Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-12-02
The Death Of vice-President Wis.,.
wAsHrxsros yo. .

"ArhiASToN, NoY
! Vice President Wilson died very az
denly at 2 30 this morning. He ressas
we'll last night, awoke at seven o'elnsu
this morning, and expressed himself =
feeling bright and better. He a., M =
bed TO take his medicine, Law down ~, In ~
left side, and expired In few rnoma..s
without struggle.
1t having been represented last MICA.
that the Vice President had so much p
proved that he would be able to leave ~
city for the North this week, the INTEL;
gence of his sudden death this mornsas
fell with startling force and snddennaas
on the community. The Vice Prasidsr,
seemed on Saturday to be a great dss1
better than at any time during his La
sickness, but yesterday he was not oni,s
SO well.
Postmaster Burt, of Boston, called i,
the morning and had pleasant conver
sation with him. Mr.. Crossman. OF Ne,,
York, literary friend, also visited the
Vice President on business conce,ning
his (Mr. Wilson's) unfinished volume On
the subject of slavery. The Vice Presi
! dent being in a condition requiring res,
Mr.. Crossman retired. The Vice President
then slept from one TO three O'Clock. when
he arose Mr.. Crossman returned in the
afternoon at the Vice Presidents reoues,
and remained until evening.
The Vice President went TO bed al an
early hour and slept tolerably well during
the night. In his waking intervals he
asked for water. About midnight he 90,
up and walked around his room. Then
going to his table he took up little book
OF poems, entitled: 1.-THE Changed Cross y
with the motto: "Not as / will, but As
Thou wilt" and read three verses from h
one of which is as follows:
Help ne, Lord, with patient love to bear
Each others faults, 10 suffer with true mesE
ness:
Help VI each Others joys and griefs TO share,
But let us turn to Thee alone In weakness.
Other verses had been marked in the
book, among them the following:
What If poor sinners count thy grief the sigma
of an unchastened will;
He who can give thy soul relief knows that thou
art submissive still
This volume belonged TO his wife and
contained photograph of her and their
son, both deceased. He treasured it be.
yond value and always made it his com.
panion, from which he seemed TO derive
much comfort.
After reading the verses he spoke with
gratitude of the kindness of his friends
during his sickness, and of the wide.
spread sympathy in hh behalf.
He then returned TO bed in a happy
mood, and slept.
At three o'clock this morning he awoke,
complaining Of pain in his stomach. One
of his attendants rubbed it, and being thus
relieved he again fell asleep.
At seven O'Clock he awoke, remarking
that he felt brighter and better than at any
time previous. He said he was gong to
ride out to-day, as his physician, DR. Bax.
ter, had advised him to do SO if the weather
was fair.
At twenty-nine minutes past seven
O'Clock he said he would get up and take
breakfast. He then called for "bitter
water" which had heretofore been pre-
scribed, and, having drank it, he laid
down with his left side on the pillow, as
if with sudden exhaustion, breathing
heavily, but uttering no words, and in a
few moments he died without a struggle
SKETCH OF HIS LIFE.
The following brief sketch Of the life Of
the late Vice President is taken from the
| Chicago Tribune of the 23d;
The life of the deceased statesman has
been marked one, and its record is one
that may be profitably studied by all
Americans. Born in 1912, in poverty, he
was apprenticed to farmer at ten years
of age, and served laboriously until his
majority, in 1888. With little opportunity
for schooling, he found the means, even
in those days, when books were not as
plentiful or as accessible as now, to read
great many volumes of history and biog-
raphy. AS soon as he had com
20
farm he walked to Natick, Mass,
where he engaged at shoemaking, at
which he worked diligently, practicing
temperance and rigid economy until he
had accumulated some $500 He then
tried to improve his limited education by
attending an academy in New Hamp-
shire, but the depository of his savings
having become insolvent he returned 10
shoemaking at Natick His good habits
and his natural abilities, however, made
him conspicuous among his associates,
and in 1910 he was enlisted in be-
half of Gen. Harrison's election to
the Presidency, he making great
many speeches. From that time TO the
present he has been conspicuous in
American politics. He was almost con
tinuousiy a member of either one or the
other branch of the State Legislature, and
frequently the presiding officer. He was
an active anti slavery man and opposed
the annexation of Texas. In 1S4S he len
the Wing National Convention when II
rejected the anti-slavery platform and
united with the Free-Soil party. For two
years he edited an anti-slavery paper in
Boston, serving also in the Legislature.
In 1852 he presided at the Free
Soil National Convention in Pits
burgh. In 1853 he was the Free Soil candi-
date for Governor Of Massachusetts, but
was defeated. When the Know Nothing
organization elected Gardner Governor Oh
Massachusetts Mr. Wilson was member
of that party, but when that party, subse-
quently, rejected an anti-slavery platform
he abandoned it. In 1866 he was elected
| to the United States Senate in place OF
Edward Everett, resigned, and continued
by successive elections a member OF tnat
body until 1873, when he resigned TO De
come President, to which place he
was elected in 1872.
REV. ALEXANDER ANDERSON, OF f'rovi'
dence, X. l., who sues the Boston q Prov,
idence Railroad for placing the coffin Of