the vast internal revenue system which has served so excellent a purpose for the country. A system of such varied application, and yet so simple and efficient for subserving the necessities of a great nation, was never before devised. The present head of the treasury, Mr. Boutwell, after having had the experience of executing the law, as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, said that it was " the most perfect system ever devised by any nation."

In October, 1866, he was elected a Senator in Congress from Vermont, for the term ending in 1873. In the Senate he has made numerous and able speeches on the various subjects relating to the national finances and the public debt.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



MORRIS, Daniel  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he was in 1862 elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and in 1864 was re-elected. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


DANIEL MORRIS was born in Seneca County, New York, January 4, 1812. He was bred a farmer, taught school for a time, and finally became a lawyer. Having been District Attorney for Yates County, and member of the State Legislature, he was in 1862 elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and in 1864 was re-elected. His successor in the Fortieth Congress is William H. Kelsey.

History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States. By William H. Barnes, 1868,



MYERS, Amos, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


MYERS, AMOS, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Petersburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, April 23, 1824; attended a private school near Clarion, Pennsylvania, and was graduated from Meadville College in 1843; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1846 and commenced practice in Clarion, Clarion County, Pennsylvania; held several local offices; was appointed district attorney of Clarion County in 1847; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Thirty-eighth Congress); resumed the practice of law in Clarion; moved to Kentucky, was ordained to the Baptist ministry, and preached in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York; died in East Carleton (now Kent), Orleans County, New York, on October 18, 1893; interment in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Ind.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



MYERS, Leonard, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1862, he was elected a member of the Thirty-eighth Congress, from the Third District of Pennsylvania, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.   


LEONARD MYERS was born near Attleborough, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Nov. 13, 1827. Here the first ten years of his life were passed, after which his parents removed to Philadelphia. After receiving a liberal education, he entered the profession of the law, became solicitor for two municipal districts of that city, and in 1854, upon the consolidation of the Districts into one municipality, he digested the ordinances applicable to the new government, under authority of City Councils. Previous to this he frequently contributed articles to the magazines of the day, and translated several works from the French. In 1862, he was elected a member of the Thirty-eighth Congress, from the Third District of Pennsylvania, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses. In October, 1868, again unanimously renominated by the Republicans of his District, he was defeated by a small majority which bore such evident marks of being fraudulent, that he at once took the testimony to prove himself legally elected and justly entitled to a seat in the Forty-first Congress.

In June, 1865, Mr. Myers delivered in Philadelphia a memorial address on Abraham Lincoln, which was heard with marked attention, and favorably noticed by the press throughout the country. The following extracts will give some idea of its merits:

“Great occasions call forth the qualities of true greatness. Genius frequently culls opportunities for itself, but adversity is the crucible which tries men; and when the storm comes and the waves run high, and the passengers begin to despair, the quiet faith, and bravery, and skill of him who guides the vessel through in safety, marks him distinguished among his fellow-men.

Such an one was Abraham Lincoln. His life covering nearly all of the present century, he stands in moral grandeur the foremost man of his time.

“The past four years have been years of sad realities, of almost incredible romance, too. The stride of a century was not expected to do so much. More history has been crowded into them than will be told in tenfold their time.

“ Four years ago, American slavery falsified the Declaration of American liberty; to-day that slavery is dead, and waits but the forms of burial. Four years ago, the art of war, known to us in earlier struggles, seemed to have been forgotten ; now, the most warlike people of the earth, we again relapse into the pursuits of peace, secured to us by the ordeal of battle.

“ Four years ago, civil strife, the cruelest test of a nation, long predicted, long warded off, had not yet fairly burst upon our hitherto fortunate land ; but it came in all its fury, and with the world as spectators, some confiding, but more predicting disaster and political destruction; we have passed through the fiery furnace, not unscathed it may be, yet purified and regenerate. Republican institutions have stood the trial. The sovereignty of the people — the right of the majority to rule, asserted in the beginning, has been vindicated to the end, even through rivers of blood. The Flag was the shibboleth ; but on its starry folds, in storm and sunshine, still floated 'the Union ,—the People!'

“And all along this terrible struggle every eye was bent, every thought turned to him who was at the helm—now in doubt or despondency, now in hope and confidence.

“Remembering that a soft answer turneth away wrath, the cavil and the sneer fell harmless at his feet. With thanks for those who approved, he kept steadily onward. True as the needle to the pole, he only sought the salvation of his country, never forgetting the priceless legacy committed to his keeping, never doubting the justice of his cause or its final triumph, never taking a step backwards. And so he won the goal amid the hosannas of his countrymen.

“He died in the very fullness of a well-spent life, laid upon the altar of his country; just when a nation's thanks and a nation's love seemed to encircle him ; when the sneer had died upon the lip, and a world had learned to know the greatness of his heart and intellect; when he had demonstrated that among freemen there can be no successful appeal from the ballot to the bullet, and accomplished the task which he truly foreshadowed had devolved on none other since the days of Washington. “

The world contains no like record. A whole people stricken in the midst of the joy of victory and peace, to the innermost depths of grief, flags suddenly draped, the song of triumph hushed. Such sorrow never before trembled along the electric wire.

“ They took him back to his home in the West, by the route which, but little over four years since, he traversed amid the shouts of a people; they laid him in the great Hall of Independence he so revered, while from the belfry above the solemn dirge floated away into the night; and ever as he was borne onward to his resting place, through pageants of unutterable wo2, millions came quietly out to gaze upon his bier, or catch a glimpse of that dear face; and women laid flowers upon his coffin, and strong men wept like children.

