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with John Quincy Adams, Horace Mann, Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, Robert Rantoul, Charles Sumner, and Henry Wilson, while in the later years of his life he has been on a footing with the leading statesmen and public men.

The last service Mr. Winthrop did was to prepare the oration to be delivered at the inauguration of the Washington monument, in February, 1885.

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HON. GEORGE F. EDMUNDS.

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HE subject of this sketch was born in Richmond, Vermont, February 28, 1828. His father was a thrifty and hard-working New England farmer, of strictest Puritanical habits; his mother was of Quaker descent, with the gentleness which comes from that origin. As soon as old enough he was sent to the public schools, and after awhile had the benefit of a private tutor. He very early in life developed a fondness for study and intellectual effort, being able to master easily and readily the lessons which were given him. While yet in his teens, he showed the possession of a natural aptitude for the law, and determining to pursue that profession, entered upon his studies with great assiduity, and completed them with perfect success. In 1849, when only twenty-one years of age, he was admitted to the bar. While his study of the law had been in Burlington, as soon as admitted to practice he returned to his native town, and entered the office of his brother-in-law, A. B. Maynard. Here he remained until 1851, when he removed to Burlington, and was soon in the full tide of success. Distinguished as a boy for maturity of mind and expression of thought, when matured he was no less noted for his readiness of wit and strong intellectual qualities, making him early in life a peer among the most notable lawyers of New England. In August, 1852, Mr. Edmunds was married to Miss Susan Marsh Lyman, daughter of Hon. Wyllis Lyman, of Berlin, Vermont, a lawyer of considerable repute. At the end of five years of exclusive devotion to his profession, he was induced to enter the political arena; but from the first has never sought political honors. He was a member of the State Legislature in 1854, 1855, 1857, 1858, and 1859, three years of which he was

Speaker of the House. In 1861 and 1862 he was State Senator and presiding officer pro tempore. When Solomon Foot's seat in the United States Senate became vacant, by reason of his death. Mr. Edmunds was appointed to the vacancy, taking his seat April 5, 1866. The Legislature elected him for the remainder of the term ending March 4, 1869. He has been three times re-elected, and is one of a very few who are in that body whose tenure of office is secure; for unless disabled physically or mentally, or elected to a higher office, Vermont will undoubtedly do herself the high honor of continuing her distinguished son in the National Council for an indefinite period.

He was elected a member of the Electoral Commission in 1877, and in consequence of his great legal knowledge, succeeded Lyman Trumbull as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, a post which he still retains. In the contest with Andrew Johnson, he proved conservative and moderate, his influence being exerted to allay the inflammation of the public mind. The initiation of the Electoral Commission and the Pacific Railroad Funding Bill were carried largely through his efforts. Senator Edmunds is not an eloquent speaker, but he is fluent and convincing. He is a man to speak to thoughtful men, and convinces by the symmetry of his thoughts, and the logic and truth which pervade his utterances. He is ready in repartee, and a master in the skill of extemporaneous argument; is noted for his keen sarcasm and drastic humor; but he scarcely ever goes so far as to break personal relations with any of his fellow members of the Senate or bar. Mr. Edmunds is unalterably opposed to all underhand work or irregular proceedings, and no man alive would even dare to approach him with a dishonorable proposition. When Senator Anthony's health failed, his brother Senators wished to elevate him to the dignity of President of the Senate, but he declined to act only so long as absolutely necessary. He never log-rolls for office; honors so far have sought him, and so it will be until the end.

HON. SCHUYLER COLFAX.

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CHUYLER COLFAX was born in New York City, March 23, 1823, and attended the common schools of that city until he was ten years old.

at this tender age as
tinued three years.

He began work clerk in a store, in which he conHe then removed to St. Joseph

County, Indiana, with his mother and stepfather, and soon found employment as clerk at New Carlisle. After being about four years in this position he was appointed Deputy Auditor for the county, and removed to South Bend. He then began a course of study, read law, and wrote for the newspapers.

When twenty-two years of age he became the proprietor and editor of the St. Joseph Valley Register, published at South Bend, which he made an influential newspaper.

His political preferences at the time were Whig, and in 1848 he was a delegate and Secretary to the Convention which nominated General Taylor. A year after he was elected a member of the Convention to revise the Constitution of Indiana. Mr. Colfax was nominated for Congress in 1851, but defeated. He was a second time delegate to a National Convention, in 1862, but refused to be a candidate for Congress in that year. Two years afterward, however, he was elected to the House of Representatives against a candidate for re-election who had voted for the Nebraska bill. The young statesman soon made his influence felt in Washington. He detected and defeated two attempts to put a Democratic Speaker in the chair, and during the debates on the Kansas-Nebraska bill, delivered two strong speeches in behalf of the free settlers. One of these addresses was published as a campaign document

by the Republican party in 1856. While in Washington he was nominated for re-election, and carried his district, although the National election went against his party. He was re-elected to each succeeding Congress until he was chosen for higher honors. In the Thirty-fifth Congress he was a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs, and in the Thirty-sixth he was Chairman of the Committee on Postoffices and Post Roads. He was active in extending the mail facilities of the West and in reforming postal laws. The nomination of Mr. Lincoln was highly satisfactory to Mr. Colfax, and he worked hard for his election. At the opening of the Thirty-eighth Congress in December, 1863, Mr. Colfax was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was twice re-elected to the office, on each occasion by a larger majority than before.

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In April, 1865, he went with a party of friends on a journey to San Francisco. He called to take leave of President Lincoln, with whom his relations had been very intimate. one hour afterward he was astounded by the intelligence that the President, had been assassinated. Before starting for California Mr. Colfax delivered a eulogy on the President in Chicago, and repeated it in Colorado, Utah, and California. He was well received throughout the West, and on his return de livered a lecture entitled "Across the Continent." After the nomination of General Grant, in May, 1868, Mr. Colfax was nominated for Vice-Presidency on the first ballot. When General Grant was renominated Mr. Colfax was beaten by Henry Wilson in the contest for the second place on the ticket. Mr. Colfax was first married, at the age of twenty-one, to a playmate of his childhood. She had two children, both of whom are dead. A fortnight after his election to the Vice-Presidency he married again. A son by the present Mrs. Colfax survives, and is now fourteen years of age. Since his retirement from public life Mr. Colfax has lived quietly, occasionally appearing as a lecturer. He was exceedingly popular as such, and has been heard in nearly all the great cities of the United States. At his home in Indiana he retained the friendship of early asso

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