The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1880-04-30
A FORMER BELLE.
Closing Days Of the Widow of Hon. ID.
=. Dickinson


New York fines
Mrs. Lydia Dickinson, wife of the late
| Daniel :. Dickinson, has for weeks past
been lying seriously ill at the residence
of her daughter, Mrs Samuel j. Court
ney, at High Bridge. For weeks past
the life of the venerable lady has been
| despaired of and yesterday her physi-
clan, DIR. Henry Paine, said that She
would hardly live the week out, and in
fact, was liable to drop off at any mo-
ment. The disease from which she suf-
iers Is dropsy, aggravated by other com
| plicatiOns incident to old age. In early
| life Mrs. DickinsOn's social and personal
accomplishments, added 10 tie high
| political position and deserved fame of
her husband, made her Il notable figure
| in the society of New York and the ma
tional capital. She was born in June,
| 1903, in the township of Unadilla. Her
father, DIR. kolby KNAPP, was leading
| citizen of southern New York, the
founder of the village of knappsburg,
| Chenango county, twelve miles from
Cnadilla. Her maternal grandfather,
Colonel Elihu Murray, was an officer
of distinction during the revo-
iutlonary war, and was at
| tached TO Washburn's staff His
daughter Lucind, (afterward Mrs Dick
AAASCh . " 10 a Dcdult- III
her girlhood, Mrs. Dickinson after ded
| the we'll known Oxford Academy, at Ok
ford, New York, where among her fell
| low-pupils, were HoratiO Seymour and
| Ward Hunt, afterward Judge of the court
| of appeals. Daniel S. Dickinson, then
| unknown to fame, was Il rising Young
wool-dresser, who, though he had not
| gone to school more than two weeks in
his life, was ambitious of doing some
thing better. He fell in love with Lydia
and married her. Woman-like, she was
| quick TO discover her husbands talents,
and urged him by every means in her
power to persevere in his law studies,
| nj himself for high position in life
| The Rev. MIR. GarVin, of Guilford, was
| DickinSon's tutor, and taught him Latin
| and surveying, and other branches, in
the evening. Dickinson worked patient
ly at his law-books in the daytime. In
Winter he taught school to pay the ex
penses of his education. For seven long
| years lie labored, cheered and encouraged
| by the smiles of his young wife
admitted to the bar of
Chenango county. Three years later he
removed 10 Binghampton, where he
| speedily out-distanced other ompetitOrs,
and became the acknowledged lead
| er of the bar in the southern counties
His fame quickly spread to New York
and Albany, and in half a dozen wears
he served successfully rs state senator,
Judge of the court of errors, presidential
elector, and lieutenant governor of the
state. In 1914 governor Bouck appoint
ed him to fill an gneXpired term in the
| United States senate, and in the year fol
| lowing he was elected by the legislature
| for the full term Of SIX years. Mrs.
! Dickinson entered heartily into all her
stands projects, and rejoiced as be-
came devoted wife ut his uneXamplcd
| advancement. She accompanied him to
| Washington, and took prominent part
in the social life of the capital Their
| summers were passed at the senator's
! beautiful home, on the outskirts of Bing-
! hampton. Mrs. DickinSon's fame as a
hostess was wide spread, and the man
sion and grounds on the banks of the
| ChenangO were the constant resort of
distinguished guests from all parts of
| this country and Europe. Dinners, enter
| tainments, and other festivities followed
each other IN rapid succession, and
| few persons of note visited BinglIampton
without partaking OF the senator's hos
| pitality. james NJ. Mason, of Virginia :;
| George Peabody, the London banker
| Charles O'Conner, Jesse ID. Bright of In
diana, and several of the foreign cmbas-
sailors were frequent guests. In 1852 Mr..
! Dickinson was delegate to the Demo
cratic National convention at Baltimore,
and pledged to She nomination of Cass
| After fruitless ballotings Virginia led off
with a solid vote for Dickinson, and
would have been followed by other states
but for the splendid fidelity of the New
| York senator, who, with the coveted
| prize in his grasp, was too loyal to ac-
cept it ut the expense of Cass, After a
| brief pause he rose and withdrew his
name in short speech of grace and elo-
| quence, which aroused the enthusiasm
of the audience to the highest pitch and
caused him to be fairly pclted with
bOquets by the ladies In the galleries
His devoted wife, who but for this incl
dent might have been mistress of the
white house, sympathiZcd with him
throughout the trying ordeal. At the
| close of his senatOrship she retired with
him to their home on the Chenango,
| where their declining years were spent
amid troops of friends. They had four
children two of whom died and were burr
ed on the banks of the river The two
daughters, Mary and Lydia, became re
spcctfully Mrs. John 7. MYgatt and Mrs
Courtney. The fermer, who resides at
Fort Washington, is known among her
friends rs an authoress of acknowledged
repute. After her husbands death, in
1866, Mrs. Dickinson removed TO New
York, where she has since resided She
was life long member of the Episcopal
| church, and is remembered as one of the
five original commandments of Christ's
church, Binghampton.
In person Mrs. Dickinson was tall and
slender, with dark blue eyes, dark brown
hair and gentle manners. Though nat
urally of u modest and retiring disposi-
ton, she possessed great spirit and de
termination, and which shown forth in
times of trial or emergency. Years at
| ter Mr.. Dickinson had attained his
fame he visited the little academy at Ok
ford where he had been educated. To the
assembled magnates of the village who
came to greet him he said "that though
he had never studied at their institution
he had carried off its greatest prize"