“ Time may mellow the grief, but the gratitude of a nation will endure for ever. Those who were dear to him must be cared for by his countrymen. Above all, let his death waken us to a new life, that henceforth treason shall be branded--a crime without a name never in another generation to disgrace the land ; and when public virtue, and unsullied honor, and high principle need a synonym, let us remember Abraham Lincoln."

Mr. Myers has taken an active part in the important measures of the Congresses of which he was a member. On the 24th of March, 1866, he delivered an able speech on the “ Acceptance of the Results of the War the true basis of Reconstruction," wherein he gave utterance to views several of which were adopted by the Congressional Committee on Reconstruction, and embodied in their Report was prominent in securing the acceptance by the Government of League Island as a naval station, delivering an effective speech on this subject in the House, on the 7th of June, 1866. On the 29th of February, 1868, he ably and eloquently advocated the impeachment of the President, giving a brief and startling review of the wrongs which entitled Andrew Johnson to a prominent position among “instances of men in high places, who in the madness and egotism of their ambition forgot their better days, and only remain as a reproach on the pages of history.”

The main reliance of the President's advocates against this impeachment was upon the alleged “construction ” which it was generally admitted the First Congress gave to the Constitution in regard to the power of removal by the President, and which it was said the passage of it had reversed. Mr. Myers traced the history of the legislation on this subject, and claimed that the acts of 1789-1792 and 1795, which declare how vacancies in the Departments shall be filled when the President shall remove the principal officers, were in reality not constructions of the Constitution, but legislative grants of power which could be and had been repealed, showing that in that First Congress “ the clause was only passed in the House by a close vote, and in the Senate by the casting vote of its presiding officer all those against it protested such was not the meaning of the Constitution, while sufficient of its supporters to have defended it, placed their vote upon the ground that they desired to confer this authority by law.”

As a member of the Patent Committee, Mr. Myers has taken a warm interest in the inventors of the country, reporting and advocating several measures which won notice in the scientific world. In the Fortieth Congress lie was also appointed on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, from which he reported and caused the passage of a Joint Resolution appealing to Turkey on behalf of the gallant but unfortunate inhabitants of Crete. In this Congress he delivered a speech favoring the purchase of Alaska, which possesses special interest. After declaring himself favorable to the purchase, and referring to the opposition to it manifested in the House, he said:

“Reject Alaska, and there is scarcely a doubt that Russia, having once determined to part with it, would sell to England, and still less doubt that England to-morrow would seize the chance of taking it off our hands. I wonder what the American people would say to such a result! If such must come, I will not be responsible for it.

“ The British empire, covering us on the north from ocean to ocean, would develop a formidable rival on the Pacific to that commerce and trade which now can be ours alone. The British North American possessions, now almost land-locked on the west, hold out little promise to the settlers, and Anglo-Saxon enterprise finds no incentive to exertion. Give it this new outlet, and you build up a permanent, because prosperous, rival, which, holding half the continent, can never be dislodged. The people of the United States are in no haste, but they look forward surely to the day when the starry flag, which they have followed alike in storm and in sunshine, shall cover the continent. That day will come in its own good time. Let us not retard it as we did in settling the Oregon boundary. No consolidation of foreign empire must be allowed between these seas.”

Referring to the pretended worthlessness of the territory, Mr. Myers continued :

“When we acquired Louisiana by the treaty of Paris, a croaker of that day called it "a dreary and barren wilderness. Yet this fertile province was divided into rich States of the Union; and its noble stream, which, with the tributaries, forms an outlet for the productions of the mighty West, has a value world-wide, for the possession of which the armies of freedom and slavery reddened its very water, now for ever dedicated to liberty.

“ California was called an ill-starred purchase and bad bargain ; yet this same California, laden with wealth, its cereals and fruits unsurpassed, its vines bidding fair to rival those of France and Italy, came to us in less than three years a free young State, forming the first barrier on the southwest against the extension of slavery, which led us to its conquest. The $2,000,000,000 in gold it has added to the wealth of the world, sink into insignificance beside its geographical advantages and their development, of which no doubt the pursuit of that wealth was the instrument.

“But,' says my friend, ‘Alaska is in a bleak and northern region.' Perhaps there is no commoner error than that latitude is the controlling element of temperature. I do not pretend to be a climatologist; but it is well known that the southwest equatorial winds and thermal currents of the ocean produce on land what are known as isothermal lines; and the great hot currents which, lessened in intensity, flow against the shores of Britain and Norway, are but different directions of those which lave the coast of Alaska.

“ With the fisheries which this acquisition will call into being and protect, a hardy-trained race of seamen will fit themselves to sail the ships which soon must dot the Pacific between us and Asia, exchanging the wonders of either shore, and be ready to man our vessels of war should the emergency arise. That trade is now beyond a question. American civilization has done what olden Europe failed to accomplish. It has unlocked the seclusion of China, as it is gradually doing with Japan, until its population leaps the barrier of centuries to come to our nearest border; and even to-day China chooses America to lead her to the outer world. As the Occident thus clasps the Orient, and helps it shake off the custom of ages, the world will become more luminous by the contact, even as space is forgotten in the telegraphic sympathy which thrills the old and new in the same moment. These bonds must be cemented. Alaska must be ours; and remembering that we hold our heritage in trust for posterity, let no man disdain to picture the day, distant though it may be, when over the continent of North America, from ocean to ocean, from the Arctic to the Antilles, the canopy of freedom shall cover one people, one country, and one destiny."

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: Historical and Biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 1, 1869.



NELSON, Homer A., Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.   


