Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1872-12-21
HORACE GREELEY.
Death ofthe Great EditOr-Thc Last Hours
of his Illness Brief sketch of his Life.

Death ofthe Great Editor-Thc Last Hour
Ofhis Illness Brief sketch of his Life.
New York Cor. Chicago Times.
The announcement of the death o
Mr.. Greeley, though expected for some
days past, fell like a thunderbolt on the
city. The news spread like wild ire, anc
in less than an hour after the sad even
seemed to be known from one end o
the city to the other. A general feeling
of sadness seemed to pervade all classes
and on every side were heard such ex
pressions as Poor Horace has gone
The great old man is dead.' In the
hotels, club-rooms and places of public
resort, nothing else was spoken of. Po
litical partisanship seemed to be utterly
extinguished. Even those who but las,
week had been most bitter against Mr.
Greeley, spoke of him tonight with
kindly feeling, and were free to express
their admiration for his many great and
noble qualities of head and heart. His
death was felt to be a national calamity,
and since Lincoln's assassination moth.
ing seems to have stirred up the public
to such an extent. A truly great man
has passed away, and his place will not
be easily filled.
Mr. Grecleys last days were spent in
the establishment of DR.. Choatc, a pri-
vate insane asylum, situated near Pleas,
ant Hill, and some three miles from
Chappaqua. During most of the time
he was unconscious, and any remarks
made by him were of an incoherent
character. On yesterday he obtained
some sleep, and the symptoms seemed
more favorable. This morning, how
| ever, those in attendance upon him
clearly perceived from his appearance
that all hope must be abandoned, and
that the great journalists last hours
were come. During the day he seemed
constantly engaged IN mental prayer,
and was heard to say several times: 81
know that my Redeemer liveth." At
times, Judging from expressions he
made use of, his mind wandered as he
frequently repeated the words: " died
before was born" The last words
uttered by Mr.. Greeley were at o'clock.
He said: at is done" A few minutes
after o'clock Mr.. Whitelaw Reid en-
tered the room of the dying man, and
going to his bedside, took Mr. Greeley
by the hand, and in tremulous tones
said to him: "Mr. Greeley, do you
know me?' Mr.. Greeley nodded slight
as if to intimate he was desirous to spak.
The scene preceding his death was af-
fecting in the extreme. Miss Ida Gree
ley knelt at the foot of the bed, bathed
in tears, while grouped around were Mr.
and Mrs. Stuart, and other intimate
friends of the family, all of them over
whelmed with grief.
Horace Greeley was born at Amherst,
N. H., on Feb. 3, 1911. His father,
Iaccheus Greeley, was q farmer, and the
family is of Scotch.lrish children. All
his ancestors, as far as there exists any
remembrance, were tarmers. He dis
played from his early childhood an
eager thirst after knowledge, and before
he was ten years of age he had not only
read his fathers slender stock Of books,
but had also borrowed and perused
nearly every work within ten miles of
his home. Many of these books he
studied by the light of pine knots. SO
great was his craving TOR information
that he resolved early in life to follow
the profession of printer. Although
his family removed to West Haven, VT,
in 1921, and young Horace had to assist
his father for five years in farming, he
a. the same time studied constantly and
carefully, and in the spring of 1926 en-
tered as an apprentice in the office OF
the Northern Spectator, a weekly paper,
published in East Poultney, Rutland
county, Vt. In that office he laborcd
diligently to learn the art of printing,
and soon became an assistant editor.
During August, 1881, Mr.. Greeley
came to New York city. His whole
worldly gear upon his arrival consisted
of suit of blue cotton jeans, two brown
shirts, chip hat, pair of brogues, and
less than five dollars in money. He
speedily secured employment as jour
neyman printer, and continued working
at his trade in various offices till Jan. l.,
| 1893, when he commenced business for
himself, entering into partnership with
Mr.. Francis Story. Greeley and Story
Were the printers Of DR.. Sheppard's
Morning Post, the first penny daily paper
ever published in New York. The
Journal, however. failed in three weeks,
and after an existence of six months
Mr.. Greeley's nascent partne ship was
dissolved by the death of the junior
LuchocI Vi tio lIill. L ne 4N6O L"hcf,
a weekly journal, devoted to politics
and literature, was commenced on the
22d of March, 1884, with Mr.. Greeley as
editor. Its circulation was very large
for that period; still, from some defect IN
its business management, the paper
barely supported itself, and Mr.. Gree
ley was obllgeo to add to the slender in
come derived from that source by en-
gaging in other labors of "a similar char,
acter. He supplied the Daily Wing
with leaders for some months, and for q
year, in 1889, edited the Jeftrsonian
weekly paper published in Albany
and devoted to theinterest of the Whig
party. During the heated campaign Of
} 1910, he edited the Log Cabin, weekly
paper established to promote the elec
tion of William II. Harrison to the Presi
, dency. On the 10th day of April, lS4l
Mr.. Greeley commenced the publication
of the New York Daily Tribune, and il
l the following autumn commenced the
Gus other topics. Just before the out
> break of the civil war, a.d when tn,
Snutharn States wara passjnu u th cir ordi