Connecticut western news., 1882-11-29
DEATH OF rHURLow WEED.

For many years Thurlow Weed was one of the most conspicuous characters in the politics of the country. He was sometimes called the Warwick of Amer ican politics. His history is part of the history of the country and it must be of interest to the general reader. The following interesting sketch of his life is, we presume from the pen of the veteran senior editor of the Hartford Times:
 .sThurlow Weed, the old and we'll known journalist and politician, died at 9o'clock Wednesday morning, Novem- Der 22d, at his residence in New York. He had reached the advanced age of S5 having been born tat Cairo, Greene county, New York; on the 18th of No vember 1797. He went early into New York state politics and newspaper life, but did not become very much known in that field till he took 8 leading and aggressive part in the war upon the Masonic fraternity. He was leader in the formation of the "Anti- Mason party" of fifty-fve years ago, and set up at Rochester the publication of party newspaper called the Anti-Masonic Reg ister. Those were days of fierce and bitter excitement, the Masons being grossly slandered and abused; and when in 1926, William Morgan, worthless character, living at Batavia, N. Y., be- gan his so-called exposures of Masonry, and was unwisely abducted in conse- quence, the public feeling rose to fever heat, and members of the fraternity were soon so hated and bounded that in many places for years they dared not hold their meetings. It was Glow tide" with the Mssons for the decade between 1926 and 1886, or thereabouts. Mor- gan's fate was never known; but Weed arranged fraud, purporting to be the body of Morgan, fshed up from Lake Ontario-though in fact 1t was the body of one Monroe; but Weed directed the shaving of of Monroe's whiskers, to make him look like Morgan, remarking that the corpse would 'tmake 8 good enough Morgan till after election. l" This remark, subsequently quoted against him by the Albany Argus and other democratic papers, annoyed Weed and he strenuously denied that he ever made it; but the facts appear to have been against him-and the elder Ben nett, in the ''spicy" days of the New York Herald, used to call Weed 'the state barber" The Anti-Masonic party polled 33, GOO votes in the state of New York in 1928, and 10000 in 1929. In 1880 they polled 128,OO0 votes; and the party organization spread into other states. In 1882 1t ran William Wirt, of Viginia, for President, but only carried Vermont. In that year the whigs ran Henry Clay, and the democrats reelect- ed Jackson.
 In 1880 Weed removed to the larger field of Albany-then, even more than now, center of political influence. and there established the Albany Evening Journal It was first an Anti Masonic, and later whig paper; and in his edit torial life, in those days of personal journalism "-the times of Jackson, Van Buren, Harrison, Tyler and Polk, when party politics and politicians were rough CT and bitterer than now, Weed acquired notoriety for the asperity, not to say the political unscrupulousness, of the paper with which his name was insepa- rably connected. He was sagacious party leader, and he needed all his sa- gacity, for he had to encounter such strong political foes and master-minds as Marcy, Van Buren, Croswell, Wright, Richmond, and others of the old so-call- ed "Albany regency" Edwin Cros- well, the editor of the Albany Argus, for thirty years down to 1854, was in those days at the head of as strong and influential a political paper as any in America; and under the galling demo- cratic fire of the Argus the old whig editor often twisted and squirmed, but held his ground, on the whole, pretty well. The fierce personalities of party journalism, in those days, cannot now be appreciated by any who were not familiar with party politics half cen tury ago. Yet, at later day, Thurlow Weed showed the magnanimity of his heart, by projecting for his old political foe, MT. Croswell, who was then ill and in need, substantial pecuniary testi- monial. It was in the winter of 1S70-71. The sum of S8, 900 was raised and pre- sented to MT. Crosweu. MT. Weed was leading contributor. In notifying MT. Croswen of the unexpected gift, Mr. Weed sent him this considerate note:
 NEW YORK, January 1, 1871.
 Dear Mr. Closwell:
 Some of your friends and neig hbors, availing themselves of the festive season, have united in testimonial expressive of their sense of your public services and personal character, which together with their best wishes for your restored health, will be presented to you by our mutual friend, Mir. Augustus Schel1.
 Truly yours, THuRLow WEED.
 To this generous and kindly note, so honorable to MT. Weed, and which was as considerably worded as 1t was, to the recipient, welcome and unexpected, MT. Croswe11 replied with emotion, in the following letter-which,w with Mir. Weeds note, is here, so far as we know, for the first time made public in any newspa- per:
 PRINCETON, New Jersey, Feb. 2, 1871.
 Dear Mir. Weed:
 Our mutual friend, Mr. Augustus schell, handed me yesterday your highly esteemed favor of the 1st of Jau'y ultino together with the valuable testimonial by which it was ac- companied, and to which it refers find great difficulty to command fitting terms of acknowledgement Of tbis generous worth is, and, as such, sGurce of grateful thanksgiving, 1t is especially precious in my eyes as an expression of approval of my public services and personal character, coming from a body of intellectual and enlightened friends, whose good opinion and favorable judgement are of unestimable value. To you, my dear Mir. Weed, allow me to say that feel a particular co3ciousness of your voluntary kindness and action ill this matter, springing from the emotions of Rn ever- gener- ous nature; and beg you to convey to my friends, in your good time and manner, my cordial and grateful acceptance of their testimonial. Very truly yours,
 EDWIN CRoswRLL.
 Probably MT. Croswell, grateful as he 1 felt, did not then know, if he ever sub i sequently learned the full extent of MT. 1 Weeds generosity in this matter; for Weed added to the gift. out of his own | pocket, present of $500, ''for immedi- i ate personal wants. 1 Mr. Weeds remains We're conveyd to | Albany, last Saturday morning, and were taken to St. Peters church, where T I.