NELSON, HOMER AUGUSTUS, a Representative from New York; born in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess County, New York, August 31, 1829; completed preparatory studies; studied law; was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Poughkeepsie, New York; judge of Dutchess County 1855-1862; colonel of the One Hundred and Fifty-ninth Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War; resigned in 1863; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth Congress; delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1867; secretary of state of New York 1867-1870; member of the State senate in 1882 and 1883; appointed a member of the commission to report a revision of the judiciary article of the State constitution in 1890; died in Poughkeepsie, New York, April 25, 1891; interment in the Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery. 

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



NORTON, Jesse O., Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery. Elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1857); was not a candidate for renomination in 1856; judge of the eleventh judicial district of Illinois 1857-1862; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia in 1866.  


NORTON, JESSE OLDS, a Representative from Illinois; born in Bennington, Bennington County, Vt., December 25, 1812; was graduated from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, in 1835; moved to Illinois; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1840 and began practice in Joliet, Illinois; member of the state constitutional convention in 1847; member of the state house of representatives in 1851 and 1852; elected as a Whig to the Thirty-third Congress and reelected as an Opposition Party candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1853-March 3, 1857); was not a candidate for renomination in 1856; judge of the eleventh judicial district of Illinois 1857-1862; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863-March 3, 1865); was not a candidate for renomination in 1864; delegate to the Union National Convention at Philadelphia in 1866; resumed the practice of his profession; died in Chicago, Illinois, August 3, 1875; interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Joliet, Illinois.  

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



O’NEILL, Charles,  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Pennsylvania to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses. Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


CHARLES O'NEILL was born in Philadelphia, March 21, 1821. He graduated at Dickinson College in 1840, and entered upon the profession of law, which he practised successfully in his native city. He was a member of the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania in 1850, 1851 and 1852. He was in 1853 a member of the State Senate, and in 1860 he served another term in the lower branch of the Legislature. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Pennsylvania to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and was re-elected to the Thirty-ninth, Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses. From the beginning of his service in Congress he was a member of the Committee on Commerce, and more recently of the Committee on Expenditures in the Post-office Department, and Private Land Claims. Speaking on a bill to modify the warehousing system, he said: "I for one, representing in part a city which is largely engaged in manufacturing, say I want to stand by our own manufacturers wherever and whenever I can."

Speaking on the Post-office Appropriation bill, he expressed the following liberal views: "In my opinion, mail facilities ought to be enlarged year by year as our country increases and extends, and that we should not keep our minds solely upon the amount of expenditure, under the impression that we must economise with a view of making the service pay for itself. What we want is cheap postage, frequent and rapid mail communication between the different points of the country, frequent deliveries of mail matter, and if the money appropriated is expended judiciously the cost to the Government to be sure must be considered, but not to the exclusion of the vast accommodations to business interests throughout the length and breadth of the land, which can be greatly improved by enlarged postal facilities."

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



ODELL, Moses F.  1818-1866, Brooklyn, New York, statesman.  Fusion Democratic, later War Democratic, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York.  Congressman 1861-1865.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


ODELL, MOSES FOWLER, a Representative from New York; born in Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York, February 24, 1818; completed preparatory studies; appointed entry clerk in the New York customhouse in 1845 and became public appraiser; elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-eighth Congresses (March 4, 1861-March 3, 1865); chairman, Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury (Thirty-seventh Congress); appointed Navy agent at the city of New York in 1865 and served until his death in Brooklyn, New York, June 13, 1866; interment in Greenwood Cemetery. 

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.



ORTH, Godlove Stein, 1817-1882, lawyer, diplomat.  Member of the anti-slavery faction of the Whig Party.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana.  U.S. Congressman December 1863-March 1871, December 1873-March 1875.  Voted for Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, establishing citizenship, due process and equal protections, and establishing voting rights for African Americans.


GODLOVE S. ORTH is descended from a Moravian family which emigrated from one of the palatinates of the old German Empire to the colony of Pennsylvania about the year 1725, under the auspices of the celebrated missionary, Count Zinzendorf. He was born near Lebanon, Pennsylvania, April 22, 1817. After receiving such education as was afforded by the schools of his neighborhood, he spent a few years in attendance at Pennsylvania College, located at Gettysburg, in which village he subsequently studied law in the office of Hon. James Cooper, and was admitted to the bar in March, 1839.

An inclination to mingle in the new scenes and activities of the growing West, led Mr. Orth in that direction, and he located in Lafayette, Indiana, which has ever since continued his home. Here he at once entered upon the practice of the law, and soon won for himself a reputation for ability and eloquence that placed him in the front rank of his profession.

His debut as a political speaker occurred during the famous Harrison campaign of 1840, in which he took an active part. The efficiency of his labors in the campaign gave him political prominence among his neighbors, and in 1843 he was nominated by the Whigs of Tippecanoe County as their candidate for State Senator and was elected in the face of a Democratic majority in the county. Though the youngest, he was recognized as one of the ablest members of the Senate, and before the close of his term was elected its President by an almost unanimous vote.

In February, 1846, he was nominated by the Whig State Convention for Lieutenant Governor, which position he declined, and at the urgent request of his constituents, he consented to become a candidate for re-election to the Senate. He was again successful, and in 1846 entered upon his second term of three years in the Senate. During this term he was assigned to the important position of chairman of the Judiciary Committee. This position was conferred by the President of the Senate, who was a Democrat—a rare instance of such a compliment being conferred upon a political opponent.

In 1848 he was a candidate for presidential elector, on the Taylor and Fillmore ticket, and as such stumped the northern half of Indiana. Upon the close of his second term in the Senate, he withdrew for a time from public life and devoted himself to the practice of his profession, at all times, however, taking a deep interest in current politics, and identifying himself with those who were battling against the encroachments of slavery.

