Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-10-13
CHESTER A. ARTHUR.

IN MS eighteenth year. lie removed
to the neighborhood of Troy. when
the subject of this sketch was lad.
The latter received his early education
in country school afterward entered
Union College. where he graduated in
i1848. He studied law and was adj
mitted to the bar in 1850 After
teaching school two years in Vermont
he removed to New York city and
entered the law Office of Erastus E.
E. Culver.
When the latter was elected Judge
of the civil court of Brooklyn, Mr.
Arthur formed partnership with his
friend and DOMINATE, Henry d. Gard
ner. From the death of Mr.. Gardner
in 1865, until 1871, Mr.. Arthur con-
Quoted the business of the office.
The the new firm Of Arthur, Phelps,
Kuwale, & Ransom was formed, the
late district Attorney, Benjamine r.
Phelps, being one of the partners
Soon after his admission to the bar
he had married Miss Ella Lewis Hern-
don; whose father, Lieut.. Herndon,
of the United States Navy, was lost
in 1857 with his vessel, the Central
America, one Of line of California
steamers, between New York and
HAVANA. After happy married
life, during which two children. son
and daughter, were born, Mrs. Arthur
died in New York. on Jan. II, 1880.
A short time prior to 1871 Mr.. Ar
thur was appointed one of the counsel
to the board Of tax collectors. His
first notoriety was gained in the IA
nous suit of Johnathan Lemons, of
Virginia, to regain possession of eight
slaves who had been declared free by
Judge Paine, of the Superior court of
New York city. Lemons was pass
ing through the city with his slaves,
intending to ship them to Texas,
when they were discovered and freed
by order Of Judge Paine, who decided
that they could not be held under the
fugitive slave law. The attorney gen
eral of Virginia appealed from the
decision. By vote of the legislature
of the state, the governor appointed
Messrs. Z. d. Culver and Joseph
Blunt as counsel to defend the suit,
but they withdrew and Mr.. Arthur
was appointed in their stead. His
associate was ex-Secretary of State
William Evarts. The Supreme court
of appeals sustained Judge Paine's
decision.
Mr.. Arthur was one of the dele
gates to the eventful convention at
Saratoga from which dates the origin
of the Republican party. About this
time he was judge advocate of the
second brigade of the state militia,
and soon after the inauguration of
Gov Morgan, on Jan. 1, 1861, he
was appointed engineer of the guber-
material staff The same year he was
promoted to be pector-general, and
Jan. p, 1862, he was advanced to
acknowledgement. This post he
held until the expiration Of the gov
ernor term of Office deriving from it
the military title with which he was
honored At the close of the war he
first began to take an active part in
state politics. He was chairman of
a committee known as the Morgan Re
publicans, and his efforts were largely
due the success of Mr.. Thomas Muir
phys canvass for state senatorship.
Upon the resignation by Mr. Murphy
Of the collectorship of the port of
New Y ork, Gen. Grant, on Nov 90,
1861, appointed Mr. Arthur to the
vacant position. Four years later he
was re-appointed, and near the begin
ming of President Hayes term he first
energies into national importance.
Hitherto he had been merely sue
cessful lawyer and rising state poll
tician. But his Office was one of the
first in which it was sought to intro
duce the principles Of civil service re
form. Two special committees were
appointed to investigate his methods
of conducting the business of the
relationship; and as the results of
their reports, President Hayes, on
July y. 1878, removed him from
that position. He was succeeded by
Mr. Merritt
In considering this part of his his
tory so fruitful in its consequences, it
must always be remembered that he
was never accused of dishonesty or
incapacity. He proved himself an