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Akerman (or Ackerman), Amos Tappan, lawyer, cabinet officer, was born 1823 in New Hampshire. In 1850 he settled in Elberton, Ga.; and served the confederate government in the quartermaster's department; but after the war he was a republican and reconstructionist. He was appointed district attorney for Georgia in 1866; and was attorney-general of the United States in 1870-72.

[Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography: Contains Thirty-five Thousand Biographies of the Acknowledged Leaders of Life and Thought of the United States, by William Herringshaw, 1909 – Transcribed by Therman Kellar]

Batchelder, Richard Napoleon, soldier, was born July 27, 1832, in Lake Village, N.H. In 1861-66 he rose through successive ranks until brevetted brigadier-general in 1865. He then entered the regular service; and became brigadier-general and quartermaster-general United States army. He died Jan. 4, 1901, in Washington, D.C.

BROWN, Edwin C., railway official; born, New Hampshire, Feb. 15, 1831; son of Samuel C. and Martha (Johnson) Brown; educated in public schools of New Hampshire; married at Milwaukee, Wis., Jan. 3, 1858, Sarah P. Blake. Began railway career, 1852, as baggage man Milwaukee & Mississippi R.R. (now Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Ry.), promoted to freight conductor and passenger conductor; was passenger conductor Chicago & Northwestern Rd., 1856-65, master of transportation, 1865-70; was superintendent for Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R.R., in Iowa, 1870-74; division superintendent and assistant general superintendent Michigan Central Rd., at Jackson, Mich., 1874-82, and general superintendent, at Detroit, 1882-90; has been assistant to the president of the road since 1890. Republican. Protestant. Mason (32), Shriner, Recreations: Reading and baseball. Office: 15 Mich. Cent. Depot. Residence: 129 Alger Av.

(Source: The Book of Detroiters. Edited by Albert Nelson Marquis
Copyright, 1908 - Submitted by Christine Walters)

FOLEY, Miss Margaret E., sculptor, born in New Hampshire, and died in Menan, in Austrian Tyrol, in 1887. Miss Foley was an entirely self-taught artist She began her career in a small way, modeling in chalk and carving in wood. In youth she moved to Boston, Mass., where she worked hard and suffered much privation, making a bare living at first by carving portraits and ideal heads in cameo. After working seven years in Boston, she went to Rome, Italy, where she passed the rest of her professional life in the company of Harriet Hosmer, Gibson, Story, Mrs. Jameson and William and Mary Howitt. In 1877 her health failed, and she accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Howitt to their home in Austrian Tyrol, where she died. Among the works she left are portrait busts of S. C. Hall, Charles Sumner and Theodore Parker, and medallions of William and Mary Howitt, Longfellow, Bryant and S. C Hall. Her artistic work includes "The Albanese," a medallion, "Cleopatra," a bust, and statues of "Excelsior," "Jeremiah" and many others.
(American Women, Frances Elizabeth Willard, Mary Ashton Rice Livermore, Volume 1 Copyright 1897. Transcribed by Marla Snow.)

LOWELL, George K., railway official; born, New Hampshire, Mar. 19, 1858; son of George G. and Phoebe H. (Kaime) Lowell; graduated from high school and attended academy at Dover, N.H.; married at Lousiville, Ky., 1890, Mary Emma Park. Began railway service, 1876, as roundhouse man, and later as fireman on Boston & Maine R.R.; fireman and engineer on Galveston, Harrisburg & San Antonio R.R.; freight and passenger brakeman, train baggage master and freight and passenger conductor with following roads: Galveston, Houston & Henderson, Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe, Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Air Line railroads; master of transportation, 1889-90 superintendent of transportation, 1890-91, Louisville, Evansville & St. Louis Air Line R.R.; assistant superintendent, 1891-93; superintendent Jan.-Dec., 1893, Louisville, New Albany & Chicago R.R.; general superintendent same road and its successor, the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville, Ry., 1893-96; general manager Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Ry. Co., Ann Arbor R.R.. Co., and steamship lines since Nov. 1, 1906; elected vice president same, Nov., 1907. Member Masonic order (32o), Knights Templar, Shrine. Recreation: Fishing. Club: Detroit. Office: Penobscot Bldg.

