Chauncey Depew
Chauncey Depew | |
---|---|
James Aloysius O'Gorman | |
Secretary of State of New York | |
In office January 1, 1864 – December 31, 1865 | |
Governor | Horatio Seymour Reuben Fenton |
Preceded by | Horatio Ballard |
Succeeded by | Francis C. Barlow |
Member of the New York State Assembly from the 3rd Westchester district | |
In office January 1, 1862 – December 31, 1863 | |
Preceded by | Benjamin F. Camp |
Succeeded by | George A. Brandreth |
Personal details | |
Born | Chauncey Mitchell Depew April 23, 1834 Peekskill, New York, US |
Died | April 5, 1928 New York City, US | (aged 93)
Political party | Republican Liberal Republican (1872) |
Spouses | Elise A. Hegeman
(m. 1871; w. 1893)May E. Palmer
(m. 1901; d. 1928) |
Parent(s) | Isaac Depew Martha Minot Mitchell |
Education | Peekskill Military Academy |
Alma mater | Yale College |
Profession | Politician |
Signature | |
Chauncey Mitchell Depew (April 23, 1834 – April 5, 1928) was an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician. He is best remembered for his two terms as United States Senator from New York and for his work for Cornelius Vanderbilt, as an attorney and as president of the New York Central Railroad System.[1]
Early life
Depew was born in Peekskill, New York, on April 23, 1834, to Isaac Depew (1800–1869) and Martha Minot (Mitchell) Depew (1810–1885).[2]
Family
Depew's father was a merchant and farmer who pioneered river transportation between Peekskill and New York and was descended from François DuPuy, a French Huguenot who purchased land from natives at the present site of Peekskill.[citation needed] Through his mother, Depew was descended from Rev. Josiah Sherman, who served as a chaplain with rank of captain in the Revolutionary War and who was the brother of American founding father Roger Sherman and Rev. Charles Chauncy, the second president of Harvard College.[citation needed]
Education
Depew attended
Legal and business career
After graduating from Yale, Depew apprenticed in the office of Edward Wells in Peekskill and
In 1865, Depew was appointed and confirmed to the position of
Railroad attorney
In 1866, Depew became the attorney for
While Depew was primarily active in the Vanderbilt railroads, he held concurrent positions with many other railroads and companies. He was president of
Aside from railroads, Depew also served on the boards of directors for Western Union, the Hudson River Bridge Company, the Niagara River Bridge Company, the New York State Realty & Terminal Company, the Union Trust Company, Equitable Life Assurance Company, and Kensico Cemetery Association.
Political career
As a young student and lawyer, Depew stumped the state of New York for John C. Frémont in 1856 and for Abraham Lincoln in 1860.
New York politics
Depew represented Westchester County in the
In 1867, Depew became clerk of
In 1872, Depew ran for Lieutenant Governor of New York on the Liberal Republican-Democratic ticket but was defeated.
In 1886, Depew gave an oration at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty.[10]
On October 7, 1897, Depew inaugurated the
In 1898, Depew nominated Theodore Roosevelt for Governor of New York at the Republican state convention.
Presidential politics
Depew served as a delegate-at-large to each Republican National Convention from 1888 to 1904 and was elected delegate to all following conventions, including 1928, being elected the day before he died. At the
U.S. Senate
Depew was a candidate for
In 1899, Depew was elected to the Senate from New York and was re-elected in 1905. He served from March 4, 1899, to March 3, 1911.
In 1906,
Death
In spring 1928, Depew became ill while returning from Florida to Manhattan. He died of
Personal life
Depew married twice. On November 9, 1871, he married Elise Ann Hegeman (1848–93) in New York City. She was the daughter of William and Eliza Jane (Nevin) Hegeman. Before her death on May 7, 1893, they had one son, Chauncey Mitchell Depew Jr. (1879–1931),[13] who died unmarried.[14]
On December 27, 1901, he re-married to May Eugenie Palmer (1866–1940) in
He attended Saint Thomas Episcopal Church in New York.
