The Indianapolis journal., 1885-12-03
DEAD VICE-PRESIDENTS.
How Four of Them Died, Where They We're
Buried and How the News Was Told.

The death of Vice-president Henericks makes
the story of such deaths in our past especially
interesting. Five Vice e-presidents have died IN
Office, and in each case tho deceased has been
over sixty years Of age. George Clinton, the
Vice-president with Madison, who died in 1912,
was seventyfour years old; Elbridge Gerry, who
became Vice president at the next election, died
in 1914, at the age of seventy; William r. King,
Vice president with Frank Pierce, died at sixty
seven, in 1853 and Vice president Henry Wilson,
who died here in 1875. was sixty three years old
at that time Three of these Vicepresidents
have died in November and the other two in
April, and, strange to say the dates of their
deaths are almost at the same time of the
month. George Clinton died April 90 and VIM.
r. King on April II; henry Wilson died on the
22d of November Elbrdge Gerry on the 23d of
November and Thomas A. Hendricks or the 25th
of November
The first vice e-presidential death was that of
George Clinton. 1t took place here at Washing
ton, and his death was the first occasion of the
great destroyers entering the high Offices of the
government He had been the Vice president
for nearly eight years, serving term under
Madison and one under Thomas Jefferson. He
was AS much, if not more, noted in the politics
of the time than Vice president Hendricks Is in
Il
privateer, he had been brigadier general Of the
Revolution. member of the Provincial
Congress, and for eighteen years Governor of
New York. He died at Washington on the Goth
and was buried here in the Congressional Gene
terry on the 2lst of November In 1912 such a
thing as keeping corpse for weeks was un-
known in this country, and both Gerry and
Clinton were buried the snext :day after their
death. The time Clinton died Washin gton City
contained under ten Thousand people, and the
M have md
The body was taken on its way to the grave
from the city to the Capitol, and here q rest of
half an hour was taken Thence it marched
onward in martial parade. A company of
militia preceded the hearse, and the eight pail
bearess who carried the coffin from the hearse
to the grave were all revolutionary soldiers
The Senate attended in a body, and on their re-
turn to the Capitol they resolved that the Vice
presidents chair in the Senate Chamber be
shrouded in black during the session of Congress
then assembled and that each senator should
wear mourning in the shape of a band of Grape
on the arm for thirty days.
The second vice presidential death occurred
two years latter, and Madisons administration
showed the curious coincidence of two Vice
presidents dying during its continuance. Mr.
Gerry had presided over the Senate on the day
preceding his death, and he ate breakfast at Mrs
Wilson's boarding house that morning as usual,
saying he felt WELL but had slight oppression
of the chest After breakfast he walked out to
do some business at one Of the government de-
partments He had gone but short distance
before he became indisposed, and took carriage
to return When the carriage reached his board
ing-house he was found to be nsensble, and on
being taken from it he expired without groan
or a sigh. This was between 10 and IL o'clock
in the morning. The Senate at once
adjourned, but the House continued
its session. though it adjourned for the
funeral next day. The funeral took place at 3
o'clock, and from the Intelligencer of that date
l see that the Rev. Obediaa Brown pronounced
the funeral service. Gerry was buried, like
Clinton, in the Congressional Cemetery, and,
though in his day he was one of the greatest of
men, not dozen statesman in this capital city
have seen his monument or know that he lies
here. He graduate of Harvard College,
delegate to the Continental Congress, signer
of the Declaration and one of the makers of our
Constitution, though he refused to sign it. He
had been several times in Congress. once Gov
ernor of Massachusetts, and also Minister to
France before he was elected Vice president and
his whole career had been most stirring one.
During his early days in Congress he narrowly
field, when a body of troops captured
the house where he was staying and
were searching for him. He was the first to in
augurate, as Governor of Massachusetts,, the pres
ent political system of redistricting States con-
eressonal districts for political purposes and it
is from Eibridge Gerry that the term gerry
wandering" comes. AS a sample of the newspa-
per enterprise of 1914 and 1872, contrasted with
that of to-day. the chief paper of Washington
city, where those two deaths occurred, contains
about quarter of column the day after they
died in regard to their deaths 1t describes the
funeral Of both in less than fifty lines. and gives
only the barest details. Three days after the
death of Gerry John Giiiard, of South Caro-
lima, was elected president pro tenn. of the Sen
ate without discussion and the Intelligencer
does not consider the situation of enough matter
for an editorial
Vice president King did not die in Cuba, as
some papers state He was in Cuba for his
health at the time of his election, and had re-
signed from the Senate some time before on ac-
count of i'll health. He had consumption, and
at the time he was sworn in before a consul in
Cuba he did not expect to live, and had to be
prevailed upon to take the oath. He was too
feeble to stand alone at the time, and had to be
supported while it was administered. He sailed
for America, and grew worse during the voyage.
When he landed in Alabama it was evident that
he would never get to Washington He died the
day after he landed The departments
were not closed here in honor of
his death, and he did not have a pub
lie funeral. He was the first bachelor
ever elected to one of the two highest offices of
the Nation and he had long been a senator,
having served for more than ten years as presi
dent pro tenn. Of the Senate before he was elect
ed Vice president. Like Hendricks he had been
a member of a constitutional convention of his
State, and he was elected to his first term in the
Senate during the year in which Vice president
Hendricks was born. He was for thirty years a
United States senator, and had twenty four
years of continuous service there. In addition
to this he served five years in the lower house,
and two years as Minister to France. He was
six feet tall, and very erect. He was good
talker, and was probably the great reminiscence
man of his latter days
The last vice presidential death before that Of
Hendricks was that of Vice president Wilson,
who died here ia Washington just about ten
years ago. He had been sick for some time, and