In 1861 he was one of the five commissioners appointed by Governor Morton to represent Indiana in the Peace Congress. His experience in that body satisfied him of the hopelessness of any compromise with a power which spurned all overtures except such as were dictated by the Southern delegates, many of whom were then plotting the destruction of the Government.

On the return of Mr. Orth from the Peace Congress, his neighbors requested him to address a large meeting of his fellow-citizens on the absorbing question of the hour. He complied, and told them plainly that he regarded a conflict as inevitable, and advised them to prepare for the emergency.

The outbreak of hostilities at Charleston soon followed, and from that time forth he was zealously committed to the cause of the Union and the suppression of the rebellion, lending all his influence to the support of the administration in its vigorous prosecution of the war.

In the summer of 1862, the southern portion of Indiana being threatened with a rebel invasion, the Governor made a call for volunteers to meet the emergency. The same day (Sunday) on which this call was issued, it was responded to by a public meeting in Lafayette, at which Mr. Orth closed an eloquent appeal by placing his own name the first upon the roll of volunteers—an example which was at once followed by about two hundred men, who elected him captain, and within twenty-four hours reported for duty at Indianapolis. Mr. Orth was sent with his men to the Ohio River, and placed in command of the United States ram " Horner," on which he did duty, patrolling the river until his term of service expired.

In October, 1862, he was elected a Representative in the Thirty-eighth Congress, his competitor being Hon. John Pettit, who had represented the district for several years. On the organization of the House, Mr. Orth was assigned to duty on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on the Freedmen. It was during this Congress that the latter committee matured and reported the several measures of legislation in reference to that large class of people whom the war was daily transferring from slavery to freedom. Mr. Orth was identified with them as well as with the other new and reformatory measures of the Republican party. By his intelligent comprehension of the great questions cast upon Congress, and by his able exposition of them at various times on the floor, he obtained high standing and commanding influence among his fellow-members.

As a member of the Thirty-eighth Congress Mr. Orth had the enviable opportunity of placing his name on the roll with those who voted for the memorable amendment abolishing slavery. While this amendment was under discussion, he advocated its adoption in a speech of much force and eloquence, predicting the future greatness of the Republic, which should culminate in " the American flag floating over every foot of this continent, and the American Constitution protecting every human being on its soil."

In October, 1864, Mr. Orth was elected to the Thirty-ninth Congress. The prominent measure of this Congress was the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was proposed to the different States for ratification, and this, more largely than any other, entered into the political canvass of 1866. The defection of President Johnson and the consequent dissensions in the Republican party, made the campaign of 1866 more than usually important and exciting. The opposition felt much encouraged, and expected to carry enough of the doubtful Congressional Districts to give them control of the lower house of the ensuing Congress. Mr. Orth was unanimously nominated for re-election, and his district, always close and hotly contested, was now regarded as one which might be carried by the opposition. To effect this, all the elements of opposition, personal and political, were combined against him. The Democrats declined to make any nomination, and united with the " Johnsonized" Republicans in support of an "independent" candidate. The alliance had at its command large sums of money which was most liberally used; it controlled the entire federal patronage of the district, and subordinated every other interest for the sole purpose of ensuring his defeat, but in vain. He was sustained by his constituents, and although elected by a reduced majority, the result was everywhere regarded as a splendid triumph for Mr. Orth.

In the Fortieth Congress to which he was thus elected, Mr. Orth followed to their logical conclusions the several measures already inaugurated by the Republican party.

In 1868 he was again re-elected to Congress—the fourth time he was thus honored by his constituents. The honor was the more distinguished from the fact that never before in his district had any one received so many successive elections to Congress. In the Fortieth Congress

Mr. Orth introduced a series of resolutions in reference to the annexation of San Domingo, and on the 5th of April, 1869, made a speech in favor of their adoption, in which he maintained that territorial extension "strengthens our government, increases our wealth, and adds to our power and grandeur." He is entitled to the credit of initiating the measure of annexation which has culminated in a treaty for that purpose now pending in the Senate of the United States.

Mr. Orth is a gentleman of fine personal address and of genial manners. His long continuance in public life attests the estimation in which he is held by those who know him best. Throughout his entire career he has possessed the confidence of his friends and the respect of his opponents.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



PATTERSON, James Willis, 1823-1893, educator.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Hampshire.  Congressman 1863-1867.  Elected U.S. Senator 1866-1873.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


JAMES W. PATTERSON was born in Henniker, a small farming town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, July 2, 1823. His father was a direct descendant of William Duncan and Naomi Bell, from whom originated some of the most superior men which New Hampshire has produced. The subject of this sketch was, however, born in poverty, and inured to toil and hardship.

When eight years of age he went with his family to Lowell, Massachusetts, where he remained until he was thirteen. In 1836, he went back with the family to his native town, and subsequently for two years worked on a farm, in winter attending the academy in Henniker village, two miles and a half distant. In 1836, he returned to Lowell, and obtained employment in a cotton mill. The agent of the mill, John Aiken, Esq., a gentleman of penetration, practiced in reading character, soon took him from the mill into his counting room, where he continued two years. While in this position he was a leading member of a debating society, conducted at that period with great spirit by the young men of Lowell. It seems to have been largely due to the aspirations awakened by this society, that, with the approbation of his friend Mr. Aiken, he resigned his place in the counting room, for the purpose of seeking a liberal education. In the ensuing winter he taught a district school in his native place, and in the spring of 1842, went to the city of Manchester, where his parents then resided, and there entered with all his energies upon his preparation for college. The study of a single year, with little or no instruction, sufficed to fit him for college. In 1844, at the age of twenty-one, le entered Dartmouth College, and graduated with the first honors of his class in 1848. Subsequently for two years he was in charge of an academy in Woodstock, Conn., and at the same time he was pursuing a course of study with a view to the profession of the law. But becoming an intimate friend of Henry Ward Beecher, who at that period was accustomed to spend his vacations in Connecticut, he was induced through his influence to turn his attention to theology. In 1851, he entered the Theological Seminary at New Haven, of which the illustrious Dr. Taylor was then the leading spirit. In a single year he completed the prescribed studies of two, at the same time teaching in a ladies' seminary to pay his expenses.

