The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-20
Was Unable to Speak for Hours Before His
 Death
HE HAD A VERY
 VARIED CAREER
Was Minister to France During Civil War--Published Many Interest ing Volumes of Biography.
 Brilliant Journalist

New York. December 19.-John Bigelow
 venerable diplomat and author, died al his home here today.
 He died in his 95th year and the end came in the old house in GrammercS
 park that long has been his residence Three days ago he suffered return of an ailment incident to advanced age.
 For more than 10 hours he suffered in tense pain. but eight hours before his death there came a partial paralysis ol the senses ana for several hours he lay and smiled at those about him. He was, however, unable to speak.
 He had been facing death for several days and he realized it said his son,
 Maj. John Bigeiow Jr.
 At the bedside were two of the four children, Major Bigelow and Miss Grace Bigelow and his granddaughter, Miss
 Charlotte Harding One of the first to
 be notified of MT. Bigelow's death was Andrew Carnegie, whose birthday, No
 vember 25 coincided with that of the aged diplomat. The two men were close friends and they spent a part of their last birthday together at MT. Bigelow' s residence, as had been their custom for several years.
 Except for the selection of pallbear- CTS the funeral arrangements practi- cally were completed tonight. The serv- ices will be held at St. Georges church l Friday morning. The body will be buried at Highland Falls beside MT. 1 Bigelow's wife. who died nearly 30 years ago.
 His Career
 | John Bigelow, author, statesman, jour nalist, lawyer, diplomat, was born of one of the oldest of New England families in Maiden, N. r., on November 25, 1877. Every year of his life (almost century) was filled with action. When asked at one time what he considered his favorte 1 work he replied: Work" Few men have l accomplished as much as did John Bige- | low, whose name will live in history as one of the grand .la. 5,ssf s~ss' \ At the time Of lis death MT Bigelow l was by no means living the life of an 1 old man, although he had often declared ! that T retired from active public life l when 50 years of age" Even unto the I last weeks of his life, he put forth his efforts with a will; he served in the 1 position of president of New Yorl<'s great public library, which he helped to found, But the truth of his statement can be l grasped when one is able to conceive the manner of life that he lived.
 A conspicuous figure in the anti-slavery contest a convincing journalist, minister | to France throughout the troublous times | of the civil war, where he rendered dis l tinguished service as d diplomat, friend and biographer of Tilden, president of the board of libraries, litterateur, man of the world. his career was one always of un- failing service to his country and the world in general.
 Graduated from Union college tnow Trinty), in 1885, he, in the same year. en- tered a lawyers office at Hudson. N. f., but soon removed to New York city. | Completing his professional studies he was admitted to the bar in September. l 1888. He devoted much time to literary pursuits and contributed to the New York Review, the New World, the New York l Evening Post the Plebeian, and the Daily News His articles on constitutional re- | form. published in the Democratic Review in 1S45-46. were reprinted in pamphlet form and largely circulated.
 Active Abolitionist
 The anti-slavery contest having result ed in 1s4s in Martin Van Buren's nomina- | tion for the presidency by the Free Soil democrats, MT. Bigelow actively support ed his candidacy through the medium of ! the daily press. His efficiency during the | campaign doubtless contributed to pro- I cure from William Cullen Bryant an invi- tation to join him in the proprietorship of the New York Evening Post. MT. Bigelow | accepted the invittaion, purchasing a one | third interest. During the succeeding ten years. his management increased the an nual receipts of the Evening Post from | S10.000 to about $70000.
 In 1860 he sold his interest in the papel to Parke Goodwin and in August, 1881, at the request of President Lincoln, accept ed the American consulate at Paris, an6 during his ;ncumbency wrote Les Etats Unis d Amerique on 1s63," his purpose be | ing to correct the erroneous notions o | the French people in regard to their rela- | tive commercial importance of the north | ern and southern states. This work effcc. | tually discouraged the supposed desire oi the French government for the dismenl- berment of the Union.
 | Upon the death of William l.. Dayton then United States minister to France MT. Bigelow became charge d'affaires al l Paris, the then envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentary to the empire | During his official residence, he discovered ] conclusive evidence of the connivance of the French government in a plot to fur nish the Confederacy with four first class l ironclad steamers. and by the use oi the testimony thwarted the plan. In 1888 | he published an account of these transac- | tions which caused a sensation. He also conducted the negotiations in France which resulted in the expulsion of ths French array from Mexico in 1867.
 While he was in France MT. Bigelow discovered and purchased at great cost the original manuscript of Benjamin Franklin autobiography," and subse- l uuently extended so as to give a com plete "Biography of Franklin by Him. self
 From 1870 to 1873 MT. Bigelow re- sided with his family in Germany, and upon his return in 1874 he devoted him 1 self to his farm and literary pursuits.
 Executor of Tilden Estate | It was during this period that he was named trustee and executor of the Tilden estate. The latter. a life long friend of Mir Bigelow, provided in his will that about three -fourths of the i estate should be consecrated to the es- | ltablishment of free library in the city of New York, under the care of d board of five trustees and, upon it's consol- idation with the Astor and Lenox H. braries as the New York public library. MT. Bigelow was elected president. an office he still held at the time eff his death.
 It was soon after the Civil war that
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