Yale
Depew was a member of the
Civic associations
He served as trustee of his alma mater, the Peekskill Military Academy.
In 1877, Depew became a regent of the University of the State of New York and served until 1904.
Depew became a member of the
In 1918, Depew was made life member of Lawyers' Club of New York.
Depew was active in a number of patriotic and hereditary societies. He served as president of Empire State Society of the
Health
Depew used to smoke 25 cigars a day but gave up smoking aged 65 upon the advice of his secretary.[16] He gave up drinking alcohol at aged 88. Depew stated that he had worked "practically every day" of his life. He avoided stress and slept 7 and half hours a day.[16] In 1908, it was widely reported in newspapers that Depew had become a vegetarian.[17][18] In a 1925 interview aged 90, Depew clarified that he had never been a vegetarian but in his early 60s removed red meat from his diet but consumed poultry. He commented that "Beefsteaks and roast butcher's meat figured too much in my diet, I concluded. Out they went, never to return. I'm not a vegetarian; wouldn't be one –that's going to extremes– but I don't eat need red meat and don't eat it. For thirty years the only meat I've eaten has been poultry."[16]
Honors
Depew received the French
Depew was an honorary member of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
In 1887, Depew became an honorary member of Columbia chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.
Legacy
Depew was a distinguished orator and
In 1929, May Palmer-Depew donated her late husband's papers and $120,000 to establish a department of public speaking to George Washington University.[21] The collection is currently cared for by the university's Special Collections Research Center, located in the Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library.[22]
Namesakes
In 1908, Depew gave land to Peekskill, New York, which became Depew Park. A decade later he expanded the donation by 10 acres (40,000 m2) and paid for a statue of himself for display in that park.
The Village of Depew, New York was incorporated in 1894 along the New York Central Railroad main line.[23] The town of Depew, Oklahoma, is also named for him.[24]
The ship Chauncey M. DePew was built for the
Depictions
Many artists painted Depew, including
Publications
Speeches
- Orations and After Dinner Speeches (1890)
- Life and Later Speeches (1894)
- Orations, Addresses and Speeches (eight volumes) (1910)
- Speeches and Addresses on the threshold of Eighty (1912)
- Addresses and Literary Contributions on the Threshold of Eighty-two (1916)
- Speeches and Literary Contributions on the Threshold of Eighty-four (1918)
- My Memories of Eighty Years and Marching On a/k/a My Autobiography (1922)
- Miscellaneous Speeches on the Threshold of Ninety-two (1925)
- "An Optimistic Survey", 50th Anniversary Supplement of the Yale Daily News (1928)
References
Citations
- ^ a b "Chauncey M. Depew Dies Of Pneumonia In His 94th Year. Family at Bedside of the Ex Senator When End Comes in Early Morning. Was Ill Only A Week. Stricken With a Chill on His Way North on the Train From Florida. Continued Duties as Chairman of New York Central Board to the Last". The New York Times. April 5, 1928. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
Chauncey M. Depew died at his home, 27 West Fifty-fourth Street, at 4:20 o'clock this morning. He would have been 94 years old on April 23.
- ^ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. I. James T. White & Company. 1893. pp. 528–529. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 0-316-72091-7.
- ^ Leonard, John William (1911). Who's Who in Finance, Banking, and Insurance, Volume 1. Joseph & Sefton. p. 557.
- ^ New York Adjutant General (1909). Annual Report, Volume II. J. B. Lyon Company. p. 98.
- ^ Murlin, Edgar L. (1909). The New York Red Book. J. B. Lyon Company. p. 34.
- ^ "The New York Central's New President". The Railway Agent and Station Agent. XIX (2). National Association of Railway Agents: 15–17. April 1898.
- ^ "Samuel R. Callaway". Railroad Men. XVII (10): 365 and 387. July 1904.