From the Theological Seminary, Mr. Patterson was called back to Dartmouth College as tutor; and when the chair of Mathematics became vacant by the resignation of Prof. John S. Woodman, he was elected to that professorship. Subsequently, on the re-organization of the Departments, he was assigned to the chair of Astronomy and Meteorology, which he filled with conspicuous ability.

From 1858 to 1861, he was a member of the State Board of Education, and, as its Secretary, had the leading part of the work to do in preparing the Annual State Reports on Education. His duty as School Commissioner required him to address the people in various parts of the State, on the subject of Common School Education. The ability displayed by Mr. Patterson in these addresses, attracted the attention of the people, and caused them to demand his services in the wider fields of politics and statesmanship.

In 1862, he was sent to the State Legislature as a Representative of Hanover, the seat of Dartmouth College. His reputation and talents at once gave him a commanding position in that body.

In the spring of 1863, Mr. Patterson was elected a Representative from New Hampshire in the Thirty-eighth Congress. He was appointed on the Committee on Expenditures in the Treasury Department, and on that for the District of Columbia. In 1864, he was appointed a Regent of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1865, he was re-elected to Congress, serving on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and on a Special Committee on a Department of Education. In June, 1866, he was elected United States Senator for the term ending in 1873, and is now serving on the Committee on Foreign Relations, and that on the District of Columbia.

In the popular branch of Congress, Mr. Patterson more than justified the high expectations which his entrance into that body awakened. His duties as a member of the Committee on the District of Columbia immediately made him acquainted with leading public interests and the prominent business men of Washington, and it is safe to say that from then till now there has been no member of either branch of Congress above him in the esteem and confidence of all classes in the District. His lively interest in free schools has especially won for him the regards of all connected with that cause in the District. To him belongs the honor of drafting and maturing the excellent existing School Law of the District, providing for the free education of all the children, without distinction of color, and placing the colored schools upon the same basis with the white schools. A crude bill looking to this result was presented at the time to the Senate Committee on the District of Columbia ; but such was the deference to Mr. Patterson in such matters, that the bill was sent to the House Committee, of which he was then Chairman, with the understanding that he should draft a School Law covering that whole subject. From his first entrance into Congress, he has been recognized by the people of the District as the special champion of education, and has frequently been called upon to promote this cause by public addresses. At the inauguration of the Wallach School House, the first free school edifice worthy of the cause erected in the National capital, July 4, 1863, Mr. Patterson delivered an address, which is one of the best, as well as one of the earliest of his efforts in furtherance of education in the District.

Among the best specimens of Mr. Patterson's eloquence, is his eulogy upon the life and character of Abraham Lincoln, delivered at Concord, New Hampshire, June 3, 1865, at the request of the State authorities. This discourse delineates the wonderful character of the illustrious martyr with remarkable discrimination and comprehensiveness, while it often rises to the highest style of this species of commemorative eloquence. The following paragraph doubtless owes something of its terse and truthful brevity to the fact that the orator was enunciating the results of stern personal experience. He says of President Lincoln :

“Poverty brought labor and habits of industry; privations gave a broad experience and sympathy with those who eat bread in the sweat of their brows; the irrepressible impulses of a mind conscious of strength, induced study and thought. These were the sources of that intelligence, that tender sensibility to the misfortunes and sorrows of the humblest citizen, and that large executive ability which characterized his subsequent career.”

Perhaps the ablest, most finished, and most eloquent of all his published discourses is that which he pronounced on the.“ Responsibilities of Republics,” August 29, 1865, at Fort Popham, Me., on the 258th Anniversary of the planting of the Popham Colony. A single passage taken almost at random is here introduced. After a compact and philosophical statement of the fundamental ideas comprised in the American system, and of the process by which those ideas were developed into a Government, the orator adds :

“But the end is not yet. We, too, have work to do; for the foundations of the republic are not yet completed. We cannot escape the responsibility of those who build for posterity. The great architects of our system reared the framework, and other generations have labored faithfully and successfully upon it. The star-lit flag which symbolizes its existence, more beautiful than the pearly gates of morning closed with bars of crimson, has been unfurled over fleet, and camp, and court, but the broad substructure of this great nation cannot be settled firmly and compactly in its bed in a hundred years.

“I am a long time painting,' says an old Greek artist ; for I paint for a long time. This is the laconic language of a universal truth. Whatever is destined long to survive, comes slowly to maturity. The primeval forests of cedar and oak, whose giant strength has resisted the forces of decay through half the life-time of man, slowly lifted their gnarled and massive forms through centuries of growth. The earth's deep plating was laid, stratum above stratum, through the lapse of the silent, unchronicled ages; for it was to be the theater of man's historic career. While the old cathedrals of Europe have risen slowly to their grand and solemn beauty, kings, their founders, have moldered back to dust within their vaults, and the names of their architects have perished from memory. Succeeding generations have added a tower, a stained window, or a jeweled altar, and lain down to rest beneath their shadow, and the work still lingers; but there they stand, firm as the hills, perpetuating in histories of stone the moral life and intellectual growth of the world, through many of its most eventful centuries. These are but types of national life.

