The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1881-03-10
I" The Man In the D0me."

''Ihe Man in the Dome is dead. He
had a national reputation, and thou
sands of people throughout the United
States who have stopped at his stand,
Just below the large picture in the dome
of the Capitol, will remember him
Samuel Douglass Wyeth was no ordinary
man. Few of his visitors knew his
name and fewer still were aware of his
checkered career. lf,uz
Wyeth came from Harrisburg, where
his father had printing office, in which
General Simon Cameron learned how to
set type and become printer Sam
uel and his brothers found their way to
Philadelphia, where he set up stereo-
tipping establishment on Pear Street,
near Third, but soon failed. and was ru-
ined financially. About this time his
domestic relations became inharmoni-
GUS and the result was that his wife left
him, went to her home in Cumberland
County, Pennsylvania, and there she
still remains. From 1862 up to the time
OF his death this peculiar man never
saw his wife, though he was visited at
times by his children.
Wyeth was known by all the old
printers of Philadelphia, and when he
came here he sought out A. j. Donald
son, now in the Government Printing
Office, and secured a position in the
stereotyping rooms, where he remained
but short time, and his restless dis
position took him into the devious path
of journalism. He became a CORE
spondent of the Philadelphia Sunday
Dispatch. Then he wrote book on the
IS lns and Outs of Washington" and
latterly took TO selling photographs. in
the Capitol. Along In '65 Congress
cleared all the booths out of the build
ing, bus Wyeth. singularly enough, was
not included in the exodus, and was
given stand up in the dome. Here
it was that he became famous and
earned the title of The Man in the
Dome." Wyeth was OF excellent edu-
cution, naturally bright, of retentive
memory and an inquiring turn of mind
He wrote book on the bronze doors,
and had studied closely all the features
OF the Capitol building and of-the city.
He was human directory and ency-
clopedia. His stand provedsa lucrative
one, and he cleared as high as 1900 to
$4,000 per year from the sales of photo
graphs and knicknacks
Now comes the strange part of
Wyeth's life. He developed a taste for
oddities and entered upon career of
extravaganza. A suite of rooms only
satisfied him and receptions twice week
were his hobby. Here gathered the
choice spirits among the men and wom-
en- of culture about Washington and wit
and wisdom marked the moments of
their mingling. His earnings-were spent
in rare pictures, articles Of vertu and
bric-a- brac. A few years ago, however,
he found that he was living beyond his
income and then he forsook his expen-
sive habits, distributed his trophies
among his friends to save storage and
betook himself to quiet abode. Three
weeks ago he was afflicted with pneu-
monia and after a weeks illness the
earthly career of ''The Man in the
Dome" had ended, and he had been
called up higher. He left no viii but
prepared a statement of his effects.
Among the many articles is an allegori-
cal picture named ''Catholicity,' which
is valued at $1,000. Innumerable bills
have appeared against the estate, and
weeks will be required to adjust the
differences. At the present time he
has book in the press entitled 1.-The
Federal City," which. may never see the
light of day. Sa ~. e =
Samuel D. Wyeth was abrother of
John Wyeth. the wellsknown Philadel-
gphia druggist, on " alnut Street, near
Broad, and a close friend of the Cam
seron family. 1t has always been be-
Ieved that the influence of General
Simon Cameron placed him in the dome
as the Camerons never forget a friend.
There was ascramble for Wyeth sstand
soon after his death, and one man had
the signatures of ten Senators to his pc
tition, but it did not avail "A widow
named Barnes has become "The Wom-
an in the Dome for the present gener-
tion.-Cor. Philadelphia Record.