- ^ Depew: My Memoirs of 80 Years (Depew reminisces not quite correctly; see Journal of the Assembly (86th Session))
- ^ Depew, Chauncey M. Orations, addresses and speeches of Chauncey M. Depew, pp. 96-108.Private printing, 1910. Online facsimile of volume held by Columbia University Libraries. Full digital text at Internet Archive. Largely celebrating American democracy and the friendship between France and the USA, Depew, likely referring to the recent Haymarket affair, also remarked, "The rays from this beacon, lighting this gateway to the continent, will welcome the poor and the persecuted with the hope and promise of homes and citizenship. It will teach them that there is room and brotherhood for all who will support our institutions and aid in our development; but that those who come to disturb our peace and dethrone our laws are aliens and enemies forever."
- ^ "Mail Tube is a Success". The New York Times. October 8, 1897.
- ^ D. K. Goodwin, The Bully Pulpit (Simon & Schuster, 2013) pp. 480–482
- ^ "C.M. Depew Jr.'s Funeral: Services Held In Chantry of St. Thomas—Burial at Peekskill". The New York Times. January 29, 1931. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ "Chauncey M. Depew Ill: Son of the Late Senator Is Stricken With Pneumonia". The New York Times. January 26, 1931. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ "To Furnish Knowledge For The Whole World", Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette (August 11, 1904), p. 2.
- ^ a b c Depew, Chauncey (1925). "Give Human Nature a Chance". Collier's. 75: 15–48.
- ^ "Queer Fads of Distinguished Men to Prolong Their Lives". Evening Star (June 20, 1908). p. 3
- ^ "Fads of the Great to Prolong Life". The Salt Lake Tribune (June 21, 190). p. 15
- ^ Patrick Feaster. Pictures of Sound: One Thousand Years of Educed Audio: 980-1980. Dust-to-Digital, 2012. Page 53-54. Track 6 on the accompanying CD reproduces his "Speech on Forefather's Day."
- ^ Broderick, John (April 9, 1974). "Scribe Suggests Insult Proposal". The Daily Herald. Washington. p. 13. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ King, Jennifer. "Guide to the Chauncey M. Depew Papers, 1856–1934". gwu.edu. George Washington University. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ^ Guide to the Chauncey M. Depew Papers, 1856–1934, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
- ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 104.
- ^ Wilson, Linda D. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Depew." Retrieved March 23, 2012.[1] Archived December 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Chauncey M. Depew - ShipSpotting.com - Ship Photos and Ship Tracker". www.shipspotting.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ Prial, Frank J. (August 28, 1977). "Dining Out". The New York Times. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ "The Chauncey M Depew in Bermuda - Ships Nostalgia Gallery". www.shipsnostalgia.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ^ "The New Yorker Digital Edition : Aug 31, 1935". archives.newyorker.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
- ISBN 9780823216765. Retrieved February 25, 2019 – via Internet Archive.
west shore railroad ridgefield park.
General sources
Further reading
- Depew, Chauncey Mitchell. My memories of eighty years (Scribner, 1922), autobiography online
- Murphy, Arthur F. "The Political Personality of Chauncey Mitchell Depew" (PhD dissertation, Fordham University; ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1959. 10587205).
- Yeager, Willard Hayes. Chauncey Mitchell Depew the orator: His education in oratory; His views on the theory of public speaking; and a collection of his hitherto unpublished addresses (George Washington University Press, 1934) online
External links
- Chauncey Mitchell Depew papers (MS 180). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. [2]
- United States Congress. "Chauncey Depew (id: D000264)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- Guide to the Chauncey M. Depew Papers, 1856–1934, Special Collections Research Center, Estelle and Melvin Gelman Library, George Washington University
- Chauncey Depew at Find a Grave
- Works by Chauncey Depew at Project Gutenberg
- Works by or about Chauncey Depew at Internet Archive
- Mr. Lincoln and New York: Chauncey M. Depew Archived April 4, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
- The 1899 Empire State Society Register
- Vanderbilt Railroads President Scripophily.net
- Image of Chauncey Depew from "1888 Presidential Possibilities" card set t207.com
- Chauncey DePew (1925) early sound film made in DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process at SilentEra
- Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England By Thomas Townsend Sherman