“From the foundations of Rome, eight centuries, crowded with the reverses and triumphs of a heroic people, had passed into history, ere she became the mistress of the world.

“The republic of Venice, too, which at first fled from Rome's insatiable lust of power, and hid herself in the islands of the sea, dropping her bridal ring into the Adriatic, while the white-haired Doge pronounced the 'Desponsamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii,' wedded the waves to her sweep of power through thirteen hundred years of freedom.”

One of his ablest speeches in the House was that which he delivered in 1864, on the Consular Bill, and which was recognized in Congress, at the State Department, and elsewhere, as an eminently able and exhaustive presentation upon that important subject. His speech on the Constitutional Amendment may also be mentioned as one of the best of the many able arguments made in the House at the time of the passage of that great measure. His services in the last two Presidential Campaigns have made his finished and popular eloquence familiar to every section of the country. On the stump he is perhaps surpassed by no orator in the country in the popularity and effectiveness of his eloquence. In all these efforts he deals almost exclusively with the great philosophical principles of Government and of parties, appealing to the understanding, and not to the passions of his audiences.

In the Senate, Mr. Patterson has already reached a high position. His broad, liberal culture, the deliberative character of his eloquence, and his habit of grappling with subjects in their foundation principles, all combine to give him great influence in the Senate. He fills the seat vacated by Judge Daniel Clark, and it is a just and ample tribute to say of him that he adorns the place that for ten years was occupied by that able and eminent Senator.

Mr. Patterson seems to have been exceedingly fortunate in his career, but his success has been the natural result of the fact that every public duty to which he has successively been called, has been executed wisely and well. From his first entrance into public life he has been a favorite with all classes in his State, and in Congress as well as at home at the present time he has the respect of all as an honest, able, and enlightened Statesman.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: Historical and Biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 1, 1869.

His career in Washington closed under a cloud created by the Credit Mobilier scandal, but historians have been puzzled to understand why he was recommended for expulsion when no drastic action was taken in the cases of other more serious offenders. That his conduct had been indiscreet is unquestionable; and his apparent attempt to conceal relevant facts created a bad impression; but many believed the truth of his own statement that he had supposed the stock purchased for him was Union Pacific rather than Credit Mobilier. His term ended within a few days after the Senate investigating committee had submitted a report recommending his expulsion, and without opportunity for discussion on the floor, a fact which led many to believe that he had been unjustly dealt with. His defense subsequently published, and reprinted in a public document (Senate Report 519, 42 Congress, 3 Session), is somewhat naive but strengthens the impression that he was innocent of corrupt motives.

He had been defeated for renomination in 1872 and spent the years following his retirement in Hanover. He traveled extensively and was in frequent demand as a public speaker and lecturer. He again represented Hanover in the legislature for two terms, 1877-78. From 1881 to 1893 he was state superintendent of public instruction. He was largely instrumental in securing the passage of the Act of 1885 substituting the town for the local district as the unit of public-school organization. He resigned in 1893 when again appointed to the Dartmouth faculty, this time as professor of rhetoric and oratory. His reappointment was considered a measure of vindication which he did not live to enjoy fully, his death occurring unexpectedly a few weeks later.

Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1936, Volume 7, Pt. 2, p. 303-304:



PERHAM, Sidney  born 1819.  Statesman. Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.  Served in Congress 1863-1869.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.  Governor of Maine 1871-1874. 


SIDNEY PEEHAM was born in "Woodstock, Maine, March 27, 1819. He was educated chiefly in the common schools, and until thirty-five years of age, he was a farmer and school teacher. He was a member of the Maine State Board of Agriculture in 1852 and 1853. He was elected a member of the State Legislature in 1854, and was chosen Speaker of the House. He was elected Clerk of Courts for the county of Oxford in 1858, and was re-elected in 1861. He was elected to the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses—receiving in the last election 6,421 majority.

In early life he became interested in the Temperance reform, and by his example and lectures contributed largely to the success of that cause in the State of Maine.

During the war he was untiring in his attention to the wants of the soldiers—visiting them in the hospital, communicating with their friends, aiding them in obtaining discharges, furloughs, pay, bounty, pensions, etc., and in every way possible ministering to their necessities.

He was for six years a member and four years Chairman of the Pension Committee, the duties of which involved a very large amount of labor. He reported and carried through the House most of the provisions of law increasing pensions to invalids in proportion to the degree of disability, and giving an additional pension to widows, according to the number of children dependent on them for support. Mr. Perham, as a member of Congress, was always at the post of duty, whether in the committee room or on the floor of the House. He made but few speeches, never claiming the attention of the House unless the interest of his constituents or the business he had in hand required it.

He was governor of Maine in 1871-'4. 

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



PIKE, Frederick A., 1817-1886, lawyer.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maine.  Member of Congress 1861-1869.  Active in emancipation of slaves.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery


FORTY years ago, Calais, Maine, was a new settlement on a strip of land just cleared of forest. Situated at the head of the navigable waters of the river St. Croix, it was accessible to sailing vessels eight or nine months in the year, and was connected with the Western towns by a single road, over which a weekly mail came without regularity, bringing Boston papers six or eight days old. The chief employment of its enterprising pioneer population was lumbering, a pursuit calculated to give strong and marked development to both body and mind. The exposure to the intense cold in short winter days and long winter nights, the long journeys through trackless forests and over ice-bound lakes, the danger of getting lost in the woods, and the expedients necessary to be devised in order to keep alive under such circumstances, all tended to give to the lumbermen of that day a vigor of body and mind which characterizes their children to this day. It gave fortitude and contempt for danger such as carried the Sixth Regiment Maine Volunteers, raised in this region, through their bloody charges at St. Mary's Heights and Rappahannock Station.

