Willmar tribune., 1900-11-07

coming and going as guests of the same
hotel. Vice President Andrew johnson
was guest of the Kirkwood house on
the night of the tragedy at Ford's the
ater, when President Lincoln lost his
life by the hand of an assassin. On the
following morning it was in the Kirk
wood house that Mr.. Johnson took the:
oath of Office and became president of
the United States.
In the spring of 1864, when the sue
cessful general of the Mississippi val
ley, U. S. Grant, came to the national
capital to receive from the hands of the
president his commission as ieuten-
ant general of all the armies he was
guest at the Kirkwood house. From
time to time Gems. Sherman, Sheridan,
Hancock, Logan, Meade and other emf
nent military men either had their
rooms or took their meals at the Kirk
wood house. 1t was not until several
years after the war had closed, when
the armies had been disbanded, the
carpet-bag period had passed, and the
unusual business incident to and de-
pendent upon the civil war had ceased,
that the Kirkwood house, being no
longer the most popular hostelrie in
the city, was closed.
During the latter part of March, 1864,
while he was planning the offensive
campaign which commenced with the
battle of the Wilderness on the 5th
day of the following May, a banquet
was given to Gen. Grant in the Kirk
wood house, which was followed by a
ball, and in the festivities of both
events Miss Kate Chase, the accom-
plished, brilliant and beautiful daugh-
ter of Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase.
was the social leader. Although the
celebrated hostelrie was frame build.
ing of the olden style, it was an excep-
tionally large and roomy structure for
those days. More than 200 men and
women of distinction participated in
the banquet, and, before the dawn of
the morrow had dispersed the merry
makers, nearly 1000 of the men and
women of note in those days partici-
pated in the terpsichorean mazes.
For many years the best servant in
the old Kirkwood house was colored
man named George Thornby. He acted
as valet to Gen. Grant on that occasion
and was subsequently detailed to look
after the comfort of Vice President
johnson. So it happened that when
the old house finally gave way to a
more modern structure, Thornby,
through the kind intercession of many
men of prominence whom he had
served, secured an appointment as
messenger in the post office depart
ment, when Congressman Tyner, of In
diana, was made postmaster general.
He remained there until a few years
ago, when he died. Thornby was q
very intelligent fellow and was made
mail messenger to the first assistant
postmaster general. During his lat
ter years he took a great deal of pleas
ure in telling a story concerning John
Schuyler Crosby, of New York, who was
the governor of the territory of Mon
Stana for three years and became first
assistant postmaster general when
Frank Hatton was advanced to the po-
sition Of postmaster general. Thornby
opened all the envelopes and laid the
smaller ones, which ostensibly con-
tanned personal letters, upon the desk
of the first assistant postmaster gen
eral; but the big official envelopes he
distributed to the clerks in charge of
the appointments in the different
states, and he always did his work in
telligently and with good Judgment. Rus
. Gov. Crosby had only been the in
5cumbent Of the Office Of first assistant
postmaster general q few days when
he rung his bell, to which Thornbyr re
sponded, and Gov. Crosby said
~ want to know who .it IS that