(Source: The Book of Detroiters. Edited by Albert Nelson Marquis
Copyright, 1908 - Submitted by Christine Walters)

DANIEL WEBSTER; The "Great Expounder of the Constitution" was born at Salisbury, N. H. January 18, 1782. His father had been a soldier of the Revolution, and though standing high in the estimation of his brother farmers, who sent him to the Legislature, and made him a judge, yet found it a severe strain upon his limited means to provide an education for his two boys. Daniel, though destined to become a robust man, was not a strong child, and was too much disinclined to work for a farmer's boy; but a passion for books developed itself at a very early age. Such as were the advantages of the village school, he made the most of them. When fourteen he was sent to Phillips Academy, at Exeter; but remained there less than a year, completing his preparation for college under a private tutor. In 1797 he entered Dartmouth. He was very anxious that his brother Ezekiel, two years his senior, should also receive a collegiate education; but to support two boys at college, at the same time, was beyond old Judge Webster's power. Daniel was now able, however, to earn a little money with his pen, and by teaching; and thus Ezekiel was enabled to commence his studies. For several years the two brothers assisted each other as best they could. Determined effort brought success. Daniel took his degree in 1801, his elder brother some three years later.

Upon leaving college, Daniel Webster at once began to read law at Salisbury; but was obliged to devote a portion of his time to teaching school, that his brother might remain at Dartmouth. In 1804 he came to Boston, and continued his legal studies in the office of Christopher Gore, afterward Governor of Massachusetts, declining the offer of a clerkship in the court of which his father was a judge. He was admitted to the bar at Boston, in 1805, and commenced practice in the little village of Boscawen, near his father's home in New Hampshire. After Judge Webster's death, in 1807, he removed to Portsmouth. He had already become fairly successful in his profession, was the author of numerous magazine articles and pamphlets, and had taken, as a Federalist, some slight interest in politics.

Mr. Webster was married June 24, 1808, to Grace Fletcher. The eldest son of this marriage was the lamented Colonel Fletcher Webster of the Twelfth Massachusetts Volunteers. Mr. Webster was nine years a resident of Portsmouth, attaining great distinction as a lawyer. He entered Congress as a representative of the anti-war party of New Hampshire, in 1813, and was re-elected two years later. While in Washington he had the misfortune to have his new house at Portsmouth, together with its entire contents, including his library, destroyed by fire. It was at this period that he began to practice in the United States Supreme Court. In 1816, finding his professional income insufficient to repair his losses, he bade farewell to his native State, and removed to Boston, with the intention of devoting his whole time to his law business in this new and more extensive field. From that time his name became identified with the fortunes of the old Bay State; year by year it gained added luster until it overshadowed every other name in the great Commonwealth. At the age of thirty-six he had become one of the foremost lawyers of Boston, with an income of at least fifteen thousand dollars a year. He aided in the revision of the Massachusetts Constitution in 1820, and, in 1823, was once more sent to Congress.

Mr. Webster's fame as an orator was established by his oration at Plymouth on Forefathers Day, 1820. By this great effort, and by such subsequent ones as the oration at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker Hill Monument, June 17, 1825, and the eulogy upon Adams and Jefferson before the Boston City Government August 2, 1826, he placed himself in the highest rank among the public speakers of all time. He continued to represent the Boston District until June, 1827, when he was chosen United States Senator. Hardly had he taken his seat before he was called upon to mourn the loss of his wife, who died in January, 1828. In the following year his brother Ezekiel, to whom he was tenderly attached, and whose advice he constantly sought, died suddenly while addressing a jury at Concord, N. H. Mr. Webster married his second wife, Caroline Le Roy, of New York, in December, 1829.

During the agitation consequent upon the nullification resolutions of the South Carolina Legislature, General Hayne, Senator from that State, made remarks in the course of debate reflecting very unfavorably upon New England, and especially upon Massachusetts. Mr. Webster defended his section and made some trifling allusions to the disloyal spirit manifested in South Carolina. Hayne followed with a long speech in which he reiterated his charges against New England, and went into a detailed discussion of the doctrine of nullification, which he defended with zeal. On January 26, 1830, Mr. Webster made his immortal reply, the most magnificent piece of oratory and argument that ever fell from American lips. It was an unanswerable plea for the Constitution and the Union, and was received with the greatest enthusiasm. The name of Daniel Webster was upon every tongue, and his popularity, especially at the North, became very great. In 1831 he purchased the estate at Marshfield, Mass., which had for some years been his summer residence, and which has since become so widely known. He expended large amounts of money in beautifying this farm, where the happiest of his leisure hours were spent.

During General Jackson's administration, the political opponents of the President assumed the name of Whigs; and with the Whig party and its distinctive measures, the tariff, the bank, internal improvements, Mr. Webster was henceforth identified. He heartily supported, however, the bill to give President Jackson the necessary powers with which to suppress insurrection. He was now freely spoken of as a presidential candidate, and, unfortunately for his own peace of mind, he allowed a desire to possess that high office to take too deep a root in his heart. He never received the united support of his party, although' the electoral vote of his State was given him in the election which resulted in the choice of Martin Van Buren, in 1836. He contemplated resigning his seat in 1837; but was dissuaded by his friends from taking that step. That his earnest labors in the Senate, in behalf of the integrity of the Constitution, had endeared him to multitudes of the people, was shown by the enthusiastic reception accorded to him in New York and the leading cities of the West in the summer of 1837. Mr. Webster opposed the annexation of Texas, as well as all measures looking toward the extension of slavery.