In this then remote settlement of Calais, Frederick A. Pike was born in 1817. When he was quite young, it was his misfortune to lose his father by accidental death. The care and support of the family thus devolved upon the widowed mother, a lady whose devotion, energy, and good sense are shown in the eminent success of her sons. The eldest of these is the well-known “J. S. P.” late Minister to the Hague, whose racy epigrammatic articles in the Tribune and other leading journals have given him a wide reputation. The second son, Charles E. Pike, Esq., recently Solicitor of the Internal Revenue in Washington, now in active practice at the Boston bar, has long been highly appreciated and eminently successful in his profession.

Frederick A. Pike, as a boy, was educated at public schools, taught three summer months by a woman, and three winter months by a man. He subsequently spent a short time at the County Academy, and entered Bowdoin College in the Class of 1839. In those days boating had not become so common and popular among collegians as at present, yet Mr. Pike made a voyage in an open boat from New Brunswick, Maine, to Boston, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles, across a stormy and unsheltered sea, at so much personal risk as to attract the notice of the newspapers of the day. Leaving college without graduation, Mr. Pike employed himself for some years as a teacher of public schools, and as a mercantile clerk. Meanwhile he studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1841.

As a lawyer, he early took high rank as an advocate and manager of causes on trial. He completely identified himself with the feelings of his client, and exhibited an unyielding determination to take care of his interests. Skillful in the examination of witnesses, quick to see and take advantage of the mistakes of his opponent, and ready on all the points of law and practice, he attained to a high degree of professional success.

He served for several years as Prosecuting Attorney for the County. He was for some time editor of the local newspaper, and has ever since retained, with greater or less intimacy, his connection with the press. In politics, Mr. Pike was originally a Whig, and was an avowed Abolitionist when the name was odious, Since the formation of the Republican party, he has been an earnest and consistent supporter of its principles. In 1856, Mr. Pike's friends made a strenuous effort to send him to Congress, but failed to secure his nomination. In this year he was elected to the State Legislature, and was returned for the two succeeding years, during the last of which he was Speaker of the House. In the Legislature he held a prominent position. He made many noteworthy speeches, particularly one upon a railroad controversy of general interest, which is regarded as the happiest forensic effort of his life.

In 1860, Mr. Pike was elected, by the Republicans, a Representative in the Thirty-seventh Congress, and has subsequently served in the Thirty-eighth, Thirty-ninth, and Fortieth Congresses. He most cheerfully performed the augmented duties devolved upon his office by the emergencies of the war. He was assiduous in his efforts to comply with the numerous requests of his correspondents. In addition to his regular duties as a member of Congress, he was occupied in visiting hospitals, looking after the interests of soldiers, and in transacting business for his constituents with the various departments of the Government.

During the war, Mr. Pike was one of the most fearless and emphatic supporters of the Government in the halls of Congress. Every measure for the raising of men and money had his earnest support and advocacy. Representing a maritime community, he was, on entering Congress, very properly placed on the Committee of Naval Affairs, of which he was a member during his entire term of service, and its Chairman in the Fortieth Congress. He was prompt and regular in his attention to duty on this committee, and deeply interested in measures emanating from it, advocating them upon the floor with earnestness and force. He has manifested more interest in measures affecting the trade of the country than in those more purely political. Subjects of finance, of tariff, or revenue, coming up for the action of Congress, received his close attention, and frequently called him into discussions. He has been particularly vigilant in his attention to subjects of especial concern to his constituents—the shipping, the lumbering, and the fishing interests. He was an early opponent of the Reciprocity Treaty with Great Britain, and labored with success for its repeal, believing that it operated unfavorably to the United States, and especially to the State of Maine.

When Congress became involved in the controversy with the President, Mr. Pike was among those who insisted most firmly upon the rights, privileges, and power of the legislative department of the Government. When the House presented Articles of Impeachment against President Johnson, he gave them his earnest and active support.

Mr. Pike's first speech in Congress was made in February, 1862. It was upon the Legal-Tender Bill; and in connection with that measure, criticized General McClellan's policy, and commended that of Secretary Stanton, who had just issued his famous “ Mill Spring” address to the army. The speech closed as follows:

“The next sixty days are to be the opportunity for the nation to re-assert itself. In them, past blunders can be remedied, and the memory of inefficiency be lost in the brilliancy of triumph. I have all faith in the war, when it shall move to the tones of our new Secretary. It has already done much to enlighten our people as to the destiny of the Republic. Civilians in high station and officers of leading rank have been converted by it to sound doctrines of political action. It is the measure of our civilization and christianity. In its grand march in the future, it shall carry with it, like a torrent, the sophisms and theories of vicious political organizations; and presently clearing itself of all entanglements, it will make plain to the world that this is a contest of ideas. It will try aspirants for the leadership; and when one fails, another shall supply his place ; until, in God's own time, the appointed Joshua shall be found who shall lead us into the promised land of peace and liberty.

“Our duty to-day is to tax and fight—twin brothers of great power; to them, in good time, shall be added a third ; whether he shall be of executive parentage or generated in Congress, or spring, like Minerva, full-grown from the head of our army, I care not. Come he will, and his name shall be Emancipation. And these three-tax, fight, emancipate—shall be the trinity of our salvation. In this sign we shall conquer.”

This was the first announcement in Congress of the necessity of Emancipation to the success of the war. Gurowski says in his “ Diary” that it was the key. note of the Thirty-seventh Congress.

Mr. Pike voted with the ultra anti-slavery men on all occasions ; and when the great anti-slavery amendment to the Constitution was pending, in January, 1865, he said :

“When, something more than a quarter of a century ago, just commencing active life, I made myself conspicuous in a limited sphere by attacking Slavery, I had no expectation of taking part here and now in the grand consummation of its utter demolition.”

