The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-09-29
THE NEW PRESIDENT.
Sketch of the Life and Public Services of
Chester A. Arthur.

ShNotpA ~ ~ 'i'"A'
Chester Allan Arthur is fifty years of
age, and native of Fairfield county,
Vermont. His father was a Baptist
minister, who came from England to
Canada, and later to the United States.
The Vice Presidents education was OBJ
tanned in a country school near Troy,
in the neighbOrhOOd of which his
father preached. He was afterward
sent to Union College, from which he
was graduated in 1913. He then studied
law, and in 1850 was admitted to the
bar. He formed law partnership
with Erastus D. Culver, who was after
ward American Minister to South
American State. On the election of
Mr.. Culver as Judge of civil
court in Brooklyn the partnership
was dissolved, and General Arthur
went into partnership with Mr..
Gardner, who died about 1865. In
1871 the firm of Arthur, Phelps & Kne
vals was formed. with General Arthur
as the senior partner, and the late Dis
trict Attorney Benjamin X. Phelps as
another partner. Shortly before this
General Arthur was appointed one of
the counsel to the board of tax commits
siOners at $4,000 year. The only le-
gal case of note in which General Ar
thur acted as counsel was in the suit of
Jonathan LemmOns, of Virginia, to re-
cover possession of eight slaves that had
been declared free by Judge Paine, of
the Superior Court of New York. Lem
mons had been incautiOusly passing
through New York, with his slaves in
tending to ship them to Texas, when
they were discovered and freed by an
order of Judge Paine, who was of the
opinion that the fugitive slave act did
not hold the slaves. The State of
Virginia directed its Attorney General
to appeal from the decision. Thereup-
on the Legislature Of New York direct
ed the Governor to employ counsel to
defend the slaves. K. D. Culver and
Joseph Blunt were appointed, but with
drew and afterWard William Evarts and
General Arthur were retained as counsel
for the slaves. The decision of Judge
Paine was sustained by the Supreme
Court, and also affirmed by the Court of
Appeals. In 1856 General Arthur pros
eCuted city car line on behalf of Lizzie
Jennings, cOlOred woman and super
intendent of a Sunday school, who was
roughly elected from car because of
her color. The case was tried before
Judge Rockwell in Brooklyn, and the
Jury gave the plaintiff $500 damages.
General Arthur got his military title
through service on the staff of Governor
Edwin D. Morgan. He was appointed
Engineer-in- Chief on the Governors
staff, January 1, 1861, and on January
27, 1862, he was made Quartermaster
General. He was active in both posi-
tiOns.
General Arthur gave his attention to
city politics at the close of the war, and
was for time Chairman of the Repub-
lican Committee, known as the Morgan
Republicans, which met at Broad
way and Twenty-third Street,
On the Goth of Nov. 1871, he was appOin-
ted by President Grant Collector of the
Port of New York, successor to Thomas
Murphy. He served one term and was
suspended by R. B. Hayes, July 21, 1878,
charges being preferred against him by
John Sherman, E. A. Merritt became
Collector in his place. In September,
1879, he was chosen chairman of the
Republican State Committee, and he
was Chairman of the Central Committee
of the county for two years. In May,
$780, he was nominated for Vice Presi-
dent on the Republican ticket, and was
elected the following November. Gen.
Arthur married daughter of Captain
HerndOn, who was lost on board of his
vessel, the Central America, His wife
died about eighteen months ago. He
has two children, son and daughter.
He has a brother, who is a major i'll the
regular army, and one of his sisters is
the wife of Mr.. McElrOy of Albany.