In 1839, for the first and only time in his life, he crossed the Atlantic; and, in company with his wife and daughter, spent six months in Europe, principally in England and Scotland. In the ensuing presidential contest, that of 1840, his services as a campaign speaker were in constant demand, and were of value in convincing those thoughtful voters who were not susceptible to the " hard cider" enthusiasm. His seat in the Senate, which he had held for fourteen years, he resigned in February, 1841, having accepted General Harrison's invitation to enter the Cabinet as Secretary of State.

By far the most important question which came within Mr. Webster's jurisdiction as Secretary of State, was the final adjustment of the boundary line between Maine and the British dominions, which had been in dispute ever since the treaty of 1783. This he effected, in conjunction with Lord Ashburton, the special ambassador sent from England for the purpose, by the treaty of Washington, which was ratified in August, 1842. In the fall of 1841, the other members of Mr. Tyler's Cabinet resigned, owing to their opposition to the President's financial policy. Mr. Webster shared their opposition; but deeming it unwise to interrupt the negotiations with England, he decided to retain his office until they were completed. This course met with Mr. Tyler's hearty approval, but was condemned by a portion of the Whig party.

Mr. Webster resigned the cares of office May 8, 1843, and retired to his seat at Marshfield, to enjoy a period of rest and quiet. He was now in somewhat straitened circumstances; indeed, it was his misfortune to be almost continually in trouble, financially. His professional income was at times very large, but was seriously interfered with by his public service; while, by mismanagement, and such expensive luxuries as his Marshfield farm, his estate became well nigh exhausted. After a summer spent with his thoroughbreds, and in his favorite pastimes of boating, fishing, and shooting, for his passion for these enjoyments was still strong at three-score, he continued to devote himself to his private business until called upon, in 1844, to give his active support to the Whig nominee for the presidency, Henry Clay.

On the 5th of March, 1845, Mr. Webster again became a member of the National Senate. By his wise and prudent counsels, he contributed materially toward the peaceful solution of the Oregon boundary difficulties. In 1847, he made a tour through the Southern States, as far as Savannah, and was everywhere received with imposing public demonstrations. His constant position on the question of slavery had been that of a mediator between the extremists of both sections. He held that the Constitution gave Congress no right to interfere with the institution as it existed in the several States of the South, but opposed the acquisition of any new territory calculated to lead to its extension. The year 1848 brought sad domestic afflictions. In January, his son, Major Edward Webster, died in Mexico, in the military service of his country, and his death was followed in a few months by that of his sister, Mrs. Appleton.

In 1850, Mr. Webster took a step which was regarded by a large part of his friends at the North in a very unfavorable light. On the 7th of March in that year, he made a memorable speech in which he receded from his former position on the slavery question, and gave his support to the compromise measures, including the infamous law for the return of slaves who had made their escape into a Free State. Before these measures were brought to a vote, however, he had ceased to be a member of the Senate. President Taylor died, July 9, 1850, and upon the reconstruction of the Cabinet, by Mr. Fillmore, Daniel Webster became, for the second time, Secretary of State.

It is pretty generally conceded that, in making his unfortunate surrender to the slave power, he was influenced by an honest desire to prevent, at all hazards, a dissolution of the Union; and the Union and its perpetuation form the great theme of all his public utterances during the two remaining years of his life. If his motive were in any degree personal; if he hoped by his course of action to better his chances for the presidential nomination, an honor which he was exceedingly desirous to obtain, his mistake was, indeed, a fatal one. He had offended his party, or at least a majority of it, and the Whig nomination of 1852, made in June, at Baltimore, went to General Scott. Mr. Webster was bitterly disappointed. He had been thrown from his carriage in May, and severely injured, and now his health began to decline rapidly. His popularity in Boston, however, remained undiminished. On the 9th of July he was accorded a public reception in that city, one of the most imposing ever given to any servant of the people, and which was participated in by men of all parties. He refused the English Mission, and would have resigned his position as the head of the State Department had not Mr. Fillmore insisted upon his retaining it. Early in September he left Washington for the last time, and went to spend the few days which were left to him, on his beautiful farm by the sea, the place of all the world most dear to him, and there he died, October 24, 1852.

[Source: Biographical Sketches of Preeminent Americans, Volume 1; By Frederick G. Harrison; Publ. 1892; Transcribed and submitted by Andrea Stawski Pack.]

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