Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-08-06
SAMUEL J. TILDHN DEAD.

NEW YORK, August 4.-Samne
j. Tilden died peacefully at Grey
stone this morning at $40 o'clock
There were present with him Drs
Charles +. SimOns and Samue
Swift, and his niece, Miss Could
His death was entirely unexpected
and was caused by failure of the
heart, following an acute attack o.
diarrhea and nausea.
MR.. TILDEN's CAREER.
Samuel j. Tilden was UOrn at
New Lebanon, in the state OF New
York, in 1914. lie was descended
from an old and highly honorable
family, the remotest member OF
whom he had any positive knowl-
edge being one Nathaniel Tilden,
who was mayor of Tenterden, Kent,
England, in 1923. This gentleman
removed with his family to Amer
lea in 1854, and settled at Scituate,
Massachusetts. Mr.. Tilden's father
was thrifty merchant of New
Lebanon, who, on account OF his
integrity and good sense, especially
on political matters, was admitted
to terms of intimacy with Martin
Van Buren,. His mother was de-
scended from William Jones, lieu
tenant governor Of the colony of
New Haven, and reputed to be a
son of Colonel John Jones, one OF
the regicide Judges of Charles /,
whose wife was a sister OF Oliver
Cromwell. In his eighteenth year
Mr.. Tilden entered Yale college,
where he pursued his studies with
such indefaugable zeal that his
health gave way and he was com
PEELED to drop out of the course.
As soon as he had sufficiently re-
covered he resumed his studies at
the University Of New York, where
he was graduated in 1884. He was
then young man of only twenty
years. lie subsequently read law,
and while a student in the office OF
John w. Edmonds, in New York,
wrote several articles on the polit-
ical situation. One of these was
in defense OF President Van Buren's
policy. 1t caused considerable
discussion n the newspaper world,
especially so as the President was
coniectured to have written it. AS
soon as he hsd been admitted to
the bar Mr.. Tilden opened an office
of his own in Pine street, in New
York city. Although embarked in
a professional life of a kind which
called for the most arduous appli'
cation, he did not lose his interest
in polIticts. He continued to ex-
press his opinions through the press
and occasionally spoke at political
meetings. AS soon as the Presi-
dental campaign of 1914, in which
James X. Polk was a candidate,
had fairly opened, Mr.. Illden
founded the New York Daily Nelcs,
in connection with John O'Sullivan.
The following year he was sent to
the assembly from the city of New
York, and elected as a delegate to
the convention which was to revise
the constitution of the state. The
estrangement between the friends
of Mr.. Polk and Mr.. Van Buren, in
consequence of the elections OF
1916 caused Mr.. Tilden to retire
from politics and devote his at
tehtiOn to the law. This was a
fortunate move, without which his
subsequent success and fame as a
lawyer could never have been
achieved. He Immediately began
a series of triumphs at the bar
which gave him great reputation.
Among the more notable cases In
which he was successful may be
mentioned that of Flagg V. Giles
Burdell V. Cunningham, q famous
will case, and that of the Pennsyl'
vania coal company against the
Delaware and Hudson canal COM
pany. From 1856 up to the time
he retired from professional life one
half of the great railway corpora
tons north of the Ohio and be-
tween the Hudson and Mississippi
had been his clients. For some
time preceding the war he was
the confidential advisor OF Dean
Richmond, the leader Of the demo
cratic party in the state of New
York. lie was elected governor
of New York in 1871, and was
to the presidency IN
1876. The result of the election
being disputed led to the appoint
ment of the electoral commission,
under whose decision the republi'
can candida was peacefully IN
Since that time Mr..
Tilden has lived in retirement, with
the exception of an occasional ap.
pearance in public. lie was urged
in 1850 to accept the democratic
for the presidency, but
declined. Again in 1891 he was
to write a letter declining
to be a candidate, as he then be-
lleved his health to be unequal to
the performance of the duties of
his Office. Since his retirement he
has welded great influence with
his party, by the majority of whom
he was regarded almost with re-
verence. Notwithstanding his
feeble health he has been within
the last fortnight publicly propos.
ed as the democratic presidential
i'm 1888,