Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1889, volume 6).djvu/400

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370
WASHBURN
WASHBURN

brought about by the Russo-Turkish war, in which his policy secured him the esteem of several Eng- lish statesmen. His efforts also in behalf of Bul- garian liberty and for the elevation of the people were recognized by the first Bulgarian parliament in a vote of thanks, and in 1884 he was made a commander of the Order of St. Alexander. He has regularly contributed to English and American periodicals and papers, and in 1868 published in pamphlet-form a series of articles on " Woman's Work in the Church."


WASHBURN, Henry Stevenson, editor, b. in Providence, R. I., in 1813. He was gradu- ated at Brown in 1836, and while president of the Union mutual life insurance company, of Bos- ton, spent three years abroad. Besides holding many other important offices, he represented the city of Boston for two years in the legislature, and served one term in the state senate, where he was chairman of the committee on education. He originated the "Young Reaper," of which he was editor for seven years, and has written many hymns and lyrics that have been widely circulated. He has been active in the various public enter- prises of the Baptist denomination.


WASHBURN, Israel, governor of Maine, b. in Livermore, Me., 6 June, 1813 ; d. in Philadel- Jhia. Pa., 12 May, 1883. He was descended from ohn Washburn, who was secretary of Plymouth colony in England and who came to this country in 1631 and settled in Duxbury, Mass. His grand- father, Israel, served in the Revolutionary war and attained the rank of captain. He was re- Eeatedly elected to the legislature, and was a mem- er from Massachusetts of the convention which ratified the constitution of the United States. In 1806 Israel, son of the foregoing, removed to Maine, where he taught at first, but in 1808 settled at White's Landing (now Richmond), on Kennebec river, where he engaged in ship-building. He es- tablished a trading-post at Livermore, Me., in 1809, at what is now called The Norlands, and soon after- ward settled there. Israel, the subject of this sketch, was educated at public schools and by pri- vate tutors, and was admitted to the bar in Octo- ber, 1834. Settling in Orono, Me., he soon acquired a large practice, and in 1842-'3 was a member of the legislature. In 1850 he was sent to congress, serving as a Whig from 1 Dec, 1851, to 1 Jan., 1861, when he resigned, having been chosen gov- ernor of Maine. Declining a re-election, he was appointed in 1863 by President Lincoln collector of customs at Portland, Me., which office he held until 1877. He was president of the board of trustees of Tufts college, and was elected to the presidency of that institution in 1875, but declined. The degree of LL. D. was conferred on him by Tufts college in 1872. Gov. Washburn was a mem- ber of historical and genealogical societies, and, in addition to many of his addresses and speeches, which have had a wide circulation, published "Notes, Historical, Descriptive, and Personal, of Livermore, Me." (1874). — Israel's brother, Elihu Benjamin, statesman, b. in Livermore, Me., 23 Sept., 1816; d. in Chicago, 111., 22 Oct., 1887, wrote his family name with a final "e." He was educated at public schools, and. after working on his father's farm, entered the office of the "Christian Intelligencer" in Gardiner in 1833 as a printer's apprentice. The paper was discon- tinued a year later, and he was chosen to teach in the district school. In May, 1835, he entered the office of the " Kennebec Journal," at Augusta, where he continued for a year, during which time he rose gradually until he became an assistant of | the editor, and acquired his first knowledge of political life during the sessions of the state legislature. He then decided to study law, and entered Kent's Hill seminary in 1836. After a year in that institution he began his professional studies in the office of John Otis in Hallowed, who, impressed by his diligence and ambi- tion, aided him finan- cially and took him into his own home to board. In March, 1839, he entered the law- school at Harvard, where among his class- mates were Richard H. Dana, Charles Dev- ens, and William M. Evarts. He was ad- mitted to the bar in 1840, and at once de- termined to establish himself in the west. Settling in Galena, Ill.,

he there entered into

law-partnership with Charles S. Hempstead, and, being a strong Whig, made speeches in behalf of that party, which had nominated William H. Harrison for the presidency. In 1844 he was a delegate to the Whig national convention in Baltimore that selected Henry Clay as its candidate, and on his return he visited that statesman in Washington. Meanwhile his business increased, and he was frequently called upon to practise in the supreme court of the state. In 1848 he was nominated for congress in the Galena district, but was defeated by Col. Edward D. Baker. In 1852, as a delegate to the National Whig convention, he advocated the nomination of Gen. Winfield Scott, and in the same year he was elected to congress, serving thereafter from 5 Dec, 1853, till 6 March, 1869. He soon gained an excellent reputation, and, on the election of Nathaniel P. Banks as speaker in 1855, was given the chairmanship of the committee on commerce, which he held for ten years. He was selected by the house to accompany William H. Seward, representing the senate, to receive Abraham Lincoln when he arrived in Washington after his election. From the length of his continuous service he became recognized as the " Father of the House," and in that capacity administered the oath as speaker to Schuyler Colfax three times, and to James G. Blaine once. From his continual habit of closely scrutinizing all demands that were made upon the treasury and persistently demanding that the finances of the government should be administered with the strictest economy, he acquired the name of the "Watch-dog of the Treasury." He was a steadfast friend of Ulysses S. Grant during the civil war, and every promotion that the latter received was given either solelv or in part upon the recommendation of Mr. Washburne. Subsequently he originated the bills that made Gen. Grant lieutenant-general and general. Mr. Washburne was a member of the joint committee on reconstruction and chairman of the committee of the whole house in the matter of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. He opposed all grants of the public lands and all subsidies to railroad companies, and resisted with all his power what he called " the greatest legislative crime in history " — the bill that subordinated the first mortgage of the government on the Pacific railroad to the mortgage of the railroad companies. He also opposed " log-