St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1913-12-10

LA1AMQ3
A cabIegram received here Monday
by Miss Elizabeth Halves announced
the death of her brother, Col. Alex
ander G.. Halves of San Francisco, at
Honolulu O nSaturday. Col. Halves
had been troubled for the past year
with a weak heart and it supposed
that his death was due to heart fall
ure.
Col. Halves was born in McIndoes
eighty years ago, the same night as
his lifelong friend. B. Frank Stew
| ems of Barnet, for over 4c years a
resident of London. He was educat-
/ ed at the public schools of that place
/ and was a student at st. Johnsbury
Academy in 1849. This was follow
| ed by a short apprenticeship as conf
oositor in the Caledonian Office. In
1853 Col. Halves went to New York
City where he made the acquaintance
of John Swinton, a noted and conser-
alive labor leader. For several years
they were associated together as COM
positors, and later the subject or this
sketch was an associate for a short
time with MARK Twain" in an Iowa
newspaper Office. After two years in
various newspaper offices in the
South Col. Halves located in Law
renee, Kansas, and became local ed
itor of the Herald of Freedom. Hard
ly had be become established there
when the printing Office was destroy
ed by the border ruffiians because of
its pronounced anti-slavery views.
These were stirring times in "Bleed-
ing Kansas" and the destruction of
he paper decided the young mans
future course. He at once cast his
lot in with John Brown and it is
probable that he was the last surviy-
or of the John Brown raids in Kansas
and the battle of the Osawatomie.
After the war he went to San Fran
cisco, where he has since resided ex-
cept a years residence in London.
and where for a great many years he
has been the Pacific coast manager
of the New York Life Insurance Com
pany. He lost all his tangible prop
erty in the San Francisco earthquake
in 1906 and stood in the bread line
all that week with thouands of 9TH
ers rather than accept any money
from Eastern friends. In his long
residence in San Francisco he be-
came one of the most beloved and
prominent men of that great city,
having been charter member of the
famous Bohemian Club, whose
fame" Kipling rightly says, ''ex-
tends all over the world" a former
commander of the Loyal Legion of
California; president of the San Fran
cisco Art Association, and holding
many other positions of honor and
trust. His friends in the Bohemian
Club gave him a birthday dinner re-
Gently on his eightieth anniversary
when the toast to Vermont was re-
bonded to by his lifelong friend
Brig-Gen. Charles A. Woodruff, a
native of Burke and now Cammand-
ant of the Soldiers Home at Napa
Cal. Col. Halves was an occasional
Jisitor to st. Johnsbury, where ne al
ways received a most cordial well
come, and was a man whom every
body loved and who will be greatly
missed in the city he loved so we'll
Col. Halves left a wife, who was
with him in Honolulu, one son, Alex
ander, and two grandchildren, Miss
Harriet Hatch and Gilchrist Hatch,
now in the Naval College at Anna
polls, both children of a daughter who
recently died. Besides his sister,
Miss Elizabeth Halves of st. Johns
bury, he leaves one brother, Walter
Halves of Chicago.