After arguing the constitutional points, he closed: “Let the amendment be adopted, and slavery be destroyed, and hereafter the only contest upon the subject will be, Who did the most to bring about this consummation so devoutly wished for by all good men. The earlier anti-slavery men shall have their full meed of praise. They did well. They brought the wrongs inherent in the institution to the attention of the people of the country. They would not be put down at the bidding of the imperious advocates of the system. But slavery flourished under their attacks. It grew rich and strong It waxed fat. How long it would have lived, God only knows, if it had not injured itself. But it was not content. It destroyed itself. Our Davids were not powerful enough to inflict a mortal blow upon this modern Goliah, and Heaven would have it that the giant wrong of the age should commit suicide.

“And when the genius of history shall write its epitaph on the walls of the great Hereafter, specifying the date of its death, short stay will it make in describing its virtues; but after cataloguing a portion of the great crimes it has committed against mankind, it will add, ' Dead ! dead! not of Lloyd Garrison or Wendell Phillips, but dead of Jefferson Davis and the Montgomery Constitution.'

“God speed the day of its burial, for with it, as creator, ends this war of its creation, and liberty and peace shall come hand in hand, and bless the continent with their presence.”

Mr. Pike is happy in his domestic life, having married, in 1846, Miss Mary H. Green, a lady of rare endowments of heart and mind. After the experience of a winter in the South, she wrote “ Ida May," and some other novels, which were received by the public with great favor. Her mental activity and acquirements have been chiefly displayed, however, in a rare conversational talent, which makes her the charm of the social circle.

In person, Mr. Pike is of medium height, of dark complexion, with black hair and eyes. He is lively and entertaining in conversation, ardent in his friendships, and decided in his dislikes. Proud, sensitive, honorable, and truthful, he possesses all the elements of an original and independent character.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: Historical and Biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 1, 1869.



POMEROY, Theodore M.  born 1824, lawyer.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York.  Re-elected Congressman from March 1861-March 1869.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.


THEODORE M. POMEROY was born in Cayuga, New York, December 31, 1824. He graduated at Hamilton College, and adopted the profession of law, making his residence in the city of Auburn. From 1850 to 1856 he was district attorney for the County of Cayuga, and in 1857 he was a member of the State Assembly.

In 1860 he was elected a Representative from New York to the Thirty-seventh Congress as a Republican, and was re-elected for three succeeding Congressional terms. In the Fortieth Congress, he was chairman of the Committee of Banking and Currency, which perfected measures relating to some of the most important subjects of recent legislation. When the House was in Committee of the Whole, he was generally called to the chair, and displayed great familiarity with parliamentary law, and remarkable ability as a presiding officer. On the day before the close of the Fortieth Congress, he was unanimously elected Speaker of the House. In the course of a few impressive remarks made on assuming the chair, he said: "It has been my pleasure for eight years to mingle humbly in the labors of this House; and in retiring, as I expect to do within a brief period, forever from all official connection with the American Congress, I carry with me at least this gratification, that in all those years I have never upon this floor received from a member of this House one word of unkindness nor one act of disrespect. . . There is a significance which a man must be differently constituted from myself, if he can ever forget, which arises from the kind personal consideration which is involved in my unanimous election to this most honorable position."

The House unanimously adopted a resolution of thanks for "the very able, dignified and impartial manner in which he has discharged the duties of Speaker for the brief but very trying period during which he has occupied the chair."

At twelve o'clock, noon, of March 4th, 1869, the Fortieth Congress expired by limitation of law, and the Speaker pronounced it adjourned sine die, using the following words which may appropriately close this personal history of its members:

"OUR PERSONAL RELATIONS, OUR SYMPATHIES, OUR KINDNESSES, ALL THE TIES THAT BIND US TO EACH OTHER WILL FOREVER LIVE AS PART OF OURSELVES."  

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.



PRICE, Hiram, 1814-1901.  Republican Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Iowa.  Congressman 1863-1869, 1876-1881.  Voted for Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery.   


HIRAM PRICE was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, January 10, 1814, received a common school education, and was trained for business pursuits. Removing to Iowa, be settled in Davenport, and devoted himself to mercantile pursuits and banking. He became president of the State Bank of Iowa, and was paymaster-general of Iowa in 1861. In 1862 he was elected a Representative from Iowa to the Thirty-eighth Congress, in which he was chairman of the Committee on Revolutionary Claims. Re-elected to the Thirty-ninth and Fortieth Congresses, he was chairman of the Committee on the Pacific Railroad. A ready and fluent debater, he frequently took part in the discussions of the House, advocating with zeal the measures and policy with which the Republican party was identified in Congress. On the 22d of February, Mr. Price eloquently advocated the impeachment of the President, and a few days after, in another speech on the same subject, declared the proceeding to be "a legal, financial, and political necessity." In an able speech, July 1,1868, he opposed the purchase of Alaska, using the following plain and conclusive illustration: "If an individual who was pecuniarily involved to such an extent that he was compelled to renew his notes from time to time, and beg time from his creditors, should take money which he borrowed at an exorbitant rate of interest to purchase a piece of property which he had no kind of use for, he would be called by all honest and prudent men either a very weak or a very wicked man, and I hold, sir, that the same rule that applies to individuals is equally applicable to nations."

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volume 2, 1869.


Sources:
History of the Thirty-Ninth Congress of the United States. By William H. Barnes, 1868.

The Fortieth Congress of the United States: historical and biographical. By William H. Barnes, Volumes 1-2, 1869.

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present.